The Enemy of My Enemy

A/N: Well. Here it is. There's really no introduction for this.

Oh! To you who said this would stay good even if it were twenty chapters long: you have improved an otherwise horrible day and have my deepest thanks. If I had enough material for twenty chapters, I'd probably write them. Unfortunately, I don't.

Now get reading!

Chapter Four: Light

Genis didn't know what to do. Standing not three feet away was his sister, wearing a Desian fighter's uniform and escorting Lloyd and Kratos through the base with the help of another Desian. To his knowledge, Raine hadn't been taken to either of the ranches. He was very confused.

The other Desian turned around, and immediately assumed a defensive stance. "You're the brat who tried to kill me in Luin!" she screeched, and Genis noted a blue-colored card in one of her hands.

"Stopped only by necessity," he retorted, swinging his kendama casually. He could beat her again, too. Raine as well—all she had were healing abilities. Lloyd and Kratos, he noted, said nothing; they simply stared, glancing at each other every few seconds. Genis reminded himself to watch them most closely.

"Genis, what are you doing here?" Raine asked, stepping closer to him and reaching to touch his shoulder. Out of reflex he stepped back, and Raine froze, her hand hanging in the air. "Genis?"
"I could ask you the same thing!" he cried, trying to work his mind around the ides that Raine and the assassin were Desians, too. "How did you get in?"

"Oh, these!" Raine looked down at herself, and brushed at the skirt of the armor. "It was Sheena's idea, I think. I don't really remember…these weeks have been a blur to me…Genis!" Without warning, Raine rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her brother. Genis felt that, were it not for the armor, he'd be finding it hard to breathe. "I was so worried about you…don't you ever do something so foolish again!"

Genis saw Raine's hand headed for his face. She was going to slap him. He saw it, and he knew that she was angry because she'd thought he was dead, but he hated it. Hated her, for always hitting him, treating him like a child. He did something then that he'd never done in his life, especially not to Raine.

He hit back. One hand rose to stop her blow, and the other dropped the kendama and struck Raine in the face instead.

"Enough. Take your prisoners to their cells and leave their weapons with Lord Kvar," he said coldly. "And make sure they don't cause any trouble." Nodding stiffly, he turned on one heel and strode off down the hall, leaving a stunned Lloyd and Kratos and an equally shocked Raine behind him.

"I'm so sorry, Genis," said a voice to his left. He spun, and glanced up a bit, and realized Colette was standing before him, her angel wings extended. Shaking her head, she pulled her wings in and stepped toward Genis. Frozen in place, Genis didn't even fight as she removed his helmet, flipped it over, and brought it down onto his head.

The world spun and flashed in bright colors. Genis was aware of voices shouting, and of Colette turning and running away. Someone grabbed him roughly and started pulling him along, and down the hall he could hear shouts and spell calls. His first instinct was to run to his sister, to help her.

He remembered after a few seconds that he couldn't do that anymore. His sister had allied herself with the enemy, as he once had. In choosing them, she condemned herself as well.

But…but he couldn't attack Raine! He couldn't kill her! She was his sister, his family…a half-elf like him! Abandoned like him! …She had lost the same parents he had. He could never bring himself to harm her.

"Hey, Genis! Snap out of it!" Genis shook his head, and images righted themselves. "Come on, we've got to head them off outside the control room!"

"What?" Genis asked, stumbling over both his words and his steps. Elysia had him by the wrist and was pulling him along behind her, running at a rather relaxed pace but urging Genis to speed up.

"We have to beat them there or they'll get in and destroy this ranch like they did Palmacosta! Come on!" Genis heard these words, and his feet began to move faster, but something in his mind was shifting. Unbidden, memories were rising to the front of his mind.

Iselia was finally a place I could call home…

A moonless night spent atop a thatched roof, studying the stars beside his friends…

Genis…you were like a grandson to me…thank you…

You killed my grandmother!

Colette, you're not eating very much anymore. Are you sure you're okay?

Wow! Those wings are cool! Do that again!

We have to destroy the ranch. The Desians' hold over Palmacosta ends here.

Raine, where are our mother and father? Why aren't they here with us anymore?

They were approaching the doors to the control room. Kvar was probably still inside, doing whatever it was he did. Watching the ranch, probably. Genis felt his kendama shoved into his hand, and he swung it absently. His mind was back in order now.

He was responsible for the lives of Lloyd and the others. And he would not fail Kvar. Elysia, Riley and two others stood around him, their weapons ready. He readied his, too, already reaching for the power of his first spell.

Lloyd was the first to round the corner, swords already drawn. His face registered shock at the fact that it truly was Genis standing before him, but the surprise faded into anger within seconds. Colette and Kratos were behind him, and then Raine and the assassin Sheena, now free of their Desian disguises.

"Genis! How could you do this? The Desians are the enemy!" Lloyd shouted, anger burning on his face. Genis glared at him, equally infuriated.

"How could you humans do what you have done? Taking innocent lives, killing people because of their race! That is unforgivable, and rightly punishable!"

"So you kill us right back?" Lloyd retorted hotly, taking a step forward.

"It is fair repayment for the families and friends half-elves have lost because of the human inability to see past appearances, past heritage!" Genis stepped forward as well, and raised his kendama, faint circles of light appearing on the ground around him as he reached for his Spread spell.

Lloyd rushed him, and Genis knew he'd never be fast enough to guard against it. Riley took the opportunity instead, rushing Lloyd right back and entangling the twin blades in his whip. Elysia ran forward as well, headed for Raine but stopped by Kratos.

The siblings had bought Genis just enough time, and with a taunt of, "Drown!" water erupted under Lloyd, sending him flying up and back, crashing into Sheena, who righted herself midair and raised her cards defensively as she landed.

"You're pathetic," she said scathingly. "Too cowardly to kill me and now afraid to face your friend with a real weapon."

In response, Genis only stepped back further, a new spell etching itself into his mind. He ignored Sheena's remarks, preferring the feeling of power growing within him. Smiling evilly, he let his spell go.

"Air Thrust!" Blades of green-tinted wind whirled around Sheena, tossing her in several directions in midair before dropping her to the ground again. She lay there still and unmoving.

Genis watched Elysia swing her spear around to knock one of Colette's chakrams from the air, and then pivot completely around to block a thrust from Kratos. He grinned, then turned his attention back to Lloyd and Riley. The Desian was on one knee, on the point of surrender, and Lloyd's blades danced around him in a way Genis had never seen before.

The last time I saw Lloyd…he was being catapulted into a tree…

Genis shook his head, freeing himself of the memory. Lloyd had moved on from Riley, and he and Colette together now assaulted the two other Desians. Someone else's Stone Blast spell—Kratos?!—launched one of them into the air, and Genis turned back around to find Elysia motionless, facedown on the floor.

Genis suddenly felt it all. Everything, from the pretending and hiding his identity in every town he and Raine entered, to being treated as a child, to being captured by his enemy, to watching his own parents murdered and facing his sister as her enemy, boiled up inside him and spilled over.

"NO!" he yelled, and he rushed at Kratos, moving faster than he ever had but still so obviously slower than the mercenary could. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Riley rushing too, and he knew that Kratos couldn't take on both of them at once.

He had to sneak food up to the ranch every day, always praying he wouldn't get caught, by the Desians or by the mayor…

Raine was up late again, reading one of her books, like she always seemed to be now, always thinking of ruins and archaeology.

Colette stood before the angel Remiel, a Cruxis Crystal glittering faintly just below her neck.

Genis felt his magic draining, then saw Lloyd raise an Orange Gel and toss it into the air. Laughing, Genis leapt and caught it in his mouth…

A woman with wings and eyes that saw eternity laughed a sound of windchimes.

Kratos did not have a place amid the people in his dream.

Genis nearly stopped as this knowledge struck him. He didn't have a place, just like I don't, Genis thought, his pace slowing. What…what could we possibly have in common?

But Kratos was inched from him now, and Genis and Riley struck together. It was obvious that Riley was more physically capable, so Genis dropped back to cast another spell. His backsteps took him close to where Elysia had fallen, and he knelt beside her as swiftly as he could, gently rolling her over. His eyes widened and he blinked, then closed his eyes.

"Ge…Genis…" Elysia whispered, and just the effort of that brought the rage forward anew in the young mage's heart. "I…I failed…Lord Kvar…"

"No, Elysia, never! Don't think that! Don't think about any of it, we'll take care of these guys real quick, I promise."

"Tell my…my brother…"

"Tell him yourself!" Genis' voice edged toward desperation, and he felt his fingernails digging at the palms of his hands. And perhaps there were even tears.

"It's wrong…what…what we do…killing…" Elysia blinked once, and sighed, closing her eyes and becoming very still. Genis sat there for what felt like hours, not knowing what to do, without anything useful at his disposal.

Nothing but power. Years' worth of practicing and learning spells and studying. All at his fingertips. All he had to do was let that string inside him, the string that had become so frayed these past few weeks, let those ends come apart.

As he stood, Genis snapped.

He felt fire within him, a kind of fire unlike any he'd ever known before. He knew that the fire would consume him, destroy him, but that didn't matter anymore. It would destroy the rest of them, too. Then this fighting, this killing, would stop. All of it would come to a screeching halt, and life would go back to the way it should have been.

Lloyd stood facing him, determination written on his features. "I don't want to fight you, Genis. You're my best friend."

"False. You pretended friendship in order to feel superior."

"It's that kind of talk that makes everyone fight in the first place! Why can't all this stupidity just end?"

"I will end it."

"No, Genis!" Lloyd cried, raising his swords. "I don't want to fight you. …But I will. I'll…I'll kill you if I have to. If you really are…a Desian…then I have no choice!"

"Just try." Already, the fire was rising. Lloyd couldn't stop it now—no one could. Genis saw the blades arcing towards him, but his kendama rested on the ground beside Elysia, useless now. He felt the blades strike him, felt one arm go numb from it, but he wasn't fast enough to even think of dodging, and he couldn't move anyway.

"I'm sorry, brother," said a voice that sounded so far away. Pale spell circles danced on the edges of Genis' vision, but that didn't matter, either. The fire was almost here now. Soon, all of this would end.

"Light!" said Raine's voice, and Genis could see her in his mind, standing tall with her staff raised high. "Photon!"

Golden rings surrounded him, and their light blinded him, and brought control to the fire within him, sent it back to its origins. No! I need that fire! I need to finish what I have begun! Genis reached within him, but the fire and his own strength were disappearing. He was on his knees, the light still whirling about him in its dazzling dance. As he fell toward the floor—he would never feel himself hit—one last memory flickered through his darkening mind.

"Raine? Raine, where are you?"

"Calm down, Genis, I'm right here."

"Raine…do you really think we'll be able to stay in Iselia?"

"Of course we will. To them…we are elves. And we must stay that way. Don't forget, Genis, that no matter what race you are, you are still a person, and your life still has value." Hand in hand, they entered the gates.

"Hello!" A boy, tall, dark hair standing nearly vertical.

"Hi." Genis looked at his shoes. "We moved here earlier."

"Really? Cool. I'm Lloyd." Genis looked up. The boy…Lloyd…was offering his hand. Tentatively, Genis shook it. "You look like an elf."

"I…I am. An elf."

"That's cool too. Hey…you wanna be friends?"

Friends? A human boy, offering…friendship? His eyes…they looked so serious, and kind, and funny…and there was a girl too, shorter, blonde…his friends…

"Okay."

Lloyd…and Colette. And Genis.


Genis opened his eyes and looked around. It was dark, but there were lights in the distance. They looked like the lights of Palmacosta at night…

'Well, well, well. It's the superior being,' said a silent voice behind him. Genis stood and turned, gazing into the familiar bottomless eyes of the winged woman. 'What are you doing back here? I thought you were beyond the human level.'

"No. No…that isn't it anymore. Is it? That's what I didn't do. I didn't remember that…that every life has value."

'Not quite, no. But that works just as well.'

"So…am I allowed to join those people…with the light?" Genis could vaguely remember that it had been destroyed at one point, the place where his friends and sister floated in the air with light pouring form them.

'Not just yet, I'm afraid,' she said, shaking her head. 'There is still something you haven't done.'

"Then…then can you answer a question for me?"

'To the best of my ability.'

"Why…why is Kratos missing from…over there?" Genis gestured to the lights. "What do he and I have in common that separates us from them?"

'Those were two questions,' she pointed out, 'but I will answer them as I can. Kratos is not among the spirits, true, but at the moment neither are Lloyd or your sister. There are other…factors…besides faith and courage. As for your common traits…in time, you will discover that for yourself, Genis. In a very short time, as I see.'

"You do that a lot."

She looked surprised, curious. 'Do what?'

"Answer the question without actually answering the question."

'Years of practice,' she remarked with a small smile. Her image faded then, but as it did, something else tapped him on the shoulder. He spun, and found himself facing the silver-haired girl. She still carried her staff, and she was grinning.

"You're the half-elf boy! I remember you! I never see any other half-elves here…usually we hide, in cellars and things. Sometimes we look human enough to pass but…I don't. So I usually hide. Do you?"

"Me? Oh…no, I…I live in this village where…they think I'm a full-blooded elf. So they leave me alone, mostly. Except, I was kind of…banished."

"Oh? I was, too. From my old home, I mean. I used to live with elves, but…something happened. I don't know what, it's hard to remember. I just know that one day we…my brother and I…we were with Mother and Father…and then we were in a very strange place. Alone."

"I hope you…find it better in the new place. I mean…you're not alone if you have one another."

"I always did think it was odd, though," said the silver-haired girl, twirling her staff along its long axis in one hand. "I mean…humans respect elves, and elves respect humans. Why can't either race see their half in a half-elf? I mean…I'm half an elf, but I'm half a human too, right? And…and I do the same things humans do, don't I? Like…crying, and laughing, and playing tag…"

"And studying, and learning," Genis added, looking up at the stars. "Making friends, and eating lunch outside on sunny days…humans do those things just like I do. …Just like we do."

"So…what makes us so wrong, then? I mean…it isn't my fault that Mother was an Elf and Father was human…is it?"

"No! Of course not. …I know someone very wise. When I first had to pretend to be an elf, she told me that no matter what I was on the outside, I was still a person and my life had value." Genis looked down, embarrassed. "I was stupid to forget that. Everyone has been."

"I like that! It sounds…right. And fair."

"It is. But too many people see only the destruction and death and…and the enemy. They don't see that the enemy has emotion, family, humor. They don't see that their enemies live lives so very similar to their own." Genis sank to the ground, watching his own tears wet the earth below him. "They don't see."

"Well…well they could learn, couldn't they?"

"I…I don't know, actually. From what I've just done…it doesn't seem like it."

"If what they really want, deep down within every heart, is peace, then they must be able to learn. I'm going to try! When I get older, and hopefully taller, I'm going to travel the world and teach them acceptance!"

"Good luck," Genis whispered, and the girl waved to him as she ran off, fading into the distance. Genis sat there by himself for what felt like a very long time, but the thoughts whirling through his mind were refreshing, and they made sense—they weren't clouded with anger, or fear, or sadness. They simply were, the way he knew things needed to just be.

He closed his eyes, part of him wondering how it was possible to fall asleep while already in a dream. But then he, too, slowly faded from the night.



…Wow.

That. Was. Intense.

I got quite caught up in that chapter. My heart's rather in it, see, so you'd better review it! All comments are greatly appreciated!