"Ah...Um...say, what are you planning to do after this?"
"After this?"
"Yeah, when the worlds are reunited, our journey will be over right? So, what then?"
"Well..." he said, pausing as he looked up at the sky, "I think I want to go on a journey to collect all the Exspheres."
"Oh...I..."
"Yes, Sheena?"
"...That's a good idea..."
"Oh..." For some strange reason he didn't quite understand, he felt disappointed.
An awkward silence settled over the two of them, both of them lost in their thoughts.
Finally, he stood up from the bench he had been sharing with Sheena. "I think I better get to sleep."
"Oh...okay."
For some reason she looked upset but he couldn't comprehend why.
----
He groaned as the light struck him, awakening him. He felt horrible, almost every part of his body ached in some way, and those that didn't were so numb that he couldn't feel anything. 'Where am I?' he said as he struggled to sit up and was immediately hit by a rush of dizziness. "Ugh..." he hunched over as the wave passed over him.
It was then he noticed her. "Sheena?" he said, more in amazement than any other question as he stared at the figure besides him. She was seated on a stool besides his bed but leaning forward such that she was resting on the bed, with her arms folded beneath her. She was also fast asleep.
He couldn't help but smile at the sight of her sleeping. It was just too cute. 'So...I've made it to Mizuho,' he thought as he took in the room around. It was fairly sparten, consisting of his bed, the stool Sheen was sitting on, another stool in the corner and a table in front of his bed with a vase of what seemed like plastic flowers in them. His clothes had also been replaced with some flimsy oversized gown.
He noticed that Sheena was beginning to stir. It started with soft unintelligible mutterings before she finally lifted her head and yawned, one hand going up to rub at her eye.
"Morning," he said cheerfully and watched as she stopped suddenly, freezing with one hand to her eyes and turned slowly to stare at him. He was aware that a bright crimson was starting to paint her cheeks as she looked at him.
"Lloyd! You're awake!" was all the warning he had before she; quite joyously, tackled him into a tight hug.
"Aaack! Noooo, pain!!"
"Oops, sorry," she said, blushing as she released him.
"It's okay," he said, wincing as his body told him that it was definitely not okay. "So...how did I get here?" he asked as he looked at her. She hadn't changed much from what he remembered, which made him happy in a way. She was even dressed the same, with her trademark pink obi tied around her waist.
"Don't you remember?" she said, looking at him quizzically.
"I remember collapsing halfway," he said with all honesty.
"Well...the guards found you at the entrance to the village, so they brought you in for treatment." At this, a look of apprehension entered her eyes. "Lloyd, what happened out there? I saw what was in the Forest of Death. That many monsters don't suddenly work together for no reason. And I found this," she said as she slipped the angels feather out of her pocket and held it up in the light, where it sparkled, the iridescent highlights glinting in the morning light.
Nothing was said for a while as the two of them stared at the feather.
"Lloyd..." Sheena began, as she softly lay her hand upon his. "What's going on?"
"Uh-hem," a voice coughed, in a manner that was obviously fake and suggested the owner of the voice had been privy to certain scenes he wasn't supposed to. Sheena blushed furiously and jerked her hand off of his.
Lloyd turned his gaze to the door, where the owner of the voice stood. At first glance, Lloyd thought the man standing there was quite elderly, perhaps in his late 50s to 60s, because of the full head of white hair that he had. but then he realised that while the man's hair may have been totally white, his features were still quite youthful. His right eye was closed, with a nasty scar running through it to slightly below his cheekbone.
"Sheena-dono, the Chief and Vice-chief have honourably requested your presence as well Lloyds presence at the Chief's house to discuss the events of last night."
"Alright, Kageshi, tell him we'll be coming," Sheena said, to which Kageshi simply nodded and turned to walk from the room. "Well...guess we better get going. Gramps doesn't like to be kept waiting," she said in a light tone, her earlier embarrassment forgotten. "Do you need any help getting out of bed?"
"No, I'll manage," he said as he lightly eased himself off the bed.
"Okay, just follow me then."
"Uh...Sheena?"
"Yes, Lloyd?"
"Do you think I could have my clothes back?" he said sheepishly as he pointed to the gown that he was dressed in.
"Oh...right."
----
Several minutes later, they were out of the hospital and on their way to the Chief's house.
"What's wrong?" Sheena asked as she watched Lloyd pick at his clothes. His new clothes to be precise. While Lloyd had survived the fight remarkably intact, his clothes hadn't. In fact, the only thing they had been able to salvage was his sword-belt and his swords. Currently he was dressed in partial ninja gear, with long brown pants that were tucked into soft-leather boots and a grey-black V-necked tunic.
"This looks weird," he muttered.
"What? Are you saying our Mizuho clothing looks weird!"
"No, no, that's not it," Lloyd said, shaking his head. "I just think it looks weird on me."
"I think you look fine," Sheena grinned. And judging from the looks he was getting from some of the women and younger girls in the village, she wasn't the only who thought so.
"I don't know...people keep giving me weird looks," Lloyd said, a hint of doubt in his voice, as he looked around him. The village of Mizuho hadn't changed much in the past 2 years, a few new buildings had cropped up here and there but nothing had really changed. Walking with Sheena like this, it almost felt like he had been transported back two years ago.
Strangely enough, he missed those times. Sure, there had been a lot of hardships back then, what with defeating Mithos and Cruxis, but at least everyone had been together. They had travelled together, eaten together, fought together. Looking back, he had been happy back then. It sure beat the past two years where he had travelled alone, wandering from land to land in search of exspheres.
"We're here," Sheena said as she stopped in front of a house and slid the door open.
He recognised it as the place where Vice-chief Tiga had welcomed them the first time they had come to Mizuho. Following Sheena's lead, he walked into the familiar hall where both the Chief and the Vice-chief sat waiting for them.
"Greetings Lloyd-san. Please, take a seat," the Chief said, as he pointed to an empty cushion opposite of him. "I hope we have not inconvenienced you?"
"No, not at all," Lloyd said, wincing slightly from his injuries as he sat down. Sheena gracefully took the cushion besides him, a mask of formality sliding over her features, sitting protectively close to him.
"Usually, we would not trouble someone who was as badly injured as you, but there ARE things that we must know. And the hospital has many ears," the Vice-chief said, slightly apologetic.
"Hey, it's okay," Lloyd said with a smile, shrugging his shoulders as he did so. "I've had worst injuries." Which was true, but then he had usually been healed up after he received them. Gods, how he missed Raine's healing magic right now. It felt like they had tried to sew him up.
"Very well then, we shall move into the crux of the matter. WHAT happened in the Forest of Death last night?"
He felt Sheena stiffen besides him. He turned to look at her reassuringly, even giving her a smal smile to ease her mind. "Well..." he said as he began his story. "I was walking through the Forest of Death -"
----
"Man, the forest's empty today," Lloyd said to himself as he glanced about him to the unusually silent Forest of Death. It was a habit he couldn't quite break, talking to himself. He had developed it about a month after he had started on his journey to recover all the exspheres in the world, when he realised JUST how lonely a journey could get if there wasn't anyone else travelling with you. At times like this, he really missed the group because talking to yourself got old really fast. After all, you already knew everything that was going to be said. However, it beat the silence so he kept at it.
He continued to stare at the surroundings even as he started inching both of his swords out of their sheathes. An instinct, partially born of many battles, was warning him of danger. He could not see anything, but his instinct had saved more than once and thus he trusted it implicitly. "Come out, come out where ever you are," he muttered under his breath as he continued through the Forest, both swords bared.
Thus, he wasn't too surprised when he went around one of the many bends in the Forest path and saw the cloaked figure standing in the distance. The figure was slight but of a height that nearly matched his own and carried itself with a stately grace that was apparent in its posture. The hood of the cloak was pulled up such that it left the figures facial features in the shadow while the cloak itself was made out of pure white and seemed to glitter slightly in the darkness of the Forest, and it covered every single part of the figure's body, leaving nothing to be seen.
He had the distinct impression that it had been waiting for him.
"Master Lloyd," the figure said in a melodic feminine voice that seemed to be more song than words.
"That's me," he said, feeling the weight of her stare on him. "Can I help you?" he asked politely but he did not sheath his blades. There was something wrong with this situation he was in and he had the uneasy impression that he was being watched.
"Yes, there is a small matter you could help me with," the lady said, placing a small emphasis on the word 'is'. "I understand that you have an Exsphere?"
"Yes," he replied cautiously, her question making him uncomfortably aware of the orb that rested on the back of his left hand.
"Ah. Good," she said, the pleasure in her voice was obvious to him. It reminded him of the way Raine would sound whenever he got a question in school correct. "I'm afraid that I require it for certain purposes."
"What?"
"I require your Exsphere. Please kindly pass it to me," she said, as if she was to be obeyed without question as her cloak parted at the sides to reveal one slender, well-defined arm to be held out. The colour of her skin wasn't that far from the colour of her robe, being so fair as to be nearly white.
"..."
"Please do not dally. I should like this matter to be resolved as quickly as possible."
"wait a minute! Who are you and why should I give you my exsphere?" Lloyd exclaimed.
"Does it matter? You were seeking to dispose of all the exspheres in the world anyway, were you not?" the lady said coolly.
"Yeah..."
"Then I shall merely help you dispose of yours."
"...Um...no thanks, Lady, but I'll disposes of it myself." Lloyd's eyes narrowed as he stared at the cloaked figure in front of him.
"Ah. Pity, I had wished to resolve this without any conflict."
Almost immediately, there were the sounds of several localised teleports coming from behind him. He turned his head back, only to see several dozen angels all gathered behind him, weapons held ready and all staring at him. He was also vaguely aware of monsters shuffling out from the dense growth from the Forest to surround him as well.
"Ah, shit," was all he managed to get out before the monsters mobbed him.
----
He burned.
He had no idea where he was. What had he been doing? These were concepts that were alien to him. All he knew was that, he burned with pain. His vision was hazy and he had the feeling that he was quickly losing what was left of his strength.
Where was he headed? He didn't quite know, though he forced his legs to continue on walking, step by agonising step. Where was safety? Unbided, a name came to his lips and he whispered it into the night air. "Sheena..." And with it came the mental image of a girl dressed in strange clothes, a girl with sorrowful eyes, with eyes filled with joy, eyes filled with pain and sorrow. Always the same girl, but her eyes never said the same thing.
'Mizuho,' a voice whispered from within him, a voice that sounded like him if he could remember what he sounded like. 'Head to Mizuho.'
That was where safety was to be found.
That would be where she was waiting.
----
"And that's the whole story."
"You say the angels and monsters ambushed you and took your exsphere?" The Village Chief frowned as he considered the news he had just been given.
"But why would they want your exsphere specifically?"
Lloyd was silent for a while before he sighed. "My...exsphere was special," he said, as pain flashed across his eyes. Whenever he thought about his exsphere, he couldn't help thinking about his parents. His father who had protected him, and who in the end had given his life to fulfill his sons dream. His mother who had given life to him, and who had died because of the exsphere he wielded. "The Desians were always trying to get it back. It was the result of some project of theirs, the Angelus Project. My exsphere was deemed special because it came from that project, and because it was supposed to be capable of evolving with the user."
There was silence as the two Chiefs contemplated his statement.
"Why don't we go ask Yuan?" Sheena said suddenly, causing them all to look at her. "I mean, he WAS one of the Four Seraphim after all. He should know better than anyone about the angels." Her face fell suddenly as she remembered something. "Oh, but he's on Exire. We'll have to go to Meltokio to get Rheiards to reach him."
"No, we won't." Lloyd grinned as he stood up. "In fact I have one here," he said as he reached into his trouser pocket and... "Eh?" he said, as he fumbled around a bit, searching every inch of his pocket in surprise. "Eh!?? It's not here!?" he exclaimed as he turned out his pockets.
"Uh...Lloyd, if you're talking about the stuff that was in your original pair of pants, they're still at the hospital."
"Ah...right."
----
He smiled as he looked lovingly at the exsphere embedded into the back of his hand. Already, he could feel the difference in the power that the Angelus sphere gave him and the what he had received previously from his normal exsphere. With it, it seemed like his senses were amplified a thousand fold. He could feel the slight roughness of the throne he sat on, through the clothes he wore. He could hear the even-handed breathing of the man standing several feet in front of him as well as the slight rustle of the cloak that his other aide wore as she stood several feet away from the man, the distance between the two of them obvious. "You have done well, Freya," he smirked as he tossed the compliment to the cloaked woman standing in front of him.
"My lord is too kind," she replied respectfully as she bowed her head slightly to acknowledge his praise of her. The warrior to her side snorted before coughing suspiciously with what sounded like the words 'suck-up' stuck in between, but she paid him no mind.
"With this..." he said, raising his hand up so that the light glinted off the angelus sphere, "We can finally punish the traitor. Gather Brunhilde and Sigurd, we are leaving for -"
The door to the domed room slid open with a 'hsst' as two figures made their way in.
"My Lord," the female of the pair intoned reverently as she bowed her head. The male said nothing, but inclined his head as he placed his fist over the area where his heart would have been.
"Ah, Sigurd and Brunhilde. I was just looking for the two of you. We are leaving for Exire immediately, to punish the traitor," he said, as he stood up and started walking down the steps that led to his throne, the two others falling in step behind him.
"My Lord, we have just received word that Kratos's son is on his way to Exire as well," the female spoke up quickly. "He was spotted riding on a Rheiard, with the ninja, towards the city of Exire."
Although it would have been impossible to see the white-cloaked Freyas expression, one had the feeling that she was glaring at the other female. The other female glared back at just as fiercely, while the man beside Freya chuckled.
He frowned as he turned to stare at Freya. "I thought you said he was dead?" His voice was cold, such a difference from the warmth and good humour he had before.
"I am sorry my lord, I thought the dragons would have been enough to finish him," Freya said, as she quickly knelt on one knee before his gaze.
"You always did like to avoid fighting if possible," he said coldly, his voice filled with scorn. He shook his head as he turned his eyes away from Freya. "Forget it. At the very least, you DID bring back the Angelus sphere for me." Looking back at the rest, he said "We will continue on to Exire to execute the traitor."
"My Lord, what about Krato's son?"
He smirked as he looked at the Angelus sphere on his hand. "He is...of no consequence."
End
Authors Notes: Not...dead....yet --.........
"After this?"
"Yeah, when the worlds are reunited, our journey will be over right? So, what then?"
"Well..." he said, pausing as he looked up at the sky, "I think I want to go on a journey to collect all the Exspheres."
"Oh...I..."
"Yes, Sheena?"
"...That's a good idea..."
"Oh..." For some strange reason he didn't quite understand, he felt disappointed.
An awkward silence settled over the two of them, both of them lost in their thoughts.
Finally, he stood up from the bench he had been sharing with Sheena. "I think I better get to sleep."
"Oh...okay."
For some reason she looked upset but he couldn't comprehend why.
----
He groaned as the light struck him, awakening him. He felt horrible, almost every part of his body ached in some way, and those that didn't were so numb that he couldn't feel anything. 'Where am I?' he said as he struggled to sit up and was immediately hit by a rush of dizziness. "Ugh..." he hunched over as the wave passed over him.
It was then he noticed her. "Sheena?" he said, more in amazement than any other question as he stared at the figure besides him. She was seated on a stool besides his bed but leaning forward such that she was resting on the bed, with her arms folded beneath her. She was also fast asleep.
He couldn't help but smile at the sight of her sleeping. It was just too cute. 'So...I've made it to Mizuho,' he thought as he took in the room around. It was fairly sparten, consisting of his bed, the stool Sheen was sitting on, another stool in the corner and a table in front of his bed with a vase of what seemed like plastic flowers in them. His clothes had also been replaced with some flimsy oversized gown.
He noticed that Sheena was beginning to stir. It started with soft unintelligible mutterings before she finally lifted her head and yawned, one hand going up to rub at her eye.
"Morning," he said cheerfully and watched as she stopped suddenly, freezing with one hand to her eyes and turned slowly to stare at him. He was aware that a bright crimson was starting to paint her cheeks as she looked at him.
"Lloyd! You're awake!" was all the warning he had before she; quite joyously, tackled him into a tight hug.
"Aaack! Noooo, pain!!"
"Oops, sorry," she said, blushing as she released him.
"It's okay," he said, wincing as his body told him that it was definitely not okay. "So...how did I get here?" he asked as he looked at her. She hadn't changed much from what he remembered, which made him happy in a way. She was even dressed the same, with her trademark pink obi tied around her waist.
"Don't you remember?" she said, looking at him quizzically.
"I remember collapsing halfway," he said with all honesty.
"Well...the guards found you at the entrance to the village, so they brought you in for treatment." At this, a look of apprehension entered her eyes. "Lloyd, what happened out there? I saw what was in the Forest of Death. That many monsters don't suddenly work together for no reason. And I found this," she said as she slipped the angels feather out of her pocket and held it up in the light, where it sparkled, the iridescent highlights glinting in the morning light.
Nothing was said for a while as the two of them stared at the feather.
"Lloyd..." Sheena began, as she softly lay her hand upon his. "What's going on?"
"Uh-hem," a voice coughed, in a manner that was obviously fake and suggested the owner of the voice had been privy to certain scenes he wasn't supposed to. Sheena blushed furiously and jerked her hand off of his.
Lloyd turned his gaze to the door, where the owner of the voice stood. At first glance, Lloyd thought the man standing there was quite elderly, perhaps in his late 50s to 60s, because of the full head of white hair that he had. but then he realised that while the man's hair may have been totally white, his features were still quite youthful. His right eye was closed, with a nasty scar running through it to slightly below his cheekbone.
"Sheena-dono, the Chief and Vice-chief have honourably requested your presence as well Lloyds presence at the Chief's house to discuss the events of last night."
"Alright, Kageshi, tell him we'll be coming," Sheena said, to which Kageshi simply nodded and turned to walk from the room. "Well...guess we better get going. Gramps doesn't like to be kept waiting," she said in a light tone, her earlier embarrassment forgotten. "Do you need any help getting out of bed?"
"No, I'll manage," he said as he lightly eased himself off the bed.
"Okay, just follow me then."
"Uh...Sheena?"
"Yes, Lloyd?"
"Do you think I could have my clothes back?" he said sheepishly as he pointed to the gown that he was dressed in.
"Oh...right."
----
Several minutes later, they were out of the hospital and on their way to the Chief's house.
"What's wrong?" Sheena asked as she watched Lloyd pick at his clothes. His new clothes to be precise. While Lloyd had survived the fight remarkably intact, his clothes hadn't. In fact, the only thing they had been able to salvage was his sword-belt and his swords. Currently he was dressed in partial ninja gear, with long brown pants that were tucked into soft-leather boots and a grey-black V-necked tunic.
"This looks weird," he muttered.
"What? Are you saying our Mizuho clothing looks weird!"
"No, no, that's not it," Lloyd said, shaking his head. "I just think it looks weird on me."
"I think you look fine," Sheena grinned. And judging from the looks he was getting from some of the women and younger girls in the village, she wasn't the only who thought so.
"I don't know...people keep giving me weird looks," Lloyd said, a hint of doubt in his voice, as he looked around him. The village of Mizuho hadn't changed much in the past 2 years, a few new buildings had cropped up here and there but nothing had really changed. Walking with Sheena like this, it almost felt like he had been transported back two years ago.
Strangely enough, he missed those times. Sure, there had been a lot of hardships back then, what with defeating Mithos and Cruxis, but at least everyone had been together. They had travelled together, eaten together, fought together. Looking back, he had been happy back then. It sure beat the past two years where he had travelled alone, wandering from land to land in search of exspheres.
"We're here," Sheena said as she stopped in front of a house and slid the door open.
He recognised it as the place where Vice-chief Tiga had welcomed them the first time they had come to Mizuho. Following Sheena's lead, he walked into the familiar hall where both the Chief and the Vice-chief sat waiting for them.
"Greetings Lloyd-san. Please, take a seat," the Chief said, as he pointed to an empty cushion opposite of him. "I hope we have not inconvenienced you?"
"No, not at all," Lloyd said, wincing slightly from his injuries as he sat down. Sheena gracefully took the cushion besides him, a mask of formality sliding over her features, sitting protectively close to him.
"Usually, we would not trouble someone who was as badly injured as you, but there ARE things that we must know. And the hospital has many ears," the Vice-chief said, slightly apologetic.
"Hey, it's okay," Lloyd said with a smile, shrugging his shoulders as he did so. "I've had worst injuries." Which was true, but then he had usually been healed up after he received them. Gods, how he missed Raine's healing magic right now. It felt like they had tried to sew him up.
"Very well then, we shall move into the crux of the matter. WHAT happened in the Forest of Death last night?"
He felt Sheena stiffen besides him. He turned to look at her reassuringly, even giving her a smal smile to ease her mind. "Well..." he said as he began his story. "I was walking through the Forest of Death -"
----
"Man, the forest's empty today," Lloyd said to himself as he glanced about him to the unusually silent Forest of Death. It was a habit he couldn't quite break, talking to himself. He had developed it about a month after he had started on his journey to recover all the exspheres in the world, when he realised JUST how lonely a journey could get if there wasn't anyone else travelling with you. At times like this, he really missed the group because talking to yourself got old really fast. After all, you already knew everything that was going to be said. However, it beat the silence so he kept at it.
He continued to stare at the surroundings even as he started inching both of his swords out of their sheathes. An instinct, partially born of many battles, was warning him of danger. He could not see anything, but his instinct had saved more than once and thus he trusted it implicitly. "Come out, come out where ever you are," he muttered under his breath as he continued through the Forest, both swords bared.
Thus, he wasn't too surprised when he went around one of the many bends in the Forest path and saw the cloaked figure standing in the distance. The figure was slight but of a height that nearly matched his own and carried itself with a stately grace that was apparent in its posture. The hood of the cloak was pulled up such that it left the figures facial features in the shadow while the cloak itself was made out of pure white and seemed to glitter slightly in the darkness of the Forest, and it covered every single part of the figure's body, leaving nothing to be seen.
He had the distinct impression that it had been waiting for him.
"Master Lloyd," the figure said in a melodic feminine voice that seemed to be more song than words.
"That's me," he said, feeling the weight of her stare on him. "Can I help you?" he asked politely but he did not sheath his blades. There was something wrong with this situation he was in and he had the uneasy impression that he was being watched.
"Yes, there is a small matter you could help me with," the lady said, placing a small emphasis on the word 'is'. "I understand that you have an Exsphere?"
"Yes," he replied cautiously, her question making him uncomfortably aware of the orb that rested on the back of his left hand.
"Ah. Good," she said, the pleasure in her voice was obvious to him. It reminded him of the way Raine would sound whenever he got a question in school correct. "I'm afraid that I require it for certain purposes."
"What?"
"I require your Exsphere. Please kindly pass it to me," she said, as if she was to be obeyed without question as her cloak parted at the sides to reveal one slender, well-defined arm to be held out. The colour of her skin wasn't that far from the colour of her robe, being so fair as to be nearly white.
"..."
"Please do not dally. I should like this matter to be resolved as quickly as possible."
"wait a minute! Who are you and why should I give you my exsphere?" Lloyd exclaimed.
"Does it matter? You were seeking to dispose of all the exspheres in the world anyway, were you not?" the lady said coolly.
"Yeah..."
"Then I shall merely help you dispose of yours."
"...Um...no thanks, Lady, but I'll disposes of it myself." Lloyd's eyes narrowed as he stared at the cloaked figure in front of him.
"Ah. Pity, I had wished to resolve this without any conflict."
Almost immediately, there were the sounds of several localised teleports coming from behind him. He turned his head back, only to see several dozen angels all gathered behind him, weapons held ready and all staring at him. He was also vaguely aware of monsters shuffling out from the dense growth from the Forest to surround him as well.
"Ah, shit," was all he managed to get out before the monsters mobbed him.
----
He burned.
He had no idea where he was. What had he been doing? These were concepts that were alien to him. All he knew was that, he burned with pain. His vision was hazy and he had the feeling that he was quickly losing what was left of his strength.
Where was he headed? He didn't quite know, though he forced his legs to continue on walking, step by agonising step. Where was safety? Unbided, a name came to his lips and he whispered it into the night air. "Sheena..." And with it came the mental image of a girl dressed in strange clothes, a girl with sorrowful eyes, with eyes filled with joy, eyes filled with pain and sorrow. Always the same girl, but her eyes never said the same thing.
'Mizuho,' a voice whispered from within him, a voice that sounded like him if he could remember what he sounded like. 'Head to Mizuho.'
That was where safety was to be found.
That would be where she was waiting.
----
"And that's the whole story."
"You say the angels and monsters ambushed you and took your exsphere?" The Village Chief frowned as he considered the news he had just been given.
"But why would they want your exsphere specifically?"
Lloyd was silent for a while before he sighed. "My...exsphere was special," he said, as pain flashed across his eyes. Whenever he thought about his exsphere, he couldn't help thinking about his parents. His father who had protected him, and who in the end had given his life to fulfill his sons dream. His mother who had given life to him, and who had died because of the exsphere he wielded. "The Desians were always trying to get it back. It was the result of some project of theirs, the Angelus Project. My exsphere was deemed special because it came from that project, and because it was supposed to be capable of evolving with the user."
There was silence as the two Chiefs contemplated his statement.
"Why don't we go ask Yuan?" Sheena said suddenly, causing them all to look at her. "I mean, he WAS one of the Four Seraphim after all. He should know better than anyone about the angels." Her face fell suddenly as she remembered something. "Oh, but he's on Exire. We'll have to go to Meltokio to get Rheiards to reach him."
"No, we won't." Lloyd grinned as he stood up. "In fact I have one here," he said as he reached into his trouser pocket and... "Eh?" he said, as he fumbled around a bit, searching every inch of his pocket in surprise. "Eh!?? It's not here!?" he exclaimed as he turned out his pockets.
"Uh...Lloyd, if you're talking about the stuff that was in your original pair of pants, they're still at the hospital."
"Ah...right."
----
He smiled as he looked lovingly at the exsphere embedded into the back of his hand. Already, he could feel the difference in the power that the Angelus sphere gave him and the what he had received previously from his normal exsphere. With it, it seemed like his senses were amplified a thousand fold. He could feel the slight roughness of the throne he sat on, through the clothes he wore. He could hear the even-handed breathing of the man standing several feet in front of him as well as the slight rustle of the cloak that his other aide wore as she stood several feet away from the man, the distance between the two of them obvious. "You have done well, Freya," he smirked as he tossed the compliment to the cloaked woman standing in front of him.
"My lord is too kind," she replied respectfully as she bowed her head slightly to acknowledge his praise of her. The warrior to her side snorted before coughing suspiciously with what sounded like the words 'suck-up' stuck in between, but she paid him no mind.
"With this..." he said, raising his hand up so that the light glinted off the angelus sphere, "We can finally punish the traitor. Gather Brunhilde and Sigurd, we are leaving for -"
The door to the domed room slid open with a 'hsst' as two figures made their way in.
"My Lord," the female of the pair intoned reverently as she bowed her head. The male said nothing, but inclined his head as he placed his fist over the area where his heart would have been.
"Ah, Sigurd and Brunhilde. I was just looking for the two of you. We are leaving for Exire immediately, to punish the traitor," he said, as he stood up and started walking down the steps that led to his throne, the two others falling in step behind him.
"My Lord, we have just received word that Kratos's son is on his way to Exire as well," the female spoke up quickly. "He was spotted riding on a Rheiard, with the ninja, towards the city of Exire."
Although it would have been impossible to see the white-cloaked Freyas expression, one had the feeling that she was glaring at the other female. The other female glared back at just as fiercely, while the man beside Freya chuckled.
He frowned as he turned to stare at Freya. "I thought you said he was dead?" His voice was cold, such a difference from the warmth and good humour he had before.
"I am sorry my lord, I thought the dragons would have been enough to finish him," Freya said, as she quickly knelt on one knee before his gaze.
"You always did like to avoid fighting if possible," he said coldly, his voice filled with scorn. He shook his head as he turned his eyes away from Freya. "Forget it. At the very least, you DID bring back the Angelus sphere for me." Looking back at the rest, he said "We will continue on to Exire to execute the traitor."
"My Lord, what about Krato's son?"
He smirked as he looked at the Angelus sphere on his hand. "He is...of no consequence."
End
Authors Notes: Not...dead....yet --.........