"Today's so clear!" Colette remarked, "Lloyd will be happy when he wakes up!" Smiling, she quietly closed the window in her hotel room. "I'd better go see if he's up."
She skipped out the door only to trip in front of Lloyd's room. The little gift box she was holding went flying down the hall. "Oh no!" She cried. Picking herself up, the 17-year-old girl hastily ran to the package, checking if anything was broken. Soon after, a teen with brown hair walked out of the room. He yawned and looked down the hall to find his friend wiping dust off of a box.
"What are you doing so early, Colette?" Lloyd asked. Colette, hearing the sudden voice, turned around only to fall again, sending the present flying in Lloyd's direction. He caught it with ease and stared at it blankly. "What's this for?"
"Oh, G-good morning, Lloyd." Colette stuttered. She rose and slowly walked towards him. "Today is, you know, the anniversary." She smiled gently, "A year ago you reunited the worlds... and I wanted to give you something... so you wouldn't forget." She was now blushing immensely. "G-go ahead, open it."
Lloyd looked at the box, and then smiled at Colette, which only made her blush harder. "It's not that exciting!" She added, "I really didn't know what to give you. So, I-I bought this at the last minute. I- I know I should have planned ahead of time! I'm really so--" she was cut off as Lloyd began to take off the red ribbon.
"Don't worry about it," he assured her, "it's amazing you even remembered. I completely forgot to get you something as well. I guess that was kind of stupid of me." Lloyd scratched his head and looked down at the floor.
Upon hearing that, Colette brightened and exclaimed, "It's alright! It was you who united the worlds, anyway! I was there merely there for support. Besides, I like you like this..." She trailed off with a gentle feeling in her heart.
Lloyd also stopped and stared at the floor. When he realized his face was heating up, he quickly returned to the package in an attempt to hide it. The crisp wrapper was carefully peeled from its held position. Tape bound the wrapper tightly and a struggle could be seen trying to remove it. Colette stared with suspense as Lloyd lifted the top. Inside was a round, golden locket attached to a gold chain. Lloyd picked it up and looked at it with content. It was identical to the locket Kratos had kept his mother's picture in.
"Dad..." He whispered. Just the idea of his parents sent a sharp pain into his heart. He scanned the bottom of the box to make sure nothing was missed. Sure enough, there was something he had overlooked. A single feather lay at the bottom of that box. It had a perfect blend of pink and purple. As Lloyd lifted it out of the box, Colette could feel her heart pounding, wanting to escape. The feather glistened in the sunshine and beautiful transparent powder continued to fall from the edges. The soft feeling of this feather warmed every part of Lloyd's body. He closed his eyes and allowed the feeling to completely take over his senses. From this dream, he was awakened by a small voice.
"Lloyd?" Colette asked. "It's alright if you don't like it," she continued to tilt her head towards the floor. "When I saw the locket, I thought you might want it. It's like Kratos's, right?" She shifted around. "I thought... if we could find a picture of your mother, we could put it in... I thought that would have made you happy," she looked up and gave a small giggle. "I guess reminding you of your parents was stupid of me, I'm...sorry..." Lloyd could now feel that Colette was faking her smile.
"No, no, don't say sorry for such a small thing," He responded, "I love it, but...why did you give me one of your feathers?"
"Oh," She giggled, "it's...it's nothing. I thought you might want to keep one, so you'll never forget me." A worried expression appeared on her face. "The mana is depleting, Lloyd. Can you feel it?"
"Is...that all you wanted to tell me?" He asked.
"Yeah...yeah of course..." Colette gave another small giggle. Lloyd put his hand on her shoulder,
"Alright," He said, "and really, don't worry about the gifts. I love them. How could I ever forget you, silly?" His hands tightened on the feather. Colette's face turned bright pink. "Come on, we should check out." With a small hug, Lloyd walked down the stairs to do what he had said, leaving Colette standing on the rails clenching her chest.
"Lloyd..." she whispered, "Please forgive me, I don't want you to worry." Soon after, she hurried down the stairs after her friend.
A bow from Colette signaled the women at the front desk, that she was with Lloyd and she, too, was leaving. While Lloyd waited for Colette to catch up, the never-ending winds of Asgard blew through his hair.
"Wait up, Lloyd! That nice woman gave me some candy." She ran up and emptied the candy into Lloyd's hand, keeping one for herself.
"I heard from Genis that candy will rot your teeth," Lloyd stated, as he suspiciously examined one of the fruit jellies. Even with this thought in mind, he popped one into his month. "Mm, not bad."
"I love candy. Besides, the woman also told me that there used to be a priest who had an exsphere. He died 2 months ago and they buried him near an old temple." She took another candy from her pocket and chewed on it with delight. "I think she said it was one kilometer north of here, and that it's pretty old so we should be careful." Lloyd scratched his head and wondered how far that was. They began to approach the fields outside Asgard.
He and Colette had been traveling since the two worlds re-united. Their mission was to round up all the exspheres left in their world. Never once had they seen any of their friends again. The only sort of contact that was made was a letter from Genis, which was too complicated for Lloyd to understand. Lloyd chuckled softly, "Sometimes I'm really glad it was Colette who decided to join me." He whispered.
"What?" Colette asked, "Are you talking to yourself?" She chuckled at the idea.
"Oh, you heard me!" Lloyd blushed in amazement. Even after one year with Colette, he was still embarrassed whenever he showed his lack of intelligence. "What am I surprised for? I mean you still have your angel senses. It would have been weirder if you didn't hear me."
"Heh heh, y-yeah...... So, what were you thinking about?" She waited eagerly to hear what he had to say. Although Lloyd wasn't the wisest, his views of life and the surroundings could fascinate even the highest scholars.
"I was just thinking...." He turned to see Colette staring at him. "Well...um... I-I was thinking a...bout..."
"Yes?"
"...about how long it would be before we saw our friends again, if we ever do." Colette stopped. She stood there smiling at Lloyd. It was a brief smile, because it soon faded and she kneed down to feel the grass covered earth.
"We'll see them again." She said. "You mustn't think like that. A special bond links each and every one of us. It's like this little ant." She pointed to a place in the grass and Lloyd bent down to join her. A little ant was struggling to get back to his colony. He could barely get over one piece of grass with ten or twenty to go. Soon, two ants started to march out of line, heading its way. "Whenever there is trouble for one of us," Colette continued, "the others will be there to help. And no matter how long it takes, or how difficult the journey, we will always be there for each other, even if it is not physically." Lloyd watched with amazement as the two ants helped their friend across the grass to rejoin their marching line. He continued to stare until Colette stood up. "So don't worry," her true smile shown out, "we'll see them again, even if it's not anytime soon." She dusted off her clothes and helped Lloyd up. "You should call Noishe," She said, "We should get going, I'll navigate."
"You always do anyway," Lloyd answered.
A green and white dog-like creature sprinted towards Lloyd and Colette. It nudged both friends and whined. Lloyd helped Colette up before getting on. Noishe whined, yet again, before setting off in the desired direction Colette pointed. The animal was happy to be back with his friends. The previous night was cold, and he had kept an eye on the hotel windows till he fell into a deep sleep. He hated to be alone.
One hour after they left, they stopped next to a little river for a break. Noishe greedily drank the pure, flowing water as Colette took out two cups to fill. The weather of that day was fluctuating. This wasn't surprising to any member of the group. The mana levels of the land had been fairly unsteady for a while now. Lloyd wiped the sweat off his forehead and wondered if it was affecting Colette. It was definitely affecting him. Sometimes he found it hard to breathe, other times his body felt heavy and unable to move freely. He decided he would ask her.
"Colette," he began, "how are you coping with the mana levels lately?" Yet again, she froze.
"Oh," she said, "w-why would you ask that?" She smiled weakly and walked over to where Lloyd was seated. Handing him a cup of water, she took a sip of her own before continuing, "I'm not having problems," She said, "I've noticed that the level of mana is very unstable, but I'm adjusting quite well," She turned and looked at Lloyd, "Why?"
"Well, you've been riding Noishe with me lately. Usually you would just fly." Colette began to hold her cup tighter, "You're always saying that riding Noishe would be fun but you would exhaust him, and you didn't want that. I don't mean that I don't want you to ride Noishe with me; the changing mana is affecting me so I was just wondering if it was affecting you. If you're tired at any time, just tell me, okay? I'll try to do everything I can to help."
Noishe seconded that with a little whimper. Colette was happy to hear this. She was glad that both of them cared so much. She cared for them, too...a lot.
"Thank you," She said. The tone in her voice was soft and melodic, "but I'm okay...really. Please don't worry," She got up to put away her cup. "Do you want more water?" she asked. Lloyd shook his head and put away his cup as well. "Are you done, Noishe?" Colette went over and patted the fuzzy creature. A little whine and a nod were her only response.
"We should get going," Lloyd said, "It's getting hotter and we really need to find some sort of shade."
"Oh, don't worry," Colette reassured him, "The temple shouldn't be much further. That nice lady told me they fixed the exsphere on a stone pillar under the temple. All we need to do is retrieve it; then we can rest at Luin for the night." Lloyd was again dumbfounded at Colette's ability to think ahead. He was dazed for a while before realizing Colette was already waiting on Noishe. They took off once again.
The temple was composed of stone pillars set in a shape that was indescribable. Each block had a unique pattern engraved on it. Statues where randomly placed on the earth surrounding the temple. Lloyd, Colette, and Noishe slowly walked onto these sacred grounds. Looking up, they could see that the pillars were carved to perfection as the tip met a giant slab of smooth rock. It was slanted and held up yet another flat square block that connected the pillars to the beautifully shaped rock. On the giant rock were engraved carvings that represented words not of their language. The writing was old, and barely legible even to one who might have been skilled in deciphering hieroglyphs. The closer they got to the temple, the clearer the details became. There were two different statues, both maidens. One had long flowing hair and cold glaring eyes. Her dress was made of pieces and shapes, all of which gave an insecure feeling to the travelers. She had one earring, just one, attached to her left ear. The earring was in a shape of a sharp wing. It dangled on rusted chains. Under each of these statues, the ground was dead. Life had been sucked out of them and of what was there before, only carcasses remained. Under some of these statues were even bones of small, unfortunate animals that had wandered too close. This alarmed Lloyd as Colette approached one for a better look.
"Don't get too close," He strictly warned.
"She looks...sad," Colette said, "As if she is alone..." She stared for a while before slowly stepping back and rejoining the group. Lloyd continued to look around, and soon found Noishe transfixed on the one of the other carved statues. This statue was different from the previous ones. She too had long hair, except it was tied with two long ribbons. A longer bow was used to hold up the hair closest to her head. About two thirds of the way down, another smaller bow was carved into the statue. This girl had a two piece outfit attached with a strip of beautifully carved cloth at the waist. Her dress flowed as if in the wind and on her right ear she wore the missing earring to that of the other girl. Beneath her stand, vines grew in every shade of green possible. Flowers flourished and grass grew madly in every which direction. There were signs that little ground birds had once made a nest at her feet.
"She reminds me of you, Colette." Lloyd commented. Colette blushed and denied that fact. They continued to walk down the nicely laid path until they got to the stairs of the entrance. Lloyd felt a funny rushing feeling but did not realize where it came from.
"This place..." Colette began, "is flowing with mana." She held her own elbows to try to retain the immense power. Lloyd looked at Colette and wondered. He felt nothing like she did; only a tiny tingle when approaching the area. Noishe, too, started to whine. He refused to go any further. Lloyd and Colette were given no choice but to leave him at the bottom.
They walked up the stairs and on approaching the top, Lloyd noticed that there was a large grave placed parallel to the stone steps. Green vines grew all over the room and covered every stone. Above the tomb was a carved statue of the Goddess Martel. Her arms reached out welcoming the visitors. Beneath her, the gravestone stood in the light that was emitted from a crack in the ceiling. There, fresh flowers where lay sparkling as the dew had not completely dried.
"This place is so calming." Colette said, "It's so hot today, yet these flowers have not withered." She kneeled down and prayed. Getting up, she examined the flowers more closely. There were only 3 kinds that she knew of, the rest were unknown yet just as marvelous. Upon the gravestone were similar carvings to the ones outside.
"I can't understand them," Lloyd complained, "Why is everything in this temple in another language?" He slowly skimmed the tablet and noticed a few words he could read.
"Here lies Heath Caprous. From his heart grew the path of knowledge and from his mind came the doorway to wisdom."
"Hmm," Lloyd said, "I guess the exsphere is placed somewhere under here." He scratched his head in the thought of the retrieval process. "Gee, couldn't the priest have told the people to bury the exsphere on the first floor?"
"He was a scholar," came a voice, "and if the exsphere was placed on the first floor, monsters would have raided this place long ago." A silver outline started to appear from the bottom of the steps. Lloyd and Colette gazed in amazement as a young boy about the age of thirteen walked towards them. "But that's so typical of you, Lloyd," He said, "You never did think of consequences to anything you did prior to doing it." The boy walked up to Lloyd and smiled. "What? You're that surprised to see me?" He then turned to Colette. "Well it's good to see you two are still getting along. I was beginning to worry, since the mana has been so dangerously unstable."
Tears filled Colette's eyes as she suddenly bent down and hugged the boy, "Genis!" she cried, "I'm so happy too see you! How is your trip going? Are you getting everything you need? Is Professor Sage here?" She wiped her tears in an attempt to stop them, but they continued to flow. "Lloyd, say something!"
Lloyd's mouth hung open for a bit before he closed them and smiled. Colette let go of Genis and stood up, also keeping a grin on her face. "It's really good to see you," Lloyd finally said. He and Genis clasped hands.
"Lloyd you're still the same as always." Genis said. "I hope you're treating Colette right."
"Of course he is!" she corrected, "Lloyd is doing a great job of collecting all of the exspheres. I'm sure we'll be done soon."
Lloyd blushed at the complement and realized he had something else to ask. "Is Professor Sage somewhere here?" He pointed to the green area around the temple.
"Yeah," Genis replied, "she's outside."
He leaded them out onto the stairs. The sun was setting and this took Colette and Lloyd by surprise. It had been bright and the sunlight had given a warm glow all within the temple. The temperature outside was now dropping, and the pair was perplexed at the complicity of a temple that looked so simple.
A woman stood at the bottom of the stairs. She held a wooden staff and was comforting the excited Noishe. A round hat was worn on her head. It glowed a warm brown under the setting sun. This was accompanied by a brown shirt that dangled on the sides of her body. Ribbons tied at the waist blew in the wind and a brown belt was used to hold up a red pair of baggy pants. A fairly short ponytail hung to the nap of her neck. Colette sprinted down the stairs and embraced the woman. They began to giggle and talk. Lloyd walked casually down with Genis, and was slightly shocked at the change in hairstyle.
"Professor," He said, "It's great to see you again!" He paused, "You... grew your hair."
"I hope you're keeping up with your studies, Lloyd," Raine ignored the comment.
Lloyd shuddered and stopped at a distance from the Professor. Genis chuckled, "Is that all you have to say?" He asked.
Both he and Colette laughed as Lloyd's attempt to make them stop only resulted in failure. Genis and Raine explained the reasons for their travels around that area. They had left to explore the word soon after the unification of the world. On many occasions they had discovered new areas. They stayed to study each for some time before moving on. Although the journey was fruitful, they, too, had not seen any of their former traveling companions. Upon hearing of the new temple at which they were now, Raine immediately set off with Genis to see what could be found. They had already been staying in Luin for quite some time and had deciphered the writing on the tombstone. Today, they were prepared to open the long locked doors. This was the reason for Raine to have worn her acolyte robe.
"I was going to perform the ceremonial dance upon the altar," she explained, "The altar is located in a room just behind that of the grave. I finished deciphering the hieroglyphs late last night and overslept this morning."
"That's the main reason why Raine's hair is so long," Genis said, "She's always so busy she never has time to cut it. It's also why we came so late today. I tried to wake her up but Raine's even scarier when she's cranky."
Raine slapped him before continuing, "Now that we've met you, I'm positive this temple is holding a secret," Genis's cries of pain could be heard in the background. Colette turned and tired to comfort him. "Although the planned excavation of the site was today, it might need to be delayed," she looked up at the sky, "It's darkening fast, and I suggest we just rest in Luin for tonight. The people of Luin are very educated about the temple and I am sure they will be pleased to hear you have come to try to remove the exsphere. It has recently been acting up and has begun polluting the surrounding air. I believe it has something to do with the shifting mana levels." She paused for a breath.
"Um, professor..." Lloyd asked, "How did you know we came for the exsphere?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Genis insisted, "You told us before we left that you and Colette were going on a journey to collect all the remaining exspheres." Raine sighed and both friends laughed again.
"Genis..." Lloyd said. He had forgotten the feeling of being around Genis and smiled softly. Although it didn't make him feel any brighter, it was a familiar feeling and he enjoyed it. The reunited group of travelers agreed to stay at Luin for that night, and first thing tomorrow, they would come back to finish what they had started. On the way back, Lloyd realized that Colette seemed to have regained much of her energy. "I guess Colette is just as glad as I am to see Genis and Raine," He thought. Together, they walked to Luin and each checked out a room at the only inn in town.
That night, Colette quietly went outside and looked at the stars. She recalled all the adventures she had the past year, and then noticed something different about the sky.
"Colette?" Colette turned around to find Lloyd coming down the stairs. "What are you looking at?"
"Oh, Lloyd," She smiled. "I was just looking at the stars. There's something in the sky tonight, look." She pointed at an object suspended next to their two moons.
"Wow," Lloyd replied, "What is it?"
"It's Derris-Kharlan." Genis come outside followed by Raine. "This is the only night each year that it is visible to our planet."
Lloyd looked up at the purple planet, "So dad's up there, huh?" He whispered. Colette looked at Lloyd with a worried face. "It's getting late," She said, pausing and looking at the ground. She didn't want Lloyd to feel sad. "We should get some sleep or we might wake up late tomorrow." Colette took Lloyd's hand and gave him a warm smile. The group re-entered the inn and each of them fell asleep, as Derris-Kharlan hovered silently overhead.