Conflictions of the Mind
-Chapter Nine-
Slowly Everything Began to Change

--

I need to know if you were real
I'd hate to think that I'd been fooled again

And as the vision fades

I'll say I was blinded by your eyes
I felt them burn

--

The halls were empty and eerily silent, save for the sounds of their footsteps on the strange metal floors. Even that was barely noticeable, for Raine walked lightly, and Kratos knew well how to purposely walk without making a sound. There were times when he couldn't even be sensed. He had long years to train.

The pair opted not to speak to one another after separating from the group; right now, it was all about crunch time. As it was, Raine's thoughts were too busy buzzing around for it to be truly silent.

While Raine normally would have relished this opportunity to pick the brain of the so-called mercenary without the distractions of Lloyd and the others, she kept her mouth shut and her thoughts to herself. It wasn't likely that he would give her the time of day if she attempted to speak with him, at any rate. He hardly did, save to toss an amusing quip her way while they lamented on the rashness of children.

How funny. Those days seemed so long ago. When their deeds were supposed to result in salvation. She had been so willing to go along and assist in sacrificing Colette's life to such a twisted, vicious cycle, and even then had not foreseen the shortcomings of those actions. Thankfully, things hadn't turned out worse, though that was likely due to Lloyd's hope and determination.

And where was Genis? She had failed him in many ways, ever since leaving Iselia. Even before then, with the things that she remembered now. If only he had been reasonable, and stayed in Iselia, or Palmacosta while he had the opportunity. Though in the end, it had been reassuring to have him there, near her, where she could watch him. Until she began neglecting him.. she winced.

Knowing Genis, he was probably off on his own exploring somewhere.. then again, knowing Genis, and considering what they had all just experienced.. this didn't make much sense. Rather she hoped that he went off to explore somewhere.. so she could laugh at herself for worrying so much in the end. If it all turned out all right.

If he was hurt, or in trouble.. she would never forgive herself..

Her blue-violet gaze went over to Kratos, briefly. The man was looking straight ahead, his face expressionless. Focused.

She could see her mistakes from the past clearly. Where she had gone wrong in trusting Kratos the first time around. He volunteered to take the night watch because he didn't need to sleep. He always knew the right answer to help Colette because he was all too familiar with the process of becoming an angel. He had led them to their doom willingly, yet at the same time encouraged the questioning of their purpose. The circumstances of which had been gravely altered.

Raine knew very well that there were never only two sides. While their contribution to the purpose seemed to be for the greater good, and Lord Yggdrasill's for his own twisted idea of destiny and his good, there were those that were caught in the middle. Kratos seemed to serve both sides, and his role was still unclear to her. The final piece of 'why' that refused to click.

She hadn't had time to think about it before, though now that she had the opportunity to observe the man, and the fact that they hadn't found the control room yet, allowed the wheels in her mind to start turning, and a near blinding speed. Why did Kratos seem so upset at Kvar's words when Lloyd's mother was mentioned? ..They all were upset at it; true enough.. though he seemed especially so. In fact, he had insisted on going along with Lloyd when they went to defeat Kvar.. and while it was just the three of them, Kratos was encouraging Lloyd..

..And he seemed to take some satisfaction away with him when he himself delivered the final blow to that monster's chest. "Feel the pain.. of those inferior beings.." she murmured. It had seemed so.. personal.

Kratos threw her a sharp look. "Pardon?"

The professor blinked, just realizing that she had spoken the words aloud, and looked over at him, her gaze full of questions. "You said that, did you not? When Kvar took his last breath."

Kratos shook his head. "You need to keep focused. There are only two of us now."

"It seemed so personal. I can understand you having anger, but not having a personal grudge against that.." She let the idea twirl around in her mind, and suddenly, it fit. The wheels turned fast, and then stopped, and so did she. "Which means that you must be.."

"Raine." This time his tone was sharp, and he stopped as well, a few feet away. "Stay focused."

"You're his father, aren't you." It wasn't a question. He turned around to throw her a look, and she looked directly into his face as she said this, a slow, self-satisfied smile forming on hers. She wasn't happy about making the connection; it was the pride in solving a convoluted puzzle that brought that expression to her face.

"You do not know what you are speaking of." His tone was still sharp, and he was eyeing her critically.

"It explains everything.. why you were so against him joining us. So critical of his movements, yet you seemed so proud of him afterwards. I defended your actions to him.. yet you've been lying to him ever since you met him." Raine knew full well that she should have let the subject rest, though she couldn't help it; the idea had hit her so fully that she couldn't cease speaking of it.

"Focus!" He snapped at her, then turned back around, as if to continue walking.

She shook her head, then began to follow after him once more. The man could manage to be so infuriating. How dare he tell /her/ to focus? ..she was more focused now than she had been for days. 'I'll show him focused.' she thought, smirking faintly. She would show him how capable she was.

The traps in the facility were still in use; fancy footwork allowed them to dodge those beams of red light that would bring them certain harm. If Kratos was impressed with her for keeping to his quick pace, he didn't comment on it.

"Finally.." Kratos muttered, as they turned another corner. A group of Desians were pacing the hall ahead of them.

"Either they are our welcoming committee, or a handful of stragglers who weren't informed of their eviction notice.."

"So it would seem." Kratos frowned. They had not been seen yet, giving them a moment to implement surprise; unfortunately the only way for them to get through would be to fight. "Here. I found this in one of those chests." He tossed a rune staff towards her, and she caught it neatly, blinking a little. "Are you ready?"

"Understood." He didn't even have to ask the question. As soon as the staff was in her hands, she closed her eyes, calling on the mana to aid her with her spell.

It felt so much easier to concentrate without the bothersome headache. It almost made her forget about that shard in her pocket.

Almost.

--

Regal stood and surveyed the scene before him. The cages lining the walls made him feel rather ill -- he knew full well of imprisonment, and while he freely allowed himself to be taken to jail, it was far worse for these people. They were truly innocent, abducted from their homes for the sole purpose to create those exspheres.

It only took them a few moments to free the rest of the captives. There were a handful that had gotten away already, and there had been another group preparing to make their escape when Regal and his group arrived. A simple matter of defeating the guards was all that it took. Lloyd and Colette had taken some abuse, but returned it, to the Desians chagrin.

So much violence. He shook his head. At some point it would all have to end.. but not yet. Not while there were so many opposed, still. He was a diplomat at heart, raised as a duke. The Duke in him yearned for a more peaceful solution. Though not yet. Now was the time to be tactical.

"Lloyd," Regal turned to face the young swordsman. "If this indeed all the captives that are here--including the girl, Chocolat--whom you've mentioned before.. then what is the next part of our plan?"

He watched as Lloyd frowned, a thoughtful look crossing his face as he turned to look towards Colette and Chocolat, who were talking quietly. His own gaze went to Presea, who was standing quietly to the side. Zelos was attempting to sweet talk some of the older women, and they seemed to appreciate his comments, scarily enough.

"I.. dunno." Lloyd scrunched up his eyebrows as he looked back into Regal's face. "We really don't have any time to mess around. Genis is still missing.. and we don't know if the Professor or Kratos have found him yet."

Regal nodded. "That is correct. Might I propose an idea?" He glanced to their scattered group; Presea noticed the glance and quickly gathered everyone into a circle.

"Time is of the essence," The girl who lost her past murmured softly. "Tell us your idea, Regal."

"Well.. there are a handful of us left. Some of us can head outside, taking everyone to safety, while the others stay in here, to find Genis and aid Raine and.. this Kratos, as we can."

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah. I had planned on going back in myself.. but perhaps it isn't a good idea for me to go alone."

Regal frowned. "I thought you might do something like that.. no, it isn't. I'll stay behind with you, while Presea, Zelos and Colette can watch over them." He glanced over to the said members, "If that's all right with you? Do you think you can handle it?"

Zelos glanced around at their numbers, and then inclined his head in a nod. "Of course! You can count on me to keep everyone safe."

"Yes. It seems like the best way. We will meet you outside." Presea nodded as well.

Colette's expression was disappointed. "I see.."

Regal studied them. "Make sure you get a good distance away from the ranch when you're outside. And also, everyone here is likely starving. Maybe you can cook a meal for them?"

Zelos grinned. "Of course. Just leave everything to us."

Regal didn't know whether to feel relieved or concerned at Zelos' words, though he merely nodded, and looked to Lloyd for confirmation.

"Let's go." Lloyd gave a half-grin before heading towards the hall. Regal was quick to follow him, giving one last glance towards the former-captives. Presea had taken charge in making sure that everyone was organized; he marveled at her preciseness.. and shuddered at it.

Being around all of those innocent people who could have suffered just as Alicia had.. he shivered inside, though didn't let anything show on the surface. "Lloyd."

"We should continue left. If Genis went back to the entrance, these guys will find him. Though something tells me that he's gone further in.. he might even.." Lloyd shook his head. "Nah.. he wouldn't do that."

"Do what?" Regal raised an eyebrow in concern.

Lloyd frowned. "He wouldn't confront Forcystus on his own. He's just not like that, not unless he has us as backup. So where is he?"

"We'll find him." Regal tried to keep his tone reassuring. "We can only hope that he has caught up to Raine by now.." his voice trailed off. "..Do you truly trust this Kratos?"

"Yeah." Regal detected only a slight hesitating sound in his voice. "It's true that he fooled us in the beginning.. but right now, there is too much at stake. What the Desians don't realize is how we need to work together to prevent a calamity."

Regal nodded, but before he could reply, there was a clanging sound behind them. He turned around and grimaced. "We've got company.."

Lloyd unsheathed his swords. "This is gonna be a piece of cake."

--

She was relieved that the way out of the ranch was unguarded due to their intrusion. With just the three of them left to flank the captives, Presea was solely focused on their safety and protection. It was all she had to offer, after all; no comforting words could come to her lips, feeling too chilled with the close reminder of what had happened to her. And she had to focus on this one thing; otherwise her mind would wander.

She was not used to her mind having the ability to wander. Before she was freed from her prison, her mind -couldn't- wander. Now that it was freed, she found focusing on things becoming more difficult by the day.

The day. It was still day outside; if it could even be considered that. The sky was still that terrifying display of colors; she winced after seeing it, though there wasn't much she could do to prevent it from being seen by the others.

The whispers had returned. The protection of Light had gone away. Presea tightened her grip on her axe, and the ruby that Sheena had given her. She would only have to protect herself.

"Stay close together, everyone." Colette said softly.

Presea couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the blonde. She was full of life, and able to forgive so easily. Even though Colette forgave Presea for handing her over to Rodyle, the pink-haired girl couldn't quite forgive herself quite yet. Just as she couldn't forgive Regal for what happened to Alicia.. though she knew that it was truly out of his hands.

One of the released captives turned his head to look at Colette. "I knew we could depend on the Chosen to save us!"

Colette giggled nervously. "Of course! I wouldn't forget you or anything. I knew that once we returned to Sylvarant, we'd--" Presea shook her head a little, trying to catch the blonde girl's eye. Finally Colette noticed and cut herself off. "That is to say, uh, yeah. Nothing would stop us from getting here. Lloyd promised." And she smiled a little, smugly, it seemed, at least to Presea, who shook her head a little and glanced for the other chosen.

"You have not been rescued by one Chosen, ladies and gents, but two!" Zelos smiled widely. "You have the honor of being the first to know of the--" Presea shook her head furiously at Zelos, "Uh, but we'll leave that telling for when you're all settled again and where you belong."

Presea heaved a sigh. She knew that despite the truths that they now knew, it wasn't up to them to break the news to these people. At least, not while alone.

She saw the relief on their faces once they were freed--freed from that terrible place. The scent of freedom had given them new life; a second chance to reclaim what they once knew. Like her. Except that her time was gone forever. They at least had some bitter memories and hopefully people to go home to. Who would accept them.

"You're not very talkative, are you?" A voice spoke behind her, and she blinked, turning around. It was the brown-haired girl in the yellow dress that had recognized Lloyd and Colette at the time of the rescue.

"Um.. no, I suppose not." Presea replied.

The girl smiled. "I just wanted to thank you as well. I don't think I saw you before with the chosen's original group. Who are you?"

"My name is.. Presea. And you.. must be Chocolat." At least, she thought that was what Colette had called her.

Chocolat nodded. "Yes.." she glanced towards the ranch. "When I think of how stupid I've been to everyone.. being here kind of put things into perspective."

"I.. suppose." Presea wondered why the girl was speaking to her.

"Ah.. sorry. I see that you are uncomfortable.. I wasn't sure who I should speak to. I have to apologize to Lloyd.. and it feels strange talking to the Chosen.. and that man, Zelos."

Presea blinked. "Oh.. I was just surprised. I am not much of a.. conversationalist."

Chocolat nodded. "I.. um, figured that. But can you listen?"

Presea glanced around to the group. Zelos was leading the others away and likely preparing dinner, leaving her to stand watch in case danger arrived. "We just have to be on our guard. And Zelos and Colette.. they will prepare a meal. You're likely very hungry."

The girl smiled. "Yes.. it won't be long. I just think.. when you have a lot on your mind, it's.. better if you find someone to share it with.. especially if it's someone not involved."

Presea considered this for a moment. "Yes.. I suppose you're right."

--

"Blame your fate." Kratos muttered impassively, sheathing his sword after staring down at the corpse of the last Desian sorcerer to attack them.

"They were guarding the portal." The woman declared as she marched over to study the warping circle.

"So it would seem.."

She tapped it lightly with her staff. "This will likely lead to the control room. Let's go."

For the moment, the professor had let up on her questioning of him. Kratos was relieved, despite his facial expression not revealing much. While Yuan and the others of the high order seemed to guess at his connection to this boy, he certainly didn't want anyone too close to Lloyd to learn of that particular information once he himself figured out the truth.

He knew for a fact that Raine wouldn't say anything to Lloyd. She would want further proof of her accusations and likely would continue to pester him for it. Yet with the knowledge alone.. he wasn't sure if she were the type to attempt to hold that information over his head. Then again.. the others might attempt such a thing.

Kratos shook his head slightly as he stepped onto the circle, followed by her a moment later, pushing her silvery hair from her eyes; it had gotten into some disarray during that last fight.

A light beamed down on them from above as the portal activated, transporting them to what they hoped was the control room. It only took a moment; the portals were a rather effective method of travel.

The room seemed to be empty. The computers were on, seeming to be in good condition; yet Kratos was slightly unnerved (not that he would admit it), by the fact that no one was keeping a watch over the system. Particularly since it was the last ranch standing, thanks to Raine's surprising expertise with machinery.

He glanced over to the half-elven woman, who was frowning as she stepped off of the platform. "Kratos. There is something wrong here."

Kratos gave her a quick nod. "So it would seem. The area seems to be clear, but we can never be too sure."

For a moment, they were both silent. Then there was a noise. Kratos turned his head in the direction of the sound, his hand going to his sword. Raine held her new rune staff up as well, her eyes set and determined. "Do you think it's.."

"..Shh. Wait for it." Kratos glanced around his eyes searching for the source of the disturbance. He heard it again. A very low buzzing sound that he would have not detected if not for the silence. His eyes went to the ceiling, and widened momentarily, before grabbing her by the sleeve.

"What.." She turned to glare at him.

"Get down!" He hissed, all but dragging her to the floor and pulling her to the side. "Guardian!"

His spell managed to reflect a beam of red light from striking the two of them and inflicting damage. "Damn. We have to disable it before we can do anything else."

Raine narrowed her eyes into slits as she glanced upwards as well. "The problem is that the device is likely located in another room. And.. if you hadn't noticed, the portal lights went off after we stepped off of it. So we won't be getting out that way until we get it back online."

He helped her back up to her feet. "We'll deal with one thing at a time. We don't have a margin for error."

"We don't have time, either."

"So it would seem." If the reply was dry, he paid it no mind, his dark eyes glancing around for the sensor trigger. "It's not likely to be with the other equipment. It's an alarm. Stay near the wall and check to the left. And watch out for the chasm." The giant hole in the floor was a bit perturbing, and having either of them fall into it would be disastrous. Moreso for Raine, considering he could fly himself out of it if that occurred. Depending on his reaction time.

He hoped that the sensor would be too distracted with both of them moving at once to target them simultaneously with it's beams. He knew that he could take a few hits, but he wasn't too sure if the professor could. It all depended on the programming.. so even separating could have been an error in his calculation.

Some moments passed; he could hear the machine charging, and he hoped that Raine remembered to utilize the force field technique that he had taught her; he wasn't too sure about the woman's reflexes.

No.. it was aiming at him again. How amusing. At the very least he was being distracting. For whatever it was.

"Kratos.. I think I.." He heard her call from the far side of the room.

There it was.. he grimaced as the ray of red came heading directly towards him. "Guardian!"

"Are you all right?" Her voice sounded concerned; he couldn't quite see her, as her form disappeared behind the machinery. "Wait. Got it!"

He could see her lift up her staff and jab it several times at something above her, then take a step back as glass rained down on her head. A series of alarms went off at once, and then ceased as she raised her staff once more and smashed the box in entirely. Smoke poured out, and some of the last fragments flitted down.

Raine carefully removed the shards of debris from her hair and shoulders and hurried towards the mana reactor; Kratos met her halfway over. "That was.. efficient." He muttered, surveying the damages. "Now for the next part.."

As he typed fervently onto the screen, bypassing many of the codes with his own, there was a sound of scraping metal behind them.

"...Sis.."

--

Lloyd and Regal weren't quite sure where they were in the human ranch. A long period of time had been spent fighting and chasing Desians; they could only hope that none went after the group that escaped outside. That was only part of their goal.

"Damn these Desians.." Lloyd grimaced, as he glared around the hallway. "I feel like we're going in circles. These ranches get more and more complicated each time we get to one."

Regal paused to rummage around in his pack for a moment. "Before we go running off in a different direction again, you should get your strength back up. We've hardly had time to eat in between any of these battles, especially since that last one." He handed a roll over to Lloyd, and took one for himself.

"Not much, but it'll do." Lloyd nodded appreciatively as he took a healthy bite, though kept his eyes peeled for any more possible assaults. Regal soon picked up the pace again, frowning.

"We've been through this hallway before. We passed the elevator and a portal, which likely leads to the control room. From what I saw of it, it didn't seem to be working. Which means we have to find another entrance. I suspect that Raine and Kratos may have already made their way inside."

"There's no telling what may happen if we all don't get back together soon."

Regal nodded. "Yes.. and then we'll leave it in Sheena's hands. Which in retrospect, will lead us back to square one.. hm. Let's try looking for air shafts. There is bound to be one with a passage through it."

"Okay. We can and will do this." Lloyd practically gulped down the rest of his roll as the pair started down a different corridor.

--

"..What?" Raine turned around, her eyes wide at hearing that voice.

The young, silver-haired mage stood before them. His blue eyes were distant, and steel cuffs that seemed too heavy for him to lift bound his wrists. His voice sounded weak.. his expression seemed lost. The sight of him set a couple of tears trickling down the side of her face. "..Genis..?"

She could see that his face was pale and sweaty. "..Sis.. you have to come.. quickly.."

"Careful. It may be a trap." Kratos didn't take his eyes off of the screen, too absorbed with the task of reversing the mana flow to even glance at the now-opened door. Raine didn't listen to him, instead moving towards her brother.

"Genis.. what happened to you?"

"You have to.." The boy swayed and started to fall; she reached out to steady him; to try and pull him into a hug, but the boy stepped back. "No.."

"We're almost done with the transfer." Raine explained quickly. "We'll get out of here as soon as possible, I promise. What's this?" Her hand reached out to touch the handcuffs, though then drew her hand back just as quickly with a wince of pain. "..they're charged with some kind of mana.."

"You can't remove them. They are my punishment." And suddenly he straightened up, the weights on his arms not seeming to hinder him. "You don't understand."

Raine blinked. "I'm trying to, Genis.. where did you go off to? Why are you like this?"

Genis laughed. His expression was no longer fearful, either; his blue eyes hardened into an icy glare. "Don't you see, Raine? There are no sides here. We are all playing for survival, and forgiveness. If you would trust me the way I trusted you.."

A figure stepped through the opening in the wall behind him. "This is as far as you go. Come, Genis."

Genis obeyed silently, ignoring Raine's outstretched arms as the person behind him stepped into the light. He pushed the teacher aside with his mechanical arm, catching her off guard, and stalked over to Kratos. "Inferior beings should not play with what they do not know."

Kratos continued to work with the controls, ignoring the presence of the half-elf at his side. "The Great Seed is invaluable to Yggdrasill. If you stand in our way, the Great Seed will die, and you will be held responsible."

"You have no idea what you're talking about." Forcystus laughed menacingly. "I am under direct orders from Lord Yggdrasill himself."

"Because Martel is fused with the Great Seed. Are you saying that fool would go this far just to protect her?"

"You speak as if you know him. Who are you?"

Raine clutched her arm where it had been hit with the cannon and glared at his back. "Clearly he is more informed than you are. What have you done to my brother?!"

"I was only giving him what he wanted. He wanted to be worthy of wearing that exsphere. If not for me, his identity in the pathetic town of Iselia would have been discovered a lot sooner. Did he not tell you the truth about who really killed Marble? That inferior being seemed to have a rather sentimental attachment to him. When she died, she said he was like a grandson to her." Another laugh, and this time he turned to look at Raine. "Does that not answer your question?"

Raine held her staff in front of her, glaring at him. "You are a fool who cannot accept the fact that you are neither human nor elf. Stand aside!"

Forcystus smirked. "Surely you agree that humans need to be purged from the world."

"What needs to be purged are the contents of your pathetic brain. Life cannot survive without the world."

"We have Derris-Kharlan! It is a world of mana, the very source of life! The destruction of this tainted world is of no concern to us." At this, he turned back towards Kratos. "I told you to leave that alone, you inferior being. Lord Yggdrasill will not be pleased at your interference." He grabbed Kratos by the collar and attempted to yank him away from the reactor, and they fell together on the floor near the pit. "Your meddling has ended!"

Kratos pushed Forcystus off of him, and rolled in the opposite direction to catch his feet. "Don't get too comfortable."

Forcystus laughed once more, and two Exbones rose out of the pit to aid him. "It is you who has gotten too comfortable."

Raine ducked to the ground instinctively as the two Exbones dived at her, not expecting the fighting to come around so soon. Her head had snapped once to the direction in which Genis had vanished, though she knew that she had to help Kratos as best as she could. Not having the opportunity to cast spells, she decided that the only way that she could get out of this would be to bash in one of the Exbones while avoiding the other's barrage of attacks.

Kratos could see that Raine was handling far too much than she was used to, though at the moment his hands were full with dealing with the Desian hero. Kratos was fast, but he knew that he had a small margin to work with. His human form definitely did have some.. limitations. "I won't let you die! Healing wind!"

Still struggling with the Exbones, Raine muttered and switched tactics, turning to attack the one that was hitting her with a barrage of wind spells. "Thank you." she said breathlessly, not knowing whether Kratos could hear her or not. "Watch out for the spell!"

He heard her, though he couldn't respond. Lord Forcystus was stronger than he would have given him credit for. Nonetheless, he was not going to survive this little encounter. Kratos would make sure of that.

--

Genis stood off to the side, watching the battle almost impassively.

"Sis.." He whispered, then looked down at his arm. Empty. Still empty. He wasn't strong enough; he couldn't be strong without her.

Forcystus had been right, though. He had been a hero among Half-elves. They were on two different sides, but yet they were truly all the same. He hated humans, just as Desians did. Except for certain humans.

Yet for the first time in his life, he had met a friend. A friend who understood what it was like to be hated and mistrusted in his entire village. And perhaps he would have friends in Palmacosta if they ever got back there. If he was even allowed to go to the school.

But then.. there still would be Desians. There still would be all of this calamity.

He continued to watch the battle. He watched his sister get knocked down countless times, only to be aided by Kratos at the very next moment. He stared at the chains on his wrists, wanting them to come off, and yet wanting them to remain. For the first time he understood what Regal meant.

And he hated him for it.

If they succeeded in defeating Forcystus, he hoped that they would help him get Marble back. Forcystus promised to give her back if he listened to the story behind the coming of the New Age of Half-Elves. It didn't even seem like such a bad thing. With the exception of the human ranches being vile and exspheres being worse.

But if it was all he was going to have left of one of his best friends.. he hated to lose her in such a way. Being made powerless by another half elf. What was he denying himself more? Friendship, or his blood?

Raine was his sister. In that one case, blood did matter. Unfortunately, she still treated him like a child. And now she was fighting. For what? Did she even know who she was fighting? Would she even care?

"Be careful, sis.." He whispered, closing his eyes. It was all he had to offer.