Conflictions of the Mind
-Chapter Twelve-
Listless
There's a breach in your security
I'm inside you finally
My objective: distort your view
Wreck the very core of you
Tantalize, compromise your position
Dismantle your design
Contaminate and deface your convictions
Recreate your state of mind
The worlds were her responsibility... for now they were saved.
Sheena closed her eyes for a brief moment as she soared over Sylvarant in her Rheaird. She missed the sky; the false blue that had served as a shield to hide what truly laid beyond...
Now knowing how close the comet was made her feel ill inside.. but she wouldn't let it best her. Not here.
Her brown eyes opened once more and she looked down, to check her coordinates. Past the desert now.. Iselia was ahead, though her destination was beyond that: to the home of Lloyd's Dwarven father..
Hopefully everyone was whole, especially after what she heard from the Renegades; considering that they had captured the Iselia Ranch without no further difficulty meant that the others had indeed succeeded. As had she and the summon spirits. She could feel their power; sometimes it resonated within her, sometimes it made her stronger.
It felt good, to succeed. The feeling of success was a rising, uplifting feeling, surpassing the feeling of failure that usually plagued her. For now, she had succeeded. She could almost smile, if not for the destruction that she had previously surveyed. Now the feeling felt somewhat hollow.
Below her, the trees swayed with the wind and then they became more bunched together to form the forest. Her gloved-hands tightened on the handlebars as she began to prepare for her decent.
She touched down just outside of the forest. Not so far in front of her was a small house, and the path that led to it. She took a deep breath. It seemed so long since the last time she had spoken to everyone. Yet she had did her part, and the worlds were safe.. for now.
With her own eyes she had seen the horror.. and subdued it. The fact that she was the one to cause it didn't sit too well with her either. She knew that she would be haunted with the screams of those who had died, even if she hadn't been near them when it happened.
The area seemed.. quiet, somehow. Sheena frowned; there were enough people in the group that the house should have been overflowing with them. Yet there was very little activity at all..
The door opened. "Hey, welcome back." Lloyd greeted her as he stepped outside.
"Thanks." Sheena smiled, though raised an eyebrow. "Where is everyone? I thought it seemed a bit quiet.. the Renegades said that you all were going to meet me here; I stopped by Luin first, to help Pietro a bit.. and there has been a lot of destruction that Sylvarant wasn't prepared for.." Her voice trailed off.
"Well, Genis is sleeping upstairs, and the others went over to Iselia; I figure they should be on their way here any time now. Some strange things happened while we were in the ranch.." Lloyd frowned and glanced up towards the balcony. Sheena glanced up as well, though didn't see anything there.
"Strange things?" She prompted.
"Yeah," Lloyd replied slowly. "Though it's not as if I know much about it, as Genis won't talk to me. He's been sleeping since we got here.. just about anyway."
Sheena glanced around and walked towards a bench that was nearby. "I still don't follow."
Lloyd sighed, and pushed his hand through his spiky hair. "Well, when we found him, he had these weird handcuffs on. They kind of zap you if you try to remove them, though it's not like we have a key or anything. He's been all mopey and stuff since.. I don't know."
Sheena crossed her legs. "Well, he was acting weird for a while." Lloyd shot her a look. She stared back at him. "What? It's true! Even when we were at Rodyle's Ranch he seemed kind of different."
"When you put it that way, everyone's been acting weird, Sheena." The boy began pacing back and forth across the lawn, his hands behind his back. "Presea, the Professor, Colette.. I don't know what's going on, but none of us really have been talking to one another, especially with the things we've been finding out.."
Sheena glanced at her hands. "Hmm.. well, Presea has had a lot to deal with. We've been talking, though.. I think she'll be all right. As for the others.. I don't know. Genis has been acting weird since we met Mithos, I think."
Lloyd stopped his pacing. "No he hasn't. He was happy when we met Mithos. He doesn't have too many people that he clicks with right away, you know." Noishe whined, and the twin swordsman tossed him a look. "What? What are you complaining about?"
The black-haired girl shrugged her shoulders slightly. "Well, that's just from what I've seen. You know him better than the rest of us."
"I hope so." Lloyd glanced at the sky. Sheena tilted her head upwards as well, sighing as she saw the swirls of violet overhead.
"It's so.. sickening, isn't it."
"..Yeah." Lloyd frowned as he took a step back to lean against the stable wall as Noishe whined a bit more. "I don't think that people are going to take this well. We should go around and reassure them that things will be taken care of, you know?"
"Can they be taken care of?"
Lloyd turned his head to look at the young woman sitting on the bench. "That sounds like something the professor would say."
Sheena folded her arms. "Well? Considering everything that has happened to get us to this point.. it will either make us stronger in the long run, to try and fight it again.. or we'll fail utterly, you know?"
"Don't tell me you're giving up!"
"I'm not, I'm not, believe me. We have just about everything to lose if we don't figure something out. I believe that we should travel Sylvarant before returning to Tethe'alla.. from what I've seen, the damages are.. numerous." Sheena dropped her head into her left hand. "...And.."
"What's wrong?" Lloyd stared at her.
"...Can I be by myself again for a moment?" Sheena didn't look back up at him, instead sighing deeply.
"Um.. sure." His tone was concerned. "I'll go see if Dad needs any help with the cooking.. everyone else should be here any time now."
Sheena nodded a little, though she remained in her position on the bench as he turned and went inside.
Listless. So listless.
Genis still lay in bed, though no longer flat on his back, as he had been for some time; his knees were curled up, nearly to his chest now, and he breathed.
He had been mostly awake while being here, though he had tried to give the impression that he was sleeping when he heard his friend's footsteps in the hall; breathed once more after they went away again. Lloyd had called upstairs to him a few times as well, though Genis didn't answer; couldn't answer, as he made sure his mouth was shut tight. If he made any sound at all, his reasons for keeping himself holed up in here for a few hours would be obsolete.
Breathe.
He was curled up now because there had been a point where he couldn't breathe; it was as if there were a large weight on his chest, pressing hard, compressing, and he wondered if he would die this way. Then it passed and he was free again.
Well, almost. There was the little problem with his wrists being bound. As he laid there, sometimes asleep, mostly pretending to be asleep, only to be disturbed from this state by the chimes of the clock; the chimes being the only clear sound, proof as much as the handcuffs binding his wrists that this day was real; this day was long, and this day, like so many others preceding it, would have an unsatisfying end.
In this state he realized that those strange clenching pains were likely caused by the secondary Mana pulsating through the links; though whether this was enhancing or taking away any of his power he could not tell.
..As if he had any power without his exsphere. Why had he befriended Marble in the first place? If he had stayed away from the ranch like he was supposed to, none of this would have happened. Yet he had met her, some two or three years ago, while he was traveling through the forest by Lloyd's house. He really wasn't allowed to visit Lloyd on his own, though there was a lack of monsters in those days...
At nine years of age, he didn't look much different from the way he was now; perhaps a little younger, a little more naive, perhaps.. in any case, he remembered clearly, accidentally taking that wrong turn.. or perhaps it was on purpose.. he knew there was a human ranch in the area, though he had never been close enough to one before.. Raine was very adamant that he not find out anything about Desians..
Granted, it was in vain, because he had read her books, and knew some things. He was curious.. very curious.. and once he found himself near the gates of the ranch, half of him wanted to run away, to pretend that he hadn't seen.. but that curiosity was stronger. He could see the humans.. he could see the Desians.. he could see how they were treated.. this made him feel angry..
Yet he moved closer. Young as he was, and unable to do anything about the situation.. he wondered about Lloyd, and if he knew anything about what happened here.. Iselia was safe, or so he had heard an adult mention to his sister around the time they first moved there; they were safe, as they had an anti-aggressive pact with the Desians.. despite the location of the Ranch, no one would be taken from the village.
While he pondered these things a figure moved towards him. Shadowy, at first, perhaps, due to the position of the sun at the time, and the fact that he wasn't really paying attention to it, due to his fascination with what was going on here, and his anger, at how the town he lived in was safe, yet they had something like this nearby, and he wondered about how Lloyd must have felt (and if Lloyd really was safe from this, as he lived near it!), and then as it drew closer he could see that it was an older woman.
Realizing that her hair was grey from age and not natural, the way that his was, almost disappointed him at first; as far as he knew, he and Raine were the only ones of their kind for miles. Yet he moved closer to the gate, and she studied him unblinkingly for a few moments, then spoke. "..H-hello?"
"Er.. hi."
She smiled, and it lit up her face. Save her brown eyes; they still were filled with something unreadable; perhaps sadness. There probably wasn't much to smile about inside of the ranch. "How nice it is to see a youthful, healthy face.. as it is, you probably shouldn't be over here. Wouldn't want to get caught by those fellows."
Her eyes shifted to the side, though the Desians seemed to be too preoccupied to notice her.
Genis shook his head. "..N-no.. I wouldn't. W-why are you in there?" He felt seized by childish questions, though it was likely because he couldn't express his anger. He felt his insides writhe with nausea, though he forced it down. How had he never known?
"...It's too long a story to be told to a complete stranger." The woman spoke again, though she kept her voice low. "I probably shouldn't have come over here to talk to you, though it's been so long since I've spoken to anyone new.."
"I want to help." Genis found himself saying, though his voice was low as well. "I.. only came here to go over to my friend's house, and I took a wrong turn.. but I can't leave now, after seeing.." his gaze moved over to the humans who were still being tortured as they moved giant stone blocks around the ranch.
The woman frowned. "It's my fault for keeping you. You looked familiar, to be honest.. then again, it could just be my old eyes.. there's not much help you could give us here. Besides hope, I suppose, that there is still good on the outside.. that the world goes on."
Genis liked the smile better. "..I-I guess so.. well, the Chosen of Regeneration lives in our village.. she's my friend, Colette. Everyone thinks that she might receive the oracle in a few years.."
"You're friends with..." The woman lifted her head upwards to look at the still-blue sky. "Ah.. to see the Tower of Salvation.. that would indeed bring us hope here indeed.."
"My sister said that the last Chosen failed a few years ago.. but.. everyone in the village seems pretty confident about Colette." Genis shifted a little nervously. "Are you okay?"
"I remember. It wasn't too long ago, the last journey. It was before I was sent to this place.." Sighing deeply, the woman lowered her gaze to study him for a moment. "You said that you have a sister..?"
He nodded. "Y-Yes.. her name is Raine. She teaches at the school. Um.. my name is Genis." Something changed in the woman's expression; Genis couldn't quite tell what it was, but she was smiling again.
"Genis.. I have taken up too much of your time. You should go home." She started to take a step back, glancing behind her once more.
"Wait." He had to do something. He glanced down at the bag he had taken from his pocket. It had some sandwiches in there that he was taking for this journey to Lloyd's.. he thrust this hand forwards and through the bars. "You didn't tell me your name."
The woman's eyes were surprised, as they went to the bag, and then met his eyes. "I couldn't.."
"Take it, ma'am." Genis tried to smile reassuringly. "Please.. it's something."
"Thank you, Genis.." With shaking hands she took it from him. "Now go. Go and never come back here."
"..But.. your name.."
She took a step backwards. "..it's Marble." She smiled sadly, now. "Please, go, for your sister's sake.."
He glanced behind her. Everyone was starting to head indoors. He would surely be the cause of any trouble that came her way if he didn't leave. And that was the last thing that he wanted to happen. "I'll see you again. To bring you hope, Marble." He turned then, to hurry back the way he can, just as she hurried back to join her fellow humans in that hellhole that would be their home for years still to come..
He remembered that feeling; he felt warm, even after the horror of the ranch washed away.. he felt.. happy, to have done something good, even in the face of something so horrible; he had made contact with a human, a suffering human that didn't question his race.. there was something accepting about the woman's eyes, as if she had seen someone like him before..
..Even if that wasn't likely to be true. It wasn't easy, to keep up the visits.. they were monthly at best; he didn't want Raine or anyone else to be suspicious of his whereabouts, particularly since the mayor seemed to comment to Lloyd each time he saw him about the Human Ranch; warned them not to play near them.. and Genis wondered why they were safe in Iselia, while others weren't..
Even Raine didn't seem to know much about the Human Ranches; it was as if she didn't want to know.. if she discussed Desians, it usually wasn't in his presence; he'd hear hints of conversation that she'd have with other community members, but he felt that he was being shut out.. he remembered starting an argument with her, demanding, that she'd tell him more about things, but then of course she'd start saying that children needn't be concerned and he should stay as far away from there as possible.
It wasn't the first time he had disobeyed her orders and he wasn't keen to listen. Perhaps if he had.. then again, she didn't seem to know much about the ranch either. Perhaps her unwilliness to talk about it reflected a lack of knowledge on the subject.. which was usually something to spark her anger.
Genis winced as he stirred to the sound (chimes) once more. That blasted sound.. it hadn't been that loud before, had it?
He sighed and pulled himself to a sitting position, glaring at the door, almost daring someone to knock.
Presea leaned on her axe at the entrance of the village, waiting silently. She glanced up at her companions for a brief moment. Colette had joined them a few moments before, seeming to be in a good mood. It made Regal smile just a little bit, though seemed to have no effect on herself or the professor. Zelos had followed her, if only to inform them that he planned on running a few quick errands.
Kratos showed up a few minutes later. There had been some quiet discussion, though Presea didn't pay it too much attention. For the moment, she was still thinking. She still had not time enough to grieve for her sister or her lost time.. and after her conversation with Chocolat, she felt somewhat weaker.
The longer she remained here, in Iselia, the less confident she felt about herself and her abilities. After listening to those villagers.. the more she became convinced that Iselia was even more like Ozette than she had originally believed.
Yet it was Ozette, and not Iselia, that had been destroyed. While Iselia had withstood an attack before, it had only served as a mere warning for them. The meaning behind the destruction of Ozette surely couldn't have been because of that dwarf, Altessa, alone.. yet it was much to think about. She needed to focus on helping the others as best as she could.. perhaps then she could try to understand the peace of forgiveness. The peace that Regal needed, and something she couldn't provide..
"This is taking longer than it should. Where is Zelos?" Presea lifted her head. Raine was tapping her foot a bit impatiently. Presea realized that she, too, was not comfortable in this place..
"He'll be back." Colette smiled brightly; Presea once again found herself envying the girl's ability to express positive energy. If there was something wrong with her, she certainly couldn't see it. Though she couldn't bring herself to really smile back, at any rate.
"Here I am. Did you miss me?" Zelos himself came running up to them not a moment afterwards, his eyes shining a bit as well.
"Zelos, what were you doing?" Raine sounded quite annoyed, and even though her expression hadn't revealed it before, it certainly was now.
"Settle down now, my cool beauty. I was only speaking with few of Sylvarant's ladies, gathering information and the like." He winked and held up a satchel. "Seriously! Look at all of this free stuff!"
Colette smiled at him.
Kratos merely shook his head. "Well. It's best if you met up with Lloyd and the others now. For you have to figure out where to go next, don't you?"
Presea blinked at the Seraphim, though kept quiet, watching the others for their reactions, as they all seemed to have spoken more with this man than she had.
Regal looked somewhat confused. "I suppose this means we are parting ways, then.. Kratos?"
"You suppose correctly." Kratos replied calmly, as he glanced towards Colette. "Chosen. I trust that you understand what you need to do to save your life? ..Your family thinks it's best if you spoke to Dirk about your condition. Or else research the records of the Ancient Kharlan War."
"The Kharlan War? What are you talking about?" Raine looked up from her hands. Presea couldn't help but be confused; she had absolutely no idea what Kratos was talking about.
"It's not my place to explain." Kratos said quietly, not even looking in her direction. Which seemed to aggravate the half-elf even more.
"For someone who is involved in so many things, you certainly don't divulge much information." Raine replied snappishly. "Obviously there is a reason behind your actions. You continue to pledge your allegiance to Cruxis and yet systematically destroy most of their high ranking officers without a second thought. What we need is a straight answer. Now what is going on?"
"It's nothing." Colette said softly. "Don't worry, Professor.."
His tone was neutral. "I have my reasons...that's all. Martel was not lost. That goes along with Yggdrasill's wishes."
Presea studied him, her teal eyes unblinking for a moment. "..Are you.. our enemy?"
"If you consider Cruxis and the Desians your enemy, then I suppose that makes me your enemy." He didn't look at her either.
"Cruxis and the Renegades both got what they wanted. We interfered as well. Do you really have the best interests of Colette.. as well as the world, in mind?" Regal remarked quietly, studying the man. "You say Martel was not lost. Is that your only true motive?"
Colette clenched her hands into fists, her eyes wide. "It doesn't make any sense, though.. all they care about is reviving Martel.. and I failed to be a true Chosen of regeneration for them.."
Zelos folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the gate. "Well, well. The only reason you are remotely concerned about her health is so that you can take her back to your employer. We'll take care of the rest from here, thank you very much."
Kratos stared at him impassively. "As you will."
"I'd like to get out of here, if you don't mind." Raine said sharply, stepping past them and walking out of the village, her stride purposeful. Regal followed after her.
Zelos put an arm around Colette's shoulder; Presea noticed that the girl was trembling slightly still. "Lets go." She nodded, then glanced to Presea before they two stepped outside. She knew that she had to follow them, though something stopped her. Curiosity, perhaps.
Kratos folded his arms, an eyebrow slightly raised as he watched them leave. "...Heh."
"..You were humoring him." Presea couldn't believe the words coming out of her own mouth, though she felt compelled to say something. "Eventually you'll have to choose between one or the other, won't you?"
His dark eyes flickered over to the left, likely to where the others were waiting. "I have already chosen." Kratos replied softly, almost dismissively. "I cannot join your journey, for I still have something I must take care of."
"..I see.." Presea blinked a little, quite surprised that she was given this information, and not quite sure how to handle it. "Shouldn't they know...?"
Kratos shook his head. "No. They cannot know yet. Not until things are completely in place. It is in everyone's best interests if.. they believed me to be what I still am."
Presea blinked at him, unsure of what to think. "..If you say so."
The seraphim glanced in the direction of the woods, and smiled grimly. "They are waiting for you." He turned around and walked in the other direction without waiting for another word from her. She stared after him for a moment, feeling even more unsure of herself than she had felt initially.
"Come on, rosebud." She heard Zelos call. Slightly shaky, she lifted up her axe and stepped out of the village as well.
From the doorway of Dirk's house drifted the nourishing scent of beef stew. Lloyd stepped outside, holding two bowls. "Any sign of the others, yet?" He asked Sheena, who was still sitting there on the bench.
She shook her head. "Not yet. Should we be worried?"
Lloyd frowned. "I.. dunno. I hope that they got the captives settled in all right.." He started to eat a little from his bowl. "So, uh.. what's on your mind?"
"The world, what else?" Sheena sighed, dipping a spoon into her bowl and blowing on it. "It was bad enough when I was taken to form a pact with Volt and failed to do it when I was younger.. but now, the world... can you imagine the widespread destruction? And this is our fault, you know. The whole thing started when we jumped to conclusions and started forming pacts with Summon Spirits."
"Yeah.." Lloyd frowned a little, and shook his head. "It's the Renegades fault, though. Especially after.."
Sheena took a few moments to take a few spoonfuls of stew, letting the silence drag on. "..I'm sorry Lloyd. The blame's on me alone."
"...No. It's all of us. We came to the conclusions that we did on our own." Lloyd sat down on the ground. "It's like.. you are tool. Everyone has used you for your ability. Even us.. it's not right."
"Gee, thanks." Sheena forced a laugh, stirring her stew a bit before venturing another bite of it. "Lloyd, I joined you and the others. I walked into this one willingly."
"Yeah, but still.."
"...By doing what we thought was right, countless people in Sylvarant lost their lives. I can never forget that." She paused, looking down at him with a sad expression in her eyes. "And I know you feel responsible for that even more than I do."
"Yeah...we bear the weight of countless people's sadness and anger...regrets...and unrealized dreams." Lloyd sighed. For a moment he couldn't bring himself to take another bite of the beef stew. Though he recovered soon enough. The warm food really was tempting, though it couldn't quite make him feel any better.
"...I know." Sheena looked towards the sky now, the purple swirls of the comet reflected in her eyes. "We can't give up until we've turned that into hope."
Lloyd rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Who knows, maybe your power to use Summon Spirits exists for that purpose."
"Heh...I'd like to think so."
The pair drifted into silence as they continued to fill their stomachs with the hot stew, which seemed to have a calming effect on the Summoner's nerves.
Lloyd glanced up as he heard the sound of crunching leaves and moving feet. He finished his portion of stew and set the bowl aside as he got to his feet. Raine was the first one to step into the clearing, holding the rune staff tightly in her right hand.
"Professor!"
Regal and the others were just behind her, and they studied the house carefully. He and Presea noticed the tombstone first, and they lowered their heads for a moment.
Raine, however, walked straight over to Lloyd. "..Where's Genis?"
"He's upstairs in my room. Oh.. and Dad and I cooked dinner for everyone. We were wondering what happened to you guys. How are things in Iselia?" His voice trailed off as she didn't stay to listen to his words, instead proceeded inside the house. "...Oh."
Presea propped her axe up against the side of the house. "Food intake is the best course of action at the moment."
Colette smiled and ran over towards him. "Yeah! Lets eat!" she glanced towards Zelos for a moment, before looking back at Lloyd. "It's so good to see you again. Everything in Iselia has been taken care of."
"The villagers had it out, but I managed to set them straight, with a little help." Zelos waved his arm in a boasting manner. "And I don't think you'll get any trouble from the mayor. Once their minds were set against his rantings, he was crying like a baby with no friend in sight."
"Heh.." Lloyd wasn't quite sure how to take this information.
Sheena rolled her eyes. "Well, at least it's been taken care of."
"Speaking of which, welcome back, oh voluptuous one. Good job on solving our little problem." Zelos grinned at Sheena, who stood up from the bench.
"I'd hardly call it little, or solved." Sheena replied dryly, lifting up her bowl. "Here's to one night of rest, at least."
She stood on the stairs that lead to the second floor. One hand was on the banister, the other curled up almost absently in her pocket.. not that there was a reason for it to be there. She had to take a moment to rest because she felt so.. drained. The one time in her life where she failed her brother.. it had to take second place to the fact that she was weakening?
Dirk called up to her, though she ignored him, instead continuing the rest of the way up once the brief wave of dizziness had passed. There was definitely something wrong with her brother; not that she remembered much of what had happened when she saw him last. Granted everything about the past day was fuzzy in her mind. She lifted her hand from the railing to knock softly at the door, and then opened it without waiting for a response.
Genis was laying there, his eyes tightly shut. Raine had seen her brother asleep enough times to know when he was sleeping and when he was pretending. She shut the door behind her, gently.
"Is that you, Raine?" He asked, keeping his eyes closed. "..I guess you guys are back from Iselia, then."
"Yes. The mayor reversed his decision. You can now travel there freely." She tried to suppress the hint of bitterness in her voice and instead changed the subject. "You're in trouble, Genis.. and there haven't been many opportunities to discuss this at all.. but I'd like to, since we have some time before our next task.."
Genis laughed. She stared at him, watching as he sat up; instinct made her move closer to help him, though he shot her a strange look that made her stop in place. He resumed sitting up, crossing his legs underneath him. "You noticed?"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Raine was completely taken aback; she wasn't sure what kind of mood she was expecting to find him in, though it certainly wasn't this.
"What is supposed to mean?" Genis repeated, his tone dubious. "You're smarter than that, sis, really, you shouldn't have to ask that."
He was goading her, she knew it. And her head was starting to throb. Something that she didn't need. She had to be calm. Let him have his way. "Yes, Genis."
"It means that you have been avoiding conversation with me ever since we found you at the Otherworldly Gate." He was speaking to her as if she were a child. "It means that you have a lot of explaining to do even before I begin to tell you what's going on with me."
She frowned at him. He did have a point, and that was part of the problem; she had been a terrible sister to him in the last week; but then again, she had too many things to worry about, didn't she? "..I'm sorry about that. But that doesn't mean"
"You just told me that we were both born in Tethe'alla, and yet you couldn't continue that conversation with me?" He cut her off abruptly, his blue eyes flashing furiously. "I know that I was with Mithos most of the time, but there were times when you could have just turned around and talked to me.. I waited, and waited.."
Raine winced. "Yes.. I know, and I'm sorry. There were too many things happening at once, and I had to focus more on our tasks rather than.."
"You were being selfish, sis." His tone turned flat and she knew that he was right once more; she had been selfish, especially with keeping some of the discoveries that she had made to herself; though she wasn't even sure if she could trust her own memories; they were too strange, too abrupt, and here Genis was interrupting her thoughts again before she could find something coherent to say to him. "You know it, and I know it."
"That doesn't have anything to do with your current situation!" Raine recovered quickly, her eyes meeting his for a brief moment. "That's the only thing that needs clarifying right now."
He continued to stare at her. "Why? Why not now? You're changing the subject, sispretty much how you did when you first walked in here. I don't know how to get these off I don't think I was conscious when they got snapped on me in the first place and anyway, you owe me the truth!"
"Yes, but there will be other times for that! That's the reason why I wasn't going to say anything yet; there are more important things that we need to be focused on." Raine was finding it difficult for her to keep her voice controlled; Genis had struck a nerve; he deserved so much better. "Did you even eat yet?"
"Dirk brought some food up a while ago." Genis said dismissively. "But that isn't the point here. We used to be so close, you and I, you were the only friend I had, and then somewhere along the way you stopped being honest. So I had to stop too."
Raine leaned against the wall, taking her eyes away from him. "Are you referring to how you went to the Human Ranch and befriended that woman without ever telling me about it?"
"You're very perceptive when you want to be, sis." Genis was still glaring at her; she could nearly feel the angry heat from that gaze. "I got lost while going to Lloyd's house, even though I swore up and down to you that I knew the way. I was doing some thinking earlier and now I believe it was a more conscious decision.. to make that turn, to go closer to the ranch even though no one was allowed.. and it's funny, because Forcystus told me"
Her head whirled back around to face him. He looked amused. "That's right. Forcystus. He told me that they knew about my being there for at least a year.. which was funny, considering that I had been visiting with Marble for about three years.. I hated him so much, for what he had done.. he said that he wouldn't have done anything if Lloyd hadn't interfered."
Genis glanced back down towards his handcuffs and sighed. Raine stared at him. "Three years? And you've kept it a secret from me that long?"
He tilted his head to the side. "Your turn. See, I'll reveal a bit of information, and then you'll reveal some. Though the good thing about these things is.. I can tell when you're lying. They pick up strange frequencies in the mana flow.. the amazing thing is I only just figured that out right before you came in. And no, you can't study them. They are my punishment.. and my gift."
She wasn't quite sure that she was hearing him correctly. He was her brother, and yet not, at the same time, and the differences were enough to make her scream, to walk over and grab him by the shoulders and shake him, but something held her back, and she could only stare.
"Right," Genis continued, as if there hadn't been any lapse in the conversation. "Your turn. You seem confused. I'll give you a topic. Half-elves." She blinked a little and he smirked. "That's right. Us. Maybe it would have been better if I grew up my entire life believing that I was a pureblooded elf. Maybe it would have made it so much easier in the long run. We could have lived in any town, unless there were any elves around that would blow our cover.. but no, no, for the first few years you made us deal with the oppression."
Raine swallowed, to unstick her throat. "Those decisions.. I was barely your age when I had the task of raising you, Genis. Do you think I had any idea of what I was doing? It was only until after I turned fifteen or so that I was able to think things through logically.." She shook her head.
"Why didn't you tell me that Desians were half-elves?" Genis demanded.
"Once I found out what Desians were.. we had to keep moving, Genis! Just about all Desians are half-elves. Sometimes they would send a recruit along in disguise. Remember Harley from Asgard? I'm surprised that he has managed to live out in the open there, where the town clearly displays their dislike for us. I thought it would be better if you didn't know.. if I could just keep you from them.. especially after you became so.."
"It's kind of hard to like humans after all of the things they say. I'd hate them all if it weren't for Lloyd and the others."
Raine clenched her hands into fists and glared at him. "Genis!"
He smiled. He was smiling! She was so furious, but again something held her back; she just wanted to reach across and slap him, but she knew she was dealing with a different Genis; one who might hit back if provoked. That wasn't a chance she could take.
"Don't worry. It wasn't any flaw in your parenting skills. I guess it's kind of hard to be three different family members at the same time, and have your own life on top of it." Genis replied saucily.
She unclenched her hands, exhaling. They were beginning to hurt. Her head still hurt, and the pounding hadn't ceased. "Will you at least tell me what happened to you so that I can help you?"
As if he hadn't heard her, he continued speaking. "I saw how they treated you when you looked for work.. when you looked for somewhere for us to live.. I've seen you break down after you sent me off to bed. What I don't understand is how you don't hate them. I hate Desians because of your teachings, your struggling, your beliefs that there are good humans and that no one deserves that sort of miserable treatment."
"Genis.." Raine lowered her gaze.
"What are you going to do, sis? Huh? You can't protect me forever.. then again, I suppose it's my own fault that some Desian clobbered me over the head while you were busy talking to that traitor, Kratos. I suppose you could apologize, though at this point it would be too little, too late." Genis stared at her impassively. "You can't help me. If you aren't going to answer my questions, I see no more reason for having a conversation with you, sis."
Raine couldn't take it anymore. Her head was throbbing, as were her hands, and she just couldn't... get.. through! "Damn it, Genis! Snap out of it! You are not yourself, and while your anger might be justifiable, it certainly is NOT the time for it!"
He leaned his back against the wall, a smug expression on his face. "Now that you've cracked, you can either fill me in on the story, or you can leave."
She stared at him. "You need to.." she stopped, shaking her head. "No. No! I need to think. And you better start thinking too, about your actions and your words!"
He raised an eyebrow. "But I have been thinking, Raine! Why do you think I've cooped myself up here? I was confused, too. Confused about many things. Some of it is clearer." Genis smiled. "Some of it isn't. But you can leave now. I think I will have some of the food that Dirk made.. it might made me stronger. And that's what I need to be."
A knock sounded at the door. "..Is everything all right in there?" Colette's voice called from the other side.
"We're fine." Genis replied, after sending a dark look in Raine's direction.
"Mind if I come in, then?"
"Sure thing. It'll be nice to talk to someone who understands me." The tone in his voice was completely sincere. As Colette turned the knob to enter the room, Raine walked over to the terrace door, opened it and stepped outside. She leaned against the railing, her eyes staring up at the twisted sky for a few moments before she closed them and let her head drop.
'Where did I go wrong?'
