Zelos groaned in dismay as he was awoken, again, by his companion losing last night's dinner, yet again. He roused himself from beneath the blankets and grabbed his black tank-top, throwing it over his head and putting it on as he crept to the bathroom door. He waited for the retching to cease for half a minute before clearing his throat and speaking. "Lloyd, I really think we should head for Flanoir next."

The sound of the toilet flushing. "We're going to Altamira next," came the tired response. "Regal said we could gather Exspheres in Toize Mine."

"There's no doctor in Altamira," Zelos replied, trying not to get irritated with his companion- not yet...

"I don't need a doctor."

The irritation set in. "Yes, you do," he snapped. "You totally do." This had been going on for weeks, and it was getting much, much worse. "Colette will kill me if I bring her husband back dead."

"I'm not dying!" Lloyd snapped back.

"Fine, you're not dying," Zelos replied smoothly, moving to get his overcoat. "You should probably have something to eat, some toast or something. I'll be back in a few hours."

The bathroom door opened, revealing a disheavaled Lloyd wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Where are you going?"

"Flanoir."

Lloyd finally returned his friend's irritation. "We can't afford him!" he snapped, and Zelos whirled on him, irritation finally giving way to anger.

"You can't afford not to see him!" Zelos yelled. Lloyd flinched and Zelos cringed. "I'm sorry for yelling, bud. I'm worried about you. You've been sick for weeks." Zelos sighed when Lloyd didn't respond. "Listen, I'll swing by Meltokio and dip into my savings. We should have plenty to pay him. This is on me, Lloyd."

Lloyd sighed. "Fine, fine, do what you want... I'll wait here."

"Good man." Zelos slapped Lloyd on the back and headed for the inn door. The pair were currently in Ozette, helping to rebuild the destroyed city. They found that the people of Ozette that had survived the attack by Cruxis- and there weren't many- needed physical laborers more than they needed money. The tiny group had managed to completely rebuild the inn and then some, in order to house all of the residents until the houses were built, and Lloyd and Zelos got free room and board for their troubles.

Goddess only knew how much longer the process would take. They occasionally got Altessa's help, although the dwarf was still bitter over the loss of his Tabatha to the newly reborn Martel.

Lloyd gathered his strength and got himself dressed, venturing down to the main area of the inn, where two pieces of buttered wheat toast and a glass of milk awaited him. Lloyd smiled to himself as he commanded his stomach to settle down and accept the food he was offering it. Zelos wasn't a man he thought he'd like, but once one got past the shallow vanity, you discovered a caring, deep person. Lloyd wondered what kind of tragedy struck to cause Zelos to hide his feelings beneath such a shallow mask.

His breakfast was interrupted by the sound of Zelos cursing loudly and a disturbing crash. Lloyd and the innkeeper both ran for the door to witness Zelos detanling himself from a smoking Rheiard; the machine seemed to be unharmed, but Zelos examined the gauges for a moment and cursed again. "It's empty! The fuel gauge is empty!"

Lloyd stared at the Rheiard in puzzlement. "How can it be empty?"

"I dunno, man, but I think we better get to Mizuho on the double. Something's wrong, and the quicker we get whatever this is resolved, the quicker we can get you seen by the doctor in Flanoir."

"To see Sheena. Right. We need to tell the mayor first."

"Got it. You get our stuff together, I'll go let him know we're leaving."


Raine Sage gazed on the auburn-haired man playing with the two babies, oblivious to her and her little brother's arrival. This was a man she hoped she'd never have to see again, the man who caused her students and friends so much grief and sorrow. She had been happy to see him go.

He wouldn't have come back without good reason to. She knew this very well. As tempting as it was to leave him in the condition he was in, she knew that there might be grave consequences to such an action. As such, she greeted, "Hello, Kratos."

Kratos looked up from his place on the floor, face flushing in embarrassment at being caught in such a position. He rose, to the protest of the children, who cheered and followed Cousin Genis to the upstairs room when he offered to play with them in Kratos's stead. Kratos watched Genis and the boys stomp up the stairs and turned back to Raine. "You are... Raine, correct?"

"That is correct," Raine responded. "Colette. What condition was he in when you found him?"

Colette shrugged. "Just like he is now. He wasn't hurt at all or anything."

"He was obviously hurt in some way," Dirk corrected, "for him to have lost his memory."

"Dirk's right," Raine said, reaching into her pocket and procuring the Unicorn horn. "I'm going to try to restore your memory, Kratos. You may experience a slight headache. Stop me if the pain gets severe." Raine took a deep breath; she'd never attempted to cure amnesia and wasn't sure how to go about it.

She was going to try, though. She held out the horn. "Hold onto this," she ordered, and Kratos grabbed the horn, his hand beside Raine's. She focused on the horn, willing the Angel to remember his past. She knew next to nothing of his past beside what they'd experienced together, so she focused on that, intensely, almost trying to transfer her recollection of the events seven years ago to him.

Kratos gasped after mere seconds. "Stop!"

Raine quickly pulled the horn from Kratos' grasp and Kratos fell back into a chair Dirk swung out behind him, just in the nick of time.

"That didn't work, did it?" Colette asked.

Raine looked at the blond girl and shook her head. Colette always had an affinity for the obvious. She considered any other possible ways to restore Kratos' memory; Origin was one possibility. Verisius, Sheena's former Spirit Corinne, was another. The Summon Spirit of the Heart was the closest, but would it appear without Sheena's help?

They had to try. Raine stood, smoothing her shirt. "We're going to the Martel Temple. Come quickly."


The Rheiards didn't work.

Yuan cursed loudly, kicking the one he'd prepared. Once he had more appropriate gear from Flanoir, it was a simple matter to trek to the defunct Renegade Base. It was still home to several dozen half-elves, all of whom were surprised to see their former commander back on the world. Fortunately, the Rheiards were still there.

Unfortunately, they failed to work.

Yuan recalled the conversation with Kratos that caused their trip back to the world; Origin, who Kratos had been in perpetual contact with for four thousand years, would not answer Kratos' inquiries. Even when helping Mithos in ways that betrayed Origin's intentions, Origin always answered when Kratos called. Something was wrong; they confirmed that when they observed Derris-Kharlan shrinking.

They had pinpointed where the mana of Derris-Kharlan was going; to the Great Yggdrasill Tree. Their theory was that the Tree, instead of providing the earth with mana, was actually absorbing it.

If the Rheiards didn't work, that meant there was something wrong with Volt. The near-blizzard conditions outside of Flanoir indicated something amiss with Celcius. There were at least three Summon Spirits that seemed to be out of control; Yuan guessed the rest were probably experiencing difficulties, as well.

And Yuan had no way of getting to either Lloyd or Sheena. Except by boat.

He sighed. He had no choice. With a breathed prayer to Martel, Yuan turned to the Renegade who had escorted him to the hangar. Remembering that he was no longer their leader, and had not been for almost ten years, he requested, "Would you prepare a boat for me at the dock?"

"Absolutely, sir."

Yuan frowned. "I'm not 'sir' anymore."

The Renegade met his gaze evenly. "Yes, sir, you are. You always will be." With that, the half-elf turned. "The boat will be ready tomorrow morning. Get some rest now, sir."