Shadows of Deceit

"Dwarven Vow #17 – On an unknown road, it is better to be slow."

Gauracchia Forest

Lloyd looked back and forth trying to decide which path to take. The last time they'd been in here, they had Sheena to guide them through to Mizuho. Now all the twists and turns looked the same.

The forest was filled with old rotting trees and many of the surviving monsters sought refuge in its twisted roots and trunks. Rumor had it that a thief once stole a treasure and hid it deep within this maze and that was the cause for the evil feelings travelers felt while passing through and the decaying of the forest…or at least that was part of the story. Lloyd didn't really believe in ghost stories anyway…

Kicking a nearby stone, the swordsman growled with frustration. "Damn it! Why'd the Palmacosta Desian Ranch have to end up in the middle of this stupid haunted forest?"

"It's not haunted," Colette tried to comfort. "That was just Zelos trying to spook us out." Being so close to a place where humans were turned into exspheres made the angel-girl shiver, but she hid her discomfort. Lloyd was doing enough complaining for the both of them. It would've been easier to find the ruins from the air had there not been so much foliage.

Lloyd sighed in exasperation and randomly picked one of the paths. "Well, let's just try this way and if we don't see the ranch soon, we'll turn around and try the other one."

"Sounds like a plan!" Colette said happily.

Raising an eyebrow at her enthusiasm, Lloyd had to smile. "You know, I still remember when you couldn't show emotion at all. How much I wanted you to give me one grin, just one laugh to show you were you."

The memory made Colette look away sadly. "I wanted to…really. I just couldn't."

Patting her on the back, Lloyd shook his head. "Don't worry, I don't blame you." I blame myself… "I just make sure to notice all the times you smile now and I appreciate it more."

Colette nodded and her own happiness returned. "I'm glad."

Holding hands they started off down the wooded path when the bushes nearby started rustling. Lloyd immediately pulled out his swords and pushed Colette behind him. The angel-girl unhooked her chakrams and prepared for battle as well. "Who's there!?" Lloyd called out.

Suddenly a small boy ran out frightened and caught off guard, Lloyd pulled up his swords so as not to hurt the child and ended up colliding with him. Both fell to the ground and Colette gasped. "Lloyd! Are you alright!?"

Moaning, Lloyd opened his eyes and sat up. He saw the kid was half collapsed on top of him and got worried. "Hey, kid, you okay?"

Getting to his knees, the boy looked up and met Lloyd's concerned gaze. "Y-yeah, I think so." Then he jumped up to his feet and ran off. "Gotta go!"

Frowning, Lloyd stood up himself and looked in the direction the boy had disappeared. It was the path he decided not to go down. "Huh, must be from Mizuho or something. What other kid would be caught in a forest this creepy?" He commented, thinking nothing of it.

Colette thought it strange the boy would run so quickly into Lloyd, yet no monster, which she assumed made him scared in the first place, followed. "I wonder what he was doing here?"

Lloyd sheathed his swords. "Who knows? Maybe it's a Mizuhoen tradition to start training their kids young and one of their trials is surviving a day in the woods?"

Colette hung her weapons on her hips once more and turned to her friend. "You just think that up?" The logic behind the statement, coming from the dense teenager, surprised her.

Lloyd shrugged. "Not really. My father, Dirk, used to make me carve certain animals out of wood as a test to see how well I had gotten, you know detail and such. Towards the end he even made me practice with inhibitor ore to try and make key crests."

"So that's how you got so good repairing them!" Colette caught on.

"Yeah, the only part I never perfected was the spell carving. Something about it was always too difficult and the key crests never worked." Lloyd started walking again. "Come on, we better get to the ranch before nightfall, unless you want to camp out in the middle of this."

"No way! It's far too creepy for me." She ran up to Lloyd's side and they finally left the fork in the road. I just want to find the exspheres and get out of here. I can't help but feel we're being watched…

Mizuho

"That's horrible!" Sheena exclaimed. "And you haven't been able to find them anywhere?" It was hard to imagine so many people from the elven village could just vanish without a trace. "I have to get over there! Raine and Genis could be in trouble!"

Igaguri nodded. "I understand."

Sheena unconsciously clutched onto the charm she'd received from Kuchinawa that hung around her neck and thought to herself: Please understand. I will come to you and settle our score, but I have to see if my friends are okay. "I'll report back as soon as I can." She bowed and ran from the room.

Sheena wished she had Corrine with her still, but she had other friends now and she would not lose them. Skidding to a halt under the overhang that protected the people within with a mystical spell centuries old, Sheena immediately lost all feeling in her body. "Z-Zelos!"

The redheaded warrior could barely stand on his feet, let alone reply, and merely smiled upon hearing the ninja speak. Good, they haven't attacked the village. His entire body was covered in so much blood, it was hard to tell where the actual wounds were. Holding up the wing pack, Zelos had to make sure the exspheres were destroyed before the creatures from before found out they'd actually only taken a small portion of them. "T-they…have to…be…destroyed…Sheena..." Eyes closing, Zelos collapsed into the dirt and remained unmoving.

Sheena took one step forward, falling to her knees in shock and disbelief. What could've attacked the warrior so badly that he was on the brink of death…or worse…"Z-ZELOS!!!"

Asgard

Genis stayed quiet while Raine explain to Linar and Harley at their home of their journey up until now. Part of him felt guilty because last time they were here and Harley immediately sensed they were half-elves. Genis tried to cover it up because Lloyd and the others still hadn't been told that Raine and he were not really full-blooded elves. No one in Iselia really had any prejudices about half-elves, except the mayor, but Genis abided by Raine's wishes and upheld the lie.

As soon as his sister was finished, Linar and Harley were pensive in thought. "Hmm, well I haven't exactly heard anything about unusual monsters except the ones left over from the regeneration of the world." Linar said.

"But we have noticed that a large amount of mana has been sucked up towards the North." Harley thought to mention.

"Usually we wouldn't think much of it, with the revival of the Great Viscus Tree and all…" Said unsurely. "But the sheer amount rivals that of the Goddess and the tree itself!"

Harley nodded. "It's almost suffocating."

Raine looked to Genis and said, "I think we should go up to the platform now. The only thing significant to the North would be the Tower of Mana."

"That's where that guy said he was attacked!" Genis jumped to his feet. "Let's do it!"

Asha cupped her hands in front of her. The woman they had saved from being sacrificed was a very gentle person and it was no wonder her close friends were willing to blow an entire platform up, no matter the historic significance, in order to save her. "Please be careful. If there are monsters about, it could be dangerous."

"Don't worry. If we encounter any trouble, we'll run away and avoid confrontation." Raine assured. "We are not as powerful as before by ourselves." She took note.

Genis nodded. "Thanks for your help and putting us up for the night." He bowed in gratitude.

Asha giggled and smiled. "It's no problem!" She patted him on the head. "I just can't get over how cute you are!"

Genis closed his eyes as she pinched his cheek and ducked behind Raine. "Well, we gotta go, right Raine?"

She hid her own smile and turned around. "Of course, thank you again Harley, Linar and Asha."

"May the Goddess Martel protect you!" Asha waved goodbye.

Once outside, Genis rubbed his reddened cheek. "She makes it seem I'm some sort of pet." He complained.

This time Raine let out a short laugh, then covered it when Genis glared at her. "Oh come on. It wasn't that bad." When they got to the top of the stairs, both siblings approached the edge overlooking the terrain carefully. Raine could immediately sense the mana flow their friends had mentioned earlier and frowned. "The Summon Spirit Luna is no longer there and Colette broke the seal during her journey of regeneration, so what do you think is the reason for the mana charge?" She asked her younger brother.

Genis sat down and placed his hands on his knees, putting his chin gently on top of his palms and sighed. Although the view was beautiful, it held an eerie, ominous feel to it…like something was lying in wait to destroy the beauty. The tower almost glowed with the amount of mana inside and Genis wondered himself what could need so much power. The Great Viscus Tree could also be seen a little to the Southeast of the pillar, but just like their friends had said, the tower held close to the same amount. "I don't know, but the idea creeps me out. I can't believe for one second that it was the elves from Heimdall that attacked that man."

"But we cannot exclude that conclusion until we disprove it. Now come on, we're going to the Tower of Mana." Raine started towards the steps again.

Sighing, Genis quietly followed. The more they found out, the more discouraged he got. He wished Lloyd was still around. His best friend could always make him feel like he could do anything and give him courage was he was afraid. Without that now, the little mage didn't know how to control his fear. If he failed to cast a spell at any time, it would be his sister who would fall. I have to try and face this like Lloyd would. Just because he's not here, doesn't mean I didn't learn a thing or two during my travels with him. I can do this. Genis told himself. Placing a hand on his kendama, Genis closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He just hoped his magic would be enough.

North of Toize Valley Mine

The mountain range on top of the mine covered most of the southern half of the continent and the sun reflecting off the rock made the area unbearably hot. But it did provide Regal and Presea enough cover as they observed the activities of the miners. Nothing seemed amiss. Workers went into the newly dug mine and came out with wheelbarrows full of unrefined exspheres.

Exspheres, in their dormant state, were easily handled and mined out of the ground. With rock still attached to them in various places, the stones had to be shipped by boat to be cleaned. Various companies would buy them, either to equip or use them as power sources, this method mainly being used in the former Tethe'alla. Regal assumed some of the buyers sent them to desian ranches where they were attached to human hosts in order to awaken them. It was for this reason Regal wanted to close down the mine and begin funding research that looked for a new energy source.

"The workers don't seem to be under ill treatment." Presea commented.

Regal narrowed his eyes. "No, they are working of their own free will." Forced labor was one of the theories he and Presea had come up with as to the reason why the miners would quit, then break the law to mine on Lezareno land without permission. "It is time we find out what is really going on here." He said with determination.

Standing up, the two approached the nearest worker and tapped him on his shoulder. "Excuse me but what is going on here?" Regal asked in a commanding voice.

The worker turned around with a bored expression, but upon seeing his former boss standing no more than a foot away, nearly choked on whatever he was chewing and jumped back in surprise. "M-Master Bryant!" He exclaimed. "W-what are you doing here?"

Regal crossed his arms. "I own this land, or have you forgotten since you quit working for me?"

The man pulled on his shirt to get some air underneath his clothes and laughed nervously. "Look, it ain't nothing personal…"

"Then what is it?" Presea persisted. Without having been around the business world for very long, she knew how to carry herself really well. Perhaps she was more intimidating speaking in such a level tone, while still appearing like a ten-year-old.

The man visibly began sweating. "Well, you see, once we got word that the mine was going to close, a lot of us got worried about our job security. You know, we got families to feed and all."

"Go on…" Regal shifted weight onto the other leg and listened intently.

"Well, I received a letter just outside Toize Valley that said if we wanted to make more money than we were now, to head over to the other side of the mountain range and be ready to work." The worker explained. "When we got there, a man wearing a black cloak was there and handed us a bag full of gald. 'Split it up amongst yourselves' He said, 'But if you accept this money, be prepared to accept the consequences'. He told us to dig here for dormant exspheres and leave what we mined at the end of each day at a mesa towards the top of the peak."

Regal frowned. "Did he give you a name?"

"No, not at all. Since most of us were afraid about finding other jobs, especially after all the earthquakes and storms, we accepted and started digging. I leave 'em at the top on the mesa, just like he said, and everyday more money is left at the cave entrance and the stones are gone. You gotta understand, we didn't have much of a choice."

Presea looked up at Regal. "Perhaps we should look into the identity of this mysterious foreman?"

Regal shook his head as he turned to her. "No, I've got a better idea." He replied. Looking back at the worker, Regal instructed. "Finish today's work and then I want everyone gone. I will send reinforcements to pick up the equipment and any remaining workers is they are still around."

The command seemed to confuse the man. "Y-you aren't gonna have us arrested?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Should I?"

The man swallowed hard. "No sir, Master Bryant. We'll be gone by sundown." He promised, then ran off to forward the message.

"What do you propose we do now?" Presea asked.

"We'll stay hidden and wait for everyone to leave. If this person who hired them returns every night, we will no doubt be given the…opportunity to meet him."

Presea nodded. "A good plan." She agreed. So far what most worried Presea was the obvious concealment. Who would go through all the trouble of having exspheres mined for them, yet hide his identity? Even exsphere brokers, like the late Vharley, didn't bother to keep it a secret. The more that knew, the more buyers they had. Whatever the man needed the exspheres for…it was not for a righteous purpose.

Gauracchia Forest

Lloyd and Colette had yet to find the former ranch, and the half-angel was beginning to think they were lost. "Oh man, maybe I should've gone right instead." He berated himself.

"Well, it's not too far back. We can still make it before nightfall." Colette suggested.

"Yeah, I guess we'll have to." Lloyd turned around with her, when he suddenly felt a presence behind him. Spinning around, he came face to face with a monstrous beetle as it stomped out of the foliage. It had a large two-sectioned black shell and a small head. Six skinny legs supported it, but two large mandibles clattered loudly in front. "Colette! Look out!" Scooping her up, Lloyd jumped out of the way before the beetle jumped up and squashed the land where they had just been. Landing off to the side, Lloyd unsheathed his swords and glared at the creature. "You wanna tussle?"

Colette giggled as she brought up her chakrams. "You sound like Zelos."
"Hey, don't insult me!" Lloyd ran forward, but for some reason felt horribly sluggish. "You picked the wrong guy to mess with!" Slashing with both his swords, a loud clink was heard as they bounced harmlessly off the monster's hard shell. "What the…?"

The beetle counterattacked and rammed into Lloyd, scooping him up and sending him flying back with its antlers. Everything happened so fast and Lloyd couldn't focus to land on his feet. Crashing into a tree, he slumped to the ground.

"Lloyd!" Colette called out her wings and flew into the air above Lloyd. "I'll show you for messing with my friend!" She threw one ring and then the other, making deep gashes in the exoskeleton, but nothing more. "It's too thick of armor!" Seeing Lloyd was still dazed, Colette caught her weapons on the rebound and placed them back on their hips. "Then it'll have to be magic!"

Cupping her hands in front of her, the angel-girl tapped into powers she hadn't used in a long time and when she opened her eyes again, they flashed white. "Oh Holy One, cast thy purifying light upon this corrupt soul. Light of Judgment!" Out of the sky, large columns of pure white light fell down upon the beetle, cracking through its black armor and superheating the body inside. When the heavenly rain ceased, only pieces of black shell and steaming green goo remained.

Satisfied that it was no longer a threat, Colette flew down and landed next to Lloyd, just as he got to his feet. "Are you okay!?" She exclaimed worriedly.

Rubbing the back of his head, he moaned. "Yeah, but I wonder what went wrong? I couldn't react fast enough to avoid the attack."

Colette saw the space in his key crest and gasped. "Lloyd! Your cruxis crystal!" She pointed to the back of his hand.

Frowning, Lloyd pulled his arm down and gasped when he saw the sphere missing. "What? When did that happen!?"

"It was that kid! I thought something was fishy with him!" She accused.

"You think a little kid like that would take the risk of stealing from me?" Lloyd wondered in disbelief as he got to his feet.

"When else could it have been taken off?" She placed her hands on her hips. Then, behind Lloyd, Colette saw the same boy from before watching them from the bushes. "There he is!" She flew into the air and after the kid as he gasped and disappeared into the foliage.

"Colette wait!" Lloyd didn't trust his flying enough to take off through a thick forest and instead followed on foot. Why would a child steal a cruxis crystal? He probably doesn't know what he really has and thinks it's just an exsphere. He concluded.

Running into a clearing, Colette saw she had the boy cornered against a tall rock face that blocked his path. "Hand over what you stole and we'll let you go!" She demanded.

Lloyd walked up underneath her and frowned. "Where are your parents? Are you alone out here?"

The boy glared at his opposition. "I don't have parents and I don't have your stupid gem!" He spat back angrily. "So take this!" He hit a spot in the rock wall and from underneath Lloyd, a column of electricity activated and flew up to encircle both him and Colette above.

Gasping, Colette tried attacking the barrier by spinning and releasing her weapons, but the six pillars of voltage that surrounded them shot static back at the angel as her chakrams bounced harmlessly off. The deadly lightning struck Colette and she cried out as her weapons circled around and opened up wounds in her left arm and right side.

"Colette!" Lloyd caught her as she fell to the ground and moaned in pain. Gritting his teeth, he shot his head up and glared at the boy. "What do you think you're doing!? Let us out of here now!" He demanded.

Colette had burns on various parts of her body, but already those were beginning to heal. Her other wounds would need tending to though. For now, she remained conscious but incapacitated in Lloyd's arms.

"Silence heathen!" An older voice commanded. From the trees to the side dropped a new figure. This man was human and his piercing amber eyes were partially covered by his scrappy brown hair. The locks themselves were streaked with beautiful silver strands. He held a single double-edged sword that had a green exsphere on the end of the hilt. The handle was silver and engraved with ancient looking writing. He wore a dark green no-sleeve shirt and black pants. "I knew you two were trouble when I saw your cruxis crystal!"

"My cruxis crystal?" Lloyd echoed in shock. "Give it back and let us go!"

"Or what angel-boy? You'll summon Lord Yggdrasill on me?" The man taunted. "I hope you like our little surprise. It's something I picked up from the desian ranch."

"You know about Yggdrasill?" Lloyd put Colette carefully down on the ground and slowly approached the edge of the force field. Lowering his head, he met the older man's gaze fiercely. "Then you gotta know we're the good guys! That's Colette and I'm Lloyd! Now give me back what's mine and we'll leave you be! We've got no business with you!"

"Why should I believe you? Only the angels of cruxis use these spheres and rumor has it the Chosen has lost her soul!"

Frowning, Lloyd shook his head. "You got it all wrong! Wherever you're getting your information, it's way out of date! Mithos Yggdrasill is dead!"

"Blasphemy! How dare you speak ill of the hero from the Ancient War by relating his name to that demon!" The man shouted back. "I think this conversation is over!" Walking over to the projector, half covered in leaves, that created the barrier, the man flipped a switch on the flat around device and he grinned at his prisoner. "Good night."

"No wait!" Lloyd attempted, but more electricity lanced out from each of the pillars and he screamed in pain. His cry was joined by Colette's before both passed out onto the floor.

With the forest quite once more, the boy who'd lured them over walked up to his leader. "What do we do with them now?"

"Call the others and carry them back to the hideout. We need to find out what Cruxis wants with this forest and maybe what's going on in the real world." The man commanded. He may think he can fool me, but those from Mizuho are not so easily tricked.

Mizuho

Sheena had Zelos brought to the chief's house where Igaguri immediately sent for the village healer. Various gels worked to stop the bleeding before they were wrapped in bandages, but the warrior had already lost a lot of blood making his way through Gauracchia Forest in order to make it to Mizuho. Sheena remained by his side the entire time and Igaguri could see the worry reflecting in the eyes of the young woman that he'd seen grow up since infancy.

During his fitful sleep, Zelos spoke of getting the exspheres to Mizuho and helping Lloyd in his quest. Sheena bent forward and checked his clenched hand, finding a wing pack hidden within. Her eyes went wide when she went outside the village and activated the pack. A huge pile appeared before her of blue expsheres that had previously been used to operate the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge. "There are…so many." She spoke in awe. He risked his life to see to it these were destroyed. Her heart ached at the sacrifice. Zelos…please be okay.

Orochi came up to Sheena's side and looked evenly at the pile. "What shall we do with them all?"

Narrowing her eyes, Sheena withdrew her garnet and aquamarine stones out of her pockets and held them up in the air. "Efreet! Destroy the exspheres with your mighty flame! Undine! Create a water barrier to protect the village!"

Moments passed and when nothing happened, the guardian user frowned and brought the magical gems down to look at them in confusion. "What?" She brought out her sardonyx holding Volt's power and attempted to summon him. "Volt! Destroy the expsheres! Your mistress commands you!"

Again nothing.

"I don't understand it!" Sheena exclaimed in frustration. Her heart raced in fear and she had to force her hands not to shake. Even after forming her pact with Volt, she had been reluctant to call upon any of the spirits' power for anything. Now when she did, they refused to help. The stones that had been granted to her upon her making of the pact ceased to glow and remained dormant in her hands. Have they…lost their faith in me? But that didn't make any sense because unlike Mithos, who'd broken his vow, Sheena kept hers and saved both Tethe'alla and Sylvarant. So then what was going on now?

From the village entrance, Chief Igaguri held up an ofuda as he approached. "Perhaps you can use this?"

Sheena's expression brightened and she gratefully took the summoning tool with a bow. "Thank you, Grandfather."

"That Summon Guardian is special." Igaguri explained. "It can be used more than once and only the first time does it require an ofuda."

Frowning, Sheena observed the spell written on the summoning paper. "Carbuncle?" She read with a tilt of her head.

Smiling, Igaguri clasped his hands behind him. "I heard what happened to Corrine and although there will be no replacing her…"

"I understand." Sheena closed her eyes with a smile and bowed again, this time far lower. "Thank you." Turning around, Sheena looked at the exspheres determinably. "Zelos came here in hopes of freeing the tortured souls within these monstrosities and that's what I'm going to do!" She held the ofuda up. "Carbuncle! Come forth!"

The paper lit up and disappeared, but in its place, a sea blue creature floated above Sheena's head. It looked like an overgrown mouse with a large squirrel-like tail. In its forehead was a six-sided ruby crystal. It was about three feet long and two and a half feet high. Its dark blue eyes were mysterious yet tame.

"Carbuncle! Destroy the exspheres once and for all!"

Carbuncle made a happy shrill and spun once, lowering its head to take aim at the pile. Mana flowed into the crystal from all around. Lighting up, a red colored beam shot out at the exspheres making them explode. Sheena raised her hands to protect herself, but gasped when a red-hued shield erected not only around the three present, but also around the nearby village. "A barrier?" Sheena breathed.

Looking up, thousands of streaks flew up like shooting stars out of the glass orbs and filled the sky with white light. In the tails of the fleeing energy, Sheena could barely make out the translucent figures of the victims now finding freedom from their cruel fate. The sight brought tears to Sheena's eyes. "May the Goddess Martel guide you safely to the gates of heaven." The spirits smiled and disappeared into the sky.

When the smoke cleared, everything – including the grass – was left unscathed, only the expsheres having been destroyed. Carbuncle landed before Sheena and cocked its head adorably as if waiting for confirmation that it'd done a good job.

Sheena giggled and knelt down, scratching the mystical creature behind its ears. "You did a good job, Carbuncle."

"I like you, Sheena. You're a nice human." Carbuncle said as it purred. Its voice sounded female.

The summoner frowned. "Have you known a bad human?"

Carbuncle shivered at the memory. "He was an evil man and scared me and..."

Sheena picked up the creature and held her close. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of you." She stroked its head and watched it calm down. Who could treat something so small cruelly enough to make it react this way? She wondered in worry.

Iselia

Phaidra turned the flat disk in her hands and observed it closely. "This artifact is amazingly carved out of sacred wood, which usually is impossible for anyone to carry, even for those with exspheres." She tilted it on its side and pointed to the archaic writing engraved on the edge for both dwarves to see. "The angelic writing engraved on the edge here makes it as light as normal wood – cedar or redwood – but it survives the ages of time like only sacred wood can." The priestess explained.

"What about the statues?" Dirk asked.

"These are the remains from a temple once used as a seal, much like the seals the Chosen breaks during their journey of regeneration." The aged woman replied.

"What you discovered has been hidden from the pages of history for centuries!" Frank said excitedly.

"Not so fast." Phaidra said with caution. "The books retrieved describe a summon spirit called Omega. Not much is said, but it leaves room for question."

"Omega?" Altessa frowned. "I've never heard of that summon spirit. What element does it represent?"

"Well, on this pendant, is also the angelic symbol for death." Phaidra replied. "All of the summoning spirits are named based on their element. In the angelic language, Sylph would mean wind and Luna means light. Her counterpart, Aska, literally translated means Sun."

"So Omega, with the angelic symbol on the statues and the pendant means…" Dirk caught on.

Phaidra nodded. "Yes. Death." She confirmed. "Going back into that cave could be dangerous. Let us research my books here and see if we can come up with anything more pertaining to this Omega."

Both dwarves nodded and agreed with the course of action. More information needed to be gathered even though, what they knew up to this point, was anything but good news.

Mizuho

Zelos began to wake just about the time Sheena walked back into the room where he was resting, and she quickly knelt down besides him. Carbuncle quietly sat next to her mistress' feet. The warrior's gorgeous eyes opened first and looked around, not quite remembering where he was. "W-where?" His gaze finally fell upon Sheena and his frown deepened. "Sheena? W-what are you doing in my mansion?"

Sheena frowned back. "Um…"

"Did we…do something last night?" He asked in all seriousness. A pain in the back of his head made him wince and he tried to sit up. "Oooh my head." He moaned.

"Careful." Sheena helped him into a sitting position.

Looking down at his bandaged wounds, Zelos raised an eyebrow at Sheena and smirked pervertidly. "Damn Sheena…I didn't know you were into that kind of thing. I'm amazed I survived. But I guess it's because you were so amazed by my…"

As he continued to talk, Sheena's fists balled up tighter and tighter and she had to remind herself that he was injured and delusional to restrain from beating the crap out of him and injuring him further. Veins literally popping out of her forehead, she shouted to interrupt him, "How could you think of a thing like that at a time like this!?"

Zelos leaned away in fear of the girl's wrath, having felt it so many times before.

Standing up, Sheena huffed out of the room, needing time to cool off. "I can't believe I was actually worried for you!"

Looking down at the blue creature remaining in the room, Zelos cocked his head in confusion at the same time Carbuncle did and the diminutive spirit made a mew sound, feeling sorry for the injured youth. "Yeah, you said it." Zelos translated the sound as pity and sat back against the pillows. "I guess only in my dreams do I get with her, huh?"

Derris-Kharlan

Back in the deserted city of angels, Welgaia, Kratos dispatched of the last cruxis crystals and sighed. The crystals, though dormant, could cause an infinite amount of trouble when placed in the wrong hands and it was one person's hands in particular Kratos wanted to keep them away from. In the communication room, Kratos stood silent for a moment, feeling anxious yet paranoid about his next moves.

The man he sought after would no doubt be in hiding, or worse, already causing trouble within the new world. Kratos knew some of what he was up to, but there was so much more he hadn't pieced together, which would explain his frustration and anger.

Sighing, Kratos forced the illogical feelings out of his mind. "I suppose now the most logical thing to do is contact Yuan. Lloyd will no doubt be easy for the Renegades to track down and I will finally be able to finish what I started with…"

"Kratos. Kratos. Kratos. Your way of thinking and reasoning have changed little since the days of old haven't they?" A taunting voice accused the angel.

Wings freezing in mid wave, Kratos looked around suspiciously. "You…where are you hiding!" He demanded.

The voice being projected anonymously through the communication device before the angel, would be impossible to track. "But where would the fun be if I told you that? I have so much more to do before your character comes into play."

"If you're after the cruxis crystals here you can forget it. I've already disposed of them." Kratos tried to calm down and crossed his arms defiantly.

"Cruxis crystals? Who would want those weak things? I have something far more powerful on my side than the pathetic experiment from that delusional Mithos." The voice responded.

"Delusional? That sounds more like you and your ways." The angel countered. "What are you after then?"

"Definitely not anything to do with Derris-Kharlan…well, not yet. You did exactly as I expected you to though, Kratos, and now since you are effectively out of the way, I can deal with your annoying son before he becomes a thorn in my side like you so eloquently were."

"Lloyd!? Leave him out of this!" Kratos shouted.

The voice laughed and reveled in the torture. "What are you going to do about it locked away on that forsaken piece of rock?"

Kratos ignored the maniacal laughter and slammed a palm down on the button to call Yuan. "Yuan! It's Kratos!"

"You think he can save him?" The voice laughed more.

Yuan's communication side clicked on and his friend spoke with a concerned voice as his miniature form projected in front of the angel. "Kratos? What's wrong?"

"Find Lloyd and take him to your base now! He's in grave danger!" Kratos emphasized. "When he's safely with you contact me and he will be able to bring me back."

Yuan nodded. "I understand my friend. You can count on it. Your son will not be harmed." Yuan's image winked out and Kratos took a moment to calm his unsteady nerves. His wings behind him still fluttered with agitation.

"He will not make it in time, Kratos. You made the mistake of leaving him alone and now he will befall a fitting death."

Kratos clenched a fist and slammed it down into a random computer off to the side. Sparks flew and lived circuits danced with untamed electricity as the metal covering was broken inwards. Kratos pulled back his fist and cursed himself for being pulled into by such a ploy. Lloyd…Watch your back.