They had arrived at the dock on the other side of the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge. "Hey Cloud, wake up!" Lloyd's voice shouted as he shook the older warrior. Slowly Cloud stood up and apologized, "Sorry kid, guess I passed out…" "It's alright, I was just letting you know we're here…" Lloyd told him. "Alright…" Cloud stretched. "I'm sorry for asking, but Ms. Aeris said that most Cetra are older than they appear… How old are you?" the brunette young warrior. "Five hundred years…"
"Five hundred years!" Lloyd stood amazed by how old Cloud told him he was. He shook it off. "You're shittin' me!" Lloyd exclamed surprised. "No, that's how old I really am…" The two warriors continued to talk as they readied and traveled towards Sybak. The two were now walking at the front, talking about the Cetra. "Someday I hope to get the chance to teach you about Cetra text…" Cloud said with a faint sign of hope in his voice. Eager to change the subject of education, Lloyd decided to ask Cloud something about Aeris. "How old do you think Ms. Aeris is?" Lloyd asked, suddenly wishing he hadn't. "It's not of proper etiquette to ask a lady's age…" Cloud told him, "But my estimate is around my age maybe give or take a hundred years or more…"
"Four hundred years…" A voice behind them spoke softly, "And you're right, Cloud Strife it is quite rude to ask a lady her age, but it's even more rude to talk about someone as if they are not present when they are standing right behind you… But I'm a very forgiving person so I'll let it go…" "Can I ask you something else, Cloud?" Lloyd asked. "Yes, what is it?" Cloud asked. "Is there a reason why you're called 'Cloud'?" Lloyd asked. "Yes, there is…" Cloud responded. "What is it?" Lloyd asked. "My full name is deCloude Patri Strife, which in Cetra means Lord of the Skies…" Cloud responded with what sounded like a Spanish accent on his 'real name'. "So what does 'Colette' mean?" Lloyd asked. "Daughter of Sunshine…" Cloud told him, "More or less…" "And Aeris?" "I wouldn't know, you'd have to ask her…"
"I don't care to share my full name, but it means Mother of Oceans…" Aeris spoke again. Eventually they arrived at Sybak, but upon entering they once again encountered Kratos. "So, Kratos, have you finally decided to accept my challenge?" Cloud challenged. "No, I'm merely here to tell the Chosen to remove her Key Crest…" Kratos replied turning his eyes towards Colette. "If you value your life you will dispose of that crudely made Key Crest…" Kratos replied very coldly. "No! I will not! This is a gift from Lloyd!" Colette returned with anger evident in her voice. "Very well… Cloud, I'm sure you value your daughter's life remove that Key Crest…" Kratos instructed. "I will not abide by a traitor's words…" Cloud spat. "Have it your way… I will not fight you now. But very soon we will have our duel…" Kratos reminded Cloud. "I'll remember that!" Cloud yelled. "I'll not underestimate you again!" Kratos spat before walking away.
"Who was that sorry SOB?" Zelos asked, "What a jerk!" "Speaking of jerks wanna' watch the crude language?" Sheena replied. "Are you alright, Colette?" Cloud asked, focusing more on her than his wounded pride. "Yes, daddy, I'm fine!" Colette responded with a bright smile. "That's good!" Lloyd replied. "Don't we have business here?" Vyse reminded the group. "There's a scientist we have to see… According to the information I received from Kuchinawa yesterday, her name is Kate." Sheena reminded them. "Remember your manners Lloyd…" Vyse half-joked, half-reprimanded. "I'm not the one that has to, dear brother…" Lloyd responded with witticism, "If I recall you were at one time a pirate…"
The lab, if it could be called a lab, of Kate was more like a dungeon. "We heard you could help our young friend here…" Cloud asked. "Yes, her name is Presea I assume." Kate responded, "And you must be Lloyd?" "No, I'm Cloud," Cloud said shoving Lloyd in front of him, "This is Lloyd…" Lloyd was just staring or daydreaming, either way he snapped out of it when he heard Colette yell at him, "Lloyd!" "Huh? What? Oops, I must have been spacing out…" Lloyd said, "I'm Lloyd, now how is it that you can help Presea?" "Well, it's not exactly me that can help, but if you see a dwarf named Altessa who lives near Ozette he might be able to help…" She informed them. "We need to head to Ozette anyway, right Lloyd?" Vyse asked. No effect, Lloyd was daydreaming again.
POW! Colette smacked Lloyd upside his head with a Pow Hammer. Cloud tried hard not to laugh but a heavy chuckle escaped. POW! This time Aeris had smacked Cloud with her rod.
The group settled in for the night at the 'campus cottage', a small inn at the entrance to the town. Cloud avoided Aeris that night, even though she told him she only did that to tell him to mind his manners. Lloyd and Colette seemed to have forgiven each other. "I'm really sorry, Colette, you know I would never consider anyone else…" Lloyd apologized. "Sure you wouldn't, and I'm Henry the 8th!" Vyse replied sarcastically. Soon a red boot slammed against the back of Vyse's head. "OW! Damnit!" Vyse shouted as he rubbed the back of his head. Lloyd chuckled vengefully. "Lloyd!" Colette yelled, "Don't hurt your brother!" "I should…" Lloyd mumbled. Vyse stuck out his tongue at his twin. "Yeah, keep that tongue out. You're just insulting yourself!" Lloyd called to him. "How's that?" Vyse asked. "I'm a reflection of you, moron…" Lloyd told him. "If that's true, you just called yourself a moron!" Vyse replied cynically. "Break it up…" Cloud told them, "Don't make me separate you two…"
Fortunately Fina walked in, she seemed to be happier than usual. "Vyse tell me a bit about what you know about pirates!" she demanded. "You're a priestess and you want to know about pirates? What kind of holy person wants to know about such rogues as pirates?" Vyse responded in defense. She bent over and whispered something to him. His face turned bright red. "Maybe we should talk outside!" he suddenly shouted. "Don't stay out too late, loverboy, we're headed to the Gaoracchia Forest tomorrow…" Lloyd teased. "Your one to talk!" Vyse retorted. "Enough! You go outside with your girlfriend! You mind your own business! And you two will not argue anymore tonight, I have a major headache!" Raine shouted. "She's not my…" Vyse started. "JUST GO!" Raine screamed. Frightened Vyse stumbled out the door to the inn.
Once outside Fina decided to get sarcastic. "Some fearless pirate…" she remarked. "I never said I was fearless…" Vyse retorted, "Now what's this deal of yours?" "If you teach me everything you know about pirating I'll go out with you…" she reasoned. Vyse's face turned red again. He never imagined that anyone would go out with him, much less learn his 'trade'. "Hey, I thought that a priestess wasn't allowed to date…" he remarked. "Do we have a deal or not?" she asked impatiently. "Ok, yeah, I guess," he responded nervously. "I never said I enjoyed being a priestess… I've really always wanted to be a pirate or an adventurer. Like you or your brother… Come to think of it, I've always wondered what it would be like to have a sibling…" "Wanna' switch?" Vyse asked. "Switch?" she asked. "Yeah, I miss life as an only child…" Vyse joked. "You're quite the jovial one aren't you?" she asked. "Well, better that you're a congenital idiot than a philandering idiot, I guess…" she laughed. "What's that supposed to mean?" he responded feeling insulted. "It means I like guys who crack jokes instead of make passes…" she reassured him, "Well, I'm feeling quite tired, so I bid thee goodnight…" Vyse felt his face turn red again. "This is going to be a long journey…" he thought with a bit of unease, before finally going back into the inn to get some sleep.
