By Sir Exal
Chapter 4: Anew, Again
Lloyd awoke the next morning with a start, tensing in case anyone...the killer, he thought, had come back for him. But the only thing that had woken him up was a large amount of valley dew on his face. With Colette's arrival, there had suddenly been the awkwardness of whether or not to sleep in Sheena's bed. Rather than force Colette to make a difficult decision, Lloyd had given his bed to the girl, and slept under the stars once again.
Shaking the water off his face...and shirt, and pants. With a mighty yawn, Lloyd entered Sheena's old house. Somehow, without Sheena, it seemed to lose some of its beauty.
Colette, Zelos, and Genis were already having breakfast, kneeling on the cushions set around the table. "We wondered when you were gonna get up!" exclaimed Zelos, cheerfully.
Lloyd looked annoyed at the mock insult. "Yeah, thanks Zelos." He kneeled down in front of his rapidly cooling plate of food. The others seemed to have already eaten most of their meal.
No sooner had Lloyd taken his first bite that Orochi walked into the home. "Good," said the blue-clad ninja, "you have eaten. Chief Igaguri and Vice-Chief Tiga have requested to speak with you."
Zelos and Genis stood up first and left as Orochi did. Colette, seeming to break out of a trance, followed. Lloyd's stomach growled.
"Come on, Lloyd," said Colette.
Lloyd moaned, then running after his friends, complained, "But I didn't even get to eat"
--scene--
The Chiefs' house was in the middle of Mizuho, and was the biggest, but otherwise, not visually different from the other houses. Orochi led Zelos, Genis, and Colette there, but Lloyd stumbled after the rest of his group, attempting to choke down part of breakfast at the same time. First, he tripped, sending a mouthful of egg flying. He had just gotten out of the dust when he saw Colette's foot disappear inside the Chiefs' house. Putting on a blast of speed, he ran after his friends, only to trip again, and fall against the side of the house. To Lloyd's great surprise, the wall flipped, and threw him into the house.
As he sat dazed and puzzled, Zelos stuck his head out from the main room of the house. "Lloyd, stop sitting on the ground and come on!" Lloyd stood, shook his head, and walked in the main room.
Tiga kneeled on a cushion near the front of the room, flanked by Orochi and Igaguri. In front of him were several kneeling pillows, which Colette, Lloyd, and Genis soon took the cue and kneeled on. Zelos, as he does, stood off to the side.
"Greetings to you all. I trust your sleep was restful?" said Tiga, breaking the ice. There was a general murmur of assent through the friends, though anyone could detect a bit of untruthfulness in it. Tiga chose to ignore it. "That is good. Now, we must make arrangements for your departure."
"Departure? Why?" asked Lloyd.
Tiga smiled "Surely you think you have overstayed your welcome?" he asked joshingly. But his tone then turned dead serious. "And I assumed you wished to pursue Sheena's assassin."
The four exchanged nervous glances. They knew they wanted revenge, but no one had truly considered that they'd have to venture forth and do it.
Zelos let the subject dwell, then yelled out in anger, "Oh, yeah, we do! And we want to teach the bastard a lesson, too!"
Colette looked alarmed. "What? We can't just do that!"
A look of incredulity crossed Zelos's face. "Why the hell not!" he demanded.
"Well...We should talk to him first, I mean, what if he had a good reason to kill Sheena? Or-or what if he didn't really mean to or just needed to..." her mouth ran dry. "Um...sorry..."
Genis spoke, standing up to Zelos. "What about Sheena? She started out trying to kill Colette! And we were willing to forgive that, she became one of our best allies!" Zelos blinked. Using Sheena as a weapon against him rendered him defenseless.
Igaguri broke the tenseness. "There is validation in all your words. It is perfectly warranted to want swift revenge, but revenge without temperance is merely madness."
The room settled down, and Tiga spoke again. "Prior to pursuing Sheena's killer, I suggest that you'd get your former party together. I assume you know where they are, Lloyd?"
Lloyd nodded. "Yes, I do."
Tiga continued. "However, I do not think just by foot is the most efficient way to get around the land of Symphonia, as you are at the mercy of boat schedules and weather." He handed Lloyd something small. "Here."
Lloyd looked at the small, white cylindrical object. It had a gold bird crest on a red field, on it. "What's this?" he asked.
Genis took one look at the box and rolled his eyes. "You know what that is, Lloyd. It's a Wing Pack. We used them all the time, remember?"
Zelos laughed a bit. Lloyd turned red. "I kn-knew that! I was asking what was, uh, inside the box. Yeah." He turned to Tiga. "So what is?"
"It is the newest miracle of magitechnology. The people of the united world needed a way that was faster than steamship but less expensive and had less exsphere use than cruise ships. When the scientists at the Elemental Research Laboratory were posed with this problem, their thoughts moved to you, Lloyd, and your adventure with the EC."
Tiga continued. "You hold in your hands the first ever Hydro-Elemental Cargo, an EC designed specifically for water travel. Using water mana and the properties of the EC, this can go in the water faster than your prior water vehicle could, as the EC was not meant for it, while this HEC is."
Colette looked excited. "Wow! So now, we can travel over the ocean all we want"
"I think that was the entire point, Colette," said Genis.
"So, after you retrieve your friends, you can go to the assassin, and--" started Tiga.
"Hold it." said Zelos. "You keep talking about Sheena's killer like you know who he is or something. Do you?"
Tiga closed his eyes and shook his head. "We do have a theory. However, we..."
Orochi interrupted him. "We believe it was my brother who killed Sheena."
Lloyd was astonished. "Kuchinawa?" he asked.
Zelos was incensed. "Of course! That slimeball!" he yelled. "We shoulda known he wouldn't let his little vendetta against Sheena rest when he lost the duel!"
But something didn't quite add up in Genis's head. "Wait," he said, "I thought by ninja code, the duel was the end of it. Plus, ninjas don't usually do things like stab at night..."
"We believe that my brother may have cast off the honorable ways of the ninja," said Orochi. "As much as we hated to think about it, the evidence points to him. The knife the assassin used was of Mizuho carving."
"Is it really a possibility?" asked Lloyd.
Tiga continued for Orochi. "Sadly, yes. We had been keeping a watch on him, but he had recently disappeared from the proverbial radar."
Zelos looked ready for blood. "So find him so we can kick his ass!" he yelled.
"We are putting our best efforts into it, Zelos. However, I feel this is a problem handled best by more than just the four of you," said Tiga.
Zelos approached Tiga in rage. "You telling me that we can't handle a two-bit murderer?"
Chief Igaguri stepped in front of Zelos. Igaguri had never looked more intimidating. "We feel that this is an issue taken in stride, Chosen," he said, sternly.
Zelos stared down the Chief for a second. Colette said pleadingly, "Zelos..."
Zelos gave another angry stare, then turned. "Whatever," he said, "let's just get going."
Despite what had happened, Tiga broke into a smile. "Go forth," he said, "and have favorable trails."
--scene--
Before leaving Mizuho, Lloyd walked over to Sheena's grave. He held a long, wrapped up bundle in his hands. "Sheena..." he said, softly.
The other Mizuhoans seemed to know something sacred was going on here, and vacated the immediate area. Lloyd was alone.
Lloyd slowly unwrapped the bundle of rags while talking. "We're going to get your murderer, Sheena. I don't think I can truly accept you're gone until we do."
He inhaled. "I just hope I'll be able to give you a proper eulogy, someday..."
He had fully unwrapped the package, and put its contents on the ground in front of Sheena's gravestone. The blue blade, half of the elemental sword, glowed as it rested there. "I'm putting my dad's sword next to you...so there'll always be a part of me near you. Is that okay?" He paused for a moment.
Colette approached. "Are you coming now, Lloyd?" she asked.
Lloyd looked up. "Yeah."
He stood up, and walked away from Sheena's grave. The sword remained.
--scene--
Orochi showed them a hidden path, the quickest way up the mountain. Soon, the four friends were treading down a slope, down to the sea, where their new journey awaited.
Colette attempted to hang back a bit, to be next to Lloyd, where the other two boys couldn't hear her. "Um, Lloyd," she started, "D-do you notice anything different about me?"
Lloyd took a second to look her over; her aging to eighteen had been heralded by a growth spurt of about six inches, but not much else had changed. She had made her bangs shorter, and her hair in back had been groomed to perfection. In the way of clothing, she was in her familiar white clothes, but the sleeves had been stitched much shorter. In addition, it had become considerably more low-cut, not enough to make Zelos not be able to take his eyes off it, but still noticeable.
To, perhaps, anyone but Lloyd. "Hmmm?" He asked. "Did you change your hair?"
"Oh..." said Colette. "Yeah. That's it? Yeah." She then went running after the other two, leaving Lloyd alone.
Lloyd ran after her. "Colette? Colette!" Colette stopped, and shushed Lloyd. "Huh? Colette, I.." started Lloyd, but Colette put a finger up to his mouth and shushed him again.
This caught Genis's attention. "Hey, Colette, what's up?" he asked, moving back to her. Zelos soon followed.
"Shh. I hear something," said Colette. "It sounds like...arguing...that sounds sorta like a woman's voice...that's a man...that's someone else..."
Zelos broke into a grin. "That's our Colette's super-angel hearing! You go, girl!" he cheered.
"Shhh!" said Colette loudly. "It suddenly got quiet...Oh!"
"What?" asked her three friends simultaneously.
Colette immediately dashed off down the path, yelling back, "There's fighting!"
The three males looked at each other for a dumbfounded second, then ran after her.
--scene--
Just as Lloyd was beginning to run out of breath, the four rounded a hill and saw what Colette had heard.
It was no longer a fight; it was a massacre. Three men dressed in armor very similar to the Desians' used to be were staring down in victory at another man, who was kneeling on the ground, in obvious pain. The three men each wore helmets with a large, blood-red R on them. The victim's blue-green hair was matted and stringy, and it went down to his waist. His body was wet with sweat and blood. He seemed too exhausted to stand, and was leaning on a long halberd for support.
"Prepare to die, inferior being!" yelled one of the men, swinging a morningstar.
"No--" sputtered the blue-green haired man on the ground. "Don't...you can't show them..."
"Silence!" roared another armored man, and with a centaur's speed, fired a crossbow bolt at the man on the ground.
"NO!" screamed Lloyd, and he leapt in front of the arrow, swinging one of his double swords. The arrow fell to the ground harmlessly, sliced in two.
"This is not your fight, boy," said the man with the morningstar.
"I won't let you hurt this man!" challenged Lloyd, as Colette, Zelos, and Genis ran up beside him.
"Meddler!" growled the third man, pointing a dagger at Lloyd. "Die!"
Colette unfolded her wings and readied her chakrams. Lloyd and Zelos led the attack, swords at the ready, and Genis had already started casting a magic spell before they had moved. The man they were protecting could only look up and mutter, "What in the world?"
The archer attempted to fire, but had to jump back as a fireball singed him, courtesy Zelos. Zelos kept up a steady string of attacks, slicing the helmet of the man, and keeping him at bay.
The soldier with the dagger gave a feral charge at the man on the ground. Lloyd jumped between them, crossing his swords and stopping his aggressor's charge. After a second of stalemate, during which both parties could see the intensity in each other's eyes, Lloyd suddenly broke the hold, yelling, "Omega Tempest!" Turning himself into a veritable pinwheel of blades, Lloyd rotated into the air, swords whirling. The helmeted man tried to guard against it, but Lloyd's swords shattered his dagger quickly.
"Stalagmite!" said Genis, catching the man with the morningstar completely off guard. The soldier flew through the air after the impact of the stone spire, landing with a WUMPH! on the ground. He looked up at Genis.
"Another one..." he growled, and tried to stand up. This was prevented when one of Colette's chakrams swooped upon him, tripping the man. This was followed by another one impacting his helmet, shattering it.
"Damn!" he roared. Getting up, he called back to his teammates, "Fall back!" As they retreated, he turned back to Lloyd and the rest. "All of you...we will be back." he threatened.
"Who are you?" demanded Genis.
"I feel no need to introduce myself to the likes of you scum." said the man. He then ran off, with a final yell of "Urteil!"
"Urteil..." muttered Colette. "I've heard that before..."
"Hey mister!" yelled Lloyd, breaking Colette's focus. "Are you alright?"
The man on the ground breathed heavily and painfully. Lloyd turned to Colette. "Colette, do we have some Lemon gels?"
"Huh?" asked Colette. "Oh, yeah!" she then said, getting a gel out of her pack. Lloyd took it.
Taking a handful of the gel, Lloyd carefully slid it down the man's throat, saying, "Eat this."
Zelos took the rest. "I'll rub this on his wounds," he said, using the sour gel to coat the man's scratches.
The man looked up almost immediately, and cast his eyes on Colette. "An angel! Stay back!" he yelled, standing up and trying to use his halberd to block. With a grunt, he fell back down almost immediately.
"He's still not healed quite yet..." said Zelos bemusedly.
"I guess I surprised him..." said Colette, returning to the ground and withdrawing her wings.
When the man opened his eyes again, he stood up steadily, and asked "Who are you?" His voice was deep and almost, but not quite, gruff.
Before Lloyd could say anything, Colette stepped in, shook his hand, and said "I'm Colette! This is Lloyd, Genis, and Zelos. We saved you from those men. We're--"
"Travelers." interjected Zelos, before Colette divulged too much.
The man sheathed his halberd behind his back, then said, "My name is Oberon."
"Are you a traveler too?" asked Colette sunnily.
"...Yes. Of sorts." replied Oberon.
Something hit Lloyd. "Hey, Obi-Wan..."
"Oberon," said Oberon, already sounding impatient.
"Oberon, who were those guys attacking you? Do you know them?"
"No." said Oberon, a little quicker. "I have never seen people like them on my travels. They are not Desians. Or Renegades."
"That's it!" exclaimed Colette excitedly.
"What?" asked Genis.
"Urteil! It's angelic language! I knew I had heard it before!" said Colette.
"So what's it mean?" inquired Zelos.
"Umm...Let's see..." Colette thought. "It's judgement. There was a lot about it in the Ancient War," her voice fell. "I think..."
"Judgement..." said Oberon. "What if--"
But he was cut off by three voices yelling challengingly, "Urteil!"
Everyone turned, and Zelos groaned, "What now?"
--scene-
End of chapter four. There you have it.
Oh, and DMC? It's called revenge. For the about six times I've had to do the same thing with your stories.