Whooo! Part Five is up!

I should warn you, school is taking up a huge chunk of time, as is work. So if it's slow, just email me. But with enough pestering, I should get this done.

Yes, as promised, this is an Aguro part, with his thoughts. I have never done his character before solo, so make comments if you think it should be done differently or if you think something should be added.

SPOILER: If you have not beaten Lufia I, or went to Doom Island underground, DO NOT READ. There is an excerpt from Lufia I with a few renditions done to make it sound like novel format writing. Also, because I felt like doing them. I always thought Devur would be rather emotional, and I felt they did not convey that much emotion into it. Special thanks to Cyan for having it on Forfeit Island.

Also, should I make a Seeking Redemption Part II on or should I just leave it all one part and submit it that way?

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Part V: A Look at Thyself

As he walked around the town of Alekia, Aguro began to think of everything that was going on. How the four of them became friends and what adventures they shared. He thought of the witch in the house, at what Roman told him upon leaving the inn. Lastly his thoughts centered to the memory of what happened at the inn with Lufia, at how he gave his trust to her.

"Are you being truthful with me, Aguro Ackern?"

The way her voice had wavered, questioned that he even would bother to trust her . . . it had stung him. He always thought that despite his misunderstanding that she was the Mistress of Death, Lufia would allow him some trust. But she had understood that he did not approve of her and of what she was, hence building up barriers about the Lorbenian commander. He did briefly remember that the two would have tiny spats on lifestyle choices or on Devur's decisions when he was leading the four to Doom Island.

But his mind went back to a particular point in time, to where the three found out who Lufia truly was. It was then that his trust for the girl began to wavier.

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He had awakened earlier then the redhead, which was unusual. Usually his arguments with the half-elf wore him out. But this morning he saw Devur sleeping on his side, pillow hugged to his head. Well, I'll be, he thought. Last night really affected him, when he found out what Lufia was. Shaking his shoulder, Aguro said, "Wake up, Devur."

The redhead blinked his bleary eyes quickly as he gasped, awakened from his recent nightmare. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Well," Aguro blurted out, "I was wondering . . . what are we going to do?" He never realized at the time that he, too, was worried about Lufia. He always thought then that it was just Jerin and Devur he was worried about.

Devur looked confused as he sat up in bed, grabbing the shirt that was discarded next to him on the wooden nightstand. He threw that over his head as he asked, "About what?"

The young Lorbenian commander scoffed. "About Lufia, of course." What else would I ask about, when we just came from that underground island? He's clearly in denial about everything that's happened . . . but if it was someone I loved . . .

Wouldn't I be that way, too?

His thoughts were right when Devur's face still looked confused. His blue eyes glanced away as he went to reach for the blanket, pulling it away. "What's wrong with Lufia?"

"Damn it, Devur!" he shouted. "Stop living in a fantasy!" Banging his fist against the wall, clearly frustrated, he took another approach to the problem. Taking a deep breath, he countered back with, "Can you deny what Daos said?"

And I hope to the Goddesses he can't. I'm not in the mood to hear him argue about why Lufia's not a Sinistral, he huffed. I clearly saw the statue of her in that throne room hallway. Despite what he says, that is the proof. Devur cannot deny that.

But, the morning had to be difficult for him, for Devur did counter it. Just as he expected.

"What are you saying?" Devur now had gotten out of bed to look for his pants, which were by the door. Aguro snorted at that remark and watched Devur fall, trying to reach for his tan pants. The Alekian was never a morning person, and this proved the point. "Erim's dead. All we have to do is destroy Amon, Daos, and Gades!"

Finally, a point I can agree with. Maybe you're starting to make sense. "I agree," Aguro replied. "But, remember what Daos said about the reunion! Do you think Lufia brought the Sinistrals back to life?"

"What are you trying to say?" Now sitting down, he grabbed his pants and held them in his hand loosely, staring at Aguro. It was as if he did not want to hear the next words coming out of his mouth.

Clearly, you don't, Devur, but I have no choice. This time Aguro sat on the bed, yawning a moment before continuing his thought. Befuddled as he is in the morning, I have no choice but to be blunt with him. Even I don't want to say the words. They do sound rather cold.

"Well?" Devur pressed.

Aguro sighed. He was going to have to tell him. "Even if we destroy the 3 remaining Sinistrals, they'll continue to return as long as Lufia lives." He kept his voice down so that no one else in the inn could hear them.

The stunned look on Devur's face was enough to make Aguro keep going, despite his gut feelings not to.

"If it's true, Devur, what are you going to do?"

"That's obvious! We have to destroy them!" Devur had a pained look on his face, as if refusing to grasp onto Aguro's words. The Lorbenian commander was starting to grow weary of the conversation and wondered briefly if Devur lost his mind. Either that or he has a really big hero complex all of a sudden to save Lufia from herself.

"Devur?" Aguro rose from the bed as he went next to his friend, standing above him. "Do you realize what you're saying?"

The redhead just stared at him.

Finally grasping his attention, Aguro finished the thought and had agreed with his earlier one: It did sound rather cold. "You'll have to destroy Lufia, too." After seeing the tears in Devur's eyes, he looked away. He could not bear to watch the redhead cry over the one thing that had to be done. It was when their mission would truly end. "Can you do that?"

"You know, I never really thought about it!" Devur yelled.

Aguro turned around, trying to get Devur to lower his voice but he could not as the tears spilled from the corners of his eyes. He wondered if anyone else was hearing this as Devur continued, his voice choking.

"Truthfully, I'm not sure, Aguro. I never had thought I would be killing my best friend. The woman I—"

"Obviously, I don't want to think about it either," Aguro snapped. "You think this is what I do all the time? Think of ways to kill Lufia?" He remembered being insulted that Devur would think such a thing. But now, he understood why he thought that way, looking at it years later.

Devur sighed, wiping the tears away from his eyes. "Aguro. Listen to me."

"What is it?" He asked.

"Do you think Lufia would try to harm us?"

That question stuck out in his mind, even now. Back then, he retorted with something stupid, something immature. "Why are you asking me? How should I know? She's your friend, after all."

But clearly, she was his friend too. And he did not care at all. Not back then, anyway.

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So why was it I never trusted her then when she never tried to harm us in the first place? Was it that I thought she was childish? Jealous? Not good enough to handle being on a journey with us? Aguro could not figure it out as he walked away from the witch's house and trekked through the town of Alekia.

Footprints were left in the snow as he walked, noting that the ones they made were now covered by fresh snow. He wondered how Roman and Lufia were doing, then shook his head. He would be going back to them soon enough, he told himself, and kept walking toward the inn.

Aguro had wandered into Lufia's Priphea garden and gazed at it a moment, seeing the snow on the bushes. He thought of how beautiful it was with the light snow on them. The Lorbenian commander wondered if Devur and Lufia looked at this together. That explains why he allowed her to run in Elder Flake's garden in Arus, he told himself. Priphea are rare, as I have found out. Alekia and Arus are the only two places in the whole world that have them.

His thoughts were interrupted by a girl running past him, coughing softly as she ran. She did not have a cloak on and this bothered him as she ran past, her long blonde hair wet from the snow. "Hey!" Aguro called, trying to catch up to the girl.

Her widened eyes glanced back to him and ran by the bushes near the edge of the village's border. Shit! Aguro thought. . . . why am I doing this again? I thought . . . oh, never mind. The child needs something warm to wear. Abandoning his quest to go to the inn, he poked his head in the bushes. "Hey, it's okay," he whispered. "Can you—"

"Lemme alone!" she yelled, her face scrounged up. "I fine!"

"Acyen!"

Aguro turned around to see a young boy gazing at the bushes. He also happened to not have a cloak, but he did have some dirty black pants and a big oversized shirt on his frame. "Just what are you two doing outside this time of night, anyway? Don't you guys have parents you should be—"

"Acyen!" he called again, ignoring Aguro and reached in the bushes, pulling her arm. "Come on! You know you can't be out here like that!"

When the boy pulled her out, Aguro saw what he meant by 'like that'. She was in a simplistic cream colored dress that was dirty with short sleeves. Her blonde hair had snowflakes in it and as she stood there, the blonde was more eaten up by the white of the snow. Dark brown eyes looked at the boy. "Jacen, I'm alright," she told him, turning away. "You can go on back, I was going to look for you!"

"Look for you?" Aguro asked, clearly confused.

"We were playing hide and seek in the snow," the boy named Jacen explained, shaking his black hair clear of the snow. "Acyen wanted to play, since she thought playing in the snow would be fun. But we don't have coats and stuff, so I said not too long."

She turned her head. "I said I was—" A loud rack of coughs came from her as she held a hand to her little chest, nearly doubled over.

"Hey, Acyen!" Jacen ran over and tried to see if the girl was alright. "What's wrong?" His voice was soft as he talked to the girl.

Aguro moved over to look at her and noted she did look a bit pale. Unfastening his cloak, he took it off and wrapped it around her body. "She's cold. Looks like she's getting sick, as well." He glanced to Jacen. "I don't like how she looks. You both should come with me."

"And where can we go?" Jacen asked. "We don't got any money. We just go 'round from place to place 'cause we got no home." His eyes stared at the Lorbenian commander as he pulled her into a protective hug. "There isn't a place we—"

"There's someone who'll let you stay and give you a bed," he told them. "No one should spend Christmas in the cold like this. Especially children." He thought of Jerin's words echoing in his mind.

"Who wants to spend Christmas alone? I wouldn't. I'd feel lonely, even disheartened that no one would be willing to spend it with me. It was like that for many years before . . . I had friends."

The little girl coughed some more and Aguro sighed. "Let me carry her, and follow me." Before either one could protest, he lifted Acyen into his arms gently. The boy blinked as she snuggled in his arms, wrapping the cloak around her. "It's not too far. Maybe he'll have some food ready for you, if you hurry."

Jacen nodded softly as he followed Aguro, being careful not to jostle the girl he was carrying. While he walked, he gazed down to the girl, who happened to fall asleep in his arms. Guess the movement put her to sleep after all, he thought before he saw the door to the Sorcerer's Cerpreve. "You mind—"

He was met with Lufia opening the door for him, giving him a wary smile. Her eyes were still bloodshot from crying, but she nodded to him. "Saw you coming. Figured you needed a hand."