Okay, here's the next chapter, I hope that everyone is enjoying where this story is going so far. I'm really enjoying where it could go. Well, I won't waste anytime so here goes.

Chapter 7: Friends and Enemies

After Storm left the human ranch Forcystus chuckled at his scheme. He was a little bit disappointed that Storm had managed to survive his attack, but he was liking this plan even better. Now, he could use her to destroy everyone she cared about. The other great part about his plan was that when Storm brought back the Cruxis Crystals he could use one on her. With all of the power in her body without any exsphere she could be killed from her mana going out of control, or she would become even more powerful and she could work for him. Either way he was satisfied with the outcome. The other Cruxis Crystal he would save for himself as he tried to find a way to resurrect Pronyma. He was willing to try anything to bring her back.

Forcystus was enjoying the thought of his plans when he suddenly heard one of the guards in the hallway yelling about an intruder in the front. Forcystus decided to go out and take a look himself. He got out to the entrance of his human ranch when he saw Yuan, struggling to get past the large group of Desians that were standing in his way.

"Yuan, what brings you here?" Forcystus inquired.

"I know Storm is here with you. Why would she be working for you anyway? What have you done to her?" Yuan demanded.

"I haven't done anything to the girl, I guess she's just finally decided whose side she really wants to be on. You know as well as I do that she's very unstable," Forcystus reminded him.

"I know, but she wouldn't betray her family," Yuan argued.

"Well, if you don't believe me, she's off to go and fight a few of her friends to get something for me. You can try and stop her if you want, but I believe that you'll be too late. She left quite a while ago," Forcystus laughed.

"I can't believe...but I suppose that I still need to stop her before someone gets hurt," Yuan finally considered before he quickly left to try and catch up with Storm.

"Well, maybe Yuan will kill her off for me," Forcystus chuckled as he walked back into his ranch.

"Hey guys, I think I'm going to go off on my own to find Storm," Zelos finally said.

"What? Why?" Lloyd asked, bewildered by his sudden decision.

"Well, I think I can find her faster and when I do find her, I want to be the only person there to help her remember," he explained.

"Well...if you think that's what's best we won't try to stop you," Sheena said.

"Yeah, go and find her, I know that you can help her," Lloyd added.

Zelos nodded before he finally went his own separate way, leaving Sheena and Lloyd alone.

Lloyd looked over at Sheena, who looked back with a small smile. "You must be really good friends with Storm. You seem so determined to get her back," Lloyd said.

"Yeah, she's one of my best friends. It's because of her I actually got to know the real Zelos, not just the perverted one," she replied. "You seemed really determined too."

"Yeah, I'm not gonna give up on her, not ever. I know that she's my sister, but she's also a great friend. I was separated from her and dad once, I'm not going to go through that again," he admitted.

"At least you know your family," Sheena told him.

Lloyd looked over at her sadly, her eyes were full of pain and sadness and he wanted to be the one who brought joy to them. He felt in his heart that they belonged together. Everything about her complimented him. She wished to save many people, to not allow anyone to be sacrificed or left behind. She was also an orphan and he knew exactly what that felt like. She had suffered from a terrible tragedy that occurred at her village, just as he had done in Iselia. They went together so well, they could help each other with their struggles in life, but they were unable to express how they truly felt. He wanted to tell her so badly how he felt about her, but he couldn't muster up the courage. He had enough courage to face Mithos, the leader of the infamous organization of Cruxis, but the thought of expressing his love to Sheena made him tremble in fear. Maybe one day...

"Hey, it's all right, maybe they're out there looking for you right now," Lloyd offered comfortingly.

"Lloyd, you're such a dork," she responded.

Presea and Regal were taking a break by sitting under a few trees in the field between Iselia and the Triet Desert. They had been walking for the last few days and were getting tired. Their search was beginning to look rather hopeless and they were starting to fear that something may have happened to Storm. Suddenly, Presea noticed someone coming towards them in the distance.

"Look. In the distance," she warned Regal who looked up and rubbed his eyes to be sure he wasn't imagining things.

"Could it be?" he asked her.

"Yes," was her only reply.

Just coming over the horizon was Storm. She walked up to Regal and Presea, recognizing Presea immediately. Storm knew what she wanted and she was willing to do anything to get it.

"Storm?" Regal asked cautiously, caught off guard by her vacant look. He realized that she hadn't regained her memory and he remembered what happened to Lloyd.

Storm ignored Regal and stared at Presea before finally speaking. "Presea Combatir," she addressed her, not so much as a question, but rather a statement.

"Yes," Presea replied.

"I am here to retrieve your Cruxis Crystal for Forcystus. Hand it over now or I will be forced to take it from you," she announced.

"What? Storm, why are you working for Forcystus? Don't you remember? We're your friends," Regal answered, shocked by what she was saying.

"You're not my friends. I work for Forcystus, you both work for Yuan. Now, please hand over your Cruxis Crystal," she repeated.

Presea looked up at Regal to get his opinion on what should be done. Regal knew that he couldn't let Storm take Presea's Cruxis Crystal, especially not to Forcystus. He shook his head at her and Presea looked back to Storm.

"No," Presea replied.

"Well, then I suppose I'll be forced to take it from you then," Storm shot back as she revealed her angel wings and rushed at the two.

Regal and Presea didn't want to hurt Storm, the thought of what Kratos would do kept them from considering that. Then again, they didn't want to be killed by her either. They decided that they would not to kill her, but rather injure her enough that they could talk some sense into her.

Storm flew at the two of them quickly, both barely avoiding her attack. Storm spun around quickly as Presea pulled out her axe and Regal prepared to attack back. Storm flew up to Presea and kicked her in the stomach, sending the young girl backwards a few steps. Presea gained her footing quickly and swung her axe around, catching Storm's arm. Storm was about ready to go back at Presea when Regal attacked her, kicking her swiftly and fiercly, allowing little time for the young girl to defend herself. Finally, out of frustration, Storm released her Outburst attack, sending Regal flying backwards.

Storm immediately began to chant a spell, hoping it would take Regal a few seconds to regain his composure.

"I beg of you to reveal thy glory! Angel Feathers!" Storm shouted as the feathers were launched at Presea, slicing her all of her body.

Storm was pleased at what she had managed to do, but left herself unguarded for a short moment, enough time for Regal to use his deadly hands. He blasted her with an enormous amount of mana. He figured that it was a good a time as ever to use his skills. The fight continued on. Storm was having a little bit of difficulty as she tried to remember as much as she could about how to fight without her sword.

Finally, Presea and Regal collapsed from exhaustion. Storm was planning on finishing the two off but decided not to. She wasn't too sure who everyone was and she was afraid that she would regret killing anyone. She fell to one knee as she held her side. Regal had managed to create a large gash in her side which was bleeding profusely. She held onto it and tried to get it to stop. She managed to get herself up and walked over to where Presea was laying and removed the Cruxis Crystal from her neck. It glowed as she picked it up and Storm smiled at her success.

"One down, one to go," she said as she revealed her wings once more and flew off to find Colette.

A little while later, Yuan walked through the field and noticed Presea and Regal laying in the field. He feared for the worst as he ran up to the two of them. He saw that they were both unconscious, but fortunately they were still alive. He looked at Presea and noticed that her Cruxis Crystal and it's key crest were both gone. He knew exactly who had done this and was determined to find Storm. She was even attacking her own friends for Forcystus and he knew that she had to be stopped.

Suddenly, Regal began to stir and Yuan decided to leave the area before anyone saw him He went off and tried to figure out exactly where Colette could be. He knew if he could find her, he would also find Storm.

Well, that's it for there. Sorry if my fight scene sucked. I wanted to actually get this chapter done tonight before you guys decided to kill me. Well, there you go.