Berserk1: Thanks for you comments! Don't worry, I'll be updating often enough.
Shikarmaru-Nara2: Hehe, you've got that right, but that's why we all love Lloyd:D (I think
TrueGamer: ThanksChapter 5: The Iselia Human Ranch
Walking hand in hand, Lloyd and Sheena headed towards the Iselia human ranch. Along the way, they encountered a few wolves, bees and hares, but they were no match for them.
"Ah this is boring, I remember when these creatures were actually a challenge, now their like ants!" Lloyd exclaimed.
Sheena laughed, "Do you ALWAYS get bored this easily? We just started!"
"Hey wait a minute! I just realized that Noishe is still following us!" Lloyd exclaimed.
"Hmmm… you're right, I forgot that he's supposed to be scared of monsters." Sheena said.
"You mean he USED to be scared of monsters!" Lloyd exclaimed happily, "Look! I think he's become more courageous!"
Sheena laughed, "Well, time will tell Lloyd. Don't get so excited yet."
"Yeah yeah… Hey we're almost there! I can see the ranch." Lloyd said.
"Alright then, let's get moving." Sheena replied.
Soon, there in front of them was the Iselia Human Ranch. This brought some bad memories back. This was the place where he met Marble; he remembered that he had killed her by complete accident while defending Genis and himself.
"Lloyd? Are you… okay?" Sheena asked concerned.
"This is where I met Marble… I took an innocent person's life…" Lloyd trailed off.
Sheena gave him a hug, "Lloyd, I'm sorry… But it wasn't your fault, it was those damn desians!"
"Yeah… I know… I guess what's been done can't be undone..." Lloyd said slowly, as he took Sheena's hand and walked inside the ranch.
Whine
"Oh… I guess you're staying out here then…" Lloyd said disappointedly.
Whine
"Haha… I knew it." Sheena said cheekily.
"Well you'll see, I have faith in Noishe! After all, he DOES become a human that defeats evil!" Lloyd replied.
Sheena laughed, "I guess you're right, c'mon, let's go."
To their surprise, when they stepped inside the ranch, the lights were still on; everything was operational.
"Hmmm… why would this ranch still have power?" Lloyd asked himself out loud.
Sheena looked at him and shrugged stupidly.
"I don't like the feeling this place is giving me, I feel like there's something out there watching us." Lloyd said.
"…yeah… I'm feeling that too…" Sheena said.
They were right, a set of eyes were watching Lloyd and Sheena's every move.
Faintly remembering the ranch, Lloyd quickly found the area where all the exspheres were.
There in the room, were scores of exspheres.
"DAMN! Look at all these exspheres!" Lloyd exclaimed.
Sheena was in shock, "So… many exspheres…"
Neither Lloyd nor Sheena could stand the sight of so many exspheres.
Lloyd walked up to them, "I'm sorry for making all of you wait..."
"DEMONIC CHAOS! CYCLONE SEAL!" Lloyd and Sheena shouted.
The exspheres shatter
Lloyd and Sheena looked around the room; there were no more exspheres.
"Common Sheena, let's get out of here." Lloyd said quietly.
"Ok." Sheena replied.
"Well that was easy enough…" Lloyd said doubtfully.
"Yeah… it was… One more thing. I call upon the envoy from the dark abyss. I summon thee, come! Shadow!" Sheena chanted.
Shadow stood there swaying, like he always did.
"Shadow, fill this ranch with darkness." Sheena ordered.
Not wasting any words, Shadow shrouded the entire ranch in darkness and disappeared.
"I call upon the hammer of godly thunder! I summon thee...come! Volt!"" Sheena chanted.
"…"
"Volt, take away the power from this ranch." Sheena commanded.
"…" The ranch lost all power, and then Volt disappeared.
"What was that for?" Lloyd inquired.
"I wanted to make sure that this ranch would no longer be able to operate. I didn't like the fact that everything was still operational, and that we had such an easy time, I mean, I thought there would have been SOME kind of resistance if the lights were on." Sheena replied.
"Yeah, you're right…" Lloyd agreed.
"So where should we go now?" Sheena asked as they stepped back into the forest.
"Well… I sort of want to head back to Iselia. Just to check on how everything's going for everyone you know, one final time before we come back; and I also want to borrow the professor's monster list." Lloyd replied.
"Ah that's smart! …I wanna go too. I want to ask Raine about something." Sheena said suspiciously.
"…It's good to see you two finally getting close to each other." Lloyd said happily.
"Hehe… y-yeah… I suppose so." Sheena said, not sure if Lloyd's words had a perverted meaning.
"Alright! To Iselia!" Lloyd exclaimed.
"Okay!"
Whine
At the same time
"!" ? exclaimed, "No! The ranch! Dammit, I have to warn Lord Lefance at once!"
? climbed down the trees after Lloyd and Sheena were no where in sight, and hopped on his Rheiard, headed for a secret underground base.
Iselia
Noishe waited at the front gate, remembering that he was not allowed inside Iselia.
"Alright then, let's go Genis' and Raine's!" Lloyd exclaimed.
"You two! Stop!" A voice shouted.
"Who? Yuan? What're you doing here?" Sheena asked.
"I came to collect the rheairds. First of all, I doubt you guys need them now that everything is over; and second, we're improving the design of our rheairds, and we're using our current models as the base." Yuan stated.
"Uh… actually… Lloyd and I are going on a journey together… and…" Sheena started.
"Perfect, a romantic getaway, you guys can use Noishe!" Yuan exclaimed sarcastically.
"Er…" Sheena and Lloyd both blushed.
Yuan laughed, "Now can I have those rheairds back?"
"Do we really need them Lloyd?" Sheena whispered.
"I guess not…" Lloyd replied.
"Thanks!" Yuan said as Lloyd and Sheena both took them out of the wing packs and gave them to Yuan.
"Er… so… I guess we're using Noishe all the way now?" Sheena asked flustered as she pictured both of them riding on Noishe.
"Yeah… hehe, I guess so." Lloyd said dumbly.
"Idiot." Sheena said under her breath, expecting Lloyd to blush.
Raine and Genis' house
Knock knock
Lloyd opened the door without waiting for a response.
"Hey guys!" Lloyd exclaimed.
Raine shot up from the couch, dropping a book she was reading about healing, "Oh… h-hi Lloyd, you know you really ought to knock on the door." Raine said calming herself down.
"I did! By the way where's Genis?" Lloyd asked.
"Hi Raine!" Sheena exclaimed.
"Oh hey Sheena, it's nice to see you two again." Raine said softly, "Oh, and Genis is in the kitchen preparing food for our journey; and next time, wait for an answer before you come barging in like that." She sighed.
"Sorry." Lloyd said quickly as he walked to the kitchen, "Well, I'm going to go see Genis while you have your talk with Raine, Sheena."
"Y-you wanted to talk with me Sheena? What about?" Raine asked softly, slightly surprised.
"W-well… it's about love… and stuff, well, relationship stuff." Sheena said.
"Huh…? What's this about Sheena?" Raine inquired perplexed.
"Well… you see… there's this person…" Sheena started.
"Lloyd huh?" Raine laughed.
"Wha-… yeah… yeah I guess it was a bit obvious… hehe…" Sheena said awkwardly.
"So… what's on your mind?" Raine asked.
"Well… you know how Lloyd is dumb and all right…? Well I don't think he's getting my hints… but it's weird. I'm… pretty sure that he has feelings for me… but I don't think he knows how to express them. Oh, and he's been starting to hold my hand, which I'm sure is a sign of some sort… but he doesn't SAY anything." Sheena said.
"I see… so you want to find a way to get him to tell you how he feels about you?" Raine inquired.
"Yeah, that's the gist of it." Sheena replied.
"I see… why don't you directly tell him how you feel, or ask him how he feels?" Raine said.
"! But I'm the girl here! He's supposed to say something first!" Sheena exclaimed.
"You know the kitchen's not far away from here…" Raine stated.
"…"
"Anyway… I'm afraid that's the only suggestion I've got. I mean, there ARE other possibilities, but do you think Lloyd would be smart enough to pick up on what would be going on?" Raine asked rhetorically, "No, you'd have to do something direct. You'll see what I'm talking about once you really think about it."
"…Stupid Lloyd." Sheena sighed.
Kitchen
"Mmm, tenderloin! Looks tasty! Can I have some?" Lloyd joked.
Genis turned around and saw Lloyd, "Hi to you too." Genis sighed, "Aren't you supposed to be on your journey?"
"Yeah I am, but I wanted to stop by Iselia one more time before we left, who knows how long the journey Sheena and I are on will take." Lloyd shrugged.
"Well thanks for stopping by. So… how are things with you and Sheena?" Genis winked.
Lloyd blushed, "Shut it Genis."
Genis sighed, "I was just kidding Lloyd…"
Lloyd was taken aback, "I… I-I knew that." He said with a weak smile.
"So there IS something between you and Sheena!" Genis exclaimed.
"N-No!... I… I don't know…" Lloyd said softly.
"Well it's pretty obvious that you both like each other." Genis stated boringly.
"…"
"Maybe… I don't know… she's been pretty friendly with me ever since Luin." Lloyd mumbled.
"No I think she likes you Lloyd. Go on a date with her or something, do something romantic." Genis said cheekily.
"…Maybe later, things are fine as they are right now, and it's not something I've felt the need to think about." Lloyd stated.
"You're boring." Genis said boringly.
"What! Hey! What's happening with you and Presea!" Lloyd laughed.
Genis' face turned red, "Well uh… uh…"
"Haha! Now you know how I feel!" Lloyd exclaimed.
"Lloyd… actually, we talked about it, and she said that she needs sometime alone before we do anything… if we do anything about it. I… I would really prefer not to talk about it for now." Genis stated.
"Uh… oh… uh… sorry…" Lloyd said worriedly.
"It's nothing… I did the same to you, I guess we were both pretty immature!" Genis laughed.
"Hehe yeah… anyway, I need to ask the professor something." Lloyd said as he walked back to the living room.
Living room
"Hey Raine, you don't think Lloyd and Colette have anything for each other right?" Sheena asked.
"Sheena…" Raine laughed, "Why would you worry about anything like that?"
"Well-"
"Hey guys! What're you talking about?" Lloyd asked.
"Oh. We were talking about you Lloyd." Raine smiled, kicking Sheena's legs lightly.
"Huh? What about?" Lloyd asked dumbly.
"Ahhh! She's just kidding. We were just talking about girl stuff!" Sheena exclaimed.
Lloyd laughed, "Anyway… professor, could Sheena and I borrow your monster list for our journey…? You know… just in case."
"Why sure you can Lloyd. Smart thinking." She replied, "Just let me get it for you, oh, and take care of it, I only have two copies."
"Thanks professor." Lloyd smiled.
The professor smiled as she left, "Any time Lloyd, I'll be right back."
"…"
"Hey Sheena, why is your face all red?" Lloyd asked.
"Huh? Oh… nothing, nothing at all!" Sheena responded, faking a laugh.
"Oh… weird." Lloyd said.
"…"
"…"
"I'm back. Here you are." Raine said.
"Thanks professor!" Lloyd exclaimed.
"Any time Lloyd." Raine smiled.
"Anyway, should we be going Sheena?" Lloyd asked.
"Yeah, sure, we'll see you guys later!" Sheena said.
"Yeah, bye professor, bye Genis!" Lloyd exclaimed.
"Bye Lloyd, bye Sheena." Raine gave them an assured look, "Good luck on your journey."
"Hey wait!" Genis shouted as he came running in with a box, handing it to Sheena "hehe, here Sheena, this is for you."
"Huh? What's this?" Sheena asked.
"Yeah, what is that?" Lloyd inquired.
"You'll find out. Bye Lloyd! Bye Sheena! Good luck together!" Genis smirked as he pushed Lloyd and Sheena out.
"…What was that about Genis?" Raine asked.
Outside
"Hmm…" Sheena mumbled as she opened the box.
"I wonder what's inside…" Lloyd muttered.
"SHEENA! LLOYD!" Colette called out before the box was opened, "HI!"
"…Hey Colette!" Both of them yelled back.
"So what're you two doing back here?" Colette asked cheerfully.
"We just decided to come back here to see you, Genis and the professor one last time before we left. Who knows how long we could be gone. I also wanted the professor's monster list." Lloyd replied.
"Oh did you? That's so smart of you Lloyd!" Colette smiled.
"Yeah, thanks." Lloyd smiled back.
"Oh Lloyd! I almost forgot, I made two new friends! One's about my age, and the other one is the new teacher here. We should go meet up with them." She said.
"That's great Colette!" Lloyd exclaimed, "Where to?"
"Follow me!" Colette said excitedly.
With that, Sheena and Lloyd followed Colette, setting aside the box for now. Once they reached Lennox's house, Colette introduced everybody and they talked about all sorts of things for a while. Tila even asked if Lloyd and Sheena were dating, but the question was somehow avoided when Colette made a commotion in the other room while getting snacks. Then it was starting to get late.
"Well… it's been nice getting to know everybody, but Sheena and I must be going now. We want to make some progress today." Lloyd said.
"Yeah… it's been nice getting to meet you all." Sheena added.
Everyone exchanged good-byes and Lloyd and Sheena set off to Triet.
"I assume it's off to Triet?" Sheena asked.
Lloyd smiled, "Yeah, off to Triet."
Sheena smiled back, "Alright! Let's go!"
When the pair got to the entrance to Iselia, Noishe was patiently awaiting them.
"Let's go Noishe, to Triet!" Lloyd exclaimed.
At a secret underground base
A person ran up to a grand chamber.
"Guard, let me in, I have news for the Lord." He commanded.
"Yes sir." The guard replied.
"Sir! There are two humans, a male and female, and they just destroyed the Iselia human ranch, along with ALL the exspheres." He reported.
"WHAT! REPEAT THAT!" ? commanded.
"There are two humans, a male and female, and they just destroyed the Iselia human ranch, along with ALL the exspheres." He repeated.
? widened his eyes, "AND YOU DID NOTHING TO STOP THEM!"
"Sir! The female was a summoner and the male-"
"EXCUSES! I'VE HEARD ENOUGH! I WANT THOSE TWO TAKEN CARE OF IMMEDIATELY!"
"But sir! What if they find out about us? Weren't we supposed to keep ourselves secret until-"
"WHAT DID I SAY?" ? shouted, giving the scout a fierce glare.
"Sir!" The scout stood to attention and walked out of the room.
"Heheheheheh, little do they know that they've already been found out." A spy smirked.
Raine: You sure do have a great body Sheena…
Sheena: Oh Raine… 'blush'
Zelos: 'Wakes up' Damn.
What happened to the box? What's inside? What dangers lie ahead? Next time, TO TRIET!