2112, Phase 2, 107. Down. Concealed. Disease.

"Don't worry about it. We'll take care of it."

She knows something is wrong. She must stop it. She must find the circulator, or they will die. She must use the abandoned path, open the back door. She must, but one will die...

Presea eyes opened and she was instantly alert, her heart thumping loudly in her ears. This time, the dream had been more real and urgent than ever. Perhaps the foretold event was drawing closer? Presea got out of bed and dressed quickly. She called her lightsaber to her hand and grasped it nervously before putting it in her custom made concealed holster.

She greeted Lloyd on the way down to the kitchen. As she did so, and odd feeling tickled her neck. A premoniton? Presea shook her head inwardly. Whatever it was, if it was important, it would become apparent to her. The Arbiter had drilled into her a critical lesson: be mindful of the future, but not at the expense of the moment. If you are too distracted contemplating what the future might be, you are likely to make errors in what you were doing at the time, sometimes even fatally. The Arbiter stressed it until he was certain that Presea had understood the import of it. And it had worked; she reminded herself every morning that her focus centered on the here and now. Sometimes, she thought to herself, one could get so involved in the here and now that they don't pay attention to the future at all. It was all about striking the right balance, she decided.

Presea slowed as she drew closer to the kitchen door. There was something not right, almost like...

Her suspiciousness hardened into certainty as she focused her senses, until she finally stopped right before the doorway to the dining area. After a few heartbeats, Presea abruptly drew her lightsaber, ignited it and swung it around to a thrusting position with precise control, all in one fluid motion lasting but a second. The tip of the energy blade hovered a centimeter from where she knew the neck must be.

"You are beaten," she said cooly.

"Oh, I don't think so," said an equally level girl's voice. A bubble of blue-violet power flickered into existence before Presea. It brushed against the blade, repelling it and whipping Presea's arm back involunitarily. Caught off balance, she soon found herself encased in a hollow sphere of the same blue-violet energy. A girl with long black hair covering half her face materialized outside the bubble.

She smirked in a friendly way and observed, "Looks like we've both gotten better, huh?" Presea smirked back and stretched out her arm in front of herself. The bubble vanished as the girl who made it was thrown bodily into the air, where she stayed.

"Yep," said Presea, "we have." They stared at each other for a moment, one on the ground and the other floating, until finally their steely facades melted away into laughter. Presea let Aegis down and they hugged. "So good to see you again!" said Presea. "How have you been?" Aegis just shrugged.

"Pretty good, all things considered," she said.

"That's good," said Presea.

"What's all the ruckus?" The girls looked up to see a sleepy Zelos looking down at them from the second story balcony. "I can't get my beauty sleep with all this noise going on!"

"Oh, don't worry Zelos," Presea said. "You're already way too gorgeous."

"Uh, thanks, I think," said Zelos while he rubbed his eyes. "Hey, is that-" He cut off when he saw the black-haired girl. "Hey, it is you!" He bounded down the stairs and slid on the smooth tile floor. Skidding to a stop before the girls, Zelos broke out into a grin. "Well, what do you know! Long time no see, man! I mean, girl!" He pumped her hand enthusiastically.

"Hi, Zelos," said Aegis. "It's good to see you, too." Zelos beamed.

"So what are you doing here?" asked Presea. "Is your family here too?"

"Yeah, somewhere," Aegis said. "Technically, we're here on vacation. I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd drop by. We'll be in town for a couple of weeks, so maybe we could do something while we're here. You could give us your number or something." Presea nodded, and reached for her back pocket.

"Here you go," she said, withdrawing a white card from her wallet and handing it over to- "Ah, I'm sorry, what's your name again?"

"Violet," said the girl as she took the card. Presea and Zelos both mouthed the word "Violet".

"I like that name," said Zelos.

"Me too," Presea said thoughtfully.

"What's this?" Violet asked pointing at the card.

"Oh, that's our business card," replied Presea. "You see, a good number of us became a fighting group named Cartharsis (thanks to Kratos for the name!), and now all of us are in on it. So instead of having to write down all of our numbers anytime we wanted to give them to friends of ours, we just hand them this card and there you go, you have all of our numbers, plus the house phone."

"Cool!" said Violet. Something beeped, and Violet pulled out a cell phone. She flipped it open and read the text on the screen. "Oh. Well, I have to go. We're gonna meet in a little while, and my parents will get upset if I'm late. I guess I'll see you later then!" Violet gave them each a quick hug and said goodbye before going out the front door and jogging down the street.

"Well, it certainly was nice to see her again," Presea said. "Hopefully we'll be able to do something soon."

"Yeah," Zelos agreed. "So, what are you doing up so early?" He glanced at a nearby clock. "Only seven on a Saturday." Presea shrugged.

"Well, the reason I woke up was because of a dream," she explained, "but I remembered after I was up that the Arbiter and I were going to do a little practice this morning."

"Oh, really?" Zelos said with a stroke of his chin. "What kind of practice?"

Presea smiled. "Want to come and see?"

Presea took a deep breath, exhaled, and repeated. She bent her neck to the left and to the right, releasing the tension in her neck with grinding, cracking noises. She popped her fingers, shook herself loose, and worked her fingers at her sides. Then, with one fluid motion, she swept up her lightsaber in her hand, lit it up, and positioned it between herself and where she felt the Arbiter to be.

"Wait a moment," she said. Lowering her saber, she reached her free hand to the back of her head and, with the aid of the Holy Force, retied the knot of her blindfold. "Okay," she said, bringing her sword back up to defensive position in two hands. The Arbiter nodded, and activated his rifle and triple-checked to make sure it was on stun power only. Then, with an incredibly steady hand acquired through years of training, he leveled the weapon at his pupil, and fired.

She sensed the bolt before it left the gun, and she moved her blade to a horizontal position, easily blocking the energy beam. But then, that was supposed to be the easy part. Now it would get harder. The Arbiter squeezed the trigger quite a bit harder. A succession of four projectiles burst out of the weapon's "muzzle", for lack of a better word. Presea moved her lightsaber nimbly to deflect each shot, first vertical, then to the bottom left, top right, bottom right, all her moves connecting seamlessly, her footwork sure and graceful. Again he squeezed the trigger, but this time, he did not, and would not, stop.

Presea's body whirled and spun, deflecting the blasts that she could not dodge, blocking, ducking, leaping, all the while blind as an earthworm. Zelos whistled softly. And not only did she deflect these bolts, he noted, but she made them go where she wanted them to go. He could tell from the way none of them ever went in the direction the Arbiter, himself, the house, or any of the neighbors. Even out here in the woods, she would make sure they hit the ground or flew off into the sky rather than to wound some unsuspecting tree or bush. Now that, Zelos thought as he watched captivated, is skill.

Eventually, after a long period of extended fire at low power, the plasma rifle overheated, signaling the end of the training. Or so Zelos thought. While the Arbiter had tossed the gun aside and had waited a moment for Presea to catch the breath she had barely lost, in the next he broke out his own sword and lunged at Presea. She leapt straight up in the air a good twelve feet to avoid the Arbiter's powerful strike, landing firmly on two feet behind him, her sword again in the ready, defensive position. The Arbiter had turned around and was again advancing on her. When he got within range he swiped at Presea, who blocked his horizontal attack with a vertical parry. He spun around and hacked savagely at her, but she darted out of the way each time. He struck at her flanks several times, and each time she blocked the blow and moved right on to the next. The Arbiter swiped at her head and she ducked, giving her a clean shot at his ribs. She thrusted and he twisted out of the way, attempting a hasty blow at her back. But she anticipated it and smoothly angled her sword back around herself and caught the Arbiter's strike. She spun around and slashed at his midsection and he blocked it with the flat of his sword. He suddenly lashed out with his hoof and kicked her in the stomach, sending her sprawling across the dirt floor into a tree trunk. He leapt up and brought his sword up behind his head, going for a powerful, heavy blow to finish the fight. Presea just managed to get her lightsaber up in time to parry, but the hit was so forceful it knocked the lightsaber out of her hand and far away from her.

Zelos continued to hold his breath.

The Arbiter slammed his sword down again, this time biting into the wood of the tree. He pulled out his blade and stabbed at Presea, who was now on her feet. Blindingly fast she yanked her energy sword out of her belt, switched it on, and rammed it into the Arbiter's own two-pronged blade. They both leaned into their swords hard. Presea held out her hand at the Arbiter, and he did the same. Zelos had no idea what was going on, but he could tell some immense clash of wills was happening in a way he could not see in the air, only in their faces and bodies. The two fighters strained against each other until finally, something gave and they both shot their hands out to the right. The air seemed to shimmer with intense heat, and the dirt roiled as if in terrible winds. The wave slammed into a huge oak tree, obliterating it in a shower of wood chips and leaves. Presea kept her arm stretched out, but aimed it to the ground. Her lightsaber shot up out of the dirt and ignited in her hand. She now took the offensive, slashing with two blades, fighting as surely as if she only had one. Leaves and chunks of wood rained down on them. None of them noticed. Presea attacked furiously, yet with a sort of calm manner that let both of them know that she was very much in control. Finally, the Arbiter wore down and was knocked back against a tree, where he found himself at the receiving end of two blades of energy. The Arbiter smiled.

"I knew you would," said the Arbiter. Presea smiled back. She turned off her swords and hung them on her belt. The Arbiter did likewise. Presea offered him a hand and he gratefully took it. They walked over to where Zelos stood, mouth agape.

"What did you think?" asked Presea. Zelos shook his head slowly.

"All I know," he said with his eyes closed, "is that I am really, really, REALLY glad I brought the camcorder!"

Presea hung her towel on the towel rack next to the shower and stepped in. She shut the door and turned the water on as cold as possible. The spray was icy; it made her gasp. But it was very refreshing after she had exercised so hard and heated herself up so much. And yet...

Despite the good feeling of cleanliness she was left with after she toweled off her body, she could not help the gnawing sense of worry that dwelt in the back of her mind. Presea knew what it was, but she was powerless to change it. How could she control her dreams? She shook her head. Even though the thought of what the dream might mean frightened her, she just wished whatever it was would just happen so she could stop wondering what it meant. Wrapping the towel around herself snugly, she left the bathroom and went into her room.

Locking the door behind herself, she dropped her towel and stretched. She also loved how it felt to walk around without clothes on, but again, she was not enjoying it now. She frowned. She needed another talk with the Arbiter; if this thing was worrying her so bad she couldn't even enjoy the simple pleasures in life, she had better find out what it was.

Walking over to her dresser, she opened a few drawers and selected some clean underwear. She was stooped over with her panties around her ankles when she stopped. A smirk crossed her face. Of course, she thought. Duh. His timing is always uncanny. She pulled up her underwear and called out to the empty room.

"Are you gonna come in or just watch me get dressed?" she said as she put her arms through her bra. She could feel his amusement, and the lock twisted in the doorknob. The Arbiter stepped in and folded his arms across his chest. Presea just looked back at him as she hooked the straps.

"What?" they asked at the same time. Both of them laughed. "You have really great timing, you know that?"

"Oh yes?" said the Arbiter.

"Yeah. I was just about to go talk to you."

"That's not uncanny timing."

"No, just mind-reading."

"Now that is one thing I can't do (as far as I know)."

"Then what was it?"

The Arbiter shrugged. "Just a feeling," he said. "I would expect you to understand that."

Presea smiled faintly as she fastened her belt. "Yeah," she said in a soft tone.

"So then," said the Arbiter, "what was it you wanted to talk about? Your dream, perhaps?"

Presea nodded.

"I see it eating away at your mind," said the Arbiter quietly.

Presea suddenly had to push away tears that threatened to take her.

"What can I do?" she asked, forcing firmness into her voice, hoping the Arbiter would not hear her despair.

The Arbiter stood silent for a moment with eyes closed. They did not move behind his lids. He finally heaved a sigh and opened his eyes. He made a face and then shook his head.

"Well, I am not sure, however," he said, "however it seems to me that you are looking too hard. I believe that if a dream has importance, it will unfold by itself. And if it has none, well then, worrying about it would have been a waste of time, then, no? I think...I think that you should try to push it aside, put it in a place where you will remember it if you see signs of it, but where it cannot concern you. Hopefully you can find that place."

Presea sighed and sat down on her bed, burying her head in her hands.

"Is something wrong?" asked the Arbiter gently.

She hesitated before answering.

"All this time," she said slowly, "I've only been working on the physical. I have almost no training in the mental arenas of this Holy Force of yours. I need it badly, Arbiter. I need it now, because there is so much I don't understand."

The Arbiter nodded. "I see now my mistake as a teacher," he said. "I will do my best to correct it. I could start now, or perhaps you'd like to begin at another time?"

She lifted her head from her hands. Her eyes were red and her hands were moist. "Now," she said. "I need relief now."

Zelos let his jaw hang slightly open as he stared at the screen while resting his head on Colette's shoulder. "Are you-" he began, before Colette shushed him.

"Shh!" she warned. "I'm trying to talk to this guy about how to take care of the calf!"

Zelos stared with a glazed eye and a slack jaw. "So, you're a farmer?" he askedly tired, not really caring if she was a famer or an astronaut. He got no reply. "Can we just watch the tape real quick?"

"In a minute," Colette said as she stared intently at the words scrolling across the screen.

"Which translates to: I don't care about your stupid tape I just wanna play some dumb farming game forever," Zelos muttered to himself.

"You know," Colette said, not taking her eyes off the TV, "just because I'm not listening doesn't mean I can't hear you."

Zelos stared up at the ceiling from where he landed. Colette, he thought to himself, is living proof of why "understanding women" is an oxymoron. It's a good thing I like the unknown, otherwise being married to a woman would be hell!

Zelos sighed and picked himself up off the floor. He wandered into the kitchen, past Kratos, and over to the fridge. "Hey Kratos," said Zelos as examined the contents of the refrigerator. Kratos coughed and said hello back in a funny voice.

"Yo, Kratos," said Zelos, looking over the door of the fridge at his friend, "your voice sounds really-" Zelos trailed off as his eyes locked on to the little plastic bear in Kratos' hand. Zelos lifted an eyebrow. "Were you just drinking the honey?" he asked.

Kratos looked ashamed. "I couldn't help myself," he admitted. Zelos shrugged as if it were something not totally weird. "We'll just have to buy more," he said. "Do you get these cravings often?" Kratos was silent.

"Okay," said Zelos with a grin at Kratos. "We'll have to buy a lot more." He shut the door and laughed.

Sheena heard the phone ringing while she was in the shower. She yelled at Lloyd to get it when it was clear no one was going to get it. Grumbling, he reluctantly obeyed and went out into the hallway. He snatched up the phone and held it lazily to his ear. "Hello?" he answered.

Lloyd was greeted by an explosive cough that made him flinch slightly. "Sorry," said a weary, congested voice from the other end of the line. "This is Ryoko."

"Oh, hey Ryoko," said Lloyd, his face brightening, then quickly darkening. "Is everything all right? You sound really sick."

"Oh man, am I!" she replied. "That's what I was calling you about. I remember you guys saying once that your friend Raine is a healer, right? Well, I'm kind of strapped for cash, and to go to the hospital to see a doctor would cost...well, a lot more than I can afford right now, and, well, I was just wondering if, you know..."

Lloyd stopped her. "Of course, Ryoko," he told her. "Raine would be glad to be of service to you. Here, let me go find her for you."

"Thanks, Lloyd."

Lloyd bounded down the stairs, the phone still to his ear. "So what is it you're sick with, do you know?" Lloyd asked, peeking around corners for Raine. He passed Yuan and Martel and mouthed a silent Where's Raine? They pointed behind themselves and mouthed backyard. He thanked them silently as Ryoko began to answer.

"I really wouldn't know," she said. "It feels kind of like the flu, only worse, and sort of...different somehow."

"That doesn't sound too good," Lloyd said at the backdoor before he opened it and went outside.

"No, I guess it doesn't. Kind of scary, huh?"

"I'll say." Lloyd found Raine working with Regal in a vegetable garden. "Well, here's Raine. Talk to you later, Ryoko."

"Okay. Bye."

"Hope you feel better soon."

"Thanks. I hope I will too."

Lloyd handed the phone over to Raine, who began to talk to Ryoko. "Who is it?" Regal asked Lloyd.

"Ryoko Mitsurugi," he replied. "She's sick, pretty bad."

"Hmm," said Regal.

Raine hung up the phone and handed it back to Lloyd. "Come on, you guys," she said. "Ryoko's sick and I'm gonna go head over to her place right now, and I'd really appreciate your help."

"What can we do?" Lloyd asked doubtfully.

Raine hesitated, and looked at the ground. Finally she answered.

"I don't know," she said, "but I have a bad feeling about this. I want you guys to be with me. I don't know why, but I feel like I'm going to need you."

Regal and Lloyd looked at each other.

"Say no more,"said Regal.

Raine was unlocking the door when Presea came up behind them.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To Ryoko's," said Lloyd. "She's got some weird disease or something like that, according to the Professor."

Disease.

Presea's heart skipped a beat. "Where?" she said, a gnawing sense of dread setting in. "Where does she live?"

Regal glanced at the piece of paper Raine had written the address on. "Two thousand one hundred and twelve Makita Drive, Phase 2 of the Cayenne Apartments, apartment 107," he read.

2112, Phase 2, 107.

Her face hardened and her jaw set. "I have to go with you," she said.

"Don't worry about it," said Lloyd, and a vicious claw gripped Presea's heart. "We'll take care of it. Ryoko will be fine."

"Don't worry about it. We'll take care of it."

But Presea insisted. "I must," she said. "I have to. You would understand if you knew of my dream."

Lloyd was about to protest again but Raine laid her hand on his shoulder. "Lloyd," she said firmly. "Her powers are strong and, as I'm sure you've noticed, her senses are greatly improved because of what the Arbiter has taught her. It's not too far a stretch to believe she may have gained some...more unusual abilities. Either way, it's obviously important to her. Let's be kind and respect her wishes."

Lloyd nodded. "I know all that," he said. "I was going to say that maybe Ryoko might not be in the mood for too many visitors, but..." He shrugged. "Well, I don't think one more person would be too bad. Besides, we're all her friends."

"Right," said Regal. "Well, let's go then, shall we?"

Presea's heart thumped loudly in her ears as they walked up to the door. This is it, she thought. She hadn't opened her eye the whole ride here, and when she opened them she only got more apprehensive. Lloyd knocked on the door; she hardly heard it.

The next few minutes blurred together to Presea. Ryoko opening the door, going inside, talking, all these events bled into a horribly nervous mess to Presea. And then, it ended. She suddenly realized no one was talking anymore. As if coming out of a fog, she was horrified to realize they were all clutching their chests and trying to breathe. Presea noticed it too-a choking feeling in the throat.

Presea started to get up to help them, but she was losing it too fast. She suddenly remembered her dream: She knows something is wrong. She must stop it. She must find the circulator, or they will die. Almost reluctantly she left the apartment and breathed deep fresh air from outside. Once her head had cleared and her respiration had returned to normal, she wondered what she should do next. She thought of her dream. What had the next part said? She must use the abandoned path, open the back door. That was it. Seeing the manager's office, she sprinted towards it in the hopes she could learn where the circulator was. Maybe for the air conditioning?

She threw open the door, startling a person behind a desk. "Are you the manager?" she asked. The man nodded and began to speak, but Presea cut him off. Not willing to take the chance he'd refuse, she focused her will on him and asked him where the air conditioning circulator for Phase 2 was.

"The fifth floor," he said.

"Is there some sort of back way in?" she asked.

"Sure," he said. "Apartment 105 is empty. There's stairs leading into the fifth floor from that apartment."

Dropping her hold on his mind, she thanked him and whisked out the door. Up the stairs to apartment 105 she ran, shoving open the locked door and bounding up the wooden ladder-like stairs into the pitch black attic. She heard the hum of machinery, and felt the presence of another person. She shivered; whoever was up here felt cold and ruthless. A sinister laugh that could barely be heard above the air conditioning units floated over to her.

"Yes," said a voice, distinctly male. "I feel you here too."

"Who are you?" asked Presea as she stepped into the darkness.

The shaft of light behind her disappeared with a slam. The male voice laughed again and spoke.

"You know who I am, dear," the man's voice said. "I haven't finished what I began with you. Now you're going to help me get what I want."

Presea's face hardened. "I sincerely doubt that," she said. She unclipped her lightsaber from her belt and ignited it. The energy blade basked the long room in blue light, and for the first time she got a good look at where she was. The fifth floor was one big room above the fourth floor. The roof was supported by beams placed at regular intervals. In between the beams were air conditioning units, which all fed into a main unit in the center of the huge room. Out from behind that unit and from Presea's past stepped a nightmare.

"You!" said Presea, an old flame of anger and pain rekindling.

Abyssion looked at the weapon she grasped in her hands tightly and frowned. He said nothing.

"What do you want from me?" she asked shortly.

Abyssion seemed to have forgotten she was there. "You're my only hope now," he said coldly. "Once the Necronomicon was destroyed, I had no way of reviving Nebilim again. Besides which, I think he was utterly destroyed. However, when I came to, I still had the weapons. Hopefully, they'll bond to you and I can use you to channel their power into me."

"And you think I'm just going to let that happen," Presea said flatly.

Abyssion smiled evilly. "It would be easier," he said.

Presea snorted, and attacked. Abyssion produced a sword in the shape of flowing fire that crackled with electrical energy and blocked Presea's blow. Without missing a beat she whirled around and struck at his flank. He jumped and slashed at her head. She ducked out of the way and spun to meet his sword as he swung it down at her. She spun back around and leapt over an air conditioning unit. He's good, she thought. That much I can tell. She studied him closely as he circled slowly in one direction while she went the other. When he isn't attacking, she noted, he holds his weapon pretty loosely. That is probably my best chance. I've got to end this soon.

Presea suddenly lunged forward, stabbing at Abyssion's chest. He knocked her blade aside, sidestepped and swung at her back. She pivoted and brought her hands over her head, putting her lightsaber over her shoulder and blocking the strike. They spun apart and their blades met again with a sparking noise. She shoved him back and he began to walk back to her slowly. Now's my chance! she thought.

"You are strong," he said. "But not strong enough."

"Perhaps not," she said. "But you have no idea what I can do."

She thrust out her hand and reached out with the Holy Force. Abyssion's blade left his hand and smacked into her palm. She gripped it firmly and hurled it back at her stunned attacker. Abyssion uttered a choked cry as it sunk into his chest and began to fry him with electricity. He sparked and sputtered, until there was a great thunderclap and a blinding flash of light. "NOOOOO!" screamed Abyssion with his last breath.

The bright flare faded away and Presea could see that the only solid thing left of Abyssion's body was a charred piece of black ashes smoldering on the floor. Presea grimaced and turned away from it. She jogged over to the main unit, which she presumed to be the circulator, and inspected it. Immediately she could spot with her senses which piece of machinery did not belong. She frowned. It wasn't attached to the main unit. She followed her senses and found it was attached to one of the smaller subunits. She shrugged; she had to admit, she really didn't know that much about air conditioning. Guided by the Holy Force, she extracted the foreign device and deactivated it. She took it downstairs with her and set it down outside Ryoko's door. Hesitantly, she opened the door and entered.

The air smelled fresh and she could breathe fine. Everyone was passed out in seats or on the floor. She checked their pulses and their breathing; everyone was alive and seemed to be well. She sighed in relief and called the hospital.

"When will they be out?" asked Sheena worriedly.

"Soon," replied Presea. "The doctors say there shouldn't be any permanent damage, so they'll be released in a day or so. However, they do want to keep Ryoko a while longer, since she was exposed to the toxin longer."

"What was the toxin?" asked Yuan. Presea shrugged.

"Not sure, really," she said. "I retrieved the machine that was dispensing it and gave the hospital a sample to study. I showed the device to the Arbiter but he had no idea what it was, so I'll probably give it to the government or something. Or maybe I'll just destroy it. I'm not sure."

"Was anyone else affected by it?" asked Kratos.

Presea shook her head. "No," she said. "Apparently it was only set to poison Ryoko. Abyssion must have known that we would have tried to help her and set a trap to lure me there."

"But why go through all the trouble?" Genis wondered aloud. "Why didn't he just confront you?" Presea shrugged again.

"I don't know that either," she said. "Perhaps he thought he would have some sort of bargaining piece with Ryoko and the others in his grasp. Whatever it was, I'm just glad it's all over."

Martel nodded. "I'm sure," she said.