I don't own Tales of Symphonia, it's so sad… -sniffle- But I can write about it. So there.

Shadowlover01: Okay then. Here.

RoyalFanatic: How about the puppy eyes? Eh, maybe not. And I hope this answers your other question.

Note: I just realized that I forgot to kill that one priest. Well, too bad. Ehm... the Desians killed him before he could get down the stairs. Yeah.

Chapter 2: Remiel

Death never came. In fact, it stopped several feet away with a clash of metal.

I cracked one eye open, then both.

Between Vidarr and the four of us was a man with auburn hair, dressed entirely in purple. His sword was blocking the axe.

I managed to sort myself out and stood, already saying "Normal," and drawing another arrow. "Who are you?" I demanded.

He pushed with the sword, throwing the gigantic Desian back and off-balance. This gave him enough time to look over his shoulder at me and snap, "Get out of the way."

"Fat chance," I hissed, launching the arrow at Vidarr. This one just grazed the side of his neck, and I cursed silently as I set another arrow.

The new warrior wasn't giving me an opening, though, instead preferring to just block every shot I might have. Colette and Genis were effectively barred, too, so it was left to Lloyd to regain his feet and attack with the newcomer.

The men weren't giving the long-range fighters a chance. I pursed my lips, tempted to whistle as I watched the unnamed person disarm Vidarr, but I decided against. Instead, I emptied the quiver and slung the bow over my shoulder as the collection of muscles collapsed in a very dead heap.

"Damn..." the commander hissed. "I never thought you'd show up. Retreat for now!"

And he proceeded to do so, pushing past us and running down the stairs. The foot soldiers followed quickly, and we were left alone.

I eyed the three corpses speculatively. "We're going to have to move those. They'll start to stink if we leave them there."

"Always practical," Genis chuckled.

The purple-garbed swordsman sheathed the sword and looked us over. "Good... no one seems to be hurt," he said, almost to himself.

Phaidra stepped forward. "How can we ever thank you for saving the Chosen?"

I was about to protest, but thought better of it. If not for him, we'd all be so much meat right now.

He glanced briefly at her, then surveyed us once more. "I see... so... ah..."

Colette watched his puzzlings with her head tipped to one side in her typical manner. It took me a little while to figure out what he was attempting to find out. I caught his eyes as they flickered between me and Colette, and I twitched my head toward her ever so slightly. He'd saved us; it was safe, right?

"So, this girl is the next Chosen," he finished, directing his attentions to Colette now.

Suddenly reminded of her office, Colette burst out, "That's right! I have to go accept the oracle! Grandmother, I'm going to undergo the trial now."

"...What trial?" Lloyd asked suspiciously, before anyone else could say anything.

I swear, I wanted to slap that boy. "Lloyd. Martel's trial. The one we talked about less than half an hour ago. Ringing any bells?"

He shook his head mutely, and I clapped one hand to my forehead. "Aagh... I give up. Monsters, Lloyd. Monsters."

"There... is an evil presence radiating from inside the temple," the stranger agreed.

"Yes," Phaidra said. "The priests were to accompany Colette, but..." She waved her hand slightly in front of her, taking in the bodies of the two priests that lay there, as well as the Desian corpses. "Well."

"Phaidra, I'm going with Colette. I can protect her just fine," I put in.

"But, Eurydice? Just you?" The old woman still looked uneasy. "You are skilled with your bow, but you are just one person..."

I hmphed. "Colette's not exactly helpless either, y'know."

Phaidra had no response. The as-yet-unnamed warrior looked at me strangely. "Your name is Eurydice?"

"Kinda." I gave him that one enigmatic statement to puzzle over, then followed it up with, "Who're you, anyway?"

He looked kinda surprised for a moment, like we should have known or something, but answered my question anyway. "My name is Kratos. I am a mercenary."

This caught Phaidra's attention. "Mercenary?"

Kratos nodded. "As long as you can pay me, I can accept the job of protecting the Chosen."

Argh. I'd known him all of three minutes, and this guy was already getting on my nerves... and for almost no concrete reason, at that. I could protect Colette just fine. I didn't need help. I didn't need interference, either, for that matter.

If Phaidra said yes, I wasn't sure my sanity would survive the trial.

As I thought this, Phaidra decided, "Under the circumstances, I have little choice. Please be of service."

Yep. I was so doomed. Good-bye, sanity.

"It's a deal, then," Kratos said solemnly.

No. Please. Save me. "Um. Can we take Lloyd and Genis with us? Please?" I asked hopefully. Maybe I could keep them between me and Kratos...

Kratos shook his head. "They'll only get in the way," he replied, a disapproving note clearly evident in his voice. "It's enough that you must come."

At this point I actually had to grab my right hand to stop it from trying to deck the auburn-haired mercenary. "Listen, mister, I can take care of myself, and Colette besides. If Vidarr hadn't had a large measure of luck, we'd never have been in that mess to begin with. We need no self-centered, egotistical mercenary to protect us."

"Yes, but you were in that mess," he countered. "And the fact remains that I save all your lives. And you cannot always count on your enemies being unlucky, or, at least, no more lucky than you."

I scowled at him, trying to think of an appropriate comeback. I settled for the traditional "Shut up."

He smirked. My violent right hand crept to my bow, and I was forced to restrain it yet again. Martel, I hated this guy already.

Phaidra cleared her throat. "So... are you going, then?"

"Only if Lloyd and Genis are coming," I said instantly.

"Um, Chance should really come with us," Colette said hesitantly. "So that means... uh... Lloyd and Genis have to come too."

The mercenary sighed. "Do as you wish."

"I will!" I chirped, beckoning to the boys. Genis looked uncertain, while Lloyd immediately stepped forward, to Colette's side.

Phaidra moved aside, pushing the temple doors open. With a slight nod of thanks to her grandmother, Colette walked nonchalantly in. I could have sworn I heard her whistle. Lloyd followed closely behind her, while Kratos was forced to settle for third place. I was about to walk after them when it occurred to me that Genis wasn't following. "Genis-- come on."

I looked back. He wasn't moving.

Yes, I had to go back there and drag him in with me. He protested very quietly all the way.

Once inside, we joined Colette, Lloyd, and Kratos in the center of the main chamber. It was large, dark, and altogether very not interesting. Three paths lead away. To the left, I could see, well, nothing. It was a dead end, hooray for it. Straight ahead of us, there was a glowing force field. As Genis and Colette looked around and Lloyd and Kratos yattered on about sword skills, I walked the fifteen steps between me and it and touched it.

Well, it didn't shock me, or throw me back, and as far as I was concerned, this was a good thing. It didn't, however, let me through, and that wasn't great. Through the shiny blue-glowy thing, I could see a circle on the ground, probably a Warp circle. Not that they came in any other shapes.

So, we probably had to get to the Warp. But how?

"Colette, any ideas how to get through?" I asked, turning back to her.

She blinked several times, obviously deep in thought as she scrutinized the force field. "Ummmm... no. Sorry."

"Crap. Genis, I don't suppose you--"

"Nope, sorry Chance," he replied before I could even finish my question.

"You could let me finish!" I snapped. Someday I was going to have to hurt him.

"I suggest we explore the rest of the temple," Kratos suggested evenly. "Perhaps a solution will make itself known."

I couldn't argue with that, no matter how much I wanted to. With a theatrical sigh, I headed for the final passageway, the one that lead to the right. "Okay then. Let's not just sit here all day. I, for one, want lunch eventually."

"How can you think of food at a time like this?" Colette asked plaintively, running to catch up to me. I slowed a bit. "I mean, it's so exciting and all--"

"Maybe 'cause I'm not the Chosen," I interrupted. Heavy footsteps from behind me told me that at least the swordsmen were following, so I had no need to look back. Genis could follow or not.

We skirted around a threatening blob of jelly and found a set of stairs, leading down. I stood and looked down them for a minute; I couldn't see the other end. Then, as everyone else caught up, I started down them.

It wasn't too long before I reached the bottom, but by that time, I was tired of stairs. We came out onto a large platform, suspended apparently in midair. It was clear, with various patterns etched into it. Immediately after he set foot on it, Genis noticed something. "Look, there's something glowing!"

I pointed my gaze in the direction of his finger. It was aimed at a glowing red light down and to one side. I estimated it was directly below the Warp. It was also below our current position.

I walked further out onto the glass platform, hoping beyond hope that it wouldn't break. It didn't, lucky for me. Unlucky for me, I walked right into a large rock thing.

The rock wasn't exactly inanimate. It made threatening lurches towards me and the rest of the group. I ducked a swing from one of its clumsy fists and overbalanced, falling smack in the center of one of the squares etched on the surface of the glass--

--and falling through. There's HOLES in the floor? Oh, whose brilliant idea was THAT?

Luckily, there was something down below. I landed on a rocky path that did appear to be floating in the middle of nothingness. I wasn't too sure, but I was guessing that falling off wouldn't be the best idea.

I looked back up. My friends, sister, and antagonist were busy pounding on the rock, which turned into a stone block. Okay, that was... logical.

Colette looked over the hole's edge, peering down at me. "Chance, are you all right?" she called.

"Fine, just fine!" I called back to her. "You?"

"Fine. That monster just turned into a rock!" She giggled happily.

"It was kinda a rock to begin with," Lloyd pointed out, leaning over as well. "Yo, Chance. Anything interesting down there?"

I looked around. Well. There were holes in the path. Most of the cut-off pieces were just pointless, going nowhere, but across the biggest gap was a set of stairs that lead up to the glowy thing. "Uh, yeah, actually, now that you mention it. There's a way to the glowy thing Genis saw. Only problem is, there's a hole in the path."

"Hmm." Colette got up and began to pace around the block. Lloyd watched her with some degree of bemusement.

Then, as predicted, she tripped.

What I didn't predict was that she'd trip into the rock, shoving it through the hole I'd fallen through. I flung myself out of the way as it landed where I'd been standing moments before.

Scowling, I climbed on top of it and shouted up, "Oi, what's the big idea? Trying to smush me?"

"I'm sorry!" Colette wailed. "I tripped! Oh, I'm sorry!"

My shoulders slumped. "Argh." I sat down, cross-legged, on the rock, and looked at it. It was nearly the exact same width as the path. "So what do I do with this thing?"

Now Genis looked over. "I don't know. Want me to come down and help analyze the situation?"

I hopped off the rock, putting it between me and the glowy thing. "Uh, not really..." Too late. Genis was already preparing to toss himself down. With a wicked grin, I shoved the rock away, out from the place he was probably going to land. It kept going, sliding impressively quickly along the rough stone path. It stopped at the gap, falling into the nothingness and bridging half the hole in the path.

Genis had landed and gotten to his feet, watching the rock go. We exchanged glances. "Aha," he said smugly, glancing up. "Look."

I looked. Another golem-thing had appeared. Kratos was busy trying to kill it.

...How do you manage to kill a rock? It's a ROCK, for Martel's sake. Stone. A geological formation. How can you kill it if it's not alive?

Nevertheless, the cube shortly thumped down in front of me and Genis, and we shoved it in the same direction as the first one. It fell off the edge and finished the path.

The other three took the stairs on the other side of the platform, the ones that lead down to the path. Whistling happily, I crossed the makeshift bridge and trotted up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, on a glowing white table, was a pair of silver rings with red stones. "Um, what're these?" Lloyd asked.

"Are these the Sorcerer's Rings?" Genis wondered. "I've heard about them. They're supposed to be holy artifacts of the Church of Martel."

Kratos looked interested, for once. "With these, we should be able to deal with most traps and obstacles."

"Wow, let me try it!" Lloyd cried happily.

"Ohh..." I slapped a hand to my head. This boy was easily amused and easily bored.

Genis took the words right out of my mind. "You're like a little kid."

Nevertheless, Lloyd took one ring, sliding it onto his finger. I had an evil idea, and grabbed Colette's hand and the other ring, slipping it on her finger. She looked at it blankly for a minute.

The pieces of the puzzle connected in my mind, and I slammed my hands together happily. "Aha! Let's go get rid of that force field!" I said happily. "This should do it, right?"

"Indeed," Kratos grated out.

Lloyd waved his Ring in the air. A ball of fire shot out of it, and I watched it make a pretty scorchmark on the wall. He gaped at it, then waved his hand again. Another ball of fire shot out, but at a different point in the wave; I ducked as the ball went over my head. What was it with people and trying to kill me today?

Before Lloyd could do anything else, I caught his hand. "Okay. Let's not wait for Lloyd to burn us all to a crisp, but let's go get that oracle, hn?"

"Okay!" Colette enthused. "She's right, Lloyd. You should be more careful."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, not sounding too happy about it.

Back along the path, up the stairs, over the holey glass, up more stairs, avoid the monsters, look at the pretty force field. It was rather pretty, actually, all a swirly blue. Then Lloyd had to go and shoot fire at it, and it disappeared in a flash of blue light.

We stared at the circle of purple beyond it. "Um," Genis said finally, "how do these work?"

"I would assume you just stand on it for a certain period of time," Kratos offered.

"Let's try that, then!" decided Colette. She walked over and stood on it. About three seconds after, she faded out. Lloyd started.

"Oh good," I said happily, and followed suit.

From all appearances, you'd think Warps wouldn't be fun, right? Oh, they're hilarious. You get all stretched out, and if you try to talk in transit, it comes out really high-pitched. Yes, I tried this.

Stepping off the circle on the other side, I looked around the room. There was an altar in the middle of the room, with a glowing red crystal on it. Above, there was a hole in the ceiling, as a skylight. Windows lined the room, as well as torches; it would never be dark in here.

"This must be the top floor," I heard Kratos remark from behind me. The others had evidently decided to come through as well.

Colette nodded. She was looking at the crystal. "Yes, and that's the altar." She motioned at the, well, altar.

"Then that shiny thing must be the Cruxis Crystal!" Genis exclaimed excitedly.

"That's right," Colette confirmed. "It's said I was born with that in my hand."

I looked at it more closely. It was the color of fresh-spilled blood, never a good comparison. I didn't like it.

A beam of light shone through the roof, and a blond man dressed in green floated down and into the room, hovering over the altar. White, feathered wings extended from his back.

No one said anything until he did. "I am Remiel. I am an angel of judgment. I have come to guide Colette, daughter of the Mana lineage, on her journey to heaven as the seventh Chosen."

Oh. Martel. Somebody. Save me. This guy was so dry and boring. He was an angel, but his voice was monotonous and non-melodious. I thought angels were supposed to have heavenly voices.

And I didn't like him. I flashed back on that strange feeling I'd gotten when the light flashed through our classroom, that there was something horribly wrong. I was getting that feeling again now, as I looked at Remiel.

Okay, what the heck? I shook my head slightly, trying to clear it. It was my imagination. It must be. Remiel had come to guide Colette on her journey to save Sylvarant.

I focused on Colette instead of Remiel. The Cruxis Crystal had become attached to her throat, in the same place my Exsphere was. Hers had developed a pretty gold mounting. I brushed my hand across my Exsphere, thinking again. It looked very similar to her Cruxis Crystal, actually.

A stray beam of light from Remiel's angelic glory shone on my Exsphere, making it come alive with bloody flames. I watched the pretty lights play across my hands and clothes, mesmerised. I didn't notice that everyone else was really, really quiet.

Remiel was looking at me like I'd just grown wings. Or, maybe he was looking at Kratos...? I took one step to the right, and his gaze followed me. Nope, scratch that. What in the...?

"You..." he began. I couldn't identify the emotion I heard in his voice. "How did you-- what is-- how in the--?"

I frowned, meeting the puzzled blue gaze. "I was found with it, Lord Remiel. It's my Exsphere."

He shook his head emphatically. "No, no it's not. That's a Cruxis Crystal!"

"There's... more than one?" Colette inquired.

Remiel shook his head again, more slowly. "Apparently... but how can this be? I've never known this to happen..."

This was one confused angel. I wasn't sure if I liked where this was going, though. If my Exsphere was a Cruxis Crystal, what did that mean for me?

Coming out of his thoughts, Remiel announced, "It must be fate. A long-lost daughter of the Mana lineage has been found, and thus she shall undertake the journey as well."

Oh. Crap. No. Bad. I signed up to be the decoy, not the actual Chosen of Regeneration! That's Colette!

I heard someone cough behind me. Sounded like Kratos. Was he allergic to angels or something? I wouldn't blame him...

Colette threw herself at me, hugging me. "I'm so happy!" she squealed. "My sister Eurydice's going to be with me!" Sheesh, she'd been listening to Phaidra too much. Either that, or it was a tactful way of telling Remiel my name, which he should know anyway.

Remiel cleared his throat, and we paid attention to him. "From this moment, Colette and Eurydice become the two Chosens of Regeneration." Oh. Goddess. What kind of crap had I gotten myself into? "We of Cruxis bless this event, and hereby bestow the Tower of Salvation upon Sylvarant." He made an expansive gesture toward one window, and all heads turned to look out it. In the distance, a tall, needle-like tower appeared, stretching up as far as I could see. The Tower of Salvation!

"So that's the Tower of Salvation," Lloyd whispered.

"Now the world will be saved!" Genis murmured back, if a bit less quietly.

The angel kept talking, ignoring the comments of the boys. "Colette, Eurydice, Chosens of Regeneration. Unlock the seals that guard the Tower of Salvation and climb its stairs to heaven in distant lands."

Colette started speaking, and I belatedly realized that I was supposed to be saying something. About four seconds behind Colette, I said, "I humbly accept this task." We were going to have to practice doing these things together.

"Very good. We of Cruxis shall grant you the power of the angels with each seal you unlock. Once you are reborn as angels, this eroded world shall be regenerated," Remiel told us. "First head south, to the Seal of Fire. Offer your prayers in that distant land."

"Yes, Lord Remiel," Colette and I said together. I was only one second behind her this time.

Remiel nodded approvingly and started flapping his wings, rising. Colette's eyes widened, and she started forward. "Wait! Please wait!"

He stopped, and Colette, emboldened, continued. "I have a question I wish to ask of you. Are you really my fa--"

Heaven's messenger cut her off. "First head to the Seal of Fire. Understood? My beloved daughter, Colette."

I nearly choked. So it was true! They did look a bit alike, I supposed. But wait... if I was also of the Mana lineage, was he my uncle or something?

"So you really are my true father!" she exclaimed, sounding both shocked and happy.

"We shall meet again at the next seal, my daughter." He smiled at her, and disappeared in a flash of light.

There was silence.

Oh my Goddess, what the hell did I just get into? I was thinking. Probably everyone else was thinking things along the lines of Two of them? and such. I'd never known there could be two Chosens.

"I never knew there could be... two Chosens of Regeneration," Genis said softly, breaking the silence and taking the words out of my mind. I wished he'd stop doing that.

"Neither did the rest of us," Kratos pointed out. Which was probably true; I'd never heard of it, and Colette was looking just as confused as I felt.

Oh man. I was still having trouble believing what I'd just heard. I was also to be the Chosen of Regeneration? My Exsphere was a Cruxis Crystal? How could that be?

I'd probably have stood there and thought about it for hours if Colette hadn't grabbed my elbow and gently pulled me toward the Warp. "Chance, we should be getting back," she said, jerking me out of my reverie.

I gently freed my elbow from her grasp as Kratos stepped onto the Warp behind us. Lloyd and Genis were apparently staying for a bit, locked in earnest, low-pitched conversation.

We came back out into the main area of the temple and wasted no time on heading out. Raine came in as we were leaving, chortling happily. Evidently she'd gotten permission to look at the temple, something she'd been wanting to do for years now.

She didn't notice us, which was all the better as far as I was concerned. There would be uncomfortable explanations as to what the heck was going on and why I wasn't back in school.

Phaidra was waiting for us, looking anxious. "Well?" she demanded.

"Everything went just fine," Colette announced, a big smile on her face. "The oracle was conveyed, and the Chosens of Regeneration will ascend the Tower of Salvation to heaven."

Sharp woman that she was, Phaidra didn't miss the emphasis on the plural form of the word 'Chosen.' "Chosens?" she asked. "What do you mean by that, Colette?"

"Uhm." I tried to decide how best to phrase this. "Exactly what she says, I guess," I finally said. "Remiel discovered a long-lost daughter of the Mana lineage and told her to go with Colette, that they would both regenerate the world." Why was I talking in the third person. "Yeah, me. It's this." I tapped the Cruxis Crystal gently. "Apparently it's a Cruxis Crystal."

Phaidra looked back and forth between me and Colette several times, perhaps comparing our Crystals. Finally her jaw dropped open. "You're... oh my... this is..."

"I got nearly the same reaction from everyone else," I said dryly. "Something leads me to believe that this hasn't ever happened before."

"It hasn't," replied Phaidra. "Girls, we should be getting back to the house. Mr. Kratos, if you would care to accompany us?"

He nodded. Man of few words except when it came time to bug Chance. Great.

Nevertheless, a party consisting of one old lady deep in thought, one blond girl who was skipping, one black-haired girl putting as much distance between her and the final member as possible, and one nearly-implacable mercenary made their way back to Iselia.

Frank was waiting for us at the entrance of the house. I guess he got tired of sitting. Upon seeing us, he broke into a relieved smile and ran to greet us. "You're back!" he called happily.

"And Eurydice has some interesting news," Phaidra told him.

He turned his attention to me. "Chance, what..."

I brushed the Cruxis Crystal yet again. "There's two Chosens of Regeneration," I said simply. How many people was I going to have to explain it to?

"Yeah, Chance has a Cruxis Crystal!" Colette said enthusiastically. "And Lord Remiel said we would both regenerate the world!"

Frank was doing nearly exactly what Phaidra had, looking between us frantically. "Oh Goddess," he breathed.

I became aware of the fact that I was very hungry. "Um, do you by any chance have any lunch?"

"So, we will entrust the protection of the Chosens to Kratos and Raine, then," the Mayor concluded. I eyed him balefully as I finished my spaghetti. I didn't like the little guy. He'd invited himself over for lunch and discussed the protection of the Chosens with the family.

Oh, and Kratos stayed for lunch too. I spent my time actively ignoring him.

Lloyd opened the front door, and Genis slipped inside. The taller boy followed him, a bit less gracefully. Phaidra spotted them. "Oh, you're back! Thank you for your assistance earlier! Please, accept this small thanks." From a bookshelf, she pulled an old book, and gave it to Genis.

He thanked her. Lloyd deliberated a minute before adding, "Thanks, Phaidra. Say, were you talking about the world regeneration journey just now?"

"Nope. We were talking about rabbits," I told him sarcastically. "Colette and I are going to need a lot of protection from the evil rabbits, since we're staying here in Iselia. Sheesh, Lloyd, use your head! Of course we were!"

"Ouch," he commented. "But on that subject, I want to go, too."

"And if Raine goes, I go," Genis said flatly.

Kratos shook his head before anyone else could say anything. "No. You'll get in the way."

"Wh...what?" Lloyd stuttered.

"The battles at the chapel were nothing compared to the journey that awaits us," Kratos explained patiently. "Children need to stay home."

The Mayor agreed. "Kratos is absolutely right. Now, then, we still have things to discuss." We did? I'd thought we'd covered everything. "You two should go on home."

Sighing, the two troublemakers walked back out the door. Colette jumped to her feet and raced after them, calling, "Please wait!"

I sat there for a few more minutes, then, when she did not return, I got to my own feet and followed. I still needed to ask Lloyd about the Key Crest.

"I'm the Chosen, remember? I'll be fine," Colette was saying.

Genis caught sight of me. "Oh, Chance! You wanted to talk to Lloyd, right?"

"Yeah, I just remembered," I said, taking the three wood steps in a single leap. "As to that... okay. Lloyd, do Key Crests ever crack, to your knowledge?"

"Huh?" He tipped his head. "Not that I know of."

I ran my fingers over my Key Crest until I found the crack. "Explain this."

He stepped closer, looking at the Key Crest. "Whoa... that's strange. I'll ask Dad about that."

"Thanks," I said, and meant it. "Sorry about Kratos. He's a right pain in the ass, in case you hadn't noticed."

"Oh, no, I had," Lloyd reassured me.

I took a few steps back, turned, and rejoined Colette. "So, I'll see you later, then!" Colette said cheerfully and went back into the house.

I blinked. "Uh, what'd I miss?"

Lloyd and Genis were already going away, probably to Genis' house. "Be that way," I hmphed, and followed Colette back in.

We never really celebrated Colette's birthday, save by the serving of a large, chocolate cake. Phaidra brought it out of the kitchen, looking very proud of herself; it washuge, much, much bigger than normal. Probably 'cause Colette was going away.

So was I, I reminded myself, almost forcibly.

The Mayor, who was allergic to chocolate, beat a hasty retreat. I snickered under my breath, then groaned as I realized that Kratos was still there. Did he have nowhere else to go?

I spent most of the rest of the day in my room, staying away from the mercenary. Late, about twilight time, Colette stuck her head in the door. "Chance, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Hm?" I put the book I was reading down and patted the empty space beside me, on the bed. "Sure, c'mere."

She came in, a little hesitantly; I was usually very protective of my space. At my repeated urging, she sat beside me. "Um, I'm going to Lloyd's house," she began.

"Why?" I asked curiously. "And why tell me?"

"Well, I promised I'd tell him when we were leaving," she said. "And I want you to come with me, 'cause Iselia Forest's got monsters in it."

"Oh, okay then!" I agreed. "I'd be happy to. We're leaving at eight, right?"

"Yes." She nodded, reinforcing her agreement. "But... um... I, uh, I, er, I want to tell Lloyd the wrong time."

"Huh? What for?"

Colette turned an interesting shade of pink. "Um, well, it's going to be dangerous. The seals are protected, and there's going to be monsters, and Desians, and, well, I don't want him to get hurt. And plus... well... you know what becoming an angel entails."

"Erk." I'd forgotten. "Ah, crap." I had a more philosophical outlook on it than most people, but I still wasn't all too keen on the idea of dying. Okay, so it was to regenerate the world, but... back to the Lloyd thing. "Yeah. Anyway. About Lloyd. He's pretty good with his swords. I mean, I know you have a crush on him and all, but he can take care of himself."

Colette got even redder. "I do not have a crush on him!" Her face was now a bright crimson. Her voice got really, really quiet. "I, um, just l-l-like him. As a friend."

I was silent for a minute, thinking. "He's not going to be happy when he finds out you lied to him."

"Better that than that he die along the way," she countered. "I don't think I could live with myself if something happened to him."

I sighed. "Okay. Have it your way. Noon sound okay?"

"Thank you, Chance," she said, throwing her arms around my neck. "I'd hoped you'd understand."

I freed my neck from her stranglehold. "Yeah, yeah, I love you too. Just go on downstairs, and remember your chakrams. I have to get my stuff together."

"Okay!" She jumped up and went back out the door, leaving it open. Everyone always did it, and it drove me nutty. Bonkers. Insane. I think you get the picture.

So that's chapter 2. I might be able to get another, shorter chapter up tomorrow. Sorry it's moving so slow and all.

Oh, and yes, there are TWO Sorcerer's Rings. I did that because the group splits up way later, and I like my continuity.

Um, I'm going to Italy. For ten days. I'm leaving Wednesday, and my computer access is going to be nonexistent. I will update just as soon as I get back, though.