A/N: Okay, I've finally slapped together my list of all the pre-battle stuff! Thanks to everyone for the great ideas! Ahem. The order is (along with the people who suggested them):

1. A hang-out scene with Lloyd, Sheena, Zelos, and Colette. (Rock Raider)
2. A meeting with Volt (Specter Von Baren; this will prolly be kinda short)
3. Conversation between Sheena and Kratos (myself and Tear of Celsius (her idea will be part of this chapter that I had originally planned; this will prolly be kinda short)
4. 2 father/son scenes in one chapter (DeadEdBoy); one involving Dirk, the other Kratos, the Kratos scene serving as the lead-up to the below chapter
5. A Sheloyd scene of epic proportions (Heh… everyone; that's the plan anyway. Hoping on 5,000+ words and an original song or poem)

In all, 5 chapters: 2 short, 2 medium, 1 large. I know that's a lot of pre-battle stuff, but the only long chapter you'll have is the last one. Hope that's okay with everyone. If anyone cares to know, events 3, 4, and 5 on the list will all happen on the same day, store time-line wise.

Anyway, on with the show!

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Chapter 19: Catching Up

Sparks flew through the late-afternoon air as Lloyd sharpened the edges of his Valkyrie blades. Although he had access to not only his Angel Arm's 'Wings of Light' and the Material Blades brought to him by Dirk from their own home, both sets of blades being stronger than the Valkyries, he had always liked the feel of the large blades. Against his normal tradition of carrying one blade on each of his sides (in which now rested the Material blades), he now also wore two additional sheaths criss-crossed on his back in which rested the Valkyries, making for a grand total of four swords. His friends had questioned why he did this. Genis had said it best when he asked, "How are you going to wield four swords, Lloyd?" To answer them, he would always just shrug and say "You never know." His father did not comment, but Sheena had complimented him by saying, "You look cool like that Lloyd."

Lloyd brought the edge of one of the Valkyries close to his eyes as he examined it. The now-setting sun shined beautifully off the perfectly sharpened blade. He smiled. "Good. Ready to be used again." The blades had been badly damaged during the fight with Abyssion and Lloyd had spent the last couple of hours fixing them up. It had proven to be a fun 'chore' for him. He had always loved working with metal but had not had the chance to do so in quite some time. Satisfied with his work, he placed the Valkyries in their new sheathes on his back.

Not long after he stood up to stretch, Sheena emerged from around the corner of a building closest to where Lloyd had been working on his weapons. "Hello Lloyd," she said with a smile. She kissed him on the cheek and the two of them embraced.

"Hey Sheena," said Lloyd. "What'cha been up to all day?"

"I've been with Colette and Zelos all day," she replied. "Did you know that those two are going out?"

Lloyd blinked. "Going… out?" He scratched his head as he pondered this. His eyes opened widely as he realized what this meant. "Whoa, wait a sec… Colette and Zelos? I know that Colette left to take care of Zelos, but… going out? Isn't that weird, considering what happened between them?"

Sheena shook her head. "It isn't our business. They seemed to have worked out everything, so it doesn't really matter, does it? Besides… this isn't the same Zelos that we once knew."

Lloyd tilted his head, confused. "What do you mean? Zelos is Zelos, isn't he?"

She shook her head again. "Ever since our fight at the Tower of Salvation, Colette says that he hasn't been the same, and it really shows. I was so surprised by how he acted! He was, well… a gentleman. He didn't crack one bad joke and didn't make a single crude comment about females. It was amazing."

Lloyd blinked. Could this be true? Sure he had talked to Zelos since coming back from the fight with Abyssion, but for any length of time significant enough to notice a change of personality in him. Indeed, this Zelos that Sheena spoke of was not the man he once knew. Was it really the battle at the Tower of Salvation that changed Zelos so much? Lloyd didn't think so. He had a hunch that it was any care that the sweet-natured and easily forgiving Colette gave to Zelos was what changed him. Still, he found it hard to believe that such a quick transformation actually took place.

He shook his head. "I've just gotta see this for myself. Where are they at now?"

Sheena waved her hand in front of her. "That's why I came to find you. They've invited us over for dinner tonight."

Lloyd cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? Is everyone else coming too?"

She shook her head. "No. It's just going to be me, you, Colette, and Zelos."

Lloyd scratched his head. "Not even dad?" She shook her head again. "Huh… well, I guess if they say so. When are we supposed to go over?"

"They said around seven o'clock," Sheena said. "We need to get back to your house, get changed, and be back by then."

Lloyd scratched his head again. "Get changed? What's wrong with what we got on?"

Sheena lightly slapped her own face. "Ugh. Lloyd, we're being invited to dinner. This isn't like going over for snacks and lemonade. We should at least show our gratitude by looking nice."

Lloyd frowned. "Aww man. I hate dressing up."

Sheena folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot. "Tough. All you have to do is wear the same outfit that you wore to the Meltokian ball. You'd liked that outfit, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but-" started Lloyd.

"Then it's settled!" exclaimed Sheena, interrupting him. "Head back over to your house and start getting ready. I'm going to the local store to see if they have any nice dresses I can buy."

Lloyd looked at her, puzzled. "Why don't you just wear the outfit that you wore to the ball?"

Sheena blushed and began to walk away. "I-I want to wear something a little more modest. Go on ahead without me. I'll be back at Dirk's with a new dress shortly." With that, she walked off.

Lloyd blinked a few times. "Something more modest?" He pondered this for a moment, then shook his head. "Ah, whatever. Must be a girl thing." With a shrug, he began to make his way toward the lightly traveled trail through the hills at the end of which lay his and Dirk's house.

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Later that evening…

"I know I've said this hundred times before, but-" started Lloyd, "you look absolutely beautiful, Sheena."

The young summoner blushed. Indeed, she was exceptionally stunning. While at the store, she had bought a simple yet beautifully made strap-less forest-green dress. It was far more modest than the outfit she wore to the ball, leaving only her shoulder-area and the upper half of her back exposed. In an unusual change of personal style, Sheena did not fix up her hair and, instead, let it flow freely down her back. As much as she didn't want to, she had forced herself to wear black high-heels. She initially had trouble walking in them but quickly adjusted. "Thank you Lloyd. You're even more handsome than usual."

Lloyd closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair with a grin. "Hehe, thanks."

They reached the lighted doorstep of Colette's and Lloyd knocked on the door. After a moment of waiting, the door opened, revealing a very beautiful Colette on the other side of it. She wore a dress very similar to Sheena's except that it did have straps and was sky-blue. It was also slightly longer than Sheena's, thus hiding what shoes she was wearing from view. Around her neck was a pendant that Lloyd had fashioned for her a while back which housed her Cruxis Crystal. Her smile warmed the hearts of her friends as she waved them inside. "Come in! Come in! I'm happy to see that you were able to make it." With everyone inside, she closed the door.

She hugged Lloyd and giggled. "Lloyd, you look so handsome in that suit! I have to admit that I'm surprised to see you in it though. Did Sheena make you wear it?" She grinned at him.

Lloyd turned red and scratched his head. "Ahaha… something like that."

Colette laughed again and moved to hug Sheena. "You look so beautiful Sheena! I wish I looked as good as you."

Before Sheena could protest what her friend had said, another voice interrupted her. "You are indeed lovely, Sheena. However, with all due respect, I have to say that my little angel has got you beat tonight."

Lloyd and Sheena looked beyond Colette to see an exceptionally handsome Zelos, golden wings fully extended, standing close to the dining table, already set with foods and beverages of all sorts. Colette turned around and said, "Zelos, you shouldn't say that!"

Zelos chuckled, walked slowly over to his friends, and took Sheena's hand with his good hand, kissing it as he did so. "Haha, just having some fun. In all seriousness, it's good to see both of you. Thanks for coming."

Sheena blushed and nodded. "It's good to see both of you too. Thank you for inviting us tonight."

Lloyd extended his hand and Zelos took it. They shook. "Any luck with trying to heal your arm or legs?"

Sheena's eyes widened and she jabbed her elbow into Lloyd's side. "Lloyd, don't ask him something like that!"

Zelos smiled and waved his good arm in front of him. Colette clung on to his paralyzed arm. "Hey, it's okay Sheena. He's just making sure I'm okay. To answer your question, I haven't had any luck lately. I'm afraid I may always be like this. It's not so bad though. I've actually kinda gotten used to it." He flapped his wings slowly. "For example, I use my wings to keep me light on my feet, thus allowing me to walk around far more easily than before. The arm, well…" He looked down at Colette, smiled, and wrapped his good arm around her. "As long as I have one arm to hold Colette with, that's good enough for me." He bent down a bit and kissed Colette on the top of her head.

She looked up at him, a sad look in her eyes. "Zelos…"

He gently pulled away from Colette and walked back toward the table. "C'mon guys, enough of this kinda talk. I'm starving! Let's sit down and eat already!"

Lloyd leaned slightly over toward Sheena and whispered. "Whew. For a second there, I thought that this really wasn't our Zelos."

Sheena elbowed him in the ribs again and the three angels joined Zelos at the table.

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"Burp!" belched Lloyd loudly. "That was great Colette!"

Sheena punched him in the arm. "Lloyd, try to use some manners!"

Lloyd his poor arm which had been the victim of seventeen punches, all of which were caused by Sheena. "S-sorry."

Colette giggled and stood up as she began to collect the plates. I'm happy to hear that you liked it Lloyd."

Zelos wiped his mouth and dispersed his own words of praise. "Oh yeah, good eatin'. Need some help with the dishes Colette?"

Sheena began to stand up. "Yeah Colette. We wouldn't mind helping you."

Colette waved her hands and smiled. "It's okay, I'll do it. It won't take but a few minutes to do. Thank you very much though." With that, she took up the rest of the plates and made her way to the kitchen.

It was after Colette left that Zelos began to look toward the entrance of the kitchen. Curious, Lloyd asked, "Something wrong Zelos?"

He turned back to his friends. "Just making sure that she can't hear us."

Sheena stared at him strangely. "'Making sure she can't hear us'? What do you mean?"

Zelos only half-smiled as he took a spoon still remaining on the table and began to stir his drink with it. "The truth is that the dinner was my idea. I wanted a chance to be able to talk to you guys without making Colette suspicious."

Now confused himself, Lloyd asked, "Suspicious of what?"

Zelos sighed and looked back up at his friends. "I'll keep it short and sweet. If… no, when you guys defeat Nebilim, I'm going to go on a quest by myself to see if there's any way to save my legs and arm."

Both Lloyd and Sheena gasped. "What? But I thought-" started Sheena.

Zelos shook his head. "I only said that before so Colette wouldn't worry about me. I'm not being selfish. I'm really not. I want to do this for Colette."

Lloyd shook his head, confused. "For Colette?"

Zelos nodded. "I know it hasn't been very long, but… I want to ask Colette to marry me."

Both Lloyd's and Sheena's jaws dropped. "You wanna marry Colette!" asked Lloyd, astonished.

Zelos nodded again. "I even had Dirk make an engagement ring for me to give to Colette. I offered to pay him back later but refused."

"Alright," started Sheena, "but does Colette know about this? And what does it have to do with your arm and legs?"

Zelos shook his head. "She doesn't know about this because… I'm not going to ask her to marry me until either I can heal myself or I know for sure that there is no cure."

"But why?" asked Sheena.

Zelos looked down at the table. He appeared to be choking back a few tears. "B-because she shouldn't have to take care of a cripple!"

Neither Lloyd nor Sheena knew what to say in response to this. Zelos continued on as he let his head hit the table. "Look at me! How can I begin to be a good husband to someone as good as her when I can't even do simple things? I won't be able to hold her with both arms. I won't be able to run around or dance with her for any decent amount of time. What about defending her? I nearly lost my life just trying to kill a Lesser Ogre! What if something worse comes along? A-and what if…" He did his best to pull himself together and look at his friends. "What if we have a kid? Not only will I also not be able to hold it, but I won't be able to run around and play with it. There… there's just no way I could handle that."

Lloyd knew he didn't have the right words but he knew that he had to say something. "Zelos, I understand why you're thinking that way, but all of that stuff shouldn't matter. I'm sure Colette would say 'yes' to your proposal no matter what."

Zelos nodded. "I know she would. But… I still want this for her and, well, I guess for myself as well. Maybe it is selfish, I don't know."

Sheena finally decided to say something. "There's no way we can stop you from doing this, but I still have to ask why you're going alone?"

Zelos finally smiled once again. "It's meant to be a surprise for her. When I get back, I'll propose to her. Plus, I feel that I have to do this on my as a way of atoning for what I did in the past."

"Zelos…" said Sheena.

Smiling as cheerily as ever, Colette came back into the dining room and sat back down next to Zelos. She took notice of the somber looks on everyone's faces and wondered what was wrong. "Hmm? Did something bad happen while I was gone?"

Zelos began to chuckle. "Oh it's nothing. We were having a, uh… three-way staring contest. They're just upset that they keep losing. Right guys?"

Knowing what he was getting at, both Lloyd and Sheena nodded. "Yeah. I think Zelos cheats," said Lloyd.

The four of them shared a laugh, although only Colette's was authentic. After that tense moment, the four friends spent the rest of the evening talking the night away.

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Hmm. Turned out a little differently than I had anticipated. Ah well, hope you liked it all the same. I hope that this is the worst of my pre-battle chapters (not that I hope it's bad… there's a difference) as this was the chapter I was least looking forward to writing, for I wasn't sure how to go about a Lloyd/Sheena/Zelos/Colette scene. I'm sure many of you were expecting Sheloyd fluff in this chapter but I ask you to please be patient. It's building up. 4 chapters from now, I hope to present to all of you what I hope is one of the greatest Sheloyd moments ever seen on Anyway, thanks for reading, and thank you kindly in advance for any and all reviews! Stay tuned for chapter 20 as Sheena finally confronts the object of all of her nightmares: Volt.

Oh, and in case you hadn't heard, the first chapter of "Crossing the Bridge" (RegalXRaine) is up! Check it out if you haven't already!