Sheena stepped warily into the hidden chambers. While Kratos had strode boldly into the place and Lloyd had charged in behind him, the ninja remained alert for any hidden threats. There were none, but she refused to relax. Something had to be wrong here.

Kvar was speaking to an unknown personage as they arrived. "Pronyma, I know that you are the one who stole my research on the Angelus Project."

The woman on the screen raised a questioning eyebrow. "I know of no such thing. It is no concern of mine anyways."

"When I deliver it to Lord Yggdrasil I shall be made head of the Grand Cardinals and you will be begging me for mere recognition!" Kvar was obviously steamed at her evasion. He raised a clenched fist and shook it at her as he spoke.

Pronyma's posture seemed to radiate nonchalance. Her tone of voice was merely amused when she replied. "You speak as though such a thing will happen. It appears to me that you have things to take care of in the meantime. Farewell Kvar."

The video link died, and a seething Kvar turned to regard his intruders. "I shall deal with you and then the bitch Pronyma shall be put in her place!" Muttering under his breath, he drew his weapon. "Come on then - to your doom!"

Lloyd gave an inarticulate cry and dashed forward, leading with both blades. Kvar easily avoided the charge and cast a spell at the itinerant swordsman, who evaded the majority of the blast. Apparently some of the training that Kratos had insisted on had rubbed off on the boy. Kvar turned to follow the rather pathetic threat and had a nasty shock as a single blade intercepted his rod.

No words were spoken, but as Sheena gazed into the mercenary's face, she nearly dropped her cards in shock. Cold fury burned in the depths of his eyes, giving her a sensation of dread even though he wasn't looking at her. From the way that he struck at the Cardinal, it was clear that he was merely playing with the Desian, keeping his attention so that Lloyd could regain his wits.

Then the others rushed in, the party complete again. Raine stopped abruptly, shock written over her normally calm features. It didn't stay there long as she started into the beginnings of a healing spell for Lloyd, the look changing instead to one of comprehension.

Kvar noted the increase in the number of his opponents and reacted accordingly. A gesture of his hand activated several globes that floated around the perimeter of the room. Crackling with energy they began to home in on the members of the party.

The summoner hastened to the side of the healer as she attempted to back out of the range of the energy discharges. Darting forward, Sheena intercepted the globe and managed to bring it to a standstill. An electric shock blasted out at her, but since she was using cards that made her resistant to lightning it didn't do much more than make her hair float momentarily.

Things looked like they were going well until she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. 'Uh-oh...'

The blast of lightning was enough to overload the card's protective influence and throw her across the room. Trying to focus again after the rough landing, Sheena noted that two of the magical constructs were homing in on her position. Staggering to her feet, she saw Lloyd throwing himself at Kvar again. Collette was busy defending Genis from the onslaught of one of the energy globes, while Raine stood in deep contemplation prior to casting a spell.

Kratos had just finished running through one of the constructs with his blade. He ignored the lightning dancing along the edge of his sword, choosing instead to dash across the room and place himself straight in the path of the remaining guardians. They reacted predictably, sending out electric shocks at the newest obstacle.

He took them full on, though it numbed his body. Behind him Sheena coughed and managed to work herself into a defensive posture. Then it happened: the construct closest to him exploded.

Waves of holy power had overtaken it as Raine raised her staff and pointed it towards the THING that dared to harm her companions. "PHOTON!"

The second construct exploded likewise as it was crushed by a pillar of earth. Genis wave his kendama in salute before returning his attentions closer to home. Sheena rolled her eyes at the cocky elf, but managed to straighten a little and return his wave.

She was slightly startled when a hand grasped her shoulder and the warmth associated with healing swept over her body. The aches from the bruises that she'd sustained from her tumble faded. Her eyes widened at seeing Kratos was the one performing the magic. It wasn't something that he normally did.

Come to think of it, the mercenary wasn't big on touching anyone either.

Sheena wasn't the only one staring - Raine raised her eyebrows at the pair before going back to her casting. Kratos stared at the ninja for a moment before nodding and rushing off into the thick of things again.

For some strange reason, Sheena felt her heart racing.

Genis had finished off the last of the floating orbs while it was occupied with Collette. Now he and the Chosen were squaring off with Lloyd against the Grand Cardinal. They weren't doing too poorly either. Lloyd had finally settled down to a slow boiling rage instead of 'white-hot-flying-off-the-handle'. His sword strokes were much more measured than before.

Between the three of them, they were managing to wear Kvar down. His focus was entirely on them, allowing him no time to bring spells to bear on the others. The Grand Cardinal was therefore surprised by the assault on his rear by a dark haired ninja while the mercenary that he recognized engaged him from the front.

Simultaneously he was struck by a holy spell, an earth spell, and a speeding chakram. The Desian felt himself falling, unable even to cushion the impact. 'So this is how it ends? NEVER!' Dimly he could hear the voices about him. He struggled to his feet leaning heavily on his staff.

"You'll never win against us. And you boy, you know that the real murderer was your father. Why, your mother could have been saved!" He gloated as he turned to leave the room, a sudden silence left in the presence of his declaration.

A sudden puff of smoke had the ninja standing in his way, her stance ready. Wheeling back around, he found the boy suddenly in his face. "YOU BASTARD!"

The sword that pierced his side produced sudden pain and then numbness. Kvar hit his knees and stared at the metal hilt that protruded from his chest. He glanced back up as another figure loomed close. The cold gaze of the mercenary fell on his face and he knew momentary fear as a second sword descended towards him. Then he pitched forward as the sword took away the last of his life. Kratos withdrew his blade and wiped it on the fallen Desian's cloak.

He never spoke, but to the few who were watching his actions were plain. 'There, it's over now.'



Lloyd was carrying a very thoughtful expression on his face as they hurriedly left the scene of the Human Ranch. An explosion a few minutes later marked the end of the Desians' reign of terror in the region. The party gathered together on the path that led towards the Tower of Mana, the exertions of the day showing on each face.

Kratos dragged Lloyd off to one side while the others set about setting up camp. "Lloyd."

"Yeah Kratos?"

"Do you feel better now? Is your revenge finally satisfied?" The mercenary was watching the boy closely, trying to determine the reaction to his words.

Lloyd nodded, his hair ruffling in the faint breeze induced by the action. "Yeah, mom can finally rest in peace."

The older man hesitantly renewed his questioning, afraid of the answers he might find. "But you know that she was really killed by your father. Do you not desire to punish him for his part?"

"Nuh-uh. Why would I do that? He loved my mom and it had to tear him apart to kill her. It was the Desians' fault that he had to." Lloyd seemed to be content with his conclusion, so Kratos left it at that. Somehow it seemed to calm his soul, if only slightly.

Lloyd wandered off, bored again. Noishe plopped down behind the mercenary with a huff. The dog whined at the mercenary, who merely lifted an eyebrow. "I suppose it won't hurt to sit down for a few minutes..."

This last was muttered under his breath, with a quick surveying glance to make sure that he was unobserved. No one seemed to be watching, which was good.

Although the Professor somehow managed to teleport to his side of the camp somewhere between the time he looked around and when he actually touched the ground.

She didn't say anything, merely gazed at him with a strange expression on her face. Kratos ignored her stare, though it was beginning to grate on his already frayed nerves. 'Patience... I must be calm.'

He sat with his eyes closed for a while, and when he opened them, Sheena had taken a seat close by studying him. She blushed and looked down when she noticed that he'd caught her staring. For a moment the mercenary thought that she was going to get up and walk off, but then she cleared her throat and looked back up at him.

"Are you feeling better now?" Her voice was toned down to keep anyone else from hearing what she said.

Kratos moved to speak and wave the question off, but then sat back and actually considered it. Finally he looked up and nodded tersely. "No, I am not feeling alright. I am however, feeling somewhat better than I have been. Thank you."

He bowed his head again, nearly missing the delighted smile that passed across the ninja's features in the fading light.

Sheena was overjoyed when Kratos responded to her question. He rarely talked about himself, always bringing up some other subject or flatly refusing to discuss it. But this time he'd actually spoken and to her!

Maybe the journey was working some kind of magic on the mercenary like it was on the other members of the group. She blushed again and moved a wee bit closer to where he sat. From across the fire, Raine smirked at her and her cheeks nearly went atomic. The elf didn't say anything though, and kindly brought over a share of the meal.

"Eat up girl, I didn't make it."

Sheena snickered, relieved to be able to laugh at something. The Professor sat down beside her, wrapping her arms around her knees. "So what's the big news?"

The question was whispered in the darkness. Sheena responded in kind. "Uh, I got him to say more than a half sentence about himself."

Over to the side, Kratos sighed. 'Is it worth the pain of gossip to open up?'

Behind him Noishe huffed and whined. The mercenary shook his head. "I know, I know."

The Tower crept up on the horizon as they traveled towards it. Unlike the Tower of Salvation, this place could not be viewed until you were close up because of the mountain range that surrounded it. Lloyd bounded up the steps that led to the tower door, leaving the rest of the party shrugging their shoulders at his antics.

"It's Lloyd."

Moments later as they joined him in front of the tower, the swordsman turned around sheepishly. "Um, anybody got the key?"

Genis shook his head. "You're hopeless Lloyd."

AN: Thanks for the reviews peoples. Sorry about this chapter taking so long to get out.

Of course, not all the blame for this falls on writer's block. I've been playing Knights of the Old Republic like a madman... and then writing short fics for that too. Christmas musicals aren't helping much either.

Needless to say, I did try to incorporate more Sheena/Kratos interaction. The best stuff won't come until the party actually seperates from our favorite mercenary angel (Angelic Merc?). KK - Raine's part of the triangle will probably be fleshed out by conversations with Sheena. I think anyway. No guarantees, alas.

As always, read and review. If you like Warcraft 3 fiction, read stuff written by JCAE. Awesome stuff there. Starlight x1 has some pretty good Gundam Wing fics if that's your cup of tea.

Till next time: Trevor X1