'Lloyd! I can't… I can't see a thing!'

'Just keep moving Genis! We've got to find something eventually!'

'What was that? I can barely hear you!'

'Damn, this Sandstorm is crazy!' Thought Lloyd. They'd left Iselia in such a hurry, with only the supplies in their inventory to survive. They had hoped to find Colette or some semblance of safety before the worst of this storm hit.

As his boots sunk deeper into the dunes, sapping of whatever precious strength he had left, Lloyd knew that their gamble had backfired spectacularly.

'Ugh, why is it so hot!?'

'According to legend,' Lloyd heard his best friend yell over the wind. 'somewhere in this area is… is a gate that leads to Efreet.' Efreet. Why did that sound familiar? 'The heat in this area is due to his influence.'

'A gate that leads to Efreet?' Lloyd called back. 'Could that be-'

'Yeah, I'm sure that's the seal Colette's headed for!' Lloyd fought back the urge to smile, for fear of letting sand in.

'Then… that must mean Collette's in this area somewhere!' Finally! Now if they could just find her or the seal… 'You sure know a lot of stuff!'

'Hehe. That's…' The young elf's voice was getting quieter. '… that's because I don't sleep through class like… like you do.' Before Lloyd could think of something snarky to say back, he heard a familiar whine. The wandering swordsman looked behind him and Genis to see their furry companion knelt into the sand down the hill they had climbed, his head held low to shield himself from the sand that tore at his eyes and reddening ears, sore from hours of abuse by the storm's hand.

'Noishe-' Lloyd was interrupted by a mouthful of sand. He coughed by reflex, only to allow even more sand in.

'Lloyd…' As he tried to end this awful cycle by spitting out the grains of sand, he heard something soft hit the sand next to him. Lloyd saw a sand-filled mop of white hair fall into the dunes as the storm took another victim.

'Genis!' He dragged his heels through the never-ending waves of sand, every muscle ordering him to just give up and let the storm have what it wants.

'No!' The boy was never one to listen. Even to his own body. As he reached out to grab Genis' hand, the arm limp in his gloved grasp, he mustered whatever strength he had left to pull his comrade from the dune.

'You've got to… to get… Up!' The small lad's hand slipped from his, Lloyd tumbled down the bank by the whimpering form of Noishe.

'That hill. Was it… always that big?' The thought rattled in Lloyd's head along with the ocean's worth of sand as he tried to get to his knees. He pushed his hand into the silted soil for balance, only for the ground to swallow the entire arm. As he looked back to the sand-hill's crown, he realised something.

He was right. The hill had risen. And it was still rising.

What he'd thought was the wind was a howl from under the sand itself. Something pushed up from beneath the bank, sending the young elf-boy tumbling down to a pit that had begun to form around the hilltop. Almost like a mouth…

'Genis!' A strength within the swordsman pushed him from his spot to dive for his friend, grabbing the collar just as a set of mandibles erupted from the pit. With his free hand, Lloyd grabbed the hilt of one of his swords, swiping at the twitching parts to this monster's mouth, as if it was furious that its meal had escaped it after so much work.

As the claws and spikes that made up this monster's mouth rose, Lloyd saw that the thing's mouth was attached to skin that looked like rock. As he swung to try a scare the creature off, his wooden sword bounced off its hide as if it were a boulder. By now the mouth was way above his head, almost blocking out the sun, casting the boys in darkness.

It's head and a chunk of its torso now caught in daylight; Lloyd realised that the thing almost resembled a great worm. Almost. For one, that pebbled skin ran down its entire barrel of a body, occasionally broken by great spines that ran down the creature, and what looked like smears of purple scales that joined the rock-like shell and spikes.

'Those purple parts!' The sand-worm's mouth turned down to him, the black throat surrounded by sand-brown mandibles stared down at him like a great eye, daring him to try and escape.

The ground shook as the great beast's maw stretched towards them. In a split second, Lloyd hurled Genis over to where Noishe knelt, the lad kicking sand into the storm as he slid to the huge dog. The diminutive lad slid over to where Noishe knelt, well out of reach of the thing's fall. The worm almost moved to follow the elf-boy, before settling on the human in front of him. The purple skin under the shell pulsing and stretching with every twitch.

'Those are my only chance!' Drawing his second sword, Lloyd attempted to jump to his side, hoping to slash at the worm as it hit the sand. As he pushed off however, the loose sand underneath his feet collapsed, sending him falling to the ground. A sharp pain spread through the swordsman's right arm as one of the worm's spines tore past him and ripped through his coat. Blood splatted across the sand, turning the beige hillside dark brown. Lloyd gritted his teeth as he felt the rough spike cut through skin and muscle. It had gone deep. How deep? Deep enough to make the arm go limp.

'Dammit!' How could he protect Collette if he couldn't protect himself or Genis? Had Kratos been right? 'Not now!' Lloyd focused on the purple scale underneath the shell. 'There!' His sword held high in his other arm, he brought down the wooden weapon with what strength he had left.

The purple scales were indeed softer than the shell, in the same way a great oak tree is softer than a rock. The blade broke as it hit its mark, leaving the tip embedded in the creature, as green fluid oozed from. The worm flailed as its impenetrable hide failed, sending Lloyd to his knees as the ground shook. Caught off balance, he could react in time to stop the worm's bulbous head slamming into him.

His body was sent through the air, carried even further by the storm's winds, as the back of his head slammed into the ground, sending his world into a spiral as his momentum carried him even further. Lloyd had no idea how many dunes he had hit before he stopped, face in the dirt with a mouth full of dust and the desert.

'No… Not like this…' All he could do was hold his left hand close to his body, in the vain hope he could protect his mother's keepsake from being eaten by some random monster in the desert, and wait for his back to be pierced like arrowhead in a rabbit.

But then the rumbling softened. The howls quietened. The heat of the sun hit the back of Lloyd's neck as light returned to cast his shadow.

The lad's victory were gifted by a wave of nausea, as the flight the worm had sent him on caught up with his other injuries. It was getting harder to breathe, and sand had started to soak into the gash the creature had left him. It felt as if his whole arm was on fire, turning his stomach inside out as his body failed to process the wreck it had become.

Damn, the sand… sure was comfortable. Maybe if he just… rested… for a moment…

'I'm sorry… Dad…'

The first thing Lloyd noticed as he stirred was the heat. Or rather, the lack thereof. The feeling of his skin cooking under his thick coat was gone, replaced now by a damp humidity.

'What… What happened?' Had he been taken by the worm to some lair to be eaten? Had they got to Genis and Noishe? Lloyd forced his eyes open to a ceiling of stalactites, an orange light flickering on them to his right.

Fighting the stiffness that had taken root in his neck, Lloyd dared to turn to see the source of light. A fire had been lit near the mouth of the cave; its flames fluttered from the storm that still raged outside. A pot hung over the heat, its lid jittering occasionally under the heat. By the fire were two figures shadowed by the light; one tended to the pot. The other, sat by a large smooth boulder, was looking at something in their lap.

As he tried to sit up to get a better view of the newcomers, what felt like lightning shot up his chest. He tried to steady himself by resting on his arm, only for the burning pain to return also.

'Gargh!' Lloyd fell flat onto the stone floor clutching his ribs.

'Whoa, take it easy! I just got you patched up.' A voice came from the mouth of the cave as Lloyd saw one of the figures move and kneel by him.

Now away from the blinding campfire, Lloyd could see that they were a man, though he could only see the guy's yellow hair and blue eyes that reminded him of the one he promised to protect. And were those-

'Whiskers?' As if by reflex, the man's raised his hand to his face, before a smile beamed from his pearling whites.

'What, these? They're just birthmarks. Now hold still, this might hurt a little.' True his word, Lloyd's body ached as a soft glow radiated from something out of his sight. As he tried to tilt his head to follow the light, Lloyd realised that it didn't hurt so much to move. Testing his neck for soreness, he turned it to his right, only to see the familiar form of his best friend laid next to an unmoving Noishe.

'Genis!'

'Don't worry, he's okay. Just needs rest and some fluids in him.' The man said as he moved back to the fire. With a second look, Lloyd noticed the rise and fall of Genis' shoulders, and the same in the fur around Noishe's chest.

'Ngh… No Raine… No more spicy strawberries…' Lloyd knudged his companion.

'Genis.'

'… Can't put ketchup on a cake- Wha- where are we!?' The young scholar shot up from his slumber, his eyes bouncing around the cave walls, trying to make sense of his new resting place. Lloyd put a hand on his shoulder, seeing now that it was gloveless.

'Genis relax.' His friend's brow and eyes scrunched at his words, as if it were the first time he'd heard them.

'But, we were in the desert. Wait, I closed my eyes for a second, and-'

'It's okay, we're safe now.'

'Wait, we weren't safe!? What the heck happened Lloyd!?' Lloyd paused, unsure how to ease the news that he was almost eaten before.

'Err, w-well… heh, funny, now you mention it…' The swordsman rubbed the back of his head with his left hand, his wild hair filling the gaps his bare hands.

'Wait a sec.' Thought Lloyd. 'I'm not wearing my gloves.' Quickly, he brought the hand round to his face. His hand was bare, free from any glove or bandage. And most importantly…

'My exsphere!' Now he joined his friend's frantic search for their belongings.

'That gem? It's in your pack.' The man's voice called from the fireside. Looking behind himself, Lloyd saw he had been resting his head on the pack they'd had Noishe carry. Stuffing his hands inside, he rummaged desperately until his fingers hit something like a marble attached to a tiny metal plate. Pulling them out, he saw the blue gem attached to its key-crest in his palm. Lloyd's shoulders sagged with relief.

'Phew.' He searched the pack again, finding his gloves and slipping them back on before returning his mother's memento to its place on his hand.

'The little guy's toy should be in there too.' The voice continued. The 'little guy' in question's eyes glared at the man.

'Hey! My kendama's not a toy!' The man's heard popped up from its watch over the pot.

'Really? Sure looked like a toy to me, but okay.' He gestured for them to come closer, a wooden bowl in his hand. 'You might wanna bite to eat before it goes cold.' Lloyd and Genis, both looked at each other, unsure how to react. What if this guy was trying to poison them and steal their stuff?

Between this silent exchange, the boys were interrupted by a quiet growl, deep and long, that seemed to echo through the cave.

'Wha- What is that!?' Asked Genis, trying to look around the cave whilst his hand searched for their pack that had his toy- his weapon.

'Relax fuzzball, they're not gonna try anything. Not in this sandstorm at least.' Their host said, as if to answer the growl. Gingerly, Lloyd rose to approach the campfire. The blond man seemed to be looking at the smooth rock that the other person, whose face and features were concealed by a large cloak, was sat against. Now however, as he focused on the rock, he noticed that the person seemed to sink into the stone, and that said stone had short orange fur. As his eyes followed the edge of the rock, Lloyd noticed huge rabbit ears attached to a fox-like head. A head with its teeth bared, and a red slitted eye that stared straight at him.

'How did I not notice that!?' The young man screamed in his own head as he froze, unsure how best to act. Should he run? Fight? The blond guy seemed okay with him. Did he have to fight the blond guy too!?

'Whoa whoa whoa!' The man-in-question moved between Lloyd and the giant fox-thing, his hands raised to both. 'We're just a couple of guys hangin' in a cave, waiting on a stew to brew, and the storm to pass. No need to get antsy.' He looked back at the fox; who's eyes softened at the man's own. 'They're just a couple of kids. No need to come to my rescue, okay buddy?'

The orange creature's eyes stared at the man, only occasionally glancing back to Lloyd and Genis, who by now was hovering next to the whimpering Noishe doing his best scared Katz impression. This standoff lasted longer than Lloyd liked, before the fox's eyes relaxed, before slowly closing, the tension in the cave somewhat lifting.

'It least as much as it can.' Thought Lloyd. 'With a giant fox that looks ready kill us at the drop of a hair!' The blond man blew loudly, resting his hands on his hips as he turned back to the young man-in-red and his elf companion with a great big smile and cheerful eyes plastered on his face. Now stood up and in the open, Lloyd could see the man wore a black jacket with a red band that wrapped around his bicep. The jacket hung over orange slacks that stopped at his ankles that met the black open-toe sandals he wore. As he turned to face him and Genis, Lloyd saw that his left thigh had white bandages that wrapped under a black pouch strapped to the outside his leg. 'What could he be carrying in that?'

'Sorry about that. Kurama gets a little grouchy around new folks. Still,' He said, planting a firm hand on Lloyd's shoulder. 'he didn't bite your head off, so that's somethin'!' The brown-haired lad looked back to his friend, another silent conversation passing between their eyes.

Okay, panic has officially returned. His smile hadn't budged the whole time!

'Hey, do you want some of this or not?' The pair of friends looked back to see their host holding two bowls now.

'Err- thanks, mister…' Genis' voice trailed off as he accepted the bowl.

'Oh yeah, its Naruto.' Finally introducing himself as he handed Lloyd his bowl. 'And no need for the 'mister'. Just Naruto's cool.' The boys sat as they inspected their meals, the bowls full to the sloshing with a cloudy brown liquid.

'Not the best-looking soup I've ever seen.' Thought Lloyd. That was until the growls of his and Genis' stomachs betrayed them.

'Relax, it's not poison. They've already had it.' His hands full, the man nodded to the cloaked figure and the fox. Slowly, the two sat by the crackling fire, as they warily accepted their host's meal.

The stew wasn't awful. In Genis' opinion it was way too salty, but the diced vegetables and meat made for decent filler. The vegetables hadn't been sautéed too well, although it didn't hurt to crunch. The meat was well tendered though, easy enough to swallow. As Genis let the soup sit in his mouth, a thought occurred to him.

'Um… What meat is this?'

'Oh, that'll be the scorpion tail-'

'-SSSSSPPPPPPPPPRRRRRRRRR-' Genis' mouth momentarily became the Thoda Geysers as the stew in his mouth sprayed across the cave wall. 'What!?'

'We're in the middle of a desert! What else am I gonna cook?!' The elf-boy looked to his friend for support, only to see him still scooping his way through his own bowl.

'Lloyd!' His human companion turned to him with a quizzical look.

'What?'

'You don't know what else is in there! Wait-' He turned back to the blond man. 'What were those chunks of vegetables?'

'Nothing!' By now the man had the decency to look sheepish. '… Bits of cactus.'

'You call yourself a cook!?'

'Hey, I ate them beforehand to make sure they were okay, and I only got mild indigestion!' The guy yelled back as he gestured to his other companions. 'I'm don't wanna kill fuzzball and the kid with the squits now am I!?'

'Please… don't involve me in this.' A girl's voice came from the cloaked figure, raising her head for the first since they had woken up. Under the cloak, Genis could see the locks of deep-red long hair that hid her right eye. The other was a warm chocolate-brown, though there was something… off about it. As if the light of the fire didn't reflect off it very well.

Her face was similarly strange. She wasn't ugly by any means. If anything, in Genis' opinion, she was beautiful. Her cheeks were wide and smooth, and her eyelashes were long and seemed delicate. And yet, her brow was sharp, as if intensely focused, or perhaps silently angry at something or someone. Her face may have been smooth and unblemished, but there was no trace of the chubbiness of youth. Her mouth was straight, as if she were trying not grimace at some awful thought. Her chin was thin and pointed that seemed to add to the aura of gravity she gave off.

'She kind of reminds me of that Kratos guy.' Genis idly mused. It was then that he noticed that it was… quiet, all of a sudden. The blond's demeanour changed.

'Are you holding up okay Tee?' The loud and proud voice was replaced by something else. Her eyebrows scrunched at his words, as her eye fell to her lap.

'I'm fine… I think.' Naruto's breath left him, though not with relief this time. The fox shuffled at her words, wrapping a great tail across her. The girl smiled as she clutched the appendage's fur. 'Thank you, Kurama.'

'Get some rest before we get to Triet, okay?' The girl nodded as she leaned back into the great fox's coat, as her eye closed. 'So,' The blond had turned back to Genis and Lloyd, the smile from before now returning with a vengeance. 'kind of funny how I found you two in the middle of the desert, and neither of you look like you'd ever stepped within forty-miles of one before now.' He brought his hands behind his head as he leaned against the cave wall closest to him. 'Caught with your pants down?' Lloyd and Genis hesitantly looked to each other, unsure of themselves.

'We… had to leave in a hurry. We didn't get the chance to pack our gear properly.' Genis said, as he suddenly found his knees very interesting. Lloyd said nothing, only slump his back as his eyes drifted to the campfire, the embers popping and crackling occasionally. Their host looked between them, not saying anything as his eyes squinted slightly.

'Welp,' The man said as he stood up. 'I don't like your chances of getting to Triet. I can't exactly leave a couple of kids to die in a cave now, can I?' The two in question looked up at him, wondering where this was leading. 'Once the storm clears, we'll head straight for the oasis. Don't know what your business is here, but at least they'll be a roof over your head.'

'Thanks, but we can take care of ourselves just fine.' The man's brows rose in disbelief. He reached for something by the fire side, picking up the hilt of the lad's broken wooden sword, gazing at it before looking back to him. Lloyd winced under the man's gaze.

You want to protect the Chosen, don't you?

'I'm sure you could.' The blond host placed the smashed hilt by his side, before rising from his spot. 'Still, a little company won't hurt for a few hours.' He glanced to the winds that continued to howl just outside the mouth of the cave. 'Where're you guys from anyway?'

'Iselia.'

'Oh yeah, that little town by the coast. Heard its lovely in the spring.' The boy's faces fell at his remarks.

'Y-Yeah.' Lloyd's meek response drew him a side-glance from Naruto. 'So… where are you from?' The curious stare was suddenly replaced with huffs of bemusement.

'Oh, you know. Bit from here, bit over there. Everywhere really.' Genis' face scrunched with frustration at the non-answer.

'Wait, that doesn't make any sense!' A chuckle escaped their host as his head turned to the winds outside.

'So? Doesn't mean its not true.'

'That makes even less sense!' The short lad turned to his taller compatriot. 'Lloyd, should we really go with this guy?'

'Well… It's not like we really have a choice.' He nodded to the sandstorm beyond the cave walls. 'Besides, its just 'til we get to Triet. What's the worst that could happen?' The younger boy threw his hands up as his head sank.

'Sure, just invite the monsters to us Lloyd.' As the two bickered by the fire, their host continued to stare into the wall of whipped-up sand that trapped them in here.

''Doesn't make any sense.'' He giggled to himself. 'I guess it doesn't, does it?'