Hi guys! I'm going on vacation tomorrow and leaving really early so you get this chapter tonight instead of tomorrow! I'll be back in time to post next Saturday's chapter, too, so no worries!

We switch to Sheena with this chapter. :D Enjoy!

I don't own TOS.

((SHEENA POV))

Shivering in the bitter air, I looked down at the floating chunks of ice.

"This is it, Corrine. Keep your eyes peeled for the base." I said.

Corrine nodded, his bell jingling.

I scanned the horizon carefully, and just when I turned my head, I saw a flash of blue. Angling in that direction, I noticed a steady, pulsing stream of soft blue light.

"That's it, Sheena!" Corrine said in my ear.

I nodded, studying the light as we got closer. There was a building of some kind below it, emitting the light. The light was concentrated just above it in a big sphere, the softer waves of light traveling up around it. Stopping the Rheaird a few feet away, I took a deep breath.

"Ready?" I asked.

Corrine tightened his grip on me, linking our mana. "Ready."

I pushed the button for the fastest speed, and we were hurtling fast toward the light. Angling for the concentrated ball, I closed my eyes as we shot through.

The wind from our speed and the chill in the air disappeared. I opened my eyes, only to see darkness. I swept a hand in front of myself blindly, just starting to panic, when we were shot forward again and out into the dawning sunlight.

Quickly turning the Rheaird's speed down to hover, I looked around, jaw dropping.

We were in a desert.

A desert.

With sand.

I'd only ever seen something like this in books at the castle.

"Corrine, I don't think we're in Tethe'alla anymore." I choked out.

Corrine looked around wide-eyed, before glancing below us.

"Sheena, I think we should land…" He squeaked.

Below us, dozens of people were pouring out of Yuan's Sylvarant base, staring up at us.

"Uh… Yeah." I said, gliding the Rheaird down. I landed and was getting off the machine when a familiar voice asked, "Are you from Tethe'alla?"

"…My name is Sheena. Yuan's expecting me." I replied, unable to place his voice.

He nodded, looking around. "Get back to work!" He snapped, and the crowd dispersed. I put the Rheaird into my Wing Pack, stowing it in my sash.

The man nodded. "I am Botta. I will lead you to Yuan."

Botta! He's Yuan's second-in-command, the one Yuan talked to in the lab! I thought, following the stoic man inside the building and down many twisting, identical hallways with weird machines, getting myself hopelessly lost.

He stopped suddenly before a door, knocking swiftly.

"Enter." A muffled voice called, and Botta led me inside.

Yuan stood from behind his desk when he saw us.

"Well, well. I see you finally made it here, Chosen One." Yuan said.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't you think it's a good idea for me to not use my title while I'm here?"

Yuan smirked. "Of course. Please sit… Sheena."

I sat down and Botta moved to stand by the door.

"We've received word that the Chosen of Sylvarant has successfully released the first seal. He and his companions will be heading for the Ossa Trail to the east, though it is likely they will rest today once they reach Triet, the desert oasis city to the south of here." Yuan explained.

I frowned, nodding slowly. "When will they reach this city?"

"By noon." Yuan answered.

"How do you know all this?" I question.

Yuan smirked. "I have my ways. There's no need to concern yourself with the 'how'."

I scowled but let him keep his secrets. For now.

I stood. "Is that all?"

Yuan arched an eyebrow at me. "Leaving so soon?"

"I want to check out this town and get to the trail before nightfall." I said.

"It's a half-day's journey from Triet to the Ossa Trail, so be sure to leave the city by noon. What are your plans once you reach the trail?" Yuan said.

"I'll lay an ambush. Do you have photos of the Chosen of this world and his traveling companions?" I asked.

Yuan nodded. "Yes, I have several to give you before you go. Here." He handed me a small bag that was surprisingly heavy.

"Inside, you'll find photos and descriptions of the desired persons as well as several thousand gald – don't worry, it seems Tethe'alla and Sylvarant use the same monetary system – apples gels, orange gels, a few life bottles for emergencies, and quite a few poison bottles. There are venomous snakes in the desert whose bites can be lethal, so be sure to avoid them." Yuan explained as I peeked in the bag, seeing everything he had said was in there.

I nodded. "Thank you."

He smirked, nodding back. "One more thing – I advise you refrain from using the Rheaird; like in Tethe'alla, it is not a common technology and will only draw hostility and fear to yourself. Also, I'd suggest you hide your Summon Spirit friend while in populated areas. Most people have never seen a Summon Spirit before, and he will draw unnecessary attention to you."

Corrine huffed, growling at Yuan.

Corrine. I mentally warned. Yuan just grinned.

"Is that all?" I asked, eager to leave.

"Yes, for now. Keep in contact and update your status frequently. I'll need to know when you are planning to return to Tethe'alla as the dimensional transfer system requires time to charge and thus is offline until further notice." Yuan said, walking around his desk and moving to stand next to Botta, who has stepped away from the door, unblocking it.

I nodded, moving to the door.

"Good luck, Chosen One Sheena. I don't need to remind you of the consequences of failure, do I?" Yuan asked.

My jaw tightened.

"I didn't think so. May the Goddess watch over you." Yuan turned and walked back to his desk, dismissing me. I stalked into the hallway, Botta right behind me.

"I shall escort you out. Once you leave this building, heading straight south will take you to Triet in a matter of minutes." Botta said striding down the hallway, me on his heels.

Soon, I was stepping once more out into the desert. The sun had risen into the sky while I was inside, and it was already almost unbearably hot.

"Good luck." Botta said, before shutting the door behind me.

"Well. Here we go." I said to Corrine, heading straight out across the sand.

"I don't like them." Corrine said.

I sighed. "I know. I don't either, really. But they're helping us, so we have to tolerate them for a while."

Corrine shook his head, bell jiggling. "Before we get to the city, shouldn't you call Zelos?"

"Zelos!" I cried, quickly getting out my communicator. "Thanks, Corrine. I almost forgot."

"No problem, Sheena!" Corrine chirped.

Quickly pushing the necessary buttons, I smiled when Zelos appeared on my screen. "I made it."

"Sheena!" Zelos yelled. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Relax." I said with a chuckle.

Zelos glared. "I can't help it!"

"I know, I know." I said.

"So what's it like?" My best friend asked.

"Hot. I landed in a desert." I said.

"You're in a desert?" Zelos asked curiously. "That's so cool!"

"Yeah. Here, I'll show you." I held the communicator out and gave Zelos a view of the sand before turning it back to me.

"Wow! Real sand!" The redhead said. "I wish I could be there to see it…"

"I'll bring you back some." I said with a grin.

Zelos smiled. "So what's the plan? Did Yuan know where that world's Chosen is?"

"Yeah. I'm going to get a little ahead of them, based on Yuan's information, and set an ambush." I told Zelos.

Zelos frowned but nodded. "All right. Keep me posted! Contact me again once you get it set. When'll you get there?"

"Well, I'm almost to a city, called Triet. From there, it's a half-day's journey to the place I'm setting up, called the Ossa Trail. Yuan figures they won't get there until tomorrow, so I have time." I explained.

"Be safe." Zelos said.

"I will. You be safe, too, covering for me." I said.

Zelos waved a hand. "Worry about yourself – I've got this end covered!"

"Thank, Zelos. Talk to you soon." I said.

"Later, Sheena!" Zelos ended the connection and I put the communicator away, feeling a little better.

"I can see the city!" Corrine said.

"Me too. We're almost there!" I said excitedly, wanting to see a real city of this world.

"Aren't you going to look at the description papers, Sheena?" Corrine asked.

I shook my head. "Yuan said they won't get to town until later on today. I'll be on my way to the Trail by then, so I'll look at them tonight."

"Okay." Corrine said.

When we were close enough for me to start being able to make out buildings, I turned my head to Corrine. "Maybe you should check out the Summon Spirit space here? You were going to have to do that, anyway."

Corrine scowled. "I don't like leaving you."

"I know, but we'll still be connected." I said, petting his head once.

"Okay. But if I sense anything, I'm coming back! I don't care who sees!" Corrine said stubbornly.

I chuckled. "Thanks, Corrine."

Corrine poofed away in a small puff of smoke and in minutes, I was entering Triet.

It was small. That was my first impression. Like the desert, it was covered in sand and very hot. The people all head cloth wrapped on their heads to protect them from the sun. It reminded me a little bit of Meltokio's slums, but the people didn't look as starved.

I wandered around, looking at the various shops, noting the gel and food vendors. I viewed the arm and weapons, barely containing my snort at the outdated weaponry. The people here were still using this junk?

In the center of the city was a large lake. The glittering water almost hurt to look at due to the sun's reflection off it, but it was pretty nonetheless. Stomach grumbling slightly, I backtracked to the food vendor and bought myself lunch before securing my pack and leaving the town.

Corrine? I'm alone. I sent to Corrine, and in seconds he had poofed onto my shoulder.

"How was Triet?" He asked.

I frowned. "From what Yuan had said, I was expecting, I don't know, more desperation? For a declining people, they didn't look overworked or starved. Although, their weaponry is vastly outdated."

"If they're a thriving people, doesn't that make your job easier? At least they aren't suffering! If you don't stop their Chosen, they'll greedily thrive and destroy Tethe'alla, right?" Corrine said.

I frowned. "I guess… I don't want to destroy an entire world full of people, regardless if they are thriving or suffering. But I have to save Tethe'alla's people, and if the only way to stop suffering in Tethe'alla is to kill Sylvarant's Chosen One, then I'll do it."

Corrine nodded, bell jingling softly.

We lapsed into silence. I was focusing on my pace and breathing as it was really freakin' hot and the last thing I needed was to pass out in the desert. I felt Corrine tense on my shoulder a split second before I heard a hissing sound.

I stopped, glancing around. The desert was a pretty barren place; only occasionally would I see some plants valiantly trying to make it in this harsh environment. To my left was one such plant – it looked like a cross between a bush and tree and had thorns all over it.

Sitting at its base, slowly sliding towards me and hissing? A snake.

"A snake!" I yelped, jumping backwards.

It bared its fangs at me at my sudden movement.

"Be careful, Sheena!" Corrine said worriedly from my shoulder.

I pulled my cards out, nodding. I darted towards the snake, hyper aware of its fangs. Flicking a card at it, I yelled "Mirage Seal!" just as the paper touched it, the spell in the card releasing and attacking the snake, causing it to stagger and temporarily severely decreasing its accuracy.

Before I lost the chance, I slammed my foot down on its head. Hard. There was a sickening squelching noise and the rest of its body flailed. Keeping my foot pressing down, I slapped a Pyre Seal card on its belly before flitting away and activating the card with a small push of mana.

The snake was blown into two.

I sighed, adrenaline fading as I tucked my cards away.

"Good job, Sheena!" Corrine said.

"Heh. It was nothing." I responded, resuming my walking. I looked up at the sun, surprised to see it already beginning its descending arch. I should be getting to the Trail soon…

An hour later, twilight descended upon the desert, dropping the temperature, as I made my way toward the Ossa Trail, which I could clearly see ahead of me. It was marked by two large stones on either side of its entrance and I could see the green of grass as the trail wound up and through the rocky mountains surrounding most of this desert.

Quickening my pace, I stepped between the two rocks and glanced up the trail. It was pretty narrow, really. The path was a mix of rock and grass patches, and I could see a tree a little up the path. I headed for that tree and sat down against it, pulling my pack off and placing it next to me as Corrine hopped off my shoulder.

I looked around, thinking about where I would set my ambush.

Corrine suddenly said, "Sheena, look up there!" I glanced up and saw an overhang of jagged rock above the other side of the path opposite this tree.

"Corrine, does the path lead there?" I asked.

"I'll look!" Corrine chirped before racing off up the path. A few minutes later, his head poked over the small cliff-face.

"The path doesn't lead here but the ground is stable. I think you could get here, Sheena!" Corrine yelled down to me.

I grinned. "Thanks, Corrine." Tomorrow, I'd climb up there and wait. It was a perfect place to hide for an ambush. A few minutes later, Corrine was back at my side.

I petted him before reaching into my pack and withdrawing one of the sandwiches Sebastian had made, splitting it with him.

Once I was done eating, I pulled out my blanket, positioning it by the tree.

"Aren't you going to light a fire?" Corrine asked.

I shook my head. "A fire is not a good idea in such a confined area, Plus, I don't want the smoke or the remains tomorrow to give me away."

Corrine nodded, huddling closer to me.

I pulled out the papers Yuan had given me and proceeded to go through them, looking at the pictures and reading the information to Corrine.

"Lloyd Irving, Chosen One of Sylvarant. According to this, he's seventeen with brown hair and brown eyes. He's 5'8" and approximately 125lbs. He fights with twin blades and his Cruxis Crystal in on his left hand. He wears head to toe red – that'll make him easy to spot. Yuan's notes say he is a strong fighter and is very sympathetic to those suffering, although he is kind of stupid. He's traveling with four companions, all of whom have Exspheres." I read.

"We should be careful around him." Corrine said.

I nodded, flipping to the next page.

"Colette Brunel. She's Lloyd's childhood friend. She's sixteen, 5'7", 100lbs. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Fights with chakrams – spiked discs. Huh. Wears a blue and white dress. According to Yuan, she's apologetic, compassionate, and clumsy." I read before turning to Corrine. "She sounds like a typical girl. Why is she traveling with the Chosen?"

Corrine shook his head. "They must be close."

I frowned, flipping to the next page.

"Genis Sage. Another of Lloyd's friends. He's twelve. Twelve? What the hell is wrong with this Lloyd guy? Why is he letting kids travel with him? Isn't it dangerous?" I yelled to Corrine.

"Maybe they didn't want to let him go alone." Corrine suggested.

I snorted, continuing to read. "He's 4'8", 70lbs. Sheesh, small. Blue eyes, silver hair. Dressed in a blue shirt and shorts. This kid has got to stand out. Oh, wait. He's an elf. He fights with something called a kendama – the note says it channels his spells, as he uses mostly magic for fighting. He's got genius-level intelligence, according to Yuan."

"Magic users can be dangerous." Corrine said.

I nodded, agreeing, as I flipped to the next page. "Raine Sage. Genis's older sister, an elf, she's twenty-three. Silver hair, blue eyes, 5'5", 108lbs. Wears an orange frock with black pants. Apparently, she was Lloyd, Genis, and Colette's schoolteacher, so they sometimes call her Professor. She fights with a staff, another spell caster. She knows healing magic. That might be troublesome. Oh, wow. Yuan notes she's the historian of the group, ridiculously smart like her brother."

"She sounds like she'll be hard to beat!" Corrine said worriedly.

I petted him. "Don't worry; so far they all have strong points but it doesn't look too bad."

I flipped to the next page. "Oh, looks like they have a dog with them! This says Noishe is a large dog with white and green fur and is primarily Lloyd's pet, though he's traveling with the whole group so he must respond to them all to an extent. Yuan notes that he's afraid of battle, though, so I shouldn't worry about him."

Corrine looked up at me, confused. "Sheena, why would they bring a dog with them?"

I shrugged. "Beats me. They've gotten be the weirdest group of people I've ever heard of."

I flipped to the next page. "Kratos Aurion. Ahh, he might be a little difficult."

"What's it say?" Corrine asked.

"He's a mercenary Raine hired to protect Lloyd. Auburn hair, brown eyes, 6'1", 170lbs, twenty-eight. Apparently he has a cape like Yuan, but his is purple like his clothes. He fights with a single double-edged blade and also knows healing artes. Yuan gives him high praise and cautions against fighting him head-on. Wow, if he's got Yuan's praise, this guy must be really tough." I said.

"He'll be protecting the Chosen, right? What'll we do?" Corrine asked.

"I'll have to try to knock him out or have a Guardian distract him so I can get at Lloyd…" I thought aloud.

Corrine nodded. "I'll help, too, Sheena!"

"Thanks, Corrine." I said, smiling at him.

"Oh? There's one more paper. A Desian?" I said, frowning as I skimmed the paper, the frown deepening as I read aloud. "Desians are a militant group composed of half-elves intent on hostile take-over of this world. They hate humans and elves for their persecution of them – apparently discrimination is bad here, too. They have a uniform similar to those who work for Yuan – Yuan notes he did this on purpose for blending purposes. He also notes that I should avoid them at all cost – they routinely capture and kill humans, so I should run whenever I spot one. Great, one more thing to worry about."

"I don't like the sound of them…" Corrine said.

"Me either. We should avoid them." I said, replacing the papers in my pack and staring up and the night sky, admiring the stars as I tried to organize my thoughts. Were the people here suffering after all? Things couldn't be good if groups like these Desians were running about…

I stifled a yawn, standing and stretching.

"You should sleep." Corrine said, moving over to my blanket. "I'll keep watch."

"Thanks, Corrine." I said, lying down and closing my eyes, exhaustion temporarily banishing my ambush planning and fervid thoughts.

"Goodnight." Corrine whispered.

Well, she made it to Sylvarant! Things are definitely picking up as she will very soon be encountering a certain Chosen... ;)

Review?