August

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All around her, the darkness was stifling and completely solid. She could barely even see her own hands in front of her face. This was a unique kind of hell, to say the very least. Never had she felt so isolated, with only a far-off circle of light high above her head to remind her that she even had survived the fall. If she was going to die down here, she thought flatly, it would have been nice to at least die on impact rather than waiting for death in the pitch black.

As it would happen, however, Sheena had sustained surprisingly little damage. The only injuries she could confirm were what she assumed to be a number of nasty scrapes and scratches, as well as her wrist which she likely sprained from landing on it. She hoped this sacrifice she made was going to be enough to help Lloyd in rescuing Colette. Summoning had left her energy drained for now, so she guessed she wouldn't have been much help to him anyway even if she'd managed to come along.

In retrospect, the ninja found herself somewhat wishing she had let him come to her rescue rather than urging him to go on without her. It was true that she had always tried to put on a tough and independent face for everyone, but there was also a tiny part of her that wanted to be the fair maiden in distress for once.

Yet, her conscience wasn't going to let her take Colette's best friend from her. Lloyd clearly had had a crush on the little blonde Chosen for a long time anyway, and they quite obviously were a perfect match for each other. The reason they had ended up on this crazy misadventure in the first place was because he had been so unwilling to let her die.

And as much as it hurt to think about, Sheena wished very dearly that she had a friend that dedicated.

Her fingers curled into fists at her sides, clawing at the soft earth beneath her body. Even though she had promised herself she wouldn't, her thoughts once again turned to that traitorous idiot she had so foolishly called her friend. White-hot anger pulsed inside her chest, like a bomb threatening to explode. She wasn't sure if she wanted to scream until it hurt, or simply cry in bitter frustration.

She felt like the stupidest person in the world. One would have to be either an idiot or completely insane to ignore their instincts the way she had. This whole time they were traveling together, she had been sure something was amiss in the world of Zelos Wilder. His entire aura was almost sinister, his mannerisms unfitting of how she usually perceived him. Sheena had already been pretty baffled by his strange shift in personality. The mild flirtatiousness he had always had about him had taken an unexpected turn toward outright womanizing. And while that perplexed her quite a bit, she sensed something much worse lurking beneath…

What really got her mad was that she had almost begun to actually trust him again. She was always walking on a wire, never knowing how to feel. He would be sweet to her one day, and then say something awful the next. Instinctively she had known why, she knew he was trying to keep her at a distance. Every time she got near him, it seemed like his first reaction was to say whatever it took to make her storm off.

Now it all made sense. He had been planning this from the start, and having her along for the ride was just a minor bump in the road. She wouldn't have ever expected he could be so damn selfish.

But now it seemed the only thing she had left inside of her was anger. Burning rage, fueled by hurt and betrayal. Most angering of all was that even after all that had happened…she still longed to see him again.

And she could not, for the life of her, figure out why.

The summoner didn't have much of a chance to contemplate it. Bits of debris had begun to tumble down the steep walls of the pit, showering her in a light spray of dirt and pebbles. Sheena felt her heart seize up. Was the hole caving in? She cast her gaze from side to side, her mind reeling. There was no way she could climb out, definitely not without her wrist failing her. The thought of being buried alive sent waves of terror through her, a deep panic welling up in her stomach.

But nothing happened. She remained tensed in anticipation, but the tremor seemed to have passed. Relieved, the young woman leaned back against the wall, trying to re-gather her thoughts. Naturally, her heart nearly flew out of her chest when she suddenly heard footsteps echoing down from above.

"Hm, should I really be surprised to find you at the bottom of a hole, hunny?"

Her lips curled into a snarl. She had to have, hands down, the worst luck on the planet.

"I don't know, should I be surprised that you screwed us all over?" she snapped back at the voice.

Even though she couldn't see him, she was certain Zelos was wearing that pathetic little pout he always used on her. "Is that any way to talk to the person who's about to save you from an untimely demise?"

She wondered if she could hit him with a rock from this far away.

The stagnant silence stretched out between them. He must have been agitated by it, because he didn't let it go on for very long.

"Uh, so…I guess you want an explanation then for what happened back there?"

It was a remarkable understatement. She folded her arms. "Well, in my experience, people usually do give an explanation when they kidnap one of their friends and then leave the rest of them to die."

The ninja could just make out the sound of him laughing nervously. "This might clarify things, dear. Catch!"

She saw something small and sparkly fall from the mouth of the hole, bouncing off the root-covered walls and off of her poor head before landing on the ground. It was too dark to see, of course, and she had to feel around for it in the dirt. He really was an idiot sometimes.

Whatever he'd thrown to her, it felt like a small, smooth rock with a very slight glow to it. She had…absolutely no idea what the hell it was. And she said as much.

"So…you turned on us over a shiny rock?"

She couldn't hear it, but Zelos let out a long sigh. "Sheena, I expected better from you. It's Aionis. You know, the thing Lloyd absolutely-positively needs in order to use the Eternal Sword?"

For a moment she thought it over. Yes, that was right. He'd managed to make himself useful after all. But that didn't really change the fact that she was very, very mad at him.

"Well, now that you have it, I'm gonna have to come down there whether you like it or not," he called down, laughing a bit at the end. "Just don't murder me too badly, or you're probably not getting back out any time soon."

Sheena was about to wonder how the hell he planned on getting down there safely, let alone getting them both back out, when her question was answered for her. The Chosen glided down the dark descent neatly, the jump made safe by a glowing pair of golden wings. They looked to be of the same origin as Colette's wings, an incandescent shade of warm oranges and yellows. She would've been lying if she said it didn't impress her.

It must have shown on her face, because he let a small smile show when he landed next to her. Despite her current distaste toward him, she couldn't help but feel a heated rush of…something inside her head when she looked at him. The soft light from his wings gave his handsome features a surprisingly lucid appearance, glancing off his vivid red locks and sky blue eyes. The consolation he imparted to her, without even having to say a word, truly surprised her.

"Nifty, huh?" He bowed slightly, flitting his wings in a way she could only describe as girly. Then again, even someone as badass as Kratos looked a bit less intimidating with glittery pink and purple wings. The ninja had to laugh softly at this despite herself.

Zelos got the picture rather clearly, a grin immediately forming on his face. "Aw, you don't like my fairy princess wings? They're a bit better than sparkly pink though, in my opinion."

For a few moments, they were both laughing. It almost felt like things were normal again, even, until it hit her with full force what she wanted to ask him. Her eyes met his with the utmost seriousness, and from the remorse that entered his visage, she thought perhaps he knew what she was going to ask.

"You were working for them," she began calmly, almost sadly, "from the start, right? And…you didn't decide to go with us until just now, when we were back there…"

He didn't let his eyes betray him. "…What makes you say that?"

"You wouldn't look at us." She said it just above audibility.

His icy gaze upon her softened just a touch before he averted it to the side. "I made up my mind last night, actually. That's all that matters isn't it? I mean, you only met all these guys because you were out to kill Colette."

She winced when he said it, but he went on.

"And they forgave you for that…so, what's done is done."

"But I was doing it for Tethe'alla!" she protested, frowning in the dim light. "You did it for yourself."

The Chosen had nothing to say to this. She saw what she suspected was a shadow of guilt cross his face, and then he closed the gap between them quickly. A short yelp of pain escaped her when he gingerly seized her forearm that she'd been cradling.

"You got hurt..." He said it flatly, examining the myriad of bleeding scrapes. Sheena wasn't sure if he was trying to change the subject, but regardless that flicker of guilt seemed to be growing on his expression.

"I-it's nothing," she spoke up, though only in a mumble. "Worst of it is my wrist, I think I messed it up pretty good…"

She didn't know why she was trying to downplay her injuries. If anything, he ought to feel bad that she had gotten hurt because of his antics. Perhaps his latent regret was appealing to her more forgiving side.

"Well, I'll get you all fixed up after we get out of here, okay? The others might've ended up in trouble too, so we better get moving." Zelos ruffled her hair fondly, earning a tiny little smile out of her. "You gonna get mad at me if I carry you out of here, sweetie?"

Her eyes narrowed playfully. "I don't have a choice, do I? Just watch the hands!" She added it quickly as a precaution the moment he'd lifted her gently off the ground.

"Hold on tight, okay?" Sheena clung closer to him as he lifted off, raising them up like feathers on the wind.

She wasn't quite sure if things were going to be the same between them any time soon, but she did know that the heated rage had slowly begun to ebb away. Some other kind of warmth was filling the empty space it left inside her. She just couldn't help but wonder if this was what it felt like to finally be the damsel in distress.

…And somehow, she didn't mind it at all.

A/N: Zee end! For now. *dramatic lighting* Review, if you don't mind terribly? It lights up my day.

Much love,

-FP