Wow, this is an interesting twist… I won under even stranger circumstances than even V, and that's saying something. You see, I won through default, yes, but after I had little time to come up with something, during an extension period. What happened to everyone? Well, either way, I, Sage, will be here to open the next chapter. We don't own ToS. Enjoy the chapter!

Arc 1: Chapter 4: Learning to Toughen Up

Lloyd found it surprisingly easy to get back into the castle to get his stuff. He figured it was the armor. Once outside, he hurried down the stairs to the sewers where he left Zelos, hoping that no one was looking for him. As dangerous as it was to leave him there, it was suicide to take Zelos with him to the castle. He sighed heavily under the armor; he really hoped that he was still there or at least around.

He turned the corner, looking for onlookers around the sewer manhole. No one. Lloyd broke into a sprint, lifting the manhole and jumping down. He quickly covered it. He heard someone yelp and turned to see Zelos preparing to stab him. "Wait, it's me! The knight that saved you from those two earlier!" he said, grabbing Zelos' shaky arm.

"S-Sorry, i-it's just after being a-attacked, all I-I c-can d-do is t-try to s-s-stab a-and h-hope I-I can g-get away-way…." Zelos said as he shook in fear, losing the grip to his dagger. Lloyd placed his hand slowly onto Zelos' shoulder. Eventually, Zelos calmed down and picked up his dagger. "You scared me. I thought you were one of them and-"

"It may be hard, but you have to be brave and keep a level head. Your sister, the Chosen, may still be in danger. We need to get through the sewers to exit the city." Lloyd said, taking out his swords and strapping them to his waist. He then put the spear into the wingpack for later. He looked at Zelos, who gave him a weary look. "What? I'm new to the spear, knight or not. I'm way better at swords, and we need to get out of here fast." he said, hoping his answer will satisfy him.

"Okay, I just want to get out of here. This place smells and is disgusting." Zelos said, shuddering at the glop of green sewage that he had accidentally stepped in.

Lloyd nodded his head, unsheathing his swords. "Right, we have to get out now. Just keep yourself as calm as you can, and be prepared to run if we need to, above or underground." he said as they walked down the path, eyes peeled for roaming creatures.

Zelos nodded his head, remaining quiet. He had to keep calm, but he found himself shaking again. The thought of running got him nervous. "Wait, why would we have to run above ground?"

Lloyd looked at him through the helm. "Because you don't know if the guards at the gate are in on the kidnapping. At least if we take the sewers, we can be outside and can run if needed. We would probably get captured if we tried to exit through the gates." he said, sighing at how the smell in the armor started to stink even more now. He swore a huge waft of it went up his nose. He wanted so dearly to take it off, but he did not want the guards or Zelos, for that matter, to figure out his identity. And he was not sure if the guards had switched shifts. So he just had to grin and bear it for now. Lloyd shook his head; he had to focus on getting out of here. He then heard Zelos sigh. "What's wrong?"

"It's… I've been trying to be brave and not worry about Sis but… I keep letting everything get to me." Zelos said, looking up at Lloyd. He could see the Zelos' eyes shaking and filling up with water. "How can you keep yourself from cracking under all that pressure? Is it something all knights go through?" he said, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. "Are you not worried? She could be dead and we're going so slowly through here!"

"Calm down!" Lloyd shouted, listening to Zelos' startled gasp. "I'm as worried about the Chosen as you are. But working ourselves into a frenzy is going to do us no good. To keep yourself from worrying about someone, tell yourself that you're coming, and you'll save whoever you want to save." he said, clenching his fist tighter around his swords. Zelos could see them shaking and gasped. "And keep telling yourself that. Tell yourself that they can handle themselves until you can save them. It's all about confidence."

Zelos stared up at Lloyd as he walked. Zelos then lowered his eyes and stared at the ground. "I… I can't…" he said forlornly, keeping his eyes off of Lloyd. He felt Lloyd's gauntlet rest on his shoulder. "Wha…?"

"I have a story to tell you." Lloyd said, hoping his smile could be seen. He suddenly covered his eyes in shock, light beaming into the sewers. "But I'll have to tell you sometime later. We're out of the sewers, and may have to run." he said, turning to Zelos, who nodded his head weakly. "Alright, just act natural. I'll explain to the guards about it, and if not, be prepared to run, okay?" he said, swapping his swords for the spear, if only for charades' sake. He did not want to seem even more suspicious than he already was.

"Got it." Zelos said weakly; he was still unsure of what was going to happen. He had to hope that everything was going to be fine, just like the knight said. They soon found themselves approaching the guards on duty.

"Whoa now, why are you two coming out of the sewers?" the guard on duty said, looking at them suspiciously. "Is something wrong?"

Lloyd nodded his head. "Yeah, Master Zelos was almost kidnapped and taken to the Coliseum to be killed off in battle. So we went into the sewers to lose the pursuers." he said, watching the knight seemingly buying his story. "Now we must be off before they spot us and take another attempt on his life."

"Right. Run, knight and Master Zelos. We can't have something happen to Master Zelos." he said, looking around in a slight panic. "Hurry!" he said, watching as the two ran for it. They were soon out of sight.

Lloyd saw how Zelos was getting tired from running, obviously not used to the labor, and picked him up. He threw him onto his back, securing him with his arms. Wow, I didn't realize how close the bridge was to Meltokio. he thought, feeling something pound on his back. Lloyd looked back at Zelos. "What?"

"I think you can stop now, they can't see us." he said, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, sorry." Lloyd said, stopping so that Zelos could slide off of his back. "Alright, now all we have to do is make it across the bridge. Easier said than done, with the way this thing is." he said, looking back at Zelos. "You think you can handle it?"

Zelos looked down, sighing. "What choice do I have?"

"That's the spirit." Lloyd said with a smile, ignorant to the annoyed glare from Zelos. "Anyway, that story. I'll tell it along the way." he said, pushing Zelos to move. "He's around your age, actually. He's really smart." he said, clutching the spear a little tighter. "I wasn't like him, so he made fun of me a lot. Well, one day we were talking and I found out he liked something about me, and that was that I was brave. He wanted to be just like me." he said, looking out into the ocean. He swore the shapes on the surface formed a picture of Genis. "He thought he was a coward."

Zelos gasped to himself. That sounded just like him! Except he really was a coward. "I told him that he could be brave too. He didn't think so. But you see, the thing is, bravery isn't facing danger without fear. Bravery is knowing the danger and still doing it anyway. And when he realized that even he could when he wanted to, he realized that he was brave too. I was proud of him for that." Lloyd said with a smile, unconsciously using his spear as a walking stick. "I knew he could be brave, just like I know you can too. All you need to do is face your fears and give it a shot. Believe in yourself."

"Believe… in myself?" Zelos said, looking up at Lloyd's helm.

"Well, yeah. That's the first thing you need to have in order to be brave. And even when you think you lose it, it's always there. Just keep telling yourself 'I can do this' and 'I won't let anyone stop me from saving them' and you'll find that you can do it." Lloyd said, placing his hand onto Zelos' shoulder. "So, are you ready to save the Chosen?"

Zelos nodded his head weakly. "Yeah."

(--LINE BREAK--)

"What do you think you're doing?!" Seles shouted as she felt her hands being tied behind her. She could not see a thing because of the scarf around her eyes. "Untie me!"

The female assassin sighed, hand going to her forehead. "Sorry, but we need to have you out of the picture for a while." she said, pulling the scarf off of Seles' face.

Seles gasped. "You're all from Mizuho, aren't you? Tell me! Who contracted you?!" she said, looking around. She tried to move, thinking only her hands were bound, but soon found herself tied to a large wooden stick placed into the earth. Looking up, she saw that everything above her was covered. At least she did not have to worry about weather or monsters. "Who would want the Chosen dead?!"

"Our contractor lives in your city, finds your presence irritating, and wants you taken out." she said simply, turning her back toward Seles. "Alright guys, let her have some privacy as we think of how to dispose of her."

"What?! Why would someone in Meltokio want me dead?! Why would they contact Mizuhoan assassins for the job?!" Seles shouted back at the woman. "Most Meltokioans hate Mizuhoans, especially members of the Royal Family! I want everyone to live freely, especially your people!" she shouted once more, hoping to get their attention. "Tell me who it was!" The woman and her accomplices simply left her, walking outside. "Come back!"

Once out of hearing, the trio sat by the fire. "Sheena, I don't like this." the blue-clothed man said, looking at Sheena's face. "I mean, what if we make a mistake?"

"Orochi, we won't make a mistake. The chief gave us our orders clearly." The red-clothed man said, sighing into his facemask. "We wait until the Information Network figures out what the princess' true motives are. If they are as valid as they are, we take out the Chosen."

Sheena nodded her head. "And if the princess' motives are what the Chief and Vice-Chief think, then we release the Chosen and help her with the princess. We would have to explain to the Chosen that it was the only way to keep her safe, though. But either way, it's a win-win. Don't worry about it, Orochi."

"Well, while you and Kuchinawa are fine with it, one of us has to worry about it." he said, tossing some leaves into the fire. "But what if the princess has a back-up plan?"

"Orochi, we took the job and made sure that we are the only ones who did. It is written in an oath of blood. The princess cannot back out of it or else." Sheena said, looking back at the tent where Seles was. "And she's safe with us. If she had hired someone else, she'd be dead already. Relax. The Chief and Vice-Chief wouldn't carelessly put the Chosen in harm's way. And there is a reason why we only take certain jobs in the first place. We have a reason to take this job."

Orochi sighed. "Alright, then. We'll have to pretend to be assassins until we find out, I suppose. Let's hope everything goes well."

"Everything will be fine, Orochi." Kuchinawa said, looking at the Tethe'allan Bridge. "We just need to make sure no one comes for the Chosen until the network finishes. How hard will that be?"