Presea opened her eyes to a small, dim space.
"What…?" she said to herself, sitting up. She rose off the bed, and walked around. She barely took three steps when she met a stone wall. Presea walked forward, and rattled the cold metal bars that locked her in this cramped space. She rattled them fiercely for a few moments, then gave up. She back down on the cot she had woken up on. The only other item in the room was a grimy looking toilet. She stood up once more, and walked back up to the bars, staring out to see if she could tell where she was.
It appeared she was in a building, a mix between a Renegade base and a Desian ranch. The rocks outside the cage were craggy, and entwined by wires of all colors.
"Hello?" she called. Her call was met by nothing but emptiness. A rustling sound came from beside her, but she took no notice, thinking it was a rat or some other creature. A door opened, and a man stepped in, wearing the same clothes that Nobuhiro had been wearing.
"Presea Combatir," the man said, coming closer. "Good evening."
"What are you getting at?" she said. The man stepped back a few paces.
"Whoa, calm down. I'm just here to give you food."
"Where am I?" she said, becoming angrier with every stupid word the man said.
"Calm down," the man repeated. "You're underground. You're okay." He opened the door to the cell, and stepped slowly inside. Presea glared at the man, and stepped closer to him. He bent down to place the tray in her hands, and she threw it from his arms.
"What's your problem?" the man said. Presea paid no attention. She was too busy looking at the weapon that was on his belt. It was a humongous silver sword. She normally would never use a sword, but until she could escape and purchase a new ax, this would have to do. Quickly, she lunged forward, punched the guard, and stole the sword and sheath from his belt.
"What the? Hey!" But it was too late. Presea had already pulled the lightweight sword out of the sheath. Rapidly, she cut deeply everywhere around his chest.
She left the cell, and walked down a small gray hallway. She finally reached a small door, and opened it. She was in a small hallway, similar to the ones of the Renegade bases. A staircase led down, and into another room.
She walked down to the base of the steps, opened the door, and stepped inside the new room. The new room was split into two hallways. She could go two ways: left, or right. She chose right, and quickly ran into a Renegade soldier.
"Hey!" the soldier called. "You're not supposed to be wandering around here!" She ran over to Presea, her spear pointed at her face. "Don't. Move." Presea brushed the spear out of her face, but in consequence, the blade hit her cheek. Blood dribbled from the wound, but Presea paid no attention. She drew the sword, and pointed it at the Renegade, who was now on the ground. As she stood up, Presea hit her in the back of the head with the hilt of the sword, knocking her out.
Presea turned, and found a small closet room. She stripped the woman of her guard outfit, and threw them on over her own clothes. The sleeves were too long, so Presea cut them off with the blade of the sword. Finally, she placed the helmet over her head as well, which was also too big.
Presea walked back into the hallway. She now turned right, and walked up another flight of stairs. She found a door, left ajar. She walked closer, wondering what was inside. It seemed to be an office, similar to the office of Yuan.
"…seen in Meltokio. Apparently, two of them were there. Combatir and the Sage boy. According to this, the girl killed Sage."
What are they talking about…Presea wondered.
"Well, everyone knows that he wasn't the one we're looking for. That's obvious." Both voices were male. One sounded familiar, the other definitely was new.
"That's true. Sage's death isn't that important. As for Irving and Bryant and the others, nothing has been seen of them."
"Well, Bryant can be found at the Lezareno company in Altamira. As for Irving, I have no clue where he has gone."
"Regal…" Presea whispered. She had to get word to him, somehow, that he was in danger. Of course she would warn the others, but she felt she was closest to Regal of the whole group. She began to walk away when she heard footsteps. The door opened, and a man stepped out. Presea noticed that the other man who had been in the room had also left. The new man was tall, and had a slim figure. Long, red hair was draped over his shoulders. He reminded Presea of the ex-Chosen, Zelos, except better clothed.
"Who are you?" he said, a puzzled expression clearly showing on his face.
"Um…." Presea said, lost for words. Lying had never been her thing. "I'm…"
"Exactly." the Guard said. He pulled out a long bladed sword with a pale blue blade. "Prepare to die, intruder." This guy was all business. He stepped with elegance, and beauty as he came closer. With god-speed the man swung the sword. Presea barely had time to react.
"Guardian!" Presea yelled as he swung. A bubble of green light surrounded her body, and faded as quickly as it had appeared. Luckily, the sword had hit the spell instead of her. Now it was her turn. She ran up to the man, and punched him in the face. He toppled over onto the ground. Presea placed her foot on his back, and pushed down, smashing his face against the cold floor. She drew the sword and stabbed the sword in the man's back, all in one quick, fluid motion.
"Damn…you…" he said. As his breathing became slower, the guard reached over, and with all his remaining energy managed to push a small red button. The guard closed his eyes, meeting his fate. An alarm began to ring, and a red light flashed.
"Damn it," Presea muttered. Presea began to run down the nearest hallway, but the approaching footsteps told her she wouldn't be getting out as planned.
"So you escaped, and you killed my assistant." It was Nobuhiro.
"Nobuhiro!" Presea cried. "Where am I?"
Nobuhiro chuckled. "You're underground. Didn't Akari tell you that?"
"Yes," Presea defended herself. "But I want to know what this place is called, and where underground this place is!"
"Just know it's underground." Nobuhiro said, flicking a small smile.
"I don't have time for this!" Presea yelled. I guess I won't be getting any answers now…
Presea started to run, dropping the sword onto the ground. She barged right past Nobuhiro, and up the staircase. Presea was so preoccupied with getting out of the base that she didn't even notice that Nobuhiro wasn't doing anything about the fact that she was escaping.
Good luck getting out of here, Presea. Nobuhiro thought. He chuckled for a minute, then walked off.
At the top of the staircase was another door. It opened automatically, and Presea stepped inside. A ladder lead up the wall, to a door like that of the Meltokio sewer entrance and exit. Presea climbed the ladder, and opened the door. Water flooded the room. Presea jumped out, and the door automatically closed behind her.
Presea stared at her surroundings. She was in a lake. Quickly, Presea began to swim upwards. Presea dared not open her mouth. She just swam. For what seemed like hours, Presea swam and swam and swam. As the light of the surface came into view, Presea became dizzy. Everything started to spin, but Presea didn't give up. Hell, she couldn't give up if she wanted to warn Regal and the others of the danger. Ignoring the dizziness and the fact that she couldn't hold her breath any longer, Presea continued to swim. She was about to pass out when she broke the surface.
Her hair was plastered against her face, and she was out of breath. Presea looked around. She was in the Triet Oasis. The sun was setting over the horizon, turning the sky a beautiful red-orange color. A man on the dock who was talking to his child noticed her.
"Hey!" he called. "What are you doing in the Oasis?" Presea ignored the man, and doggy paddled to the dock. "What were you doing in the Oasis?" the man repeated, his face turning red.
"Swimming," Presea replied, panting.
"What? Swimming? In the Oasis? Where people drink their water from?" His face became a beet-red color as Presea nodded. "Why?" the man yelled, a temple throbbing on his forehead.
Presea quickly hoisted herself out of the Oasis.
"I needed exercise." she replied, and ran off towards the inn.
"Wait!" the man called. He was too late. Presea had already gotten a room at the inn.
"Jeez…Triet? I've got a long way to travel tomorrow…." She closed her eyes, but couldn't bring herself to sleep. Hours later Presea rose from the bed and walked outside. It was nighttime, and the streets were deserted. Presea walked around to the oasis. A whole base…under the desert city Triet. Why Triet?
"Hey! Wanna play?" came a voice of a small child. Presea turned around. He was a small boy, with black hair and gentle blue eyes.
He must think that I'm his age, thought Presea. After all, she was only about two feet taller than him.
"Sure," she said with a grin. "I'll play with you."
"Robert!" someone called. "It's time for bed!"
"Aw, dad!" little Robert yelled. "But my friend…"
"It's ok," Presea said with a smile. "Some other time, okay?"
"Okay!" the boy said with a smile. "Bye!" he walked away, waving at her as he went. Presea however, remained on the dock. She thought about all the things she had learned in the past few hours. Why was this organization after her and the others? Who were they looking for? And just who did that familiar voice belong to? Presea pondered for a long while, until the moon was above her and the stars glittered. She walked off the dock, and back to the inn. She closed the door behind her, undid her ribbons, and laid down on the bed. She stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, until finally she drifted off into sleep.
Presea awoke as the rays of the morning sunlight snuck through the curtains to the room. She rose from the bed, and realized the journey she had to go through today.
I'd better hurry up, she thought. The more time I waste, the less time Regal has until he gets captured…
Quickly, Presea tied her ribbons onto her hair and walked out of Triet. Pulling the Rheiard out of the wing pack, and took off instantly. She zoomed quickly over the forests and cities, remembering the journey of regeneration as she traveled. What a glorious journey….
Nearing the rocks that lead to the city of Flanoir and the Temple of Ice, Presea knew she had gone too far. Presea turned the Rheiard around, and flew back towards the island that Altamira was located on. As the humongous hotel of Altamira came into sight, Presea hoped that she wasn't too late.
Presea landed outside the village, placed the Rheiard back into the Wing Pack, and stepped inside the village. Quickly, she ran over to the elemental railway and told the driver to take her to the Lezareno Company. The driver started the elemental railway, and soon, Presea arrived inside the Lezareno Company headquarters.
"Crap," muttered Presea under her breath. "I can't ride the elevator unless I have an employee ID, and Lloyd has that…well, its worth a try." She walked up to the guards who stood watch in front of the two elevators. "Excuse me, but I need to see the President." she said, using the sweetest voice she could muster.
"The President has asked that nobody disturbs him during these hours each day." the guard replied with a stiff and lifeless voice.
"But…Why?"
"If you do not have an employee ID, then I cannot let you enter. I'm sorry, miss." The elevator suddenly shifted. Presea watched as the numbers over the elevator shifted from three, to two, finally to one…
"What is going on down…" Regal stood in the center of the elevator, his face the same as Presea remembered it had been. His blue hair was exactly the same, but instead of the short shirt and gray-green pants he had worn on the journey of regeneration, Regal now wore a black suit and red tie. "Pre…sea?" the tall man said, dazed. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on the journey to destroy all the Exspheres with Lloyd?"
"I'll explain later. For now, can we just go to your office?"
"Of course." he said, smiling. "As for you," he said, acknowledging the guard. "I know that I told you I was not to be disturbed, but one of my friends from the Journey of Regeneration are an exception." The guard nodded, listening intently to his boss.
"Yes sir." he replied with a nod.
"Come with me, Presea." Regal said. Presea walked passed the guard, and into the elevator. The elevator started, and went up to the third floor where Regal's office was located. Regal allowed Presea to step into the familiar office first, then himself. He settled himself in the chair behind his big desk, and shunned George out of the room for the moment. Presea sat down in one of the extremely comfortable chairs. As George left the room, Regal focused his attention on her. "What brings you here, Presea?" he asked, a look of concern showing obviously on his face.
"Regal, we're all in danger…"
A/N: Woot! My first authors note! Yay! First of all, today is one of my good friends birthdays, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Now…I'm gonna need a beta-reader, for this, so if anyone wants to, leave a review or something…Now time to thank the reviewers….the amazing Dragonwings144, my loyal Pendragon reviewer PotatoPuff, and my best friend Ady! If you review, I'll give you a cookie. So review, please, and you'll get some cookies! Till next update!
