And so starts the Palmacosta Saga. It takes far too long to be done with this city… On a random note, I have recently made a deviantart account; there's a link to it on my profile. Right now I have my original sketch of Skah posted on there if anyone's interested, and I'll put up more sketches like it for other characters later on… Anyway, read and review, please? I'd love to hear your opinions.

…

"I ran into her, so I have to pay for it," Colette had said, but she didn't know how much she would pay. The blond girl that the Chosen had run into demanded that her dress be replaced along with her Palma Potion, refusing to let Colette try to take the stain out. They had found the shop where she bought the dress, which turned out to be outrageously expensive.

"Seriously, Colette, you don't need to bother with this," Lloyd said as Colette gaped at the price tag.

"Yes, I do." She was adamant, and yet the cause seemed hopeless, as the price of the dress equaled the total amount of gald they currently had.

The brunette sighed. "Let's leave it for now and go find the Palma Potion. Maybe if we bring them that they'll be satisfied, or you can convince her to let you wash the dress."

"That wouldn't do any good, the stain would be set in now," she replied sadly. "This is all my fault…"

"Maybe she should have watched where she was going," Genis scoffed. "No one can blame you when she walked straight into you! Besides, if we said you're the Chosen—"

"That doesn't matter! I ran into her, so I'm going to pay for it! I just need to find a way to get the gald…"

…

A few hours later, the group watched with amusement and wonder at the absurd sight before them: Colette had somehow managed to convince the cook at the Palmacosta Academy's cafeteria to let her work. Now she wore an apron over her usual clothing as she jotted down orders and carefully carried trays to the customers, her usual clumsiness mostly absent. They would have made more money had she allowed them to help, but she claimed that she had to get the money on her own, and got so upset when they tried to help her that they finally decided to just let her have her way.

"Two Yum Teas!" she chirped as she set the cups on the table. Between the rate the cook had agreed to pay her and the tips she received from the customers, she would earn almost the full price of the dress, not counting the Palma Potion, but that was if she stayed all day and through the evening. As for the potion, she agreed to dipping into the group's funds to buy it, but only on the condition that she would pay it back.

"I'd like one Sichuan Curry and a BBQ Combo, please!"

"Okay, one moment!"

Yuan sighed as he watched her. "We may as well go get the damn potion now…"

Lloyd nodded with the rest of the group. "Hey Colette, we're gonna go find the potion, okay? See you later!" The blonde waved cheerily as her friends departed.

They glanced over a few shops without seeing one that would sell the Palma Potion, but they soon found an item shop that looked promising.

"Oh, please! There's no way anyone would sell those to you at a price that low!"

As soon as they entered they saw two Desians standing at the counter; a brunette girl argued with them as an older woman, probably her mother, attempted to quiet her.

"You should be thankful that we're even willing to spend money for goods from a run-down shack like this!"

"I don't need to hear that from a bunch of filthy Desians! I'm not going to sell one single gel to the likes of you!"

The older woman tugged on her arm. "Chocolat, don't—"

"But Mom, these are the same monsters that took Grandma away!" Lloyd could practically see flames in the girl's eyes as she glared at the Desians.

One of the Desians had taken his whip from his belt, holding it coiled in his hand. "You've got some nerve talking to us like that, little girl. You keep that up, and we can't guarantee what'll happen to you or this city."

"Just try it! As long as Governor-General Dorr is around, we'll never submit!"

"You little—!" With a sneer, the soldier uncoiled his whip, pulling back as if to strike, but his partner stopped him.

"Don't! We'll exceed our quota. We need permission from Lord Magnius to go any further."

"Fine." The whip lashed out nonetheless, striking one of the shelves displaying the goods, and several boxes and items crashed to the floorboards.

Before they turned to go, the other Desian looked over his shoulder. "Depending on Lord Magnuis' mood, girl, you might or might not get to keep that pretty little head of yours." With that, the soldiers pushed past Lloyd and the others and left.

The woman immediately ran to clean the new mess. "I apologize for what happened. I'm sure you were startled."

"It's fine," Yuan replied, surprising the group by going to help her.

"Mom, I need to go to work now." The brunette girl had grabbed a few of the fallen items and placed them on the counter, and now was halfway out the door.

"Take care, Chocolat!" She sighed as she watched her daughter go. "I worry so much about her…"

"I'm sure she'll be fine, ma'am," Yuan replied as he helped her place more of the damaged items on the counter.

The woman laughed. "Oh, there's no need to be so polite. I'm Cacao. Welcome to Marble's. Please, relax and take a look around."

Lloyd picked up a bottle of Palma Potion and groaned softly at the price.

"Oh, this spilled all over!" Cacao picked up a fallen bottle; it had apparently been standing uncorked when it was hit, and while it hadn't broken, most of its contents now soaked the floor. Only about a third of the bottle remained. "And Palma Potion is so valuable too…"

"Actually, we're in the market for some Palma Potion right now, but we don't quite have the funds…," Yuan remarked smoothly. "Maybe we could take that one for a discount price?"

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly have you pay for that now. If you really want it, then it's yours, no charge."

"Are you sure? Thank you!"

"Oh, it's no trouble."

Raine glanced at the cobalt skeptically as Cacao retreated to the back room. "Yuan, we need a full bottle; how is that going to help us?"

"Simple, we just water it down and put a cork in the top. Those idiots won't know the difference until it's too late. As long as we don't tell Colette, we're fine."

"Well, I suppose that would take care of that problem…" The Professor put up no further argument.

…

After buying a few more much-needed supplies and booking rooms at the inn, they returned to the Academy to find Colette still busy in the cafeteria, now washing dishes during the lulls.

"Colette, we got the Palma Potion for free!" Genis exclaimed, showing his friend the newly-corked bottle. "Now we just need the dress."

"That's great! The cook said I'd get paid a little more if I helped with the dishes, and I've been getting a lot of tips, so we should have enough." She smiled. "I'm sorry to cause so much trouble."

"Stop apologizing," Lloyd replied out of habit.

"But the cook said we could have dinner for free since I've been helping so much… it's not busy now, so why don't you get some food?"

They ate a quick meal and departed as soon as the supper crowd appeared, not wanting to get in Colette's way as she still wouldn't hear of them helping. As they stepped out into the square, a small boy's voice quickly caught their attention.

"Governor-General Dorr! Dad was taken away to the ranch and hasn't come back, even though I've been a good boy!"

The child had clutched the robe of a tall, regal-looking man; although he didn't seem very old, a few deep wrinkles marked his face and some gray had crept into his hair. However, despite the signs of stress, he crouched down to meet the boy with a kind smile.

"Hang on just a little longer. I promised, remember? I'll save everyone who's been taken away to the ranch."

"B-but… I'm lonely…"

Lloyd could relate to the boy only too well; he could barely remember being smaller than that, asking Dirk if his father was going to come find him…

"Don't worry," said a small girl at the man's side. "Father is a friend to everyone in the city. He'll make sure your father comes back safe and sound."

"R-really?" the boy sniffed, on the verge of tears.

"Yes," the man replied, smiling. "They were all taken away because they fought back against the Desians. I swear I'll rescue them."

The boy held back his tears, gaining hope from the man. "…Okay. I'll wait for Dad to come back."

"That's a good boy." He ruffled the boy's hair before standing. "Let's go, Kilia."

"Yes, Father." She gave the boy one more smile before following the man.

"Who was that?" Lloyd asked aloud as he watched the pair leave.

An elderly man nearby seemed to have heard, because he turned around. "That's Governor-General Dorr. He's been recruiting soldiers and resisting the Desians since he took his job. He's a wonderful man."

"After losing his wife to an illness, he's raised his daughter Kilia all by himself," a woman added from nearby, seemingly eager to inform the travelers of the leader's greatness.

"As long as Governor-General Dorr is here," the old man continued, "we won't submit to the Desians. Even if we're carried off to the ranch, Dorr will come and save us. We believe in him."

"How are these people all so brave?" Genis wondered, almost in awe.

Lloyd understood; the people in this city all had the strength to oppose the Desians rather than give in to them like Iselia. "Yeah… that Dorr person must be a great leader."

…

Palmacosta was truly a beautiful city; its streets—or at least the ones that the tourists were supposed to see—were clean and the air was fresh and salty. It would still be hours before Colette was finished with her waitressing job, and Lloyd had once again found himself bored. As they sat around the inn room, he had loudly expressed his feelings and had somehow managed to convince Kratos to come along on a tour of the shipping docks.

It was not long into the tour before all of the talk they heard was of a large steam-ship that was preparing to take sail later that day. Even Kratos seemed mildly interested, and it was decided that they would try to find the spectacle. Unfortunately, upon their arrival as said spot, they found two familiar faces.

"—mean, they call this the height of technology? It's like a museum!"

"Yeah, it's almost sad…"

"Soph-Rin!" Lloyd called out almost instinctually; it wasn't in his nature to distrust someone after spending the time they had joking around, and he yelled her name before he had really remembered all that had happened the last time he saw her.

"Well, well, well, Sheena, look who it is. I guess you couldn't stay away from me, hmm?"

"What are you doing here?" he retorted quickly.

Rin shrugged, pushing amethyst hair behind her ear. "Looking for you guys, really. What happened to Skah and Colette and the Professor?"

"They didn't want to come out." Even though he knew he shouldn't, he wanted to talk; maybe if they could find out what they wanted, things could be resolved. He felt comfortable around Rin anyway; a short conversation wouldn't hurt. He wasn't idiotic enough to give away Colette's location in the process.

"Is that so? I'd have thought Raine would want to see this 'wonderful piece of technology'." Rin snickered, finding something amusing in the idea.

"She doesn't like the water so much."

The younger woman glared at Rin, then moved her gaze to Lloyd. "Tell us where the Chosen is!" she demanded angrily, as hostile as the last time they had met.

Lloyd ignored the order, keeping his eyes on the elder woman. "Hey Rin, you haven't introduced us to your friend."

"Since when have you called me 'Rin', Lloyd?" She smirked coyly at him, eyes sparkling in mirth.

"Well, she called you that before, and Yuan kind of let it slip afterwards."

"Rin, stop! We need to—"

"Now's not exactly the best time," she snapped back at her partner. Turning to Lloyd again, she smiled. "Anyway, we'd better get going, Lloydie, Kratos, see you around." With that, she grabbed her companion's arm and pulled them away into the crowds, quickly disappearing from sight.

Before Lloyd could do anything but watch them run off, Kratos grabbed his shoulder, turning the teen; his burgundy eyes were cold. "What were you thinking, speaking to them? They are the enemy, and you almost gave them the information they would need. Now we must be even more careful while we're here."

"Sorry, I just kinda did. I mean, Rin traveled with us and everything, and I—"

"Lloyd, they are assassins. They are attempting to kill the Chosen, in case you have forgotten. You—"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a naïve idiot, I'm going to get myself killed if I keep acting like this, you've told me before." Lloyd glared up at the man, feeling his body temperature rise with his anger. "I get it, okay? It's not like I want Colette hurt."

Kratos' eyes hardened, his glare more intense than Lloyd had seen it yet. "The next time we see them, you can't just stay and chat. They are a threat to the Regeneration, and therefore must be eradicated."

"You mean you want me to try and kill them?"

"They have tried the same for you. We can't afford to have mercy."

"I'm sorry, I can't do that. I'm not made of stone like you." Lloyd stormed back toward the inn, furious. What was wrong with Kratos? One minute he acted like he cared, then he immediately switched to this heartless bastard that didn't care about anything but his job. He couldn't figure it out, and right now, he didn't want to. He grimaced at the thought of sharing a room with him tonight… he'd get Skah to switch. Kratos could stay with Yuan. Lloyd was sick of dealing with him.

…

"Oh, so you actually came?" The blue-haired man stood in front of the others, posturing ridiculously. "It looks like you're good little boys and girls after all. Just make sure you learn your lesson and don't trouble my beloved again!"

"Shut up, idiot!" the blonde snapped at him, pushing him aside. "Do you have my things?" she asked in a sickly-sweet voice, although it didn't look like she really needed the dress; she was already wearing a different one that seemed at least as expensive as the last.

"Yes, here they are!" Colette handed her the things with a smile. "I'm sorry about all this."

"Hmph, you should be, putting us through all this trouble." Clutching her things, she turned away.

"Bastards," Lloyd muttered as they started to leave, already having forgotten them and talking amongst themselves.

"I have to say, that Governor-General Dorr sure was trusting," the other woman in the group said. "It's hard to believe he just gave us his family treasure like that."

Another teen looked questioningly at the two who seemed to be leaders. "What are we going to do with that, anyway?"

"You're an idiot," the girl snapped. "We have no use for it. We're just going to sell it to that geezer on Hakonesia Peak who collects old junk. Now let's go, I'm tired of this city."

"You heard her, go!"

Colette turned to the rest of them. "I'm sorry for getting us into trouble."

Lloyd sighed. "You're not the one that caused the problems. Those guys piss me off."

"What now?" Skah asked idly, glancing around.

"Perhaps we should find this Governor-General Dorr," Raine replied. "He could have access to information on the journey."

"Good idea, Professor!" Colette chirped. "That could make finding the seals so much easier!"

So it was that they found themselves entering the huge building standing at the square. Dorr stood behind a long table with his daughter in his arms, seemingly in conversation with a younger man with dark blue hair. However, when he saw them enter, he set the girl down and turned to them, arms spread in welcome. "Greetings, travelers! We welcome travelers, as per the teachings of Martel. May the blessing of Martel be upon those who journey."

"Thank you," Colette replied. "May Martel's blessings be upon you as well."

"May I ask from where you have come? Are you on a pilgrimage?"

Lloyd nodded, standing next to Colette. "We came from Iselia. We're on the journey of world regeneration." He felt somehow small in this room, insignificant compared to the people before him and the grandeur surrounding, but saying that made up for it all. He might not be anything but a kid from Iselia, but their purpose was something that no one could look down upon.

However, Dorr's brow furrowed, and he scrutinized them closely. "World regeneration…?"

"Of course," Genis replied in a smart-aleck manner. "Colette is the Chosen of Mana." He gestured at Colette, who blushed slightly, still uncomfortable with her title after a lifetime of hearing it.

"You're saying that you're the Chosen?" Dorr asked, still confused about something. Lloyd didn't understand; this wasn't a normal reaction. Something was wrong…

"Ah, yes, it seems I am." Colette giggled in embarrassment; couldn't she have sounded more sure? Lloyd's sense of foreboding grew.

"Governor-General…" The man at his side glanced at him worriedly—no, that wasn't it, it was more like… a warning or something…

Suddenly, the man's face contorted in righteous anger. "The Chosen was here just moments ago! How dare you defile that name! These despicable criminals must be arrested and turned over to the church at once!"

"W-what?" Colette gasped.

Lloyd heard footsteps and armor clanking together; he turned to see soldiers quickly surrounding them.

This wasn't good.