How is it that when I have so much time on my hands I can't be productive at all? *sighs* Oh well. Here's the next chapter. The end of it was written at about three in the morning, and my usual beta is out of town and doesn't have internet reception (damn cabin…) and my secondary beta is already asleep, so… forgive me if there are any major errors.

…

Surrounded.

Dorr stood behind the table in front of him, the blue-haired man at his side with a hand on his sword hilt. The young daughter peeked over the table, looking frightened.

Colette stood at his side with Genis close by; Skah stood just behind him, ahead of the other adults.

Soldiers were on all sides, holding spears and swords. Lloyd's own hands had automatically reached for his swords; he heard Kratos loosen his blade in its sheath. Skah too tensed, ready for a fight.

"Why don't we discuss this?" Raine said, always the voice of reason. "There has obviously been a misunderstanding—"

"There has been no misunderstanding. Guards!"

"Lloyd…" Colette murmured uneasily. His grip on his swords tightened. The soldiers moved closer.

Unexpectedly, causing the guards around them to raise their weapons, Skah stepped forward. "Listen, numbskulls, I don't know what you're talking about, but we've got the real Chosen right here."

His bold statement was met with sneers. "What makes you think we'll believe that, you scoundrels?"

"How about this?" The man reached out and shoved Colette forward; as expected, she stumbled, and reflexively drew her wings for stability. The pink glow lit all their faces.

"What… how…" the two men before them gasped in surprise, beholding the shining appendages.

Kilia's eyes were wide in awe. "Wow, Father! She has wings, just like an angel! They're beautiful!"

The blue-haired man beside Dorr gestured to the soldiers. "Lower your weapons! This girl is without a doubt the Chosen of Mana." He knelt before her, his head bowed. "Forgive us our insolence, Chosen One."

"Indeed, there is no mistaking the angel wings on your back," Dorr conceded, bowing his head in respect.

Colette was flustered at the sudden shows of reverence. "Ah, um, please, it's okay. Um, um… it's all right, really." The words tumbled clumsily from her mouth. "Everyone tells me I'm not very Chosen-like at all."

"Allow me to introduce Neil, my second-in-command, and my daughter Kilia," Dorr said after a moment as his daughter stepped out to get a closer look at Colette's wings.

"Governor-General, if this is the real Chosen, then…"

Dorr's eyes widened. "Then… the Chosen we gave the Book of Regeneration to was an imposter?"

Lloyd frowned. "Wait a minute. You said something about the Chosen coming here already. What's the Book of Regeneration? What's going on?"

"The Book of Regeneration is a record of Spiritua's journey. It is the only document containing a detailed account of the world regeneration, and it is a precious heirloom passed down through the generations of Governor-Generals of Palmacosta." Neil spoke in a monotone, as if he was in mild shock, simply reciting known facts.

"That's it!" Genis exclaimed. "With that, we won't have any trouble finding the seals!"

Raine eyed the Governor-General in distaste. "And you say you handed over this invaluable book to a random person claiming to be 'the Chosen'? Unbelievable."

Something clicked in Lloyd's head. "It must be those guys that were bothering us earlier!" he exclaimed softly; only Colette seemed to hear him as the conversation continued around him.

Neil's face flushed. "We had received information that the Chosen's group was headed this way, so we naturally believed them…"

"I can't believe this," Skah snapped, annoyed at the whole ordeal.

Genis scowled. "Are you people stupid or something? Now what are we supposed to do?"

"We are terribly sorry…" Neil muttered, his face flushing a deeper crimson.

"Mana, can't you people do anything right?" Skah's eyes were narrowed; anger radiated from him. His hand hadn't left the hilt of his sword.

Genis seemed in complete agreement with the blond man. "Do you use your eyes at all, or are they just there for decoration?"

"Genis," Raine snapped, sounding dangerous. "That's enough."

Lloyd turned to Dorr. "You don't happen to remember the contents of that whatever-it's-called book, do you?"

"I'm afraid not… it is, after all, written in the language of the angels, so only members of the Church can read it."

"Oh, I know!" Colette exclaimed. "Let's try asking at the Church. Maybe the priests know something."

Raine nodded. "That's a good idea. Let's give it a try. Any objections?"

She heard none, and as they turned to leave the building, Neil bowed his head once more. "You have my deepest apologies…" Colette murmured that it was fine before leaving. Dorr stood silently at the back of the room, not uttering a word.

…

"You mean you never even bothered to read it?" Skah demanded, outraged, red eyes flashing.

They had made their way to the church on the other side of the square. Lloyd felt uneasy inside; he hadn't felt any different inside the Martel Temple helping Colette to the Oracle, nor had he at all enjoyed any kind of sermon or lecture from the priests at Iselia. There was something about it all that unnerved him, and he found himself staring up at the statues and stained glass trying to understand it as Colette found someone to ask about the Book.

Lloyd remained lost in thought as she spoke to a pastor that seemed vaguely familiar… until Skah's voice broke into his stupor; he turned to stare in shock at the scene.

"It was not exactly Church property. There were some of our order that read through it, but its contents were not documented," Pastor Marche muttered, offended at Skah's outburst. "Have you talked to Governor-General Dorr? I am sure he would not be opposed to giving it to you…"

"Yeah, except he already gave it to some fake Chosen!" Genis exclaimed in irritation.

"Imposters?" The pastor was horrified. "That's terrible! How could anyone think to impersonate the Chosen?" After collecting himself, he sighed. "Regretfully I cannot be of help. The Book of Regeneration was the only record of Spiritua's footsteps. I'm sorry."

"Well isn't this great," Skah growled after they left the church. "We finally come across something that might help, and a bunch of damn posers get it before us!"

"What are we going to do now?" Colette asked, still ignoring the man. "Should we just keep trying to find the seals using Remiel's words as clues?"

Raine frowned slightly as she thought. "We would probably be better off getting hold of the Book of Regeneration. After all, everything would be documented already for us to examine…"

"Raine, you care more about looking at that book than you do about finding the seals," Genis muttered, but fortunately his sister didn't hear him.

"So now we have to chase after those imposters…" Lloyd murmured. "Damn fakes, causing all these problems."

"How are we going to find them?" Colette asked, dismayed.

Lloyd frowned as he tried to remember the conversation he had overheard. "… A peak. Some kind of peak, Kako-something-or-other. They were going to sell it."

"Off to Hakonesia Peak then," Raine sighed.

Skah grinned viciously. "Mana, I can't wait 'til we catch up with them. I'm going to destroy their sorry asses."

"The point of this isn't to hurt them, it's to get the Book of Regeneration," Colette snapped. Lloyd did a double-take; he had never heard her use that tone before. Everyone else was equally stunned.

"But they're pretending to be us—you—and they stole the freaking book! Not to mention they made us get all that crap for them."

"We don't have to think about what they did. I'm sure they had a reason for it. We just need to get the Book back."

Skah stared at her a moment in confusion, then shook his head. "…No matter how hard I try, I don't understand you."

The others were as surprised as Skah at Colette's arguments, but the blonde merely ignored it and turned to her teacher. "So Professor, now we have to go to Hakonesia Peak, right?"

Raine quickly shook off her shock and regained her usual serenity before replying. "Well, there is no sense in leaving tonight; we wouldn't make any progress before dusk. We'll leave in the morning."

…

"There's nothing to do…" Lloyd complained as he lay back in his chair. The others seemed equally uninterested; Colette mindlessly braided and unbraided her hair, Genis sat doodling on the homework that Raine had assigned him. Skah sat absentmindedly picking at his fingernails and trimming them with a small knife. Yuan continuously dealt cards on the table in front of him to play solitaire, shuffling and dealing again when he lost, smiling a little at the antics of his younger companions. Of them all only Kratos and Raine seemed content, as both sat at opposite ends of the room, entertained by their books.

"You could read, Lloyd," the silver-haired woman replied in the same tone she used in her lectures.

"Or not," he replied automatically, staring at the ceiling with glazed eyes. "Anyone else have any ideas?"

Yuan rolled his eyes without looking up at the boy; honestly, could the child amuse himself at all? Gathering his cards, he quickly shuffled and dealt another game, listening silently to the lazy conversation.

"How about charades?" Genis asked listlessly.

Skah grimaced. "How about no."

Colette glanced out the window at the setting sun. "Evening service will start soon. Why don't we go? I mean, Palmacosta has a beautiful church, and this is where Spiritua gave her first sermon."

"What a wonderful idea, Colette." Raine closed her book and slipped it into her bag. "Shall we go?"

Genis automatically stood when his sister and Colette did, but no one else responded.

"Well?" Raine looked impatient. "Are any of you coming?"

Skah simply leaned his chair back on two legs as Lloyd shrugged awkwardly. Kratos completely ignored the conversation.

"I think that means no one else is going," Yuan stated mildly as he quickly moved a few cards, flipping over the top card of the newly revealed stack.

"And why not?" The teacher tapped her foot in irritation, awaiting an answer.

Once more, none came.

Seeing that a general question would do no good, she focused her assault. "Lloyd, why aren't you coming?"

The boy's face flushed as three sets of probing blue eyes locked on him, waiting for his answer. Yuan almost felt sorry for him. "I… well, I…"

Then Colette spoke. "Lloyd, why won't you come to church?" There was a note of sadness in her voice, of disappointment. The girl honestly couldn't understand, and was worried for her friend.

"Colette, you know I never really went before!" Lloyd protested, but her gaze remained locked on him.

"I thought you said that was because you had things to do at home. You said you didn't have time."

"W-well, yeah, I didn't have time…" Lloyd's face blushed even brighter as he was caught with his half-truth.

"So why can't you go now?"

"I-I don't think I'd really fit in… I mean, I've never really been to church, I wouldn't know what's going on."

"That's okay, Lloyd. You'd fit in fine." Colette's smile displayed her assurance. "Martel accepts everyone."

"No, I don't think so," he replied softly.

The room was silent for a moment. Lloyd's Iselian friends were stunned. Lloyd had never been devout, obviously, but it seemed he had never defied their faith… Interesting. Yuan's eyes left his cards; he sat back to watch the scene unfold before him.

"What do you mean, Lloyd?" Colette's voice was soft, low, hurt.

"I've never exactly been accepted there, Colette." His russet eyes were locked on the table as he spoke. "The priests always wanted me to come, but once they had me there, they acted like they wished I had stayed away. Besides, I… I've never been comfortable around all that. It just doesn't feel right to me."

The Chosen's eyes filled; she turned away to stare out the window. "Martel would want you to come, to see the light."

Lloyd finally looked up; his eyes were sad, but his face was set. "I'm not going, Colette."

Kratos glanced over at the teen, a smile small of approval on his lips, before turning back to his book. Unfortunately, the Professor had seen him.

"Is something amusing, Kratos?" she asked icily.

"Nothing at all," he replied coolly.

Her eyes narrowed. "And may I ask why you aren't coming to the evening service with us?"

"I choose not to. Do you need to know any more than that?"

"An explanation would be appreciated."

"I do not follow your faith. Is that explanation enough?"

Colette's eyes widened. "You don't believe in Martel?"

"No, Chosen, I do not."

"And why, may I ask, would you volunteer to guard her on this journey if you do not believe in it?"

Kratos snapped his book shut. His eyes looked black in the shadows that covered him. "First of all, Miss Sage, I did not volunteer. I am a mercenary, and I accepted a job." Yuan knew the look on the man's face well; it meant he was swiftly losing patience. "Secondly, I believe in mana, and I believe the world needs it. This ritual restores the mana, therefore it follows that I would want it to succeed."

Raine, apparently fed up with the mercenary, turned on the watching half-elf. "What about you, Yuan? Do you worship Martel?" The conversation had long since turned into an attack.

"Not exactly," he said aloud before muttering, "I've done a lot more than worship her." The only reaction to the remark was Kratos' quiet chuckle; the exchange was audible only to the two Seraphim.

Before Raine could manage a reply to the cobalt, Skah, who had remained silent through the proceedings, glanced out the window. "You had better get going if you actually want to get to this service of yours."

"So I take it you won't join us either."

"It's kind of a waste of time to go, isn't it? I mean, if I want to pray, I can do it on my own time. I'm pretty sure prayers aren't just accepted at the assigned hours."

Raine sighed in frustration, then turned on her heel and marched toward the doors. "Come on, we don't want to be late." Colette and Genis obediently followed her, sparing only a second for a backward glance.

…

Lloyd lay staring at the ceiling, the only light in the room coming from the waning moon that shone through the small window. Try as he did, he couldn't sleep. He had come up while Colette, Genis, and the Professor were still at church so he wouldn't have to face them when they returned; that was hours ago and his friends were long since asleep, and yet here he lay.

He was torn between feeling guilty and justified. He had never gone to church, but he had never told his friends the real reason like that. He had always kept that to himself, knowing that it would hurt them, hurt Colette more than anyone. But the Church always seemed wrong. He couldn't explain it.

Sure, most of the Scripture that Colette quoted had good morals and all—a lot of it matched the Dwarven Vows that Dad had drilled into his brain—but once they started talking about angels and the Goddess, Lloyd felt like it didn't click.

He wasn't going to be able to sleep, not now, anyway. He pushed himself up out of bed and reached over to light his candle just as Kratos opened the door and stepped in.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Do you have to sound so patronizing?" Kratos' dangerous look was enough to silence Lloyd's taunting. "I couldn't sleep." Lloyd grabbed his signature red jacket, pulling it on over his head. "Now I just have to figure out something else to do."

Kratos merely looked at him for a moment, then reached for the door handle again. "Get your swords."

"W-what?"

"I said, get your swords. We're going to train."

Lloyd stared at him incredulously, but it was obvious the man wasn't joking—actually, the teen doubted Kratos was capable of it—and scrambled out of bed, pulling on his suspenders and belts before grabbing his swords on the way out the door.

…

Pain. Serious pain.

Okay, maybe not mortally wounded serious, but how did he always end up so sore after sparring with Kratos? It just wasn't natural. It wasn't even that he got hit; just trying to dodge and block blows left his arms aching and everything else just as sore.

"Why do you fight with two swords? You only make things more difficult for yourself."

Their brief, intense bout of training had ended a while ago. Lloyd sat on the steps of the inn, catching his breath, and Kratos had sat beside him. No one else was around; after all, it was the middle of the night. Lloyd leaned back to gaze up at the stars visible between the buildings, seeing again snatches of his childhood, bits and pieces of memories that eluded him.

"Well, having two swords means I'm twice as strong, right? I can hit twice as much."

Kratos raised an eyebrow. "Is that the only logic behind your decision?"

"Pretty much."

"With two swords, you have little defense, no easy way to deflect attacks."

"So I just have to hit them enough that they can't attack!" Lloyd grinned, knowing his non-logic would annoy the older man, who simply sighed in mild irritation. "Anyway, I just figured that with two swords I'd be able to do more damage, so I could protect everyone better."

"Was that your sole aim?" Kratos' expression was unreadable, made even more difficult by the fact that half his face was invisible behind his auburn hair.

"Yeah, it was."

The mercenary was silent for a moment, seemingly contemplating something. Lloyd looked back at the stars while he waited for his companion to speak.

"Don't forget that determination," he said finally. "You have a long ways yet to go."

Lloyd grimaced. "Don't remind me. And I've got a lot of training with you left on the way, don't I?"

A small smile briefly crossed Kratos' lips. "Yes, I suppose you do."