Well…I ended up failing this chapter, I meant to get more plot done, but all that came out was fluff. Got them to the ruins, though. Anyway, Raine goes psycho for ruins, Lloyd's big mouth gets him into trouble (as usual) and Genis gets the best line ever.

Yawn…enjoy.

….

It shocked Lloyd how painful deserts were, even when you couldn't feel the heat, or the pain from the long walk, or the way his boots rubbed painfully on his feet whilst he moved. Yes, all of these things happened, and when Lloyd next took his red boots off he would find his heels covered in blisters that would throb numbly if he touched them, but wouldn't hurt. And while he didn't feel it now, when he next sat, he would find his whole body would suddenly feel lighter as the pressure was taken off his legs. Lloyd mentally groaned at the heat and the pain and the fact that pride wouldn't allow him to complain. Even Genis wasn't grumbling over how hot it was, and he was twelve and not even an angel!

Being in the desert did have a few advantages though. Most of the group, with the obvious exception of Kratos, had stripped off their outer layers. Lloyd had pulled off his red jacket and was wandering around in his undershirt and Genis had done much the same, the half-elf was now wandering around in his shorts and thin black under layer. Colette had taken off the holy robes she wore over her simple white dress and pulled her hair back in a tail to let the light wind cool the sweat on the back of her neck. It was Raine, however, that caught Lloyd's attention. She was certainly modest, but she pulled off her orange coat, a first for her, and had rolled up the sleeves of her white shirt, even unbuttoning the first few buttons on her collar to show off her pale neck and collarbone; what was better was that she was sweating…meaning her thin white shirt was practically…see through. Lloyd knew his eyes were sliding to glance at her far more than they should have, but Genis was on the far side of Raine and Colette in the middle between Kratos and the Professor. Lloyd was on Kratos' other side, meaning Genis wouldn't catch him.

Of course, with Kratos' hawk eyes, perhaps it wasn't Genis that Lloyd should have been worried about. But Kratos had just entered the group and he was already antagonistic with the elder Sage, he wouldn't say a word to her, but he might bring it up with Lloyd when the others weren't around. Lloyd honestly hoped that he didn't consider them close enough to start asking awkward questions yet.

Then again, you never knew with the stoic mercenary.

It was midday before Lloyd finally cracked. They had started off early that morning and had been traveling for hours, Kratos holding the map and compass, quite convinced that he was the one that would do the job best. "…okay, seriously, how long before we get there? It feels like my feet are about to fall off."

This collected sighs from Genis, Raine, and Kratos and a doggish snicker from Noishe.

"Lloyd…" Raine sighed half-heartedly, "The Triet Ruins are probably hours away yet. Do not tell me you're bored already…" She shot him a reproachful look.

"We're in a desert, of course I'm bored! There's nothing to do! What, do you want me to count grains of sand?"

"Do not speak that way to your elders, Lloyd Irving!" snapped Kratos harshly; from his short temper, Lloyd gathered that he wasn't the only one bored of the desert. "And your teacher is correct; it will be at least another three hours of wandering before we reach the ruins. And that is if we keep up a swift pace." At these words, Kratos' antagonistic eyes shot to Genis before focusing back on Lloyd. "You would do well to hold your tongue."

"What? Aren't we allowed to talk in the desert? Can we at least have some conversation to distract from the hot and aching feet?"

"You must keep in mind that we are not the only ones in this desert," Kratos growled in return. "Monsters, bandits, and Desians may all be lurking over the next dune; we'd do best not to draw attention to ourselves more than necessary."

"…Mr. Aurion, surely conversation, or at least a lesson could be had, instead of wasting this time…" Suddenly, Lloyd was regretting opening his mouth—Raine would be in ruin mode in three measly hours, her lecturing on the history of the Triet Ruins would just be a warm up of worse yet to come.

"N-never mind!" Lloyd cried, his voice sliding up in pitch as his hands waved the idea away with the dry desert wind. "Quiet is good! Don't want those bandits to find us!"

"Lloyd Irving!" Raine growled, "You asked so you shall receive."

"Yay!" Colette, ever optimistic and loving of anything that would make the others happy, cried. "I love Professor Sage's lessons!"

Lloyd shot a pleading look to his father who, horribly enough, didn't seem against having the Professor give a lecture…which was, of course, because he hadn't experienced one yet. In ten minutes, he'd be regretting it. Lloyd knew it. What was worse was the fact that, unless Raine ran out of things to say, which was impossible, he'd have to deal with a lesson for three hours before she went into ruin mode, in which case it would be even worse.

"So," Raine began, taking a deep breath and not even bothering to pull out her notes. Mentally, Lloyd groaned; did she know these facts by heart? Martel help them. "Since we're going to the Triet Ruins, I suppose a lesson about them is called for. To begin with, we must know what kind of ecosystem a desert is…"

Lloyd felt his eyelids droop and he forced himself not to yawn. He was hot, he was tired, and suddenly he was being lectured at by the Professor; these were optimal nap conditions. The only problem? He still had to walk.

"…the Triet Ruins were discovered over one hundred years ago and they support the legend of a mythical city that was designated to Efreet, the Summon Spirit of Fire…"

Lloyd felt his eyes shut again, then they flashed open when he felt pressure on his foot, when he looked down he saw that Genis had moved from Raine's other side to hiss, "I blame you for this!" and glare.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think she'd go off like this!" Lloyd growled back under his breath, then looked up to meet Kratos' glare. Lloyd paled and shut up, looking back down at the dirt and sand.

"It is said that over one thousand years ago, the original Triet was destroyed, thus created the Triet Ruins. The city was massive, probably created shortly after the last Regeneration—Spiritua's Regeneration Journey—and destroyed one hundred years later when the world slid into decline again…"

Actually, Lloyd corrected silently, it was destroyed by Cruxis after they started learning a little too much about the Regeneration and the Tower of Salvation. He turned their own deity on them and had Efreet destroy everything… He withheld a shiver of disgust as he remembered what Yuan had once told him. It was a gruesome tale and proved how ruthless Mithos was.

But he's nothing compared to Kvar… If Lloyd knew Kvar, which he was rather convinced he did, the former Grand Cardinal—present Cardinal at the moment—was only out to cause pain and havoc; he was a smart man, but not the kind to have a real plan of any sort. He would just be out for revenge, because he was a monster like that. A monster who wanted to destroy all life.

"…the city that was built over magma, it is comprised mostly of bridges and pathways suspended over boiling lava, it was once rumored that the bridges were made entirely of glass; sand melted by the magma and put into place, then solidified using mana to keep it in that state…"

Lloyd shot a glance up at Kratos when, from the corner of his eye, it looked like he was watching Raine and not him. The mercenary must not have realized how overheated he looked in all that dark purple, or the way Genis was shooting him odd looks behind his back. The tall, emotionless angel didn't notice Lloyd peek, as his eyes stayed fixated on something in the distance. His lips twitched slightly, and suddenly he turned his head to face forward, Lloyd ducked again and half-closed his eyes so Kratos wouldn't notice that Lloyd had been watching him. Out of the corner of his eye Lloyd saw the flash of exasperation that twisted his father's face as he realized how insane Raine was when she went on like this.

And there was so much more to come.

…

It was hours later that they finally—finally!—reached the Seal of Fire. Raine had not stopped speaking for all those hours, and, to Lloyd at least, her excitement seemed to grow, as if she could smell the coming ruins in the sandy air. It was hotter, Lloyd decided, not because he could feel it, but because he could see the heat coming off the sand in waves; he was shocked that the sand didn't melt and turn to glass at night, so hot was this damn desert.

The ruins loomed out of the sand, giant parts of a sand-smoothed whole that lay buried below their feet. Columns of stone, the demonic countenance of Efreet peered with empty stone eyes at them, one horn broken and his lips practically vanished with the ages. Lloyd shivered and looked away. The ruins were huge, a forest of old stone ruins fallen around them; it sent shivers up Lloyd's spine—was this the fate of all great civilizations? He couldn't imagine Meltokio overgrown with weeds and broken, the coliseum destroyed, the castle in disarray…

Of course, not everyone was struck silent by the sight of the fallen.

"Fantastic!" Raine's voice was high with girlish glee and her eyes were wild as she surveyed the city of stone. "Why, this is technology that is far beyond even Palmacosta! These columns are hundreds of years old and they must be at least fifty feet tall when standing properly! What could they be made of! This is not sandstone, perhaps a mined stone from the Ossa Trail! Look at the runes! But they're so badly preserved! Perhaps deeper in! Perhaps there are rooms of runes! Oh, just think of what we could learn!"

"…is she always like this?" Kratos looked down at Lloyd, a slightly worried look haunting his eyes as they flicked to the Professor and then back to Lloyd.

"I-I…haven't actually seen her like this…" Lloyd blinked. "This is the worst I've ever seen her…"

"…s'not the worst I've seen her…" muttered Genis, his face growing red as his blue eyes stared at the sand. "I-I've been trying to hide it but Sis is…well, I call it Ruin Mode, whenever she's near anything…old she gets like this…"

"I think it's cute!" Colette piped up, her eyes as bright as her smile, "The Professor is so happy! And I bet we can learn a lot too! And if this is the seal," here, she sobered, "then it's the first step to saving the world."

Kratos nodded at Colette's words and Lloyd looked away, he was just going to sit around and let this happen. He had hoped that after he had killed Marble…again, it would get easier, but those hopes had been in vain as he felt the welling of anger rise in his stomach. What would happen if he struck down Remiel? Nothing good, he knew that. He'd screw up the whole damn Journey, the worlds wouldn't be saved and everyone would probably die. He'd have to sit through it. Again.

"…come on, let's go find the seal," Lloyd sighed softly as the others nodded in agreement, then, louder, so Raine could hear, "Raine! Come on, let's go in deeper! We need to find the seal!" He had chosen his words carefully, knowing that it would be difficult to draw her away from the ruins, but at the temptation of more ruins—perhaps ruins in better condition—drew her with them as they progressed.

A memory flickered in the back of Lloyd's head; they were going to be attacked soon, he recalled. Just some fire elementals, but he had to remember not to be too good, for the others' sakes, as Kratos taught them all protective spells, and while Lloyd had no problems performing them, Raine, Genis, and Colette would all need to learn; it would save their lives countless times.

Lloyd glanced at Noishe, recalling that moments before the monsters came he had run off—

There was no Noishe. Lloyd swore and suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, shoving him away as a fireball whizzed through the air where his shoulder had been seconds before. Kratos stood over him, having been the one to shove him, and growled, "Be on your guard, monsters!"

Lloyd felt the slight welling of mana that he had missed before and jumped out of the way before the next group of fireballs could hit him. Kratos practically sliced through one with his sword while Colette fell to her hands and knees to avoid hers. Genis and Raine both backed away and Lloyd heard the tell-tale signs of spells being summoned and formed.

He jumped past the next group of fireballs and charged toward the elementals. They were large, glowing spheres. Runes were printed all over the rocky hide of both as they floated at eye-level off the sand of the desert. Spell runes circled one while the other guarded at Lloyd's first swings. Metal met rock and both sparks and mana flew. The loose rocks formed together to make a shield around the glowing inner sphere. Lloyd ducked under it, attempting to stab at it with one of his swords, but it moved too quickly and, again, metal met with rock.

Suddenly, Kratos was beside him, bringing his blade down on the mana that held the elemental together. Lloyd was just able to jump out from under it before the rocks that had held it together fell on him. However, while the swordsmen had been taking care of the one, the other had finished casting again; this time eruption broke though the sand under Raine and Genis' feet. Both half-elves stumbled away from the burning lava that came from beneath their feet. Genis stumbled and fell, crawling on hands and knees from the spell while his sister made sure Colette was safely out of the way.

Lloyd and Kratos charged at the second; this time it was Kratos' turn to play the distraction while Lloyd snuck behind it. Seconds later more rocks fell to the ground as Lloyd stabbed the elemental.

Raine raced up, first looking over Lloyd for any scratches or burns, then Kratos. The mercenary sighed, "…this is going to be a pain…" As Raine forced him to remove his cape and gloves, he said, "Do none of you know how to defend yourselves?"

"Yeah, it's called running," snapped Genis, who was nursing burned fingers.

"I was referring to defensive techniques. Which all of you seem to lack."

"I know guardian!" Lloyd said mildly from behind. He didn't particularly want to draw attention to himself, but having Kratos attempt to teach him something he already knew would be a waste of time and effort.

Kratos fixed his ruby eyes on Lloyd and the teenager and raised an eyebrow, "That…is a rather advanced technique, I'm surprised you know it…"

"I am the best swordsman—" Ever. "—in Iselia!"

Kratos scoffed, "That title is hardly as impressive as you seem to think."

Lloyd's mouth opened, closed, and then opened again. He was so tempted to snap back, but he also knew that making an enemy of Kratos was perhaps the most idiotic thing he could possibly do. He sucked in a sharp breath, released it, and looked at Kratos. "Being a dick isn't making you any friends, you know." Dear gods, he'd just told off his father.

"…" Kratos' glare was enough to make Lloyd feel like running full-sprint to the entrance to the ruins and hiding. He didn't, obviously, and managed to meet his father's gaze unflinchingly. "What did you call me, brat?"

"Oh damn," Lloyd muttered in what he hoped was a voice too low for Kratos to hear. "Goddess help me…" Then, louder, "I said you're being a dick. No, we're not the best fighters in the world, no, we're not used to trekking around this stupid, hellish desert, and we're not used to having to deal with sleeping in a different place every night, so sorry we're cramping your style, but you'll have to deal."

"…oh my Goddess, Lloyd just verbally bitch-slapped Kratos." In their shock, even Raine wasn't able to punish Genis for his language.

It was…almost laughably true. The look on Kratos' face was almost complete and utter contempt, but…there was a substantial amount of shock written in his stoic features as well.

"I'm trying really hard to like you, I mean, I bet you're not bad when you're not acting like you've got a stick up your ass. So start actually trying, or we'll kick you out and learn to deal." As Lloyd spoke, he gained confidence. Or perhaps he was merely focused on something other than the burning fury in his father's eyes. He crossed eyes arms, met Kratos' eyes, and paled. With the look the elder man was giving him, Lloyd suddenly understood how he'd gained the title Angel of Death.

"You honestly think that you could lead this mess of a Chosen's group on a Journey around the world by yourself? A seventeen-year-old who not only got his village destroyed, but was captured by Desians on his first expedition though the desert and had to be save by the very people he was pretending to protect?" Kratos' eyes blazed; his words were soft, but they carried with them the anger, disgust, and distrust he felt for Lloyd at that moment. "You are a child playing compared to the reality of this world. If you have neglected to notice, this world is dying and we are the last hope, so think before you open your mouth." With that, the purple-clad mercenary stormed away, his cape fluttering in the soft desert breeze.

"…he's a jerk." Much to Lloyd's horror, it was Colette that made the statement. Lloyd turned to her, shock written across his expressive features.

"No, he's…he's got something going on that we don't get, I think. He's just taking it out on us…" In seconds, Lloyd had gone from shouting at Kratos to defending him. "He's not good with people, that's all…"

"I think we should just leave him here to pout and we can go release the seal on our own." Genis crossed his arms, looking to his sister and Colette for support, which he seemed to be getting.

"…I feel as if I have to agree. I'm sure the trial is difficult, but Mr. Aurion would be of little real use to us if he is in such a mood…" Lloyd looked at Raine, the normally level-headed, logical Raine. Now she wanted to dump him too?

"And he needs time to calm down. I'm sure we can do it. You'll protect us, won't you, Lloyd?" Colette smiled cheerily at Lloyd as he felt his stomach drop to his feet.

"You guys can't be serious! I can't protect you! We need Kratos!" Because the world would end if the mercenary didn't side with them. Oh shit, Lloyd hadn't even foreseen this kind of problem. He had always been worried about the "what if's" of Kvar and the outside world, he'd never even figured into his plans that there would be more internal strife! He'd hoped calling out Kratos would minimize the fighting, not make it worse! "Look, give me ten minutes to talk to him. If he doesn't come back, then we can go in alone, but let me talk to him!"

He gained dubious looks from his friends. "Lloyd…does it matter that much to you?" Raine raised a slender, silver eyebrow at his insistence.

"Yes." Lloyd's hands clenched into fists behind his back. "Yeah, D-Kratos is a jerk, but we haven't exactly been trying real hard either! Give him a chance!"

"…ten minutes, Lloyd." Raine made the executive decision.

"…Raine…thanks…"

Lloyd turned away to follow after his father, but he was still in earshot when Genis whispered, "…since when does Lloyd call you "Raine" Sis?"

"I…don't know."

Again, Lloyd cursed himself. In the future, it had been years since he'd actually called Raine "Professor," only when he was teasing her, actually… He needed to fall back into his old habits, but it was never so easy, was it?

But, to focus on the task at hand: Lloyd could hear his father walking, several yards away, behind several large columns that had fallen some hundreds of years ago. He slipped around the corner of one to see the mercenary standing and staring off into the desert.

"…hey," Lloyd said as way of announcing his presence, "…Kratos, I'm sorry." It was hard to say, even to his father, but he had already made up his mind to do whatever was necessary. So what if his dignity died a little? This was the world at stake, here!

"…" his father didn't even bother to turn and look at him. "…your friends agree with you."

"They don't know what's good for them. You're right; we can't make it through this Journey without you…" Why was admitting you're wrong so hard? He took a deep breath to stop the stubbornness that wanted to overwhelm his mouth. "Come back and help us release the seal."

"…I am not fool enough to believe that you want me to return, Irving."

"Origin above," Lloyd growled under his breath, "Da-Kratos don't be stupid. I'm eating my words here, so please don't be an ass and just pretend to go along with it at the very least!"

"…" Finally, the elder man turned to look at Lloyd; his red eyes were clouded with doubt and distrust. "…you, Lloyd Irving, make little sense."

"…heh," Lloyd chuckled nervously, not liking the look he was receiving, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"…you exhibit mannerisms that I've only ever seen men use when they want something. One moment you are shouting at me, and the next you are apologizing. You want something."

"…I just wanna save the world." Lloyd met Kratos' eyes, but they gave away nothing but suspicion and Lloyd almost hoped that his were doing the same. He had never been quite so good at disguising his emotions. He just hoped the desperation he was feeling wasn't so obvious.

"…then it seems that, for the moment, our goals are the same. We should move before your friends attempt to enter without either of us." Without another word the purple-clad mercenary strolled off in the direction of Lloyd's friends. Lloyd knew that he should be relieved, but for some reason the tense breath that he was holding went unreleased.

His father still hated him, his friends were suspicious and apparently turning their backs on said angel and they hadn't even released the first seal yet! Lloyd could only hope that it had been this bad last time and he just had been too oblivious to notice it. He knew the Sages and Kratos had always hated each other, but Colette… He hadn't even realized that she could not like someone! Once Kratos chilled out and everyone started saving everyone else's life and the group realized that they needed Kratos' help, things would calm down, but until then, Lloyd had a feeling that he'd be swallowing his pride a few more times.

….

R&R!

~Yoshi