Pact-chapter! This is the first time Sheena's really taken over, so we'll see how that goes. Lots of explaining and plot, figured I needed it after last chapter's fluff. Oh, and Kratos makes a profound political insight. My critique on debt-ceiling-related politics -_-'

Thanks for waiting for this chapter, I got caught up in the mess that is my life: I'm back on the college-hunt, perhaps the most terrifying choice of a young person's life, so I tend to lose track of time. Bear with me though, my dear friends, and you will be rewarded!

…

Lloyd's head felt ready to explode; stress, worries, anger, and his continued acting and lies spun around his mind like dozens of flies in a glass jar, wanting desperately to get out. He knew, however, that if he let himself focus on any one thought or worry too long, he would break down, and that was the last thing he needed. Part of him wondered if he could get away for a few hours and just scream, if it would help, but his theory had been unable to be tested as his father had been stealing his every private moment. They could not be family openly, so Lloyd supposed that it was fair, but even when he could supposedly open up, he was still holding in secrets and weaving lies.

Sometimes he wondered how much the others knew; he was almost disappointed that Raine or Kratos hadn't realized that he was from the future, that he was stronger and smarter than he should be. If they guessed it, how could he deny it? And telling someone the truth sounded absolutely wonderful. However, if any of his five companions had guessed at his oddness, they had said no word of it to him, so he wove his lies and acted his part and hoped to the Goddess Martel that Kvar hadn't done anything that Lloyd couldn't somehow repair.

Because that was what Lloyd feared the most, what Kvar could be doing behind his back. It was a small word from Yuan, it was that Lloyd heard or saw no whisper of the Desians in what remained of Sylvarant's cities. It was gut instinct. Kvar was doing something behind his back, while Lloyd was trying to keep the timeline as it should be, Kvar had long ago thrown caution to the wind—or at least Lloyd thought—and could be doing anything.

Just the thought made Lloyd's stomach boil and twist like the "stew" that Raine had made the day before for their midday meal.

Yet life carried on, and the group marched from Asgard to Lake Umacy where Raine's rumors had said the Unicorn could be seen on clear days, and, lo and behold, there it had been. Despite having seen the Unicorn before, it still took Lloyd's breath away; its coat was pearl and its mane gold, and it lay on the lake floor, deep below reeds and fallen trees. It was stretched out as if asleep, but with Lloyd's keen eyes, he could see the misted green eyes blink open and closed every so often. It was bored, he thought with a small smile.

"…perhaps Lloyd or Kratos could dive for it…" Raine suggested half-heartedly, knowing that there was no way to call it up from the shore where they stood. Her proposition, however, was quickly shot down by Kratos' logic.

"It is too deep for an inexperienced diver, which we both are. And even if we were capable, it would take a power far greater than our own to break whatever spell keeps it there." Kratos had been slightly on-edge lately, despite his new honesty with Lloyd, and it was largely due to Raine's insistence upon retracing their steps to find the ingredients for her new healing spells. She was none-too-subtly coaxed forward by Lloyd, not that Kratos was aware of it.

"…yeah, Raine, for once I have to agree with Kratos," Genis piped up, "even at full strength, my magic's not breaking through that, the mana around here's as strong as the seals, it's gonna take more than we've got… Maybe there's another Unicorn somewhere…?" He tried to suggest it lightly, implying that they could easily look after the Journey as well, but was silenced when Raine's crystal eyes flickered to his face furiously.

"…I realize that it is impossible…" she said at last. "I simply wish there was a way…"

"Maybe…maybe there is…" Sheena said softly, from behind. Despite everything she had been through with the group, Raine and Kratos still resented her, and they being as influential as they were made her life very difficult. On top of her lower-than-dirt status, the scars that Kvar had given her refused to heal past the point of raised pale pink lines that spread across her entire body. Her confidence had been destroyed, or, rather what was left of it after the failed pact with Volt.

Her words now, however, caught Raine's full attention and she turned to stare at Sheena, "What! You think you know of a way! Do you…perhaps can you dive?"

"N-no… I'm trained in the art of Summoning…" Her ruined skin turned a blotchy red from embarrassment. "You've met Corrine, he's a Summon Spirit and my only pact, but I have the ability to make more, even if I lack practice… Y-you once told me that you released the seal of water, that's where Undine, the Summon Spirit of Water would be. I-if I managed a pact, her power could bring the Unicorn to us and probably break the spells too…"

For once, something seemed to be going right. This was the longest speech Sheena had given since joining the group, perhaps she felt a bit more confident having found something useful to do. And offering a service that she had such a dark past in proved just how much she wanted to be accepted.

"I had always thought that Summoning was a lost art," Raine admitted. "Don't get me wrong," she added as Sheena opened her mouth to contradict herself and shoot her own idea down, "a Pact-making and Summoning would be fascinating, and it would solve our problems, I'm merely curious as to how you learned a lost art…"

"…I have my resources," Sheena said vaguely. "B-but I'm gonna warn you now, I've only every managed to make one pact, and it was kind of…informal. I don't know what'll happen if it goes wrong…"

"It is a chance we'll have to take!" Raine said confidently before Kratos could protest, though he very clearly wanted to. "To the seal of water, then!"

The walk took over three days as the group seemed to move slowly, despite Raine's enthusiasm, but it was the second night when Sheena stood awkwardly, catching every eye and cleared her throat unnecessarily. "I-I guess I've got something to say…" she tried awkwardly. "Raine…you've been asking me how I know how to Summon, and I know you're all wondering why I was trying to kill Colette and…well…I guess I figure it's time that I told you, 'cause I owe you that much anyway."

"Yes, do tell," Raine said calmly, but her eyes were lit excitedly in the moonlight. "You've said that your reason for wanting to stop the Regeneration is that not everyone will be saved…meaning your land must be beyond Sylvarant, and I correct?" Genis and Colette's eyes both widened at this, and Lloyd forced his to reflect shock as well.

"Yeah…" Sheena swallowed, "I come from Tethe'alla, a world that lies parallel to Sylvarant, and shares its mana."

"Tethe'alla?" Genis scoffed, "That's the moon! You can't be from the moon." The great silver orb hung over them as if to prove Genis' words, it was cold and lifeless above them.

"No, your moon is named after old legends and stories about us, just as ours is called Sylvarant, or at least it used to be, in all the old stories. The point is," she cut across Raine who seemed to have history and facts to add and had opened her mouth to inform them all, "that when one world completes the Regeneration, the mana from one world flows into the other and that world begins to decline. We've dubbed them the flourishing and declining worlds."

"So, what you're saying is that right now Sylvarant is declining, and Tethe'alla is flourishing, but when Colette completes the Regeneration, our world will get the mana, and Tethe'alla will turn into what Sylvarant is now?" Genis blinked as if trying to wrap his head around all of this. "But I thought it was the Desians' magitechnology that depleted the mana, that's what Mithos the Hero's stories all claim, and they've been accepted as facts for hundreds of years."

"I don't know," Sheena sighed, "magitechnology isn't something I'm a genius with, I just know how to work the usual stuff. The details elude me. Maybe they increase the depletion, maybe it's just ancient propaganda, all I know is that's what our scientists have come up with. I was sent here to stop the Regeneration so Tethe'alla wouldn't fall into decline…"

Her face fell slightly and her eyes drifted away from her audience and out into the Palmacosta plains, the dry grasses shifting in the cold evening wind. Winter was approaching, and soon this ground would be covered in frost, and then snow. "But I've been all around Sylvarant, I've met people who are suffering…and I don't want to hurt those people…I don't want to hurt you guys and I don't think I could find it in myself to hurt Colette either. At the same time, though, I refuse to abandon Tethe'alla. My family and f-friends are counting on me…so now I don't know what to do…" She finished rather lamely, but as Lloyd looked around, he was pleased to see pity in the eyes off all but Kratos.

"…isn't there a way to balance out the mana flow? So each world gets an equal amount of mana. Or maybe we could Regenerate both! The Angels control the mana, so maybe we could ask Remiel, or maybe if both worlds perform the ritual at the same time, maybe then it would work—." Genis took to hypothesizing, spewing ideas as they came, but all relied on the angels being on their side, and Lloyd held his tongue, partially knowing that he should be engaging in this enthusiasm so as to keep his cover, but not feeling as though he could bring himself to do it.

"Genis," Raine said softly, stopping him mid-rant, "as lovely as those thoughts are, this is reality: perhaps no such easy answer or compromise exists. The Chosen's Journey of Regeneration has gone on as long as anyone can remember, there is probably a reason for it. Perhaps our best answer is to simply continue to balance the mana with the Chosen's Journey, have out governments contact each other so that the attempts are known and controlled…"

Kratos snorted, "Governments are corrupt; do not expect anything productive from them, unless you consider arguing productive."

Colette stood and made her way over to where Genis sat, stealing his hand and beginning to write in it. At first Genis only blinked blankly, but as he began to notice the pattern in her scribbles, he caught on. "Colette's got something to say. He waited for a moment while Colette scribbled, "She says "Remiel," I think she means she'll ask him about what we can do to help Tethe'alla…"

As Lloyd watched the exchange, he felt his heart plummet. Last time it had been he who had translated for Colette, but now she had brushed past him and chosen Genis. She was clearly still furious and silently ignoring him.

"Colette…" Sheena's brown eyes filled with tears which she blinked away. "…I have to admit, I'd be really grateful if you would, because I don't want Sylvarant to suffer. All the same though…if that falls through, I may still have to kill you…"

Genis blinked, looking ready to jump to Colette's defense, but the young Chosen was already writing for herself. "I—oh, Colette says "If that's what it comes to…" he paused for her to say more, "…then I'll fight back… Sylvarant is… my home."

"Then let's hope for both our sakes that your father has the answer…" Sheena said darkly.

…

"Lloyd, fall back with me, Ms. Sage, Fujibayashi, take point, Chosen, Genis, stay toward the middle." All but Sheena were able to follow Kratos' orders swiftly, and Lloyd, who had been leading the small party through the Temple of Water, fell back to walk beside his father, his fingers on his sword's hilt. "Lloyd," Kratos said softly so his voice did not carry, "are you alright?"

The boy started, looking away from the boiling water that made up the small lake to his left and up into his father's red eyes, "…what do you mean?"

"You have been acting oddly, is something bothering you?" Kratos seemed to feel awkward asking Lloyd, and it occurred to him that perhaps Kratos was only voicing his worries because he wanted to act fatherly. If he had not been annoyed that he was so obvious, he would have been touched.

"…" Lloyd continued to look into his father's eyes, watching as concern slipped past the emotionless mask he usually wore. "…it's something Yuan said," he admitted, "before we found you…" Kvar has already done enough damage to your so-called "timeline"; my actions will make little real difference at the rate we are going. This was what really haunted Lloyd's every thought—that Kvar was off destroying everything that he was trying to hold together. Kvar was bound by nothing, he had already escaped what was supposed to be his own death—not to mention somehow had resurrected himself in the first place—what did he care if Lloyd's future didn't go exactly how he wanted it to?

"…yes?" Kratos prompted softly.

Lloyd took a breath, wanting so badly to tell Kratos. "…he said that Kvar was up to something, and it sounded…really bad…"

Kratos stiffened beside him. "Did he specify?"

"I tried to ask him, but he wasn't exactly in the mood to chat, and he was sort of choking me at the time. It's just…Kvar's a monster, and whatever he's doing…well, it can't be good. He's a bastard and what if we can't get rid of him even if we Regenerate the World? What if he gets to us first? He broke all those people, crushed their spirits and just laughed: slaughtered children…"

"…everything will turn out alright. Kvar may be powerful, but he is not the greatest of the Desian Grand Cardinals, and each guards their power jealously. He will remain where he is if only because he is kept in his place by his fellows."

Pronyma? Rodyle? Mithos? Lloyd wanted to laugh, destroying and dethroning them was something he would have wanted to do anyway. He had already called Mithos a traitor to the Desians, and Pronyma worked directly for Yggdrasill. Rodyle was under Kvar's control…

Lloyd's stomach twisted as a thought came to mind that had never before existed: what if Kvar had killed or dethroned Mithos? It would explain Remiel's nerves at the Tower of Mana, and Kvar was malicious enough to keep Lloyd thinking that the Journey should still take place only to have them ambushed at the Tower of Salvation…

He shook his head, trying to dispel the unpleasant thoughts, but they persisted and he sighed softly. Kratos, however, took his gesture as hopelessness and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "We know little of the Desians," his lie was effortless, "I am sure that nothing they do can stop the Regeneration…"

"Yeah," Lloyd said hollowly, "sure."

…

The seal was just as they had left it, but with a new, brighter, stronger feeling of mana. It was clear that the seal had been released: even the water seemed to glisten a little stronger. Sheena walked forward, head held high but visibly shaking. For the moment, watching the ninja face her biggest fear, Lloyd forgot about his own worries and stress and watched her walk forward to stand before the altar, just as Colette had.

"Undine?" she called softly, "Can you hear me?"

"Yes, Pact Maker." Undine stepped, or rather appeared, out onto the altar, her blue skin reflected in the waterfalls that splashed around her. The water seemed to change its course and run toward her, almost as if she was stronger than gravity. Her hair fell around her bare torso in deep purple waves, only parted by the long fin that protruded from the top of her head and her long, graceful ears, also shaped like fins. Undine's lower half was covered in a skirt that drifted off into the pools of water that moved with her, almost like they were the same. Her red, fishlike eyes were fixed on Sheena, her lips peeled back in a small smile revealing sharp, pointed teeth.

Despite her somewhat intimidating appearance, her voice was soft and sweet and the smile truly was inviting. "What is it that you seek?"

"I-I seek a pact with the Spirit Undine," Sheena answered, trying to sound in control of herself.

The Spirit sighed, "Unfortunately, I am one who is bound to Mithos, and I cannot hold two pacts." Her chin tilted to the side and she watched Sheena with interest.

All the confidence that Sheena had been feigning fell apart and she turned back toward the group, or more specifically, Raine. "I-I don't' know what to do! The Research Academy where I was taught never said anything about other pacts!"

"You must ask her to renounce her pact with this Mithos and establish a new pact with yourself. If his pact is broken or if he has already died," Kratos almost sighed the words, as if they brought him pain, "if one of the two conditions is filled, you will be able to form a new pact with a new vow."

"Is it really that easy?" Genis asked skeptically.

"There is nothing easy about forming pacts, they are powerful and dangerous and not to be taken lightly." Kratos growled it so harshly that Genis paled and backed down.

"S-so I just ask her to end her pact with, erm, this Mithos? All right, I'll try it…" Sheena turned back to Undine, her face coloring under the scarring. "Undine, I am Sheena. I ask that thou annulst thy pact with Mithos and establish a new pact with me." Her voice and hands shook, but Sheena faced down Undine who smiled fishily.

"Then let us fight, I must see if you are worthy of wielding my power."

As Undine stepped forward, Sheena stumbled back, fumbling and pulling out two of her spell cards. Lloyd and Kratos had both drawn their swords and were running forward to attack the Spirit before the others had fully gathered what was happening, and Lloyd was just in time to block an explosion of water from hitting Sheena. The sheer force of the liquid sent Lloyd stumbling backward, but he was able to catch his balance on the wet, slippery floor and continue his charge forward.

Mana rushed over Lloyd's head, toward Undine, but the Summon Spirit sliced through the air and Genis' Windblade attack disappeared into nothingness. In her moment of distraction, Kratos attempted to attack Undine from the side, but he was knocked back by a burst of angry water and sent spluttering to the ground. Raine raced around puddles toward the mercenary to see if he was alright, but, anger flashing through his eyes, Kratos rose and ran forward to slice at her a second time.

Lloyd joined the assault, but between he, Kratos, Sheena, and Genis, no spell or attack seemed to land. Whichever way they turned, water seemed to catch them off guard and, more often than not, send them toppling to the slick ground. Under cover of one of Genis' stronger spells, Lloyd raced forward, hoping to catch her off guard. He got close, nicking at her pale skin and Undine shrieked, her sharp teeth glittering in the half-light, and she flung her hands out at Lloyd, her nails like claws.

He jumped out of the way, thinking he had eluded her attack, but waves of water followed her motions and pain and dizziness exploded in his head. Water flowed into his nose and mouth, sending him sprawling on the wet stones, eyes open and staring up to the dark ceiling as he waited for his senses to return.

"Lloyd!" he heard Raine shout from somewhere above him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard the loud battle raging just a few feet away, but Raine's face swam into view and the sounds of battle died away. "Gods, Lloyd," Raine cursed softly and chanted a healing spell. Warmth spread through Lloyd's body, then the pain came; he was snapped brutally back to his senses and rolled onto his stomach coughing and hacking mucus and water. He gagged and Raine gently rubbed his back. "Better?" she asked softly.

"Y-yeah, thanks," Lloyd gasped and he forced himself to his feet, finding Kratos and Sheena in the middle of what honestly looked like a maelstrom. Undine was almost invisible inside, but every so often Lloyd could see the cold flash of steel as Kratos attacked or one of Sheena's legs break through the water. Lloyd circled it, unsure as to how to reenter the battle. He would have asked Genis to cast lightning, but there was water everywhere and Kratos and Sheena were in the midst of it. He couldn't hurt Undine without hurting them.

Suddenly, from overhead there was a burst of light and holy Judgment rained down upon the battle. The lights seared into Lloyd's eyes and he was sure he cried out as he flung himself away from the attack. His first thought was insane—that he had somehow cast the spell, but that was impossible. Judgment took more focus than he normally had: it was not something he could do without thinking. It hadn't been Kratos, Lloyd had seen him in the battle, which left only…

Lloyd tore his eyes from the lights ripping through water several feet ahead and looked over his shoulder to where Colette was hovering a few inches off the ground, her pink wings glowing brightly, with her eyes shut tightly in concentration. Power emanated from her. She had cast Judgment, though Lloyd was unsure as to how she had. She had not learned the power until after she had lost her soul, as Lloyd recalled, yet there she stood, the holy lightning of Judgment was still falling.

A abrupt, gut-wrenching realization made him jerk his head around to once again watch the light show. Sheena and Kratos were in there! Lloyd had little hope that even Kratos could survive that, and no hope for Sheena. Finally, the last of the attack died away, and with it went the torrents of water. It slunk, almost as if realizing its defeat, off the sides of the platform and into the dark pools that surrounded the room.

The sight that greeted them was so relieving that Lloyd couldn't help but laugh. Kratos and Sheena, both very much alive, were crouched beside Undine who had erected a shimmering bubble of water around them. The thin membrane had somehow protected them from Judgment. They must have looked like quite a sight as well, Lloyd soaking wet and sitting in a puddle on the floor, laughing, Raine gaping, Genis gasping, and Colette slumped on one of the few pieces of dry land that remained.

For a moment, Lloyd thought she may renew the attack, but Undine only smiled, "I do believe you have proven your worth. Pact Maker Sheena, make your vow—a vow worthy of my power."

Sheena, shaken, wet, and tired, looked up into the Spirit's red eyes and when she finally spoke, her words were clear and unwavering, "At this moment, people are suffering; I vow to stop their suffering."

"Then a new pact has been formed. Keep your vow, pact maker." Undine began to fade as she spoke, and by her last words, they were only an empty echo as light descended down to Sheena's fingers.

…

And that's that, next chapter is…wait, no, that can't be right…

*Yoshi spends a moment looking through notes*

It's true! Next chapter is the Tower of Salvation! Who knew things could move this fast! I want to have the next chapter up before school starts on the 22, so see you then!

~Yoshi