It's official, four chapters (including this chapter and the epilogue) until Paradox is done. I don't know, however, how long this is going to take me; though I'd really like to finish it in the next month or so, school has started up again and I've only been going a day before drowning in all of the things I need to do. Still, I want to stick to my regular schedule.

The poll I put up asking readers what they would like to see me write next came out close with 9 of my voters wanting to see me write the Kharlan War and 10 wanting to see a Renegade Origin story. Thanks to everyone who voted, and we'll see what happens if and when I start another long term project. However, it could well be summer when I start anything new.

Now, to the actual chapter.

…

"Lloyd, may I have a word?"

The boy had been sitting quietly, listening to his friends talk over their lunch. The rich scents of the meal that Tabatha had made for them, while they would normally have made his mouth water, today made him feel sick. Though this could perhaps have had something to do with the conversation—argument?—that he had had with Zelos earlier.

Or perhaps his stress came from that none of his friends would look him in the eye.

He looked up at his father. The man looked tired, but, as always, he hid it well. It was somewhat comforting to see at least one person who was not afraid of Lloyd. "Yeah, 'course." Lloyd stood and followed his father into one of Altessa's off-shooting rooms.

Father and son examined each other a moment, each taking in the stress and exhaustion of the other before Kratos finally spoke. "I wish to apologize for my outburst last night." Even when he was apologizing, Kratos had the amazing ability to look as if he were merely apologizing for handing someone the wrong change. His face was unmoving and his hands lay comfortably at his sides. The man could have lied his way out of prison, if he had to. Or he could have if his eyes weren't betraying him.

There was something pleading in their red depths, asking Lloyd to forgive him.

"Dad…you're right. I should have trusted you. You don't have to apologize; maybe if I had tried to change things, I might not have screwed up so much…we might have been able to really save people's lives. I was so busy worrying about—"

Kratos interrupted Lloyd, quietly shaking his head. "No. Nothing that has happened is your fault, and I now suspect that things may have been much worse had you chosen to ignore the suggestions of Origin and your friends. I should not have acted so brashly, and I apologize."

Lloyd smiled softly at his father. "…does that mean that you'll help me? I have to decide if I'm going to attack Kvar head-on or not, and you're better at strategy than I am. Will you help?"

"Of course, Lloyd."

Some good news, some relief at last.

…

Lloyd wasn't sure what news was coming. He was sure enough that Yuan was going to help him, and now his father, and Mithos and Noishe and perhaps—perhaps—Yggdrasill, but as for his friends, Lloyd did not know where they stood, and it terrified him.

They were whispering now. Lloyd wouldn't listen in. He would respect them even if it killed him. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked around to see Noishe. The man was grinning that irritating, childish grin at him. "It's gonna be okay, Lloydie. Trust me. You think they don't like you, but they can't help but trust you. That's always how it works! Everything'll be okay!"

"…I don't know. They really don't have any reason to trust me. I lied to them, Noishe."

The Protozoan snorted, "And it's not as if every one of them hasn't lied! Like remember how Raine and Genis totally neglected to tell you that they were half-elves, and you didn't care? Your reasoning was way better." His voice had risen now, and the group could hear him. Their voices had ceased and Genis was glaring at Lloyd and Noishe.

"That's different, it didn't put anyone in danger!"'

"Sure it did. What if the Desians had found out? Or decided to attack the group just because they were "traitor" half-elves? It's happened before! Or if the humans had found out and they'd attacked. You all could have died! Or how about Colette? She didn't tell anyone that she was going to die! You remember how horrified you were! And why didn't she tell you? Because you would have had less fun. I like your reasoning better."

Lloyd's face was growing red. "Shut up, Noishe! Colette was in trouble, and she was suffering! Of course she didn't tell anyone!"

Noishe was grinning wildly now. "Or how about how Zelos was working for the Renegades the whole time?" And suddenly, Lloyd understood. This wasn't for his sake; it was for the group's. Lloyd kept secrets, but so did everyone else. Noishe was just pointing it out.

And he had protected Zelos. The Chosen had been a triple agent. Noishe kept that secret.

"Plenty of people have kept worse secrets than being from the future! I mean, Yuan's a freaking Renegade, and I bet Mithos is way madder about that than about him knowing that Kvar's from the future and not saying anything about it!"

In the background, Mithos chuckled. "No, no, we're still just pissed that he convinced Martel to marry him."

"Speak for yourself," snarled Yggdrasill.

Noishe chuckled. "See? There are way worse things than lying, stupid!"

The group was back to muttering and Lloyd sighed, his face still red with frustration. He doubted Noishe's little strategy had worked the way the Protozoan had meant it. He had just pissed them off.

Or perhaps not. Colette was speaking now, and though Lloyd could not hear her, she looked passionate. Presea was nodding and most of the adults seemed to at least be taking her seriously. Genis looked angry and he snapped something at the girl and the Chosen snapped back, her blue eyes wide with frustration.

"I trust Lloyd!" Colette finally shouted; her hands clenched at her sides. "He's my friend and he's your friend too and you're stupid not to believe him!" Never before had Lloyd seen the girl so…angry. Passionate, certainly, but she did not get angry. The blond Chosen marched over to where Lloyd was sitting and plopped down next to him, her legs and arms crossed.

Lloyd stared for a moment, then gently put a hand on Colette's shoulder. "…you don't have to, Colette. It's going to be dangerous…"

She turned her blue glare on Lloyd, but the intensity faltered. "Oh Lloyd…I know, but trying to rescue me was dangerous too, but you did it anyway! Besides, if we don't fight Kvar, he'll destroy everything, just like Mithos and Noishe said…"

There was a massive silence, in which the group stared between Lloyd and Colette. Finally, Presea rose and wordlessly sat beside Colette. A flicker of hope lit in Lloyd's chest and spread to his face, splitting a little grin over his feature. "Guys…thanks…"

"I have seen what the Desians have done," Presea said simply. "If Kvar is like Rodyle, I will not allow him to live." It was as if things were finally falling into place as the little pink-haired girl turned her blank stare upon the remainder of the group.

Regal shook his head, sadly resigned. "They are right, of course. If we do not destroy Kvar, he will destroy us, one by one. What choice do we have other than to fight by Lloyd's side?"

"We can fight him on our own! We don't need Lloyd or Yuan or Yggdrasill! We can do this on our own! We've stopped Desians before and we'll do it again. Lloyd's been lying to us from the beginning, what if there's something else he hasn't told us about? If he's like his dad, then we're all just tools in some stupid plan!"

The young half-elf's words were met with a sigh. He had rephrased his argument so many times that even those who may support it were tired of hearing it. "Genis," said Raine at last, "Lloyd is still Lloyd, and you know him better than that. He is your friend. He is our friend."

"He's not listening, Raine," Zelos said coldly. "The brat's so jaded that he's not going to listen to shit. Brat, I don't agree with what Bud's been doing, but even you can't be stupid enough to think that we can take down an army of Desians on our own! You saw Mizuho, and they weren't an immediate threat. Now imagine an army with that kind of power. Give it up. Even if you don't like the way Bud does stuff, it's pretty obvious that we don't have any other choices."

Genis was furious, but he was the only one. Whatever their personal thoughts on Lloyd, Kvar was a real and very terrifying threat, and not one that they were going to leave to chance.

"Then it is unanimous," Raine said short, speaking calmly over Genis' stuttering. "We will all help you, Lloyd."

…

The group had no idea what to do next. A frontal attack, presumably making use of Yuan's Renegades, was too vague a plan for anyone to feel comfortable with. All the same, Kvar had been in possession of not only the Tower, but of Welgaia and, indeed, all of Derris-Kharlan for hours enough to have changed whatever he wished, and created obstacles in every one of the Seraph's emergency paths.

There was no way in but to blunder blindly into traps.

Still, they ate and talked quietly and tried not to think about the days or weeks to come. It was too dangerous, too unknown, to dwell on. It was because of this anxiety that Lloyd couldn't make himself eat. The rich stew that Tabatha had made smelled fantastic, but it made Lloyd's stomach churn. He rolled pieces of beef around in its broth, but made no attempt to eat.

Altessa and Tabatha, whatever their thoughts had been when the Seraphim had shown up in their home, had quietly accepted the massive presence of the group. It was mostly likely out of fear that they were so hospitable, but it was another minor detail that Lloyd couldn't dwell on. He did feel bad for imposing on them, but with the dwarf acting reminiscent of a shadow, and Tabatha clearly still very robotic, there was no way to thank them.

Someone knocked on the door, and everyone jumped. With four Seraphim, several half-elves, and Noishe, they should have been able to sense anyone coming. Robotically, Tabatha moved to the door and opened it, reveling half-a-dozen figures in ninja dress. They seemed as surprised to see the Chosen's group sitting around Altessa's table as the group was to see ninja at his door.

"I apologize, we seem to have interrupted your meal…"

Lloyd's skin tingled with anger as he recognized the speaker. Orochi. Orochi of all men, was alive, while Sheena lay in another room, lifeless. Orochi had somehow survived the attack, most likely been away from the village at the time and safe. This must have been how the others had survived the attack as well. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair! How the hell could she be dead while he stood there, whole and cocky. How could Sheena have died for the honor of her village—for Lloyd's life—while this bastard was untouched?

"We…did not know where else to go. If Mizuho has been…" The ninja who spoke was a young woman, and her eyes sparkled with tears as she tried to speak. "If Mizuho has been compromised, than we can trust no one…"

Regal rose. He had the least investment, and could speak most freely, Lloyd supposed. The only reason that he was with them was that he had been moved by Lloyd's story, and by the destruction of the village. "You may rest easy knowing that Mizuho was not betrayed. The Desians have taken over the holy city of Welgaia, and they are the ones who destroyed the village."

The tragedy translated so easily into the simple tale that Lloyd felt disgust rise in his throat. This was not simple. It had not been simple from the beginning, nor would it ever be. Even when his lies had been untangled, it was still complicated.

"…where is Sheena?" Orochi asked as the newcomers were invited inside and given the chance to look around. "I was under the impression that she would still be with you…"

The looks exchanged replaced words as they were shown Sheena's body. There were no howls of sobbing, not even a gasp of shock. Merely silence.

…

Sheena's funeral was less formal than anyone would have liked. The ninja that had come were dressed in black formal wear as they gently prepared Sheena's body, carefully tucking her pale, lifeless limbs into her white funeral-wear. Although their assets were limited, two of the men had sneaked back into Mizuho and rescued some of the less-damaged artifacts. Among them was the formal white funeral kimono in which they had dressed Sheena.

It was only right to see her buried with her lost friends, and so a hole was dug in the center of the destroyed village. As the group stood around in the black clothes they had bought in Ozette, the ninja chanted softly in Mizuhoian, a language that Lloyd had never learned, but rather wished he had, and incense was lit.

Lloyd was crying. Everyone was crying. Genis clung to his sister, his face buried in her black skirt, tears falling freely down her pale cheeks. Colette held Presea's hand, the girls had become close since their souls had returned, and there was never a time in which one needed a friend more than now. Zelos somehow managed to keep a straight face as he cried, but his eyes were red and his face much, much paler than usual. Even Regal had tears sliding out from under his closed eyelids.

Only the Seraphim remained unmoved. Perhaps it was because they simply could not cry, but more likely, they had already seen too much in their long lives. It was difficult to be moved but something so simple as a death. There had been worse fates.

"I am afraid that we do not know her real name," murmured a female ninja. "Normally it is written down so as to help her spirit in the afterlife, but… We've done the best we can for her." The woman had kindly switched to the common language so as to communicate with the group. "We are sorry that we cannot do more." Tears slid down her face as well.

Orochi looked up from where he was gently bent over Sheena's form, placing a handful of gold coins in her hand. "We have done our best for her, surely she would have appreciated that there's little more that we could do."

Lloyd was sure that he was the only one to hear the contempt and anger in Orochi's voice.

"Of course she would have," Regal agreed softly. "Thank you…"

The ninja bowed her head as Sheena's coffin was lowered into the hole and dirt was poured over the wooden coffin that had been made in a matter of hours since the ninja had arrived. The hole was filled, the coffin covered, and the fresh mound of dirt in the middle of a village once pulsating with life caused Lloyd's tears to fall again.

"…I think that I speak for all of us," murmured another ninja at last, "when I say that I wish to help you destroy the monster that destroyed our families. You will accept even our modest help, I hope…?" A man that Lloyd knew he had seen before, but whose name had been lost to time, met Lloyd's eyes with serious, grey orbs.

Lloyd nodded. "Of course…"

Somehow, in a matter of hours, Lloyd had assembled an army.

…

"Lloyd, we need to talk." Mithos grabbed Lloyd's sleeve and pulled him away from the rest of the group, all making their way back through Ozette toward Altessa's. "It is important."

Blinking, Lloyd followed the half-elf away from the group. Frankly, he had not spoken to Mithos for several days, or at least not privately. Whatever it was that was "important," though, did add a hint of earnest worry to the man's voice.

"What's up?" Lloyd asked wearily.

Mithos closed his eyes for a moment, blocking out the dark forest around them. "Do you know what a paradox is?"

Lloyd shook his head. He had, of course, heard the term before, but his friends had just assumed that he knew the meaning. Sometimes Raine forgot that despite all their travels, vocabulary was not his strong suit. "No. Does someone finally want to tell me?"

The former leader of Cruxis did.

…

I'll try to get the next chapter up as quickly as possible, but don't get hopes up for a quick update, because I'll have to write the next three chapters all at once so they're cohesive, meaning that once I finish them, there'll be three very quick updates, but until then, it could take a week or so longer than usual. Sorry this was shorter than usual, but hopefully the last chapters make up for it!

Thank you for bearing with me!

R&R

~Yoshi