Copyright: I own nothing.

"Are you sure that you don't want me to go?" Genis knew where this would go. But he couldn't help it, he didn't want them to leave without a doubt that they wouldn't need him.

"Genis...we've talked about this." Raine said to him as Lloyd and Colette stood nearby watching the siblings while Kratos sat next to Noishe, "The journey will be very dangerous and I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you."

"But you're letting Lloyd go!" Genis tried very hard not to give a glance to Lloyd for his help. Logically, asking Lloyd for back-up would not only lessen his chances of going, but would also decrease the certainty of Lloyd going with Colette, "Why can't I prove myself?"

"One, you are a child and two," Raine knelt down to her brother's level and gave him a tight hug as Genis held back tears, "You are my brother...In order to help Colette, I need to be completely focused and knowing that you're safe...will do just that."

"Even with the desians?"

"If I am correct, the desians of this region signed a non-aggression pact with Iselia." Kratos stated, "Though I could not speak for the other ranches."

"So the desians operate out of the ranches..." Lloyd thoughtfully said to himself while Genis saw the odd sight of Lloyd really visibly thinking, "How many of them are there...five?"

"No one knows for sure, but I wouldn't rule out the number being around that amount." Kratos answered, a slight influx of the voice told Genis that Lloyd may have guessed close to the exact number...at least the one that Kratos had in mind, "But this is the only ranch on this continent and outside of that, I do not know of any other possible bases of operations."

"Alright," Lloyd confidently stated, "As long as we avoid the desians, this shouldn't be too much of..."

"Lloyd! Colette!" The group turned to see a young boy desperately drag an older man towards them, a trail of blood marking their trail from within the forest, "Please...papa's hurt!"

"Oh no!" Colette cried as she and Genis ran over to help the father off of the tired and scared boy, "Professor!"

"Understood..." Raine calmly walked over and held out her staff over the bloodied man with two gashes in his stomach and side where blood streamed out in a scene that sickened Genis, "Try not to move Charles, you're hurt very badly..."

"Chosen...the village..." Charles muttered as Raine continued to heal him while Paul held onto Lloyd, "Desians..."

"What?" Lloyd asked before Charles grew more quiet, but was managing to breath easier, "What do you mean? What happened Paul?"

"Papa and I were out getting firewood for the forge..." The boy explained while still looking back at his father, "Then he told me to get down and some desians came...they started talking about attacking the village and...killing someone..."

"Who?"

"I don't know...they found us out..." Paul answered Kratos and didn't stop tears from streaming out of his eyes, "Please...you have to help the village!"

"Alright...I've done all that I can." Raine stated as she stood up from the stable Charles, his wounds were still there but his blood loss had ceased, "The worst is past, but he'll need a place to rest and recuperate."

"Noishe!" Noishe walked over to Lloyd and barked as Lloyd brought his attention to Paul and Charles, "Take them back to dad's...I'll be over there soon..." Noishe barked in acknowledgement as he gently picked up Charles and hurled him onto his back as Paul held on to Noishe's back before he left the party.

"Genis?" Did Raine pick up on his thoughts? "What's wrong?"

"Sis..." Was now the best time to tell her the truth? Tell her about going going to the ranch and everything that it might have led to?

"He's worried about the town." Lloyd interjected, likely to keep Genis from saying anything about what he caused yesterday, "So what are we standing around here for? We have to help them..."

"That is the Chosen's-"

"Lloyd's right!" Colette cried with a face that was brave and a bit uncertain, "I know that I'm supposed to start my journey...but how can I when my own family is killed while my back is turned?"

"Colette..." Genis knew just as well as his sister that this journey would go nowhere without Colette. Which meant that they would have to stand up to the desians. Besides that, it was the majority had already decided. Genis was all for helping the town with Lloyd and Colette while Kratos didn't seem to lean in either direction.

At least that was what Genis guessed.

"Alright, but we'll need a plan." Raine stated, cautiously on board for this counterattack, "And I mean an actual one, not one that we make up on the fly."

"I won't repeat myself." Grand Cardinal Forcystus said to the humans huddled together on their knees, "Where is the Chosen?" It had been a smooth operation thus far. Going on information taken from the mayor, the Chosen was planning to leave this morning.

So seeing as that the pact had already been stepped on, Forcystus saw no reason to round up the people in the town and have them hand over the Chosen. Considering that they were the one's who broke the treaty, Forcystus saw this as a suitable plan.

"We told you!" One human yelled out, "She's already left! Your days are numbered Desians!"

"Left?" Why was it that these humans never ceased to annoy him, the grand cardinal still could not figure out why to this day, "According to my scouts, she is still within this area and I would hate to cause unnecessary bloodshed."

"Unnecessary?"

"Meaning," He had no intention of firing, but Forcystus opened his arm cannon just to scare the little humans, "There is only one, maybe two of you lowly humans who I intended to kill."

"What?" A blond human asked as he stood up, "You can't do this!"

"I'm sorry, could you repeat yourself human?"

"I said! You can't hurt my daughter!"

"Frank!" The older woman next to the man spoke a bit late, Forcystus smiled at the human who had foolishly identified himself as the Chosen's daughter. Apparently rumors of the chosen's parentage weren't readily accepted by their progenator's, "The Iselia-Desian treaty still stands-"

"That idiot!" Forcystus blurted out-loud, he may have not liked this town's mayor but if he were still alive this whole process would be that much easier to sort out. Still, the grand cardinal mastered his emotions and addressed the elderly woman, "Oh...the only one who was informed was your mayor...pity..."

"Informed of what?" She truly had no idea about what had transpired. Typical humans, always being content to be led along like sheep.

"The treaty was breached." Forcystus said plainly, smirking bitterly as the elderly woman gave a look of utmost horror, "By a human from your town, a code red-4."

"What does that mean mother?" Frank asked the elderly woman.

"It means that someone intruded onto Desian territory..."

"Normally that would only constitute a code yellow which unlike my colleagues, I hardly care for." Forcystus admitted while the crowd listened with rising fear, "But not only did this human break into the actual ranch which is a code orange that would only require the responsible human to step forward..."

"But the human also attacked and murdered no less than four of my men before escaping his due consequences!" Forcystus wasn't particularly attached to those men, but his sudden flare of drama did increase the quiet panic in these townsfolk and even if he hadn't shown such a reaction, he had a feeling that they would do anything to simply not die, "This I will not allow. By the authority of Lord Yggdrassial, your Chosen will hereby be taken and executed for this heinous breach of our treaty."

"Who was this person anyway!" Frank very bravely demanded, Forcystus was strongly considering killing the human before any others got any stupid ideas, "How can you desians prove that he was from this-"

"Security cameras around their perimeter." Another human answered as he stepped out in front of the crowd, stains of blood barely seen on his red jacket, "This is my fault...I killed your men."

"Lloyd?" Frank asked in surprise as if he couldn't believe that the child was standing where he was, "Lloyd!"

"You?" It took a while to register, but Forcystus gradually recognized the human walking out to confront him, "Yes, I recognize your image child. Brave of you to step forward and admit your crimes."

"Lying is the path to thievery." The human named Lloyd stated, "And I won't have lives stolen for my actions."

"Brave words," Forcystus agreed as he opened his arm cannon and fired a mana charge at the brave but foolish youth, scorching the front of his jacket and sending him crashing through a building on fire, "Now I won't have to senselessly destroy your village just to find you."

"Lloyd!" The Chosen's father stood up and tried to run to where Lloyd had been launched but the elder woman grabbed his arm, "Mother...please..."

"Hush Frank..." She admonished and then turned to face the Grand Cardinal, "You have your culprit-"

"What did you say?" This old hag just didn't get it. Forcystus didn't like unnecessary violence, not because he cared for these inferior humans.

But because he hated messes.

"Mother!" The Chosen's father cried as the hag was shocked by the electricity that emitted from Forcystus' cannon. It was nowhere near enough to usually kill a living being, but with a frail human, even stun settings could cause problems. Though it wasn't as though she had much longer to live anyway.

"Next time, I won't hold back," Forcystus warned, his arm-cannon decharging while the Chosen's father tended to the old woman who wouldn't shut up, "Will you or anyone else presume to challenge my edict?"

"Yikes...that hurt..." The Grand Cardinal's eyes widened when that same damned boy emerged from the wreckage that he had been thrown into. A slight essence of mana emitted from his body as Forcystus noticed a glowing exsphere on his left wrist.

"Lloyd..." A female in a white dress said as she ran up to the boy, "Are you alright?" How did she get past his perimeter?

"Never better!" Lloyd stated to the blond girl, "So you're not just here for me, are you?"

"No..." This boy was perceptive, far more perceptive than someone like him ought to be. Furthermore, this child's exsphere was...no, it couldn't have been the one from Kvar's project...could it? "The best way to ensure that my edicts are not violated is to strike at the reason for this treaty's creation."

"You want the Chosen-"

"Colette!" The boy barked at the elder woman, the poor human was whipped by the Chosen, "He's after Colette to punish me for killing his men."

"Clever boy," Forcystus dryly complemented as he signaled his men to surround Lloyd and his companion, "Now step aside or the next blow will be lethal."

"I think I can take another one." This child was either very brave or a complete idiot to believe that he could stand against him.

"I don't believe you understand-"

"You're threatening Colette." The boy stated, cutting off Forcystus as he drew his twin blades, "That's all that I need to know."

"You intend to challenge me alone, boy?"

"Not alone." The girl brandished a pair of bladed chakrams as Forcystus's men prepared to attack, "Please don't say anything Lloyd..."

"What about be careful?" Cute, these two humans were obviously a couple, "Can you blame a friend for caring?"

"Before you throw your lives away, humans," Forcystus began as he drew out his golden lance and signaled for more men to be on standby, "I would be inclined to ask just how you broke through the perimeter of my men?"

"Normally I would tell you to blame your fate." That answer came in the form a blade that stabbed out through the chest of a desian on the grand cardinal's left as Forcystus turned and was stunned to see that answer, "Until you made the conscious mistake of targeting the subject of my contract."

"You..." It was impossible. Kratos, one of the four seraphim was standing against him despite the fact that he was also standing against Yggdrassial's will, "But...I see..." Forcystus quickly hid his shock as a new revelation dawned upon him. Apart from Pronyma, Forcystus was the only desian who knew of the identity of the four seraphim. If Kratos fell to him for defying Yggdrassial's will, then perhaps he would be rewarded for his faith.

He would take Kratos' place as a seraph.

"Fireball!" Just as Forcystus moved to face the traitor, a series of fireballs struck several of his men guarding the towns people as the grand cardinal turned and noticed a white haired youth behind a broken fence. This village was also employing elves or worse, half-elves?

Pity...

"Well played, human," Forcystus complemented, "You provoked the attack, all to lure me here and buy more time for the Chosen to begin her journey."

"Something like that, desian." Lloyd stated in a tone that neither owned to or denied the accusation, "We're not gonna turn a blind eye after your last attempt yesterday."

"Attempt?" Was this child implying that he had already attempted to kill the Chosen? It must have been those damn Renegades, how did they keep getting past his net of information?

Despite the circumstances, it had been a long time since Forcystus had been in a true battle. Despite the questions raging in his own mind, he would put down this uprising and bring his doubts to Lord Yggdrassail as soon as his will was accomplished.

Best of all, it would not be an easy task, exactly as Forcystus preferred.

That kept things interesting.

Author's Notes:

It doesn't look like it right now, but two major divergences are coming up just before the journey truly begins.

Assuming that one of them doesn't stop the whole story in it's tracks right?

Note: First experiment into an M-rated dark fic so feedback is very much appreciated.