Wow, I can't believe the response I got for the first chapter, thanks you all!
Chapter Two: Colette
Welgaia
Lloyd was in his room, looking through his closet, and trying to find an outfit that would look passable for a mercenary his age living in Sylvarant. It was hard for him to decide because he had never been to Sylvarant, however Kratos had showed him pictures of it by manipulating his magic – he had to learn how he did that – or taking pictures using a camera he got from Tethe'alla. From he'd seen, and been told, he had the idea that even the wealthiest person in Sylvarant was middleclass in Tethe'alla. His father had then reminded him that because of the lack of mana in the declining world there was almost no caste system.
After a while Lloyd picked out what he thought would be proper for his 'disguise', a pair of black pants with Brown overalls and a Red Shirt with a lot of buttons on it and red gloves to go with the shirt. The clothing was loose and would be suiting for any type of weather. He had an extra pair of sheaths that Kratos had given him that were the same color as well. Satisfied with the outfit he tossed the clothes and gloves onto a chair not bothering to worry about wrinkles and flopped onto his bed. Why he had a bed when he, or any angel for that matter, couldn't sleep was beyond him, but it was comfortable. Very comfortable and he liked to at least pretend he was asleep during those short 'resting' periods he required when he was low on energy.
The door opened startling him a little, but he relaxed when it was just his father, "Don't you ever knock?"
"Lloyd we should talk about our mission." Since Kratos didn't smirk or smile at Lloyd's remark the teenager knew his father was serious. Kratos looked at the clothes sprawled out on his son's chair, gently laid it on his desk then sat down facing his child. Lloyd looked at him a little confused. "Before we go on the journey with Sylvarant's chosen it's necessary that I tell you of some things you must keep in mind."
"Dad, don't worry about it, it'll be easy." The brunette teenager said with a smile on his face that made his read eyes slightly disturbing. "We meet the chosen, she gets the Oracle, we release the seals while keeping her and her guardians on the right path and when we get to the Tower of Salvation we betray the party – and I can't wait for that part – kill them all and bring the soulless body to Welgaia. Easy." Despite Lloyd's slightly dark chuckle at the mention of betraying the group his father kept a straight face alerting him of how serious the older man was. "What, you're not looking forward to seeing the looks on their face when we double cross them?"
"It's not that Lloyd." He told him even his son had pretty much read his thoughts; it was becoming cumbersome to have to kill the Chosen's guards. "However this will be your first time in Sylvarant, and unlike Tethe'alla things work differently there."
"How so?" Lloyd asked now fully listening.
"Well for one thing, Tethe'alla's advanced science has allowed the humans to start developing injections for them to use magic. It's still in the experimental stages but those that survive the change in their mana can use up to mid-level magic."
"Like Zelos."
"Yes, like Zelos." Was it really necessary to bring him up? "However Sylvarant lacks this kind of technology because of its shortage of mana, as such humans can't use magic."
"What?" Lloyd was afraid of where this was going.
"So Lloyd, as long as we are guarding the chosen you and eye cannot use our Magic, wings, or Angelic abilities."
"WHAT?" Kratos closed his eyes as Lloyd shouted in disbelief; yes this would certainly be worse than how he imagined it. "You've got to be kidding, I studied so hard to learn those spells and now you're telling me I can't use them?"
"In a way. You can use them again when you betray the Chosen's group."
"But not any other time? And I can't use my wings to fly either?" Kratos shook his head, "But if we went saying that we were Angels sent to protect the Chosen than we could, right?"
"Yes, but Lord Yggdrasil wants us to pose as father and son mercenaries. Human Mercenaries."
"But I want to be an Angel!"
"Lloyd." Kratos raised his voice to the boy giving him a warning look that he was stepping out of line. "We will go by Yggdrasil's orders and there will be no complaints, understand?"
The boy gave his father a defeated look and pouted crossing his arms like an immature child. "Fine." He knew the pouting wouldn't make his dad reconsider their Angel Lord's decision, but that didn't mean he still couldn't show his disappointment. "Anything else?"
"Actually yes, we need to discuss our plan of action." Lloyd nodded uncrossing his arms as he listened to his fathers idea.
Isalia
"Okay that's enough for today class; don't forget that tomorrow as per tradition we will be discussing the Kharlan War and Mithos the Hero to commemorate the Day of Prophecy." Raine told her students as the clock on the wall hit three-thirty PM. The half-elf teacher, with white hair and blue eyes, wearing orange and white robes with brown leggings underneath, watched as the students slowly filed out of the classroom. As they were walking out she called to one of them. "Colette, could you come here for a second?"
A girl about sixteen with blonde hair wearing a long white dress with blue pants and white boots turned around hearing her name, tripping over her feet and falling over in the process. The girl shook her head and stood back up. Despite the fall her big blue eyes didn't show any pain and she had a smile on her face. "Yes Ms. Raine?"
"Well, actually Genis why don't you tell her." The school teacher gestured to her little brother and who was wearing a bright blue t-shirt with matching colored shorts.
"Okay!" The twelve year old half-elf, though the whole village and Colette herself believed he and her sister were elves, ran over to his blonde friend. "Well since tomorrow's the Day of Prophecy and you'll be going on your journey, Raine and I thought we'd make dinner for you and your family."
"Really?" The girl sounded ecstatic.
"Yeah, we can have a picnic right outside by the small pond and just have fun."
"It does sound fun, I'll tell my parents right away. Uh, you'll be cooking right Genis?" She asked making the twelve year old beam.
"Of course I will. Who else would be cooking, Raine?" WHACK! Genis' hands went to the top of his head as his sister hit him hard. "Ow…"
"Colette, you and your family should come by around six, we'll have everything ready by then."
"Okay!" The girl turned around ,more carefully this time, and ran out of the room. When she was gone Raine gave her little brother a glare.
"I thought I told you not to insult my cooking."
"But I didn't."
"You implied an insult."
"Raine..."
Six o'clock came around quickly for the two half-elf siblings as they prepared for Colette's father and Grandmother to come over. While Genis did the cooking, Raine set places on the bench outside for the five of them. As a result she was the first to notice when Colette came over with her family. Despite Grandma Phaidra saying that the two half-elve's gesture wasn't necessary, especially after Raine replaced her as teacher they, insisted.
As the adults discussed the matters in the world, including the Mana shortage and the rumors of a military to combat the Desians rising in Palmacosta, Colette and Genis played with the friendly stray dog that loved Genis' cooking. If it weren't for the fact that everyone in the village knew the animal was a stray, everyone would have thought the Sage siblings owned the animal. Colette fell over again, this time walking forward and the dog went up and licked her face when she looked up at it. "Hehe. You're a good dog Poochy."
"I can't believe you gave him a name…" Genis gave a dismayed look, Colette had named all the doges in the village before anyone else had the chance to, and she had each name memorized. Colette sat back up and looked up at the sky; it was getting dark early that day, which was another sign of the day of Prophecy coming. "So tomorrow's the big day huh?"
"Yup, tomorrow I receive the Cruxis Crystal I was born with and begin the Journey of Regeneration." She said looking up at the sky. "Hey I think that looks like a doggy."
"That's a part of Fenrir, Colette." Genis corrected her. He watched her friend giggle and nod moving her finger around to try and find the rest of the constellation. "Hey Colette, are you scared of going on the Regeneration?"
"Um…" The girl didn't answer right away, but after giving it some thought finally said, "Well I read Spiritua's Journey and from what I know it will be a little scary, but knowing that I'll be saving everyone makes me feel better. Everyone is counting on me to bring the mana back to the world and I can't let them down."
"But doesn't that scare you?"
"A little…" The blonde girl confessed as she continued to look at the stars, "It's a lot of pressure and when I think about it a lot it makes my stomach twist in knots, but" she paused to look at Genis, "I know that when the mana comes back to Sylvarant than everyone will be happy. When I think about it like that, then I'm okay." She smiled at him without any sadness which made Genis feel a little better.
"Well, when you become an Angel and move to Derris-Kharlan, you'll come back and visit once and awhile right?" To his disappointment Colette's smile faded somewhat and she looked back at the clear sky. The stars looked like they were sparkling in excitement that the day the world would be regenerated was coming.
"Yeah, I'll visit you." She said in a somewhat bittersweet tone. As the two looked at the stars the adults watched the two. Raine, having heard the entire conversation, looked sadly at Genis and then at Colette. The blonde girl would have a long journey ahead of her once the oracle came and she'd be saying good-bye to all her friends and the village. Colette was such a sweet girl, why did she have to be born as the Chosen of Mana?
End Chapter Two
I hate writing second chapters to stories and I think they hate me back. Anyhow I plan to update once a week as I have a good idea of how this is going to go, which hopefully will stay consistant when College begins in about...3 weeks. Yikes! Well thanks everyone for reading and reviewing. Chapter Three will bring us to the start of Colette's Journey/Lloyd and Kratos' mission.