Xylek: Alright, let's start assembling the cast!

Tiger: I'll go get eggs, donuts, and sugar!

Xylek: And while he goes shopping, enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 9: Motives

Raine gently awoke from her slumber and sat up, feeling the aches in her body. She looked around at her surroundings, and realized she was in a small room. It was dark, but she could see light shining through the crack under the door.

'What happened?' she thought to herself.

She looked down at her arm, noticing it was heavily bandaged with a stint. A dull pain throbbed in it as the previous day's events filled her mind.

'Oh yeah,' she realized. The image of slamming into the ground popped into her head, and she winced at the memory. Even though the pain was still there, she quickly got up and grabbed her staff, which was leaning against the wall, and exited the room.

"Oh, Raine, you're awake? That's good," Sheena said as she sat in front of a pot of curry she was preparing.

"What about the rest of us?"

"Most of the others are awake too, and they're in the other room. I'll be in when the food is ready."

"Ok, thanks," Raine replied as she turned and entered the room Sheena had gestured towards.

As she entered, she noticed everyone was gravely silent. Lloyd stood off to the side, bandaged in various places, and he seemed to be deep in thought about something. Genis was covered in bruises from head-to-toe, and he sat next to Presea, who didn't seem to be as injured as the others. Her face was turned downwards, but Raine could tell it was very depressed. Zelos had a scowl on his face, and he had heavy bandaging on his head. Celsius and Efreet sat off to the side, both staring off at nothing. Raine didn't notice Regal in the room.

"How's Regal doing?" she asked.

"He's in that room," Lloyd said, looking up from whatever was troubling him. "He was the most injured, so it seems he'll take the longest to recover. You should go look him over and see if your magic can help."

Raine nodded and began to move towards Regal's room, but was interrupted by a loud bang at the door. The group turned to face it where seconds later the door opened and Colette ran in rubbing her head. "Silly me, I need to open to door to go through it." She then remembered why she came to the house in the first place.

"Is everyone okay?" she yelled, tears filling her eyes as she ran to all of her friends trying to encourage them. "I was so worried when I heard what happened. I hurried over here immediately. I'm glad nobody was hurt too bad."

"Well, Regal is…" Genis said somberly, "he's not in the greatest shape."

"Yes, I need to go see if there's something I can do," Raine added as she walked into his room.

Bandages covered his body, especially his arm and shoulder. He showed no signs of consciousness as he laid there, and seemed to be breathing rather shallowly. Raine walked over to the side of the bed and held her staff over him as she began chanting her spell.

"Cure!" she said, the somewhat long incantation finally finished.

There was a large pulse of energy from her staff, and Regal glowed with a green aura as the spell began to take effect. His breathing became much steadier and deeper, and as the magic worked, some of his lighter bruised began to disappear. Then, abruptly, the spell faded before its full effect took hold.

"What?" Raine asked. This outburst made the others gather at the door and look in.

"What's going on?" Sheena asked as she came running from the loud noise.

"My magic isn't working properly," Raine replied, looking over her staff for any damage. She found none. "Something's wrong. It's like the spell was cut off before it fully activated. His injuries were significantly lessened, but there's still quite a bit of damage left."

"It's fine," Regal said, as he opened his eyes, sitting up slowly, careful not to hurt himself any more. He looked at everyone, and their faces relaxed as they realized that he would be fine, even if it wasn't immediately.

"No, it's not. There were no errors casting the spell, but it fizzled out as if there wasn't enough mana in the atmosphere to exist. Wait…" she said as she noticed the change for the first time. "What's wrong with the mana? I can hardly feel any."

"You're right," Genis said, also noticing the lack of mana. Before he had been occupied with everyone injuries, but now he saw that something was clearly wrong.

"Well, we can discuss this over food. Lloyd, Zelos, go help Regal into the main room. I'll get the curry," Sheena said as she walked off to get the food she had been making.

Everyone sat around, quietly eating, pondering over what Raine and Genis had discovered.

"Hmm, that's indeed troubling," Efreet said. "I hadn't noticed yet. I guess it's because I'm not used to being in this body yet. That, and I've never had to manipulate mana like this to use spells. Oh how I miss my power…"

"Shush, you baby. Your carelessness got us both knocked out in that fight," Celsius snapped, still bitter about the loss they had all suffered. "Mana doesn't disappear for no reason. Maybe it's being used for something. Anyone have any ideas on what could be doing this or why?"

"It's probably Xylek and Xegros," Lloyd said in a depressed voice. "They said something about 'not interfering' with what they were doing."

"And what would that be?" Zelos asked. "Most of us were knocked out. You and Sheena were the only ones who heard that."

"Xylek said something about needing more mana than the world can provide right now, so they were going to get more."

"And?" Celsius asked, rather impatiently.

"They want to bring Derris-Kharlan back," Sheena answered.

Everyone looked around, shocked by this news. They then looked at Lloyd as it occurred to them what Derris-Kharlan coming back would mean.

"Why is everyone looking at Lloyd?" asked Efreet, confused by the looks on their faces.

"Lloyd's father, Kratos, is on it," Colette answered.

"I see…" Celsius said as she realized why Lloyd had been brooding all morning. "You aren't sure whether to stop them, are you? I can assure you that we can't let them do what they are planning. They caused huge amounts of destruction after Mithos separated the world, and I doubt they have very good reasons for doing this. We must stop them."

"I'm not sure," Sheena countered, "Xylek seemed to be rather passive about all of this, he didn't kill anyone, and he mentioned that he's only trying to help Xegros. Do you two have any idea what Xegros' main goal is?" she asked the two spirits.

"Xegros wanted power," Efreet said. "When he made his pact when forging the armor, he only desired power. I respected that view, as he seemed ideal for one to borrow my power. He was a person of fiery emotions, who wanted to accomplish his dream with all of his being."

"What was his dream?" asked Genis.

"He wanted to prevent war. He wasn't sure how to realize this dream, but he knew he didn't want anyone to witness war again," Efreet answered.

"Yes, but his views became distorted as he labored towards that goal," Celsius added. "He eventually decided that to prevent war, he would reign over the world as its 'watcher,' so to say. He essentially wanted to control the workings of the world for all eternity."

"You mean how Mithos manipulated everything through Cruxis?" asked Sheena.

"Yes, but Xegros will crush anyone who opposes him. Where Mithos would allow people to choose to live their own way, Xegros would force his views on everyone, and kill anyone who disagreed. He truly became mad from his own power, though he doesn't realize it," added Efreet.

"Xylek didn't mention that," Lloyd said. "He said something about preserving the world and sealing Niflheim so Ratatosk wouldn't have to re-write the laws regarding mana. I can't see how that is a bad thing."

"Yes, but their final goal is…" Raine tried to say, but she was cut off as Lloyd abruptly stood up.

"I understand that!" he yelled. "But, if we let them do this, then…" He jumped up, pushing over his chair and stormed out the door.

"Maybe we can just stop the whole 'world domination' part of the plan," Colette said. "It seems like Lloyd really want Kratos to be able to return."

"Well of course he does!" Genis said.

"It's very painful to lose your father," Presea said, the memory of her own loss coming to mind. "If I had the chance to see him again, I'd do almost anything."

"So, what do we do?" asked Regal. "Do we let this happen, and then gamble that we can stop them after they've obtained more power, or do we try to stop them now?"

A heavy silence fell upon the group as they pondered what their next move would be.

"I'm going to go check on Lloyd," Sheena said as she stood and walked out.

Lloyd stared into the water at the bottom of Mizuho's well. He wasn't sure what to do. Should he stop Xegros and Xylek? Was he doing things for the right reasons?

"Hey," said someone behind him, startling him out of his thoughts.

"What? Oh, it's you Sheena," he said. "What're you doing here?"

"Seeing if you were alright," she answered. "I know this is hard on you. You want to do the right thing, but you want Kratos to be able to return as well. To be honest, I'm not sure what to do either."

"Yeah…" he said, looking down again. "Say, Sheena?"

"What?" she answered, curious by the change in tone as he spoke.

"What exactly did you say that made Xylek stop his sword swing?"

"Ah," she said, turning away as her face flushed. "It w-was n-n-nothing," she stuttered.

"He said you were the reason he didn't kill me. I want to know. I'm not sure if I heard you right since I was a bit dazed from the sword clash. I thought I heard you say something like 'I can't lose you!' Is that right?"

"Well, I…" she started. "I didn't want to lose a good friend," she said, further turning away as her face became even redder."

"Sheena, what's wrong?" Lloyd asked, concerned why she was looking away.

Zelos came out of the house. "What're you two doing out here? Sheena, why is your face so red? Were you two-"

Shadow abruptly popped out of nowhere and rammed Zelos in the head.

"Ah, my injury! You stupid little-" he said as he chased the chibi spirit into the house.

"Well, Zelos' forehead probably started bleeding from that, so I'm going to go re-dress the cut," Sheena said, taking advantage of the situation to run into the house.

Lloyd stood their confused, wondering why Sheena was so reluctant to say what was on her mind. He sighed as he walked back in.

Everyone was gathered around the table again. Zelos had his bandages re-applied, but for some reason, they were wrapped entirely around his face and head except for his eyes. Sheena shot Zelos a glare as Lloyd looked at him. Zelos just shrugged. Lloyd looked at Sheena next, and she immediately avoided eye contact so she wouldn't start blushing so much. Lloyd scratched his head, and looked at everyone else, who had all been looking at him. Efreet was grinning, recognizing the situation with Sheena, but the smile disappeared as Celsius elbowed him in the ribs.

"We've decided what we're going to do," Raine said, taking leadership of the talk. "Without mana, Genis and I aren't able to help much, and we would have to fight both Xegros and Xylek at the same time. Since we weren't able to handle Xylek alone when everyone was in good condition, it would be suicide to try to stop both of them, especially considering everyone's condition as it is now. We've sent out a messenger to find Emil and Marta, since we're going to need all the help we can get. After Xylek and Xegros do whatever they are planning to seal Niflheim, Ratatosk will no longer have to re-write the laws of mana, so he'll be able to help us too. We believe that the most effective way to prevent Xegros from succeeding is to wait until we can all be at full strength."

"Don't forget," added Genis, "Kratos will be back too. I'm sure we can ask Yuan for help too."

"Ah, you're right. That too," Raine concluded.

Everyone looked at Lloyd, who was somewhere between shocked and seemingly happy.

"So Kratos will come be coming back? This isn't being selfish of me?" he asked.

"No, we decided this would be the plan that would most likely work," Celsius answered. "From a purely logical standpoint, too."

Efreet leaned over and whispered something in her ear, and Celsius jerked up straight.

"Of course!" she exclaimed, startling everyone. "There's another person who can help us. Unfortunately, it'll take time, but that person should be able to turn the battle significantly in our favor."

"Who's that?" asked Regal, wondering why nothing was mentioned before.

"A very strong warrior, much like Xylek and Xegros. One who made a pact on their armor with both Aska and Luna. They're sealed at the Tower of Mana. We should venture there later."

"Don't we have to find the armor?" asked Raine, seemingly excited about an artifact hunt.

"No, they were sealed there with the intent of being unsealed. It was done willingly."

"Alright, I'm glad we have a plan. We can do this!" yelled Lloyd, excited at the prospect of seeing his dad again.

Xylek stood there, gathering mana into his sword, as Xegros stood off to the side a bit.

"This is taking forever," he said to his friend. "Can't you hurry it up?"

"Shut up, I need to concentrate," Xylek snapped back. "It would be easier if both of us were doing this, but seeing as how you suck at it, you have no right to complain."

"That's not my fault. Both my parents were humans, so I'm not that in tune to the flow of mana. You're lucky, too. You only got the magic part of the elvish blood, but you look completely human. Must be because both of your parents were half-elves."

"I said shut up! It's finished, anyways."

"Finally. Let's get this started."

"You act as if you can help. It's… annoying, so stop it. Just let me concentrate," Xylek sighed as he spoke.

His friend was acting a bit childish, but he supposed after being sealed for 4000 years all alone, he had a right to be excited about what was happening. Xylek closed his eyes as he silently did the incantation for the spell. He couldn't mess up or else he could crash Derris-Kharlan into the planet. A large circle of runes appeared on the ground underneath him as the incantation finished, and the mana he had been collecting was consumed. The very air seemed to shake as the spell took effect.

Everyone was going about their ways as they readied themselves for the next day, when they all felt what seemed to be the very air shaking.

"What's going on?" Raine said, running out of her room.

"I'm not sure," said Regal as Presea helped him limp out of his room.

"Everyone! Look outside!" Colette yelled from where she had been sitting on the roof.

Everyone ran out and looked into the sky over the place where the Tower of Salvation had previously stood. There, in the night sky, floated the glowing purple shape of Derris-Kharlan.

Yuan looked up and saw what had appeared. "You've got to be kidding me!" He immediately materialized his wings and began flying to investigate how Derris-Kharlan had ended up back in orbit around the planet.

Emil and Marta looked up as they traveled towards Mizuho, hearing that their help would be needed, and they both stopped.

"Emil, what's that?" asked Marta. "It's so beautiful."

"Yeah, but I don't get a very good feeling from it at all. We should hurry and meet up with the others," Emil responded.

Richter's eyes widened as he felt the sudden surge in mana around the planet.

"Ratatosk, what is that?" he asked.

"Hmm, it seems that, somehow, Derris-Kharlan is now back in orbit around the planet. Something is going on out there."

"Indeed," responded Tenebrae. "Something big."

Xylek sat down on a rock near where he had been standing. He was exhausted from actually having to teleport the entirety of Derris-Kharlan.

"Alright, now we can get busy," Xegros said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Who's this we?" asked Xylek. "I'm not doing anything for a while. You waited 4000 years, so you can wait a few days for your friend to get his strength back."

"Fine, you lazy bum," sighed Xegros. "But we can't wait forever. We don't need any more interference from those brats."

"How about from people your own age?" asked a third person, who neither Xylek nor Xegros had noticed until that moment.

"You! I'm going to rip your head off!" Xegros yelled, drawing his sword.

"Well, you have to get my permission to do that," said Yuan as he landed next to the other warrior.

"Ah, it's been a while, Yuan. Glad you noticed. I might have had some trouble with both of them by myself."

"Well, what're old friends for?" Yuan said with a grin. "So, shall we, Kratos? For old times' sake?" he asked as he drew his bladed staff.

"Sure," replied the swordsman, readying his own blade.

They both charged at Xegros, who ran forward to meet them.