And here's the next chapter And here's the next chapter. Thanks for your reviews. Hope you enjoy. Oh and I Probably will make a sequel to my other one-shot Defenders of Luin, but it will take me some time to properly plan it all out.

Sheena was asleep, she did not want to be, out of fear of the things her mind may cause her to see…to remember. The sheer exhaustion of her ordeal, however, had overpowered her, and she succumbed to the so-called bliss of sleep. Her dreams were varied; first she saw Volt attacking Mizuho, attacking her Grandpa, then she saw Corrine, leaping in front of Volt's attack, and then…then she saw Lloyd, protecting her from Volt's attack, saw Lloyd comforting her before the Tower of Mana, Lloyd whispering into her ear. And then she saw a tall slender woman, with short, brown hair, dressed completely in white, and a voice echoed in her mind. "Please…save him."

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Morning was breaking in the village of Mizuho, as three travellers were leaving the gates. "Hey, Raine?" asked the red-headed chosen, "Do you really think that it was safe to leave Colette in Mizuho? I mean without Lloyd and Sheena we're at a disadvantage as it is, but splitting up further?"

"As long as she stays in Mizuho she'll be fine." She replied, "They have a lot of skilled warriors there to protect her, and Genis and Regal will help. Besides," she paused for a second, trying to keep her face as steady as possible "we need to help Colette and Sheena at the same time, and Colette has the best chance of helping her."

Zelos could see through her façade, how upset and worried she was, "Listen, Raine." He began, "I'm sorry about how I acted yesterday. I had no right to say that you didn't care about Sheena." Presea, who was listening up till now started to fall behind slightly at hearing this, not wanting to interrupt.

Raine didn't answer at first, "I just…partially feel to blame."

"Huh?"

"I…I wasn't sure whether to trust Sheena, even after she joined us. When the Renegades showed how much they knew about us, I immediately thought of her. She was recruited by the Renegades in the first place, so I thought…" a tear began to slowly fall down the side of her cheek. "And when Yggdrasil kidnapped her, after she had volunteered to go on her own, I again assumed it was all part of the plan, to lure out Colette. I was just wondering if…if I had trusted her, and had gone to help her…maybe both Lloyd and Sheena would be safe."

Zelos heart fell, "Listen, it's not your fault. You were making a conclusion of the facts you had and were mistaken. Everyone makes mistakes. Who knows, if the facts you had were different, you may have suspected another member of the group."

"You know…that's the smartest thing I've ever heard you say." She chuckled, but still bore a sad smile. Whatever she was feeling, however, was nothing compared to what was going around in Zelos' head. Was it his fault? Was it his fault for Raine suspecting Sheena, by being the reason why the Renegades and Cruxis knew so much about their aims? And was it therefore his fault for Raine not telling them about Sheena, and not going to help Lloyd save her? This trail of thoughts followed him as they entered the cursed forest.

As soon as they were out of site, a small, young boy, with long blonde hair, dressed in white, appeared in a bright flash of light.

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"Concentrate, Lloyd!" exclaimed Kratos, as he easily deflected a small, feeble ray of light.

"I'm…trying!" he answered. He and Kratos had been sparring for hours. He was trying to master his new angelic abilities, and use any sort of light magic. Unfortunately, he had so far only been able to make a small beam a light fire towards his opponent.

Kratos sheathed his sword, sighing, "It appears that we are getting nowhere. You are unable to cast even the simplest of spells."

Lloyd glared at him, "Gee sorry. I am trying, it's just…I don't know. It feels as if…as if something's holding me back."

Kratos stared blankly at him for a second, "Are you having mixed feelings of having to use such a spell on your own father?"

"No." he replied so quickly that Kratos raised an eyebrow. "I mean, no offence, but there's no problem in fighting you at all." His face saddened.

"Then maybe, you are simply worried about Sheena." Lloyd looked up at him, "You haven't seen anything of her since you joined us, and have no idea of her condition. It is only natural you are wanting to see her, and help her get better." He paused before continuing, "After your mother died…my power seem to have vanished. The two most important people in the world to me were dead, or at least, so I believed."

Lloyd, gasped slightly, this was the first time Kratos had said anything about his mother, and it appeared obvious now as to why that was. His calm face seemed to be twitching slightly, as if it was being forced. "I guess…you're right." And then he made his decision, "I'm going to see her. I want to see her."

"Unfortunately, you will need Lord Yggdrasil's permission to do so, as I cannot give you it. I daresay that he has made some precaution to make sure you don't go wondering."

"Then I'll ask him." He replied, resolutely, "I'll make it so he gives it to me."

"That would be amusing to see," came a taunting, female voice, "but unfortunately our Lord is no longer present." Pronyma had found them.

"What do you want?" asked Lloyd irritably.

"Just to let you know that your so-called friends have split up. The elder half-elf, the little girl and our friend seem to have departed from the others."

"What?" asked Lloyd, confused. Why would they feel the need to separate, especially now when Sheena was in need. What could possibly…And then it hit him; Colette. Her skin was becoming like crystal. She was possibly in dire peril, yet he thought nothing about it. He felt slightly disgusted at himself. "When we fought Forcystus, we discovered what Colette was hiding." He said, knowing full well that Kratos was present at the time and had saw her. "What is wrong with her."

Kratos paused before answering, "Whenever a Chosen bore a Cruxis Crystal, even whilst wearing a key crest, they usually have died or completed the Regeneration Ritual before the effects of it affected them greatly."

"What do you mean, its affects?"

"A Cruxis Crystal, is merely an evolved form of exsphere, and like such should not be placed directly on the skin. However, even with a key crest, the Cruxis Crystal will still affect its host. The Chosen is merely suffering from said affects."

"But if a key crest can't stop it, what can we do?"

"There is an object, similar to the key crest which can be formed to halt the affects. But only if forged correctly, by the skilled hands of a dwarven blacksmith."

"What do we need to do to make it?"

But before Kratos could answer this question, however, Pronyma interrupted, "I'm sure you have much more important matters to attend to instead of playing the role of his teacher, Lord Kratos."

He glared at her before replying, "Unfortunately you are correct there Lady Pronyma." He turned to Lloyd, "I am afraid we must continue this some other time, Lloyd. In the mean time I want you to keep practising those spells, if you ever want to master your true power." He nodded, and Kratos walked past Pronyma, and out of sight.

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Sheena woke up; she had been having the dream again. The sights that had haunted her all of her life, the sight of Lloyd dieing, and then the strange woman, who yet seemed familiar somehow; repeating those words, 'Please, save him.' She looked down, tears flowing from her eyes, and saw a faint glow. She opened her hand to see Lloyd's exsphere. Before she could grasp what was occurring, it had stopped, and then she saw a piece of paper, with familiar writing; Lloyd's. She hastily brought it closer to her eyes, as if wanting to prove it was really his writing; to prove Lloyd was indeed out there.

Sheena,

I hope you are safe. I'm sorry for letting you get captured by Yggdrasil, and I'm sorry I can't be with you right now, to help you. This was the only way I could get you away from that hellhole. I will try to help you and the others in any way I can, I refuse to be a pawn of Cruxis. I hope you can recover from the torment you went through, and please, no matter what happens, stay safe.

Love Lloyd

Sheena re-read the letter; Lloyd had given himself up for her; to save her. She then looked at herself; hiding in the bed covers, too afraid to do anything. She felt sick. She didn't deserve someone like Lloyd, someone who would risk anything to save another, no matter how afraid of what may happen, someone who always tried to cheer you up when you're down. She remembered how he had comfort her all those times, giving her courage to fight Volt, keeping her company after Corrine was struck down. She owed Lloyd more than her life. She wiped away her tears, knowing what she needed to do.

She stood up, legs shaking from not being used for days. She pocketed Lloyd's note, as well as his exsphere, and headed to the door. No-one seemed to be around, as she left the small house and walked towards the training grounds. A manikin was there, probably left from an earlier training session. She drew her cards, and charged.

Time seemed to slow down as she ran. She was concentrated on the target, on the moves that had kept her alive all this time. She was closing in on the target, bringing her arm back, ready to strike. Suddenly, the manikin changed, turning white, and growing long blonde hair; Yggdrasil. He laughed wickedly and raised his arm. Sheena's eyes widened in fear as she saw her new foe. Her legs seemed to seize up and she tripped over. She looked back up, only to see the straw manikin, supported limply by a wooden pole. "Damn it!" she yelled, tears starting to well up in her eyes. Maybe she was too weak to help Lloyd, to fight. Maybe she should just give up.

And then a glow caught her eye once more, Lloyd's exsphere had fallen out of her pocket, and rolled in front of her. She didn't know why, but this glow seemed to be warm, friendly, inviting. She picked it up, and the feeling of warmth spread throughout her body. Looking towards her other hand, she noticed an empty key crest, a few shards of what remained of her exsphere attached to it. She brushed these away with her hand and placed Lloyd's within it.

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Colette was walking to Sheena's room, carrying a plate full of food. She was determined to make Sheena better by the end of that day, and some of Regal's food should help. She walked straight into her room without knocking, "Morning, Sheena…" but she wasn't there. She started to become very worried, where was she? She ran back to the kitchen, "Regal!" she yelled "She's not there!"

"What?" he asked curiously.

"Sheena, she's not in her room!"

"One would assume that is a good thing right now." He said calmly

"Huh?"

"We believed that she would be lying there for days without moving for any purpose. The fact that she is now moving freely s therefore a good sign."

"But what if she isn't moving freely?"

"I doubt Cruxis would try anything that foolish this soon, remember Yggdrasil wants Lloyd's co-oporation, and attacking someone he promised to let live would not be beneficial." But on noticing the continued worry on her face, "Nether the less, I shall fetch Genis, and we'll go find her."

"Thanks, Regal!" and she ran out to get Genis.

"Hey, Colette!" yelled a voice.

"Genis!" she said, but before she could say anything else, he interrupted her.

"Look who showed up!" and he gestured to the person stood next to him.

"Mithos?" she asked, noticing the small half-elf. For the first time "What are you…"

"I just came over to see how Sheena is." He said innocently, "I hope she's feeling better."

Both Colette and Genis' face saddened. "There's something we need to tell you." Started Genis, "When we told you at Altessa's she was ill…" and he explained what had happened.

"Oh." Was all he could reply, "That's awful. Is it ok if I still see her?"

"Well we need to find her first." And she explained how she went to talk to Sheena but she wasn't there.

"Hmmm," thought Genis, "Well, when she ran off before fighting Volt, Lloyd said he found her in the place where everyone trains."

"Well lets start there." Said Mithos. 'Hmmm, she's moving. This could make things complicated.'

The three headed towards the training grounds, and what they found there was quite a shock. Sheena was stood still, not moving, barely breathing. "Sheena?" asked Colette. She didn't answer. They moved around so they could see her face. She was staring blanking, eyes unfocused.

"It looks like she's in a kind of trance," stated Genis, "but what caused it?"

"Is she ok?" Colette asked worriedly.

"She seems to be. What do you think, Mithos?"

But Mithos wasn't listening, he was focusing on the strange built area of mana, coming directly from Sheena's hand. 'That exsphere.'

There we go. Hope you enjoyed, please review. I'll try to update soon.