Two years...yeah...sorry about that. And here's the next chapter...not much else to say. Enjoy!

Yuan closed his eyes, as Lloyd began plunging his sword down; he looked back over his prolonged life, all the things he had done, all the things he hadn't, waiting for it to finally end. 'Martel, I'm so sorry. I hope Lloyd will finally set you free to join me...if I'm allowed to the place you will be sent.' However, instead of feeling pain he heard the sound of a sword clang hard against the metal floor. "That's enough." Said Lloyd, panting slightly.

Yuan opened his eyes to see Lloyd towering over him, one of his blades inches away from his face. He shook his head, refocusing and recomposing himself. "You are strong, Lloyd. I'm impressed."

"This was more than just a way to prove to Yggdrasil I am loyal." He was not asking a question. "You were testing me weren't you? You wanted to make sure I had the ability to defeat him."

Yuan smirked ever so slightly; Lloyd was becoming much more aware of things lately; more like his father. "You have a sharp eye, Lloyd."

"So now what?" Lloyd continued to glare, "I've obviously passed your test, what's next?"

Yuan grunted in pain as he forced himself to stand, "For now, that can wait; I doubt Yggdrasil will expect you back this soon." He looked over to the Chosen's group. "I think there's someone who wants to see you." Lloyd looked to where Yuan was looking, and saw Genis, Colette, Regal...and Sheena. Sheena was safe; she was safe and she was moving. His hatred of Yuan and how he kept things from him all vanished, as relief and happiness filled him. He began walking towards her, and then noticed the look on her face. Her eyes seemed slightly red, and mixed with fear and sadness. "Sheena?"

Sheena watched as Lloyd slowly walked towards her...what should she do? What could she say? She was so glad that he stopped, that he did not kill needlessly...but she was scared. The feeling of relief and happiness upon seeing Lloyd seem to just slip away during the fight. Those wings...those cursed wings. Those were her doing. She gave Lloyd those things. How could she have let herself give in so easily to Yggdrasil, not just at the Mana Cannon but to his tactics afterwards? She knew that Lloyd was forced to work for Cruxis because of her. But it was only now that she truly saw that he was the enemy. She pressed her hand over Lloyd's Exsphere, hoping to get some words of comfort, of encouragement from them. All the power it had given her and yet she trembled before the man in front of her "Those wings." She muttered.

Lloyd froze in place. He looked to his side and saw his newly given wings, fresh from their first battle. He never thought before, but these were the mark of Cruxis. The fear in her eyes, was Sheena scared of them? Of him? He focused, and they faded away. "Sheena?" he asked again.

"Lloyd." She answered. "I'm...I'm so sorry." She turned and ran down the corridor, away from the man she would give anything to see. 'It's my fault. I can't see him now. I don't deserve to. It's my fault.'

"Sheena!" he shouted to her. He didn't follow, he could easily catch her, but something held him in place. Was this due to her torment? Did Yggdrasil make her fear him? "Sheena." Did she blame him for what happened...

"Lloyd." Came the commanding voice of Regal. "Go after her."

"But..."

"Do not fret. Her mind is still fragile but her resolve is strong." He put a hand on his shoulder. "Seeing your wings merely caused her to see firsthand what has truly happened. She seems to have taken some responsibility over your new, albeit forced allegiance."

"But I don't blame her!" he yelled, "It was not her fault!"

"Yes, Lloyd but she needs to hear that from you. She may have recovered enough to fight Yggdrasil without hesitation, but you are a challenge much greater. Which is why she both fears and needs you right now."

"But..."

"Oh just go already, Lloyd!" shouted Genis, with Colette nodding next to him. And with that, he ran after Sheena.

0000000

She was running, she didn't know how long or how far but she was running. She couldn't face him, not after what damage she had caused 'Sheena.' Came a voice in her head. 'Why do you flee?' it was the calm, comforting voice she was hoping for; the voice which helped her once before.

"Anna?" she asked aloud, stopping almost instantly in her tracks.

'Sheena, you do not need to flee from him. You need not fear him.'

"How can I face him?" she pleaded, "How can I look him in the eye and tell him now...now he's..." she trailed off. "It's my fault."

'Sheena, you need not blame yourself for what has happened. He is in need of you right now, just as much as you need him.' Sheena, looked around in confusion, as if trying to find some physical presence to talk to, 'He is currently undergoing challenges beyond what he has faced before. He needs you more than ever right now to save him. Not just from Yggdrasil's clutches, but from himself. He blames himself for your recent misfortunes as much as you blame yourself for his. You both need each other.'

"Sheena!" came a voice.

"Lloyd." He had caught up to her. They stared into each other's eyes, and Sheena, now noticed the fear in his eyes too. Anna was right; Lloyd was feeling the same as herself right now. He needed help...she needed help. "I'm so sorry, Lloyd."

"Sheena," he began, "you don't need to..."

"Please, I need to say this." She interrupted. "I'm sorry I was unable to resist Yggdrasil's sick mind games. I'm sorry you had to join Cruxis to save me. But most of all...thank you."

Lloyd was slightly taken aback by this, Regal was right. "Sheena, you don't need to apologise. It's my fault you were taken. I let you go to the Mana Cannon by yourself. I should have come to find you earlier, then Yggdrasil wouldn't have got to you." They remained in silence for a time, before "I'm sorry if my wings scared you...I'm sorry if I scared you."

Sheena looked into his eyes again, and saw pain. She must have really hurt him when she recoiled earlier. "You didn't scare me, Lloyd. You're still you and I know that." She crossed her arms and looked down. "I'm just...scared of losing you completely."

"Sheena." sighed Lloyd. He was relieved, and he closed the gap between them, embracing her in a hug. "I promise you won't ever lose me. I know things seem hard now, but we'll beat Yggdrasil."

Sheena hesitated, but then wrapped her arms around him, "Thanks, Lloyd. I needed to hear that. I promise I'll free you from Yggdrasil."

They stayed there, silently for some time; they didn't care for how long, but there was one thing Lloyd was intent on asking, "He came after you didn't he?" Sheena looked up into his eyes, and saw the concern and anger in his eyes. She nodded. "That bastard!" he yelled, "So much for his word."

"He wasn't there to harm her." A voice interrupted. "Well, not initially anyway."

"Yuan..." Lloyd was still angry at the Seraphim for keeping information from him.

"Yggdrasil likes to keep an eye on his...investments. I believe he was only there to ensure that she was not in any state to make any type of rescue. He only made any action when he noticed your Exsphere glowing with power."

Lloyd took Sheena's hands, and sure enough found his mother's keepsake latched to her Key Crest. "You're using it." He smiled

"It kept me going." She answered softly, "When I was lost in my own mind...it kept me calm, your mother helped me so much, Lloyd." She wasn't sure if he would take this as a sentimental statement, or if he would think she actually meant Anna herself. Before he could reply however, Yuan cut in bluntly.

"Yes and the power it gave her allowed her to take on Yggdrasil toe-to-toe. As calm as he seemed, Sheena did a lot more damage to Yggdrasil than he could ever think."

"You did that to him?" he asked. He wasn't sure if he felt terrified of the idea that Sheena had once again faced against Yggdrasil, or amazed that she seemed to fare better.

"It was fortunate that she was able to unlock the Angelus Project's true potential when she did." Interrupted Yuan, how Lloyd was starting to get pissed at his current attitude "Otherwise the gem would be in his hands now."

"Can you please give us a few more minutes?" asked Lloyd, irritably.

"There is no time," he answer unapologetically, "we need to arrange for proof of my defeat." Lloyd looked confused, "Yggdrasil will not accept your word and tattered clothing as proof; you will need something definitive. Something he would not deny." He put his hand on his chin, thinking deeply.

Lloyd growled, 'Now he mentions this?' How was he supposed to prove Yuan was dead without a body?

"How about this?" Sheena asked, looking through her possessions. She pulled out a small ring, with the letters 'Y' and 'M' inscribed on the surface. "This is yours isn't it?"

For the first time, Yuan flinched, his eyes widened in shock. "That's..." he turned away from the couple, though they could not see his face, they could see his fists clenching. "I doubt Yggdrasil would deny that." He could not bear to see the ring being presented to Yggdrasil as a gift, but there was no other option. He began to walk away.

"Who was it for?" asked Lloyd. For the first time, he pitied Yuan. He seemed generally unnerved about this ring.

"It was...for someone very dear to me. That's all you need to know." He gradually picked up the pace. "You have five more minutes together...use them well."

0000000

Zelos, Raine and Presea were hurrying through the Renegade base; from the stunned, confused, and sometimes fearful look of the Renegade soldiers, something had happened recently. Yuan had obviously failed to mention why they were rendezvousing here. "What do you think's going on now?" asked Zelos, but he received no answer.

They were not prepared for what they found when they came round the corner before the main control room. "Lloyd? Sheena?" The two warriors were holding each other close, but they couldn't tell for sure what they had just interrupted. "You guys are okay!"

They looked towards the new arrivals, but Lloyd quickly turned away with a scowl etched on his face. "Hey guys." Said Sheena, a slight blush appearing. "Did you find out what's wrong with Colette?"

"It's her Toxicosis." Said Lloyd, suddenly remembering that they had split up, but still refusing to look their way. "The Key Crest I made for her is not sufficient to keep the full affects at bay. I'm waiting for Kratos to tell me how to make the device needed to cure her."

"It's called a Rune Crest." Stated Raine, she could tell Lloyd was still angry at her; why else would he not look at them whilst saying this, "It requires Zircon, a Mana Leaf Herb, and a Mana Fragment. We'll need to have either Altessa or Dirk craft it though."

"Sounds like you have everything under control then." He started to walk towards the control room where the others were. "There's one more thing I need to do before I leave."

"Lloyd?" Sheena asked herself. Why was he acting so cold all of a sudden?

"Wait, wait, wait!" shouted Zelos, "Am I the only one confused here? Why are you here? I thought you were stuck with Crixus?" he looked over at Sheena, "How come you're back to normal all of a sudden? Why does it look like both of you have just come out of battle?"

Lloyd did not answer, but kept on walking, "I'll explain later." Mumbled Sheena, as she continued to look at Lloyd in concerned curiosity.

0000000

"Do you really believe he would actually do it My Lord?" Pronyma asked once more.

"As I have said," Growled Yggdrasil, his nerves were reaching dangerous levels, "no matter how strong the boy's beliefs are, he will kill the traitor no matter how hard he finds it. Otherwise he will witness first hand as I destroy that worthless..."

"My Lord." Came the voice of Kratos as he materialised from the below world. He was expecting to see Lloyd still training to use his new abilities and was very surprised to see instead his former companion as if he had just been attacked.

"Ah, Kratos. There you are."

"You are injured, My Lord. May I ask how this happened?" He was not entirely worried of his master's condition, but curious as to who could have done so; it had been a long time since anyone was able to cause such harm to him. Did Lloyd lose his temper and try to kill Yggdrasil here and there? If not, then where was he?

"I had a brief, but unfortunate encounter with the Summoner, and that traitorous Yuan." Again, Yggdrasil growled in his throat, anger searing through him.

"You went after Sheena?" Kratos could hardly believe what he was hearing, not only that Sheena caused him such harm, but that he actually went for her in the first place, "Mithos, you gave my son your word that..."

"Do NOT lecture me, Kratos. I am not in a forgiving mood right now." A smirk appeared across his face, "One of them will be learning this lesson very soon."

"My Lord?"

"I have sent Lloyd to pass judgment on Yuan. They are battling as we speak."

It took all Kratos had to not gasp in shock, "Would you like me to assist him?" As strong as Lloyd may be, he wasn't sure how strong, whether he could match Yuan, whether he would have Yuan's same killer instinct.

"No." He said simply. "This is Lloyd's task and his alone. Think of it as a final initiation to prove his worth. If he succeeds, then he is truly loyal to our cause, if not..." he smirked again, "Then it will be the Summoner's punishment to hear of her knight's demise."

Kratos gripped the hilt of his sword tightly; he was struggling to resist attacking Yggdrasil himself for putting his son in such a situation. If Lloyd was unable to match Yuan's strength, then the only way he would survive was if Yuan had planned this in advance. For all he knew, Yuan was preparing for this as soon as Sheena had been captured. Could he take on Yggdrasil in his weakened state? He would have to deal with Pronyma too, but she was not the problem...just how injured was he...could he have the energy to summon the Eternal Sword?

Before he was able to decide either way, there was a flash, as Lloyd materialised mere feet away from himself. He sighed in relief, Lloyd had obviously come out of battle, and although scarred and exhausted, he had obviously been the victor.

"Well?" asked Yggdrasil expectantly.

"It's done." Replied Lloyd simply.

"No body? I believe I asked for his head." He sighed, "Do you really think that I would simply believe that a few tears in your clothes and scars on your body would suffice? Maybe your precious Summoner doesn't mean as much to you as..."

Lloyd interrupted him by flicking something towards him, making a loud ding as it flew. "He jumped into his base's own reactor." Said Lloyd as he caught the item, "He planned on you killing me when I failed to bring you his body. Apparently his idea of revenge. I believe you know that he would not willingly part with it."

Yggdrasil opened his hand to see a small, blood stained ring, "And you think this is important?"

"Yuan dropped this in one of our previous encounters. He searched high and low for it and almost begged us to return it."

"Very well. You are correct in saying he would not part with this." He smiled as he pocketed the ring.

"My Lord?" asked Pronyma, "What is it? How are you convinced that it's proof?"

"Because my dear Pronyma," he was already in a much better mood. "Yuan gave this to my sister when he proposed, and kept it as his own memento. He would never part with it." He looked over to Lloyd and Kratos, "You are both dismissed." They bowed and left the room. "Keep an eye on him."

"My Lord?" she asked again.

"Although true Yuan would not part with this ring willingly, it seems slightly too perfect."

0000000

"So Lloyd came here to kill Yuan," clarified Zelos, "because he and Sheena kicked Yggdrasil's ass, they fought, Lloyd won but didn't kill Yuan, then just walked away?"

"In laments terms yes." Answered Yuan, who had now explained to the newcomers what happened in the past hours.

"Right well I guess we didn't miss too much then." He said sarcastically, "We had some difficulty ourselves with a library full of books!"

"What Zelos is trying to say," started Presea, "was that our mission now seems trivial. Perhaps it was not best for us to split up as we did."

"No, we did the right thing." Said Regal, "We needed to find the details of Colette's condition whilst keeping care of Sheena. No-one knew that Yggdrasil would come after her as suddenly as he did."

"But the fact is he did." Argued Genis, clenching his fists, "He came in way we'd never suspect...Mithos." Everyone was silent; they knew how close the two had gotten. Presea, subconsciously moved closer to him, brushing a hand against his arm.

"But why?" asked Raine, "He had already gotten what he wanted. There was no strategic advantage to him coming. It would only encourage Lloyd to betray him."

"His Exsphere." Stated Sheena, raising her hand to clearly show it, "Lloyd left it for me."

"Kvar's Angelus Project seemed to finally manifest when Sheena used it, which gave her the power to truly stand against Yggdrasil." Yuan added, "As I said before he was only interested in spying on her initially, maybe twist the knife whilst he was at it."

"How did it react to Sheena but not Lloyd?" questioned Raine.

"Maybe it required multiple hosts to fully form. Or maybe it required to be passed as a gift." They could tell he was mocking them now, "For all I care, it could all have been because the gem prefers women. All I care is that Yggdrasil does not possess it, and that it has made her a powerful asset to use against him."

"Shut it." Whispered Sheena.

"Excuse me?"

"That's all you treat us as...as assets. Pawns you can manipulate in your private war against Yggrdrasil!" Sheena was furious, and her companions stared at her in awe; they had never witnessed her like this before. "You're using Lloyd to take him down from the inside, not caring what it's putting him through. Putting us all through!"

Yuan stared blankly at her, "Oh really. You should remember who your own allies are in this fight before yelling."

"My friends are my allies," she answered, throwing her hand backwards to note her companions, "all the people we've met and helped are our allies. Lloyd is our ally. But you..." she pointed a finger at him, "you're always hiding things from us, nudging us to do what you think is best. You are never straight with us!"

"You want me to be straight with you?" he asked, looking at the entire group before him. They seemed to have been motivated by Sheena's verbal assault, their eyes focused on every word they were saying. "Fine, I'll humour you. The truth is no matter how powerful you have become, Yggdrasil could still destroy all of you with just a thought, as is the power of the Eternal Sword." Everyone grunted at this sudden revelation. They knew it was powerful when they fought back at the Tower of Salvation, but never thought it could wipe a person from existence by the user's will. "The only way to stop this is to challenge his right to the sword, and for that..." he stared directly into her eyes, "Lloyd will have to kill his own father."

Sheena's eyes opened wide as she gasped, "Kratos..."

"So tell me, Summoner. Are you glad of how straight I am being?"

And done. Apologies again for the long delay; I could make tons of excuses of why I was busy but there's not much point. R&R and I hope you enjoyed.