If you're wondering about the increasing length of the chapters lately, remember: this is an epic, so the chapters are suppose to have normally around this size, otherwise the fic will end up having more than 100.

Anyway... SHEENA'S FINALLY HERE! YAY! : D

Now remember, the characters will have new traits added to their normal personalities since this is an alternate reality. Also, this chapter was practically a collab between me and Maurice A. Nigma, or something very close to it, since he added somethings to the chapter. Thanks a lot man! ;)

Chapter 4

The Refuge of Ruins

After two days of travel, Emil, Lloyd, Marta and the Centurions had left Luin's fields and were near the ancient city of Asgard. According to Ratatosk's new memories that Emil had uncovered after hatching Lumen, there was an entrance to a Centurion altar somewhere in the city.

During the entire trip, the group had to block out Lumen's constant chattering. They couldn't begin to wonder how someone could talk for so much time without any pause to breath. Lloyd looked to Emil from time to time and could swear he saw Ratatosk trying not to lash out at the Centurion while his shoulders were shaking. The blonde walked with his eyes closed, but the expression on his face was very similar to the one Ratatosk wore.

The group was getting near one of the villages which stood in the crossroads to Asgard. They hoped to stay there to rest and buy new supplies before setting out for Asgard. The road had a few demons and several monsters, which the Centurions later said were being attracted by their aura. Emil took the chance and made pacts with several of the monsters which attacked them, even ones of elements they didn't have the corresponding Centurion yet.

The first time Lloyd saw the great runic circle that covered good part of the ground he had an awed expression in his face, in the second a grin, but in the third he was already yawning and crossing his arms behind his head.

"Man, it's the same thing whenever you do any pact. That's boring," the red clad swordsman commented.

"Boring? How rude!" Tenebrae said, looking to Lloyd with an angry expression. "The ritual of the pact between a monster and a servant of Ratatosk is the personification of respect and trust between Ratatosk's servant and the monster. It is a sacred and deep ceremony which…"

"Hey! I just got an idea." Lumen interrupted Tenebrae, looking to Lloyd. "Why not every time when the boss makes a pact we personalized the color of the circle? Oh, or maybe some special effects!"

"Really? Like what?" Lloyd asked, seeming to have completely forgotten Tenebrae's lecture.

"Lumen! This is serious. You can't simply…" Tenebrae tried to protest, but the Centurion of Light wasn't listening to him and interrupted the dog-like Centurion again.

"Like, with monsters of my element, I could make a light show appear and form the words 'Congratulations for another pact!'." the cheetah-like entity said, sporting his so common goofy grin.

"That would be cool!" Lloyd said, smiling too.

"Now wait just a moment, you two!" Tenebrae yelled, trying to get the control of the conversation. "A pact is a serious thing, not a pyrotechnic show."

"Oh, could you make something like a big heart with my and Emil's names in the middle?" Marta entered in the talk, seeming as excited as Lloyd.

"Not you too, Lady Marta…"

Emil sighed and decided to leave the four to discuss the new look of the pacts by themselves. The bearer of Ratatosk's soul finally saw the village at the crossroads to Asgard. However, coming from it he also saw smoke.

"Oh no." Emil exclaimed, attracting everybody's attention. Once the others realized what had happened to the village ahead of them, they all broke in a run to reach their destination.

The village was in ruins, most of the houses burned to the ground and there were blood stains here and there. The vision was heart aching. However, there was no trace of bodies anywhere to be found. The group decided to stay together and look in the city for any sign of life.

Once they arrived at the south exit of the village, where the plaza was, they saw even more destroyed houses and blood stains, but yet no sign of survivors or corpses. Lloyd could just lower his head at the vision of the destroyed village while Marta had a sad look on her eyes, just as Emil.

"Do you think it were the demons?" Lumen asked, his voice sounding more serious, which completely dispelled the image of his normal, cheerful self and left in its place what the group could consider to be a true Centurion.

"Maybe. But if that were the case, there would be more blood. Demons were never known by being delicate with their prey." Tenebrae spoke. "But it's strange…I don't see any tracks that belong to them."

"Either way, there's no point in us staying here. The demons might come back." Marta spoke in a somber tone.

"In that case, we should move on to Asgard. Maybe we will meet some survivors that can tell us what happened here," Lloyd suggested.

Emil and the others nodded and made their departure to the city that became known with the time as the Refuge of Ruins.

- / - / - / -

Since the final days of the Kharlan War fifty years ago, Asgard had turned into a city where most of the few survivors of demonic attacks took refuge, before deciding what they would do. The city stood in a cliff side and most of its houses were built inside the mountain.

However, as more people came and decided to start a new life in the city, it had expanded, creating another lower floor of houses and business stores. Demonic attacks in the city were very rare and most people took it as a sign that the city was protected by Cruxis, though there was no mark or church dedicated to the heavenly organization.

The ruins, caves and structures of the ancient times also resisted against the changes in the world and the demonic attacks, staying as a reminder of how the world used to be before Niflheim's gates opened and demons overflowed the world.

Lloyd was with his mouth agape when he saw the city. He had heard about Asgard, but never paid a visit to it. Emil and Marta commented the city seemed to be a lot more crowded than the last time they visited it, saying there was definitely more houses than before.

Lumen and Tenebrae disappeared out of sight as soon as the group arrived at the city's gates, but Emil and Marta said they could still feel the Centurion's presence with them. The group decided to look for a place to eat since they didn't have anything for lunch. However, as they looked through the shops, they noticed some were closed; its windows nailed with wooden planks.

"Strange…what do you think happened?" Lloyd asked his two friends.

"I don't know. Maybe they were threatened by the demons and decided to leave." Emil suggested.

"Why? I thought Asgard was considered a refuge for people to escape from the demons."

"Do you really think there's any place in this world where you can truly run away from the demons?" Tenebrae's voice whispered near Lloyd, though he couldn't see the Centurion. "The people of this city aren't less vulnerable than any other city. In fact, they're easier targets than most other cities."

"What do you mean, Tenebrae?" Marta asked.

"Look around you. Unless you humans have excavated an escape route through the mountain, there's just one exit from this town, making it a giant, natural trap that the demons could utilize when they see fit."

"I get it." Emil proclaimed. Lloyd and Marta looked to him, still a little confused. "Think about it: the entire city was built on these cliffs. The demons could very well cause an avalanche or an earthquake and they would automatically destroy the entire city without much problem with all people living here."

Marta gasped and brought her hands to her mouth at realizing that Emil was right. Lloyd had a downcast expression on his face. It seemed that Tenebrae was really right: there was no safe place in this world that the demons couldn't find and destroy.

"But if it's like this, why are only the stores abandoned, T-dark?" Lumen's voice asked.

The new mention of one of Lumen's nicknames for Tenebrae made Lloyd and Marta temporarily forget the terrifying truth they had realized and caused them to have big sweatdrops running behind their heads.

"Probably they tried to incite a revolt against the demons or made propaganda for the Vanguard. I heard this city has a large number of supporters of theirs. And I would really be thankful if you stop calling me by these nicknames, Lumen." Tenebrae said with a louder and more bothered tone in the last phrase.

"Oh. Ok, Tenyness." Lumen spoke in his usual, cheerful tone.

"Tenyness?" Emil, Marta and Lloyd asked at the same time.

"It's the mix for Tenebrae and Darkness. Well thought out, isn't it?"

Though the group couldn't see, Lumen was wagging his tail while all of them had sweatdrops falling behind their heads. A deep sigh coming from Tenebrae was heard. The Centurion of Darkness decided it would be less harmful for his reputation with the trio of humans if he simply stayed quiet and played along.

Dropping Lumen's comments and nicknames, the group searched for a restaurant, but most of the stores were all closed with planks. They finally found a place that didn't seem to be closed at the right of a path that led to a great staircase, which divided the mountain in two.

The building had just one floor and a sign that seemed to be made of thin, colorful, glass tubes. It read "Asuka's." Emil and Marta took some time looking at the sign while Lloyd analyzed the building, which seemed to be well cared, compared to the other abandoned ones.

"Are those neon lights?" Marta asked, pointing to the sign.

"It seems so." Emil answered.

"Neon lights?" Lloyd asked.

"It's a kind of lamp that existed before the end of the Kharlan War and was used for publicity purposes." Emil explained, sounding like a scholar lecturing. "It's an industrial product."

"Indus-trial?" Lloyd scratched the back of his head in confusion. "I don't know what it means, but it sounds like one of those things the demons and the Desians confiscated at the final days of the war."

"Well, it's not really made by magitechnology, but the machines used to make it certainly are the kind that the Desians use today. Anyway, anything nowadays that can remotely be considered advanced technology is confiscated by the Desians. They say it 'isn't good for the people's rebellious minds'."

"Even some people inside of Cruxis say that magitechnology lead to the state the war took before the demons started to come, so they condemn any attempt at developing new technology, claiming it'll just lead to another disaster." Marta spoke.

Lloyd's stomach emitted a loud growl. The red clad swordsman rubbed it with an embarrassed smile on his face, but soon Emil's own stomach also demanded for food. Deciding to drop the subject for now, the group entered Asuka's.

The place transmitted a rather cozy atmosphere when they entered. It had several tables spread around the building, a stage at the other side of the hall and a big counter at the left with a bar behind it. There wasn't many people there, just what seemed to be three families sitting in the tables.

While the group looked at the place, two women at the bar noticed they had new costumers. One of them got out of the bar; this one had red hair and was wearing orange clothes with detached sleeves, a short dress which barely hid her legs and brown boots.

"Welcome to Asuka's!" she said in a cheerful, pitched tone. "I'm Tanny. Can I help you?"

"Hum, yeah…" Marta spoke, sounding a little hesitant, looking to the woman's garments from top to bottom, taking time to analyze her curves too. "We…wanted to know what kind of place this is."

Before Tanny could answer, Lloyd and Emil's stomachs growled again. The two young adults scratched the back of their heads in embarrassment, but Tanny just giggled at that and spoke, pointing to the boy's bellies:

"The kind of place you certainly are looking for. We're a restaurant at day, open to anyone! Since you're not a Desian or a demon, that it is. But, it is at the night that the house really gets full."

"How so?" Emil asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, don't you know?" Tanny asked, putting her right hand on her hip and leaning it to the left. "Hum, I suppose you're not from the region, are you?"

"I'm from Luin." Lloyd spoke.

"Really? How are things there?"

"Not… really pleasant if you ask me." Lloyd said, avoiding the woman's gaze.

"Oh, sorry. I heard since the ranch got a new leader the town has been through a lot." Tanny apologized with a downcast look. However, she soon recovered her cheerful tone and spoke. "Anyway, let's not talk about bad things, or else you're not going to enjoy your meal. Here, this way!"

Tanny showed them a table near the right wall of the building and pulled the chairs for all of them to sit. She fetched for each one of them a menu and stayed to get their order. Lloyd and Emil saw a great variety of dishes there, some they even didn't know quite well. Lloyd found one that picked up his attention and asked Tanny:

"What's a 'Mizuho Curry'?"

"One of our most famous dishes! A curry that I can guarantee you never tasted before!" she said, much like a salesman announcing his latest product.

"Hmm, what goes in it?"

"Oh, mostly of what goes in a normal curry, but with a special secret from our cook."

"Really? What is it?" Marta asked.

"Sorry. If I tell you, it won't be a secret anymore, now is it?" Tanny said, putting her hand besides her face while making a pose of someone hiding the latest gossip.

Marta narrowed her eyes, looking deviously at Tanny. Lloyd was starting to think the girl got some kind of grudge at first sight with the receptionist. Emil decided to ask for a 'Fried Palmacosta Fish' and Lloyd finally decided to go for the unheard of curry. Marta asked for normal curry, though in a slightly bothered tone.

Tanny nodded to all of them, saying their food would come soon. Before the waitress could leave, Emil remembered she had never answered his question of how the place could get so crowded at night. When he repeated the question, Tanny giggled a little before winking to him:

"At night, Asuka's is the most frequented night club in the whole town. A place where people can come to forget a little about the sad situation and hardships our world is going through."

Marta's jaw dropped at that. The look she had in her face was kind of comic in Lloyd's opinion and he could swear an entire fist could fit in the brunette's hanging mouth. Tanny finally went away. Emil then turned to Lloyd, seemingly not to register the expression on Marta's face.

"A night club." Emil mused.

"Haven't you been here before?" Lloyd asked.

"No. We've stayed for a short time in Asgard, so we never got to see all of the establishments. But we never heard of night clubs in any other town."

"Are they that rare? We never had one in Luin, but I suppose it was because of the Desians."

Emil finally noticed Marta's shocked expression and asked her what was wrong. The girl took some time to react to the blonde's calling. She shook her head and the next thing Emil knew she had slammed her fists hard on the table and her face was so close to him he could almost feel her breath, but the expression she had on her features was simply frightening.

"Don't you dare to come here at night, do ya hear me?" Marta said in a commanding tone. Even Lloyd got a little startled.

"W-w-why are you so angry M-Marta?" Emil asked in a scared tone.

"Oh, hey! Do you think they have dancers, T-dark?" Lloyd could hear Lumen asking Tenebrae behind him. It seemed the two Centurions were out of Emil and Marta's hearing range.

"Hmm… possibly. Though I wonder who would still be able to dance in the state the world is nowadays," Tenebrae commented. "And could you stop calling me that?"

"Ok, Tenyness."

"Why do I still bother?" Tenebrae murmured, sighing.

Meanwhile, behind the counter, Tanny was going to a door at the right end of the bar, which gave access to the kitchen. She opened the door and called for the two people inside:

"Aisha, one Curry and Fried Palmacosta Fish!" a woman with blue hair and wearing a white dress with a blue sash called back with a nod of confirmation. Tanny then turned to the other person in the kitchen. "Sheena, somebody asked for your Curry."

The woman with violet-black hair looked up from the book she was reading. She was wearing a customized, sleeveless, blue shirt with a low cut that left a good portion of her cleavage to show and with green outlines on it. She also wore a knee-tight, purple skirt with a slit on it and black outlines on the borders.

"Ok. I'm going to make it." Sheena said, closing her book and going to the oven to prepare everything.

"Could you serve them too?" Tanny asked to her workmate.

"I'm not in the mood to deal with not-so-loyal husbands and perverted workers." Sheena replied in a dry tone. "If you force me to, mother is going to need to place a death quota here."

"Oh, but those guys don't look like workers and, I don't know about the blondie, but that handsome guy certainly doesn't look like he's hooked."

Sheena let out a sigh and went to the door, looking out and seeing the table Tanny was pointing too. She saw Lloyd and the others talking. The ninja then spoke:

"They're just kids."

"Well, they look old enough for me." Tanny said with a smile and put her indicator finger in her lower lip.

"Anyone look old enough for you, Tanny." Sheena inputted.

"Hey! That's not true and you know it!"

"Whatever…ok, then I'm going to serve them. But if I catch any of the boys staring at where they shouldn't, I'm going to teach them some things about respect." Sheena closed her knuckle near her face for emphasis as she went to work.

"Whatever you say, Sheena…" Tanny sighed.

Back to Emil's table, Lloyd was checking the menu again and noted something interesting: some dishes had names of famous cities, some he knew and others that he just heard about. His eyes then focused on the name of the food he had ordered.

"Where's Mizuho?" Lloyd asked. Emil and Marta looked to him. "Most of the dishes have names of cities, but I don't remember one called Mizuho."

"In that case, allow me to explain." Tenebrae's voice sounded, just loud enough for the group in the table to hear. "It's an ancient, hidden village that existed since the formation of the country of Tethe'alla. The village has its own culture and is specialized in combat and gathering information."

"You mean they're like spies?" Lloyd asked.

"No. They're ninjas," Lumen answered.

"Ninjas? Wow! That sounds cool!" Lloyd said, a little too loud, attracting the attention of some costumers. Once the young man noticed he had disturbed their meal he quickly apologized.

"Anyway…" Tenebrae continued. "They served the Tethe'allan Royal Family. I wonder how they are faring."

"Oh, I think I've heard something about it." Marta spoke, attracting Lloyd and Emil's attention. "For some time, there was news in the Vanguard about a village called Mizuho being destroyed."

"I remember that." Emil stated. "Mizuho had put all of its warriors and information network in service of the Tethe'allan Renegades, since the entire Royal Family were killed by the demons. They say that Nebilim discovered that and decided the village had to be destroyed."

"They say it was a massacre. There weren't reports of any survivor." Marta said in a sad tone.

"Oh man. So that means ninjas don't exist anymore…" Lloyd spoke.

"Maybe you could say that." a new voice sounded and the group turned to see their meal had arrived. "Who asked for Mizuho Curry?" Sheena asked, carrying the plate with one hand.

Lloyd soon turned speechless. Holding the food (which by itself smelled delicious) was the most beautiful and voluptuous woman he saw in his entire life. Now, Lloyd never had much interest in the girls back in Luin, most of his time he spent either training or organizing his house. Plus, he always felt like the people of Luin had turned cold with the years, the same went for the girls of his age, who either mocked him for his quarrel against the Desians or simply never looked to him with good eyes.

"Lloyd?" the red clad swordsman finally heard Emil calling him. Shaking his head he looked to the blonde who made motion to Sheena and the curry.

"Oh, um… i-it's me." Lloyd hurried to say.

Sheena looked to him square in the eyes, wearing a sharp gleam. The boy found that a little disturbing at first, but he remembered something his father once told him when he completed sixteen:

"Remember Lloyd: when you first meet a person, you shall look into his eyes, especially if it's a woman. It shows respect and sincerity as you talk, which the other will return if he, or she, is someone of value." Lloyd then asked why Kratos had instructed him to do it especially when talking to women. "Because, should your eyes wander to any other parts of her body, you will not only be disrespectful to her, but it'll also be an open invitation for her to slap you."

After that part, the lesson was permanently engraved in Lloyd's mind and now he saw a situation in which he would have to exercise it, because the woman at his front had a somewhat harsh expression on her face, showing she wasn't someone who you would mess with.

"Here." she said, handing him the plate and the silverware, never taking her eyes off Lloyd, as if she was daring him to try and look where he shouldn't.

Lloyd found it was very difficult to control his eyes in the presence of someone with very attractive features, but he achieved to do it. He could hear Lumen whistling behind him and, for everything that he held dear, hoped the waitress at his front didn't think that it came from him. However, he could swear she had looked briefly to a place behind him before returning her eyes to him.

"Thanks, umm…" Emil spoke to the blue haired woman that handed him his order, giving a pause since he didn't know her name.

"I'm Aisha, sir." she spoke to Emil with a smile. She then looked to Sheena who was still looking to Lloyd, who was now sweating, wondering if he had gotten on her bad side without knowing, since the intensity of her stare hadn't dropped.

Aisha elbowed Sheena on her right arm. The voluptuous woman looked to her work partner, but Aisha merely made motion for her to present herself. Sighing in annoyance, Sheena spoke in a curt tone, looking to all present in the table:

"I'm Sheena."

"I'm Emil." the blond swordsman presented himself.

"Marta." the brunette said, eying the two women like they were a potential threat.

"I'm Lloyd. Nice to meet you." Lloyd said.

"Wha…I didn't ask for your names." Sheena replied.

"Sheena, don't be so impolite with our customers." Aisha spoke.

"Ugh. Whatever."

Sheena then turned and went away. Aisha sighed at the behavior of her workmate and apologized to Emil and the others, going back to the kitchen. Lloyd was unable to take his eyes off Sheena as she made her way to the kitchen.

"Man, did you see that Sheena chick? Talk about beautiful." Lumen said, voicing the thoughts Lloyd didn't dare to speak out loud.

"Humph, whatever! I bet she's the main attraction." Marta said with venom and jealously in her voice.

"Marta, why are you so angry?" Emil asked.

"I'm not angry!" Marta shouted, turning to the blonde boy, startling him.

Meanwhile, Sheena was observing the group from her position, leaning near the door to the kitchen. Her attention then wandered to Lloyd. She had to admit she was impressed that he managed to keep his eyes in check for most of the time. Should his gaze have moved over to a place he shouldn't have, she would have given him a lesson in pain.

Maybe he was just acting. It wouldn't be the first time someone does it to get me to drop my guard. Sheena thought. She then saw Lloyd devouring his Curry in a fast pace, seeming very hungry. Then again, he doesn't look like the type that could act so well if he can't even hide how hungry he is. A sweatdrop ran behind Sheena's head as she observed Lloyd.

Tanny and Aisha saw to where Sheena was looking to and smiled as they approached their workmate. The red haired girl was the first to speak:

"Hmmm. Checking out something Sheena?"

"N-No. N-Nothing in particular." the voluptuous woman said, taking her eyes off the table where Lloyd was still eating his Curry with great enthusiasm and where Emil and Marta ate their food as well.

"From the way you were looking, it seemed you were looking at that handsome guy right over there." Tanny said, clearly meaning Lloyd.

"Pfft! Like I care if he's good looking or not. For me he's just another guy whose yet to prove how much of a pervert he is."

"Does that mean you think that brunette swordsman is good looking?" Tanny asked, seeing through Sheena's speech and raising her eyebrow several times in a very suggestive way.

"Well, at least she has good taste." Aisha teased.

Sheena blushed at hearing that, letting all of her cold demeanor drop. Of course, she had noticed Lloyd was good looking, but so were most of the perverts she had beaten out of Asuka's, after they took two drinks or more. However, the look on his eyes…

The violet-dark haired woman shook her head, trying to banish those thoughts. No, from what she had seen so far about men, most of them wanted just one thing from her. She then turned to her workmates and friends with an angry expression on her face and said, before going back to the kitchen:

"S-shut up!"

Aisha and Tanny stayed there, looking to the kitchen's door. The red head then pointed out:

"Did you notice she didn't answer my question?" Aisha answered with a giggle and a smile.

- / - / - / -

Lloyd, Emil and Marta managed to rent a room at the Inn, which stayed at the other side of the path that cut through the mountain range, at the right of Asuka's. It was already night when the group had returned from buying supplies and new armor. Lloyd threw himself at the soft bed, speaking:

"Man, looking around for open shops certainly isn't easy in a city full of stairs and cliffs."

"Huh, you're just too lazy if you're already tired." Ratatosk's harsh, deep tone came from Emil.

"Oh, hi Ratatosk." Lloyd spoke.

"So, you already learned it. Hmm, you're not as slow as I thought." the spirit inputted.

"Well, unless Emil has a split personality, it's pretty much obvious you're nothing like him." Lloyd returned the comment.

"What did you say?"

Ratatosk seemed ready to get into a fight with Lloyd, but Marta managed to calm the short-tempered entity and the red clad swordsman. Ratatosk decided to concentrate on more important matters. He then spoke:

"We're going to investigate the city and find clues about the location of my Centurion's altar."

"Wouldn't it be easier to do it during the day?" Lloyd asked.

"If you want to stay here and slack off, fine by me. I don't want to have to carry a lazy weight everywhere." Lloyd rolled his eyes at that. "But I'm going to use this time while everybody else is sleeping, so it won't call to anybody's attention."

"And don't you need to sleep too?"

"I can sustain this body with my power just fine, so it doesn't need to rest as much as you humans."

Marta was about to say something, but decided against it. She didn't like how Ratatosk sometimes referred to Emil's body like it was just some kind of clothing. Ratatosk then turned to Tenebrae, saying he was going with them.

"Lumen, you stay here." the Lord of the Monsters said.

"Why can't I go too, boss?" the cheetah-like Centurion asked.

"Because it's night and, if I remember well, your nocturne vision is horrible."

"More like his lack of it." Tenebrae inputted.

"Oh, c'mon. I don't think Lloyd needs to be watched." Lumen spoke.

"Who said I was going to order you to watch over him?" Ratatosk talked back. He then looked to Lloyd. "Keep your tabs on him. Lumen has a talent for finding trouble when he wants to."

With that, Ratatosk left without another word. Marta waved a "bye" to Lloyd before following the harsh-mannered spirit. The red clad swordsman didn't even have time to protest before the door closed and he was left alone in the room, with only the Centurion of light for company.

Ten minutes passed and Lloyd was already bothered out of his mind. He tried to sleep, but Lumen kept asking him if he wanted to do something, like play some kind of game. It seemed the cheetah-like entity was quite energetic when he was left with nothing to do. The dual swordsman didn't have any idea of what to do until Emil and Marta came back and his attempts to get Lumen to stop and stay quiet were simply futile.

Great. I've gotten stuck in an Inn room, babysitting a Centurion. This definitely isn't what I expected for this journey… Lloyd thought, sighing.

"Hey. We can see Asuka's from here." Lumen called from the window.

Resisting the urge to order the energetic Centurion to shut up (because Lloyd didn't know how Ratatosk would take others giving orders to his servants), Lloyd stood and went to the window, looking to the building Lumen had mentioned.

Asuka's seemed to be quite crowded. There were people talking outside the building, but there wasn't a line in the entrance, that could mean either the club was full or was used as a meeting spot, which was quite possible. Lloyd could hear music coming from inside when he honed his hearing.

"It seems Tanny wasn't kidding when she said Asuka's was the top night club in town." Lumen commented.

"I think it's more because it is the only night club in town." Lloyd spoke, remembering the rest of the buildings in town either were weapon and armor shops, markets or were simply closed down.

"Wanna go and check?" Lumen asked, sporting his usual goofy grin and wagging his tail.

"What?"

Lloyd considered the possibility. He had never went to a night club before, but his father once talked to him about it and the things that could happen in it. Still, Lloyd doubted some people would be thinking so much on that with the way the world was. Even so, you never knew for certain.

The dual swordsman considered his options: he could stay in the room and hear more of Lumen's insistent pleads for them to do something other than sleep, or he could go down there and see how Asuka's was in the night.

Well, it's not like I'm going to let anyone force me into anything. I can defend myself if push comes to shove. Lloyd thought, shrugging and taking his red jacket and sword belt.

"C'mon." the young man said to Lumen.

"So we're going?" the Centurion of light asked in an excited tone.

"Yeah, but if you cause any trouble, we're coming right back, understood?" Lumen nodded to Lloyd, wagging his tail again, which made the swordsman wonder if the energetic Centurion was really a cheetah at all.

The two then exited the Inn, handing the key to the receptionist and going to the other side of the mountain. Lumen concealed himself once they exited the Inn's room and kept floating near Lloyd's head so as to not run into any people.

As they approached the night club, they saw Asuka's neon sign flashing. The place seemed to have undergone a complete transformation, changing its atmosphere from cozy to one more agitated and lively, typical of the place where several teenagers frequently visited, or maybe it was just Lloyd that never actually saw a night club before.

"Wow. It sure looks different during the day. I wonder if that Sheena chick will be dancing." Lumen mused.

Lloyd had also wondered that, but tried not to think too much about it. Someone as beautiful and… good-looking as that woman certainly had a boyfriend, maybe even a fiancé. He just thought she probably would never look to him. After all, he was just a boy compared to…

Lloyd's thoughts were interrupted as he reached the door to the night club and someone was sent flying out of it, landing with a painful thud two meters away of the entrance. The man was bigger than him and let out a painful moan. Lloyd heard someone dusting his hands and looked to the entrance to see Sheena there, her eyes closed and an angry expression in her face.

"And stay out until you learn to keep your hands to yourself or at least be able to read!" the violet haired woman spoke, pointing to a sign near the door. She turned and entered without ever noticing the frightened Lloyd nearby.

Minutes seemed to pass as the young man tried to process what happened. Lumen seemed not as shocked as the boy and floated near the sign that Sheena had pointed to. When he started to read, Lloyd had recovered from his shocked state:

" 'No underages allowed', 'No fighting', 'No molesting the dancers and waitresses'…" Lumen read. Lloyd found those last two rules a little different, but surely appropriate. The Centurion of light then turned to the boy. "How old are you and are you planning to start a fight or molest one of the dancers or waitresses, Lloyd?" Lumen asked in an innocent, curious way, which made it sound a child was asking it.

"What kind of question is that?" Lloyd replied. "Of course I'm not here to start fights or molest women and, just so you know, I'm nineteen."

"Oh. Ok then." Lumen spoke, his goofy smile returning. Could Lloyd have seen him clearly, the boy would have a sweatdrop running the back of his head again. Deciding to forget Lumen's blunt questions, Lloyd entered Asuka's.

The place was very crowded and he could see more workers than he had seen during the day. They probably called people to work depending on the movement, since everybody that worked here probably lived in Asgard. Not that travelling to work in other cities was an option nowadays. There was an open space in the middle of the building where people were dancing.

Lloyd looked to the stage that was at the other end of the building and saw two women dancing there in what looked to be a very provocative way. He took his eyes off it quickly not to let his hormones more agitated than they already were. Lumen whistled and spoke:

"Man, this place has to be the coolest one I've ever been to!"

That made Lloyd wonder what kind of places Lumen frequently visited when he got breaks from his work. It was then the dual swordsman heard Tanny's voice:

"Oh. Just look who decided to appear." Lloyd looked to her and blushed at the seeing the young woman was wearing what looked like a desert dancers' clothes. Other than that, she had that same energetic and lively expression she had during the day. "I knew you would be coming back."

"Y-you did?" Lloyd asked, trying to recover from his blush.

"Of course. Anybody that truly wants to visit Asgard never go away without passing by Asuka's at night. At least, not ones with possessive girlfriends like your friend."

"So you noticed."

"Pretty much all kinds of people pass by here and, even so, it was obvious seeing the looks she threw to Aisha just because she smiled to that blondie friend of yours. A pity. He seemed good-looking, though a little on the shy side. But let's concentrate on you. First we need a table. Hmmm…" Tanny looked around the club and saw a free table. "Ah, there! Come with me." she grabbed Lloyd by his arm and practically dragged him.

As they were passing by the other tables, the red clad swordsman noticed there weren't many people using the tables. Most were either in the dancing floor or in the bar, where the cashier he had saw before, during the day, appeared to be mixing bottles to make drinks. Together with him was another man.

"It doesn't seem like people stay sitting still for too long, does it?" Lloyd asked Tanny as they reached the table she had mentioned.

"No. Most people come here for the music or the dancers. But you seem the kind that would come more for the food, right?" she asked in an humored tone.

"You got that right." Lloyd replied, scratching the back of his head with a smile.

"Well, we have pretty much everything you saw in the menu during the day, with a few additions. If you have trouble, just call for me or Sheena."

Like speaking her name had summoned her, Sheena appeared near Tanny and asked her if there was something wrong. The voluptuous woman then noticed Lloyd, who couldn't help, but check her outfit too.

Since lunch, Lloyd noticed Sheena appeared to have a taste for low cut clothing, but now she was using something that looked like a dark-blue, sleeveless jacket with a white shirt underneath it and with openings to the sides that showed Sheena's skin, black pants and brown boots. Other than that, her outfit wasn't as revealing as the other workers, but the amount of cleavage shown was enough to attract the view of any man.

"Oh, it's you." Lloyd's eyes immediately went to hers as she spoke. He didn't want to get thrown out just like the guy he saw earlier. "You're not from Asgard, right?" Lloyd nodded to her.

"Uuhhh. She looks pretty in it, don't cha think?" Lloyd could hear Lumen whispering near his ear.

The dual swordsman prayed to whatever entities that were out there that the two women at his front hadn't heard that. Tanny didn't look like she would mind, but Sheena seemed to have narrowed her eyes a little when Lumen made that comment and Lloyd started to sweat. However, she did nothing, other than start talking again:

"Since then, I think we need to set up some rules here." Tanny sighed in what seemed to be annoyance. The seemingly older woman casted a glance at her workmate, but spoke nothing of it. "First: this is a night club not a whore house, so if you came here just to satisfy any kind of fantasies you might have, I'll give you fifty seconds to scram."

"I didn't come here for anything like that!" Lloyd defended himself. He went on talking that he had come to know more on how a night club really was, but doubted Sheena would believe it.

"That's what I'll wait and see. Second: The women working here are entertainers and waitresses, nothing more. So try to force anything they don't want to do and I'll make sure you don't have children anytime soon." Sheena cracked her knuckles in emphasis, which made Lloyd remember just how big the guy she kicked out minutes ago was.

"I-I've read the rules outside, j-just you know." Lloyd said, trying to sound brave, but without much success in it.

"Really?" Sheena asked, however, she was still devious. "Good then. But if I get to kick you out, you better don't think on coming back. I have a good memory."

Giving her back to him, Sheena walked away and disappeared in the middle of the crowd. Tanny sighed again and said for Lloyd to don't mind her. She was like this with all new costumers.

"She's the security here?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah. She used to do dance too, this is, until he dropped in town…"

"'He?'"

"Oh, don't worry. It's nothing serious." Tanny rushed to say. "Anyway, just choose anything you want. And just so you know, the 'special' option is a dancing show where you get to choose who dances to you." Tanny spoke, pointing to a column on the menu where Lloyd could see the names of what he guessed were the dancers. "If you're nice and don't get thrown out by our iron hand of justice…" she pointed behind her, meaning Sheena. "You might even get something nice," she winked to Lloyd in a seductive way.

"Like what?" the boy asked, getting oblivious once he was analyzing the different kinds of food on the menu and not getting the meaning behind Tanny's words.

"Oh, you'll see if you get it."

With that, she left the young man to choose his meal.

From her place, Sheena observed Lloyd. She was trying to find any signs that he would try and do something funny, but didn't find any. The look on his eyes was still etched on her mind. It was the first time she saw someone with that kind of gleam.

No. I can't let myself be fooled again! Sheena thought. So what if mother said there are decent men out there? It's not like one of them will come for someone like me.

Still, she couldn't help, but feel that Lloyd wasn't that kind of person. It almost felt like he was familiar to her somehow. She was awakened from her reflections by one of the other waitresses waving a hand in front of her. Sheena asked what it was to the glasses-wearing, blue haired half-elf that worked on Asuka's with her.

"That handsome guy there asked for a Mizuho Curry." Sheena looked to where her workmate was pointing to. She was right to assume it was Lloyd.

"Ok, Kate." the violet haired woman spoke.

"Do you want me to serve this one?"

Sheena thought about that. Something kept nagging at her to talk with him, but her mind was still reminding her of what happened the last time she fell for the fake talk of someone. Still, it wasn't like she was that naïve anymore. No, she definitely was smarter, so what was the problem in talking to Lloyd? If anything, she could throw him out at any time.

"I'm going to do this one. You worry about the others." Sheena said, going to the kitchen.

Lloyd was trying really hard to put up with Lumen commenting every step of the dancers on the stage and even harder not to get mental images. He blamed his hormones for that. He was already asked for a dance by two or three girls of his age, but declined. For him, meal came first, the rest he would figure out later.

However, the dual swordsman wasn't really in a mood for dancing. That not counting the fact that he didn't even know how to dance. He didn't need people laughing at his face because of it. It was then Lloyd smelled the food he had asked for and turned to the direction it was coming from. He was very surprised at seeing Sheena carrying the plate to his table.

"Here." She said, handing him the plate.

"T-thanks." Lloyd stuttered, not expecting her to come to him after the way she just stayed glaring at him.

"You really like this stuff, don't you?" Sheena asked once Lloyd had taken the silverware and prepared to attack his meal.

"Yeah. It's so good that…"

"Sh-Sheena!" a feminine voice called from the middle of the crowd in the dancing floor.

"Just one minute." Sheena said, going to the middle of the crowd.

Sounds of beating could be heard and Lloyd saw Sheena carrying someone by the back of the collar of his shirt and the edge of it and throw him out with that same shout of "Don't come back until you do something about your perverted hand!" The young man had a nervous smile in his face by seeing another demonstration of Sheena's capacity of inflict pain to others.

"Wow. She sure is strong, huh?" Lumen commented with his goofy smile on.

"More like don't stand perverts…" Lloyd commented.

Sheena then came back, dusting her hands as she walked. She then looked to Lloyd and spoke:

"Sorry, work subject. And talking about work…" she took the seat next to Lloyd. The red clad swordsman blushed. "I almost forgot."

Sheena closed her hand and reared it back in an obvious motion to punch. Lloyd covered himself, waiting for the impact (even though he didn't remember of doing anything to deserve it). It was then he heard a fist making contact, but felt no pain. Instead, he heard a painful cry that sounded like Lumen. He moved his arms a little so he could see what had happened.

"I don't know what kind of creature you are, but you certainly need to learn some manners." Sheena said.

"Wait a minute. You can see him?" Lloyd asked, getting out of his defensive position and looking incredibly surprised that Sheena could see the Centurion when not even him, who was traveling with them, could.

"Yeah I can. I was always sensitive to spirits and elemental energy since I was a child." she glared at where Lloyd supposed Lumen was sprawled. He could hear some painful moans. "But don't think that adds points to you. I still have my tabs on you." she added, looking to Lloyd again.

"You're pretty devious, you know?" Lloyd spoke, not achieving to hold the comment back.

"No. I'm just realistic. I know what all of you, guys, really want."

"And who said I am like all the other guys. I don't go around and act like everything is fine as long as I get what I want." the last part Lloyd spoke almost without thinking. That was what some people did back in Luin.

Sheena looked at Lloyd with an intrigued expression. Feeling the necessity to explain that, Lloyd said he was from Luin and how the city was doing. At the end, Sheena had a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Man. I heard they were having problems with the new leader of the ranch, but I hadn't thought it was that much." Sheena commented.

"Do you know the village near here was attacked?" Lloyd asked, remembering that fact.

"What? No, haven't heard of anything about it."

The two then talked about other things, like the state of the world and their respective thoughts about it. Lumen recovered after some time and decided not to disturb the two (mainly because he didn't want to get hit again). Lloyd also ate his food between the pauses in his talk with Sheena.

In the bar, the red haired cashier had noticed what was going on in Lloyd's table and called two other employers:

"Hey, Aisha, Pietro. Check this out." the red haired man pointed to Lloyd's table.

"Is that Sheena… talking with a costumer? And a guy nonetheless!" Pietro exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh, he was here during the day. He even was able to keep eye contact with Sheena the entire time without looking to her chest or any other part." Aisha spoke.

"Woah! Seriously?" Harley, the red haired man, spoke. He then looked to Lloyd again. "Well, either he's very smart or very dumb."

"I think he's actually decent. Different from you, who almost got fired on your second day." Aisha commented.

"Do you need to remind me of that? My back is still shore." Harley rubbed his back for emphasis.

Back at the table, Sheena had decided that Lloyd seemed to actually be a nice person. Not just that they see most things in the same way, but he also hadn't make any comment on her figure or tried to flirt with her. He also had paid attention to what she had talked about rather than any other things about her.

".Ok, this leaves just one test. If he passes, I'll consider thinking he's a nice guy.". Sheena thought.

"So, do you wanna dance a little?" Sheena asked, getting up after Lloyd was done with his plate.

"I…actually…don't know how to dance." the red clad swordsman said, looking to the side in what seemed to be embarrassment.

"If that's the case, I can teach you. Just remember to keep your hands to yourself."

Lloyd nodded to Sheena, ignoring the undertone of threat in her last sentence. He was already becoming used to it and for him that just meant Sheena was someone that took care of herself.

- / - / - / -

Lloyd walked back to the Inn with a smile on his face. He had really enjoyed dancing with Sheena. The voluptuous woman really danced well. She didn't mind he had actually stepped on other people's feet or hit some of them, that actually made her snicker a little.

Yeah, but I bet that when she smiles… Lloyd thought, but decided to stop right there and not to get his hopes up. We just talked and danced, nothing more. It's not like it has anything special to it.

"So, had fun?" Lumen asked to Lloyd.

"Yup."

"See? Told you it would be cool." Lumen said with his goofy smile on. "And it seems you and that Sheena chick also made some progress."

"What do you mean? We just talked."

Before Lumen could say anything else, the two arrived at the Inn and opened the door to be greeted by an exalted Marta:

"Where have you two been? We were worried sick." Marta said, immediately assaulting Lloyd.

"Marta. I don't think that's too much of a…" Emil tried to say, but Marta interrupted him.

"Of course it's a problem! What if Lloyd had been attacked by demons, or Desians, or… ?"

"Hey, hey, calm down." Lloyd said, trying to prevent the girl from waking the entire Inn. "I didn't leave the city and I'm alive as you can see."

"Yeah, we just went to Asuka's." Lumen readily said, wagging his tail and with his goofy smile on.

"What?" Marta exclaimed. "You…you went there?"

"Well, yeah. What's the big deal?" Lloyd asked.

"And why you went there?"

"He wanted to see Sheena." Lumen spoke before Lloyd could explain.

"Lumen! That's not it!"

"Oh. Then what was it?" Lumen asked in that innocent way of his.

"Oh. So you went to see Sheena?" Marta asked, now in a sweet tone and leaning closer to Lloyd, putting her hands behind herself and swaying her body to the sides.

Lloyd again started to wonder what was with that girl and her mood swings. Emil just sighed and said he was going to sleep, leaving Lloyd alone with the petite brunette, who now seemed pretty interested in his visit to the night club.

"Not really." Lloyd said, looking to the stairs where Emil had disappeared and back to the brunette fighter in front of him. "I just went there to see how…" he got interrupted as Marta started to speak.

"If that was the case, you could have said it before and I would have given you some tips on how to woo Sheena. I am a girl after all, you know."

"Huh? But I didn't…"

"I was wondering if you had a girlfriend back in Luin, but since the city treated you like that, I guess you don't. But I think everybody needs someone to warm your heart and give you support. Just like I and Emil..." she then put her hands clasped near her face, with a dreamy expression on her features.

A big sweatdrop ran behind Lloyd's head. It seemed Marta was the kind of girl that can get very enthusiastic at the possibility of a romance and wanted to make sure it would work out. However, as she went on, blabbering about Emil and what girls liked, Lloyd thought on what she said about people warming others' hearts and supporting each other…