Before starting...

Dr. Bob: No, I didn't commit a mistake when I wrote "Nebilim". I'm not talking about the race of half-angels, the Nephilim, I'm talking about the character/name mentioned in the two ToS games; Nebilim, Dark Lord and Lord General, though I'm not sure if the two talk about the same Nebilim. (for future refence, do or check the sidequests of the Devil's Arms, which leads you to fight the most powerful sideboss in the entire 1st game, and the "Mysterious Swordman" Katz quest in the second)

Anyway... about what Alice meant... I'll leave that to your imagination. It's true you need to get into the characters mind to know how to write about them, but I don't want to get that deep into Alice's mind. The outer parts are already distrubing enough, believe me.

Anyway, here comes the chapter that will close the group's passing in Iselia, though we might return to it some other time, you never know.

Oh and also, a surprise: next chapter a character that I'm certain many of you have been wondering what have been doing during all of this time will appear.

Ten cookie points to whoever guess who it is!

Chapter 19

Standing up

Lloyd and Sheena approached the entrance of Iselia's south gate. The signs that it had been busted open were visible, though the guards tried to give off the sensation that everything was still in order. Lloyd was a bit nervous while Sheena was calm.

"C'mon, no need to look like that. You're with me and I'm not going to let them do anything to you," Sheena tried to reassure her love interest in her calm voice.

"Isn't it generally the other way around?" Lloyd asked.

"I don't know, but why are you so nervous anyway? It's pretty simple. We're going to bribe our way in if they suspect anything and open the sewer gate near the west end of the south wall for the others to enter. Piece of cake."

"Wait, wait. What was the part about the sewer?" Lloyd asked, seeming confused.

"You weren't paying attention when Raine was talking about the plan, did you?"

"Well, with the way she explained it I started to get sleepy. What's up with that woman anyways? Can't she use normal words like any other person?"

Sheena sighed. She truly did love Lloyd, but his short attention span would be his fall someday. The two then approached the gate guards, who, like Amelia and Colette had told them, asked what their business within the city was. Sheena spoke:

"Me and my boyfriend here are visiting an old friend. He works in a boat workshop here," Lloyd tried with all his strengths not to blush when Sheena said it. That line wasn't in the plan.

"His name?" the guard simply asked.

"Frank Brunel."

"Wait a moment."

The guard then gave signal for an armored soldier to come. This one brought some kind of device in his hand which he passed near Lloyd and Sheena. Once the analysis was complete, the other guard reported:

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with them, but it did pick a strange energy though…"

Lloyd looked to Sheena, but the ninja was as calm as before. It was just as Raine said. The device wouldn't be able to categorize them due to their Summon Spirit aura. Sometimes, Sheena really hated when that woman was right.

"Look, we're kinda in a hurry. Is this going to take long?" Sheena asked in an impatient tone.

"Hold on. The Accuser doesn't seem to be able to classify you," the guard said.

"But that doesn't mean we're demons, does it?" Lloyd asked.

"Maybe not, maybe yes."

Sheena faked a sigh.

"Does this demonstration of faith convince you that we are devoted to Cruxis?" Sheena asked, showing a bag full of gald for the guard. The armored man besides him immediately took it and seemed to weight the content. He smiled to the other, who nodded.

"Alright, you can pass," the gate guard said with a smile on his face.

After Sheena and Lloyd left the gate behind, entering in the south district, the two commented:

"I can't believe that actually worked. I never thought that the church could be like that," Lloyd said.

"Honestly, I expect anything like that coming from those guys. They once tried to stage an investigation on Asgard to brand it as a 'heretic community'. The mayor and mother had to unload a huge amount of cash when the inspectors started to get cranky because we had half-elves in the city."

Lloyd stood silent at that. He was never really faithful to Cruxis to begin with, but he never thought the church was that corrupt. Threatening good people just so they could get some extra money.

It's because of people like that that the world is in this state. Lloyd thought, closing his fists.

As the couple walked into the district, they noticed that most houses were being rebuilt and the people had a somber expression on their faces, they were still recovering from the recent attack of the Desians. Lloyd and Sheena then took a turn near some buildings and walked between the houses near to the wall that surrounded the city. Between the houses and the wall was a depression and on its bottom were some pipes. They followed those pipes and found they passed under a steel gate on a thicker section of the wall.

As Amelia said, the gate was locked, but Sheena was quick to pick the lock and open it. She then motioned for Lloyd to come as the young man smiled at her abilities. The two entered in a small tunnel, which forced them to walk crouched.

"Is picking locks a ninja ability too?" Lloyd asked, conversationally.

"Not really, but it's very basic. The ideal is you would just need it to arrive where you want and not to free yourself from a jail cell. For a ninja, being caught means death," Sheena said.

"Sounds kinda harsh," Lloyd said.

"Believe in me, it is. The life of ones that works in the shadows isn't easy Lloyd. Not everybody can manage the kind of life that we had. We're trained since we're kids to be strong, fast and to completely hide our presence even from those with spiritual sensitivity."

"I suppose you couldn't teach me some ninja techniques, could you?"

"What? You want to learn my people's fighting techniques?"

"It's just that you're very fast and everything. I think I could become much stronger if I knew how to fight like that," Lloyd scratched the back of his head at saying that.

"I don't think that would work for you, Lloyd. You're more of a frontline fighter; a fencer. I'm pretty strong alright, but that's mostly thanks to my manipulation of light. Take that away, and I don't have much to fight with," Sheena said. "Besides, we can only teach our secrets to those that belong to our clan."

Lloyd lowered his head in disappointment at that, but his curiosity picked up again and he asked what Sheena meant with that. The ninja started to explain:

"Well… you know. To make a person apart of our clan, he or she could… like… try marrying someone from our village," Sheena said, founding that the topic wasn't that easy for her to discuss. Asuka never talked about marriage with her.

"Marrying… you mean…" Lloyd then blushed as he caught on what she said, his mind wandering on how Sheena would look like in a wedding dress.

Stop that! We're not even dating yet. Besides, who has the time to arrange a marriage nowadays? Lloyd scolded himself.

The two then arrived at where the tunnel made a sharp turn to the right. There was another opening in the wall, this one leading to the forest at the foot of the mountains at the east of Iselia. Sheena again picked the lock and made the signal for their friends to come. Emil, Raine and the others appeared while the Centurions materialized in plain sight.

"So, how are we going to sneak in with Colette and Amelia? The two might be recognized by the townspeople," Emil asked.

"Leave this to me," Tenebrae said.

"You? What are you gonna do?" Sheena asked.

"Just watch," the dog-like Centurion said in a proud tone of voice.

Tenebrae floated over Colette and Amelia and hovered his tail above them, showering the two with energy of darkness. The blondes closed their eyes as they were enveloped in a cloud of the dark element. When it cleared, mother and daughter opened their eyes and looked at each other in surprise.

Amelia and Colette's golden-blond hair was now a violet and chocolate color, respectively. Their eyes also changed color to wine-red and brown. If it wasn't for their faces and clothes remaining the same, Lloyd and the others might have thought Tenebrae had replaced the two with other people. Colette read in her mother's eyes something that resembled "amazing".

"You… transformed them?" Marta asked.

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about T-dark one thousand faces," Lumen said.

"One thousand what?" Marta asked.

"That's one of my several talents, Lady Marta. As darkness is an element which doesn't have a fixed form and is very malleable, I too am able to transform into several forms or, as my powers are returning, transform others. That is, if they give me their permission," Tenebrae said with pride in his voice.

"That's incredible Tenebie! You're truly an amazing doggie," Colette said, clapping to the dog-like Centurion happily.

"'Tenebie'?" Lloyd repeated.

"Uh, sorry, but my name is Tenebrae, Lady Colette. Not Tenebie, neither doggie," the Centurion of darkness said.

"Oh. Ok then. Tenebie it is then," Colette said with one of her typical radiant smiles.

"Tenebrae."

"Hey, you two! We're gonna leave you behind," Marta called from the entrance of the tunnel as the others had already entered.

"Coming. Okay, let's go Tenebie," the now chocolate haired girl said, running to catch up with the others.

"Tenebrae!" the Centurions of darkness called, although she hadn't heard him.

- / - / - / - / -

When the group arrived in the city, the Centurions hid away from view (though Tenebrae didn't stop mumbling as Lumen now used the nickname Colette had just given him). Amelia and Colette guided the group in the direction of the docks, taking care to not call too much attention.

However, when they entered the central district, the group noticed a big commotion near the Cruxis Cathedral, a great structure built of polished, white stone and several windows with murals depicting angels fighting demons. Amelia squeezed her daughter's hand as Colette nodded to her. The rest of the party stood curious at what was happening, until Colette said:

"Let's find a place at the edge of the plaza, so they won't notice us."

"Why? What is happening?" Emil asked.

"A public sermon. If we're seen anywhere else while it's happening and the Purge Inquisitors find us, they will question us. It's law that everybody, even travelers, has to attend to the public sermons when they are held."

"What kind of law is that?" Sheena asked in disbelief.

"Actually, this is one of the reasons why Iselia is regarded as the strictest of the cities protected by Cruxis," Raine said in a lecturing tone. "There are variants of this law in other cities protected by Cruxis, such as mandatory attendance to Sunday's sermons."

Lloyd and Sheena thought that was crazy, but knew if they voiced their opinion and somebody else heard, they would probably be maimed by an angry mob. Whenever Cruxis and the church were involved, most people tended to be very touchy in regards of following its orders and teachings.

The group found a place near the edge of the plaza and stood near one of the buildings. The entire plaza was crowded, like the entire city had come to attend the sermon, which was a very likely possibility. All attentions were turned to a great stage mounted near the entrance of the cathedral.

Colette and Amelia saw the mayor in the stage, his face expressionless and serious, just like every other time when he took his place near the heads of the church. However, there was a heavy air around him. It seemed he was still grieving the death of Maki. Phaidra was nowhere to be seen and, for one moment, Colette felt guilty that Phaidra may have been forced to retire because of her.

A relatively young priest walked to the podium mounted on the stage and made motions with his hands for the crowd to stop talking. Soon all conversations died down and the plaza was silent as the citizens of Iselia waited for the priest to start the sermon:

"Every man lives carrying the weight of their sins. All men are born already carrying the sins of the past generations. Those are the words passed down to us by Cruxis. It is true that we live in a world that reflects the consequences of our actions and the actions of our ancestors. To change this world, we must atone for the past sins of our ancestors.

"To reach atonement, we must follow the only and true path to enlightenment, the path set to us by the Faith!" the priest said, elevating his voice. "Temptation is at every corner, the demons will try and make us stray away of our path to salvation, be it by sending their agents to delude us or corrupting those near us.

"Remember: each and every one of you must not falter. The failure of one will affect its family, its community as a whole. Do not hesitate to take down those corrupted by the demons, for they will not hesitate to take you with them in the path of damnation. Follow the path shown to us by the heavenly saviors, Cruxis, and we all shall…"

The priest suddenly stopped speaking, for in that moment lights started to shine from the skies, bathing those in the stage and part of the crowd in its glow. Amelia and Colette looked surprised. They never saw that happen before.

A sphere of light came down from the lights in the skies. It seemed to absorb the energy around and emit it back in a pulsing flash, blinding most of the people present. When the light died down, many gasped and let out "oh"s of admiration. Lloyd, Marta, Sheena and Colette had their mouths agape. There, hovering a few feet above the stage was a figure garbed in a green robe with golden details and white wings; an angel.

Raine looked surprised too. She had never saw one of Cruxis' agents and had to use all of her will power to contain her curiosity at seeing the being. Amelia looked as shocked as the youngsters. Emil, however, was shaken out of his stupor when he heard Ratatosk speak on his mind:

"So that's an angel? Interesting…" the tone of the Lord of the Monster's voice was strange, like he was musing. Emil wanted to ask what he meant with that, but the angel started talking at that moment:

"I am Remiel. I am one of Cruxis' Oracles and its voice," people started to bow to the heavenly appearance. Even the members of the church and Morton bowed before the angel. Emil and his group decided to follow the suit, though they merely crouched in the ground to not appear suspicious. "I have come here today to announce that it has come to Cruxis' attention that some of our most devoted followers were sheltering an agent of the demons."

Amelia swallowed dry at that. They were talking about her. She prayed that the angel would be merciful enough not to punish the city because of her. Many people seemed to exchange glances from their positions too. Remiel continued:

"However, it seems you were not aware of said agent's true identity, so we of Cruxis decided to be merciful on this fault. But, the infiltration of one of the demons' followers can only mean you mortals have been faltering on your commitment to the teachings we passed down to you."

"But… great angel, we weren't…" one woman in the crowd tried to say, but Remiel continued to speak, ignoring her.

"As such, Cruxis decided that from now on, we shall keep a closer eye on the communities under our blessing. The demons are everywhere, under different disguises and even though our protection prevents their most powerful agents and armies from attacking, that doesn't mean the ones that succumbed to the temptation of their powers will be kept out.

"If you truly wish for the salvation of this eroding world, you must devote yourselves entirely to atone for the sins committed by your predecessors during the war. We Cruxis will do our part and hunt down the agents of the demons infiltrated in the communities that pledge themselves to follow our words. You must do yours and entrust your lives to us, which we shall protect, but we can only do so if you can devote yourselves truly and entirely to the path of atonement and enlightenment."

Remiel spread his arms as he spoke that last line and, with that, transformed into a small sphere of light and shot to the skies, leaving ethereal, yellow feathers behind. The crowd finally got up and the priest resumed his speech, which he seemed to have cut short to reinforce the words of Remiel.

After the sermon was done, people went back to their daily chores, all commenting about how they had been graced with the presence of Cruxis' Oracle, though most also commented it had been because they had been sheltering "that Amelia demon". Said woman looked down in sadness. Colette did too.

"Hey. Don't let their words get you two down," Lloyd said, offering a friendly smile. "Anyway, who knows if that angel was really talking about you."

Colette and Amelia knew that was just wishful thinking on Lloyd's part, but both smiled to him in appreciation for his feelings. Marta decided to change the talk to a less stingy subject:

"You know, it's kinda funny that though you two are with a different appearance, you still look just like before," Amelia and Colette tilted their heads in confusion, the latter asking what she meant with that.

The group finally arrived at the staircase to the docks. Raine suggested they booked rooms in one of the Inn's nearby first. They nodded and went to a two story building. When they entered a door bell rang and a man with graying hair appeared in the counter.

"Yes?" he asked

Raine approached and spoke, while tipping her travel, adventurer hat lower:

"We would like to rent some rooms for…" she never got to finish, because when the man's eyes fixed on her silver hair and facial features, his gaze switched from inquiring to one of absolute terror.

"A-a-a… half-elf!" the clerk spluttered. "What's a h-half-elf doing here?"

"Oh-oh…" Colette let out.

"G-guard…" the man stopped mid-sentence and his eyes rolled to the back of his skull as he slumped forward over the counter, unconscious. Behind him stood Sheena, her arm still poised after the attack she applied on the man's neck.

"Let's get out of here before anybody else comes," Sheena said in a commanding tone.

The entire party exited the Inn and went down the stairs to the docks, getting as far away from the scene as they could. When they decided they were at an acceptable distance, Lloyd was the first to speak:

"What the hell was that? Did you really have to knock him out like that?" the swordsman asked as he turned to Sheena.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not looking forward to get locked up for interrogatory by the Martel Knights."

"I should have expected that kind of reaction. I'm sorry, I was careless," Raine said. Sheena was really surprised to hear those words coming out of the older woman's mouth.

"There's no need for that," Colette said. "We should have warned you about how the people here view half-elves, I'm sorry."

"Ok, now. You all stop apologizing, it's no one's fault," Marta said in an assertive tone. "Some people are just like that towards half-elves. And considering the Desians just attacked the other day, they probably are still very wary."

"Yes… you're right," Colette said, lowering her head. "I'm sorry."

"Wait. I-I didn't mean it like it's your fault or anything."

"Pardon me, but shouldn't we go on our way to meet Amelia's acquaintance who can loan us a ship?" Ventus inquired while still hiding away of view.

The group nodded at him and stopped all the chatter. Lloyd was still mumbling something about how that guy treated Raine like she was some kind of demon. Said half-elf tried to not pay too much heed to that, trying to act regal as always to hide her blush. She would never get used to Lloyd defending her.

They arrived near a big, boat hangar, which was beside what looked like a workshop. Raine said she would wait for them outside to not cause any more trouble with the locals. The group simply nodded to her as Raine tipped her hat lower to conceal her elven features.

The group entered the workshop and Sheena went for a bell in the counter and ringed it. A brawny man in a sailor attire appeared, asking what was it. Sheena asked:

"Could we speak with Frank Brunel? He works here right?"

The sailor replied with a grunt-like "yes" as he yelled for Frank, going back to the depths of the workshop. Frank came, cleaning his hands with a rug as he greeted the newcomers with a smile:

"Hello. How can I help you?"

"Hi… dad," Colette said.

Frank looked at the girl for a moment. Realization seemed to dawn on him as his eyes widened. He looked around, making sure nobody was paying attention to them and asked:

"Colette? What… what happened to you?"

"It's just a disguise, don't worry," Sheena said.

"And you are?" the blond man asked.

Colette presented the whole group, saying they were friends who saved her from some demons when she was banished from Iselia. Amelia chose that moment to take out her notebook and inscribed in it:

We need a favor.

"Not here, let's go outside," Frank said.

The group exited the workshop and saw the sun was already setting in the horizon. Frank was about to ask what Amelia wanted when Colette decided to ask first, not being able to hold her curiosity any longer:

"Da… I mean Frank. Is Phaidra doing alright?" Colette decided she didn't have the right to call them family anymore, after everything she caused. Frank sighed.

"I'll be honest; things aren't easy since you two left. Nobody on the church is openly blaming Phaidra for sheltering a demon, but you can feel the tension every time she interacts with one of the priests. I think it won't take too long before they finally decide to 'ask' her to 'consider' retiring."

Amelia and Colette lowered their heads with a pitiful expression on each of them. Frank's heart ached at seeing mother and daughter like that and quickly added:

"But it's not like we blame you or anything. Besides, it was bound to happen one day or another. The heads at the cathedral already didn't like the way Phaidra preached about the Faith, always saying she's too soft to actually occupy a position of such power as high priestess."

"What a bunch of narrow-minded jerks," Marta said with an angry expression. "So, just because somebody does something different from the way they do, they find they have the right to fire the person."

"That's the way the church is. They say sometimes changes can make people rebellious."

"Wait. That Desian Cardinal Magnius once said something like that," Lloyd pointed.

"Don't let them hear you say that, or you might be arrested by the Knights for heresy."

Emil decided to get back at topic and asked Frank if he could lend them a boat for them to cross the sea to Meltokio. The blond haired man took some seconds to think. Colette and Amelia thought he might reject their request, since they were causing so much trouble for him and his mother, but Frank said:

"A friend of mine owns a boat big enough for you all to fit in. I think I can convince him, as long as you maintain your disguises."

No problem. And thanks a lot, Frank.

Amelia wrote on her notebook with a smile.

"It's nothing. And, Amelia…" the woman looked at the boat craftsman with inquiring eyes as he continued. "I honestly don't think that you are really a demon and neither does Phaidra."

"She isn't. She was cursed by Nebilim," Emil said.

"Nebilim?" Frank said with fear on his tone, a common reaction whenever the name was mentioned to somebody. "Really?" Amelia merely nodded her head. "What did he do to you?"

"Raine could explain that better and…" Lloyd started and looked around. "Speaking of which, where is she?"

- / - / - / - / -

Today definitely isn't my day. Raine thought as she was shoved to the wall behind her, her travel hat dropping from her head as three armored man glared at her.

From the smell of alcohol coming from them, she could tell they were drunk. However, it was the design of the armors they wore that was her biggest worry. The green and golden armor had the symbol of the Cruxis Church on it, meaning they were part of the Martel Knights. And to just top all of it, the guys seemed to have thought it would be fun to go around town with one of their chaos-detecting devices, the Accuser, and discovered she was a half-elf. Raine was really close to utter a swear which would make Ratatosk proud.

"So, you half-elven bitch thought it was a good idea to stroll around our city, heh?" the head of the trio of Martel Knights said. "So it wasn't enough all the destruction you cause the other day, heh?"

"I don't recall being here the other day," Raine replied back, her face a mask of neutrality. She faced situations like this before and knew how to proceed. "Are you sure you're not actually so drunk that you decided to go around finding culprits for you own ineptitude at defending this city?"

"Shut up! We know you are a Desian, whore!" he then brought out the device, which was beeping like crazy. "The Accuser is never wrong and it is detecting demonic energy coming from you."

"If that is really true and I am a demon, then you all should know better than to come at me like this. Don't you fear for you lives?" Raine said. She didn't see any point in correcting them about who she was, they wouldn't listen. Besides, she was never one to lecture ignorant pigs who had a very short sight about how things worked.

"Oh, iz 'at a confezion?" one of the other Knights drunkenly asked.

Raine didn't answer that, instead she released the spell she had been charging. A great pool of chaos energy appeared at the feet of the three knights and sinew-like tendrils of energy shot out of it, wrapping around the knights. However, in the next instant several of them were dispelled as their energies were burnt out of existence. Raine was surprised to say the least.

"Nice try, scum," the head of the group said. "But our armors are blessed by the angels themselves. Your demonic tricks are useless."

Raine simply couldn't hold it back anymore and cursed her luck. She should have seen that coming. At least, they were in a less populated area of the city and it was night, so nobody was around to see the scene. The three Martel Knights drew their swords preparing to kill Raine.

"Any last words, Desian bitch?" one of them said.

"Pathetic…" a new voice sounded. The knights turned around on their heels. Raine also looked and saw a boy at the other end of the street they were in. "And you actually call yourselves protectors? You humans are so self-conceited."

Raine saw the boy's aura and found he was a half-elf, his speech confirming her suspicion. The boy reminded her a little of Emil and maybe a masculine version of Colette, but his blond hair was of a darker tone than the latter and his voice and eyes were different from the former. His eyes seemed to almost glow in the night.

"What was that, brat?" one of the knights asked.

"What? You have hearing problems too? Then let me say it loud and clear for you, ignorant fool…" the half-elven boy replied.

Raine couldn't tell if the half-elven young was brave or just foolish by defying the Purge Inquisitors like that. Didn't he see that magic attacks were useless against those armors of theirs? However, the way he glared at those men, like they were nothing, but the most disgusting kind of filth he had ever seen, made her wonder what exactly the boy had in his mind.

"That's it! You're going to get arrested for heresy smartass! Right after we deal with this half-elven scum here," the knight said, turning to her.

"Touch her and I'll make the demons look like saints to you," the boy replied in a cold, threatening tone. Raine had already heard that tone. The boy intended to carry out that threat.

"What? You wanna die?"

"On the contrary…" the boy said, closing his eyes for a brief moment before snapping them open. "The only ones that will die are you."

Raine felt a slight change on the boy's aura as the Martel Knight decided they had enough of being insulted and lunged at the boy. Raine felt torn between shouting for the boy to run or flee the scene herself. Before she could decide though, something occurred.

The soldiers were close to the half-elven boy, when he suddenly moved in great speed, passing the knights with his arms stretched at his sides. Raine was so impressed by the move she didn't register what he did before he stopped at the back of the knights, who seemed frozen on their spot. The boy smiled and suddenly blood spilled from the three men as they fell to the ground, several gashes on the gaps of their armor.

How… ? A hidden blade? Even so he hit them expertly on the weak spots of their armors, so this boy must be somewhat experienced in combat. Raine thought. Her mind was working at full steam, trying to come up with an explanation for what she had just witnessed.

The boy then turned to her and she could see his expression was neutral and somewhat concerned as he approached her, asking:

"Are you alright?"

"Yes… I'm fine…" Raine said. She saw her hat resting on the floor and went to take it. Placing the accessory on her head, she then turned to the boy. "What did you just do to them?"

"Nothing that these pigs didn't deserve," the boy replied coldly.

By looking at the quantity of blood that gathered around the knights, Raine knew they were probably dead. And from the way the boy spoke, without an ounce of regret on his voice, Raine could tell it wasn't the first time he killed somebody.

She was about to ask more when she heard Sheena and Lloyd's voices. Turning, the two half-elves saw the couple coming to them. Lloyd was the first to notice the blonde near Raine and spoke:

"Mithos, is that you?"

"Hello again, Lloyd," the half-elven boy offered, his tone now lighter and sounding more like the prepubescent he appeared to be.

"You two know each other?" Raine asked.

Well, if Raine is seeing Mithos too then that means I wasn't hallucinating the other times I met him. Lloyd thought.

Sheena looked at the three dead knights and the blood on the concrete. She looked back at Raine and asked what happened. Mithos was the one to answer instead:

"Raine was being assaulted by those bastards and I finished them off."

"You… did this?" Lloyd asked a little uneasy at hearing Mithos' cold tone.

Sheena looked back at the corpses and then at Raine with a look of who asked for an explanation, Raine sent her back a look that said "later". The ninja then looked to Mithos and said:

"You do realize what will happen if they discover you did this."

"What? Are you going to ditch me to them even though you have some of our blood?" Mithos countered.

"No, I just…"

"As far as I know, you three are the only witnesses here. Are you just going to give in to your urge for acceptance just because…"

"Mithos," surprisingly enough, the warning tone came from Lloyd. "I know and I understand that you don't like humans and all, but accusing Sheena for something she didn't even do doesn't make you any better than them."

Mithos looked like he was about to talk back, but he held himself for a moment, as if thinking. The half-elven boy then sighed. Sheena felt her insides get warm when she heard Lloyd defending her like that. She always found it aspiring how he defended his friends. Mithos turned to her and said:

"I'm… sorry… for accusing you," though his tone made it clear he didn't really regret what he said.

"Actually, I shouldn't have said all of that," Sheena said, deciding to give in just this once. After all, the boy had just saved Raine. "I apologize."

"Good. Now could you please introduce yourself and tell us how you know Lloyd?" Raine inquired.

Mithos looked from Raine to Lloyd, saying:

"So she's the half-elf friend you told me about," Lloyd gave a smile as he scratched the back of his head. Mithos shook his head as he also smiled. "I'm Mithos. Pleasure to meet you," he said to the two females, offering a smile to Raine and a polite look at Sheena.

"Professor Raine Sage," Raine said, offering her hand to Mithos, who shook it.

"Sheena Fujibayashi," Sheena said, doing a polite bow.

"What are you two doing here, by the way?"

"We came looking for you, Raine," Lloyd said. "When we didn't see you in the docks, we thought you were in trouble," he casted a brief glance at the remains of the three Martel Knights. "And by the looks of it, you were."

"As you can see, I'm fine."

"Yeah. Thanks, Mithos."

"That… was nothing," the younger half-elf said, appearing to be a little flushed by being thanked. "I just did what any other, decent half-elf would do for his sister-in-blood."

That phrase made Lloyd look again at the men Mithos just single-handed killed. He didn't even want to wonder what would happen if the blonde hadn't arrived in time. He wondered what would drive people to kill a half-elf who did nothing to them. Looking back at Mithos, he remembered the boy's words from before, on their second meeting:

"The ties of hatred between our two races are stronger than those of friendship…"

It made Lloyd's stomach curl whenever he realized how true those words were. Raine was the one to make the red clad young man come back to reality once she said:

"We should meet the others and let them know I still alive," there wasn't a hint of humor in Raine's voice, like she was just stating the truth on the situation. An attitude that showed she wasn't fazed by the recent attempt at her life.

"You mean, your other traveling companions?" Mithos asked.

"Yeah. I bet they will like you when they hear that you just saved Raine's life," Lloyd said.

Mithos smiled to him as they started walking to where the others were. During the walk, Raine decided to question her fellow brethren about the motive for him being in a city that viewed half-elves negatively such as Iselia. Mithos answered:

"I'm looking for somebody and I think they passed through this town."

"Is that why you were at Izoold and Hima?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah. I think I might have found a clue about them."

"Are you looking for a family member of something?" Sheena asked.

"You could say that..." Mithos said in a kind of ominous tone that only Raine and Sheena caught.

"Oh. Then maybe we could help you find them," Lloyd offered, but Mithos shook his head, saying he didn't want to be a bother for them.

Before Lloyd could reply, they heard Marta calling for them as the rest of the group approached them. Lloyd waved for them and was about to talk to their other friends when suddenly Colette's and Amelia's bodies glowed and their disguises were dispelled, Amelia also turned into her demon form out of nowhere, the chaos energy dormant in her aura flaring as her body grew scales that ripped part of her clothes.

The entire group's eyes widened at that. Emil let out an "What the... ?" as Amelia frantically looked around, seeming confused as she spoke in her twisted and wrapped voice:

"I-I didn't do anything, I swear! I-it wasn't my intention to transform..."

"Forget about it! Go back to your human form before somebody sees you!" Marta alerted, as she and the others tried to shield Amelia's form from view, however, it was useless due to the woman's great, black wing.

"I-I'm trying... b-but I can't!" Amelia said as she tried her hardest to concentrate, but it wasn't working in the least.

"Oh, for the love of..." Raine muttered as she stepped towards Amelia and pointed her staff to the cursed woman's throat. She found some resistance from the curse, but eventually managed to make Amelia go back to human form. Luckily, Sheena's shirt survived the transformation, although it had holes in the shoulders and back and part of the pants Amelia had been wearing was ripped. Her shoes were completely destroyed in the transformation.

Lloyd, Sheena and Colette let out a sigh of relief. Lloyd then looked back to Mithos, but the young blonde was once again gone. Raine and Sheena also noticed that and the ninja showed a worried expression as she asked:

"Do you think he got scared of Amelia and ran away?"

"Strange... I thought I sensed some kind of energy, like a spell being cast, but it was too fast for me to pick it up," Raine said, her hand on her chin in a thoughtful manner as she looked at where Mithos had been. "I think someone is following us. We should hurry and find someplace to stay."

Emil and the others agreed. Tenebrae appeared and again disguised Colette and Amelia, this time together with Raine, turning her hair the same color as Sheena's so she wouldn't call the attention of the locals. Together, the group went to another Inn and managed to rent two rooms, one for the boys and other for the girls. Raine reminded them to stay alert and leave everything ready in case they needed to suddenly leave.

As Lloyd laid on his bed, Emil asked him who he and Sheena had been talking about.

"Oh, just a friend of mine I met in some cities. His name is Mithos."

Emil felt Ratatosk's consciousness stir when Lloyd said that. He then inquired a little about this Mithos and Lloyd said he didn't know much about him, just that he was a half-elf and was traveling from city to city, looking for someone.

"He also seems pretty smart. Actually, he kinda looks like you."

"Really?" Emil asked.

"Um... I think I already heard that name before, but I can't remember?" Ignis said. She and the other Centurions were staying with the boys.

"Yeah. I don't remember too," Lumen said.

"About this, or in general?" Tenebrae inputted.

"Do you even need to ask?" Ratatosk commented.

- / - / - / - / - / -

The group went back to the docks and saw Frank already there with a brown haired man who was wearing a coat and common, blue pants. To Amelia and Colette's surprise, Phaidra was there too. Frank greeted the group and introduced his friend, Max, who greeted them back with a nod and a smile.

"Gran... Phaidra, why are you here?" Colette asked the elderly priestess.

"Why, can't a grandmother come and say her farewells to her granddaughter anymore?" Phaidra replied with a smile.

"But... I'm not... I mean... we just brought trouble to you and Frank and..." Colette said, also in behalf of her mother, who was squeezing her hand, passing her feelings through the gesture.

"Are you speaking about my situation with the church? Don't bother yourself with it. They had been trying to get me to retire ever since I ascended to this position."

"Yes... but we only gave them a motive to do so."

"Colette... Amelia... listen," Phaidra said, her smile gone and her tone turning serious. "I love you both as if you were my own daughter and granddaughter and nothing is going to change it. Don't let other's opinions about who you are affect you. You have done nothing wrong, so you don't have to bow your head in shame.

"So please, listen to this old woman and show once more those beautiful smiles that always made our hearts lighter."

Amelia and Colette couldn't contain the tears that came to their eyes, as both wiped them at the same time, Colette thanked Phaidra for both she and her mother. Phaidra smiled again at them, serious demeanor gone. She looked to Lloyd and the others and asked:

"Please, take care of them. You all seem decent people, so I ask of you to treasure these two as I have all these years."

"Don't worry, we will," Sheena promptly said.

"Yeah. We're going to protect them no matter what," Lloyd claimed.

After that, the group gave their farewells to the Brunels and boarded Max's ship. Amelia and Colette waved to Frank and Phaidra as the ship gained distance from the docks. When they couldn't see their surrogate family anymore, both turned to their travel companions.

"Um... thanks for everything you all are doing for us," Colette said. "I still don't know if I am really capable of becoming a Summon Spirit like you all, but I promise I will do my best."

"So, you have decided," Emil stated. Colette nodded to him.

"It's just as you said; we can't simply sit around and wait for things to happen and... there are several people suffering because of the demons and the Desians. Those people will just continue to suffer and die if nothing is done. As Summon Spirits, you all are going to change this, right?"

"That's the idea," Sheena said.

"Yes. We're in this journey to defeat Nebilim and the Desians and then restore the world," Marta said.

Colette then turned to her mother and asked if she was alright with her decision. She knew her mother only wanted what was best to her, but... ever since she talked with Emil, she felt that she should give this a chance. That maybe, just maybe, she would be able to make a difference and change the world into a gentler, better place with the help of Sheena, Lloyd, Emil and the others.

Amelia smiled to her daughter and took out her notebook, scribing in it:

If that is your decision, then I'll support you in whatever way I can, Colette. My sweet daughter.

Colette gave one of her so-common radiant smiles at that, feeling lighter at having her mother's approval. As the blond girl and the other reincarnated spirits looked towards the horizon, she thought:

I'll try my best... for mom, for everybody… and for Maki.