Once more, here we are!

I don't have much to say, just that you people will have to wait and see what happens with the other members of the gang, so let's go for the action.

Oh... and here's a skit between Zelos, Sheena, Lloyd, Lumen and Raine:

Bonus Skit 12 (Zelos, Raine, Lloyd, Lumen and Sheena)

Nicknames

Zelos: Well then people! Since we're all going to travel together from now on, I've decided on a few nicknames to you all.

Sheena: You're kidding, right?

Zelos: I can guarantee you, my voluptuous friend, I'm quite serious.

Lumen: Wait. But I've already got them nicknames.

Zelos: Really?

Lumen: Yeah. Sheena is Shee-luni, Lloyd is double-L, Professor Raine is Professor Water and…

Zelos: Wait. What the hell? Double-L? What are we, some kind of street gang?

Lloyd: That's what I told him.

Lumen: Then do you have other idea?

Zelos: Of course I do! First, Lloyd could be Hothead.

Sheena: That's gotta be the most…

Lumen: Oh, I got it! Hothead. That's brilliant!

Sheena: …

Lloyd: Don't I get a say in the matter?

Zelos: Nope. Marta would be Kitten. Colette is the Smiling, Radiant, Angel Girl! Emil is Two-faced.

Lloyd: Two-faced? That sounds like something out of my grandfather's comic books.

Lumen: What about Sheena?

Zelos: Oh. She would be the Sensitive, Grudge-holding, Violent Tsundere.

Sheena: I'm not grudge-holding… ! Wait? Tsundere? Where did you learn that from?

Zelos: The Royal Archives contained some reports from Mizuho on certain personalities. Let's just say my family's hobby was to collect souvenirs from that age.

Sheena: I give up. Let's go before we catch their stupidity, Lloyd.

Zelos: Meh, spoilsport.

Lumen: What about Professor Water, Zelos?

Zelos: She would be the Glamourous, Mature, Super Genius, Stoic, Beauty Queen.

Raine: That sounds a little… too long to pronounce.

Zelos: Oh… so would you like just the Archeological, Genius Queen then?

Raine: Can't you come up with something more… let's say, normal?

Lumen: Well. Raine is a Professor, so maybe we should use that.

Zelos: True. … Oh, I know! The Bewitching, Stunning, Half-elven Professor. Yeah! That's it!

Raine: *sigh*

Chapter 25

The Keeper of Terra's Oath

When the skies finally cleared, the people started to come out of the tunnels that led them out of Meltokio. The priests of the Cruxis Church lead the citizens back as they surveyed the damage on their town.

The lower quarters had been mostly destroyed and the slums were now ashes. Some fire balls hit parts of the upper quarters, although the fires didn't spread. The walls and ground were stained with dried blood and weapons from the raised undead. The plaza had craters all over the floor and the Obelisk was reduced to rubble. To some of the elders, it looked like the city was back to the time when it served as a battlefield during the Second Invasion.

Emil and the others were looking around too while Zelos was kneeled near the fragments of the Obelisk, taking a chunk of them in his hand. Nebilim's words replayed themselves in his head as he looked at the dark blue fragments of mana.

Is Cruxis really a sham? Zelos thought. He then shook his head. Nebilim was probably just trying to get to his head.

It was then that light came down from the heavens. People looked up in awe as three spheres of light descended. When they were relatively close to the ground, the three emitted a pulse of light and a flash, materializing into three angels, two which looked like women wielding twin rapiers and one a blue haired man using an elaborated, white armor.

The people in the plaza all knelt to the ground as the angels' feet touched the ground. Lloyd and the others backed away from sight, Raine and Emil looking intently at the angels, curious to see what would happen.

The angel commander looked around at the destruction. Three priests approached and bowed down to their heavenly protectors. The angel commander then looked at the high ranking member of the church present and asked in an emotionless voice:

"Report."

"Yes, my lord. We were attacked by the commander of the demons, Nebilim. He destroyed good part of the city and we evacuated the people to shelters until now," the priest said.

"Why is our blessing laying in shambles?" the angel asked again in that emotionless tone, giving no indication he had heard what the elderly member of the church said.

"Well… that's…" the man started, looking at his aides. None of them had any idea of what had happened, being the first ones to leave the city.

"Nebilim. That's what happened," Zelos said, approaching the group.

"Representative Wilder. You…"

"Tell me. What happened that you guys couldn't come sooner?" Zelos asked, his face an impassive mask.

Part of the crowd seemed to gasp and the priests looked between themselves. Zelos, their Representative, had just questioned Cruxis' actions, something nobody in their right mind would do.

"I do not have any obligation to answer to you, human," the angel replied. "We came in due time."

"Yeah… in time to clean up and pray for everybody that is already dead," Zelos said, narrowing his eyes in what looked like anger, although his tone and expression betrayed nothing.

The angel glared at Zelos and approached him, floating a few inches from the ground, as if to intimidate him, although the red head's expression remained the same.

"Put yourself on your place, Representative. It is not you who have the right to question us," the angel said, his tone now chilling and strict.

"Then can you at least answer me, my lord…" Zelos said, putting emphasis on the title. "Why is it that your blessing didn't work on Nebilim?"

To an untrained listener, it would have been impossible to detect the contempt Zelos used on his voice when he said "blessing." Raine, Emil and Sheena couldn't tell if the angel had detected that or not.

"That shall be investigated. In the mean time, we suggest you to go back to your duties and try to prevent such an occurrence take place again, if you are even capable of that," the angel said, making Raine, Sheena and Emil gasp and Zelos widen his eyes.

The four realized what had just happened. That agent of Cruxis had just placed the blame of the attack on Zelos. The red head could already feel the glare of Meltokio's citizens on him and the sneer in the face of the priests of the Church.

In that moment, Zelos wanted nothing more than to freeze the bastard in front of him, angel and Cruxis be damned. He once more remembered those haunting words from Nebilim:

"Your so called heavenly saviors, they're nothing but a sham…"

Is this what he meant? Zelos thought.

The red head then swallowed his anger and bowed his head to the angel, as if to show submission.

"I'm sorry, my lord. It wasn't my intention to question your reasoning," Zelos said, using all of his experience in dealing with nobles and arrogant priests to keep his cool and control his tone. It seemed it had worked on the angel, for he simply gave his back to Zelos and proceeded to instruct the priests on the reconstruction.

Zelos just straightened up when the angels were already leaving. His face had a stony expression on it as the priests approached him, their expressions stern. Emil and the others continued to observe as the elder priest said:

"Representative, I do not need to remind you what we had always advised you about. I'm sure you have by now seen that your behavior…"

"Piss off…" Zelos mumbled. The priest let out an "huh?" not understanding what Zelos said at first. The Cruxis Representative turned to him. "What? Didn't hear me? I said: piss. Off. In fact, I don't have any motive to continue making part of this joke anymore."

The Cruxis' followers seemed to get confused at that as Zelos simply turned and went up the upper quarters, passing by the Meltokio citizens that glared at him. Suddenly, a fruit came flying from somewhere in the crowd and hit Zelos right on his head with enough strength to make his head lean to the side.

The crowd seemed stunned at that. Zelos was immobile for some seconds, everybody in the plaza eying him with apprehension, holding their breath, even the reincarnated Summon Spirits. The flirtatious red head brought his finger to his now dirtied hair and passed it on the juice of the orange that had been thrown at him. He brought his finger to his mouth and tasted it.

"It's rotten…" Zelos said simply, his tone emotionless. He then continued on his path like nothing had happened, the fruit falling from his now dirty hair.

After that scene, the crowd slowly dispersed, no one commenting on what had just happened. Lloyd and his friends looked between themselves and, with a silent agreement, followed Zelos.

- / - / - / - / - / -

"Master Zelos!" Sebastian said at seeing his lord coming back to the Wilder Mansion, which had remained untouched during the invasion. "Thank Cruxis you're… what happened to your hair?" Sebastian asked at seeing the orange juice on Zelos' head. The red head simply smiled as he pointed to his half-soaked hair.

"Somebody decided I needed more C vitamin on my diet and found quite a creative way of hinting it, don't you think?"

"My lord…"

Zelos didn't say anything as he entered the house with Sebastian closing the door behind him. Zelos stood still on the attic, like taking in the picture of his mansion. He then asked without turning:

"Sebastian, you have served my family since when?"

"Well, it should be thirty years by now, my lord. But I frankly lost the count after…"

"After what happened ten years ago… yeah. Feels like time stopped or simply stopped mattering after that, doesn't it?" Zelos interrupted.

"Maybe… but sometimes I feel it has stopped more for you, my lord."

"True enough…"

Sebastian was the last servant of the Wilder household, most of the others having been dismissed by Zelos or simply left after a certain incident with Zelos' father. The butler had practically raised Zelos after his mother's death (though he couldn't say he did very well at that) and thanks to that was the closest thing that Zelos had to a family and the only person the Cruxis' Representative ever listened to. Well, at least before he met Sheena again.

"Pack up my things, Sebastian," Zelos said, finally turning to his butler.

"Are you leaving, my lord?" the older man inquired, his voice didn't show any hint of surprise in the least.

"Things have finally reached the point where there isn't a motive for me to stay in this position anymore."

"Does this have something to do with how the crowd reacted at that angel's statement?"

"Kinda."

Sebastian simply nodded and went to prepare things. He stopped at the stairs and asked his liege:

"Aren't you going to wash first?" he referred to Zelos' head.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Not in the mood right now. Say, do you still have that cousin on Altamira?"

"Yes. George always said I would be welcome there."

Zelos simply nodded and then they heard a knock on his door. Sebastian made motion to answer, but Zelos said he would take care of it and that his butler should pack his things. The grey haired servant nodded as Zelos opened the door. The Representative was surprised to see Sheena, Lloyd and the others there.

"Well… that's certainly a surprise."

"Can we talk with you?" Lloyd asked.

"Sure. Come in," Zelos said, giving them space to enter.

Most of the group was in awe at seeing the mansion, the only ones remaining neutral were Raine and Lloyd, who had already "visited" Zelos. The red head offered them the couches to sit as he took place on an arm chair. After the group got comfortable, an awkward silence filled the room. That is, until Zelos decided to ask, with his typical easygoing smile:

"So, any special motive for coming here? I would invite you to stay and crash at my place, but I'm kinda busy at the moment."

"Zelos… what you…?" Marta asked, looking at the orange juice that was still on Zelos' hair. He noticed that.

"Oh, this? Nothing a good wash can't solve."

"You don't have to put up the act, you know," Lloyd said.

"Huh? Act?" Zelos repeated, sounding genuinely confused. "What do you mean with that?"

"Oh, c'mon!" Sheena said, getting up. "Do you honestly want us to believe to your fine with everything that happened? We saw the way they looked at you."

"That? Please…" he said, waving his hand on a dismissive gesture. "I've been glared at my whole life. What with being Cruxis' Representative and everything."

"You're saying you… don't mind it?" Emil asked.

"Why should I?" Zelos said, shrugging.

The group stood silent at that. They could hear the sincerity on Zelos' tone, but there was still something that he wasn't telling them, Lloyd could feel it. It was then Sebastian came back, carrying a large suitcase with him. The group looked at the butler and slowly connected the dots. Colette then turned to Zelos and asked:

"Are you leaving?"

"Yep," Zelos said simply

"Where?"

"Don't know," Zelos replied.

"What do you mean? Isn't here your home?" Lloyd asked.

"This place ceased to be my home ten years ago…" Zelos said, dropping the carefree tone and sighing. He suddenly looked a totally different person from before. "To be honest, I never really liked Meltokio to begin with. People here are too stuffy for my tastes."

The group stood silent at that. It was then Raine pronounced herself:

"You can use magic, right?"

"Oh, so you noticed, miss half-elf?" Zelos said, though his tone wasn't malicious or derogative in the least.

"Yes and I'm sure you noticed we aren't exactly your normal group of travelers."

"What you are or not doesn't matter to me," Zelos said in an honest tone. "People are what they are. Same with me," he got up as he spoke.

"Are you sure you actually know who you really are?" Raine said, getting up too.

"I think I have a good idea of who I am," Zelos said assuming an enigmatic smile right after. "But the question is; how does this interest you?"

"Because we need your help," Colette said.

Sheena looked at her surrogate little sister as she spoke that. Colette continued:

"You are a Summon Spirit, Zelos."

There was silence after that statement. Zelos had a dumbstruck expression on his face. After one minute, he spoke:

"Uhh, sorry. What was that again, my little angel?"

"You're a Summon Spirit. Just like us," Emil said.

"You?" Zelos said, still with that surprised expression on his face. He then smiled a disbelieving smile as he waved his hand. "Come now. You're making fun of me, aren't you?"

"No. It's true. I…" it was then a pulse of energy was felt in the air as Emil closed his eyes, opening them again to show their crimson tone. "What? Isn't everything that happened until now a hint? If that's the case, how about this transformation?"

"Actually, what you are is a person with a split personality problem," Zelos said as he eyed Emil. He smiled again. "But that's a pretty nice trick. How did you get to even change your eye color?"

Ratatosk brought his hand to his forehead, sighing. He kept his eyes closed and his head low as he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. At that signal, the Centurions materialized around Zelos' attic. The Cruxis' Representative jumped this time at seeing the strange, animal-like beings appearing all over his mansion. Ventus, who was closest to him, spoke:

"Greetings, Sir Wilder, or should I say, Celsius? I'm Ventus, a Centurion at service of Lord Ratatosk," he referred to Emil with his head.

It took Zelos some seconds to process what had just happened. When he was finally able to think coherently again, he asked:

"Ok… first: did the bird just talked to me? Second: Celsius? Isn't that the Summon Spirit chick of ice? And third: did the bird just talk to me?"

"You asked that already," Lumen pointed out.

"I know that," Zelos said. He gave a pause before speaking again. "Did I just answer to a lince?"

"I'm a cheetah."

"Yeah, yeah... whatever."

"Look…" Sheena said, attracting Zelos' attention. "Whether you, or me, want to believe it or not, you are a Summon Spirit. What you did back there, freezing the Shinigami, is a proof of that."

"We can explain everything if you come with us," Colette said.

Zelos looked from them to the Centurions. Sebastian stood at his place, seemingly confused if he should believe in what he was just hearing, or deem himself as senile. The red head then spoke as he continued to look around:

"Um… no offense, but you guys seem like you are…" it was then he finally noticed something, or rather someone, near his fire place. In an instant, almost like he had teleported, the red head was standing near Ignis, his charming smile and smooth tone already in place. "Hellooo there beautiful. May I know your name?"

"I'm Ignis," the Centurion of fire said as she greeted him with a smile. "Nice to meet you."

"Say, you traveling with them?" Zelos asked, pointing to Emil and the others like they weren't even there. The group exchanged glances as Sheena had a vein pulsing on her forehead. Ignis simply nodded to him, still smiling. "You know, you look just like an exotic flower with a very cute expression, my hunny."

"That must be because I'm the Centurion of fire," Ignis said, not really understanding a word of what Zelos had just said, but speaking the first thing that came to her mind notwithstanding.

"Centurion of fire? That means you must be pretty hot, right?" Zelos offered, his smile turning into a lecherous one, which Ignis seemed unaware of.

Oh please… Sheena thought, shaking her head with hand on her forehead. He couldn't be any more obvious, could he?

"Yep, I am," Ignis said in her typical cheerful tone.

And like always, she completely misses the undertone. Emil and Ratatosk thought at the same time.

Zelos' smile widened as he eyed Ignis' cleavage, mentally calculating that it should be as big as Sheena's. He then laughed as he spoke:

"You know what? This seems pretty interesting, so I'm coming with you guys!"

Everybody sighed and shook their heads at that. Sebastian merely smiled at seeing that his liege was still his old self…

- / - / - / - / - / -

After making sure Sebastian was on his way to Triaar, the group followed the road to the Earth Temple. Marta took the time to explain to Zelos what their journey was about and what his role in it was. The red haired Representative was a little confused at hearing he was the reincarnation of Celsius, which made Ratatosk said:

"Actually, I think it matches. Celsius acted pretty much the same way you did when she was flirting with someone," Ratatosk said, taking control of Emil.

"And you know that, how?" Zelos asked.

Ratatosk stood quiet. However, Lumen didn't:

"Boss dated Celsius during the Kharlan War."

There was silence after that phrase. Zelos seemed shocked to say the least. Emil took control again and said:

"Actually, Summon Spirits don't really have gender. As spiritual beings, they are above things like that and can take any form they wish."

There was still silence from Zelos. Sheena figured she should enjoy it while it lasted. The Cruxis' Representative then fell back a few steps away from Emil, who sweated at the thought of what Zelos could be thinking. Marta saw that and said to the red head:

"Don't worry. Emil already has me," she smiled and walked to Emil, hugging his arm like she often did, making the blonde blush.

"Oh. Phew, that's good," Zelos said, sighing. " 'Cause, I mean, I know I'm good looking and all, but I don't...exactly play for that team. Although I don't have anything against gay people," he then gave a perverted grin as he said. "Actually. I think two women making…"

What else he would said was cut off by Sheena's knuckle connecting with his head, making him lower his head and giving him a lump. The ninja then said:

"I knew you would say something like that. You never change, you pervert!"

"What was that for?" Zelos inquired, his eyes moist from the pain of the punch.

Sheena said nothing and walked up to Lloyd. Zelos sighed again. He started wondering if it had been a good idea to take on their invite and come to this journey. He then looked at Raine, who was walking ahead of him, Colette, who was talking with Lumen and Aqua, and Ignis, who was floating near Lloyd, his gaze lingering on the draconic-looking woman's breasts.

Yeah. It has. Zelos thought to himself with a smirk.

As the night came, the group set camp and Zelos complained about they not having a river nearby or something, since he needed a bath. Sheena grumbled in annoyance and Raine said:

"If you want, talk to Aqua and she will summon a monster for you."

"And what would I want with a monster?" Zelos inquired.

"Weren't you just complaining about being dirty?" Raine replied.

It took the red head a full minute to understand what exactly Raine was suggesting.

"Eewww! I'm not taking bath in monster's drool. That can't be hygienic!"

"Actually, some monsters of my element filter water naturally inside their bodies, so it is clean and proper for bathing," Aqua lectured.

Zelos still didn't look convinced and was about to complain again when Marta said:

"We can assure you it's harmless. Me and the others had been bathing this way for some time now when we aren't near any source of clean water."

"Oh reeeally?" Zelos asked in a tone that suggested his mind was already drawing images of the girls with their bodies wet.

"If you peek, I'll kill you," Sheena said in an icy tone.

He gulped and backed away. Lloyd and Emil sighed at watching the entire scene while Colette was preparing their food, seeming to not be paying attention to the exchange. Lumen then asked:

"Shouldn't we remind Shee-luni that we need Zelos alive?"

"I don't think she really meant what she said," Tenebrae spoke before changing the subject. "At any rate, tomorrow we reach Solum. With that, only Tornitrus and Glacius will be missing."

"Do you have any idea where they might be?" Lloyd asked.

"Based on what we learned, it would be the temples at north of the Altamira continent and the one at Flanoir, where we should encounter the other Summon Spirit's soul halves. Reaching Flanoir won't be easy, there aren't any boats that get even close to that region and the waters there are infested with aquatic demons," Emil said.

"Not to mention the harsh weather conditions of the continent itself," Tenebrae spoke up.

"Then let's worry about that when the time comes. It's no use to fret over something we can do nothing about at the moment," Lloyd said.

"Is that part of your motto, or something?" Emil asked with smile.

Colette then called them, saying food was ready. The group abandoned their early arguments and gathered to eat. Zelos tasted some of the steak Colette had prepared and his eyes shone with delight.

"This is superb!" Zelos said after making approving noises. His tone then softened as he regarded their cook. "You know Colette, if ever need a job I would be more than happy to…"

"Don't even think about it," Sheena said in a warning tone.

"Uh, sorry, but I wasn't talking to you, Sheena," Zelos replied, narrowing his eyes at her.

"I don't care. Stay away of Colette."

"You know you can't prohibit her from seeing me if she falls for my alluring charms, do you?" Zelos replied with a smug smile.

Instead of snapping at him or responding to his comeback in a violent fashion, Sheena laughed. Zelos raised his eyebrow at that, not expecting the reaction. He then turned to Raine, who was closer to him, and asked:

"Did I say something funny?"

"You have no idea," Raine said with mirth in her voice and said nothing more as she turned her attention to the meal…

- / - / - / - / - / -

The Temple of Earth located north of Meltokio had always been a place closed off to the general public due to the dangerous routes and frequent earth shakes on the area, which sometimes tended to change the very shape of the Temple's paths.

However, ever since Gnome left the temple, not a single quake had occurred and the vegetation around the area was slowly withering and dying. Emil and his group observed that as they walked towards the cavern that gave entrance to the temple. Colette felt her heart constrict at the sight of the land dying around her.

Emil noticed it and spoke to her:

"Are you alright?"

"Uh?" Colette exclaimed, seeming distracted. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. It's just..." She looked at the ding plants again.

"I know..." Emil said, noticing what Colette was looking at. "It's truly sad how things are turning in this world."

"And… that's why I have to fight too, right? So that we can save this world."

"If we don't, then the demons will just continue to destroy the Equilibrium until there's no life left."

"What is this 'Equilibrium'?" Colette asked with curiosity, she remembered having heard the term before. Was that in Mizuho?

Emil then looked at her again and took a breath before start to speak again, his tone now one of lecture which sounded pretty much like Colette's teachers back in Iselia:

"It has several names. Some know it as the Cycle of Life, others as the Foundation of the World. In the past, the Equilibrium was composed by the mana flows, which sustained the world and all life in it. Near the end of the Kharlan War, according to what we discovered the King the Summon Spirits, Origin, rewrote the natural law, transferring the Equilibrium to the magical currents and the vital energy of the world, which was not a part of mana.

"The Equilibrium is basically what holds Aselia and all life in it together. It's normally very difficult for normal beings to harm the Equilibrium, but when it happens, the consequences are terrible. The Kharlan War is the only recorded occasion in which we, humans, managed to effectively harm it."

"Not to talk about it being the only time in which they managed to do it so even the dimensional layer would be damaged," Ratatosk added as Colette took in all of those words, strengthening her resolve to fighting.

No other words were exchanged as the group finally entered the rocky temple. The place had some insect and magical monsters dwelling inside it, what gave Emil the opportunity to recruit more help from his past self's servants.

"Umm… an army of monsters under our command," Zelos mused as he saw the pacts being performed. "That certainly could be handy. Hehehe," he snickered with a smile and tone all too well known by Sheena, who decided to not even bother inquiring what was going over the pervert red head's mind.

"This temple looks different from the others so far. There isn't a ruin in sight," Raine muttered under her breath as she sighed.

"I'm actually quite glad for that," Marta whispered to herself, although Colette heard.

"What do you mean?" the blonde asked.

"Well, you see… Raine has this… thing whenever she sees ruins or unique things," Marta didn't dare to elaborate any further than that, for she herself didn't even know how to describe Raine's Ruin Mode.

Colette tilted her head to the side, looking confused, but decided not to ask, since the group was now crossing another one of the paths in the temple and could already see some kind of altar at the end of the path. There were columns standing on a seemingly random pattern around the altar.

Colette started to feel something calling for her, like some kind of voice beckoning her to approach the altar. Like with all the others, she did so almost unconsciously in a trance-like state. The group took some steps behind, knowing what was sure to come and that Colette would need space for when the guardian would appear.

A yellow flash appeared on the altar, revealing a light sphere of the yellow color. Then a cheerful voice came from the half of Gnome's soul:

"Ah, so my new form finally came. Hey there guy, pleased to metcha. Name's Gnome, Summon Spirit of earth. How are you, man?"

"I'm Colette," the reincarnated Summon Spirit of earth said.

"Wow, a girl! Man that sure was unexpected. Oh well, you know what they say, chicks also kick ass, heheh."

"Man, does that guy always sound this annoying?" Zelos complained.

"Now you know how I feel," Sheena said, narrowing her eyes at Zelos. "I can see why you and Gnome are such good friends," the ninja looked at Lumen.

"Yep! Isn't he cool?" the cheetah-like Centurion asked with his goofy smile. Sheena decided not to answer that, knowing Lumen wouldn't catch the meaning either way.

"You must be here to unite with me and all that stuff. Man, Origin sure came up with a complicated plan this time. Oh well, let's get this on the road then. C'mon! Show me what you've got!"

With that the sphere of light started to glow brighter and grow, until it imploded and something fell from it. The group saw it was a giant caterpillar with a dark-green shell on its back and a brown body, yellow eyes, antennae and pincers and a spear-shaped stinger at the point of its tail.

"Oh, c'mon. A giant worm?" Zelos laughed at seeing Colette's opponent, although Sheena had a startled glance in her eyes. "That's going to be piece of cake for our little angel," he was then slapped by Sheena on the back of his head. "Ow! Hey, what was that for?"

"Don't jinx Colette like that! Who knows what that thing can do," Sheena said although her tone was more nervous than angry.

"Sheena, are you afraid of insects?" the red head asked, smirking when Sheena almost jumped at having being asked that question.

"O-Of course not! Why would I?"

"Yes. Lady Sheena doesn't have a problem with insect monsters in the general," Tenebrae said.

"Thanks, Tenebrae," the ninja spoke with a smile.

"Her fears are centered on caterpillars," the Centurion of Darkness said.

There was a moment of silence after that. Zelos then gave a knowing smile as he let out a "reaaally?". Sheena turned to Aqua and called to her:

"Hey, Aqua! Tenebrae is badmouthing Richter again."

"What?" the Centurion of Water immediately floated to their side upon hearing that and scowled at her brethren. "You… Tenebonehead! How dare you talk about Master Richter behind my back?"

Sheena then turned to Zelos as Aqua started again to verbally assault the dog-like Centurion. She pulled out a kunai and put it inches away from the red head's nose, who stepped back at having his handsome face threatened once more.

"Any word about that to Lloyd or anybody else and I'll draw you a new face, one that you won't be able to flirt around with, is that clear?" she said in a low-threatening tone. Zelos immediately nodded in fright.

Meanwhile, Colette had summoned the chakras and picked them up as she face the giant caterpillar, which hissed at her before curling over itself and charging at her like a living wheel. Colette jumped to the side to avoid being run over by the insect and threw her weapon at the monster's shell, just for it to be deflected without causing any visible damage. The creature then made a turn and attempted to run over the girl again.

Colette avoided the attack once more and the guardian uncurled itself and turned to her. The insect monster then spilled an acid jet on the girl as she tried to throw her weapon at its head, which was the only part of its body exposed. The jet dissolved her chakra in mid-air, making the half-melted weapon fall in the ground harmlessly as the caterpillar curled its body and prepared to roll over Colette again.

Except this time the monster jumped into the air instead of rolling over to Colette. The blonde saw that and ran forward, barely managing to avoid the guardian, when it uncurled before it hit the floor with a heavy thud, raising some dust with the force of the impact. Colette turned and was about to attack when the creature suddenly swung its stinger, catching her off guard and managing to inflict two shallow cuts on Colette's torso.

The monster then turned as the girl was recovering and quickly crawled to her, its pincers clicking angrily. Colette saw that and put her chakra up in defense, managing to stop the advance of the monster as its pincers bit the weapon, although Colette was slightly pushed behind by the force of the creature.

The blonde tried to overpower the monster, but found out it was too heavy for her to move, its shell adding extra weight to its body. The caterpillar then started to shake its head, trying to get Colette to let go of her weapon, but the reincarnated Gnome stood her ground and didn't let her weapon go. However, she noticed too late the strange pollen floating down from the monster's antennae as it shook its head. Colette started to feel sleepy and found keeping her eyes open difficult.

Sheena and others realized what was happening and tried to warn Colette, but the giant caterpillar shook its head to the side with more violence this time and managed to take the strong girl off the ground and throw her to the side. Colette's drowsiness was dispelled the moment she was out of range from the pollen and hit the stone ground. The guardian then curled itself and jumped in the air again, uncurling once more to smash Colette. The blonde saw that and rolled to the side just as the monster came crashing down, almost crushing her.

Colette got up as the caterpillar turned and spilled acid into her again. The girl jumped, but the monster moved the jet and managed to hit her left arm, which burned at contact with the substance. Sheena and Marta gasped. Colette used her Ray Thrust Arte and forced the monster to stop its attack and curl its body again in defense. The chakra was deflected by the hard shell once more

How do I get to hit it with that shell in the way? Colette thought.

The monster then started to dig the ground and half-buried itself. The caterpillar moved on the ground, digging its way towards the blond girl with more than half of its body submersed, just the top of its shell visible. Colette jumped to the side as the head of the monster suddenly emerged from the earth, its pincers closing with violence where she had been moments before. Before Colette could attack again the monster dug itself on earth again and started to circulate her in a fashion similar to a shark.

An idea came to Colette. She let go of her chakra as she used her power to make it float near her hand and spin at great speed.

"Spinning Wheel!" she threw the metal ring on the ground and it sunk completely. Colette could sense her weapon on the ground and directed the chakra to the direction of the guardian. The monster didn't seem to notice it until it was too late.

With a painful hiss, the monster practically jumped out of the heart, half of its face was cut and green blood was flowing freely. Colette recovered her weapon and another technique came to her mind as she ran to the monster. She tried to ignore the pain and burning in her left arm as she threw the two chakras at the same time.

"Grand Chariot!" the two metal disks crossed near the monster's face, which was still stunned from the previous attack, resulting in a bolt of lightning coming down and hitting the caterpillar as the disks sliced its eyes.

The creature hissed blindly in pain, Colette produced two more chakras from the ground and prepared to throw them. However, the monster could still feel her steps on the ground and buried itself once more as Colette tried to throw one of her weapons with all her strength, missing.

The caterpillar dug its way to Colette and before she could avoid, the monster jumped out of the ground, its pincers ready to close on her head. The blonde had no choice but to put her weapons in the way of the deadly pincers. She managed to block the attack aimed at her head, but had no way of stopping the flight of the giant worm, who effectively rammed on the girl, bringing her to the ground.

Colette screamed in pain as she felt her body being buried from the waist down by the body of the giant caterpillar, which landed on her, trapping the girl's legs under its heavy body. Sheena yelled her name as Colette tried to recover her bearings. The monster tried to rip her head off as it clicked its pincers angrily near her face. Colette managed to block the attack with her chakra, but the guardian easily tore it from her grasp and threw it to the side.

Colette still had her hands free and knew she could produce as many chakras as she needed to block the monster's attacks, but she was starting to feel drowsy again as the caterpillar shook its head when it tried to bite her. If she didn't do something soon, that pollen would make her sleep and she would be finished then.

I… I can't end like this! Sheena and the others… she thought as she blocked another attempt by the guardian to smash her skull with its powerful pincers. They're counting on me.

"GET AWAY!" Colette screamed in desperation as she unconsciously put her hand on the ground to search for another weapon. She didn't notice the sudden burst of power she released on the earth.

It was then a pointed stalagmite rose diagonally from the ground, inches away from Colette's head, and hit the monster's face with tremendous strength. Colette looked in awe at the stalagmite as green blood rained on her, staining part of her clothes. The monster was shoved off Colette and the force of the impact made it fall on its back.

Colette started to tremble at the blood that covered her body, but used all of her determination not to start panicking, she still had something to do. The stalagmite sunk back into the ground as the reincarnated Gnome got up slowly after much effort and almost falling over herself, her legs still sensitive from nearly being crushed.

The guardian wasn't moving, seeming to be stunned. Colette felt bad at seeing it that way and at the thought that she had to finish it off. Before, she had to fight against those animated corpses and killed just once, an experience that she didn't want to repeat. She wondered if she really had to do it.

"Colette! Finish it off, before it gets up!" Sheena called from where she was standing.

Colette looked at her surrogate big sister with a conflicted expression. She didn't want to but…

"Killing isn't that difficult... you get used to it over time..." Colette remembered those words that sickened her so much.

However, she had also vowed that she would fight to protect her friends and family, without letting killing and violence take control of her.

So be it. Colette thought, walking towards the monster, which seemed to have recovered its bearings now and was trying to flip itself back. "I'm sorry…" Colette said to the guardian as she prepared to utilize Spinning Wheel once more. The blonde muttered a quick prayer, asking for forgiveness for what she was about to do. "Spinning Wheel!" the spinning chakra then hit the monster's head, entering in its body, slicing anything in its path, and exiting by the stinger, breaking it.

Colette caught the weapon back as the giant caterpillar finally ceased to move, its body turning into stone and breaking. The rest of the party broke into a run as Colette looked her chakra, which dripped of green, insect blood. The girl felt nauseous once more and her legs started shaking as she turned conscious that the same substance was clinging to her clothes. She let go of her weapon as Sheena and the others approached her, asking if she was alright. The blonde put up a smile as she turned to them.

"I'm fine," however, the shaking on her legs betrayed her state.

"Hang on," Aqua said as she summoned a frog monster.

The servant of the Centurion of Water let out a spray of water on the girl, cleaning part of the blood on her clothes and leaving her soaking wet, but at least her legs stopped shaking.

"Thank you," Colette said, and despite being wet from head to toe she smiled a now genuine smile.

"I'm sorry you had to pass by that," Sheena said.

"It's ok. Really. I know there wasn't any other way," Colette said, lowering her head a bit.

"Anyway, you did well, Colette," Raine said. "For one to be willingly to fight the way you did it's necessary a great amount of courage."

"R-really?" Colette asked, twirling with her fingers as she blushed at the compliment.

It was then the sphere of yellow light appeared once more over the altar, making the group turn and look at it. Colette walked towards it once more in a trance like state, feeling the Summon Spirit's soul attract her like a month to a flame. Gnome's voice came from the sphere once more:

"Hey, hey, you girl rock! Really, I thought you were a goner for a second therebut then you go and POW! BAM! Not bad!"

"Can't he just merge with her and get this done with?" Zelos said, just to receive another punch on his head from Sheena. "OW! What was that for?"

"For jinxing Colette before," the ninja answered.

"Now, guess it's time for us to merge, so heads up and do a good job, Keeper of Terra's Oath!" Gnome ended as Colette reached for the sphere. When she touched it the yellow light covered her arm and body and another flash forced the group to cover their eyes.

Gnome's symbol on Colette's collarbone shone yellow as the light enveloping her body dispersed into several brilliant dots, revealing a sleeveless, yellow dress with zippers on its sides, chain-like patterns crossing over her torso, held by straps on her shoulder and leaving her collarbone exposed. The skirt of the dress barely reached her knees and had an orange underskirt. Her pants turned white and her shoes became metal with a grey color, although conserving their previous design.

Colette's hair was made into a single braid and two golden bracelets appeared on her wrists. No ethereal wings came out of her back. When the transformation ended the group could see what happened to their friend. Colette looked over herself and smiled at her new attire:

"That looks nice," the blonde said as her friends approached.

"Wow! That's a cute outfit!" Ignis said.

"Yeah. I think it suits you like the Summon Spirit of earth, don't you think so Rain…" Sheena started, but when she looked at where Raine was supposed to be she found just empty air. Looking again she saw Raine crouched near Colette, looking intently at her shoes.

"Are they really made out of metal? It seems to be some kind of iron," Raine inquired with a very familiar and disturbing gleam in her eyes.

"Um… I'm not sure, but it doesn't weight that much," Colette said as Raine went further to touch her clothing. The blonde started to blush and even yelped when Raine lifted her skirt to inspect the inside.

"And that's what I meant..." Marta said to Colette as she sighed.

"Well, I must say, you look absolutely stunning, Colette," Zelos said, his smile and suave tone at full power.

"Yeah... at least you don't have to wear a swimsuit," Marta added in a whisper, although Colette heard her jealous tone.

"Oh, I'm sure it's not that bad. I mean, you can feel the wind as you fly, right?" the cheerful blonde said.

"Why do people keep saying that?" Marta muttered as she sighed, putting her hand on her forehead.

"Anyway..." Ratatosk said, taking the control. "We need to find Solumn's core now."

"Oh, I know where it is," Colette said.

"You do?"

"Well... I'm not really sure, but I feel like I know," Colette then turned and pointed the palm of her hand to the altar.

A bright light rose from the center of the platform and twisted, slowly receding back and forming a rune on the top of the altar. Colette then walked forward to the portal with the rest of the group following her into another part of the temple...