Hey people! New chapter here!
We're one more chapter away of the end of this act.
So, let's get on to the reading.
Chapter 27
The Renegade and the Goddess
Altamira, the Sea Resort, had been and still is a city focused on tourism and entertainment. Although the amusement park and a good part of the city had been mostly destroyed due to the demon incursions in the Second Invasion, with the help of the Lezareno Company, most of the city had been reconstructed.
They were also lucky for being in a region that was just deep enough for boats to travel, otherwise, the city might have to face constant attacks from sea demons. However, few people had time for fun and amusement these days and even the once glamorous city had to deal with the Cruxis Church.
The town was effectively divided between the supporters of the Lezareno Company, which was a well-known supporter of the Renegades' cause, and the Cruxis, who had an obelisk at an area besides the hotel. Tension didn't break out thanks to President Bryan's negotiation with the heads of the Church on Altamira. Some said he had to pay them to keep the church from openly attacking Lezareno, others that he had blackmail on the church. Whatever was the case, many didn't dwell on it and went on with their daily lives, like most people in Aselia did.
"Oh man, I love this city!" Zelos said loudly for anyone to hear as he grinned. "Sea, beach and hunnies in tight bikinis! Sometimes I wish I had lived here."
"You can stay here if you want," Sheena said. "We could manage without another loudmou… I mean, without your help."
"What? Are you crazy? I'm essential to the group! Without me, the only samples of male there would be are Lloyd there…" he pointed to the red clad swordsman in question, who raised an eyebrow at being pointed at. "And the kid with personality issues," Zelos referred to Emil.
"I-I don't have personality issues!" said blonde protested. "It's just Ratatosk's spirit in me and…"
"Emil, don't pay attention to what Zelos says," Marta spoke. She leaned forward, clasping her hands on her back and giving the blonde one of her smiles. "I don't care if you have personality disorder or any other kind of issues. You are the man of my life and nothing will change it!"
"I… don't think that's the case here Marta…" Emil said, a big drop of sweat running down his forehead.
While the group was discussing, Colette was looking around in awe while looking at the stands offering local dishes and, beyond them, the beach. She had never been to the beach before and this place had such an inviting atmosphere. She knew they weren't here on vacation, but the beach really seemed fun and…
Colette ran onto somebody and the two of them fell as she let out a "yelp." She immediately got up and started to utter an string of apologies:
"I'm so sorry, I didn't look where I was going! I'm sorry for running into…" she looked and then saw who she had run into.
"It's fine…" said the other.
Colette was rather surprised the stranger she had collided with was actually a young girl with a black dress and gray, fingerless gloves. Her pink hair was arranged into two pigtails. Colette offered her hand, but the girl got up on her own. When she looked into the girl's eyes, Colette had to suppress a gasp.
The girl's pale blue eyes… they were so dull… with no life to them. Colette also didn't detect any emotion on the girl's voice when she spoke. It was then she noticed other thing; a strange feeling upon looking at the girl. It was like there was some kind of energy around the girl that was peculiarly familiar, yet Colette couldn't place her finger on it.
"Colette, what are you doing?" she heard Sheena's voice and turned to see her friends walking to her. Colette then turned in time to hear the pink haired girl say:
"Excuse me… I have to go…" and with that the girl departed, passing by Colette's friends without even regarding them.
Sheena and Raine stopped and looked at the departing girl, they too had felt something strange about the girl's aura. A strong and quite familiar kind of power, but… Tenebrae also stopped as his hidden form turned to look at the departing girl. He knew that presence very well…
"Colette, are you alright?" Marta asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine… just…" Colette started, but didn't know what else to say. Why did that girl felt so familiar when Colette was sure she never met her before?
"Anyway, don't wander off by yourself," Raine said. Colette nodded and the group resumed their walk.
As they turned and arrived near the stairs to the beach, they sighted a strange group of armored people. Three of them wore green armors of a familiar design, however, it was the one at the head of the formation that made Zelos frown.
The man used a golden armor, without a helmet. His black hair and beard were fashioned in wild spikes. His face sported some scars as he showed a serious and authoritative demeanor. The man seemed to recognize the reincarnated Celsius as he stopped, together with the other armored soldiers behind him.
"Well, well. If it isn't Representative Zelos…" the man said in a strong, yet scornful voice. "What are you doing so far away from your assigned city?"
"Hello to you too, Magnar," Zelos replied with a smile, though it had no warm in it and his tone was neutral.
"Magnar?" Lloyd asked.
"I heard about him," Colette said. "He is the Commander of the Martel Knights of the Cruxis Church, famous for defending the new Hima during a fierce, demon assault."
"That's right," Magnar said. He then noticed Raine, who tried to tip her hat lower to hide her face, however the man's well-trained eyes noticed her peculiar hair color and features. "A half-elf?"
Some knights seemed to tense and reached for their swords. Lloyd and the others were ready to respond in case a fight broke out, but were stopped when Zelos lifted his hand, making signal for them to stop, his eyes never leaving Magnar as he spoke:
"I wouldn't start a fight in the middle of the city if I were you, Magnar. I'm sure you don't want to have an incident between the Church and Lezareno in your hands, do you?"
"And why would you, a Cruxis' Representative, walk together with such filth?" Magnar countered.
"Don't talk about our friend like that!" Lloyd said, protectively.
"Silence, boy! I talk about them however I want!"
"Let it go, Lloyd," Raine said. "Bravados like that won't do me any harm."
"What did you say, wench?" one of the knights asked.
"Now, now, let's all settled down," Zelos said, breaking the tension. "Magnar, what I do or not isn't for you to question, so, if you're done with your business here, me and my companions would like to pass," Zelos said in a cold tone, however, one could easily pick the warning underneath it. Zelos was using his position to draw the line.
"Humph," Magnar then ordered his men to go. He passed by Zelos and Lloyd and the others could hear the Commander of the Martel Knights saying. "I'll be reporting on this… dubious conduct of yours."
"Be my guest…" Zelos said, closing his eyes with a smile as Magnius passed by.
The group then approached Zelos. Sheena had a surprised expression on her face at seeing Zelos standing up for Raine and effectively chasing those Knights away. This certainly wasn't the Zelos she remembered. Raine then asked the red head:
"Why did you put yourself in such a position for me? You know this could turn the church on you."
"Bah, I'm already on a bad position as it is for leaving Meltokio like I did. What's one more offense on all of this?" Zelos said, his easygoing tone coming back as he now gave a genuine smile.
"You know, you're actually nice when you're not acting like a complete pervert," Marta said.
"Why, thank you, my darling kitten," Zelos said. "Now, how about we all take a little break, buy some swimsuits and go to the beach?"
"We're not here on vacation, you know," Sheena said.
"C'mon. I bet even Summon Spirits need to relax every now and then. Ain't I right, Emil?"
Emil thought about answering that, but Ratatosk warned him to keep his mouth shut, otherwise this could become a frequent behavior on the red head's part.
"Colette, my angel, what do you say? You wanna see the beach and the sea, right?"
"Um… well…" Colette looked from Zelos to Sheena, thinking on how she could answer without getting one of them upset. However, it was clear in her eyes that she wanted to have some fun on the beach.
"Lloyd my bud, come here for a moment," Zelos called, taking Colette's silence as approval.
Lloyd raised his eyebrow at the Representative, but walked to him notwithstanding. He just wondered when he suddenly became Zelos' Bud... and what exactly "Bud" meant. Zelos was grinning as he passed one arm around Lloyd's shoulders, saying:
"How about I teach you some things about the art of beach fun?"
"You mean, like swimming and making sand castles?" Lloyd asked.
"Like picking up chicks wearing swimsuits."
"W-What? B-But… Sheena…" Lloyd stuttered, trying to get the image of wet girls on swimsuits out of his head. When he spoke the name of his amorous interest, the image immediately changed to portray Sheena in a tight bikini, dripping wet. A trickle of blood start to come out of his nose.
"Oh, yeah. Well, you can use it on her. Just remembered the three 'hots' of the beach," Zelos said.
"Three 'hots'?" Lloyd repeated.
"Hot sun, hot sand and hot beach sex," Zelos proclaimed.
Lloyd blushed beet red and now he definitely had two lines of blood coming out of his nose as his male mind spiced up the previous mental image. Emil, Colette and Marta also blushed. Raine remained impassive as always, but Sheena was divided between lashing out and contemplating the thought of herself and Lloyd at that situation.
The heavy silence that settled was broken when Lumen's voice sounded from his hidden position:
"What's beach sex?" he asked in that innocent tone of his.
"Well… you see…" Solum started, but Aqua interrupted him.
"It's nothing! Something the humans say that have absolutely no meaning!"
"Oh, ok."
After that exchange, Lloyd could finally find his voice and spoke, after cleaning his nose with his sleeve:
"What... do you…?" he then found out that he hadn't recovered his speech ability as much as he thought.
"C'mon, Lloyd. It's all the girls' romantic dream to have a hot, make out session with their loved ones in a beach illuminated by the moon," Zelos said.
True to his word, Marta did fantasize about something like that when she was fourteen. Of course, she would never say it out loud. Sheena was in a similar position and was starting to wonder that, maybe, Zelos was true to his title.
Zelos then looked ahead and whistled, talking to Lloyd:
"Just take a look at that hunny over there."
Lloyd and the others looked and saw the woman Zelos was pointing at. True to his word, the woman was something else; tall, slender, well endowed, green forest hair and eyes and a serene expression on her face. She was using a swimsuit while leaning over the fence and looking over the sea.
"She's... so beautiful," Colette said, as she felt her body heating up as her eyes scrutinized the green haired beauty without her consent.
"Good eye, my little angel," Zelos complimented. "Now bud, watch and learn from a master of the art," the red head pointed to his chest while closing one eye with a proud expression on his face.
"Do I really have to?" Lloyd questioned, narrowing his eyes, but Zelos was already walking towards the woman.
The green haired woman then noticed somebody close to her and turned to see Zelos there, sporting his best charming smile. She seemed confused at that, until the Representative spoke in his suave tone:
"Hello there, beauty. What is a woman as glamorous as you doing all alone in a tropical paradise like this?"
The green haired woman seemed to make a look of comprehension at hearing that and started speaking in a very gentle and smooth voice:
"Actually, I'm not here alone. I'm waiting for somebody."
"Oh, but don't worry, I'm sure me and my friend can help you entertain your friend," Zelos said, not missing a beat. "You know, you have a very beautiful voice. Are you a singer by any chance?"
Zelos took one step closer to the woman, almost invading her personal space. Even so, the green haired beauty didn't seem phased in the least, she simply gave Zelos a gentle, warm smile, one that Sheena and Raine found somewhat familiar.
"Not really. Oh, there's my friend," she said, Zelos didn't seem to notice the tone which she used when saying "friend".
"Really? I hope she's as beautiful as y…" Zelos never achieved to go on with his pick up lines, for in that moment he was roughly grabbed from the back by two hands, turned, grabbed by the collar of his jacket and lifted in the air.
When the red head finally collected his bearings, he was staring down at a very pissed off-looking blue haired man in a swimming trunk and blue shirt. Suffice to say, the death glare on the man's face was enough to make Zelos start to sweat.
"Mister, this is my husband," the green haired lady said, her smile one of mischievousness, yet seeming innocent.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the blue haired man demanded, shaking Zelos roughly.
"So that's how humans court their females," Lumen said in a tone of understanding. "But I don't understand how being beaten by a husband will help him conquer the girl."
"Should I take notes Zelos?" Lloyd called, snickering at their friend's predicament.
"Better yet, record it," Sheena said while laughing at pervert's expense.
Marta giggled and Raine couldn't help, but smirk. Emil was about to say something when Ratatosk called his attention, seeming surprised:
"Those are… give me the control," he said in a demand.
"Um… ok then," Emil said, not sensing hostility in Ratatosk's tone.
When the blonde opened his now crimson eyes again he approached the blue haired man (who was still glaring at Zelos, who looked ready to wet his pants) and the green haired woman, who smiled innocently at her place, like none of that was happening.
"Never thought I would see you two like this," Ratatosk said, calling the attention of the three.
Once the man and the woman recognized his aura, the green haired woman seemed to gasp and the man dropped Zelos unceremoniously on the ground. Nobody took notice of the Representative's pained cry. The two strangers then looked more attentively and the woman asked:
"Ratatosk? Is that you?"
Part of the group gasped at hearing that. Ratatosk didn't seem surprised in the least at being recognized, rather, he seemed to be expecting it.
"It's been a long time… Martel, Yuan," he said looking from the woman to the man.
"So what Kratos said was true after all," Yuan said. He then looked at the group. "Strange that I didn't notice your group's aura sooner. You must be concealing them."
"Yes. By the way, I heard some interesting things about you being the leader of the Renegades…" Ratatosk looked at Yuan. "and about a Goddess of Victory," he looked to Martel, who blushed.
"I tried really hard, but it seems the nickname stuck, didn't it?" the green haired woman said.
"Wait. Can somebody rewind a sec? Cause I'm confused here," Zelos said, voicing part of the group's opinion.
Yuan glared at Zelos, who almost yelped and ran behind Lloyd, grabbing his shoulders as if the young man could provide some cover for him and sighing in relief. Lloyd sweatdropped at Zelos' display as Yuan said:
"I don't think it would be prudent to discuss it here. Too many ears around…"
"Agreed. Do you have a room in an Inn?" Raine asked.
"Actually, we were given rooms in the Altamira Hotel. We have a meeting with the Lezareno President the next day," Martel said.
"And decided to enjoy the beach while waiting?" Sheena inputted.
"That was Martel's idea, not mine," Yuan said in a defensive tone.
"Leading a resistance organization is a very stressful job. So it is good for ones' health to take a break every now and then," Martel recited in a motherly-like tone.
"I agree," Colette said. "Too much work and no fun, makes one's life sour."
"Exactly and…" Martel said with a smile, but it soon disappeared as she looked at Colette.
Something seemed to flicker on the Renegade woman's eyes as she looked at Colette's face. The blonde girl started to blush at being under such an intense look, even more considering it was from a woman as beautiful as Martel. Colette then gathered enough courage to ask:
"Um… is there… something on my face?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just…" Martel said, seeming unsure of herself. "Can I ask your name, deary?"
"I'm Colette."
"No last name?" Martel asked in a seemingly curious tone.
Colette thought about that for a moment. True to be told, she had never once asked her mother what was their original family name. She shook her head.
Martel's eyes widened in surprise and Colette started to get nervous, wondering if she had said something wrong. Yuan put his arm on Martel's shoulder upon noticing the look on his wife's face. Martel looked at him and understanding the message on his eyes she said:
"It was nothing. I'm sorry for bothering you. Now, if you please?"
The group followed the Renegade leader to the hotel while Colette stayed wondering what exactly that had been about.
- / - / - / - / - / -
As soon as the group entered the luxurious VIP suite of the hotel, Zelos left his post behind the group and walked forth, whistling at the accommodations the leader of the Renegades and his wife had gained from Duke Bryant.
"Well, I have to take my hat off. Bryant has style," the red head said. "At least it looks better than my room in the mansion."
"I thought you were some kind of noble the moment I saw you," Yuan said after he and Martel emerged from the bathroom. The blue haired man had changed in a black, business suit and Martel in a woman's, blue, business suit. Zelos tried hard not to ogle the attractive, half-elven woman. "Let me tell you something: I despise your kind, so if you touch Martel, I will sever that thing that identifies you as a man."
Zelos gulped audibly and closed his legs immediately, fearing for his manhood. Martel sighed and slapped the back of Yuan's head, which elicited an "Ow!" from him. She gave an apologetic smile as she said:
"I'm sorry. Yuan doesn't like nobles very much due to traumatic, past experiences."
"Martel!" the blue haired half-elf said in protest. Martel didn't seem to pay attention to it.
"He's also quite protective of me, so forgive him for his rude behavior."
"Ugh. How can I keep my image if you talk about these things to everybody?" Yuan grumbled, going to a nearby table and sitting on a chair.
"Are you hungry? We have some tea and biscuits," Martel offered.
"That sounds…" Lloyd started, but Raine elbowed him in the stomach, giving him a glare of "mind your manners."
"No thanks. We already ate," the silver haired woman said, looking to the couple with a neutral expression. "Instead, why don't you explain to us how you know Ratatosk?"
Martel and Yuan exchanged glances. They then looked at Emil, who felt a little nervous at having two of the most powerful people in Aselia looking intently at him. Ratatosk said for him to inform them they could tell Lloyd and the others. As Emil transmitted the message, Martel said for them to sit as she spoke:
"It all started back in the Kharlan War. My brother and I were travelling together when we met Yuan, who was running from a group of slave dealers. There were quite a few during the war, selling off half-elves for nobles or for Exsphere experiments conducted by the Royal Families."
"We tried releasing some of our kin," Yuan said. "I think that's what got Ratatosk's attention. He appeared one day to us and said we were being recruited to help the Summon Spirits to save the world from the path of destruction it was heading towards. We naturally felt honored, but…"
"We didn't do enough," Martel said, her expression one of regret and sadness. "We thought that if we gave the example and made people realize how the war as affecting the world, they would stop and realize that what they were doing was only hurting themselves. But small actions and speeches can only take you so far...
"We managed to get ourselves branded as radicals and that is the gentlest thing some people called us. Eventually, Ratatosk got impatient at our lack of progress and confronted us."
"You were all quite stubborn with your ideals. You and your brother," Ratatosk said, putting his hands on his hips. "By the way, what happened to the brat?" he looked around, as if waiting for him to show up from a hiding corner.
"Sometime after the demons invaded, we were attacked by a group of them, led by Nebilim. Martel and I managed to fight them back, but Nebilim went after him," Yuan said in a sorrowful tone. "All we saw was a bright flash and after that, the two were gone. We never saw him again."
Lloyd and the others stood in silence at that. They knew what Yuan and Martel should be feeling. The green haired woman then said, trying to sound optimistic:
"But I have hopes he was just captured, so there will still be the possibility that we can save him."
"I don't…" Ratatosk was about to say, but Emil wrenched the control off him. "The hell? Why did you do that?"
Let them believe it. It's easier to deal with the fact if they keep that hope. the blonde said.
"You do know that hope is going to be shattered in the future, don't you?" Ratatosk muttered before going silent, not even waiting for an answer.
"Anyway…" Yuan said. "Martel and her brother refused to yield to Ratatosk's demands to destroy the two governing structures of the countries and eventually he left us to our own devices, saying he would do things his way. That was the last time we saw him.
"Near the end of the war, we didn't achieve any progress at all. It was… frustrating. We realized we truly didn't do enough and then the Second Invasion happened and we had to go into hiding to avoid being killed by the demons."
"We then saw the state things were," Martel said. "The Desians, Cruxis… there were many people that weren't content, like us, to simply watch all these events unfold and some that regretted what their fathers did during the war. We decided to start a resistance group, which eventually evolved into the Tethe'allan Renegades."
"You two said you're married, right?" Marta asked.
"Oh yes. That happened while my brother was still around. He and Yuan had an argument because of that."
"Just because he was obsessed about you," Yuan said. "I swear, you spoiled him too much. I even thought you were actually his mother when I first met you two."
Martel blushed at that, but didn't say anything to defend herself. Marta was taking in the interaction between the couple with great interest, like she was making mental notes for future reference. Yuan then looked back at the group and asked what they wanted to talk with them. The mood turned sour as the party remembered what they came to discuss with the leader of the Renegades.
Sheena and Raine narrated their visit to the Toize Valley Mine, their discussion with Netrioh and the revelation of the Exspheres' awakening method. Yuan and Martel's expressions turned serious once they heard the name of the power-amplifying stones. The half-elven couple didn't utter a single word as the two, older women told their tale.
After Sheena and Raine finished their story, Yuan and Martel exchanged a quick look. After some seconds of silence, Martel said:
"Thanks for telling us this, but you don't need to worry. We were already aware of the Exspheres' awakening method," the group gasped at that. Colette asked how was that. "We saw many things in the war. Some of the half-elves we rescued described some of the experiments that were done to them and we also had the bad luck of witnessing what happened once a Keycrest-less Exsphere was removed from its host."
Marta was about to ask, but Yuan had already sensed her question and spoke:
"The Exsphere is different from any other kind of parasite life-forms in this world. It doesn't latch only to the person's body, but to his life force itself. Keycrests prevent the parasitism process to take place, suppressing this link. When a Keycrest-less Exsphere is removed, the link is forcefully severed and cause the victim's life force to go berserk, even going as far as mutating the host into a monster."
Lloyd suddenly remembered something:
A green creature was approaching him and his father, the Desians had already left, Kvar giving the order, smiling the entire way… he could hear his mother's voice, begging Kratos to kill her... it sounded like it was coming from the monster. After that, Lloyd blacked out...
It was the first time Lloyd remembered all the details of his encounter with Kvar and the night his mother died. With all that Yuan said, he could finally connect the dots and understand the facts that his two-years-old mind wasn't able to comprehend at the time.
"But if you know about it, then why… ?" Emil started, but Yuan interrupted him.
"We would never repeat that heinous process. All the Exspheres we use were taken from human ranches or smuggled. Even so, they are necessary if we are to fight the demons. Not all half-elves are as strong as me and Martel."
"We learned much in our life," Martel said. "I also don't like to use them, but if that is what is necessary to restore this world, then I will use them. I made that vow after realizing that Ratatosk was right," at that, Emil felt the Summon Spirit's consciousness becoming aware. Marta turned to him. "I know that you probably won't forgive me, but… I wanted to say that I'm sorry…. I'm sorry for not listening to you.
"You were right. Ideals, in the face of the world's own survival, mean nothing. We should have done what was necessary, not what we wanted to and that's why…" Martel reached into her pocket and brought out what looked like some kind of golden emblem with a dark-crimson gem in the middle. "I want to return this to you."
"The Derris Emblem," Raine breathed out, recognizing the design.
Ratatosk asked to take control and speak to her. Emil nodded and let the Lord of Monsters speak using his body:
"Has it been useful to you?"
"Yes. It saved our lives from the demons on multiple occasions, even when the mana was burnt out," Martel said.
"Keep it," the Renegade Leader and the Goddess of Victory looked in bewilderment at Ratatosk. "You two seem to be doing a fine job and, frankly speaking, you were fairly decent Knights."
"Ratatosk…" Yuan whispered.
"Besides, if you learned your lesson, it's fine by me. I just wanted to have the chance to say this: I told you so."
Emil, to say the least, was dumbstruck. When had Ratatosk become forgiving and understanding? Marta was also surprised, but in a good way. She approached him, smiling a radiant smile. Ratatosk noticed that and asked what it was.
"That was the first time I heard you say something like that. I'm proud of you," Marta said.
"That... was nothing," Ratatosk said, avoiding his eyes and crossing his arms.
Marta giggled at seeing a light pink tint on the Summon Spirit's cheeks. She then remembered something and turned to Yuan:
"By the way, is Commander Brute aware of this?"
"Yes," Martel answered. "From what we heard, your grandfather dealt with Exspheres so the knowledge was passed on to your father, but you can rest assured. He holds no love for those stones either."
"Yeah... I heard that grandpa wasn't exactly a nice person," Marta looked to the side in shame.
"By way, where are you all staying? We can see some suites for you," Martel offered
"Really?" Lloyd asked, excited at the possibility of sleeping in such comfortable-looking rooms, however Raine slapped him at the back of his head and said.
"Thanks for the offer, but we will look for an Inn for ourselves," she then shot a look to Lloyd of "mind your manners" that was starting to make he remember of his mother. The young man grumbled.
"Anyway, you should come with us tomorrow to warn Duke Bryant of what use the demons are giving to his company's mine," Yuan said, getting up. "Meet me and Martel at the Elemental Rail and we will get you to Lezareno."
- / - / - / - / - / -
The group found an Inn and booked for the night and the day next. Considering they still had the evening for themselves, Marta decided to drag Emil off to see the city. Colette and Sheena wanted to go the beach, so they dragged Lloyd to a nearby clothing store. Zelos tagged along, deciding that he should "grace the beach with his presence".
Raine refused to go anywhere near the sea and stayed in room with the excuse that she wanted to review all of their latest findings and information. Lloyd said that, if she wanted, he could teach the half-elf to swim and that he wouldn't let she drown. Raine had a pink tint on her cheeks as she refused again. Zelos noticed that and, when Lloyd and him were waiting for the girls to find some swimsuits, he commented to Lloyd:
"You know, we should hang out more, bud."
"What do you mean with that?"
"I mean, c'mon, haven't you noticed that at least half the girls in our group are somewhat infatuated with you. And you're not even that attractive to begin with!" Lloyd narrowed his eyes at Zelos. He then thought on what Zelos said.
It was true Sheena was attracted to him, which she openly said. But the others... Colette treated him like she treated Marta and the others. Marta was obsessed with Emil. The Centurions were out of question. So the only one left was...
"You mean Raine?" Lloyd asked, now looking confused.
"Took you long enough to get the hint, heh? Honestly, I don't know what she and Sheena sees in you, but I guess that protectiveness you show must be one of the reasons," Zelos said.
"Why shouldn't I protect my friends?"
"No, you didn't get it," Zelos sighed. He was starting to feel the irony of the situation here. "Women in general want a guy that says he will protect them, even if they can fend by themselves. And considering you accept the fact that Raine is a half-elf must only add up in their eyes. Man, that's frustrating..."
Lloyd didn't know if he should start bragging or pointing out that Zelos could attract the girl's interest too if he didn't act like he wanted to get into their pants half of the time. The red clad swordsman decided to dismiss that and looked as Sheena and Colette selected some bikinis and swimsuits.
Zelos seemed to think things got too silent as he spoke again:
"So, any special reason as to why you didn't try to throw your charm into our resident angel, Colette?"
"In case you haven't noticed, Sheena and Colette are like sisters to each other and I'm already... I mean, I want to be with Sheena. So, I don't think she would take it well if I did that."
Zelos agreed. However, considering that Lloyd's apparent success with the opposite sex was unintended, he was wondering how come Colette hadn't been swayed yet. Also, when he showed his charms, the blonde didn't seem moved in the least too.
Even Raine showed some reaction to me, but Colette only ever seemed interested in... wait. Could it be that she... ? Zelos thought, but decided to dismiss the idea as Sheena and Colette came back, attracting the men's attention:
"So, what do you think Lloyd?"
Colette was wearing a simple, white mayo, with a brown throng tied around her waist and sandals. However, when the two males looked at Sheena, who was wearing a rather daring, red swimsuit with an opening held by straps on her front that went until her belly button and showed off her ample cleavage, Lloyd had to cover his nose to prevent the two from noticing the blood that started to pour from his nostrils while Zelos openly grinned.
"Excuse me!" Lloyd said, bolting out of the store to the nearest washroom. He desperately needed some cold water.
"Seems you achieved your objective Sheena," Zelos said, in a complementing tone, still grinning. "By the way, nice mayo. I have to say, if they wrote your name for the competition of Queen of the Beach, you would earn my vote right away."
"Thanks... I think," Sheena said, not knowing if she should beat Zelos, or simply ignore him.
"Now, let me search for something for me. It won't do good if Sheena robs all the looks," Zelos said, getting up and going to find a swimsuit for himself.
Sheena sighed. She was hoping to convince Lloyd to buy some trunks for him, so the two of them could swim together and maybe she could also get close enough to him for them to share a kiss. It was about time for them to have one.
"Ha! Perfect! Hey, Sheena what do you think of this?" Zelos said.
Should I ignore him, or shoot his ego down? she wondered as she turned to him and saw what he was holding on his hands. What... the... fuck?
A grinning Zelos was proudly displaying to the dark haired woman and her surrogate sister a purple speedo. Sheena felt her left eyebrow twitching as she saw it, her face portraying a disturbed expression.
"So... ?" Zelos asked, still grinning.
"I think I'm gonna puke..." Sheena said, looking clearly traumatized as her mind pictured Zelos wearing the item.
"The color looks good, but where is the rest?" Colette asked in an innocent tone. Sheena, for the heart of her, didn't have the courage to tell Colette there was no rest.
- / - / - / - / - / -
As night fell, Altamira's nocturnal attractions started, however, the party decided that it would be better for them to call the day off, since they now had soft beds to sleep for a change. Marta and Emil were coming from the theatre, where they had watched a play about some guys in cat costumes named Katz.
The rest of the group had already gone on to the Inn as the couple was disembarking from the Elemental Rail. Marta had a big smile on her face as Emil was blushing while they walked hand-in-hand.
"Today was really fun, don't you think? Pity we couldn't go to the beach," Marta said to Emil.
"Y... Yeah..." Emil meekly said.
"What's wrong? Your face is beet red," Marta said, containing a giggle.
"Well... um..."
"You know, we should probably have more dates like this."
"T-this was a date?" Emil finally managed to say.
"Why? Didn't you like it?" Marta said, making a sad face and looking down.
"N-no! That's not what I meant! I mean... I did enjoy it... it's just..." he stopped once Marta started giggling at him.
"Sorry, I just couldn't resist it. You're just so cute when you make that face."
"Y-you think so?" Emil asked, as Marta nodded.
"I think I'm gonna throw up..." Emil heard Ratatosk mumbling. The Summon Spirit had been complaining whenever they had a moment like that (which Marta classified as romantic and Ratatosk as clichéd).
The two were approaching the Altamira Hotel when they saw a familiar green haired woman on the street talking with a blue haired man. Marta and Emil gasped when they recognized the man not as Yuan but...
"What's Decus doing here?" Marta whispered to Emil as they crunched behind the fence in the bridge.
"I don't see Alice. Maybe he's here alone," the blonde said as he took a peek.
"Anyway, that doesn't sound good. Let's see what they're doing," Marta suggested, to which Emil nodded.
The couple slowly approached the two adults talking in front of the hotel. They managed to get a good view at what they were doing and hear their conversation:
"Here," Martel said, handing Decus something that looked like a flask. "This is the last one I'll make for you."
"I know. You don't like lying to your husband. I can understand that," Decus said, his tone serious instead of his usual flamboyant. "Don't worry, I already learned how to do it and I can gather the materials by myself."
"That's good to know," Martel said, her tone as serious as her expression. "But did you really have to put it into that cologne of yours?" Martel raised an eyebrow as she scrunched her nose, seeming to recall the smell of said product.
"It's the only way to not call Alice's suspicions. Besides, I think it gives a certain charm to it, don't you think?"
Martel looked like she wanted to discord, but didn't say anything out of consideration for Decus. She just sighed and spoke:
"You should really talk to her about it."
"Alice doesn't have the need for somebody weak," Decus said, his tone turning serious once more. "If I want to protect her and stay by her side, I can't show weakness."
"Even if it destroy you later?"
Decus nodded, his face showing no signal of hesitance. Martel shook her head, knowing that she would have as much luck in trying to convince Decus as she had the other times she tried. The blue haired man turned to leave when he heard familiar voices:
"Decus!"
Martel and the half-demon turned to see Emil and Marta approaching them with serious expressions on their faces. Marta gasped at seeing them, worried of what they might have heard, but Decus didn't show any kind of reaction besides saying:
"Oh. Hello you two. Going out on a romantic night I see," he tried to offer a smile. Ever since his times spying on the Vanguard, Decus had noticed Marta's more than obvious attraction for the blonde.
"Martel, what was that thing you gave him?" Emil asked Martel.
"Aren't you two supposed to be enemies?" Marta inquired.
Martel seemed unsure of what to answer. Sensing her hesitance, Decus turned and spoke:
"There's no need to interrogate her like that. Martel was only passing me a potion that is made to keep my demonic blood in check."
Emil and Marta were surprised at hearing that. The two always suspected there was something wrong with Decus, with the way his aura seemed so twisted and the times he used fire infused attacks, the chaos on it seemed to get agitated and try to devour what was left of his human soul.
"You two certainly noticed how my aura is permanently unstable, right?" Decus voiced their thoughts.
"It's because of the demon blood injected in you, isn't it?" Emil inquired. Decus nodded.
"There is a reason why the procedure doesn't normally work on humans, or at least why they always ended up becoming mindless demons. The human body doesn't have the same magical resistance than that of a half-elf and by consequence the soul is more vulnerable to demonic energy.
"In the first weeks after I went under the transfusion, I managed to control the demon blood by my own will, but after that, it started to slowly take a hold of me. That was when Alice and I entered the Vanguard and the Renegades."
"Alice and Decus claimed they were attacked by demons and had a curse put on them," Martel said. "And since the effect on the soul is practically the same as that of an injection of demon blood, we believed it. However, Decus' case was significantly more serious than Alice."
"How so?" Emil asked.
"His soul was slowly being devoured by the chaos energy. And since it's now clear that he has demon blood, it's safe to say that the blood is slowly corrupting him from the inside."
Marta gasped and Emil's eyes widened as he looked back at Decus, who stood with a neutral and sad expression on his face. The blue haired man looked to the side to avoid looking to the eyes of his former companions. Martel continued:
"We then developed a potion that could keep the demon blood on his body under wraps and prevent it from taking over. However..."
"It only delays the process," Decus completed. "Either way, one day, the demon blood will completely take over my body and soul, at least that's what they say. Martel was the only one that could produce the potion and she gave it to me from time to time, but..."
"I just kept supplying him with it because I promised I would help him until he could prepare it by himself and I am a woman of my word. However, after he showed his true colors, I made it very clear that I would stop preparing it."
"So you were just supplying him because of your promise?" Marta asked to which Martel nodded.
The brunette sighed in relief at seeing Martel wasn't betraying the Renegades and her husband. Marta could understand what Martel had meant with keeping her promises. The reincarnated Sylph was brought up to always stay true to her words.
Emil was also relieved by the revelation, but that also worried him. Decus and he had talked to each other when the latter had been on the Vanguard and the two formed a bond of companionship, if anything else. Emil didn't see Decus as a bad person, he never showed any interest in gaining power or anything like that. However, Emil knew that when it came Alice, Decus was as fanatical as the most loyal followers of Cruxis.
"If you're going to die, then why do you keep following Alice and doing everything she tells you to?" Emil asked.
"Because I owe her my life," Decus said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Alice saved me when I was being harassed on the orphanage we lived because I didn't follow all of the rules that were made by the Church, which supported the orphanage. If it wasn't for her, they would have probably deemed me as a demon in disguise and handed me to the Church for a nice price. Kind of ironic when you think about it."
"Even so, with everything that she's done..." Marta started just to be interrupted.
"I don't care about what she does or not. I'll still follow her even if it is down the Ginnungagap and into Niflheim itself. And to protect her, I'll even become a demon if necessary. That's the choice I made all those years ago."
Decus' tone showed he was dead serious and from his actions, Marta and Emil could see Decus had no problem with keeping that promise even if it forced him to kill his former friends.
"You do know that there's no guarantee she'll be safe around the demons, right?" Emil asked, although he could already tell what would be the answer.
"Yes, I do. But that's the path Alice has chosen and it's my duty to follow her and make sure she won't be harmed in the end."
"You won't be able to keep your promise if both of you continue to follow Nebilim and the demons," Martel said.
Decus didn't have a counter to that. He stayed quiet for a moment, before eventually saying:
"Even so, I'll do everything I can to protect her," he turned and started to walk away, before stopping again and looking at Emil. "Emil, you're a nice kid. I know you two think I'm a bastard and all of that, but I just wanted you to know that I don't have anything personal against you."
"That doesn't change the fact that you're protecting Alice, or change everything that she has done," Marta said, her voice taking on a serious tone.
"You still intent on having revenge on her I see. Then I'll stop you when the time comes."
"Don't expect me to back away, just because you are different. You too will have to answer for what you have done yourself."
Emil wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. Decus then turned and left. Emil turned to Marta and asked why she wanted to take revenge on Alice so much. From what he knew, Alice only betrayed the Vanguard and was responsible for the attack which almost resulted in his capture, but for the brunette to say those things like that there had to be something more.
Marta saw that she couldn't hide the fact anymore and told the Lord of Monsters that in the night of the attack her mother was guarding the House of Salvation and was fatally injured, resulting in her death. Emil gasped and lowered his head, apologizing.
"It's not your fault," Marta said, shaking her head. "Alice was the one responsible for that."
"Yeah, but I'm the reason they attacked," he tried to counter.
"They would have attacked us anyway if they saw it as an opportunity to get rid of key members of the resistance."
The two stayed quiet for some time, until Martel caught their attention by speaking:
"I think you two should go get some rest. This was a long night for all of us."
The couple nodded to her and went their way, thinking about how, in the end, they would have to fight Decus...
- / - / - / - / - / -
The next day the group woke and had breakfast on a nearby kiosk. Emil and Marta decided not to tell the others about their conversation with Decus the other day. They didn't need to worry their friends with that.
After eating, the group met with Yuan and Martel on the entrance to the Elemental Rail. The green haired woman was smiling her gentle smile and Yuan simply made a motion for the group to follow him. As they embarked, Lloyd asked the leader of the Renegades:
"By the way, how is my fath… I mean, General Aurion?"
"He's fine. We sent him as emissary to Moria. Brolir sent us a letter saying he had something to deliver to us. With what you told, I think it is the hostages they rescued at the Toize Valley Mine," Yuan said.
"Brolir?"
"The current King of the Dwarves," Martel explained. "We talked with him during our journey in the Kharlan War. He's just, but a bit resentful. Marta, I'm not sure if your father told you about his visit to Moria to garner the dwarves' support."
"No. Daddy didn't tell me much about the Vanguard's operations or meetings," Marta replied.
"Where is exactly Moria, by the way?" Raine asked with her usual curiosity when it came to things she didn't know.
"I'm sorry, but we're under an oath not to tell anybody about its location," Martel said.
"We can just say it's in a safe location. The demons don't have a clue as to where it is and any diggers they sent were quickly killed by the dwarves in several different locations," Yuan spoke.
The group stayed in silence as they resumed the ride. They eventually came to a great, five-story building that awed the youngsters. It was the biggest building they had ever seen. There were, however, some parts of it that looked like they had been attacked recently, but the structure was in a good state nonetheless.
"It used to be eight-stories high," Yuan explained to them. "It was destroyed during the war. However, the foundations remained intact, so they managed to rebuild it. There's also an underground level for storage and access to the hotel."
Lloyd couldn't even begin to wrap his head around the idea of there being an underground installation so close to the sea. He knew that human's technology was fairly advanced during the Kharlan War, but he hadn't imagined it to be this much.
The group finally entered the building and left the Elemental Rail. According to Yuan, the meeting was to occur in the Sky Terrace, where nobody would eavesdrop on them. Raine looked around and could see some people shooting wary looks to Yuan, Martel and her, though they did their best to hide it. Some, however, quickly looked to the side the moment they noticed her gaze on them.
She wondered how many of those people reported what happened in the building to the Cruxis Church.
After checking with the receptionist, Martel received an ID card, which she inserted on a sloth inside the elevator. The double metal fences closed the door and the cubicle started its ascend. Lloyd, Colette and Sheena were absolutely amazed at everything they were seeing. Martel giggled at their expression until her gaze fell on Colette once more and she looked the blonde with an analytic look.
When they arrived at the designated floor, the fences opened and the group found themselves in an open courtyard. Yuan and Martel left the elevator first while the others followed them close behind. They circled around the garden's fence until they passed by an arch of shorts and saw a large table set in the middle of the gardens.
Sitting in one chair was a light-blue haired, blue-eyed man, who seemed to be on his late twenties or early thirties. He wore a blue, business suit with a swallowed tail, much like Yuan's midnight-blue one, and white pants with golden trimming and a business tie. Besides him was a pink haired woman with pale-blue eyes, wearing a maid uniform and with her hair arranged on a coquet.
The man got up at seeing them approaching and gave a polite smile on Yuan's direction, speaking:
"Yuan. It's nice meeting you again."
"The pleasure is mine, Duke Bryant."
"Please, there's no need for that. I know how you hate those titles," the man said with humor. He then turned to Martel who was wearing a summer, green dress and smiled gently at him. "And Miss Martel. A pleasure as always."
Martel offered him her hand and Duke Bryant took it, bowing to her and kissing her hand in the perfect manner of a gentleman. Sheena was honestly surprised men like that still existed. The most behaved one she had seen had been Lloyd, but Bryant was the very picture of a noble from the old stories.
"And who would your companions be?" Bryant asked, looking at Lloyd and the others.
"Do you remember the group I mentioned in my letter? These are the ones," Yuan said.
"Ah, I see. The reincarnated Summon Spirits," Lloyd and the others introduced themselves, shaking hands with Duke Bryant. Raine offered her hand on a manner much like Martel for the man to kiss, Sheena settled for a handshake, not so comfortable with all that etiquette. Bryant stopped when he noticed Zelos. "Representative Wilder?"
"Hey there Regal. Nice to meet 'cha again," the red head said. "I always knew you were too much of a decent guy to simply follow the Church."
"I could say almost the same about you. So… you're a Summon Spirit too?"
Zelos twirled his hand in the air and produced what looked like a card made of ice. He handed it to Regal, who took the item and read it aloud:
"'Zelos Wilder. Reincarnated Celsius and hottest Summon Spirit before and after'?" he looked at the womanizer.
"I know. I was surprised myself, but if you think about it, it all makes sense. How else would I know everything there is to know about the beauty and handling of the female body?"
Sheena faked a gag and Marta, Emil and Lloyd narrowed their eyes at Zelos, who stood in a proud pose. Regal decided to ignore that and threw the ice card away as he presented himself to the group:
"I'm Regal Bryant. Duke of Altamira and President of the Lezareno Group," he then motioned to the maid near him. "This is my personal maid, Alicia."
"A pleasure to meet you all," she said with a polite bow.
"You look familiar," Colette pointed out. She could swear she had seen that face and eye color before. She then remembered. The girl she had bumped into yesterday. "Maybe you must be related to that girl," Colette whispered, but Alicia caught that and her eyes seemed to widen in understanding.
"Regal," Yuan called the Duke, making them turn to him. "I brought them because there is something you must know."
Regal turned his look back to the group and Raine started telling Lezareno's President about their passing through the Toize Valley Mine and what they saw there. Regal seemed surprised at hearing that there were demons on the mine his company once owed, but didn't show surprise when he heard about the Exspheres.
"So, you know about the Exspheres too?" Sheena asked, noticing his lack of reaction to the information.
"Yes. It's shameful for me to admit, but my company was the one that supplied the Royal Army with most of its Exspheres. My father only came to know about the awakening process much later. He tried to cut off the supplying, but the Royal Family threatened to imprison our family for treason, so he was forced to cooperate."
"I see. Would you also happen to know anything about strange happenings going around or people with inexplicable powers?" Raine asked.
"Not really. Why?"
"We are on a journey to find the other reincarnated Summon Spirits," Colette said. "And we have noticed that all people that are Summon Spirits have powers that humans normally wouldn't have."
"That and a birthmark that is exactly like the emblems of the Summon Spirits," Lloyd completed.
"I see," Regal said. "If hear anything, I will contact you."
"In that case," Martel said, walking towards the group and pulling out a rectangular, black device with holes on the top and bottom. She handed it to Raine, saying. "It's one of the communicators we use. This one has a direct connection to Yuan's line. If I remember correctly, the Temple of Ice is located on Flanoir and there aren't any boats that go near there, but we can arrange transport in case you need."
"Thank you. We will remember that," Raine said, pocketing the communicator away. "Now, you three certainly have important subjects to discuss, so we will take our leave."
The group bowed/waved goodbyes to Regal and left for the elevator. When they entered the elevator and were out of sight, Regal turned to Martel and spoke:
"That girl, Colette. Are you two related by any chance?"
"Um?" Martel let out, confused.
"Her smile, manners, even the look on her eyes. It was like looking at a younger version of you. Does that mean you finally found… ?"
"We're not sure," Yuan said, cutting in. "But we will look into it if it is true. Kratos said they requested shelter to somebody, so maybe there is a chance…" Yuan stopped there. The subject was still painful for him to remember.
"Anyway, we have business to speak off," Martel said.
"True. Alicia, could you serve them some tea?" Regal asked.
"Huh?" Alice let out, seeming distracted and thoughtful. "Oh, right away Master Bryant," she said, resuming her smile and bowing to her employer as she went to fetch the cupboard lying nearby.
Regal noticed the distant and unusual behavior his maid showed ever since Colette and Lloyd spoke about reincarnated Summon Spirits…
- / - / - / - / - / -
"That went well," Emil said as the group left the elevator.
"Yeah. And Regal seems to be a nice person," Colette said in her usual cheerful mood.
"And a perfect gentleman," Sheena said. "Very different from a certain somebody we know," she added as she looked at Zelos from the corner of her eyes.
"Sorry, Sheena hunny, did you say something?" Zelos asked as he caught the insult. "It was quite hard to hear with my ears still hurting from your display of affection the other day."
Sheena seemed ready to pummel Zelos to the ground, not minding all the workers around, when the group heard somebody yelling "wait!" for them. They looked back to see Alicia exiting the other elevator to catch up with them.
The pink haired maid took a moment to regain her breath. She then straightened her posture and spoke, seeming unsure of how to put her thoughts into words:
"I… I heard what you said about reincarnated Summon Spirits being people with special powers and... I think I might know of somebody who fits that description."
"You do?" Lloyd asked. "Who?"
"Her name is Presea and she lives in Ozette," Alicia's tone seemed sorrowful as she spoke the name, but she quickly hid it. Sheena and Raine caught the change, but didn't comment on it. "We… lived next door to each other and she always had… something different about herself."
"Would you care to elaborate?" Raine asked.
"She… said she could… hear things… people, who weren't supposed to be there…"
"Spirits?" Sheena offered.
"I don't really know. I… we thought it was some kind of childish play or something. But when she started to say things… secrets that she said she had heard the voices saying about the people in Ozette, we started to… well… I think it's better you see it by yourselves."
"We will check it out. Thanks," Raine said.
The group then turned to leave again, but was stopped once Alicia called them again. She seemed once more unsure of what to say, looking to the side with an expression of embarrassment and shame. She then spoke up again:
"I think it would be better if you stayed here," she referred to Raine. "The people of Ozette, they…"
"Are highly discriminating about half-elves. Yes, I know that," Raine said with the same cold, serious tone she used when speaking about the discrimination against her race.
"Please, don't hold it against them. They have been very nervous with the Sybak Ranch being so close and…"
"I will judge them based on their attitudes towards me, but don't worry, I won't cause a scene or threaten them, even though I could."
Alicia seemed to gulp at that, but didn't spoke anything more, simply bowing to them and leaving back to the elevator. The group stayed in silence until they disembarked on the main street of Altamira. Sheena spoke first:
"Did you need to scare the woman like that? She looked like she was ready to faint right there and then."
"I merely spoke the truth," Raine said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"We know that you might not like it. After all, Ozette is known for being as fanatical to Cruxis as Iselia and more radical on its anti-half-elf stance," Marta said. "But we have to give it a shot if this story is true."
"You don't need to say that to me, I already said I'm not going to create a scene. I think I'm mature enough to differ between necessary actions and childish behavior."
"Raine," Lloyd spoke up. The Professor looked at him. "Maybe you should stay here, just in case. I mean, not that we don't trust in you or anything, but those guys might not be so willingly to be… civilized."
Zelos sent a thumbs up to Lloyd, with a smile on his face that said "nice going, bud!" and Raine seemed to consider it for one moment. She then shook her head and proclaimed she would go with them, whether they wanted it or not.
Hearing her adamant tone, Lloyd and the others decided to give up on trying to convince the stubborn Raine. As the group left the city, the Centurions materialized around them. Tenebrae was the first one to speak:
"That description Miss Alicia gave was much akin to that of Shadow's powers."
"The Summon Spirit of darkness? Why?" Colette asked.
"Shadow had the best magical and spiritual vision out of all Summon Spirits since he commanded an element that is, before all, used to hide away secrets and things that are not meant to be found," Solum said. "Actually that girl you encountered before, gracious Colette, had an aura blatantly alike to his."
"I noticed that too, but there was something strange with her," Sheena said. "Comparing to our auras, it seemed close to when we are in Spirit form, but, at the same time…"
"Incomplete?" Raine offered.
"I think that would be a way to describe it."
"Then we have to find out why it happened," Colette said in a determined tone.
She remembered the eyes of that girl again. Those lifeless eyes. She definitely didn't want to see that expression on that girl's, Presea's face anymore.
If you asked anybody, be it Tethe'allan, Sylvaranti or even half-elf, who were Martel Yggdrasil and Yuan Ka-Fai, you would probably receive a smile in return and tales of two great leaders that gave their all for the restoration of world.
Hailing from the times of the Kharlan War, both being half-elves, Yuan and Martel suffered the prejudice and hostility directed at those like them, which was so common at that time. But instead of giving up or joining their vengeful, Desian brethren, both stood up and managed to create an organization that not only proposed the restoration of the nation of Tethe'alla (which neither was originally from), but the abandonment of the old hatreds, which caused the war.
With an organization possessing around two thousand members, composed of humans and half-elves, with their alliance to the Sylvaranti Vanguard and cooperation of its leaders, Yuan and Martel proved to the world that humans and half-elves can co-exist and achieve great things together...
- Excerpt from "The World Regeneration", by Unknown -
And here we have it. Oh, and in the spirit of Christmas, I also present to you a skit. This one is between Zelos, Colette, Solum, Sheena, Marta and Lumen:
The Resort
Zelos: Man, I wanted to go to the beach.
Colette: Don't worry, we can always come back another day.
Solum: Maybe after we save Aselia.
Zelos: That's going to take too long…
Sheena: Nobody said it would be easy and if you're going to start complaining, then stay in Altamira and have all the fun you want while we're out, killing demons.
Zelos: No way! I could never live with myself if I let my beautiful hunnies go out in a dangerous, world-saving journey while I stay in a resort. No thanks. I will take this sacrifice.
Marta: It's kinda strange hear you talking about sacrifices, considering you're always complaining about how uncomfortable it is sleeping in a tent.
Zelos: Well, you do too.
Marta: Good point.
Lumen: Guys, guys. Let's all calm down. How about we go to the beach after we talk to Presea and get her to come with us? I'm sure she'll like the idea too.
Zelos: She didn't look like she cared about it. She didn't even noticed my alluring ch…
Sheena: Zeloooos… !
Zelos: What? Uh, why are you giving me that look? Hey. Hey! OW! Stop that She… !
Solum: That certainly brings back memories.
Lumen: Yep! No doubt they're boss' family reincarnated.