Sorry for the two week break, but been busy. To make up for my absent yet again, we have a pretty meaty and emotional chapter. Since Fanfiction is still broken even two months later, I will thank my phantom viewers for reading and supporting this story. I just wish I knew how many were looking, but what can you do?

Now, to the chapter.


Chapter 66: Hammer of Godly Lightning


With Sheena calmed down, Lloyd and her returned to the chief's house.

"As for the whereabouts of the Rheairds, I'll send Orochi to the temple later," Tiga told everyone. "Ask him about them. The Temple of Lightning is north of here." He bowed his head and looked at Sheena. "Take care."

"I won't fail again," Sheena vowed in determination.

Tiga gave a small smile. "I know you won't. You have far more to lose this time."

With that, Lloyd and Sheena left the house. The others were waiting for them outside.

"So, it's off to the Temple of Lightning, huh?" Zelos asked.

"Yeah. We need to take the EC to get there," Sheena said.

Raine paled. "More traveling by sea."

"Cheer up, Raine. Once we get the Rheairds, we won't have to use the EC again," Genis assured.

"And thank goodness for that. Being cope up with a bunch of guys isn't my thing," Zelos said before smiling. "Although I don't mind the ladies' company."

Sheena rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I bet you don't."

"We must hurry to save Colette," Presea urged.

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah. Kratos said that she's safe, but I don't trust the guy despite his help. The sooner we save Colette the better."

"Then we better get going," Raine urged.

Lloyd led the group out of the village and back into Gaoracchia Forest. The walked was mostly peaceful with little to no monster attacks. Still, the mood was tense as everyone mentally prepared to face Volt, one of the most violent summon spirits. One of the few who actively murdered people. They were so lost in thought that it was eerily silence.

"Orochi and Kuchinawa are brothers, right?" Lloyd asked in the middle of their walk, remembering the red and blue ninja and needing something to break the tense silence. "Those are some interesting names."

"They're both old Mizuho words for 'snake'. But those aren't their real names," Sheena stated, happy to have something else to occupy his mind.

Lloyd looked at her in surprised.

"Are they aliases?" Presea asked.

"Not exactly," Sheena said, trying to word this correctly. "In Mizuho, we have a tradition of giving people an additionally name, while hiding our real names."

"Why?" Presea asked.

"It's part of an old belief that if one knows your true name they gain power over you," Sheena explained.

Raine hummed. "The elves have a similar belief. Although in their culture they hide the true name by using titles instead of a second name."

"So what are their real names?" Lloyd asked, very interested now.

Sheena shrugged. "Beats me. Only they, their parents, and the chief know. And whomever they marry."

"Wow, you guys really are secretive," Genis said in awe.

"Is your name a second name as well?" Presea questioned.

Sheena smiled. "Yeah, that's right."

Lloyd was really curious. What could Sheena's real name be? He bet it was something awesome.

"I know Sheena's real name," Zelos suddenly spoke up.

Sheena stared at Zelos in disbelief. "What!? How could you know!?" Chosen or not, there's no way he should know.

Zelos grinned mischievously. "Sheena's real name is Violent Demonic Banshee."

Everyone stared at Zelos in disbelief. Even the forest went quiet.

"Zelos..." Sheena growled before she viciously kicked him, sending him crashing to the ground.

"See? See? I told you she's a violent banshee!" Zelos whined, rubbing his sore stomach.

Genis rolled his eyes. "You so had that coming."

"Agreed," Regal sighed.

"You guys are so mean," Zelos continued to whine as he picked himself off the ground.

Lloyd chuckled. Zelos was always good for a laugh, no matter how serious things were. Funny, just a few days ago he found that trait to be extremely annoying.

Raine sighed and returned to her previous thoughts, trying to ignore Zelos' antics. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't figure out Kratos' words from the night before. It was frustrating that man could still outwit her. "I just can't stop wondering what that means," she suddenly spoke after several minutes. She appeared to be talking to herself.

Zelos looked at the Professor with interest. "What that means? Have you figured out something about Cruxis' schemes?"

He doubted it, but he was quickly realizing not to underestimate the Professor. He met a lot of people in his relatively short life, and he would placed Raine on his top ten of smartest people, if not the top five. She was easily the most dangerous person within the group. If he didn't want to be outta as an spy, he had to tread carefully around her.

"What Kratos said about Colette being useless to Rodyle and Cruxis seemingly losing interest in her. Colette is supposed to possess the necessary properties to become Martel's vessel. So what is Kratos talking about?" Raine asked, still mostly talking to herself.

Lloyd overheard the conversation. "Now that you mention it, you're right." He glanced at Zelos and smirked. "I mean, I'd understand it if they said Zelos was useless."

"Hmmmm, yeah, you're right," Zelos replied before he realized what Lloyd said. "Wait, hey! What's that second comment supposed to mean!?"

"Quit joking around, you two!" Raine scolded. She sweared that Zelos' childish nature was rubbing off on Lloyd just as he was started to mature a little. "This may mean that Colette is still hiding something."

Lloyd tilted his head. "Yeah?" Would Colette really keep secrets from them after how horribly that ended during the Journey of Regeneration?

Raine became silent for a moment. "I just don't know what it is."

She had noticed that Colette seemed uncomfortable since she regained her soul. She kept waking up with stiffed muscles, not to mention the pain she was in just before she was captured. Could they all point to something serious? She wished she knew more.

"Well, we can ask Colette after we save her," Lloyd said in absolution.

After everything they'd been through, he hoped Colette would stopped keeping secrets from them. Although, he knew deep in his heart that would never be the case.

After a few more minutes of walking, they left the forest and reached the pier so they could activate the EC. Thankfully, the island where the Temple of Lightning laid was only an hour away from their location. It still didn't stop the trip from being boring, except for Raine who was just as nervous as ever.

When they reached the island, the Temple of Lightning was only a five minute walk from the pier. It was a large tower that reached to the heavens. It was very similar to the Mana Tower, except it was more foreboding with the dark clouds surrounding the temple. It looked like it would storm any second.

"Wow, this place is huge!" Lloyd exclaimed as he attempted to see the top of the tower. He felt his body unconsciously shake. Most likely out of instinct from seeing the thunder clouds.

Zelos whistled. "I've heard about this place, but I've never been here."

"It is as impression as the stories say," Regal stated.

"The mana flowing out of this place is incredible," Genis said. "It's like Sylvarant's temples, except much stronger."

Raine's eyes lit up. "The history this place holds! I must investigate!"

While everyone stood in awe of the temple, Sheena was practically shaking and felt like throwing up. She never thought she would returned to this place. It was like reliving a nightmare.

Lloyd looked towards Zelos. "I guess we need you to open the temple."

Zelos gave him a confused look. "Huh?"

"Don't you need to touch whatchamcallit stone?" Lloyd asked.

Raine rubbed her forehead. "Oracle stone."

"You...you don't need to do anything special," Sheena spoke up. "You just walk in."

"Walk in?" Lloyd repeated in confusion.

"He's right," Genis said as he walked towards the doors leading into the temple. He pushed them opened with ease. "There isn't even a lock."

Lloyd rubbed his head. "Huh, that's funny."

"We should proceed," Presea spoke. "Staring will get us no where."

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

They walked into the temple and Lloyd found that he could barely see. They was next to no light in the place. This temple also had a different aura than the ones found in Sylvarant.

"Still surprised we got in so easy. And I don't see an oracle stone anywhere," Lloyd noted.

"This is the flourishing world. It probably isn't functioning as a Seal right now," Raine surmised.

"I guess that makes sense," Lloyd said.

"What's that ahead?" Presea asked.

Ahead of the group were two pillars of light that shot lightning every few seconds.

"I assumed those are the defenses of this temple," Raine stated.

Lloyd sighed. "Figures this wouldn't be easy."

"Given that the traps didn't deactivate in our world once the Seals were broken, it does make sense that there would still be active here," Genis said.

"Still a pain in the butt," Lloyd murmured.

"It would appear we have to get our timing right to pass," Regal observed. "If we move too late, we will be zapped by those lightning bolts."

Presea studied the trap. "They don't appear to be fatal, but they will hurt if we're hit."

Raine nodded. "We must proceed with caution."

Before they moved, Sheena summoned Corrine. She didn't want to admit it, but she needed the comfort of her small friend more than ever.

Corrine quickly noticed her discomfort and hopped on her shoulder, nuzzling her neck.

They moved carefully, easily avoiding the electric pillars. Although the charge was so strong that they felt the hair on their heads lift up.

"You're nervous, aren't you," Corrine said to Sheena. She was falling behind the group.

"Well yeah, of course..." Sheena muttered. She was barely keeping it together.

Corrine smiled. "Don't worry. If anything goes wrong, I'll protect you."

Sheena returned the smile, although hers was forced. "I appreciate that, but I don't think you have that kind of power. Or...me, either."

"You mustn't talk like that!" Corrine exclaimed, startling Sheena. "I'm going to do my best, so you should too, okay?"

Sheena gave a half-hearted nod. "Yeah..."

Genis frowned when he noticed how slow Sheena was walking. To think a person who fought Desians without fear could be reduced to this.

Then again, they were about to go into battle against one of the summon spirits. This time they were facing Volt, one of the meanest spirits around. He wouldn't show them any mercy unlike Undine. They really were going to be fighting for their lives this time.

And…they didn't have Kratos to help them.

"I wonder if Sheena's okay," Genis spoke out loud.

"We have to believe in her," Lloyd answered before taking a quick glanced at Sheena. "If we don't, who will?"

Zelos grinned at him. "Ah, what beautiful mutual trust."

Lloyd growled. "Stop making a joke out of it!"

Zelos held his hand up. "I'm not! Just think for a moment. If I were the one that was about to make that pact, even Lloyd wouldn't be able to freely put all his trust in me, right?"

Lloyd closed his mouth.

It was true. Although he trusted Zelos more than before, he couldn't say that he would be comfortable putting his life in his hands. He was too breezy for that.

Sheena, he had known her for over a month now. In the grand scheme of things, that wasn't that long, but if felt like years. From the trials they faced together he trusted Sheena with his life. He knew that she could make this pact. Heck, she even helped avenge his mom despite formerly being enemies who wanted to kill each other.

"No kidding," Genis suddenly said, breaking Lloyd out of his musings.

Zelos wasn't amused by the comment. "The brat can shut up, thank you. So I was just thinking, how you have a beautiful mutual trust born of the time you've spent together."

"Sheena's our partner. Of course we trust her," Lloyd said before he looked at Zelos. "And so are you, after all. I trust you too."

It was true. Despite hardly knowing the guy and not necessarily ready to leave his life in his hands, they were indeed building a wall of trust, little by little. As breezy as Zelos was, for better and worst, he was part of the team now. Something he never thought he would say when he met the guy.

Zelos was surprised by the comment.

No wondered Kratos was able to deceived them so easily and his own deceit going under the radar despite Raine actively sensing for treachery. Even after Kratos stabbed them in the back, Lloyd was still willing to trust someone he barely knew. They really were too trusting and far too honest. It was a miracle they survived this long.

At the same time, he felt truly touched. No one had ever put any real trust in him. It felt strangely good to have someone's trust. For a brief moment, he felt a pang of guilt at deceiving them. They really were good kids who were getting in way over their heads.

After wondering the temple and passing by several strange machines, the group came to a dead end. However, at the in of the wall stood a very familiar device.

"Oh, these machines exist on this side too," Lloyd said in awe.

Regal looked at him. "You know what these are?"

Lloyd nodded. "These strange machines can change the function of the Sorcerer's Ring. It made the ring shoot water and wind once."

"Interesting," Regal said. There was much about the world he didn't know.

Presea tilted her head. "That reminds me of an old story."

Lloyd stuck his hand into the machine and felt a jolt run through him. It felt very uncomfortable, reminding him of Kvar's attacks.

He pointed the ring and a bolt of blue lightning shot out. "Whoa! Looks like it's shooting out electricity."

Raine rubbed her chin. "The electricity is blue."

"I wonder if it's useful?" Lloyd wondered.

"Given where we are, bet every gald I have it is," Zelos said.

"Hmm…perhaps there is something that can only be destroyed with this electricity," Raine surmised.

"But destroy what?" Sheena asked.

"We probably won't know until we explore the temple more," Raine said before she turned towards Sheena. "You've been here before. Do you remember how you got through?"

Sheena shook her head. "No. I was still young and the chief and the others took care of the traps and puzzles."

"You were that young trying to make a pact?" Presea asked in mild surprise.

"It was a rite of passages for me since I have summoner's blood," Sheena replied.

Raine shook her head. "Honestly, I don't know what your chief was thinking. Even for a calm summon spirit, making a pact is nothing for children to do."

Sheena lowered her head. "I was going to fight the spirit with the others backing me. We…. I never expect Volt to..."

"Say no more," Raine said as she held up her hand. "I can only assume that the chief was misinformed about Volt and assumed that he would stop the trial if you were in any real danger."

"Still, he didn't have to wipe out a third of Mizuho," Genis countered.

"Yes, that is the strangest part about all of this. Maybe we can learn the truth about what happened not only for Sheena's sake, but also for those who were killed in the incident," Raine said somberly.

The group moved again and were careful to avoid the lightning traps. They walked through a door and came into a new area that was opened and had many staircases.

"If this place is anything like the temples in our world, I bet the altar is at the top," Lloyd said.

"Is it really that easy?" Regal asked.

"Well, we should at least check it out," Genis said. "If we're lucky, we won't have to solve any puzzles." His head slumped. "Although, our luck is never that good."

"I do remember the altar being blocked somehow, but I can't quite remember," Sheena said, stroking Corrine's fur.

"We should investigate," Raine stated.

They went up one of the set of stairs and passed by a door that was blocked by a giant yellow block.

"What's that about?" Genis asked.

"It does seem strange," Presea noted.

Raine rubbed her chin. "I wonder if it has anything to do with the Sorcerer's Ring new powers."

The climbed another set of stairs that led right to the altar. To their annoyance, the altar was sealed by three stacks of blocks of different colors. On top of the blocks stood what appeared to be a lightning rod.

"What is this?" Lloyd asked in irritation.

"Apparently the altar is sealed," Raine said. "If I had to guess, we have to destroy the blocks before we are allowed to meet Volt."

Genis sighed. "What a pain."

"Seriously! If this temple was cleared before, why are the traps back up?" Lloyd asked.

Raine paused. "That's an interesting question. Since the people of Mizuho cleared this temple many years ago, the traps should be undone. Unless, someone set them back up again."

Zelos folded his arms. "If I had to guess, I would say that Volt did it himself. You know, given how pissy he was the first time."

"That would be a possibility. In any case, we can't proceed until we destroy those blocks," Regal said.

Presea took out her axe and swung at the lowest block. Her attack bounced right off of it without leaving any visible damage. "It appears to be enchanted by magic." She turned towards Genis. "Can one of your spells break it?"

Genis blushed. "Umm...well...I'm not sure."

Raine shook her head. "I doubt it. It seems these blocks only respond to a particular type of magic." She looked towards Lloyd. "Lloyd, use the Sorcerer's Ring on it."

Lloyd was confused, but did what he was told. He pointed his ring hand and shot a bolt of blue lightning at the block. The block shattered in an instant, lowering the last two blocks.

"Wow! It worked!" Lloyd exclaimed with a smile. "Now to destroy the other two." He fired again, but this time nothing happened. The yellow block remained undamaged. "Huh!? What gives!?"

"It's just as I though," Raine said. "The lightning can only destroy the block of its color."

Regal nodded. "I see. The block Lloyd just destroyed was blue, just like the lightning bolt."

Zelos hummed. "Which mean we need to give the Sorcerer's Ring yellow and red lightning to destroy the remaining blocks."

Sheena frowned. "It certainly wasn't like this when I was here."

"It's like the temple itself change to only work with the Sorcerer's Ring," Presea noted.

"Like a test," Raine said more to herself.

"Guess it's a good thing you grabbed the ring," Genis said to Lloyd.

"Yeah, guess it was," Lloyd humored. "Anyway, let's find the machines that can change the Sorcerer's Ring."

They walked back down the stairs to the grand level where they noticed a door ahead of them was blocked by a blue block. Lloyd quickly destroyed it so they could walked to the next room. As soon as they entered, thunder reached their ears, causing Sheena and Lloyd to jump.

"Where did that come from?" Sheena asked in a near panic. It felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest.

"There." Presea pointed to a lightning rod in the middle in the room. It was surrounded by water and stood between two platforms.

Another lightning bolt struck the rod, causing the water around it to light up.

"Well, that looks important," Zelos mused.

"There are machines on the platforms, similar to the one that changed the Sorcerer's Ring function," Presea went on.

"Well, we can walk to one of them by crossing the water," Genis said.

Regal shook his head. "Too dangerous. That lighting will kill us before we could reach it."

"There's nothing we can do about it right now, so we should keep moving forward," Raine advised.

Lloyd slowly nodded his head as another roar of thunder caused to him to unconsciously shiver. It took everything he had to control his breathing.

Zelos looked at him in concern. "Afraid of thunder?"

Lloyd blushed and glared at him. "Shut up!"

"Lloyd had a really bad experience with lightning," Genis explained, remembering the fight with Kvar.

Zelos raised his hands. "Hey, I'm not judging. I just find it odd since I know why Sheena's afraid."

"Everyone has something that they fear," Regal said before looking at Sheena and Lloyd. "It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Yeah... Let's just get out of this room," Lloyd said, trying to remain strong. He couldn't fall apart here. Not when Sheena carried a much bigger burden than him.

They walked up more stairs and came to a doorway at the top floor. This room was pitched black.

"I can't see a thing," Genis complained.

A flash of lightning filled the room, lighting the path before them. The floor was narrow with pits on all sides.

"It appears we have to use the lightning or else we will fall off," Raine observed.

Lloyd groaned. "Great." This temple was quickly becoming his worst nightmare.

Sheena shivered every time a lightning flash. She stroked Corrine even faster, who hummed in comfort.

Regal walked up to Lloyd. "If it's too much, I can led the way. Even in this darkness, I can see fairly well."

Lloyd shook his head. "I'm fine... I can do this."

"You shouldn't push yourself," Regal warned.

"No, I need to do this," Lloyd said with some heat as he took several deep breaths. "The person who caused my fear is gone. This...shouldn't have any power over me."

"Lloyd," Presea spoke as she walked up to him, "you don't have to be strong for us. We'll support you together, just as we support Sheena."

Lloyd smiled, feeling a little better as another lightning struck. "Thank you."

Lloyd looked at Sheena and grabbed her free hand, startling her. "Come on. We can face this to together."

Sheena numbly nodded as they began their walk again.

They carefully navigated the mazed like hallways. They used the light of the lightning to memorized the path before them before walking. They also had to climb several stairs to reach the end.

When they reached a room with real light, they walked into another room with a narrow hallway. When they reached the end of that room, they found nothing except a strange machine.

"Huh, what this thing?" Lloyd asked.

"It's very similar to the machines we saw at the entrance," Genis noted.

"Maybe we should try using it," Zelos suggested.

Lloyd walked up to the machine and pressed a button.

A metal rod suddenly came out of it. Before they could figure out what this meant, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck the rod and caused the floor to collapsed. Luckily, no one was hurt in the fall.

"What the heck was that!?" Genis exclaimed in shock. "Was that supposed to happen!?"

Presea shook her head. "We only avoided injuries thanks to our fast reflexes granted to us by our exspheres."

Raine looked around, quite shaken by the fall. "I'm...not sure. But maybe this was part of the test too."

Lloyd sighed. "Let's move."

They walked down the new narrowed hallway and reached another dead end with the same machine.

Zelos groaned. "Looks like this is part of the trial. What a pain in the neck."

"Who though up this trial?" Genis demanded.

"No point in complaining," Regal said. "It's best to get it over with. We should be fine since we are prepared this time."

"Well, braced yourselves," Lloyd warned as he activated the machine.

Just like before, a metal rod shot out and lightning hit it, sending them plunging to the level below them. They repeated this process one more time before they activated a machine that didn't caused the floor to collapsed. Instead, lightning kept hitting the pole every few seconds.

"It seems this was the machine we needed to activate," Raine said.

Genis shook his head. "Couldn't we done this without falling three stories?"

"The spirits never want to make anything simple," Zelos sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"I think Volt did it on purpose to discourage anyone from coming here even if they did have a Sorcerer's Ring," Raine surmised.

"Well, he's doing a good job of it," Lloyd grumbled.

Sheena shook her head. "Does Volt hate us mortals that much?"

They backtracked a little until they reached a doorway that went into another dark room that could only be seen with lightning flashes. After making their way back down, they returned to the previous area with the water.

This time, the lightning rod in the middle of the water was no longer catching lightning strikes. Instead, the machine they activated at the top was doing it.

"I see. Lightning always strikes the highest point," Raine observed. "By activating that rod at the top, lightning will no longer strikes down here."

"So we can go into the water now and reach one of those machines," Genis stated.

Lloyd and the others walked down a staircase that went into the pool. The water was shallow, going only to their ankles. They walked until they came to another staircase that led to platform that had the machine that changes the Sorcerer's Ring.

Lloyd stuck his hand into the device and felt another uncomfortable jolt. When he pulled away, he tested the ring. It now shot yellow lighting bolts.

"Now we can destroy another one of those blocks," Lloyd stated happily.

"And that leaves only one more power change to go," Zelos said. "This is already getting tedious."

They walked back to the altar and destroyed the second block, leaving only the red block remaining.

"Now where to?" Lloyd asked.

"I assumed we go find any pathways we may have missed," Raine said.

After much backtracking, destroying yellow blocks, and destroying a walkway to reached the final machine, Lloyd finally had his red lightning upgrade.

"What a pain," Lloyd complained as they made their way back to the altar.

Genis groaned. "That felt like it took forever. This is place is much worst than any Seal in Sylvarant."

As Lloyd and Genis complained, Sheena took several deep breaths. It was almost time.

"Don't worry, Sheena. I'm with you," Corrine assured.

Once they reached the altar, Lloyd destroyed the third and final block. A machine fell on the altar. It was a bigger version of the ones that extended the lightning rods.

"I guess we used this to get Volt's attention," Lloyd said.

Raine nodded, but remained quiet.

"You seem worry," Presea noted. "Is something wrong?"

"According to what I've read, the words Volt speaks are extremely unusual and indecipherable to humans," Raine stated.

Presea frowned. "If that's true, that would mean the ritual of the pact can't succeed."

This made Sheena's heart stopped. It was true. No one understood what Volt was saying. Before they knew what was happening, he attacked.

"Yes. I hope I am able to translate his words," Raine said more to herself.

Lloyd pressed the switched on the machine, causing a large lightning rod to appear. Not even a second later a huge bolt of lightning struck it, causing the entire area to shake and blinding everyone with its light.

As soon as their vision cleared the machine was gone and what stood in its place was Volt. He was a giant sphere made of purple lightning with two red eyes that bored into them. It was like the summon spirit was trying to pierced their souls.

Lloyd stood still, in awe at the power he was feeling. He was honored to meet just one summon spirit in his journey. Never would he had imagined that he would meet three.

Genis shivered. No wondered Sheena was afraid of him. Unlike Undine or even Luna, his aura was violent, almost murderous.

Sheena looked like she was ready to bolt to the nearest exit, but forced herself to stepped forward, confronting the summon spirit that had haunted her dreams for twelve years.

Volt glared down at her before he glanced at Lloyd. His eyes seemed fixed on the Sorcerer's Ring for several seconds before he turned his attention back to Sheena.

"It's finally time," Lloyd said, breaking the uncomfortable silent.

Sheena nodded. "Here I go." She put Corrine down and walked closer.

"..." Volt spoke.

Raine narrowed her eyes. So, the stories about Volt were true. Out of all the summon spirits, he chose not to speak the language of a mortal.

"It's just like before! What the hell is he saying!?" Sheena screamed in frustration and panic.

"Sheena, calm down. I'll translate," Raine assured before clearing her voice. "I am one who is bound to Mithos. Who are you?"

"Mithos again?" Lloyd asked in surprised. "How could he make pacts with summon spirits in both Tethe'alla and Sylvarant?"

"Hmm, yeah. Maybe Mithos went back and forth between the worlds with a Rheaird as well," Genis suggested.

Zelos gave Lloyd and Genis baffled looks before realizing that they and everyone else in the group most likely didn't know that the worlds of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant were once one world in the distance past. Heck, most of them didn't even know that two world even existed until recently.

Well, he could hardly blamed them. The only ones who knew the truth of the two worlds were people who worked within the inner circles of Cruxis. He only knew because Yuan told him after recruiting him as a double agent. Besides, splitting the world in two seemed impossible for any mortal to do. It took him days to come to terms that Yggdrasill had that much power when he was told the truth.

Sheena ignored the current conversation, focusing on the pact. "I am Sheena! I ask that thou annulst thy pact with Mithos and establish a new pact with me."

Volt narrowed his eyes and gave a look that could almost be described as disgust. "..."

Raine frowned as she translated. "He says that his pact with Mithos is broken. But he no longer desires a pact."

Sheena was completely shocked. "Why!?"

"..." Volt answered as his eyes lit up.

"I will have no more dealings with mortals, therefore I desire no pact," Raine translated in worry. What could had happened to break Volt's faith in people? Did it have something to do with Mithos?

Sheena drew her cards. "No, we need your help."

Volt started to glow.

"Sheena, be careful!" Lloyd yelled before several lightning strikes blasted him and everyone else off the balcony of the altar and sent them crashing to the first floor.

Sheena was the first to recovered and stared horrified at her fallen friends. "This is...just like before..."

Volt came floating down and charged his powers into a single, powerful ball of lightning, aimed right at Sheena.

Sheena stood completely still, unable to move. She was frozen in terror.

"Sheena move!" Genis screamed. He could feel the mana of that blast. If it hit her, it would undoubtedly be fatal.

Volt released his energy, but before the blast could hit her, Corrine ran in front of Sheena and jumped in front of the blow. He was instantly electrocuted.

Everyone stood slacked jaw as Corrine's body withered in place as the electricity racked through his tiny body.

"CORRINE!" Sheena screamed once she found her voice.

Once the lightning ran its course, Corrine fall to the floor like deadweight. He remained unmoving as stream left his body.

Sheena ran to her friend's side. "Corrine! Corrine!" she screamed in tears. "Why!?"

Volt was unmoved by any of this and moved to take aim again. He shot another bolt of lightning, but Lloyd quickly deflected.

He glared defiantly at the summon spirit who also returned his glare.

"Sheena, get ahold of yourself!" Lloyd shouted as Sheena wept over Corrine's body.

Sheena refused to move as she took the tiny summon spirit in her arms, cuddling him like a baby. "Corrine..."

Corrine weakly lifted his head. "Volt's…just lost his faith in mortals. Make your vow and try forming a pact one more time. You can do it, Sheena!" His body began to fade.

"Corrine!" Sheena cried, hugging him even harder as if trying to will life back into him.

"I'm sorry…that I couldn't be of more help," Corrine whispered before his body completely vanished in Sheena's arms.

"No Corrine! Don't die!" Sheena screamed, but it was already too late. The only thing that remained of Corrine was his bell collar.

Volt attempted to shot Sheena again, but Lloyd deflected his attack.

"Sheena, subdue Volt by force!" Lloyd shouted. He too seemed to be closed to tears. "Don't let Corrine's efforts be in vain! Otherwise, you'll spend the rest of your life haunted by Volt's shadow!"

Sheena looked at Lloyd and understood what he was saying.

It was like when he stood up to Kvar. It was something he had to do, otherwise that man's shadow would have haunted Lloyd forever. Even now, she could tell by the faint shaking of Lloyd's body and the paleness of his face that he feared the lightning, but through sheer willpower and force was overcoming it to protect her….to protect all of them. He was able to fight his fears….she had to the same.

Corrine has already giving his life believing in her. If she failed now...she might as well kill herself.

She stood up and glared at Volt as she put a way Corrine's bell collar. She wouldn't let him haunt her anymore. "For the sake of everyone that risked their lives to protect me, Volt! I demand your power!"

Volt glared at her and launched a barrage of lightning at her.

"Barrier!" Raine shouted, creating a sphere barrier that shield Sheena from the worst of the attack.

While Volt was distracted, Lloyd rushed in. "Raising Falcon!"

The attack knocked Volt to the ground and Lloyd hit him with several Sword Rains.

Volt wasn't amused and blasted Lloyd away with a bolt of lightning.

"Absolution!" Genis shouted as ice exploded around Volt.

Presea jumped while this was happening. "Dual Crescent Strike!" She slashed Volt twice, causing the summon spirit to wince. "Fiery Destruction!" She struck the floor with all her might, sending pieces of it right at Volt. She jumped again and performed an upward sliced.

Regal also jumped and preformed a series of powerful kicks across the summon spirit's body.

"Hell Pyre!" Zelos yelled as he performed the technique that set Volt on fire.

Sheena charged and hit Volt with all her seals.

Despite all the damaged, Volt was far from done as he released a chain of lightning that knocked everyone off their feet and paralyzed them.

Raine was ready for this. "Nullify!" she yelled as she cured the group of the paralyzed state before chanting again. "Healing Circle!"

Genis back her up by attacking Volt. "Spiral Flare!"

The twister fire hit dead on, but Volt countered with a Thunder Blade, given Genis little time to created a Force Field.

Lloyd rose to his feet and did a Tempest Thrust. He got a powerful shock after thrusting his sword into the summon spirit. "Damn!"

Before Volt could advance on him, Regal kicked him out of the way. "Dragon Fury!" After kicking Volt to the floor, Regal quickly stomped on him. He too got a jolt of electricity that sent him flying off.

"Mirage Seal Absolute!" Sheena shouted, hitting Volt as many times as she could, determine to bring down his accuracy.

Volt wasn't pleased by this and shot a powerful bolt of lightning that nearly hit the young summoner. Thankfully, her plan to lower his accuracy worked.

"Absolution!" Genis yelled, hitting Volt again with exploding ice. He was huffing as he was reaching his limit with so many advance spells.

"Don't overdo it, Genis," Raine warned.

Genis nodded as he caught his breath. "I'm fine."

Volt summoned several arrows of thunder and attempted to plummet the group. Raine quickly countered with Barrier, but even that couldn't stop all the damage.

"He's getting desperate!" Sheena yelled as she hit Volt with more of her seals. "Keep it up!"

While she talked Volt zapped her away, sending her crashing into the floor, hard.

"Sheena!" Regal yelled as he focused his power. "Healer!"

In an instant, most of Sheena's wounds were healed.

This got Raine's attention. Regal could used magic? But it didn't feel like magic. It was similar, but different.

"Fierce Demon Fang!" Zelos yelled, hitting Volt with a wave of mana. "Hey, big guy, you have to be nicer with the ladies." He started to chant. "Eruption!"

A wave of fire and lava engulfed the summon spirit.

Presea was right there to slammed her axe into Volt's head. Like Lloyd, she got a powerful jolt of electricity that sent her flying away. Deciding that a direct assault was too dangerous, she slammed her axe into the floor and sent the sharpened bits right at Volt.

Zelos followed it with several more Fierce Demon Fangs that sent Volt back.

Lloyd charged his mana into his swords. "Demonic Chaos!" He released three powerful waves of mana, one more stronger than the next. It almost appeared Volt was sliced by the attack.

Volt growled and his lightning became more erratic. He was really pissed now. Rune appeared under him.

"Be careful!" Genis warned. "He's about to do a very powerful spell!"

Raine quickly chanted a spell. "Field Barrier!"

Everyone was on guard as Volt released his energy. A giant pillar of light engulfed the entire battlefield and everyone was hit by a lightning bolt that sent them flying in all directions. The thunder was unbearable and it felt like their ears were going to rupture.

Lloyd groaned as he attempted to stand up. "What...what the heck was that?"

His body….it wouldn't stop shaking. He had to fight to keep himself from hyperventilating. He had to stay strong. He couldn't fall apart….for Sheena and Corrine's sake.

"Indignation, one of the most powerful spells in existence" Zelos answered as he cast a Healing Wind on everyone within his range. " If the Professor didn't cast that barrier, he would had toasted us."

Lloyd looked up and realized that Volt was attempting to cast another Indignation. "We have to take him out! We can't afford to take another one of those!" That and he didn't think his willpower could take another Indignation.

Regal was the first to reached Volt and viciously kicked the summon spirit across his entire body, attempting to interrupt its spell. He ignored the pain as he was electrocuted.

Zelos did the same as he cast another Eruption.

"Spiral Flare!" Genis yelled, adding to Zelos' fury attack.

"Lloyd, we need to hit him at once!" Sheena yelled.

Lloyd nodded. "Got it!"

Sheena took out one of her cards. "Serpent Seal!" She threw the card at Volt.

Lloyd thrusted his sword and made contact with seal. "Super Sonic Thrust!"

The moment he hit Volt, black smoke erupted from the seal, causing the summon spirit to rear back.

Despite their effects, however, Volt was still able to cast Indignation, sending everyone flying again.

"Healing Circle!" Raine shouted, attempting to lessen the damage.

Genis groaned. "What a pain. Why won't he go down?"

"He doesn't want to lose to us," Regal said, helping Raine by casting his own heal spell. "No matter what, it doesn't want to form a pact. And he will kill us to do so."

"Then we have to hit him so hard that he has to give in!" Sheena yelled as she took out several cards and threw them at Volt. "Everyone, attack all at once with your strongest attack. Hold nothing back."

"Right!" they all yelled as they made one last charge at Volt.

"Wolverine!" Regal yelled as he spun and kicked the Volt with such forced that it knocked him to the floor.

Presea lifted her axe. "Finite Devastation!" She slammed her axe into Volt and performed an upper cut that sent shards of lightning flying. She was badly shocked, but didn't back away.

"Ground Dasher!" Genis shouted, putting the last of his mana into his spell. The floor opened up and nearly shallowed Volt as he was hit with sharpened rock.

"Holy Lance!" Raine yelled as a lance of light impaled the summon spirit.

Zelos charged in while the two magic users attacked. "Demon Spear!" He shot a shockwave of mana from his sword, hitting Volt. When he got closed enough, he did a version of his Light Spear.

"Demonic Circle!" Lloyd shouted as he swung his swords in a circle and slammed his blades into the floor with so much force that it created a shockwave.

By this time, Volt was really hurting and was barely keeping his form together.

Sheena saw this as her moment to finished this. To finally put all her fears and nightmares to rest. She charged the summon spirit. "Cyclone Seal!"

When the card hit Volt, he became entrapped in a ball of swirling wind and was carried into the air where he was slashed with several blades of wind.

Sheena pulled one last card. "This is for Corrine! Power Seal Absolute!" She threw it at Volt.

With that one card, Volt's form completely broke apart and it bust into a wave of lightning. The light blinded the group for several seconds. When they opened their eyes, Volt was nowhere to be seen.

Genis gasped. "Did we kill him?"

Sheena shook her head. "A summon spirit won't die from that. But it's going take him several seconds to reformed."

Zelos flipped his hair. "Maybe by the time he does he will finally calm down."

Within a few seconds Volt reappeared, whole and seemingly no worse from wear. It didn't look happy, but he didn't have the violent aura from before. He appeared to begrudgingly acknowledge their power.

"..." Volt spoke.

"Volt says, make your vow," Raine translated.

An audio sound of relief could be heard.

Sheena walked up to the summon spirit. "Just like I said, for the sake of everyone that risked their lives to protect me...and for Corrine's sake as well, I want to save both worlds." As she spoke, she swore she saw Corrine, but the image disappeared as quickly as it came.

"..." Volt answered.

"The vow has been made. I entrust my power to the pact-maker, Sheena, and the those who helped her subdue me," Raine continued to translate.

Volt glowed and within Sheena's hand appeared the sardonyx ring, a sign that the pact had been officially made.

Sheena clutched the ring in her hand. "It's over." After so long, she finally succeeded.


And done. We say our goodbyes to Corrine and celebrate Sheena taking a major step in her character development. Still, hard chapter to write and I hope you all enjoy it.

Until next time, please take care.