Sorry about the late chapter. I have been busy for the past couple of weeks. Nonetheless, thank you all for your support. Your feedback has really fire me up and I am happy that you all like the story so far.
Now, onward to the chapter.
Chapter 8: Sand and Steel
A roar filled his ears and a monster appeared in his vision. Despite its' frighten appearance; it appeared to be in great pain. The roars no longer sounded like that of a beast. Instead, it sounded eerily human. It was like a human crying out in agony.
"Kil...kill me," the monster muttered in a broken voice.
It was Marble! No, it didn't sound quite right. There was also someone else here. He couldn't see them clearly. Their figure was cloaked in shadow.
He opened his mouth to say something, but no sound left his mouth. The monster, however, appeared to have heard him as it turned its sights on him. He couldn't move as the monster charged towards him. He saw its claws, then blood covered his sights. The blood was yellow.
The dark figure had stabbed the monster and its blood spilled everywhere. Another screamed came from the monster and then everything went dark.
Lloyd shot up, feeling almost sick to his stomach. He actually had to fight to keep his dinner.
"Lloyd, are you alright!?" Genis exclaimed as he jumped out of his own bed. Lloyd was shaking and didn't appear to be fully awake.
Genis had seen this only a few times. It happened every now and then when they used to have sleepovers together. He, however, haven't seen one of these episodes in years. He rubbed Lloyd's back gently, knowing his words would not reach him at the moment.
He had seen both Dirk and Raine take care of Lloyd when he was like this. Dirk had called them night terrors, but Raine referred to them as repress memories. Raine believed that Lloyd was remembering parts of his childhood through his dreams. Unfortunately, it seemed to only be the darkest chapters.
Lloyd's breathing eventually even out and he began to stop shaking. "Ge...Genis?"
"Yeah, it's me," Genis said softly. "You had another episode."
Lloyd lowered his head. "Yeah, I had one the other night too."
"Do you remember this one?" Genis asked.
"I...I actually do remember some of it. I saw Marble," Lloyd said.
He thought it was Marble anyway. The shape of the monster resembled Marble, but something didn't seem right. It just didn't feel like Marble. Even in that horrible, twisted form, it still felt like Marble when they fought in Iselia. He tried to hold onto the dream for a moment longer, but it once again faded a way.
"Yeah, I dreamed about her too," Genis said softly.
Lloyd shook his head. "I cut her arm off."
"You didn't know," Genis said. "I didn't know. Although, I thought that monster's mana felt familiar. But I've would never guess..."
"They must have been a way to save her," Lloyd whispered.
Genis sighed. "Regardless, it's too late now." He rubbed his exsphere on his left hand.
Lloyd slowly got out of bed. "We better get dress. We have to hurry if we want to catch up with the others."
Genis nodded as he briefly wondered if the pain would ever go a way.
Kratos was more than happy to see the desert town come into sight. They were making better time than he had calculated. He had thought that with two people who had never left their small town that they would be ill equip for long travels. He was pleased to see that he was wrong.
Although Colette had problems walking on the sand and she was obviously affected by the merciless heat, she managed to keep up and not complain. It was most likely her discipline that kept her together. Considering the task before her, it was expected for her to be prepared for anything. A lesser person would have long giving up with the fate that the Chosen had to face.
Ms. Sage was also proven to be surprising versatile. She was not in the best physical shape, but she obviously knew her way around the land. It became clearer that she had traveled before. Then again, he'd heard that she had only arrived in Iselia a few years ago. With luck, she may live through this journey.
"The Seal of Fire should not be too fair from Triet," Raine said. "According to my research, the fire temple actually used to be part of Triet millennium ago."
Colette turned towards her teacher. "Wow, Triet used to be that big?"
"It used to be a grand city that was a major trade center for goods," Raine went into her lecture. "That all ended, however, when Efreet went out of control and destroyed most of the city. This day is known as the Rain of Hellfire."
Kratos closed his eyes. The disaster would have been much worse if it wasn't for Mithos and Martel. He remembered that day all too clearly since that was the day Martel gained her wings.
"Why did Efreet go out of control?" Colette asked.
"No one knows," Raine answered. "But legend has it that he was stopped by two angels. One of which who calmed Efreet down by singing to him."
"Yeah, the Church told that story," Colette said. Her eyes suddenly became downcast. "According to the Church, the city was destroyed as punishment from Martel. It was only after the city repented their sins that she sent her angels to stop him."
Kratos had to keep himself from snorting. Leave it to the Church to justify mass murder.
"We may never know," Raine said sadly. "It's all lost to the pages of history."
Within another two hours of walking, they had reached the city's entrance. Kratos still couldn't get used to not seeing guards or any type of soldier guarding the city. It was too open for him.
"We should restock just in case," Kratos advised. "We don't know how difficult or how long the temple will be."
Raine looked over their money. "We can't buy too much. We have to make our cash last through the journey."
"How much did the Church give you?" Kratos asked.
"A little over five thousand gald," Raine replied.
Kratos frowned. "Was that all they were able to raise for the Chosen?"
"Cash is tight," Raine answered firmly. "All the cities have to fend for themselves against the Desians after the old capital fall. People can barely manage to take care of themselves and have little to donate to the Church."
That was understandable, but still annoying nonetheless. "I suppose we could always used the title of the Chosen to our benefice if we're really push."
"That would be risky since we will also clue the Desians to the Chosen's location," Raine stated.
"Which is why it will only be used as a last resort," Kratos said. "If we run out of money, we won't be able to continue and this world will suffer even longer."
"Yes, that is a very good point," Raine said after a second of thought.
"By the Goddess, it's the Chosen!" someone exclaimed.
Both Kratos and Raine turned to see people gathering around Colette. She had wondered a way at some point and was standing by one of the stalls.
"I know that jewel from the books," the person continued. "That is the Cruxis Crystal. The symbol of Martel herself."
Colette put her hand together and blushed. "Yes...that would be me."
"She looks so young," someone muttered.
"We will finally be saved!" another person exclaimed.
Kratos sighed in annoyance. On the bright side, it appeared they would be getting those free supplies. He walked towards Colette. "You shouldn't wonder off, Chosen."
This got the crowd's attention. "Who are you? You're not a priest?"
"I am a mercenary hired to protect the Chosen," Kratos said in a detached voice. "Please, move a way."
The crowd was not in any hurry to follow Kratos' orders and did the exact opposite. Colette saw the crowd moving and attempted to walk backwards to make room. Without warning she tripped backwards and fell right into the building behind her.
Kratos quickly turned around as he watched Colette literally go through the sandstone building. There was a long moment of silence as everyone took in what they just seen.
"Colette!" Raine exclaimed as she ran towards the fallen girl.
Colette picking herself up and looked over the damage that she caused. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen!"
Kratos could only stare as he examined the hole. She had left an improbable hole in the wall that was in the exact shape of her body. Even the lines of her hair could be seen. Amazingly, she appeared to be unharmed.
Raine looked around after she was certain that Colette wasn't injured. "Who owns this building?"
"I do, miss," a man said as he stepped towards the group.
"I'm terribly sorry about this," Raine said humbly with a bow. "We'll pay for the damages."
The man's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me!? No way will I charge the Chosen!"
"But..." Raine started.
"Besides, I will get more tourists this way," the man added excitedly. "Think of it, 'The Hole of the Chosen'. Has a nice ring, does it not?"
"But I still want to pay since I did cause damage, Colette insisted.
"It's best not to look a gift horse in the mouth," Kratos advised.
Raine nodded. "Indeed."
Kratos walked up to Colette and pulled her a way from the crowd before she could caused any more damage. If she broke something else, he doubted the next person would be as forgiven. Thankfully, the crowd didn't follow them.
"We should get a hotel room to hold the things we won't need for the temple," Kratos advised.
"Well, I suppose one of us could go shopping while the other gets the room and put up our stuff," Raine said.
"I'll buy the room," Kratos said. "I assume you know everything we need."
Raine turned to Colette. "If you want, you can rest in the room until we're ready to leave."
Colette shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I want to see more of the city."
"That's fine as long as you don't destroy it," Kratos muttered.
"You don't have to be rude, Mr. Aurion," Raine said as she stared at Kratos. "It was an accident."
"In my line of work, accidents can get you killed. But I agree. I was being rude." Kratos said. "You also don't need to be so formal with me Ms. Sage. Kratos would do just fine."
"I'll consider it if you don't call me Ms. Sage," Raine stated. "If you must use a title, Professor will do just fine."
"Very well," Kratos said. "In either case, we must be moving. We want to reach the temple while there's still sun."
They went their separate ways. Raine and Colette spent most of the time buying gels, food, and band aids in case the worst happens.
"Look Professor, life bottles," Colette said as she pointed towards several blue bottles.
"This is the special medicine that is said to bring people back from the brink of death," Raine stated. She looked at the price tag. "Too bad they're so expensive."
The man running the shop turned towards them. "I'll happily give you life bottles and all your other supplies for free."
"That's nice of you, but we can pay," Raine said.
The man shook his head. "If my wares can help the Chosen on her journey, I would happily give them to her."
"But..." Colette started.
Raine knew it was futile to argue further and cut Colette off. Besides, they needed to take charity where they could to save their money. "Very well. Thank you for your help."
Colette had to accept defeat and bowed to the store owner. "Thank you so much, good sir. May Martel bless you."
They took the supplies and made their way to the inn. Despite the size of Triet, there was only one real inn in the entire city. The others were in 'questionable' parts of the city. From what Raine gathered, at least a third of Triet was lawless and was ill suited for tourists. It has become a popular kidnaping spot for people who sold their haul to the Desians.
She would have to keep a close eye on Colette while they were here. The people could easily turn on them and give them away. It didn't help that the Desians paid very well for those people who made their wanted list.
When they reached the inn, Kratos was already outside.
"Are you ready to leave?" Kratos bluntly asked.
"We have everything," Raine said as she looked at the sun. "We may have enough time to reach the temple by morning if we start now."
"I made sure we have enough rations for at least five days," Kratos said. "If the worst happens, we will have to live off the desert."
Raine turned to face Colette. "We'll leave whenever you're ready, Colette."
"I want to leave now," Colette said. "The sooner we go, the sooner that I can regenerate the world."
Kratos gave Colette a brief sad stare. This girl shouldn't be so eager to rush to her death. "Very well."
He led the group out of the city and back into the hot desert. One of the few good things about his crystal was that he didn't have to feel the intensity of the heat.
Lloyd walked sluggishly as he forced his legs to move across the hot desert. Genis, being in less physical shape than Lloyd, was once again riding Noishe.
Noishe was doing well despite his thick fur, especially with the pads that Lloyd made for his feet. Noishe had refused to enter the desert at first since the hot sand burnt his paws. Thankfully, Lloyd was able to make a quick solution. He only wished he could have been the one rewarded with riding Noishe. It was so freaking hot.
"Why is it so hot!?" Lloyd whined.
"According to legend, somewhere in this area is a gate that leads to Efreet," Genis stated. "The heat in this area is due to Efreet's influence."
"I think I heard that story somewhere before," Lloyd said in deep thought.
"If you didn't sleep in class, you would know this stuff," Genis said in a deadpan voice.
"That's not what I meant," Lloyd almost yelled, but he was too hot to get his voice passed a certain range. "I remember a story connected to the stars that talked about the gate of Efreet and his powers."
Genis nodded. "You're talking about an old elven lore. You maybe as dumb as a rock at times, but you do know your lore when it comes to the stars."
"What's that suppose to me?" Lloyd grumbled.
Noishe barked.
"Not you too," Lloyd mourned. He didn't know that Noishe said, but he had a feeling that it wasn't flattering towards him.
"It's a sad day when a pet's intelligence surpasses its master," Genis continued to teased.
"Don't you have something else to do besides torment me?" Lloyd asked.
"No, not really," Genis smirked.
"fräck skitunge." Lloyd said.
Genis was in too good of a mood to care what Lloyd said.
After almost another hour of walking Lloyd gave a loud sigh.
"How much further?" Lloyd asked mostly to himself.
"Are you even sure you're going the right way?" Genis asked.
Lloyd stopped and took out the crumble map. He looked over it carefully then glanced at the sun. "Yeah, we should be. I just didn't know the desert was so big."
Genis' eyes became downcast. "At this rate we won't reach Triet until sunset."
Lloyd put the map back in the bag. "Can't be help."
They were on their way again as the sun passed over them. Every now and then, Genis would cool them off by casting water spells, which felt like heaven against their burning skins. Still, they were burning through their water supple.
They were slowed down every now and then by desert monsters, but they were easily dealt with. The real danger was keeping themselves from being poison. Since they had no antidote on them getting just one sting could be fatal, which was why Lloyd let Genis handle any poisonous creatures since he could attack from the distance.
It was late evening when Triet finally came into sight. They were too tired to even cheer as they dragged themselves into town.
"We made it," Lloyd said.
"I so need a shower," Genis said. He was caked in his own sweat.
Noishe gave a soft howl.
"What is it, boy?" Lloyd asked.
Genis suddenly grabbed Lloyd and made him duck behind Noishe.
"What are you..." Lloyd started.
"Desians," Genis whispered.
Lloyd looked ahead and saw four Desians standing by a building. They appeared to be holding several stacks of paper.
"What does this Lloyd look like?" one of the Desians asked.
"His likeness and description are on the wanted posters," the other Desian replied.
The third Desian carefully looked over the wanted poster. "Who the hell drew this!? Couldn't you use a real picture?"
"The scenes of him were too fuzzy to use," the fourth Desian answered. "We attempted to pre-render him the best we could, but Forcystus' Ranch lacks anyone with drawing talent."
"Doesn't matter. We have the basic detail of his description and even these humans should be able to recognize him," the second Desian said dismissively.
The first Desian began to chuckle. "If he comes through here, he won't be leaving this town, especially if he goes through the lawless area. The humans there would sell their own mother for one-hundred gald and a sandwich."
The other Desians snickered as they put up the wanted poster. With their task done, they walked off until they disappeared into the distance.
"Man...wanted posters and search parties," Lloyd muttered as he shook his head. "They're really serious."
"We need to hurry and find Colette," Genis said in deep worry.
"I though we were looking for Colette to protect her," Lloyd replied in annoyance. "This is more like we're looking for her to get help."
"Does it really matter why we're looking for her?" Genis hissed. "You think too much when you don't have to!"
Genis didn't like the idea of running for help either, especially since he wanted Raine to see how mature he was. At the same time, however, he didn't want to be caught by the Desians. You couldn't have an ego if you were dead.
Noishe gave a low whine.
"We better see how much damage that poster will do," Lloyd said as he stepped off from behind Noishe. They all walked towards the building and peer at the poster.
Genis had to keep himself from double over in laughter as he looked at the horrible drawing. No wonder the Desians were in so much distress.
Lloyd, on the other hand, saw nothing funny as he stared at the doodle of him. It very much reminded him of drawings that little kids did in school. Even the coloring was similar. It had a strange charm to it that Lloyd couldn't help liking, however. If the Desians didn't put this up to capture him, he would enjoy it a lot more.
"What is this poster?" Genis finally asked. He was struggling to keep his voice straight.
Lloyd frowned. "I'm I really that ugly?"
He never thought he was handsome, but he didn't think he was hideous. He just considered himself plain since nothing about him stood out. He wasn't like Genis with silver hair or even Kratos' with his garnet eyes. Now that he thought about it, those eyes did seem familiar.
Genis patted Lloyd's back. "It's good. They'll never find you with this. I think."
He knew Lloyd was an easy target at the moment, but he decided not to tease him on this subject. Lloyd never cared for his looks and wished he had a more exotic appearance. He never understood that since Lloyd looked different from most humans he had seen. It was mostly his eyes, which had an interesting reddish tint to them.
Besides, among his own kind, Genis wasn't all that unique looking either. He never understood why humans adore the different color hair of elves and half-elves. It just made them stand out more.
"Well, do you think we should buy a room?" Lloyd asked, getting back on subject. "I have enough gald."
Genis frowned. "We may have no choice. It will be night soon and the desert is even more dangerous. Not to mention cold."
Lloyd gave Genis a questionable look. "The desert gets cold at night?"
"Geez, Lloyd," Genis muttered. He looked around for a moment and saw a human size hole on a building on the other side of them. "What did that?"
He ran over towards the building and Lloyd followed shortly behind him. They were both stun to see a large, yet familiar, hole in the wall.
"What caused this?" Lloyd asked.
"Oh, this hole was put in by none other than the Chosen One," a man said.
"Col...the Chosen One did this?" Genis asked.
He really shouldn't be that surprise. Last spring, Colette fell and put a hole in the school's house wall. The hole was still there since the village was too cheap to fix it.
"Indeed and people all over the world will come to see it," the man continued happily. Genis could see the flashes of gald in his eyes.
Lloyd rubbed his head. "Well, at least we know she was here."
"You!" someone yelled.
Both Lloyd and Genis turned around to see two Desians running towards them.
"Doesn't he look like the guy in the wanted poster?" the Desian asked his partner.
"Let's see," the other Desians said as he glanced at the poster in his hands. He looked at Lloyd and then backed at his poster. "Yeah, he looks just like that!"
"Good for you, Lloyd. They say you're good looking," Genis remarked with a smirk. He couldn't help but joked. But how the hell could they know it was Lloyd from that goddess awful picture? Something told him this was not the first time the Desians mess up on someone's profile.
"Do I really look that bad?" Lloyd muttered with his eyes downcast.
"You must be Lloyd," the first Desian declared.
"Yeah, that's right," Lloyd said in a deadpan voice. There was little point in hiding it.
Genis glanced at Lloyd. "What about your usual 'Who are you to ask for my name' thing?" This was Lloyd's usual cue to be a smartass.
"I'm not even going to bother," Lloyd said dryly. He was too tired to try. It has already been a long day and now he had to deal with these jerks.
The other Desian chuckled. "I guess you can't run away with a poster of your face everywhere!"
Lloyd glared at the Desian. There were only so many times he could stand being called ugly in one day. "You're really starting to piss me off!"
The first Desians sneered at him. "Get him!" He pulled out his sword and charged Lloyd. The second Desian already had his crossbow out and aimed at Lloyd.
Lloyd parried the sloppy thrust and pushed the Desian away with one of his blades. He didn't have time to counter-attack as an arrow nearly hit him. He was able to successfully deflect it with his second blade, but the arrow's head still niched his arm.
The other Desian used that time to attempt sneak up on Lloyd, but was catch off-guard when a jet of water hit him and sent him flying. He, however, was not badly hurt.
"Take out the mage!" the Desian ordered the archer.
Genis knew he was in trouble as the Desian took aim, but Lloyd wasted no time running in to stop the attack.
"Tiger Blade!" Lloyd yelled when he got close enough to the archer. Before the Desian could shot, Lloyd slashed him upwards and jumped into the air, taking the Desians with him. He performed a downward slash and slammed the Desian back into the ground.
Blood flew as the Desian was cut apart by the attack. He gave one last scream before fluttered on the ground briefly before he went completely still.
"Damn you!" the Desian cussed at the lost of his partner. He ran in again, wanting to avenge his comrade's death.
"Stone Blast!" Genis yelled as several large stones hit the Desian, shattering his bones in several place. He screamed in agony as he collapsed to the ground.
Lloyd walked to the Desian to see if he was still alive. He saw that the Desian was still breathing as he raised his sword and did a quick downward thrust, ending the Desian's life.
"Lloyd!" Genis grasped.
"We couldn't risk him getting back up and calling reinforcements," Lloyd justified in a tight voice as he wiped his blade on the Desian's body, he'd forgotten to bring his cloth. Once cleaned, he sheathed both of his swords.
He still didn't like ended a life, even a Desian's. It was little easier to do in the heat of battle, but it was something else entirely to simply finish a person off when they were already down and defenseless. But that Desian would have killed them if giving a second chance. So, what choice did he have? Rather he liked it or not, he was responsible for keeping Genis safe. So, he couldn't afford to offer any mercy.
Genis frowned. "Still..."
Before Genis could say more, a bolt of lightning suddenly stuck Lloyd in the back. He screamed in pain as his body jerked around as he collapsed to the ground.
"LLOYD!" Genis yelled in horror.
"Looks like we got here just in time," a Desian said as he walked over to Lloyd's prone body. Several others followed shortly behind him. "Too bad he allowed himself to drop his guard."
"What should we do with the bodies?" another Desian asked.
"Buried them in the desert," the leader ordered. "I don't want the humans to loot them."
Genis looked around the town to see if anyone would help. As he expected, however, the people just watched. Some even looked amused.
One of the Desians turned towards Genis. "What of the boy?"
Genis knew he was in a bad position. If he let the Desians take Lloyd, they would most likely take him back to the Ranch. He knew all too well what Lloyd's fate would be from there.
At the same time, he couldn't fight. It took him too long to charge his spells and they would cut him down long before he could finish his first words.
He looked from the corner of his eye and saw Noishe hiding by the stables. The dog gave him an odd look. It was like he was telling him to go along. Although Noishe was just a dog, maybe he should try that.
"I...I'm scared," Genis muttered as he began to quiver and tears build in his eyes. "Please...don't hurt me. I'll be good."
It was his most pathetic and cowardly act. If he ever made it out of this alive, he wouldn't be winning any medals for bravery. But in situations like this, survival came before dignity. Plus, he was no good to Lloyd dead.
The Desian's face softened and he sighed. "Take him too!"
Two Desians ran by Genis side and they escorted him out of the city. Lloyd was unceremoniously carried like a sack of rice while the remaining Desians handled the bodies of their comrades. The crowd that had been watching dissipated, seeing that the action was over.
Once they were far enough, Noishe jumped from his hiding place and took off into the desert. He allowed his senses to guide him as he followed the trail.
Yeah, the plot is moving again, even though it was another slow chapter.
MysteriousClue, thanks for your review. Glad to see you like the small stuff that I added. I try to add to the feel of the story and make the world more alive.
Kiomori, thanks for your feedback. The thing that kind of bothered me about other novelizations is that the authors tend to gloss over Lloyd and Genis' banishment. I see what happened as a major event, especially in Lloyd's character devolopment, so I wanted a chapter that reflected on the event. I also don't care how fast Lloyd and Genis tend to reach Triet. I also cannot take credit for the sandwich scene. It was based on a Z-Skit that happened a little later in the game.
Anonymous Girl, tanks for the review and happy to know you have read my other stories. There are quite a few reference throughout my story. Sorry about the spelling errors.
With that said, until next chapter.
