Hello again. I meant to update earlier this week, but one of my dogs got sick and I had to take care of her. But, we are now officially in Act 2. Took too long to reach this point and I hope everyone enjoys.

Now, onward to the chapter.


Act 2: Tethe'alla

Chapter 53: Bold New World


As soon as they were outside the Renegades' base a bright light engulfed them.

When Lloyd opened his eyes again he was looking down at a landscape that he didn't recognized. Everything seemed brighter and luster than anything he has seen within Sylvarant. Even the air felt fresher.

This had to be the flourishing world of Tethe'alla.

Before he could get too big of an eye full of this new world a strange noise hit his ear. It sounded like grinding gears coming to a halt.

"Whoa! Wh…what's happening!?" Lloyd shouted as his Rheaird shook and stuttered.

"I don't know, it just suddenly…" Sheena yelled as her own Rheaird started to mess up.

"Look, the fuel gauge is on empty!" Raine shouted.

Lloyd's mouth dropped. How could they be empty? They just started flying.

"So that's it!" Sheena shouted as a realization hit her. "Since you've broken the seals in Sylvarant, there's not enough mana in this world!"

"And that means?" Genis yelled over the roaring engines.

"We're gonna to fall!" Sheena screamed as their Rheairds fell out of the sky.

Lloyd screamed for dear life as he attempted to regain some control of his Rheaird. After all they've been through, this would be a very embarrassing way to die.

Somehow, he managed to crash land without doing major damage to himself or Colette.

He rolled out of the Rheaird and searched for the others. They also appeared to be okay. From the way they were walking there was no broken bone or anything too serious besides some cuts.

"Is everyone okay?" Raine asked.

Before Lloyd could answer, Raine cast Nurse on them, healing any minor damage.

Genis huffed. "Somehow... I thought we were dead."

"Are you okay, Colette?" Lloyd asked before remembering that she wouldn't respond. He just couldn't get used to this.

"Damn, I should have guess that would happened," Sheena said as she looked over the smoking Rheairds.

Lloyd rubbed his head and sighed. "I think we managed to avoid destroying them completely."

"But they're useless unless we get some fuel," Genis pointed out.

Good point. "What's the fuel? Coal?" Lloyd asked.

Although, he didn't see any of the usual smoke trails or odor that coal left behind. It couldn't be wood. That was too heavy and wouldn't burn hot enough for something to fly. He also didn't think they were hydro.

"Coal?! Oh, geez…how do you guys manage to actually live in Sylvarant?" Sheena asked in what sounded like a mixed of disbelief and disgust.

"Then magic, I assume. Perhaps the lightning that Volt produces?" Raine surmised.

Now that Lloyd thought about it, that did make sense. Although, electricity was rarely used for power. Dwarves used fire and elves from what he heard mainly used wind and water. For humans it was usually coal or rather recently stream.

"Then all we have to do is have Sheena summon Volt, right?" Genis asked Sheena.

Sheena lost her previous outraged and paled. "I…haven't made a pact with Volt."

Lloyd tilted his head. Why did she suddenly become so nervous? "Then I guess we'll just have to leave these here."

Genis let out a loud sigh. "And here I thought magitechnology was infallible."

Lloyd decided to use this time to explore where they were. They appeared to have crashed on a mountain. Given the thickness of the air it wasn't that high.

From the distance he could see many hills and forests. Going by the color of the trees it almost seemed to be late spring, the same as Sylvarant. Interesting. They were in the same season.

As he looked, something familiar caught his eye. He blinked. It couldn't be. "Hey…What's that?"

He could clearly see the Tower of Salvation. That was impossible. How was it here?

Genis had the same thought. "That's…the Tower of Salvation! Why is that here? This is Tethe'alla, right?"

"Of course," Sheena said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The Tower of Salvation appears in the flourishing world. The tower also appeared on your side after Colette received the oracle, right?"

Raine rubbed her chin. "Two worlds. Two towers…" She turned towards Sheena. "What about the holy ground? The Church of Martel is also over here, correct? Is the holy ground called Kharlan?"

Sheena nodded. "Yes. The place where the Tower of Salvation lies is the Holy Ground of Kharlan. The same as your world."

Now Genis was truly confused. "The Holy Ground of Kharlan is where the peace treaty was signed to end the Ancient War! There can't be two of them!"

"Are you sure yours isn't a fake?" Sheena questioned. "We have records in our museums depict how the Hero Mithos called the two ancient kings to the Holy Ground of Kharlan in order to forge a peace treaty."

Raine folded her arms. "And such records exist on our side as well. Instruments used to sign the treaty can be found in the Palmacosta Academy."

Lloyd scratched his head. "So either one side is fake…or maybe they're actually both real."

Genis side-eyed Lloyd. "That's not possible."

"Some angel guy supposedly created two worlds and we just crossed over to another world on flying machines. What I suggested is the least of the strangest things that has happened today," Lloyd pointed out.

Genis had nothing to counter that. Truthfully, everything he has ever known about reality was destroyed.

"Besides, I was just…kinda…saying stuff. Anyway, let's get going," Lloyd said, giving up on guessing.

Sheena sighed. "It's true we aren't gonna get anywhere by pondering about it here."

Genis' mood immediately picked up. "Wow, it's our first adventure in Tethe'alla!"

Raine rubbed her forehead. "Genis, this isn't a field trip."

With that, they began to make their way off the mountain. It was a steep declined, but nothing too bad. At least for some of them.

Lloyd was wearing hiking boots, so had the easier time descending the mountain. Colette just steadily floated, so she wasn't even touching the ground. Sheena wasn't used to climbing down mountains, but her training kept her from having too much trouble. Raine and Genis, had a horrible time.

Genis was quickly running out of breath and Noishe was not here to help him. Raine did a better job hiding it, but she too was tiring quickly.

"Geez, you would think after all the traveling I've done, I would be better than this," Genis huffed.

Lloyd was too lost in thought to answer.

Genis looked at his friend. "What's wrong, Lloyd?"

Lloyd let out a deep sigh. "Ah, nothing... It's just...I hurt the people of Iselia, and this time I couldn't protect Colette, either. I thought I had gotten a little stronger, but now I think I haven't progressed at all."

Genis gave him a small smile. "Lloyd...but you've always tried to do the best you could. You didn't give up, and now we've made it all the way to Tethe'alla. You're not like the other humans. And so, that's why...I like you, Lloyd."

Lloyd chuckled softly. "Thanks, Genis." His eyes hardened. "Okay, then. We've come all the way here and all. We're not going to give up now. We're going to find a way to save Colette and the world!"

Genis gave a huge smiled. "Yeah, let's do it!"

Lloyd felt a little better after his prep talk from Genis. Although the lingering doubt of failure still leaned over him. Part of that fear came from not having Kratos here to back him up.

Kratos... Why did he still care about that guy after he betrayed and used him? He used the memory of his dead mother of all things to manipulate him. He should despised that man with every ouch of his being. And yet...he still cared about him.

Dammit, was he really this weak? Was he so weak that he still had to look for guidance from a traitor?

He wished his dad was here, just so he would have someone to talk to about all of this. He would even take Noishe to help him vent out his frustrations. He needed something; anything to helped clear his mind.

"I got to say, that was quite a surprise," Lloyd said out loud.

It took everyone only a moment to know that he was talking about the Rheairds.

Raine gave a smile. "Indeed, you don't get the opportunity to fly through the sky very often."

"Or fall from the sky either," Genis said in a deadpan voice.

"It can't be helped. When you break the seals in Sylvarant, the mana over here grows thin," Sheena stated.

Genis attempted to keep himself from tripping over a rock. "Even so, it's still a lot thicker over here than in Sylvarant."

Sheena was surprised by the observation. "Oh...you can tell that?"

Lloyd smiled. "Of course. 'Cause Genis and the Professor are elves."

Sheena tilted her head. "Why can elves tell that?" She did hear that elves and even some half-elves could sense mana. But, she's never been around either race enough to know.

"Well... Because they're elves," Lloyd answered with a shrugged. He didn't know why, but elves just could sense mana.

He glanced at Genis and Raine and saw that they both looked strangely forlorn. Why? He didn't say anything that would insult them, did he?

Dammit, so much for lighting the mood. So far, he was failing spectacularly at leading. And now he made his mood worse.

And his mood sunk further when he saw Colette float up to him. For a moment, he thought she was coming to cheer him up, like she always did when he was sad. But, her eyes remained blanked and unmoved. It really was like looking at a doll.

"Colette, can you hear me at all?" Lloyd asked.

No response. He didn't expect any.

"It looks like she can't even tell you're talking to her right now," Genis observed sadly, hearing Lloyd's mournful question.

"Dammit! At that moment, facing the decision between Colette and the world... For a split second, I chose the world. Even though it's nothing but a false peace..." Lloyd growled. After all his talk about not believing the goddess and the angels, he let Colette go at that critical moment.

Perhaps, in his hearts of hearts, he did believe in Martel. Or, perhaps he wanted to believe in her. Wanted to believe that she could save the world and free everyone from the Desians. Kratos was right about him again. He was a hypocrite and he hated himself for it.

"It was unavoidable. When a single decision you make could destroy the world, casually choosing your friend's life instead would have been a strange choice indeed," Raine stated. As always, looking at the cold, hard facts.

Lloyd shook his head. "Still, at that moment, I abandoned Colette."

"We all did," Genis said in a soft voice. "All this time...we believed in a false goddess and sacrificed one of our friends for our own happiness. We always talked about sticking together, but when the moment came, we did nothing."

Lloyd looked at his friend and suddenly realized how selfish he was being. Genis and Raine not only lost Colette, but their entire belief system. They did believed in Martel. They believed in the Church and all its teachings. For years, they have been trying to push him into the faith, and now, they learned that it was all a lie. How badly were they taking all of this?

"This much have been especially horrible on you guys," Lloyd said, getting Raine and Genis' attention. "I mean...you were believers in Martel..."

Genis lowered his head, unable to form words.

"I won't lie, it has been hard," Raine admitted. "To know that everything you believed in is wrong….it's a very empty feeling."

Sheena sighed. "Even though the Church of Martel isn't the primary religion in my village, we still believed in the goddess. After everything that has happened...am I not sure what to believe."

Lloyd laughed humorlessly. "You would think I would be happy. After years of everyone trying to push me into believing Martel and her teachings, I was proven right about her. But...I don't feel happy or vindicated. Just...empty..."

"That's because your belief system was you being a nonbeliever. Lloyd, you never really believe in anything, except maybe Colette," Raine observed. "So for you, being proven right has also taking away part of who you are."

This stunned Lloyd. But, it was true. He was a nonbeliever because of bad experiences he had with the Church, not so much because he hated Martel. It was a way to stick it to the people who gave him so much trouble growing up. Because of that, he allowed that experience define his faith, by making him deny any.

What did he believe in?

For the first time, he really asked that question. What was his faith? Did he believe in the spirits? Did he only believe in his swords? Did he believe in fate? What were his beliefs?

Kratos once asked him what he believed in. What motivated him to pick up his swords. The answer was so easy back then. He wanted to protect everyone. And yet…when the time came he failed miserably. Now, all of them were broken.

"Protecting something is good, but what happens if you no longer have anything to protect?" Kratos questioned again in his mind. "What becomes of you if you somehow lose the ones you hold dear?"

He was tired. He was so tired and there was still so much to do. Still, no matter how exhausted he was he had to push through. No matter what, he had to keep going not only for Colette's sake, but for everyone else's too. He wouldn't make anymore mistakes.

The rest of the trip was quiet. No one really had the energy to talk anymore, both for emotional and physical reasons.

Raine and Genis were really struggling down the mountain with Genis lagging behind the group. Sheena stood closed to him while Lloyd led to protect him from any would-be monsters.

"How much longer do we have to be on this mountain?" Genis asked. He was closed to whining.

"I have no clue. I've never been on this mountain. I don't even know exactly where we're at," Sheena admitted.

"Great," Genis groaned.

"Don't worry, I should be able to get my bearings once we reached the bottom," Sheena assured.

"I hope so. I don't want to spend days wondering around. Although, it would be an opportunity to see more of Tethe'alla," Genis said.

"I think you will enjoy the sights. Everything is much clearer here than it is in Sylvarant," Sheena said.

Genis nodded. "I noticed. You must had a hard time in our world coming from here."

Sheena gave a small smile. "It was hard at first, I must admit. Sylvarant is missing a lot of stuff I take for granted. But Sylvarant wasn't all bad. In fact, there are some things I like better over there."

This surprised Genis. "Like what?"

"The people for one. The people in this world are much more stiff and into themselves. They are not as friendly as the people of Sylvarant," Sheena said. "I guess everyone formed a bond over there to survive living under the Desians."

"I guess, I've never saw it that way," Genis said after a moment of thought.

"I also like your seafood way more. There are species of fish in your world that I've never heard of," Sheena went on.

Genis chuckled. "Well, given that Sylvarant makes most of their income off the fishing industry, it would makes sense our seafood would at least be decent."

"Yeah, even through I seem to rag on Sylvarant a lot, I've grown to really love your world." She became very serious. "Which is why I want to save it. I can't live with myself if I had to sacrifice it in order to save my world."

"You're really something else," Genis said in admiration.

"Although, I'm not sure how I'm going to explain this to my chief," Sheena sighed.

"Chief?" Genis repeated.

"It's nothing," Sheena said quickly, ending the conversation.

After closed to another hour of hiking, the end of the mountain was finally in sight, much to relief of Raine and Genis.

Lloyd stopped when he reached the bottom and waited for Sheena. "So, where are we going?"

Sheena glared at him. "What the?! You're the one that said, 'Let's go!'. I thought you knew where you were going."

Lloyd folded his arms and gave her an annoyed look. "How would I know? I'm from Sylvarant."

Sheena blushed, knowing she put her foot in her mouth. "Ah, yes, of course. I'm sorry. Meltokio, the Imperial City, the center of Tethe'alla. It's the city where the King of Tethe'alla resides."

Lloyd tilted his head. "Is it far from here?"

"Hold on," Sheena said as she stepped ahead of Lloyd and checked her surroundings. It took her several minutes to confirm where they were. "It's not that far. Just north of here. About half a day's walk."

Genis sighed. "More walking. I miss Noishe."

Lloyd looked at the sky. "It looks like it will be night in a couple of hours. We'll travel for an hour before calling it a day."

"A wise decision," Raine said.

"Be careful. The monster in my world are stronger than the ones in Sylvarant," Sheena warned.

"Given how high the mana is here, they would be. The monster from Sylvarant would be like weak kittens in comparison," Genis stated.

Lloyd looked at Raine. "Professor, how is our supplies?"

"We used up all the orange gels at the Tower of Salvation, so we need to be careful with using our magic," Raine said. "We still have a few apple gels so if you get hurt, you should use them. We only have one Life Bottle."

Lloyd sighed as he looked over his torn clothes. He needed to repair them soon. Thanks to Kratos and that Yggdrasill guy, parts of his chainmail was also damage. That would take him hours to repair.

He glanced at Raine and Genis and saw that their clothes were thankfully intact. At least they were well protected.

Sheena...he honestly didn't know if Sheena's clothes gave any protection. He knew the material that made Raine, Genis, and Colette's clothes came from the Church. Did Sheena also have access to it or something similar? Given that she survived this long, he had to assumed her somewhat...revealing outfit provided some type of protection.

Still, he really wished they could have resupplied before coming to this world. They were extremely ill prepared. It almost reminded him of when Genis and him were banished. But it couldn't be helped. They had to deal with the cards they've been dealt.

"Are there any Houses of Salvation on the path to Meltokio?" Lloyd asked.

Sheena shook her head. "Afraid not."

Lloyd sighed. "Camping it is then."

With plans made, they walked into the opened field of Tethe'alla.

Lloyd blinked seeing how wide it was. The grass was definitely greener than Sylvarant's. He shook his head. No time for sightseeing. They had to cover as much ground as possible before calling it a day.

He led the group and made sure he kept an eye out for monsters. He hoped Raine still had monster repellence; otherwise they were in for a long, painful night.

There were a few monsters in the field; mostly birds and what appeared to be leopard like creatures. Lloyd had to admit, they were tough. Certainly tougher that Sylvarant's monsters, just as Sheena warned.

However, he was stronger. He was able to take out most of the monsters with some help from Sheena. Genis did low level spells as backup, trying to conserve his magic.

Even Colette got a few kills when monsters got too closed to her. Without an ouch of hesitation, she viciously mauled down anything with her chakrams. It was more than a little disturbing.

After an hour, Lloyd decided it was time to stop. He wanted camp to be finished before the sun went down.

Sheena gathered firewood while Genis cooked a meal from their meager supplies. Lloyd spent his time taking out his sewing kit and his tools, and began the tedious process of repairing his jacket and pants.

He hated repairing the chainmail. Doing it sloppily wouldn't provide him with much protection, but weaving the metal correctly was so tiresome. He has been lucky on his journey to only damage the material, which could be easily sewed back. He supposed his luck would run out eventually.

"Didn't know you were a steel weaver," Sheena said once she returned with more firewood.

"I'm not, but my dad is. I can only do the repairs," Lloyd said, concentrating on his work.

Sheena looked over the chainmail. "This is some advance work."

Lloyd nodded. "That's because metal weaving is one of my dad's specialties."

"Specialties?" Sheena questioned.

"Because there are so many fields one can go into in crafting and forging, you have to pick specialties. In dwarven culture, once you pick a field of study, you work at it until you perfected it," Lloyd explained. "My dad specializes in wood builder/carver with an emphases in forging and metal weaving."

"That's quite a few specialties," Sheena noted in awe.

"My dad's that good," Lloyd said in pride.

"Do you have any specialties?" Sheena asked.

Lloyd shook his head. "Nay. I'm more of a jack-of-all-trades and master of none. I want to go into weapon and armor forging with an emphasizes in wood-carving, but dad isn't qualified to teach me about weapons and armor. If I want to learn, I have to go to the kingdom of the dwarves."

"Can't you just go to a blacksmith? They can teach you how to make weapons and armor," Sheena said.

"Dad says that human's steel and craftsmanship are inferior to a dwarf," Lloyd stated.

Sheena paused in thought. "I can't argue too much with that. Dwarves are the best crafters in this world too."

"I want to learn from the best, but I don't know want to spend years in the dwarven's kingdom to learn their craft," Lloyd admitted.

"I wonder, did your dad make your swords?" Sheena asked.

This took Lloyd by surprised. "How did you know?"

"I've seen the weapon shops in Sylvarant," Sheena said. "The swords you have blows away the best of what they have. Your swords are even better than ones that can be found here at a regular shop and I know you couldn't afford to have them custom made."

Lloyd laughed. "Yeah, dad made these for me himself."

"I thought you said he couldn't forge weapons," Sheena said.

"I said he wasn't qualified to teach me," Lloyd corrected. "Dad's master was a great weapon smith, at least that what he told me. Dad picked up some of his skills, but he isn't an expert."

"I see. He wants to make sure you learn from the best," Sheena said in understanding.

"Pretty much. Dwarves are obsess with that kind of stuff," Lloyd said. "They believe everything must be perfect when you craft anything. Even something as simple as a doll."

"Didn't know dwarfing culture was so complicated. You learn more every day," Sheena mused.

"Well, since I told you so much about dwarves, why don't you tell me about your culture. You've been so secretive about it," Lloyd said with a wide smile.

Sheena blushed. "Well...I can't tell you too much."

Lloyd titled his head. "Even a little would be nice. Since we've traveled this far together, we should get to know each other better."

Sheen blushed deeper. "Okay... I'll answer one question."

"Oh, then what about your clothes? Are they made from the same material as Raine and the others?"

"You mean the armor of Martel? Naw, we don't use those. Those are only for high Church members, like people who works for the Pope," Sheena said. "My outfit is made from material that is a secret art in my village. Not even I know how it's made."

"I see. So it's resistance to magic and stuff?" Lloyd asked.

"Well, that's technically your second question, but I can answer it," Sheena said with some humor. "It's both good at resisting magic and physical attacks to a point."

"Sounds handy, especially compared to my chainmail. You can just sew it up and be done with it," Lloyd mused.

"Ironically, I'm not the best at sewing," Sheena admitted.

"Huh, really?" Lloyd said. "Well, if you ever tear your clothes up, I'd be happy to repair it."

Sheena blushed. "Really?"

"Yeah, I don't mind. Since we're friends, I want to make sure you're well protected," Lloyd said with a smile.

Sheena blushed deeper. "Aw...thanks. I better go check on Genis." She quickly got up and left.

She didn't know why, but she has been feeling funny around Lloyd lately. Why was she having so much trouble being around him and why did she blush like a schoolgirl when he offered to repair her clothes? Dammit, what was wrong with her?

Dinner was long done and eaten by the time Lloyd finally finished the repairs. It may not be completely good as new, but it was the best he could do. When he got back to Sylvarant he needed to have his dad looked it over for more thorough repairs.

"Who's going to take night watch?" Genis asked. "Usually...Kratos does it."

"I'll take first watch," Lloyd volunteered. "Sheena, can you take the second?"

Sheena nodded. "Yeah."

"I will take a third watch so you two can sleep longer. We don't need both of you tired," Raine said.

Genis looked at Colette. "Too bad Colette can't help since she doesn't need to sleep. But, as she is now, she will only defend herself and no one else."

"She still can be a good early warning system," Lloyd mused before pausing. "I've been wondering, why has Colette being following us?"

"What do you mean?" Genis asked.

"Well, Colette's heart and soul are gone, right? So, she shouldn't have the will to move either without someone forcing her. Yet, this entire time, Colette has been following us without us doing anything," Lloyd stated.

"That is...a very good point," Raine said in awe. "It could be because she sense she has a better chance of surviving with us. Yuan did say that Colette's only goal is self-preservation."

Lloyd frowned. "Could that be the only reason?"

"You think it is because Colette is somewhere in there that she follows us," Raine surmised. "As nice of a thought that is, I do not think that is the case. Colette just sees us as something that can protect her, so she follows us obediently. If we get into trouble, I doubt she would save us."

Lloyd frowned deeper. Raine didn't have to put it that bluntly. Couldn't she let him have his nice thoughts?

"It's late, let's get some sleep," Raine advised.

Lloyd sighed as he began his watched. So far, he wasn't enjoying this new world too much.

The night dragged almost endlessly. Lloyd wasn't tired, despite today's events. He suspected being out for several days had something to do with it.

He looked up into the sky and stared into the stars. Even in times like these, it gave him comfort and a sense of normalcy. It also reminded him of Kratos, but he wasn't going let that bastard ruined this for him.

As he looked, he saw the stars and constellations he had grown to know and adored.

Wait?

Why were the stars and constellations the same? This was another world, so shouldn't the sky be different. This wasn't right. How could Sylvarant and Tethe'alla have the same sky?

Lloyd shook his head. Nothing made sense anymore.

"Hey, it's my watch now," the voice of Sheena broke through his thoughts.

Lloyd jumped. "Oh, it's that time already?"

Sheena nodded. "Yeah, you can go to sleep."

"Not feeling very tired," Lloyd said.

"Well, you still need some sleep. Even if Kratos isn't here, we still need to get up early," Sheena stated.

Lloyd sighed. "Going to be odd getting up with seeing his mug around. We just feel so...incomplete without him."

"Funny, I feel the same way despite only joining you guys recently," Sheena humored as she sat down.

There was a long silence.

"Hey Sheena, what star were you born under?" Lloyd suddenly asked.

"Star?" Sheena questioned.

"I mean the constellation of your summon spirit," Lloyd clarified. "Like I was born under the star of Efreet."

"Oh, you mean spirit symbols. Funny, you didn't strike me as the type who would be into that," Sheena said.

Lloyd smiled. "I get that a lot, but I always love the stars."

"I don't remember exactly, but I think I was born under Sylph," Sheena said.

"Oh, that's interesting. Those who are born under that star are said to be swift and as fast as the wind. They also represent change and independence," Lloyd said.

"Really?" Sheena asked.

"They're also flighty and kind of clumsy," Lloyd added with a bit of humor, causing Sheena to groan.

"Well...that's nice to know," Sheena muttered.

"Well I have to admit, you being clumsy does make a little more sense now," Lloyd joked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sheena growled.

"Well, you did fall down that mineshaft when we first met you," Lloyd pointed out.

"..." Sheena had nothing to counter that. Damn him.

"But those other points about you are true too. About you representing change and independence," Lloyd continued.

Sheena lowered her head. "I'm not sure about that."

"Well, it is true. You want to change the system where both our worlds struggle for mana and you're independence because you don't just follow orders," Lloyd said. "You're a good personification of your spirit symbol."

Sheena chuckled. "I guess when you put it like that, being considered clumsy isn't the worst."

"Well everyone has both negative and positive traits from their spirit symbol. It's how we balance them that makes us who we are," Lloyd said.

"Pretty wise words. So you believe everyone is dictated by what star they're born under?" Sheena asked.

Lloyd shook his head. "Naw. We are more than just the sum of what star we're born under. But, I do believe those spirits guide us and lend us their strength during time of hardship."

"And you say you have no belief system," Sheena mused.

"Well, I don't worship anything as a higher entity, but I do believe that if there are any gods, the summon spirits are the closest thing we have to them," Lloyd said.

As they talked, the sound of thunder could be heard in the distance, causing both Lloyd and Sheena to jump.

"Oh...it must be storming nearby," Lloyd said, trying to regained his cool.

Sheena shivered. "Yeah..."

Lloyd looked at her in concern. "You fear lightning?"

"No..no...!" Sheena stuttered.

Lloyd gave an understanding smile. "You don't need to be embarrass." He lowered his eyes. "Lightning and thunder scares me too."

This surprised Sheena. "Really?"

"For as long as I can remember my nightmares would be worse if it rained and thundered a lot," Lloyd said softly. "For a long time I didn't know why... Until I met Kvar."

"Kvar?" Sheena repeated before he eyes widened. "He used lightning attacks."

Lloyd nodded. "In the back of mind, that's how I remembered him. When I hear or see lightning, Kvar is there."

"What a terrible thing to remember," Sheena whispered.

Lloyd laughed humorlessly. "Even dead, that guy still haunts me."

"But, at least you were giving the chance to find closer and move on," Sheena said. "You know that Kvar can never hurt anyone ever again."

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah." He looked at Sheena. "What about you? Why do you fear lightning?"

Sheena became quiet for several seconds. "A...very bad experience."

"I understand," Lloyd said with a small nod. He understood all too well. He reached over and patted her hand.

As soon as he touched, Sheena felt a suddenly warm sensation shot up her arm and tingled into her chest. It was almost a tickling feeling. She felt herself blushing.

Lloyd took no noticed of any of this. "I guess I should get to bed. You have a good night."

Sheena nodded numbly, still struck by the sudden feelings she were having.

He stood up and glanced at Colette, who remained in placed. "Goodnight, Colette."

There was no answered. He didn't expect one.

He sighed as he made his way to his sleeping bag.


Slow chapter for the beginning of the new act, but the breathing room was needed so Lloyd and his group could reflect on their feelings about what happened. This chapter was also awkward to write since this is the first chapter in literal years without Kratos in it, although his presence is still felt. Really gives the group a different dynamic.

Until next chapter, please take care.