Here is the next chapter. Thanks for the views and review.
Now, to the chapter.
Chapter 36: Confrontation
Even with the trial done, getting out was no easy task. Thankfully, Kratos' memory proved to be just as impressive as his swordsmanship and he was able to avoid all the traps in the tomb. They were even able to keep away from the ghosts that still haunted the area.
"Good, fresh air just ahead," Genis said as he felt the cool breeze of the afternoon's wind. He didn't even mind that it was fairly cold.
"Stop!" a feminine voiced shouted.
Lloyd stopped in mid-stepped. "That voice..."
Sheena appeared before them, blocking the group's path.
"Oh no," Genis grumbled.
He knew that they were in trouble. None of them, not even Kratos, were in top shape after their fight with the guardian and this assassin was as fresh as a daisy. Couldn't she attacked tomorrow or something?
"This day has finally come," Sheena sneered. "This ancient ruin shall be your graveyard."
Despite her harsh words, Sheena felt dirty for what she was doing. Not only was she trying to kill an innocent girl, but she was also doing it while they were in a weakened state. She could tell by their expressions and torn clothes that they had already went through a tough battle.
She, however, had no choice. She could never beat this group at their best, especially not with that monster bodyguard the Chosen had. At the very least, she could kill the Chosen before that man cut her in half.
Colette smiled at her assassin. "Oh, you're here, too!"
Sheena's eyes widened in horror as Colette attempted to approach her. "S…stay back! Don't move! Don't touch anything!"
Given that they were still in a tomb full of death traps, that was good advised, which Kratos noted dryly.
"Now that we've finally become friends, why do we have to fight?" Colette continued as if Sheena didn't say anything.
Sheena blushed at her words. "Since when are we..." She paused for a moment as she calmed down. This girl wasn't making her mission easy. "I have no intention of befriending you!"
Kratos took out his sword. "Get ready."
Sheena narrowed her eyes in resolved. This was it. "Prepare yourselves!" she screamed as she released another Guardian. This one had blue with white streaks going up its arms and head.
"Another one of those Guardian thingy," Lloyd growled as he prepared to fight it.
"That's a lightning one," Raine warned. "Be careful. It's stronger than the last one!"
Kratos moved in to end the battle quickly, but the Guardian blocked him. He attempted to pass it several times, but it kept getting in his way. It would seem the assassin had learned. Instead of fighting him herself, she was using her Guardian as a distraction.
Sheena used this time to run towards Colette.
"Lloyd, protect the Chosen!" Kratos yelled. He would have to depend on his son for now.
Lloyd didn't have to be told twice as he ran to intercept the assassin before she could reach Colette. "I don't want to fight you, but you won't hurt Colette," he growled.
Sheena was taken off-guard by the younger swordsman changed in demeanor. In a matter of seconds, he went from an easy-going fool to this fierce protector. The change was almost unsettling. But he wasn't the only one who had something to defend.
"Power Seal Absolute!" Sheena yelled as a paper card hit Lloyd. He could feel his power being drained, but he refused to back down.
"Sword Rain!" Lloyd yelled as he attempted stab Sheena.
Sheena was able to block most of the attack with her cards. She then back up and began her summoning spell.
"What she's doing?" Lloyd asked in confusion.
Raine's eyes widen in surprise. "Is that a summons?"
"I summon thee, let's go, Corrine!" Sheena yelled as her fox-liked creature appeared by her side.
"Huh, a fox?" Lloyd questioned in confusion.
Corrine wasted no time jumping on Lloyd's arms and biting deeply into it.
"Dammit, get it off!" Lloyd screamed as he attempted to pry Corrine off of him.
Sheena didn't wasted another moment and went straight for Colette's heart, wanting to at least give her a painless death.
Colette quickly blocked the paper cards with her chakrams. "Please stop this! We don't have to fight!"
"Yes we do," Sheena growled as she pushed forward. "For the future of my world, you have to die here."
Sheena pushed Colette back, knocking her off guard. Before she could move for the finished, Colette flew away from the assassin.
Meanwhile, Kratos had his hands full handling the Guardian. The closed space of the tomb wasn't helping since it hampered his movements.
"Stalagmite!" Genis yelled, hitting the Guardian several times with blades of rocks.
"Victory Light Spear!" Kratos yelled as he spiraled into the air and delivered a fierce horizontal slash while airborne.
The Guardian tanked the damaged and responded by hitting Kratos a volt of lightning, knocked him into one of the walls.
"Kratos, are you okay?" Genis yelled in worry.
"Great," Kratos muttered. This Guardian was a pain in the ass.
Colette was having her own problems as she dodged and parried Sheena's relentless attacks.
"Dammit, die already!" Sheena yelled.
"Photon!" Raine yelled as the light energy hit Sheena, causing her to scream in pain.
"No Professor, don't hurt her!" Colette yelled.
Raine was exhausted, but her eyes were hardened in fierce determination. "This woman is trying to kill you. I'm sorry, you maybe the Chosen, but your life comes before your feelings."
Colette was horrified to hear this. "But..."
"Power Seal Pinion!" Sheena screamed as she attempted to attack Colette while her back was turned.
Lloyd stopped her in mid-attack. He was bleeding in several places and looked to be in pain, but that determination never left his eyes. "Didn't I say you won't hurt Colette."
Sheena's eyes widen in horror. "Corrine!"
"It's alive," Lloyd answered shortly. Although he was tempted to skew that little monster after it tried to bite him below the belt.
Corrine tried to get up several times to help his mistress before he finally gave up. "Sorry Sheena, I tried."
Her eyes narrowed when she saw the state of her friend. "You'll pay for this!"
She hit Lloyd with a paper card, cutting deeply into his face, nearly taking his eye.
"Hey, you started this!" Lloyd yelled as he hit Sheena in the stomach with the hilt of his sword.
Kratos smirked in triumph as he took one of the Guardian's arms.
"Aqua Laser!" Genis screamed as the jet of water ripped through the Guardian, finishing it once and for all. "Well, that does it for that."
Kratos turned his attention towards the assassin. Lloyd was during a decent job holding her off, but he was getting more than a few injures. His coat was becoming darkened than usual.
"Lloyd, move out of the way!" Kratos yelled as he charged up his mana.
Lloyd did what the man said and got out of firing range.
Sheena didn't have time to think as a giant Demon Fang headed her way. She quickly cast Guardian to block the attack. Her barrier barely held as she thrown across the room and into a nearby wall.
"Mr. Kratos!" Colette gasped in shock.
Kratos pointed his sword at the assassin. "That was a warning. The next one will be sure to take your life."
"That was a warning?" Genis mumbled. If she didn't used Guardian, that attack would have torn her to pieces.
"Sheena!?" Corrine yelled as he ran towards his friend.
Sheena was slowly and painfully pulling herself to her feet. She looked to be tears as she banged her fists into the stone floor. "Arrgh, why...why can't I win?"
"Goodness and love will always win!" Genis exclaimed with pride.
Lloyd had to keep himself from groaning. "Genis, please don't bring up that stupid Dwarven Vow!"
Sheena lifted her head in anger. There was some blood dripping down her lips. "Goodness!?" She stood up completely.
"Sheena, please don't move," Corrine begged, but Sheena was beyond listening.
"What do you mean, 'goodness'!? If you're good, I'm good as well!" Sheena yelled.
"Not you, too," Lloyd groaned in annoyance. "Everyone, stop saying corny things!"
"What do you know!?" Sheena yelled in frustration. "What do you know?! When you regenerate the world, my country will be destroyed! I won't let that happen... I swear!"
Colette's eyes widen in disbelief. "Wait, what are you talking about? If I regenerate the world, everyone will be saved."
Sheena lowered her eyes. "...This world will be saved..."
Before anyone could asked what she meant she grabbed a couple of smokes bombs.
"Stop, who are you!? So you're not alone!?" Raine yelled, trying to question her.
Sheena paid her no heed to her as she threw down the smoke bombs and disappeared again, along with that strange creature of hers.
"This world?" Lloyd repeated in confusing. "What did she mean?"
Her words only confirmed everything that Kratos already knew. That girl was from his old world of Tethe'alla.
"Do you know her, Kratos?" Genis suddenly asked, taking note of Kratos' troubled expression.
Kratos quickly snapped out of his trance. "No, let's get out of here."
That girl was really starting to cause him some problems. He was not too worried about her being able to kill the Chosen. He was more than capable of handling her and Lloyd could fight her on more-or-less even ground. What had him concern was her knowledge.
The group, especially the Chosen, would undoubtedly begin to question their mission. If the Chosen knew the truth, she may not want to go through with the journey or worst, figure out what has been going on. He highly doubted that the ninja knew the full truth herself, but he could not be too careful. She could possibly ruin everything.
However, did he really mind having everything 'ruined'? He promised to guide the Chosen on her journey, but he no longer felt comfortable in his duty. Whether he liked it or not, he had grown somewhat fond of Colette. He honestly did not want her to die and become an empty shell for Martel to possess. As much as he wanted his old and dear friend back, he was certain Martel would feel the same way. It was one thing to received the shell once the deed was done, but it was something different to watch the humanity be slowly ripped from her. Was this what Yuan saw millenniums again with Spiritua?
No matter, he could not stop now. Even if he hated the system, Sylvarant would die if this Chosen failed. Mithos would never reverse the mana flow if she failed. He would rather allowed an entire world to die than to break the system that he had created. They were all stuck.
"Colette!?" Lloyd yelled as his childhood friend collapsed in his arms.
Kratos sighed. Right on time.
"It's the Angel Toxicosis again," Raine said in a calm voice. However, worry was still etched into her face. "Let's hurry and let her rest."
Kratos broke away from the group to gathered firewood. It was still early, but it was better to get it out the way now. Besides, he needed to clear his head.
"Are you okay?" Lloyd asked softly as he helped Colette up.
Colette sighed before she looked up at Lloyd. "I'm sorry to trouble everybody again..."
Lloyd gave a big, but forced, smile. "Don't worry about that, but..."
Before he could finish Colette suddenly tripped on her on feet and fell again. This time she took Lloyd with her as she instinctually grabbed his arm. He was surprised by how much Colette's strength had grown and couldn't regain his balance.
He couldn't think of how Colette had gotten so strong before his knees slammed into the cold ground, causing him to cry in pain.
"What are you doing, Lloyd?" Genis asked in annoyance, before he turned his attention towards Colette. "Are you okay, Colette?"
Colette didn't give one of her forced smiles or nervous laughs. Instead, she looked confused and even a bit scared.
"Colette, wh…what's wrong?" Genis asked more urgently when his friend didn't answer. He had never seen Colette like this. "Did you hurt yourself?"
Colette finally shook her head, although she still looked confused. "N…no. I'm fine." She gave her signature nervous laugh. "I just blanked out for a moment."
Lloyd wasn't fool at all as he picked himself off the ground, ignoring his throbbing knees. One way or another, he was going to get the truth out of Colette.
It was more than a couple hours before sunset and Raine decided to have a school lesson with her remaining students to past the time before dinner, much to Lloyd's horror.
Kratos in the meanwhile had cooking duty as well as guarding the Chosen from any further attacks. Thankfully, everything was peaceful and even the tourists had left some time during the day.
Colette coughed softly a couple times as she watched Kratos cook.
"How are you feeling, Chosen?" Kratos asked.
Colette gave a tight smile. "Better, actually. Thank you for taken care of me."
"It is my duty to protect you," Kratos replied.
"You still say that, although it isn't true," Colette said before she paused to gather her thoughts. "I have been taken up your suggesting."
Kratos gave her an odd look.
"About counting the stars. It really does works," Colette said.
"I am glad it helps," Kratos said with a small smile.
"Kratos..." Colette started.
"What is it, Chosen?" Kratos asked, not liking the look she was given him.
"...Nothing." Colette said as she stared at the fire.
The Chosen was starting to unnerve him. He just could not read this girl. Every time he thought he had her figured out, she pulled something like this.
He cleared his mind and went back to cooking. There was little point in worrying about a girl who was going to die soon.
The day soon turned into night and the small group was fed their dinner. Kratos attempted to rebuild their strength with a high protein meal of beef sandwiches, which Lloyd absolutely loved. Genis was so impressed by the meal that he had Kratos write down the recipe for him.
After dinner had ended the group scattered across the ground. Genis, tired from all the fighting, fall out on Raine's lap less than an hour after dinner. She absentmindedly stroked his hair as she read one of her many books.
Kratos, meanwhile, was on his nightly watch, while Colette and Lloyd sat by the campfire. The meeting wasn't normal between the two as Lloyd kept given Colette odd glances.
"Colette, let me see your hand," Lloyd suddenly said, catching Colette off-guard.
"Huh, why?" Colette asked in confusion.
"Just show me!" Lloyd almost yelled as she took Colette injured hand into his own.
Colette said nothing as Lloyd frowned when he saw the wound. The cut was quite deep and it was still bleeding even now. It looked like she scrapped herself on a sharp rock when she fell.
"You're hurt," Lloyd almost whispered as he fingered the wound. "It must have happened when you fell. Look how much you're bleeding!"
Colette quickly pulled her hand away and stared at the injury. "But it doesn't hurt," she spoke softly as if not believing her own words.
"What?" Lloyd asked in disbelief.
Colette seemed to realize that she used the wrong choice of words. "Uh, I mean, it doesn't hurt that much."
Lloyd stared at Colette for several seconds. "Colette, can I talk to you for a sec?" He glanced at Kratos who remained some distance away. "In private."
Colette bit her lip before answering. "Sure."
"I'll meet you by that hill in a few minutes, okay?" Lloyd said.
"Alright," Colette said as she got up and walked away from the campfire.
Lloyd used this time to quickly fixed two cups of coffee. Luckily, there was plenty left over from dinner since only Raine drunk it. She practically lived on the stuff.
"You never struck me as someone who likes coffee," Kratos remarked as Lloyd finished filling the cups.
"I hate coffee, but it's the quickest thing I can get right now," Lloyd answered.
Kratos turned to face him. "You have something in mind?"
"Just an experiment," Lloyd replied as he walked off to meet Colette.
She was waiting patiently for him as he walked up the hill.
"What is it, Lloyd?" Colette asked, trying to hide her worry.
Lloyd gave her his cheesiest grin, trying to look as unassuming as possible. "I thought it'd be nice for us to talk just by ourselves. It's been awhile since it was just been us."
Colette nodded, not quiet believing him. "...Sure."
Lloyd's smile got wider. "Here, it's hot coffee."
Colette gave Lloyd an odd look. He didn't like coffee. It had a tendency to make him hyper. She also didn't care for it herself. Nonetheless, she politely took the cup from him. "Thanks."
Lloyd held his own cup to his mouth. "Hot, isn't it?"
Colette smiled and nodded. "Yeah, really hot."
Lloyd kept a big smile on his face. "It's iced coffee, actually."
Colette gave Lloyd a baffled expression. "What?"
"I had Genis make it cold," Lloyd stated nonchalantly as he toyed with his cup. "I've heard that iced coffee tasted better than hot coffee so I wanted to try it out."
Colette's smile quickly returned. "Oh yeah, of course it's cold."
Lloyd slowly lowered his cup and completely dropped his smile as he stared at Colette. "I lied. It's actually hot."
Colette dropped her cup in shock.
This was the first time that Lloyd has deceived her, at least purposely. She was hurt for a moment that Lloyd would lie to her, but she also knew that she did much the same to him not long ago.
"I knew it," Lloyd growled. He sounded so hurt in his voice. "How long have you been like this?! You can't feel anything at all, can you?!"
"Th…that's not true," Colette stuttered in a vain attempt to cover the truth.
"You're lying!" Lloyd all but yelled. They were lucky that they were far enough from the camp that no one could hear them. "When you fell earlier, you already couldn't feel anything, could you?!"
Colette lowered her eyes in shame. "W...well, uh…but…uh…"
"You were bleeding like crazy, but you didn't even flinch when I squeezed your hand!" Lloyd continued as his voice build. All his worry and frustration came pouring out of him.
Colette gave a long sigh. There was no point in hiding any of it now. "...I guess the secret's out."
Lloyd paused as another realization hit him. It was all beginning to make sense now. All of Colette's odd behaviors lately. It all made perfect sense. "You haven't been eating lately either."
"I eat..." Colette started.
"Barely," Lloyd hissed as he remembered the green peppers she started eating and how she didn't cook fruit as much anymore. Her cooking was also not as good, but he never had the heart to tell her that. "You started eating things you don't like. And that's not all. Have you been sleeping lately?"
"Of course," Colette said with a nervous giggle. "See, my eyes aren't red or anything."
Lloyd was near his rope's end. It took everything he had not to grab and shake her. "Stop lying to me! You always do that fake giggle when you lie."
Colette completely dropped her cherry demeanor when she saw how upset Lloyd was becoming. "Th...that's not true…"
"Is it really that hard for you to trust me?" Lloyd asked in a broken tone.
Colette looked to be nears tears, if she could shed any, when she saw the hopelessness in Lloyd's face. He didn't deserve to suffer like this. "No, it's not like that," she whispered as she gave a deep sigh. "I just didn't want anyone to worry."
There was a long uncomfortable silence that past between the two.
"Colette...what's happening to you?" Lloyd asked in a whisper.
"I don't know," Colette answered honestly for the first time in over a month. "I don't know, but things first got strange when I released the Fire Seal. I suddenly didn't want to eat anything anymore. Even when I did, it didn't have any taste."
"No taste?" Lloyd repeated in disbelief.
Colette nodded. "I can't hold anything down when I force myself...so, I haven't been eating. I never get hungry."
Lloyd couldn't even imagine what that must be like.
"Then when I released the next seal, I stopped getting sleepy. I close my eyes, but I just can't sleep," Colette continued. It actually felt good to be finally telling someone about this. She suspected Kratos and Raine knew, but they didn't know the details. They didn't know the extent of her lost humanity. "I haven't slept at all since then. Then with this seal, I stopped feeling anything."
Lloyd was scared witless by what he was hearing. "Why…why didn't you say anything?!"
Colette turned away from Lloyd, unable to look at him. "I figured this is just what it means to become an angel. So I shouldn't let it get to me."
"This is what it means to become an angel!?" Lloyd repeated in disbelief. "Not eating anymore, not sleeping anymore, not feeling anything anymore?! Is this what Martel calls perfection!?"
"But my eyes have actually gotten better," Colette quickly defended. "I can see really far away now. And my hearing, too. I can hear even the faintest sounds really well. I can hear them so well that…it's kind of painful sometimes." She paused for a second. "The Goddess Martel would never just take something without given something back in return."
Lloyd started to shake. "So, better sight and hearing are equal to losing your humanity? I can't...I can't accept that as any kind of equal trade!"
"That's because..." Colette started.
"It's not because I'm a non-believer or a heathen!" Lloyd yelled, not caring who heard him. "Follower or not, this isn't right! Why...why must you suffer like this just to awaken some cold-hearted goddess who couldn't care enough to stay awake to guard the world?"
Colette shook her head. "Lloyd, you mustn't say such a things..."
"I can say whatever I want!" Lloyd yelled as he attempted to calm himself down. "Merciful Martel...det är som en slags skämt. She's mer som en djävul."
"The goddess has her own reasons to do things," Colette said in a gentle, but firm voice. "If...if losing my humanity means saving the world, I will do it. This isn't just about me..."
Lloyd suddenly walked up to her and held Colette in a tight embraced. He was trembling again, but this time out of uncontrollable sadness. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize what was going on at all. I'm sorry."
Colette gently patted his shoulder as sobs wretched his body. She would cry too if she was able to, but she needed to be the strong one now. She had to be strong for Lloyd. "Please don't tell the others. We're all on this trip together and I want it to be fun. So...I don't want you to worry about it either, okay?"
"You're so stupid..." Lloyd choked as he held Colette tighter.
"I'm sorry, Lloyd," Colette whispered in his ear. "Even though you're crying for me, and I'm happy, so happy I want to cry…but I can't anymore. I'm sorry."
They remained like that for a long time and Kratos watched the exchanged from the distance. He heard everything.
For the first time since this journey started, he felt true regret. What he was doing to Lloyd was ripping him apart and it would only get worse before it all ended. How cruel fate could be at times. Why was it punishing his son instead of him? He was the one that sinned.
He turned his eyes away from the heartbreaking scene and looked towards the fire in an attempt to clear his mind. Kratos' head jumped up when he felt a slight change in Lloyd's mana. It was so quick that it was easy to miss.
He turned to look at his son and could see the glint of his exsphere. Apparently, the orb was responding to Lloyd's distress. From where he stood, he could not tell if that was a good or a bad thing.
The two stood on that hill all night until Lloyd eventually cried himself to sleep in Colette's arms. Even then, she stood by him and allowed him to sleep with his head in her lap. For at least one night, she was his guardian angel.
Pretty eventful chapter. Sheena makes her final stand against the Chosen's group, Lloyd's finally finds out about Colette's condition, and most of all, we got the infamous coffee scene. Things will only get more heated up next chapter.
Until then, take care.