Sorry for getting this chapter out so late. I kind of lost track. Anyway, thank you all once again for all your feedback, reviews, and hits.

Now, to the story.

Chapter 14: Clumsy Assassin

True to his word, Kratos had the group up and ready to leave in least than half of hour. It helped that Lloyd was anxious to see the Ossa Trail and find the remains of the Linkite Tree. He knew the boy's excitement wouldn't last long, so it was best to pushed them while Lloyd still had interest.

Thankfully for Kratos, they were able to avoid Nova's cavern on their way to the trail. Although Noise was upset that he couldn't greet his old friend, Kratos would have none of that. Nova would know Noishe at first sight.

Once they were safely out of Nova's sight it took them another hour before they reached the Ossa Trail. It hadn't change at all since the day Anna and him crossed it, except their was no ice now. He could sense some monsters up ahead, but there was nothing too threatening.

His major concern was that the trail was narrow and would make evading more difficult. Since Lloyd's fighting style required a lot of foot movement and wide motions, this road would proved to be difficult for him especially. He would have to keep a close eye on him.

"This road is really dusty," Genis noted before he gave a small sneeze.

"That is because there has been little rainfall in this area," Raine said. "It is a good thing since the road would be slick otherwise."

Kratos had to admire Miss Sage's knowledge. Her wisdom made it easier for him to hide his own knowledge and made him less suspicious. He wondered, however, if Miss Sage was catching on to him. Those looks she sometimes gave him were a little unnerving.

Before he could ponder further on the subject, he felt a strong mana signature in the area. It felt vaguely familiar.

"Stop!" a voice demanded.

The entire group stopped in their tracks as they searched around for the source of the voice. They didn't have to wait long a woman appeared before them in a puff of smoke. She wore a standard purple ninja gi except her was accent with a large pick bow on her back. Kratos could also tell that she was well-grown in her upper chest to the point that it barely fit her outfit.

Kratos immediate concern, however, was what she was holding in her hands. To the untrained eye, it looked like she was just holding pieces of paper or playing cards. He knew all too well that those 'papers' were deadly weapons that belong to only one group.

This girl was without a doubt a Mizuho ninja. Given his prior dealings with the group, she was most likely working for the Renegades. That would also explain how she even got here.

"What!?" Lloyd exclaimed after the shock of the girl's sudden appearance wore out.

Colette turned to look at Lloyd. "Is she a friend of yours?"

Lloyd shook his head. "Not that I'm aware of."

Kratos glanced at Colette for a moment. Why in the world would the Chosen think this woman was a friend?

"Is the Chosen of Mana among you?" the woman demanded.

"Oh, that's me," Colette said as she practically raised her hand.

Kratos had to bite back a sigh. This Chosen was proving to be too dumb to live.

Raine put her staff up, ready for the attack she knew was going to come. Kratos quickly did the same as he put his hand on the hilt of his sword. Since she was from Mizuho, this girl couldn't be underestimated.

The woman's eyes narrowed as she fixed her sights on Colette. "Prepare to die!" She then ran forward with her weapons ready.

Colette was so shock by the sudden movement that she fell back and hit something. A loud click was heard and a wooden door suddenly opened from the ground. Before the would-be assassin could stop herself, she ran right over the trap door. She appeared to hover in mid-air for a moment as a look of surprise overcame her face. She didn't have a chance to scream as she fell into the dark tunnel below.

The entire group stood shock for a moment as they watched the woman disappear. Within a few seconds a loud thug echoed from the hole.

"Uh-oh." Was the only thing the group could think to say, including Raine.

Kratos stood as still as a statue as he watched the scene unfold. By the rather calm reaction of the group this occurrence seemed to be common place. Given the Chosen's luck, it would hardly surprise him.

Noishe seemed to chuckled at the scene before him.

Colette got up in horror as she ran towards the hole. "Oh no, I did it again!"

"So, this has happened before," Kratos thought dimly.

"You don't need to worry about it," Raine said as she lowered her staff. She didn't seem fazed at all. "If she had not fallen, you might have been killed."

That hardly calmed Colette down. "But..."

Lloyd's eyes softened as he looked down the deep hole. "I do feel a bit sorry for her."

Colette looked like she was gonna cry. "I hope she's okay."

Kratos almost shook his head. The girl was too soft-hearted for her good.

"Even assuming her weight to be forty-five kilograms, and this hole to be ten meters deep, and calculating the gravity constant at nine point eight, the impact shouldn't have been fatal," Genis said dispassionately.

Lloyd looked at his friend, completely lost. "Gravity...constant? I don't understand what you just said, but she's alive, right?"

"Probably," Genis said with a shrugged.

Lloyd shook his head as he looked back at the hole. "Still, she's got some bad luck." He began to chuckled a little. "Standing right on top of a trapdoor and all."

Raine took this time to walk towards the switch that Colette accidentally triggered. "It's not a trap. It is a hidden maintenance passage for the mountain path." She then pulled the switch back and closed the passage. It was better to be safe than sorry since she didn't want any of her students to accidentally fall in.

Kratos began to walk ahead. "We should get moving."

Lloyd looked towards the older man. "Hey, shouldn't we try to find out who that woman was?"

"She will come after us again on her own," Kratos said. Although the woman appeared to be incompetent, she was still a ninja from Mizuho. "This area is too confined and the footing is poor. It would be wise not to linger."

Lloyd knew Kratos' logic was sound, but he didn't care how he seemly brushed off the threat towards Colette.

"Kratos is right," Raine said. "We should get off the Ossa Trail before we ponder who she is."

The group finally moved on and began to head up the trail. The road was steep and it took awhile to make it up hill.

As hard as Lloyd tried, however, he couldn't get his mind off that girl that attacked them. Why would anyone want to hurt Colette? Even if one didn't believed in Martel, there was no reason to purposely hurt the Chosen. Not to mention that strange outfit she was wearing. He had never seen anything like it.

"Who was that girl?" Lloyd asked out loud to no one in particular.

Colette turned to face him. "I hope we get to see her again."

Lloyd almost rolled his eyes at Colette and gave a short chuckle. Colette was almost too cute in these moments. "What are you talking about? She's trying to kill you."

"Yeah, once we become friends, I'll have to ask her why she was doing that," Colette said.

"Are you kidding me?" Lloyd asked, although he knew at times like this Colette was usually dead serious. "How do you plan on becoming friends with her?"

Colette pause in thought. "Hmm. What would you suggest?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Lloyd asked. The girl, after all, didn't try to kill her.

"Try to come up with a plan before we see her again!" Colette demanded more harshly than normal.

The sudden sharpness in her voice took Lloyd off-guard. "Wait, I have to come up with the plan?"

"Well, you and Colette do seem to share a similar wave link," Genis added.

"I guess," Lloyd muttered. He had no idea, however, how he was supposed to make an assassin become friends with them. But she did seemed to be no older than him.

Noishe suddenly began to whine loudly and before anyone could stop him he bolted ahead of the group at full speed.

"Keep your guard up!" Kratos warned. Just as he said that a giant bear came charging at them from the mountain side.

Lloyd barely had time to take out his swords before the bear's claws met his swords. The impact was so strong that it knocked Lloyd to the ground.

"Lloyd!" Colette exclaimed as she released her wings and took out her chakrams. The bear turned its attention towards her, but Colette already had her attack ready.

"Angel Feathers!" Colette yelled as she threw her chakrams. Several rings of light shoots out from her weapons and left a trail of glowing pink feathers in their wake. The bear roar in pain as the rings hit it all over its body.

Kratos used this moment run in and finished the bear by impaling its heart. It gave one last dying roar before it fell limp onto the ground.

Colette ran to help Lloyd up. "Are you okay?"

Lloyd stared at her dumbfounded. "Colette, what was that?"

Colette tilted her head. "What was what?"

"That...that ring of light," Lloyd stuttered. "I mean, you just did magic."

"Yeah, when did you learn that?" Genis questioned further.

"It wasn't magic," Raine corrected. "At least, not the same type we use."

Genis turned towards his sister. "What do you mean?"

"Remember the teachings of the Church. When the Chosen becomes blessed by the angels she shall slowly regain her true form with each seal she breaks. Which mean, she also gains their powers," Raine explained.

Lloyd slowly stood up. "So, the angels can perform magic like you guys."

"Like I said, it isn't the same kind of magic as us," Raine stated. "While we gain our powers through our connection with mana, the Chosen gains her abilities from the Cruxis Crystal. So, her angelic powers are directly connected to the Goddess Martel."

"Sounds complicated," Lloyd muttered.

"That's because you don't go to Church," Genis teased.

"Shut up, Genis!" Lloyd snapped before he returned to his original thoughts. "So, Colette will grow stronger from every seal she breaks, right?"

"Pretty much," Raine said.

"Wow, that's so cool!" Lloyd exclaimed in excitement.

"Yeah," Colette said in a soft voice.

Raine gave Colette a look of pity. If only Lloyd knew the price Colette was going to pay for that power.

"We wasted enough time here," Kratos said. "Lets move before the scent of the dead bring more beasts."

The twisted and upward climb of the trail quickly grew on the nerves of the small group. Per usual, the novelty of the path wore out on Lloyd and he began to whine about how boring the trail was. Every now and then a monster would impede their path, but it was usually dealt with quickly.

With the monster population under control, Noishe returned to them halfway through the trail. During the walk Noishe would shake himself to get rid of the dust and dirt that would collect on his fur. This proved to be annoying since it got in everyone's face and caused Genis to have a sneezing fit.

Colette was in good spirits, however, since she used her wings to hovered above the more rocky areas of the road. Despite normally being a klutz, she had really taken to using her wings like an old pro. She was actually more graceful floating above the ground than she ever was on the ground.

"Man, how long is this trail?" Lloyd whined.

"I said it would take us the rest of the day before we reach the end," Kratos stated.

"But still..." Lloyd began.

"If you didn't over excite yourself all the time, you would have more patients," Genis said.

"You should welcome the boredom," Kratos advised. "When things get exciting, your life is in peril."

Raine nodded in agreement. "In any case, we should be near the exit."

Lloyd gave a long sigh. "Finally."

A sudden noise caught everyone's attention. To their backs was an old mine tunnel that was blocked by a wooden gate. That gate now shifted as someone attempted to pushed it open. Kratos felt the mana from the cave and knew that their assassin had returned.

The wooden gate then fell open to reveal the assassin from earlier. She was covered in sweat, dirt, and her clothes were torn in several places. Kratos was nonetheless impressed that the ninja escaped the fall with no major injures.

"W...wait!" the assassin exclaimed once she regained her breath. Obviously, the trip through the cave had drained her strength.

"Wow, she caught up with us," Lloyd said. He was also impressed by her strong will.

"Oh, thank the Goddess," Colette said in relief. She stepped forward to make sure the assassin was truly alright, which caused the woman to jumped back like she was about to be attacked. The look of panic would have been comical in any other situation.

"D…don't move!" the assassin stuttered.

"A wise decision," Raine stated in a deadpan voice, not wanting Colette to go near the assassin.

The assassin quickly recomposed herself and lost the look of fear on her face. She was obviously still nervous, however.

Kratos was beginning to wonder if this woman had actually spilled innocent blood before. He could tell by her aura that she had killed in the past, but she lack the cold edge of a true assassin. Why was this girl chosen for such an important mission?

"I won't be caught off guard this time!" the assassin exclaimed as she dropped something to the ground. In a puff of smoke a strange looking wooden creature came forward. It had reddish scraps of clothes on and what appeared to be a wooden wheel on its back. It looked like some type of spirit, especially because it floated above the ground.

"What is that!?" Genis exclaimed.

Raine's eyes were wide opened. "A Guardian Wind..."

Kratos glanced at Raine from the side of his eye. "How did she knew what it was? Those arts only exist within Tethe'alla."

Colette was so shock that she fell backwards and landed hard on her butt.

"Prepare to die!" the assassin yelled as she charged forward with her guardian right beside her.

Without a second thought, Kratos ran in front of Colette and blocked the assassin's path. He clashed with the woman's paper weapons and Kratos wasn't surprise to find that they were as hard as steel.

"I can't allow you to kill the Chosen," Kratos said neutrally as he pushed the assassin off and attempted to cut her in half. She was too fast and easily avoided the attack. She was not, however, expecting his shield to come forward and hit her upside the head. She grunted in pain as she rolled out of the way.

The others were having their own problems dealing with the Guardian Wind. The creature didn't have any magical weakness as Raine cast an Inspect Magic on the monster. Despite its name, however, it didn't appear to have an immunity to wind attacks.

"Lightning!" Genis yelled as a bolt of lighting hit the creature head on.

It stunned it for a moment, which left it opened for Lloyd to charged in and thrust his sword into its midsection. It responded by hitting Lloyd in the face and sent him flying into the air like a rag doll. Raine quickly performed Barrier to ease Lloyd's landing.

"Man, this thing is pretty tough," Lloyd said after he was safely on the ground.

"Don't drop your guard," Raine warned as she cast Sharpness on Lloyd's blades.

Lloyd nodded. "I won't." He ran into the fray again and jumped into the air. "Tempest!" he yelled as he slashed across the guardian several times.

"Icicle!" Genis yelled. The icicles formed from the ground and shattered around the guardian. Several bits of woods and splinters flew from the creature, but it was still able to fight.

"What a stubborn piece of wood," Genis muttered.

Kratos, meanwhile, was still busy dueling the assassin. He had extra help from Colette who threw her chakrams at the assassin, which distracted her for half a second. It was more that enough time for him to move in and punch the woman in the stomach with the hilt of his sword, knocking the wind out of her.

He could had easily finished her right then, but the Chosen insisted that the woman be kept alive. Since the Chosen was his 'client' it was unwise to upset her. That didn't mean, however, that he couldn't maim her. Which he attempted to do when he brought his sword down on her hand.

She pulled her hand away at the last second and brought out several scrolls of paper. "Power Seal!" The paper flew at him and he was forced to deflect them with his shield. Several, however, was able to bypass his shield and cut him on his arms and legs.

He brought his shield down and froze when he saw the girl take a very familiar stance. He could feel the mana swirl around her body and it made his blood run cold for a moment.

"Is...is she..." Kratos muttered in disbelief.

"I summon thee, let's go, Corrine!" the assassin yelled as a small creature appeared by her side. It looked like some kind of fox except it was yellow, had several fluffy neon blue tails, and an orange spiky hair style.

It was like no creature Kratos had ever seen before. Was it really a summon spirit? If so, what type was it?

Before he could ponder further, the fox like creature pounced on his face and began to claw at him. Kratos fought to get him off and he felt the assassin run passed him and head straight for the Chosen.

"I have you now!" the assassin exclaimed as she went to give Colette the finishing blow.

"Angel Feathers!" Colette yelled just as the assassin got into range.

The assassin was taken off-guard by the furry of rings and feathers. Despite the cute look of the attack, the rings cut deeply into her skin causing her to cry in pain.

Colette put her hands to her mouth in horror. "I'm so sorry. I didn't want to hurt you."

The assassin looked at her in surprise. "I'm trying to kill you, you know!"

"But why?" Colette asked in a sad voice.

"Move it!" Kratos ordered Colette once he got that creature off of his face.

The assassin jumped out of the way as Kratos attempted to cut her from the back. Once she was safely out of range, she looked over her current situation. Much to her annoyance, her Guardian Wind was destroyed by the other group. There was nothing left of it except of broken pile of wood.

She almost wanted to cry when she saw the remains. Those guardians belonged to her grandpa and were sacred relics to her people. She had allowed herself to underestimate the ragtag looking group and used the weaker Guardian Wind. She thought about releasing her other two guardians to finish her mission, but she didn't want to risk losing them too. Once they were gone, she couldn't summon them back until she went back home to get them repaired. Whether she like it or not, it was best to retreat for now.

"Just you wait! I swear I will kill you all next time!" the assassin boldly exclaimed. The fox like creature next to her also growled in response. She then threw a smoke bomb down and disappeared from sight.

"Wait!" Lloyd yelled, but it was far too late to reached the assassin. He sighed in annoyance and sheathed both his swords. "Why are people trying to kill us?"

"There are always those that reject salvation," Kratos remarked offhandedly. There was no way he could give the true reason without given himself away.

"Maybe she's a Desian," Genis said. "You know, one of the Fallen that the Church talks about."

"Who knows," Kratos dismissed. "At any rate, we are in constant danger. That's all we have to know."

Raine had her hand on her chin and looked to be deep in thought. "Those clothes..."

Lloyd noticed how distance Raine seemed to be. "Professor, is something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing," Raine dismissed quickly. Lloyd knew that Raine was lying, but decided it was best not to call her out on it.

Kratos narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but decided not to say anything as well. They both had their secrets and it was best not to test each other.

Colette paid no attention to the current conversation. Instead, she was looking deep into the mine that the assassin came out of a moment ago.

Raine saw her student looking into the cave and walked towards the girl. "It looks like the tunnel is still usable," she remarked, breaking the silences.

"I wonder if it was abandoned recently," Colette said. She had a trouble look on her face.

"It doesn't look like they exhausted the ore," Raine said, noticing the sparkles of metal against the dying sunlight. "There must have been some reason why they had to cease mining operations."

Colette's eyes became downcast. "The Desians..."

"Most likely," Raine said in a tight voice.

"We should get moving before the sun sets," Kratos advised.

Colette turned to face the older man. "But I can feel someone inside the mine."

"You can feel someone?" Lloyd questioned.

Colette nodded. "They are calling for help. I have felt it ever since that lady broke the gate."

Kratos opened his own senses and felt deep within the mine. He indeed felt something in distress, but it was not a human's plea. There was strong demonic energy coming from the tunnel.

"It is best that we don't tempt fate," Kratos said after a few minutes had passed. "We don't know what could be within that mine."

"But as the Chosen it is my duty to save people," Colette said.

Kratos wanted to tell her it was dangerous because of the demonic energy. He could hardly say that, however, since he was trying to hide his ability to sense such energy.

"Since you're the Chosen, it is your call," Kratos finally said. He hated being bind to the whims of this naive child.

Colette began to tap her hands together. "I...I'm sorry, I don't want to bully you. I just can't leave someone in need."

"Don't apologize for actually having a heart. Unlike some people," Lloyd said, while looking at Kratos.

Colette gave Lloyd a small smile. "Thank you, Lloyd."

"Let's go then," Kratos sighed as he led the way into the dark mine.

A strong sense of dread overwhelmed him and he had the feeling that they were getting more than they bargaining for. By the power he was sensing, he may have to go all out.

If you have played the game you can guess where this is going. As promised in my profile, I will try to do just about all the side quests that is in the game including the Devil Arms.

Kf2104, thanks for the feedback and your continue support. Yeah, I plan to use the official couples withing my story, sorry Lloyd and Sheena fans.

Anonymous Girl, nice to hear from you again and yeah I did miss you. I honestly forgotten all about the 'hard' path within the game. Although I beat the game several times, I only took that particular path once. From a gameplay perspective it was fun and challenging, but it did not really flow that well in the context of the story. Lloyd meeting Kvar is a major event and Lloyd is not mentally or physically ready to meet him yet. Also, our favorite ninja has some growing to do on her own before she joins the group.

With that, thanks for reading and until next chapter.