Back with another chapter. Let's see how long I will keep up this streak this time. Thanks to anyone who is still reading this story.

Now, onward to the chapter.

Chapter 61: New Allies

They moved swiftly, attempting to get to Mizuho without alerting any Papal Knights. The last thing anyone wanted was to led them to the village.

"Where in Gaoracchia Forest is this Mizuho village?" Lloyd asked.

"I can't tell you that" Sheena replied bluntly. "We'll be there soon anyway, so just be patient."

"I see you Mizuho people are as secretive as ever," Zelos mused.

"It's to protect our unique culture," Sheena countered before glaring at Zelos. "If you don't like it, you can wait in the forest."

Zelos was horrified by the suggestion. "You've got to be kidding! I'll pass on being left behind in the Forest of Death!"

"The odds of surviving alone in Gaoracchia Forest are twenty-five percent," Presea suddenly spoke up.

Zelos winced at those odds. "Ouch. Don't say stuff like that, Presea."

Lloyd smiled. "You'll be fine. You look like the type that just won't die." In fact, Zelos may outlived all of them just with his force of personality.

"I'll second that," Sheena said. Zelos was just too stubborn to die.

"What? You know what they say, the pretty boys die young," Zelos whined.

"Incorrect usage detected. Correction necessary," Presea stated, causing those who overheard the conversation to chuckle.

Lloyd nearly fell over laughing. For a girl who had such subdued emotions, Presea was freaking hilarious at times.

"Preseaaa!" Zelos whined even louder.

"Will you keep it down. You want the Papal Knights to find us!" Sheena yelled.

Zelos glared at her. "Well, you're not exactly keeping the volume down yourself, sweet heart."

"Will you two stop," Raine scolded. "You're both behaving like children."

"Yes, ma'am," they both muttered meekly.

Soon, they were out of the forest and walking in an opened field. The sun was low, showing that nightfall was only about an hour away. Sheena led them until they reached the outskirts where a tiny village laid.

From the looks of it, it was only about as big as Iselia, maybe even smaller. It was also strange, at least compared to the other towns in Tethe'alla. While Meltokio and Sybak were built on science and modern conveniences, this village was downright primitive. People carried water from a wall and toil soil like farmers. This place would be considered backwoods even in Sylvarant.

"Sheena! What is the meaning of this?" a man in a blue ninja outfit asked. Unlike Kuchinawa, his mouth wasn't covered. He ran towards her. "How could you bring outsiders into the village!?"

Sheena bowed humbly. "I'm prepared to accept my punishment. Inform the vice-chief. I've brought the travelers from Sylvarant."

The man looked over the group. "From Sylvarant? You are from the dying world of Sylvarant?"

"Well, except for me," Zelos quickly added.

The man nodded. "I see. Sheena, come with me. The rest of you, wait in front of the Chief's house."

He walked away with Sheena shortly behind him.

Zelos snorted. "Wait in front of the Chief's house and don't even tell us where the Chief's house is. The people of Mizuho won't get points for hospitality."

"He's probably just used to dealing with people who live in the village," Raine surmised.

A low groaned got their attention.

"Hey, he's waking up," Colette said as the convict shifted on her shoulder.

"Put him down," Raine said.

Colette did what she was told and gently put the convict on the ground. After a few minutes, he finally came to.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked very confused about where he was and what happened to him. "Wh…where am I?"

Lloyd folded his arms. "You're our prisoner. Don't try anything funny."

"I like to think that I'm smart enough not to start trouble when I don't understand the situation," the convict said rather dryly as he stood up.

Lloyd hummed. "Well, as long as you understand." He looked around. "I supposed we should look the Chief's house."

What that, they proceeded to walked across the village. They received some odd stares and whispers among the villagers, but no one approached them.

It didn't take as long as they thought to find the Chief's house, especially since the blue ninja was standing in front of the house.

"The vice-chief is ready to see you," the blue ninja informed.

Lloyd nodded and led the group into the house. For the house of a chief, it was small. It appeared to only have one large room. Sheena sat on one of the sides while a man sat in the middle of the room.

"Travelers from Sylvarant, you may enter," the man said.

Lloyd nodded. "Thank you."

They all had a seat, saved for Zelos who chose to stand in a nearby corner.

"Our leader, Chief Igaguri, is ill. I, the Vice-Chief, Tiga, shall speak on his behalf," the man known as Tiga said.

Lloyd blinked. Ill?

He looked around the room and saw someone lying prone in bed. He was so still that Lloyd would thought he was dead if it wasn't for his steady breathing. He suddenly felt uncomfortable being in the same room as a comatose person.

"Because Sheena failed to kill you, we, the people of Mizuho, now faces persecution from the Tethe'alla Royal Family and the Church of Martel," Tiga stated bluntly, mixing no words. "Not to mention, we've betrayed the Renegades, clients who have brought much income to our village for many years."

Lloyd glanced at Sheena, who had her head down, unable to look at them. "Is that true?"

"Yes. At least from what I've heard. Now I have a question. People of Sylvarant, what do you plan to do in Tethe'alla, the land of your enemies?" Tiga asked, staring directly at Lloyd.

Lloyd had to admit, Tiga didn't mess around. He went straight for the heart of the matter, making him very similar to Raine. He glanced at the others who looked at him expectedly.

Colette gave an encouraging smile.

Lloyd sighed. It seemed even with Colette back he was indeed the leader of this group of misfits. Somehow, he had to talked to a village leader without shoving his foot in his mouth. He could feel the weight of responsibility crushing him.

He looked up to see that Sheena was also smiling at him, silently urging him to go on.

This was pressure. "I've been thinking about that for a long time. Someone asked me why I came all the way to Tethe'alla, what it is that I want to do." He took a deep breath. "I want a world where everyone can have a normal life. I'm tired of people having to become sacrifices. I'm tired of discrimination. I'm tired of people becoming victims. I'm tired of it all."

"You are an idealist," Tiga mused. "The worlds of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant flourish only by victimizing the others. So long as that structure remains the same, anything you say is mere sophistry."

Lloyd narrowed his eyes. He wasn't sure what 'sophistry' meant, but it didn't sound like a compliment. He stood up, not really caring if he was being rude. "Then we need to change that structure! This world was made by that Yggdrasill guy, right!? If a human or elf built this, then we should be able to change it as well!"

Tiga stared at Lloyd for several seconds, seemingly sizing him up. After a tense moment, he chuckled. "You speak like the hero, Mithos. He was a sublime idealist. He ended the Ancient War by insisting there was a way for the two warring countries to coexist in peace. Are you saying you can become the next Mithos?"

"I'm not Mithos," Lloyd stated candidly. He couldn't be as awesome as the hero of the Ancient War even if he tried. "I want to save the two worlds my way, with the help of my friends."

Tiga rubbed his chin. "I see. In other words, you aren't worried about following past methods." He paused for several seconds. "Well then, we shall search for a new path as well."

Sheena was shocked to hear this. She stood up and stared at her vice-chief. "Vice-Chief, do you mean..."

Tiga nodded. "Yes. We will use our information network to aid you. In return, when the path of prosperity for both worlds has been found, we wish to move our people to Sylvarant."

"But I don't have any right to decide something like that," Lloyd quickly rebuked.

Honestly, he wasn't sure who did since Sylvarant didn't have a central authority like Tethe'alla. The closet he could think of was the Church of Martel.

Tiga smiled at him. "All we need is for you to aid us in our move."

Lloyd still wasn't sure about this. But a ninja spy network in exchanged for hard labor didn't sound that bad. He turned towards his friends. "Is everyone okay with us joining forces with the people of Mizuho?"

"If it will change the relationship of the two worlds," Colette answered with a smile.

"Well, it doesn't sound like a bad deal," Raine stated.

"Let's hurry up and decide, so we can go rescue Presea," Genis urged.

Lloyd couldn't helped but smiled. Glad to see Genis got his priorities straight.

Zelos shrugged. "As long as Tethe'alla is safe, I don't care what you guys do."

Although, he was surprised that Mizuho would throw their chips with them. It's another unexpected turn for this group. This was getting interesting.

Lloyd turned back towards Tiga. "Okay then, it's settled. We're going to look for a way to change the two worlds. Let's work together."

"Agreed. Then I hereby order Sheena to continue to accompany you. This time, however, not just as an observer, but as a representative." He turned towards Sheena and smiled. "Make us proud."

Sheena was all smiles at her new orders. "Yes, sir!"

"But Tiga, you sure you wanna turn on the royal family and the Church like that?" Zelos asked, wanting to make sure Tiga knew the gravity of what he was doing. "Not to mention, you will be turning your backs on the Renegades, who power rivals those of Cruxis. To say the least, you'll be making several powerful enemies, while burning all your bridges."

Tiga looked directly at him, almost like he was trying to peer into his soul. "How about if I ask you? Given a choice between the forces which wish to sacrifice one of the worlds, and the force that wishes to preserve both worlds, which would you side with?"

Zelos crossed his arms. "I'd like to say, 'the one that's likely to win, but I suppose I'd want to help the side that wants to preserve both worlds."

And that was the truth. Despite his better judgment, he wanted to root for these guys. If they succeeded, they would destroy the cursed Chosen ritual forever. But the fact of the matter was even with Mizuho's help they still had a snowballs chance in hell of succeeding.

"Exactly. Now, the first thing we shall do is devote all our resources to locating the Rheairds. Fortunately, it appears that Sheena attached a guardian to the Rheairds, so we should be able to locate them shortly," Tiga informed the group.

Zelos chuckled. Clever, very clever. He bet Yuan didn't see that coming.

"Understood," Lloyd said. "Thank you for your help."

With that, the meeting adjourn and everyone left the Chief's house. Zelos lagged behind, shaking his head about what just happened. "Is he for real?"

Once they were outside, the group surrounded the convict. They still didn't know what to do with him.

"What's your name?" Lloyd finally asked. They honestly couldn't just call him 'the prisoner'.

"Regal," the man answered.

"Regal, huh?" Lloyd repeated. Very formal for a criminal. Then again, everything about this guy was formal, except for his body. "I'm sorry, but we're gonna have to keep you prisoner for a bit longer."

"Lloyd. How about lettin' pops here fight too?" Zelos suggested.

Genis scoffed at the idea. "Even though he might betray us?"

"He has business with Presea, right? Then, he's not going to try anything before he gets a chance to speak with her, you know?" Zelos pointed out.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," Raine admitted begrudgingly. It wasn't like they could really control him anyway. It took all of them to subdue him, after all.

Genis gave his sister a look of utter betrayal. "Raine!"

Sheena hummed. "I dunno about this, but I won't make a fuss. I also started off as your enemy."

"Well, will you fight alongside us for now?" Lloyd asked, seeing that no one outside of Genis opposed to the idea.

Regal nodded. "Alright. I swear upon my good name, and these shackles that bind me, I shall not betray you."

Lloyd wondered how much a convict's name was worth, but quickly brushed off that thought. While he was weary about being betrayed again, something told him that he was different from Kratos.

Genis folded his arms. Not liking any of this. "If you do anything even the slightest bit suspicious, I'll burn you to a crisp, got it?"

Colette smiled happily, having no reservations about their new team member. "Well, then, welcome to our group, Regal."

"It's late," Sheena said as the last rays of sun hit her face. "We should call it a day and start fresh tomorrow. By then, I'm sure the Papal Knights should be out of the forest."

Lloyd rubbed his head. "Yeah, it has been a long day."

Zelos turned towards Sheena. "Any guests quarters around here?"

"In fact we do," Sheena answered. "It isn't very big, but it's the only thing we have since visitors are extremely rare."

"Okay then, led the way Sheena," Lloyd said.

The group was taking to near the end of the village where a small shack laid. Sheena wasn't kidding when she said it wasn't big. It could barely fit all of them. There also weren't any beds.

"Man, we have to sleep on the floor," Zelos complained.

"Oh be quiet. It's better than camping out," Genis said.

Lloyd remained quiet, but truthfully he agreed with Zelos. After spending the night at Zelos' house, this was like sleeping on the ground.

"Who's cooking?" Zelos asked, changing the subject.

"I can do the cooking," Raine volunteered.

"Oh goddess no!" Genis shouted, earning a slap from Raine.

"If you don't mind meat, I'll cook," Lloyd offered.

"I can cook," Regal suddenly spoke up.

Genis eyed him suspiciously. "Why, so you can poison us?"

"I assure you that I would never do such a thing," Regal said. "If you feel that I am untrustworthy, you can watch me as I prepare the food."

"I think that sounds fair," Colette replied.

"I say it's perfectly fair. Put the prisoner on cooking duty," Zelos said.

"I guess it's okay," Lloyd spoke after a moment of hesitation.

"While you're doing that, I'll go shopping for supplies," Sheena said. "We may not be able to go to another store for awhile, being wanted and all."

"Good idea," Raine said before she sighed. "But I do wish you guys would let me cook once and awhile. I have many amazing recipe ideas."

"If we let you, we wouldn't have to worry about Regal poisoning us," Genis muttered.

It was a few hours after sunset that dinner was served.

Lloyd inhaled his food. "Wow, this is the best curry I ever had!"

"This is so good. It's nice and spicy without being too hot," Sheena said as she chowed down.

"Have to say, this is better than my cooks at home. Maybe I should fire them and hire you once all this is over," Zelos half-joked.

Genis happily ate. "I hate to say it, but you're maybe a better cook than me. How did you blend the flavors so well?"

Regal smiled. "I just did a lot of experimentation. If you want, I can give you tips."

"Really, that would be great!" Genis exclaimed.

Lloyd finished another bowl of curry. "Hey, since you're such a good cook, why don't you try making Dwarven Pot-Luck Surprise next time you have cooking duty."

"Dwarven?" Regal questioned.

Colette smiled. "Dwarven Pot-Luck Surprise. It's incredible!"

"It's my dad's specialty," Lloyd said proudly.

"I've never heard of it. How do you make it?" Regal asked.

"You make the room pitch black and throw all sorts of things into the pot and stew it," Colette explained.

"The last time he made it, it had metal ore and stuff in it," Lloyd said with a huge grin on his face.

"And boots and things," Colette added.

"I got necklace the last time I had some," Genis stated.

Regal blinked. "I'll...give it a try next time."

"Alright!" Lloyd, Colette, and Genis cheered.

Zelos chuckled. "Like a prize in every meal."

Raine rubbed her chin. "What an interesting cooking method. I must try that myself."

"I like to think there's no way you could mess it up...but I know you will," Genis said, getting slapped again for his mouth.

Regal noticed that Presea hasn't really touched her curry. Only a few bits were taking. "You don't like it?"

Presea didn't answer.

"Presea has never been a big eater," Raine informed somberly. "She seems to only eat enough to survive."

Regal shook his head. "Why is she like that?"

"We're on our way to see a dwarf to find out ourselves," Lloyd said. "Presea is part of this awful experiment called the Angelus Project. They're trying to grow a Cruxis Crystal within her body."

"Cruxis Crystal...like the one worn by the Chosen?" Regal asked in shock.

"We learned that Cruxis Crystals are really just evolve exspheres," Raine explained. "They're trying to slow down the rate in which the exsphere feeds on her mana so it will evolve. Unfortunately, the process will kill her in the end."

Regal gasped. "How horrible! Who could do such a thing?"

"The Pope," Zelos answered in a nonchalant voice. "The person who promised you probation if you manage to kills us, or capture Colette, or whatever."

Regal sneered in disgust. "I will settle my affairs later with that man. However, I did not take this assignment to gain my freedom."

This surprised everyone.

"Then, why did you attack us?" Lloyd asked.

"I would rather keep that to myself," Regal answered, ending that line of the conversation.

"Well, hopefully we will learn more soon," Raine said. "After all she has done for us, I would hate to leave her in such a state."

"Completely agree," Genis said before he paused for several seconds. "I hope they can find the Rheairds. It would beat walking everywhere."

"Mizuho's intelligence network is nothing to sneeze at. They'll find them for sure," Sheena assured.

"I've heard some incredible stuff about the Mizuho Intelligence Network. Supposedly, they know the location of all the treasures in Tethe'alla," Zelos stated.

"You bet," Sheena said proudly. "When we really want to, there's nothing we can't find out."

Genis smiled. "Sounds like a great thing to have on our side."

Zelos sighed. "I wonder if they could research the measurements of all the girls in Tethe'alla for me."

Sheena growled. "You stupid Chosen!" She slapped him upside the head, causing him to cry in pain.

When dinner was done, the group was off to bed. Sheena left since she had her own house to sleep in and they needed all the room they could get.

By the next morning, everyone got another sample of Regal's cooking. He made omelets for everyone. Just like the curry, it got raved reviews.

"You keep cooking like this Regal and we may make you our official cook," Lloyd said as he finished his omelet.

Genis shook his head in envy. This guy was good. He put his cooking skills to shame.

"I'm glad you all enjoyed it," Regal said.

"Yep, I'm definitely firing my cooks when I get home," Zelos said as he finished his plate. "How long are you in for? As soon as you get out, I would be happy to hire you."

Regal didn't answer that question. "I think you need to worry about clearing your name before you worry about hiring me."

Zelos chuckled. "So serious."

"As much as we like to continue to compliment Regal's cooking, we need to get going soon," Raine said.

"Yeah, we have another long day ahead of us," Lloyd replied.

"What days hasn't been long for us?" Zelos asked.

"Welcome to our world," Genis half-joked, finishing his juice.

With breakfast done, they walked to the village's entrance. The blue ninja from yesterday was there to greet them. "It seems the pursuers have left the forest. You should hurry."

Lloyd nodded. "Alright, let's head for Altessa's place right away…"

"I want to go home to my village," Presea interrupted.

Lloyd looked at Presea. "Ah, right. Ozette first then."

"Yes, Presea's parents are probably worried about her. We should head to Ozette," Raine said.

Genis hummed. "I wonder what kind of parents would allow Presea to be part of such an awful experiment?"

"They most likely didn't know," Lloyd said. "I won't believe any parents would purposely subject their child to this if they knew what was going on."

"Well, when we get there, we must tell them what is happening," Colette said. "It's only right."

"Yeah..." Lloyd said, not even wanting to imagine how to start that conversation. Hopefully, he would think of something by the time they reached Presea's home.

They were off again and into Gaoracchia Forest. It didn't take long at all to reached the section that led to Ozette. Because it was so closed to the forest, almost no sunlight came through. There was also something quaint about the village. It seemed built into the forest like an extension.

They weren't even three feet into the village before Presea ran off.

"Lloyd, we have to follow her!" Genis urged.

Lloyd nodded in agreement and they attempted to follow Presea. She was so fast, however, that they lost sight of her and they were forced to searched.

As they walked, Lloyd looked towards Regal, who seemed stiffer than usual. Then again, he did just meet the guy, so maybe this was normal for him.

"Say, Regal. Why do you keep those handcuffs on?" Lloyd asked, figuring it was a good as question as any.

"These are the symbol of my crime," Regal answered.

"A crime symbolized by handcuffs?" Lloyd wondered. He considered what Regal's crime could be. "I know! You're a handcuff thief!"

Regal stared at him, but said nothing. Although he had an expression of bewilderment.

"Oh, that's not it? Hmmm... Then, you ran around causing trouble by putting handcuffs on people?" Lloyd guessed.

Regal was once again bewilder. What was wrong was this boy? Did he always take things so literally? "I'm sorry. I suppose I should have said it in a way that was easier to understand."

Lloyd tilted his head. "What does that mean?"

"Um...You don't trip a lot, do you?" Colette suddenly asked as she walked next to Regal.

Regal smiled kindly at her. "No need to worry."

"Oh, okay. I trip all the time. So I thought, if you happened to be the same way, it would be pretty rough for you," Colette said meekly.

"They tell me that you're the Chosen from the other world," Regal said, trying to eased the girl's discomfort.

"Yes. Although, I'm not very Chosen-like," Colette said while tapping her fingers.

"On the contrary. Your world must be happy to have a fine Chosen like you," Regal said before he realized what he just said. "Oh, I'm sorry. Perhaps that wasn't an appropriate thing to say in regards to the declining world."

Colette shook her head. "No, it's okay. But I'm a Chosen who couldn't save the world. Even now, I'm a Chosen who values her own life more than the world. So..."

Lloyd was about to stop her, but Regal beat him to it. "A Chosen who knows the value of life will surely bring forth a new salvation and regeneration."

Colette blushed at his words. "Do you think so? I hope you're right."

"He's right," Lloyd assured with a huge smile. "We're going to save both worlds and we're going to do it without sacrificing anymore lives." His eyes softened. "You don't to carry the burden by yourself anymore. We're all here to help you."

Colette was near tears. "Thank you Lloyd." She looked at Regal who was also smiling. "And thank you, Mr. Regal."

"There is no need to thank me and just Regal, please," Regal said. "If a lowly criminal like me can be of any help, I will gladly do it."

"Sheesh, where did she go?" Zelos asked after a few minutes of searching. "You think given the size of this hamlet town she shouldn't be that hard to find."

"Maybe we should ask," Raine suggested.

Lloyd walked up to the nearest person. "Excuse me."

The woman he flagged glared at him. "What do you want?"

"We were wondering if you can tell us where Presea lives?" Lloyd asked.

The woman's eyes suddenly hardened. "You're friends with that cursed child?"

Lloyd blinked. "Yeah..."

The woman sneered at him. "How disgusting. Well, if you want to see her, she lives at the southern end of the village down there." She pointed in the direction.

"Thanks." He walked away quickly. "What's her problem?"

"How can they talk about Presea like that?" Genis asked angrily. They treated her like she was a half-elf or something.

"I have a bad feeling from this town," Sheena spoke softly. "Let's find Presea."

Lloyd nodded in agreement and led the group to where the woman said Presea's house was. It was at the edge of the village so far out that there was no other house in the area. The house in question was also rundown, like it has been abandoned for years.

Presea was at the front of the house with a very familiar man.

"Thank you," the man said before noticing them. "Hmm? Are these guests as well?"

"Porters." Presea answered.

The man gave a small nod. "Oh, I see."

Zelos froze when he saw the man.

Rodyle? What the heck was he doing here? Desians weren't allowed in the flourishing world. Was he doing a task for Pronyma?

Then again, Pronyma did mentioned that one of the Grand Cardinals was working with the Pope. Did she mean Rodyle? That had to be it.

"Presea! We have to make a key crest for you!" Genis yelled, ignoring the Grand Cardinal.

Presea stared blankly at him. "My job awaits…goodbye…"

Rodyle smiled at them. "Only Presea can retrieve the sacred wood used in the ritual at the church. I'm quite pleased that she has finally returned." He chuckled as he left.

"That man...he's a half-elf," Raine said more to herself.

"He is? Now that you mention it, didn't we see him in Meltokio too?" Lloyd asked in thought.

Colette shivered. "He's creepy." She could literally feel that man's malice.

Zelos hummed in agreement. It was best that this group stood as far away from the Desians as possible. Especially if he was in league with the Pope. "I agree. But…uh…I gotta say that I feel sorry for the guy. I mean he has to deal with the fact that there are magnificent specimens of males around like me."

Genis rolled his eyes. "I'd say you two are on the same level."

Zelos glared at the young half-elf. "I heard that, you little twerp!"

"At any rate, we should have a talk with Presea," Regal spoke up, stepping in front of the group and headed for the house.

Lloyd followed shortly behind him and opened the door. As soon as the door was cracked opened, he almost double over as a stench like no other attacked his nose. He was literally coughing. And here he thought he's gotten used to bad smells from living so closed to the Ranch.

"Lloyd...?" Colette asked worriedly before the smell hit her too. "What is that?"

Genis waved his hand in front of his face. "It smells like something crawled in here and died!"

To Lloyd's amazement, Presea was walking around the house without any problem. It was like she didn't smell anything.

As soon as he adjusted somewhat to the stench, he walked in. Despite his eyes burning, he could see that the house was a mess. It was dusty, cobwebs were everywhere, and everything was coming apart. Did Presea really live like this?

Doing Presea's run around, she kept checking on a bed that was on the far side of the room. Given the lump, there was someone in it. Maybe her parent?

Lloyd moved closer to see who it was and stopped short. To his complete horror, they was a skeleton lying in the bed. Whoever this person was, they were long dead

It only took over a decade, but we finally officially got the entire Symphonia party (yes, I now it will be awhile before everyone actually stays, but let me have this). We also made nice story progress as well.

Until next chapter, take care.