Yes, got another chapter out this week. Can't promise I will keep up this pace, but I hope you all have been enjoying the story, especially since we're in the more dynamic part of the story. Thank to everyone who keep supporting this long-running project of mines.

Now, to the chapter.

Chapter 72: Otherworldly Gate

The trip was surprising short since the private island where the Lezareno Company stood wasn't stationed far from the main island. In the distance, Lloyd could clearly see the outlines of the amusement park. Looked like it had a ferris wheel. He heard of them, but had never seen one before. He always wanted to ride one of those. He bet he could see the entire world when the wheel reached the top.

The Lezareno Company's building itself, however, wasn't remarkable at all. After seeing the grand sights of Meltokio and Altamira, Lezareno Company was surprisingly meek. Even the colors were a dull brown and grey instead of the bright white and blue of Altamira. It reminded Lloyd of Sybak, except it was somehow more dull than a bookworm city.

"Hey, no sightseeing," Zelos teased, getting Lloyd's attention.

Lloyd shook his head, getting his mind back on track. "Yeah, sorry about that." He quickly reminded himself that this wasn't a pleasure trip. They were here to pay respects to Presea's sister.

They walked inside the building and headed towards the reception desk that was on the far end of the main room. On both sides of the desk were elevators that were protected by a guard in full-plated armor.

Lloyd hated the look of the building. It was so dull. Even the small wasn't pleasant. It had the same odor as a doctor's office.

"The Sky Terrance is this way," Zelos informed as he pointed to the left elevator.

The guard near the elevator heard him. "I'm sorry, but may I ask your reason for visiting our company today? This area is closed to the public."

"We want to go to the Sky Terrace," Lloyd replied, mentally preparing himself to unsheathe his swords if he needed to. They were still wanted, after all.

Presea stepped forward and showed the guard the ID card that the old man gave them.

The guard was shocked when he saw it. "This is George's!" He quickly regained his composer. "My deepest apologies. Please, go on inside." He stepped aside. "The Sky Terrance is at the very top floor."

Lloyd nodded as he and the others boarded the elevator. The building was shockingly enough only five stories high, so the elevator trip was brief.

When they got off, Lloyd was taken aback.

Unlike the rest of the building, the Sky Terrance was a wide opened space with a garden, pine trees, fencing, stone archways, statues, a giant grand staircase, and even a fountain. There were even butterflies in the area. It was hard to believe that all of this was on top of a building. It was almost overwhelming.

Sheena whistled. "Didn't expect something like this to be on top of the Lezareno's Company."

"Yeah, how do you even get all this up here?" Genis asked in awe.

Presea said nothing as she made her way towards one of the stone archways.

Lloyd followed her line of sight and saw a large stone that rested right in front of the fountain. It…it must be his sister's gravesite.

The rest of the group slowly walked behind Presea until they stopped in front of the tombstone. The grave was well maintained, lovely so, and Lloyd could tell that the tombstone was made from grey marble, very expensive. The craftsmanship on the carving of the stone was also topnotch.

Whoever made this deeply loved Alicia. She was buried like royalty.

In Lloyd's mind eye, he saw his mother's grave and an overwhelming feeling of homesickness hit him. Was his dad doing okay? Did Noishe make it back home? It's been months, yet it felt like years since he's been home. His banishment felt like a lifetime ago. More than anything, he wanted to go home and talk to his mom about everything that has happened.

Presea knelt down in front of her sister's grave, unaware of Lloyd's turmoil. She read the words upon the tombstone several times, still in denial that her baby sister was dead. But….there was no denying the name craved onto the cold stone. "Alicia…what happened to you?" she whispered as she fought back tears.

First her daddy and now Alicia. She was truly alone in the world. Alone in a world where she was left behind by time.

The rest of the group lowered their heads in respect and Colette gave a quiet pray.

Mithos meanwhile was staring at the red shining stone that was embedded into the tombstone. Everyone was too lost in their grief and own thoughts to noticed it. "What's this?"

Lloyd lifted his head and saw what Mithos was referring to. Right on the tombstone was an exsphere. How did he miss it? "There's an exsphere embedded here!"

Presea also took noticed to it. "Why is there an exsphere…."

"Presea…sis! It's you, isn't it?" a voice echoed.

Everyone looked around in shocked. Who was speaking?

Presea eyes widened in shock and hope. "Alicia!?"

From the tombstone, a transparent image appeared before them. It was a young girl that looked like an older Presea except her hair was shorter and she wore what appeared to be a maid's outfit.

"I'm so happy I can see you again before I disappear," Alicia spoke with a small, sad smile.

"What's going on? Are you still alive?" Presea asked in disbelief.

Alicia lowered her head. "I…I exist only in the exsphere. Soon, even my consciousness will be gone. The exsphere killed my body and absorbed my consciousness."

Lloyd felt his heart stopped. Exspheres….they not only sucked the life out of people, but it absorbed their consciousness too? A horrifying thought crossed his mind. Was his mom….was his mom's consciousness also within his exsphere?

He glanced at his right hand. While he clearly felt his mom's presence at times, especially after she saved him from Kvar, he never sensed an actual consciousness within the stone itself.

Mithos looked upon Alicia with interest. This was an unusual event.

Normally, exspheres didn't take on a person's consciousness in this way. If it did, it usually meant that the exsphere was an attempt at a Cruxis Crystal. Given how Presea was a failed attempt herself, it stood to reason that Alicia was one too. The requirements to theoretically grow a Cruxis Crystal within a host body did tend to favor certain family lines. Seemed Rodyle has been up to mischief for awhile.

He glanced at Lloyd, sensing his distress. Lloyd would think that his mom's consciousness was within his exsphere, but he knew that wasn't the case. While the stone indeed held that woman's life force and even part of her will, her soul wasn't part of the exsphere. By some divine fluke, she managed to avoid such a fate and passed unto the next world.

Presea gripped her fists as the feeling of anger returned to her. It was an emotion that she was becoming quite familiar with in the last twenty-four hours. "I can't believe you've become a victim of the exsphere as well."

Alicia stared at her sister. "Presea, please grant me my request. Before I disappear, please find my master. Please find Master Bryant!"

Zelos flinched, but this went unnoticed by everyone.

"Bryant? The noble you went to serve?" Presea asked.

Alicia nodded. "Yes. By killing me, he…" Before she could finish her sentence, she disappeared.

"Alicia! He killed you!? Please, tell me what happened!" Presea begged to the ghost of her sister.

"Please…Presea…" Alicia's voice whispered through the air before it went completely silent.

There was a long paused as everyone took in what happened.

"Lloyd….please help me find Alicia's killer," Presea pleaded as she turned towards Lloyd.

Lloyd narrowed his eyes. She didn't need to ask. "Of course. We'll beat this Bryant guy to a pulp and drag him back here!"

"Yeah! I won't let him get away with killing your sister!" Genis exclaimed, equally fired up.

Zelos stared blankly at the gravestone. He noted the day of death craved into the stone. Alicia died the same day that monster attacked the city, and Regal was arrested and charged with murder the very next day. There was no trial, not even a formal hearing, since Regal pleaded guilty and the victim of the murder was never made public. Which was extremely unusually since even with a guilty plea, such things like the victim's identity was almost never hidden even with noble connections. It was a detail that many people missed since Duke Bryant's arrest and imprisonment was lost to the monster's massacre. It didn't even make the front page of the Meltokio's paper. It all made sense if the Pope was involved with what happened to Alicia.

Given what Lloyd told him about exspheres and Regal's odd behavior around Presea…. This situation became awkward in a hurry. What were the chances that Presea and Regal would even meet? Was this some kind of divine joke?

He glanced at Sheena and was annoyed that she didn't seem to put the pieces together. For a supposed ninja spy, she was dense as a wall at times.

Presea gave a soft smile as she lowered her head. "Thank you."

The group turned to leave, but Mithos stood behind, staring at Alicia's grave.

The way Alicia spoke of her master wasn't one of malice or vengeance. It was instead of sadness and regret. Whatever happened, she held no grudge against him for killing her. Given how her consciousness was trapped within an exsphere and how she was a failed Cruxis Crystal attempt, much like Zelos, it was easy to guess what happened to her.

"What's wrong?" Genis asked, getting Mithos' attention.

"Exspheres are terrible things, aren't they?" Mithos asked with an air of innocence, trying not to let his thoughts leak out.

Genis nodded sadly. "Yeah…."

That pang of guilt returned, but Mithos quickly pushed it aside as he went to joined the others.

The elevator trip down was quiet and somber. No one had the energy to talk as they took in this new information about exspheres. About how they not only killed your body, but even kept your very soul from passing on. It was too cruel of a fate to think about.

While they were heading towards the exit, Lloyd was knocked out of his somber mood by two people talking by the entrance.

"Isn't the Otherworldly Gate going to open tonight?" one person asked.

This got Lloyd's attention. Otherworldly Gate? Wasn't that what Raine was looking into?

"I don't like thinking about that. It could suck us over into the hellish land of Sylvarant," the other person said.

Now Lloyd was interested.

"Lloyd, did you hear that?" Mithos asked.

Lloyd approached the two men. "Excuse me. That Otherworldly Gate you were talking about just now, where is it?"

The man glared at him. "Who the heck are you?"

"I apologize," Mithos said as he approached them. "We'd like to go see the Otherworldly Gate. Would you be kind enough to tell us where it is?"

The man stared at Mithos for several seconds. "Ah, well, if you're looking for the Otherworldly Gate, it's to the east of this city, across the sea."

Colette stepped forward. "Um…are there any landmarks?"

The second man nodded. "There are huge rocks all over it. You can't miss it. But tonight's a full moon. If the legend is true, then the gate will open and you'll be sucked into the world of Sylvarant!"

Mithos put his hand on his chin. "I wonder if Raine is there."

"I don't know. But it's the only clue we have. Let's at least take a look," Lloyd replied. Looked like their side-trip bore more fruit than any of them thought.

The group move away from the two men so they could discussed their next move.

"I think I know the place they're referring to," Sheena spoke once she was sure they were out of hearing distance. "With the Rheairds, we should reach it within less than an hour."

"Then let's get going," Genis said eagerly.

"Hold it right there, brat," Zelos cut in. "If I know our darling Professor, she probably won't be at the Otherworldly Gate until tonight."

Genis glared at Zelos. "What makes you think that?"

Zelos folded his arms. "Think about it? The Professor became interested in the Otherworldly Gate after she heard that it maybe a pole that connected our world to yours. And this was further confirmed by those guys."

Sheena hummed under her breath. "I see, so Raine would want to go to the gate at night to see for herself if the legends are true."

"Exactly. There is no point going to the Otherworldly Gate just to camp out until Raine gets there," Zelos reasoned. "We do better staying here until nightfall."

Lloyd frowned. "Is it really okay to just leave Regal outside until nightfall?"

"Hey, the guy decided for himself not to enter the city," Zelos pointed out. And it was a good thing he did he wanted to add. "No need for us to sleep in the dirt because of him."

Sheena sighed. "I can't help but agree." After spending several weeks sleeping in a real bed again, she honestly didn't want to camp out anymore unless necessary.

Lloyd rubbed a hand through his hair. "Well then, what do we do until tonight?"

Zelos smiled, happy to finally lift the glum mood. "We're in Altamira, remember. The best place on the planet. We can do whatever we want."

Presea turned towards Zelos. "If it's okay with you, I would rather rest."

Zelos put his hand on his hip. "Not in the mood, huh? Can't hardly blame you." He reached into his pocket and took out a bag of gald. "Here you go. Go rent yourself a room at the best hotel you can find. We'll meet you back tonight at the hotel."

Presea gently took the bag. "Thank you, Zelos. I'll be sure to pay you back."

Zelos shook his head. "Think nothing of it my little rose bud. Take all the time you need to clear your head."

Presea gave a soft smile.

Colette clapped her hands together. "That's so sweet, Zelos."

"Amazing. So you can be sensitive some times," Sheena mused.

"What do you mean 'some times'?" Zelos asked in mocked hurt.

"Presea, mind if I come with you?" Genis asked. "I…I mean if you want to be left alone…"

"No, I don't mind," Presea answered.

Genis smiled as he turned towards Mithos. "Do you wan to come with us?"

Mithos gave a slow nod. "Sure."

Zelos turned towards Lloyd, Colette, and Sheena. "I guess it's just us taking in the sights."

"Joy," Sheena muttered in a deadpan voice.

The group made their way to the railway and took the short trip back to the main island.

"I wonder what Raine wants to do at the Otherworldly Gate," Mithos mused as he stared at the opened sea.

"I can't believe she left without even saying a word to me," Genis replied somberly. Raine told him everything. At least….he thought she did. What was so special about that gate that she felt the need to leave with little more than a note?

"Don't look so sad, you two," Lloyd assured as he patted Genis' shoulder. "This is the Professor we're talking about. She's probably just interested in that ruin and just had to go see it for herself." He smiled. "So let's hurry up and catch her and tell her not to go off on her own like that."

Truth of the matter, Lloyd knew in his hearts of hearts that there was more going on than just Raine going into her Ruin Mode. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure out what. Was she planning to return to Sylvarant without them? No, that made no sense. While they would have to go back to Sylvarant eventually to finish the summon spirits' pacts, Raine wouldn't try to do that alone.

Genis nodded. "Yeah….night can't come soon enough."

Once they reached shore, Presea, Genis, and Mithos broke away from the main group and headed into the city.

"So, where to?" Lloyd asked.

Colette put her hands together. "If it's alright without everyone….I want to go the amusement park."

"Oh yeah, my sweet little angel has never been to one. Well this is the best time than any," Zelos said.

Sheena shrugged. "I'm up for anything."

Lloyd smiled. "Alright! I finally get to see what this amusement park is all about!"

They re-boarded the elemental railway and they were off to the amusement park. It didn't take long before they could hear the cheers and howls from the people in the park. Lloyd was in awe when he saw how big the park was.

He has been to small carnivals in the past with his dad, but they were dinky tents compared to what lied before him. The ferris wheel alone was bigger than most of the buildings in Palmacosta. But what really caught his eyes were the strange metal loops that ran across the park. Every few seconds, a cart would race along them and he could hear people screaming.

"What is that?" Colette asked, pointed towards the steel architect that had Lloyd in awe.

Zelos stared at her. "Don't tell me that the people of Sylvarant has never seen a rollercoaster."

"Rollercoaster?" Lloyd repeated.

Zelos sighed.

"It's a type of railway build to be fast and rough for people's amusement," Sheena attempted to explained before blushing. "I…I actually never been on one myself."

Zelos stared at her in disbelief. "You people in Mizuho are some real stiffs."

"Well, it's a first time for everyone," Lloyd said, barely containing his excitement. "Let's go on this rollercoaster first."

Colette was nearly bouncing with excitement. "Oh, I can't wait!"

As soon as they were off the railway, they made a beeline for the nearest coaster. The line was modestly long since the weather was warm, but it wasn't too bad. Lloyd did get nervous when he was strapped down in every way possible into his seat, but those fears disappeared the moment the coaster took off and he was riding nearly as fast as the Rheairds while also doing loops in the air that were so fast that it felt like he was going to fly off his seat.

Colette was just screaming like crazy next to him as she held on to the bars for dear life. Despite the screaming, Lloyd knew like him, she was having the time of her life.

The ride ended all too soon and they were escorted out so the next group of riders could board.

"Oh, that was so much fun!" Colette exclaimed. "Let's do it again!"

Zelos laughed. "Didn't think you would love it that much."

Sheena was unsteadied on her feet. "Oh…that was more than I expected. I…I think I had more than enough for today."

"Didn't think you were such a featherweight, Sheena," Zelos teased.

Sheena glared at him. "Be quiet."

"Well, I can go with Colette," Lloyd offered. Beside, he wanted to ride again too. "You guys can do what you want."

Zelos waved his hand. "No problem, no problem. There are plenty of honeys here to keep my attention."

With that done, Lloyd and Colette rushed back into line.

"It's nice to see Colette loosing up and have some fun," Zelos said. "My poor little angel has been through a lot."

Sheena leaned against the railing as she attempted to settle her stomach. "You know, it's odd being here since we're wanted by the Church." She looked directly at Zelos. "Especially you. Most of Tethe'alla knows your face."

Zelos waved her off. "Most of Tethe'alla could careless about who is wanted by the Church given the general decrease in worship. Only the upper class of Meltokio cares about such things."

"But it isn't just the Church. The king himself thinks you're a criminal," Sheena noted.

Zelos became stone face. "Yeah, his Majesty thinking I betrayed my world is the real issue here. Although, it seems the king's guards aren't on my butt nearly as much as the Pope's lackeys." He became relaxed again. "Besides, we're safe here. The people of Altamira are so laidback that a mass-murderer could walk the streets and have wine on the beach."

Sheena nearly sweat-dropped. "Is that suppose to make me feel better?"

Zelos suddenly became serious again. "Who I'm more concern about is Seles."

"Seles…that's your sister, right?" Sheena asked.

She did remember that Zelos had a sister. She met her once before and it was an unpleasant experience. From what she remember, Seles was at Southeast Abbey for health reasons. At least that was the 'official' reason. She recalled the vice-chief mentioning something horrible had happened and the Chosen's sister was placed in the care of the Church.

"Yeah. I'm concern that Rodyle will target her since Colette's Cruxis Crystal was a dead end for him," Zelos stated.

"Why would Rodyle target her?" Sheena asked. "Wouldn't the Cruxis Crystal be with you as the Chosen?"

Zelos sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It's a long story. The abridge version, Seles is the one who has my Cruxis Crystal. It isn't public information, but that slime ball Rodyle could easily learn where the Cruxis Crystal is located. Especially since he's working with the Pope."

"I see the issue," Sheena replied in worry. "I can always tell the vice-chief. He can send our people to keep an eye on her."

"Given everything Mizuho has already done, I hate asking for more favors," Zelos said.

"If we're going against Cruxis, we need to look out for one another. That includes our families," Sheena stated firmly.

Zelos gave a small smile. "Well, I'm certainly not going to say no to having someone look after my baby sister. I guess we can talk to Tiga after the situation with Raine is sorted out."

Sheena returned the smile. "Yeah, we can arranged that." She then groaned. "But that Seles, though... I honestly don't like that girl."

This got Zelos' attention. "You've met before?"

"Years ago, someone was stalking me. That stalker turned out to be Seles," Sheena answered.

This took Zelos off-guard. "Seles was stalking you? Why?"

More specifically, how? Seles wasn't exactly a quiet person and Sheena was a trained ninja. It also had to be over a decade ago since since Seles has been in house arrest since she was five.

Sheena scoffed. "That's what I wanna ask. She yelled, "You evil witch, I'll teach you to seduce my brother!" and she suddenly started attacking me. Mind you, I sent her packing, of course."

This made Zelos chuckled. Seles never liked all the women that swarm around him like flies. And Sheena, even as a kid, was not only pretty but had a nice rack. There wasn't a time he could remember Sheena being flat-chested. "Ah well, you know what that is. She must think you're one of my sweet hunnies."

"How in the world would she possibly think that!? I was eight at the time!" Sheena shouted.

Zelos winked at her. "Because I told her so." Out of all the women that surrounded him, Sheena was the only one who kept it real with him. She treated him like a person and not as the Chosen. And….he loved her for it.

Sheena, not being a mind-reader, heard none of that. "So it's all your fault!" She smacked Zelos upside the head.

"Ow! You know, most women would see that as a compliment," Zelos whined.

"I should have known! I can never have a tender moment with you!" Sheena huffed.

They stood in the amusement park for most of the day. Lloyd and Colette spent most of it amusing themselves on the different rides while Zelos flirted with all the women. Sheena mostly hung back and enjoyed the view of the ocean.

Despite everything that was still happening, Sheena had to admit Zelos was right. They really needed a day off like this. She spent so much time fighting that she almost forgot what it was like to be normal.

It was closed to sunset by the time they went to the hotel to meet with the others.

"That was so much fun!" Colette cheered as she held a prize that Lloyd won for her in her hands.

Zelos chuckled. "Glad you enjoyed yourself, my little angel. Told you this was the best place in the world."

"Man, I wish Sylvarant had a place like this," Lloyd said as he stretched his arms. "The closest thing we have is a ferris wheel and it isn't even half as big as the one here."

"Hopefully, we can create a place like this once we separate the worlds," Colette said.

Zelos laughed. "Already talking about stealing our ideas."

Lloyd blushed. "It isn't like that at all."

Zelos stopped laughing. "Relax, bud. As far as I'm concern, you can steal whatever ideas you want. It's only because you guys in Sylvarant are suffering that we in Tethe'alla were allowed to progressed this far."

"Zelos…" Lloyd started.

The Tethe'alla Chosen suddenly became dead serious. "I mean it. We in Tethe'alla went centuries of peace while you guys were ravaged by the Desians. We even sent an assassin to assure you guys continue to be destroyed."

Sheena's eyes became downcast.

Lloyd shook his head. "I..understand why you did it. I mean…I imagined if it was us, we would have done the same. The only ones to blame isn't Tethe'alla, but Cruxis for creating this system to begin with. One world shouldn't have to suffer and die for another to prosper."

"Hopefully, once we finish making the pact with the summon spirits, we can finally put an end to this inhumane system," Sheena said with renewed determination.

Zelos finally took noticed of what Colette was holding. It looked like no carnival prize he has ever seen. "What's that?" It looked like Genis' Kendama, but it looked way scarier and it had a bad aura surrounding it."

"Oh, that's a Devil's Arm," Lloyd informed casually. "For some reason, it was a prize at one of the ball toss booths. Took me a few tries to get it."

Zelos blinked. Why would they give such a scary thing as a prize?

"We were so lucky coming here. Now, we only need three more to help Abyssion," Colette cheered.

Sheena sighed. She had a bad feeling about this Abyssion fellow, but they were in this too deep to stop now. Besides, it seemed like fate since they found Devil Arm here of all places .

When they reached the hotel, it didn't take them long to find out what room the others were staying in. Despite all the money Zelos gave Presea, she only rented a moderate size room.

"Sheesh, I wanted her to go all out, but she had to be conservative," Zelos complained as they took the elevator. "I guess that's what happens when you live in the sticks for most of your life."

Sheena sighed. "Come off it. We weren't even going to stay the night. It wasn't like we needed a big luxury room."

"You don't get it. Why settled for second when you can have the best," Zelos argued.

When they found the room number, Colette, Lloyd, and Sheena were surprised to see that the 'moderate' size room was about the size of a small apartment.

"How is this moderate?" Sheena sputtered in shocked.

The room had at least four beds, a kitchen, a living room, and two private bathrooms.

Zelos snickered. "The best rooms here can take up an entire floor. When I stood here years ago, I had entire top level to myself."

Lloyd shook his head. "Everything is just bigger in Tethe'alla."

"Took you guys long enough," Genis said as he lifted his head from one of his books. He was sitting on the sofa with Presea who had a far off look on her face.

Colette smiled. "Oh Genis, you should had come with us to the park. It was so much fun!"

Presea looked up at them. "It should be about time to go. I'm worried about Raine."

"We all are," Mithos said. He was sitting in a nearby chair.

Sheena looked out the window. "The sun will be setting soon. So Raine should be at the Otherworldly Gate."

Zelos sighed. "I wanted to rest for a while longer, but I guess we should get back to looking for our darling Professor."

The group quickly packed up and were out of the the hotel within minutes. By the gate, they saw Regal who seemed to be practicing his kicks.

He quickly glanced up when he sensed the group. "Are you leaving?"

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah."

Colette clapped her hands together. "We're sorry we left you waiting out here for so long. We…"

"Genis explained to me what happened," Regal cut off. "About Raine possibly heading to the Otherworldly Gate and there is a full moon tonight. According to legends, that is when the gate opens."

"Well, that saves us some time," Zelos said. Thankful that Genis left out their meeting with Alicia. Either he forgot or deemed it unimportant. Most likely the former.

"It will be nightfall soon, so we should hurry," Regal said as the group moved a way from the city so they could summon their Rheairds.

After a few minutes, they were on the Rheairds and Sheena led the way to the Otherworldly Gate. The weather quickly grew colder as nightfall and the group had to turn on the lights on their Rheairds.

Lloyd dimly noted that this was the first time they had flown at night. It gave the entire world a completely different, almost foreboding feel, especially since the full moon was out. A shiver ran down his spine.

"What's wrong, Lloyd?" Colette asked in concern. This time she was riding with Lloyd while Mithos rode with Presea and Regal.

Lloyd shook his head. "It's nothing…just a little chilly is all."

Truthfully, he got another one of his bad feelings. Like….this wasn't to be another normal night.

After closed to an hour of flying, they reached a small island that had rocks so huge that they were visible from the sky. The tall rocks were line up in a circular pattern that didn't look natural.

"There it is!" Sheena exclaimed.

"Amazing. This is actually my first time seeing it," Regal spoke in awe.

They landed the Rheairds and for some reason, something told Lloyd to put them up instead of leaving them in the open field as they usually did since they shouldn't be here long. It was easy to forget at times that the Rheairds could be compressed like the EC.

They didn't have to walk far before they saw Raine standing by three huge rocks that were in a triangle formation. On each rock was strange symbols that Lloyd had never seen before.

"Professor!" Lloyd shouted, getting his teacher's attention.

Raine turned towards them in shocked. "Everyone! Why are you all here?"

Genis scolded at her. "Why do you think we're here? We were worried about you!"

Mithos stepped forward. "It's dangerous to come here alone. As a fellow half-elf, I can't just leave you here by yourself."

Raine had a small smile on her face, showing that she was touched by their concern.

"Raine, why did you come way out here, alone?" Regal asked for everyone.

Raine turned her back on them and was silent for several seconds. "This is where Genis and I were abandoned."

Everyone was left shocked.

"What are you talking about?" Lloyd asked, finding his voice before anyone. "You two are from Sylvarant."

Raine shook her head. "No. I happened to catch sight of this place when we rescued Colette and it's been on my mind ever since. Then, when I heard the story about the two poles which connect the two worlds, I became certain. The images in my memory…the ruin I've been searching for all this time is this place."

Genis' jaw nearly dropped. Was that why Raine was so obsessed with ruins?

"So what are you saying? The two of you were born in Tethe'alla?" Sheena questioned, not quite believing what she was hearing.

Genis shook his head in denial. "It can't be! All my memories are of Iselia! I don't know this place at all."

"We were born and raised in the village of the elves from which we were eventually ostracized," Raine explained in a far off voice. "We were abandoned here because this place was said to be the path to the legendary Sylvarant."

Mithos felt his mouth go dry. It….it was exactly what happened to him and Martel. "The village of the elves? The secret village said to be off-limits to anyone except elven-kind?"

"Yes. I don't know the details of what happened, but I'm positive that I was left here along with Genis when he was just a newborn. And we eventually ended up in Sylvarant," Raine continued as she stared at the ruins.

"Then this time, let me send you to hell instead!"

Everyone jumped as they turned towards the sound of the voice. Standing on a nearby hill was Kuchinawa. Lloyd vaguely remembered the red ninja.

"Kuchinawa! What are you talking about?" Sheena demanded once she found her voice. How the hell did he even find them?

Kuchinawa looked down his nose at them and his eyes were blazed with righteous fury and hatred. "My chance to avenge my parents' deaths has finally arrived."

As he spoke, the group was quickly surrounded by Papal Knights from all sides.

Zelos cussed under his breath.

Mithos also groaned. He really wanted to use his angelic powers to turn all these fools into dust. He hated playing the helpless child.

"Avenge your parents?" Sheena repeated in confusion. Not understanding how a fellow Mizuho ninja could sell them out.

"Correct," Kuchinawa sneered. "You will die for killing my parents along with countless others of our village when you failed to control Volt."

Sheena felt herself to pale. "Wh..what…"

Lloyd stepped forward, putting himself between Kuchinawa and Sheena. "That was an accident! Why are you doing this now?"

Kuchinawa gave a humorless laugh. "Accident!?" He glared at Lloyd. "I could have accepted things if she just failed to make a pact with a summon spirit. But then, she failed to assassinate the Chosen of Sylvarant, thereby placing Mizuho in danger. Yet look at her now. She's made pacts with summon spirits just like that."

Sheena looked like she was going to be sick.

"You have it all wrong!" Genis shouted. How could she think Sheena killed her own people on purpose?

"Do I?" Kuchinawa asked coldly. "I think she wasn't really trying during the first pact-making! Because of that, she killed my parents and our people."

Zelos snorted. "Listen to yourself? How old was Sheena when she was forced to make that pact? And it was with Volt, one of the most violent summon spirits. If anyone is to blame for what happened, it's the ones who put a child in that position."

Kuchinawa glared at him. "How dare you…"

"I did the best I could! I…" Sheena tried to talk, but only broken sentences left her mouth.

Kuchinawa was having none of it. "Enough excuses!"

Regal stepped forward. "Even if you have a grudge against Sheena, why team-up with the Pope? Whatever promises he made to you, he has no intentions of keeping them. That I can personally attest to."

"What business I have with the Pope doesn't concern you since you all will die here! Kill them!" Kuchinawa ordered the Papal Knights who quickly charged them.

While Papal Knights were strong and extremely well-trained, they were little match for Lloyd's group. After all the advance fighting they've done in the last couple weeks, fighting a bunch of normal knights was a breather. Especially since there was no magic user among them, not even a healer. Even Mithos proved capable of defending himself with basic magic that distracted the knights and left them opened for attack.

The issue was, how many there were. Unlike the other times they fought the Papal Knights, Kuchinawa brought a small army with him. For every one they took down, at least three took their place.

Raine huffed as she cast Proton. How did this many knights gathered without her sensing it? They had to be here for some time to setup this ambush, most likely even beating her here by a few hours. Did they learned that they would be here because of her? Was Kuchinawa or someone else spying on her when she was asking around about the Otherworldly Gate? She was careful not to be trail and subtile about her questions, which was also why she wanted to go alone. People would know Zelos, Lloyd, and Colette from the wanted posters she saw scattered across the cities. Thankfully, no one seemed to care to report them, but she was just a lowly half-elf not worth considering. Neither she or Genis had wanted posters.

But...she much have messed up. And now everyone...

"Damn, there's too many of them!" Lloyd cussed in dismay as he blocked an axe from splitting his head opened. At this rate, they would be overwhelmed.

Zelos sneered as he impaled a knight. He quickly reached a similar conclusion as Raine. "Bastards knew we would be here. There's no other way they could have amassed this many knights in one place."

Raine casted a healing spell. "This is my fault… They must have tracked me since earlier today."

Colette shook her head after taking down a group of knights with her Ring Whirlwind. "Don't blame yourself, Professor. You couldn't have known."

Zelos narrowed his eyes. No, this wasn't the Professor's fault, they had inside information. Kuchinawa knew about their summon spirits pacts despite them not returning to Mizuho since they rescue Colette. Was there a traitor among them? He glanced at the group. Impossible. There wasn't a soul among them capable of this kind of deceit except for maybe Mithos, and Mithos sure as hell wouldn't benefited from helping the Pope who was a known racist. He would be executed for guilt by association. So how….

"Kuchinawa! Please! Don't drag them into this! I'm the one you despise right?" Sheena pleaded for mercy to her former comrade. "Then I'm the only one you need to kill!"

This horrified everyone.

"Sheena, stop talking like that!" Lloyd shouted as he took down another knight.

Genis wiped out several knights with Eruption. "Sheena, nothing good will come from sacrificing yourself!"

Sheena ignored her friends' pleas and stepped in front of the group. "Kuchinawa…please!"

Kuchinawa glared at Sheena. "Fine." He stepped forward and took out a black sword, ready to slit Sheena's throat.

Sheena also moved forward, ready to accept her fate.

"Sheena, no!" Colette screamed in denial. She was making the same mistakes she made.

Just as she she screamed, the rock around them began to glow, blinding nearly everyone.

Raine's eyes widened. "The Otherworldly Gate is opening."

Zelos used the confusion to grab Sheena's arm.

"What…" Sheena started.

"Enough of this, Sheena!" Zelos shouted, not allowing her to finished her protest.

Before Sheena could process what was happening, Zelos harshly dragged her towards the three rock formation. Once they were in the center, they vanished from sight.

Lloyd quickly took note. "Everybody, into the gate!"

No one wasted a moment to think as they rushed to the open gate.

Kuchinawa attempted to incept them, but by the time he got close to the gate, the light had stopped and everything became dark again. He quickly scanned the area and saw no sign of Sheena.

"Damn!" he cussed in frustration. "The guardian signature trail disappeared! They've escaped into Sylvarant."

And the group finally return to Sylvarant after several years in real time. Hard to believe that the end of Act 1 happened in the 50s. One thing I have noticed is that Act 2 is much shorter than the first act. Granted, skipping summon spirits doesn't help, but it's something to note.

Anyway, until next time, take care.