I'm back after a few months break. Sorry again, but was having issues with Libre. So far, looks like everything has been cleared up. Thank you to everyone who is still interested in this story.

Now, to the chapter.

Chapter 73: Uneasy Alliance

Lloyd slowly opened his eyes and was momentarily blinded by the sun. He didn't know where he was, but he did noticed that the weather felt much warmer. The grass also looked paler from some reason.

"Ahh," he groaned as he forced himself up.

Once his head was cleared, he looked around to see everyone was here and were also regaining consciousness. So….they somehow escaped. For a moment, things were looking dire.

"Where are we?" Regal asked once he got his bearings.

"Probably on the outskirts of Palmacosta," Raine answered as she slowly stood up.

Lloyd's eyes widened as he look around. In the distance, he could indeed see Palmacosta. Strange, after being in Tethe'alla for so long, especially Meltokio and Altamira, the once grand city of Sylvarant looked so….basic and small.

It also felt like a million years since he has last seen Palmacosta despite it being only a few months at most. He also noticed it was morning when it was night when they left Tethe'alla. How long were they knocked out?

"We're back in Sylvarant?" Colette asked as she too looked around. She looked both happy and unhappy. He could easily guessed why.

"The mana level seems to have risen, but it's definitely Sylvarant," Genis confirmed.

Zelos dusted himself off. "Phew, man, I never thought I'd wind up coming over to this side like that."

Sheena quickly approached Zelos. She was anything but happy. "Zelos, why did you butt in!?"

Zelos side-eyed her. "Excuse me? Don't tell me you actually wanted to die back there."

Sheena was taken back by the statement. "Well…"

"Besides, those guys would have come after us regardless of whether or not you died," Zelos cut off. "Pope's orders and all."

"Zelos is right. Regardless if Kuchinawa took your life, the Pope wanted us all dead. Especially the Chosens," Regal stated as he looked directly at Sheena. "While your sacrifice was well-intended, it would have been meaningless."

Sheena's shoulders slumped. She knew they were right.

"Sheena, please don't do something like that again. Don't make the same mistakes I did," Colette pleaded. "Nothing good will come of you sacrificing your life."

Lloyd walked over towards his childhood friend. "Colette's absolutely right. You should thank Zelos, Sheena." He was honestly getting fed up with everyone being so willing to throw their lives away.

Sheena turned her head, unable to look Zelos in the eye. "Th…thanks."

Zelos gave a long sigh. "Come on now, would it hurt you to give me a kiss or two?"

Lloyd inwardly moaned. He had to push it.

"Zelos, you're horrible," Presea scolded, which only caused Zelos to chuckle.

"But what are we gonna do now?" Mithos spoke up.

Lloyd folded his arms in thought. "Well, since we're back in Sylvarant, why don't we find out what the Desians are up to?" While they did take out Magnius and Kvar, Forcystus and Rodyle were still at large.

"Sounds like a plan," Raine replied. "Although, I doubt the Desians will be too active with two of their Ranches destroyed and Rodyle having his own agenda."

"What about Mithos? We can't drag him into this," Genis suddenly spoke.

Mithos felt himself grow warm by Genis' concern for him. It reminded him so much of that time long passed.

"Maybe we could ask the Palmacosta government to take care of him for a while," Colette suggested.

"Neil, huh? Hmm…I guess that's a good idea," Lloyd said after some thought. The guy did owe them.

Mithos frowned at the suggestion. "I wanna fight too!"

"What are you saying? This journey is dangerous even if you had an exsphere," Genis said.

"He's right, Mithos," Raine replied before Mithos could protest further. "We do appreciate your sentiment, though."

Mithos stood quiet for several seconds. "I suppose you're right. I understand."

With plans made, the group began the short walk to Palmacosta. Through most of it, Sheena walked in silence as Lloyd led the way.

"It's not like you to mope around," Zelos stated, knocking Sheena from her dark thoughts.

"I'm certainly not looking for you to cheer me up," Sheena growled, not in the mood to deal with Zelos at the moment.

Zelos gave a good nature laugh. "There you go, that's the spirit!"

Sheena sighed. "That Kuchinawa…"

How could he betray Mizuho to the Pope? Did his hatred of her run so deep that he was willing to betray his brother, the villagers, and the vice-chief? It was all so hard to believe. She has known Kuchinawa since they were both children. And after he gave her a protective charm…..

Her eyes widened as she reach into her pocket and took out the charm Kuchinawa gave her over a month ago. It couldn't be….

"Ah, well, don't give him too hard of a time, now," Zelos said.

He thought the guy was an idiot, especially teaming up with the Pope who hated the people of Mizuho and saw them as mere tools to do his dirty work, but he also understood that Kuchinawa wasn't acting rationally. He allowed his bitterness and the need for some kind of justice for his parents' death to blind him. It was easier to blame everything on Sheena instead of Volt who actually did the deed and the chief who put Sheena in that situation to begin with.

Sheena growled in anger as she crushed the charm Kuchinawa gave her. "Just leave me alone! I hate traitors more than anything else!"

That bastard Kuchinawa has been tracking them this entire time using the charm he gave her. That was how the Papal Knights always seemed to know their location and how they setup the perfect ambushed at the Otherworldly Gate.

Zelos held up his hands. "Oooh, scary, scary. There's nothing worse than a hysteric woman."

Now Sheena was really pissed off. "Would you please leave me alone!?"

Zelos' face suddenly became serious. "You should stop and consider who betrayed whom first, don't you think?"

While Kuchinawa was a traitor, Sheena did technically betray Mizuho first since she abandoned her mission to kill Colette. So Kuchinawa was right about her in that aspect.

Sheena was having none of that. "What did you just say!?"

"Retreat! Retreat!" Zelos yelled as he got as far away from Sheena as possible.

Once he was gone and she had a moment to cool off, Sheena was left to reflect on Zelos' words. Did she really betray Kuchinawa first?

It was another ten minutes before they reached Palmacosta.

Despite the trauma the city endure just a few months earlier, things seemed to be back to normal.

No, that wasn't quite right, Lloyd noted. The people were happier and far more at ease than they were the first time they came here. Which made sense since the Palmacosta region was free of the Desians and no longer had to fear being taking to the Ranch. Everything felt….normal. Like...this was the way things were suppose to be.

"So this is the biggest city in Sylvarant," Regal said as he looked around.

Genis turned to look at the older man. "Yeah. I know it isn't much compare to Tethe'alla."

Regal shook his head. "Not at all. I actually like the cozy feeling of this city."

Lloyd overheard the conversation. "I don't think I've ever heard anyone call Palmacosta cozy. When I first came here, I was completely overwhelmed."

"I have to agree," Presea replied. "This place is far too big and busy for me."

"You would probably prefer a place like Iselia," Lloyd said. "It's pretty similar to Ozette since it's also settled within a forest."

Presea looked at Lloyd with interest. "Is Iselia a pretty place?"

Colette smiled and clapped her hands together. "It's wonderful. The air is always fresh and the people are friendly." Her eyes became downcast. "I'm getting homesick just thinking about it."

Lloyd sneered. "The only blight is the Human Ranch."

"I would love to see Iselia one day," Presea spoke in a warm voice. "Would you take me there, Lloyd?"

Lloyd flinched at the question. "I…I can't…"

Presea tilted her head in confusion.

"Lloyd and I were banished," Genis admitted in a soft tone.

"Banished? For what?" Regal asked.

"We…we broke the non-aggression treaty. It's a treaty Iselia made with the Desians when Colette was born," Lloyd explained in a dead tone. "We don't interfere with the Ranch and in exchange Iselia is free from the seasonal raids and harassment from the Desians."

Regal was silent for several seconds. "So, it's a treaty where you turn a blind eye to the Desians' actions."

"Yeah….but it was done to protect Colette. Everyone was afraid that the Desians would kill her, so they made the treaty to assure her safety until she was old enough to regenerate the world." Lloyd gave a humorless chuckle. "Given what we know now, we were played for fools."

"Cruxis played all of us," Presea whispered.

Genis' eyes became downcast. "Yeah, they did."

Presea looked at Lloyd. "But that doesn't explain why you were banish."

"We got involved with one of the prisoners at the Ranch. Her name was Marble." As he spoke her name, they ironically pass by the store she owned with her family. Lloyd took noticed of this and he felt his heart ache. "She came from this very city in fact."

"I got Lloyd involved," Genis corrected. "I met Marble several weeks before Lloyd knew about her."

"In either case, she got into trouble because she was talking to us and was being whipped to death. I….I couldn't allow that to happen so I distracted the Desians to stop the punishment," Lloyd said as he gripped his hands.

"I screwed up and nearly got caught," Genis took over. "Lloyd had to save me by killing several Desians so they wouldn't identify us."

Lloyd shook his head and rubbed his hair. "But….they were still able to know it was me who attacked the Ranch. So to punish me…..they turned Marble into a monster and had her attack Iselia."

Both Regal and Presea gasped.

"How cruel…." Presea whispered.

Regal shook his head in denial. "Just like…that poor woman."

Lloyd was closed to tears. "I…I didn't know Marble was that monster and I cut off her arm with my own swords." He still got sick thinking about it. "Still…even in that twisted state, Marble saved us. She blew herself up to protect us from the Grand Cardinal who ran the Ranch."

Genis rubbed his exsphere tenderly. "This exsphere was Marble's. I guess…you can say it was her last gift to me. She's been protecting me this entire journey."

Regal lowered his head. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to go through that. I wouldn't wish such a thing even on the most vile person." He looked directly at Lloyd and Genis. "But be thankful that you didn't kill that woman. She had enough consciousness left to used her remaining strength to protect you. She didn't allow you to stain your souls with her blood."

Lloyd let out a deep sigh. "It doesn't feel that way."

"Because of what happened with Marble, you two were banished," Presea concluded.

"Yeah. Rather I was right or wrong in helping Marble, countless people were still killed when the Desians raided the village in revenge," Lloyd spoke in a tight voice. "Which is why….I can't ever go back to Iselia."

Regal shook his head. "That's too cruel of a fate to give two kids. Especially ones who were trying to save a life."

Lloyd looked into the clear sky. He could still remember the smell of burnt flesh and how smoked covered the sky. "I originally joined Colette on her journey because I wanted to redeemed myself. To make some kind of amends for all those people who died because of me."

Regal gave a small chuckle. "I guess we're much the same. Although, my sins are too deep for even the spirits to forgive. And….you shouldn't be punished for following your heart."

"Even if following my heart gets people murdered?" Lloyd questioned.

Regal was silent for a moment. "Perhaps it's better to say one should follow their hearts, but also be aware of the consequences. But more importantly, we should make our decisions based on our conscience. Namely, you have to ask yourself, if you do or don't do something, can you live with yourself."

Lloyd was struck by Regal's words. He had never seen it that way before. If he was put in that position again with Marble, and he did nothing, could he live with himself?

Many people would still be alive and Genis wouldn't be banished, but Marble….would have most likely been beating to death and her exsphere used to further Cruxis' agenda. And, as absolutely bitter as it was,…it was because of Marble that he was even on this journey. Sure, he wanted to go before, but he wouldn't have followed Colette after she lied to him about when she was leaving. And even if he did tried to follow her, he would have no clue where to look since Genis was the one who told him about Triet.

So, he actually owed Marble dying for him even being here.

"Lloyd, I can't tell you if what you did was right or not," Presea started, "but, I can say that only a heart of stone could turn their back when they see someone suffering before their eyes. If it was me, I probably would have acted the same. At least…that's what I like to think."

Lloyd gave a small smile. "Thanks, Presea."

Genis also smiled. "Yeah, thanks. I do feel a little better. Marble…won't ever come back." He touched his exsphere again. "But, I can used this life she save to prevent more victims."

"I think, that is the only thing anyone can do," Regal spoke in a far off voice.

Mithos passively listened to the conversation. It was interesting hearing what happened from Lloyd and Genis' perspective. That small pang of guilt returned, but he quickly suppressed it.

After a few more minutes of walking, they reached the main government building. It didn't take them long to setup an audience with Neil who happily greeted them.

"Chosen One! Lloyd! How is the journey to release the seals going?" Neil asked as he humbly shook Colette's hands.

Colette gave a nervous laugh. "Ah, well…actually…"

Lloyd couldn't look the man in the eyes. "Uh, e…everything's going well!"

Neil was overjoyed to hear this, not realizing that he was being lied to. "Excellent! It will only be a matter of time before the Desians are forever banished from our world. With this region being calm since Magnius' death, we in Palmacosta can't wait for everlasting peace to spread across the world. Especially for the people in Luin."

This got Genis' attention. "Luin?"

Neil nodded. "We got the message over two month ago that Luin was destroyed by the Desians." He smiled. "And that the Chosen brought justice to Kvar. Now, we're waiting for the Chosen to complete her journey so we can send our army to give our full aid to Luin."

"How have they been doing?" Lloyd asked.

"From my last reports, the city is still in shambles. Although, it's slowly being brought back to life thanks to the effects of a young man named Pietro," Neil informed.

Genis' eyes widened. "Pietro!? That man we saved in Hima!?"

Raine had a small smile. "It would seem he has kept his promise."

Colette turned towards Lloyd. "We should go to Luin and see if there is anything we can do to help."

Lloyd nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but before that we were wondering if you could take care of him for a while." He put a hand on Mithos' shoulder. He looked extremely nervous.

Neil glanced down at Mithos. "I certainly don't mind, but who is he?"

"He's traveling with us for a moment, but we're heading to an area that is too dangerous for him," Raine explained.

This got Neil's attention. "Are you heading to the Palmacosta Ranch?"

The Sylvarant group looked at each in confusion.

"What are you talking about? That was destroyed," Genis stated.

"Oh, you're not?" Neil asked. "We've recently received reports that Desians are wandering inside the ruins of the Ranch. We've increased our security."

"Didn't you just say things have been calm?" Lloyd asked.

"It has been, but everyone is concern about the Ranch becoming active again since the Desians are still in our world. That's part of the reason why we haven't sent troops to Luin," Neil explained. "Some even think that Magnius wasn't killed on the day we raided the Ranch."

"While we didn't see Magnius die, the chances of him surviving his injuries and escaping before the Ranch self-destructed are extremely low," Raine said in her most matter-of-fact voice.

"I don't know if it's related, but there are also reports that Desians are attacking the sea route between Izoold and Palmacosta. They seem to be constructing some sort of giant infrastructure on the ocean floor," Neil informed. "Naturally, we have been keeping this information away from the public. This city is still scarred from Govern-General Dorr's death and has only recently come to terms with Magnius being dead."

Raine hummed as she took in this new information. "The Remote Island Human Ranch is located in that region."

Lloyd was also beginning to make the connection. "Maybe it's the Mana Cannon that Rodyle is building."

"Well, if you're worried about it, why don't we go take a look?" Zelos suggested.

"Even if it's not the Mana Cannon, this city will become the next Luin if the Palmacosta Ranch is operational again," Sheena said in concern. This world had suffered enough.

"Yeah. Let's check out the Palmacosta Ranch," Lloyd replied.

Raine turned her attention back to Neil. "Well, it seems our plans are set. We'll come back for Mithos later."

"I understand," Neil said. "Rest assured, I will protect this boy with my life. It's the least we owe the Chosen."

"Genis. Be careful. And Raine and Lloyd and everyone else too," Mithos said with a concern expression.

Lloyd smiled. "Yeah. Just wait here for a little while."

Mithos walked up to Genis and opened his hand. "Please take this with you." He placed a flute in Genis' opened palm.

Genis looked down at the object with interest. "What's this?"

Mithos suddenly had a sad expression on his face. "It's…a memento of my sister who passed away."

Genis was horrified when he heard this. "I can't take that!"

"If you find yourself in danger, play it. I don't know what it can do, but it may just be able to save you," Mithos said, showing that he wasn't taking no as answer.

Genis sighed in defeat. "Okay…thank you. I promise I'll come back and return it to you."

"Yeah," Lloyd said before looking at Mithos one last time. "You take care of yourself."

With that, the group slowly filed out of the room.

Mithos watched them leave and wondered why did he give them Martel's flute. That was one of the few things he had left of her. But, something told him that they would need it.

As things stood, he was powerless in this state and his ability to watch them was limited. At least this way, he could have Aska keep an eye on them. Besides, he trusted Genis to treat Martel's flute with the upmost care.

Once they were out of the city, they looked for an opened area so they could get on the Rheairds in peace. They wanted to make sure no one in Sylvarant saw them since it would be hard to explain where they got flying machines.

More than anything, Lloyd was happy that he put up the Rheairds, otherwise they would have been left behind when they jumped through the Otherworldly Gate.

"It'll be terrible if Palmacosta's Human Ranch is rebuilt," Colette suddenly spoke up. Her voice was full of worry.

Lloyd had to agree. "They'll attack the city again and kill more innocent people."

After everything, Sylvarant didn't deserve more suffering.

"And...make more exspheres," Genis added under his breath.

"Exsphere manufacture. I'd heard the stories, but Human Ranches are an abomination," Regal said, remembering what Altessa told them about the Ranches and how they were used to make more powerful exspheres.

Lloyd was trembling. "Yeah. I don't want to see any more people killed for the sake of exspheres."

He walked ahead alongside Genis, leaving Regal behind to his thoughts.

"Indeed. There must be no more victims like Alicia. Never again," Regal whispered so softly that a soft breeze could have covered his voice.

Colette, however, heard him and froze. Alicia? As in, Presea's sister. How did Regal know her?

She wanted to asked him, but she knew that Regal didn't want anyone to hear what he said. She only heard because she kept her angel's senses and it felt like she was prying.

She would just have to wait until Regal was ready to tell them himself. Besides, there was still the worry about the Palmacosta Ranch being rebuild.

"What should we do if the Desian Ranch is rebuilt?" Colette asked, speaking up loud enough for Lloyd to hear.

Lloyd hummed. "We'll just have the Professor blow it up again."

Regal turned his head, completely forgetting his previous morbid thoughts. "Raine has that kind of power?"

Presea was also shocked. " That's amazing. Not only can she heal, but she can destroy as well." She only heard of a few magic users who mastered both healing and offensive magic.

"So she's a human bomb," Regal noted.

Colette gasped. "No, Regal. She's a half-elf, so she's a half-elven bomb."

Lloyd chuckled. "'Half-elven Bomb'? That's kind of long to have to say."

"How about 'HE Bomb'?" Presea suggested.

Lloyd looked at Presea. He thought she was joking, but he could tell by her expression that was dead serious.

Colette's mouth nearly dropped. "Wow! The Professor can make boy bombs?! She's amazing!"

Now it was Regal's turn to chuckle. "If the Professor heard that, I'm sure she really would explode."

The mental image of Raine blowing up was too much and Lloyd busted into laughter.

"What are you guys talking about back there?" Raine asked.

"Nothing…" Lloyd attempted to say through his laughter.

Raine didn't find this amusing. "I swear. The Desians could be rebuilding in this region and you're all fooling around. I expected more from you."

Lloyd managed to control himself. "Lighting up, Professor. If the Desians are rebuilding, we can stop them. I mean, after fighting summon spirits, fighting a few Desians doesn't sound so bad."

Raine sighed, although Lloyd did have a point. After so much hardships, fighting a Desian seemed almost quaint. Even the idea of dealing with a Grand Cardinal barely fazed her.

When they were sure that they wouldn't be seen, they took out the Rheairds and were off to the Ranch.

Lloyd would never be thankful enough to not have to walk everywhere anymore. What was once a half a day's walk was done within fifteen minutes. From the sky, Lloyd could see the remains of the Ranch. It didn't look like anything was active, but they wouldn't be sure until the got a closer look for themselves.

They landed a few feet from the forest where the Ranch was hidden and made the short walk toward the entrance. What they saw took them all off-guard.

Standing by what used to be the main gate was Botta and two Renegade soldiers dressed as Desians.

"Renegades!" Lloyd exclaimed in surprised, unsheathing his sword. Was this a trap?

Genis narrowed his eyes. "So that's it. Neil and the others couldn't tell the difference between the Desians and the Renegades." He couldn't talk since they couldn't tell the different either. They would've been fooled too if they didn't know Botta.

"We've been waiting for you," Botta spoke in a calm tone.

"Are you saying you were expecting us to come here?" Regal asked in disbelief. How could they have known they would come to Sylvarant?

Zelos wondered the same thing. He sure in hell didn't tell them and it wasn't like he could have known that they would have jumped through the Otherworldly Gate.

Botta remained stone-face. "Does it really matter? We have more important things to discuss, such as joining forces."

That was the last thing anyone expected him to say. Even Zelos raised an eyebrow.

Raine shook her head in disbelief. "Unbelievable. You actually expect us to trust you after all you've done to Lloyd and Colette?"

"The circumstances have changed," a voice replied.

They turned to see Yuan, hiding within the shadows of the forest. He, as always, had a stern expression on his face.

"Yuan!" Sheena exclaimed.

"Do you know of the Giant Kharlan Tree?" Yuan asked, not wasting any time.

"The legendary Giant Tree said to have existed in the Holy Ground of Kharlan, right?" Zelos answered. He was very curious where Yuan was going with this. "It's the tree of life, which produces infinite mana."

"Isn't that just a fairy tale?" Colette asked.

"The Giant Kharlan Tree indeed existed, but the Kharlan War exhausted its mana supply and the tree wilted away. And now all that remains is its seed left in the Holy Ground of Kharlan," Yuan replied, giving them the abridged version of what happened during the war.

Raine's eyes widened in shock. The Kharlan Tree, the World Tree, really existed? She too thought it was just a story until she saw those carvings on the walls of the Chosen's trials, specifically the one at the Mana Tower that mentioned the World Tree along with it having a spirit. She almost wanted to ask Yuan if he knew what a Centurion was, how it was connected to the old Kharlan Tree, and this mysterious spirit.

"The seed of the Giant Tree is in the final seal?" Colette asked further, breaking Raine out of her thoughts.

"It is known as the Great Seed," Yuan stated.

"Are you talking about the Soul of Mithos?" Genis clarified.

Yuan scolded at the question.

"Now that is a fairytale," Botta answered for Yuan. "The Great Seed, the source of the world's mana, is the seed of the Giant Tree."

Raine's eyes lit up. "The Great Seed is the source of mana in the world!? So, that's it!"

The primary reason why she never truly believed in the stories of the Kharlan Tree was because the world should have ended when it withered. It bearing a seed before its death and it becoming the new mana source cleared up one of the biggest mysteries in the scholar community.

"The Great Seed is absolutely vital in order to reunite the two worlds," Yuan continued, ignoring Raine's new found enlightenment.

Lloyd's mouth nearly dropped. "Reunite the two worlds!?"

"I believe I told you before, Yggdrasill is the creator of the two worlds. Originally, the world was one, but Yggdrasill ripped it asunder," Yuan said, both surprised and annoyed that Lloyd's group didn't make the connection.

"Sylvarant and Tethe'alla used to be one world?" Raine asked in awe, her mind reeling from all this new information. "Yes…it makes perfect sense."

"How is it even possible for someone to split the world apart?" Lloyd asked in disbelief. "Is Yggdrasill a god?"

Yuan chose to ignore the second question. "It was possible for Yggdrasill. The two worlds have managed to survive by vying for the small amount of mana seeping from the Great Seed."

"So that's why the cycle of flourishing and declining continues, and the Chosen goes on the Journey of Regeneration," Colette said as everything fall into place. "Both worlds can't flourish because there isn't enough mana to share."

Yuan nodded. "Exactly. But if the Great Seed germinates, the Giant Tree will be restored and the cycle will come to an end."

"How do we resurrect the Giant Tree?" Lloyd asked.

Yuan gave a ghost of a smirk, glad to see that Lloyd was cooperating. "The Great Seed is nearly dead from millennia of being drained to maintain the flourishing world. We must expose it to a large amount of mana in order to save it."

Raine shook her head. "There's no supply of mana like that to be found in either world."

"Cruxis' base, Derris-Kharlan, is a comet made from a giant mass of mana. It lies suspended in the sky high above this land. All we have to do is use that." Yuan explained without missing a beat.

Raine raised an eyebrow. That opened up several other questions. She had assumed that Derris-Kharlan wasn't real when she learned of Cruxis' deceit.

"If that's true, why doesn't Yggdrasill revive the Giant Tree?" Lloyd asked the question on everyone's minds.

Yuan sighed. "All of Derris-Kharlan's mana is being giving to Martel for the sake of resurrecting her."

The answer was actually more complicated than that, but they hardly needed to know all that information. The whole ordeal with the Beschermer and name giver weren't important.

Colette gasped. "What?"

"By using the power of a Cruxis Crystal, Martel's soul lives on, existing as a part of the Great Seed," Yuan explained, choosing what he says next carefully.

Botta picked this moment to take over for his master. "If Martel awakens, the Great Seed will be absorbed into her and disappear. The reverse also holds true. In order to prevent that from happening, Yggdrasill protects the Great Seed with the seals of the summon spirits."

Yuan gave Botta a graceful look.

"So that's why the Renegades are trying to stop Martel's revival," Raine concluded.

"Yes. We will make the Great Seed germinate," Yuan said with conviction. "As a result, Martel will be absorbed by the seed, and then.…"

"The Giant Kharlan Tree will be reborn," Lloyd finished.

Colette put her hands together in a pray position. "If that happens, will the two worlds become one again?"

"That, I don't know," Yuan answered honestly. "The only certainty is that the world will end if the seed is lost."

Zelos folded his arms. "So, you're gonna have Miss Martel be a good little girl and disappear."

Yuan's eyes narrowed. "Martel is already dead."

The way Yuan spoke those words were both cold and filled with heartache. Lloyd was caught off-guard by the sheer force of the emotions he felt from the otherwise distance man. It felt like it ripped Yuan apart to utter those words.

"If it weren't for Derris-Kharlan's mana, her soul would have disappeared a long time ago," Yuan continued in a more steady voice.

"Why is Yggdrasill so obsessed with Martel?" Genis asked. The guy basically ruled the worlds as an untouchable god. Why would he care so much about the spirit of a dead woman to the point of having everyone worship her as a goddess and create a body for her?

Yuan waved him off. "That doesn't matter. What's important is that we see to it that the Great Seed germinates."

"Up till now, the Great Seed has been protected by the summon spirits of the declining world," Botta explained, getting the subject off of Mithos.

"The mana links," Lloyd replied.

"Correct. Now that the links have begun to unravel, the Great Seed's protection has weakened," Botta stated.

"Because we have been forming pacts with the summon spirits of both worlds," Presea finished for Botta.

Raine rubbed her chin as she took in all this new information. She had so many questions, but for now she had to keep her mind on the main task. "Now I understand why you want us to join you." She glanced at Sheena. "It's because we have Sheena, a summoner."

"Indeed. Summoning arts have been lost completely in this world and is nearly gone in Tethe'alla," Yuan said as he stared at Sheena. "This girl is the first summoner I've seen in a long time. She's the key in stopping Yggdrasill."

Sheena flushed at the thought of being so important.

Lloyd stepped forward and looked Yuan directly in the eye. "Yuan, are you with Cruxis? Or are you with the Renegades?"

There was a long paused as everyone awaited Yuan's answer.

Yuan let out a deep breath. "I am with Cruxis, and I am also the leader of the Renegades."

Regal stared at Yuan. "A double-agent?"

"In words, a traitor," Zelos simplified.

He had to admit, he didn't think Yuan would reveal himself like this. While he wasn't showing all his cards, he gave the group a giant leverage on him. Either Yuan was being extremely careless or he truly believed that they were approaching the endgame.

"So, what is your decision?" Yuan asked without showing an ouch of emotion.

The answer came quicker than anyone expected.

"Okay," Lloyd said.

Raine was aghast by Lloyd's answer. "Lloyd, you're going to trust him?"

Lloyd turned towards his teacher and smiled. "Yeah. He's revealed the fact that he is a traitor. He's putting himself on the line. That has to mean something."

Yuan was surprised by Lloyd's insight. He honestly didn't expect the group to be so open after what happened with Kratos. Then again, they were still unaware of Zelos. They seemed almost incapable of distrust.

Still, it all worked out. He now had the Angelus under his control, even if indirectly, without using any extreme methods and with them working for the Renegades he no longer needed Zelos to be his eyes and ears.

"I'll trust him too," Colette added, fully supporting Lloyd's decision.

"You were headed towards Rodyle's Ranch, correct?" Yuan asked, but it was more of a statement.

Zelos stared at him. "You sure know a lot about what we're doing. Do you have a spy watching us or something?"

Yuan raised an eyebrow at the question.

He wasn't sure if Zelos was trying to take heat off of himself or indirectly warned everyone that they had a spy.

But he hardly needed someone to tell him that Lloyd's group would eventually target Rodyle once they found their way back to Sylvarant given their past actions against Magnius and Kvar. Not to mentioned Rodyle had kidnapped the Chosen and tried to kill them.

"No kidding," Lloyd half-joked before becoming serious. "But either way, we have to stop that Mana Cannon thing before it's completed."

Presea gently touched her axe. "We also have a debt to pay back to Rodyle."

Yuan almost wanted to laugh.

Rodyle made his job easier by making it personal. It really didn't matter. With the Mana Cannon nearing completion, he didn't need that fool anymore. It was best to be rid of one rogue before he put his final plan into action. Besides, he could used Rodyle's head to keep himself in Yggdrasill's good graces for a while longer.

"The Ranch and Mana Cannon systems should be interlinked. Disabling the control room should be our first priority," Yuan said, not voicing any of his thoughts.

"You seem to know quite a lot about them," Raine noted.

"We have a reason to infiltrate Rodyle's Ranch as well. We can guide you to the entrance, if you'd like," Botta offered.

Lloyd nodded. "We're teaming up, right? Of course, please take us there."

"Why are you going to the Ranch?" Sheena asked her former employer.

"We need to make preparations to fire mana at the Great Seed," Yuan explained. "Oh, by the way, the Rheaird dimensional transfer system will be offline while we make our preparations. You'll have to wait until after we infiltrate the Ranch if you want to get back to Tethe'alla."

Lloyd nodded in understanding. "Got it."

"Lloyd, before we infiltrate the Ranch, we should restock and rest up," Raine advised. "None of us has gotten any real sleep in over a day."

"Yeah, that's true," Lloyd said. "And…I want to check in on Luin before we go."

"Then we can spend the night there," Raine said.

"Rest up while you can," Botta advised. "I'll be waiting here for you."

With that, the group turned to leave, still left in a state of disbelief that they were now working with the Renegades.

Lloyd's group finally joins the Renegades and get some much needed information. It's also interesting being in Sylvarant again since Act I feels like a million years ago and all the characters have grown so much.

Anyway, please take care and hope to see you next time.