"Enough."

The pointed tip of a long rapier freezes inches from me, tickling my wide-open eyes. The seraph had moved too fast- I hadn't even spotted him. Daring to dart my eyes about me, I see various weapons inches from dealing me mortal blows in seventeen different places. My breath comes out in a frightened wheeze and I am unable to quell the shivers that shoot through me. But when my involuntary action causes the edge of a blade to nick my arm I stand stock-still, my sense of self-preservation stronger than my urge to dissolve into a puddle of nerves.

For a brief moment, I wonder if I'm dead. Is this death? Forever seeing the moment before your demise? Being able to see the way you died- to see if there had been a way to prevent it? But as I look around me, I see that I am quite thoroughly dead. Nothing could save me.

But... but something did.

The strong, calm voice spoke again. Another emotion laced the words of command, but I can not for the life of me discern whether it was fear or anger. "Fall back."

There's the sounds of gears churning and all of the seraphim step back as one, falling to one knee with their heads bowed. I still don't move, not from fear but from shock. If I move... maybe I'll wake up from this hopeful dream and they'll remember they're supposed to be murdering me.

Sheena turns around to face the voice, her cards still drawn. But then I hear her suck in a huge breath of air, gasping in disbelief. Only then do I muster my courage to turn as well and face our savior. Then, I understand why Sheena gasped. Standing there in the doorway was someone so beautiful, so majestic, he seems almost unreal next to the dingy, crude reality that surrounds him.

Of course, it's Letram. Sea-foam green hair fell about his pure, innocent face. Having never seen my enemy up close, I was shocked breathless by the sight of him, eyes looking into mine with the expression of a saint- stoic, with everlasting sadness and love washing through me. I feel instantly at peace when I look into his eyes, and its only my good old sense of self-preservation that kept my lungs working.

His face is painfully familiar, though the last time I had seen him, he filled me with fear and self-loathing.

"Mithos," I say, but it's almost a sigh as I say the name through exhaled breath. "Yggdrasil."

"This is impossible," I hear Sheena mutter next to me, though the comment is directed at no one.

Letram merely stands there, a staff held firmly in one hand. Ivy twines up the length of the solid stretch of wood, leaves sprouting here and there. He stands, his expression neutral but his eyes still overflowing with a sadness so deep it leaves me with eyes burning from unshed tears. Neither accepting nor denying. Instead, his head turns the barest of inches to fix Maddox with those heavy-lidded eyes.

"What do you think you are doing," he says, rich voice barely whispering the words. But they fill the air- and there is no doubt as to whom this comment was directed.

Maddox lies on the floor with the rest of the seraphim; his posture of obedience drastically more subservient than the rest of them. With both knees on the floor and his arms outstretched on the ground, his haughty tone had completely dissolved. Letram lifted his chin with his staff, forcing the evil half-elf to look at him.

"Do you not have an answer?" Letram prompts gently.

"Master, they are the prisoners who escaped. They killed many of our men, and conspire against you, Mas-"

Letram whirls on his second-in-command, eyes snapping wide open with fury that burned from the depths of his emerald eyes. He brings his staff in front of Maddox's face, the butt pressing against his nose. "That's not a suitable answer," Letram says, his hand shaking. "How dare you do this to these women?" With a quick motion, he whips the staff back and then cracks it against Maddox's cheek.

Maddox whips to the side in the direction of the blow, but he says nothing. A shallow cut on his cheek drips red. "You shouldn't overexert yourself," he says instead of any angry retort. "Leave these har- these women to me. I will take care of them."

"I've already seen what you consider taking care of them, and I do not care for your methods," Letram says coolly. "Now leave my sight, and remember well who is in control of this tower, Maddox."

Maddox looks up at him, grimacing. "But, Master!" he beseeches.

Letram has already turned his back on him, though. "I do not repeat myself."

Maddox leaves, taking some of his more loyal flunkies with him.

Smiling, Letram then opens his arms in an almost apologetic welcome. Bowing still with his arms open, he speaks. "I regret that this is the way we must meet, Heroes of Martel." Dropping his staff, he stands up straight and then holds out on hand to us. Snapping his fingers, no longer are we in the room of angels, surrounded by dead things merely waiting for the command to kill. We're back in our cell, so many levels below where we had finally been caught. A sudden pressure on my hand reminds me that Sheena and I are still linked.

"Are you really-" I start, but Letram is talking loudly to drown my voice out.

"It is a shame that I was not made aware of your presence here sooner. Maddox, though once wise, I find now to be quite blind in his newfound pride. Do not judge him harshly, Heroes. He only does what he believes to be my divine will."

That sounds like Mithos to me. But instead of raging against the humans, he's... well, he's rambling.

Clear eyes roam our miserable quarters. "This is not acceptable for my guests," he murmurs, and with another snap of his fingers the room expands before my very eyes. What is physically impossible? The way the cold stone morphs into clean white marble, the windows expand and multiply to give us views of the far off Ossa Trail, golden brown dunes of the Triet Desert. I'm so amazed by what's happening I don't realize that Letram is leaving through the wide open doorway.

"Wait!" I cry out, letting go of Sheena to lunge after him. Maybe it was a stupid thing to do, but I needed to know. A transparent shield appears in front of me, right where the door-less entry is. I bang my fists against it, calling out to his retreating figure. "Wait! Mithos! Is it really you? How can you still be alive?"

Letram laughs, not unkindly. "All shall be explained soon, my friends Raine Sage and Satsuki Fujibayashi. All in good time…"

The sounds of his retreating footsteps don't hide the sudden noise. There's a clatter behind me and I whirl around to see Sheena on the floor now, her cards scattered around her. Her pale face is positively ghostly as she stares after him in shock, on the bridge of fainting. "How did he know?" she whispered. "How? How could he know...?"

Realizing now what had just transpired in the space of about three seconds, I beat at the door with renewed fury. "Mithos!" I yell out at no one, since Letram was long gone.

"Mithos!"

OoOoOo

"Colette?"

I look up from my chakrams. I had been polishing them and honing their keen edge until even the air around it hummed as it was sliced through. I love my chakrams to death. They- and Lloyd- have kept me safe through thick and thin. And nowadays, they did it more often than he did.

Yuan stands in my doorway, a curious smile playing across his lips. Setting my chakrams aside, I stand up and smile to Yuan, motioning for him to come inside. "Yes, Yuan?" I ask politely.

Stepping fully through the doorway, Yuan continued to smile in that weird way. Huh. I wonder what's up with him? I guess I'm about to find out, though. "There's someone I'd like you to meet," he says, and with a flourish of his cape he dramatically shifts my attention from him to the person behind him. With short green hair that was combed backwards from his head in wavy perfection, the half-elf shuffles uncomfortably at the attention I was giving him. And, well, I couldn't help it. He was... he was really really cute! The half-elf was looking at the floor, for the most part, but every so often he would glance up at me, his cheeks burning red. And his eyes were the most shockingly deep shade of green I'd ever seen.

My eyebrows furrow in confusion, and I hope Yuan can't hear how my heart is beating. "Um, hello..." I say cautiously, extending my hand to shake his. His thick black gloves, fastened at the wrist with silver clasps, envelop my hand. "Are you a Renegade?"

Yuan, covering the half-elf's open mouth with one hand to stop him before he spoke, winks at me. WHOA! Yuan? Winking? What in... something really good must have happened for Yuan to be so cheerful like this! "Oh, he's a Renegade all right," Yuan says. Now I know something is up. If I didn't trust Yuan, I'd have thought some sort of trap was going on.

"Meet Seph," Yuan said. "Seph, this is Colette Brunel."

Seph frowns at Yuan and starts fidgeting with the black vest he's wearing. They match his gloves. I mentally slap myself for looking at him too closely, but I can't help myself.

"This is getting too weird, Yuan," Seph mutters.

And maybe, if my mouth hadn't been closed, my heart would have leaped right out, sliding between my teeth. As it was, I managed to swallow it in time to gape at Seph. His voice, low and gentle, was as familiar to me as my own.

"Luh- Luh-!" I sputter, slapping my hands against my bright red cheeks in shock. "Luh- LUH-?"

"Uh, yeah," Lloyd says, scratching at his new green hair awkwardly. "I guess this really is a good disguise, huh Yuan?"

And I swear, if Yuan had been a cat he would have been purring. "Of course it is!"

I look again at Lloyd with fresh eyes. How could I have not noticed? But even as I mentally beat myself up, I realize it's an easy mistake to make. Though the face is the same, something about him just feels wrong. Taking a few steps backwards, I feel my wings fluttering in anxiety. "Are you really Lloyd?" I ask him.

He steps after me, his arms out and his expression beseeching. "Of course I am!" he says, deeply hurt. My heart cracks even more at what I've done- at not being able to know Lloyd when I see him. At doubting him. Out of my control, I feel my eyes start to well up.

"But how?" I ask, stepping further away from him. "It's not just the hair. Everything. You don't feel like you…"

Turning to the seraph, I speak to him accusingly. "What have you done, Yuan?"

"Oh, nothing much." Yuan seems to not care that he's totally turned my world upside down. He bounces on the balls of his feet, still grinning widely. "I just put a little something in his clothes to have him radiate a completely different mana signature than normal. I'm such a genius, honestly."

"I helped," came a moody voice from the doorway. Genis steps in with his arms crossed, glaring at Yuan. "Quit stealing my thunder."

"Hush, boy. It was a success due to me and you know it."

Genis keeps his silence but I notice he has his pointy thing at hand, and seems rather willing to use it on Yuan at the moment. What is that thing, anyway? A fire poker? If so, it's the oddest fire poker I've ever seen.

"All right…" I say, gaining control of myself again. I'm such a baby sometimes, I guess… I pull a brave face. "Whoever made it, it works. If I can't tell it's Lloyd, then no one can."

"I see we have a new recruit." Presea walks into the room, dragging a large, lumpy sack behind her. The shovels for her digging plan, I guess. "If he is going with us on the mission, I would like time to locate an extra shovel for him, Sir."

"Presea!" Forgetting himself, Lloyd walks up to her and hugs her. Oooh, big mistake. The small girl latches onto his arm, sending him over her shoulder and crashing onto the floor, his arm twisted at an awkward angle.

She kneels next to him, face dead-pan. "I would appreciate it if you kept all appendages off of my person, thank you."

New Lloyd looks up at her in shock. "Yeah," he says, eyes wide. "This is a pretty good disguise, Yuan."

Genis clears his throat. "Presea, that's Lloyd you just wrestled to the floor."

"Negative. I would know if that were Lloyd. And that is not," she turns away from him in almost disdain. "Lloyd."

Psyeah, that's what I thought. I flutter over to Presea, my wings lifting my feet clear over Lloyd's body. "Presea, that is Lloyd. Genis and Yuan made him a disguise and- eep!" I recoil at the look she gives me then. Whoa! Is this Presea? She looks ready to murder me!

"That is not Lloyd!" she repeats. "If this is some form of joke or test, I wish for it to cease at once."

"Lloyd, take off your gloves, please," Yuan says, coolly in control of the situation. "Presea needs proof."

Lloyd unfastened the silver clasps to his thick black gloves and suddenly it's Lloyd again, not just in spirit but in body, too. The green hair, carefully combed back, springs to life and juts out at every angle imaginable, lightening to it's normal brown shade.

I flush at the sudden transformation, but that's nothing compared to Presea's reaction.

She takes one look at Lloyd.

And she faints from shock.

OoOoOo

"That was embarrassing."

Night creatures hiss and chitter at us as we trudge through the desert with nothing but the moon and the stars to guide us. At night this place is absolutely freezing, but I don't feel it that bad. My angelic powers keep me warm, but everyone else isn't so lucky (except for Yuan). Even Lloyd, now that the power of his Ex-spheres were nullified by those special gloves, was shivering. He puts an arm around Presea, who had spoken.

"Don't worry, it was a pretty shocking thing," he says to her, trying to comfort her. She automatically pulls away from him, looking at him with wide, surprised eyes. Then her cheeks turn the slightest shade of pink and she averts her gaze, walking faster and leaving him behind. I see Lloyd's hand clench into a fist.

"Presea's not taking this too well." Genis, who was walking next to me, mutters under his breath. He looks after the girl, concern in his eyes.

"I know," I say, crossing my arms to keep the cold at bay. "It's a little weird for me too. I wonder why no one else is bothered by it?" Sad now at how different I'm acting, I look at the sandy floor and bit my lower lip.

"Well, it's probably because you two…"

Genis stops.

"Well, you're like, really close to him," he finishes, somewhat awkwardly. "How're you holding up with that shovel, by the way? If it gets too heavy I can carry it for you."

I turn to him, one eyebrow lifting up.

He flushes, slapping his forehead. "OK. Open mouth, insert foot. You could probably carry all of our shovels if you wanted, Colette."

"Yep." I lift my own shovel up in triumph, smiling and twirling the heavy instrument like a baton. "Why? Are you getting tired? Cause I could-"

"NO!" Genis shouts, a bit louder than necessary.

The whole group turns to look at us, expressions angry.

"Shhhh!" they hush as one before turning again and resuming our trek through the desert.

"…I mean, no." Genis rolls his shoulders, his face still bright red. "I'm not that weak you know. I'm not a kid."

I reach over to grip his hand without thinking. I give it a reassuring squeeze, feeling a sudden rush of love for my friend, and a sudden panic that I had made him feel down. He should know I would never try to insult him. "I know you're not a kid, Genis."

He looks at me, and suddenly I remember our conversation in the meeting room, when we were all alone. I let go of his hand and avert my eyes to look in front of me, not sure where else to rest my gaze but my own two feet. What is wrong with me? Lloyd's the one I love, but here I am going crazy over any boy with spiky hair that comes along. It makes me angry, and confused. Lloyd…

"Colette."

Quite blatantly looking in the opposite direction of me, he holds my hand this time. "Your hands are cold."

"Yeah. Yours are… um.. Warm."

GENIUS, Colette! What a snappy response!

"Well, you know, that's just me for you. Portable heater. I just whore out my hands for whoever needs the warmth."

I snort in laughter, but just a bit too loud. Again, the group turns on us. This time they look ready for murder. "SHHHHH!" they hiss, fingers pressed against their lips and eyes blazing.

"All right, already!" Genis hisses back at them. "It's not like the Elite are going to hear us all the way out here!"

"But when we reach Triet, we'll have to be quiet," Yuan reminds him sharply. "And we'd better start now so we'll be used to it. And by we, I of course mean you," he says, pointing directly at Genis.

"Whatever." He holds my hand tighter and the rest of the walk is conducted in strained silence. We all knew that the trouble would start when we reached Triet. But what we didn't know was… That Triet would be gone.

OoOoOo

This was a massacre.

I stare at the ruins around me, the only movement being my companions as they sift through rubble and quietly sneak into houses, looking for survivors among the scorch marks and broken dreams. Yuan and I are the only ones who don't continue the feeble search. Somehow, as angels both, we knew we would find no living souls in the town that was once called the Desert Oasis.

He's silent, a stern statue that looks over all and sees nothing. But I can only imagine what my expression looks like. Every so often as they pass me, Lloyd or one of the others quickly glance at my face and then look away, pale and shaken.

This feeling in me…

This hopelessness I haven't sensed in such a long time, at the death of innocents. No rage stirs me to seek revenge. No obligation to remember the dead makes me cry. I feel so useless, with my angelic powers and stupid, stupid human brain. Why couldn't I have stopped this? Why did I assume that Triet was safe from the wrath of the Elite? Why wasn't I there to help the people I tried to create a new world for?

I sit in the town square of Triet, and desert owls hoot in the night.

OoOoOo

We found some apple and orange gels amid the ruins, but even though they were badly burned Genis said we should bring them back. Me and him go to one of the houses still erect, where the rest of our group are waiting around a discreet fire.

"There's no sign of anyone," Lloyd says, morosely poking at the fire with a long stick. "Not Elite, not human, not half-elf."

"I guess once they were done with their fun, they decided to go back home," Yuan finished, softly bitter. Looking up at us as though just noticing we were there, he keeps on. "Did you find anything useful?"

"Gels," I say. "And.." I hold out two lethal, spiky chakrams. "A few weapons that weren't destroyed by the fire."

Lloyd and Presea have matching looks of surprise and shock. "You mean you took from the dead?" she asks me, surprisingly vocal. I had thought Lloyd would be the one to get all up in an outrage.

"…Yes," I say, knowing that there was no better way to describe what we had done. There was no need to make excuses. There was nothing else to say. Nothing worth fighting for.

"That could be considered cold-hearted by some," Yuan notes. "But I agree with Colette in this. The dead have no use for such things. I'm sure if they knew what these items were being used for, they would agree with it."

Genis plops down next to Lloyd in front of the fire. He spears a sausage onto his pokey thing (there were other weapons he could have used, but he insisted that he keep his pokey thing) and roasts it over the fire, the flames echoed in his blue-grey eyes. "If they didn't, they weren't on our side anyway."

With those words, it was as though an invisible line had been drawn between the members of our little posse. And even though this had happened countless times before on our journey to reunite the two worlds… this was the first time I looked up and found Lloyd on the side opposite to me.

"It's late now," he says, lying back on the hard ground and staring up a patch of sky he can see through the broken roof. "Tomorrow night…"

"…We put the plan into action," Genis finishes.

"We get back Sheena," Yuan says, eyes burning with energy.

"We get back the Professor," I say.

"We begin our assault upon the tower." Presea lies down next to Lloyd. "And put our lives on the line once more."

One more time.

OoOoOo

A/N: Not much happens in this chapter… basically just to let you all know we're still alive and kicking, and to develop the changing relationships a little more.