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The stars were beautiful, but Sheena wasn't looking at them. Instead, the summoner watched Lloyd as he watched the stars, a sad, faraway look in his eyes.

Sheena engraved that look in her mind, focusing on the cutting, sharp-edged feeling it created inside her. Feelings were like a blade, she'd found. They could be your most powerful tool. And this tool had only one purpose: to cut away her pride.

She needed to do this.

Lloyd needed her to do this (not that he needed her, of course, just someone, but somehow, no one else seemed willing). And also… Kratos needed it too. And as much as Sheena hated the thought sometimes, she owed him… a lot.

Sometimes, the summoner wondered if anyone in their group understood just how much Kratos had helped them. He had helped her, in a way she wasn't willing to forget. Because, without the seraphim, there was a very good chance she'd still be a failure.

That second time at the Water Seal, when they'd come to form a pact with Undine, she'd felt as if she was trapped in a nightmare. It was like Volt, all over again. The spirit had refused, and even though she could understand now, she was so very, very lost.

Maybe they would have guessed what to do. Professor Sage was smart, Genis too. But would they have? And would they have won, without the seraphim's help? There were no stronger or weaker spirits. Undine hadn't gone easy on them. Without an experienced fighter in their party, they might have just become the second massacre of her life.

But they hadn't. And while making a pact with Volt would always be the moment when she finally rose from the ashes of her failure, Undine was the necessary first step.

And she owed Kratos that.

Between everything she owed him, and everything she owed Lloyd, there was enough to crush even her stubborn pride.

Looking at Corrine's bell one last time, Sheena tucked it away in her sash and moved toward the Eternal Swordsman. Caught up in his thoughts, Lloyd didn't notice her approach until she laid a hand on his shoulder, making him jump and spin around, reaching for his weapons.

"Hey," she greeted, an uncertain smile on her face.

"Hey," he returned.

For a moment, they were both silent. If she was anyone else, Sheena thought she might have said something about the stars, or the night air, or how they'd just saved the world, or their plans for the 'afterwards' that had become 'now.' But she wasn't someone else, so the summoner said exactly what she had come to say.

"Stop being so dense, Lloyd."

The swordsman stared at her for a moment, then laughed awkwardly. "That kinda hurts, you know," he complained. "I don't get it. What'm I being dense about?"

"About your father," Sheena replied, making Lloyd flinch a little. "About Kratos."

He looked away, turning to the stars again, but Sheena could imagine his expression, a little mulish, a little hurt, so very lost. "What about him? He wants to leave, so I'll… send him to Derris Kharlan, like he asked."

The summoner shook her head impatiently. "You're being dense," she repeated, then shook her head, sighing. "But I guess that's pretty understandable. Listen, I want to tell you something about Kratos." She had his full attention now. "He's not like you. He doesn't always say or do what he really wants. I guess you could say he's got… a reverse damsel in distress syndrome."

Lloyd stared at her, then broke into a grin, chuckling. "Damsel in distress?"

"Reverse damsel in distress," Sheena corrected, blushing a little. "A damsel in distress wants to be rescued, so she asks for the knight's help, even though it makes her look weak, even though it might put the knight in danger. She's selfish like that," the summoner noted a little harshly, pushing away a surge of bitter jealousy.

Not that you can hold it against her because she's really a wonderful person, because she's really the kindest and gentlest, and strong when it counts…

Lloyd folded his arms and tilted his head to one side, in a comical posture of deep thought. "But… she's not really selfish," he protested. "The knight wants to rescue her, doesn't he? So it's okay, to ask him for help."

She smiled a little sadly and nodded. "Yeah. And in the end, it's for the best because the knight rescues her, like both of them wanted, and they can ride off into the sunset together." And wasn't that a nice thought? Even a practical, competent ninja couldn't escape a few romantic fantasies… Shaking herself mentally, Sheena continued, "But a reverse damsel in distress isn't like that. She's too proud to ask for help, and she doesn't want to the knight to face a dragon that might kill him, so she tries to escape by herself…"

"But what if she can't?" Lloyd asked, his eyebrows drawing together in worry for the damsel.

"Then she remains with the evil wizard forever," Sheena replied solemnly.

Lloyd looked horrified. "What? But the knight wouldn't let her, would he? He'd rescue her anyway!"

"She doesn't want him to be in danger, remember? And she's too proud to show weakness," the summoner said, shaking her head. Which one was it, really? A bit of both, probably. "So she'd lie to the knight, tell him she wants to be with the evil wizard, that it's for the best."

"And he'd believe her?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah," Sheena replied, smiling a little. "Because he's dense." She paused for a moment. "Like you."

Comprehension dawned across Lloyd's expression, but then, it was quickly swept away by another wave of confusion. "D-Kratos wants my help?" he asked, and Sheena mentally congratulated him on putting the pieces together.

"Yeah. He thinks he's doing what's best, and he's too proud to admit that he needs you." The summoner smiled. "He needs you to make him stay so that he can be happy. Here. With you."

Lloyd remained silent, looking up at the stars. For a moment, Sheena felt a wave of pure frustration sweep through her and it was all she could do not to just yell at him, 'Stop him from going, you idiot, so that both of you can be happy! You want him here, he wants to stay, so what's the problem?'

"I…" the swordsman began, breaking the silence and dragging her from her inner battle. "I want him to stay." At least he admitted it. "But D-Kratos said it was for that best that he leave… and he seemed so determined… I thought it would be selfish of me, to make him stay."

Sheena sighed, studying the ground. "You sound like Colette," she murmured. "It's okay to be selfish this one time. You deserve to be happy, you know."

Not to mention the entire argument about it being better for him to leave was nonsense. The real problem was Kratos's overwhelming guilt complex, which was even worse than Regal's. But it was more subtle, and the whole issue was just too complicated to explain to Lloyd, at least just then. As long as they kept the stupid idiot on the planet, they'd have a chance to work it out…

Lloyd stared at her, and Sheena rolled her eyes, making him break into a grin and laugh.

"I'm glad…" the swordsman trailed off, and the two fell into silence, studying the stars.

The constellations looked a little odd, Sheena noticed. She recognized the ones on one side of the sky, but not the others, even though she had looked at the same stars not too long ago, when they had stayed at Dirk's during the journey. It had something to do with the joining of the worlds, probably.

"Hey, Sheena," Lloyd said finally, "how come you know so much about D-Kratos?"

"Eh… I don't really know him well at all…" the summoner hedged for a moment. Her pride had made a desperate comeback, digging in its heels. Sheena kicked it firmly. "But… I can understand that part of him. I… have a bit of a reverse damsel in distress syndrome myself…"

Lloyd stared at her for a moment, then grinned. "Okay! But you'll ask for my help if you ever need it, right? 'Cause, you know, that's what friends are for… Sorry that I'm so dense, 'cause friends are supposed to know when friends need help even without being told, but I can't always tell, and I'd feel really bad if it turned out that you needed my help and I hadn't even noticed, so… you'll always ask, right?"

Sheena blinked at him in surprise. Lloyd scratched at the back of his head nervously, looking away.

"Because you deserve to be happy too," he concluded.

Laughing, Sheena ruffled his hair and grinned. "Yeah, I swear… I won't be too proud. Because we're friends."

And it was a feeling she didn't mind.

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Because Kratos needs to stay.

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