Raiden's eyes narrowed, as he blocked one of the attacks.He slashed at the Desian.
"These guys are Magnius' elite. Be careful," he warned.
"We can take them," Lloyd said brandishing his swords.
"Let's go then," Raiden locked with the soldier he attacked before. He suddenly turned around, and hit a second soldier. The archer he targeted blocked with his weapon.
Raiden was surprised and dropped his guard slightly. The Desian used an uppercut to launch the ninja up into the air. He shot a volley of arrows after Raiden. Raiden fortunately saw this and managed to twist his body so that none of the projectiles hit.
He landed on his feet and smiled.
"So that's how it's done."
He sheathed his swords and he placed his hands together. He closed his eyes and a aura surrounded him, flashing brown, red and dark blue.
"FORCES OF EARTH,WATER AND FIRE, GATHER BEFORE ME AND COMBINE!! GEYSER!!"
Cracks appeared beneath the soldiers, and boiling water erupted.
Three of the soldiers were downed.
Kratos finished off his own opponent, "Nice combination."
Raiden nodded, "Thanks, it's draining though! It combines three normally incompatible elements."
Kratos noticed that the Ninja indeed looked winded, a rare sight for the others.
"Interesting," the purple-clad warrior said.
Suddenly Raiden pushed him away, the ground they occupied turned into a boiling mass of lava.
"Watch where you aim, Genis!" the Ninja called out.
"Sorry! I got the Desian though," the kid yelled, as Lloyd held off another Desian. Raiden felt energy flowing through him, the female half-elf had cast a spell.
He threw a shuriken at high speed at her in reply, it hit the Desian attacking her from behind. Colette also threw her chakram. The strength of both attacks killed the soldier.
The remaining three chose to run away, one tripped and dropped a card. Raiden picked it up.
"Dammit, how could you idiots allow these inferior beings to defeat you!" Magnius shouted. The Desian leader lowered his seat and got up. An axe and a shield teleported in front of him.
"Fine, I'll take care of you myself! I'll put an end to the Chosen, right along with you fools who can't let go of your elven blood!"

"Prepare yourself," Raiden said to his friends, "This is going to be hard."
"We'll be fine," Lloyd said, who charged. He surprisingly held his own against the Desian Leader, but suddenly.
"BEAST!" with a burst of mana, Lloyd was knocked to the ground, only to stop near Raiden.
"Hey Lloyd, how was the fight?" Raiden commented while he healed the twinblader.
Lloyd flipped himself on his feet, "Shut up, Raiden!"
"His strength is his power, we need to concentrate on our speed."
Raiden charged, locking his swords with Magnius' axe. He knocked the axe away and slashed at the Desian
"Who are you, boy?" Magnius asked, looking at blood on his fingers after he had traced the cut, "I'd like to know the name of the one I'll kill."
"I am Raiden of Mizuho," the ninja said, "One of their strongest warriors. I won't die that easily."
"We'll see about that! BEAST!"
"DEFENSE SEAL!" Raiden called out. The lion head and the green energy disappeared, leaving the ninja with little damage. Rings of swirling water suddenly hit the Leader of the ranch. Genis' attack distracted Magnius for long enough for Raiden to attack.
Raiden took hold of a single blade, it glowed light blue, "ARTIC WINDS, EMPOWER THIS SWORD! GLACIAL SLASH!!"
A wave of ice energy, not unlike demon fang but much larger, erupted from Raiden's 'phoenix'. It knocked the axe and shield away from its owner.

Lloyd and Kratos stood next to Raiden."Let's finish this," Lloyd announced.
"TRIPLE THRUST!!!!" the three of them yelled.
Without his equipment, Magnius was as good as doomed.
The three strikes brought the bulky man to his knees.
"Ugh…How?! How could a superior half-elf like me…"
"It's because you are a fool, Magnius. Cruxis has accepted Colette as the Chosen," Kratos told him.
"What?" Magnius shouted.
"That's right!" Lloyd said, "Colette is going to regenerate the world! We're not going to lose to someone like you!"
"So…you're…Then…I was deceived…" Magnius gasped before collapsed.
Raiden felt his pulse, "He probably won't get up anytime soon."

Raiden turned to the controle of the ranch. "Let's see," he muttered, "Camera controle. Outer rim ... entrance... select." The projector turned on.
"Lloyd!" Genis called out.
Lloyd looked at the projector. It showed Chocolat being taken away by two Desian soldiers.
"…Dammit!" the warrior called out as one of the Desian soldiers cracked a whip at Chocolat to make her move faster.
Raiden selected the inner-chambers, viewing the captives and Neil. Raiden pressed several buttons. The doors opened and the captives escaped.
"This should allow the people imprisoned in the ranch to escape," the Mizuho-ninja spoke.
"What about the Exspheres implanted in them? Without Key Crests, it's only a matter of time before they go out of control," Kratos said.
"Can't we just take the Exspheres off of them?" Genis asked.
" It's dangerous to attempt to remove an Expshere lacking a Key Crest. I would imagine only a dwarf could handle it."
"Then we can ask Dirk to do it," Collete said.
"Yeah. Let's contact my dad," Lloyd spoke up.
"I remember he told me about your relationship with him," Raiden spoke.
"You met Dad?"
Raiden nodded, "He was the one who altered my swallow. I must say he knows his stuff."
"…We can work out the details later," Raine spoke, "Raiden, can you program this place to self-destruct?"
"Sure, no problem. Why?"
Lloyd, Genis and Colette looked surprised.

"Are you serious?!" Lloyd blurted out.
"Raiden, Raine, if you do that-" Genis began.
"At the very least, we'll deal a major blow to the Desian stranglehold over this region. If we're going to strike them, it should be thorough and decisive," Raine explained.
"Raine…"
"Remember, Genis. We're not like them. We're different."
"Is it okay?" Raiden asked. Raine nodded.
Raiden pressed the button again and set the ranch to self-destruction mode. A panal opened. Behind it was a big, shiny red button with the text, 'DO NOT PUSH!!'
Raiden just smiled and pushed the button.
"We have ten minutes to get the hell out of here. Let's hurry and evacuate."
"Right!"
Neil was waiting for them as they exited the ranch. The older part of the group ran ahead.
"What happened to the captives?" Lloyd asked
"We've moved them all to Palmacosta," Neil said, blinking when Lloyd dashed off.
"Then, Neil, please get out of here, too! Hurry!" Genis said as he also continued running.
Neil glanced at Colette.
"What? Why?"
"It's going to explode!" The young girl spoke.
Neil needed no furter encouragement.
Raiden waited for the others, he glanced at his watch. "WE HAVE THIRTY SECONDS LEFT!!!"
Colette suddenly tripped, much to the horror of the others.
Raiden jumped in front of her.
The base exploded, sending debris flying. When the force died down, the group got up.
Lloyd whistled, " I thought I was going to die…"
"I'm glad everyone's all right," Colette spoke, she got up, "Thanks Raiden."
"Speak for youself," Raiden growled.
"Hey! I know she tripped but that is no reason to snap at her!!" Lloyd shouted.
Raiden moved slightly, blood started dripping.
"Raiden?" Raine said.

The ninja turned, several pieces of metal had been buried in his arms and legs by the force of the explosion.
"If it was anybody else I am sure they wouldn't have survived," Raiden said.
He pulled a piece of metal out of his arm. Aside from a slight frown, he showed no emotion.
Raiden looked at the wounds, "First aid," He intoned.
The wounds started to seal themselves.
"So, everybody is alright?" he spoke as if nothing had happened.
"Ah…what about Chocolat?" Neil finally asked
It was Raine who answered, "I think she was taken to another location."
"I see…"
"If she's all right, she can still be rescued," Kratos said.
"Yes. If you learn Chocolat's location, please let us know immediately. Even Dorr really wanted to save her." The new leader of Palmacosta said.
"Right. I swear we'll find her," Lloyd said.
Genis interrupted, "Also, the captives have something called an Exsphere embedded in them."
"It's dangerous to leave them as they are now. You need to send a letter in my name to a dwarf named Dirk who lives in Iselia. I'm sure he'll help you get them removed," Lloyd said.
"Dirk, in Iselia. I understand. Then, I shall go back to the city. Please stop by Palmacosta and visit us again anytime."
Raiden nodded, "we will."

As Neil parted ways with them, Raiden stopped him, "Wait a minute!" Raiden held out a letter, "I am searching for a friend of mine. Her name is Sheena, she doesn't wear common clothing, the most recognizable about her is the pink scarf around her waist . Should you see her please give her this letter."
Neil nodded, "I will, and thank you again. Without you the chosen would have died." The man turned around and headed back to Palmacosta.