"Okay, let's go!" Lloyd shouts excitedly. I feel sick, but I suck it up – this is not the time for losing my head. Zelos, Raine, Lloyd, and I go in to fight. The others wait, ready to get us away to safety should we fail. I shudder at the thought, pushing away the memories threatening to take over.

Volt suddenly begins, sending lightning right at me and scoring a hit.

"Damn." I mutter, faltering. Zelos catches me by the elbow and gives me a lemon gel.

"Love ya!" he says teasingly, then sprints to Volt and does Light Spear. I stand back, feeling myself go into Over Limit. I begin my spell.

"I summon! Come, Undine!" I cry. She willingly appears and attacks Volt. He retaliates with an incredibly strong Thunder Blade that hit both me and Raine.

Feeling dizzy from pain and fear, I attack Volt up close with Zelos and Lloyd as Raine casts Nurse. I immediately feel strength flow into me and I attack harder. Volt, however, is as strong as he used to be, maybe stronger, and he injures us again quickly. Zelos pulls back a moment – to heal himself, I assume, since he is muttering. After a moment though, I feel the energy from his First Aid affect me. He catches my eye and mouths, "are you all right?" Confused, I nod. He had needed that more than I had.

Lloyd screams as Volt knocks him out. I begin to shiver as an onslaught of memories consumes me.

"Sheena! Run!" a ninja shouts as Volt knocks down my companions one by one.

"I can't! I can' t leave you!" I scream. Volt knocks down the nearest ninja, despite her strongest moves.

"You are our only Summoner! You must!" Kuchinawa's father screams at me, then turns to face his death.

"But-"

"GO!"

"Sheena! Sheena, he's alright! Raine Resurrected him!" Zelos whispers to me, concerned, then he moves forward to attack Volt yet again.

"Double Demon Fang!" he shouts.

"Hunting Beast!" Lloyd says vehemently.

"Photon!" Raine's voice comes, and I follow up with "Pyre Seal!"

And then he is gone.

A huge surge of relief engulfs me. I beat him. We beat him. We won.

"Sheena, are you alright?" Zelos asks me, his voice rough. I nod mutely, giddy from excitement.

"Name your pact." Volt commands, and I obey, breathlessly speaking.

"I am Sheena. I ask that thou annulst thy pact with Mithos and form a new pact with me."
Victory, I think as we seal the pact.

Later that night, we are all sitting around our campfire. Lloyd is sitting off by himself, looking depressed, probably missing Colette. Regal is sitting with Presea, speaking quietly. Raine, Genis, and Zelos are playing cards. Where the cards came from is beyond me, but oh well. Maybe they bring cards everywhere in Sylvarant. I am sitting with my knees drawn up, staring into the fire. I can feel Volt's power in me. It's a mixed blessing, I reflect. Having the power to Summon can bring so much harm, and yet so much good as well. How can such a thing be?

Genis laughs loudly. Raine chuckles.

"Fine, I lose!" Zelos says good-naturedly. "But I will win someday!" On that parting note, he comes over to join me.

"Hey." he says.

"Hey." I repeat absentmindedly.

"Thinking about Volt?" he asks quietly.

"I can feel his power, there in me, and it's like…I can't stand it, you know? I hate what he did to my people, my village, and I know that I caused it, and now he's a part of me. The murderer of so many of my people, and probably many others, too, is part of me! I hate it!" I spill out, unable to contain my thoughts any longer.

"Yeah…that's gotta suck." he says, mimicking my pose. I glance over at him. His bright blue eyes reflect the dancing flames. It is a beautiful sight.

"Yeah." I murmur. We sit in silence for a while, but soon enough, Zelos breaks it.

"Hey Sheena…What I said earlier, during the battle…" he begins. I shift my head slightly to look at him from the corner of my eye. "Yeah?" I prompt.

"Well…never mind." he finally says.

"What?"

"No, it's nothing." I sense his discomfort, so I let it go. Maybe someday he'll tell me what he wanted to say. Maybe. I smile, because despite the friendship we share, the strange bond that allows us to confide in each other, I know that tomorrow, perhaps even tonight, we will be angry at each other again. He will say something perverted or insensitive, and I will slap him or yell at him. And everyone will sigh and think how we hate each other and what a shame it is.

But I know that they are wrong about that.

You see, there is a fine line between love and hate.

And we crossed that line a long time ago.