Title: Whatever Will Be #6: Guardian Knight

Author: SMB814

Rating: T

Warnings: Zelos being Zelos - i.e. adult themes, mild language, innuendo, mild sexual situations, etc. This story also has some disturbing imagery and violence in it.

Category: Romance/Fluff, Drama, Angst, Character Study

Pairing: Zelos/Sheena (a.k.a. Sheelos - if you don't like it, don't read it)

Time Frame/Spoilers: Part 6 of the Whatever Will Be series. If you haven't read the first five stories (Mental Holiday, Trust Building 101, Exceptions to the Rules, Crossing the Line, and The Experiment), then do that first or you won't understand the place where these two are currently at. (The seven stories in the series are, in order, Mental Holiday, Trust Building 101, Exceptions to the Rules, Crossing the Line, The Experiment, Guardian Knight, and Worth It.)

Summary: In the blink of an eye, one of the greatest days of Zelos's life had transformed into the worst.

Disclaimer: Alas, Tales of Symphonia and all its lovely characters don't belong to me. They belong to Namco-Bandai Games. I'm just borrowing them and not making any money off them, and I promise I'll return them unharmed (and probably happier than they ever were before) when I'm done playing with them. Any characters you don't recognize from the game belong to me.

Feedback: Feedback is love and fodder for future fics. It will probably motivate me to finish the final story in this series faster, too.

History: Plotting begun December 2008, completed August 14, 2009. Rough draft begun July 12, 2010; completed August 20, 2010. Final version completed April 21, 2011.

Author's Notes: You know the drill: yep, this story is long. You might want to save your complaints about the length until you've seen how long the final story is, though, since compared to that one, this one's actually rather short.

Sorry about the delay in getting this out. I'd hoped to have it posted two weeks ago already, but Real Life can be a Real Pain sometimes. If all goes as planned, the final story should be posted by the end of May, or by mid-June at the absolute latest.

I also apologize for the stickywords thatkeep runningtogether likethis. Yes, I use a spell checker, but that doesn't do me any good when FFNet keeps adding them after I upload the final version of the story to the site; they are definitely not in my version. For some reason, FFNet just doesn't seem to like my Word documents. I've gotten rid of all the ones I can easily find using Firefox, but since readers keep pointing out the problem, I can only assume I still haven't gotten them all. I'm hoping to read through the entire series again and fix the rest after I've posted the final story, but I just don't have time to do so right now, so please try to ignore them until then.

I've been studying Japanese on and off the past few years but definitely haven't mastered it yet, so alas, while I did the best I could with the bit of Japanese in this story, I can't vouch for its accuracy. To that end, if you're fluent with the language and find some words or grammar here that is blatantly wrong, please email me and let me know so I can fix it. Arigatou gozaimasu!

As usual, love, hugs, and thanks to Daidairo and Trickksi for being willing to read through the (extremely) messy initial draft(s) of the series, encouraging me to keep working on it, and giving me some helpful pointers to improve it, although any mistakes or typos you find are still solely my fault.

And again, many, many thanks to everyone who took the time to read the first five stories and leave such incredible feedback. This series was written first and foremost for me, because I apparently needed to figure out a few things for myself and this series gave me a way to do that, but if even one other person enjoys it or gets something out of it, then I'll consider it to be a success.

And now, let the roller coaster ride continue!

0~*~0

Part 1: The Tragedy

Zelos Wilder had never been a whistler. He was actually pretty good at it; he just didn't like it. Most of the time whistling, especially when someone else was doing it, outright annoyed him. For years he'd snickered at people who would, for no apparent reason, wander around whistling to music only they could hear, oblivious to how stupid they looked. The main reason it annoyed him, though, was because listening to someone who was so obviously happy was, well, depressing. It was one thing to be happy; it was another to make sure everyone else knew it by pointing out how great your life was, even though those around you might very well be miserable. It was the equivalent of rubbing salt on a wound. He knew how that felt because, until Sheena had entered his life, he'd had nothing truly good going for him worth feeling happy about. Granted, he'd succumbed to the urge to whistle once since then, but his cheerfulness had quickly been cut short and he'd never bothered again after that.

That time had been...oh, roughly ten months ago. Actually, the situation had been identical to his current one: he'd been walking through the forest to Mizuho. At the time, he and Sheena had been dating a week, and he'd been going there to pick her up for their trip to Iselia to present Giannovio's idiotic suggestion that they submit to the king's rule. Other than wanting to punch Giannovio in the face, Zelos had been sincerely happy then, too; he'd been eager to see her, travel with her again, and find out what the future had in store for them seeing as fate had inexplicably graced him with something he'd always wanted: an honest-to-goodness girlfriend, one the Church of Martel couldn't punish for dating the Chosen.

Or at least he had been happy until he'd reached Mizuho's front gate.

"I apologize, Chosen, but you cannot enter," the ninja standing guard had told him.

Zelos had eyed him curiously - he now knew that the man's name was Atsuo, but at the time he'd only known him as the ninja standing between him and the woman he loved - and folded his arms to his chest. Sure, he'd expected to have some trouble getting into Mizuho because he'd never tried to enter it without Sheena before, but he hadn't expected to be denied entrance, either, at least not without being asked why he was there.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you right," Zelos had lied, cupping a hand to his ear. "What?"

"I have been given specific instructions not to let you into Mizuho," Atsuo had said.

"You have," he'd stated flatly. "By whom, may I ask?"

Atsuo's face had twitched apologetically. "I am afraid I cannot tell you that."

Zelos had blinked at him, feeling his cheerfulness ebbing away. "Well, since I know Sheena wouldn't give you those instructions, that only leaves one or two other ninjas who probably even knew I was coming today. So here's a wild guess. Does his name start with 'O' and end with 'rochi'?" Atsuo hadn't replied, but he was fairly young, only being in his late teens, and clearly had yet to master the ninja art of keeping his face completely neutral since his wince had answered the question anyway. Zelos had sighed; that had been his first clue that Orochi would soon become a problem for them. "I'll take that as a 'yes.'"

After that, Atsuo had refused to meet his eyes. "I am sorry, Chosen."

Not nearly as sorry as I am, Zelos had thought. Instead of saying that, though, he'd nodded slowly, pondering what to do. Sheena had promised he wouldn't have trouble getting in, and so she hadn't given him any hints or secret passwords to get past the guard. So how should he handle the situation?

Well, since he'd refused to accept that Orochi had the authority to block his entry, his next step had been obvious. "Hey, didn't Sheena give you different orders? To, y'know, let me in?"

Atsuo had bowed his head. "Yes, she did. However, Orochi instructed me not to follow those orders."

...He did. Wait, he did? And what does Sheena have to say about that? Zelos remembered thinking at the time. "Okay, so, since I'm apparently not allowed into your village anymore, could you go get Sheena so we can sort this all out?"

"Do not bother, Atsuo. I will take care of this."

Annnnnd here's the roadblock himself, Zelos had thought wryly. And, joy of all joys, it looks like he's been hovering near the entrance waiting for me. Peachy. "Orochi," he'd said as pleasantly as he could muster.

Orochi had eyed him coldly - and it had been then that his hunch about Orochi becoming a problem for them had been confirmed. In all the times Zelos had seen him during their journey, he'd never seen Orochi looking at him as he had been at that moment, like a cockroach he was trying to squash without getting bug guts on his boot. Granted, Orochi had never paid him much attention during their journey, but at that particular moment there had been definite disapproval in Orochi's eyes.

"Chosen," Orochi had stated. "Please leave. Outsiders are not welcome in Mizuho."

"Hate to break this to you, but I'm pretty sure Sheena would disagree," Zelos had replied. Sensing a protracted argument approaching, he'd turned to Atsuo and smiled hopefully. "Hey, could you go get Sheena for me? Or at least let her know I'm here? She is waiting for me." Atsuo, bless his heart, had nodded and run off before Orochi could stop him - because judging from how Orochi had looked at him, he'd been about to do so. Once Atsuo was gone, Zelos had turned back to Orochi and sighed. "C'mon, Orochi. Be a chum and let me in. Sheena and I have things we need to do."

"No."

This will get really old really fast, he'd thought, frowning and lifting his hands in building exasperation. "Okay, sure, so I'm an outsider here, and I get how secretive you guys are, but it's not my first time coming here. You never stopped me before!"

"That was then; this is now," Orochi had said. "Your journey is over, and as such, my answer is now as it would have been then had it not been for your special circumstances at the time: 'No.'"

Zelos's eyebrows had risen. "Even if Sheena invited me here and we're on official business from the king? Y'know, Sheena being the Emissary of Peace and all that?"

"Sheena can handle this mission on her own. Go home, Chosen. You are not needed here."

With a groan, Zelos had turned around and rubbed his face. He hadn't been able to understand it at the time; Orochi had always seemed so mild-mannered and accommodating, and Sheena had given him no indication she suspected he'd cause them problems, either. After a moment, he'd lowered his hand and turned back to his adversary. "May I ask why you won't let me in?"

Orochi had folded his arms to his chest, eyeing Zelos as if bored. "You may, but I do not deem the question worth answering."

Zelos had gaped at him. What, am I looking at an evil Orochi clone created to make my life difficult? he'd tried to reason at the time. He'd motioned at Orochi, his exasperation growing. "Not worth...? You've gotta be kidding me! Orochi, c'mon! We've helped each other out plenty of times before this! I don't remember doing anything to piss you off since I was last here!"

Orochi, however, had just continued watching him through steely brown eyes, and Zelos had groaned again. He and Sheena had just started dating, and he'd been sure she hadn't told anyone about that yet, considering Mizuho's 'no public displays of affection' rule that he'd taken to mean 'don't ask, don't tell,' so Orochi couldn't have known that then. He just hadn't been able to fathom it. It hadn't boded well for his ability to come see her here anytime he wanted to, either, even though she'd assured him he could. Zelos had warned her something like this might happen, but she'd insisted it would be fine, and he'd believed her.

"Does Sheena know you're doing this?" he'd asked.

"She does not."

Naturally, because if she did, she'd be kicking your ass right now. At the time he'd been amazed to realize that, that Sheena had invited him here because she wanted to see him - heck, it still amazed him now, nearly a year later - but she'd made that very clear when she'd given him a sweet, shy smile and kiss and told him she'd be ready to go by noon so he should drop by then to get her. "And what do you think she'll say when she finds out?" Zelos had countered, but then he'd caught a flash of purple and black swiftly approaching and he'd grinned smugly. "Never mind. We'll find out in a second."

The instant Sheena had spotted them, she'd began jogging toward them, her brows furrowed. "Orochi, what's going on here? What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I am doing?" Orochi had replied as she'd joined them, but Orochi had kept watching Zelos closely as if afraid he'd try to sneak past him if he took his eyes off of him for a second. "I am preventing the Chosen from entering Mizuho."

Sheena had rolled her eyes. "Yes, Orochi, I can see that. Why?"

"Because he not welcome here."

Her eyes had slid shut and her head had sunk downward. And while Zelos had been disappointed by Orochi's behavior, part of him had also been relieved to know Sheena really hadn't changed her mind about inviting him to Mizuho and was using Orochi as an excuse to keep him out. "Orochi, I thought I told you this morning that when Zelos showed up, you should let him in," she'd said, opening her eyes again.

Orochi had nodded curtly. "Yes, you did."

For a moment, Sheena had waited, watching Orochi expectantly, but the longer Orochi hadn't answered, the greater the fire in her eyes had grown - a fire Zelos had recognized because he'd lost track years ago of all the times it had been directed at him. In his case, it had usually manifested itself in the form of furious, flying fists at his face, peppered with an occasional kick to his mid-body region. Once she'd started summoning, he'd received the wrath of her summon spirits, too. Efreet had been especially nasty, and he'd had the scorch marks for days to serve as proof of what an ass he'd been to her.

"And so you're doing this...why?" she'd finally pressed.

"If you remember, Sheena, I never said I would let him in."

Her brown eyes had flared, and Zelos had cringed. Rousing Sheena's anger was never a good idea. Unless, of course, the person doing so was a masochist, like he'd been. "You still haven't answered the question, Orochi. Why won't you let Zelos into Mizuho?"

Finally, finally, Orochi had turned to Sheena - and it had been then that Zelos had gotten his first clue about what was really going on: Orochi's eyes had softened slightly, even though his expression remained unchanged. There had been something kind and appreciative in Orochi's eyes that hadn't been there a minute ago, something Zelos had recognized because he knew he'd given Sheena the same look many times before: desire for something more than what they currently had. He just hadn't been sure why he hadn't considered that possibility sooner, that there were men in Mizuho interested in winning her affection for themselves, because she really was a strong, beautiful, amazing woman. But he hadn't; he'd never noticed Orochi looking at Sheena like that before, and so until that moment, he'd never suspected Orochi's feelings for her went beyond comradeship. Zelos hadn't been convinced yet then that that was what was really going on, and he'd never received official confirmation of that hunch, but he'd made a mental note to watch Orochi for other signs of affection - which he'd received quite regularly ever since.

"Why do you think I am stopping him from entering, Sheena?" Orochi had asked.

Sheena had met his gaze and folded her arms to her chest. While Orochi's eyes had softened slightly, hers definitely hadn't. "I'm waiting for you to answer that question; I'm the one having trouble figuring out why you'd turn away a guest I invited here. Whether or not you want to let him in doesn't matter, because I'm letting him in."

Instantly, all softness in Orochi's eyes had transformed into fiery exasperation. "Sheena, how can you invite this man into Mizuho?" he'd said, motioning derisively at Zelos. "You know what he does here, flirting shamelessly with our women and tempting them to disregard our relationship rules! You've heard the stories about him yourself - I know you have, because I told you them! The Chosen is renowned for seducing women for sport. I would be remiss in my vow to protect this village if I knowingly allowed that to enter here! I cannot even understand why you, our future chief, would tolerate such a person here!"

Zelos had scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as Sheena's eyes had closed and she'd gritted her teeth. So that's what this is about: my reputation as a womanizer, he'd realized. He must deem me to be a 'threat' to her 'purity' seeing as I'm here to accompany her on another trip, this time just the two of us. Unfortunately, he'd known even then that nothing he said would convince Orochi he had pure intentions toward her and would never hurt her or force her to do anything against her will, and that was why, while he hated stepping back from a fight, especially one attacking him, he'd opted to keep his mouth shut, knowing he couldn't win that battle. He always had excelled in self preservation.

Sheena, on the other hand, could fight that battle - and the fire in her eyes as she'd opened them had made it clear she would. "Orochi, Zelos is the Chosen, and the king approved his offer to accompany me to Iselia. You can't not let him into Mizuho for official business; restricting his entry could cause a major incident with Meltokio, which we can't afford right now. And you especially can't restrict his entry when he's here under my invitation."

Something that Zelos could only describe as a faint smirk had appeared on Orochi's lips. "I am relieved to hear you are not attempting to deny that his reputation precedes him. That gives me hope that you have not yet completely succumbed to his charms."

Scowling, Sheena's eyes had flitted at Zelos, who'd just watched her uncertainly. Even though they'd only been dating a week at that point, Zelos had trusted her not to share his 'secrets' with Orochi. Besides, he'd figured, even if she had, Orochi wouldn't have believed her; he would've written her off as deluded. After all, no amount of spying could have uncovered the truths he'd shared with her, not when he'd been careful to make sure no proof of his real self existed. But the fact that she hadn't tried to rehash it that day had reassured him that his secrets were in safe hands and that his decision to trust her with them had been the best, albeit riskiest, chance he'd ever taken.

"I won't deny there are a lot of rumors floating around about him," she'd said. "I won't deny that his reputation paints him as a womanizer, either. However, I will deny that those stories are true. He's not the man everyone believes him to be, and nothing you say can fool me into believing otherwise anymore."

Orochi's smirk had faltered, even as his eyes had widened. "Sheena, you've heard the stories; it is impossible they could all be wrong. And you saw it for yourself the last time he was here, how he disregarded our rules and approached our women as if they were his personal playthings! Surely you cannot deny what your own eyes have seen?"

"Yes, I've heard the stories about him, and yes, I saw how he used to act around women," she'd replied. "However, I know those stories aren't true, no matter how they might look, and I know his flirting here was nothing but an act."

Orochi's lips had parted. "You still deny the truth though it be right in front of you? Sheena, why? You were the one who swore the first time he came here that once your journey was over, he would never again return. Why are you suddenly defending him?"

Zelos had rubbed his neck again, his discomfort with the situation - and especially with the fact that they'd been arguing about his integrity right in front of him - rising, but he'd reminded himself, again, to stay out of it. Unfortunately, though, Sheena's argument really had been weak; all she'd had at that point was his word that he'd told her the truth that night at the king's party, which would never appease Orochi. But he'd also reminded himself that he trusted Sheena, and so he'd bitten his tongue and tried to be inconspicuous.

"I'm defending him now because he is a dear friend, and because I've grown to trust him with my life since then," Sheena had replied, her face softening as she'd glanced again at Zelos.

In sharp contrast, Orochi's face had hardened - although even then, his expression had been far more stubborn, pleading, and desperate than harsh, cold, and disgusted. "Well, I am sorry, but I do not share that trust, and I cannot understand how you can trust him, even after your journey together. Sheena, you are the one who returned from Meltokio years ago crying and kicking trees because of how badly he had hurt you by discarding your friendship! You swore then that you would never give him another opportunity to hurt you, and yet here he is under your 'invitation' because you now suddenly trust him again? And, even worse, you are planning on going with him, alone, on this mission?"

Tension had instantly returned to her face as she'd turned back to Orochi. "That's right, Orochi. Here he is, under my invitation and coming with me, alone, to Iselia, because I trust him. He's earned it."

By that point, Orochi had nearly been gaping at her. "Sheena, Mizuho is not the only thing I am protecting by refusing him entry; I am also protecting you from him, from his irresponsibility and easily, thoughtlessly changed mind! You may have forgotten how distraught you were then, but I never will! I care about you far too much to allow that!"

While Orochi's comment had lent more weight to Zelos's hunch that he had a 'thing' for her, that had also been the point when Zelos had decided he really didn't want to be there anymore. Letting Orochi throw dirt in his face hadn't done anything to ease his insecurities about how 'deserving' he was of dating her, and it especially hadn't eased his fears regarding when she would come to her senses and dump him for the sorry ass he was. He had hurt her, badly, and while his intentions in doing so had been good, and he'd apologized to her and had determined to do everything in his power to try to make it up to her, he couldn't deny it had happened. Heck, he still felt guilty about it now since nothing he did could erase the past. Sheena had proven since then that she'd forgiven him for that stupid choice, though, and that, in time, had made his guilt easier to bear.

But at the time, hearing Orochi recount how badly Zelos had hurt her had been a painful blow to the gut. And one thing he'd always been good at was running to save his own skin. "Look, Sheena," he'd begun, "maybe I should leave. I can wait for you outside..."

Her eyes had softened again as they turned back to him. "No. You're here because I invited you and because I accepted your offer to come with me, and I won't have you waiting outside the village. You aren't a threat to anyone here, Zelos." Before Zelos could respond, though, her eyes had snapped back to Orochi and her face had hardened again. "Orochi, I know what I said, and yes, I meant it at the time. Of course I remember that; I'll never forget how much it hurt. But that was a long time ago, and a lot has happened since then. I've certainly changed, and I've seen how much Zelos has, too. If he proves me wrong about him, then I won't let it happen again, but until he does, I'm giving him a second chance, whether you like it or not. Besides, I never asked for your protection. I can take care of myself, and I'm positive he won't hurt me again, not like that."

Orochi had blinked at her disbelievingly. "You can't seriously believe he," he'd motioned again at Zelos, "has changed, can you? A leopard cannot change its spots, Sheena; he can cover them over, but they will always be there. Once a man is a heartless womanizer, he will always be a heartless womanizer, no matter what pretty words he uses to cajole you into giving him another chance. Only three months ago was he last seen flirting his way through our village! How can you suggest he has changed since then? And how can you believe he will protect you on this journey? This is the same man who was such a coward that he even refused to take care of his own friends - to take care of you! He had to send us to do his job for him!"

"What do you mean, send you to do his job for him?" Sheena had asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Perhaps you should ask him that question," Orochi had replied.

She'd looked at Zelos, and he'd sighed, recognizing Orochi's meaning. "The Tower of Salvation. I sent a message to Mizuho asking your people to help out there - I never had a chance to thank you for that, Orochi, but I really do appreciate it."

Recognition had lit her face. "Oh, when you...?"

Zelos had nodded to stop her before she could say those awful words: 'When you betrayed us.' "Yeah. Regardless of who I sided with, I wanted to make sure you guy had any help you needed."

She'd given him a faint, understanding smile that told him she wasn't upset about the reminder of that incident, but Orochi had gone on before Zelos could reply. "No matter the outcome, the fact remains that he abandoned and betrayed his friends. I cannot respect that or allow him to do the same to Mizuho. He did it once; he will do it again."

Sheena's lips had pursed as she'd turned back to him. "Well, as one of the friends he 'abandoned' and 'betrayed,' I can respect that, because I know why he made that choice. I mean seriously, Orochi, in the years since he hurt me, he's proven a hundred times over how good of a man he is! His betrayal saved not only Colette, but the entire world. He was the only one who could make that happen; we never would've won without him doing what he did. And as for him ever hurting me again, well, I'm just as capable of hurting him. Does that mean he should refuse to travel with me again? Or that he should never let me into Meltokio again because of it? How do you think that will work when I have to report to the king?" Orochi's eyes, Zelos had noted, were flaring with frustration again, but Sheena hadn't stopped. "Besides, it's not like he's never been here before; he was with us every time we came here. You can't suddenly restrict his access to Mizuho, especially when he's the Chosen!"

"Sheena, the only reason I permitted him entry then was because he was with a group of people - yourself included at the time, before you apparently started idolizing him again - who didn't trust him either and who kept his nefarious schemes to seduce our women under control!" Orochi had countered. "Now no one except me will do so. Do not forget this is a man who takes nothing seriously - not his duties, not women, not even himself! I can already see what will happen if I let him in: he will seduce our women, he will persuade our youth to abandon our village by telling them enticing stories about Meltokio's vile nightlife, and he will steal our secrets and sell them, all while blinding you with a charming smile so you don't notice what he is really doing! There is a reason we hid Mizuho from outsiders: to prevent his kind from threatening our people!"

By that point, Sheena had been twitching with anger, and Zelos had found himself tempted to grab her arm, pull her aside, and do whatever it took to calm her down. Her anger might not have been directed at him, but seeing it directed at anyone was still a scary sight. Knowing Orochi would have blown a fuse if he'd touched her, though, he'd forced himself to stand back. Besides, by that point, even though Orochi really had had excellent points about the failure of a man and a friend Zelos had been, another part of him had actually wanted to see Sheena lose her cool - while defending him, of all people - and let Orochi have it. He'd suspected she wouldn't actually lose her cool, since he'd been the only person who'd ever been able to make her do that, but it had still been fascinating to watch from an outsider perspective, knowing he, for once, wasn't her target.

"You haven't listened to a word I've said, have you?" she'd said. "Yes, I've heard the stories about him. Yes, I remember how he once hurt me. Yes, I know how he used to treat women and experienced it firsthand for years. Yes, I couldn't stand him back then. Yes, I remember swearing to never have anything to do with him again. Believe me, at the time, I meant it; even he can tell you how often I used to beat him up! So doesn't it say anything that I'm now inviting him here and willingly letting him come to Iselia with me - and, beyond that, that I trust him to behave himself?"

Desperation had flared in Orochi's eyes as he'd shot Zelos another furious glare, but then he'd looked back at Sheena, only that time his stubborn, disapproving expression hadn't softened. "Yes, Sheena, it does. It tells me that he finally managed to wear down your defenses and has seduced you as well. I don't know what method he used to acquire your sympathy and trust like this, but mark my words, that is all it is: a new method to worm his way into your bed and between your legs, as he does with every other woman he meets."

For a moment, Sheena had just gaped at him, but then her face had reddened and hardened, her body quivering with barely suppressed rage. When she'd finally replied, she had spoken very slowly and carefully, her voice so tight that Zelos had been sure it would shatter. "Orochi, by insinuating that I would let my emotions and my hormones outweigh the facts and my intuition as a ninja, you show me extreme disrespect. In fact, this borders on outright insult. Don't let it happen again. Ever."

It was then that Zelos had realized he'd been wrong. In all the times he had royally pissed her off, he had never, never, seen her that livid before. In fact, he'd gotten the impression she'd been on the verge of physically exploding, and for a moment he'd been tempted to find a giant rock, crawl under it, and wait for the storm to pass. He had been terrified of her at that moment, and her anger hadn't even been directed at him!

Orochi, however, hadn't backed down; he'd just stood his ground and met her gaze head on - but Zelos had been sure he'd seen the man flinch, a tremor of something else flickering in his eyes. Zelos hadn't been sure what it was - maybe regret or uncertainty, maybe fear or alarm, or maybe something else - and it hadn't lasted long, but it had been enough to tell him that Orochi had finally recognized exactly what he'd done...and how much he'd just lost with her.

Folding his arms to his chest, Orochi had broken eye contact with her, that simple action alone betraying that he'd conceded the fight. "I apologize, Sheena," he'd said, his voice a little less terse than it had been a minute ago. "I went too far. It will not happen again."

Sheena had continued glaring at him until Orochi had looked back at her. She'd bowed her head, then lifted it commandingly. And not for the first time, Zelos had found himself admiring her utter strength and determination, two of the many reasons he'd fallen in love with her. It had been no wonder to him, at that moment, why Chief Igaguri had chosen her to be his successor. This is a woman who, when she stands up for something, can even make summon spirits submit to her, he'd thought at the time. And then taking that passion and applying it to protecting her own people? Oh, yeah, she'll make a good chief. She won't let anyone walk over Mizuho. She'll defend it to her dying day - and in the process, she'll win. While Zelos had known then, and still did now, that she rarely saw that strength in herself and that she needed to work on controlling her temper more to prevent losing sight of the battle she was fighting (an ability she'd improved since then), she was such a fighter that he had no doubt she would make sure Mizuho thrived.

"Apology accepted," she'd said, the edge leaving her voice and her face growing pleading. "Even if you can't trust Zelos yet, trust me, okay? I'll vouch for him. If he does anything inappropriate here and you hear complaints from any of the villagers, then you can hold me responsible for letting him in, and if the accusations turn out to be true, then I'll admit I was wrong and kick him out myself. But until that happens, he will be allowed in, as my guest, and I will be going to Iselia with him, despite your doubts about his intentions." She'd glanced at Zelos, her face softening further, then turned back to Orochi. "Zelos is a good man, Orochi. He always has been, even if it wasn't always obvious. All I ask is that you give him a chance to prove that to you like he has to me."

For a long moment, Orochi had watched her carefully, his eyes softening further, laced with what Zelos had thought looked an awful lot like sadness and fear. He'd then glanced at Zelos, disgust in his eyes, before looking back at Sheena and frowning deeply. "Very well. But he is not permitted to speak with the villagers - any of them, for any reason. As far as I am concerned, he is not welcome here. If I hear even one complaint about him, or if I detect he has attempted to corrupt our people, I will make sure Chief Igaguri bans him." His eyes had snapped to Zelos, the darkness there as threatening as his words. "And if he hurts you again, Sheena, in any way whatsoever, I will kill him."

Point taken, Zelos had thought, schooling his face into a neutral visage and raising his hands to tell Orochi he'd heard and would follow his rules. Besides, he really hadn't been scheming to 'corrupt' anyone in Mizuho...not that Orochi would have believed that seeing as he'd undoubtedly been convinced Zelos had already 'corrupted' Sheena. He had corrupted her, but not in the way Orochi had feared.

Orochi had glared at him another moment, then cast a final look at Sheena, that fear and sadness still visible in his dark eyes, and turned and stalked back into the village...and that had been when Zelos had realized every nearby villager had been watching them. Yeah, wonderful, he'd thought as they'd noticed him looking at them and quickly gone back to their previous activities, pretending as if he wasn't there. So now everyone knows Orochi wants me dead. Great. He hadn't been sure how much they'd overheard, but it had probably been enough to deem him a threat - and enough for them to know to report him to Orochi if he ever tried to talk to them. It had been frustrating then, and it had stayed that way for months. Zelos was just glad that since the Michi fiasco two months ago, things had calmed down significantly, everyone knew Igaguri had revoked Orochi's threat, and the villagers were no longer ignoring him or glaring at him as if plotting sneaky ways to kill him.

Zelos's eyes had darted at Sheena, who'd been watching Orochi walk away. She'd looked...well, she'd looked like she wanted to scream and punch something - which Zelos had quickly decided wasn't a good thing, seeing as he was the only one within striking distance. Needing her to calm down before she blew a fuse, he'd leaned toward her and whispered in her ear, "Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and count to five." Her head had quickly turned toward his, her brows furrowed, and he'd smiled faintly. "Trust me, it'll help."

Sheena had watched him another moment, anger still boiling in her brown eyes, but then she'd nodded curtly and done as he'd instructed. When she opened her eyes again, a good portion of the fiery anger had vanished. "Wow," she'd commented, looking at him again. "I didn't think that would work, but it did."

Zelos had grinned as broadly as his frayed nerves would let him. "Little trick I learned when dealing with the Pope to keep my emotions in check. It gives you a chance to clear your head and stay calm when facing something aggravating - because you really do catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Feel free to borrow it anytime, like when you're dealing with Giannovio. Or, apparently, with Orochi." He had considered telling her that he would have shared that secret with her years ago, seeing as a hot-blooded ninja like her could've used it, except he'd liked having her pissed at him because it meant she was paying him attention, but he hadn't thought she'd appreciate the comment right then so he'd kept his mouth shut.

"Thanks," she'd murmured, looking back at Orochi's retreating form. "I'm getting the feeling I'll be needing it with him."

"Yeah, no kidding," Zelos had said with a half-hearted laugh. "Looks like he has a few things in common with his brother, doesn't he? I have to admit, though, that actually went better than I expected seeing as I'm obviously not one of his Favoritest Persons Ever."

Sheena had looked back at him, her face softening further, that time with sadness and regret. "Zelos, I am so sorry about that. You shouldn't have heard that. I told him this morning to let you in when you got here, but nothing he said made me think he would act like that. I mean, I've known him my entire life and I've never seen him act like that before. Kuchinawa, yeah, but not Orochi. He's always been so calm and accepting of others...I have no idea what's gotten into him. Maybe he's just having a bad day?"

At least I'm not the only one confused by Orochi's new attitude, he'd thought. On the down side, though...well, that knowledge really hadn't helped because it told him he was apparently the most irritating thorn Orochi had ever had in his side. "Hey, don't apologize," he'd quickly told her. "That wasn't your fault. Like I said, I didn't expect anyone here would be happy to see me. I know you thought it would be fine, and I appreciate your confidence in me, but I've been the object of many a man's anger for years, most of the time for some unfathomable reason. And seriously, he is justified in not trusting me. I mean, I did hurt you, and I can't fault him for wanting to protect you. He's right; my reputation isn't sterling, and he has good cause to be concerned about me."

Sheena had frowned. "Okay, so you hurt me, but that was a long time ago, and you had a legitimate reason for it at the time. You've told me the truth, you're sorry about it, you promised not to do it again, and I believe you. Besides, his other reasons for writing you off as selfish, irresponsible, and cowardly aren't based on anything true."

His heart had skipped a beat at her words. He hadn't been convinced he could live up to her belief in him back then, but he'd surprised himself this past year. She'd helped him find a part of himself that even he could have a bit of faith in, without even realizing that was what she'd been doing. "Well, yeah, but it's not like anyone knows that," he'd said, grinning wryly. "And honestly, even if I denied all those rumors until I'm blue in the face, no one would believe me."

Her eyebrows had flown upward. "I believe you."

Zelos had let out a soft laugh. "And I suspect that will never cease to amaze me, sweetheart. But you have to admit, those were rather...unique...circumstances."

"Yeah, I know," she'd whispered, her eyes softening again, but then she'd sighed. "I guess you really did do a good job of creating that infamous reputation of yours, didn't you?"

No kidding. Even now, he still had trouble shaking it. Heck, he still had trouble deciding whether or not he even wanted to shake it. The more time he spent with Sheena, though, the more he was coming to realize that reputation was more of a curse than a blessing. A comfortable curse, and one he was still nervous about stepping out from because of how accustomed he'd become to it, but still a curse.

He'd nodded and folded his arms to his chest. "Unfortunately, undoing it isn't nearly as easy. People tend to remember the bad longer than they remember the good."

"Yeah, don't I know it," Sheena had replied, smiling wistfully. "I just wish I understood why he's acting like this. I've seen him upset before, but it was never that irrational."

That had added even more weight to his growing hunch about why Orochi had overreacted, and it wasn't just over-protectiveness. No, jealousy and possessiveness had been looking more likely - feelings Zelos had been able to relate to. In fact, those insecurities stemming from Sheena's 'crush' on Lloyd had persisted for months, until that day Sheena had told him, in no uncertain terms, that her heart was his. He'd been tempted at the time to tell her his suspicions and ask if she had ever noticed Orochi acting 'odd' toward her, but he'd bitten his tongue, not wanting to bring it up with her unless he was absolutely sure.

"I'm not sure," he'd said instead. "But I won't be forgetting it anytime soon."

"I wish you could, but I understand why you can't." Sheena had sighed, then given him a pointed look. "Well, I know I don't need to tell you this, but be careful what you do here. Eventually, the reality of who you are will outweigh the rumors and the villagers will come to see you like I do. Just give them time. Orochi, too."

"Thanks," he'd murmured, genuinely touched. That had been one of the first times she'd expressed such faith in him, and it had been then that he'd decided to do whatever it took to live up to her faith in him so he could hear it again and again. It had been addictive, and...well, even he was amazed at everything that goal had lured out of him. Back then, though, he hadn't been sure he believed her and had given her a wry grin. "But I'll only believe that last one when I see it."

Sheena had mirrored his grin. "Yeah, I know, but I'm not giving up hope. I trust you to be your usual, charming self. Preferably with less flirting, though."

Zelos had let out a soft laugh, then gave her a playful bow. "Your wish is my command, my lady. One charming, flirts-exclusively-with-one-particular-voluptuous-ninja, soon-to-be ex-Chosen at your service."

Unsurprisingly, Sheena had rolled her eyes at that, but they'd still been sparkling as she'd replied, "Just don't go overboard with it."

He'd flashed her a charming smile. "Just for you, my dear, I'll try."

Her brown eyes had softened, a delightful blush settling on her cheeks. "I trust you."

And again, his heart had skipped a beat, making him wonder what he loved hearing from her more: 'I love you' or 'I trust you.' His grin had broadened. "I'd kiss you right now only I suspect I'd be sawed in half by a furious Orochi."

Sheena had let out a soft laugh and looked downward shyly, then had met his eyes again, grinning. "Yeah, I think I prefer you in one piece, too. I'll take a rain check, though."

"You got it." He'd motioned at the village. "Then let's get your things and get going. We'll have plenty of time for stuff like that en route to Iselia."

And they had. While their trip to Iselia had paled in comparison to their amazing trip to Altamira several months later, they'd still had a wonderful time traveling together and making up for the time they should have been able to enjoy like that during the regeneration journey if only he hadn't been such an idiot toward her. But that discouraging encounter with Orochi had effectively ended any desire Zelos had to whistle while approaching Mizuho for fear of something similar happening again. And as a result, no matter how good life was treating him, it was a rule he'd followed religiously: 'Don't whistle, for any reason, no matter how exciting the circumstances.'

Today, though, he simply couldn't help himself. Today, Zelos Wilder was whistling again.

It was the third-happiest day he'd ever experienced, behind only the day Sheena had changed his life forever by admitting she loved him and the day they'd rendered the 'Chosen One' unnecessary by defeating Yggdrasill. Today, after all, was the first day of the rest of his life. For the first time since the day he'd been born into the prison that was his wretched existence, he was free. Free. Every choice he made from now on was entirely his own. He could pick and choose between obligations. He no longer had to attend pointless church services or bless things or recite passages of scripture at ceremonies; he didn't have to sign off on every major decision the king made. Sure, he now had new responsibilities instead, responsibilities that could prove to be just as exhausting and frustrating as the ones he'd just gotten rid of, but those responsibilities had been his choice to accept; he'd known what he was accepting, and he wanted to be doing them.

And now he needed to properly celebrate this morning's events, and only one person could truly appreciate and share in his utter happiness with him: the incredible woman who'd encouraged him to persevere this past year, even when the battle seemed hopeless. No one else would ever come close to understanding how he felt but Sheena, the love of his life - the love of his life who he could now start seriously considering making the love of his life now that he knew his happiness wouldn't be ruined by any other ridiculous restrictions. And that knowledge was...well, while it was scary, it was also exhilarating and promising and was making his heart pound with excitement over what was yet to come.

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and spring was blossoming; nature seemed to be reflecting his cheerfulness. And, even better, the dread he'd once had of approaching Mizuho after all those run-ins with Orochi was nearly gone. Sure, Orochi's persisting hostility still bothered him, but he now had Igaguri's blessing to be there and to speak to its villagers, and ever since the Michi incident, the other ninjas actually seemed more receptive of him - not much, and not everyone, but a good number at least now spared him a glance or a nod when they saw him. Most still didn't talk to him - although Sadako and her daughter, Hamako, often greeted him and asked about Michi - but a simple nod from people who'd acted like emotionless robots toward him only two months ago was still a huge step forward. Heck, the guards at the gate no longer even questioned why he was there. One or two other villagers even addressed him by name now - well, by his title, but still, the fact that they were acknowledging him at all was still huge.

Compared to the glares he used to receive here, this was downright warm and cheery. Subdued, yes, but things were still significantly better than they had been; the people treated him like a human being now, and his opinion of this place had improved along with it. Heck, he even liked some of these people now. In fact, he was no longer dreading his quickly approaching, self-imposed deadline to make a decision for his future; part of him thought he might actually be looking forward to it. His gut seemed to be telling him there was no decision to make, after all, which was something he certainly wasn't going to complain about.

Everything in his life was going great. How could he not be whistling?

It was only as he was nearing Mizuho that he realized something didn't...feel...right. For a few minutes Zelos ignored it, deciding that his paranoia of cursing himself by being too happy was just making something out of nothing. The further he walked, though, the stronger the feeling became, and finally he decided to humor it and try to determine its cause - so he could soundly dismiss it and go back to being happy again. He stopped whistling and his footsteps slowed as he looked around, trying to pinpoint any oddities that might be causing his sense of unease. Birds singing overhead? Check; it was a gorgeous spring day and plenty of birds were out courting their mates. Wind rustling the leaves? Check; that gentle, relaxing sound he'd grown to love was a lovely backdrop for the walk. Scurrying wildlife? Check; they, too, were out eating and ambling through the forest. The sound of axes chopping wood, swords clanging, and ninjas training coming from Mizuho?

...No check. All he heard from Mizuho was silence.

His footsteps slowed to a stop and his eyes narrowed. He listened another minute but still heard nothing, and after a minute he began looking around. Had he made a wrong turn? No, he knew this path like the back of his hand and this was definitely it. Was he too far away to hear anything? No, there was that boulder that indicated he was getting close; another five minutes of walking and he should be able to see Mizuho's gate, and with his angel senses, he'd always been able to detect sounds of the village from here. So were his senses working properly? Closing his eyes, Zelos concentrated on the sounds of the forest...there was the river that ran through Mizuho, and just above that he could detect the tinkling of Chief Igaguri's wind chimes. But what he didn't hear was Mizuho itself.

Okay, he told himself, opening his eyes again, while that was cause for concern, it wasn't cause for panic. Maybe they were just meeting somewhere? But no, in that case, then he should hear someone talking, right? Unless they were inside a building...but Mizuho didn't have a meeting hall big enough for everyone, hence why public meetings were held outside the chief's house. Were they busy praying to Jizou or something? Maybe, but all of them deciding to do that at the same time? Their worship of Jizou wasn't a public occasion; it was personal. No, something about this scenario wasn't right...and the more he thought about it, the less 'right' it seemed. He listened again, hoping to hear something to explain what he wasn't hearing, but still he detected nothing, and he resumed walking. Fears be damned; there had to be a good explanation for this. Right?

...Right?

His footsteps quickened, his building sense of urgency overwhelming his attempts to reassure himself that he was just overreacting. And then there it was ahead of him: Mizuho's front gate, camouflaged amongst the trees. Oh, good; Mizuho was still standing. That eliminated the worst possibility: that the village had completely burned down, or that they'd packed up overnight and moved. But even now that he could see the village, he still couldn't hear sound coming from it...and he soon received his second sign that something was very, very wrong: no one was standing guard at the entrance.

Even if the villagers were meeting elsewhere, someone was always guarding the gate. So where was the guard?

Zelos's hand drifted down to the hilt of his sword as he slowed, cautiously approaching the village, every sense on the alert for any clues of what was going on. Taking a hesitant step inside, his eyes immediately fell to a dark lump nearby...a man. He rushed over to the man and squatted down beside him, looking him over, identifying him as Toya, one of the guards. His heart pounded faster as he noted that Toya's eyes were closed, his face a sickly green-gray color. Aw, crap. Not good. He couldn't see blood anywhere, not on the man nor pooling beneath him, which was good, but that didn't explain why he was lying face down, nor why no one was tending to him. In fact, that just made the knot in Zelos's gut pull even tighter. Deciding he had no choice but to risk potential exposure to whatever had felled this man, Zelos rolled Toya onto his back, still seeing no wounds. He felt at the man's throat for a pulse, and...

He couldn't find one.

Growing desperate, Zelos lowered his head to the man's lips, concentrating for any sound of breathing, but still he detected nothing. And a quick check of the man's pupil's yielded no eye response, either, just a blank, unseeing, clouded stare.

Toya was dead.

...Shit.

And then another dark lump near the fork where the road split caught his eye.

"Oh, no," he whispered, jumping to his feet and hurrying to the body - a female villager lying on her side. Falling to his knees beside her, he lifted his hand to her throat, feeling for a pulse...and relief swept through him as he found it. For a moment, Zelos closed his eyes and took a shaky breath - oh, thank Martel! - but then he place his hand on her abdomen and whispered the spell for Healing Stream. It cast...but nothing happened. Crap. He tried it again...but still nothing happened. "C'mon, hunny. Wake up." Her skin was just as green-gray as Toya's, but she was still alive...at least for now. And, like Toya, he saw no visible wound to indicate what had caused this...although there was lumpy, watery patch of vomit on the ground near her head. But why would throwing up have caused this? And the question remained: why wasn't anyone helping these people? He lifted his head and looked around, and his heart began pounding even faster as he spotted more villagers lying in the road. "What the hell happened here?" he whispered, horrified.

And just like that, the realization hit him like a sledgehammer. In an instant, he was on his feet, crying out "Sheena!", and was racing toward her home, barely sparing a glance at the other bodies he passed. Arriving there, he threw open the door and burst inside. Not bothering to take off his shoes, and not seeing her in the main room or in her kitchen, he raced to her bedroom...but she wasn't there. He peeked into her bathroom, and then into her spare bedroom, but she wasn't there, either. He paused and looked around, hoping for a sign of where she might be; her main room was a mess, with books and papers scattered across her floor and covering her table, but it didn't look like it had been ransacked, either. Actually, it looked like she'd been frantically searching for something.

Zelos picked up the closest book, but it told him nothing and he quickly tossed it aside, then he grabbed a few papers from the table...which also told him nothing. But he couldn't waste time on books and papers; he needed to find her. Leaving the house as it was, he rushed outside again, calling her name and looking around. Still not seeing her, nor receiving any response to his call, he rushed from body to body, checking everyone, but while he recognized the people, none were Sheena. Everyone was unconscious - or, in two other cases, definitely dead - but none had visible injuries. None. That meant this had to be a disease or poison of some kind, right? It had to be. Nothing else made-

"Igaguri's house," he suddenly realized. If Sheena wasn't outside, then there was only one other place she could be. He ran toward it and threw open the door...and his heart stopped at the sight before him in the genkan.

Oh, sweet Martel. Sheena.

In the blink of an eye, one of the greatest days of his life had transformed into the worst.

Oh, yeah, whistling is a surefire way to curse yourself. Never again, Wilder. Never again.

She was lying face down a few feet from the entrance, her fingers curled against the wooden floor as if she'd been desperately fighting to reach the door, a small pool of vomit nearby. Body trembling and heart clenched into a tight, painful knot, Zelos dropped to his knees beside her. For a moment he couldn't even touch her, terrified as he was of what he'd find; he could only gape at her and struggle to breathe, the weight in his chest crushing. But he had to know; he had to face the truth, whatever it might be. Taking a deep, shaky breath, he gently rolled her onto her back, placed his fingers to her neck, and closed his eyes...

His breath whooshed out of him and his head sank downward. Oh, thank Martel, she's still alive. She's still alive! His eyes flew open and he let out a soft, nervous laugh, relief sweeping through him, but then he took another deep breath and placed his hand on her stomach, closing his eyes again. He whispered the spell for First Aid...but received no response from her. He whispered the spell for Healing Stream...still nothing. Healing Wind...again, nothing.

His eyes flew open. Shit, shit, shit. "C'mon, Sheena," he whispered, gently shaking her, but still she didn't respond. "Don't do this to me, sweetheart. Please. I really need you to wake up right now."

She didn't even twitch.

All relief fled him as panic replaced it, and he sat back, his brain frantically trying to process everything. These people were dying. Most were extremely sick and unconscious, but at least three were already dead, indicating that whatever was afflicting them was deadly. And that meant that given enough time, it would kill everyone here. It would kill Sheena.

And Zelos had no idea what to do.

For a moment, he just sat there, paralyzed. He didn't know what this was; he didn't know how to help these people. He was only one person, and his knowledge of medicine was limited to basic First Aid; he had no way of knowing what had caused this, and without knowing the cause, he couldn't fix it, not if curative spells didn't work.

Everyone here was going to die. Sheena, the woman he would give everything for and then so much more, was going to die.

But paralysis and panic will get you nowhere, he quickly told himself, forcing aside the desperation and helplessness. You need to focus. You need to think. These people are still alive, and you're the only one here who can help them, so you have to help them. Sheena will not die, because a life without her is...well, you can't even fathom that anymore after this past year. And that means you have to figure this out. She's still alive, so there's still hope to save her, and you will save her.

Think, Wilder. Take your own advice, close your eyes, and count to five. Clear your head. Focus on the task at hand.

You can do this. You can.

Zelos took another deep breath, swallowed hard, and closed his eyes.

One...two...three...four...five.

When he opened his eyes, he didn't actually feel better - because Sheena was still lying in front of him, unconscious and dying - but at least he could think a little clearer. So now he just had to figure this out and find a solution. Piece of cake.

...Yeah, right.

As impossible and daunting as that thought was, though, he was damn well going to do every single thing he could to make that happen. So that required thinking everything through rationally. And that, thankfully, was one thing he'd always been good at.

Okay, so everyone was unconscious, and yet no one was physically wounded. That meant he could eliminate a direct, weapons-type attack on them. Could it be some kind of virus or plague, then? Maybe, but did viruses spread this quickly? The flu, while quick to spread, didn't spread like this. And the plague, likewise, transmitted quickly, but not this quickly. A carrier would have had to bring it here, and even then it would have taken a few days to spread to everyone. And if that were the case, Sheena would have had enough time to warn him what was going on and tell him to stay away to avoid exposure. While he'd been busy in Meltokio for a few days, it hadn't been that long since he'd last been here - four days, at most - and he'd seen Sheena two nights ago, and she'd said nothing about this then.

Judging from what he'd seen, it hadn't taken long for this to knock everyone out; most people looked like they'd been in the middle of something when they'd fallen unconscious, because no one appeared to have been trying to help anyone else. And if people were slowly falling unconscious and dying, wouldn't someone have tried to help them? Why just leave them out in the street? No virus he knew of knocked its victims out this quickly, not to mention where would they have picked it up from anyway? Mizuho was isolated, and unless a scout had brought it back, they wouldn't have been exposed to something like this, not considering Zelos hadn't heard about anything like this happening elsewhere in Tethe'alla. Besides, no scout would have come back here knowing he'd be bringing it with him, and he couldn't not have known he'd be carrying it when it worked so quickly; the place he'd brought it from would've looked like this before he'd left. And really, what Zelos was seeing here didn't match what he'd learned about the plague or any other virus. All that put together seemed to rule out those possibilities.

So...what? A poison, then? Zelos blinked, considering that. Poisons could be virulent and fast-acting, resulting in what he was seeing. But if so, what kind of poison? Something in the food supply? Or maybe in the air? He had no idea; he'd never researched poisons, although he was suddenly regretting having Mary Ann Trekolewski write that paper on poisons for him at the Academy so he didn't have to do it himself. And if it was a poison, where did it come from? Was it accidental, like a bad batch of mushrooms, or intentional? And if it was intentional, then who did this to them? Who would even know to look for the village here to poison them? Still, he couldn't eliminate the possibility that someone had accidentally stumbled upon Mizuho while wandering through the forest - or that these ninjas had once crossed paths with an enemy who'd conspire to kill them. Or, heck, maybe someone was doing this to punish him; it wouldn't be the first time someone hated the Chosen enough to hurt those close to him. Regardless, if it was a poison, then a panacea bottle should work, right? Right? His gut was telling him they would've already tried that, but he was desperate here, and since there should be a panacea bottle at the store, could it really hurt to check?

His first course of action decided, Zelos carefully scooped Sheena up in his arms - damn, she's so cold and fragile...no, no, you can't think like that, Wilder - and then stood and peeked into the adjacent room where not only were more books and papers strewn around, but Chief Igaguri was also a sickly greenish-grayish, unconscious lump on the floor. Not wanting to know yet who here was still alive and who wasn't for fear it would depress him and keep him from doing what needed to be done, though, he opted not to check on Igaguri's status. Sheena was still alive, and while he cared about the rest of these people, far more than he'd ever imagined he would, he really didn't right now. No, right now the woman in his arms was the most important person here to him; he would worry about the rest later.

Kicking open Igaguri's door, Zelos headed outside and carried Sheena back to her home; while placing her in her own bed wouldn't help anything, he wanted her to be comfortable. Hell, he wanted to be comfortable because it would keep him centered - and the only place in this village where he'd ever felt completely comfortable was in her home. He nudged her door open with his shoulder, glad it hadn't fully closed earlier, carried her into her bedroom, and laid her down on her futon. It was one of her endearing quirks: even though Mizuho's futons were designed to be easily folded and packed away so the room could serve as more than just a bedroom, Sheena never put hers away. Either she was too lazy or busy to take care of it, or she just didn't see any reason to. Right now, though, Zelos was glad she had left it out, because that way he could lay her down on it without having to find and unfold it first. He quickly pulled the pink ribbon from her hair so her head could lay flat against the pillow and then covered her with blankets, hoping to counter the iciness of her skin.

Satisfied she'd be comfortable if she awoke, he leaned down, whispered in her ear, "I'll be right back, love, so don't you dare die on me, okay?" and then rushed outside, heading to the shop. Before even reaching it, though, he could see an empty panacea bottle lying beside the shopkeeper, as if it had rolled from his hand when he'd fallen. A quick check revealed that the shopkeeper was still alive, albeit as green and unconscious as everyone else, also with a puddle of vomit to his side, but the conclusion was terrifyingly clear: the shopkeeper drank it, and it hadn't cured him.

Zelos slumped against the counter, his panic rising again. Crap, so even a panacea bottle didn't work? And not for the first time, he found himself wishing he'd had Raine teach him her Recover spell because that would've been really helpful right now. But beating himself up for something he couldn't change would just waste his time - time he needed to pursue other options. So that raised the obvious question: now what? Should he get help? Who could he get? What were the odds they'd understand this better than he did? And, well, would he even have enough time to find someone who could help before the rest of these people died? Seeing as several people were already dead, no, he wouldn't. He didn't know where Lloyd and Colette were, Raine and Genis could be in any of a hundred places, and Regal and Presea...well, even if he did know where they were, they knew no more about poisons than he did. And he didn't trust anyone else not to betray Mizuho's location to everyone. No, he had to jump straight into finding the solution - because he'd be damned if he accepted that there was no solution and just let everyone here die.

Okay, Wilder, think. What do you know? Most of these people had clearly had no idea what was happening to them; it had hit too quickly. Other than the empty panacea bottle, nothing seemed out of place to indicate they'd even tried to save themselves...except the messy piles of books and papers on Sheena's floor. Her house, while never perfectly neat, was never in such a state of disarray. Igaguri's house had looked the same. She'd been looking for something - Igaguri probably, too, unless Sheena had also made the mess in his house. Okay, so that seemed to indicate she'd recognized something was wrong and had gone searching for a solution. Had she found it? Zelos didn't know. He hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary on her or in Igaguri's genkan, but it was still his best place to start.

Pushing himself away from the counter, Zelos ran back to her home and dropped to his knees beside the piles of books and papers, rummaging through them. Oh, yeah, wasn't that wonderful? Every single one was written in the Mizuhoan language! Agh, just what he needed. While he'd spent the last two months reading through that language book Sheena had given him, he was still nowhere near being able to read much yet. Bits and pieces, sure, but full text? Not a chance. Despite his certainty that he wouldn't get anywhere, he still grabbed the nearest book and flipped through it, struggling to make out the headings. Okay, so from what he could tell, the book dealt with plants. But what kind of plants? Herbs? Drugs? Was it even connected to their current problem? Had Sheena been looking for something specific? No, he quickly decided, that book wasn't helpful. Even assuming she'd been searching for a cure, then no page stood out to indicate she'd found it. Zelos picked up the next book...another unmarked, unreadable book on plants. He grabbed a few papers from the table, but those, too, were just generic Mizuhoan documents. Nothing looked like it was related to a poison or virus.

Zelos growled and leaned back, giving up. This wasn't getting him anywhere. Chances were if he checked all the books on Igaguri's floor, he wouldn't get any farther, either, simply because he couldn't read them - and it would take him too long to try to translate them all with his limited language skills to see if they were helpful. So if Sheena hadn't found what she was looking for here, maybe she had at Igaguri's place? It was a desperate thought, but he was running out of options. He closed his eyes, summoning that horrible scene of Sheena lying unconscious in Igaguri's genkan. Based on the position he'd found her in, she'd definitely been heading out of the house, not in, meaning she'd either found what she was looking for or was heading out to search for it somewhere else. Assuming she'd found it - because if she hadn't, then there was no way he could - then she was carrying what she'd found elsewhere...not that she'd reached her destination. So, since he was positive there hadn't been anything else in the genkan besides Sheena and the vomit, if she had found something, then it had to either be on her or it had fallen when he'd carried her back here. Right?

...Unless it's locked up in her head where it's useless, an obnoxiously pessimistic voice pointed out.

He shoved the thought aside, refusing to think like that until he'd exhausted every option. Well, checking on Sheena would be faster than running back to Igaguri's place, so he'd start there. He jumped to his feet and headed back to her room, scanning the floor as he went for anything clue-like...and then he had to ignore the vicious kick to his gut as he saw her lying on her bed so sickly, so vulnerably, for fear panic and terror would consume him again. Instead, he knelt down on the edge of the futon, threw the blankets off of her, and focused on her body. He didn't see anything obvious; her hands were slack and empty, no papers or vials were sticking out of her clothes, and nothing was tucked beneath her iris bracelet. His heart sank, but then he took a deep breath, refusing to give up, and reached for the sides of her pants, feeling for pockets. Damn, there aren't any. Now what?

The answer abruptly hit him. Zelos had caught her a few times during their journey sneaking things into and out of her robe when she'd thought everyone was asleep, right around her chest area. At the time he'd been tempted to tease her about it - he distinctly remembered biting back a comment about all the glorious secrets buried beneath her shirt - but thankfully he'd valued his life enough to choose to keep that knowledge to himself. But now...was it possible she'd hidden something in that concealed pocket?

"Aw, crap," he mumbled as he realized what checking it meant, unsure whether he should be excited by the prospect or scared for his life should she magically wake during it. "You're gonna make me grope you, aren't you? And I don't even know you did stash anything there. But you aren't giving me another choice - either I grope you to find out, or I let you die. Sorry, love, but the answer's pretty obvious." Sure, she'd kill him if she ever learned about this, but then, he would much rather be the one dead here, not her, so he'd take his chances. Taking another deep breath, Zelos pulled off his gloves and slid his hand beneath her robe, forcing himself to ignore the soft curves he was feeling and focus instead on the robe itself. He was sure he'd always seen her reaching for her left side, so that was the first place to check.

"Okay, not there," he concluded upon only feeling the fabric of her purple robe and white shirt. If there really was a hidden pocket somewhere, then maybe it was further down? He grinned wryly as he reached further beneath her robe. "Y'know, sweetheart, this really isn't how I'd imagined this moment. I can't even enjoy this..." Agh, he still couldn't find anything. "Okay, not there either. Damn." He slowly slid his hand back up - and then he felt it, something like a tiny, folded piece of paper just beneath her chest. The only problem was that it was on the other side of her white shirt, against her skin. "Oh, come on! You have got to be kidding me! What have I told you about teasing a poor, weak-willed man like me, huh?" Growling, he extracted his hand from between her robe and shirt, and then closed his eyes and slid his hand directly along her skin, beneath the white shirt. Feeling her up like this is, by far, the worst torture I've ever experienced, he thought, not just because it was something he'd always wanted to do, but because of the circumstances - and because of how damn cold she was. "You have no idea how glad I am that you're unconscious right now or you would never speak to me again..." And then he felt it - the paper he'd noticed earlier. Snagging it with his fingers, Zelos pulled it out and held it up triumphantly.

"Ha! Booyah!" He grinned broadly as he smoothed down her clothes and covered her again with the blankets. "I'm really sorry about the 'molesting' thing, love, but I'd rather do that than watch you die. You'll probably need a new hiding place for top-secret ninja notes, too. Well, that or you'll just kill me. Either way works for me so long as you're alive to do it. So anyway, what've you got to say?" Sure, it was possible this note was unrelated to what was going on here, but he was choosing to be optimistic because right now...well, right now he needed hope or he'd either go crazy or be paralyzed by terror, which wouldn't help anyone.

Seating himself on the futon, Zelos unfolded the paper, relieved to see she'd written it in the Tethe'allan script, not the Mizuhoan script, so he could actually read it. The words were all sloppily scribbled, obviously jotted down quickly - while her handwriting was messy, it wasn't normally this bad - but he could still make out the letters. "'Kurinoku doku'?" he read aloud. "What the hell is 'kurinoku doku'? And...'Aribako gedokuzai'?" His eyes darted at Sheena, his confusion rising. "Sweetheart, this doesn't make sense. What is this, some kind of medicine? Does this have anything to do with all those books on the floor?" But Sheena, naturally, didn't answer him, and so he quickly looked back at the paper. "'Tsuchite shokubutsu'...gone." He squinted, trying to read the word in parentheses behind those. "'Corris'?" Blinking, he looked up, his mind racing. "Corris...corris...where have I heard word that before?" But the answer wasn't coming to him, and so he shook his head, going back to the note. "'Kusuri no hon'..."

His voice trailed off as his mind began racing. His gut was saying he already knew both of those words, but for the life of him he could only remember 'hon,' which meant 'book.' 'Kusuri' meant...agh, he didn't remember. He stood and rushed to the bookshelf in her main room, scanning the titles for a dictionary. Fortunately, that set of Mizuhoan symbols he did know, because it was on the front of the dictionary Sheena had given him - 'jisho' - and he soon located one. While it was far more advanced than the children's one she'd given him, the basics were still the same, and he soon found the word.

"Aha, medicine! 'Kusuri' means medicine! She was referencing a medical book." And that discovery was doubly exciting, not just because he'd figured it out, but because it lent weight to his hunch that this note was connected to this current situation. He looked back at the note and decided, while he had the dictionary, to locate the other words. 'Kurinoku' he couldn't find, but 'doku' he could: poison. And there, finally, was the confirmation that this note truly was related to this crisis. "Kurinoku poison! I was right, everyone's poisoned - and Sheena figured out the type before she fell unconscious." Okay, next word...'aribako' he couldn't find, either, but 'gedokuzai' meant 'antidote.' "Which means 'aribako' antidote should cure them...assuming I can figure out how to make it." He moved onto the next word. "'Tsuchite'...name of an extremely rare, potent medicinal plant only found in caves. Wonderful. And 'shokubutsu' is...yeah, that makes sense: 'plant.' I still don't know what 'corris' is or how it's connected, but it can't be a Mizuhoan word." Mizuhoan words, after all, were made up of specific syllables, which these didn't match. Heck, the letter 'c' didn't even exist in their language; it would be a 'k,' not a 'c.' "And 'gone' I'm assuming means gone gone, as in used up, rather than being some weird Mizuhoan word."

Zelos blinked several times, thinking everything through. "Okay, so what do I know? Sheena decided the culprit was kurinoku poison, and 'aribako' is the name of the antidote. She'd better be right about that, because otherwise I'm out of luck. Let's see...'tsuchite' is a medicinal plant that they're out of..." Oh, crap. If they were out of that plant and it was necessary for the antidote, then that was bad. He wasn't a plant expert and didn't know where to find more. "So what's 'corris,' then? Another name for tsuchite? A substitute? And why the hell does it sound so familiar?" He shook his head; the answer still wasn't coming to him. "Okay, so I need to find a certain medical book...somewhere..." He looked at the note again, praying for a clue to save himself precious time finding this book, and spotted something. "Oh, missed a word! 'Uki'...which means..." Oh, duh, he realized while flipping through the dictionary. Uki is Mizuho's healer. And since he knew where her house was, that was his new destination. Now he might actually be getting somewhere! Opting to take the dictionary with him, he headed to the bedroom doorway and peeked in at Sheena, but she hadn't budged. He pointed at her. "You'd better still be alive when I figure this out, Sheena. Don't even think of dying on me unless you want me kicking your ass when I get back. You hear me?" Realizing how he sounded, he let out a strained, nervous laugh, then cleared his throat, forced himself to focus again, and raced outside toward the healer's house.

It was empty when Zelos got there - thankfully, since he really didn't want to have to deal with another dead or unconscious body - and he looked around. Along one wall was a bookcase filled with books, while another wall was lined with shelves upon which sat jars of medicinal plants, roots, and herbs. "Bookshelf it is," he murmured, heading toward it. He began scanning the titles...and cursed softly. Damn, everything was written in Mizuhoan, which meant he had no choice but to translate each one. It was a good thing he'd brought the dictionary - and it was an especially good thing he had basic knowledge of this language. He had never been more grateful for that impulse that had led him to ask Sheena to teach him her language than he was right then, because while it would be a time-consuming, frustrating test of his patience, at least he could do some basic translation.

For several minutes, Zelos continued scanning the titles, searching for anything that might pass as this 'Kusuri no Hon,' his eyes growing bleary at all the unfamiliar characters. In response, though, he reminded himself that no matter how difficult it was, he couldn't give up. He had to do this. Sheena's life was at stake.

"How 'bout you?" he finally said, grabbing a hefty book with symbols on its leather spine that he thought were the ones he wanted. That was the symbol for book, and the other...a peek in the dictionary confirmed it meant medicine. Setting it on the counter, Zelos began flipping through it...and his heart sank again. Crap, the text was entirely in the Mizuhoan language, too. How was he supposed to find this 'aribako' antidote? For a moment he could feel tendrils of panic creeping through him again at the scope of the translation project awaiting him, but he shoved them aside, took another deep breath, closed his eyes, and counted to five again to regain his focus. Panic wouldn't help him - and really, he was already infinitely closer to finding a solution than he had been ten minutes ago. "Okay, get a grip," he instructed himself. "Focus, Wilder. You can do this. First things first: a book on plants and medicines has to be organized somehow, so you only need to find this one entry." He opened his eyes and nodded. I can do this, and I will.

Starting at the beginning, he began paging through the book. The first section appeared to be basic ingredient information, based on the plant pictures he saw there. Reaching the end of that section, he kept going...oh, good, the first entry. The name of the medicine was at the top; beneath it was what appeared to be a description and what it cured; beneath that was the ingredient list; and finally, at the bottom, was a set of steps to prepare it. The entire entry took up a single page. His eyes snapped back up to the name of the medicine at the top; okay, good, those weren't fancy Mizuhoan symbols but rather the basic 'alphabetical' type letters - and those, thankfully, he did recognize. He wasn't proficient with them yet, but he should be able to manage this. For a moment he struggled to read the name, sounding out each syllable aloud as he deciphered it, but finally he got it: akachika. He jumped to the entry on the next page: akawashi. Well, at least that boded well. Now he just needed to keep going until he found the entry for aribako, and...aha! His heart skipped a beat, hope racing through him, as he skipped a few pages ahead and located it. So now, instead of having to translate the entire book, he just had to translate a single page. That might actually be doable!

Zelos set the book on the counter closest to the wall of jars. Seeing too much text that he couldn't read - and probably didn't have to since Sheena had already identified this as the cure - he skipped the description and jumped to the ingredient list, which was also written in their basic script. "Let's see, I need some tsurenu..." He scanned the jars. "Hah, tsurenu!" He pulled the half-full jar off the shelf and moved onto the next item on the list, comparing it to the wall each time he made out another name. "Pesukona...got it. Reshimaku...got that, too. Tsuchite..." Damn, it really was gone. There was a jar with the name on it, but it was empty. And, worse, he saw nothing called 'Corris,' so if that was a substitute, they didn't have it, either. But for now, he'd find the other ingredients. "Heshiban...check. Oh, c'mon, how many plants does this thing need? And who would take the time to combine them all together to see what poisons it cures? Rochaku...uh oh." He scanned the rows of jars, but the 'rochaku' jar eluded him. He scanned them again...but there was no jar called that. His heart edged back into 'panic' realm. Crap, two ingredients missing? They wouldn't put an ingredient into an antidote unless it was necessary, so how would two missing ingredients affect the final result? "Yorusa...check." And that was it for the ingredients. He'd found everything else, and each jar was plenty full, but he was still missing rochaku and tsuchite - or corris, that name that would bug him until...

"Is this what I think it is?"

Zelos blinked as a fragmented sound bite flickered through his mind. Something from the regeneration journey...Sheena being fascinated with a plant they'd found somewhere. He closed his eyes, seeking the rest of the elusive memory. For a moment, it kept slipping away from him, dancing in and out of view just beyond his reach, but then...

"That's 'corris,' isn't it, Raine?"

"Very good, Genis. Yes, it is."

"'Corris'?" his memory told him Sheena had replied to the Sage siblings' exchange. "I've never heard of 'corris' before, but this looks an awful lot like a plant we use in Mizuho."

"That is definitely corris - or at least that is the name we know it by in Sylvarant," Raine had said. "Perhaps your people have a different name for it, Sheena. Corris is a very rare plant that only grows in caves of a particular temperature and humidity."

"I'm sure this is a medicinal plant we use in Mizuho - it's a weird, unique, five-pointed leaf. It's part of a few of our less common medicines, and from what I remember, it's really strong. Actually, I think we're running low on it, so I should grab some and take it back..."

Zelos's eyes flew open. "Corris...that's where I'd heard that name! I guess Sheena never brought any back. But where was that?" It had to be a cave somewhere...oh, right! Latheon Gorge, in the same place where they'd found that Mana Leaf Herb! And now that he'd remembered that, he also remembered why she hadn't grabbed any: because half a minute later they'd been attacked by that plantix creature and the corris had completely slipped her mind.

On the bright side, now he knew where to get some. Sticking Sheena's note into the book to save his place, he flipped to the beginning and paged through the ingredients. "Tsuchite...tsuchite...got it! It even has a handy dandy picture. Now I just need to get it..." Crap. Going to Latheon Gorge would waste a whole lot of time - time he wasn't sure he had before all these people died...before Sheena died. But he had no choice; unless he did something, they would die, and this was the most promising method he had to save them. Since no one else here was conscious, that meant he had to put this antidote together himself, and to do that, he had to gather as many of the ingredients as he could. If he had to skip that other one he couldn't find, the rochaku - and unfortunately a quick look at its description provided no hints because, damn it, he couldn't read solid text without wasting hours translating it - then he'd do it, but if he skipped two ingredients, he might as well give up now. As it was, he was afraid to think of what missing one would do; it was possible it was added simply to improve the taste, but it was also possible it was a critical agent in the antidote, and if it was the latter...well, he just had to hope it wasn't.

Grabbing the book, Zelos headed outside and ran back toward Sheena's house, scheming his next move. He had two options to get to Latheon Gorge: he could use his wings to fly there, or he could borrow Sheena's Rheaird. Well, not much choice there; Rheairds flew faster than he could so Rheaird it was. At least while Latheon Gorge was far away, it wasn't, like, Flanoir far away. In fact, while most continents had been pushed farther apart when the continents from Sylvarant had been squeezed in between them, that one had actually gotten closer to the northern one - which was a good thing for him since it meant he'd have to waste less time getting there. With a Rheaird, getting there, grabbing the plant, and flying back should take roughly an hour. And while an hour was still too much wasted time when people were dying, he had no choice; this had to be done.

Reaching Sheena's house, he headed to the dresser in her bedroom where he remembered seeing her putting away her wing pack. He rifled through the middle drawer, searching for it - damn, not her underwear drawer...and right now really isn't the time for thoughts like those, he scolded himself - until he spotted it. He quickly grabbed it...and then paused, noticing something else. Wait. Was that silver thing what he thought it was? Despite the gravity of the situation, he couldn't resist smirking. It was! Heh. Of all the things to find today, her camera had been the last one on his list - but now at least he knew where she kept it. Perfect. He'd have to do something about that - but only after he'd saved Sheena and her people. And he'd be damned if he thought in terms of if he saved them, because whatever it took, he would save them.

Wing pack in hand, Zelos turned back to Sheena...and again, his heart lurched at seeing her lying there, the lump of dread and terror in his gut nearly choking. Slowly walking over to her, Zelos knelt beside her and ran his fingers over her cold forehead. He swallowed hard, then bent down to press a kiss to her cheek, squeezing his eyes shut as his lips lingered there. Oh, Martel, if she died...if she died...

"Hang in there, Sheena," he whispered, refusing to consider the 'what ifs' yet, not when he was still working to prevent it. "I'll be right back with what you need. I promise."

He desperately wanted to stay with her, to watch over her and make sure nothing else could hurt her, but he couldn't yet. And so as difficult as it was, after a moment of watching her, of praying to Martel, to Jizou, to anyone who was listening, to keep her alive a little longer, he tore himself away, checked that he had his sword, and left her home, forcing himself to remain focused. Once he was out in the street, he extracted the Rheaird from the wing pack and climbed aboard, then flew off to the south, toward Latheon Gorge.

Getting there was easy, but it still took far too long with his mental clock constantly ticking away; every second was torture, wondering if that was the moment she had succumbed, thus rendering his efforts futile. Every time it became too powerful, though, he viciously pushed it aside, refusing to think along those lines...refusing to think of what would happen if he couldn't find this plant or make the antidote in time. Depressing himself was the worst thing he could do right now, because depressed people often made careless mistakes because they were distracted by their emotions, thus dooming them to failure without outside assistance, which was something he currently didn't have.

After all, while Michi might be safe in Sybak and knew the Mizuhoan language, picking him up and explaining what was happening would still mean wasting precious time. Besides, for all he knew, Michi would panic upon learning about his village, and trying to calm him down would waste even more time. And while there were probably ninja scouts elsewhere, spying and gathering information, he didn't know where they were and would never be able to find them in time, either. Waiting for one to return wasn't feasible, either. No, tackling this himself really was his best option. And in order to do that, he had to focus on the task at hand rather than worrying about all the disturbing possibilities.

To that end, as difficult as it was, Zelos kept his mind carefully blank until he reached his destination. Once at the gorge, he landed the Rheaird as close to the caves as he could - which, frustratingly, had to be at the base of the mountain because the top was too rugged for a safe landing. Leaving the Rheaird there, he closed his eyes and summoned his wings - and for only the second time ever, the first being when he'd used them to save Sheena in the Tower of Salvation, he was actually glad he had them, so he could fly up to the cave rather than fighting his way through the gorge and manipulating all the weird blowing plants. He quickly flew upward, struggling to get his bearings and identify the correct cave. It was somewhere near the top, near the Storyteller's house...

Spotting it, Zelos flew toward it and landed on the ledge, then headed inside and... "Oh, come on!" he groaned. "You have got to be kidding me!" Oh, yeah, this was where they'd fought the plantix - because at the moment, five baby plantixes and two adult plantixes, probably the mom and pop, were running around the cave as if they owned the place. Which, technically, they did, but at the moment they were standing between him and the antidote he needed to save the love of his life. Right now ownership of a cave meant nothing to him.

His hand ventured down to his sword, but he quickly released the hilt. One person alone against five baby monsters and two overprotective parent monsters, and with no armor or even a shield because he hadn't gone to Mizuho expecting a fight? Even he wasn't cocky enough to try it; that last battle against a plantix had been bad enough, and that had been with his friends' help! Instead, he eyed his opposition and then the layout of the cave. Raine, Genis, and Sheena had been on the far side of it when they'd had that conversation, but he just couldn't see any way to sneak by the monsters. So how could he get there if he couldn't fight them off himself? And every second he spent contemplating the dilemma, another second was knocked off of the time Sheena had left...

"Okay, screw that. I don't have time to deal with you...plant things...right now. Sorry 'bout this, guys, but you're in my way."

Decision made, Zelos stood up straight, closed his eyes, and concentrated, hoping none of the monsters noticed him there, casting. He could only see one possibility for success: he had to get rid of all seven monsters at once or else any still alive after the first round would maul him while he was recovering. And there was only one way to be sure that happened: go overboard with it, even if it sapped him of his strength. He'd hit 'overlimit' the instant he'd found Sheena in Igaguri's home, so going 'overboard' should be no problem. He'd originally begun casting the spell for Judgment, but after a moment he decided to take it a step farther. He'd never done this before, but hey, what better time to try it out?

"Divine Judgment!"

A circle of white light formed on the floor of the cave and then erupted upward, while lightning simultaneously crashed downward, accompanied by, of all things, a few angel feathers. It lasted a few seconds, and then it was over, leaving the cave empty except for him and seven mutant plant corpses. He sagged against the wall, weak and panting, but he couldn't help smirking at his handiwork. "Heh. Beautiful." It took him a moment to regain his breath and stand firmly on his legs again, but once he could, he ventured further into the cave, carefully picking his way past the steaming, charred plant remains. "Overkill? Definitely. But you guys gotta admit, that was pretty damn cool, right? At least I know you won't be bothering me anymore. I guess being an angel really does have its perks." And then he was past the corpses and was heading toward the back corner where he remembered seeing Sheena looking at the plant he prayed was the one he needed.

Spotting a patch of greenery, barely caressed by outside light, Zelos headed toward it and knelt beside it. He pulled out the medicine book and flipped to the page with the picture of the tsuchite...and a moment later he waved his fist in victory as his comparison proved the two a match. "Yes!" he cheered, then he grabbed his dagger and began cutting off clumps of the plant. "I never thought I'd say this, but I owe that know-it-all brat for pointing out what this is." Once he'd cut off as much as he dared, leaving a bit behind for fear cutting it all would prevent it from growing back, he stuffed it in the empty tsuchite jar, put everything in his bag, and then hurried back to the cave entrance, his heart pounding with hope, excitement, and fear. He then jumped off the ledge, pulled out his wings to slow his descent, and landed by the Rheaird. Half a minute later he was soaring back to Mizuho.

When he arrived, Zelos wasn't sure if he should be relieved or disappointed to find nothing had change in his absence; it really would have been nice to find people walking around again. On the other hand, he was glad it wasn't in worse condition, like everyone vanished or mauled by wolves. He jumped off the Rheaird and headed toward Uki's house, opting against checking on Sheena yet; after all, if it turned out she'd died while he'd been gone, then it would just prevent him from helping the other villagers, whereas if he didn't know, then it would keep him going in hopes he could still save her - and, with her, her people.

As he was passing the bonfire, though, his footsteps slowed. If he was going to make this antidote, then he had to do this outside - not because he hoped someone would spot the smoke and help, but because he should be keeping an eye on the village. If someone had found Mizuho and poisoned it, then that meant they had an extremely dangerous enemy roaming around. What if that enemy came back to check on his or her handiwork? Or what if some monster wandered into the unguarded village in search of an easy meal? He was lucky nothing had happened while he'd been gone, but he shouldn't push his luck, either - and that meant he should make this antidote outside, not in a house. To that end, Zelos set his bag down by the fireplace, grabbed some logs from a nearby pile, tossed them into the pit, and set them ablaze with a quick fireball. He then ran back to Uki's house and scanned the shelves again, without success, for that missing rochaku. He'd just have to give this his best shot without it and pray it was good enough.

Once positive it really wasn't there, he began grabbing the jars he'd set aside earlier, along with a giant kettle, and carried them outside. It took him a few trips to transport everything, but eventually he was ready. Thankfully, it was still afternoon so he had plenty of light. Pulling out the medicine book and the dictionary, he did his best to interpret the amounts and the directions for making the antidote, making him glad he'd studied Mizuho's numbering system first when he'd begun learning the language. The directions, however, were considerably harder, and as a result it took awhile to look up all the words and terms and then jot down his findings on a blank sheet of paper before he was certain he'd gotten the gist of it. Chances were he wasn't 100% accurate with his translations, but...tough. Without having someone fluent in the language there to correct him, he had no way of knowing if he was doing this right, so he could only do his best with what he knew. Thankful he was good at math, he multiplied everything out to make a quadruple batch, which he hoped would be enough, and then began measuring out the ingredients...but even before reaching the second ingredient, he cursed softly. Crap, he'd forgotten the water to boil this stuff. He ran back to Uki's home, grabbed a giant bucket he'd noticed earlier, and headed to the well in the far corner of town.

...The water.

His footsteps abruptly froze, his eyes widening. The water! That was the answer, the only thing all of these people had in common: they all drank water from Mizuho's well. If this poison had been airborne, he should've already been affected (unless, of course, his angel physiology was protecting him), but it seemed more likely that someone would poison the water because that was sure to be ingested by everyone and was guaranteed to go through their bodies quickly. That meant, if he was right, he couldn't use well water to make this antidote since there was no guarantee boiling it would remove the poison. And unfortunately, he probably shouldn't take any chances with the water from the stream, either, because if this poisoning was intentional, then there was no way of knowing if the culprit had poisoned all of the village's water. No, Zelos realized, he needed to use different water. There was a fork in the stream a short distance to the south, water from the mountains that met with this stream and continued away from the village and, therefore, should be clean. To be safe, he had to use that water for this, not Mizuho's.

...And crap, going that far to get water would waste even more precious time. But what choice did he have? He couldn't take the chance that in trying to create an antidote, he instead created a more powerful poison. Sure, he could be wrong, but he could also be right. Oh, the hell with it. The longer he spent debating this, the more likely it would be that these people would die...that Sheena would die. He would get water he knew he could trust. Deciding to make this as quick as he could, he pulled out his wings again, flew over the forest to the fork in the river, landed, filled the bucket, and flew back, frowning as he realized he'd lost another five minutes. And oh, how he hoped he'd gotten enough, because right now ferrying water here wasn't a productive use of his time.

Water in hand, Zelos got down to work. He double-checked his translation of the directions and recalculated the amounts needed, just to be sure, and finally started pulling out and combining ingredients. Ten full tsuchite plants came first, and then a sprig of tsurenu and five crushed leaves of heshiban, followed by seven peelings of pesukona root. If he was reading this right, those four needed to boil for five minutes before adding the yorusa, reshimaku, and rochaku...if only he had rochaku to add. And naturally, now he had to wait for this water to boil, which would take far too long to happen, especially considering the thickness of this kettle and the amount of water he was boiling. With everything combined, he stirred it briefly with a long wooden spoon, then placed the kettle on the fire and sat back to wait.

...Which really was going to take forever, he soon discovered. While he'd always been a patient man, waiting for water to boil was his least favorite part of cooking, and now, knowing how much was hinging on this, it was torture. He was tempted a few times to go check on Sheena and the villagers while he was waiting, just to make sure someone here was still alive for him to give this antidote to, but he always pushed the thought aside, refusing to get distracted and, as a result, risk shutting down completely if he didn't like what he found. Sure, that might still happen, but until he knew for certain, he still had hope. And one lesson he'd learned from his friends was that there was nothing in this world more powerful than hope.

The problem was, now that he had nothing to do, his brain had no distractions, and so all the fears he'd forced himself to ignore earlier were sneaking up on him again. Sheena could be dead right now. She could be dead. That would be...it would be...Martel, he couldn't even find the words to describe how horrible, how devastating it would be. Hell, he couldn't even envision a life without her in it anymore. The one woman who had ever made any effort to find him, who didn't give a damn about his money or power or title, who he hadn't just madly fallen in love with but who sincerely loved him in return...how could he live without her anymore? His heart wouldn't survive a day; it would die along with her. Everything would be empty and depressing and...meaningless.

And seriously, how ironic was it that this happened today? He'd just gotten something he'd always wanted only to turn around and lose the best part of his life? Heck, he could almost understand how Mithos must have felt after Martel was killed, spending the rest of his life trying to reclaim everything he'd lost. Losing someone so important to him in such a sudden, tragic, pointless way and then having nothing to fill the hole left behind? Pain like that could make anyone go insane. While Zelos didn't want to consider what that kind of pain would do to him until he had no other choice, he also couldn't deny that the path Mithos had walked would be appealing. At least having a driving need, a goal, would fill part of that hole - not nearly enough, but some of it. But that thought, that he could one day become like Mithos, obsessively seeking out those responsible and trying to revive Sheena, regardless of who he hurt in the process, was distressing, and he quickly pushed it aside. No, all he could do now was pray it didn't come to that, because falling into that kind of disgraceful selfishness would mean sacrificing every shred of self-respect he'd acquired this past year thanks to Sheena's patient help, love, and encouragement.

What was more, though, was that he was getting a frustrating, depressing sense of déjà vu. Here he was, just starting to like Mizuho and feel accepted by it, and then bam, this happened. In a twisted way, it figured; he should've expected it would happen eventually. Maybe he really was cursed; it seemed like every person he cared about and whose life touched his always suffered, and usually because of him. His mother, his sister, Shirley, Sheena... But, he quickly told himself, cutting off that thought before self-loathing could overwhelm him, you don't know for certain that this happened because of you. In fact, it could have nothing to do with you. And if that was the case, then he couldn't let himself think like that. He would figure out who was to blame and punish them later - assuming someone was to blame and this wasn't just an accident - but blaming himself would only result in a mental and emotional shutdown, and he simply couldn't afford that yet.

No, it really was possible that Mizuho had made enemies during past missions and someone had finally taken revenge on them - and if that was the case, then if he hadn't been here, no one would currently be working to save them. And even if it was his fault, that someone had attacked this place to punish him, then all he could do was what he was currently doing, and once he'd saved them, Martel willing, then he would leave this place - and Sheena - alone to prevent any further tragedies. And he would eventually find those responsible and make them pay. Heck, the rest of the gang would undoubtedly want a piece of the action, too, so chances were they'd help him catch the bastard who-

"You!"

Zelos jumped as the sudden voice jolted him from his thoughts, and he quickly rose to his feet and whirled around, his hand on the hilt of his sword and every nerve on the alert. Damn, he'd been so lost in thought that he hadn't been paying attention to the village. And then, in an instant, his heart leapt at who he saw. "Orochi! Oh, thank Martel! I have never been so happy to see you in my life." But right now he needed something; questions about how Orochi was conscious could wait. "Hey, I need rochaku, ASAP. Do you know what it is and if you guys have any..." Without warning, Orochi charged at him, grabbed his arms, and pushed him backward toward the fire. "Whoa! Hey, what the hell are you doing?"

"What have you done here, Chosen?" Orochi demanded, pushing him further backwards. "I will kill you for this!"

Zelos's eyes widened at the blistering rage in Orochi's eyes - but just like that, he got it, how this must look from Orochi's perspective. Right now Zelos was the only healthy person in a village full of dead and dying people. Since Orochi was also healthy, then it stood to reason he'd been away from the village when this happened and had just returned. The hows and whys didn't matter right now, though; no, the only thing that currently mattered was stopping Orochi from shoving him in a kettle of boiling water so he could save these people...so he could save Sheena.

"Whoa, hey!" Zelos countered, lifting his hands. "Take it easy. I didn't do this, Orochi. Mizuho was like this when I got here two hours ago. I swear."

It quickly became obvious, though, that rage, terror, and desperation had overwhelmed the ninja. "And you expect me to believe that? This has been your plan all along, hasn't it? All this time you wanted to infiltrate Mizuho, win my people's trust, steal our secrets, and then kill us all!"

"What the...?" Zelos muttered, gaping, but then he shook his head. "Why the hell would I do that? For the record, no. This is not my doing."

Orochi grabbed his arms again, his eyes wild. "I do not believe you. Prove it!"

"Prove it?" Zelos said. "I don't have proof! All you have is my word!"

"That is not good enough." Orochi shoved him further backwards, to the point where Zelos could feel the heat of the kettle on the back of his legs. "Now you will die!"

Zelos growled lowly, his own anger and frustration building. Okay, enough. He didn't have time for this. The water had finally started boiling, and that meant he only had a few minutes before he had to add the other ingredients. This was probably a horrible idea, but his emotions were uncontrollable right now; nearly losing his girlfriend on a day that had started out so perfectly - and then being interrupted while trying to save her - was a surefire way to piss him off, especially when the interruption was accusing him of causing it!

"Y'know what?" he said, shoving Orochi backwards so he could step away from the fire. "How 'bout you prove you didn't do this, Orochi? You're the only villager here not affected; how do I know you aren't plotting to wipe out this village for some nefarious reason of your own, huh? So tell me, where have you been while your people have been dying?"

Orochi pushed him backwards again. "How dare you imply I would do such a thing!"

Zelos folded his arms to his chest and gave Orochi a pointed glare. He refused - refused - to let this man intimidate him when he'd done nothing wrong. "I could say the same. How dare you imply that I would hurt your people! Contrary to what you apparently believe, I'm really not out to hurt anyone here. And consider this: if I really wanted to kill your people - Sheena included, mind you - why would I be trying to make an antidote for the poison, huh?"

"Sheena...? What have you done to Sheena?" Orochi demanded, his nostrils flaring like a deranged stallion escaped from Niflheim.

Damn it, he was completely irrational. It made sense, seeing as he'd just returned to find his village dying and only one man, one he'd never liked or trusted, alive and conscious, but still...how was Zelos supposed to get through to someone who refused to listen? He should've known better than to bring up Sheena, too, but the damage had been done.

"I did nothing to her," Zelos insisted. "Whoever poisoned your people did - and believe me, when I get my hands on them, they're gonna pay for it, assuming you don't get to them first. And yes, Sheena is sick, too. Why do you think I'm working so hard trying to save everyone, huh? Because struggling to understand your language and making something I have no knowledge of with my girlfriend's lifehanging in the balance is my idea of a great time?" Before Orochi could retort, Zelos took a step closer to him. This, too, was probably a horrible idea, but he needed to cut through all this crap, convince Orochi to leave him alone, and get back to work before he lost his slim window of opportunity to make this antidote and had to start over. "Look, if you're gonna insist on going into a jealous rage over the fact that Sheena's dating me, not you, and want to fight me, then fine. I'll fight you, if that's what it takes to get you off my back. If she survives, I guarantee Sheena will be pissed about it, but I'll do it."

The rage that flared in Orochi's eyes was something that, had he not been so desperate to save the love of his life, probably would've left him cowering in his boots. Instead, though, he went on before Orochi could retort. "But whatever you're going to do to me, wait until I'm done making this antidote. I have been busting my ass off for nearly two hours now trying to save your people, and I will not let you stop me when it's almost finished, not over something as petty and irrelevant as a love triangle. So it's your choice. Are you gonna insist I'm a worthless insect you need to crush and try to get rid of me for good, in which case I'll have to knock you out and tie you up until I'm finished? Or are you gonna agree to put that crap behind us, call a temporary truce, and help me out here? Because believe me, Orochi, I could really use your help right now." For a moment, Orochi didn't answer, but his hesitation gave Zelos hope that maybe he was reexamining his priorities. And he'd be damned if he didn't press further. His face and voice softened. "We're on the same side here, Orochi. We both want the same thing: to protect Sheena, save your people, and make sure whoever did this pays for it. We have common goals. Don't lose sight of that." When Orochi still didn't respond, just continued glaring at him, Zelos took a step closer to him. At this point, he wasn't above begging. "Please, Orochi. Help me."

Still Orochi continued watching him, fuming silently - oh please, Orochi, Zelos silently pleaded, don't make me go all angel on you to get you out of my way, because I really do need your help - but finally he pursed his lips and gave Zelos a curt nod. "Very well."

Zelos's breath whooshed out of him. Finally! Some help! "Thank you. Okay, first things first, I need rochaku. Do you have any?"

Orochi's brows furrowed, his face softening a tad. "Rochaku? Why do you need that?"

Pointless question; don't have time to answer it seeing as the antidote has already been boiling too long, Zelos thought, waving that off. "Why isn't important right now. What's important is that I need it, right now. Does Mizuho have any?"

The look on Orochi's face made it obvious he thought Zelos was crazy, but Zelos really didn't care what Orochi thought of him so long as he answered the question. "Rochaku is an antiquated name for geshuna. How did you even hear of...?"

Zelos shook his head to cut him off, just relieved to hear that Orochi recognized it. "I'll explain later. Do you have any?"

Orochi considered that a moment. "We should have a supply in-"

His heart leapt. They have the final ingredient! "Get it. Now." For a few seconds, Orochi just continued staring at him, and Zelos growled. Agh, hadn't he just said he'd explain later? "It's the last ingredient I need for this antidote, and I need it about two minutes ago. Go get it while I add the rest of the ingredients."

Orochi frowned but didn't move. "Chosen, I still do not understand..."

Zelos sighed, his exasperation building. This is what you get for trying to work with a guy who hates you and needs to be in control all the time. "Orochi, please. I know I'm asking the impossible here, but trust me. I'll explain later. Just go get that plant before it's too late and I have to start this antidote over from scratch!"

Orochi continued watching him a moment warily, but then he, too, sighed. "Very well."

And finally, finally, he began heading toward Uki's home - albeit far too slowly for Zelos's exhausted patience. "And hurry!" he shouted after him, eliciting another glare from the ninja. At least Orochi did start jogging.

Zelos double-checked his notes, then started tossing the final ingredients into the mixture, his heart racing and his hand, he noted with disgust, trembling a little. He was just adding the last ingredient when Orochi rejoined him, carrying a jar. Zelos threw in the required amount of rochaku/geshuna, then breathed a sigh of relief and, shaky, sat down. Now the antidote just needed to boil a few more minutes and it should be ready - with all of the required ingredients, significantly improving its odds of working.

For a moment he sat in silence, struggling to reclaim his emotions, but finally, once he was certain he could speak again without his voice wavering, he glanced up at Orochi, who was standing nearby, looking between him and the kettle. "Thank you," Zelos said. "I was going to try it without the rochaku, but I'm glad it's in there."

Orochi nodded curtly, then sat down, watching him carefully. "Now, you owe me an explanation."

"Of course. I got here two hours ago and found everything exactly like it is now." He swallowed hard as he realized that while he dreaded hearing Orochi's answer, he needed to ask the question so they were on the same page, seeing as they were now in this together. Zelos gave him an imploring look. "Please tell me you found someone here still alive, because I haven't checked on anyone in over an hour."

To his relief, Orochi nodded. "Yes. While a few were already dead, most of the villagers I saw are still alive."

"Good...I'm glad to hear that." Thank Martel, all his work here might still prove to be good for something. He just didn't want to know who was and wasn't dead yet. "In any case, I found this on Sheena," he handed Orochi Sheena's brief but vital note, "and interpreted it the best I could. If I got it wrong...well, let's just hope I didn't."

Orochi took the note from him and read it; at least he'd finally calmed down, although his body was still tense. Once finished, Orochi picked up the book and examined the open page on the aribako antidote. "This is what you are making?"

"Yeah."

Orochi skimmed the page, then nodded. "It appears you interpreted this note as I would have. However, Sheena was right; we ran out of tsuchite long ago. I'm not sure what 'corris' refers to, but I do know we have no tsuchite. If you chose to make the antidote without it, it will be useless. Tsuchite is its primary agent."

...And now Zelos was really glad he'd paid attention to Raine, Genis, and Sheena's little exchange. He was really glad he'd made that detour to Latheon Gorge, too. "Don't worry, it's in there."

"Where did you find it?" Orochi asked, his eyes narrowing as he looked up at him again.

"One of the caves in Latheon Gorge. I remembered Sheena mentioning it during our journey, so I went back there and got some."

Orochi's eyes narrowed further. "You traveled to Latheon Gorge during the two hours since you arrived here? That is impossible."

He'll never believe me, but lying won't help, either. "Actually, no, it's not. I borrowed Sheena's Rheaird to get there."

Yep, the disbelieving look Orochi was giving him made it obvious he still didn't buy it. "I have been to Latheon Gorge, Chosen. You cannot land a Rheaird directly at the caves, and the surrounding area is filled with monsters and would take considerable time to traverse, especially for one man on his own."

Zelos sighed and closed his eyes. Do we really have to discuss this? "Well, I just did, okay?"

When his eyes opened, Orochi was scowling again. "No, Chosen, it is not 'okay.' Doing something like that is not only foolish, but impossible."

Agh, why can't he just accept the truth? He frowned and lifted his hands defensively. "Do the particulars really matter?"

"Yes, they do! You ask me to trust you, yet you refuse to be truthful with me?"

...Oh. Orochi had a point. But damn, Zelos hated talking about this. Discussing it with Sheena was hard enough, but then to discuss it with someone who hated him? Orochi was definitely not on his extremely short list of people he'd ever willingly tell this. "Okay, fine! I flew up the mountainside to the caves."

Orochi huffed, rolled his eyes, and made to stand. "And again you lie. I am going to check on Sheena and Chief Igaguri."

Gee, what a surprise: he doesn't believe me. And Zelos already knew Orochi wouldn't like this, either. "No, I'm not lying, and yes, I really did fly to the caves."

"Oh, so now you have wings?" Orochi countered. "The lies just keep coming with you, becoming increasingly absurd the more you tell. I cannot believe Sheena ever saw anything in a pathological liar like you, nor can I believe she let herself fall for such blatant stupidity."

Zelos sighed again, then grinned wryly. Oh, Orochi, if you only knew. Unfortunately, it was starting to look like he wouldn't have a choice about telling Orochi the rest of the story. One thing he needed right now was Orochi's trust, because even if this antidote worked and they administered it in time to save these people, they still had a lotof work to do here - together. "Actually, yeah, I do. Y'know, like the angels of Cruxis have?"

Orochi's eyes flared. "You are an angel of Cruxis?"

Should've known you'd jump to that conclusion. "Yes, I'm an angel, but no, not of Cruxis," Zelos clarified. "Well, I was for awhile, I suppose, but I'm not anymore...it's a long story, one that currently isn't important." Without warning, Orochi jumped to his feet, pulled out his dagger, and assumed an attack stance, his face taut. In response, though, Zelos just groaned and rolled his eyes. "Oh, calm down and put that thing away. I'm only an angel because I was the Chosen and was forced to equip this thing." He pointed at his Cruxis crystal. "I'm exactly like Colette, yet you never had any problems with her. Believe me, Orochi, I'm not any happier about the 'angel' thing than you are, and if I could've gotten by without it, I would've happily done so." He abruptly pointed at Orochi, anticipating his next words. "And no, I'm not showing you my wings to prove it."

Orochi continued watching him carefully, but finally he relaxed and sat down again, still eyeing Zelos warily. "Does Sheena know this about you?"

"Yes, she does."

"And she accepts that?" Orochi countered, gaping at him.

"Yes, she does," Zelos repeated, giving Orochi a piercing look, hoping Orochi would catch his warning not to push. "Far more than I do, in fact. It definitely wasn't my choice to undergo the transformation, and I wish to Martel that I hadn't, but even I have to admit that certain perks that came with it can be handy at times. Like saving hours' worth of time flying up the mountain rather than fighting every monster in the gorge."

Orochi's eyes narrowed again. "So you really did retrieve the tsuchite from there."

Oh, good. Finally, Orochi believed him about something! Zelos held up the tsuchite jar. "And you have some extra."

Orochi took the jar, held it up, and examined its contents. "Yes, this is definitely tsuchite."

"Yeah, I know," Zelos said. "It has a distinct leaf that matched the picture in that book. And the only other ingredient I was missing was the rochaku, which you just took care of. I figured there had to be something special with it since Uki had jars for everything else."

"My people changed its name many years ago because it was often confused with rochikaku, which is a different plant. This book, however, was written generations ago, long before the name changed. There is no way you could have known that." Orochi looked back up at Zelos. "However, it is a good thing you did not attempt to make the antidote without it for rochaku is necessary to counter the toxic qualities of the reshimaku mushroom."

...Wait, what? Zelos's eyebrows flew upward. "Toxic?"

Orochi bowed his head. "It is possible the antidote would have worked without it, but it likely would have further sickened everyone in the process. Alone and under normal conditions, reshimaku does not kill, but in their present condition, it probably would have."

Zelos closed his eyes and let out a soft laugh. "Wow. I knew every ingredient had to be important, but I didn't realize some of them were dangerous on their own. Now I'm really glad you showed up when you did." Another thought struck him, and he motioned at the book lying between them. "And while I'm thinking of it, could you read the directions to me in a language I actually understand?" Orochi's eyes narrowed, but he thankfully did as requested anyway, and one by one Zelos mentally checked off each point. Once he'd finished, Zelos sighed, relieved. Apparently even the little studying he'd done had been enough for him to do this. "Good. I got the rest right."

"How is it you knew our language well enough to even read this?" Orochi asked.

...Heh. Orochi wouldn't like this. "Well, I kinda didn't. Not well, anyway." He paused, hoping that would suffice, but the expectant look in Orochi's eyes made it obvious it didn't. With a reluctant sigh, Zelos went on, hoping Orochi wouldn't strangle him for this. "Sheena gave me a kid's book on your language a few months ago, and I've been studying it on and off ever since. I haven't gotten far, but I at least got far enough to manage this."

As expected, Orochi frowned and looked away. "She should not have done that. It is not something an outsider like you should know."

Zelos's mental alarm clock - something he'd honed years ago while forcing himself to stay away from Sheena a set amount of time after pissing her off to let her cool down before he bugged her again - rang, and he rose to his feet and pulled the kettle off the fire, his nose wrinkling at the stench. "Yeah, well, she did. And I, for one, am really glad she did."

"I suppose if this works, I must be as well," Orochi murmured as he likewise stood. He then cleared his throat and motioned at the kettle. "The antidote must cool before we can administer it. I will get Uki's cooling pans to speed the process."

"Right." Zelos hadn't known such a thing existed, but he wouldn't knock it if it meant getting this antidote into Sheena faster. At least Orochi was finally cooperating; maybe somewhere inside the angry, resentful, jealous ninja, the calm, cooperative, friendly man Zelos had known before he'd started dating Sheena still existed. How long their truce would last, Zelos didn't know, but he would take it while he could get it, because even one more person working here to save these people drastically increased their likelihood for success.

A minute later Orochi returned carrying several wide, low-rimmed stone pans, and together they worked to pour the antidote into them. "There," Orochi said once they'd finished. "That will speed the cooling process significantly."

"Good. We need every second we can get." Oh, wait. Just like that, another problem hit him - something he hadn't even considered before. At least now he had someone to collaborate with. "So how are we gonna actually, y'know, get this stuff into these people? I can't help thinking we'd be asking for trouble trying to force an unconscious person to swallow something. That just sounds like a recipe for choking them."

"You are correct," Orochi said. "Because they are unconscious, we must administer it by syringe. I will retrieve two of those and some cleaning solution for the needle from Uki's house while we let this cool."

Zelos nodded and watched Orochi head back toward the healer's home. On the bright side, while these people were backwater country folk, at least they knew proper hygiene and had adopted a level of medical knowledge and equipment from the outside world. They weren't primitives or savages, as some ignorant people seemed to maintain they were; they just did things their own way. If they had survived this long on their own, then it worked for them - and Zelos admired them for it. And again, he found himself thanking whichever divine being had sent Orochi here like this because without him, Zelos would be fumbling around trying to take care of all these other details - and he undoubtedly would've just poisoned everyone further with unneutralized reshimaku mushroom. That was exactly why he held so tightly to his 'Whatever will be, will be' mantra: because fate oftentimes handed him those things he needed most when he least expected them, like Orochi appearing here in the nick of time to get this antidote made correctly. What was going to happen was going to happen regardless of how much he worried about it; all he could do was the best he could with those things he could control.

And while on the subject of what a godsend Orochi is... "So where were you before this?" he asked as Orochi returned with a basket containing two syringes, cleaning solution for the needles, and several smaller containers for the antidote. "How long were you away from the village? I'm trying to place when this poisoning happened."

"Yesterday afternoon I accompanied Sadako and Hamako to Sybak. While they remained behind to visit with Michi for several more days, I chose to return now." Orochi looked around the village, his voice lowering. "I had a bad feeling I could not explain."

Ah. So basically it was pure chance that Orochi was here right now. Yep, whatever will be, will be. "Yeah, you can't argue with intuition," Zelos murmured before clearing his throat. "So it must've happened after that, because you never would've left if you'd known something was wrong. Probably last night if my hunch is correct that whoever did this poisoned your water. If it had been any other time, someone would've seen him doing it."

Orochi's eyes narrowed again. "The water...yes, that is a likely explanation. If they drank it when they awoke this morning and it had a delayed effect on them, they would not have known they were poisoned until too late. If I remember correctly, kurinoku poison does that; it takes hours for the first symptoms to appear, but once they do, it progresses with alarming speed. They would have barely had time to react before they fell unconscious."

A chill ran down Zelos's spine. Whoever had done this - because until proven otherwise, he was choosing to believe someone was responsible for this so he'd keep his guard up at all times - had obviously chosen to poison something they would all ingest before anyone noticed anything was wrong. Crafty bastard. "So how long after falling unconscious does it take that poison to kill?" he asked. "I'm wondering why some people were dead before I even got here while others are still alive now, over two hours later."

"On the whole, those I found who were dead had not vomited, or they had other physical conditions that would make them more susceptible to the poison," Orochi replied. "Those who were still alive had vomited and were healthy beforehand."

That made sense. "Right, because throwing up would've gotten some of the poison out of their systems, so that would be less poison killing them." He breathed a tentative sigh of relief as he remembered the scene he'd found in Igaguri's genkan. It was no guarantee yet, but at least it was continued hope. "Sheena threw up, so it's possible she's still alive."

Orochi nodded, eyeing him carefully. "From what I saw, many had. That is part of our defensive training; if we suspect we were exposed to an oral poison, we induce vomiting to remove what we can of it from our bodies. In most cases, it appears they only realized that fact mere seconds before succumbing. I suspect those who died drank the water first - if, indeed, the water is responsible - and were, therefore, the first afflicted. They likely did not even realize what was happening until it was too late to take action. The others would have been given advance warning and could have watched for the symptoms and responded in time. Likewise, they obviously had enough time to begin seeking a cure. Fortunately, with kurinoku poison, unconsciousness strikes quickly, but actual death takes hours."

"But still, it's already been hours, and we don't know how much longer your people can hold out." He was getting impatient; the antidote was done now, which meant he needed to get it into these people. But injecting scalding hot antidote directly into them wasn't a good idea, either, so...aha! He had an idea. "Okay, that's enough waiting."

Zelos closed his eyes and concentrated, but Orochi quickly interrupted, asking, "What are you doing, Chosen?"

His eyes popped open and he motioned at Orochi. "You might want to back up." Once Orochi had done so, still confused, Zelos closed his eyes again and resumed casting. "Wind blade," he murmured a minute later, then he opened his eyes in time to feel the wind rushing around them, milder than usual so it wouldn't overturn the pans. Seeing Orochi eyeing him again, Zelos explained, "That's the best I can do to speed up the cooling process. I've never wished I knew an ice spell before, but man, do I wish I did now."

"I understand," Orochi said, his face relaxing. He then knelt beside the nearest pan and dipped a finger into the antidote. "Perhaps you should do it again."

"Right." He recited the spell and cast it again, then waited for Orochi to test the temperature before repeating the process again, and then again. After five times, he said, "At least tell me it's doing something," when Orochi motioned for him to do it again.

"Yes, it is. Each time it is a little cooler than the previous time. I believe one more time should put it at an acceptable temperature. It can still be warm, but..."

"...Just not too warm. Yeah, I got it." And again, Zelos cast the spell, and that time Orochi nodded and rose to his feet. The two then poured the liquid into the smaller distribution containers, leaving what didn't fit behind for later. "I think we're ready, huh?"

Orochi nodded. "This is the best we can do, given our time constraints."

Zelos returned Orochi's curt nod. "All right, now we're in business! So...Sheena first." Instead of jumping at the suggestion, though, Orochi frowned again, and Zelos sighed. "What? Why are you looking at me like that? Don't tell me you, the man constantly threatening to kill me if I hurt her, are objecting to that choice!"

"Of course I am!" Orochi countered. "I do not know that this antidote was prepared correctly. If it was not, then it will likely kill her - and quickly."

Yeah, and...? "So, what, you're gonna give it to everyone else and then wait and see if it works - or at least doesn't kill anyone - before giving it to her?"

"Yes. It is only prudent."

Zelos had to bite back a growl. "Sorry, but no can do, not unless you can guarantee that the results of this, be they good or bad, will be instantaneous. Besides, we probably won't have time to make another batch if I did make it wrong. She will die if we wait too long; that's a fact. The dead bodies here prove that."

Orochi's face hardened. "I will not take such chances with her life, Chosen! Perhaps you are willing to do so, but I am not."

What the hell? "Orochi, listen to yourself! You're taking chances with her life by not giving her the antidote right away! No, I don't want to risk her life, either, but given the circumstances, it's better than the alternative, which is certain death!"

"You will not touch her, Chosen," Orochi insisted, stepping into Zelos's way as he started walking toward Sheena's house. "Not until we are sure this works. And even if it does, if you truly knew Sheena, you would know she would not want us to place her life above the lives of the other villagers by singling her out to receive it first."

Zelos groaned, his head sinking downward, but then he looked up again, glaring pointedly at Orochi. "Of course I know that. But Sheena isn't making this choice; I am. And maybe I'm just that selfish, but I'm not willing to risk losing her because, well, the thought of living the rest of my life without her is the least appealing future I can come up with. I did this first and foremost to save her, and I refuse to lose any window of opportunity we might still have to do so. Besides, I suspect Chief Igaguri would agree that we give it to her first. Don't you?" Thankfully, while Orochi opened his mouth, he hesitated to reply, and Zelos pressed on, determined to get his point across. "And if she's going to be chief here, doesn't that make her and Chief Igaguri your village's two most important people - and, therefore, aren't those the two people we need to save first? She's certainly the most important person here to me, which is why I refuse to wait with this! Unless you have some aribako antidote you know was properly prepared stashed away somewhere that we can use instead?" And again, Orochi hesitated. "Didn't think so. And the longer we stand here arguing, the more likely it'll be that more people will die. Do you really want that on your conscience? Because I sure as hell don't."

Unsurprisingly, Orochi looked ready to blow another fuse - man, this guy's fuses are lit way too easily...or maybe any fuse connected to me is so short that it's lit before I even open my mouth - but after a moment, he nodded curtly. "Very well. But Sheena will not be happy about this."

"Duly noted," Zelos said, grabbing the antidote and a syringe from him and then heading toward Sheena's home, Orochi following him. "And trust me, if this works, she'll get over it. If she dies because of this...well, then I'm responsible for messing up, and I guarantee you I'll never forgive myself for it." His voice lowered as they reached Sheena's house and he pushed open the door. "Like I'd really need another reason to hate myself."

Orochi gave him a curious, albeit still distrustful, look as they entered and headed to her bedroom. And again, the instant he saw Sheena, the most beautiful, vivacious woman he'd ever met, lying there, completely lifeless, her skin tinted an ugly, sickening green-gray color, Zelos's heart caught in his throat and his footsteps slowed to a stop, a lump of dread tightening in his chest. Beside him, Orochi, too, froze, his breath catching. The sight truly was a blow to the gut.

And suddenly, fear paralyzed him. He couldn't do this; he couldn't find out the truth about what this poison had done to her since he'd last been here. If she was breathing, it was so shallow that he couldn't see it, and that...well, it didn't bode well. Zelos swallowed hard and breathed in deeply, trying to hold onto his hope, especially now that he held the potential solution in his hands. But if he was too late, if he'd messed up the recipe, if he'd interpreted her note wrong, if they'd identified the poison incorrectly...

Stop it, he instructed himself. You can't think like that until you know for sure. You had no choice but to leave her alone here while you worked on the antidote, and now...well, whatever will be, will be. Releasing a shaky breath, Zelos forced his feet to take another step forward, and then another, and then another, until he was standing above her. He took a deep breath, then knelt beside her, set the equipment on the floor, and forced his hand toward her neck. This was it, the moment of truth, whether his work had paid off or if it had all been for nothing. Just do it, he told himself as his hand wavered. You need to know, whatever the truth might be. At least if it turned out he was too late to save her, Orochi could take over where he wouldn't be able to, seeing as the devastation of watching his once-awesome day transformed into the worst hell imaginable would likely leave him institutionalized. Hell, this would be even worse than the day his mother died, and the thought of trying to live through something that awful again... Oh, please, Sheena, still be alive...please be alive...

Swallowing again, Zelos placed his fingers to Sheena's neck and closed his eyes, concentrating, searching for a pulse...and then there it was, the most beautiful thing he'd ever felt. She was alive. Sheena was alive. A laugh-sob burst out of him, and he lifted his hand to his face as emotion swept through him, leaving him with tears of relief pricking his eyes - tears he refused to let fall in front of his current audience.

It took him a moment, but he finally managed to compose himself enough to give Orochi, whose face was drawn and tense, a curt nod. "She's still alive."

Instantly, Orochi likewise released a shaky breath. "Good."

Zelos took another deep, controlling breath, trying to force his emotions aside and focus on the task at hand - because until this antidote was in her, anything could still happen. Hell, she could still die at any moment, even with them standing right there. Granted, they had no idea what the poison had done to her and if she was even capable of recovering anymore, but he was choosing to be optimistic. She was still alive, and Zelos hadmade it here in time to find her note and start the antidote, and Orochi had arrived in time, too, to make sure the antidote was made correctly. Fate seemed to be saying it wasn't her time to die yet. If it was, she would've been dead when he'd first gotten here or before they'd finished making this antidote. But she wasn't, and that was why he was choosing to believe she would be all right. He would hold tight to his faith in fate. Whatever will be, will be.

Now, to get that antidote into her. "Okay," he said, grabbing the needle and the antidote again and looking back up at Orochi. "So do those instructions indicate the most effective place on the body to inject this?"

Orochi shook his head. "Unfortunately, they do not. I suspect it is supposed to be taken orally, before the victim falls unconscious."

"...And we already decided orally isn't an option." Wonderful. But that would not deter him. "Okay, well, I'm gonna assume I can inject her anywhere, then. Maybe the stomach or hip area?"

"I cannot see why not."

Good, one less argument from Orochi. "Does it at least say how much to give them?"

Orochi opened the book and skimmed the directions again, then held up his syringe, examining it. "I would inject them with half a syringe of the antidote."

"Half a syringe. Got it." Zelos lifted his syringe, placed the needle in the container with the antidote, filled it to half, and then pushed the blankets off of Sheena and lifted her shirt until he located the cold skin beneath. He then stuck the needle into her side and, forcing his hand to remain steady, injected her. Once finished, he pulled out the needle, gave it to Orochi, grabbed the cloth Orochi handed him, and briefly pressed it to the wound to stop the bleeding. "Done." He quickly covered her cold body again and trailed his fingers along her cheek, tempted to kiss her forehead - an indulgence he dismissed knowing Orochi was standing nearby. For another moment he just observed her, realizing sadly that a miraculous, immediate recovery was hoping against hope, but finally he took a deep breath and looked up again at Orochi, who was watching him through dark, narrowed eyes. "So any idea how long before we know if this worked?"

"Unfortunately, no. The directions merely say that the recovery time depends on how long the victim was poisoned. I doubt we will see any change for at least several hours."

"Damn. I guess there's nothing else we can do right now, then." Zelos looked back at Sheena, eying her still form another moment. Would it work? Would she be awake when he next saw her? Even if it did work, would she make a full recovery or would she be permanently disabled? Or would she still die anyway? He quickly shook his head, though, refusing to think like that, then rose to his feet, took the syringe back from Orochi, cleaned it with the disinfectant, and headed toward the door. "Okay, let's do this."

Orochi arched an eyebrow as he followed. "What, you are not going to remain here with her? I thought you said you do not care about anyone but Sheena."

Zelos abruptly stopped. Tell me he did not just say that. "I said I was selfish, that Sheena was the most important person to me and that I didn't want to live without her," he said, turning back to Orochi. "I didn't say I was a heartless bastard who doesn't care whether anyone else here lives or dies. There's a big difference there. So are you gonna keep trying to bait me into fighting you or do you want my help saving your people? Because that was my plan - to save as many lives here as possible. If you'd rather I stayed here and let everyone die, though, well, say the word and I will. But when someone asks why I didn't help, I'm pointing at you and telling them you wouldn't let me because you wanted to play the hero and save everyone yourself, regardless of the fact that I'm perfectly willing to do whatever you need from me." Orochi's eyes flared again - yeah, big surprise, I pissed him off yet again - but when he didn't reply, Zelos nodded curtly, taking that as his answer. "That's what I thought." With a hard glare, Zelos continued walking to the door, with a still-silent Orochi following him. Once outside, Zelos stopped, observing the village. So, there were two of them, and...a whole lot of people to get this antidote into. That left one logical solution. "Let's split up so we can cover more ground. Where do you want to start?"

Orochi eyed him another moment, his lips still pursed, but then he sighed and motioned at Igaguri's house. "I will begin with Chief Igaguri. As you said, he is one of the two most important people in this village."

Zelos nodded. "Then I'll start with the people on the other side of the river."

"Very well."

They headed in opposite directions and began the long, arduous task of seeking out everyone, checking that they were alive, and then, if they were, injecting them with the antidote. Zelos was relieved to discover that most of the villagers were still alive - but, he also noted with dismay, one or two he'd known for certain had been alive earlier were now dead, some of whom had even thrown up. It served as a terrifying reminder that these people could still succumb at any moment.

So Zelos pressed onward, working as quickly as he could to administer the antidote to everyone. And finally, after about an hour, he met up with Orochi on the other side of the river. They compared the places they'd covered, making sure they hadn't missed anyone, and then finally concluded they were finished - although if someone had left Mizuho in search of help, then they could be anywhere and would be hard to find. No, right now they could only deal with the people they knew were here; the woods would have to wait until everyone was accounted for to see who, if anyone, was missing.

"I counted five dead on my side of the river," Zelos said as they returned to the bonfire and placed the remaining antidote and the syringes into a basket. "You?"

"Four," Orochi replied.

Zelos closed his eyes. Damn. Nine dead, and that number could still rise if the antidote didn't work. But dwelling on the fact that even if he'd saved Sheena - which still wasn't a given - he hadn't made it in time to save those nine people wouldn't get him anywhere right now, so he would focus on their next task instead.

Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes again. "Okay, so now what? I can't help thinking that sitting around here waiting for your people to recover is a poor use of our time." Orochi's dark eyes scanned the village, then lifted to the sky, then fell back to Zelos, his gaze measuring and hesitant. When Orochi still hadn't spoken a moment later, though, Zelos frowned, needing to do something. "Orochi, what? Whatever it is, say it. I'm helping you with it."

Orochi eyed him another moment before finally nodding. "We should move the villagers into their homes. It will be more comfortable for them to recover there than in the street."

Zelos nodded. "Okay. Besides, it'll be getting dark soon, and it's probably not a good idea to leave everyone outside overnight. Nights are still pretty cold, and I doubt you want to tempt any monsters in search of a snack into the village."

Orochi nodded. "On a related note, we should also move the bodies of the dead inside."

Zelos wrinkled his nose. Ugh. Talk about a macabre task. But Orochi was right - leaving them outside would turn Mizuho into a monster den. Besides, moving everyone would take long enough, and so wasting time whining about it would mean they'd have to do it in the dark, which would be even worse. As horrible and depressing as it is, it'll need to be done eventually, so let's just get it over with.

"Got it," he said with a nod. "When we're done, I'll get water from that stream to the south. When these people wake up - because I'm choosing to believe they will - they'll be thirsty. Besides, if the water really is poisoned, then we can't drink anything here, and we'll need some eventually, too." Well, Orochi would - thanks to his angel physiology, Zelos could probably forego water for several days, if necessary - but Orochi didn't need to know that.

"I suspect you are correct about the water being the cause," Orochi said. "I would search the well now to see if we could find the source, but darkness will fall soon, and moving everyone indoors is our current priority."

"Yeah. The rest can wait until morning." Zelos clapped his hands together once. Daylight was waning. "Okay, then let's get started. You'll have to lead the way, Orochi, because while I recognize most of your people, I couldn't tell you where they live."

"Very well. Let us start on this side of the river."

"Right." And with that, the two headed out to do what needed to be done.

0~*~0

(Continued in Part 2: The Decision)