Approaching the Linkite Tree, Genis was slightly nervous. If all went according to plan, the two worlds, Tethe'alla and Sylvarant could be separated forever. It could be the last time he got to see a some of his friends. It felt like something was gnawing on the inside of his stomach, chewing up every ounce of calm left inside. Genis felt like the  only one in the group who wasn't excited.

"Wow, we finally get to meet Aska, the summon spirit of light! He must be pretty cool," Lloyd exclaimed with shining eyes. Colette walked beside him, giggling. Sheena was playing with her cards to pass the time while Zelos stared at some places he probably shouldn't have. Noticing this out of the corner of her eye, Sheena whirled around with a vengeance.

"You stupid perverted Chosen!" she shrieked, swinging her leg around to kick him squarely in the jaw, but Zelos managed to dodge last second.

"Whoa, whoa, no need to get vio-" Zelos' shout was cut off by an enraged ninja's uppercut. Flying backwards, the redhead chosen back-flipped at the last second to avoid landing on his face, but alas Sheena was already prepping a kick.

"Truce! Truce!" he screamed, jumping around wildly waving his arms. Sheena stopped pursuing him suddenly, and he walked up to sling an arm over her.

"Whew, thank goodness that's ove-" Once again he was cut off, but this time by the summoner's slap. Sheena smiled with satisfaction.

"All good now," she chimed, walking away from a staggering Zelos without even looking back. Genis' stomach clenched, and he felt sick. Even if Aska showed up, he would be tough to defeat, and the last thing they needed was another near death experience. Looking to his side, he saw Presea walking a few feet away looking eerily calm.Genis moved so he would be walking next to her as inconspicuously as he could.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, voice laced with concern. Blinking, Presea looked over at him.

"What?" she asked, clearly distracted.

"What's wrong?" Genis asked again, growing more concerned by the second. Presea sighed. 

"I'm sorry, I was thinking. So far, both of us have had two fatal incidents and somehow survived, but now I'm worried that with the upcoming fight, we won't be so lucky. Or someone else may not...and the worlds will split apart. What will that mean? There is a 48% chance something unexpected will happen." The concern was clear in her voice and glowed brightly in her blue eyes. He grabbed her hand, perhaps too harshly. She gasped slightly at his roughness, and stared at his determined face. Holding their entwined hands up in front of her face, he finally spoke with a fire glowing in his usually calm eyes.

"Presea, I won't let anything happen to you. We've been through a lot so far, and I'm convinced there's nothing we can't get past. I'm nervous about what will happen as well, but we can't let it get in our heads. You are strong, Presea, remember that," he finished, loosening his grip on her hand and giving her a quick kiss on her cheek. The smoldering embers in his eyes had cooled back into the blue oceans she was used to. Leaning into him, they continued to walk in the back of the pack at a sluggish pace. As they reached the tree, Sheena and Raine stepped up.

"Ready?" Raine asked Sheena. Sheena nodded.

"Come, servant of Mother Earth!" Sheena commanded. Gnome the Earth Spirit appeared.

"Whaddaya want? I'm kinda busy," Gnome whined.

"Make this soil fertile again, Gnome," Sheena ordered.

"Fine, fine," Gnome agreed, and the dusty ground turned into soft soil and lush green plant life.

"Your turn Raine," Lloyd said nervously. The healer stepped forward, confidence in her posture.

"Resurrection!" she boomed, the tree's once barren branches growing an abundance of leaves, the cracked trunk mending itself. 

"Okay, Lloyd and Presea, get the flute you two made out. Genis, come up here next to me," Sheena told them. As Genis took his place, Presea pulled to flute from her small bag on her hip and handed it to him.

"Thanks," he said softly before turning his attention to the tree.

"Ready?" Sheena asked. Genis nodded, looking down at the flute made of this very tree's nuts.  It had  many wooden pipes of varying lengths in order of tallest to shortest, bound together skillfully with cleverly placed holes in each pipe. Positioning it under his mouth, he played his simple six note tune, and the group prepared to meet Aska. The majestic golden bird appeared before them, flapping it's large wings at a steady pace.

"I am Aska, summon spirit of light. Why did you call me?" Aska questioned.

"I am Sheena. I seek a pact with you," the ninja stated.

"I am one who is bound to Mithos," the bird told them. Mithos, the hero of the horrible war that had occurred four thousand years ago, and also the one who had split the world in two and was running Cruxis, and organization of angels to destroy the world. So far every summon spirit had a pact with him.

"I ask that thou annulst thy pact with Mithos, and establish a new pact with me," Sheena told him, not missing a beat. It felt like the millionth time she had said those very words.

"Where is Luna? I will not make a pact unless she is here as well," Aska told her.

"She's at the Tower of Mana, I think," Sheena said, losing the formality in her voice.

"Very well, I shall make a pact with you at the Tower of Mana with Luna," the golden bird told her, still keeping the consistent pattern of flapping with its wings.

"Yeah, okay!" Sheena agreed, and Aska disappeared. Luna and Aska were both spirits of light, much like there were three spirits of wind.

"Was that alright?" Lloyd asked uncertainly. Sheena nodded.

"Yeah, he said he'll make a pact. We just have to go the Tower of Mana," she explained with a confidence that wasn't so strong inside of her. Genis sagged with relief. It had all gone well, but they still had to fight Aska...and he would have Luna with him too. It would be twice as hard to beat them. Presea walked over and bent so she could rub his back. He was on his knees and didn't look too good. Turning his head, he forced a smile. Presea shook her head.

"Don't force the smile for me, Genis. I know you well enough to tell when you are upset. Hiding your feelings can become overwhelming, and even push you to the brink of insanity," she told him, sinking to her knees beside him. The grin instantly dropped, and his head hung yet again. Everyone else was caught in a small group of debate over what to do next, so they had a little privacy. Bringing a hand up, the ax-girl played with his silvery hair. It just about reached his shoulders in its longest layer, fact being because of the many layers he had his hair had various lengths. Pushing away the hair that always covered his ears, she realized something. His ears were slightly pointed, like an elf's. She had always assumed they were round like a human's, but then again Raine's ears were always covered by her silver hair as well. Running a finger along the pointed edge with a gentle caressing touch, Genis went rigid.

"Are you okay?" she asked, withdrawing her finger and tilting her head to look at his face. He just looked up with a burning face.

"Yeah, I-I'm fine. It's just...m-my ears...are you...t-touching them because....they're so,,,p-pointy? N-no one's ever t-touched them like th-that...before," he managed, stuttering for the first time in a while.  A deep blush spread across Genis' cheeks, and he looked down causing his hair to cover the pointed ears yet again. Covering his face red face with his hands, he dropped his head. Presea smiled and moved the hair away again, to look at them.

"They're weird, aren't they?" he mumbled into his hands. In response, Presea brought her lips so they brushed his ear slightly and whispered so only he could hear her.

"No...they are beautiful," she disagreed, kissing the pointed tip. Taking his hands away, he brought his head up to look at her. Upon seeing her sincere smile, his confused face smoothed over into one of joy.

"I love you," he whispered for what felt like the hundredth time. However, he could say it a thousand times and it would never be enough.

"And I love you, every last bit," she replied, tugging on his elven ear at the end of her sentence. Still grinning, she kissed his cheek like he had to her not to long ago before resting her head back onto the comfortable spot on his shoulder she had fallen asleep on many times.

"Hey Genis! We're gonna move out, you coming?" Lloyd called. Presea took her head away and Genis nodded, grabbing Presea's hand before jumping up and sprinting to the group with the pink-haired girl stumbling to keep up. When they reached the group, the couple were out of breath.

"Where...are we going?" Genis gasped, clutching his side. Colette grinned.

"Tower of Mana!"

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Muhahaha, Genis has pointy ears which just makes him all the more awesome. I really wanna thank Red_Eyes7, she helped me with this chapter:) I hope you liked it, and please vote, comment, or fan! Love and darkness,

BE