----------

A/N – This story begins approximately six months after the close of the game (which, including the characters, I do not own P) and opens with Lloyd and Presea on one of their Exsphere hunts. In theory then, this follows on from the Presea ending of the game, but in essence it is also the natural progression from the collection of short stories I wrote previously, Don't Leave Me Behind.

As an original story set beyond some of the restrictions of the game, there will be some elements that I have had to interpret myself, such as what the one united world would look like and how it would function.

But anyway, thanks for having a look in the first place. Hope you enjoy it.

---------

-

-

All of Tomorrow's Horizons

I) Reflections & Snowflakes

-

"Man, this sucks. It feels like we've been wandering through these caves for weeks."

Lloyd's complaint caused Presea to stop in her tracks, and she looked about the gloomy interior of the mountain they had spent the best part of the day exploring. Thin streams of pale winter sunlight were trying vainly to illuminate the narrow rocky tunnel from tiny holes above, their appearance like celestial pillars of light. The tunnel itself was very much a natural passageway; its surfaces sharp, and the source of the damp smell and thick algae and moss was trickling down the rocks to form small puddles on the floor. She felt herself sighing again. It was true – it really did feel as though they had spent a long time in the miserable place.

"It does seem a rather…unusual location for Exsphere storage," she replied after a moment's consideration. "But I believe that is why there is a chance that the Exspheres will still be present and not have already been taken by the Delphinium Administration."

Lloyd looked over his shoulder as he continued down the passage, a smile on his face. "A chance, huh? How much of a chance?"

Presea grinned as she resumed walking. "About 80 per cent. Although that figure will drop the longer we spend lamenting about our present location."

"Ok, Ok." Lloyd paused while he lit the makeshift torch he had put together earlier. "But y'know, those Delphinium guys really piss me off. Making a profit out of something like an Exsphere – it's not right."

"Affirmative. But are we…" Presea hesitated for a second, trying to word her concerns correctly. "…Is what we are doing any better? I, uh, mean…we are actually destroying the Exspheres. We are terminating the last echo of consciousness from the individual whose body nurtured it."

Lloyd sighed and nodded as he turned to face her. "I know what you mean Presea. I think things like that every time we destroy an Exsphere. Are we doing the right thing? Should we just gather them all and put them away somewhere? But…"

"They…would be lonely." Presea looked down at the puddle she was standing in. Her reflection stared back, rippling from the occasional droplet of water. A single memory captured in that instant. She still couldn't believe how different she looked now, only half a year older physically since she and Lloyd began their journey. Now though, with her hair now hanging loose around her waist and the weight of loneliness and confusion lifted from her shoulders, she barely recognised herself – it was like she was looking a moving picture of a new person. The memories though – her memories – they would always be there, unchanging.

"Nothing should have to go through the pain of being alone," she said at last. "I understand that, and I also know that we are preventing others from suffering because of Exspheres. But still…"

"I know." Lloyd walked up to Presea and ran a hand through her hair, his fingers stroking both it and her cheek beneath. She smiled at the contact, her resolve strengthened with the knowledge that she wasn't the only one who had the occasional doubts.

"Well, with that in mind…there is something I would like to tell you."

Lloyd nodded, the torch casting flickering shadows across his features. "Sure, go for it."

"We are down to about 70 per cent now."

She laughed as Lloyd growled in mock rage and skimmed his foot across the puddle, showering her with the stagnant algae-ridden water. "Come on," he said brightly. "I want to get out of this place as quickly as possible."

They followed the gently spiralling passageway for another few minutes in a positive silence, and Presea found her thoughts wandering again. With this location the Lezareno Company had really outdone itself. She hadn't quite believed it when Regal had informed them that there was an Exsphere storage room within the Fooji Mountain range, much less when it had transpired that the room was actually in one of the aforementioned mountains. Even now, actually being there, she wasn't sure as to what they would find – hoping that it wasn't going to be just another ransacked site. The Delphinium Administration had been far too successful of late in obtaining stored Exspheres and making reportedly large profits on the sale of them on the recently emerging underground market. Such a market had thrived quickly since the general government consensus had become negative towards the use of Exspheres.

She absently rubbed dry some of wet patches on her clothes, noting how quickly the slime from the water had stained them. She realised then how unclean the days travelling had made her feel. Her skin felt itchy from the harsh environment and as she ran a hand through her hair she realised it was full of knots. "We are heading back to the tavern in Meltokio as soon as we have concluded our mission here," she said firmly. "No diversions. I require a bath."

Lloyd sniffed the air. "Yeah, now that you mention it, you do!"

"Continue to jest in that manner and I will have to introduce you to the bottom of a puddle."

"Who said I was joking?" Lloyd's laugh stopped as abruptly as he did, save for a lingering echo, and he waved the torch in front of him, peering into the gloom. "Hey, I think we've found the room."

Presea moved alongside her companion and squinted against the dimly illuminated area before her. The passageway had come to an end so suddenly it was as if someone had been tunnelling down relentlessly before finally getting bored and giving up. The rocky dead end stood unflinching against the weak light of the torch, refusing to renounce its shadows. Just beside it though was a wide and imposing door that was seemingly built into the wall of the passageway. It looked as though it was constructed from some kind of strong metal and Lloyd sighed as the pair advanced. "Man, sure glad we have a key for this thing. Lets just hope it works."

Presea took the torch from the young man and held it close to the lock of the door as Lloyd rummaged around for the key. This is where he tells me that he's lost the key, she thought, staring back up the way they had come.

"Oh man…I think I've lost the key –" Lloyd cut himself short at the sidelong glance Presea gave him. "…Uh, just joking."

"Strange. I thought the purpose of a joke was to make someone laugh."

Lloyd poked out his tongue as he slotted the key into the lock. "Huh, well I thought it was funny anyway. Hey, and we're in."

The clicking of the lock mechanism had barely faded up the passageway as Lloyd pushed the door open, the metal screeching as it caught on surrounding rocks. Presea found herself shuddering at the barren echo of the unpleasant sound as she followed Lloyd through the doorway.

The room beyond needed no torch-light to reveal its secrets. The vast open chamber, split into two by a chasm spanning the length of the floor, was lit by the dying afternoon sun as it poured through thin cracks and holes alike. The jagged plains and angles of the walls glowed with a strange iridescent light from the crystals and plant life that coated them, while pools of sparkling natural water decorated the uneven floor. Presea found her breath taken away by the eerie beauty of the scene.

"Look." Lloyd's voice was no louder than a whisper as he pointed at a small scattering of stalagmites perched on the chasm edge. Nestled in between them were two small chests inscribed with the Lezareno Company insignia, undisturbed for a long time if the quantity of moss coating them was anything to go by.

"We have located the Exspheres." Presea paused in the doorway as Lloyd walked towards the containers. Was it just her imagination or could she hear footsteps and voices back down the passageway?

"Lloyd," she whispered. He turned around and, having got his attention, Presea brought a finger up to her lips and signalled towards the doorway. He nodded his understanding and crept quickly to the chests, drawing one of his swords in the process. Presea waited for a moment, before unbuckling the clasp on her belt and taking her axe in both hands. Leaning round the doorway, she peered into the darkness of the passageway but couldn't see anything – although there was no mistaking it now, there was definitely somebody coming down the tunnel. Bickering voices and a dim light made their way towards her location as she steadied herself defiantly in the doorway.

"Who is there?"

The voices fell silent as her voice echoed up the passage, but the light of the flame continued its approach. A few seconds later, a trio of silhouettes emerged from the gloom, the torch in their possession causing the shadows to retreat fearfully from their presence.

"You…" she muttered, her voice coming out a low growl.

The tallest of the three, a cold looking man with sharp features resembling the rocky environment smiled broadly through his thick beard at her.

"Well if it ain't our little axe bearin' maiden," he said, brushing a long lock of brown hair from his eyes. "Fancy meetin' you down here. Out for a little stroll with lover boy again?"

Presea found herself grinding her teeth as hard as her hands were gripping the shaft of her axe.

"I see no coincidence in finding you here Eiros. You have come for the Exspheres."

"So there are Exspheres here then. That's a relief, I was kinda thinkin' we were wastin' our time." Eiros nodded at his companions, another tall man with a width to match his height and a small wiry woman with an aura of calculating coldness. "Well, straight to business as always. Step aside little girl and let us get what we came for."

"I believe you already know the probability of me submitting to your request." Presea took a step into the corridor, raising her axe to waist height.

The woman spat on the ground. "Ooh," she sneered, her voice a parody of fear. "The little princess is feisty today." She unsheathed two long slender daggers from her belt. "Better watch yourself sweetheart. Get too cocky and you're gonna get hurt."

Eiros nodded at his companion's words and gave Presea another menacing smile. "That's right. Do yourself a favour and listen to Mara's advice."

Presea took a quick sidelong glance to make sure the key was still in the door as she advanced a single step. "Your threats always seem to go unfulfilled if you consider our previous encounters." She met Mara's gaze. "As we broached on the subject of getting hurt, has your ear healed yet?"

The small woman's hand shot instinctively to her right ear and she aimed a look of pure hatred at Presea. "Don't think I've forgotten about that you little wretch. 'sides, it's going to be different this time around."

"Yeah," Eiros chuckled. "The odds are certainly against you this time. You can't fight all three of us alone."

Presea closed her eyes for a second. "I do not intend to."

She leapt forward suddenly, pulling the key loose from the lock and sweeping her axe up in a wide arc towards Eiros. He stepped to one side, avoiding the weapon easily but it transpired that he wasn't the target. The flat of Presea's axe struck the torch he held with tremendous force, knocking it from his hand. The passageway fell into complete darkness as the flame fizzled out on the puddle-ridden floor.

"Dammit." Amid the blind chaos, Presea heard Eiros as he scrabbled in the water for the torch. "Mara! Jorin! Take care of her."

Presea could hear Eiros' companions moving hesitantly towards her. Moving quickly, she dashed back through into the large chamber and pushed the metal door shut.

"Lloyd," she shouted as she fiddled with the key. "Delphinium is here."

Her companion groaned as he finished opening the seal on the second chest. "Aw, geez. What is it with those guys? How many this time?"

The lock turned with a satisfying click and Presea slumped against it, the fatigue of the days travelling having finally caught up with her. On the other side of the door she could hear the trio arguing and scrabbling about in the darkness.

"Just three," she said. "Eiros' team."

Lloyd let a humourless laugh escape from his lips as he opened the chest. "Oh them. For a second there you had me worried."

Presea brushed rogue strands of hair from her face as she walked over to her companion's position. "That may be the case, but I doubt they are alone." She strapped the axe back to her belt. "Delphinium rarely operates with single teams. For now though, at least, we are safe."

"Yeah, but we can't stay in here forever." Lloyd sighed. "Man, I can't stand that Eiros guy. So, what do you want to do?"

Presea thought for a second. "We can dispose of the Exspheres first. If we remove Delphinium's purpose in being here then they may leave."

Lloyd frowned. "It may work, but if Eiros is spoiling for a fight then it may not be enough. Plus, y'know, I don't really want to…" he trailed off.

Presea nodded. "I understand. You don't want to destroy the Exspheres without the proper conditions being present. We will find some other way then."

"Yeah…" Lloyd was staring at the ground, looking embarrassed. "…Sorry."

Presea smiled. Destroying the Exspheres had taken a special, almost spiritual, significance to Lloyd. She could understand though. Each Exsphere had the last traces of a human soul held within it; so, as she had said before, destroying one was akin to ending the existence of the person's consciousness. Lloyd treated the process as a way of releasing the souls from their loneliness and as such had developed criteria as to how it should be done – to make sure the souls could find their way into the afterlife. Whichever way she looked at it, his objections were well founded – disposing of the Exspheres in such an empty, lonely place would not be acceptable at all.

She took Lloyds hand. "You have no reason to apologise. What you do…it is a warm and thoughtful act. It is truly an amazing thing to have such a capacity for generosity. I, myself, still lack your levels of compassion and sensitivity, but I'm learning – and probably from the best." She found herself smiling at the warm feeling that flowed through her at Lloyd's blush. "We will find another way – even if we must force our way out."

Lloyd grinned. "Thanks Presea. Lets do this."

Moving quickly, they removed all the Exspheres from the two chests and placed them in the small rucksack they had brought for the purpose of transporting them. Presea looked around the huge chamber as they worked, her mind constantly working on ways they could escape from the current location.

The sound of metal on metal echoed suddenly through the chamber as Eiros' team began to assault the door with their weapons, desperation seemingly lending them tireless strength. Lloyd looked up as he fastened the rucksack closed. "We're running out of time," he muttered.

Presea glanced at the door. It was true, the metal frame was already beginning to buckle and break away from the adjoining walls. Dust and tiny fragments of stone tumbled from ledge of rock above the door itself.

Presea blinked as something registered at the back of her mind. The ledge seemed to continue up and around from the door, spiralling around the chamber towards the rocky ceiling.

"Lloyd," she said, grabbing his shoulder and pointing at the ledge.

His eyes followed it around the chamber. "Do you think we can get out that way?"

"It may be possible." Presea ran over to the door. "It may also provide a hiding place if nothing else."

Lloyd joined her beneath the ledge. "Ok, let's give it a try. Here, hold on to this and I'll give you a boost up." He handed over the rucksack before kneeling down.

Presea placed an unsteady foot in his cupped hands and nodded her assent. As Lloyd raised her, she grabbed at the ledge and hoisted herself ungracefully up onto it.

"It would be wise not to make a habit out of this," she muttered, slinging the rucksack over her shoulder and looking up at the narrow ledge's route. "It would appear that this ledge passes under many of the holes in the ceiling. There's a chance we will be able to exit through one of them."

"A chance?" Lloyd grunted as he climbed up the wall to reach the ledge. "I won't ask how slim."

Presea smiled as she helped pull the young man up. "In any case, we should hurry – it sounds as though the strength of the door is about to fail."

They made their way up the ledge as quickly as safety would allow, circling the chamber twice before the sound of the door crashing open could be heard far below. Presea chanced a look down to see Eiros and his companions spill into the chamber, unaware of their location. The looming chasm beneath her summoned a terrible giddiness that threatened her legs with paralysis.

"Lloyd…we are…high."

Lloyd looked back and grabbed her hand, smiling reassuringly. "Yeah, but don't worry – I won't let you fall."

Presea gripped his hand tight. "Please don't…I do not think I like heights."

They worked their way round to the topmost layer of the ledge, having to crouch due to their close proximity to the roof. They passed numerous holes, spilling the last rays of sunlight into the room, and although none of them were big enough to fit through, it was comforting to know that only a metre or so stood between them and safety. At the last bend, the ledge petered off into the wall, but directly above the dead end lay a vast hole in the ceiling. Presea could hear the excitement in Lloyd's whisper as he reached it.

"Yes! We should be able to fit through here. We made it!"

He stood up and lifted himself up through the hole. Presea waited for a second before she, too, stood up. Looking up at the pale crimson sky had never before evoked such a joyous feeling. The cold wind swirled down the hole, carrying with it loose snow which caressed her face as she reached up to pass Lloyd the rucksack. It felt beautiful.

"Up there. They're up there!"

The shouting below jolted Presea from her thoughts. Taking a quick glance down, she saw Eiros pointing up at her location and his companions tracing the route of the ledge down to their level. She hastily clambered out of the hole, the sudden contact with the snow-coated surface chilling her hands. It wasn't the first time she had regretted not bringing her gauntlets with her on this trip.

Lloyd helped her to her feet, and she looked up at him apologetically. "We need to locate the Rheaird Lloyd," she gasped, trying to acclimatise to the thin mountain air. "Eiros saw me, he knows where we are."

"I shouldn't worry about that," he replied, his face a mixture of confusion and frustration. "Look."

Presea followed his gaze and saw their Rheaird sat where they had left it – a fine layer of snow now coating it. She stared dumbly at the vessel. "But…I don't understand. How have we come out here…this is where we started."

Lloyd shrugged. "I have no idea. But look over there, that's the crevice we entered the mountain by."

It was true. The large crack in the ground, partly obscured by a compliment of pine trees, stared back at her almost mockingly.

"So…upon entering we appear to have walked in the opposite direction to our planned destination."

Lloyd rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah…guess we should have checked the area a little more thoroughly first, eh?"

Presea glared at the crevice and sighed. "Whatever. Let's leave now."

Her companion brushed the snow from the seats of their craft. "Right! Let's get back and eat. Man, I'm starving."

"Material sustenance can wait." Presea met Lloyds gaze. "I told you, I am having a bath first."

"Don't you think Meltokio looks really different at night?"

Presea thought back to their return trip to the city and nodded. The question evoked the vision that had greeted them as they arrived there during the early night hours – twinkling lights and snow-coated roofs.

"Things always appear different when it is dark. Sometimes it feels frightening, sometimes lonely. But sometimes it can seem intimidating or enchanting. It is strange like that."

"Yeah, I can see what you mean. It looks kinda awe-inspiring tonight though."

Presea took the rope they were using to tie down the covering over their craft, and tethered it tightly against the peg Lloyd had just driven into the ground. She cast an eye about the grounds of the inn, watching the gentle fall of snow accumulate on the finely cut grass.

"Yes. I…like it when it snows," she replied, rubbing her hands to fight off the freezing cold.

Lloyd looked across at the nearby stable as a horse within snorted either its approval or objection at his partner's remark. "It is pretty cool," he agreed with a grin. "I'd build a snowman if I weren't so tired."

Presea smiled at old memories as they began the short walk back to the front door of the inn. "And if you had a reasonable success rate in constructing them."

"Huh," Lloyd scowled, but his voice held genuine humour. "You know, you're beginning to sound a lot like Genis."

Presea paused at the door, watching the warm glow from inside spill out of the windows, bathing her in an orange light. Lloyds comment brought a question to her lips. "I wonder how they are all faring," she said – more to herself than her companion.

"I'm sure they are all doing great." Lloyd smiled as he opened the door. "We've been working really hard at gathering Exspheres lately. Perhaps we should take some time off for a while and see how everyone's doing."

"That would be nice." Presea returned his smile as she entered the inn, dusting the loose flakes of snow from her clothes and noting with a twinge of self-consciousness how filthy they were. Lloyd followed her through, closing the door and returning the waved greeting of the landlord who had just entered from an adjoining room.

"Ah, welcome back young sir, madam. Your room has been cleaned and prepared." He said in a gruff but affable voice. "I hope you've secured your transport well. Word from the local guards here is that there seems to be a thief operating in the area. Apparently quite a few inns and hotels in city have been struck by this individual."

Lloyd raised his eyebrows as he approached the front desk. "Really?"

The landlord nodded. "Yes, apparently nothing really valuable was taken. Some food from the kitchens, clothing from guests, things like that. We've been lucky at this establishment so far, but I'd urge you to remain vigilant."

"I'll be sure to keep an eye on things. Thanks for the warning." Lloyd grinned. "Speaking of food, is there any chance of something to eat? Man, I'm starving"

The landlord nodded. "Of course, young sir. As per your request this morning, supper is being prepared as we speak. It should be ready in just a few minutes." He raised an eyebrow, a smile forming on his face. "Will you be dining before or after bathing?"

"Before," said Presea hastily before Lloyd could reply. She felt his questioning stare out the corner of her eyes and turned to face him. "I informed you earlier that hygiene comes before material sustenance."

"But…I'm hungry." Lloyd protested weakly.

"Certainly madam. I shall notify a maid to have baths prepared. Your meals will be brought up in due course." The landlord smiled. "Have a pleasant night."

"Thank you." Presea nodded. "Come on Lloyd. The longer we take now increases the length of time before you can eat."

"Aw, but I'm hungry now. I'm gonna starve to death in the bath, I know it."

"Then at least you will perish clean."

The landlord watched them head upstairs to their room before slumping into his chair and shaking his head, the smile still on his face. "What an odd pair," he muttered.