Tales of Symphonia Story, Tethe'alla Chronicles (3)

QUIZ START: You nervously brushed your fingers against the stone on the grave, examining it seriously. A small part of you hoped that it wasn't really an exsphere, however...
"No doubt..." you murmur, "That's...that's an exsphere all right."
"Why is there an Exsphere?..." the exsphere glowed with light blue light for a split second, then a ghost floated before the grave, causing you to jump back in surprise. She was dressed in white and blue and had pink hair like Presea.
"Presea...sis!" the girl greeted, smiling fondly at Presea, "It's you, isn't it?"
"Alicia?!" the girl gasped,
"That's...? How...!?" you murmur. Alicia was dead..even if this was her ghost...what was it doing here?
"Look!" Colette exclaimed
"I'm so happy I can see you again before I disappear..." Alicia sighed,
"What's going on? Are you still alive?" Presea asked almost hopefully.
"I...I exist only in the Exsphere." Alicia explained, "Soon, even my consciousness will be gone. The Exsphere killed my body and absorbed my consciousness."
"I can't believe you've become a victim of the Exsphere as well..."
"Presea, please grant me my request." the ghost asked, "Before I disappear...please find my master. Please find Master Bryant!"
"Bryant..." Lloyd mumbled, the name sounding familiar,
"Bryant? The noble you went to serve?" Presea asked
"Yes. By killing me, he..." however her sentence was cut short when her ghost suddenly vanished.
"Alicia!" Presea cried desperately, "He killed you?! Please, tell me what happened!"
"Please...Presea..." Alicia's voice asked, sounding weak.
"..." it was followed by a few minutes of silence when no one spoke.
"Lloyd, Aura," Presea asked finally, "Please, help me find Alicia's killer."
"We'll find him." you promise, "We won't let him get away after what he's done."
"Of course." Lloyd agreed, "Well beat this Bryant guy to a pulp and drag him back here!"
"Yeah! I won't let him get away with killing your sister!" Genis agreed,
"...Thank you." she mumbled.

As everyone turned to go, Mithos glanced seriously at Alicia's gravestone,
"What's wrong?" Genis asked, the group paused and looked back upon hearing those two words.
"Exspheres are terrible things, aren't they?" the blonde asked,
"Yeah." Genis confirmed softly,
"Hey, time to go." Lloyd advised gently,
"Don't forget... Even though we're looking for 'Bryant' also, right now we're trying to find Professor Raine." you agree.
"Okay." the blonde agreed.

The many people boarded the elevator and went back to the first floor. However as you stepped out you heard something interesting from two men who were speaking in the back.
"Isn't the Otherworldly Gate going to open tonight?" one asked,
"Otherworldly...?" you mumble, "Lloyd...!"
"Huh?" the boy looked back,
"Listen." you ask, nodding towards the boys. Everyone fell silent, listening--actually, eavesdropping.
"Man, I don't like thinking about that. It could suck us over into the hellish land of Sylvarant." the other commented. You and Lloyd glanced at one another,
"Did you hear that...?" Mithos asked, wanting to confirm that he wasn't just hearing things.
"Yeah." the brunette agreed. Lloyd approached them, you and everyone else waiting,
"Excuse me." he asked, gaining their attention, "That Otherworldly Gate you were talking about just now, where is it?"
"Could have been phrased a little better..." you murmur, a sweat drop sliding down your head and a nervous smile on your face,
"That's our Lloyd," Sheena sighed, leaning an elbow on your shoulder, "Direct."
"Who the heck are you?" the first one asked. Mithos approached them,
"I apologize." he said, "We'd like to go see the Otherworldly Gate. Would you be kind enough to tell us where it is?" after glancing at everyone remaining, you all approached them as well,
"Ah, well, if you're looking for the Otherworldly Gate, it's to the east of this city, across the sea." he explained.
"Um...are there any landmarks?" Colette asked hopefully,
"There are huge rocks all over it." the second explained, "You can't miss it. But tonight's a full moon. If the legend is true, then the gate will open and you'll be sucked into the world of Sylvarant!"
"We wouldn't want that...would we...?" you mumble,
"I wonder if Raine is there." Mithos piped up,
"I don't know. But it's the only clue we have. Let's at least take a look." Lloyd decided.
"We should get a move on then." Zelos voiced, "It's almost sundown. It'll take us a bit to get there...we get there too late and Raine may be in Sylvarant already."

You all quickly left the Lezareno company, taking the boat back to the main part of Altimira. However as you were leaving you noticed a stand selling ribbons,
"Hey, Sheena," you ask, "Come here."
"We'll meet you outside." she called, then quickly jogged to you as the others continued out. "What's up?" you turned back holding a handful of thin silver ribbons.
"Here," you offer, "Take one."
"Hmm?" she took one, "What're these?"
"It'll sound really corny but... They're for friends," you explain, "The silver ribbons mean that we're friends. One for you, me, Lloyd, Genis, Raine, Regal, Zelos, Colette, Presea, and Mithos." you explain. Sheena took the ribbons, allowing you to style yours.
You pulled a section of hair on the left side of your face to the front of your shoulder. You wrap the ribbon around your hair, the section right next to your face. You wrap about five inches, then go back up, tying what was left in a bow. This resulted in a 'solid' section of ribbon right next to your face; the bow you tied was up near the top about even with your eye. You took the ribbons back, putting the ribbons in your pack. Sheena wrapped her ribbon around the base of her neck sort of like a choker. She tied the ends into a loose bow at the side of her neck, one tail falling down her back, the other in front.
"By the way," she asked, "There're two extra ribbons there. Why?"
"One's for Yuan," you explain, however you then stop,
"Oh..." Sheena smiled meekly, "You really...want to trust him don't you...?"
"I...can't help it." you murmur.
"Hey, c'mon." the girl said, patting your shoulder, "It's not your fault you've got such a kind heart."
"Heh..." you smile sheepishly. "Thanks, Sheena."

You both made it outside to see everyone waiting,
"Okay! Everyone, take one." you ask, holding out the ribbons. You had set aside the ribbons for Yuan and Raine in the small pouch on your waist, as well as the...extra ribbon.
"What are these for?" Lloyd asked,
"Just so...we know who we can trust." you explain, "The ribbons will tell you who's a friend... Because I'm only giving them to my friends."
"It's like a kind of exclusive thing, right?" Zelos asked, looking at the silver ribbon as it shimmered in the light, "Sweet."
"Do whatever you want with the ribbon, but be sure that you're wearing it...so we'll know." you explain.
Lloyd used his ribbon to tie his short ponytail.
Zelos had you wrap his ribbon twice around his left bicep, tying the rest into a large bow.
Genis tied his around his wrist, but said something about wanting to do something else.
Presea cut hers in half, using one to tie up each of her pigtails.
Regal had Genis tie his ribbon on his shackles.
Mithos tied his on his purple bracelets.
Colette tied her ribbon on her right pinky, assuring you all that it wouldn't bother her.
"Don't forget." you ask, "The ribbon means that we're friends... We can count on each other."
"Right!" everyone agreed at once,
"Now...let's go find Professor Sage!!" Lloyd exclaimed.