I suppose you're all wondering where I've been. Bluntly, I had no ideas or motivation and found I couldn't bring myself to even care enough to write anything. I seriously stared at the chapter for 'Ensnared' for an hour and had NOTHING. Have not found myself with the capacity to even give a single *beep*. I had this chapter done but was threatened- er, 'convinced' not to post it yet by a certain someone that shall not be named (Symphoniafancough). But given I cannot bring myself to care about fanfiction anymore, I figured I might as well do what I DO feel like doing. This is just what she gets for leaving me alone.
So you all enjoy this, I have to run for my life because she's going to kill me.
C'ya
(Runs)
Disclaimer: own nothing
It was hot.
A lake of fire, searing up through the earth, burning, rising toward him, yet he couldn't move. His body wouldn't respond and the fire engulfed him, burning at him, yet he wouldn't burn away, he wouldn't melt, just stood there and felt the heat sear.
It hurt, but not nearly as much as it should have. It burned, seared, tore, but it never became painful enough to even lose his strength to stand.
There was a sound; he wasn't quite sure what it was. It reminded him of…whales, on one of their trips across the sea they had run into some of the creatures. Their songs, deep, haunting, slow, beautiful, it sounded like that, but…and added…something…rougher, stronger, almost like a roar- a howl? A screech…if a screech could be beautiful…
Whatever it was, it was entrancing. It seemed to dim the heat, the pain had all but vanished. Still he felt the fire sear, yet somehow he could do so without feeling any damage done to his body. His clothes remained intact, his body remained whole. Still all he could focus on was that sound, the sound and the searing fire around his body-
His eyes snapped open.
Lloyd groaned, sitting upright and shaking his head, sighing deeply. Groggily he scanned the camp, noting Noishe curled up by his side, Colette curled in her sleeping bag and-
"You're up again."
The teen turned, meeting the russet eyes of his father, who had walked over from the edge of the camp. It had been only a couple days since the reunification of the world. It seemed so long ago already, however… Kratos had been going to leave on Derris-Kharlan, but due to Lloyd's urging had finally conceded to spending two weeks with his son on his exsphere-hunt before leaving. Two weeks wasn't a lot, he knew, but…he was glad to have it anyway…
"Yeah…" Lloyd sighed, looking at the ground. "Just…can't sleep well."
"That's the third time tonight that you've woken, are you having difficulty feeling tired? It could be your body adjusting to your angelic evolution…"
"No, I fall asleep fine," he said, looking at his father. "Just-…weird dreams lately."
He barely uttered the last part, frowning as he lost himself to the images again, to the sound of that call…
"Lloyd." Kratos' voice shook him from his thoughts. "Are you certain you're all right?"
"Yeah, Dad, sorry…I'm fine," he replied with a weak smile. "I'll just go back to sleep now-…are you sure you don't want a break from nightwatch?"
"I don't have to sleep."
"Well none of us do, but I can still give you a break if you want."
Kratos looked down at him before shaking his head.
"No, you go ahead and rest. I don't mind."
Before Lloyd could say anything more the man had turned, walking away from him. However, the Seraph had only gotten a few feet before he stopped.
"Lloyd."
"Yeah?"
"Are you cold?"
"Huh? What, no, why-?"
"You're shaking."
Lloyd blinked before turning his attention to his arms, which were in fact, shaking. He frowned, wrapping his arms around his chest. His entire body was shaking- but he didn't feel cold. So- was it the exsphere? Was it that he couldn't feel the cold even though he was -? Wait, no, it didn't work like that…did it?
Kratos had walked back over, grabbing his arm. Lloyd flinched a second then looked to see Kratos pulling up his sleeve. The man's hand touched his bare arm and he frowned.
"Is- is my skin cold?" Lloyd frowned, shifting awkwardly.
"…No," Kratos said simply, pulling his sleeve back down. "Perhaps it is a result of stress, you've been through a lot lately. Rest, and make sure you keep warm."
Lloyd frowned. Something didn't make sense here, but before he could ask Kratos, his father had already gone back to his post as the nightwatch. What was with him? Was he really just stressed? Why was he shaking? He didn't feel cold….well it was a little cool, but not cold. Still- ...agh, whatever, he was just tired probably. It was weird but he'd think about it in the morning…
If he didn't wake up again…
He didn't feel much different the following morning, though he didn't feel 'bad' at all. They were traveling on foot through a mountain range near the valley of the LInkite Tree, searching for some mine that had been rumored to be a site for exspheres. It'd be bad if someone found them and tried to excavate them, like they had with the Toize mines in Tethe'alla. Their plan wasn't concrete yet, but if they confirmed the mine they were probably going to enlist Raine or one of the other's help in collapsing it so no one could find them.
However, as of then they hadn't found anything for their efforts. That and they were already a decent ways through the mountains by the time the dark clouds began to roll in.
"It's going to storm, we should find shelter," Kratos said, eying the sky. "And I doubt it would be wise to attempt to fly, with or without the rheairds."
"Yeah, let's settle down then." Lloyd nodded.
He didn't pay it much mind, as they settled down into camp in a nearby cave, didn't really notice how much warmer it was, it wasn't really damp either. Then again, Kratos and Colette didn't seem to think it was hot either, but he had to remind himself that he wasn't affected by heat as much anymore, like them.
"It's dark toward the back," Colette said after a bit. "I can't see all the way to the wall…"
"It's likely a cavern," Kratos said as he piled wood onto the fire to cook their meal. "This area has a vast system of tunnels and the like, as well as volcanic activity."
"Wait, you mean it goes into the mountain?" Lloyd asked, looking toward the dark end. "Should we check it out? There might be some monsters down there-"
"Unlikely, if there is anything living in here it will be much further down. We'll keep an eye out of course, but anything that lives down there in all likelihood will not stray up this far."
Lloyd frowned a bit but nodded, turning back to their camp.
Still…there was…something weird about this place. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something about it gave him goosebumps. As if….no, it wasn't like being watched, rather it was more as if something was…drawing him. He kept glancing down the tunnel frowning. It felt like there was a breeze of sorts, however faint, coming from down the tunnel. It was warm, as if some massive animal was breathing softly. He shook his head, turning back to what he had been doing. His imagination was running away with him.
However, as it slipped into night the storm began to rage outside, water cascading down like a waterfall, the loud blast of thunder echoing through their shelter. Needless to say, it woke them all up, especially when water began to seep into the mouth of the cave.
"Aw hell," Lloyd said with a groan. "We're gonna have to move back down the tunnel some more."
"Indeed, let's quickly pack up, but be careful."
"Yes Kratos, we know," Colette said with a smile.
Lloyd had already gotten up, and was working on rolling up his bedroll when suddenly, they heard it. A distinct rumbling from directly over head, and-
If it hadn't been for his quick reflexes and his newly enhanced ears, it would've been likely that he would've been squashed. The cave had collapsed in, Lloyd jumping backwards further into the tunnel as the light from their faint fire was blocked from his vision, as was the entire entrance. He was trapped on the other side.
"G- Guys!" he called, then stepped back further, wary of the unstable roof.
"We're all right, Lloyd!" Colette called. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"N- No, I'm fine," he said.
He scanned the rubble before him, it would've been impossible to see in this darkness if not for his angelic sight, but from what he saw it still looked like he was sealed in pretty good.
"Should I try to move the rocks-?"
"No," Kratos' voice came. "You'll risk the entire tunnel caving in on you. Listen, if you're all right, try to find another exit. As I've mentioned there's an entire network down here, you should be able to find another way out."
Lloyd fidgeted, glancing at the fallen rocks then down the dark tunnel. It was even warmer now that the rocks had blocked off the path outside, he was already starting to sweat a bit. Still, he probably didn't want to cause this entire thing to collapse, and staying here wasn't likely to help him in any way.
"Lloyd, do you have your swords?" Kratos asked.
Lloyd blinked, scanning the floor of the cave on his side, sighing in relief when he spotted the blades.
"Yeah, I've got'em," he replied, quickly attaching them to his belt.
From the looks of it, though, that was all he had. His jacket and even his boots were on the other side, as well as all the supplies. Still, he'd manage, it wasn't like he had a choice.
"Be careful, Lloyd," Kratos said. "Try to look where you step, and keep an ear out for any creatures."
"All right, I'll be fine," he called back, looking toward the dark tunnel with a frown. "Don't' worry about me, I'll try to meet you at another exit."
"Be careful!" Colette called, her voice wrought with concern.
Lloyd hesitated a bit, looking at the wall one last time before back down the tunnel. Great, this was going to be a pain in the ass. If he'd been a normal human he was sure he'd be screwed if he ran into any monsters in here, or even any drop offs. Still, if worse came to worse and he couldn't go any further, he would just have to come back here and try to move the rocks again. The tunnel might collapse, sure, but that 'might' was a better chance than staying in here and starving to death….
So he headed off, slowly, straining his eyes against the darkness and his ears against the silence. His bare feet scrapped against the rocky surface, but so far it wasn't that bad, just annoying, not painful; the thing that was bothering him, though, was the heat. It was getting hotter and hotter the further down the tunnel he went, and he was beginning to feel his hair paste to his skin. Kratos had mentioned there were volcanoes in this area, hadn't he? Damn, just great, now he could add incineration to the list. Maybe he should turn around-
That's when he heard it.
A sound, low, soft, echoing through the tunnels, something so familiar and yet- where had he heard it? It sounded like- like….
He closed his eyes, trying to remember. Where had he heard this? From…from….
The dreams.
His eyes snapped open, staring into the darkness.
Yes, from the dreams. It was the same sound that sang to him in the dreams about the fire, about burning…the sound that…soothed it, that made the heat almost….nice.
Somehow, any doubts or hesitation he had was pushed to the back of his mind. He continued down the tunnel, the sound echoing off the walls, in his head, drawing him toward its source. It only continued to become hotter, his black shirt sticking to his chest. Still, he couldn't turn back. Something…he just…he couldn't explain it. He had to get to it, he had to find out what it was, he had to find out what had been calling him, calling him since the tree had sprouted, since he became aware of mana…
He wasn't sure how long it had been, when the tunnel finally opened out into a large cavern, a red glow illuminating it. It didn't take him long to realize the glow was from a large pool of magma in the chamber, churning heat into the dry air. Still, there was in fact something more interesting in the cavern.
That was, namely, a small mountain of gold.
Lloyd stared at it, stunned. A huge heap of gold coins and various other treasures were hoarded up in the chamber, the red light from the magma gleaming off their surfaces, making them appear to 'shimmer', like fish swimming close to the surface in strong sunlight. What the hell was all this doing in here? Where was he? And- that sound, where was it coming from? It sounded like it should be right there, right in the chamber.
Slowly he crept in, looking around, his eyes drifting back to the gold. The sound was everywhere, but there was nothing there. Just the lake of fire and the heaps of metal, so where was it coming from? Why-
"Ugh…" he staggered a bit, bringing a hand to his head, his eyes shut tightly.
He felt…weird, tired, dizzy…he was probably dehydrated, he told himself. Dammit, this was stupid! He shouldn't have come down this far, he should've just tried to go back the other way! This…this…
The teen twitched, opening his eyes slowly, the gold gleaming in the red light. His fingers twitched. Something…somehow…that looked so…appealing. It puzzled him, he'd never really been one to obsess over wealth, and usually all the fancy gems and the like he'd seen here and there were just…pretty stones. He would admire them a bit, but they really weren't that big of a deal, he didn't care too much for the monetary value. So…so why was it suddenly, this heap was so inviting? Wait…inviting? Yeah…it wasn't….greed, he didn't 'want' it- wait, yes he did- did he?
Before he could ponder it further he swayed, staggering forward, breathing hard. He was so tired, exhausted, he didn't think he could take another ten steps much less go back up the tunnel. Then there was still that sound- that sound! That…song….that…lullaby…
Maybe he should just lay down, yeah…just for a minute, to get his wits about him. But the stone underfoot was…gritty, and…rough. But where else was there to-…
Lloyd's brown eyes flicked up, the red glow staining a crimson gleam in his irises, though they were focus more on the gold. Smooth…pretty….
He didn't know what possessed him, but suddenly he couldn't stay away. The teen made his way to the heap, climbing on top of it. It was pushed down, indented, like the bedding of a deer in the grass, as if something had curled up on it, like a bed. Though a …bed sounded…nice…
He collapsed down onto it.
He breathed deeply, eyes closed, laying on his back. Every breath he took seemed to newly alert him to the heat, to the sweat breaking on his skin. Still, despite that, it felt...nice. He could feel the gold coins under him, scalding hot from the already hot temperatures in the cavern. They burned, hissing against his flesh like a skillet frying eggs, yet it didn't hurt.
It felt like...when he would get muscle cramps, and he'd put a pack of hot water on it. It was hot, but the warmth was soothing, it eased out the tension in his body, relaxed his muscles. It was particularly hot on his bare arms, as his under-shirt shielded his skin from the heat to an extent. He frowned a bit, rolling onto his side, curling up as his body sank into the coins.
It was hardly a fitting bed, it should have been uncomfortable. The sizzling heat, the hard surfaces, all the edges and uneven surfaces. So why then, was he so comfortable? Why then did he just want to curl up and go to sleep, to take a nice, long nap...
He could stay there forever, it felt like, just curl up into a little ball, sink into the burning metal and just lose himself to the comfort-
A loud crunch accompanied by the clanking of metal on metal met his ears and his eyes snapped open. Quickly he sat up, looking toward the noise, then gaped upwards, feeling the color bleed from his face. The enormous dragon looked down at him, releasing a short puff of smoke from its nostrils. It was clearly not happy.
So what force in hell made him hiss at it like some infuriated serpent?
Oh Lloyd, how I love messing with your little mind x3
What'd ya think? ;)
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to run for my life (runs from Symphoniafan)
