The Sage of Spirits: Well, this is one of my new stories - mainly the one that's been bugging the heck out of me by showing scenes while I was asleep... That's one conniving dream story.
Lloyd: No kidding.
Lloyd!
Lloyd: What...? Who's that?!
Me: Oh, just my new OC. This is a twin-fic. Not like the annoying ones where the OC is the one being raised by Kratos (although I do read Li-chan's Silence, that one's good.)... Oh no; this one's where it's LLOYD - not the OC - who gets raised by Kratos.
Lloyd: -slight maniacal laughing- Ah, I should have known - a Cruxis Lloyd Twin Fic.
Yep! Hey, why's my name not revealed?
Me: Umm... they don't know who you are yet. Wow, it's weird having an OC in the author's notes... O.o Someone deal with the disclaimer please.
Lloyd: I'VE got it taken care of. Sage owns nothing.
Me: Please read!
The One Better Off
Prologue: Separation
A fierce battle was waging in the dead of night within the boundaries of the forest of Iselia. A powerful man stood in front of his two children in an effort to protect them from suffering the same fate as their late mother, whose body lay behind them – a bloody mess. The two children constantly changed their nervous and scared glances between each other, onto their father, and then finally onto their mother's corpse – and back to each other and the process continued on. The family pet stood behind the two children, holding the rear strong, although being wounded from the blows from the now deceased woman.
The whole area of the forest smelled of fresh, wet blood as corpses laid all over the grounds, soaking the ground with the red liquid. The trees' normally full branches were empty of any bird or mammal, as the eerie silence filled the air. The man's vision being that of better quality than the normal man, he scanned the premise in an attempt to find the one he needed to slaughter in order to avenge his wife's death.
Seeing nothing even with his increased eyesight, he began to grow worried; the silence was to awkwardly silent for him to let his guard down now. "Noishe…" The man called his trusty pal over as he went over to his beloved and carried her bridal-style in his arms. "Come, we must hurry out of the forest before they launch a second strike…" He began, when the cackling of a voice echoed through the trees; within the gap in the branches crouched the Desian Grand Cardinal himself.
His eyes held a constant squint, a wicked sneer of satisfaction curled onto his lips. "Ah, Kratos, are you looking for this?" The man said as he held up a crystalline object that glowed a light red from the shinning moonlight. The man named Kratos widened his eyes as the object became clear in his mind that that was the cause of his wife's demise.
A fury growing within him, he placed the corpse softly onto the ground and ordered the pet to take off with the two children and provide them with protection until he arrived. Noishe knelt down towards the ground, allowing the young boy and girl to climb onto his soft yet durable fur. Telling the children to hold on tight, Kratos watched as the creature sped off to keep his children safe.
"This time there are no more innocent lives for you to toy around with Kvar! I will be taking that exsphere back!" He said as he unsheathed his sword, charging at the man at full speed. Kvar instantly countered with his staff, placing the exsphere safely onto his weapon – Kratos obviously knew Kvar was going to try and amplify his magic with Anna's exsphere.
Kratos charged at the man, or rather more so to the staff that held his beloved's exsphere, and slashed hard onto the wooden stick, causing a nick in the wood. Kvar brought his staff up into a defensive position as Kratos continually pummeled the wooden staff at the source of the cut until it broke apart; the head of the weapon that held the crystal rolled away from the two men. Kratos brought out his azure wings and flew straight into the piece of wood and quickly picked it up, smiling with confidence.
"I'd hand that over, Kratos…" Kvar began, snapping his fingers. Kratos saw with horror as his two children, a tired and injured Noishe, and his beloved Anna's corpse trapped on a ledge by the Desians. "Or do you want your family thrown over the cliff?" He said as his wicked smile returned onto his face; he was going to make this 'inferior being' pay dearly for his traitorous actions…
Kratos gave his own little smirk at the squinting man. "What are you planning? I have you in a tight situation! How can you be smirking at ME?!" Kvar shouted; Kratos remained quiet as he warped in front of his family as he placed the exsphere in his son's tiny hands.
"Hold onto that tightly for Daddy okay, Lloyd?" He said as he looked down onto the young boy; his soft brown hair partially covered his brown eyes.
"Okays, Daddy." He replied. Kratos removed his sword and swiftly took down the Desian that stood the closest to him. However, Kvar was not about to play fair; he took what was left of his broken staff and sent forth a tremendous amount of energy from within him; the lightning strike cut through the ground, sending the twin boy and girl, the corpse, the pet and the exsphere over the edge.
Kratos watched in horror as he froze; what was he to do…? What was he to do?! "Kvar!" He shouted in bloody fury. "Light of the heavens, cast thy purifying light upon these souls – rest in peace sinners!" He said as he began to glow brightly; the clouds that were floating overhead began to open up, as if by some divine force willed them to move. "Judgment!" He shouted, pointing his palm at the Desians.
"No! Kratos, you inferior being!" Kvar shouted as beams of pure light rained from the sky, killing off all those unfortunate enough to be within the line of fire. As the beams continued to fall, Kratos himself jumped off of the cliff's rugged edge, off to search for his broken family. Kvar instantly saw his opportunity to ruin the man's chances of finding them as he called for the Leader of the Angels…
Kratos unfurled his sapphire wings and instantly used his angelic capabilities to its fullest in order for him to find any trace of the twins. Within twenty-five yards, Kratos could hear the sounds of sniffling and tears of one of his lost children. What luck! Fate smiled upon him, even on this terrible event!
His luck ran out as he grew tired and weary; he began to shout out his children's names, hoping that they could follow his frantic voice and head towards him, even as he grew even more tired. He landed hard up the ground, but still got onto his feet; Anna would not have wanted him to give up so easily.
Please Anna… Help me find our children... I beg of you, please… He begged in his thoughts as he slowly walked on.
"Daddy!" A voice shouted, rising up Kratos's hopes. A voice! Is it really true that one of the twins were alive? Or was it simply a ruse from his own imagination, trying to appease him in the hopes of-
"Daddy!" It was NOT an imagination from within his mind! One or both of his children were okay and safe!
"Lloyd?! Tana?! I'm coming!" He shouted into the air, hoping that his voice carried on in the night, as nature intended that the winds should not blow this evening. Finding the energy to trot on through the forest foliage, he eventually came upon a tiny figure, badly bruised. Using whatever mana he could find in the exhausted forest, he managed to heal the boy enough to save his life. "Lloyd!" He yelled, taking the sniffling boy into his arms; Lloyd wrapped his tiny arms around the man. "Lloyd, where is Tana and Noishe?"
"I no knozs…" He said. "I gives Tana the thingy. We go faw and I no knozs wers Tawna…" He continued as Kratos rocked the boy to quiet him down. As if in perfect timing to ruin the tender moment, a blond-haired, rainbow-winged angel appeared behind him.
"Ah, there you are Kratos; I half-expected you to be in severe mourning. I wonder why… Aah… I see. So you have found one of YOUR twins…" He said with a snarl; this would ruin his chance to…
Wait... I think I've got it! He shouted in his mind. "Kratos… come back with me; take the boy with you so you won't be alone." He said, hoping the move would work.
"No. I'm not going back. I'm going to find my daughter and continue to run away from you, Cruxis, everything that I had dared to stand up for." He said as he began to walk off, leaving the angel there. The blond haired angel grew furious; how DARE he try to continue and defy him! He charged at the man, holding him by his shoulders. "Yggdrasil! Let me go! I must find Tana!" He said as he tried to shake off the grip of the angel. Kratos began to glow red as he bent down in pain, but being ever so careful as to not drop his son; he held the young toddler in his arms with a deathly grip.
"I've temporarily turned off your ability to warp, Kratos. A shame, isn't it? You not being able to warp, but I can, and that I can warp any number of people I wished with me?" He sneered proudly, never releasing his grip off of the man's shoulders. "Now, you and your SON are coming with me." He said as he began to take off into the sky.
"Daddy, me scard…" Lloyd whispered into his ear; Kratos pulled and pulled with all of his might, but he could not break free.
"No! Tana! Tana!!" He shouted as he traveled upward into the high heavens…
Me: Whelp, that's that!
Lloyd: Yes it is.
Tana: Aww... -hugs Lloyd- Don't join Cruxis please, Lloyd?
Lloyd: Sorry, but it looks like I am. -evil grin-
Me: Alrighty then! Review please!
