A/N: Lloyd is evil, not much information as to why or how but all fingers are pointing at Yggdrasil. It starts in present tense, then goes to past tense, and finally returns to present again. The horizontal lines indicates the transitions.

Blood slowly cascades down a steel blade, and drips onto a stone floor making a small puddle beside a pair of red boots.

Drip…drip…drip…thump.

And a body falls.


"This isn't right, they must have done something to him," Sheena spoke seriously, dusting her clothes off from the dirt she accumulated during the recent battle before turning her focus back to the group.

"This is an unusual choice of action…He must becoming desperate…" Kratos considered, standing in his customary arms-folded-head-down-thinking stance.

"Do you think he chose Lloyd because you left?" Raine asked speculatively,

"Maybe." Kratos simply replied,

"We have to find him!" Colette cried out desperately,

"What do we do if he fights back again? He seems a lot more powerful than before. We could barely stand against him." Regal reminded,

"We tie him up and hit him really hard till he snaps out of it," Zelos smiled cheerfully, fawning faux confidence, receiving a whack from Sheena. Despite his jokes, Zelos was genuinely worried.

"Where do we even start looking for him?" Sheena asked doubtfully,

"I would assume, in time, he will come to us," Kratos assumed,

"We can't just wait, we need to look for him," Genis protested impatiently,

"Well where would you suggest looking?" Raine asked her brother who hung his head in response,

"What about Welgaiea?" Reimi asked turning to Kratos, the one with the most knowledge of the place,

"No. Yggdrasil will be expecting us. We should save Lloyd before battling Yggdrasil," Kratos explained tactfully,

"Won't he be the only one who'll know how to save him though?" Reimi asked managing to hide her own haste,

There was a pause as everyone thought.

"The people in Mizuho might be able to help with this kind of thing." Sheena suggested,

"Also, the research institute in Meltokio and the people in Sybak may be able to help," Raine says chiming in,

The conversation lasted a long while without coming to a unanimous conclusion, so the group finally decided to call it a night after the previous battle and go through a plan in the morning.

However, Reimi was unable to sleep as easily as the rest.

She stared up at her ceiling. She was going over the earlier conversation in her head.

It hurt too much. The worry and fear hurt too much. For him and for her. What if something happened to him? What if he were to disappear?

With that thought Reimi threw the covers off of her and got ready to leave.

She didn't know what she was going to do or how.

She just had to do something. Anything. She was going crazy.

She didn't care the means. She just wanted Lloyd back.

She swiftly jumped onto a Rhieard and took off, not wanting to check if Kratos had managed to notice her movements.

As she flew in the night sky, she couldn't help feeling nervous. She was alone and without a plan but she was too determined to give in.

After a short flight, she landed outside the Tower of Salvation, and as she reached its steps, she looked up at it and hoped it would live up to its name and hold Lloyd's salvation and with that, her own.

She walked up the stairs and into the tower and headed towards the portal, her steps echoed as each foot hit the purple-tinted glass floor.

She trod carefully up to the warp circle, taking a deep breath as she did.

However, suddenly the portal started to light up before she was able to use it, which had to mean it was being used from the other side.

Without a second thought Reimi flung herself behind a pillar tucking her limbs in tightly to make sure she was out of sight.

The sound of the portal stopped and the padding of clad feet with the clinking of helmed swords took its place.

When the steps went passed, Reimi took a chance to peek out behind the pillar to see who it was.

She froze as her eyes widened a fraction.

And as if mesmerised she stepped out from her hiding spot not taking her eyes off the figure's back.

"Lloyd," She breathed,

The figure stopped and Reimi snapped out of her hypnotised state.

Both stood still for a moment.

Then suddenly Lloyd disappeared and Reimi felt a presence behind her back.

Her breath hitched in her throat before just barely dodging Lloyd's straight sword cut.

Without any hesitance he continued his pursuit, Reimi only just managing to avoid his attacks getting cuts here and there.

"Lloyd, stop!" Reimi shouted, jumping back and falling out of the way of a vertical slash that terrifyingly managed to destroy some of the stone alter.

His eyes where fierce…but strangely empty at the same time.

"I will not fight you!" Reimi yelled at him, back-flipping out the way of a raging beast.

As this went on, Reimi grew more exhausted whereas Lloyd didn't even seem to have broken a sweat.

And unfortunately, her speed began to falter, and when she tried to spin away, it gave him an opening.

His sword fed through her skin at her shoulder, diagonally tearing down through her back until it reached pass her hip.

Reimi screamed in pain.


(Back to present tense)

Reimi pushes herself up with her umbrella, gritting her teeth in pain. She had no more strength to fight and she was loosing a lot of blood.

Lloyd slowly walks towards her.

"…L-lloyd, I know, I know you're there…" Reimi croaks weakly as the steps come closer, "…you-you have to come back, you have to come back to us. To me," Her voice was straining, lifting her head to see him. He was now before her.

She grips her umbrella tighter with both her hands, holding herself up on her knees.

She closes her eyes and lets her head fall.

She hears him raise his sword and in turn slowly raises her head again to look into his face.

"I love you." she tells him gently yet desperately, letting her head fall as she waits for the sword to fall upon her.

But it doesn't.

She looks up enough to see him sheathe his swords.

Reimi gazes up at him with the last of her strength to see him staring back as her with the same blank expression but the ferocity had gone.

She feels herself slowly falling and as she does, her eyes do too.


"-s, it's quite deep, if she'd left it untreated I'm afraid what would have happened with that much blood loss. Luckily, she somehow managed to do it herself…"

'Raine….?'

"Who could have done this?"

'Sheena…'

"I don't know. We'll ask her about it once she's woken up." Raine tells her, "She needs to focus on healing first." and with that they leave Reimi to rest.

When she hears the door close, Reimi opens her eyes.

Her back burns still and she reaches behind her to feel bandages wrapped around her body.

A few tears escape her eyes.

"Lloyd…"

A/N: So, if it wasn't clear, Lloyd was the one to bandage her up. You can either interpret this as Lloyd somehow remembering her and feeling some sort of familiarity. OR you can think that this other form of Lloyd somehow has their own attachment to Reimi.