Disciple of the Iron Element: Lucario

Prologue 2: Tragedy on Iron Island

By Tilfang

Author's Notes: Whew, took forever for an update, school has been murder lately. Anyway, next chapter is up, enjoy.

Special thanks to L100Meganium for being my beta reader and taking the time to edit!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any other namesakes or references to the games; they are all copyrights to Nintendo.

Ten Years Later

Lloyd was a riolu. That much was obvious for he had all of the physical qualities of one; black feet, red eyes, aura sensors and even a yellow collar. However, he lacked the most vital trait that all Riolu possessed. Since birth, Lloyd was unable to use the power of Aura.

Upon discovering this, Lloyd trained tirelessly everyday with both his father and mother to overcome his condition, but each attempt brought no sign of improvement. Even his god father, Aggron, attempted to assist Lloyd in his training, but it did not help.

Yet in spite of how self conscious he was, Lloyd remained oblivious to how important he was to the entire pokemon world, particularly steel types.

Another day was coming to an end, for the sun had slowly begun its descent behind Mt. Coronet. Lloyd sighed as he sat upon the ledge of one of the mountains on Iron Island. Numerous flying type pokemon including the common Staravia, Chatot, Gligar, and even the occasional Honchkrow flew towards the horizon, returning to their nests to retire for the day.

Lloyd had just finished his training, which included hours of punching, kicking and meditation, and while his physical condition was in top form, he was still unable to conjure up any Aura energy at all.

On a regular basis, Lloyd would grow frustrated with his failure, which often led to more punching and kicking, but for some reason he wasn't as energetic compared to earlier days. Maybe he had grown accustomed to disappointment, or perhaps he had come to accept that he would never be able to wield the power of Aura.

"It's not fair," he complained as he gazed at the clouds "Mom and dad are the best Aura users on the Island, but I can't even see Aura."

Lloyd sighed as he stretched and yawned. "Maybe I'm some sort of freak…"

"You shouldn't say things like that about yourself."

Lloyd twisted around to see none other than his father, Luke, climbing up the cliff behind him "Thought I'd find you up here."

Luke walked up and gazed out into the horizon, a small smile appearing on his face as he recalled older memories of when he too would scale a tall structure just for the sake of witnessing the sun descending.

"Nice sunset, huh?" Luke said after a moment of silence.

"Yeah," Lloyd responded without much enthusiasm. "It's okay, I guess."

Luke glanced at his son before sitting down next to him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I was just…thinking, that's all," Lloyd said as his gaze fell to the floor.

"About your training?"

"Yeah…I just don't get it," Lloyd said as he looked up at Luke's face "Why can't I feel Aura? I've been trying for years now and still nothing."

Luke sighed as he rested an arm around Lloyd's shoulder. "You shouldn't worry yourself with those sorts of things, mastering Aura takes time."

"Yeah, but it only took you a few years to master." Lloyd replied "Why can't I use it?"

"Let me ask you another question, why do you want to learn how to use Aura, Lloyd?" Luke asked.

The Riolu hesitated, thinking for a moment before responding. "I wanna use Aura so I can grow up to be the strongest Lucario!" Lloyd said confidently.

"Well, then, in that case you don't need the power of Aura at all." Luke chuckled.

"Huh?"

"You don't need it," Luke repeated. "You can easily become the strongest Lucario without so much as seeing Aura."

"R-really?" Lloyd blinked, surprised at his father's response.

"Sure, I mean you have the important things a warrior needs, dedication, potential and determination. I've seen you during your training, even Aggron agrees, you always put your heart in whatever you do, and that is all that really matters in the long run." Luke said.

"Y-Yeah but…what if I evolve into a Lucario…and I still can't use Aura?" Lloyd said with an undertone of anxiety. "What then?"

However, Luke merely shrugged "So what? That doesn't mean you aren't a Lucario," Luke said "Pokemon are not given names because of what they do or what attacks they use. I mean, what if a Snover can't grow berries, does that mean he's some sort of 'freak'?"

"N-no, I guess not." Lloyd said.

"Then why should you be any different?" Luke said as he hugged his son "I know you'll be a strong Lucario one day, and you'll get there with or without Aura."

"Really?" Lloyd perked up and wagged his tail.

"Of course," Luke smiled back "Your one of the toughest pokemon on this island (Not as much as your mother, though) you don't need Aura to be a strong warrior. But most importantly, always remember to never let others get you down about your abilities. Your mother and I both love you and you should love yourself, not just for who you want to be but for whom you are now, remember that…Whoa, it's getting late, we should head back." Luke said as he noticed the darkening sky.

"Okay." Lloyd replied as he followed his father back down the mountain.

It was nightfall by the time both of them entered their cave on the northern part of Iron Island.

Lloyd's mother was already resting on her bed when Luke sat down to join her. "Goodnight, Lloyd." He said as he lay down.

"Goodnight," Lloyd said as he sat down on his bed. "Oh, umm, hey dad?"

"Mmm, what is it?"

"Thanks." Lloyd smiled as he drifted off into sleep "I love you, dad."

"I love you too, son."

-The Next Morning-

Lloyd yawned as he stretched and stood up from his bed. The light from the morning sun was leaking into the cave mouth, partially filling up the den.

As he got out, Lloyd noticed that his parents were still asleep. Not wanting to wake them up, he tiptoed out of the cave and slid down the mountain side.

"Time to do some laps." He grinned as he dashed down to the mountain valley.

It was standard procedure: three laps around the island followed by muscle exercises and then meditation.

If he could complete them without distractions, he would be finished by midday. However, no later than three minutes after he started did he spot a shadow gliding next to him.

He darted his eyes towards the sky where he saw a familiar figure flying above him.

"Morning, Lloyd." The bug-shaped figure chirped.

"Morning, Vibrava." Lloyd responded, waving to the flying dragon type.

Vibrava was Lloyd's closest friend and companion. He had appeared one day on Iron Island from nowhere and was adopted by a family of Skarmories. Although he wasn't a steel type, he was happily welcomed among the other steel type Pokemon.

Since meeting, Lloyd and Vibrava had gotten along instantly and did everything together from training to pulling pranks on the older Pokemon.

Unfortunately, he had a notorious reputation for seeking attention from both humans and Pokemon, whether it was through showing off or irritating them to madness.

"You seem to be in a good mood." Lloyd mused, noticing the smug look on his friend's face "You haven't been up to any trouble, have you?"

"Yup." The dragon admitted without hesitation.

"Really, what was it this time?"

"Some old human with a shovel," Vibrava said with a smirk "He was digging for fossils all day, and he kept on singing about how much he loved fossils. It drove me out of my mind so I decided to try and steal one…you know, to see his reaction."

Lloyd smiled. He loved hearing about Vibrava's pranks "So what happened when you did?"

"Umm, I don't remember all of it," Vibrava scratched his head as he tried to recall "I remember he got real mad, so he chased after me. I outpaced him, but then he sent out a Bastiodon and ordered it to use some attack. Then…everything went black and I woke up in a huge crater."

Lloyd burst out laughing at his friend's misfortune while Vibrava scowled.

"Hey! It's not funny! I got bruises all over my body from that stupid human." Vibrava said.

"I'm sorry," Lloyd said after he stopped laughing. "It's just that you –

THUD

Lloyd groaned as he slammed into a large object.

"Oh, sorry," the object said. "Didn't see you there."

The Riolu groaned again as he rubbed his head, but as he looked up he instantly recognized who he had bumped into.

"Hi, Aggron!" Lloyd said cheerfully, trying to ignore the throbbing in his head.

"Oh, hello Lloyd." he said, turning to face him. "Training early again, I see."

"Yup," Lloyd smiled "I'm gonna give it my very best today, sorry, no time to talk, see you around." He said quickly as he turned to leave.

"Watch yourself now there are humans on the island."

This made both of them stop.

"Really?" Lloyd said, turning to face Aggron. "Are they trainers?"

"I don't think so." Aggron scratched his chin "But they were dressed rather oddly for humans."

"What did they look like?" Vibrava asked.

"It's hard to describe," Aggron said "They came with a whole bunch of their human machines or whatever, I overheard some of them talk, they called themselves Team Galactic or something like that."

Aggron shook his head "Regardless of whether or not they are trainers, you should watch yourselves." He said addressing both Lloyd and Vibrava. "You don't want to go off and get captured, at least not at such young ages."

"Don't worry, we'll be extra careful" Lloyd shouted as he took off again with Vibrava following. "Thanks, and bye!"

"Take care!" Aggron said back as the two Pokemon ran off into the distance.

After around ten more minutes of running, Vibrava became restless.

"This is getting booooring." Vibrava complained as he flew alongside Lloyd. "Let's go do something funny…like drawing graffiti on Bronzong while he's resting." He chuckled.

"Come on, Vibrava." Lloyd said as he continued running. "Just a bit more…"

However, Lloyd was interrupted by the sound of a loud explosion.

The two Pokemon froze as a huge pillar of blue light rocketed into the sky. The light seemed to be coming from the center of the Island, although it was certainly far away.

The tip of the light then changed course and flew towards the mainland, striking Mt. Coronet.

The beam continued to flow like a powerful river flowing from the middle of the island to the tip of Mt. Coronet. While the spectacle was awe inspiring, it was definitely unnatural.

Lloyd wondered if this was the human's dong.

The light continued for several minutes, the two pokemon were hypnotized by the swirl of blue and green that radiated from the light. What was really strange was that Lloyd thought he could hear a ringing sound, and although it was faint, it was definitely coming from the beam of light.

"Hey, you hear something?" Lloyd asked as he attempted to see where the sound may be coming from.

"Uhhh, no not really." Vibrava responded, confused.

"That's strange, because I thought I heard a…"

BOOM

Lloyd was cut off by the sound of another huge explosion, this one larger than the last but in a different location.

More explosions went off, followed by an earth shattering roar.

Lloyd immediately bolted towards the second sound.

"HEY, don't go! It might be dangerous!" Vibrava called after his friend, but he was well out of sight.

Lloyd ignored the warning, panicking as his mind was plagued with only one thought: The explosion came from his house, where his parents were still sleeping.

He dashed as fast as his legs could manage; sweat rolling down his head, hoping with all his heart that his mother and father were unharmed.

As he jumped over a large boulder, Lloyd felt the ground rumble under his feet.

He was running even faster now, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

As he entered a large clearing, his entire body froze up at what he saw.

A Steelix, massive, much larger than any he had ever seen lay stood before him with his back turned to him.

Before the Steelix, Lloyd saw a huge pile of rubble: The remains of his home.

Lloyd hastily scanned the area for his parents, and was relieved when he saw both of them, seemingly unharmed on the edge of the mound of rocks.

His relief turned into horror when he saw the Steelix raise its tail to attack them.

On instinct, Lloyd dashed forward, paw outstretched and glowing with power.

"Take this Brick Break!" Lloyd slammed his fist against the snake's body, cracking it slightly.

However Steelix did not seem to show any sign of external pain, he merely turned around to face the Riolu and swung his tail towards him instead.

Lloyd dodged the attack with ease, Steelix may have been strong, but he was slow.

He then looked up to face his adversary, expecting to see a twisted snarling face, yet to his surprise, the giant pokemon's face seemed to be conflicted, its eyes were glowing blue and his face seemed to possess a mixture or pain and irritation.

Steelix then dove in for a Crunch attack but Lloyd timed the attack and leaped over the snake's head as it came down close to him.

"Eat this, DRAIN PUNCH!" Lloyd's yelled as his fist came crashing down on Steelix's head, sending it plummeting to the earth.

To his dismay, there was no sign that his attack had done any damage at all. Annoyed, Steelix flung his head upwards with Lloyd still on it, causing the Aura pokemon to go flying across the valley.

Lloyd landed against a boulder, stunning him. He yelped in pain as he fell to the ground.

In the midst of the chaos, he wondered why his parents had not jumped into the fight or even made an effort to escape; they were more than capable of dealing with the iron serpent.

However, Lloyd saw that his mom and dad looked as if they were in pain. Although there was no sign of any bruises or cuts on them, they were clutching their heads as if they were being tormented. It was as if all pokemon were under some sort of curse.

"What the…WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?"

Lloyd turned around to see that Vibrava had followed him, for he had just emerged from over the hill, shock evident in his expression.

However, Vibrava did not seem to be under the same influence as the Steelix or his parents.

Is it only affecting steel types? Lloyd thought.

"Lloyd!" Vibrava shouted. "I tried to follow you, but then I ran into Aggron, and he acted all crazy! Like a Spinda overdosed on Carbos'!"

Lloyd's eyes widened when he heard this.

So it is only steel types, Lloyd thought. However, he was interrupted when he heard the Steelix groan from across the field.

"Vibrava!" Lloyd called "Go find Aggron, try and get him back to normal and tell him my mom and dad are in trouble!" he said hastily.

"But…"

"Go!"

The dragon didn't respond, but nodded quickly and darted off to find the armored Pokemon.

Steelix emerged from the ground, practically unscathed and approached Luke and Aurora.

Lloyd despaired "He's practically unhurt and my parents are unable to battle, how do I beat him now, none of my attacks work!"

He thought back and remembered what his dad taught him about steel types, that they have good defenses and high stamina, but they can easily be taken out by super effective non physical attacks like Aura Sphere.

Lloyd despaired even further "Shoot, I can't use Aura Sphere because I can't use Aura!"

As Steelix approached the two paralyzed pokemon, he used bind on them, and while it was a type disadvantage, both pokemon were losing HP.

Lloyd knew at least one Aura Sphere was capable of stopping the Steelix, at least enough for him to release his bind attack.

If only he wasn't cursed with the inability to use Aura!

But he couldn't give up, not with his parent's trapped within Steelix's coils.

Lloyd immediately got into a meditation stance as he had done numerous times during training.

His mother had told him that Aura was the life force within every living thing and that the key to controlling it was to manipulate both physical and mental powers together as one. He had tried countless times in the past, but he had failed every time.

Lloyd focused, attempting to use the anger and frustration to motivate himself.

Closing his eyes, Lloyd focused as hard as he could, his muscles tensed as he felt energy surge from within him. He opened his eyes; but nothing was happening.

"Dang it!" Lloyd tried again and again to maintain focus, but each time he failed to produce the blue sphere.

To his relief, Steelix had released the two pokemon, only to hit them with a Slam attack into a corner.

Lloyd was desperate; he could hear both his parents struggling against Steelix.

He cursed after another failure, angry at himself for being so incompetent.

Anger.

Lloyd froze, he could feel a strange power coursing through his body, it was sending chills up his spine, but he could feel it. And it was coming from his hatred. Focusing this power, Lloyd attempted to further his own anger, heightening his frustration towards the Steelix for attacking his family.

It was working; he felt even more power flowing through his body after stimulating thoughts of anger.

Lloyd opened his eyes, he could see it! It was a strange energy flowing into his palms through his arms and chest.

It must have been the power of Aura! He had done it! He had mastered Aura!

"Aura sphere!" Lloyd shot out his arms, forcing the power from within him, the power he had built up.

But nothing had happened.

Shocked and horrified, Lloyd stared at his paws; there was no blue flame, no sign of any visible power.

Nothing.

Yet the Steelix had also vanished. As Lloyd scanned the area, he found no sign of Steelix anywhere. He spotted his mom and dad, lying near the ledge of a massive chasm in the ground. Aurora appeared to be unconscious while Luke was still awake, but visibly weakened.

Relief coursing through his veins, Lloyd quickly got to his feet and ran over to them to ensure they were unharmed.

However, what Lloyd did not know was that the cliff Luke and Aurora were standing on was unstable, weakened by Steelix's slam attack. Being Aura Pokemon, they knew that too much movement would cause the cliff to crumble and fall into the giant fissure. But Lloyd, being unable to sense Aura did not notice this, and continued to run towards them…

As he got closer, Luke quickly caught sight of his approaching son and panicked.

"WAIT! Lloyd, STOP! DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"

But it was too late.

The ledge that Luke and Aurora were standing on gave way as soon as Lloyd stepped on it, sending all three of them tumbling towards the edge of the cliff.

"What the…" Lloyd panicked as the ground he was standing on shattered and broke apart. He grabbed onto the ledge, just in time to save himself from falling down the bottomless chasm.

Pulling himself up, he looked around but did not see his mom and dad.

Panicking, Lloyd quickly looked over the edge of the cliff, and felt relief wash over him as he caught sight of Luke, who was hanging on to a large branch near the ledge, holding with one paw onto Aurora.

His relief turned to terror as he saw the branch was beginning to break.

On impulse, Lloyd reached over the edge, trying to get close to his father's paw.

"W-What are you doing?" Luke shouted as he saw Lloyd slowly tip over the edge of the cliff "Stay up there!"

"I can reach you!" Lloyd shouted desperately as he inched closer "I can almost grab your paw!"

"You'll fall!"

"I can do it!" Lloyd repeated, ignoring his father's warnings "Just a bit more!"

He was desperate, after nearly losing the fight against the Steelix due to his inability to use Aura only made him more determined to save his mom and dad, but…

"LLOYD!"

The child Riolu froze, hearing his father's commanding voice snapped his attention towards Luke's gaze.

He had heard that tone before, when he was in trouble or when he did not do as he was told. Lloyd looked at his father's eyes, expecting to see an angry expression on his dad's face.

Yet Luke looked at Lloyd with a sad expression, a mixture of sorrow and regret clouded his eyes. It was a face Lloyd had never seen on his father, and he was shocked to see a tear roll down Luke's face.

"Farewell, my son." Luke said, almost a whisper as he let go of the branch.

"NO!" Lloyd screamed "Mom! Dad! NOOOOO!"

Lloyd shot forward in an attempt to catch Luke's falling hand, however he was too late, and the momentum caused Lloyd to lose his footing and trip down the ledge.

Luke anticipated this and he quickly, with one arm, charged an Aura Sphere and fired it at Lloyd.

The blue orb did not strike Lloyd directly, however it hit the wall of the cliff beneath him, and the shock wave was enough to blast Lloyd back onto the ledge.

Lloyd winced as he shook off the effect of the attack and ran back over to the edge of the fissure.

He quickly scanned the chasm, but they were nowhere to be found, they were gone.

"No…" Lloyd whimpered as he collapsed to his knees. Tears began surfacing to his eyes as he broke down and sobbed.

They were gone, the parents that raised him, the parents that had loved him, they were gone forever. No words could describe the pain and anguish Lloyd felt as he wept over the edge of the cliff.

"Please…don't leave me…," he cried as he lay on his side, his entire body now trembling "I..I couldn't save them…I wasn't strong enough…I f-f-ailed them."

Lloyd attempted to fight back the tears, but they just kept coming. He felt a rough throbbing in his throat and his entire body went cold.

"Why…" his voice was barely over a whisper "Why them…Why now…I-I wanted them to see me become the strongest…I w-wanted to make them to be proud of me….but now…"

He was interrupted as the sound of earth shattering came from behind him. Lloyd twirled around to find the Steelix had emerged from underground, still thrashing about with irritation.

At first, Lloyd was overcome with fear, suddenly feeling the urge to run. But that fear quickly morphed into anger, the anxiety turned into hatred and sorrow turned into animosity.

"YOU!" Lloyd growled as he turned on the Steelix "YOU did this…you attacked them!…You killed them!"

However Steelix ignored him, continuing his rampage and breaking nearby rocks in the process.

"WHY, why did you do this?" Lloyd shouted, enraged that Steelix had not even noticed him. "Look at me!"

The Steelix merely resumed thrashing and flailing, which angered Lloyd even more.

"I don't care if my attacks don't work on you!" Lloyd screamed as he charged up for an assault "I'm gonna make you PAY FOR THIS!"

He shot off towards his foe, arms retracted for a Metal Claw attack. Although it was a type disadvantage, Lloyd was determined to make the Steelix pay for what it had done.

What Lloyd did not notice was that a strange silver energy began engulfing him, the metal claw he had created became even larger than usual, and his speed increased, causing him to run even faster than before.

"Take this!" Lloyd screamed as he brought down the claw against the Steelix's hide.

SCRUNCH

Lloyd's eyes widened as he witnessed the damage unfold, on the Steelix's chest was a massive gash mark inflicted by the attack.

The Metal Claw had cut right through Steelix's armored skin like tissue paper.

Steelix flailed and flopped in agony, and quickly retreated down into the hole from whence it came.

Too tired to chase after it, Lloyd fell to the ground, overcome with shock at what he had just done. However, after recovering he noticed that a strange feeling was flowing through his body, and he gasped as he looked at his paws.

Energy, white and silver energy was pulsing visibly through his arms and chest. It was the same feeling he felt earlier when he tried to use Aura Sphere, but it was much stronger now. He also remembered feeling it right as he used Metal Claw. However, whatever it was, this energy definitely was not Aura, for it was wild, powerful and rampant.

Intimidated, Lloyd attempted to suppress the feelings of anger he once held, and felt relief when he saw that the silver energy had disappeared once he did.

Lloyd slumped against a nearby rock, overcome with the series of events that had just unfolded.

He gasped as he caught his breath. "What was that?"

He tried to recall what had caused such a burst of energy, but his thoughts were clouded by a rumbling sound.

"LLOYD!" a familiar voice called to him.

Seconds later, Aggron burst through a wall of rocks, looking around he caught sight of Lloyd and quickly approached him.

"Lloyd!" he repeated, panting after the long run "Vi-Vibrava told me what was going on, what happened to the Steelix? And where is Luke and Aurora, are they okay?"

"I'm…I'm alright," Lloyd said " the Steelix…"

However, Lloyd burst into tears once again when images of his parents falling down that cliff came to his mind.

"Oh Arceus." He sobbed. "They're gone…they're really gone"

"Lloyd!" Aggron shouted, not hearing him. "Where are they!"

He didn't respond, merely shaking his head as he attempted to wipe away the tears.

"ANSWER ME!" Aggron shouted desperately, his voice on the edge of breaking. "What happened to Luke and Aurora!"

Lloyd shook his head again, whimpering inaudible sounds, and pointed towards the chasm at the other end of the valley.

Aggron grew silent. He slowly treaded towards the fissure and gazed down in an attempt to find Luke or Aurora or even the bottom of the giant crater. He found neither of them.

Only complete darkness.

"No…" Aggron said, his voice barely a whisper as his breathing increased. "NO, NO, NO!"

Aggron slammed his fist against the ground with every outburst, tears falling from his face.

He then let out a huge roar towards the sky which startled even Lloyd.

"They didn't deserve this!" Aggron shouted angrily towards the sky "Why did this happen! I SHOULD'VE BEEN THERE TO PROTECT THEM!"

Lloyd flinched when he heard these things spoken from Aggron, it wasn't like him to express anger like this. When he had calmed down, Lloyd slowly approached him, careful not to startle him.

"A-Aggron?" Lloyd asked nervously as he got closer. "Are-Are you okay?"

To his surprise, he saw that Aggron was now weeping.

"I-I promised them…" he sobbed "I promised I would keep them safe…away from danger…"

I won't ever let anything happen to you, Luke or Lloyd. You're all like my family now. I'll protect all of you.

"I failed them." Aggron whimpered as he wiped his eyes. "I…couldn't save them…I-I…"

"A-Aggron?"

The giant steel pokemon turned to see Lloyd standing next to him. "You okay?"

"I-I'm sorry," he turned away, ashamed to face Lloyd "I couldn't save your mom and dad…I'm…so ashamed."

"It's not your fault," Lloyd said as he sat down next to his godfather "Don't feel bad about it…please?"

Aggron looked up at Lloyd's face, still damp from crying earlier, a look a worry on his face.

"I'm sorry," Aggron said as he stood up and patted Lloyd on the head. "I'm happy to see you're all right."

A moment of silence followed as both of them sat down without saying a word.

"Lloyd?"

The two pokemon turned to see Vibrava, slowly approaching behind them, unsure of what to say exactly. "You alright?"

Lloyd shook his head. "I'm-I'm sorry. I just…"

"You can stay at my house, if you want." Vibrava offered, hoping to ease the pain of his best friend.

"R-really? Lloyd was both surprised and touched at his friend's unexpected offer.

"Sure." Vibrava smiled, happy to see Lloyd pleasantly surprised. "We can be like brothers, if you want."

"That will not be necessary."

Both Lloyd and Vibrava looked up at Aggron in surprise, not expecting him to speak up so suddenly.

"Lloyd will be staying with me from now on, I am as of this moment his guardian." Aggron declared.

"You are?" Lloyd said.

"Yes." Aggron nodded as he helped Lloyd to his feet. "I made a promise the day you were born, and I will see to it that you receive proper care."

"Cool, so you're, like, his god father then, huh?" Vibrava said.

"Yes, I suppose you could use that term." Aggron mused, but was cut off when Lloyd pulled him into a small hug.

"Thanks Aggron-" Lloyd said, tears still rolling down his face. "-for being so kind to me all these years."

At first, Aggron was taken aback by Lloyd's affectionate gesture, but he smiled as he hugged his god child back.

"Don't mention it." Aggron said, as his gaze drifted towards some clouds in the sky. Although it may have been his imagination, he could have sworn that two of the clouds were in the shape of two familiar figures.

Promise us that you'll take care of him in our place. Treat him as if he were your own son.

"Don't worry." Aggron smiled as he looked onto the clouds. "I will."

To Be Continued…

Author's Notes: There is more to come, hoped you enjoyed it.