Chapter 4: The Journey of Regeneration

SilverMoon:Whoa! I have not written in like, forever! Literally!!
Lloyd: Well of course Ms. Sidetracked!
Me: -slaps again-
Lloyd: What did I do this time?!
Me: .....
Lloyd: Not again....whatever.
Me: .....
Lloyd:SilverMoon does not own ToS or Namco
Me: I don't recall telling you to say the disclaimer.
Lloyd: Whatever. -leaves-
Me: Onto story!

Lloyd's Age: 17


Lloyd woke up to the sunlight shining straight down onto his face, also, with a face full of water. "What the heck?!" He shouted in surprise as the cold water splashed down on his face.

"Get up! You're late fur school." Dirk said as he walked away with an empty bucket.

"Oh crap!" Lloyd shouted. He stood up and grabbed his clothes, threw them on, and headed down the stairs. On his way out, he grabbed a piece of toast and his schoolbag and ran off to the village, Iselia.

----

"Lloyd Irving, late again!" Raine shouted as Lloyd hustled into the classroom.

"I'm sorry Raine!" Lloyd said while using his bag to deflect the barrage of erasers.

"Just take your seat!" Lloyd nodded and sat down at his desk. Raine sighed and continued on with her lesson.

Lloyd, however, was busy staring out the window. Finding a particular cloud very interesting. It wasn't until Raine called his name that his mind traveled back into the classroom. "Um..." He said, not remembering what she said.

"Nevermind! Genis, will you please answer?" Raine glared deathfully at Lloyd as she walked around the classroom, listening to Genis' answer. "Very good, now lets continue on to the next sect--" Just then, a bright light shined throughout the classroom, blinding Lloyd and the others.

"What the...?" Lloyd whispered as the light faded away.

"That's the Oracle." Raine said as she closed the book she was holding and set it under her desk in the corner of the class. "I will go to the temple and check everything out." With that, she walked towards the door. "Also, all of you stay here and study." Then, she left all together.

Lloyd glared at the spot where she just was. Then, he smiled mischievously, just getting a great idea. He stood up slowly, as not to alert anybody else in the classroom, and walked towards the door.

"Lloyd!" Genis shouted as he ran up to him. "Raine said to stay here and study!"

"I know but, it'd just seem so boring if we did! Besides, don't you wanna see what'll happen?" Lloyd asked in a persuading tone.

"No, now get back to your desk." Genis said sternly.

"Fine..." Lloyd sighed and was about to walk away when a groan was heard as Lloyd turned around. He whirled around again and caught site of a body falling towards the ground. Instinctively he reached out to grab the falling person. He heard Colette and the rest of the class gasp in horror. When he looked down, he realized who he had caught. It was a body of a priest, faintly breathing.

"What happened?!" Colette said as she ran up.

"Desians...attacked the..temple." The priest stuttered out.

"Those bastards!" Lloyd whispered angrily and then stared back down at the priest.

"I am..saddened that...I c-couldn't protect the Cho...chosen..." With that, the life left the priest's eyes, and he died. Colette cried a little and Genis looked upset.

"Come on guys," Lloyd said, "We've got to go to the temple!" After they put the priest's body somewhere safe to be buried later, the group left off to head towards the temple.

----

When they reached the temple, they heard the sounds of swords clashing and spells being casted. That only made Lloyd want to reach the temple more. He increased his speed as he sprinted up the steps, only to come face to face with a man with spiky brown hair and a goatee.

"Hand over the Chosen now!" He shouted at an old women cowering in a corner. Lloyd suspected her to be Colette's grandma, Phaidra.

"Never." She said.

"Grandmother!" Colette shouted as her and Genis reached Lloyd at the top of the stairs.

"Run Colette!" Phairda shouted worriedly.

"I see, so this is the Chosen." The pointy bearded man said.

"You'll never get Colette!" Lloyd shouted and stepped in front of Colette.

"If you insist to get in the way, so be it. Kill them!" The man shouted angrily.

Then, the battle began. Lloyd charged the first soldier he saw and immediately thrusted out with one sword performing a technique he had learned over the years. "Sonic Thrust!" He shouted with a snarl. The sword miraculously pierced the man through the stomach. Blood splattered on Lloyd's face and clothes, but he paid no heed to it. 'There's something different to these Desians....where have I seen them before?' He thought as he charged at another man. This one was not as easy as the last. Somewhere behind him, he heard Genis shouted 'Fireball.' But he couldn't tell where.

Just then, the two remaining soldiers ran off the battle field, only to be replaced by a bigger man. Then Lloyd realized it. 'They aren't Desians! They're Renegades!' His momentary shock left him with his guard down, that was his mistake. The bigger man, Viddar, took this chance to slash Lloyd from his right shoulder down to his left hip.

"Lloyd!!" Colette shouted and started to run to his aid, only to be stopped by Viddar. They were losing, Lloyd was sure of that.

Just when he thought it was all over, he saw a familiar flash of purple and the next thing he knew he saw Kratos standing in front of him. "Kratos what--"

"Don't get in the way." He said harshly and charged at Vidar head on. Lloyd stood, shakily at first, then finally managed to stand straight. He charged at Vidar too, following right behind Kratos. When he reached Kratos' side, he managed to slash Viddar across the face, momentarily blocking his eyes. "You're injured, get to the sidelines." Kratos muttered to Lloyd as he continued to slash at Vidar.

"Shut up!" Lloyd grunted angrily as he also swiped and slashed at Viddar.

"Go!" Kratos shouted as he pushed Lloyd away onto the sidelines.

Lloyd couldn't breathe for a second, Kratos having pushed on his wound. He finally got a chance to stair at himself as the battle continued. He realized the severity of his wound and how much blood he had lost. His head began swimming with the fuzzy memories from his dreams. Subconsciously he pulled out an apple gel and began applying it to his wound.

Not soon after, he heard the thump of Viddar's body hitting the ground. Looking up, he saw that Kratos had successfully stabbed him through the heart. He walked over to Lloyd.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he knelt down and casted a quick First Aid on Lloyd. The wound closed and stopped bleeding, but, Kratos assumed, left a nasty scar on Lloyd's chest.

"Yeah.." Lloyd said, "Thanks." He grabbed Kratos' extended hand and stood up on unsteady feet. Kratos helped him steady himself then walked over to where Phaira was standing.

"You are the Chosen's grandmother, I assume?" He questioned, well it was more of a statement.

"Yes, thank you for saving Colette."

"I will continue to protect the Chosen, with the right amount of pay of course." Kratos stated calmly.

"I have no other choice, plase protect Colette." Phaidra said, handing him the right amount of gald.

"Chosen, are you alright enough to pass through the temple?" Kratos asked.

"Yes, but um...Could Lloyd and Genis join us, please? I'd feel uncomfortable without them."

"Alright. Besides, you were going to follow us anyways, weren't you?" Kratos asked, turning towards Lloyd. Lloyd grinned sheepishly and nodded. "Lets continue." Kratos said as he, Colette, Lloyd, and Genis headed into the temple.

----

After a series of traps, trips, and inconvienionces. They finally made it up towards the seal rioom. Lloyd stared in awe as an angel descended, claiming to be Colette's real father. "Now, do you accept the job of being the Chosen of Regeneration?"

"Yes." Colette said in a whisper voice. A bright red light enshrouded Colette. When it faded, she had a blood red crystal was attached to her neck. "...." She stayed silent.

"Go to the desert, there you shall find the first seal." With that, the angel disappeared. Lloyd stared in awe as the feathers from the angel's wings disinigrated. It was a beautiful site.

"So then, shall we be going Chosen?" Kratos asked waving his hand to motion Colette towards the warp pad.

"Wait, where are you going?" Lloyd asked.

"To the Chosen's house to discuss the journey. No. You cannot come." Kratos stated calmly, then warped away to the bottom floor of the temple. Lloyd, being Lloyd, decided to follow him.

----

When they got back to the village, Kratos had already reached Colette's house. Lloyd started into a jog, with Genis following behind, towards his best friends house.

Once there, he saw that they had just decided that only Kratos and Raine were to go on the Journey. "Wait!" He shouted while running into the house, "Can I g-go?" He asked, a little out of breath.

"No. Its too dangerous for kids your age." Kratos said with his arms crossed.

"I agree with Kratos," Raine said. "Besides, I don't want you to get hurt, Genis."

"But--"

"No, Lloyd," Kratos said in a slightly frustrated voice. "Stay here like a good child should."

Lloyd glared at Kratos and stormed out of the room, towards the forest. Genis followed him out with a worried look. "Lloyd?" He asked when they reached the southern gate.

"What?" Lloyd said in an angry voice.

"C-can I come with you through the forest. I need to do something." Genis said quietly.

"Um...sure." Lloyd smiled. Of course he wasn't going to ask why. It would be rude. "Lets go!"

----

It turned out that Genis wanted to go see an old lady at the ranch named Marble. "Lloyd, will you make a keycrest for Marble? Please?" Genis asked pleadingly.

"Fine. But I'll have to have Dad make it." Lloyd sighed, How am I going to get Dad to make a keycrest without telling him why? He thought to himself. He came out of his thoughts just to hear a Desian yell Marble's name.

"I'm sorry Marble! I gotta go!" Genis said.

"I'll be back with the keycrest, promise!" Lloyd promised and then he and Genis ran off towards the exit to the ranch area. They decided to see what would happen to Marble before they left. "Hey Genis," Lloyd said. "Is that cliff good enough for me to climb?"

"Judging by the size of it, you should be able to." Genis said smartly.

"Alright. Get on my back." Genis looked at Lloyd curiously, then realized what he meant and hopped up onto Lloyd's back. They hopped up the cliffside and onto the highest point, where they could see inside the ranch, where Marble was being wipped harshly. "We've got to save her!" Lloyd growled angrily.

"But we can't! We'll break the treaty!"

"That's a chance we have to take." Lloyd said, he almost had to correct himself because he was about to say that the Desians already broke the treaty at the temple, but remembered that those were Renegades.

"Alright." Genis said hesiitently.

"Here's what we'll do. You send three fireballs at them, and then run away. I'll jump down and act as a decoy. Got it?" Lloyd said in one breath.

"But--" Lloyd glared at Genis. "Al-alright..."

Genis sent down the three fireballs at the Desians wipping Marble and then jumped down the way they had come up. Lloyd waiting until the percise moment and jumped across the top of the gate and down onto the ground below. The Desians opened up the gate and charged at Lloyd. Then, Lloyd heard a faint "ow." and he knew it was Genis who had tripped. Crap. He thought angrily. I'm gonna have to fight them.

As soon as the Desians turned towards the bushes where Genis was, Lloyd charged at their exposed backs. On the first one (there was three) he slashed upwards with his left blade, then with his foot he kicked out at the second Desian charging at his right side. Both Desians flew across the terrain and into the rocky cliffside. The third Desian was tougher. Lloyd had to parry and jump back about five times before he could actually swing his right blade down and hit the Desians skull and break his nose.

Then suddenly, his back felt like it was on fire. It burnt like the whole sun was pushing down onto it. He was forced to his knees by the pain of his back. He heard more feet running towards where he was and quickly thought of something. He managed to push himself to his feet and jump over the cliff's edge.

Lloyd hit the ground, hard. His feet jarred up and for a minute, he couldn't feel his legs. Then, his mind went back to the current problem that was burning up his spine. He heard the small footsteps of Genis running towards him.

"Lloyd!" Genis shouted and ran over to his friend. He put one of his hands on his back and felt a great surge of mana under the skin. That's not normal. He thought to himself. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah....I'm--AGGH!!" Lloyd shouted in pain as another searing burn chased itself up his spine. Then, it was gone. Like icecubes had been pushed in all over his back. "I gotta go home..." He said quietly. "You head back to Iselia." Lloyd said to Genis. Then he stood and straightened himself up and brushed off his red outfit.

"You sure?" Genis asked. He recieved a nod. "Alright. Be careful."

----

That night, Colette came over with Kratos, Raine, and Genis. Colette and Lloyd were currently up on the terrace talking with one another. "Um...Lloyd? If you want to go with us tomorrow..we're leaving at noon." She said a little hesitantly.

"Really? Thanks Colette!" Lloyd smiled. "I'll be there, I promise."

----

But the next morning, Genis and Lloyd didn't get to see Colette off. Instead they got to fight a ranch prisoner that turned into a monster by taking off the exsphere. "Crap!" Lloyd said as he just barely managed to dodge a downward swipe from the monster's arm.

"Lloyd? You alright?" Genis shouted over the sound of the monsters walking.

"Yeah!" Lloyd shouted back.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, they finally were able to defeat the monster.

"Genis...Lloyd....thank..you..." With that, the monster, that was now known as Marble, blew herself up to try and kill the man that had came after Lloyd and Genis, Forcystus.

"Marble...Marble...NOOOO!!" Genis shouted falling down onto his knees and screaming up to the sky.

"Lloyd Irving, as long as you have that exsphere, we will always come after you." Forcystus said as he left the burning, and destroyed village that was Iselia.

"You! You caused all this!" The Mayor of Iselia yelled angrily.

"Yes. I did. And I am sorry. But I know that sorry won't cut it. So if you want to exile me, go ahead. Just please leave Genis alone." Lloyd said.

"Very well. Lloyd Irving you are---"

"Wait! Its my fault too! I forced Lloyd to go to the ranch!" Genis shouted desperately.

"Genis..." Lloyd whispered.

"Alright. Genis, Lloyd you are both hereby exiled from the village of Iselia!" The mayor delcared.

----

Lloyd and Genis were camping out for the night, trying to decide what they should do next. "We should try and find Colette and the others." Lloyd suggested.

"That's a good idea." Genis agreed.

Suddenly, there was a rustle amoung the bushes. Lloyd looked up to see a group of Renegades come charging out. And before he could act, he was shot with a ball of lightning, and everything went black.

----

When he woke up, he was in the same cell from his earlier teenage life. He was at the Renegade base again. Okay..how to get out of here.Then he noticed that all of his equipment was gone, all except for the Sorcerer's Ring that he had gotten from the temple when he was with Colette, Kratos, and Genis. Genis!!Lloyd thought worridly. What had happened to his friend?

When he looked up again he noticed a guard patrolling right outside his cell. The keys to his cell dangled from the Renegades right hip and they jingled as he walked. Lloyd then got an idea. He could use the Sorcerer's Ring to knock out the guard then get the keys!

He waited till the guard was right next to his cell, then fired. It was a dead on hit. The guard fell down and the keys came undon from his belt. Lloyd was out and free, for now.

----

He finally made it through most of the base (or so he thought), but suddenly ran into some trouble. He managed to escape into a random room, not paying attention to the sign on the door. It was then that he heard a familiar voice.

"So we meet again, Lloyd." Lloyd turned around to face the man who had captured him before, Yuan.

"Heh, I thought'd I'd never see your ugly face again, guess I was wrong." Lloyd said with a grin.

"Why you..." Yuan said in a menacing voice. "I'm gonna kill you then take your exsphere." Yuan said pulling out his doubled edged weapon again. Lloyd did the same and pulled out his own weapons.

"Lets see you try." Just as Lloyd was about to charge, he heard an explosion and then footsteps running into the room he and Yuan were in.

"Lloyd!" Colette yelled.

"Lloyd, lets go." Kratos said calmly, but not before shooting a glare towards Yuan, who didn't even flinch. "Come." Lloyd nodded and glared at Yuan.

"I will get to fight you again, and defeat you." He said with a cocky grin. With that said, they all left towards Triet to head to the inn.

----

"I believe you and Genis wanted to go on the Journey with us, correct?" Kratos asked.

"Yeah."

"I guess we have no choice now. Just get some rest. We'll be heading to the seal tomorrow." Kratos said calmly, then headed off towards his room.

Lloyd soon went to his own room, saying a quick goodnight to everyone. He lay on his bed now, with his head facing downwards into the pillow. He was thinking about todays earlier events. But at least one thing turned out alright. I get to go on the Journey of Regeneration now! Lloyd smiled to himself and then fell into a deep and much needed sleep.

Dream World

"Goodnight Lloyd." A calm voice said.

"Goodnwight Daddy!" replied another voice, yet it was smaller and more childish.

Real World

"Goodnight....daddy..."


Me: So, how was it.
Colette: I think it was cute!
Me: Get out of here!! -pushes Colette out a window- Sorry all Colette fans!!
Lloyd: It was alright...
Me: So....tired....-falls asleep-
Lloyd: Yeah...me too. Anyways..review....-falls asleep too-
Colette:-crawls up through window- Word count was....-drumroll- 3,603!! -falls out window again-