Sage: That IS a good question, but the Lloyd Angel thing only really occurs during a certain fight...Lloyd, who ended the journey as a "man" is probably smart enough not to start waiving his angelic powers and comment on every detail. After all, the story doesn't go too deep into what each character is thinking.
Well, I've got a vague idea where I want to start taking the story in a completely original path. Anyway, this is basically some more narration, but there is SOME action. Bear with me. I'm not very good at action scenes, but I try.
Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter VI – A Different Perspective
A thumping kept nagging at Paul's subconscious. Something…or someone…was trying to wake him up, and it got to the point where his eyelids flew open in a jolt of movement. He was on a very hard, uncomfortable bed, and upon further investigation he noticed he was in a jail cell. Oh great,Paul thought. I'm the cautious one and I get thrown in the Renegade prison…perfect.
He stood up and saw two Renegade soldiers conversing. He decided to eavesdrop.
"…if so, I feel sorry for this Paul kid."
"Yeah. He possibly can't escape execution."
Execution, too? Man, what a day…
A third soldier appeared from the left side and spoke to one of the soldiers. The Renegade being addressed simply nodded and walked away with the soldier that had just appeared. Now there was only one.
I don't have the Sorcerer's Ring, but I think I can use this…
A spell circle appeared from under Paul, and when the guard moved in front of him, mana seeped from Paul's eye.
"Aqua Laser!"
The metal on the prison door had given way to the force of the spell and the guard that was patrolling now was in a dent in the nearby wall.
Damn…that took a lot of mana. I wonder where all these techs are coming from?
Fixing his blue coat and his brown boots, he dashed to the front desk and found a chest containing his items and equipment.
Alright, now once I try to exit the room the two soldiers will be there. Thanks to this exsphere, I'll be able to be like that spy guy…
He put his back against the wall and looked from the corner. While the Renegade foot soldiers were finally at a distance enough away, he ran towards them and drop kicked one of them to the floor. The other Renegade was in shock, so Paul kicked him in the gut knocking the wind out of him. The hallway was narrow and the Renegade was kicked into the wall. Being cautious not to make a racket, he began disrobing one of the guards, and put on the commandeered uniform and helmet. Afterwards, he placed the disrobed guard into the jail cell and closed it while he was unconscious.
Sorry about this, but I'm not Lloyd.
He walked to the next room, and the two raybits were awaiting his arrival. However, the machines were fooled thanks to the identification card the soldier had on him.
Lucky break…
"Alright…uh…stand on the two lock…thingies…"
The raybits stopped for a second, then followed Paul's orders. They placed themselves onto the disengaging locks and activated an electrical charge that covered their entire bodies. Paul covered his eyes from the scene that would be from some sort of rave. Afterwards, he heard a click and then walked to the door. As he walked through the connecting corridor, the guards and raybits paid no heed to the disguised Irving. He finally reached the control room, where he saw a familiar machine in the middle.
I wonder if it can play any games. Never mind that, I have to get out of here! Hm…maybe if I use "Lightning," I can control the pillars.
Paul suddenly had a purple spell circle under him, "Lightning!" The device in the middle rotated its lock a little bit.
Alright…I just need to remember the lock combination…too bad I can't read a walkthrough or something…
After several minutes of using mana to control the locks, he finally figured out the combination to get to the exit. Before he stepped through the door, the alarm started blaring and suddenly all he could see was a red light.
Damn, I was hoping to get out of here without a hitch!
Fatigue started to catch up to Paul. He was just running on adrenaline alone, and if he had to fight Botta one-on-one, then he would be simply "royally screwed." He went into the next corridor, and suddenly the soldier he stole the outfit from and his posse were blocking the way to the exit. "Hey! Stop!"
Run!!
Paul dashed to the left path of the corridor, and ran into Yuan's conference room.
The Renegades chasing him stopped cold in their tracks. "Heh. Lord Yuan's going to have fun with this one."
His heart was pounding, and he was hyperventilating.
Man…why didn't I exercise back in the real world? Gah!
"Just who the hell are you?"
Paul turned slowly, seeing the familiar blue-haired half-elf. In his head, Paul was laughing – due to the fact that if a rabid fangirl were in his position at this moment, Yuan wouldn't have a chance. Taking a page from Lloyd's book, Paul stood in a defiant manner and grinned.
"Give me your name, and I shall give you mine!"
"Hahaha! You certainly have guts." Yuan was charging up a blast of mana in his right hand. "But I'm afraid I don't see the need to introduce myself to a miserable creature like you."
"You're lucky I'm exhausted, fairy-boy." Paul scoffed. "I would've made a thousand women cry had I been at my prime." He leaned against the wall, trying to catch his breath.
"What nonsense do you speak of, human? It doesn't matter, I'll kill you right here and now."
Yuan fired the blast he was charging, and Paul ducked.
"Whoa! Alright, I don't give a flying fudge who you are, I'll beat the stuffing out of you!" Paul got into a defensive stance with his arms, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Yuan looked at him and simply laughed, but then looked at his Exsphere.
"That Exsphere…it's…different…similar to the one his son had…"
Paul spat. It was time to take off the gloves. "Alright Yuan, you aren't going to lay a hand on my brother!"
"How did you…brother? You're…Paul?"
"So what if I am?"
Yuan smirked. "Perfect…now I can use you to lure both your brother and his father…"
Paul kicked at his shin, but Yuan dodged his blow at the last second.
"I see you don't want to comply. Fine, then!"
Lloyd slew another Renegade in his path. He remembered the base like the back of his hand and ran into the three Renegades, guarding the entrance to Yuan's room.
"Hehehe…I wonder how long that Paul kid can last."
Lloyd's eyes widened and he drew his two swords. Before the Renegades could react, he blew them all away with …
"Beast!"
"Aaargh!" A Renegade yelled, falling from the impact of the blow.
After clearing the path to the conference room, Lloyd forced open the sliding doors.
Paul was on his knees, his lip bruised and his right arm with a long cut on it. His mana was waning, and Lloyd could tell he couldn't take much more punishment. Before Yuan could finish his brother off, Lloyd tackled the blue half-elf into his desk.
Paul coughed some blood out. "Took you long enough…"
"Sorry, bro."
Lloyd then noticed Yuan was standing up, an indignant glare staring right at Lloyd, piercing his very soul. Yuan then noticed his Exsphere.
"Ah…so you've come for your brother. Excellent. Now I can take you both out at once!"
Lloyd clenched his fist. "Paul, I'll take care of him now. It's my turn to prove what I can do! Just rest up, bro."
Paul felt relieved. "A nap would be nice."
As Lloyd and Yuan began their stare-off, Paul was emitting snores. He had really fallen asleep. Lloyd, after sighing in embarrassment, shook it off and charged Yuan. Yuan, who did not bring his weapon into battle, kept using magic against the son of the Seraphim. Due to these circumstances, Lloyd was able to fight back sufficiently against Yuan.
"Agh! Where did you get this strength? Your Exsphere wasn't even supposed to evolve-"
Suddenly the alarms blared again. As Yuan was distracted, Lloyd used this opportunity to strike at Yuan. Yuan fell from the impact of the blow, and Lloyd pointed at Yuan's face with one of his blades. Suddenly they could hear footsteps. The doors were already opened, and Botta with two grunts arrived at the scene.
"Sir! We've received reports that the Chosen's group has infiltrated the facility."
Paul stopped snoring and awoke. "Huh…wha?"
One of the Renegade soldiers drew a saber, "Lord Yuan!"
Yuan coughed weakly. "Damn…if he sees me, our plans will be ruined."
Paul stood next to Lloyd, wounds still visible. "Agh…it stings. Lloyd, just leave him. If Kratos sees him…"
"Yeah," Lloyd said, sheathing his blades, "I know what'll happen."
"Hm…it seems you two aren't as stupid as you look." Yuan said in a sarcastic tone.
Paul just rolled his eyes. "If you don't want to get caught, then I suggest you get out of here."
Yuan just grinned. "Perhaps you two would make a great addition to our cause. Ah, well. Just remember, next time…you lives will be mine!" Yuan turned to the door and exited.
Paul sighed. "He's so full of himself sometimes…"
Botta drew his gigantic saber. "So you're Paul and Lloyd…how amusing."
The two Irvings began to back up into a wall. They were exhausted from the fight against Yuan, and now they had to fight Botta as well. Before the two young men were ready to charge, the rest of the group appeared on the scene.
Genis gasped. "Paul! Are you alright?"
"Those are some serious injuries." Kratos commented.
Colette took a look and forced a smile. "At least Lloyd is okay."
"Paul!" Raine admonished the injured Irving, "What have I said about taking precautions, young man?"
"Nag…nag…"
"What was that?"
"N-Nothing, Professor!"
Botta cut in. "Perfect timing. I'll take care of all of you at once!"
Kratos charged in and stabbed Botta in his right thigh, while Collete and Genis were focusing on one of the grunts. Raine was studying the enemy group and their movements, while providing some supportive and healing magic onto the party as they fought. Lloyd, not wanting to be left out, dueled against the other foot soldier. Paul tried to fight, but his body had been through so much that he just sat down in reflex. He shook his head, as he was trying to stay awake. After Lloyd took care of the foot soldier, Genis used his Air Thrust to stun the other, while Colette finished him off with a Pow Hammer. Kratos, staying on the defensive, was blocking and countering Botta's attacks. Lloyd, seeing his father only defending, took the opportunity and cut Botta's right arm, casing Botta to drop his sword.
"Agh…I underestimated your abilities." Botta ran to the back room and locked the door. That Lloyd child…he might even surpass his own father in power…
Raine picked up the strange artifact Botta had left behind.
"Hm…this is…?"
Lloyd shook his head. "Professor…"
Kratos picked up the struggling Irving. "We shouldn't stay here long. Paul needs a lot of rest. He's been through a lot, apparently."
Paul looked down. "I'm sorry…"
Colette just smiled. "Don't worry, the Professor will have you all healed! Right, Professor?"
Raine's voice wavered. "I…suppose so."
I only hope my healing can save him…
Lloyd stood at the doorway. "What're we waiting for? Let's go!"
As the group was exiting the Renegade base in the desert, a familiar female ninja was watching atop the base ceiling.
That Lloyd…he's really something…
"Keep still, Paul! Stop squirming!" Raine said, while having Lloyd and Kratos restrain the young man.
"Ahh! I hate needles! Get away!"
Genis chuckled. "Paul, stop acting like a baby. You won't be able to get stitched unless you get that needle through your skin."
"Do I look like a piece of cloth!?"
Raine sighed. "It's the best we have in medical equipment. Gels won't heal you unless your cut is closed up first."
"Aw, man…"
After the charade had ended, Paul was sound asleep in a bed. While he was sleeping, the group was discussing their plans.
Raine stared lovingly at the sphere she found embedded in the weapon found earlier. "So…this is an exsphere? Can I use one, too?"
"That would be difficult. Exspheres are harmful to the body without a key crest." Kratos explained.
Colette, with her signature confused child look, tilted her head a bit and asked, "But…um…can't Lloyd make a key crest?"
Lloyd sighed. "Well, the charm-er…crest, is made by processing some "inhibitor ore." Then I have to engrave it with a crest to control the Exsphere attached to the surface. Only dad can process the ore, though."
Raine laid out a plethora of nick-nacks and miscellaneous things onto a large table inside the room. "Well, is there any inhibitor ore among these materials?"
Genis' eyes opened wide. "Raine! Did you bring these from our house!?"
Raine smiled. "Of course. They're valuable research materials. This is a jeweled sword from the Martel temple. This is a priest's crown from the Asgard ruins. This is yellow ore from the Hima mines. And this-"
Lloyd picked up the vase. Genis' face went pale. "This is a holy vase from the Balocruf Museum…right?"
Genis' mouth went agape. "Wow, Lloyd! Knowing you, I thought you would've said something bad about Raine's collection."
Raine was shocked.
"Professor? What's wrong? Isn't this what it is?"
"Yes, but…since when do you know such information?"
Lloyd scratched his head. "I saw it in one of Paul's books."
As Raine was pestering Lloyd with a barrage of questions, Kratos looked at the collection and found a small, red orb.
"Hmm? This is…"
Raine stopped bombarding poor Lloyd with questions that contained too many syllables for him to handle.
"Ah, I picked that up in front of the human ranch. It was engraved with angelic language, so I took it home."
Lloyd took it from Kratos. "This is a key crest!"
"The crest is half worn off. It's unusable like this." Kratos informed.
"…I can fix that." Lloyd said, "Don't worry, Professor, you'll be able to equip that Exsphere tomorrow."
"Really?! Thank you, Lloyd! I'm sorry to make you go through the trouble, but I appreciate it." Raine pat Lloyd on his head. "And perhaps I'll make a scholar out of you yet!"
"Augh…Professor…"
Lloyd returned to the room that he shared with his father and his brother. He sat at the table and took out his supplies from his bag.
Alright, time to get to work!
Colette was once again alone in her room, and she kept counting the dots on the ceiling. Every time she looked at Lloyd, she couldn't help feel the sharp sting that she felt that night when she saw him and another woman sleeping against a sand dune. It hurt so much that she wanted to cry, but she couldn't. She never cried, and she wasn't going to start now. Not only could she not explain her emotion, but now it was time for her to truly begin her journey. She knew what would happen to her, and only Raine knew about it. To become an angel…was to die. She would lose her humanity. She would lose her feelings. She saw this as a fate worse than death, but the entire world was on her shoulders. She stared into the night sky again and imagined Lloyd…but with grand and beautiful wings. Colette resigned to her bed and closed her eyes.
…I wonder…are there tears in heaven?
Kudos to anyone that can figure out where the heaven comment derives from. Please read and review!
