A/N. Written before SEIII, hence the differences. Only one more, short, chapter left after this.
Disclaimer: Don't own it. Never have, never will, just borrowing the characters.
Lockon Stratos
He'd seen the boy before, one evening down the pub; even then he had stuck out like a sore thumb. The boy didn't look like he belonged there, didn't look like he belonged anywhere. To Lyle he had looked lost, but something about the way the child stared at him stopped him from asking anything.
Even back then he had guessed this child must have known his brother; he'd had that same vaguely haunted look hanging in the back of his eyes – the look of someone who had seen a ghost but was good at hiding it. He'd known for a long time that his brother was no longer of this world, but he refused to think on it, or the strangers who now visit the family grave. The strange man with purple hair whose solemn expression told Lyle the same story he'd seen in this child's eyes, and neither spoke with words, all he'd done was watch them, and that was all it took to know. Yet he got by well enough on his own, even if only one bouquet of white roses on the family grave looked horribly lonely. Lyle had known for a very long time that his brother was dead, but the child didn't know that he knew, so he acted surprised. He acted appropriately for someone of his age and sensibility that had just been told someone they hadn't known for many years was dead. It was cruel and it was horrible, but it was true.
He tried not to laugh at the impersonal name his brother had chosen – or been given, it didn't make much difference – it was nearly as bad as his own code name, and that alone was hilarious to the darker, more cynical part of his mind.
Still, he took the data stick from the child, full of information on the infamous organisation which had vanished four years earlier, then calmly and sensibly said that he could turn them all over to the authorities with what he had just been handed on blind faith.
The child was foolish for giving such a thing to a complete stranger. Regardless of what his brother may have said or done, Lyle was still an unknown, a stranger, and the child's actions were careless bordering on stupid. Shirin would have bitched him out worse that she had Klaus and him that time they had got a little too drunk and a little too enthusiastic and vocal in their plans to overthrow the current government. Had they been anywhere but their own base they would have been found dead in an alley or a ditch somewhere by morning, a fate which Shirin was more than willing to demonstrate on them should they ever try it again.
But the child hadn't listened to Lyle's words of sensibility, instead throwing in the information about the lock down on Kathron's operations. That, teamed with the fact the child already knew of his allegiance and work as a Kathron operative, and the comment about changing the world had left Lyle standing alone in the middle of the street just watching the child walk away. He hadn't been given any real chance to reply, he had just been left there with the data on Celestial Being, verbal confirmation of his brother's past whereabouts and consequent demise, and a location and time for where and when he could find the child tomorrow with his decision.
Lyle still thought the child was foolish, but he looked a little taller as he walked away, trying to fill boots two sizes too big for him and that was something Lyle could almost sympathise with.
However he had more important matters on his hands right now, in his hands even, as he clenched the data stick tighter, feeling the cold, smooth surface and sharp edges through the leather of his gloves. He had work to do, there was no use thinking about it now, the past could never be changed, that was why he kept walking forward, wasn't it?
"Just shut up, you fool," Lyle muttered to himself, digging the car keys from his pocket and unlocking the Lancia behind him, throwing himself into the driver's seat, taking a moment or two just to stare out of the windscreen, debating how best to tackle the situation. Should he check the data himself first, or phone Klaus first? Part of his mind screamed the second option, wanting to hear a familiar voice to calm the nerves he didn't know were frayed, but Gene One knew the first option was the right one as he reached over for the bag of things he had thrown together and kept under the passenger seat. He had never bothered taking his brother's things from the boot, they were useful, but it meant he'd had to keep his own things elsewhere, amused he'd finally found a use for his old, moth-eaten school bag.
Sitting with his legs propped up on the dashboard Lyle hunted through the bag until he found the cheep portable computer he'd thrown in there, it was pretty useless and old, but it worked well enough for him as he booted it up, hoping he'd remembered to charge it after the last time he'd used it and flicked the data stick nervously between his fingers. The password was typed with one hand and a smirk, and then he got to work.
The data was neatly organised, files and folders named, dated and sorted, and Lyle was impressed as he skimmed through the logs and reports and statistics no one else had ever seen. No one outside of Celestial Being that was, those inside must have known it all already, read it, this was all information his brother knew or had access to and it was mind blowing to see it all laid out before him like this.
He grabbed his phone from his pocket and flipped it open still looking through the information as he started to dial Klaus' number, then he stopped, tapping his fingers on the edge of the computer and changed his mind. He wanted to check what the child had told him as he listened to the dial tone, not smiling anymore as he thought of the damages that may have already been inflicted.
It was worse than he had anticipated as he closed his eyes and hung up, giving a moment's silence before re-dialling Klaus and using his code name, requesting a secure line.
"Gene One." Klaus sounded serious, but then so did he. "What's wrong."
It wasn't even a question as Lyle, no Gene One, began reeling off in a clipped tone the information he had spread out before him on the screen of his computer and the information he had been told by the child in the street. He left out his brother, and Klaus did not interrupt or ask anything about Lyle's life or how Lyle was feeling, he was speaking to Gene One, not Lyle Dylandy, and they both knew the difference.
"So, what do you think?" Lyle finished, sighing and leaning back in his seat, shutting the computer and tossing it carelessly aside, suddenly feeling very small and tired now the official work was done, now he had nothing left to hide behind.
There was silence for a long time, but Lyle waited, eyes closed as he drew his knees up to his chest and rested his free arm across them. He was glad no one was there to see him now; he felt like a child again, begging for advice. As Gene One he knew he should accept, but Lyle Dylandy wasn't so sure.
"Lyle?" Klaus's voice was quieter, addressing him as Lyle, not Gene One anymore, not formal anymore, and he was pretty sure his friend had gone into another room, away from people who might overhear.
"Yes?"
"I think you should go for it, but not just for us."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"For your own piece of mind, Lyle, go and find out what's going on and what really happened."
Lyle didn't answer, didn't know how to answer. He didn't think he'd told anyone enough that they could join up the fragments of his life, but then Klaus was smart and a good friend and maybe Lyle had forgotten just how good he really was.
"Are you still there, Lyle?"
He shook his head, "Yes, I'm here."
Klaus laughed, maybe a little uncertainly, "Good, I thought you'd got lost again."
"No, not this time I'm afraid."
The humour sounded more forced than usual, a little more cracked, as he reached on instinct for the lighter and cigarettes in his pocket.
"Put them down, Lyle."
Lyle froze with his hand around the lighter.
"Don't run away from this, leave the nicotine alone and just listen to me."
Lyle's hand dropped away, falling to the seat, as he replied quietly, almost resignedly. "Go on then."
"Join Celestial Being, as Lockon Stratos and as Gene One, that's a given, but be there as Lyle Dylandy, don't run away, go there and find some damn peace for yourself, you need it, and," Lyle could almost see Klaus smiling on the other end of the line, looking up at the rock and steel ceiling of their desert base, "you know where to find us, and you know you can call me, so don't be a stranger, Lyle. Go change this stupid world and make it better and keep us informed while you're at it."
Lyle gave a small, wry smile, "Thanks for that encouragement, my friend; you have an amazing way with words."
"Better than yours," Klaus retorted.
"And which of us, may I remind you, has the university degree?"
"And who runs this show?"
"Shirin," Lyle replied, not missing a beat and then laughed and so did Klaus, and their talk turned with ease to more trivial matters.
So it was at ten o'clock the next morning Lyle was stood outside the station, one of his brother's old bags slung over his shoulder, a grin plastered across his face and determination in his head and heart. He greeted the child with a cheerful wave and pretended he couldn't see the raw pain in the eyes of the woman he'd brought with him – Sumeragi he surmised, different from what he had read, more drawn and thin, the years hadn't been kind to her. But he was Lyle Dylandy therefore he was always laidback. He made note of everything the child did as they passed through the station; he was Gene One and he was here on business, not pleasure.
He stared up at the sky, the stars, and the future: he was now Lockon Stratos, and he was going to change the world.
