Once again, I wanted to get this up sooner, but the battle scenes proved hard to finish. R &R please.
…
"What the—"
The traveler that had introduced herself as Sophie came running at him, knives in her hands. He jumped backwards, and the blades just barely missed his abdomen as she slashed at him.
"Sophie, what are you doing?" Colette cried, blue eyes wide in horror.
The purple-haired woman ignored her, instead calling out to the assassin—her accomplice. "Get her now!" The younger woman was already on the move, taking advantage of the Chosen's distraction to run to the girl's side, mystically marked cards in hand. A puff of smoke, then Colette cried out.
"Colette!" Lloyd made a move to go to her side, but Sophie—who wasn't actually Sophie—cut him off, forcing him back as she slashed again. He attempted to counter, but she just slipped to the side, lashing out at him once more. One of the knives caught his side, just grazing him, but it was enough to draw blood. He looked desperately at his friends for help, but saw none coming immediately; Kratos was focused on the dark-haired assassin, driving her away from Colette as Yuan attacked the Guardian. Genis was casting, hopefully to attack Sophie… Lloyd grunted as the woman's elbow collided with his stomach.
"You're still not fast enough, Lloyd," she taunted as she ducked under his poorly-executed swing. "Doesn't look like that training's paying off."
"Well, that's what I'm here for, isn't it?" Skah asked as he knocked her to the ground. He raised his sword to swing, but before the blow fell she rolled to the side and to her feet, darting behind Lloyd to attack again.
"Why are you doing this?" Colette threw a chakram at her black-haired adversary, although she was reluctant to attack.
"You don't need to know!" came the reply, along with more strange, foreign attacks. Raine cast First Aid, healing the damage inflicted on the blonde, and Genis let off a Fireball attack at Sophie. She dodged between the first two jets, but the third caught her arm, and she hissed in pain as she darted away, desperately attempting to put out the flames on her sleeve. Lloyd swung his blades, letting off a double shock wave that Kratos had taught him in one of their training sessions. Sophie staggered back again, but quickly drew a few small, circular blades—throwing stars, Lloyd saw—out of her belt, sending them at him in quick succession as Skah attacked. The aim was rather off, but still one managed to pierce his arm; gritting his teeth, he ripped it out, letting out a gasp of pain.
Yuan still struggled to get past the Wind creature the assassin had summoned, but between Kratos and Colette, the woman wasn't doing well. An Icicle spell from Genis had left small cuts across her face and arms; she panted as she just barely spun away from Kratos' swings. "Damn it," she muttered, ducking a chakram as it passed, leaning dramatically to the side as its fellow came back from behind her. Leaping backwards, she briefly landed on her hands before pushing off again, flipping through the air and landing with arms out in front of her; white ruins glowed as soon as she landed, and after muttering quickly, she raised an arm. "Corrine!" A white flash, and suddenly a tiny, furry blur darted out, racing through the tangle of bodies at the Chosen.
"Is that a puppy?" Colette gasped in surprise. Her guard dropped instinctively, her initial reaction to pick up the creature. As she reached out, the animal leapt, tiny, sharp teeth piercing her skin.
Sophie gasped out a short laugh as she dodged between Skah's and Lloyd's swords. "It looks like that thing's actually useful after all."
Colette shook her arm frantically, and the creature's jaws opened and it dropped to the ground, immediately charging the girl again. Kratos had already turned his attention to the Chosen's danger, and leapt to attack. His powerful swing missed by only an inch as the fox-like being darted away, again turning back to the blonde.
Sophie's movements were progressively slowing as she tired; Lloyd managed to land a few hits on her, Skah landing more. She retreated towards the mouth of the tunnel, where Raine and Genis had found themselves as the battle migrated across the small area; knives slashed at the siblings, only to be blocked by Raine's staff. "We need to get out of here!" Sophie called to her black-haired partner. The younger woman wasn't faring any better than she; Kratos' attacks were difficult to avoid. Yuan dealt a final blow to the Wind guardian, then ran to help the Chosen as she fended off the fox creature.
"Ugh… Just you wait! I swear we'll kill you all next time!" Both women darted through their attackers, retreating back towards the trail. The black-haired assassin held her arm out; shouted, "Corrine!"
At the sound of the name, the fox sprang forward, landing between the Chosen's group and their assailants. Its small body tensed as it curled slightly, then the tension released, visibly ruffling the golden-brown fur before spreading out in a shockwave, sending everyone staggering; Raine fell back a few steps into the tunnel, and Lloyd was left just outside it. Another smaller wave hit as the creature, along with the two women, vanished into smoke.
"What the—"
A low, unidentifiable rumbling reached his ears; it seemed to come from everywhere around him. As the sound grew louder, it hit him: the tunnel was collapsing, and Raine was inside. "Professor!" he shouted as he sprinted towards her. The roar grew louder as he went, drowning out the cries of his friends behind him. He grabbed his teacher's wrist and tugged her with him deeper into the tunnel. Suddenly, the sound stopped; silence echoed in his ears. Raine lit her staff with a light spell, and Lloyd turned to see the huge pile of stone blocking the entrance.
"We're trapped."
…
Kratos stood staring at the collapsed tunnel, his face the same calm expression he always wore. Beneath the mask, his mind was in turmoil: the mine had just caved in, with Lloyd beneath it.
"Lloyd! Professor Sage! Lloyd!" Colette cried, tears in her eyes and running down her cheeks as her fist pounded on the rock.
"Raine, Sis!" Genis shouted, holding vain hopes that he would be heard, would be answered. Kratos knew no answer would come.
"They can't hear you," he stated coldly to the children; how could they believe that their weak voices would carry through the pile of stone?
Colette cried harder; Genis started clawing at the rocks, attempting to tunnel his way through. It was useless, a pitiful display. It could do no good.
"Calm down," Yuan said, "don't panic."
"Are they all right?" Colette asked him desperately. Yuan looked towards the tunnel, concentrating, then nodded.
"I can feel their mana; they're alive, at least."
…
Lloyd's breathing sped up; his heart pounded in his ears. It was dark, he was surrounded by rock, inside the ground, and he was trapped.
"Lloyd." He could feel the Professor beside him, her hand on his shoulder. "Lloyd, calm down."
He was dimly aware of his surroundings; the small illumination cast shadows on the wall braces and the tracks on the floor. It was a mine.
Lloyd had explored the caves he found in the forest as a child; even with little or no light, he had never felt like this. Rock pressed in on him, he could think of nothing else. He was trapped, buried beneath the earth, and he had no way out. No. Way. Out.
"Lloyd, breathe. We're fine." A warm breeze drifted around him; Raine's spell healed his small injuries from the battle and soothed his fear slightly.
"Professor, we're trapped. The entrance is blocked." It was obvious, but it was the only thing he could really think right now.
"Think, Lloyd." She had switched to her "teacher" voice. "The assassin came through this way. What does that mean?"
…
"How the hell are we gonna get them out?" Even Skah was worried, anxiety breaking through his act of indifference.
"The shaft." Kratos spoke without realizing it; all heads turned to him. "The assassin fell through the shaft and made it out here. They'll try to go back through there."
Yuan nodded. "I'm sure Raine's already thought of that; we'll head back to meet them."
Colette nodded and ran back to the path, Genis close behind. Skah followed, and Kratos moved forward, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder. "Relax, he's fine," Yuan said quietly. Kratos only nodded and pursued his companions up the trail.
…
"That makes sense."
Already the space seemed to open as he imagined light and air coming down through the shaft: the tunnel the miners would have put in for maintenance, their way out in case of something like this. The slim tunnel that Colette had accidentally opened earlier.
Raine surveyed the surroundings, holding her staff higher to shed more light. It wasn't bright by any means, but she didn't want to increase the mana being used in her spell; she was already somewhat drained from the fight with the assassins, and who knew what they would encounter in here. "Lloyd, we need more light."
He nodded curtly. "Right." Torches hung on the wall every so often; Lloyd snatched one from the socket.
"Do you know how to light that?" his teacher asked nervously.
Lloyd scoffed, shaking his head at her lack of faith. He looked over a few of the rocks on the ground, turning them over with his foot until he found something suitable. Kneeling, he struck one stone against the other until the sparks caught. Triumphantly he raised his torch, smirking at the surprise on the Professor's face. "I grew up in the forest, remember?" he replied to her unasked questions. With a tight smile, she nodded.
"So, we just go back that way, right? I mean, there's only one direction we can go."
How wrong he was. The tunnel soon branched off, and they had no way of knowing which path to follow. After what seemed to Lloyd like hours of wandering, he was wondering how the black-haired girl had found her way out in time to meet up with them.
Suddenly, terror sliced through him again, freezing his blood while the air around him seemed to heat to the temperature of the Triet Ruins. "Professor, what if we can't find the maintenance shaft? What if we get too lost in here and never find it? That girl could have closed it or something. How are we going to find our way out?"
Raine laid her hand on his, the one holding the torch; the flames were sputtering from his uncontrollable shaking. "We're going to find our way out."
"But we've already been in here so long, and we're just getting lost!"
"It hasn't been that long, Lloyd." She pointed through one of the tunnels around them. "That direction was the entrance, so we can try to figure out where we've already been. The others are looking for us, and they'll know to find the shaft. Even if it's been closed, they can open it again. We're fine."
Her cool logic slowly permeated his thoughts, and his shaking subsided. "Yeah…"
"Here." She took the torch from his hand and held it to another on the wall. In a moment, the tunnel flickered with twice the light. "We can light these wherever we find them, so we can mark what tunnels we've passed through."
The fear drained as swiftly as it had come on, leaving Lloyd red-faced in shame. "Right. Let's go." He set off ahead of her, but her hand caught his arm.
"Lloyd…"
He pulled away and kept walking. "Come on, Professor," he said, sounding like his usual carefree self. "Let's get out of here."
…
The maintenance shaft was exactly where the group had left it. Colette immediately ran to the edge of the opening, calling for her friend and her teacher; when she lost her balance at the edge, Genis' hand on her shoulder was the only thing that kept her from falling in.
"Professor! Lloyd! Are you there?" Her shouts echoed faintly down the narrow passage.
"I seriously doubt they can hear you," Skah said callously.
"Then we should go down and find them!" the blond girl retorted quickly, worry obvious in her large blue eyes.
Genis trembled slightly. "I don't know, Colette, I get a really bad feeling about that place…"
Kratos had already felt it: the strange sense of powerful dark mana, and within that an emptiness. It did not bode well.
"Then we have to find them and get them out!"
"Chosen, I don't believe that is wise," Kratos said automatically, even though all his instincts were telling him to go find his son; his job was to protect the Chosen, and it was not safe for her in the mines.
"I agree with Kratos," Yuan said unexpectedly. Kratos looked at him in question. "The fate of the world is at stake, we can't risk harming you, and I don't think Genis should go either."
Skah eyed the shaft warily. "I don't think I want to go down there," he said slowly. "I think I'll stay with the blonde and the kid and wait."
"But someone needs to go look for them!" Colette was adamant.
Yuan shrugged. "Someone needs to watch the lot of you, which only leaves one person to go." Yuan glanced over, rolling his eyes slightly. Kratos could almost hear the half-elf's voice: I know you won't be satisfied until you go rescue your son. I won't do anything while you're gone.
Without another word, Kratos dropped into the shaft.
…
He had made an utter fool of himself, panicking like that. And twice too! That only made it worse. He had shown weakness to one of the people he had to convince he was strong; now he felt like more of an idiot than when he would stand at the back of the class, unable to answer any of her questions or even to stay awake.
His step was light and his face was cheerful but determined, he was making sure of that. He led the way through more and more tunnels. How many tunnels could there be in one mine? They skipped over those that led downwards, staying on level ground. After all, the shaft they wanted went upwards, it made more sense to stay as near to the surface as possible.
They had only run into small, solitary monsters so far, and he had taken them out easily enough; they weren't too much worse than those in the forest at home. He didn't take any damage worth healing, and none of Raine's light spells had been needed. He was doing his best to prove his strength, to make up for his fear earlier. He didn't even know what had happened to him; he had never faced instinctive terror like that before, at least, not anywhere besides his nightmares.
They entered yet another branch of the tunnel; he had to duck slightly to get through the entrance, but once inside, it opened up taller than any of the tunnels before it. He looked around and found a torch on the wall, and Raine lit it like she had the others. Still, the two flames did little to brighten the chamber; in the light, Lloyd saw that it was even larger than he had originally thought.
"Lloyd, this doesn't seem like the right way. Let's go back."
He shook his head. "No, I want to look around in here." He didn't know what it was, but there was something mysterious about the huge tunnel, something that called to him. He couldn't ignore it.
He walked slowly through the center of the chamber, looking around him, not that there was much to see. Besides its size, there was nothing much that differentiated it from the tunnels he had already been through. All he saw was the rock walls and floor, littered with smaller rocks, tracks for the carts, something black—
Wait.
What was that? He approached the thing as it sat on the floor, beckoning Raine—who had the torch—closer. As the flickering red light fell over its curved surface, Lloyd jumped back: a huge black skull sat before him.
"Will you fight?"
The deep, broken voice emanated from the skull; its eye sockets lit with what looked like small flames, and the jaw creaked.
"W-what?" Although he didn't want to show it, the talking skull was thoroughly freaking him out.
"You are strong ones. Will you fight?"
His first thought was "no way in hell", but before he said it, more ideas flooded his head. This thing, besides the fact that it was talking while it should have been dead, didn't look that difficult to beat; in fact, he had already slain more intimidating monsters in the mine. He had already managed to break down twice, and defeating this thing could help make up for that.
"Lloyd, I don't think—"
"Yeah, I'll fight you."
Suddenly, the thing seemed to grow, rising out of the ground and sprouting four arms, and a—a tail? "…the hell?" Each separate arm of the skeleton held a weapon: one double-edged sword, a scythe, a wavy sword with serrated edges, and a type of hooked blade. Suddenly Lloyd was really starting to regret his choice.
The monstrous skeleton let out a huge, dank breath, and Raine's torch was instantly snuffed, as was the one in the back of the tunnel. It was total darkness; he couldn't see his own hands holding his swords, much less the thing he was supposed to be fighting.
Raine began chanting a spell; white runes glowed around her, giving Lloyd enough light to see a glint off one of the swords as it rushed at him. Yelling in surprise, he leapt backwards, landing himself on his rear as the weapon slammed into the ground about a foot in front of him.
"Photon!"
The spell lit the chamber brilliantly for a moment, and Lloyd caught sight of the monster clutching its head in two of its hands as the attack hit, but soon the light went out, leaving Lloyd as blind as he had been before.
"Professor, keep casting!" he shouted just before the white runes appeared again. Lloyd leapt back again, then quickly to the side as the array of swords struck once more.
"Shit," he muttered as the attacks kept coming, faster and faster, and he worked harder to evade them, struggling to hurt the monster. Deciding that running back to dodge wasn't going to work, he sprinted towards the skeleton, skirting the blades aimed for him, and swung his swords, sending bursts of energy that left small scratches across the black bones. Triumphant at his small accomplishment, he didn't see the hooked blade coming until it was upon him. The hook gouged into his back, tearing muscle. He jerked instinctively away, running around the monster to attack from behind, only to be met with another of its four arms swinging at him. He didn't think he'd be able to keep this up for too much longer.
…
Kratos sprinted through the mine, senses attuned to the mana he could feel deeper in. Unnatural amounts of dark mana had coalesced somewhere in the tunnels, and as he got closer, he could feel two other, distinct mana signatures: Lloyd and Raine.
He ducked through the entrance to another tunnel, and his angelic sight adjusted to the almost nonexistent amount of light in the cavern to find Raine alternating between attacks and healing the brunette teen, who seemed to desperately need it. He was dashing around the demon's legs, darting away from the varied attacks, sometimes leaping forward to slash while the monster finished its own assault. Kratos' muscles tensed as he ran forward to aid his son.
Lloyd glanced back at the sound of a sword being unsheathed. "What the—Kratos?"
"Get out of the way," he said as he charged past the boy, desperately hoping that for once his son would follow orders. At first it seemed that he was inclined to do as instructed; many injuries had been sustained as he fought—Kratos didn't even want to think of how serious they may be—and he panted with the effort of trying to hold off the demon single-handedly for so long. However, only moments passed before Lloyd's intentions changed.
The monster was taking much more damage from Kratos' attacks than it had from Lloyd's, and in failing to dispose of the threat in front of it, the skeleton turned its attention to the next menace, the one both preying on its weakness and keeping the others alive: Raine.
"Professor, look out!" Lloyd yelled as the skeleton prepared to attack; the woman looked up just in time to cancel her spell and jump inelegantly out of the way. However, it was obvious that she couldn't dodge for long, and the attacks didn't stop.
Lloyd sprang forward, past Kratos, and the man's heart stopped as he realized the boy's plan just moments before he executed it. He watched as Lloyd leaped, using his exsphere's power to gain incredible height, and latched onto the skeleton's back. He clung on haphazardly with one hand; the other held a sword as he attempted to do some kind of damage to the monster.
"Lloyd!" Raine screamed as the skeleton reached back, weapons in hand, and tried to forcibly dislodge the boy, but somehow he managed so stay on while dodging the blades. Kratos attacked madly, hoping to bring the monster down before Lloyd sustained any more damage, but the skeleton kicked him away, slashing at him with the scythe.
It seemed to realize that conventional methods wouldn't affect the attacker on his back. While Kratos watched helplessly, the skeleton slammed itself into the wall, crushing Lloyd against the rock. The teen slipped from his perch, falling with a sickening thud to the cavern floor. Kratos could see dark blood in his chocolate hair.
He redoubled his attacks on the demon, sword slashing, sending waves of energy at his enemy. He heard Raine heal Lloyd behind him; he wanted nothing more than to aid his son, but to keep his cover, he had to defeat the monster first. Besides, it would hardly do any good for him to take care of Lloyd while it still attacked.
"Leave the boy for now," he commanded. "Attack. Its weakness is light!"
He heard the woman comply, heard her chanting a light spell. His assault continued, adding special techs and magic where possible. He felt the mana release of Raine's spell before he saw the light; he knew it would not be enough to defeat the monster. When the attack appeared, he pushed his own mana into it, fueling the spell, adding an intensity it lacked before. The thing screamed as the attack hit and fell to its knees, arms dropping to its sides, losing grip on the weapons. Slowly, bones fell into ashes, and it toppled forward, body disintegrating. Soon, only the head remained; the fiery eyes gazed forth at him. A low cackle emanated from the skull as it disappeared.
Kratos turned, dreading the sight awaiting him. The teen was unconscious; just a still form on the rock floor. Kratos crouched next to him, felt for a pulse; it was there, pounding steadily.
"First Aid," came the soft mutter beside him. Pale green light surrounded the boy, gently healing the myriad cuts and already-forming bruises. He took his son in his arms, carefully standing up and turning to face the sliver-haired elf.
"You came down through the shaft, did you not?" she asked. Kratos nodded. The woman turned and led the way down the tunnel further, the way he had come, and he followed, cradling his son against him.
Light pierced through the gloom. Raine called up the shaft. "Colette? Genis?"
"Professor!" echoed the relieved reply of the Chosen. "Are you okay?"
"We're fine, Colette," the woman sighed.
From above, Kratos heard worries of how they would get out; he couldn't focus on them, his attention fixed on Lloyd, who still hadn't regained consciousness. It was all he could do not to pull his wings out and carry him up the shaft immediately.
"Chosen, are you able to fly down here?" he asked calmly; the girl readily agreed, and descended, pink wings keeping her suspended just above the ground. "Carry Lloyd up," he instructed, gently helping the blonde take hold of her friend. "Can you do that?"
A resolute nod answered him. Kratos sighed softly in relief as she went.
…
The group trekked quickly back through the trail, reaching the end just before nightfall. Camp was made just beyond the pass; hills surrounded them still, but they weren't the mountainous formations they had grown accustomed to. Genis served a light supper, but no one had much appetite. The stress of the day had left them drained, and the only thing they could manage was to darkly ponder everything that had happened.
"Lloyd, I'm so glad you're okay," Colette muttered, leaning against his shoulder. They sat by the fire, with Genis and Raine close beside them; the boy snuggled under his sister's arm.
"Don't worry about me," he replied softly. "I've had worse. Are you all right? I mean, after what happened earlier…"
Silence fell between them as they remembered the betrayal.
"I still can't believe Sophie would do that…" Colette murmured, head hung. The fire reflected on the tears in her eyes, although none fell.
"She's not Sophie, remember?" Genis said without any real emotion. "That other girl called her something else."
"Rin," Yuan stated blankly from his seat behind them, furthest from the fire. "Her real name is Rin."
Lloyd turned on him, glaring. "You knew that, and you didn't mention it?"
The man only shrugged. "If I was using a false name and ran into someone I knew, I wouldn't exactly want them ratting me out."
"But you knew her! Didn't you know she was trying to kill Colette?"
"Do you think she would mention that in casual conversation? Besides, we didn't actually talk all that much, if you know what I mean…"
Raine looked at the half-elf, her lapis eyes cold. "Is there anything else you've neglected to mention to us? Do you happen to know her accomplice's name as well?"
"No, I don't." Yuan stood up, brushing his ponytail back over his shoulders. "If you all don't mind, I'm going for a walk. I'll be back soon."
"But Mr. Yuan, there's still monsters," Colette protested, staring up at him in worry. "Will you be all right?"
"I'll be fine, Chosen," he replied carelessly as he walked away, back towards the pass they had just left. He was aware of Kratos following him a minute later, and paused to wait for his oldest friend, although he knew the man would scoff at the term.
"You hired them."
It was a statement of fact, and Yuan sighed. "Yes, what of it?"
"You're bringing assassins from Tethe'alla?" Kratos sighed, rubbing his temples. "We knew the Renegades were dealing with the royalty, however," he paused to send a glare at the half-elf, "I did not believe that you would go this far."
"I will go as far as is necessary. This situation was created by drastic measures; it follows that drastic measures are required to overcome it."
Kratos snorted, a small smile curling his lips against his will. "Next you're going to say these are desperate times. Can you think of nothing more original?"
Yuan scowled. "At least I provide conversation instead of standing silently in the background."
"I am not going to have this argument with you again."
"And yet you follow our script to the word." Yuan chuckled softly. "We have known each other far too long, Kratos."
"I agree."
"Harsh." Yuan gazed up at the stars, remembering the times, millennia ago, when Kratos would point out the constellations to him, telling Mithos and Martel their stories… "It's strange, traveling together again. I thought those days were over, and yet here we are. Sometimes it seems as if we're still there, attempting to stop that accursed war."
"Things are not the same anymore, Yuan."
"I know that all too well." He glanced at his friend. "And yet you can't help but remember different times, with Lloyd again…"
"Don't, Yuan," he snapped. The half-elf realized belatedly that he had pushed his friend too far tonight. The auburn-haired man turned without another word, swiftly retreating to the distant campfire.
"I'm sorry, my friend," Yuan murmured as he watched the dark form disappear, knowing his words would carry. "I'm sorry it comes to this."