Hark, I am alive, still, amazing
Hope you enjoy
"I can't see a damn thing," Zelos grumbled.
"None of us can, Zelos," Sheena scowled from somewhere.
"This is no good, we can't proceed like this," Raine sighed.
"Ugh…it reeks of undead in here, how does Shadow stand it?" Lloyd shuddered, shaking his head. "It's disgusting…"
"Speaking of which, can you even go in here?" Genis asked, concerned. "When we were in the forest it was hard for you."
"I'll be fine, it just surprised me last time, and I didn't really know what was going on," he answered, still straining to see in the dark. "But how are we gonna get further in anyway?"
"Let's go ask the researchers in Meltokio," Sheena suggested. "They must have a way, I know they've done research in here before."
"Okay, Meltokio it is then."
They began to file out back toward the light but Lloyd paused, looking back into the dark abyss. Something felt…off, the mana was odd. It was nothing major but-
"Lloyd? You coming?"
"Yeah, right behind you."
The trip was uneventful, and when they arrived and learned of the blue candle they almost had their way secured without incident. Almost, until one of the scientists spoke up.
"We can't just give them the candle! Because of them, Kate's going to die!"
"Kate? What do you mean?" Raine bit her lip.
"She helped you guys and now they're going to kill her! They already have her locked up in the castle dunegon !"
Kate, the woman from Sybak, the one that had told them about Cenon. Was she really in danger now because of that?
"We have to save her then!" Genis said. "How can we get to her? It's too dangerous to go through the castle, but there's gotta be some other way, right?"
"There is," Regal spoke up. "The castle dungeon is connected to the coliseum, they use it to transfer prisoners to fight in the arena. If we can get someone in there then they can break her out."
"Hey, yeah! I forgot they did that, nice one, Old Man," Zelos grinned.
"If we rescue Kate, will you give us the blue candle?" Raine asked, ever the pragmatist.
"If you do, yes, we won't have any qualms about handing it over," said the man.
"Well let's hurry then," Lloyd nodded. "All we have to do is enter into a match and find the entryway, right?"
Aside from having to bribe the girl at the counter to let Lloyd in, it was in fact that easy. Lloyd slipped his way into the dungeons, scanning the dark cells for Kate. There was a faint trickle of mana in the air, that had to be her right? He didn't sense anyone else. He followed it to the source, spotting the woman curled up in the corner. She looked haggard but not entirely unkempt or dirty, she couldn't have been locked up for too long then. Good, he'd be able to get her out of there quickly.
"Kate," he began to pick the locks. "Kate, can you hear me? I'm getting you out of here."
She lifted her head and stared at him, her mouth slightly agape. Lloyd ran up to her, kneeling down to scan her for injuries.
"Are you okay?"
"I-…your mana-"
"We don't have time to talk here, let's get you out first, okay?" Lloyd scooped her up, dashing for the door.
"I- okay…"
His mana? He hadn't transformed or anything had he? Nope, still red-clad, then what was she talking about? Maybe she could sense it more since he had 'woken up'? That seemed likely but he didn't have a lot of time to talk to her about it right then. He regrouped with the others and they met up outside the city, Lloyd settling her down on the ground. Raine immediately scanned her, asking if she had injuries, while the others stayed back to give the woman space.
"It doesn't seem like she's injured, that's a relief," Raine stated. "Now the only thing is where she should go…"
"I- I would like to go to Ozette, please, if we can," Kate said, eyes downcast. "It's where I was born."
"Ozette's in ruins right now, it's not safe," Zelos shook his head.
"Please, it's okay, I just need to go there."
The group exchanged glances and collectively agreed, deciding where she should ride. While they discussed, Kate spoke up again.
"It's 'Lloyd' right?" she asked. "Can I …talk to you?"
"Hm? Oh, sure," he smiled weakly. "What did you need?"
"Your mana is…different, did something happen?"
Lloyd chuckled softly, sitting himself down on the ground beside her.
"Er, remember when you thought Cenon might be possessing me?" he rubbed the back of his neck. "It's…not quite that."
"You're Cenon," she said flatly.
"…Yeah, I'm Cenon," he said, looking back at her. "I was 'sealed' or something, and born as a human, I didn't know it when I talked to you last time though. It's been…eventful. So if my mana's weird that's probably the reason why."
"This is incredible…" she stared. "Life and Death itself spared my life…"
"Yeah, uh, I guess? I don't really like thinking of it like that," he frowned, shaking his head. "But I am glad you're safe."
"It'll be late by the time we get to Ozette if we leave now," Raine spoke up. "It might be best to camp for tonight and leave in the morning. Is that all right, Kate?"
Kate fidgeted, looking back to the city in the distance and then nodding slowly.
"Yes, that's fine, we're far enough they won't find us in one night- I hope."
"We can go a little further, but then we'll be pushing sunset setting up camp." Raine said. "We'll keep a lookout just in case."
Kate nodded silently and the group began preparations. They managed to put some distance between them and set up camp just before the last bit of light slipped under the horizon. The fire blazed as it cooked their dinner and Lloyd began pacing the area restlessly, as was typical for him before a meal.
"Hey Lloyd?" Genis called. "Is that 'you're bored' pacing or some weird 'I should be concerned' pacing?"
"Shut up, Genis!" Lloyd huffed.
"Bored it is? Okay just making sure."
"Thanks," he mumbled.
Maybe Genis was right though? Was he freaking everyone out? Maybe he should sit down and focus on something else. It was too dark to carve anything, maybe-? Oh! The stars! He hadn't done that in quite a while, he'd find a nice spot to lay down and stare up at the sky.
"Hey guys, I'm gonna go over there a bit, okay?" He gestured outside the camp. "It's not far, I'll be careful."
"We kinda don't worry too much about you anymore," Sheena half-laughed, "We know you can take care of yourself."
"Er, thanks?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Be careful," Raine still chimed in.
He made his way over to the top of a hill, staring up at the sky. With a deep sigh he settled onto the grass, plopping down on his back to look up. Had the stars changed, he wondered? Since he had been a spirit till now? How long did it take the stars to change? Were stars alive too? They moved and 'died', right? Maybe he was just thinking too much into it. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply of the night air, trying to relax.
"May I join you?"
He jumped a bit and then rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.
"Hey, sorry I didn't sense you, I guess I wasn't paying attention."
He heard a soft chuckle as Kratos sat down beside him, directing his gaze star-ward.
"It's a nice clear night," he said.
"Yeah, it's nice," Lloyd smiled. "I remember we used to do this a lot, right? Sit and look at the stars.."
Kratos eyed him a moment, then frowned.
"Have you remembered more about that?"
"About what?" Lloyd blinked, looking at him. "I mean, um, specifically."
"About being 'Vill', about traveling with us during the war."
Lloyd stared at him a moment, then looked away sheepishly.
"Er…I was talking about when I was a little kid," he said. "When you'd put me up on your shoulders- that happened, right?"
Kratos tensed a moment and then gave a soft chuckle in response, placing a hand to his head.
"My apologies, I shouldn't have assumed that's what you were talking about. You meant your childhood."
"Did you…want me to remember being 'Vill'?" Lloyd asked hesitantly. "I only have a couple memories about that. I mean I guess technically it's when I was just Cenon, but I was pretending I was human right? Still, I guess if you knew me then you'd want me to remember something about it, huh?"
Lloyd bit his lip, his eyes downcast at the thought. The spirits had all been upset when he hadn't remembered them, was Kratos upset about it too? Was Yuan?
"There's not much from the war I would want you remembering, in all honesty," Kratos said, frowning. "It wasn't a pleasant experience."
"But still-"
Kratos placed a hand on his head, cutting him off. A slight but gentle smile came over his face as he ruffled Lloyd's hair.
"It makes me happy to know you remember me from your childhood," he said. "I wondered if you did."
Lloyd flushed a little but didn't move away, smiling gently in return. Kratos removed his hand and began to speak, but Lloyd cut him off that time in turn.
"Is something wrong? Why did you come?"
Kratos sighed deeply.
"I wish I could say it was simply to see you, but no, there is something." He frowned. "I've been looking into what will happen if the seals are all broken and frankly, it's…concerning."
"How? Is it dangerous?" Lloyd furrowed his brow, worried.
"The great seed is unstable, we can't be entirely sure what would happen without the seals. In short I don't know for sure, but there's a chance…well, it's a possibility something bad will happen."
"Yeah but the seed is almost dead, isn't it?" he shook his head. "If we don't revive it soon, we'll never get another chance to save both worlds."
"That's true," Kratos nodded. "Time is of the essence, however…"
The man looked at him, scanning his face intently. Lloyd fidgeted, glancing about nervously. It wasn't the first time the man had stared at him like that, but it didn't make it any easier.
"Is there anything you know that could help us, Lloyd?" he asked. "Anything from the spirits that could help us know for sure?"
Lloyd twitched slightly and frowned, slowly closing his eyes. Was there? Was there anything as a spirit he could know about this? All the spirits they had come into contact with didn't seem to understand what would happen with all the links broken, other than the earthquakes that would happen. Then again, they weren't as in tune with the planet as a whole as he was. Could he figure it out? Could he sense it? Could he sense the seed itself? He focused, searching, attempting to locate the source of mana, to…to read it, or something, anything.
After a good few minutes he sighed, shaking his head.
"Sorry, I can't feel anything."
"I see."
"I'll keep trying to," Lloyd nodded. "I'll let you know if I feel anything."
Kratos nodded, looking skyward again.
"I will on my end as well. I suppose I should return-…another few minutes won't hurt, however."
Lloyd blinked, and then grinned, settling back against the grass.
"Yeah, I don't think it will."