"You didn't want to sacrifice people? What do you call this?" Lloyd yelled at himself as he saw Sheena fall.
"I can't believe this. Why can't I don't anything right? Sheena..." Lloyd went silent.
"I have to hurry." Lloyd hurried through the warp through the next warp. A narrow bridge went across to a door at the other side. Lloyd ran through as arrows flew across and the bridge behind him started to collapse. As Lloyd made it over, he relaxed for a minute. Wrong move. An arrow shot out and hit Lloyd right at the chest, causing him to fall.
"It can't end like this." Lloyd groaned and fell to the ground. Everything went black. A voice called to him.
"Lloyd, wake up." Lloyd looked around him, all he saw was darkness.
"Who's there?" Lloyd's voice echoed through out.
"Lloyd, you have to wake. For everyone's sake." Lloyd felt a familiar female voice enter through his mind. He hadn't heard it in years.
"Mom?" Lloyd asked through the darkness.
"Come back to the light." Lloyd started to search desperately as the darkness receded.
"Come back." Lloyd wrenched himself awake. The arrow that had struck him was beside him. Lloyd moved his hands to his neck.
"Dad...Mom." Lloyd got up and looking at the locket.
"I have to rescue Collette." Lloyd rushed over to the wall. A sword was wrenched in the wall, revealing a gap.
"What's this sword doing here?" Lloyd stared at it then shook his head. "I have no time for that." Lloyd rushed through the entrance way and entered the room.
"This is the closest match of Mana signature to Martel. Soon my sister, we will soon be reunited." Mithos said as he watched the pod transfer Martel's consciousness to Collette's body. Pronyma and a few minions watched.
"Sir, the transfer is nearly complete." Pronyma said. Mithos smiled.
"Finally, we'll be together."
"Not if I have anything to say about it." Lloyd shouted as he ran into the room. Everybody stepped back.
"Lloyd? How did you get in here? Only a high ranked Cruxis member can get in here." Mithos said. He then shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I might as well try it." The half-elf started to murmur something. A figure appeared.
Lloyd stepped back in surprise as he stared at his own face. There in front of him was himself. It was an exact copy of him.
"Take care of him." Mithos said. The clone of Lloyd nodded and drew out his swords. Lloyd instantly did the same. Lloyd rushed forward as the clone did the same. Lloyd felt the Ruby glow.
"Ruby into the twin blades. Earth attribute, align. GRAVE BLADE" Lloyd released a shockwave.
"GRAVE BLADE" Lloyd stared in surprise as the clone not only countered the attack but sent an even stronger wave right back at him. Lloyd moved to the right to get out of the way, but the clone was already there.
"What the-?" Lloyd tried to move but was too late.
"SUPER SONIC THRUST" The blade pierced Lloyd's flesh as blood fell freely. Mithos watched, amused.
"He's everything you are, except stronger." Lloyd began to despair, but he wouldn't let that stop him.
"SWORD RAIN: BETA" Lloyd started moving his swords rapidly. The clone dodged every one of the blades.
"Impossible." Lloyd felt fear strike every part of his mind. The clone smirked and spoke.
"Feeling weak, huh? You know you aren't possible strong enough to take on even yourself. You're too weak. Did you honestly think you could create a world where no one was to be sacrificed? What about your friends? They all relied on you but you crumbled. Zelos was right. What you were doing was useless and empty." The clone laughed as Lloyd fell to his knees. Lloyd felt himself falling for the words of his clone. The clone spoke again.
"You do have a chance, however. You could join Mithos and your father. Or if you refuse, you can join your dead mother and Sheena." Lloyd got up so quickly that it startled the clone.
"What are you doing? You're not strong enough to fight me." Lloyd stared the clone right down.
"By mentioning Sheena and my parents, you reminded me that my true strength was never in my physical strengths but my ability to follow my dreams even if I started to lose interests and my belief in my friends. I will not let there sacrifices go to waste." Lloyd said. The clone growled.
"Die, you idiot." The clone rushed forward into battle. Lloyd didn't move to attack. Instead, he removed the Ruby from his hand and took out another stone. The clone raised his blades and that's when Lloyd turned to look at him. The clone froze right in his tracks as he stared at the eyes of Lloyd, seemingly charged with power. Lloyd finally spoke.
"Sardonyx, into the twin blades. Lightning attribute, align." The twin blades sparked and danced with light as electricity flowed around them. The clone was transfixed and couldn't move. Lloyd moved his blade back.
"LIGHTNING THRUST" A lightning bolt fell from above as the thrust struck right into the chest of the clone. The clone coughed up some blood before falling right on the blade. Lloyd removed the blade and looked at the surprised Mithos.
"You see that? That will be how you will look once I'm finished with you." Lloyd said confidently as he moved forward. Mithos smirked and started to laugh
"What is it?" Lloyd said angrily and advanced towards the half-elf before stopping. Lloyd heard something mechanical approach. Lloyd whirled around to look at a giant machine form out of the clone's dead body.
"What the hell is that thing?" Lloyd asked, gripping his swords tightly. The machine glowed brightly and the next thing Lloyd knew was water striking him hard.
"So, you're of the water attribute? Take this. LIGHTNING TIGER" Like with Lightning Thrust, Lightning fell as Lloyd attacked with Tiger Blades. The machine didn't even seem to realise it was hit.
"What the-?" Lloyd raised the Magic Lens as it scanned the machine. The readings showed that the monster's strength was all the elements except Light and Darkness.
"This is just great." Lloyd said sarcastically as he unequipped the Sardonyx. He leaped into the air to perform his devastating attack.
"RISING FALCON" Lloyd leaped in the air and smashed right through the machine. Lloyd stared in surprise as the machine shook it off.
"Where the hell is the weak point? Wait a minute." Lloyd noticed a cockpit. An idea came to him.
"What are you doing? The Sardonyx doesn't work on this creature." Mithos asked as Lloyd reequipped the Lightning stone.
"Take this. LIGHTNING THRUST" Lloyd leaped right at the machine, aiming right at the center.
"Heh...For a human, you're pretty clever." Mithos commented as the glass surrounding the cockpit shattered and the electrical lightning struck inside the machine.
"Even though the armour can't be penetrated, the inside is quite easy to damage. That machine has a manual override, right? The AI can't be quite trusted and you wanted to make sure that it didn't turn on you so you made it into something you can control yourself." Lloyd said. Mithos smirked.
"Not too bad, Lloyd. But actually it was made so I can control it first. The AI was installed later. But now let's get back to the point. You're quite weak, right now. I'm quite sure that Pronyma has the ability to take you down. Pronyma, go ahead." Lloyd felt nothing left. Pronyma smirked as she walked forward, a dark energy pulse in her hand. Lloyd weakly got to his feet, blood falling freely from the chest wound from the clone.
"DARK-, Arrgh." Pronyma fell to the ground as a few fireballs struck her. Everyone whirled around.
"Don't think you can touch Lloyd while I'm alive." Genis said in anger. Lloyd stared in surprise to see Genis, Raine, Sheena, Persea, and Regal all alive.
"I told you I couldn't miss the party" Sheena called down to him.
"I promised you that I wouldn't die." Regal said, studying Lloyd's condition.
"We did come to help." Persea said cooly.
"That wound looks pretty bad." Raine said looking at it.
"I'm fine." Lloyd said before nearly collapsing. The five of them leaped down and rushed beside him.
"You didn't look so good when you were fighting that clone. We would have helped, but he wanted us to wait." Sheena said. Lloyd stared at her.
"Him?" Lloyd asked. Pronyma approached.
"Even if there is more then you, I can still beat you." Pronyma growled and raised her hand.
"BLOODY-, Arrgh." Pronyma fell as a blade struck her.
"Who was it this time?" She yelled. An armoured man stood in front of her.
"KRATOS!" Everyone yelled. Kratos winced.
"You don't have to yell all at once." He yelled back, causing everybody else to wince.
"Kratos, you betrayed me." Mithos said angrily. Kratos turned to him.
"Yes, I'm doing what I should have done far before now. Lloyd, we will take care of Pronyma, you need to rest. Sheena, if you wish to stay by him then you can." Kratos said. Lloyd answered for her.
"Sheena, you are needed in this fight. Please, go ahead." Sheena looked at him and nodded.
"Sheena, take this." Lloyd tossed her the Topaz. The girl nodded. Kratos, Persea and Regal approached Lloyd.
"Lloyd, we need the Ruby, Sardonyx and Opal for our special attacks." Kratos said.
"Sure, Dad." Kratos smiled for a second and then turned after Lloyd gave them the Element Stones.
"Topaz into the cards. Light attribute align." Sheena yelled.
"Ruby into the sword. Earth attribute align." Kratos shouted as the Ruby flashed.
"Sardonyx into the axe. Lightning attribute align." Persea said.
"Opal into the leg guards. Wind attribute align." Regal said. The battle had begun.
"Hurry it up." The girl yelled as the four of them rushed through the multiple passageways. Zelos was lagging behind a little.
"I just was healed, alright. I'm exhausted." Zelos said. The girl growled.
"For all it's worth, you should be dead." The girl said. Zelos felt hurt.
"That was uncalled for." The woman said, glaring at the girl. She sighed.
"Zelos, use your wings. I don't think they cost you too much energy." Zelos nodded and his wings formed, letting him fly. The woman turned to the boy who was ahead of them.
"What's happening ahead?" The boy looked slightly strained.
"There is a battle up ahead. It isn't far now." The boy said. The woman nodded and looked ahead.
"Hold on, Lloyd."
The techs that appear in the future will be some PS2 techs which is still in Japanese and they have not been translated perfectly. I'll explain them in the next chapter and with the names of the special techs still being in Japanese. I'll also explain how they work.
Reply to Reviews:
The-key-of-the-twilight: Zelos is not the only one alive. See if you can guess.
Green Magi: For the first question: Yes. And it's not Seles, but she'll have her hand in the story eventually.
Lloyd (Irving) Aurion: Nice Name. I agree with you on that. Though I had to make something happen that would cause Lloyd to go into Overlimit.