And so I return! Thanks for all your reviews, and you'll just have to w8 on how Presea fits in.
Lloyd and Sheena entered Raine's apartment, still laughing from Lloyd's request. They both stopped, however, when they saw Lucrus staring at them.
"Well Lloyd," he started asking, "I assume you have some questions for me to answer?" Lloyd just nodded, "Then fire away."
Lloyd had no idea what to ask first. There were so many to ask, how could he choose just one. But then he felt a hand rest in his shoulder. He turned to see Sheena, with an encouraging, affectionate smile on her face. He nodded as she squeezed his shoulder. "How did you get out of the house? I saw you enter it and then it collapsed, and I never saw you come out."
"Well, when I ran back in, I charged at Pronyma, the woman who led the attack on us and on you just now. She was laughing at my anger, at your parents' death. She did not care about them..."
"Why you, how could you!" exclaimed Lucrus, tears of anger in his eyes.
"What's wrong Lucrus?" taunted Pronyma, mocking him, "Surly you'd know we'd get your traitorous teacher, and his whore of a wife!"
"SHUT UP!" he cried, raising his mentor's sword, which he picked off the floor, next to his corpse.
"What do you plan to do with that? It didn't help him and you're weaker than him."
"I SAID SHUT UP! I'M A SUBJECT OF THE ANGELUS PROJECT! I WAS MADE FOR BATTLE!"
"So he did tell you huh? But then tell me, why do you feel anger, if you know you shouldn't?"
He couldn't answer, she was right. Why would he? His drop of guard gave Pronyma all the time she needed. She charged and smacked him in the stomach.
"Ha! Lets see if a subject of the Angelus Project can survive a burning building!" she then teleported away.
"TELEPORTATION!" yelled Raine, completely destroying the mood of the flashback.
"Wasn't teleporting proven impossible to do with our level of technology?" asked Genis curiously.
Lucrus, Lloyd and Sheena had completely forgotten that this was the Sages' house, which meant they'd surly be listening to them.
"Cruxis have highly advanced technology." Was all Lucrus said in reply.
"Advanced technology." Raine said in awe, "What else have..."
Lloyd coughed loudly, obviously irritated, "Can you please be quiet? I want to know what happened next."
Raine was about to reply angrily, but Sheena stopped her, "Yeah Professor, I mean Lloyd hasn't even heard from him let alone seen him for all this time. Could you please wait till later?"
"She has a point sis." Inputted Genis.
"Fine I'll wait." She finally gave in, with the look of Christmas being cancelled on her face.
"So what happened then?" Lloyd asked.
"The house collapsed." He replied simply.
"What?" asked Sheena in surprise, "You really survived that?"
"Only because the floor collapsed too. I fell through it and landed in an underground spring. I nearly drowned when it carried me to the lake in Triet."
There was a long silence before Lloyd asked the next question, the question that had haunted him since he discovered Lucrus was alive. "W-Why didn't you come to find me if you were alive, knowing where I was hiding?"
"I wanted you to live a normal life."
Lloyd suddenly felt angry, "A normal life? Do you call a normal life hiding from an unknown group who killed your parents?" his voice was rising, "Do you call a normal life pretending to be stupid? Lieing to all your friends? Working in a dead end job? Living in a damp..." SMACK!
Everyone was staring at Sheena, she had just slapped him across the face. To their greater surprise, Lloyd was laughing.
"Thanks Sheena." She smiled, " I'm sorry Lucrus, please continue."
"Well, I didn't want you to get wrapped up in all of this Angelus Project nonsense." He replied sadly, "It was what caused all of this in the first place, why Kratos and Anna died."
"Huh? Tell me, what is the Angelus Project?"
"It's the ultimate warrior plan, it was originally designed to create powerful, highly intelligent warriors, and they were suppose to be emotionless. I was the first version of the project, though I only just made it into living. They then discovered that it was much easier to change already living people into these soldiers, you Lloyd were the second subject. Your parents worked for Cruxis, your mother a scientist working on the project, and your father was a soldier, one of their best. They had you and you were used in the experiment."
"Why would they just hand me over?" asked Lloyd, tears starting to form in his eyes.
"They didn't, you were taken without their notice, until your mother found the files on the project's progress. She told your father and they realised how inhuman this project was. They took us away and were able to restore our lost emotions, though we were all worried when your eyes never changed back from their emotionless red."
"But why did they come after us?" asked Lloyd forcing back his tears, "Surly they had records on the project, why did they need us?"
"Two reasons: 1. Your parents destroyed all their previous tests and research, which took years to produce, so it would be much faster to find at least one of us, and 2. Every member of the Angelus Project has a power in them that can be released, so naturally they want all the cards, so far we have the two original projects, the ones that had used years worth of research on our side, whilst they only have one, the project partially reborn."
"But you just said only you and Lloyd were 'created'." Stated Sheena, "And what did you mean by 'partially reborn'?"
"Well, Lloyd's mother was the heart of the project, it was her who discovered most of the secrets, the ones that reside in us. The third only had some of these secrets, so this hidden power isn't as great. However, if they could capture just one of us, they could extract these needed secrets, and complete the newest subject, and also steal away our emotions again, and create enough of these soldiers to concur the world. Without emotions, they'll show no mercy to their enemies."
"So that's why? Because I have some power my parents gave me." Lloyd said, not questioning, but confirming what he'd just found out. Tears fell freely from his face now.
"We'd better get some rest, training will begin tomorrow." Lucrus suddenly stated.
"Training?"
"I'm assuming you lost your swords, so you stopped training after the incident."
"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!" Shouted Sheena out of the blue, "You just appear out of nowhere, tell him about his true life, then expect him to just forget it and start something he stopped ages ago! Give him some time!" She made as if to slap Lucrus, but Lloyd caught her hand stopping her.
"No Sheena." He said coolly, "He's right I need to start training again, not just to protect myself, but you aswell."
"Huh?" she started to blush.
"Now that Cruxis know of you, they'll be after you to get to me, and I won't let anything happen to you." Realising what he just said, he blushed too. "I think that also means I have to take you up on your offer on staying at yours. In case they appear over night." He was blushing furiously at these words.
"N-No problem Lloyd." She replied.
"I'll come too." Said Lucrus decisively.
"No." Was all that Lloyd said, "Sorry but you gonna have to stay here, in case they tracked one of us to here."
"That's actually a good plan, very well I'll stay here." He replied.
Sheena was planning to say that there was enough room for all of them, but, somehow she only wanted Lloyd as her guest. She felt that this was her time to get closer to him, and Lucrus, Raine and Genis might ruin this chance.
They all said their goodbyes as Lloyd and Sheena left for Sheena's. "Thanks for giving me somewhere to stay Sheena." Said Lloyd happily as they walked through the streets.
"No problem Lloyd," replied Sheena, "and thank you for wanting to protect me."
Lloyd blushed, "U-Uh n-no problem."
Meanwhile...
Kuchinawa was in his cell, his mind being tortured passed its limits.
"Mom, Dad NO! DON'T DIE!" his eyes suddenly opened wide, "It was Sheena. If she didn't need protectors, they wouldn't have died. WOMAN!" he shouted, trying to reach Pronyma, "LET ME OUT! I'LL HELP YOU, IF YOU LET ME DEAL WITH SHEENA!"
"Very well young ninja. You may deal with her as you will, after you use her to get to Lloyd that is." Replied the voice of Pronyma.
Well there you go, what will Kuchinawa do? And will Sheena get closer to Lloyd? Find out next time. Keep reviewing.