This is the final chapter of Thoughts on a Forbidden Romance. Wow. I never really saw me ever finishing a story, but this is the one that's going to be completed first. I know a lot of you are disappointed, but I feel that there aren't anymore people to write about except for the finale. Maybe someday I'll come back and write another chapter, but right now, this is the last one.

Thank you to all my reviewers. Your reviews and comments were greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: Well, I certainly can't have owned ToS if I've gotten this far and not made a single cent now, huh?

And now, the final chapter…

Part VII: LLOYD IRVING

I always wanted to know who my real father was. I mean, I had Dirk, but, I sort of knew all the time that he wasn't my real father. Whenever I asked Dad about it, he always told me,

"I don't know, Lloyd. I know just 'bout much as ya do. There's nuthin' more I can tell ya."

I always imagined him to be a grand hero- someone I could be proud of. But deep inside, I always knew that something wasn't right about that dad, because, if he was such a hero, then why would he leave Mom? Why would he leave me here? Why wouldn't he come? Dirk told me a long time ago that he promised my mom that he'd raise me until my real father came to get me. I waited for a long time. I remember sitting outside on the balcony outside my room when I was younger, hoping, dreaming, that somehow, a man would come striding out of the forest and give me a smile and say,

"Here I am son. I'm here for you. Everything's going to be OK Lloyd Irving."

But it never happened.

As I got older, I realized that that was never going to happen- that my father was not coming for me. So Dirk became my father. We are as close as father to son, even though I'm human, and he's a dwarf. I definitely wouldn't be the same person if it wasn't for Dirk. But somehow, I was always missing something. It was like there was this gap that I just couldn't seem to fill, no matter how close Dirk and I were.

So I went on the journey of regeneration with Colette, and I learned a whole bunch of stuff about how my mom was part of this Angelus Project or whatever, and how my dad killed her from Kvar, that slick bastard. He told me the truth, but he didn't tell me the whole truth. Well, the fact that my dad had killed my mom sort of pissed me off a LOT back then. Here I was, thinking my dad could've been a hero, and then reality slammed the door on THAT dream. A part of me still said that it could be real, that my father COULD be some hero, but just like when I used to wait for him to come, that hope died.

So I kept going on this journey, which sort of changed into this other thing- breaking the mana links between the two worlds. And nothing involving my father came up. Until finally, one night…I…

I found him.

It wasn't like I expected. There was no smiling man, no heartwarming lines. In fact, Yuan had only used me to bait my father.

My father, Kratos Aurion.

It was like a shock wave hit me. There was so much…so much in my head that I don't even remember what I was thinking then. All I know is that there was Kratos, and that he had betrayed us, and that he was standing right here, and that Yuan had just said that…that he was…

And that was like the end of the world for me. It's hard finding out that your father is the guy who's been with you all along on this journey, the guy that YOU thought was annoying, a show-off, a hired sword just trying to prove his superiority. It's even harder when you know that your dad betrayed you, that your dad almost killed you, that your dad is working for the enemy.

And that's why I couldn't believe him at first. And then it all sank.

My dad HAD been a hero- a fallen hero who had saved the world 4,000 years ago and then had become one of the main people behind the deception of the world- one of the leaders of Cruxis.

My dad HADN'T abandoned Mom or me- he had frozen, caught between protecting his family and his fear of losing us.

My dad hadn't come for me, well, because he hadn't even known I had existed until the journey of regeneration.

I didn't want to believe it, but I guess, like always, there's a part of me that tells me otherwise. He saved me that night. I know if I mentioned it to him, he'd probably look indifferent and claim that it was nothing really- it was him being stupid because I could have easily dodged it. Or else he would say something like,

"I'm sure you would have done the same, Lloyd. It's nothing big."

But for me, it's big. Because it told me that he cared for me, even though I was rejecting him.

And I know that he could have easily won our fight at Origin's seal. We fought him before, and he was hard even with FOUR people. I know he just couldn't bring himself to win, to see his son lying in the dust, because he'd feel guilty about it, like he was hurting my mom.

And I know now that he really did love my mom, that he really did miss me. He tried so hard to save Mom that he almost killed himself. He's tried so hard to live up to my mom's memory, to help me, his son. And he did help me. Without him, we would have never been able to know how to cure Colette's disease, or have all the materials to forge the Eternal Ring. Kratos…you may not think it, but I think you've redeemed yourself. I'm sure Mom would think so. You've done so much good; you just need to see it instead of denying it. I mean, think about it…

You, Mom, and Me

That's our family. It's not like that now, but it'll stay like that in my memory, in my heart. I could even add Dirk in there, oh, and maybe Noishe. And Colette, if we ever get married. (Now wouldn't that be a shocker, huh?)

So Dad, don't worry. I'll make sure that I won't die before you do. I'll find you somewhere, out there in space. I'll even use the Eternal Sword if I have to. And I vow that one day, we'll be a family once again. Just me, you, Dirk, Noishe, Colette, Professor, Genis, and all our friends.

Because that's what we are- one big happy family.

Fin

Final Authoress' Note: Well, it's finally over. Thank you again to all the reviewers and such. This was a really fun story to write, and I hope you have enjoyed all of it. Remember, now is the time to review! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! I might just be tempted to do some more Kranna sometime…

-Lady Nephenee Ranulf