Here it is! Chapter eight!
[Deep announcer voiceToday on Genesis of Infinity: an action packed adventure as we discover the disappearance of the Sage siblings! Will Lloyd be able to rescue his friends!? Or in the end, will he need to be rescued himself?! And just who is this mysterious golden-eyed man, and who is he working for? Read on and see!
Disclaimer: ainohpmys fo selat nwo ton od I
CHAPTER 8
SEARCH FOR THE SAGE SIBLINGS!
"They're missing?!"
Even though Sheena did not use a particularly loud or angry voice, the receptionist cringed as if being severely scolded. She was quite obviously new here.
"Y-you see, I-I just went to inform them of your arrival. B-but it appears that no one knows of their c-current whereabouts," the poor girl stumbled over her words and bowed low in apology.
Lloyd tried to calm the girl down, "Hey, hey, there's no reason to be like that. We can just-"
However, at that moment the door beside the front desk slammed open, and Lloyd had to roll off to the side to keep from being trampled by a stampede of students and other staff members of the U.S.S., as well as officials of the Palma Costa government force, who were running around as if hell had broken loose. Unfortunately, as he had dodged one stream of people, he fell smack dab into the middle of a gush of another, and was promptly being swept around as if in a strong ocean current.
"THE HELL?!?!" was all that could be heard from him as he vanished from the sight of Kratos and Sheena.
"Ah! Lloyd!" Sheena called out as she fought the stream.
Kratos seemed to have an invisible barrier around him, as the crowd parted from him when they drew near. His deathly glare most likely contributed to this effect. He calmly jumped up onto the desk and stood there.
Sheena half expected him to shout out for silence, but instead he said levelly, "That is enough."
His stone cold stature was an eminent force. Then, she noticed that the place was silent and looked around to see that everyone was staring at the ancient swordsman, his aura fascinating, yet intimidating.
Kratos scanned the crowd, but could not locate Lloyd. He then looked to the confused, anxious faces around him, and decided that the matter at hand needed to be dealt with of before he could find his son. Lloyd could handle himself for a while…hopefully. Kratos prayed this would not take long.
"Now," he said stone-faced (now this was the Kratos Sheena remembered), "What is the meaning of this? Who is in charge?"
The crowd simultaneously turned towards the center of the room. There stood a young man, no older than twenty-five, dressed in the uniform of the U.S.S.
"U-uh, I suppose I am?" he said timidly.
Kratos jumped forward and gracefully landed in front of the man.
"The U.S.S. would put some one so young in charge of a major city branch such as this?" he asked, a bare hint of disapproval in his tone.
"No! Of course not! Well, not under normal circumstances anyway," he attempted to show some sort of dignity and authority, but in front of the impressive swordsman, that was rather difficult.
"What is your name?"
"Osmont, Assistant Director, United Scholar Society, Palma Costa Branch. Unfortunately, the Director had to go away on business."
"Taking charge of a group of educated people shouldn't be so hard that it would result in this!" Sheena waved an arm out to the crowd.
"Trust me! I was just appointed head of all this just now when you asked!" Osmont said defensively, "You see, Professor Raine Sage had been asked to head the area during the Director's leave." He pointed to the group of people who appeared be police officials and government advisers (some of whom seemed on the verge of nervous breakdown), "And then, Governor-General Neil had to take leave to the Ranch Disposal site at the Old Palma Costa Ranch. So he left Professor Sage in charge of the city as well."
"I have been told that you are unaware of where she actually is," Kratos could see what was coming.
"That is the whole problem!" the assistant director seemed close to tears, "She up and vanished! Her and Professor Genis Sage! A few of us have been trying to find her quietly, before anyone found out. However, officials came to see her, and when it got out everyone went into a frenzy!"
"Even so, that is no reason to become so panicked. Is there more to this?" Kratos inquired, his calm demeanor spreading to everyone else.
"You don't know?" Osmont asked disbelievingly.
"We just got here," Sheena informed him.
"Ah, I see," Osmont nodded in understanding, "Allow me to explain. As you probably know, Palma Costa is still recovering from the damage it sustained during the time of the two worlds merging. Most of the city was ripped apart from the bottom up. We have been working on creating a stronger foundation to the city, though it is not yet complete. Unfortunately, at this time of year the ocean currents bring in strong turbulence. These waters can also carry with them monsters. In its current condition, the supports will be destroyed."
"What do you need Raine for?" Sheena asked.
"Well, being substitute Governor-General, she is the one with the authority and the key to open the gates to the under city. As stand-in Director of the U.S.S. she is the one with the most experience and knowledge with the machinery down there anyway." Osmont then added dismally, "And also, Governor-General Neil took many of our troops with him, so this made Raine and Genis our strongest assets against the monsters that are sure to attack anyone who goes down there."
"I see," Kratos took mental notes of everything then asked, "For how long have they been missing?"
"Presumably since this morning," Osmont tried to remember the details, "Professor Genis went out for a walk. After a while, Professor Raine said she would like to take a break. She left the city but neither have returned yet."
"Very well," Kratos turned to leave, "We will go and search for them. Please try to keep things under control until then."
Osmont nodded solemnly and Kratos and Sheena exited the building.
The two looked about the main plaza, but Lloyd was nowhere in sight.
"Where could he have gone?" Sheena said scratching her head.
"Knowing Lloyd, he left us to calm down the crowd and went looking for Genis and Raine by himself," Kratos stated business-like.
"He couldn't have just waited for us or something?"
Kratos allowed himself a small smile, "Lloyd not rushing in when he knows his friends are in possible danger? I think not."
Sheena sighed, "So true."
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Ow."
Lloyd lifted himself off the ground, rubbing his head which he had just fallen on. He then noticed that he had been dropped by the frantic crowd in some back alley of the streets of the city. Not a familiar building could be found. In other words: he was lost.
A few members of the U.S.S. were still around, though the huge mob had dissipated and spread all over the city. They appeared to be looking for something.
"Uh, excuse me?" Lloyd walked up to one of them and tapped him on the shoulder, "Can you tell me what's happening?"
"This is serious business. We must find the Sages," the man ignored Lloyd and ran off to look in another side alley.
"Hmm," Lloyd felt a sense of foreboding, "What is going on? Should I go look for the Professor and Genis, or find Dad and Sheena?"
Without realizing it, Lloyd wondered to a small archway decorated with vines and flowers. He looked through it and saw a small pocket of grass and flora surrounded by tall buildings; a sort of 'secret garden'.
Lloyd started in surprise when he saw that a person stood at the center. It was a young woman with flowing golden tresses, her back turned to Lloyd. A cloak was draped over shoulders, and white robes shown underneath. She was so still and quiet, that even Lloyd's keen sense had not noticed her at first. Lloyd was about to speak when the woman turned her head slightly towards him.
Though not revealing her face, her eyes fixed on Lloyd's, and then she spoke softly, "Follow me if you wish to help your friends."
With that said, she disappeared from sight, only to reappear on the roof of the closest building.
She's fast! Lloyd used the other buildings to wall jump to the roof, his guard was immediately up, I'd better be careful of her.
When he was up, she quickly jumped from roof to roof; checking behind her to make sure Lloyd was still there.
"Hey, wait!" Lloyd called out, "What do you know about my friends! Who are you?!"
The woman did not respond and merely kept out of Lloyd's reach.
Ugh, this could be a trap. Should I be following her? Lloyd bit his lip and kept his attention firmly upon the woman.
She looked back again and gave him a warm smile. Lloyd was taken aback by it, but now he believed that he could trust her. Something about her reminded him of someone, and this gave him a reassured feeling.
She reached the limits of the city and went further, running out into the plains and towards the mountains by the old Palma Costa Ranch. Lloyd hesitated only for a moment, then followed her.
Soon she arrived at the outskirts of the forests that lined the mountains, and stood there, waiting for Lloyd to catch up.
Just as he reached her, she disappeared in a flash, not leaving a trace.
"Hey, wait!"
"This is all I can do," Lloyd heard the woman's voice, but it sounded distant, as if from far away, "…good luck."
Lloyd noticed a small object fall from the sky before him. His arm shot out and grabbed it. In his hand was a medal, an intricate, knotted design inscribed on the front. He stared hard at it, and couldn't help the feeling that he had seen it somewhere else.
The sound of approaching footsteps snapped Lloyd back into alertness, and he quickly jumped up into the cover of the trees. Below him, a procession of armed and uniformed men made their way through the forest brush. They wore armor and rough leather, metal helmets adorned their heads, and cloth covered part of their faces. Lloyd shivered slightly as he was reminded of the Desians.
Hmmm…let's try something new, Lloyd silently drew one of his swords, and aimed. He hurled the sword through the forest at a cliff face a few hundred meters away. Alright! Way to go angel strength and senses!
A clear metallic ring resounded through the forest. The men immediately jerked their heads towards the sound, and with a brisk command from the leader, they all ran to it.
Too easy, Lloyd smirked with pleasure.
When most of the men had left, Lloyd carefully broke a small branch off from the tree. The snapping sound caught the attention of the last man, and he lagged behind, cutting him off from the rest of the group. Lloyd took this opportunity jump down and strike the man down from behind, putting him out cold.
Easily picking up the man, Lloyd proceeded to take his armor and clothing. He then restrained the man with some forest vine, and hid him up in a tree. The uniform was slightly big on him, but otherwise he looked as the other troops.
Lloyd was about to follow the others, when he remembered that the man he replaced carried an axe, not dual swords. Knowing he wouldn't be able to hide them, he unhooked the scabbards with the remaining sword and laid them in a bush, picking up instead the man's hand axe. He would be back later for the swords, and if that wasn't possible, at least they were standard swords, that could be found anywhere.
Quickly and stealthily, Lloyd reached the others and joined in their search for the mysterious sound. Eventually, a man found Lloyd's other blade and since they could not find its possessor, they wrote it off as just an abandoned sword that fell off the cliff or something.
"Alright men! Back in line, we've wasted time here!" the leader shouted and the troops immediately fell into line.
The squad found its way back to the path they were previously following, and continued on to their destination. Lloyd dare not open his mouth, wary that he might say something stupid.
Within ten minutes time, the squad came upon a small base, at the center of the north end of the forest. Lloyd knew the old ranch wasn't too far away.
The base was made up of one main building at the center and smaller shacks surrounding it, all enclosed by a metal barricade which seemed to have only one entry way. The get opened at their arrival, and the troops marched in.
Lloyd made sure to study the lay out of the area, in case he needed a quick escape, but couldn't help wondering what on Symphonia was going on here.
The squad he had followed settled down in a corner of the camp, and other members began to take off their heavier armor and walk around leisurely. Lloyd took this opportunity to explore the camp and see if he could find traces of Genis and the Professor. It was faint, but he had sensed their mana signature, and it grew stronger as he neared the base. Now he was sure they were here somewhere.
After a while, Lloyd made it to a side entrance of the main building. He was about see if he could pick the lock when he heard a people approaching from up the little pathway he had come. There was no time to hide, so he grabbed some trash bags that were sitting by the door and started strolling up the path, acting as if he was taking the garbage away.
The group of incoming people now came into sight, and Lloyd nearly dropped the bags when he saw the mysterious black-haired, gold-eyed man leading the small entourage.
"So, they are locked up in the guest room, correct?" the man nonchalantly addressed the soldier to his right, whom Lloyd recognized as the leader of his troop.
"Yes, sir," the man nodded (Lloyd got the sick feeling of a suck up), "They are being taken care of, as you ordered. No harm has come either, the boy or the woman.
The black-haired man let out a condescending laugh, "I heard the woman was quite a handful. She took down many of our men when you tried to take away her brother, isn't that right, captain?"
The captain remembered the incident ruefully, "I believe her to be demon, myself. She even went berserk when some one broke a vase. Saying something how it was a valuable piece of the Balacruf Dynasty."
Lloyd summoned all of his self control to not burst out laughing. Yep, he had definitely found the Professor.
Now Lloyd's plan was to get past these men, double back to follow them, and then try to find his friends. He was almost past them, when a hand fell on his shoulder. Following the hand, he met with the golden eyes of the mystery man.
The man stared at Lloyd for a while, then said, "What is your name? Who are you with?"
Shoot! Lloyd Lloyd's mind went reeling to find an explanation.
"Ah, sir, don't bother inquiring him," the captain cut in, "He's new here, and a mute as well. He's from my squad."
On the inside, Lloyd let out a held breath in relief for keeping his mouth shut, and on the outside, he gave off a somewhat timid look, to disarm the men from suspicion.
The man lifted his hand from Lloyd's shoulder and said, "Very well then. Carry on."
Lloyd walked as fast as he could, all the while, keeping his ears strained to listen in on the group. When he rounded the corner of the building, he put down the trash bags, and as quietly and quickly as he could, he went back to the side entrance. The group had already entered and the coast was clear.
With practiced ease Lloyd picked the lock and slipped in the door. He looked around, but did not see the man, or anyone for that matter, walking along the corridors.
Wondering around the hallways would do him no good, so Lloyd focused and tried to locate the unique mana signatures given off by his half-elf friends.
Following their auras, he eventually found his way to a hallway with a set of double door at the end. He carefully crept up to it and put his ear to the door.
"Now, now Professor," the muffled voice of the golden-eyed man could be heard through the door, "We would rather conduct this in a peaceful, negotiable manner."
"Your terms of negotiation being to kidnap my brother in order to capture me and get information out of me," Raine retorted sharply.
"Yes, well, you certainly have a reputation in being quite suspicious. You wouldn't trust us to tie our own shoes. Besides, information on Odin's Tear isn't exactly out for the public," the man always seemed to speak in that almost childish arrogance, yet one could sense hidden danger in it.
There was a moment of silence, which Raine then broke, "And just who are you people anyway?"
"Hmmm," the man seemed to think it over, "I'm afraid that revealing more information than necessary would not serve us well at all."
"So, then what you do tell us is only what you believe will lead me to take the course of direction you wish. There is no guarantee any of it is even true."
"You are a clever one!" the toying laughter indicated the man was having fun with this.
I've gotta do something, Lloyd looked around and tried to think up a plan.
That's when Lloyd noticed what appeared to be a sort of sensor beside the door. In all likelihood it detected energy and if it was unidentifiable, the sensor would either send out security forces, or set off an intruder alarm. Odds were, they wouldn't set off an alarm just for foreign energy, for it could merely be an animal.
For the time he had been in the encampment, Lloyd kept his energy concealed, but if he channeled it correctly into the sensor, he could set it off. Then he could lure whatever soldiers came out into an open space outside. By causing a big ruckus there, he could get them away from Genis and Raine and give them a chance to escape. It was a crazy and crude plan, but hey, finesse wasn't exactly his forte. At the very least, he could reduce their numbers and wait for back up to directly rescue the two.
The problem was, if he didn't do it right, he would alert the golden-eyed man as well, and fortunately Lloyd was smart enough to not take on that man. At least not here and now.
Lloyd removed the helmet and other gear he had stolen and placed his hand upon the sensor.
Here goes, with every ounce of his concentration, he focused his mana into a small point: the center of the sensor's screen.
Bingo! The light turned from green to red, and he heard people running down the corridors. Quick as a flash, left the hallway and waited until he saw the guards. An armored soldier turned a corner and caught sight of Lloyd, who then ran towards one of the exits, though not so fast that he lost his pursuers.
After a short chase and the addition of more guards and some robotic defense droids to the force Lloyd would have to fight, they all ended up in a clear space right behind the building.
Okay, now they can escape through the front, Lloyd smirked, I'll have to make quite a stir to get all the guards' attentions.
Lloyd reached to his sides to draw his swords, when he realized that he was grabbing air. There was a moment of confusion, then it hit him like Raine when she was in a bad mood and in the possession of something heavy. No swords.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Lloyd moaned.
It was a good thing no one was here to see this. He would just have to omit this little detail in his retelling of the events.
"Let's see…any techniques not requiring swords?" Lloyd asked himself as he dodged the onslaught of attacks. "Uh…Genis taught me some basic spells…I'd better try not to rely on those," Lloyd recalled how long it took him to cast them, and the following results were not often those to boast about either. "Beast it is," Lloyd sighed.
Using said attack Lloyd cleared a small area around him and immediately targeted the nearest sword wielders.
"I'll be taking these!" Lloyd swooped past a pair and swiped their swords.
Twirling them around in his hands to get a feel for them, Lloyd thought, Since they're made to be held with both hands they're heavier and harder to use in the dual sword form. Oh well, I'll just have to make do.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
This was a troubling situation. Raine's eyes darted all over the room, all the while staying alert of the raven-haired, golden-eyed man who was currently interrogating her. She clutched Genis' hand tightly in her own, and although she did not turn to look at him, she knew he was slightly reassured by this gesture.
The two of them were sitting side by side on a reasonably comfy couch in a reasonably nice room. There was a stone fireplace in the east wall, and beautifully furnished chairs and tables were scattered through the spacious, yet not incredibly big room.
"Now, one more time: would you be so kind as to give us all the information pertaining to the Odin's Tear?" the man asked sweetly, though Raine could already feel the tension grow thicker. She knew it would not be long before the man turned to more aggressive methods.
Gears turned furiously within Raine's mind as she tried to think of a plan. At the very least she had to get Genis out safely. However, she could not give what precious little information about the tear she possessed to these men. What to do…
"What's this?" said a guard soldier, posted by the door.
Raine halted her thinking process to turn her attention, as everyone else did, to the light placed above the only exit. It had switched from its former green color to a flashing red.
"A foreign mana signature," the apparent second in command beside the raven-haired man paid little heed, "Do not concern yourself with it. The security force will take care of it."
The golden-eyed man, however, seemed to be intrigued by the alarm. "Could it be?" he muttered more to himself than anyone else.
"Sir?" the captain started, but was cut off when the door banged open.
"What is it?" the captain asked, rather irritably, the soldier that had just run in, out of breath and frantic.
"The intruder!" the soldier cried out, "He is only one, but he has already taken out a good deal of our men and destroyed many of our security droids."
"What?!" the captain raged incredulously, "Where is he now?!"
"I-in the area behind the main building."
"My lord," the captain bowed deeply to the man, "Allow me to take care of this disgrace-"
"That will not be necessary. I will go personally."
"But-"
The man stood up and smiled in anticipation, "I have a feeling a very interesting person is behind this." He flashed a look directly to Raine and instantly she jumped in realization; she couldn't help a small, triumphant smile. "We shall see," he smirked as he slipped out the door and out of sight, the Captain and a few others trailing behind him.
Two disappointed guards remained in the room, looking off in boredom as they barred the doors.
"Left," Raine whispered rapidly to Genis.
"Right," Genis nodded in affirmative.
The guard on the left sighed deeply, "Man, why do we get the boring jobs? I want to go to battle!"
"First, you are going to need to learn how," Genis said critically.
"What was that, you-?!" but the guard stopped as he noticed the boy was sitting, smiling innocently, all by himself. It did not matter however, because in that moment his world went black as a fireplace poker connected to the back of his head, and he went soaring forward.
"Hey!" the other guard drew his club and set sights on Raine, who had snuck up behind them and hit a homerun, using his partner's head as the ball.
She merely threw away the poker carelessly and moved to open the door. The outrage the guard felt could not be expressed, for he felt a swift jab by Genis to his jugular vein and was out instantly.
"Jeez, what peons," Genis sighed, kicking aside the guard's discarded weapon.
"Well, what do you know," Raine said in surprise.
"What?" Genis turned curiously to his sister.
"The door is already unlocked," she replied, swinging the door open, "They couldn't be that careless."
"If it's who I think it is out there, he probably took care of it," Genis said fondly.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
A plethora of soldiers had advanced upon Lloyd, who easily took down the small fry. Now, the obviously more elite warriors were coming forth.
Rather big and heavily armored, a giant man lunged at Lloyd who jumped into the air and on his way down, brought the bottom of the hilts of his swords smashing into the exposed nape of the neck. The giant went down without so much as a twitch.
By now, though he would not admit it, Lloyd was feeling fatigued. Not only was he ill-equipped with unfamiliar weapons, but Lloyd had to use more energy than usual in order to attract more attention away from Genis and Raine. This, of course, did nothing to help his current situation, however.
Origin! Where are you? Lloyd called out futilely. There was no answer. Not that Lloyd was expecting one; he had been calling out for his Flamberge and Vorpreal Sword for some time, but he couldn't even sense Origin.
Swinging around his daggers like a man possessed, another soldier challenged Lloyd. With a fluid motion Lloyd sidestepped him and danced back and forth, left and right, up and down to evade the onslaught of blades.
"Tempest!" Lloyd jumped over the man, knocking aside one of his daggers, and landed behind him. Holding out a sword as he spun around, Lloyd slashed at the man.
It was a direct hit, and Lloyd turned to his next opponent. Suddenly he winced, as he felt cold steel tear across his left side. Rolling off to his left, Lloyd looked back to where he was standing and caught a glimpse of the dagger soldier sneer as he lay on the ground, his remaining dagger covered in Lloyd's blood.
Clutching his side and breathing heavily, Lloyd stuck a sword in the ground and leaned on it to steady himself. The soldiers saw their opportunity to attack the weakened Lloyd and rushed at him.
"STOP!!" a voice rang clearly through the air, and the soldiers instantly froze.
Lloyd followed everyone's gaze and found himself looking at the mysterious man, who had eyes for no one but Lloyd.
Not good… Lloyd grimaced. He had hoped to be out of here by the time the man became interested enough to come out. However, Lloyd could sense that his friends were still somewhere in the facility. He had to distract them a bit longer. If I last that long…
The man smiled with delight and strode over to Lloyd. With an effort, Lloyd heaved himself up and brought his swords out before him, ready to fight.
"So you are prepared to fight me in your condition then?" he asked slyly.
"Not much of a choice, huh?" Lloyd managed a confident smirk to match the man's.
The man continued to smile. Then, so fast that Lloyd barely caught it, he jabbed forward with his arm.
Lloyd took a quick back step, then thrust with a sword. The man, however flicked it away with a hand. For the split second Lloyd was recovering, the man gathered mana in his hand and shot it to Lloyd's midriff.
Using a sword as a shield, Lloyd deflected the brunt of the attack, but still took some damage to his abdomen. Without pause, the man continued to relentlessly attack Lloyd, who now was forced into the defensive.
Finally, Lloyd lost his footing and fell, the swords knocked out of his hands.
At the moment Lloyd wavered, the man jumped back, and once again gathered mana.
Lloyd saw the magic circle glow beneath the man, and knew that he had to do something, or he was toast. He could feel the pressure rise, and was sure the spell had reached its peak. Time seemed to slow as the man began to activate the spell, and Lloyd could only watch.
As the time towards his doom drew near, Lloyd was snapped out of his daze by a booming, harsh voice tearing through his ears.
"LOKIII!!!!!!"
Instantly, the spell dissipated and the tension lifted. Between Lloyd and the man stood a woman and another young man, their backs to Lloyd so he could not see their faces. The woman dressed in flowing robes, a headdress seated atop her auburn hair. The other man wore a cloak over his clothes and his golden hair was tied in a short braid; a large hammer was slung over his shoulder.
For the briefest moment the man's smile slipped and looked upon the newcomers with a mixed look of annoyance and apprehension.
"That is enough, Loki," the golden- haired man, whose voice Lloyd recognized as the thunderous yell that stopped Loki attack, said warningly.
"So sorry, Thor," Loki said mockingly back to the man, "My mistake. We wouldn't want to reveal too much, now would we?"
"You know this well, and yet you do this!" the woman hissed.
Loki turned to her disdainfully, "I suppose I did get carried away."
"Return with us now," Thor ordered, "Your little friends have gotten rowdy, and like you, need to learn their place."
Loki glared angrily, "If you've done anything to Fenrir or-"
Loki was cut off as the two dissipated and apparently transported away to their real base.
Regaining his composure and remembering Lloyd was still there, Loki began to dissipate as well, but not before saying, "Another time then Lloyd. Until then, try to stay alive."
As he faded away he snapped his fingers and the soldiers who had remained silent and motionless, took up arms again.
Shoot! Lloyd was left to fend off the soldiers, this time with no weapons, and barely any energy left. Unfortunately, now he couldn't escape even if he wanted to.
The crowd surrounded him on all sides and raised their weapons. Lloyd caught sight of a volley of arrows flying toward him, and knew there was nothing he could do.
"Forcefield!"
Lloyd watched in shock as the arrows came upon him, then fell to the ground as they hit a barricade of mana set up around him. Almost simultaneously, the outside wall to his side blew apart, and debris and dust flew everywhere, clouding the battle field. Before the dust had a chance to clear, a figure coming from the whole in the wall cut through the fog, and on his way, he brought down the soldiers in his path.
"Double Demon Fang!" he called out and cleared away the men surrounding Lloyd.
"Dad!" Lloyd said in relief as he saw Kratos standing before him.
"Indignation!" another voice recited, and a burst of lightening further cleared the area.
"Undine!" still another familiar voice was heard, and geysers of water shot forth, breaking apart the enemy ranks.
Now on all sides of Lloyd stood Genis, Raine, and Sheena.
"Guys! You're alright!" Lloyd cried happily.
"Oh, we're fine," Genis smirked, "You, on the other hand, have undoubtedly been stupid again, haven't you?"
"Hey!"
"Focus!" Raine reprimanded Lloyd as she cast a quick first aid, "There, that should help you enough to be able to escape."
Already the troops were disorganized and retreating, so the party took this as their cue to make a run for it.
Not until they reached the outer edges of the forest did the party stop for rest.
"That was your force field Genis, right?" Lloyd asked his friend as they both sat down on an old log.
"Yup," Genis said smugly, "You owe me big time."
The two boys laughed heartily, but the laughter died down as they noticed both Kratos and Raine staring sternly at them. Or more specifically, Lloyd.
There was a stretched silence as he waited for someone to speak.
"Would you like to start?" Raine asked Kratos and stepped back, as he closed in on Lloyd.
"Uh…" Lloyd looked helpless.
"That was foolish," Kratos said coldly, "You rushed into an enemy stronghold without so much as a word to us. You left behind your weapons even though you were fully aware you were in the midst of great danger. You fought a battle that was certainly not in your favor, and kept fighting instead of trying to get away…"
Raine picked up for him, "Your plan was also very brash. There were many unknown variables and holes in it. Once you established our location, the next course of action should have been to get back up, but no, you lure the whole base into attacking you."
"Yeah, I know but-" Lloyd began.
"But, what?" Kratos' tone immediately silenced Lloyd, "You were lucky to have lasted that long and twice you were almost killed. We could sense that high level spell forming as we made our way here."
Lloyd dropped his head, shame faced and was silent.
"And most important," Kratos said and Lloyd prepared himself for the worst, "…I'm glad you are okay."
Lloyd looked up in time to catch the relief on his father's face as he placed a hand on Lloyd's head.
"A little worse for wear," Kratos said, glancing at Lloyd's injured side, "But, you've been in worse shape."
"Speaking of which, let me get to work on that," Raine interrupted and kneeled down beside Lloyd to heal his injuries.
"When that's done, we should get back to Palma Costa. The guys over there are having a fit," Sheena said to Raine, who sighed.
"Yes, I should be getting back. It was not the best time for me to up and leave," Raine took a final look over Lloyd and deemed him good to go. "Just get a good nights rest, got it?"
"Right!" Lloyd bounced up off the rock, but noticed something fall out of his pocket as he did.
He bent down to pick it up and now held the medallion the woman had dropped in his hand. Again came the feeling he had seen the insignia somewhere before. Staring hard at it, a flash of memories streamed through his mind. His breath caught in his throat and at last he remembered.
Loki... Loki wore a medallion like this. And also…it was a dream. A very old dream.
Ba-ba-bum!...Okay, I'm done. Anywho, as I'm sure you've all guessed, there will be quite a lot of Norse myth incorporated into this little story of mine. Obviously because many Tales games and even Ah! My Goddess (created by Fujishima Kosuke-san) have innumerable Norse myth roots, so I thought that would be cool and give my story the whole Tales series feel…I hope.
Now it is time to REVIEW the most important formula of the fanfiction world:
REVIEWS + Many in quantity Chapters updated faster + Very happy author
Let's face it: everyone loves REVIEWS
Oh, I almost forgot...I must know. Many people stated in their REVIEWS that Kratos was a little OOC or was happier than usual. My intentions were to show that characters grow over time and that now that he is not with Cruxis anymore and forced to fight his son, a weight is lifted off his shoulders and now he has a chance to become the father he could have been...is that bad?? Do people not like that?! I must know! Please people must tell me if I'm going down the right path with this!!
Shiro exeunt to stage left