It's raining! It's raining! n.n
Colette: Huh?
Me: I love it when it raaaaaaaiiinnnss! (Music note)
Colette: Um... Freakyanimegal owns nothing..
Me: It makes me want to sing and dance :D! HAPPINESS!
Colette: Uh-
Me: Now it's thundering! n.n Oh God I am so happy! Thank you Lord!!
Colette:...Please read...?
Coping
Thunder pealed up above, rolling echoes off the hills and the buildings, the harsh, chopping sound of rain hammering down
on whatever surface it would hit...which was every surface.
"I can't believe this!" Genis cried. "We barely get past Sybak and then-!"
"It can't be helped," Raine sighed, "it wouldn't be wise to fly during a storm, we'd get hurt in all likelihood..."
Lloyd looked out the window, water pelting from the sky outside. Having had to seek shelter from the storm, they found
themselves at the inn in Sybak. Genis was upset, to put it shortly. He wanted to look around the city some for Lloyd, but with
the weather as it was they couldn't chance it... Lloyd sighed and propped his elbows up on the table, holding his head as he
gazed off into the rain. The clear window showed the hammering water, but also his hazy reflection...or rather, 'Lartans'
hazy reflection... He gazed off into his own brown eyes and sighed when he dared look anywhere else... He was stuck like
this...they thought he was Kratos' brother, and...he did look like him. Why did Kratos help him anyway?! Wasn't he an
enemy!? Wasn't-!? Then again, several days ago he didn't look a damn thing like Kratos...but..then...
"...Man..."
The swordsman sighed, once again spacing off at his face... This was him now, wasn't it? He wasn't 'Lloyd' anymore...he
couldn't BE 'Lloyd' anymore...but...oh come on! Yes he was! He was still him-! ...It's just he...
"Hey..."
Lloyd blinked and looked to the side, where Sheena was looking at him.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"...Sorry, but I've been meaning to ask...how old are you, anyway?"
"Me? I'm..."
Okay, um...Kratos said he was twenty-eight, right? So um...
"Twenty-si-" he started.
Wait...seventeen plus ten...woops, that was twenty-seven...
"Seven, I mean twenty-seven," he said.
"Oh..." Sheena trailed.
Eight years...crap...
"I'm younger!" Zelos pointed.
"Huh? Well...so?" Lloyd blinked.
"AND I'm better looking!" the chosen snapped. "Really, Sheena-!"
"Oh you're so obnoxious!" Sheena huffed, storming off.
"W-wait! Sheena come back-!"
Zelos chased after her, leaving Lloyd alone and very confused.
"...What was that about?" he wondered.
"Hey, Lartan,"
Lloyd this time directed his attention to the other side, where Genis looked at him.
"...Yeah? What is it?"
"...I'm sorry, I just noticed...you fight with two swords,"
Oh crap.
"...Ah...y-yeah, what about it?"
"..." Genis' face fell, "Lloyd fought with two swords..."
"...O-oh...I'm sorry..."
"...You know, you don't act much like Kratos for being brothers and all," the half-elf said, "I mean, I guess you kind of do with
the staying away from us and being quiet thing, but otherwise..."
"Don't compare me to him," Lloyd hissed.
Genis backed up.
"Okay okay! I'm sorry, I just-"
Lloyd sighed, "Nevermind...I'm sorry I snapped at you..."
"...You're a lot nicer, too," he smiled.
"...Thanks," Lloyd smiled weakly.
"...Hey...um...look, I need your help,"
"Huh? Mine? With what?" he blinked.
"...You know Colette? Over there?" Genis gestured to the far corner.
"..."
Colette was sitting by herself, her eyes glazed as she spaced out looking at the floor.
"...She's really worried about Lloyd," Genis said, "all of us are...but she's really... Look, I want to do something to cheer her
up somehow but I can't... I just can't think of anything..."
"...Colette..." Lloyd whispered.
"Huh?" Genis looked at him. "Did you say something?"
"H-huh? Um, no, look...uh..." he frowned, "...I can't really think of anything either..."
"Oh..." Genis trailed.
They sat there in silence for a minute, then Lloyd made the mistake of looking at his reflection again. He grimaced and got to
his feet, leaving for the door. Genis of course, was surprised.
"H-hey, where are you-?"
"I'm sorry, I need some space," he sighed, walking out.
"..." Raine's eyes narrowed.
The swordsman walked out of the room into the halls, finding his feet moving him to the lobby... He growled to himself a bit
and then left the building all together, the rain hammering down of his head...but he really couldn't care less at the moment.
Lloyd stalked off into the city, paying no heed to the slippery tiles or the fact he was completely drenched in a moment's time.
There was a flash of lightning, which he stubbornly ignored, his eyes on his feet and he stomped off. He was just so...so
FRUSTRATED! He was so angry and sad and...depressed, lost, confused...trapped. There was nothing he could do to get out
of this, was there? What could...how would his friends deal when they came to the conclusion 'Lloyd' was in fact not coming
back at all...?
"Grr..."
What could he do now? He could help them stop Cruxis, like he had wanted to and was doing, but afterward... He looked up
into the sky, rain pouring down on his face as single tear slipped loose, perfectly hidden in the rain. The man shook his head
and groaned, cursing himself for being so weak. With that he pressed on ahead into the dark city, walking made him feel
better, it made him focus on something else, it made him feel like he was doing something while standing still he was all too
aware of the powerlessness he had to the situation... Before long he found himself sitting on a stone bench, his arms resting
on his legs as his head slumped forward. He was starting to get cold, and he was already soaked, but... Lloyd's deadened
expression remained as such until he noticed something...the rain had stopped beating down on him. He blinked, it was still
raining but...he looked up to see a dark shape, an umbrella... Then he looked to see the holder who stood under it with him.
"For being Kratos' brother, you sure lack a lot of his sense," Raine stated.
"...Sorry," he sighed.
"...What's wrong?" she asked.
"...I've been going through a lot lately, is all," he said.
"As have I, but I didn't sulk off in weather like this."
Lloyd sighed and looked away.
"...By the way..." she paused a moment, "Lloyd.""
Yeah-? ..."
Lloyd went wide-eyed, the color draining from his face as he realized what he had just done. Raine's eyes, which had been
narrowed, widened before focusing in on him again. Lloyd stammered, desperately trying to think up an excuse of some sort
that could get him out of this.
"I knew it!" she hissed.
"P-professor, wait! I-!"
SMACK!
"You little...!" she growled. "Lloyd Irving! How could you do this to me!?"
"Do-?! You're the one smacking me-!!"
"Do you know how worried I was?! Do you know how- Why didn't you tell us?!"
"P-professor, I-!"
"Why didn't you-!?"
Raine cut off abruptly at the look Lloyd gave her. A look of fear and helplessness, despair even... Slowly she lowered her
hand, closing her mouth at the hopeless dim pools that were Lloyd's eyes.
"...Lloyd..." she whispered.
"...I'm stuck like this, Professor," he whispered.
"...What do you mean you're-?"
"When I got separated from you guys at the Darkness Temple, I ran into this thing..." he whispered, "It said it wanted to
fight me...but I was just a kid, so it wanted to fight someone 'stronger'... I woke up and I was..."
He held his hands out in front of him, shaking a bit.
"I didn't want you all to see me...I wanted to beat it and get back to normal before you guys had to know..."
"...So did you find it? The creature?"
Lloyd nodded, his eyes closed.
"...Did you kill it?"
He nodded again, looking away.
"..." Raine bit her lip.
"It said it couldn't change me back...then it died...and then Kratos showed up..."
"Kratos?"
"He...I don't know why, but he said he could help me...then he just started attacking me and you guys showed up..."
"...Why did he lie for you?" Raine asked.
Lloyd shook his head, "I don't know...but...I went along with it because I..."
"...It's all right, I understand," she nodded slowly, biting her lip.
"...I'm scared,"
Raine jolted, looking at her pupil with her mouth slightly agape.
"...I don't know what I'm going to do, Professor..." he whispered, "...look at me... Just look at me! I...I... How am I going to
live like this? I can't! I'm not ready for this, Professor! Even..."
He slowed, bringing his hand up to his throat.
"Even my voice is..." he choked, "...it's not me... I mean, I...guess it would have been in ten years, but...not NOW!"
Lloyd slammed his fist onto his knee, doubling over again as he gritted his teeth in an attempt not to shed tears. Slowly
Raine sat beside her student, putting a hand on his shoulder as she held the umbrella with the other. Lloyd was shaking as
she watched him sadly through blue eyes...
"...I'm sure there's a way to fix this," she stated, "we'll just have to look. We-"
"Please don't tell the others,"
"What? But they-"
"I- I just don't want them to know, not now, not yet..." Lloyd shook his head, "I can't...I can't deal with that yet..."
"...I see," Raine stated, "...take your time then..."
"...Okay..." Lloyd whispered, his gaze back on the ground.
"...Though...Lloyd..."
He looked at her.
"...You do look extremely like Kratos..." she trailed.
"...B-but- I-" he stammered, "I- I don't know WHY I just-!"
"Nevermind, it's not important," Raine sighed, closing her eyes.
"..." Lloyd frowned.
Of course, Raine thought differently. They did look far far far too much alike...even before Lloyd was like this... That and
Kratos had lied for him...and he was always kind to Lloyd, well, his version of 'kind'... Kratos had always been suspicious, but
about Lloyd...could it really be...
"Professor?"
"Hm? I'm sorry, Lloyd, what is it?' she asked.
"...We should probably go back," he said, "...it's still raining pretty hard..."
Raine sighed and got to her feet, holding the umbrella.
"All right then, let's go,"
"...You promised you wouldn't tell," Lloyd said again.
The woman sighed.
"...I promise, Lloyd, not until you're ready,"
"...Thanks," he nodded.
"...Let's head back for the inn," she said.
"Yeah..."
Lloyd got to his feet and Raine began to lead off-
"Wait, I'll hold the umbrella," Lloyd said.
"What? I-"
"Professor...um...you kinda don't hold it high enough..."
Raine stopped, realizing her pupil was almost a good ten inches taller than her now...
"...Oh, of course..." she blushed, "here."
"Heh heh...sorry about that..." he smiled sheepishly.
Lloyd took the umbrella and they continued on, luckily of course, it had stopped thundering a while ago. Raine wasn't stupid
enough to use an umbrella at a time like that... However, at the inn her little brother looked out the window, frowning. They
had been gone too long...what if something happened? The boy frowned and headed downstairs for the entrance...just in
time to see Lloyd and Raine enter. Of course, as fate would have it, it looked to him as Lartan opening the door for his sister
who smiled and thanked him as he entered himself and closed the umbrella... This of course, triggered something.
"H-hey! What were you doing with my sister?!" Genis demanded.
Raine and Lloyd stared at him.
"W-what...? What're you talking about-?" Lloyd started.
"...Genis!" Raine gasped, realizing what he meant. "Don't be ridiculous, we-"
"What do you mean-?..." Lloyd went wide eyed.
He looked at Raine slowly, both of them going bright red with shock, embarrassment, and a hint of disgust...
"Woah woah woah-! That's not-! She's-! I-!" Lloyd stammered.
"Yeah right! You were putting the moves on my sister, weren't you?!"
Lloyd did his best not to vomit as Raine smacked her sibling.
"Don't be absurd, Genis! Get back up to the room!"
"B-but sis-!"
"NOW!"
Genis muttered to himself and trudged back up, glaring at Lloyd before doing so.
"...Ew...ew...ew..." Lloyd said once he was gone.
"...You will never speak of this to anyone," Raine stated.
"Don't worry, I won't..." he shuddered.
Of course, once they both entered the room...
"Oh-HO!" Zelos said. "Looks like new guy's making moves on my bewitching female teacher! You sly dog, you! Stealing my
silver-haired siren away from me like that-! OW-!!"
Raine had smacked the philanderer promptly.
"Nothing of the sort happened!"
Lloyd did his best to blend in with the wallpaper in the corner.
"...Um...Mr. Lartan?"
"Huh?"
Colette looked at him, holding out a towel.
"Y-you're all wet, so I thought you might want to dry off..."
"O-oh..." he laughed, "yeah, I dredged in water, didn't I? Thanks."
Colette smiled and blushed brightly, making Lloyd smile as well.
"Are you feeling better?" he asked.
"Hm?" she blinked.
"...You didn't look so happy earlier, that's all..."
"O-oh..." her face fell, "that's...don't worry about it-"
Lloyd put his hand on her shoulder, looking her in the eyes.
"...W...what are you...?" Colette stammered, flushing.
"Don't worry..." he said, hoping somehow she would understand.
"..." the blond blinked.
Lloyd broke his gaze, turning his attention to drying off his face as Colette stared at him. What was...he talking about?
"...It's getting late, we should all go to sleep if we plan to leave early tomorrow,"
"But sis! You said we could look for Lloyd!" Genis cried.
Lloyd flinched.
"...We'll look around quickly," she said, "but then we're heading for Sylvarant."
"Can we at least ask Altessa and Mithos about it before we go?"
"...Fine," Raine said, trying to calm her brother, "quickly."
That night, Lloyd could barely sleep, he was having dreams again...
Trapped.
Lloyd in a room, a room lined with mirrors.
Trapped like this.
He jolted and attempted to find a way out, 'his' face looking at him wherever he looked.
You've lost your life.
The mirrors melded into pictures of his seventeen-year-old self hanging out with his friends, laughing, smiling, getting
scolded by the Professor, feeding Noishe, talking to Dirk...
Those ten years...you'll never get them back.
Lloyd lost the color in his face.
Never.
Lloyd jerked upright, feeling as if he was choking. He put his head in his hands and sat there clutching at his hair for a couple
hours in the silent darkness, wishing that he'd never even set foot in the Darkness Temple.
"HYAH!"
"W-woah-!!"
The monster went flying, blood spurting out of the large cut down its body.
"Pay attention to the fight!!"
"R-right!"
Lloyd hacked down another monster that had attempted to take him from the back, ducking under the claws of another
before swiping up and disconnecting it's head from the remnants of its body. Geez, who knew there were monsters this
tough just around Iselia? They had come all the way back to Sylvarant to find Aska, they'd even gotten all the information
about the Linkite Tree but they still needed an exsphere shard...and Dirk was the only one they could think of. Lloyd, of
course, was not happy with this, but he had no choice but to go along with it...
"Eruption!" Genis cried.
The final monster perished, leaving the group at peace once more.
"Whew..." Zelos sighed, "damn..."
"I don't remember such scary monsters around here..." Colette said.
"It is strange..." Raine said, panting, "we've only seen monsters of this status in Tethe'alla up until now..."
"Whatever!" Sheena groaned. "Man that was rough...!"
Lloyd fidgeted a bit. He wasn't tired in the slightest...
"Hey! You, Mister I'm-too-cool-to-sweat!" Zelos snapped. "Stop standing there all...not tired! It's annoying me!"
Lloyd sighed, "What would you rather have me do then? Whine like a baby?"
"Y'know what? Shove it!"
"Well, Dirk's house is just up ahead so we should- Oh-!"
"Colette! You're bleeding!" Genis said.
"I-it's just a scratch-"
"Like hell," Lloyd hissed, glancing at the cut down Colette's arm, "Professor, could you heal her?"
Raine groaned, "I don't think I have any mana left..."
"...Okay then, someone hand me some bandages," Lloyd said.
Presea complied and Lloyd gently took Colette's arm.
"I- I-" she stammered.
"Hold on a minute..." Lloyd said, applying the bandage, "...there, you okay for now?"
Lloyd blinked in confusion at the massive redness in Colette's face as she spaced off at his, stammering somewhat.
"...Are you okay-?"
"I'm fine!" she blurted. "Sorry!!"
"Huh? Why are you-?"
"I'm sorry!"
Sheena glared death at them. Sure, she got hurt too, but you didn't see her getting special treatment...
"My hunny! Are you injured? Do you need help?" Zelos asked.
SMACK!
"Shut it!"
"Ooooouch! Sheeeeeennnaaaaaaa!!"
"Hmph!"
"...Oooooh, I get it, jealous of the little angel are we?" he grinned.
SMACK!
"Ooooowwwwwwwww!!"
"Idiot-chosen!"
"We should get moving," Regal stated.
Lloyd nodded slowly, he didn't want to go... Though regardless of his feelings they found themselves at the door minutes
later. The swordsman fidgeted a moment as his best friend stopped.
"We...we're gonna have to tell him about Lloyd..." Genis whispered.
He flinched.
"Yes..." Presea trailed.
"I...I'll wait here," Lloyd said.
"What? Why?" Zelos asked.
"I..."
"Don't bother to ask him about it," Raine said, "it's his business."
"But are you sure it's smart to leave him alone? I still don't buy it," Zelos glared.
"...Fine, I'll stay out and watch him,"
"W-what?" Genis blurted.
"Oooooooh! I see!" Zelos smirked. "Why my gorgeous beauty! You've fallen for the 'Ex-villain' type? Heheheh, exotic-"
SMACK!
"Ow-!!"
"Get in there and get that shard!" Raine snarled.
"Y-yes ma'am!"
They scampered inside, not willing to stay out there with the infuriated teacher. Lloyd had already walked off, having not
been home for a while... Slowly he approached his mother's grave...
"...Mom..." he whispered, "...It's been a while..."
Of course, there was no answer, but he always made a habit of talking to the grave...
"...I know it's weird I'm like this..." he whispered, "trust me...there's a good reason..."
His face fell and slowly he ran his fingers along the letters of his mother's name, his eyes growing distant.
"...I'm not sure what's going to happen to me, Mom..." he continued, "...but...I know it will all work it...I mean, it will, won't it?
Yeah...I'm sure it will...it has to...right? ...I...I'm just worried, I guess..."
Raine watched from a ways away, trying to keep watch for the others while watching her pupil at the grave-site...
"..." her eyes narrowed.
This scene looked familiar...Lloyd's back was to her, a tall, broad-shouldered and spiky haired figure spacing off at the
stone... Where...? ...Kratos. Kratos had done the same exact thing at that spot... Just what was their relationship? She knew
there was one, there had to be one, she was sure of it now. Not between Kratos and 'Lartan' as brothers, Kratos and Lloyd.
Her student was related to the Seraph, she knew it, too many hints had been dropped and Lloyd's 'transformation' of sorts
was the straw that broke the camel's back...
"...L- Lartan!" she shouted, the door beginning to open.
Lloyd jolted away from the grave and dashed back over just as the remnants of the group emerged from the house.
"We got the exsphere shard," Genis said.
"Yeah! Now we can go revive the Linkite Tree!" Colette chirped.
"We'll have to find it first, of course," Regal reminded them.
"Yeah...let's get on the rheairds and look around," Sheena nodded.
"We'll look around the mountains, it has to be in a place we can't normally reach," Raine stated.
"Right-o! Off we go!" Zelos said.
There was a silence.
"..What's the matter?" Lloyd asked of the group in general.
"Huh? N-nothing..." Genis sighed, "it just...doesn't feel right without Lloyd saying 'let's go!' or 'let's do it!' or being all excited
about something we know he'll get bored with right off the back..."
There was more silence as Lloyd did his best not to say anything, not to do anything that'd give himself away...
"...We should head off..." he said quietly after a minute.
"Yeah..."
Later that night, however, they had yet to find the much sought after tree. They instead settled down to camp somewhere
around the Hima region, seeing as that's where they were once the sun began to set. It was late, the members of the group
slept soundly here and there...even the night-watch, Raine, had fallen asleep...but that was all right. She knew that
someone else was awake. Lloyd sat furthest from the group, his eyes glazed looking as he dazed off into the dying embers
of the fire. There was a whining sound and he turned, Noishe trotting up beside him.
"...Hey, Noishe," he smiled weakly, scratching the 'dogs' ear, "I was wondering where you went..."
"Are you all right?"
Lloyd jolted at the sound of the voice, turning to it's source behind him.
"...You..." he whispered.
Kratos stood several feet behind him, his silhouette dimly illuminated by the ebbing glow of the fire.
"What do you want? What are you doing here?" Lloyd asked, getting to his feet.
"..." Kratos seemed to hesitate, "I wanted to see if you were all right."
"All right? Well gee, aside from everyone thinking I'm your brother and the fact I'm stuck like this, yeah, sure, why wouldn't I
be all right?" the red-clad swordsman hissed, his eyes narrowed.
"..." Kratos closed his eyes, "...I realize it must be..difficult."
"No, duh, really?" he spat.
"...However, you should try to remain calm-"
"Shut up!" Lloyd snarled. "Just shut up! What do you know about this?! You have no IDEA what I'm going through!"
"..." Kratos' eyes narrowed.
"...W...what? Why are you looking at me like that...?" Lloyd trailed.
"Come with me," Kratos said, turning on heel.
"What?" Lloyd blinked.
"You can stay if you wish, but if you come it may benefit you," he stated.
Lloyd hesitated, looking back at his sleeping comrades and to his side at Noishe, who seemed to be urging him after the
Cruxis Angel. The twin swordsman fidgeted a moment more before walking after Kratos, the white strips of cloth that hung
down the Seraph's back like swaying dancing phantoms as the bright moonlight cast a glow on them. As Lloyd followed
something about this scene triggered a feeling of nostalgia... That silhouette was familiar...well, of course it was, during the
Regeneration Journey in Sylvarant he saw it a lot...right? Kratos stopped.
"...So what is it-?"
"Double demon fang!"
"Wha-?! Woah!"
Lloyd dodged out of the way of the attacks, the sword forces reducing a rock behind him to pebbles.
"W-what the hell was that for?!" he roared.
"Good, your reflexes are how I expected," the Seraph nodded.
"Hey! Answer me you-! Wait..."
Lloyd looked back at the pile of rubble that was previously a rock.
"...You...never did that before..."
"Naturally, there was no need to before," he stated.
"...Wait...you were holding back last time! I knew it!" Lloyd accused.
"You were not a serious enough threat then," Kratos stated simply, "there was no need to expose my true abilities."
Lloyd's eyes widened.
"Then why are you...?"
Kratos gestured to a nearby boulder.
"Now, you try," he said.
"M-me?" Lloyd stared.
"You have that sort of power now, do you not?" Kratos asked. "Power is nothing if not controlled, a raging fire will destroy
everything including its creator if not harnessed and manipulated. If you continue as you are now without a firm
understanding and control of your abilities you will harm someone you do not intend to harm. Now, draw your weapons and
perform the technique."
"...Why are you helping me?" Lloyd asked.
"..." Kratos' eyes narrowed, "would you rather you injure your friends?"
Lloyd shook his head and took out his swords, turning his attention to the rock Kratos had motioned to.
"...Demon fang!"
The rock exploded.
"W-woah-!!"
"Wrong," Kratos stated, "you need to concentrate your mana into a single point at the head of the attack, you have it
loosely spread throughout the entire wave making it harder to control and predict."
"...Uhm...so you're saying if it's all in one place it'll...not...go all over the place?"
Kratos sighed, "Something to that effect. That, and if your mana is...gathered in one place, it'll do more damage on a foe."
"Okay...I think I get it..." Lloyd trailed, "...demon fang!"
This time the rock fell to pebbles.
"Huh-? I did it! ...Though it doesn't look as strong as what I did before,"
Kratos walked forward and pointed back at the rock he had destroyed previously. Lloyd blinked and looked back...to find not
only the rock he had hit reverted to rubble, but so had several directly behind it, the last huge rock in the succession (being a
mountainous area) being scarred by a huge, clean cut crevice.
"It goes further with more force when controlled," Kratos stated simply as Lloyd gaped, "if I were to use that on a living
creature it would be sliced in halves..and disintegrate most likely from the mana radiation."
Lloyd gaped at Kratos. This man was really that powerful...? If that was the case, how come he didn't just kill them all
before...? It didn't make sense, and why would he show him how to do this...?
"Now..." Kratos turned to him, "come at me."
"W-what-!?" Lloyd gasped.
"Are you frightened?" Kratos tilted his head to the side.
"N-no- I just- I mean- I can't-"
"You learn best through experience," the Seraph took a fighting stance, "now come at me, or I come at you."
Lloyd swallowed nervously before going into his own stance.
"All right...Here I come!"
Several minutes later, Lloyd was panting on the ground, Kratos standing before him.
"Y..you...what...ARE you...?" Lloyd stammered between gasps.
"I've had...a lot of experience..." Kratos smirked weakly.
Lloyd's eyes widened.
"H-hey...are...you...TIRED?!" he stared.
"..." Kratos was breathing somewhat more irregular than normal, and perhaps it was the dim light but Lloyd could've sworn
there was a bead of sweat on his brow, "...I haven't had to exert myself this much in a long time..."
Lloyd gaped at him.
"...Heh," Kratos smirked, holding up his arm, "you got a cut on me..."
The 'teen' went bug-eyed, seeing the small wound on the angel's arm.
"Nowhere near beating me..." he smiled weakly, "but...very, very well done..."
Loyd continued to stare.
"...Healing wind!"
A green light surrounded them both and let felt his energy returning, Kratos' wound healed and he regained his usual
composure. Slowly Lloyd got to his feet as Kratos sheathed his sword.
"...Of course...in a real fight I would've been able to do that after that one instant I knocked you back," he stated, "you must
remember to leave no openings at any time, give them no quarter whatsoever."
Lloyd twitched.
"W-wait-! So you could've healed yourself?!"
"Yes."
"You were STILL holding back on me?!" he growled.
"..." Kratos turned, "you should get back to your friends before they wake up."
"Kratos-!"
There was a blue light and feathers as the Seraph simply warped away.
"...Dammit..." Lloyd muttered.
He groaned, still aching from the fight... Yeah, he should probably get back with the others... Though...why was Kratos so
keen on helping him? Why did he care so much? And why did they look so much... He shook his head. He didn't care, he
didn't want to know, he just wanted to go back to sleep... Then, he could look less like Kratos if he just put his hair back to
normal, but then someone would notice it...Raine already did... Lloyd sighed and headed back to camp, his mind wandering.
...Once this was all over, what would he do? If he was an adult now...maybe he could be a blacksmith? But wait, no...there
were still the exspheres. He'd go around and get rid of the exspheres. ...By himself... Was that how... Was that howhe was
going to live from now on...?
Me: ARGH! BAD SELF! (smacks)
Colette: O-oh dear! What's wrong?
Me: The plotbunnies are back! T.T
Colette: Um...isn't that a good thing?
Me: NO! Because they're not helping with the stories I HAVE! I had this idea that just popped up...kinda like Lloyd!
Cruxis thing, right? Except like...well, it was a lot different than anything on the site right now...and that's sort of saying
something, seeing as there's a lot of them...
Colette: ...Um...
Me: I so want to write that now! But I have too many stories! T.T WAH! Why can't I even finish one...? T.T...
Colette:...
Me: Hm...maybe once I finish this one...
Colette: Don't you have-?
Me: YES I have eight other stories I'm writing! (Grumbles) Only one of which is anywhere near done...being this one...
Colette: Um...review...?