Time for chapter two.
There's a bit of a time-skip, but it's not huge, maybe an hour or so. The beginning of this game is so overdone I figured that, by this point, most of us know the finer points of the group getting to Martel Temple, so I moved us ahead. From here, they should move partially into the Temple and I'll finish it up next chapter.
Enjoy.
….
Lloyd's heart beat as he raced up the stairs toward the glowing Temple of Martel. The landscape was lit with the blue-white glow from the light of the Oracle; one could not look at the Temple without having the image burned into their eyes. The Eternal Swordsman raced ahead of his friends, Genis and Colette panting behind, unable to keep up with their friend's inhuman pace; Lloyd could hear the sounds of armor and weapons meeting above. He hurried toward the grunts of pain and shouts of the dying.
As he met a turn in the winding staircase, the light of the Oracle illuminated the bodies of the fallen. Some were the forms of Renegades fallen for their noble cause, but the majority were the corpses of those who were hired to guard the Temple. The faces of the dead were contorted into their final screams; shouts at their enemies, cries to the Goddess Martel to deliver them. In their last seconds, men had prayed to a woman who could do little more than silently mourn their loss and hope they found happiness.
He heard shocked gasps behind as Genis and Colette rounded the corner only to halt and witness the horror that lay before them. The Renegades played the part of Desians well; severed limbs cluttered the area, heads rolled, and blood stained the green grass red.
He heard a hiccup and turned to see Genis retch in the grass beside the path. He was still very much a child; to see people that were always protecting him slaughtered, lying in front of him… There were times when Lloyd wished that he could do the same, release the guilt inside him by purging his being, but he would only dry-heave: nothing inside him to go. In several years of experience, Lloyd had found that killing did not get any easier; one simply numbed to its effect.
"Just keep going," Lloyd commanded, trying to help his friends.
"B-but, Lloyd, how can you…?"
"Getting to the Oracle alive is way more important. Mourn later, keep going now."
Lloyd looked into Colette's sky-blue eyes and Genis's silver-blue. He saw horror in both; fear of what was to come and the hopelessness of their situation. In Colette's eyes, however, he saw all these things, and the understanding that this was what was to come. This is what she had expected from the beginning; this was why the Desians had to be stopped.
Unfortunately, Lloyd knew two things that she did not; one, these were not Desians, and two, Colette's World Regeneration would not stop the Desians, just relocate them to Tethe'alla.
"We have to go on."
"Yes, come on Genis. We'll be okay, you're the best wizard in Iselia! Between you and Lloyd I'm sure we'll be okay!" Colette's optimism, even if it was half-faked, still seemed to prevail as Genis found the strength to stand and nod.
"A-alright; Sis is here, we have to make sure she's okay too!"
This thought had struck Lloyd long ago; however, he knew from… experience that Raine was safe from the Renegades, wherever she was.
They continued their ascent toward the blinding Temple, as they grew closer the sounds that emanated from above grew louder, causing Lloyd to unconsciously speed up, leaving an exhausted Genis and Colette behind. He reached the top before the other two and could hear the exchange happening but a few feet above his head. He ducked into the bushes to wait for the Chosen and mage to catch up to him and listened in on Botta and Phaidra threaten each other.
"Where is the Chosen?"
"I shall never tell you, Desian."
"Your bravery is admirable, however, I have little patience for those who wish to play hero. Now tell me or die!"
"Never!"
It was then that Colette and Genis caught up with Lloyd. The red-clad swordsman caught the both of them and pulled them into the bushes. They were panting.
"G-Grandma!" cried Colette, softly.
Genis said nothing, unable to even speak around his heavy breathing.
"Here's what we're going to do," stated Lloyd, unnaturally calm, or so it seemed, "I'm going to go up there and distract them; when you see that they're out of your way, grab Phaidra and run to the Temple. Don't wait for me, just go."
"B-but Lloyd—!"
"Please, I can take care of myself. Just go."
The two nodded in sync; Lloyd was almost positive that his plan would not work, and if it did, well, then he was way better at this than he thought.
And he had just messed everything up.
"Whatever happens, be careful."
"You too, Lloyd."
He exchanged a look with Colette; within he saw all the adoration that she had for him. Adoration that, he knew, he did not deserve. Putting his hand on Genis's shoulder, he said simply, "Keep her safe," before disappearing from their view onto the battleground above.
For a long moment, Botta and the Renegades around him did not notice his appearance. Their attention stayed focused on the resentful old woman in front of them. Phaidra, however, saw him immediately and he hushed her with one red-sheathed finger to his lips. She replied with naught but a blink.
"Grr… Lord Botta, let's just get rid of this old bat, we don't have time for this!" growled one of the Renegades. The other grunted in agreement and Botta looked between his two wingmen; unsure whether to take their advice or not.
"Hmm… This is your final warning; tell us where the Chosen is, or we shall kill you."
"And this is your only warning, Botta; get the hell out of here!"
Botta spun 'round to face the defiant teenager before him. Lloyd had his wooden blades out and had naturally slid into a defensive stance. The wingmen, two that Lloyd had never heard the names of, both began to laugh at the stupid kid standing in front of them; what was he thinking taking on a bunch of Desians alone?
"Or what, brat, you gunna hit us with your toys?"
"Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea!" snapped Lloyd and, before the Renegade could respond, or even react, Lloyd had slammed the hilt of his "toy" into the weak spot on the Renegade's helmet. The man collapsed into a heap. Botta and the other man were both gaping at Lloyd who had fallen back into his defensive stance.
"Who the hell is this kid?" growled the other grunt. "He knocked Casimir out cold!"
"I haven't got a clue. He wasn't in the briefing," muttered Botta back. "Hell, I don't think anyone knew he existed."
Lloyd rolled his eyes; no, no one would have heard of him. He was just some kid in some out-of-the-way town playing with wooden swords that his daddy made for him.
"Well," grumbled Botta, "get him."
Without word or warning, the other Renegade ran forward, blade raised to strike, when a fireball flew at him and slammed into his side, burning away at armor and flesh. He screamed in pain and fury as another hit his raised hand.
"Damek!" called Botta, "Damn kids!"
Lloyd turned to see, to his horror, Colette and Genis standing wide-open for attack to his left. The Renegade, Damek, seemed to recover from the initial shock of having flames tossed at him and, upon finding that the burns were nothing but what one could get by touching a hot pan, turned back to Lloyd with a somewhat animal look in his eyes.
"You're going down, Brat!"
Lloyd was forced to block a series of strong blows that, though they did little more than cause Lloyd to have to readjust his balance, stopped him from running over to where Botta and several other Renegades were advancing on Colette and Genis.
Genis was chanting softly to himself while Colette tossed her rings at the advancing men. They did little to stop, or even slow down, the on-coming threat. Colette cried out as one of the men got close enough to take a swing at her.
"Chosen!" cried Phaidra.
"Ah, so then this girl is the Chosen," said Botta, though his tone was that of triumph, as were his words, Lloyd could see the sadness flash through his eyes at the thought of having to kill such an innocent girl.
"Grandmother!"
Lloyd saw the world flash before his eyes as another attempt was made at Colette's life, one that she only just missed. With a burst of power, Lloyd slashed at the man in front of him.
"Raging Tiger Blade!" he shouted, and his arms moved at a blinding pace as he cut down the Renegade in front of him. He brought one sword up and sliced him across the chest while the other slid cross-wise; creating a bloody X on the man's chest. Even as he did this, he heard Colette's scream and Genis's cries of panic. Then, something that made his heart stop; the sound of metal on metal.
He turned to see Colette and Genis crouched on the ground, blood surrounding them; the blood of the Renegade that had lashed out at them and a figure donned in a deep purple, almost black, standing protectively in front of them. Lloyd felt his heart start again.
Kratos was there to save the day, as usual.
"Tempest!" with those words Lloyd leapt from the ground, using his swords to create momentum and, as he cut down the swaying man, flung himself across the tiny stone platform to where Genis and Colette were. "You guys okay?"
He was forced to be satisfied with the jerky nods that he got in response because Kratos, though Lloyd was not technically supposed to know it was he yet, snapped at him to stay out of the way. Lloyd rolled his eyes at his father's over-protectiveness.
"Not a chance," Lloyd grinned as he sent double shock-waves at an approaching Renegade, knocking him to the ground where Lloyd was able to step on his leg, snapping the bone and rendering him unable to move. "You take right, I'll take left."
Lloyd knew Kratos hated being ordered about, especially under circumstances such as these, however, there was no way that Lloyd was going have the lack of respect that he had received from the man the last time that these events had taken place. Though Kratos seemed displeased, he did as Lloyd commanded, and, as the last of the Renegades fell, Lloyd's all unconscious or unable to fight and Kratos's dead, Botta backed away, calling for Vidarr.
"If you would be so kind as to get your ass out here, we are in a rather desperate situation, Master Vidarr!"
Lloyd had forgotten just how disgustingly, utterly, enormously large Vidarr was. He was practically one-and-a-half of Kratos who was, by no means, particularly short. He towered over them, several hundred, or, rather, thousand pounds of muscle and fat that made even hurting him into an almost impossible business. The ball-and-chain that he held in his right hand must have weighed at least two tons, but the giant swung it recklessly at the party of four.
Kratos grabbed Colette and Lloyd Genis as the spiked end of the ball imbedded into the ground where they had been standing but moments before. Genis and Colette both cried out and Kratos swore vehemently. Lloyd could not help but agree; this was going to be a tough battle no matter how skilled one was.
Lloyd dropped Genis with a sharp "get casting!" and sent a pair of demon fangs toward Vidarr, whose attention was focused on the slightly more important, and intimidating, pair of Kratos and Colette. When Lloyd's attack hit him squarely in the back, the man roared and swung 'round to lash out at Lloyd. Lloyd had begun to run as soon as he had unleashed the move and was sufficiently far away from the frantically casting Genis when the ball-and-chain only nearly missed him. The crater that it left in the ground was twice the size of Lloyd's head, and a foot deep.
The thought of his pierced and crushed corpse, or the corpses of any of his friends, in place of the grass and dirt was enough to keep Lloyd running. He hopped that Kratos would see what he was trying to do, play distraction, and that the Seraph would hurry and intervene.
Kratos, hardly unaware of what Lloyd was doing, was hurriedly getting into the best position to strike down the giant without too much hassle. He kept behind the Renegade, silently moving, his red eyes searching for a crack in the armor, anything to manipulate and turn to his advantage. Then, he found it; it was nothing but a tiny crack in the leather vest that was too small for his large frame. Obviously, his tactics tended toward keeping his enemies far away from him while he attacked long-range.
With a soft grunt, Kratos jabbed his sword into the rip and a shout of "Sonic Thrust", waves ripped though Vidarr's being, tearing at the little slice and making it bigger, causing blood to run faster. He turned almost in slow motion to look in horror at the auburn-haired man with his sword in his back. Kratos had been in luck; the rip had been right over his spine, and as Vidarr toppled over, Lloyd could see the severed bone sticking up, white against crimson.
"D-damn it…" growled Botta, looking worried. "I'd hoped you wouldn't show up…" He looked around at his fallen comrades, some of which were standing, looking faintly dizzy or pained, some of which were helping the injured to their feet. Of the dozen or so men that had been at the Temple entrance with Botta, only about half were still breathing. "Retreat for now. Chosen, next we meet, I will stop you!"
The robe-wearing man raced past and, helping one of the fallen, hurried down the winding staircase. The other men retreated behind, looked exhausted but, overall, better off than the men whom had faced Kratos.
"W-wow, Lloyd, you guys were completely amazing! You saved us!" Colette looked between he and Kratos as if unsure who to thank first.
"Yeah, Lloyd, I didn't know you could fight like that!" Genis seemed honestly impressed, which did not happen often.
Lloyd looked at Kratos who looked bored. His eyes were lifeless and cold; Lloyd knew that his father was only there to get this job done and return to his home, or whatever business he had left unfinished. To escort the Chosen. He could hardly blame the man; the Journey would end up taking nearly a year to complete, and that was only the Sylvarant portion of the Journey to World Regeneration. If he were in Kratos's position, he would have a hard time putting down his life in favor of it as well…
"Indeed, we all would have been killed by the Desians had the two of you had not have shown such bravery." Phaidra cut across Lloyd's thoughts and, apparently, Kratos's.
"It was nothing, I heard what was happening and came to help while on my way through."
Faintly, Lloyd realized just how weak an excuse this was; the Temple lead to a dead end, the area was surrounded by mountainous hills and they were surrounded by steep-edged coast. There was nowhere for him to be coming from nor going. Unless, of course, one could fly. Luckily for Kratos, Lloyd was on his side; he could not imagine this journey without the strong, merciless mercenary along with them.
"Grandmother, I need to accept the Oracle," begged Colette, "please, let me go in!"
"Chosen, I would, but the priests fell at the hands of the Desians…"
"Then I'll protect Colette," said Lloyd confidently. "It's no problem."
"Lloyd?" Lloyd was confident that after what Phaidra had seen of his skills, there was no way that she could not want him to go. "I would be uncomfortable with just you…"
Lloyd felt the ground drop out from underneath his feet. How could she say that? Lloyd was the best swordsman in Iselia; he had defeated the "Desians" that had destroyed the Temple Guard! Now Phaidra was saying that she did not only he guarding Colette? Who better?
"Your… name is Lloyd?" Kratos was staring at Lloyd and, though he knew why, Lloyd still felt as though he was being x-rayed. He always felt like he was being tested when Kratos favored him with what was not exactly a glare… but could easily be mistaken for one.
"Yeah," Lloyd felt the cockiness that had been his bane in youth rising to the surface and he could not help but take a jab at him, "but who are you to ask for my name?"
There was a collective sigh from Genis and Phaidra and Kratos looked quizzically at Lloyd.
"… I am Kratos, a mercenary, if you can pay me, I will accept the job of guarding the Chosen."
Lloyd could see the cogs turning inside the Seraph's head as he took in the strange happenings that surrounded the Journey of Regeneration. He could easily put himself in the position that Kratos was in; a strangely talented teenager with the same name and age as his long-lost son, a half-elf mage that could hardly make a fireball let alone touch any of the monsters in the Temple. The Chosen who could not stand up straight, and an old woman who was the only one that had made it out of a Renegade attack alive.
"Would you?" croaked Phaidra, "That would certainly guarantee the Chosen's safe journey to the Oracle."
Lloyd felt insulted, he had never felt particularly resentful toward Phaidra, but, in retrospect, he was finding her to be rather resentful in respect to his situation. She would rather entrust the savior of the World to a stranger then to a heretic. Perhaps he was simply being bitter; however, that was what he was seeing.
"Then we can both go!" cried Lloyd, desperate, he would go whether they let him or not, nevertheless, he would have preferred an invitation rather than inviting himself. "The more people there are guarding Colette, the safer she'll be! Genis and I can help!"
Genis looked horrified that he was being dragged into another of Lloyd's shenanigans; though he had had his fair share of goes as well. "W-wait, why do I have to go?"
"Don't you want to help protect Colette?" Genis had to go; he was going to go even if Lloyd had to drag him in by the tips of his pointy half-elven ears. The child seemed the sense what his friend was thinking because he nodded and pulled out his kendama, "Yeah… of course I do…"
"Right, so that makes four of us."
By now, of course, Kratos was glaring, and Phaidra looked mildly surprised that Lloyd was pushing so passionately to help the Church. He could see that she was beginning to sway toward their cause. Besides the mercenary, it was true that Lloyd was one of the better swordsmen in the Village, and she had just seen him defeat an army of Desians. Saying no would be denying a gift from the Goddess herself perhaps…
"I suppose that is true…"
Kratos was appalled. "You cannot be serious, Mother Phaidra," he growled, "To send children on this mission is to send them to their deaths."
"Master Kratos, you have seen Lloyd's skills, he and Genis will help."
"Mister Kratos, if you don't mind, I want Lloyd and Genis to come along… they're my friends, and I feel really worried when Lloyd's not around…"
Kratos, knowing full well that he was completely over-ruled, growled something about it "not being a fieldtrip" that Lloyd had recalled hearing the last time that he had followed Kratos into the Temple and a small smile graced his lips as he and Genis followed Colette and Kratos into the dark insides of the Temple of Martel.
So far, so good, but this is only the very beginning; if I want my mission to succeed, then I am going to have to keep everything identical to how it happened the first time.
"Lloyd, are your sword techniques self-taught?"
Not really, I learned most of them from you.
"Sort of, mostly, I guess. I've still got a ton to learn though."
Trying to keep his dialogue light and… childish was beginning to irritate Lloyd. Most of his initial reactions were a lot more intelligent; however, even he knew that as a seventeen-year-old, he was not particularly bright. He would not suddenly "grow a brain" as Genis had once put it. Nevertheless, it did not stop him from getting a headache every time he had to rethink his words.
"I see, if that be the case, then you are surprisingly experienced for one your age." Though Lloyd's heart soared, he could tell that the compliment was given grudgingly. "However," this was what he had been expecting, "you do, indeed, have much to learn, pay attention and you might learn something."
Mentally, Lloyd rolled his eyes; he had beat Kratos at his best, but, he supposed, that would never stop the natural superiority complex that his father suffered from. The fact that Lloyd had not yet beaten him did not help either; this was something that bothered Lloyd greatly.
His frustration rose to the surface and Lloyd snapped back sarcastically, "Well then, almighty one, why don't you show me just how great you are and I'll try to learn!"
There was a long pause and silence reigned as father and son stared each other down, both unwilling to give up. After what felt like much longer than it was, Lloyd gave in, deciding that it was less humiliating for him to lose to someone who he knew was his father than for Kratos to lose to someone who may—or may not—be his son. Lloyd averted his eyes and said softly, "Sorry; that was uncalled for…"
"Humph, indeed." Despite the fact that he had "won," Kratos seemed less than thrilled; apparently he was able to tell an immediate similarity between the two of them. When Lloyd had been practicing editing his appearance, returning to the body of his seventeen-year-old self, he had found that the red tint that had taken his eyes as he matured further didn't want to leave. He had simply hoped that no one would notice.
"Um, I'm sorry, but shouldn't we go?" asked Colette innocently. Genis nodded behind her, apparently none too thrilled to get between the glaring swordsmen.
"Right." Lloyd nodded, and Kratos simply turned and walked away, saying nothing. Lloyd hoped that he would not act so resentful for the rest of the Journey.
…
"What do you mean the door's locked?" shrilled Genis, "How are we supposed to get to the Oracle?"
"The Sorcerer's Ring might be able to open it…" Colette was trying to be helpful.
"Let me guess," grumbled Lloyd, "The Sorcerer's Ring in somewhere in the middle of the Temple and we're going to have to fight monsters and figure out puzzles to get it all in the name of the Goddess Martel."
Everyone eyed Lloyd wearily; the swordsman was suddenly moody, but he did not care. Why did Phaidra not trust him to look after Colette even after she had seen his skills! And Kratos, he had forgotten how full of himself Kratos had acted at the beginning of the Journey…
"Well, I know it's somewhere in the Temple…"
"Figures," muttered Lloyd, "Well, come on, Dad'll skin me if I'm not home for dinner."….
Mmkay, that's that then. A couple weeks and I'll have chapter three up, that'll finish off the Temple and we can move on to the more amusing plot. Sorry there wasn't much explanation, but we'll get to it…eventually.
Until next time,
~Yoshi