I'm sure we've all been waiting with bated breath for this after what I did last time. I'm so mean. Anyway, this should make us feel better, nice battle scene, questions (one large one in particular) answered, sort of. Lots of dialogue on top of a not-so-epic battle scene. I so fail at them.
An important note on formatting after the first set of nine dots: the italicized is memories and normal text is present. I figured I'd mention it, though it's common, and if you're having issues (a.k.a. your computer doesn't show italicizing) just tell me in a review and I'll mark it out. All the same, it should be pretty obvious when you get down there.
Enjoy.
….
Kvar looked worse than usual. The man from Lloyd's memory had always been pasty-skinned, or, at least, he was the few times that Lloyd had actually seen him, and his hair was thin and almost white, but this was…much worse. He was beyond white now: his skin was almost translucent and Lloyd could see the blue oxygen-free blood flowing through the veins that showed on his knobby hands. His hair was wispy, almost looking as if it could blow away in the wind and smoke that ripped through the Village.
What the hell was he doing here?
"So, are you the two brats that spent the better part of last evening breaking into my Ranch?"
Genis paled at Forcystus' words and snuck a none-too-obvious glance at Lloyd. Lloyd ignored his younger friend, choosing to respond by example. He didn't flinch from the Grand Cardinal's words but glared defiantly at the one-armed man. "What you're doing to those people is disgusting. We had to help."
Forcystus narrowed the one brown eye that wasn't covered by an eye patch. Lloyd did not know the specifics of how Forcystus had lost both his hand, now replaced with something seemingly out of science fiction—a small magi-tech cannon, and his eye, but his father had once told him that the man had lost them in a fight against a group of humans, humans that had been attempting to rape and murder a half-elven woman. He was, to the Desians, a hero. He was a beast to the humans. "Were the circumstances different, you would have gotten along well with Forcystus. That is why war is so tragic." His father's words, whispering.
"So you're Forcystus?" Lloyd decided, against his usual rashness, to speak to Forcystus and not Kvar. Yes, the man had addressed him by his name, from this Lloyd could have assumed that this Kvar was…the very threat that Lloyd had come to eradicate, but even if he was, Kvar had, or so Lloyd was pretty sure, no knowledge or proof of Lloyd being after him. And Lloyd would give him nothing. Besides, in all likelihood, Kvar could also just be that, Kvar, and only know Lloyd by his exsphere.
"Indeed…and you are Lloyd Irving?"
"Yeah, that's me. I'm the one you want, right? For messing around by the Ranch?" At Forcystus' nod, Lloyd spoke up again, his words still bold, "Then take me and leave the village alone. I'm not even technically part of them, I live outside Iselia."
"Lloyd," hissed Genis, "What do you think you're doing? They'll kill you!"
"Better me than the villagers…"
"You—! You interfered at the Ranch!" roared the Mayor from his place at the head of the captured villagers, "You ignorant child—!" He was successfully cut off when a female Desian stuck her spear in his face.
"Yes, it was my mistake, not theirs, leave them be and punish me." Lloyd kept his face steady.
Forcystus looked as if he had something to say, but Kvar beat him to it.
"Such a bold young man. A powerful young man, and he looks just like his father too…" The twisted smirk that Kvar sent him turned Lloyd's insides to ice: Kvar was baiting him, but how, under these circumstances, would 'normal' Lloyd act?
"…what? What are you talking about?" He forced his tone to settle between confused and angry, it came out rather squished-sounding, but basically right.
"Your parents. Your mother and father." Kvar spoke as if he were explaining a rather basic concept to a small or dense child. Lloyd had to hold back a sharp retort.
"How would a Desian like you know my parents?"
The cruel smirk Kvar gave him spoke miles.
"Enough, Kvar, you may be my elder, but these are lands under my control and you will do well to keep your mouth shut." Forcystus' sharp words cut across what Kvar was going to say next. "You are Lloyd Irving, the boy who broke attacked my soldiers. You broke the non-aggression treaty held between Iselia and the Human Ranch with the same name. For that you will be punished."
"What are you talking about?" cried Genis from beside Lloyd. "The Desians broke the treaty first! You tried to kill Colette at the Temple of Martel!"
At this, Forcystus' eye widened, then narrowed as he refocused on Kvar, "You didn't—!" he hissed, "I wondered why you wanted to come out here…"
"I did no such thing, Lord Forcystus. Our imposters are on the move again." Kvar did not even bother to look at the taller half-elf as he addressed him.
"Imposters! Why would anyone want to pretend to be you?" Genis asked, looking puzzled.
"A very good question indeed, my young friend." Kvar smiled cruelly at Genis.
"Enough!" Forcystus snapped again. "Irving, I do not intend to fight you, nor will my men. We've arranged for a more… appropriate opponent for your punishment. The time for talk is over."
As if alerted by some silent cue, the Desians backed away, leaving a clear path for what Forcystus had called their "appropriate opponent." Lloyd only wished it were so simple.
The shaking began before Lloyd could see the monster. The ground shook and Lloyd could almost imagine that it would be Gnome that appeared through the gate, shaking the land with his powers, but he knew better than that. But worse than the shaking, or even the suspense, was the smell. Lloyd did not remember it being so horrible, but it was there, making him choke. It smelled of rotting flesh, of sulfur and sweat; like mold and poison. Something dead and decaying that had been dug up while it was still rancid.
It smelled like death.
Lloyd gagged, from the smell, from anxiety, from the wafting smoke that billowed around him off the flaming village; he felt the world spin around him. From beside him, Genis gasped, as if in a similar state, "W-what is this? What's coming…?" His voice was high and broken; Lloyd could hear his choking on the smoke and the smell. It hurt his friend's throat.
But not even the stench could prepare them for what lurched through the village gate. Nothing, not even his past experience, could have prepared him for the creature that came for him.
It was green, a sickly, putrid asparagus green that was stripped by rotting strips of yellow and orange. Wherever the color changed, the skin loosened and seemed to fall away from the creature's body. It was covered in slashes and many dribbled yellow pus. Its arms were so long that they dragged over the ground and the hands proportionally too large and heavy to be lifted. Its body was long and stretched, twisting and struggling toward them, the legs thick but short and it stumbled often. It was easily twice as tall as a human. It was not, however, any of these features that twisted Lloyd's insides, but the bulbous… head of the creature: there was no visible neck, just a lopsided shape that protruded from the shoulders, the lacerations continued over it. The eye of the beast, one single bloody red orb, was half-closed, but the pupil darted wildly in all directions, as if trying to find something.
Worse of all was the sack-like brown dress that covered what was presumably the beast's torso. Marble's dress.
His hands shook, he felt sick, and tears welled in his eyes, be they from the sickly smells or the sight of the old woman's dark fate looming so closely; he had to be strong, for Genis if anything.
His hand closed around his blade as the monster let out a blood-curdling scream; it was filled with suffering and pain. "A monster…the Desians set a monster on us…" Lloyd's voice cracked. "Genis, stay behind, cast spells, any backup you can give. I'll keep it away from you and do as much damage as I can, 'kay?"
Lloyd had only enough time to see Genis nod shakily before Lloyd darted up to the… thing. She was not Marble; if he thought about that now…he wouldn't be able to do it. She—it was headed toward the huddled villagers and, while the Desians had fled from their prisoners, the people were all too terrified to move. Lloyd took action, jumping in front of it and rashly calling, "Hey, down here! Come get me!"
It was almost too easy to distract it, the short attention span causing it to stagger after the swordsman. Lloyd dodged a swing from its over-large arm and sent a pair of demon fangs at it. It screeched and fell back a step just as several fireballs soared over Lloyd's head to slam into its chest. More steps back. Lloyd charged back in before the beast could discern who the spell caster was and go after Genis.
His blades struck her side and she—it whirled on him, arms flailing, and this time Lloyd couldn't get out of the way fast enough; he was sent flying back several feet before he could catch himself and recklessly run straight back in. "Tiger blade!" he screamed, and slashed at it. Bloody gashes appeared and pus splattered over his clothes and skin. It burned poisonously as it dribbled over his forehead, but he ignored it in favor of putting a few more scratches on its backside.
Though Lloyd was behind, her attention was on him, and not Genis, so the aqua edge that sent blades of water that cut through the air to slice into its neck caused a shocking pain. She rounded on Genis who, in an attempt to make his spells more substantial, had moved closer. Her—its hand slammed into the ground, sending spikes of rock and dirt at Genis. The half-elf fell.
She lumbered toward Genis and no amount of slashing or attacking could convince it to stray from its prey. Genis stumbled backward, but not fast enough and it loomed over him. Lloyd acted without thinking; all he knew was that Genis was in danger and Lloyd had to save him. "Demonic circle!" It was too advanced, a foolhardy action. A desperate action. He shouldn't have done it, especially considering that Kvar was watching, that Genis would ask questions later, but he did it anyway.
Lloyd spun, his blades causing the wind to stir as he summoned a small amount of dark mana and sent the spinning power at the creature's back. The second it hit, flesh tore from bone and marrow and more cuts formed, more pus splattered, but she—it!—fell. The scream was heart breaking and sent Lloyd to his knees.
Genis, now covered in… monster, gaped, the entire village gaped, but it was Kvar that spoke first. "That is it then, isn't it, Lord Forcystus? That boy has my exsphere."
"…it would appear so." Though his voice did not shake, Lloyd could hear Forcystus' silent horror. "Irving, you possess something that we want returned. Hand over your exsphere and we may allow you to live."
No, they wouldn't.
Even if Lloyd gave Kvar his exsphere—and he would die before he did any such thing—the Grand Cardinal would slaughter them and possibly even the villagers. Colette was gone now, what was left of importance? Nothing. If it were just Forcystus, Lloyd could, perhaps, have been more likely to believe the words, but Kvar loved bloodshed far too much.
"Over my dead body," Lloyd snapped back at him.
"I, my dear child, take that as an invitation." Kvar strolled forward, his staff hissing with lightning. "You will become reacquainted with your mother soon, boy."
"Lord Kvar…" Forcystus warned, but the older half-elf ignored him.
"So it's true," Lloyd played, masking himself so as to fool his supposed enemy, "you Desians killed my mother…" There was no need to force anger and pain into his voice; it came of its own free will.
"Oh boy, do you know nothing?" Kvar's voice was taunting, "It was not any of our men that killed your mother, it was—"
A shriek, and pus- and blood-covered arms wrapped themselves around Kvar. His spell, the lightning that had been gathering around him, crackled to life and sprang up causing another anguished scream to rip from the throat of the half-dead beast. It pulled him down, away from Lloyd.
"Run Genis…Lloyd, run!"
Marble's voice. Lloyd was sick, vomit welled in his stomach, but he would not give in. These words had haunted his dreams for years, and here they were, being spoken for the first time. No one moved, not a child screamed, not a Desian went in to save their master.
"Flee, children, flee!" cried Marble, "I'll hold them, run!"
"M-Marble…" whispered Genis, his eyes huge as he watched his friend, now a monster, save them.
"…Genis, you were like a grandson to me. Please, stay safe. Take care of Lloyd…" Her words choked back as her consciousness vanished again. She destroyed herself. The explosion was massive, the light spectacular, and Lloyd, Genis, many of the Desians, and the villagers were knocked from their feet. When the light cleared away, there was no Marble, only… bits: blood, flesh, and a crater several feet in diameter with Kvar lying scorched in the center. His clothing was burned and his skin raw with the burn, but he was, regrettably, alive.
Forcystus snapped the fingers of his right hand, and, after a moment of looking between each other, two Desians slipped into the crater to grasp the burnt arms of Kvar and drag him away. Forcystus, however, was not watching this as Lloyd was, but Lloyd himself, "…you have fates on your side, boy. You are lucky, and we let you live… today. But I would beware, I do not show you mercy. Wherever you go, whomever you speak to, know that we will hunt you until that exsphere finds its way back to its maker's hands."
Lloyd leveled his crimson eyes on the half-elf and he saw recognition flash through Forcystus', "My exsphere is mine. There is no power in the world that could separate it from me." His voice was soft, but he had no doubt that everyone present heard the statement.
A wheezing laugh, "Oh you are a bold child," chuckled Kvar, his laugh far too strong for his weak demeanor, "but do not think you can escape; no one has yet. Your mother is living proof of that, and she had help, for all the good it did her."
"Enough, Kvar," growled Forcystus, "We take our leave of this pathetic place."
And they did, leaving Iselia burning, children screaming, widows weeping, and a very determined, very angry angel in their wake.
…
Lloyd's steps were heavy as he took his exile, but he forced himself to look straight ahead, his shoulders to stay relaxed and his stomach not to clench and make him double over. He would not cry, he would feel nothing, not now, not when he had to be strong. Genis, Lloyd thought, was much stronger than he. Tears flowed freely over his reddened cheeks as he cradled his friend's life in his small hands. Lloyd knew that he would never have been able to carry himself with such dignity as Genis if he had been crying.
Genis slid down through the dirt and landed clumsily at the bottom of the crater, his hands closing over the shining red exsphere that lay at the bottom. That was all that was left of his friend, of Marble. Lloyd stood above him, choosing to say nothing: let him mourn silently. Words would bring tears, they couldn't afford such simple tears in front of the angry villagers.
Lloyd allowed himself a fast glance behind; where human eyes would only have seen dark shapes through the smoke, angel eyes picked out distinct human forms. They were men, men with spears. Spears that his father Dirk had made now turned against them, used to keep Lloyd and Genis away if they attempted to return to Iselia. Why would they? Guilt made it almost impossible for Lloyd to look back, these were his actions, and even when he had had the ability to stop this bloodshed, he had carefully manipulated it to his ends.
He was a monster.
"How could you?" Spit flew from the Mayor's mouth as he screamed at Lloyd. "You knew not to go to the Ranch, yet you did! Why? Look what you brought upon us!"
"I know," Lloyd's voice cracked, "I'm sorry…"
"Sorry doesn't rebuild houses, sorry doesn't bring back the dead, now does it, boy?" The Mayor was not a small man, and with is anger came angry motions made almost comical by the bouncing weight around his frame. Morbidly comical.
"Mayor, he's a child. You cannot say such things to a child."
"He's seventeen, Mary, old enough to know better!" Even the villagers fought over their fate.
It wasn't noon yet, and they were gone. Had time really gone so slowly the first time? He couldn't remember, memories from this time were…blurry, badly so, he had been so stressed, so alone… And now all that he could do, as he had done the first time around, was search for Colette.
"…Lloyd, Genis," Phaidra's voice came as a slight shock, even to Lloyd's well-practiced ears, "if you really want to save the world…go after Colette and the others. Protect them. Protect her. She left this note. Please, go to her."
Lloyd still held the note clutched in one hand as they made their way south. The words burned themselves into his mind; when he closed his eyes, he could see them hovering before, scorched into the back of his eyelids.
Dear Lloyd,
I am so very, very sorry for lying to you, but you must understand; this Journey is dangerous, and I want you and Genis and everyone in the village to live peacefully in the New World that will be made after I regenerate the world. I have Kratos and the Professor, I'll be safe. Please don't be angry.
Love,
Colette Brunel
Lloyd had had to say nothing, Genis knew, Phaidra and Frank knew: this sounded like a goodbye, not a note written by someone who expected to see him again. Lloyd's stomach twisted and he pushed himself harder, what if they didn't get there on time? What if Colette released the first seal without him and died!
They were making good time, and Lloyd knew that they were only a few hours behind Colette, Raine, and Kratos, but a few hours seemed like ages. Six hours ahead. They would be to Triet by that night while Lloyd and Genis would rest at the edge of the desert. By mid-day the next day, they would be safely in Triet. Lloyd plotted their timeline, hoping that resting and eating would not delay them. Still, what if something unexpected arose? What if bandits made one different decision and someone was killed? What if they got to Triet too early and he wasn't picked up by the Renegades?
No. He told himself, everyone else will make the same decisions they did last time. Unless another outside for changed them…in which case all of time and space could be thrown off, the world never saved and they could all die…
Lloyd forced his thoughts away from this prospect.
"…why does this sound like a suicide note…?" Genis' voice was still thick with tears from Marble's death, and this note of Colette's…it fooled no one.
"…there is something we have not told you, something we have not told anyone…" began Phaidra, "Colette… no, the Chosen, has already—"
"Enough talking Priestess, Frank, they're outsiders now!" Suddenly, the Mayor was upon them. "Get out! Out, I say!" His hands waved and Lloyd and Genis stumbled through the gates of the village, metaphorically waving goodbye to their home.
"…go, please go. Protect the Chosen! Save the world."
Lloyd still felt his heart pound and his cheeks turn red with shame as he thought of what had taken place in the village. People murdered. Monster. Monster! Screamed the voice inside his head, beast, creature, horror, monster! Responsible! Stupid, moron, murderer!
"Silence, enough! Lloyd, I am afraid I must banish you—"
"What?" cried Genis, "It's as much my fault as it is his! I led him to the Ranch! You can't banish him!"
"What? This was your doing as well!" The Mayor's face turned scarlet with fury, "Very well then, you'll go too." And, before he could be interrupted again, the Mayor spat out, "By the power invested in me as Mayor is Iselia, I hereby banish Lloyd Irving and Genis Sage. Be gone!"
…
"Why?" Lloyd leaned back against a large boulder, his eyes shut. "What was that second Desian leader doing in Iselia?"
"What do you mean Lloyd?" Genis looked up from the chicken soup he was making, "Why was he there? How do you know he wasn't supposed to be there?"
"Well, think about it, the Desians only did what that Forcystus guy said, they didn't listen to Kvar. But Forcystus still called him Lord Kvar. That means he was either of higher rank or equal rank…" Lloyd slowly explained the logic he had carefully formulated to mask his musing. He honestly wanted to know what Genis thought, though he doubted that any answers Genis would give would answer the question. "But if he was superior, then the normal Desians would have listened to him, which means that they're of the same rank. But if Forcystus is a leader, that would make Kvar a leader too, but what's he doing away from his Ranch then?"
"…I never thought I'd say this Lloyd, but you're over-thinking this. He was probably just visiting. It's not that weird! Half-elves can visit each other too…" At these words, Genis' tone grew bitter.
"I didn't say they couldn't, but have you ever heard of Kvar? Before today I mean?"
"Well no—"
"Exactly, we've all heard of Magnius, he's the guy who terrorizes Palmacosta. They've got an army, we hear stuff from them a ton, but no one seemed to know Kvar, which means he must be from really far away, so what's he doing out here? They can't even harvest from Iselia, there's no pull."
"Maybe he and Forcystus are friends!" Genis seemed exasperated now, "I told you, you're over-thinking it!"
"But they didn't act like friends! Forcystus seemed to hate Kvar, and Kvar completely ignored Forcystus! There's something wrong with this picture!"
"Why'd you choose now to grow a brain?" groaned Genis, "If you were half this attentive in class you might actually pass."
"You're not being serious!"
"And you're being stupid. Go get more firewood, this isn't hot enough to get the water boiling."
….
And there we have it. Fun fun. I'm actually quite pleased with how this turned out. Please review! I love hearing what you've to say.
~Yoshi