Hello again!

Sorry it's been so long since the last update, school absorbed my life and I had no time to be writing. Thank you for bearing with me during the long wait~

This is part one of the Kvar Saga!

…

Lloyd had pushed them too hard, but his worries had been too great. From the Balacruf Mausoleum to Asgard, then straight to Luin, his friends had become increasingly suspicious of his motives. He insisted they walk late into the night and woke them all early; Kratos' eyes were filled with guarded suspicion and worry that filled Lloyd with guilt every time their eyes met, Raine was doing even worse at shielding her growing suspicions. They had all questioned him, even Colette had tried to find out why he wouldn't let them stop, but he had gracelessly eluded their questions. Excuses that had begun with "I just want to get to Luin" had dwindled to simply "because we need to move."

What was normally a five-day journey up the continent took them three days.

At first, Lloyd had wondered in the back of his stressed and panicked mind why his friends continued to follow him. They were very clearly growing tired, or at least the mortals were, but his questions were soon crushed when, one night when he and Noishe had returned from collecting firewood, he overheard their conversation.

"I believe he knows something that we don't," Raine's voiced said softly, the words carrying over the cold, empty plains. "We've all seen him, he thinks he's hiding it, but he's panicked. Whatever it is, he refuses to tell us." Lloyd felt his blood turn as cold as the air around him and he held his breath, waiting for one of his friends to answer.

"But why would he hide anything from us?" Colette questioned, "He's bringing us with him, why would he lie?"

"Because, Chosen," Kratos answered emotionlessly, "he is afraid. Fear causes us to act irrationally. Perhaps he believes that he is protecting us—Lloyd is kind to a fault, though why he keeps these secrets from us, Ms. Sage, I worry."

Raine's testy reply made it clear that no amount of concern for Lloyd would change her opinion of the mercenary. "No, Mr. Aurion, the question is why he keeps it from me. He does not know or trust you as well as you seem to think he does." Raine's anger made the collective exhausted mindset obvious.

That Kratos only let out an angry hiss in reply, did not argue the point, did not slap the teacher, both relieved and saddened Lloyd. It said that he agreed.

"What could be freaking out Lloyd so much that he thinks he needs to hide stuff from us?" Genis asked loudly, obviously not able to read the signs that Kratos and Raine were not in the mood to really fight. "What could he know that he wouldn't want to tell us? We're his friends!" His question was followed by an oppressive silence as the four companions found themselves unable to answer the simplest question.

"We must," Kratos said softly, "follow Lloyd's wants, given another few days, he will either break down and tell us what it is that is disturbing him, or we will reach Luin and learn what terror we have been running to."

Kratos' words were turned to reality now, as the Chosen's Group stepped into the burned remains of Luin. The sky was too bright, the clouds dancing happily through the blue and casting swiftly moving shadows upon the hell that lay before them. They picked their way through the burned rubble, the empty streets cried of a terrible battle, one to wipe a populace off the face of the planet. This was not Palmacosta, in which the horror had been in the bodies of the dead littering the destroyed city; no, it was Luin's suffocating silence that made Lloyd's fingers sweat inside his red gloves. It was so quiet he could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears, and, if he listened hard enough, those of his friends around him.

"…you knew what we were walking into," Genis whispered from behind. "You knew all along, that's why you pushed us." He was merely voicing opinions Lloyd had already heard, but something about the way he said it made Lloyd's stomach churn even more than the emptied city alone had. It was the childish, innocent anger; it made him want to clutch the sides of his face and slump into a ball on the blood-less street and cry. "Why didn't you tell us!" The shout ripped across the perfect hush and Lloyd flinched.

"Because," Lloyd swallowed to give himself time to think, "because I didn't know what would be here when we got here." His tongue seemed too heavy to speak properly, but the words still left his mouth with perfect clarity. "It was…just a dream. Didn't know if it'd really be coming true…" His mind was numb, but the half-truths slipped from his tongue easily. "Didn't wanna freak you out over a dream…" Fragmented sentences were all he could manage with the sight before him, but his friends seemed strangely accepting of this weak excuse.

"…explanations later," Raine murmured and Lloyd heard her step forward, presumably putting a hand on Genis' shoulder to comfort and quiet him. A flair of longing and jealously found its way through the shock; Lloyd had been through just as much—more, really—than Genis, yet he had no one standing comfortingly at his side. Even his father was keeping a distance. They were nowhere near as close as they should have been at this point. Another blow hit Lloyd, somehow making him want to sob even more than Genis' accusations had. "For now, we must search the village; there may still be someone here to answer our questions. We'd best split up. Genis and I, Kratos and Colette, Lloyd and Noishe."

He should have known at the time that there was something suspicious about Raine allowing him to run off on his own, but Lloyd only nodded and turned to wander off into the mess of burned village. Out of sight from his friends, Noishe panting beside him, Lloyd broke into a run, leaping smoldering mounds of wood and rubble to the farthest end of Luin.

The fountain was broken, water leaked across the ground, slipping over the side of the grassy bulk of the island and washing away into the lake that surrounded Luin. Lloyd's heart stopped at what he saw. Nothing. There was no ninja crouched in the water waiting to die. His dream had been true. Kvar had Sheena.

What there was, however, was a note. The crisp, white paper was in painful contrast to the mess around him. It was so obvious; Lloyd knew it was for him. He picked it up off the stone wall of the fountain and stared at his name, written in perfect cursive across the envelope. He tore it open, ignoring the perfection, and pulled out the letter with shaking hands.

Master Irving—

By now I am sure that we are both anxious to meet again. I have heard many tales of your exploits and I have no doubt you have heard many of mine as well. I have, as with what the Time Line commands, taken the populace of Luin as well as your lovely friend Ms. Fujibayashi. I am sure you are anxious to see her again, but trust that she will be alive and well. It will be a pleasure to see you once again.

Hoping you make a swift arrival,

K.

Lloyd was numb with shock; his dream, despite what he had hoped, had come true. He stared at the handwriting, the little black letters scrawled out the fate of his friend between the lines. Kvar said he wouldn't kill her, "alive and well" said that clearly, but in Lloyd's experience, one could survive quite a bit of pain and torture. It was just a matter of if your mind could pull through as well.

The note crumpled in Lloyd's red-gloved hand, the paper twisting under the force of his nervous fingers. It passed between his hands, ripping and tearing, and then fell to the ground in a mess of white and smearing ink as the water leaking from the fountain mixed with it. Lloyd made no move to retrieve it is the waters washed it away and off the side of the small, grassy island and over the sand, and down into the lake.

What, Lloyd wondered, to do now? The letter was gone, and while he perhaps should have shown it to the others, the idea of trying to once again explain how he knew Kvar twisted his stomach. He would say he had heard that the Desians had a Ranch to the north; it was a simple solution. After all, who besides the Desians could have caused such destruction? He would have to take Kvar down on his own, not a prospect he was looking forward to, but if Kvar were to say something to one of his companions, the game would be up.

There was always the option of leaving on his own, flying to the Ranch and confronting Kvar alone, but he was not sure he could handle that. He was nervous, jumpy, and thinking in circles; having Lloyd's friends there would at least allow him to keep a calm head, if only for the worry of what could happen to them if he did not do so.

Without him telling them to, Lloyd's feet had started to take him back toward the south entrance where Raine had said to meet up again if they had found anything. Noishe ducked his head under Lloyd's hand, whining with concern and affection, but Lloyd ignored him. Though it seemed as though no time had passed, Lloyd found himself facing the others, all of whom had been talking quietly together. For once, their whispers did not cut off when he approached, and Lloyd was able to join in the conversation with an ease that he had not had for some weeks now.

"It's gotta be the Desians!" Genis exclaimed, "They've been after us from the beginning, even in Iselia. And this seems exactly like something they'd do: take the entire population prisoner and destroy the town as a warning to travelers." The young half-elf's face was flushed with anger and one hand was clenched around his kendama, the toy fizzled with electricity fuelled from his anger.

"I don't understand why they would do this though…what do the Desians want? Why would they destroy Palmacosta and Luin? What do they accomplish?" Colette, unlike Genis, seemed to be drained by all the destruction around her; Lloyd had the feeling that she would have been crying had she the ability to do so.

"Political reasons perhaps, there is a chance that Luin was in closer contact with the Desians than the other cities realized. After all, if the rumors are true, there is a Ranch only a few miles north of the village. A sudden, violent attack would not be difficult from that distance, as Iselia proved. The Desians must have heard that the Chosen is growing ever closer to completing the Journey of Regeneration, if they want to either discourage her journey or go down fighting, this would be the way to do it." Raine was grim, her mouth set in a line as she reported her theories. Her crystal eyes scoured the dead landscape as if looking for an enemy that would never come.

"…so what's our plan of attack then?" Lloyd spoke, at last, the emotions of what he had been seeing and the stress of the note that was now most likely sinking to the bottom of the lake had broken his voice. "There's not a body anywhere, all these people are alive, and probably being subjected to a slow, painful death. We've got to try to help them." Colette, Genis, even Raine were nodding, but Kratos made an angry sound in the back of his throat.

"As satisfying as attacking would be; it is foolish and out of the question." Despite the elder's gloves, Lloyd could see that his knuckles had gone white as he grasped the handle of his sword. "We had best," he continued, ignoring the protests of Lloyd and Colette, "continue with the Journey. When we succeed, the people will be saved and the Desians defeated. To enter and destroy each Ranch is unrealistic and pointlessly dangerous. We cannot put the Chosen's life in danger so blatantly. The Asgard Ranch is run by Kvar, he is far more dangerous than anything you could possibly imagine."

"Duh, we know that already!" Genis was practically shouting now, "Remember? That bastard attacked Iselia with Forcystus. It's time we paid him back for Luin and Iselia! You don't have to lecture us about how dangerous he is; we've already met him!"

Lloyd could see the fight brewing and he was very aware that they couldn't risk it, not now. "I don't think we have a choice but to attack the Ranch." He tried his voice again, quietly, and it came out mostly clear. "The Desians did this as a challenge for us; they heard that we took down the Palmacosta Ranch and are practically taunting us with this. They must have guessed that we'd get to Luin eventually and left us this…gift." This was not a lie, Lloyd realized with a shutter: that was exactly what Kvar had done.

Kratos, Raine, and Lloyd stayed up late into the night that swiftly set upon the ghost-village. Colette and Genis had attempted to do the same, but the young half-elf had soon fallen asleep and Colette could not find herself amused by theoretical planning and retreated to her blankets an hour after. Noishe sat between Lloyd and Kratos and each Aurion took comfort from their old friend's presence, though at the moment neither man noticed the other. The adults, Lloyd included himself in this number, all knew that their attempted foresight would most likely be rendered useless when facing the Ranch, yet it seemed to help their morale.

Lloyd did not sleep; instead, he lay awake listening to the slow breathing of Raine and Genis and the too-fast heartbeats of Colette and Kratos, both of whom were still awake with him. Toward morning, his stressed mind wandered away, perhaps to sleep, but he was jerked awake by Kratos who shook him back to the world of the waking at the crack of dawn. They ate a quiet breakfast in the weak morning light, and Lloyd could see that the others were just as nervous as he was. He watched Colette for a long moment: her hands shook as she raised the cold cheese and turkey sandwich to her mouth, only to place it back on her lap a moment later.

He turned slightly and caught sight of his father; the mercenary was refusing to eat. With a sudden sensation of guilt, Lloyd realized how emotionally tied Kratos was to this sudden turn of events. He had lost his wife to the same monster who had returned and destroyed her village a decade and a half later. Now he and his newly rediscovered son were going to storm his fortress. Kratos' concern was natural.

His eyes found Genis; the child was focused intently upon his breakfast, eating as though it may be his last, and Lloyd shuddered to think that it may indeed be his last. He was wired and jumpy, every little sound made him glance over his shoulder as if he expected an army upon them in moments. When none came, he blushed slightly and turned back to his food.

It was Raine that his eyes came to last, but unlike with the others, he found her difficult to read. Her eyes, while distant, didn't hold the same nervous fear that the others' did, and her face was pale but emotionless. This was one of Lloyd's favorite qualities about his old teacher: even in the face of gravest danger, the kind that even Kratos had to show some emotion, but she kept her face calm and her hands still as she ate. Raine radiated confidence, and at the very least Genis seemed to be relaxed when with her.

The walk to the Ranch was just as silent as their meal had been. This, though, was partially due to their need for stealth. However, the lack of distracting conversation left Lloyd vulnerable to his worried thoughts. He was leading his friends into a deathtrap. It was not just Sheena that was in danger: Lloyd had no doubt that Kvar would strike out at any of his friends were he to get the chance. They had had Sheena before, their groups had been even; Raine, Colette, and Genis had taken to releasing the locks and Lloyd, Kratos, and Sheena had gone after Kvar. A simple and intelligent strategy, but one they had employed on their second attempt at the Ranch.

His blood ran cold: Kvar was expecting them; he would try to separate the group, lure them away and murder them. He would not let them get away the first time, as he had in Lloyd's memories. Lloyd struggled to come up with some sort of plan, anything that he could fall back on, but his mind was frozen with terror at the thought of facing down the very reason he had come as far as he had and his steps faltered.

No, he thought sadly, a plan won't work. Take it as it comes. If Kvar does separate you, at least find him and slit his throat.

It was sick, but the idea of murdering Kvar and returning to his home and time was an absolutely wonderful thought at the moment. Memories of things that he had failed to lead his friends to in his rush to reach Luin flickered through his overworked mind. Lake Umacy, seeing Sheena playing with children, returning back to Asgard and simply finding they had some downtime. These things had all been passed by in Lloyd's rush to his own death. Perhaps this was one of the curses of knowing the future: ignoring the present in favor of what was to come.

All the same, he was here now. He had no choice but to walk forward.

Lloyd had been in and out of Ranches, in his time the Iselia Ranch and the Remote Island Human Ranch still stood and he sometimes was forced to return when looking for exspheres to rid the planet of, but he had forgotten just how truly vile the Asgard Ranch was. The smells of sickness and death rolled off it in nauseating waves. The walls were high, but screams and sobbing could still be heard echoing over the them. It was buried deep in a forest several miles north of Luin, but Lloyd was shocked that the city was still able to stand when something so disgusting stood so close.

The group crouched in the bushes, debating for several long minutes about the best course of action. Lloyd was all for simply bursting in through the front gate and murdering anyone who got in their paths, but Raine and Kratos had shot that plan down as soon as Lloyd had opened his mouth. It had been decided that, as they had done in Lloyd's memories, they would ambush a patrol and dress as Desians. However, the first patrol that came upon them did not attack.

"Well, well," scoffed one Desian, "I do believe these are the inferior beings Lord Kvar had wanted us to bring to him." These words caused even the charging group to falter in their race to kill them. "You look like you want inside," the head of the patrol, an elderly half-elf, continued, "come with us and we'll give you the tour." He chuckled at the looks of horror and disbelief that must have made their way across the faces of the group members. "Oh, don't worry; we've got orders not to hurt a single hair on your undeserving heads. Come quietly and we'll take you strait up to Lord Kvar. He even said to let you keep your weapons."

Kratos looked utterly disbelieving, and rightly so for he knew Kvar best by far; these were strange orders, even for the insane, homicidal monster that Kvar was. It was Raine who made the final call, she nodded slowly and stepped forward, "You give your oath that you'll lead us to Kvar and nowhere else?" She sounded so commanding, Lloyd was shocked the Desians didn't drop dead under that icy gaze. They only laughed.

"Lady," scoffed one of the Desians in the back of the group, her voice was cold and high, "if you learn anything at this Ranch, it's not to cross Lord Kvar. He wants ya', so that's where you'll go."

Raine looked back around at the other members of the group, her eyes silently telling them that as soon as they saw an opportunity, they would attack and begin their siege, but for now, these Desians were their way in. None of them liked it, but Kratos gave a quick, curt nod and Raine turned slowly back to the patrol. "Very well, take us to Kvar."

The inside of the Ranch was many thousands of times worse than the outside: the smell was stronger, and now that Lloyd could see what was causing it, he wished he had not eaten that morning. Prisoners, working in their own blood and sweat, pushed blocks across the front yard aimlessly, building nothing. Some had worse jobs, however, these were forced to carry out the dead and throw them into large, open graves from which the stench arose. The day was cold and windy, not hot and still, the smell shouldn't have carried so, but it permeated every part of Lloyd's existence, and he gagged. The Desians around him laughed, causing some of the prisoners to look up. Their eyes were dead, full of knowledge that soon they too would be thrown by their comrades into their grave.

The yard was also filled with many other Desians, most wielding whips and swords with which to punish the humans. They moved in closer to eye Lloyd's group, but were chased off by the original patrol of five. They wanted to be the only ones to take the group to Kvar. It was they who had caught the Chosen's Group, and they alone would take the credit. This earned angry booing from the assembled half-elves, but the group soon left it behind as they entered one of the larger compounds. The door slammed shut behind them and Lloyd's eyes adjusted slowly to the lack of light and he found himself in a dimly lit hall, it was cold and smelled of disinfectants, as if blood were often spilled here, but inside they tried to wash it away.

It was just the ten of them now, and Lloyd was waiting to see Raine or Kratos give a signal to attack. It did not come until they reached the open area of the exsphere collection room. It was far from empty of other Desians, but the whirring of machines would block out the sounds of their scuffle for the moment. The Desians found themselves as no match for the wrath of the Chosen's Group and they fell in seconds, but it was not long before others fell upon them.

Lloyd caught the short sword of one man between his own blades and knocked it away, but as soon as he had managed this, another came from behind and Lloyd was forced to spin and knock this man in the stomach with his heel. The group had attacked without any sort of plan, there had been no time to discuss a plan of any sort, and they were quickly separated as more Desian soldiers were called in. Unhindered by the presence of his friends, Lloyd felt no worries in calling upon his angelic powers to destroy the bastards that attacked him. His arms were a blur as he slashed right and left, long unused techs sent half-a-dozen men stumbling backward with huge, bloody gashes in their armor.

Soon, too soon, Lloyd found himself alone in a sea of bodies, the electrical lighting overhead cast an eerie yellow light of the pale and bloodstained around him. In another room and saw an explosion of mana that must have been one of Genis' spells across the conveyor belts and lines of the room. For a long moment he debated, go after his friends or chase down Kvar? Before he had consciously made up his mind, Lloyd's feet were taking him in the direction of Kvar's personal offices. The warp would be unlocked, Kvar would be waiting for him.

It was time to get some answers and perhaps, perhaps, destroy his enemy and finally go home.

…

Like you didn't expect a cliffie! Man it's good to be back. I'll try to come out with a new chapter in the next two weeks or so, and with luck we'll take this baby far over the summer months. Thanks for waiting around while I got through real life. Every review and kind word I've gotten created a huge incentive for me to come back to this story, I won't fail! This little bugger'll find itself finished eventually.

R&R

~Yoshi