Hi guys

Chapter two here, Lloyd's introduction to the Ranch. The next chapter won't be uploaded for at last a week, however, as I am going on holiday and have no access to the internet. Sorry

Well, there is an OC, but only because I had to name a Desian.

Disclaimer: Own ToS? I wish.

And of course, a big thankyou to Katana of the Jade Wings, this story's beta. You're a big help, Kat

Chapter two: Captive

Ugh… Where am I…? What happened? Lloyd wondered as he came to. His vision was fuzzy; and his memory was acting up. I can't remember anything… He sat up and looked around him, confused. The walls were harsh metal, and there were bars across the exit. A… prison cell? No… the Desians! Suddenly, everything came rushing back. The Desian attack, that half-elf, Forcystus… Marble… That horrible creature they'd turned her into… Oh, Martel… What will they have done to Genis? he wondered, rubbing his head ruefully. That Desian sure had one hell of a punch.

Quickly, Lloyd checked himself over. He still had the Sorcerer's Ring, but his swords had been removed along with their scabbards. So, he could get out of the cell, maybe, but if he came across any guards, he was doomed.

Still, there was no harm in trying.

It took him about two minutes to open the door. Luckily, there was no guard on patrol, which despite being slightly odd wasn't going to make Lloyd complain. Once the door was open, he peered up and down the corridor. Nothing. No sign of anything. If he was in the Ranch, the security was pretty poor.

He made his way down that corridor until he came to what seemed to be a wall of red light. Frowning, he fired a shot from the Sorcerer's Ring through it experimentally. When nothing bad seemed to happen to the fireball, he reached out for it tentatively…

"I wouldn't," a voice cut in, and Lloyd spun around to see none other than Forcystus. "You see, that light is a laser." Lloyd tensed as the half-elf walked up to him, but Forcystus simply laughed. "These… pretty lights…" Lloyd growled angrily at the patronising tone in the Desian's voice. "They send a charge through the body. Everyone in the Ranch has a chip implanted into their arm. If you've got a chip, the charge is dissipated harmlessly. If not…" Forcystus stuck his arm through the laser to demonstrate the lack of ill effects on himself. "You, my dear Lloyd, would be fried in an instant."

"I am not your dear anything, Desian!" Lloyd spat. Forcystus laughed.

"Perhaps not, no," he replied. "But you would still be fried." Lloyd looked from Forcystus to the 'laser', wondering how to know if the Desian was telling the truth. However, since the only way to find out would be to risk being fried, Lloyd reluctantly decided to believe him.

"Why am I here?" He demanded. "Let me go!" Forcystus shook his head.

"Now that I cannot do," he responded, turning and starting to walk down the corridor. Lloyd cursed softly under his breath and ran after him.

"Why not?" He demanded. "Haven't I suffered enough for breaking your damned treaty? How was I to know you didn't attack Colette? It certainly seemed that way to me!" Forcystus shrugged.

"They were Renegades," he responded. "A rebel group that we cannot do much about, unfortunately. And you will be pleased to know that the punishment for breaking the Treaty would normally be death. However, a member of… the management, shall we say… has intervened on your behalf. I am still holding you at the Ranch, though." Lloyd glared at him.

"Why would some Desian want me kept alive?" He demanded. Forcystus laughed.

"Desian? No, no Desian would," he replied. "Hm… I appear to have answered a lot of questions without asking any of my own. But first, Lloyd… let me tell you some of the rules." Lloyd stiffened as Forcystus turned to face him. "I am not 'Desian'. I am Forcystus Hakoda. But that will be Lord Forcystus to a human."

"I will never call you 'Lord'," Lloyd spat. Forcystus laughed.

"That was a good start," he replied, and Lloyd frowned. Had he just… been tricked? "Secondly. This is my ranch, and you are my prisoner. So you will follow my rules. I have been kind enough to you; you've still got your little trinket and your Exsphere. And you are not currently being made a host for a new Exsphere. So be grateful."

Lloyd frowned. "A host?" he asked, confused.

Forcystus sighed and shook his head. "One thing about keeping you humans in the dark… I've had to go over this so many times…" He sighed. "An Exsphere is made by fusing the basic stone with a human and allowing it to feed off the mana within that body. Once the Exsphere is complete, it unleashes, and we harvest them. Usually before they unleash, however. I can't be dealing with Exbeluas running around all over." Lloyd looked horrified.

"Y-you mean… That creature… Th-that was really that old woman… Th-that was Marble?" He asked, sickened. Forcystus nodded.

"F192," he responded. "Human name Marble." Lloyd screamed out in rage and flung himself at Forcystus, who easily turned the tables on the boy and pinned Lloyd to the wall with one hand.

"You… you!" Lloyd screamed. Forcystus shook his head.

"Calm down," he ordered. Lloyd just screamed in anger again and struggled harder. "I said calm down!" Wind magic started to form around Forcystus, and Lloyd fell silent, suitably scared. Forcystus nodded in approval and released him. "Learn to control your anger. You will meet many more things you do not like in this Ranch, and I cannot be dragging you off my officers. That would just be troublesome, and when something is troublesome to me… I remove it." Lloyd shook his head slowly, knowing full well what that meant. He couldn't let himself be killed. He had to escape this horrible place, this Ranch of death. He had to get to Colette, to help her! And what about…

"Genis. What did you do to Genis?" He asked suddenly.

"Genis?" Forcystus asked. Lloyd swallowed.

"Th-the elf I was with," he replied. Forcystus laughed lowly.

"Oh… Of course. The elf," he replied. "I let him go, of course. I had no interest in him, you were my only target. They shouldn't have burned the village either, strictly speaking, but it can't be helped. Idiots can't follow a few simple orders…" He shook his head. "I believe he has taken your… Dog. I will check for you if you really wish it… Lloyd." Lloyd nodded slowly. Why was this Desian being so co-operative? Why was he answering his questions? What was so special about him that some high-ranking Desian - or even someone above the Desians, as Forcystus had said - would intervene and save him from execution? "Come," Forcystus ordered, and Lloyd nodded and followed. He was willing to be obedient if it let him find out about Genis.

The Cardinal led him down a maze of corridors and had to take him through one set of laser lights by holding his hand, which irritated Lloyd intensely but also seemed to bother the Desian, which made it slightly better. Eventually, they arrived at the Control room, where a Desian Lloyd didn't recognise was sat at a set of very technical-looking objects.

"Ah, Roy, can I borrow a monitor?" Forcystus asked. The Desian turned.

"Lord Forcystus! Of course… you brought the human with you?" He asked. Forcystus nodded curtly.

"Orders are orders," he replied, going over to the abandoned chair. "Lloyd! Come here. Don't stare." Lloyd grumbled under his breath and gave 'Roy' an evil glare as he walked over. The Desian chuckled.

"You've got a wild card on your hands, sir," he remarked.

Forcystus sighed. "If the stupid boy just did as he was told it would make my life a lot easier. Ah, here we go. What's your… elven… friend's last name?"

"Sage," Lloyd replied, feeling slightly ill-at-ease. They were talking about him like he wasn't there, and it worried him.

"Sage. Right. Genis Sage… Any relation to Raine?" He murmured. "I know of her." Lloyd stayed stubbornly silent. Forcystus sighed, typing a few things into the computer and waiting. "Be that way, then. You'll change," he murmured, making a slight noise as a beeping noise was made by the computer and a map with a flashing dot appeared from nowhere. "He's… With the Chosen's group by the looks of it," Forcystus told Lloyd, turning. "Satisfied?" Lloyd grumbled under his breath.

"You'd better not go after Colette," he growled. Forcystus sighed.

"How many times do I have to tell you? We didn't go after the Chosen and have no intention of doing so! What are you, stupid?" He stood up. "Sorry about that," he apologised to the Desian who had originally been at the computers.

"It is no bother, Lord Forcystus," he replied. Forcystus made a 'tch' noise.

"Lloyd, come with me," he ordered. "I have a nice new prison cell to introduce you to."

"No," Lloyd spat stubbornly. Genis was safe, he was with Colette, and Raine and Kratos could protect him. Like hell was he going to be a good little boy now. Forcystus frowned.

"Now, Lloyd," he insisted. "I am not a patient man."

"And don't we know it, my Lord," Roy murmured, taking the computer back over and tapping a few keys. Forcystus glared.

"Not helping, Roy. Lloyd, now."

"No! I'm not listening to you, Desian! You filthy… creatures, you slaughtered my mother!" Lloyd yelled, backing away, brandishing the Sorcerer's Ring like a weapon. Forcystus made a frustrated noise.

"Lloyd… That was not us. We did not kill her," he replied. "Well, I certainly had no part in it. Kvar certainly led to her death, but it was not actually a Desian that struck her down. It was… well, it was no Desian."

"Liar!" Lloyd yelled, taking up a defensive stance. "My dad told me so! You killed her! He found her at the bottom of the cliff, bleeding to death! You, your horrible ranch, YOU KILLED HER!"

"…Definitely a wild card," Roy murmured. Forcystus growled under his breath.

"Not helpful, Roy," he muttered. "I swear. What reason have I to lie to you, Lloyd? You are my prisoner. I can do anything I want to you. Lying is highly unnecessary." Lloyd shivered at that. It was true. He was a prisoner… but he didn't have to make it easy. Forcystus had said himself that someone higher than him wanted Lloyd kept alive. So, that must mean that Forcystus couldn't kill him, no matter what…

"She died. She died, outside this Ranch, and what other reason is there for her to be so wounded?" Lloyd growled. "I don't trust you, Desian." Forcystus sighed again.

"You are a very irritating person, Lloyd Irving," he muttered. "If I have to beat some sense into you, I will do so. I would rather you co-operated willingly, however. I did not have anything to do with the death of your mother. Indeed, I owe something to your parents. So please, I would appreciate it if you didn't point that ring at me." Lloyd hissed through his teeth and sent its magic at Forcystus, who put his hand out. The fireball impacted about an inch in front of it, striking a green barrier rather than Forcystus. "Very well," Forcystus murmured. "If that's the way you wish to do things, so be it. Although I did not want to do this…"

"Liar," Lloyd growled. Forcystus looked at him, a strange look in his eyes.

"So…" He murmured, taking a step forward. "Every Desian is a filthy murderer? Every Desian is evil?"

"Every human is inferior?" Lloyd countered, his voice dangerous. Forcystus sighed and shook his head.

"…Perhaps not," he whispered. "Guards!" Lloyd shrank back from the door, afraid now. Perhaps raising a weapon, even only the Sorcerer's Ring, to a Grand Cardinal, had been a bad idea. "Go and teach our new guest some respect," he told them.

"Yes, Sir!" they chorused, grabbing Lloyd – who struggled violently – and hauling him out of the room, to shouts of protest. Forcystus shook his head as he watched that.

"I gave him every option; I offered him so many chances…" He murmured. "Why does he insist on making himself my enemy?" Roy shrugged.

"You razed his village and are holding him prisoner, Sir?" he offered. Forcystus made a frustrated noise.

"I don't want to be his enemy, damn it all! If not for Lord Aurion's request I would have just left him alone. Kill Anna! Stupidity…" He kicked the floor. "Stupid, stubborn human! When I was his age…" He trailed off and shook his head. "Who am I trying to kid? I was a prisoner when I was his age, and I behaved exactly the same… I'd better go make sure those idiots don't kill him…"

"Good luck, my Lord," Roy replied absently, not looking up from his monitor as Forcystus stalked out.

Lloyd cried out as he was pushed roughly against a wall. The room he was in was stark, empty. Nothing but cold metal.

"You think you can raise a hand to Lord Forcystus, you inferior worm?" one of the guards spat. Vermin is good too. : ) Lloyd raised one hand up to his face as if to protect himself, glaring viciously at the guards.

"You little maggot. You've caused Lord Forcystus a lot of trouble already. Don't know why he doesn't just kill you," another one remarked.

"Y-you dare touch me. You dare!" Lloyd yelled desperately, scampering into one corner. Mom… Please… I need your help, now more than ever…The Exsphere shone briefly, and the guards noticed it, and he felt that familiar warm feeling. That power. He didn't know what he could do without any sort of weapon, but at least it could keep him alive.

One of the guards hauled him up by the collar. "Oh, we dare all right, you inferior insect," he whispered, throwing Lloyd into the centre of the room. Another guard kicked him, hard, in the side, and Lloyd cried out and clutched at the injured spot. Another held a staff over him, mana gathering around it.

"Wait!" Forcystus entered then, and all of the room's occupants looked at him, the guards bowing. "No magic. You'll kill him."

"But, Lord Forcystus…" One started. Forcystus shook his head.

"I said no. I want him in one piece, do you understand me? And if that Exsphere breaks, you will have me to answer to. And it won't just be your Exspheres that will be breaking." Lloyd shuddered at that. "Alive. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, Lord Forcystus," they chorused.

"No magic. No… breaking anything. He may be a problem child, but we've orders from Cruxis, you understand me?"

"Yes, Lord Forcystus," they chorused again. Lloyd blinked. Had he heard right? Had Forcystus just said that the Desians answered to the church? To the angels of Cruxis?

"Good. Lord Aurion will be greatly displeased if he is much harmed. Continue. I will be checking on him later," Forcystus replied, turning to go.

"W-wait! …Lord Forcystus!" Lloyd cried, deciding that in his current situation it would be wise to play it safe. Forcystus waited. "You said… Cruxis. You had orders from Cruxis. Why would the Desians answer to the church of Martel?"

Forcystus laughed bitterly. "You know so blessedly little. Keep it that way," he responded, and he left the room before Lloyd could question him further.

He paused outside in the corridor as the door slid shut, listening to Lloyd cry out as one of the guards hit him and shook his head. "Being here is not the best thing for him at all…" Forcystus murmured. "He will suffer. He will lose that innocence he has. He will learn things he shouldn't have learnt. So what are you protecting him from, Lord Aurion? From the dangers that would have made him stronger? Or… from yourself?" He sighed and shook his head, walking away. He could turn his back to it for now. He had little choice, in the end.

A/N: you like? Please review with comments/suggestions for improvement. But please don't flame. They hurt me cringes