I'M SO SORRY GUYSSSS!
School eats me *cries in a corner* And work. I guess this chapter would have been up earlier if it wasn't for work...
I finished school on Friday, however, and I'm on exam leave now. Whilst I'm currently revising, once the exams are over (mid-June time) I will almost defnintely be back to weekly updates. *crosses fingers, touches wood*
In other news, the hyphen key on my keyboard is slowly dying, causing a lot of frustration for poor me. Every time I press it, I need to try at least three times to get a '-' unless I slam my finger down on the key, which not only hurts my finger, it probably doesn't help the key any...
Disclaimer: Don't own. Still.
Dieuwtjin (did I spell that right?) - Yes, I did belatedly realise that perhaps it was a little OTT... But then again, I don't think they'd run away. There's probably numerous reasons for it, but I've always believed that they'd rather die in battle than run. Forcystus' reasons for that way of thinking will be explored later on in the fic, hopefully...
Kirimori - (gah hyphen) I'm glad you liked it ^^ I do agree with you a little... When I read my older stories (see: A Hard Day's Work... Or better, DON'T see it ) I cringe at how awfully immature my writing was. Obviously the gap is not quite as large between early chapters and later chapters as it is between early and later stories, but part of the reason for writing any story is to develop as a writer, right? I'm secretly kinda glad you noticed XD
Symphoniafan - Transferring things from game to story and still making them feasible is actually quite a challenge. Take Kvar's death. The in-game way just isn't going to happen in real life, is it? He'd be dead from the first strike, never mind three of them. Hence the change (And if you see the anime, you'll see I took a little inspiration from that on that front, too).
The suspicion will continue, that I promise ;)
When will he notice the wings? Who knows XD
NNoEL - I'm too lazy to type your name XD Yeah, he's officially an angel now. But then again, it's my theory that he was always an angel ;) And no, nobody on the good side has been squished ^^
...But who says it was a twin judgement? *shifty look*
Lyra (even lazier) Wow, a new reviewer! To get a positive review like that just out of the blue really made my day ^^ And that line will make an appearence from the Desians, at least... Yuan's not in it again for a few chapters at least.
Lloyd has almost 90percent got things figured out. Wait and see ^^
Well, personally I have no problem with Regal/Presea, but only if Presea has aged physically, otherwise it's just creepy. Genis/Presea is my preferred pairing for the two though, hence this fic XD
Oh, and because it's mentioned in this chapter, for those of you that don't know:
Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response sometimes seen in abducted hostages, in which the hostage shows signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker, regardless of the danger or risk in which they have been placed. The reverse is known as Lima Syndrome.
Perhaps we have a bit of both, who know?
Chapter three: Gravity
Raine, Genis, Sheena and Colette ran up to the control panel in the large room that Forcystus' directions led them to.
"Intriguing," Raine remarked. "The map itself is projected as a hologram… The technology required to work this must be-"
"Please, Sis, is this really the time?" Genis asked in a long-suffering voice.
"Can you use it?" Sheena asked, looking around with trepidation. Alarms had been going off since the explosion in the other area of the Ranch, and the room was bathed in a flashing red light. All four of them were expecting guards to arrive at any moment.
"I should think so," Raine responded, tapping a few keys. "Aha, here we go." The map changed, to show a closer, more 3D view of a certain area, before panning through a few corridors to show another. "The security in the Ranch is routed to a backup mechanism in two different parts of the Ranch for safety," she exclaimed. "It can only be deactivated… Well, altered, but all we want to do is deactivate… By finding and depressing both of these switches here."
"Will that get rid of all the Security?" Genis asked. "The alarms as well, and whatever's guarding the prisoners?" Raine frowned and pressed a few more buttons.
"You really can use it," Sheena remarked, surprised. "So there are people on this side that can use machines…" The screen flashed and changed.
"This is where the prisoners are kept," Raine told them. "Any additional security will be deactivated by the switches, but the main mechanism is controlled by the Desian guards there. If we get close to it, I should be able to hack into it to produce the desired results."
"So, do we even need to get the switches?" Genis asked.
"It'll help the other three out, won't it?" Sheena offered. "The less they have to deal with, the better, and it disadvantages the Desians."
"Exactly," Raine agreed. "Those three are at far more of a disadvantage to us. If it wasn't for the immediate threat to all the prisoners here, I would never have let Forcystus go alone… But we are here, so we should do what we can." Genis gave her a decidedly funny look, which she ignored.
"The more people we can help, the better," Colette murmured, speaking finally. Her hands were clasped tightly together, so tightly the knuckles had gone white – her worry for Lloyd was clear to see. "These are good people… Things shouldn't be like this."
"I don't get how Desians can justify what they do," Sheena muttered. "What makes them think they have the right to treat people like animals?"
"Ask Forcystus," Genis remarked bitterly. "If he survives, that is."
"They will all be fine," Raine told him curtly. "Let's go. The quicker we deactivate those switches, the better for everyone."
Sheena offered to scout the route ahead, summoning Corrine and going down the corridors in the shadows. There were few guards around, the majority having rushed to deal with the backfiring processing plant, and those that were there didn't even know what hit them when Corrine jumped at them from behind, or Sheena used one of her various cards to put them to sleep before they could raise the alarm.
They went the whole way to the first switch without anyone knowing any the wiser, although Genis had to cast Aqua Burst on a guard robot very swiftly when they got to the switch itself.
"Let's see…" Raine murmured, depressing the main button and tapping on the keys. "…There. That should do it."
"How do we tell?" Sheena asked.
"If the alarms go off when we deactivate the second one, I was successful," Raine responded. "There's no other way of knowing. It's part of the backup."
"Oh… Great…" Sheena murmured. "Should we keep going, then? I don't know how long the Desians I put to sleep will stay that way for."
They were half-way down a corridor when the entire Ranch seemed to shake, the walls no longer seeming so solid, the foundations no longer seeming so secure.
"What on earth is that?!" Sheena exclaimed, grabbing for purchase on a wall as a noise like an explosion of divine thunder echoed through the corridor.
"Hopefully something going in their favour," Raine muttered through gritted teeth, grabbing a wall to steady herself as she staggered. Colette was hovering in between the floor and the ceiling, wings out, eyes tightly closed and hands clasped together as she prayed.
As suddenly as it had begun, the localised earthquake ceased, and the four slowly returned to the floor in the middle of the corridor, Sheena brushing dust from her shoulders.
"We need a window. I want to know what that was," she decided.
"S-seconded," Genis agreed shakily, not liking the fact that the sudden shaking had caught him off-guard.
"I-I hope Lloyd and Kratos are ok… A-and Forcystus, too," Colette mumbled, her wings vanishing.
"You aren't the only one," Raine agreed grimly.
They found a door leading outside eventually – windows were in surprisingly short supply in the Ranch – and filed out quickly.
"Holy Martel," Sheena breathed. "There's… There's nothing left of it…" Half of the other main Ranch building had been completely obliterated, and there was no sign of either Desians nor Kratos, Forcystus and Lloyd.
"What could cause that sort of damage?" Raine wondered aloud, thinking hard.
"There's an undamaged area in the middle, look!" Genis pointed out, indicating it with a wave in that direction. "It must have come from there." Desians were starting to flock to the area now, and shouting could be heard echoing around the grounds.
"We should get back inside," Raine suggested. "Whatever that was, they'll need our help more than ever now, and being caught outside by frightened Desians isn't too high on my list of desires."
"Definitely," Sheena agreed as Genis nodded.
"Lloyd, please be alright…" Colette whispered fearfully.
They went with considerably more caution down the corridors now, wary for both guards and another strange earthquake. Despite this, it was only the sound of terrified people that alerted them to the position of the prisons.
"Is that the prisoners?" Sheena asked, one ear up against the door. "It doesn't sound like Desians… I think I can hear a kid…"
"Should we go in and check?" Genis offered. "The prisons were supposed to be around here, right sis?" Raine nodded.
"It's highly likely," she agreed. "After that… Earthquake… The prisoners will probably be terrified."
"I'm still pretty scared myself," Genis admitted.
"Exactly," Raine agreed with a nod. "Sheena, can you open the door?" Sheena nodded and pressed the button to open the door.
The usual guards weren't there, all of the available Desians having been called to the site of the disaster to try and stop the intruders getting any further into the Ranch. This left a large number of trapped human prisoners in precarious-looking cells that seemed as though they would collapse in on each other if another earthquake of similar magnitude occurred, and it was for exactly this reason that the occupants of the cells were panicking.
"Colette, you try and calm them down!" Sheena suggested. "Damn it, I can't make the doors open…"
"Wait until they are calm, otherwise there will be a stampede, and people could well be killed," Raine cautioned as Colette went up to the prisons on the first level.
"P-please listen to me!" She called. "We're here to get you out! We promise we'll get you somewhere safe, and nobody will be hurt!" Very few people seemed to be listening to her. "Please listen!" She pleaded.
"I'll get their attention," Genis offered. "You just need a loud noise. Air blade!" He cast the magic on the ceiling, and the resulting clatter made silence fall and all of the prisoners look at them with fear in their eyes.
"…Thanks," Colette told him thankfully, neither of them aware of how Forcystus had used that exact same tactic in his own Ranch. "Um, we're here to get you out," she told them again. "If you just remain calm, we'll open the doors and lead you to a place where you can get out of the Ranch… Um… If you could maybe make your way back to Luin afterwards?"
"What was that earthquake, lady?" One of the children asked, pushing forwards. "I thought the wall was gonna collapse!"
"There should not be a repeat within the time it will take to get you all out – if you remain calm," Raine cut in. "Have you got the door, Sheena?"
"…Yep," Sheena replied, pressing a few buttons. "That's more complicated that I expected it to be…" The prison cell doors slid open with barely a sound, and the occupants moved forwards hesitantly.
"This way," Raine told them, starting for the door.
"W-wait!" Colette cut in. "Shouldn't we ask about Chocolat?" Raine looked thoughtful.
"Is there really the time?" She asked. Colette clenched her fists.
"There's always time to help people!" She responded, before turning to the prisoners. "Does anyone know what might have happened to a girl named Chocolat?"
"People don't have names in here, miss," one man replied, arms crossed. Colette bit her lip.
"Um, she will have been brought here last week some time?" She hazarded. "Brown hair, down to about here, very impulsive?"
"I think I saw a girl like that, lady!" The boy piped up again. "They took her to the Iselia Ranch!" Colette smiled thankfully.
"Thank you," she told him, looking up at Raine with a grin. "We can go and rescue her later!" Raine didn't seem to agree, but she simply made a slight noise and turned to leave once more.
"This way," she repeated, and the little group led the prisoners to the concealed entrance.
"…They were treated so badly…" Colette mumbled as they retraced their steps back to where they had been before freeing the prisoners. "I've never seen such poor living conditions…"
"It's a Ranch," Raine reminded her. "What do you expect?"
"But, Professor…" Colette started. "If they… If they had to live like that, what about… What about Lloyd?" Sheena frowned.
"What about Lloyd?" She asked, confused, feeling understandably like she was missing something. The other three exchanged glances, none of them wanting to tell Sheena the truth. Eventually, Raine sighed and took the responsibility.
"Lloyd… Was held at the Iselia Ranch for just over a month," she revealed. "By Forcystus."
"Wh-what?!" Sheena exclaimed. "But… Forcystus… He's helping us! If he was… And Lloyd… Why is he with us, if he…?"
"Because Lloyd trusts him," Genis muttered, not sounding happy about that. Raine nodded.
"Forcystus let him out of the Ranch," she continued. "Apparently there were complicated circumstances, not that Lloyd has told us much at all about his time there. But he trusts Forcystus, and Forcystus himself has proved his loyalty to us many times over, so for now we are trusting Lloyd's judgement on the situation." Sheena bit her lip, looking at the floor.
"…I never realised…" She murmured. "When we spoke before in Luin, he seemed so happy…"
"He is happy," Raine cut in. "He doesn't seem to have been adversely affected by his time there; save for his view of the world is a little more mature now. That's another reason why I, at least, trust Forcystus. If he had hurt Lloyd, we would know it, and I am almost certain that he hasn't."
"Held in a Human Ranch and befriended its Cardinal…" Sheena murmured. "Sounds a bit like Stockholm Syndrome to me." Genis crossed his arms.
"That's what I thought," he muttered bitterly.
"But Forcystus seems to be as much Lloyd's friend as Lloyd is his," Raine disagreed.
"…I trust Forcystus…" Colette cut in. "If Lloyd trusts him… Then I trust him." Raine nodded.
"Exactly," she agreed. "No good will come of thinking about it now, not here." She looked down the corridor, her face troubled. "We have placed Lloyd's life in the hands of Kratos and Forcystus now, and I believe them to be capable and trustworthy… To a point. If we have doubts, now is not the time to have them."
"Good point," Sheena agreed. "I mean… You're trusting me now, so I guess I'm hardly one to talk…"
"We're friends, aren't we?" Colette asked, frowning in confusion. Sheena sighed weakly.
"Yeah, I guess so," she agreed reluctantly.
When they reached the second switch, Raine typed in the same sequence as before, and after a few seconds of crossed fingers the alarms went off.
"Well then, I suppose that's our part done," Raine decided primly.
"Can't we go and help Lloyd?" Colette asked, looking concerned. "After that… Earthquake… They're fighting Kvar and all those Desians on their own…"
"We don't even know where they've gone," Raine murmured, looking towards the door with a saddened expression. "Besides… Those two were foolish enough to come here on their own, and for Kratos to do something like that… I get the feeling that this is more than just hatred of Desians. This is personal… Perhaps for both of them. It wouldn't be right of us to interfere." Colette bit her lip and looked away.
"But if they're hurt… What if… What if Lloyd…" She tried, unable to finish.
"You've just got to trust them," Sheena remarked, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's their fight. Sometimes, you can't interfere. You've got the weight of the whole world on your shoulders… Let them bear this burden alone." Colette nodded, unable to speak.
"We will go to the entrance like we agreed," Raine decided. "And all three of them will meet us there when they've finished Kvar, else I won't be happy." Colette nodded again.
"Like they'd dare to disappoint you," Genis remarked, earning a smack around the back of the head. "Ow! Hey, quit it!" He protested, rubbing his abused head.
"…Good luck… All three of you," Raine murmured softly, and they made their way towards the entrance.
When the three swordsmen reached the teleportation portal, it had been rather obviously deactivated.
"Lousy cheat," Lloyd growled, kicking it. "Come out and fight, Kvar!" Kratos sighed wearily.
"Control your emotions," he chastised. "Look at where rushing into the fight got you last time. You can feel the anger, but you must not allow it to lead you. That way, you will only make more mistakes." Lloyd nodded, suitably chastised, as Forcystus knelt by the panel.
"I can save this," he decided. "Give me a minute. Got anything small and sharp that could pass for a screwdriver, Kratos?" The mercenary looked slightly stumped.
"I do not believe so," he replied. "Can you not use a piece of metal? There is plenty of broken machinery after your reckless spellcasting." Forcystus raised an eyebrow at that.
"Yeah… Sure," he agreed dubiously. "I'll be right back." He jumped to his feet and ran back towards the ex-processing plant. Lloyd watched him go, then turned to Kratos.
"Kratos," he started, but the elder man held up a hand.
"Whatever you wish to ask, now is not the time," he told him. Lloyd clenched his fists, frustrated.
"Yes, it is," he disagreed. "I want some answers!" Kratos looked down at him.
"Answers about what?" He asked, in a tone that said Lloyd needed to be very careful about what he asked. The teen steeled himself, determined.
"…What are you?" He asked softly. A flicker of surprise passed across Kratos' face, as if that wasn't what he had been expecting at all, but he quickly fell back into his customary, almost-expressionless face.
"I don't know what you mean," he responded levelly.
"Yes, you do," Lloyd argued. "You are not human, Kratos!" Kratos made a slight noise. "Don't you ignore me!" Lloyd exclaimed. "Answer me! I want to know what's-"
"Arguing already?" Forcystus remarked, running back up with a piece of twisted metal in his hands. "That's not the way you want to go into battle, is it?" He knelt by the panel and used the piece of metal to prise the screws loose.
"…But…" Lloyd protested weakly.
"Forcystus is right," Kratos agreed suddenly. "Kvar is a formidable enemy, Lloyd. That is all you must focus on. You cannot win this fight if your heart is uncertain and your feelings at the fore."
"You seemed to get pretty angry to me, back there," Lloyd muttered bitterly, angry at being thwarted. "I won't forget, Kratos. I want to know." Kratos seemed troubled.
"As you say," he murmured, watching as Forcystus made a pleased noise and the teleporter sprang into life. He put the top part back on, jamming it into place with the heel of his foot.
"That'll have to do," he decided. "We only want to use it once, anyway, right?" Lloyd glanced at the pair of them.
"…Right," he agreed. "Right…" He clenched his fists. "I can do this. Kvar is going down!"
"That's the attitude you want!" Forcystus agreed, moving over to make room for the other two to step onto the panel, one foot still keeping it in place. Lloyd seemed highly dubious as he stepped onto it, and Kratos also seemed slightly uncertain, but Forcystus was clearly confident in the fact that none of them would be horribly maimed by his improvised teleporter, so they trusted him for the moment. "Next stop, Kvar," Forcystus told them, hitting the activation switch with his spare foot, and all three of them warped away.
Kvar was pacing angrily around his control room when they around, spitting insults at Pronyma, who was on the holograph projector.
"…So you came," he remarked when they appeared. Pronyma looked from Kratos to Lloyd.
"Hmm… They do bear quite the resemblance, you're right," she remarked. "And it seems our resident traitor has made an appearance. Lord Yggdrasill will have your head, Forcystus."
"At least I will die free," Forcystus shot back. "Unlike you, who will be a snivelling slave until the day you die, most likely killed by Lord Yggdrasill for outliving your usefulness." Pronyma's eyes narrowed, and it was clear that, had she been there in person, Forcystus would be in a large amount of pain if she had her way.
"Kill him for me, Kvar," she spat. "Slowly. Painfully." Forcystus shot her an angelic smile.
"I love you too," he replied, and Kvar glared in their direction.
"Do you have any idea how much damage you have done?" He demanded. Kratos drew his sword.
"Not as much as I will do to you, for hurting Lloyd," he growled, and Lloyd found himself unconsciously taking a step back, such was the anger in Kratos' voice. Kvar, however, just chuckled.
"Is that so?" He responded. "Well, in that case, I may just have to accidentally kill you." He idly nudged the projector with one foot, turning it off, much to the obvious displeasure of Pronyma as she disappeared. "Such a shame and a waste I'm sure," he continued, raising his staff. The energy stones appeared above his head, electricity crackling off them. "But I never liked you much anyway… Lord Aurion." Forcystus glanced at the doors.
"He's all yours," he told the pair. "I'll take care of the soldiers." Lloyd nodded in acknowledgement, but Kratos was focused entirely on Kvar, a quite rage seeming to surround him.
"This time," he told Lloyd, "we attack as one. And this time, he dies." Lloyd nodded again, drawing his swords.
"This is for my mom, you murdering scumbag," he hissed. Kvar clicked his fingers, and a shield formed around him.
"Charmed, I'm sure," he responded, and on a nod from Kratos, the two of them flew at Kvar.
Lloyd went straight for the energy stones, the blade of one of his swords rebounding off one, the tip lodging in a second, and he took the opportunity and pushed the blade forwards with all his might. Electricity exploded outwards from Kvar's hands, Kratos moving to be in front of Lloyd in an instant, blocking with Guardian as the first energy stone exploded, short-circuited. Lloyd jumped back, closely followed by Kratos, who nodded once at him in acknowledgement.
Even if he wasn't human, he was on his side.
Lloyd blocked with a Guardian that barely lasted as Kvar sent another spell at them, and Kratos cut the other energy stone clean in half, something Lloyd hadn't had the strength or skill to do. Kvar gritted his teeth with anger as his shield faltered, then flickered out of existence entirely, too unstable with only one energy stone to support it.
"Tch," Kvar muttered, raising his staff. "Troublesome inferiors, the both of you. I should have made them finish you outright." Kratos growled angrily and slashed forwards, Kvar blocking every blow with his staff. Lloyd went for the final energy stone, watching them both carefully. Kratos was doing exactly what he had told Lloyd not to do, wasn't he? Letting his anger control him?
Why was he so angry?
The sharp end of Kvar's staff cut a thin line down Kratos' arm, but the mercenary didn't flinch, didn't even notice. Lloyd's grip tightened on his swords. Did it matter? Did it?
He ran forwards and slammed his swords down together, breaking the staff clean in two. Kvar growled angrily and cast a spell that slammed straight into Lloyd, flinging him backwards to the floor, where he landed heavily, winded. Kvar turned to him, but Kratos got there first, slamming his sword straight through Kvar's chest. The Cardinal choked, surprised.
"Kratos…" He hissed. "You pathetic… Inferior being!" Lloyd watched the tenuous self-control that Kratos still had snap. Pain, hatred, rage, all the emotions he must have always felt, but never showed, no matter what, were suddenly clear in his eyes. He was gripping his sword so hard his knuckles were bone-white.
"Then why don't you feel the pain of those inferior beings," he suggested in a low, threatening voice, "as you burn in hell!" He tore the sword up and out of Kvar, who fell backwards and hit the floor, dead almost instantly. Kratos lowered his sword slowly, breathing heavily, then turned to look at Lloyd. The teen pushed himself to his feet quickly, walking to Kratos' side.
"…He's dead," he murmured, looking down at the body of the Cardinal. "…Now mom can rest in peace." He closed his eyes. "And your wife." Kratos looked troubled.
"And yet, it doesn't feel like the end," he replied softly. Lloyd sighed, then glanced over at Forcystus, who was down on one knee, adorned with blood – how much of it was his was unclear.
"…Good… Riddance," he managed, panting hard. "You two… Ok?"
"Forcys-" Lloyd started, but Kratos held out a hand, went over to the half-elf and cast a healing spell. Slowly, Forcystus' breathing eased, and he struggled to his feet.
"Ha… Never fought… So many… At once… Before," he remarked. "Was harder… Than I thought… It would be." Kratos shook his head.
"Fool," he remarked. Forcystus laughed weakly.
"No more so than you, for coming here in the first place," he retorted. "What on earth possessed you to think you could do this alone?" Kratos' gaze hardened.
"I had to," he responded curtly. "For her." A sad look appeared on Forcystus' face.
"Yeah," he agreed softly. "Maybe you did. That still doesn't make it wise." Slowly, he made his way over to the computer, where he started to hit the keys, at home once more with the technology. "Let's… finish it for good," he suggested, hitting a key with finality. "Fifteen minutes." Kratos nodded, his face now emotionless once more.
"Lloyd, let's go," he suggested, and Lloyd nodded and ran the few steps to catch up with him as he walked out.
He couldn't help but feel like Kratos had been right – it didn't feel like it was over. Something was left.
Lloyd was almost certain that that something was Cruxis.
They met up with the other four at the Gate ten minutes later, and Colette instantly hugged Lloyd tightly.
"You're ok, you're ok!" She exclaimed. "I was so worried!" Lloyd smiled.
"I'm fine," he promised her, gently removing her from his person. Raine frowned.
"What happened to your clothes?" She asked, indicating the large tear down his front from the sword which had nearly killed him. Lloyd glanced down at it.
"Oh, I'll fix that later," he decided. "We need to go – the Ranch is set to self-destruct."
"A function I removed from mine, might I add," Forcystus added with a wry smile.
"You're covered in blood!" Sheena exclaimed. "How much of that is yours?!"
"About a quarter of it?" Forcystus offered. "Lloyd was right, though – we've got about three minutes left." Raine, clearly unhappy with the general state of both of them, nodded despite that.
"We should return to Luin," she suggested. "To see that the townspeople are safe." Forcystus nodded in agreement, and the group made its weary way back to the town.
Behind them, cast into a blood-red light by the sunset, the Ranch exploded, dead as its leader was.
The group got back to Luin as twilight was starting to take over the sky, and the grateful townspeople let them have one of the less-damaged houses. Once they entered it, Raine forced Forcystus to sit down, something he was more than willing to do. With the half-elf suitably dealt with, she turned her attention to Lloyd and Kratos.
"I am ashamed and appalled with both of you," she told them. "What on earth possessed you to do something so foolish?" Raine demanded. "You could have been killed!" Lloyd looked at Kratos guiltily.
"I couldn't stand it… Everything Kvar's done…" He mumbled. "I couldn't take it any more…" Raine rounded on Kratos.
"And you, Kratos!" She exclaimed. "I thought you had more sense! Lloyd I might expect this from, but you!" He met her gaze levelly. "I thought I could rely on you to keep a level head!"
"My apologies," Kratos replied, although he didn't look away. "I am aware of what the consequences of our actions could have been… Well aware." Lloyd flinched. "Do not blame Lloyd. He is young. The fault lies with me."
"No," Raine disagreed with a shake of her head. "He was more than willing to go with you. Shouldering your own part of the blame is a part of growing up." Kratos looked troubled. "Why did you let him go?" She asked him softly. "Why, Kratos?" Kratos sighed, looking away this time.
"I… Was not thinking with an entirely unclouded mind," he responded softly. "The desire for revenge… Can make people blind. It is only when things go wrong that… Your eyes are opened. The living… Should always be worth more than avenging the memory of the dead." He closed his eyes. "It is not a mistake I will repeat."
"I should hope not," Raine murmured. Forcystus made a troubled noise.
"I'm… I'm sorry," Lloyd added quietly. "I didn't mean… To worry you. I guess I… I wasn't thinking straight, either." He glanced at Kratos, who was still looking away. "You… You saved my life. Thank you." Kratos sighed softly.
"It is not something I deserve thanks for," he whispered, his voice barely audible. Lloyd clenched his fists, fighting back tears.
"It's ridiculous!" He exclaimed. "How could he hurt people so much for one little gem? This…" He looked down at his Exsphere. "For this… People are still hurting… Even after he's dead…" Kratos turned away.
"People will always hurt," he responded. "For as long as there are Desians, and those that control them, people will always hurt." Forcystus made a dissatisfied noise, standing up.
"And people will hurt long after, because of the scars," he added, walking out, waving away Raine's attempts to stop him. Kratos watched him go silently.
"All he ever did was play games with people," Lloyd continued. "Play games with lives… Experiment with human lives. Even this… Even me… My mom, my dad… He played games with all of them. And if she'd never been taken to the Ranch, never had this thing put in her, I'd never have been born…" He closed his eyes, holding back tears. "And I don't know what to think any more!"
"…What do you mean, 'put in'?" Genis asked quietly. Lloyd ran a gloved hand over his eyes to stop himself from crying.
"That's how they make them," he replied. "I told you that before, at Magnius' Ranch. They put a raw Exsphere into a host and subject it to as much stress as possible, then extract it… Killing the host in the process." He closed his eyes. "That's what they are. Human lives." Genis cried out in shock.
"Human lives?!" Sheena exclaimed. "Exspheres are… Human lives?" Lloyd nodded mutely. "That's… That's horrific! Why?!" Lloyd looked at the floor.
"I don't know," he whispered, and Kratos turned away. "I was never given a reason. Just the how. Never the why." He closed his eyes. "The Exsphere is like a parasite… It eats away at the host… Until they're not the same as they were before. It changes them." He looked over at Colette, who was watching them all with worry and concern in her eyes. "But Forcystus did say… That a Cruxis Crystal… Is just a type of Exsphere," he added softly. Sheena recoiled and tore the Exsphere she wore out of her Key Crest.
"A… Human life… So sick…" She whispered.
"Wh-what?" Colette asked, looking scared now. Lloyd clenched his fists.
"That's why you're changing," he whispered. "That's why you can't feel, you don't eat, you can't cry or sleep! That's why!" He hit the floor. "Because of Cruxis!" Colette put her hands together.
"If… If it saves Sylvarant… I will give anything," she murmured. "Because… Because I have to."
"We are using human lives," Raine repeated, looking at her Exsphere. "…Is that right?"
"We can't… Complete this journey without these… And even if they are human lives… What does it mean if we throw them away?" Colette murmured. "We need these, we can't do a thing without them, we're nothing… All those people, they would have died, for… For nothing. Lloyd closed his ears, unable to stop the tears this time.
"There is no right answer," he replied. "It makes me sick, it always did… And I stood next to the machines that made the Exspheres the way they are, I stood there and did nothing… But what else can we do? So I… I'll keep my Exsphere, because… It's all I have of my mom… And if I threw it away… It would be like killing her, all over again." Kratos sighed suddenly, making them all look up at him.
"Colette's right," he murmured. "We can throw away the Exspheres at any time." His hand touched his own Exsphere, resting in its Key Crest on his hand. "But right now, we must carry the weight of the hopes and dreams of those victims and fight for their sake, as well as ours." He looked over at Lloyd. "Didn't you say you weren't going to hesitate any more?" Lloyd sighed, he had said that, one night during one training session that he barely remembered.
"If mom can ever forgive me for this…" He murmured. "For knowing this…"
"…People are sinful creatures," Raine murmured. "Life survives at the cost of another. Then we must continue to bear the burden of our sins for as long as we live." She walked out of the room, the door swinging shut behind her.
"…For as long as we live…" Kratos repeated softly. "But I have lived too long… And sinned too much." He shook his head slowly, going over to one corner of the room and sitting down there, resting his head back against the wall. Lloyd looked over at him, at how tired he suddenly seemed, thinking of all the ways he had helped him, protected him, saved him.
The questions could wait one more day.
"Forcystus?" Raine asked, walking up to join the ex-Desian at the edge of the lake.
"…Raine," he started softly, not turning around. "Shouldn't you be with Lloyd?" Raine stopped level with him and looked out across the water.
"He told us about the Exspheres," she informed him softly. He nodded.
"He always hated it," he murmured in response. He still wasn't looking at her, his gaze fixed out across the lake. "He said, once, that he hated what I did, he hated my leader and he hated everything I stood for… But he didn't hate me."
"You went after him," Raine murmured. "You went alone, you were hurt so much by the people who once called you a leader, all for him."
"And?" Forcystus asked. Raine noticed that his sword was off to one side, stuck into the bloodied ground. She sighed.
"That was… When I realised something," she continued. "I didn't trust you, because you were a Desian. I thought that surely there must be some ulterior motive, because… Why would a Desian help a human? But when you did that… I realised that perhaps… I'd misjudged you." Forcystus chuckled softly, making her look at him in confusion.
"Misjudged," he mused. "Quite a word. You know…" He picked up a stone from the floor and tossed it out over the lake, where it skimmed four times, then sank. "I did what I could for Lloyd. To start out, it was just a job, just an order, just a favour. But eventually… I protected him for his own sake. There's something about him that's so precious, so rare… The world can't afford to lose it." Raine nodded slowly.
"He's an idealist… This journey will hit him hard," she murmured. "But, he bounces back, every time… You, and Kratos at times… Sometimes I wonder if you even try to stay alive…" She looked at him, and, finally, he looked back.
"Kratos gave up on life long ago," he murmured. "I, on the other hand, simply have nothing to live for." Raine looked to the side.
"Is this not worth living for?" She murmured. Forcystus sighed, and she looked back up at him, concerned.
"'This'," he repeated. "This? What is 'this'?" He shook his head. "I, more than any of you… Save perhaps one… Know just how pointless this whole thing is. What a useless, pointless, stupid circle it is. This journey would never have sealed us away. We move, Raine, we leave of our own accord, to go cause some more innocent people suffering. My life revolves around suffering, and causing it." He looked at his hands again. "Before Lloyd came, it was nothing. I could have watched this massacre and it would have meant very little to me. My ideals had been killed. My hopes destroyed, just like my family. Lloyd rekindled the fire I once had, the desire to change things. But, doing this… Changes nothing at all."
"You've changed us," she murmured. "One of us, at least." Forcystus looked up as she turned away; gently moving her head back to face him with one hand.
"Then give me something worth living for," he whispered. "And I may just live on a while longer." Slowly, she put one hand on top of his, moving it from her face.
"I'll do my best," she replied with a slight smile, and he smiled back as she turned and walked away.
A/N - Once again, apologies for the delay! I hope it was worth the wait... Let me know your thoughts, comments etc. I do take it all on board, I promise XD