Lloyd regained consciousness, but kept his eyes closed. He didn't have to open them to assume he was in danger.
But the strong scent of alcohol told him otherwise.
He opened his eyes, and the room took shape.
He lay on his back, on a cold steel table. Fabric sheets outlines his form. Machines beeped monotonously, the walls were a serene gray, and disinfectant told sat beside his bed.
Movement shifted in the corner.
A pair of green eyes watched him from the shadows.
Lloyd swore and backed away on instinct, a sharp pain spiking up his neck.
"Ow," He hissed, barely above a whisper.
"You're awake," Etrius announced, emerging from the shadows. "You look like—" One look at his arm snagged away any other words. "…Never mind."
Strange enough, Lloyd couldn't feel anything in his right arm. It was completely numb. "Was I put on morphine?" He asked to no one in particular. He plucked the bed sheets out of the way, and then stared with silence.
Something unfathomable stirred in his earth-brown eyes.
"I know it looks weird," Etrius said, scratching the back of his neck and looking the other way. "But we had no other choice, and you were in coma. We weren't going to wake you up and make a decision."
Lloyd gave him no response. Instead, he grabbed his right wrist and pulled the robotic arm out. Glowing blue wires ran the length of the arm, moving towards the finger tips, and then circulating back. Like blood in veins. Glass encased the glowing cobalt wires.
If he concentrated enough, he could barely twitch his fingers.
This was something he would have to live with.
Silence settled over the two, and the tension between them was like a string waiting to snap.
Etrius finally broke the silence. He signed and hung his head down. "This is my fault. You lost your arm because of me."
Lloyd closed his useful fist. "The General released the Mind Worm, tried to wield a power beyond any of our control. If this was anyone's fault, it was his."
Etrius looked at his hands, as if they were covered in blood. "Lloyd, did I…? Did I really kill him?"
"Don't feel any remorse for that bastard. He would've done the same in cold blood."
"That' the problem. I can't be like him." His eyes darkened. Lloyd expected them to explode with light and power, but there was nothing. He lost his powers to the crystal shard.
Footsteps resounded from outside the closed door. Nox and Beecher stepped inside. At the sight of Lloyd sitting upright, relief washed through Nox's eyes. "He's awake."
Etrius suddenly grew detached at the sight of Beecher. He cast his gaze to the floor, and then walked past Nox.
Lloyd frowned. "What's his problem?"
"He blames himself for all of us," Beecher's tone darkened a notch, but his anger wasn't directed at Etrius. "How's your arm? Hope you don't swordplay with that one."
"I've been worse," Lloyd said emotionlessly, staring at his new arm. "… Maybe not. How long was I in coma?"
Nox hesitated. "Seven weeks."
Lloyd sank back down, taking it in. It wasn't like Etrius to remain in regret for seven weeks. Things have changed.
"A lot has happened in those last weeks," The slightest smile performed on Nox's face. "Many of them for the better."
"Such as?"
"Our base was found."
"How is that a good thing?"
"Security footage was caught. And witnesses watched. They all saw the same thing. The General was the blame for this mess."
Lloyd's breath snagged. "So our names are cleared?"
"Looks like."
Relief should've flooded through his chest, but he felt nothing. Just a hollow emptiness. The General, dead. The world, saved. Etrius and Nox's powers, gone. And Lloyd's arm too.
Nobody knew about Romanov's fate. He left himself inside the castle universe so the others could escape. Whether he was dead, or wandering the facility, nobody knew. But he provided one of the greatest sacrifices for the fate of mankind.
~A/N~ I got some requests on DA that the story should continue in a sequel. First couple chapters are already written, but I'm still tweaking the outline a bit. What do you think? :3