Chapter 15: Izoold
For better or for worse, they were traveling to Izoold. Their supplies had once again become low. They had no clear objective besides reaching that destination. Afterwards, they hadn't the slightest clue what to do, but no one wanted to broach that topic. Not nearly as talkative as before, the group made their way almost silently into town.
Izoold was a small port town, the population was equally. Many would be out right now attending to their daily toils. Perhaps the most excitement came from when a ship docked in the area and tourists came to stay for a bit.
For some reason, however, Leona felt uneasy as she entered the town. She could hear the gentle waves of the ocean crashing onto the rocky sand, but not much else. As she began to pay more attention to the denizens, something seemed off about their movements. A child who held a stick in her hand did little more than poke at the sand on the small beach. It was a repetitious motion as if she was unable to do anything else. Leona watched her for a bit, but the child continued in this way. Strange… Leona thought to herself. She didn't feel the need to point it out, however, perhaps she was simply overthinking things.
The first shop they came to was selling seafood, so said the shopkeeper in monotone. That was when an idea came to Leona's mind as she looked at her weary companions.
"How does everyone feel about seafood?" Leona asked testing the waters.
It was Cathe who spoke up first with the first smile she'd seen in a while. "Better than beef!"
"Woh, woh, I wouldn't go that far," Cecil said immediately after, "But under the right conditions—it's pretty good."
"As long as it's not raw…" Eros said.
"What is wrong with you? Sushi is the best way to have fish," Zeph said back.
"Thank Marta it's not the only way," Eros said, "Otherwise, I'd have given up on seafood altogether. But salmon is a different story."
"I know what you're talking about," Cecil said with a grin, "Grilled just right, topped with a sweet and savory glaze along with some lemon herb rice…"
"Now you're talking my language," Eros said.
Leona was taking note of all of this. It didn't escape her that this was perhaps the most she'd heard them speak in a long while and it was about food. Her father had been right then when he spoke of the power of good food which could singlehandedly improve the atmosphere, make a stubborn person more malleable, turn a terrible defeat into something less negative, and in general get things moving smoothly.
She'd had more than one conversation with her father about food. It was a passion of his and there was an entire philosophy behind it that admittedly she was not interested in. She'd been more interested in how to make food and one of the things she simply had to learn was how to cook seafood. She loved it so much that she did not want to wait for her father to make it on certain days. All she had to do was ask and she spent an entire week and a half learning how to cook all manner of seafood including raw fish. Her father was only all too happy to oblige. It wasn't until that time when he taught her that she realized just how much of an expert he was. She had dozens of questions and he always had an answer. She wondered why cooking was simply a hobby—perhaps managing a restaurant would be far more fulfilling than running a resort, but that was a conversation for another time.
She had the gald for it, the knowledge, and the means. Today she would make them a big seafood feast. As she listened to their conversation describe their likes and dislikes, she knew exactly what it would consist of.
"But why the sudden interest in seafood," Zeph asked finally noticing Leona's lack of input.
Leona smiled promptly. "I thought I would make everyone their favorite seafood dish since there's so much fish around here."
"Really?!" Cathe said excitedly.
"But we don't have the ingredients," Zeph said.
"Don't worry about that. They should have them around here somewhere," Leona said. This being a town near the sea, surely they'd have ingredients plenty to make a decent meal.
Zeph was probably the first to realize how much gald she was probably going to spend buying the seasonings and then not to mention the fish. The prices were cheaper here for fish, but it was still going to be for five people.
"Let's make a day of it," Leona said. She'd also buy some bowls and spoons for mixing things together.
"I want to help!" Cathe said.
Leona didn't exactly want help as she would probably slow her down, but then decided that she'd be good for fetching the ingredients. In the same way that her father could cook exorbitantly large meals on his own in a surprisingly short time, she could as well if she got into the groove of things. Stopping to tell someone what to do would be more of a bother.
"Ack! Can't you see she wants to do it herself?" Cecil told her sister pointblank.
Leona must not have been able to hide her face of annoyance.
"Oh," Cathe said with less of a smile, "I see."
"It's not you," Leona said, "It's just something I like doing by myself. Besides, it's no problem for me. Don't worry."
"Don't look now, but I think that's Lloyd over there," Eros said interrupting them.
That quieted everyone quickly and they were all looking where Eros was looking. Sure enough, it was him and his trademark spikey hair speaking to one of the locals. Leona's first instinct was to hide, but then thought better of it.
"Guys, I think the jig is up. Let's just go see him," Leona said.
"Might as well," Eros said slightly deflated, "It's not as if we have any leads. Maybe he knows something we don't."
For a change, Eros walked forth first and then the others followed. Leona didn't know what to expect. She didn't know Lloyd very well, but her first impressions of him from the birthday bash were that he was a really understanding person. He was a leader. Even her parents had fallen under his spell and that was a feat in itself. Surely, a person like that wouldn't be too angry with them…
He turned to them. There was no look of surprise. He simply stood there watching them.
"What's the matter cat's got your tongue?" Eros said to the oddly silent Lloyd.
"I know what we did was wrong, but Lucas is our friend…and we just had to find him," Cathe said looking down.
Lloyd's eyes turned to her then, but still he was silent.
"So what's the punishment already," Cecil said getting impatient, "Do I have to go and hug everybody and say I'm sorry—something sappy and useless like that?"
Lloyd looked at her then and still said nothing. Was he fuming? Leona wondered.
Zeph looked on thoughtfully and then put a hand to his chin. "Hey, Earth to Lloyd. Is there something wrong?"
Then Lloyd looked to him and said absolutely nothing. Cecil shook her head as she saw this.
"Something is wrong! Say something already, you're starting to scare me." Cecil boldly stepped closer to her father and snapped her fingers in front of his unchanging expression yet there was no reaction. Then she waved a hand.
"Maybe that's not him," Eros said.
"No, that's my dad. I know what he looks like," Cathe said, "Daddy, say something! What's my name?"
Lloyd stepped away from the waving Cecil so that he could make eye contact. "Catherine…"
"Oh, Daddy, what happened to you!" Cathe cried running over to hug him tightly.
She might have hugged him, but he did not return it.
"What about the others? Are they still looking for us?" Cecil asked when Cathe finally released him.
Cathe glared at her, "Can't you see Daddy needs help—
"Shh!" Cecil said quickly as Lloyd began to answer.
"…It doesn't matter…nothing matters."
"What? What are you saying?" Cathe asked.
"Haven't you been searching for us? For Lucas?" Cecil pressed.
"Oh, yes…we have been looking…You should go back home…"
"But what about Lucas? Any leads with finding him? We want to help," Cathe said.
"…You should go back home…Lucas is…nowhere."
"No," Cecil said stubbornly. "We're not going back home. We're going to stay with you."
"…Okay."
"Okay?" Cecil said with mounting anger, "What is wrong with you? That's all you have to say? No reprimand, no nothing?" She grabbed his shoulders and starting shaking him.
"Stop it, Cecil!" Cathe yelled. "Don't hurt Daddy."
"He's acting weird!" Cecil shouted back.
"And shaking him won't make it any better," Leona finally said to the frantic girl, "Please, stop."
Cecil did stop after a moment and then sighed heavily. "Damn it! There's obviously something wrong." Slowly her hands came from his shoulders and fell to her side.
His jacket was a bit ruffled, but Lloyd was unperturbed by the entire display. "…I should keep looking…" he said in a strange monotone, the same tone he'd been using the entire time.
"No, you're going to stick with us, understand!" Cecil said to Lloyd.
"…Okay."
"I thought there was something wrong with these people," Leona said aloud as she looked around. "Everyone's just so…lackluster. I don't get it."
"Let's go look at everyone else and see if it's the same," Zeph finally said.
So the group does this with Lloyd in tow. He made no qualms about it. He simply followed them. His face was expressionless and his strides mechanical—it was not the father the two girls had come to know. They began to notice that the townspeople were acting much the same. Going about their business, but with no zest whatsoever. Something seemed to have taken all the enthusiasm out of them including Lloyd.
"What should we do?" Cathe asked. It was a question that was probably on everyone's minds and Cecil did not have an immediate answer.
"I think," Leona said with a pause, "That we should go back home and regroup. I mean, this has gotten out of our hands. Lucas is still missing and now Mr. Lloyd is acting strange. We just don't know what's happening anymore."
"I agree," Cecil said after a moment.
And the others did as well. So it was decided. With their feast now long forgotten, they began towards the entrance of the town, but then they were stopped by yet another surprise. Cathe saw him first and her eyes lit up.
"Lucas!" she shouted with joy and she commenced to running towards him with open arms until he whipped his sword out.
"Keep your distance, little girl," he said steadily.
Leona simply couldn't believe it. That was truly Lucas not more than a few paces ahead of them. They'd gone through all the trouble of searching for him and he'd found them instead. As he stepped closer to them, she began to notice some differences in his appearance. The lack of sleep seemed to have finally caught up with him, the dark rings under his eyes told her as much. His coloring was off, he was more pale than usual and his blue eyes a little too blue.
"Good. I was getting tired of looking for you," Cecil bit, "Now we're going home and you're coming with us!"
"I will do no such thing now that I've found my purpose," Lucas said back with surprising clarity, no hint of tiredness in his voice.
"Care to tell us what that is?" Eros asked.
"I'm sure you've run into her by now—Arcangela," Lucas began.
"Wait, Clarion?" Leona asked a little confused.
"The very same," Lucas nodded. "She has shown me many things about what my role is. She needs me like no other and I will help her."
"That's why…she's kept you alive because she needs you," Leona said thinking back to what Felix told her.
"What do you mean 'kept alive'," Lucas said with a grin, "I am the one she needs to finally finish her plans. What you see before you is the first major breakthrough. Take a look at this town. Completely subjugated and ripe for taking orders."
"What have you gotten yourself into?" Eros asked with growing disbelief, "Subjugation? You plan on doing this to the rest of the world?"
"You are quite perceptive," Lucas said, the grin never leaving his face, "That is exactly what will happen."
"But that's wrong!" Cathe said.
"Cathe is right. You can't go around doing this to people," Leona said, "Look what you've done to your own father."
The group parted a bit so that Lloyd could be seen. He wouldn't walk forth on his own.
"For that very reason, I came here personally so that I could see it for myself. Father, come forth! Walk over to me."
Lloyd began to do just this much everyone's amazement.
"No, are you crazy—stop!" Cecil said, but she was paid no mind.
"You see, little sister, he will only listen to me. Father, turn and face them."
Lloyd did so obediently. Leona thought it was the most pitiful sight to behold. A man who was known for doing such great things was brought down to such a low by his own son no less.
"If I allow you all to live, you will only get in my way. Arcangela should have done away with you already, but I suppose I'll do the job for her. Father, destroy them to the best of your ability."
Leona was shocked by how callous he was being right now, but what was even more shocking was when Lloyd unsheathed his blade. Gone was his lackluster aura. He seemed ready to fight, he seemed to ready to take them down.
"You're not really going to fight us, right?" Cathe said.
"You will all die," Lloyd said steadily.
Now that he had an order, his focus was on fulfilling it.
"Daddy!" Cathe said.
Lloyd advanced towards her first, the weak link, and she cried out when the sword struck home. Cecil rammed her shoulder into him and tackled him to the ground. She hadn't even taken out her sword yet. It took a while for the shock to subside from the others and finally for them to fight back. Lloyd had drawn first blood and was not afraid to draw more. It was as if he was a different person altogether. How could he so earnestly be fighting them? He did not hold back. The only strength they had was in numbers. No one could hide from his attacks. He fought with startling agility and constant force. He hardly gave them time to breathe. Even Leona who tried to stand away to get off one of her moves was forced to move around to avoid him, but she was struck down as well almost fatally.
At some point, they were all on the ground bleeding out. Were it not for the apple gels, Leona feared they would have lost. Lloyd fought them with ease without even breaking a sweat. It was then that Leona began to appreciate the man's prowess with the blade. This was the man who had reunited two worlds.
"Please…" Cathe coughed as she struggled to sit up.
"It is almost a crime, fighting those who can barely defend themselves," Lloyd said to her.
"Daddy! You don't have to do this!"
"You don't understand—I must do this. I have been told to do so."
"So that's it, huh. Just murder your family and it doesn't even get a rise out of you?"
"The only thing that matters is your death."
There was no malicious intent behind his words Leona realized. Even as Lloyd stood there with a bloodied sword in hand, she did not feel as if he was her opponent or even someone to be hated. He truly believed that they should die because Lucas had said so. It was…odd. They could not hope to defeat him. Not as they were. Leona made the struggle back to her feet. She noticed in that moment that Lucas was nowhere to be found. All their attention had been on Lloyd. In doing so, they'd allowed Lucas an easy escape. There was nothing they could do for it now—they had more pressing matters to attend to.
"Do you really intend to kill us?" Leona said to the earnest man.
"Yes," Lloyd said steadily, "Your resistance has been in vain."
"What if I told you that killing us would make someone really sad?"
"That wouldn't matter to me."
"What if that someone was Lucas? Do you want Lucas to be sad?"
"He gave me an order and I will fulfill it."
"But what if he gave it in haste? What if he's regretting his decision?"
"Regret…?" Lloyd said uncertainly.
"Those two right there—they are your daughters. Do you know that?"
"Yes, I do."
"And you would kill them?"
Lloyd said nothing to this, but Leona continued.
"Lucas is your son, did you know that?"
"Yes…"
"He would be sad if his sisters were to be killed. Doesn't that make sense? The loss of someone close will make that person sad."
"Yes…that is true…"
Leona noticed that his hands had begun to tremble ever so slightly. "Killing people…that could make someone sad too, wouldn't it? Killing people makes you sad, right?" Limping though she was, she made her way over to him as she continued to talk. His eyes, something seemed different about them. Was he beginning to understand? "Killing me would make you sad," she continued. She stood close to him now, his sword was mere millimeters away. "You don't want to kill me."
Lloyd looked directly at her but she was unsure of what to read in his eyes and she was unprepared for what he did next. She hadn't realized what happened until moments after it occurred. She looked down and saw that one of his swords had sliced right through her and probably protruded from the other side. Slowly her world began to dim.
"I have to do this…I must kill you."
She cried out when he yanked the blade out of her once again and she fell backwards into a heap. She had no idea when she hit the ground, she just knew that she was in immense pain. Then she felt as more steel penetrated her, but then all of a sudden, the torture ended. She heard a "plunk" sound. An apple gel was placed gently in her mouth.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that." It was Zeph's voice gentle and concerned.
It took a moment, but eventually she was able sit up again. Cathe sat next to her father crying, an arrow sticking out near his chest as he laid sprawled on his back.
Leona couldn't tell what had happened. All she knew was that Lloyd had been subdued.
"Cathe struck him with an arrow laced with a paralysis potion. He was distracted enough for her to finally pull it off," Zeph finally said. He was knelt beside her.
"How long will it last?" Leona asked.
"Not long," Zeph answered. "We have to leave now before he gets back up again."
Now that she looked closer, she noticed that Lloyd, in fact, was still awake and staring up to the sky, his face emotionless.
"Come on!" Leona shouted aloud to everyone, "We have to go now!"
She ran over to Cathe and yanked her to her feet. Under better circumstances, she would never dream of doing something like that, but their window of opportunity was small and growing smaller by the second. They had a head start and they had to be at least out of his eyesight before he was able to move again. Lloyd being the expert swordsman that he was would not allow for something like this to happen for a second time. Eventually, they were all running, running for their lives even if Lloyd wasn't actively pursuing them at the moment.
If Lloyd was like this, what were the rest of their parents like? She shuddered to think of her own father exhibiting the same behavior and what of her mother who was with child? But then she thought back to what Lucas had said: this was their first major breakthrough. Lloyd was the only one who'd been here. For now, the others were safe, but she had to inform them of the danger.
The next most logical place to go would be to go back home. After all, they were no longer hiding from their parents and Colette was sure to be there. Out of everyone, Leona was sure she'd want to know what's happened to her husband.