Next chapter, finally got some time to write. Only the second month and college is knocking me into the mud and stomping my head into it while singing High School Musical.

The horror.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Lloyd slammed his hands over his ears, attempting to drown out anything his father was trying to tell him. Not that he was telling him much aside form trying to tell him to calm down, and futile, half-hearted attempts to explain to him the situation.

No. No this wasn't happening. How could this be happening-?

"Lloyd-" his father put his hand on his shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" He shouted, backing up, glaring at his father with his teeth clenched. "You- you expect me to just-? You LIED to me! You've ALWAYS been lying to me! You never told me anything- how- how the hell is this possible? How could we be from here? I don't remember this place- I would have-"

"You were only three when we went there, Lloyd," he said softly, his eyes misted slightly as he looked at his son, "I'd be surprised if you remembered anything-"

"Shut up! You lied to- you told me mom died in a car crash! You expect me to just- accept all of a sudden that she never even HEARD of a car?" he snapped, glaring at him as angry tears began to form, which his stubbornly fought. "How is this even possible? How did we get here? How did we get- THERE if we're from here? Why-?"

"We left when your mother died," Kratos said softly, his eyes strangely blank, "You've seen for yourself how dangerous this world is. …Yuan, the one you saw me speaking with, is the one that let us go to Earth. However, recently he…has decided he requires my assistance."

"Wh-? Assistance-? How the hell-?"

"I can only assume when I refused to return, he brought you here so that I would follow," the man frowned, his brow furrowed slightly, "…I suppose he got what he wanted."

"Wh- but- you mean that weird machine thing you had?" he asked, remembering the object his father had tried to use was the same as the one that this 'Yuan' had used to bring him here. "Then why didn't you just use-?"

"I attempted to, however it appears Yuan has cut it off from the system used to power it," Kratos stated, "As such we're stuck here, at least until I can confront Yuan…"

Lloyd stared at him a moment and then groaned, rubbing his face, his body shaking slightly. None of this was possible; this had to be a dream right? Maybe he'd gotten a concussion during the game and he was in the hospital right now, hyped up on morphine or something else that was making him hallucinate. How could this be…it had to be. It wasn't a joke, after all, the world would end before his father made a joke. Besides, it couldn't be a joke, he had seen it all himself. The armored men, the strange chapel, the monsters, the magic, the…'angel'….if he wasn't hallucinating or dreaming, there was no way this could be some sort of elaborate ruse.

"I realize you're upset with me, and you have every right," Kratos' voice came softly, tentatively, "However they will come looking for us shortly, I can not explain much more until later-"

He cut off in mid-word, looking to the edge of the house. Lloyd noticed and looked as well, blinking, trying to figure out what it was he was looking at-

"Uhm, excuse me, Mr. Kratos? Lloyd?" the blonde Chosen stuck her head around the corner. "Professor Sage and my grandmother were wondering if you were almost done?"

Lloyd almost went to speak, though granted he wasn't quite sure what he wanted to say. It didn't matter much, seeing as his father had cut him off again.

"Yes, we are, Chosen," he nodded, walking past Lloyd and to go into the house, "Come along Lloyd."

"C- Come along-? Dad-!"

Kratos didn't say anything. No, he barely moved, all he did was look at Lloyd. That was it; a look, a look that paralyzed Lloyd in mid-breath. He swallowed and then shook his head, looking away.

"Yeah, Colette, we're done," he said quietly.

He still didn't understand this. He still didn't understand any of this…all right, if this was real- he could buy it was a different world, and he even believed what his father said about being from here. After what he had overheard, it made sense, and…it just…made sense. It made sense he was ridiculed and avoided, what better reason could there be for not fitting in than not being from that planet? The thought was bitter and he sighed lightly, his face falling. No, he was just making excuses for himself, wasn't he? It didn't matter if he was from- somewhere else, right? They treated him like that because of…he himself. He clenched his teeth and then brushed the thought away. It wouldn't help anything; moping and feeling bad for himself wasn't going to help anything either. He had to wrap his mind around this; he had to deal with the situation at hand, right? They couldn't go home-

….Wait.

Wasn't this what he wanted?

Well okay, finding out everything he knew was a lie, he was an alien and ending up on another planet wasn't exactly what he wanted, but the not going 'home' part? That was exactly what he wanted. He had been sick of it all, tired of the secrets, tired of living day to day with that loneliness, tired of being out of place.

And now here he was. Someplace new, someplace fresh, someplace with people he didn't know and didn't know him, someplace where… The thought came to him and he almost discarded it, but found himself thinking of it again. He had always felt he didn't belong, and now with all this, it meant…could that mean…he belonged here? Okay, well, he knew that simply being born somewhere didn't mean you belonged there, right? Still…this all seemed so unreal. Then again, maybe that was something he wanted to. He was sick of reality- his, reality….anyway. Sick of being alone and in a rut. Okay so this place looked like a third world country and it was obviously dangerous, but…but that meant- that meant he could do something here, didn't it? It meant he'd be able to be useful in the only way he was useful. Back home, no one wanted his help. Needed, sure, there were many a dweeb he'd saved from being locked in a closet, but even then, they always ended up in the same situation, and avoiding him even. He was useless; he could beat people up, so what? What good was that? Beating people up got you in jail. But here….he'd helped Colette and her friend, hadn't he? Yeah…yeah he had. Even if it was something as absurd as beating up giant spiders, he had done something useful, he was needed…

Needed! Appreciated even! She had said thank you! He'd been so wrapped up in his shock and anxiety he'd almost forgotten! Wow….

Maybe- maybe this was a good thing. Wasn't it? After all, he'd gotten his father to tell him more in the last five minutes then he had ever told him the majority of his life, and- and…

He could learn more about his mother….

A bubble of excitement welled up inside of him and the best he could do to suppress his oncoming grin was a smirk. He was going to get his answers, all of them, it was only a matter of time. His father would have to tell him everything, so he wouldn't cause a scene. And apparently the gems- exspheres- were common here too…that was…normal. In fact, maybe he could be 'normal' here too- …okay well any chance of that was dashed the second he fell out of the sky wearing jeans and a jacket, but…

Well, it was better than taking the garbage out.

He had to jog to keep up with his father's steps, looking up at the tall figure that held his hand as he leaded him through the bustling lobby. He had to hold his hand and keep close, because it was easy to get lost. Today was a special day, it was his birthday, so they were going to go somewhere, Daddy said. He was five today, and he was going to start kindergarten in a couple weeks. It sounded exciting, daycare had gotten pretty boring after a while, though he did like watching cartoons. They didn't have a TV, his dad said it was a 'waste of time', which made him kinda sad, though it didn't stop him from going around the house singing the 'Duck Tales' theme song (regardless of how it drove his father to the brink of his sanity).

Anyway, today was his birthday, as such, his daddy had told them he was going to do something special for him. They had gone to a big building with a lot of people and lots of pictures on the walls, and candy and other good smelling stuff was being sold behind a counter. It was called a 'movie theater', it was his first time ever going to one.

"Can we get popcorn?" he asked with a grin, looking up at his father, who merely nodded.

"Yes, but only a little, you'll get sick if you eat too much," he had said, his russet eyes scanning the area as they took their place in line.

"I like movies," he grinned again, bouncing on his feet, "Stacy let us watch Care Bears."

The girl that worked at the daycare center had a lot of movie she'd show them right before naptime, Care Bears, Toy Story, The Land Before Time, and a bunch of other ones he didn't always remember the names of. He liked them all, especially the ones with bright colors and strange places, places that fed his already 'overactive imagination' as he had been told. Of course, how could he not be entranced by them, though, when it was a window to an entirely different world? Someplace new and exciting! Something he never got to see at home, where there really wasn't much to do, since Daddy wouldn't play with him….so he'd imagine up his own places, acting out things with his toys.

Oh well, today was special, his Daddy wasn't only going to let him watch a movie, he was going to watch WITH him! What more could he ask for?

"I know you do," Kratos said softly, a weak smile coming to his lips as he looked down at his toddler son, "…Every once and a while is okay, I suppose…it is your birthday after all."

"Uh-huh! I'm five!" he grinned, holding up his free hand to his father to demonstrate five with his fingers, "See? I can count."

He smirked a bit and ruffled his sons' hair, then looking back up as they moved up in line.

"Daddy, what movie we gonna see?"

"A cartoon," he said, not looking down at him, "That is what you like, is it not?"

"Uh-huh," he grinned, nodding his head up and down, "What cartoon?"

"It's called 'Hercules' apparently," he stated, and from his tone, anyone could tell he was completely unenthusiastic about the endevour.

Of course, anyone except his excited little son.

"Oooh ohh!" he bounced up and down, ecstatic. "I saw a c'mmercial for that, it's Disney."

"Commercial," his father corrected, glancing down at him again, "And yes, I believe it is."

He had loved it. The brunette boy had been ecstatic, and wouldn't stop talking about the movie they had seen, leaving his father to crack a small smile, baring his annoyance in order to enjoy his son's happiness. Like any child would, he would often go around proclaiming himself to be the hero, fighting imaginary monsters and living out his fantastical adventures.

So it was no surprise that one the movie came out, on the bulky old VHS tape, that Kratos conceded and finally purchased their first television, along with a VCR and a copy of the tape. He nearly regretted it within the next week, as his son seemed to watch that movie at least three times a day. Lloyd sit and watch with rapt attention, his brown eyes wide and starry as he watched the animated images flash across the screen. It wasn't until one day did this really begin to concern his father; when Lloyd had attempted to lift the sofa, exclaiming that he was 'a hero too'.

Kratos watched with his head tilted in mild amusement, watching as his son strained and struggled to no avail with his little arms. A weak smile cracked his face and he shook his head, walking over to Lloyd so that he could tell him to stop.

Then it happened.

Lloyd lifted the sofa a good ten inches off the floor.

Kratos choked, his eyes widening as his own son gasped, surprised at his own feat. His father quickly pulled Lloyd away, the sofa setting back to the ground with a thud. Lloyd stared at it, his father staring as well, his arms tightly around his son, shaking slightly.

However Lloyd's shock wore off relatively quickly.

"I did it! Daddy I did it, I'm str-"

Kratos set him down quickly, looking at him as his face paled, an expression of quiet horror etching into his face. Noticing his father's face, his own fell, frowning a bit.

"Daddy?"

He said nothing for a moment, then looked at the sofa, then back at his son.

"…Do that again Lloyd," he said quietly.

"Huh?" Lloyd blinked.

"Do it again," he said.

Lloyd blinked and frowned a bit, wondering what it was his father was upset about. Regardless, he turned to the sofa and tried to lift it again, how he had before-

And nothing happened.

A little pout came onto his face and he tried again, struggling and grunting, but he couldn't even budge it. Kratos'd body relaxed, though his expression didn't, eying his son. Had it just been a fluke? A freak occurrence? He had no other explanation- …aside from the obvious one; but it wasn't happening again…so that must mean for now at least he had nothing to worry about. Still, he would have to keep a close eye on his child…

Lloyd didn't understand it.

His father had told him that he was too small, wasn't strong enough to do what he had done, or what he thought he had done, as he told him. Too little, too weak, too small, there was no way he could do that.

But he had, hadn't he? He remembered, he remembered lifting it up. Was that really just his imagination? He kept trying, when his father wasn't around, kept trying to lift it up again, but nothing would happen.

As he grew older he began to doubt it had happened at all, began to believe what his father had said, about it just being his imagination; the imagination of a little kid. It made more sense the older he became, the more he became convinced that it had never happened at all. Regardless, despite how he began to (to Kratos' relief) stop watching that aging movie, it still remained his favorite. He'd daydream to himself about heroic adventures, from that and from the various other stories and games he had come to see throughout the years.

Fifth grade, fifth grade when he should have been in sixth, sitting by the window, looking out into the open as his teacher talked and talked and talked; wondering if the clouds coming in would mean rain. Rain'd be nice, actually, he thought to himself. It'd been way too hot lately as it was, and it never seemed to rain enough, in his opinion. Sure he liked sunny days too, but the rainy ones were just as nice in their own way. Besides, on rainy days they had indoor recess, where they got to stay inside and play boardgames… Of course, he would always prefer to go run around outside, but…

At least during indoor recess, people had to be around him.

He got his wish, as rain began to fall during the time they would normally have recess. Suppressing a grin he bounced over to the case where they kept the board-games, watching for someone to pull out a game he wanted to play. Then he'd ask if he could play too; they'd let him, right? Most of the time they let him, because they needed another player, so they would let him today right? Well…usually. Today when he asked a group, mustering up his courage, they told him no, saying that they had enough people already, that there wasn't room for him. He said he understood; said it was okay, but still was pretty sure that they were short one person…

After that he didn't ask anyone else. He should have, he knew, he should have seen if someone else would let him play with them, but after being told no, he couldn't find him in it to do so. Instead he went back to his chair, looking out the window, propping his head up in his hands, looking out into the rain. He looked back at the group he had asked, seeing they had started to play and they did have one spot open. He blinked and went to say something, cutting off when another kid walked over and asked if he could play.

They let him.

Lloyd stared a bit, feeling his mouth open slightly. They…let that kid play but not him; they told him they didn't have any room and then they just-

Was he really so surprised?

No. He wasn't, this wasn't the first time this had happened to him. Gritting his teeth he looked away and stared back into the rain, ignoring the sting coming to his eyes.

Why? What was wrong with him? Why did they like other people more than him? Why would they play with other people and be nice to them but they wouldn't let him? What was wrong with him? What had he done? Why- why-

He clenched his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, his hands gripping into his arms as he crossed them over his chest.

It was a horrible feeling, simple as it was. The simple feelings of rejection, of loneliness; somehow hurt more than words could really describe; to think that people didn't like him hurt, it hurt to think of even one person, but if it had just been one person, he could have handled it..but…everyone? Why everyone? Why…why didn't he fit here?

He frowned and opened his eyes, looking out into the rain, his eyes misted. Was this how Hercules felt, he wondered, finding his thoughts going back to the favorite thing of his younger years. When everyone rejected him, when the guys with the Frisbee wouldn't let him play with them, when they lied to him and called him a freak just because he was…'weird'? He had heard that word a lot too; 'weird'. Weird meant…he didn't belong, right? Not belonging or fitting in meant you were weird; but Hercules was 'weird' because he didn't belong there anyway, he was from somewhere else-

Wait, could that be it?

Could it be he was supposed to be from somewhere else? Was it somewhere he could go? Was there someplace, somewhere, where he could go and he could belong and fit in? Where he wouldn't be 'weird', where people would be nice to him- even like him?

He was distracted the rest of the day, the thought bothering him, and when he got him, his Dad wasn't back from work yet. Looking around the empty apartment he bit his lip, then walked into the living room, dropping his backpack on the sofa. He shuffled through the small collection of movies he had, pulling out the one he sought, frowning as he scanned the cover which was beginning to get a thin film of dust. Was twelve too old for this? He was going to be a teenager soon, wasn't he? Still, it's not like anyone would know if he did watch it.

So watch it he did, as the rain poured harder outside he watched the beginning of the movie, his frown deepening as he saw the scene that he had recalled earlier that day. All he did was ask to play Frisbee with the guys and they had lied to him, called him names, laughed at him, and when he tried to help and things went wrong, everyone blamed him, everyone called him a freak….it was a little too..close. He nearly considered turning it off, when the scene shifted to the 'hero' and his father.

"I try to fit in, I really do, I just…can't."

His finger stopped a centimeter from the off button.

"Sometimes I feel…like I don't really belong here, like I'm supposed to be…someplace else."

"Son…"

"I know it doesn't make any sense."

He drew back, watching as the hero walked off on his own, and the background music of a familiar song met his ears. Lloyd sat again, watching as the teenager on screen looked off into the horizon and began to sing, sing about a far off place that he dreamed off, where he would be welcomed, where he'd be 'where he's meant to be'.

"I know every mile, will be worth my while, I would go most anywhere to feel like I belong,"

Was there somewhere he could go too? He would do the same, he told himself, he would go as far as he needed to go, overcome anything he needed to do, do anything and go anywhere to find where he would belong; but did that place exist for him?

Well…it might, right? It was worth trying then…

He shook his head, frowning a bit to himself. What had brought that on? He had more important things to think about right now.

"So these are the ones that assisted the Chosen?"

The man speaking was a fat, ugly old man, and Lloyd briefly wondered who this guy was, hoping it wasn't Colette's grandfather or something, he'd feel bad about thinking that if he was…

"Yes, Mayor," her grandmother nodded, "I witnessed it myself."

"The younger one is dressed strange," he said, his eyes narrowed.

"Hmph, not the only thing strange…" Raine muttered, glancing over at him and his father.

Lloyd anxiously looked between them, biting his lip. What was he supposed to say? Given by the look his father was giving him: nothing. He frowned as his father stepped forward and began weaving the same lies he had told Raine, leaving Lloyd to eye him from the back, wondering what function a swallow-tailed cape could possibly serve. His eyes glanced around nervously, taking in the room, the people, the blonde man he assumed was Colette's father, Raine and Genis to the side, eyeing them warily, and Colette herself, sitting at the table, her hands folded in her lap, her wide blue eyes glancing at him. Her eyes were huge, he thought, so were Genis', was that normal here? Well…hers looked cute on her, anyway…

Maybe he could spend more time with her.

Wrote this because had class off today! :D Still have so much studying and reading to do oh wells, got to have some fun first at least.

Hope you enjoy