The Lost Civilization: Driven
By: Thomas A. Hawk
Edited by: dashboardgecko
Disclaimer: I do not own Monster Hunter. The rights of the game belong entirely to Capcom. This is a fanwork taking place in the setting of The Lost Civilization, another fanwork of the Monster Hunter games. The world and its characters, apart from those newly created for the sake of this story, are property of dashboardgecko
Chapter 6- The Lost
With a weary sigh, Lloyd wiped the sweat from his brow and made his way back towards the stall Selipa had set up on the thoroughfare. The street was incredibly busy with foot traffic, both hunters and ordinary civilians alike, yet even after almost a week in the desert city he hadn't seen heads or tails of Zack or Fala. Rosa hadn't been kidding when she said this could take a while, but he hadn't been expecting it to be this difficult to track them down.
When he wasn't looking for his friends, he was lending a hand at Selipa's stall, which he hoped might at least help him meet someone who did know where the other two were. He still owed Selipa quite a bit of zenny for helping him get to the city and covering a lot of expenses on the way, but it helped to have someone who knew anything about the city to tag along with as well. He'd have gotten hopelessly lost in the crowded streets in no time at all otherwise.
Despite his initial excitement upon arrival in Loc Lac, Lloyd had quickly realized that this place wasn't quite as spectacular as he had first assumed. For one, the air was incredibly tense. He didn't have to speak with many people to learn that tensions between the Lost and the Therians were at an all-time high. He wasn't even allowed to leave the Southern District because of the barricade set up to keep the Lost and those who sympathized with them in. Even though most of the inhabitants of the district seemed to be Lost, there were still many non-Lost that would go about causing trouble, slinging insults and just doing their absolute best to make life miserable for them. A few hunters had even given him crap for wearing his leather armor, calling him a 'wannabe-hunter'.
Then there was the Lost themselves. Lloyd hadn't really run into many since Nastre, and even though Azale Town was supposed to have quite a few, he only met a handful, and they seemed more or less like ordinary people to him. But here, almost every pedestrian that wasn't wearing some kind of armor was a Lost. He didn't think it was so bad at first, but that was before he really understood what the Lost madness was. His really was tame in comparison to the other people he saw; some seemed to be suffering from schizophrenia, others switched between languages at the drop of a hat, and those were the just common ones. Many of them rambled on about things from their culture, even while just as many seemed to have reasonably adjusted to this new world. It was jarring, to say the least.
And, on top of all of that, apparently there had recently been some kind of incident in the Flooded Forest region (he surmised from the name that it was some kind of tropical rainforest) involving a criminal organization and a huge number of disappearing hunters. He'd been mostly distracted by his search for the others, but he'd heard enough about this place to understand that it was basically human trafficking and dog fighting combined into a whole mess of awful. He'd seen a few of the hunters that had returned from the place, and they looked rough. One girl was even missing both of her legs, while another person was completely wrapped from head to toe in bandages.
He found out from a few customers that the entire thing came down as a result of the actions of the Lost hunters, Levin, Ellie, and a fellow named Harker, as well as a few others. The mention of their names got his hopes up, especially after what Selipa and Rosa had told him a few weeks before about them disappearing for a while, but word on the street was that Ellie and Harker had both died on the return trip due to an illness, and Levin had been arrested almost immediately upon arrival to the city for supposedly angering the Alatreon. Oh, and apparently the council representative of the Southern District had been stabbed by a particularly insane member of the Lost.
So, pretty much every Lost hero was out of the picture.
Fortunately for Lloyd and Selipa, though, Rosa was able to get through the barricade with relative ease, since she wasn't pegged as a Lost sympathizer like the trader was, which Lloyd concluded was because of her largely neutral attitude towards the whole situation. The huntress was able to get them some information about the other districts too, though even that news was typically grim at best. Levin had apparently been paraded around the city by some guy on the city council named Zhanin before completely vanishing- no doubt because of Zhanin himself, who Lloyd was very quickly growing to despise the more he learned about the guy- and much of the populace outside the Southern District was being rallied towards the idea of driving the Lost out of the city entirely.
There was one piece of good news he had learned, though. Rosa had some ties with another huntress named Kerrigan, who was a close friend of the Lost hunters. According to her, both Harker and Ellie were in fact alive and well, just recovering from the illness they had gotten. Levin had lied to the Guild in order to keep them from getting arrested or denied treatment, which Lloyd had to admit was a pretty bold move. In exchange for that information, though, Kerry had made Rosa promise to help bring her the same info she got for Lloyd and Selipa, as she was confined to the Southern District as well, and that was on top of keeping quiet about what she had learned. As a result, the pair had been seeing much less of the huntress lately.
Lloyd couldn't help but let out a groan as he seated himself in the shade of Selipa's stall, watching as the trader finished a sale and waved good-bye to the hunters that had been shopping there. Everything just seemed to be going downhill for the Lost, and there was next to nothing he could actually do about it at this point. He couldn't even find Zack and Fala, and he'd visited almost every tavern around the inn he was staying at already, including the one with the behemoth of a woman they called a bartender. They must've been closer to the Hive or something… He just hoped that he could find them before everything really went to shit. If the Lost got exiled from Loc Lac, or worse, forced out of the country, there was almost no chance at all that he'd ever find them.
If there was any consolation to this, it was that the Alatreon had stopped tormenting him for the entire week now, which was quite the record considering it used to be an every-other-day thing. He'd been able to rest easier at night, at the very least. Despite this, though, he couldn't help but feel like the dragon was plotting something even worse for him…
"Why the long face, Lloyd?" Selipa asked, taking a seat beside him and drinking from her waterskin. "I know it's tough, but we'll be able to track them down eventually."
"I hope so," he replied, watching the people on the street going about their business. "I just really wasn't expecting things to be this bad… For the Lost, I mean. Everywhere I look, it's just more hardship for them. It's not fair."
"It definitely hasn't been easy for them, but you're right. Things have gotten worse since I was last here."
"Travelling almost seemed easier than life is here," Lloyd sighed. "And I've only been here a week. I can't even imagine how much Fala and Zack have had to put up with around here…"
"I'm sure they've managed just fine," she assured, patting his shoulder. "You talk highly about them all the time, after all. If anything, they're probably more worried about you."
"Maybe… Do you mind helping me look around the Hive after closing? Chances of finding them around there are probably the best."
"Sure! I wouldn't even mind closing up a little early; I've made a pretty good profit already. Help me gather up the merchandise and we can be on our way!"
He had to admit, it was a little awkward spending so much time with the trader. Normally Rosa was around to tease them or at least balance the scene out a little with her brusk and unrefined attitude, but since the huntress was normally nowhere to be seen now, they'd been spending a lot more time alone together. He'd likely be thinking less of this if he hadn't learned about Selipa's feelings for him a while back, and how she regarded it as a curse of sorts, but the fact that she knew he was aware of it and was still acting like she always did in spite of that fact made him feel a little guilty, especially when he occasionally caught her gaze and recognized that hint of sadness in her expression before her cheery smile came back.
There really wasn't much he could do about it, though, so he was trying his best to act as he always did as well. He had to focus on finding the others like he had set out to do in the first place. The pair quickly packed up Selipa's wares into a couple boxes and hauled them back to the inn they were staying at before making their way towards the massive structure reaching up the city wall. It was later in the afternoon now, and the heat of the sun overhead was especially harsh, so they kept to the side alleys for shade the buildings provided.
"You know Lloyd, maybe we've been going about this the wrong way," Selipa commented as they rounded a corner. "I mean, the district is huge, so searching on foot is going to take the longest."
"I'm not quite sure how else to look is the problem," he muttered. "There aren't any banners or signs I can put up saying 'hey guys, I'm here, look for me'. I can't exactly fly either, let alone climb one of these buildings for a better vantage point. I'd just fall and break my neck. Normally I'd just give one of them a call, but…"
He frowned as he pulled out the small rectangular screen from his pocket. The phone only had maybe ten percent of its battery left, but even if he had a full charge on the thing, there wasn't any service. The chances of Fala and Zack having their phones too was pretty unlikely. Communication used to be so much easier…
"Well, that still might be a possibility," she continued as he powered down and pocketed the device before looking over at her. "Remember those Felynes wearing the red outfits? Those are postal workers. Maybe you could leave a letter with one of them and they could locate Fala or Zack for you? Those little fuzz balls are pretty efficient with their work."
"Would that actually work? Wouldn't they need an address or something?"
"I'm pretty sure just a description would work out fine… And a pretty hefty tip too."
"Irk… Let's see if we can't find them on our own first," he said. "I'd prefer to try and conserve what little money I have if at all possible."
Try as they might, though, their search ended in failure. They spent the rest of the day going about the base of the Hive, visiting taverns and asking anyone who looked like they'd been in the city for awhile if they'd seen either of the Lost. The closest Lloyd got was a hunter mentioning someone who kind of resembled Zack challenging someone to an arm wrestling contest at a nearby bar several weeks ago (and that certainly sounded like something he would do) but even that visit turned up empty. Whether they were on the other side of the wall or just somewhere else entirely, he didn't know. He let out a defeated sigh as he and Selipa returned to the tavern long after sundown and returned to their shared room (the place had been almost fully booked, but fortunately there were two beds in the last available room, so neither had to spend the nights on the floor or anything).
"Don't lose heart yet, tough guy. I'm sure we'll find them soon," Selipa said with a quick nod as she clambered into her bed. "Do you mind getting that candle?"
"Yeah, sure thing."
He quickly extinguished the small flame beside his bed before turning over and shutting his eyes. Even he couldn't help but start to feel that maybe his search was pointless. This city was huge. There were so many places to search, and the possibility that Zack and Fala weren't even there anymore was still very real. The only lead he had was cold before he even got to the city. Was there even much of a point to searching? He could only let out a sullen, defeated sigh as the thought of finding the pair began to grow further and further away.
"Don't even think about giving up, Lloyd."
He blinked in surprise at Selipa's words, though he remained silent. He supposed the excessive sighing wasn't doing much hide his thoughts.
"I know it's been a rough ride for you, and having your doubts is perfectly normal. You're just human. But if you give up now, then what was the point of it all? You traveled halfway across the country for this, I mean. You fought monsters, and bandits, and-and even despite the danger, the chance of dying, you still kept going forward. You never once thought about giving up before, and I sure as hell won't let you give up now. Besides," she laughed lightly, "after everything Rosa and I did for you, we want to see you all reunite too. So don't lose hope. This ride isn't over yet."
He couldn't help but smile a little at her words. She was right. They were close, and he had been through a ton to get here, enough that it would have been ten times easier to just give up early on. But he was here, and there was no way he was just going back. He would find them. He wouldn't stop until he did.
"I needed that, Sel. Thanks."
Lloyd immediately shot up in bed. It was like an alarm clock had gone off right next to his head, yet the room was eerily quiet. It must've been early in the morning- he could see the sun peeking over the city from the window- but Selipa certainly hadn't been the cause for his abrupt awakening. She was still fast asleep in her bed across the room. Maybe Rosa had snuck in to play a joke on him? No, the door was still locked, and he couldn't hear any giggling from the few obvious hiding spots there were in the room. So what was-
Lost.
His breath caught in his throat as his hand shot up to the side of his head, as if from instinct. After hearing that voice so many times before, how could he not expect the mental assault that usually accompanied it? His breaths quickened, and goosebumps formed over his skin as he anticipated a lance of pain to split into his skull, yet it never came.
Lost; it's such an appropriate name for such a people as you. You have lost so much, haven't you all? Your homes, your lives, your world, your precious technology. All gone, leaving you with nothing but the broken raiment that is left to you.
Lloyd began to shake in place as the dragon's voice continued to resound in his skull. Why was it so calm? This was nothing like the brutal tone it had when it tortured him… And for whatever reason, that was only more chilling to him. Something was very wrong.
No doubt many of you are wondering at the words that you hear, and their source. No doubt a great many of you are questioning your sanities, and wondering whether this voice resounding in your skull is just another like the ones that are already there. But let me assure you of this: I am something far, far worse. I am a creature far beyond your power and understanding. I have existed for millennia, looking upon humanity as it crawled about, trying to attain the dominance over the world that it believed it deserved. I am the one that would reduce the pride that humans had in themselves, to show them how to properly fear the world around them and the beings that deserved their respect!
It was I that erased the world of the Lost, reducing your cities and technology and weapons to nothing! It was I that wiped out the civilization you'd built up to conquer the world and everything in it! And it was I that imprisoned you all in the crystals which carried you here from your ruined existence, allowing you to live in this time in hopes that you would learn from the failures of your past and come to respect and fear my existence!
It was I, the creature that you humans have seen fit to deem the 'Alatreon'!
He shuddered and gasped, apparently loud enough to rouse Selipa from her slumber. The trader sat up and yawned, sleepily rubbing her eyes before glancing over at him.
"Is something the matter…? It's not even sunrise yet…"
He didn't respond, though, wincing as the Alatreon began speaking in his mind once more. His mind was so accustomed to the pain that the dragon's voice brought that he could practically feel the skull-splitting sensation even now.
I once had hope for you 'Lost'. I imagined that with your intelligence and anger towards me, you would become a fine species of human, one that would provide me with challenge and respect. I hoped that you would be able to properly become a notable example to your species, one that feared my existence and came when I called.
But you have all failed me! You are all weak disappointments! You have offered me nothing to enjoy your with your pathetic lives! Your kind has done nothing but infuriate me since you all awoke from the crystal prisons I buried you in, refusing to show the respect and fear towards me that I deserve! That is my right!
A brief flash of the Loc Lac Tower shot into his mind then, though Lloyd had expected something far more horrible and scarring. The Alatreon usually showed him things much, much worse, and his reflexes caused him to physically brace himself for an impact. By then Selipa had awoken more fully, and she gave him a concerned look before getting out of bed.
"Lloyd? You okay? You look really pale…"
I've had enough of you! I despise all humans! Your resistance to follow the path that has been laid out for you is abominable, and I will suffer your opposition to my will no longer! Your kind has proven nonconforming to what I demand of you, and I will not allow this to continue! You should fear me! Hate me! But you have proven too chaotic to even follow those simple tasks, fleeing and hiding and ignoring me due to your pathetic sentimentalism!
Again he was shown the Loc Lac Tower, and once again he shifted back fearfully in his bed in anticipation of a gruesome image or a mental spike of pain. He heard Selipa say something to him, but by this point he was too focused on the Alatreon's speech to even comprehend what she had said.
But enough is enough. I am sick of you Lost, and I am disgusted with humans entirely! I am coming to your city, Lost, the precious fortress your species has built. Humans! I am coming to the impending grave that you have called 'Loc Lac'! I will burn the memory of your people from existence, along with the rest of the humans in that city! I will reduce to ash the arrogance that human 'monster hunters' have built for themselves! Let them never forget the power I possess, and the place of dominance I hold over your species! Loc Lac will be destroyed by my power!
Bide your time well, Lost. You have one day to prepare yourselves for death. It was a mistake for me to transport you here to this time, but it is one that I will soon rectify. I am coming for you, and when I arrive, you will suffer, and you will die, as will the rest of your precious Loc Lac.
It was then that finally, the presence in his mind pulled away, and he found himself able to breathe again. Selipa was worriedly shaking his shoulders, and he returned her gaze with a blank look as the realization of what the Alatreon had said finally dawned on him.
"Lloyd?! What's the matter?! Come on, say something!"
"We… we've got trouble coming."
Lloyd wasn't quite sure what to expect when he and Selipa rushed out the front of the tavern after he equipped his leather armor and his weapons, but widespread panic and chaos was what greeted them. Apparently he hadn't been the only one targeted by the Alatreon's speech: every single Lost in the city seemed to have heard the dragon's words, and now the entire district was in a state of disorder. People were scurrying about, some shouting their heads off about the impending doom that was soon to befall the desert city. They likely would have spread into the rest of the city by now if the barricades hadn't kept them all penned in like this…
"God, it's even worse than I thought," he bemoaned, backing up quickly to avoid the quickly-growing crowd of panicking Lost. "Selipa, we've got to do something to try and keep them calm!"
"What can we do?!" she shouted over the noise of the mob. "There's no way we can get all of them to listen to us like this! And even if there was, what could we possibly say?!"
He hated to admit that she was right. He wasn't good at this sort of thing. There was no way he could get a mob of this size to clam up and listen to empty words. A screaming child or a disinterested animal on the other end of a camera lens was one thing, but this was completely out of his hands.
"We've got to think of something, and fast… The Alatreon's trying to throw the city into chaos!"
"Lloyd, slow down for a second!" the trader urged. "You know that this is the hunting capital of Theron, right? The biggest army of hunters in the country is right here! Attacking Loc Lac would be nearly impossible for any creature, Alatreon included!"
"No, you don't understand… This thing could easily demolish this city! I've seen it myself! Not even the armies from my time could handle this thing, and I'd like to think our weapons were at least a little tougher than big iron slabs and glorified popguns! And they were actually coordinated, not a panicked mass of people going completely mental out of fear!"
He grunted lightly as someone bumped past him, screaming about the end times like half of the mob before them.
"There have to be some people that can help get these crowds calm…"
"Wait, what about Rosa?" Selipa asked a moment later. "She knows lots of hunters that are on the Lost's side! If we can track her down, maybe we can try to get a larger group that'll be able to calm these people down! They can't all be like this, right? You're not shouting your head off, at least."
Little did she know that much of his thought process at the moment was devoted towards internal screaming.
"A-alright, let's try and find Rosa," Lloyd said. "While we're at it, let's see if we can find some calmer Lost to help us out…"
The next four hours or so were a hectic race around the district in search of the huntress and other people that could potentially help sway the crowds of panicked Lost into remaining level headed. They weren't able to locate Rosa (which would have been a miracle anyways, all things considered) though they had managed to start getting a few hunters and other Lost that weren't losing their minds to assist. Even then, Lloyd knew it wasn't nearly enough. There were thousands of Lost in the district, and only a few dozen people actively trying to stop them from panicking. This was a game of numbers, and the numbers were not looking good.
The only good thing he could think of was that the crowd hadn't devolved into rioting and violence. There hadn't been any word of the barricades falling either, so the Lost were still penned in as far as he knew. Whether that would last, though, remained to be seen. The entire situation almost made him want to lose his mind.
"We aren't getting anywhere fast enough like this," Selipa huffed as they came to a stop in an alleyway for a short rest. "We just can't keep up! I have no idea where Rosa could even be in these crowds…"
"Then we're going to need a plan B," the photographer replied, wiping the sweat from his brow. "How likely is it for there to be someone egging the crowds on? Blowing things out of proportion and the like?"
"I-I dunno, probably pretty likely… Why?"
"The first step in getting people to calm down about something- at least, the way it worked back in my time- was getting the media to shut the hell up about whatever it was. It's a stretch, but if we can get those people in particular to calm down, maybe put ourselves in their place…"
"…We could get them to listen to us instead! Genius, Lloyd!"
"Err… Not really, it was just common sense… But I'll take the compliment. For now, I think it's best if we split up and try to tackle different crowds. Head west, and I'll take the center. If you see Rosa, or anyone else we found earlier, tell them to move east."
"Are you sure splitting up is a good idea?!" she called as he began to jog in the direction of the nearest mob. He turned around for a moment and spread his arms in a wide shrug.
"No, but it's the best we can do for now, right?!"
He turned back around and rushed off down the street, pushing and shoving past the members of the mob in his efforts to get to the front. They seemed to be moving towards one of the barricades, and the way they were congealing made it seem like they were trying to listen to someone at the front. How exactly anyone could hear someone else over the constant shouting about the end times and the general panic that had taken most of the district was beyond him. What he did know, though, was that nothing good could come of them coming to blows with the guards stationed at the barricade if things did turn violent. Opinions of the Lost were bad enough as it was!
The trouble was, he had no idea how far away the front of this mob even was. To him, the crowd was like an endless sea of heads, each one shouting or shoving or losing its mind in this ill-fated march. He wasn't making nearly as much progress as he would have liked either... The mob was just too dense to move through quickly. He briefly considered trying to climb onto one of the nearby buildings to see ahead, but he wasn't itching to break his neck any time soon, so he shoved the thought from his mind and kept pushing forwards. After a few minutes of this, though, he saw a relatively empty alley off to the side.
Maybe I can cut through there and circle around to the front, he thought, making his way towards the space between the buildings as fast as the crowd would let him. Eventually, he made it into the alley, and Lloyd began to sprint down the open space, sharply cutting a corner and hurrying on ahead. He grimaced as he saw a plume of smoke rising above the buildings, probably in the direction of one of the barricades. He had to hurry…
Lloyd rushed out of the alley and onto the street running parallel to the one the crowd was on. He glanced to the side, taking note of the fact that a crowd almost as big as the one he had just left was present… except they were heading away from the barricades. Why was this group heading in the complete opposite direction?
His answer came in the sound of a small army's worth of metal boots marching down the street from behind him, and the photographer whirled about in surprise to see a mass of figures garbed in metal armor and wielding all manner of weaponry marching into the district, led by a man wearing a bright red uniform of some kind.
"What the hell is this?!" he grimaced, taking a few steps back and glancing at all of the armored soldiers heading towards him. The man in the red uniform raised one of his arms and pointed directly at him, and a pair of guards rushed out of the group towards him. Lloyd cursed before turning to flee down the alley, but he found that a number of guards were already moving down the path he had taken, presumably to confront the other crowds. He was cut off from that escape route, so he whirled about and began to sprint off towards the rest of the Lost down the street, but due to his brief hesitation the guards were able to catch up with him easily, each one grabbing hold of an arm before dragging the struggling Lost back towards the red-uniformed man.
"Well, what have we here?" the man remarked, looking over Lloyd with an incredibly scrutinizing gaze. "Lost, no doubt, yet armed to the teeth, and wearing armor no less. What are you, some pitiful attempt at a Lost 'hero'?"
"I just happened to be walking down the street when you sent these assholes after me, you son of a bitch!" Lloyd shot back, pulling against the guards in an effort to escape their grip. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"
"I see someone isn't aware of who the members of the city council are, but what can you expect from a foolish, insane man such as yourself? No matter, I haven't the time to deal with a single man when there's a district full of Lost to dispose of."
"You really think marching an army into the district is going to solve this?! You're the one with a screw loose here! God, people like you are exactly the reason I hate politics!"
Lloyd grunted in pain as one of the guards standing beside the council member stepped forwards and drove a gauntleted fist into his stomach, causing him to double over in pain.
"You will not speak ill of Mister Zhanin, Lost! Know your place!"
"Enough of this," the council member sighed. "Siefeld, if you would be so kind, take care of this fool for us. We have idled long enough as is."
"Are you certain that's a wise decision, sir?" the man who slugged Lloyd remarked. "As head of your guard, it's my duty to ensure your safety, and-"
"If you're so concerned, then make it quick," Zhanin ordered before moving ahead with the rest of his army. Siefeld roughly took hold of Lloyd's hood before dragging the Lost towards another alley. He struggled and pulled against the man's grip, but he was still somewhat winded from the blow he had taken earlier, so the effort was half-hearted at best. He watched helplessly as the guards continued their march into the district before Siefeld made a quick turn into an open space between several buildings, maybe about a dozen yards wide and just as long. He yelped in surprise as the man yanked his hood and threw him forwards, sending the photographer rolling across the yard for a few feet.
"Sir Zhanin requested I be quick about this," the guard stated, drawing a large claymore and pointing it at the man. "I would prefer you not struggle much... but it's only fair that I at least allow you the option."
"Ugh… you assholes really have no morals at all, do you?" Lloyd spat as he pushed himself into a crouch. "Believe it or not, us Lost are people too! We just want to live normal lives, but that got stolen from us by that bastard of a dragon called the Alatreon! We've been forced to live in an unfamiliar world where everything we knew before barely even matters! We… I've been torn away from my friends and family with no way of knowing if I'll ever even see them again! And you really think that after all the shit I've been through- that the Lost have been through- we'll just quietly walk out of this city?!"
The photographer reached up for the handle of the broadsword strapped to his back and pulled the blade free as he pushed himself up to his feet, aiming the tip at the man's chest.
"Just try and make me."
"I'll do far more than that."
With a loud roar, the guard charged at Lloyd, raising his sword high and swinging it down at his head. The Lost quickly brought his blade around and braced his palm against the flat of the blade, grunting as Siefeld's claymore slammed into his sword with a resounding clang. The force of the blow was enough to send a shock through Lloyd's arm and force him back a few steps to regain his balance. This guy was strong, maybe even stronger than Rosa. The fact that he could tell that much just from one swing was proof that this guy wasn't Zhanin's guard captain for no reason.
Lloyd shook his arm to get the feeling back into it before darting towards the armored man, grasping the pommel of his broadsword with his other hand and swinging it upwards at Siefeld's chest. The guard swiftly brought his claymore around and blocked the strike, grunting lightly as the weight of the blade shifted his blade slightly, but otherwise the strike didn't have much effect. Lloyd gritted his teeth before swinging again from the other direction this time, only to have the attempt blocked similarly to the first.
"Weak, just like the rest of you Lost," Siefeld sneered before shoving him back with ease and swinging his sword towards Lloyd's neck. The photographer ducked low before the strike could connect, wincing as he felt the blade slice through the air above his head, before lunging towards the guard's stomach in a somewhat awkward-but-powerful lunge.
Unfortunately for him, though, Lloyd's blade simply rebounded off the thick plates covering the man's upper body with the sound of clashing metal. He grunted in surprise and recoiled from the blow, just barely getting outside of the man's reach as Siefeld swung at him again.
I'd say first blood, but you sure as hell aren't bleeding…" Lloyd grimaced, bringing his sword back up as he circled around the guard's side. He briefly debated trying to run or get assistance, but given how fast the other guards had been, he had no doubt that Siefeld would be able to outpace him too. Plus, it was a bad idea to turn your back on your opponent when they wanted you dead, and based on the few swings this guy had taken, he really wanted Lloyd dead.
Lloyd readied himself as the guard charged him again, slashing his claymore down at the Lost at a high speed. Lloyd hopped back to dodge the attack, and as Siefeld slashed at him once more, Lloyd swung his blade upwards, slamming the edge into the flat of the guard's sword. The force of the blow was enough to force the guard's arms up, and Lloyd quickly struck again, bashing the edge of his broadsword against Siefeld's chestplate. The blow knocked the man back a step and left a thin dent in the metal, but otherwise the guard was unharmed.
"Is that really your best, Lost? You might as well stop this foolishness now. You'll never cut through my armor with your pathetic frame."
He hated to admit that Siefeld was right. Whatever metal his armor was made from, it was tough. He might stand a chance if Siefeld wasn't fighting back and he could just keep wailing on him, but that wasn't exactly an option at this point. The man was far stronger than he was, and he likely couldn't outrun him… But that armor was pretty heavy, right? And wielding a giant sword like that had to be a little awkward too, even with his strength. He had the advantage of dexterity. Lloyd smirked as a plan started to formulate in his mind.
There was no chance that he could beat this guy in a straight fight, but he could outmaneuver him. He'd have to fight smart if he wanted to survive this, and Lloyd was not intent on kicking the bucket anytime soon. Not until he found Zack and Fala, at least.
"Alright, let's see if you can hit my 'pathetic frame'!" Lloyd yelled as he dashed towards the armored man. He held his blade out to his side, as though he were going to swing from the right, and Siefeld quickly raised his sword in preparation of the incoming blow. Just a step before the man, though, Lloyd suddenly kicked off to the side, flanking the man on his unguarded right. He swung upwards at Siefeld's ribs, his blade clashing against the man's armor once more and leaving another dent, but also knocking the man back a step from the shock of the strike.
The photographer made to swing again, but Siefled quickly raised his arm up in defense, causing Lloyd's sword to clash off the back of his plated gauntlets with a loud scraping noise. He grunted as Siefeld slashed down at him with the inside edge of his claymore, and the Lost quickly defended the strike as he had the man's first blow, wincing at the sparks that erupted from the blades contacting one another. Siefeld's blade stabbed itself into the ground in front of them, and the handguard hooked over the side of Lloyd's broadsword, keeping him from simply pulling back or counterattacking.
Before he could react, though, Siefeld yanked his sword back up with a fierce battle cry, running the length of his claymore along Lloyd's sword and forcing his arms up. While Lloyd successfully guarded the worst of it, the tip of the guard's sword ended up clipping his waist and tearing a long line up his chest, easily cutting through the leather defense but just barely missing his flesh. Siefeld's swing concluded with him slamming the upper half of his blade into the flat of Lloyd's, tearing the blade from the Lost's grasp and sending it spinning into the air above them before clattering noisily on the roof of a nearby building.
The guard then surprised Lloyd with a shoulder charge, slamming the rounded metal pauldron on his arm into the photographer and sending him sliding across the ground with a heavy thud and a gasp of pain.
"Yu talk a far bigger game than you're capable of, Lost." Lloyd let out a short cough before realizing that the guard had pursued him and was slashing his blade down at him. Lloyd swiftly rolled to the side to avoid the strike, hearing the edge of the blade slam into the dirt, before rolling back onto his feet and reaching for his side, grabbing hold of the fully-loaded USP holstered on his leg.
He whipped the gun out of its holster and pulled the trigger four times, landing four direct shots on the man's chest and causing Siefeld to stagger back from the force of the shots. Unfortunately, it seemed that even his pistol didn't have enough of a punch to pierce through this guy's armor, though the dents were much more noticeable. He shifted his aim up at the man's head, but Siefeld had learned very quickly that he didn't want to be on the other end of the barrel, darting to the side as quickly as he could while Lloyd fired his remaining shots at the man. There were two pings as a couple shots struck his arm and thigh, but they did hardly anything to slow the man down. Lloyd cursed lightly before dropping the spent magazine from his gun and shoving a fresh one into place.
In the time he had spent reloading, though, Siefeld had closed the distance and lunged towards the photographer, slamming his boot into Lloyd's hand and kicking the firearm from his grip. He barely dodged the upward-angled follow up swing from Siefeld's claymore, rolling to the side and whipping his katana from its scabbard before assuming his combat stance.
"You're proving yourself to be entirely too bothersome," the guard scoffed. "Though you are putting up more of a fight than I thought one of you Lost would be capable of. What's your name?"
"Oh, we're doing this now?" Lloyd responded dryly, panting lightly from the effort of the fight. "Let me guess, you want to know my name so that you'll know what to carve into my tombstone when I'm dead or something, right?"
"Not at all. I wish to know it so I can ensure that no one ever hears of you again."
"Ooh, scary. Did you think of that one yourself, or did that asshole from the council help you practice your lines?"
"Mister Zhanin is much too busy dealing with you Lost to waste his time with such trivialities. As a matter of fact, I would prefer it if you would die much sooner, as I have already been away from his side for long enough."
"Hate to break it to you, but I'm not exactly keen on dying at all."
"What a shame that our opinions differ."
Lloyd readied himself as Siefeld charged towards him again, slashing the claymore at Lloyd's chest. The photographer hoped back a step and retaliated with a stab, though the guard was able to bat his katana aside with the back of his gauntlet before the blade could make contact. He slashed downwards at Lloyd's shoulder, but the photographer darted to the side and, with a quick spin, slashed a thin line into the man's upper arm. The strike actually cut one of the straps holding the guard's pauldron on, leaving the thick metal plate hanging loosely and uncomfortably from Siefeld's shoulder.
He quickly reached up and snapped the plate off, though, before hurling the object at Lloyd like it was a fastball. He let out a quick yelp as he twisted to the side to dodge the projectile, gasping as Siefeld again charged him, this time stabbing the claymore at Lloyd's gut. His awkward footing forced the photographer to throw himself to the ground to avoid the strike, though he landed harder on his shoulder than he thought he would, causing him to release his hold on his sword with a shout of pain.
Before he could reclaim the blade, he felt a plated shin slam into his side, kicking him onto his back and putting the blade just outside his reach. He grunted in surprise before rolling to the opposite side, right before Siefeld's blade pierced the ground he had been lying just a moment before. His katana was on the other side of the man now, but his gun was only a few feet to the side. He quickly retrieved the firearm and cocked it to chamber the first round as Siefeld once again rushed him.
Lloyd fired twice, striking Siefeld's chest and his armored shoulder, before hopping to the side to avoid another swing from the guard's blade. Siefeld quickly followed up with an high vertical slash that very well could have sliced the photographer clean in half had he not twisted out of the way at the last second. He brought his gun up to the man's torso as Siefeld made to swing once more, loosing several more shots into the guard's chestplate at nearly point blank range. Six shots rang into the air, and the guard was thrown onto his back with a heavy thud.
And even then, the man was still alive. The bullets had definitely made a mark on his chestplate, and there were a few cracks and splits in the dents where the shots had connected, but none of them had successfully pierced his armor. Lloyd cursed before dropping the now-spent magazine and loading a fresh one in its place, emptying his holster of the last one he kept stored there. Did he even have any more in his bag back at the inn? Now wasn't the best time to think about that.
He instead went for his katana while Siefeld was still getting back to his feet, clutching the curved blade in a reverse grip in his left hand. The guard kept an eye on the gun in Lloyd's hand as he began to approach once more, keeping his blade in front of himself, though whether it was to attack or defend himself, Lloyd couldn't quite tell. The man definitely seemed like he was wearing down, though… so was Lloyd, for that matter. This next exchange was likely going to be their last.
"Leave our city and never return, Lost!" Siefeld roared, a fiery look filling his eyes as charged headlong at Lloyd, his blade leveled beside his head. The photographer grunted in shock at the man's suicidal charge; he was willing to get shot if it meant taking Lloyd down too! Lloyd shot four times, though in his panic only two shots landed, and both pinged off of the man's armor uselessly as Siefeld closed the distance between them in a matter of seconds. Lloyd darted to the side as the man's blade slashed through the air towards him, narrowly avoiding the attack, and he lashed out with his katana twice, striking Siefeld's unprotected shoulder this time and slicing deeply into his flesh, and glancing the blade off of his armor with the second.
The guard staggered slightly as a small splash of blood it the ground, but he didn't relent, slashing once more towards Lloyd with the intent to cleave his head off. The photographer managed to duck beneath the strike, though, and Siefeld's momentum carried him slightly past the Lost. Lloyd twisted about then and stabbed the tip of his katana into the guard's unarmored back with a ferocious shout. The blade went straight through Siefeld's torso, and there was a slight scraping noise as the blade pierced through the damaged section on the front of the guard's chestplate. He let out a gurgled cry of pain as the blade pierced his torso.
Lloyd didn't finish there, though. Taking hold of the blade's handle with his other hand, the photographer began to shove Siefeld towards the wall a few feet in front of them, slamming the guard against the wooden surface and piercing through it with the length of his sword that jutted out of the man's torso. Releasing his hold on the blade, Lloyd leveled his gun at the guard's head.
"We're here to stay, Siefeld."
The man let out a short scream right before Lloyd pulled the trigger the first time. Three more pulls of the trigger, and the screaming stopped. A hole had been bored into the side of the guard's helmet, through which a steady trickle of blood was oozing out. His body had gone limp, and the claymore he'd been swinging so violently before was lying on the ground several feet back behind where his body was still pinned. After a moment, Lloyd turned his head away from the sight and took a deep breath. He'd had to kill a few times before- not since arriving in Theron, but back in his time- but he still hated the idea of doing so, even if it was in self-defense…
He hadn't even thought to spare the man, though. At least before he usually hesitated… He hadn't even killed one of the bandits that attacked Selipa's wagon, and they were criminals! This was a city guard, the head of a council member's security for that matter!
"I just brutally murdered a civil officer," Lloyd huffed, taking a few steps back and resting his back against a different wall. Even if he had been defending himself, there was little chance that anyone else would listen to his side of the story, considering he was a Lost… This definitely wouldn't help opinions of the Lost either, now that he thought about it.
He turned his head to the side as he heard someone running down the alley, grimacing as he realized all of his weapons were either empty or out of his hands… All except the knife Fala had given him back in their time, he realized. Lloyd had only used it for mundane tasks like whittling tinder for fires or cutting ropes, but it might make a decent enough weapon… He reached for the small blade strapped to the back of his belt, praying quietly that whoever it was, it wasn't another guard, and that they didn't want to kill him too.
He breathed a sigh of relief as Selipa rounded the corner instead, her hand on the knife she usually carried with her. She surveyed the scene for a few moments, realizing that the fight that had just taken place was already over.
"I can assure you I haven't been caught in a worse situation than this," Lloyd said dryly, giving her a short wave as he continued to catch his breath.
"Geez... I heard your gun going off a whole bunch, so I figured you were in trouble. Are… you alright?"
"I'm not dying at the moment, but I'm probably going to go to jail for this, aren't I?"
"I… wouldn't deny the possibility of that, but as it is now, they'd have to arrest the entire district too. Everyone is going crazy now that Zhanin is dead-"
"Wait wait wait, Zhanin too? What happened to him?"
"He was stabbed in the chest with a hunting knife by the bartender at the Dual Horn Oasis. Word spread like wildfire, and now the guards he marched into the district are panicking, and the Lost are starting to retaliate… Things are getting really bad out there, Lloyd."
"And here I thought things might finally start to look up for once… but fuck that guy, he was a dick. Do you know where Rosa is yet? Things might be getting too far out of hand, but we have to try and stop these riots from getting any worse."
"One of the hunters we talked to said he might have seen her moving east, around the Hive. Take a second to catch your breath, and we'll go find her."
After recovering his katana (there was no way for him to get the broadsword, unfortunately) and holstering his empty pistol, Lloyd followed after Selipa as they made their way towards the Lost Hive. He was still a little shaken from his fight with Siefeld, and he could tell the trader was concerned from her frequent questions and worried looks, but he insisted on them pressing forwards regardless. If they didn't stop these riots somehow, the city would never be able to stand up to the Alatreon. It would be there in less than a day at best! If they weren't ready by then…
Still, at Selipa's insistence they stopped at the inn and she gave him a quick lookover (fortunately the inside of the building wasn't nearly as hectic as the outside was) to make sure he wasn't badly hurt. He had a thin cut on his chest from where Siefeld's blade had nicked him, and he had quite a few bruises as well, but fortunately it was nothing overly serious. They got moving after he threw off the ruined leather vest and pulled a cotton shirt on, and grabbed the one spare magazine he had left for his USP as well.
It took them a lot longer to make it to the Lost Hive than Lloyd had expected, though. The day before, it was a simple half hour stroll at most, but with the riots and fighting breaking out everywhere, there was no clear path to their goal that could be considered safe. They stopped several times to try and break up fights or prevent some Lost from slaughtering any of the guards they had managed to beat down. Still, by this point the majority of the Lost that were rioting had broken through the barricades already, and they were likely already further into the city.
So, by the time the pair reached the Lost Hive several hours later, the place was mostly abandoned. Lloyd let out a frustrated sigh as he inspected the damage done around the base of the structure. They had most definitely missed the huntress already, and they were too late to keep the riots contained… things were spiraling out of control. At Selipa's suggestion they headed towards the nearest barricade, but when that search turned up empty as well they decided to try and regroup with anyone else who had stopped rioting or who had been trying to prevent them from happening in the first place. Once more, this trip took far longer than he had been wishing for, as the district was filled with debris and fighting in several places that they had to avoid to the best of their ability, and some they had to outright quell on their own. Lloyd made sure to keep his katana sheathed for those, though. Apparently a hunter had riled up some more of the Lost again and led them into the city proper at some point, but Lloyd had been in another part of the district at the time. It was always something…
Only after running around the district for a few more hours did the pair manage to track down where Rosa was: she had been helping get the people who had been injured in the riots off the streets, and when they found her in the tavern she and a couple other hunters had been busy moving civilians into, the huntress looked absolutely exhausted, both on account of all the effort she'd likely been throwing in to stop the riots, and her choice of armor not helping stave off the heat of the desert. Her expression lit up upon seeing them enter the building, though.
"There you both are! I've been looking all over for you!" she said with a wide grin, waving them over to her table.
"We could say the same thing," Lloyd replied. "For some reason I thought you'd be trying to beat the crowds back yourself, but here you are helping people hurt less."
"Hey, I'm not entirely brutish, you know!"
"I'm just glad to see you're safe, Rosie," Selipa sighed as she took a seat opposite the huntress. "With everything that's been happening today, I thought even you might've gotten caught up in it and gotten yourself hurt."
"Aww, you are SO adorable when you get worried! But I'll fill you in on everything I've been up to in a minute. First, Lloyd? There's someone out back who wants to meet you."
"Huh? What do you…"
"He said he was an old friend."
A slight smile split her lips, and Lloyd's eyes widened in realization before he bolted for the back door of the tavern, all exhaustion forgotten. The shoved the wooden door open and stepped out into the shaded alley, glancing around quickly before his eyes landed on a figure garbed in brown cloak that ended just above his knees. Beneath that he could see a pair of baggy tan pants, and the beat up remains of black combat boots. The hood of the man's cloak was down, revealing a short head of light brown hair clearly grown out from a military style cut. He had an impressive growth of facial hair, as well as a pair of familiar green eyes. He turned his head in Lloyd's direction and, recognizing him immediately, a wide smile split his lips.
"I knew you'd swing by before too long, Lloyd."
"ZACK!"
He quickly rushed towards his old friend and wrapped his arms around his shoulders in a tight hug, letting out a long, joyful laugh at the sight of the man. Zack chuckled lightly before patting him on the back with his right arm, and after a few moments Lloyd released his grip on him.
"Damn, you've gotten a bit beefier since I saw you last," Zack said with a slight grin, his voice sounding a bit raspier than the photographer remembered but holding the same tone he had known for so many years before. "Looks like you've been growing a beard of your own, man!"
Lloyd brought his hand up to his chin, feeling a light stubble had indeed grown out. Oddly enough, he'd never really paid attention to that before now. He chuckled lightly before turning to the side, noticing that Rosa and Selipa were both standing in the doorway of the tavern with elated expressions.
"I found Rosa when she was trying to deal with some of the Lost pressuring the barricade nearby the Hive," he explained. "She kept on saying 'where the hell are Selipa and Lloyd' and after I heard your name, I thought… well, I figured maybe it could've been you she was talking about. So I decided to tag along with her for a while, and here I am."
"Rosa needed our help?" the photographer asked incredulously, shooting the huntress a questioning look.
"Hey, it was getting to be a lot for one person, tough guy."
"But man, do I have stories to tell you," Lloyd said, turning back towards Zack and patting his shoulder. "I mean, after all of this blows over, of course. It has not been an easy hike getting all the way to Loc Lac!"
"I can imagine! This world is a… really rough place like that, yeah? Almost felt like things were easier back in our time… yeah?"
Lloyd raised an eyebrow at the man's tone. Something was off about him. He was never that nervous. And why had it come on so strongly?
"You alright, Zack?"
"Huh? Uh…yeah, I-I'm great. Never better…"
Rosa and Selipa both exchanged glances and turned towards the pair where Lloyd's curiosity grew to concern.
"Zack, you've never been a good liar. What's the matter? It might've been a while, but I'm still the same guy you've known for god-knows-how many years."
Zack met his gaze, turned away, then looked back at him one more. His green eyes seemed like they were tearing up…
"Lloyd, I…"
The man staggered forward and wrapped his right arm around Lloyd's shoulders in a tight embrace.
"I screwed up, man… I screwed up so bad... I'm sorry…" he sobbed, burying his face into Lloyd's shoulder. "It's all my fault… I'm so sorry…"
"Hey, hey, nothing's your fault, Zack!" the photographer replied, patting his friend on the back reassuringly. "Why don't you just tell me what happened, man?"
"F… I-it's… It's Fala…
"Fala's dead, Lloyd."
Lloyd's heart skipped a beat as the words left Zack's lips, and he felt his entire body freeze over in horror. He pushed away from Zack and held onto his shoulders tightly staring him straight in the eyes as his body quaked slightly.
"W…what did you just say?"
"She's dead, Lloyd! Fala died on the way to Loc Lac, and it's my fault!" he wailed, tears streaming from his eyes. "T-there was a monster attack… some giant green monster with these horrible, horrible red eyes… i-it attacked our caravan… I tried getting her to safety, Lloyd, I did! B-but… then it…"
The man reached over and pulled the left side of his robe away, and Lloyd's eyes further widened in horror. Zack's left arm was gone. All that remained from the shoulder down was a short stump of a limb wrapped in white bandages.
"It… It got me, and… and she ran off to distract it while one of the hunters pulled me away… I told her not to go! I did! S-she just didn't listen… She wouldn't listen! B-by the time the other hunters caught up with her… it was too late… T-this was all they brought back…"
Lloyd wordlessly watched as Zack reached behind him and pulled out a blue ribbon stained in several spots with dark patches of blood. He recognized it almost immediately. He had gotten her that as a gift a few years ago. It was her favorite. Fala often used it to tie her hair back. He thought he could still see a few strands of her dark hair stuck to the fabric…
Zack placed the ribbon in Lloyd's open palm before another bout of sobs erupted from his throat and he once again embraced the photographer out of sorrow. Lloyd didn't even respond. He couldn't pull his eyes away from the ribbon in his hand. Not even as he felt tears welling up in his own eyes. Not even as his vision began to quake, and his breaths came quicker and quicker. Everything felt cold, yet something burned and seared him within, a pain like he had never known welling up inside of him. Everything just seemed to fall away as he lifted his head skyward and let out a long, grief stricken shout.
He didn't know how long he stood there, screaming the pain of his loss away. Nothing else even mattered right now. He didn't care that Zack was still clutching to him, letting his own grief at the loss of Fala spill out. He didn't care that Selipa had come up to him and embraced him in an effort to comfort him. He didn't care that Rosa offered words of condolences after she was over the shock of what she had just learned herself, or that she tried to shake him out of his state of grief.
His beloved was gone, and there hadn't even been a thing he could do about it.
He collapsed to the ground and slumped up against the wall, clutching at the sides of his head, hoping and praying that this all was just a horrible nightmare. He prayed and prayed and prayed, yet somehow he knew that this was real. It was just like one of the visions the Alatreon had assaulted him with for countless nights, tormenting and mocking him over how powerless and weak he was, that he wouldn't be able to save her…
There was a slight ringing in his ears for a moment before a thunderous voice filled his head, and he was dimly aware of Zack freezing up and glancing around at the same time.
Humans! The time has come for you to suffer for your pride! Panic! Wail! This city will be razed to the ground!
Lloyd barely even responded to the dragon's call. What did it even matter. After all this time, after this entire journey spent looking for Zack and Fala… Had she been dead this entire time? Had Zack been missing his arm since before Lloyd even awoke? Had… had that dragon known about this? About the complete and utter futility?
The Alatreon. This was all because of the Alatreon. It wasn't Zack's fault, it was that fucking dragon's doing. Lloyd felt his sorrow and despair slowly meld into hatred and fury, all of it directed at the black dragon. Soon, that was all that left. Pure, unbridled rage that wracked his body to its core. This was a fury that he'd never known for his entire life, yet now it had completely consumed him. He wanted revenge.
Weep, humans! the dragon's voice echoed in his mind. Cry out in misery! Know that the time has come for your end, and there is nothing you can do to stop it! Your arrogance and pride has led you to your fates, and there is nothing you can do to stop it! Despair! Despair! Lay down, and let death overtake you!
He recalled the images of the Loc Lac Tower the dragon had sent to the Lost. It was going to attack there. He knew it would. His eyes snapped open, and he quickly clutched the handle of his katana with a grip tight enough to render his knuckles a sickly white color. He shot up from where he was sitting, completely ignoring the concerned shouts from his friends as he ran towards the exit of the alley, making a sharp turn before sprinting off towards the tall structure in the distance.
He felt the Alatreon's presence towards the center of the city. Some feeling, some primal instinct within him told him so. Even from there, he could see the black creature sweeping over the city, razing the ground with fire or lightning or giant shards of ice. Yet even when it disappeared from view, he knew exactly where it was. And he would find it. He ran and ran and ran, never once thinking about how far he had run, nor how suicidal charging towards the flames spewing from the dragon's mouth was, nor that his friends might have been mere steps behind him, shouting and begging him to stop.
"I don't fear you! You bastard of a dragon! I'll kill you if it's the last thing that I do!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, and perhaps through his mind too. He didn't know how he did so, but he wanted the Alatreon to know that he was coming for it. "I will never let you get away with what you've done, not until you or I are dead!"
The dragon landed on the street with a heavy crash that shook the earth, roaring into the sky in a display of power and superiority as the buildings around it crumbled. He didn't feel even a twinge of fear as he continued his mad rush towards the Alatreon, his only thought being 'kill'. That single thought, that one idea drove him onwards, onwards into what very well may be the end of his life.
As he neared the dragon, it turned to face him. Their gazes met. A look of recognition came to its eyes, perhaps even amusement. He didn't care. He'd cut those eyes out of its accursed sockets.
With a ferocious cry, a shout that contained all of his pain, all of his anger and rage, all of his emotions, he leapt at the Alatreon, out of his mind but with his blade in hand.
Author Notes: Please review! Sorry this one was a week late, last weekend was a little busier for me than I thought it would be.
Well, that was quite an eventful chapter, huh? So I miiiight've been lying about the plot to all of you. Just a little, teensy tiny bit. I'd been planning Fala's death since the story actually began, and the idea only got further cemented as I continued to write out each of these chapters. I'll admit, I was a little iffy about having her die instead of Zack though. The original plan was for one of them to have died, and I settled on Fala when I realized it would be much more emotionally impactful, since he's been going on and on about how loyal he is to her for the last four chapters. You didn't think this was going to be a happy story, did you? Lloyd certainly wouldn't think so.
I'll say that I didn't even tell Gecko about that twist until he read it for himself, and I had to come up with quite the series of lies to prevent spoiling this. See, I realized while drafting up this story that, while it had its lighthearted moments, the world of The Lost Civilization almost never works in the favor of the protagonists. Things happen that are out of their control all the time. As I put it to Gecko "Shit seems to go wrong a lot". That's how Nat lost her legs, it's how Jacob got killed by a Rathian, and it's how Fala met her end by the stubby little hands of a Deviljho (bet Lloyd regrets calling them giant pickles now, huh? …Too soon?). Hell, it's how the Lost even ended up in Theron in the first place.
Of course, as to be expected, Lloyd does not win his confrontation with the Alatreon. At all. He actually goes down faster than he did in chapter one since he has no sense of self-preservation, or at least less of it than he did back then, and he nearly dies from his injuries. Why do I say this? Well, it's to let you all know that there's going to be an epilogue chapter too! C'mon, did you really think I wasn't going to make another short story seven chapters long?
During the timeframe of Lloyd and Siefeld's fight in the alley was when Lynn stabbed Zhanin at her tavern. I always found it a little odd that he didn't have someone who was specifically supposed to keep a closer eye on Zhanin and act as his "secret service" if you will, who was specifically supposed to protect him from threats like giant bartenders with giant knives. So, I got to thinking, what if he DID have a guard, but that guard was otherwise occupied at the time? Then it could be inferred that because Zhanin's guard detail was lacking a significant figure that could have ensured his survival otherwise, Lynn had no trouble landing the killing blow on him. So Lloyd indirectly got to help kill Zhanin! Three cheers for stuff! For those wondering, Siefeld's name is pronounced Zee-Vehld, as it takes some cues from Germanic names.
Also, in the vein of The Master Corps, there actually was a song I used to help write the fight scene to. This one was Lost by Avenged Sevenfold, which was totally not at all intentional on my part. (Spoiler alert: it was.) The actual "theme song" of Driven was also by that same band, and the song's title is Unbound (The Wild Ride). Given them a listen sometime if you'd like!
And, lastly, I think I'll reveal something that I have been dying to know since I started writing this story, and hopefully, you all have been too. By word of the original author of The Lost Civilization himself, dashboardgecko, The Lost Civilization: Driven is CANONICAL with the events of TLC!
Playing: Super Smash Bros. 4, Fire Emblem Fates, MH4U
Watching: Noragami, Game of Thrones (Totally not the inspiration for named character deaths. Spoiler alert, that's actually true)