caughtinanetwork | Dream/Video, arrival in the plaza

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Dream/Video, arrival in the plaza

Dream

It's hard to say who exactly is the one dreaming - it seems like more of a memory, playing from behind the eyes of the one that lived it. There's a plainly dressed brunette woman playing with a small boy nearby, a toddler still really. Though both of them are dirty and a little tired looking, through the eyes of the person watching they're the most beautiful sight imaginable. The boy turns and toddles near, holding his hands out. The viewer lifts him up, earning a gleeful little laugh for his troubles.

"Ride?" the boy asks.

A deep voice responds, "All right, Lloyd."

And the dream cuts out as he starts to regain consciousness.

Action

Kratos opens his eyes, just barely finding the strength to sit up. If this is the afterlife, should he feel so weak? It's certainly not what he expected.

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[There's a hint of frustration in his voice as he tries to stay calm in the face of Lloyd possibly being dead. He doesn't want it to be true, so he tries to think otherwise for now and simply answers his question.]

I awoke here. I do not know why.

[Dammit, why is it so hard to get a straight answer from this guy?]

Do you really expect me to believe that? It always seemed like you knew something about everything.

You know all that I do, now. There's nothing more to say. Lloyd, is this...

[He can't bring himself to ask. Kratos lowers his head, quieting again.]

Did you gain mastery of the Eternal Sword?

[A slightly more roundabout way of asking if he survived.]

[What.

Kratos spoke, and Lloyd understood, but suddenly he's not making sense.]

What are you talking about?

[A slight suspicion gnaws at his mind, though, making him glower at the man.]

Do you really think you can lecture me about practicing after everything that's happened?

[Everything that's happened? He draws in a quick breath, staggering towards Lloyd and trying to get a better look at him.]

What do you mean? What has happened?

[Lloyd just gives his former mentor a look.]

You know exactly what I'm talking about. Or have you forgotten Yggdrasill?

[He is, of course, referring to when Kratos betrayed them all, was even willing to stand aside while Yggdrasill finished them off then and there in that disastrous encounter in the Tower of Salvation.]

No!

[It sounds like it was meant to be a shout, but his throat has constricted so tightly that it barely comes out as a croak. Lloyd can't have lost to Mithos, he can't...

...of course he could have. It was foolish to hope he would win from the start. He shouldn't have given in to weakness, should have just taken Colette to Mithos like he wanted, should have stuck to the plan...]

I'm sorry, Lloyd... I didn't want...

[Kratos... apologizing?

Okay, something is really wrong.]

[He looks at Kratos a little closer now, frowning, still suspicious but now also confused. Didn't want what?

Not that he's going to back down completely, though. He's still more than a little bitter about what happened?]

Maybe you should have thought about that first. Aren't you the one always lecturing me thinking about consequences of your actions? What did you think would happen?

[His voice is soft, broken.]

I thought that you might win.

[Of all the things Kratos could have said, that's probably the last thing Lloyd expected. Startled, Lloyd completely forgets that he's angry.]

You... You did?

[Wait, that doesn't make any sense.]

Wait, you thought I could win against you, or him?

Both. You are correct, though. I should have known what would happen.

[He lets himself slump back down to the ground, utterly devastated and too exhausted to bother standing anymore.]

[But that would mean...

He'd wanted Lloyd... to win?

But then, why would he have fought them in the first place? Why would he have chosen to keep working against them after they'd escaped? Why hadn't he come back and tried to explain? It's not adding up.

But there isn't any time for Lloyd to do math. For the second time in less than five minutes, he starts in surprise, alarm crossing his face.]

K-Kratos? What's wrong?

[Without thinking, he drops down beside the man. Kratos just doesn't slump like that!]

I released Origin's seal.

[He says it like it should explain everything. And if Lloyd were from the same point in the timeline, it would - obviously Kratos lacks mana, and Yuan isn't here to give hm more. He looks dizzy, briefly wondering why the afterlife is so physical. He'd hoped that it would be more vague than this, less like living.]

[Unfortunately, for Lloyd, it doesn't explain anything at all. All Kratos receives in return for those words is a completely blank look on Lloyd's face.]

What's Origin's seal? What does that have to do with this?

[Awkwardly, almost reluctantly, he puts a hand on Kratos's shoulder.]

...are you hurt?

[The betrayal still stings, but that doesn't mean he wants to see the older man suffer.]

[He has to chuckle at that, covering half his face and shaking his head. They're dead, he's the one that got them killed, and Lloyd is worrying about him.]

I was, yes. It does not matter now.

[Dammit, Kratos is dodging his questions again. Why is he not surprised? Lloyd sighs irritably, then decides to focus on what's more important.]

Of course it matters. If you're hurt, you need to be healed.

[In fact, he's not going to give Kratos a choice. Hooking an arm around the man, he tries to help him stand.]

Come on. I can't be mad at you when you look like you're half dead.

[The small smile remains on his face at Lloyd's words as he allows himself to be maneuvered. Anna had often scolded him for the same thing.]

You sound like your mother.

[There's no mention of how he would know what Lloyd's mother sounds like, but there is more than a little fondness in Kratos's voice at the thought.]

[Lloyd stiffens, his head snapping up with shock.]

What do you know about my mom?

[The smile is gone in an instant, replaced with confusion.]

Yuan told you. I was there...

[There's no way that Lloyd doesn't know, is there? He has to know at this point, it doesn't make any sense!]

Yuan's never said a thing about my mom. What're you talking about? And stop avoiding my questions! How do you know my mom!?

[He might've been willing to drop the issue of Origin's seal and how exactly Kratos got hurt, but this? No way. This is about his mom. No way is he going to back down now.]

[Presented with suddenly having to tell Lloyd that he is his father, Kratos is at a complete loss for words. Instead of speaking he unclasps a locket from around his neck, hands shaking slightly with the action as he opens it up and hands it to Lloyd.]

This is your mother, Anna.

[It's that little boy. The one he just saw in that... whatever it was he had seen. And there's that woman. And...

And Kratos. Kratos smiling with the woman and with... with a little boy named Lloyd.

For a moment it feels like the world is squeezing around him. He can't think, he can't feel, he can't breathe. His mind can't process what it is he's seeing - or more importantly what it means.]

N-no.

[He shakes his head, letting go of Kratos and backing up a step.]

No, you're lying. That's not my mom. That's not me!

Edited 2012-04-26 03:05 (UTC)

[Though he deserves it and he knows it, somehow it hurts even more having Lloyd deny him a second time. He tucks the locket away and gently as he can manage.]

You may deny me if you wish, but do not say such things about Anna. She is your mother.

I don't know what my mother looks like! All I have is your word that that's her!

[Something like panic is welling up inside him, making his heart pound in his chest. Even his breath is coming more rapidly. Hyperventilating. He doesn't care.]

I can't believe you're my- You're not! You can't be! It doesn't make any sense!

Dream/Video, arrival in the plaza

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