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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What the fuck are you even talking about, you jackass?!

[Hands release and Zelos drops Kratos back to the ground in a unceremonious heap, his rage fueled by Kratos's resignation. He thinks they're in Hell and he's just okay with it?!]

You're not dead, as much as you deserve it. [As we deserve it.]

Lloyd has released Origin's seal. There is very little chance that I survived. Don't try to fool me.

[He levels his gaze up at Zelos, as infuriatingly emotionless as ever - or almost as. There's a spark of denial there. Kratos doesn't want this to be something other than the afterlife.]

[Oh. Oh. Well then. This is good.

A cruel smirk spreads over Zelos's face.]

Oh no, you lived. Why would I lie about that when I'd rather see you dead anyway? In the infinite kindness of your kid, you live another four thousand years of your miserable existence. Isn't that great?

[Thanks Dhaos.]

You're lying.

[But there it is, the thing that Zelos has always sought from Kratos but never received - a reaction. His eyes are wide and his breathing is coming faster. What sort of hell would tell him that he lives?]

[And look who just showed up to complicate the situation. Upon seeing the video transmission, Dhaos hadn't been sure what to think. His mentor couldn't possibly be here, and yet... He would know that voice anywhere. And so it was that small spark of rekindled hope that brought him out of Zelda's house and down to the plaza, only to find that Zelos was here, yelling at...]

...Uncle Kratos...?

[Could it be? This is so completely perfect Zelos couldn't have orchestrated it better if he'd tried. His grin turns to nothing short of the one worn by the proverbial cat that's caught the canary as he looks down his nose at the other redhead.]

See? Here's one of your emotionless little proteges now~

[Still weak from a lack of mana, he looks up at Dhaos.]

You are an angel...

[And yet, there's something different about him. For all Zelos is calling him "emotionless", to Kratos's eyes it seems like Dhaos is anything but.]

You...don't recognize me...

[A series of emotions runs across his face in rapid succession. The one that finally stays is a barely-there mask of stoicism to conceal the last bit of his heart shattering. This...this was far worse than never seeing the man again.]

[Really Zelos only meant to get under Kratos's skin. Seeing Dhaos's expression so close to tears again takes most of the wind out of his sails and that shit-eating grin falls from his face into a sigh.]

He's from my time, your stuff hasn't happened yet. Like we told you the other day, this place drags people from all different times.

[He shoots a needling glance at Kratos.]

Alive.

[At that Kratos looks to Zelos again. He'd gone and basically hid on the other side of the coral after speaking with Lloyd, trying to make sense of the conversation and failing - but if people could be pulled from different times... he licks his lips and speaks hesitantly.]

...when is Lloyd from?

Judging from the conversation I had with him, I'd say prior to... [His eyes widen as a thought hits him.] ...Origin's Seal...

[And suddenly, Dhaos realizes what it was about the red-clad hero's mana signature that seemed so familiar. Unable to completely process the fact that Kratos' son that he completely failed to mention to him was Lloyd Irving, Dhaos is reduced to staring in dumb shock.]

Woah hold on back up, you saw Lloyd already?

[Well shit. That can't have gone well. He'll have to track down his friend when he's finished here... but he still has steam to blow off and railing about Kratos wasn't going to be something Lloyd wanted to hear.]

Does it even matter when he's from, anyway? He doesn't need someone like you fucking everything up.

It does matter. If he does not know what happened to his mother, he deserves to know. I believe he is unaware. However... you are correct. It would be better if we did not speak again.

[He dips his head to Zelos, looking somewhere far beyond tired.]

Would you tell him?

Are you fucking serious?!

[The yell can be heard clear across the plaza. If there were birds around, it would have scattered them.]

You want me to tell him?! You're actually asking me to tell him?! No! No fucking way! How could you even-- Fuck, you are the worst excuse for a fath- for a person!

[...but if I don't tell him, then Kratos does. It's his responsibility to tell Lloyd he's his father, to explain why he'd killed Lloyd's mother, and that isn't anything that should have to do with Zelos beyond commiserating with Lloyd about idiot, absentee fathers. But what Zelos said was so very true. Kratos fucks up everything where it comes to Lloyd. They both know it. And Lloyd... He should be protected. Insulated from all this bullshit with Kratos.

The worst part, the worst part is he knows Kratos wants him to tell Lloyd the worst possible things to punish himself and knowing that makes Zelos want to be kinder to the man just the spite him.

He never said it made sense.]

...fine, you asshole.

[Dhaos too was unsure how to feel about this entire situation, as little of it as he knew. All he really knew was that his mentor, one of the people he thought he could trust the most, had neglected to tell him he had a son. And while he rationally knew there was no reason to tell him, it still hurt.]

...Was I nothing more than a replacement for Lloyd...?

[The question seems directed mostly at himself. In fact, he seems completely unaware that he said it out loud.]

...thank you.

[He knows that the words will just make Zelos angry, but he has to say them anyway. As for Dhaos... the man referred to him as "uncle", so Kratos can guess at what sort of relationship they must have even if he doesn't recall it. He looks up, angelic hearing easily picking up what Dhaos says. Too tired to be as cryptic as he usually prefers to be, he answers bluntly.]

I have no memory of things that are yet to come, but I would not try to replace Lloyd. People cannot be replaced so easily.

[The Seraph's response to Dhaos is hardly out of his mouth before Zelos's fist connects with Kratos's jaw, the Chosen's eyes blazing.]

Don't you fucking thank me for doing this, you coward! You know full well you should be crawling on your hands and knees and begging his forgiveness.

[Squaring his shoulders with a sudden calm, Zelos whirls around and starts walking out of the plaza, towards the forest quadrant, ignoring any reaction from Kratos and Dhaos all but forgotten; this doesn't concern him, after all.]

I don't give a shit what happens, don't you dare ever ask me for anything ever again.

[Ultimatum given, the Chosen makes to disappear into the nighttime gloom, well aware that if something concerning Lloyd comes into question again, neither of them would hesitate to use the other. That's simply how it always works between the two of them and it keeps the rage boiling in his core long after he's out of sight.]

Edited 2012-04-29 08:58 (UTC)

"What an utterly irritating amount of noise."

He'd be heard before he's seen, appearing in a flash of light in front of all of them. Lord Yggdrasill hovers a few feet behind Kratos, looking from him, to the Chosen, to... who is he? He looks sort of like him, but...

"I was beginning to think you'd never show up." A lie. Mithos had no idea he was coming, but he knows Kratos might believe it anyway. "And as for, I'll be the judge of that. As I am of so many other things pertaining to the likes of you." He says that as he turns to Zelos. Mithos felt... good being in this form again. Much more confident, despite his uncertainty and fear of being in an unfamiliar world still being prevalent; though it was now pushed to the back of his mind.

Yggdrasill paid no attention to Dhaos. He'd question him later. Maybe he was a low-level angel he promoted sometime in his future.

[Well, this is just one big emotional roller-coaster for Dhaos today, isn't it? No doubt about it; from the way this man spoke to his appearance, this was definitely the man all the histories and the stories his uncle told him. ...And quite possibly a potential target if Dhaos can't keep his currently volatile emotions in check.]

...Mithos Yggdrasil I presume? [His words carry more than a slight hint of surprise.]

[The other seraph's name is out of his mouth before he can stop himself.]

Mithos!

[Kratos struggles to stand, nursing the hit Zelos had just delivered. He looks dizzy and a little disoriented, but mentally he's still there for the most part.]

You are in this place as well? Where are we?

[Surely Mithos knows what's happening here. He's certainly acting like he does, at least.]

An angel who doesn't know who I am?

[ It doesn't occur to him that this might be the person Zelos mentioned who was before his time. At least, not yet. Turning away from Dhaos for the moment, Mithos turned to Kratos. ]

Vatheon. I arrived only a week ago.

[ He can tell Kratos is extremely upset and likely on the verge of losing it. Honestly, Kratos is about the closest thing he has to an ally here. Maybe... maybe Mithos can do something sort of nice for him? At least enough to help him relax a bit. He's of no use to him like this. ]

[ Another flash of light, and Mithos is back to his younger form. ]

They told me we were brought here by that strange coral.

[ Back to speaking like a child again, too. What? Don't tell me I was the only one who noticed the difference in the way Mithos and Lord Yggdrasill both talk. ]

It doesn't matter to me. We're here now, and I already tried everything to go back to Derris Kharlan.

[Great. Fucking fantastic. Let's just make his night, shall we? Take a brick of childhood trauma, stir in a handful of Kratos telling him what to do, then top off with a dash of Yggdrasil getting in everyone's faces and voila! The living hell that is the tragic life of Zelos Wilder.

He's just going to turn back around and stand here quietly while the other angels finish and hope to whatever or whoever is listening that he continues to not be addressed.]

[Dhaos blinks at the sudden transformation. That was...different. Then he begins to feel rather irritated that even here he was being brushed aside dismissed again. And wasn't that ultimately why he was here in the first place? His brow furrows as he remembers someone who had been caught in the crossfire caused by this sort of situation.]

...I hope Martel is unharmed... [The utterance is barely worth calling a whisper, and not something he thinks would really catch any of the other angels' attention, absorbed in conversation as they are.]

[He has excellent hearing just like any angel, so his eyes actually flit to Dhaos before he focuses on Mithos again.]

Everything?

[There's more than a hint of incredulity in his voice there. Surely not. Mithos held the Eternal Sword, he could bend time and space if he so chose - and he says he can't get out of this place? Unless they really are in some sort of hell.

Even Mithos wouldn't be able to escape that.]

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[action] 1/2; SORRY DHAOS but Zelos has to respond right away

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[action] Ignore me posting in prose last time.

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