Kratos closes his hands into tight fists, the hilt of of his sword digging into the skin of his fingers in a way that's grounding, almost comforting. He tries to breathe around the erratic roaring of his ether, the way-too-loud thump of his heart, beating off-beat to everything else inside of him. (He wonders not for the first time if it would just be easier to cut himself open and rip the damn thing out, but likely it is too late for that and he cannot afford dying, not now, especially not now.)
Malos remembers him. Anna is alive.
Martel is in a cannon.
That's all that matters, Kratos. You have to get to her, get to Mithos. Just focus on--
Lloyd speaks. Quiet and confused and hurting, a little desperate "You left" that Kratos tucks away to worry about later, as the severity of Lloyd's current condition makes itself apparent to him. The boy appears to be hyperventilating, and-- The mines. The mines are not safe for humans to travel through, not if they are in here long. Worry for his son (even if that is not his son) overrides his panic, for just a moment.
"How long have you been in here?" he demands of Malos.
"A while," Malos admits. "We got stopped by a bunch of fucks who wanted us dead, and between that and the cannon blast--" Kratos flinches at the mention of the blasted machine, not wanting to be reminded (as if he could forget). "--I think the ether levels in here got fucked, so we really gotta move."
Yes, he does. Martel is in a cannon and he is wasiting time he is wasting time--
(Martel, trembling in his arms clinging to his shirt not again she pleads never let them put me in that machine again she pleads and never again he promises, never again--)
"Hey, Kratos," Malos' voice cuts through the fog, and Kratos slams himself back down into the present, anchoring himself with the still-too-fast-too-loud beating of the heart he never asked for. "Stay with us, will--"
He cuts off abruptly, and before Kratos can ask Malos has shoved a knuckle in his mouth and bitten down on it, eyes squeezed shut with both the pain and the effort of keeping a scream in his throat. Confusion and discomfort roil up in Kratos' chest, under the roar of
Martel is in a cannon Martel is in a cannon and you are half a continent away from her while she is suffering, you need to hurry, you need to get her out before they fire it again you PROMISED--
"Fuckin, hell," Malos wheezes, finally. He sits down and shifts, yanking up the leg of his pants so he can assess damage. Kratos doesn't even bother looking becuase he doesn't care, he's wasting time-- "Well," Malos says, voice tight. "That's one way to stop a wound from bleeding. Fuck."
Martel is in a cannon. Anna is alive. She's alive, and every pain she feels Malos feels reflected. (Martel is in a cannon, this doesn't matter--but Anna is alive. Doesn't that matter just a little?)
"...Anna?" Kratos asks, unable to articulate much else while he is warring with his mind such as he is.
Malos nods, short. "She's- unconscious, now. On the other side of that rubble." He gestures too specifically to be pointing at anything other than Anna herself. "Shit, fuck," Malos wheezes. "If- If you got an idea how to get through that, that'd be great, but-- Gimme a minute if you need my help. If I move I'm gonna pass out and that's the last thing y'all need right now."
"Right," Kratos says, turning to the problem. (Martel is in a cannon-- you cannot reach her until you get past this wall of rubble, anyway.) He wishes briefly that Presea was here, because an earth blade would certainly have better luck than he would. But a concentrated blast of ether, though sloppy, would likely--
Oh.
Kratos hastily slams a shield up around himself and his companions as the rubble explodes.
TAKES A HAMMER TO THE TAG IT'S FINE IT'S FINE
Malos remembers him. Anna is alive.
Martel is in a cannon.
That's all that matters, Kratos. You have to get to her, get to Mithos. Just focus on--
Lloyd speaks. Quiet and confused and hurting, a little desperate "You left" that Kratos tucks away to worry about later, as the severity of Lloyd's current condition makes itself apparent to him. The boy appears to be hyperventilating, and-- The mines. The mines are not safe for humans to travel through, not if they are in here long. Worry for his son (even if that is not his son) overrides his panic, for just a moment.
"How long have you been in here?" he demands of Malos.
"A while," Malos admits. "We got stopped by a bunch of fucks who wanted us dead, and between that and the cannon blast--" Kratos flinches at the mention of the blasted machine, not wanting to be reminded (as if he could forget). "--I think the ether levels in here got fucked, so we really gotta move."
Yes, he does. Martel is in a cannon and he is wasiting time he is wasting time--
not again she pleads never let them put me in that machine again she pleads and
never again he promises, never again--)
"Hey, Kratos," Malos' voice cuts through the fog, and Kratos slams himself back down into the present, anchoring himself with the still-too-fast-too-loud beating of the heart he never asked for. "Stay with us, will--"
He cuts off abruptly, and before Kratos can ask Malos has shoved a knuckle in his mouth and bitten down on it, eyes squeezed shut with both the pain and the effort of keeping a scream in his throat. Confusion and discomfort roil up in Kratos' chest, under the roar of
Martel is in a cannon Martel is in a cannon and you are half a continent away from her while she is suffering, you need to hurry, you need to get her out before they fire it again you PROMISED--
"Fuckin, hell," Malos wheezes, finally. He sits down and shifts, yanking up the leg of his pants so he can assess damage. Kratos doesn't even bother looking becuase he doesn't care, he's wasting time-- "Well," Malos says, voice tight. "That's one way to stop a wound from bleeding. Fuck."
Martel is in a cannon. Anna is alive. She's alive, and every pain she feels Malos feels reflected. (Martel is in a cannon, this doesn't matter-- but Anna is alive. Doesn't that matter just a little?)
"...Anna?" Kratos asks, unable to articulate much else while he is warring with his mind such as he is.
Malos nods, short. "She's- unconscious, now. On the other side of that rubble." He gestures too specifically to be pointing at anything other than Anna herself. "Shit, fuck," Malos wheezes. "If- If you got an idea how to get through that, that'd be great, but-- Gimme a minute if you need my help. If I move I'm gonna pass out and that's the last thing y'all need right now."
"Right," Kratos says, turning to the problem. (Martel is in a cannon-- you cannot reach her until you get past this wall of rubble, anyway.) He wishes briefly that Presea was here, because an earth blade would certainly have better luck than he would. But a concentrated blast of ether, though sloppy, would likely--
Oh.
Kratos hastily slams a shield up around himself and his companions as the rubble explodes.