Anna throwing a guard into Tabatha knocks off her focus, so Lloyd takes a second to breathe deeply and otherwise ignore how his lungs and shoulder blades ache, fighting back against the guards at full strength. His wings are still weak in their luminescence, but the angel strength remains, so he thanks his lucky stars, raising a blade to meet a guard’s -
Everything happens at once. Mithos screams, and Lloyd, distracted, barely dodges a swing before a shield goes down around everyone in the immediate area. The room goes white, with not even the guards able to stay focused as they pause in their battle, covering wide eyes with their arms. The light lasts for a few seconds, blinding, and then the illumination dims, letting him blink and observe what just happened.
Complete and utter annihilation. The remains of the building are nothing more than exposed wiring in concrete walls, dust and debris covering the floor around them. Lloyd would wager that the explosion took out several rooms within this single floor, and he wouldn’t doubt that the foundation of the building had been severely compromised. Aside from the guards around him, every other person nearby has been killed, without bodies left behind. Even Tabatha’s reflection hadn’t been spared, and Lloyd feels a quick pang of guilt in his heart for her - they hadn’t been able to save her.
Without notice, one of the guards yells out in surprise and shocks Lloyd into action. He cuts them down quickly, too concerned to otherwise worry about being particularly merciful, and really, it’s their fault for trying to sneak up on him, but then horror sinks deep into his mind, an unwelcomed and entirely heart-stopping presence. Lloyd gulps, slowly turning to face Mithos, the source of the horror, and then double checks the room around them.
Where’s Zelos?
Where is Zelos?
Lloyd had assumed that Zelos was within the shield, too, unable to check before everything happened as he was, but now - there’s no red hair, no bright orange ether lines, nothing to indicate that he’s here. Mithos’ same horror grips at Lloyd’s heart as he begins to shake his head, in denial. No, no no no no no, nothing could have happened, not to Zelos, not again.
Mithos begins yelling as Lloyd watches Sheena take a step forward, distant in his mind and in his body as he tries and fails to process what’s happened, what this means. Once again, he’s threatened by falling deep into memories and experiences he’s never wanted to live through, fresh dread ready to break him and his stitched-up heart in pieces. “No,” he whimpers, as Sheena picks up Zelos’ core crystal, the realization of what that means slicing through Lloyd like a sword through his chest. “No, not again.”
Grief picks up the places where Lloyd’s optimism usually lies, causing him to drop his swords, which clatter to the ground loudly, as he stumbles towards Sheena, already fighting off unbelieving tears. Throat filled with words he can’t say, a scream he won’t scream, he swallows hard, willing his lungs to breathe air they no longer want to breathe. Not again, not again, not again.
Wordlessly, he approaches the ninja, making his intent obvious, and pulls her into a hug, using all of his remaining strength to keep standing. His wings finally vanish from behind him, breaking off in a spectacle of sparkles as he grieves, holding Sheena close like a lifeline. “It’s not fair,” he mumbles, not even embarrassed when his voice cracks. Twice, now, they’ve been forced to watch Zelos die. “It’s not fair.”
🦀🦀🦀
Everything happens at once. Mithos screams, and Lloyd, distracted, barely dodges a swing before a shield goes down around everyone in the immediate area. The room goes white, with not even the guards able to stay focused as they pause in their battle, covering wide eyes with their arms. The light lasts for a few seconds, blinding, and then the illumination dims, letting him blink and observe what just happened.
Complete and utter annihilation. The remains of the building are nothing more than exposed wiring in concrete walls, dust and debris covering the floor around them. Lloyd would wager that the explosion took out several rooms within this single floor, and he wouldn’t doubt that the foundation of the building had been severely compromised. Aside from the guards around him, every other person nearby has been killed, without bodies left behind. Even Tabatha’s reflection hadn’t been spared, and Lloyd feels a quick pang of guilt in his heart for her - they hadn’t been able to save her.
Without notice, one of the guards yells out in surprise and shocks Lloyd into action. He cuts them down quickly, too concerned to otherwise worry about being particularly merciful, and really, it’s their fault for trying to sneak up on him, but then horror sinks deep into his mind, an unwelcomed and entirely heart-stopping presence. Lloyd gulps, slowly turning to face Mithos, the source of the horror, and then double checks the room around them.
Where’s Zelos?
Where is Zelos?
Lloyd had assumed that Zelos was within the shield, too, unable to check before everything happened as he was, but now - there’s no red hair, no bright orange ether lines, nothing to indicate that he’s here. Mithos’ same horror grips at Lloyd’s heart as he begins to shake his head, in denial. No, no no no no no, nothing could have happened, not to Zelos, not again.
Mithos begins yelling as Lloyd watches Sheena take a step forward, distant in his mind and in his body as he tries and fails to process what’s happened, what this means. Once again, he’s threatened by falling deep into memories and experiences he’s never wanted to live through, fresh dread ready to break him and his stitched-up heart in pieces. “No,” he whimpers, as Sheena picks up Zelos’ core crystal, the realization of what that means slicing through Lloyd like a sword through his chest. “No, not again.”
Grief picks up the places where Lloyd’s optimism usually lies, causing him to drop his swords, which clatter to the ground loudly, as he stumbles towards Sheena, already fighting off unbelieving tears. Throat filled with words he can’t say, a scream he won’t scream, he swallows hard, willing his lungs to breathe air they no longer want to breathe. Not again, not again, not again.
Wordlessly, he approaches the ninja, making his intent obvious, and pulls her into a hug, using all of his remaining strength to keep standing. His wings finally vanish from behind him, breaking off in a spectacle of sparkles as he grieves, holding Sheena close like a lifeline. “It’s not fair,” he mumbles, not even embarrassed when his voice cracks. Twice, now, they’ve been forced to watch Zelos die. “It’s not fair.”
And then silence reigns.