Kratos Aurion (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
simulsimul) wrote2016-11-02 07:40 pm
simulsimul) wrote2016-11-02 07:40 pm
a thing; w/ ruinsprofessor & conductingresistance
canon
breached
confessed
dadly
future
grigori
mercenary
MEover
origin
reversal
titans
scenario list
canon: Kratos needs to stop running off
confessed: wing reflex
confessed: actual wingpull
confessed: turning Renegade
confessed: son meets father
dadliness: confrontation
dadliness: awakening
dadliness: illness
dadliness: a fundamental lack of understanding on the word 'abducted'
dadliness: updating parameters
dadliness: assassination assignation
mercenary: hiding in the library
mercenary: aftermath of librarian saviour
reversal: oracle destroyed
titans: storming the tower
titans: safety in the canyon
titans: night horrors
canon
- combo of Kratos and Zelos ending
- Zelos does the stupid thing, but not so far as his death, and is still the eighth member of the party to Derris-Kharlan.
scenarios
scenario one: Yuan tracks Kratos down at Dirk's.
breached
- canon right up until after Botta’s death
- no one uses Yuan’s name around Mithos so Mithos walks right into the Triet base with them
- cue an epic OH SHIT in which Yuan gets a lil bit beat up while covering the evacuation of the rest of the base
- until Kratos appears to intervene and have the Chosen group get Yuan out of there
- Mithos gets Kratos tho and he’s a bit mad cos, yanno, traitor and all
- time to be locked up and punished and need to be rescued
- kind of puts a crimp in the creation of the Eternal Ring plans
- mostly cos Mithos turns Kratos lifeless, with some armour to regulate his mana so he remains a seraph. can't have the seal becoming less powerful, yo
- it does mean he can only obey orders tho
- the first rescue fails miserably but at least no one dies and they know they need to reforge his key-crest
- the second rescue attempt (circumstances of canon-point under percolation) goes a little better, though Yuan almost gets killed by Kratos trying to attach the key-crest
- luckily that and the first telepathy in a while gets through and Kratos manages to break out a la Colette, and heal Yuan enough for Raine to get there
- after which, angreh father-son beatdown on Mithos.
scenarios
None yet.
confessed
- almost successful assassination lands Kratos as an injured stranger in Iselia (1-2 years pre-canon)
- recuperation leads to accidental-on-purpose 'holiday' in Iselia
- doubts result in a request for Dirk to make a key-crest like Kratos' own
- oracle room undergoes some stealth sabotage
- regeneration journey is slightly delayed, prompted by Genis and Lloyd being discovered at the ranch
- Triet is awkward. so very awkward. for the Renegades -- whose side is Kratos even on these days and why was he vanished for two years?
- initial overall journey similar to canon, save that Kratos is a bit less circumspect about advising Colette on how to cope with angel transformations
- there are more overt Dun Wanna Feelings
- then Luin, wherein things happen and the group is in town during the Desian attack. the others naturally want to fight but tis a mite difficult against an army and building-destroying magitech. luckily, angel on their side. unluckily, wingpulls in order to muster the power to cover the townspeoples' retreat
- questions and confessions ensue
- Colette rejects the key crest (for the moment) so there's still hopefully maybe ambiguity about Kratos's position re the last seal
- it wouldn't fit anyway, it's modelled for the hand like Kratos's is because he was a derp and did not specify otherwise, so Lloyd needs to make a thing to make it fit
- slow protective retreat toward Asgard.
scenarios
scenario one: Kratos confesses before Salvation; Raine wants to follow up.
scenario two: Raine's examination of an angel; and also Kratos realises how far he's put his foot in it.
scenario three: Kratos goes to taunt Yuan a little, and also ask for his help.
scenario four: in which Raine makes Kratos tell the children all the things, and Yuan takes too much amusement from it.
dadliness
- Kratos retires in Iselia under the name Irving to raise Lloyd after the death of his wife
- no exsphere. ageing occurs! so does a beard and a braid
- teaches Lloyd swordplay, but on the sly, to avoid the other villagers noticing. his daytime job is weaving
- Lloyd finds the box of their exspheres and wants details. after some prodding by Dirk, Kratos explains how exspheres are made and that one is Anna's life. Lloyd is too young yet, but when Lloyd comes of age (~15) Kratos lets him make his own decision re wearing it
- Lloyd chooses not to wear the exsphere
- Genis befriends Marble and Lloyd meets her, as in canon; this happens before the journey begins, with the fallout
- difference being that Colette is still in the village so they can't be too horrible, so they just demand Lloyd be turned over for a flogging
- Kratos stands in his stead because natch. luckily, they're only mooks and don't recognise the bearded weaver as anyone important
- gives Lloyd his guilt complex early tho
- the oracle happens much the same way except Botta doesn't quite recognise the weirdly familiar bearded swordsman
- he does when he's reporting to Yuan tho
'there was an exceptionally skilled human'
/brief physical description/
/did x other faintly recognizable thing/
and both he and Yuan are aware that Kratos has been awol for a while, so there's a moment of pure silence and dawning 'no, it couldn't be'
- but then obviously one of them has to go make sure
- cue an interruption just out of Triet.
scenarios
scenario one: Yuan feels the need to investigate; this results in Kratos injured and abducted.
scenario two: Yuan realises he can't kill Kratos with his own two hands; Kratos gets mothered.
scenario three: Kratos gets sick on the heels of his recovery. Yuan mothers him some more. Botta disapproves.
scenario four: Kratos recovers and makes an escape attempt. Sort-of.
scenario five: Kratos recovers more and talks to Botta, when not needling Yuan about his lack of preparedness.
scenario six: Sheena's contract takes a slight shift into undercover instead of assassination work.
future
- Aselia is Earth ~10,000 years in the past
- all is peachy-keen except the tree is now underground and the elvens/half-elves/some humans are in hiding in the centre of the planet, hidden thanks to the summon spirits
- Colette is working with humanitarian aid in various impoverished nations
- Zelos is a diplomat in West Asia / Middle East trying to keep the peace
- Yuan is a crotchety lecturer at Cambridge who's also HUGE into environmentalism
- Lloyd and Kratos are having family time in space
- occasionally the trio on Earth meet reincarnations of people they used to know
- but rarely at the same time and almost never in a position where they meet
- but then they start meeting them
- lots of them
- all in the same span of years
- they're starting to think something's hinky
- until the space-elves attack
- and then they know something is hinky.
scenarios
None yet.
grigori
- at some point significantly before canon, Kratos actually calls it quits
- the Church's institution calls him a fallen angel of vengeance
- really he's just going around trying to help people and avoiding being taken back to Cruxis
- assigns himself to the Chosen parties whenever he can, up to Colette
- ????? idk some kind of profit somewhere
scenarios
None yet.
mercenary
- when Yuan visits Kratos at the beach when Lloyd is 3 months old, he does not manage to escape before Anna and Lloyd return
- accidental attachment to this kidlet who likes pulling his hair
- three years later, Yuan can't stand to hold back while Kratos fights Kvar, so he throws caution to the wind to help
- Anna is still killed but they rescue Lloyd and Noishe and both are branded as traitors
- Lloyd is raised as a Renegade with Dad, Uncle Yuan and the extremely reticent Uncle Botta (how dare)
- meanwhile in Tethe'alla Yuan infiltrates the castle as the library archivist
- stays out of sight, mostly, but has a good ear around the politics thanks to recruiting Princess Hilda
- also happens to stumble on Zelos hiding in the library right after his mother's death
- look he's got a 'nephew' he can't just do nothing (even if all he meant was to recommend a book)
- unwittingly accidentally 'adopts' the Tethe'allan Chosen by virtue of being the only one who doesn't treat him like the Chosen
- sometimes Kratos brings Lloyd to visit and basically they're all separate pairs of exasperated bros
- by canon Lloyd and Kratos are wandering mercenaries, helping people on the sly while gathering intel to send back to the Renegades
- Yuan and Zelos are actively building resistance to the Church using inside knowledge
- the ninja are all Renegades
- Colette is escorted by Raine and by the priests
- yes the 'chain up the Chosen and drag her to every seal if necessary' priests
- she meets Lloyd randomly in Triet but Lloyd doesn't know her as the Chosen. they're a bit out of touch on the Journey of Regen timeline
- stuff happens and they keep missing each other up until Palmacosta, which is a warzone between the Desians (and Dorr as their figurehead) and the Renegades (with Neil as their leader)
- Colette wants to help; priests say no
- out come the chains
- Raine objects, but she has no exsphere so what can she do
- btw Genis got caught in the Iselian ranch and tossed in as a traitor to be made a host
- he gets sent to the Palmacosta ranch
- right after Neil manages to take the city, after Colette and Raine leave it, Botta takes the Palmacosta ranch and rescues Genis, among others
- Genis becomes his little shadow and is much preferable to Lloyd, in Botta's opinion
- Lloyd and Kratos are still trying to catch up to Colette to rescue her when they drop by
- Genis hears what they're trying to do and insists on coming along.
scenarios
scenario one: in which Yuan accidentally adopts a Chosen instead of a book from a library.
scenario two: in which Yuan is accidentally-deliberately adopted by the Meltokio Castle Knights.
MEover
- Mass Effect crossover someplace in the realm of 15,000 years after TOS canon
- except started before then, cos elves are really from Feros, planet of the cranky telepathic plant
- got decimated by the protheans trying to assimilate them into their empire
- elves objected, got killed a lot, fled Feros and got stuck in Aselia's orbit
- kinda forgot a few things but planted a seed from the Ferosian mother plant on Aselia
- Origin hasn't forgotten tho, kinda has a grudge against grumblegrumbleprotheansgrumble
- the entirety of TOS happened, and then some
- Kratos, Yuan, Lloyd, Colette and Zelos are the only ones left, but tis okay, they have each other
- somethingsomething natural space disaster, Aselia is destroyed but they manage to move Yggdrasill onto Derris-Kharlan and do a quarian by becoming a roaming ship
- mana is a variant of eezo lbr
- Derris-Kharlan's too big to use the mass relays, but c'mon it generates its own mass effect field so they develop tech to do hops on their own
- they're in no hurry tho, i mean lbr primarily angelic, elf and half-elf population
- so they're just bumming around their local clusters doing thorough investigations on all the things
- so much eezo on their ship
- so much
- suddenly the Normandy running from a reapers comes along to hide behind them
- reapers start shooting
- everyone on Derris-Kharlan objects
- JUDGEMENT IN SPACE
- so much profit and judging of reapers.
scenarios
None yet.
origin
- Kratos tells Lloyd the dad thing in Triet
- dad and son feelings ensue
- they culminate at the Tower of Salvation in Kratos stabbing Yggdrasill in the back
- unfortunately he does not quite die but impales Kratos against a wall and goes berserk on the Chosen party to the point of Yuan stepping in to help
- that is, by threatening to stab Kratos in the back while he's vulnerable (with Kratos's permission)
- Yggdrasill calls his bluff and fails, and Yuan does the thing
- while Yggdrasill is distracted the Chosen's group nail him but good and he retreats
- luckily while heart-stabbing happened, Kratos's cruxis crystal is still intact, and between Raine's healing and Yuan's mana transfusion he survives long enough to be taken to the Triet base and a refresher
- stuff happens in some fashion or other up until opening Origin's seal
- as it turns out, the mana tranfusion has fused the lock, so to speak, and Kratos can't unlock the seal even voluntarily
- only way to get Origin out at this point is to let him fuse with Kratos, so Kratos becomes Origin
- stipulation of this: Kratos refuses to let go of his humanity
- luckily Yuan already has a literal bond with him thanks to the mana transfusion, so with him as his summoner Kratos can keep his humanity, and only use Origin's powers when Yuan summons them
- commitment like woah for a literal eternity
- but hey, they messed up but good and it's the only way they can reunite the worlds.
scenarios
none yet.
reversal
~ 2000 years in, Kratos and Yuan conspire to kill Mithos and succeed, sorta
- he's stuck inside his exsphere, possessing people
- but he manages to survive and while Kratos and Yuan claim Derris-Kharlan for their base, he takes most of the angels as 'fallen', as well as the Eternal Sword
- most of his bases are hidden behind dimensional slips created by the sword - Iselia included
- Origin refuses to trust either Kratos or Yuan with the job, anyhow, and they don't have a summoner
- instead they're forced to fight Cruxis, embroiling the worlds in an angelic war between Cruxis and the new organisation of Chayim
- the Chosen bloodlines are more important to Cruxis than Chayim, but Mithos seals the seals so only the Chosen bloodline can flip the mana switch. Kratos and Yuan need someone to do that until they can reunite them, so the Journey remains an institution, just without compulsory death at the end
- there is angelification tho, if only so Chayim gets more soldiers and so the Chosen can defend themselves against Cruxis
- Kratos sends Anna and Lloyd to Iselia, because even though enemy territory, it's the safest place there is for them
- Anna get word to Kratos that the Desians are using Iselia as a long-term cruxis crystal cultivation location, and that the sword is held there
- her spy succeeds but is intercepted, and Mithos locks down the dimensional slip to prevent exit and access by angels for ~15 years
- Lloyd grows up in a town with a heavy half-elf population and believing he's training to help the good guys
- he has his own cruxis crystal as a host, but doesn't tell his mother due to the faith-based propaganda encouraging hosts not to bring it up or risk the powers not taking
- he wants to help though, so he steals a key-crest to ensure he can fight
- Yuan and Kratos plan to assault the town and shrine but Mithos uses the sword to interrupt travel between worlds, keeping Yuan in Tethe'alla and forcing Kratos to attack Iselia alone.
scenarios
scenario one: Iselia is attacked by Chayim to claim the sword, with the sword already gone
titans
- Yggdrasill captures Kratos before Kvar finds Anna and Lloyd, but after Kratos makes an Eternal Ring
- Yuan figures hell no and raises the Renegades to try and take Derris-Kharlan, rescue Kratos and solve the split-world problem
- the attack fails. a lot.
- Renegades are wiped out, Kratos is still in Cruxis's hands, but Yuan manages to escape with the Eternal Ring
- Cruxis follows him to Triet base, which gets destroyed and the few remaining Renegades scatter
- Botta is still around tho, helping out how he can
- mostly Yuan just goes searching for Lloyd and Anna
- doesn't manage to find them before Kvar does tho, and Kratos hears from Yggdrasill that they're dead
- this is slightly inaccurate, cos Lloyd still winds up rescued by Dirk in Iselia
- where Yuan eventually finds him, not knowing that he's 'supposed' to be dead
- so Yuan settles in Iselia for a bit to watch Lloyd and the Chosen
- cuts and dyes his hair, the whole shebang
- learns how to carpentry, invents a new use of magic
- winds up being Genis's role model just because scholar and magic-user and half-elf who can pass but also takes no shit from people
- is one of Colette's companions on the Journey when it starts
- he's been challenging their understanding of the Church's institution this whole time lbr
- Sheena is still a thing because the ninja have taken over the Tethe'allan base, which has survived, somewhat
- a grilling ensues
- sometime just after the Asgard Ranch Yuan does have to drop the bombshell
- about how the Journey is just a front, he and his bestie are angels, btw his bestie is Lloyd's dad
- how they're out to topple the institution of religion
- forget sacrificing Colette for the Regeneration, when they get to the seal they can do that without anyone dying
- and then move straight on to rescuing Kratos in Derris-Kharlan
- then they get to the Tower and realise Yggdrasill has Kratos under a Prometheusesque punishment a la 'impaled on the Eternal Sword to suffer the Seed's pain and watch the Chosen get murdered'
- luckily this does not happen, as they manage to rescue him and escape Yggdrasill instead, barely
- retreat to Botta's hiding-place in Asgard so Kratos can recover
- and also find out that Lloyd is actually alive
- the Chosen group goes around to make as many pacts as they can while in Sylvarant
- they get up to Aska when Yggdrasill sends his angels to attack Asgard
- cue Yuan and Kratos being unstoppable battle gods together
scenarios
scenario one: in which Yuan leads the Chosen's party to the Tower of Salvation to dismantle all the traditions ever, and find Kratos waiting for them in serious need of a rescue.
scenario two: in which being in safety reveals that Kratos is not precisely unscathed, but he's doing his best.
scenario three: in which Kratos is emphatically not okay, but with Yuan's help, could be.
CONFESSED; turned Renegade
[He can't even say for sure whether Yuan would be with him -- or that he would come back. He also isn't sure whether Raine's firm 'I'll see you later' was a matter of faith or lack of knowledge as to what role Yuan had played in Kratos's recent history.
[Still. After a manner of speaking, walking up to the Renegades' base in Triet is very nearly the most palatable part of this venture. Especially the part where the door-guards falter halfway through their challenge.]
Halt there! Who --
[Kratos halts, spreading his empty hands, and watching with some distant amusement the way the Renegades recoil from the sight of him.]
Tell Yuan I need to see him. I'll hand over my weapon, if you wish.
[So saying, he unbuckles Flamberge and sets it, sheathed, in the sand, and steps back about ten feet. There's a bit of hastily whispered debate as to who, exactly, has to stay here and who gets to flee into the base; but after a moment one of them comes cautiously forward to collect his sword, and backs away into the cover of the building. The other, huddled behind her shield, hovers very close to the door.]
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[It is not, to date, the strangest thing Yuan has ever been brought, and is therefore at first unremarkable. He's in the middle of a conversation with Botta regarding the Chosen's group when the guard approaches, and both of them turn to fix the young man with alternately inquisitive and stern gazes.]
Lord Yuan. There's-- a man at the door. He said he needed to see you?
[He realizes he did not actually get the stranger's name, and, hoping it will explain something, offers the sword.]
[Yuan takes it with a frown, which transfigures to something more like shock as soon as he touches the sword. It sings in his hand: he doesn't need to draw it to know what it is, though he slides it a few inches out of the sheath anyway just to see. Flame shifts in metal so fine it's translucent.]
[Flamberge.]
Hello, Kratos.
[Yuan murmurs this to the sword, absent and puzzled. Botta catches it, of course, and startles visibly. Kratos is on the doorstep of a Renegade base, politely. Kratos knows exactly where it is, and knows enough to ask for Yuan.]
[And no divine wrath is incoming. Yuan slides Flamberge back into the sheath and loops the belt around his wrist a few times.]
Botta. Scan the area, make sure Kratos is alone.
You.
[The Renegade twitches. Yuan softens his tone. Not an apology, but a backstep.]
Bring Kratos to my office.
[And they split, to do just that.]
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[Finally the door opens and Kratos turns his attention to the returning guard. He's empty-handed, which means the sword has been delivered; and the guard stops about twenty feet away to clear his throat.]
Lord Yuan grants you entry.
Thank you.
[No need not to be polite, after all. Kratos strides toward them, giving the young guards a nod as he passes through the entrance into the base proper. He doesn't need an escort; he knows the way to Yuan's room (and, really, a room furnished like that in a base in the middle of the desert? It's practically a giveaway right there). Nevertheless, he doesn't expect to be unguarded, and so pauses long enough for a couple of other Renegades to replace the guards at the door so they can escort him in.
[He walks, despite the escort, like he does know where he's going; and like he isn't being guarded; and like he isn't walking into the base of a group countering his leader at every turn. He walks like a visiting dignitary, like he should be there -- not like he shouldn't.]
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[And by shown in he means Kratos walks in like the guards are for his status and not to show him the way or provide a suitable menace. In retrospect, Yuan can't be surprised, but he isn't at all happy about it.]
[His hand tightens fractionally on Flamberge, the sword-belt biting into his fingers.]
What are you doing here?
[The associated query, why isn't Yggdrasill, goes unspoken, and no thoughts have passed between them in centuries.]
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[He does meet Yuan's gaze, his expression impassive. He and Yuan had not often spoken since Kratos returned to Cruxis, since Kratos had destroyed the Eternal Ring. He doesn't quite know how Yuan thinks anymore -- not enough to be anything other than earnest.]
I came to get your help -- up to and including ending my life, potentially.
[Even when Kratos agreed to end his life in exchange for the time to kill Mithos, nearly twenty years ago, he hadn't revealed that he knew about Yuan's leadership of the Renegades. He hopes the fact that he's withheld that from Yggdrasill is enough to convince Yuan to try again, or at least hear Kratos out.]
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[Yuan hides his shock in his grip on Flamberge, narrows his eyes instead.]
Then you've made up your mind.
Why now?
[He has heard about what happened at Luin by now, but that doesn't quite explain what's made the difference. And what's got Kratos here.]
And what help do you want?
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[Yes, Kratos knows that was you, Yuan. He doesn't miss the way Yuan's grip tightens on Flamberge, either, but chooses not to bring attention to it. He honestly isn't sure how much Yuan knows, about the last two years; whether he realised his assassination attempt failed, or that Kratos hadn't returned to Cruxis after.]
I've been in Iselia, since then. I've --
[This is very nearly as bad as trying to explain thousands of years of context to Raine, and in the end Kratos sighs.]
Yuan. My son is alive. His best friend is the Chosen of Regeneration. And I, in a fit of opportunism which would impress even you, gave her a key-crest. They know who I am. They know who Yggdrasill is. They know what his goals are.
[Or will, soon, when he gets back.]
And we have the summoner.
[This is also important.]
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[It only occurs to him a moment later that Kratos may simply be guessing. The rest of what Kratos says eclipses it, anyway, and Yuan's expression flickers briefly through alarmed before into calculating. Thoughts jump lightning-quick as Yuan draws conclusions.]
That's rash, for you.
[Kratos has backed himself into rebelling. It would be funny, if not for everything that's led up to it.]
Fortunately, the materials to create the Eternal Ring still exist.
[There's bite to Yuan's words, but he doesn't stop to linger over them.]
You can't bring yourself to betray your son, but the moment you fail to, it will be painfully evident. You need me to play the double agent still.
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Were you intending to reveal yourself at any time?
[This, slightly dry, a touch pointed. They both know Kratos isn't asking anything Yuan wasn't already doing, and the asperity manages to hide the internal flinch at the accusation in Yuan's words.]
The aoinis will be the most difficult to get. It may be best to retrieve that sooner, if you think you might need to compromise your position.
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[Yuan eyes him sidelong.]
But you wouldn't be here like this if all you wanted was for me to do what I was already doing.
What aionis remains is still deep in Vinheim. Sacred wood can be gathered near Ozette still... The adamantite will be more of a hassle.
Retrieving aionis will compromise my position, more than likely. Mmh.
[Yuan pauses to think, lifting Flamberge. He makes no move to offer it back to Kratos yet.]
When and how do you plan to move?
[He has his own plans. Several of them, all in motion. Kratos is either going to be the linchpin or the wrench in the works.]
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[It's nearly amusing, that Yuan assumes some ulterior motive in the very moments when Kratos feels as though he's been stripped his barest in centuries.]
Colette has a key-crest. Cruxis's usual plans at the tower can't work. But Sylvarant still needs to be replenished, so the seal needs to be activated. Once she arrives and it becomes clear I've betrayed them, Yggdrasill will come to attend us himself. I intend to kill him, then.
[He has an edge. Yggdrasill can't afford to kill him back.]
There's still an adamantite manufacturer in the basement of the Imperial Research Academy. Broken, I think, but I should be able to repair it. If you're unable to get aoinis, then at least you'll still be able to wield the sword yourself once we've forged a Ring with the other three materials. My son was raised by a dwarf, so we won't even need to seek out Altessa. If you can get the aoinis, it opens our options to having a human wield it at need.
[Not Kratos. And he doesn't even want to consider throwing Lloyd to that wolf -- no matter the likelihood. But there are others, potentially. The Tethe'allan Chosen, for one.]
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I've half a mind to demand to keep your son here while you try this. If Yggdrasill threatens Lloyd, you'll hesitate.
[And Yuan has no illusions that a second time they will be so lucky with a failure.]
And you'll need to get to Tethe'alla for the adamantite. I assume you'll want my help with that as well.
[Leaving aside for now the issue of whether or not Origin would accept Yuan wielding the sword -- Yuan is becoming steadily less optimistic about this -- it still presents difficulties.]
Better to have the aionis, if possible. I'll... see what I can do about that.
[It's not a promise to try. It's just a thought, so far.]
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I'd prefer to think it gives me incentive. Yes, we'll need rheairds.
[Even if Volt fails them once they cross the border, they do have Sheena.]
And we'd need to awaken the summon spirits -- though not before we're prepared to handle the Eternal Sword. The stress on the Seed isn't worth the risk.
[He focusses on Yuan again.]
We'd also likely need to count on your Renegades as support and cover. Perhaps they could approach the Tethe'allan Chosen before our arrival; if Origin won't accept you, he may accept him.
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[That last is almost a laugh, and not a kind one.]
Rheairds, and dimensional transport. Our bases can provide the energy needed, for minimal chance of being noticed by Yggdrasill. That's simple enough. The spirits at the seals you've been to should be awake already, unless something's gone wrong.
[It didn't sound like Kratos had done anything that would disrupt that aspect, at least.]
...you haven't met the Tethe'allan Chosen, have you.
[Oh, there's more to him than meets the eye, definitely. Yuan's people have already been in contact with him. All the same, Yuan has significant doubts about Origin considering him worthy to wield the Eternal Sword.]
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You'll recall that last time, his being in danger was plenty of incentive.
[The only reason Kvar is still alive today is that Kratos was more concerned with getting to Lloyd and Anna than killing him for attacking them.]
I haven't. I've heard rumours. I doubt they're all accurate.
[Not because Kratos has faith in the Chosen, particularly, but because he's aware of the complexity young men can possess when forced into unwanted circumstances of responsibility. Even if the rumours are true, the Chosen most likely has more to him than a carefree attitude and wandering hands. They can be trained out.]
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You know as well as I do this won't end without serious combat. Even if you can blindside Yggdrasill, I doubt one hit will be enough.
[He holds his tongue on what would be the second part of that: what will Kratos do if Lloyd genuinely does die? It may go implied anyway.]
He's... a unique individual. I have my doubts. But my people are capable of getting in contact with him, yes.
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[But he can afford to kill Lloyd -- and would willingly attempt it. Yuan isn't wrong. Lloyd being there compromises Kratos's ability to do what he claims, and if Lloyd dies in truth -- well, Kratos can't imagine he'd go back to Yggdrasill after watching him kill his son. But he doesn't know what he'd do after.
[In the end, Kratos can't manage to hold Yuan's gaze, and looks away.]
It may be helpful if you came back to Asgard with me. We intend to discuss our options there, after I've filled in the children a bit more, and once I knew we could rely on you for help.
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[But Yuan stares at Kratos longer even once he's looked away, mouth turned down, serious and solemn instead of outright angry. He shouldn't need to say that Lloyd is an acceptable loss from Yggdrasill's point of view.]
[Acceptable, and probably preferred.]
...that's fine. It'll be better if I know what you're about to do, anyway.
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[It says something that Kratos would prefer to return to Asgard, to be in the company of his newer friends, than stand here in Yuan's office with the cold distance of what had once been brotherhood. This hurts so much more than talking to Raine had.]
Is there anything you need to do? I can wait for you outside.
no subject
[Yuan considers it longer than it strictly warrants before lifting the sword still in his hand, offering Flamberge back to Kratos hilt-first.]
Here.
[It's a measure of trust Yuan really isn't sure he wants to extend, but it seems they have little choice.]
no subject
[Kratos's weight has already shifted to turn to the door when Yuan holds out the sword, and Kratos stops, surprise momentarily visible on his face. He honestly hadn't been expecting to return the sword to him until after they'd gotten to Asgard -- if ever.
[After a moment Kratos steps forward to grip Flamberge's hilt, taking back his sword and buckling it back around his waist.]
I'll see you soon.
[He doesn't wait, but turns to leave.]
no subject
[Yuan doesn't even bother to pretend Kratos can't find his own way. He turns away from Kratos, and goes to inform Botta of the temporary change in plans.]
[to here.]
~finis