a thing; w/ ruinsprofessor & conductingresistance

[simulsimul]

universe list
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 lightning and light can totally become a laserbeam amirite
- 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.

Comments

TITANS; safety in the canyon

[simulsimul]

[After so long being chained to the Sword, being able to be unconscious is very close to heaven. Kratos expended enough mana that most of his usual angelic advantages have given way to human needs; save for the breathing, which is, by now, a matter of habit not to do.

[But eventually even his weary body has to give up on sleep. It just takes a bit of time, and a few false starts; he stirs a few times, never quite waking. For him it's a warm and painless respite, needed as much for his mana and mind as his body. His mind has to get accustomed to the lack of pain. His mana has to grow accustomed to the change in his surroundings.

[No worlds grinding him between them. They're a distant thunder, something he feels only because of long intimacy, but for all that a background noise which fades behind other, newer mana signatures.

[And one very, very old one. Unknowingly in sleep, Kratos has stirred only to gravitate toward Yuan, as if Yuan is the bedrock of his current existence. When he finally stirs again, fighting the warmth of sleep for the novel new state of painlessness and a soft bed, Yuan is the first thing he sees.

[Which produces a fine crinkle in his brow, and a few extra blinks. Is he ... is he even awake?

[What happened to your HAIR? This as a fuzzy, bewildered not-quite-thought, existing more in shades of bemusement than as an actual question.]

[conductingresistance]

[Every time Kratos stirs he has Yuan's attention, but little comes of it save for Kratos shifting slightly toward Yuan. A good sign, maybe. If nothing else, Yuan is the most familiar thing here. When Kratos stirs this time Yuan almost thinks he's going to go back to sleep again, but then--]

[The bleary not-quite thought. Of all the things. Fifteen years of torture, his son practically right beside him, and what Kratos chooses to focus on is Yuan's hair.]

[Yuan laughs all unconsciously, and then finds he can't stop, relief paving the way for something closer to hysteria than genuine laughter. It isn't even that funny, not really. And yet.]

[It takes some moments to get himself under control, till finally he can even out his breath, take one long deep one, and settle. He thinks his answer rather than chance speaking yet, though.]

[It was distinctive, and I was on the run. I cut it.]

[And dyed, but that should go without saying, since the faintly-singed braid is black. It wouldn't fool anyone who knew him, really, but for people only looking for a half-elf with long blue hair... After a few years it had stopped seeming strange, but Yuan does miss it.]

[simulsimul]

[... That's disturbing. Kratos's confusion deepens into wary discomfort, and he shifts as if to pull away from the laughing visage of his best friend, whom he hasn't seen laughing like that for thousands of years, and certainly not for something so inconsequential.

[Maybe this isn't real after all. Maybe everything he remembers from the tower was just him finally slipping into a true state of insanity, different from Mithos's.

[But Yuan finally stops laughing, and it's difficult to fake or imagine a telepathic communication -- or the sense of mana, which is most definitely Yuan's. Still, Kratos checks that again, with an unintentional but faint mental touch, like he's just making sure there isn't a danger here.

[I don't like it.

[It's too different. It's not Yuan at all. And it fills Kratos with a deep and abiding unease, that for some reason Yuan might be wearing his hair so differently. 'On the run' sounds like something ongoing. 'On the run' makes it sound like a while.

[It's not a thought, precisely, but a vague sense of dread and how long since ...? loud enough for Yuan to hear.]

[conductingresistance]

Hm. And since when did I ask your opinions on my hair?

[He keeps his voice low, but the laughter and Yuan's voice combined are likely going to have the others poking their heads in shortly. If Lloyd isn't awake already. Yuan hesitates for a moment or five; but then, after all, why not? The disguise has served its purpose. He pulls the tie from his hair and combs his fingers through it briefly; it brushes a bit past his chin, not to his shoulders, dark and not-quite even. He'd been letting it grow naturally.]

[It's been about fifteen years, he adds mentally, in response to that not-quite-formed question, and turns some of his focus inward. Strip the pigment from his hair, encourage growth...]

[Cerulean falls into his vision. Yuan sighs very softly, collects his hair over his right shoulder and ties it into a neat tail. Braiding it back will wait. He'd have been happy enough just to tie it back, but he's been wearing it braided long enough that now something seems missing.]

[Happy now?]

[It's dry, but gentle for Yuan, like he's concerned.]

[simulsimul]

[Lloyd is indeed awake, sprawled beside Kratos and hardly daring to breathe in case the moment shatters. He isn't sure what's going on, except that Yuan can apparently hear something Dad is saying. He isn't even sure Dad knows there's someone else in the room. But he stares with wide eyes as Uncle suddenly has really long hair. Luxurious hair, even. And it's blue. It looks weird.

[Fifteen years. Kratos can barely comprehend that, barely even notices when Yuan grows out his hair, despite his complaint about it.

[Fifteen years. Fifteen years since nearly all hope of rebellion died with Yuan's Renegades. Fifteen years since Anna and Lloyd ...

[Kratos blinks wordlessly up at Yuan, barely aware of the tears he's shedding. He doesn't really have an answer. He's not even sure what happiness means, anymore, and this shows through as a shifting storm of undefined thought, of pain and loneliness and the knowledge that his student preferred to see him in agony than at peace, that Mithos had been satisfied that Kratos no longer had anything to live for.

[Fifteen years. Fifteen years, and Kratos still doesn't have anything to live for.]

[conductingresistance]

[The emotion in the thought is almost overwhelming. Kratos isn't used to having a coherent conversation this way any more, is he? Yuan weathers it with barely a wince, though his expression softens from wry humor into something much more sorrowful.]

No. Kratos--

[What can be said? Yuan reaches to brush away some of those tears, with a readiness born of much familiarity with the children.]

Look to your right.

[Yuan waits for Kratos to do so before continuing, explaining since it will need to be spelled out.]

I've been in Iselia most of that time.

[He's trying to be gentle about this, but gentle never has been his expertise, and it's a little lost in the wake of that sheer hopelessness in Kratos' mind. The blunt instrument wins.]

The boy currently pretending to be asleep on your leg is Lloyd Irving. He has his mother's surname, for obvious reasons, but I think his stubbornness is more than likely your doing.

[Lloyd bears a truly stunning resemblance when his hair is dampened out of unruly spikes.]

[simulsimul]

[For some moments Kratos stares uncomprehendingly, but Lloyd pushes himself upright, not even ashamed of being called out for having not been asleep in the first place. If anything, Uncle's wrong to assume he was pretending at all; but that isn't even important either. (Though Lloyd will remember that, later.)

[There's a lump in his throat and his vision is blurry, but Lloyd's hands hover before falling to grip his father's. Sometimes he needs things spelled out for him. This time is not one of them.]

I'm-- Dad. You thought I was -- they told you I was --?

[Slowly this sinks in. Slowly, Kratos manages to equate the worried, distraught face before him with the plump young face of the toddler he last remembers. The mana signature and the hands on his tells him that it can't be a trick. Kratos pushes himself upright without consciously intending it, his other hand trembling as he extends it without quite touching Lloyd's face, like he's afraid Lloyd will shatter if he touches him. For the first time, he takes the smallest breath only to speak.]

Lloyd ...?

[This is whispered, tremulous, heart-wrenchingly raw; there's fear there, and disbelief, and above all a dawning hope, not quite rising to fullness in case this is all going to be snatched away in a moment.]

Yeah. Yeah, I'm Lloyd. I'm -- your son.

[Lloyd's voice is husky too, and he brings up a hand to pull Dad's closer, so it cups his face, so Dad knows it's okay, because Lloyd isn't going anywhere. And he grins, through the tears, his infectious grin that makes Kratos's breath catch. He has to breathe, now, because he can't properly weep without breathing; and his emotions are too strong to do anything else.

[He can't find any other words; so instead he pulls Lloyd to him and embraces him tightly, like this is the only chance he might get to hug his son. He's alive. He's alive he's alive he's alive he's alive ...

[Lloyd, unresisting, hugs Kratos back, his breath catching at the sensation of emotions not his, but rolling across him as a painful kind of wonder.]

[conductingresistance]

[It's a beautiful thing to witness, and Yuan stays silent for it. He has more explaining to do -- for everyone -- but for now, they should have this moment.]

[Movement catches his ear almost at the same time familiar mana does. Yuan glances up to see Raine in the slightly ajar door, and shakes his head at her, pitching a thought in her direction.]

[Kratos is awake, but for now the less people, the better. I'll let you know, if things change.]

[She can't respond the same way, but he can tell from the way her eyes flicker to Lloyd and Kratos before she nods that she understands, and is trusting Yuan's judgment.]

[For Yuan's part as much as it feels like the family should have this moment he's not about to leave Kratos alone, not so soon; so he stays where he is with a careful stillness, only watching and feeling the trailing edges of that aching wonder and hope. He gives them their time.]

[They should have had so much more of it. But Kratos is here, now.]

[I can... tell you about his childhood later, if you want. An offer Yuan isn't quite sure of the reception for, but feels the need to make regardless..]

[simulsimul]

[For Kratos and Lloyd's parts, they're unaware of the time passing, though Kratos's tears do wind down. It's simply been too long since he's felt anything with such intensity that it has to fade eventually. Part of him quails at the thought of feeling nothing again.

[It's on the heels of this that Yuan makes his offer, and the response is a blast of gratitude and wonder and a hesitant plea. Yes, he would like to hear that. He doesn't want to be reduced once more to a state where he can't feel anything.

[Eventually Kratos does pull back, but only so he can learn Lloyd. His hands stay where they are, one on Lloyd's shoulder and one brushing Lloyd's cheek with its knuckles, brushing his hair back, touching, memorising; his entire focus is on his son, learning his mana signature as well as his face. Now that he's paying attention he can tell what's familiar, the foundation of the man Lloyd is from the grinning toddler.

[Lloyd's content to sit and let himself be memorised, watching Kratos's expression with fascination. Though there isn't much actually on his face, there's a concentratedness there; and in Kratos's eyes, there's a wealth of things Lloyd hasn't often seen with such intensity. Dirk is a great dad; but he wasn't always tactile like this.

[For all that Kratos's attention is on Lloyd, there is a part of him which eventually starts noting other things. The room. The mana in the house, the mana past the walls. Eventually, without shifting his gaze from Lloyd, he asks:]

Where are we?

[It's halting, hoarse, the voice of a man who hasn't spoken in far too long except to scream or beg.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan will do Lloyd the mercy of doing this out of his range of hearing, so that the parental embarrassments Yuan has been witness to are something Lloyd doesn't have to relive.]

[Until Kratos brings up the dirt, at least.]

We're in Asgard, sort of.

[Yuan watches the two of them watching each other and wonders if the sheer amount of emotion in the room could get any stronger. The two are fools for each other already. That's just as it should be. Though he wasn't quite expecting Kratos to be so touchy. Maybe that's the aftermath of everything showing through.]

One of the old parts, which hadn't been used in centuries before we took it up as a bolt-hole.

...don't worry, everything's in good repair. It isn't visible from the air unless you know it's there, and it isn't accessible from ground-level.

[In other words: for now, they are as safe as they can get.]

[simulsimul]

Hnh.

[Asgard. Kratos remembers Asgard. He hasn't been here in a while, even before his capture, but he remembers it.]

Your old home?

[When is the last time Yuan had a home here? It's been a few centuries, Kratos is sure, but he does recall Yuan keeping a place here, at some point after its name had changed. His brow crinkles, without blinking, without looking away.]

I remember -- a girl at the tower.

[Words are difficult. He gives up after a moment to broadcast a sense of Colette's mana, her presence and voice; tentatively, because now he's including Lloyd in the sense. Lloyd's face lights up almost at once.]

Yeah, that's Colette! She's the Chosen of Regeneration! Or ...

[That expression falls.]

Well, she was, before Uncle Yuan told us about the real purpose behind the journey. I can't see why she'd want to be, now.

[conductingresistance]

Not my home, but a place I knew. A friend lives here now.

[Would Kratos remember Botta at all? Yuan isn't going to complicate the matter right now. Introductions later, and one at a time, if possible.]

[You're not imagining it. Her mana signature is almost a perfect match.]

[In a different world, Yuan can imagine he would have tried to kill Colette, if only so Yggdrasill wouldn't have been able to use her. Put off the death of the worlds some little time longer.]

The office still means something to the people of Sylvarant, if nothing else.

[simulsimul]

[I thought ...

[Kratos doesn't need to say what he thought; Yuan has already answered it. The thought of Mithos getting hold of a girl whose mana feels like that -- it makes Kratos's heart twist. If they're really so close to a host for Martel, then this is the only time to act. No wonder Yuan was at the tower.

[The thought jars something else loose, something Kratos hadn't even been considering; but it makes him huff with something like resignation, nevertheless. You weren't there for me.

[There's no blame in the thought; just acceptance. Even if Yuan had been there fore him, it would have only been to kill him, surely. (Except for how Yuan didn't.)]

Yeah, you're right.

[Lloyd's voice jars Kratos out of the mental conversation, reminds him again that there is more to conversation than what's in the head.]

Still -- I don't like it. Sometimes she seems like she wants to give up her life.

[conductingresistance]

[Don't be an idiot. Lloyd deserves to know his father. I would have stormed Welgaia for you if I had to.]

[In contrast to Yuan's fairly neutral expression, the mental admission, while brisk, has naked emotion in it. And also the sensation of a gentle slap upside the head, though Yuan himself remains as utterly still as he had been.]

Colette is... a very compassionate young woman.

[She's the sort of person who can't bear the thought that there might be something she could do; even if that something might end up being her own life.]

[simulsimul]

[The feeling which Yuan doesn't bother to hide makes Kratos's breath catch again, and he has to close his eyes for a moment in an attempt to figure out how emotions should be contained. Even still, when he opens his eyes against there's a smile on his face; though he isn't sure what it is, at first, save it makes his face feel oddly stretched in combination with the drying tears. It's been a long, long time.

[You already did, once. It's almost the clearest worded thought Kratos has had so far, and behind it is a strength of gratitude and a helpless collection of feelings which amount to I'm not worthy of you and I know you have my back and I remember when ...

[When they had worked together for the betterment of the world. When they had been brothers.]

You guys are talking when I can't hear you again, aren't you?

[Lloyd's expression is amused and curious and exasperated, and it makes Kratos huff self-deprecatingly again.]

I'm -- sorry. I ... I hope that Colette won't have to sacrifice herself.

[Lloyd grins.]

Well, yeah. That's what all this is about, right? To make sure no one has to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the world.

[... All this?]

[conductingresistance]

[Nostalgia's a powerful thing. It can't be like it was, but...]

[Then again, Yuan looks more like himself than he has in fifteen years. What he passes back is dismissive fondness; an of course in emotional form.]

Some things are faster by thought. Kratos has a great deal to catch up on.

[Which is all true, without giving Lloyd the full picture of exactly how deep the emotions between Yuan and Kratos are running. It does feel like old times, when they could bite sarcasm at each other and pass the truth of it where neither of them had to speak it aloud.]

I've already ensured that Colette has a key crest. The rest will be somewhat more complicated, but... not impossible.

[She's still at risk for the crystallization, but I'm keeping an eye on her. Shall I spare you details for now?]

[simulsimul]

I ...

[Kratos hesitates, finally pulling back from Lloyd, but only to touch his chest, where the sword had impaled him. He's nearly surprised by the feel of the scar under the shirt. It's been a very long time since he's had the opportunity for any details of the world outside the tower, on a scale smaller than the two worlds.

[But at the same time he still feels overwhelmed.]

I'm -- yes. Not ... yet. Just tell me that you have a plan.

[Even if it's one of your stupid, reckless plans. This, amused fondness, faintly hesitant while he still tests the idea of being able to broadcast this sort of amusement and have it be answered.]

[conductingresistance]

We have a plan.

[Yuan refrains from offering any more than that, though he's some little bit irritated by the low assessment of his planning skills. He has created plans that work before. Kratos, sitting before them, is the evidence.]

...It's something of a group effort.

[At your own pace. We aren't going anywhere, and we can afford the time for you to rest.]

[Yuan shifts in his chair finally, abandoning the stillness he's maintained so far; but it's only to shift the new ponytail with minor annoyance, not to actually go anywhere.]

[simulsimul]

Hmh.

[It's a laugh, sort of. There's a smile there, at least. But 'at your own pace' causes Kratos problems; he doesn't know what happens next. His gaze keeps being drawn back to Lloyd, but Lloyd can't sit there for Kratos to stare at him for hours on end. He could go back to sleep, but he isn't sure he wants to. He's spent so long being incognizant; as nice as it was to sleep, the idea of going back to it is rather less than appealing.

[In the end Kratos's gaze is drawn by the layered shift of Yuan's hair, and he remembers he never answered Yuan's question.]

I like your hair better this way.

[It's awkward. It's very awkward. Kratos doesn't know what to say or do next, and he winds up edging that sense of adrift confusion, combined with question, at Yuan. Maybe Yuan knows something to do.

[He does not see the face Lloyd is making at Yuan's hair, the frown and nose wrinkle. (It looks so weird!)]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan does see the face. He supposes this is to be expected. He's going to startle much of the group, and it was something of an impulse decision, but... it feels more correct. He fusses with the tie once more before flicking the long tail back over his shoulder.]

I'm not used to it loose any more.

[This with a bit of a frown, as Yuan's expressions go. Mostly in return for Lloyd's.]

Introductions could be made, if you're up for it. The others will be glad to know you woke up, at any rate, and Raine will want to get a look at you eventually.

[Healer, Yuan provides absently for context, mixing and matching the vocal with the mental with barely a concern for it.]

And we have... a great deal of catching up to do.

[The lighter things first, and no plan details, but something to ground Kratos in the here and now, perhaps. Calm and steady is also not what anyone would call Yuan's strength, but he tries it anyway, at least for a little while, projects something like patience and reassurance back at Kratos.]

[simulsimul]

I could --

[Braid it for you. It's an automatic offer before Kratos realises that he isn't sure he remembers how to braid, or that his hands are capable of such fine control anymore. The offer is mentally curtailed halfway by that uncertain confusion.]

... Never mind. I -- introductions?

We can introduce you to Genis's cooking, too! I mean, if you feel up to trying food again, after so long.

[Lloyd's voice turns a bit uncertain halfway through, but Kratos can tell he's trying. Even though he can't hear what Yuan hears, it must be obvious that Kratos is not precisely the father Lloyd expected to get. Kratos isn't sure he's ready for food, either, but flounders a bit in the face of trying not to disappoint his son so soon after regaining him.]

Maybe another time.

[Still, getting off the bed seems like a good start, even if Kratos doesn't know where they're going. He twists to swing his legs off the edge of the bed, while Lloyd scrambles off the other side and comes around to hover, a bit anxiously, while Kratos tries to decide whether he's prepared to try and stand up.]

[conductingresistance]

[I don't mind, if you want to try. You probably have a better conception of the patterns than anyone else here could.]

[And at this length it's a little difficult for Yuan to manage a complete braid on his own, though he can manage and will get used to it again.]

One thing at a time. Introductions first.

[Yuan watches the two of them a little longer, noting how Kratos moves, before standing and offering Kratos his hand. It's steady and solid by dint mostly of his will, and Yuan waits for Kratos to be ready to stand. He'll catch, if necessary.]

[simulsimul]

[Maybe later.

[After Kratos has a grasp of his own capabilities right now. He exhales, a conscious thing, and then takes Yuan's hand to get to his feet; and almost instantly sways.

[It's not a matter of general weakness. On the bed he was fine. The bed is solid. But being on his own two feet isn't much more secure than hanging from a dais, with a different distribution of weight. Nearly at once his body and mana object to the change with a sweeping dizziness that makes Kratos grip Yuan's hand harder and press his fingers to his head against the roar in his ears.

[So many parts of him expect his weight to be elsewhere, expect an extra weight of the Sword in his back; it takes some minutes for him to orient himself, lifting his head gingerly and blinking at the door.]

Mnh. This may take a while.

[conductingresistance]

[It's hardly urgent. Yuan steadies Kratos mostly because he was expecting to have to, returning the grip as much for reassurance as stability.]

Lean on me if you need to. As I said, we're safe here for at least a few days. You have time to recover.

[Though a few days are a little patch on fifteen years; at the very least, angelic regeneration should help some aspects. When Kratos is ready they head for the stairs, one step at a time, Yuan absently running a quick tally of where people should be. Genis is probably still in the kitchen, at the very least.]

[Raine, he discovers, is on the stairs; he places her mana only a moment before he sees her. Raine's eyes widen for a moment; then, in deference to the larger group of people, backs down, and waits at the bottom.]

[She tilts her head at them when they're at her level, a sideways study paired with a small smile.]

It's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?

[Yuan waits a moment to see if she's going to introduce herself, then himself adds,]

This is Raine. She's a teacher, as well as a healer.

[simulsimul]

[Kratos does indeed lean on Yuan, with Lloyd hovering behind them both as a backup, since there isn't room on the stairs for three abreast. Coming face-to-face with someone new nearly the instant they leave the room has Kratos blinking wordlessly.

[You're picking up strays, I see. It's a fond, unsurprised remark, a note on Raine's race. Yuan has not always been the most compassionate to his own people, given what he'd had to do to rise to the military rank he'd held so long ago; but Kratos is not surprised that he's travelling with other half-elves. Is she out?

[That is, should he pretend she's something other than what she is?

[Once more, Kratos nearly forgets that the spoken word is an option, and hesitates before answering Raine, long enough for Yuan to introduce them properly.]

I'm -- alive.

[This is not precisely a surprise, but given the circumstances, it's about as much as he can say. ... Except for one thing; because, as always, the fact that he still has a son is a downright miracle.]

Do you teach Lloyd?

[Almost before the question is out, Kratos hears Lloyd groan behind him.]

Man, do we have to talk about that?