Hu-ZZAH! An update n.n

Lori: Wow. That was fast. (Sarcasm)

Lloyd: Considering she should be working on the other however many she has, yeah.

Me: Shut up! You-! …Twins.

Lori: We’re not twins!

Lloyd: Yeah! We’re- each other.

(silence)

Lori: Okay, let’s be twins.

Lloyd: Yeah… Freakyanimegal owns nothing.

Yay Awkwardness

The Irving teens shot a glance at each other, locked eyes, and then hastily looked away.

“This is way too weird…” Lori sighed heavily.

“You think it’s weird?” Lloyd scoffed. “I-“

“You what? You’re going through the same exact thing; it’s just as weird for both of us!”

“But-!”

Raine curtly snapped ‘Lloyd’ just as Regis said ‘Lori’ in their ‘teacher voices’. Needless to say, the pair silenced.

“Okay, so if we’re from different universes…” Genis trailed, glancing at Jean, “then which universe are we in? Ours or theirs?”

“Yours, I think,” Regis said, looking around, “the mana’s a bit different here than in our universe.”

“Fascinating! But then, what drew you here? Why didn’t we get drawn to yours?” Raine wondered, looking at her double.

“I have no idea,” he admitted, then his eyes lit up as well, “really, this is such a fascinating occurrence! I should start writing notes!”

“Me too!” Raine exclaimed.

They both did just that, scribbling down notes madly in their own blanks books. The rest of the group decided to just stare at them for a moment before Colette spoke up, eying her double.

“So…um, Cole?” she tilted her head to the side. “Are you a Chosen too?”

“Huh-? Yeah,” he nodded, “Did you-?”

“Just unlock the Fire Seal?” she asked.

“Yeah!” the boy nodded with a smile. “I got these!”

Light red wings bloomed from his back, showering a mess of crimson sparkles as they did so.

“W- Woah-!” Lloyd’s eyes widened.

“Me too!” Colette grinned, splaying her own pink wings.

“Well, that’s cool and everything but um…” Lori began, glancing at Lloyd, “How are we supposed to get back? That glowing ball thingy is gone now.”

Everyone stopped.

“Um…” Jean frowned, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.

“W- What?! You mean we’re stuck here?!” Lori cried, obviously uncomfortable with the fact.

“I say we blame the whole thing on Lloyd,” Genis said, pointing at his friend.

“I agree, Lori, this is your fault,” Regis smirked, glancing at his pupil.

“Wh-!? Professor, you jerk!” she scoffed, stomping her foot. “Why do you always pick on me?!”

“It’s fun,” he shrugged, “I can’t blame the Chosen, and if I blame Jean she’d find some way to make me suffer for it.”

“Why not Katherine then?!” she demanded, pointing at the purple-clad woman.

“I make it a habit not to piss off beautiful women,” he purred a bit, looking Katherine up and down.

“Then cease looking at me like that and you might live,” she huffed, her eyes narrowed.

“So you’re saying I’m not beautiful?! Thanks a lot!” Lori snapped, red in the face.

“Lori, that’d make me look like some kind of pedophile,” Regis rolled his eyes.

“Pedo-what?” both blondes asked.

“We should head for Triet,” Kratos stated out of the blue, drawing the groups attention.

“Huh? But what about-“ Lloyd started.

“Standing around here isn’t going to accomplish anything,” he explained, “Since we were heading for Triet at any rate, we might as well take them along.”

“I concur,” Katherine closed her eyes, “we are not familiar with this universe, and the desert is dangerous regardless of that. We might as well go together.”

“Wow, you agree with yourself,” Lori huffed, glaring at the woman, “I’m so surprised.”

“Why is Kratos so scary as a girl…?” Lloyd shuddered, eyeing the two.

“They are right,” Raine nodded, “we can discuss this further when we’ve reached safety.”

So they all, some reluctantly and some excitedly, headed for the oasis. Colette and Cole were in rapid discussion about dogs and various ways to name them, obviously pleased at having someone who understood their…hobby; whereas Raine and Regis exchanged and brainstormed theories. As for the rest of this crew, however, their time was dominated by long periods of awkward silence. Lori and Lloyd kept looking at each other, flinching, and looking away, whereas Genis and Jean kept staring at each other in fixed fascination.

Kratos and Katherine down-right ignored each other.

“So, um…you fight with a kendama too?” Genis asked the girl, attempting to make conversation.

“Wh-? Oh, yes,” she nodded, “Lori made it for me.”

“Hey, Lloyd made mine too,” Genis grinned, “huh, I wonder if we have everything in common…?”

“Most everything, I guess,” she bit her lip, “I bet you don’t cook all your meals…”

“Actually, I do,” Genis smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, “Raine’s a horrible cook…”

“Really!? I thought that was just a guy thing! Regis can’t cook either!”

The preteens burst into laughter before they were both silenced by smacks to the head.

“Ow-!” they cried in unison.

“You hit your sister?!” Raine scoffed, turning to look at Regis.

“Huh-? Why are you criticizing me? You hit your brother!” the man huffed at her.

“How dare you hit a girl!” Raine put her hands on her hips. “Really! What kind of a man are you!?”

“You hit your sibling too! You hypocrite-!”

“Honestly! A grown man hitting a little girl!” the woman ignored him. “You should be ashamed of yourself!”

“Feh, well frankly, a woman like you shouldn’t be so abusive!” he spat back.

Raine smacked Regis across the face, instantly securing the attention of everyone present. Even more so when Raine yelped and clutched her own cheek; just as Regis yelped and held his wound. Regis hadn’t touched Raine, which instantly drew curiosity to why it was Raine was now in pain.

“Did you…see that?” Lloyd trailed, staring at the half-elven adults.

“Huh,” Lori frowned, “You don’t think…?”

The brunettes looked at each other a minute. Then Lori smirked and smacked her male counter-part upside the head.

“Ow-!” he shouted.

“Ah-!” she did as well, clutching the back of her head.

“Interesting,” Genis frowned, “we feel the same things the other person does.”

“Fascinating!” Raine and Regis cried, their hostility toward the other forgotten.

The pair delved into rampant theories and speech once more, the rest of the group deciding to ponder the new information for themselves.

“So whatever happens to me, happens to you?” Colette wondered, looking at Cole.

“I guess…” he frowned a bit.

“So if I kicked Lloyd below the belt, would it still hurt Lori?” Genis mused.

Raine smacked Genis, causing Jean to yelp.

“Oh-! I’m sorry about that, Jean,” Raine said, covering her mouth with her hand.

“I- It’s okay,” she said, “you forgot.”

“Hey, what about me?! That hurt!” Genis cried.

“This is kinda neat,” Lori grinned, “I mean, it’s bad we’re stuck here and all, but still!”

“Stop chatting and get a move on,” Kratos chided.

Lori let out a huff of annoyance, glaring at the man as she crossed her arms over her torso. Kratos’ eyes widened an imperceptible amount, instantly relating the image to that of his deceased wife. That girl…looked so very much like Anna. If Lloyd had been born a girl, would he have looked-? Well, obviously, Lori was Lloyd. Briefly he wondered about Lori’s father, if he had looked similar to Lloyd.

“Why are you…staring at me like that…?” Lori asked slowly, backing away from him a bit.

“It’s nothing,” he said, turning back to the path ahead.

“She looks like your wife,” Katherine said almost inaudibly from beside him.

“She does,” he replied simply.

“Lloyd looks like Andrew,” she said.

“Your husband?”

“Yes,” she answered, “yet he looks like you as well.”

“Same could be said for Lori,” he said.

“I know,” she stated.

“I take it Mythia-?”

“Mithos?”

They exchanged a brief glance and said nothing more, deducing their answers from the other’s expression.

“So how’s Yuan?” Katherine let out a slight huff.

“You still haven’t forgiven him, I see.”

“Like you have.”

“Touche.”

“What’re you guys whispering about?”

The duo turned on spot to glare at Lloyd, whom had drawn close during their almost silent conversation. Katherine looked him over as Kratos replied they were discussing nothing of importance, noting some sand had gotten stuck in the boy’s hair…

“Wh-!? Hey! What’re you-!?”

Katherine had walked over to the teen and proceeded to sweep her hand through his hair in attempt to get the sand out, frowning as she did so.

“Honestly, how did you manage that?” she scoffed. “Unless you’ve been sticking your head in the ground, you shouldn’t have sand in your hair-“

“H- Hey!” Lloyd jerked back, both freaked out and embarrassed. “What the heck, lady?! Who do you think you are?! My mom?!”

Katherine froze, staring at him as Kratos stopped in his tracks. In the silence that followed Lloyd fidgeted, noting the awkward tension that had come as a result of his words.

“W…What? What did I say?” he asked, looking around.

The woman responded only by looking at him another moment before turning and walking away. Lloyd stared after them a minute or two as Lori slid up beside him, a frown on her face.

“Something’s…really weird about her- them,” she said, watching them leave.

“No kidding,” Lloyd huffed, a bit red in the face.

“No, I mean…” Lori trailed, hesitating a bit, “Doesn’t she-? Well, Katherine feels very…familiar.”

“What?” Lloyd looked at her, confused.

“I- I mean, do you feel that around Kratos at all?” she asked, glancing at him.

“No-“

Wait. Was that true? There had been a few situations where…where Kratos had seemed kind of…

“Eek-!”

There was a thud as Jean fell and hit the sand, groaning a bit as Regis yelped and began to run over. Lloyd, however, was closest and instantly went to help her up.

“Hey, are you all right?” he asked, lifting the girl off the ground.

“Y- Yeah, I’m f…” she looked up.

Lloyd raised an eyebrow as the girl’s face flushed bright red.

“Um…Are you sure you’re okay-?”

“I’m fine!” she squeaked. “I just got too excited and tripped when I ran!”

She got to her feet and vehemently dusted herself off, Lloyd feeling all the more confused as her blush intensified. Lori and Genis stood from the sidelines, watching in mixed curiosity.

“Huh, I’ve never seen Jean act like that,” Lori mused, “Oh-! Hey, Genis, are you okay? I mean, you did feel that, right?”

“Yeah,” Genis muttered, rubbing his knee, which appeared skinned, “but it’s not that bad, so-“

“Oh frick! You’re bleeding!” Lori said, noting the trickle of blood.

“H- Huh? I am?” the boy blinked.

Just as he noted this, Regis was already checking his little sister’s wound. However, Raine had yet to draw her attention away from her notes (having not heard Genis’ usual cry of pain, which would have made her run over instantly) and so Lori knelt down, looking at Genis’ knee. It was in this event, with the brunette girl bending down, Genis, being a young male, noticed something. …In this case, two things, which had come down more to his eye level from Lori’s action. Genis’ face shot bright red as she examined his knee, then looked up.

“Your sister can take care of this, right? I’ll go get her,” Lori said with a smile.

A very pretty smile, he noted. He also noted the bounce when she got up quickly, and his cheeks burned brighter red as she ran off.

“Genis? Are you okay now?”

“H- Huh-?” he turned, seeing Jean beside him.

“Regis healed my knee,” she said, gesturing to her knee, “so you should be better now too, right?”

Indeed, his cut had stopped bleeding, it looked good as new.

“O- Oh, yeah…” he noted, not paying too much attention.

“Lloyd ran right over…he’s so sweet…” Jean trailed, blushing a bit.

“Uh- huh,” he said, still not paying attention.

“And he’s got such a cute face…”

“Yeah, she does-“

The duo abruptly stopped, realizing what they were saying. Genis and Jean looked at each other in shock, staring dumbly before they both let out a shout.

“Oh Martel! What am I saying?!” Genis cried in horror, holding his head in his hands.

“Eeek! Ew! Ew ew ew!” Jean shook her head violently. “Gross!”

“What’s wrong with them?” Cole blinked, looking at the youngest pair.

“I don’t know,” Colette frowned, then smiled again, “Okay! So ‘Pepe’ for a brown one with a white belly, right?”

“I think I’d go with ‘Pepper’,” Cole mused.

So they continued on to Triet, thankfully arriving in the later hours, so no one could sit and stare at the newcomers and how much they appeared to look like their inverses. Sure, the hotel host gave them some odd looks, but backed off as soon as Katherine stepped forward to pay. Apparently, he didn’t have a problem with it as much as soon as she was in sight… Needless to say, everyone was either extremely disturbed or jealous (Jealousy in Lori’s case, mainly). So they set up in the room and tried to discuss what had happened, and once each group had gone into detail about before the ‘incident’ they began to muse what to do now.

“So…how do we get home?” Lori asked from her seat on the bed, frowning a bit.

“I don’t know of one,” Katherine explained, “however, it’s safe to say if there is a way to get here, there is a way to get back. We’ll just have to search for one.”

“Oh! Oh!” Colette smiled brightly, clapping her hands. “Maybe you could search with us!”

“What?” Jean blinked.

“W- Well…I mean…you’re with us already, you might as well,” she flushed, fidgeting with her fingers, “we’re going to go all over the world, so that would help you find something, right?”

“I agree, actually,” Regis nodded, “there’s strength in numbers.”

“That, and we simply must compare notes!” Raine grinned.

“Exactly!” he said. “There must be differences between our realities, of course, because there is the basic concept on societal gender roles-“

“Then of course, the basic thought-structures of males and females-“

“Ooooh! Imagine what this will teach us about gender traits!”

“I know! I’m just thrilled at the thought!”

Lloyd and Jean, who had been seated closest to them, scooted away from the silver-heads. Kratos gave out a loud sigh, nodding his head in compliance.

“We might as well, we will be affected by the other no matter where they go, so to keep each other where we can view them will help us,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Lloyd asked.

“Well, if you got a cut or bruise for no reason, you would be a little worried, right?” Katherine explained. “Should we split apart, we will feel our duplicate’s pain regardless, so we might as well watch each other and make sure no harm befalls ourselves and our…other, selves.”

“That makes sense,” Lori nodded, “but…”

“I understand, Lori,” Katherine closed her eyes, “You are worried… Do not be, I am certain we shall find a way to return home.”

“That aside, who’s sleeping where?” Genis asked, tilting his head to the side. “We only were able to get three rooms…”

Indeed, the group of five had become a group of ten, and as of such the rooms they had were two double-bedded rooms and a four-bed room. Two were going to end up on the floor, to begin with….

“The children take priority,” Raine stated firstly.

“I concur,” Kratos nodded, “The desert is cold at night, they should be given the beds. I’ll be fine on the floor; I am used to harsh conditions.”

“Likewise,” Katherine stated.

“W…What? No, I can’t allow that,” Regis shook his head, “I can’t take a bed when a lady’s sleeping on the ground! I’ll give up mine.”

“Your concern is appreciated, however, it is unnecessary,” she stated curtly.

Regis seemed to deflate, slouching a bit at her cold tone.

“All right then, so…perhaps Lloyd, Regis, Genis and Cole can take the four-bed and Kratos can take the floor there, I’ll share with Colette, and Jean and Lori can take the remaining room and Katherine can sleep where she sees fit,” Raine stated, her face furrowed in thought.

“I’d prefer to be with my sister-“ Regis started.

“I’ll be in the room with Jean and Lori,” Katherine stated, “I’ll watch them.”

“Well…” the man hesitated.

He glanced over at Raine, as if asking for help, locking identical eyes with her. Raine frowned a bit and noted his expression, realizing what Regis was getting at. He didn’t trust Katherine, just as she didn’t quite trust Kratos. Though he quite obviously viewed her in a different light half the time for being a female in his age range, he wasn’t comfortable with her sharing a room with his younger sister.

“Perhaps Genis, Regis, Jean and I can take the four-bed, and the remaining boys and girls can split the two beds?” Raine suggested instead.

“So I’ll be rooming with Kratos and …’Cole’?” Lloyd said hesitantly, nervously glancing at the male version of his childhood friend.

“With Colette?” Lori just as nervously looked at the blonde.

“…This has been a very unnerving day for all of us,” Kratos stated, “Perhaps it would be best if we try to stay with the people from either our own reality or our…selves, at least until everyone is more comfortable with this situation.”

So it ended up as such. The Sages took the four-bed, Colette and Cole took a two-bed, and the remaining two-bed was taken by the red-clad warriors. As it happened, this had been the best choice. While everyone was still extremely uncomfortable with inverses of their friends, they all seemed to be getting along with their own counterparts very well. They each had their own beds, after all, though the brunettes got a rather…nasty surprise.

“W- What?! Why are you sleeping in here?!”

Lloyd glared angrily at the purple-wearing pair, obvious frustrated with what they had just been told. Lori was less than enthused herself, but she couldn’t help but wonder why it was Katherine and Kratos both decided they wanted to stay in their room, of all places.

“Why here? Why don’t you stay in with Cole and Colette?” she frowned, half curious and half agitated. “You’re supposed to be guarding them, aren’t you?”

“They are a room over,” Katherine said, glancing away, “They will be fine.”

“Why are you so uncomfortable by us?” Kratos asked, tilting his head to the side.

“I…I…hmph, fine, whatever,” Lloyd grumbled, turning away, “B- But if you are…then Katherine, you should take my bed. I shouldn’t make a girl sleep on the floor-“

“That won’t be necessary,” she stated curtly, glaring at him, “You are younger, you need rest. Thatand you are not as experienced, not to mention male.”

“W- What?” he stared at her.

“Women have an extra layer of fat that keeps them warmer in cold temperatures,” she said simply, closing her eyes, “Therefore, I’ll be warmer than you would be had you needed to sleep on the floor. You forget that I, like Kratos, travel for a living. You and Lori both are new to this sort of thing, thus you need the best accommodations.”

“She’s right,” Kratos nodded, “We’ll sleep on the other side of the room; you two get some rest.”

Further grumbles of protest later they did as they were told. Not five minutes later Lloyd was snoring loudly, sprawled out every here and there. Lori on the other hand, lay on her side staring into space for what must have been hours. Her eye twitched a bit at Lloyd’s snoring as she groaned and stuffed the pillow over her head. Great, she always had problems sleeping anyway, and now the snoring… With a growl she tossed again, irritated beyond measure. If they were supposed to be the same damn person, how come she couldn’t fall asleep that fast?! She envied him, really, to be able to do that. Every time she tried to sleep it seemed like her mind would just keep on going as usual, she’d think about the next day, what the plans were, stuff she had to do, if she forgot anything…

“Are you unable to sleep?”

She flinched a bit and sat up, looking up at the male mercenary. Nervously she looked up at him and around the room, finding that Katherine was nowhere around.

“W- Where’s-?” she started.

“Katherine stepped out for a moment,” he stated, “She should be back shortly.”

“…Yeah, I can’t sleep,” she admitted, nodding a bit, “…Hey um…Kratos, right?”

“What is it?”

“Katherine’s really- well, don’t tell anyone I said this- but she’s smart, y’know? So you’re smart too, right?” she frowned.

“I suppose that could be deduced,” the man nodded, crossing his arms.

“Great, then can you tell me how it is he can fall asleep in a second and I…can’t?” she finished lamely, glaring over at Lloyd with a hint of malice.

“You’re a female,” he stated simply, “It’s common for women to have a harder time falling asleep.”

“Why is that?” she asked, sitting up fully as she looked up at him.

“Women’s brains function differently,” he stated, “Males are what you call ‘compartative’ thinkers. They tend to focus on one thing after another, whereas women are more…multi-taskers; when you should be sleeping, as now, you merely continue to plan. It’s really not that large of a difference, though it has its side-effects, obviously.”

“Com…com…?” she stared at him blankly, attempting to wrap her mind around the word.

“You do get what I mean though, do you?” he sighed a bit.

“Yeah, I guess,” she nodded, “but that’s not helping me sleep any.”

“…Try counting rabbits,” he stated.

She stared at him, quite obviously unsure she had just heard him correctly. Kratos fidgeted a tiny bit before sighing, rubbing his forehead.

“I knew someone once who would count rabbits instead of sheep,” he explained, “She…said it helped more.”

“Well, I guess I have nothing to lose,” she sighed, snuggling back under the covers, “Thanks, Kratos.”

“You’re welcome,” he said simply, wandering away from her bedside.

Within a few more minutes Lori was adding her own snores to Lloyd’s, fast asleep. Somehow, Kratos figured that would work for her….Anna used it all the time. This entire circumstance was so…strange. He looked at Lloyd tossing on the right side, then back at Lori whom was now beginning to drool into her pillow on the left. They were both quite like Anna…amazingly like Anna. Then, this brought up another point. What did that make Lori to him, or to Lloyd? They were technically the same person, yes, but genetically speaking…a twin? And if that was the case-

“Would Lloyd be considered my son?”

His eyes instantly directed to Katherine, whom had sat down beside him as he was thinking. It figured that the only one who would be able to sneak up on him would be ‘himself’, but he dismissed it.

“Hm?” he looked at his ‘twin’.

“He and Lori are…each other, after all,” she explained, glancing at the pair, “So I’m not quite sure how to view this…”

“You certainly act motherly enough to him,” he stated, remembering the events from earlier.

“Hmph,” she glared at him, her eyes narrowed, “You don’t act like a father at all, in any case.”

“Perhaps it’s the lack of a ‘Mother’s instinct’,” he said simply.

“When you personally suffer the effect of labor, you tend to be more protective,” she closed her eyes, “You want to make sure what you put so much trouble into lives.”

“…”

Silence dominated them for a moment before Kratos spoke up, glancing at her.

“So where is she?” he asked.

“I put her in the pen with Noishe,” she explained, “I didn’t expect her to have come as well…she wasn’t near the Lux when we saw it.”

“I was rather curious what that whining sound was,” the man frowned, “it sounded too…feline, to be Noishe.”

“Indeed,” she said, “…Lori finally managed to fall asleep…”

Kratos nodded as the woman observed both of them, a sigh of relief coming from her lips at the sight. She smiled slightly, watching the teens sleep.

“Lloyd looks rather like you, as well…” she noted.

“The same could be said for Lori,” he replied.

“…You…well, you obviously haven’t told Lloyd, I imagine?” she asked, looking at him.

“You haven’t told Lori,” he answered.

“…Should…? No, nevermind,” she cut herself off.

“It would do no good,” Kratos stated simply, staring straight ahead.

“I know that,” she said, turning her own gaze toward the brunettes, “…So what are you planning to do?”

“Hm?” he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

“When the time comes…what are you going to do?” she whispered at a level that only angels could hear, making absolutely sure only he heard.

“What will you do?” he answered curtly.

“…”

The woman looked forward at the snoring teens, her eyes misting a moment before she closed her eyes and let out a soft ‘tch’. Silence predominated them for a minute or so before she finally answered.

“Whatever keeps them alive,” she said.

“Exactly.”

“Zzzz….No-! NOOOOOO Mommy! Not the tomatooooeeesss-!” Lori shouted suddenly.

“Stupid tomaters…” Lloyd mumbled with a groan.

The pair flinched slightly before the duo slumped back into their snoring without another word.

“…” Kratos blinked.

“…Damn tomatoes,” Katherine supplied under her breath.

n.n That was fun. I had this chapter mostly done before so I figured I’d finish it up…

You like? Hate? Tuna sandwich?