With the disorientation that had hit him once already, Lloyd was more prepared for it the second time it came. Not that being prepared made him feel any steadier, but at least this time it didn't come as a surprise when he staggered after following Ishida back through the door they'd come through. He shook his head, trying to clear his swimming vision, but while he heard the others' words clearly, they didn't register.
Or they did, but they didn't have a chance to elicit a response before his mind skipped and stalled, recognition sinking in with a mix of numb shock. "This..."
It couldn't be. There was no way this place could be anywhere near Landel's Institute. It shouldn't even be in the same world. How did they even get here? But as Lloyd's eyes skipped around the spartan room, he couldn't ignore what he saw. The sheets that had been pulled from the bed when something - someone - was dragged from their warmth-
-do you want to meet your father?-
-the plate that had been left on the floor nearby, still holding a few half-eaten bites of food, as though someone had been too tired to finish their meal-
-now I feel sleepy all of a sudden. I'm going to bed-
-but the clincher, the thing that made the room feel like it was spinning again, was the gear leaning against the wall right next to the rumpled bed. Lloyd crossed the room numbly, heading straight for it. Twin swords, light weight and slightly curved, rested in their sheaths right next to a small pouch that Lloyd knew, knew contained a few tools, basic things he'd used to repair Key Crests when he'd been the only one that could. A smaller bag had slipped free of the pouch. He picked it up.
The lock picks inside only cemented the conclusion that didn't make any sense. Turning, Lloyd looked at his companions, bewilderment clear in his voice even if they'd have a hard time seeing his face in the night. Scant starlight made its way through a window slit up high.
"This..." He swallowed, tried again. "This is Altessa's house. This is my world - or, well, sort of." In a surreal way, though, it was his world - more his world than the world the institute was part of. "We're in Tethe'alla. But how...?"
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Or they did, but they didn't have a chance to elicit a response before his mind skipped and stalled, recognition sinking in with a mix of numb shock. "This..."
It couldn't be. There was no way this place could be anywhere near Landel's Institute. It shouldn't even be in the same world. How did they even get here? But as Lloyd's eyes skipped around the spartan room, he couldn't ignore what he saw. The sheets that had been pulled from the bed when something - someone - was dragged from their warmth-
-do you want to meet your father?-
-the plate that had been left on the floor nearby, still holding a few half-eaten bites of food, as though someone had been too tired to finish their meal-
-now I feel sleepy all of a sudden. I'm going to bed-
-but the clincher, the thing that made the room feel like it was spinning again, was the gear leaning against the wall right next to the rumpled bed. Lloyd crossed the room numbly, heading straight for it. Twin swords, light weight and slightly curved, rested in their sheaths right next to a small pouch that Lloyd knew, knew contained a few tools, basic things he'd used to repair Key Crests when he'd been the only one that could. A smaller bag had slipped free of the pouch. He picked it up.
The lock picks inside only cemented the conclusion that didn't make any sense. Turning, Lloyd looked at his companions, bewilderment clear in his voice even if they'd have a hard time seeing his face in the night. Scant starlight made its way through a window slit up high.
"This..." He swallowed, tried again. "This is Altessa's house. This is my world - or, well, sort of." In a surreal way, though, it was his world - more his world than the world the institute was part of. "We're in Tethe'alla. But how...?"