Consciousness was slow and sluggish in returning, and it felt like he had to dig through wet cotton in his mind just to think enough to open his eyes. Ugh, what had happened? And why was the sun so bright? Wincing, he tried to turn his head away from it, tried to lift his hand-

He couldn't. His head turned, but he couldn't escape the light. His fingers twitched, but that was all. He couldn't move his arm to shield his eyes. With a low groan, he made a concerted effort to try to gather his thoughts, to claw through the thick blanket someone had stuffed into his head that was making it so hard to think. He just had to move his arm. How hard could that be? Finally, he tried again, struggling against the resistance - and hard metal dug into his skin.

With a grunt, Lloyd's eyes snapped back open, pain jolting his mind through the fog that had settled over it. Still too bright, far too bright, but that wasn't what was wrong. What was wrong was that his arm was trapped. He twisted and pulled, but-

But it wasn't just that arm. His other arm was just as pinned, resisting everything he did to pull it free. His legs, too, and- Alarm shot through him. His heart pounded in his chest. He wasn't just trapped. Someone had tied him down in place!

"What's going on?!" He meant the shout to come out as an angry demand for answers, but his eyes were wide. Too wide. He fought against the restraints again. Dammit, he had to break free!