Current mood:	tired
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Entry tags:	colloyd, horror, multi-chapter, r, romance, tales of symphonia, the devil's love song

The Devil's Love Song: Chapter Two (Tales of Symphonia
Title: The Devil's Love Song (Chapter Two)
Author: Queenie Z
Fandom: Tales of Symphonia
Rating: R
Warnings: Lloyd/Colette, violence, gore, strong language, adult situations, multi-chapter
Spoilers: Various end-game details

Summary: Unable to have spared Colette from being harassed and humiliated, a guilt-ridden Lloyd is promised strength by a mysterious shadow.

The Devil's Love Song
Chapter Two: Strength

---

Tybalt Mercutio. That jackass who harassed her. That dirty, lousy, no-good thug who laid his filthy hands on Colette. The incident at the cafe - it was all Lloyd could think about for the rest of the afternoon. What was that bastard planning on doing to her? What would have happened to her if he and Zelos hadn't stepped in? Why couldn't he have been faster - why couldn't he have stopped it from happening?

Questions filled Lloyd's mind as he lay on his friend's sofa, his body tense and his brow furrowed. Thanks to Zelos, he knew what kind of a sick, twisted person this Tybalt was - a sex trafficker from the slums, notorious for his bellicose nature and for treating women like objects. If events hadn't occurred the way they did, would he have tried to make Colette a part of his "business"? Or worse...

"Lloyd?"

He sat up suddenly, surprised. "Oh, Colette... you startled me."

Colette bit her lip. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize, you didn't do anything wrong."

"Sorr-" She stopped herself and smiled. "...See? I'm getting better!"

Lloyd couldn't help but smile back. Even with the earlier incident still weighing on his mind, Colette's smile just seemed contagious. However, her smile soon gave way for a look of concern.

"But Lloyd," she said, "is something wrong? You've been so serious all day... is it because of...?"

He sighed. "I guess it was obvious," he answered, running a hand through his hair. "It's just - I don't know, I just keep worrying about what might have happened if -"

"Lloyd. Don't worry about it."

"What?"

"Don't worry about it," she repeated. "It was my fault anyway. If I hadn't tried to talk to him, then..."

Lloyd shot out of his seat, glaring at Colette directly in the eye. "Stop it!" he shouted, "Stop saying that! It's not your fault - it was never your fault!"

Colette recoiled in surprise at her friend's sudden outburst.

"All your life," he continued, his fists shaking and his eyes filling with angry tears, "all your life you've had to carry the weight of being the Chosen... you've had to sacrifice so much..."

"Lloyd -"

"I'm sorry, Colette!" cried Lloyd, "I'm so sorry! If I had known... I could have stopped that guy from hurting you. It’s not fair that you have to suffer all the time!!"

"Lloyd, don't!" Colette took a hold of his arms, desperate to calm him down. "Please, don't do this to yourself!"

He slowly stopped shaking as he looked down, fighting the tears that were trying to escape. "I wasn't strong enough," he said quietly, "I couldn't do anything to stop it." He stepped out of her grasp and turned away. "I'm sorry."

The girl could only watch as Lloyd disappeared up the staircase, unable to console or bear the burden of his grief.

---

"Goddammit!!"

A pillow hit the opposite wall, thrown with such great force as to rattle a nearby vase. Lloyd was angry - angry at the pillow, angry at Tybalt, angry at Cruxis, the angels, the entire damned system he fought so hard to destroy - but most of all, he was angry at himself. A hero? Yeah, right. He could save both of the two worlds but not a single little girl.

He contemplated throwing another pillow, but suddenly found himself drained of his energy and rage. Instead, he flopped down on the bed, clutching his pillow tightly in his hands. Why did it have to be her? Why did it have to be someone so kind; so precious to everyone she knew? She was too good to deserve this pain - yet he couldn't do a single thing to stop it. He was too weak.

If only he had been stronger...

What is it that you want?

Lloyd shot up and looked around the room. "Who said that?"

You want strength, don't you?

He jumped out of bed and spun around. "Zelos? Colette? Is that you...?"

You want the strength to protect Colette, don't you?

Out of the corner of his eye, Lloyd thought he saw a shadow creeping across the wall. "Wh-who are you!? What do you want!?"

I can give you that strength.

The swordsman froze. This voice - it was as if it had been reading his mind! A bead of sweat rolled down his temple as he approached the shadow.

"What's going on?" he asked, "What are you talking about!?"

"Lloyd?"

He quickly turned around to see Zelos standing in the doorway. Then he looked back to where the shadow had been, only to find it completely gone. He sighed with relief.

"Oh... it's just you, Zelos."

Zelos narrowed his eyes at Lloyd, as if he was thinking.

"...W-what?"

He jumped at Lloyd, grabbing him by the shoulders and putting him into a firm headlock. "That's no way to greet your best friend, Bud!" he teased.

"Ack!" cried the brunette, "Get off!"

"Why should I?" Zelos laughed as he gave his friend a rough noogie, "You saving yourself for Colette? Huh?"

Lloyd shoved the older man off and walked back to his bed.

"...Hey, come on," said Zelos, "can't you take a joke?"

"Not now, Zelos. I'm not in the mood."

The redhead scoffed. "Fine, be that way, Grumpy McDorkface."

Lloyd raised an eyebrow.

Ignoring Lloyd's annoyance, Zelos plopped down on the other bed and kicked off his shoes. "Oh, and speaking of Colette," he began, tossing his duster towards the other side of the room, "that was really cool of you to stand up for her like that."

Lloyd ignored him and said nothing.

"No, really, I mean it," said Zelos. "Tibby was a real asshole back there. You did good to get her out of harm's way." He grinned. "Besides, it was pretty funny when you started punching the crap out of him!" He imitated the punch, slamming a fist into his own hand.

The younger boy stayed silent for a while. Finally, without even glancing back, he broke it.

"...Hey, Zelos?"

"Yeah?"

"...Nevermind."

Another silence; then, a yawn from Zelos. "Suit yourself," he said, tossing the covers over himself. "G'night."

It wasn't long before the Chosen's snores filled the room, but it wouldn't be so easy for Lloyd to fall into slumber. The events of that day and that strange voice all lingered in his head. He did everything he could, but it still wasn't enough... was there really a way he could become stronger - stronger for himself; stronger for Colette? Perhaps there was something he could finally do right for her.

He just hoped that he wasn't going mad.