Hi again everyone. I know that there were a lot of loose ends in that last story and everyone has been asking all these questions, but don't worry, these questions will be answered in this story, hopefully. Anyway, thanks for all the support, even though I thought that you'd kill me, and I really hope you like this chapter as well. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except Storm, Aria, Anna (Storm's daughter), and Thalion. Kararu Rinomino came up with some of the characters in this story as far as appearance and names as well as Sutra, Kagerou, Martel (Lloyd's daughter), and Merlin. Also, Raspedra Twilight owns the artwork for Storm, so that part is all hers. Namco owns everyone else and I really wish that I did.

Chapter 1: Thalion

"Are you up yet Thalion?" Kratos' voice snapped the boy out of his sleep as he groggily sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah," he yelled back, hoping that Kratos could hear him. He rubbed his eyes a little more before stretching out and yawning. "...at least I am now..." he grumbled as he rolled out of bed.

The boy walked over to one end of his small room and looked into the mirror that was leaning against the wall there. He reached over onto a shelf and grabbed a hair tie as he pulled his long, cyan colored hair back loosely. His hair was down to around the middle of his back and he only wanted to get it out of his face as he tied it up and let it hang down.

Thalion walked over to his clothes that were laying out, he didn't have too many outfits, seeing how his grandfather and him were on the run and weren't really able to go into many towns easily, but he made do with what he had. Thalion was just happy that they had a makeshift home where they weren't bothered by anyone. He grabbed a pair of white pants, similar in fashion as Kratos' outfits from his Cruxis days. He then grabbed his shirt which was a dark blue that looked a lot like his grandfather's with its design, but that Kratos said also resembled his father's clothes as well. He then pulled on two arm sleeves, also a dark blue, to cover the area from the middle of his arm all the way to his wrist. With these in place he grabbed his pair of black gloves. These gloves protected his palms, but the fingers were free from its confines and were allowed easier movement as well.

Thalion then walked over to the other side of his room where, laying on a chair, Thalion grabbed his belt, given to him by Kratos to hold something very important to him. He then reached over and picked up one possession of his that he held very close to his heart. He picked up his father's cape, the cape that his father had wrapped him in to get him out of the fire. Thalion didn't know exactly what happened that day, his grandfather didn't really like to talk about it much and he learned not to push it. Thalion then put on his belt followed by his cape as he got ready to leave his room and make his way to the kitchen.

Before he left though, Thalion made sure to remember something that held the most value to him. Leaning in a corner near the door was a very beautiful sword. The handle was covered in jewels and it sparkled in the morning sunlight as he held it up to inspect it. It wasn't just the beauty from the jewels that made the sword valuable to Thalion, but rather the fact that it had belonged to his mother. She had used the sword for many years and even carried it before she died, sixteen years ago. This is what made it special to him. With the sword and the cape, Thalion knew that he would always have a piece of his parents with him wherever he went.

Thalion walked into the kitchen and smelled breakfast ready for him on the table as he sat at his place, ready to eat.

"You know, with as much sleep as you've been getting lately, I'd swear that you were actually Lloyd's son," Kratos complained as he watched him walk into the room.

"Well, as you can tell, I'm not, I'm his nephew," Thalion said as he grabbed his fork and began to dig into his food.

"Well, maybe so, but you eat like him too," Kratos said, smirking a little as he watched him gobble down his food.

Thalion stopped eating for a moment to bring up yet another question. "So, where exactly is my Uncle Lloyd at?" he asked innocently.

"I wish I knew, but I haven't seen him in years. I haven't seen anyone from before your parents died. I wish I knew what happened to everyone and where they all are, but they are most likely stuck in the same situation as us and I don't think we'll find them anytime soon," Kratos explained to him, becoming a little more depressed at the thought of not having seen his son in so many years.

"I see..." Thalion said sadly as he looked down at his now empty plate. He stood up and took his plate to the counter before heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Kratos asked him before he could get outside.

"I'm going out for a little while to see what's going on around here," Thalion explained.

"We're in a forest and have to keep away from the village, what do you think is going on?" Kratos asked him.

"I just don't want to be cooped up in this house all day," Thalion admitted emitting a small groan at the end to add to his statement.

Thalion made it outside as he looked around the woods, taking in all the sights, sounds, and smells that were out there for him. He began to wander farther and farther away from his home and closer to a nearby village. What he didn't realize was that he was being followed very closely by someone else.

There was someone else in the forest as she watched the young boy move through the woods from her spot high in a tree. She scanned him over with her aqua blue eyes, searching for anything that could help determine whether he was an innocent passerby or whether he was an enemy.

Some of her long brown hair went in front of her face as she tucked it behind her pointed ear so she could see better. She braced herself with one hand against the tree as she moved through the tree as he moved and walked across the branches gracefully from tree to tree as he continued along. The fact that she wore no shoes helped keep her silent and steady as she moved through the trees. She had on a lavender colored top that was lower cut, somewhat like a v-neck, with half-sleeves. She had on a pair of black pants that fit her just right, not too tight but not too loose. She also had a dark purple sash that wrapped around her waist as it angled down from one side to the other. On her back she carried a quiver full of arrows as well as the bow to go along with it. She looked ready to use her weapons at a second's notice if she had to. She kept this in mind as she observed the man walking below her.

The girl kept watching, trying to find any sign that could cause her to attack, but so far he seemed rather innocent. He seemed innocent, at least, until she saw something sparkle on around his waist. His cape blew slightly out of the way as the girl noticed a beautiful sword resting in his belt, a sword with many jewels in the handle. She would know that sword anywhere, she recognized it and knew it had belonged to someone who she had been very close to. That's when she looked closer at his cape and recognized it as well, it having belonged to someone else important who was stolen away from her many years ago. This was what she had been searching for for so long, someone involved in the death of Storm and Yuan. This guy looked too young to have been the one who committed the crime, but she figured he would at least be able to answer who did, with some persuasion of course.

The girl pulled an arrow from her quiver and pulled it back in her bow, lining up with her target and waiting for the right moment to strike. Suddenly, he got right where she wanted him to be and she released the arrow.

Thalion walked through the forest, not feeling quite at ease as he glanced around nervously every now and again. He couldn't help but shake off the eery feeling that he was being watched by someone. He was about to shake off the idea completely, when suddenly, an arrow appeared in his line of vision, attaching itself to the tree he was walking alongside. If he had been one stride ahead, he would have had an arrow right in his head. He gulped loudly as he looked around to see where the source of the arrow had come from.

"Explain yourself or next time I won't miss," a woman's voice called from above as Thalion looked up to see her pulling back yet another arrow, ready to strike. "Who are you?" she asked him, tilting her head a bit with the question.

Well, that's it for the cute little opening chapter. More to come, please don't be worried. I promise, but I want to kind of draw out the beginning to let everything just sink in with everyone. Anyway, I hope you liked it and please remember to review. That's very important. Anyway, thanks for reading, until next time!!