ShadowVDP's and DragonLady24's first co-op fic! WHOO! Go us!

Locket of Love

Kratos tore down the dirt path, his hand squeezing Anna's in a death grip. If he didn't drag her, she would fall dangerously behind. It had all been so fast. One minute, everything was peaceful, birds chirping, kids playing. Then, the wretched Desians had to come and ruin it all.

Especially for Anna.

They had finally been able to hide in Asgard for a while. Kratos had dug enough out of Cruxis's savings (Which he excused as his vast mercenary's earn. Anna hadn't learned of his background quite yet.) , and spent it on two rooms for a month. Yggdrasill wasn't too suspicious at first, seeing as the starting withdrawl was only three-hundred and fifty gald. The blue winged Seraphim excused it as repair fees for one of the ranches. A 'room' in the Asgard Ranch had been 'mysteriously' blown to bits with 'unidentified' traces of mana left in its presence. The story wasn't entirely false, he just didn't mention the part about it being his fault and the money was paying for his room and Anna's room.

As time passed, more and more money was withdrawn from the seemingly endless account, but Yggdrasill became suspicious. He called on Pronyma one day in concern about this.

"Pronyma." Yggdrasill's eeriely high voice made it almost impossible for him to pull off the guttural rumble of a maniac bent on recreating world order. It ended up making him sound like he had a bad case of the cold.

"Yes Mi'lord." The green haired slut materialized in her master's room. "Is there something you require of me?"

Yggdrasill stroked his chin. "Yes. You have been noticing the depletion in our funds right? You do keep a close eye on it?" He eyed her suspiciously when she looked at him confusedly.

Pronyma, not really having thought about checking the infinite amount of gald they held, stuttered out a confirmation. "Y-Yes Mi'lord. Of course." Her body froze at attention, afraid to make any sudden movements, for fear the crazed half-elf would dismember her for any wrong gestures. With her chin held at an angle, she felt a soft breeze as her superior paced around.

"And all of these withdrawls have been made by Kratos."

"Yes."

He stopped mid-step and turned to face her. "I want you to keep tabs on Kratos. He's been acting strange lately, and I don't want any conspiracies going on behind my back."

Pronyma obeyed in a heart-beat. She desired Kratos; it was her dirty little secret. "Of course Mi'lord. I'll get right on it." A smile spread across her lip-stck lathered lips, showing off pearly white teeth. "I will be watching him, every hour of every day. Just as you command." She nodded in satisfaction and turned to get on her mission right away.

"Oh, and Pronyma." Her leader stopped her stride just as a foot was toe-deep into the purple glowing of the teleporter.

"Yes Mi'lord?" She asked through clenched teeth.

"This is a survaillence mission. Do not show yourself for any reason! Understood?"

The slut's mood faded a little. "Y-Yes Mi'Lord." She answered, sticking her whole into the light.

Pronyma had finally managed to pin Kratos and Anna, the angelus project. Once she reported her findings to Yggdrasill, he smirked. If he could let them revel in thier security for a while, they might become a little more careless.

And that's just what happened. Anna figured that she'd been hiding long enough to wear something other than a turtleneck, revealing the bright blue Cruxis Crystal embedded in her skin. The long sleeve itchy articles of clothing were killing her. This wasn't a cold enough area to wear those in broad daylight, and there had been no one here that knew of the crystal's origins. Plus, the odd stares she would recieve from the townspeople gave her a sense of insecurity. So that day, without Kratos's consent, she pulled a light, low-cut, cream blouse over her head. The subtle white mixed well with her chocolate eyes.

During the past month though, the Cruxis leader had actually posted Desians all around the city diguised as residents to fool the pair-in-hiding. He had given them orders to take the A-012 subject as soon as she revealed her crystal and was alone.

The girl walked out into the bright sunshine, blue crystal gleaming. A bright smile graced her faded pink lips. Kratos had left to go do something or another, get some money maybe? He'd told her, but the only thing her mind was set on was a full day of shop browsing in a comfortable outfit. The warm breezes of Asgard caressed her blouse gently, making it sway around her stick thin frame. Her body shivered a little in the warmth before starting her day.

Asgard was busy with tourists, as usual. Anna relished in the crowds and crowds of talkative people surrounding her in a loud hum of activity. Lines to different stores ran up and down the paths and stairs while vendors shouted thier wares. The bubbly woman skipped around the city, unaware of the steely eyes of Desians watching her every move. A bright golden chain sitting on a stand, being lifted slightly high enough that it shone like the sun itself, caught Anna's curious brown eyes. She cocked her head and walked up beside it. A jovial man behind the counter seemed to pop out of nowhere, causing her to jump.

"Hello there young lady! My, aren't you a pretty thing. This necklace right here would be lovley around that pretty neck. Here, take a look." He handed her an elaborate bronze necklace with various baubles adorning it. It was nice, but it was definitely not her color. She pushed his hand away gently with a 'thanks, but no thanks' gesture. His mood dampened a bit, but he managed to keep the bright smile and wait for her desicion. Anna smiled apologetically and began to look around for that necklace she caught a glimpse of. Her brown eyes scanned over the table, and were stopped by a golden locket. It wasn't the elegant chain, pristine condition, or the big shiny locket itself that caught her eye, it was the initials that were engraved on it.

K - A

How coencidental. Anna stood there for a solid two minutes oogling at the locket.

"Miss?" The salesman brought her out of her thoughts. She smiled.

"I would like that one please." She pointed an elegant finger to the locket.

He nodded happily. "That'll be five-hundred gald please."

She winced. That was all the money she had. Kratos would be very suspicious about that, but, she just had to have that locket. In a reluctant manner, she held out the bag of clinging gald at full length in-between two fingers, like it would bite her. The man took it greedily from the woman and shoved the locket towards her posistion. She thanked him and snatched up the jewelry before he could pull a fast one on her. A smile spread on her lips. The yellow metal went perfectly with her cream colored shirt and chocolate brown eyes.

After fastening it around her neck, the chain making a delicate V shape that framed the cerulean crystal on her chest, she left to do something to earn the money back. Five-hundred gald was going to be a lot to make up for, and daylight was running out.

Five hours and she'd came up with three-hundred thirty-five gald. She sighed exasperatedly and leaned against the wall of an inn. Her shoulder length hair was now a tumble-weed and her clothes had been wrinkled beyond repair. "And this was my favorite to." She moaned. It took deliveries across the city, taking on the busy task as a waitress, cleaning up a shop, selling some of her own items, and chasing chickens, but at least it was something. "Only one-hundred sixty-five more gald to go Anna." She chanted to herself. The sun was starting to set and Kratos would be back any minute. She had to find a job that would give her enough money to tell him a reasonable explination for the loss of savings. Using what little willpower she had left, she lifted her sleeping feet and began to move again.

After another hour, the shops had closed and Anna scraped another fifty gald for her pitiful collection. She looked down at it sadly. Kratos was always harsh on her whenever she made a 'stupid desicion'. Three-hundred eighty-five gald... Only have to come up with an explination for one-hundred and fifteen of it. If only a meal cost that much...

Her body shook from her drained energy as she skulked along the streets.

"Hello there!" A man stepped in front of her.

"Wha-?" She looked up, squinting her already shut eyes in a failed attempt to clear her vision.

"I've heard you've been looking for ways to earn money."

"Y-Yeah." She rubbed her eyes and found a green haired man with defining blue eyes starting down at her.

"Well, just follow me." He said, and turned to walk in the other direction.

"O-Okay." The woman yawned and willed her feet to move forward. Just a little more gald left. She could do it. All she had to do was follow this strange man. Before she knew it, he had led her to a dark alley way on the out-skirts of town. Without any warning, he spun around and grabbed her elbow in a police grip and pulled her to him. Her eyes widened at his actions, but went even wider when his hair fell to reveal slightly pointed ears.

"Angelus Project A012, you are being taken back to the Asgard ranch and are also being punished for your disobeyment." He barked. She tried tp struggle free, but he called in help to restrain her. Soon she was on the ground with a pair of hands holding hers behind her and a foot pressing soon on her back. Suddenly, something hard connected with the back of her head, and everything went black.

Kratos pushed past the crowded streets, frantically searching for his lost charge. Where'd she go? Was this another Palmacoasta incident? The pedestrians glared at him irritably as he bolted up and down the streets in the opposite direction of traffic flow.

"Anna!" He called. Well, if this was another Palmacoasta, she'd most likely be outside the city gates. His angelic speed boosted him forward like a bolt of lightening, two agile feet dodging obstacles in his path. When he finally reached the arch, a tiny speck could be seen in the distance. It could- no... it must be Anna. Once again, he took off in a superhuman sprint, determined to catch her. As he got closer, inch by inch, foot by foot, yard by yard, he could make out a few other people besides Anna. In fact, one of them was carrying Anna in his arms. Wait, was she... unconscious?

Two garnet orbs lowered in a glare. Kratos's knuckles turned a snow white under his gloves as he gripped the hilt of his sword. In one stride, he caught up with the group. Now he could tell.

They were Desians.

His countenance was twisted with hate. Eyes narrowed and nostrils flared, anyone who tried to take him on would fall into submission just by taking a glance at his face. The Desians paled as they turned around to look at him.

"L-Lord Kratos?" One stuttered.

No words were spoken. No screams were screamed. The shortest battle ever took place as Kratos took two swipes that killed them all with two swipes of his sword. As soon as the last man fell, he caught Anna in midair and tired to awaken her.

"Anna?" He shook her, then checked her for any wounds. After checking her arms and face, he ran his hands through her hair and felt a bump. He could tell it must've hurt, or that it was going to. The slight pounding of footsteps reached his angelic ears. More Desians?

He turned his head reluctantly to find a small army of half-elves charging after them. His eyes widened and he took off as fast as he could in the other direction, Anna clenched to his chest. The woman squirmed a little and a soft groan escaped her lips. Her slender fingers moved immideatly to the bump on her head.

"K-Kratos?" She asked. Her chocolate eyes opened to see just how fast they were going. "Holy crap! Put me down Kratos!" She screamed.

"Can you keep up?" He asked. She completely ignored him and kept struggling to get free. At last, he finally slowed down just enough to put her down without her falling down. She stumbled a bit, but gained a constant speed.

And Kratos kept speeding up.

His swallow-tailed cape became smaller and smaller in her view, often obstructed by the hair in her face.

The mercenary looked behind him. Her slow pace agitated him. At this rate she was going, the Desians would catch up in no time.

Anna's foot a rock, causing her to trip. She screamed, but was abruptly stopped when a rough, gloved hand caught hers and pulled her along. She ran her fingers through her hair so she could get a good look at Kratos in front of her, then to her hand, which had already started to ache from his vice grip. Trying not to be a burden (so not to get yelled at), she kept her complaint to herself, only whining when the pain became unbearable.

After one hour of non-stop running, Anna couldn't help it anymore. She jerked away her hand.

"That hurts!" She yelled.

"Anna," Kratos used his 'listen to me wether you like it or not' voice. "You are incapable of keeping up with me. Therefore, I must drag you."

"Well I'm sorry that I'm too d*** inferior for you!"

"Why do you think that you're an inferior to me?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"B-Because," Tears began to fill her eyes. "Y-You always yell at me for things I can't control. 'Anna! Go faster!' 'Anna! Why must you be so ignorant?' Anna! Why can't you be Mr. Perfect like me? a-and," She had to wipe away some tears with her forearm and sniff. "I-I'm not superhuman! D*** mercenary! Leave me alone!" She darted past him, face in her hands, completely blind as to where she was headed. For all she knew, she could be running towards the Desians.

And she was.

But she didn't care.

Kratos stood there, frozen in shock for a whole two seconds. Did he really appear like that to Anna? His eyes blinked back into focus, his mind back ot reality. He watched as Anna ran straight towards her doom. "Anna!"

Her feet flew over the grassy plains.

Kratos put his mask of intimidation back on and chased her. It only took a few seconds to catch up, but the Desians were only a few yards away. With fierce determination, he shot forward and grabbed Anna around the waist, and in one fluid motion, he lept into the air and unfurled his crystaline blue wings. The screams that were coming from Anna a moment ago were now subdued by the fact that they were far, far away from the ground. The frustrated Desians below them got smaller and smaller as Kratos ascended.

Her body was shaking relentlessly as Kratos set her on the ground beside Lake Umacy. The short, jagged breaths that came from her mouth racked her body with shivers from both the crisp night air and the fact that she just flew with... with...

She spun on a dime and faced the looming mercenary. Her brown eyes glared at him, and he glared back. They stood there in silence.

SMACK!

There went the silence.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me you were an angel?!?!?"

"I-"

"D****t Kratos! I hate you! Not only did you not tell me, but you fussed at me because I wasn't an angelic being! You son of a b****! I never want to see your face aga- mmph!"

Kratos forced his lips on Anna's, moving them slowly. She went stiff as a board as he encircled her figure with his arms, and her eyes were wide open, staring into the man's closed lids. With a push, he molded her body to his, her delicate curves melting in with his muscular chest. The same gloved hands that crushed her's a minute ago, now gently pressed against her back in a loving embrace. Shivering, she returned his gesture and wrapped her slender limbs around his back. The tops of her eyelids fluttered closed as she began to move her lips in a quiet harmony with his. Kratos then parted from her and gazed lovingly into Anna's brown orbs.

"Anna, I never meant to make you feel inferior. Believe me, you are a much better person than I am. I-I only said those things because I needed you to stay safe. Anna I-"

Her eyes widened in expectation.

"I love you."

And that was all the conformation she needed. Once more, she forced him to meet her lips again. His grip on her back and waist crushed her into him. A soft moan emanted from Anna's throat as he leaned into the kiss a little more passionatley than before. The arms around him slipped back and over his neck, pulling his face closer to her. A few tears of joy ran down her cheeks, and were stopped by her lover's thumb. He gently caressed the side of her face, and let more of his other hand cover her back. The two initials "K-A" that were engraved into Anna's locket glimmered in the moonlight.

It was during that time that they knew for sure...

They would stay by each other forever.

But, forever isn't very long...