Day After Tomorrow
Chibi-Sorrow

Prologue

The rain poured relentlessly from the sky as the fallen form of a women struggled to bring herself to her feet. Her simple dress hung in tatters from her battered form, blood leaking from various wounds along her body. She struggled to her knees, her arms shaking as they held her up. She had to find her baby. He had fallen with her when she had been stabbed; she knew he was around here somewhere.

"Lloyd..." She whispered, sobbing under her breath gently. Her body felt as if it were being weighed down thrice the amount of it's own mass. Slipping on the mud beneath her, she fell to the ground again, landing painfully on her side. A whine made itself up from her throat as she closed her eyes, accepting her fate. "I'm so sorry, baby..."

"Anna!"

Hearing her name being called, Anna opened her eyes once more, wearily glancing around in confusion. She couldn't quite comprehend what was going on - blood loss from her stomach wound making her disoriented.

"Anna! Oh, god..." Hands took a hold of her bare shoulders, turning her to the source of the one that had been calling her name. Blinking eyes of russet brown, the women - now known as Anna - stared up into the worried face of her husband. Allowing a small, tight lipped smile to cross her face, she reached up with a shaky hand to stroke his cheek lovingly.

"Kratos... I'm sorry..." She cried, feeling tears prick the corners of her eyes at the thought that she was going to be leaving him, and their son, alone in the world. She closed her eyes in defeat, shaking her head as if reprimanding herself."If only I had... been stronger..."

"No, Anna. No." He scolded her lightly, eyes of dark crimson eying her pleadingly, begging her not to go. "It... it wasn't you. It wasn't you at all. If only I had paid more attention..."

To Anna, he sounded just as broken as her body felt and it tore her heart in two. She let her cool fingers still graze his cheek gently, feeling the warmth and wetness that could only come from him. At first she believed the wetness to only be water. It wasn't until she heard his breath hitch that she knew, she knew for sure, that he was crying. Opening her eyes again, she could only let out a sob as she saw her once strong, indefinitely calm angel cry so openly.

She knew her time was growing short - she could feel that each breath was beginning to get harder and harder to take in. Shaking her head once more, feeling damp strands of chestnut bangs falling into her eyes, she beckoned her love closer with the slight pull of his belted top. "Please, dearest... Find Lloyd. Raise him away from Cruxis - d-don't let them...find him. I beg of you."

"Anna..." Kratos shook his head, spiked auburn hair dripping with rain onto the bloodstained ground. Even he couldn't deny that she was dying from the fatal injury that sucked her life dry. There wasn't a point to trying to get around it - to try and stop it. She was beyond healing spells. She was beyond his help. "I swear it. I... I will protect our son with my life..."

Smiling gently, she sobbed once more as she felt Kratos pull her up into his arms, holding her tightly in his strong grasp. She didn't want to go - no wife or mother wanted to leave her loved once behind - but she had no choice. Wrapping her arms around him for the last time, she kissed him chastely on the lips, drawing what she could from that simple pleasure before she pulled away, leaning into his chest.

"Thank you, my love. You've... made these last years of my life... all I ever wanted..." She whispered as she closed her eyes for the last time. This was it... "I love you... Never forget it..."

And with a final sigh, Anna quietly died in the arms of the one she loved the most.

Kratos placed Anna's body on the ground beneath an area of dense trees, promising to be back to take care of her body as soon as their son was cared for. Ignoring the want to stay there and rot with his deceased lover, he went in search of his son - the only family he had left - in hopes that he would still be alive.

Focusing for a moment, Kratos's wings shot from his back in a burst of color and light, flapping easily even with the pouring rain. Taking one more glance back to his fallen wife, he flew into the dark sky in search of his lost child. He could only pray to Martel that he'd be able to find the toddler and soon. He winced as he felt the wind beat on the cuts he had pertained from the previous fight. I completely forgot about those, he thought to himself with a small shake of his head.

Kratos had searched long and hard with no result. There was no sign of his son or Noishe, the dog-like protozoan that accompanied him and his family as their pet. He had almost given up hope until he noticed a small hut hidden among another outgrowth of dense trees. Silently, he made his decent towards the place in hopes that someone lived there. Maybe they could grant him with a bit of help.

He landed on the ground a few feet from the house with a bit of a stumble, almost falling to his knees. It seemed that even using the small bit of mana to fly was taking it's toll on his body. He had used up quite a bit in the battle with Kvar. The fight hadn't been long - Kvar running before Kratos could annihilate him - but it had still been strenuous. Plus, the emotional stress of it all... Everything was just coming down so hard on him. First his wife, now possible his son? He wasn't sure of just how much more he could take.

Straightening up, he withdrew his wings before he began dragging his sore and tired body to the door with a sort of haste only a father in search of his child could have. He stared at the door for a moment, unsure of how to make the approach on a random stranger before deciding that knocking first would be the best action. He waited for a moment, hearing some noises from within. It only took only another moment of waiting before the door opened, revealing to Kratos none other than a dwarf. He tried to keep on a passive face, but blinked in surprise quite a few times.

"Ya? What do ye want?" The dwarf questioned him gruffly, looking pointedly at the taller man. The dwarf didn't seem to keen on having visitors and Kratos was no exception to this.

"I'm sorry to bother you, sir, but I'm in dire need of help." Kratos spoke calmly, his voice all but a whisper.

The dwarf stared at the moment before sighing, shaking his head as he stepped aside to let Kratos in. "Dwarven Vow Number Two: Never abandon someone in need. Me name is Dirk. Now, what is it ye need, lad?"

"I am Kratos. Kratos Aurion. I... I'm searching for my son and I am unfamiliar with this area. Plus, I'm afraid I'm low on energy. I fear that I won't be able to find him before..." Kratos stopped on that last word, biting his bottom lip as he could feel a lump in his throat. He didn't even want to imagine that the tot was gone, just as his wife.

Dirk gave him a strange look for a moment before replying: "Yer boy? How did ye lose yer child?"

"There was a fight... He had fallen off the cliff side, along with his mother and our dog, Noishe. His mother..." Kratos trailed off, trying to shake off the feeling of utter loss that was attacking his system. "My wife perished. I left her hidden in another part of the forest so I could search for our son..."

"Aye..." Dirk mumbled, shaking his head sadly. "Me apologizes, lad. What be the boy's name? Age, too."

"His name is Lloyd. He's just a toddler - barely the age of three."

Dirk nodded at this before waving his hand to the Kratos, indicating that he should follow him. "Come wit' me." He stated simply before heading up a set of stairs in the back of the one room floor. Kratos looked at him curiously for a moment before doing as requested. He followed Dirk up the stairs silently until he took him into a small room. He wasn't sure to what this was leading to - after all, this was just taking more and more time away that he could be using to find his son -

"Arf!"

"Noishe!" Kratos cried out in surprise as the white and green protozoan tackled his owner, licking his face brutally. Kratos let out a strangled cry as he tried to push the massive dog off of him. It's not that he wasn't happy to see him, it's just that he had something else to focus on. "Noishe, down!"

"Arf?" Noishe tilted his head to the side before pulling himself off of Kratos, allowing the angel to attempt to stand up again. He whined lightly as he watched Kratos cringe as he put his hand to his side, pulling it back only to find blood on the palm.

"I'm fine, Noishe. I'm more concerned on finding Ll-"

"Daddy?"

Kratos's head shot up so fast that, later on, he believed he had a mild case of whiplash. Sitting on a single bed in the room, one that Kratos had failed to notice on entrance, was none other than Lloyd. The boy looked no worse for that wear than his father. Other than a few oddly placed scratches on his face and a bruise above his left eye, he looked relatively fine if not exhausted. Kratos shot up from the ground, running across the wooden floor, almost tripping over his feet in the process. To him, it seemed like he couldn't make it to the boy fast enough. As soon as he reached the small bed, he pulled the tiny child up and into his arms, holding onto him with such ferocity that it almost seemed as if he would never let go. When Lloyd in turn wrapped his arms around his father's neck, Kratos couldn't help but succumb to the tears that had threatened to fall again. He let out a brief sob, cradling his son tightly in his arms, never wanting to let him out of his sight again. His thoughts were, of course, irrational but expected.

"Found yer lad in the woods close by, cryin' his wee heart out. Ye be lucky for his cryin' and ye dogs whinin'. 'S what led me to 'em." Dirk said softly, watching with tender eyes the scene before him. There wasn't any lying here - Kratos really was his father - and he was just glad the boy had some family.

Kratos pulled himself onto the bed with his son, leaning against the headboard as he consoled the boy who had started crying as well. He could hear small mumblings coming from Lloyd about 'Monsters, bad men, Daddy, and... Mommy'. Kratos shook his head, just thankful that the boy had not seen his mother die. He didn't know how he was going to explain it to the young boy, but for now he focused more on the matter at hand.

"I... I can never thank you enough, Dirk. I have nothing to offer you - My son and I do not even have a place to call home. All I can offer you for now is my complete and utter gratitude." Kratos spoke quietly, burying his face into his son's hair at the end of his speech. He normally wasn't this talkative, but after everything that had happened, his mouth seem looser than normal.

"No need, Kratos. I don't expect anything from ye. 'M just glad to 'ave helped." Dirk nodded to Kratos, noticing the man beginning to doze off, his son already having fallen into dreamland minutes before. Raising an eyebrow, Dirk chuckled lightly to himself. "Why dun ye two stay here? 'Til ye get a home of yer own."

"No, we really couldn't-"

"Aye, ye can. This is me extra room. I got no use for it. Ye can stay 'ere 'til ye have a house of yer own. I won't take no for an answer." He said calmly, nodding as Kratos started shaking his head. "'Sides, ye can't very well bring the youngster out in the pourin' rain." Dirk knew that would get him.

Kratos thought momentarily to himself, trying to weigh the pro's and con's of staying there, even if it wasn't for very long. He knew very well that he had the gald - he could easily get a place at the inn if need be. But Dirk did have a point - he really didn't want to bring Lloyd back out into the rain. He himself was soaked to the bone, probably dripping all over the place. Dirk didn't seem to mind though, encouraging him to stay. Plus, there was also the fact that Kvar could have sent out others to look for him...

With a final sigh, Kratos nodded his head. "Again, I can never thank you more than I have now. I swear, I'll do something in return-"

"Don't worry so much about it, lad. I ain't doing to for profit. Now, get some sleep. From what ye told me, we are gonna have to be gettin' the lil' lad's mother tomorrow." He said quietly, nodding once more to Kratos as he headed towards the door, patting Noishe on the head as he headed out. "'Night, Kratos. Extra blankets are in the cupboard near the desk." He said finally before closing the door behind him.

Kratos blinked at the abrupt leaving of the dwarf before he shook his head, standing up off the bed quietly. Placing Lloyd down gently on the bed, if somewhat reluctantly, he started pulling at the many belts over his top, attempting to loosen the outfit enough so that he could get it off without chocking himself. Luckily, he managed to get enough belts loosened that he was able to pull off his top shirt. Doing the same to the pants left him in only his white, undershirt and boxers. Shivering slightly, he walked over the bed, picking up his son with one arm while stripping the bed of the first set of wet blankets with his free hand. Placing Lloyd back on the bed, Kratos headed over to the cupboard that Dirk had spoke of, finding inside a set of sheets as well as many blankets. Grabbing three of those blankets, he carried two of them over to the bed and placed them over his son. He then took the last blanket and placed it over the protozoan in the corner.

"Get some sleep, Noishe." He said quietly, scratching the dog behind his ears. "Tomorrow is going to be a long day." Noishe yipped in reply before curling into a ball, falling asleep in seconds.

With that said, Kratos went back over to the small bed. Getting under the covers much like his son, he drew the boy easily to himself, planting a small kiss atop the boys head. "I'm sorry, Lloyd... It looks as if it is just going to be the two of us from here on." He whispered to the boy, sighing as the child unconsciously snuggled closer to the warmth that was his father. Closing his crimson eyes, Kratos whispered a quiet goodnight to his son before drifting off to sleep, dreams littered with blood and monsters of the past.

Wow, my first TOS fanfic.

I'm amazed at myself.

Anyways, the next chapter is going to be a time jump from where the game began with small details here and their of what happened after this. Hope everyone liked this chapter. I've had this idea stuck in my head since I first played the game three years ago. Yeah, it's been a long time, I know. But, anyways, the story will be updated as fast as I play the game since I have to replay it in order to get the basic gist of everything. I'll try and get the next chapter out as soon as possible.

Thanks for reading!

Chibi-Sorrow

Music listened to:
Hinata vs. Neji (Naruto)
Senshitachino Kyuusoke (Zoids: Chaotic Century)