Well here it is! I added a little extra suspense to it as well as expanding other parts. It was getting long, so I had to take some off the bottom and it will be the start of chapter 4. Hope you like it! :) I'd like to thank the reviewers again, you guys are awesome!
"Blah" - Talking
'Blah' - Thinking
Disclaimer: Same as always, don't own it, Namco does. Lol I would love to own Kratos though! :P
Fourteen Years Later.
"Lloyd Irving, wake up!" a female voice yells, as the end of a chalkboard eraser connects with a brunette boy's forehead, startling him awake where he's leaning against the wall with two pails of water, one in each hand.
"Sorry Professor, uh, is class over?" Lloyd asks, putting down one of the heavy pails and rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. With a sigh, the teacher walks back to the front of the room, asking a boy named Genis, Lloyd's young best friend, to answer the question instead. His other best friend is Colette, Sylvarant's Chosen of Mana. Today is the day of the oracle, so they are going over the history of the Kharlan war today in class.
Krys, who has kept her promise and watched over the young Aurion for the last fourteen years, is appalled at the version of history that Mithos, or Yggdrasill now and his so called church of Martel has come out with. She had been able to regain her memories as well, sadly though it happened the night she had watched Anna's death. She and Yuan are still very, very close, and are now also in a relationship. It had been hard at first, but Krys learned to accept that Kratos, in the years since she had disappeared had lost the place in his heart for her, or so it seemed to her at the time, Yuan has never corrected her. Krys has also found work, putting her combat skills to use as a very successful mercenary, and she travels a great deal with the job.
She and Yuan have recently been discussing her going to help the Chosen on her journey of Restoration as protection and a guide, and Yuan hasn't said it, but to also keep a bit of an eye on Kratos as well, he doesn't like how loyal his old friend seems to have become to Yggdrasill, his cold demeanor these days is worrisome. Krys is currently standing on a tree branch inside one of the many trees of the Iselia forest, where she can see the village, and the Martel temple. Yuan is with her, his arms around her waist while his chin rests on her shoulder. The two of them waiting and watching. She also knows about the renegades' desire to stop the Chosen on her journey for the reason of stopping her becoming an Angel, but she has talked him out of actually hurting the girl. Suddenly a bright, white light flashes and pillars skyward, and she and Yuan both shield their sensitive eyes, gazing at the temple.
"It's the oracle." Yuan says, and Krys nods. They watch as a woman runs to the temple's doors, heading inside, and then soon after, three people make their way there as well, Krys gives a slight gasp of surprise when she sees that one of them is Lloyd, flanked closely by his two best friends. Krys gives Yuan a slow, deep kiss, and then he smiles some as she heads off, telling her to be careful as she waves. The tails of her deep green cape flutter out in the breeze as she runs quickly; wanting to get there before anything can happen to Lloyd. She makes it up the steps to the temple just in time to protect Lloyd and his friends from a rather large desian, not knowing it yet that its Yuan's forces. Krys is lucky at the same time, as another sword is there pushed up at hers, also intending to block the monster man from reaching the three teens. She looks up, and finds herself looking into a very familiar face, that of Kratos Aurion. She hides her surprise at and steels herself, pushing back on her sword. His eyes move over her as he pushes back on his also, both of them forcing Vidarr back, slashing at him, then Kratos looks to the three behind them.
"Are you three alright?" Krys asks, and the teens nod, looking from her to Kratos, then to her again, all three of them are curious, but also a little apprehensive as well about the two very strange new people. Then, an old woman appears as well, an old hand resting on a walking staff, she's the head priestess and Colette's grandmother.
"What are your names?" She asks them softly, and Kratos says, sheathing his sword,
"I am Kratos Aurion, a mercenary." Krys says softly, sheathing hers as well, and glancing at Kratos from the corner of her eye,
"My name is Tina Ukishira, I am also a mercenary." Kratos gives her a confused look, the name seems almost familiar to him, but he isn't sure how. Krys looks at him again, and then back at the teens, noting the despair in Kratos' garnet eyes, the deep pain that he'd carried around for years having dulled his once shining eyes. Colette then steps forward, saying that she will go and start the trial now, and Lloyd says,
"Then I will come and protect you!" and Phaidra pauses, regarding the brunette curiously for moment, and then she says,
"Lloyd? I would be uncomfortable with just you." Krys notices the way Kratos looks at the teen, pain flickering freshly in his eyes, years of hurt suddenly brought to the surface, though she notices he hides it well.
"..Your name is Lloyd?" he asks, hiding the tremor in his voice, and Krys hides a smile, as she watches the two.
'Yes Kratos, that's your Lloyd, your baby boy.' She wishes that she could tell him, and put his tormented heart at ease, but there's too many things at stake right now. Krys and Kratos give their offers, which turn out to be about the same things, that as long as they would be paid, they will take the job of protecting the Chosen. Phaidra says,
"I don't seem to have a choice, please be of service." Krys and Kratos follow Colette into the temple, and Lloyd runs after them, calling Genis, the other boy, to come too. They move over the entry area, and Krys hides a smirk as Kratos stops Lloyd and hands him an old book which he says is to help him with his self taught swordsmanship. Lloyd gives him an exasperated look, and pulls a face at the back of his head. They then move further inside, heading down a hall directly across from the entry, where they find a door that's blocked by an energy field, and Colette tells them to find an object, called the Sorcerer's Ring in order to deactivate the field, which is hidden somewhere deeper within the temple. Keeping alert for anything, Krys and Kratos follow the teen Chosen and her friends deeper into the temple, heading down a flight of stairs to where they find a large, open room. The middle of the room has a large, what seems to be glass paneled floor in the center, with stone pathways and stairs at either side, underneath and also in front of it. They move down to the middle and look around, spotting a Golem. With both mercenaries helping, the creature is defeated fairly quickly, leaving behind a large, stone cube.
"Oops!" Colette suddenly yelps, having tripped and collided with the cube, and the other four watch as it slides across the floor and drops down one of several open holes, lodging itself in a gap between two stone pathways below. They look from the cube lodged where it is, and back to the floor to their left as another golem appears.
"I get it!" Genis says at the same time as Kratos makes a thoughtful sound. Lloyd though seems confused, as does Colette. They soon get the idea however, and attack the new Golem, it too becoming a cube on defeat. They maneuver it to another hole and drop it down, returning to the middle of the floor as a third appears. They continue defeating golems and placing cubes into pathway holes until all are filled in and then head below, finding a couple item chests and then in the front of the room, the Sorcerer's Ring. The group makes their way back upstairs, both Kratos and Krys keeping their senses on full alert for danger as they head down hallways and up flights of stairs, finally finding themselves at the altar not that long after. Colette steps forward, and she begins to pray at the altar. An orb of light rises from the altar, and becomes an angel.
"I am Remiel." He says, lifting his hand, and the glowing red Cruxis crystal attaches itself to the base of Colette's throat. He recognizes Colette as the Chosen, both mercenaries watching it quietly, though Krys does not miss his 'discreet' glare directed toward her, and he says,
"I bestow the Tower of Salvation upon Sylvarant." And everyone watches out the window as a tower taller than the clouds appears. Remiel then instructs Colette to unlock each of the four seals and make her way to the Tower of Salvation, and unlock the fifth and final seal, which then will restore the world. He then vanishes back into the orb of light, which fades. Kratos leaves, the two women following him, leaving Lloyd and Genis behind. Kratos, Krys and Colette go back with Phaidra to Iselia, to discuss the journey of Restoration. When Lloyd and Genis arrive, both parties have agreed the two mercenaries will accompany Colette, along with Raine Sage, the woman the townspeople trust to teach their children at the school, and she is also a skilled healer and Genis' older sister. Lloyd demands a spot on the journey, but Kratos tells him that it's too dangerous, so no, which upsets him. Colette apologizes to the two boys as they leave, and says she will stop by Lloyd's house tonight to talk to him for a bit before she leaves the next day.
That night, Krys looks up from the branch she's sitting on near Lloyd's house, as the four from earlier come to the door. She had been watching worriedly as Lloyd is being yelled at by his adoptive father, Dirk for using his exsphere, and Dirk, in his frustration takes a half hearted swipe at Lloyd's chest, but he jumps back, and then yanks the door open and hurries outside, where he finds the others. Lloyd doesn't see it, but Krys notices the hidden concern in Kratos' eyes, and his uncertainty as well. Lloyd asks them for a minute to get himself together, and then he'll talk. Krys watches Kratos as he makes his way over to the grave a moment later, studying the headstone's carved surface, and then he drops to his knees when he sees the name, "Anna" inscribed into the stone.
"He is my son.." Krys hears him whisper, his voice cracking with suppressed pain and the years of keeping it so tightly suppressed and hidden wearing on him heavily, though it's only due to her angelic hearing that she can hear him. Krys drops down from the branch quietly, glancing around to see where everyone is, and then walking over to Kratos, kneeling beside him.
"You okay?" she asks gently, and he looks up, pain swirling in his garnet eyes.
"I.. T-thought he had died.. I thought m-my boy was dead." he says softly, looking at her almost as if he's needing someone to wake him from a nightmare and stop the pain, and she lays a hand on his shoulder. She says softly,
"He's alive and well, and look how he's grown, be proud, and now that you have the very chance you seem to have wanted, take it, be there for him." Kratos nods, looking back at Anna's grave a moment, lightly resting his head down on her shoulder, to calm himself down. He finds it surprisingly natural to have done so, but he stays quiet about it. When he calms, they head back over to the house where they see Colette and Lloyd are saying their final goodbyes to each other outside the door, or so Colette thinks. Soon they're heading back to town, and Krys says,
"Kratos, I have a room at the inn, with an extra bed. Did.. you have somewhere that you were going to stay?" he shakes his head, and says softly,
"I didn't, but I'll accept your offer." Krys nods, and she and Kratos talk softly a bit as they keep their senses alert for the monsters of the forest. They soon arrive back in town, and both of the mercenaries make sure Colette reaches her house while Rain and Genis head to theirs on the other side of town, and then they head over to the inn, and Krys leads Kratos upstairs and to her rented room. She puts her stuff on one of the beds, and then glances at Kratos, and she retreats outside to the balcony and then the roof; Kratos sits down on the other bed, taking off his sword, cape and belts, and then laying down in silence, hands behind his head as he stares at the ceiling tiles, thinking about the female mercenary in detail. He sighs tiredly, sadness in it as well,
'There's something about this woman, how is it that she's in my field of work, a traveling mercenary, and yet, I have never seen her before that I recall. Who is she really? She seems so familiar, but how? Why? When she saw me at Anna's grave and came over it was like she could see right through me, to the bare emotions that I have been struggling to hide all these years. It unnerves me how she can, it's almost as if she knows, all of it.
She reminds me of someone, someone from so long ago. Her eyes definitely caught me, right away, they're such an unusual green, a green I have only seen once before in my long, long lifetime, and I feel as if I know those eyes, but it couldn't be… her, she vanished so long ago that it's numbed me now. The same bright green eyes and that same long raven hair, it must be just coincidence, it has to be, there's no way she could have returned after this long.
When I saw her, I thought for a second, just a split second, that I'd been looking back at my old best friend. But no, that can't be true, could it? It must just be a wish of a man's sad tired heart. I miss her so much, even more lately, especially since, no, I can't think about that, it's too painful. I may have found my son, but I've still lost so much more. I wish... no, wishing is a fool's game, she's gone, has been for over 4,000 years, and I have to accept that. Even though, I can't shake this strange feeling about her, that there's something she's hiding, and it nags at me, with severity, I want to find out what it is, but that would just unearth old pain, and I do not want any more of that. Something else made me wonder as well, Noishe seemed to like her right off, same as how he liked that girl right off that day in here in Iselia, eighteen years ago, which is unusual, and he barely trusts anyone, especially strange people.'
Kratos sighs, turning on his side and staring at the wall, garnet eyes stinging a bit, many thoughts running through his tired mind. He also finds himself thinking about how when they had been sitting outside at Lloyd's just earlier, near Anna's grave, that he caught her chewing on her lower lip, the exact same tensed habit that Krystina used to have when deep in thought. She was even chewing it the exact same way she'd used to do it too. The exact same way, and it had sent a nervous pang through him to see it.
'I wonder if this was really a good idea…' Krys finds herself wondering as she sits quietly up on the roof, watching the stars. Her former best friend is in the room below her and it doesn't seem like he really even remembers her, or even recognized her. She sighs, trying to ignore it as the painful twinge returns to her chest. She decides that as soon as the group reaches Triet, that she's going to pay Yuan a visit, needing someone to talk to about all of this. She lightly leaps off the roof and back onto the balcony, and then heads back inside after a bit, seeing Kratos lying on his side, facing the wall, his body a bit tense, and she hears a sigh escape his lips too, her senses telling her he's feigning sleep, not needing it as a Seraph. She lays down, also pretending to nod off to sleep herself.
The next day they head out early in the morning, the mercenaries and Rain watching the Chosen say goodbye to both her father and grandmother, not realizing Colette had told Lloyd the wrong departure time. After they leave, in an annoyed mood, Genis hurries to Lloyd's to get him, while Colette's group heads for Triet. Their path determined by the two mercenaries.
A couple of nights in, as they make camp under one of the desert's large but sparse dead trees, Krys watches Raine and the chosen pouring over some texts in Angelic as they sit together by the fire, the chosen teaching some to Raine, who's very interested. Kratos though, had put his pack down without a word, and had gone wandering off some where walking around; she knows though that he's alert for any danger as he's likely patrolling. Krys returns her patient attention to the two women, listening to their soft whispers with her sharp hearing. She catches a few spoken mistakes in pronunciation by the professor, Colette softly correcting her on some of them, but as she does, misses a few others, and Krys has to hold her tongue to keep from correcting them, as they can't know of her background as a Seraph. Kratos can't know either, not yet. She soon finds her mind wandering back to Lloyd; how the boy looks so much like his father. She also can't help but wonder if he's inherited his father's angelic blood also.
"Tina, your turn for watch." Kratos says as he comes back toward the fire, and Krys lets a sigh out as she gets up, nodding and then stretching, glancing at him before reaching over and picking up her bow and slinging it and the quiver over her shoulder, and then also picking up her sword and heading off in the direction opposite of where Kratos had gone earlier. Kratos watches her go. Tina even moves the way Krystina used to, she even fights like Krystina had used to, just seeing it causes a twinge in his chest, but, he refuses to get his hopes up, it'd be just too painful if it all fell through.
Raine and the chosen soon retire, but Kratos stays awake, both gazing at the fire, and at their surroundings. Tina has yet to come back from her scouting walk, though Kratos' pretty sure she can take care of herself if she has to. He sighs and lays back, again finding himself thinking a bit about the similarities between Tina, and his old friend. He turns onto his side, his head resting on his arm as he gazes up at the stars, sighing again sadly and closing his eyes. Krys yawns and stretches as she comes back into the camp, seeing everyone sleeping, and to her surprise, Kratos is even dozing as well, not feigning this time. She smiles slightly and sets her weapons down, her cloak dropping soon after, and then she climbs into her sleeping roll and settles down.
The next morning finds Tina making some omelets and rice balls for everyone while both Rain and Colette are going through their supply bag to check everything, making sure they have enough to get to Triet. Krys soon calls them over to eat, though neither she nor Kratos eat much. The two mercenaries stay quiet, listening to the women talking softly as they eat, discussing who in Triet might know where the first seal is located. Once everyone is packed, they start walking in the direction of the desert town, as they can barely see Triet in the distance.
"Watch it, Chosen!" Krys says when they've barely make it twenty odd paces, when they notice a group of sidewinders and poison needles ready to ambush them. Krys and Kratos draw their swords, and Colette stands back, both her chakrams at ready, Raine with her, ready to heal, as Tina and Kratos face off with the persistent creatures. Tina makes quick work of a sidewinder that races for Colette, while Kratos finishes the last couple poison needles off. Raine hands them each an apple gel as they start walking again in the direction of the town, Krys using the tip of an arrow to flip a dead sidewinder out of their path. Though as she does, she doesn't notice that an unusually colored poison needle lays crumpled up on the dusty ground behind her, or that Kratos keeps rubbing his right upper arm as if it's irritated.
"Hey, um, Tina? Where did Kratos go?" Colette suddenly asks a while later, startling Krys from within her thoughts, and she frowns, seeing the two women look confused.
"Set up camp by that tree, I'm going to backtrack for him." The two women nod and she hands them her travel pack, then starts heading back the way they came, calling out for the ruby eyed mercenary.
"Lord Yggdrasill." An angel's flat voice says, startling the blond out of his thoughts. With a sigh he turns to the drone and says,
"What is it?" and the angel hesitates, and then says,
"The needle missed the target. Kratos intercepted it before she saw it." Yggdrasill snorts and narrows his eyes in anger.
"WHAT?" he shouts, "damn him! Was he poisoned?" The angel says,
"We are unsure, Krystina is searching for him as of when we had last checked." Sighing a bit, Yggdrasill nods, an angry frown on his lips.
"Very well. Keep me informed." He says. And the angel nods and bows, and then leaves the throne room. Sighing in frustration, the blond slumps back down onto his throne.
'Damn Kratos, always getting in the way and making a mess of things.' He groans, rolling his eyes a bit and leaning his head back against the cool stone of his throne, deciding to place his old sensei on a tighter leash.
Krys sighs, she's getting worried about Kratos. The mercenary she remembers never falls behind for any reason, and it's disconcerting. She keeps walking, her eyes widening not long after, when a flash of purple catches her eye. She runs over, shocked to see the auburn haired man laying face down in the sand.
"Damn." She cures under her breath, kneeling down to check him. He's unconscious, and she spots a large, festering wound on his arm, and she gently tugs off his arm covering for a look at it, frowning worriedly. She glances around, then uses her sword to cut down two dead trees at the bottom, pulling off her travel cloak and lashing it to the trees as bars to make a travois to bring him back to camp with. Once it's ready, she carefully maneuvers him into it, frowning some when she feels the heat of a high fever radiating off his clammy skin. Cursing under her breath again at the unluckiness of it all, she makes sure he's settled, then starts back for camp, dragging him the whole way on the travois. She keeps her senses alert for any creatures, wanting to get back soon before the sun goes down.
"This is not good. Really not good." She mutters to herself after a bit, stopping to drink a bit of water, and she kneels down, trickling a bit into his mouth and massaging his throat so he'll swallow, and then wetting a cloth she had made from tearing a corner off her cloak, placing it on his forehead, then continuing to walk again. When the camp finally comes into view, Krys sighs a bit in relief, tired from walking and a couple encounters with stubborn creatures.
"Raine!" she yells, "Raine he's been poisoned!" she calls, and the professor jumps up and grabs her staff, running to meet Krys. Her eyes widen when she sees the unconscious mercenary on the travois, and even more when she sees the unfamiliar poison needle at his feet, well what's left of one anyway.
"I encountered that on the way here, I've never seen one like it, and I think it's what got him, normally mercenaries are very strong against most weaker poisons." Raine nods, frowning a bit, and she helps Krys bring the travois over to the fire. While Raine draws up a sample from the poison needle to study quickly, Krys and Colette get Kratos into the shade and settled down onto her sleeping roll. Krys then says softly,
"I need some water, hurry!" she says, and the blond nods, hurrying back to the canteens and bringing one over. Krys thanks her, pouring some onto a cloth and laying it back over Kratos' forehead. She then removes his cape, gloves and arm covers, laying them down along with their weapons, then kneeling down, wetting another cloth and running it over his neck, arms and then his chest as well. Colette watches worriedly, and she ends up moving from Krys to the professor and back, worried and watching. Raine soon comes over and casts first aid, trying to bring down the fever, and Krys chews her lip, wishing she could go to the base and raid Yuan's antidote shelf for something, but knowing she can't leave the Chosen unguarded. Krys then sits back some, her eyes never leaving the unconscious mercenary, when suddenly she remembers something that in the past Yuan had mentioned. She looks up at the sky, frowning, and then lets out a sharp, shrill whistle, and soon a bird soars down. Krys sighs in relief, glad Yuan had let the birds out today for a while. She writes a quick note and ties it to the bird's leg, watching it take off. When Raine and Colette ask her about it, she says,
"I have an old friend who lives in the desert, he might be able to help." Both women nod some, and Krys rewets the cloth on Kratos' forehead, then starts making dinner for them.
Back in the base, Yuan looks up as one of his birds lands outside his office window, using its beak to tap on the glass. He gets up and pushes open the window, taking the bird on his arm, and taking off the note.
'Yuan, Kratos has been poisoned. We found a strange looking poison needle I have never seen before and I thought you might have an idea. Please hurry and send something, his fever is very high and I'm worried. ~Krys.' Is written on the paper in her neat writing, and his frowns, his eyes narrowing. He calls for Botta and the base medic, giving the medic the description of the big poison needle Krys had described, and gives him the tiny vial that had been enclosed inside Krys' note. He nods and hurries off, Yuan calling after him,
"Work as fast as you can, Kratos might not have long!" and the medic nods. Botta frowns some, saying.
"Yggdrasill is trying to do away with Krys again, isn't he?" and Yuan sighs.
"That's what I'm worried about, and it looks like Kratos intercepted it." Botta nods, and in the next moment heads from the office, worried. Yuan soon goes to see if the medic had found a clue from the liquid in the tiny vial yet.
Back at camp. Krys sighs a bit, watching Colette and Raine talking softly, eating some of their dinner, and also glancing at Kratos worriedly. Raine also comes over at regular intervals, her first aid spell isn't nullifying the fever, but so far keeping it from getting too dangerous. Krys stays beside Kratos all night, keeping the cool cloth over his forehead, and using another to wet down his arms, chest and neck at regular intervals, silently hoping Yuan can find something. She leans back a bit, groaning and stretching the next morning, getting up to walk around and stretch both her legs out, since one had fallen asleep. She also finds herself remembering a time when they'd been younger, that both Kratos and Yuan had been poisoned by arrows protecting Mithos, Martel and herself. Martel had tended to Yuan, and Krys had never left Kratos' side the whole time, even when tired, all she cared about was making sure Kratos was okay. At one point she had sat down on his bed, and laid his head in her lap, stroking his hair gently as she used cold compresses and water to treat his fever. Mithos had gone back and forth two his two friends' rooms, helping them in any way he could.
Krys puts her head in her hands, still waiting to hear back from Yuan, and it's now going on the night of the second day since Kratos was poisoned by the unusual poison needle, and now it's getting harder to keep the fever under control. Not long ago he was tossing and thrashing, an obvious effect of the fever. He's sweating profusely as well, and also, even though not aware, he had also sat up a couple times, heaving and vomiting, which Krys had to support him as he did to make sure he didn't choke or anything. Krys has also had to change him into a light tank top and pants, since he had pretty much soaked his purple mercenary uniform, which Raine had washed earlier. She sighs,
'Are you that determined to be rid of me, Mithos?' she wonders, watching the man laying on her bedroll, still unconscious. She knows by how the second creature had come after her, that the one that poisoned Kratos was likely after her as well. It's not the first time the blond has tried to get her out if the way, usually Yuan was with her and they were able to deal with it before any bad things could happen. Yuan has told her that Mithos, or Yggdrasill now is pissed that he found her and took her from Vinheim, because he wanted her gone. She picks up the now warmed and somewhat dry cloth from his forehead, rewetting it and laying it back down, using the other cloth to again wet down his neck, chest and arms.
'Hurry Yuan, he doesn't have much time.' She sighs sadly, gazing back down at the form of the mercenary, listening to how his breathing has gotten a bit shallow and labored. Krys leans back on the bedroll she had pulled from Kratos' pack and spread beside hers, wanting to keep by the mercenary at all times to monitor his condition.
The next morning, Kratos is getting worse, the fever is not responding to Rain's spells as it was before, and his breathing is becoming more shallow and labored. Krys is still using the cold compresses on him, but they're getting worried, he has not once woken since they found him. As they eat breakfast, well as Colette and the professor eats, and Krys tends to Kratos, a bird starts circling them, and Krys holds up an arm, whistling to it. It swoops lower and perches, and with a frown she pulls the note from its leg.
'Krys, my medic was unable to come up with anything. As much as I hate it, I am on my way to see Yggdrasill, I doubt he intended to poison Kratos and likely has the antidote, I request you inform Botta at the base if anything happens, I'm working as fast as I can. ~Yuan.' Sighing a bit, Krys folds the note and tucks it away, saying,
"My friend is having trouble finding anything, he's gone to see an old acquaintance, man I hope this guy has something." Raine and Colette both nod, watching Kratos worriedly. Leaning over him, Krys checks his breathing and heart rate, too shallow and too high, and she frowns, an unusually sad sigh escaping her lips.
"You can fight this Kratos." She whispers, watching him lay there, sighing again when he doesn't respond, again. Unaware the two women are watching her again, Krys finds herself softly brushing his hair away from his closed eyes, her mind once again going back to the time that he was poisoned by the arrow.
"Mithos! Get out here!" Yuan yells once he arrives in Welgaia, grumbling under his breath as the blond soon appears, and Yuan is surprised to see he looks concerned.
"Nicely done Mithos, you've poisoned Kratos." He says sarcastically, and the blonde's eyes go wide. Yuan shakes his head, then says,
"You didn't intend it, did you? For him to get hit." And Yggdrasill shakes his head, making Yuan frown again. Mithos says,
"Is he… dying?" and Yuan is surprised to hear that he sounds more like his child like self than he has in a long time. Yuan comes over,
"Yes, he is, he's deteriorating quickly. Did you make an antidote for that poison you bred those needles with?" and Yggdrasill sighs, but nods, summoning an angel who bows and holds out his hand, revealing a small, glass vial. Yggdrasill takes it and gives it to Yuan.
"Get this to Kratos, but if you breathe a word of this to Krystina, I WILL kill her. Is that clear?" And Yuan sighs, but nods, deciding not to mention that Krys already knows pretty much all what had happened. He takes the vial and warping out of the angel city.
He appears on a dune a ways away from the camp, watching them. And when Raine and Colette both head off a bit east a ways for firewood, Yuan sneaks into the camp.
"Yue! Thank god!" Krys says, kissing him deeply. He returns it, nuzzling her neck for just a moment, realizing how close she was to being the one laying unconscious. He kisses her again, slipping the vial into her hand, then warps away before the women return and see him. Clutching the vial tightly, Krys stares at the spot he was for a moment, and then turns back to Kratos. She gets some fresh water, rewetting the cloths again, laying the one on his forehead and using both the others to wash him down again, then she looks at the vial. She pulls the stopper, bringing the glass to his lips and slowly tipping the liquid into his mouth, massaging down his throat to get his body to swallow, which it does willingly. When the vial is empty she tucks it into her pocket, then turns as the two women return. She says,
"It worked, my friend's acquaintance had the antidote, my friend just dropped it off a bit ago and I gave it to Kratos." Raine and Colette nod, sitting down, and Krys begins to make some stew while Raine stokes up the fire. Krys watches Kratos as well, hoping he doesn't have another fit of vomiting and lose the antidote before it can work. When the stew is ready she watches the two women eat, though her attention is mainly focused on Kratos, and she gently parts his lips to trickle some cool water in, again massaging his throat to help him swallow. She stays beside him, watching him as the day progresses, knowing they can't travel anywhere until he recovers. Later on, she's laying back and reading a book, when she hears a soft groan beside her. Immediately a smile slightly comes to her lips, as she sits up, checking Kratos. He's got his brow furrowed some and he groans softly again. Colette and Raine come over as well, also having heard him groaning as well.
"Kratos, can you hear me?" Krys says, taking his hand and checking his pulse. He makes a soft sound again, and lightly squeezes her hand.
"Good, you've been very ill, now just rest." He nods ever so slightly, and his body relaxes as he drifts to sleep, no longer deeply unconscious.
"Is Mr. Kratos going to be alright now?" Colette asks, and Krys nods and smiles.
"Yes, he will be now, he just needs a couple days at most to recover his strength so that we can get to Triet." Colette nods and smiles, relieved. Raine nods too, and both women head to their bedrolls again, since It's now night out. Krys settles back as well, relieved the auburn haired man is okay, though she's very angry with Mithos as well, she's appalled at the lengths the blond is going to control things. She checks Kratos off and on for a while, also keeping guard too of the campsite as she has been, finding herself unable to sleep at the moment, not that she really feels like it at the moment anyway.
The next morning Krys is relieved to see a considerable amount of Kratos' color has come back, and that his breathing is better and his fever is much lower, not gone yet, but it's definitely lower. She smiles a bit as she checks him, then gasps a bit as his garnet eyes slowly flutter open, gazing up at her. She says softly,
"Hey, good to see you awake, you were out for almost four days." His eyes widen and he tries to sit up, but she gently stops him, laying him back.
"Don't try to get up yet, you were heavily poisoned and your body is still recovering." She tells him, and he sighs, nodding. She shows him the remains of the poison needle, asking,
"It was one of these, right? This one came after me when I was bringing you back down here to camp." Kratos frowns, nodding.
"I stopped one from jumping onto your back, and it stung my arm. I had noticed it was a very unusual color, but I thought the venom would be similar to normal ones." She nods, noticing his voice is bit hoarse from four days of disuse. She gives him some water, making sure he's both covered and comfortable to rest, and she starts making breakfast, Colette and Rain waking up as she cooks. Colette smiles when she sees Kratos, and he nods at her a bit, laying back down after setting his cup down. Krys smiles slightly when she notices him drift off to sleep again, relieved it worked out in their favor. She reheats some of their leftover stew, also making up some broth for Kratos, waking him up when its ready. He sits up with her help, and she hands him the bowl, and then sits back, eating her own meal as he sips at the broth.
Over the next couple days, they remain at the camp, and Kratos is recovering well, doing very well in every sense. He's up and around, the fever is gone, and though he still tires just a bit faster than usual, he's mostly recovered, and has even resumed guarding the campsite as well as training with Krys in the mornings, another way to get his strength back. They're currently rolling up their bedrolls and packing their bags, Kratos feels he's well enough to make it to Triet, so they plan to head out after they eat breakfast. Krys makes some rice balls and sandwiches, she and Kratos just have some tea while Colette and Rain eat, and then they gather their stuff and head for the town in the distance. Colette begins to sing a bit as they walk, and both mercenaries listen along as they walk, keeping guard for creatures as well.
It ends up taking a couple more full days of walking, but they soon reach the little desert town. Kratos accompanies the chosen as she decides to explore the town, leaving his older armor and sword with Tina so she can see if she can either buy or customize new ones for both of them to use. She finds the little booth in the market, in between an armor shop and a weapons dealer, and she customizes both of them some much stronger armor plus a sturdier sword for them both as well. She also decides to customize herself a new bow to go with it as well, and some stronger arrows for her quiver. When she finishes, she starts wandering around town a bit, killing some of the time until they have to meet up in the town square in front of the inn, planning to rest for the night and then continue on their journey.
Well I hope you liked it, I wanted to be sure it was better than before. Review and tell me what you think, please? :)
Sani.