Summary: After the journey of world regeneration, Kratos decides to make a visit to his son. But after Raine is attacked, his plans for 'vacation' are ruined.
Rating: PG-13 (T)
Disclaimer: The Tales of Symphonia characters and previous plot belong to Namco & Kosuke Fujishima. I own only the plot of this story.

Salvation Vacation
Chapter Two: Location Crisis

Raine awoke in a dark, dank room. This must be a dungeon. She tried to move, but found that she was bound to the wall by a two-foot-long chain. Where am I? Staring around, she saw the form of someone else approaching.

"I see you have woken up, Raine," he or she said.

Raine struggled. That voice…it sounds familiar…

"What are you thinking about? How you left Genis? You're the same as my brother was."

What's that supposed to mean? "Who are you?"

The other ignored this outburst and continued his or her monologue. "The two of you are so alike. My brother left me locked up in that Abbey. You just left your brother behind, with nobody to care for him…"

Abbey? She must be referring to… no, it couldn't be… "Seles," Raine interrupted, "what do you want?"

"Ah, so you figured it out. I didn't think it would take this long; after all, you are a professor," she sneered. "To answer your question, though, I need something."

"I don't have anything you would need."

"Not with you, but I'm sure they'll come."

Raine tensed. "Don't you dare hurt Genis!"

Seles laughed cruelly. "That miserable half-elf couldn't give me anything. But you can help me. I need another friend of yours."

"Who are you talking about!"

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll come soon enough. In the meantime.." She kicked a bowl filled with a gruel-like substance inside so that it slid over to Raine. "Eat. The bait can't be allowed to die." She started to walk away. "Before its task is fulfilled, anyway." She stopped. "By the way, this room tends to leak. We're expecting a storm, so…" Seles smirked before exiting the room and slamming the door shut. The metallic sound resonated throughout the room.

What in the world? I'm bait, but for who? Ugh, this is just like a ruin without any textbooks inside… Raine reached for the gruel, pulling the chain linked to her cuffed hands as far as they could go. Idiot! I can't even reach it. Not like that stuff looks edible, anyway. Worse than my cooking. She continued searching the room for anything of use. There's nothing here, except.. Leaning up against the wall she was bound to was a broom. Aha! Shuffling on her knees, she clasped the deck brush between her hands. Now, what can I use this for? After a few minutes of trying to bang on the walls to get attention (Martel knows whose), Raine resigned to thinking. Useless piece of crap!

Suddenly she had an idea. If I could make this work as a staff, then.. Raine started chanting, facing the wall and concentrating hard. "Light! Photon!" she finally yelled as a ball of light energy hit the place where the chain was screwed into the wall. "Yes!" she shouted in a sort-of victory yell. She then resumed solemnity. Now, to get out of here.. She discovered that there was a table a few feet past her line of sight. It's an operating table. Is this some sort of lab or something? Focusing again, she utilized Photon for a light source. "It is…and I think I've been here before." Knowing that she couldn't leave the way Seles did, she searched the bookshelves. This is the half-elves' laboratory. Pushing aside one of the bookcases, a secret exit was revealed.

Raine dashed through the tunnel and came up through a porthole. Who knew these were so useful? Recovering her exit, she realized it was raining. "Aw, my clothes!" Not having bothered to change from her Professor costume the night before (as she was exhausted after giving speeches to a reluctant crowd), she was still in them. And they were ruined. "Ugh…" Suddenly, a crack of lightning stole through the sky. As if on cue, it started pouring. "Dammit," she muttered, dashing through the streets of Sybak until she exited. I need shelter.

Following the path the group had used to get to Ozette and Mizuho, Raine dashed to Gaoracchia Forest. In dismay, she discovered that it was still as wild as ever. "At least the rain stopped," she whispered to herself. Walking slowly along the path, a Bellpepper Head jumped out at her. "You have got to be kidding me!" Without any support, she found herself constantly being knocked to the ground when trying to spellcast. She finally resorted to running away. Finding a small cave-like area made out of smaller trees, she took refuge.

It's so cold.. she thought. Resisting the urge to fall asleep, she examined her abrasions. There was a large cut along her upper arm, and a gash on her thigh. It could have been worse. Trying to cast a healing spell, she found herself without enough magic. Searching for her bag, she realized that she didn't have it on her at night. This means I don't have any orange gels. Damn. Without much else to do, she cast a half-hearted Ray for heat. I left Genis alone, and now I'm alone too, she thought before falling asleep.

Kratos & Genis-

"So," Kratos asked, "what happened to Raine?"

After hearing Genis' short explanation, Kratos made up his mind. It isn't a job, but it is a task. "Genis, you have to go visit Lloyd."

The half-elf stared indignantly at Kratos' back. "What? Why!"

"It's too dangerous for you to come too. If they could take Raine, they would have no trouble taking you down as well."

"But they didn't want me! They would have taken me with her."

The angel sighed. "We don't know what they want. Listen to me; you cannot come along." He steered the Rheiard to a landing at the Otherworldly Gate. "Here. This will take you to Sylvarant."

Genis made a face as he got off the Rheiard. "You owe me."

Kratos ignored him and continued, "I'm assuming this will take you to Triet. You can fly to Lloyd's house from there."

"Okay, okay. I'm not a baby anymore."

"Go, Genis," he instructed, flying the craft over to the Gate's platform. Genis boarded it and waved.

"You'd better get her back!"

Kratos just nodded and watched as the serviceman activated the platform and the young half-elf disappeared. Turning around, he extended his wings and flew towards Meltokio. He said they were staying here. I doubt there will be any clues, but.. it's a good place to start. Left to his thoughts, he suddenly changed direction. I should inform Sheena of Kuchinawa's intentions first. He was nearly to the city when he saw a flash of light. Doubling back, he discovered that it came from Gaoracchia Forest. There must be a fight. Or maybe someone is lost and is calling for help… With an annoyed "humph," he did the right thing and descended through the trees to the path below. Sword drawn, he walked down the path.

"Hello? Anybody in here?" Continuing his walk, he suddenly heard a sound. Hmm? As he walked, the sound got louder. Ready for danger, he ran to where he believed the noise was coming from and pointed his blade at the source – a person. "You!" But there was no immediate response. His impatience growing, the Seraphim poked the snoring form with the tip of his sword.

Stunned, Raine awoke. "Ermph.. what?" Stretching, she opened her eyes. "I was just getting to sle – what? Kratos?"

Kratos, somewhat embarrassed, sheathed his sword. "Salutations."

The half-elf stared at him. "Why are you here? How did you find me?"

Not wanting to seem concerned, he said, "I was just taking a jaunt."

"I see," she replied, getting up and supporting her tired self with her deck brush. "So, isn't the scenery beautiful?"

"I suppose it is, in an unconventional way," he said, getting tired of the little 'game.' "But now, why are you here?"

"It's a long story," Raine mused. She explained her tale, Kratos listening unemotionally. When she finished, she sighed. "They said they were after someone, but who?"

"That does present a dilemma," he replied, "but we'll find out soon enough. In the meantime," he paused, observing Raine's various bruises, "your wounds need to be healed." Backing away, he performed Healing Stream and looked for any other signs of distress. "Well, there's nothing wrong, but –" putting aside his shame, he reached out and felt her forehead, "-you have a high temperature. You're sopping wet, too."

Frustrated that the Seraphim was restating the obvious, Raine burst out. "What do you expect? I've been running from whoever it was! Without my staff, without my pack, without my brother -"

"But you do seem to have acquired a charming deck brush. It goes nicely with your Professor look."

Raine glared. "Well, do you have any better ideas? Besides, I don't have any other clothes."

Kratos mused. "I do, though."

She stopped glaring and her face turned to one of humoured disbelief. "What are you suggesting?"

"Your brother instructed that I bring you back. And I doubt that he meant that I should let you catch pneumonia while I am...while I am…" he paused, "retrieving you. So," he pulled out his Judgment outfit, "you should wear this."

Raine considered laughing, but noticed that he was dead serious. "Fine then," she muttered, taking the clothes. "I'll be back in a moment."

Wandering over behind a few other trees, she changed from her tattered Professor outfit to Kratos' Judgment costume. When done, she decided that it wasn't so bad – then again, she had no idea of how ridiculous she looked. And what's with these belts? Sighing, she toted her clothes back to Kratos. "Well."

Kratos had a look of near-surprise on his face when she returned, but his expression soon returned to being emotionless. "If you want those to be repaired, I'll keep them." He tried to take them from her, but Raine had fallen asleep, relying on her deck brush for support.

He sighed. How indemnifying these "tasks" are. Switching his position and that of the deck brush, Raine was now leaning on him. He let her down slowly until she was on the ground. Taking off his pack, he laid it under her as a sort of pillow. She was still sound asleep. What a vacation.

He soon became bored of simply staring at the trees, so he stretched out on the other side of the makeshift shelter and stared at the ceiling above before falling into a dreamlike state.

Author's Note: This chapter was perty good, I daresay. Anyway, tomorrow is the last day of school, so I'll have forever to think of new ideas and update. And I do like the Kratos/Raine pairing. I hope they aren't too out of character here, but Raine's suffering from lack of sleep and Kratos is…just being Kratos; heh. Review, please!