A/N; Thanks for all the reviews and faves and alerts! You guys rock! It's really awesome to know that you like my story so much!
Here's the next chapter. It's a little long again, but not as long as last time. I think. Enjoy!

"Thank you so much for saving my mom! I don't know what I would have done if they'd murdered my mom as well…" Chocolat said. The group had joined Cacao and Chocolat in their home, where the women thanked them repeatedly. They were now gathered in the kitchen.

"As well…?" Genis questioned, and Cacao nodded.

"My husband volunteered in Governor-General Dorr's army… and was killed in a battle against the Desians. And my mother… was taken to the ranch."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Lilly said, bowing her head slightly.

"It was Grandma that originally founded our shop. We have to protect it, not just for ourselves, but also for Grandma's sake, for when she returns." Chocolat offered. Before anyone could speak again they heard the front door open, and a young man's voice echoed through the room.

"Chocolat, Cacao! Are you here?"

A tall, lanky teenager entered the kitchen then, and sighed in relief when he saw the women.

"There you are! Are you alright? I heard what happened."

"We're fine, Gene. The Chosen and her friends helped us."

Gene looked over at the others at that point, seeing them for the first time.

"Oh, thank you very much for saving them. I really appreciate it. I'm Gene, a friend of the family." He said, then looked back to Chocolat.

"We need to get going soon, Choco."

"Oh, right! It's almost time for the next Asgard pilgrimage."

"Asgard Pilgrimage?" Lloyd questioned.

"Gene and I work at the Church of Martel Travel Agency. But it's not like I believe in Martel or anything." Chocolat explained, and her mother gasped.

"Chocolat, how can you say that?"

"I know, I know. I'm grateful for the Chosen." Chocolat conceded, then continued, "But Martel didn't protect Dad or Grandma."

Gene spoke up then, agreeing with Chocolat.

"And this time it wasn't even Martel, but the Chosen and her companions that saved you, Cacao. How can anyone believe in a goddess that sleeps while we suffer?"

"I understand that, but I still think that Martel exists." Colette put in.

"You think…?" Gene echoed skeptically.

"I'm sure of it. Martel lives inside of you and me, and everyone." Colette amended.

"Well, if the Chosen says so…then I'll at least try to believe." Chocolat answered, but Gene still looked unconvinced.

"Are there really people that want to go on a trip right after what just happened here?" Lloyd questioned, smoothly changing the subject.

"It's after events like this that both those with and without faith feel the need to go on a journey in search of salvation." Kratos explained.

"That pretty much sums it up. Well, thank you very much! Now we have to go." Chocolat said, then she and Gene left the room.

0~0~0~0~0~0

Crystal went to the inn to reserve a room, hoping to have some time to rest before she left the city. But as she laid on the bed she heard a knock at the door.

"Yes?" She called and the door opened, revealing Yuan standing in the hallway.

"L-Lord Yuan! Is something wrong?" Crystal asked, immediately standing up.

"I heard about your late night visit to the Tethe'alla base."

"Yes, I wanted to do some research."

"Research that involved locked files?" He asked pointedly.

"Yes, Sir." Crystal stated calmly.

"Why?"

"I needed to know. Why would you keep that from me, Sir? Don't you think I have the right to know if he's part of my family? Don't I deserve to know the truth?"

"I didn't want you to know because I knew it would affect your duties as one of my officers." Yuan said.

That bothered Crystal. He would keep the truth from her to ensure that she did her job?

"It won't affect my work." She insisted.

"Oh, really? So you're saying that you can still fight him, even knowing that you're related?"

"What if we don't have to fight? I can travel with them and give you information, and you can use that to plan your next move."

"And they're just going to let you travel with them?" Yuan questioned, skeptical.

"They may not like it at first, but they would eventually accept it. I know Kratos would."

"You already talked to him?"

"Yeah, I did. He would let me join them, I know he would." Crystal said.

"Hm… perhaps we can use this, then. Fine, join them if you wish. But you will provide me with the information I need."

"Yes Sir. Thank you Sir."

"Don't thank me. I'm only allowing this because you and Sheena have failed thus far. Speaking of Sheena, I will speak with her, inform her of this… new development." Yuan said, moving to the door.

Once there, he stopped and turned to look back at Crystal again. "I will give her the option of joining you, but if she refuses then our original agreement still stands. She may still attack the Chosen at any time. It's her choice."

"Yes Sir."

Then Yuan left, and Crystal laid down on the bed.

0~0~0~0~0~0

Sheena came to see Crystal, and told her that they wouldn't be meeting up that night. Once she was alone again, Crystal sighed.

She hoped she was doing the right thing. She knew it wouldn't be easy to convince the others to accept her—Kratos himself barely did. If it weren't for the fact that they were related, he likely would have refused her too.

But now that she knew the truth she was glad she had spoken with him, at the very least. She knew she couldn't keep attacking him. She couldn't fight the only true family she might have. Shaking off her thoughts, Crystal prepared to leave the city.

She was in the House of Salvation a couple hours later when she heard the familiar voice of Colette outside. Knowing she couldn't allow herself to be seen by them, Crystal ran to the stairs and a few moments later they came inside.

She remained out of their line of sight while they prayed at the altar, but she could see them well from her perch at the top of the stairs. Though he did nothing that made her think it, she had a feeling that Kratos knew she was there.

After a few minutes they left, and after a few moments Crystal went downstairs. Before they got far, Crystal heard a man calling for the Chosen.

"I have a message from Dorr. He would like you to temporarily postpone the journey of regeneration." The man said.

"What is this about?" Kratos asked warily.

"A Church of Martel pilgrimage tour guide has been kidnapped by the Desians," He began, slightly breathless, "In light of this, Dorr has decided that this is the time to gather Palmacosta's forces and launch an attack on the human ranch controlled by Magnius."

"What does that have to do with us?" Lloyd asked.

"We would like you to rescue the kidnapped tour guide in concert with our attack."

"Who is this kidnapped tour guide?" Colette asked.

"Her name is Chocolat."

"Chocolat? Does that mean that Gene has been captured too?" Lilly questioned.

"I do not know all the details. I only know that Chocolat was captured while escorting a group of travelers. It is likely that anyone who was in the group was captured as well."

"Oh no… Lloyd, let's help them." Colette said.

"Yeah, we can't just leave her there."

"Thank you! Neil will inform you of the details once you reach the ranch. Thank you so much for your help." The man said, bowing slightly—as much as he could within the confines of his heavy armor. Then he turned to leave, and the others followed suit.

"Wait!"

Turning back, they saw Crystal.

"You! What do you want?" The little silver haired boy said, grabbing his weapon.

"I'm not here to fight." Crystal quickly assured them, putting her hands up in a show of surrender.

"Then why are you here?"

"I heard that you were going to the human ranch. I… I want to come with you."

"What? Why should we trust you? This could be a trap!" Lloyd said.

Crystal didn't answer right away. She couldn't. How could she tell them the truth-they were her enemies! Well, not Kratos anymore really, but otherwise.

Unfortunately, her lack of response was making the others suspicious.

"You can't come with us, sorry." The silver haired woman, Professor something-or-other, said, and turned away.

"What?" Colette, Lilly and Crystal questioned in unison.

"If you can't give us a good reason for wanting to come, then you're better off staying behind. We have no time for your tricks."

"Look, it's not that I can't give you a reason. It's just that… it's kinda hard to talk about, okay?" Crystal began hesitantly.

"My… my family is in that ranch. I've been trying to find a way to save them-that's how I ended up fighting you all." She paused then, looking over the group. She saw sympathy on most of their faces, at least on the ones Crystal thought would matter.

"I'm sorry for that, and I promise it won't happen again. Please, just… let me come with you." Crystal pleaded.

Everyone was silent for a long moment. Just when Crystal was nearly ready to give up, Lloyd spoke.

"Okay… come on."

"You're going to let her come?" The Professor asked, incredulous.

"Yeah, I am. I know how it feels to be told you can't go when you really want to, and she seems to have a really important reason." He said, thinking about how he wasn't supposed to accompany Colette on her journey either.

"I agree. I think we should let her come." Lilly said.

"Assuming she's telling the truth." The silver haired boy muttered.

"I sense no deception from her." Kratos put in, earning a grateful smile from Crystal.

"Yeah, I don't think someone would lie about something like that, Genis." Colette said.

"Surprisingly, I believe she is telling the truth as well." The Professor added, scowling.

"And besides, if she is still our enemy, wouldn't it make sense to keep her close by so we could watch her? That way we know what she's doing all the time." Lilly suggested.

"That's not a bad idea."

"Anyway, it's been decided—you can come. Just don't try anything funny, okay?" Lloyd said. The last comment seemed to be put in as a plea, perhaps as an attempt to satisfy the others.

"Yeah, I'll be watching you." The silver haired boy added.

And Crystal nodded, bowing her head deeply.

"Thank you very much. I give you my word I will not betray you."

0~0~0~0~0~0

"Ow…"

"Gene? I-Is that you?" Chocolat's voice echoed through the small cell the two teens were in.

"Yeah, it's me. You okay?"

"I think s-so."

Rising to his feet, Gene found that he was weak and shaky. Falling to his knees, he began to feel his way around the dark cell, running his hand over the cold metal walls until he found the door.

"Locked tight of course." He mumbled. Oh well, had to try. Using the handle of the door to pull himself up, he peered out the small window. The light in the hallway was dim, but enough to show that there were two guards outside the door.

"No way we're going to escape through here." He thought, then slowly slid his hand along the wall leading to the side of the cell Chocolat was sitting on.

Now that he had been awake in the darkness for awhile his eyes were beginning to adjust to it, and he could just make out Chocolat's shadowy form on the small bed in the corner.

Apparently she hadn't heard him coming, and gasped when he laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't think we're going to get out of here until they open the cell. But we've gotta come up with a plan of what to do when they come for us." He said.

"What makes you think they'll come for us at all?" Chocolat asked, sniffling a bit.

"Well I don't think they captured us just to let us sit in here and rot. They have to be planning something."

"Why don't we just wait for Governor General Dorr to save us? Once he hears about our capture, I'm sure he'll organize a rescue mission."

"You really want to sit here and wait for that? Who knows what the Desians have planned for us! They may be coming for us right now. That's why we have to be ready for them." Gene insisted.

Chocolat thought about it in silence for a moment. She was frightened, of course, but she knew Gene was right-they had to do something.

Being the scared little girl was never her style anyway. Where was the woman who had argued with the Desian soldiers who wanted to purchase supplies from the shop yesterday? That was more like her.

With a sharp nod, barely visible in the dark, she turned to Gene again.

"Okay, let's do it."

"Alright, that's the spirit. Now, here's what I have in mind…"

0~0~0~0~0~0

Now that they were traveling together, Crystal was introduced to the rest of the group.

She already knew Lloyd, Lilly, Colette and Kratos of course, and Lilly had given her name at their previous encounter as well, but she was introduced to the silver haired woman and boy, Professor Raine Sage and her brother Genis.

Crystal introduced herself, and the group continued on in silence for a few minutes until Colette spoke.

"Hey, you cut your hair!"

"Well yeah, had to do something to keep it from being grabbed all the time." Crystal answered, fingering her shorter hair.

She used to keep it at the middle of her back, but now it barely touched her shoulder. In a way she almost missed the long waves spilling down her back, but she had to admit that it was easier to care for now.

After a moment she felt a familiar tug on her hair, and looked up to find a handful of it in Kratos' hand.

"It is still long enough to hold on to." He said with a smirk.

"Well I wasn't going to shave my head! Besides, I'm on your side now, so you shouldn't have to be grabbing my hair anyway." Crystal said, then lowered her voice so only Kratos would hear the next thing she said. "Be quiet before I start calling you 'uncle'."

Colette and Lilly could be heard giggling nearby.

A short time later, the group could see the outline of the ranch, its stark stone walls a sharp contrast with the setting sun behind it.

When they approached the ranch nearly another hour later, they were stopped by Neil, Dorr's assistant.

"Everyone, I must speak with you."

"From the sound of it, you don't have very good news for us." Kratos said as the man led them away from the ranch.

"I must ask that you leave this area immediately."

"What? But we're supposed to be working with the Palmacosta militia to infiltrate the ranch so we can save everyone!" Colette told him.

"Ah, no… That was…."

"Then it was a trap." Kratos put in.

"Oh, no…" Lilly moaned.

"Of all the possibilities, it looks like the worst came true." Raine sighed.

"I'd heard rumors of it, but I'd always hoped they were false…" Crystal added.

"What? What are talking about?" Lloyd asked, looking between the four.

"It was a mystery that the Desians would simply leave a city with an army alone." Kratos explained, and Raine nodded.

"Yes, exactly. Choosing not to crush the seeds of rebellion must mean they are not a threat… They are left alone simply because they have no real power, or perhaps, because they are in fact beneficial…"

"How did you know about it?" Genis asked Crystal.

"I worked for the Desians, remember? The group I worked for recently, the one that sent me after you, wasn't involved with the rest of them." She began, choosing her words carefully to make sure she didn't reveal anything about the Renegades.

"But I still knew what was going on-last year I was sent to collect the money that Dorr was paying them."

"I thought you looked familiar when I saw you the other day. I must have seen you in the office once or twice." Neil said, looking at Crystal.

"Yes, possibly. But generally I tried to stay out of sight, only coming in through the basement passage. Anyway, can we focus on what's important here? We have to get into that ranch." Crystal answered.

"Haven't you been listening? It's too dangerous-you can't go in there!" Neil protested.

"I have to get in there. My family is in there. I won't leave them."

"Your family is in there? When were they taken?"

"Two years ago. That's how I got involved with Magnius and ended up working for the Desians. I've been trying to get them out ever since, and I won't give up now that I'm this close." Crystal said, then looked at Lloyd and the others.

"If you don't want to go in that's fine. But I'm not leaving. I'll go in alone if I have to."

"You won't be alone, Crystal. We'll go with you. Won't we Lloyd?" Colette said.

"Yeah. We'll help you. The people in the ranch are suffering; we can't just abandon them. We're in."

"Thank you. Thank you very much. That means a lot to me."

"You can't go in there now. Entering the ranch now will put you all in danger. Leave Chocolat and the others to me and please, go on your way. Please, just regenerate the world as soon as possible." Neil spoke up.

"No! I can't just ignore this!" Colette said, shaking her fists.

"Colette's right. If we leave things as they are now, Palmacosta may be destroyed just like Iselia. You think so, too, don't you, Lloyd?" Genis put in.

"Yes, what you say is true. But I still side with Neil. If you don't want to see cities destroyed, you should avoid contact with the Desians." Raine said.

"No, that's not right. Regenerating the world and saving the people in front of us are not exclusive of each other. That's what I think." Colette pressed.

"We can't just leave them in there to wait for the soldiers. We're here now. We have to help them!" Lilly added. Then she looked to Kratos, the only member of the group to remain silent.

"Kratos, what do you think?"

But Kratos hesitated. In truth, he was torn between the two options-go in or leave. Part of him wanted to go in and save Crystal's family, hoping to get the truth about her family line from them. On the other hand, he knew the safer course of action-and the one that he should choose in keeping with his orders-would be to leave.

Looking over the faces before him, he contemplated his answer. But when his eyes met Crystal's, he knew what he had to say.

"We should save them, if we can."

"That's right!" Colette agreed, and most of the others nodded.

"If that is how you feel, Colette, then we do not have any right to stop you. The only one who has the right to make decisions on this journey is you, the Chosen One. Is that all right with you, Lloyd?" Raine said, looking to the younger swordsman.

"That was my intention from the beginning. Remember what I said? I'm going to destroy them all." Lloyd nodded.

"Still…" Neil tried again.

"It's all right. Colette is saying this is what she wants." Genis told him.

"Now, there are two courses we can take. The first is to infiltrate the ranch now and rescue Chocolat and the other captives. As things stand now, if we leave the ranch alone it will surely result in a second Iselia." Raine explained, sighing deeply as she looked at the ranch.

"The other option is to return to Palmacosta and speak to Dorr. If he has planned a trap then he may know the layout of the ranch well." She continued, and Kratos nodded.

"Thinking logically, the best course would be to deal with Dorr first."

"What do you think, Lloyd?" Colette asked.

"We can't worry about their trap! If we have to, we'll fight our way through. But we're going in now. We can't leave Chocolat in there any longer. And the same goes for Crystal's family. They've been in there for two years! We have to get them out!"

"You got it! Count me in!" Genis said.

"Me too. I'm sure Chocolat is scared and lonely by herself." Colette added.

Raine didn't agree with the idea, but went along with it. Kratos would have preferred to return to Palmacosta first as long as he knew they would return quickly, but he too went without complaint.

Before they got far, though, Neil requested that he be allowed to go in with them.

After thinking it over for a moment, Lloyd nodded.

"Alright, come on."

"Are you sure? It's going to be dangerous." Genis questioned.

"Yeah. Remember what I said to Crystal? I know how it feels to be told no. So yeah, I'm going to let him come."

"Thank you. I promise I won't get in the way." Neil said.

"Now, we're going to have to fight our way through the front door. Everyone get ready." Raine said.

"Actually, we won't." Crystal put in. Everyone looked at her, Raine and Genis even appearing slightly suspicious.

"I have the access codes. I can just enter it in the computer terminal by the door and we're good to go." She continued simply.

"Oh. That's really helpful!" Colette chimed in.

"Let's go then."

The group had to fight through a group of Desians to get to the door, but once there Crystal input the code and the door opened.

"Okay, let's get this over with."

0~0~0~0~0~0

The creaking of the cell door informed Gene and Chocolat that it was nearly time to implement their plan. The pale light of the hallway filtered in and washed over their faces, as two soldiers stood in the doorway.

"Time to go, scum." One of them said, and they walked over to where Gene stood in front of Chocolat protectively.

"Where are you taking us?" Chocolat whimpered as one of the men grabbed her. She didn't receive an answer.

Out in the hallway she cast a sideways glance at Gene, who was staring at the ceiling like it was suddenly the most fascinating thing in the world.

"Hey, get moving!" The other guard said, pushing Gene forward roughly.

"When do you think this place was built?" He asked conversationally.

"What?"

Gene repeated the question, sighing and reaching out a hand, running it along the wall.

"I'm studying architecture at the Palmacosta Academy, and I was trying to figure out when this structure was built. It looks like ancient Asgardian design to me. Do you have any idea?"

When the guard didn't respond he continued.

"Man, I'd love to get a look at the blueprints… D'ya think you could arrange that? I mean if you're gonna kill me, the least you could do is grant me one last wish."

"Be quiet!" The soldier shouted, pushing him again.

"Okay, okay… no need to be so rude. Geez!"

At this point Chocolat had to hold back a giggle. It was almost funny to hear Gene going on about the architecture while they were being taken to their very probable death/torture.

They walked in silence for awhile, and as they continued through several empty hallways Gene spoke again.

"I'd really love to see those blueprints."

"Too bad! It's not gonna happen, so why don't you shut your trap?"

"Ooh, scary…" Gene mocked, pretending to be afraid.

Chocolat was worried now. She didn't know all the details of what Gene's plan entailed for distracting the guards, but she was fairly certain it didn't include angering them.

She looked over at him and found him watching her. When the guards looked away, thankful for a moment of silence, Gene mouthed the words 'get ready'. Chocolat nodded once.

"Hey, do you guys thing I could get something to eat? I'm starving! You haven't fed us since we've been here, and I could really go for some curry right… about… now!"

That was Chocolat's cue. Using all the weight her small frame could muster, she slammed into the guard behind her, knocking him off balance.

Gene did the same to his guard, then quickly whipped around and grabbed the man's sword, hitting them over the head with the hilt. It knocked out one and dazed the other, but still gave the teens the advantage they needed to get away from the soldiers.

"Come on Chocolat, run!" Gene said, grabbing her hand and hurrying down the hall.

"Where are we going? We don't even know where the door is!"

"So we'll run until we find it!"

"Gene! That's not a good answer! What about… computer lab… or something!" Chocolat suggested between gasps.

"You… take computer classes… at the academy?" Gene countered, trying to catch his breath.

He had a point. Even if they did find a computer, neither of them knew how to use it. They would likely be recaptured while trying to figure out how to bring up a map.

"Okay… so we run!"

"Agreed!"

0~0~0~0~0~0

"This is where the prisoners are being held." Crystal said, pointing out a room on a ranch-wide map she brought up on a computer. They'd had to fight their way through a lot of hallways to reach this room, so it was a welcome sight to find it empty.

Crystal knew it was only a matter of time before they were discovered, though, so it would be a short break.

"Shouldn't be too hard to get there." Lloyd said, bringing Crystal's attention back to the map.

"And I may be able to help with any obstacles we come across. I know this ranch pretty well. We shouldn't stay here long. It won't take much time for them to realize I've accessed their computer."

As if to confirm her words, an alarm sounded overhead and the computer was locked down.

"Uh-oh! Sounds like they found us! We better hurry up and get this over with." Lloyd said as the group ran from the room.

"That was too fast… they shouldn't have been able to find us that easily." Crystal countered.

"Maybe they found us because they already knew we were coming. It was a trap, remember?" Lilly suggested.

"Maybe…"

Leaving that room, they found the hallway to be empty. For several minutes they ran unhindered, but when they entered an Exsphere storage room they were quickly surrounded by Desian soldiers.

"What are you doing here?" One of them questioned, then looked at Crystal.

"Lady Crystal! I didn't know you would be coming today!"

"Well, if I took the time to tell everyone my plans, I'd never get anything done. These are representatives from Palmacosta. They're here to see Lord Magnius, to discuss the non-aggression treaty with Palmacosta."

"A non-aggression treaty? I hadn't heard anything about that. Well, good luck. Magnius isn't in a good mood today." The soldier said, and Crystal forced a laugh.

"Is he ever in a good mood? I'll deal with him like I always have. Excuse us, soldier."

Then the soldiers moved aside to let the group pass, and they continued on.

"Wow… great job, Crystal! I thought we were in trouble for a minute." Lloyd said.

"Don't relax just yet. We may yet be in trouble." Kratos warned quietly as they entered another room filled with soldiers.

"Halt!"

Luckily, the apparent leader was someone Crystal knew.

"Please stand aside, Keiran. I need to take these people to Magnius."

"To discuss the peace treaty? Yeah, right. You aren't one of us anymore."

"What are you talking about? I'm still-"

"Silence, traitor!" Keiran shouted, and prepared to attack.

"Stand down, Keiran." A woman's voice echoed through the room.

"Can't you see that these people have brought us a gift? You can't kill such thoughtful people."

The owner of the voice came up behind Keiran then. She was tall, with hazel eyes and brown hair, and wore a scarlet coat with black pants and a beret.

"Lilith? What are you doing here?" Crystal cried.

"I would think that was obvious, Crystal. I work here. I run this ranch."

"What? Magnius is the leader of this ranch, not you. Stop this nonsense, Lilith. Come back with me."

"Come back? Run away, you mean. Like you did. How could you turn away from this? You could have ruled your own ranch! Don't you wantthat?" Lilith questioned, waving her arms expressively.

"No! I never wanted that! I wanted out! What happened to you, Lilith? How could you do this?"

"You know, I don't really owe you an explanation." Lilith said, shaking her head and turning away.

"Lilith, wait! Don't do this!" Crystal pleaded, but her cries fell on deaf ears.

"You got me involved in all this, so don't blame me for wanting more. Goodbye, Crystal. Good luck getting out of here alive." Lilith continued, then made her escape while Crystal and the others fought off the soldiers sent to attack them.

A moment later an alarm sounded.

"I guess Lilith must have told them we were here." Colette said.

"They already knew we were here. Lilith just told them to hunt us down and kill us."

0~0~0~0~0~0

"Come on, Choco, we have to hurry."

"I know. I just need a minute."

The two had been running for several minutes and had yet to find stairs, or even an elevator, anything to tell them what floor they were on and how far they had to go.

Chocolat was out of breath and her body was aching, and she knew that she couldn't go on without a small break. After a minute, she looked up at Gene and nodded.

"Okay, I'm ready. Let's go."

So they continued on, following a long hallway until they reached its end. The hallway was lined with closed doors, so Gene began checking each of them, finding that most were simply small rooms.

He finally found one that opened to a larger room with a second door on the opposite side of the room, and decided to check it out. The door revealed another hallway, so he and Chocolat ran down it.

After awhile the hallway led to a dark room, and as they made their way through it Gene's foot caught on something on the floor.

"What the-" He began, but stopped when he heard a small moan of protest at the contact.

"Hello?" He whispered, straining his eyes to see even the faintest outline of what-or rather who- he had come across.

His answer came in the form of a deep, but raspy, voice.

"W-who are you?"

"Prisoners." Gene answered simply.

"If… you are prisoners… where are your… guards?"

"We escaped them. We're getting out of here. You could come with us." Gene answered, but the man only chuckled weakly.

"No… I would only… slow you down. I have no time left. You… go, get out of here."

"Are you sure? You really want to lay here and die? We can take you with us-come on!" Chocolat persuaded.

"No, I would… be a burden. I… cannot walk. Take this, and go." The man continued, pressing something into Gene's hand. In the dark room he couldn't tell what it was, but it gave off a faint dull glow.

"No you must hurry! Go… before they find you…"

"Okay. What's your name?"

"Marcus… Marcus Kirkson."