A/N: So I finally finished chapter X! I am infinetly sorry that it's taken me a year... most of you probably thought I'd given up. Well it's been kinda weird for my editor and me... so yeah... but it's cool now and I'm already working on the next chapter. Thank you to all of you who reviewed ages and ages ago: Unknownseraphim, Burnstar, Raspedra Twilight, Mind Tricks, and Lord Yuan. Maybe if I'm lucky and you all are very nice, you'll review this chapter as well! I'm so sorry again about the wait. I hope you like this chapter!--oh, side note, tell me if you see any of my editors comments that I forgot to erase (they should be in bold text) I in a past chapter I'd forgotten to erase one (But I'm too lazy to fix it) thanks!

Disclaimer: Despite the time, I still don't own Tales of Symphonia

Angel's Encounter

The next morning Anna woke to find herself still in the gentle clutch of Kratos' arms. She extracted herself carefully so as not to wake the sleeping seraph. Judging by the sunlight trying to break through the overcast skies, it was nearing noon. Yawning, she made herself a cup of tea, then took a seat in one of the arm chairs, tucking her feet under her. What a night she'dhad. She shot a glance in the direction of the bedroom Kratos Aurion was certainly not what she pictured when she thought of the Angels of Cruxis. She had calmed down a bit since the night before, and had had the time to think about everything Kratos had said. Yuan, of course had confirmed his story, which in itself was an interesting tale.

She had been running for what had seemed like an hour, the tears welling up in her eyes had made it hard to see. A chill had gripped her, she didn't know how many men were after her, and she didn't care. She had killed a man, and in doing so had, in her mind, reduced herself to their level Anna paused for a moment and looked around her. In the darkness it was hard to make out her position, but judging by the heat she was pretty sure that she was near Triet. Sure enough, after a few more minutes of making her way aimlessly through the undergrowth, she stumbled out of the woods and into the hot sands of the Triet desert. Immediately, she looked around for any sign of light. There was none, so she did the best thing she could think of: pick a random direction and start walking This, she felt, was a better option than waiting around to be captured.

It wasn't long until she did finally see light; however, it wasn't the shining, white lights of Triet she'd been hoping for. A dim pink-purple glow was shining some distance ahead of her, and it seemed to be moving in her direction. Bewildered, she continued to head towards the light. As she came closer it was apparent that a figure was silhouetted against it, a figure that was beginning to become more and more recognizable.

"Dear Martel…" she gasped; suddenly the light disappeared and Yuan's voice emitted from the darkness.

"Anna? Is that you?"

"Yuan? Goddess, it's good to see a friendly face." Yuan was now standing in front of her, though she could not see him through the veil of night.

"Are you okay? Where's Kratos?" he asked in a slightly worried tone.

"I don't know, we were attacked by Desians and got separated. But, goddess, his story must have been true…"

"He told you?"

"Yes, about him, you, Mithos, and Martel."

"I see."

"We shouldn't stay here long. I think I'm still being followed."

"Hmm, we should be okay for a moment, we'll move in a second, but first I need to talk to you. I'm going to take you somewhere safe, but first you need to understand that Kratos has no idea where this place is, or that I'm associated with it. Will you promise me, swear on your life, that you will not tell Kratos about this, no matter what?"

"Yes of course."

"Anna, please understand that my life could be in serious danger if he finds out."

"I understand," a hint of nervous curiosity was in her voice. Yuan nodded.

"It will be faster if we fly… if you don't mind, that is," he said, grateful to the night for covering the pink flush rising in his cheeks.

"No, not at all," she replied, then allowed herself to be lifted into Yuan's arms and placed her arms around his neck as she had done for Kratos earlier that day.

"Kratos told you about Cruxis and the Desians, then?" he inquired, as Anna, for the second time that day, felt the ground fall away from her.

"Yes."

"So you know that I, unfortunately, am also a member of Cruxis?" She nodded.

"Good, this will make things a lot easier to explain."

They hadn't been traveling that long when they landed next to a dome like building nestled between two steep cliffs.

"Here we are," Yuan said, gently placing Anna on her feet.

"Welcome back, Lord Yuan," greeted one of the guards as they entered. Anna shot a fearful look up at Yuan as they passed. He gave her a somewhat bemused look before saying, "Don't worry, they're not Desians."

"What are they?" she asked looking around at the strangely illuminated corridor that strongly reminded her of the Asgard human ranch.

"They're Renegades," he told her, nodding to a passing guard, "We're an underground resistance force dedicated to fighting the Cruxis." At this Anna looked up at him in surprise.

"Why?"

"Kratos told you about the true reason for the World Regeneration ritual, didn't he?"

"Yes, but I wouldn't have thought that you'd be against the resurrection of Martel." Yuan gave a bitter smile.

"He told you about that, did he? Well, you'd be too if you knew what kind of Hell she's in now."—Anna made a mental note to ask Kratos about that, not wanting to press the matter on Yuan—"And it's not just that, Mithos is slowly killing the worlds by keeping Martel imprisoned in the Great Seed and not allowing it to germinate." At this they entered a room that was furnished to be an office. A desk stood in the center of the room, bookshelves lined the walls, and columns stood in various positions around the room. Behind the desk was a large painting that looked as if it was from the Kharlan war. Upon their entrance the half-elf sitting behind the desk rose and approached them.

"Lord Yuan? We were not expecting your return so soon."

"It matters not, Botta," he addressed the man, allowing a small smirk to touch his features, "this is Anna." Botta stared for a second, then recovering, smiled to himself.

"I've heard much about you, and your exsphere," he commented, allowing his eyes to rest momentarily on the jewel glistening beneath her neck. Instinctively her hand went protectively to the gem, and she shot a look at Yuan.

"Don't worry," Yuan said soothingly, "we're just trying to help you." He strode over to the desk and took a seat in the chair that Botta had just vacated. He gestured at the one across from him, and Anna perched herself on the edge of the chair.

"Anna, have you…" he broke off, studying her face, "have you been crying?"

"I…yes. Yes I have." Yuan gave her a bewildered look, then glanced at Botta whose face bore a matching expression.

"But, I thought that…I mean, Kratos told me that you couldn't cry." She raised and eyebrow at him. When the hell did Kratos tell him that? Her name was the same in the Angelic language as it was in the common one, and not once had she heard her name or the word for "woman" or "girl."

"Oh, well I couldn't, I didn't think so anyway, but apparently I can now."

"Has anything unusual happened since the last time you were upset?"—She opened her mouth to speak—"I mean besides everything Kratos just told you." She closed it again and furrowed her eyebrows, deep in thought.

"Oh! Got it!" she declared, a look of triumph lighting up her face. She fingered the gem that rested upon her chest, "Is there something different about my exsphere?" Yuan looked at it, perplexed, then the look of dawning comprehension reached his brow, and a grin spread across his face.

"Yes," he confirmed, "the false Key Crest is missing." He and Botta exchanged a smug grin.

"What does that mean?" she asked apprehensively, remembering what Kratos had told her about lifeless beings.

"It means…" he paused as though wondering how much he ought to tell her, "It means that you are no longer losing your emotions. In fact, it would seem that they have returned.

"Oh." Silence descended upon them during which Anna observed Yuan suspiciously, who refused to make eye contact and instead was twirling a pen in his fingers as if it was his blade.

"Have you had anything to eat?" Yuan asked, changing the subject.

"No," Anna replied, realizing for the first time how hungry she was, now that she had recovered from the initial shock, and things were starting to make a little more sense in her mind.

"Well then, I'll take you to the dining room in just a second, and then we'll take you back to Kratos, who is probably looking for you as we speak."

"You think so?" She asked skeptically, trying to mask the hope in her voice.

"I'm sure of it. Kratos takes his jobs very seriously."

"Oh. I see," she replied, a hint of disappointment in her tone.

"Well then, if you don't mind stepping out for a minute, I'll be out shortly to take you to the kitchen." Anna rose and with one last curious glance at the two half-elves, left the room.

"Well, sir, it would seem that you were right about the girl's exsphere," Botta commented, once the door had closed itself again.

"Yes, but that's not necessarily something to celebrate. If the information about the false key crest was valid then that means that there's a greater chance that the other information is correct as well. This means that at all costs we must not let Yggdrasil get a hold of that exsphere."

"Indeed, should we send some men to keep an eye on her?"

"No, I believe she will be safe if we return her to Kratos. I doubt he will lose her again. Although, I'd feel much better about this whole thing if he would just leave her in Iselia."

"He won't change his mind, sir. You know how stubborn he can be."

"Oh, I know all too well," Yuan replied with a scowl, "at any rate, I'll make sure to inform Kratos of our findings and then, if he chooses, he can disclose them to Anna." At this the door suddenly opened revealing a startled looking Anna.

"The beauty of automatic doors," Yuan said offhandedly, "they open if anyone gets close enough to eavesdrop."

"I wasn't eavesdropping," Anna said, blushing.

"Of course you weren't," Yuan said, sounding bored, "here, I'll get you something to eat."

The kitchen was devoid of life except for Yuan and Anna. Anna leaned against the counter next to Yuan who was in the middle of preparing a small portion of risotto for the girl and himself. Glancing up at her he was startled to see that tears were once again running down her cheeks.

"What's wrong?" he inquired.

"I don't know," she replied, wiping her eyes with the palm of her hand, "But I can't stop." She smiled through the tears.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. This is probably just a release of all the sadness that your body has been bottling up for the past years," he said as warmly as he could.

"I'm not sure it works like that," Anna said through a sniff.

"Neither am I," Yuan replied with a small laugh, "But I'm sure that you'll feel better for it once you're done."

The two sat down to their late dinner in Yuan's office. Anna's tears had ostensibly abated while they ate, talking nonchalantly about this and that. Anna found Yuan's company to be very enjoyable; she felt that she could confide in him.

"Yuan," she started softly placing her fork down and looking up at him across the desk.

"Yes?"

"Do you think Kratos will still let me travel with him?" Yuan smiled at her.

"That stubborn fool, of course he will. He's probably beating himself up right now wondering where you are." Anna stared at him in shock, but Yuan replied to her gaze saying, "Don't worry about him, he'll be okay. Where did you lose him?"

"In Ossa Trail. We stopped, and he was telling me his story. We were ambushed. I…I killed one of them, then fled. I don't know what happened to Kratos." She looked away, ashamed.

"Don't feel bad, Anna," Yuan said comfortingly, "Kratos isn't a child, he can take care of himself."

"I sure hope so." Yuan smirked.

"When you're finished, I'll take you back to Izoold, and if he's not there, then we'll go look for him in Ossa trail." She nodded, and picking up her fork, resumed her meal.

By the time she and Yuan had landed on the outskirts of Izoold, Anna was sure that she should finally be used to the bizarre sensation of flight. Her tears from earlier had been replaced by the rain drops that were now falling from the sky. The rush of warmth and relief she had felt when she had met back up with Kratos was enough to bring a fresh wave of tears to her eyes.

She stopped her thoughts suddenly. Kratos? Kratos Aurion? This was the man who brought her the most comfort after all she had been through? Not Yuan, but Kratos?—Kratos didn't know about the Renegades, or if he did, he didn't know that Yuan was in charge. She sighed as she realized that another weight had been placed on her shoulders. No matter what happened there would always be one secret that she would have to keep from him.

There was a rustle of blankets from the other room, making Anna jump as though she were a child, caught in the act of doing something she wasn't supposed to do, but she quickly relaxed as she realized that it was merely Kratos rousing himself from a well needed sleep. He stumbled into the room, yawning and rubbing his eye with the heel of his hand.

"'Morning," he muttered, shuffling over to reheat the water Anna had boiled for her tea, "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you," she replied, smiling warmly, not quite sure why she felt the need to be so formal. He smiled politely back at her, as an awkward silence fell across them. Anna turned her head away to hide a slight pinkness that was rising in her cheeks.

"Have you eaten anything?" Kratos asked, breaking the silence.

"No, but I think I'll be okay. It will be lunch time soon anyway." He nodded, then returned his attention back to the boiling kettle. Anna sat patiently in silence while Kratos made his tea. He came over and sat in an arm chair opposite her, neither mad eye contact for a few moments, the finally, Kratos decided to tackle the matter that was lingering in both of their minds.

"Anna"—she looked up at him—"I'd just like to apologize for last night…"—He paused, then continued, "You shouldn't have come back, you should've let Yuan take you to Iselia."

She opened her mouth to retort indignantly; however, Kratos cut her off, "But I'm glad you did." Anna stared at him in amazement as he allowed a very uncharacteristically sheepish grin intrude upon his usually stolid features for a moment. She grinned in return before saying, "Did you really think that I would leave you alone to fend for yourself?" then laughed at the bewildered look that crossed his face, but her smile quickly vanished as she stared down into her mug.

"But in all seriousness, I never though of coming anywhere else; somehow you being an angel didn't seem to bother me."

"Well, all that matters is that you're safe. Thank the gods that Yuan found you." She nodded.

"That reminds me, Yuan wanted to talk to you."

"Oh?" She nodded.

"I think he said he's staying at the inn."

"I see, well, then I suppose I should pay him a visit later," a note of curiosity in his voice, "In the mean time we should make plans to leave Izoold, no doubt the Desians will be back to look for us." Anna nodded.

"Where will we go next?" she asked.

"I think we should go to Palmacoasta, then head up to Asgard of Luin."

"That's fine with me," she glanced out the window then stood up, stretching, "I think I'm going to go for a walk right after a have a bit of lunch." Kratos looked up at her then moved his gaze to the window.

"Would you mind if I accompanied you?"

"To keep an eye on me?" she asked suspiciously.

"No," he replied, slightly taken aback, "to keep you company." She smiled warmly at him.

"Of course you may."

The beach was deserted except for the two walkers and the odd seagull. Ship's sails were visible on the horizon, and the waves came and went smoothly, despite the cloudy, grey skies. Two pairs of shoes, one set considerably smaller than the other, were left abandoned by the steps leading down to the beach, and a trail of foot prints in the wet sand led to where the two figures were ambling slowly down the beach.

Anna paused for a moment, then bent over and picked up a small, smooth, flat stone. Kratos watched as she turned to the ocean and sent the stone skipping across the waves; he smiled seeing the progress that had been made. Her beaming face looked to his for approval, then she reached for another stone.

"Here, this one's for you," she told him, and Kratos reached out his hand to accept the stone, as he did Anna placed her small hand over his and he felt the cool, smooth stone drop into his palm. She brought her other hand up to clasp his; shyly she looked up into his face. Kratos felt a strange warmth rise into his chest as their eyes met, and a strange force seemed to compel him to lean in slightly, to bring his face closer to hers. At that moment Anna stood on her tip toes and gently kissed him.

When she pulled away her cheeks were flushed pink and she looked away towards the ocean, trying to conceal her grin.

"You should probably go visit Yuan," she suggested, rubbing her arms nervously. Kratos stared at her for a moment, mouth open, and still in shock, before he pulled himself together and replied.

"Yes. Are you coming?"

"No, I'm going to the house; I'm still a bit tired. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"I see." The two retreated to the spot where they had left their shoes. Each took their respective pair and once their backs were towards each other, they both finally allowed an enormous grin spread across their face.

Kratos was still smiling to himself when he reached the inn.

"You look happy," Yuan commented, the only one in the room besides Kratos.

"Do I?" he asked.

"Yes…" Yuan replied with a slightly suspicious air.

"You wanted to talk?" Kratos asked, not abandoning the part of him that detested small talk.

"Yes. It's about Anna." At this Kratos' ears perked up.

"What about Anna?" he asked with a slight growl. Yuan sat down in a small wooden chair beside a table and gestured for Kratos to do the same. Once both were seated Yuan replied, "Her exsphere… I've been doing some research on the Angelus project and you're not going to like what I've found. It would seem that the false key crest was causing her to lose her emotions. Eventually she would have become completely lifeless, and she would have stopped aging, and finally, it would have killed her…"

"But her emotions have come back…" Kratos protested, "So she's okay now, right?"

"Unfortunately not. Don't forget that the exsphere is still there and now has no key crest whatsoever. The false one was in fact, only slowing down the parasitic process, meaning its now gone back to a much faster pace."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Kratos asked, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. Yuan shrugged.

"Unless we can get her a real key crest, then its hopeless." Kratos looked away.

"How long do you think it will take before the parasitic process is finished?" Yuan sighed and shrugged again.

"Kratos…to be honest I don't know. It could be tomorrow, it could be fifty years from now. It's hard to say. The best thing to do is just to try to find a cure."

"What am I going to do?" Kratos asked, more to himself than Yuan.

"The best thing you can do right now is just forget about her. Move on, it will save you a lot of grief and heartache later on." Kratos slammed his fist onto the table.

"I can't do that!" There was a sudden silence after his uncharacteristic outburst. Yuan stared at him with the same serious expression, but Kratos could see a triumphant smile reflected through his eyes.

"Then I suggest you make the most of the time that you have left with her." Yuan's voice had an icy air about it, but it quickly disappeared in the next sentence, "Speaking of time, you need a plan, Kratos. I can't have you drifting around the world doing nothing. Do you still plan to take a stand against Mithos?" Kratos' signature stoic expression had returned to his visage.

"Yes, I have given it a bit of thought." A smirk tugged at the corners of Yuan's mouth before he replied, "Good. Now, I think that the best way for you to go about it would be to find away for you to wield the Eternal Sword." Kratos nodded.

"I had considered that. But that would possibly require us to travel to Tethe'alla at some point, and Anna and I don't exactly have access to the Tower of Salvation." At this Yuan grinned.

"No, you don't. But you do have access to the Otherworldly Gate." Kratos raised his eyebrows at him, and asked with a hint of doubt, "You got Mithos to tell you were the Sylvarant side is?"

"No, but I'm pretty sure I know where it is, and its much more concealed than the Tethe'alla one."

"Where is it?"

"Close to Palmacoasta, but I'm still looking into it."

"I see…"

"Look, Kratos, I haven't told Anna, anything about her exsphere, if you want to fill her in on that, then that's up to you." Kratos nodded, then shifted his gaze out the window. Yuan, slightly regretting brining up Anna again, quickly changed the subject, "So, I suggest checking Asgard for information on the Eternal Sword…if there's nothing in about it in the ruins, then I suggest you check the Mausoleum." Kratos nodded, brining himself back down to earth.

Their conversation lasted until about two hours before midnight, discussing plans and ideas for the near future, with a pause for a quick dinner. When Kratos opened the door to the little house that he and Anna had rented, he found her curled up in one of the armchairs and fast asleep. He smiled softly to himself at the sight of her. He quietly approached her and lifted her gently into his arms. Carrying her though to the bedroom, he noticed the remains of a solitary dinner sitting on the counter and a pang of guilt shot through him. The candle that had been lighting the room had nearly burned out, and was dripping wax onto the table. He carefully placed her on her bed; however, despite his care, she stirred slightly, and opened her eyes half way.

"You're back…" she commented groggily, closing her eyes again "…I'm glad…" He smiled to himself, but did not reply. Instead he placed a kiss on her forehead; she smiled and rolled over, pulling the blankets up further. Kratos couldn't help but grin. It was good to be alive.

A/N: I hope you liked it. Please review! That would make me happy. And hopefully I'll have chapter 11 out soon!

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