From now on, I plan to put a quote at the beginning of every chapter. It just looks nicer. :D I also changed the summary of my story to something a little more fitting-- I think, at least.

Disclaimer: I do not own ToS. Namco does.

"Silence is sometimes the severest criticism." – Charles Buxton

Well into the middle of the night, Kratos Aurion continued his search for his daughter as he combed the city streets and alleyways of Palmacosta. Lloyd and the others insisted upon helping in the search after sundown, but thanks to Raine's better judgment she had whisked them all to bed leaving Kratos and Noishe to continue the search. Regardless, he would have snuck out of bed to search for her anyway—with or without permission from the Professor.

Lloyd volunteered to have Noishe accompany Kratos, which in a way was a relief for him as he now had someone to vent to about the situation since he had to keep his composure in front of the others. And now that they were out of the way…

"This is EXACTLY why I didn't want her coming on the Regeneration journey!" The fuming Seraph nearly exploded, but somehow managed to restrain his outburst into a whisper.

The faithful protozoan at his side whined and nudged his leg tenderly, as if to say everything would be alright. Kratos glanced down at his companion and sighed, fraught with concern for Sara's well being. It wasn't as though she couldn't take care of herself, but rather that she was lost in a foreign world in the middle of the night with absolutely no sense of direction or common knowledge.

"But it's not like I can send her back home or anything, after what happened…" He explained absently to himself, though Noishe also listened as his nose adamantly continued to follow her scent.

Suddenly, he picked up a strong whiff of it and went racing ahead of his former master. Kratos quickly followed in hot pursuit as he was led down a dark alleyway until they reached a dead end, masked by a brick wall. As the Seraph came to a stop, he glanced down at Noishe staring effortlessly at what looked like a half-eaten pastry.

Well into the middle of the night, Sara Aurion staggered her way through the entrance of the city. Thankfully, Palmacosta didn't have a gate that closed at night and had stationed guards who were as incompetent as they come, so she managed to make her way back into the city effortlessly.

She had her fair share of injuries—a huge bump on the head, a growing bruise on her back and on her knees, and hands that were sore from being restrained for several hours. It had also been quite an ordeal for her to remove them, but she thought it would be better if her companions didn't find out about her little excursion with the Desians so she had struggled to remove them with anything she could find. By doing so, she had nearly exhausted herself in the process.

Luckily the inn was very close to the entrance of the city, and if she knew her friends well enough by now, everyone would be in bed except Kratos. Although she had been hoping to avoid contact with her father, she knew she'd inevitably have to sooner or later. But not tonight—tonight she would sleep well and dread waking up with a major migraine.

Careful not to alert Raine or anyone else with her presence, she opened the door ever so slightly and slid through, closing it behind her without a sound; albeit what she wasn't expecting was running into the receptionist who was still awake at this hour, staring at her with disgust and disapproval.

Huh…? What's her problem? Well, maybe she'll let me through if I tell her I'm a guardian of the Chosen.

"Excuse me, Miss. We're booked solid—no vacancies." The brunette receptionist recited rather quickly.

Sara bit her lip at this for a moment before holding her hands out for a pen and paper, or perhaps even the woman's hand. Maybe Raine and the others told her she was coming?

"Don't touch me, you disgusting street vermin!" She hollered, nearly waking up everyone in the hotel with her ear shattering shriek.

S-street vermin!?

"I hate your kind! You're just as bad as half-elves!" She hissed in a low whisper, as not to get in trouble for waking any of their guests.

Sara couldn't believe what she was hearing as glanced down at her attire to try and find anything that would give the woman that impression. She was a little dirty from being dragged away by those soldiers. It wasn't until she glanced at herself in the decorative mirror hanging against the wall adjacent to her that she realized just what the receptionist was talking about. She was downright filthy, with dirt covering her clothes and skin and pieces of paper and other little treasures that had attached themselves to her back. She was kind of sticky too and… kind of smelled a little.

Eww…

"Get out of this hotel right now or I'll call the Palmacosta Guard!" The woman hissed, trying to sound as intimidating towards her as possible.

Sara knew that there was no way she'd be able to explain herself without waking the Professor and the others in the process so she reluctantly complied, slowly trudging her way out of the hotel. The door was quickly shut behind her as she left and with nowhere else to go, she curled up against the side of the building and sat with her knees up to her chin, staring out at the nothingness before her.

It's not like she would have believed me anyway. Oh well… if I stay here, the other's will definitely see me on their way out tomorrow morning.

Before drifting off the sleep she so desperately craved, her thoughts began to drift away from reality and soon she found herself anticipating the worst possible scenarios once the others discovered her.

I just hope they don't leave me behind or something. Would father really do that to me? I don't think Lloyd and Colette would stand for it, but… then there's the Professor. And I'm not sure what Genis would say about it.

Man… I really screwed up this time.

It was still dark outside, though the sun would creep its way onto the horizon in a few short hours. Internally, behind the cold, stoic mercenary that he portrayed himself to be, Kratos was a wreck by now as he was convinced that he had searched every conceivable place in the city for her with Noishe. Could she have left the city for whatever reason?

Noishe seemed to be following her scent, though she was getting harder and harder to track down as if her scent had mixed with several other people or as if she had disappeared off the face of Sylvarant completely.

Realizing that it was futile to keep up the search much longer, Kratos sighed to himself and gestured Noishe along as they headed back for the inn. He had no idea what he was going to do about Sara at this point, and Raine would most likely encourage the others to leave her behind for the sake of the journey. That's what he would have done as well if this was any other person. But this was his daughter, and he couldn't possibly live with himself if he abandoned her. Anna would surely never forgive him.

Much to the Seraph's surprise, Noishe abruptly took off running towards the inn at an alarming rate of speed.

…A scent, perhaps?

Filled with desperation and dismay, Kratos followed in hot pursuit one last time, praying to the goddess he knew didn't exist that this would somehow lead him to Sara. And just like fourteen years ago, there she was—covered in dirt and curled up in a fetal position against the side of the building.

As her father approached her quietly, he noticed her breathing patterns were rhythmically paced, indicating that she was probably fast asleep. Or at least she was until Noishe stuck his nose in her face and waged his tail happily. She simply stirred at first, quickly falling back asleep until the protozoan effortlessly licked the side of her face. It was kind of humorous the way she reacted by flailing her arms and pushing the protozoan's face away with annoyance.

Kratos sighed a sigh of relief and sent the excited protozoan away before kneeling by her side as she stirred, shaking her awake with his hand clutching her shoulder. She winced at the touch and he noticed as he slowly drew his hand away. Now that he was up close, he could see that she had been through a lot—from the dirt on her clothes, the faint stench of waste and how uncomfortable she looked in her sleep.

"Sara." He hissed in a harsh whisper. By now, she'd given up trying to fall back asleep and instead lethargically opened her weary eyes to meet her father's hardened gaze.

She smiled at first upon seeing that she wasn't alone anymore, but quickly brushed the thought away as she suddenly remembered why she didn't want to see him in the first place. Her eyes dilated as she quickly turned on her side, breaking her gaze with him. She wasn't sure if she had been more afraid of the Desians who had nearly imprisoned her or the wrath of her father, one of the Four Seraphim.

Although she assumed the worst, she wasn't expecting him to grab her by the shoulder and pin her to the ground in order for her to look him in the eye, "Look at me."

She was well aware that resistance was futile at this point, so she reluctantly gave into his command and stared him in the eye, her heartbeat quickening as she met his gaze.

"Why?" He asked rather shrewdly, holding his hand out for her to write with.

Why…? She paused.

"Answer the question!" He raised the tone of his voice a bit, tightening the grip he had on her shoulder ever so slightly.

She had no idea where to begin or what exactly he was asking her. Why did she run off like that? Why was she sleeping outside? Why was she covered in filth? Why did she put herself before her friends? Chances are that he was inquiring about all of those and more.

"'…I'm sorry.'? That's it?" His eyes narrowed a bit as she fidgeted uncomfortably. "You know better than anyone that I don't require sleep. The others won't be awake for hours, so start explaining! Why?" He asked a second time.

"'Don't you know?'" She wrote effortlessly, which surprised him immensely. He assumed that she would start off with some unnecessary excuse and work her way up from there, but instead she turned the tables on him for a brief moment or so to come up with an answer to that.

"…"

"'Father… The others don't understand. I was afraid to ask because Raine's getting suspicious of me and I wanted to see what it was like being on my own in this strange place and…'"

"Sara." He stopped her from writing, softening his tone of voice a bit. "Why are we journeying?"

"'…To protect the Chosen…'" She wrote hesitantly.

"That's right. And that's exactly why what you did was wrong. Do you understand?"

Sara narrowed her eyes a bit at what her father had asked her, and in response she pushed his hand away and sat up warily, pressing herself against the side of the building. Sheesh, I'm not a child. Of course I know that…

"Then don't act like one." Her father barked, glaring at her as he stood up from where he knelt.

"…"

"Colette is our main priority, not your indulgences. If you can't accept that, then you're more than welcome to go back to Welgaia."

G-go back!? BUT--!!

Upon hearing these words she stood up from where she sat in protest. How could he say such a thing? Mithos said that he could use her as bait if her father betrayed them! Not that Kratos would for fear of her safety, but just the idea that Mithos would go that low was enough to disgust her. And if she went back to Derris-Kharlan, he'd try to force feed his psychotic ideals down her throat! But wait… no, her father wouldn't stand for that. He wouldn't stand to see her reduced to a mindless follower, the way he had been for thousands of years… would he?

He's bluffing! He wouldn't dare leave me in that sociopath's care!

"I'm serious." He added. She was so easy to read to the point where it annoyed her immensely. "And if you're foolish enough to go along with his ideals than that's your own fault."

"'Foolish enough like you?'"

"I've only been serving him for your sake!" He bellowed, tensing up a bit at her accusations.

"'So it IS my fault!'" She scribbled quickly.

"IT'S MY OWN!" He instantly lost his composure, but regretted doing so as he yelled so loud that he could have woken the Professor or the others up unintentionally. Sara didn't have anything to say to that and simply stared absently at her father, noticing the pained expression etched onto his face as he continued in a sharp whisper. "I wasn't strong enough to save your mother. I wasn't strong enough to protect you and your brother. Mithos, he… he would have come after me if I had chosen to run anyway. If I had taken you and made a run for it… if he somehow grabbed you before I could, he would have surely taken you away from me. He would have killed you, don't you understand!?"

He paused for a moment as Sara's eyes fell to the ground. She felt guilty, if anything, for being so self-centered, but still she felt compelled to express how justifiable her side of the story was. Yet after seeing her father's emotional display, and his pain stricken eyes that mirrored the ones from her dreams, she couldn't bring herself to fight back; if anything, she was afraid to look him directly in the eye. And she didn't have to, as he quickly brushed past her on his way back to the inn.

Her wandering eyes followed his towering figure walk past her and stop at the door, though he did not turn to face her. He simply glanced at her over his shoulder, masking his eyes from her view with his auburn bangs. "It's my fault because I wasn't and still am not strong enough... So if this is the only way I can protect you, then that's enough for me; even if it means giving up my thoughts, my ideals…"

"…"

"As long as I have you…"

After leaving their discussion at that, he quietly shut the door behind him, leaving her standing in the middle of the empty street in silence. She wasn't sure why, but she suddenly felt the stinging sensation of tears rush to her eyes. Her cheeks began to flush as she lowered her head in shame, stubbornly gritting her teeth as she refused to show her true emotions, though it wasn't long before she inevitably gave in as a stray tear found its way down trickling her right cheek and resting against in the cusp of her jaw.

She didn't want to admit it, but he was right.

A few more tears found their way down onto her clothes and the street pavement below until she mustered up enough strength to brush them away with her bare wrist.

That night, knowing that her father had no idea she had been forcefully removed from the hotel, she curled up in the same spot she had fallen asleep in prior to being discovered by Noishe and Kratos. She refused to cry any more than she already had and relaxed the tension in her muscles before falling into a deep sleep filled with nightmares of that fateful day.

Sara found herself trapped in that reoccurring dream once again, but the scenario was a bit different this time around. She did not picture herself in the arms of her mother, but rather in the arms of someone else—someone vaguely familiar. Her vision was masked by a blur and shortly afterwards she felt a sharp, familiar pain in her legs. She tried to cry out in pain, but found herself trapped in silence. It felt strange and disorienting to her, despite how used to it she was after all these years. It was almost as if she had recently lost her voice for the first time.

That's strange… She thought to herself. I thought I had my voice back then until I was… wait, is that…?

Her vision began to give way as she realized whose arms she was resting in. She instantly caught sight of her father's vibrant, spiky auburn hair falling over his face after being drenched in the rain. He really hadn't changed after all these years.

"Sara...? Don't you recognize me? It's me! It's daddy. Everything's going to be alright, I promise! I promise, I won't let you die…"

Daddy…

She suddenly felt tension in her father's trembling arms as he turned his gaze toward something to the side, yet she felt too weak and weary to shift her weight to spare a glance at whatever, or whoever it was that caught his attention.

For a brief moment her vision escaped her as she became out of touch with reality. It was almost as if that portion of her memory had been erased somehow and had automatically skipped over to the next place she could vaguely remember.

"Pledge your allegiance to Cruxis and we can save her together!" Another voice echoed and began to repeatedly replay itself in her mind. "Pledge… Cruxis… Allegiance…"

No…

"We can save her… together."

No, Daddy, don't give in! Please, you can save me yourself! You're strong enough! You are!

"As long as you can save her life…" Her father began. There was nothing she could do, despite her cries of protest. She was merely watching a clip of time that had already passed her by, and she couldn't change it. She felt just as powerless as she had been then.

Stop!! Mommy wouldn't want this!!

"…I pledge my allegiance…"

Daddy!!

"…to Cruxis."

"As long as you can save her..."

"As long as… I have you."

Sara awoke with a start the following morning, jerking her head up from its resting place in-between her intertwined arms; though when she focused her vision out of the thoughts that lingered in her head and back into reality, she nearly jumped at the sight of a startled Lloyd kneeling in front of her.

"Geez! You scared the crap out of me!" He laughed nervously, cocking his head to the side as he noticed her distant expression. Her eyes were bloodshot red and it looked at she may have been crying in her sleep. "…Hey, are you okay?"

Sara did not ask for his hand, but rather lowered her gaze and shook her head.

"What happened? We were all really worried about you…" He began softly as she listened intently. He paused for a moment to see if she would respond to him before continuing. "I was planning on sneaking out to help Kratos find you but the Professor stayed up all night, making sure we were in bed and stuff."

Lloyd…

"So, I guess you knew we were staying here, huh? Why didn't you come upstairs and let us know you were okay? Come to think of it, why were you sleeping outside? And… ack, what's that smell!?" He clamped his fingers on his nose, glancing around to try and find the source. Sara rolled her eyes at this and chuckled to herself, even though she couldn't exactly emit the sound that goes with it.

"Heh…" He scratched the back of his head nervously, holding a hand out for her as he rose to his feet. "Well, come on in! We're having breakfast now and everyone will be relieved to know that you're okay!"

She stared at his outstretched hand for a brief moment before meeting his gaze with her own.

"What's wrong?" He asked cluelessly.

She slowly grabbed his hand, but not to lift herself up with. "'Aren't you mad that I left?'"

"The Professor is probably cheesed off about it, but I'm not. I'm just glad you're okay!" He replied, adding an innocent, almost childlike grin to top it off. "Colette and Genis will be happy to see that you're alright, and who knows what Kratos is thinking..."

Heh, I do.

"So, are you coming in or what? My arm's kinda starting to hurt a little." He added humorously. She couldn't help but grin at the purity of her brother—how kind and thoughtful he was. She sort of wished that she could live up to his example, except maybe keep her grades up in school.

With that said, she clasped her hand against his, grateful for his help. She silently followed him inside, nervously anticipating her encounter with the others, especially her father and the Professor. Luckily, that intolerant receptionist was not at her post at the moment.

"Hey guys, I found her!" Lloyd called out from the next room over as if to alert the whole hotel of her reappearance.

When she entered the room after Lloyd, she noticed everyone sitting around a large table as they had gathered for breakfast. There were two empty seats left—one for each of the twins. Sara's attention would have been captivated by the plentiful array of foods had she not been staring nervously at her father and the others, albeit she took note of a plentiful platter of cinnamon buns by the edge of the table.

"Sara, you're okay!" Colette cheered happily, nearly rising from her seat before noticing the Professor's hardened expression across from her.

"You look terrible…" Genis added slowly, surveying her from head to toe. She had almost forgotten how filthy she was after last night.

"Ugh… I can still smell that awful stench in here! Where's it coming from?" Lloyd added thoughtlessly. Everyone but Colette turned to stare at him helplessly, wondering how he could be so utterly dense, although this managed to ease Sara's tension a bit as she couldn't help but snicker.

"Well…" The Professor began stiffly, as all eyes were now on her. "...we're just glad you're okay. Thank you for finding her for us, Lloyd." She gave a simple nod to her pupil, who beamed contently.

"Yeah, you're amazing, Lloyd!" Colette added with a smile.

"Nah, it was nothing. I probably wouldn't have run into her as soon as I did if Kratos hadn't sent me out for some Orange Gels. I could have sworn we bought some yesterday…" Lloyd pondered absently to himself as Kratos cleared his throat.

Huh…? Father didn't tell them about…

Out of the corner of her eye, as not to seem too obvious, she glanced at her father as he sipped his tea nonchalantly. Not only did he give her something to think about, but he also let Lloyd be the hero instead of him. She caught herself smiling a bit as she absently turned towards the others, earning distasteful looks from Raine and Genis.

"Uhh, Sara… Would you mind washing up a bit before you join us?" Genis added stiffly, holding his nose.

She flushed with a bit of embarrassment as Lloyd turned towards her, wide-eyed, "What? That's from you!?"

"Lloyd… Come and sit down with us before you hurt yourself." Kratos added humorously, though masked his true emotions behind his stoic composure. Everyone started to laugh at this while Sara dashed up the stairs to wash up, eager to join her friends and family downstairs as soon as she could.

Despite last night and despite how badly she felt about what she did to the others, including her father, she felt light-hearted and thankful that she was with them. Not to mention she was thankful that the Professor went easy on her, but more importantly the fresh batch of cinnamon buns waiting for her down at breakfast!

"Hey guys, do you mind if we stop at the school I was recommended to attend before we leave for Hakonesia Peak?" Genis asked rather casually at breakfast once everyone, including Sara, was present. He knew his sister wouldn't object if it had anything to do with school or scholarly research.

Before anyone else could answer, Raine answered for the group, "Yes, that sounds like a fascinating idea! I'd love to see the writing utensil exhibit with the pens used to sign the treaty that ended the Kharlan War!"

"…Do we really have time for that?" Lloyd whined, but was instantly met with the Professor's infuriated gaze.

"OF COURSE WE DO!" She bellowed. "Afterwards I can assign each of you a reflection paper on the exhibit!"

"It sounds kinda fun!" Colette added optimistically.

"Aww geez. Nice going, Genis!" Lloyd sighed warily, whacking his best friend across the head.

"OW!"

"So this is the Palmacosta Academy…" Genis murmured to himself upon entering the foyer of the Academy.

"Hey Genis… are you sad you decided not to use your recommendation after all?" Colette asked thoughtfully.

"Ah…"

"You? Recommended for the Palmacosta Academy!?" A voice called out from atop the stairs. Down came two students in a uniform, a shorter boy to the right and a taller one to the left.

"Nonsense! It took me three tries to pass the exam to get into this school!" The shorter one replied. "How could he possibly have gotten a recommendation!?"

"What'd you say?" Lloyd barked defensively. "Genis is really smart! He can even do his multiplication tables!"

"Erm, thanks Lloyd." Genis added sarcastically as he flushed with embarrassment, noticing that the two boys were laughing at him. "Just because that's seems like such an accomplishment for you doesn't mean the rest of us are that idiotic."

The red clad swordsmen pondered over this as the taller student butt into the conversation once again.

"If you really got a recommendation to come here, then how about we face off to see who the smarter one is? My friend and I will have a professor make up an exam for us, and if you can beat my score than I'll gladly acknowledge your intellect. Oh, and just so you know I'm the best student in the academy so you better give it your all!" He snickered over confidently. "It's not too late to turn back, you know."

"Oh, he'll be there!" Lloyd proudly volunteered Genis to accept the boy's challenge.

"That's easy for you to say!" The smaller half-elf retorted.

"Meet us in an empty classroom in an hour!" The boys added as they quickly dashed upstairs, laughing excessively.

"Don't worry, Genis. We can spend some time reviewing before you take the exam." Raine reassured her little brother.

"I guess…"

Before the group knew it, they were all sitting at strategically placed desks in an empty classroom, preparing to take the exam—including Kratos, Sara and the Professor herself. Raine said it would be a good opportunity for everyone to see how far their intellect had progressed over the years, much to Lloyd's dismay.

Lloyd and Colette shared a pair of desks in the front row on the left side while Kratos and Sara shared a pair on the right. Raine sat at an empty desk in the center row while Genis and Mighty Washington, the boy he was facing off against, sat on separate sides of the room in the back.

"Okay… begin!" The headmaster replied, starting the timer.

Sara absently glanced down at her paper, wondering how she had gotten herself into such a mess. She didn't particularly care for school, much less tests. Although she wasn't taking a serious exam, she knew her father would be disappointed if she was issued a low score after the extensive training he put her through all these years.

The first section of the test was Math, which she usually did well in, followed by History, Science and Languages. She sighed to herself and reluctantly got started.

"All right, now that the test scores are in, here are everyone's results starting from the lowest to the highest grades. After we run through those, we'll announce Genis and Mighty's scores." The headmaster began optimistically.

"First we have a… Lloyd Irving with a score of 25." He announced in a flat tone of voice.

"Wow, Lloyd! That's your best yet!" Colette cheered happily.

"Alright!" The brunette swordsman exclaimed.

"…Lloyd, the test is out of 400." The Professor added bluntly as Lloyd reluctantly sat back in his chair with an annoyed facial expression. Sara couldn't help but stifle a chuckle as she saw the exasperated look of horror on her father's face.

"Next we have… Colette Brunel with 250."

"Nice job, Colette.." Lloyd added with a forced smile, as he was obviously still upset over his score.

"Thanks! You too, Lloyd." She congratulated him as well, even though he really didn't deserve it.

"Next is… Sara Langley with 310."

Phew… if I had gotten any lower, Father would be on my case for sure.

"That's not a bad score, Sara. With a little more practice and if you really put your mind to it, you could try applying for the Academy within a few years." Raine added, rather impressed with her score. Sara smiled weakly at her compliment, noticing the scoffed look on her father's face. After all, Kratos was the best teacher she could ask for. Nevertheless, her father seemed to approve of her score; more so than Lloyd's, anyway.

"Ohhh, so that's your last name." Lloyd added. "I'd been meaning to ask you about it."

Sadly, Aurion sounds much better.

"Next we have Kratos Aurion with 380."

"Woah!" Lloyd exclaimed.

This didn't seem to faze Sara, in fact she knew he could have scored a solid 400 if he wasn't working undercover, although it humored her to watch her father fidget slightly after hearing his name called.

"And finally we have Professor Raine Sage with 400." The headmaster added, noticing the Professor beam proudly at her perfect score.

"…Like we expected anything but perfection from the Professor." Lloyd muttered under his breath.

"And now for Mighty and Genis' scores." The headmaster proclaimed. "Mighty Washington: 398 and Genis Sage: 400."

"You did it, Genis!" Colette clapped happily.

"Hah! I knew you were smartest!" Lloyd added confidently, almost as if he himself had gotten a perfect score.

"Wow, I'm impressed." Mighty admitted honestly. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you before. You should really reconsider your decision not to go here; I think you'd be a valuable asset to the community!"

"I concur." The headmaster added. "We'd love to have you, Mr. Sage."

"Wow, Genis… I-I mean, if you really want to go here then that's great news!" Lloyd added with a forced smile.

"Thank you for offering but I promised my friends I'd help them on their journey, so I'll have to decline for now…"

"Well in that case, here's an acceptance certificate in honor of your achievements. With that, you can come back and study once your journey has been completed." The headmaster replied, handing the smaller half-elf the certificate with pride. "I do hope we get to hear from you soon."

"Thank you very much, Headmaster." Genis beamed happily as everyone clapped for him.

Once everyone had gotten a chance to congratulate him, the party began to make their way down the steps to the foyer when they suddenly heard an ear shattering cry come from outside. Soon, the single cry turned into several screams as the unknown chaos began to spread like wildfire.

Everyone seemed to hold their breaths as if time itself had stopped after picking up these few words from amongst the cries of terror,

"Everybody, run! It's the Desians!!"

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. AND it took me all day! But I was motivated. And it ends with a Cliffhanger! Whooo!

Thanks for all of the reviews by the way! Stay tuned! Although I can't guarantee that the next one will be out by tomorrow. Probably by the end of the week or so...