((A/N: Meowzy: Sorry it took so long! I uh... Don't even really have that much of an excuse. I guess I haven't had much time to write. Thanks for all the reviews up to now!))

Chapter ten (Yuan's PoV)
The Machine.

The next few days were spent by the hotsprings in peace. For once, Kratos and I were on fairly good terms with each other. At least, he didn't spend his time making mean comments, or acting arrogant. He was kinda… nice. Though, things had slowly changed between us in the duration of two weeks on a deserted island. I wondered faintly how much more they would continue to change.

I had found a special medicinal plant close to the springs. After putting a few twigs of that in the water, it really sped up the healing process. Within three days, Kratos was well enough to walk. Though I wasn't quite sure if that was a good thing.

"Stop! Slow down, you bastard!" I called, striding after him as he made his way to the center of the island.

"No. Now that the dragons are gone, we'll have a decent chance to find out what else is hidden in there." Kratos replied simply.

"But you're not well yet." I argued. Damn, for an injured person, he sure could move fast.

"I'm well enough to walk."

"Yes, captain, I can see that." I huffed. "But if we get attacked by dragons again, we won't escape so lucky."

"Perhaps. We're not getting anywhere by sitting still." He turned to face me for a moment, wearing a stern expression. "Besides, weren't you the one who was desperate to get off this island?"

"Not if it kills us!" I spluttered.

Kratos shook his head softly and continued walking towards the mountain range, giving a slight wave with his hand.

"You're mental!" I shouted after him. Glancing around nervously, I noticed that it might be a bad idea to stay behind by myself. What with the dragons that were still out there, and what happened last time I'd wandered off by myself…

"Wait for me!" I sped after him, shuddering at the thought of more of those flesh-eating plants.

"It was around here somewhere, wasn't it?"

We were walking up the mountain, trying to find that plateau again. It was probably the only way in.

"More in that direction, I think." I pointed to the right.

"Then we're going there." Kratos turned left.

"What? But-"

"Yuan, the only way to get there is to do the exact opposite of what you want to do." Kratos said simply.

"You're nuts!" I shouted, running after him. "My directional skills might be a bit… lacking, but going in the exact opposite direction makes no sense!"

"Oh really?" Kratos paused, smiling. "What's that then?"

"Sheer luck." I grunted, staring at the stone plateau.

We walked onto it, glancing around. Now that the snow was gone, other strange symbols were visible. Though they weren't as big as the one in the center.

"Now what?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"We'll get the trapdoor to open and jump in." Kratos approached the center and kneeled down, banging his fist on the ground. It sounded mildly hollow.

"Are you nuts? How can you be sure that whatever force caused us to slow down will appear again this time? I don't want to fall to my doom!" I hissed, standing a short distance away from him.

"We'll depend on that 'sheer luck' again." Kratos got to his feet again, jumping up and down to try and get the trapdoor to open. Nothing happened.

"You're a moron."

"If you say so." Kratos mumbled, thinking deeply. Then, he suddenly reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me closer.

"What the hell are you doing?" I shouted. Then, the ground underneath us suddenly disappeared.

"I did it!" Kratos called happily as we fell to into the darkness again.

"I hate you." I hissed.

"Interesting though. The trapdoor is designed so that only two people can enter the center. You can't enter alone." He pondered, not really listening.

"Yeah, how wonderful. Truly amazing." I said sarcastically. "If we die this time, I'll blame you."

"Go right ahead." Kratos said calmly. "But until we reach the ground, relax."

"Oh, yeah, I'll relax alright!" I hissed, reaching out to throttle him. Sadly, gravitational powers made it impossible for me to get to him.

A short while later, we suddenly slowed down again. I breathed a sigh of relief. We weren't going to crash just yet. Instead, we landed with an unceremonious thump.

"My back is killing me." I groaned, glaring into the darkness.

"Let's try to find that door again."

I was aware of Kratos getting to his feet. He was walking away.

"Dammit! Wait for me!" I shouted, rushing after him. Not quite knowing where he was, I suddenly bumped into him.

"Ow!"

"Sorry!" I quickly backed away again. Bumping into someone with deep wounds in their back and a very sharp sword was not a smart thing to do.

Instead of a mean comment, I heard footsteps. Kratos had continued walking. Phew…

"Where is that thing?" I asked for the fifth time. We'd wandered through the darkness, feeling the walls, for a pretty long time now.

"Right here." Kratos said suddenly, pounding his fist against metal. A crack of light appeared.

"Huh… Did we close that door last time?" I asked, frowning.

"Not that I can recall. But it doesn't matter." Kratos completely pushed it open, showering us in light. Just like last time, it took us a minute or two to adjust our eyes.

The room was completely deserted. Glass shards lay scattered on the floor, as the dome overhead had broken. The dragons were nowhere in sight and the half-circle door across the room was still open.

"Let's go." Kratos said, sounding extremely determined.

We walked to the other side of the room, keeping close to the walls to avoid the sea of glass. Stepping in one of those pieces would be very, very painful. Finally, we made our way through the suspicious door. Whatever lay beyond it, those dragons guarded it. Atleast, until they were set free.

The room we entered looked extremely bland. Scorch marks burnt the walls and a strange smell lingered. This must've been the dragon's cage.

"Ugh…" I pinched my nose shut.

"Look over there." Kratos pointed to a nearly hidden metal door on the other side. It was too small for a dragon to fit through, but large enough for a human.

We approached it and pushed it open. The next room was a whole lot more interesting. Though the walls on the left and right sides were bare, there was a strange machine right in front of us. It was built into the wall, decorated with blinking lights and small levers. There was another door to the far left of the wall, and a window a few feet above the device. Of course, we paid no notice to that.

"These must be the controls for the field that's nullifying our Cruxis crystals." I concluded, approaching the machine. It seemed very complicated.

"How does it work?" Kratos asked, also staring at it.

"Obviously, we uh…" I paused glancing around. There wasn't a manual in sight. I thought deeply, examining the buttons and levers. "We should kick it."

"Why kick it?" Kratos frowned deeply.

"It worked for that door." I shrugged.

"Heh, have fun."

I pulled my foot back, placing a hard kick against the base of the machine. That was probably a big mistake. I was soon hopping around on my other foot, clutching my injured toe and cursing loudly.

"Shut the hell off, you damn machine!" I shouted, slamming my fist into the panel. Again, a big mistake. What the heck was this thing made of?

I gritted my teeth against the pain, wondering if maybe we should forget about the machine for a second and check out that door on the left. Just then, I saw Kratos press a red button on the panel. There was a strange scraping sound.

"What the hell did you do?" I hissed, glancing around nervously.

Then I noticed that the left and right walls were starting to move towards us. Both doors were immediately closed behind thick iron bars. I promptly smacked Kratos upside the head.

"You always have to touch stuff, don't you? You see a button and you just can't resist."

"It's your influence, moron." He retorted, though he couldn't quite hide the shock in his voice.

We moved as far to the middle of the room as possible, standing back to back as the walls continued to close in on us. If this kept up, we'd be killed. Squashed like a pancake. Not a very nice prospect. By now, the door on the far left had been closed off completely by the moving walls. Not that we could've escaped through it anyway. The only thing that would remain intact now was the machine, that was built into the wall in such a way all the levers would stay unharmed as the walls passed by it.

"Yuan, I'm sorry I was always mean to you." Kratos said softly.

"Stop talking like that! We're not dead yet." I hissed. Though the walls were getting awfully close now…

Deciding there wasn't anything else for it, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my double-saber. I loved that thing, but it was our only chance. I quickly unfolded it, putting it between the walls to keep them from crushing us. It seemed to be working…

"Yuan…" Kratos seemed slightly astounded.

"No time to talk. We have to get out of here." I glanced around, looking for a way out. The only exit left was the window above the machine.

Expecting Kratos to follow, I started to clamber on top of the panel, reaching out to open the window. It was locked.

"Hand over your sword." I ordered.

Kratos complied without hesitation, unsheathing his Flamberge and holding it out. I snatched it, using the hilt to break the glass. Just then, the room started to rumble. Probably a side-effect from the walls being held apart. Quickly getting rid of all the glass pieces that were still stuck on the frame, I climbed through the window before turning back to hold out a hand to Kratos. He immediately took it, clambering onto the machine and through the window as well. Yet another narrow escape, due to sheer luck.