Another chapter already? I know I surprised even myself! Thanks to all readers and reviewers of the last chapter!

Disclaimer: No change.

CW

"Why is this even necessary?" grumbled a Desian as he trudged through the woods surrounding the Asgard human ranch. "He's got his precious test subject, does he really need us to scout the area anymore?"

The point lead on the small four man scouting party turned and gave his underling a withering look. "Hush you. Kvar ordered us to stay vigilant in case the traitor Kratos comes for her."

"Someone's very uppity since he got pulled off of hallway duty to come frolic with the rest of us," muttered another scout. The leader ignored him.

"Just keep silent and stay out of my way. There is a reason I have an exsphere and you don't."

They lapsed into silence for a moment, the four scouts glaring at the elite Desian who had been removed from guard duty upon A012's capture. They had been patrolling for the last three days, waiting for someone to rescue A012, but no one had. With each passing day, it became less and less likely. They started to relax and were looking forward to the dawn, when their elite "friend" would be taken from the ranch. They'd have a few blessed hours of relief before the new crop came in. Right now, they were almost at the end of their route, just five more minutes before they could find the wonderful relief of their beds.

The elite Desian drew up suddenly, signaling his men to stop, which they did, aiming their guns at the woods, but half-heartedly so. They hadn't heard anything. The leader signed that he was going forward to check things out. The others watched him go, hoping slightly that he wouldn't come back.

The elite Desian crept forward, straining his ears for the sound he had heard: footsteps in the underbrush. He went deeper into the woods and lost sight of his group, which didn't worry him. He had an exsphere. They were a bunch of whining malcontents he could catch and intruder on his own.

A branch snapped behind and he swung his rifle around, aiming steadily as a large green and white dog appeared in his flashlight's beam. He almost shot the thing, but something about its perky ears and its wagging tail halted him. He had always been a sucker for dogs anyway, his one weakness.

"Where'd you come from?" he said, reaching out toward the dog.

"From your nightmares."

The Desian spun around, but he was too late. He heard the sharp zip of a silencer, felt numbness start to spread from his stomach and knew it was over. The last thing he saw before death swallowed him was a pair of furious garnet red-brown eyes.

"From your worst nightmares?" Kate said, stepping out from behind a tree. "Really?"

Kratos looked at her in confusion. "What?"

"A little over dramatic don't you think?"

Kratos glared as he stripped the now dead Desian's body of its armor, donning the mask like helmet and the military grade Kevlar. The Desian he had picked was bald so once Kratos's shaggy auburn hair was tucked into the helmet, he could not be distinguished from the original.

"They took Anna," Kratos said to Kate finally, his voice cold with rage. "They should be seeing me in their nightmares. And if they don't well…they will."

"And you don't see anything wrong with that?"

Kratos sighed. "Just get back to the car and be waiting. When you see me fly overhead, get yourself out. It'll be safe then since they will call in all the patrols to defend the base. Don't stop until you get into Tethe'alla." Kratos paused for a moment. "You're sure you'll be safe there?"

Kate frowned and bit her lip. "Safer than here. It's long past time for me to try and mend my relationship with my father. He was a good man, for all we parted on bad terms. If that fails, I have other people there I can rely on. Don't worry about me."

"You helped me get this far," Kratos said firmly. "If I save Anna, it will largely be because of you. Don't think I will forget that."

Kate blushed and pushed her glasses up her nose. "It was nothing. Save her though. Don't let Kvar win." She gave Noishe a gentle pat, turned away, and walked off through the woods.

"You ready Noishe?" Kratos asked. Noishe nodded. "All right be waiting outside below the windows, When you see me, run in the direction we discussed. If you see anything suspicious, bark and I will hear it ok?"

Noishe nodded again.

"Go on."

"Boss!" Kratos straightened up and hefted the Desian's rifle as the rest of the squad came thundering through the trees. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Kratos said, doing his best to imitate the curt growling voice he had heard the Desian leader uses. "Resume position. Back to base." The Desians obeyed, none of them suspecting anything to be amiss, although they did grumble a bit under their breath about their leader. Kratos pretended to ignore them.

Just hang on Anna. I'm almost there.

"Vitals?"

Normal."

"Mana levels?"

"Off the charts, but then they were before implantation."

"Hmm…" the chief scientist, a ragged scrap of humanity in a dingy prisoner's uniform and bent glasses stared up at the test subject, not beyond pity. This one was so young and honestly so beautiful and innocent looking that it bothered him, just when he thought he could no longer feel anything. She couldn't have been older than 18 or 19 before her life was taken from her by this place. Not that she was dead, she was very much alive, but if Kvar had his way she would never wake up. Instead she would cultivate an evolving exsphere in her body and then die to give it its final power.

At least that's what he had been told. Some of the rumors spreading around mentioned a darker purpose for those of this project, the Angelus Project, something about human vessels and sacrifices.

The scientist sighed. It didn't matter. Nothing did. He would die in here just like this poor girl and refusing to do his job would only speed that process up. Nothing he did would change things so why bother. He returned his gaze to the monitor in front of him, keeping an eye on the chart indicating the unusual strong mana levels. How did a normal human have so much mana?

"Subject A012 exhibiting no rejections or adverse symptoms," another scientist said, recording his notes. "Implantation successful. Mana levels abnormal, will continue to observe for the next 24 hours."

Poor girl," the chief scientist said. "All the mana in the world couldn't help her now."

Kratos managed to shake his guard immediately inside the facility. They did not hide their disgust for the elite Desian they thought was still leading them. It helped they harbored such bitterness—it made blending in easier.

Kratos holstered his rifle and headed for the elevator, right towards the two guards who stood vigil and watched him approach with a wary eye. Lucky for Kratos, he and Yuan had implemented many of the security measures for Cruxis that were now replicated in the various human ranch's. Kvar would follow Mithos's methods to the letter, a vain attempt to impress his overlord. It was a gamble, but Kratos felt confident. Assuming the password rotation remained the same and the passwords the same, he should be able to get past this easily enough.

If not, he had a gun and a lot of pent of anger and frustration.

"Password," demanded the left guard, raising his gun threateningly.

"The light of the world is the soul of mana," Kratos said confidently.

"Proceed," the Desian said, stepping aside and pressing the button to the elevator. "Remember, stranger, the labs and Kvar's quarter are off limits, even for the likes of you."

"How thoughtful of you to remind me," Kratos said coldly, deliberately flashing his exsphere as he faked a yawn. It had the desired effect of annoying the exsphereless guards who scowled as he stepped into the elevator.

The doors slid shut and he immediately hit the button for the lab. Nothing was out bounds for the likes of him.

Pain.

Darkness.

So cold…so alone.

Burning. Everything is burning. Blood burns. Skin burns. Soul burns.

There are voices just beyond her fractured consciousness, blathering on about mana levels and implantation. She could care less. Her entire world was about pain now, pain she couldn't escape, pain she couldn't fight, pain she couldn't lock out.

Pain and her angel. Her angel in her mind was still so sad, still so familiar, and still so useless. Surely she had been in agony for weeks, months, maybe even years. Her angel had abandoned her. He was never coming. She was trapped.

You will suffer.

She was.

You will suffer for each day you eluded me.

She had, those peaceful days of freedom vanished in agony.

Then you will be processed.

Thrown into darkness.

When that is done my daughter, you have my leave to die.

She wanted to. She wanted to so badly. Her angel stared back through her pain with indifferent eyes, eyes that would not let her go or save her.

He won't save you my dear.

He wouldn't, would he?

I wouldn't be so sure of that.

No, he would. He would. He would. HE WOULD. Those indifferent eyes are a lie. Kratos was coming, no mattered what lies her tortured mind fed her. She wouldn't give up. She'd never give up. Neither would he.

Pain.

Darkness.

So cold…so alone.

Alarm bells rang in her head warning her of the dangers of giving up. She refused to give up. But the bells kept ringing… and ringing…and ringing.

She struggled to open her eyes. The bells were really ringing.

Kratos did not break stride. The guards shouted something, raising their guns into the firing position, but for all the preparedness, they were no match for Kratos's speed. With barely a break in his momentum, Kratos slung his rifle down from his back and fired.

The first guard slammed into the steel door, a smear of blood shining brightly against the gleam of the metal. The second guard pitched forward, his arm stretched out, blood pouring from his open chest to his shoes and the floor below. As the man died, he somehow managed to slam his hand on top the console at the door before he collapsed in a heap.

The lights when out and a shrieking alarm sounded. The slam of footsteps came almost immediately and the elevator buzzed as it locked on the floor he was currently on.

"Really?" Kratos muttered under his breath. "Hitting the alarm as you die—who does that in reality."

He closed the distance between him and the door and decided against trying to pry it open. Instead he focused on the console, controlling his temper and his mana.

"Lightning."

A small bolt of lightning cracked down from his outstretched hand and blew the console, a whiff of sulfur and a spark of power all that remained. The door clanked and creaked, almost as if they too were trying to stop him, before opening just wide enough to admit him. Rather than charge through the gap, Kratos tightened his grip on his mana again and peered around the corner, using his enhanced sight to pick out the guards.

There, two shadows standing upright, towering over the four crouched figures on the ground. Kratos charged through the opening and gunned them down before they even saw him coming. The others in the room screamed as what they thought was a Desian advanced on them. A quick look at the nearest huddle mass told Kratos that these were prisoners, not entirely responsible for their actions.

"Up against the wall," he said, reaching down and jerking a bespectacled man to his feet and shoving him towards the nearest wall. It was riddle with monitors, still operational despite his electric antics outside.

"Which of you can get me in there?' Kratos demanded coldly, gesturing to the metal door opposite his entrance. "I won't hurt you."

The man he had yanked up off the floor stopped forward. Without a word, he crossed the room and punched a code in on the door, standing back with his hands up as the door hissed and slid open.

"The subject may yet be unstable," he said as Kratos stalked past. "Please don't-!"

His words choked off as Kratos pressed an iron-like forearm to his throat. "She is not a subject. She's a person and I'll be taking her with me. Is there more you wish to say?"

The man choked, and yet Kratos sense some kind of strange conviction behind his defeated stature. There was something like pity. He opened his mouth and sputtered. "Hurry, please."

Kratos released him and stepped into his nightmare.

The room had an eerie greenish glow produced by the fluorescent lights shining through giant tubes filled with a blue-green liquid. Kratos hissed, knowing full well what the tubes were for. He had seen them in Mithos's original plans for the ranches. Unlike the schematics though, these were empty, devoid of human subjects.

All but one, the largest of them all, sitting at the very back of the room.

Kratos heard shouting and knew he had to hurry. He knew he was running towards that last tube, but the second it took him to cross the room dragged on into eternity. His mind rebelled against what his heart didn't want to see, but at the same time he saw it all too clearly and all too quickly.

Anna was suspended in the tube, her hair flowing around her face slowly, as though caught up in a gentle breeze. Her eyes were closed and she wore nothing but a brown shapeless sack which ripple with the movement of the water as it was disturbed by her breathing. An oxygen mask took up much of her face, but her brow was furrowed and creased, as though even in unconsciousness she was still in pain, pain that a subject like her shouldn't be able to feel.

Mithos said they wouldn't feel pain. Mithos had lied.

"Anna…" Kratos said helplessly, pressing his hands to the glass, bowing his head solemnly as he fought a howl of misery.

"Don't move!"

"Anna…"

Anna's eyes flew open, breaking free of her paralysis and paying heed to the one voice that she knew would always reach her. Instantly, the pain that had become her world flared, but she fought it. She had to. He was here Kratos was here.

But something was wrong. He had gone still and he wasn't looking at her. Beyond him dozens of Desians were silhouetted against the open door of the test chamber and each one had a gun pointing at Kratos, The whole scene was tinged the eerie blew green of whatever slimy liquid held her, adding to her panic.

"Step away from subject A012," she heard the Desian closest to Kratos say. His voice was warped and low due to the water in her ears, but still she could hear him. That shouldn't be possible, and yet she could hear him. Should could hear the scrape of Kratos's boots as he slowly turned away, never once looking back up at her.

"Put down your weapon," the Desian barked and Kratos complied.

Don't! Anna thought frantically. Don't surrender Kratos! They'll kill you.

The knot of guards shifted and a man in a suit stepped forward, a cold smile on his face. Kvar. Her father.

NO!

Kratos faced Kvar, his soul empty of feeling as the man walked forward.

"Well well Mr. Aurion," Kvar said. "I have to admit, I am impressed. You snuck your way into a fortress that I was fair convince was impregnable," Kvar examined his nails idly, making a great show of being calm and collected. "Although, rats do the same thing so I guess you aren't much different than vermin."

The Desians laughed.

"I'm surprised to find one of Lord Yggdrasill's most trusted advisors down here violating his wishes," Kvar continued, "but I guess inferior beings such as yourself cannot grasp the glory in his plans for this world."

"There is no glory in the slaughter of innocents," Kratos said evenly. "Especially not your own flesh and blood."

Kvar graced him with half of a glare. "Well, blood is thicker than water. It makes for much better mortar with which to build Yggdrassill's perfect world." He approached the pipe and gazed up at his motionless daughter affectionately, which twisted Kratos's stomach. What monster only looks at his own child affectionately when she hangs suspended between life and death? He'd wager that was the first time Kvar had ever looked at Anna with anything close to love and it wasn't for what he was to her, but rather for what she would give him to further his own ends. Despicable.

"Poor little Anna," Kvar crooned, a false note of sympathy in his voice. "Dreaming of her escape, plotting ways to fight back. She would have done well to lie low, or better yet, die in some dark corner of the world once she escaped me. Still I can't complain. Without her we would still be so far from our goal." Kvar turned back to Kratos. "You've proved an annoyance as well, following her around like a lost puppy...with an actual lost puppy. Tell me, where is the green monstrosity? He may prove a valuable experiment."

Kratos said nothing.

"It is no matter," Kvar said. "I'm sure he'll turn up...or starve to death. After all, neither of his masters will ever leave here alive."

"You think so?" Kratos said.

"I know so," Kvar replied. "You are outgunned and outmanned and I have come too far to even think about giving you the slightest opportunity to escape. I only wish I could keep you alive to see Anna dissolve into nothingness, but then, we all have regrets, wouldn't you agree?"

"I agree," Kratos said, not taking his eyes off of Kvar's. "You for example will regret the day you laid hands on her and you will most certainly regret that you didn't kill me upon entering this room."

Kvar laughed. "How bold of you. Really I could stand here and listen to your mindless bravado all day, but I have more important things to do." Kvar inspected Kratos for a moment, evaluating and calculating. "Lord Yggdrasill wants you alive, but I see no reason there could not have been some kind of accident, considering you broke into the lab and who's to say we couldn't have mistaken your identity under your disguise? Yggdrasill is well rid of traitorous dogs like you." Kvar turned smartly on his heel and walked away through the throng of Desians. He paused briefly at the door before looking slightly over his shoulder at his minions.

"Kill him."

CRASH!

The tube behind Kratos exploded in a shower of glass and water. Unprepared, he was knocked over onto all fours as a torrent of liquid consumed him. The Desians closest to him were swept away into their comrades as the water raced towards the door, taking more Desians down as they slipped and fell. Glass sliced at legs, arms, and feet and Kratos felt slivers of it dig into his back.

Kvar bellowed for his men to hold their fire as water splashed against his pristine suit. Kratos felt the rush of it start to subside and he turned his head to see what could have possibly broken the glass and what could be preventing Kvar from murdering him...but what he saw just couldn't be possible.

Anna stood there, framed by the shattered remains of her watery prison. Her hands were clenched by her side and she was crouched in a fighting stance. Her oxygen mask dangled from her ears and her eyes were closed. Lit by the ethereal green light and soaking wet, she cast a frightening form like a feral beast risen from the sea.

"Anna…?" Kratos whispered, hardly daring to believe it.

Anna reached up and ripped the mask from her face, breathing heavily as her lungs gasped real air. Then her lips curved into a smile and she opened her eyes, capturing her father's gaze as rage and hatred poured off of her like steam.

"You don't know about regret yet, Kvar," she said, her voice raw and rasping, yet firm and vicious. "But you will."

Kvar blinked stupidly for a moment before regaining his composure. "Don't just stand there you idiots, get them!"

Anna smiled, showing all of her teeth in a wolf-like grin. "Fireball."

Fire appeared out of nowhere, hurtling through the small space and engulfing multiple Desians. Some screamed as they burned, some tried to dive for watery patches and put themselves out. Other raised guns.

"Anna look out!" Kratos shouted. Anna ignored him and instead raised her hand, conjuring a shield that not only covered her and Kratos, but was powerful enough to ricochet the bullets rather than destroy them. How was she doing it?

She using an incredible amount of mana, Kratos thought quickly putting the pieces mana levels were showing off the chart. That could only be possible if the implantation was successful, if the exsphere was on her and if she was able to cultivate the Cruxis Crystal. Kratos felt fear uncurl in his gut. But I was only four days behind her! It can't be! Not yet!

Anna lowered her arm and Kratos felt the world drop out from under him. There, in the back of her hand and glowing a bright sickly red, was an exsphere.

"Don't shoot you fools!" Kvar screamed, "You could harm A012!"

Anna staggered as her shield dropped, and she fell to her knees. Kratos shed his paralysis and caught her.

"Kratos," Anna whispered, winding her fingers around the metal plate at the front of his stolen uniform. "Please...get me out of here."

"I will," he vowed. "I will just hang on, Anna. Stay with me."

"I'll try…"

Kratos got to his feet, scooping her up into his arms and unfurling his wings in one smooth motion. He towered over Kvar and his minions, an enraged angel of death. His eyes never left Kvar's as he summoned his strength and held Anna close.

Kvar glared. "You will regret this Kratos Aurion. I will never stop hunting you. I will never let her go."

"Nor will I," Kratos replied.

Kratos crouched low and before any of the other could react, he kicked off with a great swoop of his wings. He streaked like a bullet through the chamber, knocking aside Desians and flinging Kvar out of the way, and down the corridor, moving so fast that the water puddled on the ground swarmed behind him, spraying over the now dead prisoner scientists and the computers, shorting out the electricity of the entire room. He slammed into the elevator, stopping abruptly and slamming his hand into the door close button. He didn't waste time making the elevator work. Instead reached up and knocked the panel leading to the elevator shaft out of the way before flying up the steel corridor. He could see daylight above him and, covering Anna with his body, he burst through the grated opening and into the sky.

Kate gripped the steering wheel, eyes on the horizon, waiting patiently for a signal that she wasn't sure would ever come. She had almost give up hope when she saw Kratos erupt into the sky, his wings stark against the black of the night sky. Maybe she was imagining it, but it looked very much like he held something-or someone-in his arms.

"I'll be damned."

She started the car and gunned the engine, tearing out of the forest, racing through the dirt roads of Sylvarant. Kate wasn't sure what the future held for her. She wasn't sure if she'd make it to the border, if she'd make it home, or whether her father would even want to see her. Still, if she had learned anything from both Anna and Kratos's fierce determination is was that you should never give up hope.