I am surprise I was able to get this chapter up. My computer decided to act up this week and it sucks. The battery had to be replaced because it warped on me and my power adaptor decided to die. Granted, it was damage for some months now, but did it really have to die now? To put more salt on the wound, the power adaptor I bought months ago to replace it isn't suited for my model of computer. So, after my dad helped me with an strange, but workable setup, here I am. It wouldn't be so bad if my computer didn't decide to screw me so close to the weekend, so I have to wait until next week for everything to be resolve. In the mean time, I have to pray this setup last me at least five days. Needless to say, this haven't been of my best week.

But, enough of my rant. What matters that this chapter is here and hopefully it will give you all a much better weekend than the one I'm currently having. Thanks again to oursolemnhour49 for checking this chapter and yes, it's the right one this time.

Onward to the chapter.


Chapter 29: Shock and Impossibilities


Everything was going as planned. Although things had to be rushed since Kratos had forced his hand, it was of little consequence. Thanks to the efforts of Mizuho, the Angelus Project was now within his hands. All that was left was to bring Kratos back to Mithos. Cruxis would detect their fight and his backup would arrive before Kratos could escape. With Kratos in hand, he could stay in Mithos' good graces and lower suspicion on himself. It was all too perfect.

Naturally, that is when things always go wrong. Yuan knew something was different about Kratos the moment he laid eyes on him. His aura was different and he had an air of panic around him. He had tried to ignore it and had had every intention in going through with his plan. However, Kratos' plea had completely taken him off-guard. Kratos pleaded for nothing. It was a trait that he had inherited from both his mother and father.

That moment had made Yuan take a closer look at Kratos. It was then that he had finally realized what he was sensing from Kratos, although he still couldn't really believe it. He knew that Kratos had formed some kind of bond with that woman, but he had figured it was more out of guilt than anything else. Now he could see that Kratos had actually fallen in love with the host body. It was the last thing he had ever expected.

However it was far from the end. It would seem the spirits had a sense of humor today. Yuan felt his eyes widen to the point that he thought they would fall out of his head.

"What?" Yuan repeated stupidly.

"I said Anna may be pregnant," Kratos stated.

Yuan shook his head in disbelief. "You're lying. How would you know that she's pregnant?"

"Because her mana changed," Kratos said impatiently. "I can't be too sure because it was still faint, but I could sense two mana signatures within her body." He then began to blush slightly. "I also slept with her some time ago."

"Bark, whine," Noishe said in agreement.

Yuan felt his heart stop in his chest. There was just too much to process at the moment. As long as he had known Kratos, he had never been one to just sleep with a woman. Yuan could probably count Kratos' sexual exertions on one hand.

There was also the question of what woman in their right mind would sleep with Kratos. He was not an easy person to get along with. His stoic, blunt personality was usually a turn-off to most women. Even when you got to know him, Kratos was still not desirable to most people.

Even if Kratos did find someone who could tolerate him for more than five minutes, there was no way that woman could be pregnant.

"Impossible," Yuan said with a tight voice.

Noishe let out a low growl.

Kratos also could feel himself losing his temper. "I know what I felt. Noishe have felt it too. Even before me."

"And it is still impossible," Yuan said coldly. "That woman cannot become pregnant by you."

Kratos eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Angels and humans cannot mate," Yuan said bluntly.

Kratos' face softened. "They cannot mate?"

"For years we have tried to mix the bloods of an angel with another species," Yuan explained slowly. "For reasons we still cannot fully understand, our DNA was altered when we fully awakened our Cruxis Crystals. So you're no longer classified as a human, just as I am no longer a half-elf."

"So when our DNA changed it made us incapable to mate with our former species?" Kratos questioned.

Yuan sighed as he lowered his weapon. "It is far worse than that. As angels, we cannot mate with anyone, not even our own kind. Mithos himself has tried in several experiments, but they have all ended in failure. So, it is impossible for you to get that woman pregnant. If she is, it was by another man."

"No!" Kratos yelled with such force that Yuan could feel his mana surging into him. It was so powerful that is caused him to step back. "Anna is not like that. When I made love to her, she was still a virgin."

Yuan felt his heart stop again. It just wasn't possible, but Kratos was certain that Anna was pregnant with his child. Even Noishe appeared to agree with him. Kratos was not one to act foolish or to be naive. He was certain of his belief and Yuan couldn't completely sweep it under the rug. What if she was pregnant? What if this woman did the impossible?

"Yuan, please help me," Kratos said, losing all his former anger. "We have to find Anna before the Renegades take her exsphere."

Yuan just stared at Kratos.

"I know we had our differences, but this is not about you and me. It is about Anna," Kratos continued. "You know better than anyone what it is like to lose someone you love."

"Whine, whine, bark," Noishe also pleaded. His eyes widened for effect.

This struck Yuan right in his heart. He tried to tell himself that Kratos was using his memories of Martel against him and that it was all a trick. However Kratos was not Mithos. Despite everything, Kratos was still an honorable man and would never invoke Martel's image for his own personal gain.

He was also right. Yuan knew the pain of loss. Four thousand years had passed since Martel's death and he still thought of her every day. It was a pain that never went away, it only dulled with time. As much as he wanted to deny it, if he went through with his plan now, he would be no better than his late brother. As much as he wanted to stop Cruxis, he was not ready to sell his soul to achieve it.

Yuan sighed in defeat. "I will help you. I will use my resources to locate the Renegades' base in this world." Although he was willing to help Kratos, he could not blow his cover. There was something else he wanted to check on as well.

Kratos sheathed his sword. "I am in your debt, Yuan."

"Whine, whine, whine," Noishe said.

Yuan turned away from him. "Go to Ozette and wait for me. I will meet you at the local bar." He then turned and walked away from them. When he got far enough he transported away.


Anna's head was spinning as her eyes slowly opened. It felt like someone had smashed her head in with an iron hammer. There was a dull throbbing pain behind her eyes, forcing her to close them again.

"She is coming to," a voice said.

"No matter. The drug she inhaled will take several hours to wear off," another voice said. "Besides they should be coming soon to pick her up."

Pick her up? What was going on? Where was Kratos? She attempted to open her eyes again and get a good look at her attackers. There were several of them wearing strange masks and hoods that covered their faces. Only their eyes were visible and they each wore different colors.

"Who are you?" Anna demanded. Her voice, however, came out weak and small.

"Who we are is no concern of yours," one of them said harshly. "Just behave yourself and no harm will befall you."

Anna shook her head in attempt to clear her brain. "Where's Kratos?"

One of the people snorted. "That murderous bastard, who knows. If I ever seen him again, I will rip out his heart for killing our comrades."

"Be quiet," another one said harshly. "We are under orders not to kill him."

She heard the person beginning to grumble.

"They're here," someone said.

Anna attempted to turn her head to see what was going on. They were on a shoreline and a large boat was approaching them. Once it hit the beach, several people came out. Anna's eyes widened when she saw them.

"You work for the Desians," Anna whispered. She tried to get her body to move, but it refused to listen.

"Who are the Desians?" one of them asked.

Anna gave them a confused look. "So, they weren't Desians? Could they be the other group Kratos mentioned?" She then saw a person she recognized from the attack on Asgard.

"Well done," the man said. "You delivered the host body right on time."

"It was not a problem," a man in a green uniform said.

"Like hell, Verde!" one of them yelled. "That man killed several of our comrades and he grew freaking wings. What the hell is he?"

"I warned you that he was very dangerous," the half-elf said.

"That was kind of an understatement, Lord Botta," a man in a purple uniform said.

"In either case, you shouldn't be too worried about him," Botta said. "My boss is taking care of him."

Boss, so he was not the leader, Anna noted.

"We will be taking the woman, and the payment will be delivered by tomorrow," Botta said. He then motioned for several of his men to grab Anna and carry her onto the ship.

Anna attempted to fight back, but it was all in vain. Was this the end? After everything, was she destined to have her exsphere removed and be killed like some kind of animal? What about her unborn child?

Before she could think any further, she was harshly thrown into a steel cell. Tired and dizzy, she once again lost consciousness.

She was not sure how long she was out before a sting in her arm woke her up. She quickly opened her eyes to see several men standing over her, and one was taking blood from her arm. She attempted to pull away, but was held firmly in place.

"Stop moving or this will hurt more," the man said unsympathetically. He pulled away once he finished obtaining the sample.

Another one was looking over her exsphere. "I have never seen anything like this. It looks like some kind of seal."

"How far along is the exsphere?" one of them asked.

"Not as far as it should be," one of them said. "Her exsphere is no good to us as it is now."

"Once we get permission from Lord Botta, we can begin the process of making it grow," someone said.

"Like hell!" Anna yelled weakly. She had no intention of allowing them to treat her like the people at the Ranch.

"Shut up." One of them kicked her harshly. She turned away fast enough to keep it from being on her stomach.

"We can't do that," one of them said firmly. "We need permission to assault her."

The man growled. "Consider yourself lucky." They all proceeded to leave. Soon Anna was again left alone.

Anna managed to sit herself up and lean heavily against the wall. Whatever those people gave her was still in her system. It left her mouth dry and she would kill for a glass of water. It would also help the headache that refused to go away.

She, however, would not show weakness. The first opportunity she had, she was going to break out. She not only had to live for herself now, but also for her child. She refused to allow him to die before it even had a chance at life.


Yuan leaned forward as he carefully looked over the results of Anna's blood test. He was so focused that he barely heard Botta walking into the room.

"The Mizuho ninjas have been paid for their services," Botta said.

Yuan nodded. "Good."

"Some of them still hold a grudge against Kratos for what happened in the forest," Botta continued. "Some of the corpses were badly torn apart and many of the survivors will have lifetime injures."

Yuan chuckled darkly. "Just shows that Kratos had not grown soft. He still fights like he did during the war."

"Lord Yuan, although it is not my place, why did you allowed Kratos to escape?" Botta asked.

Yuan was quiet for a moment. "Because something unexpected happened."

Botta tilted his head in curiosity.

"He actually fell in love with the host body," Yuan said casually.

Botta took a step back in surprise. "He what?"

"I didn't believe it either," Yuan said. "But I could tell that it is the truth."

"This does make things more complicated," Botta stated. "But you surely don't intend to give up the Angelus Project after everything we have been through to obtain it."

"It is not a question of if, but when," Yuan said.

"But..." Botta started.

"This subject is closed, Botta," Yuan said coldly. "I had hoped to at least be able to take her exsphere by putting a key crest on her, but Kratos had the elves seal it. It will take months for the exsphere to drain her energy even if it was removed."

"If you don't intend to keep her, why are you running tests?" Botta questioned.

Yuan paused again. "I have to know for certain if what Kratos said is true. If it is, this will be a major change in plan."

The computer bleeped as the data came in. Yuan looked over the screen and his eyes widened in shock. He had to read the results several times before it finally sunk in. What Kratos said was somehow true. This woman was indeed pregnant. Not only pregnant, but the DNA matched Kratos. It was impossible, but the impossible was staring straight into his face.

Botta looked at the results on the computer. "So the host body is pregnant."

"It is much bigger than that," Yuan said.

Although he was talking to Botta, he was not paying too much attention to him. He was trying to figure out how he should act. A part of him wanted the woman to stay here so he could monitor her progress. However the better part of him knew he made a promise to Kratos and he intended to keep his promise.

"I want you to get the base ready," Yuan said slowly. "I will be bringing Kratos here."

"Here?" Botta repeated.

"I promise to give the host body back to him, but I can't blow my cover," Yuan explained.

"But he will know where one of our bases is," Botta said.

"No worries," Yuan said. "He no longer works for Yggdrasill and if the worst happens, we can always abandon this base. It is only a small set back."

Botta stared at him for a moment before he nodded. "I will arrange everything."

Yuan stood up as he began to walk out. "I leave everything to you."


Kratos tapped his hand impatiently as he waited for Yuan. He had been waiting in Ozette for over twelve hours now. He was aware that Yuan was attempting to find the Renegades, who were good at hiding themselves, but that did little to help his patience. If they didn't hurry, Anna could be lost to him. They could be torturing her right now in order to make her exsphere grow or they might just decide to remove it so they would be rid of a host body.

He needed to stay calm. He trusted Yuan. He wondered, however, how much Yuan really knew about the Renegades. He had showed up after one of their planned attacks and he did not seem concerned about them taking Anna. Yuan did see the Renegades as a neutral force, given they were helping in the fight against Cruxis. But, maybe there was a lot more to it. The Renegades did act with a lot of insider information. Could Yuan be the one feeding them?

Before he could think any further, he could sense Yuan walking into the bar. He was wearing his usual rob that covered his face. He quickly walked over to him and took a seat.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Yuan said.

"Did you find them?" Kratos asked.

Yuan nodded. "It appears the Renegades have a base here on the ice continent."

"Clever," Kratos said. "It is far away from any major city."

"It is also well hidden within the glaciers," Yuan said.

"We need to go there before they remove Anna's exsphere," Kratos said.

Yuan said nothing for a moment. "If we do go to the base, Kratos, I must ask you not to kill any of the Renegades."

Kratos raised an eyebrow.

"The Renegades are also fighting against Cruxis," Yuan explained. "It would be foolish to kill an ally."

Kratos could tell there was more to it than that, but he chose not to act on it. "How do we reach the base? Do we go by boat?"

"Too slow," Yuan said. "I was able to get faster means of transportation."

He then got up and began to walk outside. Kratos followed shortly behind him. They kept going until they were outside the small town. Noishe, who was waiting outside for them, also quietly followed them to an open pasture. Kratos stopped when he saw what Yuan managed to obtain.

"Rheiards," Kratos said. He could tell by looking at them that they were the latest models too.

"I managed to borrow some from Derris-Kharlan," Yuan said. "This would also allow us to sneak into the base since they would not be expecting us to fly in."

Kratos nodded. "Then, we should be on our way." He climbed on the Rheiard. Noishe jumped on the back and hovered over his shoulder.

Ironically, it was yellow. The same color as the one he rode on his journey during the Kharlan Wars. He also saw that Yuan's Rheiard was red. Apparently Yuan still had a sense of humor.

He started it up and he quickly ascended into the sky. Yuan followed shortly behind him before he shot in front of him and led the way to the base. It was just like old times. Even before he had met Mithos and Martel, they had gone on missions for the Silver Ghosts that some times required Rheiards. It was extremely rare since Rheiards used so much mana.

Even now he noticed that the Rheiards were not performing to their maximum level. Even in the flourishing world, the mana was significantly lower without the Kharlan Tree to maintain everything. The more magical creatures that were more sensitive to mana were beginning to die out. Some had already gone extinct. He was not sure how much longer either world could survive on Cruxis' balance system.

"At this rate, we should be there in about two hours," Yuan said.

Kratos just nodded.

Even given everything that was happening, it was nice to have his friend back. Even if it was just for a couple of hours. Maybe once Mithos was stopped something could be done to mend their relationship. He still did not want to believe that he had lost his life-long friendship with Yuan forever. Then again, he didn't want to believe that Mithos was a lost cause.

Kratos quickly cleared his mind and focused at the task at hand. Anna was the one in danger at the moment and he could not let anything distract him. He just hoped that it was not too late.


Well, I hope that clear something up. I am also sorry for all the cuts in this chapter, but there was allot to cover before the break in.

As I hinted before, this is the turning point of the story. I hope you enjoy the twist and more will be explain in the future.

Until next time.