Children of Light

by Aylatha

Kratos briefly entertained the thought of just switching off his body's sensitivity, but then decided not to. He deserved to be in pain. He'd been a terrible husband. He'd been a terrible father. His daughters hated him. Lloyd hated him. The elves hated him. Hell, he wouldn't be surprised if the entire world hated him...

10. Shadows of the Past

A/N:

This chapter is going to be intense. There are going to be some fun moments, too, though – Caradilis mentioned that she had wanted to see Kratos and Alice fight back-to-back in the previous chapter, but that fight was over too quickly. I did, however, find a way to work it into this chapter. You can look forward to that.

I only recently found out that Kratos is, apparently, from Meltokio. I decided long ago that his hometown was Ozette, since that would mean he had the "growing up in a forest" thing in common with all his kids.

Do you remember how I told you that the one thing you must never, ever do is to threaten Lloyd when Kratos is in the room? Yes? Good. Moving on.

---

"Say, Alice, do you know any songs for travelling?", Lloyd asked their newest companion.

"No", she replied. "We don't have these kinds of songs back at home."

"But you do have songs, right?"

"Sure. Songs for working, songs for celebration, songs for mourning... But not for travelling. We only leave the village to hunt or gather food and materials. In both cases, it would be a bad idea to sing – you'd either scare away your prey or attract monsters."

"Are there lots of monsters where you live?"

"Oh, yes. Strong ones, too. We sometimes ride out to cull their numbers if they start encroaching on the village."

"Makes sense. Say, could you sing something for us?"

"Certainly."

Alice deliberated for a moment, as if she was trying to decide what kind of song she should sing. She threaded her fingers into Blár's mane, then, after a while, she began her song.

It was very different from the songs Colette had taught them – it was slower and more solemn, and the harmonies were different, too. This song sounded sad, somehow.

Also, Lloyd noted with some annoyance that he couldn't understand a single word.

I guess it makes sense for the elves to write songs in their language.

"That was beautiful", Colette said once Alice had finished, clapping her hands.

The others agreed, though Lloyd noticed something odd – the song seemed to have affected Kratos, who looked – wistful, for lack of a better word.

"Is this a funeral dirge?", Genis asked.

"What? No!", Alice replied, bewildered. "It was a song that describes the changing of the seasons. It's not particularly sad – this is just what our music sounds like."

"Friendly reminder that you're human", Lloyd grumbled.

Alice sent a glare his way. "I may be human, and not of their blood, but I am still a part of their culture – it's the only culture I know. My parents certainly didn't have the time to teach me any human songs."

"Sorry."

Alice huffed. "Given your reaction to this one, I'd better not sing any of the mourning songs, or you'd all be on the ground, sobbing."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with being moved by a good song", Lloyd replied with a frown.

"Of course not. But we do want to reach our destination eventually, don't we?"

"Good point."

---

In the afternoon, they reached the western end of the plateau and started their descent. Soon, they had reached the timber line and Kratos actually found himself enjoying the serene silence filled with bustling life.

I grew up in a small village in the middle of a forest – that had a huge impact on me. Just like Alice – and Lloyd, too.

After travelling for a while, Kratos could hear the sound of running water. Soon, they reached a small river that had swollen with the melting snow from the mountain peaks. A single log apparently used as a bridge was the only way across.

Alice didn't even hesitate and strolled across the log as if it was just a regular road. Blár swam across without any notable signs of exertion and climbed the farther shore with surprising dexterity, given the fact that he was a horse. Noishe followed, barking with excitement. Reaching the other side, Alice turned to wait for them.

"Who's next?", Kratos asked.

"I – I don't think I can do this", Colette said weakly.

She was looking at the river with an expression as if she wanted to beg it to dry out this very moment.

"Come on, Colette", Lloyd said, extending his hand. "We'll do this. Together."

Kratos had to grudgingly admit that Lloyd was very brave, crossing the log walking backwards while leading Colette by the hand.

She could just fly across. But no, Lloyd needs to be a hero...

Kratos was unable to relax until they had crossed the log safely. Alice congratulated Colette, which greatly boosted her self-confidence.

Genis went next. Overly excited, he bounded across the log. Kratos could foresee the outcome of this: Genis took a wrong step, lost his balance and fell into the river.

"Genis!"

Raine's terrified cry echoed from the surrounding trees.

Before Kratos had time to react, Alice had dropped cloak, boots and weapons on the ground and jumped into the river. Raine wanted to rush after her, but Kratos restrained her.

"Don't. You wouldn't be of any help to them. We can only hope Alice will make it."

He had to admit – reluctantly – that Alice was very brave and selfless. And, strangely enough, he also felt something akin to worry – which confused him greatly. Alice was his enemy, he shouldn't care about her well-being at all. If she wanted to drown herself, that was her business.

Genis had managed to stay above the surface, but the current bore him away. Kratos and Raine crossed the log, and the entire group raced along the river's edge, hoping to be able to help.

Alice had caught up with Genis and helped him to stay afloat while trying to get to the shore.

"Alice, look out for that rock!", Lloyd shouted.

Alice had heard him and tossed herself and Genis around, so he was safe from harm. She, however, was smashed back first into the hard stone. Kratos could hear her suppressed cry of pain.

For a moment, it seemed as if Alice was too stunned to do anything, but then, she catapulted herself and Genis out of the water with magic. They flew high into the air and hit the ground hard. Again, Alice had shielded Genis with her own body.

"Genis!" Overjoyed, Raine embraced her younger brother. "Alice – thank you so much."

Alice slowly sat up.

"Don't mention it", she wheezed.

"I brought your stuff", Lloyd said to her.

"Thanks. Genis, come over here for a sec."

She wrapped her cloak around them both. Steam billowed upwards and moments later, they were dry.

"Thanks", Genis said to her.

Alice put her boots back on and picked up her weapons.

"It was nothing, really."

"Nothing? You just risked your life to save mine!"

"We're a team – and members of a team need to stick together." She wasn't looking at him, but Kratos still recognised the jab for what it was. "Besides – several streams run through the village where I live – I'm used to saving children from drowning."

"I'm not a child!", he protested.

"I didn't say that you were."

"But your magic really is something, for a human, I mean."

The next moment, he clasped his hands over his mouth as he realised what he'd just said. Raine covered her eyes.

"I – I didn't mean to offend you or anything..."

Alice grinned. "It's fine, I'm not offended. I get to hear that quite often – and it's the truth. Most humans – the 'pure bloods' – don't know a thing about magic."

Genis looked very relieved.

"But your powers truly are extraordinary", Raine said.

"I'm glad I have them. That way, I wasn't so different from the elves."

"Was it that bad?"

"In the beginning, yes. They like neither humans nor half-elves very much, my sister is the only exception. They didn't know anything about me, but some still treated me with distrust, even hatred. It took years for them to accept me – some still don't, though. I had much less trouble with the children – they weren't as narrow-minded as the grown-ups."

"Is this the reason why you are so strongly against discrimination?", Kratos asked.

"No, you have to blame the way my mother raised me for that. She always wanted peace, harmony – that's why she never learned how to use her own powers. Live and let live – that was her motto. And it was racism that killed her – she became a victim of racist half-elves. Even though her own father was a half-elf, and she'd never hurt anyone!"

Alice took a deep breath, wincing as she did so. Kratos barely noticed – he was lost in memories of Anna. She, too, had been a peace-loving woman, and had never shown any dislike for half-elves. The fact that her death had been caused by the Desians was incredibly tragic.

"Discrimination and prejudices robbed me of my mother. And I don't want this to happen to anybody else. That's why I fight. Too many people have died... it's enough."

"But if you fight, even more people are going to die", Colette pointed out.

"You're right", Alice replied. "Believe me, that was the last alternative. I tried to negotiate – and negotiations failed."

This time, Kratos knew she was telling the truth. He just couldn't make up his mind about her. There were so many contradictory things about her...

Raine, who had been watching Alice closely, approached her.

"Are you injured?"

"Uh, no, I don't think so."

"Strange. Given the force of the impact, you should have at least a couple of cracked ribs."

"Huh. Well, it doesn't feel that way. The impact winded me, sure, and I'm still a little out of breath, but I don't think anything's broken."

"I'd still like to examine you."

"Really, there's no need for that."

Raine narrowed her eyes. "You just saved my brother's life. I couldn't live with myself if you suffered any lasting damage as a result, especially if I could have prevented it."

Something in Alice's eyes softened. "All right. Can't argue with that. I guess us healers tend to think alike..." She dropped her cloak to the ground again before turning to the boys. "Lloyd, could you go and refill our gourds? This might take a bit. And Genis, would you mind watching Blár for me? I don't want him to wander off."

"Sure", Lloyd replied, gathering the gourds.

Genis seemed grateful he hadn't been sent to fetch water and trudged over to the stallion.

"I'll go with Lloyd", Colette announced.

"All right, but be careful not to tumble into the river", Kratos replied. "I'll stay here with Genis."

"Perhaps you should use your wings, just in case", Lloyd told Colette.

"Great idea."

Lloyd and Colette went upstream to find a spot where they could climb down the shore, while Raine and Alice disappeared into the shrubbery in the opposite direction.

They kept moving for a while until they were out of earshot, or so Raine probably thought. Kratos cast a quick glance in Genis' direction, but the boy seemed very subdued, and Kratos decided that scolding him wasn't necessary. Instead, he kept watch on their surroundings while listening in on the women's conversation, hoping to glean a better understanding of Alice.

"I used magic to lessen the impact", Alice was just saying. "That's probably the reason I can't feel any broken bones."

"I'd still feel better after I've checked, despite your impressive display of magic."

For a while, Kratos couldn't hear them – the sound of the river made it harder to pick up on sounds – until Raine spoke again.

"That's going to turn into a nasty bruise, but your spine seems fine. Let me check your ribs."

More silence, and Kratos imagined a very reluctant Alice complying with Raine's demands.

"All right, they seem fine, too. Let me just quickly fix your back."

"Thanks, Raine – um – is it all right for me to call you that?"

Raine chuckled. "No need to stand on ceremony with me."

"Oh, good. Human customs tend to confuse me. Where I'm from, people don't have last names – seems to be a human thing, now that I think about it."

"Hm. By the way, is there a particular reason you keep your Exsphere hidden?"

So she does use one. I had suspected as much.

"Element of surprise. If you appear weak, the enemy will almost always underestimate you."

"Is that also the reason you were hiding your sword when we encountered those Desians?"

"Indeed. It's another thing I've learned from watching humans – back at home, no one is excluded from certain professions or tasks as long as he or she has the necessary skills and motivation. No one gets preferential treatment, either. We're all the same, in that sense. Humans don't act that way. They have different social classes, rules for everything, and most of the soldiers I've met – be they human or Desian – are male. I've seen some female Desians occasionally, but they are a minority. Based on that, I assumed that the people here would not expect a woman to be trained as a fighter. And because of that, that bastard did not see me stabbing him coming. He thought I was harmless. I taught him the error of his ways."

"I see. I would have never put this amount of thought into all this, but I can see why you would. Being a woman travelling by herself... I can understand why you would want to join up with us."

"Hm."

"Oh, and, um, thank you. For not saying anything earlier."

"Huh? Oh, that. Ah, well, I was being thoughtless there. I had assumed that Colette and Lloyd knew."

"Ah, I see. How did you know?"

"Those with elven blood can usually recognise each other. I hadn't considered that there are people who can't do this."

"Lloyd appears to have elven blood", Raine pointed out.

"But he doesn't use magic, does he?", Alice asked.

"No, we never suspected him to be able to, to be honest. We only found out when Kratos taught us a shield charm."

"I see. Then he is probably simply not attuned to magic and mana. I grew up using magic, it's as normal to me as breathing. Then again, I'm hardly what you can call normal, for a human."

"I guess so. Though it is quite refreshing to meet someone like you."

"Heh. Thanks."

Kratos was very much surprised that Alice had such a grasp on magic – he himself wasn't nearly as attuned to mana as she apparently was. Then again, he preferred to use his sword in battle, and had mostly developed his magical powers simply because he had them. Furthermore, his magic wasn't particularly powerful, either, so it usually made more sense to leave the spellcasting to any half-elven companions he might be with. Raine was actually the first half-elf he'd met whose magic appeared to be on the same level – or maybe even weaker – than his. He couldn't deny that she was much better at healing than he was, though.

Alice, on the other hand, had grown up among elves. It was possible they had a completely different approach to magic.

His thoughts briefly strayed to Lloyd – given the fact that he had two half-elven grandfathers, he might actually be able to become rather adept at magic himself – however, Kratos wasn't sure if it would be possible to broach that issue without any questions about Lloyd's parentage arising. Therefore, he decided to stay away from that particular topic and focus on improving Lloyd's skills with the sword instead.

The sound of footsteps alerted Kratos to the fact that Lloyd and Colette were returning. Lloyd distributed the gourds, and not much later, they were rejoined by Alice and Raine.

"Genis, are you feeling all right?", Alice asked.

"Y-yes. I'm really sorry for what happened earlier..."

"It's fine. Nothing happened in the end. Just be more careful in the future, all right?"

"I will. Thanks, Alice."

---

The remaining descent was pleasantly uneventful. The others "bullied" Alice into demonstrating more magic and so she entertained them with small flames, sparks, pillars of water and such. Nothing that was particularly special or powerful, but Kratos suspected her to be able to use much stronger spells.

Alice also used the time to teach Genis and Raine a new spell each – Raine learned Holy Lance, a level 2 light spell, and Genis Spark Wave, a level 2 thunder spell. Lloyd watched them with open curiosity.

"So, there are three levels of magic altogether?", he asked.

"Correct", Alice replied. "There is a limited number of level one spells, those are Fire Ball, Aqua Edge, Wind Blade, Stone Blast, Lightning, Icicle, Photon and Dark Sphere. From level 2 onwards there are lots of different spells, and combinations. Naturally, combining two opposing elements won't work, but you can mix the others as you please. People constantly create new spells that way. I have also heard that angels can use a special kind of magic... Then, of course, there is healing magic. It does not belong to an element, and you need a special affinity towards it so you can learn it. Also, each individual can use a different number of elements. Kratos, for example, has four, Genis six, Raine two. I can use seven."

Everyone stared at her.

She most certainly did her research well.

Kratos thanked his lucky stars that she had the forbearance not to mention the fifth element he could use – he hadn't been born with the ability to use light magic, and had little desire to explain why he could use angelic magic to his companions.

"Which is the one you can't use?", Colette asked Alice.

"Darkness. I just wasn't able to master it."

"And why's that?", Genis inquired.

"I'm mostly attuned to light. Always have been. We're not entirely sure as to the cause, though."

Remembering her outburst back in Vinheim, Kratos didn't find that hard to believe.

Once they had reached the plains, Alice continued to lead them to the south-west, probably to avoid the Asgard Human Ranch. Kratos actually itched for a chance to rip off Kvar's head, but he thought it better to keep Lloyd well out of that monster's reach.

Dusk was settling over the land as they finally approached Luin. Raine intended to reach the town soon so they could spend the night at the inn, and therefore, they didn't stop to rest.

Suddenly, Alice quickened her pace as her whole body grew tense.

"Alice! What's wrong?", Lloyd asked.

"I have a bad feeling. Let's hurry!"

"I can hear people screaming", Colette said. "And the sound of explosions."

"The Asgard Ranch is close by. It is led by Kvar, who has a reputation for being the cruellest of the Desian Grand Cardinals – and not without reason. We'd best prepare for battle!"

Kratos had heard the noise even before Colette had – about the same time Alice had quickened her pace.

How did she know? If she heard it, too, then this means she must be an angel. It's not impossible. And it would explain how she was able to get away unscathed earlier. Could it be – is she by any chance that Angel of Death the Desians fear so much? If she is, then I have much bigger problem on my hands than I thought.

Renegade angels were rare, though, and Kratos wondered how she had acquired her Cruxis Crystal.

"Wouldn't it be better if we started running?", Lloyd asked Alice.

She shook her head. "In that case, we wouldn't have any strength left to fight when we arrive. Precise timing is essential."

She lifted Genis onto Blár's back.

"Hold on tight!"

If Alice intends to unleash her fury onto the Desians, they'd better watch out.

Suddenly, Kratos heard a sound to his left. Startled, he turned his head, but couldn't see anything. Still, he had the feeling that something was out there.

---

Sheena leisurely strolled across one of the many bridges this village had. It was charming, tranquil and idyllic. It had a small temple and a fountain, and the people were cheerful. They called it "The City of Hope".

Suddenly, a terrified cry broke the spell.

"The Desians! The Desians are attacking! Run for your lives!"

The next moment, chaos erupted as people dropped whatever they were carrying and made a run for it. Sheena was surprised to see a half-elf with pale-blue hair herd some children into his house.

"Go and hide in the basement and keep quiet! They'll leave my house alone."

A man crossed his arms in defiance of the man's words. "I'm not entering the house of a half-elf!"

The half-elf returned his gaze levelly.

"It's my house, or the Human Ranch. The choice is yours."

Instead of giving him a reply, the other man hurried into the house.

Sheena went over to the half-elf.

"Why are you helping them? I thought that humans and half-elves don't get along."

He turned to look at her. His eyes were of a dark, caring blue.

"That may be true for most of us, but there are exceptions. I have been living in this village for 124 years and watched all of those humans grow up. And I was married to a woman from this town – a human. Our daughter – who was human as well – was murdered by the Desians. Is this enough to explain my actions?"

"I – I didn't know..."

"It's fine, don't worry about it. Besides, it's been 14 years... the pain fades eventually."

"I see."

It's a relief to know that.

"Do you want to hide as well? There should still be some room."

"Thanks, but I must decline. I'm going to fight."

"All by yourself?"

"Yes. I'll stall them for as long as possible, so maybe some of the villagers will be able to escape."

"I see. Take care."

"I will."

I am a shinobi. I'd rather die honourably in battle than hide in some dark hole!

Sheena broke into a jog. The Desians had reached the entrance to the village by now. Sheena decided to sneak up on them so she could launch a surprise attack.

"Hey, hold back with killing", one of the Desians ordered. "If we bring too few humans back alive, Lord Kvar will be angry."

The villagers trying to fight back didn't stand a chance. The Desians were much stronger and had better equipment.

A small girl stood in the middle of the street, crying for her mother. A Desian spotted her.

"Lord Kvar told us to kill those who resist." He drew his sabre. "You're a little nuisance! Hurry up and die!"

Sheena threw herself in front of the girl, grabbed the man's arm and used his momentum to toss him across the street.

"What the – kill her!"

The little girl was clever enough to make a run for it. Sheena faced the Desians with a series of kicks and punches. She was using an Exsphere, and her training made her a dangerous fighter. However, since the enemy had the advantage of numbers, she took several heavy blows. When the situation started to become really dangerous, she jumped onto the roof of a nearby house. She drew a card and made it dart into the air above the Desians. She made several quick movements with her fingers and the card multiplied. Sheena activated the arte to cause a huge explosion.

Finally, the battle started taking its toll. Sheena lost her balance and fell off the roof. Even though the explosion had killed a lot of enemies, more were still coming. Sheena pushed herself off the ground through sheer force of will.

"They're too much, even for you, Sheena", Corinne said.

Sheena was bleeding from several wounds, it took all her strength to remain crouched on the floor and not to faint.

"Sheena!"

"That voice..."

Someone had distracted the Desians, but she had no time to worry about that now. Drained of all strength, she collapsed and lost consciousness. From far, far away, she could hear Corinne scream her name...

"Sheena! Hang in there! Sheena!"

---

Alice stopped on a hill outside town to give them a good view of what was happening. The Desians had already spread throughout the village.

"This will be a tough battle", Kratos stated.

"I have a plan", Alice replied.

"Let's hear it, then."

"Genis, Colette, Raine, you attack the enemy with magic. Should the Desians get too close, it'll be your job, Colette, to protect the others."

Colette nodded, determination in her eyes.

"Raine, I'll take care of the injuries in my group, so you can focus on yours."

"I can heal myself", Kratos interjected.

"Suit yourself. Lloyd, you take them head-on, Kratos, just do as you please."

"And what about you?", Lloyd asked.

"I'll be performing my usual fighting style: a mixture of magic and swordplay. But before we rush in, I have another question: do any of you command a spell with a wide target area?"

The others shook their heads.

"I see. In that case, choose your strongest spell and pick a target."

"From here?", Genis asked.

"Yes. The spell I'm going to use will take some time to prepare – time yours so that they'll be activated at the same time. If you don't, we'll lose the element of surprise."

"Very well", Raine replied.

"What am I going to do?", Lloyd asked. "I'm the only one who can't use magic..."

"Just be ready to storm the village at any time and look out for Desians that might come our way", Alice replied in a reassuring tone.

Looks like she doesn't want Lloyd to feel bad about this...

Alice crossed her arms in front of her chest. A small puddle formed under her feet, along with a dark blue diagram.

A water-based spell? Now I'm curious.

Kratos tried to watch her while preparing his own spell, hoping for an indication that would tell him whether his suspicion was correct.

"Form a torrential vortex and engulf the evil spirits!"

"I beg of thou to reveal thy glory!"

The siblings and Kratos exchanged a look.

"Holy Lance!"

"Spark Wave!"

"Air Thrust!"

"Angel Feathers!"

"Tidal Wave!"

Genis and Kratos' spells enveloped a couple of Desians, while Raine and Colette only managed to hit one each.

Alice spread her arms wide in an abrupt movement. A huge wave burst from the ground and rushed down the hill, absorbing some of Genis' lightning energy. Within seconds, a huge torrent had formed that drowned everything in its path. Alice moved the wave precisely through the streets, then she suddenly stopped her attack.

"What's wrong?", Lloyd asked.

"There's a battle going on down there. Come on! We need to hurry if we want to help."

Alice drew her sword and broke into a run. The others followed.

It was the first time Kratos got to see her in a real fight. In her fury, she killed everyone foolish enough to stand in her way. She was frightening in her efficiency, and Kratos was very glad she was on his side – for now, at least.

Lloyd's Exsphere was glowing blue, just like Alice, he was giving it all he got. And he had improved – even if that didn't say much.

A Desian attacked Alice from behind. There was a flash of blue light. Alice spun round and killed the man.

That light – that must have been a Cruxis Crystal. I knew it.

Lloyd was attacked by a female Desian, which completely took him off-guard.

"You can't honestly turn your blade on a woman", she cooed.

"He might not, but I certainly can", Alice said.

She created a lance of light and threw it at the woman, who had no chance to even consider doing anything about it.

By this point, they were almost completely surrounded by the Desians, and Lloyd moved to the rear in order to protect Genis and Raine, while Colette switched from using magic to using her chakrams instead. The flow of battle pushed Kratos and Alice together, and they found themselves fighting back-to-back. It was a strange feeling – Kratos knew, logically, that he shouldn't rely on an enemy in battle, that this could get him killed – Alice wanted to reunite the worlds, after all, and that made Kratos an obstacle. However, his heart urged him to trust her. And he couldn't deny the fact that they were working together really well.

By now, the Desians had realised that Alice and Kratos were the biggest threat to them, and started focusing on them. Kratos was alarmed to see they had been cut off from the rest of the group. Alice cursed, apparently having noticed the same thing.

The Desians were closing in on them and Kratos knew that, even with the amount of power at their disposal, fighting them all off would prove extremely tiresome.

"Brace yourself", Alice called over the din.

Kratos barely had time to react before she stabbed her sword into the ground.

"Outburst!"

She hadn't been lying when she'd said that she had a strong affinity for light magic. Kratos had to fight the instinct to shield as an enormous wave of magic washed harmlessly over him. Around them, the nearest Desians dropped dead. The rest decided to retreat.

Kratos turned to stare at Alice, his eyes wide. If she had used a different element, he'd probably be dead.

Alice huffed and lightly punched his shoulder. "Close your mouth, or you'll swallow a fly."

Kratos shook himself out of his stupor just as a large explosion further ahead shattered the silence. Lloyd broke into a run.

"Sheena!"

Moments later, they could hear Corinne's desperate cries.

The Desians Sheena had been fighting fled as they saw the reinforcements coming. The small group stopped where she was lying, unconscious.

"Professor, you have to heal her!", Colette exclaimed, noticing the wounds the assassin had suffered.

"This would be our perfect chance to get rid of her", Raine replied.

"Professor!"

"If you want to kill Sheena, you'll have to get past me first!", Corinne cried desperately.

"You want to stop us? I could simply crush you with my foot", Kratos replied.

The little thing made his fur stand on ends.

"I'm a Summon Spirit! Never take that tone with me again!"

"You are what?!", Raine asked in disbelief.

"I don't believe it!", Alice exclaimed. "There is a gravely injured person right in front of your very eyes, and all you do is discuss trivialities?!"

She moved over to Sheena and knelt down next to her.

"What are you doing?", Raine asked sharply.

"I'm going to heal her. And don't you dare try to stop me – any of you."

Rays of light flowed from her fingers and started moving across Sheena's body.

"Those wounds are pretty bad", Kratos said quietly. "You might not be able to save her."

"I have to!"

After a while, her hands started to shake. Sweat was beading on her forehead.

"Alice, please, stop!", Lloyd begged her.

"I can't..."

Kratos could feel the mana level within Alice's body drop rapidly as she drained more power to channel it into healing magic. She was in danger of completely exhausting herself.

"Alice!"

The warrior simply ignored Lloyd and continued to heal Sheena. Slowly, the wounds closed and the blood vanished.

Alice gasped and lost her balance. Supporting her weight with one arm, she bent over Sheena to examine her work. Apparently satisfied, she let out a long sigh. Then, she collapsed.

"Alice!"

Lloyd crouched down next to her, worry in his eyes, and turned her onto her back. Her eyes were closed and her face very pale, but she was still breathing.

"Move away from her. All of you."

Kratos spun around and Lloyd jumped to his feet. A green-haired elf had literally appeared out of thin air, along with a brown horse. He was also leading Blár.

"Who are you?", Lloyd asked, sounding suspicious.

"My name is Aodhan. I am Alice's companion."

Aodhan walked past Lloyd and bent over Alice.

"What's wrong with her?", Lloyd asked, agitated.

"She pushed herself too far – again. It'll take some time until she wakes up."

"Wait a minute – it was you I heard earlier – you've been following us", Kratos said.

"Correct. I made Chestnut and myself invisible. My task is to protect Alice – from others as well as from herself."

"What do you mean by that?", Lloyd asked, confused.

"Had this girl's injuries been any worse, it still wouldn't have stopped Alice from stabilising her. She had reached her limit, that's why she fainted."

"You mean – she would have sacrificed her own life to save Sheena?", Raine asked, shocked.

"Yes."

He gently eased Alice into his arms, eyes roving over her face. "I suggest we look for some shelter. And someone should take her."

He nodded towards Sheena. When he noticed Kratos and Raine hesitate, he narrowed his eyes at them.

"Alice just risked her life to save hers. I'd love to see you try to explain to her why her patient died. Very much."

"I just hope this doesn't turn out to be a mistake", Kratos replied, bending down to pick Sheena up.

---

They had found shelter in a house the Desians hadn't destroyed completely. Kratos had put the still unconscious Sheena down in a corner, her little companion was currently sitting next to her, watching them. Urged by Lloyd and Colette, Raine had treated her remaining wounds.

Kratos turned to look at Alice and Aodhan. The elf had sat down with his back against the wall and was supporting Alice's body with his. The way he looked at and touched her made Kratos believe he felt more than just friendship toward her. A quick glance in Raine's direction made it clear the young half-elf had come to the same conclusion. Kratos decided to discuss this matter right away, since it bothered him.

"Aodhan? I have a question for you."

The elf raised his head and fixed him with a calm look.

"I'll do my best to answer it."

"You and Alice – what kind of relationship do you have?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know perfectly well what I mean. I noticed the way you look at her. Are you lovers?"

"Kratos!", Lloyd exclaimed. "That's really none of your business!"

Aodhan, however, smiled. "It's not what you think. It's true that I love her, and I have no problem admitting it either, since it's nothing to be ashamed of. And Alice knows – though I don't know how she feels about me – she never told me. But why are you asking me that? It's just as Lloyd said: none of your business."

"If you ever were to have children, they'd be half-elves. That makes it my business."

"How so?"

Kratos shifted his weight. He didn't feel comfortable talking about his past – despite the fact that no one from that time was around anymore – but he felt that he needed to get his point across to these two.

"My father was a half-elf", he said at length, crossing his arms and refusing to look at any of the other occupants in the room.

And indeed, this admission got surprised reactions out of all of them – with the exception of Raine, who had more tact than the rest. Even Aodhan seemed surprised, which made Kratos believe that the elves didn't know every single detail about his ancestry.

"It's the reason I can use magic", Kratos added with a huff, when no one seemed willing to fill the silence.

The others mulled this over in silence for a bit. Kratos hadn't expected any kind of hostile reactions from Raine and Genis, but he hadn't been sure about the others, Aodhan and Lloyd in particular. However, the three non-half-elves seemed merely thoughtful, not repulsed.

"Um – what about your mother?", Colette asked almost timidly.

"She was human."

"A rare union", Raine observed.

"Indeed", Kratos replied. "Half-elves usually try to keep to themselves. It's very rare for one to fall in love with a member of a different race."

"So, uh, what were your parents like?", Lloyd asked.

Kratos stared at him. Of all the people who could have come up with this question, it had to be his own son, of course. Kratos wanted to flat-out refuse answering, since he had already stated his reason for objecting to the relationship between Alice and Aodhan – but now, almost every person in the room was watching him expectantly – Aodhan and Raine being the exceptions. The fact that the elf was currently giving him a rather sympathetic look convinced Kratos that he, too, was aware of the fact that Lloyd was his son.

However, he wasn't sure if he wouldn't raise more questions by refusing to answer – and besides, there was no one left alive who remembered his parents, anyway – it should be perfectly safe to talk about them.

"Where to begin... My father was called Cyrus, my mother Zoe. My paternal grandfather was an elf, my grandmother a human. My father never actually told me their names – he despised them too much. Supposedly, theirs had been a love story for the ages – at first. Whatever affection they held for each other soon waned, and they would constantly quarrel, and put the blame for everything that went wrong on their son. Eventually, they decided that things weren't going to work between them any more. My grandfather left, and my grandmother chased my father out. He started travelling, but was unable to find a new place to call home. Neither humans nor elves wanted him around. The only person willing to give him a chance was my mother – actually, she was the driving force behind them becoming a pair, really. My father was very sceptical about this at first, given his bad experiences with humans so far. However, my mother was a very strong-willed person – if she wanted something, she usually got it.
"The name 'Aurion' comes from my grandmother's family – elves don't use last names, you see, so, whenever an elf marries a human, they take on their spouse's family name and pass it down to their children."

Kratos knew that Alice had already had this discussion with Raine, but apart from her and Aodhan, the others were probably unaware of this concept. The fact that Lloyd nodded his head along with Kratos' explanation confirmed this.

"Why don't you have last names?", Lloyd asked Aodhan.

"We have no need for them", the elf replied. "We elves have a very strong sense of community, a tribal identity, if you will. We're basically one big family, even if not all of us are actually related. And, in the rare case that two of us have the same name, we'll use an epithet to tell them apart. For example, 'Aodhan the hunter' as opposed to 'Aodhan the smith', or we use the parents' names for reference. It works well enough for us."

"That's interesting", Lloyd observed. "And it sounds nice, living in a community like that."

"It does have its downsides, though", Aodhan admitted. "It tends to create a very strong 'us vs. them' mentality. Alice wasn't accepted at first, at least not by the adults. It took time for them to get to know her – though some of the older ones still won't accept her, even after all this time."

His face gradually darkened into a scowl as he spoke.

"I thought the elves simply disliked anyone who wasn't an elf", Kratos replied, mildly surprised.

"No", Aodhan replied. "It might have been that way in the past, but – remember Alice mentioning her sister? She's a half-elf, and has been part of our community since birth. At this point, no one cares about her race, since she's one of us. Always has been. It was different with Alice – she came to stay with us as a child. She was, therefore, a stranger."

The others mulled this new bit of information over for a bit, before Lloyd fixed his attention on Kratos again.

"Did your parents get along well, despite being members of different races?", he asked curiously.

"They loved each other dearly and treasured me", Kratos replied, his heart growing heavy with the memories. "But love can only get you so far – marrying a half-elf made my mother an outcast in the village, even most of her own family shunned her as a result. We were not completely without aid, but we always knew we weren't wanted. While my mother was undaunted by this and forged on ahead, my father became cynical and bitter. He tried hard not to show this side to me, but I did pick up on it somehow. It – shaped me, I've realised. Anyway, I eventually left home, and never returned. I never saw them again."

A small lie – following Zoe's death, Cyrus had gone back to wandering the land aimlessly, and their paths had crossed on occasion – however, decades had passed by then, and Cyrus had been somewhat shocked to see that his son hadn't aged as much as he ought to have. They had been unable to reconnect, and eventually, Cyrus had simply vanished from history. Kratos didn't even know how or when he had died.

The thought saddened him a bit, and he wondered if Lloyd felt the same way, not knowing if his father was still alive.

"I'm sorry for dredging up something like that", Aodhan said quietly. "I had no idea... I understand where you're coming from, now. You're worried that things won't work out between us, and that any children we may have would suffer as a result."

Kratos nodded curtly.

"I see. Well then, let me tell you something: I'd never leave my children nor Alice, no matter what, and neither would she. But right now, none of us is even thinking about starting a family. We're in the middle of a war, after all. Alice grew up without her parents, and I doubt she'd want her children to experience the same."

"You seem very determined."

Aodhan flashed him a joyless smile. "I won't let anyone have a say in this matter – not you, not my father, not anyone. The only person who does get a say in this is Alice – stars above, I do hope she won't reject me simply because my father hates her. Incidentally, Kratos, why don't you join his 'Keep Aodhan and Alice apart' club? I bet he would hate that."

Kratos stared at Aodhan, not sure he could make sense of any of that.

"But seriously – if Alice will have me, I'll stay by her side forever."

"You have no idea what you are talking about!", Kratos exploded.

Aodhan arched a brow. "Hey, calm down, it's just a figure of speech. It's not like us elves are immortal – I'll die eventually."

But she won't, since she's an angel.

"I can't believe you're not taking this matter seriously", Raine interjected quietly. "Most half-elves are abandoned by their parents – unless they are half-elves themselves."

"Alice always says that blood or race don't matter. What matters is - "

"...what we make of our lives", Alice finished.

She blinked her eyes open and looked up at Raine.

"I didn't hear much, but I think I know what you've been talking about. I don't judge people by blood or race, I'm not a pure-blooded human to begin with. I would never do something so narrow-minded."

Slowly, she got to her feet.

"Are you feeling any better?", Lloyd asked.

The corners of Alice's mouth turned up slightly. "I still feel a little faint, but it'll pass."

Aodhan got to his feet and stretched, while Alice looked around and spotted Sheena.

"How is she?"

"She'll be fine", Raine replied. "I treated the remaining wounds."

"Ah. And who persuaded you to do it? Was it Lloyd? Genis? Colette? Or all of them?"

Raine stared at her, surprised and dismayed. "What – how did you know?"

"I know how you feel about her, that's all. Well?"

Raine was apparently at a loss for words.

Aodhan smiled slightly. "I suggested to them not to leave her lying in the streets since it might upset you."

"Yes, I would have been quite furious. What happened then?"

"Colette and Lloyd persuaded her to heal Sheena."

Alice nodded. "I thought so."

"Alice, I have a question", Kratos said. "Surely you noticed you were using up all your mana. Why didn't you stop? You also said you couldn't."

"That's true... I always feel an urge to help others if they are in need of help... no matter the consequences. Sheena's wounds were severe – I would have given my life to save hers if needed."

"Even though you didn't know her?"

"Yes. That's just how it is... My mother always tried to help people, too, just that she didn't have any healing powers. I think it's because of her genes... I can't suppress that urge. It's too strong."

"That is a great weakness", Raine observed.

Alice smiled. "That is why Aodhan is with me. He is to make sure I don't end up killing myself."

Oh, curse it. And I was hoping to have found a weakness... but they've thought of everything.

Alice turned to face Sheena, who was just waking up.

"Why did you save me?", she asked quietly.

"Ask them", Raine replied, nodding towards Lloyd, Colette and Alice.

"Do you mind?", Alice inquired.

"No, I'm just surprised, that's all."

"I don't know what happened between you and the others, but there is no quarrel between us. Therefore, I saw no reason whatsoever to let you bleed to death."

"Do you know what happened here?", Colette asked Sheena, who was slowly sitting up.

"The villagers were hiding some folks who managed to flee from the ranch. The Desians found out, so they attacked and took the entire village to the ranch..."

"That's awful", Colette said.

"We need to decide what do next", Kratos interjected, trying to make them focus on what was important.

"That's simple, we'll go save the villagers!", Lloyd exclaimed.

"Our goal is World Regeneration - "

"How can we regenerate the world if we can't even save the people right in front of us?!"

"To just leave them stuck with their fate would be cruel and unacceptable", Alice said quietly.

"If we want to do this, we need to plan our operation carefully", Raine pointed out.

"Considering how many people they took, it's safe to assume it's a large facility", Kratos said. "And we don't even know where it is."

At this point, he was desperate to dissuade the group – infiltrating a Human Ranch was already dangerous business in general, but in particular if your name happened to be Lloyd Irving. Kratos was fairly certain that Kvar would have killed Lloyd just to hurt Kratos, but now that he knew that Lloyd had that Exsphere, he certainly wouldn't pass up an opportunity to get his hands on it – and Lloyd out of the way.

"To the north-east", Sheena said.

"How comes you know?", Lloyd asked, surprised.

"How do you think the prisoners managed to escape in the first place?", she replied defiantly.

Everyone was quiet for a while.

"I suggest we wait until nightfall tomorrow before we attack", Kratos finally said. "We should leave here in time so we reach the ranch around dusk."

To his surprise, Lloyd went over to Sheena.

What's that boy doing now?

"You'll help us, won't you? The more, the better. And I know you're not a bad person. How about a truce?"

"Hah. You're pretty naive." Sheena slowly got to her feet. "I owe the people of this town for food and shelter. I'll go with you."

"Well, then let's start over. I'm Lloyd Irving, pleased to meet you."

Sheena smiled very faintly.

"I won't be coming along."

Everyone turned to look at Alice, stunned.

"Why not? You said it yourself that we have to help them!", Lloyd exclaimed.

"I did, but – the people here need my help, too, that's why I want to stay."

"The people here are dead."

"Not all of them. I can help them – ease their pain, give them hope. The six of you will be fine, I'm sure of it."

"You're a strong fighter, Alice", Raine said quietly. "I would have liked to see you fight alongside us."

"You'll get a summoner instead", Alice replied, smiling. "And from what I've heard, her powers are something to see."

What's this? Has she had Sheena watched, too?

---

Standing by the window, Larkin watched the scene unfold before his eyes. The Desians were burning down houses and herding humans together like livestock – which was exactly what they were to them. Those trying to fight back were killed without mercy.

Larkin had managed to hide about 15 humans in the hidden room below his house. The entrance to the cellar was hidden inside a chest, the floor of the chest being a trapdoor. The Desians left him alone, since he was a half-elf, and they would never expect him to help the villagers.

Larkin had to admire that stranger girl's courage for taking the Desians on all by herself. He could only hope that she knew what she was doing. Even though Larkin could control 5 elements up to level 3, he was unable to do anything – for if he did, the Desians would kill him, too, and destroy his house – and most likely find the people hiding underneath.

Slightly surprised, he raised an eyebrow as a massive flood wave came rushing down the street. He had a feeling he knew who was behind this.

His suspicions were confirmed a few moments later when Alice came storming down the street, followed by a small group of fighters. And Larkin now had confirmation that she hadn't been lying about Kratos – he hadn't changed a bit in 14 years.

The tall boy who was with them had to be his grandson – Lloyd. Then there were two half-elves and a winged girl who had to be the Chosen.

Soon, they vanished from sight as they hurried to take on the Desians. And only moments later, a series of huge explosions came from the direction Alice and the others had been headed... Larkin grabbed the windowsill.

Oh, Martel... please, don't let anything happen to them... not after they managed to survive all those years...

---

"Lloyd, wait a minute."

He turned to face Alice.

"What is it?"

"I need to ask something of you."

She waved her hand. Lloyd felt a strange sensation, as if a curtain had just brushed over his body.

"What was that?", he asked warily.

"A simple spell that will prevent others from listening in on us, what I'm about to tell you is private... I don't want them to know."

"Er – right. Just tell me."

"My mother – she was murdered by the Desians – under Kvar's orders. He is responsible for her death and I wanted to avenge her... but since I'm not going to the ranch, I wanted to ask you to carry out the deed in my place. Kvar deserves to die."

"I'll see what I can do. Shouldn't be too difficult."

"Be careful", she warned him. "Kvar is strong, and cruel. He'll do anything to kill you and take that Exsphere from you."

"You know everything, don't you? Why do they want my Exsphere so badly?"

"I must disappoint you... I was unable to find that out. Your Exsphere has to be special in some way, or they wouldn't bother. All the more reason not to let them have it."

"It's the only thing I've got left of my Mum. I won't let anyone have it!"

"That's the spirit! You can do it. My thoughts will always be with you."

---

Larkin opened the door when he saw Aodhan and Alice approach his house.

"Grandpa!"

The girl threw her arms around his neck, while Aodhan kept his distance for now.

"Alice! How are you? How was your journey?"

She let go of him and stepped into the house.

"It's so irritating that I have to hide my feelings from Dad and Lloyd. Dad is suffering, too... But I enjoyed the time I spent with Lloyd immensely. I'm so glad he's fine."

"Still fine", Aodhan corrected her. "If everything goes according to Cruxis' plans, your little brother will soon be a corpse."

"How does Kratos feel about this?", Larkin asked.

"He is deeply worried about Lloyd. He asked me for help... Well, I'll do what I can."

"Say, Alice, are you ever going to introduce me to your sister?"

"Yes, but I'll wait with that until Dad is far, far away. Otherwise, this wouldn't be a good idea."

"Your dad", Aodhan muttered with a scowl. "I still can't believe he gave me 'The Talk'."

"He did what?", Larkin gasped, alarmed.

"I was still fighting to regain consciousness and didn't hear all of that particular conversation", Alice said with a frown. "What exactly did he say to you?"

"He very bluntly demanded to know what kind of relationship we had", Aodhan replied sourly.

"He did what?!", Larkin yelped.

"He also pointed out the fact that any children we might have – hypothetically speaking – would be half-elves."

"I don't know what to say to that", Larkin replied, closing his eyes.

"Well, I sort of understand where he's coming from", Alice said quietly. "His father was a half-elf, too, which is why he can use magic in the first place. And later, he had three half-elven friends, one of whom got murdered because she was a half-elf, and now her insane brother is on a quest to bring her back to life. Dad was probably worried our children would suffer, just like his father and his friends did."

"I can understand that", Larkin replied. "But I am worried he might be catching on."

"About me? I don't think so – I confuse him, a lot, and he can't seem to make up his mind about me."

"It was still very bizarre", Aodhan groused. "We're strangers to him, and he still felt the need to say what he did. I had a hard time keeping my temper in check. It's not the kind of thing you want to hear from the father of the girl you love."

Larkin shot Aodhan a surprised look – people didn't usually admit to their feelings just like that, after all – but he didn't seem to think it strange, and Alice merely hummed in response, as though she thought it perfectly ordinary, too. Then, Larkin remembered that she was an empath.

She can sense the emotions of everyone around her. It must be quite a burden sometimes...

"I mean, he hasn't been around to be a father to you for the last 14 years", Aodhan continued his rant. "He doesn't get to start now. How dare he lecture me about abandoning his family!"

"He didn't abandon us, you know", Alice replied quietly. "He's being eaten alive by the guilt of not having been able to protect any of us."

Aodhan's eyes widened slightly. "I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me."

"Apology accepted."

"He did surprise me when he started talking about his parents, though", Aodhan said to Larkin, thoughtfully. "I'd known about his father being a half-elf, of course, but Alice never told me anything beyond that."

"It never really came up", she replied with a shrug. "But, yeah, grandfather didn't have a very happy life."

"Did you get to meet your paternal grandparents, Alice?", Larkin asked.

"I did. They're both very lovely people, despite what happened to them in life, and they love me dearly. They get along well with Mum and Rose, too, as well as with grandma Seren. Though they spend most of their time hovering around Kratos. He worries them a lot."

"That's understandable", Larkin muttered. "I mean, I'm worried about him, and I've only seen a glimpse of him today."

"This journey is taking its toll on him", Alice replied. "He is in a much worse state than he was when I went to negotiate with Yggdrassil."

"Say, Alice, what does the rest of your family look like?", Aodhan asked. "It's just that – you don't seem to resemble Larkin at all, except for your eyes."

"Hm... Both Cyrus and Zoe were already very old when they died, so I don't know what they actually looked like in their youth – I was told that Zoe had flaming red hair, though, and her eyes had the same red tinge that Kratos' have. Cyrus' hair was more of a coppery shade, he had brown eyes as well. Mum had hair the same colour as Lloyd, and she got Larkin's eyes. Grandmother had dark brown hair and green eyes – and she passed down her curls to Mum and me."

"I see. So, Lloyd inherited your mother's hair colour and your dad's eyes."

"Yup. Though, apparently, his face also looks a lot like Dad's."

"Ah, yes. Good grief, for a second there I was worried that Colette would figure out that they were related – thank goodness you were able to distract her", Aodhan replied.

"Hm. But even if they noticed the resemblance between Dad and Lloyd, they still shouldn't suspect that he is his father – I mean, he looks like he's in his late twenties. That's too young to have a 17-year-old son."

"I suppose."

"Where are the others, anyway?", Larkin asked. "Shouldn't they be resting?"

"They're off to save the villagers. And I set Lloyd on Kvar's trail."

"I just hope this'll work out fine", Aodhan said.

"Dad is with him. And I'll do all in my power to keep him safe. But I think it's about time to let the villagers out of the cellar."

They went over to the chest and started emptying it. Once they were done, Larkin unlocked the trapdoor and Alice descended into the underground room she had had to hide in so many times as a child.

"The Desians are gone, you can come out again."

Slowly, the villagers climbed up the steps. All of them stared at Aodhan when they noticed him and Larkin suspected most of them hadn't seen an elf before.

"We have a lot to do", Alice said. "I want to help you, but I'll need your assistance. Please gather all the dead and bring them to the Fountain Plaza."

"Wouldn't it be better to bury them right away?", one of the men asked.

"I want to try resurrecting them."

"Alice! There's too many of them!", Aodhan exclaimed. "I know you used this technique before, but those were two separate occasions! Do you know how many people died here?!"

"I'll ask Sylph for help."

"This is insane!"

"Should the worst happen, just make me drink this", she replied, holding up a small bottle. "I'm determined to try, and you won't be able to stop me. You know that."

Aodhan gave in and took the bottle.

The villagers did as Alice asked and started to recover the dead. Larkin gathered the children and cooked them a meal to keep them occupied and out of the adults' way.

Once they had finished eating, they bugged him into taking them to the Fountain Plaza. Alice was standing right in front of the fountain, the dead were lying in a semicircle around her. Luckily, the Desians had held back on killing, so there weren't too many. Alice was just absorbing mana from Sylph.

A strange, serene silence had spread over the onlookers. Even those unfamiliar with magic knew that what Alice was going to attempt was very difficult. Larkin placed a hand on Aodhan's shoulder. The elf smiled briefly.

"Departed soul, heed my call! Return to this world, come back to life! Resurrection!"

A huge pair of white wings appeared in the air above them. Something on Alice's chest started to glow blue, and then mana flowed from her body into the pair of wings, and from there down onto the villagers.

The first stirred and sat up, looking slightly disorientated. One after another, more of them awakened as Alice kept releasing more and more mana.

Aodhan squeezed the bottle tightly. Larkin suppressed the urge to smile. Maybe those two would be able to show the world there was another way.

Finally, it was over. Alice had managed to resurrect every single person. Overjoyed families rejoined their beloved ones. And the fact that Alice looked as if she was about to faint didn't keep her from smiling happily.

---

"Why exactly did you have to press that button?", Lloyd fumed.

They were standing just inside the fence of the Asgard Ranch, illuminated by the beams of several spotlights, surrounded by countless Desians.

"I thought it would deactivate the security system", Sheena tried to defend herself.

"Oh my", Raine said. "What a clumsy assassin."

Letting out a cry of rage, Sheena drew one of her cards.

"I'll show you I'm not just some 'clumsy assassin'! Shikigami! Ni! Suoren!"

Amazed, Lloyd looked up at the birdlike creature Sheena had summoned. Colette, Genis and Raine were no less impressed.

The creature spread its arms. Lloyd couldn't see what it was, but something attacked the Desians, slicing clean through armour, flesh and bone.

"You'd better hurry, Shikigami don't last long!", Sheena called.

"Right", Colette replied. "Please be careful!"

"You too – get going already!"

"I'll carve a path", Kratos said to Lloyd. "Are you ready?"

"Heh, who do you think you're talking too?"

For a very brief moment, the mercenary smiled, then, he rushed forward with Lloyd right on his heels. Genis, Raine and Colette supported them with magic.

As soon as they had enough space to move, they hurried over to one of the buildings and inside. Raine locked the door.

"What about Sheena?", Colette asked.

"She's on her own", Kratos replied. "But since she's a strong fighter, I'm not too worried about her."

"And what now? This place is huge, it'll take us hours to locate the prisoners", Genis said.

"I'll try using the computer terminal over there", Raine replied.

But just as she was starting to access the data, one of the doors leading further into the building opened and Botta came hurrying into the room, followed by several of his men.

"Uh-oh, those are the Desians we met in Triet!", Lloyd said, shifting into a fighting stance.

"They still think we're Desians!", one of the uniformed men chuckled.

"Sir! This is the perfect opportunity!", another said.

"Are you looking for a fight?", Kratos asked.

"Wait", Botta ordered. "Kratos is with them."

"You know each other?", Lloyd asked, surprised.

"I suppose if you mean that we ran into them in Iselia and Triet...", Kratos replied.

"I think it would be in both of our interest not to fight here", Botta said.

"Do as you please", Kratos replied.

He stepped aside, and the soldiers hurried past them and out through another door.

"Hurry, Raine, this place gives me the creeps", Genis said quietly.

Lloyd, too, felt slightly uneasy. Everything seemed horribly familiar...

"I've found them. This way."

They went through one of the doors – and stopped dead. Before them, huge Exspheres were being transported across the room via conveyor belts.

"Is this – an Exsphere manufacture?", Raine asked.

"My, this is interesting", a cold voice behind them spoke. "When I was informed we had some rats, I thought of the renegade Botta and his goons, but instead I only find a bunch of miserable creatures..."

They spun around. The speaker was a man with pale blonde hair and cold, cruel eyes. He was carrying a staff in his right hand. And he was currently staring at Lloyd like a hawk eyeing its next meal.

"Who are you?", Lloyd asked.

"You certainly have nerves. You burst into my ranch and then demand my name?"

"This is Kvar, one of the Five Desian Grand Cardinals", Kratos explained quietly.

"Well, it would seem that at least someone knows me", Kvar huffed.

Suddenly, Colette noticed something.

"Why are there people up there?", she asked, pointing up at another conveyor belt leading in from another room and into a strange, big box. Prisoners were being transported into the box, from which emerged – Exspheres.

"Oh, this is where the Exspheres are removed from their host bodies", Kvar said dismissively.

Everyone stared at him.

"You mean to say Exspheres are made from human bodies?!", Raine finally managed.

"Not exactly. Exspheres are dormant at first. They awaken by extracting nutrition and energy from their hosts."

"That's horrible!", Genis exclaimed.

"Horrible? Horrible is what you have done. Stealing and using Exspheres we invested so much time and care in! But finally, I will get back what was stolen by that filthy female host body!"

"Female – host body?", Lloyd asked, confused.

"You don't know anything, do you?", Kvar sneered. "That Exsphere was cultivated on host body A-020 – human name Anna – your mother."

Lloyd gasped.

"She took it with her when she fled from here... Of course, she paid for that crime with her life."

"You – you killed my mum?!"

"Now, now, don't go accusing me. I wasn't the one who killed Anna. Your father did."

"You lie!"

"When her Exsphere, which was lacking a Key Crest, was removed, she turned into a monster. And your own father killed her. Pathetic, don't you think?"

"Do not speak ill of the dead!", Kratos snapped.

"Lloyd, your Exsphere is the result of years of time-consuming research, and it was supposed to be an offering to our leader, Lord Yggdrassil! Now, for the glory of our leader, as well as for the sake of my own success, I need that Exsphere!"

"Over my dead body!"

"That is the general idea, yes. Unfortunately, though, I am a very busy man and don't have the time to deal with you inferior creatures myself. My underlings will take care of this nasty business for me instead."

He turned and left the room. Lloyd felt fury welling up inside him.

"You won't get away, you monster!"

Without taking the time to think, Lloyd drew his swords and dashed after Kvar.

---

Shocked, Kratos stared after them before pulling himself together.

"Raine, you take lead of the others. Find the prisoners and evacuate them. I'll go after Lloyd."

Grabbing the hilt of his sword with his left hand, he sprinted after Lloyd and Kvar. He could still see his son ahead of him, but suddenly, a door closed right in front of him, cutting off his path. And Kratos could tell it was impervious to magic.

Damn... He baited Lloyd, so he could lure him away from us... I need to find the mechanism to open this door.

Kratos dashed back the way he had come until he found a computer terminal and started hacking into the program.

I just hope I'll make it in time... I can't lose him. Not again.

---

Lloyd only vaguely registered that the others hadn't followed him. Chasing after Kvar – who was a surprisingly fast runner – he finally emerged into a large room full of strange machines. Kvar was currently talking to a woman with long green hair, but something told Lloyd she wasn't really in this room – he could look through her.

"It is clear that you have stolen data from my Angelus Project, Pronyma!", Kvar snapped.

"I have no idea what you are talking about. I also heard that Rodyle dragged you into his schemes. You should not think you can deceive Lord Yggdrassil for long."

"Spare me, Pronyma. Once I retrieve the Exsphere from that inferior being, I will become the leader of the Five Desian Grand Cardinals. And when that happens, you will be begging for mercy."

"Keep dreaming, Kvar." The woman looked at Lloyd. "So this is Lloyd? Yes, I see the resemblance."

Who the hell is it that I'm supposed to resemble?!

"Unfortunately, I have no more time I could waste on you", Pronyma said to Kvar. "Good luck."

The next moment, she simply vanished – as if you would blow out a light. Lloyd realised that her body had been projected by coloured light – however that was possible.

"So, the Mana Canon isn't a secret any longer... No matter. Now, I'll take care of you, Lloyd Irving."

"Like hell you will! I'm going to avenge my mother!"

"You may try."

Kvar clicked his fingers and three little machines appeared out of nowhere. They were floating in the air and then, suddenly, they attacked Lloyd with bolts of lightning. Lloyd managed to deflect them with his shield charm. Kvar used the distraction to attack him directly. Soon, Lloyd was busy warding off the attacks by Kvar and the energy stones at the same time. And things weren't looking too good, either... Lloyd had never fought one of the Grand Cardinals before.

Suddenly, Lloyd felt a great weariness overcome him as he realised that his mother had been killed by a parasite – the Exsphere. The blue glow of said Exsphere faded, and Lloyd's concentration broke.

Kvar aimed a sweep at Lloyd's legs and threw him to the ground.

"Come on! Is this truly all you got? The perfect Exsphere is still intact, so you have no need to hold back! Show me its power!"

Lloyd leapt to his feet and attacked again. Kvar, however, parried with ease and the next moment, Lloyd was lying flat on his back again.

"Now that you know that Exspheres are made from human lives, have you lost your will to fight? There you have it... no matter how many jewels it may wear, the child of two insects can never become a butterfly."

Lloyd brandished his left sword and hit Kvar's knee. The Desian's eyes flashed angrily, and he knocked the sword out of Lloyd's hand, then, he raised his staff over his head. Another attack by the energy stones made Lloyd's body twist and spasm.

"Time to die, Lloyd Irving!"

"Lloyd! Don't give up! You still have some strength left!"

Power seemed to pour out from deep within him. At the same time, a bolt of lightning knocked the staff out of Kvar's hand.

Kvar glanced up at something behind Lloyd.

"What the – you!"

"Lloyd! Now!"

Lloyd moved his right arm upwards and stabbed Kvar in the gut. Kvar jumped backwards and summoned his energy stones for another attack.

Sheena appeared literally out of nowhere, grabbed Lloyd and dragged him out of harm's way – just in time, for Kratos came storming past them and impaled Kvar with his blade.

"Kratos – you pathetic inferior being!"

"Feel the pain of those inferior beings, as you burn in hell!"

Kratos drew his arm back and the Desian collapsed.

Sheena was still holding Lloyd in her arms, as if she was worried Kvar would get up again. Lloyd was shocked to see the expression on Kratos' face: pure hatred. He'd never seen Kratos lose control like that before.

---

Feeling exhausted, Kratos leaned against the nearest pillar and closed his eyes. Lloyd was safe, Sheena was looking after him.

Finally, I managed to atone for part of my sins.

A hand lightly touched his shoulder.

"I know how you must feel."

"Alice."

"Look at me."

When he didn't react, she turned him to face her. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes.

"It must have been hard for you, but it's over", she said in a surprisingly soft tone. "The one responsible for her death has paid for it."

Kratos ran a hand through his hair. Somehow, this didn't make him feel much better.

"Here", she said, handing him a small bottle. "Drink this. It'll help."

"What is this?"

"Simplified, it's a drug that acts as a sedative. I use it quite often myself. You're restless, and that's not like you. I'd rather not risk you doing something you might live to regret."

"So, in the end, you expect me to trust you."

Alice smiled sweetly. "If you won't drink it on your own accord, I'm going to make you. And we both know that I could restrain you if I wanted to. Besides, you shouldn't talk back to the healer."

Having seen what she could do with magic, Kratos decided to give in. He didn't fancy the thought of getting encased in rock, or ice.

He took a swig. Almost immediately, he felt himself relax.

"Thanks."

Alice smiled briefly, pocketed the bottle, and went over to Sheena and Lloyd.

"Are you all right?", she asked them.

"Some scratches", Sheena replied.

"He got me, but it's not bad", Lloyd added.

"I'd better take a look, then", Alice stated.

"How did you manage to catch up with us?", Lloyd asked.

"I used teleportation magic. I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner, but there was much to do in the village."

"What about the prisoners? They have Exspheres attached to them, right?", Lloyd asked.

"I can try healing them", Alice replied.

"Forget it, Alice", Aodhan said, making himself visible. "Even you couldn't do that – you'd just die trying."

"I could write to my Dad", Lloyd suggested. "We can send them to Iselia."

"Do you know in what kind of state they're in? Some of them just won't make it that far!", Alice protested.

"They should have some Key Crests here", Kratos said, moving over to join them.

"That's right, I saw a storage room on my way here", Sheena replied.

"Go and pick up as many as you can, then leave this building right away", Alice ordered.

"What about you?", Lloyd asked.

"I'll set the system to self-destruct, so you'd better hurry."

"You can do that?", Kratos asked in disbelief.

Alice made a shooing motion, then, she turned and went over to the control panels, Aodhan following close behind.

"Do they always do everything together?", Sheena asked as they left the room. "I'd go crazy if a guy kept following me around like that..."

"Why's that?", Lloyd asked.

"Because I know someone who just loves to do that", she replied darkly.

They grabbed as many Key Crests as they could carry and then hurried out of the building. Blár and Chestnut were waiting near the entrance, apparently Alice wanted to be able to get away quickly.

Raine and the others had already moved the prisoners outside. Lloyd herded them farther away from the building before they started equipping Key Crests onto those who needed them the most. Seconds later, the sound of the first explosion startled them.

"What are we waiting for?", Raine asked.

"Alice and Aodhan are still inside", Lloyd replied.

"Why did they come? I thought she wanted to help the people in town."

"I dunno."

"I can see them!", Colette called.

The others turned to see the two riders, black against the sea of flames erupting behind them. Kratos had a feeling that Alice had fuelled the flames with magic. Around them, pieces of the Asgard Ranch rained to the ground.

Alice and Aodhan reined their horses in next to them. Looking very relived, Alice whispered words in the tongue of the elves under her breath.

Aodhan placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Let's go back to Luin."

---

As they approached the village, Lloyd was surprised to see a rather large crowd come out to meet them. And the next moment, countless happy reunions were taking place. Alice slid off Blár's back, only to be immediately surrounded by the cheering crowd.

"Our heroine returns!"

"She's a saint!"

"A holy being! An angel!"

"It's a miracle!"

Looking slightly shocked, Alice tried to stop the people from thanking her and making her a local celebrity.

"Leave them be, Alice!", Aodhan advised. "You're the villagers' saviour. Enjoy it!"

Alice hissed something incomprehensible in reply.

Lloyd gave Aodhan a questioning look.

"What did she say?"

"She doesn't want to be hero-worshipped. It makes her uneasy", the elf whispered back.

"Why?"

"She once said that blind loyalty and adoration are the most dangerous things in the world. It enables people to justify anything. For example, Alice killed Desians without mercy or hesitation. Now some might interpret that as 'it's justified to kill half-elves'. That's what Alice desperately wants to avoid."

"I see. I think I get her problem now... but I'm sure it'll be fine. If they put a foot out of line, she'll just knock some sense back into them."

Aodhan laughed. "Yes, that would be just like her."

"By the way, what happened here? There were corpses everywhere when we left..."

"Alice resurrected them."

"She can do that?", Kratos asked in disbelief.

"Yes – there are limitations, however. She needs a body to 'fill' the soul into, and it can't be too badly wounded, or Alice would use up too much of her strength during the resurrection process and endanger her life. She can't bring back your mother, Lloyd", he added softly. "Her body has long decayed."

"How – how did you know I was thinking about her?"

Aodhan gave him a sympathetic smile. "It's written all over your face. I'm sorry."

Lloyd nodded, his throat suddenly too tight to speak. For a brief moment, he had hoped, but... no. He turned away and moved through the joyous crowd in a daze. Reaching the shore of Lake Sinoa, he stopped and took the Exsphere out of the Key Crest, eyeing it with disgust.

Mum... so this thing killed you... it drove you mad...

He raised his hand to throw it into the lake.

"You shouldn't do that."

"Kratos... I know that without it, I'm just a normal kid who couldn't possibly fight. But still – this thing killed my mother!"

Lloyd swung his arm back. Kratos stepped forward and caught Lloyd's arm.

"So? Your mother didn't become a victim because she wanted to, but I doubt she'd wanted to be discarded like this. She lives on inside the Exsphere – and inside you."

Lloyd opened his hand and let the Exsphere fall into the grass. As soon as Kratos released his arm, he dropped onto his knees and hid his face in his hands. Kratos stooped down to pick the Exsphere up. Then, he left.

Mum... Dad...

He didn't know how much time had passed when he felt a hand touch his shoulder.

"I know your pain..."

Alice's voice was gentle, but firm.

"I avenged her..."

"Yes... you did... thank you."

Lloyd could feel tears running down his cheeks. Alice crouched down next to him, wrapped her arms tightly around him and held him as sobs racked his body. She started humming a melody Lloyd was unfamiliar with as she waited patiently for him to finish voicing his grief.

Strangely enough, Lloyd soon calmed down a little. He had a feeling Alice could even heal wounded souls.

---

Sheena slowly walked through the streets of the ruined city. Aodhan and the Sage-siblings had started to help the villagers with moving rubble and such, and the others had simply disappeared.

Sheena felt like she didn't belong here. Those people were more or less strangers to her, and what was even worse, she was supposed to prevent the regeneration of their world.

Some of the villagers spotted Sheena.

"Hey, weren't you among the people who fought the Desians?"

"And you helped to rescue the prisoners! Thank you so much!"

"Ah – d-don't mention it."

Sheena gave them a forced smile and hurried away. Dashing around a corner, she leaned against a wall and tried to calm herself.

"The people like you, but you don't seem happy about it. Why?"

Sheena jumped. It was the little Chosen.

"Things aren't as simple as you may think."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't intend to tell you."

"Why are you so unfriendly?"

"Why are you even talking to me?", Sheena asked, pushing herself away from the wall and looking the shorter girl straight into the eye. "Aren't you scared of me?"

"No, why would I be? We're friends!"

Sheena stared at her in disbelief, then snorted. "You're so naive, even worse than Lloyd! I tried to kill you, remember?"

"That's right, but - "

"Colette!"

Both girls turned to see that Raine had appeared at the intersection up ahead.

"I have to go!"

Colette broke into a run, stumbled for no obvious reason, and fell flat on her face.

And they say I'm clumsy...

Sheena continued her walk until she eventually reached Larkin's house, which was, thankfully, still standing. She was surprised to see Alice, who was supporting Lloyd. Sheena hurried over to meet them.

"Did something happen?"

The boy looked at her without saying anything. His eyes were reddened and glassy.

What the – did he cry?

"His nerves couldn't take it", Alice replied quietly. "But it'll pass... Could you open the door for me?"

Sheena nodded and hurried to do as Alice asked. Alice helped Lloyd up the stairs and into a room. Sheena began to wonder how Alice knew her ways around this house. Did she know Larkin?

Alice helped Lloyd sit down on one of the beds and then handed him a bottle.

"Drink this. It'll help."

He drank the potion without any objection. He just managed to hand it back to Alice before he slumped over. Alice put the bottle away, then, she pulled off Lloyd's boots and opened the sword-belts.

"A-Alice! What are you doing?! This isn't right!"

Rather unimpressed by her words, Alice started to unbutton Lloyd's jacket.

"I'm a healer. And he can't sleep fully dressed, can he? But if it bothers you, feel free to turn around."

Sheena did as suggested. After a while, Alice announced that she was done and Sheena turned back to face her. Alice was tucking Lloyd neatly under his blanket and smoothing his hair out of his face, seeming like Lloyd's mother right now – which was crazy, considering they had to be about the same age.

"Well then, I'll be going - "

"Wait. Fujibayashi Sheena from Mizuho, we need to talk."

"How did you know?!"

"I grew up in Heimdall."

"So that's why you're travelling with Aodhan – you're the 'elf human'! Does this mean you're on my side?"

"No. I'm on no one's side, I have my own agenda – and that includes Colette staying alive. I will not allow you to harm her."

"Then I'll just have to kill you!"

Alice snorted softly. "You already had a go at Kratos, and I'm even stronger than he is, so you'd better dismiss that plan quickly. I would really hate it if I had to kill you. Now, please listen carefully. I want to stop World Regeneration, for my own reasons. Yuan helped you to get here, didn't he? I've known him for 14 years, and I don't like his methods. There are other ways than murdering the innocent."

"I – can't keep up with you."

"We will prevent World Regeneration from happening. But you mustn't kill the Chosen! Got that?"

"Y-yeah..."

"If you attack or bother her in the slightest, I shall know. And I will show no mercy."

"I just hope you're serious about stopping them."

"I'm dead serious, believe me. Good night, Sheena. May the Great Tree watch over you."

Sheena went to the room Alice had assigned to her to find Colette sitting on one of the beds. Without saying a word, Sheena moved over to one of the bedside tables while pulling out her throwing knives, dagger and spell cards. Then, she pulled her boots off and untied her sash.

Colette still hadn't moved.

"I won't harm you", Sheena said. "You can go to sleep without any worries."

"I can't sleep."

"Are you feeling sick? You should at least have something to eat, then."

"I'm not hungry."

"When did you last eat something?"

Colette merely shrugged. Sheena stared at her.

This isn't normal. What's wrong with her? I just hope she won't die during the night – for Alice would surely put the blame on me.

---

As Kratos was searching the village for the others, he suddenly found himself face to face with Larkin.

Kratos swallowed hard. It had been 14 years since they had last seen one another, and so much had changed... He would never admit that to anyone, but he was nervous about this meeting.

"Kratos. So, you're actually still alive."

Well, if that didn't sound encouraging.

"Larkin. It's been a while."

"I thought that you had died. Just like Anna."

"About that – I - "

Larkin held up a hand to silence him.

"I heard. I know that you loved her. And that you would have never done anything to harm her."

Kratos closed his eyes. "I wish I could have saved her..."

"That is pointless. The only thing you can do is make sure you don't repeat your mistakes."

Kratos frowned. What was Larkin getting at? He couldn't know Lloyd was his grandson – could he?

"You'll be staying at my house, rooms are shared as follows: you and Lloyd, Alice and Aodhan, the Sage-siblings, Sheena and Colette - "

"You think it wise to let those two share a room? Sheena already tried to take the Chosen's life."

"I have no other rooms to spare. And Alice will make sure there won't be any killings in my house."

"I see."

Kratos didn't find that particularly reassuring, but made no further comment.

Since Larkin didn't seem to be interested in a lengthy conversation, Kratos awkwardly excused himself and beat a hasty retreat. He'd known that there was a chance they'd run into Larkin if they went to Luin, and he hadn't doubted for a second that Larkin would recognise him, either. He had tried to prepare himself for a potential encounter, had rehearsed in his mind what he would say, had imagined all the different ways this conversation could go – only to be completely blindsided by his father-in-law who, apparently, didn't blame him at all for what had happened. It seemed inconceivable – Kratos blamed himself for Anna's death on an almost daily basis. Larkin was her father. How could he not be angry? How could he not resent Kratos? After his wife's early death, Anna had become the center of his life. He'd welcomed Kratos as a son-in-law with open arms, and had always given them shelter whenever their wanderings brought them to Luin. When the twins had been born, Larkin had doted on them to the best of his ability, redoubling his efforts to help provide for them, despite the fact that, as a grandfather, he wasn't obliged to do so.

Kratos had taken everything from him. His daughter, his granddaughter, his grandson. Well, as it turned out, the grandson was actually still alive. Despite that, Kratos couldn't bring himself to make Larkin aware of this fact – for one, it would be cruel to Larkin to reunite them now, only for Lloyd to (most likely) die not long after. And it would, no doubt, lead to awkward questions. Larkin didn't know anything about the relationship between Kratos and Lloyd and had, naturally, no idea Kratos might be concealing the fact that he was Lloyd's father. Reuniting these two was, therefore, out of the question.

Now he could only hope that Lloyd and Larkin wouldn't figure out that they shared the same family name.

When Kratos entered his designated bedroom, Lloyd was lying in one of the beds, fast asleep. Alice was sitting in a chair next to the bed, her eyes closed. However, Kratos very much doubted she was sleeping. After he had closed the door, she finally looked up.

"What did you do to him?"

"You make it sound as if I committed a crime."

Alice sounded hurt. Somehow, she managed to make him feel bad about it.

"Well, I guess that was a bit harsh..."

"To answer your question, I gave him some medicine so he will have a dreamless sleep tonight. After what he's been through, I thought it for the best."

"I see."

"I could give you some of the potion, too, if you like."

Kratos considered her offer. "Thanks, but I prefer not to sleep at all."

"That's fine with me."

"By the way, what were you thinking, letting Colette and Sheena share a room?"

She sighed. "Why did I know you'd bring that up? I told Sheena what would happen to her should Colette die at her hands. She won't do anything – she's too scared of me."

"Are you certain? Why are you trying to protect her, anyway? I thought you were against World Regeneration."

"I already told you I dislike violence, didn't I? Besides, it would hurt Lloyd, and I promised to protect him from harm."

"Do you know what kind of relationship Lloyd and Colette have?"

"She's in love with him head over heels. About Lloyd – they've known each other for a long time, and he is likely to develop the same feelings for her – he might actually already love her without realising it."

"How far would he go to protect her?"

Alice looked at him, her gaze piercing. "He'd die for her. And the others as well."

"That certainly doesn't make things easier."

"You're right", she agreed, rising from the chair. "Should you need anything, you can go ask Aodhan."

A few minutes later, Kratos heard a loud "thump" coming from the room next door. He hurried over to see what was going on. Alice was lying sprawled on the floor, Aodhan was currently pulling her boots off.

"What happened?"

"She put herself to sleep", the elf replied.

"She ought to have sat down beforehand", Kratos pointed out.

"I believe she just wanted to get away from everything, as quickly as possible. She was past her breaking point... Alice isn't as strong as she always pretends to be. And you – you keep hurting her. Even if you might not realise it."

Sending a glare in Kratos' direction, he removed Alice's cloak and sword-belt, then, he unlaced her jerkin. As he picked her up and carried her over to one of the beds, Kratos thought he'd seen something silver around her neck, but Aodhan quickly hid it underneath her tunic.

"You need something?", he asked Kratos over his shoulder.

"No, thank you."

Kratos turned away and made his way back to his room.

He knew that, from a logical point of view, he shouldn't be bothered by the fact that he had hurt Alice, or that she had just used the same potion she had given Lloyd (presumably) to knock herself out. She was his enemy, after all. Despite that, he couldn't deny the fact that she hadn't done anything to hamper his mission or harm his companions so far, despite the fact that she could have very easily done both – hell, she had had a perfect opportunity to get rid of him earlier, and had passed it up. Thinking of her as an enemy had become progressively harder the more time he'd spent with her – and Kratos wasn't entirely sure why. It wasn't like she was actively trying to get on his good side or anything, she seemed much more interested in forming bonds with the younger members of his group instead.

Kratos also couldn't deny that he felt like some sort of connection existed between them – and he had no idea what to make of that.

Maybe it was her eyes, he reasoned. They reminded him a lot of Anna.

He stilled as a sudden thought hit him. Lloyd had survived, despite the odds. Could Alice be – but no. If she had still been alive that day, Dirk would have found her, too. Lloyd had never mentioned having a sister, and there had been no traces of a third person living at Dirk's place, either. No, him seeing Anna's eyes in her face was nothing but wishful thinking – possibly fuelled by his desire to apologise, to make amends – even though he knew that he could never do that. He would never see those eyes again. Those eyes he had loved so much...

Now that he thought about it, he didn't even know how old Alice was. While her face looked young, her eyes were a different matter all together – they looked ancient, like she'd seen things no one – especially not one as young as her – should have ever seen. The shape and colour may be similar to Anna's, but the expression in her eyes was very different.

With a groan, Kratos sat down on his bed. It seemed that the only thing he was good at was bringing pain and misfortune to the people around him. He'd hurt Larkin. He'd killed Anna. He'd lost the twins – and was about to hurt the twin he'd found again. He was a horrible father. A horrible person.

Feeling a wave of desperation coming on, Kratos dropped his boots on the floor, divested himself of his sword and then curled up on his bed, trying to keep the flood of emotions at bay.

Part of him knew that he should stay awake, to keep an eye on Sheena – Alice was not a potential threat for once – but another longed for the oblivion of sleep. With a sigh, Kratos gave in to the pull and allowed himself to drift off, praying for a dreamless sleep.

---

A/N:

The scene where Genis falls into the river was inspired by the anime – the original was very short, and cut off right after Genis fell in – which, given Raine's fear of water, is a bit strange – this ought to be a very stressful moment for her, she might even be having flashbacks. But the anime just decided to not address that. Still, I thought it might make for a nice scene. Since I have no idea where that forest-y part with the river is supposed to be, I re-worked the geographic layout of the area between Asgard and Luin to suit my needs.

Caradilis recently mentioned that she likes it when people fight back-to-back, as it's a lovely sign of trust. I laughed and agreed, before replying, "And then there's Kratos and Alice." While Kratos could most definitely rely on Alice to have his back 100%, and part of him knew that instinctually, the rest of him freaked out.
In case you thought that all the drama started with Kratos, well, you were wrong. The Aurion family is one big mess, and all of Kratos' grandparents are awful.
And yes, Lloyd just forced Kratos to exposition about his parents.

Seriously, Kvar, why did you think that insulting Lloyd's parents right in front of him (and his dad) and threatening to kill him in front of his dad was a good idea? You were basically begging for death at that point.
The fight against Kvar was the scene that was edited most often and most heavily – I don't remember my first draft, but I based my second one strongly on what happened in the anime before deciding I didn't like that and writing this version instead. While the manga stuck very closely to what happens in the game, I didn't want to take the "Killing Kvar" thing away from Lloyd and Kratos by throwing other characters – including Alice – in the mix – sure, she'd have loved to have a go at him, but she also feared that she wouldn't be able to keep her cool around him – and that he might figure out who she was if she showed up with Lloyd and Kratos.

Depression time! Both Lloyd and Kratos have hit a pretty low point – though not their respective lowest points.
I was encouraged to delve a little deeper into Kratos' mind during his last PoV, and decided to hit him bad with guilt and memories. This, in turn, inspired me to write a new scene at the start of the next chapter. Kratos usually avoids sleep like the plague. This is gonna be fun.
Also, I took some minor inspiration from Jade Curtiss here – and his desire to bring back the person he accidentally killed so he can beg their forgiveness, and find absolution.
Lloyd has a pretty healthy approach to emotions and grief – he has zero problems crying in front of others, and wouldn't for a second believe that it made him weak or less "manly". If anyone were to tell him nonsense like "boys don't cry", "toughen up" or made him wear sunglasses (not that they have those in this world), he'd give them a stern lecture and, depending on their reaction, dump them.
While Alice – who has gone through the same thing as Lloyd, obviously – is very supportive and understanding of Lloyd's emotional needs, Sheena reacts in a very different manner. She is surprised Lloyd apparently allowed himself to be vulnerable in front of someone else. Now, Sheena would never tell Lloyd not to cry, but she'd do her utmost not to be caught crying by anyone.
Here's a more fun thought: Kvar now has to spend an eternity being hounded by Zoe, Seren and Cyrus, whenever they're not busy spying on people for Alice.

A note on magic:
While the game does tell us that it's possible to acquire magical powers by using Aionis, I never made the mental leap and worked out that Kratos may have done just that. Instead, I tried to figure out a way for a human to have elven blood – the solution seemed obvious: one human parent, the other a half-elf. This would also explain how wizards and witches – random enemies on the overworld map – happened. They don't appear to be half-elves.
To make things more fun, I made Anna's dad a half-elf as well.

Glossary:
Zoe – "life" (Greek)
Cyrus – "sun" or "far-seeing" (in this case, it's sun) (Persian)
Seren – "star" (Welsh)

The Aurion/Irving family has three themes for naming people: Greek names, Welsh names and celestial bodies.

---

Girlfriend Commentary

The others agreed, though Lloyd noticed something odd – the song seemed to have affected Kratos, who looked – wistful, for lack of a better word. (that's it, new headcanon, Kratos wrote that song. No, just kidding, but wouldn't it be a fun world if he had…)

Alice huffed. "Given your reaction to this one, I'd better not sing any of the mourning songs, or you'd all be on the ground, sobbing." (Pfffffft.)

"Of course not. But we do want to reach our destination eventually, don't we?" (Lol! Alice, your Kratos is showing.)

Kratos actually itched for a chance to rip off Kvar's head, but he thought it better to keep Lloyd well out of that monster's reach. (love it)

"I can heal myself", Kratos interjected. (Kratos this is not the moment to rely only on yourself)

"You want to stop us? I could simply crush you with my foot", Kratos replied. (Kratos?! Where are your manners?! Don't be rude to the doggo!)

"I suggest we look for some shelter. And someone should take her." He nodded towards Sheena. When he noticed Kratos and Raine hesitate, he narrowed his eyes at them. "Alice just risked her life to save hers. I'd love to see you try to explain to her why her patient died. Very much." "I just hope this doesn't turn out to be a mistake." Kratos bent down to pick Sheena up. (I am so in love with Aodhan at the moment, he is absolutely the cutest.)

Kratos decided to discuss this matter right away, since it bothered him. (Subconscious dad mode activated, I see)

"You know perfectly well what I mean. I noticed the way you look at her. Are you lovers?" (this conversation is so perfect)

"Kratos!", Lloyd exclaimed. "That's really none of your business!" (I mean, technically he is her father, he should make sure people have honourable intentions towards his daughter, but I can see how you're confused Lloyd)

"But why are you asking me that? It's just as Lloyd said: none of your business." (That's it, I'm done, Aodhan is perfect)

And indeed, this admission got surprised reactions out of all of them – with the exception of Raine, who had more tact than the rest. (Lol)

"I never knew", Aodhan said quietly. (Well, no shit, Aodhan, how obvious do you wanna be about secretly dating his daughter?)

The thought saddened him a bit, and he wondered if Lloyd felt the same way, not knowing if his father was still alive. (Awww)

"...what we make of our lives", Alice finished. (awwww, I think I just died of cuteness overload)

"Why didn't you stop? You also said you couldn't..." (Concerned dad mode activated, good job on the scolding)

"My mother – she was murdered by the Desians – under Kvar's orders. He is responsible for her death and I wanted to avenge her... but since I'm not going to the ranch, I wanted to ask you to carry out the deed in my place. Kvar deserves to die." (WHAT THE FUCK?! NO!)

"If everything goes according to Cruxis' plans, your little brother will soon be a corpse." (I love him, but can someone punch him, that was fucking insensitive)

"Though they spend most of their time hovering around Kratos. He worries them a lot." (for good reason, dude is suicidal as hell, 90% of his behaviour is unhealthily self-destructive and he's spent the last 14 years in a deep hole of self-loathing and depression… You'd have to be Zelos' bitch of a mother to not be worried when your child is like that)

"Hm. But even if they noticed the resemblance between Dad and Lloyd, they still shouldn't suspect that he is his father – I mean, he looks like he's in his late twenties. That's too young to have a 17-year-old son." (lol)

Lloyd, too, felt slightly uneasy. Everything seemed horribly familiar... (OUCH!)

"Forget it, Alice", Aodhan said, making himself visible (and here's the adorable stalker). "Even you couldn't do that – you'd just die trying."

"I avenged her..." (well, no, you almost got yourself killed. Your dad did the avenging)

He had a feeling Alice could even heal wounded souls. (or, you know, she's just your other half and your subconscious is happy to have your sister back)

"But if it bothers you, feel free to turn around." (Also, he's my brother, I don't like what you're implying I'm doing here!)

Alice was tucking Lloyd neatly under his blanket and smoothing his hair out of his face, seeming like Lloyd's mother right now – which was crazy, considering they had to be about the same age. (Penny in the air…)

"Thanks, but I prefer not to sleep at all." "That's fine with me." (Liar)