A/N: Here's the second part. This contains MAJOR spoilers for those that haven't at least gotten Presea on their team yet.
The betrayal was swift and unexpected, two things that the betrayer would want, and two things we, the betrayed, now hate. It was glaringly obvious that something was unusual about the man but she had hoped that it was insignificant.
Raine Sage hated it when she was wrong.
She blamed herself for allowing her friends to have to go through such a stressful ordeal as a betrayal which she could have tried to prevent. Kratos wasn't a violent man by nature, in fact, he was rather soft-spoken until the need for action arose. He might have been convinced to stay on their side if she had but tried to reach out to him...yet instead she had done the opposite. As much as she hated to admit it, she had pushed someone away.
How would it feel to try to understand someone when they will not let you see who they really are? How did he feel when she hid behind a mask and refused to allow him to remove it? If she was in his shoes, Raine knew it would have hurt. She would think that she hadn't gained the trust that she had been trying so hard to build with everyone on their little journey. Maybe not Sheena, for she had been trying to kill Colette for a while, but it would still hurt to know that there was no trust where it was due. Kratos deserved that trust that was denied him.
He had saved everyone countless times, but the only reason she didn't want to understand him, was that she was afraid that he would understand her in return.
Her thoughts were a jumbled mess as she trudged down the slope ahead of the group. A group that was one member short from what they had expected and another could barely be considered alive. Colette didn't deserve the cruel fate that had awaited her at the end of her journey. Kratos, however, was another matter. She hadn't known him long but the others all trusted him so she did too.
It was an arrogant thing he did, to throw that trust in their faces. He was planning to betray them since long before she joined up with Sylvarant's 'Chosen Group'! That no good, rotten, traitorous bastard! He was too cocky to begin with, always ordering everyone around in a soft voice, like we were all nothing but children who can't understand anything he says! Yet, it still hurt...but it's all his fault! Why should I give a damn?
Maybe it was because he knew that she was hiding something that Kratos was so persistant to see behind her mask. Then again, you never know...maybe it was something else. Perhaps he had been trying to see if she didn't reallytrust himbecause she might have known he was going to betray them? She hadn't really known that he was going to turn traitorous, but she did have some suspicions.
This is her fault. If only she had only gone on the information she had and confronted Kratos before they reached the Tower of Salvation then the others might not have had to go through the betrayal. She just might have made him stay on their side.
But what if she hadn't succeeded? Surely, once he knew someone knew his secret, Kratos wouldn't let her live to tell the others? The events at the Tower would have had a chance to unfold differently. Genis would be less confident without her, his sister, and wouldn't provide as much back support as needed. Then Lloyd and Sheena would have suffered more then they already had.
For some reason, though, she couldn't imagine Kratos killing her. In fact, the only person she could imagine killing her would be this new Colette who couldn't recognize anyone and only cared about self-defense. But maybe Sheena...
She would have to keep an eye on that summoner. Raine didn't want to have her younger brother go through another betrayal from someone he looked up to so quickly. She would protect the group, she had no choice.
And she would try to forget about Kratos.