Chapter 3

Sixteen Years Later

"Where is the chosen?" Botta demanded of an old woman outside of the temple of Martel. The old woman, who had blonde hair and leaned heavily on a walking stick, backed up into the doorway to the temple. As his men closed in, the old woman looked over his shoulder. Her eyes went wide. "Run Collete!" she yelled.

"Lord Botta, There she is!" said one of his men. Turning, Botta saw three children at the top of the stairway that led to the temple. The smallest had a blue shirt with gray trimming and a pair of blue shorts. He swung a kendama around, and Botta could immediately tell he was a half-elf by the scent of mana emanating from him.

Next to the half-elf, a girl, clearly the chosen, stood. She had long blonde hair, cheerful blue eyes, and a long white coat and black pants. In her hands, she held two chakrams. Next to her, a solidly built boy leaned on the two sword hilts tucked into his belt. He wore a red jacket and had short, spiky brown hair, and solemn brown eyes. A bandage had been wrapped around his hand, and, from the bulge it made, Botta assumed an exsphere hid underneath.

Facing the girl, Botta declared, "Chosen one, your life is mine," the swordsman drew one of his swords in a business-like way, and yelled back "I won't let you Desians get away with anything!"

"Desians? Hahahahahahahahaha!" laughed one of my men. It was rather amusing to us that, no matter what we did, the Desians were always blamed for it. "What's so funny!" asked the half-elf. The soldier who laughed smirked, then said "well then, die at the hands of the desians you so hate. Get them!" and he, with two other men, charged the children.

Botta stood back, watching the fight. It was obvious that these kids knew how to use their weapons, and to great effect. The soldiers had a hard time of it. Between the half-elf casting spells at them, the chosen throwing her chakrams at them, and the almost berserker-like style of the swordsman, the three were finally defeated.

As the disgraced soldiers ran away, Botta signaled for Vidarr, an elite soldier, to engage the children. Vidarr was the juggernaut in the ranks of the desians. His armor was several sizes too small, his helmet was adorned with two ram horns on either side of his head, and he wielded a huge mace, war hammer, and a broadsword, which was in the sheath on his back.

As he fought the children, it was clear that they were weakening. The half-elf mage stopped using spells, and slumped onto the ground, having used up most of his mana. The chosen and the swordsman followed soon after. The battle was definitely favored on Vidarr's side.

Just as Vidarr was about to deal the final blow, however, a clang of metal on metal, followed by Vidarr flying backwards, signified the entrance of another swordsman to the fight. This new swordsman had long red hair, which covered half of his face. He had a purple battle suit on, with a split cape that hung over his shoulders.

Botta cursed under his breath. What the hell is Kratos doing here! He thought. Had Cruxis sent him to guard the chosen? Or had he come on his own will? Botta wasn't sure, but he knew that once his mission was completed, Yuan would want to be notified of this.

"Who…who are you?" asked the brown-haired boy, looking at Kratos with amazement. Kratos, ever the one to not give overly-complicated speeches, simply glanced at him, and said, flatly "get out of the way" before turning back to Vidarr and charging forward. After a few moments, the Children jumped in.

The battle suddenly took a turn for the worst. As Kratos and the children attacked Vidarr, he continued to lose ground. He was big and strong enough, but not all that fast. Whenever he would turn to attack someone, another would come up from behind and attack, causing a lot of damage each time. After what seemed hours, though it was only a few minutes, the giant finally fell, unconscious, to the ground with a dull thud.

As Kratos sheathed his sword, Botta, who had watched the entire thing, said, his voice full of anger, "I never thought you'd show up here. Damn! Retreat for now!" with that, he ran down the stairs, his men following behind, carrying the still unconscious Vidarr between them.

A Few days Later

"You're quite sure it was Kratos?" Yuan asked Botta, back at the Base in Triet desert. Botta had just returned, and had delivered the news of his failure to eliminate the chosen along with the sighting of Kratos.

"I am positive, sir. He had long red hair and a cruxis crystal. That is how you described him to me," he said, looking into his commander's eyes.

Yuan sighed and sat down heavily on his chair. The bases in both worlds were almost exactly alike, to add simplicity to those who had inter-world missions to fulfill. His office, as well as Botta's quarters on the floor above, were in the same place as it was in Tethe'alla.

"and Kratos, along with children, were able to defeat three of your men and Vidarr?" Yuan asked, not angry, but more shocked at the fact that Botta's force, which Botta had personally trained, were beaten by such opponents. Botta could only nod. What else was there to do, when his elite force had been beaten by kids?

Yuan shook his head, and said, "Go and check on your men. I'll summon for you later." Botta nodded, and walked towards the door. As he was about to walk through it, he paused. "Yes?" asked Yuan, reading the puzzled look on Botta's mind.

Botta looked at him, wondering if he would understand something that had been on his mind ever since the encounter. "Sir, one of the children, the swordsman in the red jacket, bore an uncanny resemblance to Kratos. Do you know why, by any chance?"

Yuan looked at him, his expression unreadable. He knew that Kratos had had a wife, a smart and beautiful woman named Anna, and that she had given birth to a son. But when the boy was three years old, Anna's exphsere had been removed, turning her into a monster. Kratos had slain her in order to save her from the monstrous form, and she had fallen down a cliff, clutching the toddler to her. When Kratos had flown down to find her, she, and the boy whom they had called Lloyd, had vanished.

Yuan didn't think Botta needed to know that right no, though. "No, I haven't any idea. Kratos knows a lot of people who look somewhat like him. It's probably just a coincidence."

"I see. Thank you for clearing that up for me" Botta said, before exiting the room. Yuan, now alone, sat in his own personal thoughts. Had Kratos' child survived, and if so, how could he use this knowledge? After a while, he realized that, if it were indeed Kratos' son, he could use him to have Kratos lift the seal on Origin, the summon spirit of time and space. In order for Kratos to do this, however, he would have to release all the mana from his body.

What should I do? He thought to himself, should I confront Kratos about this boy or should I act on mere guesses? He eventually decided to let the situation develop, and to study this boy, the one with the strange exsphere. Having finally decided on this, he got up to leave. Just as he was about to leave, however, a boy ran right into the room!