A/N: I am SO sorry for waiting so long to update this story. I had to take some time off to reassess what all I want to do with what I am currently writing and plan on writing. On the down-side (for me at least), I have decided to put my original Star Ocean story on hold for an indefinite amount of time. On the plus side, this places "Crossing the Bridge" in the #2 slot on my priorities list, putting it just behind "Unconditional Love" in that respect. Although I loved my SO story, I felt that doing this was fairly obvious, considering that in 2 months and six chapters, SO got 14 reviews as compared to Crossing the Bridge's 16 reviews in 2 weeks with only one chapter. I NEVER expected this huge of a turnout for this story so… here we are now. Hope you enjoy the rest of this story!

Thank you all so much for all of the input I received concerning Regal and Raine's new looks. I will reveal in this chapter what I decided to go with. Although I accepted none of the full costumes you suggested at face-value for Regal, I did a little mixing and matching with all of your suggestions. Let's just say that what y'all had to say was better than what I had originally planned. With that said, it's time for "Respond to the Readers":

Raine's OOCness? – Yeah I'm sure I went overboard on this. I wanted to portray it as a sort of "straw that broke the camel's back" kinda deal, but even so, I overdid it. I'll try to revert her to her old self for now. However, as the story progresses, she is bound to soften up gradually.

Zelda's Fox 38 – Haha. Glad you liked it so much. If I knew that this pairing would be accepted like it has been, I woulda done this MUCH sooner. I guess I was just gettin' tired of seeing poor Regal getting left out of so many relationships. We always see Lloyd/ZelosXColette/Sheena (not all together. Match as appropriate), GenisXPresea, and RaineXKratos. Who is poor Regal left with? No one, so this is his chance to shine.

a drive-by reader – I already addressed the first part so I'll address your second comment. I honestly thought Regal's chains were about as long as I portrayed them. If they really aren't, oops.

Rosa – Glad you like the pairing Thank you for the compliment about me getting Regal down right. Of all the chars in ToS, I think I'm more like Regal than anyone else, so this was fairly easy for me.

Thanks to everyone else who R&R'd! I really appreciate it!

With that aside, on with the next chapter!

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Chapter 2: A New Journey

"But why?" Genis asked his sister as she began to pack a traveling pack of supplies for herself. "Why can't I come with you?"

Raine looked over at her little brother with a half-smile. She straightened a few wrinkles in her outfit as she began to speak. "Because you need rest Genis. It's absolutely amazing that you were able to go with us on such a physically taxing journey at such a young age. You've proven your resilience, but you are still growing. If you don't get proper rest, you may disrupt your physical development."

Genis stamped his foot and clenched his fist. "That's one of the most crappy excuses I've ever heard."

Raine huffed and turned back to her pack. "Hmph. It's true though."

Genis tried to soften up a bit as he continued to try and persuade his sister to let him go with her. "Raine, ending racism is important to me too."

Raine nodded as she continued to pack. "I know it is Genis, but this may also be more dangerous than our previous journey was. At least then, Mithos, our final enemy, thought of you as a friend. The people we might run across won't be as powerful as him but will be far more malicious than he was. Someone your age shouldn't have to deal with something like this."

"E-even so," stuttered Genis, "shouldn't you be traveling with someone else, just to be safe?"

Raine paused for a moment as she brushed a strand of her now shoulder-blade-long silver hair away from her face. "Someone is coming with me Genis."

Genis tilted his head, curious. "Huh? Who is it? Lloyd? But wait… isn't he leaving on a journey with Sheena and Kratos soon?"

Raine paused again and took a quiet but deep breath. "No Genis. It's Regal."

Genis blinked, then blinked again. "Regal?" He thought about it for a moment, then grinned. "Oh I get it. You wanna spend some time with Regal, huh?"

Raine whirled around and smacked Genis in the head. "It's not like that Genis! I simply told Regal that I was going to go on this journey and he offered to help me. I agreed and we are now traveling together. Nothing more."

Genis rubbed his head and said, "Gee sis. If you don't wanna admit it, that's fi-"

Another smack to the head. "We're doing this as professionals Genis. Get it right," said Raine.

Genis rubbed his head again. He was going to say something else but decided against it. "Okay, okay, sorry sis. Seriously though, I'm just worried about you Raine. That's all."

The look of annoyance on Raine's face melted when she heard this. She knelt down and hugged her little brother. "I know Genis. Try not to worry about me. Regal will be there to protect me if something happens. Besides, you and Presea have some work to do here in Altamira."

Genis' eyes widened when he heard Presea's name. "P-Presea's here too?"

Raine nodded and smiled. Reaching into her pocket, she dug out a small key and handed it to Genis. "Regal had a special six-star split-room in this hotel made especially for you and Presea while you go about your work in Altamira. Seeing as there is no such thing as a six-star room, this must surely be the finest hotel room in the world. Are you sure you'd rather come with me than stay here?"

Genis turned red as he was handed the key. "Well uh, since you put it that way…"

Still smiling, Raine stood back up and finished up packing her bag. A knock came to the door and Raine immediately said, "Come in Regal. I'm almost ready to go."

The door opened and through it came Regal. He was dressed in a forest-green, long-sleeve shirt and a pair of comfort-fitted brown pants. On his feet were a pair of brand-new gray traveling boots. His shins were guarded by a pair of magnificent-looking silver and mythril-plated greaves that Raine had never seen Regal use before. Looking at the greaves reminded her of the fact that, even though he had told Alicia that he would remove his restraints after the battle with Mithos, he had still refused to do so. She had wanted to say something to him about it but decided that it would be best for Regal himself to decide when he would remove the "symbols of his crime". Looking up, Raine first thought that Regal had cut off his long hair. Upon further inspection, however, she discovered that it was merely tied back into a very neat and handsome-looking pony tail. His overall appearance was simple but humble, and Raine loved it. She felt that such an appearance suited him more than that of a prisoner, warrior, or even an aristocrat.

Regal looked down at Raine's little brother and smiled. "Hello Genis. I hope you find the accommodations I have prepared for you and Presea to be satisfactory."

Genis nodded. "I'm sure I will, but…" He clenched his fist and shook it at Regal, grinning all the while. "…you better make sure that you take care of Raine. Otherwise, I'm gonna cook ya."

Regal laughed warm-heartedly and shook his head. "Heh. Still playing the part of the tiny knight I see. Rest assured Genis that I will guard your sister with my life if need be."

Raine felt an unusual warmth in her heart when she heard this. "Regal…"

He looked over at Raine. "I'll be waiting in the lobby. Make sure that everything is ready to go. There's no need to rush." With that, he bowed slightly and walked out the door.

Genis grinned evilly and nudged his speechless sister in the thigh. "I think he's got the hots for you sis."

SMACK!

Fuming, Raine turned back to her pack and began to double-check everything. "What did I tell you Genis?"

Genis sighed as he rubbed his head. "Yes ma'am…"

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Regal watched as Raine emerged from the elevator and he stood to greet her. He hadn't paid much attention before while he was in her and Genis' room, but he now noticed just how stunning she was. She was wearing the same outfit that she told him she wore to a ceremonial dance in Asgard minus the hat. She had let her hair grow to be about shoulder-blade length and very straight, which Regal liked very much. He always appreciated a humble look as opposed to a glamorous or complex one.

He bowed again as she approached him. "Forgive my being so bold, but you look very beautiful."

Raine blushed, a rare thing to see her do indeed. She was not used to receiving such compliments, not only because she only thought of herself as merely "decent looking" but also the fact that few people felt compelled to compliment a half-elf on anything, let-alone how good they looked. "Why, thank you Regal. I don't hear that very often."

Regal nodded. "We'll change that. You'll see."

The two said nothing for a moment as they stared at each other. Finally, Raine broke the silence by saying, "You're very handsome yourself, Regal."

He bowed slightly. "Thank you for your overly-kind compliment."

Raine smiled and brought a hand to her cheek. It was amazing to see just how refined and polite a man as powerful socially, mentally, and physically as Regal could be. Most men (and women) like with his sort of influence almost always turned out to be snobs, pigs, or other such things. Regal was truly different, a man in a league of his own. She felt truly lucky to have a companion like him accompany her on what she felt would be a dangerous journey, both physically and spiritually.

She cleared her throat and spoke again. "By the way Regal, where should we start?"

"I have a couple of ideas," said Regal. "The best of which is Luin."

"Luin?" asked Raine, surprised. "Why Luin?"

He shook his head. "I've heard that, despite the people's love of you there, a small faction of anti-sylvanites have set-up there. There has already been one reported incident of one of their members trying to destroy your statue. They are spreading lies about not only you but all other half-elves as well. The popular theme seems to be that, quote, 'Mithos tried to destroy us all. Was he not a half-elf?'"

Raine shook her head and sighed. "I don't care about the statue, but do they have to use such a broad stereotype? Don't they realize that ninety-percent of all half-elves are good people?"

"They're just a bunch of fools who are looking to gain power and prestige by blaming all of the world's problems on a select group of people and then doing something to 'solve' this problem," said Regal with a hint of anger in his voice. He raised his cuffs to his face and clenched his fists. "By these restraints that represent my sins, I will put an end to all of this. Alicia wouldn't stand for this nonsense."

Raine walked forward and put a slender hand on his broad shoulder. "Regal, I…"

He shook his head and lowered his hands. "Forgive me. I know what you want to say but are afraid to do so. I know I said I should remove these, but I… I… I just can't let go. I'm sorry"

"It's okay Regal," said Raine softly. "You don't have to take them off if you don't want to. You should do it only when you feel that you are comfortable doing so."

Regal closed his eyes and took a step back. "Thank you Raine." He took a deep breath, turned around, and headed for the exit from the hotel. "Let's get started. The Rheiards are waiting for us outside."

With that, Raine nodded, and quickly followed after him.

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Short chapter, but this is more or less a set-up chapter, much like the last one. The good stuff begins next chapter. I appreciate any and all feedback, as usual. Also, if anyone reads this on the night of Saturday, June 4th, please remember that reviews can't be submitted till the folks at are done doing their update thingy. That being said, if you read this before they're done, I ask you to please return and leave a review for this later. Thank you! Next chapter coming sooner than this one did! Be sure to look out for Chapter 20 of Unconditional Love also!

Oh, and anti-sylvanite is my word for a half-elf or even a full-blooded elf hater (like Sylvan Elves from other fantasy books/movies)