1Okay, for all of you who are about to pass out on me from suspense I have been trying my best to work on this story. So, I won't waste anymore time, thanks to all who reviewed, I appreciate it. One thing, if Potato Puff is still reading I'm wondering what happened to you, I miss you. Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews.

Chapter 9: Alone

Storm ran into her room at the inn and slammed the door behind her as she collapsed on the bed. She was feeling very hurt and betrayed by what her father had done. She couldn't believe that the one person she felt she could truly trust in her life had let her down. She hated Pronyma so much, but she couldn't help but feel that everything she had said was true. She sat there for awhile by herself until she heard someone softly knock on her door. She was afraid it was her father at first and cautiously asked, "Who is it?"

"It's me..." said Lloyd through the door. "Can I talk with you?"

"Come on in Lloyd," Storm answered.

Lloyd carefully opened the door and saw Storm sitting at the bed. She looked up at him and he could tell that she was still very upset about what had happened earlier. He sat down on the bed beside her. He felt that he might be the right person to talk to Storm. He felt that since it was an issue between her and their father that he was the perfect peacemaker.

"So, did Dad send you?" Storm asked without looking up from the floor.

"No, he went off on his own to think when you ran off. He hasn't come back yet. You know Storm, I think that he really feels bad about what he did. But, you know he's still only human and he makes mistakes too. I think he only did what he thought was best for you," Lloyd said.

"Yeah, well what he knew concerned me and my own life. He should have told me," Storm replied.

"Probably, but put yourself in his spot. He's had to deal with a life like yours for 4000 years but he chose to have it that way, you had no choice. He probably felt that it was unfair for you and he had a hard time getting it out. I'm sure he meant to tell you eventually," Lloyd said.

Storm thought about what Lloyd said for awhile and she looked up at her brother and smiled. She gave him a big hug and got off the bed. "You know, sometimes you just know the right things to say," Storm said before she left the room.

"Thanks," Lloyd said as he rubbed the back of his head with a blush on his face.

"Just remember I said, 'sometimes,'" Storm called as she left the room, leaving Lloyd confused at the point she was trying to get across to him.

Storm was wandering through the forest. It was getting dark and was beginning to rain. She was getting concerned, it wasn't like her father to stay out in weather like this. She was looking all over for Kratos, calling out his name as she searched high and low.

"Dad, I'm not mad, please come out," Storm called.

There was no response as Storm continued to call. She was about to go back to the inn to see if he had returned when something caught her eye. She looked down and hanging on a small root on the side of a tall cliff hung her necklace. Also on the root was a piece of Kratos' purple mercenary outfit that had been torn off. She reached down and picked up the two objects and looked hard at them. By this time, she was completely soaked from the rain and she looked out over the cliff and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Daddy!"

There was no response, she looked down at the necklace and she realized what must have happened. She fell to her knees as she let her tears fall freely down her face as they mixed with the rain. "No...daddy, you can't leave me...I need you," she cried .

"I'm worried about Storm and Kratos, they aren't back yet and it's been pouring, maybe we should go out and look for them," Lloyd said as he turned away from the window.

Zelos got up and looked through the window and soon after turned around quicky. "Here comes Storm, she's back!"

Storm entered the inn, and walked past the entire group. Lloyd and Zelos immediately noticed that there was something seriously wrong with Storm. She was holding something tightly, next to her chest as she walked across the room. She was soaked and her eyes held a vacant and terrified look. She was pale and she looked into the distance, completely ignoring the fact that anyone else was even there at all. She stopped, facing away from the rest of the group, and stood there for a few moments before Lloyd and Zelos walked up behind her.

"Storm, what's wrong, and where's Dad?" Lloyd asked.

Storm stayed silent.

"Storm, please talk to us," Zelos added.

Suddenly, Storm's legs collapsed as she fell to the ground. Zelos caught her and held her up from under her arms. She didn't even attempt to hold herself up as Zelos maintained his hold on her.

"What's wrong, please tell us," Lloyd said as he walked in front of her.

"He...he's gone," Storm said as she held out the necklace and purple piece of fabric and offered it to Lloyd. Lloyd grabbed it and stared hard at it.

Zelos, who was shocked at what Storm had just said finally lost his strength as he and Storm fell to the ground and Storm began to weep uncontrollably. She buried her face in her hands and Zelos held her close to him and tried his best to comfort her. Lloyd remained silent as he continued to stare at the small piece of fabric. By this time the rest of the group came over to Storm to try and comfort her. She was crying so hard that she was beginning to have a hard time breathing. Lloyd finally sat on the ground and began to cry for the loss of his father. Sheena and Genis, seeing their friend in distress walked over to him and offered a shoulder to cry on. They all stayed there for a long time, until Storm finally cried herself to sleep.

"Our chances of winning this war are now very slim. Pronyma knows exactly what she's doing," the elder said sadly to himself as he looked at Storm surrounded by her friends.

Storm was woken up in the middle of the night by someone knocking on her window. She looked out and saw Forcystus standing outside. She was in no mood to fight and opened her window. "What is it?" she said, her throat hoarse from all the crying she had done.

"Pronyma would like to speak with you, it's not a trap and she won't battle you unless you provoke something," he replied as he flew off.

Storm thought about what he had said and decided to follow him as she flew behind him. When she landed she saw Pronyma come out of the forest.

"Well, well, well, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. It breaks my heart, it really does. I'm here to offer you a chance to ease all the pain and suffering in your heart. I can do you the favor of ending your life. If you allow me to kill you, then you can finally rest in peace. Otherwise, you'll only live in pain for eternity, constantly reminded of the pain of losing your father. You'll watch others that you love die around you until, finally, you'll be all alone. Is that what you really want?" Pronyma suggested.

"No, I don't want to be alone, I don't want to have anyone else die. I don't want to live without my father," Storm replied.

"Well, come back here tomorrow and decide if that's what you really want, if you do, I will end your pain and suffering, if not then we will continue this stupid fight and you can continue your pathetic eternal existence," Pronyma replied as she flew off.

"End the pain and suffering? I'll do it. I can't live without my Dad. He's so much a part of me, that without him I'm already dead," Storm said to herself as she flew back to the inn.

Okay, I know some of you may have suffered heart failure during that so I'm sorry. I was definitely crying during that. Of course, the story isn't over yet, someone has to talk some sense into this grief stricken girl. Please review and don't kill me or you won't find out what happens.