1All right, sorry I took so long to update but it's finally here, you may all breathe now. Just to let everyone know, Storm is knocked out cold and everything below is a dream she is having. Is it real or not? Keep reading and you'll find out what I'm talking about. If you haven't noticed yet, Storm's very sensitive to her dreams, probably because she never used to sleep. She has a lot of time where she sleeps now so she has a lot of strange dreams. Enjoy!

Chapter 11: Keep Fighting

Storm looked around and saw nothing but white everywhere. She couldn't figure out where she was, but she did know that she was all alone. She could remember what had just happened and looked down at where she was stabbed and saw the wound still there, but she felt no pain and there was no bleeding. Suddenly, she heard a very faint voice calling her name in the distance. She looked up to find the source. There was a person walking towards her, but she couldn't make out the person's face. The person finally came within a few feet of Storm and stood in front of her. Storm looked at the woman in front of her and couldn't believe her eyes. Right in front of her was her mother.

"Mom? Is that really you?" Storm asked, not daring to move, afraid that the person in front of her might disappear like an illusion.

"Yes Storm, it's me. I'm not an illusion, this is truly me," she said as she smiled at Storm.

"But, how can you be alive?" Storm asked.

"I'm not. Right now you're right on the border where the living and the dead meet. You're dying right now," Anna replied.

"I'm...dying?" Storm asked.

"Yes, but you don't have to. If you give up you will, but if you fight through this you can still live. It's still up to you and you alone," her mother replied.

"I don't know if I want to live. An eternity is a long time to live and I've finally realized that I really have no life to live. I thought I belonged once when I was with Cruxis, but soon I realized that what I was doing was wrong. With Cruxis gone, I have nothing," Storm said.

"That's not true, you have your family and friends and they are all counting on you to be strong and fight," Anna replied.

"They don't need me, they were able to fight before," Storm replied as she looked down at the ground.

"This is different Storm. Without you, Pronyma will rule Derris Kharlan and everyone's dreams will be worthless. Can you imagine what she would do to your brother and father? You can't allow something like that to happen to the ones you love. If you die, you'll be killing all of them as well. Don't let that happen," Anna replied as she lifted Storm's chin to look into her eyes. "You look so much like your father, but you have my eyes," she added and smiled at her.

Storm thought over her options for a few moments then finally decided what was to be done. She looked at her mother.

"I'll fight this and I will defeat Pronyma," Storm replied.

"That's my girl. Don't forget, if you ever need me, I'll be right here," Anna said as she pointed to Storm's heart. "Fight for the two of us. Have hope."

"Thanks Mom," Storm said as she turned to leave.

"Oh, Storm," Anna called. Storm looked behind her at her mother. "Tell your father I'm not mad at him and that I love him. And...I love you and Lloyd...so much," Anna said softly.

"I love you too Mom," Storm replied as she left to fight off the poison that was consuming her body.

"I think we're losing her," Raine said as she continued to try and cure Storm of the poison. "Her fever has gotten worse and her heart is racing."

"She just has to make it. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to her," Kratos replied as knelt down beside Storm on the bed and grabbed her hand. He put his hand up to her forehead and reeled his hand back when he felt how hot she was.

"I will kill Pronyma if my sister dies. I can't believe I let that happen," Lloyd yelled as he threw his fist into the wall out of anger.

"Calm down Lloyd, she may still survive this," Sheena tried to comfort the swordsman and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Zelos was sitting on the side of the bed opposite Raine and Kratos and was silently praying to anyone who would listen. He wasn't sure who to pray to ever since Cruxis wasdestroyed, but he really hoped that whoever was up there was able to hear him.

A few minutes later, Raine noticed that Storm's fever had gone down significantly. She was beginning to relax and it seemed that she was going to pull through the whole ordeal. Soon, Storm's eyes fluttered as she looked around and saw that she was surrounded by her family and friends. Everyone was so happy to see Storm responsive and, well, alive.

"What's wrong? Do I have something on my face?" Storm asked, wondering why everyone was staring so intently at her.

"She's okay, thank Martel, she's alive!" Raine cheered as everyone gathered around her and began to hug her. Storm was beginning to get uncomfortable as her friends began to pile on top of her. Once they all got off of her, they all decided to leave her and Kratos alone for a well deserved reunion. Once everyone had left, Storm looked over at her father who was actually smiling.

"Dad, you won't believe it but I saw Mom, she talked to me, if it wasn't for her I don't think I would be here now," Storm said.

"Storm, you were dreaming, you had such a high fever you were probably a little delusional," Kratos said as he brushed some hair out of her eyes. (strange for someone who always has hair in his face, right?)

"No Dad, I really did see her," she replied.

"Sure you did," Kratos replied as he gave her a large hug. "I'll send Zelos in, I think he wants to see you."

While she was wrapped in his arms she said to Kratos, "She told me to tell you that she isn't mad at you and that she loves you. She said I look a lot like you except that I have her eyes."

Kratos pulled Storm away from the hug and looked at her,unable to believethat Storm would know something like that. It was something that Anna always used to say about Storm when she was little. "You do," he replied as he got up and left the room to get Zelos.

Did she really see Anna? There is no way that she would have known to say something like that. To say something that Anna would have said. Anna..., Kratos thought.

Soon, Zelos entered Storm's room, and sat on the bed next to her. He looked at her with loving eyes and held her hand.

"Zelos, I'm sorry for how I acted before. I was a real jerk," Storm said.

"It's okay, I can understand how you felt, I'm just glad that everything worked out for you," Zelos replied as he stroked his hand along her cheek.

Storm put her hand behind his neck and pulled him into a kiss. This kiss was different than the one they shared before. This kiss was a lot more passionate and it lasted a lot longer. She wrapped both arms around his neck and she pulled him closer to her. She lost herself in that kiss and she wanted to be with him forever. She never wanted that moment to end. Suddenly, she heard her father walking back to the room and she broke the kiss.

"Okay, we really don't want my dad to catch us doing that," Storm said.

"Yeah, I don't need an overprotective father chasing me. Believe me, it's happened before, but none of them can compare to Kratos," Zelos replied.

Kratos entered the room and the elf elder was with him along with the rest of the team.

"I see you had a close call Storm. Remember, you may be the only thing between Pronyma and control of Derris Kharlan. Take one more night to recover here, but I believe that you should head to Meltokio," the elder said.

"But, I want to find Pronyma first," Storm protested.

"I don't think so," Kratos replied. Storm returned his response with a pout.

"I think you should stay away from Pronyma for awhile. Until then, head to Meltokio and go to the Church of Martel. In there is a secret room, a room unknown to even the church officials. This is the room where Spiritua stayed before her Journey of Regeneration began. Maybe if you go in there, something will clue us all into whether or not you are truly one of the angels. You must keep this room a secret and cannot let anyone else know about it, do you understand?" the elder said.

"Yep, we'll go there and find out all we can," Lloyd replied.

"A room full of undiscovered items? Things from centuries ago? I must study all of it! This is wonderful!" Raine yelled as she ran out of the room to begin packing.

"Will she be all right?" the elder asked.

"Yeah, she always acts like that," Lloyd replied as Genis buried his face in his hands out of embarrassment.

"Storm, one more thing. Have you always hated Pronyma?" the elder asked.

"Well, the first time I met her, the little hairs on the back of my neck stuck up and I felt a chill run down my spine. I was scared to go with her and I never really wanted her to train me," Storm replied with a matter-of-fact tone.

"I see...and has she always hated you?" he asked.

"Well, she always told me I was better off dead and she routinely beat the crap out of me. Does that count?" she replied sarcastically, not knowing why the elder would ask her something like that.

"Then it is likely that you two are truly the angels from the prophecy," he said.

"Why's that?" Sheena asked.

"Well, it's told that from birth, it is instilled in the two angels to want to destroy the other. They never search for each other, but once they meet each other this desire is realized. You killed her once and now she wants to kill you," the elder replied.

"I guess that's true. She never really had a reason to hate me and I never had a reason to hate her...initially," Storm replied.

"Well, either way, you had best get some rest and prepare for the journey ahead," the elder replied as he led the rest of the group out of her room and Storm went back to sleep as she felt the rest of her strength beginning to return to her.

Well, that's it, they will be going to Meltokio next. It should be exciting. This chapter was probably my favorite to write. In that Storm and Zelos scene, I will say that they were sharing a very intimate kiss. Anyway, please read and review!