1All right, time for an update. This chapter has lots in it so be prepared. I don't really know what's going to be going on in the future, so after reading this because if I don't get any ideas, it may take a long time before I beat writer's block and update. So, here you go and enjoy.

Chapter 17: Reverting Back

Yuan arrived to Meltokio the next day. He walked in and was greeted enthusiastically by the entire group, all except for Storm who was in her room as usual. Yuan quickly noticed her absence and asked Kratos where she was. The only response he got from Kratos was a pained look in his eyes. Yuan immediately took that as a bad sign. Kratos looked at him and led him out of the room and led him to her room.

"Yuan, you know Storm almost as well as I do, perhaps you can find the source of her illness," Kratos said.

"I will try my best," Yuan replied as he opened the door and walked inside.

Storm was facing the window of room and was sitting on the bed. She heard the door open and didn't bother to look and see who had entered. She turned around after a few seconds and was shocked to see Yuan standing in her doorway. Instead of getting up to greet him she just gave him a half-smile, as if she was just using the gesture to please him. He noticed the bizarre behavior and walked over to her.

When he reached her, he could really tell how horrible she looked. She was thin and pale and seemed almost lifeless. She showed no sign of happiness or sadness, she just had a blank stare.

"Storm, it's been awhile. How have you been?" Yuan asked.

Storm just stared at him and responded quietly, "Fine."

Yuan had never seen her like this before. When she was in Cruxis, and Mithos was trying to transform her into a lifeless being, she still managed to show some sort of emotion in her face and in her speech. But now, there was nothing.

"Storm, what's wrong with you? I can tell that there's more to what's wrong with you than this stupid poison that I keep hearing about. Besides, if I know you well enough, I would know that you would be able to fight off poison," he said.

"There's nothing wrong, this is just how I am," Storm replied.

"Did something happen Storm? If something is bothering you, you need to tell someone. It doesn't have to be me, but you can't keep it inside forever. You'll kill yourself if you hold it in," Yuan said.

"Nothing happened Yuan," Storm replied. Yuan looked into her eyes and saw no emotion. But, somewhere inside he could tell that something was bothering her, something was tearing her up inside. She couldn't hide that from him.

"Well, if there is something that is bothering you, or that you're hiding, please tell someone. Promise me you won't hold it in, that you won't try and hide your problems. Promise me Storm," Yuan told her.

Storm stood in silence for a moment, thinking about what he said. Then, she replied, "I promise."

"Thank you," he said as he got up and headed for the door.

"Where are you going Yuan?" she asked.

"I'm going to go and find the antidote for that poison, then that will no longer be a bother to you," he replied as he walked out of the door.

Yuan walked downstairs and was greeted by Kratos who came searching for answers.

"So, what's wrong with Storm? Why is she acting so strange?" Kratos asked.

"I can't believe that you wouldn't be able to tell what is going on with her. Maybe it's because you're with her all the time and you can't see the changes as well as I can, but she looked horrible. She looked better when she was with Mithos and Cruxis. Something's bothering her and she doesn't want to tell anyone about it. Something obviously happened and, knowing Storm, she won't tell anyone that she's hurting from it. She's always been one to hide her pain from everyone. I think that her problem is causing her to revert back into what she was back in Cruxis. You say that she doesn't hardly eat or sleep and that she has no emotion? I would say that she is turning back into a lifeless being. It is possibly from holding in all of her emotions. So, what you need to do, is be a father and go in there and be the one that she can talk to without having to worry about you overreacting or anything. Whatever she says, take it gently and let her release all of her emotions. That's what needs to be done," Yuan replied.

"I want to help her, in whatever way I can," Kratos replied.

"Then go in there and help her," Yuan said as he headed towards the door.

"Where are you going now?" Kratos asked.

"I'm going to investigate an antidote for the poison, I suggest you all go out and try to find it as well," he replied as he left the house.

Kratos considered what Yuan had said and began to feel horrible that he wasn't able to find the cause of Storm's problems on his own. He walked up to her room and walked inside, sitting on her bed. She looked over at him and waited for whatever he was about to say. Kratos didn't really know how to go about this.

"Storm, will you tell me what's troubling you? Please, Storm I want to help you. It worries and pains me to see you like this," Kratos asked.

"I wish I could tell you Dad, but I just can't yet. Please give me more time," she replied.

Kratos didn't know how to respond to this answer. He wanted her to let out all of her emotions, but whatever it was she felt that she wasn't ready to let it out yet. He didn't want to force her to tell him. He wanted her to feel as if she could trust him and could confide in him to release her feelings and thoughts.

"Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be here," he said. "We're going to go out and try to find the antidote for the poison so get ready to leave soon," he added as he headed for the door.

"Pronyma, Storm is ill presently and is very weak. If you want to kill her, now would be the opportune time to do so," Forcystus reported to Pronyma.

"Perfect. Send out Kvar and a small army of Desians and kill her," Pronyma ordered.

Forcystus bowed, "Yes, Lady Pronyma," he said as he left to go and move out the troops.

Soon, the group was leaving Zelos' mansion so they could search for an antidote to the poison. They decided to take the Rhiehards to Flanoir to speak with the doctor there. Storm was coming out of the house for the first time in about a week. She was having a little difficulty walking to the Rheihards, but she let Kratos help lead her to them. They soon heard people screaming a little way down the road. The group stopped and decided to see what was going on in the town. They didn't get too far and saw a large group of Desian soldiers marching down the street, destroying anyone and anything that got in their way. At the front of the line was Kvar, leading the troops. They stopped when Kvar saw Storm.

"This will be too easy," he said when he saw the state that Storm was in. "Men, take the rest of the group, I will take Storm." The soldiers began their assault and charged at the small band. Lloyd, Kratos, and Zelos pulled out their swords and prepared to protect Stormat all costs. Storm pulled out her sword to defend herself and noticed that no one was coming after her. She went to aid the rest of her group when she was slammed into directly by Kvar, who had used a pair of angel wings to fly at, and tackle her. Storm slammed into a nearby wall. She tried to use her Outburst attack to knock him away from her, but the attack had little power in it and barely fazed him.

Lloyd and Kratos were distracted by a group of about twenty to thirty soldiers who had them surrounded. Kratos saw that Storm was in trouble and decided that both he and Lloyd needed to get away and help her. "Lloyd hang on. I have an idea, just draw the whole group as so close to us as you can," Kratos said.

"Whatever you say," Lloyd replied as he tried to coax the group close to the two of them.

Kratos began to prepare an attack, he let out his wings and grabbed Lloyd. He flew up out of the reach of the Desians who had completely surrounded them. When he flew up, he released Gravity Well, knocking out the entire group of Desians.

Storm was on the ground and was unable to get up. She could only stare at Kvar as he held up his sword to strike her down. "Say hello to your mother," he said as he threw down his sword.

Before his sword could make contact with Storm, Kvar was knocked forcefully into a nearby building by Lloyd. Kratos came over to Storm and helped her get off of the ground. This was the opportunity that Lloyd and Kratos had been waiting for. They had Kvar in a position that he couldn't run from. Lloyd and Kratos began to attack Kvar and finally after a few minutes of heavy sword fighting, Kvar fell to his knees and awaited his end.

"This is for my family and everything you've ever done to them," Kratos said angrily as he threw his sword into the Grand Cardinal.

"Don't mess with our family," Lloyd said as he threw his into him as well.

Kvar was on the verge of death and had a small amount of time left. He looked over at Storm and smiled at her. "I'm sorry to tell you Kratos, but your daughter will die soon enough, I am sure of it," Kvar said as he finally stopped breathing.

At the sight of their leader being killed, the rest of the Desians retreated and the group was left to head back to the mansion. Storm was a little beat up, but was still able to travel to Flanior. The rest of the group decided to head to the frozen city to see if the doctor there could find a cure for Storm's illness.

"Are you all right?" Kratos asked as Storm got on the Rheihard.

"Yes, I'm fine thanks to you and Lloyd. Thank you," she replied.

"Hey, no problem. There's no way that I'd let that jerk hurt you," Lloyd replied.

Storm gave a small smile at this remark. This time it wasn't fake. She smiled because she was reminded of the love that her family would always have for her. It was a love that could not be broken, a love that would never die. Unlike her relationship with Zelos, Storm could be confident that Lloyd and Kratos would always love and care for her, and she knew that she would always love and care for them. And it was because of this love that Storm actually felt a small amount of joy return to her heart.

Well, that's it for me. I guess the next chapter they will go in search for the antidote. Hopefully, they can find one cause Storm is too weak and I want her to fight again. Anyway, I might throw in a part with Forcystus, I don't know. Anyway, I hope that you liked this. Review. PS If you want a hint at what is going on read the fight between Kratos and Storm carefully in Chapter 13. The reasoning is in there, but that's all I'm saying.