1Thanks for the reviews. I hope you enjoyed the cuteness and happiness because it will be leaving the story for the most part. Okay, so I hope you enjoy this, I wanna finish it before American Idol comes on.

Chapter 5: Lessons

Storm was getting very good at using the sword. When her and Kratos practiced, Kratos had to push himself even harder to keep up with her. She was excellent at blocking attacks and never let her guard down while she was fighting. Kratos had to work very hard to find an opening in her movements. She was now eight years old and had been practicing with her sword for three years now. It was time that Kratos finally gave her a real sword. Storm came to her lessons, as usual, but when she got there Kratos was holding something behind his back.

"What do you have Dad?" she questioned as she tried to peek behind his back.

"Well, I think that you've been working really hard with that sword, and I believe that it's time you use a real sword. You must take great care of this sword and use it wisely," he told her as he pulled a beautiful sword from behind his back. It was too large for her to carry with her, but she would grow into it in no time. The handle of the sword was made out of gold and had one ruby in the middle of the handle with two smaller emeralds on either side. Storm stared at the sword in wonder and she hugged her father tightly, thanking him over and over for the beautiful gift.

Mithos broke the moment as he walked around the corner along with Pronyma. They walked over to Kratos and Storm. At the sight of Pronyma, Storm instinctively moved closer to Kratos.

"That's an impressive sword Storm, I assume that you will use it to help Cruxis someday," Mithos smiled at her as she nodded back, not taking her eyes off of Pronyma. Kratos winced slightly at the thought of his daughter fighting for Mithos.

"What do you need Mithos?" Kratos asked.

"I'm here to take Storm," he began. "She will beginning her lessons with Pronyma today."

"But, what about her sword lessons?" Kratos inquired.

"She won't be having them today, she can have them tomorrow," he remarked. Kratos was only able to watch as Storm was drug away by Pronyma. Storm, at the thought of going with Pronyma, tried desperately to stay with her father. She clung to his hand looked up at him sadly.

"Please Daddy, I don't wanna go, I wanna stay with you," she begged.

"I'm sorry Storm," he answered sadly as Storm was ripped from his arms.

I hope nothing bad happens to her...Kratos thought as he watched her leave the room.

Mithos led Pronyma and Storm to a room at the other end of Derris Kharlan. He ushered the two in. Storm went in first, followed by Pronyma. Once Storm was inside, Pronyma looked back at Mithos who nodded at her with a smile across his face.

Pronyma shut the door behind her and walked over to a petrified Storm. Storm tried to cover up her fear by presenting herself with a look of determination. Pronyma looked over at the young child and laughed at her.

"Do you really think you're scaring anybody?" she questioned. "Now, I will be teaching you how to fight effectively so you don't get yourself killed in a battle when there is more than one enemy. Of course, I could care less if you were killed," she added.

"What do you mean?" Storm asked as she stared hard at Pronyma, hoping to pry answers out of her.

"Who do you think tried to kill you by sending in those Desians at night? You are going to ruin everything that Cruxis has worked for and I plan on getting rid of you. Of course, I can't just kill you, Mithos wants to use you, but believe me, if an accident happens, it won't be my fault," she remarked.

"You can't do that! I'll tell my Daddy and Uncle Mithos!" Storm shot back angrily.

Pronyma walked over to the young girl and smacked her in the face, knocking her to the ground, hard. "Don't you dare think that you're in charge here! You will not speak up unless I allow you to!" Pronyma yelled. "I'll be getting rid of those emotions too," she added.

Storm grabbed her face as she felt pain coursing through it. She had never been hit before and she didn't know how to respond. Her first instinct was to find someone to help her. She got off of the ground and headed towards the door. She was almost at the door when Pronyma grabbed her shoulder and spun her around, slamming her against the wall.

There was silence in the room. Zelos looked over at Storm, shocked at the horrible things she was telling him. He carefully grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Storm looked at him with tears beginning to well up in her eyes. The years of pain were all coming out and she allowed Zelos to wrap her up in a hug.

"It's okay, you don't have to keep telling it if you don't want to," he said soothingly as he rubbed her back.

"No, I want to tell someone. Please, anything I say from now on, don't tell anyone. Don't tell Lloyd, Sheena, Raine, not even my dad, you can't tell anyone," she begged him.

"I won't, but I never realized how horrible Pronyma treated you, and Mithos let her do it all," Zelos answered, still stunned by what she was telling him.

"He didn't know about the attacks by the Desians, but he knew that Pronyma hit me. But, that wasn't Uncle Mithos, that was Lord Yggdrassil. That was when my Uncle Mithos died, and I began to die as well. I suppose that's why I always resented the Chosen. I have never been able to really like Colette. It was because of her that my life was like that. Mithos didn't care about you, but he became obsessed with her," she admitted.

"I never realized thatyou disliked her so much," Zelos responded.

"I don't hate her or anything, I just hate the fact that she took away Uncle Mithos and my life. Colette is a great person and a great friend, but I wish that she wasn't the Chosen," she remarked.

"Well...anyway, keep going with the story if you think that you're up to it," Zelos said as he wiped away a few tears from Storm's face.

"Okay...," Storm struggled as she attempted to calm herself down.

"You're not going anywhere. If you tell anyone about this I will kill you and your pathetic father, understand?" she spat at Storm, her face inches away as she pinned her to the wall.

"My Dad is not pathetic," Storm shot back, her strong will getting the best of her as she struggled to free herself from Pronyma's grasp. Pronyma glared at the young girl before throwing her to the ground. Storm could feel the blood trickle down her forehead as she crumpled up on the floor in pain.

"Maybe you'll think before you speak like that again. Try to contain your emotions, even your precious Uncle Mithos wishes not to see them," she spat at her before leaving the room.

After about ten minutes or so, Storm staggered to feet. She went to clean off the blood on her forehead and soon after returned to her room. She was still trying to comprehend everything that had just happened to her.

Later that day, Storm was sitting in Welgaia, watching the angels go about their daily routines. Kratos happened to be walking by and noticed his daughter. He was worrying about her all day and wanted to see her after her first lessons with Pronyma. He walked up to her and touched her on the shoulder. The first thing that ran through Storm's mind was that Pronyma was grabbing her again. She flinched, bracing herself for an impact. Kratos, after seeing her reaction, pulled his hand back in shock. He walked in front of Storm and saw pain in her face. She wasn't her normal, happy self. She was full of fear. He had a feeling that Pronyma had had quite an impact on his daughter.

Anna, I wanted to keep her safe, but all I've managed to do is cause her more pain. I'm sorry, this isn't what you would have wanted for her. But now that Mithos knows that she's alive there is nothing that I can do for her. Please, forgive me, Kratos thought as he stared at his daughter's face.

Well, that's it here. It took a little while longer because American Idol came on and I had to stop. I don't think I'll be able to update tomorrow. Sorry... Next, Yuan will be teaching her, along with some more Pronyma. Also, remember she is still being taught to use a sword by her father. Hope it wasn't too bad...I want to ease everyone into it. Tell me what you thought. Remember, I warned everyone about this. Also, tell me if you want me to leave out the lines in the middle of the story and just use them to designate where the story starts and where it ends.