Okay, it's time for the next chapter of this story. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. Like I said, I really wish that I could find some time to reply to everyone, maybe I'll get around to it some chapter, but it's hard enough to update this so you have something to read. Forgive me for that. Anyway, here you go and thanks for the support. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Not Too Sure

The next day Storm got up, feeling better than she had earlier, and went to walk around the village. She still had a lot on her mind, and she was very watchful over everything going on around her. She was so afraid that someone was still upset with her or that Mithos would come back, then she'd get hurt again. Storm's eyes darted from person to person in the village, as all the villagers stared accusingly at her. First she had stolen something precious to them, then she came back with Mithos and invaded their village. Why would they be happy? She was just afraid that they would do something to her to make up for it.

Storm didn't see anyone from the group hanging around the village. She decided to find out where they all were. If she was going to find out if it was in her best interest to stay with them, she'd have to talk with them. She'd know their true feelings after talking with them. She went to the elder's house to ask him about the group.

She walked inside and saw that the house was empty. She looked over and saw the holding place of the crystal shard that she had stolen. She couldn't believe that she was actually the one who stole it, and she did it willingly. How would she make up for something like that?

Storm was so busy looking at the empty spot that she didn't even hear someone walk into the house with her. She was soon surprised to hear someone speaking to her. She jumped and turned around quickly to come face to face with the village elder.

"If you're looking for the others they went to reform the pact with Origin," the elder informed her. Storm nodded her head and began to slowly walk out the door. She still wasn't completely comfortable being around other people yet. She slipped out the door without saying a word to the older elf.

"It's a shame what has happened to her, but perhaps she can soon find the light," the elder said to himself as he watched her head into the forest after the others.

Storm made her way through the maze of a forest, searching for Origin's seal. She hoped she could get there before they left. She didn't want to lose them, she had things she had to sort out with them first. She began to grow worried when she couldn't find Origin's seal, but was soon relieved to see the entire group ahead of her talking with Origin.

Storm stepped out into the clearing, the first one seeing her being Origin himself. He looked at her and gave her a rare smile.

"Ah...the daughter of Kratos. I see that making you the seal helped you escape from your rage," he said.

"What?" Storm asked, clearly confused at what he was talking about.

"I agreed to make the pact with Mithos only because I could tell that you were very distressed inside. You were fighting a lot of feelings and were trying to escape," Origin explained.

"That doesn't explain why you would make her the seal," Lloyd told him.

"Well, I knew that to stop Mithos you would need to 'kill' the seal. You were all able to save the last seal, so why not her? In the end, by getting rid of the seal you also got rid of the rage. But, you still seem distressed...you have not completely recovered, but at least you're in control now," Origin said.

Everyone looked back at Storm who's eyes got bigger from all the eyes on her. She was beginning to get nervous again and wasn't sure what they would do to her. Did they trust her, or did they think that she was going to work for Mithos again. Of course, had they ever really trusted her? Origin began to notice how nervous she was getting and decided to refocus the rest of the group's attention.

"Now...if you want to make the pact you must fight me. Prove to me that you are worthy of my power," Origin ordered the group.

"Are you going to fight with us Storm?" Lloyd asked her as he looked back before joining the rest of the group.

Storm didn't quite trust being surrounded by the whole group when they were fighting. She couldn't handle them all if they decided to hurt her instead. She didn't want to be hurt or killed, not by people that she cared about. It didn't matter to her if they didn't care about her, she definitely still cared about them. Her problem was trusting them again.

Storm backed up and moved away from the rest of the group, moving towards the trees again. Lloyd understood this as his answer and she could see the concern for her in his eyes as he went with the rest of the group to fight Origin. Storm watched as they battled. Knowing why she wanted to make sure that they were trustworthy before coming around them. They didn't hold back at all against their enemy, and she didn't want to have their weapons pointed at her once again.

Once the battle was over and the pact had been made, the rest of the group came to where Storm was sitting. Everyone came over, except for Zelos. He was still feeling guilty for what he had done, so he averted his attention elsewhere. He wasn't worthy of hers.

Storm looked at him, knowing that what he had said on Derris-Kharlan was true. He didn't want to be with her, he wouldn't even look at her. She soon noticed that Kratos was coming over to her as he tried to put his hand on her shoulder again. He was happy to see that she was awake and moving, and not confined to bed anymore.

Storm flinched at the touch before pulling back and moving farther away from the group. Kratos looked at her as sorrow flowed into him. He couldn't believe that he had allowed something like this to happen to his daughter. She had almost died, and now even allive she was a totally different person. She seemed to be almost afraid of life in general. He wanted so badly to help her, but he didn't know how he could regain her trust.

"Storm, can you tell us where you think Mithos is hiding Martel and Kagerou?" Sheena asked, desperate for answers.

"I don't see why I should tell any of you where they are," Storm muttered quietly as she looked at the group.

"Don't tell me that you're still working for him, even after all that," Raine said angrily.

"I...I don't know what I'm doing anymore. I don't trust him anymore either. I...I just can't trust anyone anymore," she replied.

"But...what have we done?" Genis asked sadly as he looked at Storm.

"I know how you all feel about me, I know that you all hate me," Storm said.

"Storm, those were all lies that Mithos told you using the Derris Emblem," Sutra informed her.

"How am I supposed to know whether what I heard is the truth or what you're saying is the truth?" Storm asked angrily before getting up and heading back towards the village. Everyone watched her walk into the forest alone, wondering if they would ever be able to break through to her. Zelos walked up to the rest of the group as he watched Storm walk away.

"I wonder if it's because of what I did to her that she's so afraid," Zelos asked sadly.

"Perhaps I should try talking to her once again," Kratos offered before following behind her with the others not far behind him.

"Good luck getting through to her," Raine added before following the group herself.

"I can't believe that Lloyd and his group actually managed to kill Storm. If only I would have been able to gain a better control over her. If only that damned Zelos wouldn't have interfered," Mithos complained as he walked through his new underground castle in Meltokio.

"Oh well, at least I have the children. I may be able to use them to get the Eternal Sword back or at least carry out my revenge on Lloyd," Mithos laughed. Mithos had locked up the two children in his dungeon. It was the same type of cell that Storm was often locked in when she was younger. The kids had finally caught on to the fact that he was evil after the battle against their parents. Now they only wanted out to get back to Lloyd and Sheena.

"With Storm dead, they'll never be able to figure out where I have the children, at least, until I figure out what to use them for. Yet, I can't help feeling upset about the loss of Storm. Why do I keep having these feelings about her death? It shouldn't matter to me, but it does," Mithos wondered as he wandered back towards his new quarters to relax for awhile and draw up his new plans.

Well, that's it for this chapter. I hope that you liked it. Sorry about how long this took, but I was super busy later this week and had writer's block before that. Yeah, I haven't had a day off of work in so long it's crazy. I'm getting pretty tired. Oh, and I got a sunburn from working outside today. I have two jobs so when I'm not working at one I'm at the other. Sometimes I get a rare day off to sleep in and get stuff done. Of course, I haven't got one in a while. Sorry... I hope you enjoyed. Please review and tell me what you think. Thanks!