Whee! Chapter 8! It didn't take me as much time to write this one. I have a cold right now, so maybe that's what giving me all the ideas to write about...maybe I should be sick more often...heheh XD

Disclaimer : I DON'T OWN TALES! FOR GOD'S SAKE!


Anna stared back at him for a while. Raine soon arrived behind Kratos and when she saw Anna, she turned around instantly and ran for the door. Kratos was in too much of a shock to notice she left, or to do or say anything. He approached Anna.

"How on earth did you survive that fall?" He asked in disbelief. Was she immortal, or something?

"Some trees...near the bottom...broke my fall..." She answered weakly. It was clear that she was still recovering.

"She's quite lucky to have survived." Pietro stated. He glanced over at the living room and noticed Raine wasn't there. "Wasn't Raine here just a moment ago?"

Kratos returned to his senses.

"She...she left?" He asked. Lloyd came to the door.

"Dad! Raine just ran outsi-- MOM!" Now it was Lloyd's turn to be in shock. He was caught between disbelief and happiness for a moment. "How!" He managed to articulate.

Anna explained to Lloyd how she had managed to survive, as Kratos ran outside after Raine. He looked around Hima, but she didn't seem to be there. Then he realized there was a rheaird missing. Raine was gone and he had absolutely no clue where to start looking. He thought the best thing to to was to get the others. There was no way he'd be able to find her on his own, the world was way too big for that.

He rushed inside the inn, told everyone and soon the group were scattered across Sylvarant, looking for Raine. Kratos went to Palmacosta, Lloyd to Triet, Colette to Izoold, Sheena to Iselia, Zelos to Thoda Geyser, Presea and Genis to Luin.

But little did they know, they'd forgotten one place: Asgard.

After a few minutes of flying, Raine landed in Asgard. She had long wanted to return and study the ruins, but she never had the time. Studying ruins always made her happy and that's what she needed at the moment. She knew that sooner or later, the others would find her, but she thought that when that time would come she would just fly to another place.

Raine quickly made her way to the ruins. Ever since the group had killed the monster demanding human sacrifices, the village of Asgard always treated them like royalty. The ruins hadn't changed at all since her last visit. According to the mayor, no one had tried to destroy them either.

The village was awfully quiet, to her surprise. Silence was also an advantage, it was better to study ruins in silence. She brushed her fingers on the ancient monument, studying its ancient characters.

"This is fantastic..." She whispered. She had forgotten all about Anna and Kratos for a few moments.

The wind blew softly through her hair and she was sure she heard someone call her name. She ignored it, until the sound of footsteps coming her way started annoying her. She turned around and was very surprised to see who was coming.

Anna and Pietro. Anna seemed to have trouble walking, Pietro walked beside her to make sure she wouldn't fall.

"What are you doing here? Don't you want to be with..." Raine asked. Anna gently pushed Pietro aside and walked forward.

"Kratos is really worried about you. You should go see him."

"Why aren't you with him?"

"Because, Raine, he loves you. And there's nothing I can do about that. I'm supposed to be dead..."

"..." Raine remained speechless. There wasn't anything she could say after hearing something like that.

"He's in Palmacosta, looking for you." Anna stated. "You should go see him."

Raine could tell Anna was having trouble bringing herself to say something like that.

"But...he loves you...he's married to you...I can't just..." Raine began. But she couldn't finish. She made a break for it, pushing Pietro out of the way and running towards her rheaird.

Anna sighed and laughed softly.

"I guess she doesn't understand yet..."

Kratos looked through all of Palmacosta, entering each and every building, except for the houses. He stopped to think for a moment.

"Where would she go...?"

After thinking about it for a while, he finally seemed to realize where she could be.

"Asgard! That has to be it! Why have I not thought about it before?" He asked himself while flying to Asgard. The first place in Asgard that came to his mind were the ruins. He climbed up the stairs two steps at a time. At the top, he bumped into Pietro and Anna.

"Anna...? What are you doing here? You're still not healed! You should be resting!" He said.

"Oh, hello. I...came to find Raine. Unfortunately...she left."

"She left? Do you know where she went?"

"I spoke to her...then she ran away. I don't know where she went, though."

Kratos didn't answer, but returned to his rheaird and started thinking of the possibilities. "If she escapes to anywhere in Sylvarant, someone'll find her. She could be in Tethe'alla..."

At the moment, the chances of finding Raine were very slim. Suddenly, there was a big explosion near the Asgard human ranch ruins...Kvar's ranch. He knew he didn't have the time to go check it out, but he couldn't take a chance. If ever Kvar was alive, Anna would be in great danger.

He flew to the ruins of the Asgard ranch, which were now completely destroyed. There was nobody around. "A place doesn't just explode like this..." Kratos thought. He kept looking, until his foot hit something hard. He looked down and realized with horror that the thing he hit...was one of Kvar's shoulder pads. He backed up until he heard something behind him. He turned around and faced someone he thought was dead.

"...Kvar..." He muttered.

"Heh...Kratos...I knew you'd come here..." Kvar was barely standing up, his clothing was wripped and he was covered in blood.

"Kvar...how did you survive? I was sure I killed you..." Kratos said as he unsheathed his sword.

"I'm a half-elf...I don't die so easily. And before you wretched inferior-beings destroyed my ranch, I escaped."

He looked around. "Where's that host body? It took me months to bring her back. I will complete the Angelus Project!"

Kratos lowered his sword for a moment.

"You...you're the one that..."

"Yes, I brought that wench, Anna, back. As soon as I see her, I will capture her and complete the Angelus Project!"

Unfortunately, Anna and Pietro saw the explosion and arrived at the worst moment.

"Kratos! Did you see the exp-- Oh my god..." Anna tripped and fell on her back when she attempted to run away.

"S-stay back! I-I won't go back with you, Kvar!" She said as she attempted to back up. Kvar came closer to her and was about to take her when Kratos appeared from behind and stabbed him with his sword. This time, Kratos made sure to aim for his vitals. Kvar instantly fell to the ground.

"Kratos, I thought you killed him." Anna said, getting up and adjusting her dress.

"I thought I had killed him as well." Kratos said as he sheathed his sword. "I'm sorry...but I must go look for Raine now."

He left the ruins and headed for Tethe'alla. During that time he thought of a possible place for Raine to be.

LloydIrvingisMine : -drinks soda and hands you...uhm...some bubble gum!- Ah, well...let's just say Lloyd didn't wanna eat because he was sad about Anna! Yeah XD!

Indignation Judgement : YAY! I'm surprised it didn't take me as long to write this chappie...

Miss Raine Sage : PH33R TEH CLIFFIE! XDDD Lol. I like writing cliffies XD

Miori : XD The Colette-ness is contagious...-giggles and claps hands- I guess so, but Lloyd never knew his mother that much. Thankies for the flower! -hands you...uhm...a figurine of Lloyd!- XD