Update time. I hope that everyone liked the new villain. I really didn't want to bring Pronyma back again. I really hate her too much to keep bringing her back, besides she already had a second chance. Anywho, thanks for all the reviews and enjoy the next chapter!

Sutra: 18

Chapter 4: Plans

The group decided that they would head over to Altamira in the morning to see how a few of the others were doing and to see if Altamira was even in one piece. Until then, they set up camp and Kratos decided to take the first watch for the night. They had no idea if they would be attacked again in the middle of the night, but they didn't want to take any chances. Everyone else eventually made it to sleep, but Storm was completely unable to fall asleep. Finally, she quietly crept away from the campsite, trying not to make too much noise. Her, Yuan, and Kratos' ears were still a little sore from the attack earlier and she thought that he might not hear her, and he didn't.

Storm began to make her way back towards Meltokio so she could find any sort of clue to where Sutra had taken Anna. If Sutra wanted her, Storm was willing to give herself in, in return for her daughter. She couldn't just sit around like the others and hope that she would be okay, she wanted to ensure that she was safe. Storm made it all the way back to the entrance of Meltokio when someone grabbed her arm and spun her around. She immediately tried to defend herself, but soon realized that it was Kratos. He had noticed that she had snuck off and he had followed her.

"What are you doing? Do you want to get captured?" Kratos asked her angrily as he tried to drag her out of the city.

"Actually, that's what I came here for. If I get captured, maybe they'll let Anna go," Storm told him.

"Listen to yourself. We don't even know if Sutra wants one of us. I do know that you're an easy target to kill if you wander around trying to get captured. If you get killed that's less of a chance that Anna will be rescued. Now, if Sutra is using Anna as bait then she will keep her safe," Kratos told her.

"Like how Mithos kept me safe for all those years?" Storm asked him harshly. This statement hit Kratos hard. He still felt as if what had happened to Storm was still his fault and this didn't help.

"Storm...she'll be fine. Why don't you come back to the campsite, hopefully we'll find out more tomorrow," Kratos advised her.

"I can't just sit around like everyone else. I need to know, we need to take action before it's too late for Anna," Storm cried desperately as she pulled her arm away from Kratos.

Suddenly, the two heard the sound of footsteps in the distance. Kratos grabbed Storm before she could turn herself in as a Desian soldier appeared. Kratos dragged Storm behind a large pile of rubble. The soldier appeared to be checking for any people who may have still been in the city, but he wasn't expecting what came at him.

Kratos leapt out from the pile of rubble and slammed the soldier against what was once a building as he held his sword on his throat. The Desian was obviously not very brave as he immediately dropped his own sword in fear.

"You will tell me where Sutra took Anna," Kratos growled through clenched teeth.

"I...I don't know where she is," the Desian stumbled with his words.

Storm stepped out from her hiding place as she glared at the Desian. "Tell me why she wants her," Storm demanded.

"She doesn't want her," the Desian told Storm.

"What does she want then?" Kratos asked him.

"She wants Storm. She wants her to revive Lord Yggdrassil to bring about the Age of Half-Elves," the soldier answered, still terrified of the sword at his throat.

"She had talked about the Age of Half-Elves when we met her, but she can't possibly think that I can revive Mithos. We destroyed his Cruxis Crystal sixteen years ago," Storm explained.

"But she knows about the crystal shards. She knows how to revive him and she said she needed you. That's all I know, I swear," the guard cried.

"Well, thanks for all the help," Kratos said as he killed off the soldier.

"Dad, you killed him?" Storm asked, shocked at her father's behavior.

"In times of war, we spare no one," Kratos told her. "If I would have let him go he would have revealed our location to the other soldiers."

"This is terrible," Storm said as she followed her father outside the city.

"Now we have to figure out how she's planning on reviving Mithos. How could she use crystal shards and where would she even get them from? It doesn't make sense," Kratos thought to himself out loud.

"What about Anna?" Storm asked him anxiously.

"Well, now we know for sure that Sutra wants you. We can be sure that she won't hurt her," Kratos told Storm.

"I suppose you're right but we have to rescue her as soon as possible," Storm told him.

"Of course, and we will," Kratos promised her.

"You know, if you stop struggling, you may actually enjoy it here," Sutra told Anna who was still trying to escape from the two soldiers who were holding onto her.

Sutra had taken Anna to what used to be a very populated Sybak, but since it was attacked everyone had been run out. She was planning on moving back into Meltokio at the castle but she wanted to make sure that Storm and her group wouldn't find her...not yet at least.

"Just wait until my mom and dad come here and kick your butt," Anna yelled at Sutra who only smiled at her remark.

"And I suppose they'll kick my butt like they did last time? Not likely because unlike your parents I have a brain and I can use it effectively, that way I'm always one step ahead of them," Sutra explained as she chuckled a little. "And I suppose you've already forgotten about those angel wings your mother had, didn't you?

Anna stopped struggling after being reminded of it. Sutra noticed this and decided to use it to her advantage.

"Your family never told you about those powers did they? Wow, that must really be a shocker for you. You know, that's why your mother still looks my age. She's going to live forever and she'll keep those awesome powers," Sutra told her.

"Is there anyone else with those powers?" Anna asked.

"Of yes, but some of them you don't really know. But, your grandfather has them too. Would you believe that he's actually over 4000 years old. It's not fair is it?" Sutra told her.

Anna couldn't believe it, her family had been hiding this from her and she wanted to know why she didn't have any cool powers too. "Were they born with the powers?" Anna asked.

"Your mother was, but the others obtained them other ways. You can have these powers too Anna, I can help you get them," Sutra told her.

Anna wanted to get these and show her mother that she was capable of using them. She couldn't believe that she was denied the privilege of getting to use them. "Why would she hide this from me?" Anna questioned.

"She probably didn't want you to be better than her. She was probably scared that you could defeat her," Sutra told her. "But think about it, if we can both get these powers we could both help end discrimination for the half-elves. We could improve the world," Sutra offered.

Anna thought it over, her mother always told her to help the half-elves and she even introduced her to Genis and Raine who were really awesome people. She wanted to help the half-elves and show her mother that she could use these powers. Sutra didn't seem like such a bad person, she seemed nice enough, after all she was offering to help her.

"What do we need to do to get these powers?" Anna asked her.

Sutra smiled, knowing that she had been able to convince the naive young girl to join her side. This was going to be easier than she thought. "First...we need Cruxis Crystals," she explained.

Well, that's it for this chapter. Uh-oh, what is Anna getting herself into. This might not be good, and what about the others. Anyway, I hope that you liked this chapter and I wanted to tell you all that there is another link for a Storm picture on my profile page. This one is a colored picture by Raspedra Twilight. It's a montage of pictures of a younger Storm. This on is based on Child of Cruxis. I really think it's awesome so you should all check it out. Anyway, please review and tell me what you think of this chapter.