Okay, I hope that you all are enjoying the tension that's been building so far. I won't make you wait too long for this chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 5: Bringing Together the Party
Kratos was finally able to drag Storm back to the campsite, but he did have to keep an eye on her for most of the night. She kept trying to sneak away and he figured that she was going to be stubborn about listening to him. He knew that they had to find someone who might know about how Sutra could revive Mithos or anything about the crystal shards that the guard was talking about. He knew that when the others woke up that they would have to tell them about everything they heard.
Once everyone woke up and everything from the night before had been explained, everyone decided that it was in their best interest to round up the old gang, there was going to be a big fight and they needed as many people as possible. They were closest to Altamira and knew that Regal, Genis, and Presea would be there. So, they began to make their way to Altamira.
As they were walking along Sheena suddenly brought something up. "How are we supposed to get there? We have no rheiards," she asked.
"I am not flying everyone over, you're all too heavy," Storm said before anyone could even suggest it.
"I could call the Renegade Base and have them fly some over," Yuan offered.
"You mean that the base wasn't attacked? I thought you said every place was attacked," Lloyd questioned.
"No, she didn't attack the Renegade base. I guess she didn't want to waste soldiers trying to take on the Renegades," he tried to explain.
"Well, if it gets us there call them already," Storm tried to rush him.
"Okay, just give me about a half an hour or so," he told them as he walked off to communicate with his base.
About ten minutes later Storm started to get anxious again. "I wish that he would hurry up, we're wasting too much time," Storm stated as she sighed. "I think that I'm going to go and see what he's doing," she told Sheena and Lloyd who nodded their heads. Everyone was tired from the last day and they weren't really listening anyway.
Storm took this opportunity to sneak off again. She pulled put her wings and began to fly off towards Altamira, hoping to find some answers there. She flew away from the campsite, but Zelos managed to see her take off in the direction of the resort. He ran over to Kratos who was napping under a tree.
"Kratos, wake up. Storm's flown away to Altamira," Zelos yelled at him.
"What! Not again...," Kratos sighed. "Well, she'll be there when we get there, hopefully. There's not much we can do now."
"I'd feel better if you went after her. You and Yuan are the only ones that can get there, please go make sure she doesn't do anything stupid. I couldn't bear to lose her and Anna. I don't know what I'd do," Zelos asked him.
Kratos looked at Zelos and realized that he must feel the same way about Storm as he did about his Anna. He couldn't possibly refuse, he figured that she'd be safe in Altamira, but he'd feel better too if he checked up on her.
"I'll go, tell the others where I went. We'll see you there," Kratos said as he took off after Storm.
Once he got to Altamira he realized that things were not much better there than in Meltokio. Everything, the casino, the hotel, the Lazareno company, was destroyed. He couldn't believe the extent of the damage that took place in Symphonia. Then he began to worry about where Storm was. Not only that, but he also wondered if Presea, Genis, and Regal were all right. There was no sign of anyone in the once beautiful resort. The beaches were littered with pieces of the nearby buildings that had rained upon the ground in explosions. Suddenly, he heard a noise behind him.
Kratos whipped around and brought his sword to Genis' neck who appeared very startled by his reaction. Kratos took away his sword at the sight of the mage. "Genis...it's just you," he sighed as he put his sword away.
"Nice to see you too. Are you here for Storm?" Genis questioned him.
"How did you know?" Kratos asked.
"Well, she's here and she's got a bunch of questions that none of know the answers to," Genis explained.
"I see. Where is she?" Kratos asked him.
"A bunch of us who made it through that attack have set up a little campsite over by where the amusement park was. Where are the others?" Genis questioned.
"Lloyd, Sheena, Yuan, Martel, Kagerou, and Zelos are on their way over. Storm actually ran away from the group," Kratos explained.
"What's wrong?" Genis asked.
"Well, this Desian leader kidnaped Anna," Kratos told him sadly.
"No way! Well, you can count Presea and I to be there to help get her back," Genis assured him.
"Thank you, Storm will be happy to hear that," Kratos told him.
The two walked over to the small group of survivors of the attack. Since Altamira was on an island it was much harder for people to escape the destruction. Fortunately, this group had managed to hide well enough that they were spared. Kratos saw Storm talking with Presea and Regal. There was also a small child in the group. Kratos recognized him as Genis and Presea's son, Merlin. Merlin was a very sweet little boy who was a little bit on the shy side when he first bet someone but was actually very friendly once he got to know someone.
Merlin was wearing an outfit like his father used to wear when he was younger except that his was pure white with red lining. He had messy, sliver hair and aqua colored eyes. He really looked a lot like Genis, but he had his mother's quiet and calm personality, most of the time. Merlin was only five and didn't really understand what was happening.
After about an hour, the others arrived and were greeted by Genis and the others. Storm didn't know what to do and she wanted to find Anna as soon as possible, but she didn't even know where to begin looking for her. Soon, her questions were answered when Yuan received a call from the Renegades.
"Sir, the Desians are here and they're attacking. Their leader is also here and she wants to use the teleporter to get to Derris-Kharlan. Bring reinforcements, we'll try to hold her off as long as possible," the soldier said before the transmission was cut off.
"We can't let her get to Derris-Kharlan," Yuan stated.
"Yeah, plus she has Anna. Maybe we can get her back and find out what she's up to," Storm suggested as she got up and was ready to go.
"We'll go, but we can't take the children with us," Sheena told everyone.
"I would be happy to watch them all. I am getting to be too old to keep fighting, I'll stay behind," Regal offered.
"Oh Regal, it won't be the same without you," Storm told him.
"It's okay, I can still defend these three little ones. At least I can be helpful while you're gone," he assured her.
So, Martel, Kagerou, and Merlin were all left under the care of Regal as they all hopped on the rheiards to go and aid the Renegades. Storm didn't know what would await her, but she was ready to get her daughter back.
"Why are we attacking the Renegades?" Anna asked Sutra as she watched a large army of Desians attempting to break into the base.
"They have the teleporter that will take us to the Cruxis Crystals. We need those crystals if we want our power and if we want a chance to help the half-elves," Sutra explained to her.
"How are we going to help the half-elves?" Anna asked her.
"If we collect all of the crystals that belong to Lord Yggdrassil's Cruxis Crystal then we can put mana in it and we can revive him," Sutra explained.
"Who is Lord Yggdrassil?" Anna questioned.
"You certainly ask enough questions, don't you?" Sutra asked, getting a little irritated with Anna's interrogation. "He's was once a great leader to the half-elves before he was killed. You know, your mother used to work for him. She'd be so happy if we could revive him I'd bet," Sutra told her.
"I've never heard of him. I can't believe that she would keep all of this stuff a secret...and from me too," Anna replied unhappily.
"Well, we'll make sure that she doesn't lie to you anymore. She'll know that she can trust you once you show her all the good that you're doing," Sutra assured her.
"Yeah, I guess I haven't really done anything that makes me seem worthy of this kind of power, but I want to show her that I can use it," Anna confessed.
"That's the spirit, now, let's get those crystals," Sutra cheered her.
Well, that's the end of this chapter. What will happen at the Renegade base? Will Storm and the others make it there before Sutra can break in and get what she wants? You'll have to wait and see. Well, tell me what you thought and please review. Thanks!