Sorry it took so long for an update but the website wouldn't allow me to login for a long time. Anyway, here's the next part of the story that everyone, including myself have been waiting for. Enjoy!

Chapter 10: Bargain

Storm drew her sword and prepared to attack Sutra with everything she had, but she noticed that, besides her wings, Sutra was not preparing to attack at all. Storm immediately knew that something was up and she didn't like it one bit. Storm slowly lowered her sword but didn't take her eyes off of Sutra for even a second. She didn't trust her at all.

"I'm not here to fight you, only to talk," Sutra told Storm calmly.

"If you're going to talk then you'd better tell me where the hell my daughter is," Storm yelled at her.

"Patience my friend, your daughter is safe. I can assure you of that," Sutra replied with a sly grin on her face.

Storm's eyes narrowed on her enemy. She was getting sick and tired of this girl's cocky attitude. She wanted her daughter back now dammit and she didn't want to wait for this bitch to decide if it was a good time or not. "Where is she?" Storm demanded with emphasis on every word.

"I told you that she's safe, isn't that good enough for you. You should be happy that I'm keeping that brat alive for you," Sutra replied angrily. She was beginning to lose her cool with Storm, but she soon brushed the feeling off and returned to her calm appearance.

Storm raised her sword to Sutra again. "If you don't bring her back alive, I'll kill you right now," Storm threatened her.

Sutra laughed a little at this remark. Storm was confused by her reaction, but didn't let her guard down. "I wouldn't do that if I were you my little Stormie," Sutra replied.

"And why's that?" Storm asked her, getting more and more impatient with each passing second.

"Because if you kill me and I don't return to where your daughter is being held, my soldiers have been ordered to kill her. Believe me, they could care less about what happens to that little kid. So, why don't you be a good little girl and put your sword down so we can talk. What do you say?" Sutra told her as she reached out to Storm's sword and pushed it down a little bit.

Storm glared at Sutra while trying to decide what to do. Finally, her sword slowly moved back to its sheath. Storm didn't like it, but as long as Anna was being held captive, she was at her mercy. "What do you want?" Storm asked her.

"Well," Sutra began. "Since you've already began your quest to find the crystal shards, I assume you know what I want with them and with you," she said.

"Yeah, but we'll stop you from reviving him. I won't let you bring him back," Storm replied defiantly.

"Okay, so let's say that you do get the shards, then what?" Sutra asked her. "I still have Anna and I can still kill her. By stopping my plans, you're not saving her," Sutra told her.

Storm thought about it and realized that she was right. Even if they did collect the shards Sutra could still kill Anna, Storm would still be at her mercy. Storm tried to think of any other option for their party to rescue Anna, but she couldn't think of anything. No one else in the party seemed to realize that Anna would still be in danger. Sutra could see her reactions and decided to use her emotions to her advantage.

"Maybe they're more worried about Mithos coming back than your daughter. Have they really tried to get her back, or have they just tried to prevent him from coming back?" Sutra asked her.

Storm looked down at this statement. She didn't want to admit it, but what Sutra said made sense. No one was willing to look for Anna, just the shards. They didn't care about Anna, just about Mithos' return. "What do I have to do to get Anna back?" Storm asked Sutra.

"If you collect the shards for me and deliver them to me, I'll set Anna free. Of course, I need you too so, you in exchange for her. I give you my word that I will let her do whatever she wills after that. She'll be safe, but as for you...well that's a different story," Sutra told her.

Storm stared at Sutra, knowing that if she agreed to do what she was asking she would be betraying everyone. Everything that her friends and family were doing would be put to waste. Storm didn't care, as long as she knew that Anna was safe she could be happy, even in death. Storm gave Sutra her answer with a simple nod. Sutra smiled as she stuck out her hand to shake on the deal which Storm grabbed without any question.

As Storm walked back to the camp she realized that she was exactly what she was always meant to be. She was a traitor, but she figured that no one in the party would be surprised by her actions. She figured that no one in the party trusted her completely so they shouldn't be too shocked by her actions. She wished that she didn't have to do it to them, she wasn't really worth what Sutra wanted anyway. She believed that her life did not contain that much value, but she knew that Anna's did.

Storm entered the camp and noticed that Zelos was up, waiting for her to come back. After what had just happened she couldn't look at him. She knew what she was going to have to do, but it was for their daughter and she knew that it was better for him.

"Where were you for so long?" Zelos asked as he tried to put an arm on her shoulder.

Storm jerked away from his touch and barely muttered back to him. "I was just out thinking, that's all."

"What's the matter?" Zelos asked her.

"It's nothing," Storm told him as she went to where the others were enjoying breakfast. Storm sat down with the group and looked at them, each person she looked at caused her more pain as she thought of what she would be doing to them. She kept telling herself that it was for the best, but decided to see what they said if she asked them about what Sutra had said.

"Hey Lloyd," Storm called to him. Lloyd was pigging out on the amazing pancakes that Genis had made for the group, but looked up when Storm called to him.

"What is it?" he asked her as he paused at his plate, but was evidently itching to get back to his meal.

"What are we going to do once we get back the shards? How will we get Anna back?" she asked him, but was met with silence from him.

"I knew it. You have no idea to save her, you just want to stop Lord Yggdrasil from coming back," she yelled at him as she ran off back into the woods.

Kratos was about to get up and talk to her, but soon noticed that someone else was going in his place. Yuan got up and ran after Storm in hoped of catching her.

Storm had her hands buried in her face as she let the tears fall from her eyes. She couldn't help but worry about what Anna was going through. She didn't want her to have to suffer like she had with Cruxis. No one seemed to care that she was in danger as well. Suddenly, someone sat down beside her. She figured that it was her father and she moved away from him in an attempt to hide her tears.

"Storm...," Yuan called to her soothingly as he touched her shoulder.

Storm looked up at him in amazement. The two of them hadn't been together in so long, but there was an undeniable connection between the two of them still. Storm couldn't hold it back anymore as she threw herself at him burying her face in his chest as she began to cry.

Zelos watched from a distance as he saw his wife being comforted by the man who had once almost stolen her from him. He could see that they were becoming close again and he wondered if he was really what she needed. He decided to let Yuan take care of her as he walked back to camp.

"Don't worry, we'll get her back, I promise," Yuan told her.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she cried into his chest. Yuam had no idea that Storm was apologizing for what was going to come instead he believed that she was sorry about her outburst. It was only a matter of time before he understood the truth. Storm knew what had to be done.

Well, that's the end of this chapter. In the next chapter there will hopefully be some fighting as the group enters the fire seal to get another shard. We'll see how that works out. Anyway, thanks for reading, please please review. Thanks!