Chapter 25: Last Request

"What?" Kratos asked, disbelief written in his eyes.

"Please, Kratos…kill me. I don't want to hurt you or Lloyd. You have to kill me…"

"Anna, I can't. I love you."

"I love you, too, Kratos. And that is why you must kill me."

"Because I love you? Anna, that's crazy."

"It may sound crazy, my love, but it's true. You must kill me…if you love me, you'll end my suffering."

"Very touching. Very, very touching." Yggdrasill said, stepping up beside Kratos. "It seems you have a choice to make."

"…" Kratos glared at his leader. At that moment, a blue-haired figure came out of the house.

"Yuan!" Yggdrasill ran over to his faithful companion. "Where have you been?"

"Inside…WHAT IN MARTEL'S NAME?" he said as he caught sight of Anna.

"Yuan…help me." Kratos said in a voice that only Yuan could hear. The third Seraphim walked slowly and carefully over to the auburn-haired man.

"With what?"

"Anna…she wants me to kill her…" a single tear escaped the angel's eyes as he looked at his wife…at what Kvar had turned her into.

"Why?"

"Look at her. She's suffering. She wants me to, but I can't." Yuan glanced briefly at the monster that Anna had become, then back at Kratos. "I can't."

"If that is what she wants, then why not?" Yggdrasill called.

"Yggdrasill, you cold and heartless---," Kratos started, but was interrupted by Yuan.

"Kratos…watch your language in front of your son." Kratos just looked at the blue-haired angel, and then turned a steely glance on Yggdrasill.

"Kratos…please…"

"I can't, Anna. I just can't. You mean everything to me!"

"Daddy…why are you crying?" Lloyd had crawled up next to Kratos and was sitting by his feet.

"Noishe…come get Lloyd. I don't want him hurt."

"Once again, that's very touching, Kratos." Yggdrasill sneered. "Now get on with it. I want that EXsphere!"

As Yggdrasill had been speaking, Anna changed again, losing control for a second time.

"Daddy! Help!" Lloyd called as the monster attempted to attack again. Noishe couldn't defend the boy, so Kratos swallowed the lump in his throat and, clutching his sword's hilt tighter, jumped between Lloyd and Anna and closed his eyes. The next thing he felt was a jolt as the blade hit its mark and then nothing. He released the hilt and stepped back, afraid to open his eyes.

There was a brighter flash of light, a soft 'thud', then a louder one. Kratos fell to his knees, the tears flowing freely now, as the dark clouds overhead grew darker and the rain started pouring in sheets. Cracking his eyes open a tiny bit, he almost shut them again. His clothes were stained with blood, as was the ground and the sword. He slowly reached out to grab the sword, and closed his eyes again as he pulled it out. Throwing it carelessly to the side, he opened his eyes fully and took Anna's broken, human body into his arms.

"Anna…I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry…" he closed his eyes tightly and let the tears mix with the rain on his face and in her hair.

"Are you quite finished?" a voice called. Kvar stood there, staring at Kratos.

"Daddy? What's this?" Lloyd had once again snuck away from Noishe and had picked up the little red ball that had been the cause of all of this.

"Lloyd, put that down. It's not yours." Kratos slowly opened his eyes and gently took the EXsphere from Lloyd.

"Whose is it?" the boy asked.

"Mine!" Kvar shouted, rushing forward and snatching it. Kratos gently moved Anna's body back onto the ground and stood up. The two men circled, and Kratos picked up his sword.

"Noishe! Get Lloyd to safety!" Kratos ordered. The dog-creature did as it was told.

"Come, Yuan. This is not our battle." Yggdrasill spread out his wings and motioned for Yuan to follow.

"What about the EXsphere?" Yuan asked, unfolding his own wings.

"Don't worry about it. I'll get it later." The two Seraphs flew off.

After going full circle, Kratos unleashed a combo of sword techs. "Demon Fang! Sonic Thrust! Double Demon Fang!" Finishing the combo, he linked a spell attack, "Fireball!" Everything hit the mark. Kvar went flying and the EXsphere dropped to the ground. Kratos dived for it and grabbed it. He ran back over to the house and dropped it beside Noishe. "Keep this safe for me, OK?" Noishe whined. "Thanks, boy." Returning to the fray, he just managed to dodge Kvar's attack. Then, just as he was about to turn and counter, he was hit from behind. Kratos fell, the slash on his back oozing blood. Whispering, "First Aid," he slowly got back up. He shot fully upright, though, when he heard his son once again call for help.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha!" Kvar laughed, finding Lloyd and picking him up. Kratos turned and gasped. His son was holding Anna's EXsphere. Kvar, thankfully, didn't see it. Taking advantage of Kvar's distraction, Kratos ran up behind Kvar and attacked multiple times (A/N: think: KvarJulius Caesar). Unfortunately, the first hit caused Kvar to drop Lloyd onto the ground, and the subsequent hits caused Lloyd to see what his father was doing. As Kvar fell to his knees, Lloyd started crying. Kratos dropped his sword and picked up his son, who was still holding the EXsphere.

"Shhh. Don't cry, Lloyd. Daddy's here." Kratos said softly, trying to calm the toddler.

"Not for very much longer…" came Kvar's voice as Kratos felt a sharp object enter his side. Kvar grabbed Lloyd and waited until Kratos had turned to walk backwards towards the cliff/overlook. Kvar smiled evilly and Kratos charged, knocking all three of them over the cliff.

Once they reached the bottom, Kvar managed to get away, but Lloyd was nowhere to be found.

"LLOYD!" Kratos called, but there was no answer. So, he set out to find him.