Okay, I think it's time to update this story. Sorry, but I was busy over the weekend. Anyway, I decided to make a statement on my profile about OC's so if you're interested go there and check it out. Well, I hope you're enjoying this story. So far, this has been one of my favorite to write, except maybe the first story I wrote. Anyway, here you go and enjoy!


Chapter 10: Questions About Their Feelings

A lot had happened since Storm betrayed the group and the others had so many other things they had been concerned with it became a thing of the past. She hadn't shown up again since she left, but Yuan and Kratos had both made their random appearances. Zelos was beginning to look around, wondering if Storm was going to show up at any point, but she never did. It seemed like she was gone to Cruxis and that she wasn't going to be coming back.

Storm's absence didn't seemed to bother anyone extremely terribly, it was mainly like when Kratos had left. It was tough to accept at first, but after awhile they all grew accustomed to the fact that she was gone, and they had time to grow angry at her for it. Zelos felt as if he was the only one who was missing her presence in the group. She seemed to be the only person who could stand his playboy style, but still got along with his serious side that he normally hid. Without her around he was feeling very alone, but he knew that soon he would be separated from the group. He just didn't know when that would be.

Currently, the group was regrouped with both Yuan and Kratos as they prepared to stop the twisted mana tree. They were about to invade Forcystus' base to shut down the last remaining mana reactor in Sylverant so Sheena could launch a counter attack at the out of control tree with the Summon Spirits from Tethe'alla. They had to work fast, and Kratos managed to gain back Lloyd's trust for the time being.

"Okay, so Kratos, Colette, and the Professor are going with me. We'll stop Forcytus, the rest of you go with the prisoners to make sure they get out safely," Lloyd told the group as they quickly left with their groups. Zelos couldn't believe that Lloyd was taking Kratos along with him after what he heard the man had done to the group. Maybe that meant they could take Storm back after this whole ordeal was over.

Zelos stopped what he was thinking, realizing that his thoughts kept going back to Storm. He knew that once he betrayed the group his time would be limited. He was okay with this thought, but he kept thinking about Storm even though he knew he wouldn't see her anymore. He had to tell himself to quit thinking about her, everyone else had. This was just like any other woman he had been with, he used to be able to move on. Of course, Storm was one of the rare women who never actually got with him, something that still blew him away.

As he followed Yuan and the rest of the small group he was with that was herding piles of prisoners out of the ranch, Zelos caught something out of the corner of his eye. There was someone sneaking around, there was a woman sneaking around. He wondered if it was a stray prisoner and he stopped to see if they needed any help getting out. He walked slowly in around the corner she had gone into just in case this woman wasn't friendly.

Around the corner was a large room with a computer in it. This room led off to many of the other hallways and seemed to be a control room of some sort. The large computer was mainly full of large monitors that showed many of the large rooms of the ranch. Zelos looked and could see both Yuan and Lloyd's groups moving through the ranch. He then looked to his left and saw the woman he was there for. Of course, he was shocked when he realized that the woman was Storm herself.

Storm was staring at the different screens as she watched the others move through the ranch. Every now and then she would see them about to run into a room that was locked. She looked down at the array of buttons, they were all marked as to which door they were to. She would wander along the buttons until she found what she was looking for and push it to unlock the door for her friends. She let out a small smile that was almost too small to see as she watched them all run into the different rooms.

Zelos was about to walk over to her, but rather decided to keep his distance. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable or scare her off completely. He was about to turn around when he saw someone coming up behind her. He didn't want to draw too much attention to himself, and he knew that since Storm was in with Cruxis she could handle herself in this situation. If he went out there himself or warned her he could ruin the plan to stop the out of control tree. Even he didn't want to see it completely destroy the worlds.

Storm watched the screens and pushed one more button, but as soon as she did someone grabbed her wrist and spun her around. She was forced to look at the man in the eyes. She had a shocked and even frightened look on her face, something Zelos wasn't too familiar with on her.

"Storm, what are you doing in my lovely ranch? I suppose you're here to visit me my dear," the man said with a very sly look on his face. Zelos looked at him, what was he up to, and what did he want with Storm?

"Forcystus! Why would I come to visit you? I'm here for Cruxis to make sure you don't screw something up too bad," she spat back after she had regained her cool. Zelos could notice that she was still a little intimidated by the man for some reason.

"Don't lie to me! I know that you're here helping those little friends of yours. Why else would you be letting them wander all over," Forcytus screamed at her at first, but then his voice became much softer, almost soothing for the girl.

Storm attempted to pull away from him. Forcystus wouldn't let go of her as she tried to struggle, but he actually pulled her closer. Zelos wasn't liking what the man was doing to her and he only wanted to strangle him for touching her.

"How dare he touch my Storm like that?" Zelos thought angrily as he watched Forcystus.

Zelos stopped again. Why did he even care? Did he actually care about Storm more than he thought? This was something that he'd never felt before. Whenever he had broken up with yet another one night stand he would see her with another man not too long after. He never got jealous or upset in the least bit when the other man began to hug or kiss the woman. He couldn't understand why he hated seeing Forcytus touching Storm. They had never even had an intimate relationship or anything close to it. Why was he feeling this way about her?

"Let me go!" she yelled at him as she tried to push away once again.

"Now, now you know that this is your fate. This is what Lord Yggdrasil wants so you may as well get used to it. If I can't have what I really want then you'll have to do," he told her as he laughed a little at the disgusted look on her face.

"I won't, I don't care what he says," she yelled back at him.

"When did you get this spunk?" he asked, chuckling a little. "Well, I guess if you don't care what he says then I'll let him know that you're out here helping Lloyd's group destroy my ranch," he said as he walked over to the computer. He was about to call Derris Kharlan. Storm looked at him before she broke down.

"Wait! I'll leave, and I'll behave just don't tell him," she said as she hung her head down in defeat. Zelos couldn't believe what he'd seen. Cruxis had so much power over Storm, and it was all through fear. He could only imagine what growing up with them was like.

"That's a good girl. Now, you leave and be good while I take care of this pesky little group," Forcystus said as he lifted up her chin and ran a hand down her cheek before leaving once again. Storm stood and looked at the ground for awhile, apparently trying to pull herself together. What was going on between her and this Forcystus guy? Zelos wanted to know, but he knew that he probably never would. He looked at Storm, knowing he couldn't comfort her as he left to meet with the others outside.


Storm couldn't believe that she had let Forcystus push her around once again. She would have loved to just kill him then and there, but she really couldn't kill anyone. She may have been a tough fighter, but when it came down to it she didn't want to kill people. She knew it wasn't right, no matter what Mithos had taught her. Her father never approved of it, and Yuan didn't seem to like the idea too much himself. She could injure someone to get her point across and she did resort to violence a lot, but taking a life was something she couldn't bring herself to do too easily.

She wanted to break down and cry, but after all of her years with Cruxis and Mithos she had found that she was unable to anymore. She knew how Colette must have felt, to want to cry but to not be able to.

"I really wish Zelos was here right now...," Storm thought as she stared at the ground.

Storm couldnt' believe that she had just thought that. Why did she want Zelos to be there with her? She didn't think that she cared for him. Sure they were friends when she was with the group, but they were only friends and that was over now that she was gone. He probably didn't even care about her anymore. He had more important things to do now. She decided that she had better get out before Forcystus decided to come back or before Raine decided to destroy the ranch like she had done to all the others.

As she was heading out she caught a glimpse of Zelos outside waiting for Lloyd, her father, Colette, and Raine. He didn't see her, but she wanted to make sure to see him once more before she headed back up to Derris Kharlan. Did she care about him? She didn't know what he was doing to her.


Well, that's it for this chapter. Lots of feelings are sneaking up on them. Anyway, check out my profile like I said, only if you care about OC's and their future. I sound like I'm trying to save an endangered species or something. Hahaha... Anyway, tell me what you think about this chapter. Oh, and I was thinking about writing a "Could It Be Love 2" or something. It won't be titled that but you catch my drift. I like Zelos' point of view so I was thinking about Return of the Queen. Tell me what you think about that. Please review and thanks for reading. Thanks for the reviews for the reviews. Oh, and my silent readers, I know you're there, what you tell me is important. Thanks!