Lilikoifish: Sorry it took so long to update! Heheheheh…anyway, thanks to all who reviewed! Also, thank you all who put this fic on their alert or favorites list!

WARNING! This chapter is a little gross, violent, whatever…stuff like that that deserves a rating of T.

Disclaimer: I not own ToS…

Bonded – Part 2: Chapter 4

Anna sighed. She nursed the small baby boy she had given birth to not too long ago. Only two days ago to be exact. She put Lloyd down and reached down to get her leather bag, which she had carried the entire journey. She opened it and pulled out her photo album. She remembered that she had gotten a camera when she was 14. She had taken many pictures of herself and her friends. That was all before she went to that darn ranch.

Anna opened the album. The first picture was large, and included her, and her family. There stood little Kosuke, who was clinging to her pants leg, her mother (who looked nothing like her), and her dad (who looked a lot like her). She smiled. She missed them a lot, and she had just verbally hurt her little brother, Kosuke. How she wished she could see him now and apologize to him. The next picture was also large. It was of her best friends. They were all taken to the ranch as well. Her best friend, Syrene, was killed at the ranch when they put her in a gas chamber. There, the Desians filled the room with toxic gases. Anna was able to at least see her friend through the window, as they flung Syrene's body into the blue sea.

Her other friends had died of starvation or beating. Except her friend, Nina, who she met at the ranch. She was executed by Kvar himself for her stubbornness. Anna had been there…at the execution. She was able to touch her friend's hand before she saw Nina's head rolling on the floor. They also threw her head and body into the sea. That was the same with all dead bodies. They were all thrown into the sea. She felt a tear roll down her cheek as she saw the pictures. Just then, a hand stroked her cheek. It was Kratos.

"What is wrong, Anna?" Kratos asked her, staring at her with his kind, auburn-colored eyes.

"I'm…just remembering my friends…" Anna closed the album and slid it back into the bag. "Their deaths were all horrible." She remembered seeing her friend's limp, dry, bodies lying dead on the floors of the cells.

"I see. I once had a friend who was killed as well. He was killed in Asgard. He was stabbed 100 times in the same place. I was devastated…" Kratos murmured. Anna smiled at him and picked up Lloyd, who was crawling around and on the carpet, and chewing on it.

"Thanks, Kratos. You made me feel much better," she kissed him tenderly on the cheek. He smiled and pulled her off the bed.

"Come. I have some thing to show you." Kratos took her outside. "Bring Lloyd, too." Anna nodded. Kratos hoisted Anna and Lloyd onto a Rhearid and opened his wings.

"Follow me." Kratos lifted into the air.

"Kratos, help me!" Anna cried. "How do you turn this thing on?"

"Just flip the lever to your right," Kratos called.

"Which one?"

"There's only one!"

"Oh…" Anna pulled it. "Whoa!" The Rhearid lifted into the air.

"Whee! Funny, Mommy! More, more!" Lloyd clapped his hands. Anna steered the Rhearid. They landed in Sybak. Kratos led Anna into the labs.

"What exactly is this thing you want to show me?" Anna asked. Kratos opened a door.

"Is it ready?" Kratos asked.

"Yes!" the man handed Kratos a metal object. Kratos nodded in appreciation and stepped outside with Anna.

"This is for you, Anna." Kratos dropped the metal thing into her hand. "It is a locket made with metal that can only be shaped by the equipment they have here. It is for you. I made it myself, but they told me to keep it here for a few days." Anna opened the locket. Inside, there was a picture of Lloyd, Kratos, and herself. Anna let out a small gasp. She squealed and wrapped her arms around Kratos.

"Thank you, Kratos. It is beautiful," Anna said. Kratos looked at her with his you-really-like-it face. It looked completely innocent, and Anna's knees gave out when he gave her that look. She couldn't resist it. She laughed. Just then, Kratos's eyes grew wide with fear.

"What's wrong, Kratos?" Anna grew worried.

"Where's Lloyd…?" Kratos looked outside, afraid of what he was going to see. Yes, he was correct. Lloyd was flying a Rhearid around in circles.

"Whee! Fun! Fun!" Lloyd let go of the steering wheel and clapped his hands. The Rhearid did a barrel roll over the town and right into the mountains. Anna screamed. Kratos opened his wings and flew as quickly as he could to where Lloyd had crashed. When he got to the mountains, he cleared away the smoke. There sat Lloyd, in his red shirt and brown shorts, chewing on the wing part of the Rhearid.

"Spit that out," Kratos commanded.

"Nuh-uh!" Lloyd shook his head, and the wing part flew out of his mouth. Kratos caught it.

"What am I going to do with you? Your mother is so worried!" Kratos picked Lloyd up and opened his wings.

"Oooh! Pretty wings! Daddy's a birdie! Heehee!" Lloyd said.

"No, I'm not a bird. I'm an angel," Kratos laughed.

"Daddy's a guardian angel? Heehee! Will Daddy be my guardian angel?" Lloyd rested his head against his father's chest. Kratos smirked.

"Of course," Kratos landed safely. Anna ran over to them.

"Lloyd! Don't do that again! I was so worried!" Anna hugged Lloyd tightly.

"Hahaha! Mommy was scared! Mommies never get scared!" Lloyd laughed. Anna smiled at Kratos. Kratos took Lloyd from Anna. Lloyd tugged on Kratos's messy hair. "Hawhaw! Daddy is a girl because he has long hair like Mommy!" Lloyd ran his fingers through Kratos's hair like Anna would do to him. Lloyd's fingers got stuck in a knot.

"Uh-oh, Daddy! My fingers got tangled!" Lloyd tried to pull his hand out of the hairy mass. Kratos laughed and pulled Lloyd's hand through.

"I told you that you needed to brush your hair…" Anna scolded. Kratos put his hand over her mouth.

"You don't say anything," He told her. Anna laughed. Lloyd reached up to squash a fly on Kratos's face, but he accidentally missed and poked Kratos's eye. "OW!"

"Uh-oh! Daddy gots a boo-boo!" Lloyd cried. He buried his head in Kratos's chest. "Daddy's warm…" Lloyd fell asleep.

"Kratos…I have to take a picture of this!" Anna pulled out her old camera. "Smile, Kratos!"

"Huh?" Kratos turned toward the camera, covering the eye where Lloyd had poked him. Anna pressed the button. FLASH! Kratos glared at her.

"Let's see how this turned out…" Anna watched the picture develop. "Perfect!"

Kratos and Anna went home and put Lloyd in his bed. They pulled the blanket up to his chin and lightly kissed his forehead. Then they smiled at each other. It was a new life. Everything was starting over. What could be better than this?

There's no way anything else is better than this. Anna and Kratos thought.

Lilikoifish: Heehee…I had to put some "father-son" stuff in here. I was going to make this a sad and gruesome chapter, but I felt like putting the locket somewhere in here. Eventually, this father-son thing wedged its way in. Hope you liked it! Please review!

Note: I no longer have writer's block!I will probably be updating this a little faster now. Yay! Please review!