A/N: And the next one... Sort of making up for not updating in two weeks... But not really...

Lloyd stood perfectly still in the snow, the biting cold lashing at his face and the sword scraping at his neck.

"Hello. Son." Kratos laughed

"Wh- Let him go! What are you doing?" Sheena cried, careful not to move too much.

"Just hold on for a minute. I have a job to take care of," he grinned. "Now where is Presea? Is she with you?"

"What do you want with her?" Lloyd shouted

"Answer the question!" Kratos screamed, pressing the blade closer into his throat.

"She- She's at the ice temple," he gasped "What do you want with her?"

"Good boy," Kratos replied, ignoring his question. "Now-"

Kratos' grip suddenly loosened and Lloyd instantly pushed him back, jumping forward away from him and rubbing his neck. Kratos knelt in the snow, not moving an inch.

"... Go... Both of you," he murmured.

"Lloyd!" Sheena cried. "Come on!"

"Dad? What-" Lloyd muttered, slowly stepping closer to Kratos.

"Go... You-... No..." Kratos mumbled again. Suddenly his sword was in his hand again and he lunged towards Lloyd, slashing at his head. Lloyd managed to pull his sword up to his face just in time, but there was no strength behind his arms and his sword dropped to the ground, his hand shaking. Kratos brought his sword up above him for a downwards slash, stopped by Lloyd's other sword just millimetres from his head.

Lloyd looked at his father's eyes as he pressed up on the sword, Kratos doing the opposite, a sinister grin on his face. They were bright, almost glowing inside his head. "Nnnrah! Who are you?" he screamed as he threw Kratos off him.

"Don't you recognise your Daddy, Son?" he laughed hysterically. "You haven't forgotten me already have you?" He rushed towards Lloyd again, swinging his sword wildly.

"Why? What-" Lloyd was cut off as his sword was knocked from his hands. Kratos let out a blood chilling laugh. Lloyd saw the blade heading straight for his chest.

"Pyre Seal!" screamed Sheena, thrusting her cards at Kratos and knocking him off his feet to roll in the snow metres away. "Come on!"

"I-"

"Now!"

Sheena grabbed Lloyd's swords, her Rheiard already in it's wing pack, and tugged Lloyd by the arm back to his Rheiard. She shoved him onto it before climbing on herself and rocketing off towards Flanoir as fast as possible, sending a huge wave of snow across Kratos as he stood up.

"He he... Run as fast as you like," he said, sheathing his sword. "You can't escape us." He spread his ethereal wings, rising up into the sky and flew out of the blizzard, away from Flanoir.

Regal shot into the shrine room if the ice temple, skidding to a halt as he saw Presea lying on the ground to his side. He ran over and bent down to look at her. She seemed unharmed.

"Presea? Are- Are you o.k?" he said softly. "Presea?" He tried nudging her gently but to no avail. He didn't want to be too rough if she was hurt.

He stood up. There were no obvious wounds on her body, her clothes weren't ripped or torn at all... Even magic would have left some signs. Burning, dampness, rips... Something... And he hadn't taken very long to get here. Whatever it was should still be around. He couldn't see any signs of life around the cave though, or even any signs that there had been a fight in the area...

Well he couldn't just leave her here. She'd freeze for a start, and if she was injured she would need medical attention. He lifted her up in his powerful arms and departed for the entrance. He kept his eyes and ears open the entire time for anything which could have attacked Presea, but didn't see anything. There didn't seem to be any more of the creature that attacked him earlier either to his relief. He couldn't fight another one and protect Presea at the same time...

Regal soon arrived at the exit to the temple. He got out his Rheiard and placed Presea between himself and the controls, her arms wrapped around him, so that she wouldn't fall off, before heading back to Flanoir slowly.

By the time Sheena and Lloyd reached Flanoir it was dusk and the freezing blizzards were beginning to die down. They entered the inn and the woman at the desk told them Regal and Presea were already back. Sheena thanked the woman and dragged Lloyd, who was still shaken and had a vacant look in his eyes, to their room.

"We have a situation," Sheena and Regal chimed as they entered the room.

"We-"

"K-"

"Pr-"

"L-"

"Oh-"

"Jus-"

"Uuugh! We'll never get anywhere like this... You go first," Sheena sighed

"O.k." Regal replied, standing aside so that they could see Presea, still unconscious on the bed. He told them how they had split up, how he had heard Presea scream and how he had been attacked. How he couldn't see anyone around and how Presea didn't seem to be hurt at all. She just hadn't woken up in several hours...

"Did you call the doctor?" she asked.

"He was away earlier, but he just arrived not long ago. He couldn't see anything wrong with her either. Just told me to let her rest... How about you?"

"Well..." she hesitated, looking at Lloyd "Umm... Lloyd was attacked." Sheena said finally

"By who? Are you o.k? Did you fight them off?"

"It was... Kratos..."

"It wasn't him," Lloyd said suddenly. "I know it... It couldn't have been him. Why would he put a sword to my throat?"

"I don't know Lloyd but... It certainly looked like him," Sheena replied.

"I must admit... I find it hard to believe that Kratos would return to attack Lloyd. A shape-shifter perhaps?" Regal suggested.

"I don't know of any that can mimic a voice. It sounded just like him... Only... Colder."

"Maybe this isn't the best time to talk about this," Regal said noticing Lloyd's forlorn expression.

"Right. Well considering the situation maybe Flanoir isn't the safest place to be right now," Sheena added. "Ah damnit... Thanks to- Whoever that was, my Rheiard is trashed. How the heck are we gonna get it fixed?"

"There's only 3 people I know of who even understand how the Rheiards work properly," Lloyd said. "I doubt we're gonna find Yuan, since he always seems to disappear. Raine's probably gonna be hard to find since she's moving around with Genis all the time so... That leaves-"

"Oh no..." Sheena groaned.

"-Zelos..."

"Please... No... Anything but that! We'll track down Yuan! I'm sure we can find him. My life depends on it!"

"Oh come on, he's not that bad... Besides, anyone else will take too long."

"Ugh. I suppose you're right. I'll never understand how someone so stupid can be so... Smart... But if that's the case I'm gonna have to fly with... someone else," She added, glancing at Lloyd and hoping she wasn't blushing. "Just until it's fixed..."

"Well-" Lloyd began

"You can ride with me," Presea called suddenly. "There will be more room on my Rheiard."

It took all of Sheena's strength to stop herself from strangling Presea. "Err... Thanks... Wait. When did you wake up?"

"A few minutes ago. You were talking so I did not want to disturb you," she explained.

"Are you injured?" Regal asked.

"Uuh... My head hurts. I do not have any wounds though if that is what you mean," she replied, rubbing her head.

"When we were in the ice temple... I heard you scream. What happened?"

Presea hesitated. "I do not remember... The last thing I recall is walking into the shrine room and then... I woke up here."

"What the hell is going on recently?" Sheena sighed. "Well if we're gonna have to bear Zelos tomorrow I'm gonna need a good night's sleep... I'll see you in the morning." She walked over to the door and opened it, before coming back and grabbing Lloyd, who was still staring blankly at the floor. "Goodnight."

"I think I'll get some sleep too," said Regal. "Night."

"But I just woke up," sighed Presea, but she lay back onto her pillow anyway and was asleep within minutes.

A/N: coughBlatant filler chaptercough

Yeah... Originally this chapter was gonna be paired with the next one but it turned out a bit longer than I expected and the next one will probably take a bit longer so I thought I might as well just give you this one now. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far! All your comments are welcome.