The people of Luin were dashing through the streets, fleeing into houses and locking doors. Children were plucked from streets and yards and hurried into shelter. Street vendors grabbed what they could of their wares and fled into the nearest place they could find. People ran, screaming for mothers, fathers, wives, husbands and children. The Desians were coming and anyone who stood outside would find themselves in the Asgard ranch, though even the locked doors wouldn't keep Kvar's men out.

In a small shack on the outskirts of the village, Anna and Kratos were scrambling into their armor. Anna finished first and picked up Lloyd, now one-and a-half, kicking open the door, Kratos a beat behind her. They had very little on them with no time to grab supplies.

"Damnit!" Anna shouted as they ran out of the house. "If it weren't for us, this would not be happening!"

"It can't be helped," Kratos replied, looking carefully in all directions, every sense, angel and human, alert. When Anna did not reply he grabbed her and ran faster dragging her behind him, Noishe in their wake. "I know what you're thinking," he said. "I know the Jalisa usually came to put a stop to this and you want to…but it's you they want. We can't risk it. Think of Lloyd, if nothing else." Anna held Lloyd tighter, shielding him with her cloak, and nodded.

"Damn," Kratos whistled to Noishe and they all ducked behind a house, peeking around the edge to watch the scene before them. The Desians had forced their way into a house and were shouting at the people. Suddenly a woman with a little girl in her arms stumbled out of the house and flew down the street. But she didn't get far before an arrow sprouted from her back. She was dead before she hit the ground. The Desian archer who had shot her now had his aim on the little girl who lay crying next to her mother.

Anna didn't hesitate…or think. Snatching one of her hidden knives she had strapped to her wrist, she threw it at the Desian, catching him in the head. She ripped a sling out from under her cape and tied it around Noishe. As if he knew what was coming, Lloyd began to cry. Anna kissed him and put him in the sling. "Noishe! To the forest! Go! Protect Lloyd." Noishe dashed off as Kratos and Anna drew their weapons. "I'm sorry Kratos."

"We'll be more sorry if we don't move quickly before they call reinforcements," he replied dashing at impossible speed toward the Desians, Anna not that far behind. Half of them did not see what was coming as they were cut down by a purple angel of death and a dark shadow with lighting in her eyes. Kratos ran a sorcerer through and, with his blade still embedded, kicked out to the side, catching the approaching Desian in the knee and shattering his kneecap. A slash from Anna ended him. She rotated her swords so they pointed behind her and plunged them into the Desian behind her. Before the man even hit the ground, she had leaped high in the air and ended two Desians with a fierce Rising Falcon attack.

"Spread!" came a shout from behind Kratos. Kratos turned in time to see a wave of water form under Anna, who threw up her barrier. Still she was blasted upward and thrown backward. Rather than fall, she managed to turn in the air and land on her front, somersaulting up and driving her sword straight into said sorcerer, who fell to the ground as the last one. Kratos turned to see more troops moving through Luin toward them, the rest of the villagers forgotten in their haste to capture their targets. "Anna, run now!" Anna took off. Kratos looked at the destroyed house to see nothing but bodies. He sighed an scooped up the wailing child, the Desians right behind him. He ran after Anna, pulling out his wings and flying toward her. As he drew level, he threw out the hand not holding the screaming child and Anna grabbed it. Kratos rose high into the air, sped up, and vanished into the trees.

They found Noishe on the very edge of the trees, poised to attack if necessary. Lloyd was clutching the giant dogs leg and looking around frightened. As soon as Kratos and Anna landed, Lloyd cried "Mama!" and tottered over to his mother. Anna scooped him up in her arms, wiping away his tears. "Shh. It's ok, Lloyd. It's ok. Mommy and Daddy are here. It's ok." She turned to Kratos, rubbing Lloyd's back. Kratos was performing the same action for the sobbing girl, who looked to be two. "Her parents?" Kratos shook his head. Anna swore. "Now what? We can't very well take her with us."

"Well maybe if you hadn't interfered," Kratos replied.

"How dare you suggest I leave a little girl to die!" Anna said, her temper firing up, setting Lloyd off again. "Just because-" she bit her lip and turned away, absolutely ashamed of herself.

Kratos said nothing. He sat down, rocking the girl until she fell asleep. He took the sling from Noishe and used it to make a bed for the child. He walked over to Anna and Lloyd. Lloyd reached up for his father, saying "dada! dada!" and Kratos picked him up and sat down with the boy in his lap. Anna was afraid to speak.

"You were going to say, 'Just because you and Cruxis would have left her doesn't mean I will.'" He sighed.

Anna hugged her knees and buried her face. "I didn't mean it Kratos. I really-"

"You're right," Kratos interrupted. "I would have left her. If you hadn't interfered, I would have left the girl." He looked down at Lloyd who waving around a stick he found. "Some father I am."

Anna leaned over and put her head on Kratos's shoulder. "You wouldn't have left her. Not today. Maybe in the past. I saw you hesitate when you saw the mother fall, even if you didn't realize it. So don't worry." She sighed. "I snapped because the exsphere was acting up."

Kratos turned quickly to look at her. "Are you all right?" Anna nodded. "Good." He bounced Lloyd on his knee a bit, causing the boy to laugh. A smile crept across Kratos's face. "He's such a happy baby," Kratos said. "He's going to be just like you, I know it." Lloyd yawned and laid down in Kratos's lap, sucking his thumb, falling asleep almost immediately. Kratos pulled a blanket out of the small bundle of supplies he'd managed to grab and wrapped Lloyd in it, laying him next to the sleeping girl. The last thing either of them wanted to think about was the exsphere.

"Kratos?"

"Hmm?"

"Let's send the girl to Asilaj."

Kratos pulled Anna into his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist as she tucked her head under his chin. "Why?"

"Well," Anna said. "Ahmond and Denise…well…Denise can't have children, but she's always wanted to adopt. I figure the little one can be their adoptive daughter. Denise and Ahmond would be thrilled. Plus, it ensure the leader lineage continues."

"How do we get her there?" Kratos asked.

"Noishe," Anna said and Noishe trotted over. "Go to Asilaj and get Denise and Ahmond. Tell them it's very important for them to meet us in Hima as soon as possible." Noishe whined and galloped off through the woods.

"How can he understand us?" Kratos asked, voicing the thing he had been pondering since he met the large animal.. "And how can we understand him? And how is he going to tell that to Denise?"

"Well, Noishe is a protozoan we recovered from a ranch. They were experimenting on animals and Noishe was the result. Anyway, he has some kind of power that allows him to understand us. In turn, he can chose whether or not we can understand him."

Kratos nodded and kissed Anna's hair. "I love you."

"I love you too," Anna said softly. She paused for a while, uncertain if whether she should ask the questions running through her mind. She gulped. "Kratos?" He didn't answer. "Kratos?" She moved slightly to look at him. He was fast asleep, a content smile on his lips. "He's asleep." She looked over to where Lloyd and the little girl slept peacefully. She grinned. "He looks just like Kratos when he sleeps."

The next morning, Anna and Kratos walked quickly through the forest. The little girl, who said her name was Hikaru, was skipping beside Anna, trying to catch butterflies and bugs with her hands.

Anna looked at the child and remembered how…just moments ago, the young girl had put Anna through the greatest challenge of her life.

FLASHBACK

As they prepared to head off into the forest, Anna felt a tug on her cape. Hikaru stood there looking scared, though her fear of the strangers who had save her had vanished when she woke up and told them her name. "Where's Mommy?"

Anna froze and looked at Kratos who looked equally frightened. Anna gazed into the innocent face, trying to figure out how to tell Hikaru that her parents were dead. She picked the girl up and said, "Hikaru, did your mommy ever tell you about angels?"

Hikaru nodded. "Angels live in the sky with Martel. Mommy said my brother is an angel and daddy too."

Anna smiled. "That's right."

Hikaru nodded. "Mommy said that one day, she'll be an angel too. She said that if she becomes an angel, she'll always watch me." Hikaru looked at Anna. "I want mommy to be an angel. She misses daddy and big brother. And if she's an angel, she will always watch me, even if try to hide. I want mommy to always watch me."

"Hikaru," Anna said. "You mommy is an angel now. And she will always watch you. I promise."

Hikaru sighed, a emotion that seemed too old for a two year old. "I'll miss her though…will you and bird man be my mommy and daddy?"

Kratos, with Lloyd riding on his shoulders, stopped dead and turned around slowly. Anna was trying to hide a laugh as Kratos stared at her, his mouth agape. "Birdman?"

It was too much. Anna burst out laughing and Hikaru did too. Lloyd, seeing the other laughed, clapped his hands and cried "Dad burd! Dada burd!" tugging on Kratos's hair. Kratos looked up at him. "Great. You think I'm bird man too, Lloyd?" Lloyd smiled and cried, "Dada burd! Dada burd!"

Anna put Hikaru down a clapped a hand on Kratos's shoulder. "Let's get a move on Birdman!"

"Of course we'll take her," Denise said, her eyes welling up. "You have no idea what this means to us. We officially got married six months ago, so it's perfect."

"Yeah," Ahmond said. "Maybe you could work on getting us a son next."

Kratos snorted, "Under the conditions, I'll pass, thanks." Denise laughed. Hikaru was perched atop Ahmond's shoulder, his hat on her head.

"Well," Anna finally said. "I'm sorry to cut this short…but we have to go." She hugged her two friends close. "Take care of yourselves," she said.

"We will," Denise replied. She kissed Lloyd's forehead and petted Noishe. Ahmond grinned at Anna and said, "No crying. You'll be back soon," he winked.

"We know," Anna said as Kratos put Lloyd back onto his shoulders. It was quickly becoming the boy's favorite perch. "Bye Hikaru!" he said as Anna kissed her cheek.

"Bye Anna!" she said smiling. "Bye Birdman Kratos!" Ahmond and Denise's jaws fell open as they processed what the child said. Kratos closed his eyed wearily a Lloyd yelled "Dada burd! Dada burd!"

"Birdman is heading off with his bird brained child now," Kratos said over the hysterical laughter. "I trust you'll find some other way to amuse yourselves.

As the two couples and their children parted ways, neither noticed the hooded figure moving down the path toward Hima, not even when it bumped Ahmond hard without an apology. He glared at the person, but he, or she, merely continued on their way. When Ahmond and Denise were out of earshot, the person muttered, "You'll get yours Ahmond Senshi. But first…my dear sister, her tainted husband, and her bastard child are in for some nasty surprises."

Wow…3 chapters in the last two days. I'm on a role. I estimate story completion in three or four more chapters, probably three. But never fear! You'll see more action in the sequel, currently titled "I Will Always Protect You." As for adding Hikaru…well…she plays an important role in said sequel.

REVIEW PLEASE!