A/N: This has been on six-month hiatus and I still want to continue it. I've been giving my attention to school works, anime and one special person of my life who made me feel how it's like to love and to be loved again. I'm sorry for the long wait and thank you for the reviews.

Chapter 5: Lost in Reverie

Crona stared into the earl's golden eyes that glistened with the afternoon sun. She momentarily lost herself at the sight of them. She was reminded of an unforgettable event that took place a long time ago when she was still a child.

A memory.

Thunder roared in the sky. Little Crona opened her eyes in shock, pushed away her thin blanket and jumped off her bed. She could hear snippets of the conversartion from downstairs. She had an idea of what was happening... and she didn't like it at all. She ran in the murky hallways barefoot, still in her pajamas, until she reached the stairs. Her legs weakened when she saw her father already putting on a large bag at his back. She gripped on the stairs' railings and ran to his father.

"Father!" she shouted as loud as ever. She was about to be left by someone very precious to her. It was this one step she missed that made her heart skip a bit as she fell into her father arms.

"Crona," her father started.

"Don't go, father! Please don't!" Crona begged, ignoring the little accident that just transpired a few seconds ago. She dug her face in his father's stomach and squeezed her eyes shut. "You once told me that it's okay for me to be a little bit selfish so now let me selfishly beg you to stay! Please..." She gritted her teeth and gradually opened her teary eyes. "Stay for me and mother."

Her father sighed and frowned. He held Crona's chin and made her eyes meet his. He showed her a gentle smile. "Crona, I can't just stay here while our fellowmen are risking their lives to protect our country." He planted a soft kiss on Crona's forehead after brushing off her asymmetrical bangs as he wiped the tears at the corner of her eyes with the pad of his thumbs. "I love you and your mother. Don't ever forget that."

"Then why..." A new batch of tears were formed on Crona's eyes. "Why would you leave us if you do?"

"I'm doing this for you... for all of us," he whispered, stepped back, took his pistol from the table and tucked it in his denims. Crona saw it and was afraid with what he was going to do about it.

"Father, you're not going to kill people, are you?" she asked nervously and tugged the hem of his father's jacket to get his attention, her tears suddenly stopped trickling down her face.

Her father smiled. "Only the bad ones," he said. "Look, Crona..." He knelt down in front of Crona, ran his hand through her hair and made her listen to something both terrible and beautiful, "You've grown matured to know what a gun is for. But keep this in mind, I'd kill it for you and your mom."

Crona gasped and covered her mouth as her eyes widened after hearing her father's words. She stood on the floor, unshaking. Her father had let go of her and stood properly already. He waved at Medusa, looked down on Crona with a face void of emotion. Crona was too overwhelmed with what her father said; she couldn't make a move.

"Stop him," the little voice in her head said. "Stop him!" Her own motivation was a futile attempt. She was torn between letting her go and stopping him. She didn't want to disobey her father so she wanted to let him go but she also didn't want him to leave, believing that she'd never see him again.

Mr. Gorgon opened the wooden front door of their house. A flurry of snow came in and blinded Crona.

Flashback End

Crona woke up to the roaring sound of the train's engine. She gripped her head as she caught her breath in panic. Across her was Kid sitting on the couch next to Justin, startled. He stared at Crona with an expression mixed of worry and astonishment.

"Where—where are we?" Crona whispered hastily and stood up. Her voice and legs were trembling. She clutched Kid's knees and looked down at him, beads of cold sweat running down on her temples. "Where's mom? Where's dad?"

"Crona, calm down," Kid said sternly.

Gradually, Crona's apprehension faded and Kid could already see the calmness in her eyes. She felt Maka's hands on her shoulder that made her flinch a bit.

"It's alright, Crona," Maka said with a soothing voice and she smiled at the pinkette. "You just had a bad dream."

"B-but—" Crona started.

"I'll explain to you everything," Maka interrupted before Crona could jump into conclusions. "Let's sit down first." She guided Crona back to the couch.

A few moments of silence have passed before Maka started talking again for them all. She was holding Crona's hand as she spoke, switching her glance from Justin to Kid, Crona and reverse. "Crona, a while ago, you just suddenly passed out in Master Kid's room."

Crona looked clueless. "I did?"

"Yes. And it made Master Kid really worried..." They both glanced at Kid who just looked away and watched the snowy mountains outside. His arms were folded against his chest. Crona and Maka looked at each other again "... So worried that he decided to take you to a hospital since you still wouldn't wake up. He was blaming himself."

"Oh, he shouldn't have. His... his eyes reminded me of someone... and a memory." Crona's stare fell on the floor.

Maka and Kid glanced at each other and exchanged expressions.

"So that's why she passed out," Kid thought. "She probably dreamt of that memory."

Without too much hesitation, Maka said, "Who was it?"

Crona tried to reply but her throat suddenly felt too dry. "F-father," she managed to say.

Kid gave her a quizzical look. "What happened to him?"

"She left me and mom on one snowy night. He... he said he's going to leave to protect me and mom... to protect the country."

All of them didn't say a word after that.

"He must have died after the war," Kid thought, now gritting his teeth. "If he did, it will be hard for her to accept it." He tried to calm himself down, sighed silently and closed his eyes.

"Your father is probably in a safe place right now," Justin said, breaking the silence. He rendered a warm smile to Crona.

Crona slowly registeredd Justin words. She felt a sense of comfort. Disgruntled about what happened to her father, she still smiled back at Justin. "I hope so," she said softly.

"We're going to look for your father," Kid assured her. "For now, let's take you to a doctor."