/* Wow, Kratos has really changed since the beginning, huh? I was re-reading the first chapter and I totally forgot he was that boring xD

Thanks so much for sticking with me! Things in the story are moving really fast right now, but I promise there will be some balance, soon-ish... in a few chapters maybe possibly lol. If you like things moving fast, don't worry- I'm sure it will happen again. I tend to alternate, I guess. In the chapters so far, sometimes there had to be action, and sometimes there had to be a bit of catching up. And most importantly, you've probably noticed that one of my favorite things to do is make each chapter slightly unpredictable. xD */

Chapter 14

The clothes were old-fashioned and were too short on his arms and legs- he was almost a foot taller than Pete, whom he had met once before- but there wasn't any time to complain. Kratos insisted on keeping his Cruxis outfit, however, and while Anna went to retrieve it off the clothesline he took the brown sack she had given him and slipped in some bread and cheese from the kitchen. He felt like he couldn't tell Anna they were going to run- of course she was the person they were looking for. They would have no way of knowing that she was already here, but if they were going to wait around for her to show up it would not be wise to linger. There was no other logical reason for the Desians to be here, killing people. She had to know that, and he wouldn't be the one to rub it in- she had been crying before so she must have realized then. It was ridiculous of her to run to Luin, she had endangered everyone in the town- but it was too late now. It was amazing that she had made it the whole way with his weight in tow, but he figured that she had probably flown with him… he would have to warn her about the mana that angel wings consumed… she wouldn't know, and he didn't want to risk having her experience what had happened to him the night before.

"Here you are. Don't know why you insist on keeping these things… actually, it's amazing that they didn't rip last night. You got injuries, but the clothes were just fine…"

"It doesn't matter. Come, we need to go."

He motioned for her to follow, and she slowly walked toward him. She narrowed her eyes, suddenly suspicious.

"Where are we going? You haven't told me that yet."

"Where would you like to go? I would recommend traveling south, away from the ranch. There's not much more in the north, anyway…"

"You mean you want to… leave? Right now?"

Kratos looked at the woman incredulously.

"You would rather stay?"

Her eyebrows came together and he realized he had touched a nerve. He wasn't sure where or how he set her off, but he tried to keep from rolling his eyes this time. She seemed to get angry over the most trivial things…

"You're horrible! Despicable! There are people getting murdered outside, and you want to just run away while nobody's looking? Let them give us a head start, or something?"

Kratos wondered what was wrong with that logic. It seemed fine to him.

"I can't believe this! Why did I even bring you here? You're no better than those Desians! You may have human ears, but…" she shook her head, almost sadly "you have no human heart."

"Where are you going?" he was getting frustrated now. He wasn't used to being reprimanded, especially not by someone like her. Besides, he had a heart! He saved her, did that mean nothing? What was she getting at?

"To where the rest of the town is, of course. That's where I belong, too."

"No, you don't. Anna, you know that they're here because they are looking for you. They don't know you're here, so you still have time. And you plan to just walk right up to them and turn yourself in?"

"Of course I…wait, they're what? Looking… for me? Here?"

"If you were a Desian, where would you start looking?"

"…you have a point. It just proves that you think on their level. And it doesn't change what I'm going to do either. In fact, that makes it even more important that I get down there…"

She reached for the door handle, and turned the knob- Kratos extended his arm and put his hand on hers, to keep her from swinging it open.

"They will take you back to the ranch, where you will live until you die. I won't be able to rescue you again."

She turned away, pretending not to listen.

"Do you even understand what I am saying? You. Will. Die. There." He tried to make a big emphasis on the dying part. This girl seemed to forget that in her oh-so-brilliant plan.

"What's it to you, Desian? I still don't understand why you let me leave in the first place. For all I know, you called your friends here to pick me up. Some sort of sick twisted game, I wouldn't put it past you…"

He raised his eyebrows at her ridiculous concoction, but said nothing. She wasn't even looking at him now.

"I hate you. Okay? I absolutely despise you. I have no idea why you let me out of the ranch, but I've had my day of freedom. Thanks for that, but now I'll be leaving." She gave Kratos a very powerful glance, and he couldn't help but see the determination in her eyes. "There are more important things than being free."

Kratos didn't stop her when she pushed the door open, and strode out quickly into the sun. He was too dumbstruck by the things she had just said.

"More important than freedom…? What the hell…?" he said it out loud, but it made no more sense than when she had said it.

For someone who had never been confined himself, it was hard enough to comprehend how terrible that must be. He sometimes felt trapped by being on Derris-Kharlan, but that was a whole city. He could still eat when he wanted, read when he wanted, and leave if he wanted. Anna was willingly marching back into her cell, which would probably be relocated to the most foul, awful part of the ranch- and she was doing it either out of sheer stupidity, or by choice. Her words had been spoken rationally, but all things considered, they made absolutely no sense.

Kratos had to squint as he walked out into the bright light, and closed his eyes as he turned to close the door behind him. It was uncomfortable being in Luin in the summertime- it was always like this. Hot, and blindingly sunny. He didn't like it at all. But he was too curious, he had to see what Anna was going to do. It still seemed extremely likely that she would just walk right into the forest, despite her big words- Kratos hadn't known her for very long but he figured that she was just too proud to admit that it was her only option. Or maybe she really did just want to get away from me. That thought was harder to swallow, but it also made sense. He walked forward cautiously and scanned the area for the swish of her brown hair. He didn't see her, but he figured she must have taken off running.

It would be difficult to find her in the forest during the day- he couldn't risk flying around with all the people out of doors. He hoped to Cruxis that she would have the sense to not go flying around either. But that left him with very few options, since he knew that the odds of finding her on foot were… undesirable. If he went to the center of town, and took a look at the spectacle- yes, at least then he would know for certain that she had escaped. He started running in the direction of the marketplace she mentioned, near the inn, but kept his eye out for Desians. He had no desire to be rounded up with the other humans…

Kratos was within earshot of the marketplace now, and he heard a crowd of perhaps twenty, or maybe thirty people breathing quietly as a single voice rose and fell with accusation.

"And how're we supposed to know you're who you say you are?"

"Because of this!"

Kratos recognized that voice. Suddenly he stopped running. What was this weird feeling he was going through now? His heart was pounding wildly, but he knew it wasn't from running. Something was terribly wrong… was this… fear? He couldn't remember, and he didn't care. He looked from side to side for something to stand on- he found a barrel, and brought it over to the side of a house. He climbed up onto the roof and inched forward on his stomach, careful to stay out of sight.

"Oh, let us see that. Hmm… you do fit the description…"

If the other feeling was fear, then Kratos supposed that the one he was feeling now was something akin to panic. But he tried to reason with himself. She's got to have some sort of plan. She's strong, she'll…

Another voice took over for the first Desian.

"Let's make an example of what happens to humans who run away from the ranch…"

Kratos peeked over the rooftop. He had to. He twitched as the Desians brandished their whips, and a shiver went down his spine when the one in front started to smile. Just from looking he could see the difference between the half-elves and the humans. If not for the clothing, it was the demeanor- humans always played the part of 'scared animal' while the half-elves could always be counted on to lash out like animals… they didn't feel remorse quite like other people, from what he had seen over four thousand years. It never changed.

But Kratos was half expecting Anna to do something different- with her fire and strength, he was counting on her trying to attack the Desians. Or something to that effect. Maybe she would spit in their direction, and say they weren't worth her fists of fury. Kratos hoped it would be something stupid like that… but he was completely taken aback when she just stood there, as the Desians walked up to her. There were only three of them, and he was sure she could have handled them. Even without the crowd helping her, she could have taken them down. But he looked on in horror as the first Desian lifted his whip, and had to bite his lip to keep from crying out as the first blow landed on her arm. Strange that he seemed to hurt too when they whipped her. He heard the three Desians taking turns, and he just couldn't look away. Whack whack whack. Whack whack whack…

The townspeople were shaking, he could hear them. An infant started crying, and a terrified mother was trying to muffle the sound by covering its mouth. People were looking away, they couldn't bear to watch. Anna was bloodied, and her clothes were torn so badly that they barely covered her chest. Every time the weapons hit her skin, he could detect the softest whimper, that nobody else would be able to hear. He couldn't watch anymore. Kratos just couldn't watch this. He wanted to climb down and crawl away somewhere, because there was nothing he could…they were Desians, just doing their job... but what was their job? Why was this necessary? He couldn't remember.

He was halfway back down from the rooftop when he heard her fall to the ground, like a limp pile of bones. Why wasn't she fighting? Why was she allowing them to do this? It made no sense at all. Even if she was here on a crazy emotional whim, it wouldn't explain her failure to preserve her own life. He almost wished he had never given her the keycrest- maybe she would have lived longer as a mindless vegetable... at any other time he would have laughed at the irony. But right now she was being made to suffer, for no reason at all... there are only three of them. Why doesn't somebody stop them? Somebody, somewhere...?

They were the offspring of Cruxis, founded by Mithos Yggdrasil. They were entrusted with bringing world peace at last, they were soldiers simply doing what they were taught to do. The picture was a scene of punishment, for a person who had escaped a human ranch, and was trying to escape justice. Kratos knew all this, but he also knew... that he didn't want her to die. He refused to let her die. And at this rate, she wasn't even going to make it back to the ranch in one piece. If anyone was going to do anything, now was the time... and he realized that it was going to have to be him. If anyone was going to save Anna, it was going to have to be him. Her parents were in the crowd, watching sadly. Her brother was probably hiding in his clothing shack, waiting for the storm to pass while his sister was being brutally... no. Enough. Feet now solidly on the ground, he drew his sword from its sheath at his side, and began whispering an incantation.

"Sacred powers, cast your purifying light upon these corrupt souls.... rest in peace, sinners." He held the sword horizontally in front of him, and felt the magical winds blowing his hair and clothing. It was soothing, as if they were trying to tell him it would all be over soon... he lifted his head and opened his eyes for the last word. "Judgment!"

He didn't have to look to know that he had hit the three Desians dead-on with beams of holy light... he didn't have to get near them to know they were dead. He had just killed his own underlings. He'd just killed half-elves, and there was just no way to rationalize it. He was afraid of himself, of his wild actions and uncontrollable emotions. What if next time, he were to kill someone else? What if, after all this, he would be inclined to kill Mithos one day? Or Yuan? Or... he wondered who else he would regret killing. Or.. Anna. I would never forgive myself if I were to let her die... I know I would never be able to kill her, at least... That thought seemed to come out of nowhere. It troubled him, so he tried to put it off in his mind where he would never find it again. He tried to clear his head- he had to go to her now. Anna needed him, and he wasn't going to keep her waiting. Never again.

A/N: Sorry I had to break the chapter here, it was getting too long and I know you guys want to read it as soon as possible... so don't think of this as the end of the scene. It's more like a breather in the middle of one long chapter =)