A/N: You know what I just realized? Since I got Kratos the title 'Judgement' on my game, he can wear his Cruxis uniform. I basically jumped up and down. I love his Cruxis outfit so much more than that purple...thing.

Now if only I could find a good picture of him in that outfit. Mitsukai would be happy...

Anyway, I know this is WAY short, but it was the best place to end it where I ended it, so I'm sorry. I'm putting up another longer chapter later today though. :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except my story, of course.

Failing Anna in death was Kratos' biggest fear. He had already failed her in life. He wondered, daily, if she looked at him from the Heavens and was disgusted with him. He would've been disgusted with himself.

He wondered if she was angry at him, or if she was hurt. Occasionally, he wondered why he was wondering at all. He believed in neither Heaven or Hell. He was an angel. This religion thing was a scam...right?

But when he thought like this, his heart ached.

Surely, Anna was in a better place. She just couldn't be forever as a corpse in the ground. She couldn't. There had to be an afterlife, simply because there had to be some place where Anna was. Her soul, her strong soul, couldn't have possibly just been snuffed like a candle as she drew her last breath. No. Anna was living in spirit...somewhere.

And when he thought about her soul, he couldn't help but think of Anna when she was alive. He had laughed when he was with her, he had smiled. It was because of her, he had been happy. She and she alone was able to take away the sorrow that was threatening to devour his heart. It was with Anna that Kratos was able to forget his pain; the pain of centuries of the wrong decisions, the pain of losing Martel, the pain of Yuan's hatred towards him, and the pain of what Mithos had become. There was no pain when he was with Anna. He loved her and because of that, being with her was bliss.

Now, all he had were memories. He cherished these above all else. The memories of Anna were what he held close to him when he was alone. Her face, her hair, her smile. He recalled what it felt like to hold her hand, to touch her. He could still taste her lips, he could still feel her breathe on his neck as she slept in his arms. He could hear her voice when there was nothing else to hear. He thought of her laughter when he was afraid.

The Seraph felt a tear roll down his cheek. He reached up and touched his face, suprised. I can not cry... But there it was, plain as day, a tear. Kratos stared at it for a moment, then shook his head and was lost again in his memories.

But, when he was with her, even as he was happy, there was a sad thought in the back of his mind. He and Anna would never have a happy ending. She would grow old, she would die, but he would remain untouched by time. It was a painful thought. One which nagged at him constantly. He remembered thinking about it on nights when they lay on the grass and counted the stars. He thought about it when he watched her laugh as she played with their baby...

A pang of guilt. Their baby. Lloyd. He was all grown up now. He was making his own decisions, fighting his own battles, something his mother hadn't been able to witness. He reminded Kratos of her. He saw Anna in his son's eyes and in his actions. Anna had been stubborn and very defiant. It was because of this that he had met her in the first place.

"You called, Mithos?" he entered the room where Mithos spent most of his time.

"Its Kvar," said the blonde man. "It would seem that he's having trouble with one of his humans."

"And? Isn't he fond of killing them if they misbehave?"

"Well, yes, but apparently, that's out of the question with this one."

"Why is that?"

"The human is one of his 'projects'. He seems to think that if he completes it, I will make him the leader of the Five Grand Cardinals or some such nonsense."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"What do you think? I can't very well go down there. But I need someone to see what is going on. You."

Kratos sighed.

"The warp pad will activate in an hour. She's located at the Asgard Human Ranch in Sylvarant."

"She?"

"Stop asking so many questions!" yelled Mithos, rubbing his forehead. "It doesn't become you."

In a few hours, he met with Lord Kvar at the Grand Cardinal's office. After a brief explanation, Kratos was led to the room where "A012" was being held.

She was sitting on a table, instead of a chair. She wasn't looking at him; in fact, she was turned in the opposite direction.

"Ahem?" Kratos wasn't sure how he was supposed to address her. He certainly wasn't going to say something pathetic like "Inferior being, look at me when I enter a room!"

She turned to face him. He, yes he, the centuries old Seraph, was startled by her beauty. She had long brown hair and brilliant green eyes. She smiled at him with pretty white teeth.

"So," she said, "Kvar finally broke down?"

"W-what?" Holy mana, did he just stutter?!

"You are a higher member of Cruxis, are you not?"

How did she know that? "Yes."

"I knew it! He can't kill me, and he can't make me obey him, so he's using someone else!"

"Why won't you just listen to your orders?"

She snorted. "Do you know what they're using me for? They're growing this...this thing called a Cruxis Crystal on me. Kvar probably had it figured that I'd be dead by now. But I refuse to die. I WILL get out of this place. Alive."

"Who are you?"

"Hmph," said the girl. "Give me your name and I'll give you mine."

"Look," Kratos said, sighing. "I'm trying to make this easy on you. You can either give me your name or I will refer to you by your number."

"Its Anna."

She had a look of pain in her eyes as she said her name and he asked her what was wrong.

"Nothing."

He had fought with her after that for a good thirty minutes trying to get her to talk to him some more, but she refused.

Finally a Desian came in and told him that they needed her for a test and that he would have to come back.

"Fine," he had said, annoyed. "And Anna, I will be back."

Kratos almost chuckled to himself. Almost.

He couldn't stop thinking about her. He was back in Derris-Kharlan. He was sitting at his desk attempting to write something, but every time he put his pen to the paper, he saw Anna's face.

"This," he said, leaning back in his chair, "Is ridiculous."