A/N: Hehe...Its short. But my mom would kick my ass if she knew I was writing at all. My hand is acting up. I can't even hold onto anything. I need an ice pack. D':

Kratos: -pops up- She still doesn't own ToS.

Me: Yeah, I thought I should say that again since the last time was like in chapter 1.

Yuan: And she didn't want to get in trouble.

Me: -nods- Yup, cause I'm a good, rule-following fangirl. .

Kratos and Yuan: ...F-fangirl?

Me: Yesss. -tackles-

Later that night, the trio was only halfway to Hakonesia Peak. It was taking them longer to travel because they were trying to stay off the main path as much as possible to avoid being seen.

Anna complained of being tired and so, amongst waves of rants from Yuan ("You've been riding Noishe all day, how can you possibly be tired?"), they sat up camp in a forest.

"Yuck...all these monsters," said Anna, carefully stepping over the carcass of a freshly killed Woods Worm.

"Heh...get used to it, girly. You'll be seeing a lot more of these before we get to Triet," said Yuan, as he cleaned the slime from his weapon.

"My name is not 'girly'. Its Anna," Anna growled at Yuan as she curled up against Noishe to go to sleep. "You'd better remember that. I might get...angry."

"Angry?" said Yuan skeptically, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I'm very frightened, I assure you. Kratos, I need to speak to you. In private."

Kratos shook his head. "I can't leave Anna alone."

"No," yawned Anna, "Go ahead. Noishe will protect me, won't you boy?"

Noishe barked.

"Hmm...alright," said Kratos. He began to walk away, but then turned back. "Anna, are you sure you'll..." But she was already asleep.

He sighed. "Guard her well, Noishe," he said before walking to Yuan at the edge of the little clearing.

"She's a heavy sleeper, eh?" said Yuan.

"Yes. But I don't know if this is her true self. I think she may just be regaining her energy. Seven years in a human ranch...I imagine it would really tire you out."

"I would think so," agreed Yuan slowly.

"How...why have we been a part of this, Yuan? For so long?"

"I have actually been asking myself that question a lot lately," replied Yuan, sighing. "I tried to convince myself that I have been doing it for Martel. But that is merely a pathetic excuse. Martel would..."

"Martel would be ashamed of us, Yuan."

"Yes, I...I know. It is for that reason that I am ashamed of myself. But I've been so lonely without her. I cut myself off from you...from everyone, and all these years, I've been sad and so angry. I think...I think I was just blinded by the hate and sorrow. And I thought the best thing to do was to hurt the ones who took her from me-the humans.

"You...you don't know what its like, Kratos," he continued, looking away, "to love someone with all you have, your very heart and soul, only to have them ripped away from you so cruelly. To watch them die in front of you, to see them suffer so terribly, and you...you can't do anything about it. The pain-its unreal." He looked back to Kratos and his eyes were dark and haunted. They brimmed with tears.

"Yuan," Kratos said, "I...I'm so sorry I wasn't there. And then...after I failed to protect her, I couldn't even...I couldn't even save her. I have regretted it every day. Its my fault that she is dead." He sighed. "If I had only known what was going to happen...I...you know I would've never left."

Yuan clapped him on the back. "I know," he said. "And you remember what she said before she...left?" He swallowed. "She said, 'For my sake, please, do not blame each other. Nothing will change even if you do.'"

"Of course I remember."

"Then you understand why I must apologize to you. I have discarded that statement entirely. I'm...sorry, Kratos."

Kratos smiled. "Yuan, I-"

Suddenly, a high scream cut through the night.

"Anna!" they said at the same time.

They dashed back through the brush and jumped into the clearing with their weapons drawn. But the clearing was the same as they had left it. Anna however was on her back, arms flailing. She was still asleep. Her face was tear-stained and sweaty. Noishe paced around her nervously. Yuan and Kratos watched her curiously. She screamed again, loud and frantic. Her chest heaved up and down as she breathed like a frightened rabbit.

"Anna!" Kratos cried, running to her.

"No!" she pleaded, shaking her head from side to side. "No, please! Nooo don't hurt her!!"

"Anna!" Kratos yelled, shaking her.

She didn't wake up. She screamed again, crying someone's name, but he couldn't understand her. "No," she begged. "Nooo!"

He was worried about her. He shook her again, but got no response. So he did the only thing he could think of. He slapped her across the face.

Her eyes shot open and she screamed again. She shook her head franticly from side to side and tried desperately to get away from him.

"She doesn't recognize you!" said Yuan.

Kratos threw him a dark look. "I know that!" he growled. He didn't know what to do. She was beating on him now, with her eyes shut tight. Hitting his chest over and over and trying to push away from him with her feet. He was holding onto her shoulders tightly, but there was power in those little fists and it was starting to get uncomfortable.

He was calling her name over and over but wasn't getting a response. "Yua-Ow!" She had punched him squarely in the chin, causing his head to snap backwards. He tried in vain to capture her flailing fists. "Y-Yuan, do something!"

"Like what?" said Yuan.

"Water! Splash her with water and try to get her to wake up!"

"We don't have any water!"

Kratos growled as he dodged her fist again. "Use a spell. Just do something!"

"Are you mad? She'll be killed!"

"Just do it!"

Yuan hesitated. The only water spell he knew was Spread. But that could prove to be too powerful for her to handle...

"Yuan!" Kratos cried.

Yuan cursed then shouted the spell, "SPREAD!"

As the water pooled around them, Kratos waited for the perfect moment. Then, just as the water spout began to shoot up, he pulled Anna close to him and flipped, so that he was laying with his back on the ground and she was on top of him. "GUARDIAN!" he yelled.

A green energy field sprung up, covering Anna completely, but not quite getting him. The water shot up, filling the clearing, soaking them all and shooting through Kratos. As the water disappeared, Anna came out of her trance.

"What the-?" she said, looking from Kratos who was panting underneath her to Yuan who was leaning against a tree, looking peeved and ringing water out of his ponytail. "Wha-? Why are we all wet?" she asked cautiously as she crawled off of Kratos.

"A-Are you...okay now?" he asked, sitting up and wincing.

"Now?" she said with wide eyes. "What happened?"

Kratos explained everything to her as he walked around popping his back. He wouldn't use a healing spell, because, in all honesty, he didn't want to appear weak in front of Yuan. However, jets of water shooting through your body is not a pleasant thing. It hurt. His back felt like someone had trampled it.

"I see," said Anna sheepishly. "Are you okay? I'm sorry that you got hurt."

"I'm not hurt," he said quickly. "Anyway, don't fret about it. You were asleep; its not as if you meant for it to happen."

"Be that as it may," said Yuan crossly, still ringing water out of his thick hair, "You must try to control yourself. I could've hurt you."

"My, my," Anna said with mock astonishment, "Is that concern, Yuan?"

"As a matter of fact," Yuan growled, "It is. And you'd best be thankful for it, girlie.I care for very few people, so it would be stupid to push your luck."

"Tsk, tsk," said Anna. "I was only playing. Lighten up."

Yuan glared at her.

She sighed. "Alright, alright! I'm sooorrry. You happy now?"

"Humph," humphed Yuan.

Suddenly, Kratos laughed.

Yuan, who hadn't heard Kratos laugh in many long centuries, and Anna, who was just curious, turned to look at him. He laughed again.

"What?" Yuan snapped. "What's so funny?"

"You," said Kratos, smiling.

"What about me?" hissed Yuan.

"You called her by her name."

"What? When?" demanded Yuan, confused.

"We were walking and she screamed, and we both called her name at the same time. You were worried about her too."

"I was not," said Yuan defensively.

"Yes. You were."

"Aw," said Anna. "You were really worried about me?"

"No!" Yuan growled, crossing his arms.

"Thank you, Yuan," said Anna, smiling.

Yuan looked at Kratos, but he had a twinkle in his eye as well.

"Iwasn't..." he muttered, but the truth was, he had been worried about her. She was defenceless and alone, save for Noishe. Who wouldn't be worried? "Dammit! You both get on my nerves!" He growled, storming out of the clearing.