A/N: AAAAAAH! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in forever! I owe all my reviewers much. Kratos says 'hi' and to respect your elders. Figures, he hasn't got many elders to respect... Anyway... (sighs) Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Not the characters, not my house, not my computer... No brains, either.

I've been reading a lot of Kranna lately, so there might end up not being any Kramy. It might, might not... They're just so cute together (Krat and Anna!)! Therefore, I'm introducing another permenant OC this chapter, who has a secret...

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Have I ever said I felt stupid? Well, if I have, it obviously hasn't been enough. You see, like any normal girl would, I had a minor crush on Kratos at the beginning of my journey. Thanks to my annoying self, it has expanded. I am now trying to kill myself in my head, because I...

I am so stupid! Wasn't Anna my friend?! How could I turn on her like that?! I feel guilty whenever I see that smile of hers. The loving kiss of her and my fellow seraphim, and... That cold hug Yggdrasil gave me. Even as I think of him, it makes me feel like killing him. It's because of him that my second best friend died, and he's still obsessing over my first.

Argh. Anyway, ignoring all confusing romantical thoughts, we have been trekking for an hour over the southeast continent's landscape, on the way to the water seal. I ruffle Lloyd's hair as I walk alongside him, grinning from ear to ear.

"I wonder how we're going to get to the actual seal..." mumbles Lloyd. I turn to look at him, then smile. He raises an eyebrow, expecting an answer.

"In a boat. How else are we going to get there?" I ask, faking it. If I am to keep my cover at all, I might as well ask how we're going to get there. He bites his lip.

"I hope so. I don't want to go over the ocean in a rickety old thing, like Max's boat." Poor Lloyd, he has no idea what is in store for him, but it's kinda surprising to find out he might have had a small fear of those washtubs, too.

Eventually, we get to Thoda Dock, passing the nearby desian ranch closely. It boggles me how we can simply pass by with no recognition of that horrible place, like the one where Anna was held captive. Even Colette seems to be thinking the same thing, though. Her eyes turn sad when they gaze upon the iron stronghold, where that awful Magnius is reigning.

We enter the place, and a child runs past, sobbing. I gasp slightly and grab their arm. It's a little boy with silvery-black hair. His ears are pointed. He's a half-elf. His green eyes are wide and he backs away slightly. I bend down and place a hand on his shoulder. He notices my ears.

"Hey, sweetie," I begin, stroking his hair. "What's wrong?" He quivers, then relaxes, looking into my eyes with both sadness and happiness. Probably happy that I'm being nice for once. Eh.

"A-a man was yelling at me for dropping the collection plate inside that salvation house and temple... He called me a mangy half-elf," stutters the boy, but his pronunciation of salvation is surprisingly clear. His vocabulary is expansive for one as small as him.

I grin at him. The rest of the group is waiting for me, so I hold up a finger to them, motioning for letting me a minute. Raine smiles knowingly at me and the child, and waves slightly as to say 'it's okay, go ahead.'

I grab the boy's gloved hand. He's dressed in clothes kind of like genis, but his pants are cargo pants, and his whole outfit is black-based. The piping of the outfit is white, so it sets a good tone with his hair and eyes. We enter the building, and the rest of the group follows. I look down at the boy, who's clinging to my leg.

"Who was yelling at you?" I ask kindly, patting his head. He points shakily towards a stuffy-looking man with a terribly droopy face. I glare at him and walk up, leaving the boy standing where he is. Colette walks up and holds his hand while I confront the man in front of me.

"Excuse me, sir..." I ask with a definite sting in my voice. I feel bad for the boy, so this man is gonna get pounded if he's not nice.

"What do you want, you filthy half elf? A desian, maybe?" asks the man in a sickeningly aloof tone. Okay, I am pissed. This man is just digging himself deeper and deeper.

BAM.

I slug the man across the cheek as hard as I can. I actually hear a crack as a tooth flies out of his mouth. Blood is dripping from his mouth. He clutches his face, an expression of rage falling over it.

"What the hell was that for, disgusting creature?!" he demands, as if I'm going to grovel and pledge my allegiance to him.

I hold up three fingers, ticking off the reasons.

"Uno, you insulted a little kid and yelled at him for doing something anyone could have done." The man, for a split second, looks fearful, but manages to keep a superior face, even though he's splurting blood.

"Dos, you called him and me a filthy half elf, even though we're better people than you could ever be..."

The man glares.

"And Tres, you called me a desian! No one will call me one of those disgusting people who kill others!" I finish, nearly screaming. With all my fingers down, I now have a fist. The man looks at it, then hobbles out, past our group and the boy.

The boy runs up and grabs my hand.

"That was really cool!" he laughs, giving me a hug around the middle. I smile down at him, patting his head.

"What's your name?" I ask, taking him back over to the group.

"My name is Nagith," he says, his spiky black hair looking even perkier and messier than before. He grins up at me, and I shake his hand. I then ask him a question.

"Can you fight?" I ask Nagith. He looks surprised for a second, then takes a long chain with a hooked knife on the end out of a pocket. The long chain is wound around his waist, and ends with a weight. I grinned.

I turn to the rest of the group, switching to puppy eyes.

"Can Nagith come with us?" I plead. Colette nods, as do Raine and Genis. Lloyd looks thoughtful, and shrugs, grinning.

Kratos, however, shakes his head. I glare at him, but he shoots one back. I then shoot a sugary-sweet smile at the rest of the group.

"Excuse me, I need to talk to Krat-krat for a second..." I say, my voice dripping with fake sweetness. I drag the mercenary out by the collar, then turn to him, hissing in my voice.

"Okay, Kratos. You got your son along on this journey. Why can't I have a 'tag-along'? A 'son-figure'?! Huh?" I demand, grabbing the front of his coat. He looks surprised at my agressiveness, then nods slowly.

"Okay, fine. The boy may come, but only if his fighting is satisfactory." I grin, and leap at him, giving him a hug around the neck then running inside. The group is negotiating with a girl at the desk who looks like Chocolat.

"I'm sorry, sir, it costs 1000 gald."

"One thousand? Come on! Life bottles cost less than that."

"I'm sorry, sir, but it costs one-thousand! I can't lower the price!"

"How about 500?"

"Nine-hundred fifty."

"Seven hundred."

"Eight hundred."

"Five hundred and a pretty ribbon."

"What colour?"

"Uh..." Lloyd checks. "Pink."

"Sold!"

Thanks to Lloyd's brilliant bargaining skills, we are now heading towards the worst ride ever for 500 gald. Sadly, they only realize their mistake when the group stops dead in their tracks, gazing disbelievingly at the washtubs.

"It's... It's a washtub?" asks Lloyd, not wanting to believe what he was seeing.

"Yup, it's a washtub," says Genis, not really sure if he was confirming Lloyd's question or reassuring himself.

"A washtub! Cool..." says Nagith, grinning.

"Washtubs, hmm..." mutters Kratos, contemplating something.

"Uh, I'm going to stay right here. Go on without me," stutters the professor. I look at my silver-haired friend. She's turning green by the second.

"Professor Raine, are you... Afraid of water, or something?" I ask, walking over and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, Professor! It'll be fun!" says Colette, clapping slightly in her 'cheer the world' way. It does make me smile.

"Yeah, Raine!" says Genis, grabbing her hand and trying to pull her forwards.

Key word, trying.

"AHH!" screams... well, I'll let you guess who.

Everyone's eyes widen. Even Kratos' mouth drops open.

"Ahh?" asks Lloyd.

"Uh, I was just starting to say..." mutters Raine, then brightly adds,"Ah, this should be fun!" She strides forward and climbs into the nearest washtub, standing stock straight. Under her calm stature, I can see that she's shaking, but oh well.

Lloyd goes in the washtub with her (that sounds nasty) so he can save her if she falls in. We all have a silent agreement that she's scared to death.

When we finally get over, Raine crawls onto the dock, practically kissing the solid surface. I climb out of mine with Nagith, helping him onto the dock. Kratos and Colette climb out, and Genis, who was also in ours, sighs and gets out.

Lloyd walks into the area and looks around. The entire group follows, and Raine even goes over to the guide and corrects her on multiple facts. When we finally drag her away, we also have to drag Lloyd away from the man selling things. It turns out he really has a passion for bargaining.

Colette notices the small guide thing hiding the oracle stone. We stroll up the stone steps. See, at the moment, I'm wearing boots, but I can even feel the cold seep through the thick material. When we round the board, we see the oracle stone. Recognition hits the group.

"Hey, it's one of those... Chosen-stone-thingies!" declares Lloyd, brilliantly.

Instantly, everyone but Colette does an eye roll. Even Nagith, who seems to know what Colette is going to do. She places her hand on the stone, and opens the blue path.

"Let us begin the excavation!" declares Raine, leading the party. Lloyd and I reply in unison.

"We're not here to excavate anything, Professor."

Out of the corner of my eye, I swear I can see a flash of purple and black as a greenish-white one confronts it...

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There you go...