A.N: Ok, the usual message here: Thanks for reviews and sorry for the length of time it's taken to get this chapter written and posted. Took 15 days. I timed it.

Anyway, hope that you enjoy the chapter.

Dawn of Hope

Restless thoughts flittered around in Kratos' mind as he sat on a boulder in the depths of the forest staring at the distant horizon. He had left the cottage a few hours ago and merely wandered slowly through the woods, Noishe at his side due to Lloyd and the creatures insistence. He wouldn't admit it, but he was glad for the 'dog's' company, the creature offered a sentient ear and wouldn't judge. Or answer back, for that matter.

After those few hours spent strolling he had found himself in this clearing at the edge of a cliff face deep within the Iselia forest that had combined with the Gaorrachia forest, forming a labyrinth of plant life. But this area was beautiful, the cliff offering a view of the forest on lower levels, mountain ranges stretching into the distance, a shimmer of blue sea peeking sheepishly through a gap in the mountains.

It was exactly like the areas he had explored when he was a child. Untouched by human, elven or half-elven hands. Even elves, who were supposed to be at one with nature and mould to it and not the other way around, were guilty of clearing small areas of forest for their own purposes and being vegan was something that Kratos found too small to brag about. Hell, Yuan was a vegan having adopted the lifestyle of his elven mother. Though, he did a good show of not being vegan. His gauntlets and greaves made out of leather? Hardly.

Kratos shook his head forcefully. This was exactly the kind of thing that would happen when left alone to wander aimlessly. A trait he had noticed that Lloyd had inherited from him and one that he wasn't too proud to have passed onto his child.

Thinking of Yuan though…when had he last seen his old friend? Not for a couple of months now, surely and every time Kratos contacted the Renegades with a message that he need to see Yuan, he had been coolly told that the leader was too busy and would try and schedule a session for him.

Kratos had scoffed at that. He knew Yuan all too well and if the half-elf could get out of doing work he really didn't want to, he would find a way. His oldest friend wanting to see him had been an excuse he had used many times, even when they were part of Cruxis and there was no way he would just give up on that.

The thought actually had created doubts in Kratos' mind as to whether something had happened to Yuan but then, the blue –haired half-elf wasn't the sort to get in trouble. Then again, he also wasn't as anti-social as he seemed.

Noishe suddenly yawned and stood, pacing to the front of the boulder that Kratos sat on, resting his head on the new professor's thigh. Absently, the human scratched his companion behind the ears, his thought direction changed back to its favourite topic. Raine and Genis.

The group had received no word of breakthroughs in regards to rescuing them and he was starting to get uncomfortable with the lack of activity. Unusual for him certainly but…this was his fault. Genis and Raine had been relatively defenceless against any enemies, both out of practice of using their weapons. Genis had been too busy studying to even contemplate learning to use a non-magical form of fighting and Raine well…she had held her own pretty well, but she couldn't be expected to hold off more than a couple of enemies herself. So it had come down to it that Kratos should have kept a closer eye out for danger, should have checked the perimeter of Exire, flown over and checked that there was no way they could've been caught.

But he didn't and so the half-elves were captured and it was his fault. He had made a mistake that could cost the lives of two people he cared about once again. He was a hypocrite, telling Lloyd not to make a mistake like that or to learn from his mistakes but never doing it himself.

He hoped that the two half-elves had enough sense to show some level of submission to the soldiers that had captured them. It was their best chance of survival until they could be rescued. Genis would have no problem with that, he was quiet and submissive by nature. Raine on the other hand…strong-willed, intelligent and quite often confrontational…she would have trouble swallowing her pride to bow to her oppressors and it might just get her killed.

On the flip side, if she did bow to them, she wouldn't be the same person coming out as going in. She would hate herself for not standing up for her beliefs and race. That in itself could easily destroy a woman like Raine. Just like it almost did Anna.

Kratos' late lover and the half-elven professor were not entirely dissimilar, although Anna had been far more carefree and, with all respect, not as intelligent as the silver haired healer. Raine lacked that ability to look on the bright side but she was smart, beautiful, strong, charismatic and she had a far more adult charm than Anna's girlish qualities.

Kratos sighed, looking back into the forest at the way he had come. It was just like him to always go and fall for women that would easily fight back and reject him, just to prove that they weren't some love-sick schoolgirl. Anna and Raine, both women you would have to work at to get them to accept you. Admittedly, that was part of the attraction.

The seraph wasn't vain or self-obsessed, nor was he particularly arrogant when it came down to it, merely self-assured, but he knew the effect he had on people. Women wanted to be with him, most men wanted to be like him, to have that confidence, the aura that gained respect, the ability to fight, the strength, the looks, the voice. Everything that he outwardly appeared.

He could have anyone he wanted. Literally. Even males who were known for their homophobia or being a ladies men could fall to him if he wanted them to and they would all fall to him so easily. Except those two. Anna and Raine the only women to appear to be able to resist his supposed charm and they were the only ones worth having.

However, the were both gone; Anna for ever, by his hand and Raine put in a situation where she could wind up dead. At the very least, tortured and broken.

His fault.

It made him question why he was on this earth at all, why he hadn't found a way to save Derris-Kharlan and free it, thus sending him back out into space and not stayed on earth just because his son asked him to. Or pleaded, as was more accurate.

Kratos breathed out slowly and slid off the rock, grunting in pain when his left foot hit the floor sending shockwaves up his leg, causing the wound at his hip to twinge. Hissing slightly he pushed himself away from the boulder, transferring his weight onto his right leg his left hand clasped over the top of the wound that stretched from stomach to groin.

Noishe lifted himself off the ground to aid his human companion, letting the man lean against him lightly as he recovered from the pain and he gratefully patted the creature's back.

When he had recovered enough to move Kratos pulled away from Noishe, slowly walking back to the forest, wandering through the patches of light and dark that the trees created..

His thoughts started to churn again as he walked, the idea that he should have left five years ago playing through his head again. All he ever managed to do was hurt the people he cared about.

Perhaps when Raine and Genis were back he should leave, find some secluded area of the world where he could live in obscurity, forgotten by the earth and its creatures until he finally passed away. After he had helped rescue Raine and Genis…ifhe could help of course. Wounded as he was he wouldn't be able to hold his own in a fight for long and Lloyd was adamant that Kratos wouldn't leave his home to do any form of work, half-elf rescue related or not, until the wound was largely healed and he was satisfied with that.

The only thing he could currently do was offer guidance to Lloyd and the remainders of the group. His son especially seemed to be pleased with it for once, but Kratos was starting to doubt how much it was really worth, if it actually did any good.

He shook his head again as he walked, startling a nearby bird into fluttering from its perch in a cloud of feathers.

It wasn't like him to doubt himself, especially on matters such as strategic planning and advice etc. but Raine's kidnapping and his part in it had thrown him from his usual self-assured state of mind. As soon as he could fight again and actually dosomething, train and work off the excess energy his thoughts would be clearer. Probably. Inactivity grated terribly on his nerves.

--

It was at least another hour before he found the path over the river that led back to Lloyd's house.

The young swordsman had built his modest cottage after returning from the boat trip around the world he had always dreamed of going on. Kratos had accompanied him for some of the journey, checking up on him and offering company from time to time, usually whilst flying alongside the boat.

Now that the dream had been lived, he still kept the boat at the mouth of the river and twice a year would sail to either Palmacosta or Sybak, whichever coastal city Kratos happened to be staying near at the time. The constant swapping of locations meant the Kratos now owned a house on the outskirts of each city, with him currently residing in Sybak.

Consequently, Lloyd now lived on an entirely different continent, hence the sailing and his house was just a few miles from Dirk's. The young man loved the forest that he had grown up in so much that he couldn't bear to leave it and so had built his new home in it. It was a good thing that he liked sailing or flying so much, or else he would've never seen his biological father. With the angel working as a professor, he had little time to travel over the world to see his son.

"Hey Dad!" the greeting seemed to be coming from a bunch of trees but as Kratos brushed the branches aside to enter the house's clearing he found his son sitting atop the gabled roof.

"Lloyd," he greeted in turn before adding "ah…what exactly are you doing up there?"

"Well I was fixing that leak y'know? But I'm done now and the view's pretty cool from up here so.." he shrugged as he trailed off.

Kratos simply nodded.

"You were a long time. D'you get lost?" he asked, only half jokingly.

A smirk pulled at Kratos' lips as he regarded his child "No, it merely took some time to clear my head. That aside, I would have Noishe to guide me if I did. He knows the way."

"Luckily." The young swordsman stood up, wobbling slightly before he pulled his wings out and glided to the ground.

"We should really go for a fly sometime," the boy stated as he landed, folding the bird-like wings into his back "After we get Genis and the professor back, of course."

"Yes, but I'm going to have to return to work straight after we get them back. The academy can only put my classes on hold for so long before I have to restart the course again next year."

Lloyd rolled his eyes, sunlight catching the now red-brown colours of the iris that were identical to his father's. Since Lloyd had turned 20 his eyes had darkened, changing from smooth chocolate to the intriguing auburn-like hue that his father's eyes held. Apparently, all males of the Aurion line gained that eye colour once they reached 20 or so. Or so Kratos had told him.

"You're always working." Lloyd complained, patting Noishe on the shoulder as the animal went to lie down, before turning to go back inside the house. Kratos followed slowly.

"That's because if I don't have a job, I don't get money and I don't survive."

"You're an angel of Cruxis!"

"Ex," Kratos corrected "Besides Cruxis provided me with an occupation and accommodation."

"..That's a good point. Before you got a job and house you were a bum!"

It was Kratos' turn to roll his eyes.

"What? You were."

"I hope you haven't expressed that opinion to anyone else," Kratos stated, sliding into a chair, his eyes fixed on the retreating figure of Lloyd as he disappeared into the kitchen.

"Not to anyone who matters."

"Oh Gods I don't like the sound of that."

He heard a snigger coming from the kitchen and closed his eyes, groaning as he sank back into the plush cushions of the chair, moving into a position that didn't stretch the wound quite so much.

"Wow, I wish I could get a picture of that." Lloyd commented, walking back into the room, a glass of water in each hand. Kratos cracked an eye open, regarding Lloyd with a mixture of amusement and irritation.

The younger Aurion shrugged, holding out one of the glasses to the seraph who took it gratefully, sipping from it and letting the cool liquid slide down his throat. He rested the bottom of the glass against his stomach, feeling its coldness creeping through his shirt chilling the skin below and making the itchiness of the healing injury a little more bearable.

A knock on the door startled the two men, the noise quiet; as if the person knocking wasn't sure they should be doing it. The following knock was quieter, weaker…hesitant and Lloyd shot a confused look at his father before getting up to answer the door.

Kratos looked to the front door as Lloyd opened it, his son blocking his view of the person at the door.

"I'm…looking…for Lloyd Irving or…Kratos Aurion."

The words were weak and quiet, forced through harsh panting breaths.

"Dad…can you hey!"

There was a soft thud and then Lloyd was stumbling backwards, a person pressed against his chest, Lloyd's hands on the person's arms, trying to hold them off.

Kratos pulled himself up, to get a better view of what was going on, finding that Lloyd was holding a slim purple haired girl.

"Some help would be good, dad."

The seraph stepped in front of his son, gently grabbing the unconscious girl's shoulders and pulling her back from Lloyd, taking all her weight on his arms. He made a quiet noise of surprise when he saw the girl's face and Lloyd looked at him questioningly as he closed the door.

"You know her?"

"Vaguely. Let's move her onto the couch."

Lloyd nodded, grabbing her ankles and lifting them from the floor so that he and Kratos could move her to the sofa.

"So?"

Kratos glanced at Lloyd pulling back a piece of ripped sleeve to reveal a thin knife wound.

"She's a student in my class. Her name's Sequoia Treen."

"Sequoia Treen huh? Man, she's got some bad luck having a name like that."

Kratos grunted in agreement.

"…She's a half-elf too," Lloyd observed, noting pointed ears half concealed by violet hair.

"Yes…her family live on Exire. Or rather lived. I wonder if she went there after we did and got caught."

"I guess she could've. It'd make sense…but how'd she get away from them?"

Lloyd walked away into the kitchen, returning a moment later with a bowl of water and a cloth which he handed to Kratos. The older man took them, using the items to clean the wounds dotted around her body.

Kratos shook his head in response to Lloyd's question. "I don't know. She wouldn't have been able to escape on her own."

Sequoia groaned, her eyes fluttering open and she stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment before jerking upright only to be pushed back down by Kratos. Soft yellow eyes strayed over to him, widening in recognition.

"Professor Aurion! You're here!"

"So are you, which leads me to ask why, exactly?"

"…they caught me, the men who kidnap half-elves. They were taking me to…"

She fell silent as her eyes alighted on the young man standing behind her professor. Kratos glanced back at him.

"My son, Lloyd Irving-Aurion. You asked for him too I believe?"

"Yes…I was told to find you by uh, your friend."

"Our friend?" Lloyd asked "That's a bit uh…what's the word?"

"Ambiguous?"

"Uh…could be."

"It means 'vague' Lloyd, unclear."

"Ah, yeah, that's the one!"

"…I think it'd be beneficial to our understanding if you were to tell us what happened from the beginning, Sequoia."

"Sure…"

"This is gonna take a while isn't it?" Lloyd asked, distractedly

"Quite possibly."

"…I'm gonna make something to drink."

He turned and walked out the room, listening to the conversation between his father and the student.

"After you left Sybak I tried to follow you. There were a lot of people saying about Exire and that it had crashed just beyond Systa bridge."

"That's the old Tethe'all bridge, right?" Lloyd called from the kitchen.

"Yes Lloyd."

"Yeah, so anyway, I tried to follow you because I was worried about my family but it took me a while to get out of the city. I got the bridge and then saw these really creepy looking guys dressed on all these weird uniforms coming, so I hid. I think they were those guys who've been kidnapping half-elves."

"Any particular reason why?"

"Because they had two blind-folded half-elves with them. A woman and a boy or young man."

Kratos jerked, wondering if she had seen Raine and Genis being taken to that place. In the kitchen, a cup broke and Lloyd cursed.

"The half-elves you saw them kidnapping, can you give me a description of them?"

Sequoia shook her head "I think maybe they both had whitish hair, or maybe just really pale blonde and I think the woman was wearing a blue blouse…that's all I can say. The guy was kinda blocked from my view so…"

' Blue blouse. That's what Raine was wearing when we went to Exire. Both of them, the male and female had white hair…oh Gods it wasthem she saw.'

"Does it matter?" Sequoia asked.

"I think those two half-elves were my companions that I travelled to Exire with. Do you remember the young man that came into the class to tell me about Exire?"

Recognition dawned on her face. "Yes! I think it was him! What did you call him…Genis?"

Kratos nodded.

"Did I hear Genis being mentioned?!" Lloyd had ran back into the room, a flustered look on his face, his breathing slightly heavy.

"Sequoia saw Raine and Genis being taken…wherever the half-elves are taken."

"When?!"

"4 days ago or so."

"And they somehow told you to find us?" Kratos asked, turning his attention back to her story.

"No. I hid for a couple of days and then started to head off for Exire when I was caught. When I was just outside the base these humans got into a fight with the soldiers. This guy grabbed me and told me to look for you?"

"What did this guy look like?" Lloyd questioned, pacing slightly now.

"Uh, he was pale, kinda tall, really long red hair, blue eyes…wore pink. He told me to tell you that if he and the ninja woman didn't get away to tell you what happened."

"Zelos and Sheena." Kratos stated, looking at Lloyd

"They've been killed?" the younger Aurion asked

"I think they've been captured instead."

"Do you know anything else?"

"Only that the guys who kidnapped me call themselves 'Saloth'sarians' and that they're part of an organisation called Saloth'sar. Oh, and their base is like, under the roots of the great tree."

"The remains of the Tower of Salvation…how ironic." Kratos commented.

"Why is that ironic?" Lloyd asked, stopping his pacing to look at the older man. Kratos shook his head.

"It's not important. In light of the events, I think we need to call everyone who's left together."

"You mean Regal, Presea and Colette?"

Kratos nodded "That's a fair point, there were only nine of us to begin with four of us are now imprisoned."

"We can call on other people for help though, right? I mean there's the people of Mizuho and the Renegades…you could get Yuan to give a hand."

"No. I've been attempting to contact Yuan for a while now and I haven't been successful. I've even picked the lock on his personal quarters to try and see him…"

"Crap."

"Indeed. Our list of allies is rather thin."

"Hmm…well Colette's only in the village of course and Regal and Presea were saying that they were gonna come back up because they had some news for us."

"Do you have an estimated time for their arrival?"

Lloyd stared, blinking once before replying.

"….if you mean 'when're they gonna get here?' Probably tomorrow."

"I see."

"I take it you're gonna need to stay here for a little while, right?" Lloyd asked, turning his attention to Sequoia who had sat quietly, listening to the exchange between the two humans.

"Oh no! I couldn't ask that…besides…you're human. It would be…unseemly for a half-elf to stay with you, especially living in her teacher's house"

"Apparently you weren't paying attention in class when I said that race was irrelevant and I pointed out that Raine and Genis, the half-elves you told us about, were friends of ours.

Also, this isn't my home. It's Lloyd's."

Her soft yellow eyes travelled across to the youth. "Which is why Iasked. Not Kratos. He doesn't really get to decide the rules of my house."

Kratos shrugged and stood slowly, careful not to move in a way that would pull on his wound. "It would seem foolish for you to leave here in your current condition, Miss Treen."

"Besides, would you have anywhere to go if you did leave?"

She shook her head. "Not really, there're dorms back at the academy but…that's back in Sybak."

"Then you can stay here with me and dad until you can get back home."

"Thank you."

"No prob." Lloyd stepped back from the sofa, and disappeared into the kitchen again. "the bathroom's down there if you wanna clean up or something."

A hand pointed in a vague direction out of the kitchen door.

"Down the hall and on the left," Kratos clarified, walking to the front door.

"Professor? Where're you going?"

"Hmm? Just…outside."

The seraph pulled the door open, stepping into the sunlight before heading for the shelter that Noishe lay in. He sat down beside the animal resting his back against his side. Staring out across the garden, Kratos wondered just how many more of the group would be captured and if any of them would make it back out.

---

Heavy knocks thudded at the door, announcing the arrival of a new…arrival and Kratos looked up wearily from his book, marking the page and setting it down quietly before getting up to answer the hammered summoning.

"Kratos," Regal greeted "I'm glad to see that you've recovered so well already."

"I thank you for your concern," the auburn haired warrior replied, steeping back to allow Regal space to step through the doorway. Presea appeared from behind him, stepping through the doorway and offering the seraph a timid smile. She never had become accustomed to his presence, never fully comfortable with that aura of power that drifted off him lazily, yet demanded so much attention.

The pink-haired girl skirted around the back of Regal, and sat quietly on the couch, looking uncomfortable.

"Lloyd and Colette should be here in a moment." Kratos informed the two new arrivals, sitting back down in the armchair he had been occupying previously, not failing to notice the way Presea shifted away on the couch so that she wasn't directly in line with him, folding her now long legs underneath her body. A 31 year old woman in the body of a girl half her age, but she still acted the age her body portrayed.

Regal sat beside her, giving her a light pat on the shoulder, aware of her discomfort at being around Kratos. He flicked a short lock of blue hair back into place, combing it back into the rest of his short hair with his fingers.

"So is this news Lloyd and you have for us good or bad?"

"The latter, I'm afraid. I'm not sure whether Lloyd will be telling Colette as we speak but I think it would be best to wait for them."

The blue-haired duke nodded in agreement. "On a slightly more…intimate matter, have either of them made any progress?"

Kratos chuckled lightly, a rare event that made Regal and Presea start with surprise at the event. "No. They're either blind to each other or genuinely not interested."

"I'd find that hard to believe."

"I…"

The door opened and Kratos cut off whatever he was about to say abruptly, adopting a well-rehearsed neutral expression that hopefully covered up the topic they had just been discussing.

Apparently, it did.

"Hey everyone!" Colette chirped, bouncing on the balls of her feet in that relentlessly chipper way of hers.

"Hi Regal, Presea, when did you get here?" Lloyd asked, slipping his swords out of his belt loops and letting them rest by the side of the door, next to Kratos' long sword.

"Just a few moments ago," Regal informed the brunet.

Down the hall a door shut and the guests turned to look down the hall at the noise.

"I…thought it was just us?" Presea asked, shrinking back slightly when Kratos' sharp eyes flitted over her.

"That's Sequoia, one of Dad's students, Long story short, she's a half-elf that got away from the Saloth'sarians and is staying with us until it's safe for her to go home."

"Is she OK?!" Colette asked

"She's fine, Colette," Kratos answered "And we have her to thank for all the information we can impart upon you."

"What are Saloth'sarians?" The duke asked, his interest piqued by the name

"They're the organisation, or rather the people who work for the organisation Saloth'sar…the organisation that's taken our companions hostage."

"I see. The half-elf kidnappers."

"Uh, not just half-elves," Lloyd replied "Anyone who helps half-elves, humans included. I suppose they're a sort of opposite to the Desians."

"Which brings us to our unfortunate news," Kratos stated and all eyes turned towards him, vene Presea's watery blue eyes locked onto him. Kratos sighed "It seems that Zelos and Sheena have also been captured."

"What!? How?!" It was rare for Regal to show so much emotion, like Kratos, he was rather reserved. Nevertheless, the news made him jump to his feet, Presea by his side.

"When Sheena and Zelos were scouting the area around Old Mizuho they found the Saloth'sarians bringing a half-elf into their base. They were discovered and they helped her, specifically Sequoia," the mercenary gestured down the hall "to escape. Zelos and Sheena were captured, the clan members who were with them are likely to have been killed."

"We have to save them!" Colette stated balling her fists and bringing them to just below her chin, her sign of determination. "We can't just leave four of our friends trapped there! And who knows what they've done to Professor Sage and Genis already. They've been there for days."

"Colette, calm down. No one intends to leave anyone there, but getting them out is not going to be easy especially given the little information we have." Regal hushed the blonde.

Kratos nodded in agreement "Regal's right. For now, all we can do is gather information and hope that our companions will be wise enough to play along until we can get them out of there."

"It'd be easier if we could somehow get to them," Lloyd suggested, sitting on the arm of the chair Kratos was occupying "but be able to get out as well…"

His father opted not to say anything about the obviousness of Lloyd's statement.

"Regal…our job," Presea prodded the blue haired man in the back and the noble's eyes alighted with an idea.

"Of course," he turned to the rest of the group "Presea and I have been commissioned to aid in an expansion project of a 'holding and containment centre' that is at 'the centre of the earth."

"That's where the great tree is…" Lloyd murmured

"Which is next to Old Mizuho…" Colette continued

"Which, by the sounds of it, is where the Saloth'sarians are." Regal concluded "What's more, if we accept, we're allowed to bring in any craftsmen we deem necessary." He looked directly at Lloyd and a grin spread across the boys' face.

"Excellent! At least three of us can get in…but what about getting out?"

"Outside workers that the organisation has hired are not required to live on site, so in theory, as long as the site manager, which would be me," Regal answered "agrees to let you go…"

"We can come and go as we please," Lloyd finished, his grin growing wider.

"Exactly. Colette and Kratos will not be able to attend, of course, unless I can find a plausible excuse to bring them in, but at least myself, Lloyd and Presea will be able to access the site for as long as we need."

"And you can delay the project as is necessary," Kratos added and Regal nodded.

"Alright!" Lloyd exclaimed "When do we start?"

"The day after tomorrow…at sunrise."

'The dawn of new hope.'

Well there you have it, another chapter done. As always, reviews, comments, opinions and ideas are always welcome and appreciated. One thing, if you don't sign in to review and have asked a question,or wish to be replied to, please leave an e-mail address or method of contact. I like to personally reply to people who take the time to review.

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