Sorry for getting this chapter up so late, but thank you all again for your review, favorites, and follow. Any feedback helps me to write a stronger story.

Now, to the chapter.

Chapter 28: Palmacosta Ranch

They took Dorr's body upstairs and laid him in state in the main office. It didn't seem right to leave him in the basement with the fake Kilia's corpse. If anything, whoever found Dorr would believed that he was assassinated by the Desians, payback towards the city for their botched execution. In a way, that was what happened.

"Let's get going," Kratos spoke somberly as Colette finished her prayer for Dorr and his daughter's souls. The poor girl had to fight not to break down into tears.

"Kratos, how can you just say that?" Lloyd demanded. The events from the basement had shaken him more than he cared to admit. No matter how hard he tried, Dorr's final moments kept replaying in his head.

"Settle down, Lloyd," Kratos said gently. For once, his voice didn't hide his pity or how he felt about what happened. Lloyd felt his anger eased as he stared down at his feet. "What is it that we must do now?"

Lloyd knew what he had to do. He couldn't let what Dorr done go to waste. "Rescue Chocolat and defeat Magnius."

Kratos nodded. "Exactly."

"We should rest for the night," Genis came closed to whispering as he looked at the moonlight coming through the windows. "It's been a long day."

Kratos had to agree. If they were going to the Ranch, they had to be at their best, both mentally and physically.

"Raine, we need to go," Genis said as she pulled on his sister's sleeve. She hadn't stopped staring at Dorr since they brought him up. Her expression was unreadable, but Genis knew she was deeply troubled.

"…My healing arts cannot even save one single life?" Raine whispered to herself.

It was so soft that Genis could barely hear it, but he should have known that her inability to save Dorr would concern her. Despite Raine's cold exterior, she took life very seriously. In many ways, she was even more sensitive than Colette on the subject.

Colette made one final gesture with her hands and stood up. "I'm ready, Mr. Kratos. Thank you for waiting."

No one spoke another word as they walked out of the govern's office and back to the inn to rest for the night. Despite the events of the day leaving everyone mentally exhausted, they all had trouble getting to sleep.

Colette didn't bother to go to bed. Instead, she chose to stare absently mindlessly out her window. Not looking at anything. It worked out for Kratos since he knew the Chosen couldn't sleep anymore and the day's trauma was a convenience excuse for her not to sleep. She probably wouldn't anyway even if she could.

Lloyd spent half the night tossing and turning in his bed as Kratos stood silently by the window, on watched for any other Desian spies in the area. He barely acknowledge Lloyd when he sat up from bed and leaned heavily into his knees.

"A parent's love for a child is amazing, isn't it?" Lloyd spoke after a few minutes. He needed to talk, otherwise he wouldn't sleep at all tonight.

Kratos turned to face him, but Lloyd never looked towards him. "So it would seem."

There was another long paused before Lloyd chose to continue. "I wonder if...mom died protecting me from Desians."

Kratos said nothing for a moment. "You don't have any memory of when your mother died?"

Lloyd gave a long sigh. "I was only three. I hardly remember anything. I can't even remember my mom's face."

A part of Kratos wanted to say that Lloyd did remember. He remembered in the form of night terrors that has haunted him throughout his life.

"Then the only thing you can do is to live her share as well," Kratos chose to say instead. The spirits knew, he hasn't been living Anna's share. He was just barely living his own life. If he was living at all.

"...Yeah." Lloyd whispered, unconvinced.

Kratos stared at the moon and made an importance decision. "I didn't say it back then, but thank you for not telling Dorr the truth about his daughter."

Lloyd laughed humorlessly. "I thought of all people, you would be upset at me for lying. I'm not complete sure why I did it myself."

"There are times...when the truth does more harm then good," Kratos replied slowly. "Even for a dying man, knowing that you have outlived your child is a pain that no one should ever experience, regardless of their sins."

"You sound like you're taking for experience," Lloyd noted as he finally turned his head towards Kratos.

"I am," Kratos stated bluntly.

Lloyd was left slack-jawed. "Kratos...you had a family?" He couldn't imagine what kind of woman would marry Kratos or that Kratos was even capable of that kind of love.

"I had a wife and son once," Kratos said emotionlessly.

No matter how hard Lloyd tried, he couldn't imagined Lloyd being a father. Still, he bit his lips before asking his next question, although he could already guess. "What happened to them?"

"They were murdered," Kratos answered in a cold voice, "by the Desians."

"Desians..." Lloyd growled. He knew it! Wasn't there any life they didn't ruined?

"I lost my son when he was no more than three," Kratos continued. "I wonder everyday what I could had done differently to save them."

"It isn't your fault," Lloyd said adamantly. "The only ones who are to blame are the Desians."

Kratos closed his eyes. The full weight of his guilt and the part he played in Anna's death played in his mind. It was forever burnt into his memory. "Regardless, I can never forgive myself for being unable to protect them. I wonder what kind of man my son would have become if he lived. When I look at you...you make me think of him."

"Well, all you can do is live their share as well," Lloyd said with a slight smile, repeating his own words back at him. Although, Kratos' fondness towards him did make sense if he did reminded him of his dead son. He felt both guilty and honored.

"Indeed," Kratos replied as he looked at his son. Unlike Lloyd, however, his heart was long dead.

In the next room Genis was also having trouble sleeping, but for a slightly different reason.

What happened to Dorr was absolutely terrible and he mourned for that family, but Genis was haunted by the twisting, demonic form of Kilia. That creature that dared called itself a half-elf.

Regardless what she looked like or what she became, the same blood flowed through him as that monster. Did that mean that he could become like Kilia one day? Taking pure delight in killing others and bragging about how they murdered an innocent child in their own bed?

Genis gave an involuntary shiver as he remembered Kilia licking Dorr's blood off her finger and her chilling story of the real Kilia's final moments. It made him so sick that he felt he was going to vomit.

"You're thinking about her," Raine said as she walked over to his bed and sat at the edge of it. She obviously couldn't sleep either.

"It's just..." Genis started as he pulled the covers closer to him. "She was a half-elf like us."

Raine shook her head. "We may share the same blood, but that is the only thing we have in common with that monster. Kilia sold her body and soul for the power and she paid the price for that power."

"But...could we one day become like her?" Genis muttered in terror.

"Those who follow the Goddess Martel and live by her message can never become like Kilia," Raine stated firmly.

Genis looked up towards his sister. "Is that why we follow Martel and not the ways of the elves?"

Raine paused for several seconds before answering. "The Desians became what they are because they chose to turn against Martel and become agents of darkness who pray on the weak and vulnerable. We follow Martel because her teachings and wisdom give us both guidance and protection."

Genis gave a deep frown. "The way Kilia talked Martel, she didn't sound snide or scornful towards her. By the way she mocked Dorr, it actually sounded like she respected Martel."

Raine had noticed that too and she honestly had no good answer for it.

It was one of the many things that made Kilia so disturbing. Desians were the mortal enemies of Martel, so why did Kilia mention the Goddess with such admiration? In fact, she said in so many words that Martel favored half-elves over humans. She was completely disgusted by even the suggesting that Martel could love a human. Could there be more to the Desians than the Church suggests? It honestly wouldn't shock her since the Church never detailed where the Desains came from. Just that they were a force of evil who started the Ancient War before being banished by Martel.

"Raine?" Genis questioned when he saw the pensive expression on his sister's face.

"I don't know, Genis," Raine finally answered. "There are many unanswered questions about the Desians. Despite what is written in the Book of Martel, we know very little about them or even their motives. They just appear and cause mass-suffering."

"Kratos...Kratos told me once that the Desians could have been half-elves who turned evil because of the racism they suffered and not born that way like what the Church says."

"It could be a little bit of both, but I wouldn't dismiss anything," Raine replied. "The Book of Martel tells us many things, but it is still written by the hands of mortals. Or more specifically, by the hands of humans."

Genis gave a small chuckle. "You're starting to sound like Lloyd."

"I always believe that it's good to question the world and not take things as is, especially since life is never simple," Raine stated. "Lloyd has valid reasons to question the Church, its motives, and the Goddess Martel. Everyone should have a healthy dose of skepticism and never be afraid to ask 'why' since blind belief breeds ignorance. But Lloyd's disbelief in the Goddess steams more from defiance for the dictions of the Church than reasonable doubt in Martel herself."

Genis did notice that. Whenever Lloyd talked about his disbelief in Martel, it seemed like he was always trying to prove something. He honestly wondered what was Lloyd's belief's since he didn't seem to follow the teachings of the Dwarfs outside of following the Dwarven Vows, which he has used more as an excuse to do what he wanted. Even his talks about the summon spirits and spirit symbols were done out of curiosity than him worshipping them like gods like the elves.

"That's enough for tonight," Raine said as she brushed Genis' hair. There was no point to keep dwelling on this. "We have a long day ahead of us."

Genis curled back under the cover and attempted to once again go to sleep. Amazingly, sleep finally reached him and he fell into a dreamless slumber.

The next morning was anything but pleasant for the group as cries and screams filled the window of their hotel rooms. By the sheer panic on the street, Kratos knew that Dorr's body had been discovered.

"Did you hear!? The Governor-General is dead!" someone exclaimed.

"How did this happened!?" another person shouted.

"It must have been those damn Desians!" someone yelled. "Those heartless bastards must've come during the night and killed Dorr while his guard was down!"

"What of his daughter? Did they kill her too?" someone asked in dismay.

"I heard they found a monster in the old prison below the Governor's office," another man said.

"What will become of our city?" a woman cried.

Kratos sighed.

He knew this would happen the moment Dorr left this world. With his treason hidden, the people now felt vulnerable to the Desians and a sense of hopelessness and despair had swept over the city. The only way to fix this situation was to defeat Magnius.

Normally, Mithos would not approved of him killing one of the Grand Cardinals since they were a pain to replaced. However, Magnius' ploy to murder the Chosen gave him a justifiable reason to execute him without raising Mithos' ire. He wasn't sure what had turned Magnius since he was one of the most loyal Grand Cardinals along with Forcystus and Pronyma. Heck, he was once drinking buddies with Forcystus before their promotion, but he honestly didn't care at this point. After all he had seen, he wouldn't let Magnius live another day. He could sort out the messy details after he returned to Derris-Kharlan.

"It's chaos out there," Raine noted absently as she sipped her coffee.

"The people of Palmacosta sound so lost," Colette replied sadly.

Kratos knew with her increased angel's senses that she could hear the voices of despair as clearly as he could.

"Dammit, if only we could had saved Dorr!" Lloyd exclaimed as he slammed his fists into the table.

"There's nothing that can be done," Kratos said. "We can't raise the dead," he added in a far off voice.

"The only thing that can ease this city now is for us to defeat Magnius and free this region of the Desians' influence," Raine stated.

Lloyd glared down at the table as he continued to clench his fists. "I'll make sure that bastard pays for all the pain he caused this city."

"Then, we should be on our way," Kratos said as he stood up. It wouldn't be long before Magnius learned of Dorr's fate and he didn't want him to take any advantages of the confusing.

Once breakfast was done, they rode the horses back to the Ranch. Noishe didn't have to be told what happened since he too heard the outcries from the citizens of Palmacosta. Noishe whimpered sadly to the group, but decided to respect the mood of the travelers.

"That Magnius is a barbarian," Genis vented during their trip.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Dorr's death out of his head. He was forced to betray his own people and principles on a lie that his wife could be saved. They even had that...that monster murdered his daughter and impersonate her for goddess knew how long. It disgusted him. It made him hate his blood.

Raine tightened her hold on her brother, feelings his anger and pain. "I couldn't have put it better myself. He's trying to rule everything through brute force and manipulation. And the power he's using to do it isn't even his. It comes from his exsphere."

Kratos stared ahead. Professor Raine was partly wrong. The exspheres could not enhance something that wasn't there. Magnius was naturally strong even without an exsphere. Although, she was correct about Magnius abusing his power. What he did to Dorr and his family was disgusting; even if was common Desian's behavior. It was too similar to what Kvar did to him.

"That bastard, I'm going to make him pay," Lloyd swore. For Dorr, for Kilia, for Chocolat, and all those who had suffered. He would avenge them all!

Kratos glanced at his son before looking ahead again. "Even that man is a living being. Defeating Magnius means taking a life."

"So what?" Lloyd growled. As far as he was concern, Magnius forfeited his right to live a long time ago. "Should we just stand by and let him get away with all he has done to Palmacosta?"

"No. What I'm saying is to kill your enemy means to bear the responsibility for that life." He looked directly at Lloyd as he spoke his next words. "And you must never forget that. The lives that you take are not nameless faces. Even bad people have someone that cares for them." It was one of the few lessons he father taught him that he agreed with.

Lloyd blinked at that statement. "To bear the responsibility for a life." His dad told him something similar when they killed those bandits years ago. "Yes, you're right…. It seems I get excited a little too easily. I'll be careful." He hated the Desians, but...he didn't want to reach the point where he could happily murder another person like they did.

"But you quickly realize it and repent, so you're still fine," Raine assured. She was thankful that Kratos was able to get through to Lloyd and reigned in his anger.

Colette also smiled. Lloyd had a kind heart and she didn't want to see it spoiled by the Desians' evil.

Genis gave a teasing smirk. "And then he quickly forgets too."

Lloyd glared at his friend. "Hey, don't butt in!"

Colette giggled, happy to see that the somber mood had been lessened, even if it was only a little.

By early afternoon, they were back in the forest near the Ranch. This time, Kratos felt the presence of at least a couple hundred soldiers. It would seem Neil was good to his word. Neil himself was in the bushes away from his men and waved the group over to him when they came within sight.

"Neil..." Lloyd started. It was best that Neil learned the truth from them than from some random messenger.

Neil held up his hand before Lloyd could continue. "Don't say anything. From the looks on your faces, I can imagine what has happened to Dorr."

"But Dorr did say this; He wants us to save Chocolat," Colette said, hoping that would help eased Neil's pain.

Neil was taken aback for a moment before he closed his eyes. "...Governor-General...I understand." It seemed learning that Dorr hadn't completely betrayed them brought some peace to the man. "Please take me along to carry out the Governor-General's last wish."

"Who will lead the army into battle?" Kratos questioned.

"I have the unit commander to rely my orders," Neil assured. "They will provide us back up as we sneak into the Ranch. If all goes well, the Desians will be too distracted by the militia to notice us."

"Sounds like a decent plan given the short amount of time," Kratos said.

Neil folded him arms. "It's because we made several battle plans in the past to attack the Ranch. Dorr talked us out of it each times, saying how no army has ever managed a successful raid on a Ranch even during the time of the Sylvarant Dynasty." He closed his eyes before sighing. "Even if Dorr only said those things because he was working for the Desians, he was right. We searched records dated back several centuries and no major military campaign has ever been successful against the Desians. The best anyone has done was guerrilla tactics. We used those to free some of the prisoners ever few seasons."

Kratos took in the man's words. "Magnius must have allowed this to keep his deceit with Dorr going. To keep an ally like Dorr in his fold, losing a few prisoners mean nothing."

Genis felt his heart dropped. No military campaign has been successful? Then...what were the chances of them succeeding? He quickly shook his head. He wouldn't backed down now. No matter what, they had to save Chocolat. He wouldn't let her end up like Marble. Beside, they had the Chosen by their side. He was certain that Martel would grant them victory.

"At any rate, let's see if we can find a place to use that key card we received from Dorr," Raine advised.

"It will most likely be a door on the far side of the Ranch," Kratos said, remembering the layout of the facility.

"Then, let's check it out," Lloyd said as he led the group.

It took a few minutes of searching, but they did eventually find the door hidden over the thick tree branches. Once they had secured the door, Neil gave the order for the army to attack. Within minutes, several war cries rang out as the militia charged the main gate, forcing the Desians into combat.

"We should move in now," Kratos advised after several minutes past. He wanted to make sure as many Desians as possible were engaged in battle.

Lloyd swiped the card over the dashboard and punched in the code that Dorr had told them. Once he was finished the door opened with a loud swoop.

"This is it," Genis said as he took out his kendama. There was no turning back now.

"Be on your guard at all times," Kratos warned.

They didn't say another word as they stepped into the Ranch. It was completely different than what Lloyd was expecting.

After years of getting used to the foul smell that radiated from a Human Ranch, he thought the inside would be dirty and foul as well. Everything, however, was cleaned and looked brand new. Even the air was cleaned, almost to the point of being stale, and didn't have the odor from outside. Maybe the Desians couldn't stand the stench themselves and actually washed their prisoners after they had worked them half to death outside.

However, he had quickly found that the Ranch was creepy in other ways. It was so quiet with only the hums of machinery filling the halls. Not even the sounds of the battle outside reached here.

It was also remarkably cooler in the Ranch than it was outside. It was like the Desians had some type of cooling system. Lloyd had heard of such things from his father, but this was the first time he had experience one.

Now that he thought about it, that was probably how that Ranch in the desert kept so cool when it got really hot. He didn't noticed it at the time given the situation.

"Lloyd, keep your guard up!" Kratos warned as a Desian spotted him from down the hall. Before he could raise any alarm, Kratos quickly ran in and gutted the man. Lloyd watched in shock horror as the man's body crumbled onto the steel floor, swimming in his own blood. He didn't know Kratos could move so fast.

Kratos turned towards Lloyd and glared at him harshly. "I told you to stay aware of your surroundings. You could have gotten someone killed."

"Sorry, I..." Lloyd started.

"No excuses," Kratos interrupted. "This isn't a game. Real lives are at stake. Have you learned nothing from our weeks of training?"

Kratos' words hit him harder and cut deeper than his steel blade. He felt foolish for allowing his mind to wonder off. He was here for a reason. He couldn't become distracted again.

"Give the boy a break," Neil attempted to defend Lloyd. "I mean, he didn't know better and no harm was done."

"This time," Kratos added harshly as he lead the group forward.

Colette walked over to comfort Lloyd, but he shrugged off her advance. He deserved the tongue-lashing and wouldn't accept any kind words from anyone.

The rest of the trip through the Ranch went much smoother and Lloyd was on edge the entire time. He was so jumpy that little noises kept grabbing his attention. It took several minutes for him to calm down enough to really focus on his surrounding.

"What's that sound?" Colette suddenly asked as she looked down one of the hallways.

"What sound?" Genis asked as he strained his ears.

"It...it sounds like crying," Colette gasped in horror. "Hundreds of people crying in agony."

Kratos paused for a moment. "Let's move down this way then."

"Huh, but..." Lloyd started.

"I have a suspicion on what we might find," Kratos stated as he led the ground down the hall. He too could hear the sound of suffering and was not looking forward to what they were going to find.

After moving down several more hallways they came to a main door opening. The door opened automatically and what they saw left everyone speechless.

Before them stood a large room with several holding cells filled with people. The people barely looked human. Their bodies were thin to the point that they looked like skeletons. Their eyes were sunken in and their skin was pale and waxy. They also smelled, but nowhere near as badly as the poor souls outside.

There were dozens of Desians in the room looking over the prisoners. One of them was spraying the cells with what looked to be a soap/water combination. Lloyd guessed this was the Desians way of 'cleaning' their human prisoners. Several screams came out as the high-pressured water tore at their skins and stun their eyes. The soap also irritated their wounds, causing them to burn.

"This...this is horrible…." Genis was finally able to mutter.

He knew about the terrible things done at the Ranch, but this was beyond his imagination. An image of Marble came to his mind and he began to feel physically sick. Did Marble have to go through this everyday until she died?

"Who are you!?" one of the Desians demanded when he noticed their new guests. All activity within the room stopped as all the Desians glared at them.

Lloyd lifted his swords as hatred burn in his eyes. "How dare you!? You'll pay for all of this!"

Genis and Raine shared the same sentiments as they lifted their weapons.

Without a word, Kratos charged and beheaded the nearest Desian to the door. After that, the room was alive with spells being cast and steel flying across the room.

Lloyd was able to hold his own against several Desians, too angry to feel fear or hesitation as he cut down each one of them. He felt a sharp pain as one of them nailed him with a whip to his back, but he spun around and impaled that Desian before he could get another hit. Colette also covered him by hitting several Desians with her chakrams.

Genis took care of the spell casters who stood on the upper level away from the main action. He was nearly hit by several fireballs and even some Icicle, but he managed to put up a Force Field before he could be badly wounded. Raine also gave him extra protection with support spells like Charge to keep his mana up.

Some time during the fighting, one of the Desians managed to hit the alarm. Kratos gave a silent curse since Magnius now knew of their presences. Nothing could be done about it now as several more Desians poured through door.

"Damn, there so many of them!" Lloyd exclaimed as he blocked a spear. His previous boost of energy had long run out and he was finding himself overwhelmed by the Desians sheer numbers.

"Of course. They can't make it too easy for us," Neil half-joked as he took out a Desian with an upper sword slash.

"Stand back, Eruption!" Genis yelled as he nailed several Desians with a wave of lava. However, a powerful Wind Blade suddenly hit him.

"Genis!" Raine cried as she healed her brother's wounds.

"Fools, take out the healer!" someone yelled.

"Cover Raine!" Lloyd screamed as he ran towards the professor as several Desians charged her.

Kratos quickly realized at the rate they were going, they would be overrun. He didn't want to use his more powerful moves, but he had little choice. He brought his hand together and began his spell. "Out of the way, Thunder Blade!"

A large sword of lightning fall from the sky and embedded itself into the floor. Once it hit an electric shock covered the floor, hitting several Desians.

"He can do that?" Genis asked in wonder.

Lloyd used this time released several waves of mana, cutting up every Desian within range.

After several more minutes of hard fighting, the room was finally cleared. Everyone was worn out and apple and orange gels were passed among the exhausted group.

"Man, those Desians were tough," Lloyd said as he leaned against a nearby wall.

"The Desians inside the Ranch are generally more well trained than those outside." Kratos said as he ate an orange gel.

"Rest up quickly," Neil said as he rubbed an apple gel on his wound. "We don't want to be here if a second wave comes."

Genis looked towards the prison cells where all the captive people stared at them with both hope and interest. "What are we to do with them?"

"Let's save them," Colette said with no hesitation.

"Yes, when you consider what will happen, we can't just leave them here like this," Raine stated neutrally. Besides, it would be inhuman to just leave them like this.

Lloyd sighed as he looked over the group and then backed at the prisoners. "Shall we split into two groups, then?"

"No, leave this to me," Neil said as he stepped in. "I will personally led these people out."

"Are you sure?" Lloyd asked.

"These prisoners are my responsibility," Neil said as he looked over the poor souls. "My place is here. Please, take care of Chocolat in my absences."

Lloyd finally nodded in agreement. "Okay, we'll leave it to you, then."

"Let's move." Kratos ordered as he led the rest of the group to the main control room. Now that Magnius was ready for them, things just became more complicated.

The final battle against Magnius starts next chapter. We are quickly approaching the end of this part of the game.

Until next chapter.