A/N: No reviews for the last chapter. That makes me sad.

By the time Rai finally made his way downstairs with Lloyd in tow, the rest of the party was nowhere to be seen. He'd meant to tag along with Kratos to get help in selecting a sword, but the man had mysteriously vanished and on second thought Rai might be able to do that on his own. Lloyd was a sword user as well, after all. He turned to his companion, who was looking around as if wondering where everyone else was.

"Hey, Lloyd. Want to help me pick out a sword?"

As expected, Lloyd's eyes lit up and his attention focused back on Rai in an instant. "You're learning to use a sword?" he exclaimed. "Awesome! Are you going to use two swords like me?"

"I hadn't really decided yet," Rai admitted, "but probably not. I think I'll stick to one. Perhaps a two-handed sword?"

Lloyd deflated slightly, but there was still a light of excitement in his eyes. "Well, come on then!" he grinned, practically dragging Rai outside. Normally, Rai would have been irritated by this, but this time he found that he was only a bit amused. He really must be warming up to Lloyd, he realized. It probably had something to do with how open and easy-to-read Lloyd was. Rai didn't feel as if he had to be too on-guard around him, at least not in comparison to the rest of the group.

Though it was also true that Lloyd had forced his hand by finding out so much about him by mere coincidence, Rai thought with slight annoyance. What was with Lloyd always being around when he had nightmares, anyway?

As they pushed their way through the crowd, fighting their way to the weapons' district - Triet was a lot larger than it had seemed in-game - Rai found his thoughts drifting back to the fight with the group of Renegades. The battle in which he had killed Layn. Had Lloyd not killed the other Renegade, Rai's life would have been forfeit. He hadn't been nearly strong enough to survive on his own against even some mere Renegade footsoldiers. He realized now that having thought himself powerful enough with magic alone had been exceedingly arrogant. How could he hope to stand a chance against Mithos or any strong opponents at this rate? In addition to training with a sword, he really should take other precautions as well. Figuring out a more defined fighting style that took his magic into account would probably be a good idea.

Were there any passive forms of defense or offense he could take advantage of? Use of poisons of some kind, maybe? And he should also take advantage of his superior control of raw mana. He'd started experimenting with that not soon before the day of the Oracle - one useful though expensive effect was the ability to probe outwards for threats, literally feeling out his surroundings using his own mana - but he should speed up the process. Yes...some training once he obtained his new sword would not be unwelcome.

Rai knew his main weakness was short-range combat. When he had the advantage of other short-range fighters to keep the enemy busy, he could fire off unpredictable spells at a high rate, but cornered at point-blank range...

Wait a minute. His eyes widened and he stopped short in the middle of the crowd, hardly noticing the annoyed people shoving rudely past him. Of course. How had he not thought of this before? There was a way he could adapt his magic to short-range combat. After all, his usage of magic was already different than what was traditionally taught.

Normally, he separated his magic out from the boundaries of shaped spells - instead of casting things like Aqua Edge or Icicle, he just shaped and focused his mana. It should be possible for him to do the same on a smaller scale as well, though it would be more difficult, requiring more control. That meant he might be able to use his magic in less obvious but infinitely more lethal ways.

If he could use his own mana to shape and convert the ambient mana in the air, who was to say that he couldn't do the same to the mana of his enemies' bodies, with a little practice? Imagine converting some of the mana around somebody's heart into fire mana. Just a little would do.

Instant death.

He grinned. Such potential...he couldn't believe he hadn't tried to tap into it before. It probably had to do with his lack of battle experience; it had taken fighting a real enemy to understand how things really worked in the midst of battle. Quick and fatal attacks were the way to go. Flashy, impressive magic only got you so far.

Damn, kid. Even I didn't think of that. You may be onto something here.

Not only that, but since Akira had been a medical student, Rai was starting to gain back that same knowledge of human anatomy. That, too, would be helpful in knowing how to strike precisely. And maybe - maybe - it would help him to learn some healing artes as well. He might even be able to figure it out without being forced to ask Raine for help.

Wow. This is just getting better and better.

"Rai! Rai!" Startled, he glanced up and remembered where he was. Lloyd was now several feet away, waving at him impatiently over the heads of the crowd. Hurriedly, Rai pushed his way forward to rejoin him. Lloyd huffed in annoyance as he approached.

"Your head's always in the clouds," he grumbled. "Don't tell me you need me to hold your hand to keep you from wandering off."

"Sorry," he said distantly, his mind still half elsewhere even as Akira snickered at the comment. He was now wondering whether he could use magic to actually enhance his sword attacks. Zelos and Kratos did it to some extent, didn't they? Lightning Blade...Hell Pyre...

He glanced over when he realized that Lloyd had stopped this time. The swordsman was looking at him oddly. "What's on your mind? You just apologized to me." Again, hung unspoken between them.

"Oh...I did, didn't I?" Rai acquiesced. "I guess I'm a bit preoccupied. Where are the weapons around here, anyway?"

Lloyd sighed, but let the subject drop. "Right here. So what do you think?"

Rai stepped forward to face the burly shop owner, who looked wary when he saw Rai's appearance, though he tried to hide it. "How may I help you, good sir?" he said smoothly, with slight undertones of unease and dislike in his voice.

"You could give me an overview of your selection of weapons, for starters," Rai responded flatly, a bit more rudely than he had intended. Even if he knew the man couldn't help his hesitance, given that the only non-humans he had probably encountered were Desians, Rai couldn't help but feel a little cold towards him in response to the obvious discrimination. The man flinched slightly, averting his eyes.

"Yes, right away, sir," he said quickly. "We have various types of swords, both two and one-handed, a limited selection of spears, some double-ended blades, various types of staffs that are best for mages, axes and hammers, daggers, throwing knives, and bows for archery. Which are you interested in...?"

"An impressive variety," Rai admitted, running his eyes over the array of weapons on display. It would probably good to have a dagger on hand in case his sword ever became inaccessible to him. "Show me the daggers first."

"Of course." The man bustled around in the back for a few moments before coming forward with four daggers, all sheathed. "These are representative of the major styles."

They differed in length, but all were of a similar shape and curvature. Rai unsheathed each in turn, surveying the edges critically, and with Akira's help finally decided on one that was a rich, purple color - made of magically reinforced, glass-like stone. It was expensive, but the ability to key it to his own magic was worth the buy, and if he pooled all the gald he had collected over the years from various things, he could afford it without too much difficulty. After forking over the money for both the dagger and its sheath, which came with a durable strap - he could always reinforce it magically later - he asked to see the swords.

Their variety impressed him; there were swords of differing angles of curvature, resembling middle-eastern swords from his old life, a few Japanese-style swords including a katana, and European-style broadswords and longswords. It was tempting to opt for a one-handed sword so that he could have the advantage of a shield, but a two-handed sword would give him more power and control - not to mention that Akira was familiar with kenjutsu using a katana with a similar build to this one, which had a two-handed grip. Much to Lloyd's disappointment, he finally decided on the katana, which was sturdily built and obviously prioritized practicality over decoration. He also purchased some basic oil and a cleaning cloth for the sword as well as a sharpening stone for the dagger. All in all, in the end his pockets felt much lighter.

He found himself glad to get away as they left the stall and began to make their way over to the armorshop. The weight of his new sword at his waist was unfamiliar but comforting. Akira had instructed him a bit impatiently that the cutting edge needed to face upwards in its sheath for a correct draw, and that he needed to train a lot if he wanted to avoid inadvertently impaling himself on his own sword. Rai had sheepishly agreed; it was true that he was shamefully ignorant of the art. Even during that spar with Lloyd he'd had to let Akira take over. At least his past self had been glad for a bit of practice with a sword after so long.

As they stood in the long line to the armory, Lloyd stared intently at him, his brown eyes unreadable. Rai spent a few minutes trying to figure out what he was thinking, but the other's expression wasn't giving anything away.

"What's up?" he asked, finally giving in. Lloyd took a few moments to answer.

"Why did you treat him that way?"

"Who?" asked Rai. As if he didn't already know the answer.

"The shop owner. He was just trying to help, but you treated him like...like he was beneath you." Lloyd's brow furrowed, his gloved hands clenching at his sides.

Rai couldn't help but feel somehow betrayed.

"So? I treat everyone like that, did you forget?" he said coldly, turning away. Lloyd gave a growl of frustration.

"Rai! I know that's not it. Haven't I proven that you can talk to me? Don't close up on me again." When Rai refused to answer, he continued, "Is it really...because he's a human? I got a feeling like this once before, when we were exiled from the village, but...Rai, do you really think humans are inferior?"

Rai felt anger coursing through him again. How dare Lloyd, of all people, lecture him about this? And had he not noticed how the shop owner had been acting? "I only did what he expected me to do," he said stiffly. "Knowing I wasn't human, he was uncomfortable around me from the beginning. Why am I the one being accused of discriminating?"

"He was only afraid! Besides, you didn't answer my question."

"Why does it matter?"

"It matters to me." Lloyd's voice was firm, but there was a hint of apprehension in his tone. "So?"

Rai sighed. "It depends on how you define 'inferior'," he said finally. "If you consider proficiency in combat or intelligence to be indicators of superiority, then yes - on average, humans are inferior to half-elves on both counts - "

"Stop - just stop trying to make this something you can just calculate. I'm talking about what you feel about it. Do you actually consider yourself to be personally better than humans, just because you're a half-elf?"

"I..." He hesitated. Did he? He supposed he might on some level, though part of that was probably just resentment at the way humans thought of half-elves, and part of it was probably his natural tendency to disdain those who lacked intelligence. Though of course he knew that individual humans could still be plenty intelligent, so certainly that wasn't justification to think of himself personally as better than the human race as a whole.

Lloyd looked away. "Never mind," he said bitterly. "I guess I have my answer."

He didn't know why, but he felt a spurt of panic, a need to justify himself. "Wait - that's not what I meant - " He could see that Lloyd wasn't receptive to this, so he changed tack. "I - look, feelings like that are complicated. You know I'm not the best at that sort of thing. But I do know that - well, you're human, but I don't think of you as any less than I am because of that. I don't think you're inferior, I know that much. If I do have some kind of bias against humans in general, that's - well, I never professed to be perfect." He took a breath. That was a longer speech than he had intended to make, especially in public. A few people glanced at him warily, now noticing his obviously elvish features.

Lloyd still looked put out, but his gaze had softened slightly. "I...yeah. Sorry, Rai. I guess I'm being kind of a jerk about it. I don't have a right to tell you how to feel, and obviously I've never experienced how it is to be in your position. So, uh..." He trailed off uncertainly, seeming to remember for the first time that they weren't alone. The humans surrounding them were muttering softly and shooting the pair surreptitious glances.

God, this is uncomfortable. Rai glanced away and noted with relief that they had reached the front of the line. "Oh, look, it's our turn to go up there," he said quickly, starting forward without glancing to see whether Lloyd was following.

This time he was careful not to let anything out of the ordinary seep into his interaction with the shop owner, though this man was even more visibly uncomfortable around him. His mind, however, was elsewhere, one question at its forefront.

Why did he suddenly care about what Lloyd thought of him?

The buzz of voices around him had dulled slightly, though people still gave him sideways glances when they thought he wasn't aware. Rai didn't give any indication that he noticed or cared. Rather, he was lounging carelessly against the side of a tall building, a twig between his teeth and his hands shoved deep in his pockets. He was partaking in something he liked to call information-gathering - more plainly, eavesdropping.

He'd split with Lloyd soon after they'd perused the armory, with the promise to meet up again in a few hours for some training. Though he felt a bit guilty about it, he'd been glad to get away from the swordsman for a bit; the atmosphere between them had become uncomfortable after the earlier argument.

His purchases so far did quite please him, though. At the armor shop he'd found a set of very interesting gauntlets - very expensive, as they were obviously also of elven make, but well worth the price. They looked ordinarily like reinforced fingerless gloves, but would key into his mana signature and had fully retractable and extendable claws which he could control through mana flow. They would also easily conduct his mana for elemental affinity. And to cap it all off, they had a limited mana storage capacity - if he fed mana into them, they would hold onto it for later use. He felt infinitely better about self-defense with them on.

He hadn't bought any actual armor, since it would hinder his movement and slow him down. Producing mana shields wasn't overly difficult, after all, and they had a healer in the group. Still, he'd need to improve his defensive techniques. Currently he used a slightly improved version of Guardian, but he'd have to do better if he wanted to survive in close-combat scenarios. It wasn't too difficult to imagine theoretically how to apply his current knowledge to creating a mana shield a few inches above his skin to protect from attacks, but actually using it adeptly enough and with enough stamina for it to be practical in battle was the real problem. Practice was what he needed.

Whispered conversations reached his ears and he couldn't help feeling a bit derisive, despite his conversation with Lloyd. These humans obviously had no idea that he could hear them. What did they think his pointed ears were for, anyway, decoration? Ignorant idiots.

"Isn't he an elf, though?"

"No, no, didn't you hear him with that guy all in red earlier? He's definitely a half-elf."

"I for one don't care what he is, he is so handsome!"

"Mei!"

Rai tuned out the incessant giggling that followed and focused on a more interesting conversation at a stall nearby.

"You have the goods?" came the low murmur of the cloaked man leaning over the counter. The sallow man behind it nodded ever so slightly.

"That's right," he said even more quietly, with a few quick glances around. "Cyanide and...?" The second word was said so softly that it was inaudible even to Rai.

He waited until the client had left and then walked up to the shady clerk, making sure his hood was down and his features clearly visible. The man flinched violently.

"An interesting business you have going here," Rai murmured softly, leaning in to shield his lips from passersby. "I'm intrigued."

"I don't know what you mean, I only sell regular potions," the man said stubbornly, but his eyes darted away and back again in a nervous and decidedly guilty gesture.

Rai grinned ferally, leaning closer to the quaking shopkeeper. "Help me and I won't say a word to the village authorities," he said in a low voice. "Don't worry. I always keep my word, even when dealing with inferior beings." There was a pause. "Or I could always bring you back to the human ranch with me, though I'm not currently on the job..."

"What do you need?" the man bit out, caving.

Five minutes later he left the stall, immensely satisfied. He'd even managed to secure that for free, though he did feel a little bad about pretending to be a Desian. Lloyd wouldn't approve of either his method or of what he had obtained.

But, again - since when had he cared what Lloyd would think?

He was on his way back to the hotel to stash some things with his luggage when he noticed a familiar blue-haired half-elf and stopped short. What, now he decided to show up?

Casually, Rai made his way over to where the seraph stood near a food stall.

Almost immediately, Yuan's gaze snapped up to meet his, pure shock in his expression. A few moments later it was masked expertly.

"Your...mana signature is very unique..."

Rai realized that Yuan must recognize it from the time Rai had spent in Cruxis. Either that, or he could recognize some similarity between Rai's and Kratos's mana signatures, assuming they were father and son. He leaned forward slightly, so that none of the passersby would overhear, and murmured, "I did spend my early years in Cruxis, after all. I wondered if you'd recognize me." He was taking a bit of a leap here, since he wasn't sure if he'd personally known Yuan as a child, but he could still claim that he'd been told about him by Kratos and had recognized his distinctive appearance. Fortunately, Yuan didn't question it. The man's expression was unreadable, but he seemed tense.

"So you were alive after all..." he murmured in a slightly shaky voice, almost too softly for Rai to hear. Then, in a more normal tone, "Why are you on the Journey of Regeneration?"

Rai smirked. "Why do you want to know?"

"It would not be wise to assume we are on the same level, boy," Yuan warned.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Four-thousand year-old Seraph, a leader of both Cruxis and the Renegades - you're pretty impressive."

There was an odd expression on Yuan's features. "Surely Kratos would not have told you this much?"

"Think of it what you will," Rai quipped, mimicking Kratos's speech.

Yuan's gaze tightened. "Then I suppose it is even more important to know which side you're on," he growled. "Are you like Kr - your father, Rai? Still loyal to Cruxis, but willing to overlook my activities? Or are you thinking about telling Ygdrassill everything?" He leaned forward, an intent gaze in his startlingly green eyes. "Or...are you open towards my ideas?"

Rai thought quickly. Truthfully, he was more on the side of the Renegades than anyone else, since they seemed to be the most sane - but at the same time, he couldn't speak for whether he'd change his mind in the future. Still, it was true that he had no plans to reveal Yuan to Ygdrassill. That would be an amazingly stupid move. He'd just let Ygdrassill find out on his own, the way he was supposed to. Still, even if he wasn't necessarily on the Renegades' side, wasn't it better to pretend he was? I'm like Zelos now, he thought wryly. I'm going to end up a triple-crosser - Cruxis, the Renegades, and the Chosen's party will all think I'm on their side, since Mithos would assume Kratos's son would be with Cruxis, and I wouldn't want to correct him. I wonder how long I can pull it off?

He realized Yuan was still waiting for his reply and took a breath. "Let's talk about this in a quieter place," he muttered, before turning and walking toward the entrance of Triet. He could hear Yuan following him almost silently until they were far enough that no humans would be able to hear.

"I don't approve of what Cruxis is doing, although my reasons are my own," he said firmly, senses on high alert for any approaching mana signatures. "If you're against Cruxis, then I suppose that puts us on roughly the same side. I'd be willing to help you out within reasonable limits, as long as you guarantee the safety of both myself and my group." He paused, glancing at Yuan again, and added, "...I hope you're not thinking about killing the Chosen. Don't worry - I'll make sure she isn't used as a vessel for Martel. If it seems like I won't be able to prevent that, I would be willing to let you know immediately, considering I have an avenue to do so."

Yuan was gazing at him interestedly, eyes glittering with calculation. "I see. And what makes you think you would be able to prevent the ritual?"

"There are some members of the group who don't know she'd have to die. I think if they found out with...appropriate timing, they wouldn't be able to send her off so quickly. But how about this - I'll contact you if it seems like all is lost. I assume there are ways to do that, with your technology?"

"...There are," said Yuan slowly. "But you have to keep this a secret from Kratos."

"Don't worry about that. In fact, I think even if he found out, he wouldn't tell Ygdrassill about it, though he might disapprove."

"You're probably right," Yuan agreed. "So you're saying you'll help me, then? To clarify - you'll spy for me?"

"If you harm anyone from my group, especially me, the deal is off," Rai warned. "And if I'm in a sticky situation, would it be too much of me to contact you for help and expect you to intervene?"

"...That is acceptable. So you'll update me on your group's activities?"

"As long as you don't interfere with us, I suppose I will. But - if I do this, I also hope to...ask certain favors of you, when the time comes."

"That depends entirely on what they are," Yuan said suspiciously, "but I will try to be reasonable. You'll be helping us quite a bit, after all." He rummaged in his cloak and pulled out a small device, smooth and round as a pebble, and popped it open, revealing various buttons.

"You can use the green one to speak to me," Yuan explained. "The red button is for emergencies - for example, if you think that Cruxis is about to gain possession of the Chosen, or you're about to die, I suppose. The blue button will contact my subordinate, Botta, in case I am unresponsive when you press green. And the yellow, which you should only use if you're alone and have time, makes it possible to send written correspondence magically by typing on a holographic screen. You can use it if you feel like you can't safely speak aloud. This device will also track your location, by the way. I hope you're okay with that. Also, I've set it up so that once you accept this device from me, it will be keyed to your mana signature - no others will be able to use it except you and myself."

"As long as you stick to your side of the deal, it's fine," Rai promised, reaching out and pocketing the device. As he took it, he could feel the warm buzz as it resonated with his mana. "Another thing. What if the red button, or another, is accidentally pressed? Is there a cancellation?"

"If it's a button other than the red, you press the gray one on the side, and if it's the red, you have to dial a certain sequence. But I'd advise you to not accidentally press buttons. It would be rather annoying for us. That's what the cover is for."

"Noted. So what's the sequence?"

"Red, Green, Blue, Blue, Yellow, Green, Blue, Red," said Yuan. "I'm afraid it would be too dangerous to write down, so you'll have to memorize it - "

"Don't worry, I got it already," Rai said easily. The voices in his head were already analyzing every inch of the code for patterns, and CO was simply repeating it over and over. Yuan looked at him with what might have been approval.

"Good. Ah, right - I forgot to mention that there's an orange button as well. You use that to check incoming written messages. There's a small mana signal that is produced when you receive a new one; if you keep the device on you, you should be able to detect it easily. Also, since the device has its own mana-sensing capabilities, we will be alerted if it is taken more than ten meters away from your person. In that case I'll send a courier to check up on you; this is so that we can shut the device down if it's stolen."

Despite himself, Rai was mildly impressed. "That's perfect. Out of curiosity, who developed this device?"

"Oh, just one of our engineers," Yuan said offhandedly. "We have many researchers and engineers. After all, half-elves aren't the most intelligent race for nothing."

"Do you do any research yourself?"

"No," Yuan sighed. "I wish I had the time, but unfortunately my time is taken up with maneuvering between Cruxis and the Renegades. A pity, really."

Rai was starting to develop some newfound respect for this man. "Out of curiosity, what do you know about the angel transformation?"

Yuan's gaze snapped back to meet Rai's instantly. "Are you interested in it?"

"...Yes," he replied, surprised by the sudden intensity. "On a purely academic level, that is."

"You don't want to undergo it yourself?"

"I...haven't decided."

"Don't do it," Yuan said quickly. "Take it from me. For half-elves, the negative effects are not worth it. Kratos would not know, as he was a human."

It was as Rai had expected - it seemed Yuan had more of an idea about this than Kratos had. Although - why would Yuan care this much whether Rai experienced negative effects?

"Can you explain why?" he asked, after a pause.

Yuan looked pained. "It's a long story, and not one I have time to tell now...but promise me that you'll listen to me before you make any drastic decisions."

Of course I will. It's not like I want to suffer from negative effects of unknown severity... "I will. But don't take too long. Don't forget I have a way to contact you now."

The angel gave him a ghost of a smile before his wings materialized and he soared off towards the Renegade base.

Despite the sweltering heat and the endless sand, the Triet desert was actually filled with life if one cared to look. From where Kratos lay in the shade of a sand dune, various signs of animal life were clearly audible, and the trill of a few magical birds filled the air.

To Kratos, it served as nothing but a reminder of another time, over four thousand years ago, when he had traveled in this area with his old friends.

...It had not been a desert then.

But the past was the past; there was no point in reminiscing about it now. His friends from back then were as good as gone - one dead, one insane, and the last bitter and broken. He no longer knew them, and they no longer understood him. Maybe it was true that time broke all bonds, no matter how strong.

He had thought he'd left all his bonds behind when he lost his wife and son all those years ago. But then there had come his reacquaintance with Rai, and now he'd found out that Lloyd was still alive, and...well. It seemed some higher power was intent on making sure Kratos could never completely let go of his emotional ties.

Both Rai and Lloyd gave him far more headache than they should - the latter completely unintentionally and the former decidedly less so. Kratos had a sneaking feeling that Rai took pleasure in intentionally aggravating him at every opportunity.

He had perhaps been too harsh with the female half-elf when she had mentioned Rai's obtuseness, however. It had felt like a personal jab, since he couldn't help but feel responsible for any shortcomings his son might have. And yet - there was no way the half-elf girl could possibly know this. He knew she had picked up on his curtness at the mention - she was much sharper than he had initially assumed. He should, of course, have known better than to underestimate a half-elf - one who was lauded as a genius in her village, at that.

She was right, too, no matter how much he disliked it. Rai undeniably had issues, though it was no fault of his own. Kratos had thought he might suffocate with the guilt last night when Rai had continued to keep both Kratos and Lloyd both awake with his obviously violent nightmare. There was only one thing it could have been about. It was all his fault, for letting his own son go through something so horrible under his very nose. Condoning such a thing...

He hadn't been able to bear being in the same room, listening to one son try desperately and unsuccessfully to wake the other, while the latter screamed and convulsed. He'd found himself retreating first to the lobby downstairs, and then out to the desert when that proved too little to block out the sounds from his angelic hearing.

That hadn't helped the choking feeling of guilt that had plagued him for the rest of the night.

Thankfully, it seemed like Lloyd might have managed to comfort Rai a little.

Kratos stiffened suddenly, though his eyes stayed closed. Two very familiar mana signatures were approaching - the very subjects of his recent thoughts, in fact. After a moment of stillness, he finally sprang into action, retreating to the other side of the sand dune quickly as his sons came into view.

Lloyd was speaking animatedly, but Rai appeared distracted, his green eyes unfocused. Kratos narrowed his eyes, observing carefully. Maybe it would help to keep an eye on them - he might then understand them a little better. He knew he was mostly doing this to reassure himself that his sons had still grown up fine despite his absence, and had to fight back another wave of guilt at the thought.

"Rai! You said you had some special training you wanted to do, right?" Lloyd's voice was slightly impatient as it became clear that Rai hadn't heard a word. "Rai!"

The half-elf blinked as if coming out of a trance. "...Right. As I was saying, I have something I would like to try before I do any sword training. Let's continue to travel - all you need to do is leave any human enemies to me. It shouldn't take much time before bandits decide we're easy targets."

Lloyd gave him a puzzled look, but Rai didn't elaborate. "All right, I guess. What kind of training...?"

Rai grinned suddenly and Kratos felt his breath catch in his throat. The last time he had seen his son smile was when he had been only a year old. Innocent, unbroken...happy...

"You'll see," he barely heard as the boys disappeared around the other side of another dune. Kratos took to the air and followed with a heavy heart.

A/N: Even a critical review is better than no review. But please be nice.