Disclaimer: so don't own this, so walk away lawyer man!

Been wanting to do this for a while and finally did. names and graves are one thing, but there are a lot of coincidences out there. It takes at least three things to remove all doubt from a person's mind, and I think this is what clinched it for Kratos. Enjoy!

What Clinched It

"Your... name is Lloyd?" The name struck him, even after all these years. Here he thought he could move on, but all it took was a name and his heart would stop.

The boy in question turned a glare onto him, answering with quite the attitude despite being saved by the man just moments ago. "Uh, yeah. You should state your own name before asking or someone else's."

He looked over the teen for a moment, more than a little surprised by his attitude. They looked a little alike and they would be about the same age... but no one could survive that fall, let alone a three year old child. "I am Kratos, a wandering mercenary. As long as you can pay me, I'll accept the job of protecting the Chosen."

Business as usual. The possibility of another boy with brown hair being around the same age as his son would have been and having the same name wasn't that unlikely. Lloyd wasn't that unusual a name. 'Put it to rest. He's gone. Don't make connections that aren't there. Focus on getting the Chosen through this.'

Obeying his own counsel, Kratos finished listening to children insisting on coming along and humored this Chosen. It meant more work for him, but this sacrifice to Mithos and Martel should have a few good things before she dies. Every child deserved some happiness in their lives.

This Chosen was really attached to this Lloyd boy. Playing bodyguard to a lovesick girl who knew it could never be was a tad annoying, but tolerable. At least she wasn't going on and on about how handsome he was, or tried to flirt with Kratos like the last one did. This one was very level headed and not near as loud. He could humor this one without too much trouble.

The dwarf Dirk's house was relatively new to the area, but many things were new to the area according to him. Where was this place fourteen years ago when he needed a key-crest for Anna? It happened not that far from there...

A shout pulled him from his dreary thoughts. "You don't have to hit me!"

"Lloyd! Wait!"

It was just when the Chosen was about to knock on the door that the boy in question flung it open to storm off. The girl fell back into the dirt in surprise gaping up at the equally surprised boy. Kratos rolled his eyes and stepped away to give them their privacy. Teenaged drama as about to ensue and he really did not want to be caught up in that again. Far too many Chosen were teenagers, and it was very annoying when they made a big deal about every silly, unimportant detail.

Wandering into the side yard, he spotted something he did not expect. A grave. Curious, he came a little closer and spotted a name he hadn't dared to speak again since that day.

Anna.

His heart stopped for a second time that day as his feet unbiddingly took him towards it. It couldn't be... Shaking slightly, Kratos brushed his fingertips against the name carved into the stone. The words weren't that old, little over a decade if he knew right. Maybe...

In his head he could hear her laugh, smell her hair, and even see her beautiful face. Anna. The woman he wanted more than anything to bring back and make happy once again. If only there was another way to end that night so many years ago. His heart hurt so much from the memory, the wound still fresh despite the years between. He never did get a chance to give her a proper burial.

Could this be...

The man forced himself to take a step back, clenching his fist so tightly his palms threatened to bleed. No. This couldn't be his Anna. A dwarf made this. This might be his wife or sister, not Kratos' beloved who was changed into a monster by a mad scientist. And that boy could not be his Lloyd. No three year old could survive that fall! Let alone with all the monsters everywhere and the Desians!

His family was dead. He had to accept that. He had to-

"Noishe no!"

For a third time the warrior's heart stopped, not believing his ears. Noishe? He turned and approached the voice of the lad on the other side of the building, his heartbeat accelerating with each breath. Rounding the corner, he heard more. "You know the rules! You can't leave your pen after dark! There's monsters out there and Dad'll throw a fit if you mess up his projects again."

A doglike whine filled the air as the scene came into view. In that one moment, Kratos' known world was turned upside down once more. There was no denying this one. Right in front of a pen stood a white and green protozoan in his Arshis form, almost begging Lloyd to let him out for a bit. The teen continued to rebuke this 'dog' while the Chosen watched on and giggled at the sight. He though just stared.

In his mind he could see his three year old son playing with the same creature, laughing. The exact same scene played in front of him now.

"Noishe..."

Murmuring the word caught the Arshis' full attention and he continued to struggle to get out of his pen. "WHOA!" Lloyd grabbed the animal around the neck to stop him. "Hold it boy!"

Noishe tried to go forward, to meet his old friend, but Kratos met his eyes at long last and subtly shook his head, as if saying not now. It whined, begging to come to him, but another headshake and a small flick of his wrist told the animal to return to the pen. Later. They would talk later. Whining still, it finally obeyed and stopped fighting the teen. Relieved Noishe was going back inside, Lloyd sighed. "Sheesh! What's gotten into you..."

"Maybe he smells something he likes!" The Chosen's light hearted words were the perfect cover for what really happened. Noishe knew Kratos and wanted to meet him. He wanted to meet his old friend too. "I sneak out of bed when I smell good things cooking too. Dirk must be a good cook."

"Well he has to be," Lloyd murmured as he resecured the pen's gate. "S'not like anyone else is gonna cook for us."

Watching these two after his discovery was far too distracting. He needed time to think, but there was a lot that needed to be done. Taking another step forward, his head swimming with information and wanting to form conclusions, Kratos make his presence known. "Are we going back?"

"Ah!" Both teens jumped at his approach, which normally would have been humorous if his mind and heart weren't reeling. "Mr. Kratos! You startled me!"

"Sheesh... you're here too?" Lloyd didn't look really happy about him being there, which hurt him a little. If he was right... was there really an if now? Lloyd, Anna, Noishe... The boy saw where he came from and wondered. "Were you at my mom's grave?"

"Is that your mother's grave?"

"Uh huh." The plain, matter of fact way he said it was identical to the way his Anna and Lloyd did. There really wasn't any other option.

This was his son, his Lloyd. He was alive. "I see..."

"We better get going." This Chosen smiled brightly for her friend and started walking away. Kratos followed, everything inside him churning as the realizations started to bear fruit. He looked back to his wife's grave while the two said their last cheerful goodbyes, both glad he found it and sad it existed. He looked back to his son as he entered the house he ended up growing in, watching how he moved forward without fear. So much like his mother...

Noishe must have saved him from the fall, and before he could make down the cliff to them, Dirk the dwarf must have passed by and taken them to safety. Dirk then returned to bury Anna. Maybe... after this world was regenerated and the Chosen became a vessel for Martel, he could return and thank the man for doing what he could not. His son was alive and happy. Noishe would continue to grow and evolve. And he... he would continue to fade away in the background by Yggdrasill's orders. So long as those two were alright, he would do what was necessary.

The best thing he could do for them was walk away and stay out of their lives. Kratos had his answers at long last. With what he was about to do, taking this Chosen through the trials and submitting to his lord's orders, he did not deserve the right of being with them again. If Lloyd ever learned the truth about him and the role of the Chosen, he would hate him forever. No child should hate his father, and by sacrificing his son's dear friend to Yggdrasill's madness, all he would ever earn was hate.

His son was safe. That was enough for him.

END

A/N: I tried to follow the comic to the best of my abilities, but there wasn't a noishe scene in what I found. I thought it was interesting in the game when Noishe pined to get out of his pin when everyone else was waiting for Lloyd ot talk to Colette. He also was waiting eagerly outside the village at the beginning for the same reason: he smelled Kratos. I think seeing Noishe and Lloyd together, plus Anna's grave, is what clinched it for Kratos. There would be no room for doubt after that. I also think he would have left him there if he could and watched from a far if Lloyd hadn't been banished form the town and followed them. Lloyd likes to disturb a lot of his dad's plans.

Please comment. So not used to getting none.