Kross could literally feel the compact of battle beneath his feet. He looked up and narrowed his eyes, now he was serious."What is the matter with these kids..?"He murmured, when Ananta revealed that it was Beuce and Glen fighting, he glared even more."Those two..."He murmured. He stood up and drew his keyblade, looking at Ananta."I'm going with you. No way am I going to let you go into that alone."He said, He then ran after Ananta, walking alongside her. He could feel the earth quake under his feet. He was nimble enough to keep his balance, he was going to deter this NOW.
Kross smiled, here came the questions..he knew she would ask about something like that. He could have lied and called it a 'spur of the moment' thing, but he knew better. This was twenty years of pent up feelings for her, and now it was time she heard HIS confession."Ananta."He started, his eyes looked forward and down, closing."I tried to tell you those twenty years ago..I've been trying to find the right words to tell you all of these years, even in my comatose state.."He trailed off, not wanting to think about it. He looked at her."I spent twenty years roaming my world of darkness, searching for the hope that I can love again."He said. He looked down at their hands."On the night of the final battle..I tried to confess my feelings for you..It broke my heart that you went to Beuce but if it made you happy, I would have given up that happiness."He looked at her."But all these years, you still have my heart, you've had my heart for over twenty years. I love you, Ananta..I always have and the worst part is..I probably always will."He said, As he said this, his vision started blurring, tears threatening to spill. He quickly wiped them away."And after all these years..I'm a grown man and still crying."He humored dryly.
Kross felt her hands on his face and he closed his eyes. He couldn't look at her, not with the shame he felt and the audible wetness in her voice, she was close to tears and he wouldn't put it past himself were he in the same position. The night before the final battle, Beuce has confessed to her and she had accepted him. With a broken heart, there was no way he could have known what Xahenort was up to. He was tricked, and put into a coma..for twenty long years. "I..wasn't the smartest guy in the world back then."He humored dryly."If it meant you were safe, I would have become a heartless."He said, opening his eyes and fixed his gaze on her. He sat up straight and gently took her hands from his cheeks, holding them. he met her gaze as she spoke."Sometimes the person you need the most..is closer than you think."He said. He leaned and gently put his lips on her tear stained cheek. It was all he could do to not give in to his deepest desires, he wanted to be the hope that Ananta needed.
Kross watched as she examined him, then made a comment about his white hair. She even took a few strands to observe. At her question, he had to smile, It was a funny question, one that even he didn't know the answer to."I'm not sure, Ananta..I guess when I was in that coma, it turned my hair white. Thing is, I don't know why I had awakened twenty years later..to a war."He said. He then heard her question about what had happened to him. His gaze went downcast..how could he explain this.."Xahenort told me..that you were waiting for me in the Keyblade Graveyard, that you were waiting to say something to me."He said, feeling a slightly pain in his chest."He and Vanitas were there..I was too weak to defend myself and I was struck down."His hand reflexively went to his heart."He..he stuck the keyblade in my heart, and just before releasing it, he said you didn't want to be my friend anymore..that you had better things to do than to.."He trailed off."Than to baby me."
Kross took in the embrace, managing to wipe his eyes with the back of his hands. That smile..that smile melted him, even if he was the coldest of people. Anora pulled back but put her hands on his shoulders. Her words made his honey brown eyes widen."Y..You really think I got taller?" He asked, feeling himself fly with joy at the compliment. He heard Ananta behind him and he turned to her. His eyes widened at the question, and he was about to answer quite vocally when Steel cut in, poking fun at him. He gave a shocked expression, his face red."I..uh..I..."He didn't know what to say,"I have no idea what you're talking about!" He exclaimed with shock, it was then Anora intervened on his behalf, saying they were not together and they were just friends. He smiled at her at her explanation. He turned to the two."She's an amazing Mystic too, I remember whenever she came with me to a world, we'd succeed in all of our missions, and it was thanks to her!" He said. He smiled at Anora."Aden and Raisor are here too? I hope they are okay."
"Dying one time is enough." Kross said, he wasn't going to let Ananta get hurt. He didn't just promise to teach Anta, he promised to protect Ananta, in the span of a few seconds. He heaved a sigh and looked down at their hands, a small blush creeping on his cheeks, not enough to be visible but he did feel warmth. He looked up as she pulled off her crystal. His eyes widened and he looked at her, once she put her crystal back around her neck, he put his hand over the shining crystal, his gaze met hers."Ananta."He started, his eyes firm."I won't let it come to that, I promise I'll protect you..from anything and everything. After all, like you said, I'm not the same as I was."He trailed off, taking his hand off of the crystal."I'm stronger."
Kross smiled and chuckled at her retort."It's an acquired kind of ignorance. ya just gotta tolerate her hits, like I do."He said. Her question towards nobody and stroked his chin."Well, slapping her would have probably not been a good idea for calming her down."He said in a murmur. He looked at her as she mentioned his world being medieval. He smiled a little at this."You can say that. Though we don't have a formal monarchy, our medicine man is our leader and our military act like some sort of police. I think it's the militia that really calls the shots though, my mom's a part of the militia."He said, listening to her about the crystal that hung around her neck. He grew ever more curious about it too and her little story answered a lot of his questions."It's not too tangent, and you should know I will listen to ya."He said, then as she guessed his age, metaphorical steam puffs out of his hair."I'm 17, and I'm an adult!" He exclaimed, crossing his arms and pouted playfully. He turned as footsteps alerted him, honey brown eyes widened as he recognized the figure just moments before she embraced him. The light blonde hair, the blue eyes..the white dress..and..her familiar warmth, he almost melted."A..Anora!" He called out, wrapping his arms around her and embraced her in return, it had been so long..so so long since he had seen her."You're here..and you're okay! I was worried something happened!" He exclaimed, close to tears at that point.
Kross tilted his head, it looked like Ananta pronounced his name right but he didn't pronounce hers. His lip poked out just slightly in a soft pout. He walked alongside Ananta and rubbed his arms, it felt cold in this world. He paused in pace as she did and leaned against the wall. He looked over as she spoke, asking her question. He looked down and to the side."I don't like it here."He answered, teck naw low ji? What was that? "We don't have any of this back home." He said, looking to her."My world was very poor, so we relied on the basics. Shovels, hoes, things like that. We couldn't even afford cattle totes to till the ground."He said. He looked at her and leaned a bit, his hands on his hips."I saw you and Karina earlier, is that what's on your mind? Don't mind Karina, Ananta..she's a grump."He said, smiling at her."Don't let what she does, do what I do and ignore it."
"Hymn of Pepper Island" Kross looked from left to right. The machinery here, while amazing held a slight annoyance. While he hesitantly went on the elevator, the slight momentary shake almost brought him off of his feet, good thing he had good balance. He stayed still, clutching onto the rails of the elevator. It was startling to put it lightly, and he wasn't used to things like this.As the elevator stopped and opened, he managed to regain his footing and hesitantly followed, only to see three little ducklings in the way, bickering amongst themselves. He ignored most of it until they mentioned something strange, three paths, three ways to go. He looked at the one in blue, he needed to know more about the order anyway, but as he took a step forward, someone stopped him, a green haired girl he hadn't seen before. She walked up to him and started speaking, so he turned and paid attention. He frowned at her proposition, this was no time to visit with key wielders, he needed to know more about this world. Then she introduced herself. "Ananta."He repeated, making sure he got her name right. Her hand on his shoulder didn't go unnoticed. He nodded a bit, smiling. He was honestly uncomfortable, he didn't like worlds like this, too enclosed and too cold.."You can call me kross."He said. After about a minute of meditating on her offer, he gave in, nodding."Let's go to the Main Hall then."He said, he could return to the library another time.
The warrior should have known their smoke screen tactic would not work against such a power house. For once, he felt a twinge of fear, not for himself but for this child, this child who had no need to be here. If he didn't do anything, Gold would die. He turned, about to draw his sword to attempt a parry at the shield. Even if the parry was not successful and he was struck down, at least Gold would have time to escape. It was like a slow motion movie, but the spear was struck, not by his sword, but by the sword of another, smaller figure. A figure dressed in black, purple, and red, much similar to the War King they had encountered. The boy's voice held no room for objection, the stoic warrior nodded but he knew the truth, the boy was a hero, he saved them both. He wouldn't have bothered if he wasn't one. He turned to Gold, focusing his brilliant blue eyes on him."Gold, he is right."He said, helping the boy off of the ground and turned, but then looked back to the silver haired hero."Be careful."He warned, running off alongside Gold."That boy won't keep him for long, but at least we can distance ourselves away from that fiend."He told Gold.
Kross was transported to a tech-like world. He gave little to no reaction to the towers of servers and hardware that lined the room. No excited reaction anyway.. He remained silent, sitting on the ground cross legged, leaned his elbow on his leg and rested his cheek on his palm. He had no readable expression on his face, none that conveyed anger, sadness, or his usual chipper. He sat there with a blank expression, staring down one of the hardware towers. When he got angry, he didn't let it burst out like Karina was doing right now, he let it stew. For the first time in this adventure, Kross was feeling down, and it wasn't because of his island or what anyone said to him."When can we go back home?"He asked no one in particular. He hated technology, and these metal towers were making him feel like he was being closed in. He loved the ability to roam freely, which was why he loved his island, but this world..it was grey, featureless..boring.
Kross listened to the conversation, giving an expression of concern at Karina's relay of grief. Was this the first time she had ever lost a battle? He looked down, he had to admit himself, he didn't feel good about their loss, there was always that bitter fact that someone was going to be better than them."We will pick ourselves up and try again, Karina."He said to her, looking to the side."I know defeat is tough, and that guy was way out of our ranks, but that's the good part. He gave us a goal, whether he knew it or not, that goal was to kick his butt the next time we see him."He said. He first stepped to Maurice. The man looked so distraught. He looked down and took both of the man's hands."Put your faith in the beast, Maurice. You're a good father to belle. Never change and keep doing what you do."He said, stepping over to the Beast now and put a hand on the Brooding beast's arm, looking up at him with a smile. "I know you can find Belle, Beast. I knew you weren't the monster Gaston made you out to be. Things will get better, You just need to believe. And don't worry about us. "He patted his fist to his chest."We're tough people. M'ta Akt tu'tak ni Stak'tuk Du Sist Kao (May the spirit of Stak'tuk be with you, Stak'tuk is the deity to which the people of Pepper Island give praise.)" He said in his language and stepped back, joining Eclipse and everyone else."Good luck, we'll be rooting for you. Relay."He said, closing his eyes as the light surrounded him, flashing him away from the scene. Kross accepted "Divine Rose' from the Beast!
Kross listened to her. When she mentioned Karina, his eyes stung a bit but he didn't produce any tears. He remembered having a crush on Karina but..she abandoned him in the Keyblade Graveyard. Of course Kross frustrated Karina to no end with his happy attitude and his cliche antics but..Kross was scared that he was going to die, legitimately scared. "She had a temper all right.."He trailed off, feeling that slight pang of anger in his heart. When Ananta spoke about protecting everybody, a small grin was on his face."You better save some of them dangers for me Ananta, Because I'm not backing down anymore."He said, Glancing up to meet her gaze."I'm protecting everyone too. After all, I'm a Magi."
Kross felt the pair of arms around him again and he closed his eyes, his forehead pressing to her shoulder as he returned the embrace. It had been horrible, being asleep all of these years, separated from his friends, not able to do anything. When she pulled away, he slowly let go and looked up to meet her gaze, listening to her. "I feel honored that you can trust me, Ananta. I know I won't let you down."He said, glancing to the side, his expression faltering when she mentioned war."These children don't need to be fighting our war. They're strong, I won't deny that but I can't help feeling that we should be fighting instead of them." Kross heard her words and chuckled."To be fair, Beuce has always been sort of a mysterious fellow.."He trailed off, hoping Beuce didn't see that post as an insult to his character. Kross watched her sit beside him and he looked down at her question, only listening until the end of her words so he could speak."I've been...sore.."He murmured."I don't know how to feel, Ananta..being separated from my friends all of these years, not being able to do anything about this war..I just don't feel good."He then sat up, his expression conveyed determination, for if he had his old hair color back, it'd be the same Kross as years ago."You're not going to lose me Ananta..and I won't lose you, I promise."He turned his head to her and took her hand."You've always been nice, hard headed and stubborn, but nice.."
Kross looked over when she released his hand from hers, only to see her take a ring off, her wedding ring. As she examined it in the light, so did he, It glittered, shone in the white light that the crystal provided. Then she threw it behind her, catching Kross a little off guard that she would get rid of such a beautiful ring, it may have been worn, but it still had its luster, He was more than surprised that she would get rid of something so easily. Her words caught his attention, What's past was past was right, he wished so bad that he could say 'you could marry me' but he just couldn't, it tore him inside but this was what was meant to be. She mentioned sending Anta off to train under a master, there was no way he was going to let a sage train Anta on how to wield a keyblade, a keyblade master was needed for that.When she looked at him, he looked back, her words, once again, catching him by surprise, He looked down and to the side, could he take on such a daunting responsibility? He swallowed a bit, then glanced back up to her."You must really trust me to offer such a responsibility.."He trailed off, red colored eyes meeting hers. After a few seconds delay, a small smile tugged at his lips."I won't let you down, Ananta."
"Might be envious...or maybe just brooding. I seem to do that a lot lately."Kross said, a little jokingly of course, he would never make ANanta uncomfortable with bad jokes. It seemed that the nice guy Kross was still inside this white haired brooder. Her mention of finding love, or even an old flame sparked something in Kross, it was a mixture of hope, sadness, an hurt. He pinched himself mentally, no time for emotions now.."Maybe."He repeated, red eyes looking at her."But I won't hold my breath."He said. When she mentioned Beuce, another emotion sparked in him...Jealousy. Beuce was Kross's polar opposite. While Beuce could give off a charming aura and a witty joke, or in the case of this post, a crack at the Fourth Wall, Kross was much more reserved, shy, serious but nice. He continued to listen as she vented. He saw her eyes water and he sat up. It was almost out of reflex, but he reached over and gently wiped the wet from her cheeks with his finger."I'm sorry Ananta..if I had the chance to father your son, I would have jumped at it long ago."He spoke, turning and looking forward again. Maybe it wasn't meant to be like that..After all, this was Kross we are talking about..
Kross was on his fours, the power of darkness had triumphed over him. All that Yen Sid had taught him, all that he learned, all the effort to prove himself was crushed by Aux, in that moment."P...P'tak..." He cursed in his own language. Aux had gotten away and beat them all to a pulp, Kross's body was broken, bruised, cut, still had some of Aux's dark residue smoking from him. However, he looked up, up at the midnight blue sky. Slowly, he got to one knee, putting his hand on it and pushed himself slowly up from the ground, grunting as he did so."When you're beaten down..."He murmured, gritting his teeth as he stood."Bruised, burned, broken and otherwise destroyed...as long as you still have breath.."He trailed off, struggling to stay straight."You pick yourself up and march on..."
Kross gestured and ran after Karina, full speed towards Maurice's house. He nimbly leaped along the fallen trees in his way. They soon reached the house, revealing that the headless horseman disappeared with Belle, and he also saw Eclipse collapsed, injured and prone. He ran to Eclipse's side and pulled her by her arm, getting her away from the battlefield as fast as he could."Stay with us.."He murmured to Eclipse, honey eyes narrowing at Aux."You.."Came the words from his lips.
Kross was pulled from his musings, a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind. He recognized the warmth and closed his eyes, lightly patting her arms to return the gesture. "Hello again, Ananta."He greeted her back with an amused chuckle, her question drew his gaze up when she got infront of him."I just thought I'd get away from everyone else, enjoy some alone time." He answered. He didn't mind her company however, he invited it, Ananta was a good friend, even if she did hurt him, he couldn't hold a grudge. "This is a sacred area I'm guessing."He said, turning his head to her as she said she'd listen. He looked and watched the crystal pulse with life."Nothing gets past you, Ananta."He said and sighed out."....It's about our group..everyone has children, a legacy they can leave behind...a future that they can shape for their sons and daughters, whether it be bad or good. It's petty, I know..but I am envious..."He said."I know...I've never had the best luck with dating and romance...but fatherhood is something I've thought about..for a long time."
