The Land of Chaos: Part 3 ½

He didn't know where he was going. He certainly wasn't heading back towards the house. It wasn't like he was lost or anything. If he wanted to, he couldn't just flown up and looked around for the house. But these wheat fields seemed to go on forever. He wouldn't mind getting lost in them. Lost in them with nothing but his thoughts. That seemed to be what was going on right now. There was no sense of Madness around to distract him, and no noises save the wind through the plants surrounding him.

Cross took in a deep breath. This place was peaceful. He liked it. With his wings folded behind his back, he could walk fairly easily through the wheat. His thoughts from before had calmed down, and he wasn't as flustered. But he still didn't know what to do. He didn't want to leave Alice's side, but what if he really was incapable of protecting her? What if, in the end, Silence really would take away his reason for existing..? Would he then stop existing, or would he live on existing without a purpose? He really didn't think he wanted to find out...

Batsu entered the wheat fields, not to ecstatic about how it brushed against his face like reaching fingers, and tickled his wings. It was almost suffocating to be in here and he had the most powerful urge to just burn it all down, but that was something the old Batsu would have done. The Batsu who was the God of Chaos. Batsu found himself almost laughing at the thought. The thought of people being powerless before him. The thought of destroying without care. The thought of being unstoppable. The thought of revenge against the Onihana. The want still burned inside of him. It was always there. He had vowed to protect the souls that the Onihana had abandoned, but...why not stop the problem at the source? He shook his head. No, he couldn't. What if he failed? What if in the end he was destroyed and all of his work would be for nothing. All of this would be for nothing. Boreas, Alice, Fara, Cross, Hunter, Saionna, DK. It would all be fore nothing. Batsu looked up at the sun. "One day I'll make them pay."

Cross held his hand out idly to brush against the tall strands of wheat as he walked. He didn't know why. It was when he was watching his hand that he had a thought. Holding his hand out in front of him, Cross stopped walking and looked at it until the white energy that he was so used to using engulfed it. He turned his hand to look at either side, his head tilting. No matter how much madness he absorbed, the energy always stayed white. He wondered why that was. Surely the blackness of madness that had turned his skin black would have first blackened his energy. His energy came from inside him. He let the energy fade and looked around. It was still light out, but the sun was nearing the horizon. He wondered if he should start back towards the house. For a few moments, Cross just stood there wondering. He almost wanted to shirk his responsibility for once. Alice would be alright with Batsu and Hunter. He didn't quite want to go back to the house, but still he stood there, looking back in the direction from which he came.

Batsu saw the light and knew that it was Cross. He was tempted to avoid him all together, but he went ahead and walked over. For a moment he just looked at him. Cross, was almost scary in a way. He made Batsu nervous and had he been evil with a body of his own, he would have found Cross a worthy opponent. "Sorry for bothering you," he commented. He looked at the wheat. "I'll go in a different direction." He didn't want to be around Cross with his conscious intact. When Madness was coursing through him it was easier to cope with Cross, but not when he was free off the madness. He looked towards his left then to the right, catching a glimpse of two souls heading towards the Unknown. Batsu would have reached out if he were close enough. They seemed happy. What exactly was happiness when all he knew was pain? Could Cross answer that for him? Probably not.

Cross barely even reacted when he saw Batsu. The only thing that would've let the red haired male know he'd seen him was the fact that his eyes had moved to Batsu. He didn't much care if the other male was here or not. He didn't particularly like or dislike Batsu one way or the other. He wanted to tell Batsu that he hadn't bothered him, but didn't. There was no point, really. "Do you know where Alice is?" he asked, when Batsu started away. If nothing else, he had to keep up appearances so if Silence ever asked about it, everyone could say he was at least a capable guardian. Always worrying about Alice. He had to wonder what it would have been like had he not had her to watch after and worry about. If she didn't tail him around everywhere he went. Would that be freedom, or imprisonment?

Batsu was a bit surprised by the question. Cross was always watching Alice. "She went off with DK and Fara to get scissors. She'll be back soon." He shrugged. "Do you mind if I ask why you two are always together?" He wanted to know about Cross. Wanted to know what this guy lived for and why. "I know you're get guardian, but why?" Batsu was yet to figure out what he'd do after madness was destroyed. Maybe he'd cease to exist. Maybe.

"Alright," Cross said simply. As long as she was with someone capable. And for all intents and purposes, DK was capable, despite everyone's teasing of him. Cross had never doubted it, because Silence had given him a body in order to help them. And if something went wrong, Fara was capable of getting help. Cross's jade eyes blinked slowly at Batsu's question. "Because I'm to protect her." He fell silent when Batsu asked him why. For a few moments Cross said absolutely nothing, and then he turned his gaze off to the side. "I made a promise to Silence." He didn't remember that promise, but it was all he could think of. All he could do to make sense of his existence. On his creation, he must have made a promise to Silence. He didn't believe Silence when the guardian told him he'd been born. If he'd been born, why did he remember nothing of his life before meeting Alice? It was as if she was all he was allowed to know. He remembered meeting her, lost in the Unknown, and naming her after a fictional character who had become lost in a similar setting.

Batsu was silent. That was a vague explanation. He didn't comment on his thoughts though. Instead he shrugged. "You're good for each other. Like a balance." He walked closer. "What are you doing out here anyway?" Cation. That was what Batsu's movements said. He didn't want to cause trouble. He was doing well not to ask too many questions. Specifically about what happened while they were one. It had been strange to think about. Everything was strange.

Cross said nothing when Batsu said they were good for each other. Yes, he supposed Alice balanced him. Though he wasn't all people thought him to be. He wasn't a monster. He wasn't all so cold. He just had little to say, and little to express. Alice had too much to say and too much to express. Maybe that's what Batsu meant. Or was it that she was the light and he was the dark? Cross didn't believe they balanced each other out. They complemented each other, side by side; she was tiny and innocent and had light hair, and he was tall and foreboding and had dark hair. Next to each other, they seemed polar opposites. Cross's eyes flitted back to Batsu when he asked another question. "Walking." As usual, a vague answer. Coming out here, all alone, had seemed to convert Cross back to his old self. Taking a breath, the dark haired male idly looked up at the cloudless sky. "I had nothing better to do." He figured he might as well give Batsu a real answer.

It was difficult trying to speak with Cross, so Batsu decided not to. He didn't like the vague responses. "Okay," was his response before he started into the wheat. This place was rather bothersome. He glanced at Cross, only faintly seeing him because of his dark hair. He wanted to know more about Cross, but the guy was a headache. Quiet and reserved.

Cross glanced again to Batsu as he walked away. If he wanted to lose the guy, it wouldn't be all that hard. Batsu still couldn't fly. He could tell, the guy's wings were not the proper size. Not large enough yet. But he didn't really mind Batsu being nearby. It wasn't that much of an issue. He wondered briefly what the red haired male was doing out here. Very briefly. Starting to walk again, Cross stretched his wings idly to their full length. They were feeling rather stiff. He wondered why. At their full length, Cross's black raven-like wings were about twelve feet, from tip-to-tip. Once they were settled behind him again, the jade eyed male picked a random piece of wheat off that had stuck to his feathers. Stupid wheat. Without thinking too much on it, Cross plopped to the ground, sitting with his hands planted on the ground behind him and his gaze up to the sky, changing colors in the twilight as his wings stretched behind him just enough to keep them from being uncomfortable against the ground.

Batsu walked around for a bit and then turned around and started back for the house. He was technically lost, but the scent of food was direction of enough for him to get home. As he walked he stared up at the sky. It was mixed with colors and he found himself almost in a trance as he walked, not paying attention. Had he not looked down to make sure the house was in sight, he'd have walked right into Cross who was sitting on the ground. Batsu stopped immediately and looked down at the raven haired male with his jade eyes. He almost apologized, but didn't. Instead he backed off. It would have been awkward had he walked all over Cross.

Cross listened to the sound of the light breeze through the wheat. To the sound of birds chirping in the distance. To the sound of the unnatural rustling of the wheat as Batsu walked through it, as well as to the other male's footsteps. The few, thin altocumulus clouds that were in the sky were slowly making their way west. In the east, Cross could see the beginnings of what looked like altostratus clouds. Cross didn't really know the official names for these types of clouds, but he knew what they meant. He glanced to Batsu, his gaze so blank that it was almost penetrating, when the red haired male almost walked over him. The gaze only lasted a moment before the raven haired male looked back to the sky. "If you're going back to the house, tell the others there's going to be a storm tonight," he said simply, as if it meant nothing to him that Batsu had nearly stepped on him.

Batsu saw the looked and he turned a bit pale. Then his expression changed to confusion. What? "Um, okay." Cross was strange. "Well, you should tell them yourself. Alice, DK, and Fara should be back soon and Saionna and Hunter are cooking. The former of who I believe is fairly excited. You should join us." He was silent for a moment. "You do eat, right?" The question was legit. Batsu's grey eyes looked around. He wanted to go hunting for madness, but it'd probably be better if Cross or Boreas tagged along. He was tempted to ask, but he was starting to realize that Cross wasn't that great at being social. The most they'd spoken was right before meeting Saionna and during the fight. At least the guy was capable of some emotion.

Cross had noticed the color change in Batsu's face, but said nothing about it. He wasn't really that intimidating, was he? So intimidating that even Batsu, the man that had once destroyed entire villages without flinching, would pale at his stare. It was no wonder people had once called him a monster, if he could scare even the red haired male...now that he thought about it, that was odd. He didn't remember people ever calling him a monster. There was a possibility that he could have regained a flash of a memory from before he'd met Alice, but...it was far more likely that he was just mixing up his own memories with the ones Batsu experienced while using his body.

Cross blinked in minor confusion when Batsu said to tell them himself. For a second he thought the guy was just being rude, until he continued talking. When Batsu suggested joining them, Cross contemplated for a few moments. He had to check up on Alice. And food didn't sound too bad right about now. When the guy asked if he ate, the raven haired male took a moment to question himself on when the last time he ate was. Probably back at the hotel, the morning after he'd gone out and gotten himself injured. It hadn't been too long. "Sometimes," he said lightly. He didn't always eat, because hunger didn't always bother him. It was only when it bothered him did he bother to eat, or whenever Alice insisted he did, because eating was better for his health than not eating. Slowly pushing himself up, Cross idly picked another piece of wheat out of his wing while saying "Lead the way."



So he might've gotten himself a bit lost. Big deal.

Sometimes? Maybe Cross really wasn't human. Batsu on the other hand enjoyed eating. Meat was his favorite. Vegetables were unnecessary. An all meat diet was perfect. Fried meat. Batsu was now very much eager to get home. When Cross said lead the way, he paused and glanced at him. "What, did you get lost," he asked curiously. He couldn't help the smile that was tugging at his lips. He really couldn't. As heartless as Cross seemed at times, it was an amusing thought to believe this guy was lost.

When Batsu asked him if he'd gotten lost, Cross looked off to the side. "Possibly." For a few moments that was his only answer, until he felt the need to justify that he wasn't completely irresponsible. "...I wasn't too worried about it. I could have found my way back." He wanted to mention how he could've just flown up and looked for the house, but with Batsu's wings not fully grown yet, he figured that might have been a bad idea. He didn't want to anger the red haired guy. More importantly, what was Batsu smiling about? It wasn't that funny that he'd gotten lost. People got lost all the time. For once, as Cross was looking off to the side, it seemed a slightly embarrassed look had crossed his face.

Batsu saw the look and it made him chuckle lightly. He moved over to Cross. "I'm sure you could. Come on, I know where the house is." He wouldn't tease the guy. Starting to walk he pushed his hands into hoodie. "Hey Cross, do you remember anything from those three years," he asked. "When I sort of um, highjacked your body?" He figured they could at least talk while heading back to the house. He was going to use this moment of Cross's embarrassment as a way to open a door to conversation.

Cross gave a light, embarrassed frown when Batsu said sure he could. He refrained once more from mentioning that he could get a bird's eye view of the field. The embarrassment faded just as quickly as it came when Batsu asked his question. Telling the guy would probably make him feel worse about it, but if he was asking, obviously he wanted the truth of it. "Yes. Most of it." As if it had been him who had been destroying the villages, taking souls, and eating hearts. At first Batsu's acts had shaken him so badly that he wondered if maybe he really had just snapped and he was only imagining a second consciousness within himself. Then it started becoming...routine. So routine that if Batsu started doing it again, Cross wouldn't have been bothered by it. The eating of souls though...he never really got over that. Which was why he was so glad that Batsu was helping the souls now. At one point it had almost felt like Batsu had been trying to consume his soul. At that point, he hadn't been ready to fade. He still had to get back to Alice, so he'd fought against that pull from Batsu until their souls were almost conjoined. He wondered...if he hadn't fought, would he have become part of Batsu's soul? Would his voice have been heard among the multitude of souls that Batsu had collected?

Honesty was the best policy, or so he'd heard. He tried not to feel too bad when Cross answered, but what more could he do? The past was the past. "If I'd had a choice, I wouldn't have chosen you," he spoke. "It wasn't really an option. I just wanted to live. I didn't want to fade and then anger consumed me. I wanted revenge and that revenge led me to you." He wondered why Cross. "I wouldn't have chosen anyone, but living was something I desired more than anything. Being a soul that just floats around constantly for centuries, knowing that the same thing is happening over and over again and there's no safe haven." He paused. "And somehow in all of that, instead of revenge, I destroyed countless lives and souls. It was as if I forgot my real reason for wanting to live." In truth it had been the pain of existing. The souls dulled the pain, but looking back on it, it shouldn't have been an excuse.

Batsu's search for revenge had led him to..? Cross wondered...what was so different about him? There could have been thousands of other bodies out there to take over. Why his, then? Was it because he was strong? Was it because he was Alice's guardian, or because he'd been created by Silence? That last one almost seemed more likely than the rest. "Why hadn't you just found the Onihana then? You knew where they laid." He was curious now. He'd seen flashes of the other male's previous life as Yukari. Had it been that silver souled one? Kymin? Or...Izo, or whatever he was called? And...more than that, now Cross wanted to know if Batsu remembered anything from his first life.

Batsu looked at Cross, not expecting such a question, let alone for the guy to even respond. "I don't really know the answer to that. I think I was searching for someone. Someone that could have prevented all of this. I wanted him to deliver a message to his Clan. For them to know I was coming." He sighed. "I started picking them off one by one, but I also knew that I couldn't just waltz in there and destroy them. Too many Onihana and most are capable of removing a soul. Maybe I just wanted to play on their fears." He shrugged.

Cross was quiet for a moment when Batsu explained. He remembered there being one person, on several different occasions, that Batsu hadn't brutally murdered. He didn't remember the guy's name though. Only that Batsu had tore a chunk of the guy's flesh out and started eating it. Out of all the things Batsu had done, Cross remembered that one the most vividly. Batsu had been pulling in all the souls from the villagers. It had been the only time he'd really been interrupted. "Do you think you found him, that person," Cross asked, his voice a bit quieter than usual. He wanted to know if Batsu thought that guy had been worth it. If that guy, who had pulled their souls apart and Batsu's soul out of his body, had been worth the effort.

Batsu nodded slowly. "Yeah, I found him, but I'm not sure if it did any good. "The Onihana are still doing their thing. If I ever find him again, I might just kill him this time around." Oh God, had he really just said that aloud? "I didn't mean that," he added without remorse. "It's just, he's a coward. Izo could have prevented this. He fought so hard to save my soul, but I'm just a remnant of who I used to be. He should be fighting for those who don't get a say. The Onihana are destroying souls. If I became a monster, what will happen to the others?" Batsu was clearly flustered by this.

Cross looked at the other winged male, blinking slowly when he said that maybe he'd kill the guy this time around. Was he being serious. "Didn't you?" he said, his jade eyes slightly narrowed. Even without too much Madness in him, Batsu had a dangerous thought process sometimes. Looking forward again, Cross was almost relieved to see that the house was in sight. He wasn't going to say anything about Batsu having said he'd become a monster, because the guy really had. "So you knew him before." It was more of a statement than a question, really. And Cross had picked up on it. Izo. The name sounded distantly familiar. He'd let it slide for now, because he figured it was probably his memories mixing with Batsu's again. He didn't say anything to Batsu's question, because...quite honestly, he didn't know the answer.