"What? No." Anna whispered, head down as she sat on the bed with her fists clenched desperately onto the blanket. She was angry but beyond that she felt hurt and betrayed. Her green eyes looked up defiantly into Kratos's and blinking twice, they widened; she knew then that his wild tale must be true, because his gaze deadlocked hers, serious and cold. Then she rushed up to him in an instant, standing a few inches away, still locking eyes. They stayed that way for a moment until Anna unleashed her fury and slapped him squarely across the cheek. Kratos let her hit him, though he could have easily avoided it.
"I trusted you." She told him, her voice though quivering now full of resolve. "And you tell me that you 'are of Cruxis', that you help the Desians, that you for who knows how many years let this twisted system exist. You tell me that there is no goddess after all." She still sounded as if she were in disbelief, though Kratos knew that she believed it no matter how outrageous. "There were so many people suffering, Kratos!" She screamed at him, now crying. "There were children there, you monster!" She hit him. "Traitor!" She shoved him. " You stupid jerk!" She was about to hit him again but turned away and ran out of the room now. He followed her as she continued running. Now and then, she'd look back only to be surprised that he was still following her, then gave him a dirty look and fled even faster.
Finally, he caught up to her and grabbed hold of her wrists tightly. "Let go of me! Leave me alone!" She struggled to get away from him, but he couldn't let go yet until he had a chance to explain.
"Wait! Hear me out, Anna!" he pleaded. "I left Cruxis! I am here to help you now! I promise I won't betray you" She stopped struggling now but was still crying. Her arms went limp and she looked up sadly at him and asked, "Why?" It was one question he didn't want to answer. It was the one question he himself couldn't fully answer. But he loosened his grip and let her loose. Giving him another dirty look, Anna shoved him once more but then she did something that he didn't expect. She came up to him again, staring at him and twisted her eyebrows in confusion.
Then, she sighed and hugged him. "Just don't betray me, you jerk, 'cause you know I do trust you." She whispered and she clung to him like she would a new hope because he was her new hope. Then like that, she left back into the room and he followed silently. Neither said a word and they both fell asleep, Anna on the bed and Kratos sitting against Noishe.
Kratos awoke the next morning to find Anna gone. Her bed was messy as if she left in a rush. In a rush to get away from him no doubt, he thought, but still her last words lingered in his mind. She trusted him. He sighed in frustration, knowing that he still should have expected her to leave. After his explanation, why should she trust him? Still, he couldn't help but feel sad? Hurt, maybe? Or worried? Without a doubt, he was worried. Though Yggdrasiil took K'var's plan as foolish, he knew that the extra strength of another exsphere, let alone a special exsphere would further hinder his attempts to stop him. Kratos clenched his fists. He couldn't let that happen. He'd have to go after her.
"Aaaahhh!" Kratos turned his head toward the sound of a woman screaming. Was it Anna, he thought? In the distance, he could hear the march of an army, the Desians no doubt. As he looked out the window, flames engulfed every building in its path. Soon, he began to smell smoke rising from the inn itself. He swiftly packed their belongings, summoned Noishe and left the inn quickly, eyes searching for one woman in a crowd of hundreds of unknown faces. People screamed as they fled their homes with their children. Men were slaughtered helplessly. Destruction and death: that's all there was.
"Anna!" Kratos yelled frantically. "Damn it, Anna, where are you? Noishe, any trace of Anna?" His panicked eyes met those of a calm protozoan who seemed to nod at Kratos's question. "Lead me there." Kratos climbed onto Noishe's back and in a blur, Kratos caught sight of a long-haired brunette with bright green eyes, riddled with fear. She was crouching behind an old dilapidated building, extinguished of its fire. Desians were nearby and Kratos silently cursed to himself, realizing that he couldn't risk exposing himself to them. They were nearing the corner, about to find Anna when a young man nearby called out, his eyes on Anna.
"Hey, over here! I found her! She's about to exit the town! That way!" With that, the Desians left, rushing to the town's only exit. Kratos saw his chance and rushed over to Anna, whose face was smudged with dirt, strands of hair out of place, but her eyes still glowed, still had that fire. Wounded and riddled with cuts and scrapes, she gave him a dirty look, but he put a hand over her wounds, a blue light emanating from it and she was healed.
"Thank you." she gasped, then gave him a look. "You can use magic too, huh?"
He nodded, "Don't try to escape from me. Despite who I was, I am not your enemy now. You're safer if you stick with me" He was crouched beside but now stood, offering his hand to her. Havoc still wreaked upon them, and they weren't safe yet, but he couldn't risk having her attempt that again.
Instantly, she looked confused, but then she laughed as if she realized something. "No! I wasn't trying to run away from you this morning, if that's what you thought. Even though you did-" she paused as coldness passed through her eyes, "-what you did, for some reason, I do trust you." Her tone was serious now, then light again. "I went out this morning shopping for a weapon" She grinned widely. "If the Desians are after us, and people as powerful as that Mithos guy are against us, I'll need to know how to fight, right?"
Kratos's eyes widened in shock. That was random, and his face contorted with puzzlement. Also, he wondered if she would even to wield the weapon properly... It must have shown on face, because she laughed at him. "Don't worry. I promise not to kill you accidentally." For a second, Kratos smiled. Then he extended his hand again, remembering the urgency of the problem and scolded himself for forgetting. Anna smiled back at him as she took it.
"Let's go. We've spent too much time talking. The Desians may soon realize that you did not exit that way." As they moved swiftly and silently, suddenly Kratos had an urge to ask, "Who was that man by the way?" Kratos cleared his throat, remembering the man as they progressed towards another exit.
"Oh, that was just a past lover." She said casually, eyes slyly averted from Kratos as if anticipating the shock. She turned, saw his curious expression and laughed. "Just kidding. Let's leave now" she stressed as she looked back quickly.
"The only passage available is through the water." He told her. "I don't know if you can make the distance. Ride Noishe! Hurry, they're coming!" With that Kratos sent Anna on Noishe across the lake before jumping in himself. They hid under the bridge just out of the Desians' sight.
"They're not here either! Damn it! They're gone" The Desian sighed. "They've escaped. Now, K'var will-" he shuddered before finishing his sentence but didn't need to as a uneasiness settled over the rest of the men. Then he turned to another and said, "The Angelus Project- it's not alone?" He asked hesitatingly.
The other shook his head and added, "Some people at the inn say they saw someone matching the Angelus Project's description but with it there was a huge green and white monster and a tall man with spiky reddish-brown hair. This man had a sword with him. Quite strange though."
The first Desian sighed then said, "Report the loss of the Angelus Project and report these descriptions to Lord K'var and Lord Yggdrasiil." He turned his head to stare off at the destruction that seemed to be distant. "Let's move."
Kratos and Anna locked eyes as Anna mouthed to him, Yggdrasiil? He understood and responded with a dark look. Now that Kratos openly betrayed him and acted against him, Yggdrasiil would pursue them. Yggdrasiil would stop at nothing to regain his dear companion and teacher.