I still don't own Chrono Trigger. I do, however, own all the characters in this chapter. Yay! Things get a little nastier in this chapter, and I'm realizing I should probably increase the rating soon. No one thing is too bad, but the accumulation might push it over, and better safe than sorry.
It was hard to walk in a cave, Lyn quickly learned, especially with the blue flames the mamono used for illumination. The cold light flickered and jumped, revealing very little to the eyes of the Humans. The floor of the cave was not smooth, but the inadequate light hid any unevenness.
Lyn was so focused on walking without stumbling that she didn't notice when Maris came up beside her. "Lyn? Hey, Lyn!" Maris hissed, trying to get the other girl to look somewhere besides her feet.
Blinking, Lyn looked up. "Oh... Maris."
"Poor Sera, huh? And these damn monsters... I don't even wanna know what that thing will do to Luke..." as Maris spoke, she looked around furtively. "But... hey, Lyn? Tobias asked me to spread the word. When he gives the signal, if everyone jumps those monsters, well... I bet we'd be able to beat them, if we take them by surprise."
Lyn didn't answer, silently raising a hand to her cheek where Esaku had struck her. Any protest she might have raised was cut off, however, as Maris scurried away. Tobias thought they would be able to fight their way free of the mamono? Lyn thought in silence, watching Maris go from group to group.
Remembering Maris' mention of Luke, Lyn took her gaze from the baker's daughter and looked around for the child. Much to her surprise, she found him being carried by Esaku. The boy was clinging to the mamono's side, and the creature's left arm was supporting the boy. Lyn was so taken aback that she forgot the unevenness of the ground and nearly fell.
It was then that Tobias yelled. A cry of "Now!" split the echoing stillness of the cave, and the captives reacted. Men and women flung themselves at the mamono, various curses on their lips. Lyn stood alone silently in the chaos. In those first few confused seconds, she noticed Esaku pushing Luke behind him, placing himself between the boy and the fight. Lyn twitched, her body trying to enter the combat while her mind froze. A hand again rose to her cheek, where a bruise blossomed from the mamono's earlier blow, and then Lyn stopped, body and mind in agreement. They stood no chance against the monsters, none of them did. To fight now was only to invite needless harm.
Only a few heartbeats passed in strife. The mamono easily subdued their captives, and when it was over, most of the attackers were on the cave floor, most bleeding from small wounds. With a truly enraged caw, Esaku strode through the softly moaning captives, aiming unerringly for Tobias, who was far to the back of his 'troops'.
Kneeling on the ground, with more than a few cuts, Tobias glared at Esaku, murder in his eyes even as he struggled to stand upright. He was too slow, however, as the mamono buried his claw in the Human's hair and pulled him along. Not sparing a glance at his defiant captive, Esaku drug him to the Hench, throwing the boy to them with an ugly snarl.
Two of the Hench caught Tobias, holding his arms in such a manner that he was forced to kneel, nearly immobile, while Esaku surveyed the Humans again. The few moans had silenced, and now everyone watched him, waiting to see the result of his displeasure. Idly, the Outlaw noticed the healer girl, watching him with a strange understanding in her eyes. She had not, it appeared, taken part in the rebellion, though one hand caressed the bruise he had given her.
Satisfied with the attention he held, Esaku drew his sword. No need to dirty his claws with the blood of a fool, after all. With a clean, precise stroke, the iron sword cut into the boy's belly, letting the intestines out as he watched dazedly.
"This boy was a fool!" Esaku screeched out, turning to the Humans and silencing them before they began to scream. "As were all of you, willing to fight while your 'leader' cowered behind you! You donot attack your betters, and you do not follow fools!" The pain had pierced the boy's numbness, and now he began to scream, moaning out some prayer to the Lady the Humans worshiped. It was no matter, he simply needed to speak louder to be heard over the screams. Warrior willing, this would be the last such demonstration needed to drive the point home to the stupid Humans. "If any of you seek to follow this boy's footsteps, it will not only be YOU in his place. I will kill everyone involved in any future rebellions, and I will not be so merciful to them!" His piece said, and the Humans sufficiently cowed, at least for now, Esaku spun and ended the screaming by neatly removing the boy's head.
In the stunned silence that followed, there was a soft thud as the Hench holding Tobias' body let it drop. Lyn looked at the headless neck for a moment, strangely dispassionate. It had been obvious they would loose... why had anyone followed Tobias' lead? Why hadn't they stopped him? Why hadn't she?
Lyn barely noticed as the Diablos got the remaining captives together and the march recommenced. She followed the herd numbly, seeing but not noticing that Esaku had sheathed his sword and now carried Luke again. She didn't even notice when her mother came up, seeking comfort in the guise of offering comfort. When the day ended, and the slave line was lead out of the caves into the dusk, Lyn muttered "He was wrong." But if she was talking about Esaku or Tobias, not even she was sure.
The ground outside the cave was hard packed and dry. The sky was purple, the sun already below the horizon, and in the remaining light, almost nothing of this new land could be seen. Lyn stopped moving when Shanda pulled her to a stop, tugging on her hand lightly, trying to get her to sit down.
It was the groans of the wounded that stirred her to life again. As they were allowed to rest, those who had been hurt began voicing their pain. Almost automatically, Lyn began moving among them, healing the worst of the wounds, though she tried not to use her energy too fast. More than once, a captive with a less than major wound would insist on receiving healing.
Esaku had been watching the healer girl ever since the execution. As soon as he realized what was going on, how the Humans were abusing her skill, he handed the child to Ethrurrion and went to intervene. "Why are you healing them, healer girl?" he asked softly, stepping between the girl and the next person she was trying to heal.
Lyn looked at him with confused brown eyes. "They're hurting," she answered bitterly, with a tone that said her reasons ought to be perfectly obvious.
"They brought it on themselves," the Outlaw reminded in a voice that said his point was just as obvious. Lyn didn't immediately answer, and Esaku took a moment to look around. The Humans were healed well enough to make it to town tomorrow, so he made a suggestion. "If you want to be of help, heal my Diablos."
Glancing at the felines, Lyn considered Esaku's words. He did have a point, and the feline mamono did look like they could use healing. And she had to do something, she had to put right what Tobias' foolishness had made wrong. With a small nod, she started toward the Diablos, only to give a small yelp as Herbert, one of the town elders, quickly moved to block her.
"What are you doing?" the old Human hissed. "You'd heal those monsters while your own people are still injured and in pain?"
Esaku sent Herbert a viscous glare at that statement. "We are Mazoku, not monsters!" he insisted, a cold thread of anger lacing the stern voice.
"I don't think we should make him mad, Herbert," Lyn said quietly, lifelessly trying to calm Herbert. "I don't want anyone else to die." Without waiting for a response, she slipped past the old man and went to the most injured of the Diablos.
Lyn was barely thinking at this point, using the mental patterns of her Tech to stop her thoughts. She didn't want to think about what she was doing, or the way Tobias had died. She went from Diablos to Diablos, only healing the worst of the damage, and not even noticing that they never asked for more.
When she finished, Lyn sought out her mother, too exhausted to have any choice BUT think now, mind spinning over the day's events. 'Mazoku, not monsters…' Esaku had said that twice now, and she wondered about the proud distinction he made between the two.
Lyn barely noticed when Shanda handed her some bread, the meal having been distributed while Lyn healed. Her mind was full, trying to understand how one being could be so cruel, and yet… and yet what? He hadn't killed Sera in her catatonia, but was that a form of kindness? Numbly eating the hard bread, Lyn looked for the bird. A Hench shifted, going about his business, and Lyn saw Esaku, feeding Luke a piece of fruit. Dropping her eyes and feeling almost embarrassed, Lyn finished her own meal before dropping into sleep. Exhaustion had at least one benefit that night, as her sleep was free of dreams and nightmares alike.
Tobias' idiocracy aside, I rather liked this chapter, actually. I dunno, maybe I just like Esaku. Anyway, for Lizard's sake, PLEASE review! It's depressing having readers but no reviews...