Chapter 37: Legacy of a Hero

Randall carefully climbed down the tree's rain slicked trunk, holding the small package in his teeth. Landing with a small thud onto the grassy forest floor he dropped the package into his hands. The package was a small rectangular box that was wrapped in oiled paper in order to protect its contents from the elements it was exposed to regularly.

Any suspicions Randall had held about the somewhat conspicuous hiding place had been displaced. Even if people frequented the cathedral they rarely wandered or hunted the surrounding woods. That and the fact that harvesting the timber surrounding the cathedral was illegal made the random tree an ideal hiding place. Even having the burnt tree as a landmark Randall had climbed three separate trees before finding the package.

Peeling away the paper layer Randall opened the small box and removed its contents. A single piece of parchment. Holding his breath he read the note.

He read it again and began to shake with rage.

A part of him had been hoping that Kyui Wara had been lying. It would have been much simpler to curse himself as naive for believing the assassin than to accept this truth. The note was written in Sir Geoffrey Waterchild's hand and asked specifically for his brother's assassination. It was complete with the Waterchild seal. The confession was damming. The rational part of Randall's mind that wasn't consumed in thoughtless rage wondered how a man could willingly allow such blatant proof of their crime to exist. Apparently an assassin of Kyui Wara's caliber was worth the risk. That and the fact that formal written requests such as this one had never actually been brought public before. As long as he was not betrayed, Kyui Wara had a well earned reputation for discretion on behalf of his clients.

It was a reputation that was about to be shattered.

The castle guards had recognized him in an instant. They also recognized the legendary sword he wore at his side and instantly allowed him to pass, sending a runner ahead to deliver the news: Randall had returned, and he had brought the Masamune with him.

By time Randall reached the King's audience chamber the castle was buzzing with the intensity of a disturbed hornet's nest. Inside the chamber King Guardia sat on his throne. Several Knights of the Square Table stood in front of the throne in two parallel rows. A few of the knights were new, however, Randall recognized most of the others, and he was among them. Waterchild. The man was shorter than Randall and close to twenty years his senior. Even still he was strong and fit. The only sign of his advancing years was the streaks of gray that now peppered his shortly cropped hair and neatly trimmed beard.

King Guardia was still a relatively young man. His dark eyes revealed both curiousness and surprise at Randall's return. Pleasant surprise. "Sir Randall, you have returned to us, bearing the Masamune no less!"

A few of the knights smiled welcomingly, but a few scowled, their opinion of him was, and rightfully so, tarnished because of his selfish abandonment of the Kingdom. None looked as angry as Waterchild. "Your Majesty, how can you welcome this, this deserter, back with open arms? He left us when our Kingdom needed him the most. This man dishonors that sword with his touch!"

A few knights nodded with approval, but others gave Waterchild irritated looks, as though he'd gone too far. The King opened his mouth to say something, likely placating, to the angry knight, but Randall cut them off. "You dare judge me!" he said louder than he'd intended. "Yes, I am a deserter. I may not be worthy of this sword or of the title 'knight', but a will not suffer judgment from you, traitor!"

The room went still. The knights and the King may not known what to expect from his return, but it had not been this. Waterchild visibly paled.

"You, you call me a traitor?" he sputtered with forced indignation. "How dare you speak of me as such, you filthy coward!"

"Coward?" Randall roared. "You label me a coward? I am not the one who hired an assassin to murder a fellow knight!"

Randall's outburst was punctuated with a simultaneous gasp given by those in the chamber. Waterchild paled further. "How...how dare..."

"Randall," the King said carefully, "do you have proof to back up this accusation?"

Wordlessly Randall held out the recently recovered parchment. An older knight, Sir Gunter, stepped forward and took the parchment, moving toward the King.

"Preposterous!" Waterchild said as he visibly shook, but with fear or rage Randall could not tell. The rest of the Square Table shifted nervously, hands hovered near their sword hilts as each man watched Waterchild warily. Sir Gunter was steady as he passed Waterchild. If the traitor made a move for the parchment he would be ready.

The tension eased slightly as the parchment passed the accused and made it too the King. In that moment when everyone's guard lowered Waterchild made his move, drawing his sword and rushing Randall with a scream of fury. Randall had expected this. Destroying the parchment would be just as damming as the evidence itself. The old knight knew he was beaten. His only desire was revenge on the man who'd just destroyed his entire life.

Shouting erupted in the chamber as the knights began drawing their swords in response to Waterchild's attack, but he was beyond their reach before they could stop him. The Masamune sung oddly harmonious against the discord of shouting as Randall drew the shimmering blade. Waterchild's scream changed from rage to pain as his sword clattered to the ground along with two of his fingers.

The knight fell to his knees, clutching his mutilated hand, as several other knights surrounded him in a ring of sharpened steel. The King stood with his own sword halfway drawn. Letting it fall back into its scabbard he read the note Sir Gunter had just handed to him. "If your actions hadn't already condemned you, this surely would have. I recognize your hand, and this seal is authentic. Geoffrey, how could you?"

Ignoring the King, Waterchild glared up at Randall. "Why hesitate? Kill me now and have your revenge."

Randall's eyes never left Waterchild's as he slowly and easily sheathed the Masamune. "I will see your head roll and have my revenge, but it will not be by this sword. No, you will face the guillotine like a common criminal, only after you've been put on trial and disgraced before the entire Kingdom."

Looking at the bleeding man as though he'd never before seen the wretch, King Guardia spoke to the knights surrounding him. "Take this man to the dungeons."

Randall watched them escort the man behind his brother's murder out of the chamber. The King walked up and put a hand on Randall's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Randall. I know he was close to you and Richard. I can only imagine how hard this must be."

Randall nodded, Geoffrey Waterchild had been a mentor to him and his brother, this betrayal was nearly as painful as his brother's death. "Your Majesty, I humbly ask your forgiveness. I have selfishly forsaken the Kingdom I swore to protect in my quest for vengeance."

"There is no need," the King said. "Selfish or not, you've uprooted a traitor that should never have been a member of the Square Table. Will you resume your service as a knight?"

"Yes Your Majesty," Randall said with a low bow. "It would be my honor."

"Good, good," the King said as he returned to his throne. "There is a problem in the Denadoro Mountains. That I believe you may be able to solve with the aid of the Masamune."

"Problem, Your Majesty?"

"A creature calling itself the Frog King has allied itself with the mystics. This monster has been harassing our supply caravans in the region and has thus far proven too much for any soldiers we've sent after it, but with your skill along with the Holy Sword..."

"I understand Your Majesty," Randall said as he made another low bow. "It is time that I began repaying the dept I owe to Guardia."

Riiza frowned into the mirror. "I don't think I'll ever get used to my hair being this black. It's just so...different."

"It's a necessary precaution," Kyui Wara said as he put the last of his supplies into his bag. His own hair was not only jet black as well, but also cut so that it was only a few inches long, shorter than he'd ever worn it. "Our natural hair is uncommon enough that it will draw the attention of those who'll be shortly hunting me, and they'll as soon target you if it will help them claim my head."

"I know," Riiza said, "but if we're hiding our identities anyway couldn't you just stay and wait it out?"

"No," he said. "Every client I've ever had will fear me turning them in. I've betrayed one, so they have no way of knowing who could be next. Enough of them are important enough that they can't risk the truth coming to light. They'll have other assassins coming for me and won't rest until I've been silenced forever."

"So you're really just going to kill them all?" Riiza sounded more than a little sickened as she spoke the thought aloud.

"I am," Kyui Wara said as he reached the door to their small house. "Stay here. Porre should be safe for the time being, but if anything happens and you can no longer stay, I'll meet you at one of the other locations."

"I know," Riiza said. "I'm sure it won't come to that though. I'll be waiting for you to come back, okay?"

"I know."

Night had already fallen as Kyui Wara departed the small house. The Waterchild scandal had already spread as far south as Porre. Assassins were probably already starting their hunt for him. An almost poetic end to his own career as one of their own, for his blades would never again be used to kill for money.

But they still had plenty of blood to spill in the name of survival.

The sidewalks were flooded with people, moving with a confident yet hurried flow, as they went about their daily lives, while the roads themselves hummed with the continuous movement of metallic vehicles. The trio stood before a tall vertical building, craning their necks in order to observe its full height. Above even the towering structure was the dome, its shimmering surface a nearly invisible bubble surrounding the vast city of Truce. Some passersby gave the trio's out of place clothing curious looks, though none said anything as they moved on.

Letting out a low whistle Crono was genuinely impressed. "These future cities are far more impressive when they're not in ruins."

"I think what impresses me the most," Lucca said in reply, "is how populous the future is now. Truce Dome contains many times the people that the Truce of our time does, and I bet the other cities are equally massive."

"It really gives you a sense of how destructive Lavos really was," Marle said. "All these people...dead."

"Would be dead," Crono corrected with a grin. "The Day of Lavos has come and gone. These are the people we saved. All of these people."

"Yes," Lucca said, walking to the large doors that lead into the building. "These people and all of the future generations to be born from them."

Crono and Marle followed her into the building. "I guess this is it," Crono said as he double checked a small piece of paper. "This is definitely the address to the building that the people Mom's note mentioned live in. You're sure we're in the right year, Lucca?"

She gave him a sidelong look. "You trust the Epoch, don't you? We're in the right year all right. The mystery is why did your mom come here? Why this year and these people? How does she even know people from the future?"

Crono shrugged as they entered an elevator and hit the appropriate floor's button. "You know, I thought my mom was a bit too accepting of my recent friends. Really, who shrugs off their son bringing home a robot?"

"Not to mention a frogman and a cave woman," Lucca agreed.

"So do you think your mom knew we were time traveling all along?" Marle asked.

"Maybe," Crono said. "At the very least she figured it out and must have heard us when we explained how that last Gate worked to the others."

"Just imagine the time and place you want to go," Lucca said. "That last Gate that everyone was able to go through to get to their own times. Almost an omni-Gate really. She probably also heard us talk about the Epoch too. She knew we had a machine that could go to any time period. Your mom saw an opportunity to visit people she knew in the future and took it."

"Yes," Crono said, "and she used my poor pet care as an excuse."

"You really should remember to feed your cat," Marle chided.

"Saving the world, saving the world." Crono said with feigned exasperation.

"This is the right door," Lucca said, coming to a stop. "I guess we'll figure out the mystery shortly."

Crono knocked on the door and waited. A man's voice called out from the other side, "Come in."

The door was unlocked and the knob turned easily, opening the door, Crono walked in and was instantly greeted by a mewling orange cat. "Well, assuming these people don't have a cat exactly identical to mine, I'd say we have the right place." Crono picked the cat up, absent mindedly petting it while he looked around the hallway he'd just entered.

The walls were decorated with family photos. Many of the pictures were of three young children, two girls and a boy, all with blonde hair. Judging from their parents' pictures they'd inherited that from their mother. She and their father, a stocky man with short brown hair, were strangely familiar looking to Crono, though he couldn't place were he'd seen them before. To one side was a large glass cabinet that contained several plaques and trophies, some of which depicted, to Crono's surprise, a man wielding a katana. While the katana was his weapon of choice, it wasn't a commonly used style of sword. Besides himself and his teacher, Refla, Crono knew of few people in Guardia who used the weapon.

Turning right at the end of the hall Crono stepped out into a larger living room. His mom sat in a large comfortable looking chair opposite of a long couch where the man and woman from the hallway pictures sat. "Err...I got your note," Crono said to his mom as the three stopped talking at his appearance.

She smiled up at him. "I thought you'd find it if I left it on the fridge. I swear you eat as much as ten men. Your dad was the same way."

The stocky man stood from his place on the couch and stared at Crono in wide eyed surprise. He looked to be in his late thirties, was slightly shorter than Crono, and had the strong, well muscled, build of someone in peak physical shape, with short brown hair and dark brown eyes. Where had Crono seen him before? He was simultaneously certain that he recognized the man, and that he'd never met him before in his life.

Your mom's right," he said. "You do look just like him."

"Right," Crono said. "Who?"

"Your father. Especially with that hair."

Crono blinked. His mom had just mentioned his dad too. "Do I..." Crono began to ask if he knew the man, but the familiarity suddenly kicked in. "That's where I know you from. That picture of my dad with all of his friends. You're Tai."

Tai stepped forward and gripped Crono's hand. "I was good friends with your dad, but I never thought I'd get to meet you. I didn't even know Flare had a son until a couple of days ago!" Still smiling broadly Tai turned and shook Lucca's hand next. "You must be Taban and Lara's daughter. I hear your even smarter than your dad."

"Oh," Lucca said in surprise at the man's recognition of her. "Thanks."

"You must be Princess Nadia," Tai said, almost reaching out for a her hand, only to stop himself and go into a bow.

"Please," she said, reaching out and taking his hand. "Just call me Marle."

"Right," Tai agreed. "Well, Marle, the King and Queen didn't have any children yet when I still lived in Truce, your Truce that is, so all three of you are like one big surprise, but Gina's been telling us all about you."

His wife, a pretty woman with shoulder length blonde hair and clear blue eyes, had stood to shake hands with them as well. "I'm Paige. I had the honor of knowing your father."

Crono shook her hand, as he continued to piece the puzzle together. "Yeah, I recognize you from the same photograph that Tai was in. It's one of the few pictures I have of my dad. But the future? I thought Mom said you'd both moved to..."

"Choras?" Crono's mom asked with a smile. "If they'd really only lived in Choras, I would have visited them before now."

"It is hard to visit friends when you count the distance in centuries rather than miles," Tai said. "It's amazing to me that you'd get caught up in time travel, just like we did."

"All of you? Mom, you and Dad...," Crono said. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well," Gina said with a shrug. "The true story was just too implausible. I didn't think you'd believe me, and I really couldn't have blamed you for not."

"You'll stay for a little while won't you?" Paige asked them. "Besides all the story telling that I'm sure we'll get to, I'd really like you to meet our children."

Crono had agreed with Lucca and Marle that the safest thing to do was to dismantle the Epoch. It would be simply too dangerous in the wrong hands, but they could always do so after a short vacation of visiting some of his mom's, and dad's, friends...in the future. "Of course," he answered, then looked to Lucca and Marle.

"We'd love to!" Marle said excitedly. "I've never heard much about your dad, Crono."

"I don't see we shouldn't," Lucca said, "and I wouldn't mind spending a little time tinkering with the current tech while we're here."

"Excellent!" Tai declared. "I don't suppose you would mind sparring with me a little later on? I actually own a few dojos now, and I'm sure my students would benefit by seeing how skilled someone their own age can be. Your mom tells me that your amazing."

"Refla says he's the most talented student he's ever had," Gina said proudly.

"Believe me, that's not praise lightly given," Tai said. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't exited to see what you can do."

"I'd love to spar," Crono said, growing a little exited himself. "There's no way I'd miss a chance to pit myself against someone else Refla's taught."

Tai slapped Crono happily across the shoulders. "It's a plan then."

Crono's mind turned to his dad. He reached up and touched his lucky white bandanna, one of the few heirlooms he'd inherited from Flare. He'd always been told that his father had died heroically, saving his mom. The story while sad had always made Crono proud of the man he'd never met, but now there was a new element to this story. Crono knew the true story would also end with his father's death, but his dad had been involved in time travel! This new connection with his dad, more than anything else, exited Crono and ignited his imagination. He needed to know this secret truth he'd never even known existed.

"About my dad," Crono said. "What is the true story? What really happened to him?"

Tai smiled wistfully. "Yes, I can see that you'd be impatient to hear the truth now that you know about it, but where to start?"

Crono, Marle and Lucca sat on an adjacent couch as Tai and Paige retook their own seats. "Start anywhere," Crono said.

"For us it all began," Tai said with a nod toward Lucca, "on the day we went to visit Taban and Lara..."