Disclaimer: Alrighty folks, we all know the deal. I do not own Squaresoft, I am not a part of Squaresoft, and I do not own Chrono Cross. This sequel, however, I do, so no copying and saying it was you that wrote it. Did you know that plagerism is a grave crime??? Heh, good. Then no copying. :)

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Chrono Magnetism: A Sequel to Chrono Cross

Chapter #2: A Dance With Flame-spirits, Past Aquaintances, and an Eclipse

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"Serge!! Leena's downstairs waiting for you! You'd better wake up!"

Serge woke up with a stretch and a yawn. He went over to his windows and pulled the shades up. "Hold on a sec!" he shouted down to his mother Marge and Leena as he slipped on his shoes. He then climbed down from his room. "Hey mom. Leena, you ready?"

"Gee, shouldn't I ask YOU that? Come on, Serge, I've been waiting forever. Thanks, Marge, for shaking this sleepy-head awake for me. Alrighty, let's go!" Leena giggled as she took Serge by the hand and tugged him gently out the door.

"Have fun, kids!" Marge called out from the doorway. Serge rolled his eyes at his mother still thinking of her 19-year-old son as still a child. He slipped his hand out of Leena's as they just exited Arni, and sped up and ran in front of her.

"Hey! Wait, Serge! Why are you running?!" Leena called out to him, not aware of his... plan. As she ran after him, she did not notice how uneven the ground was. Consequently, she tripped over a tree root that was half out of the ground. "Ow, ow, OW! Serge!! I think I sprained my ankle! Please, stop!" She sat with her foot wedged under the root, trying to free herself since it was obvious to her now that Serge couldn't hear her.

When Leena finally got free, she tore a low hanging branch from another tree nearby and used it as a crutch for her to go after Serge. She wouldn't admit to herself how much it looked like Serge was running away from her. But she had to catch up and find out. She limped her way all the miles up to Shadow forest, and when she reached it, she had to rest.

So, she sat down on a rock that stuck out from the land over the water, took her shoes and socks off, and dipped her feet (not to mention sprained ankle) in the cool, clear water. Her one foot was really swollen and red, with some scratches on her leg from trying to get free. Leena winced as the cold water slowly swirled around her feet, dancing about her cuts and sprain.

But something grabbed her attention away from the stinging of her cuts- a bright red glow in the next part of the forest... a fire! But something was different. Leena had seen a fire before, but this fire did not just stay in its "flame shape," it had taken the forms of human-like creatures. She quickly put her socks and shoes back on, and grabbed her "crutch." She slipped herself slowly off the rock onto flat ground again. She then hobbled as fast as she could into the other portion of the forest. She really had to find Serge now; it was dangerous to have a Flamedance in a wooded area!

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Flamedancers don't usually take to humans very well, but they seemed to actually enjoy Serge's company. They danced around him, a distant song sounding in the air. 'This is better than even the festivals in Termina! It's really too bad I had to leave Leena like that. But I wasn't sure how they'd react. It was only out of worry for your safety, Leena,' thought Serge to himself as he danced in a circle with the Flamedancer creatures. "You guys can be really friendly when you want to!" he told them. The creatures threw back their supposed heads and made a noise similar to a laugh. The circle split up and they started to dance in pairs. Except for Serge- he stayed back just to watch them.

He sat down on a moss-covered rock a few yards away and held his chin in his hand, elbow to knee. He became fairly bored and even started to nod off. Good thing his alarm clock was following him...

"Alright you beasts!!! Get out of this forest and get away from my Serge! Fiends!!!" Leena yelled while shooting out Aqua Balls in every which way. Serge immediately came out of his daze and tried to calm down the Flamedancers that were now flailing madly about, flames from their bodies spewing onto trees, turning them to sudden firewood.

"You MUST calm down! You're going to turn the whole forest to ashes if you don't settle down! LEENA!!! Stop firing the Aqua Balls! They're harmless unless your innate is blue, which is why I tried to leave you behind. Please, stop! You're the one doing the REAL damage!" Serge stood up and scolded Leena over the stampede of Flame-spirits.

Leena stopped, and stared past the flame at Serge. "How could you say that?! You're the one that should've just gone without me on a different day! Today was OURS! Not theirs! You could have told me; now it is actually YOUR fault, Serge! I'm going back to Arni to get a brace for my sprained ankle. I'm not expecting you to follow. JERK!" and the red-headed, furious Leena stormed out (still limping), with the thought that she would never want to talk to Serge again. This is where she also left Serge to tend to the enormous mess she created.

"Please stop running! The blue innate is gone; you don't have to be scared anymore! LISTEN TO ME!!! YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE AFRAID!" Serge cried to the Flame-spirits. A flimsy branch that had caught on fire, was now above Serge's bandana-wearing head. And it broke off just as he turned and saw it do so... "NOOO!!!" and all he could do was brace himself.

But the branch never hit him. It never touched the ground after it's fall. He opened his eyes out of curiousity, and a white-glowing spirit was looking him right in the face, just smiling at him and holding the large tree branch just a foot above them. Then it leaned in... and kissed him. It slowly gained a more definate shape. It leaned away, and Serge immediately recognized the beautiful young woman in front of him. "K-Kidd?" It just had to be! "I... I recognize that taste. It has to be you."

She put down the burning branch and stood close in front of him. The woman finally spoke, the sound of her oh-so-familiar voice filled him with such happiness, he forgot the chaos around them. The moment was only tranquility to him. "That's close, mate. You're getting closer with every occurrence and new dicovery. I only have twenty seconds left until my portal to the other world closes, but I will make the most of this time that I can have with you," she kissed him again, and then withdrew to say goodbye, "So until next time, Serge. See ya, mate."

The woman vanished with a purple light. She wasn't the only one to vanish; the panicked Flamedancers left also, and the only thing they left behind was a trail of smoke, which the wind soon blew away. The forest had been suddenly restored. Serge fell to his knees, suddenly overcome with weakness, and sighed. He then slumped back against the rock and smiled.

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Later that night, back at Arni, Serge and the rest of the villagers, including Leena and Serge's mother Marge, sat on blankets on the ground around the village. Every light in the village was off, just so you could see the sky more clearly. Tonight was the Dark Moon Eclipse, or the "Black Dragon-spirit's Conquering," as some called it. It was one of the most anticipated events in El Nido. And it had just begun.

Serge sat in awe at its enchanting natural beauty. 'How many wonders this world has to offer,' he thought to himself. Such as Leena's hot temper... Speaking of which, Serge had tried relentlessly to apologize to Leena for earlier that day, but he only received a "hello," "yes," "no," or even a harsh "leave me alone, you jerk." But now he had more important and involving things to think about than Leena's being cross with him.

"Kidd... maybe I can see you again tonight... at this occurrence," Serge said quietly. He then felt a light touch on his shoulder. He put his hand on the other's, and received a gentle hug as the Dark Moon seemed to be swallowed up by the sky. "Beautiful, eh mate?" the one wrapped around him said, and they stared into the night sky... together.

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So??? How was it? I think it was a bit more exciting than the last, ne? ^,^ Stay tuned for the next enthralling chapter "A Good-Smelling Cyclone and a Churning of the Earth." Until then (next weekend ^^'), please take a minute to review this chapter. I think it turned out pretty well, but what do you guys think? Thankies for reading! ~LadyCrimson