Finally! Sorry 'bout the long wait, I had to get back into 'feel' for writing. If you read my Author's note, you would know that I've also been writing another story that isn't up yet, so that also took up my time. Another reason I took so long was because I was gone for three weeks! I hadn't seen my family in that time and the second week I was home I had a friend form my old hometown staying over. More like my friend's little sister . . . Ugh . . . Anyway, I'm not dead, but actually probably more alive than ever before. Spiritually anyway. Missions Trip to Mexico can do that. Don't know if anybody reading this can actually understand that though. I'm not going to explain it here in this fic, in fact, I'll be doing plenty of that in my next fic, Harvest Moon: Revival in Flowerbud (Tentative title). Anyway, on with the story!
I don't own Chrono Cross or any of its characters. I own Ana and Bob though!
Chapter 14: Past Acquaintances
The spike of ice made a sickening sound as it penetrated the stomach of the beast. As if that wasn't enough, wherever the ice hit also turned to ice. Finally, the finishing touch; The ice spread also. Slowly and painfully. Soon the beast itself was merely an ugly ice sculpture. Janus chuckled softly at that thought.
"What?! No! That's not supposed to happen! Who is he, and how did he defeat my Doomsday?! It's supposed to be indestructible!" Lynx was fuming. "Master. If it was supposed to be indestructible, why did you leave its stomach defenseless?" Said a cloned dragonian. It was identical to Bob in every way. Lynx thought about this for a moment. Oh yeah . . . Now I remember. That was just supposed to be a distraction . . . Just to frustrate and anger him more. To make him more susceptible to my mind power. . . Lynx looked to the stiff clone. He considered his options at that moment. He is pretty sharp for an overgrown lizard. I could probably use him for a general. . . Then again. . . He did make me look like a fool. . . Lynx's eyes narrowed at the unaware dragonian, "You're pretty smart. I might've been able to use you, but. . . I think I'd rather just dispose of you." The dragonian's eyes widened as a dark cloud enveloped him. He tried to hold his breath for as long as possible, but it was useless. The dark gas didn't need to be breathed, all it needed was physical touch. And with it pressing the dragonian from all sides, it had plenty of it. . .
Serge moaned quietly. The next thing that moaned was his stomach. He didn't think a person could get hungry if he's dead. Serge's eyes snapped open. All he saw was a dark, starless sky. He heard what sounded like the sound of a fire crackling. He tried to sit up, but immediately wished he hadn't. For as he attempted it, he was attacked by an unbelievable headache. It made even the most serious migraine seem small. At that time, his vision was impaired by the fun thing called tunnel-vision. He laid back down and waited until he could see straight again. When he could, he opted to just turn his head toward the sound of fire instead of getting up to look. There was a dark figure sitting next to a large bonfire. The figure was turned away from Serge, so he couldn't tell who the person was. The long scythe laying on the ground next to the figure gave him away though. "Janus?" Serge asked in bewilderment. The figure turned ever so slightly. It was enough for Serge to recognize him. It was Janus. Serge slowly sat up again. He eased himself through the headache until, finally, it was gone and he was sitting up.
His stomach growled again, but he ignored it. "What happened?" He asked. Janus chuckled, "I rescued you. That's what happened. I rescued you from a beast whom I destroyed in two attacks." Serge rolled his eyes. The last thing he needed now was an arrogant Janus. He got it anyway. "I figured that you'd have been able to take that beast easily." Serge sighed deeply, "We were caught off guard, that's–" The word 'we' stopped Serge in his sentence. The girl! Where is she? Serge saw her laying on the other side of the fire. He didn't see any movement. "Is she okay?" He asked in fear of the answer. Janus chuckled, "Always thinking of others aren't you, Chrono Trigger." There was a pause and then he continued, "Yes. She's alright. Just unconscious." Serge breathed a sigh of relief and crawled pitifully over to the fire and next to Janus.
For a few minutes, there was blissful silence. Finally, "So. You want my sister to marry you?" Janus said without looking at Serge. Serge let in a sharp intake of breath, "I . . . Uh . . . Well. Yes. I do . . . " Janus looked at the blue-haired teenager, "Well?" Serge sighed deeply, "I don't know. She didn't really answer me. Schala tried to answer for her, but I noticed. I know she loves me and all, but . . . " Janus looked deeply into the fire, "She does love you. She's just afraid to get too close. With the prophesy and all . . . " Serge nodded sadly, "So. There's no stopping it then?"
"Stop what?" Serge jumped and looked to see the girl staring at the two. "Nothing that involves you." Janus said darkly. The woman smirked. Serge's eyes narrowed in thought. Who is this woman? As if in answer to his thoughts, "I suppose you'd like to know who I am now." She said. Serge looked at her, "Yeah. That would be great." He said with a tone of sarcasm. The woman clicked her tongue in a disapproving manner, "So much more sarcastic then I remember you, Serge. Probably from hanging out with" Then in a different accent, "zat dog." Serge's eyes widened in disbelief, "Harle?!"
Glenn, Kidd, Ana, and Karsh ran through the capital city of Porre in silence. They couldn't risk anybody seeing them. They stopped in the shadows of a building. Glenn poked his head out from the protection of the building and looked around. There was nobody around. He looked back to the people that were awaiting his orders. He nodded and pointed across the street. The others nodded and the four ran across silently. They were so silent that if you had been watching them, you would've thought you had gone deaf. Little did they know that a large group of people was watching them . . .
The four were passing through a long alley when the first person dropped from overhead. The person, he was a young man, landed right in front of Glenn. Glenn just barely stopped in time to avoid slamming into him. The man was dressed in all black; Even his face was covered with black paint. "Get out of our way." Growled Glenn. The man chuckled softly, "Or what?" Glenn unsheathed his two Einlanzers. The man eyed them for a moment and finally backed up. He didn't back up in fear though. He simply backed up so he could take out his gun without worrying about being skewered in the process. THUD! THUD! THUD! Three more people landed on the ground and leveled their guns at the group. They were followed by, at least, another two dozen people. All of them were dressed in black. Great. We've stumbled upon a Porre gang's territory. Glenn thought with a grim look on his face. "Now I'm going to give you two choices." The man in black said. Glenn looked at him in fury. "You can fight us and die." At those words, every gun was cocked and ready for use. "Or . . . You can give us your lovely ladies here. Now, the men will die anyway. But . . . The ladies might live just a little bit longer." Glenn's eyes widened as his fury nearly overtook him.
Harle and Serge simply stared at each other. Actually, Serge was doing most of the staring. Harle, on the other hand, had found something else to look at. Janus. Janus simply looked into the blazing fire. For some reason, he wasn't able to meet eye-to-eye with the woman named Harle. "So, what's your name?" She said in a quiet voice. Janus finally looked at her and was about to answer, but he felt something in the back of his mind. Danger? This time it's Schala! He immediately spun to face the bewildered Serge, "Schala's in trouble!" Serge's eyes widened and Harle was momentarily forgotten, "What?! Kidd's in trouble! We have to go!" A purple mist began surrounding Janus. "Come on!" He said. Harle and Serge walked into the purple mist.
The three heard a low whooshing sound and suddenly they were in a long alley. Directly in front of them was a large group of people. The group was surrounding four familiar people. "You can fight us and die. Or you can give us your lovely ladies here. Now, the men will die anyway. But . . . The ladies might live just a little bit longer." Serge's eyes narrowed, "I don't think so!" He yelled loudly enough for all of the people to hear him.
"I don't think so!" Kidd spun around to look for the voice. There were three figures in the alley. One was Janus, the other was a woman that Kidd didn't recognize, and the last . . . Serge! He's alive! Kidd thought with glee. The man in black looked perturbed. "Kill 'em." He ordered. Every person in the entire gang began to pull the triggers to their guns. They didn't have the chance to finish as their guns, every single one, along with some fingers and hands, were suddenly cut in half by some unknown force. Serge suddenly appeared in front of the leader of the group. His eyes widened as Serge took a step closer to him. "Hey! We were jut playing, ya know? We're not really like that!" Serge didn't say anything, but he shook his head. The man backed up some more as Serge grabbed the Mastermune from its spot on the gear on his back. "Come on . . . Don't do this . . . We were just messin' around!" Serge narrowed his eyes. If anyone could see them in this darkness, they would've seen that they were no longer blue, but they were a deep red.
"Yes! Kill him!" Lynx said in glee as Serge prepared to run the man in black through. "Let your rage take over!" Serge thrust the sharp point of the Mastermune toward the cowering man. Right before it impaled him, a black beam of magic hit the holy weapon. The Mastermune flew out of Serge's hands and crashed against the wall of the alley. "No!" Lynx screamed.
Serge looked at Janus in bewilderment, but he shook his head, indicating that he wasn't the culprit. Harle stepped forward, "It was me." Serge's eyes narrowed in frustration. Harle simply looked at him calmly. In his anger and frustration, Serge didn't notice that the man had escaped along with the rest of his group. "Who's this?" Kidd asked in bewilderment. Serge's hardened heart softened at Kidd's voice and his eyes turned back to a deep blue. "Harle . . ."
Bob finally found his group. They were standing in a dark alley. The girl that he had saved along with Serge and Kidd were arguing about something. Even from the sky, Bob could see the expression of horror written all over Serge's face. Bob went into a steep dive toward the alley. He was so focused on reaching the group that he never saw the attack from above . . .
"Harle?! What?!" Kidd yelled in bewilderment. The others gave similar reactions. Serge winced, "Uh . . . Yep." Kidd glared at Serge, "Harle. You brought Harle here! What were you thinking? Have you forgotten who or what she is?!" Serge winced again, "She saved my life at the prison. She and Bob are the only reasons that I am alive." Kidd's eyes narrowed further. "Where is Bob anyway?" Glenn wondered out loud. No one paid any attention to him.
"Why'd you save him, Harle? We all know that it wasn't for his sake!" Kidd asked with a scowl. Janus and Ana looked at the two in bewilderment. Serge, Glenn, and Karsh looked at the two with a horrified expression. Kidd and Harle simply looked at each other in hatred. "I had come to break you all out of prison! I arrived a little late!" Kidd laughed, "You were probably just there to break Serge out! You couldn't care less about the rest of us!"
Serge had enough, "That's enough!" He bellowed. All arguing stopped and the two women looked at Serge. Silence reigned and for the first time since the prison break, he was reminded that he had been shot. He grimaced and looked at the group. His group. "We're going to move on. Harle, if you are planning on going with us, fine, but if you are planning on leaving us in the middle, then you can leave now." Harle nodded, "I'm going. That is, if that's okay with her." Serge held out a hand to stop Kidd from replying with whatever snide remark she had.
He turned to Janus, "Are you going with us or are you going to meet us at Guardia?" Janus smirked, "I'll go as long as those two don't start arguing again." Serge smiled slightly and turned to Harle and Kidd, "You hear that? No more arguing. Harle," Harle looked at him, "Don't try to start any arguments . . . Especially when it involves me." That got a couple of chuckles from Glenn and Karsh.
Serge turned to Kidd, "The same goes for you." Then in a much quieter voice, he said, "I don't think I could take any more stress." Kidd nodded solemnly. Only she and Janus would know what he meant by that.
"Okay. Does anyone have any healing elements or anything?" Serge asked. "No need." Kidd said as she pressed her palm to Serge's shoulder. Serge turned back to the rest of the group, "Let's go."
Lynx chuckled in glee as four of his minions returned from their mission. Bound in chains made of rainbow shell and unconscious was Bob. "Ahh . . . You succeeded in you mission. You four will be promoted. Now. Leave." The four Dragonians left the room. Lynx looked at the unconscious form of Bob. "One down; six more to go." Lynx's laughter echoed throughout the room.
"Don't fight! Just run!" Serge yelled. Behind the party were scores of Porre soldiers and some civilians. A barrier of ice shot up from the group in front of the horde of Porre, and temporarily stopped them. Serge smiled at Ana and she laughed. Her laughter was cut short as the crowd of people broke through the barrier and began the chase again. This time it was Janus' turn to show off his magic. A black fog formed around the crowd. When it cleared, the people were all laying on the ground. Serge looked at Janus in bewilderment. Janus smirked, and as he ran, he said, "They're just paralyzed. They'll be back up in an hour. That should give us plenty of time." Serge smiled and nodded.
Serge saw the edge of the city and the beginning of the ravaged land once called Guardia. "Almost there!"
The group of seven ran for miles after they reached the end of Porre. They ran until the city was just a spot on the horizon.
Finally, they stopped. "We'll stop here for now." The others agreed except for Janus. He was just silent. "Kidd. You and I will go and find some food. The rest of you will go and find some firewood." Serge said. The group did as they were told. All that was left was Serge and Kidd. "Let's go." Kidd nodded and the two set out.
"So. Who exactly is Harle?" Ana asked Glenn. They were walking in a small forest looking for firewood. "She used to be one of Lynx's minions. More specifically, she's the Dark Moon Dragon in human form." Ana soaked all of this in, "So . . . I understand that she used to be one of Lynx's minions, but why is everybody so tense around her? You all don't act that way around Bob." Glenn sighed, "First of all, she was so mysterious. I, regrettably, wasn't with Serge at the time he was in Lynx's body. I had been brainwashed. But, from what I've heard, Harle had helped Serge and some old weirdo named Sprigg get back into the real world. From there, she stayed with them while they were defeating the dragons and getting the dragon emblems. After that, she disappeared until we defeated FATE. She had tried to warn us about the Time Devourer, but we didn't listen. After that, she wasn't seen again until now." Ana nodded, "So . . . Why doesn't Kidd like her." Glenn laughed, "Partly because Harle was such a pain to her. Calling her a dog and just plainly looking down on her. But I think mainly it was because Harle had a huge crush on Serge. Ever since the first time she saw him, Harle was after Serge's heart. Kidd hated her for it." Ana looked thoughtful, "I wonder if she still likes him . . ."
Yes . . . I do still like him . . . Harle thought solemnly. But . . . I lost him. Kidd won his heart once and for all. I have no chance now. She was peering through a bush and watching Glenn and Ana talk. "It doesn't matter. I don't think she's going to try anything anyway. I think she knows that she's beat." Harle sighed and walked away from the two. She had no reason to listen anymore.
She walked through the forest slowly. Pausing every once in awhile to pick up some twigs and tree bark. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't see the dark figure in front of her before she ran into him. The figure was hardly affected by her, but she fell to the ground. The figure eyed her in curiosity. Harle recognized him as the man named Janus. "Watch out!" She barked. Janus simply chuckled, "You are the one that ran into me. Not the other way around." As he was talking, the sticks and twigs that Harle had dropped floated up and stopped in front of Harle. Harle stared at the firewood in amazement and looked at Janus. He had his hand outstretched and pointing at the sticks. Harle gathered the sticks back into her arms and Janus brought his arm back down to his side. "That's as close to an apology you're going to get." Despite herself, Harle blushed slightly. He is kind of cute . . . Harle shook it off, "Thanks." She did one of her trademark back flips and disappeared leaving a chuckling Janus alone in the forest.
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There. Are you happy with it? I hope it was worth the wait. Anyway, I don't know if I'll be able get a chapter a day anymore. I'm going to try, but there are no guarantees. Mexico changed the way I look at a lot of things. Like this fic for example. I still love it, but I know that in the big picture, it won't matter. It's not going to change any lives. That's why I'm writing my other fic. To proclaim the Good News about Jesus Christ (Oh no! I'm unconstitutional!!!) in a way that will, hopefully, appeal to the people on this site. I hope I don't get taken down or something because of that . . . Oh well. I'd just post it again under a different name.
Anyway. As always, please review!