There you go! Here's the next one for all my readers. Thanks the reviews!!!
I don't . . . snore, snore, snore. So hah!
Chapter 19: Setting Off
"Oomph!" Karsh groaned as Serge enveloped him a big hug. "Serge . . ." He squeaked. Serge ignored him. "Serge . . . Can't . . . Breathe . . ." Serge laughed and let Karsh, who had been two inches above the ground because of Serge, down. "I can't thank you enough, Karsh." Karsh shrugged then smiled mischievously, "You're right, Junior. You owe me . . . Or maybe I should say, I own you!" Serge laughed, "Never mind." Karsh joined in the laughter.
Three days later, Karsh was, once again, taking a walk. But this time, it was with Leena.
"Ya know, Karsh. I never actually expected you to be . . . well . . . sweet." Karsh laughed loudly. A little bit too loudly for Leena's taste, but she didn't mind. It's ironic. Karsh is to Serge as white is to black, but I feel myself falling more for him every moment that I'm with him. I never thought I'd ever find love again after Serge told me the news. The only part that Leena didn't like about Karsh was–BURP!–that. Karsh had no qualms about being his full, so-called 'manly' self around Leena. If he wanted to burp, he'd burp. If he wanted to scratch, he'd scratch. If he wanted to laugh out loud, then he would. It was painfully annoying for her, but she was willing to look past it now, and, hopefully, correct it in the future.
"I'm still waiting for your life story, Janus." Harle said in a singsong voice. Janus was silent.
Over the last week or so, Janus found himself actually being attracted to Harle, although he had no idea how far apart they were in age. He found himself opening up to her more. He was changing fast, and he knew it. For after he had opened up to her, he had begun to do it with the others, little by little of course. But there was one thing that he always shielded away from. And that was his past. He just didn't want to talk about it.
"Come on, Janus! Pleeaase?" Janus sighed heavily, "Look. I would rather not talk about it. I've done a lot of things that I regret. I've done a lot of things that I'd rather just forget. And talking about it won't help me forget. So, please, don't ask me any more." Harle was silent for a few moments.
"Janus." Janus looked at Harle. "Janus, I've done a lot of things that I wish I could forget about too! For instance, I was there when Lynx invaded Lucca's house. I helped when Lynx burned it down. When we took her. I wish . . . I wish I could take back all of the things that I said to and about Kidd. I wish that I had never joined up with Lynx. We killed . . . a countless amount of people. Innocent people."
The last part of her confession, reminded Janus of what he had done. He, too, had killed so many. Nearly all of them were innocents. "You see, Janus. You can't possibly forget about all of these things. These things that we have done will stay with us until our deaths. But we can dull the pain by talking to others about them." Janus sighed. He knew that Harle was right. There was no doubt. And he knew that she would not judge him. She had done horrible things just as he did.
Janus made a decision then. He would tell her everything. "Okay. I'll tell you." Harle stared at him in astonishment. "You will?" Janus nodded. Harle grinned.
Janus began, "Many years ago, I was born the prince of the country of Zeal. My older sister, Schala or as you know her, Kidd, was the princess.
"When I was about ten years old, a mysterious prophet arrived at Zeal and prophesied that soon a group of six would arrive. He prophesied that these six would destroy Zeal if Zeal wasn't ready. A week later, the six, Crono, Marle, Glenn, better known as Frog, Lucca, Ayla, and Robo, got there. At the time, the queen had become obsessed with the power of Lavos. When they tried to stop her from summoning it, its power opened up some time portals. I fell through one and landed in a Mystic village called Medina. The Mystics thought I was sent by the gods and took me in. As I–"
Janus stopped as he saw Karsh running up to them. "Come quick! We found somebody!" He said out-of-breath. Janus stood up and began walking toward Karsh. Harle followed closely behind him.
"He just washed up on shore. Leena and I were walking near Opassa when we saw him. She stayed with him to help and I was sent to find somebody. You two were the closest." Karsh said while the three ran towards Opassa Beach. Well, Janus simply floated a few inches above the ground.
When the three arrived, they saw Leena tending to a man's wounds. Leena was trying to give him some water, but he was refusing it. He was saying weakly, "Serge. Get Serge over here now!"
A purple mist enveloped the entire group, including the man, and they were immediately transported to the shelter where they had been staying for the last week and a half.
Serge caught sight of the purple mist that seemed to come up from the grassy floor in the makeshift shelter that they were staying in. He thought nothing of it though, it was Janus returning from whatever he was doing.
Serge laid his head back down on his pillow and felt himself falling back into a deep sleep. He was interrupted as he heard Leena scream, "SERGE!"
Serge bolted out of the cot he was sleeping in and looked for Leena. He found her, Janus, Harle, and some man that Serge recognized as Joe where the mist had just been seconds before. He saw that the man was cut up in many places and that he had possibly broken his ankle.
Serge ran over to them. By now, the rest of his group was awakening. "What's goin' on, mate?" Kidd asked groggily. He didn't answer as he ran past her.
"What happened?" Serge asked anyone who would listen. "I don't know! Joe has only been telling me to get you ever since he washed up on shore!" Leena said frantically.
Serge knelt down next to Joe, "What's going on? Where are the others?" He could see that Joe was falling fast. If he didn't get help soon, he would die. Joe gasped slightly, "Massacre." Serge's eyes widened, "Wha–What?" No. No. No! NO! Not again! Kidd stepped up to the man and pressed her hands against his chest. A blue light emanated from them and Serge could see some of the wounds on the man's body heal. His ankle remained the same. He turned to Kidd to thank her, but he easily saw worry in her eyes. Their eyes met and Kidd shook her head slightly. Just enough for Serge to see.
Serge stood up with Kidd. He looked to Joe, "We'll be right back. Hold that thought." Joe looked like he wanted to say something, but he had a coughing fit.
"What's wrong, Kidd? Will he be okay?" Kidd was silent. "Kidd!" She sighed, "We might have been too late. He's lost a lot of blood and he looked completely exhausted. One thing's for sure, if we don't get him to rest, he going to die. He doesn't have much longer in his state. He needs sleep and lots of it." Serge sighed. He wanted to find out what had happened, but he knew that would be impossible if the man was dead.
"Serge . . ." It was two days later when Joe woke again. His news had hit Serge hardest. He blamed himself.
"Serge, please." Kidd willed Serge to talk to her. It was no use, though. He hadn't said two words since the news. It had been three days since then too!
Most of the others, plus the remaining villagers, were building a new boat. It was going to be a grand boat too. Three times as big as the normal fishing boat. The villagers had even salvaged an engine to put on it. It would cut the time to get to Chronopolis or, at least, the End of Time, in half.
"Serge! Talk to me! Please!" Serge gave her no recognition. A tear rolled down Kidd's cheek. Serge had never been like this before. Even in their lowest times.
Kidd didn't want to marry this man. She wanted to marry the loving, caring Serge that she had known for what seemed to be forever. This Serge was not that same man. This Serge was cold to everyone around him. And Kidd had no idea what to do about it.
Melchior watched sadly as Kidd tried to comfort Serge. Everybody had tried, even Janus! But everybody else had given up, temporally at least. Kidd hadn't though. She kept trying to talk to him. Trying to get him to talk to her. It was no use though. Serge was hurting too much.
Melchior had also noticed something different about Serge. He wasn't the Serge that Melchior had met at his house. This Serge was darker. It's happening. If we don't pull Serge out of this depression soon, it will be too late. We'll all be doomed.
"Lynx! You've gone too far this time!" Lynx rolled his eyes in annoyance. This kind of outburst happened often for him. For the last thirteen years or so. Even so, it was still annoying.
"Would you just shut up!" Lynx yelled with a voice full of fury. The man who had been complaining smirked. "What? Am I bothering you, you piece of Reptite dung?" Lynx growled softly and turned back to the computer screen where he watched Serge as his anger built.
"I'm not done talking to you, Lynx!" Lynx turned back to the man. The man had fiery red hair. Although, gray hairs were popping up here and there. He had blue eyes that were full of wisdom and, for the last thirteen years, anger.
This man was the only one of the three people that Lynx had captured, many years ago, that he had not, in some way, broken. The two women, one with blonde hair, and the other with barely recognizable purple hair, he had long ago silenced. Those two barely ever spoke to him unless the were feeling very passionate about something.
The man, on the other hand, was just as loud as thirteen years ago. No matter what Lynx did to him, he just wouldn't quiet down! It was a different story when Lynx hurt the blonde girl, though. She was his weakness.
WHACK! The blonde girl slammed against the cold metal floor in a heap. The red-haired man watched in horror as Lynx brought back his hand to slap the girl again. WHACK!
"You see. Talking back is a bad thing. Especially now, when I need my total concentration." He held the barely conscious blonde up by her hair. "Every word you say will result in a slap. Each slap will be harder than the last. If you keep it up, she will die." The man was silent.
Lynx smiled. There's no way he'd ever actually kill the girl. She was too important for that. Those three all were. With enough death, he'd be able to control all three of them. Those three, along with Serge, would be able to easily help him to control the world.
Lynx turned back to the computer screen and growled.
"This can't be happening. It's my fault." Serge said softly. Kidd nodded. She had finally gotten Serge to talk to her. It only took a lot of wearing him down and then a Fireball element. She smiled at that thought.
"Serge. You can't blame yourself! You had no idea!" Serge shook his head, "No. I should have known. If I had figured it out, I would've been able to save them. It's all my fault. Everything is my fault."
Kidd sighed angrily, "Don't you get it, Serge? This is Lynx's plan! To hurt you in ways that he couldn't do physically! That's why he destroyed Termina. It's why he destroyed Arni and Guldove. It's why he did this!" Serge simply stared straight ahead. "It's not going to stop until he's destroyed! And you are the only one powerful enough to do that! We need you, Serge! I need you. You're the leader. Without you, the entire team falls apart! Without you . . . I fall apart."
Serge didn't reply. He had gone silent again. Kidd got up from her spot on the dock and began walking away.
Lynx laughed. "A good effort, but it was useless. I've gotten a hold of Serge and all I have to do is reel him in." Lynx's laughter was cut short as Serge stood and ran off of the dock in search of Kidd.
Serge found Kidd on Opassa Beach. She was practicing with her prism dagger.
Serge walked up to her. She was so engrossed in her practice, she hadn't noticed him yet.
Serge was about to tap Kidd on the shoulder when she let loose a large roundhouse kick and hit him squarely in the jaw. Serge slammed down into the sand.
Kidd's eyes widened as she saw Serge. "Serge!" She knelt down by his side. "Are you okay?" Serge groaned and nodded. He got up and sat down in the sand. Kidd sat next to him.
"I guess I deserved that." Serge said softly. Kidd grinned, "Ya got that right, mate! Worrying us like that! I could give you a few more of those!" Kidd's attitude made Serge smile. It was the first time he had smiled in three days.
Lynx roared in anger. "How could this happen? Everything was going as planned!" Lynx heard someone laughing. It wasn't the red-haired man though. He spun around to look for the source. He found it seconds later. The purple-haired woman was getting a kick out of Lynx's failure. "Is Kidd a little too strong for you, Lynx? Did you underestimate her like I said you would?" Lynx growled softly and immediately cast a strong spell on the three that would make them sleep for many days.
"Wow." Serge said as he saw the large boat in front of him. It was built like a normal fishing boat, but it was much larger. It had a mast with sail in the middle of it, and a rusty engine on the back. Karsh looked over at him and laughed, "Yeah. Can't believe I helped build that." Serge was silent as he admired the vessel.
Glenn walked over to him, "It's a thing of beauty." He looked directly at Serge, "Are you okay?" Serge smiled slightly and nodded. "Good." Glenn said.
"This is it. I'm leaving." Karsh said to Leena. She nodded sadly, "I don't understand. Why can't I come with you? I can fight!" Karsh sighed, "Leena. I don't . . . want anything happening to you. Not now. We're about to go up against a power hungry cat Demihuman. One that can use ancient magic and everything. If the prophecy involving Serge comes true, then we're all dead."
"What prophesy?" Karsh mentally kicked himself, "Uh . . . Never mind." Leena didn't stop, "What prophesy, Karsh? I've known Serge ever since I was a baby, and I would like to know why if this 'prophecy' comes true that you'll be dead." Karsh was silent for many moments. He had known that Serge didn't want Leena to hear about it, but he had no way of backing out of telling her. "I . . . uh . . ."
"He'll tell you about it later, Leena." Glenn, who had overheard their conversation, said. Leena scowled, "But . . ." Glenn held up a hand, "Not now. It's a long story and we don't have time right now. We have to go in about five minutes."
Karsh sighed, "I'm sorry, Leena. I wish I could tell you, but . . . well . . . I'll leave it at that." Leena scowled once more and then she calmed. "Okay. I understand. Whatever it is, you'll tell me when you get back, right?" Karsh grinned, "Of course!"
Leena looked at him. "You will be coming back, right?" Karsh was silent. He had no idea how to answer that. He knew that, if Serge somehow was changed, he, and probably the rest of them, would be dead. He also knew that there might be casualties anyway, even if the prophecy didn't come true. "Karsh?" Silence. "You won't be coming back, will you?"
Karsh sighed, "Leena. I'll do everything in my power to come back to you. But, you have to understand; we are going up against one of the most powerful being on the planet. We're not nearly as prepared as we were before, and there's a chance . . . that some of us . . . won't make it."
Leena looked down, "I do understand, but . . ." Karsh smiled sadly, "I'll come back, Leena. Unless I'm dead, know this, I will come back to you. I promise."
Leena smiled slightly, "You had better come back, Karsh! I still have to teach you some manners!" Karsh groaned loudly, "How do I get myself into these things?" Leena grinned and punched him playfully in the shoulder.
Serge looked out among his group. They had all paired up with somebody by now. Kidd and himself. Glenn and Ana. Karsh and Leena. Janus and . . . Harle? Serge chuckled at that thought. Well, Melchior doesn't have anybody, but that's okay. "Serge!" Serge snapped out of his thoughts and turned to a frustrated Kidd. She had her hands on her hips and she was glaring at him. Serge just couldn't shake the vision of Leena doing the same thing whenever he got caught up in his thoughts.
"Yeah?" Serge asked. Kidd sighed, "I was asking when we'd be leaving." Serge thought about it for a moment, "I guess we are ready to set off now." Kidd nodded and ran to tell the others.
Serge shook the hand of Chief Radius—he had regained his memories via Schala—while thanking him for the support. Radius laughed, "Serge. How could I not help you?" Serge laughed too, "I guess you're right."
Radius got serious all of a sudden. "Get him good, Serge. Have no mercy on him, just as he had no mercy on us. Take him out." Serge nodded slowly and walked aboard the boat.
A villager brought him a few fishing poles. "For the trip." The villager said. Serge smiled and gladly took them.
Another villager brought him a basket full of bread and fish. Another brought buckets of water. Serge filled up a compartment in the boat that was specifically made for holding water.
"Good-bye, Karsh." Leena said. Karsh looked down at her and winked, "It ain't 'good-bye'; it's—"
"I know. It's just 'see you later'." Leena said. Karsh smiled, "Exactly." Leena smiled back at him.
Serge opened the sail and wind immediately caught it. The boat began pulling away from the dock, slowly at first, and then it sped up. "Good-bye!" Serge yelled. The people of Arni cheered as the boat got farther and farther out to sea.
Many minutes later, the crowd had gotten off the dock. All but one.
Leena stood on the dock looking out to the ocean for many hours. She wondered many things. She wondered if she'd ever see Karsh again. She wondered about the prophesy that Karsh had mentioned. But most of all, she wondered if she was truly in . . . love.
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There. How'd you like it? Please R&R!!!
Ahem. Now's the part where I make the readers want to tear me apart and eat me. ;-) I'm gonna be going out of town in a week or two. I'll be gone for a week probably. I'll try to get a chapter or two up by then though.
Ahem again. Now's the new part of the chapters where I put up stupid questions!
Will the group reach Chronopolis without trouble?
Will Leena ever find out whether she's in love with Karsh or not?
Will Janus ever tell Harle his story?!
Find out next time on . . . Chrono Cross: Radical Dreamer!!!
--Ben