Chapter 8
Dactyl Nest: 65 000 000 BC
It was a great deal windier than Frog remembered. It wasn't enough to stop him but with the cold air, it certainly wasn't comfortable either. Ayla and Vrath didn't seem to be enjoying the wind much either but if it was bothering Magus, nothing in his demeanor showed it.
Though Magus was technically human, Frog genuinely wondered whether he actually felt anything at all. Yes, he'd helped to defeat Lavos, he'd been searching for his sister and had now fully immersed himself in finding this strange stone, but Frog couldn't help wonder if he was doing these things because they were right or for a less noble reason.
Had he fought Lavos because of the evil it would do to the world, or was he simply seeking revenge for the destruction of his childhood home? Was he seeking out his sister out of concern for her well-being or simply to recover something that was his? And most importantly, was he seeking out this stone to ensure the universe's safety or because he wanted it for himself?
Frog knew well that someone who was doing the right thing for all the wrong reasons warranted close scrutiny, because if they ever decided they could benefit more from doing the wrong thing, they would. If they managed to find all of these fragments, Frog certainly wasn't going to trust someone like Magus with them.
And if Magus hath any aspirations of taking them, Frog thought, the only thing he shall receive is a well earned death.
Ora Settlement: 150 AD
Though she'd aged at least a good twenty years since they'd last seen her, the smile Schala gave her friends made her appear as beautiful as when they'd met her. The first few moments were spent exchanging hugs and greetings while Lord Arvel looked on proudly. For a few moments, the four time travelers were able to forget the danger they were in and enjoy a reunion with an old friend. Schala herself was amazed to see Crono alive and well, prompting Marle to explain about their adventure on Death Peak.
Though the four had questions of their own on their mind, it was Lucca, the most curious who first voiced them
"So when Lavos destroyed Zeal, you were thrown forward to this century, am I right?"
Schala nodded her head. "I arrived on one of the southern continents. It was a few years before I managed to adapt. A few years after that I met Arvel." Schala looked glowingly at her husband. "These days I hardly give any thought to Zeal or my time there, but I always hoped to see you again."
"I guess Magus will be happiest to see you." said Crono.
"Who?" asked Schala.
Marle and Lucca looked at each other. "That's right. She doesn't know. You knew him as-"
"Lord Arvel! Lord Arvel!" One of the guard rushed into house, gasping for air.
Arvel, switching pride to concern, asked, "what's wrong? What is it?"
"Baron...Tos, sir." the guard gasped. "He's here."
The warmth immediately drained from Arvel's face. "What could he want?"
"He said... if you have any hope of peace you must see him at once." The exhausted guard answered.
Arvel shook his head. "I guess I'd better see him then." He then turned to the four time travelers. "You'd better hide. I'd rather not have to try and explain the four of you to him."
As Arvel and the guard stepped outside, Schala ushered the four into Arvel's bedroom.
"I do not understand, Schala." said Robo. "Who is this Baron Tos individual?"
Schala sighed. "He's the leader of the neighboring Enko settlement. Both sets of colonists arrived at about the same time and there have been tension between us since then. I'm not sure how or why it started but it's getting serious. If Arvel can't reason with Tos, we may end up going to war."
Lucca rolled her eyes. "Great. We can't get caught in a war now. We have to find a way out of here and fix the damage that Tempus person has done to our time."
Schala slowly closed the door on them. "I promise I'll help you with that but for now, please lay low and keep quiet. Tos is paranoid enough as it is without us having to explain time travelers to him!"
After closing the door, Schala calmly walked out of the house and into the woods. "And don't be in such a hurry to face Tempus, Lucca," she whispered quietly to herself. "You have no idea what you're getting into."
Dactyl Nest: 65 000 000 BC
"I can feel it." Magus whispered. "We're very close."
"That's good, I suppose." said Vrath. "What are to do with this piece when we find it."
"Throw in volcano!" said Ayla. "Bad man can't use rock if rock melted."
Magus sighed impatiently "You can't get rid of the Genesis Rock that easily! It's too powerful! I'll take it Melchoir. He'll know what do."
"YOU'LL take it Melchoir?" Frog glared at Magus.
"I don't care if you come or not!" snapped Magus. "But anyone know how to get rid of this thing, he can."
"Excuse me." said Vrath. "But don't we have to find it first?"
Magus and Frog gave each other a menacing look and then resumed walking.
A few meters further, Magus stopped. "It's here." he said, simply.
"Where?" asked Frog.
Magus looked around at the ground around him. "Right under us. Start digging!"
Immediately, the four got on their hands and knees and started tearing away at clumps of dirt. Ayla, easily the best digger of the four was tossing huge chunks aside when she stopped. "Me find something!" she cried out.
Magus, Frog and Vrath gathered around Ayla's hole and she held up a small white rock.
"That's it." Magus said, hoarsely. "We should go now. The one who took the last piece might--"
"Might what, Janus?" a raspy voice behind them asked. "Following you? I would think after our last encounter you would have learned your lesson."
Magus managed a slight smile as he turned around. "My teachers always said I was a troublesome student."
Frog stared at the hooded figure approaching them. "Who art thou? State thy name!"
"My name is Tempus. Your friend here had an unpleasant run-in with me before, but apparently it didn't sink in." The figure raised both hands as blue bolts of energy shot from one to the other. "I guess I'll have to teach you again."
"That was one on one. You might not fare so well against four." He turned to see Frog, Ayla and Vrath and ready to fight.
Magus just barely made out a grin on the hooded figure's face. "We'll see." Instantly, one of the bolts from Tempus' hands shot out, knocking Ayla and Frog down. Immediately, Vrath ran at Tempus with the club he was holding. "I hate to do this to such a handsome face but…" Suddenly Vrath found himself levitating off the ground. Sudden an invisible force pitched him against a large rock.
Desperate, Magus blasted Tempus with a double dose of Dark Matter. It simply reflected back at him, driving the wizard to his knees.
"So much for four against one." Tempus sneered.
"Who are you?" Magus choked. "What are you?"
"You want to know? Why not?" Tempus chuckled as the raspy voice turned to a distinctly feminine one.
As Tempus' hood was pulled away, the face they saw made Magus, Frog, Ayla, and Vrath all draw breath. She was slightly older than when they'd last seen her in Zeal, but it was unmistakably her.
Smiling cruelly at each of them, she sneered "It's so good to see you all again."
Magus' jaw dropped. "Schala?"
Next: Think you have all the answers? Think again!
Dactyl Nest: 65 000 000 BC
It was a great deal windier than Frog remembered. It wasn't enough to stop him but with the cold air, it certainly wasn't comfortable either. Ayla and Vrath didn't seem to be enjoying the wind much either but if it was bothering Magus, nothing in his demeanor showed it.
Though Magus was technically human, Frog genuinely wondered whether he actually felt anything at all. Yes, he'd helped to defeat Lavos, he'd been searching for his sister and had now fully immersed himself in finding this strange stone, but Frog couldn't help wonder if he was doing these things because they were right or for a less noble reason.
Had he fought Lavos because of the evil it would do to the world, or was he simply seeking revenge for the destruction of his childhood home? Was he seeking out his sister out of concern for her well-being or simply to recover something that was his? And most importantly, was he seeking out this stone to ensure the universe's safety or because he wanted it for himself?
Frog knew well that someone who was doing the right thing for all the wrong reasons warranted close scrutiny, because if they ever decided they could benefit more from doing the wrong thing, they would. If they managed to find all of these fragments, Frog certainly wasn't going to trust someone like Magus with them.
And if Magus hath any aspirations of taking them, Frog thought, the only thing he shall receive is a well earned death.
Ora Settlement: 150 AD
Though she'd aged at least a good twenty years since they'd last seen her, the smile Schala gave her friends made her appear as beautiful as when they'd met her. The first few moments were spent exchanging hugs and greetings while Lord Arvel looked on proudly. For a few moments, the four time travelers were able to forget the danger they were in and enjoy a reunion with an old friend. Schala herself was amazed to see Crono alive and well, prompting Marle to explain about their adventure on Death Peak.
Though the four had questions of their own on their mind, it was Lucca, the most curious who first voiced them
"So when Lavos destroyed Zeal, you were thrown forward to this century, am I right?"
Schala nodded her head. "I arrived on one of the southern continents. It was a few years before I managed to adapt. A few years after that I met Arvel." Schala looked glowingly at her husband. "These days I hardly give any thought to Zeal or my time there, but I always hoped to see you again."
"I guess Magus will be happiest to see you." said Crono.
"Who?" asked Schala.
Marle and Lucca looked at each other. "That's right. She doesn't know. You knew him as-"
"Lord Arvel! Lord Arvel!" One of the guard rushed into house, gasping for air.
Arvel, switching pride to concern, asked, "what's wrong? What is it?"
"Baron...Tos, sir." the guard gasped. "He's here."
The warmth immediately drained from Arvel's face. "What could he want?"
"He said... if you have any hope of peace you must see him at once." The exhausted guard answered.
Arvel shook his head. "I guess I'd better see him then." He then turned to the four time travelers. "You'd better hide. I'd rather not have to try and explain the four of you to him."
As Arvel and the guard stepped outside, Schala ushered the four into Arvel's bedroom.
"I do not understand, Schala." said Robo. "Who is this Baron Tos individual?"
Schala sighed. "He's the leader of the neighboring Enko settlement. Both sets of colonists arrived at about the same time and there have been tension between us since then. I'm not sure how or why it started but it's getting serious. If Arvel can't reason with Tos, we may end up going to war."
Lucca rolled her eyes. "Great. We can't get caught in a war now. We have to find a way out of here and fix the damage that Tempus person has done to our time."
Schala slowly closed the door on them. "I promise I'll help you with that but for now, please lay low and keep quiet. Tos is paranoid enough as it is without us having to explain time travelers to him!"
After closing the door, Schala calmly walked out of the house and into the woods. "And don't be in such a hurry to face Tempus, Lucca," she whispered quietly to herself. "You have no idea what you're getting into."
Dactyl Nest: 65 000 000 BC
"I can feel it." Magus whispered. "We're very close."
"That's good, I suppose." said Vrath. "What are to do with this piece when we find it."
"Throw in volcano!" said Ayla. "Bad man can't use rock if rock melted."
Magus sighed impatiently "You can't get rid of the Genesis Rock that easily! It's too powerful! I'll take it Melchoir. He'll know what do."
"YOU'LL take it Melchoir?" Frog glared at Magus.
"I don't care if you come or not!" snapped Magus. "But anyone know how to get rid of this thing, he can."
"Excuse me." said Vrath. "But don't we have to find it first?"
Magus and Frog gave each other a menacing look and then resumed walking.
A few meters further, Magus stopped. "It's here." he said, simply.
"Where?" asked Frog.
Magus looked around at the ground around him. "Right under us. Start digging!"
Immediately, the four got on their hands and knees and started tearing away at clumps of dirt. Ayla, easily the best digger of the four was tossing huge chunks aside when she stopped. "Me find something!" she cried out.
Magus, Frog and Vrath gathered around Ayla's hole and she held up a small white rock.
"That's it." Magus said, hoarsely. "We should go now. The one who took the last piece might--"
"Might what, Janus?" a raspy voice behind them asked. "Following you? I would think after our last encounter you would have learned your lesson."
Magus managed a slight smile as he turned around. "My teachers always said I was a troublesome student."
Frog stared at the hooded figure approaching them. "Who art thou? State thy name!"
"My name is Tempus. Your friend here had an unpleasant run-in with me before, but apparently it didn't sink in." The figure raised both hands as blue bolts of energy shot from one to the other. "I guess I'll have to teach you again."
"That was one on one. You might not fare so well against four." He turned to see Frog, Ayla and Vrath and ready to fight.
Magus just barely made out a grin on the hooded figure's face. "We'll see." Instantly, one of the bolts from Tempus' hands shot out, knocking Ayla and Frog down. Immediately, Vrath ran at Tempus with the club he was holding. "I hate to do this to such a handsome face but…" Suddenly Vrath found himself levitating off the ground. Sudden an invisible force pitched him against a large rock.
Desperate, Magus blasted Tempus with a double dose of Dark Matter. It simply reflected back at him, driving the wizard to his knees.
"So much for four against one." Tempus sneered.
"Who are you?" Magus choked. "What are you?"
"You want to know? Why not?" Tempus chuckled as the raspy voice turned to a distinctly feminine one.
As Tempus' hood was pulled away, the face they saw made Magus, Frog, Ayla, and Vrath all draw breath. She was slightly older than when they'd last seen her in Zeal, but it was unmistakably her.
Smiling cruelly at each of them, she sneered "It's so good to see you all again."
Magus' jaw dropped. "Schala?"
Next: Think you have all the answers? Think again!