CHAPTER 10

LARAI CAVE

"So, you say you're from the prehistoric..." Everhart said after the entire group had reconvened at the place Everhart had appointed.

"Yes," Ayla answered. "Ayla chief of Ioka Village, fight Reptites and help Crono beat Lavos!"

"You do realize that not one of us understands a word that you said," Ovelia muttered.

"Sorry," Ayla chuckled.

"Ayla's pledged us her full support," Ramza said. "I think she's trustworthy."

"I think she's cute, heh heh heh..." Seifer snickered.

"I wouldn't flirt with her if I were you," Alma said. "Look at what she did to the Stone Dragon."

Seifer glanced down at the huge, dragon-shaped crater on the beach below and promptly shut up.

"So you're not really all that anxious to go back to your own time?" Orlandu asked.

"Ayla go many times. It not that big a deal any more," Ayla said as she shrugged.

"Auuoo?" Gau asked as he skittered up to Ayla.

"Err, Gau..." Celes gulped.

"Uwaaauuu! Aooohh! I'm Gau!" Gau said. "I'm your friend! Let's travel together!"

"Hmm," Ayla said. "Now him Ayla can relate to."

Ayla got down on all fours and started sniffing Gau, who in turn sniffed her.

"They kind of remind me of Morpeus and Aigparn," Orlandu said.

"Who are those?" Ovelia asked.

"My two dogs," Orlandu chuckled.

"OK, you two, wrap it up," Tifa said as each of the two wild people took an interest in less-than-appropriate areas of the other's body.

"What do we do now, Everhart?" Ramza asked.

"Our destination is inside that cave," Everhart said as he pointed to a dark and ominous-looking cave in the side of the mountain. It yawned wide open as if it were about to suck Ramza and his friends in.

"In there?" Alma asked.

"Of course," Amarant muttered. "You've always gotta go through a dark cave."

"Are you sure we have to go through that cave?" Celes asked.

"Not 'through,'" Everhart said. "'Into.' Our destination is inside the cave."

"Inside the cave, huh?" Seifer asked. "Piece of cake."

"The destination is heavily guarded and very dangerous," Everhart said. "Ramza, come with me. We shall clear the way for the others."

"But..." Alma said. "...Just two of you? That's pretty tough..."

"Alma's right," Ramza said before he stepped into the cave. "Orlandu, Ovelia, Alma, you guys come with us. The rest of you stay out here until we call you on the Whisper Grass."

"All right," Cloud said. "Be careful, Ramza."

"We'll just sit here and wait," Celes said as she sat down on a soft spot of dirt.

"Auuooo!" Gau howled.

"Catch ya later," Amarant said with a devil-may-care wave of his hand.

Ramza, Everhart, Orlandu, Alma and Ovelia walked into the mouth of the cave and into unknown darkness.


Adela sat cross-legged in the snow in the Zeltennia Church Ruins. She had her eyes closed and was holding a mysterious katana with both of her hands. She chanted something softly, and the katana began to glow a faint blue. The March winds blew softly, carrying the mixed scents of winter and spring. Adela's golden hair rose and fell softly in the breeze.

A quiet 'crunch' was heard. Quicker than it takes to write it, Adela stood up, whipped around and held the katana at the neck of the person who had made the sound. Of course, when she opened her eyes, she lowered the blade.

"Oh... Silas," Adela said as she recognized the hoodless ninja.

"Adela," Silas said, nodding in acknowledgement. "...What are you doing out here? It's cold."

"I need a cold temperature to practice," Adela said.

"...That's an interesting katana," Silas said as he looked at the sword in Adela's hand. It was etched with several archaic runes. "What's its name? Is it the Masamune?"

"It has no name," Adela answered. "This sword came from the unknown... and it will return to the unknown when its task is completed."

"Task?" Silas asked. "You speak in riddles, Adela."

"I'm preparing for my strongest attack," Adela answered. "This katana will let me use it."

"Your strongest spell?" Silas asked. "What's it called?"

"It, like the sword, doesn't have a name," Adela answered. "But the spell is so powerful, using it could mean killing myself in the process."

"You're going to put your spirit into that thing?!" Silas gasped. "That's insane!"

"I must do what I can," Adela said as she sheathed the blade.

"...That's for... him, isn't it?" Silas asked. Silas had been Adela's traveling companion for several years, and he knew that she didn't take a lot of risks unless they were really important.

"..." Adela said, lowering her gaze.

Silas shook his head. "Law doesn't love you, Adela," he finally said. "He's just using you for cheap help."

"LIAR!!!" Adela yelled angrily as she whipped around to face Silas, but he was no longer there. Adela was once again alone in the church ruins.

"He does love me... he does..." Adela murmured sadly before resuming her cross-legged position on the ground.


"Well, this has been uneventful so far," Orlandu said as the five adventurers walked through the dank and dismal cave. Nothing could be seen anywhere inside the area. Everhart, who seemed to know where they were going, led the way, and Ramza and the others held hands to keep from being separated. Everhart was in front, followed by Ramza, Alma, Ovelia and finally Orlandu.

"Darkness all around..." Alma said. "This is just like the dream I had..."

" The one brought on by the Knightmare?" Everhart asked.

"Uh-huh," Alma said as her grip on Ramza and Ovelia's hands tightened.

"Knightmare?" Ramza asked. "What's that, Alma?"

"Oh, I never told you?" Alma asked. "Sorry, Ramza. It's nothing to worry about."

"Well, all right..." Ramza said as they continued to walk through the inky void.

"Our way of leaving Steronn is at the end of this tunnel," Everhart explained as they walked.

"Then what?" Orlandu asked.

"We must go and collect all the Zodiac Stones," Everhart continued. "You have all of the Chinese Zodiac Stones, but we must still gather the Chrono Stones and the original Zodiac Stones."

"I've got Taurus," Ramza said. "But that's it..."

"After we have the stones, Delita will no longer be a threat to the world," Everhart said. "That is when my mission will be complete."

"You'll leave us?..." Alma asked.

"..." Everhart said.

"You know, you sure keep us in the dark about a lot of things," Ovelia said. "...No pun intended."

"What do you mean?" Everhart asked.

"You're very vague," Orlandu elaborated. "You tell us as much as we need to know and then you get quiet. What's the deal? Why are you helping us? What is your mission?"

"All will be made clear eventually..." Everhart answered. Orlandu, rolling his eyes in frustration, grew silent.

The party journeyed onward through the void. After about half an hour of walking, Ovelia tried to strike up a conversation. "Why do you think temporal rifts are opening up?" she asked.

"I'd think it's because there are two Rooster Stones in the same dimension," Alma said. "Having the exact same item in two places at once must throw the entire universe into disorder."

"You are partly correct," Everhart said. "The disorder only occurrs when one of the stones is used to travel between destinations in the same time. Once that happens, the world becomes disjointed and chaotic, which in turn affects other worlds and dimensions as well."

"Like the worlds that Cloud, Celes, Seifer and Ayla came from?" Ovelia asked.

"All the evidence seems to point to Delita being the catalyst," Orlandu said. "I suppose since he set off this whole thing, Delita could be referred to as the 'Chrono Trigger.'"

"That's exactly what he is," Everhart said. "But try not to use the name too often... We're trying to stick with one game storyline."

"Amen to that," Ramza sighed.

"Delita..." Ovelia sighed sadly. "What made you turn out like this?..."

"We already know," Alma answered.

"Oh, yeah," Ovelia gulped. "I forgot."

"There's a first," Orlandu muttered sarcastically.

"I HEARD that," Ovelia snapped. "It may be pitch black in here, but my hearing's as good as always!"

"Shhh!" Everhart hissed. Everyone quieted quickly. A faint humming sound could be heard from further inside the cave.

"What's that?..." Ramza asked.

"Our destination," Everhart answered as he began to walk again.

"It almost sounds like machinery," Orlandu said as he strained his ears to listen.

"But Steronn is deserted!" Ovelia protested. "Who put the machines here?!"

"Watch your step," Everhart said. The millisecond after he said this everyone felt the floor drop out from underneath them. With a lot of screaming and yelling, the party slid down a long, spiraling slide. They shot through the darkness like bullets, not knowing where they would end up.

"AAAAHHHHH!!!" Ovelia shouted.

"Whatever's down here, it's throwing goo at us!" Orlandu yelled.

"Sorry, that was me vomiting!" Alma yelled back.

After thrity more terrifying seconds, everyone crashed down into something soft and wet.

"We're here," Everhart announced as he stood up, not even panting in terror from the pitch-black slide ride he had come from.

"Where's 'here?'" Ramza asked as he got up.

"What did we land in?" Alma asked. "It feels pretty gooey..."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it's all the stuff we regurgitated on the ride down here," Ovelia muttered.

"I'm going to turn on the light," Everhart said. "Close one eye."

Everyone did such, and suddenly the room was flooded with light. Everyone winced as the lights shot out, but when their initial shock dissipated, they looked around and were amazed.

The room was built purely of metal; several colors and textures of it could be seen throughout the room. In front of the group stood a large, yellow door. A huge, red slide was behind them, probably the slide they had come down. In the landing spot beneath the slide there was a thin film of water.

"So, that's what it was..." Orlandu said as he looked down at his pants.

"What IS this place, Everhart?" Alma asked.

"This is the entryway," Everhart said.

"...Well..." Ramza started. "...What is it the entryway to?"

"Beyond that door are the ruins to the most advanced civilization in this world," Everhart explained. "The lost city of Juraian... A relic from St. Ajora's period."

"Juraian..." Ramza said. "I remember seeing that name somewhere before..."

"So, how advanced is this place, anyway?" Alma asked.

"In this city, a robot like Worker No.8 would be obselete," Everhart summarized.

"Oh," Orlandu said. "...That's pretty advanced."

"But why are we here?" Ovelia asked.

"To find the way back to Zeratul and Ivalice," Everhart said. "There is a way..."

"So, what do we-" Ramza started to say. He was interrupted by a bunch of screams and yells.

"What in blazes?!" Orlandu asked.

Everyone looked up in time to see Worker No.8, Cloud, Tifa, Seifer, Celes, Gau, Amarant and Ayla come zipping down the slide and crashing into the puddle on the floor. Everyone was thrown into a giant mass of thrashing limbs and loud profanities.

"That fun!" Ayla cheered.

"Again! Again!" Gau yelled.

"Ugh..." Cloud groaned. "My hair's definitely not going to be spikey now..."

"My shirt ripped!" Tifa cried.

"What else is new?!" Seifer asked crossly.

"What are you all doing here?" Ramza asked.

"Your tin pet here wandered into the cave by himself 'cuz he was worried," Amarant muttered. "Nobody was going to follow him, so we all went."

We fell down this slide, and here we are," Celes said. "I was gonna contact you with the Whisper Grass, but..."

"(BURP)" Ayla belched. "Taste like grass!"

"I see," Ovelia muttered.

"Taste like chicken!" Ayla declared.

"You all must wait here until we're ready to get you," Everhart said. "Having more than five people wandering around Juraian will attract the security system's attention."

"See?" Seifer said. "I told you they wouldn't let us come!"

"Oh, dry up," Celes muttered.

"Here," Ramza said as he gave Cloud another strand of Whisper Grass. "Don't let Ayla near it this time."

"Got it!" Cloud said.

"Awww..." Ayla groaned.

"Come," Everhart said as he hit a button near the door. The door slid open and Ramza, Alma, Orlandu, Ovelia and he walked through into the ancient city of Juraian.


The ancient city was tremendous. Built in a football-field-sized man-made cave were rows upon rows of huge, metallic buildings. They stretched up towards the craggy ceiling, and some even touched the rocky surface. The whirring and clicking of many machines could be heard.

"If this city's supposed to be lost, why are all these machines working?" Alma asked.

Everhart looked genuinely surprised. "There must be someone else here," he said as he readied his spear.

"What was that thing you were talking about?" Orlandu asked. "The, uh, security system?"

"Yes," Everhart said. "Why?"

"...Are those part of it?" Orlandu asked as he pointed to two huge, robotic giants that were lumbering towards the group, holding huge laser cannons in their shiny hands.

"Yes," Everhart said as he leaped into the air and soared towards the mechanical beasts.

"We'd better help!" Alma said as she ran forwards and confronted the giants.

"MBarrier!" Ovelia shouted as she threw her arms ceilingward, and everyone was surrounded in mystical barriers.

"Machines hate electricity..." Orlandu said as he readied his sword. "LIGHTNING STAB!!!" He swung his sword and huge bolts rained down on the beasts, short-circuiting one of them.

"ENERGY CANNON!!!" the remaining giant wailed in a monotone voice, and the laser cannon fired a gigantic red ray. It hit the ground and dirt and debris started shooting up into the sky.

"Look out!" Ramza yelled as he pushed Ovelia to the side and then ran at the machine. "DASH!!!" he cried, and collided with the robot's left leg.

"If you destroy the legs, the rest of it will be useless," Everhart said. "Keep it up, Ramza!"

"Take this!" Ovelia shouted as she smacked her Gold Staff against the beast's left leg over and over.

"HOLY EXPLOSION!!!" Orlandu yelled as he launched a divine attack. The blast completely disintegrated the left leg, and the robot started to fall down.

"Uh-oh..." Ramza gulped. Alma was standing right in the path of the toppling machine. "ALMA, RUN!!!" he yelled.

"Huh?..." Alma asked as she looked up and saw the falling robot. Her eyes got big, and she covered her head with her hands in a futile attempt to stop it from crushing her. It fell down... down... down...

There was a huge CRASH and dust flew up everywhere. When the dust cleared, the huge robot lay in pieces all over where it had fallen. Everhart was gone, too.

"ALMA!!!" Ramza yelled.

"Alma..." Ovelia gulped.

"Oh, no..." Orlandu said.

"Over here, guys!"

Everyone looked over to the left. Alma was safe and sound, in the arms of Everhart. He had jumped down and grabbed her seconds before the robot had hit the ground.

"Thank goodness, Alma!" Ramza said as the threesome ran over to the black-armored Lancer and his load.

"Thank you, Everhart," Alma said as she got out of his arms.

"You are welcome," Everhart responded. "We must hurry and get to the airfield. Our exit awaits us there."

"The airfield?" Orlandu asked. "...I think I know where this is going."

Ramza and company followed Everhart through the city towards the airfield, dodging some robot guards and destroying others.

"You weren't kidding about the security system!" Orlandu exclaimed as he destroyed another robot with a Stasis Sword attack.

"The Juraians were very protective of their inventions," Everhart said as he thrust his spear through a rotary cannon.

"Where IS the airfield, anyway?" Ovelia asked.

"...There," Everhart said as he pointed straight ahead.

The airfield was a huge, flat space in the cavern with several small buildings (they looked to be hangars) dotted around it. Everhart ran towards the biggest hangar on the field, and the rest of the group decided to follow him. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing.

"What's in here, Everhart?" Alma asked as they arrived at the hangar.

"Our exit vehicle," Everhart said as he opened the doors and everyone walked in. When they saw what was inside, they gasped in awe.

The hangar was storing a gigantic, metal airship. This airship was far larger than the one Davis had used; it had at least three floors, a solid metal exterior, rocket engines on the balloon and what looked like a large cannon on the front.

"THAT'S what we're here for?" Orlandu asked. "Goodness gracious!"

"Come," Everhart said, giving the slightest hint of a grin on his face. "We must turn it on, get your friends and fly for Zeratul."

"Right!" Ramza, Alma, Ovelia and Orlandu all said simultaneously.

Everyone ran up to a ladder that connected the airship to the ground and got inside the ship.

If the outside of the ship looked impressive, the inside was even moreso. Velvet carpeting adorned the floors and gold paint covered the walls. There were all sorts of objects in the airship that none of Ramza's friends had ever seen before, but that will be explained later.

"I will start the airship," Everhart said as he rushed into the frontal compartment.

The frontal compartment, also known as the control room, was very intimidating to anyone who didn't have a degree in engineering. Flashing buttons and levers adorned all four surfaces of the room, and they all beeped and blipped every few seconds.

"Woah..." Ovelia gasped. "I'm dizzy..."

"Join the club," Orlandu grumbled.

"Engaging thrusters," Everhart said as he began hitting buttons and pulling levers. "Fuel intake normal. Velocity is constant. This ship is airworthy. Liftoff!"

Everhart reached for a long, red lever that was to the left of the chair that sat in the center of all the buttons. He grabbed it and yanked back. The airship have a hiccuping motion, and then began to move forward at a steady pace.

"We're flying!" Alma exclaimed. "Wonderful job, Everhart!!!"

Suddenly, a huge THUD was heard on the top of the airship. "We're not safe yet..." Everhart said. "Go and see what that sound was. I must get us out into the open."

Ramza, Orlandu, Alma and Ovelia rushed up the three floors and arrived on the top deck. The huge, gray balloon floated above them like a carnival ride. "So, what made that noise?" Ramza asked.

"I knew you'd show up..."

"That voice..." Alma gulped. "It's so familiar..."

"It should be, Beoulves..."

Everyone looked toward where the voice was coming from. A hulking, greenish-gray lion beast was standing on the airship deck. He looked awful; there were lacerations and holes all over him, and some sort of brown goo dribbled onto the deck where he was standing.

"Hashmalum!" Orlandu cried.

"I came back from the Realm of the Dead just to fight you, Ramza..." Hashmalum growled. "Prepare to meet your doom!"

"I guess we'll just have to deal with him again," Ramza said as he drew his Chaos Blade.

"But with only four of us?" Ovelia asked. "And on a moving airship?"

"I'm coming, master!!!"

Everyone turned around to see Worker No.8 running alongside the airship. With one swift motion, his feet became springs and he launched himself up onto the deck. "I shall assist in the battle, master!" Worker No.8 beeped.

"Worker No.8!" Ramza exclaimed.

"Good man," Orlandu said. "Let's go!"

"I have much stronger attacks this time..." Hashmalum growled. "ZOMBREATH!!!"

"Woah!" Alma cried as Hashmalum spewed a huge cloud of green gas into the air. It flew into the faces of Ramza and company, and everyone but Worker No.8 fell over.

"Graaagh!" Orlandu cursed. "Goodness, he's strong!"

"That was awful!" Alma cried. "Hasn't he heard of mouthwash?!"

"We must fight back!" Ovelia said. "MBARRIER!!!" She cast the mystical shield over her friends once again.

"CRUSH!!!" Worker No.8 blipped as his chest compartment opened up and he fired a blast from his cannon. The attack went straight through Hashmalum and made a huge hole. Dead skin and brown goo oozed out of the hole.

"Ewww..." Alma choked.

"I am undead, fools," Hashmalum laughed. "And in this cave of darkness, I am invincible!!!"

"HOLY EXPLOSION!!!" Orlandu shouted as he swung his sword and sent the holy ray into Hashmalum. The beast just shrugged it off and launched another ZomBreath attack.

"Eyyyyahhhh!!!" Ovelia cried as she fell to the ground. "I don't feel well..."

"He's too strong..." Alma sighed.

"He's invincible in the darkness..." Ramza repeated to himself. Suddenly, his face lit up. "Alma, go tell Everhart to fly out of the cave!"

"What?" Alma asked.

"Just DO IT!" Ramza yelled.

"OK, brother!" Alma said as she ran back down into the ship. Thirty seconds later, the airship's huge cannon charged up and fired into the cavern wall. A gigantic hole formed, and the airship flew out into the blue sky.

"AAAAHHHHH!!!" Hashmalum roared as he covered his eyes. "THE LIGHT!!! NO!!!"

"I think he's mortal now..." Orlandu said, grinning. "SPLIT PUNCH!!!"

The black sword attack shot up out of the deck and knocked Hashmalum flat on his back.

"Genocide Mode!" Worker No.8 beeped as he ran up and punched Hashmalum in the face. The monster lion flew backwards and landed in front of Ramza.

"Time to end this!" Ramza said as he thrust his Chaos Blade into Hashmalum's stomach. The undead Lucavi shrieked horribly and shattered into a million pieces like a glass figurine.

"Whew..." Ovelia panted.

"Success!" Orlandu said as he raised Excalibur in victory.

"Is everyone all right?" Worker No.8 asked.

"We'd better go back and get the others," Ramza said.

Ramza and his friends climbed back down to the bottom floor and walked into the control room. Everhart and Alma were there waiting for them.

"You defeated Hashmalum?" Everhart asked. "Well done."

"Let's go back and get our friends," Ovelia said.

"As you wish," Everhart said as he made the airship do a u-turn and fly back into the cave. They landed the ship outside the slide entrance (they knocked down a few buildings in the process, but the ship wasn't damaged). Everhart hit a red button on the control panel.

"What's that button for?" Ovelia asked.

A loud HONK was heard echoing through the whole cavern.

"...The horn," Everhart said.


"Man, you weren't kiddin' when you said this was our ticket offa this rock!" Seifer exclaimed as everyone got onto the ship and it lifted off. It flew out of the cave and over the deep blue ocean.

"We have iron bird!" Ayla cheered. "It much bigger than Epoch. How fast it fly?"

"Amazing," Celes gasped. "It's much larger than the Falcon."

"Auuoooo!!!" Gau roared in approval.

"Wow," Amarant said.

"It's beautiful..." Tifa said.

"What's it named?" Cloud asked.

"Does it have a name, Everhart?" Ramza asked.

"This was the Juraian Queen's personal airship," Everhart said. "I believe it was named 'Cassiopeia.'"

"Cassiopeia..." Ovelia said. "That's a perfect name!"

"All right!" Seifer said. "A girl's name! Cassiopeia rocks!"

"Now the real adventure begins," Ramza said. "We must find my friends, free them from Delita's spell and then defeat him and his new friends..."

"You helped us, Ramza," Celes said. "Now it's our turn to help you."

"What about you, Everhart?" Alma asked.

"I have a mission to complete," Everhart answered. "I will remain with you until it is finished."

"That's great! Uh, I mean... Good," Alma said, trying to hide the blush on her face.

"All right, then!" Orlandu said. "Forward, Cassiopeia!"

Everhart pushed the accelerator down and Cassiopeia flew across the ocean towards the continent of Zeratul.