c h r o n o c r a s h
By FL#2
(Hikaru-chan64@msn.com)
AIM screen name: Sergiekins
Chapter 14: Hopping
Disclaimer: I do not own Chrono Cross, or anything related to it. Square owns it not me, so don't even think of getting me in trouble. * = Author's note
*Well, chapter 13 was short. This one is weird, and a little longer. And yes, the chapter title IS supposed to be "Hopping" as in you "hop." A lot of people spell "hoping" like that, so I had to make sure you knew. -_-;; Anyway, a twist chapter.*
After a few minor things had been settled, like calming the students down and convincing them into thinking that the whole mess was just a rehearsal for a "school play", everyone was herded back into the school building. What was extremely strange, was that Karsh, Riddel, and Glenn had arrived at the school that morning early, and had been waiting for everyone to come inside, without even realizing what was happening. Needless to say, they were not too happy...
"What?!" Karsh's fist hit the gray lunch table, rattling all the food and plates, as well as all those who sat there. "Lynx was here?! And we didn't even get told!" his voice was deep and almost hurt, but his anger overwhelmed all other emotions that were struggling to come through at the time.
Kidd pushed her half-chewed noodles down her throat, glaring at Karsh. "Aye, we thought ye weren't here yet, do ye think we coulda gone lookin' for ye anyway?"
Karsh's sigh was rough and flustered, as he leaned back slightly and crossed his arms. "I guess you're right, but I still feel so... useless. What I'm trying to say is, is that I'm frustrated because I'm not getting any action."
Glenn chuckled from across the table. "Yeah, you're not 'getting some' in more than one category..."
Serge's eyes bulged as he started to laugh from Glenn's statement on Karsh's sex-life status, trying to keep the soda that was so close to being sprayed out by his ever-overcoming laughter. Kidd's mirth echoed far into the commons as Karsh's head turned into an over-sized cherry with purple hair and eyes.
"This isn't about THAT! This is a real serious thing for me!!"
Serge finally was able to compose himself and swallowed his soda. He let out a breath and grinned at Karsh. "Yeah, I thought maybe Riddel was your honey in this life, but I guess it was never meant to be."
Karsh sweat-dropped and averted his eyes from Serge's. "Sh-she's grading tests this period, it's her free one..."
Kidd poked Karsh's arm, her sea-foam eyes narrowed at his, piercing through his thin defenses. "This is YER free period too, isn't it? Why aren't ye gradin' papers too?"
Karsh coughed and turned his eyes away from Kidd's to meet Serge's again. "So, what did he say to you, junior?"
Serge stared at Karsh for a few moments, his orchid eyes seeming to glaze over. Thoughts, and doubts, and fears began to run through his mind rapidly and just while they were at their crest, his eyes blurred suddenly. His hearing became muffled, but he could make-out Kidd's voice yelling to him, and he looked up. The others were also yelling at him, frantic looks overcoming their faces. Kidd's hand reached out to him, but as reached out to catch it, all went black. *** He found himself to be in an inky, black void. He took a few steps forward, trying to figure out what this place was. He felt open, free, and it seemed all of his other senses had vanished. He took another step, and an inferno of fear began to spark inside his chest, as he watched an outer one begin to burn outside of him. He appeared to be in raging battlefield in the middle of a city, but no ordinary one, mind you. Its structure, Serge thought, almost seemed to be... organic. The colors of sea corals and white foam could still be seen through the inferno of burning buildings and the entire city seemed to be made of the material. As he studied his surroundings, even through the clashing of metal swords and spears, he saw a tall central structure jutting from a main square where a fountain, which was now gushing bloody water from all the strewn bodies in it's beautiful architecture. The tower seemed incredibly familiar to Serge, with a head resembling a bird, and thick wings shaped to be almost like feathers to match, and multi-colored vines and mosses hung like ornaments off of it's limbs. It seemed to be the only untouched structure, giving off a sense as if all that burned at that moment was not burning in vain, and that there would be a victory for whatever came to it's glossy gates. Serge's attention was quickly torn away from the immense tower, as he found that he was now flying towards the fountain as his chest received a strong blow. He smashed into the bodies of other battling soldiers, crashing into the bloody water with a disgusting stench of rotting flesh filling his nostrils. He gasped as the shadow of the being that had thrown him so far back hung over him like a black veil in the sharp light of the flames. The being seemed to be a man, but his head was that of a lizard. His bulky muscles were bare as he wore barely any armor, or clothes for that matter. The slits of his burning orange eyes narrowed as he began to scream at Serge in a language he could not understand. Through the cries of the dying, and the hissing of the lizard-man's tongue against its lips, Serge could only make out the word "Terra" and something that sounded close to "human". Serge stared, wide-eyed at the lizard-man, now realizing that he was covered from head to toe in strange armor that covered almost every inch of his body, and that those around him, who's swords, spears, and to his surprise, and abundance of swallows, clashed together, were all human against lizard. He swiveled his head jerkily up to gaze at the tower again, and he realized where he was. The very tower that stood before him, was none other than Terra Tower. In its rightful form and place, Azalea's Kingdom, Dinopolis. The lizard-man stopped screaming at the helpless Serge and pointed his golden-bladed sword to Serge's bare throat. Serge found he did not have a weapon, he didn't move, however, in fear that the lizard-man would slit him open. Then, as the lizard-man was about to utter something, a voice- called out.
"HERE!!"
As if from nowhere, a large swallow was flying through the air to Serge, where his hands met and caught the gargantuan weapon. Within a split second, Serge rolled away from the lizard-man, swiping the hand that grasped the golden sword. The sword flew into the air as the lizard-man fell back, shrieking in pain, squeezing his bloody hand. Serge rolled back away from the lizard-man, water and blood sloshing everywhere and getting the few strands of hair that stuck from on out his helmet wet. Standing strongly, Serge whipped the swallow through the air, signaling to his enemy that he was going to fight. The lizard-man glared up at Serge, still gripping his hand. Releasing the wounded hand, the lizard-man reached to his hilt, slipping out an identical sword to the one he had used before. He yelled something to Serge in his lizard-tongue, Serge heard the word that sounded like 'human' again. He pointed his sword at Serge and stood still for a moment, he then lunged towards Serge, howling the 'human' word. Serge swiftly blocked his attacks, flipping both ends of the swallow to stop the attempted uppercuts and the like. As the two fought, some of the human soldiers began to notice the young, blue-haired boy. Some of them uttering phrase like: "...he fights really well with a swallow..." "...almost to well..." "... he's almost like him..." "... the servant becomes the master at the hand of thine swallow..."
Serge paid little attention to them, and as he swung a powerful blow to clear the lizard-man's head clear off, everything went black all around him again. He felt naked again, and his hearing and all other senses were cut off as well. He tried to step forward, but he found himself to be on his back. His hearing slowly came back to him, the splashing of waves against a shore rung in his ears like a siren's song, and the call of gulls came from above him. He pried his eyes open, only to squint them closed again as the bright, burning rays of the sun blinded him. He wearily opened them again, letting his eyes focus and adjust to the bright light. The sapphire sky smiled back at him, it's hair the thick white clouds and the sun it's smile. He felt a calming breeze press against his bare flesh, like a cool breath from spring's lungs. But, his comfort died as he tried to move, and found he couldn't. His muscles ached and his joints locked when he tried, and he found himself, floating in the sea without anyway to swim to shore. His skin burned, and looked down at himself and found that he had been badly sun burnt, his skin had actually begun to form blisters on the most exposed areas. He began to breath quickly as his mind began to panic. Heat and sun exposure. Blisters. Sore muscles and joints. And no way of getting to a shore. He stared up at the beating sun and listened to sloshing of the waves. He was lulled by the cool water and the cry of the gulls. He forgot who he was. He forgot what everything was, and let himself sleep. *** End of Chapter 14 *** *Boy howdy. I finished it in one sitting. And all for you guys. ^_^*
Chapter 14: Hopping
Disclaimer: I do not own Chrono Cross, or anything related to it. Square owns it not me, so don't even think of getting me in trouble. * = Author's note
*Well, chapter 13 was short. This one is weird, and a little longer. And yes, the chapter title IS supposed to be "Hopping" as in you "hop." A lot of people spell "hoping" like that, so I had to make sure you knew. -_-;; Anyway, a twist chapter.*
After a few minor things had been settled, like calming the students down and convincing them into thinking that the whole mess was just a rehearsal for a "school play", everyone was herded back into the school building. What was extremely strange, was that Karsh, Riddel, and Glenn had arrived at the school that morning early, and had been waiting for everyone to come inside, without even realizing what was happening. Needless to say, they were not too happy...
"What?!" Karsh's fist hit the gray lunch table, rattling all the food and plates, as well as all those who sat there. "Lynx was here?! And we didn't even get told!" his voice was deep and almost hurt, but his anger overwhelmed all other emotions that were struggling to come through at the time.
Kidd pushed her half-chewed noodles down her throat, glaring at Karsh. "Aye, we thought ye weren't here yet, do ye think we coulda gone lookin' for ye anyway?"
Karsh's sigh was rough and flustered, as he leaned back slightly and crossed his arms. "I guess you're right, but I still feel so... useless. What I'm trying to say is, is that I'm frustrated because I'm not getting any action."
Glenn chuckled from across the table. "Yeah, you're not 'getting some' in more than one category..."
Serge's eyes bulged as he started to laugh from Glenn's statement on Karsh's sex-life status, trying to keep the soda that was so close to being sprayed out by his ever-overcoming laughter. Kidd's mirth echoed far into the commons as Karsh's head turned into an over-sized cherry with purple hair and eyes.
"This isn't about THAT! This is a real serious thing for me!!"
Serge finally was able to compose himself and swallowed his soda. He let out a breath and grinned at Karsh. "Yeah, I thought maybe Riddel was your honey in this life, but I guess it was never meant to be."
Karsh sweat-dropped and averted his eyes from Serge's. "Sh-she's grading tests this period, it's her free one..."
Kidd poked Karsh's arm, her sea-foam eyes narrowed at his, piercing through his thin defenses. "This is YER free period too, isn't it? Why aren't ye gradin' papers too?"
Karsh coughed and turned his eyes away from Kidd's to meet Serge's again. "So, what did he say to you, junior?"
Serge stared at Karsh for a few moments, his orchid eyes seeming to glaze over. Thoughts, and doubts, and fears began to run through his mind rapidly and just while they were at their crest, his eyes blurred suddenly. His hearing became muffled, but he could make-out Kidd's voice yelling to him, and he looked up. The others were also yelling at him, frantic looks overcoming their faces. Kidd's hand reached out to him, but as reached out to catch it, all went black. *** He found himself to be in an inky, black void. He took a few steps forward, trying to figure out what this place was. He felt open, free, and it seemed all of his other senses had vanished. He took another step, and an inferno of fear began to spark inside his chest, as he watched an outer one begin to burn outside of him. He appeared to be in raging battlefield in the middle of a city, but no ordinary one, mind you. Its structure, Serge thought, almost seemed to be... organic. The colors of sea corals and white foam could still be seen through the inferno of burning buildings and the entire city seemed to be made of the material. As he studied his surroundings, even through the clashing of metal swords and spears, he saw a tall central structure jutting from a main square where a fountain, which was now gushing bloody water from all the strewn bodies in it's beautiful architecture. The tower seemed incredibly familiar to Serge, with a head resembling a bird, and thick wings shaped to be almost like feathers to match, and multi-colored vines and mosses hung like ornaments off of it's limbs. It seemed to be the only untouched structure, giving off a sense as if all that burned at that moment was not burning in vain, and that there would be a victory for whatever came to it's glossy gates. Serge's attention was quickly torn away from the immense tower, as he found that he was now flying towards the fountain as his chest received a strong blow. He smashed into the bodies of other battling soldiers, crashing into the bloody water with a disgusting stench of rotting flesh filling his nostrils. He gasped as the shadow of the being that had thrown him so far back hung over him like a black veil in the sharp light of the flames. The being seemed to be a man, but his head was that of a lizard. His bulky muscles were bare as he wore barely any armor, or clothes for that matter. The slits of his burning orange eyes narrowed as he began to scream at Serge in a language he could not understand. Through the cries of the dying, and the hissing of the lizard-man's tongue against its lips, Serge could only make out the word "Terra" and something that sounded close to "human". Serge stared, wide-eyed at the lizard-man, now realizing that he was covered from head to toe in strange armor that covered almost every inch of his body, and that those around him, who's swords, spears, and to his surprise, and abundance of swallows, clashed together, were all human against lizard. He swiveled his head jerkily up to gaze at the tower again, and he realized where he was. The very tower that stood before him, was none other than Terra Tower. In its rightful form and place, Azalea's Kingdom, Dinopolis. The lizard-man stopped screaming at the helpless Serge and pointed his golden-bladed sword to Serge's bare throat. Serge found he did not have a weapon, he didn't move, however, in fear that the lizard-man would slit him open. Then, as the lizard-man was about to utter something, a voice- called out.
"HERE!!"
As if from nowhere, a large swallow was flying through the air to Serge, where his hands met and caught the gargantuan weapon. Within a split second, Serge rolled away from the lizard-man, swiping the hand that grasped the golden sword. The sword flew into the air as the lizard-man fell back, shrieking in pain, squeezing his bloody hand. Serge rolled back away from the lizard-man, water and blood sloshing everywhere and getting the few strands of hair that stuck from on out his helmet wet. Standing strongly, Serge whipped the swallow through the air, signaling to his enemy that he was going to fight. The lizard-man glared up at Serge, still gripping his hand. Releasing the wounded hand, the lizard-man reached to his hilt, slipping out an identical sword to the one he had used before. He yelled something to Serge in his lizard-tongue, Serge heard the word that sounded like 'human' again. He pointed his sword at Serge and stood still for a moment, he then lunged towards Serge, howling the 'human' word. Serge swiftly blocked his attacks, flipping both ends of the swallow to stop the attempted uppercuts and the like. As the two fought, some of the human soldiers began to notice the young, blue-haired boy. Some of them uttering phrase like: "...he fights really well with a swallow..." "...almost to well..." "... he's almost like him..." "... the servant becomes the master at the hand of thine swallow..."
Serge paid little attention to them, and as he swung a powerful blow to clear the lizard-man's head clear off, everything went black all around him again. He felt naked again, and his hearing and all other senses were cut off as well. He tried to step forward, but he found himself to be on his back. His hearing slowly came back to him, the splashing of waves against a shore rung in his ears like a siren's song, and the call of gulls came from above him. He pried his eyes open, only to squint them closed again as the bright, burning rays of the sun blinded him. He wearily opened them again, letting his eyes focus and adjust to the bright light. The sapphire sky smiled back at him, it's hair the thick white clouds and the sun it's smile. He felt a calming breeze press against his bare flesh, like a cool breath from spring's lungs. But, his comfort died as he tried to move, and found he couldn't. His muscles ached and his joints locked when he tried, and he found himself, floating in the sea without anyway to swim to shore. His skin burned, and looked down at himself and found that he had been badly sun burnt, his skin had actually begun to form blisters on the most exposed areas. He began to breath quickly as his mind began to panic. Heat and sun exposure. Blisters. Sore muscles and joints. And no way of getting to a shore. He stared up at the beating sun and listened to sloshing of the waves. He was lulled by the cool water and the cry of the gulls. He forgot who he was. He forgot what everything was, and let himself sleep. *** End of Chapter 14 *** *Boy howdy. I finished it in one sitting. And all for you guys. ^_^*