Chapter 9

Gathering of Hope, Hate and Fate

Serge walked forward, silent, lost in thought. He thought back to his former adventure and all the travels he had experienced with the group he was with. Yet, one of the missing members held his attention more than the others. Before, Kid would be walking along beside him, her head held high, fearless. Now he thought of how she wasn't here. Instead, she was imprisoned by an entity seeking to consume the very flow of time itself…

The rest of the group around him trudged long behind him. Some spoke to each other, but none ever raised their voices past a whisper.

The forest in which they walked grew darker as they progressed, as if they were walking toward nighttime. The trees around them became mutated, their limbs twisting into odd dimensions, all reaching towards the manor as though in anger.

Serge led the way as they group passed through the forest edge and stepped into a nightmare. Ahead of them, the building that was once Viper Manor stood upon the edge of a cliff. Its appearance had completely altered, twisting itself into a form that resembled Lavos.

Upon seeing it, Serge knew in his heart that it would be where everything ended. Set with a grim determination and the focussing on the thought of saving Kid, he walked onward, leading the group into a darker shadow.

They reached the entrance to the structure quickly, as it seemed to grow as they approached. The opening was a round hole, beckoning for Serge to come inside.

"It just doesn't seem like home anymore, does it?" Karsh looked around at his comrades, trying to lighten the mood.

A few members of the group responded with empty smiles. Each had already taken the liberty of drawing their weapons, so they would be prepared for anything that might happen.

Serge was about to press on, ready to face the unknown when Schala spun around suddenly, looking back toward the forest. The group eyed her curiously for a moment, wondering what she was doing, when she turned back to them.

"Go on, Serge!" she urged to him. "They are coming."

"What's going on?" General Viper asked. The group was peering at the edge of the forest, wondering what Schala had seen.

"The planet is beginning its attack on the alien entity of the planet," she answered. "The Dragon God is coming…"

"Dragon God!" Marcy yelled. "It's here already?"

"Along with its followers, the reptites of a different dimension's future," Schala told them. She turned back to Serge, "Serge, go on. We will join you as soon as we can. The future of this planet rests on you…"

Serge gazed at the group for a moment, rethinking all of their adventures in an instant. Then, with a quick nod he turned and ran through the entrance to the structure, passing into shadow.

Schala and the others watched him disappear into the darkness then turned around again. Looking back to the forest edge once more, some of them could begin to see shadows stirring in the foliage. Like wraiths from a bad dream, the shadows moved forward, their forms beginning to solidify into solid shapes.

From where they stood at the entrance of the structure, the group of humans could begin to hear a mocking laughter rising from depths of throats of the reptites.

"The planet will be freed!" some voices cried out and like it was a command, shimmering blue swords were activated. They could be seen easily through the darkness that surrounded what was once Viper Manor and the group of humans began to feel fear creep into their hearts. A dozen swords could been seen, piercing through shadows like a beacon.

"Feel the pain of this planet's suffering!" another voice cried and the group sensed a giant shadow enter the air above them.

Radius, through peering eyes, could make out the form of winged shape flying through the air. It twisted around and flew over the heads of the lizards that were gazing up at it. In response, they raised their swords, pointing into the sky. Then, the giant shadow turned toward the group at the entrance.

Marcy watched with an open mouth as the shadow came right at them, a white light starting to emanate from where she thought its mouth was. Flying low, the shape suddenly jerked upwards, flying over their heads it did a flip and, with an explosion that could be heard throughout the surrounding area, the Dragon God crashed through the exterior of Viper Manor.

With a cry, the reptites that had been watching the event started forward, heading towards the rattled humans that stood in their way.

The group was silent for a moment, trying to absorb what had just happened. Schala, having bowed her head at the sight, raised it again and looked towards the sky. She raised her hand and white light formed. Growing in strength, the light shot upward and pierced through the thick cloud covering that blotted out the sun. Light poured through the opening, even as it grew wider. Rays of light showered the group and they felt their hearts lift, as if the sunlight was cleansing them of sorrow.

Blue energy swords were held aloft as the reptites closed the gap toward the humans, who now stood ready.

"Dearest Riddel," Viper said, his sword held lightly in one hand. "May I one day see your face again…"

"Come Dario. Let us finish finish our dream together," Glenn held the Einlanzer before him and it began to resonate with a white light in response.

"I say matey's, things are now getting' interestin'," Fargo laughed, a gesture which seemed odd to the lizards approaching them.

Zoah and Marcy stood near each other. Zoah was silent, but Marcy was starting to laugh. "This is like, going to be so fun…"

Guile, with his staff hovering by his side, floated to beside Radius. Silent, he raised his hand. Radius returned the gesture and the two shook hands. "This adventure has proved interesting…" Guile said. "Indeed, but it is far from over," Radius replied, smiling for a second.

Schala was silent, her mind straying to other thoughts.

"C'mon everyone," Karsh hefted his axe. "What the hell are we waiting for? We have legs too, don't we?"

The group nodded in agreement and all at once, in a swift forward motion, as though a floodgate had been opened, they charged.

Schala raised her hand again and shot a white light forward, a ball that stopped a few feet in front of the reptites. They snarled as it exploded and showered the area in a blinding light. The humans were unaffected however, and felt a new surge of energy stir from deep within them.

"For humanity!" Karsh yelled, driving down on the creature nearest to him.

"Serge," Schala whispered. "Please hurry…"

Serge plunged through the doorway, into the unknown. His mind raced as he tried to think of what he had just done. In front of him, a stairway waited, urging him to move forward.

His footsteps echoed in the dark area. Scanning around, Serge couldn't see any walls, only pitch-blackness. He came to the foot of the stairway, which traveled straight upwards, out of his sight. He brought his foot forward and started to ascend.

Serge…please…I'm losing myself…

Please Serge…hurry…

Serge stopped for an instant as a single figure came to his mind.

Kid.

An image came to Serge and he saw Kid's limp body being absorbed by the Frozen Flame. Without thinking, Serge dashed up the steps, no longer feeling any hesitation. She was calling to him, urging him to hurry onward. With a pace that seemed impossible, he took the steps without the slightest exertion from his body.

His footsteps no longer echoed as he progressed. The stairs climbed onward and Serge felt as though he should be reaching the top of the structure at some point. Glancing around quickly, he noticed that walls had appeared, but they seemed to be moving.

Serge was heading upward so fast that he didn't have time to stop when he saw that the stairway had ended. It didn't lead anywhere however, the stairway simply stopped. Serge teetered on the edge of the last step for a second, then lost his balance and fell, into what he thought to be darkness.

He was enveloped in nothingness. His body fell downward, twirling like a feather in the wind. Serge fell for what he thought was an eternity. Nothing happened as his body spun out of control. Trying to think of what to do next, Serge's mind went back to someone.

Kid. I have to save Kid…

Then, as if time had come to a halt, Serge felt his body stop falling. From what he could tell, he hadn't landed on anything. Nothing had stopped his fall, nor cushioned it. He simply stopped moving.

Hesitantly, he moved his feet around. To his surprise, they found a surface. At first, he couldn't put any wait on his legs, then, as though someone had flicked on a switch, there was gravity and Serge felt himself standing upright.

He gazed around in the darkness, not knowing what to make of the event. He took a slow step to see if he could still walk. His foot found more of the unknown surface and Serge took a deep breath, then started forward. He walked for a short distance, then stopped hesitantly when he noticed something ahead of him.

From the darkness something had emerged and he had been slowly traveling towards it. Serge peered at the object for a moment before starting forward again. He increased his pace and quickly covered the distance to the object. It was a door, with a wooden frame and a basic doorknob. It hovered it the darkness, surrounded by nothing.

Figuring that he nothing else to go on, Serge grasped the handle and pushed the door open. Light came through and Serge stepped past the threshold. Inside, he found himself to be standing in General Viper's office, of the old Viper Manor.