Chapter Six - And So Their Adventure Began Anew

After the mayor of Medina Village, Demitri, was finished with his
retelling, the three heros of their world's future and the king of the
era were shocked. "How could they kill so many innocent Mystics?"
Marle asked, appalled at the action. "Yeah. That is so totally
inhuman!" Lucca said. She then glanced at Demitri, realized her poor
choice of words and added hastily, "Err... Sorry... Umm... You know
what I meant..." King Guardia responded, "Yes, you're absolutely
right. This is the most horrible thing I've ever heard of."

"We have to do something about it," Crono said suddenly. Demitri
blinked. "Umm... I apologize young man, but didn't you hear what I
said? One man obliterated several dozen Mystics in an instant. I
really don't think anybody, especially a boy like you, stands much of a
chance against them."

Lucca smiled weakly. "Actually, I was thinking something like that
when we faced off against Lavos' Core. And if we can handle that, I
don't think these guys will be a problem."

Demitri turned to her, a very surprised expression on his face, and
said, "Who is Lavos and how could his 'core' or whatever it was
possibly be more powerful than the people who attacked my village?"

King Guardia smiled a little. "Demitri, you needn't worry. These
three are amongst the most skilled fighters alive. If they were to
face off against these assailants, they would achieve victory very
easily, I would expect."

Demitri seemed alarmed as he turned on the king, "What? Your highness,
I came here to ask for soldiers and now you claim that three children
will be more than enough! You will at least send some of your army
along with them, correct?"

Guardia shook his head. "There is no need. I would merely be
endangering those soldiers' lives if I were to send them."

The imp now seemed rather insulted. "Please, your majesty! I refuse
to stand for this! Three kids cannot possibly be enough!"

"Regardless of what you think, I know that they will handle the
situation masterfully. Just use your own eyes, then decide."

Demitri sighed. "Very well. If you're so sure this will work... then
so be it. You can use the boat that I used to get here."

"Why take a boat when we can fly there?" Marle asked.

"Fly?"

"Yeah, fly. That shouldn't be a problem, should it, Lucca?"

Lucca responded after a moment's thought, "Well, yeah, we could use the
Epoch to get there, and we could also use the boat, but I think that
neither of those would be subtle enough."

"So what do you suggest?" Crono asked.

Lucca smiled. "The same way we first got back here after our second
trip through time."

Marle realized what Lucca meant quickly and smiled. "Right! Through
the caves! They'd never expect something like that!"

Crono nodded. "Right." When heading out into Guardia Forest, he
added, "Well, let's get going."

Lucca followed immediately, but Marle asked, "Hey, could you hold up?
I need to get something from my room."

Crono and Lucca stopped at the entrance and waited the few minutes that
it took Marle to get her Valkyrie. "See you later father and Demitri."

And so the three heros set out. As they passed by Lucca's home on the
way to the vortex that lead to the underground caverns, Lucca's father
stood outdoors and watched them. As they walked past, they greeted
him, Crono with, "Hey Taban," Lucca with, "Hi Dad," and Marle with
"Hello Mr. Ashtear."

Taban smiled and waved. "Hey kids. Where are you off to?"

"Medina," Lucca responded plainly. "We'll be fighting some guys who
blew up a lotta Mystics without much trouble last night. We'll be back
late."

"Ahh. Well, have fun," Taban said with a smile. He then waved at them
and stepped back inside. As he did this, his daughter and her two
friends hopped into the large whirlpool near their home.

A few minutes later, the three of them were walking through the
caverns. "I never liked this place..." Marle muttered. "Yeah, but we
won't be down here long so what does it matter?" Lucca responded.
"It's a nice change of pace at any rate."

"Right. I mean, after we spent that time travelling through eras,
fighting monsters, visiting new places, meeting wierd new people and
all the other stuff we did, the normal routine seems kinda... dull,"
Crono said. "Well, you've got a point there," Marle answered. "I
mean, I feel sorry for all those Mystics who lost their lives, but it
is nice to do something different like this."

The three of them continued in relative silence as they went deeper
into the cave and closer to Medina village.