Chapter Eight - Serus' Minions Appear
Quiet grunts, as well as the sound of running water falling upon
something would have been heard in the small cavern, if anybody
happened to be around to hear it. "I... gotta get... this stuff off...
I have to... warn them about... the intruders..." mumbled a small voice
to itself, in between grunts. Anyone who was watching would have seen
the Scout with its eye open under a small hole in the cavern's cieling,
from which water was flowing in a steady stream.
"There..." it said at last, in relief. It opened and closed its eye,
and, when it was satisfied that it could see well enough, it flapped
through the caves as quickly as it could. It passed the three
teenagers at a distance and stopped only to regard them with loathing
for a moment before continuing onward. 'Damn them... They'll regret
coming here and doing that to Sir Krawlie!'
It passed several other beings as it flew. The 10 or so of them made
something of a procession through the caves, moving towards what
happened to be the final resting place of Sir Krawlie. Their movements
filled the Scout with a surge of hope. 'Perfect! Serus saw the
problem through me and now he's sent his other minions to deal with it!
They'll make mincemeat out of those intruders! Sir Krawlie will be
avenged!'
****
"Hmm?" Marle asked, suddenly.
"What is it, Marle?" Lucca asked.
"Don't you hear that high-pitched laugh that's echoing?"
Crono and Lucca listened a moment more. Crono responded, "I can hear
it. It's kind of annoying..."
"Yeah. And it sounds kind of familiar too..." Lucca mused. "But, oh
well" she added with a shrug.
The other two agreed and all three continued.
Before too long, they saw that they were being approached by figures of
two shapes and sizes: some were portly, red-fleshed and covered in
various places with orange armor; while the others were smaller, with
green skin and small dark blue wings and beaks.
The figures assumed fighting stances when Crono, Marle and Lucca neared
them. Their forms were instantly recognized by the trio.
"Hmm... They look like Henches and Goblins, but their color scheme
seems different..." Marle noted.
"Right. Kind of like how the ones at Magus' place looked different
than the normal variety and were a lot tougher," Lucca added.
"How they look doesn't matter much. They clearly want a fight, so I
say we give them one they'll never forget," Crono said, unsheathing his
Shiva Edge. "If you guys want to back off and let us through, now's
the time," he added, for the benefit of the different colored Henches
and Goblins, who, afterwards, stoicly maintained their positions.
Lucca blinked. "Crono, something's not right. All the Mystics we've
seen before would at least react to something like that. But these
guys haven't even blinked."
Marle glanced at their eyes, hearing Lucca's reference to them, and her
own eyes widened as she gasped. "That's not all. Look at their eyes."
Crono and Lucca did so and were similarly shocked.
"Wha... What's with them?" Lucca asked, failing to conceal a tone of
fear in her voice. "What could do this to a living thing?"
"Their eyes look so... dead..." Crono said, with a note of pity for
them.
"I wish there was something we could do to help them..." Marle said,
sounding nearly overcome with sadness for them.
During all of this, the Henches and Goblins remained still, completely
silent and seeming to all observers, quite accurately as it turned out,
to not understand a single bit of what was going on.
A large eye gazed from elsewhere in the chamber. 'Hmm... They
actually seem to care? Perhaps I misjudged them... No... They killed
Sir Krawlie! They can't be allowed to live for that!'
****
"I don't think those intruders will be a problem for too much longer,"
Serus said suddenly.
Mezuna smirked. "Well, that's a relief. You had us all a little
worried when you said they were tough enough to handle a Scout and a
Krawlie. Not that that's saying anything at all, but still."
The tall shrouded figure turned towards the speaker, who was staring up
at the sky with a vacant faraway look in his eyes. "Something the
matter?"
The speaker blinked and shook his head for a moment. "It's nothing...
Nothing at all... Just-- No. It's not even worth mentioning."
"Oh, come on. It's got you at least a little worried. Let us in on
it," came the feminine voice of the shorter, as of yet unnamed figure
who remained shrouded.
The speaker sighed. "I just have a strange feeling that there's
something special about those intruders. I have a feeling that our
destinies will soon be permanently entertwined." He turned back away
from his companions and towards the sky. "But, it's probably nothing."
****
Suddenly, while Crono, Marle and Lucca were deciding how best to handle
the situation, one of the Henches ran forward, then tucked himself into
a ball and started rolling at them, like some bizarre bowling ball of
doom.
"I guess we have no choice," Crono said, sadly. "I'll try not to kill
them, though."
"Right," the two girls responded.
Crono ran towards the Hench, then jumped up a bit and, using the Hench
as a stepping stone, found himself several yards above the other
Mystics. All could quite clearly see that he seemed to be gathering
small particles of electricity, which seemed to form from nowhere in
particular, into a small orb in his hands. However, nobody could hear
him as he quietly chanted,
"Forces of electricity...
that lie imbedded in the cosmos...
gather yourself before me...
to be released on my command..."
The sparks ceased flowing and he thrust the orb forward.
"LIGHTNING BLAST!"
As he uttered the final two words, the orb began emitting all of the
gathered electricity as searing bolts upon all of the Mystics. Yet
they took their punishment without the slightest complaint and all fell
by the time Crono landed upon the ground.
The eye that watched them grew very wide indeed. 'Oh my... Oh my, oh
my... This can't be... I-I've got to let them know!' The Scout then
flapped incredibly quickly further into the caves.
****
"Serus, what's wrong?" Mezuna asked, very concerned.
Serus was sitting up, an astonished and fearful look on his face.
"My... My... My God..." He shivered. "Those... people... How can
they have... How could they possibly done that!?" he shouted.
"What is it?" the speaker asked, turning towards Serus. "Those
intruders... They... They can use... Magic..."
"What?" Mezuna asked him, surprised. "You're kidding, right?"
"I- I wouldn't kid about something this big. He took out all of the
Henches and Goblins with a Lightning Blast like it was nothing."
Instead of being mortified, as Serus expected him to be, the speaker
smiled. "Well, that will certainly make things more interesting."
He then fell silent as he thought. 'Hmm... I wonder... Could these
people also have the pendant? Probably, probably... But, let's see
how things play out...'
****
"Hmm..." Lucca said as she thought. "I can't get anything, but I've
never taken a Hench's pulse so..." She stood up from the body that she
had been checking. "And besides, the eyes looked way too lifeless, so
the bodies might not have even been those of living beings. In any
case, Crono, I don't think you've killed them. Good job."
Crono breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. They looked sort of like they
were being made to do that. I wouldn't have wanted to know that I
killed them for something that they couldn't control."
Marle nodded. "Right. Now, let's go get the guys responsible for
this!"
The three heros then took off into the last stretch of the cave.
Quiet grunts, as well as the sound of running water falling upon
something would have been heard in the small cavern, if anybody
happened to be around to hear it. "I... gotta get... this stuff off...
I have to... warn them about... the intruders..." mumbled a small voice
to itself, in between grunts. Anyone who was watching would have seen
the Scout with its eye open under a small hole in the cavern's cieling,
from which water was flowing in a steady stream.
"There..." it said at last, in relief. It opened and closed its eye,
and, when it was satisfied that it could see well enough, it flapped
through the caves as quickly as it could. It passed the three
teenagers at a distance and stopped only to regard them with loathing
for a moment before continuing onward. 'Damn them... They'll regret
coming here and doing that to Sir Krawlie!'
It passed several other beings as it flew. The 10 or so of them made
something of a procession through the caves, moving towards what
happened to be the final resting place of Sir Krawlie. Their movements
filled the Scout with a surge of hope. 'Perfect! Serus saw the
problem through me and now he's sent his other minions to deal with it!
They'll make mincemeat out of those intruders! Sir Krawlie will be
avenged!'
****
"Hmm?" Marle asked, suddenly.
"What is it, Marle?" Lucca asked.
"Don't you hear that high-pitched laugh that's echoing?"
Crono and Lucca listened a moment more. Crono responded, "I can hear
it. It's kind of annoying..."
"Yeah. And it sounds kind of familiar too..." Lucca mused. "But, oh
well" she added with a shrug.
The other two agreed and all three continued.
Before too long, they saw that they were being approached by figures of
two shapes and sizes: some were portly, red-fleshed and covered in
various places with orange armor; while the others were smaller, with
green skin and small dark blue wings and beaks.
The figures assumed fighting stances when Crono, Marle and Lucca neared
them. Their forms were instantly recognized by the trio.
"Hmm... They look like Henches and Goblins, but their color scheme
seems different..." Marle noted.
"Right. Kind of like how the ones at Magus' place looked different
than the normal variety and were a lot tougher," Lucca added.
"How they look doesn't matter much. They clearly want a fight, so I
say we give them one they'll never forget," Crono said, unsheathing his
Shiva Edge. "If you guys want to back off and let us through, now's
the time," he added, for the benefit of the different colored Henches
and Goblins, who, afterwards, stoicly maintained their positions.
Lucca blinked. "Crono, something's not right. All the Mystics we've
seen before would at least react to something like that. But these
guys haven't even blinked."
Marle glanced at their eyes, hearing Lucca's reference to them, and her
own eyes widened as she gasped. "That's not all. Look at their eyes."
Crono and Lucca did so and were similarly shocked.
"Wha... What's with them?" Lucca asked, failing to conceal a tone of
fear in her voice. "What could do this to a living thing?"
"Their eyes look so... dead..." Crono said, with a note of pity for
them.
"I wish there was something we could do to help them..." Marle said,
sounding nearly overcome with sadness for them.
During all of this, the Henches and Goblins remained still, completely
silent and seeming to all observers, quite accurately as it turned out,
to not understand a single bit of what was going on.
A large eye gazed from elsewhere in the chamber. 'Hmm... They
actually seem to care? Perhaps I misjudged them... No... They killed
Sir Krawlie! They can't be allowed to live for that!'
****
"I don't think those intruders will be a problem for too much longer,"
Serus said suddenly.
Mezuna smirked. "Well, that's a relief. You had us all a little
worried when you said they were tough enough to handle a Scout and a
Krawlie. Not that that's saying anything at all, but still."
The tall shrouded figure turned towards the speaker, who was staring up
at the sky with a vacant faraway look in his eyes. "Something the
matter?"
The speaker blinked and shook his head for a moment. "It's nothing...
Nothing at all... Just-- No. It's not even worth mentioning."
"Oh, come on. It's got you at least a little worried. Let us in on
it," came the feminine voice of the shorter, as of yet unnamed figure
who remained shrouded.
The speaker sighed. "I just have a strange feeling that there's
something special about those intruders. I have a feeling that our
destinies will soon be permanently entertwined." He turned back away
from his companions and towards the sky. "But, it's probably nothing."
****
Suddenly, while Crono, Marle and Lucca were deciding how best to handle
the situation, one of the Henches ran forward, then tucked himself into
a ball and started rolling at them, like some bizarre bowling ball of
doom.
"I guess we have no choice," Crono said, sadly. "I'll try not to kill
them, though."
"Right," the two girls responded.
Crono ran towards the Hench, then jumped up a bit and, using the Hench
as a stepping stone, found himself several yards above the other
Mystics. All could quite clearly see that he seemed to be gathering
small particles of electricity, which seemed to form from nowhere in
particular, into a small orb in his hands. However, nobody could hear
him as he quietly chanted,
"Forces of electricity...
that lie imbedded in the cosmos...
gather yourself before me...
to be released on my command..."
The sparks ceased flowing and he thrust the orb forward.
"LIGHTNING BLAST!"
As he uttered the final two words, the orb began emitting all of the
gathered electricity as searing bolts upon all of the Mystics. Yet
they took their punishment without the slightest complaint and all fell
by the time Crono landed upon the ground.
The eye that watched them grew very wide indeed. 'Oh my... Oh my, oh
my... This can't be... I-I've got to let them know!' The Scout then
flapped incredibly quickly further into the caves.
****
"Serus, what's wrong?" Mezuna asked, very concerned.
Serus was sitting up, an astonished and fearful look on his face.
"My... My... My God..." He shivered. "Those... people... How can
they have... How could they possibly done that!?" he shouted.
"What is it?" the speaker asked, turning towards Serus. "Those
intruders... They... They can use... Magic..."
"What?" Mezuna asked him, surprised. "You're kidding, right?"
"I- I wouldn't kid about something this big. He took out all of the
Henches and Goblins with a Lightning Blast like it was nothing."
Instead of being mortified, as Serus expected him to be, the speaker
smiled. "Well, that will certainly make things more interesting."
He then fell silent as he thought. 'Hmm... I wonder... Could these
people also have the pendant? Probably, probably... But, let's see
how things play out...'
****
"Hmm..." Lucca said as she thought. "I can't get anything, but I've
never taken a Hench's pulse so..." She stood up from the body that she
had been checking. "And besides, the eyes looked way too lifeless, so
the bodies might not have even been those of living beings. In any
case, Crono, I don't think you've killed them. Good job."
Crono breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. They looked sort of like they
were being made to do that. I wouldn't have wanted to know that I
killed them for something that they couldn't control."
Marle nodded. "Right. Now, let's go get the guys responsible for
this!"
The three heros then took off into the last stretch of the cave.