Chapter 10 - The Scout's Sacrifice
"So, they left for Guardia just a little bit before we arrived?"
The Gargoyle who was being questioned nodded. "Yes, ma'am. One of the
women who was with them chanted something strange, then a large
beautiful bird appeared and carried them across the sea. I can't
imagine what they'd want in Guardia, though..."
Marle stepped forward. "Are you sure they didn't mention anything else
before they left here?"
A nearby Imp decided to pipe up. "Well, they did ask how long the
ruins to the north had lost their pyramid. We had no choice but to
tell them that it was about the time that those three teenagers from
Guar..." He then took a closer look at the people who were listening
to him. His eyes widened immediately afterwards. "Uh-oh... It looks
like they're after you three now..."
"Eh. Don't feel bad about it" Lucca replied. "They would be after us
after they found out what we did to the guy they stationed here, so all
they did was leave him here all alone."
"That's right" Crono added. "Considering this guy's power, if the rest
of his group had been here, we might have been in trouble."
The Imp smiled at this.
Marle turned towards the caves as she said, "In any case, they're on
their way to Guardia to try to find us. Who knows what they'll do when
they learn we aren't there."
"You're right Marle" Lucca added. "We need to get back to Guardia
right now."
The three of them then took off for the caves.
****
The Scout watched, still undetected from the house where it had been
hiding. It was still shaking. "Those... Those peo- monsters! They
could take him out?! I need to get back to them right away before I'm
next!"
The Scout took off towards the caves, blazing past the three
teenagers.
****
Marle blinked as they skidded to a stop while the thing shot past.
"What was that?"
"It looked sort of like a bat..." Lucca mused.
Crono pondered for a moment before asking, "Lucca, do you think that
Scout from earlier could have survived your bomb?"
"Oh yeah. I completely forgot that I didn't hit it directly. It could
definetly have avoided the explosion and flapped off somewhere. More
specifically, to Medina, and now back into the caves. Even if it did,
though, it's just a Scout. It might be going to alert them that we're
on our way, but I doubt they'll be able to get something together in
time."
"You're probably right. Let's just hurry" Crono responded as they all
headed off quickly into the caverns.
****
"They're on their way here, I take it."
Serus jumped a little, startled. "Umm... Yes. They're chasing after
that idiot Scout and should be here before too long."
"Well, try to slow them down a little" the Speaker replied. "I'd
prefer not to fight them at the moment and there are other ways to get
what we need. All I require is some more time."
"I'll see what I can do."
Serus closed his eyes while the others watched in silence.
Suddenly, a large demonic-looking bird swooped from a tree directly
towards Serus, shrieking.
The tallest shrouded member of the group seized his katana and leaped
at the bird, dividing it into 7 equal parts within the span of 3
seconds. He calmly landed, cleaned the blood off of his blade, then
sat quietly, not a single other person having once moved a muscle.
****
The Scout panted as it neared a small pond of water. "Finally...
here... Just... gotta... get... up... and-"
'Halt'
The Scout immediately obeyed, not because it was an order, but because
the voice seemed to have spoken within its head.
"L-L-Lord Serus?" it asked, more than a little afraid.
'That's right. Listen, I need your help for something. You will
assist me, will you not?'
"W-Why of course, sir! Simply tell me what I must do and it shall be
done!"
'Good. Now, I just want you to close your eye for the moment...'
The Scout obeyed as it flapped its wings three feet above the ground.
"Alright, now what?"
He heard Serus mumble some words in an ethereal voice:
'To you I now grant the eye of darkness
to see beyond what can be seen
into the depths of death itself.
SHADOW GAZE!'
The Scout felt a wierd sensation spread throughout its eye. It wasn't
painful; merely peculiar.
'Now, open your eye.'
The Scout was trembling about what he would see when he opened his eye,
given the incantation, but did so after a few moment's hesitation.
****
Crono, Marle and Lucca stopped when they heard it.
"What the hell was that?" Marle asked, sounding more than a little
frightened.
"Th-That was the most horrible sound I've ever heard from anything in
my entire life!" Lucca said, looking a shade paler.
"It sounded... like something that was in a state of absolute
terror..." Crono said, a tone of fear in his voice.
The three stood there in silence for a little while.
"Well, we're not going to accomplish anything just standing here" Crono
finally added. "Let's keep going."
The three continued into the caves, their pulses noticibly faster.
****
In the clearing where the cloaked group sat, Serus shuddered. Despite
all his practice and training, he had never been able to get over it.
Still, he had come a tremendously long way. When he had done it for
the first time, he had been forced to lie in bed, shivering, for a
week. He had been haunted by their horrible expressions, their
outstretched arms, their silent pleading. Even now, after being told
that he was considered the best at it that had appeared in over 3
centuries, he still had nightmares about it, frequently awaking in a
cold sweat. He could only imagine what the Scout was going through.
'A-Alright' he thought towards the creature, annoyed with himself that
he was uncapable of keeping the fear out of his voice, 'Now, look
around a little.'
****
"Sir Krawlie!!!" the Scout shouted. "I can't help you! I'm trying!
Oh God, I'm trying! Please! Stop looking at me like that! I beg of
you!"
'Scout!' Serus shouted in the creature's head. 'G-Get a grip! Staring
at that Krawlie won't help anyone! Now, look around. I need to find
some powerful beings who perished near he-'
"Sir Krawlie!" the Scout shouted again, ignoring Serus.
It then felt a searing pain pulse throughout its body. It tried to
fully absorb this agony, preferring it to the expression it could see
on Krawlie's face.
"I a-am sorry, my lord. Take this spell off of me once I've
accomplished your task!" it said, looking around wildly.
As it turned out, it didn't have to look for very long. The moment it
spied a large blue creature with sharp teeth and claws in the fiery
ether, it heard Serus say to it, 'Very good. That one will do quite
nicely. Now close your eye.'
The Scout instantly did so with great relief, but still clearly saw
Krawlie's face distorted in anguish, sorrow and pleading.
****
Serus opened his eyes, breathing deeply as sweat dripped down his face.
The Speaker looked across at him and asked, apparentally oblivious to
his appearance, "So, how are you planning to stall them?"
After a moment, the response he recieved was, "I was considering a
Necromantic Meld."
The Speaker smiled at this. "Hmm... That will definetly prove
interesting. It's a shame we won't be able to watch."
Mezuna spoke up. "Doesn't that spell require a willing living
component? Where exactly are you going to find that?"
Serus turned towards her. "Simple. The surviving Scout really cared
about the Krawlie that they took out not too long ago. He'll be more
than willing to lay down his life to help eradicate them."
"Good, then" the Speaker said, smiling. "We'll either take care of
them before they arrive, or greatly weaken them by the time they get
here."
Serus raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying you think they might be
victorious?"
"I wouldn't rule it out. They defeated our companion with relative
ease, didn't they?"
"I suppose... It doesn't really matter. As you said: it will either
kill them or weaken them. Either way, we'll get the pendant."
****
'Tell me, would you do anything to avenge Krawlie?'
Had he been on the ground, the Scout would have jumped at the sudden
sound of Serus' voice. He shortly replied, "Of course, Lord Serus!
Those bastards took my only friend! There's no way I'm going to stand
idly by while they get away with it!"
'Would you give your life to help defeat them?'
"In a heartbeat and without a single regret, my Lord!"
'Good... Now, I need you to open up your eye and keep it open.
Otherwise, any hope of you helping to defeat them won't exist.'
"Right away!"
The eye opened and again the Scout screamed in horror. He then heard
Serus chanting.
'Restless spirits of those who have left this world,
Gather your rage, sorrow and bitterness
and prepare yourselves for a second chance...'
****
Crono and the others soon came upon a familiar part of the caverns.
"Well, looks like those Henches and Gargoyles are still konked out"
Marle noted.
"That's probably for the be-" Crono began before Lucca interrupted him
while pointing at them.
"What the hell are they doing?" she asked, sounding fearful. Crono and
Marle looked and saw why: the bodies were rising off of the ground and
hovering in the air before shooting off down the caves.
"I just know that Scout we saw is involved with this" Crono said. "We
really need to hurry now."
The girls didn't need to hear this twice and all three headed after the
bodies.
****
The Scout was feeling very afraid as it saw some of the many bones on
the floor rise and zip over to the pond before dunking themselves in.
An unearthly red glow shone forth shortly afterwards, as he heard Serus
continue his incantation:
'Entwine your souls with your bodies,
and know the gift of life once more...'
The Scout now watched as the large blue creature and the Krawlie
drifted into the pond. He then beheld several of Serus' earlier
minions' bodies, along with what had remained of Krawlie's body after
the bomb, entering the room and splashing into the pond, the red glow
growing ever brighter.
'Become one with each other,
and the one who offers his life to you...'
The Scout thought it detected a note of sadness in Serus' voice as he
spoke the last line. It was then aware that it was being pulled into
the pond. 'The one who offers his life to you...' the Scout mused. It
then realized what that meant. 'I said I was willing to give my
life... Lord Serus knows what he's doing. Those people will pay for
what they did to Sir Krawlie! I only wish it could have been
different...'
It entered the red glow and felt the worst pain it had ever felt in its
entire life. It felt as though its body were splitting into each of
its individual parts. Worse than that, it felt as though something it
had never realized it had ever had was leaving it. The Scout felt an
emptiness that it had never thought one could ever feel.
It then saw something that looked exactly like it, but transparent and
otherworldly, drifting past it, before it began expanding and consuming
everything within the pond. It knew instinctively that the thing was
its soul. And the emptiness that it felt was caused by its loss. It
knew that its body and soul were combining with all of the others in
the pond, but it had never felt so alone, even though he could still
hear Serus' voice, completing the incantation:
'Know power you would have never known in life...
Surrender your will to the giver's soul,
and accomplish his final request...'
"NECROMANTIC MELD!"
****
Crono and the others entered just as these final words were heard by
what was left of the Scout. Oddly, they heard his voice utter the
final two words quite clearly, sounding as though it had come from the
pond.
The three stood speechless as they watched the crimson glow become
even more intense. They then saw the glow continue as a long arm that
looked as though its muscles were somewhere between solidity and decay,
with bone showing through the numerous gaps, reached out of the pond
and grasped the side. Marle and Lucca gasped just before it was joined
by a second arm. The claws on them looked especially sharp. Not to
mention somehow familiar...
Crono drew his Shiva Edge and readied it. After a moment, Marle did
the same with her Valkyrie and Lucca with her Wondershot.
After a moment, the rest of the creature lurched from the depths. The
entire group had no choice but to stare at the horrible abomination
before them. Like its arms, its muscle and flesh were missing in large
areas throughout it and rotting in many areas where it remained. The
entire body, bones, muscles, and flesh, looked as though they had been
formed from numerous sources. The torso took up most of it and, in
fact, a good deal of the cavern. The head possessed a mouth with a
large number of very sharp and, once again, somehow familiar teeth.
All of this was nothing compared to the horror that came from the
creature's single, large eye. It looked somehow like the eyes of
the undead Mystics, but there seemed to be a determined, enraged and,
somehow, willing appearance to its dead look.
"H-Holy crap..." was all Lucca had to say and her companions agreed in
silence.
"Ahh... So... you've... arrived... right on... time..."
The three looked around for the source of the voice and, failing to
find it, Crono stepped forward and demanded, "Who are you and what the
hell did you do?"
There was a brief period of time in which the creature merely rested
there, mostly submerged, while the sound of deep breathing was heard
from the unseen voice.
"I am Serus. And this is a Necromantic Meld created from many bodies
and souls, who were seperated in or near this cave. Brought together,
their power is very great indeed. Nevermind the desire of your
destruction that it bears from the Scout who gave his soul to bring
this into existence. You killed his only friend, you see, and he now
thirsts for your blood, which I'm certain he'll get rather a lot of
very soon."
There was silence for a period. Marle took a step forward, a regretful
look on her face. "That Scout... cared so much about that Krawlie that
he'd give up his own life?"
"More than just his life" they heard Serus say, sounding sad. "Unlike
that Krawlie and Heckran, the other two main components of this Meld,
that Scout will cease to exist entirely, once the spell wears off,
which will happen regardless of if you destroy it or it destroys you."
Crono stepped forward, wearing an expression of remorse. "You sound
like you really regret doing that..."
Serus didn't speak for a moment. "That is... because I do. Anyone who
would be willing to give up their life for any cause is worthy of my
respect. I feel nothing but despair, knowing that he is not only no
longer alive, but that it was by my hand that he entered such a state."
Lucca took a short dash forward, looking enraged, but also tearful.
"If you regret it, then why did you have to do it? What the hell is so
important that you would allow a situation like that to even exist?
You and the others are obviously powerful to not need lackies, so why
did you leave some behind? I wouldn't have killed that Krawlie and the
Scout wouldn't have sacrificed himself!"
Again, there was silence. When Serus spoke again, it sounded as though
he did so on the verge of tears. "You're right. It was a pointless
waste. We never should have done it. What we're doing it for may not
even be worth it. But... No. I can't say any more. Whether or not
you survive, just know that I will nightly pray for an early death.
Then, perhaps, I'll be able to stop suffering from remorse. But,
there's no going back now... Farewell."
And so, they were alone with the creature once more, and looking into
its eye, they now saw a sign of regret, but still determination. With
heavy hearts, they prepared to fight.
****
Serus finally opened his eyes. "There. I've done what I can. They'll
either die, or be too weak to assault us with much success."
"Good, then" the Speaker said, standing up, not noticing Serus' tears.
"In that case, let's go get a little insurance that the pendant will
wind up in our possession..."
"So, they left for Guardia just a little bit before we arrived?"
The Gargoyle who was being questioned nodded. "Yes, ma'am. One of the
women who was with them chanted something strange, then a large
beautiful bird appeared and carried them across the sea. I can't
imagine what they'd want in Guardia, though..."
Marle stepped forward. "Are you sure they didn't mention anything else
before they left here?"
A nearby Imp decided to pipe up. "Well, they did ask how long the
ruins to the north had lost their pyramid. We had no choice but to
tell them that it was about the time that those three teenagers from
Guar..." He then took a closer look at the people who were listening
to him. His eyes widened immediately afterwards. "Uh-oh... It looks
like they're after you three now..."
"Eh. Don't feel bad about it" Lucca replied. "They would be after us
after they found out what we did to the guy they stationed here, so all
they did was leave him here all alone."
"That's right" Crono added. "Considering this guy's power, if the rest
of his group had been here, we might have been in trouble."
The Imp smiled at this.
Marle turned towards the caves as she said, "In any case, they're on
their way to Guardia to try to find us. Who knows what they'll do when
they learn we aren't there."
"You're right Marle" Lucca added. "We need to get back to Guardia
right now."
The three of them then took off for the caves.
****
The Scout watched, still undetected from the house where it had been
hiding. It was still shaking. "Those... Those peo- monsters! They
could take him out?! I need to get back to them right away before I'm
next!"
The Scout took off towards the caves, blazing past the three
teenagers.
****
Marle blinked as they skidded to a stop while the thing shot past.
"What was that?"
"It looked sort of like a bat..." Lucca mused.
Crono pondered for a moment before asking, "Lucca, do you think that
Scout from earlier could have survived your bomb?"
"Oh yeah. I completely forgot that I didn't hit it directly. It could
definetly have avoided the explosion and flapped off somewhere. More
specifically, to Medina, and now back into the caves. Even if it did,
though, it's just a Scout. It might be going to alert them that we're
on our way, but I doubt they'll be able to get something together in
time."
"You're probably right. Let's just hurry" Crono responded as they all
headed off quickly into the caverns.
****
"They're on their way here, I take it."
Serus jumped a little, startled. "Umm... Yes. They're chasing after
that idiot Scout and should be here before too long."
"Well, try to slow them down a little" the Speaker replied. "I'd
prefer not to fight them at the moment and there are other ways to get
what we need. All I require is some more time."
"I'll see what I can do."
Serus closed his eyes while the others watched in silence.
Suddenly, a large demonic-looking bird swooped from a tree directly
towards Serus, shrieking.
The tallest shrouded member of the group seized his katana and leaped
at the bird, dividing it into 7 equal parts within the span of 3
seconds. He calmly landed, cleaned the blood off of his blade, then
sat quietly, not a single other person having once moved a muscle.
****
The Scout panted as it neared a small pond of water. "Finally...
here... Just... gotta... get... up... and-"
'Halt'
The Scout immediately obeyed, not because it was an order, but because
the voice seemed to have spoken within its head.
"L-L-Lord Serus?" it asked, more than a little afraid.
'That's right. Listen, I need your help for something. You will
assist me, will you not?'
"W-Why of course, sir! Simply tell me what I must do and it shall be
done!"
'Good. Now, I just want you to close your eye for the moment...'
The Scout obeyed as it flapped its wings three feet above the ground.
"Alright, now what?"
He heard Serus mumble some words in an ethereal voice:
'To you I now grant the eye of darkness
to see beyond what can be seen
into the depths of death itself.
SHADOW GAZE!'
The Scout felt a wierd sensation spread throughout its eye. It wasn't
painful; merely peculiar.
'Now, open your eye.'
The Scout was trembling about what he would see when he opened his eye,
given the incantation, but did so after a few moment's hesitation.
****
Crono, Marle and Lucca stopped when they heard it.
"What the hell was that?" Marle asked, sounding more than a little
frightened.
"Th-That was the most horrible sound I've ever heard from anything in
my entire life!" Lucca said, looking a shade paler.
"It sounded... like something that was in a state of absolute
terror..." Crono said, a tone of fear in his voice.
The three stood there in silence for a little while.
"Well, we're not going to accomplish anything just standing here" Crono
finally added. "Let's keep going."
The three continued into the caves, their pulses noticibly faster.
****
In the clearing where the cloaked group sat, Serus shuddered. Despite
all his practice and training, he had never been able to get over it.
Still, he had come a tremendously long way. When he had done it for
the first time, he had been forced to lie in bed, shivering, for a
week. He had been haunted by their horrible expressions, their
outstretched arms, their silent pleading. Even now, after being told
that he was considered the best at it that had appeared in over 3
centuries, he still had nightmares about it, frequently awaking in a
cold sweat. He could only imagine what the Scout was going through.
'A-Alright' he thought towards the creature, annoyed with himself that
he was uncapable of keeping the fear out of his voice, 'Now, look
around a little.'
****
"Sir Krawlie!!!" the Scout shouted. "I can't help you! I'm trying!
Oh God, I'm trying! Please! Stop looking at me like that! I beg of
you!"
'Scout!' Serus shouted in the creature's head. 'G-Get a grip! Staring
at that Krawlie won't help anyone! Now, look around. I need to find
some powerful beings who perished near he-'
"Sir Krawlie!" the Scout shouted again, ignoring Serus.
It then felt a searing pain pulse throughout its body. It tried to
fully absorb this agony, preferring it to the expression it could see
on Krawlie's face.
"I a-am sorry, my lord. Take this spell off of me once I've
accomplished your task!" it said, looking around wildly.
As it turned out, it didn't have to look for very long. The moment it
spied a large blue creature with sharp teeth and claws in the fiery
ether, it heard Serus say to it, 'Very good. That one will do quite
nicely. Now close your eye.'
The Scout instantly did so with great relief, but still clearly saw
Krawlie's face distorted in anguish, sorrow and pleading.
****
Serus opened his eyes, breathing deeply as sweat dripped down his face.
The Speaker looked across at him and asked, apparentally oblivious to
his appearance, "So, how are you planning to stall them?"
After a moment, the response he recieved was, "I was considering a
Necromantic Meld."
The Speaker smiled at this. "Hmm... That will definetly prove
interesting. It's a shame we won't be able to watch."
Mezuna spoke up. "Doesn't that spell require a willing living
component? Where exactly are you going to find that?"
Serus turned towards her. "Simple. The surviving Scout really cared
about the Krawlie that they took out not too long ago. He'll be more
than willing to lay down his life to help eradicate them."
"Good, then" the Speaker said, smiling. "We'll either take care of
them before they arrive, or greatly weaken them by the time they get
here."
Serus raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying you think they might be
victorious?"
"I wouldn't rule it out. They defeated our companion with relative
ease, didn't they?"
"I suppose... It doesn't really matter. As you said: it will either
kill them or weaken them. Either way, we'll get the pendant."
****
'Tell me, would you do anything to avenge Krawlie?'
Had he been on the ground, the Scout would have jumped at the sudden
sound of Serus' voice. He shortly replied, "Of course, Lord Serus!
Those bastards took my only friend! There's no way I'm going to stand
idly by while they get away with it!"
'Would you give your life to help defeat them?'
"In a heartbeat and without a single regret, my Lord!"
'Good... Now, I need you to open up your eye and keep it open.
Otherwise, any hope of you helping to defeat them won't exist.'
"Right away!"
The eye opened and again the Scout screamed in horror. He then heard
Serus chanting.
'Restless spirits of those who have left this world,
Gather your rage, sorrow and bitterness
and prepare yourselves for a second chance...'
****
Crono and the others soon came upon a familiar part of the caverns.
"Well, looks like those Henches and Gargoyles are still konked out"
Marle noted.
"That's probably for the be-" Crono began before Lucca interrupted him
while pointing at them.
"What the hell are they doing?" she asked, sounding fearful. Crono and
Marle looked and saw why: the bodies were rising off of the ground and
hovering in the air before shooting off down the caves.
"I just know that Scout we saw is involved with this" Crono said. "We
really need to hurry now."
The girls didn't need to hear this twice and all three headed after the
bodies.
****
The Scout was feeling very afraid as it saw some of the many bones on
the floor rise and zip over to the pond before dunking themselves in.
An unearthly red glow shone forth shortly afterwards, as he heard Serus
continue his incantation:
'Entwine your souls with your bodies,
and know the gift of life once more...'
The Scout now watched as the large blue creature and the Krawlie
drifted into the pond. He then beheld several of Serus' earlier
minions' bodies, along with what had remained of Krawlie's body after
the bomb, entering the room and splashing into the pond, the red glow
growing ever brighter.
'Become one with each other,
and the one who offers his life to you...'
The Scout thought it detected a note of sadness in Serus' voice as he
spoke the last line. It was then aware that it was being pulled into
the pond. 'The one who offers his life to you...' the Scout mused. It
then realized what that meant. 'I said I was willing to give my
life... Lord Serus knows what he's doing. Those people will pay for
what they did to Sir Krawlie! I only wish it could have been
different...'
It entered the red glow and felt the worst pain it had ever felt in its
entire life. It felt as though its body were splitting into each of
its individual parts. Worse than that, it felt as though something it
had never realized it had ever had was leaving it. The Scout felt an
emptiness that it had never thought one could ever feel.
It then saw something that looked exactly like it, but transparent and
otherworldly, drifting past it, before it began expanding and consuming
everything within the pond. It knew instinctively that the thing was
its soul. And the emptiness that it felt was caused by its loss. It
knew that its body and soul were combining with all of the others in
the pond, but it had never felt so alone, even though he could still
hear Serus' voice, completing the incantation:
'Know power you would have never known in life...
Surrender your will to the giver's soul,
and accomplish his final request...'
"NECROMANTIC MELD!"
****
Crono and the others entered just as these final words were heard by
what was left of the Scout. Oddly, they heard his voice utter the
final two words quite clearly, sounding as though it had come from the
pond.
The three stood speechless as they watched the crimson glow become
even more intense. They then saw the glow continue as a long arm that
looked as though its muscles were somewhere between solidity and decay,
with bone showing through the numerous gaps, reached out of the pond
and grasped the side. Marle and Lucca gasped just before it was joined
by a second arm. The claws on them looked especially sharp. Not to
mention somehow familiar...
Crono drew his Shiva Edge and readied it. After a moment, Marle did
the same with her Valkyrie and Lucca with her Wondershot.
After a moment, the rest of the creature lurched from the depths. The
entire group had no choice but to stare at the horrible abomination
before them. Like its arms, its muscle and flesh were missing in large
areas throughout it and rotting in many areas where it remained. The
entire body, bones, muscles, and flesh, looked as though they had been
formed from numerous sources. The torso took up most of it and, in
fact, a good deal of the cavern. The head possessed a mouth with a
large number of very sharp and, once again, somehow familiar teeth.
All of this was nothing compared to the horror that came from the
creature's single, large eye. It looked somehow like the eyes of
the undead Mystics, but there seemed to be a determined, enraged and,
somehow, willing appearance to its dead look.
"H-Holy crap..." was all Lucca had to say and her companions agreed in
silence.
"Ahh... So... you've... arrived... right on... time..."
The three looked around for the source of the voice and, failing to
find it, Crono stepped forward and demanded, "Who are you and what the
hell did you do?"
There was a brief period of time in which the creature merely rested
there, mostly submerged, while the sound of deep breathing was heard
from the unseen voice.
"I am Serus. And this is a Necromantic Meld created from many bodies
and souls, who were seperated in or near this cave. Brought together,
their power is very great indeed. Nevermind the desire of your
destruction that it bears from the Scout who gave his soul to bring
this into existence. You killed his only friend, you see, and he now
thirsts for your blood, which I'm certain he'll get rather a lot of
very soon."
There was silence for a period. Marle took a step forward, a regretful
look on her face. "That Scout... cared so much about that Krawlie that
he'd give up his own life?"
"More than just his life" they heard Serus say, sounding sad. "Unlike
that Krawlie and Heckran, the other two main components of this Meld,
that Scout will cease to exist entirely, once the spell wears off,
which will happen regardless of if you destroy it or it destroys you."
Crono stepped forward, wearing an expression of remorse. "You sound
like you really regret doing that..."
Serus didn't speak for a moment. "That is... because I do. Anyone who
would be willing to give up their life for any cause is worthy of my
respect. I feel nothing but despair, knowing that he is not only no
longer alive, but that it was by my hand that he entered such a state."
Lucca took a short dash forward, looking enraged, but also tearful.
"If you regret it, then why did you have to do it? What the hell is so
important that you would allow a situation like that to even exist?
You and the others are obviously powerful to not need lackies, so why
did you leave some behind? I wouldn't have killed that Krawlie and the
Scout wouldn't have sacrificed himself!"
Again, there was silence. When Serus spoke again, it sounded as though
he did so on the verge of tears. "You're right. It was a pointless
waste. We never should have done it. What we're doing it for may not
even be worth it. But... No. I can't say any more. Whether or not
you survive, just know that I will nightly pray for an early death.
Then, perhaps, I'll be able to stop suffering from remorse. But,
there's no going back now... Farewell."
And so, they were alone with the creature once more, and looking into
its eye, they now saw a sign of regret, but still determination. With
heavy hearts, they prepared to fight.
****
Serus finally opened his eyes. "There. I've done what I can. They'll
either die, or be too weak to assault us with much success."
"Good, then" the Speaker said, standing up, not noticing Serus' tears.
"In that case, let's go get a little insurance that the pendant will
wind up in our possession..."