Author's Note: Nah, Chrono Trigger wasn't that hard, I just was happy to
finally finish it. So yeah. Sorry about the lag between chapters, I ran
into a minor case of writer's block.
Chapter 29
"Hey, Rayen? Something's bothering me. What do we DO after we get the last egg? Even with five dragons, we haven't got a hope of standing up to the Divine Dragon."
"To be honest, I have no idea. I suppose we'll cross the proverbial bridge when we come to it."
"How long do you think that proverb is going to work?"
"Beats the hell out of me. Until we run out of luck?"
"You're not much of a strategist."
"I never pretended to be, Phil."
Dawn spoke up at this point.
"Why don't we just ask the Dragon? It will probably know more about the situation than we do."
"Once again, we hear Dawn stating the obvious. Phil, you look too deep into these things. Rayen, you don't look deep enough."
"If you only knew, Shade..."
Rayen said this so quietly even Shade's enhanced hearing couldn't make it out. But he heard something, unlike the others.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
Dawn pulled the RV to a stop. She announced their location in a loud voice that rang into the back room.
"Here we are. The Moon Ruins."
The Moon Ruins was where the moon crashed after being destroyed in the Second Dragoon Campaign. The pieces had fallen to Endiness, landing on top of each other and creating a gigantic maze of caves and passageways. It seemed like a perfect place for a Silver Dragon to make its home, which was probably exactly what the Dragons were thinking.
Shade pulled open the sliding door, and then he, Phil, and Dawn filed out of the car, while Kyra went into the bunks to grab her claws. Rayen continued to sit at the small table. When Kyra came back, he was staring transfixed at the four eggs on the table, or maybe he was just staring at nothing in particular, she couldn't tell.
Everyone's got something they keep inside themselves, she thought. Something they keep stashed away that no one else knows. What's he hiding?
"Hey, space cadet. Are you coming or what?"
Rayen jerked from his reverie and looked up before slowly nodding. He got up, shouldered his sword, and walked out. Kyra watched him go out the door before following. She had a feeling there was something going on deep within the Red-Eye, an inner struggle that could result in disaster.
"So, what now? Even with Dragons, we can't defeat the Divine Dragon on our own."
"I suggest you find the Dragon Block Staff."
"But didn't it break into pieces after the Second Dragoon Campaign?"
"Yes. So you'll have to rebuild the pieces. There are seven pieces of the actual staff, and the Grand Jewel completes the artifact. You must locate them all before one of us can rebuild the staff."
"But how the hell do we find them? After a thousand years, they must be strewn about all over the world."
"We can help you there. We can locate them using our magic, and although you obviously haven't discovered it yet, you each have a telepathic link with each of your Grand Dragons. You can contact us when you need a lead on where to find the next piece. The best idea is to divide into groups, to make the search as quickly as possible. Time is not on our side."
Rayen nodded while he studied the Silver Dragon closer. Of all the Dragons he had seen, the Silver Dragon was the closest resemblance to a bird. Its wings were more curved than the bat like wings of the Dark, Red-Eye or Violet Dragons, but they weren't ovular like the wings of the Jade Dragon, or at least how Phil described them. Its head, although scaled, looked a great deal like one of a bird of prey such as a hawk, and its snapping jaws were very beak-like, even though they had needle-sharp teeth. It even had a jutting fan-like plate of scales that seemed like tail feathers until one got a closer look. Dawn clutched the diamond egg in her arms, relishing it like some sacred treasure.
"Go now. You must make haste. We never know when the Divine Dragon may grow murderous again. He may destroy something else before you can stop him."
The five Dragoons nodded and left the Moon Ruins, heading for the motorhome.
"OK, how should we go about splitting up?"
"Two groups or three?"
"I think..."
Kyra's statement was interrupted by a brown shape hurtling out of the bushes nearby, lunging at her. Interlocking both her weapons, she caught and cradled the blow from the monster's very real, very sharp claws. She was contemplating frantically how she could reach her Dragoon Spirit without getting her skull cleaved in two when the beast dissolved into smoke, stinging her eyes and causing her to cough as she inhaled. Rayen withdrew his blade from the air the creature's abdomen had once occupied. Kyra felt hot anger bubble up from within her.
"I don't need rescuing!"
"You're welcome," Rayen said in a flat monotone.
"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, oh fearless leader!"
"Like hell you are," Rayen replied in the same emotionless voice.
Kyra felt like screaming. Did he think she was a defenseless infant? However, he was the only one that had rushed to help her? Were the others more confident in her, or was there some other factor involved?
"Two groups would be best, I think. We don't want anyone stuck alone. I'll go with Rayen, and you, Phil, and Dawn can go in the other."
"Yeah, OK."
Rayen nodded his approval.
"Rayen and I had better take the RV, since Kyra can just warp your group anywhere."
"Makes sense to me."
Shade sighed inwardly; relieved the olive branch had been accepted. He had sensed growing tensions within the group, and time would cool off hot tempers. When he resurfaced to the real world from the confines of his mind, he found that the group had already divided. Rayen was waiting for him in the passenger's seat, a signal that it was his turn to drive. The other group had gone to have a final word with the Dragon before leaving.
Shade sighed again, this time out loud, and hoped that things weren't going to come apart at the seams.
Chapter 29
"Hey, Rayen? Something's bothering me. What do we DO after we get the last egg? Even with five dragons, we haven't got a hope of standing up to the Divine Dragon."
"To be honest, I have no idea. I suppose we'll cross the proverbial bridge when we come to it."
"How long do you think that proverb is going to work?"
"Beats the hell out of me. Until we run out of luck?"
"You're not much of a strategist."
"I never pretended to be, Phil."
Dawn spoke up at this point.
"Why don't we just ask the Dragon? It will probably know more about the situation than we do."
"Once again, we hear Dawn stating the obvious. Phil, you look too deep into these things. Rayen, you don't look deep enough."
"If you only knew, Shade..."
Rayen said this so quietly even Shade's enhanced hearing couldn't make it out. But he heard something, unlike the others.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
Dawn pulled the RV to a stop. She announced their location in a loud voice that rang into the back room.
"Here we are. The Moon Ruins."
The Moon Ruins was where the moon crashed after being destroyed in the Second Dragoon Campaign. The pieces had fallen to Endiness, landing on top of each other and creating a gigantic maze of caves and passageways. It seemed like a perfect place for a Silver Dragon to make its home, which was probably exactly what the Dragons were thinking.
Shade pulled open the sliding door, and then he, Phil, and Dawn filed out of the car, while Kyra went into the bunks to grab her claws. Rayen continued to sit at the small table. When Kyra came back, he was staring transfixed at the four eggs on the table, or maybe he was just staring at nothing in particular, she couldn't tell.
Everyone's got something they keep inside themselves, she thought. Something they keep stashed away that no one else knows. What's he hiding?
"Hey, space cadet. Are you coming or what?"
Rayen jerked from his reverie and looked up before slowly nodding. He got up, shouldered his sword, and walked out. Kyra watched him go out the door before following. She had a feeling there was something going on deep within the Red-Eye, an inner struggle that could result in disaster.
"So, what now? Even with Dragons, we can't defeat the Divine Dragon on our own."
"I suggest you find the Dragon Block Staff."
"But didn't it break into pieces after the Second Dragoon Campaign?"
"Yes. So you'll have to rebuild the pieces. There are seven pieces of the actual staff, and the Grand Jewel completes the artifact. You must locate them all before one of us can rebuild the staff."
"But how the hell do we find them? After a thousand years, they must be strewn about all over the world."
"We can help you there. We can locate them using our magic, and although you obviously haven't discovered it yet, you each have a telepathic link with each of your Grand Dragons. You can contact us when you need a lead on where to find the next piece. The best idea is to divide into groups, to make the search as quickly as possible. Time is not on our side."
Rayen nodded while he studied the Silver Dragon closer. Of all the Dragons he had seen, the Silver Dragon was the closest resemblance to a bird. Its wings were more curved than the bat like wings of the Dark, Red-Eye or Violet Dragons, but they weren't ovular like the wings of the Jade Dragon, or at least how Phil described them. Its head, although scaled, looked a great deal like one of a bird of prey such as a hawk, and its snapping jaws were very beak-like, even though they had needle-sharp teeth. It even had a jutting fan-like plate of scales that seemed like tail feathers until one got a closer look. Dawn clutched the diamond egg in her arms, relishing it like some sacred treasure.
"Go now. You must make haste. We never know when the Divine Dragon may grow murderous again. He may destroy something else before you can stop him."
The five Dragoons nodded and left the Moon Ruins, heading for the motorhome.
"OK, how should we go about splitting up?"
"Two groups or three?"
"I think..."
Kyra's statement was interrupted by a brown shape hurtling out of the bushes nearby, lunging at her. Interlocking both her weapons, she caught and cradled the blow from the monster's very real, very sharp claws. She was contemplating frantically how she could reach her Dragoon Spirit without getting her skull cleaved in two when the beast dissolved into smoke, stinging her eyes and causing her to cough as she inhaled. Rayen withdrew his blade from the air the creature's abdomen had once occupied. Kyra felt hot anger bubble up from within her.
"I don't need rescuing!"
"You're welcome," Rayen said in a flat monotone.
"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, oh fearless leader!"
"Like hell you are," Rayen replied in the same emotionless voice.
Kyra felt like screaming. Did he think she was a defenseless infant? However, he was the only one that had rushed to help her? Were the others more confident in her, or was there some other factor involved?
"Two groups would be best, I think. We don't want anyone stuck alone. I'll go with Rayen, and you, Phil, and Dawn can go in the other."
"Yeah, OK."
Rayen nodded his approval.
"Rayen and I had better take the RV, since Kyra can just warp your group anywhere."
"Makes sense to me."
Shade sighed inwardly; relieved the olive branch had been accepted. He had sensed growing tensions within the group, and time would cool off hot tempers. When he resurfaced to the real world from the confines of his mind, he found that the group had already divided. Rayen was waiting for him in the passenger's seat, a signal that it was his turn to drive. The other group had gone to have a final word with the Dragon before leaving.
Shade sighed again, this time out loud, and hoped that things weren't going to come apart at the seams.