Chapter 17: Of Ghosts, Chimeras and the Man Named Duke
The Ghost Temple was an old amusement park whose theme was based upon several of the old Carona legends. As part of the marketing gimmick (as well as reasons of economy), the park was located in an isolated forest area not too far from Gamul City. It operated for only a couple of years before they shut it down completely. The years of abandonment had left it overrun with weeds that have seeped through the concrete cobblestones, and what was once a clearing surrounding the walls was now riddled with the forest's young trees and new shoots.
It was late morning when Rue arrived at the road intersection leading to the Ghost Temple gates. The buses didn't normally travel up the side roads of forest territory, so he would have to walk the rest of the way. It wasn't very far, only a kilometer or so as the bird flies.
The Arc Edge was out of its familiar violin case under the circumstances, and Rue carried it with one hand. He had gotten so used to taking the weapon whenever he'd go on these trips—whether the occasion needed it or not—that he'd feel practically naked without it… especially now that the girl with sunset red hair wasn't there to watch his back.
He blinked, suddenly surprised at himself. Only two adventures, and already he had gotten used to having her with him. It was a new feeling.
But one that he couldn't afford to dwell on now. He had to focus on finding Claire. He and Klaus were getting close to finding her, of that he was sure, and the Ghost Temple was but the next stage of his search. In his breast pocket he carried a disc card that Klaus had given him. The disc card contained several programs and data codes that, he hoped, would allow him access past the Ghost Temple's locked gates.
Klaus had only noticed it recently. The exposed printed circuitry of Elroy's box, almost identical to the diagrams in Claire's diary, seemed to resemble the maps of the underground ruins when they were viewed from a certain angle. But to remake the maps in full, Klaus would need the original schematics that the circuits were based upon. The Ghost Temple was their best lead to finding the diagrams.
Mel was more knowledgeable about Cosmos Corporation's processes than Klaus was, so the professor had asked Rue to visit her to get more data codes. Mel was kind enough to input what she knew into Klaus' disc card.
There was something else Mel had said, something of a nature very different from what Rue was supposed to ask her about… no, he didn't want to think about that now.
The Ghost Temple had several entrances—one at the east side and a smaller entrance at park's the west wing—but Rue decided to take the frontal approach. He found the computer terminal by the main gates, inserted the disc card into the slot, made his way past Cosmos Corporation's login screen on the terminal, and typed up all the possible passwords he and Klaus had known about and then some.
'Access Denied.' Rue clicked a few more keys. The screen blinked again. 'Access Denied.'
It's not working. Rue closed his eyes, sighing heavily in frustration. The doors and walls were too steep to climb and too thick to bash a hole through with his Arc Edge. The side gates were probably the same. What am I supposed to do now? We need those schematics if we want to find Claire… If only this door would open up and let me in… He heard a soft click followed by a muffled metallic clang, and he turned.
The gates were opening by themselves. Surprised, he turned once more to the console, but found that the display had not changed at all. 'Access Denied.' What?! He clicked a few more keys, and then he realized that the computer had frozen up completely.
It isn't possible… his right fist was clenching the Arc Edge so tightly that his knuckles were white. He remembered what Fancy Mel had told him. It simply can't be true, could it?
There had been certain changes in the park's layout through the years since it closed. For one thing, Rue was certain that the park owners had never meant their guests to be greeted by monsters. The one that charged at him once he was past the gates was rather reminiscent of the underground tunnel's skull beast, albeit smaller—it was big, it was scary, and it was apparently intent on killing him.
"Monsters?! Since when was this place infested with monsters?!" Since when did monsters ever look like this?
He didn't have time to wonder about that, because the Chimera-like beast then shot a pillar of fire at him. Since when monsters ever breathed fire, Rue didn't know either—all he knew was that he had to avoid the flailing arms, avoid the flames, and bash at the monster with his big sword. The beast's weak point seemed to be its forehead, and Rue concentrated his attacks in that area.
Suffice to say that after some time he managed to defeat the beast. He kicked its inanimate corpse once, just to make sure it was dead. Something glinted at the corner of his eye, and he saw a solleret attached to the Chimera's left ankle. They must've used these to monitor the beasts. For some reason, he felt that he would need sollerets later, so he pulled it out and placed it in his knapsack.
Two hours and three giant-monster-corpses later, Rue was getting tired. It was starting to get dark too, but still he was no closer to finding the missing schematics. He knew that he was supposed to look for a control room of sorts, but if the park had any, they didn't bother to put its location on the big map by the front gates.
The park map had told him that there were four of those rooms that housed the Chimeras, and if his first hunch was right, he would need to battle the fourth monster for its solleret as well. He made his way through the amusement park's maze of passages, to where the map had pointed to the final Chimera's location.
Only to find that the fourth Chimera was already defeated. Duke stood over the unmoving corpse, examining it, and Elena was standing a little to the side behind him.
"Duke? And Elena?!"
They both turned upon hearing him. "Polly!" The girl shouted cheerily. "I knew you would find us!"
"What are you doing here?" he asked. Elena blushed slightly, but she didn't answer.
"Milady has sent me on a quest," was Duke's reply. "It was a tough fight, but to the winner belong the spoils." He bent over the Chimera and started searching.
Rue commented as he walked up to them, "I had to battle three of these creatures already. One thing I can't figure out is how they got here in the first place."
Elena looked at him strangely. "Rue, the Chimeras are the park's animatronic mascots. They're supposed to be here."
"They are?" he blinked in surprise. The creatures are mechanical?
Elena giggled. "You're just like Papa."
Rue looked around. This Chimera room seemed to be bigger than the other three he had been in so far. This one had a small side doorway. There was a glass window on the second floor, and through it Rue could see several computer terminals. That must be the control room he was looking for.
Duke stood up at last, and he pulled out the final solleret. "You said you defeated three others. Did you get these from them?" Rue nodded. Duke averted his face so that Rue wouldn't see his expression. "I thought you did," he said under his breath.
"What was that?" Rue asked.
"Never you mind. Elena told me you're looking for the some schematics? Well, THESE BABIES ARE YOUR KEY TO GETTING THEM!" Duke shouted that last in his annoying mall-greeter/bouncer accent as he waved the final solleret at Rue's face. "BUT YOU AIN'T GETTING THIS ONE WITHOUT A FIGHT!"
"Aaaahhh!" Rue barely managed to dodge Duke's punch in time.
"FISTS OF FURY!!"
"I'm not fighting you!" Rue dodged again. This was worse than the Starlight Duke attacks. Although Duke could no longer smother him under yellow spandex, this time, the man's punches could actually hurt, and Rue certainly didn't want to find out how much.
It turned out that he wouldn't have to. Duke slipped and face-flopped.
"Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow…" A big, painful lump was starting to form smack-dab in the middle of his forehead. "I can't believe… I… lost… (Drat, and I was so inspired by the book, too…)" Duke gingerly rubbed his forehead, and Rue was confused. For the life of him, he couldn't understand how someone like Duke could actually defeat the Chimera.
"Aww, poor Dukie…" Elena bent over to check Duke's bump, but Duke waved her off. He managed to stand up without help.
"I am a man of my word. (Milady is not going to be happy about this…)" Duke reluctantly handed the solleret to Rue, and the boy placed it in his knapsack. Rue thought that he didn't actually defeat Duke, but he wasn't going to complain about it.
"How'd you guys get in here, anyway?"
"I found the west gate open…" Elena began. "There were fresh footprints. I followed them, and then I found Dukie fighting the chimera."
"And how did you get in?" Rue turned to Duke.
"Let's just say I know the old stories," was his answer. Rue raised one eyebrow quizzically at the other man, and Duke continued, "The passcode are the words of a magic spell from the legends."
They heard an ominous rumbling. Duke instinctively grabbed Elena, and they all pulled away from the suddenly moving Chimera.
"Blast, this thing has gone crazy!" Duke shouted as the three of them moved away from the out-of-control robot. The Chimera's arms were lashing about wildly, and given how reliable its AI codes are (not to mention Duke's notoriously bad luck), it was probably smart enough to pick them out as targets. Although never meant to hurt people, those flailing appendages could very well kill them if they ever connect.
"You must've missed its main control circuits when you fought him earlier! What are we going to do now?!" Elena asked. In their haste to move away from the Chimera, they didn't realize that they had put the monster between them and the room's only open exit. Duke pointed to the side gateway that leads to the control room stairs. "But that door is locked!"
As if things weren't bad enough, the Chimera started shooting flames at them.
Duke ran over to the nearest computer terminal and started typing. The door remained closed. "Blast it!" Duke banged his fist angrily on the console. "The password isn't working!" The Chimera was still coming. Duke raised his fists up, preparing to fight. "This is going to be such a fun way to die…"
Rue closed his eyes. Open, open, open. They heard a click, and then a metallic clang.
"What the—?!" Elena shouted. The doors started moving. "Come on guys, now's our chance!" There was no time left. Duke broke into a run. Elena grabbed Rue's arm to pull him away. "Polly!" But Rue didn't move. "Polly, we've got to go…!"
"Leave me alone, Elena!"
Elena's mouth dropped open in surprise, and she let him go. "Polly…"
"Go. Just go."
"Rue… Have you ever had… fainting spells?"
"Fainting spells?" Rue frowned. Mel had just finished modifying the disc card for him then, and she asked him to have a soda first before leaving for the Ghost Temple. He was sitting by the counter at the Soda Shoppe when she had suddenly asked him this.
"No, I meant… visions." Mel explained. "Black dreams, or something of the sort. I don't know what you'd call them."
"I used to," he answered truthfully. "But not anymore."
"Hmm." Mel didn't even look up from what she was doing. "Was there ever a time that… something happened when you just… thought it might? Like the time you repaired my Poppul Purrels, and they shut down for no reason… Did you just, umm, will them to do so?"
Rue abruptly stood up. "Why are you even asking me this, Mel?!" There were very few things that could spark him, and this was one of them.
"There's no need to get angry. I don't mean to pry," she said in an effort to calm him down. "I just remembered something that I came across with when I worked with Klaus before. It's about, well… about certain beings (mutants, I think they were sometimes referred as) who could control electronic devices with their minds. I dismissed it all as tabloid junk back then, and I kept wondering why Klaus would ever bother with the stuff…" she laughed at her own derision. "Anyway, the creatures were said to look human, and they all have white hair, as well as… a certain mark on their foreheads."
Reflexively, Rue's hand rose, feeling under the ever-present cap. He could see where Mel was going with this, and he didn't like it one bit. "I do have a mark, but… I-I'm sure it doesn't mean what you're thinking."
"Let me see it, Rue."
He hesitated. No one except for Claire and Klaus had ever seen his mark. But he trusted Klaus, and he had grown to trust Mel too… He nodded, and slowly took off his cap and bandanna. Mel stepped forward, standing on tiptoe so she could see it better.
"I'm sorry," her voice was soft and tinged with sorrow. "No human could have a birthmark like this."
It took a long while for the words to sink in. "I…" Rue's voice was a rough whisper when he could finally speak again. "Klaus never said anything, but I guess, deep down, I… I've always known… I just kept hoping that…" He shook his head suddenly in an effort to clear it. "No, no—Mel, you're wrong! You've got to be wrong! I don't have to listen to this…" He turned and angrily rushed out of the room, practically tripping over his own feet as he did so.
"Rue, I'm so sorry. It's only fair that someone tells you." Mel was shaking her head sadly.
"What is he doing?!" Elena shouted as soon as Duke slammed the door shut behind him. They had made their way into the control room in the upper balcony, where even the Chimera's flames could not reach. "We've got to help him somehow!"
Through the glass they could see the lower room clearly as the white-haired boy battled the animatronic monster on his own. Rue was obviously starting to tire—he held his weapon lower than he usually did, and the Chimera's attacks kept coming closer and closer to its target.
But Rue didn't need to fight the Chimera at all, Elena realized. He already has the final solleret… and the Chimeras' programming will not allow them to leave their respective rooms… she watched as Rue dodged the flames once more, too late this time, and his shoulder got singed. But, doggedly, he kept coming at it. As if he wanted to destroy it for its own sake…
She had never seen Rue act this way before. Polly… that's not like Polly at all! Suddenly Elena couldn't bear to watch anymore. "I'm going back down—" she started to reach for the doorknob, but Duke raised one hand to stop her.
"I'm helping him. You're staying right here where it's safe."
"No! I want to help Polly!!" she shouted, almost desperately. "I know how to fight too." There were tears in her eyes.
Duke bent down on one knee so that his face was level with the girl's. "You and Rue are friends, aren't you? If ever you get hurt, Rue would only get hurt more." A pause, and Duke's eyes twinkled. "He would get hurt here," he placed his fingertips on Elena's forehead, "and here," he lowered his hand over the girl's heart.
She bit her lower lip, but she nodded in understanding. Duke straightened. "Good. I want you to stay put until we get back, Elena. Don't. Go. Anywhere."
The boy didn't need any help in battling the monster after all. Rue managed to destroy enough of the animatronic circuits that the Chimera finally shut down. And now, the Chimera was clearly inanimate, but Rue was still bashing at it with his Arc Edge. He didn't notice Duke step up behind him.
"Rue, that's enough!"
Without warning, Rue turned upon the other man. But Duke was ready. He sidestepped the slashing sword and aimed his kick at the hand rather than the weapon. The Arc Edge dropped, clanging loudly against the Chimera's hull. Duke grabbed Rue by the collar and slammed him unceremoniously onto the ground.
Rue blinked, and the glazed look in his eyes disappeared. "D-Duke?"
Duke's face was contorted in anger. "Is this the first time?"
"Duke, what—?"
"Is this the first time it happened?! Answer me, boy!" Duke shook him roughly, and Rue shook his head no. "Blast it kid, I warned you before not to do this!!" He stood up, letting go of the boy.
"It's not like…" Rue coughed a little, his throat still aching from Duke's death grip. "It's not like I can control it."
"Have you even tried?" Duke snapped. Some strong emotion was in the older man's eyes that Rue couldn't explain, and it amazed him no end how Duke could go from silly-idiotic to dead-serious in a matter of minutes. There was definitely more to the man than met the eye, and Rue wondered why he didn't see it before.
Rue managed to retort, "You think I want it any more than you do?"
Duke's face softened slightly, and he helped Rue up. "I once knew a man who accidentally killed his best friend in a fit of rage. At that time, his friend had only been trying to keep him from hurting himself."
Rue didn't know what to say, but there was something odd in Duke's tone… "The man who died… you knew him. He was your friend, wasn't he?"
Duke hesitated a little before replying. "They both were."
When they got up to the control room, Elena was nowhere in sight. Duke cursed loudly. "I told her not to—"
"I'm right here," Elena's voice called. Her head emerged from underneath a toppled-over steel cabinet. "Rue!" she greeted when she saw the pair. "There's a console here that's still working! I got as far as the login screen but their security codes have me stumped."
"Let me take a look at it," Rue said. After a few moments and with Duke's help they were able to move the cabinet out of the way. Rue immediately took out the disc card and inserted it into the console's slot, and he began typing. "Duke... what were the words to that spell?"
"Gizmo, Gia, Gias (no caps, don't put in the spaces)." If Elena was confused at the words, she didn't show it. Duke explained it to her anyway. "It's from an old Carona legend, a spell that translates 'to you born of Dew, accept your destiny and unseal your powers'."
Elena stifled a burst of laughter. "That's a rather funny spell." Duke just shrugged.
"But it worked, though. I'm in," Rue told them. Elena leaned over his shoulder to see. "Just give me a few more seconds to find those schematics…" he clicked a key, and then frowned thoughtfully as screenful after screenful of data scrolled up the display.
The data stream ended to display Cosmos Corporation's logo. At the bottom of the screen, a single line of text displayed, 'Search request ended. Input memory circuit code to continue.'
He took out the sollerets from his knapsack. "What is it, Rue?" Elena asked, but Rue was too deep in thought to answer her. He searched the nearby desk for some stray console cable, attached it into one of the sollerets, and plugged the other end to the computer terminal.
The screen promptly changed color. 'Code accepted. Please wait.' The screen blinked again, and after a slight pause it displayed the schematics that they were looking for. Rue breathed a sigh of relief.
"Duke, you were right. You're right about the sollerets, how did you—" He turned, only to see that he and Elena were the only ones in the room.
"Sorry, Rue," she told him. Neither of them had noticed when the older man left.
Author's Notes
07 January 2003 I learned something new! When in doubt, check the game walk-thru…
More shameless plugging! The ToF_Carona Yahoo groups can be found at:
Sorry for the late update, guys! There had been a (sort of) fic battle between several ToF authors going on at the message board (it's a free-for-all so anyone can just jump in, ^_~), and I got distracted doing the battle pictures. X_x…
Thank you to everyone who still reads this story! Thank you thank you thank you… and hope that you guys had nice Holidays! ^_^.
Of all my reviews, only a handful has offered constructive criticisms (and those were one-liners), sniffles… at this point I've practically given up hope for a full critique… But I do have One Really Important Request to anyone kind enough to review: SOMEONE PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE TELL ME IF THE STORY IS STARTING TO GET BORING OR NOT!! (and if it is, any suggestions on how to make it not so boring?)
ToFCH has gotten longer than I expected, and heck of a lot longer than I originally planned it to be, and… err… to be honest I'm only past the halfway mark. But I can't make it any shorter or you will misunderstand stuff and the pacing will get broken. I'm really sorry about that. v_v…
Since (relatively) a lot of people seem to get a kick from getting mentioned, here are the people with special thanks for this chapter: Thank you so much for reviewing!!! (I apologize if I missed anybody, cross fingers didn't mean to! Sometimes Adi gets really absent-minded… e.g. I think I missed faerieneggs4u last chapter…)
To Mana Angel: about the song translation… it's going to be part of a chapter, actually. Mint will translate it for Rue the night of the Christmas fair. Okay, that was a spoiler… and the Christmas fair chapter didn't make it in time, sorry about that… but the said chap is a fairly boring one (too) anyway. The chapter after the Christmas fair is my personal favorite in the series though, and the song translation goes right there. :P
To the Crew of Light, the Guardianship of the Pokémon, and the Crab Sisters: Is it just me, or are there more and more of you guys with each update? Just how many are you, really? ^_^. And Mew, don't ever, ever come anywhere near our kitchen. ^_~.
Lady Light, thanks for telling me the spell (I should be thanking you guys and not the other way around). Animé Girl, thank you for telling me about the spell. See, see, I put it in!! ^_^. (Got any more tips? Hint, hint, ^_~…) And… although I didn't remember the spell until now, Ruecian is going to do something like that with Rue (part of chapter has been typed up since last month). I'll probably modify it a little though. Incidentally, that part is also in the chapter after the Christmas fair.
To Shadow Duo: Yeah, right. I'm suuure you understand everything perfectly. Duo, you seem to be the most level-headed of you three, ya wanna bet on Ryan's guess being right? *Adi grins evilly*.
To Tenshi Kanashimi (formerly known as chibi kawaii pinay): the song is Filipino, which is mostly based on Tagalog, but anyway :P. The title is Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka, composed by Ryan Cayabyab and performed by Basil Valdez (original) or Regine Velasquez (remake). The mp3 (Regine's) is uploaded somewhere in the Files section of ToF_Carona, and there's a full translation as well. If you don't want spoilers, though… I suggest you don't read the translation first. ^_~. IMO the Basil Valdez version is better, but Regine's version is more popular. If you want to know more, just email me directly, kireene@hotmail.com.
And of course, many thanks to Twisting Demon, Harimehness (formerly known as Cherry Lee ^_^), Kawaii Doll, Nagia, Mia Katt, Liol, faerieneggs4u and Lady Foxfire 195. It's the people like you who keep us wannabe authors typing up this stuff.
Oh, Mr. James Birdsong, I almost missed your review. Thank you… I think… ^_^ *sweatdrop*…