Swords and Swallows

By Dixxy

Chapter One: Storms' A Brewing

(Kid)

So Marge wasn't too thrilled with Serge and me trekking out in that monster of a storm. Tough cookies. Something was going on and I'd be damned if I didn't check it out. Serge, naturally, saw no point in trying to argue with me over the point and followed without question. But then of course he isn't blind and knew damn well that something was screwy with my amulet. It doesn't glow just for the heck of it- it glows when something is going on. End of story.

So the two of us were making our way through Lizard Rock. The good news was that the Beach Bums, Sand Squirts, and Komodos were all taking shelter from the rain so we didn't have to deal with any of them. That bad news was that the rocks were now VERY slippery, it was kind of dark, and the rain wasn't helping our vision very much. Serge was leading the way, using the Mastermune as a sort-of guide stick and extra support, bracing against it whenever we crossed a particularly bad spot. Both of us had taken a fair number of spills, covering us both head to toe in mud and, judging from the smell coming from us, a few piles of monster crap as well.

Needless to say it was a pretty miserable experience. Serge's hair and bandanna were both plastered to his head, and he was almost constantly moving the offensive blue locks from his eyes. For me, it was the mud. Now I'm not a neat freak, but I don't like being so dirty and disgusting. Sure when I was a little kid (pun not intended) I used to make mud pies and tried to serve them to Lucca, but even then I wouldn't get dirty to the point that I was unrecognizable.

At least the rain was washing some of the mud off.

But onward we went, and finally we reached the end of Lizard Rock. From there is was mostly sand and mud, so slipping was no longer a real issue. Sadly, getting stuck and sinking into deep puddles was. Even with Serge checking puddle depths with the Mastermune (Masa, Mune, and Doreen were probably pitching a fit) we still had to stop a few times to pull each other out of the muck. Serge lost both of his shoes during one such occasion- the mud refused to give them up. I took note of some landmarks in the area and promised him we'd come back with some shovels once the weather eased up a bit.

After a good hour of walking, we finally ended up on Opassa Beach. By that time it was probably close to midnight, if not after. If it weren't for the moons we wouldn't have had much to see. Serge, however, manipulated a Photon Ray so it acted like a flashlight. For the most part, we didn't see much.

Rocks.

Water.

Coral.

Water.

Sand.

Water.

Someone lying belly down in the sand.

Water-

"Hey!" Serge said, pointing at the said person. The two of us rushed over and knelt down to get a better look at the person. Serge put the Photon Ray down but didn't shut its light off- he then began to search for some sort of a healing Element while I began to check for signs of life on the mysterious stranger.

The person in question was a male around our age. He had deep black hair slightly longer than shoulder length and very nice eyelashes. His clothing consisted of a heavy red shirt and strange blue pants made of a sort of course, yet smooth material. Both of these materials stuck to his skin from the rain and I was sure that it couldn't be comfortable. I could sense that he was, like me, a Red innate, but somehow there seemed to be. . . something else. What it was I wasn't sure (and the Schala half of me didn't know what it was either), but it wasn't important. He was unconscious, but after checking for a pulse, I determined that he was alive. That meant Serge and I had to help him.

"I got a Revive- do you think we need it?" Serge asked.

"Try it, see what happens," I said. Serge nodded, casting the element. A white glow appeared above the youth's head, then faded. I bit my bottom lip in anticipation. Was this something a Revive would work on? After all, he might not necessarily be on the brink of death- he could just be unconscious.

Much to my relief I saw his eyelashes begin to twitch.

"Good move, mate- I think he's waking up," I said.

Slowly, but surely, the stranger began to wake up. Clumsily he started to move, bracing himself against his hand as he tried to sit up. Without hesitation Serge gave the dark-haired boy assistance, giving him a concerned look as the boy began to cough, clutching his chest. "Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Once the stranger stopped coughing, he looked up at Serge in curiosity. Large, tiger blue eyes stared at my friend in curiosity. Serge only gave him a reassuring smile in exchange for the look and a friendly hand on the shoulder. "Uh. . . I guess so. My head hurts a little and I feel kind of dizzy, but I think I'll be all right."

"Well that's good," I said. The boy turned to look at me, then looked back at Serge. When he turned his gaze back to me, I held out my hand. "Hi. I'm Kid. That's Serge. Who're you and why were you taking a nap on the beach in the middle of this storm?"

"What?" he said, seeming to wake up a lot more than he had been. "Where am I?" Awkwardly (yet very quickly) he got to his feet and began looking around. "Mia? Yuli? White Blaze? Are you guys okay? Mi- WHOA!" A few badly timed steps sent the stranger back into the sand. A spitting sound a second later told us he'd gotten some of the stuff in his mouth.

Serge got to the stranger's side and helped him back to his feet, putting one of his arms around the youth's shoulder. "Whoa, hold on there a second- you're in no shape to be running around in weather like this." Serge turned to me. "Kid, get him back to Arni- from the sounds of it there were other people with him, and the Revive didn't work as well as it should have. I'm going to see if I can find anybody else. Can you make it back on your own?"

"What about you, Serge? The weather's nutty right now and I-"

"Kid, please- I'll be find. If I can handle a super-computer turned goddess, a fused Dragon God and Lavos then I think I can check a beach for people. And I'm not alone- Masa, Mune, and Doreen can reach you through your amulet if something goes screwy. If you have to send someone out to go find me- I'm sure Poshul, Leena, or Radius wouldn't mind the trip," he said.

I frowned, then took the stranger. "All right, mate, but if you go and get hurt, I'll kick yer arse so hard you'll kill the moons- you hear me?" I threatened. Serge gave me an acknowledging grin before jogging off towards another end of the beach, leaving me with the stranger.

"What's happening?" he asked.

"C'mon, you- the faster we get you back to Arni the better off you'll be," I said.

By the time we reached Arni an hour and a half later, I saw a pair of silhouettes waiting for us at the village gates. I still didn't know who it was I was helping along (he was saving all his breath for the very difficult journey we were making, as I was) and I was beginning to wonder if he's fallen unconscious again. Still, the gates were in sight and if my imagination wasn't playing tricks on me, those silhouettes were people who might want to help.

"Kid! Serge!" One of the figures began to run closer. "Are you two all right!"

"Sorry, Leena- this ain't Serge," I said. Leena was soon facing me, her eyes wide with worry and her hair just as wet as I was. "We sensed something was screwy and decided to check out Opassa Beach- we found this guy passed out there and when he woke up he started calling for some other people- Serge is there now trying to find them." Without question, Leena took the other side of the stranger and we both headed towards the other silhouette. From walking staff, I guessed it was Radius.

Slowly, the former Deva began to walk up towards us. He looked over the stranger, who raised his head to stare almost absently at the chief. Radius' thick eyebrows raised in surprise. "Get him into my hut- quickly. This poor boy's been through quite a bit and I think that some warm stew and a few dry blankets will do him some good." Leena and I didn't question the order and followed Radius into his hut.

I relayed the brief details of the journey to Radius and Leena as we entered his hut. We laid him down on a cot, stuck a pillow behind his head, and let the village chief cover him in a blanket. The youth shuddered, but unconsciously pulled the garment tighter around himself. Satisfied that he'd be all right, I was given another blanket so I could dry off and the three of us sat down to have a talk about the dark haired stranger.

"Where do you think he came from, Radius?" asked Leena.

"No telling. Could be some new fashion statement amongst the young ones in Termina. Could be an actor in costume. Or, considering it was Opassa Beach this young one washed up on. . . there's no telling were he could be from," said Radius. He glanced over at the young man and scratched his chin. "I wouldn't hesitate to say there's a chance he's from some other world."

"Radius, I know that we've encountered other worlds before, but. . . are you so sure about that?" asked Leena. She sat back in her chair, looking at the village chief in worry. "Even with the mess with Schala and the alternate realities, don't you think it's a bit quick to jump to that kind of a conclusion?"

"I would," I said, glancing down at the ancient pendant that hung around my neck. I grasped it with my hand, letting it rest in my palm. It glistened in the light from Radius' torch briefly, but showed no other sign of unusual activity. "My amulet was glowing, and it doesn't glow for the hell of it, Leena- there's no such thing as a false alarm here."

"And don't forget that storm going on outside," said Radius. He looked out the window and narrowed his eyes. "Speaking of whom, I certainly hope Serge is all right out there. Chrono Trigger or no Chrono Trigger, that's no peaceful sprinkle- if he's not careful, he could get hurt."

"I wouldn't worry too much- he's got some healing elements on hand and the Mastermune. Besides, if something happened then one of the spirits inside would contact me through the amulet and we'd go rescue him," I said. I grinned. "Leena, I KNOW you've been itching for an adventure. Radius? Use yer age an as an excuse and I'll kick yer arse so hard ye'll kiss the moons, because guess what? You're no pushover."

"And you?" Leena asked.

I playfully blew at my fingernails and grinned. "As much as I've love to talk about how great and wonderful I am, I think I'll pass this time." This elicited annoyed groans from Leena and Radius alike. I smiled cheerfully. "Oh, come on now, mates- if you thought I was going to say anything different then you should be ashamed of yerselves. I'd like to think you knew me better than that!"

Leena snorted. "Don't worry- we do."

The sounds of heavy breathing and a pounding on the door announced someone's entrance. I quickly got to my feet and raced to the door, thinking it was Serge wanting to come inside from the rain. Sure enough, I was immediately greeted by a waterlogged and sock-footed Assassin of Time. Serge was breathing heavily, blowing dripping water off his lips and it dripped down his face.

"Kid. . . where's Kid?" he asked.

"Serge? Mate? I'm right here," I said.

Serge shook his head, spraying water everywhere. I shrieked as the water struck me and glared daggers at my friend as he looked at me in a mix of surprise and relief. Despite my Look of Death, he grinned and gave me a hug. "I'm glad you're okay, Kid- I got worried when Mom said you weren't home yet. But why are you here at Radius' hut?"

"We're taking care of that stranger you two found," Leena explained. "He's asleep right now, but we're hoping he'll wake up soon so he can tell us what's going on." She looked at Serge, cocked her head to one side, and raised an eyebrow. "Um, Serge? Why aren't you wearing shoes?"

"Because they're stuck in the mud somewhere between here and Opassa Beach," he said dryly and he accepted a dry blanket from Radius. He joined the rest of us at the table. Radius' cook brought in a tray with a tea kettle, three cups, and a plate of cookies. Apon seeing Serge, she politely smiled and went to retrieve another cup.

"So, what did you find?" Leena asked, pouring herself a cup of the tea.

"Nothing but sand and rocks," he said. He gave us an irritated grunt and rubbed at his temples, crossing his legs so one foot rested on his knees as he leaned his head back. "I just KNOW that there's something weird about that guy, and it's aggravating me that we don't know what it is."

"Well. . . there's a chance he may not be from this world," said Radius. He cleared his throat and picked up a teacup. "After all, he was found on Opassa Beach and we're all quite aware that something about that beach is abnormal. Since that is the case we need to either take extreme caution or try to help him get back home."

"I say we help him get back home- I don't think he's dangerous," I said, leaning back in my chair. "He just seems worried about his mates. And I think he's almost in the same situation Serge was in last year, save the whole Lynx-FATE-Dragon God mess. Of course he's probably got his own mess of problems to deal with."

"Ooo. . ."

We all stopped short to turn to where the stranger was. He was slowly sitting himself up, staring groggily at his pillow. We all started to stand, but Radius silently ordered us to stay put while he went to talk with the young man in our care. Using his walking stick, Radius made his way over to the boy, who was now looking at him in a much more awake and aware manner.

"Hello," Radius greeted politely, sitting down on a stool nearby.

"Um. . . hello," the boy said. He looked around the hut, eventually resting his eyes on Radius. "Where am I? And how did I get here?" He swung his legs over the side of the cot. Radius held up a hand and shook his head. The boy nodded, not making any further motion to stand.

"You are in Arni, a small fishing village on the main island of the El Nido Archipelago. I am Radius, the chief of Arni and this is my home," he said. He gestured to the rest of us. "The youths to my right are Serge, Kid, and Leena. Serge and Kid found you on Opassa Beach and brought you back here."

The boy smiled weakly. "Thank you, but. . . none of those places are ringing any bells," he said. He turned to Radius. "Mr. Radius, um, sir, can you tell me some of the surrounding countries? I've never heard of this. . . El Nido Archipelago before in my entire life."

"Well, there's always Porre, Choras, and Medina," Serge offered.

The boy shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, I've never heard of those countries either."

I snorted. "You really AREN'T from around here, are you?" I said. "I can understand someone not knowing where El Nido is, but PORRE? They're only one of the most fearsome military super powers this world has ever SEEN!" I coughed. "I'm sorry about that last outburst- I'm not trying to belittle you, but you most certainly aren't from around here."

"I won't hesitate to agree," the boy said, looking out the window. He turned back to us, a thoughtful look on his face. "My name is Ryo. I remember you and Serge from the beach, but before that. . . I'm not sure how I got there. One minute I was eating dinner with my friends, and the next everything is suddenly swallowed up by shadows."

"Swallowed by shadows?" Leena asked.

"Yeah," Ryo said, leaning against the wall behind him after checking to make sure there wasn't anything behind him. "You know how shadows can grow or shrink when the source of light moves? It was like that, only really fast and really large. After that I don't remember anything except for waking up on that beach."

"Speaking of your friends, I didn't find anyone aside from you," said Serge. He looked somewhat ashamed of himself as he looked at Ryo. "I'm sorry, but between the darkness of the hour and all the rain I could barely see two feet infront of me. But I tried as best as I could!"

Ryo sighed, then shook his head. "Don't worry about it- not your fault this happened. At least, I don't think it is- you don't seem like the kind of person who would send shadows to attack people," he said with a slight smile on his face. "But what happened? Who sent those shadows and who brought me here?"

"That's a good question, and I'm sure that investigating that won't be a bad idea," said Radius. He stood. "Your best bet would be to take a boat to Guldove and talk with shrine maidens- preferably Steena or Direa. You may check the beach for signs of your friends first if you wish, but I would HIGHLY suggest consulting the shrine maidens."

"We had an. . . incident. . . with other worlds about a year ago and the shrine maidens are a good place to start asking questions," said Serge. He cleared his throat. "It's a long story, but let's just say there were two alternate realities and I was the key to traveling between the two. They've since been merged into one world- this world- but this kind of thing is no stranger to us."

"Ironically enough the center of it all was Opassa Beach- where we found you. It's often been called the place 'Where Angels Loose Their Way', but it was the site of two dimensional vortexes. One was a bridge between the two worlds, and the other was a direct trip into the time stream where a young lady named Schala was being held prisoner," said Leena.

"We'll give you the details later- for now you need to get some rest," said Radius. He placed a hand on Serge's shoulder and smiled kindly at him. "Lie down and get some sleep- I'll give you some more appropriate clothing in the morning. The clothing you're in now isn't exactly common around here and we don't want you sticking out too much."

Ryo smiled sheepishly. "You really don't have to do all this," he said.

Radius laughed. "That's what you think- now sit down, shut up, and get some sleep."

"Yessir!"