Chapter Two: The Harlequin's Return
The firey girl whirled around to find herself face to face with a bizzare young woman dressed in the costume and makeup of a harlequin. She raised one eyebrow before commenting. "What the hell is a circus clown doin' here, and what right do you have to tell me ta shut up?" Perhaps if she had not focused so much on killing Lynx, she would have remembered the mysterious companion who had been with him the night the orphanage burned, but as it was, Harle being that person did not occur to her.
"If you muzt know, ja'mapelle Harle, and I am no circus clown. I came to tell you zhat Monsieur Serge, at least zhe one you are searching for, is not dead."
Kid glared at Harle suspiciously. "And just how would you know that?" she spat, her dislike for the clown winning over her renewed hope of finding Serge. "And what does ja'mapelle mean, anyway?"
Harle laughed, her voice mingling with the ringing of the bells adorning her headdress. "What I said was 'My name is Harle'. A dog like you could do with some culture, no?"
That was the last straw for Kid. In a flash she had her dagger drawn and was racing towards the mischievous jester, but Harle easily backflipped onto a rocky ledge out of the enraged thief's reach. "Calm down. I did not come to fight. I want to find Monsieur Serge az much az you."
Harle prepared to jump back down, but Kid brandished her dagger in warning. "Why don't ya tell me everything you know about Serge, and if yer lucky I might consider working with ya. If you call me dog one more time, though, I'll kick yer arse so hard you kiss the moons."
"Very well, I will tell you everyzing I know," Harle lied. "Zhe Serge whom you want to find lives in zhe... how do you say... parallel dimension. Zhere was once a portal to zhis alternate realite' on Opassa Beach, but it has dissapeared. I do not know how to open zhis portal, but I will help you find zhe way.
"I still don't trust ya, but yer the only person who knows anything useful at all. So where do we go to find out how ta open a portal to another world?" In the past, Kid would have laughed at how crazy her own words sounded, but lately she had been getting used to the supernatural.
"Zhat is somezing I do know. Zhe answer is Viper Manor. Zhere is a man zhere who I believe will be able to give us zhe information we need," the jester explained thoughtfully. "Now zhat I have told you all zhis, will you allow me to come down?"
Kid rolled her eyes, but sheathed her dagger, turning to depart the grave site without another word. Only because of her carefully trained ears could the thief even hear her unwanted companion's footsteps behind her.
After locating Korcha and explaining the new situation to him over a meal, they made arrangments to stay in Arni for the night in order to be able to have a fresh start in the morning when they would find a way into Viper Manor.
"I still don't trust her, Kid," Korcha complained quietly as soon as he got a chance to talk without allerting the harlequin. "I'd rather go back to Guldove."
"I know, but she's the only lead we have. And anyway, what are ya proposing to do? Leave me alone with 'er? Not that I like the idea, but I thought you wanted me ta be yer girl," Kid commented slyly. Korcha may have been annoying, but Harle was much worse in Kid's opinion.
This well-thought reminder affected Korcha just as the clever thief knew it would. "DonCHA worry, Kid. I've gotta protect my future wife from that crazy clown. Anyway, now that I know what's going on, I want to see how it turns out."
Despite the fact that Kid had brought it upon herself, she had to fight the urge to kick the arrogant demi-human boy after the comment about her being his so-called future wife. Sighing with resignation, she walked back to the corner that she had designated as her sleeping spot. It had turned out that Arni was such a small and infrequently visited village that there was no official inn, and the three chose to share a single room rather than sleep outside. There had been stormclouds in the sky all day long, and no one wanted to wake up soaking wet. Of course, Kid still slept as far away as the other two as was possible in the cramped space.
It did not rain after all, and the hike to Viper Manor the next day was pleasent, at least as far as weather and temperature goes.
"Oi Harle, what's this guy's name, anyway?" Kid asked, her voice lacking the agressive tone she normally used when speaking with the clown girl.
Harle simply smiled at her, crimson eyes sparkling. "If I told you zhat, you would leave moi behind. I know you well enough to realize zhat."
Kid tried her best to look innocent. "Aw, c'mon. I'm not that mean, am I?"
Korcha snickered, but quickly changed it to a fake cough when Kid turned to glare at him.
Other than this and a few other brief exchanges, the trio remained almost silent until they finally reached the gates of Viper Manor, where it occured to Kid that she had ben so focused on finding Serge that she had not considered the best way to sneak past the guards. Before Kid could stop her, Harle stepped into the open, revealing herself.
To Kid's surprise, the guards took one look at Harle and began to open the gate. "Oh, you are Lynx's servent. Please come in."
Harle and Korcha made their way through the gates, but Kid had stopped paying attention to anything other than the sentry's words. She was just barely able to keep herself from attacking Harle right then and there. Teeth clenched, muscles tense, and hand on the hilt of her dagger, she forced herself to follow the two-faced harlequin, silently swearing to kill her when she got the chance.
Harle led the way through the halls of the mansion, and the soldiers paid her no mind. Soon, the trio crossed a stone bridge and entered the tower library. It appeared empty at first, but as Kid examined the room, she quite suddenly realized that an aged man was sitting motionlessly at a desk in the center of the book-stuffed tower, reading some huge dusty volume. When his eyes finally left the anciant pages to focus on the guests, he raised his eyebrows just slightly and stood up, beckoning the three travelers to come forward.
"Bonjour, Monsieur Belthezar," Harle said quickly, not wanting the prophet to speak first and possibly give away information that the jester did not want revealed quite yet. "My companions and monself have come zeeking certain knowledge. We wish to reopen zhe dimensional portal. You can tell uz zhe way, no?"
"Why would you want to do that, Harle? With the portal closed, everything is as it should be. Travel between worlds now will create new complications."
"If a problem arizes, zhen I will repair zhe damage. We zimply want to vizit Monsieur Serge." Harle explained responsibly.
"Even dragons can fall in love, I see," Belthazar said with a smile, causing Harle to raise a finger to her lips in a sign for silence, and Kid to glare darkly at the back of the clown's head.
Finally, the thief could not stand it anymore. "Alright Harle, or whoever you are. You've got a lot of explaining to do," she growled, shifting into her attack position, dagger drawn. "First, what exactly is yer connecton to Lynx, and second, what the hell did he mean about dragons?"
Harle smiled innocently and turned to answer the angered girl. "Zhat is information zhat you do not need to know yet, mon cherri." She jumped to the side as Kid charged, and then had to flip over a bookshelf to avoid the slashing dagger. "You are getting cranky. Perhaps you need zhe nap," she muttered before blasting Kid with her Lunairatic element, sending her crashing into a shelf behind her.
Korcha jumped forward with a startled shout, "What didCHA do to my Kid?!" but before he could physically defend the injured girl, Belthazar placed a firm hand on Harle's small shoulder.
"That is quite enough. You are making a mess of my library. I will tell you how to reach Serge, but I expect you to pick up the books which fell when you attacked your friend."
Harle was not very happy about being scolded like a child, but she decided it was best not to challange the Prophet of Time. She knew she could easily destroy him, but the fact was that she did not want to. Instead, she watched as Korcha helped Kid to her feet, and then had to hold her back when she attempted to run forward for another try. Kid was holding one hand to her head, and the demi-human boy was afraid that she had hit the spot where her concussion had been. Belthazar talked her into calming down, and Harle stayed far out of her reach. Once they had finally managed to convince her to leave the harlequin alone for the time being, Belthazar returned to his chair and desk.
"She has no memories of what happened before, does she?" the prophet asked, and Harle replied negatively.
Korcha, who was still fussing over Kid, looked over his shoulder. "Memories of what?"
"Neizzer does he," said Harle, and yet another argument insued. Luckily, actual violance was prevented the second time around. Order was soon restored and the trio waited for the prophet to begin
"Let us see..." he muttered, deep in thought. "Miss Kid, do you have the Astral Amulet with you?"
Kid automatically reached for the place where she had kept the little treasure tied to her belt, but froze when her fingers found nothing there. "Oi, it's gone! Bugger! What the hell happened to it?!"
Belthazar raised a hand to silence the over-excitable young thief. "It is alright. Your amulet is with Serge. I was hoping that this was the case. The amulet has the power to carry a person through the portal from one world to another."
Kid immediately perked up at this. "So all I gotta do is tell Serge to use my amulet?"
But the prophet shook his head, dampening her hopeful expression. "That would be the case if the portal was still open, but it was closed after you and Serge were seperated. Before you ask, yes, you were together at one time. You do not remember now, but I believe you will eventually. As I was saying, to reopen the portal, a link needs to be created between worlds. because the Astral Amulet of Schala originated from this world, it can be used to make up half of the link. In order for this link to be completed, however, you need some item which was brought to this dimension from the other. If my theory is correct, the task will be quite easy. Once you have the second half, all you need to do is arrange for both items to be brought to a place where the portal is, one in each world. Then it should be a simple matter of one person calling the other through the portal. It is up to you and Serge to choose which world to meet in."
Kid nodded, regretting the motion when her head took the chance to remind her that it was still hurt. She brushed it off, however, too excited about the prospect of finding Serge, even if she did not remember ever meeting him face to face in the past, save for the time he had rescued her from the burning orphanage. "Great, so I just need somethin' that came from his world..." she mused, chewing thoughtfully on her bottom lip. Her gaze shifted to Korcha and Harle as she addressed them. "I don't suppose either of you has anything?"
To her dissapointment, she was answered with shaking heads from both. Although she doubted the likelihood of finding something useful, she untied a pouch from her belt and dumped its contents onto the floor in front of the spot where she, Korcha, and Harle sat. She sifted through the smal trinkets that were her only possessions other than the clothes on her back and the dagger on her belt. There was a pretty seashell, a few precious jewels, and the remains of a burnt child's drawing that had been retrieved from the orphanage, as well as a few items that Kid did not remember seeing before. Most did not appear too important, but one was a beautiful rainbow-colored scale, and another was a folded piece of paper with something written on it. With great curiousity, she unfolded the letter and began to read. Those waiting for her watched as her expression changed to one of wonder, then surprise, and finally sorrow. "Sis..." the word escaped her mouth without her even realizing she had said it out loud. quietly, her entire demeanor reversed, she turned away from the others, not wanting them to see the unshed tears forming in her sky blue eyes. The seemingly innocent paper fell from her hands, showing itself to be a letter signed by someone named Lucca Ashtear. Korcha placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she pushed him away, and afterwords all three of the obversers wisely decided not to question Kid's uncharacteristic reaction, and instead waited wordlessly for her to recover.
A long silence passed until Belthazar decided that it was time to resume their important conversation. "Kid..." but before he could say anything more, Harle reached out and picked up the as of yet unexplained scale, her red eyes gleeming with delight.
"Zhis is it! Zhis is what we need!" The energetic harlequin cheered, holding out the shimmering object for all to see. "Zhe komodo dragon scale zhat Monsieur Serge brought with him from his world!"
Her face resolute, Kid turned and held out her hand in a silent request for the return of her scale. Once Harle had dropped the treasure into the outstretched hand, Kid returned it and the other items into the bag, carefully refolding and placing the letter in last. Once this was completed, stood and walked to the door, muttering a brief thanks to Belthazar while she waited for her would-be friends to follow her. Korcha took a breath and opened his mouth, but closed it again at a significant glance from Harle.
The trio made it back to Arni by nightfall, the walk back from Viper Manor having been even quieter than the one there. The only thing keeping Kid from going straight on to Opassa Beach without rest was the fact that she still needed to relay the plan to Serge, and to do so, she needed to dream. With this in mind, she fell asleep very quickly.
It was a nightmare that chose to play itself out in her mind. She was standing in a circular room, watched by six dragon statues which she knew represented the six dragon gods of El Nido. In the center of the room stood a pedestal on top of which was an object she somehow recognized as the Dragon Tear. More importantly, however, were the other people in the room with her. Serge stood beside her, as well as a person she did not immediately recognize. Opposite them was Lynx. Reflexively, she drew her dagger and made as if to attack, but something as not right, and she hesitated in confusion. Serge spoke then, egging her on, but when she did not move, he took her dagger from her, offering to avenge Lucca for her.
Kid had never told Serge the name of the person who Lynx had killed, and now she realized what was wrong, but too late. The Serge who was not really Serge charged forward, and Kid watched the deadly tip of her own dagger turned against her.
Although Serge had awakened on the beach with clear memories of the magnificent adventure he had shared with Kid and his many other friends, from discovering the truth about his father, to battling the Time Devourer and Lavos, everyone he mentioned it to insisted that it must have been a dream. After only a couple days of this, he began to think so too, and the memories faded into nothing. Nothing, that is, except for the image of a girl dressed in red standing with her hands on her hips and a confident smile on her beautiful face. To his surprise, this girl continued to visit his dreams, speaking of how she wanted to find him. He had never replied out loud to her, but he knew that she was aware of his odd but strong desire to meet her, whoever or whatever she was.
He did not have much time to think about the girl during the day, as Leena had become more and more demanding. He tried his best not to let it bother him. She was his best friend and more, after all, but he could not help being slightly annoyed by how tightly she seemed to hold him, as if afraid that he would leave her if she loosened her metaphorical grip. At one time, he had wandered away from Arni for a few days, although he had no idea how or where to find the girl. when he returned, Leena and his mother both commented on a change in him, but it was not enough to alarm them.
That night, however, he had another dream that was in fact a small section of the first one. There was the girl in red again, and it looked as if another version of himself was attacking her. A split second before she was stabbed, however, Serge jumped between her and his evil counterpart, and the dream faded, leaving the two of them standing in total darkness. Despite the pitch blackness, they could see eachother clearly as if they each glowed with their own light source.
"Thanks, Serge. Bugger, that was close..." Kid said with a sigh of relief.
"How do you know my name?" the boy asked. It was the first time Kid had heard him speak in any of her dreams or visions.
She shrugged, not wanting to waste her time. "Long story. I'll tell ya about it later. What I really wanted to tell ya was that I found a way that we can meet," she explained with a smile. "You should have an amulet that ya probably don't remember ever getting, am I right?" When he nodded, she continued, "That amulet's mine, and it came from my world. I've got this komodo scale thingy that came from yours. According to this guy named Belthazar, if we take both items to a certain place, a portal connectin' our worlds will open. Any idea where that place might be?"
Serge thought for a moment, happy that he would soon meet the mysterious beauty. "What about Opassa Beach?"
She grinned brightly at his suggestion. "I was thinkin' the exact same thing, Mate. As soon as you wake up, head down to the beach and wait there. I'll do the same. I'll find ya fer sure, you can count on it!" Kid had wanted very much to stay and talk to Serge for a while, but as soon as the last sentence left her mouth, her mind drifted away from the dark void and the rest of the night was spent in dreamless slumber for both of them.
Korcha and Harle were awakened unintentionally by Kid as she grabbed her dagger and the komodo scale from her pouch and dashed out into the pre- dawn mist. Mere minutes later in a parallel world, Marge sat up in confusion as her son hurried out of his room and through the front door, then had to come back in to retrieve the weapon he had left behind, incase he ran into trouble on the way. He was gone again before she could call his name. They reached their respective Opassa Beaches at the exact moment, Kid having been slowed down just slightly by a few wild monsters.
Excited almost to the point of leaping for joy, Kid held forth the scale and instantly found herself surrounded by a swirling vortex as the gate opened. Tendrels of shining energy like the Aurora Borealis spiraled around her, one of them shooting so close to her hand that she pulled it back suddenly, the scale slipping from her grasp. There was a flash as the vortex was disrupted, and the pain of extreme anxiety welled up from the pit of Kid's stomach. Her eyes widened in fear and she dropped to the sand in search of the lost scale, but the sand was no longer there. The wild ribbons of power closed around the star-stealing girl, and Kid was not herself anymore, in every sense of the words.
The firey girl whirled around to find herself face to face with a bizzare young woman dressed in the costume and makeup of a harlequin. She raised one eyebrow before commenting. "What the hell is a circus clown doin' here, and what right do you have to tell me ta shut up?" Perhaps if she had not focused so much on killing Lynx, she would have remembered the mysterious companion who had been with him the night the orphanage burned, but as it was, Harle being that person did not occur to her.
"If you muzt know, ja'mapelle Harle, and I am no circus clown. I came to tell you zhat Monsieur Serge, at least zhe one you are searching for, is not dead."
Kid glared at Harle suspiciously. "And just how would you know that?" she spat, her dislike for the clown winning over her renewed hope of finding Serge. "And what does ja'mapelle mean, anyway?"
Harle laughed, her voice mingling with the ringing of the bells adorning her headdress. "What I said was 'My name is Harle'. A dog like you could do with some culture, no?"
That was the last straw for Kid. In a flash she had her dagger drawn and was racing towards the mischievous jester, but Harle easily backflipped onto a rocky ledge out of the enraged thief's reach. "Calm down. I did not come to fight. I want to find Monsieur Serge az much az you."
Harle prepared to jump back down, but Kid brandished her dagger in warning. "Why don't ya tell me everything you know about Serge, and if yer lucky I might consider working with ya. If you call me dog one more time, though, I'll kick yer arse so hard you kiss the moons."
"Very well, I will tell you everyzing I know," Harle lied. "Zhe Serge whom you want to find lives in zhe... how do you say... parallel dimension. Zhere was once a portal to zhis alternate realite' on Opassa Beach, but it has dissapeared. I do not know how to open zhis portal, but I will help you find zhe way.
"I still don't trust ya, but yer the only person who knows anything useful at all. So where do we go to find out how ta open a portal to another world?" In the past, Kid would have laughed at how crazy her own words sounded, but lately she had been getting used to the supernatural.
"Zhat is somezing I do know. Zhe answer is Viper Manor. Zhere is a man zhere who I believe will be able to give us zhe information we need," the jester explained thoughtfully. "Now zhat I have told you all zhis, will you allow me to come down?"
Kid rolled her eyes, but sheathed her dagger, turning to depart the grave site without another word. Only because of her carefully trained ears could the thief even hear her unwanted companion's footsteps behind her.
After locating Korcha and explaining the new situation to him over a meal, they made arrangments to stay in Arni for the night in order to be able to have a fresh start in the morning when they would find a way into Viper Manor.
"I still don't trust her, Kid," Korcha complained quietly as soon as he got a chance to talk without allerting the harlequin. "I'd rather go back to Guldove."
"I know, but she's the only lead we have. And anyway, what are ya proposing to do? Leave me alone with 'er? Not that I like the idea, but I thought you wanted me ta be yer girl," Kid commented slyly. Korcha may have been annoying, but Harle was much worse in Kid's opinion.
This well-thought reminder affected Korcha just as the clever thief knew it would. "DonCHA worry, Kid. I've gotta protect my future wife from that crazy clown. Anyway, now that I know what's going on, I want to see how it turns out."
Despite the fact that Kid had brought it upon herself, she had to fight the urge to kick the arrogant demi-human boy after the comment about her being his so-called future wife. Sighing with resignation, she walked back to the corner that she had designated as her sleeping spot. It had turned out that Arni was such a small and infrequently visited village that there was no official inn, and the three chose to share a single room rather than sleep outside. There had been stormclouds in the sky all day long, and no one wanted to wake up soaking wet. Of course, Kid still slept as far away as the other two as was possible in the cramped space.
It did not rain after all, and the hike to Viper Manor the next day was pleasent, at least as far as weather and temperature goes.
"Oi Harle, what's this guy's name, anyway?" Kid asked, her voice lacking the agressive tone she normally used when speaking with the clown girl.
Harle simply smiled at her, crimson eyes sparkling. "If I told you zhat, you would leave moi behind. I know you well enough to realize zhat."
Kid tried her best to look innocent. "Aw, c'mon. I'm not that mean, am I?"
Korcha snickered, but quickly changed it to a fake cough when Kid turned to glare at him.
Other than this and a few other brief exchanges, the trio remained almost silent until they finally reached the gates of Viper Manor, where it occured to Kid that she had ben so focused on finding Serge that she had not considered the best way to sneak past the guards. Before Kid could stop her, Harle stepped into the open, revealing herself.
To Kid's surprise, the guards took one look at Harle and began to open the gate. "Oh, you are Lynx's servent. Please come in."
Harle and Korcha made their way through the gates, but Kid had stopped paying attention to anything other than the sentry's words. She was just barely able to keep herself from attacking Harle right then and there. Teeth clenched, muscles tense, and hand on the hilt of her dagger, she forced herself to follow the two-faced harlequin, silently swearing to kill her when she got the chance.
Harle led the way through the halls of the mansion, and the soldiers paid her no mind. Soon, the trio crossed a stone bridge and entered the tower library. It appeared empty at first, but as Kid examined the room, she quite suddenly realized that an aged man was sitting motionlessly at a desk in the center of the book-stuffed tower, reading some huge dusty volume. When his eyes finally left the anciant pages to focus on the guests, he raised his eyebrows just slightly and stood up, beckoning the three travelers to come forward.
"Bonjour, Monsieur Belthezar," Harle said quickly, not wanting the prophet to speak first and possibly give away information that the jester did not want revealed quite yet. "My companions and monself have come zeeking certain knowledge. We wish to reopen zhe dimensional portal. You can tell uz zhe way, no?"
"Why would you want to do that, Harle? With the portal closed, everything is as it should be. Travel between worlds now will create new complications."
"If a problem arizes, zhen I will repair zhe damage. We zimply want to vizit Monsieur Serge." Harle explained responsibly.
"Even dragons can fall in love, I see," Belthazar said with a smile, causing Harle to raise a finger to her lips in a sign for silence, and Kid to glare darkly at the back of the clown's head.
Finally, the thief could not stand it anymore. "Alright Harle, or whoever you are. You've got a lot of explaining to do," she growled, shifting into her attack position, dagger drawn. "First, what exactly is yer connecton to Lynx, and second, what the hell did he mean about dragons?"
Harle smiled innocently and turned to answer the angered girl. "Zhat is information zhat you do not need to know yet, mon cherri." She jumped to the side as Kid charged, and then had to flip over a bookshelf to avoid the slashing dagger. "You are getting cranky. Perhaps you need zhe nap," she muttered before blasting Kid with her Lunairatic element, sending her crashing into a shelf behind her.
Korcha jumped forward with a startled shout, "What didCHA do to my Kid?!" but before he could physically defend the injured girl, Belthazar placed a firm hand on Harle's small shoulder.
"That is quite enough. You are making a mess of my library. I will tell you how to reach Serge, but I expect you to pick up the books which fell when you attacked your friend."
Harle was not very happy about being scolded like a child, but she decided it was best not to challange the Prophet of Time. She knew she could easily destroy him, but the fact was that she did not want to. Instead, she watched as Korcha helped Kid to her feet, and then had to hold her back when she attempted to run forward for another try. Kid was holding one hand to her head, and the demi-human boy was afraid that she had hit the spot where her concussion had been. Belthazar talked her into calming down, and Harle stayed far out of her reach. Once they had finally managed to convince her to leave the harlequin alone for the time being, Belthazar returned to his chair and desk.
"She has no memories of what happened before, does she?" the prophet asked, and Harle replied negatively.
Korcha, who was still fussing over Kid, looked over his shoulder. "Memories of what?"
"Neizzer does he," said Harle, and yet another argument insued. Luckily, actual violance was prevented the second time around. Order was soon restored and the trio waited for the prophet to begin
"Let us see..." he muttered, deep in thought. "Miss Kid, do you have the Astral Amulet with you?"
Kid automatically reached for the place where she had kept the little treasure tied to her belt, but froze when her fingers found nothing there. "Oi, it's gone! Bugger! What the hell happened to it?!"
Belthazar raised a hand to silence the over-excitable young thief. "It is alright. Your amulet is with Serge. I was hoping that this was the case. The amulet has the power to carry a person through the portal from one world to another."
Kid immediately perked up at this. "So all I gotta do is tell Serge to use my amulet?"
But the prophet shook his head, dampening her hopeful expression. "That would be the case if the portal was still open, but it was closed after you and Serge were seperated. Before you ask, yes, you were together at one time. You do not remember now, but I believe you will eventually. As I was saying, to reopen the portal, a link needs to be created between worlds. because the Astral Amulet of Schala originated from this world, it can be used to make up half of the link. In order for this link to be completed, however, you need some item which was brought to this dimension from the other. If my theory is correct, the task will be quite easy. Once you have the second half, all you need to do is arrange for both items to be brought to a place where the portal is, one in each world. Then it should be a simple matter of one person calling the other through the portal. It is up to you and Serge to choose which world to meet in."
Kid nodded, regretting the motion when her head took the chance to remind her that it was still hurt. She brushed it off, however, too excited about the prospect of finding Serge, even if she did not remember ever meeting him face to face in the past, save for the time he had rescued her from the burning orphanage. "Great, so I just need somethin' that came from his world..." she mused, chewing thoughtfully on her bottom lip. Her gaze shifted to Korcha and Harle as she addressed them. "I don't suppose either of you has anything?"
To her dissapointment, she was answered with shaking heads from both. Although she doubted the likelihood of finding something useful, she untied a pouch from her belt and dumped its contents onto the floor in front of the spot where she, Korcha, and Harle sat. She sifted through the smal trinkets that were her only possessions other than the clothes on her back and the dagger on her belt. There was a pretty seashell, a few precious jewels, and the remains of a burnt child's drawing that had been retrieved from the orphanage, as well as a few items that Kid did not remember seeing before. Most did not appear too important, but one was a beautiful rainbow-colored scale, and another was a folded piece of paper with something written on it. With great curiousity, she unfolded the letter and began to read. Those waiting for her watched as her expression changed to one of wonder, then surprise, and finally sorrow. "Sis..." the word escaped her mouth without her even realizing she had said it out loud. quietly, her entire demeanor reversed, she turned away from the others, not wanting them to see the unshed tears forming in her sky blue eyes. The seemingly innocent paper fell from her hands, showing itself to be a letter signed by someone named Lucca Ashtear. Korcha placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she pushed him away, and afterwords all three of the obversers wisely decided not to question Kid's uncharacteristic reaction, and instead waited wordlessly for her to recover.
A long silence passed until Belthazar decided that it was time to resume their important conversation. "Kid..." but before he could say anything more, Harle reached out and picked up the as of yet unexplained scale, her red eyes gleeming with delight.
"Zhis is it! Zhis is what we need!" The energetic harlequin cheered, holding out the shimmering object for all to see. "Zhe komodo dragon scale zhat Monsieur Serge brought with him from his world!"
Her face resolute, Kid turned and held out her hand in a silent request for the return of her scale. Once Harle had dropped the treasure into the outstretched hand, Kid returned it and the other items into the bag, carefully refolding and placing the letter in last. Once this was completed, stood and walked to the door, muttering a brief thanks to Belthazar while she waited for her would-be friends to follow her. Korcha took a breath and opened his mouth, but closed it again at a significant glance from Harle.
The trio made it back to Arni by nightfall, the walk back from Viper Manor having been even quieter than the one there. The only thing keeping Kid from going straight on to Opassa Beach without rest was the fact that she still needed to relay the plan to Serge, and to do so, she needed to dream. With this in mind, she fell asleep very quickly.
It was a nightmare that chose to play itself out in her mind. She was standing in a circular room, watched by six dragon statues which she knew represented the six dragon gods of El Nido. In the center of the room stood a pedestal on top of which was an object she somehow recognized as the Dragon Tear. More importantly, however, were the other people in the room with her. Serge stood beside her, as well as a person she did not immediately recognize. Opposite them was Lynx. Reflexively, she drew her dagger and made as if to attack, but something as not right, and she hesitated in confusion. Serge spoke then, egging her on, but when she did not move, he took her dagger from her, offering to avenge Lucca for her.
Kid had never told Serge the name of the person who Lynx had killed, and now she realized what was wrong, but too late. The Serge who was not really Serge charged forward, and Kid watched the deadly tip of her own dagger turned against her.
Although Serge had awakened on the beach with clear memories of the magnificent adventure he had shared with Kid and his many other friends, from discovering the truth about his father, to battling the Time Devourer and Lavos, everyone he mentioned it to insisted that it must have been a dream. After only a couple days of this, he began to think so too, and the memories faded into nothing. Nothing, that is, except for the image of a girl dressed in red standing with her hands on her hips and a confident smile on her beautiful face. To his surprise, this girl continued to visit his dreams, speaking of how she wanted to find him. He had never replied out loud to her, but he knew that she was aware of his odd but strong desire to meet her, whoever or whatever she was.
He did not have much time to think about the girl during the day, as Leena had become more and more demanding. He tried his best not to let it bother him. She was his best friend and more, after all, but he could not help being slightly annoyed by how tightly she seemed to hold him, as if afraid that he would leave her if she loosened her metaphorical grip. At one time, he had wandered away from Arni for a few days, although he had no idea how or where to find the girl. when he returned, Leena and his mother both commented on a change in him, but it was not enough to alarm them.
That night, however, he had another dream that was in fact a small section of the first one. There was the girl in red again, and it looked as if another version of himself was attacking her. A split second before she was stabbed, however, Serge jumped between her and his evil counterpart, and the dream faded, leaving the two of them standing in total darkness. Despite the pitch blackness, they could see eachother clearly as if they each glowed with their own light source.
"Thanks, Serge. Bugger, that was close..." Kid said with a sigh of relief.
"How do you know my name?" the boy asked. It was the first time Kid had heard him speak in any of her dreams or visions.
She shrugged, not wanting to waste her time. "Long story. I'll tell ya about it later. What I really wanted to tell ya was that I found a way that we can meet," she explained with a smile. "You should have an amulet that ya probably don't remember ever getting, am I right?" When he nodded, she continued, "That amulet's mine, and it came from my world. I've got this komodo scale thingy that came from yours. According to this guy named Belthazar, if we take both items to a certain place, a portal connectin' our worlds will open. Any idea where that place might be?"
Serge thought for a moment, happy that he would soon meet the mysterious beauty. "What about Opassa Beach?"
She grinned brightly at his suggestion. "I was thinkin' the exact same thing, Mate. As soon as you wake up, head down to the beach and wait there. I'll do the same. I'll find ya fer sure, you can count on it!" Kid had wanted very much to stay and talk to Serge for a while, but as soon as the last sentence left her mouth, her mind drifted away from the dark void and the rest of the night was spent in dreamless slumber for both of them.
Korcha and Harle were awakened unintentionally by Kid as she grabbed her dagger and the komodo scale from her pouch and dashed out into the pre- dawn mist. Mere minutes later in a parallel world, Marge sat up in confusion as her son hurried out of his room and through the front door, then had to come back in to retrieve the weapon he had left behind, incase he ran into trouble on the way. He was gone again before she could call his name. They reached their respective Opassa Beaches at the exact moment, Kid having been slowed down just slightly by a few wild monsters.
Excited almost to the point of leaping for joy, Kid held forth the scale and instantly found herself surrounded by a swirling vortex as the gate opened. Tendrels of shining energy like the Aurora Borealis spiraled around her, one of them shooting so close to her hand that she pulled it back suddenly, the scale slipping from her grasp. There was a flash as the vortex was disrupted, and the pain of extreme anxiety welled up from the pit of Kid's stomach. Her eyes widened in fear and she dropped to the sand in search of the lost scale, but the sand was no longer there. The wild ribbons of power closed around the star-stealing girl, and Kid was not herself anymore, in every sense of the words.