Beta work by Slashapalooza—thanks, Slashy! In short, Kid and Serge's roles are switched. Yeah. You may remember someone publishing a remarkably similar story. Truth is, she got tired of it and handed it over to me for revising. So I did. So...yeah. Chrono Cross belongs to Square-Enix, and Adam belongs to the former authoress (Suki).
Chrono Cross Switcharoo
Chapter One: Rendezvous at Opassa
Silence filled the room around her, pierced only by her own soft breathing. Something dripped against the floor near the body, but the drops became muffled as the pool of blood extended over the harsh metal floor.
She felt the warm liquid seep through her shoes, the iron smell pervading her nostrils. This was terrible. Why had this happened? How had this happened? And...why did it seem like...she liked it? She looked down at the dagger clutched in her hand in a death grip. There was an unmistakable red stain along its blade—a red liquid that dripped steadily into the growing pool. So, she had done this...how perplexing. Strangely enough, she felt no remorse.
She walked in front of the boy's face, bending and looking down at him. He was good-looking, for the most part. His sun-tanned face had become pale in the heart of death, however, and blood had stained some of the blue strands that hung down over his face.
She shrugged. No, he was too far gone. Perhaps she would be merciful this day. Her gloved hand wrapped around a few of those interesting blue strands and pulled, separating his cheek from the sticky substance on the floor. She positioned the dagger at his throat. And so it would end.
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Kid jerked awake in a cold sweat, shivering in the chill night wind that swept through Arni Village. The dream had come again. So many times she had stood there, watching that strange boy die. So many times she had helped it along in the flash of a bloodstained blade...
'I need help,' she thought to herself flatly, standing and going to the window. 'Why can't I stop worrying about this? That boy probably doesn't even exist...and even if he does, it's not like I'd ever get the chance to meet someone like him. He looks like he's got the potential to be a famous star somewhere far away.' Kid shook her head. It wasn't as if she even wanted to kill anyone, and if she did, well...she certainly wouldn't react the way she had in the dream.
She settled back into bed, listening to the chirping of the few wandering Komodo dragons that had strayed from Lizard Rock. It was little use lingering on what was impossible, she decided. But Kid had all the trouble in the world getting back to sleep that night.
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"Kid!"
Ah. The first noise to break the morning silence. Kid rolled over, almost inhaling her long blond hair, and blinked dazedly. Did she really want to get up? She thought about it. 'No.'
"KID!"
The second shout rattled the pans in the kitchen. Kid paused on the verge of rolling over again. "What?" she called down half-heartedly.
"I've been calling you for five minutes now! You can either get down here or I can come up there!"
Kid groaned drowsily, the back of her hand hitting the floor with a crack as she grudgingly rolled toward the sunlight. "Ouch," she muttered as the pain traveled up her arm. It was little wonder that her father was getting her up all the time. Kid's father, Wazuki, had made the decision to try to fill the spaces of both parents after his wife died so long ago. As a result, Kid was waking up every day at seven, and not liking it one bit.
"What's the rush?" she asked when she came downstairs after dressing. She stuck a cloth in her teeth and went through the mechanical movements of braiding her hair as she sat down at the kitchen table.
"Your cousin wanted to see you," Wazuki told her, "and you shouldn't sleep in all the times you do." He set down a plate of toast.
Kid frowned at it, tying the cloth tightly around her braid. "Coffee does the job just as well."
Wazuki frowned at her, but poured her a cup. "Adam was with her," he added to his previous comment.
Kid smacked herself in the forehead. "Dad!" she groaned. She had entertained a short-term crush on Adam a few years ago, but that had died once she figured out he was physically inept, not very sexy, and unable to handle even menial tasks. Wazuki, however, was still convinced that Kid and Adam would share a happy life together sometime in the near future.
"Anyway, Leena wants to talk to you as soon as she can," Wazuki explained, pouring himself some coffee.
Kid paused to consider that, and then began nibbling at her toast.
It was moments later that Wazuki kicked her out of the house, and Kid had little choice but to meet Leena and Adam at the pier. Adam was a fairly attractive young man with short blond hair and the green eyes that held a smaller amount of the light of knowledge. Kid found the two engaged in a rather passionate kiss that had transfixed the children whom Leena was supposed to be babysitting. "Morning, Leena," she greeted her cousin in a clipped tone.
"Oh—oh, right," Leena realized, quickly untangling herself from Adam. "Adam here was going to get me some Komodo dragon scales—"
"Naturally."
"—And I need someone to go with him to make sure he doesn't get hurt." Leena shot Kid a pointed look.
"Don't look at me," Kid told her sharply, turning away.
Leena frowned. "Do you remember how Belcha's countertop was mysteriously coated over with blue paint last week—"
"All right! All right! I'll do it!" Kid said in a resigned voice. "But you'd better keep your mouth shut."
"Oh, yeah, I remember that, too!" Adam told Leena. "Who do you think did it?"
The girls stared at him.
"I guess you can say the secret's safe with me," Leena replied, shooting Adam a doubtful look. Kid could just see the second thoughts sprouting up in her cousin's mind. "Uh—so, right, Adam, you go with Kid and get me those Komodo dragon scales. Okay?"
"Sure thing." Adam couldn't conceal the smile that spread over his face. Kid had learned fairly soon that Adam had taken a fancy to her since she wore such revealing clothing.
"Whatever, let's just go," Kid groaned, starting off.
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"Scree!" the Komodo dragon chirped in a panic as it took a sharp turn and kept running. Kid knifed along the ground after it, and a flustered Adam ran headlong into the coral nearby. Ignoring him, Kid continued to race after the Komodo dragon, but missed the rock in front of her. She let out a yelp as she tripped, but seized the dragon on the way down, tumbling with it to the end of the incline.
"Gotcha!" she exclaimed triumphantly as the Komodo dragon continued to chirp wildly. She held it still, searching for the one scale. On each Komodo dragon was a single scale that glimmered like the surface of the sea; the problem with obtaining that scale was that the positioning was different for every Komodo dragon. Kid successfully located that scale on the Komodo dragon's chest, and, with a quick yank, dislocated it.
"SCREE!" the Komodo dragon half-screamed as the scale came off. Kid released it into the water and took out a cloth to clean up the green, pus-like fluid on the underside of the scale. It had a very nice shape, almost that of a raindrop. Leena would be pleased with it.
"That's all of them," Kid told Adam as he rejoined her, sticking the scale inside a pouch they'd brought along. After Adam managed to lose the first two scales, it had been decided that Kid would carry them.
Adam let out a sigh of relief. But just then his eyes met the pair that were behind Kid. "Um...um...um...um..." he began to murmur ceaselessly.
Kid gave him a funny look, but her expression changed as she followed his gaze. Behind her was a full grown, mother Komodo dragon. It was a dragon who had just witnessed the persecution of a young Komodo dragon, and who was present, no doubt, for revenge. "Look out!" Adam shouted suddenly, knocking Kid out of the way as the dragon's tail swished towards them. Kid landed safely in the water, but the heavy knob of the tail came down on Adam's back with a thud. Adam groaned softly and dropped to the ground.
"Damn!" Kid muttered, climbing to her feet. The dragon bellowed, raising one foot high in the air. Kid seized Adam's arms and tugged him out of the way before the foot could come down on his head. "Hey!" she shouted at the dragon, waving her arms and leading it away from Adam. Although, she admitted to herself, she wasn't entirely sure what she was going to do.
But Komodo dragons were quick, even as adults, and Kid soon found herself running for more than just Adam's life. She darted up a thick, rope-like plant and up onto a ledge. The mother Komodo dragon let out a subdued bellow and, giving up on Kid, turned to get Adam. Kid shouted again, throwing rocks at the dragon until it turned around. Kid, now full of the thrill of the moment, then wiggled her backside provokingly, all the while sticking out her tongue and pulling down her left eyelid. This seemed to send the dragon into a rage, and it charged, slamming its head into the base of the ledge.
Kid lost her balance, falling back against the ground, and managed to grab the edges just before she fell off. "Whoa..." she murmured, this time staying crouched so as to keep from falling.
The dragon was losing patience, and this time reared up on its back legs, slamming its forelegs onto the ledge so that Kid was in range. Without thinking about it, Kid brought a fist down on the dragon's head.
Blinking dazedly, the dragon slid back down and glowered up at her, letting out angry bellows. Kid looked down at it, trying to get her mind to focus. What was it that Kiki's grandfather had mentioned about mother Komodo dragons? About their weak point? It was just as the dragon reared up a second time that Kid remembered: the weak point was in the back of their neck! That made sense, since the Komodo dragons had that array of pointed spikes around their head.
Kid stepped up on the dragon's head—" 'Scuse me,"—and plunged a fist into the tender skin of its neck. The dragon let out a groan and sank to the ground.
Kid stepped down, feeling immensely proud of herself. Not only had she saved
Adam and herself, but she had also managed to escape the dragon without killing it. "You'll thank me when you wake up," she said to it, patting the tough skin of its head. "You have a lot to learn about mercy." Just then she remembered something else...something about mercy...what was it again?
"Kid? Are you all right?" Adam asked as he approached her, rubbing his back and grimacing.
"Fine. More importantly, how's your back?" Kid asked him, dismissing all thought of her mysterious recollection.
"Could be better," Adam admitted. "But it shouldn't be too serious. Is that thing dead?"
"Just unconscious," Kid told him.
"Are you crazy?! That thing's dangerous! We have to get rid of it!"
"You worry too much. Come on—Leena's waiting."
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Kid walked out onto the beach, her arms spread wide. "Beautiful, beautiful Opassa," she said simply for the sake of saying it. It was repeated almost like a chant in Arni. But it was only a way of masking her sudden, irrational fear. She could still remember how that fear had originated, now as she sat down quickly, feeling safer against the waves that brushed up against the beach. She could remember how she had loved the sea, back then...how she had run along the beach, swerving time after time into those cerulean waters. Then had come that day when Wazuki was summoned aside, and had left her with a friend to watch her. But the friend was not a reliable one, and was still single, and so Kid soon found herself alone by the beach, save her friends, who were no older than she was.
She then had become a victim of the undertow, talking with Leena and Adam for a long time, floating gently in the water. Suddenly Kid couldn't touch bottom—there had been a panic, and Leena and Adam made it back to firm sand.
Kid, however, was being pulled further and further out to sea, with only the cries of the other two to accompany her. She struggled—she started sinking, kicking futilely and struggling to rise above the waves that were pushing her head under. She went down one foot, then another, then another, until she couldn't be sure how far down she really was. Her nose and mouth were filled with water, and her eyes were shut tightly. But it seemed to her that she would die soon—her life had flashed before her eyes, all six years of it—and then she looked up one more time, seeing the sun glimmering through the shifting water. It seemed like something had eclipsed the sun then—too big to be a cloud, but not circular enough to be the moon. And then...then she didn't remember much. Only waking up much later, feeling drained and tasting salt.
"You still remember what happened ten years ago?" Adam guessed, setting a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Kid nodded mutely. But her eyes came back into focus as Adam's hand slid down to her waist. "Stop it," she told him harshly, pushing his hand away.
"What? What did I do?"
Kid stood, brushing the sand from her skirt. "Leena and I may not always get along, but she's still my cousin, and my friend, and you're going to be faithful to her for as long as you're together."
"Or what?"
Kid rested her hand on her dagger's handle threateningly.
"Adam?"
The two of them turned, Adam looking strained and Kid with her hand still on her dagger. "All yours," Kid told her shortly. But she raised her eyebrows warningly at Adam before she walked away.
Kid sat down, leaning against the coral as she watched Leena happily receive the scales. She took out her dagger and looked at it for a few moments, remembering something connected with it...something she just couldn't quite pull into focus. Her mind seemed to slow down as she idly traced a circle on her leg, watching the small white line that followed the edge of the dagger.
She slowly began to push it a little harder with each rotation, almost without realizing it. The white line began to disappear more slowly, and more slowly still, until it turned into a full-fledged scratch—but a scratch that had not yet broken the skin. She felt the dagger pass through her skin suddenly, and felt blood welling up around the area. Her first reaction would have been to pull the dagger out at once and study the seriousness of the mark...but something in the back of her mind stopped her.
'You see?' came a voice that was not hers, whispering in the depths of her mind. 'It doesn't hurt you. It can never hurt you.'
Kid slowly realized that the voice was right...there was no pain. Why don't you go a little deeper? That seemed right—a little deeper. Why not? It couldn't hurt her. She pressed a little harder, felt the dagger go a little deeper into her leg. It still wasn't far enough to be serious...and it still didn't hurt. Tentatively, she pressed a little deeper. Something else in her mind was going on, shouting at her. What are you doing?! Why are you doing this?! This isn't right!
But Kid ignored this one, listening to the voice that still wanted her to go a little deeper. And suddenly the dagger wasn't going into her leg any longer—it was passing through the body of someone in front of her. It was the boy, she remembered now. The boy from her dream. She could see his eyes now, blue eyes, just like hers. Living eyes. Eyes that stared at her in horror as the dagger continued its painfully slow journey through him.
"No!" Kid shouted suddenly, pulling the dagger away. Her breath coming fast, she looked down at her leg, expecting to see the deep cut she had just given herself. But there was only the white, circular scratch, almost invisible against her skin. The dagger, however, was bloodstained almost halfway through. Kid could only stare at it, feeling somehow that that was not her blood...that was someone else's. A strange sense of déjà vu swept over her as she saw a single droplet fall onto the beach.
"Kid?" Leena called from the other side of the beach, where she and Adam were standing. "We're getting ready to go. Coming?"
Kid quickly hid the dagger behind her back. "Sure—sure, just a second." She stood and went to the water to wash off the dagger, pausing when she realized the dagger was no longer bloodstained. All the same, she drenched it in water up to the hilt, and ran her glove along the blade to get off any excess of the seemingly illusionary blood.
/Kid.../
Kid frowned and looked behind her. That hadn't sounded like Leena's voice...was that a boy's voice? But it couldn't be Adam, he was standing over there with Leena...
/Kid.../
"Who's there?" she called haltingly, looking around more frantically.
"Kid?" Leena called again. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know..." Kid stopped suddenly, looking back at the edge of the water. There was what looked like a shadow of a boy...but then he was gone. What was going on?
"Kid, you're getting further out!" Adam called to her.
Kid looked down to see that the water, which had been only up to her knees a moment ago, was now just below her chest. The last wave pulled her a little further out, and firm ground floated away from her. Again, she couldn't touch bottom. Panic washed over her as memories guided her movements. She had to get over to the shallow water...but already she was spitting out the water that was getting into her mouth.
She turned around, seeing the next wave come in. It seemed to grow imperceptibly, and something else flashed back to her. Memories of running, screaming, as blood ran down her shoulders and legs, knowing that black death followed close behind her. She blinked, and then the wave hit her in the forehead, hard. She collapsed, sinking, and blacked out.
It seemed like moments later that she was awake again, with Adam and Leena sitting on either side of her. Both were waterlogged, as Kid realized she must be as well. But they weren't the only ones there. A face, strangely blurred, also looked down at her, transparent enough to show the sun behind it. The effect was for the owner to look strangely like an angel.
"Kid? Kid, are you okay?" Leena was saying, but the words didn't penetrate Kid's faltering consciousness. Maybe it was an illusion, but it seemed to Kid that there were strange, light-blue strands of light coming up from the ground around her, reaching up as far as the eye could see. There was a breeze coming from...below her? But that didn't make sense...
A second wave came in, reaching all the way to the coral...and yet it didn't touch her. Everything around her seemed to have gone black, or just not the color it was supposed to be. Leena and Adam were no longer moving, frozen, staring at her through discolored eyes. But the transparent figure was still wavering with breath. Kid struggled, but she could not make it come into any better focus.
Color returned to her surroundings, and she felt strangely weak. But the figure above her had solidified, and she could now tell it was the boy...the same boy that had been the shadow on the beach. But she still couldn't see his face. It seemed like he smiled at her, and then calmly walked away down the beach.
Kid turned over, trying to see where he went, but then the weakness pulled her down. The light faded from her eyes as she lay still on Opassa Beach.
A/N: I made Adam a little more heroic—about as heroic as a perverted incompetent can be—and I plan to have a much more inclusive relationship between Kid and Leena. As opposed to Kid running around and saving the world while Leena perpetually watches the kids at the dock. To continue, please insert one review. Thanks for reading!
