Chrono Cross Second Journey

Fan Novelization

Book 2

5   Under Cerulean Skies

flicker of light woke Kid from her sleep and her recurring dreams, the acute rouse of intuition jolted her body upright. She saw the chamber beyond the room door a light of fuzzy yellow that meant to her a warning of certain danger. She drew her dagger and leapt out of bed, swiftly and silently, ready to pounce and trounce a vile adversary who might seek to extend their sleep till the far end of time. Honed instincts motioned her feet and drifted them to the edge of the bedroom door frame, where she stood and watched furtively a figure lift a burning oil lamp. Weary relief soon washed down her being, when she watched the same figure of Leena ascend carefully the flight of stairs that led to the grounds above.

As Leena disappeared through the trapdoor, she took with her the warmth of the lamp and left behind the unpleasant chill of darkness that swept through and conquered the underground stronghold.

Kid sheathed her dagger, leaned her back against the door frame and heaved a sigh. The departure of light and the onset of darkness brought a moment of nausea and a swimming feeling in her head, as if on the edge of a cartwheel they set her mind and spun it round many times. Her ticklish nose forced a restrained sneeze, and subsequently, a burst of stars and colors in her eyes, and an ache that seized her temples and sat its heavy behind on her cranium. There were few times in her life that she had felt sickly, out of which, she had attributed to anything but her own misdeed. This time, she attributed it to the needless overuse of tonic and antidote by the village doctor during her poisoning.

When after a while the moment passed, her eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness. Miserable moonlight that fell that through the open trapdoor and tumbled down the steps and spilled its pale ambient over the walls and floors cast the surroundings into dim contrast. Faint silhouettes took form, among which she saw the dark outline of Serge, asleep, undisturbed. She imagined everything she could not see beyond the shadows: his peaceful expression, his hand cushioning his head, his legs tucked into his chest and his blanket fallen onto the floor in one crumpled mess. She imagined his figure, clear and bright, superimposed over the gloomy outlines, as if light showered and showered only upon him.

Over to him she tiptoed and felt her feet slide into his blanket that had indeed fallen on the floor. Slowly, she picked it up and laid it over his legs. Serge shifted and hastily Kid retreated. He remained asleep, however, much to her relief.

There were days in the past when she had been shown such concern. When she pretended to be asleep, Sis came to her and pulled the blanket to her chin. When she was really asleep, Sis pulled the blanket and woke her instead. Sis apologized, kissed Kid on her forehead and patted her back into sweet slumber. But when Lynx robbed Sis from her five years ago, he robbed the tender moments she held so dearly to her heart. Thrown into the wilderness, Kid was made to face the cold, unforgiving days alone, and could only reminisce what unforgettable childhood had long gone, never to return. Yet, for the past five years the many of wishes lay hidden in the depths of her heart. Among them, a modest wish to relive those loving days; a little girl's to have a loved one pull over her a blanket of warmth.

Kid's eyes watered, no thanks to an oncoming sneeze. She flicked the tear, held back the sneeze and left the underground chamber to join Leena in sleeplessness.

Jewels of faint, colorful twinkles studded the skies of midnight blue; the two moons of silver and red blotted it. Canopies of trees rose above the horizon, as if in the distance clouds of black had amassed. Leaves of the flora remained still and silent, as if forlornly awaiting the slightest of breezes. Consistent hums of insects drowned the silence, gave sounds of life to the otherwise lifeless forest. But the occasional croak of a frog disrupted the hums, injected pulse to the dull and linear monotone. The smoke from the fire that had dissipated had left behind an after-smell of ash and soot. The large tree that was once the support of Radius's seclusion was now a stark shadow of bare branches.

Leena walked through the woods towards the beach, lamp held tightly in her hands. As she walked, her shoulders cringed, as if in fear. With every tiptoe, her head flitted left and right. Kid walked up to her side, unheard and unnoticed.

"You shouldn't be out here alone," advised Kid.

Leena halted, turned to Kid and gasped. Even under the warmth of yellow, her face had turned pale.

"Y-Y-You--" she stuttered.

Kid laughed.

Leena slapped Kid on the arm. "Good riddance! Make a noise, you bum!" she hissed agitatedly. "You frighten me!"

"Come on. I frighten you?" Kid teased.

Leena patted herself on the chest and caught a few breaths. When she subdued her fear, she flounced away in anger.

"I can't believe you," said Kid, who tried to keep up.

"Some kind of friend you are, Kid," snapped Leena, her back to Kid. "You had me thinking I saw a ghost or something."

"Now, that is insulting," commented Kid with a smile.

They both emerge from the woods to the beach, where the sounds of waves rolled gently in to and out of. Beyond the shore, night cloaked the lands in the south where the beach faced and cloaked even the vast reaches of the sea. Only a seamless panorama remained, formed from the unlikely marriage of heaven and earth, as if at this moment both existed as an imposing whole. The colorless uniformity would strike the fear of isolation into Kid's heart, for it bore unnerving resemblance to the void she had constantly visited in her dreams. Tainted by the stars and moons and their perfect reflection on the sea, the view came to her only as much as a dreary painting would.

"The moons hanging like that in the sky... Creepy, don't you think?" said Leena as she sat carefully on the sandy beach. She placed the lamp beside her, adjusted its brightness and settled down, knees folded to her chest.

"Got over it yet?" joked Kid, as she sank her bottoms onto the sand.

Leena turned to Kid and made a face. "That is one for the books. I'll have that score settled later."

"As you wish. But why the moodiness? Don't look nothing like you."

"I'm just concerned. For Serge. It's a bad feeling."

"Familiar."

"You feel the same, too, don't you? I know you do."

"Sort of, Leena. Sort of."

"Tell me, Kid. What do you think of Serge?"

Kid turned to Leena, who gazed beyond the distant sky, with a smile on her face, sweet, but sad. Puzzled by her expression and the unexpected question, Kid composed no reply quick enough to speak through her lips.

"If you fancy him, you should speak up," advised Leena, who maintained her gaze at far away places. "If you hold your breath, others will fish the catch."

"Referring to yourself?"

Leena cast an awkward glance at Kid. As soon as their eyes met, Leena's fell helplessly to the sand.

"O-Of course not!" stuttered Leena, who made many attempts to lift her gaze to meet Kid's but failed as many times.

Kid kept comments behind her lips, though it seemed many wanted themselves to be made vocal. She leaned backwards on her hands and spread her legs wide open for air, not knowing Leena regarded her manly posture with distaste.

Leena cleared her throat. "Not to worry though," she said. "If anyone stands between the both of you, I'll--"

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

"So, why don't you make me a promise, then?" said Leena with enthusiasm. She got to all fours, crawled to Kid's feet and drew them close. "Start behaving like a girl."

Already, Kid felt, in this warm summer night, perspiration stick between her thighs an unpleasant sensation. Unaccustomed to the tight, discomforting closure, her legs found a necessary impulse to fold upwards and open wide for airing. And when they did, Leena crawled over them and weigh them down with her own heavy knees. Leena with hands on her waist now towered over Kid, and looked down upon her with a conceited grin of triumph.

"Thought you said to behave like a girl?" joked Kid, as she fingered Leena's chin with a hand and stroked her arm with another. "The way you are now, you look like a guy. And a bloody one who's hitting on me."

Leena flung Kid's mischievous arms aside, flustered and waved her arms in animated protest. "You! I wasn't aware Kid harbored such sh-shameful, m-morbid thoughts!" Anxiously, she scrambled back to where she earlier sat and rooted her bottoms in the sand, her lips curled in repulsion.

Kid held her tummy and laughed hard.

"Enough already! That's two you owe me," warned Leena before she made a face.

"Come on. What's the matter with you tonight?"

Leena snorted and refused to look at Kid.

"But seriously," Kid said. "I hardly say this, but thank you for saving me yesterday. I appreciate it."

"Don't think you can buy my forgiveness with that," Leena pouted, her head turned away. "I'm still angry."

Quickly Kid surrendered and down onto the sand she lied, hands tucked beneath her head. She let the silence between them two ensue, and the hums and croaks of the forest speak in their place. Under the stars, she watched their flicker but unmistakable presence, consistent and undeterred. It brought back more memories of her childhood before she lost it. It brought back the feeling of longing, as it did the feeling of her existence, for without her childhood, she would never be. As the flame in the oil lamp burned, she closed slowly her eyes and opened herself to sleep to sneak up on her and snatch her away. As this night crawled by, she relived the memories--of Sis, of stars and of blankets--that became her visions behind the weary eyelids and soon her dreams.

Before she drifted off to slumber, she heard Leena speak softly, gently, "You should really thank Serge instead. He's the one who did everything."

Kid grunted wearily as a reply.

"Hello? Kid? You asleep?"

Kid opened her eyes to a visual splendor of clear morning blue, stretched across the vast skies above her. She drew a deep breath of the morning air and expected a fresh tingle in her lungs like that of mint did in her mouth. She found instead a mild suffocation from the lingering heat like that of spice burned down her throat. She sat up, rubbed her eyes and set them on the horizon that had divided heaven and earth upon the arrival of dawn. Before long, her ears opened to Leena's zealous screeches that she nearly mistook for those of the soaring morning birds.

"You've got to see this!" Leena screamed, as she pulled one arm of Kid's with might so that it seemed as if she tried to rip it off.

Kid got to her feet and found herself dragged down the beach and into the sea where the waves washed up to her knee. The waves soaked Leena's dress, but she seemed to mind none of it. Leena remained fervent as she tapped Kid on the shoulder and pointed her towards the eastern skies, where the sun had risen by no more than half over the mountainous horizon.

"It's pretty, is it not?" exclaimed Leena.

"It's just a sunrise," said Kid cheerlessly. "Haven't you seen one before?"

Kid turned to Leena, and caught her hissing and waving to someone behind. When Leena realized Kid was watching, she ceased her spirited thrill and bit her lips with a sly, playful smile. Her eyes flitted between Kid's and the woods behind them.

Suspicious, Kid cast a glance to the woods and saw Serge walk hesitantly toward her. She choked on saliva she had swallowed too quickly, choked on the words of protest that had almost emerged incoherent. Embarrassed at her own lack of control, she quickly turned away from him and would rather face the heat of the sun than his presence. Thoughts in her mind began to muddle, the beat of her heart thumped. Even as she tried to pack the thoughts into neat boxes and tried to stack them away, they rolled and tumbled off each other and spilled its contents within. Even as she took breaths to calm her nerves, her pulse raced as if she ran from an inevitable enemy, and ran hard and fast.

She sensed Serge near, and she sensed him stop behind her. She felt Leena hiss and wave. A moment passed and she saw Serge finally walk up to her side.

"Oh! Something requires my immediately attention," said Leena. "If you will, please, excuse me."

The mischievous girl scurried away into the woods like an easily excited child who ran for a new toy. Yet, Kid wondered if that child would hide behind a tree, watch them both in secret and later divulge to all their demeanors and exaggerate them as misdeeds. With that nagging doubt in mind, Kid shifted her feet and kept a clean distance from Serge. With that nagging doubt in mind, Kid kept her lips as tight as she folded her arms to her chest.

As awkward silence clocked the passing of time, Kid basked herself in the rays of the morning sun. She soon realized Leena was right in her words, that the view was indeed pretty and even mesmerizing. For some reason she could not fathom, it looked all the more enchanting with Serge beside her, as if he gave her his own pair of eyes to watch through it the beauty she missed with her own. The sun that was a disc of burning flames was now to her a symbol of strength and passion, a witness to their time alone, their time together. The skies that were a spread of blue were now to her an indication of the extent of its love, undivided even across the many lands and seas.

This was to her one of many wishes that the little girl within her had for the past half a decade, a dream realized this day. And this day, she shared this moment of her life and this place on earth with another, much to her disbelief, much to her joy. As she watched with another the same celestial being shower them with the same rays, she realized the both of them were united in the same objective, and united as if in blessing. The sun had brought them closer together, when otherwise, the distance between them would be as far as the distance of two who stood at opposite poles of the earth.

Leena had brought them closer together.

Kid turned to the woods in search of her friend. She realized that her grown-up friend had long excused them both as she promised. She realized she had wrongly accused her friend of otherwise.

"I feel at peace," said Serge, his gaze fixed at the distant horizon.

"I feel very nervous," said Kid as she turned to him and regarded him with a smile. She knew exactly what he meant, even when her pulse continued to race. Yet, she no longer ran from that which was earlier her enemy. Rather, she faced that which was now her own emotions.

"I might have something that will calm you down," said Serge as he bent and swept his fingers through the rolling tides.

"Now, wait a bloody min--"

Water splashed at Kid and soaked her upper garments and wet her hair. Serge scooped another handful of sea water and threw it at Kid's face. With an eye closed, Kid glowered at Serge, the child who could not resist a smirk upon his first victory. She came to realize she must look hilarious, for Serge broke out in irresistible laughter.

"What the hell," blabbered Kid.

She decided, for once, to let loose from within her the little girl that was also the hell raiser. No child would walk away without first seeking reprisal worse than that she had received. With a smile, swift arms and fine aim, Kid scooped a handful of water, complete with sand, and at Serge she flung the gruesome coagulated mass. The chunk hit him square in the face, splattered mud on his shirt and left Serge hushed of laughter. Kid had the next laugh at the side-splitting sight of her now brown-bandana teammate, for he looked as if he just had his head pulled out from a pile of dung.

"You've soiled my clothes!" griped Serge, as he wiped his face with his hands and spitted soil from his mouth.

"Serves you right," Kid gloated.

"You are not getting away," warned Serge, a finger pointing.

"Uh-oh."

Kid took flight. Serge gave chase. Through the waves they sloshed, and then charged up the beach, flitted through the woods, and back out onto the shore like the island belonged only to them, like there was no tomorrow. Serge roared while Kid screamed. And they both made noise enough to send animals fleeing for their lives and birds for the heavens.

When Serge delivered the retributions in the form of sand and mud on Kid's hair, they reversed their roles, and the hunter became the hunted. Serge received blessings of the earth stuffed down his clothes. Kid had her hair pulled and her ponytail untied. Serge wore new designs on his shirt, printed with the pattern of the sole of his own boot. Kid found her dagger unbuckled, and her short skirt almost undone. And Serge did have his Bermudas embarrassingly pulled down. However outrageous the pants-pulling was, it was to Kid but a simple game of chase that she had almost forgotten was so much fun. However unfair it seemed to Serge, he had thoughtfully kept within his gentlemanly limits.

Through the rise of the sun, they ran, screamed and laughed together; they rolled over, fell over and were unwittingly all over each other. The end of the hour found Kid fallen the grass and Serge falling on her. She lied back to the grass, while he got on his fours and crawled over her. She gazed up into his alluring eyes of blue and pried into the boyish mind behind. His eyes looked exhausted, even though a hundred miles more she could run. But she felt they had drawn so close in the past hour she was reluctant to even move a real inch. Yet, when Serge smiled with the charm that whipped up torrents of emotions beneath her chest, Kid feared if he would draw them too close.

"Let us..." said Serge in tired sighs as he lowered his head and rested a chin on her shoulder.

Kid raised her brows and shifted uneasily.

"Get the bloody hell back," he hissed into her ears.

Kid laughed and nodded.

Even with dried rations, Kid could not resist an occasional smile. She had taken her morning beverage with arms trembling. She had taken her breakfast trying hard to suppress the little girl who seemed dying to jump up for joy, and her heart that seemed to jump out of her chest. Her epileptic state of euphoria had summed up her moods and was the attention of and the topic of ridicule for Leena. The more Leena probed, the stronger and more intense was the feeling for Kid. It had never occurred to her the bliss would last longer than the blink of an eye. It had never occurred she was even capable of it.

Yet, the longest of dreams must end with an awakening, the longest of days with the night. Thus, the best of emotions must stop and the throb of the heart settle, for more important matters awaited her attention the coming of this day. What she had persistently pursued for five years now was within her reach. What she had painstakingly endured for the same time was arriving at a conclusion. While she found new strength from Serge, it would be the greatest folly of her to allow herself to be addicted and forget the goals that brought her here today.

This moment, the companions of four waited by the shore for the boat to approach. Serge stood by Kid, but maintained a good distance in between. Kid kept her mind focused on the plans for the day. Leena cast cheeky glances at the two she must feel were more than friends. Glenn stood closest to the waters, ready to receive the rope anchor and to receive the princess of El Nido, the ravishing beauty in the eyes of all men and women. And as Sir Radius has promised, he had Lady Riddel returned to the hideout with him, safe and sound.

"Lady Riddel," said Glenn, as he offered a chivalrous hand to the lady to assist her alighting.

The lady laid a hand on Glenn's, pulled up a little of her dress hem and leapt off the boat gracefully. She landed in the shallow waves with a disappointed frown and silence.

"Lady Riddel," said Radius, as he got off the boat. He lowered his head in guilt, as if he dared not look into the lady's eyes. "I seek your forgiveness for my insolence."

"You had my interests at heart," said the lady graciously, but expressionlessly, as if displeased.

Glenn stood at attention, but seemed uneasy. "What has happened, may I ask?"

"One could as far as to say," explained Sir Radius, "that I kidnapped the lady. I had her tied up and carried away."

"Lady Riddel...," Glenn hesitated.

"Sir Radius, I understand your intentions. But without me, the dragoons are doomed."

"Lady Riddel," replied Sir Radius, "with Lynx around, the dragoons are doomed either way. The source of the problem is Lynx, not Porre."

"I know that, too. But there are only few who can face Lynx. And I have consistently sought your assistance, but you have just as consistently refused. Do you care less for the fate of the dragoons than you do your gratitude to daddy? I am very disappointed in you, Sir Radius," said the Lady softly, but curtly.

"If it makes it easier for you, my Lady," tried Radius calmly.

"Sir Radius, you--"

"Oi! Oi!" Kid stepped forward and interrupted the royal dispute. "Enough."

Lady Riddel gave an exasperated sigh.

"Lady Riddel--" said Sir Radius.

"I understand," said Lady Riddel as she lowered her head. "I apologize for being rude."

Kid crossed her arms and tapped a foot, as she waited impatiently for the moment to pass. She observed the grandmaster's expressions for twitches on the face, like she scanned that of an unfamiliar face. She scrutinized every motion of the lady until she lifted her head and uncovered guilt in all graciousness. She flicked a glance at the rest of her companions and noticed that even they seemed unduly affected. The hush had fallen upon all, tried to overwhelm the dissipating ire and tried to douse it. Like water that doused burning fire, it left behind smoke that stung the eyes, stuffed the nose, parched the throat and left any whole person upset; any person except Kid.

Unable to contain her exploding edginess, she spoke, "Let us move the hell out of here, shall we?"

Serge nodded uncertainly. So did Leena.

"What about you, Glenn?" asked Kid.

Glenn looked at Lady Riddel, then at Sir Radius, as if he looked for their approval, or otherwise. His brows furrowed with deep creases between them, deeper and darker that the wrinkled folds of the bark of an old tree. He seemed unsure, his eyes unfocused. Even if he had his heavy boots planted to the ground, his feet seemed to hover and waver, as if he floated in dreams. Yet, he refused to articulate his thoughts into words, as if he challenged Kid into a game in which he who spoke the least won.

Glenn seemed determine to win.

"Glenn," said Lady Riddel with a glance at Sir Radius, "if you do not wish to face Lynx, I can understand. Whatever we have spoken--"

"I will go," finally replied Glenn. "I have given it much thought. I will go with Serge and confront Lynx and the general. I may be the least of the dragoons--"

"Please! Say nothing like that!" urged the lady.

Glenn shook his head and so did Kid, as she wondered what was with all the drag. But it was this while she recalled that she had spent, and in fact wasted a whole morning with Serge chasing each other around the isle. It was this while she realized she had best kept her head still and her impatient sighs beneath audibility.

"That is the least I can do. Even if it is dangerous," said Glenn, who did not speak the words as surely as they should have sounded.

"If that is the case..."--the lady paused for a moment's thought--"Very well," she said with a nod, "you have my gratitude."

"Before you leave," said Radius, "do keep a lookout for that fog that lingers near the entrance of Mount Pyre. Do you have your compass, Glenn?"

"Yes, sir, I do," said Glenn certainly.

"What about that fog?" asked Kid, who tried to restrain a shout and several curses of vulgarity.

"Rumor says there are many cursed spirits wandering within," Radius said. "They attack ships and suck the souls out of humans."

"I have heard rumors about this accursed ghost ship," added Glenn, as he turned to look at his companions, and especially at Leena, who seemed to have gone pale at the mention of the supernatural.

Kid snorted. "A ghost ship. Don't make me laugh," she dismissed coolly and gave Leena a good pat on the back. "And don't listen to his nonsense, Leena."

Indeed, by any sound deduction, ghosts and spirits were but myths that must have been cooked up by the paranoid, the unemployed and a list of incredible minds to scare their fellow humans. How otherwise could these people have seen them and no one else could? How otherwise could she have seen none of such apparitions during the days she slept under the stars, or in the cover of a dark cavern? Even if (with any remote possibility) these beings of such unearthly kind existed, she could not see how they could scare the color, soul and the hell out of one.

"Do not take the sea lightly, Kid," said Radius sternly. "Mankind knows only but the land and the surface of the sea. No man can truly know what hides beneath the waves."

"Yes, yes," said Kid, unimpressed. As she walked pass her teammates toward the sailboat, she waved them on. "Now let's hunt ourselves some cats."