Chapter 16: Out Of Time

This time, Ryu remained conscious as he suddenly appeared somewhere else. Nina was by his side, but none of the others were. They were standing in front of a tiny but regal fortress of marble. It was positioned between two cliffs, completely blocking the way onward.

"Where... is this place?" The Light Dragon wondered. Nina shook her head.

"I've got no idea..."

"You like it?" A third voice jeered from above. Cerl's head poked out of a window in the fortress, and she waved mockingly. "I made a mistake letting you come back to Tock... but not this time! You'll never get me in here!"

"Oh, really?" Ryu smiled. Both he and Cerl were back in their normal forms. "We'll see about that..." He walked forward, towards the door, and grabbed the handle... with no success. Staring, he tried kicking it down and hurt his foot.

"Oh, that's rich!" Cerl cackled. "But it's no good. This is my own personal Outpost... it was built for me by a friend of mine. A friend you killed. Mote, the Red Dreammaster."

"Mote's art built this place?" Nina blinked.

"You got it... and here's the best part." The White Assassin explained. "This outpost is a reflection of my own mind. So as long as my mind is closed to you, this castle is closed! Foolproof! You'll never get in!"

"We'll find some way..." Ryu vowed. "We'll be back, Cerl."

"Come back as many times as you want!" The White Assassin invited. "As a matter of fact, I challenge you on this! I dare you to try and find a way in here... to make me change my mind! If you can make me that weak, I won't deserve the Time Key. But don't think it'll be easy... and don't even THINK of relying on that fool, Alan. You've already seen how I feel about him!" Laughing again, she pulled her head in.

"She's right..." Nina shook her head. "This won't be easy. We should have finished her off when we had the chance... now we have to defeat her emotionally too. And that's pretty much impossible for any member of the Tiamat Unit."

"We'll figure something out." Ryu promised. "Come on... let's head back to Carmen. The others will probably be there already, wondering where we are." Nina nodded and took to the air.

"Where have you been?" Gobi almost screamed as Ryu and Nina walked back into Carmen. "We've been frantic over here!"

"She sent us a little farther away this time." Ryu explained. "Pretty close to Scande, actually. We'll tell you the details later. What's going on?"

"The people are still aging." Mogu explained. "Much more slowly than how she started, but if it keeps up... and that's not all. Come on!" He and Gobi led them to Alan's house. Deis, Bo and Ox were all clustered around his bed.

"Ryu!" Deis turned. "And Nina! I thought you patched up his wounds!"

"I did the best I could!" Nina defended herself. "It was a rush job... the damage was closed up, but... oh, no!"

"Oh, yes." Deis nodded grimly. "The strain of that little trip Cerl sent him on reopened them. We've done all we could here, but..."

"How could she?" Ox shook his head, disgusted. "How could she do this to a friend? Even if she claims she's not who she was back then?"

"Ha ha ha..." Everybody turned to Alan to see him laughing weakly. "Ha... this is nothing. She's done... far worse."

"And you still went up there?" Bo demanded. "You still thought..."

"What can I say?" Alan shrugged helplessly. "Cerl was right... I am a fool. But I can't help it... and I can't help but blame myself, partially... if I had done things differently, she might not have become this way..."

"Alan... what really happened?" Ryu asked quietly. "Tell us. All of it, this time." Alan looked around.

"The... Fusion Clanner. Where is he?"

"Karn?" Gobi looked towards the door. "He's outside... just mumbling to himself about controlling space and time. You want me to get him?"

"Yes..." Alan nodded. "He needs to hear this... most of all." Gobi nodded and went out. A few moments later, he returned with Karn. The young thief was unusually silent; he took a seat near Alan without a word.

"You were both born in that town, right?" Nina asked. Alan nodded.

"Yes... my mother came down from Carmen to marry my father. It was a happy marriage. Cerl, though... her father was a Dark Dragon general. Even in those days, before Zog took the throne, the Fusion Clan and the Dark Dragons never got along. Cerl and her mother were both outcasts. Cerl's mother didn't care... she was a proud woman, and refused to hide her relationship with the general. But Cerl was treated as barely more than a monster ever since she was born... she never had friends. My father and mother understood, somewhat... they were always kind to her. But they weren't her age... I was the only true friend she had. We spent our childhood together, like brother and sister. Whenever the other kids would hassle us, we went to the holiday tree in the center of town... the branches were thick enough that we could stay up there without anybody else finding us."

"The tree with the really powerful-smelling fruit?" Ryu asked. Alan nodded.

"That's the one... she always loved that smell. We grew older that way... and then, when we were fifteen, Cerl's father was killed, far away in the lands of the Builder Clan. It wasn't long after that... that the other Fusion Clanners decided they didn't want Cerl and her mother around anymore. I think Cerl scared them... you saw what she did back in Tock. She had already begun experimenting with that... we thought nobody else knew about it, but we were wrong. The townspeople mobbed... but Cerl's mother wouldn't leave. She was defiant... said she had as much a right to live there with her daughter as anybody else. Then, one of them... I don't know who... threw a rock. It hit Cerl's mother in the head... killed her. It wasn't intentional... the mob just wanted them gone, not dead... but all Cerl saw was her mother. She ran, and nobody, not even my parents, went after her. I tried to tell them to bring her back, but none of them would listen... finally, I went after her. Alone."

"I take it that didn't go well." Mogu guessed. Alan shook his head.

"No. I remember it very clearly... I caught up with her on the border of Scande. It was the last time she was really..." He closed his eyes for a moment. "She said she was going into Scande... that she would claim her father's position, by force if neccessary, using the fighting skills he had taught her whenever he had time to come see her. I told her I would come with her... but she wouldn't let me. Said Scande was no place for me. Then she told me to go north, and never return to the Fusion Clan or Scande." He hung his head. "I was stubborn, but eventually she sent me away. But I still didn't listen... I went back to the Fusion Clan. It was the only home I knew, although I never felt right there afterwards."

"I don't imagine I would, either." Bo shook his head. "Something like that... nothing's ever the same."

"It wasn't..." Alan's eyes became haunted. "And then, a year later... that day came..."

"Hey, Alan!" One of the Fusion Clan boys yelled. "You up in the tree again?" Alan ignored them. Now sixteen, he still spent most of his time in the branches of the Holiday Tree, although these days he was unaccompanied. He stayed up there, alone with his memories... memories the strange smell of the tree's fruit brought back all too clearly. At first, nobody had bothered him, or indeed, gone near him... but recently, the others his age in the Clan had tried to get him to join them.

"Get lost." He yelled back finally. Another one frowned.

"Come on, Al... you can't just stay up there and mope forever, man! She's gone... you're not going to change that by becoming a tree ape!"

"Shut up." Alan growled. "None of you have any right to even talk about her... none at all!"

"Come on, Al." The first kid defended them. "That ain't right. We never did anything to Cerl. Sure, she was kinda creepy, and maybe we didn't hang out with her... but we never said or did anything bad to her! Not like some of the other kids!"

"But you didn't say a word when all your parents ran her out of town and killed her mother, did you?" Alan said bitterly. The others all looked at each other helplessly, then shrugged.

"Well, if you don't want to come down, whatever, Al." The leader called as they turned to go. "But she's not going to come back, man. Cerl's never coming back." Alan closed his eyes and gritted his teeth until they were gone. It wasn't until the sun had completely disappeared that he went home. His father and mother were waiting for him. As soon as he arrived, they sat down to eat dinner without a word. Alan and his parents seldom spoke to each other now; he had never completely forgiven them for doing nothing to help Cerl and her mother. As they were chewing the roast, there was a commotion from outside... like all of the other Clansmen were running outside. Alan and his family abandoned their meal and joined them. The Clan was moving towards the south edge of town, and as they ran, Alan's family caught hints of conversation.

"Dark Dragons..."

"Sent five emissaries, whole legion with 'em..."

"Think we're gonna just bow down..."

"Show 'em good..." Alan closed his eyes for a moment, and then they were there. A full legion of Dark Dragon soldiers were backing five figures... each was robed and hooded, disguising their features. A tall, thin one in blue... another in white, resting light on its feet... a tiny one in red, less than two feet tall... an oppositely huge giant in black... and the apparent leader, a solid man in gold. As the Clan's Elder approached, he dropped his hood, revealing a handsome male face with pale skin and shining, long golden hair.

"Greetings, your grace..."

"Cut the crap, whoever you are." The Elder snapped. "What are you here for? As if I even need to ask?"

"Why, it's quite simple." The gold-robed man smiled. "I am Lord Jade, the second-in-command of the Dark Dragon Empire, and these four are my most trusted friends. You may know us as the Tiamat Unit."

"The Tiamat Unit..." The Elder whispered. "Scande's secret project... the elite squad of superpowered freaks."

"Now, that's an unkind word." Jade wagged a finger reprovingly. "You might put me in a bad mood, and considering the situation, that would not be a good idea. You see, your grace, we're here for one thing and one thing only. To conquer you, your people and your land... one way or another. Our Emperor plans to own the world, and you're target number one... both because of proximity, and because of the wishes of... one of us." The Elder recovered from his surprise and glared at them.

"I don't care. Our answer is the same as it's always been. No. We will not bow down to Scande, no matter how many times you threaten us. Now bring on your soldiers. We're ready for them."

"Soldiers?" Jade looked at his four robed friends. "No, no... they're here as observers only. Somebody has to be a witness to what happens here... a LIVING witness. And your Clan, I'm afraid, simply won't do. Looks like you were right, White... or would you prefer I call you by your true name while we're here?"

"No, White will do just fine..." The white-robed one dropped her hood as well. "It's not like anybody here will care." Nobody in the crowd was able to avoid staring as she let her hair fall back.

"Cerl...?" Alan whispered. But he was wrong... it wasn't Cerl. Not the Cerl who had left him, crying, on the border of Scande with a command to run from their home and never return. This Cerl's face was hard... cruel. She turned to look at them all and sneered.

"I'm back... did you miss me?"

"Well, since the hoods are off..." The man in blue commented lightly as the other three revealed themselves. He was a young man in his midtwenties, with skin and hair both as blue as his robes. He wore a ruby monocle and a cynical smirk, but his eyes were as sharp as daggers. The remaining two both had identical blood-red skin. The giant man had a long mass of black hair and a brutish, almost animal face, but the other... a child who looked barely old enough to walk, yet whose face was twisted in cruelty and scorn.

"So... are we going to kill them now, White?" The red-robed child hissed. Cerl nodded.

"Yes, Mote, we will. Old friends, meet my new friends... Alchemist Cort, Warrior Goda, and Dreammaster Mote. And myself, of course... Assassin Cerl."

"Cerl... what will you do here?" The Elder asked, face trembling. Cerl's face contorted in an ugly scowl.

"What do you think? You drove me out of here... you killed my mother! When you did that, I wasn't able to do anything... but no more. Now, I am strong. Now... I'm one of the bad guys. One of the BIG bad guys." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "And in case you didn't know... what the bad guys don't like... they kill." The Tiamat Unit rushed forward, and the crowd broke and ran, screaming in terror. The Elder tried to rally them, but he was instead the first to go down as Cerl reached him. Her hands flashed, and he collapsed in a spray of blood.

"Go, my Unit! Kill them all, every one!" Jade laughed. "Let the Fusion Clan serve as an example to show the rest of the world what happens to those who defy the Dark Dragon Empire... complete and total obliteration!" Alan was dragged along by his parents as they fled to their house. The other Fusion Clanners, the faster ones at any rate, were doing the same, but there was no escape. Slowly, the sounds of combat ceased as the last of the stragglers were picked off, and then there was silence... and then, footsteps, as the Tiamat Unit approached the homes.

"Ha ha... good try, chaps, but I'm afraid that won't help you." Cort's monocle glinted out of the darkness as he held up a hand. Between his fingers, he held tiny bottles of a flaming orange potion. One by one, he flicked them outward... and as each hit a wall, it burst and then exploded in liquid flames.

"Make this easy... your deaths will be swift!" Goda roared as he took a more direct method. One blow from one of his fists would cave in an entire house, collapsing it upon those inside most of the time. A double-fisted blow would leave nothing but a crater.
"Oh goody... my turn now!" Mote cackled, watching as some of the Fusion Clan escaped the burning or crushed buildings and tried to run. Leaping forward like a deranged squirrel, he flew into the air and stroked their heads with one finger. Every time he did this, the Fusion Clanners would stop, their faces masks of agony, and fall to the ground writhing into knots shortly before their heads exploded in red and grey gore. Jade watched them work with the same emotionless smirk that he always wore, then stepped forward.

"This is fun, but it's taking too long... let's hasten it up!" He began glowing, bulging, growing... scales, wings, teeth, claws, all a brilliant, shining gold, only visible in glimpses through the shadows cast by the blazes... he roared, and then moved, like a juggernaut as he rampaged, turning entire houses into rubble.

"Hahaha... regret what you did to me now?" Cerl laughed, horribly and coldly, and began glowing as well, but she did not become a dragon... no, she was all the more hideous for part of her remained human, even as the rest changed... four legs, blood-red claws, and the same face, larger than it should be, as she joined her allies. Behind them all, the legion of soldiers watched, their faces as horrified as the Fusion Clan. This was not a battle... this was a slaughter, a bloodbath, perpetrated by only five people. Many of them were physically ill, and there wasn't a single one who could avoid shuddering.

"The Tiamat Unit..." Alan whispered, horrified. He knew that as long as he lived, he would never forget that night... Cort calmly, emotionlessly setting houses ablaze and ignoring the screams as he moved on... Mote, sadistically crushing heads as he bounced from one to another... Goda, bringing destruction with movements of his bare knuckles... Jade, still unseen but not unheard, the roars of the dragon mixed with the screams of his victims... and Cerl at the center of it all, trampling and slicing and laughing, always laughing under the night sky lit only by the fires... and then she was upon their house, kicking it down with her hind legs. Alan and his father screamed as his mother was killed instantly, crushed beneath the falling wall. Cerl glared down at Alan's father, and then reached down with one insect claw, hooking him by his shirt.

"Pardus..." She recognized him. "I should kill you, like the others... I see your wife's already fallen. But... I owe you. You didn't do enough, but it was more than anybody else. Just this once... but don't ever let me see you again. And if any others survive... tell them the same. Run away... hide where none of us will ever find you again. Because if I ever see you, or any others from the Clan after tonight... I WILL kill you." Turning, she hurled Pardus over the burning town, towards the sea. And then she turned back to the house, and her eyes lit with surprise. "Alan...?"

"Cerl..." Alan demanded. "WHY?"

"You know why." Cerl shook her head with anger. "I tried... I tried to be normal, to be one of them. But I never had a chance... from the moment I was born, the fate of my mother and me was set. They just waited until my father died, until they knew he wouldn't seek retribution... but they made the mistake of letting me grow into something far worse, far more vengeful than he ever was. And now... they pay for all of it. And you, Alan... why did you come back here? I told you to run... to stay away."

"You..." Alan realized. "Even back then... you were planning this?"

"Of course." Cerl nodded. "Obviously. And you were too foolish to listen. Now what do I do with you... my comrades are bloodthirsty, you see. They'll kill you, and I won't be able to stop them. And I can't throw you after your father... can't have you two joining up. No... there's only one way." With a few quick movement, she finished collapsing the house, and covered Alan with the rubble carefully. "There. You'll be able to get out, but not until we're done here."

"Cerl..." Alan said, one more time. He couldn't see her, but he could hear her voice change, sad... but only for a moment.

"Alan... no. Don't, Alan. It's like I told them all... the Cerl of the Fusion Clan is gone. When we leave here, Alan, go north... live somewhere, and tell nobody who or what you are. Because what I said to your father stands for you too... if I ever see you again, I'll kill you. Stay quiet so the others don't find you. Farewell, Alan." Alan heard her feet tromping off, and shuddered. He could no longer see the atrocities outside, but he could still hear them... the screaming, the roars, the laughter. And it was a long time before they stopped... before nothing was left but silence.

"...Wow." Ox whispered. "That's... wow." Karn was still silent, but his eyes were even darker than they had been before. The tale of the Fusion Clan's fate had shaken them all, but Karn had been affected the most, even if he had no actual memories of the incident.

"And yet you still care for her." Bo said quietly. It wasn't a question. Alan bowed his head.

"Yeah. Like I said, I guess I'm just a fool. I did what she said this time... came to Carmen and tried to forget everything. Nobody here knows what I am. But when I heard her name again... I just went back instantly. Even now, I can't help but think... if I had protected her back with the Fusion Clan... or held out and gone with her to Scande... she wouldn't have ended up like this."

"I don't know..." Ryu shook his head. "She hooked up with Jade... the more I hear about the Tiamat Unit, the more I start to wonder if anything could have stopped him from assembling them. Cerl's not the only one with a screwed-up past."

"But I didn't even try." Alan insisted. "I gave up too easily, and this happened. Damn it..."

"...There may still be a chance, you know." Deis said after a moment. Everybody turned to stare at her. "Hear me out, all of you. I don't know if any of you noticed, but despite what she says, she still isn't as over Alan as she wants us to think... desperately wants us to think. She knows he's her only weakness."

"Yeah..." Gobi said slowly. "She did sort of overreact there, didn't she? Normally she was totally calm and collected, but whenever the subject came up, she went psycho. I wonder where she is now... still back at Tock? Maybe if we went again..." Ryu and Nina glanced at each other.

"About that..." The Light Dragon sighed. "When she blasted us away for the second time... me and Nina landed outside an outpost of hers. It's blocking the way to Scande, turns out... anyways, it was built by Mote. Has a really cute function; it mirrors her mind. As long as her mind's closed, the fortress is impenetrable. So..."

"So in order to finish your job, you need to open her mind to things again." Alan realized. "I'll admit, I haven't stopped thinking about her... but she'll never forgive me. Not willingly..." Karn inclined his head towards the door without Alan seeing. Nina nodded.

"We'll figure something out." She assured Alan. "Here... I'll do what I can for these wounds, and then you should get some rest. We can wait a few hours." Alan nodded and closed his eyes. After Nina was done, the heroes walked outside.

"All right." Karn spoke for the first time since Alan had started his story. "We need to concentrate on the facts here... nothing more. Cerl's absolutely ruthless. To beat her at her own game, we have to be the same."

"You have a plan?" Mogu asked. Karn nodded grimly.

"We give her no choice... a continued seige. Not physically, but emotionally. Alan said they would hang out in that holiday tree... and Ryu, you know where it is, right?" The Light Dragon nodded. "Good. We go there and each take tons of fruit. Then we pile it up outside the outpost. Also... does this outpost have a window?" Ryu nodded.

"One on the second floor. It's not a very big building."

"Perfect." Karn continued. "We park Alan in a spot so that when Cerl so much as glances out there from any angle, she'll see him. Then we wait. No defense can stay up against a force forever. If she goes downstairs to avoid having to look at him, the smell of that fruit will be twice as strong. Eventually, before the day is out, she'll crack. Just a little, for a short time, but if I understand the concept Mote built it on, that'll be enough for us to get in... and once we're in there, we make absolutely sure we finish the job this time. No matter what. We won't get another chance if we mess up again." When he was done talking, the other heroes were staring at him with mixed expressions of shock and disbelief.

"You're serious." Ox blinked. "You're actually going to do this."

"We've got no choice." Ryu told him. "Karn's right. This isn't a situation where we can afford to be saints. If we don't take Cerl out, this entire town will perish."

"But that..." Nina looked like she had found a particularly disgusting insect. "We can't do things like that... if we do, how are we any better than the Dark Dragons? Aren't we out to STOP things like this from happening?"

"Cerl put us in this position. We didn't start this." Gobi reminded her. "She has to face the consequences of playing the game this way."

"It'd be torture." Mogu said grimly. "We'd be torturing her into giving in... and there's what it would do to Alan, too. What would his reaction be? Would he even agree to it? And if he did..."

"He'd agree." Deis judged. "He wouldn't like it, but he'd know it's the only chance... and he's the kind of guy who always takes the chance, no matter how desperate. We've seen that."

"Let's take a vote." Karn decided. "I'll stay out of it, since it's my idea... you guys decide."

"I'm for it." Ryu said immediately. "It's nasty, yes, but it's our only option. We have to save these people, and we have to get to Scande."

"I'm for it too." Gobi agreed. "Life sucks sometimes, but you have to move forward. We'll probably regret this in the future, but now... we just have to do it, and that's that."

"Against." Ox sighed. "This is just... wierd. wrong. I don't want to if we can avoid it."

"For." Deis said bluntly. "I've done worse things. This is bad, but it's gotta be done."

"Against." Nina shook her head. "Sorry, Ryu, but I just can't condone this. If the vote comes in favor of it, I'll go along, but... I don't like it."

"Against." Mogu nodded. "This is the kind of thing the Dark Dragons do... how can we say we're better than them if we do this?" Everybody looked at Bo. The Forest Clanner looked at the floor.

"We do it."

"Then that's decided." Nina smiled bitterly. "May Ladon forgive us for what we are about to do."

"...And White is still up north, handling the case of Ryu the terrorist." Jade concluded his report. Emperor Zog nodded and scratched his beard.

"Has she reported in yet since she left?"

"Not yet." The Gold Lord shook his head. "That may be a good thing, though... Blue and Red both reported in shortly before their deaths, as it turned out."

"Ladon WOULD do something like that." Zog smiled. "As great as he is, our God has a definately twisted sense of humor." He frowned, remembering something. "About the Unit. I notice that two of my Generals, Zurm and Pess, turned up dead recently. Their bodies looked like they had been done in by two specific individuals. I think you know who."

"Black and Silver. I know, but those two were asking for it." Jade defended his Unit. "From what I hear, they were speaking ill of Blue and Red after their deaths. That cannot be tolerated, with all respect, my Emperor."

"Easy, old friend." Zog told him. "Relax. I'm not angry. Zurm and Pess were fairly worthless anyways... even moreso than I thought, if they were stupid enough to talk like that near your Unit. Just caution them to try to avoid killing any more of the officers, hm? If the entire General staff revolts, it'll be a very bothersome afternoon."

"I think we can avoid that." Jade agreed. He smiled bleakly. "They should be lucky White didn't do it... from the looks of it, the deaths were fairly quick. She would have made them last a lot longer."

"The White Assassin was always good at that, wasn't she?" Zog laughed. "Even from the beginning... when she walked in here that day and disemboweled Sir Crander."

"Ten years ago..." Jade nodded. "I remember that day... she came in here looking like a common tramp, but full of pride and purpose... demanding to see the Emperor, and claiming to be the daughter of General Hassan. Crander said something foul, and she ripped him open like gutting a fish."

"Ha ha, yes..." Zog chortled. "A mistake, but a brave one! And then... didn't she just stand there with her knife dripping, and ask if anybody else was going to do something stupid?"

"That was it." Jade nodded. "A good thing I was there, or she would have been swarmed by the other officers and killed. Instead, I brought her to see you, and we gave her the rank she inherited from her father." His eyes became distant. "She still has her General's cape... she requested that it be pure white, like mine. The day she recieved it, she was proud... happier than I've ever seen her."

"And then, the two of you went north one day, and you came with a Unit." Zog remembered. "The brainiac... the baby... the roadside bandit. At first, I thought you had hurt your head..."

"But then, like White, they proved themselves. And the Tiamat Unit was born." Jade sighed. "And yet, it was ten years before we were complete... and as soon as were, we began losing ourselves. Such is fate, I guess."

"As Ladon wills." Zog nodded. "Well, perhaps once we rule the world, you will find more members." The Gold Lord stared at him for a moment, then smiled tolerantly.

"Perhaps so, my Emperor. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must return to my Unit and see if White has called in yet."

"All right... I should take some time off for my daughter anyways." Zog agreed. "Excused, old friend." Jade bowed and left. As he walked back to his quarters, he noted with wry amusement that any officers in his path immediately shrank out of his way, faces white. In their quarters, Silver was standing at the communications station.

"Has White called in yet?" The Gold Lord asked. Silver shook her head. "Damn... it's been too long. What's going on?" Silver shrugged. "Well, I just hope it's soon. Where's Black?"

"He's in back..." Silver angled her head. "I made him eat something... now he's just sitting there like he usually does when he's not on duty. He's not going to recover, is he?"

"I don't think so, no..." Jade shook his head. "I just hope he stays together until his time... we don't want him ruining everything."

"Call!" Silver suddenly yelled. In front of her was a small crystal orb. It began to glow, and then Cerl's face was inside it. Her face was tired... exhausted, both physically and mentally.

"Report, White." Jade ordered. The White Assassin smiled wearily.

"Lord Jade... Silver. I'm sorry that I haven't called in earlier. Things have been pretty fast-paced down here... I haven't gotten much time out of action until now. And even now, I don't know how long I'll have."

"Are you still at Tock?" The Gold Lord asked. She shook her head in negation.

"No... I'm at my outpost. The one Red made for me. For now, it's secure, but..." She fell silent for a moment. "I won't lie to you, Lord Jade... Silver. I already fought them... too early. It wasn't my time yet... and they still defeated me. So I came here. I doubt I'll have another chance to report."

"They defeated you already? Even in your transformed state?" Silver asked, her voice emotionless. Cerl nodded.

"Yes... and they did it easier than I'll bet they killed Red and Blue. They're growing faster than we ever expected... as a group, they've got us beat. And if they don't trump us individually yet, they will soon. Be ready for that... even if our plans are carried out, it may not be so easy to free the Goddess Myria."

"We've been coping with problems ever since our Unit was formed." Jade reminded her. "We'll be fine, White. Just do your duty."

"I will." White saluted. "I'll see you both again... here, or in the afterlife." The crystal orb winked out, and Jade frowned.

"Something up?" Silver inquired. The Gold Lord nodded.

"Yes. Something about White's manner... worries me. And that shouldn't happen with our Unit. If my understanding of how Red built that fortress is correct... she may lose more than Red and Blue did." Silver nodded slightly.

"So what will you do?"

"I'll take Black, and we'll go up north." Jade decided. "We'll check things out... see what happens. You stay here... watch for calls, as well as tell the Emperor, if he asks where we went." Silver winced, unseen.

"Emperor Zog won't like that."

"No, but he'll understand." Jade smiled bleakly. "It's how his mind works. We'll be off, then... no point in delaying it, if Ryu the Terrorist will be there at any moment like White thinks."

When Alan was awake, the nine of them went to the village of the Fusion Clan. They went to the holiday tree, and they gathered fruit... all that they could carry. They returned to Cerl's outpost, and there, they piled the fruit high against the front of the outpost, leaving only the door. The smell was overpowering. And then, Alan stood farther back, where he was visible from the single window at any angle, and waited. Hours passed... and slowly, inch by inch, the door was forced open. Finally, it gaped wide, and the heroes walked inside. The bottom floor was empty; nothing there but rows of cannons, none of them loaded, and a staircase. The room on top had a window with no shutter, and a cot. On that cot, Cerl crouched miserably. It was almost impossible to believe that she was the same proud, deadly White Assassin they had fought. Now, she was a huddled lump of sorrow; tearstreaks ran freely from both eyes. For several moments, the only sound was an occasional hoarse sob from the White Assassin... and then she spoke.

"You... fight well. You beat me again."

"I'm... sorry." Karn said. Nobody contradicted him. "It was... all or nothing. You bet everything on this gambit. This... we never wanted to have to do."

"Yeah, but you did." Cerl flashed him an angry, sad smile. "You're our opposites, all right. Do what you have to for the right thing." Ryu started to speak angrily, but stopped himself. "You've come to kill me, then... go ahead. I won't put up a fight."

"No, Cerl..." Alan started, but she cut him off.

"Stop, Alan! Don't. Please..." She looked at him. "For everything we had... don't. This is my end, Alan... it was destined to be this way. You can't stop it... none of us can. I know what you feel, Alan... for this moment, I know. But it won't last. It's been too long, Alan... I AM the White Assassin now."

"But I don't care!" Alan cried desperately. "Even if you're the White Assassin... Cerl, I love you. I always did."

"And once... I loved you." Cerl whispered. "And if I could have one wish... it would be that I could again."

"...Cerl." Karn stepped forward. In his hand, he held a piece of the fruit. Cerl looked down at it for a moment, then glared at him.

"What kind of stunt are you trying to pull?"

"You remember this, don't you?" Karn told her. "I know your Unit's motto. No past, no future. But that's only as long as you believe that... it's not law."

"You opened your mind to us." Nina agreed. "You can keep it open. Cort and Mote both came to terms with their pasts at the end... you can do the same now, can't you?"

"...I wish I could." Cerl turned away. "But I've done too much... killed too many people. The White Assassin has committed crimes that can never be forgiven... and the worst part is, even now... I don't really regret them all."

"So stop being the White Assassin." Deis told her. "A name only has meaning as long as you keep it. Forget the White Assassin... and just be Cerl again." Cerl turned back to them.

"If only it was that easy..." She held out her hand. Something glittered in it; a golden key, length long and twisting, with a flat disk at the top resembling a clock with a polished red center. "Here. The Time Key... take it. Return Carmen to normal... that sin, at least, can still be healed." Ryu reached out to take the Key.

"Cerl..." And then, seemingly in slow motion, a massive boulder larger than Cerl was smashed into her and slammed her into the far wall.

"Aah!"

"CERL, YOU TRAITOR!" A furious voice bellowed. More pieces of the wall were thrown at her. In their place, stood a tall man, taller than Ox. He was red-skinned, bald, and huge with muscles, wearing armor that must have weighed as much as he did.

"Goda... the Black Warrior!" Ox recognized. Goda turned to them, nostrils flaring.

"You... you're the ones who killed Mote! I'll rip you into a million pieces!"

"Black, no!" Cerl struggled upright, amazingly still conscious. "This is my task... do not interfere!"

"You think I'm stupid, White?" Goda demanded angrily. "I saw it all! You betrayed the Empire... betrayed us! You give the Time Key freely, to the ones that killed Blue and Mote! How dare you try to tell me to leave! I'll kill you... kill them all!"

"I don't think so, big guy!" Ryu drew his sword.

"No! You can't!" Cerl yelled. "He's going berserk... even if you hit him with a fatal wound, he'll keep coming! He literally won't stop until you're dead, no matter what you do!"

"That's right, White..." Goda growled. "You're all dead... DEAD!"

"We gotta try, right?" Ox yelled. Cerl shook her head.

"No. It's not his time... it's mine. I never thought it would be at his hand, but if fate turns that way, so be it!" She drew her daggers. "Get out of here! Go! I'll hold him off!"
"No way!" Nina yelled. "We don't-"

"DO IT!" Cerl screamed, running at Goda. "If you feel guilt for what you did to me... then listen to me now! Do what I say! Run!" Ryu bit his lip.

"Damn... do what the lady says!"

"Ryu!" Mogu stared at him. "We're just gonna leave her here?"

"She's made her own call! We've got no right to change it... and she's trying to save our lives! She knows what this guy can do... if she says we can't beat him, we can't! MOVE, all of you!" The heroes scrambled for the stairs... but Alan did not.

"No... no, Cerl. You won't leave me again!" He ran forward before anybody could stop him. Cerl glanced at him and lost her concentration.

"Alan, run!"

"AHA!" Goda bellowed in victory, slamming her to the ground. He raised a fist to smash her head in, but Alan jumped across her.

"Don't you touch her-UGH!" Goda changed his attack and swatted Alan off like a fly. He flew into a wall, head first, and slumped down, leaving a trail of blood. Cerl stared at him, then at Goda, her face a mask of unthinking wrath.

"Black, you...!" She jumped forward and attacked Goda furiously, now on the offensive.

"Alan! Cerl!" Nina hesitated for a second.

"NINA!" Ryu yelled, and the Princess followed him, leaving the dreadful, insane battle behind them. As they ran down to the bottom floor, a flash of grey caught Ryu's gaze. It was the cloaked, new member of the Tiamat Unit again, listening to the fight upstairs.

"You..." Nina gasped. "What are you...? Aren't you going to do something about... this?" The Silver Whatever shook its head, silent as always. Ryu growled and started to draw his blade, but then remembered and ran, Nina close behind him. As soon as they were outside, the outpost began shimmering... and then, it was gone, as if it had never existed. Nothing remained... except the Time Key, falling from the space where the second floor had been, to clink on the ground. Alan, Cerl, Goda and the Silver Whatever were gone without a trace.

"The outpost is a reflection of Cerl's mind..." Ryu remembered. "If it's gone, then..."

"Cerl..." Karn whispered. "Why? Why did our Clan hate you? Why did you become so twisted in revenge?"

"Damn it..." Bo drove a fist into a rock. "It was all preparing for this war... a war that drives people insane, and makes innocents into monsters..."

"...Cerl's last wish." Deis reminded them. "She wanted us to return Carmen to normal. We need to honor that before it's too late."

"Yes..." Nina nodded slowly. "We can't mourn yet... we have to go. Back to Tock." One by one, the heroes turned and left, leaving only a blank place with nothing there behind them. They returned to Tock, and made it through all the mazes to the top floor. Where Cerl had originally confronted them, there was a stone slab of the type used to operate Goddess Keys.

"Let me do it..." Karn started, but Nina shook her head.

"No... let me. This might be tricky... and if anything goes wrong, I can fly away from a problem. You can't." Karn reluctantly nodded. Taking the Time Key, Nina walked to the slab and placed it in. She froze for a moment, as if speaking with some silent, invisible voice, then nodded. A black window appeared, showing Carmen. Inside it, the people stopped aging... then reversed, instantly. And then... they started moving. Nina smiled.

"I did it, Cerl... Carmen is back to normal." She turned and started to pull out the Key. Ryu frowned; something seemed wrong. Then he realized it instantly with horror. Nina hadn't closed the rift in space and time.

"Nina! DON'T!" But it was too late. Nina pulled the Time Key out, and the rift shook. She turned in horror and tried to fly away, but the rift pulled, inexorably. With a trailing scream, the Wing Clan princess vanished.

"NOOOO!" Ryu screamed, diving forward after her... but he was too late. The rift vanished. Nina was gone.

Ryu had no memory of the return to Carmen. Vaguely, he would realize a blur of motion, and the dim sensation of being carried, but nothing else. The next time he was actually thinking coherently, he was at an inn in the town, lying in bed. None of the others had entered his room since they had brought him there.

"Nina..." The Light Dragon whispered. "Damn it... why? Why did I let you use the Time Key? Why couldn't I save you in time? Why... did you do this, Ladon?" He punched the wall. Something in the back of his mind told him this wasn't the way he should be acting, that all of them had known the risks ever since joining up, that he had to be the leader like always... but he was unable to actually do so. He simply couldn't imagine finishing the journey without the cheery Wing Clan Princess that had joined him before any of the others. He tried to remember the happy times, but they all faded away to her falling into the rift in space and time, helpless. Groaning, Ryu looked out a window. "Maybe this'll help... doubt it... huh?" Outside, walking down a path through town, he saw a familiar figure; the mysterious cloaked man they had met in the GrimFowl Woods and Tunlan. This time, his clothes were a brilliant, flaming orange. He stopped near the outskirts and dropped something near a water trough, then turned to look at Ryu, silently. Ryu frowned... then remembered. "TUNLAN!"

"Boss?" Bo inquired hesitantly as Ryu exploded out of his room at the Inn. "Are you... okay?"

"Nina." Ryu said. "She got sent somewhere... anywhere in space and time, right? Where, we don't know."

"Well, yeah." Mogu agreed. "We've all been depressed as hell about it-"

"Tunlan." Ryu cut him off. "Mogu, you weren't there, but... everybody else, remember that Wing Clan girl? The one who was a dead ringer for Nina?"

"Yeah, except she was a year older, looked like." Deis nodded. "Other than that, she could have been her... twin..." Slowly, the sorceress' mouth hung open. "You don't think..."

"Only one way to find out." Ryu clapped his hands together, in action once more. "The cloaked guy said there was a genius doctor in Spring who could cure amnesia. It's got to be that guy, Old Ernie. Ni... that girl has amnesia."

"So we have him make the cure, and find out." Gobi shook his head with simultaneous admiration and befuddlement. "Boss, as crazy plans go, this takes the cake... but it's worth a shot."

"So what are we waiting for?" Karn grinned for the first time in days. "Let's hit the road! Back to Spring!"

"No need." Deis rubbed her hands. "That oaf, Goda, used a spell I knew once to arrive... and now I remember it. I can teleport us back there right now. Come on, everybody, stand close." The group immediately clustered around her. "All right, then..." She waved her staff, and they were surrounded by white smoke. When it cleared, they were standing outside Old Ernie's clinic, and being stared at by several residents.

"Good job, Deis." Ryu congratulated her, knocking on Old Ernie's door. The grumpy phsysician opened it and blinked at them.

"Who...? Oh, it's you guys! The ones who fixed the weather! What can I do for you?"

"We need a cure for amnesia." Ryu explained. "The case has probably been going on for at least a year, to our knowledge..."

"Amnesia, huh?" Old Ernie winked. "No sweat, young 'un! I can have a foolproof tonic whipped up. Only problem is, the ingredients are a bit... exotic. It'll take a while to have them arrive." Ryu glanced at Deis, who nodded.

"Just tell us what you need." The Light Dragon responded. "We can get them for you fast." Old Ernie thought for a moment, then shrugged.

"You probably can, at that. All right. There are four ingredients I don't have. The first is the tips of the antlers from a white stag."

"A white stag?" Bo whistled. "Wow. Those are hard to bag."

"The second..." Ernie continued. "A root from the giant violet tuber, a plant that grows in Gramor. It has to be completely intact."

"I've been digging those up ever since I was in diapers." Mogu smiled, a rare occurance. "Might be a bit tricky to get one completely intact, but I'll manage."

"Third is a coconut, from the palm trees in the center of the world..."

"That island." Gobi snapped his fingers. "The one I took you guys to after the ship incident. It had coconuts."

"And finally, a pufferfish." Old Ernie concluded. "Those are only found reliably in one place. The Red River, near Scande."

"All right." Ryu nodded businesslike. "Let's split up. Deis, you're on transport... take everybody where they need to go. Bo, find one of those white stags and take it down. Mogu and Karn, you're on the root; Ox and Gobi, get the coconut. And I'll catch a pufferfish." They all nodded.

"I'll take you first... I'll drop you off as close to Scande as I can." Deis decided. "I have to know what the place I'm going looks like, so this spell isn't perfect. But it'll do. Come on." The two of them vanished in smoke, and appeared north of Cerl's outpost... or where it had been.

"Cerl..." Ryu remembered. "And Alan. A tragedy... but was it avoidable? Could we have done something to..."

"Hee hee!" A child's voice giggled. Both Ryu and Deis froze. From the rubble, a small girl ran out... a girl with long blonde hair bound back in a ponytail. She looked no more than five. Behind her ran another child, a boy the same age, with skin slightly darker than normal. And then, as they watched, he spoke.

"Hey, Cerl! Wait up!"
"Come on, Alan!" The little girl teased. "You'll have to run faster than that, if you want me to marry you when we grow up!" She turned and saw Ryu and Deis staring, jaws dropped. Both children screeched to a halt.

"You... how...?" Ryu stammered. Alan looked at him.

"You seem familiar, mister... miss. Do we know you?"

"Yeah..." Deis shook her head. "Yeah, you could say that. You're... are you Alan?"

"You got it!" The boy said proudly. "I'm half Fusion Clan! This is Cerl, and so's she!"

"Quiet, dummy!" Cerl kicked his shin. "We agreed not to tell anybody who we were, remember?"

"Oh, yeah..." Alan nodded, confused. "But... why was that again? I forget..." Cerl rolled her eyes.

"Boys! Never mind. Come on, I'll be it for a while."
"Yah! Can't catch me!" Whooping, Alan ran off. Cerl started to follow him, then turned back... and for a moment, her eyes were those of somebody much older.

"You're... nice people. But I don't think we should stick around here. Somebody might find us. I just... want to say thank you. For believing in me... when even I had given up hope for myself."

"Was it... the Time Key?" Deis wondered. "Had to be... but I didn't know it could do THAT..." Cerl shrugged.

"Well, I dunno either. I'm too little. See you!" Laughing, she ran off after Alan. Ryu and Deis stared after them.

"Well, I'll be." Ryu chuckled slowly. "Ladon, you old deck-stacker... miracles do happen..." He frowned. Somebody else was emerging from the rubble. It was the Silver Whatever... and it was carrying the armor and cape that had once belonged to the White Assassin, now empty. Deis tightened her hold on her staff.

"What are you here for? Did you see...? You had to. But you didn't try to attack them... does that mean you don't mind how things turned out?" The Silver Whatever said nothing.

"Who ARE you?" Ryu demanded. "You join the Tiamat Unit, the first guy to do so in ten years... and you appear whenever one of your buddies dies, to take them off. You're always silent, and you never let us see what you really look like... what's your deal, buddy?" The Silver Whatever watched him silently... and then it reached out, and with one gloved finger, traced a word in the air with streams of light.

SOON.

"Soon?" Deis wondered. There was a flash of light, and the Silver Whatever was gone. Ryu slowly shook his head.

"Something about that guy... just really gets under my skin." Deis shrugged.

"Beats me what it is. Anyways, looks like nothing else is happening here. If memory serves, following this valley through the mountains will take you to Scande." Ryu nodded.

"Right... see you back here this time tomorrow. Go take care of the others." Deis nodded and vanished in a puff of smoke.

It took Ryu most of the day to even approach Scande. Finally, as the sun was setting, he emerged out of the valley path, and caught his first sight of his destination, ever since the beginning of his quest. He was standing at the entrance to a vast, circular plain. A half-circle of mountains arced north, and where those ended, the vast ocean completed the loop. But the plains were not healthy... they were disgusting swampland. The worst part was the water; it was a toxic, poisonous red.

"Red river?" Ryu coughed. "This is a red marsh, for cryin' out loud..." And then he fell silent. At the center of the swamp, he saw it. A huge collection of buildings, bigger than any city in the world. Black and blue and gold, the structures were mighty and strong, towering over another ring of mountains that surrounded it. And at the core of it all, a vast palace-tower loomed over the plains. Scande, the heart of the Dark Dragon Empire, was finally within view.

"Wait a few days more, Zog..." Ryu whispered. "Just a few days more, and we'll all come for you. But right now... there is something more important for me to do." Finding a place where the red waters were in motion, fairly fast and deep, Ryu sat on the edge of a stone bridge and began fishing.

Unfortunately, the pufferfish of the red marsh were not easily fooled. Several hours passed with no success. Ryu was so aggravated, he didn't even notice the other angler at first. Looking to his side, bored, he jumped in sudden realization, then relaxed upon recognizing his companion.

"Chickens biting much today, young 'un?" Uncle Specs asked, tipping his hat... straight into the red water. Ryu watched it sink, bubbling.

"Ah... no. No chickens."

"Figures." Uncle Specs snorted. "I knew I shoulda gone to Gramor. Now I'll never catch anything."

"What are you using for bait?" Ryu asked politely. The old maniac winked conspiratorilly.

"Old family secret... solid gold nuggets. The fish practically leap out of the water to get 'em... chickens, I mean. Especially the big ones wearing clothes. Gotta throw those ones back, of course, but it's good for learning new vocabulary."

"Vocabulary?" Ryu raised an eyebrow. Uncle Specs calmly demonstrated at some length. "...Oh. THAT kind of vocabulary."

"Is there any other kind?" The ancient transient cackled, then turned to his line. "Whoo! Think I've got a bite!" Ryu felt a tug on his line.

"Me... too!" They both pulled their hooks in, and Ryu was rewarded with a spherical green fish, covered with sharp spines. Avoiding touching it, he carefully dangled it into a basket, then glanced at Uncle Specs.

"Tarnation." The old hobo grumbled. "Just an invoice. Figures. Here, you can have it." He tossed his catch to Ryu; it was a blank slab of some strange stone.

"Uh... thanks?"

"Hold on to it, sonny." Uncle Specs grinned, suddenly serious. "Never know when it'll come in handy." Then he blinked, and he was the old hobo again. "Ah well, can't catch a sea serpent every time. Well, you can but it's not good for your health."

"I'll bet." Ryu shook his head. "Well, thanks, Uncle Specs. I'll see you around."

"Don't be a stranger!" The ancient nutjob waved as Ryu walked north. "Eyes of Ganon are everywhere!" When Ryu returned to the outpost around noon the next day, Deis was waiting for him, twitching her tail impatiently.

"You're late." She informed him. "You were supposed to be here an hour ago! Come on, everybody else is already back with their stuff. You get the fish?"

"Grade-A." Ryu assured her as they teleported to Spring. Old Ernie was already working on the tonic, dipping the root into a bubbling mixture.

"Ah, there you are." He greeted them. "Do you have the pufferfish?" Ryu placed the bloated fish on a counter. Nodding, Ernie took a knife and began expertly slicing and dicing it.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Ox asked, worried. "I don't like the looks of those spines..."

"Nonsense." Old Ernie assured him, pulling out a thin portion from the center of the fish, with no spines. "Of course I know what I'm doing." Mincing that portion, he added it to the brew and stirred it. "All right... there." Pouring the brew into a bottle, he gave it to Ryu. "Wait for this to cool, then have the patient drink it. Recovery, if not immediate, will occur within a minute."

"Thank you, sir." Ryu said gratefully. "You have no idea how much we needed this."

"Shucks, son, after how you fixed this place up, it's nothing. Now git, I need to fix up that fool Barry's broken leg." The doctor grumbled good-naturedly.

"One more teleport." Deis smiled, taking them all to Tunlan. "Let's see if you're right, boss!" It was almost night in Tunlan; the last traces of sunlight were vanishing. Asking around, Karn was soon able to locate the house where the "winged girl" was staying with the two old women that had been with her in the bar. Knocking on the door brought one of them.

"Yes? Do I... wait. Were you the fellows in the bar with the pretty young girl who looked so much like ours?"

"That was us." Ox confirmed, Karn translating. The other old lady appeared behind her.

"But she's not here... no, there's a young mole. Did something happen to her?" Everybody exchanged a glance. Ryu tried to speak, but was unable to. Bo took over.

"Well... yes. There was an incident with the Time Key..." The first old lady bliked in realization.

"Time Key? Then... do you think our girl is...?"

"It looks that way." Gobi nodded. "You've seen for yourselves how alike they look. Nina... our friend... was lost in time, and this is our only lead. We have a tonic that will cure amnesia."

"You do? All right, then." The second old lady nodded decisively. "If she is your friend, it would be best to go with her... and even if not, having her amnesia cured is a good thing. Come, she's inside." The Wing Clan girl was in the back, sitting on a couch. She turned and smiled as they entered, but didn't speak. The first old lady took the tonic from Ryu and gave it to her.

"Drink this, dear... it'll help you." Obediently, the Wing Clan girl drained the bottle, then sat there, smiling. Now that he was looking at her more closely, Ryu realized she was wearing a sky blue leotard just like Nina's, although she had a headband of the same color.

"Was she... was she wearing clothing like this when she came here?" Karn translated, and the second old lady nodded.

"Well, yes... but it was pink. We had a blue one made for her... she seemed to like the color better." Ryu's breath caught as he looked back at the girl, and she smiled at him... and then the smile disappeared.

"Wha... Ryu?" She blinked in surprise. "You guys! You're here! Do you know how long it's been?" She frowned. "Why are you all staring at me?"

"Nina...?" The thief asked hesitantly. "Do you... know who I am?"

"Of course I do, Karn." Nina laughed. "Don't be silly... it'd take a lot longer than this to forget you all!" Ryu's face trembled... and then he ran forward, sweeping Nina into his arms. Before she could protest, he bent forward, and kissed her without a single thought as to who was watching or what they would think. They held it for several seconds, and then the rest of the group started to whoop.

"Well, it's about TIME." Deis commented before howling along with them.

"Nina..." Ryu smiled. "Would you believe... for a moment there, I thought I'd never see you again?"

"...You dolt." Nina smiled back. "You should know better than that. I'm fine... better than fine. It's been a year, you know... I'm older now. And that means more than you think... unless you can remember the secret of our Clan." Ryu's eyes widened a bit.

"The Great Bird?"

"You got it." Nina removed herself from his arms. "You and Gobi aren't the only ones with spiffy transformations any more, boss. I'll show you all soon... it's a whole new world, believe me."

"Good." Bo nodded. "We'll need all the firepower we can get soon." Nina's face darkened.

"I had forgotten... yeah. Scande... well, in that case, I've got more good news. The Third Dragon Shrine. I know where it is. Saw it while flying around and testing my new powers." Ryu grinned.

"You're kidding. That has GOT to be the ultimate stroke of good luck... Ladon's pulling strings again."

"Again?" Mogu inquired. Deis nodded.

"Yeah... I forgot, we never told you. We will once we're back in Carmen. Nina, you ready to go?"

"In a moment." The Wing Clan Princess turned to her benefactors. "Thank you... both of you, for taking care of me while I was here. I have to go now... but know that I will never forget you. If ever you need anything..."

"We know." The old ladies hugged her. "Take care, child... Nina. We are happy for you." Nina brushed a tear off of her cheek as the group left.

"Now we can go. So, what's this you saw about Ladon pulling strings?"

"Well..." Ryu began. "It's about Cerl and Alan..."