Disclaimer:

Chrono Trigger does NOT belong to me…Evur!...Do I have to write this in evury chapter?...,…

Chapter two:

Seeing a Distant Mind

"They're gonna leave the Dome again." Melanie said.

"Yes." Doan answered back. They were inside a room in the building. Melanie came a few hours ago, in search of the two teenagers.

"I guess you have a good reason as to why they're leaving; and why you're breaking a promise."

"They went down there, where two days ago a group of teens brought us the seeds. They have somehow, restored our cause to live." Doan slowly breathes and sighs. "I guess that what they found, and what Ro and Ilia found, made them to search."

"…what are they searching for?"

"We have to wait for Ro, to find answers."

"What about the others?"

"The others…I think I have a good guess as to where they came from; or rather when."

Melanie looked at him confused. She could imaging something in relation with what he said. After all, he knows more about the cold past than anyone. He closed his eyes, trying to put in words his ideas.

"The way they were dressed, was not used in the Domes while I was still young. As far as I've read, those clothes, and their weapons were too primitive to be used in the last three hundred years."

"Are you saying they're from the past!" Melanie exclaimed. The question did take her by surprise, coming from her own voice without thought.

"Maybe; except for one of them. She somehow knew how things work around here; she could even use one of our weapons. I thought she was from around the city ruins…but it may be my imagination playing tricks on me. It is impossible that they could have come from the past. "

"Or the truth. It could be impossible for us; maybe for them it could be as easy as passing through a door." She halted for a second. "This building and many other places, even those people, hide things; memories. Maybe…I'm not ready to find out what those memories are." The room was silent for a short time, with the conversation hanging in the air.

"Are you not going to search for them?"

"They'll come back. They promised, right?" She smiled at him.

CTR

"You promised you would go back! Wouldn't this be a good point to return!" Ilia screamed. She was trembling from the cold that was falling with rage. Ro held her hand tightly, not letting go to reassure her.

"No way!" He screamed back. "I've never gone through that building!"

"What are we gonna find there!"

"Not therethere!" Ro said as he pointed a distant, blurry, white mountain over the sea. She could almost see the peak, and two domes, one closer than the other.

"But how are we gonna go there!" She asked.

"Pookey said through the sewer!" He answered.

The rat was hiding under Ro's hood, guiding him through the unseen road. In time, they reached the facility the led underground; the Sewers System. The place was ironically running, and the lighting was still in good conditions. Coming down the ladder, they managed to see a small yellow humanoid monster, with wings and one eye. As soon as the monster fixed his eyes upon them, it stopped in mid air.

"What! Humans!" It spoke in their language in panic; opening wide it's only eye and leaving.

"Hey, wait!" Ro exclaimed.

"Let it go. They're not used to this kind of visits." Ilia said not to surprise at the monster's reaction.

"Wait here." Pookey ordered them as he jumped off Ro and followed the yellow creature into the darker parts of the sewer.

Ilia managed to sit on the cold metal floor, right beside the ladder. "I still don't get what you're trying to do?" She complained as she took a small can of food and opened it.

"I heard in Arris, that an old man lives in the continent we're going." He turned to her, looking at her with a curious smile. "Doesn't it make you wonder what he's doing there all alone?" At the instant he made the question, a set of small footsteps and the flapping of wings could be heard in the dark. Ilia stood behind Ro, both staring at the dark way where the sound could be heard. The bright light at the entrance revealed a pair of small paws. It was Pookey holding the yellow creature by its legs, trying to fly away.

"It's just you!" Ro said, annoyed by the rat's silent appearance. Ilia stared down at Pookey for a moment.

"Since when can you walk straight!" She asked.

"I always did, Squeak!" Pookey replied. He then grasped one of the creatures arm and pinned it against the floor.

"Let go off me, you freaks!" It cried as it struggled to free itself.

"Squeak! Where's Sir Krawlie?" Pookey asked calmly. The yellow creature stopped struggling and saw them with a griming eye.

"I don't know!" The creature said, looking away.

"Squeak! Guard, you'd be better off telling the truth. Now take us to him, or it'll be your eye." Pookey threat sounded eerie with his voice. Neither of them had ever heard rat making threats to someone. Ilia though it was because of some old relationships.

"…fine! I'll take you to him. It isn't goint ta be my fault if he kills ya!" the creature laughed as it flew around them in circles. It suddenly stopped on one edge of the floor and quickly disappeared.

"Follow him." Pookey ran after it. Without much hesitation, Ro and Ilia sprinted too. The place was divided by the running sewer, and only small bridges connected each floor section of the place.

After much turning and crossing, they came upon a large corner platform. A long monster with a claw like tail and many legs, stood in the center.

"Did you find them?" The long creature's voice echoed strongly in the empty place.

"…no.." The yellow creature answered with difficulty. "B-But Sir Krawlie, these human intruders wanted to see you!"

"INTRUDERS!" He quickly crawled their way with anger. "Are you so desperate to die that you want me to shred ya?"

"We want to pass through the sewer to the Southern Continent, Squeak!"

Sir Krawlie changed his gaze from the humans to the rat, and smirked. "If it isn't Pookey. Last time I was gonna shred ya, you ran away! So tell me, are these humans the last ones? Do they wish to die in such a cold place down there?" Sir Krawlie said, amusingly laughing with the one-eyed creature.

"That's none of you're business!" Ro yelled, restrained back by Ilia.

"Can we make a deal to cross?" Pookey asked, already annoyed at the waiting.

"So the little rat wants to play my game!" Krawlie taunted him. He than sopped laughing, making the yellow creature confused at his boss's reaction. "I don't care what your business is in the Southern Continent. If you want to make it back alive and in one piece, you'll have to bring my underlings. Return without them and I'll have ya for dinner! Guard!"

The small creature flinched at his call. "Y, yes… Sir Krawlie?"

"Take them out of from to the south!"

"But…but Sir Krawlie!" The creature complained, flying at his master's head level.

"Do it! Or I'll shred ya!" Sir Krawlie ordered.

The creature flew toward Pookey, who still held a stern look, and signaled them to follow. Ro looked back at the creature called Sir Krawlie, but it already disappeared into the darkness beyond.

Again, they crossed the floors as the Guard opened new bridges to cross. Finally, they arrived at a platform with a ladder leading up.

"This is the end of the trip. Hope you remember the way humans! Hehe!" The Guard left flying away, it's mad laughing continuing to haunt the sewer. Pookey climbed on Ilia, looking the way the creature left as Ro climbed first.

"Ro, you think that Guard's going to cut off the bridges?"

"He'll do it. Plus, I doubt that his boss will keep his word." Ro climbed off the ladder and helped Ilia out. "Those underlings might come in handy when we return."

"And how do you expect them to help?" She asked amused.

"We'll just have to make them. They couldn't be "lost" if their boss is trying to find them in a deal."

"Meaning they're more of a coward than that Guard."

"You see my point. But let's worry about them later. We have to get out of this place." Ro opened the door, followed by Ilia. Out of the small dome, the sight wasn't any different from what they have seen in their lives. The foot of the mountain called Death Peak was clearly visible, but the mountain itself blurred in the grey storm. Ilia changed her stare to another dome; a larger one, just south.

"Hey, Ro!"

"Yeah!"

"Is that the place where the old man lives!"

"Could be!" Ro took the initiative to lead the way as the storm was getting more violent, carrying little to no debris around.

CTR

"We're here. What now?" Ilia asked standing in front of the main room in the dome.

"We go in and check it out." Ro said. He walk to the central door, still functional, and opened it. /the air inside was damp, and the lights didn't reach certain areas of the room. Immediately in front of them was a flat computer monitor, with halls on each side. Ro tried to start the computer for a few seconds, shutting down just as fast. Suddenly, they could hear murmurs from beyond the hall. They weren't surprised though, when they knew the voice was from an old man; the old man they were searching for. What surprised them was the other voice. They expected the old man to be alone, but they saw otherwise when they reached the end. A humanoid blue creature stood there watching at the old man. Its body was round, with long arms that appeared boneless. They slowly walked to the old man, who was working on the right side computer of the room.

"Excuse me." Ilia said. The old man stopped working on the computer and glanced at them.

"Well hello there. What are you doing here?" His speech was slow, but calm, as if he had no trouble of what's happening on the outside world.

"We heard from Arris Dome that somebody lived here alone, and we went out searching for him. We believe that's you." Ro looked from the old man to the blue creature then to him again. "But I didn't know you weren't alone." Ro answered. Pookey jumped from Ro shoulder to the floor and walked around. The old man looked back at the blue creature, understanding what the boy meant.

"Maybe I'm not. That Nu keeps praising me for what I'm doing. It's becoming really annoying." He turned his gaze upon the people in front if him. "You said you heard of me from Arris Dome; believing you came from there as well. You can rest here before asking me what, and why exactly did you came for."

"Thank you…um…What is your name?" Ilia asked, forgetting anything she knew about manners.

"Well, it's been a long time." He chuckled. He dressed in an oddly purple and blue uniform with a weird pointed hat. His white beard and bushy eyebrows that covered his eyes, could only show a short time of living experience in a world so vastly desolated. "My name is Belthasar."

Please review, Pretty please! …No really… I feel more encouraged this way…

…Is this really coconut?...What do you mean no! What are you trying to sell me here!...Oh! This is a game?...but I wanted coconut!