Chapter 18 - The Scales Of Life
The dark had swallowed them; there was no light whatsoever, no sound falling on their ears. Like a flash, shimmering blue flames appeared, one a side, crackling, snarling with energy. Then another pair appeared, slightly further forward and further apart. Then a third pair appeared, again further forward and apart. The three figures silhouetted by the blue flames waited for their eyes to adjust before moving one. As they slowly moved out, more flames appeared in parallel lines beside them. Then they heard it, the guttural voice echoing through the dim hall, rising above the popping of the flames, half in an archaic language, half in the common tongue:
Neuga Ziega Zieber Zom, now the chosen time has come
Neuga
Ziega Zieber Zom, now the chosen time has come
Neuga Ziega Zieber
Zom, now the chosen time has come
Neuga Ziega Zieber Zom, now the
chosen time has come
Silence once again resumed, the trio continued on along the blue flame path until they stopped appearing. Instead of continuing the parallel lines, they arched around until the two sides met, forming a ring of fire. Inside the ring, red lines flared up as archaic runes appeared on the floor, the red contrasting with the blue, giving the room a sickly appearance. In front of the three figures, a fourth one appeared, his white robes fluttering in a non-existent breeze.
"Exchange this world for... OBLIVION!" he cried out, his voice still ringing in the trio's ears for a good few seconds afterwards.
Frog stepped forward, drawing forth the legendary Masamune. "Ozzie!"
Without turning around, the green-skinned Ozzie spoke, a tone of disbelief in his voice, "I... it's that stupid frog! Kissed any princesses lately?"
"I rather enjoy this form and I oweth it all to you and your friend Magus! I have something for you!"
"Ah... The Masamune... I bet you're just dying to use it..." Spinning around, Ozzie had his usual cocky grin on his face. "The Black Wind begins to blow... OK, give me your best shot if you're prepared for the void..."
"Y'know? Those words just don't suit you," Destiny said, a leer etched across her face.
"Why you little..." he spat out before retaking control of himself. "I shan't be defeated! No form of attack will break MY barrier!"
With a fearsome battle cry, Frog leapt forward, the Masamune held aloft, high above his head. Swinging it down in a blistering arc, he was shocked when Ozzie was quickly covered in a thick sheet of ice, the revered blade just bouncing off it, no damage done to it whatsoever.
"What sorcery is this?" he stammered.
"Mwa ha ha, something wrong Sir Froggy?" came the voice from inside the ice barrier.
"Stand back boys," Destiny spoke up again. "I came prepared." Reaching behind her, Destiny pulled out a strange contraption, looking somewhat similar to a gun. Instead of having one barrel, it had what looked like a second one attached to the bottom of it and a medium-sized tank on the back of it. Clicking a small button on the side, a small jet of flame rose up from the bottom barrel.
"What's going on out there?" came Ozzie's voice, a slight note of concern creeping into his normally cocky tones.
Flashing a quick mischievous grin at Crono, she aimed the gun at the ice casing surrounding Ozzie and pulled the trigger. A large spout of liquid fire came flying out of the barrel, screaming loudly, desperate to reach its target, the ice surrounding Ozzie. Cannoning into it, the ball of flame burst, spreading itself all over it, quickly getting to work melting it.
Standing to the side, Crono and Frog looked on in awe as Destiny stood there, casually keeping the aim straight and the flames coming. "Ya just gotta love that girl," Crono said to Frog, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Indeed, she is a veritable bag of tricks Sir Crono. And just where didst thou discover her?"
"No time to explain, she's almost through." No sooner than he spoke, the ice barrier collapsed in on itself, leaving Ozzie exposed. Destiny quickly let go of the trigger and stepped back, her work now done.
"Wha... what just happened? My barrier! Defeated! How could this be?"
Turning to Crono, Frog spoke again. "Dost thou want the honour, or shall I Sir Crono?"
"I think I'll leave it to you, Sir Frog. I figure you earned this a hell of a lot more than I did."
"Indeed, indeed I have." With a scream of rage, Frog leapt forward at Ozzie once again, but this time, nothing stopped his mighty swing, the blade nearly cleaving Ozzie in two, blood spraying everywhere, staining the cold, stone floor red. As the blade slowly ground to a halt in its movement, the whole of Frog's body was quivering with rage, something lost but something gained as well...
Then it happened. It took them a few seconds to recognise the sound of silence, the flames snarling now muted. The dim lighting of the room flickered as an anti-glow started to appear in the centre of the runic circle. The darkness swelled, quickly expanding to take in everything in the room, including the now lifeless body of Ozzie. They span around the circumference of the circle, Ozzie's corpse rotating in the apex. With a flash they were gone, the room returning to pitch blackness, the flames snuffed out...
"Where the hell are they? What's taking them so long?" Marle asked impetuously, hands on hips.
"Calm down Marle, I'm sure that they'll be here when they'll be here... it's not as if we were exactly quick going through the ruins in 2300AD were we?" replied Lucca, trying to put her at ease.
"I just don't trust her alone with Crono!" Realising what she'd said, Marle clamped her hands over her mouth, blushing with embarrassment.
"So you do have the hots for Crono! I knew it!"
"Oh god... you knew? But if you know then surely he kn... oh GOD!"
"Calm down, Crono is a man... we both know how slow they can be... he doesn't have a clue. I remember when I first told my dad about my period... he didn't have a clue what I was talking about... when he did realise, he went as white as a sheet and sent me to talk to my mum!"
"Heh... I wouldn't even dare mention that kinda thing to my father. Not the regular topic of conversation in royal circles."
"So, you've done nothing to make Crono suspicious of how you feel about him?"
"Well... maybe not... we kissed."
"You WHAT!"
Looking sheepish, Marle stared at her feet, strands of her strawberry blonde hair hanging over her face. "Whilst you were waiting at Crono's house... we... uh... kissed. Or rather... I kissed him."
"Did he kiss you back?" asked the curious Lucca, still a little unsure of the matter of love itself.
"Uh-huh," she nodded back, a goofy smile on her face.
"And you're worried Destiny is gonna take him from you? Hah! Fat chance... I've known him a lot longer than you have and if he has a type, strange kooky lady ain't it!"
"You sure about that?"
"Hell yeah I'm sure about it. You've got nothing to worry about, just play it safe and take your time and you'll have your man. Trust me... I know just how to get him..." With that, the two girls started discussing battle tactics of a rather different, but none-the-less devastating, nature...
