Chrono Corruption
Act 5: Revolution
Chapter 35: A New Truce, Part I
*End of Time*
"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot!" Lucca said as she dashed up to Robo. "Tell us how you had an Aura Surge!"
Robo's eyes brightened happily, "Ah, yes! Well, you see it's is because of the N-Z3R0 virus that I wove into my programming!"
Everyone was astonished but none more so than Lucca. "You WHAT?! You 'wove' the N-Z3R0 virus into yourself? I thought you were only studying it!"
"Indeed, I was but as I studied it I made a... startling revelation...," Robo said as his robotic expression grew serious. Everyone drew in closer to focus on what Robo had to say. "The N-Z3R0 virus had changed drastically after the Central Regime got a hold of it. Their modifications added additional coding. I compared this coding to many things but came up with nothing but dead ends. That is until I began comparing it to digitized DNA codes. The Lavos-human mutants from Lab 51 gave me some unusual data when we were there the first time. To make a long story much shorter, the N-Z3R0 virus contained a digitized version of Lavos's DNA!"
Everyone was speechless but Lucca addressed the subject, "Why would they digitize Lavos's DNA?"
"Unknown, but it may be an attempt to corrupt all of the planet's machines with Lavos's code," Robo began. "In organic life, Lavos's DNA corrupts human moral and animal instinct with destructive tendencies. Sometimes to oneself or others. Lavos's will was subtle but I believe it was using what we call 'evolution' as its tool to pick and choose every lifeform on this planet and either guide it to extinction or to an apex so it could use each DNA code it harvested wisely. The Frozen Flame was the 'meeting' point when Lavos made contact with the lifeforms of the planet. It is what allowed Janus's people to develop what we now know as 'magic'. Magic is how humans responded to Lavos's infection and I believe this Aura Surge is a further evolution of that concept."
"An evolution of magic?" Lucca asked astounded. "That makes sense. Walter said he wanted to use Lavos's DNA to 'ascend'. Was he speaking about the Aura Surge?"
"Quite possibly," Robo deduced.
Janus added to the conversation, "When I first met Fiendlady Mathilda she asked me to take part in her little arena challenge. I humored her request and it turned out that she had possession of the Frozen Flame. When the Flame revealed Dalton it blasted me with its sickly glow. I had this Aura Surge and Dalton said 'not you too'. At the time I disregarded what he said but now it has become apparent that this Aura Surge is the power he had been seeking but he could not apply it for himself."
"So what caused it to develop in us?" Crono asked curiously.
"I feel that multiple variables exist," Robo began again. "But I believe it mainly boils down to the strong usage of magic that most of you employ. Through, battle, we developed and grew differently but toward the same goal. Essentially, 7 of us grew to the point where we could defeat Lavos and the body it created. Perhaps Lavos was so intrigued by this development the Frozen Flame wanted to see it develop further. As Ayla said, Lavos is like a parasite, leave a small piece and it will all just grow back."
"How does that work for Ayla though? She doesn't have magic," Tomo asked curiously.
"All species on this planet have some sort of spiritual mysticism," Robo claimed. "Ayla can tap into some supernatural gifts but not like someone who has been tainted by Lavos. In Singing Mountain, the Frozen Flame may have seen Ayla as an 'original specimen'. It is likely the Flame infected her with this 'new development' to see if the Aura Surge could be implanted and used without having to develop it through the extended use of magic. Ayla proved Lavos right."
"Hold up, how about us?" Ty asked. "Tomo and I weren't even magic users before this whole thing began but the Flame spit on us first. Then it did it a second time!"
"You two are merely a new branch but from the same tree," Robo stated. "Lavos brought out your Wind and Earth magic with the first hit and just like Ayla, you were a success. Hitting you again caused the same change in you that it did in Crono, Lucca, and Marle."
"So you're saying our 'evolution' was accelerated? To catch up with the others?" Tomo asked as she placed her finger on her chin.
"I believe so," Robo said with certainty. "Lex already had magic as well and Garet was exposed multiple times to the Flame's energy as well while under the Grobyc Program."
"I think it may come down to one simple thing, Robo," Crono began as he crossed his arms. "Will power. Each of us had something we were willing to fight for beyond what our normal capabilities would allow. Through this need, we managed to subconsciously 'mold' this power into something that would do that for us."
"Indeed, I believe that plays a pivotal role, Crono," Robo said analytically. "We all influenced this change with positive emotions while Dalton does so with negative ones. Perhaps that's why he and the disciples were unable to develop it in the same way we were. They wanted to control Lavos, but Lavos already controlled them."
"So what about this code in your system, Robo?" Marle asked with concern. "Lavos isn't controlling you now is it?"
"No, unlike a human, I am a machine that is capable of reviewing all the programs and code that make me, me," Robo stated reassuringly. "I was able to isolate and contain the harmful bits and process them as junk data that cannot interact with my mainframe."
"That's amazing, Robo!" Lucca said cheerfully.
"That's not all," Robo added. "I believe every organism on this planet is in fact 'fighting' Lavos's infection. Lavos's DNA is invasive and each organism is adapting it away due to its inherent uselessness. I believe this is why some species over time became extinct as they adapted away Lavos's genes when the organism no longer depended on what it offered them. Humans, however, keep molding it into something Lavos wants but can now no longer keep up with."
"So in other words, we are taking Lavos's power and turning it against it," Garet said stoically.
"Yes, we have outgrown Lavos's control while the disciples did not," Robo deduced.
"So the student has surpassed the master!" Glenn said with understanding.
"Child outgrow adult!" Ayla added.
"Lavos has picked the wrong species to try and control," Lex followed.
Gaspar chuckled heartily, "Well now, that's quite an observation you've made there. Perhaps Lavos can now be fully destroyed with this new power."
"I hope so," Crono said. "After we destroy Dalton and the Flame I hope there are no more ties to the monster."
"Yeah, I've had enough adventuring to last a lifetime!" Marle claimed with a sigh.
"Right now though, we need to focus on confronting Porre," Crono said changing the subject. "But I don't know where to start! I know so little about them!"
"Hey, this looks like a job for me and Tomo!" Ty interjected with a wide grin. "We know all about its members and their ranks!"
"Yeah, what do you want to know first!" Tomo asked with a smile.
Crono smiled as his hopes lifted substantially, "Great! Who leads them, first of all."
Ty took a deep breath, "Okay, so, the Porre Legion is headed by a man named Colonel Zorandah Viper. He's a 42-year-old, robust man with a no-nonsense personality. He is head of the prestigious Viper Clan. Originally, he was tasked with efforts to expand Porre by finding new places to inhabit. He set his sights on the El Nido Sea and habitually explored the area hoping to find land he could establish as his own. However, as we all know, this didn't happen. Just before Tomo and I got involved with this time travel business, Viper commandeered our ship after we found the Frozen Flame and...," Ty paused as he remembered something important.
"What's wrong, Ty?" Crono asked curiously.
Ty slung his head back and Tomo cast her gaze to the floor, "...I 'may' have helped Viper... go through with his attack on Guardia...," he admitted sheepishly.
"What?" Marle asked in surprise.
"Let me explain...," Ty began before anyone else could interrupt. "Colonel Viper has a daughter, a nine-year-old girl, that was stricken with a nasty poison when he was totally irresponsible by taking her on one of his expeditions. He said it was fate that he should run into the Explorer Corps and by extension, me, as I was the only one who could possibly cure his daughter. That's when Dalton, masquerading as a cloaked figure convinced me to help her so Viper would find his resolve in attacking Guardia... I'm... I'm still not sure how I feel about that decision... On one hand, I saved the life of a child that I couldn't simply ignore but then I ended up being on the side of the war 'against' Viper... And, that got your dad killed...," he said looking at Marle.
Marle was of course saddened but she approached Ty with a smile, "No, I can't put the blame on you for this. I can't find fault in you for saving a child, Ty. Nevertheless, the manipulation you experienced is all our fault. If we had killed Dalton, none of this would be happening. You were but merely a cog in this mess. I can't, I won't hold anything against you for what you did. If I were in your shoes, I would have helped her too."
Ty seemed relieved, "Oh, that's..., I feel much better now," he said with a sigh.
Tomo took over, "After defeating Guardia, Viper has most certainly been promoted to the rank of General by now. If that's the case then the 4 Devas, which are four powerful and or unique individuals that serve Porre, are now under his command."
"The 4 Devas? I think I've heard about them before but I've never looked into them or their roles," Crono stated.
"The 4 Devas are the Porrean General's most trusted subordinates," Tomo began. "Their names are Melghid, The Engineer, Zappa the Blacksmith, Radius, The Tactician, and Garai, The Warrior."
"They come with titles?" Marle asked curiously.
"Yeah, these guys are no joke either but they most likely need to be defeated if we are to regain control of Guardia," Ty claimed. "You see, it's very likely that the Porre Legion has ransacked your castle and subjugated the people. They are now occupying your nation so we have to get in there and give'em the boot, so to speak."
"Ransacked? You think they took everything of value?!" Marle asked emotionally.
"Why do you suppose they took all our valuables?" Crono asked astonished.
"There are some... aristocratic benefactors that funded Porre's war efforts," Ty claimed. "The Chancellor of Porre, named Vera, takes these people into account and the number one benefactor is a guy named Lynx. Lynx has never been seen in public and all of his ridiculous donations to Porre have been everything from gold and jewels to rare documents and lost magical arts."
"I've never heard of him before," Crono said blinking his eyes in confusion.
"There are some conspiracy theories that float around the underground about him but the most common one is, that he's not Human but a Demi-Human," Ty said with a little uncertainty in his voice.
Everyone also seemed a little lost, "Uh, a Demi-Human? What's that exactly?" Marle asked, hoping for clarification.
"That's not like... a Fiend, is it?" Crono asked for a comparison.
"Oh no, not at all," Tomo said as she waved her hands quickly back and forth. "A Demi-Human is the unofficial slang term for cryptid humanoids, such as Mermaids for example."
"Mermaids? I thought those were just a legend," Lucca said with a raised brow.
"Through our time in the Explorer Corps, we inevitably come across this subject as a constant point of debate," Ty explained. "But, Demi-Humans are broken into three categories by the pseudo-scientists that are convinced they exist. Beast-type Demi-Humans, have beast traits mixed into their human appearance. Avian-type Demi-Humans, have bird-like traits. And, Aquatic Demi-Humans, or Mermaids as we called them, have marine life traits."
"We traveled through time to just about every era," Lucca started. "How did we miss these beings?"
"Demi-Humans are very reclusive and are determined to stay hidden as they hate us, regular Humans. There are theories as to why, but I won't get into that here," Ty said wanting to get back to the more pressing matter. "You 'missed' them because they have never played a prominent role in the history of the world."
"So what would this Lynx, get out of funding Porre?" Crono asked with a more serious tone.
"Well, you guys have just about every legendary treasure in the world in your vaults," Ty pointed out. "You have the Grandleon, the Rainbow Shell, and the Sunstone, just to name a few. He probably wants them as spoils of war."
"Probably, to add to some sort of collection," Tomo theorized. "If he is a Demi-Human, he may be trying to gather valuable artifacts to strengthen his people's position in the world."
"Well, I don't really care about the treasures so much as I do about our country," Crono stated vigorously. "So does anyone have any recommendation for how we begin a counterattack?"
Lucca shot her hand into the air with an excited expression, "I've been waiting for this moment! Back when we were in Chronopolis I became involved in the development of something that should help us immensely!"
"Oh? What is that?" Crono asked curiously.
Lucca searched her bag and brought what looked like a more portable Gate Key. "This round little disk is a compact Gate Key that can latch onto one's belt or... well anywhere else really! I made one for every one of us so if Dalton or anyone else just throws us into the time stream we can act on our own and just find a Gate to come back!" she explained proudly.
"That's neat, Lucca, but how does it help our current situation?" Crono asked further.
"Simple!" Lucca smiled widely. "Since this is war, I figured we should all participate! This little gadget will allow all of us to use the Gates without having to worry about the restriction of more than four people! It has a dial on it that when switched warps time a bit to send the user back to the End of Time if they should so desire! So not only can we cross Gates, but we can individually come and go as we please to the End of Time no matter where or when in history we are!"
"That's incredible, Lucca!" Crono said astonished. "But how did you develop something like that in such a short time?"
"I can answer that," Robo claimed. "The version of me that was in the Fate computer system had been working on this project for some time with the help of Belthasar. Once Lucca was rescued from the Ice Age, we were able to complete it with her help."
"So as I was saying, we should all be able to head to Guardia and push back Porre!" Lucca said vigorously.
Marle clapped her hands excitedly, "That's incredible! So does anyone have any suggestions on how to use it?"
"Sure, how about we split into groups of two and take out the 4 Devas and Viper? If we double-team their strongest members we should be good to defeat them that way," Ty suggested.
"That's a great idea, but there are eleven of us," Marle said with concern. "Someone would be stuck by themselves!"
Crono breathed deeply, "Good, just the way I want it..."
"What?!" Marle shouted.
"While you guys attack and distract the Porre Legion, I'll find and confront my dad," Crono said bravely.
"All on your own?!" Lucca asked with awe. "You do know what he did to us, right? He picked us apart every time we encountered him!"
Crono sighed through his nose, "Yep, that's why it has to be me. My dad isn't interested in killing me but he will kill anyone of you. Even Marle..."
"No, what if he does decide to kill you and I lose you again?" Marle asked, growing teary-eyed.
"He won't, you won't," Crono said coldly. "I want to try and save him... if the Goddess of Fate will let me, of course," he laughed with levity.
"So you intend to duel your father alone then?" Glenn asked rhetorically. "Then I wish you the best of luck, Crono."
"So who is fighting who, if I may ask?" Janus asked stoically.
Tomo stepped up excitedly, "I got Zappa! I want his hammer!"
"Why do you want his hammer exactly?" Ty asked dumbfounded.
"Because his hammer is made from a powerful alloy called Denadorium! It's an alloy between Mythril and Denadorite!" Tomo informed. "If we could forge weapons and armor from Denadorium it could easily rival the Rainbow Shell!"
"So where do we get this Denadorite?" Glenn asked curiously.
"Denadorite was only found in a large deposit in the Denadoro Mountains, hence the name. It is just in scraps elsewhere. When some veins are found it gets scooped up immediately!" Tomo explained. "However, the Denadoro Mountains were completely mined out of the stuff so we can't find it there anymore."
"Where did it all go?" Marle asked as she tilted her head.
"Where else?" Tomo replied with a chuckle. "Guardia Castle is made from it! All of it!"
"Huh?! I never noticed that!" Marle said in shock.
"Yep, that's the reason it was mined in the first place!" Tomo claimed. "Irma found the material in the Denadoro range and she started a mining operation that would take decades! If we could say, borrow some Denadorite from the Guardians, we could make some killer weapons and armor with it!"
"So we need this, Zappa guy's hammer to do it?" Crono asked seeking confirmation.
"Yep! That and the Smith Spirit that Melchior gave us!" Tomo claimed.
Crono mused until Ty sighed with a chuckle, "Okay, I'm coming with you, Tomo. We'll get the hammer from him!"
"Yay!" Tomo cheered.
"Alright, Ty, you and Tomo seem to know an awful lot about the Devas, so in your guys' opinion, who among us should fight who?" Crono asked.
"Wait!" Marle interjected. "I will confront Colonel Viper. He is the leader of his nation and I'm the leader of mine. Maybe I can talk some sense into him while I'm at it."
"You sure?" Tomo asked nervously. "Viper's a big man he even beats Ty and Janus in size."
"That's ok, I'll take Ayla with me for close-range strength!" Marle claimed as she pointed to Ayla.
Ayla pumped her fist into the air, "Ayla fight big man, Ayla win!"
"Garai's even bigger like he's 8 and ½ feet tall!" Tomo claimed. "He's ambidextrous, wields two broadswords, and is covered in plate mail."
"So he's a knight?" Glenn asked as he perked up.
"Yeah, in a way. He thinks highly of himself. Like he's a paladin or something like a holy knight," Ty said following up with Tomo.
"Then I shall duel with him!" Glenn said stalwartly. Glenn then looked around for a partner, he smiled when he got to Janus, "Shall we fight together this time as well?"
"Janus threw back his cape and crossed his arms, "As you wish," he said stoically.
"You two certainly have come a long way," Marle said with a giggle.
"Hmm, okay next, we have Radius, the Tactician," Ty said, moving on. "As his title implies he's really good at strategy. He's about 47 years of age and wields a sword. That's really all I know about him."
"If he's a tactical man like you say, then I will fight him," Garet said flatly.
"I shall join you, Garet!" Lex followed. "He sounds like an interesting opponent!"
"Okay, that just leaves Melghid, The Engineer, and since he's a machine guy, I don't think I need to tell Lucca and Robo that they would be the best choice to face him," Tomo said confidently. "Melghid is about the same age we are. He's a machinist prodigy and is the youngest Deva by far. I'll bet he's the one responsible for those mechanical puppets that ransacked Guardia."
"Okay, so it's Guardia's Royal Scientist and her future robot buddy versus the Porrean Legion's Engineer and his army of mechanical puppets, got it!" Lucca said as she grew excited.
"I am eager to witness the technology of the past firsthand!" Robo said taking a readied pose.
"Alright, you two, so where do you suppose we find these guys when we get there," Crono said as he attached the Portable Gate Key to his belt.
"They've likely taken Leene Square and made it their base camp. I would have," Ty claimed.
"If they have settled in, they could have spread apart far enough apart so we could divide and conquer them," Tomo said with determination.
"Just in case, if you want, I can scout around all stealth-like and get some info on their positions before we make a move!" Ty said with a strategy in mind. "In addition, I think we should subdue the Devas, not kill them. We need some political leverage to get to Viper and the rest of Porre."
"Good! Is everyone ready then?" Crono asked party-wide.
A little murmuring passed and then everyone was as ready as they could be, "So how do we approach this then? Are we taking the Neo Epoch or would that be too obvious?" Marle asked curiously.
"No, I think we should just take the Gate at the back of Leene Square. It'll surprise'em if we just show up and Leene's Square is in fact taken as their base camp," Crono gambled.
"Oh, we're just going in with a charge, huh?" Ty asked in surprise.
"I know it's a gamble but if we can spread out without them knowing we can hide quietly and you can do your thing," Crono said with a clenched fist. "Come on, let's get this party started!"
And with that, the entire party filled the room with pillars of light to other eras, and one by one, they stepped into the Leene Square Gate and were swallowed up by it until no one was left but Gaspar and his thoughts, "Good luck my friends. May you build a better tomorrow!"
*Leene Square, Guardia, 1005 A.D.*
One by one, Crono and his friends appeared through the Gate. It opened and shut for each person as they came through. Crono and the party quickly noticed that the area was stuffed to the brim with crates and barrels filled with odds and ends. Leene Square was definitely turned into a war camp. Ty chuckled softly at their good fortune, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are fortunate! Not only did they give us cover as soon as we arrived but the sun isn't quite up yet! So, I shall do my thing and get a good look around the camp!"
Janus interjected, "I can blend into the shadows with my magic. I shall also scout ahead."
"Good thinking, we can cover more ground that way!" Ty whispered strongly.
And so, Ty and Janus vanished into the shadows and began their scouting mission. Each went in separate directions to cover more ground. Meanwhile, Crono and his party hid themselves to await their return.
*Later*
Ty and Janus emerged and their spirits were up. "What did you find?" Crono asked quietly.
"Okay, here's what we're dealing with," Ty started. "The 4 Devas are all settled in here just as I had hoped. Zappa is to the west where you and I had our little duel but all the festive stuff is removed in favor of his smithy. His apprentice will sleep for a while as I poisoned him so he won't run away as Tomo and I beat the daylights out of Zappa. As expected he's up bright and early to start crafting more weapons."
Janus took over, "The one called Radius is to the west and he has all of his equipment for planning the Legion's next maneuvers. As expected he is the only one awake at this hour."
"Melghid is actually outside in front of the square," Ty elaborated. "He's up running maintenance on his puppets."
"And the giant man with two blades, Garai," Janus began. "Is near the fountain watching quietly over prisoners of war. Soldiers quietly patrol the area but there are not many."
"Alright, is everyone ready? We all remember who we're attacking?" Crono asked. He received nods in return. "I assume Viper and my dad are at the castle?"
"Yes, I looked over Radius's plans over his shoulder from the shadows," Janus confirmed. "The leaders are all at the castle."
"Great, I'll take Marle and Ayla with me to the castle so we can confront them! Good luck you guys, I'm counting on you!" Crono said with determination.
"Right, let's go Tomo!" Ty said as he snuck off with her as she cheered quietly.
Quickly and quietly, everyone dispersed and made their way to their targets.
*Zappa*
Ty and Tomo spied on Zappa from the brush, "There he is, staring into his forge," Ty whispered.
Zappa was indeed a robust individual. He had brown slicked-back hair and a trimmed beard. His upper body and shoulders were bare. He wore blue overalls and welders sleeves with a large circular metal plate covering his torso for armor. He also wore thick leather gloves and boots that were plated with small iron plates.
"Okay, think you can distract him for me?" Tomo asked quietly with her hand cupped at the side of her mouth.
Zappa stoked the flames of his forge staring into their bright light. Suddenly, he heard a metal clank hit the ground and something rolled up to his feet. Zappa's eyes lit up as soon as realized what it was. It was a smoke bomb that began to spew its thick smoke. In seconds Zappa was engulfed but it did not keep him from his large Denadorium Great Hammer.
"Who be there?" Zappa said with a gruff voice as he darted his eyes back and forth.
With great speed, Ty leaped from up above his daggers drawn like two snake fangs. His goggles were over his eyes and he smirked confidently.
Zappa was unamused as he thrust his hammer into Ty's chest. Ty's breath seemed like it was knocked from him but it was a fake-out. Ty spewed his Bad Breath spell onto Zappa, afflicting him with poison and ailments. "Gotcha!" Ty taunted.
"What be the meanin' o this?" Zappa said as he tried to clear his vision.
Tomo charged through the smoke, her footsteps growing heavier as they did so. She got closer her heavy footsteps now sounded like stone clapping stone. Out of the smoke, Fat Tomo now turned to stone flipped around, and bashed Zappa with her rear, sending him flying.
"Zappa of the 4 Devas, I challenge you!" Tomo said with her finger outstretched.
Zappa got up and took a deep breath as he quickly downed a Panacea from his pocket. He cracked his neck and clenched his teeth, "Aye, you'll 'ave ta do bettah than a cheap sneak attack ta get ta me, lassie!" He turned his gaze to his apprentice who was sleeping in a hammock. "Ey, get up, we got company!" he shouted.
The young man did not even do so much as twitch. Ty chuckled, "Sorry bud, he won't be waking up anytime soon!"
Zappa growled but said nothing as he angrily adjusted his armor.
"Wow, I slammed into him as hard as could! He really is a solid guy!" Tomo said impressed.
"Ah, please! Mah wife Zippa has meat on 'er bones. Granted, it's not nearly as much as ye! But still, I know 'ow ta handle a strong woman!" Zappa said strongly. His gaze transferred over to Ty, "Ye on tha' otha' hand, ya slitherin' snake in the grass, need ta keep yer distance!"
"Snake? You are the last group of people who should be using the word 'snake' as an insult!" Ty chuckled.
As the smoke cleared, Zappa took his hammer and jumped into the air. He brought his hammer down to the ground and a burst of magical flames trailed over to Tomo and knocked her into the air.
Ty vanished and attempted to attack Zappa from behind with his Ghostly Strike but Zappa managed to spot him at the last second, "I told ya, ya need ta keep yer distance!" he said as he batted him away.
Ty crashed into some crates. He chuckled in the rubble as he got to his feet but refrained from saying anything as Zappa's attention was quickly drawn back to Tomo, who began trading furious hammer blows with each other. Their hammers clashed with jets of sparks until Zappa broke the stalemate, pushing her back. Zappa used the opening to cast magic on himself. His little spell placed all kinds of barriers on himself. Protect, Shell, Reflect, and Deflect.
"You'll not be gettin' past me, nobody does! I'm a human wall with this Mighty Guard spell!" Zappa announced strongly.
Ty snuck up on him from behind, "Even walls got their cracks! Knife Trick!" he said as he swiped his dagger with such speed that it could not be viewed. Zappa's face bled as he now had a cut running vertically down his right eye. All of his shields had been transferred to Ty in exchange for the different poisons he had.
Zappa coughed as he held his face, "H-how did ya...?!"
"If I told you it wouldn't be a 'trick' now, would it?" Ty said amused.
"Damn you, laddie!" Zappa cursed as he angrily lifted his hammer. He then began to spin like a top with his hammer outstretched. His hammer glowed with a red-hot fury as he plowed through both Ty and Tomo. All of Ty's stolen shields were shattered and Tomo's stone form was disabled as she returned to her soft fleshy self. "There, that takes care of that!" he said as he took a moment to rest. Before he could take a look at the cut on his face though, Ty and Tomo were back up.
Tomo giggled, "Here, I don't need my body for this one!" she said as she used her Earth Magic to pull metal ores from the ground below. She shaped them into three spiked spheres that she then batted with her hammer with overwhelming force. The three spheres whacked Zappa and planted him on the ground, bleeding and dazed, "Now that's what I call a 'Wrecking Ball'!"
Ty then plundered Zappa's hammer as the poisons made him pass out. "Got the hammer! Now, let's tie him up!" Ty said as he took some nearby rope from the crate he crashed into.
*Radius*
Garet and Lex made their way to Radius, crouching as they moved to his side of the Square. They were careful to avoid detection. Lex and Garet moved in on him and they each hid behind a separate picnic table that was repurposed for planning their attacks and movements.
"He looks like he's ready to fall asleep," Lex whispered.
Radius was a middle-aged man with a pronounced widow's peak as it was obvious his greying hair was receding. He also had thick, bushy eyebrows and a short greying beard with a mustache. He wore a long white overcoat with gold and black accents, blue trousers, and leather boots.
Radius shuffled a little, his lantern flickering on his table at the center of the camp. "Shh, he'll hear us," Garet whispered back. Garet peeked around the table at Radius who seemed to be still. He aimed down sights with his machine gun and it clicked.
That small click, alerted Radius as he flipped his table over, taking cover and drawing his Mythril sword. "Who goes there, I hear you out there, skulking about! Show yourself!" Radius demanded.
Garet leaped out of his hiding spot and peppered the thick wooden table with machine gun fire. He moved in as he did so with Lex coming up quietly from the opposite side. Radius reached for a Mythril blunderbuss, "Ah, gunfire, well, two can play at that game!" he said as he took aim at Garet and pulled the trigger. The buckshot peppered him but his futuristic armor protected him from it.
Lex emerged like a phantom and struck Radius who, in his surprise attempted to block with the blunderbuss. Lex knocked it from Radius's hands and it went flying. "Ah, so there were two of you then?" Radius asked rhetorically. He then immediately showed his vitality was not hindered by his age. He sprung up, still hiding from Garet's gunfire as he began fighting Lex in a bout of swordplay.
As the two traded sparks with their swords, Garet went around Radius's flank to catch him from behind. Radius, however, was keen enough to go low, block Lex's strike then use his foot to sweep the table behind him to once again block Garet's fire. "Wait, your turn, boy! It's not nice to gang up on someone!"
Garet sighed slightly as he simply leaped high into the air, over the table, and aimed down at Radius. Radius managed to push Lex back momentarily to focus on Garet. Radius was struck with a few bullets as he unflinchingly aimed his sword upward, "This is gonna be a Long Shot!" he said as a ray of chi energy came from the tip of his sword and knocked Garet out of the sky. Garet hit the ground with a tuck and roll as some blood trickled from him.
Radius, too, now had blood stains on his white overcoat. "Nice skills there, young man, but I said, wait your turn!" Radius said as he turned his attention back to Lex, who was quite excited from the heated battle.
Lex could not contain himself, "I am so glad you are not a weak old man! I would have felt bad if you were nothing more than a feeble elder. You would not be a challenge!"
Radius chuckled, "There's a reason I'm still one of the 4 Devas my boy!" he said vigorously as he took his sword and placed it behind him at his hip. He placed himself in a strong stance and paused for but a brief moment as he closed his eyes. He then opened them, and with a rush of air, Radius dashed passed Lex in the blink of an eye. Radius then stood up and placed his sword in front of him like it were a cane.
Lex felt a sharp pain at his side and blood stained his left side. Lex chuckled, "Incredible movement! I am glad I stepped aside when I did!"
Radius became surprised as he turned his head to Lex, "Impossible! I was sure I sliced you cleanly in half!"
"No, I could tell by your stance that you are trained, not only in swordplay but in Martial Arts as well," Lex claimed. "I have a few similar skills like that as well. Here allow me to show you!"
Lex smiled excitedly as his magical mist began flooding the camp. Radius became astonished as multiple copies of Lex appeared in the mist. Without warning, the crowd of clones rushed Radius who quickly responded, "I'm much too quick on the draw to be caught off guard!" he said as he cut through each clone.
As Radius cut through each clone he began to show signs of fatigue. Lex's clones began scoring hits, lightly at first, revealing the Radius's Mythril chain mail underneath his overcoat. Then the hits got stronger, striking harder, and revealing blood through his coat. "Fight them off all you like, my Mist Clone Melee technique can slow down targets with each hit!" Lex explained. "Learning Magic went a long way for me especially when I mixed it with my skills!"
"I see, so that's how you were able to create this cold fog," Radius realized. "And that clone technique. I didn't think a barbarian like you would know such a skill!"
"I have been to many places in my time," Lex stated. "It was difficult to grasp but I finally got it right! Also, do you realize you have a bad habit of turning your wrist when you swing your sword?"
Radius was surprised, "What, only Garai could pick up on such a small detail!"
"It was easier to see the more you used that 'Quickdraw' technique of yours," Lex said with a smile.
Lex approached Radius and he responded by hiding his sword at his side again. "I commend you, you were quite the opponent! Nevertheless, this is the end!" Radius claimed.
Before Radius could quickly draw his sword to take Lex's head off, Garet's Thermodynamic Ray hit him in the back of his hand and he shouted in pain as he dropped his sword. Lex threw Radius against the flipped table, knocking him unconscious, while Garet held him at gunpoint. "Quickly, let's tie him up, Radius the Tactician has been subdued," Garet said.
*Melghid*
Lucca and Robo managed to quietly slip past Garai and through the prisoners of Guardia who were sure to stay quiet once they figured out what was happening. They came to the exit of the Square and made their way into the open field that would otherwise be used for picnics and festivalgoers. However, now, it was lined with robots.
Lucca and Robo quietly surveyed the area as they hid behind the lined-up robots. Lucca inspected them, "How did Porre get this technology? Did Dalton do all of this? I didn't think he had knowledge like this at his disposal," she said as she ran her hand across the bronze finish of one of the robots.
"It is very possible, remember the Black Omen and Undersea Palace, they were very advanced even for my era," Robo stated.
"Hmm, I suppose so, huh?" Lucca said as she was interrupted by a voice she heard some distance away.
A young man with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail shouted at some Porrean Soldiers. He had small glasses and was the bookish type. He wore a white polo shirt with a brown vest over it, an orange ascot, blue trousers, and brown boots with matching gloves. He wielded a gun that was placed in a brown leather holster on his right side.
Lucca and Robo could just make out what he was shouting about, "You morons need to be more careful when polishing my lovely machines! I'm going to go and inspect them myself to make sure you didn't needlessly scratch any of them!"
"It is reasonable to assume this is Melghid," Robo claimed.
"Yep, sure is! I got an idea, Robo, follow me!" Lucca whispered to him as she couched and shuffled off.
Melghid surveyed his robots to make sure his men had done their job properly. As he surveyed each robot he then passed Robo, who stood alongside the other robots as if he were trying to hide among them. However, Melghid noticed, "Huh, I don't remember making any new models, what is this?" he asked no one in particular.
Robo sprang to life, eyes red. He grabbed Melghid by his ascot and lifted him up, "Surrender, Melghid, this country does not belong to you!"
Lucca leaped out with her rifle drawn, "Make one false move and I'll shoot!" she said with conviction.
Melghid turned his head to see Lucca and his reaction was unexpected. "Oh, it's you! Lucca Ashtear! The brightest mind of our time! It's so great to finally meet you!" he said in an almost fanatical way.
Robo's eyes went from red back to blue and he gained a quizzical expression as he released Melghid, "Huh?" Robo thought out loud.
"Miss Ashtear, please forgive me!" Melghid said with a sense of sophistication. "Truly, I did not build these machines to foster war but I just had to meet you! You have been a big inspiration to me! Honestly!"
"Meet me? Why?" Lucca asked flippantly.
Melghid twiddled his fingers as he blushed, "I-I would rather have had a chat over tea with you but I went along with it because the Porre Legion gave me everything else I could ever need to make my own inventions," Melghid claimed. "It is rather unfortunate that it must be through a war that we finally meet."
"As cool as it is to be an inspiration to someone, Melghid, the people you're working for have it all wrong. Dalton really must have told a good lie to all of you if you felt the need to come and burn down my home instead of just, y'know, getting together and talking out our concerns. Crono was even planning to give Choras their independence, for example. Crono would have been more than willing to hear Porre out if you would have just asked. But you didn't. Just... take your machines and go home, Melghid."
Melghid sighed sadly, "I was... afraid you'd say that Miss Ashtear. It is a pity. I've spent my entire career looking up to you and your inspiring accomplishments. So when this is all over, I will be sure that you are properly credited with what you are responsible for," he said as he drew his gun.
He shot at Lucca, but it was not a normal gun, but an Ice Gun. The magical shot barely missed her and Robo went to grab Melghid but he just missed as he dived into his line of robots and activated them. "Cybots, Roborgs, protect me!" Melghid said as he retreated.
Melghid's robots all turned to face the intruders. However, the slow stiff machines were of little threat to either of them. They only slowed them down. Robo easily smashed them and Lucca was able to shoot her way through. "Quick, Robo, we have to capture Melghid!" Lucca shouted.
"Acknowledged!" Robo said as he began tackling each robot to make his way to Melghid.
As they caught up to Melghid he was busy tinkering with a large machine hidden under a blanket. "So efficient is that robot of yours!" Melghid complimented. "I have a surprise for you though! Perhaps this will move your heart!" he said fanatically as he removed the blanket.
Lucca gasped as the machine under the blanket was none other than Gato but remodeled by Melghid. It now had two large swords for arms and a massive rapid-fire multi-barrel gun placed in its abdomen. No longer was Gato on bipedal legs but on tank treads. Explosive launchers adorned its back as well.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY GATO!" Lucca shouted in fury.
Melghid was surprised at her anger, "T-think of it as a collaborative effort! I found it just sitting here at the Square and missing an arm and a few other parts. I simply couldn't leave it this way! It's one of your beautiful inventions, Miss Ashtear! I fixed it up for you! I made it stronger!"
Lucca blushed despite being angry, "He's not supposed to be a weapon, Melghid! He's made for sport!"
Melghid seemed dejected. Robo stepped in, "I will put a stop to this. Electrocute!" He initiated as his armor plates opened. Robo unleashed a powerful electrical discharge from his body that chained each robot nearby as well as Gato and Melghid. After Robo finished his attack. The platoon of Cybots and Roborgs became nothing but scrap. Gato was also fried and Melghid was disheveled to the point where he sighed a puff of smoke. Robo then approached him and punched him in the gut. Melghid fell unconscious, "Melghid is defeated. Detainment is now possible," Robo said.
Lucca sighed, "Thanks, Robo, let's tie him up and plan our next move."
*End of Chapter*