Disclaimer: I do not own Chrono Cross.
Skye yawned softly as the morning sun tried to peek through the curtains. A part of her didn't want to get up. The bed felt so cozy and warm, it was like it was offering her to just stay and sleep. Knowing that she couldn't however, she pushed herself up to a sitting position and stretched.
The room she was in was small, yet for some reason, it made her feel like she was home. The room, alongside the rest of the house, had been made with mostly wood. There was a small dresser on the opposite side of the room where she sat, and she could see the curtains swaying in the breeze.
The blonde sighed a little as she stretched one more time and slipped out of the covers, revealing her white nightgown. It had been about a month since Serge found her at the beach, which he called Opassa Beach. While she was thankful for his hospitality, ever since she had gotten there, she felt like something was wrong. From the start, she was sure what the reason was.
Serge was the main character from a video game that she knew of, and she was also very sure there was no girl named Skye there. She shouldn't even be here now. And yet, here she was, in Serge's room in Arni Village. Feeling she had no right to make any changes to a story she knew, she told herself many times that she was just a minor character in this story.
Shaking her head to clear her mind, she made her way to the dresser and opened one of the drawers, revealing a white shirt, a red vest, and red shorts to replace the tattered clothing that Serge found her in. At the time when she had been given these clothes by Marge, she didn't say what she thought when she saw them, but thanked her as it was a nice gesture. However, she couldn't help thinking that the clothing reminded her a lot of the character Kid, only the shirt looked much nicer and covered her stomach.
Doing her best to ignore the feelings she had, she put on the clothes as well as a pair of brown shoes next to the dresser. After tapping the tip of her toes downward to see if the shoes were snug, Skye made her way downstairs.
"Well, good morning, sleepyhead!" Skye smiled as she turned toward the source of the voice, a kind looking woman with brown hair and green eyes returning the girl's smile. "It's wonderful to see you out and about, Skye. You must have been tired, Serge didn't want to wake you."
The blonde did her best not to cringe. "Oh no… Serge said he wanted to talk to me today and…"
Marge laughed and waved her hand. "Don't worry about it. He said it wouldn't be a problem. Just meet him down at the pier. He said he would be there with Leena until you woke up."
"Okay, thank you, Marge," Skye said politely. Despite the woman's words, she still couldn't help but worry. Even though she was sure she shouldn't be important, she couldn't deny that Serge had been good to her. Offering her his room, despite her reluctance, checking up on her when she was bedridden, even showing her around Arni Village. He had been so nice to her when he didn't even need to be, and she didn't want to be late or break promises.
Before she could walk off however, a familiar meow came from in front of her. Skye looked down and smiled at the white and orange cat as she bent down to scratch him between his ears, causing him to purr. Marge laughed as the blonde stood up again. "He really seems to like you, Skye. I'm glad to see you are not afraid of him."
"What makes you say that?" the girl asked, tilting her head. Even though she was certain she knew the answer to the question, she knew she couldn't just say it out loud.
While the answer was about what she expected, she also couldn't help being surprised by it as well. "I knew this girl some years ago who was terrified of cats, even one as small as a kitten. She had her reasons for it though, but she couldn't get anywhere near them."
'Wait, it isn't Serge then?' Skye thought in confusion. She wanted to tell the woman that she was wrong, that it should be her own son that was afraid of them. But something told her that she shouldn't say anything, since there were some other things bothering her.
"I see," the girl finally answered, nodding her head. "Did this girl ever get over her fears?"
"I don't know," Marge answered, lowering her head. "Honestly, it's been ten years since any of us have seen her. Serge keeps hoping she will come back to visit someday."
At the mention of the young boy's name, Skye gasped. "Oh, right! I'm supposed to meet Serge at the pier! See you later, Marge! Thanks!" She ran out the door, waving her hand at the woman and stepped out into the fresh air.
Skye allowed herself to smile as she felt the sea breeze on her cheek. As she made her way quickly to the pier, she couldn't help looking around, as though she was checking for signs of some sort. At a distance, she could swear that she saw a large fish, one she could only assume was a swordfish, out on display. Some kids were running around playing, and she could hear that a boy was looking for something for a girl named Kiki. As she neared the pier, she heard a kid exclaim "Yippee!" and a splashing sound soon followed. Leena and Serge stood side by side, looking as though they were watching over some kids who decided to do some swimming.
"I think it's starting soon," the girl thought to herself grimly, feeling sorry for Serge.
"Skye, there you are!" Serge called, waving the girl over with a smile.
Skye took in some gulps of air to get her breath back, then put on her best apologetic look. "Sorry I'm late, Serge. Your mother told me I would find you here."
"Don't worry about it," Leena told the girl with a smile of her own. Skye watched as the girl's orange hair swayed in the breeze, making her wonder if that was why her headband didn't look straight. She was wearing her usual pretty blue dress with an orange overtop, with the design of a sun and some sort of plant in the middle of it. "Serge said he was going to help me watch the kids until you got here." Then with a twinkle in her green eyes, she teased, "Took you long enough to get up though! The sun has almost reached high noon!"
"I don't get it. Why does Leena tease me so much?" Skye did her best to hide a puzzled expression as she thought, "She never seemed like the type to be so teasing."
"Hey! Leena, Sergey, Skye!" The three turned their heads toward one of the kids, whose head could only be seen out of the water. "Don't you guys want to go swimming with us? The water feels really good!"
Leena giggled and shook her head. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine, and Serge and Skye? Well, they didn't come here to play. Just don't swim out to far, okay?"
"Okay! Gotcha!" the boy said happily as he went back to swimming.
"Kids will be kids, won't they?" Leena questioned. She turned to the two and then said before either of them could answer. "So Serge, what were you going to talk to Skye about? From what you were saying earlier, it seemed pretty important."
"Oh, it's nothing much," the purple haired boy remarked, though the girls noticed him fidgeting a little bit. "I was just thinking that we could go to Opassa Beach for a bit, all three of us. But you are stuck babysitting the kids, Leena."
"Like I said, don't worry about it," Leena told him, the teasing tone returning to her voice. "I wouldn't dream of getting in the way of a private moment between you two!"
"Leena, I don't think it's like that!" Skye protested, but she felt her cheeks burn at the thought. She knew what the redhead was implying. Since she had know the other girl, she always teased her, especially when Serge was brought up. At this point, wasn't Serge supposed to be in love with Leena and vice versa?
"You don't need to hide it, I can tell," Leena said with a wink at the other girl. "I won't tell anyone else. You two just go to Opassa Beach then."
Serge took hold of Skye's hand. "Let's get going, Skye."
"Yeah," Skye agreed with a nod of her head. She barely even noticed where the young man was taking her, but something was nagging at the back of her head. Why was Leena teasing Skye about a possible relationship with her and Serge? Why wasn't she saying that Serge had to find the redhead some Komodo Dragon scales for her necklace? Why was Serge taking her to Opassa Beach instead of waiting for Leena, or even bringing the dog Poshul?
"Is something the matter, Skye?" Serge asked the girl, taking her out of her thoughts and giving her a familiar looking concerned glance. "You seem distracted."
"Oh, sorry Serge," Skye replied quickly. "I'm okay, really."
"If you say so, but I'll bet you'll feel better when we get to Opassa Beach," the boy added, giving the girl a warm smile.
Skye allowed herself a smile as they set foot on the beach. It seemed so nice and peaceful, which felt better than the last time she was here. But she was secretly holding back her confusion. As she had expected, they had to pass by Lizard Rock to get here. She had almost expected for Serge to stop at least three times to try to get some scales from the Komodo Dragons. She was actually grateful that they didn't, because she didn't want to have a run in with a mother that was only trying to protect its young. And yet, there was something a little out of place over not seeing it happen.
"Well, here we are! Opassa Beach!" Serge grinned widely as he headed over to where the waves were rolling in and out on the shore. Turning back to Skye, he added, "Would you like to sit next to me?"
"Sure," the girl agreed as she walked up next to him.
Serge took in a deep breath as he took a seat, knees bent as he looked out at the sea. Skye noticed the happy look on his face as she did the same. "It's been a while since I've come here. I'll be honest though, I'm glad I was able to come a month ago. I don't know what would have happened to you if I didn't."
"Yeah, I don't want to know what could have happened," Skye added with a nod of her head.
The boy took in another breath. To Skye, it looked like he didn't care that his hair and bandanna moved with the breeze. "You know, Skye, this beach holds a lot of memories for me. Some good and some not so much."
"Are you thinking about one of them?" the girl asked as she tilted her head. "Like one of them just returned to your heart or something?"
"Something like that, but I swore I would never forget it anyway." Serge looked over to the girl sitting next to him, and she couldn't help being surprised by seeing the look of seriousness in his purple eyes. "It happened ten years ago. There was a girl I was really close friends with. We were playing on the beach together with Leena and we were having fun. It was supposed to stay that way… when my friend was taken from us. I was powerless to do anything about it then."
"Sounds awful," Skye said, her voice filled with sympathy.
"Do you remember what it was like ten years ago, Skye?" the boy questioned curiously.
The blonde slowly shook her head and turned her gaze to the rolling waves. "I'm sorry, Serge. I only have vague memories of my early childhood. But…" She trailed off for a moment, wondering if she should even continue, but she was sure she could trust the young man with what she was about to say. "I do remember this nightmare. I would get it from time to time. It's so real, like it is happening to me. Like someone… like someone was trying to drown me. Pushing me into the water… with the intent on killing me."
"I see," Serge murmured. It looked like he was going to press further, but for some reason he didn't. Skye didn't know if he sensed her uneasiness, but she was grateful when he didn't pry. "Anyway, ever since that day, I swore that I would protect my loved ones, no matter what. I figured one of the best ways to do that would be to go to Viper Manor and become an Acacia Dragoon."
"Acacia Dragoon?" Skye repeated, her green eyes reflecting her puzzlement. Only this time, she knew better not to question it. In the game, the young man was what was known as a silent protagonist. Unless the game itself said so, you were likely unaware of what dreams they had. So who was she to argue that he couldn't want to be an Acacia Dragoon? Although she did wonder if that was even possible now, considering she had a hunch to the manor's condition.
"Yes, an Acacia Dragoon. That's why I've been practicing with Elder Radius. He was once a Deva some four years ago. I hear he left, but I don't know the reasons why." Serge gave the girl a tiny smile. "I was thinking of heading to the manor soon, and I was wondering if…"
"Skye… Skye…"
"Huh?" The girl quickly rose to her feet, confusion filling her eyes as she looked around for the source of the voice. She didn't expect to see it, but why was she hearing it in the first place? And shouldn't it be saying Serge's name?
"Skye…" the voice whispered so softly, that she couldn't tell if the voice belonged to a man or a woman.
"Serge do you hear that?" Skye asked nervously.
"I do, but who is calling for you?" Serge questioned as he stood up, also looking around for the source.
Skye found that she was having difficulty hearing the boy now. It was like he was somehow far away, even though she knew he was right next to her. Her eyes were now fixed on the water, with what appeared to be a giant wave coming right for them. But even if she saw the wave, she would have known that they weren't going to be hit by it.
At first, Serge's voice was replaced with happy sounding giggling and laughing. She could see three kids playing on the beach, two that she was sure was a young Serge and Leena, but the other girl… while she was almost certain to who she was, she didn't want to believe it.
Then she saw them. The men that were dressed in blue, coming straight for the kids, causing the young Serge to exclaim "No!" She was at first glad that the image changed, as she didn't want to see it. She really didn't want to see it.
But what replaced it next filled her with dread. The growling of a large cat, a panther, seemed to fill her ears. Then she could see it, the cat's eyes looking as though it was piercing her soul. She felt her muscles freeze up on her, as though she expected it to leap forward and bite her.
Then she felt the dizziness come in as a green light surrounded her. She looked over in Serge's direction, as she was sure he didn't move. She noticed only for a moment that he too appeared unbalanced. She was about to reach out to try and steady him, when she felt her knees buckle a little and she slipped to the sand beneath her.
