Dreams of the planet

by ironyoshi

My very own take on the story of Chrono Cross. Novelization. please RR

16. Chapter 16

Author's notes : Yeah, I know what you're thinking. One day, even life 2 won't be enough to resurrect this.

Chapter 15 : Does God exist ?

Water Dragon Isle, home world, 1020 A.D.

A huge mass of green with spots of yellow, blue and grey stood a couple feet away from Serge and his friends as the boat that carried them calmly surfed on the El Nido sea. Serge was putting all his heart in helping the old fisherman who had agreed to guide them to the island paddle while Guile and Leena were admiring the scenery. Kid was the only one who didn't show a glimpse of excitment at the sight of the legendary place.

"Oi, so yur imaginary friend lives on that big rock over there, mate?"

"Yep, that's where you'll apologize for ever doubting me when you get eaten by a dragon." Serge replied, taking more interest in paddling to reach the island sooner than in Kid's sarcasm.

"Oi, dammit, mate, first, have you even stepped foot there before? Second, dragons don't exist."

"First, if you know a better way to cross Mount Pyre, you should have mentionned it a while ago, second, yur gonna get eaten by that dragon." All but Kid burst in laughter at Serge's statement.

"And of course, magi-boy can't make us fly above this lava shithole. Seems like ye can only pull a rabbit out of yur hat when it's absolutely useless." Kid wasn't sure herself why but it seemed she wouldn't admit defeat before boarding the island, even if it meant picking on Guile who hadn't even said a word for the whole trip.

"Your new sweetheart over there sure is a skeptical one, Sergei." Lewis teased.

"I'm not his sweetheart, at least not until he has given up on this ridiculous idea of dragon gods."

Kid's words had an odd ring to them. She had spent most of the time they had been together teasing Serge about how they'd make a perfect couple and now she seemed reluctant to even approach him, afraid she could catch that faith disease.

"However, she might not be such a fool, you know, boy. I've investigated the island myself a couple times already and I've never actually found a hint of the presence of the Water Dragon." Lewis said in a resigned voice.

"Finally, sensible talk. Thank you." Kid raised her arms to the sky, as if praising that dragon god whose existence she denied wich so much fervor.

"I don't doubt about your skills in adventuring, but the young shouldn't stop at their elders' failures." Even Lewis didn't know what to answer.

...He definitely has changed lately... The Serge I've known was afraid to swim in the sea, saying sharks would eat him even though no sharks have ever been spotted in the archipelago...

Meanwhile Leena had made her way to Kid and carefully sat down next to the thief.

"Need something cutiepie?" Kid swiftly glanced at the country girl.

"You know, I was thinking about elements, about Serge's death that never actually happened in this other world and about how we travelled across dimensions to save you. No one can explain all those things for sure..."

"'Cept yur friend magi-boy, over there, right. Get to the point, will ya." Kid cut her off.

Leena pondered for a moment if she should actually bother to press this conversation on Kid and decided that she had to get this off her chest.

"The thing is, there are things that may appear unreal at first sight but when you really open your eyes you discover a whole new world of possibilities."

"Oi, as for elements, they're not exactly a mystery, most people can use them, as for Serge, I don't know what happened in your world, but here, right now in front of me, he's alive and kicking... a bit too much to my liking and as for dimension crossing... that's one thing and dragons that's another story." Kid's explanation was disjointed and she was aware of it.

"Actually, I think it's not that you don't want to believe in dragons, but rather you do not want them to exist."

"Big deal, doesn't make much of a difference to me, Lilly."

"...On the contrary, I think there's a big difference between the two."

"Geez, what's with, yur usually not the one to start fights, are you just trying to side with Sergei so ye can take a shortcut to his heart... and eventually to his bed."

"I-what? I don't like Serge at all." Leena protested, face blushing.

"Eh, Serge rapidly turned at Leena's comment."

"I, sorry, Serge, it's not what I meant. I like you, but not in that way." Kid burst in laughter at Leena trying to ger out of her trap.

"All right kids, recess is over, it's actually time to check if this dragon exists or not" Guile then expertly jumped out of the the wooden boat to land on the island.

Serge was next to leave the boat. Upon landing he turned and offered a hand to Leena who timidly accepted it, still embarrassed by her earlier statement about her male friend. Serge then offered his hand to Kid, but the thief slapped it away with her own, meaning she was no damsel in distress and was able to jump out of a boat.

"No need to play knight in his shining armor, mate, rather try to think of a way to cross Mount Pyre, 'cuz getting the help of an imaginary dragon is not a solution." Serge sighed at Kid's word, discouraged by such pessimism.

"Alright, I'll be back to pick you up in the morning. Good luck!" Both Serge and Lewis nodded in agreement before the fisherman began rowing his boat away from the isle.

Serge's group turned around to observe their surroundings. It definitely was a unique place. Titan-sized trees rose to the sky and appeared to form a ceiling to protect the frail sprouts that emerged from the ground while letting just enough light to the ground for them to grow and eventually replace them as guardians. Massive formations of bright grey rocks that seemed to glow as if covered by thousands of tiny diamonds glistened under the sunlight. Crystal-clear water had erroded those rocks to form falls and channels in order to reach what no one could say for sure was a lake or a pond: there was clearly current and yet large-sized water lily leaves were growing on the surface.

"Well, two options: We directly cross that pond or we go around it by climbing on those rocks."

Brushing his hand against the rocks Guile found them incredibly slippery, as if water formed uniformly on the surface.

"Climbing those will prove rather difficult, I daresay."

"Looks like we're left with option one." Serge completed Guile's idea.

It was Leena's turn to express her reluctance toward the mean of getting past the pond by shaking her head in denial.

"I don't think so, I am not diving into that thing and swimming to the other side with my dress."

"Why keep it on, there are two pairs of watchful eyes who are expecting nothing of you but to take it off." Kid said, flashing Guile and Sege a teaseful grin.

Serge then approached Guile and whispered something to him, pointing at something on the pond.

"You sure about this? Don't tell me you're not interested in Kid's idea. For once we could agree on something." Serge raised a brow, convinced Guile was definitely too old for Leena.

"Alright, alright...party-pooper." Guile chuckled and approached the pond with a raised wand.

The magician focused and a black bead lost its glow. The element then released its gravitational energy, slowly dragging one of the huge leaves to the coast.

"Wow, magi-boy once again you got us out of a major jam." Kid said in a sarcastic tone.

"And as for you mate, looks like you won't be seeing much of a show today. I told ya, women aren't interested in brains, so next time, just keep yur brilliant ideas far from magi-boy."

"Strange how picking on me can pull you out of your dragon misery, isn't it?"

"Don't worry, mate today's not the day some big lizard will keep me from making fun of others." With this Kid got on the leaf and the group was ready to cross.

Serge and Leena occupied the safest spot at the center of the leaf, ready for the push of Guile's next element while Kid was nonchalantly staring at the pond.

"Ready?"

"Oi, ya, ya, just do it, lizard can't wait for us now." Kid said, taking no interest in Guile's next action since some shimmering object resting on the bottom of the pond had caught her eye.

"Here we go!" Guile released another black element.

Expecting another weak element, Kid was caught off guard as a violent push shook her off balance. Kid desperately tried to grasp onto something but failed to reach Serge's arm was sent into the water. The other three quickly reached the edge of the leaf only to see Kid's body swimming toward the bottom of the lake on its own. She seemed to fiddle with something before resurfacing only to spurt a large jet of water from her mouth directly into her friends.

She didn't wait for them to soak themselves dry and helped herself back on the leaf, a triumphant expression on her face. She raised a clenched fist above her head, letting out a cheerful scream. Her companions stared at her with a puzzled look, the idea of sending her back into the water crossing all three minds. Kid then returned her look to them, as if finally realizing they had been there the whole time.

"Why don't you tell us what sort of treasure you found so we can just send you back down." Guile offered.

"Oi, oi, don't take it like that, I didn't actually mean to do it, but, oi, look what I found. There are elements in that pond, tons of 'em. I'm rich! Richer than anynody could dream of!" Kid opened her hand, proudly displaying her find.

"Yeah, these are elements, but good luck on trying to sell them though." Guile warned.

"What was that?" Kid furiously clenched her fist again, infuriated by Guile's comment.

"Can't you see, these elements aren't fully formed yet. They're... growing elements."

Serge, Kid and Leena exchanged confused looks, as if begging for an explanation.

"This is just too bad for Kid's business, but don't you realize what this means? If there are growing elements, it means that this pond is actually a birthing pool. There must be an awesome source of energy on this island that is giving birth to these elements."

"Oi, say, if they're still maturing, how much time do you think it'll take before one can use them?" Kid asked, not sure if she actually wanted to hear the answer.

"Oh, I'd say, no more than a few thousand years. The energy they radiate is quite weak."

Disapointed, Kid placed the elements in her pocket nonetheless. Surely enough they would be of no use in battle, but still she had never came across incomplete elements. In a way, that made them special to her eyes.

The giant leaf had now managed to get the group to the other side of the pond and the way to the core of the isle was open. It was an uneven trail bordered by the same sharp and slippery silver-colored rocks that protected the pond. Massive trees were growing here and there among the rocks, as if they had pierced a hole through them ro reach the sunlight. Infuriated, Kid swatted like mad at a small cloud of mosquitoes that had designed her as its next meal.

"Oi, what's yer bloody problem, fuckers. Why don't ye pick on magi-boy? I know he's not really attractive to any eye, but at least I'd be ridden of you...and him." She was even stabbing at the ridiculously small targets, missing on every attempt.

"Trying to pull me under the carriage with you? Can't say I approve." Guile offered, not intimidated by the insects or Kid's threat.

"I'm not trying to pull you with me, I'm trying to pull you under so I can get away while yur stuck under the carriage."

"Not exactly what I'd call heroic words, lass."

"Well, screw you, my knight in a not-so-shining armor."

"Urggh!" Kid had enough and decided to unleash a fireball element to dissipate the cloud, managing to fry most of her pursuers and scaring the others away.

Serge, Guile and Leena were obviously amused by Kid's troubles but their laughter was suddenly silenced by Guile's extended arm that blocked their way. The magician had come to a halt and was focusing his senses on his environment.

"What is it?" Leena asked, slightly worried.

"Do you hear it?"

"What?" She replied.

"That noise, it's like a ferocious roar."

"If yer talking about the dragon, then I can assure you it's all due to the bugs in yer head, magi-boy."

Looking at the other two, Guile understood that he was the only one who could hear the noise due to his senses having been honed by his ascetic training with elements.

"Alright, then, let's move on, but if you ever notice something strange, like someone or something following us, be extremeful careful of where you step, but do not stop walking, you understand? They'd know we have spotted them."

As they progressed toward the center it was becoming clearer that Guile's mind was perfectly fine, there was something... or someone that produced this roaring sound. A few additional minutes of walking led the group to the source of the noise: a spectacular waterfall. The path had come to an end as a steep cliff led to a lake several feet below them. On the other side of the lake was the waterfall that originated from the tall rocky mountain that bordered the lake.

"Oi, and I thought all dragons were red or black. This one's blue, made of water and isn't even a dragon at all." Kid mocked.

Guile paid no attention at all to Kid's comment and kept staring at the waterfall as if mesmerized by all this water that appeared to come falling down from the sky.

"You are absolutely right, girl."

"Now that's better." Kid hadn't finished her sentence, but Guile's next words put an abrupt end to it.

"This is quite unconventional for a waterfall. There's a cave hidden behind all this water."

"Magi-boy...I'll make sure that dragon eats you alive, even if it doesn't exist and I have to shove you through its teeth."

"Don't worry, there's a way to get across this lake."

Kid then noticed how Guile was standing inches from the edge, with his back turned to her and this definitely called for a move. Kid defiantly walked forward, but was stopped by Serge a few seconds before she could unleash her anger on Guile.

"Hey, are you nuts? You wanna kill him or what?"

"Don't worry, I'm just gonna drown him." Kid was desperately trying to break free of Serge's grip.

Seeing how dangerous a free Kid would be right now, Leena quickly went to assist Serge on holding her back until the fire inside her had stopped burning. Guile was staring coldly at the whole scene, as Kid was trying to evade her friends to unleash her anger on Guile while the other two were fighting a losing battle against Kid's frenzy. However, Guile wasn't only staring, he was using all his brain to calculate, trying to understand Kid's reaction.

It was true, she wasn't exactly fond of him and she appeared not to believe in dragons, but she had never tried to murder him before. Something was definitely wrong. What was she trying to hide from them? Guile then casually turned his back to them and raised his wand.

"Let her go." He commanded.

"What?" They both exclaimed, wondering if the magician was suicidal, but during the brief instant their minds had focused on something else than holding Kid back, the thief had escaped and was charging toward the wizard.

Two green beads locked in Guile's wand lost their glow and unleashed their effect. A thick creeper appeared out of this air and anchored onto a large pillar of rock on their side of the lake. The other extremity was hurled across the lake and through the waterfall into the cave. It then tightened, signaling it had grasped onto something solid.

The other element formed a thinner creeper that encircled Kid at the waist, capturing her hands behind her back and seizing her at the feet, allowing her walk but at a speed that would allow no attack or escape. The thin creeper then attached itself to the larger one and Guile grabbed the helpless girl and pushed her over the edge so she would slide to safety and reach the cave.

"Don't worry, it won't let her escape ... and the creeper will easily support your weight." Guile reassured them before grasping the creeper to slide to the other side, followed by Serge and Leena.

Upon releasing his grip on the plant, Serge was struck with awe. The walls of the cave were glowing in the dark, all of them were covered with what appeared to be maturing elements. Serge then remembered about the tied up Kid and rapidly spotted her being helped to her feet by Guile.

With her soaked clothes that gripped onto her skin, bringing to attention her curves, her clothing that left little to the imagination and Guile's latest element that had left her as vulnarable as a kitten, Kid was now the materialized fantasy of many a man.

Even though he was somewhat fighting it, Serge was eyeing her and Kid was aware of it.

"Oi, will ye stop gawking at me like that, you freaky, bondage-obsessed perv!"

Serge took a step backward as if hit by an element in reaction to Kid's words.

"And you, magi-boy, if I ever free myself, you are so gonna..."

Unlike Serge, Guile sharply spun on his feet to face Kid and went to place his face inches to hers so fast the thief didn't know what had happened. The wizard's eyes then turned a bright red as he stared at her with much authority. His voice also evolved to ring as loud as that of a titan.

"No, you, listen. So far, we've all put up with your constant bitching, whining, complaining. Now I'm fed up to the teeth with your attitude. If you have no desire to know the truth, then leave and look for whatever you're seeking on your own!" Like the breath of a dragon, Guile's breath dried Kid's clothes by the time his speech was over.

Staggered by Guile's display of magical power, Kid only stared straight ahead, not sure if it was Guile that had spoken or the water dragon, angered by her unfaithfulness. Guile then removed the seal that held Kid captive and the creeper fell to the ground to quickly turn to ashes.

The magician then turned around to confront the remotest depths on the island. He was followed by Leena and Serge who decided not messing up with Guile was definitely a wise decision. It took a while for Kid's mind to recover from the shock the wizard had mustered. Eventually she began walking toward the rest of the group, focusing on her mouth, careful not to let any word that might offend Guile slip out.

A few minutes later the tunnel came to an end, offering Serge's group an entrance into a vast enclosed space, except for the ceiling, which was open to let the sunlight reflect on the large pool that covered most of the room. The silver-colored rocks that covered the rest of the island had been replaced by dark gray ones covered with tiny crystals that appeared to be maturing elements. These young sources of energy were shining in the sunlight.

Right in front of Serge was a set of rock stairs that led to a platform. Serge was the first to reach the platform, only to be disappointed by this setting. The whole place appeared to be deserted. The teenager stared emptily at the water pool which was, unsurprisingly, filled with forming elements.

"Maybe dragons were just a legend after all..." Leena said, uncertain if this would actually Cheer up Serge.

Guile was the last to reach the platform. Taking his time to look around he eventually stepped to the very edge of it and stopped to stare at the opening in the ceiling.

"It's daytime, both for the outside and the underworld..." He mumbled to himself.

"Raszismius, eminum lucifactus, meim fer, omond tulem, sidreas amunsses, Ayergomoth." The three teenagers didn't understand a thing of Guile's loudly spoken words from a language that was unknown to them.

At first Guile's sentence didn't seem to have much effect but then the whole island was shaken by a powerful tremor. A loud roar then echoed from under the water, resulting in a fierce wave. A dark form appeared in the center of the pool, quickly increasing in size, revealing whatever had materialized was approaching from the surface.

The group then had to shield themselves from much water that came to splash them. Serge took a moment to shake some of it away and upon reopening his eyes, he quickly rubbed them and blinked several times to make all the water the had blurred his sight was gone since the image they offered him was leading him to believe he was victim of an hallucination of some sort.

Standing mere feet from him was the largest animal he had ever beheld, providing what had just emerged from the water was actually an animal.

Majestically displaying a muscular body covered by thick blue scales, the creature, which was currently gracefully swimming, towered a good twenty feet above the four wanderers. The guardian of the pool scrutinized its guests through bright, pupilless and irisless yellow eyes topped by extravagant, green and yellow, curly brows. On top of his massive body were two large green, red and yellow-colored dorsal fins that merged slightly above its eyes. Two long white barbels hung from its chin. Its flat-snouted head bore small nostrils, indicating this animal was a reptile and not a fish. A clear line separated the reptile's belly, which was covered with pale blue scales, from its back, covered by dark blue scales. Thick pale lips outlined the frontier between the gigantic reptile's jaws.

Slowly but elegantly maneuvering, the beast came out of the water to lie next to the altar so its head was level with Serge's. It rested its large left paw, which ended in a delicate fin, on its right one and slighty cocked its head to the side, as if prompting Serge to address him.

"A-Are you... the water dragon?" Serge immediately saw his question as futile and perhaps insulting, but the reptile appeared to take no offense to it and only nodded to confirm his identity.

...Welcome, Son of Man...

Serge heard the dragon's words but took a moment to realize that its lips hadn't moved at all: the god was simply reading his mind and communicating with him through telepathy.

...It has been aeons since one of your kind last wandered into my domain...

...I-I need to ask of you if...

...You need not speek any further, I know what you seek here...

...You...

...A way into Mount Pyre is what you need... Following into the devil's footsepts shall prove a journey through hell...

Serge nervously chuckled at the dragon's pun.

...My brother, the fire dragon, rules upon the oceans of magma and denies all access into the fortress of the ancient dragonians...

...But still, take this with you, my breath can freeze even the heart of a volcano...

The king of all oceans and seas then took a deep breath and exhaled a chilling blast of air which solidified into an eternal icile. The dragon then dove a paw into the water and pulled out a leaf from a plant that grew underneath the surface and wrapped the icicle with it.

...Here, fear not, the lacilia leaf will prevent you from drowning in to an eternal frozen slumber...

Serge slowly extended his arm to grab the dragon's gift. The leaf turned out cold but not glacial, so Serge carefully slipped it in his backpack and returned his gaze to the reptile.

"I, uh, thanks a lot, lord dragon, and sorry for disturbing you..." Having absolutely no idea what was proper etiquette when thanking a dragon god, Serge merely mumbled the first thing that would have made sense in a human-to-human conversation.

The dragon nodded in welcome.

...Going after the devil is quite a heavy burden for such young and frail shoulders, I aplogize for being unable to further help you, but there is much to be taken care of in the aquatic world...

...One last thing, your friend over here... she is quite talented I sense... And a blue-innate... Maybe...Here take this with you... I doubt you will be able to realize the nature of my subordinate as of now, but develop your spirit, maiden, and you shall be able to change mankind's destiny one day... Farewell, now, Son of Man...

The dragon slowly crawled back into the water before disappearing, leaving echoing waves at the surface of the pool. Under the eyes of the companions the waves then reversed what is known as the logical direction determined by physics: the waves began travelling toward the epicenter. A large element whose brightness made Kid's previously found treasure looks like junk rose from the water to fly towards Leena.

The maiden formed a cup with her hands to receive the dragon's gift. Leena was mesmerized by the treasure she had obtained. The orb radiated constant energy, giving a glimpse of the power contained in it, waiting to be unleashed to wreck havoc on the path of whoever was foolish enough to stand against the owner of this highly advanced element.

A tissue veil then fell on the element, diminishing its glow, but refusing to be hidden from thr world by such a simple barrier. Snapping out of her trance, Leena blinked, slowly turning her gaze to the side to see Guile's extended hand, indicating he was the one who had broken the spell.

"You should put it away for now."

"Uh, right" Leena carefully wrapped her present in the piece of cloth and reached over her shoulder to place it in her backpack.

"Well, I wasn't sure how this would turn out, but since none of us was devoured, I think I can assert that this diplomatic event was a success... We even obtained a key to crossing the boiler. Let's roll!" Guile's cheerful mode spread to Serge and Leena, but Kid merely followed them, eyes glued to the ground, silent as a tombstone.

"Yeah, and, by the way, what was that language you spoke to summon him earlir." Serge asked.

"That was dragonian. I have read that the dragonians were the first inhabitants of this archipelago and built Fort Dragonia. Their lore also states they were the dragon gods' children, but this part appears rather self-conceited." The magician explained.

"But the dragon understood those words you spoke in dragonian, didn't he?" Leena objected.

"I guess he did, but then again he also understands the human language, doesn't he?" Guile retorted.

"...Yeah..."

"Anyway, the point is we should have let you do the talking, maybe he'd have given us even more great elements." Serge was quick to imagine his weapon decorated with tens of mighty, brightly shining elements of all colors.

"You shouldn't be too quick to boast the good nature of those creatures, young one. He did prove rather generous and sympathetic to our case but I would deem it unwise to think of them as a walking wallet like you do with your parents." Guile warned.

"Hey, watch who you're calling a spoiled kid, I'm doing my share to help mom get by."

"So you tie your own shoes and do your bed? I'm impressed." The wizard teased.

"Sometimes I even put the jam on my toasts by myself." Serge played along.

"Wow, kids sure grow fast, but you shouldn't be over-confident. It's true we were able to somewhat befriend him, but the water dragon is refered as the kindest of the six and ironically enough the fire dragon lives for nothing but war and destruction. Watch your step!"

Guile's comment was quick to get a reaction from Serge. The teenager stopped dead in his tracks with his eyes wide open.

"I sure hope we don't accidentaly wake him up. He probably wouldn't appreciate it."

"Don't worry about that, it is believed to never sleep. Considering we'll be walking through his domain, I'd say we're pretty much certain to meet him, but don't worry, we won't be waking him up, so he'll probably just cut us in slices and pile us up in a sandwich...Never thought you'd end up lying sandwiched between Kid and Leena? Life's full of opportunities, isn't it?" Guile teased.

"How about you?"

"He'd figure right away I'll cause food-poisoning and let me go."

"How do you always manage to get away with everything so easily?"

"Well, some say I got the devil's luck, but my theory is that I've come to understand that when facing an opponent who is stronger than you are, escaping means living to fight another day, so..."

"You've spent hours training to disappear in a hat?"

"Just disappearing... It can be quite efficient"

Viper manor, another world, 1020 A.D.

Riddel silently walked to her large bed, still grasping her mother's staff, her visage empty of expression, or rather it was impregnated with so many emotions they had merged into an endless void. She slowly sat on the cozy mattress and let her body fall to rest on her side with her mother's artifact lying next to her. Several strands of hair blocked her vision but her mind didn't even acknowledge their existence right now.

It had began a long time ago, when her mother departed. Her world had been shaken violently, so fiercely it had started to drop away. Piece by piece, stone by stone, room by room, soon the castle would crumble. She had done all she could to hold the structure together, but too many bricks had eluded her. The walls were now too fragile to support their own weight and were now about to give way.

Following her mother, lord Garai died, Radius left forever to live a hermit's life, Zappa wouldn't even get his head out of his blast-furnace, his obsession for weapons hiding a deep disappointment in the turn of events, Dario disappeared without a trace, Karsh had turned into a boiling volcano, now spreading anger and violence wherever he went, tortured by some unknown guilt, Glenn was lost trying to live up to his father and brother's standard and her father had sold his soul to the devil and had become his puppet in a nameless scheme.

The viper represented on her staff still showed no sign of weakness, teeth still threateningly displayed, ready to land a venomous strike at any moment, but Riddel had lost her will to fight, her hand had released the staff and came to rest on her pillow. Her breathing was constant yet she feared it could stop at any moment now.

---

Glenn's feet were leading him to a dreadful destination: at least, he deemed it a dreadful destination, considering what the outcome of the upcoming meeting would be. The sound of his boots against the floor echoed loudly in the empty halls of Viper manor, but his mind was absorbed by the event that would soon follow.

His decision was reckless for the least, but he wouldn't back off now. He had ran away for so long and it had come to the point where hiding was futile: his only option was to fight back. He definitely was afraid he was going to die in a couple days but the next few minutes would prove, he was convinced, by far the most painful moment of his ascension to the other world.

He was certainly not proprly prepared for this moment, but time was running out. He had to take care of this now. The young dragoon was lost in his thoughts, desperately trying to work a way out of this with minimal casualties, but no appropriate tactic would come to his mind.

This is it. Glenn stopped at the wooden door marked with a golden viper and remained motionless for a moment. Slowly, he raised a fist and his knuckles produced a sound when colliding with the door. He had just asked for his death sentence.

As if to make sure she had woken up from her nightmare, but only for a short period of time, Riddel extended a confused hand. Her mind didn't exactly gave an answer as to the purpose of this movement, maybe only to force her to acknowledge the existence of the sound she had just heard. She carefully sat up, her mind still not made about wether she should ignore this late-night intruder.

Viper's daughter allowed herself to be carried to the door and turned the knob, but pausing before pulling the door open. When her guest appeared, Riddel's mind was instantly filled with questions, snapping out of its torpor.

"Glenn? Why are you here so late?"

The warrior gathered all the courage he could muster and stared at Riddel's soft eyes. He feared the impact of his words would be irreversible but he couldn't avoid this anymore.

"Miss Riddel...I came...to apologize..." These simple words were a torture so he stopped, hoping the time she used to reply would allow him to regain his strength and continue.

"Apologize? For what? Why such a short question, Glenn cursed how she left him so little time to forge an answer.

"For sure, you will not believe me, but I know how you're feeling having lost so many people close to you, and I came to apologize because I will be taking another person away from you" At a lost for words, Riddel only stared back at Glenn, hoping he would explain the meaning of this sentence.

"Miss Riddel, I can no longer endure this. Ever since my brother left, I have tried to live up to him while watching my hopes shatter because of this fiend. I am not my brother and therefore do not stand a chance against him, but I am leaving to go after Lynx. This fight will surely result in my death, meaning you will not see me again. I did not want a rescue team to carry the bad news to you, so that is why I came to speak to you....Farewell, miss Riddel." Glenn's throat was completely tied up in a knot and his gaze fell the the side, unable to continue.

Glenn was feeling literally crushed by Riddel's devastated gaze and his body appeared to weight a ton as he painfully began to walk away from her, teeth gritted in anger and sorrow.

"Glenn..." Glenn's mind was crushed and his body halted, unable to move on.

"If you are leaving...Take me with you." Both stood still, refusing to believe the words that had just heard.

Glenn slowly turned back to look at the young woman.

"Miss Riddel...I absolutely can't do that. Your father, and everyone, what would they say?"

"My father...Everyone... They are now being cast into the depths of hell by that demon. What would they say if I just remained here so I make sure not to get hurt?"

"Please, miss Riddel, it's incredibly hard for me to only bear the weight of the world right now, I couldn't do with your death resting on my conscience." Riddel's gaze lowered to the ground, forcing Glenn's heart to sink even further down.

"So you too believe watching as your world is reduced to nothingness hurts less if you're a fine noble lady. As long as I stay locked in my room away from harm it will be alright, won't it?" Riddel spoke as she stared at the red carpet that covered the floor.

Glenn had expected a number of outcomes for this conversation, but this was definitely one he hadn't seen coming. He simply stood here, unable to utter a sound.

"Miss Riddel... How would you react to lose your life right after having seen me perish to the hands of that fiend."

"It will happen... Only I will not agonize in this empty manor forever, waiting for death to finally claim me."

"Dying means you will never see brighter days, Miss Riddel."

"How could they ever come while this demi-human is still alive?"

"...I am not certain how, but life will find a way... It can't be the end, it simply can't be. Somehow, someone will manage to thwart Lynx's plan and peace will be restored. I want you to live to see those days, not waste your life on a far away battlefield in a hopeless fight."

"Glenn, my life would be a waste if I had to live the rest of it without any of you, staring through a window, wondering what would have happened if I had tried to do something."

Glenn sighed heavily, his mind about to rupture, torn between his desire to rescue Riddel from the prison Viper manor had become and allow her to live to see the future. He brought a hand to shield his eyes, groaning in fatigue.

"Miss Riddel, if I ever were to bring you along, you'd have to promise me one thing. Do not risk your life attempting to save mine."

The silence that followed seemed to last an eternity to the both of them.

"I will if you promise not to risk yours trying to save mine." Riddel looked up to Glenn's eyes.

"Alright, then. We need to leave now, the night will provide us with a good cover." She had won and Glenn knew when to admit defeat, more arguing would prove useless here.

"Well, then, just wait here while I change."

Glenn was quite confused at Riddel's statement. These words appeared rather out of place while talking about saving the world, even for a noble.

"But..."

"Glenn, I can't go in a nightgown."

Glenn then realized he had been so focused on their conversation he had been completely oblivious of the fact that Riddel had been wearing nothing but a white silk nightgown the whole time. Barefly covering the woman's delicate shoulders the garment even revealed a nice portion of her firm breasts. Glenn's instinct commanded him to stare for a second, causing Riddel to look to the side in embarrassment, lightly grasping her gown with her right hand.

Realizing what he was doing, Glenn was quick to blush profusely. He immediately turned to the side, covering his eyes with his left hand, forcing himself to lose sight of Riddel's rather indecent appearance.

"I-I'll wait here while you proceed, miss Riddel." Glenn's voice was still shaking from embarassment at his own behavior.

Riddel innocently giggled at herself before closing the door, allowing Glenn to stop protecting himself from his primary desires. Glenn sighed heavily once more, wondering if all of this wasn't but a consequence of the blow to the head he had sustained in his morning sparring.

Violently shaking his head from left to right in hope of regaining part of his sanity the young man leaned on the wall with his left hand, taking several deep breaths to calm himself. Once adrenaline had left to allow his thoughts to revert to their normal state, Glenn was tempted to escape right now, leaving Riddel safe Viper manor.

He was then reminded of his friend's earlier words and simply couldn't bring himself to leave her to slowly and painfully decline, locked up in this prison while the world would crumble outside.

Glenn had his back to the wall when he heard the door to Riddel's room open again. He trailed to the opening to meet a side of Riddel he hadn't seen in ages. Before him stood a woman ready to stand for what she believed in. She had traded her gown for dark pants and a white shirt covered by a vest that matched her pants. Light boots perfectly fit for dirt trails protected her feet and her long hair had been tied in a braid she had hidden under her vest. Both of her hands were wrapped on the shaft of her mother's staff, ready to teach a lesson on the behavior to display while in front of a lady to whoever would interfere with her mission.

"Shall we go?" She asked, excited at the idea of finally leaving her confinement.

"I was planning on climbing down the creepers on the south wall and escaping through the forest using the secret passage in the old well." Glenn suggested.

"The old well? You mean this passage hasn't been sealed yet?" Riddel was quite glad to learn that a joy of her childhood had been preserved.

"Your father had been planning on dealing with it, but since he's busy ever since, he lost sight of the potential risk this passage represents."

"But Glenn, we'll be able to reach the forest, but then what? How are we going to reach my dad, or Lynx, or any of them? Fort Dragonia is surrounded by lava lakes and volcanoes."

"For sure it will be extremely hazardous, but I've done some research and learned that there exists a passage that grants access to the fortress without crossing any flows of lava. Very few people know of it since its entrance is a cave located south-east of the forest."

Riddel nodded, trying to imagine what this place could acutally look like.

"It will soon be dusk, wait for me by the window that's just below the bridge to the library. I'll be back shortly with my luggage. I suggest you also pack some food and a sleeping bag."

"I will do that." Riddel watched as Glenn left for the basement where he had placed the material needed for the expedition.

In normal times, escaping from the manor like this would have proved very difficult, but with a large part of the army away, Riddel knew it was very possible for her to reach the window and then the well in order to reach the forest.

The woman headed back for her room to gather the things she would be needing. She first selected a large backpack and sent it flying to her bed before ridding her old sleeping bag of several objects that prevented it from being pulled out of the closet. Riddel gently squeezed the thick layers of fabric, remembering the last time she had used it on a camping trip with her father and a few close friends of him a few years ago. Considering the recent turn of events she found it hard to believe she would actually need it again soon.

Viper's daughter considered bringing along spare clothes but remembered this was no vacation trip and these would only slow them down. Rummaging through her drawers she found a memento of her mother she had been entrusted with. She paused to observe the shining pendant. It was a silver oval crossed by a straight segment. A golden viper was curling up on the straight segment. The viper, emblem of her family and sworn protector of its descendants. How sorely ironic that a relative of this guardian was responsible for the death of her mother.

Riddel slowly slid two fingers under the delicate golden chain that was linked to the jewelry. She lifted the object and brought it to eye-level to further gaze at it. Viper's daughter grasped a deep blue piece of velvet to wrap the memento and rested it in her pocket.

Water Dragon Isle, home world, 1020 A.D.

After a long backtrack the group had reached the water-lilly pond as the sun was beginning to sink toward the sea. All four of them appeared quite exhausted and were eager to hit the sack before returning to Opassa beach and heading for Mount Pyre. They all gladly took a seat on the ground after freeing their shoulders from a backpack whose weight they swore increased as the day progressed and regained its originial mass over the night.

"Well, since we're stuck here for the night, let's make ourselves comfortable." Serge proclaimed, placing his swallow next to him.

Noticing several fine stone lying around Leena started to gather them to build a natural fireplace to provide them with warmth during the night.

"I'll go take a look around for dry wood." Guile said, leaving the group

"Try not to die while I'm away cause I won't be able to resurrect you." He joked, not turning his head to face his companions.

"Looks like I'm appointed with getting something to fill up our stomachs... Alright, I'll try to get some fish. The alpha male shall provide with food and shelter for the clan." He said, grabbing his swallow to help himself up.

"If you can bring something edible I might consider marrying you." Leena said, not taking her eyes from the circle she was carefully drawing with the stones.

Serge chuckled, glad the fatigue hadn't killed the country girl's sense of humor, but his smile faded when he took a look at Kid. The thief was quietly sitting, one foot crossed over the other, resting her weight on her hands which were flat on the ground behind her back, still staring emptily at the ground. The teenager sighed, seriously starting to wonder if Guile's spell could have done some permanent harm to his friend.

Bitterly pressing his lips together Serge turned to the ocean, hoping he would be quick to fetch something since he didn't know how long his stomach would last before digesting itself. Reaching the beach he removed his shoes and socks and rolled up his pants. The boy entered the salted water and spotted what could easily become a delicious meal.

Done with the setting, Leena sat to rest for a while. The temperature having began to drop, Leena took a deep breath of cool air and felt a good deal of the fatigue pressing on her body wash up. With a re-energized mind and body Leena's worries fled away for a while, leaving her free of enjoying the sunset and evening. Turning to Kid, Leena felt obliged to say something to cheer her up.

"You know, if there's something that's bothering you, you don't have to keep it to yourself like this. I'm sure you'll feel better after taking that weight off of your shoulders..." Seeing no reaction from Kid, Leena grew slightly nervous and bit her lip, not certain if pressing on this conversation would make the situation worse.

"That Guile, he surely didn't go easy on you. I'll go talk to him so he apologizes if you want." Leena said, trying to sound a little amusing, but those words got no reaction from Kid either.

Remembering how Kid was the perfect Tom-boy and used to fight all by herself, Leena felt quite stupid offering to protect her from Guile and decided it was probably better if she stopped this talk right now.

Beginning to feel the silence was growing pretty awkward, Leena started to look around for something to fill her mind but found the island to offer little stimulation for the brain.

"I-I'll go take a look around to see if everything's going well for the guys." Leena said, trying not to sound too happy at the idea of abandonning Kid to her melancholy.

Wandering by the pool by herself for a while Leena heard footsteps, indicating Guile wasn't far from her. Traveling further toward the source of the noise Leena spotted the magician who had his arms full with branches he had picked.

"You know, it's not that I mind being alone with you, but this idea is bound to get the other two's imagination firing up. You sure you wanna face the consequences when we go back?" The wizard spoke, proving he was aware of Leena's presence even without turning to look at her.

"Their imagination seems at rest for now, so if you don't mind I'd like to have a talk with you in private." Leena scolded, hands on her hips.

"In private? Now you're getting my imagination fired up." Guile continued, walking toward her and their encampment.

"Now you quit the old pervert act, this is quite serious." Leena stood still, denying him return.

"We're not already talking about getting married, are we?" He said, trying to pierce through her shield of seriousness.

Leena didn't budge, indicating Guile's attempt at avoiding the discussion had failed. Admitting defeat, the magician lowered his hips to sit on a dead trunk and sighed before placing the dry wood close to him. Leena came to sit down, hopeful she would get the answers she needed.

"Alright, first I know you're dying to do it, so why don't you just go ahead and do it?" She said, crossing her hands as if to protect herself from the answer she dreaded she would receive.

"I thought we had agreed on a no making out challenge." Guile said, making no effort to sound funny but still obviously kidding.

"Now, you stop feigning ignorance on me, I'm talking about the element I got from the water dragon."

"What did you want to tell me about it?"

"You're really taking me for an idiot aren't you?"

Both silently looked at each other, Guile trying to postpone his answer as much as possible, Leena starting to feel anger build up inside.

"Alright, when Kid found the deluge element, you almost tried to take it from her afraid she'd end up killing someone. Here I get one that's probably a hundred times more powerful and you don't utter a word, so spill the beans, what do you think about all this?"

Guile took a moment to answer, taking his time to decide on what was the most apprpriate way to express his thoughts.

"Well, to be honest..." He paused for a second.

"I just don't know what to think."

"What?" Leena frowned incredulously.

"I really don't know what to think. That element is classified.... I'd say, level seven, a summon element that is and it's definitely able to wipe out this island, but..."

"But?" She cut him off.

"But, no offense, but it will a cold day in hell before you can use it no matter if you're a blue innate or not.

"What about the dragon's words? He said he was giving it to me because I was talented and..." Leena wasn't quite sure what the dragon's exact words were anymore.

"You're pretty good with elements, that's true, but even I have a long way to go until I can trigger this bomb."

"That doesn't make sense at all. Why did he give it to me then?" Leena asked, definitely hoping the magician would provide her with an answer.

"That's what I have been trying to figure out and quite frankly, I just can't come up with an answer to this." Guile sighed, angered at his inability to understand the dragon's gift.

"How about its power? Isn't it dangerous for me to simply carry this around?" Leena was a little afraid the element might get her in trouble.

"Well, first of all, there's no way you can trigger it, so no worries about depleting yourself to death and ravaging part of the archipelago. However, I can't say nobody will try to steal it from you to make money out of it, but as long as you lie low about it, you should be out of the average collector's bingo book.

"Why on earth would he give me an element no one can even trigger?" Leena instinctively reworded her question even though the magician had already given her an answer.

"Actually, there is someone that I believe should be able to use that element."

"Are you talking about that master you once studied under?"

"Wow! So you did pay attention to all my rambling back then." Guile was amazed at how attentive Leena had been.

"But I'm not thinking about my master. In fact, I heard he put aside his training with elements to focus on something else shortly after I left.

"If not your master, then... Wait a second, are you trying to tell me you're afraid to admit your girlfriend is better with elements than you?" Leena teased.

"Don't worry about me, I'm way too swelled to pick a girlfriend who's better than me at something." Guile played along.

"You are godawful, you know that?" Leenareplied, taking offense at Guile's remark.

"Don't worry, that means you are more than a fitting candidate."

"Just when I thought you couldn't get any lower." Guile chuckled at Leena's reply.

"But if you really care to know, there's someone who can definitely use that element."

"Really? Who?" Leena's curiosity had been tickled by Guile's words.

"The almighty, one and only..." He paused for a moment in an attempt build up some tension and succeeded.

"...Guy who gave you that element." Leena's enthusiasm dropped immediately with the punch line. The girl felt rather idiot to have fallen for such a ridiculous trick and having forgotten about meeting a supernatural being so easily.

"Alright, you got me, happy now?" Leena sighed at Guile's renewed display of immaturity.

"...No, it was too easy." Leena rolled her eyes, wondering if there was hope for this magician who, apparently, refused to grow up.

"On a more serious matter now, you might think this is a ridiculous question, but..." Leena hesitated, uncertain if she really wanted to hear the answer.

Guile didn't say a word, curious as to what Leena's question could be.

"How powerful do you think he is?" Guile's brows raised in surprise.

The wizard turned his head to the side, rubbing the back of his head, actually finding Leena's question somewhat embarrassing and definitely searching for an appropriate way to answer it

"Let's see...How strong can god be...? Physically, judging by his size, I'd say he could wipe the floor with my sorry ass... As with elements, judging by the size and density of its aura, I'd say he could wipe the floor with my sorry ass. Now I'm really ashamed of myself and have lost complete confidence in my abilities. Satisfied?"

"So you're disappointed by the fact that you can't beat a god? Someday we'll have to do something about your ego before it devours you." Leena's comment had a sarcastic sound to it, but she was convinced Guile had a real problem about being overconfident sometimes...most of the time...in fact, pretty much all the time.

"Don't worry about that, this is the kind of thing that can't happen twice in a lifetime. And in case you're looking for further advice on dealing with mighty opponents, I'd say our scaly landlord wouldn't have much trouble enhancing the taste of its salad with us and honoring us by making our poor bones his very personnal toothpicks, so don't go insulting his mom in front of him..."

Having perfectly understood the wizard's approximation the first time, Leena raised an eyebrow, judging Guile's additionnal comment rather useless. She simply stared at him, hoping the rest of his speech would provide an answer as to its purpose.

"Tell you what, don't insult him at all, considering he's a god, he probably has a way of seeing and hearing everything you say, do and think, and this includes all the naughty things you imagine yourself doing at night."

Even if Leena was considered a young woman of good morals, there were a few scenes here and there she definitely would feel very uncomfortable to share, especially with a dragon god who, without a doubt, would be quick to deem her an animal unable to control its primal urges.

"Looks like you have something to feel guilty about. I didn't expect that of a chaste maiden such as you" It appeared Guile's bullet had unexpectedly struck home.

"Rest assured, you can continue to sleep at night, between those naughty thoughts of course, because Sergei-boy will be taking a trip through purgatory long before you do, and as you can he hasn't been summon to purify his soul yet."

"And I'd say he doesn't have to worry since you'll be going long before him." Leena said, sending Guile's comment right back at him.

Guile chuckled at Leena's remark, force to recognize the hormones of a male teenager were something quite hard to keep in check, skilled wizard or not.

"Say, before this conversation drifts away too much..."

"Ship already sunk." Leena cut him off.

"Yeah, I guess, anyway, new ship then. How are you doing with that CurePlus element I gave you. I suppose you've already managed to trigger it by now." Guile was eager to hear about the gifted girl's progress

Leena took a moment to reply, embarrassed at the answer she was about to give.

"To tell the truth, no, I still haven't been able to trigger it so far."

"is that so? I gotta admit I'm disappointed in you, I was expecting better of a prodigy."

"Hey, don't give me that condescending lecture, we can't all be born a master wizard, and this element is really hard, at least much harder than I expected." Considering she had been trying quite hard over the last few days, using pretty much all the free time she had to train with her latest element, Leena was rather offended by Guile's statement.

"I take that back, prodigy was definitely jazzing it up, but there's no mistaking, between the two of us, the gifted one is you."

"Yeah, right, mr. Level-six-for-warm-up." Guile chuckled at Leena's sentence, acknowledging his abilities with elements were far beyond that of an average human, but still he had never warmed up with such a powerful element.

"No, honestly, there was even a time were I was a known failure, unable to use elements at all." Guile's tone was disarmingly serious.

"You...can't be serious." Leena was beginning to feel sorry for Guile.

Thinking back Leena could easily remember what the first courses about elements she had received were like. Being gifted had made it rather easy and overally good times for her, but there were also those who had a hard time triggering level one elements. Among those was a certain blue-haired boy who had kept focusing hard on this Photon Beam element for several days before obtaining a few sparks of holy energy out of it.

Against all odds it was Leena's teachings rather than Radius' that had resulted in Serge being able to use elements. Both young ones had spent several evenings together with Leena repeating the steps to releasing the energy containd within the small bead over and over. Radius, the village leader and ex-deva, who was also responsible for introducing the kids of Arni to elements had been keeping an eye on them, and had seriously been starting to wonder if something was wrong with Wazuki's son.

Then came an evening Leena would never forget. After eleven days un unfruitful trials, Serge had started to lose hope and had threatened to simply quit element classes. That evening Serge had learned that the word quit did not belong to Leena's dictionary. Leena's cheerful encouragement had boiled up into a fiery speech about how there was no such thing as someone who couldn't use elements.

Stricken with fear first to evolve into a state of anger, Serge gave the bead a strong squeeze and felt a force oppose that of his crush. White energy gathered around him from his surroundings to release that contained in the tiny sphere. Afocused stream of particles was aimed at a nearby rock of Opassa beach, leaving a fuming hole that still reminded the people of Arni how Serge had managed to deal with elements.

Once the effect had ended, both kids stared at the rock, astonished at the power Serge had just unleashed. Filled with joy at his newfound ability, Serge smile from ear to ear, his mind overflowed with pride. Leena smiled in return to seal what would be a long-lasting friendship.

"Morning! Time for breakfast!" Leena was pulled out of her reveries by Guile's waving hand.

Leena blushed, embarrassed at having neglected Guile who was still telling her his story.

"As I was saying before being so roughly interrupted, if it hadn't been for a few people who saw potential in me, I might have never learned how to use elements."

"And to think you turned out to be one of the most skillful element user I've ever seen. These people must have had tremendous knowledge of elements." Leena still had trouble believing Guile's tale.

"As a matter of fact, it is common for black and white innate to have a lot more trouble with elements than other innates. Furthermore, green and blue innates often prove to be fast-learners."

"I don't get it. Why would you and Serge have more trouble than me triggering elements?" Leena was rather confused by Guile's statement and her mind required an explanation as to this injustice.

"I'm not certain. Maybe to maintain the natural balance." Guile promply answered, even if his theory was still in progress.

"Natural balance between what?" Leena was nowhere near satisfied with Guile's incomplete answer.

"Don't tell me you've never noticed the difference of strength between the elements of the same level. It's actually quite obvious that for a same level of power, black and white elements are much more fearsome."

"What do you mean by that?" Leena couldn't help but feel targeted by Guile's model.

"Hey! Don't blame me!" Guile raised his hands in defence, letting out a nervous chuckle.

"I'm not the one responsible for this." He added.

"But still, how did you end up with skills like that?"

"Two answers: natural hidden potential and appropriate training." Guile's answer appeared too simple to explain such incredible results and resulted in a skeptical frown from Leena.

"Didn't you just say blue and green innates are the best with elements?" Once again Leena felt harmed by Guile's explanation.

"I say they were the fastest at mastering new elements, but in terms of brute, raw inner strength, black and white innates are miles ahead of the others."

"It's just like throwing a stone. The heavier one will prove way more difficult to hurl, but the damaged inflicted to the target will be much greater."

Leena's features lowered in sadness and disappointment, as if her most praised possession had just been stripped from her.

"But you shouldn't feel disappointed by this since training usually accounts for seventy-five percent of the final result, and considering humans have but a relatively short life-span, learning speed most often proves the best of assets."

Leena's mind took a moment to assimilate all this information and analyze it. In the end, she deemed that the wizard was probably right and decided to reclaim what Guile had almost taken away from her.

"What does your training routine looks like?"

"I usually start off with a few sets of Ice Lances and Cures, then singles with Aqua Balls and Ice Blasts. I normally finish with a couple attemps with the Cure Plus, but so far I've never been able to activate it." Leena had no idea what Guile's training could look like, but instinctively felt it was far beyond what she could muster.

"I see...Typical mistake. You only train with elements of your innate color, right?"

"Well, yeah, since I can use more of them than of any onther color, I get more practice in the same session." Leena was quick to stand up for her training regimen.

"You see, the problem with this is that the gap between elements increases as the level increases. In other words, it's much more challenging to go from a level three to a level four than from a level two to a level three. Cure Plus is a level five element. The gap between it and an Ice Blast is significant. What you need here is a stepping stone." Guile replied

"How can there be a stepping stone? There are no level four and a half elements, are there?" Leena found Guile's answer rather problematic.

"The other colors will easily provide with one. It's tougher for you to use a Magma Blast or an Aeroblaster than an Ice Blast, so simply train with them instead. Just do less singles with level four elements of other colors for a while, you'll be surprised by the results." Leena nodded, looking a the ground and feeling a bit stupid for never trying to this strategy.

"Here, I got another gift for you." Guile reached inside his inner shirt pocket and produced a leather pouch which contained several elements.

"These are nostrums. They're level four black healing elements." Guile handed Leena the present.

"Nostrums? I didn't even now there were black healing elements." Leena frowned as she accepted the pouch.

"They're healing elements, meaning they can't harm you nor anyone else, so feel free to go all out. You can even try to do a set instead of singles. Just one detail, they're consummables." Leena was expecting further explanation but Guile's sentence abruptly came to an end.

"Wait a minute, that means they'll never regenerate. How will I manage to achieve constancy in my training?" Leena was worried that Guile's training advice had weaknesses after all.

"Don't worry about that, by the time you've used up all of those, you'll have made noticeable progress. You'll probably be able to show that Cure Plus who's the boss." Guile's voice sounded confident and reassuring.

Leena smoothly nodded, hoping Guile's tips would soon produce results and allow her to preogress toward her goal. She paused the conversation to carefully place the pouch in her pocket.

"Well, seems like we've managed to get to the bottom of the story and managed to get everyone to live happily ever after, now how about we join the other two for lunch, I'm starving here." Hoping he could finally relieve his stomach, Guile reached for the small pile of wood and motionned to get up.

"Not so fast, here! There's still one more thing we need to discuss.

"You now, my stomach and I always had a great relationship, but I'm afraid he won't speak to me again if this conversation stretches..." Guile definitely was looking forward to the pleasant feeling of food decending down his oesophagus to appease his screaming stomach.

"This is all up to you."

The wizard's mind suddenly fired up, ready to do his best so he could be granted access to food.

"You need to dispel whatever spell, enchantment, trick, magic, element, hypnosis you used on Kid. This has gone too far, alright?" Leena's tone made it obvious the wizard would have to attempt frying fish on his own if he didn't comply, which would probably result in a a small pile of ashes.

"I'm afraid this answer could lower my chances of eating tonight, but this isn't of my resort."

"What's that supposed to mean, not of your resort? You made her like that, now you make her normal again, or you'll have to explain to that stomach of yours that he'll have to make do with these dry branches."

Guile silently thanked the Dragon Gods they weren't married or getting access to food would turn him into a circus animal who performs tricks to earn every bite.

"Look, all I did earlier was to amplify my voice and make my eyes a little shiny to inspire a little respect in her so she wouldn't get us devoured with that nasty habit of being overly talkative." Guile feared his answers wouldn't be enough to shorten the argument.

"You inspired her to become some sort of ground-moping zombie. We can't leave her like that." Leena crossed her arms over her chest, indicating Guile still hadn't convinced her to provide lunch for the group.

"Her state of mind, I have to admit, is worrying, but the trick I used on her does not have any lasting effects, in other words, she isn't under the influence of any elements or anything at all. If we're to cheer her up, we'll have to figure out what's bothering her to the point of ceasing to make fun of me. And I'm convinced we can achieve this while eating, so let's not wait for whatever Serge caught to rot under our noses." With this Guile walked past Leena, demonstrating he was done with this conversation and the time had come to satisfy their appetites.

"But I've tried and..."

"You know, I'll be honest, I once turned a piece of meat into a pond of magma, but you're really leaving me no choice, if you refuse to use your skills, I'll have to make do with mine." Somehow, the balance of power had been reversed and Leena felt her advantage slip between her fingers.

Leena sighed, signalling she admitted defeat and followed Guile back to their encampment, forced to admit that she, too, was starving to death.

Termina, another world, 1020 A.D.

The sky over the El Nido archipelago was dark and the sound of a soft breeze mixed with those of the citizens of the city as they enjoyed the late hours of the festival. Yet, in a room of the Coral Harbor inn there were two men who had their minds on something that had nothing to do with the ongoing celebration.

One was lazily sitting in a chair, busy socketing a leather belt with elements. Even though an eye-patch revealed he could no longer resort to his left eye, he had little difficulty estimating the distances and expertly squeezed the beads into the openings. His comrade, a man whose appearance could easily lead one to believe he had spent the last hundred years buried in a coffin, was resting at a wooden table covered with maps. To his left were scrolls that had been drawn long ago on large sheets of paper that had been turned a moldy yellow by time's work. To his right were fresh pieces of paper the man had carefully designed over the past few weeks.

"Honestly, I don't see why we should bother so much with diplomacy." The youngest man nonchalantly questionned, eyes still glued to his work.

"Ha, so much for one who likes to refer to himself as an enlightened one. Sheer, brute force led you to failure in the past, didn't it? Besides, we're not talking about diplomacy here, this is more like an underhanding way of handling things." The elder replied, looking up but not turning his head.

"I never grasped what the difference was anyway." The brown-haired man said, grabbing several shiny beads from a pouch.

"Simple..." The snake-faced man paused to pick up a pencil and a pair of compasses.

"Diplomats plot to achieve nothing, we're plotting to gather enough energy to attain...immortality." The elder turned to give his fellow-man a wicked grin.

"Even if we could retrieve the energy tapped by the ocean palace and the mammon machine which contained the cores, we're still short of a device that would imbue all this energy into a revive element to augment it, a source of energy as important as Lavos and some of those who contritubed to activate the palace." The one-eyed argued.

"Why don't you open your eye for once?" The elder's comment earned him an offended frown from his associate.

"We're way closer to our goal than you might imagine: According to those maps I've drawn and those ancient references, the sunken kingdom of Zeal is located within this archipelago."

"That's great news, except we're, as of now, uncertain wether they're still in working order." The man in the chair stated.

"It wasn't called the ocean palace to sound cute, its name implies it was designed to endure complete flooding. I'm positive they can functionnate again, all we need to do it re-activate them."

"Except I have no idea how we'll manage to get our hands on that old fossil and the princess. They were lost in time warps and none of us knows how to reach them. Hell, we don't even have a clue as to what time period they ended up in."

"There is, however, someone, or rather, something that knows very well what happened to them: it's a shiny green pyramid-shaped object." The elder turned around and raised his eyebrows as he set the riddle.

"Yeah, of course, the records of fate see and know everything but we can't decipher the information encrypted within them." Done with his task, the man held up his arms to admire and review his work and make sure all the elements were properly laid out.

The old man smirked and pulled a scroll from his cassok. He tossed it to his companion who easily caught it with one hand. The one-eyed then proceeded to unroll the piece of paper and before his eyes appeared what he understood were instructions to dismantle a record of fate and read the information it contained. He slowly lowered the scroll, unable to believe what he had just acquired.

"Where on earth did you get this?" He questionned, expecting the answer to be something along the lines of a deal with the devil.

"If I'm not mistaken, those were drawn by an acquaintance of yours, a certain Doctor Lucca Ashtear."

The man with the eye-patch stared emptily at his elder, focusing on his memories, and was reminisced of a girl with purple hair and thick glasses. He blinked, snapping out of his thoughts.

"The four eyes..." He whispered to himself.

"I believe a man who has studied the records of fate extensively and has knowledge in engineering can understand most of it, am I right?" He asked, confident of the answer he would obtain.

"Well, yeah, most of it, but these are incomplete." He answered, taking a look at the big picture of the complex drawings and formulas.

The one-eyed man was in awe at the documents he held in his very hands. For years he had tried to decipher the complex mechanisms of the Records of Fate and here some teenager had apparently solved the puzzle.

"So, is your ego ever going to recover from getting outsmarted by a technocratic brat?" The aged man mocked.

"I gotta admit that brat had some brain, no wonder so many people were after her. Knowledge is power, and in her case it's oligarchic matter...But I will say for my own defense, she didn't come up with this all by herself, she was helped by a good friend of us. Say what you like about me being left with a single eye, but this eye is as sharp as ever. Didn't you notice those two symbols in the lower right corner? They're the signatures of the authors. One is Ashtear's mark and the author is the symbol of the guru of reason."

"Yeah, that old fool was also quite skilled with technology..." The balding man nonchalently commented..."

Silence naturally installed itself as one returned to his maps and the other devoured the work in front of him with immense interest and a growing envy of the authors's talent.

"Damn... it's the dead sea..." The elder murmured to himself.

"What was that?" The other inquired, still absorbed by the map before him.

"I should have known, they're in the dead sea, or rather they're the dead sea." The undead-looking man explained.

"Then we'll just get the ruins of the ocean palace out of this dead sea." His mate replied, not impressed.

"You have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, do you?" The elder's tone indicated he didn't appreciate his comrade's nonchalance.

"Its name comes from the deadly corals that surround the place, their bare touch causes the tissues to necrotise. A thick mantle of clouds shrouds the location, preventing any observation from above. Only one man was ever known to come back alive from this place...if one may call his current state being alive."

"I know who you're talking about. It's that demi-human, the one who got rid of Ashtear twelve years ago... The plague bearer... His soul was consummed by the Tesseract." He said, grimly.

"Oh, aren't you a little harsh, after all he was once human..." The elder replied, faking sympathy.

"And he agreed to sell Ashtear's work to us. A pretty decent folk after all." He said, letting out an evil laughter.

"Anyway, this doesn't help us much. We have to access this place and meeting the same fate as that Lynx isn't exactly appealing..."

"Well, glad we finally see eye to eye, but now I'm rather tired. I will get some rest." The elder left for his bed, leaving the other alone with his new treasure.

As he stared at the blueprint before him the one-eyed couldn't help but remember what the youngest of the authors of the document was when he actually met her. His first thought was that she had to be a messenger from the devil, sent from the depths of hell to slaughter his ideals and prove how useless the years he had spent working like a slave to achieve results that couldn't hold a candle to those of a teenager had been.

He let himself drown into jealousy and anger and cursed the resemblance with the gurus she displayed. Their condescension and petty ideals had succeeded in driving him to insanity...but now it seemed he finally had the upper hand.

With Ashtear out of commission and the gurus scattered through time and space, the alliance was broken and a the dawn of a new era had come, or rather the resurrection of an era he had longed for in the darkness for countless years. And the best part was that the queen had perished on the battlefield, making him sole heir of the legacy of Zeal.

He walked over to the table and carefully placed the relic on the wooden surface before placing his own work next to it. His ego would probably never forgive him for cheating by looking at the copy of a four-eyed brat but this was the price to pay to bring justice to himself.

Oblivious to his partner's loud snoring he sent himself to work, determined to go all the way through this even if it meant he wouldn't sleep a wink until the morning.

Water Dragon Isle, home world, 1020 A.D.

"No, give me back sis, you monster..." She managed to articulate through much coughing cause by the smoke, reaching with her little hand.

Her action only earned her a cold stare from the feline demi-human who effortlessly carried the body of a young woman on his left shoulder and another intruder dressed as a harlequin. Blatently ignoring the child's plea, the demi-human and his companion turned to the blocked door, which he forced open with a powerful mule kick before escaping into the night.

---

Serge's tired eyes slowly opened as struggling noises pulled him from his much-needed rest. He turned without a noise in his sleeping bag to see what the source of the noise was and he spotted Kid who was twisting and turning in her sleep while waving her arms in the air as if trying to smack an invisible opponent.

Careful not to wake the others the teenager crept up to the troubled thief and stared at her for a few minutes, expecting her to wake up by herself soon. Hesitant, Serge then patted Kid's shoulder in an attempt to set her free of her nightmare. For a second the girl appeared to have found inner peace again but blinked a few times and turned her head upon getting a glimpse pf a shadow on her side.

Startled, Kid let out a gasp which initiated the same reaction from Serge.

"Geez, mate do you always spy on sleeping girls like that? Yur a twisted one, y'know." She said in an irritated tone.

"Uh, sorry, it seemed you were having a nightmare, so I thought I..." Serge wasn't sure how to finish his sentence to he simply aborted it.

Kid then remembered the visions she was having a moment ago and rubbed her eyes before sitting up.

"Well, sorry to have woken you up, be since we're both awake, how about a talk?"

"God damn, don't tell me you've been peeping on me waiting for the moment when those two would be asleep to tell me dirty things." Kid's voice didn't contain an ounce of cheerfulness, but that didn't bother Serge.

"Hey, cut the faking now, we gotta talk about your mood."

"Oh, you mean the grounchiness after you've woken me in the middle of the night for no reason at all?" She grumbled.

Serge gave Kid a pissed look and got up. On his way to some boulders he turned his head to gesture for his friend to follow him. Kid sighed and resigned herself to leave the coziness of her pillow.

She reached a rock near Serge, sat on it, crossed her arms and waited for Serge to start what she feared would be a painful conversation, staring at her companion with the corner of her eye.

"So, what's with the sudden I-don't feel-like-teasing-you-anymore-mate mood?"

Kid lowered her gaze and remained silent.

"Look, we've all offered you to help you, but it's quite hard if you refuse to say anything about what's bothering you."

"I really don't think it's a good idea to talk about this now." She said, turning her gaze away from Serge.

"Is that so? Well, I don't mind waiting, this rock's actually quite comfortable, y'know." Serge said in a stubborn tone, crossing his arms and his right leg over his left knee.

Ignoring Kid's silence, Serge gazed at the starry sky and enjoyed breathing the cool air of the night.

Throwing a quick look at her friend, Kid's mind was grazed by the thought that she might have been a burden to him as of lately. For someone who had spent most of her life alone fearing to become dependant of another, this idea tasted most bittersweet.

"I..." She awkwardly began

"I was an orphan. As far as I can remember I never knew my real parents. Then, someone took me in and raised me as if I were her own little sister..." Kid's throat tightened, momentarily keeping her from forming words.

Serge returned his gaze to Kid, giving her all his attention.

"It's because of her that I'm still alive today, there were other kids at sis's place. She was some sort of inventor, she built strange new stuff that no one understood but her and a weird old man who visited from time to time. We didn't have any money, but we lacked nothing to be happy..." Kid's features turned to a bitter expression.

"Then he came and ruined everything. That Lynx bastard burned our house and kidnapped sis... The others there, they didn't survive...I'm not sure how I managed to make it alive, but somehow I'm here today..."

Serge nodded, acknowledging Kid's desire for revenge.

"Sis never came back and I've been on my own until the day I met the radical dreamers..." Kid noticed the puzzled look on Serge's face.

"Oi, yeah, I never mentionned them either, did I? They're a bunch of thieves. They taught me everything they knew about thievery, how to survive in the wilderness on your own and a bunch of toher things like elements and stuff..."

"But, whatever happened to them, why did you leave?" Serge asked.

"I'm not gonna lie to you mate, they sure taught me how to fish for myself but the facts remain, they're blood starved crooks and no merry-go-lucky happy family. If ya ask them for help they'll most likely kick yur sorry arse until you learned to defend yourself. In a place like that ya quickly realize that it's only those who don't think anything of hurtin' others who get a blood-stained fortunes. Those who survive are the ones who kill, murder, steal, devour everything that stands in their way..."

Serge was astounded by Kid's tale. Sure he didn't expect her past to be that of a little princess, but still...

"Y'know, after that I didn't care that much about the rotten hand I had been dealt, if I could get that Lynx for what he did, I'd have proven that dragon gods or angels watching over you is a load of bullshit, all ya gotta do is get off yer arse and do whatever ya gotta do to get by and achieve yur goals." It seemed that Kid's own words had brought a momentary raise of spirit.

"But the truth is, dragon gods...do exist..." Kid had to struggle just to get those two words out.

"...Yeah, so?"

"Oi, damn it mate, are you just dumb? Don't tell me you haven't realized we're sorta in the same boat here. You too have been drawn away from your people by this wormhole thing. I, it's those dragon gods that have orchestrated all this... They're gods, they must be almighty... Hell, what am I saying, of course they are, surely you felt that giant monster's radiating strength too. It was beyond everything I experienced before. I could have taken on that Lynx anytime, but if it's these dragons that are behind all this, it won't matter 'cuz even if I tear apart the bastard's limbs, they'll prolly regrow or something... No one can fight against a god Serge, so now you see why I'm in a real jam here..."

Something in Kid's words got a chuckle out of Serge.

"Oi, ye find that funny?"

"No, but you said it yourself, we're in the same boat. Just to think up to now you've been kicking my butt all the time calling me a wuss and whatnot and now you're stuck just because we might be facing gods?" Serge smile at Kid, full of confidence.

"Oi, did ya hit yur head or something mate?" Kid was definitely starting to question Serge's sanity.

"It's more like something hit me recently. You see, maybe every life is an extraordinary adventure unlike every other, or maybe we're just tiny ants belonging to a colony and ready to be squashed by that superlizard's paws... The truth is, it doesn't matter. There's no point obsessing over something you can't control, right? I have not a glimpse of an idea what awaits me in Fort Dragonia, but I feel that if I go there, I'll get answers. True, I could die tomorrow, but I'd rather figure out this puzzle or die trying than remain stuck in it forever not knowing why everyone here calls me a ghost."

"Magi-boy, get out of that body." Kid said flatly.

"So you see, you can either remain here, afraid of that dragon and never know what happened the night your sister disappeared, or take the risk of dying in an effort to achieve your goal. I'm not gonna tell you what to do, but my decision is made, and I'm going to Fort Dragonia, no matter how foolish or insane it might be."

Kid crossed her arms once more, staring at Serge's back as he was returning to their encampment, still very much confused and plagued by uncertainty.

"Well, good night.... I know you got a lot on your mind right now, but try to get some sleep too, we'll be leaving early in the morning."

Kid barely looked up at her companion, clearly stating she was old enough to set her own sleep hours.