Chapter XV: Making History

Time stretched as the bridge split and fell. Chrono could see every tiny detail of the disaster – he saw splinters of wood spinning and floating to the water; the bodies of soldiers, pieces of armor, weapons, thrown over the edge; the grey cloud above growing larger and darker, as if fueled by the explosion – and the form of a woman pitched forward toward the split as if reaching to fix it…

Wait – a woman? No! That's Nadia!

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Nadia had only been on the bridge itself for a split second.

She hadn't intended to be in the thick of fighting. In fact, she had tried to stay as far away from the battle as possible. But a short while earlier her and Lucca's position had been bombarded with stones catapulted from the mystic camp. She had immediately run to higher ground along with most of the rest of the soldiers. There she ran into a much closer, and more dangerous, form of battle.

Now her enemy had a face. A face that almost frightened her - but instead infuriated her. Now she was glad to have carried her crossbow with her up the ravine.

A few minutes and several bolts later, she noticed that she had been pushed toward the bridge. She couldn't stop now – the fighting was so thick on all sides of her. The only way to go was toward the bridge. From there, she either had to use her last three bolts or make a suicidal jump over the railing. She took a peek over the edge.

The thirty foot drop looked a lot farther all of a sudden. Then something else drew her attention.

Chrono. He was lying still against a boulder. Her heart skipped a beat – he had been shot! She staggered back. If Chrono didn't make it… what if Lucca didn't? Or Robo? What would she do then?

She hardly heard the cry for retreat. But before she knew it the whole army was surging forward. And then there was no bridge under their feet. As she fell, Nadia thrust her hands out before she hit the water.

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Chrono didn't want to watch, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight: geyser-like eruptions as hundreds of armored men (and one woman) splashed into the water; logs from the bridge floating with several men clinging to each; the water turning a dark brown. One man popped up a short distance from Chrono, having dispensed with his armor so he could float. The man was immediately shot.

But the sight didn't frighten Chrono anymore – it just angered him. This was not a fair fight… and if the battle was already lost, then what harm would there be in taking a few hundred mystics down along the way? Granted, it wasn't the soundest logic, but it gave him enough of a push to start running toward the ruins. And no one seemed interested in killing him with all the helpless victims in the water for targets. That last point made him angriest because he couldn't fry anymore mystics without inflicting casualties on his own side.

Then he noticed something very odd in the water between the two shores: there was a clean spot, like a bright blue circle, smack in the middle of the soiled water. And all the time the spot was growing larger, until it was wide enough to fit twenty, then thirty men.

And then a form appeared from the center of the circle – Nadia. She was clinging to a large, flat, thin disk which bobbed up and down on the surface of the water. With her were at least ten soldiers who had managed to grab on to the edge before sinking to the bottom. Every moment more soldiers grasped any free edges of the disc – which, if Chrono wasn't mistaken, was actually getting larger. Not only that, but the soldiers were beginning to find it difficult to get their fingers around the edges as the disc grew thicker. Soon the disc was thick enough for the soldiers to clamber on.

Nadia was on her knees in the center, soaked the bone but otherwise looking as if she had just stopped for a short rest. But then her hands looked a little strange… and Chrono couldn't really see her fingers: they were embedded in the disc! Of course… magic. Nadia was making an actual ice floe! By this time the battle sounds had almost ceased as everyone watched the ice beginning to spread to either shore.

But the moment didn't last long before the battle continued – on the ice. Chrono was first to rush out onto the water as the mystics began to run down the ravine. He raised his sword high and shouted his best war cry. A moment later he was sprawled on his back, feet in the air, along with about twenty other men. Apparently there was some getting used to in fighting on the ice.

He pulled himself up just as the mystics were in fighting range. Right away in his face was a… well, Chrono couldn't say. A frog? A toad? A green man? He didn't know, but it was the ugliest mystic he'd seen in a while. The mystic carried no weapon as far as he could see (unless there was something tucked away in those giant robes), so Chrono figured this was another easy kill. He swung his sword in a wide arc…

And suddenly the toad wasn't there. Chrono whirled around – it was behind him. Wow – that's fast! He swung again… missed. He thrust. Missed. Every time his sword got close, the thing would just, well, appear somewhere else. Maybe there's something more than speed here. He lowered his sword.

Before he knew it Chrono found his neck in the tight grip of the mystic's fist. He grimaced. The toad's green flesh smelled like a living sewer. A sewer that had never been cleaned. Ever. The thing just glared at Chrono with tiny eyes like black insect eggs. He wanted to retch, but with his airways closed, he just wheezed.

The thing kept staring, then spoke. "Who are you," it half-whispered, showing slimy, jagged white teeth. "No man could… I am the true intercessor." It's grip grew tighter, and Chrono's vision started getting blurry.

It hurt to move his body anymore, but Chrono didn't care too much about the pain. In one motion he gripped his sword and whipped it in an upward arc. Instantly the thing released its grip. Down the front of its previously clean white robe was a dark red stain, like a stripe. "Ozzie's…" it grumbled. "Ozzie's in… a jam." It took a few steps back – stumbled – and clutched at its stomach.

Chrono caught his breath and charged. So he's not so tough. But the thing just darted to one of the fallen Guardian soldiers and ducked behind it. Pathetic. Chrono could see the huge round form looming from behind. Perhaps if he had found a large body instead of a skinny youngster. Even now the mystic was muttering to itself. Chrono thrust his sword…

And stuck it right into the dead soldier. Only the soldier was standing up… the creep was using dead bodies as a shield? This dead body wasn't being held up. The mystic was several feet behind and running. Chrono grunted and shoved the body out of the way. The chase was on.

But another body got in his way. In fact, it had walked in his way. Not possible! It's dead! Chrono shoved that one away and kept going. And then there was another body, and another, and another. Soon the cadavers surrounded him. What kind of magic is this? Chrono thrust – right into the belly of one of the bodies. But the corpse didn't even react. It just kept moving forward on Chrono's sword.

He jerked back. Of course… you can't kill a dead man. How fair is this?

"Goodbye for now… mage!" The giant toad was just outside the circle, calling bravely despite having a gash in its midsection. Weasel. All the while the cadavers stomped their way closer. Chrono couldn't help but wonder how these things could move by themselves… most of them had closed eyes (one had no head). And they didn't react to anything. Not fair. None of them held weapons, which made Chrono wonder just how they planned to do him in. There were at least fifteen… and one of him.

So his sword wouldn't work. But if magic got them going, could it stop them? Chrono thrust a hand toward one, and a blue bolt shot out of his fingers and went right into the heart. That worked – the body jerked and fell on its back, sliding across the ice. Chrono turned on the other bodies and sent them all across the ice in one sweep. Too easy.

But before he knew it the bodies were back up and coming toward him again. Chrono tried again – the blue bolts shot from his fingers with a crack. At this rate he would keep the cadavers at bay, but he couldn't keep going forever. They just kept getting back up. He pushed two out of his way and ran out of the circle.

Chrono realized then that there were a whole lot more bodies – and they were fighting against their living soldiers. Which was which? Actually, it wasn't that hard to tell. The deceased soldiers were clumsy, clunky, like puppets. They didn't seem to have good use of their limbs, and so they were easily cut down. But they always got up again until there wasn't enough tissue left to reanimate. An easy target, but a distraction nonetheless. And the Guardians seemed very uneasy about destroying the bodies of their comrades.

As if this weren't enough, the mystics continued to pour in from the ravine. One of the goblins rushed at him with a long spear. Chrono just sidestepped and let the goblin slide past. On the way, he thumped the mystic on the skull with the butt of his sword. But he wasn't even finished with the blow when another goblin bore down on him. This one had a little more skill, and managed to get one swing at Chrono before sliding past. He didn't get to land a blow before he felt a thump to the side of his head. His vision blurred for a moment, and the next thing he knew he was on his back staring at the sky.

Only there was no sky – just black clouds hovering over him. Is this another magic trick? He could feel more electricity building up inside – a storm's coming. Was the original battle fought in a storm? He couldn't remember. Or, at least, it wasn't in his history books.

Chrono leapt to his feet and resumed the fighting. He didn't pay attention to his moves anymore – the rest flowed, almost like training. Training against live targets. He tried not to think about it too much.

Which was why he was surprised when he suddenly heard a "still alive, are you?" from behind. He whirled around, barely checking his swing before lopping off Toma's head. "Good. 'Tis hardly fair how they use our bodies against us." As if to prove his point, another zombie came at them. Toma easily pushed it away with his sword. "Speak of the devil, they say. Some kind of wicked sorcery." Chrono agreed, but hated how the man could talk so easily during battle.

More of the mystics came over the ravine, seemingly an endless supply. They were quickly wearing down the Guardian army, which at this point was reduced to swinging at anything that moved.

"Now these beasts are more fun," Toma interjected, skewering an imp. Chrono grimaced, skewering a few of his own. "Nothing like real blood to enliven the battle. Thrust!"

"Chrono! Chrono!" Finally, someone else. Lucca's cry was a welcome relief. He turned to see her running across the ice, battered but otherwise looking fine. For some reason she didn't have any weapon. "Chrono, it's changing!"

Chrono whirled around, sword at the ready. "What's changing! Where!"

"No!" Lucca had reached him by now. "History! It's different! I remember – do you?"

Chrono just shook his head.

"All this? History? Right – when was the last time you studied. Everything is different… but it's the same. Like I read about this battle, but also the other one. The one we weren't here."

"Pardon?"

"Whatever. Just listen to me… we've got to think of a plan. The mystics are going to summon a monster of some kind… that's the last step." Chrono didn't respond. "Never mind! Just find some cover. We have to get out of here before we change anything else!"

A piercing, unearthly scream finished her thought. Most everyone on the ice stopped at the sound. They just stared at the bodies littering the field. Chrono followed their gaze. The bodies on the ice were moving. Sure, they had been up and moving before, but this was somehow different. The bodies weren't standing up or anything… but their bodies were shaking. Shuddering. And then…

Chrono averted his eyes quickly. He had seen enough to get the idea. It was the mystics' newest magic trick. Opening the bodies of the deceased – if it was to scare them, it worked – and using the bones… now Chrono couldn't help but look. The bones were being rearranged. Taking shape… a humanoid shape – almost. There were legs, arms, hands, sharp and pointed fingers; but there was no real head. Bones in the place of a head, yes, but nothing else. If it was a creature controlled by magic, it didn't need eyes to see or a mouth to speak. Who knew how many bones the creature had, but there were enough to give it a height of at least twelve feet, and a proportion to match.

Even the bravest of soldiers, mystic and human, took a step back. Only the foolish stood ground. Toma, for example.

The beast turned on him first. Toma didn't move but kept a tight grip on his sword. Chrono just wondered what he planned to do with a conventional weapon against a clearly unconventional opponent. The beast didn't care. With one sweep of its arm, it sent Toma sailing through the air all the way to the far slope of the ravine.

Everyone took another step back.

Then the beast took a step forward. It swung its arm around again, catching at least four soldiers and hurling them into the air – one of them was a mystic. A mistake? The beast continued swinging, sending soldiers from both sides flying.

"Too late," Chrono muttered to Lucca. She just kicked him lightly in the shin.

There was, however, one opponent the beast couldn't move. Robo. Every time the beast swung, Robo braced himself, legs wide apart, arms tucked in to his body. The giant arm crashed with the metal, and Robo's body rippled from the effect, but otherwise he was unmoved. Naturally, the beast was also unaffected. It was a stalemate. That was a start.

Until the beast roared. Well, it didn't actually roar… but it was poised as if to. Its mouth opened wide, and out came not a sound but a giant fireball. It consumed Robo's form for a moment before he fell over, his head spinning all the way around as if dazed. That's not fair at all.

Lucca suddenly gripped Chrono's arm. "Hold it! It's magic!" He just glared at her. "No… I mean, the creature is made from magic. Don't you get it? If it's made by magic, then…" she gestured to him.

"…"

She rolled her eyes. "Then it can be destroyed by magic. Right? Magic is holding it together!"

"Right…" Chrono pried himself loose from Lucca's grip and pointed to one side of the beast. "You go that way, I'll go this way."

"Whatever," Lucca said before running behind to attack.

Chrono wasn't sure what exactly splitting up would do to help, other than avoid getting both of them killed at once. Plus the beast couldn't attack in two directions at the same time. If magic didn't work, though, then it wouldn't matter if the beast had to pick them off one by one.

Easy… don't let your imagination take over.

As soon as Lucca was in place he made the first move. Once more the blue bolts shot from his fingers, crackling and sparkling. The bolts disappeared into the beast's legs. It buckled for a moment, then stopped and turned to face Chrono. Apparently the attack hadn't done much but distract - and anger - the beast. Chrono stepped back, hoping to get out of its reach. Lucca, now would be a good time.

With a blast of hot air, the beast's head erupted in a fireball. Lucca stood below, hands in the air, feet wide apart, controlling the flames. Strangely the fire continued to burn, though nothing on the beast technically could have been burning. Then Chrono saw that the bones themselves were not burning, but the air around the bones was – as if there was an invisible layer of flesh being consumed. And yet it was not being consumed. The flames showed no sign of going out – in fact, they kept rising higher into the black sky, illuminating the fierce cloud formations above. Chrono wasted no more time watching, though. He let fly with more sparks, and though he thought he was trying his hardest to concentrate, the bolts of electricity paled in comparison with Lucca's mighty fire. They also had no effect on the beast, which was clawing at its head in desperation.

Chrono looked to his friend again. Lucca had relaxed slightly, but she stood ready for another attack. She raised her arms in the air and put her hands together, palms facing out. Her face was set in determination, but no fire came yet. She jerked her head down. And up. And back down. Then she set her palms against the ice floor.

Now the fire came. All Chrono saw was a sudden flash of red light by Lucca's palms before he instinctively shut his eyes. When he opened them again, the beast had instantly shrunk about four feet. No – it had fallen. Where the beast had stood was a wide hole in the ice. The beast had sunk nearly up to its waist, and it clutched wildly to the side with both of its brittle hands. Chrono almost chuckled at the thought of the terrifying beast clambering for its life. Now it was his turn. Surely his electricity could finish the thing off, now that it was submerged. He raised his hands –

And they dropped back to his side. What? He couldn't lift his hands back up. Or move his legs. Or breath.

He knew the reason before he dropped his head. There, coming out of his stomach, was the butt end of a spear, attached firmly to one of the beast's hands. It must have taken hold of the weapon from a fallen soldier and thrust it all the way through Chrono's armor and his body. He could feel the shaft coming out of his back. It felt like someone's hand was in there, grabbing and pulling at his organs. But there was no pain. Just the storm above. The electricity.

Chrono felt the magic flowing – his own pouring out and the storm pouring in. He closed his eyes just out of instinct, but he could still see the lightning bolt, thick as an oak, that burst from the clouds to strike the beast squarely on the head. Chrono's body was freed from the beast and from the ground. He didn't feel when or where he landed, much less see, but his last vision before blacking out was that of Robo running toward him. Robo's arms were gone, replaced with deep red spinning blades. Blades that were cutting mystics in two.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Several reasons why I have not uploaded 'til now, but here's the big one. My computer is going down in flames. I'm not sure why - I never visited dangerous sites, and my computer doesn't even realize there's a problem, but I expect the computer to shut itself down at least three times a day. This makes it very difficult to work. If I don't save every five minutes I lose everything.

Anyway, I'm sorry for not getting this up sooner. All that aside, please continue to review, and keep in mind that updates will be hit or miss for the next eight months. College is probably going to sap all my energy. Maybe I'll finish this chapter by then. So long.