Tata and the Frog

When they got back to Porre, they could tell right away that something had gone wrong. Few people were out on the street, and those that were rushed from one house to another. Even the shops were temporarily closed, with hastily written notes hanging from the doors.

Chrono stopped the first person to pass near. This woman didn't seem in interested in talking and only kept looking off to where she had been going. "Hey, what's going on?"

The woman actually looked at him for a moment, then said breathlessly, "have you not heard? The Hero has disappeared!" She then ran off, her gossiping duty done, leaving Chrono and the others to exchange looks.

They all knew where to go next. The Hero's house looked the same as before, only it felt lifeless. Everyone took turns knocking, but no one had answered at all. In fact, they could not hear any sound coming from the house. "Perhaps no one is home," Nadia suggested. But Lucca shushed her and led them all around the side of the house to the nearest window. Though the house was dark they could see the form of the Hero's father hunched at a table, head in his hands. The man was definitely distressed, but didn't seem to be crying. That was a good sign so far. He sighed loudly, but his sigh was inhibited by a tightness in his voice, so his breath almost sounded like a fit of coughing. At the sound of his own sigh he jerked involuntarily, then suddenly slammed a fist down on the table.

He seemed just as surprised at his motion as Chrono felt, and at that moment he looked up and noticed everyone outside his window. The man cocked his head in recognition and stomped his way over. "What do you want? Get out, I say! Leave me in peace!"

Leaving was the most agreeable option, but everyone felt they had to get something out of the man. "Sir, the Hero?" Chrono asked awkwardly, his question hitting the man like slap.

"How dare you! Leave! What my son does is no concern of yours!"

"Actually, it is every concern of ours," Chrono countered, still unsure of what to say, just making up the words as he went along. "He is, after all, our Hero. Certainly we can be of some assistance?"

"No. You cannot help him. No one can. He has disappeared from his own bed. Gone, as if he had vanished. It is beyond our control!"

Lucca spoke up immediately. "So, he's gone to fetch the Masamune!"

The father continued hesitantly. "What did you say?"

"We're not fools. He went looking for his sword of fire, just like he thinks he should."

"The sword is a myth. What can I do about it?"

"You could go get him yourself, you beast!" Lucca flared, turning on her heels and stomping off. The others quickly followed suit, leaving the father with nothing to do but slam his fists on the windowsill.

"I think we could have handled that better," Chrono said once they were clear.

"Brute," Nadia grunted. "The kid's run off and he's cowering in a corner."

"Brute or not… that kid is beating us to our destination," Lucca pointed out.

"How would he know where the sword is?"

"It was pretty widely assumed that the mythical sword rested on Denadoro," Chrono answered. "Right, Lucca? I mean, weren't there some sort of texts on it? I remember something about it in history lessons. You're the expert. But even that frog knew about the Denadoro Mountains. That's what tipped me off."

"Everyone may have assumed. No one ever saw the sword on that mountain…" Lucca paused to chew on her lower lip, then her eyes lit up. "Except the man who discovered the sword." The others just looked at her, waiting for more (Chrono knew she loved it when that happened). "Come on, it's all part of the myth. Hidden sword of fire in the mountains – there's a whole history of it. Supposedly it was found by a knight who was later killed, and the sword was lost again. Then someone else claimed to have found the sword… come on, you have to remember who we're talking about!"

"Just say it!"

"Come on! Toma, the explorer! You have to remember him – we've been in his house, for heaven's sake! He's the one who lays claim to finding the Masamune. Sure, he never actually proved it…"

"But now he can," Chrono finished, a smile beginning to form on his face. "Ready to change history again?"

"We're not changing it. We're just helping it along a little."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Denadoro Mountains stood far to the north, only a few miles from Dorino, so it was another long trip for everyone. But it wasn't nearly as long as the trip down on foot. Lucca's stash of coins wasn't disappearing anytime soon, and so they could easily afford a few carriage rides all the way to Dorino. They mostly slept the whole way – except for Robo, who quickly got tired of explaining to the carriage driver that he was not in a metal suit of armor.

The morning after their arrival Chrono found himself at the foot of the mountains without remembering quite how he got there. He did remember getting up early and trekking down another boring dirt trail, but having not actually been awake at the time, couldn't recall much. All he thought about at the moment was the heavy provisions bag on his back. As much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn't complain because everyone had a similar bag, and they were all taking it very well – much better than him at least. Toma had even given himself the largest pack, in an act of chivalry or just sheer bravado, and he was the most cheerful of all of them.

Of course, he was also the most clueless. Chrono wasn't sure what story Lucca had told the man, but unless she lied, Toma had to have been crazy to accept the offer. It wasn't like the mythical sword's location (provided this sword existed, Lucca kept reminding them) was a secret – but so far no one had managed to survive and bring the sword down from the mountain. Maybe danger was the allure. Then again, it may have been the promise of "helping the Hero" that everyone was getting worked up about. It all added up in their minds: the Hero needed the sword of fire to slay Magus, and what better sword than the Masamune? No one had bothered to wonder what would happen if the sword really wasn't a "sword of fire," or even if it was a sword at all, but they were desperate enough to hope. And the Hero himself was desperate enough to go for it himself. They could meet him somewhere on the mountain… no, he's not that stupid to try and climb this thing all by himself.

Toma led the way with Lucca and Robo right behind. Strangely enough, once Lucca had explained that Robo was a machine, Toma completely understood. They all thought the concept of robotics would confuse the "primitive" minds of the old Guardians, but they had no less intelligence than anyone else. Of course they could never grasp just what went on inside this "machine," but for now Chrono didn't have to worry about hearing any silly questions from the explorer. He just fell in step behind them.

Nadia trailed a little further behind, so he slowed his step a little until they were even. "Hey… are you all right?"

"Yes. No. Maybe." She grunted. "It's too early to tell."

"Listen." Oh boy, this is harder than I thought. "We've all gone through a lot in the past week or so, I mean, what with the battles, and the endless talk about the Hero… and things."

Nadia just looked back at him, her eyes narrowed into slits. Now she's suspicious! What do I say next? "Um, what I mean to say is… we all need a boost. Do you know what I'm talking about?" She just nodded. "I mean, we have to just suck it in and, well, get over it."

He knew those words were a mistake as soon as he said them. "What?" Nadia half-growled.

"I don't mean it that way."

"You're telling me to just get over it? You and Lucca drag me back into the Middle Ages after abandoning me for a year, throw me into the middle of the worst war in the history of the world, screw up everywhere you go, almost get us killed, and I have to get over it?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Then what, hm?"

I just meant I don't want you to think you're alone! "I just meant I don't want you to think you're alone!"

Chrono shrank a little as his words echoed in his mind. Nadia seemed to shrink a little as well, and she seemed at a loss for words. She still gave him the cold stare, her green eyes locked in place and aiming for him… but it was more in defense, to cover something up, and she quickly broke eye contact and caught up with the others. Chrono just sighed and followed suit. He kept as close as possible to the group, but had not felt so isolated in a long while.

For the next few minutes he only watched his feet as he followed Toma into the underbrush at the base of the mountain. And here they hit the first obstruction. In front of them, and to the left, was a cliff face, perhaps thirty feet in height. On the right was a steep drop into a raging river.

"Perhaps we'll have to find another route," Toma suggested.

"Is there another route?" Lucca replied.

"I have no knowledge of one. But who does? Few have dared trek even this far, and I don't have enough rope."

The party was silent for a moment, then Nadia chimed in. "There's something at the top of that rock."

"It's a rope ladder," Robo said, his flat voice piercing the air. "And it has been cut off recently."

"Why would someone cut off the only route back?" Lucca mused.

As if in reply, a sharp cry rang out against the rocks, throaty and horrible. The sound rushed through the leaves, and several flocks of bluebirds suddenly took wing around them. Immediately, though, the sound stopped.

"What was that?" Nadia whispered.

"A scream."

"I know that. I mean, what was that?"

Another scream rang out, this one even more horrible than the last. It was followed by a low roar – Chrono recognized it as the sound of a struggle. "We have to get up there!" The others just gave him the look that said of course, moron but they didn't say anything. Instead they ran to the base of the cliff.

"Listen, we just need one of us to get up there," Lucca said. "If there's more rope you could let some down for us."

Nadia just pursed her lips. "And how are we supposed to get up?"

"We'll have to fly."

"What?"

"No! One of us can climb it, of course."

At this point Chrono interfered. "Lucca, how are you going to do that? That's a sheer rock face. There's hardly any handholds."

"You're the one that did all that physical training for a year."

Chrono wanted to argue, but he felt that time was of the essence, so he grunted and began searching for his first grip. He found several very quickly, but only one which he could use to propel himself further up the cliff. Only a few moments had passed and he had already made progress – at least until he looked down and noticed his feet were barely off the ground. His heart fell a little, but he gritted his teeth and pushed himself a little more. Every second counted, because with each passing moment, the cries at the top became more and more urgent, and less and less… human. The sounds both frightened him and spurred him on. He felt his climb almost as a test for him, a test to conquer some fear. With each inch of rock he climbed, he heard the cries more distinctly, and he desperately desired to slow down and take his time. But by symbolizing his ascent as his own battle against his fear, he inspired himself to give his all until he was over the top.

Once he had both feet on the ground at the top, he saw he didn't have as much to worry about as he thought. There was no sign of any immediate struggle – but the cries continued just the same. He pushed the thoughts out of his mind and ran to the rope ladder. There was a little bit of extra rope, but not much. The end of it was bolted into the earth a good ten or fifteen feet away from the edge, and with just one look Chrono saw it was no good to try to remove the bolts. Instead he whipped out his katana and and sliced first one, then the other half of the ladder. Instantly it started sliding toward the edge, but he grabbed it just before it went over. Then he lay on his belly, both hands on the end of the ladder so it hung almost all the way down. He poked his head over the edge to see the others just staring back at him.

"Nadia, you're first."

"You want me to climb now?" she called.

"Yes. You're the lightest, and I have a good grip."

"I still can't reach it."

At this point Toma leaned close to her, whispering something. He whispered something to the others, and the three of them lifted her up until she could reach the first rung. Immediately Chrono felt her weight dragging him over the edge. "Faster!" he grunted. But as she got higher, he found it easier to hold on until she was clambering over the edge of the cliff.

"Lucca, you're next!" Chrono called, then, turning to Nadia, he said "grab one end."

Lucca made the ascent a little quicker, and with her help, Toma and Robo made it up with no problems. However, their climb had eaten up well over ten minutes, and the cries were beginning to die down. They wasted no time in congratulating each other or rubbing sore wrists and arms, but they ran as fast as they could to the source of the noise.

Around the bend they came to a clearing, and they saw perfectly what had happened. Strewn about the mossy ground were at least two dozen bodies, man and beast, twisted into odd angles and covered in blood. Most were human. There were also many more beasts surrounding the bodies and running across the clearing as if looking for something – perhaps one person who had escaped. These beasts were humanoid in structure, but they were horribly fat, underdressed, and discolored. Also, they took no care of themselves, as they all had long, unkempt, greasy hair, and they appeared to be eternally covered in yellow dirt. Goblins. Chrono had never seen them, but they matched every old rumor he had heard as a child. He didn't have time to register shock at the sight. The beasts had seen these new travelers with hungry eyes. While they definitely weren't complete weaklings, Chrono couldn't see how they managed to defeat so many men while losing so few. But he didn't think too much about it and instead rushed into the clearing as these goblins rushed back at him. He only hoped his friends were right behind.

The moment he was close enough to strike, Chrono whipped out his sword, and with one smooth flash of red light, slit two goblins at the throat. All of a sudden there seemed to be hundreds of them, but fortunately they did not all target him – his friends had followed, easily knocking down the beasts. As the goblins pressed in, he continued to slice into their soggy flesh as though slicing meat for dinner. This is far too easy… twenty men are cut down, yet five of us can overcome them all?

As if in reply to Chrono's thoughts, a new creature emerged. Whether it had been there the whole time, off to the side in the shadows, or had only just arrived, he couldn't tell and didn't care. But it must have been the reason for all the bloodshed. It carried itself properly, proudly, even – though it shrouded itself in a dark blue cloak so it's face was not visible. All Chrono saw were two white orbs and a hooked beak protruding from the blackness inside the robes. There were claws where its hands should have been, and talons where its feet should have been. And it carried a sword.

Chrono instantly ignored the goblins around him and ran up to the new creature. This beast, however, did not run back, but simply stood its ground until Chrono struck. Then, in a fluid motion, it blocked the blow, spun around, and kicked him in the back, sending him headlong into the brush. Chrono just shook off the blow and returned to the fray. The creature was excellent, dodging or blocking every single one of his attacks. But he was equally as excellent, and he did the same.

But he had something his opponent did not. As soon as he got the opportunity, he shot his left hand out and sent a white hot bolt into the creature's face. It immediately crumpled to the ground without a sound other than sizzling flesh.

Chrono returned to the battle with the goblins to notice that in the minute since he had wandered outside the ring, several more of the robed creatures had appeared. Now there was no question why the people before them had been so easily overrun. But it didn't take long for everyone to realize that the new opponents had no defense against the power of the elements, and they were quickly eliminated. As soon as they were, the goblins turned tail and ran.

The battle was an overwhelming success – only Toma had been wounded (he had been run through by a sword), but Nadia had easily healed him completely. We even got some free swords out of it.

"I think this was supposed to be our warning," Lucca said flatly, examining this new sword.

"If that's just the warning, I can't wait to see what's next," Nadia replied, hanging her head.

After a moment, Robo spoke up. "Do you suppose these creatures are here to guard the sword?"

"Aye," Toma said, "and they are diligent guards. We'll have to keep our eyes open from now on."

Lucca suddenly dropped the sword. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

They all heard it now – a faint voice: "Hey! Help!"

"There's still someone alive!?"

"Down there! Get me down!"

They all looked up – and then they saw. In one of the trees there was a small boy trying to get back to the ground. However, the lowest branch was at least fifteen feet up the tree. The boy's gaze switched repeatedly between the ground below and the party, unsure if he had to jump or if he would be saved. Chrono began to approach the tree, and as he did so, there was no secret of who this boy was.

Toma said it first. "The Hero!"

So he did run away – and he's still alive… one of these men down here must have put him up in the tree before…

"Will you help me?" the boy cried as Chrono reached the trunk. He tried to speak again, but he just gasped, his breath coming out in ragged bursts.

Chrono extended a hand and called to the boy. "Jump! I'll catch you!" The Hero crouched down as if to jump, but then he hesitated. "Come on!" Don't be a coward. "I said I'll catch you!"

The Hero took a long time deciding, but he finally let himself go of the branch and fell into Chrono's arms. The boy certainly wasn't easy to catch, but he was light enough for Chrono to manage. As soon as he could, though, he let the boy down. The Hero then brushed himself off, quickly regaining composure. "Thank you," he said proudly.

"Thank God you are alive!" Toma exclaimed, rushing to him. "We feared the worst, young Tata!"

The Hero just smirked. "I am fine. There is no need to worry anymore."

Lucca and Nadia just rolled their eyes as Robo asked "how did you manage to survive?"

Tata didn't even look at Robo. "I was in the tree. Sir… the…" he started breathing hard again and rubbed his eyes, but he managed to complete his thought. He pointed at one of the bodies lying prostrate in the field behind them. "That man got me up in the tree." That was all he could manage before his emotion overtook him and he started to cry. He kept wiping his eyes, trying to hide his tears, but it did no good.

Nadia went straight to him. "Don't worry now. We'll take care of you," she half-whispered to him. Tata just clutched at her as if hanging on for dear life, his eyes suddenly wide. The sight made Chrono sick. He knew something was wrong with this Hero business, but he couldn't handle watching this… what kind of man subjects his child to this? For that matter, what kind of child is stupid enough to think he can handle being a hero anyway?

"We must keep moving," Robo pressed in. "This place is not safe for a child." Nadia nodded in agreement and they all returned to the nearest path – five adventurers and one small boy.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some quick points.

First, I don't care how much the father believes his son to be a hero, he would not send his son alone into the mountains.

Second, Tata would not be so stupid that he would go by himself.

And finally, the party wouldn't be so callous as to send Tata home alone.

As for the rope ladder scene, I did some thinking and it is, in fact, possible - even under human conditions. If you really don't think so, then I need to work on that section to prove it to you. Let's just say some friction, plus weight, plus leverage and all that physics stuff would make it possible in the right circumstances. The reason I included that segment, though, was for believability. I think it would be too much to ask you to believe that Chrono and the gang happened to come upon this battle as it was ending and they couldn't save anyone except for the Hero. So, if they were far away, heard the noises, and were hindered so they couldn't help, that would give an incentive for them to not only find the hero but try to save the other people. In other words, I made sure they participated in the whole thing.

Also, I'd like to take this time to remind everyone again that I will be putting in little twists that aren't incredibly original. For instance, I am not the first to have Toma join the party on the mountain... I have seen this in one other story, and there may be more out there. So, to give credit where credit is due, Gibson18, you have the right idea. However, I maintain that I did plan this before you wrote it, and my reasons for this twist are very different from yours. I would know because I just re-read that segment of your story to make sure I wasn't blatantly copying. And just so you know, there will be one more twist of mine that you have already done, though again, I have different reasons and a different approach.

Lastly, if you would like to review, please give me some thoughts on the characters. If I'm messing them up, what should they be doing? Or, what do you see happening in the characters? I'd like to know if the things I planned are coming across.