A Sword Asunder

The next morning they packed and started on the trail again, this time in silence. The only sound they could really hear was that of their feet crunching into the dry dirt and rocks. No birds sang, no streams roared, no one spoke. Chrono and Robo just exchanged glances. Around midday they reached the end of the line. The trail ended suddenly at another rock face, but this time there was a cavern opening off to the side. A great mouth with a patient expression, as if knowing they had to go in or turn back. Chrono half expected a pair of black eyes above the entrance, but there were only clumps of moss and fungus. Toma suggested they eat before they continue, but everyone was in such anticipation that preparing a meal was out of the question. Instead Toma and Chrono went to the closest fruit tree and grabbed everyone a snack.

At first the cave gave no indication of being special. The only light came in through cracks in the ceiling. It wasn't much, but it gave enough for everyone to see their surroundings. As far as they could tell, no one was in the cave but them. They heard even less than they had outside, where at least the occasional rustling of leaves kept maddening silence at bay. Here they were free to go mad.

"Look! 'Round the corner!" Toma whispered excitedly, motioning for the others to follow. Around the bend was a large, open room, almost like the inside of a dome. At the top was a hole for the light to enter, but this light behaved strangely. Instead of dissipating throughout the cave, it focused its attention to one spot, creating one brilliant beam towards the far wall.

They all knew instantly – this was it, it had to be the place. One by one the crept into the room, each feeling out of place, unworthy to be there. With each step they took, the light became brighter and more focused until they could clearly see an object in the middle of the brilliant beam: a sword. No, the sword. It was driven into the earth so little more than the hilt showed. That was all they could see – a gray silhouette against the rock face.

"Whoosh! I'm the wind!"

They all jumped back against the nearest wall, each looking toward the center of the room. How they had managed to miss this… they couldn't guess. The child seemed to have materialized from nothing. With one look Chrono recognized him from the night before. He shared a puzzled look with Robo, who only shook his head. This was no child. He, or it, or whatever "he" was, ran in circles in the middle of the cave, arms spread wide, laughing and making whooshing noises. He sounded like a child, he acted like a child…

"I'm the wind, Masa!"

As the child kept running, Chrono inched further toward the sword. His each step felt involuntary, as if the sword itself were calling him. In the back of his mind he told himself nonsense and impossible but that voice was starting to die. After all, he could only see so many mages and spirit children before he stopped trying to be reasonable. Right?

"Stop!"

He froze, along with everyone else, including the first child. This was a new voice.

"What do you think you're doing?"

The voice's owner stepped out from behind a nearby boulder. I could have sworn no one was there. He… it… was another child, almost identical to the first as far as physical features. However, he appeared more well groomed – neat hair and clothes, cleaner face – and behind his eyes was a certain maturity. Like an adult, Chrono though. A forty-year old child.

"You're here for the sword?" The child asked rhetorically. There was no response. Finally he motioned to Chrono, who was closest. "Well? Take it."

Chrono started inching his way to the light again, cautioning himself every step of the way. There's something wrong. He wouldn't let me have it this easily. But he's a child… or at least he seems to be. Maybe for once things are as easy as they look. But that's just what they'd want me to think… what if the child is really another monster? We should be on our guard… his hand went to his sword, then off again. What is this? The first time we can settle down and I have to imagine new terrors. But as soon as I turn my back, I know I'm gonna…

Finally he made it, and all thoughts rushed from his head, pouring out his ears, until only one remained. It's not yours. He stepped back as if physically struck. You're no hero. It belongs to the Hero. It's not yours.

He shot a look at the others one by one, resting his gaze on Tata.

"Well?" The second child again. Chrono almost jumped. He could hear nothing else anymore, feel nothing else, almost see nothing else but the sword. After what seemed to be forever, he started to reach for it slowly. His hands were hardly moving, waiting for a sudden attack but simultaneously thrilled with the prospect of achieving this –

Wait a minute. It's just a sword. I've already got one. His hand stopped. Was this one of those fairy-tale hubris tales again? Object of desire turns out to control the hero? I don't even want this thing… Another one of those stories his mother told him? Mom…

Before he knew it he had pulled his hands back to his sides. "Sorry," he muttered to the child, who was now standing next to him. The child actually seemed surprised with his choice. Chrono clasped his hands together. For some reason it was hard to get any words out. "I'm not the Hero." It was hard work just moving his body at this point, and it took all his energy to point to Tata and say "He is. He's the 'Hero.' Let him take it."

Instantly Chrono felt lighter, as if something had let go of his head. The others must have felt something too, for they all started fidgeting and groaning. Tata's eyes just went wide. "I… N… no… I'm really…"

"What?" The child asked, peering intently at the boy.

"No!" Tata's hand went over his medal. "I'm just carrying it! Truly, I…"

"Hero, take your sword."

"I… no…"

"Are you frightened, boy?" The child's voice suddenly sounded much deeper.

"No!"

"You have the medal. Take what's yours!"

"No I don't." Tata's eyes were shifting all over. Anywhere but toward the sword, or the child, or that first one, who now had stopped running and just watched him. "They did it!" Tata cried, pointing to the others. "It's theirs! They told me to hold it while they – "

"Don't you want what belongs to you?"

"N… yes, but… no!"

"No?"

"NO!"

The child was shouting now, approaching Tata threateningly. "Take your sword, Hero!"

"I'm not the Hero!"

Now the child pushed him down. "Take it, coward!"

"Really, I'm not. They made me! I…"

"Well if you're not the Hero, who is?"

"I… I don't know! I found it, I swear! I swear on my mother's grave I found it in the road. Someone dropped it and I tried to tell him but he just – "

"Stop!" Instantly the child changed his demeanor. No longer did he appear frightening, and everyone almost immediately forgot just how upset they had been. "There is truth in your words. But if you are no Hero, why have you then come for his sword?"

"Silly humans," the other child interjected. "It's how you use the sword that's important, not who owns it!"

"I could have told them that!"

"But you didn't, Masa. You just frightened them like you do to all the others!"

"Perhaps if humans weren't so ignorant and power-hungry I could speak plainly!"

"Not all of them are. Not Cyrus. He was the only one who made it this far."

Chrono just looked back and forth between the children. Suddenly it was hard to tell which was which. "Masa, for all your knowledge you are as ignorant as they are!"

"Well, my dear brother Mune, you don't do much better." The names were not lost on anyone. Either these children had crazy mothers with an obsession for folklore or... some other strange thing was going on. Chrono cleared his throat, prepared to speak. He didn't know what to say, but anything was better than nothing, as long as he told the truth.

"…" His throat felt a little dry.

The children stopped and stared at him. "What did you say?" one asked.

"I heard that," the other stated.

Heard what?

"You can't have it."

"Mune, someone has to have the sword someday. It is written."

"So it is."

The one child, Masa, turned to face Chrono. "As you are so interested in the prize, you may have it."

"Wait. Not just anyone can. He must be tested."

"How? It is written that the Hero only shall wield the sword. If the words be true, then simply wielding that sword proves the identity of the Hero. Perhaps then we should allow them each, one by one, to pick it up, hm? The one who can successfully wield it, then, should be the Hero? Not a chance."

"Then test as you tested Cyrus."

Masa stroked his chin. A long minute passed. "So we shall."

Instantaneously the children were gone. In their places stood two identical creatures. While they appeared humanoid, Chrono knew better than to think these two were anything close to human, or even mystic. They had bald heads, long ears, and earthen skin, and each wore a white tunic. But what stood out most were the eyes – a stunning white, as if they had bright lanterns behind them. But these were not soulless eyes. They were something of the opposite, so much soulful that Chrono could not even comprehend them. And he knew he wasn't looking at some apparition, but that these two creatures had been here, like this, all along, and only now allowed everyone to see them truly.

They stood only a moment before rushing in towards him from both sides. In one swift motion Chrono pulled out his katana and swung toward one, while twirling out of the path of the other. But as he moved, his opponents moved with him – impossibly, without sound – altering their course until they both collided into his body. At least Chrono had the good sense to keep a tight grip on his sword when he went down.

As he hit the ground, the cave suddenly sprang to life. Lucca and Robo were immediately at his side. Nadia grabbed Tata and put herself in front of the boy. Toma even dropped his pack and whipped out a hunting knife. They had hardly moved when the two creatures came back for another strike. Chrono jumped to his feet just before they got to him. Lucca wasn't fast enough to stop the blow, but she kept Chrono steady for the next strike.

This time he was ready. Right before they reached him, he spun away from them and dropped to his knees, pointing the sword behind him as one of the creatures ran up on it. As to the other, he put up a hand to soften the blow as the creature tore into him. He stood again, noticing that neither of them appeared wounded, yet he had definitely felt something impaled by his sword.

Now Lucca sprang into action. She held out one hand and shot a fireball which incinerated one creature where it stood. The other did not even stop, or seem to notice the disappearance of its twin. It came directly at Chrono with one hand – or claw, or whatever that thing was supposed to be – poised to strike. He stood his ground and thrust his sword straight out, but the thing dodged it, grabbed his arm, and pulled his off his feet. Chrono twirled as he fell so he landed on his back, and stuck his sword into the air just in time to fend off another blow. He leapt up and continued swinging. While the creature dodged most of the attacks, it couldn't dodge them all. Instead it just held up a hand to block Chrono's slice, and like a shield it stopped the sword. Though he was hacking at exposed flesh, Chrono wasn't making a scratch.

The sight proved to be too much. He felt his heart sinking, and with it his grip weakening and his strokes falling much slower. Next thing he knew he was sprawled out on the floor of the cave, looking right up into the creature's strange eyes. "Is that all it takes to defeat someone of the likes of you? Come on, stand up. I won't kill anything lying down."

The creature locked eyes with him long enough for Lucca to use the moment to her advantage. She rushed in, prepared to launch another fireball, but the thing neatly stepped out of the way. Then Toma rushed in with his knife. The creature didn't even try to stop the blow – the knife sank deep into the creature's white robe… and then snapped. Toma stood dumbfounded. Lucca was amazed herself, but prepared another attack. She was flat on her back before she knew she had been hit. "I was talking to the boy," the creature said flatly.

No sooner had it stopped talking when Robo slammed into it with full force. The two figures tumbled one over the other for a moment, clouds of dust comically enveloping in struggle. But not long after and the creature was up again, unharmed. Robo just lay flat.

Chrono grunted as he sat up. He took hold of his sword again and tried to clear his head. Slowly he stood up and faced his opponent. "Very good. I was afraid I'd win too easily." This time Chrono didn't give the creature time to attack. He just held out a hand and struck his opponent with as much electrical energy he could muster. A large white bolt enveloped the creature, and then it was gone.

"Very, very good."

Chrono whirled around. There, standing next to the buried sword hilt, stood the two children – as children.

"I should have known you were mages of some kind."

"Right you are, there. You always get yourself killed too quickly, Mune. I'm the one who has to finish things around here."

"Well, he finished you off just as quick, if I may say so."

"All right. I wasn't trying very hard."

"You could have dragged it out more, like with Cyrus."

They were interrupted by a shriek. "WHAT?" Lucca was up and shaking her fists.

"Oh, you thought this was real, now did you?"

"Real as things ever get, Masa."

A cool silence hung over the cave for a moment. Chrono and Lucca just stared at the two children. Nadia comforted Tata, who began bawling hysterically. Toma sat holding his head.

"True heroes aren't fighters."

"True heroes aren't winners, either."

"Sometimes they are, Mune."

The two children turned to face each of the travelers, one by one. Finally they spoke again. "Sorry. You weren't supposed to win. But we'll still give you the sword anyway… whatever use it'll come to you."

"It'll take more than a Hero."

"Do you think someone will fix us, Masa?"

"Someday."

One child – Mune, supposedly – looked straight at him and repeated: "Someday." The words chilled Chrono (and he knew they were supposed to), and all was silent for a moment. Then the child continued. "Well, you'll be needing this if you want to play hero, then?" And then the children were gone.

So was the sword.

"Wait, what?" Toma managed to squawk as he rushed to the spot that had only moments ago shown the hilt. The rest caught up to him to see: there was no sword hilt, but there was part of a sword. Just the front end of a double-edged sword, broken, with a jagged edge. It glowed a brilliant red as if crying out, then the color drained and it appeared no more than the blade of a standard military weapon. Chrono stole a glance at Robo.

"I saw what you saw, Chrono. This is no basic trickery."

"Figures."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: You'll probably want some explanation why this shorter chapter took so long, right? Well, I'm having some writer's block issues. That's right, for the next couple of chapters I sort of know what happens but not enough to just go plowing through. (Once I get up to Magus' Castle I have a good idea, but before that my outline is pretty sketchy.)

As far as this pseudo-battle: one thing I always thought was a mistake in the game was that Masa and Mune could come together and fight as one giant beast. If the sword is broken, and they ARE the sword, how could they come together? Don't get me wrong, it makes for a better boss fight... but it didn't make any sense here. And the first part of the fight - Masa and Mune separately - is so easy peasy that dragging it out here wouldn't work too well. So I decided the best course of action was to confuse you all so much that you couldn't figure out what the heck is going on, or why, and you just decided I'm brilliant and be done with it. (Right? I mean about the brilliant part.)

I'm hoping to update again before the end of summer, but I still need to piece the last part of this segment together. (Also, I'm working two jobs, so time is really, really tight.)