The Next Generation Part 19
Lost Memories
By Krazy Sam
Sari made her way out of the forest in a daze- thinking back to what the strange video had said… Stal placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.
“It’ll be all right…” he murmured. Sari nodded.
“Yeah…” she murmured. Elena frowned.
Will Tavi ever come back? I rather liked him.”
Sari shook her head. “No… he’s gone for good.”
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Kash pounded his fist on the iron railings of the End of Time’s platform and sighed in exasperation. “I’m fed up with all of this boredom! Isn’t there ever anything to do here?” he shrieked. Olana shrugged as Robo walked into Spekkio’s room some ways behind her.
“If you want, we could go back to my time… It would be wise for me to check back with my mother…” she whispered. Nika stepped forward.
“Do something quick or I fall asleep here on rocks!” she agreed. Olana smiled.
“I think I remember the way back to my time…” she giggled.
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Guares paced his study nervously, swearing under his breath. Laeri stepped forward and raised an eyebrow, back in her previous state- brightly colored hair and mismatched eyes.
“What’s the matter? I thought that this incident would be erased from our memories…”
Guares shook his head. “You ruined it for me, Laeri. I have never been defeated before, and it was your fault that this time had to be the first!”
“Second,” Laeri corrected. Guares narrowed his eyes.
“Ah, yes… the cell…” he murmured. Laeri turned away and shuddered. She had been in some bad prisons in her lifetime of one hundred and seven years, but never one so terrifying as that one…
.
“Run!”
Guares sprinted down the dark, metallic corridor and gasped for breath. Red lights flashed brightly and sirens blared through the immense speaker system. Only pausing to take a breath, he began dashing for his life. Heavy footsteps pounded behind him…
“Not…enough…energy to… disappear…” he wheezed. He glanced behind him and heard a shrill shriek of surprise. “Laeri!”
He whirled around and began to run toward the sound. Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks. Dozens of armed guards stood with their lasers and aimed them at his chest. Guares lowered his head and raised his arms slowly in a signal of surrender.
“Damn you, Guares… why did you have to come back?” Laeri screamed. Guares widened his eyes.
“You were merely bait…?” he asked in disbelief. Laeri turned away.
“Guares, you should’ve gotten out while you could…” she murmured, lowering her gaze. Guares frowned as the soldiers slapped a glowing band on his wrists.
“You’re to remain silent,” one of the guards said emotionlessly. “You may have tried to assassinate the descendant of the heroes, but you have failed.”
Guares sneered. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
The guard snickered. “You don’t know anything about Pauline being the descendant of Crono?”
Laeri sighed. “All those related to that scum deserves their fate to perish…” she murmured. Guares nodded, standing by his longtime friend.
“Damn straight,” he added. The guard laughed.
“Your fifth mistake. You’ll be spending your lives in the Chamber.”
Laeri’s eyes widened. “Oh, Shanai… have mercy on our humble souls,” she whispered. Another guard turned to her.
“A Mystic?” he whispered back. Laeri cracked a grin.
“That’s right. I could blow your guts all over the wall and then enjoy it,” she threatened. The second guard laughed.
“To the Chamber!” he called. Guares raised an eyebrow.
“The Chamber?” he questioned softly. Laeri stared at him, wide-eyed.
“It’s worse than Hell was made out to be,” she whispered. “I was here once and barely managed to gather the energy to shift…”
Guares sighed. “Perfect. I’m stuck in this God-forsaken era with a bleak cell to look forward to…”
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Laeri turned away. “Yeah, I remember the cell…” she whispered softly, shuddering. “I don’t want to go back…”
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Three days had passed in the cell, and Laeri tried for the twentieth time that day to shift. She sighed in frustration, realizing that she was still too weak. Guares gasped for air and raised his arm.
“This is pure torture…” he whispered. Laeri plopped down on the hard metal floor and began to cry.
“No food, no water, and just enough oxygen to keep us alive…” she wept. Guares stood up with effort and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“We’ll get out of this…” he murmured. Laeri looked up at him with tearstained cheeks.
“I can’t gather the power, and by the time I can, we’ll be dead…” she whispered. Guares smiled and reached under his cape. Pulling out a small vial of purple liquid, he smiled wickedly.
“Here… drink this…”
Laeri gasped. “An Ether…? How did you manage to smuggle it past the sensors?” She drank the contents thirstily.
Guares smiled. “I have my ways…”
Laeri raised her arms and, smiling, the two disappeared in a flash of green light.
.
“We were lucky, Laeri…” Guares muttered. Laeri shook her head.
“Just Flea. I’m used to it…” she murmured.
Guares nodded. “Flea it is… So, are we going to try again?”
“Dear Sir Froggy is going to have his chance to play a rematch…” Flea growled. She laughed softly and tossed her long red hair back. “But this time… he won’t live to have another fight.”
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Slash smiled softly. “Anywhere we need to go?” he asked Lana. She grinned.
“Why not the End of Time? I’m sure that Spekkio could teach you some new tricks.”
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Olana sighed contentedly and leaned back. “I never realized how much I’d miss my mother’s cooking.”
Kash grinned as he took a bite of steamed fish. “You should have taken some with you. We’d all be in heaven!”
Olana’s mother grinned from across the large wooden table where the three adventurers were eating. “Thank you! It’s an old family recipe…”
Kash nodded. “It tastes the way my mother used to make it… before she died…” he sighed. Olana’s mother raised an eyebrow.
“This recipe is our family secret… how could your mother know of it…?”
Olana sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I think that Kash is our ancestor, mother…” she murmured. Olana’s mother nodded.
“That would explain a lot…” she murmured thoughtfully.
Nika burped loudly. “This tasty! What you call?”
Olana’s mother laughed. “It’s only fish with a special sauce,” she explained. Nika’s eyes suddenly went wide.
“Fish? Fish… poison!” she gasped. Olana shook her head.
“That’s only superstition in your time… fish is actually very nutritious.”
Nika smiled. “New food! Human not starve!”
Kash grinned. “Say, has anyone heard of the Eight Stones?”
Olana nodded. “That’s only legend. Why?”
Kash smiled and leaned back. “Let’s just say for a minute that it wasn’t legend, and that the stones are scattered throughout the planet… some time after the year 615?”
Nika narrowed her eyes. “What you mean?”
Kash beamed. “The stones exist, and Crono, Marle, Glenn, Lucca, Ayla, Robo, and my uncle have all seen them… when they were merged into one stone.”
“Really? Do you know where any of them are?” Olana chattered excitedly. Kash nodded.
“One of them is somewhere near the middle continent…” he murmured.
Nika leapt up from her place at the table. “What we waiting for? Let’s go!”
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Sari sighed and lay back on the cobblestones of the End of Time, taking in a deep breath. She closed her eyes for a second, and as she was about to fall into the blissful unconsciousness of sleep, she felt someone shake her shoulder gently.
“Sari?”
Sari opened her eyes and frowned. “What do you want, Stal?” she snapped. Stal turned away.
“What’s with you? You’ve been treating me like a rotting carcass!” he shrieked. Sari stood slowly.
“I’m sorry, Stal… it’s just that…” Sari stopped abruptly and opened her mind to him. Stal’s eyes went wide.
“Really?” he whispered. Sari nodded and stood up, walking to the iron railing.
“Yeah… I just don’t feel right being in a relationship…” she murmured. Stal moved forward.
“Maybe this will change your mind…” he whispered, drawing his face closer to hers.
“No… Stal…” Sari began to protest, but she suddenly decided against it and allowed her lips to be drawn to his. They drew nearer, and her lips slowly parted…
“Hey, hey, HEY!!!” Spekkio suddenly shouted from behind Stal. He jerked back and blushed a deep scarlet.
“I was just… I mean…” Stal stuttered. Sari giggled.
“Good timing,” she joked. Stal shot Sari a dark look and turned away. Sari sighed again and turned to the abyss. “Just once, I’d like to go down there and see what this era is made of…” she whispered. Stal shrugged.
“I don’ t know if you should…” he murmured. Sari smiled.
“Maybe I will,” she answered defiantly. Spekkio shrugged.
“Your funeral,” he muttered simply.
A loud roar was heard from behind the wooden door leading to the light pillars, and Kash, Olana, and Nika strode confidently out.
“So there you are,” Stal called. Elena poked her head out from Spekkio’s training room and grinned.
“Olana!” she cried. She ran forward and hugged Olana joyfully. “When we came back, you were gone and Sari didn’t even know where you went!”
Olana smiled. “It’s good to know I was missed…” she murmured. She raised an eyebrow. “Sari, have you heard of the Eight Stones?”
Sari nodded. “Yes, why?”
Kash moved forward. “I think that we have a better chance of defeating Lao if we have these stones in our possession,” he stated simply. Sari smiled.
“I’m always up for an adventure,” she called. She flexed her robotic arm. “Which one are we going to get first?”
Olana thought for a second. “How about the StarStone?” she suggested. Sari bobbed her head.
“That sounds like a good idea… I’ll go… who else is coming?”
Olana smiled. “I’ll come.”
Kash stepped forward. “As will I.”
“Then, let’s go!” Sari cried. The trio began to run to the room with the pillars, and disappeared in the pillar that led to 624 AD.
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Slash opened his eyes slowly and looked around his surroundings. Outdoors somewhere… and it was daybreak… He stood up and looked down. Lana was peacefully asleep next to Maro, who was snoring. Slash softly kicked Lana’s knee and she awoke with a start.
“What’s going on…?” she murmured. Slash smiled softly.
“Time to wake up and hunt Flea down,” he answered just barely above a whisper. Lana stood up and nudged Maro.
“Let me sleep a while longer…” he begged. Lana shook her head.
“We need to get Laeri before she kills another innocent person,” she replied. Maro leapt up and yawned once more.
“Okay… let’s go…”
“Hey, what about the End of Time?” Lana suddenly remembered.
Slash shrugged. “It will just have to wait,” he answered softly.
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Sari, Kash, and Olana pushed their way through a thick forest of shrubs and small trees, and Olana gasped for air.
“I can’t breathe too well…” she gasped. Sari shook her head.
“I’m sorry, but we have to keep going,” she retorted. Kash nodded.
“Olana, you can make it a while longer… from what I’ve heard, the stone is guarded nearby,” he added. Olana smiled.
“Oh… thank goodness…” she grinned.
Kash smiled. “That’s the spirit!”
Sari forced her way through a last line of shrubs, and finally sighed. “We’re here!”
Olana knelt down on one knee. “Good…”
Kash rushed forward and Sari pulled him back. “It’s heavily guarded!” she warned. Kash knelt down and turned to Sari.
“So what do we do?” he shot back. Sari shrugged.
“I don’t want to kill them…” she sighed.
Olana nodded. “I wouldn’t forgive myself for killing a priest,” she stated. Sari grinned.
“I have a plan!” she suddenly cried out softly. She ran forward, and, closing her eyes, four white-robed priests clutched their heads and fell to their knees, finally collapsing on the grassy ground. Sari pulled Kash and Olana to the base of the massive ziggurat. Olana drew in a deep breath and held it.
“All those who wish to turn back, do so. Those who wish to continue, if you exit with your life, consider yourself lucky. I’ve been told that these priests guard the StarStone with their lives…”
Sari smiled. “I fight.”
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Rushing up the large marble stairs, a priestess clutched her prismatic staff tightly and gasped for air.
“Lady B’Tanya! There are three intruders! They’re heading inside right now… probably to steal the stone!”
A tall woman, about five foot eleven, stepped forward. Her long blue hair was parted down the middle and pulled back in pigtails that ended just below her waist. Red streaks ran down the middle of each pigtail, giving her an eerie look. She wore a colorful short dress, with splashes of purple, pink, yellow, blue, and green covering it. Her boots had a similar pattern, and everything matched perfectly. There was a black tattoo on her forehead that was also shown on her dress, and a band ran across her forehead, peaking at her forehead and ending like pieces of ribbon poking up from the back of her head. Her eyes were very strange… one green and the other purple. She frowned and lowered her head.
“Torii, guard the stone. I’ll go down and see what I can do!” she cried out. Torii nodded slowly and moved in front of a glowing stone hovering a few inches above a marble podium.
“B’Tanya, please be careful…” Torii warned.
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Three priestesses stood guard in front of the main entrance to the hall of the StarStone. Sighing softly, one of them combed her hand through her long brown hair. Suddenly gasping, she pointed frantically to her left. The other priestesses turned to look, and they shrieked in unison.
“Damn…” Sari whispered softly. The three priestesses whipped out simple cedar staffs and began chanting. White light radiated around them and formed a protective aura around them. “They must remain unharmed!” Sari reminded Kash and Olana. Olana nodded and hit one of the women over the head with the handles of her daggers. She immediately fell to the ground, unconscious. Sari smiled softly and a black instrument with shiny silver keys materialized in her hands. Olana raised an eyebrow.
“What’s that?” she asked. Sari grinned.
“It’s an oboe. I play it in the school band…” she whispered. Kash narrowed his eyes.
“How is that going to help?” he demanded. Sari brought the cane reed to her lips and began to play a slow, haunting melody. The slightly nasal but sweet sound coming from the instrument made Olana’s eyelids feel heavy and as the music drifted softly on, she noticed that the other two priestesses were beginning to drift off to sleep. Kash yawned loudly as the oboe disappeared.
“Shh…” Sari cautioned. She quietly tiptoed around the fallen priestesses and motioned for the others to follow.
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B’Tanya leapt down the marble stairs two at a time, panting heavily. “Can’t…let them…get to the… stone…”
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Sari closed her eyes softly and took in a deep breath. “Someone is coming… I sense powerful holy magic…”
Kash stood up. “How strong?”
Olana shrugged. “For all I know, he could be a beast…” she murmured.
“Halt!”
Sari whirled around and gasped. “No! It can’t be…!”
Kash raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Is it really you?” Sari shrieked. The strange woman standing before the three narrowed her mismatched eyes and growled, her blue hair streaked with red.
“So, you humans have come to rob this holy temple of its stone?” she called. Sari stepped forward.
“I assure you, it is for a noble purpose…” Sari started. “Do I know you?” she finally asked. The woman’s expression hardened.
“I think not,” she hissed. She rushed forward and threw Sari to the ground. Olana gasped and chanted softly. Her hair stood on end as electricity began to flow throughout the large hall. Finally thrusting her arms forward, a highly charged bolt of lightning flew forward and struck the woman’s midsection.
“Sari, are you all right?” Kash called. Sari pulled herself to her feet and wiped a trickle of blood from her cut lower lip.
“Yeah,” she replied, allowing her anger to well up inside her. The woman fell to her knees and sucked in a deep breath.
“Urgh…” she groaned, pulling herself to her feet. She raised her left arm and a bright white light glared from her open palm. The large ball of light began to take the shape of a long snake, and it wound around her, bathing the woman in light. The snakelike beam suddenly wrapped itself around Kash, covering him completely. As suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone, and Kash was lying in a heap on the marble floor. He weakly raised his arm, and a huge gust of wind lifted the woman into the air and dropped her suddenly. Kash’s arm then dropped limply to the ground, and he lay there, unconscious.
Sari sighed. “I know I know you from somewhere…” She pressed her hands together and a large beam of darkness shot at the woman, knocking her to the floor.
“I give my life willingly for the safety of the StarStone…” she gasped, falling unconscious. Sari quickly poured a Tonic down Kash’s throat, and he pulled himself to his feet groggily.
“What happened?” he asked softly. Sari shrugged.
“That was a powerful blow she dealt you…” Olana voiced. Kash nodded.
“It was… odd.”
Sari walked to the fallen woman. “She looks like Laeri’s daughter, but she was sent away long ago… could she really be…?” Sari slowly poured a Tonic down her throat, and the woman cautiously opened one eye.
“You…” the woman growled.
Sari knelt down beside her. “I’m not going to hurt you…” She finally took in a deep breath. “B’Tanya, is that really you?”
The woman sat up suddenly. “How do you know my name?” she demanded.
Sari smiled. “You were only four the last time I saw you. You were trying so hard to look strong. When you punched a hole in a thin wall to prove how strong you were, you seemed so proud… until your mother immediately spanked you.”
B’Tanya’s eyes suddenly narrowed. “You knew my mother?”
Sari nodded. “Yes… don’t you remember her? She sent you to safety shortly after your fourth birthday…”
B’Tanya shook her head. “I only knew my father…”
Sari raised an eyebrow. “Who was your father? I never knew who he was; your mother would never tell me…”
“My father is unimportant. He’s dead, anyway.” B’Tanya stood up and brushed dust off of her clothes. “Why have you come, and who are you?”
Sari smiled. “I am a cursed Mystic, formerly known as Mio,” she explained. B’Tanya’s eyes widened.
“Lady Mio?” she finally cried out. Sari shrugged.
“My name is Sari now. My life’s been changing so fast…”
B’Tanya leapt to her feet. “Why have you come?”
Sari turned away. “We need the stone to defeat Lao,” she answered simply. B’Tanya slowly nodded.
“I have a better idea…” she began. “The stone stays here, but I will help you in your quest. The other stones aren’t in temples like this one- they’re hidden in secret caves. It’ll be years before we figure out which ones!”
Kash lowered his head. “An interesting proposal…”
“I think she should come with us,” Olana voiced. Sari nodded.
“So be it.”
B’Tanya smiled. “I won’t disappoint you!”
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Flea ran a comb through her long red hair and sighed. Something was definitely amiss… Sitting calmly back in the time she was born and raised in, she looked around her small hut on the tiny Mystic Island of Pandua. As she pulled the comb through a large knot, Guares strode into her room.
“Nice place you’ve got here,” he remarked. Flea shrugged.
“If you say so…”
Guares raised an eyebrow. “What’s with the room with the toys?”
Flea’s eyes widened. “What room with toys?” she asked, trying to play dumb. Guares narrowed his eyes.
“The room next door to this one. Why is it filled with childish belongings?” he questioned. Flea sighed.
“That is none of your concern!” she snapped. Guares stepped forward.
“Is there something you’re not telling me, Flea?” he growled. Flea whirled around and her fist connected with Guares’s midsection. He doubled over in pain as the air was knocked out of him. He stood for three minutes trying to get his breath, and finally stood, his face red.
“Shut your trap, Guares. I’m paying you to help me kill those who have humiliated me, not to pry into my past,” she finally said aloud, a bit calmer. Guares nodded.
“Memories?” he asked, venturing a step further. Flea’s face turned a slight shade of pink.
“That is none of your concern,” she repeated.
“Well excuse me,” Guares retorted sarcastically. Flea pulled her long red hair back and began braiding it carefully.
“Leave me be,” she demanded, turning her face away so Guares wouldn’t see her eyes fill with bitter tears.
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Slash looked around his former hideout and frowned. “Flea isn’t here…” he snapped. Lana moved forward and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“She couldn’t have gotten far…” she murmured helpfully. Maro shrugged apathetically.
“I don’t care- just as long as she dies,” he voiced. Lana turned to face her longtime friend.
“Why are you so keen on revenge? It solves nothing!” she shouted. Maro shrank back.
“It solves everything for me,” he argued. “If Flea and her little assassin are blown to Hell and back, I believe I’ll be the one laughing.”
Slash rolled his pale blue eyes. “If Flea is blown to Hell and back, I’d merely ask her if she got the devil’s autograph.”
Lana frowned. “That’s not funny, Slash.”
Slash shrugged. “Well, I’d rather have his autograph than Shanai’s, anyway.”
“Can’t we just find Flea?” Maro whined. Lana sighed.
“Whatever, Maro.”
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Stal stared into the timestream- the swirling mist surrounding the End of Time. He smiled, thinking back to what Sari had said about going down into the abyss… If he could only find a way down… Spekkio placed a paw on Stal’s shoulder
“The first Guardian of Time went down there to explore, and never came back,” he murmured. “That was over a hundred years ago, so I wouldn’t go down there even now.”
Stal shrugged. “It’s too tempting,” he finally voiced. Spekkio nodded.
“I agree. Being on this little island is proving to be too much for me,” he replied softly. Elena moved forward from behind the fluffy Master of War and sighed.
“Would we fall forever?” she asked. Spekkio shrugged.
“I don’t know…”
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Poised to enter the 624 AD portal, Sari turned to B’Tanya. “Who is your father, anyway? Your mother never told me…”
B’Tanya shook her head stubbornly. “Tell me who my mother is first, and then I’ll tell you who my father is.”
Kash raised an eyebrow. “Why are you so ashamed of your father?”
“He killed many innocent people…” she whispered, her voice breaking. Sari sighed.
“If only I could read your mind… but you’re skillfully shielding your thoughts…” she murmured. B’Tanya smiled softly.
“It runs in the family, I guess…” she whispered. Olana folded her arms.
“Could we go back, please? I’m anxious to see Elena!” she called. Sari shrugged and leapt into the Gate with B’Tanya on her heels. Kash waited for a minute, and then followed suit with Olana close behind him.
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