Genesis Through Revelation Part 5
Out of the Garden of Eden
By AnimeLuva1
"Police reports confirm that-"
"--There is yet another disaster caused by-"
"-thanks to the duo of N-"
"-here live in Arris Dome where a raging battle-"
"God damn it," Neka whined, throwing the remote on the couch. "Same shit in every channel. Not like we haven't done it for the last 2 years." She leaned back on her couch, while Chrono, Lucca, and Marle were soaking up the news. Neka looked up, feeling the tension in their eyes. She got up from her seat, snapping her fingers in front of the screen to get their attention. "Why are y'all so silent now?"
"Neka-san, we're sorry for giving you so much uneeded attention..." Lucca began to apologize.
"It's OKAY Lucca-chan," she replied, gripping Lucca's shoulders, "you get used to it after a while. It's just hype."
"What's 'hype'?" Chrono asked, raising a brow.
"It's sort of like giving more praise than needed for something." Neka replied.
"Sou desu, ne?" Chrono said while returning his eyes to the monitor.
Neka watched Sono give a billion questions to Chrono, who responded with a nod or the shake of the head. It was strange, in no more than a week Sono looked up to Chrono as some sort of big brother or father figure he never really knew. The image of Sono's actual father popped into her mind. She shivered, so much alike they could be mistaken as family members. They could be... she suggested to herself. There is a good chance Chrono is Sono's ancestor.
"It's all set!" Lucca shouted from the Epoch. Lucca and Marle hopped down, exchanging hugs and good-byes to Sono and Neka. A part of Lucca's soul started to cry when she said good-bye to Neka. The only other time that happened was when she first stepped into the Gate. She held back a shiver, climbing up to a seat of the Epoch to cover it up.
Marle rustled Sono's hair, kissing him lightly on the forehead. Sono began to blush a cardinal red, looking down at the asphalt to hide his embarassment. Marle giggled like a school girl, half holding and hugging Neka who was laughing as well. "Will you be back?" Sono asked timidly.
Neka's face suddenly turned serious. "Stop thinking like that baka," she scolded, slapping the back of Sono's skull, "Keep saying that to yourself and they won't."
"Don't be so hard on him," Chrono hissed, "we'll be back sooner then you think." He winked, causing Sono to give a wide, innocent smile. "How 'bout the second you leave?" Chrono actually began to laugh. "No guaruntees kid," he said, patting Sono's shoulder, "you'll never know."
Lucca and Marle watched Chrono climb aboard the Epoch, trying to remember how to start the engine. "STAND BACK!!!" Lucca shouted from below.
Sono and Neka ran back a few feet, turning to wave at them. They waved back. The sound of energy being charged up started to ring, then the burst of fast-working gears. And in something louder than a sonic boom, they left without a trace.
The rush of snow and ice-cold wind filled their bodies as soon as the sonic boom ended. They started shivering and looking around for something familiar.
"Where we go?" Ayla asked, rubbing her tail against her bare legs.
"There." Chrono pointed out, leading Ayla and Marle against the wind.
Lucca went back to the End of Time, while Ayla came to help out. Lucca was the one who realized that if one or two of them had to switch places with someone at the End of Time, the others would have to up-to-date. So she went back to tell Robo and Frog what happened while Ayla happily left.
They finally reached the limestone building and went inside. They savored the warmth until they were accustomed to it. Chrono looked at Marle and nodded that they were going, doing the same with Ayla. Chrono took a deep breath, stepped in the center of the almost glass circle, and closed his eyes.
"AGAIN!" Neka ordered, her hands on her hips.
Sono, reluctantly, repeated the kata on the "indestructable" oak tree. But no matter how hard, how fast he tried, nothing more than a splinter broke off into the grass. He used the last of his reserves of energy. In frustration and annoyance, finally chipping off a piece of bark. He leaned on the Masamune, wheezing for more air. "Yata..." he choked.
"Good job." Neka half-praised, holding back the satisfaction she had on his achievement. She went to a stash of supplies nearby, tossing Sono a bottle of Gatorade. "Drink it up, in five minutes we're gonna do drills."
Sono collapsed at the word. "'Drills'?" he whined, chugging down the extra-sweet, neon yellow liquid.
"Hey, who said life was going to be all fun and games?" she answered back, opening up a bottle for herself.
While Sono busied himself with gulping every supply of Gatorade they brought, Neka tried her strength against the oak tree. And even using a small reserve of strength on the first blow, the tree didn't even shake as it should have. She knitted her brow, discovering just why Sono was exhausted so soon. She started striking with more vigor, too distracted to notice her pendant glow.
He made a face at Neka. She taught him katas, but never pubically showed them except when fighting Bakudan. But she was hitting the tree like it was Bakudan: fast, hard, and non-stop.
Obviously annoyed and frustrated, she made the last attack count. She drew her fist back as far as it could go. She screamed as her fist was splintering through the bark and semi-tender insides. Why is it so soft inside? She slowly twisted her fist, noticing cracks along the depression grow 10 times larger. She turned it a little further and pulled her hand out.
She shook her hand as if it were covered with ooze, when it was still dry and clean. She heard Sono step back, and soon followed his reaction. But both of them were had their eyes fixed on the tree.
"Nothing's happening..." Marle noticed, opening her eyes.
"We no bird," Ayla agreed, seeing her feet still on the blue, shiny ground.
"Hmmmnn..." Chrono pondered. He looked into his pouch, finding reserves that could last no more than a few days. Chrono looked up at the ceiling, as if it would give some kind of inspiration. Miraculously, it did. He remembered the sounds of life from a cave to the west.
"Let's go," he motioned to the entrance/exit of the building.
"Ayla cold, Ayla no go." Ayla replied, sitting down cross-legged.
"No go," he said, pointing to the door, "no food, no live."
"Chrono right," she huffed, "we go."
Neka didn't hear Sono's question. She stared at the tiny vortex, that for
a strange reason triggered something in her memory. She saw it before, she
was sure of it. It was back when she began her magic training with Schala
'obaasan.'
"Can I touch it?" "No, Neka-chan. It's just a picture. But when you do
see one, be very careful when you're close to it..." "Why?" "It will take
you to a place worse than any scary movie." "Oh..."
"Can I touch it?" Sono asked, inching his way towards the void.
"No," she replied sternly. She turned to their supplies and started packing them together. "Come on," she put a duffle bag behind her back, "tell no one what we saw AND...be ready to leave tonight."
"What?!" Sono nearly shouted, also taking various supplies in his hands, "Why?"
A wicked smile began to spread across her lips. "We're going to save the world."
Sono's eyes lite up. With the look Neka was giving, she was telling the truth. "ALRIIIIIIIIGHT!" he cheered, racing towards home.
"This is Algetty," the man replied.
Ayla savored the warmth of the cavern village. Almost everything around her looked and smelled like her home. At that thought, she remembered Kino, who was still waiting for her at the village. "Kino strong," Ayla muttered.
"Ayla-san!" Marle called, poking her head out of one of the caves, "Itadakimasu!"
"FOOD!" Ayla cheered, running towards the smell of cooked meat.
The only person who actually minded their table manners was Marle. While she ate her food little by little, Ayla, Chrono, and the couple they were staying with were swallowing whatever they see. But it wasn't like Marle was never like that.
"'scuse me *burp* ma'am," Chrono said, "is there a shop *gulp* 'round here?"
"Yes, it's right here." she answered politely. She sat up to clean the dishes, leaving her husband free to talk with the travelers.
The inn keeper/merchant swallowed every last drop of wine that was left. He wiped the face with the back of his hand, looking closely at Chrono's face. "So, what's it going to be, gaijin?" he asked, leaning on the kitchen/living room table.
"Well," Marle answered, deep in thought, "we at first needed food, which we are grateful for--" the man nodded, crossing his arms, "--right now, we neeeeed-" she began moving items around in her pouch, "--items for battle. Weapons, potions, anything like that."
"One moment, please," the man requested. He stood up, walking to a large, rusty cabinet. The door for it creaked open, and he poked his head inside grabbing everything he could carry. When he came back, he set down in front of them two bottles of dark blue and clear liquid, two swords, two metal objects, one that resembled a gun, and another a hand, a hat-like helmet, and a set bow and arrows.
While Chrono and Marle tested the shop keeper's weapons, Ayla tried on the helmet. "Need more this," she suggested, poking her finger at the metallic hat. "What is it, old man?"
"A Memory Cap, ma'am," he responded, "With the help of Lady Schala, I was able to smith it myself." He smiled, proud that his work did pay off.
"How much for these things?" Marle wondered.
"Well..." the man began, "The Demon Edge, which is the sword you're holding, sir, is 17000Gs. The Comet Bow is 7800Gs. The other sword, the Flashblade--the one that was inspired by the great Melchior-sama--18000Gs. This thing," he pointed out the gun-shaped object, "is the Megablast. I got this baby from one of the Zeal scholars. It's 9800Gs. The other one," he showed the tri-clawed item, "is the Megaton hand. I got it from a Zeal scholar, too, costs 15000Gs. And the Memory Cap is 20000Gs."
All three of their jaws seemed to hang off their heads. Even Ayla knew a price jack when she heard one. "'Manee' too big! Ayla go crazy!" she exclaimed, pulling at her own hair.
"Ano...you can't put the prices any lower? You see we're REALLY close to being out of--" Chrono tried to reason, but the man mearly shook his head.
They heard the woman laugh as she set the last of the plates. "Wait for tomorrow. He'll set down the prices." she advised, organizing the linens for the guests. "But please, sleep for now."
Neka began to hug herself. It wasn't because the place was so cold, this room or wherever was quite pleasant. But she felt so...well...lonely.
Sono adjusted to the dim light from afar and looked around. There were columns of light showing images of the world he couldn't identify. Every once in a while, he could barely make out an image of someone moving around doing whatever they're supposed to do. "Where are we?" he asked.
"She's right," Neka muttered, "This is worse than a nightmare."
"Nanda?" Sono raised a brow.
"Just stay behind me." she ordered. She tip-toed to an aging iron gate. She stood quietly, looking through the wide gaps between the rusty bars. She tilted her head to one side. There was a lamp post in the middle of the room, and a gate that leads to another. In one corner a small bucket held something glowing inside it. Sleeping against it was an old man, mumbling something to a girl no older than her. Lucca-chan? she asked herself.
Near the other iron gate was the strangest thing she ever saw. A humanoid that greatly resembled a frog. It croaked every once in a while, causing her to almost jump. He...she...whatever, wore clothes and armor from the Middle Ages. She studied the clothing carefully, her eyes finally resting on the hilt of a sword. Neka's heart skipped a beat, it looked exactly like Sono's Masamune.
Sono also had the same observation. "My Masamune..." he whispered loudly.
"SH!" Neka hissed, slapping her young companion on the back of her head.
"Ataaaaii--" Sono whimpered, rubbing the soft spot.
Robo's sound chip picked up a wave. 'His' not-so-well-oiled joints squeeked as he turned to the direction of the sound or sounds 'he' picked up. His sight sensors turned to Frog, who also had the same feeling of not being alone.
Lucca turned suddenly when she swore she heard Neka and Sono arguing. She thought it was the the shock of realizing Neka was her descendant. She saw Robo and Frog making their way towards the Gates. Maternal instincts suddenly kicked in, and she almost flew to stop them. "STOOOP!!!"
.