Chrono Continuum Chapter 25
Family Ties
By Cain
"Father, I need to talk to you." Silence. He wasn't surprised. His father had a no-nonsense personality, and would see no reason to respond to the simple statement of fact, unlike the humans that were so far beneath him. He continued.
"Father, I can't reproduce. I can go through the motions, but no child comes forth. What is the problem? What am I doing wrong?" For a moment, nothing happened. And then another moment. After the third moment passed silently, he called, "Father?" A rumbling voice reverbrated through him, yet made no sound at all.
I hear you.
"Well, what should I do?"
How do you think we concieved you, the human and I? We didn't have "sex." We couldn't. While you can, it still avails you nothing. That much runs in your blood, diluted as it may be by the impurity of your human parent. He nodded.
"I see. But, how do I? How did you?" No response. A faint echo began to appear in the darkness, and grew, until it was deafening. As he watched, the vision unfolded. Image after image came and went, imprinting understading on him.
A picture of a blue haired woman with wild eyes, laughing at a subdued, younger-looking, blue-haired woman. A picture of the two women standing before a vaguely humanoid device that a normal human would have found strangely disturbing. He found it strangely beautiful. A picture where the younger had fallen to the ground, and the elder didn't notice, her eyes filled with ecstacy at the mere vision of the machine. Mammon. He knew the name of the machine, but didn't know how. He didn't care. A picture of outsiders, interfering. A picture of the distant architect of the device, the spiked alien, coming to put a stop to the interlopers. He watched as the brilliant beast sent off beams of fire to scorch the "heroes" away. As one was killed. He could feel, and agreed, with the outright joy on the elder blue-haired woman's face. And he watched as the area collapsed around the younger blue-haired woman, a look of sadness etched in her features, before that picture dissolved. He wondered what had happened to her, and to the one he assumed her mother. The pictures ended. He turned to his father.
"Father, what has this to do with you and I? How was my birth orchestrated?" Images flooded his mind. Of the mother glowing with power from the alien. Of the daughter falling into depression and living death with the alien presiding over that. And the scene changed to something different, yet related. He could see as small things, cells were slowly transformed into something different entirely. . And he gasped in surprise as he saw who the cells belonged to. He watched as the woman made love to a man, unkown to him, and probably to the woman as well. What was important was that the cells now had the man's seed. And one grew. He knew the destiny of that growing, dividing cell. Him. He turned to his father.
"This, father, is what I'm to do? If only I came from that, how do you expect me to make many more?"
You are not me. I am beyond your limited imagination, but you can do things I cannot. Things that you wouldn't understand if explained to you. You can do this, but the results for you will be quite different, should you succeed. Many will come, untainted by any trace of humanity in them, save that which will bring them to their ultimate destiny, as I should be fated to do. My time is past. You must succeed. You have no other choice, no other reason for your life. Now go, and do as I have said.
And he was back. In a bed, under silk sheets. An familiar smell came to his nostrils, and he looked to see that she was still in the bed. Asleep. Satisfied. He decided. It would be her. None other than her. He knew that she should be the one, that no others were worthy. Still, he almost regretted having to give her up. He smiled. But would he be giving her up? There was no rule that said she wouldn't survive, and she would be so much more the powerful for it. He pondered. He'd have to find a suitable man, one with power quite possibly equal to that of his human side. He himself could have been much better if his mother had bothered to find a good man. And then he could later take him in as one of his own. The best of both worlds. He smiled at the phrase, and it's accuracy in this situation. He, however, would think of that answer later. For now, he had more important things to do. As she slept soundly, he reached out to her dreaming thoughts, searched them, shaped them. She smiled, and then frowned. She was strong of will. It might take longer than he thought. No matter. No matter at all, thought the Almighty One.
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602 AD
"Well, Frog," Lucca chimed in, "it's been a while. Has anything happened with you?" Frog glanced at her against the dying sun. It would be a long climb up Denadoro tomorrow, and they were resting up behind the burnt and abandoned ruins. For the moment, the human Glenn was searching the encampment for food, supplies, weapons, and just about anything that would earn a good number of gold.
"Lucca, up until the last fortnight, mine days hath been dull. 'Twas good to be with friends, those two years ago, and being separated hath been... unpleasant. I own a friendship with m'lady the queen, and her husband, but 'tis different without thee, and thine, and mine friends." A fly buzzed by, and Frog absently pointed at it. A bubble encased it, and floated over to Frog. He threw it in his mouth. Lucca made an undefined expression, but thanked him for not catching it with his tongue. He continued, "And now thou'rt returned, and I hath met... myself, and mine estimate is that our friends... and allies will soon arrive," he finished as a question. Lucca nodded.
"I think they will as well. You know, 20 years have gone by since I last saw you?" Frog blinked in surprise, and Lucca fought back the Marle-ish urge to giggle. "Yup. Twenty years. I know I look young, but I'll explain that later. Oh, and Crono and Marle got married." Frog smiled.
"Ah, 'tis good, 'tis good. I findeth it no surprise." He leaned closer. "And hath they any children?" Lucca smiled.
"Uh huh. Two. First was Rakin. He's blonde like his mother, and has the green eyes and build of Crono. He's sixteen. And Corea. She's fourteen and has Marle's blue eyes, but brown hair. And she's smart too." She put on her best superior face. "Almost as smart as me." Frog shook his head ruefully and looked up, a little surprised at something.
"It took them four years?" Lucca furrowed her brow.
"Four years...? Oh... Frog!" He stuttered a bit.
"'Tis just... I meant no... but..." It was Lucca's turn to shake her head, and Frog shrugged, as if to say, How was I to know what I was saying? He continued on, forgetting the faux pas, "Oh, how I wish that I could meet the lad and lass." Lucca shrugged.
"If they ever find us, you will." Frog nodded, and proceeded to drink his cider in a cup Glenn had brought. Then his eyes snapped open and he spit it back out. (I love spit takes.)
"What!? Lucca, thou'st brung children into danger?" Lucca put her hand to her chest defensively.
"Frog, we were all about their age-give or take one to three years- when we beat Lavos. And besides, I couldn't exactly go alone. I'm an inventor, not a warrior." Frog looked her in the eye for a few moments, and then sighed a croak-sigh and agreed, "Thou'rt correct, Lucca. I apologize sincerely." He stood, and bowed at the waist. Lucca waited for him to sit back down, but he didn't. Eventually, he whispered, "Lucca, art thou not going to forgive me?"
"Oh, yeah. Frog, apology accepted." Frog stood back up straight and sat down. The Masamune fell to the ground, knocked from its slanted position against the log, and Frog hastily lifted it and placed it in his sheath. Lucca raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why didn't you do that in the first place?" Frog shrugged, and sighed, patting the sheath.
"'Tis comforting, to have the Masamune back with its true owner. That bringeth me to mine question. Lucca, why art thou and Glenn here?" Lucca smiled.
"That should be obvious even to you, Froggy. We're here to get him his own Masamune"
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Same Time
Did you hear that, Masa?
Yup.
What do you think?
It sounds like some guys from the Resistance.
It sure is.
Who said that?
Me, Mune.
I'm Mune.
Of course you're Mune.
And who are you?
I'm Masa.
But I'm Masa.
Yeah, I know. But so am I.
All right. I'm Mune, he's Mune, he's Masa, and you're Masa too?
Yup.
Yup.
I think this needs some explanation. Right, Mune?
Right.
We couldn't agree with you more.
.
"I'm confused."
"So what else is new?"
-Wakko and Yakko Warner, respectively
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