Things Left Undone Book 2, Chapter 4
Reptite Kingdom
By CuteLucca
Ayla sat alone on the edge of the Lavos pit, dangling her feet into the remnants of Lavos' invasion. She was remembering the adventures that they had had, her and her friends.
"Oh, how bored Ayla is!!" She jumped up and started shadow boxing. "Hah! Take this Lavos!!" A right hook. "And this!! Ayla whap you silly!!" A left jab to the stomach, then a right to the jaw. "Hyaah! Lavos no match for mighty Ayla!!" She stood, defying evil everywhere. Suddenly, she glanced at the bushes to the side. They were shaking and rustling.
"Ayla know you there! Come out!!" She dropped to all fours, ready to battle evil like in the old days. She stalked over to the bush, and peered into the foliage. "Come out! Don't you hear Ayla? OOOF!!" Something had jumped on her back! She jumped away from the bush, and glanced all around. Nothing!
"Ayla getting mad!! Come out and fight like man!!" She stood up, fists up and ready, and waited. "Reptites!!" She growled to intimidate the scaly human-like reptiles, who she thought she had defeated four years ago. They were coming out of the bushes all around her. She circled, prepared to defend herself and her village at all costs.
The first of the reptites launched itself at her face. She whirled and brought her fist around to knock the reptite away, deflecting its attack. It hit the ground and rolled to the feet of another reptite. Then that reptite ran at her, and she kicked it. It clutched its stomach, but came right back with a swipe of its razor-sharp claws. She punched it right in the face, and it fell to the ground, clutching its broken jaw. Then all the reptites attacked her at once. She held her own for a few minutes, but was soon overwhelmed by the sheer number of them.
They brought her to the ground, biting and clawing. She struggled, but the reptites tied her up and began to drag her somewhere. The last thing she saw was a reptite over her head with a club, and the club swinging down... down...
* * * * *
She woke up in a dark room that stank of fungus. As her eyes became adjusted to the lack of light, she began to take in her surroundings. She was in a dark, damp, underground chamber. The fungus smell was generated by a clump of large mushrooms in the corner. She tried to sit up, but the bruises she had gotten during the fight, not to mention the lump on the back of her head, made that impossible.
After laying there for what seemed like hours, two large reptites came and began to drag her out of the room. "Where Ayla? Where you take her?" The reptites were silent, so she yelled even more, until one of the reptites stopped and whacked her on the side of the head.
* * * * *
She woke up in a lighted room, with masonry walls and a large throne. She tried to sit up, but the bruises and the two lumps on her head prevented her from doing so. Soon, a reptite came and took her away. She was escorted to a chair, facing a bunch of other chairs, all of which held important-looking reptites, all except the big throne in the center.
She began to yell at the reptites. "Why you do this to Ayla? Ayla never do this to you!! Ayla get villagers, Ayla come back and kill Reptites!! Ayla hate-"
* * * * *
She woke up slumped in the chair, bound and gagged. The same reptites sat facing her. There were two fierce reptites with spears on either side of her. She tried to protest. "Aya at erfipes! Aya ill ah erfipes!!" The guard on her right raised its' arm to hit her again, but the important reptites stopped him. He bowed and returned to his post.
"So, Ayla. I've heard many stories about you!!" The reptite on the right of the big empty throne spoke to her. "You know, if you behaved a little bit better, you might be allowed to speak and maybe even move around. And you'd have a lot fewer lumps!!" He pointed to her and spoke something to his friends in their gutteral language. The entire room broke out laughing. "I really hate to speak in your disgusting ape language, but since you are too stupid to learn reptitian, I must degrade myself. Khotous, remove the gag."
The reptite on her right ripped the gag from her mouth. She remained silent, loathing the reptiles.
"What's wrong, Ayla? Pteranodon got your tongue?" He laughed and said something to the other reptites. Again, they laughed. "My name is Pharos. Please call me this when you address me." He shifted in his chair. "Now, ape, I'm going to cut straight to the chase. Our fearless leader, Xath, son of great leader Azala, is missing. Do you know anything of this?"
Ayla shook her head, and remained silent.
"Khotous, loosen her tongue." The reptite shifted his spear so that it was inches from her throat. "Now, Ayla, Do you know anything of our missing leader?"
"No. Ayla not know where Xath go." she answered, her voice firm and defiant.
"Allright. Now wasn't that easy?" Pharos smiled, his teeth yellowed and broken. "Next question. Have you ever seen one of these before?" The thrones shifted to reveal a swirling red circle.
Ayla's eyes widened at the sight of one of the gates, the strange things that allow time travel. "Yes, Ayla see before."
"What is it?"
"It gate. It make Ayla go through time."
"You're lying!! There is no such thing. It is a trap made by you fool apes!!"
"Ayla no lie. It time gate."
"Very well. If it is a time gate, you are going to go into it and retrieve Xath." Pharos ordered two reptites to carry her over to the gate. Just before they got there, they turned her around so she was facing the back wall. Behind her, Pharos' voice pounded a hole into her head. "Just to make sure you come back with Xath." The doors opened, and her husband Kino with their son, Krono, were thrown into the room. "If you return, with a healthy Xath, you will find your family here alive and well, and you will be allowed to return to your sickening ape lifestyle. If you find no Xath, well..." The guards with Kino and Krono carried them over to a set of shackles on the wall. They were chained up, and Pharos continued. "Your husband and young son will be no more. And you can bet your hairiness that I can come up with a very clever and painful way for each of them to die."
Ayla's heart sank. She slouched as her reptite guards untied her, mended her wounds, and threw her through the gate. She landed, rolling on a hard stone floor. When she finally stopped rolling and collapsed on the floor, she saw Crono, Magus, Glenn, Lucca, Marle, and that magician Flea staring at Lavos.
Ayla promptly passed out.
* * * * *
"Marle! Look! It's Ayla!" Lucca nudged the spellbound Marle.
Marle awoke from her trance, and rushed over to help Ayla. Just then, Lavos stopped laughing, and raised his arms...
.