Chrono Trigger: Twins of Destiny Chapter 2
Scheming
By Mox Jet
Tyrion didnt go home that night. His parents were both out of town for the next few weeks on business, so he had the house to himself, but something didnt feel safe about it. Typically, he would have crashed at Rachels place, but since she was out of town also, he found his way to another friends house. He stayed here for a day or so, keeping silent about the entirety of Fridays happenings, still trying to figure out what was going on, anyway. He still didnt know if he had done the right thing or who he should have gone with, hoping that things would settle down, but realizing that they probably wouldnt.
He didnt want to go to the police because he honestly thought that they wouldnt be able to do anything, anyway. He didnt know what was going on, and it was happening to him. If this really was tied into the upper regions of the government, either Lyons or Denegrad, then he might be in a good deal of trouble. What irked him more was why they were looking for him. What did they need him for, and maybe more importantly, how long had they been watching him?
They had said they were looking for people to fight against Denegrad, but why? There was a draft. Why didnt that work? Why did they need him? Life had suddenly become much more confusing, and he was suddenly wishing he had just stayed home and done his homework that Friday. Now, all that seemed available for him to do was wait for Rachel to come home. She would help him calm down and feel better. She always did
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Outside of Garden City
Tristan looked at the limits of Garden City, which seemed to be built in the middle of nowhere. It had been close to the salt flats he had landed on, and the whole city simply grew out of the dehydrated earth. The white faced buildings in the center of the city, while small by Elosia standards, were relatively tall. The city itself wasnt that big, containing mostly small buildings and a series of suburbs. The entire city itself was surrounded with a white wall that was about eight feet in height and you had to enter through a gate to get in. It was a clear sign of a country that was at war.
Typing into a small hand held computer, Tristan began reading aloud the information that he was receiving after quickly hacking into the Central Intelligence of the Lyons government. And yes, it was that simple.
The countries of Lyons and Denegrad were caught in a near stalemate for a good ten years and fighting had been at a minimum, he said out loud. Until the superior training and military tactics of the Denegrad military finally began to win out and it appeared as if Denegrad would pull through the twenty year war as the victor. He sighed and took a puff of the cigarette hanging out of his mouth, exhaling the smoke into the air.
It was three months ago, however, that they made contact with the M-1, a seemingly mysterious military organization offering their services in the war against Denegrad. The M-1 were brilliant fighters and tacticians and began to swing the war in the favor of Lyons, though their motives remained unclear. Searching for information on battle tactics of this world, he found a minor subarticle, which he also read aloud.
Recently, with the technology available, infantry combat has been entirely replaced with the mechanic exoskeletons known as Armours. Functionally turning each man into more of a tank, the Armours are body encasing suits of, oh what a surprise, armor, powered mostly by the energy given off by the wearer how ingenious, Tristan added as a side note.
Armaments differ from Armour to Armour, and different types of infantry have been replaced with different types of Armour squads. While the technological differences between the Armours of Lyons and Denegrad is apparent, both countries now fully utilize them. It is, however, the Armours from Ithilmar that are most prized when one can be obtained. Using technology that seems to far exceed that of the other nations and powered by a currently unknown source, the Ithilmar Armours are regarded by the Lyons military as works of art. Most typically, each Armour will be different, as opposed to the mass produced generic Armours of Lyons. Each Armour is a distinct killing machine.
Weaponry ranges from types that are built directly into the Armour itself, to the more common use of a gun or comparable weapons carried by the user. With the added strength that the exoskeleton provides, more powerful arms can be carried by a single soldier.
Well, those will be fun to deal with, Tristan said, closing the hack link and putting the computer back in his coat pocket. Not to much unlike our own Powered Armour. Id be amazed if the technology rivaled ours, but maybe well be able to pick up a few ideas. Sighing deeply, he looked back towards the hiding place he had picked for his ship before walking forward into the city. No one would be able to actually find his drop ship, as he had activated a holographic protection field that prevented anyone from seeing it. He didnt really have reason to worry.
Even though the walls that surrounded the city would have suggested otherwise, there wasnt any form of security check when entering the city. The entrance was a large building in the wall which he passed through with ease. Passing through one long hallway, he eventually passed through a plastic white mesh gateway and into a Garden City suburb.
The movement and action of was reminiscent of any large trade city. People drove around on the black and gray streets in car-type vehicles of varying colors (though mostly white) and varying sizes. Tristan, using a map that he had uploaded into his computer, quickly located a hotel further into the city where he could stay while he looked for this person. He managed to grab a cab while arranging the hotels computers to have had him on reservation, and rode the cab to his destination.
The hotel was, according to the electronic brochure, a luxurious place. Not that price would be a problem, as Tristan could easily trick the hotel computer into thinking that he had paid, just as easy as he had tricked it into thinking that he had a reservation. The hotel was located in an area where the suburbs were beginning to turn into the city. It was a large white building with a red awning stretched over the driveway which Tristan was dropped off in front of. Paying the cabby with some Lyons funds which he had exchanged his Dominion Credits for at the entrance to the city, he entered the hotels main room and promptly made himself comfortable on one of the many couches.
Once again, he took out his palm held computer and reestablished a link with the electronic information network that existed in Lyons. Returning to his hack of the Federal Intelligence Bureau, he began to look for any information the government might have on his target. Naturally, blue haired people expressing emissions of Lavoid Energy arent missed by something like an Intelligence agency, albeit one that did not seem to have, as Tristan would put it, effective anti-hacker technology. Thusly, it wasnt surprising when Tristans Mystery Man happened to have a file with the FIB.
A screen came up with a picture of a young man, not more than 18 years old, with dark amethyst eyes and darker blue hair. Below the front and profile pictures was a readout of the mans vital statistics
Tyrion Mandrake, huh? Tristan said out loud. Now, what did you do to get a file in a Federal computer? Tristan scrolled down the window and continued to read out loud. Wanted for arrest on sight by Federal Intelligence Bureau? Capture integral to the M-1 Ally Agreement? Tristan cocked his head sideways. What did this kid do and why are they after him? Unfortunately, though, nothing else was listed about Tyrion. Either it was on a higher security level, or it was on a different computer network. It wouldnt be too hard to find, but Tristan decided to work with what he had for the moment.
He resides in Garden City at he checked the address. 35 Kilmer Road. Tristan smiled. Well, lets go pay Mr. Mandrake a visit
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Garden City Suberbs
Tyrion sprawled across the bed in a white room. His eyes were closed tight in concentration, trying to calm down, as he recited the past days events. Around him was the history of his life that he would care to remember. Pictures of either him, or him and Rachel adornend the wall and a framed picture of him sat on the end table next to the bed he was on.
Rachel herself was sitting on the bed, next to him, listening to the story. Her dark brown hair cascaded down her shoulders, concealing her delicate back. She looked at him worridly with light blue eyes, not yet knowing how to respond. When he finally stopped, she laid down next to him.
Now, Rachel was an interesting person, mostly in the fact that she was so amazing that any person who ranked as her boyfriend would probably even wonder how he ended up with her himself. She was one of those people who, when they smiled at you, anything you were thinking about before didnt matter any more. Suddenly, the weight of your troubles was lifted off of you for one second while she met your stare, flashing her brilliant white teeth. It was at that moment, if but only for a moment, that you feel as if you are the only person in the world that matters, because you had the attention of Rachel Gatsby.
Her eyes had a defiant penetration in them. They always seemed so soft, but it was always as if she was looking directly into your mind, trying to understand you as best as possibly. To make everyone around her feel comfortable and feel as if they mattered was the goal of this girl. Never hurtful and always kind, she didnt have a mean bone in her body. Smart, funny, beautiful, she seemed almost like the ideal woman, if of course, if there even was such a thing. Tyrion certainly hadnt found one before her, and he certainly didnt intend to lose her after he had found her.
They might still be after you, she said. How can you even be sure that youre safe? Out of instinct, she rubbed her left hand against the small charm that hung from the necklace she wore. The necklace had been Tyrions once. He had given it to her as a gift one day to mark his love for her.
Im not, Tyrion sighed. I just figured that Id feel best if I was here with you. I just hope Im not getting to into whatever it is that Im suddenly involved in.
Dont say that she said. Ill be with you no matter what. I want to be by you. Dont just leave me alone out of fear that I might be in trouble.
I just wish I knew more about these guys why are they after me? And, why havent they come after me again, since then?
What do you mean?
Its been almost a week since the first incident. You figure that they know what town Im in, let alone where my house is. My question is, why havent they come back?
You dont think that you scared them away, do you?
I doubt it, he said. They were pretty serious. I get the feeling they were testing me or something like that.
You said they claimed to work for the FIB, Rachel confirmed. Do you think that they may not be from there?
They recognized my fighting style, Tyrion said ponderously. I didnt think it was that well known. How much could the FIB know about that form of fighting.
And the second man. He said that the agent in the limo was actually from Denegrad. Do you think he may be telling the truth?
I guess I could have gone with him Tyrion muttered. It just didnt feel right, though. It all seemed too orchestrated. Im not sure, to be honest. I mean, assuming Ive done something to stir interest, which I think may be linked to my fighting, at this point, would it be that odd if the FIB were trying to protect me?
You think they want to take you in as some kind of living weapon? Rachel said, somewhat appaled.
I dont know about that. That sounds terrible. They said they needed me to fight against Denegrad, though.
It doesnt sound like a draft notice, or anything like that, Rachel said. This sounds more like a special invitation.
And how do they know about me, anyway? he wondered out loud.
I wish I could help you, Ty, she said. This seems out of anyones control.
You could always just wait to see what happens. It doesnt sound like this is over, she said. You can bet that something still is going to happen involving this. There was a short pause.
I think Im actually scared, Tyrion finally admitted. Its like I havent had anything in my life to be scared of, up until this point. I mean, when those guys came after me it was totally out of the blue. It was just supposed to be another party. Just another excuse to go out and laugh at the people that go and get drunk. It was even shaping up nicely when I got to mess up that jerk who wanted to pick a fight with a kid half his size. But, then He closed his eyes again. I just want to know what I did to deserve this.
Rachel made a hushing noise and slowly stroked at his hair. Worrying about it isnt going to accomplish anything, she said softly. Just try to concentrate on other things. Tyrion smiled.
I also want to know what I did to deserve you, he said. Because I think Im really quite undeserving. She leaned over and quickly kissed him.
Nonsense, she said, sitting up on the bed. Now quit it with that whole self-bashing thing. Its a real turn off, Ty, she joked with a smile.
I have to go, he finally said, getting up. I have a paper to write by tomorrow on Alternate Energy Sources, for science class. Im going to be in trouble if I dont get going soon.
Oh, so it might hurt your poor little 98 GPA? she asked, somewhat sarcastically. Tyrion grinned back.
Hey, whatever gets my mind off of it, right? She nodded in agreement.
Come over later? she asked.
You bet, he said. He leaned over and kissed her again before grabbing his bag off the chair it had been thrown over and leaving the room. The door closed shut behind him.
Tyrion Rachel said. I worry about you Worriedly, she clutched the necklace in her hands, rubbing the red stone that was set into it.
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Garden City
Patting his stomach vigorously, Tristan sighed happily. The food here was good, that was for sure. He wasnt to sure what exactly it was that he had just eaten, but it sure as hell was tasty. He looked casually at his watch, seeing that it was nearly 7:00, and he still hadnt eaten dessert yet. Still, tomorrow was Saturday, and that would probably be the best day to find Tyrion Mandrake. People let their guards down on Saturday. It was a proven fact.
He promptly ordered a cup of coffee and a slice of cheese cake. He went back into his research of this planet and its history, as it would all be required. The LEA took its information network as an extremely important aspect of its society. When the Adepts of the Weatherlight eventually did make Planetfall to deal with the Lavoid and the ever increasing situation with the Potential Planeswalker, any information they could get would be useful.
It was this Empire known as Ithilmar that seemed to catch his attention, but unfortunately, there was very little information about it on the Lyons Information Network. It was highly possible that this mysterious country had its own network but until he had access to it, what information he had would need to do. Again, unfortunately, even the mention of it on his currently accessible information database didnt have much. Whatever there was about Ithilmar, they certainly didnt want the people in Lyons to know about it.
What he was able to gather, was some geographic information about the Empire. Its cities werent located on the Lyons/Denegrad continent. Indeed, their collection of city-states seemed to spread the entire world. It existed as a series of aerial cities, hovering at various altitudes, but most often above cloud cover. Functionally, they had separated themselves from the people of Lyons and Denegrad, though reasons for this remained unclear.
How they interacted in the war between the two other nations is also something which intrigued Tristan. It just seemed that such a country, whose technological advancement outstrips the other two, would simply stay out of the war. But what was there to gain, if anything, but interfering? Could it be possible that they were just smart diplomats and decided to stay out of the business of other countries? That certainly didnt sound right.
The other thing is that he was positive that they were manipulating Lavoid Energy. Again, the going trend was apparent. Perhaps the LEA should look into just exactly why Lavoid Empowered empires like to place their cities in the sky. Jack said it probably had to do with the general superciliousness that comes with being associated to a Lavoid. Maybe they just had to show their hauteur in a manner that really did put them above everyone else.
So tomorrow, Ill meet you, Tyrion, Tristan said, taking a sip of the black coffee in front of him. For some reason, he had taken a liking to drinking his coffee black over the course of the last two years. He had never drank it this way before, but for some reason, it just seemed the only logical way to do it now.
When his cake came, he quickly forgot about Tyrion and the LEA, once again finding that the food on this planet certainly was good, and was quite useful in forgetting why one was somewhere to begin with.
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Location Unknown
The dim lights in the situation room for the mercenary group M-1 set the mood for this meeting. Black painted walls and a black marble table, surrounded by black chairs and high ranking M-1 officers dressed in black. On the far wall, a video screen displayed the country of Lyons, outlined in green, with a few small flashing red marks centered around the location of Garden City. There was a light hum in the air, not caused by anyone in the room, but simply the generic hum of that could be found anywhere in this particular installation. It sounded almost like an engine, but to distant to be properly identified.
The black clad, stern faced men that sat around the table, waiting silently and patiently for the leader of the meeting, sat around the table. The leader of the meeting, his shoulders adorned with ribbons and braids marking battle commemorations, was a large man, roughly six foot four, with broad shoulders and a heavily scarred face. The black beret which he wore mirrored those worn by the rest of the gathering, save for a small emblem on the front which further signified rank.
Gentlemen, he finally began, slowly rising from his seat. His speaking voice was a gruff baritone. His voice sounded sore from wear. You know why we are here. There was general concession from around the table.
We have finally located one of Jiras sons, he went on. His location has been confirmed in Garden City. His energy signature has been picked up in the locations marked in red.
So after all this time, he finally began to radiate the Lavoid Energy, one of the men from the far end mused. Do we know what caused the delay?
Simple maturation, came another voice. He simply wasnt projecting it up until this point. That, and his witch of a mother made sure we wouldnt be able to find him right away.
We dont know how she did it, though, a familiar voice said. Near to the commander, the form of one Agent Kallar ran a hand through his hair, removing his beret as he did. Weve been looking into it, but at this point, it doesnt matter much any more.
You saw the readings, Kallar, the commander said. Would you state your report.
Surely, Kallar said, rising from his chair. We are quite sure that he has begun to manifest his energy, at this point. The readings he gave off when he out ran my car were incredible. Were not even sure that Jira herself gives off that much. We have yet to measure her power, though, as you know how she gets
What about in comparison to Him, another voice said.
You know we dont have a full measurement of His power. We expect it to be lower, of course. If it isnt, the whole planet may be in trouble.
And what of his brother? the commander said. How would the power have been distributed?
We will have to capture both of them and perform some experiments before being able to tell that, sir. Kallar replaced his beret and sat down again. The Energy readings were ridiculously high. He out ran a car, mind you. We think
Chaos manipulation? someone asked.
Maybe not yet. Certainly it was a conscious manifestation of his Lavoid Energy. Still, if he does begin to show Chaos manipulation
What about other forms of energy? The Winds or Outer-Plane sources?
No magic projection, at the moment, a new voice said. Weve looked into it.
He trains in Nisai Ryu, though, Kallar corrected.
Of course. We all understood that already. Didnt it go without saying?
Still, Kallar said. That means even if he doesnt practice it frequently, Lifestream Projection is a definite. He may not use it, or at least, he hasnt recently, but you can bet anything that hes proficient in it.
Were aware, the commander said. But technically it doesnt count as magic.
That still doesnt remove its destructive power, an older voice said. Weve seen what it can do in the past.
Still, we should worry more if he starts Chaos Manipulation, the commander said. That takes priority. There was a pause, followed by some murmuring amongst the room.
So how do we acquire him? the second voice said.
Its not that hard, Kallar said. Though Agent Hai informs me that he hits very hard. Finding him is easy at this point. Its actually capturing him that is hard.
How is Hai? the commander asked.
Broken jaw and nose. Hes not sure how it happened, as he swears he was only punched in the face once. Maybe the boy was so fast that he couldnt even tell the difference between the two attacks. They say that will heal, for the most part. His genitals thats another story. Every man in the room cringed.
Care must be taken, the commander grimaced. Unless we want to deploy everything we have for this one boy, certain measures must be taken.
Perhaps different means of motivations should be pursued? Kallar suggested. Just offering a spot in the military obviously didnt entice him. Additionally, we have him on guard now.
He thinks you work for Lyons? the commander said.
Im not sure what he thinks. The idea was that Hai informed him that I was Denegrad. We were supposed to entrap him like that. It doesnt seem so clear anymore.
Perhaps we should keep the Lyons cover at the moment. We just need to give him a reason to come to us.
Do you have a plan? Kallar asked the commander.
I always have a plan, Agent Kallar, the commander said. Thats how you get ahead in life.
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"Tyrion himself didn't know the truth until the end, but by then, fate had already been sealed," -Jack McKlane, from "A Summary of the Celes Incident"
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