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He was standing at the front of the ship, staring off across the sea… towards Fort Dragonia? Someone had mentioned Kid to him not that long ago. Why was he standing around looking lost now? Was it because of Kid? She was a reckless girl who rushed ahead without thought, though the most cruel thing might be how she toyed with Serge while acting clueless. Maybe she was clueless, or maybe she was using him… to be fair, Harle was using him too. But right now, seeing him learning on the railing looking all wistful… Harle remembered how he’d humored her and said he’d choose her over the world. She felt sorry for him. Perhaps she would call him by the name he preferred, just once? She could blow it off as teasing him.
“Serge, what troubles you so much?” she asked, approaching him.
“Hmm?” He turned, giving her a curious look.
“Why do you waffle so much all by yourself?” she asked, stopping by his side. “Zere is something you wish to accomplish, ou? Or something you want to say. Zen why wait? Why not act now? If not now, zen when? Do not keep silent and dawdling if you know what you want. Otherwise, you will lose what you have.”
He seemed embarrassed over getting called out. But as she made to move away, he moved towards her and stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Harle… I love you.”
She immediately felt a cold chill and a blazing bashfulness. “D-do not mock me!” she said, looking away.
“Why do you think I’m doing that?” Serge asked. And now that he’d started talking, he kept going. “I wasn’t sure how I felt until you asked if I would choose you or the world. I wasn’t sure what to say for a moment, but then chose you. Everyone keeps looking to me to fix their problems for some reason; they say they will follow me, but are using me to solve their own dilemmas. You might be using me too, but you’re one of those who has truly helped me. I don’t know if I’d sacrifice the world for you, but I’ve felt like you might be going away soon and I don’t want that. I want to keep traveling with you, Harle. I love you.”
“Zis is not how things are supposed to go,” she said. Was she happy? Or sad, or angry, or afraid, or bashful? Did she hate him for making her feel like this? Or could she love him too? “I thought you were besotted with Kid and unsure for zat reason… I did not dream it could be because of me.”
“Why would I like Kid like that?” he replied, probably honest. “I avoided her as much as possible because I had foreseen a part of what happened in Fort Dragonia; I didn’t want to end up killing someone. But she forced me into working with her despite being rude to me several times. She dragged me to Fort Dragonia even though I just wanted to go home. She got stabbed straight clear through her whole body, yet she’s still alive without even a scar. That’s not the only time she’s survived improbably; it’s creepy, to be honest, like she’s stalking me beyond death and into my dreams. You at least ask to be there.”
Chuckling despite herself, she looked up at him. “Oo la la, zen you do dream of moi? Zat is sweet, but, zere is a complication. Zere is a lot you should see for yourself, but, one could say zat you were chosen as a child of Lavos. Remember, from ze Dead Sea? And, I was chosen by ze Dragonians, to oppose you. But even when I first met you as Serge, I was becoming unsure of what I had been told. Now zat I’ve traveled and fought alongside you, I am even less sure.”
“What do you mean?”
Perhaps she could convince him to her cause? That realization still didn’t decide what she should do, but doing this might help her decide. She snapped her fingers and called out a charm. “I should not be doing zis, but take a look…”
Serge recognized it immediately and pulled out a matching charm. The colors and necklace chains were different, but the charms were twins of each other, just like the moons.
“Oui, you notice too,” Harle said. “Zis is ze Dark Moon Amulet, something I was given, well, let’s say it was for good luck. It matches ze Astral Amulet zat Kid had quite well. My amulet has a different purpose, as far as I can tell. If I wish it, I can return home at any time… to where I was born, in the equivalent of 2300 AD in Dinopolis, in ze history where ze dragons rule ze world.”
“You’re from an alternate future?” he asked, puzzled at it and yet taking her word for it.
Did he really accept her? Would he accept her? “Serge, I will try to explain, when I can. And I will do my best to stay with you if you promise me one thing. I can get you into ze Sea of Eden of ze other world if you go to Dinopolis of ze future with me at a certain point. I will let you know when.”
He nodded after a moment. “Yes, we’ll go see Dinopolis when the time is right.”
“Thank you Serge.” That should give her more time to figure out what to make of this.
And more time to spend with Serge, that was good too.
One might say that Harle had waited for the last possible moment, before Serge would unlock the door that led to the Frozen Flame. But one might also say that it was the best possible moment, after they had learned all that they could from Chronopolis and before they would trigger a confrontation with FATE. From what she knew, the Dark Moon Amulet would bring them back to the place and time she’d left. She’d have to trust that knowledge. Serge took her hand (human now, but still warm) and she activated the amulet to go back home.
They were transported into a room made of woven living vines; a giant shell gave shelter, but large openings allowed light and air through. The room appeared to be an office furnished with found objects, like large weathered driftwood for a desk and chairs, unbroken coral for cabinets, and shells for lamps and boxes. Strangely, all the furnishings looked whole and gigantic for what they were, with no signs of being manufactured. There was a Dragonian in the room, a bipedal lizard with a short squat form, matte black and gray scales, and red eyes. They wore a jaunty feathered hat and vest with multiple pockets. “So you finally made it here, Harle,” the Dragonian said, sounding masculine. “Good.”
“Bonjour!” she said. “Oui, I am Harle, and zis is Serge. We came to see what Dinopolis is truly like.”
“I hoped that was so,” he said. “I am Lazarus, the Sage of the Earth. I wanted to show you how things are because you can change the future of my world and yours. While I was not a part of your creation as the Dark Moon Dragon, they used my research for a goal that I don’t agree with: to save our history from a theoretical threat that, because they acted on it, became real.”
She could immediately see two sides of it and nodded. “Zat must be some thorny theory.”
Nodding, he said, “I’m afraid it was my interpretations that caused it to be so thorny. You see, I decoded a mysterious series of messages in researching what our Mother Earth truly wants from us as her children. They told of a mysterious being called Lavos that fell from the stars and led the human race to overthrow our rule of the world in the ancient days. There are myths like it, destroying a strange devil from the stars. Included in those messages was how a group of young humans journeyed across history itself to defeat Lavos despite how it had raised them from so-called timid apes in the woods. My theory from those messages at first was that if those humans had defeated Lavos in the ancient days, then our history comes about. But if those time travelers wished it, they could use their future technology to eradicate our ancestors, and thus our history would cease to exist.”
“But why would you bother with ze second part of zat theory?” Harle asked, tilting her head and making the bells on her hat jingle. “You are here; you exist, non? Zat should mean zat zey did not do so and you need do nothing.”
“You don’t even need to share the thought,” Serge asked.
“True, I should have done so,” Lazarus said. “Which is why I arranged this meeting instead of you being directed to the scientist who led the Harle Project; they would have brought you before the almighty Dragon God, and that could cause problems. Oh, but before I go on, do you drink tea? I can offer you a drink and some snacks while we discuss this matter. We’re safe here. And what I have to share may be disturbing to you Serge, as many of my peers have disparaging opinions of humans.”
“Oui, tea would be fine,” Harle said.
“It’s fine, I came along to figure out the truth of things,” Serge said.
Lazarus mumbled something while he was coaxing hot water from a shell fountain. As he set the tea to brew, he said, “Sorry if I seem scatter-brained. I wasn’t sure when or if you’d show up, but I thought I should take responsibility. Could you take a look out those windows first? I have some videos to share, but you should see that for yourself.”
Over at the large oval windows, they found a spectacular sight. Enormous organic towers sprouted out of a dark ocean, supporting bulbous clusters of rooms. Not a single one was exactly like another; they all appeared to be whole structures using their natural forms to the benefit of the Dragonians. Even the walkways that bridged the gaps between towers seemed like they’d been organically grown rather than built in place. On a walkway nearby, there was a scene that starkly broke the peaceful beauty. Two groups of Dragonians were in a brutal battle, tearing into each other and goring foes with their horns. There were several deaths already among the Dragonians wearing spiked bands. Just outside the battle, there were two well-dressed Dragonians directing the battle and hurling spells at their opposing peer. Those two didn’t seem to have a scratch on them, although the distance might obscure lesser wounds.
“What is going on out zere?” Harle asked once Lazarus came by them. “Is zere some revolution going on?”
“No, that’s everyday business,” he said. “The pair leading the battle are brothers. They have no sister, so they’re fighting over who gets to be the family heir.”
“What about ze others?” she asked.
“They’re solider class Dragonians; they fight and die for their masters. That’s their only purpose in life. While they’re just the same as us, they’re kept purposely dumb so they can’t rebel. The Elders call it a law of nature that we should not ignore, that the strong survive and the weak perish. They say that we’re being benevolent to let them serve us, but if we allow the weak to rule through numbers, then everyone will be weak.”
“Did they apply that belief to alternate histories?” Serge asked.
Lazarus nodded. “Precisely. They want there to be one true history: our history. The Elders are going to extreme measures to ensure that: seeking out alternate histories to study, implanting heavy criticisms of competing species to lead to their destruction, absorbing any other history of the Dragonians or Mystics, and even the creation of powerful spies like you to aide in the destruction of other histories.”
“Zat is not what zey told me,” Harle said, although she could see it in them. “I was only in zis history briefly, during which ze Elder told me zat I was being summoned back to counter ze enemies of Mother Earth. But ze humans I met were not all bad; ze lands were not ravaged. Ze future city of Chronopolis was a bit like zat, but we did not see enough of zat future to make a good judgment. In fact, ze dwarves were much worse zan ze humans in abusing Mother Earth even though zey claimed to be close to nature.”
“The dwarves were one of those influenced by our Elders to spread hatred of the dominant species of humanity,” Lazarus said, then pointed out the window to the ocean. “I’ll explain more, but first, the thing I wanted you to see is that.”
“You’ve made a city sprout out of ze ocean,” Harle said. “It is magnefique.”
“It was done out of necessity. There is very little land in our world. Well, our tea should be done. Come sit with me and I’ll show you more.”
“How is zere little land here?” Harle asked, going to take a seat at the desk. Serge sat by her. “It was ze same world as ours in ze beginning, non?”
“It was,” he confirmed, pouring them each a cup of tea before sitting down. “Lavos fell on our world in ancient days. While it was defeated almost immediately in our history, Lavos triggered an ice age that our kind would barely survive as cold-blooded creatures. You humans had better adaptations to any length of cold. For a long time, the worldwide ice age was a myth believed to be symbolic. Now that we can find out what actually happened, we know what saved us: the Dragonian leader descended into Lavos’ crater and found a strange ember remaining.”
“The Frozen Flame?” Serge asked.
Lazarus nodded. “Yes, the very same. She used the entirety of its power to banish the ice age and melt all ice. The lands fell underwater and we were left with scattered islands to adapt to instead. Even now, millions of years from that event, there are only a handful of places where ice can naturally form. But we have become adept at creating our own islands. It is painful to me, though.”
“Why would zat be?” Harle asked, taking one of the cookies on the plate. They were tasty, much like his tea. Although, if their world was mostly covered by water, where did they grow the ingredients? Perhaps on those created islands.
“As I said, I am the Sage of the Earth.” He put a clawed hand to the side of his head. “We worship the Mother Earth and the Father Sky… at least, people say they do. You’ll find few who honestly do these days. I do, and as a part of my devotion, I’ve trained myself to hear the voices of nature in an effort to hear from the Great Mother and Father.” He then tapped the desk. “But everything we have, from the desk and chairs to the buildings of this city, even to the created islands, we have made those through magic. By forcing our will upon nature and making it grow to suit our purposes, we make everything we use. I can hear the cries of pain from just about everything. I know how to calm them and make the spirits of nature feel better, but hardly anyone else cares.”
“The Dragon Gods and others kept saying that they were closer to nature than humans,” Serge said, looking down at the desk with some horror. “But that sounds like you dominate nature, not live with it.”
Lazarus nodded. “That is so, even if the others will not admit it. If there is a revolution on our world, I hope it is over that and our treatment of the lesser classes, including the other Dragonians and the humans who remain. Even with our domination over magic and nature, there are certain things that the humans just do better, like farming, fabric crafts, and other delicate handwork. Those things might be why humans overtake us in other histories, not just the power of an alien being. But for us now, I want to help you escape the machinations of the Time Devourer and the Elders of our history so that we don’t end up subjugating or destroying all histories. That’s not how things should be.”
Although he brought up the Time Devourer, Lazarus didn’t explain it immediately. Instead, he activated a projector that showed off examples of what he had been telling them. Islands got created by Dragonians to show off their power, then were destroyed in personal conflicts. The most powerful woman among the Dragonians was named the Queen. But unless she had immense power and charisma, there would be constant attempts to overthrown her. However, that was seen as the way of nature. The most powerful dominated the weak. The Sage even admitted that he had traded a valuable slave in order to acquire the other Dark Moon Amulet so that Harle would find him first. To the Dragonians, that was ordinary business.
He even showed how much the Dragonian Elders had done to ruin the reputation of humans in their history. Individuals of the fairies, dwarves, beebas, and other beings had been created in this time to be sent over just to spread slander about humans. Worship of the Dragonians had been manufactured to subtly undermine the confidence of humans. Perhaps most telling was the plot to corrupt the holy weapon Masamune and replace it with the Dragonian weapon Einlanzer. “Masamune was connected to those time travelers, so the Elders wanted its legacy darkened,” Lazarus said. “But we couldn’t actually make a quality weapon like that.”
“Then you didn’t make Einlanzer?” Serge asked.
“A human master smith made it,” he said, showing a video of Einlanzer being presented to the Elders. Although a Dragonian noble was the one who offered the sword, there was a human with his mouth covered by a leather binding near him. “Metal does not yield easily to magic. We can only mold soft metals that would make poor weapons. Also, Einlanzer may have been blessed with magic, but it has no soul. Masamune has a soul which could be corrupted, albeit with great effort. But the actual abilities didn’t matter; the legends did. As long as Einlanzer got the reputation of being pure and incorruptible, it could be made to look better than Masamune when it really isn’t.”
“Ze Elders spared no effort, it seems,” Harle said. “But I cannot simply ignore my mission. As long as I can complete it, it nags in ze back of my mind.”
“There is a way to circumvent your sacrifice…” Lazarus said.
“Her sacrifice?” Serge asked, concerned about it.
“I cannot talk about zat,” Harle said.
“She truly can’t,” Lazarus said. “Her mission is to take the Frozen Flame of your history to the Dragon Gods, to sacrifice it and her so that they can fuse with the remains of Lavos to become the Time Devourer. If such a being is allowed to manifest, it will devour all histories, both yours and mine. That is the folly of the Elders; there is no way to create a Time Devourer that won’t devour our own history. It is a being beyond time and space, beyond the control of finite creatures such as ourselves.”
“Then we can stop it if we stop her from bing sacrificed?” Serge asked.
“Non,” Harle said. But her throat clenched up on trying to tell him more. She wanted him to know; she wanted to know a way to save herself.
“As she is, she cannot disobey certain orders,” the Sage explained. “Including the one to die for the Dragon God. But there is a way to undo even that. I made contact with a Sage of your world, Balthazar. We discussed his plans to destroy the Time Devourer; he wishes to save someone who was absorbed by Lavos, thus creating the Time Devourer. Once it absorbs the true Dragon God, it will destroy all histories. Thus I wish to stop it as well. You should find and speak with him for more details, as I wasn’t able to speak with him for long. But a part of his plan is having you awaken to the seventh element so you can use Chrono Cross.
“Chrono Cross is a theoretical spell; one could say it’s legendary among researchers. Its purpose is to weave histories into one. I know, that sounds vague. But think of what you could accomplish with that kind of magic. Tragedies could be unwritten by finding an alternate history where someone survived and rewriting the event. Wisdom could be found by someone comparing two different lives they led, leading them to a better result overall. Ultimately, it could create a single true history. I don’t think that’s a good use of it, though. There are histories so divergent, such as mine and yours, that chaos would come out of weaving them together.”
“But it would work with ze alternate worlds we’ve visited,” Harle said to Serge. “One where you died young, one where you survived; zey are different worlds, but similar enough zat zey could be woven into one.”
“That’s true,” Serge said. “I would rather her not be sacrificed, though.”
“It could happen that way, and that’s your hope for both defeating the Time Devourer and saving Harle and others,” Lazarus said. “Balthazar and I agree that if the Time Devourer absorbed the true Dragon God, there would be a time where it was vulnerable. That is when you would use Chrono Cross, to banish the Time Devourer from reality and free the human souls tied to it. While you would have to let Harle take the Frozen Flame and be sacrificed to the true Dragon God, she’s compelled to follow those orders and cannot choose against them. Summoning her back through Chrono Cross would free her from those compulsions. You also need an artifact of possibility, but Balthazar will have you covered on that when you meet with him.”
“How do I awaken some seventh element?” Serge asked. “I don’t know that much about magic.”
“Hmm…” Lazarus paused a moment to eat a cookie.
“I am a seventh element, non?” Harle asked, leaning forward. “Although I hide behind a facade of Black, I am ze dark moon.”
Lazarus nodded. “Yes, that’s true. To awaken the seventh element, you need a place where all elements converge. Water, Fire, Earth, Air, Light, and Dark. You also need two opposing forces that cannot be described by a singular element of magic: rest and activity, life and death, love and hate, something along those lines. If you have the right place and the right forces, then the seventh element can be awakened. It’s a nameless element, like the indescribable soul or unreachable rainbow. If you try to name it, you’ll fail to grasp it.”
“I don’t like this,” Serge said. “But if it has to be done, I’ll call you back.”
“Oui, I trust you,” Harle said.
It made her not mind what was to come as much.
Balthazar had instructed him on almost everything else required for saving Schala (and Harle and Kid) and banishing the Time Devourer, even the song that was needed to use Chrono Cross. However, Serge had to find the place to awaken the seventh element himself. The Sage was certain that such a place existed in El Nido. After talking with several of his allies, he found the location to fuse the Dragon Tears of Hate and Love at the waterfall northeast of Arni. Fire was the one element lacking there, but lighting some torches took care of that. Whoever had set up this shrine had that in mind, with torch handles on the wall and two pedestals in the area with the strongest blend of elements. With that, he could awaken the seventh element for the spell Chrono Cross.
And with Chrono Cross, Serge could fix a lot of what had gone wrong.
Before he took on the Time Devourer, he took some advice from Sprigg and returned to the Dimension Between. It was a place that belonged to no world, so ordinary rules of causality did not apply. He was able to use Chrono Cross to summon Harle there. And for the first time, he could see her face without the heavy make-up she usually wore. It was even easier to see that she resembled Kid. “You haven’t defeated ze Dragon God yet,” she said.
“We were about to enter Terra Tower,” he said. “And I thought you’d like to join us.”
She seemed to give it some thought, but may have been teasing him. “Oui, now zat I can defy zem, I would love to. And I knew you would call for me.” She hugged him. “Thank you, Serge.”
This had been worth it. “I’m glad you’re back. Let’s finish this.”
For the first time, Harle had a family. It was a strange family. She and Kid weren’t quite twins, while Schala looked their age despite being their mother. At first, Kid tried to provoke a fight with Harle. Perhaps because she had won Serge’s love? Harle did her best to ignore her. But no matter how they felt about each other, Schala wanted them to get along. Schala also wanted Kid to be more careful because she could no longer bail her out from outside time. Eventually, Schala invited them to sail to the Zenan Mainland with her. She cryptically said that lies had been told and certain people weren’t that easy to kill, which intrigued Kid into coming.
Harle went too because Serge was curious about the mainland. “Zere’s many wonderful places: castles, ruins, stretches of untouched mountains and forests. I hear zere’s good fishing areas too, different from what you’d get in El Nido.”
“That would be nice,” Serge said. “Any place you want to see in particular?”
Poking his arm, she said, “It does not matter, as long as I am with you. Besides, I am your lovely assistant, non? You can decide.”
He poked her back. “You can do whatever you want now. So you ought to choose too.”
“Non non, you.”
“No, you.” They looked at each other and laughed. “Really, what do you want to do when we hit land?”
“I really do not care as long as it is with you.” She smiled, and he could tell that now without her made up face getting in the way. “I enjoy being your assistant, Monsieur Serge. Don’t you enjoy it too?” Then she leaned closer and whispered, “Especially in your naughtiest dreams?”
“H-hey!” he said, blushing and getting flustered enough that he couldn’t figure out what to say.
Harle chuckled again and patted his chest. “Oh la la, perhaps I should speak to you about some things…”
Unexpectedly, a soft voice came from a few feet away. “What are you two talking about?” Schala asked.
“Nothing!” Harle said, playing it cool. Serge said the same thing, but he was still being a shy boy.
“Well if you’re talking about nothing, you wouldn’t mind me joining?” she asked, smiling at them. She was dressed like a normal girl now, wearing a long colorful dress with short sleeves. Shortly before they’d left, she’d also dyed her hair a gorgeous blue somehow; it suited her much better than the messy blond style they’d found her with.
“It is fine,” Harle said, patting the ship’s railing. “We were just discussing what we should do when we reach ze mainland and getting nowhere with it.”
“She won’t choose anything no matter how many times I ask her,” Serge said.
“Ah, that is a dilemma,” Schala said, looking out across the sea by them. “It is surprisingly difficult to make decisions for yourself when you’ve been forbidden any choice before.” She then looked down at Harle, a sad look in her eyes. “I suppose it must be worse on you. I was controlled by my mother, but not as deeply as you were.”
“Non, you were controlled by something zat wished to devour worlds as well,” Harle said. “But… as much as I grew to despise my mission, I am sometimes lost without such a grand goal. Zat was my whole purpose in living, and now, what now? At least I have Serge with me.”
“I’ll keep asking you to decide on things to remind you that you can,” he said.
Giving him a mocking stare, Harle put her hands on her hips. “Tsk, you’re just being lazy.”
Schala chuckled at them. “I see you’re in good hands. Actually, Serge, you’re like another of my children with how long I’ve watched over you. It was to prove that humans were good, and a single life did matter. You did much more than I thought you might; I’m proud of you too.”
“Well I am alive now because of you,” Serge said. “It was only right to return the favor.”
“You talk of it like it was a small thing,” Schala said joyfully. Then she looked back out across the sea. “I wonder, what would my brother think? He’s crossed large expanses of time and space searching for me; I can’t figure out where or when he’d be anymore, although I’m sure he’ll find his way here and now eventually.””
“You have a brother who can travel through time?” Harle asked, curious about him.
She nodded. “Yes, Janus. Hmm, if he came here, I’d bring us all together and say, these are my two darling daughters; they’re both immense troublemakers. And this is my adopted son, he’s a bit lazy but good at heart.”
“If you do zat, zen he will think zat we are horrible people,” Harle said in jest.
That made Schala laugh. “Perhaps. But then I would say, and this is my brother who nearly conquered the world four hundred years ago. He’d probably slap his forehead and mutter that he needs to straighten you three out. Even so, I think it would be a lovely time. I hope that happens someday soon; we’ll all have a happy family at long last.”
“Zat would be lovely,” Harle agreed. “You know, I think, I would like to see Leene’s Bell. I heard zat it makes ze most lovely sound. We can start zere.”
“And maybe conquer the mainland after that?” Serge suggested jokingly. “Maybe that would get Janus’ attention.”
Schala laughed again. “Oh dear, I think I’ll have to introduce all three of you as troublemakers.”
“We can make ze most wonderful trouble together,” Harle said with a big smile.