Nobuo Uematsu, Dan B. (Yakra) "Edgar & Sabin's Theme" (IT Conversion) Final Fantasy VI (1994, 1998) Square Co, Ltd.

Chapter 14: Convenient Lies

Ismene had no idea how much time had passed since she had been locked up. There was no way to tell from the room she was in. A single lamp illuminated the room but there was no clock or windows. Finally, the door unlocked and opened. Oz entered and closed the door behind him.

“Where the fuck is Russ?” Ismene hissed. “You better not-“

“He’s fine,” Oz interjected. “You should be more concerned about yourself, honestly.”

“For years you acted like you were better than others, better than me… That damned furball shows up and you treat him with more compassion and empathy than you’ve ever shown anyone,” Oz said, his voice edging on anger. “My father should have punished you ages ago but he’s no longer with us so it’s up to me to set you straight.”

“Set me straight?!” Ismene snapped. “Your whole family throws around the fact your ancestor united all of Mystickind and look where it got us? Exiled to a single island and hated by stupid humans.”

Oz rose from his chair and levitated a few inches above the ground. “My ancestor did your kind a favor. Without the Demon King, you really think the Naga wouldn’t have been hunted to extinction by the humans?”

“Just because Yakra failed my father and it resulted in your parents getting killed by those ‘stupid humans’ as you put it doesn’t mean you get to treat me the way you do,” Oz growled. “I am the Elder and you will show loyalty and respect me… or I’ll have your apprentice thrown off the nearest cliff into the ocean. After all, I don’t need two apothecaries and you can always train someone else to do your job before you die.”

“Leave Russ alone,” shouted Ismene. “He’s done nothing wrong. You’re pissed at me.”

“He attacked two of my agents,” Oz replied. “For that, he’s going to have to stay with Noctis Arbitra until we can determine the proper consequences.”

“As for you… you may go home, so long as you show me the respect and loyalty that I deserve,” he concluded with a smug grin.

“Can I please see Russ before I go?” Ismene asked softly.

Oz snorted. “You’re in no position to be asking for favors.”

Before Ismene could say another word, Oz left and a masked agent entered, a black sack in hand. Ismene could tell they were a Kotengu like Nocturna but she couldn’t determine anything else about them.

The agent wordlessly forced the sack over her head. Ismene felt her arms being bound by rope before she heard the click of a lock and felt the shove of the agent for her to move forward. A part of Ismene wanted to lash out and escape, to find Russ but she was no fighter and she had seen the baton on the agent’s hip. They would just stun her and lock her back up. Russ would be hurt or killed if she acted out. Reluctantly, Ismene slithered forward, guided by the agent down the hall and out into the cold night air.

Again, she was shoved into a wagon and taken away. When the wagon eventually came to a stop, Ismene was shoved and forced out of it and onto damp grass.

“The Night witnesses all. We will know if you talk to anyone about what happened,” a gravelly voice uttered. “You are to remain on your property until the Elder decides otherwise.”

“How the hell am I supposed to get groceries or shit from the forest for medicine?” Ismene huffed.

“The Order will ensure you can still do your job and live,” the voice replied. “But do as you’ve been ordered or your friend will die. Do you understand?”

Ismene nodded. The sack was roughly pulled off her head and by the time she turned around, the wagon was being pulled away and she was alone in front of her house. The thin crescent moon hung in the sky, hidden partly by clouds.

Ismene cautiously slithered into the cottage. For a moment, Ismene hoped to find Russ safe and sound within their home but it was quiet. She was alone. Angry tears welled up. How could Oz do this to them? What was he going to do to Russ? She was just as surprised as everyone else when Russ created that shield of lightning. Closing the door behind her, Ismene went over and sat on the couch. She found herself staring at the window, sick with anger and worry. She couldn’t sleep, not knowing that Oz had Russ. Maybe… maybe they’d let Russ go and he’d come home soon.

~o~O~o~

Ismene must have nodded off at some point because she swore she had only blinked but suddenly it was sunrise. In a dazed, half-awake state, Ismene thought for a moment that the night before had been some sort of nightmare, but then she saw the books on the floor, knocked off the shelf by the agents that had been thrown back by Russ’s magic.

Now she was wide awake and angry. Mostly at Oz for sending Nocturna and her agents to arrest her and Russ but also at herself. She would never admit it to his face but Ismene knew Oz was right to hate her for the way she spoke to him. She couldn’t help but hate him. He, and to a greater extent his father, had been a constant reminder that her parents were gone, taken from her before she could really remember them.

Ismene sat there on the couch, staring out at the rising sun. She thought about the night before and recalled the crackling electric shield that had burst forth from Russ. Russ, the Mystic who could barely manage a simple light spell. How did he have such magic hidden inside him? What was going to happen to him? As she continued to worry, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of her coffee grinder being used.

“I can’t believe you drink this stuff,” called out an unfamiliar feminine voice from the direction of the kitchen.

Ismene quickly looked in the direction of the voice and saw a Kotengu in silver-gray robes preparing some coffee. She stayed on the couch, stunned as the Kotengu moved about the kitchen as if she owned the place, getting out Ismene’s favorite mug, the one her grandmother had always used. Ismene remained speechless as the Kotengu poured the coffee into the mug.

“I heard that you don’t like cream or sugar which I suppose shouldn’t surprise me,” the Kotengu remarked casually, her back turned to Ismene.

It was then that Ismene found her voice. She shouted, “Who are you and what are you doing in my home?!”

The Kotengu turned around, revealing her masked face, indicating their status as a Noctis Arbitra agent. She tilted her head in curiosity and replied, “I’d like to think it’s obvious. I’m making you some coffee.”

“Why?!” Ismene asked incredulously. 

“To be nice?” the Kotengu remarked, sounding offended.  She walked over and placed the coffee in front of Ismene. “Besides, I was asked by Nocturna to assure you that Russ is in good hands with the Order.”

Ismene glanced down at the coffee in front of her before looking back at the Kotengu. “Where is he? What have you done with him?”

“I can’t discuss that.”

“You can’t keep him hidden away,” Ismene protested. “He has friends besides me. The rest of the town will notice if he’s not around.”

“Please, you’d be surprised how easily folks accept a convenient lie,” the Kotengu replied, crossing her arms.

“What will you do if I tell anyone the truth?” Ismene asked as she started to get up from the couch.

“You won’t… Not if you want Russ to live,” the Kotengu replied.

“You love him,” she added with cold indifference. “I’d hate for something to happen to Russ. He’s a sweet young Mystic and so many of us do like him.”

Ismene sat back down and the Kotengu's eyes shone with a poisonous gleam from behind the mask as she said, “There’s a smart gal. I always liked that about you. You know… you are very lucky that neither you nor your furry friend were killed for treason and assault of Noctis agents.”

“Now here’s what’s going to happen,” the Kotengu said. “You’re going to live your life as normal, albeit under house arrest for now. If anyone comes here and asks where Russ is, you simply say he’s out or he’s busy… I mean it’s not a complete lie. And remember, not a word about what happened last night.”

Ismene swallowed and nodded. She watched as the Kotengu walked over to the front door. The Kotengu paused and said, “Don’t forget to drink your coffee before it gets cold.”

The door slammed shut and Ismene was alone once more. She looked at the cup of coffee before her. The idea that it was drugged or poisoned crossed her mind. She picked it up and looked through the house and finally into her workshop. It didn’t look like anything else had been touched and nothing had been stolen. Even if she wasn’t worried that her coffee had been tampered with, she didn’t have the appetite for it now.

Ismene poured the coffee down the drain of the sink in the back of the workshop and sighed. She looked at the list of prescriptions she had to fill. There wasn't much but she didn’t feel like working for once. Would anyone blame her if she did nothing for a few days?

Going back into the main part of the house, Ismene closed the curtains and went down the hall to her room. Pausing by the closed door of Russ’s room, she thought about the agent’s words. She had never actually thought about it, even when Russ once brought up the subject, but now that he was gone, Ismene knew the Kotengu had been right. She did love Russ.

She loved him more than a friend. Who cared if they didn’t want to do the touchy-feely stuff? She loved the way he still had that odd accent of his. She loved how he always hummed a happy tune to a song he couldn’t remember the words to. She loved how he had his odd habit of folding pieces of paper into stars and butterflies for reasons unknown other than it felt comforting to do so. She loved how he always made her coffee even if he hated it himself. He was always thinking of her and did little things to make her happy.

Now he was being held captive by Noctis Arbitra and it was her fault.

Ismene sighed and continued to her room and laid down on her bed. She’d take care of things later. For now, she just wanted to sleep and pretend the whole ordeal was just a nightmare. ~o~O~o~

The next day in the late afternoon, Cephas came by the next day to see why she hadn’t come by to deliver his order. Ismene, unaccustomed to lying, simply told him that she didn’t feel well. That wasn’t too much of a lie. She did feel stressed and sick to her stomach. 

“Sorry to hear that,” Cephas replied. 

Ismene waved her hand weakly. “I’ll live. Let me get you that salve. It’s ready, I just felt like shit and forgot.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t send Russ into town,” Cephas remarked.

Ismene flinched, grateful that her back was to Cephas as she entered her workshop. She desperately wanted to tell Cephas the truth but the threats from Noctis Arbitra and Oz were fresh in her mind. She thought about her words carefully. Returning to the door with Cephas’s order, she explained Russ was busy helping her gather ingredients before the weather got too cold and wet.

Cephas nodded. “Well, you two take care and I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah.” Ismene breathed.

Half-truths and convenient lies were easy for others to accept, just like the agent said. Ismene had always known that, deep down, and now it was her life.

*reverts to Yakra*

YAKRA IS IN THE

THE BUILDING

My guesses as to why the bosses excluded from the boss rush in Chrono Trigger were excluded.

Yakra, Mud Imp: Too reliant on the enemy in question being mobile.

Krawlie: Not fought at a fixed point in the storyline.

R Series: Six identical foes, which are pretty much Mooks in Boss Clothing.

Slash, Flea: Fought in a non-fixed order.

Ozzie: A puzzle boss who can’t really be recreated in Lavos form.

Nizbel II: Redundant with Nizbel.

Golem, Golem Twins: No idea, but probably because Golem doesn’t require you to win and the Golem Twins are two identical foes.

Dalton, Dalton Plus: No idea.

Golem Boss: A joke boss.

As for all the other bosses, they’re optional, and they presumably only wanted to include mandatory bosses in the boss rush.

Character List

Playable

Chrono

Marle

Lucca 

Robo

Frog / Glenn

Ayla

Magus / Janus / Prophet / Magil / Guile

Kid

Serge

NPC / Enemy / Others

Alfador

Atropos XR

Azala

Belthasar

Chancellor

Cyrus

Dactyl

Dalton

Doan

Doreen

Dragon Tank

Epoch

Fiona

Flea

Fritz

Frog King

Gaspar

Gato

Giga Gaia

Gina (Chrono's mum)

Heckran

Johnny

King Guardia

Kino

Lara

Lavos

Masamune / Masa & Mune

Melchior

Mother Brain

Nizbel

Norstein Bekkler

Nu

Ozzie

Queen Leene

Queen Zeal

Schala

Slash

Son of Sun

Spekkio

Taban

Tata

Toma

Yakra

Zombor

recently when i get high i get this song in my head that goes like “oogra chakra charablakra yakra”

I can't believe Akira Toriyama is gone. I know everyone's going to be more upset about Dragon Ball, and I'm sad that Daima will be his last work, but Chrono Trigger means so, SO much more to me. I didn't get it at first: I'd never played a turn based RPG before and didn't understand the menus. I could have read the manual, but I only looked at the character section because the designs were fucking awesome. Hell, the only good memory I have of my great grandfather was him flipping thru the manual and saying Lucca's name. I have no context as to why he was reading it, I was fully capable of reading it myself and he had no interest in video games, but it's something. My best friend, Justin, saw my copy of the game and asked if he could borrow it. I was so annoyed with the menus that I told him he could HAVE the game, but he gave it back after he was done and he'd shown me how the game works. Once I got it back I was HOOKED, but stuck on the first boss, Yakra. We didn't have dial up internet yet, so I just threw myself against that wall so much that when my sister decided to literally sit on her controller and bounce on it to randomly select commands I was all for it (no clue why I didn't just ask Justin). It worked, somehow, but her controller... Well, let's just say that I have *my* original controller and had to replace hers many, many years ago. Luckily we got dial up not too long after that, so if I needed help I could go to GameFAQs, and I found Icybrian's RPG page, which had fanart and fanfics for Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger. The message boards there became my first online community and the older members of the forums mocked my typing so hard that to this day it pains me if I don't type properly. It was still fun, and I was pretty annoying so I don't blame them for it. My other early internet community included a Star Wars RPG forum, the Star Wars Council (SWC for short). Everyone made their own OCs and I really liked Frieza (but just him, I wasn't into the show enough to care about anyone else yet because I had no consistent way to watch it), so Frieza Omega (shut up, I was like 11 or 12 and it was cool back then), leader of the Bounty Hunter's Guild was born. A bit after that I also joined an actual DBZ RPG group with my cousin and his friends as Trunks. That group was less fun because the fights were judged by other people, not co-written like the SWC. All those little interlinking pieces of my life (and other bits I left out) started with Chrono Trigger and I can honestly say I wouldn't be the person I am today without it. And while the music, mechanics, and story were all amazing, the art Toriyama did gave the game so much charm. I honestly don't know if I'd have gotten into DBZ without Chrono Trigger. Even when I saw Super Sayin God for the first time my brain immediately went "that's literally just Crono!" It's kind of funny to imagine the silent protagonist Crono screaming before doing his techs, or Goku losing his voice from all the screaming and becoming a time traveling mute stuck in Super Sayin God. I'm also really surprised that I've got more to say about Akira Toriyama than I did about Kentaro Miura, the author of Berserk. I mean, I have a Berserk tattoo because of how much the story resonated with me, but then again I also have a clock tattoo because of my time obsession that started with Chrono Trigger. It's like... Berserk changed me and has an extremely warm place in my heart, but Chrono Trigger is in my bones, my veins, my DNA, and my soul. Also, I do have one piece of DBZ merch: the Devil card from the Dragonball tarot deck, which has first form Frieza on it. Now I'm thinking about buying a copy of the full deck when I can afford it, but anyway...

Rest easy, Toriyama-san; you will be missed dearly and remembered fondly.

alright thats it *reverts to yakra*

Oh man, you based Venus on Yakra XIII! How did I not see that? I mean, Marle's arc is more driven than Alethea's (and the fact Guardia XXXIII survives unlike, we need a name for him), but man does the Director fine tunes his ideas. Aliza is similarly named Alicia even!

I'm hoping that Shimamoto's comic gives us a more detailed design for the Minister like the one in Chrono Trigger. I wanna know just how slimy he is.

Yakra Boss Battle

Nobuo Uematsu, Dan B. (Yakra) "Sealed Away" (IT Version) Final Fantasy V (1992, 1998) Square Soft, Inc.

Interlude: A Yearning for Simpler Times

It had been only an hour since Zarya had accidentally revealed that there were Mystic infiltrators. Half an hour after Crono and Janus had confronted the Kotengu. While the Kotengu declared they were not there to avenge Yakra the Thirteenth, Crono would never find out what their true plot had been.

Shortly after the guards had returned from escorting his friends safely home, the guards who had been taking the Mystics to the dungeon came running into the throne room. They were visibly shaken and informed Crono that the Mystics were dead. One moment they were pleaing their innocence and the next, choking and falling over dead, colorful darts sticking out of their arms.

~o~O~o~

Crono stood outside on the walkway that led to the dungeons and stared at the scene before him. The two Kotengu he had detained for infiltrating his home lay dead on the walkway, left there by the guards.

“Sire, are you alright?” asked the guard who had delivered the news to Crono.

Crono nodded. Physically he was fine, mentally he was stressed beyond belief. Life had been so much simpler when he was time traveling with Marle and Lucca. Being king was hard and only made harder now that he had two dead Kotengu and no idea what was going on.

“Put the castle on lockdown until Janus can return,” Crono said, doing his best to stay calm in front of the guards. “And no one is to work alone. We can’t risk that the Mystics will try to infiltrate the castle again while Janus is incapacitated.”

The guards nodded and led Crono back into the castle. Crono glanced back at the two bodies, unsure of how he and Marle would handle this situation.

Later that day, Crono sat at the foot of his bed and sighed. It had been hours since the Mystic infiltrators were captured then assassinated by an unknown assailant. Nothing more had happened during the day and he had requested the guards place the bodies in the cell for now, unsure of what to do about them.

There was also the matter of the third one that had escaped. Crono let out a frustrated groan and fell back onto his bed.

“Are you okay, hun?” Marle asked as she entered the bedroom, having been escorted by two guards.

“Does it ever feel like life was easier when we were time-traveling and we had a big bad evil alien thing to fight?” Crono asked.

“I think it seems simpler because we were younger back then,” Marle mused. “I will admit I expected the Mystics to retaliate ages ago for what we did to Yakra.”

“But they said they aren’t here for that or so they claimed before they were killed,” Crono remarked, sitting up. “That’s what’s so confusing about all this… and the guards haven’t found any evidence that they were looking to steal anything.”

“And who knows how long those three had been sneaking around,” he added. “It makes me worried for Liz and Oren… If it hadn’t been for Zarya-“

“I know… We could have Janus come by when he’s well to do another check,” Marle suggested. “As long as he’s okay with the idea.”

Crono nodded. “I’d hate to put the safety of the kingdom and our families on him… but he and Zarya are the only two who can see magical auras and I’m not about to risk a child’s safety to find out if more Mystics will try to sneak into our staff’s ranks. I don’t even want to risk Janus's life but what else can we do?”

“None of us are prophets,” Marle sighed, sitting next to Crono. She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Let’s worry about the Mystics first… Medina has never responded to our attempts to discuss Yakra’s coup so I doubt they will declare their involvement in this.”

~o~O~o~

A few days later, Janus dealt with the issue of the Mystics in the cell for Crono and Marle and no more of the matter was discussed. He worked double duty tutoring Liz and Oren as well as acting as magical security although it left him worn out more often than he had been in years. 

Weeks passed and there were no more attempts by the Mystics to sneak around nor any inkling that the Mystics even cared about two of their own disappearing. All the while, the four friends wished things could go back to being so simple but they knew those days were over. Of course, they all knew that things, once changed, could never go back to the way they were.

Once King Guardia and Marle had talked and Marle had done all she could explain the situation in greater detail, the king requested everyone come to the throne room. As he looked at the group of friends Marle had come to know, his gaze fell upon Crono.

“So, if I understand my daughter correctly, she met you and your inventor friend at the fair where a freak incident with her teleportation machine and my daughter’s pendant sent Nadia back in time. There you met Glenn Stormward, hero of the Mystic War, and helped him save our ancestor,” King Guardia said. “Upon returning to this time, you two attempted escort my daughter safely home when the fake chancellor forced you to flee and you found another portal in time where you learned of an upcoming apocalypse and met this… robot.”

Crono and Lucca nodded.

“Since then,” King Guardia continued, “the three of you have been traveling through time in an attempt to stop this apocalypse and subsequently met the chief to a prehistoric tribe and the young prince of a fallen kingdom in Antiquity… and somehow you all have magical abilities now.”

“Me and Robo don’t have any magic,” Ayla interrupted. “He’s metal and I was born before magic.”

“Right…” King Guardia nodded. Turning his attention to Marle he said, “Nadia, I should forbid you from continuing this madness but having seen you and your friends dispatch Yakra and his followers with ease… I suppose there is only one thing I can do and that is ask that you come home safely from your quest.”

“Dad?”

“Your mother would no doubt have supported you and your friends,” King Guardia admitted. “You are very much like her; caring and empathetic to the needs of others you don’t even know. Besides, you’re clearly committed to this task and just like me, you can be defiantly stubborn.”

Marle smiled and nodded in thanks.

“Nadia also tells me you all came to seek some sort of shell that our ancestors safeguarded,” King Guardia remarked, turning his attention to the rest of the group. “If subsequent generations kept it safe, it should be in the basement in the treasury.”

The head of the guards approached and bowed slight to Marle, “If you and your friends would follow me, I’ll take you down to the treasury.”

Mare turned to Lucca and said, “I guess since Dad’s okay with all this, why don’t you and Janus go get Melichor?”

“That’s a good idea,” Lucca said with a nod. “Is that alright, Your Highness?”

King Guardia nodded. “I’ll have the guards let you back in when you return.”

After Lucca and Janus departed, the group followed the guard to the treasury. Within the large basement room where various crates and chests, some labeled, some not. Clothes covered what appeared to be paintings and statues. After some searching, they found the shell under a large cloth.

As Robo removed the cloth, Crono noticed a parchment on top of the shell. Carefully picking it up, he noticed it was rolled up and sealed with wax. The scroll was addressed to Marle.

“What’s this?” asked Marle as she took the scroll and carefully opened it. To her surprise, it was a letter from Queen Leene. It took her a moment to decipher the intricate handwriting.

Dear Marle,

I understand that things are difficult between you and your father but I want you to know that nothing can ever truly break the bond of family. Neither words of anger or great distance can undo the love a parent has for their child nor a child for their parent.

Someday you will have children of your own and on that day, you will understand that bond more than ever.

It is a bond that connects each generation and I doubt it will ever change over the centuries. That love is exactly why we and you are linked. I hope the best for you.

~Queen Leene of Guardia

As Marle read the letter, the head of the guards approached Glenn.

“So you’re man who defeated General Slash in the Mystic War,” the guard remarked. “No offense, sir, but the history book I read said you only had one arm.”

“…I do…. Lost it in the fight with General Slash,” Glenn replied. Showing the guard his prosthetic, Glenn continued, “Lucca made this for me after the incident.”

The guard nodded. “So what was the war really like?”

“Awful, long and needless,” Glenn replied with a slight grimace. “I don’t condone the actions of Mystics that do harm to humanity but I would have hoped four hundred years would have healed those wounds between our peoples.”

“For the most part it has,” the guard replied. “This coup comes as a surprise. There was no indication that any Mystics were plotting anything against the king.”

Glenn nodded. He couldn’t help but recall Slash’s words about how ideas don’t die. Clearly there were Mystics that kept passing on their hate to the new generation. The pessimist in him caused Glenn to wonder if the hate would ever end. Had their actions today, no matter how well intended to save Marle’s father, just furthered the fire of hatred?

Chronotober Day 4: Trick

Yakra’s family sure knows how to hold a grudge! It makes me wonder how all the information was passed down through the family line. Do you think they told bedtime stories about Yakra the first’s valiant fight against the humans?

@chrono-the-babe

Random doodle time! Having been nostalgically charmed by watching Recovery of an MMO Addict, one ended up opening up and poking at Aura Kingdom yet again.

And all of one’s furniture was gone! T___T

*misses one’s Fox Teahouse!*

Atleast the bathtub remained safe!