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I'd be grateful for anyone who wishes to post comments about this - I always seek to improve my writing.
Full Circle
by TacomaSquall
I stand on the edge of the Abyss, the yawning gulf of time that faces destruction. I am told that I am but a pawn in a titanic struggle between an extradimensional being and those people who were smart enough to see its hideous goals and try and put a stop to them. In doing so, they found themselves also at cross-purposes with a race of intelligent lizards, the Reptites.
The conflicts of such great powers means little to me, compared to the knowledge that I was supposed to die when I was six years old, when I drowned.
I was supposed to die…
Kid wasn’t supposed to save me.
I am disgusted by the cosmic forces at play in this conflict. They don’t care a bit for the costs paid by the human chess pieces they push along the board. When Balthasar speaks, he doesn’t think about the fact that my father’s mind was consumed by FATE after the Time Crash. I am certain the Reptites don’t care one whit about the fact that Harle fell in love with me, and then they forced her to try and kill me. And does Kid’s suffering mean a thing to the trapped Princess Schala?
To beings whose cares are so grand, what importance are the feelings of a teenaged boy who wasn’t supposed to survive?
Should I be grateful that these combatants have engineered things so I survived drowning whole in body, if not in mind?
Does the pawn think kindly of the hand that moves him across the chessboard, step by step closer to either promotion or sacrifice?
At the same time, knowing full well what awaits all of humanity if we fail to defeat the misshapen Devourer of Time, can I stand aside? Lavos’ domination of the Dragon God is complete, and he still seeks his freedom, a freedom denied him previously by three other children marked by destiny, whose spirits stand before me now.
They tell me that hope is not lost.
They say that if I can merely harness the power of the Elements to unlock the Chrono Cross, we will have a chance to rescue Princess Schala. They tell me that freeing her from Lavos’ control would result in the defeat of the extradimensional monster.
If they are right…
Stopping Lavos is critical. The being, of which the Frozen Flame is a tiny manifestation, is so massive and powerful that it takes the whole world to keep it imprisoned. According to the sage and the three specters in front of me, his freedom would result in the end of the world.
What do I owe these people, though?
Is it my responsibility to be their tool?
Thinking of my friends and companions - do I even have a choice?
If the stakes were just personal, I would be able to turn aside. If the consequences were merely limited to me, I could justify avoiding battle against this monstrosity. They aren’t…
If the Time Devourer is not stopped, others will pay.
My mother, in Arni Village; The keeper of the dragons in Viper’s Manor; The citizens of Marbule and Termina; The crazed fans of Nikki; All of these and more would suffer for my choice.
Even more immediate would be the effect upon my friends.
Do I have the right to turn my back on them - for I know that many of them will not turn away from the challenge of facing the Time Devourer, even if it was impossible. Fargo has just had his idealism reignited by the example of his rock star son, Nikki, who reclaimed Marbule. The Acacian Dragoon Devas will fight against the Devourer, alone if need be, just because they think it is the right thing to do. The Lady Riddel, their conscience, will make sure of that. Viper himself will fight, because he has spent far too long in the acquisition of power to blithely allow it to be reft from him, without a fight.
Leena burns with the same idealism that Riddel does, and she would hate me for the short duration of our lives if I turned aside now. Kid is almost frothing at the mouth in her eagerness to defeat the Devourer and free the alter-ego she was created from, even though she denies the truth of her existence as surely as as I wish I could deny the truth of my own. Razzly will not allow the Time Devourer to destroy all of Nature without a fight, even though the faerie is ill-suited for combat against such a potent foe.
Even more importantly, I cannot ignore those who have already fallen in this conflict.
My father’s best friend, Miguel, who accompanied him on a journey into the Dead Sea to save my life after the panther attacked me. The man who stayed behind to allow my father to escape from FATE’s grasp long enough to get me safely home after touching the Frozen Flame. The poor man I had to kill when I returned to the Dead Sea later on.
Harle, who redeemed herself for supporting Lynx by keeping me alive after he forced us to exchange bodies. The young woman who was night to Kid’s day, and who loved me just as much as she loved her own life. The young woman who, it turned out, was the seventh of the Dragon Gods, and has now been transformed with her brethren into a force that threatens to destroy the Planet they once sought to save.
Most importantly, Lynx. My father. The man who was twisted by FATE into the living embodiment of my greatest fear. The man who brought me to the Frozen Flame in a desperate attempt to save my life. The man I slew before knowing that he was my father. In the end, the death I brought him was merciful, for it ended his service to FATE.
I cannot turn aside from this battle. Doing so would negate the sacrifices of those who have come before me.
It is ironic that the final battle is to be here. Ten years ago, I met the dark panther that has haunted my dreams and fears ever since. Seven years ago, I was destined to die here.
I have come full circle. If I die now, the doom I have evaded so far will claim me. The doom I was meant to meet.
If I succeed, not only will I free Schala. I will also free myself.
Fin
Full Circle
by TacomaSquall
I stand on the edge of the Abyss, the yawning gulf of time that faces destruction. I am told that I am but a pawn in a titanic struggle between an extradimensional being and those people who were smart enough to see its hideous goals and try and put a stop to them. In doing so, they found themselves also at cross-purposes with a race of intelligent lizards, the Reptites.
The conflicts of such great powers means little to me, compared to the knowledge that I was supposed to die when I was six years old, when I drowned.
I was supposed to die…
Kid wasn’t supposed to save me.
I am disgusted by the cosmic forces at play in this conflict. They don’t care a bit for the costs paid by the human chess pieces they push along the board. When Balthasar speaks, he doesn’t think about the fact that my father’s mind was consumed by FATE after the Time Crash. I am certain the Reptites don’t care one whit about the fact that Harle fell in love with me, and then they forced her to try and kill me. And does Kid’s suffering mean a thing to the trapped Princess Schala?
To beings whose cares are so grand, what importance are the feelings of a teenaged boy who wasn’t supposed to survive?
Should I be grateful that these combatants have engineered things so I survived drowning whole in body, if not in mind?
Does the pawn think kindly of the hand that moves him across the chessboard, step by step closer to either promotion or sacrifice?
At the same time, knowing full well what awaits all of humanity if we fail to defeat the misshapen Devourer of Time, can I stand aside? Lavos’ domination of the Dragon God is complete, and he still seeks his freedom, a freedom denied him previously by three other children marked by destiny, whose spirits stand before me now.
They tell me that hope is not lost.
They say that if I can merely harness the power of the Elements to unlock the Chrono Cross, we will have a chance to rescue Princess Schala. They tell me that freeing her from Lavos’ control would result in the defeat of the extradimensional monster.
If they are right…
Stopping Lavos is critical. The being, of which the Frozen Flame is a tiny manifestation, is so massive and powerful that it takes the whole world to keep it imprisoned. According to the sage and the three specters in front of me, his freedom would result in the end of the world.
What do I owe these people, though?
Is it my responsibility to be their tool?
Thinking of my friends and companions - do I even have a choice?
If the stakes were just personal, I would be able to turn aside. If the consequences were merely limited to me, I could justify avoiding battle against this monstrosity. They aren’t…
If the Time Devourer is not stopped, others will pay.
My mother, in Arni Village; The keeper of the dragons in Viper’s Manor; The citizens of Marbule and Termina; The crazed fans of Nikki; All of these and more would suffer for my choice.
Even more immediate would be the effect upon my friends.
Do I have the right to turn my back on them - for I know that many of them will not turn away from the challenge of facing the Time Devourer, even if it was impossible. Fargo has just had his idealism reignited by the example of his rock star son, Nikki, who reclaimed Marbule. The Acacian Dragoon Devas will fight against the Devourer, alone if need be, just because they think it is the right thing to do. The Lady Riddel, their conscience, will make sure of that. Viper himself will fight, because he has spent far too long in the acquisition of power to blithely allow it to be reft from him, without a fight.
Leena burns with the same idealism that Riddel does, and she would hate me for the short duration of our lives if I turned aside now. Kid is almost frothing at the mouth in her eagerness to defeat the Devourer and free the alter-ego she was created from, even though she denies the truth of her existence as surely as as I wish I could deny the truth of my own. Razzly will not allow the Time Devourer to destroy all of Nature without a fight, even though the faerie is ill-suited for combat against such a potent foe.
Even more importantly, I cannot ignore those who have already fallen in this conflict.
My father’s best friend, Miguel, who accompanied him on a journey into the Dead Sea to save my life after the panther attacked me. The man who stayed behind to allow my father to escape from FATE’s grasp long enough to get me safely home after touching the Frozen Flame. The poor man I had to kill when I returned to the Dead Sea later on.
Harle, who redeemed herself for supporting Lynx by keeping me alive after he forced us to exchange bodies. The young woman who was night to Kid’s day, and who loved me just as much as she loved her own life. The young woman who, it turned out, was the seventh of the Dragon Gods, and has now been transformed with her brethren into a force that threatens to destroy the Planet they once sought to save.
Most importantly, Lynx. My father. The man who was twisted by FATE into the living embodiment of my greatest fear. The man who brought me to the Frozen Flame in a desperate attempt to save my life. The man I slew before knowing that he was my father. In the end, the death I brought him was merciful, for it ended his service to FATE.
I cannot turn aside from this battle. Doing so would negate the sacrifices of those who have come before me.
It is ironic that the final battle is to be here. Ten years ago, I met the dark panther that has haunted my dreams and fears ever since. Seven years ago, I was destined to die here.
I have come full circle. If I die now, the doom I have evaded so far will claim me. The doom I was meant to meet.
If I succeed, not only will I free Schala. I will also free myself.
Fin