Mind from Body:
Separated

By ShadowStorm

Chapter 1: The Astral Portal

Walking down Oppassa, Serge stared at the little amulet Kid had given him in Guldove. He still remembered her face as she had given it to him... the once strong and determined face reduced to struggling to stay alive. He felt a wrench at his gut. The poison was quickly spreading through her body, killing cells, tissue, and ultimately her spirit...

"Hey Serge, snap out of it wontCHA. We only got 2 days!" Korcha and Guille emerged from the undergrowth of Lizard Rock. "Gosh, I think I got these damn thorns sticking all over me back! God dang it!"

"That light emerging from the sand.... Serge, that must be it." Guille carelessly swat the annoying mosquitoes from his tuxedo as he stared at the portal to the next dimension, his eyes glaring with wonder.

"Yeah," Serge began, but..."

"But how the hell do we cross over the thing?!" Korcha blurted. "We haven’t time to be sittin’ round ’ere like a bunch a’ ducks!"

Serge stared at the tiny amulet. As he slowly approached the portal the amulet became so intensely hot he nearly dropped it even with his padded gloves on.

Chapter 2: Shadow on the Moon

Next thing he knew, Serge was standing on the beach again, Guille and Korcha alongside him. The Astral Portal glittered in the sand. It had worked. They had made it.

"What an experience," Guille muttered.

"You wouldn’t feel that on no river rapid ride neither! CHA!"

"It leaves you completely out of breath, doesn’t it?" said Serge. It was very frightening the first time I felt it."

"Hey, Hey!" Korcha waved his hands in their faces. "Aren’t we forgettin’ something? WE GOT TA SAVE A DYIN’ GIRL! We’ve got to stop dawdling and get a’ going!"

He had a point. Kid had a short time, and so with a swing Serge put his swallow in the sheath he had made. They set off. Getting through Lizard Rock was simple, but Serge noticed how aggressive the Lizards and animals had gotten. Serge had to wipe his swallow clean many a time before finally getting out. Serge saw the now small form of Arni in the distance. His home village. At least he could reassure Lena before continuing his journey.

"Guys, let’s first head to Arni and make sure we’re totally prepared. Fighting a Hydra isn’t exactly a breeze."

Getting to Arni took only a few minutes. Once there, Serge headed to the docks. He had to make sure Leena wasn’t crazy out of her mind.

"Serge!" Leena’s eyes were wide with agitation. "Don’t ever try that disappearing trick again! Once is enough for me!"

"Er, alright Leena. I’m really sorry."

With a sigh of relief, Serge headed to his house with Guille and Korcha. "Oh there you are Serge," said his mom. "You’ve brought some friends with you, I see."

"Yeah Mom, this is Guille, and this is Korcha."

"Pleased to meet you, Ma’am," they both said. She just smiled at them.

After a hearty dinner, the three headed up to Serge’s room. He dug for something under the bed. A second later he tossed them each a sleeping bag.

"We should rest here for tonight, guys," Serge told them. "We’ll have two days tomorrow. No use fighting a Hydra with bags under your eyes. Night."

"Sweet dreams... you‘ll need them."

***

The horrible stench of poison, swamp creatures, and dead carcasses filled their nostrils. Walking up to the stream, Serge met the suspicious gaze of one of the Arni villagers. "Serge, what’re you doing here? I thought Radius told you to stay away from here?"

"Yes, I know, but we have some urgent business and we don’t have much time." The villager seemed to think this over for a minute. Finally he sighed.

"Alright, Serge, but be careful. This swamp is a dwelling place of all sorts of creatures and poison. Good luck!" He yelled after them as they advanced up the swamp path.

***

"Aaargghhhhhhhh!"

Serge and his friends crashed through the branches and landed with a loud thud on the ground.

This is what had happened: On their way, a funny creature named a Beeba had challenged Serge to a fight. After Serge had defeated it and its buddies, they had given a Beeba Flute for a forgiveness. The Beeba told them to play it in an open space for a quick way to get around a swamp via a giant insect. However, when they had played it, the insect turned vicious after an attempt to ride it. After they struck it to the ground, it crashed and made a hole in the ground which they had fallen through.

They had ended up down here.

"Ugh...." Serge and Korcha got up. They didn’t seem to be bruised too badly. Apparently Guille had managed to catch himself and stay afloat, being the magician he was.

"Dammit!" Korcha got up. "That giant fly got us stranded down ‘ere. This ain’t no time for this!"

"Well, there is a way out," Guille pointed out. "All we have to do is climb that ledge over there."
"I think we’re gonna have to do more than that." Serge’s eyes were intently fixed on the other side of the cavern. As Korcha and Guille looked, they gasped and groaned at the same time. There was a giant octopus with them.

"Mmmmmmm........" The eerie voice came from the giant monster. "It’s been a long time since I’ve wrapped my tentacles over succulent human flesh. You should consider it a pleasure to be Mrs. Octopus’s dinner!"

"In your dreams!" Serge pulled out his swallow. He jumped forward and started slashing at the humongous creature. After a few hits, it swept its tentacle at Serge, knocking him onto his back. Guille had already lunged forward and was swinging his rod. This gave Serge just enough time to fire up a FirePillar. The octopus screeched in pain, and let out a high-pressure water stream at Korcha.

"We have no time to go in circles!" yelled Guille. With that he lunged his rod through the creature’s heart. With a loud groan, it fell onto the ground and shook the entire cavern. They were all panting and tending to wounds.

"Hey," Korcha said suddenly. "What is that?"

Serge turned his head. He saw in the distance what looked like a little box. Looking more closely, he saw that it was a steel cage. And inside was...

"A Fairy!" Guille exclaimed. "I’ve never seen one before.

"We should let it out," said Serge. He undid the latch and nearly tripped backwards as a flurry of green came rushing out.

"Oh, thank you so much for rescuing me!" said a small, eager little voice. "That horrible octopus was about to have me for a snack!"

"No prob," said Serge. "but how did ya get in this mess anyway?"

"Well, I was flying around the northeast of the swamp, when I saw the legendary Hydra, the life force of the entire forest!" She was very eager about that, apparently. "But then, I was captured by these Dwarves and thrown into this pit! I told them I wasn’t try to harm the Hydra, but they wouldn’t listen. They’re very protective of the Hydra and forest."

"Well, that’s kinda obvious," Korcha muttered. "Urgh!"

"What’s the matter?" asked Serge.

"I’m a’ bleedin’, guys." He was holding his side. "Musta gottin’ it from that damn octopus!"
"Here, I have some bandages and ointment. Korcha, wait for us here and we’ll take...er..."

"My name is Razzy," said the fairy. "I’ll be happy to come with you, but...what exactly are you doing?"

"Well..." Serge explained everything to Razzy: the poison, the portal, the Hydra.

"You have to kill the Hydra to get the medicine for your girlfriend?"

Serge blushed. "She is NOT my girlfriend!"

"Hee Hee Hee!" she squealed. "Sorry!"

"Yeah," Korcha said, "she’s... wait, never mind."

"We’ll, I guess you’ll have to do this." Razzy sighed. "I’ll still hate killing the Hydra."

"We all will," said Guille. "But the way I see it, this is unfortunately, the only way."

They set off. Only a few minutes up the muddy trail, they encountered the Dwarves.

"He-Ho! Halt, you lousy humans! Ahead lies the deity of this forest, the Hydra! Turn back now!"

"Sorry, but we have to get a cure for Hydra Poison!" Serge was red in the face.

"Then be prepared to die, filthy humans! He-ho!"

"This is ridiculous!" Guille shouted. "One fight after another! It is endless!"

With weapons drawn, the three were ready to clear their way. Three of the dwarves use a yellow HiHoChorus Element attack. The sound schreeched into their very mind, but damage was minimal. Serge used the blunt end of his blade and knocked a Dwarf into a nearby tree. He was knocked out instantly.

"Savages!" one of the Dwarves screamed. he hit Serge with his hammer.

"Argh!" Serge fell to his knees instantly.

Serge watched from under his eye as Guille struck his wand through one of the Dwarves’ intestines. As the wand drew back, the pressure knocked the Dwarf into a nearby puddle. Meanwhile, Razzly used her RazStar knocking another Dwarf out.

"That’s the last time they think you’re fish food!"

"These humans are out of control! Run!" The remaining dwarves threw back their weapons and ran into next year.

"Glad that’s over." Serge was panting, sweat dripping over his face. "The Hydra’s up ahead. Is everyone alright?"

"I’m fine," Guille said.

"Me, too."

They walked down the narrow path. It was completely silent here, not the slightest hint of a bird singing, a cricket chirping, a creature stirring. As they turned a corner, they froze. They saw a humongous, long form emerge from the water. It’s scales stuck out like sharp needles, and its open mouth revealed long fangs. They just stared.

Razzly slowly started to back away, eyes wide with terror. "I don’t think this is a good idea, Sergey..."

But Serge had his swallow drawn. "Sorry, but if no one else does this, I have to myself. An eye for an eye. She’s saved my ass before too."

"Serge has a point, Razzly," Guille said. "He feels that he must repay a debt. One can only live with a guilty conscious before going mad."

The Hydra towered above them. Then, like a bolt of lightning, the Hydra swept it tail at them and knocked them onto their backs. But Serge was up just as fast. He bolted up to it and twirled his swallow at its chest. Doing so, he bounced his leg off its chest, slightly knocking it backward and propelling Serge back to his position. It screeched shrilly. In agony, it pounced onto Razzly, slicing her shoulder with its deadly fangs.

Guille floated up to level its head, and then did something Serge had never seen before. He flung his wand at it, but right before it hit it stopped, and transformed into several magical swords. They encircled the Hydra, and then, they all struck at once, slicing its head, throat, and chest. It fell to the ground, writhing in agony, as Guille withdrew his wands.

"Is it dead?" Razzly asked.

The Hydra suddenly bolted back up. Its wounds still bled from where the swords had penetrated. Opening its mouth, the Hydra flung a magical dome onto Razzly. it closed in on her, then shattered.

"Are you OK?!" Serge yelled over.

"I think, but.... my arms feel weaker." She must have thought it a good time to use her technique, because Serge saw a huge star fall onto the Hydra, slicing right through it. The Hydra just lingered there for a second, then went crashing toward the ground. Determined to not give in, it struggled back up and pulled its head back like it was about to lunge.

"No, ya don’t," Serge hissed. He jumped up and have an almighty lunge with his swallow. The Hydra waved its head around and knocked Serge off weaponless.

"Dammit!"

"Sergey, look!" Razzly was pointing at the Hydra. Its head was raised toward the sky. For a split-second it just stood there on its end. Then, with a screech that seemed to pierce the heavens, it toppled over and shook the ground like a quake. Serge’s swallow had sliced through its mouth and out the back of its head. It was dead.

"Eugh." Serge pulled his swallow out in disgust. "If I hadn’t been wearing these gloves, I would have left it there." Serge took out a needle, found the right body spot, and extracted several doses of humor. When his vial was full, he put it back in his belt.

"I guess we better get going," Razzly said.

But suddenly they heard something that made them all freeze, every sense alert. A hoarse voice came from the left. "You filthy humans, you think of no one but yourselves...."

They looked over. In the bush they saw the dark outline of the dwarf leader.

"That isn’t true! We had to get the cure to save someone’s life!" Razzly was furious.

"And you think that was worth the death of the forest and hundreds of creatures?!" He spat. "Humans only think of their own gain. You use the humor to save one life but kill off others? I see no sense in this!" He turned back and ran through the bushes.

"I know plenty of human folk who are kind, generous, and love nature!" said Razzly. "I think--Sergey! Look at the Hydra’s womb!" She flew over to it and Serge followed her. "This Hydra was carrying a baby before she died! You know what this means, Serge?!"

"Yeah," he said. "The forest is safe. Maybe that dwarf will realize that and stay here."

"Let us go," said Guille. "Our time is running short."

The group went back for Korcha. He was waiting for them.

"DidCHA get the humor, Serge?!" He could barely contain himself. Serge told him about what had happened, and the baby Hydra.

"Damn," he muttered. "But- we should get a’ goin’ She ain’t gonna last much longer. Besides, this place gives me the creeps."

***

Dusk approached. As the group passed through Lizard Rock, much of the animals had cleared out and had gone to find a comfortable spot to spend the night. They had little trouble, and soon they were again standing on the beautiful and yet mysterious shores of Oppassa. Silently, Serge got out the little amulet and stood on the portal between the two worlds. As before, the amulet shone a bright red hue and became hot, though it was much more bearable this time. Once again, Serge felt that strange feeling. He was pivoted toward the sky as his body remained standing on the portal. This time however, a different object met him in the sky. Slivery white, it shone like a lamp in the dark night sky. The moon. Serge was quite taken aback. It hadn’t ever looked so beautiful from the earth. But now something else caught his attention. A dark outline of a person stood, or hovered, above the moon. It started drawing closer and closer. Serge felt a bit afraid, but he couldn’t o much separated from his body.

The object now stood still a few yards away from him. It was a transparent image of a beautiful girl, with long silvery hair to the waist, wearing a silver and purple dress and shirt. She had sparkling eyes the color of the ocean. She hovered there in front of him and smiled. She said, "Release me from my torment, use the....Chrono Cross. Find the place where the compass spins and the falling water thins." She flickered and faded away. Serge just gaped there. If he was standing on the ground, his chin would have touched the floor. But it only lasted for a split second, before he felt another violent jerk as he was catapulted forward.

He was on ground again. Apparently he still had the same expression on his face because Korcha elbowed him in the ribs and said, "What’s yer problem?! Ya look like you’ve seem a ghost. Eh?"

Serge decided not to tell them what had happened. At least for now. But as they walked his head rang with questions. Who was the mysterious girl? What was the Chrono Cross? What was the answer to her riddle? Why did she need his help? He went over everything again and again, going in circles, and never being able to find the tiniest inkling of an answer. I’ll deal with this later, he thought. Someone really needs me now.

Chapter 3: The Crystal Pillars

Back in Termina, the four boarded Korcha’s small boat. "Is everyone set? We ain’t got all night!"

They shoved off. The cold of the night was beginning to creep in on them, and soon everyone was using every piece of clothing they had for warmth. Eventually, the shape of Gulodve appeared in the distance. Everyone was in bed by now. The merchants had all packed up and left. The group hopped off the boat and sprinted into the doctor’s to the right. The nurse looked away from her papers as she saw them coming.

"There you all are! We were starting to get worried; you were gone for two days straight."

"Is the doctor here?" Serge talked excitedly. "We found the Humor!"

The nurse lowered her spectacles and examined the little vial at Serge’s waist. "My lord," she said in a whisper. "In all my long days, I’ve never seen this before!" She rushed into the next room. After hearing a flurry of voices, she came back out with the doctor.

"You dudes! Thank goodness you found the humor. The girl has only a few hours left..."

Serge handed him the humor and quickly explained what had happened, excluding his mysterious encounter with the girl. Having heard, the doctor simply marveled they had made it out alive. "Gnarly, dude!" he said. "I’ll go giver her the potion!"

***

After what seemed to last forever, the doctor stepped softly out of Kid’s room and shut the door. He nudged Serge out of a half-sleep and softly said, "It’ll be a little while before the anesthetic starts working. Serge, she’d like to talk to you, dude."

Serge stepped in quietly and walked over to her bed. She stared into his eyes.

"Serge." Her voice was very soft. "You’ve grown bloody handsome while I was out of it. Eh, mate?"

He chuckled a little bit. "I’m really happy to see you going back to your old self again."

There was a pause. Finally, she said, "Thanks, mate, I guess I....owe ya one..."

Slowly she shut her eyes, and after a few moments Serge her soft breathing. A heavy burden off his chest, he breathed a silent sigh of relief. Tiptoeing out of his room, he unfastened his swallow and Elements, and fell asleep instantly.

***

As the morning sunlight shone through the slits in his eyes, Serge pulled himself up with a yawn. The others were gone. He fastened his equipment to his waist and went into Kid’s room. Kid and the rest were chatting amongst themselves.

"Mornin’, mate," she said. "I see yer still the usual mess."

It was true. His hair flew everywhere, his clothes were wrinkled and sagging, and his eyes were only half open. Serge found himself blushing, while the rest were killing themselves laughing. Serge couldn’t see what was that funny about him, and he wouldn’t go and wet his pants about something like this.

"Hey Serge," Korcha chocked down fits of laughter. "I thought ya’ said I looked weird with wearing only this undawea’ and a vest."

Well, one thing was certainly true. Being out of Hydra Swamp and Kid being well again had lifted everyone’s spirit. Serge thought about his encounter with the girl, but decided to tell it once they were all safely out of earshot from Guldove.

After Serge had cleaned himself up and made sure he was fully stocked, he told the group, "I think we should head for Termina now. I have something to discuss with you all on the way.

Nobody objected to that, and once they had shoved off, Serge started to tell them what had happened. He told about the girl, the riddle, and the Chrono Cross. Once he was done, everyone stared wide-eyed at him, but Korcha muttered, "Sounds like the type of bull ya hear from the kids hanging around the docks at Termina. You sure ya weren’t dreaming, Serge?"

"No, it couldn’t have been. It happened while we were crossing back to this world."

"Bugger, mate," Kid said. "All this that’s happened so far is strange...bu’ this is the straw that broke the camel’s back. We gotta fin’ out more about this. Does the Termina in your world have a library, mate?"

"Yeah, but it’s closed for now. They’re remodeling."
"Damn... Well, I think we should head over to your world anyway. We’ll find what we can in the meanwhile."

After docking the boat, they got off on Termina. "Well, I guess this is were I go my way. It was nice knowing y’all," said Korcha. "I guess this is good-bye."

"Wait, Korcha," Serge called after him. "I have a favor to ask you."

"What’s that?"

"I need to borrow your compass. A part of the riddle was, ‘Where the compass spins,’ so I can only presume I need to keep and eye on one."

Korcha seemed to consider it. He said, "Alright, but only under two conditions. One, I need CHA to find or buy me a quality fishing rod. This one is gettin’ rusty, ya know? And two, I want--"

He mumbled something indistinctive.

"Speak up, would ya?!" Kid shouted. "Do we look like we have supersonic ears.

"I wanCHA to...be my wife." He went a furious red.

"You’re kidding.....right?"

"No....I’m serious. I guess you could say it was love at first sight."

Kid looked at Korcha like he was way out of his league of thinking. "Damn," she mumbled under her breath. Serge whispered to her, "Just tell him you will so we can get going." She kicked him in the gut. "Stay out of this Serge!" With a look on her face like she’d seen a cat hurl, she said, "Alright, but no promises! Question is whether we’ll even live long enough."

The four went to the Termina blacksmith to forge Korcha’s fishing rod. The same lady greeted them with the same friendly smile. "What would ye like today?"

"Let’s see," Serge said, "we’ll need a fishing rod made of mythril alloy with a 16 ft- line, a steel hook, and some quality bait." She jot the materials down on a little notepad. "That’ll be 1850 Gold please."

Serge raised an eyebrow. "Isn’t that a bit expensive for a fishing rod?"

"Well, you ordered mythril, ya? You know how rare it be these days?"

"Alright, alright, we’ll wait here."

Guille spoke over the clang coming from the other room. "Serge, do you have any ideas on that riddle yet?"

"Well, ’Where the falling water thins’ definitely narrows things down. Sounds like a waterfall."

"Yeah," said Kid "but bloody hell mate, there’s got to be at least a dozen waterfalls in El Nido."

"True," he said. "I guess we’ll have to check ’em all. Starting in my world."

"What a drag," muttered Razzly. "But at least we’ll get to visit my home island!"

The blacksmith’s husky voice came from the other room. "Order up! Whoever ordered the mythril fishin’ rod, ’tis done!"

Serge went to get the rod, then walked back to the docks, where Korcha was waiting. "Deal’s a deal," he said. "There ya go." He handed over the compass, and Serge gave him the rod. "Ya’ll be careful, and good luck!" he called as he shoved his boat off to Guldove. "Alright, mate," Kid said. "Let’s go to Oppassa then."

They left Termina and walked through Fossil Valley. The trip was basically uneventful. As they came out, Kid stopped them and said, "I’m a bit thirsty. Let me get some water from the spring there." She walked over and stepped into the spring. But as she walked forward, she suddenly tripped and fell into the waterfall. Serge heard a dull thud as she landed. He called, "You OK?"

"Amazin’!" he heard from inside the waterfall. "Mate, you can walk right through here!" Serge was taken aback. She was inside the waterfall. But how? He reached through the water as far as his hand could go. It was a wide open space.

"Guys, we can go through this!" Serge was nearly in hysterics. Razzly or Guille couldn’t see why he was so excited at first, but then they remembered the riddle: Where the water thins....

The three walked through. There was a little stream below two pathways connected with a natural bridge. "Take out yer compass, mate! See if it’s spinnin’!" Sure enough, the compass needle circled in a furious and yet somehow rhythmical pace. "This has gotta be the place. It must be in the cavern on the right path."

In the cave, it was dark and gloomy. At first glance, there appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary inside. But as they approached the left wall of the cave they saw something luminous. There were three pillars sorrounding the center one in a triangle. There was such a strong field of energy they could barely keep from being swept off their feet.

"Whoa, mate," Kid said. "How can we get the Chrono Cross if we can’t get to it?"

"Look," he said. "There is a symbol on each of the three pillars. There’s a crescent shaped one...most likely the moon. One is a chameleon...that must represent the air or wind, because that’s all a chameleon needs. And the last is...a fish, that must be the water."

"But how do you get em’, mate?"

"I don’t know...but I have a good idea of who might."

To be continued...