The Edge of Forever
Part I: Prison of Flesh
Some say the world will end in fire;
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
Machines…
That had been Robo’s word. All of Ayla’s companions in the fight against Lavos had used it, but it was truly his word. It described everything about him, everything he had been created for. As much as Ayla had loved him, had loved all of them, it still struck her as rather unnerving that he was meant to destroy humanity. The single-minded fanaticism of Robo’s mechanized companions from millions of years in her future revealed itself vividly in Ayla’s mind as the armored legions arrayed themselves before her. Like a reflex she smashed the skull of the next aggressor, striking him with such superhuman force that it reduced his whole head to a pasty smattering of entrails, metal, and bone.
“Who else wants some?” Ayla shrieked hoarsely, her fist and her tears striking the ground near her and knocking several soldiers down in the process.
The commander, however committed he might have been, was not stupid or suicidal. His command to “Hold positions!” echoed above the blood-soaked battlefield like a bomb going off. Every warrior instantly stopped. Ayla looked around wildly, sniffing the air. The atmosphere was charged with the wretched foetor of bodily fluids still draining from the impaled corpses of Ayla’s tribesmen, and a few invaders here and there.
The Black Wind howls…
“We can see that you are not as unworthy as we had thought initially. Please, forgive us.”
A near-sobbing Ayla snarled at the enemy commander, astonished at how much like a Reptite she sounded. For all the times she had scalped them, all the times she and her tribe had feasted upon Reptite meat as a grand delicacy, the similarity in their snarl never occurred to her. She had been caught up in the moment, living for it as if there were no tomorrow. That was all one could do, was it not? That was what Crono had told her. And they’d faced down much stronger opponents than this.
“We come in peace from the great Kingdom of Zeal. We are here not to offer destruction, torment or pain, but absolution. The peace we speak of can grant you everything your heart desires.”
Zeal? That had been Magus’ word, as much as he had hated Lavos. She choked down some dark laughter along with some bile at the memory of the fallen kingdom eradicated by her fallen star. Yet, why was this man standing before her, and with an invasion army, to boot.
“What is this peace that you offer us?” Ayla glared at the leader as she growled out the words, but he remained unfazed.
“None other than that which every sentient being seeks, my dear lady. We offer you freedom from the shackles of sin, freedom from the confines of the mortal world, freedom to dream as you see fit. We offer you a place as servants of the holy, redeeming power of Lavos.”
Ayla’s hypersensitive ears made out a chorus of soldiers each whispering “praise be to Lavos” or something equally silly, all with their heads bowed. But even more than that, why would they steal her word? It was her precious possession, the only thing she had left after her wonderful, beautiful Kino had succumbed to the cold.
Lavos…
She turned away from the soldier, raising her nose and closing her eyes in disgust. But when she opened them again, she beheld his true power…or was it? In no longer than it took to reject his offer, the soldiers had been replaced with titanic mechanized battle machines from what seemed like nowhere. The mechs were covered with the implements of war, none of which Ayla wanted to be on the receiving end of. She just barely moved fast enough to avoid a heat-seeking missile launched out of one of the elite mechs.
What are these enemies? They cannot be Reptites, nor are they of any human tribes. They cannot be real…and neither can their vaunted peace.
Yet, as large and intimidating as they were, Ayla had confronted similar enemies before. It was all about knowing where to look for weaknesses. As Ayla jumped on a mech and proceeded to smash its transparent aluminum cockpit open, throwing a cammo-clad soldier out of it and seizing his gun on the way down, one of the other walkers activated a laser beam that began raking violently across the ground toward her. In that moment, she found herself open to the Achilles' heel she sought.
Their guns rotate slowly…they must not be calibrated to hit smaller targets.
She timed her wait on the mech’s cockpit, jumping onto the lead mech a mere split second before the laser’s energy melted through the armor and ignited one of the walker’s fuel tanks. The explosion created enough confusion for Ayla’s finger to instinctively find the trigger of her newfound sidearm and take its brutally suppressed rage out on the battalion commander’s head several times over, shredding his entire body with small chunks of steel and large shards of cockpit that cut through him and his dying screams. All of the walkers temporarily stopped, seemingly in shock of their commander’s abrupt demise, before their pilots’ bodies all exploded as well. She stared fiery daggers at their remains and howled in triumph as she literally bathed in the blood of her tribe’s murderers, stripping off what little clothing she had on to cover herself fully in it. But, as she closed her eyes while her feral hands soaked her Olympian form in blood, it began drowning her. Choking on her victory, she could do nothing to stop as her howl turned into a screech carrying as much blood as she did at that moment. But it did not stop with the soldier. It only increased, draining ceaselessly from her tribesmen, the other pilots…even the land itself.
Are you all this easy?
The unknown voice called to her, not laughing, but merely asking as a child of unspoiled perception would. At the same time, darkness invaded her, physically and mentally, in ways she never thought possible, and Ayla cried. Her sobs echoed into the night, calling out for Kino, Crono, anyone to save her from the beast…and after what seemed like an eternity, the blood faded, replaced by sweat as she found herself in her bearskin bed. She turned around, hoping to find Kino there to cuddle until she fell asleep, but found only a dried, desiccated corpse flinging itself in her face to kiss her.
What are you? What have you made of me…of us? Why do you show me these things? Release me!
Her mind screamed into the night as loudly as she screamed into the cadaver's kiss. A mere second later, her own voice awoke her again. Bolting upright in a cold sweat, Ayla's body was simultaneously seized by a hot flash, followed by heaven only knew what else. She cried as she emptied the contents of her stomach on the side of the bed where Kino used to sleep. Weeping, she fell down again like a brick as what little remained of her mind pondered whether the elders had a name for such experiences. She had none too long to do this before she heard footsteps outside.
She immediately leaped up in a feral rage, ready to crush the head of whoever or whatever was intruding on her territory. Nevertheless, despite her anger and panic, she remained quiet.
Hear the enemy’s mistakes, hear their plans, their strategies…and crush them.
This was what she had been taught from birth by her elders and teachers in combat. She remembered it from her instructor Yan, who had been said to be the fiercest of all Ioka fighters. He had taught her to fear and to fight at the same time, to survive in the wilderness alone, and to take down the toughest of opponents. He had helped make her what she was through honor and pain. And his voice echoed to her through the chill winds permeating the night.
Ayla…Ayla…what happen, Ayla? Ayla look terrible! Need help?
Ayla’s eyes snapped open as she realized that this was no vision or reminiscence – it was his voice calling to her from outside. He had come to see her out of concern. A few other villagers had been awakened by her screams as well and had apparently arrived with him to investigate. As Yan opened the shutter door to her hut, the sight he beheld horrified him. Ayla was weeping, choking on her own tears. The old soldier hugged her out of affection and stroked her hair.
He’s like a father to me…why can this knowledge not be his as well?
Ayla threw her arms around her mentor, sobbing into him as he attempted to assuage her. The other villagers simply stood there with something akin to mingled awe and distaste as their warrior chieftain lay broken before them. Yan turned to look at them, rage in his eyes. “No stand there, idiots! Get medicine woman!” His barked orders jarred the villagers from their stupor, and a few of them ran to fetch the village’s resident witch doctor. The others simply shrunk away from the cacophony, withdrawing to their huts and to their beds. Yan snorted at them, and then turned back to Ayla. He spoke softly to her, as one would with a young child. “What wrong, Ayla? Noise wake up whole village! What happen?”
Ayla looked up at him with a weakness he had never seen before. Her skin was paler than gravel, as if every drop of life had been siphoned from her body. It was a pitiful thing to Yan, and repulsive at the same time, to see his best student behave in such a way. However, he could not discipline her anymore – she would have to fend for herself in the long run. But, some advice was warranted in this situation, he admitted as Ayla began telling him of her dream.
“I saw something terrible happening to our tribe. Invaders from places you couldn’t imagine destroying us, killing everyone, men, women, and children alike. They were worse than the Reptites ever were, and they offered us what they claimed was absolution from sin and repression. They were on some kind of holy crusade – at least that’s what they thought. When I saw all of you dead, I was enraged. I killed them. I killed them all and I bathed in their blood. I couldn’t help it – I just wanted to hurt them, and make them pay. I know it’s the honorable thing to do, but I’ve never felt so dirty or evil in my life than to kill out of pure rage, even in defense of my people.”
Yan nodded at her seriously. “Ayla right to do so, even in world of dreams. Enemies attack without mercy, no have honor. Ayla have honor, avenge fellow tribesmen. If Yan taught nothing else, Yan taught honor to Ayla, hope Ayla listen. Ayla listen well.”
Suddenly, one of the townsfolk came running up to the hut. “Yan! Come quick! Medicine woman dead!”
Both Ayla and her mentor instantly jumped up at these words, but Ayla fell back onto her bed almost as quickly as she had risen off the ground. Yan looked down at her. “You no worry for now. Yan take care of this.” With that, Yan and the villager ran back to the medicine woman’s hut. She could have sworn she heard shouts about freezing and skin cracking and breaking like a rock.
Frozen…she must have frozen to death. Damn this cold, it’s going to kill us all.
A few minutes later, Yan returned to Ayla with a downcast look on his face. “Villager speaks true. Medicine woman dead. Whole body frozen over. Who die next? We must fix freezing problem, or village will die.”
Ayla sighed. “I’ve been thinking the same thing…for a long time. Longer than you know, in fact.” Yan looked at her skeptically. “Then Ayla made decision? Move to caverns, not freeze?”
Ayla looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “I would, except that everyone else is trying to get at them, too. You’d be surprised at how much space it’ll take to house us. Couple that with the surviving Reptites trying to use the same caverns to avoid freezing to death, and we might die either way.”
Yan nodded at her, much as he had done earlier, in acknowledgement of the truth behind her words. Just then, they both heard an infant crying in the other room. Ayla sighed, and half-laughed. “Heh…with all the commotion you guys were making on my account, I’m surprised little Crono didn’t wake up sooner.” Yan simply laughed. “Yan have some spare medicine. Yan go get it for Ayla. Ayla must hold tribal conference, discuss problems, figure out way to survive. People must agree, stick together, or else we die no matter what. Must act soon, as well. Planet waits for no one, not Ioka or Laruba or Reptite. You know Yan tell truth, Ayla. So what you do?”
Ayla’s eyes closed, almost in regret, but partially to hide a new trickle of tears. “…I don’t think we have a choice anymore. But the question is whether or not the rest of the tribe will see it that way. This region is our ancestral homeland. We’ve migrated all over the place within it, but we’ve never left – it’s always provided us with good hunting and gathering. Most of them won’t want to get up and leave – they’ll find something to blame the weather on, something that can presumably be fixed. But the thing is, I don’t think it can. Not that I care too much – all I care about is that we survive, one way or the other. And I’ll do whatever I have to do to ensure that.”
Yan’s ears tuned in closer. “Ayla strong of will. Yan always knew this, even from when you little baby. Yan believe Ayla find way, but Ayla need rest, time to think. Yan go get medicine now. You rest. In morning we call out tribe conference, find way to save people.”
Ayla nodded exhaustedly at the old man, before collapsing on her bed again. A short while later, he arrived with some herbal sleep aids that Ayla promptly gulped down. “Thanks, Yan. I’m already feeling a bit better…I’m going to sleep again. Tomorrow, then.”
Yan bowed. “Tomorrow, Ayla.” With that, he pulled back the shutter and exited her hut. Turning around for one last look at his former student’s sleep, he found himself saddened that he could not be sure that she was not plagued by the same dreams all over again. He breathed heavily as he trudged back to his hut.
Ayla strong of will…if old Yan taught her anything, she save us. But something else…Ayla different since she get back from adventure. Something she not telling us, not even Yan…but Ayla secrets belong to her. Yan hope she understand, though. If not…no, no think about it. Sleep. Sleep now.