Forum Thread

Calypso firmly nodded in agreement with her old friend. "It's not a risk I would take. I once dropped into a chasm as deep as the Marina Trench, and mind you, that was because of a failed telekinetic attempt."

Turning to the young Rayquaza Binary, she frowned, dimming her glowing face. "In a state of panic, terror, and miscommunication which I believe the mountain trials will hold? I would not take such a risk even if you all had completely mastered your abilities. That would be a fatal mistake for every single one of us. Rosa-" She halted mid-sentence, freezing as she remembered the young Lugia Binary, so sweetly dubbed the child of the group.

"Life will note spare even the kindest," Calypso angrily thought of her friend's short life, swiping away at a tear threatening to drop.

"Anyway," she said more loudly, "the net ought to work as a separate power. Disconnect it from your minds, so that in case you fall during battle, Riona will not be harmed. Doing so, however, will slightly weaken you, but no matter. I lived enough to master the abilities of a Psychic type," She spread her arms, focusing as reddish-gray light bathed them in a spray of sparkles.

"If I know a thing or two, it's to share battle skills," Calypso mumbled, the strain of sharing causing her forehead to bead with sweat.

---

"Yeah, listen ta Caly! I was put into a coma right after the final hery thing so I didn't get to master anything, so she's the psychic expert here." She said, finishing her end of the net, using her fingers like scissors to cut the string's psychic connection to her. She hoisted Riona gently onto the makeshift hammock type thing they had created and began packing up the tents and sleeping bags. "Alright, we're ready to go now!"

---

Brittan rose from the ground. He had been silently watching the whole scene, taking it in. He thought that he had the gist of what was going on, finally. I guess I don't have to carry Riona anymore, he thought as he looked at the psychic net. I'll probably help fight, if we need to. Brittan looked down at the glossy claws of his left hand.

Bellatrix already seemed to be ready to go. "I'm ready too," he said to her. "I guess we'll just have to see what's in store for us, won't we?"

---

Zaugg spied on the group from the control room using the telescope. They looked like they were preparing to climb the mountain. He left the telescope to find Minerva.

"Lady Minerva!" He called. "They're about to start climbing the mountain! Should we start getting things ready?"

---

Bellatrix nodded, looking at her companions. "Alright, let's go!" she said, dashing towards the mountain, pulling her friends along.

---

"Yes, let us meet them at the entrance. We will explain the rules, and the trials shall begin" Minerva said, nodding as she walked down the mountain. As sh walked, she placed three small orbs down, each an equal distance from each other. These orbs suddenly expanded and transformed into the trial-zones as she reached the bottom of the mountain. She stood near the entrance, in binary form, patiently awaiting the challengers.

---

''I-I'm coming!'' - Crono followed Trix, while being a bit sad again, knowing that he couldn't help again. He swiftly jumped, positioning his glowing tails upwards. His body skyrocketed into the air. He soon was at the same height as he was before with Skye. This time above the clouds, instead of stars, there was a beautiful blue sky, ornamented with the bright and shiny Sun. Crono slowed down for a bit, enjoying the view of the sky above the clouds.

---

"Woah!" Brittan gasped as Bellatrix nearly pulled his arm off, dragging him along with any other person unfortunate enough to have been within her reach. He stumbled as he tried to gain his footing to keep up with the small girl. Dang, she moves fast for such a shorty.

---

"Gah, wait for me, Minerva!" Zaugg cried after the binary as she left him behind, forgetting to use the Lady title in his exasperation. He waddled after her as fast as he could until he finally caught up with her at the mountain's base. "You know I can't keep up with those slender legs of yours," he said to her, slightly out of breath.

---

"Oh, sorry Zaugg!" She said. "It's just that we haven't had challengers for so long! It's awfully exciting, don't you agree?" She asked. Minerva couldn't help but feel a little bit over joyed, and she hoped that one of the challengers would pose a challenge. Centuries ago, when she was in a team with other binaries, she was known as the 2nd most consistently powerful fighter on the team, as the strongest was Callum, their leader. She had always been a bit of a loner, and she only had one true friend at the time, who had vanished soon after the massacre of her teammates. She had always assumed that she had wandered off for a bit, only to perish, as she never found her body. Only two of her other teammates survived, but she had parted ways with them soon after her friend's disappearance. Minerva couldn't help fondly recalling the green eyes and dark hair of the one she had fallen in love with. He was her Adonis, but she lost him to that witch. She couldn't believe that her one true friend had even been friends with that girl. No matter, they couldn't be alive now. Soon after she had parted ways with her beloved, she had formed a contract with Artemis under her father's guidance. Now she was here, awaiting the challengers as she icy wind curved over her large horns.

---

Ateer snipped his thread of the net me tally and seperated it from his own mind. He could feel a slight tug on the back of his mind but ignored it, knowing it was the energy he was giving the net. "So lets start climbing this thing." He said, slightly uneasy about the trials they would face to get the blood. What if they took so long that the sun had already set before they finished? Then they would lose Riona. A million what ifs ran through his mind and he was truly worried.

---

"Agreed." Skye said as she jumped onto a particularly high rock, her wings aiding her in the process. She then jumped onto another outcropping, this time using her hands to pull herself up. There was barely enough room for both of her feet to stand on. Skye continued to jump from handhold to handhold, quickly ascending the mountain without flying. Although of course, she used her wings to help.

Then, she saw Crono flying and decided to fly too. She flapped her wings once and she rocketed upwards until she came up behind Crono. "Well, you can be fast, I guess." She said.

---

Calypso followed the others, navigating easily towards the mountain base. It was both painful and endearing to see how much the world had changed during her long sleep. With a pang, she realized bitterly the greenery around them matched the color of Aeneas' eyes. The greenery was a bright, sparkling green, flecked with golden sunlight. Every time she closed her eyes, she could always see that face in her mind's eye.

Hair darker than night. Almost always a heavy frown set in his mouth. And the eyes, of course.

"You said you'd come right after me," Calypso found her thoughts straying. "Where are you?"

As they got closer and closer to the base, Calypso was struck with a feeling of nostalgia. How many times had she, Bellatrix, Minerva, Callum, Aeneas, Markus, and Rosa headed towards danger like this, seeking to risk their own lives to help save the world?

Then she had another stray thought. An old prophecy she had tried to ignore for all her life, something she had only shared with Callum and Aeneas.

"Bound by love stronger than life's bonds,
You lead your friends to eternal disaster.
Time and space have intertwined,
The world will cease its laughter.
Been there once, been there twice,
The end for you is near.
Seek the ones who have fallen,
Especially the ones who are dear.
Have you the strength to take back what was lost
And restore the balance
With a terrible cost?"

A chill ran through Calypso, stirring even Analissa's consciousness within her.

"Why didn't you tell them?" Her descendant spoke, their thoughts sharing one stream.

Calypso risked a glance at Bellatrix, who was half-dragging the Giratina Binary along with her. A sad smile graced her face for a split second, recalling a similar scene from the past, Bellatrix dragging Callum while the latter protested with a red face.

"We have enough to worry about...and I don't want to get Bella's hopes up," Calypso half-heartedly replied.

"You don't want to get your own hopes up, either, do you?"

"No," Calypso answered honestly. "I led a life of trials, sacrifice, and disappointment. Given a second chance, my only wish is to stop these children from suffering the same ordeals we faced."

...You still blame yourself for their deaths."

Calypso was stunned at the girl's perceptiveness. True, they shared a body, but not all of their memories and thoughts were shared. "Yes," she finally replied, a bitter edge to her voice. "Rosa died to save me. Markus died because I made a mistake. Callum...I should have given him more strength."

Analissa was silent but for a moment. "Callum was my brother."

Calypso was once more, stunned. She knew Analissa and Riona were her descendants, and that Callum had come from the future, but the thought of them being related had never occurred to her.

"I-I'm sorry."

"If I knew my brother, he wouldn't want you to feel like that. He was a tough nut on the outside, but he really did care for people. Even though sometimes, he didn't really show it."

Calypso had never been struck speechless three times in a row so easily. But there was something sad about Analissa's statement, as if she herself never really knew her brother. Maybe, just maybe, there had been more to Callum than just being a strong, caring leader.

---

Ateer stayed near the front of the group and let his mind relax. He spread his mind out to feel every living thing around him. He could sense his friends behind him but they weren't the only beings he could sense. He could 'see' every tree, flower, bush, and animal in his mind. Each gave off its own sense of life. Obviously the trees' aura was different than that I the birds in their branches or every insect in its trunk. He sighed, enjoying the blissful feeling of being one with the world. He didn't need to open his eyes to walk. He could see without opening his eyes, by sensing the life forms around him. He paused when he felt a different life form nearby. It was similar to himself and the others, another binary? He opened his eyes and turned to the others. "Guys, there's someone over there." He pointed in the direction he felt the aura.
(I kind of got this idea from Eragon/Eldest when he's training and has to let his mind relax and feel all the life around him, if anyone knows what I'm talking about)

---

(Yeah, I get the idea. Eragon was observing ants, right?)

"Over there?" Skye asked, not seeing where Ateer was pointing at. "OK, I think you mean the top of this ridiculously tall mountain, because I'm pretty sure that's where the girl and her deer are waiting. Also, I'm fairly sure I can provide a few boosts when flying up this pile pf rock." Skye added before she changed into her binary form, and, channeling her powers, she created an updraft to carry the whole group above faster and with less energy.

She opened her leathery wings out wide, letting them catch the air. Skye closed her eyes and savored the feeling of flying.

---

(I don't think she would be able to lift about 7 people up with her powers, seems a bit too op)

"Hey! We have to climb the mountain! Otherwise it's cheating! And cheaters get killed!" Bellatrix said to Skye. They were currently near the base of the mountain, and they would have to climb a bit higher to reach the gateway to the path up. To prove her point, Bellatrix picked up a stone from the ground, which disintegrated once it hit the invisible barrier just a couple feet above their heads. "See? We could've died just now from doing things your way!" Bellatrix scolded.

---

"She's closer than the top of the mountain, but like Bellatrix said, we have to do this without cheating. We hike like humans, not Binaries. Even flying a little might be considered cheating, so lets hike."
(Yeah, that's the part, though he didn't enter anyhing's mind)

---

''Do we really need to climb it? We don't have that much time...'' - Crono muttered to himself, quickly coming down to the surface. Right before landing, he saw a somewhat familiar figure, standing on the mountain side, gazing and awaiting. ''I hope this bull isn't going to be a problem now.'' - he added, landing and joining the team again.

---

(but...)
(we can't see what's on the peak)
(it's too far away)

---

(The trials are nearer to the binaries than the top of the peak.)

"Alright, I'm coming. And sorry about that, I hadn't realized there was a barrier." Viper said before she tucked her wings in and dropped to the ground. [/i]Well, my powers are officially useless now.[/i] She thought to herself as she shifted into her human form. It feels as if I'm the only one unable to help... And what's with the bull? Skye asked herself once she heard Crono's question. "Just... don't make it angry." Skye replied.

---

(duuurp.
Edited.)

"Why would I make you angry?" - Crono blurted out loudly, with a slight tone of sarcasm. "Oh yeah. The barrier. They knew that we could come from above." - he said while looking upwards, seeing only the mountain.

---

(GFSjkvxykgGssjBjhxgjgxFgfv)
(There is not and never has been a bull!)
(The Sandevi is officially annoyed by the lack of non-skimming that is going on here)

---

[Listen to the Sansan .w.]

Calypso managed to shake herself out of her little reverie. Worry later, act now, she decided as she launched herself to the air, purposely forcing her gravity stars to stop working. She found microscopic handholds one after another, playing a dangerous game as she leaped from one to another. Her feet found temporary places to place themselves, almost losing its fight against gravity just as she found another one.

"You mean, climb first, then hike," she corrected as she clung to the rock, swaying in a daredevil manner, referring to the almost completely vertical and smooth terrain.

[At least, I think we're mountain climbing. Right...?]

"Remember when we were forced to do obstacle courses, Bella?" Calypso called out breathlessly as she leaped to grab at another hold. "It was kind of like this, just without the risk of dying an honorable and gruesome death."

Deftly defying gravity, Calypso forced herself into a strong somersault, balancing her weight against the sudden wind that was rising in power. She grasped at another handhold, narrowly avoiding a painful fall. She dangled precariously for a half moment before her boots stuck to the rock stubbornly, sliding slowly down. "Dear Helios, I'm out of shape," she declared matter-of-factly. "Are you all fine down there?"

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