Chapter Two: Back to the Future
What did I expect?
To leave a hemorrhage
of violets wherever I walked?

No. A lost son is called prodigal.
A lost daughter is just called lost.
-- Emily Rose Cole "Persephone Returns"

Rydia's new house didn't feel like her home yet -- King Doan's builders had ignored her family's requests to follow the original building- and floor-plans -- but she was grateful for the added space once her friends began to arrive. There was no way they all could have comfortably fit in the original house, and she doubted that the Guardian military would take kindly to the two demons that had yet to show up. Which was another thing that bothered her: Bleu was, understandably, wary of trusting others... but she willingly allied with a DuFarr just because they happened to be cousins. She doubted that she could be as charitable to, say, Ozzie XXXIII if they'd been revealed to be related.

"Bleu's still not here?" she heard Daria groan from the parlor. She'd arrived -- and promptly taken control of the remote -- soon after Bleu left for Skye's world. Rydia retreated to her workshop shortly after that, especially once Marle and Daria's channel battle really got underway. She could hear the weather channel playing in the background; her quick-thinking ancestor had wrested the remote away and turned it to a neutral station, before blasting the remote in frustration. She hoped her parents wouldn't notice the scorch marks that Lucca's Wonder Shot left.

Rydia sighed. She knew she couldn't hide forever, and Robo and Crono could use the back-up in case Bleu didn't take kindly to Daria's presence or Skye to Setzer and Terra's. She slipped her screwdrivers back in her toolbag and set it aside before standing up and dusting herself off. She took another deep breath before exiting the workroom and making her way down the hall to the parlor.

"We need more snacks," Daria said when Rydia entered the room. The princess sat in her dad's chair, with one leg flung over the armrest and an empty bowl resting on her stomach. Marle was perched on the other armrest and Crono sat on the floor beside her. Lucca occupied the nearest seat on the nearer of the two sofas, pointedly cleaning her Wonder Shot. The blasted remains of the remote control rested on the floor nearby. Beside her were Frog and Robo, as well as one of the newcomers that had arrived along with Cecil and Rosa. His name was Edward, and apparently he was either the prince or king of some country. The other newcomer, a dragoon named Kain, was an old friend of Cecil and Rosa. He sat with them and Sabin on the other sofa, while Celes leaned against the arm. Terra sat in her mom's chair, with Setzer standing nearby. Magus stood at the opposite side of the room from Frog, glaring at the amphibious swordsman. This, Rydia decided, was going to be fun.

"Get them yourself," Magus told her. Daria rolled her eyes.

"I can't," Daria replied, indicating Marle with a tilt of her head. "She'll take my spot."

"How terrible," Magus deadpanned. "Maybe you'll starve."

Daria glared at him. "Is your name Rydia? Because I was talking to her."

Thankfully, at that moment, the gate containing Bleu and Skye appeared and deposited the two in the middle of the room. "Bleu! You're back!" Rydia said with a relieved smile.

Bleu nodded as she took in the scene. "I'm guessing that the reason we're watching Truce's seven day forecast has something to do with the hole in the floor?"

"It's not a hole," Rydia replied. "It's... look, do you think my parents won't notice it if I put a rug over it?"

"It's worth a shot," Bleu said. Rydia winced. "Uh, what happened?"

"Lucca neutralized an altercation," Robo supplied.

"Lucca blasted the remote apart," Marle translated, shooting a pointed look at her friend. Lucca blushed guiltily.

"I'll buy you a new one," she said.

Skye sucked in her breath as she, too, looked over the room. Terra was there, as expected, and so was Setzer. He still looked good -- better than good -- and the way he stood by Terra and the protective hand he laid on her shoulder hurt. She caught him looking at her and scowled. He looked away.

She felt Bleu nudge her side. "He's talking about you," she whispered, with a quick nod towards the group on the farther sofa. Skye groaned inwardly when she saw that it was the dragoon, Kain, whom she'd stolen that spear from when she arrived in his world. Not to mention Cecil, who turned out to be the king of that castle, and another guest that she was pretty sure she'd nicked a pocket-watch from. Great. She took a deep breath and strode over to them.

"Is there something you wanted to say to me?" Skye demanded, eyes narrowed.

"To you, no, but I was just telling Edward to watch his valuables around you," Kain answered.

Skye turned to the aforementioned Edward, who tried to shrink between the couch cushions and Robo. Unlike the others, he didn't carry a weapon and instead held a lute. "What are you? The entertainment or something?"

Edward flinched. "I guess... Mostly I'm just a coward."

"Oh." Skye reached into her pack and dug around until she found the pocket-watch. She'd managed to hold onto it after her party raid was foiled, and held off selling it once she returned to her own world because it kept excellent time. Even the attack by the Calbrena had failed to dent it. She held it out to him. "Is this yours?"

"That was my great-grandfather's," Edward said accusingly as he reached out to take it. Skye merely shrugged. "Thank you for returning it," he added.

"The stores must not have offered her a good price," Kain said, smirking.

"Kain --" Rosa began.

Skye whirled around to face him. "I apologized, okay? Sorta. Whatever! I returned it!" she fumed. "It's not like I stole anything else from any of you!"

"Just my time," Kain replied nastily. "Go hide from Setzer elsewhere. This matter is over."

Skye shrank back, stung. "I wasn't." She heard Rosa hiss something to him, but she was already walking away. Stupid Kain. Stupid conscience. Stupid pocket-watch. Stupid crowded room that left her standing in the corner in order to be alone. She considered ducking into the hallway, but that just seemed cowardly. Skye didn't want to give Kain -- or Setzer, for that matter -- the satisfaction of driving her away.

Bleu sighed as she watched Skye's retreat. That... could have gone better. She looked over at Magus, who had been watching as well.

"Weak," he muttered. Bleu glared at him.

"She's my friend," she growled.

"Sorry." Magus shrugged. "So, is it too late to point out that we never said where in Truce your cousin was supposed to meet us, let alone the day or the time?"

Now it was Bleu's turn to shrug. "If she's anything like her sisters, it won't matter. Think about all the times -- and places -- Katra and Ankara showed up when we didn't want them around."

"Yeah, but I sort of wish you hadn't picked my house," Rydia ventured.

"Better'n mine," Daria said. "Guardia Castle's had enough monsters in it already, and demons are worse. Right, Marle?"

"Wellllll..." Marle began, grimacing.

"The castle's got the army to back it up," Crono said.

"We've practically got an army here!" Daria rolled her eyes. "Okay, show of hands: who here hasn't saved the world at least once?"

"You've got a point..." Rydia conceded.

"Duh. Plus, your folks are staying at the castle right now, so you don't want the demons to go there," Daria continued.

"That's because the demons are coming here and I wanted them to be safe. But you're right, your Highness," Rydia said under her breath. "Yeah," she said louder.

"Sorry, I should have asked you before I decided," Bleu said. "I just figured that, with all of us here, we'd be just as safe here as in the castle."

"See? Bleu agrees with me," Daria said.

"I wouldn't go that far," Bleu muttered. "But I guess they'll be here when they get here."

"If they get here," she heard Kain say to Cecil.

"I'm wondering if there's a way of utilizing whatever spell they're using in my Telepod. Maybe it won't react to the dreamstone in Marle's pendant, then," Lucca mused.

"That sounds like Magitek," Celes said.

"Yeah, the Ancients in my world tried to combine spells and technology, too," Skye said. "So did I, when I built Kilroy. It didn't work out so well."

"The Lunarians built the Big Whale... but I'm not sure how much of it's magic and how much is technology," Cecil said. "Frankly, I was expecting it to be some sort of horrible, dormant summoned monster. I wasn't sure we'd ever get back and that's why I didn't want you to come along," he said to Rosa.

"Oh, Cecil... I'm sure we would have found a way back," Rosa said. "Even without the Big Whale."

"Okay, okay, I'm sure the Big Whale was cool... but it didn't have the patented Lucca touch of genius that my Telepod 3.0 will have!" Lucca said. "It'll be even better than the device my descendant and I used to locate you all after Ankara scattered us."

"I guess I shouldn't be too worried about demons in the castle --" Daria began and Bleu cringed inwardly. She had an idea of what was going to come next, and wished it could have come out of anyone else's mouth. "-- Bleu's what? A quarter-demon or something?"

"Shh!" Rydia shot Bleu an apologetic look.

"What? It's not like it means anything," Daria said dismissively. "Half-Mystic, quarter-demon, whatever. She's Bleu." She shrugged. Bleu folded her arms and looked away. It wasn't an apology, but it was close enough to show intent. That didn't make things right, though.

Rydia paled at a sudden knock on the door. Frog sprang from the sofa and, with Robo and Sabin's help, relocated the rug that had been under the couch to the scorch mark on the floor. The pattern made the dip in the floor slightly less obvious. "Thanks," she said with a nervous laugh as she crossed the room. She took a deep breath, then unlocked and opened the door. "...Hi. I don't know you."

Bleu and Magus were at the door moments later, weapons drawn. "Whoa, hey!" Karina protested, hands up. Beside her was a nervously-grinning young man with red eyes and bright blue hair. His pointed teeth revealed what Bleu already suspected, as did his pointed ears.

"Hi, Karina," Bleu sighed tiredly, still not lowering her weapon. "You're here."

"With your friend," Magus added, scythe held at ready.

"Yeah, I told you we would be. So let's put our toys away and get this started," Karina looked between Bleu and Magus, then grabbed the demon by the wrist and pulled him along as she squeezed between them. Once inside the room, she let go of Ashlynn and shut off the tv. "Nobody was actually watching that, right?"

Skye looked up when she heard the unfamiliar voice, then looked away to keep from staring. Karina was every bit as weird-looking as she expected her to be, but nothing had prepared her for the demon she was with. Seeing him, Skye had no doubt he was Karina's boyfriend; the half-demon would have to be crazier than her sisters to let that slip away. She slumped her shoulders and sighed. At least I didn't get my hopes up, she told herself.

"My name is Karina DuFarr and this --" Karina pointed to the demon standing beside her. "This is my associate Ashlynn Drakkshan." Ashlynn rolled his eyes as he mouthed the word "associate."

Bleu resisted the urge to roll her eyes too. She'd just barely met Karina and she was already tired of her; in fact, she was pretty sure she was tired of Ashlynn as well. He was good-looking, sure, but he also looked ridiculous: his outfit was similar in style to 1000 A.D.'s fashion, except for the windbreaker and sneakers he wore. Both were obviously brand-new, and the price tag dangling from the jacket's sleeve matched those from the mall downtown.

She risked a glance at Skye, and saw her looking dejected. Bleu hoped it was due to Setzer and mentally berated herself for using Ashlynn as a selling point on the adventure. She'd allowed Skye to get her hopes up for some demonic loser she'd never met. Ugh. Daria seemed to like him, though, and the princess was staring at the demon with a hunger she usually reserved for chocolate truffles.

"I recognize most of the people here -- don't ask how, the answer is magic and it's not important to the matter at hand," Karina said. She looked around. "Who's missing?"

"Schala isn't a fighter, so she stayed out of this," Bleu replied.

"And someone had to watch over the kingdom, so Edgar and I flipped a coin," Sabin said. "Not sure who lost," he added under his breath.

"Edge sends his regrets," Kain said. "He said he couldn't handle rejection by another Rydia."

Rydia sighed tiredly.

"Oh well, their loss," Karina said.

"I'm Kain, by the way," he added.

"I'm charmed. And Karina. And your friend?"

"Edward, King of Damcyan," Edward said. He smiled at Karina, though that smile faltered when Karina smiled back.

Magus cleared his throat.

"Right, back to business. Now, I'm sure Bleu and Magus have already filled you all in on the basics -- so I won't waste your time and my breath rehashing that -- but does anyone have any questions before I start in on the nitty-gritty?"

Daria twisted around in her seat, nearly knocking Marle over in the process. She looked around the room, then turned back to sit cross-legged in the chair. "Okay, I'll bite: what's wrong with your teeth?" she asked. Marle batted her on the arm and Lucca stifled a laugh.

"You can't just ask her that!" Marle hissed.

"Somebody had to! They're weird!" Daria hissed back.

Bleu rolled her eyes. That was the Daria she knew, almost-apology notwithstanding. She almost wanted to defend Karina -- she knew what it felt like to be singled out as different, especially for something she couldn't change -- but kept her mouth shut. She has to be used to it, she reasoned. Black teeth are a hell of a lot more noticeable than blue blood.

"Absolutely nothing, but thank you so much for asking," Karina purred. "Okay, any questions that don't have something to do with my looks?"

Marle looked at Crono, who zipped his fingers across his lips, and muffled a giggle. Across the room, Cecil cleared his throat.

"We've been to the Underworld before," he said.

"That's not a question and, no, you really haven't," Karina said. "You visited a underworld, but not the Underworld. There's a difference."

"...Which is?" Cecil folded his arms. "What I saw was an underground world, filled with fire and monstrous beasts. No offense, of course."

Rosa frowned, then mouthed an apology to Karina. The half-demon nodded.

"It's not an underground world and it's not filled with fire," Karina replied. "Okay, some of it is, but that's not the point. The point is that the Underworld -- the Underworld -- is the world below all others. It's a magical dimension without bounds or even a real location. It just is. My father plans to take over the other worlds by connecting them to the Underworld. That permanent connection would allow... basically, all hell to break loose." She took a deep breath. "Usually, the only way a demon can get out of the Underworld is if a sorcerer or sorceress summons them. That spell works by forming a magical one-way connection that pulls the demon through the barrier between my world and theirs. Once the demon's in the summoner's world, the only way they can return to the Underworld alive is by being banished. Banishing is... more difficult. It takes more energy to push a demon back than it takes to bring one in, but the connection works the same way. If Father had his way, those barriers would be removed. Demons could come and go as they pleased, and there's nothing anyone could do to stop them. Your worlds as you know them would cease to exist."

"That is truly an outcome most terrible," Frog said, breaking the silence that followed Karina's statement. "Prithee... if demons must be summoned, how couldst thee and thy sisters travel so freely? And what of thy companion?"

"I'm a sorceress. So was Ankara and... maaaaaybe Katra? I know Ankara must've taught her some spells since she scattered you all, but..." Karina trailed off. "Anyhow, what we're using isn't a summoning spell -- it's more like a magic version of your time gate. I could have summoned Ash, but it was easier to just pull him along with me. Summoning's kind of a messy business; I prefer to practice safe hex."

Frog coughed. "I see."

"Yeah, great," Bleu said. "What I'm getting from that is, even if we stop your father, we still run the risk of demon invasion."

"Not really," Karina said. "Most demons are magical, yeah, but sorcery is about as rare there as it is here. Mom was a sorceress of, um, some ability, while my father... he's a sorcerer with the time, patience, and ruthlessness to delve into the darkest arts."

"Hmmm... sounds like someone we know, but who?" Marle tapped a finger against her lips and winked in Magus's direction. He scowled back at her.

Sounds like Thanatos, Skye thought. She glanced back up at the two demons, then sighed inwardly. There was no way she wouldn't have helped Bleu -- especially since it got her away from home and her parents' questions -- but she wished she had prepared better first. Right now, all she'd done was hide from Setzer like some sort of loser and blunder into another stupid heartache. Her parents really did need to live forever: the future of the Scorpion Army was doomed if they expected her to carry it on.

Edward raised a tentative hand. "Is it true that your world contains the Land of the Dead?"

"Y-yes it does!" Karina replied, sounding surprised. "That's... another thing the Underworld is known for. Do you want to? Go, I mean?"

"If it would be possible," Edward said quietly. Terra looked up at Setzer, who rubbed her shoulder, then back down at the glass pendant she wore.

"Oh, it is," Karina said. "It'd actually be a good place to start at, I think --"

Ashlynn nudged her with his elbow, growling something as he did. Karina growled something back and he countered with a hiss.

"-- and not too far out of the way," she finished pointedly.

"So that's your human accent," Bleu said. Karina blushed.

"I told you it was bad," she said. "That's why I asked Ash to come along: not only can he speak the language, he can also get into the places I can't. I don't see the latter being necessary... but, who knows! Better safe than sorry."

"Places you... can't?" Bleu asked. She had an idea of what her cousin meant and forced down the sympathy she felt.

"Yeah. Half-demon, remember? There's not a lot of us down there -- alive, at least -- and we're not exactly viewed in a positive light by the purists. Neither are humans."

"Oh, it just keeps getting better. Wonderful," Setzer muttered.

Bleu took a deep breath and, with a glance towards Daria and Rydia, let it out slowly. "What if we disguise ourselves?"

"What? Do you have --" Kain paused to count. "-- seventeen demon costumes hidden in that bag of yours?"

"No, but I do have this." Bleu snapped her fingers, transforming herself into an Outlaw.

"Whoa! How'd you do that?!" Sabin said. "That sure blows my brother's disguise out of the water," he added to Celes.

"You never showed us that before. Or told us," Rydia said, sounding stung. "Well, me at least. How about you?"

Daria shook her head. "No, I think I would've remembered Bleu turning into something like that."

"First off, not 'something like that,'" Bleu snarled. "Someone. A Mystic. And secondly, why would I after the way you two reacted when you saw my blood?! No way!"

"That was a long time ago --" Daria began.

"Yeah, and it still hurts."

"You still don't trust us," Rydia murmured. "That hurts, too."

"I haven't even told Schala about this. Or Magus, for that matter," Bleu snapped back. She ducked her head down to hide the angry tears that were forming in her eyes. "We'll talk about it later," she whispered to Magus, who was looking at her strangely. She hated being stared at. Hated being the freak. Why'd I even think this was a good idea?

"Bleu assumed that disguise when we infiltrated Choras," Robo said. "She disguised me in a similar fashion."

"She was able to transform you into a Mystic as well...?" Karina asked, eyes wide.

"No, she turned me blue." Robo paused. "But our situation demanded I pose as a broken R-67 unit."

"Huh. Could Decamerone change his form like that? And is the fingersnap part of the spell?" Karina stepped closer, studying Bleu with an envious expression.

"How would I know? He died before I was born, so it's not like I ever met him," Bleu said. "And no, the fingersnap is not part of the spell. It just makes it easier to cast."

"Either way, it's very impressive," Karina said. "Extremely impressive. And promising. Let's see if it passes the sniff test."

"The what --" Bleu began, then jerked when Ashlynn sniffed at her.

"Nope, she still smells mostly-human," Ashlynn said. He grinned. "Good, though... what's that scent you're wearing? It's something floral."

"It's none of your business," Bleu gritted. She snapped her fingers and transformed back. "Now get away from me!"

"What about a curse?" Magus asked, looking pointedly at Ashlynn.

"And let others be stuck in the same form as I?" Frog glared at Magus.

"Oh, you did that? Here I thought Froggy did it for fun," Karina said disdainfully. "I don't think anyone wants to go to the Underworld looking like lunch. Let's fix that." Frog let out a croaking gasp as he was enveloped in a cloud of blue smoke. The smoke cleared to reveal a now-human Frog. "Hm. No longer a meal, but still a dish. Not bad, eh?"

Frog tentatively touched his face, then stuck out his tongue and pulled on it a little. He gulped a few times -- obviously enjoying that it was no longer accompanied by a distinctively-amphibian ribbit -- then turned to face Lucca, who was blushing bright red and whose glasses were beginning to fog. "Thou seemst more shocked to see me now than before. Methinks I must be a terrible sight," he said with a smile.

"I d-didn't know you were such, uh... hehehe... a fine and stately knight, Sir Frog. But I guess we can't call you Frog anymore, uh, right, Glenn?" Lucca stammered. She fanned herself. "... Oh my, is it warm in here?"

"'Frog' is fine, I assure thee."

"That he is," Marle whispered to Daria. They both giggled.

"Now that you've had your fun, how about telling us how you think we should proceed through the Underworld? You're not expecting us to hide every time a demon walks by, are you?" Magus asked sarcastically.

Edward looked sheepish.

"Of course not: if anyone asks, I'm just going to say that I'm giving my cousin and her friends a tour. It's not a lie." Karina shrugged.

Bleu stared at her. "That's one of the stupidest schemes I've ever heard."

"But is it stupid enough to work?" Crono said.

Karina shrugged again. "Only one way to find out!" she said with a snap of her fingers.