Kat! Help! We're badly injured. . . Tiger jumped. Sitting under a tree, she had been dozing. Acting quickly, she opened a Gate and leaped into it.
Frog and Donkey stood back to back, weapons at the ready as the circle of enemies slowly tightened around them.
"We're done for, Frog!" whispered Donkey.
"Keep thy wits about thee! They haven't won yet!" Frog whispered back. Suddenly they heard someone yelling.
"YAAAAAHHHH!" The enemies stopped for a moment, confused.
"What was that?" Donkey wondered aloud. Frog recognized who it was.
"Tiger! It hast come to the rescue!" Tiger leaped out of the Gate and surveyed the scene. She suddenly started speeding around in a blur among the Kannons, knocking them over.
"Who's Tiger?" asked Donkey.
"That shadowy figure there!" Finishing the job, Tiger stood up and turned to the two. She didn't notice the still form of Crono.
"May I have the honor?" she asked, grinning.
"Certainly!" They stepped back, dragging Crono with them. Suddenly, Tiger transformed into a huge tiger. Growling, she grabbed a stunned Kremling by the tail. She swatted the others with it as they tried to get up. When she figured they'd had enough, she let them get a head start. As they retreated, she threw the one she still held at the rest, knocking them over like bowling pins. Finally, they scrambled away with broken arms, legs, and tails. Tiger changed back into her original form.
"That wasn't so hard!" she chuckled. Just then, she spotted Crono lying on the flat of his dropped sword, and was startled. "What happened here?" Donkey and Frog looked at each other, and shrugged. "Well, it doesn't really matter how it happened. The important thing is, we need to revive him."
"So, what will thee do? I hast forgotten to bring a Revive along. . ." Frog looked down at the ground. Tiger shrugged his statement off.
"Oh, never mind those Revives. They only wake you up a little bit. Don't worry, I'll take care of him." She went over and knelt down beside him. She started mumbling to herself. The only thing they caught was, "This shouldn't be too hard. . ." She took one of his hands in hers and put her other hand on the side of his neck. She began to concentrate. As the other two watched with their mouths open, they saw what looked like a golden light emit from her hands where she was touching him.
Crono felt something cool and soothing on his neck. He stirred, and she stopped.
"Tiger?" he said weakly.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"I think so. . ." He opened his eyes.
"My, my! Someone sure needs some more training!" she said in relief. They both laughed.
"Thee had us worried!"
"Who, me? No, you had me worried when you accidentally aimed that Cure at yourself. I thought you were chaotic." Frog turned red, and Donkey cut in.
"Never mind, we've got to get you back. You're still a little weak." As they were helping him back, he said silently, Thanks for helping us, Kat.
It was nothing, really. They soon arrived back where they started.
"Donkey, Frog, you should call up Magus and tell him to go with you," Tiger told them.
"How did it know my name?" asked Donkey.
"Oh, never mind!" Frog sighed in exasperation.
"Oops, I almost forgot. You don't like to work with Magus, Frog, so Ayla can go with you instead."
"Too bad," muttered Frog, "I'd like to give the silly magician a taste of my blade!"
"Hey, you two had better not fight again, or I'll send Bowser over here to stand between you," she grinned. "Now off."
"Let's go, frog breath," Donkey said cheerfully. Frog glared at him. He was still in a bad mood.
"Say that again and I shall slice thee in half!"
"Oh, lighten up, I was only kidding. . ." They went off, arguing.
"Well, I'll be off now. See you later," said Tiger.
"Wait a minute," said Crono. She stopped. "Why are you always leaving in such a hurry? Couldn't you just stick around for a while?" She shrugged.
"Sure." She sat down beside him. "Are you feeling okay now?"
"Yes, but not enough to fight those things again." Crono looked depressed.
"What's wrong?" she asked. He sighed. "It's Marle, isn't it?" He nodded.
"Fighting out there with only Magus and Dixie with her. She could be in worse trouble than I was."
"You shouldn't worry so much, I think she'll be all right."
"I certainly hope so." Crono put his chin on his knees.
"Are you tired? If you want to sleep, I won't disturb you." But he had already fallen asleep. Tiger lifted him and carefully put him under the safety of the tree house. Then she sat against it close by and rested. But she always kept one eye half open, watching protectively to make sure nothing attacked him while he was still weak.
"How could I have let you idiots fail at such an important task?!" roared K. Rool. He had just learned about his fighters' defeat.
"But Kaptain--"
"I told you, call me Kruel!"
"But Kruel, we had them trapped, and then this thing came flying out of nowhere and knocked us over. Then it started swinging a soldier around and beating us up. I heard them call it Tiger."
"Tiger? Hmmm. This Tiger sounds like a threat to my plans." Kruel was not a happy camper.
"But I've got some good news! We managed to defeat one, a boy with red hair." This cheered Kruel up a little bit.
"Good! Just pick them off one at a time, and pretty soon there will be none left! Ha ha ha!"
Kruel was sure wrong. The boy they had supposedly defeated was actually sleeping peacefully, without a care in the world.
Well, he wasn't really peaceful.
Crono was dreaming. Not one of those black dreams, just a regular one. He was beside a pond in a field. He looked down, and saw the reflection of Marle looking at him. Suddenly she screamed.
"Crono! Help!" He looked up and saw that a Kannon had grabbed her. He searched frantically for his sword, but it was nowhere. Suddenly, he couldn't move at all. Helplessly, he watched as she was tied to a tree. The enemy stood back, aimed, and fired his weapon. It seemed to fly in slow motion at first. Then Marle screamed again, and it went faster and faster and faster. . .
Tiger watched Crono tossing around and moaning in his sleep. She decided to see what he was dreaming, and closed her eyes.
The cannon ball raced towards Marle with blinding speed. Crono tried to close his eyes against the horrible scene, but he seemed to see through his eyelids.
Tiger was getting worried. She was afraid if she didn't wake him up soon, he might not, ever, from the shock of the dream.
Crono sobbed. He realized what it would be like without Marle. The ball was now a mere fraction from her body. She screamed even louder. . .
"Crono! Wake up!" He woke up with a start, the screams still echoing in his ears. Even though he was awake, he was still shaking.
"Oh, man. . .that dream. . ." he murmured. Tiger looked at him with concern.
"I know. I saw it too. Just rest there awhile, don't sleep. You might have another nightmare." She went back and leaned against the tree house again. Crono sat there for a minute.
"So real, as if it were a warning. . ." From far away, he thought he heard faint screams. "Oh no!" He grabbed his sword and ran in the direction of the sound. Tiger watched as he ran off and decided to follow him. She had heard the screams too. Staying hidden in the trees, she started after him.
Marle was fighting for her life. After she and her two friends had accidentally got caught in a net trap, a whole bundle of Kremlings had come after them. The three could still swing their weapons through, but, try as they might, they could not severe the net.
"Come on, you fools! All you have to do is lift up the net and take it to Kruel! How hard can it be?!" roared the leader of the bunch.
"But sir, they're fighting back!" yelled one of them back to him.
"Everyone fights back, you twit brain!" Dixie was frantically trying to whip her ponytail out at the baddies. Magus was fuming.
"You're the ones who got us in this mess because--"
"Yes, yes, because we're weak. Now shut up!" Marle decided the best thing to do in this situation was to scream.
"Sheesh! Can't you yell any louder than that?" said Magus sarcastically, covering his ears.
"Look!" exclaimed Dixie, pointing.
"It's Crono!" cried Marle. Crono came dashing in, using his Cyclone tech multiple times, indirectly cutting the net and freeing the three.
"Quick, get out of his way!" From behind a tree, Tiger watched the battle. She didn't need to help him.
Finally, they all ran away. Crono sat down and took deep breaths. Marle came running over.
"Crono, are you okay? You saved us!" Tiger came out of hiding and over to them.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine, now." She and Tiger helped Crono up.
BRRRIIIING!
"Now what?" Crono answered his phone. "Hello?"
"'Tis I, Frog. We hath found the hideout!"
"That's great!"
"But it is getting towards evening, so thee should all head back now."
"Okay. Bye." Click.
"Twice in a row! How could you do it?!" screamed Kruel at his cowering soldier.
"But Kruel--"
"Silence! I want no complaints out of you. I thought that little red-haired brat was gone for good. Now get back out there! One more failure, and I'll toss you all out! Is that understood?!"
"Yes sir." He ran out to where the rest of the Kremlings were waiting. "You heard what he said, so march!"
That evening, the friends were all sitting around a campfire, except for Tiger. She was sitting apart from them, talking on the phone with another girl.
"I'm not sure if they're up to it tonight, but I'll let you know, okay?"
"I doubt they could win, though."
"Well, heck, maybe they could. But they sure have been beaten a lot lately. Heh, it was a lucky break that I was there. But, you know, I have a feeling there will be another adventure coming up after K. Rool is defeated."
"Really? We all feel the same too. But watch your back, Tiger. We also feel you are in for something nasty, though we can't say what." Tiger laughed nervously.
"Well, I'll try to stay on guard."
"Just be careful, and keep your eye on all of them, okay?"
"Sure. Say hi to the gang over there for me."
"Okay. And, by the way, you-know-who is still a bit worried about you."
"I know. Tell him I'll be all right. Nice talking to you. Bye!"
"Bye, Tiger." Click. Tiger sat back and listened to the others conversing.