I've been able to hear the thoughts of Chronos and other dragons for a while now... But lately, Chronos isn't making any sense.
I'd be happy if it meant I could get dragons out of my head for good, but it just makes me worried! What's going on with Chronos?
Urgent news, you dolt! The Northern Divines have told me a horrible truth: Those beings we know as the Chrono Divines are mechanical creations of the Tyrants!
I'm sure you've felt it too, Neddy -- the Divines of our time, AND those of the future need our help...
It pains me to team up with you again... but the idea of a Tyrant-controlled future pains me even more. Let's go!
Ah? Where are we? I figured we'd need to do some detective work first, but it appears we've gone directly into a Space-Time Rift.
Ugh, these trips always make me nauseous. I haven't heard a word from Chronos, but I guess it sent us straight here... totally unprepared, of course...
(Ah-ha! I remember you children. But where are the others? The wise father? The cunning mother? The yellow-maned prodigy? )
S-Sorry. It's... uh... it's just us.
(Hm... An interesting choice on Chronos' part, but I suppose you two ARE the only living humans who can understand our thoughts.)
(It will have to do. Come with me! There's NOTHING I hate more than the idea of Tyrants controlling me, and we must put a stop to it!)
It's the Isis Dragon -- and it looks furious... I wonder what could have made it so angry? It seems the Tyrants have left it alone!
(No, I'm sure they've done something awful. That's fairly bad news, since Isis is supposed to protect our earth, sky, and fate itself.)
Kinda hard to tell what's earth or sky anymore... But as for fate? I see a battle in ours!
(Oof... Thank you for making me see reason. I was in a terrible fury. You see, something's happened to my mate...)
(... And the fate of all living things hangs in the balance. Please, find my mate!)
Oh, so no big deal then!!!
Hey, I found a way forward! Now we can search for the Isis Dragon's mate... Hey, who IS the Isis Dragon's mate?
(I'm unsure. I don't often interact with the Ancient Divines. A very "orderly" lot, they are...)
Eliza, don't you know? You went to the Golden Pyramid, after all.
That was a long time ago, in every sense of the word! There's nothing we can do but move forward.
This looks -- and smells -- like the Hel Dragon's swamp. But, of course, the Hel Dragon is nowhere to be seen. Because nothing makes sense. *sigh*
(... ... )
What's wrong, Loki Dragon? You were so, uh, talkative until just now.
Dragons work in mysterious ways, I suppose. Perhaps it just has gas.
But if THIS is a Loki Dragon, and THAT is a Loki Dragon... then who's driving the bus?
(This is no time for jokes, human! Do you know what this means? Those Tyrants captured ME in the future! )
(They captured and controlled me with their foul machines! How could it be so?! I refuse to believe it!)
(And now we must even defeat ME! GRRR! I'll tear those Tyrants to ribbons!)
(Krrzzztt... kzxxtt... Find... C-Chronos...!)
Huh?! Did it say something? Eliza, did you hear it?
No... Well, just barely. The important thing is, we defeated it!
(Hush, children! I heard it well through our shared mind! My future counterpart is telling us to find Chronos...!)
So, remember how the Chrono Loki Dragon told us to find Chronos?
(Of course -- how could I forget, child?)
Well, I've been trying to reach out to Chronos since we got here, but it's not answering... even though it sent us here.
As always, whimpering gets us nowhere. We must keep moving forward!
We have our goals: Find the Isis Dragon's mate, find Chronos... and find a way out of here that includes freeing the Chronosian Divines.
*gulp* S-Sounds easy...
(Take heart, hatchlings -- if we fail, we can simply toy with reality a bit and-- Oh, wait, never mind, I forgot your kind can't do that.)
You don't have to rub it in!
(GZZRRRRT... WELCOME... TO... THE NEW... UNDERWORLD...)
OKAY, I'M TERRIFIED! IS ANYBODY ELSE TERRIFIED?!
KEEP YOUR WITS TOGETHER OR YOU'RE GOING TO SERIOUSLY ALARM ME!
(*SIGH*)
(See? It's not so scary once you emerge victorious.)
That's easy for you to say! You're a dragon god!!!
(Quite. I wonder what Chrono Hades meant by "the new underworld," though. Morbid, no? And mysterious.)
Let me get this straight: Tyrants are mind-controlling Divine Dragons into creating a NEW underworld. But why?
It PAINS me to admit it, but these Tyrants give my family a run for their money in terms of sheer villainy.
W-We HAVE to stop them... I guess we really can't afford to fail...
(I must admit I'm surprised: Humans love to bicker -- and so do Divines -- but it seems for once we're all aligned in purpose.)
(This area is huge -- not even my own temple is as grand as this. I'm a little offended!)
(Hey, humans, why didn't your species make me a bigger temple? Aren't you supposed to be good at that?)
... ANYWAY, I... huh?
I thought I heard something like... a dragon speaking. But maybe it was just my imagination.
I DID hear a dragon: the Hou Yi Dragon! Seems like the Tyrants haven't touched it, but--
(FOUL HUMANS! Here to shackle my kin with more of your cursed machines, are you?! Tell me, what have you done with my mate?!)
Y-Y-Y-Your mate? W-We don't--!
It must be talking about the Chang'e Dragon, who we haven't seen. In any case, we can't reason with this dragon till we battle!
(*huff... huff* What awful beasts you are... Heartless monsters... To think we ever aided you...)
(I'll be the first to admit I am a self-serving beast, but it pains me to see my Divine comrades suffer so... Be at ease. These humans are allies.)
I'm so sorry, Hou Yi Dragon... I promise we'll do everything we can to find the Chang'e Dragon!
And we'll CRUSH the Tyrants who dared to mess with our Divines! I swear it!!!
(I must say, it's refreshing to be understood by humans again, even if it's a mere two children.)
(Of course, you two know that long ago, humans and dragons understood each other perfectly... Perhaps we will return to such understanding once more.)
(But humans like the Tyrants make that return seem ever farther off... Ah well, so it goes.)
(In the meantime, I can use our shared communication to tell you I've found a way forward into the Rift. Huzzah!)
This area reminds me of where we received our power to understand dragons... Sometimes I wish it never happened to me!
(You can undo it, you know -- if you truly wish it. All you need to do is close off your heart to dragons, and voilà! No more chats with me or my ilk.)
Huh... I guess it would make this whole "saving the world" business a lot harder...
But it sure would be easier on my nerves.
(I think, perhaps, we have found the Isis Dragon's mate, and also an answer to what the Chronosians are trying to do here.)
(Osiris is a judge of departed souls. Now that the Tyrants have control of Hades -- an underworld Divine -- AND Osiris... well...)
So, what you're saying is, we need to beat that Tyrant tech right out of this Chrono Divine, or we're all going to the underworld, right?
(Essentially... yes.)
W-We did it!
(I don't give in to anxiety easily, but I'll say I can certainly breathe easier now that we've quelled this Chronosian Osiris...)
And hopefully, we've spoiled those rotten Tyrant plans!
So, we rescued the Isis Dragon's mate. Now all we have to do is find Chronos, and get out of here! E-Easy, right?
(I hope that plan includes giving the Tyrants a good scorching. How odd that we've not seen hide nor hair of them.)
Odd indeed -- and a little foreboding! But we've no choice but to keep looking. And don't forget, we've got to find the Chang'e Dragon, too!
(I sense a strange and powerful presence... And it's picked a fitting nest, atop the Great Tree.)
(I get the feeling it's not any of my kin, nor even another Divine. Odd... But since when have I been a stranger to the odd?)
Yes, I think we're all quite well-acquainted with the odd at this point.
Chronos' claw, it's... IT'S CHRONOS! No -- it's CHRONOSIAN CHRONOS!!!
(No, it's not. Well, it IS Chronos' body, but--)
(You meddling children and your dumb beasts have gone far enough! Now sit still while I use the god of time to destroy you and complete my plan!)
Th-That... That sounds like Rathorn's voice! Could he be using his technology to speak through AND control Chronos?!
(Nooooo! You've RUINED my mind control device! I-- kxxrzzt! I will be-- kssshkxt! Bzzzzt! ... ... ... )
(... ... Thank you, Loki, Ned, Eliza. You've severed the neural link between myself and the Tyrants.)
(But your task is not over. In another corner of space-time, Tyrants have used my powers to enact a terrible backup plan.)
(I urge you to heed the request of the Hou Yi Dragon. Until then, I will attempt to contact your Chronos and undo the damage done to time here.)
We rescued Chrono Osiris and found Chronos! All that's left to do is find the Chang'e Dragon...
(I suppose this is goodbye, then. I will stay here to assist my kin, before we return to our realms to heal.)
W-Wait, really? But I worked so hard to ally with you! A-And I... well...
(Heheh. I know expressing emotions is difficult for you. Fear not, we'll always be there in spirit, keeping the world in balance.)
(And who knows? Perhaps one day all dragonkind and humans will truly come together in understanding... )
(In the meanwhile, I think there are other dragons who need your help! Fight on, my human friends.)