A long time ago, in a universe far different than our own...
There was Aslan...
There was the White Witch...
And there was Narnia.
From the same lunatic who brought you Operation ArchAngel, Hellfire Paradox, and a lot of other fanfics, comes my first ever Chrono Trigger fanfic...
CHRONO TRIGGER: The Narnia Chronicles
Disclaimer: I don't own Crono, Marle, Lucca, Frog (I'm using his human name in this fic), Magus, Alya, Spekkio, or any of the other characters or concepts from the Chrono Trigger video game. I'll list those few characters that I do own, as well as who owns everything else, at the end of the fic.
Chapter 1- Dreams
Magus looked around and nodded semi-approvingly. The Northern Ruins had become a perfect base of operations from where he could start the search for his long-lost sister, Schala. The first time he'd seen this place he'd taken a liking to it, and seeing as that his own castle had been reduced to a pathetic meager fort by that witless Ozzie, he'd decided this location was both secluded enough and big enough for his purposes. The upper chambers he'd furnished enough so that they could be his own personal areas, housing one or two small bookshelves and a hammock that he'd obtained not long ago. The lower floors, he'd decided, should be best left alone, lest the ghost of Cyrus decide to irritate him. The last thing he needed was to be haunted by a restless knight while he planned his search for Schala.
After a bowl of stew he'd made himself and a setting up of maps detailing the various places he'd been to during time travel, Magus decided to turn in. Getting the place set up had taken a good deal out of even someone like him, but he didn't plan to let that worry him. Once he figured out how time travel operated or at least how to get back to the platform at the End of Time, he'd have all the time he'd need to find Schala. Assuming she was still alive. Deep inside, Magus hoped beyond hope that she was. So, hanging his cape on the edge of a bookshelf so as not to get entangled in it while he slept, Magus got into the hammock and slowly felt himself drifting off...
..."... Janus..."
The dream world around him was a strange black void, empty of everything except himself and a strange invisible floor. Magus spun around, startled, as the strange voice called out once again...
"... Janus..."
"Who is it?" Magus inquired. "How do you know that name? What do you want with me?"
"... Prince Janus..."
For a long moment there was total silence. Then suddenly a human form emerged from amidst the far-off darkness. Magus gasped as he recognized her as an inhabitant of Zeal, one of the Enlightened Ones of which his mother's kingdom had been populated of. Her long neon-blue hair fell low at her ankles, just visible behind the flowing white but strangely reflective dress that she wore which covered her from the base of her neck down past her feet. Her hands were small and delicate, as were her ruby lips. Her features were gentle and kind, her eyes a deep-set ocean blue. Slowly, she walked over to Magus, then when she was about fifteen feet away she held out her hand.
"... The one whom you seek, she is alive..."
Magus's heart skipped a beat. He almost didn't dare say his sister's name, but he had to be sure.
"... Schala? She... she's alive?"
The figure nodded slowly.
"Where is she? You must tell me!" Magus exclaimed.
"... She is in Aslan's world, to the west of Narnia."
Aslan? Narnia? Magus took a step back, confusion showing in his eyes.
"... Go to the End of Time, Prince Janus... I'll be there to meet you... and show you the way... to Narnia..."
Magus quickly awoke to find himself back in his hammock, the Northern Ruins silent all around him. As the images of the strange dream faded from his mind, he suddenly spotted a glimmer of light out of the corner of his eye. But the moment he turned to look at it, it was mysteriously gone. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was awake, then suddenly he realized without a doubt that that had been far more than a dream.
"...I've got to get to the End of Time." Magus stated to no one in particular, then grabbed his cape and scythe and dashed out of the ruins as fast as he could-
Only to suddenly bump headfirst into a green object about half his size. Both Magus and Glenn fell towards the ground upon colliding, but Magus was able to stop his fall midway and float quickly back up to a standing position. Glenn was only slightly less fortunate, his sheathed sword hitting the floor first and sending him face-forward at the ground, from which position he was able to stop himself with his hands. Magus threw his cape wide as Glenn got back to his feet, his gaze giving off the look of being irritated by Glenn's mere presence.
"What do you want, frog? I don't take kindly to trespassers, and especially not to you." Magus warned, scythe in one hand.
"Had I known you were'th here, Magus," Glenn retorted, one hand on the Masamune. "I should have not come to these ruins. I venture that was your stench I dids't smell on my way in?"
"Shut up, Glenn; what you're doing here is what I want to know." Magus paused. "I thought you gave up trying to avenge Cyrus, frogg-o."
"My business here tis' not vengence, foul sorcerer." Glenn paused for a minute. "I had a vision while I slept two nights ago; a woman in white telling me to come to this place. For what purpose I know not."
Magus was silent for a long moment. Then he turned with his back to Glenn.
"... It seems you and I have had similar visions, frog." Magus stated in a low voice. "Tell me, did this woman have long blue hair and deep blue eyes?"
Glenn almost seemed startled.
"... At that she did. Magus, dos't thou think perhaps 'twas more than simple dream?"
"You obviously did, if it made you come here, Glenn." Magus paused once again. "The difference between our dreams... is that this woman told me to go to the End of Time."
"Perhaps, then, that tis' the reason I was sent here." Glenn mused. "Mayhaps we should both travel to the End of Time?"
"... She said she knew where my sister was." Magus stated out of nowhere, back still to Glenn. "Something about a place called Narnia, or maybe it was Narvia; I can't remember. And someone named Eastland... it's not exactly clear in my memory." He spun to face Glenn. "Alright, but if we're going to find a way to the End of Time, let me make one thing clear: you don't irritate me, and I don't send you through a black hole. Agreed?"
"No need of threats, Magus. I intend to stay as far out of your way as I can."
"OK, we're here," Magus stated, starring at the small, sparkling Gate entrance. "But how do we get through it to the End of Time?"
"If my memory fails me not," Glenn stated. "This warp leads to the Millennial Fair in Crono's time. Cans't thou not use thine powers to open it?"
Magus gave Glenn a look.
"If I could have done that, frog, I would've been searching for Schala by now, not turning the Northern Ruins into an apartment." Magus looked at the warp. "I haven't had a chance to research time travel enough to know how to open a Gate. If I tried anything with my powers, the Gate could explode. Or worse, it could look stable and then destroy us once we stepped inside. I just don't know."
"... But the dreams told us. There must be a-"
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the Gate widened and began to stabilize. Magus and Glenn exchanged surprised glances (Magus's only hinting at slight surprise, naturally), the vortex reaching it's full size and then emitting a strange golden glow around the edges.
"... It seems... that the Gate has stabilized." Magus noted needlessly.
Glenn reached for a nearby long stick and, thrusting it into the Gate, then pulled it back out and found the stick to be intact. He put it down and then turned to Magus.
"That it does. You first, Magus."
Magus gave Glenn a look.
"Well, one of us must go first." Glenn added.
"I don't think so." Magus stated, then in a blur of motion grabbed Glenn by the fabric around his neck and dashed into the Gate, the gate quickly closing behind them.
A blinding brilliance ensued for a minute or two, then as the light faded the two found themselves, not torn to atoms, but rather standing in a pillar of light in the End of Time world... if you could call it a world. In front of them, a staircase led down towards a rather unnecessary small wooden gate, and beyond that was a rather out-of-place lamppost and a small room with doorways leading off in two other directions. Glenn began to squirm in Magus's grip, trying to reach for the Masamune, and Magus quickly put the frog down. Glenn gripped the Masamune's handle as he glared at Magus.
"What matter of villainy was that, Magus?! I ought run you through!" Glenn exclaimed. Magus smirked ever so slightly.
"An insurance policy. If the Gate worked, which it seems to have, I'd be certain that you wouldn't leave me to be trapped here. If it had destroyed us, at least then I'd have the pleasure of knowing I took you down with me."
"Why you-!"
"Hey you two, mellow out." Said a voice from nearby. Magus and Glenn turned to see the old man, once the Guru of Time for Zeal, standing at his usual place by the lamppost. Magus glanced back at Glenn with a 'this fight can wait' look, then turned back to the Guru.
"Are you the one who brought us here?" Magus inquired. "Did you open the Gate?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"You mean thou didn't open the Gate for us?" Glenn asked.
"... No, I don't think so." The man paused for a minute. "Maybe your friends would be able to help you. There in the next room,-"
Suddenly, the doorway behind the lamppost burst open as a human form was thrown out, slamming against the lamppost with a painful grunt. Magus identified the body that had hit the lamppost as that of that teen punk, Crono. The never-say-die sword-swinging teenager got to his feet, rubbed his head, then rushed back into the room with the same fervor and tenacity he'd had ever since Magus could remember. Magus could hear lightning bolts, glaciers of ice, and storms of fire being thrown about like crazy in the room Crono had so eagerly rushed back into, and Magus guessed that Crono, Marle, and Lucca were busily getting their butts whooped in practice combat against that wanna-be who thought he was the master of warfare. Walking down the stairs and pushing the small gate aside, Magus spotted the Epoch docked at the empty stairs directly in front of him on the other side of the room. A minute or so later, after the unmistakable sound of the trio's Delta Force technique, Magus and Glenn heard a huge thud from the other room, then a voice from the other side of the open door:
"Alright, alright! You win, but don't make a habit of this. Here, take these." Spekkio exclaimed, obviously trying to usher the trio out as fast as he could. A minute later, Crono, Marle, and Lucca emerged from the room looking a little beat up but OK. Glenn rushed forward to greet them, to their sudden surprise, and not more than a second later everybody spotted Magus standing in the corner.
"Crono! Marle! Lucca! Tis' good to see all of you again!" Glenn exclaimed, then said in a lower voice. "Oh, and I brought Magus along, too."
"You didn't 'bring' me, frog; I'm here of my own free will." Magus retorted, then turned his attention to Crono & co. "I'm guessing you didn't open that Gate for us either, right?"
"What are you talking about, Magus?" Lucca replied. "We've been fighting Spekkio for the last hour since we got here."
"You had a dream too, right?" Marle inquired.
Magus was silent for a minute.
"...She told me she knew where my sister was."
"Somebody mind letting me in on this?" The old man inquired.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard nearby. Everybody turned instantly to see a figure appear on the Epoch dock, a long silvery dress reaching to her feet and a strip of neon-blue hair draped over one shoulder. Everybody tensened at the sight of the all-too familiar mysterious woman, Crono reaching slowly for his sword as she drew nearer.
The old man, however, recognized her more than anybody.
"Evesca?" He exclaimed, shocked. "Evesca?! Is ... is that you?!"
She smiled warmly, a smile that effected Magus strangely. She suddenly reminded him very much of Schala... and, remembering how Schala's smile always used to reassure him as a young child... ; he pushed the thoughts out of his head as best he could as she replied.
"Yes, it's me. I'm glad to see you all made it here so quickly." She paused. "And yes, I'm responsible for the dreams each of you had. I'm sorry, but it's next to impossible for me to travel any farther than here into your world for any length of time, so the dreams were my only option."
Magus suddenly stepped forward.
"You said you knew where my sister was. Please, you must take me to her!"
"I will, Prince Janus, but there is much you all need to know first." She paused. "Aslan's world, Narnia, is in grave danger. Aslan sent me here to bring you all to Narnia, to help save it from utter destruction."
"Lady Evesca," Glenn inquired. "Just where is this Narnia? Who, pray tell, is Aslan, and what is this horrible threat you speak of?"
Her features suddenly darkened with dread. Magus almost knew what she was going to say even before she said it.
"Lavos somehow entered Narnia and fell like a comet into the far west territories, where it's believed that the White Witch dwells. Narnia is another world, in fact another universe separate from yours altogether. Aslan must know something about Lavos's weaknesses and sent me back to this world to find all of you."
"Hold on a minute." Crono interrupted. "If you're one of the Enlightened Ones from Zeal, how come you can't stay in this world long? And just who is Aslan, and this witch?"
She was silent for a moment, then sighed.
"When Aslan rescued me from the destruction of the Kingdom of Zeal, . . . I'm sorry, it's difficult to explain. Suffice to say that Aslan created the world of Narnia, and the White Witch is his enemy and is trying to destroy Narnia."
"Lavos..." Magus's gaze was far-offish as those hated words came from his mouth.
"Evesca here is the only daughter of the Guru of Wisdom." The old man explained. "I thought she was dead, just like most of the Enlightened Ones, but I guess she survived after all." He laughed a muffled laugh. "Which makes her the new Guru of Wisdom, I guess. Evesca, do tell me all about this Narnia."
"Old friend," She said with a warm smile. "I wish there was time," Her expression became more serious. "But I'm afraid that time for Narnia may be short. Everyone, touch the lamppost; it'll transport us to Narnia." She looked at the old man. "Sir, maybe it's better if you-"
"Don't you worry, Evesca." He smiled weakly. "I'm in no condition for adventures anyway. You all go have a fun time saving that Narnia place."
"Hold on." Magus interjected. "What about my sister? You said you knew where she is."
"... The White Witch holds her captive at her castle. She probably plans to use her to awaken Lavos, but I don't know to what means. I can tell you more on the way to Cair Paravel, but right now we need to get into Narnia. It's the only chance we have to save Schala."
Magus nodded, then walked over and touched the lamppost. The others followed close behind him, each putting a hand on the lamppost, Evesca last of all. Suddenly, reality all around them began to warp...
... and the next thing they knew, the lamppost was still there, but now...
... they were in the middle of a huge forest.
... In Narnia.
Chapter 2- Return of Lavos
Narnia, as Evesca explained it, was a world teeming with magic and enchantment. To begin with, Narnia was not a spherical planet. It was flat, as in pre-Columbus if-you-sail-off-the-edge-you-fall-into-outer-space flat. Long ago, the great lion, Aslan, had created Narnia, no one in Narnia knew how, and then not even a day after Narnia was created, evil entered the wondrous land in the form of the White Witch. According to Narnian legend, the Witch came from somewhere in the far north, but Evesca had done her own research on the evil witch and believed that the witch was the sole survivor of some other universe, somehow escaping to Narnia not long before that entire universe ceased to exist.
As the group walked towards the castle of Cair Paravel, where the first Narnian kings and queens had ruled from, Evesca told them everything she could about Narnia's unique history, geography, enchantments, and creatures. In Narnia, she said, there were two groups of animals: those not loyal to the White Witch had the ability to speak as well as any human, and were in fact citizens of Narnia for the most part; the other grouping was that of those under employment to the White Witch, who couldn't speak and were savage and dangerous. Magus remarked that Glenn would fit right in. Evesca also said that some intelligent creatures, like giants, golems, dragons, and other nightmarish brutes made up the army of the White Witch, and the Witch even had some creatures on her side who could use dark magic.
"Who doth rule at Cair Paravel now?" Glenn inquired.
"A year ago I could have said it was King Caspian," Evesca's expression was slightly sad. "But now Caspian's son, Rilian, is High King of Narnia. Rilian himself has fought the Witch once, and knows how dangerous she is. Even as we speak he is preparing for your arrival, hoping you can do what no one else has ever dared to do: fight the Witch in her own frozen kingdom."
"But what's the connection with Lavos?" Lucca inquired.
"When Rilian fought the Witch, she used the form of a giant serpent. The Witch is actually dead; Aslan killed her; but now she plagues Narnia by use of the bodies of beings under her control. I've told Rilian what I know about Lavos and we both fear she might try to indwell Lavos itself."
"Like being possessed by a demon..." Crono thought out loud.
"If she does that," Magus stated. "There's no telling how dangerous this White Witch can become."
After about an hour of travel, Evesca led then to a ronde-vou point where a group of centaurs awaited them. The half-horse half-man creatures were more than willing to give the adventurers a ride to Cair Paravel on their backs, and in no time at all the group reached the massive castle of Cair Paravel. Banners decorated with the image of a mighty lion, probably Aslan, were hung from each window of the fortress, and Evesca had to do no more than nod at the guards at the gate to gain entrance. Following Evesca, they walked down the spacious castle hallways, people occasionally looking at them in slight surprise. At the door to what was undoubtably the throne room, Evesca addressed the two guards on either side of the massive gates authoritivly.
"I have returned from my quest to find the ones Aslan sent me for, and would like audience with the King immediately."
The two guards nodded, then each grabbed the handle of the door on his side and slowly pulled the massive monolith open. As the group stepped into the courtroom, Magus looked briefly about. The room had a good many attendants and other people scattered about, and hung on the stone walls at regular intervals was the banner of the lion. Directly in front of him was a young man with rather long black hair and a trim mustache wearing rather modest kingly attire, seated upon an elevated throne decorated with gold and rubies. The whole room seemed to hush as Evesca and the others stepped towards the throne, immediately catching King Rilian's attention inasmuch as to cause him to stand up with a surprised expression on his face.
"King Rilian," Evesca stated, one knee bowed. "I have returned with the heroes called upon by Aslan."
Rilian quickly walked over, took her hand, and rose her to her feet.
"Evesca, you know there is no need of formalities on my account." He then turned to look at Magus, Crono, and the others. "Please, introduce me to these brave heroes."
"My liege," Evesca turned and looked at Magus. "This is Prince Janus from the destroyed Kingdom of Zeal, where I am from. He is skilled at magic, and hopes to rescue his sister, Schala, from the territories of the White Witch."
"Prince Janus," Rilian assured. "I wish you the best, and hope for you to find your sister to be safe."
Magus nodded slowly.
"This, King Rilian, is Princess Nadia of the Kingdom of Guardia. She also knows some magic, ice element and healing mostly." Evesca said, introducing the two.
"Call me Marle; all my friends do." She smiled, a slight giggle in her voice.
"I, good sir," Glenn said with a sweeping bow. "Am known as Glenn. It is an honor to meet you, good King Rilian."
"Glenn's element is water, and he is a master swordsman and wields a sword of Dreamstone." Evesca explained. Glenn unstrapped the Masamune and held it out to Rilian, who took it, examined the sword, and handed it back to Glenn with an impressed expression on his features.
"Such a sword I have never seen!" Rilian exclaimed. "It almost feels like it vibrates of the power of Aslan himself!"
"This young warrior is Crono." Evesca continued. "His element is that of lightning, and, like Glenn, is skilled in sword combat."
"Nice to meet you." Crono and Rilian shook hands.
"And this is Lucca." Evesca added. "She has the element of fire and is impeccably skilled with machines, my liege."
"Hey Evesca, how do you know so much about us all?" Lucca inquired.
"I learned about your personalities during the dream link." She explained.
"Welcome, all of you." Rilian exclaimed. "... Not long ago, I had a dream in which Aslan told me he was sending five heroes who could destroy the beast Lavos and defeat the White Witch. You five are those heroes. Please, will you sail on the Dawn Treader to the utter west, to destroy Lavos and the White Witch, and save Narnia from it's doom?"
"You bet!" Crono exclaimed. "We wasted the Lavos that attacked our world; we'll take this one out too!"
"The beast shall not win against us, good Rilian, of that I swear!" Glenn added.
"Thank you, thank you all! Narnia shall forever be in your debt." Rilian replied, then motioned to his attendants. "See to it that these five heroes are given the best rooms in Cair Paravel. Also, prepare a feast for tonight; we shall have a hero's send-off!"
Magus stood on the balcony of his room in Cair Paravel, looking out over the setting sun against the western skies. Cair Paravel was a castle on the eastern shores of Narnia, so with the scent of the ocean coming from behind him, Magus gazed out as the land of Narnia stretched before him as far as he could see.
'Schala...' He thought silently, the wind causing his cape to be blown gently about. 'Schala, I'll rescue you, I swear it. I may have lost mother, but I will not let you die. So long as I have any degree of strength, for as long as there is life in my body, I will not give up searching...'
A dull knock at the door in the room behind him caught his attention. At first he ignored it, but then when he heard the knocking again he walked over and opened it. Marle and Glenn were there, and Magus knew exactly what they were going to say to him.
"I'm not interested in the banquet, so don't ask." He replied, then began to close the door but Glenn put his foot in the way.
"King Rilian twas' distressed to see that you had not arrived for the start of the banquet. He even set apart for thee the place of honor, right by his side at the table." Glenn stated. "Not that a villain like you dost' deserve it."
"He really wants you to join us, Magus." Marle added. "Besides, the food's really good; you might actually enjoy it if you'd let yourself."
"I said no. Now please leave me alone." Magus retorted.
Then, out of nowhere, his stomach growled.
"Don't even try to tell me you're not hungry." Marle stated with a 'C'mon, just go to the banquet already' look.
"... This is only under protest." Magus retorted. So, reluctantly, he followed the twosome down the hallways of Cair Paravel, headed towards the dining hall.
"Magus," Glenn suddenly spoke. "Hast thou felt that this land be... magic?"
"Of course it is. Evesca told us so." Magus replied bruskly.
"But..., have you felt that thine powers art growing stronger in this place?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, look at the Masamune." Glenn stated, drawing out the sword. Magus looked closely, and was slightly surprised to see the sword's red-tinted metallic blade pulsing with a light neon-red glow. "Ever since we got here, it's power hast slowly increased even more than of usual."
"And my pendant, too." Marle slipped the pendant off from around her neck and showed it to Magus. It's surfaces sparkled like sunlight reflecting off a diamond of a thousand surfaces. Magus took a sudden step back in slight surprise at the sight; it was incredible to look at. "I first noticed it when Evesca remarked how much it looked like Schala's pendant from Zeal."
Magus took a moment to think about it. He hadn't felt his powers increasing any, but he hadn't really had a chance to use them lately either. He clenched one fist gently, and felt a surprising surge of black electricity flare into existence around that fist. Yes, his powers HAD increased, dramatically in fact.
Then a horrible thought ran through his head.
'How strong will Lavos be?'
The following day, the Dawn Treader set sail. It was a well-crafted ship, the figurehead of a dragon decorating the front with metallic dragon wings arched from the figurehead and covering halfway of the ship's hull. It's sails all bore the insignia of the Narnian lion, and as the sails were strapped down Magus looked through them to see the transparent fabric against the sunlight creating a stained-glass effect. The crew of the Dawn Treader was mostly comprised of Evesca, Magus, Crono, Marle, Lucca, and Glenn, but a few sparse dwarfs and dryads who were skilled with seamanship had also come aboard to help man the ship. Crono and a few dwarfs fastened down the sails while Lucca, who was to be their chief navigator, studied maps of what was known of Narnia. The plan was to sail around the southernmost tip of the nation Calormene, a location mostly hostile to Narnia but so long as they stayed away from shore they should be OK, then head straight west until they hit the uncharted territories of the utter west. Calormene's southern tip was also uncharted territory, so Lucca decided that while they were sailing down Narnia's eastern shores it would be a good idea for her to build a long-range telescope so the Dawn Treader would be able to see the Calormene coast but Calormene wouldn't be able to see them. Glenn helped the dwarfs and dryads to hoist anchor as Marle checked and double checked the Dawn Treader's supply room.
It was going to be quite an adventure.
Magus watched from the front of the ship as the gentle waves of the Narnian shores broke with a white foam on the Dawn Dreader's front. To his left, the early-day sun shown down brightly, flooding Cair Paravel on his right with light. Before them lay the Narnian coast.
But Magus's mind was already half the world away.
The White Witch.
Lavos.
Schala.
Suddenly, he was aware that Evesca was standing right behind him.
"What are you thinking about, Janus?"
Magus was silent for a long moment, then turned to look at her.
"Evesca, when you were dream-linked with me, just how much did you learn about me?"
"... I felt hurt. Loneliness. Bitter resentment." She looked away. "You've changed so much since Zeal it almost frightened me."
"When the Gurus took their stand against my mother and her Mammon Machine, each was sucked into a time warp, myself last of all. I never knew if Schala made it out alive. For years I grappled with the darkness, trying to retain some sense of virtue." Magus hung his head. "But virtues of youth vanished from me like dust in the wind. Eventually I forced myself to learn to use the powers I'd inherited from Zeal, and then I became the leader of the cause of the Mystics against humanity. They thought I was trying to summon Lavos to destroy their enemies, when in reality all I wanted was revenge on the creature who had torn my sister from me and turned my mother into a tyrannical monster."
"But now you know that Schala is alive; you have a reason to go on." Evesca encouraged.
"I never got a chance to summon Lavos. Crono and his friends stopped be just before I could, and then a massive Gate sent me back to Zeal. Using what I knew of Zeal's 'future', I convinced Queen Zeal that I was a prophet. I hoped I could somehow avert the disaster, or at least destroy Lavos before the Gurus and my sister vanished out of my life once again. But I was no match for Lavos, not then anyway. Had it not been for Crono, none of us would have made it out of there."
"You mean you were the prophet?!" Evesca exclaimed. Magus slowly nodded.
"I stopped being Janus a long time ago, so don't call me by that name." Magus turned his back to her. "Now I'm Magus, victim of evil."
Evesca seemed uncertain of what to say. Then, gathering her courage, she walked to face Magus.
"A lot of things may have changed in between Zeal and now, but nothing you do can change who you really are deep inside. You are still Janus; you just stopped believing you were."
"If only it were that easy to heal shattered innocence, Evesca."
"Janus, there's more to the legends of Aslan that I haven't told you yet. Perhaps it's Aslan that can help you find the answers you're looking for."
"Do you think we'll meet him on this journey?"
"Unquestionably yes."
Chapter 3- Wicked Witch from the West
It was ten days after the voyage had begun, and two days into Calormene territory. As of yet, the Dawn Treader hadn't had any contact with the inhabitants of Calormene, but everyone was edgy nonetheless. By day Lucca watched the far-distant shores, by night Magus watched and waited in case of an attack. But not until the tenth day of travel did the Dawn Treader and it's crew have contact with the inhabitants of Calormene.
"Lucca! Marle! Glenn! We've got a situation up here!" Crono shouted into the cabins from on deck. Seconds later, the threesome emerged to see a cluster of ships in the distance. Suddenly, what looked like a small comet shot from one of the closer ships and began streaking towards the Dawn Treader.
"Calormenean ships! They're firing at us!" A Dryad exclaimed in panicked frenzy.
"I'll stop them." Marle stated, both hands open and pointed at the incoming flaming missile. A sparkle of blue light shot from her outstretched hands, colliding with the inferno and instantly freezing it into a frozen sphere which dropped harmlessly into the ocean. Magus suddenly appeared on the scene, using his Ice 2 attack to create a swamp of glaciers in-between the Dawn Treader and the enemy vessels. Not more than a few minutes afterwards, with their means of approach cut off by the glacier field, all began firing off their cannons at once.
"Oh boy. Incoming!" Crono exclaimed.
"I shall stop the barrage!" Glenn stated, throwing his arms wide as neon blue energy surrounded his body. With a sudden 'whoosh', a huge tidal wave leapt up into the way of the fireballs, putting out their fiery coronas. As it turned out, it seemed the shots were some kind of burning wads, and with their flames extinguished the wave slowed what was left of them down enough so as to fall harmlessly into the sea a safe distance from the Dawn Treader. By now the Dawn Treader had begun pulling away from the enemy ships, and in a few minutes was out of the range of enemy fire.
"That was almost too easy." Magus remarked, tightening his gloves.
"That's because Calormene is a land mostly devoid of people who know magic." Evesca stated, joining at his side. "They hold a grudge against Narnia because of Narnia's prosperity, but for the most part are in no condition to wage a war." She looked at Magus. "That was a good strategy, forming an ice field to keep them from pursuing us. You may have single-handedly averted a major conflict between two nations, Prince Janus."
"If you're going to call me that," Magus replied. "Then please drop the 'Prince' part. There's no more Zeal and I'm not any kind of prince." He turned and walked towards the crew cabins. "If anyone needs me, I'll be down below."
The days wore on, mostly to be uneventful. Dinners consisted mostly of bread and dried meats, and breakfast not much different from dinner. Lucca discovered that looking through the telescope too long made her seasick. It slowly got colder, then warmer as the Dawn Treader rounded the southernmost tip of Calormene. Everyone's powers slowly got stronger and stronger, and Lucca guessed that it might have something to do with the phase-variance of the world's temporal energy fields, plus the fact that the air had a slightly higher concentration of O2 than in their native world. Crono and Marle both noticed that Magus talked to Evesca more than anyone else, possibly because, Glenn guessed, she reminded him of Schala. Lucca joked that Magus might have a crush on her. The days wore on, the sea lapped gently at the sides of the ship, and the Dawn Treader sailed on...
Magus looked up at the stars. The constellations of the Narnian world were far different than those of his own world, and yet in their own seemed clearer and more dazzling. Something about this world... he couldn't put his finger on it... but it had this... 'clean essence' to it. The whole world was like a breath of fresh air to him, even if he didn't know why. Even at night the ocean had a crystalline clarity and quality to it, like sailing on liquid diamonds. A gentle breeze, with a deliciously salty flavor, ruffled his hair as he looked at the silver Narnian moon.
"Magus?"
He turned to see Evesca appear on deck, wearing a rather modest but still beautiful white outfit like a loose two-piece jumpsuit. She walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.
"What's on your mind?" She inquired.
"... I haven't felt this much at peace since before Zeal fell." He replied. "Your Narnia is quite a world."
"That it is." She stated, turning and looking at the moon. "Janus, I never got to finish telling you the legends of Aslan. Would you like to hear the rest?"
Magus nodded.
As the silver moonlight cascaded across their faces, Evesca told Magus of the great war between the White Witch and Aslan. It had been many long centuries ago when four children from another world had somehow entered Narnia and fought the Witch to become the first kings and queens of Cair Paravel. One of the four, Edmund, had encountered the Witch by accident one time before he knew she was evil, and had been taken in by her deceptive powers. When Edmund learned the truth and fled from the Witch, she challenged Aslan, saying that all traitors were by right her property. If not all four of the legendary thrones of Cair Paravel could be filled, ancient legend said, winter would reign in Narnia forever, bringing the world to a slow death. Aslan knew that, while Edmund was key to fulfilling the prophecy of Cair Paravel, the Witch did have right to him by Edmund's betrayal. So Aslan himself agreed to take Edmund's place, and was mercilessly slaughtered by the Witch and her armies at a place that, in Narnia, has become known as Aslan's How. Aslan didn't even resist, because he knew that if he did, the Witch would own Edmund forever. The Witch drove a dagger straight into his heart, and with that the great lion who had made the world of Narnia from nothingness died.
By the time Evesca got to this part of the story, almost ah hour had passed. Most of the crew was asleep, except for one or two dwarfs busily checking the sails. A strong wind blew suddenly, causing Evesca to shiver.
Suddenly, Magus felt that something wasn't right.
By looking in Magus's face, Evesca could tell he was sensing something very wrong. He suddenly spun around to face the other side of the ship, just seconds before a light-grey glow illuminated the air right next to the ship. The two watched, along with the dwarfs on deck, as the glow expanded and began to take on human form. Magus got ready for a battle as suddenly, like some kind of hologram, a woman with pale skin, black hair coated with frost, piercing evil black eyes and wearing a long light-grey dress materialized, floating only a few feet from the edge of the boat. Her long polished black fingernails and frost-covered sharp eyebrows gave her the appearance of a living winter storm, and her entire form was transparent like a projection.
"So..." She mused. "You are the great Prince Janus... Schala's brother..."
"The White Witch, I presume?" Magus retaliated.
"You evil creature!" Evesca shouted. "How dare you intrude upon this voyage!"
"Simple fool; you actually think that I, of all people, would not be aware of travelers headed towards my kingdom?" The hologram laughed at that, a deep, brassy, evil laugh that made Magus's skin crawl. "Oh, I know a good deal about why you would dare a voyage to my lands."
"You have my sister." Magus challenged, energy coursing through his fists as black zaps of electricity.
"Oh, I have more than that, young Janus!" She laughed tauntingly. "I have, as you well know, Lavos, and when I join my powers with it I shall be strong enough to overthrow not only Narnia, but Aslan himself!"
"Aslan would never lose to the likes of you, witch!" Evesca shouted.
"I destroyed the Lavos that threatened my world, White Witch; what makes you so sure I can't take you down?" Magus inquired.
"HA-HA-HA! You're so confident, but you don't have a clue who you're dealing with, lowly Janus. Not only is Lavos feeding steadily off the powers of my lands, but in doing so I shall transform Lavos into a creature far superior to what it is now." She paused for a minute. "If you want me to spare your sister's live, young fool, come to my frozen castle ALONE. If you manage to prove yourself in battle against me, all of my minions will turn to ice and you and she can escape unopposed. If you do not come alone or if you lose to me," She clenched one fist. "I shall crush Schala like a sand statue. Are we agreed?"
"We make no deals with evil scum like you!" Evesca retorted.
"No!" Magus suddenly exclaimed, to Evesca's surprise. Magus looked the Witch dead in the eyes. "I agree to your terms, but if I find that you hurt Schala in the slightest, I WILL kill you!"
"... If you can..."
The holographic image slowly faded out of reality, returning to the stark night darkness from whence it had emerged. Evesca instantly turned and looked at Magus.
"Why? Why did you-"
"It was my only option." Magus quickly replied, turning his back to her. "Schala, if I can reach her in time, is all I have left."
Evesca's features suddenly became a strange mix of sadness and hope. She gently put one hand on Magus's shoulder.
"... I'm sure if Schala were she'd be touched by your courage, Janus, but you know Schala would rather you and your friends work TOGETHER to defeat the Witch."
"But I have no other choice, you must understand!" Magus retaliated. "My sister is all I have left in the world, the only ray of hope anywhere in my life, the only stray fragment of my humanity still alive that hasn't met an early grave. If I lose her... I might as well be dead myself."
"We just had a visit from our resident evil witch." Magus stated, sitting down at the long table in the galley with a bowl of stew in front of him. Upon hearing that, Crono and the others looked up from their diners with 'excuse me, are you serious Magus?' looks on their faces.
"What he means is," Evesca stated. "We just had a little chat with a holographic image of the Witch. She knows we're on the way."
"What?! How??" Glenn exclaimed.
"She might have contacts in Calormene," Magus guessed, gently stirring his stew with a wooden spoon. "But that doesn't explain the hologram. She'd have had to know exactly where we were for that to work."
"Dost' thou think there art traitors amongst us?" Glenn exclaimed.
"If so," Lucca guessed. "They couldn't have contacted the Witch after we set sail, only before. She couldn't possibly know where we are."
"You're both wrong." Magus stated. "She's using her powers to track us somehow." He ate a spoonful of stew. "Meaning that, when we make landfall, she'll be ready for us."
"I say bring it on!" Crono exclaimed. "We'll kick her butt so bad-"
"Don't even think about it, kid." Magus interjected suddenly. "It's me she wants. If any of you try anything, she could kill my sister. Once I get Schala out of that castle, feel free to kick butt, but not before."
"This wreaks of a setup." Marle stated.
"For once we agree." Magus stated coldly. "But I have no other choice. Once we get to the western territories, I'm setting out on my own for the Witch's stronghold. And no one better follow me."
(To be continued... I know, you hate me.)
The characters I own!
Evesca
Who owns everything else!
C.S. Lewis:
Narnia
Aslan
The White Witch
King Rilian
The Dawn Treader
Calormene
Squaresoft:
Crono
Marle
Lucca
Glenn
Magus
Lavos
The Masamune
Schala
Author's entry:
Well, not bad for my first CT fic, huh? I figured throwing Magus, Crono, ect..., into Narnia would prove to be an interesting story. I've got BIG plans for part two, and if it takes long enough there might even be a part three. Oh, and (spoiler) Evesca isn't all that she appears to be... he he he, but that's my secret for now. And just wait until Aslan shows up on the scene! Anyway, this is Ryan 'Da Edge' Edgerton, signing off!