I don't own Crono Trigger, nor any of the characters or concepts there-of.
About: I have beaten both Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, so I know how things are meant to end, but this is a "what if" story; sort of an alternate world where things happened differently. The pairing is Magus and Marle/Nadia, which may be a bit of a shock to some, but I will explain it through the story. This IS a lemon, just to warn you.
And before any Magus fans out there complain about Magus being out of character, I will explain my point of view for this piece. Magus was evil, Janus wasn't. Janus became Magus in order to survive in the Middle Ages. And survive he did, showing as he was able to grow up.
He had to remain dark, even after gaining his power because he would have been no match for Ozzie, Flea, Slash, AND all their minions if he turned on them, even with all his powers.
When he joined up with Crono and the gang, it was to defeat Lavos. He was still dark and evil, but had become a bit humbled, mostly because he was no longer the leader.
When Lavos was killed, he went on his search for his sister. In order to go on a quest like that, you have to have some form of goodness left in your soul. That kind of quest is a life changing thing. There is no way to go through that kind of search and not come back a different person.
So this is what happened to him after all that searching.
________________________________________________________________________
A dark heart, a gentle soul.
By: Yun Nightseer
Prologue:
Magus sighed gently as he knelt atop the hut. The air was crisp, but fairly warm for the ever-winter of the time period.
"Schala, where are you?" he asked himself, looking once more to the pendant in his hand. "I have searched everywhere and found nothing except your one keepsake." He held the pendant close to his chest, letting out another soft sigh.
"You're really gone..." A single tear fell down his face and landed at his feet. "A tear..." he whispered. "Have I really changed that much?" he mused. "Gone are the days of the ruthless tyrant Magus. Gone are the days when my underlings would fear and cower at the mention of my name. Have they really changed me so much?"
He stood up on the roof and let himself hover towards the water, looking at his reflection against the icy-blue waters.
"I still look the same...but I am definitely not who I was when I began the quest to defeat Lavos. Back then I was arrogant, pompous, cold hearted. I was an outright bastard. Then they appeared, ones who did not quiver at the mention of my name. Yes, the group that I, at first, loathed.
"Crono, the red-haired, quiet swordsman; Glenn, that bastard of a man I cursed into a frog. Robo, the gentle giant; Lucca, who could have easily been placed as a guru if she were alive during the time of Zeal; And...the princess Nadia, or Marle as she called herself." Remembering her, a small flush crossed his cheeks. "She reminded me of you, Schala. That sweet innocence...I supposed you would have gotten along well, if you could have gotten to know each other.
"I guess I was humbled by them a bit. And then...this." He looked about the area, the group of small houses huddled together overlooking the water. "Living on nothing more then a glacier with about as much commanding power over these people as a fly does over a spider. I think I have finally realized something, Schala." He pulled back his tunic a bit and drew the pendant he wore, one given to him by Schala herself. "You are always here...maybe that is another factor. You were waiting for the right time to intervene and change me to more the way I used to be..." He watched as another tear fell from his face and connected with the water, making a small ripple. He then laughed, "If only that damn Frog were here to see me now. What ever would he say? 'Ah my rival Magus, What beith this? A tear? Hath this enemy of mine turned kitten?'"
He laughed gently, "...A laugh...something I have not done in a long while." He looked to Schala's pendant again, "...I don't belong here anymore. My search for you is over, my dear sister. Instead of finding you, I found myself. I thank you. Rest in peace, Schala, and know that Janus has returned."
He ripped the pendant from his neck, the one his sister gave him so long ago, and tossed it far out into the sea, where it sank into the deep water to rest with the Black Omen, and the Undersea Palace. To rest where the last of his family was seen.
"...As for me." He looked to the other pendant, the one he found in his salvaging of the undersea palace. "I can feel the energy remaining in the pendant. The power of Lavos, given by the Mammon machine. It should be enough for me to create one gate. Allow me to go one place and live my life right."
He thought for a moment, "...I don't belong in the time I grew up...I would be persecuted. The far future is much to high tech for me to live peacefully..." he then summoned his power, and that in the pendant, to create a gate to the place he could feel most comfortable. "...To that, which Crono called, the present."