Lost and Found
Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Romance
Rating: PG-13
Setting: Post-game
Disclaimer: While I do have both Chrono Trigger and Cross games, I do not make any money off of it or own any of the characters.
Spoiler warning: This takes place during and after the new ending of the DS version and also mentions the new ultimate weapons. If you have NOT finished the new ending yet, turn back now!
Part 1
As the group of seven groaned and returned to consciousness, they slowly became aware of their surroundings. And they didn't like it.
There was nothing there, and while the End of Time was very nearly the same, here, there really was nothing at all. Not even a platform to walk on, let along any kind of light, and yet there seemed to be a faint light upon the horizon, separating the sky and ground by a single, bare ray of light. Upon looking up, it was like looking into a never-ending funnel of energy as it seemed to suck up whatever came in the area, but there was no wind whatsoever.
They were silent for a moment longer, before they slowly climbed back to their feet.
"…What this place?" Ayla was the one to break the silence.
"I dunno… but this is definitely freaky," Crono mumbled softly, his hand poised on the hilt of the Rainbow.
Lucca pulled out the Spellslinger (1) and clicked off the safety. "I don't see anything around here… Are you sure this is the right place?" she asked, though she knew very well that it was. If it wasn't, they'd be facing Lavos about now.
As Marle primed the Venus Bow (2), she quipped: "This place is even worse than when we first stood before Lavos…" shivering as she tried not to let the surrounding area affect her as much.
Robo beeped as his head turned back and forth in his way of looking around, his eyes blinking on and off a few times in obvious thought, but he said nothing, even though his arms had shifted into the lethal Apocalypse Arms (3). Frog in the meantime croaked once, the Grandleon (4) already thrumming in his hands.
And Magus merely stood, brushing some imaginary dust off his shoulders, not really seeming to care, despite that he held the Dreamreaper (5) lightly between his fingers, its red blade shimmering slightly despite the lack of light. "Are you all quite finished? Then perhaps we can start looking around for anything 'alive'."
Crono seemed to think for a moment longer, before nodding in agreement. "Alright… let's go."
And so they began to move ahead carefully, their footsteps barely making a noise in the vastness that surrounded them. The silence was so thick that it almost suffocated them, but they kept going regardless.
Finally, after what felt like a short eternity, they stopped as they noticed a cloaked figure standing ahead of them, facing what looked like a closed Gate. Surprised to find anyone in this godforsaken place, they approached cautiously.
But before Crono could address the person…
"Here, Lavos is no more," the figure spoke calmly, as if he had been expecting them to show up. However, the voice seemed almost familiar, but none of them could actually place it that well. Not that they were given the chance to question it, since the figure continued just then. "This is the future in which we've defeated him."
Naturally, that startled the group a little bit… that is until the figure turned around and moved back the hood of his cloak. Magus gasped sharply as the face they were looking at was none other than his own.
However, there were a few differences. One of them being the scar that adorned a good section of his face, as if someone had sliced his face right open. His eyes were a much darker crimson than the group was used to, and they almost appeared lifeless in comparison to their teammate. The last main difference they could see was his hair, which had turned from silvery blue to a light purple, almost.
The group was not given the time to ask anything though, since the other Magus spoke up again. "Whether that is the future of the world from which you've come, I do not know. There are as many worlds as there are potentialities." Once he had finished speaking, he turned back around to face the Gate, turning contemplative.
"A new foe has arisen here, in this endless expanse that is Time's Eclipse," he said solemnly. "It feasts upon thoughts, dreams and memories." At this point, he paused and looked over his shoulder briefly. "Do not think to meddle here. This enemy is my affair."
Without another word said, he thrust his arm right into the Gate, which abruptly caused it to burst open. They were not allowed to question how he could do that, since he stepped through the Gate without another word said, not even glancing back as it closed behind him again.
The group remained silent for a few moments, before they began to exchange glances between each other, silently questioning what had just happened, before turning to Magus.
"Don't look at me," Magus said plainly. "How should I know what a future version of myself is doing here?"
"Gee, I dunno, 'Mr. Prophet'…"
"Don't start with me, Four-eyes."
"Hey whoa, whoa!" Crono quickly stepped in between Magus and Lucca to prevent a fight breaking loose. "Let's not start squabbling amongst ourselves, all right? Right now, we got more important things to deal with, since—and I don't mean to sound condescending, Magus—if the enemy on the other end is more powerful than Lavos, then he's not going to last for long."
Magus and Lucca glared each other down for a few more moments, before both snorted and turned away from each other. Crono breathed a little in relief, knowing that this was their way of saying "Fine".
Once he was sure they would not kill each other, Crono turned to the rest of the team. "All right, everyone agrees on going through that Gate?"
"Yeah."
"Aye."
"Ayla no scared!"
"Let us go."
"Well, we got this far… might as well."
"…Hm."
Nodding once, Crono pulled out the Gate Holder and opened the Gate once more, allowing them to pass through it.
A/N: From this point on, I'll refer to the future version of Magus as "F. Magus".
F. Magus screamed out in pain as a blast of lightning struck him head-on and forced him backwards onto his knees. Snarling in rage, he glared up at the enemy before him, tightening his hold on the Dreamreaper as he struggled to get back to his feet. "I've not finished with you yet," he ground out through gritted teeth as he shook off the electricity still surrounding him.
With a roar, he lunged forward and lashed out with a single massive swing. But the hit bounced off ineffectively and left the mage open to another attack that sent him flying backwards just as the group of time travelers exited through the Gate he had come through only moments earlier.
"Ah! Magus!" Marle called out, despite the confusion it would cause to most, had they not known perfectly well which of the two she had meant. They hurried over to the fallen mage as he climbed back to his feet shakily, before they focused their gazes upon his "enemy".
And they all felt their blood freeze in horror.
Whatever it was, it was smaller than Lavos was, but it was definitely similar. Its razor sharp spines arched backward and its tooth-like feet kept it about 3 feet off the ground, while its beak-like mouth opened and closed at irregular intervals, the single eye within watching them all with that familiar menacing glare of Lavos itself. But that wasn't what truly horrified them; it was the crystalline object that rested on top of it, its see-through surface allowing them to perfectly see what was inside.
Which was a single figure, purple dress and cloak in tatters and long blue hair swaying in some unseen wind as the figure remained curled up in a fetal position.
Their daze was broken as F. Magus spoke again. "I believe I told you… not to interfere!"
Shaking off the effects of the last attack, he rushed forward and lashed out once more, the blade finally slicing through the thing's skin, even if the cut was a minor one.
The thing barely let out a sound, but then a voice rang out…
Let all that once was fade into oblivion! I welcome the end of existence.
As those words were spoken, F. Magus ran to stand in front of the monstrosity and shook his head in despair. "No, Schala! Free yourself from its spell! Please… you must open your eyes!" he begged of the figure.
But his please were answered only by the monster before him gathering energy in its "maw".
"Ah HECK!! MOVE!!" Crono screamed, and the team wasted no time in moving to the sides, only barely avoiding the massive beam of energy that threw F. Magus away. One good look at him revealed him to be out cold thanks to that massive attack, a sizable wound adorning his side, as it had eaten right through his armor. He was still alive, though with a wound like that, he would quite possibly not last for long.
Turning slowly toward the new foe, the group tried not to let their fear show on their faces. While Magus was no match for this guy alone—which they all knew, though no one would admit it—to actually have it visually verified like that nearly made them shake in their shoes.
"This… is bad… this is REALLY bad!" Crono whispered as he brought up the Rainbow, knowing all too well that there was no escape now that the beast had finally taken complete notice of them.
"It seems we've little choice but to fight," Frog said as he primed the Grandleon.
Lucca held up the Spellslinger, but her hands shook noticeably. "This is the new enemy?" she asked hesitantly.
Marle gulped audibly as she raised the Venus Bow. "Isn't that… Lavos? Why is Schala with it?"
Robo beeped in warning as he fell into a battle position. "Offensive power incalculable. We are in extreme danger!" he chimed.
The only one who did not seem shaken as much was Ayla. "Ayla no lose!!"
And Magus merely brought up the Dreamreaper, and, if anything, he shook worse than anyone else of the team. "No… Impossible!" he choked out.
Embrace your destruction! It is inevitable!
The fight was long and brutal. They might not have had a chance against this new enemy, but they were definitely not going down without a fight. Once the shock of the whole affair had worn off and their blood had heated up once more, they were tossing spells and attacks back and forth, using every multi tech they could think of that would do extreme damage.
They used anything and everything they could.
…and yet it wasn't enough.
Just as they were sure they had the thing beaten, it released a blast of energy that knocked them all back, rendering them close to unconsciousness, yet not close enough for them to miss the second blast forming in its maw.
"No! Schala!!" The shout was loud and seemed to echo as F. Magus rushed forward, straight into the line of fire the second it was fired. "Urgh!" The blast smashed into him and, somehow, his armor caught most of the hit. The fact that it didn't rip right through him indicated that the monstrosity had either been weakened considerably, or that it could not fire two massive bolts of energy in a row. He collapsed to his knees, clutching at his chest as the Dreamreaper dropped from his hand, every nerve of his body screaming in sheer agony.
To anyone, it was obvious he would be the first to die because of that action…
…but nothing happened.
There was no scream of sheer pain of him being ripped to shreds, no sound of another blast being charged and released, or the sound of the monster preparing its next move.
Slight confusion on his face, F. Magus raised his head up to look at the figure suspended in the crystal… and a spark of hope ignited in his chest upon realizing that her eyes had opened and she was looking out through hazy blue eyes.
"Schala?" he whispered almost pleadingly.
Slowly, the girl inside the crystal moved until she seemed to hover within the see-through gem, a look of sadness and pain on her face as her eyes shone with unshed tears.
It is no doubt but a matter of time before Lavos consumes the whole of my awareness. Her voice seemed to echo throughout the area, her mouth barely seeming to form the words. It was I, after all, who wished it—wished from the depths of my sadness and despair that all that was would be erased.
The group was lingering on the edges of unconsciousness, barely able to hear the words spoken, as their awareness began to fade away slowly, even as Schala continued to speak.
The strength you wield now cannot free me. At this point, she paused and slowly shook her head once. No, perhaps it is better said that no strength can. So long as you lean upon this crutch of power, this world's sorrow can know no true end. Return to your own time now. Dwell not on this.
She raised her hands and chanted wordlessly, just as the group of seven lost their consciousness entirely. Only F. Magus remained then.
He climbed shakily to his feet and moved forward, keeping one hand to the wound on his side, a hopeful look on his face as he reached his other hand out toward the girl, as if expecting her to reach out through the crystalline layer separating them and take his hand. "Schala…"
A small, weak smile formed on her face then, and he knew then that she knew all too well who he was. Janus…thank you. But I am the girl I was no more. Live, and be strong.
Distress appeared on his face then, and he vigorously shook his head in denial, refusing to believe that this was how it would end. "But Schala—"
Farewell…
Just as she spoke that, a Gate opened up behind him. Panic struck him as this scene struck an all-too familiar chord with him as he struggled futilely against the Gate's pull. "Schala!!" he shouted in despair as tears fell from crimson eyes and down his cheeks, before he was pulled into the Gate, once again separating him from the sister he had searched so much and worked so hard for… his soundless scream seeming to echo around the room.
"Don't leave me!!!"
Darkness… that was all there was.
Whether it was because of the time of day or just because of the darkness than now clouded his own tormented heart, he wasn't sure. All he was truly aware of was the vicious sting in his chest threatening to rip him apart, his tears the physical evidence of his agony.
"So, you mean no matter how hard I strive—no matter how strong I grow—there is nothing I might do to save you?" he choked out, barely getting the words out amidst his sobs. His pain had completely immobilized him, his stomach twisting into painful knots and his heart pounding in his throat. "What purpose, then, does this existence serve?"
No answer came to him, and nothing pierced through the endless silence but his own crying.
After an endless moment, his hands slowly lifted up and energy gathered at his fingertips. He watched with empty eyes, completely devoid of any life, tears still rolling endlessly down his cheek. The deadly Shadow energy danced over his gloved hands, evaporating the tears that happened to fall on them.
"If… if this is to be the way of things…" he whispered softly as he moved his hands closer to his chest. "…then let me… abandon all that was… and… hic… fade away as well…"
With those words, he slammed his hands against his chest, the Shadow energy ripping into him and beginning to devour him from the inside out as his cries continued to echo out. Even as he sniffled and sobbed, a single thought echoed in his mind before his mind shut down on him.
'Should a part of me somehow even then remain… then perhaps that will be the birth of something new… something with… greater meaning than all this…'
(1) Spellslinger = Damage depends on the last digit of Lucca's MP. I prefer this weapon over the random damage of the Wondershot (even though its effect has been changed slightly in the DS version).
(2) Venus Bow = "Lucky number 7". This weapon does a standard 777 damage on enemies, regardless of defense. She doesn't get criticals with this weapon, but even if you equip other weapons, this weapon will always do more damage, even if Marle gets a critical.
(3) Apocalypse Arm = 0 attack power, but the special effect is the same as Ayla's fist at level 99.
(4) Grandleon = No, this isn't a new weapon; this is just the original name of the Masamune.
(5) Dreamreaper = Does 4 times the damage with critical hits. Not that good on its own, until you equip the Dragon's Tear, which drastically increases your Critical Hit rate.
Well, that's part 1. Part 2 will deal with the aftermath and part 3 will deal with a part of Chrono Cross.
