Author's Note : Have I told you yet that I am loving the slight changes that have been made to FanFiction? That preview thing! I love it! Ah.... previews... last minute fixes of things...
The other thing I love? Reviews. Thanks guys!
Chapter Two – When In Doubt, Hide Under The Table
It may not have been the most interesting reunion ever, but it was quite interesting. The End of Time was a fairly small place, not including Spekkio's room and Magus' residence, and keeping Frog and Magus out of each other's way was difficult, to say the least. The two seemed to loathe each other with more intensity than ever, which was impressive. It probably had to do with the improved Masamune and the slight fact that Magus had been gathering still more skill with magic during the six months they had not seen each other. All in all it was very strange and slightly unexpected, but nobody had a reason to suspect interference from an outside source until Schala's return some time later.
The tension surrounding the group eased considerably when Lucca suggested to Magus that he vent some of his anger on Spekkio. "Why Magus so angry?" Ayla asked the scientist when Magus had gone, wandering over with her chips. "He not want see us? Not like us in his place?"
"This is my place," Gaspar corrected her.
"Magus live here too, but it like a home for all of us. All of our place," Ayla suggested.
"Magus," Frog began, and he said the name as though it left a bad taste in his mouth, "fears me. After all, I carry the one weapon that can destroy him. Other than Kelke," he allowed, "who doth not so much as carry a weapon as be a weapon…"
"I don't think Magus fears you," Marle put in. "I think he just hates you."
"Why Frog and Magus not like each other?" Ayla wanted to know.
"He cruelly murdered my mentor," Frog explained shortly.
Ayla put her head to one side. "What 'men-tor'?"
"Like a teacher," Crono tried to explain. "Frog's… chief."
"Magus kill chief of Frog tribe?" Ayla demanded. "When this happen?"
"Years ago," Frog supplied.
"And you not forgive yet?"
"Forgive? He killed Cyrus!" Frog snapped incredulously.
"Life not long," Ayla shrugged. "Magus kill chief of Frog tribe, Frog either kill or forgive Magus. Not think about it for years. Much easier to do quickly."
Frog was stuck on one thing. "Ayla, is it that thou thinkest truly that I would forgive someone who murdered Cyrus?" he demanded.
"What Frog chief do to Magus?" Ayla asked.
"We were attempting to defeat Magus and restore peace to the world!"
Ayla picked up on the main fact. "Frog chief try to kill Magus, so Magus kill Frog chief first. Magus strong! Frog strong too," she added quickly in response to Frog's expression.
"I don't think she really gets it," Marle said gently to Frog. "Put the Masamune down, please."
"Magus deserves only death," Frog snarled, but he sheathed the Masamune.
"Magus is not evil any more and I won't have you trying to kill him!" Lucca argued.
Frog appealed to the others. "See? He hath corrupted Lady Lucca!"
"Lady Lucca corrupted herself," Lucca snapped back. "Magus did not corrupt me! I would not allow anyone to corrupt me!"
"Thou clearly hast no understanding of his evil!"
"Are you now implying that there's something I don't understand?" Lucca challenged furiously. She had her gun in her hands and was clutching it so hard her knuckles were white. Crono wondered what he'd do if she tried to shoot anyone.
"Attacking a lady, Frog," Magus drawled from Spekkio's gate. "And people say I have no honour."
"Art thou insulting my honour?" Frog demanded of the wizard, one hand resting threateningly on the hilt of the Masamune.
"There's nothing else to attack," Magus pointed out, moving as though he would simply cross from one gate to another and return to his residence. Pausing, he looked Frog up and down and gave a smirk. "Unless you want me to transform your so-called honour into something else, too. As a matter of fact, I'm getting tired of your frog form," he taunted. "Shall I change it? …A mouse, perhaps?"
Frog drew the Masamune, and in response Magus let his scythe drop to the stone floor. It was a challenge, not an act of clumsiness. He seemed to be suggesting that he didn't need it to defeat Frog, and he probably didn't. He used magic by preference, not a physical weapon.
"Guys, not in the End of Time!" Crono pleaded, but neither Frog nor Magus listened to him in the slightest.
"Art thou truly prepared for this, wizard?" Frog demanded, holding the Masamune at the ready.
Magus' eyes flickered over the blade but his response was steady. "I'm not afraid of this, Frog." Then, mockingly, "Why, are you?"
With that, Frog attacked.
Ayla dropped her bowl of chips and hid under the table, figuring it to be a safe place to avoid getting hit by any stray magic. In a surprising display of intelligence she grabbed Alfador, who would have tried to rip Frog's leg to shreds or something and manage only to get himself killed in the process. The two were joined by Robo, who just wanted to get out of the way. Lucca and Crono followed the battle anxiously as it raged up and down the End of Time, trying various things to distract Magus without getting themselves killed every time he looked like he might attempt a Black Hole. Marle stood in one place and screamed angrily that they were ruining her reunion, and even while locked in a battle to the death Frog and Magus decided it was safer to give the infuriated princess a wide berth. Gaspar was proving that he could be quite active, jumping up and down and yelling about not having battles in his End of Time.
"It's not safe!" he cautioned. "You'll rip holes in Real Time/Space! Take it outside if you want to fight! No battles in the End of Time, unless it's with Spekkio! Stop this nonsense right this minute! If you have something to settle, then take your argument elsewh – oh, I say!"
"What do we do now?" Lucca shouted over all the noise. (Remember, if you will, that Marle is screaming, Gaspar is yelling and deflected magic attacks also make a considerable amount of noise.) "Considering that your plan to keep them away from each other to prevent this didn't work!"
"I don't know!" Crono yelled back and threw himself on Magus as the wizard spread his arms wide in preparation for a Black Hole, which would have killed Frog instantly. Magus fought him off, pushing him safely to one side, and did some obscure magic spell the others had never seen before instead. Crono picked himself up, shook his head to clear it. "Neither of them are going to win!" he added. "All they'll do is kill each other, and probably us as well!"
"I know what you mean!" Lucca dodged shards of a shattered black magic spell to stand near Crono, although she still had to shout to be heard. "Magus is doing spells I don't even recognise!"
"And Frog's pulling out some rather spiffy new sword tricks!" Crono agreed, grabbing Lucca and dancing out of the way just in time as Frog executed one of the aforementioned 'tricks'.
"Stop it!" Gaspar screamed and pointed into the void. Everyone glanced in that direction, with the obvious exceptions of Magus and Frog, who were still trying to kill each other, and the less obvious exception of Marle, who didn't care about rips in Real Time/Space and only wanted their reunion to continue as planned.
A white jagged line was appearing in the shimmering black of the void. Lucca rushed over to lean over the stone wall and get a better look at it. She glanced back at the battle and seized Crono's arm. "Quick! Stop him!"
"What?" Crono demanded, looking around wildly.
"Magus!"
"What's he doing?" Crono asked, watching Magus as he made some intricate gestures.
Lucca's reply was not long-winded. It didn't need to be. "Dark Matter!"
Magus would probably have Dark Mattered them all and caused the rip to widen, sucking everyone to who knew where and most likely killing them all in the process, and then there wouldn't even be a story and nobody would need to worry about a series that's stretching on and on and on forever. Fortunately Spekkio, who had come out to see what all the fuss was about, Black Holed the both of them to effectively end the battle.
"Thank you!" Gaspar exclaimed and, muttering darkly under his breath, went to lean against the lamppost again.
Lucca flicked an anxious glance at the rip. It seemed to be closing. Marle, who seemed to be happy again now that the fight was over, was bending over Frog and looked as though she were considering healing him.
"No," Crono cautioned, going to her. "Leave them both there until someone comes up with a brilliant idea as to what we do with them."
Little purple sparkles began to drift down on them like purple snow, and even the world around them took on a gentle purple tinge. "Uh-oh," Lucca remarked. "Someone had better think of something to do soon."
"Why?" Crono wanted to know.
"Schala's coming back."
Crono looked down at Magus and bit his lower lip. "Uh-oh, indeed," he agreed. "She's going to be so mad at us…"