For the Love of Darkness
By Marle

Chapter 9: The Twilight Hour

I raise my flags, don my clothes
It's a revolution, I suppose
We're painted red to fit right in
Whoa
I'm breaking in, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus
This is it, the apocalypse
- "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons

"You're certain?" Crono stated quietly, his hands folded in front of his mouth.
Magus nodded, "Yes, Schala said Sir Aybell confirmed it. The person who is leading the Porrean Army is Dalton."

Marle's face turn white as she gently swayed with Solan in her arms. A sickening feeling overwhelmed her as she realized her nightmares were about to become reality. For seeming like an egotistical fool, it was becoming increasingly clear that Dalton had planned his revenge in such a fashion that he would not be taken down easily. While the queen remained confident that they could destroy the Zealian General in battle, it was horrifying to her that Dalton was creating a massive human shield between them and him. He was manipulating her own people against the throne and everyone involved with it to create chaos in the kingdom and take the crown. "What is he after?"

"The kingdom is his goal. I guess since he never obtained the role of King in our era, he's content to settle on any throne at this point, regardless of the era. Aybell said that his brother and Dalton were searching for the Masamune. Glenn and I spoke briefly on it after the summit and he said he had given the blade to the commander of the Knights of the Square Table to protect the crown before he departed for this era." Magus stated.

Marle shook her head, "If it was still in our ranks, I would know who has it. That would've been a blade given to our top commander."

"Which means we have a four-hundred year gap to figure out what happened to the sword," Crono groaned, rubbing his temples, "And few clues where to start."

Marle looked at Crono, "Do you think my ancestors would have ordered the blade to be returned to the Denadoro Mountains?"

"It's not out of the question. If the kingdom was in peaceful times for so long, at some point the royal family might have thought it obsolete to have and decided to put it to rest again." He replied.

Letting out a rough breath, Magus interrupted, "In any case, they're hunting for it and I'm not too certain why that is relevant. Dalton knows something we don't about the sword and its capabilities."

"How so?" Marle asked, "I would think with it being your weakness you would've known the sword's abilities completely."

"It's not that simple," he retorted, "The Masamune isn't just a weapon, like the ones that you and I use to fight. It was forged by the Guru of Life using only the finest materials available in Zeal, including the Dreamstone that Schala's pendant was created from. The components in the sword itself are no longer in existence, as they were destroyed with Zeal. On top of that, the sword is alive."

"Masa and Mune were not easy to take down," Crono commented, recalling the battle in the Magic Cave with the two souls that were essence of the blade themselves, "Separate they were difficult enough, but I thought we were goners when they fused."

Magus crossed his arms and began to pace slowly back and forth in front of Crono and Marle, "Melchior might be able to tell us where to find the sword, or at least how to find it. I know him. There is no way he would've created the blade and not had a way to track it down if it was stolen."

"Couldn't Masa and Mune defend themselves against Dalton if he found the sword?" Marle asked.

Magus paused, staring at the queen with a half-smirk, "They had their guard down when I approached them and I was able to break their power quite easily. I'm sure the Masamune would not be possessed by such a man willingly, especially since they know Dalton and know his heart is almost as black and twisted as mine."

Marle looked down at Solan, who was sleeping peacefully in her arms. She leaned in and kissed her son's forehead then turned to Magus, "We must get Melchior and see if we can locate the sword before Dalton does."

"I suggest you send someone to get him then." Magus remarked, "The old man is a miracle worker, but he is not psychic."

Crono stood up, "I'll go get him."

"Are you sure that the King of Guardia should be going to get a sword-merchant from Media?" Magus asked, skeptically, "Don't you have errand-boys for those things?"

"Magus is right, Crono. Besides, you have Solan and I to take care of." Marle commented.

Crono smiled, walking over and kissing Marle, then Solan's forehead, "No, I need to go get him myself. Besides, if Dalton knows Melchior is here then he could have the same idea we do. If that's the case then it could be trouble and no ordinary human could take on Dalton."

Marle's face fell and became full of concern, "I'll go with you then."

"No, Marle, we can't both be away. If something happens here then one of us needs to take care of the country. The Chancellor can't do it alone." Crono replied.

"Where's the scientist and her knight? Why not send them?" Magus inquired with a quirked brow, "Surely, they wouldn't mind assisting."

"That'd be a good idea, but Lucca and Glenn left early this morning on a boat to Termina. They're visiting the lab that Taban and her have been working with on the Elements Project."

"And whose bright idea was that, anyway? There is a reason why humans are unable to use magic." The King of Fiends snapped, "Meanwhile, you are trying to make it accessible for any fool who can afford it."

"It's more complex than that." Marle retorted, "And it was the Council's idea after they learned of our powers after having defeated Lavos. We were unable to reassure them that we would never use our magic to have absolute power over the territories, so they demanded we do something to make it more even for everyone. It was that or risk conflict, which seems to be occurring anyway."

Magus scuffed and rolled his eyes, "Has history taught you fools nothing? This is going to be a blood bath. If you give everyone the same toys, someone is going to decide to get bold and power-hungry."

Marle glared at Magus, "I don't expect you to understand. I don't like it either but as a ruler, I am obligated to be considerate of my people and their wishes."

His blood-red eyes fixated on the queen, as Magus approached Marle, hovering over her with a menacing gaze. Marle stood her ground, as Solan began to whimper in her arms, "And you're now faced with the eternal question that we as rulers must ask ourselves…"

"And what is that?" she demanded with a sharp voice.

"Is it better to be feared than loved?"

~X~X~X~

The lab in Termina was impressive to say the least. Some of the brightest minds in the Kingdom of Guardia had gathered and worked harmoniously to create a better life for the citizens. There had been advancements in medicine, technology, and now the Elements Project was in full swing. Lucca walked down the sterile white corridor with the director, as Glenn trailed a few steps behind them. They had been to the facility numerous times in the past, but this time Glenn seemed uneasy and reluctant to be there. He kept looking at the staff suspiciously and was observing as much as he could as they went through the different sectors of the laboratory.

"As you can see, Lady Ashtear, everything is proceeding as planned. We've had a few set-backs with the ships being attacked, but we've upped our transport security, as well as the facility's security as well. The use of biometrics is necessary to get in to most of the areas. That way we can know who is where and accessing what at any time." The director boasted, "We're very pleased to announce we've stabilized and are now ready to produce the next set of Elements for the military if Porre continues to be hostile."

"I wouldn't say that so casually, director." Lucca scowled, "There are still those who work in this facility who are from Porre but are still loyal to the crown."

The director wrinkled his nose and pushed his glasses up farther onto his face, "My lady, I wish the king and queen would allow us to remove those people. We've lost several ships and materials because Porre attacks and there's a constant fear of those citizens stealing information or elements."

Lucca shot the director a stern glare and lowered her voice, "And if there are security issues, we will look at them on a case-by-case basis, not because of where they come from. We have plenty of Mystic researchers and Demi-Humans, but no one is trying to kick them out. We will not discriminate and it's important to keep everyone calm. If we show prejudice, it'll just cause more issues for the king and queen. Do you understand me, director?"

The director shrunk back, gripping his clip board and nodding quickly, "Y-Yes, ma'am."

"Good." She bellowed, "Now, where is Luccia? I need to get an update on the Elements Project."

"Y-Yes, my lady. I will page her. Please, wait here." The director said, gesturing to one of the offices in the hall. Lucca groaned and walked in, with Glenn on her heels, "Oh, and Lady Ashtear?"

"What?" Lucca screeched. The director jumped back and was clearly shaken, "C-Congratulations on your marriage to Sir Glenn. I-I'm sorry I was unable to attend. The facility was going through an update that day and… you know…"

Lucca sighed heavily and forced a smile, "Thank you, director."

Bowing swiftly, the director almost ran from the room. Glenn shut the door behind him and turned to Lucca, with a smile, "I do believe you hath startled him, my love."

"He's a bigot and a pompous ass, but there is no one more brilliant or anal-retentive of the need for security than him on the whole planet." She fumed, throwing herself in one of the black leather chairs of the office.

Glenn smiled, walking over to her and sitting on the arm of her chair, passing a hand through her hair, "Except you."

Lucca looked up and took Glenn's hand, kissing it lightly and nuzzling her cheek against it, "Perhaps, but I'd be a slave to this place. The director has no family or desire to be around people more than needed. He prefers machines and so sleeping here means little to him."

"Then I am definitely glad you are not in charge of the facility's daily operations." Glenn confessed, "Though something has me uneasy about this place."

She shifted her position, throwing her legs up over his as she lounged backwards, "What makes you say that?"

"I am not a fan of the lack of scenery. Tis very cold and sterile down here, and there's something that just doesn't feel right to me." He confessed.

Lucca chuckled quietly, "Darling, you lived in a hole for ten years as a frog, and this place makes you wary?"

"At least there was green where I lived…" he retorted, leaning into her. Upon planting a kiss on her lips, Lucca grabbed the back of Glenn's neck and pulled him closer, deepening their kiss.

"Akehem…" a voice interrupted. Lucca and Glenn jumped back from each other, turning to see a young tall girl with blue-violet hair staring at them over the rim of her glasses. The young lady was dressed in a pure white lab coat with white boots, holding a clip board and pen, which she tapped on the top of agitatedly. "If I should come back later, zhen I can, milady."

"Luccia," Lucca exclaimed, rising swiftly and nodding to her cohort, "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in."

"Dat is a part of my job, milday, to be able to observe ze operations of zes facility vithout necessarily being detected." Luccia stated, dryly. "Jou sent for me?"

"Yes, I wanted to know what the status was on our project."

"It's very very difficult to progress, milady, as I am vorking on a lot of research based on theories and technologies zat have not even been invented yet." Luccia stated, handing her clipboard to Lucca, "As you can see here dat zhere are many other possibilities."

"I see…" Lucca said, skimming over Luccia's notes and charts briefly, searching for the information she craved to find. For months now, Luccia was helping Lucca with a project she had started based on temporal portals and time-space relativity. With a spin on biological mechanisms to add to the equation, the research was completely dizzying, if not mad, for most researchers. However, Luccia showed promise and was open minded to her superior's ideology. Luccia was young and eager as well. Having graduated the University at the tender age of fifteen, the now-seventeen year-old had spent her career at the lab in Termina. Lucca had taken a shine to her after reading her research journals on quantum physics and the bio-mechanical prosthetics that she was able to create. She and her brother, Viktor, had been working between the Porrean Labs and Termina Labs for several years as interns, but from that point on, Luccia was Lucca's personal protégé. However, her work was now quiet, as she balanced working on the elements with Lucca's project.

"I still don't know vhat to make of it or vhere to go from here, but I'm making small progresses." Luccia huffed, "But my brother and I are still struggling. Dis creature will be one for zhe history books though."

Lucca smiled at her friend, pulling out the drawings she had in the pile of notes. Glenn peered over her shoulder as Lucca showed him the design, "See?"

Glenn surveyed the blue and white paper to behold the blue-prints for a more sophisticated version of their futuristic companion, "You are that close, Luccia?"

Luccia laughed and tapped her template, "It is a matter of creatinging ze proper program. Ze Prometheus software and hardware will not transfer to him so easily, so despite jour lovely wife's brilliance, I am forced to try to replicate her vork and create it on a large computer system. But if Grobyc is all we hope he will be, zhen perhaps we can do so much more for those of our people who have lost limbs in zheir life, or who have never been able to valk at all."

"I see." Glenn stated in awe. Truly, Luccia was a brilliant mind. He dared to dream of what she and Lucca could accomplish in the upcoming years.

Lucca shuffled through some notes attached to the blue prints, "Where is your brother, Luccia? I'd like to talk to both of you in more detail about the special projects I have you working on."

Luccia's face grew sullen as she gripped her clipboard, biting her bottom lip, "Zhey came and took Viktor two weeks ago to ze facility in Porre. I have heard from him but nothing zhat is encouraging, milday."

Letting out a rough sigh, Lucca took off her glasses for a moment, rubbing her weary eyes as a feeling of uneasiness began to creep into her chest, "Any idea what he has been tasked to work on up there?"

The researcher nodded slowly, "He has sent me encrypted noted zhat tell me he has been tasked with helping to build more elements and a device to locate certain frequencies. Not just any frequencies but zhat of a very specific kind of energy - one zhat is not active in dis era. So he has been pouring over zhe ancient texts and trying to resurrect a dead language."

Glenn's attention shot immediately to Luccia, "Has he said what they are looking for?"

Shifting on her feet while flipping through her clip board, Luccia pulled out a piece of paper with some old etchings printed on it. Glenn immediately recognized one of them, as it was a wood-block print of him, in his Frog form, holding the Masamune, "Something to do with dis print. I believe zhey are searching for zhe sword, zhe Legendary Masamune. Though I thought that zhe Frog knight was just a bedtime story. Apparently, zhe hero that was Sir Cyrus and Sir Glenn are real."

"Do they know where the sword may be?"

"No, but zhere are rumors everywhere from believing the sword to be in Denardoro Mountains to being buried with Sir Cyrus in zhe Hero's Grave."

Glenn's temper got the better of him. The thought of Dalton and the soldiers of Porre even setting foot in Cyrus's grave site made him seethe with rage. It took him so long to put his poor friend's soul to rest and for him to be recognized for his sacrifice. The idea of his tomb being disturbed, or worst if the sword was with his dearly departed friend made his skin crawl with fury, "If they disturb Cyrus's grave I swear that I will –"

"Glenn!" Lucca snapped. Luccia tilted her head and peered at the two, "Is zhere something wrong?"

"Tis just… someone disturbing the grave of one of our country's fallen heroes… especially one so brave as Cyrus enrages me." Glenn stammered. Very few in the present knew that Glenn was the Sir Glenn from all the tales that were of the time of Cyrus and the Fiendlord. Their adventures and battles had become so well-told that some of the people dismissed certain truths as legends now.

Lucca leaned over, grabbing Glenn's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze before turning back to her student, "What about the other project? The big one?"

An uneasy noise came from the back of Luccia's throat, as she searched through her notes. She paused, checking to make sure she had what she wanted, and handed Lucca her clip board, "It is very delicate and dangerous vork, milday. I am usually game for your research and invention ideas but dis… dis makes me feel uneasy."

Lucca turned her attention back to Luccia, glancing up at her from over the rim of her brown-framed glasses, her blue eyes showing a strange desperation that Luccia had been seeing more and more frequently with each visit, "If you prefer I remove you from this one, I will. I'm not about to make you or anyone else uncomfortable with my research. This is my own project and has nothing to do with what I initially hired you for."

"Zhat is not zhe problem, milday," Luccia insisted, "I'm saying dat I am vorried about jou."

"Why is that?"

Luccia sighed, taking back her clipboard and flipping through some pages, before handing it back to Lucca. There, on the page Luccia had turned to, was the strand Lucca had been looking for. The one she both feared and wanted to be wrong about, "What do you know about it?"

Luccia pushed her glasses up onto her nose higher, "Vell, I know dat it is not here, and when I say here I mean dat it is not in dis time period. But, zhere are items here dat are linked to it. For example, her majesty's pendant, somezing with ze Dragons of El Nino, and an item zat I will call ze Dragon's Tear."

"You know it's not here though, right? You're one-hundred percent certain?" Lucca asked, warily.

Her assistant shook her head and slightly shrugged her shoulders, "If it tis here, zhen we do not have ze technology to detect it, much less research its capabilities furzher"

A weight began to form in Lucca's chest as she struggled to keep her emotions in check. Panic started to take over her as she slowly returned Luccia's clipboard, "I understand… Thank you for that, Luccia."

"Of course, ma'am. If I find anyzhing else I vill call on jou." Luccia stated, "Oh, milady, I may regret asking dis but, should I be concerned zhat zhey took Viktor and do not seem to know vhen he vill return?"

As Lucca's face went from fearful to dark, Luccia understood. War was coming and it was going to be ugly. The young scientist said nothing more; she simply bowed and walked out of the office, leaving Glenn and Lucca alone.

Glenn moved over, closing the door behind Luccia, and turned to face his wife, who was nervously biting at her nails, "Stop that." He teased gently, "You will chew to the nail-bed if you start that right now.

"Gods, I wanted to be wrong." She groaned, leaning back and running a hand through her hair, before gently massaging her own scalp, "I don't know what to do about this."

Taking a few small steps towards her, Glenn folded his arms and leaned against the wall close to her, "So the Frozen Flame is not in this era, just as you thought?"

"No," Lucca replied, flatly, "But I'm curious about those other factors she mentioned. Marle's pendant is an obvious one, but the Dragons? Those creatures have just been sleeping and doing their own thing for the last um-teen hundred, maybe thousands of years or so."

"Where are their origins from? I vaguely remember hearing about them when I was a lad, but I always thought they were stories." Glenn asked, "They are real animals?"

"They are real, but no one really knows where they came from. Some say they are remnants of old Gods from Ancient Times, others say they helped create this planet, but most just regard them as hermit monsters that you don't go and mess with their islands."

Moving to kneel in front of her, Glenn put his hands on Lucca's knees, lightly rubbing her thighs, trying to soothe her, "What do you think of them?"

Lucca let her head fall back, sighing softly as she placed her hands on top of Glenn's, "I have seen too much to not believe that any legend could be true."

~X~X~X~

A brilliant stream of sunlight had flooded into the room, for they had reached their bed too soon to care about them. Still half asleep, Schala reflected that the sun felt so warm in light of the cool night prior.

There was movement beside her, and she rolled onto her side, pushing up onto one elbow. Magus stretched out lazily on his stomach as he awakened, tangled black lashes lifting to reveal drowsy garnet eyes. He was so handsome with his azure locks disheveled and his face still slightly pink from sleep.

Magus had been insatiable during the night. Whether it was her open invitation for him to come to her or his desire to distract her from her worrying of the black winds, she decided not to seek an answer. He had touched, kissed, and tasted every inch of her body, his hands surprisingly gentle, while his mouth remained carnal with insistence. The intimate memories came back to her as she felt her face turn hot with color. Moving slightly, she discovered that the muscles on her sides and inner thighs were sore, as well as her shoulders, back, and neck.

"Did I hurt you last night?" he asked, noticing her slight wince of pain.

She smiled and gently stroked a strand of hair from his eyes, "Nothing that a hot bath won't cure."

No one would've recognized the fierce King of Mystics if he had been seen gazing at her with such tenderness, "You look like an angel in the sunlight." He murmured, softly.

"Hardly anymore, no thanks to you." She sighed, a lazy smile crossing her lips. Magus laughed and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer as he lay still. Schala snuggled down and curled up next to him, her fingertips lightly tracing over his back. She looked at it with curiosity and concern. There were several scars that marked him, telling the story of countless battles and bloodshed, but two particular that were very deep and long from the top of his right shoulder blade all the way across to his left hip; the others were light and barely were noticeable. As Schala's fingertips brushed one of the deep scars, Magus let out a long breath from his nose, "Both of those are from Glenn with the Masamune."

Schala sighed and settled beside him, "I can understand why he hates you so much."

"I never pretended to be a saint, Schala." He said, his tone almost bored, "I cannot change my past, I can only work towards a better future."

Her face showed traces of sadness, as she brushed a few strands of hair from his eyes, "I love you, and I forgive you, but I wish you would not make light of the pain you've caused others."

Magus propped himself up on his elbow, his hand holding his chin, as his expression became blank, "It's done, Schala. I'm not proud of all of the things I have done, but I am who I am because of it."

Deciding she'd let the subject go, Schala leaned over and kissed Magus quickly, wriggling from his grip, swinging her feet over the side of the bed. Magus groaned as he reached for her, but failed to grab her in time, as she dashed over and put on her robe, "Milady, the hour is still early. Come back to bed."

His beloved smiled gently at him, "No, my darling. It's time to greet the day."

~X~X~X~

"My queen, where are you taking me?" Luisa asked, following Marle down the long stairwell to the storage room. Marle sang quietly as she carried Solan down the steps with her. The queen had led Luisa into the back storage room, in the area that was right behind the Rainbow Shell's remains from Melchior's workings. The queen stopped, turning on her heels, and smiled back at the young nun, "Luisa, do you remember how to get here?"

"Y-yes, my lady." She stammered, "Why?"

Searching briefly, Marle grabbed one of the torches and pulled on it. A quiet click was heard, followed by the sound of a mechanism. Slowly, the wall opened to reveal another staircase, leading down into darkness. Luisa peered in and felt her heart drop, as if she were going to be sucked in and drawn down.

"This passageway leads to a small vessel that is docked below the castle. It's designed to help the royal family escape should there be a siege and the palace be taken." Marle explained, lightly kissing Solan's forehead. The little prince smiled, reaching for his mother's fingertips as she dangled them above him, "I want you to remember this passageway, Luisa." She said with a sad smile.

Luisa shook her head violently, her eyes beginning to brim with tears of concern, as her mouth twitched, "Why are you telling me this?"

Marle moved towards Luisa, her smile still soft and sad, "Because I want you to be ready for whatever may happen. If the castle falls and something happens to me and the king, I want you to take the prince and get here. Bring whoever you are able to, but you and the prince get here safetly, do you understand?

"Please, majesty, it won't come to that…"

"I am not willing to risk my son's life on that gamble, Sister." Marle stated, her voice remaining soft and calm, "It's not like I want to think of these things. I wish to see my son grow tall and watch the girls chase after him. I want his father to teach him how to use his sword, and I to teach him how to be a strong and kind ruler, but sometimes Fate has other plans. I'm simply preparing"

Luisa let a few tears fall as she bit her lip, "Queen Nadia… I— I wish I was stronger and knew what to do in order to help you more."

Marle shifted Solan in her arms, then reached out, lightly touching Luisa's shoulder, "Then promise me that no matter what happens, you'll protect the prince and get him to safety."

Luisa nodded slowly, whipping her eyes, as her faced became determined as she kneeled before Marle, "I, Sister Luisa, servant of our great Mother and the Gods, promise that I will protect and serve you and your family, my lady, so long as I live in this mortal form, until the Goddess calls me to her embrace again."

With that, Marle took Luisa into her arms, hugging her and her son, as she found herself fighting back tears.