~*~Chapter 14 Saving the ancestors of the enemy~*~
Frog, Schala and Cered stepped out from the Gate to find themselves in a spruce forest. Everything was bathing in sunlight.
"Janus, where..." Schala began.
He came from above, from one of the treetops, landed in the moss in front of Frog, grabbed the knight's shoulder, held up his own cloak and violently threw the green one at the red cloth.
"What art thee...!"
"I'll explain later," Magus snarled, "be quiet!"
Frog had expected loss of air and a feeling similar to being inside of a sack, but instead he found himself floating inside a dark, almost empty room. The only things there were himself, Molor and a strangely glowing window by one of the walls. The snake turned away from the last thing and hissed silently, looking almost as if he smiled, coldly and welcoming. With no other options, Frog moved up to the window and the animal.
"What is this place?" the knight said, not expecting any answer.
'It is inside of Magus' mind,' a dry, hissing voice inside his head calmly replied, 'he created this to keep me hidden, and now even you.'
"Molor?!" Frog gasped.
The snake seemed to laugh a bit.
'Yes, it is me,' he said telepathically, 'here, even you can hear my voice.'
"Wait, did thou say that we art inside of Magus' mind?"
'So it is.'
"I feel somewhat sick..."
Molor laughed again, and then turned to the window.
'Look here, it is what Magus see.'
Frog turned his head, and saw Schala and Cered from above, through some branches. They were talking to three men, obviously soldiers. The men wore deeply blue uniforms, metallic plates covered their chests. One of them carried a sword by his belt, the other two had a spear each. They were very resolute-looking.
"We are traveling warriors," Schala said, "what on earth is going on here?"
"They've found the lair of the Mystics," the soldier with the sword said, "but the damn Lizard refuses to surrender. Have you seen him?"
Schala and Cered shook their heads, managing not to look too confused.
There was a yell to be heard from somewhere, distant and filled with triumph. The soldiers forgot all about the two travelers and ran towards the source of the call.
The view through the window became unclear as Magus jumped down from the tree. It shook a bit as he landed.
"What is this all about?" Schala asked.
Magus scanned the area before he spoke.
"I knew I recalled this era as something special," he said, "in this time, the Mystics were formed by a monster named Lizard. He wanted to free the monsters from the slavery they suffered."
"What?" Frog said.
The room became unclear, and he found himself standing in the moss beside Molor.
"I had to hid you," Magus said, "the people here were fanatic about killing monsters and anything extraordinary."
"Did thee sayeth that monsters were kept as slaves?" Frog asked, frowning.
Magus' mouth was a thin line in his face.
"Indeed they were," he said, coldly, "as animals too. Lizard formed an army of rebels and tried to change that. I'm pretty sure I know what Gaspar meant about my existence. Come, we must find the battlefield. I believe that we can walk freely; everyone should be too busy trying to capture the Mystic's first leader."
They hurried through the forest. At Magus command they slowed and sat down behind some bushes.
It wasn't really a battlefield. It was more like a trap. A small group of semi humanoid monsters, men, women and children, stood in the middle of a glade, and about thirty human soldiers stood smirking by the trees around the open place.
After a glance filled with anger around the area, one of the monsters stepped forward. He had green scales instead of skin, his clothes were just a torn, grey robe and a simple piece of rope around his waist. In his right hand he held a sword. Its edge had been broken by half.
"Lardon, you despicable coward!" the monster growled, "at least let the women an children go!"
One of the humans stepped out in the moss. He had a shield on his left arm and a shiny sword in the right hand. He also wore a blue cloak with a silver embroidery of a crossed spear and sword on it.
"You really must keep that disbelief of mercy burning, don't you?" he sneered, "for the safe of my nation, you know that I must make sure that especially those children doesn't escape. I am so terribly sorry, my dear enemy."
Frog clenched his teeth to stop the growl that grew in his chest. Magus put his hand on Schala's shoulder to calm her down as her grip around the staff tightened.
"Wait," the warlock whispered, "it might be that he will take care of this without our interference."
"But they art surrounded!" Cered growled, "I cannot stay here and do naught!"
"If history works the way it should," Magus said in a low voice, "Lizard will bring all of his friends and himself out of the trap without any help."
Out in the glade, the monster in the lead smiled coldly.
"Well then, I suppose that I must surrender my hope of peace," he said.
"You sure took your time realizing that fighting is meaningless," Lardon smirked.
Lizard snorted and put two fingers between his lips. The loud whistle echoed through the forest.
At first, nothing happened. Then golden eagles swarmed from the treetops and dived at the surrounded monsters, grabbing pleading arms and flapping desperately to bring their friends to safety. It happened so fast that Lardon at first was too surprised to react.
"Stop them!" he roared in outrage when he realized that he was about to loose.
There were four soldiers carrying spears. They all threw their weapons, and three hit. Just as many eagles fell and dissolved into nothingness. Now there was only one flier left, and four monsters. One of them was a woman, looking much like Lizard but with bluish scales. The leader of the monsters spun around, grabbed her waist and threw her up to the last eagle, which grabbed her wrists and carried her towards the sky after the others.
"No, Lizard!" she screamed, "damn it, let me go you bird!"
"Take care, Snake!" Lizard called and turned away.
He and the last two monsters, both of them men, grimly backed up against each other's backs.
"I see that I'll at least get the three main fools as trophies!" Lardon snarled and pointed out the monsters to his men, "take care of them, but make sure they stay alive!"
"It was nice being free by your side, Lizard," one of the last two monsters said.
He carried a broadsword in his big hands. His arms and legs were as thick as tree trunks, he had dark purple skin and no hair. The other monster had softly red skin and short hair in a slightly darker color than the one of his body. He had no weapons. Both of them were dressed as Lizard.
"Yes," the unarmed one said with a bitter smile, "but let us give the bastards a hell before we depart."
He closed his eyes and started to mumble.
"Freeze," Magus said, waving with a hand.
At the warlock's command, every monster and soldier stopped moving.
"I can only do this shortly, so this will have to be quick," Magus said, "as I expected, history has changed."
"Thou sayeth that Lizard and his comrades should hath escaped?" Cered asked.
Magus nodded.
"What's going on here was decisive in Lizard's war against Lardon and the humans, and it's also an important event in the history of the Mystics. It's known as 'The great Escape'. Lizard should have escaped and with that adding new hope to the enslaved monsters, starting a massive battle for freedom. Then he would have found a safe place for his people and rule as the first king of Mystics together with Snake, who he just sent away. But should he die here, the Mystics will disappear before they even had been really born."
"And thou will not be what thou art," Frog concluded.
"Correct."
Magus smiled, coldly and ironical.
"The truth is," he said, "Lizard played a vital part in the awakening of my magic powers long ago."
"How can that be?" Schala asked, "weren't they awoken in the end of 500 AD?"
"Indeed they were."
Magus pointed at the frozen, green monster and said:
"Frog, look at Lizard. Then imagine that he don't have the sword, and add about four, five hundred pounds. Then what do you get?"
Frog's mind found the image, with great surprise.
"Ozzie!?"
"Yes," Magus said with a cold, strangely bitter smile, "he attacked me as I fell out of the Gate back then, and that awoke my magic in anger and self- defense. And those other two monsters, Frog?"
A fighter, covered with muscles and a man with light red skin, obviously a magic user?
A thin swordsman and a female-looking freak with pink skin and a pigtail?!
"Those be the ancestors of Slash and Flea?" Frog said, greatly surprised.
"Yes, Warrior and Magician. And whether we like it or not, they will be needed later."
"We musteth help them whoever they art related to!" Cered growled.
Magus nodded.
"It seems that we have no choice. But Lizard should better not carry any warmer feelings towards humans, and that is a problem."
Suddenly, everybody looked at Frog.
"Truly," he said and crossed his arms with a grim nod, "but I cannot help them alone."
"I could use a spell similar to the one I used to turn the pest here into a frog," Magus said thoughtfully, "one that would only work for a couple of hours or until I command it to dissolve."
"Good," Schala said, "I'll take care of the warmongers while you work on it."
Magus turned to Cered while his sister muttered the required spell in a low voice. The warlock pointed at the guardian of the emperor's peace and started to mumble. A small lightning hit the young man, and he began to glow in eerie colors.
Frog had to turn away, the memory was still painful.
Cered looked at his now yellow-green hands.
"Did it go well?" he asked.
"Well, err..." Frog said, scratching his head.
"You look fine, Cered," Schala said with a smile.
Actually, he looked much like Slash, only with another color of his skin.
"My turn," the princess of Zeal said.
"Yes."
Magus turned around and raised his hand.
He froze.
His arm fell, and he looked away.
"I can't do it," he snarled.
Frog tried to hid his mouth with his hand, but Schala just smiled a bit.
"Alright, let's see what I can do, then. Powers of the world, lend me the power of Light… liryla lati sha."
The dark, magical Moonlight armor hid everything except her eyes this time, and didn't take the shape of her hair. Instead it pressed her blue crown at the rest of her body. Someone who hadn't seen her magic before would have a hard time trying to figure out what she really was.
"Art we ready then?" Cered asked and drew his katanas.
Magus put his hand over his mouth and then he said, revealing that he had made his eyeteeth grow into fangs:
"Yes, let's go."
With his pale face, odd clothing and the fangs, anyone would believe he was a vampire. As if that hadn't been what everyone had suspected for a long time...
Schala gave a short laugh and waved with her hand. Immediately, the soldiers and monsters started moving again.
"Shetader!" Magician yelled.
One of the approaching solders were thrown to the ground by a lightning bolt. He got up, staggering and cursing.
"Amateur!" Magus sighed.
"Shalt we?" Frog said with a big grin.
The three surrounded monsters became just as surprised as the soldiers when there suddenly were four strangers and a snake standing between Lizard's small troop and the rest of the world, obviously ready to defend them.
"Who are you fools?!" Lardon yelled.
"Plainly unexpected heroes," Frog said with a broad smile.
"Don't worry," Schala said over her shoulder, "we're here to help you."
Magus turned to Lizard.
"Forget about that broken sword," the warlock said and reached for his cloak, "this is the weapon of a Mystic king."
From the depths of his magical cloak, Magus brought forth... his scythe. Lizard dropped the sword and took the new weapon that he was offered.
"It's like made for my grip..." the monster said, almost in another world.
"You don't say..." Magus said with a strange smile.
He turned again and looked at Magician.
"You have great possibilities," the warlock said, "allow me and my companions here to push you in the right direction. Shall we, Molor? Dark Powers of the world, I dare to ask thee to lend me strength!"
"… Power of Lightning!"
"… of Fire!"
"… of Water!"
The whole area flashed in darkness and light, got hot and soaking wet.
"I do advice you to draw back, Lardon!" Schala called.
The captain shook his cloak to get rid of the water and growled:
"Neither me nor my men fear any monsters! Attack!"
"I sense a lack of wisdom," Frog said, "thou shalt pay for thy crimes with the shame of defeat, Lardon!"
"A monster who dares to speak like a nobleman?" Lardon growled, "I will have those manners whipped out of you soon enough, you little bastard!"
"So you say?!" Magus snorted with a strange grain of anger in his voice, "I wouldn't even think about it…"
"I beliveth not that they art going to reconsider," Cered said, "though it hurts my heart, it seems that we hath no other choice but to fight them."
"We must take caution not to be too violent," Schala pointed out.
"Of course, my love."
Schala, Cered and Frog ran to give the soldiers a lesson of common sense manners. With a merry war cry, Warrior followed their example. Magus and Molor stayed, however. It seemed as neither Lizard nor Magician even remembered that there was an important battle going on. The leader of the monsters seemed hypnotized by the scythe, and the magic user seemed to be just as fascinated about the warlock.
"Who are you and your friends, who know such magic?" Magician asked.
The pale man's lips twitched a little, it was hard to tell if it was bitterly or if he was about to laugh.
"I am known as Magus," he said, "and I dare to say that I am a prophet as well as a powerful spell caster."
"'Tis thy profession indeed!" Frog called with a laugh.
Magus ignored him and kept talking to Magician:
"Allow me to show you some of my spells to help you become stronger. One day, one of your family-line will have a most important student."
"Then show me," Magician said, and his eyes were almost glowing.
Magus turned around and pointed.
"Powers of the world, lend me the power of Water! Ta keich sanea wyh!"
The whole glade crumbled beneath several big rocks of ice, but Magus was careful not to harm anyone badly. His respect for Schala was really showing in that moment.
"Now you try it," the warlock said.
"Ta keich sanea wyh!"
Lardon got away without any bad wounds probably only because the stone he was standing by stopped the enormous blocks of ice from giving him broken ribs and arms as he was knocked down. He got up, snarling words which were not meant too be written down.
"I need to practice to aim," Magician concluded.
"There could be needs for that, yes," Magus said with a cold smile, "and now, watch and repeat this: lend me the power of Fire, na farey tlo shar wetal!"
"Na farey tlo shar wetal!" the monster repeated after the prayer.
Several soldiers dropped their weapons and fell to the ground, twisting to stop the flames consuming the cloth beneath their armors.
"Crancha na lishoro!" Frog called.
He didn't like the ways of the soldiers here, but he couldn't stand there and watch them get roasted.
"Powers of the world, lend me the power of Water! Crancha na lishoro!" Magician echoed.
He was a fast learner, truly. Though the fact that he was a bit clumsy showed that he wasn't very used to the new spells. Frog picked up the Masamune and shook his cloak to get rid of the water. Then he could continue the battle against the outraged humans.
A soldier with a bow was about to make an attempt to end the magic lesson, but Molor got in between. The snake rose up in front of the warmonger and hissed; that was perfectly enough to make the man turn around a flee screaming.
"… Of lightning! Na matala shetader " Magus called, and Magician followed.
"Hey, watch it!" Warrior exclaimed and put his hand over the smoking hole on his right sleeve.
"Na matala sela!" Frog commanded, and the monster with the sword was cured.
The knight smiled a bit at the astounded Warrior, laughing silently at the bizarre fact that he had helped the one who was the seed of Slash.
It seemed like Magician hadn't noticed Frog's spell; he didn't try to use it. Instead he looked at Magus and asked:
"Is there even more?"
The warlock's mouth suddenly turned to a thin line.
"Yes," he slowly said, "there is the dark power of Shadow."
Molor, Cered, Frog and Schala startled and spun around, not happy knowing what approached.
Magus clenched his teeth and raised his right hand.
"Dark powers of the world, I…"
He gritted his teeth before ending the spell.
"… Dare to ask of thee to lend me strength! Worch crahela krun shar retetack!"
The Dark mist landed on one of the many big rocks that laid around in the forest. The stone turned to dust, and the battle froze.
"Tell me, Lardon," Magus snarled, still with his teeth tightly clamped, "do you wish to challenge this power today?"
The leader of the soldiers opened and closed his fists in hesitating rage before he made his decision.
"Retreat!" he called, growling, "but I swear, Lizard, I will get you someday!"
"I await you, coward!" the green monster called back, suddenly awake.
"'Twas actually a bit amusing," Cered smiled and put his katanas back by his belt.
"I am impressed with your weapon skills," Warrior said as he still grinned at the fleeing, distant humans.
"One musteth combine one's soul with the blade, and thy skill will be among the superior," Frog said, without considering who he was talking to.
The deep purple colored monster smiled and nodded.
"Yes, indeed," he said, "my children will be the finest of swordsmen."
"I am..." Frog fought back a wish to cough, "certain they will."
Magician bowed in front of Magus.
"I thank you for showing me all that, wizard," the monster said.
"Nothing to talk about," Magus said with a small smile.
Magician threw a glance at the heap of dust that once had been a rock and cleared his throat.
"That... dark cloud," he said, with a trace of unease in his voice, "have you ever used it on a living being?"
There was a silent moment.
"I have seen it being used that way," Magus finally said, slowly and emotionless.
Magician shook his head.
"I cannot believe that somebody could do something that cruel."
Magus, Molor, Schala, Frog and Cered exchanged glances.
"You're a good man," the warlock finally said.
"I want to thank you for your help," Lizard said with a smile, "I doubt we would have made it without you."
"It was only natural for us to want to help you," Schala warmly said, "but now we must depart."
As the woman silently (minding Magician's abilities to learn) mumbled to open a Gate, Magus gave Lizard a small smile and spoke:
"You should look for an island for your next lair; it's harder for Lardon to sneak around you on the sea than if he has a lot of bushes to hide behind."
"That is of course true..." Lizard said, thoughtfully.
"Good, now go and find Snake. Good-bye."
"Wait, who are..."
But Lizard's call was lost in time. As the five travelers stepped out in the End of Time, Schala made her armor dissolve, and Cered turned back into a human. Magus probably mended his teeth, but it was hard to tell.
"Hey, did it go well?" Gaspar called.
"No problem whatsoever," Schala smiled.
She looked at her brother.
"But you gave Lizard your scythe, Janus..."
He smiled a bit and shook his head, making a movement at his cloak with his right hand.
"Don't worry, Schala, I've got another one."
"Good, I don't want you to be unarmed, just in case. But why did you do it?"
Magus shrugged his shoulders.
"Lizard would have thought of it himself after that battle, since his sword was broken," the warlock said, "I just decided to help out a little."
Schala nodded with a smile and turned at the last pillar of light.
"I'm not tired, shall we continue?"
"I need to rest," Magus said and resolutely shook his head, "I used a lot of magic back there."
Gaspar went up the stair and held up a bottle containing a liquid, which was so warmly yellow that it almost seemed to glow.
"'Tis a full ether?" Frog said.
"Indeed," Gaspar smiled, "I don't want to push you youngsters, but there might be a need of hurrying. Something is going on by that last Gate which is beginning to make it unsteady. Bottom's up, prince."
Magus took the bottle with a roll of his eyes and emptied it, uncharacteristically not arguing.
"Thank you, Gaspar," Schala said.
"Nothing to talk about. Now, go on."
The old guru watched them all get warped away and rubbed his cheek.
"They'll be fine!" Spekkio called from his room, "but they better hurry up, ya know!"
"How can this be?" Gaspar said as he grimly watched a new pillar of light rise from the empty floor, "how can Crono and the girls end up in such a trap?"
"You know that as well as I do," Spekkio sighed, "but it'll be paley and his friends who have to get back here in time to get the sweetcheeks and the boy out of that mess. I guess they were plain not paying attention..."
Spekkio sighed, and so did Gaspar.
"Prince Janus," the guru whispered, "oh, poor, poor boy..."
Frog, Schala and Cered stepped out from the Gate to find themselves in a spruce forest. Everything was bathing in sunlight.
"Janus, where..." Schala began.
He came from above, from one of the treetops, landed in the moss in front of Frog, grabbed the knight's shoulder, held up his own cloak and violently threw the green one at the red cloth.
"What art thee...!"
"I'll explain later," Magus snarled, "be quiet!"
Frog had expected loss of air and a feeling similar to being inside of a sack, but instead he found himself floating inside a dark, almost empty room. The only things there were himself, Molor and a strangely glowing window by one of the walls. The snake turned away from the last thing and hissed silently, looking almost as if he smiled, coldly and welcoming. With no other options, Frog moved up to the window and the animal.
"What is this place?" the knight said, not expecting any answer.
'It is inside of Magus' mind,' a dry, hissing voice inside his head calmly replied, 'he created this to keep me hidden, and now even you.'
"Molor?!" Frog gasped.
The snake seemed to laugh a bit.
'Yes, it is me,' he said telepathically, 'here, even you can hear my voice.'
"Wait, did thou say that we art inside of Magus' mind?"
'So it is.'
"I feel somewhat sick..."
Molor laughed again, and then turned to the window.
'Look here, it is what Magus see.'
Frog turned his head, and saw Schala and Cered from above, through some branches. They were talking to three men, obviously soldiers. The men wore deeply blue uniforms, metallic plates covered their chests. One of them carried a sword by his belt, the other two had a spear each. They were very resolute-looking.
"We are traveling warriors," Schala said, "what on earth is going on here?"
"They've found the lair of the Mystics," the soldier with the sword said, "but the damn Lizard refuses to surrender. Have you seen him?"
Schala and Cered shook their heads, managing not to look too confused.
There was a yell to be heard from somewhere, distant and filled with triumph. The soldiers forgot all about the two travelers and ran towards the source of the call.
The view through the window became unclear as Magus jumped down from the tree. It shook a bit as he landed.
"What is this all about?" Schala asked.
Magus scanned the area before he spoke.
"I knew I recalled this era as something special," he said, "in this time, the Mystics were formed by a monster named Lizard. He wanted to free the monsters from the slavery they suffered."
"What?" Frog said.
The room became unclear, and he found himself standing in the moss beside Molor.
"I had to hid you," Magus said, "the people here were fanatic about killing monsters and anything extraordinary."
"Did thee sayeth that monsters were kept as slaves?" Frog asked, frowning.
Magus' mouth was a thin line in his face.
"Indeed they were," he said, coldly, "as animals too. Lizard formed an army of rebels and tried to change that. I'm pretty sure I know what Gaspar meant about my existence. Come, we must find the battlefield. I believe that we can walk freely; everyone should be too busy trying to capture the Mystic's first leader."
They hurried through the forest. At Magus command they slowed and sat down behind some bushes.
It wasn't really a battlefield. It was more like a trap. A small group of semi humanoid monsters, men, women and children, stood in the middle of a glade, and about thirty human soldiers stood smirking by the trees around the open place.
After a glance filled with anger around the area, one of the monsters stepped forward. He had green scales instead of skin, his clothes were just a torn, grey robe and a simple piece of rope around his waist. In his right hand he held a sword. Its edge had been broken by half.
"Lardon, you despicable coward!" the monster growled, "at least let the women an children go!"
One of the humans stepped out in the moss. He had a shield on his left arm and a shiny sword in the right hand. He also wore a blue cloak with a silver embroidery of a crossed spear and sword on it.
"You really must keep that disbelief of mercy burning, don't you?" he sneered, "for the safe of my nation, you know that I must make sure that especially those children doesn't escape. I am so terribly sorry, my dear enemy."
Frog clenched his teeth to stop the growl that grew in his chest. Magus put his hand on Schala's shoulder to calm her down as her grip around the staff tightened.
"Wait," the warlock whispered, "it might be that he will take care of this without our interference."
"But they art surrounded!" Cered growled, "I cannot stay here and do naught!"
"If history works the way it should," Magus said in a low voice, "Lizard will bring all of his friends and himself out of the trap without any help."
Out in the glade, the monster in the lead smiled coldly.
"Well then, I suppose that I must surrender my hope of peace," he said.
"You sure took your time realizing that fighting is meaningless," Lardon smirked.
Lizard snorted and put two fingers between his lips. The loud whistle echoed through the forest.
At first, nothing happened. Then golden eagles swarmed from the treetops and dived at the surrounded monsters, grabbing pleading arms and flapping desperately to bring their friends to safety. It happened so fast that Lardon at first was too surprised to react.
"Stop them!" he roared in outrage when he realized that he was about to loose.
There were four soldiers carrying spears. They all threw their weapons, and three hit. Just as many eagles fell and dissolved into nothingness. Now there was only one flier left, and four monsters. One of them was a woman, looking much like Lizard but with bluish scales. The leader of the monsters spun around, grabbed her waist and threw her up to the last eagle, which grabbed her wrists and carried her towards the sky after the others.
"No, Lizard!" she screamed, "damn it, let me go you bird!"
"Take care, Snake!" Lizard called and turned away.
He and the last two monsters, both of them men, grimly backed up against each other's backs.
"I see that I'll at least get the three main fools as trophies!" Lardon snarled and pointed out the monsters to his men, "take care of them, but make sure they stay alive!"
"It was nice being free by your side, Lizard," one of the last two monsters said.
He carried a broadsword in his big hands. His arms and legs were as thick as tree trunks, he had dark purple skin and no hair. The other monster had softly red skin and short hair in a slightly darker color than the one of his body. He had no weapons. Both of them were dressed as Lizard.
"Yes," the unarmed one said with a bitter smile, "but let us give the bastards a hell before we depart."
He closed his eyes and started to mumble.
"Freeze," Magus said, waving with a hand.
At the warlock's command, every monster and soldier stopped moving.
"I can only do this shortly, so this will have to be quick," Magus said, "as I expected, history has changed."
"Thou sayeth that Lizard and his comrades should hath escaped?" Cered asked.
Magus nodded.
"What's going on here was decisive in Lizard's war against Lardon and the humans, and it's also an important event in the history of the Mystics. It's known as 'The great Escape'. Lizard should have escaped and with that adding new hope to the enslaved monsters, starting a massive battle for freedom. Then he would have found a safe place for his people and rule as the first king of Mystics together with Snake, who he just sent away. But should he die here, the Mystics will disappear before they even had been really born."
"And thou will not be what thou art," Frog concluded.
"Correct."
Magus smiled, coldly and ironical.
"The truth is," he said, "Lizard played a vital part in the awakening of my magic powers long ago."
"How can that be?" Schala asked, "weren't they awoken in the end of 500 AD?"
"Indeed they were."
Magus pointed at the frozen, green monster and said:
"Frog, look at Lizard. Then imagine that he don't have the sword, and add about four, five hundred pounds. Then what do you get?"
Frog's mind found the image, with great surprise.
"Ozzie!?"
"Yes," Magus said with a cold, strangely bitter smile, "he attacked me as I fell out of the Gate back then, and that awoke my magic in anger and self- defense. And those other two monsters, Frog?"
A fighter, covered with muscles and a man with light red skin, obviously a magic user?
A thin swordsman and a female-looking freak with pink skin and a pigtail?!
"Those be the ancestors of Slash and Flea?" Frog said, greatly surprised.
"Yes, Warrior and Magician. And whether we like it or not, they will be needed later."
"We musteth help them whoever they art related to!" Cered growled.
Magus nodded.
"It seems that we have no choice. But Lizard should better not carry any warmer feelings towards humans, and that is a problem."
Suddenly, everybody looked at Frog.
"Truly," he said and crossed his arms with a grim nod, "but I cannot help them alone."
"I could use a spell similar to the one I used to turn the pest here into a frog," Magus said thoughtfully, "one that would only work for a couple of hours or until I command it to dissolve."
"Good," Schala said, "I'll take care of the warmongers while you work on it."
Magus turned to Cered while his sister muttered the required spell in a low voice. The warlock pointed at the guardian of the emperor's peace and started to mumble. A small lightning hit the young man, and he began to glow in eerie colors.
Frog had to turn away, the memory was still painful.
Cered looked at his now yellow-green hands.
"Did it go well?" he asked.
"Well, err..." Frog said, scratching his head.
"You look fine, Cered," Schala said with a smile.
Actually, he looked much like Slash, only with another color of his skin.
"My turn," the princess of Zeal said.
"Yes."
Magus turned around and raised his hand.
He froze.
His arm fell, and he looked away.
"I can't do it," he snarled.
Frog tried to hid his mouth with his hand, but Schala just smiled a bit.
"Alright, let's see what I can do, then. Powers of the world, lend me the power of Light… liryla lati sha."
The dark, magical Moonlight armor hid everything except her eyes this time, and didn't take the shape of her hair. Instead it pressed her blue crown at the rest of her body. Someone who hadn't seen her magic before would have a hard time trying to figure out what she really was.
"Art we ready then?" Cered asked and drew his katanas.
Magus put his hand over his mouth and then he said, revealing that he had made his eyeteeth grow into fangs:
"Yes, let's go."
With his pale face, odd clothing and the fangs, anyone would believe he was a vampire. As if that hadn't been what everyone had suspected for a long time...
Schala gave a short laugh and waved with her hand. Immediately, the soldiers and monsters started moving again.
"Shetader!" Magician yelled.
One of the approaching solders were thrown to the ground by a lightning bolt. He got up, staggering and cursing.
"Amateur!" Magus sighed.
"Shalt we?" Frog said with a big grin.
The three surrounded monsters became just as surprised as the soldiers when there suddenly were four strangers and a snake standing between Lizard's small troop and the rest of the world, obviously ready to defend them.
"Who are you fools?!" Lardon yelled.
"Plainly unexpected heroes," Frog said with a broad smile.
"Don't worry," Schala said over her shoulder, "we're here to help you."
Magus turned to Lizard.
"Forget about that broken sword," the warlock said and reached for his cloak, "this is the weapon of a Mystic king."
From the depths of his magical cloak, Magus brought forth... his scythe. Lizard dropped the sword and took the new weapon that he was offered.
"It's like made for my grip..." the monster said, almost in another world.
"You don't say..." Magus said with a strange smile.
He turned again and looked at Magician.
"You have great possibilities," the warlock said, "allow me and my companions here to push you in the right direction. Shall we, Molor? Dark Powers of the world, I dare to ask thee to lend me strength!"
"… Power of Lightning!"
"… of Fire!"
"… of Water!"
The whole area flashed in darkness and light, got hot and soaking wet.
"I do advice you to draw back, Lardon!" Schala called.
The captain shook his cloak to get rid of the water and growled:
"Neither me nor my men fear any monsters! Attack!"
"I sense a lack of wisdom," Frog said, "thou shalt pay for thy crimes with the shame of defeat, Lardon!"
"A monster who dares to speak like a nobleman?" Lardon growled, "I will have those manners whipped out of you soon enough, you little bastard!"
"So you say?!" Magus snorted with a strange grain of anger in his voice, "I wouldn't even think about it…"
"I beliveth not that they art going to reconsider," Cered said, "though it hurts my heart, it seems that we hath no other choice but to fight them."
"We must take caution not to be too violent," Schala pointed out.
"Of course, my love."
Schala, Cered and Frog ran to give the soldiers a lesson of common sense manners. With a merry war cry, Warrior followed their example. Magus and Molor stayed, however. It seemed as neither Lizard nor Magician even remembered that there was an important battle going on. The leader of the monsters seemed hypnotized by the scythe, and the magic user seemed to be just as fascinated about the warlock.
"Who are you and your friends, who know such magic?" Magician asked.
The pale man's lips twitched a little, it was hard to tell if it was bitterly or if he was about to laugh.
"I am known as Magus," he said, "and I dare to say that I am a prophet as well as a powerful spell caster."
"'Tis thy profession indeed!" Frog called with a laugh.
Magus ignored him and kept talking to Magician:
"Allow me to show you some of my spells to help you become stronger. One day, one of your family-line will have a most important student."
"Then show me," Magician said, and his eyes were almost glowing.
Magus turned around and pointed.
"Powers of the world, lend me the power of Water! Ta keich sanea wyh!"
The whole glade crumbled beneath several big rocks of ice, but Magus was careful not to harm anyone badly. His respect for Schala was really showing in that moment.
"Now you try it," the warlock said.
"Ta keich sanea wyh!"
Lardon got away without any bad wounds probably only because the stone he was standing by stopped the enormous blocks of ice from giving him broken ribs and arms as he was knocked down. He got up, snarling words which were not meant too be written down.
"I need to practice to aim," Magician concluded.
"There could be needs for that, yes," Magus said with a cold smile, "and now, watch and repeat this: lend me the power of Fire, na farey tlo shar wetal!"
"Na farey tlo shar wetal!" the monster repeated after the prayer.
Several soldiers dropped their weapons and fell to the ground, twisting to stop the flames consuming the cloth beneath their armors.
"Crancha na lishoro!" Frog called.
He didn't like the ways of the soldiers here, but he couldn't stand there and watch them get roasted.
"Powers of the world, lend me the power of Water! Crancha na lishoro!" Magician echoed.
He was a fast learner, truly. Though the fact that he was a bit clumsy showed that he wasn't very used to the new spells. Frog picked up the Masamune and shook his cloak to get rid of the water. Then he could continue the battle against the outraged humans.
A soldier with a bow was about to make an attempt to end the magic lesson, but Molor got in between. The snake rose up in front of the warmonger and hissed; that was perfectly enough to make the man turn around a flee screaming.
"… Of lightning! Na matala shetader " Magus called, and Magician followed.
"Hey, watch it!" Warrior exclaimed and put his hand over the smoking hole on his right sleeve.
"Na matala sela!" Frog commanded, and the monster with the sword was cured.
The knight smiled a bit at the astounded Warrior, laughing silently at the bizarre fact that he had helped the one who was the seed of Slash.
It seemed like Magician hadn't noticed Frog's spell; he didn't try to use it. Instead he looked at Magus and asked:
"Is there even more?"
The warlock's mouth suddenly turned to a thin line.
"Yes," he slowly said, "there is the dark power of Shadow."
Molor, Cered, Frog and Schala startled and spun around, not happy knowing what approached.
Magus clenched his teeth and raised his right hand.
"Dark powers of the world, I…"
He gritted his teeth before ending the spell.
"… Dare to ask of thee to lend me strength! Worch crahela krun shar retetack!"
The Dark mist landed on one of the many big rocks that laid around in the forest. The stone turned to dust, and the battle froze.
"Tell me, Lardon," Magus snarled, still with his teeth tightly clamped, "do you wish to challenge this power today?"
The leader of the soldiers opened and closed his fists in hesitating rage before he made his decision.
"Retreat!" he called, growling, "but I swear, Lizard, I will get you someday!"
"I await you, coward!" the green monster called back, suddenly awake.
"'Twas actually a bit amusing," Cered smiled and put his katanas back by his belt.
"I am impressed with your weapon skills," Warrior said as he still grinned at the fleeing, distant humans.
"One musteth combine one's soul with the blade, and thy skill will be among the superior," Frog said, without considering who he was talking to.
The deep purple colored monster smiled and nodded.
"Yes, indeed," he said, "my children will be the finest of swordsmen."
"I am..." Frog fought back a wish to cough, "certain they will."
Magician bowed in front of Magus.
"I thank you for showing me all that, wizard," the monster said.
"Nothing to talk about," Magus said with a small smile.
Magician threw a glance at the heap of dust that once had been a rock and cleared his throat.
"That... dark cloud," he said, with a trace of unease in his voice, "have you ever used it on a living being?"
There was a silent moment.
"I have seen it being used that way," Magus finally said, slowly and emotionless.
Magician shook his head.
"I cannot believe that somebody could do something that cruel."
Magus, Molor, Schala, Frog and Cered exchanged glances.
"You're a good man," the warlock finally said.
"I want to thank you for your help," Lizard said with a smile, "I doubt we would have made it without you."
"It was only natural for us to want to help you," Schala warmly said, "but now we must depart."
As the woman silently (minding Magician's abilities to learn) mumbled to open a Gate, Magus gave Lizard a small smile and spoke:
"You should look for an island for your next lair; it's harder for Lardon to sneak around you on the sea than if he has a lot of bushes to hide behind."
"That is of course true..." Lizard said, thoughtfully.
"Good, now go and find Snake. Good-bye."
"Wait, who are..."
But Lizard's call was lost in time. As the five travelers stepped out in the End of Time, Schala made her armor dissolve, and Cered turned back into a human. Magus probably mended his teeth, but it was hard to tell.
"Hey, did it go well?" Gaspar called.
"No problem whatsoever," Schala smiled.
She looked at her brother.
"But you gave Lizard your scythe, Janus..."
He smiled a bit and shook his head, making a movement at his cloak with his right hand.
"Don't worry, Schala, I've got another one."
"Good, I don't want you to be unarmed, just in case. But why did you do it?"
Magus shrugged his shoulders.
"Lizard would have thought of it himself after that battle, since his sword was broken," the warlock said, "I just decided to help out a little."
Schala nodded with a smile and turned at the last pillar of light.
"I'm not tired, shall we continue?"
"I need to rest," Magus said and resolutely shook his head, "I used a lot of magic back there."
Gaspar went up the stair and held up a bottle containing a liquid, which was so warmly yellow that it almost seemed to glow.
"'Tis a full ether?" Frog said.
"Indeed," Gaspar smiled, "I don't want to push you youngsters, but there might be a need of hurrying. Something is going on by that last Gate which is beginning to make it unsteady. Bottom's up, prince."
Magus took the bottle with a roll of his eyes and emptied it, uncharacteristically not arguing.
"Thank you, Gaspar," Schala said.
"Nothing to talk about. Now, go on."
The old guru watched them all get warped away and rubbed his cheek.
"They'll be fine!" Spekkio called from his room, "but they better hurry up, ya know!"
"How can this be?" Gaspar said as he grimly watched a new pillar of light rise from the empty floor, "how can Crono and the girls end up in such a trap?"
"You know that as well as I do," Spekkio sighed, "but it'll be paley and his friends who have to get back here in time to get the sweetcheeks and the boy out of that mess. I guess they were plain not paying attention..."
Spekkio sighed, and so did Gaspar.
"Prince Janus," the guru whispered, "oh, poor, poor boy..."