Sorry for the long wait everyone, but I got distracted with playing Genshin Impact and now that a new area has opened up in the game a lot of my free time has been taken up with the game.

But here I am now with a new update and it will have to tide you over for a while because well my current computer has finally decided to die out on me after 15 years of use. I will be getting a new one soon probably in the next week or so.

Happy reading.

Choices Part 5

The entire kingdom was shaking. The rumbling and tremors could even be felt in Magus's castle where he was attempting to summon Lavos from all the bloodshed during this war. It was a cause of concern for Magus. Now wasn't the time for Lavos to awake from its eons of slumber.

His gloved hand reached for a silver amulet hidden between his cape and attached to his belt. The only piece of accessory which reminded him of his former lineage as prince of the fallen Zeal Kingdom and his sister, Schala. Schala had given it to him when he was a different person during the times of the ancient civilization of magic. Now he was just a Fiendlord waging war against humans or so that's what everyone in this kingdom thought. He had no qualms of waging war on an entire kingdom, but it would flush Lavos out, he would do anything to stop the creature that stole his entire life.

Although, he was somewhat surprised when Glenn had agreed to join him at first, but now the former squire to Cyrus had become extremely useful to him.

He was curious however as to what was causing the creature to wake up. Not even his magic was capable of such a thing, not with the right amount of energy from humans. Then it dawned on him. He had remembered Glenn telling him of the Guardia family heirloom. A pendant passed down from generation to generation thought to be lost within the sands of time.

'Schala…' He thought as his red eyes gleamed in the darkness. The only source of light in the room were flickering blue flames that surrounded him. Her pendant was here, and it was just another trinket to the royal family. No one knew what the pendant was truly capable of. That it was a part of Lavos's essence. Something must have happened to the pendant to allow Lavos to wake up.

Brandishing his scythe in his gloved hands as the tremors grew stronger, he would not let anything get in his way. He felt the bitter black winds bellowing in his ears, something he had gotten accustomed to ever since he was a child. If now was the time to fight Lavos, he would be ready.

"An earthquake?!" A servant in Guardia Castle shrieked as everything around the castle dangerously rumbled.

"Is this Magus's doing?!" A soldier asked while bustling out the door and up the stairs to make sure the King Guardia and Queen Leene was safe. This was indeed an act of an enormous force that no one could comprehend.

The Knight Captain and his men arrived at the castle. They were exhausted from their venture to the castle because of the tremors. A handful of soldiers still stayed behind to guard Zenan Bridge just in case enemy forces decided to take the bridge at this vulnerable moment for them.

"Protect the King and Queen at all costs. Make sure they are safe." The Knight Captain ordered his men. On command, the soldiers behind him ran up the stairs.

'This is no ordinary earthquake…' The Knight Captain thought with a frown. He took off his helmet running his fingers through his messy brown hair. 'Princess, I hope you are safe…' He was foolish to leave his princess in Tata's aid and now this earthquake was happening.

"W-We gotta help Princess Maria!" Tata's voice wheezed from behind the Knight Captain. He was using a fallen tree branch as a cane to steady his balance due to his injured leg. The boy had ventured the entire way from Denadoro Mountains to the castle. His injured leg was now bandaged properly, and he had received decent medical attention, most likely from his father and grandfather back in Porre.

"Tata what are you doing here?" The Knight Captain asked and when Maria's name was mentioned he became worried. "Princess Maria…where is she?" He asked.

"She never came back from Denadoro Mountains!" The small boy answered eagerly. "I think she's in trouble!" He felt bad for leaving Maria all alone, but he was just a boy. As much as his fame had gotten to his head, he was still a child and right now he was scared.

Immediately, the Knight Captain was apprehensive. The kingdom's princess was in danger and there was no one to protect her.

"Protect the His highness and her majesty!" The Knight Captain ordered his men sternly. The soldiers and knights in the room all saluted as their leader dashed out the castle gates.

Tata stumbled a little as he trailed behind the Knight Captain. Yes, he was scared, but he had a duty and reputation to uphold.

Glenn knew what was happening the moment the tremors began to rock the earth, and the was exactly why he spat a curse at his own foolishness. It was his strike that had damaged the pendant. Not just any pendant, of course, but The Pendant. Of course, Lavos would feel it, of course Lavos would hiss and spit with anger at a link to its power being cracked and fractured so harshly. He had no idea how far the destruction would reach, but he had no doubt that Magus was feeling the shaking too, and goddammit he wished he had a way to contact the man and figure out what the hell he was meant to do in this situation.

Shit.

He looked between his sword and the limp form of the fallen princess. The Masamune was kept stowed away behind him. He could very easily snatch it up, run, find Magus, and wipe his hands of this whole affair. It would be so easy; she couldn't move or force him to fight. He was free to get the hell out of here and let her figure out on her own what to do for Guardia without the use of the sword, which would be no more than a shiny paperweight in her hands, anyway.

It would be easy. It should be easy. The right choice was clear, the same choice he'd been making ever since he took up his sword in Magus's name. Fight for the Fiendlord, bring forth Magus's will, and destroy the source of the world's inevitable doom. It was the greater good, and a greater good he wanted to fight for.

So why…?!

"Rrgh…Confound it all!" He growled, rushing forward despite the shaking beneath him making it difficult as all hell. He hopped nimbly across damp earth, boots splashing muddy water as he did, and then knelt before Maria. He grabbed the pendant hanging around her neck and pulled it off over her head, holding the shining, deadly thing at a distance. The power emanating from it, even as he held it afar and with gloves on, made him feel nauseous and weak. 'So, this is what Lavos's strength is like…' He pondered dimly, and not for the first time, whether he and Magus even stood a chance.

But that wasn't important now. He scooped up Maria, hefted her over his shoulder with ease, and ran into the cave behind him to lay her down by his temporary camp. The ground was still shaking, but this cave was magically protected by the presence of the Masamune. He wasn't concerned about a cave-in, especially so long as they remained near the mouth so they could run at a moment's notice.

Was this the right choice?

The quaking caught the attention of two little boys huddled in the magic cave.

The pendant was still going haywire. Releasing flashes of red sparks between Glenn's fingers. Slowly the pendant stopped glowing. The rumbling and shaking in the kingdom slowly stopped as if nothing happened. It appears Lavos decided to rest again.

"Hey it's you again!" Two small boys chimed in as they saw Glenn excitedly running over to him. They were no ordinary little children. They were the spirit of the Masamune. Always causing mischief and to see who would be worthy to wield the sword's power. They normally hid when strangers came near the cave, but not for Glenn. They always turned up.

The two boys noticed the pendant between Glenn's gloved fingers, and they eagerly ran up to him.

When Masa and Mune approached, he gritted his teeth. These two. He had nothing against them, not necessarily, but their restlessness and desire to fight anyone who drew near the sword were a source of endless frustration. Especially since his job was to keep everyone away from the sword.

"That pendant looks familiar." Masa turned to his twin. "Haven't we seen that before, brother?"

"We sure have. Lady Schala always had it with her." Mune replied cautiously poking the pendant with his little finger. He then noticed Maria lying unconscious. He tilted his head curiously. "What's she doing here?"

"Oooo! Do we get to test her?" Masa asked eagerly wondering if she'd be worthy enough to wield the sword. He then hid behind his twin when they heard her mumble.

"You absolutely do not, Grand. The answer will remain the same no matter how many times you ask, nor whom you ask it about." Glenn idly replied to Masa.

Maria let out a soft groan as she slowly woke up. That caused Grand and Leon to hide again. The two ran deeper into the cave but kept a close watch. Her green eyes slowly fluttered open. For a moment her vision was blurry then all became clear as she saw Glenn. "Glenn…. what happened?" The princess asked as she slowly sat up. She was still very weak from being drained of her life force.

As Maria began to stir, his attention was drawn immediately back to her. With his free hand, he snagged an ether from his sack and pressed it into her hand before he even said a word to greet her.

"…The pendant cracked. Damaging it is dangerous; you need to be more careful with such powerful things." He kept it clenched tightly in his fist as his eyes darted back to the space where Masa and Mune had stood moments before. Lady Schala. He knew the name and knew it well. It was a name that often-escaped Magus's lips as he paced back and forth on restless, sleepless nights. He knew not who she was, nor Magus's relation to her, if any at all, but he had no doubt the man would be thrilled to obtain something attached to that name. Not to mention that the royal family's heirloom being connected to Lavos was hardly a secret to Glenn. It could provide them an edge, and the tremors moments ago seemed to prove that.

So, he pointedly kept it in hand and made no motion to return it. "I will help you until you are well again. Then I expect you to heed my warning and leave. Your Highness, if you do not have the Hero's Badge, you cannot wield the sword. I am not saying this to give you false doubt. It is a fact."

"Consider this," he began, his chest already heavy and tight with the words he was about to speak. "The last person to get this close was Cyrus. And look at where he ended up."

Her eyes widened seeing the pendant in his hand. She tried reaching for it and then felt a small bottle shoved into her hand. It was an elixir to heal her strength She glanced at the small bottle in her hand. She lifted the bottle to her lips immediately chugging it down to heal her weakened body. She kept eyeing her pendant seeing the faint crack in the jewel. She then suddenly felt the tip of her dagger beside her boot. It must have fallen out while Glenn carried her. Her fingers slowly edged forward touching the small hilt as she tightened her hand around the small blade.

"I can't give up Glenn…." She told him. "I have to do this for the sake of the kingdom, and I won't let anyone stop me, not even you."

At the mention of Cyrus, the princess lowered her head. This was a suicide mission, but she wasn't going to give up. She clenched the dagger that was hidden behind her back. She knew it would be a foolish attempt, but she had to try.

In an instant with all the strength she could muster she ran at Glenn with her dagger. She didn't want to hurt him, but she needed her family heirloom back.

When Maria rushed him, he was blindsided. He shouldn't have been, but she had been relentlessly pushing the offensive for the entire stint of their reunion. She'd made it abundantly clear that she would not give up, no matter how many words he leveraged, no matter how he tried to push her away without doing her harm. He had been blinded by the fact that they were friends and by the assumption that they could find their way out of this. He was a fool to have tried, knowing full well his liege's stubborn nature, and even more a fool to have handed her an ether. To have knelt beside her with his sword sheathed. To have allowed her to keep a hand concealed behind her back.

And now, he paid the price for his stupidity. He jumped to his feet, stumbling backward in blind panic before the training drilled into his bones kicked in: when approached by an enemy who fights through forward attacks, be it jabs with a sword or a volley of arrows…

He jerked sideways at the last second, but not quite fast enough. Maria's dagger tore through his midsection where his armor was split open. "Damn it!" he gasped. A flash of pain, incandescent and fierce, ripped through him, and in his panicked haste and sloppy form, his foot caught his ankle and he fell onto his back, still clutching the pendant tight and refusing to let anything further happen to it. Unfortunately, it was in his sword hand, forcing him to clumsily draw his sword with his off hand, holding it backhanded so he could unsheathe it without dislocating his arm. He held it before him like a shield, ignoring the pain in his middle and the uncomfortable feeling of blood seeping into his undershirt.

He swallowed, hands shaking, and despite everything, despite the pain coursing through him and the fact that he should be fearing for his life right about now…

He smiled.

"A cheap tactic," he rasped. He pressed his foot down on the cave floor, measuring how quickly he could get to his feet and properly defend himself, only to feel a cold jolt of pain in his ankle. He must've sprained something when he toppled over; he felt less and less like a proper knight every day. "But I see all your days practicing with the dagger went to good use. Bravo, Your Majesty. Your grip and form have both improved, and if I were a lesser man, I imagine you would have killed me."

Masa and Mune saw the blood seeping through Glenn's shirt. The two hid behind a rock guarding the legendary sword. They weren't too fond of bloodshed and there was a lot of that in this war. The two were watching intensely at the situation unfolding.

Maria caught her breath. She had used all her adrenaline and strength to stab him. Once she saw the armor split open, she let out a concerned gasp. Her hands still held the dagger, but they were shaking. She never wanted to hurt him, let alone injure him. She looked up at him when he complimented her on injuring him. It was all thanks to him, after all he was the one that gave her that dagger in the first place. He and Cyrus were the ones that taught her how to use this weapon that now was responsible for injuring her dear friend. She wanted to just toss the dagger aside for what it did.

"G-Glenn….I…." Her voice was quivering as her dagger dropped to the ground once she saw him retaliate with his own sword. She just stood there when she saw him fall to the ground. Her knees were buckling, and she finally fell to her knees. She didn't care about what she had to do to finish this war. All she cared about was him.

"Glenn…. are you alright?" She was on the verge of tears as he asked him this foolish question. Of course, he wasn't alright, she just stabbed him. She searched around the cave for a potion or an elixir. She didn't want to lose another friend to this war.

Glenn furrowed his brow, struck by a sudden wrongness the moment that the dagger dropped. They were enemies. Friends, once, but enemies; she'd lashed out at him with a crossbow and knife both, and he'd responded in kind. He'd dropped his guard more than once, yes, but not for a moment did he believe that they could walk away from this with their bond of friendship intact.

So then, why? Why was she so upset at his wound when she was fighting for a kingdom?

She had the hope of everyone from pauper to nobility resting on her shoulders, and she'd squared them and told him to his face that she was willing to fight him for the sake of her people, to bring back the Masamune and end this fool's errand of a war, as if she could? There would be no end to the war until Lavos was defeated.

It dug at his heart. At the end of the day, princess or not, she was a human being. One with a conscious, one who does not kill lightly or easily, and one who has not lost the spark of kindness and love for other people that would one day make her a fine leader. She truly didn't want to kill him, he realized, some part of the hollow feeling in his chest dissipating for the first time in years. She cared. Even now, she cared. But he couldn't afford to let his concentration falter after paying the toll for that error once already, and so he kept a close, scrutinizing watch on her as she moved.

While she scoured the cave for who-knows-what, Glenn carefully slipped the pendant into his boot, but continued holding the sword before him even with her back turned. No gaps in his guard. Not again. He heaved a shaking sigh and pressed his free hand to his bloody chest, letting magic pour from the gemstone at his neck down to his fingertips and then into his wound. "I'm fine," he bit out, though he could still barely think through the pain. "I'm not going to bleed out. Your strike was impressive, but not quite impressive enough to finish me. I'm sorry to disappoint you."

As Maria searched, he kept a careful eye on her, ready to launch into combat at a moment's notice, but no. It was not sudden dash toward her dagger that made his blood run cold, nothing of the sort; rather, it was the fact that she was toeing dangerously close to the illusory 'wall' at the back of the cave. If she were to touch it, she would realize nothing was there. She could tread further into the cave.

Doing so she could find the sword.

Desperate for an immediate distraction, Glenn jumped to his feet, wincing at the sting in his ankle more than the dull throbbing wound in his chest, and deftly tossed his sword into the appropriate hand before levelling it at Maria's neck. "Now," he said breathlessly, attempting to school his nervous expression into neutrality and failing at it, "Back to business. I believe you were trying to kill me?"

The princess of Guardia had a look of relief on her face when she saw that Glenn wasn't too brutally injured. She would always care for others regardless of if they were a noble or a poor beggar on the street. Then she felt that terrible pulse of dark magic in the air.

What in the world was that? Where was it coming from?

It sent a chill down her spine, and she shuddered for a moment trying to get to her feet and that was when she noticed the blade at her neck.

Maria slowly lifted her head up. Face to face with a blade at her neck. She did not even resist the urge to pick up her dagger which was lying beside her. Her fingers slowly etched at the small blade beside her, for a moment she wanted to pick it up, to strike back, but she knew if she kept fighting one of them would meet a terrible fate and she couldn't think to fight her friend, her comrade, her protector anymore. She was ready to die here. This mission didn't matter anymore, nothing did.

She looked at her once noble squire of Guardia ready to strike her down in one swing of his sword. Her heart was swelling with pain seeing him like this. She caught a glimpse of the red gemstone around his neck. It was pulsing with such terrible magic.

"I won't stop you from ending my life, Glenn," she told him. "We are enemies after all…I thought I could bring you home, but this is the path we've both chosen. I will not stop you to any further extent." Her head held up high even though her entire body was shaking. "If you truly wish to strike me, go ahead." She replied defiantly as a tear slid down her cheek. She looked at her former friend. She saw the pain in his eyes, but she was ready to greet death.

Clearly, things have definitely gotten out of hand. I had to introduce Magus at this point and I was having a really hard time keeping him in character, as one of the most beloved characters in Chrono Trigger I did the best I could with him. So, that's why there's really not much dialogue, just his thoughts and motivation.

When I first played Chrono Trigger, Magus was not my favorite character because I was a petty teenager back in the day and I disliked characters that initiated boss fights whether good or bad. But now it's like he has become my absolute favorite character in the entire game. Him and Glenn are tied as my favorite characters and all I want is for Magus to have closure and find his sister. Is that so much to ask Square-Enix?! Is it?! I did my waiting! Twenty seven years of it!

Too bad Alfador isn't in this timeline. I don't care what any of you say, he is best kitty and you can fight me on that.

Review.