The Return
Book Two in the Vortex Chronicles
A Chrono Trigger Fan Fiction by Majin Magus
It was four months after the battle with Storm. Crono, Marle, and the others and all returned to their respective time eras. Magus had gone to 1000 AD but didn't let anyone know. He went to Melchior.
"Magus! It's been a long time since I saw you last. And where is Vortex?" Melchior asked. Magus turned his head away.
"She took the Cysta Staff and defeated her brother. She…she is dead. I don't know if anyone else but me cares. When she died, each of us received a gemstone." Magus showed Melchior the Tiger Eye. Melchior turned it over and around, then pressed the center of the stone. A small hologram appeared, standing on the stone.
"Vortex!" Magus gasped. He bent down to look at the tiny picture of Vortex. The hologram moved a bit then it began to speak.
"I'm assuming this is Magus that is listening and watching. This stone cannot hold much hologram memory, so I'll make it quick. These stones I gave you hold the key to bringing me back. That is, if you want to bring me back." The hologram disappeared. Magus looked up at Melchior, who looked thoughtful.
"There's not enough information to bring Vortex back." Melchior sighed and Magus scowled. Then, all of a sudden, a voice coming from the gemstone began to sing.
"Kaze ni notte yume no kanata e tonde yukitai, yuuki to iu tsubasa wo tsukete." The voice sang. Melchior was surprised.
"That's Japanese!" he exclaimed.
"Can you understand it?" Magus said urgently. Melchior shook his head.
"No, but I bet your friend Lucca can!" Magus snatched the Tiger Eye from Melchior and took off into the air. He flew full speed to Lucca's house out on the island close to Truce.
"LUCCA!" Magus roared. The girl stumbled out in surprise.
"Magus! I thought you were in 12000 BC!" she said. Lucca had her Star Ruby in her hand. Magus touched his Tiger Eye to her Star Ruby. The voice began to sing again.
"Kaze ni notte yume no kanata e tonde yukitai, yuuki to iu tsubasa wo tsukete. Tori ni natte miorosu kokoru mochi tsuzuketai. Riaru na hibi ni makenai." The voice sang. Lucca walked into her house with Magus following.
"This is Japanese. It can translate it as soon as I find my book…" Lucca combed up and down until she found a thick book. She laid it on a table and flipped the pages. Then she provided a translation.
"I want to go ride the wind to the ends of my dreams, putting on the wings of bravery. I want to keep a spirit that can turn into a bird and gaze down. I won't lose to everyday reality." Lucca said. "Now what in the world could that mean?"
Magus searched his memory. 'Dream? Bird?' Then he realized. "The Black Omen! Some called it the Black Dream. And the Blackbird…"
"Then we all have to go to 12000 BC to the remains of the Black Omen and Blackbird." Lucca said. She picked up a phone and was about to call Crono.
"No…that will take time. And I have a feeling we don't have much time. I'll go alone." Magus started to walk out the door.
"No! We need to borrow the Epoch, so I'm coming too." Lucca protested. Magus sighed and they both went to Crono's to borrow the Epoch.
"Lucca! What a nice surprise! And who might you be?" Crono's mom asked. Magus didn't answer.
"Um, is Crono home?" Lucca asked. Crono's mom shook her head.
"He went to Guardia castle to have dinner with Marle. He'll be back in a few hours, if you'd like to wait."
"No, we'll just go up there ourselves. Thank you." Lucca and Magus began to walk to Guardia castle.
"Lucca…" Magus said. Lucca stopped walking and turned.
"I don't think I can go in there with you." Lucca looked quizzical, but then she knew what he meant.
"You're right. I don't think we need a ruckus. You'd better wait outside or in the forest." Lucca suggested. Magus suddenly flew up to the top of the castle and hovered there. "Or, I suppose that could work too."
Lucca knocked on the castle door. Two soldiers appeared.
"Hi. I need to see Marle and Crono." Lucca said. The soldiers moved aside and pointed in the direction of the throne room. Even from the entrance way a great clamor of talking and silverware clinking could be heard.
"Crono! Marle!" Lucca cried. The two stood up. The three friends ran out the castle and down the front stairs. Crono and Marle almost died of shock when Magus appeared in front of them.
"Magus! I thought you were in 12000…" Marle said. Magus waved his hand to hush her.
"We need the Epoch so we can revive Vortex." Magus hissed. Crono stepped forward.
"It's in the woods over there. We'll go too." he said. Magus shook his head.
"No. I'll explain later, just cooperate for now." Magus and Lucca began to run to the woods where the cathedral in 600 AD was. Magus discovered the Epoch under twigs, bark, and leaves. He and Lucca jumped in.
"Forward." Magus whispered, setting the machine for 12000 BC. The Epoch rose and flew around the planet twice to activate the time jump.
The Epoch slowed and landed by the Last Village Commons. Magus jumped out and Lucca followed.
"Both the Black Omen and Blackbird are at the bottom of the ocean! How are we going to get to them?" Lucca asked. Magus rose up the Tiger Eye and made the voice sing again.
" 'I won't lose to everyday reality!'" Lucca quoted. "Somehow we need to activate this mechanism outside of this reality. Do you know of any spells or chants we can use?" Lucca turned to Magus.
"One. But I've never used it. I really can't remember the entire enchantment, but that's not the problem. The problem is there's a chance we'd never survive." Magus muttered.
"What do you mean?" Lucca asked. Magus looked down at the snowy ground.
"If we used the spell, we'd become something like immortals. We could breathe underwater, become extremely powerful. But…what's happening to your Star Ruby?" Magus pointed. The ruby had begun to glow with a blinding light.
"What's going on?" Lucca asked, squinting. The hologram of Vortex appeared again.
"I set this stone to activate when you'd reached this point in bringing me back to life. The power of the gems is extraordinary. Reality will be disoriented. Now I will have the Star Ruby play another musical clue:
"Chippoke na jibun wo mitsukeru koto dekiru nara, kitsutsuku koto mo naku asu mo kowakunai…" The stone sang. Lucca translated the musical score in her mind.
"If I can search out my tiny self so far below, then even getting hurt, or what will come tomorrow won't scare me…" Lucca snapped her fingers. "The air! We have to fly in the air!"
Magus and Lucca headed back to the Epoch and flew upward. Up, up, up they flew until…
"Look!" Magus yelled. The Blackbird and the Black Omen were hovering above the clouds. It was eerie. The two supposedly destroyed structures were completely rebuilt and floating a good thirty-thousand feet above the ground.
"I'll go in the Black Omen, you take the Blackbird." Magus jumped out of the Epoch and flew towards the top of the Black Omen. Lucca then docked the Epoch next the hull opening of the Blackbird.
"Tiger Eye, show me what to do!" Magus lifted up the gem. He was on the very top of the Black Omen. A bright light shone out the stone. The light beam headed for the Blackbird.
"Oh, this dumb Star Ruby! What am I supposed to do?" Lucca asked. She was sitting on the right wing of the abandoned Zealen plane. Then a red beam shot out of the ruby and head towards the Black Omen.
The two beams headed straight for each other. Halfway between both of the structures, the beams collided. A mass of energy appeared. The beams disappeared. Then an immense gravity well began to pull the Black Omen and the Blackbird into it.
"Yah!" Lucca jumped off the wing and into the Epoch and took off about a mile away from the energy mass. Seconds later Magus jumped into the Epoch.
"I think we're done…that should be it…" Magus whispered. The gravity well had swallowed the Black Omen and Blackbird. Now an icy blue mist was wafting where the well used to be.
"Yes, she's back." Lucca said with a small smile, glancing at the ice blue vapor.
Vortex appeared, flying out of the mist. She landed on the hull of the Epoch.
"Hah! I'm back alive!" Then Vortex looked at Magus and Lucca puzzled. "Why'd you bring me back? I would've thought…your past confrontations with aliens…"
"Never mind that! Come back with us! I'm sure everyone will be glad to see you…wait, was that you singing from the stones?" Lucca asked.
Vortex grinned wryly. "I couldn't make it too easy for you guys. Had to give you…something…to…" Vortex broke off. She was staring hard and Magus.
"Have I been gone that long that you've all grown that stronger?!" Vortex cried. She gripped her medallion and was gone. Lucca punched a few numbers into the control panel.
"I've got a lock…she went to 600 AD! I'll set the Epoch for…"
"1000 AD. Leave her. I have the feeling she won't be gone that long, I bet she's gone to train. Now…go!" Magus said. Lucca set the Epoch and they flashed through time.
"No…no! They can't be THAT strong! Magus could beat me!!! No…I must become stronger!" Vortex yelled. She cast a giant opaque bubble around herself. "Gravity within this dome! Fifty times normal!"
The gravity within the black dome changed. Vortex fell down, but supported her weight on her hands. She began to do push-ups. The gravity ripped at her cape, tearing it from end to end.
"Argh!" Vortex tore off the purple cape and her blood red headband. She also took off her icy eye medallion. "Now!"
After about an hour of push-ups, Vortex rose up and was in air doing push-ups. Her hands were pushing her entire body into the air.
"You revived Vortex?" Marle asked excitedly. Lucca nodded happily.
"How?" Crono asked. "Without a Chrono Trigger…" Lucca held up her Star Ruby.
"There were clues in these stones. We went to 12000 BC and activated it. Vortex left for 600 AD." Lucca said.
"If she doesn't watch the intensity, she'll kill herself." Magus stated. Marle bit her lip nervously.
"Yaah!" Vortex fell to the ground. Her body was bruised and beaten. She had been training for a month. Now the gravity bubble was set for three hundred and fifty times normal gravity.
"I've been doing fine until now…what's the matter with me!?" Vortex slammed the ground with her fist. Blood was dripping from her head and hands, coursing down her body.
"I'm still so weak! Magus's power has increased practically a thousand fold!" Vortex gripped the medallion that was strewn on the ground. "Gravity…four hundred times normal!" The pull strengthened, and Vortex slowly climbed up to her feet.
"Got to keep going…" Vortex continued to work. To train. To torture the very cells in her body from the strain. She thrust her hands to the ground. Neither of her gloves was whole. Pieces were scattered about the ground, mostly the pieces from around the knuckles part. Vortex had been punching things left and right in anguish.
Within hours Vortex was jumping around freely in the intense gravity as if it was nothing. "Dome! Clear!" The dome became clear and Vortex, sweating and bleeding, looked out into the forest. She had been here all the while and yet it did not seem like it.
The ground around her was complete rock. The grass and dirt had been torn away by the gravity. Vortex grabbed the medallion off the ground and looked about. Her cape was in shreds in a corner of the dome. Her bandana was nothing but a group of strips of fabric.
Vortex turned her head to the sky. It was gold and pink. "Nearly dawn. Like time has mattered to me this month. When I return, we'll see who's weaker!!!"
"DOME!! Five hundred times normal gravity!" Vortex jumped as the gravity increased. She had never increased the gravity by one hundred. By fifty, maybe, but twice that? No, never.
Vortex turned her head towards the rock floor. She flashed and dropped to the ground. She slammed her fists into the rock. Not even a crack appeared.
"Argh!" Vortex gathered her strength and began to chant a spell she had never used before. One wrong word and she would be dead, for the power behind this sorcery was great.
"Yami yo…ame yo…ima, oshiete. Tsuki yo…kaze yo…ima, kotaete. Tooku…tooku…haruka tooku. Tabi no hate ni, nani ga aruno." Vortex spoke in Japanese. She had never learned the language, and yet it was so clear in her mind.
"Darkness…rain…now, tell me. Moon…wind…now, answer me. Far…far…in the distance far away. At the end of the journey, what will there be?" Vortex repeated the chant in English. She was transported through time, leaving her dome, medallion, and training behind her.
Magus was sitting on the peak of the mountain that inside held Heckran Cave. This was the exact spot where his castle used to be. Then, he felt a power signature by Medina. A time Gate opened and Vortex fell out. Magus began to fly towards the Mystic village.
Vortex fell out of the Gate. Even though she was so weak she could barely move, the warrior felt lighter than air. She had been in five hundred times normal gravity, and now she was back in normal gravity. A concerned Blue Imp walked over to Vortex. He probably suspected she was a Mystic because of her pointed ears.
"Are you alright?" he asked. Vortex lifted her head and stared at him. She closed her right eye when a trickle of blood ran down across the eyelid.
"Yeah, I'm fine…just give me a minute…" Vortex strained to get up, then collapsed. "Actually, I am kinda weak…been training in…five hundred times normal gravity. It takes a lot out of you…" Vortex's body slumped down and she lost consciousness.
"Vortex!" Magus yelled. He landed next to her. The Blue Imp jumped back in surprise. There was no one else around but him, the girl, and…
"Magus? What in the world are you doing here?" The Blue Imp stammered. Magus turned his head towards the imp and looked viciously at the small Mystic.
"One word of this…and I'll kill you." Magus said. He took off carrying Vortex. The imp walked back to his house, but never breathed a word of Magus.
"Five hundred times gravity? I'm amazed you're still alive." Magus muttered as he and Vortex flew towards Truce and Crono's house. He landed and walked right through the door. Lucca, Crono, and Marle were sitting at the table.
"Magus!" Marle cried, standing up. Magus set Vortex in a chair while the three questioned him.
"What happened to her?" Crono asked, concerned. Magus shook his head.
"She was some how training in five hundred times normal gravity. Look at her. You can see the strain in her face. Marle, quick, use Cure." Magus commanded. Marle shot the healing yellow sparks toward Vortex. The fresh blood on her body dried and her wounds closed.
Vortex's eyes opened. She stared up at Marle, Lucca, Crono, and Magus. "What am I doing here?" she asked, standing up.
Before anyone could answer, Vortex stared hard into each of the four's faces. Her eyes widened. "No! No! After all that…argh!" Vortex reached her arms out and was gone.
"No! They are still so strong! And Magus…his power is indescribable!" Vortex went back to the woods and entered the now clear dome.
"Dome! SIX HUNDRED TIMES NORMAL GRAVITY!" Vortex dropped to ground, dug a stone from the granite ground and threw it into the air. She smashed it with her fist.
Vortex tied her hair back with the shreds of her bandana and threw up bigger rocks. She smashed them all until her gloves were just shreds hanging from her arms and hands. Finally, after many hours of this intense training, she moved the level up to eight hundred.
"Can't give up…I won't be…beaten…by these…weaklings!" Vortex gasped. Most of her clothes were just rags. Trickles of blood ran down from her forehead and a tiny stream flowed from her mouth. Vortex healed a large cut that was from her right shoulder to hand.
Vortex looked up through the bubble. It was nighttime. She grinned. "Wonder how I can survive this? Oh well. We'll leave that question for later. I can't stop now…" Vortex lifted a boulder in front of her. She began to slam it with her nearly bare fists.
Glenn walked through the forest. Then he heard a great booming noise. He ran to see what it was.
That's when the dome came into view. Glenn dodged behind a rock and looked through the dome. He saw Vortex there, slamming her fists into a giant rock. He saw the blood coursing down her body, and the rags of her clothes.
"Lady Vortex…what hath happened to thee…and why art thou alive?" Glenn whispered. He saw Vortex stop punching the rock and turn around right towards him. Glenn walked towards her.
"Glenn the frog! What are you doing here?" Vortex shouted. Glenn continued to walk, and was just about to enter the dome.
"No! Stop, unless you want to die!" Vortex yelled.
"Why? Thou wouldst destroy me merely for intruding upon thee?" Glenn said, offended. Vortex laughed and shook her head. Drops of blood fell from her face.
"No…the gravity within this dome is eight hundred times greater than normal. If you put your foot in here, you'd have it crushed off. I was just about to turn it to nine hundred." Vortex then waved her hand, which made Glenn stop as he was about to ask how she could survive such extremes.
"Leave now! I've much training to do!" Vortex turned back and jump kicked the rock. Glenn left the warrior to train.
Vortex fell to the ground. The gravity pulled at her body. Her own blood covered almost every part of her body. The gravity was at one thousand two hundred times normal.
"I think…I think…that's it for now. Vortex staggered to get up and she put back on what was left of her cape and released the shreds of her headband from her hair and tied it around her head. Then she slipped her undamaged medallion over her head and around her neck.
"Dome! Disappear!" Vortex said. The dome appeared and Vortex fell. Then she began to laugh.
"Oh…Oh! I fell lighter than air!" Vortex laughed. She slowly stood up and began to limp towards Porre.
Magus silently jumped into the Epoch. Her set the coordinates for 600 AD. The time machine lifted off the ground, and jumped into the fabric of time.
The machine landed in the middle of Porre town. Magus drew a hood over his head. He didn't want people raving about him and the Mystics. He walked into the Café.
"Did you see that odd girl that came through here?" the Café owner asked a customer. Magus turned his head and listened.
"Yeah, she looked like a Mystic, but I know she wasn't." the customer replied.
"Why? She was dressed like one." The owner asked.
"She didn't have any magical powers, otherwise she would've healed herself. It looked like she took quite a beating."
"Yeah."
"Where did she go?" Magus asked, keeping his voice low. The customer and the owner looked at him.
"Don't I know you?" the owner asked.
"I don't think so, but where did this girl go?" Magus asked testily.
"Think she was headed for Truce."
Magus left the Café and once clear out of the town, he took off into the air. He was just flying over Zenan Bridge when he saw it.
"What in the world…" Magus dove down and landed on the bridge. There, Vortex was standing with the wind ruffling her hair. Her clothes had been reduced to rags but she looked healthy enough, save the dried blood on her face.
Vortex turned around and smiled. Her medallion was gone and her third eye had appeared.
"I was expecting you Magus. Look who's stronger now, huh?" Vortex said. "I wanted you here went I reverted to my true form."
"What do you mean, true form?" Magus asked.
"I'm an alien, right? I discovered than this human body is simply a shell for my true form. But I like this shell just the same." Vortex lifted her hands skyward.
"Tori yo…kumo yo…ima, oshiete. Nami yo…kage yo…ima, kotaete. Tooku…tooku…haruka tooku." Vortex chanted. She began to glow with a white light. It enveloped her, and burst into what seemed like a supernova.
"Nakabuto race! Give me the power to return to my true form!" Vortex roared. A flash blinded Magus.
Vortex stood, her new form glistening. The whites of her eyes were completely icy blue, and there were no pupils. Her skin was constantly changing colors. Vortex's hair was exactly the same only the color had turned a gleaming silver. She wore a black sweat-suit over her color-changing body and white boots and gloves.
"This is what those of the Nakabuto look like. I'm not going to stay in this form, my power is practically one million fold in the human shell." Vortex rose her hands up. "REVERT!" she yelled. She was suddenly back in her human form, and, oddly enough, her clothes were restored.
"But…what are you going to do with your life? Train? For what?" Magus asked. Vortex glared darkly at the blue sky.
"I train for one reason. One day I will leave this earth to destroy all the members of Lavos's species in the universe. I have to defeat full-power adults and thousands upon thousands of spawns." Vortex sighed. "It will be a long, tedious task."
"You only have roughly twenty years of your life in which you can fight! How do you expect to destroy ALL the Lavoses in the universe!?" Magus asked.
"The Nakabuto live for thousands of years before dying. That's enough time to destroy that many and more. I doubt any other planet has ever defeated a Lavos." Vortex wondered how she would ever defeat them, no matter how powerful she was. Then, a brilliant idea came to her.
Vortex turned to face Magus. "If you'd come, I could give you the life span of a Nakabuto! You could help me destroy all Lavoses! I know Lavos destroyed your life! Do you want that to happen to anyone else?" Vortex asked.
"No. I will go with you." Magus replied. Then he raised his head. "But I posses no power like yours. How will I be of assistance?"
"Once you have the life span of a Nakabuto, you can resist ultimate gravity like me. You have to start with fifty times. I am at one thousand two hundred." Vortex raised her arms skyward and threw an immense ball of energy at Magus. Out of reflex he defended, but it covered him.
"Now…come! The sooner we finish training, the sooner the universe is safe!" Vortex looked somewhat happily at Magus. The two walked towards the Cursed Woods were Vortex had been training. She created a bubble and so did Magus.
"Gravity two thousand!" Vortex yelled. She massaged her shoulders and kicked at the ground. The gravity level rose by almost seven hundred. Then Vortex heard a strained telepathic message.
Vortex…It's me, Magus. I'm training at five hundred times gravity right now. And you? Magus asked Vortex. His telepathic voice was sounded very weak, and was wavering.
Vortex laughed mentally to the mage. I just turned it up to two thousand. I think each of us should be able to take anywhere from three to five thousand when we leave. No telling what kind of planets we'll go to.
Vortex could tell that Magus was aghast. She broke the link and continued to train. She was muttering to herself, though.
"I am the yami. I live and glory in the kage." Vortex murmured. Yami meant darkness and kage meant shadows. She launched into the ground suddenly and threw up hundreds of rocks. Vortex widened the dome and, with her mind, sent the rocks hurtling down.
"YAAAAAHHHH!" Vortex yelled. She shot balls of icy energy at the makeshift rock-storm. One of the rocks hit her in the stomach and the sorceress fell.
"Aaah…………ARGH!" Vortex sprang up from under the rock and blasted it to rubble. And it was then that Vortex first realized she was bleeding. Her clenched fists were dripping blood over the smashed rock.
Just then a rock his Vortex in the back. She destroyed the rock and halted the makeshift meteors. She continued to look over her injuries.
Let's see. Vortex thought. Blood from my arms, mouth, legs, and face. Vortex raised her arms and hands up and brought them down quickly. She washed a wave of black energy over herself. The blood dried and the injuries disappeared.
Vortex. One…thousand gravity. Can't continue much longer. Come…heal… Magus gasped. Vortex scowled. She warped from her dome to Magus's.
Magus was in a worse state than Vortex had been. He was unconscious with a massive head wound. Blood was pouring from the wound in the middle of his forehead. Vortex healed him and immediately left.
"Weakling." Vortex mumbled. She pulled up a gigantic rock out of the soil-less ground and pummeled it with her bare fists. Her glove shreds were completely gone.
"I can't see how he can only be at one thousand now. I bet one good spell could finish him off. Maybe it was a mistake giving him Nakabuto power, he's not making very good use of it." Vortex pounded the ground in confusion. "What I am supposed to do?"
Vortex sighed and looked up at the twilight sky. She sighed. "I'm coming apart here. I'm lucid and yet muddled." Vortex blasted energy out of the dome and a nearby tree burst into flames.
Vortex then stood up and warped to Glenn's home. She jumped inside the hole. The frog jumped from the ceiling but Vortex out of reflex used physic power to send him slamming into a wall.
"Vortex!" Glenn called in surprised, rubbing his head. Vortex looked at him then crossed her arms.
"It's Magus." Vortex said simply as Glenn climbed to his feet. "I gave him the power of my race and now he'll live to the Day of Lavos and beyond." Vortex gave a sideways smile to Glenn, who look enraged at the fact Magus wouldn't die before him.
"I best be getting back now, just thought I'd bring a ray of sunshine to your day frog!" Vortex snapped her fingers and was gone.
It had been nearly a month since Vortex had went to Glenn's home. She was training in six thousand times gravity. In this span of time she had not heard from Magus.
Vortex had turned towards Magus's opaque dome. Her dome was clear, and through it she could see the dawn sun shining bright. She had created another meteor shower and was oblivious to the rocks flying around.
"Wonder how he's doing." Vortex smirked slightly. "He could be dead for all I know." Vortex was reflecting on the amount of time she had been training, nearly a year, when a large boulder hit her in the back.
"Yaah!" Vortex yelled. She staggered under the blow. She could feel fresh blood coursing down her back. Vortex fell to her knees and gasped heavily.
"How…could I… have been…so…STUPID!!" Vortex slammed her fist into the ground. "I feel Magus's power plain as day! He is stronger than me now! I have training to near death and still am not more powerful than him!" Vortex snapped her head up quickly, making her length of blonde hair waver.
A chant came to Vortex. She suddenly knew what it meant to her. "This…this will bring out the full strength of my soul and of my Nakabuto form!!" Vortex stood up and replicated her clothes, making them look brand new.
Vortex raised her hands and gathered all her strength. "Hyouteki wo mezaseba koduo ga hayaku naru. Atsuku itaku setsunaku michi wa tsuzuku. Nabottari ochitari dakedo kujikenai de. SUBETE CHIKARA NI KAEYOU!" Vortex was enveloped in a black and purple light.
The girl was transformed into her Nakabuto form. Her hair turned silver and the pupils in her eyes disappeared. Vortex's skin turned a glistening gold, then a deep blue.
Haha! Vortex laughed in full Nakabuto voice. Her voice could only be in the mind, not with ears. I am the strongest being to ever set foot on this rock and this grass, the strongest ever to breathe this air!
Magus looked up. "Huh? Vortex's power! It overwhelms my senses…I cannot even get a straight reading on it!!" Magus dissolved his dome and shot straight for Vortex, whose dome had also disappeared.
Magus halted on the outskirts of the ruin. Vortex was standing there, back to him, her silver hair swaying in the wind. There was only rock for ground, as the grass and life had been destroyed.
Vortex had felt Magus's presence all the while. She turned her head slightly, clenching her hands within the gleaming white gloves. Suddenly she felt this overwhelming desire to battle the dark mage. To see his true power, and to see him tremble before her might. Vortex fought back this powerful urge and turned.
So. Vortex said. You have come. And the reason might be? You are supposed to be training, you pathetic weakling! Vortex swung her foot and kicked a rock. It flew at a high velocity to Magus. The magician barely caught it before it collided with his head. Magus scowled and crushed the rock.
"What are you doing? I thought you were stronger in human form!" Magus exclaimed. Vortex smiled maliciously.
Yes, but that was before I discovered my true power. And now, I will remove the Nakabuto from you and we shall fight to the death! Vortex outstretched her arms and spread her hands apart. In her physic voice she spoke.
Iiwake shite shoubu oriru no wa. Vortex stated plain as day. In Magus's mind he heard the sentence translated.
" 'It's easy to make excuses and give up.'" Magus said. "Hey! I never made excuses OR gave up!"
Vortex laughed mentally. Sure, you're right. You had every reason to become evil and give on your kingdom. Not that I have a problem with that, I'm just saying you're weak. Vortex frowned grimly. She recited the chant which would yank the Nakabuto power of Magus.
Kizutsuki kokoro ga kowasa o oboeteku. Setsunaki kokoro ga nanika ni motareteku. Yasashisa namida o shirazu ni katarenai. Vortex chanted. Magus the felt the power that allowed him to survive extreme gravity being torn from his essence. Vortex was laughing shrilly in his mind as the extreme energy was ripped from his soul.
"You monster!" Magus roared. He stared with sweat and blood running down his face as the last of his power was absorbed into the alien creature. Vortex then fell to the ground onto her knees.
YAAAHHHH!! Vortex screamed in a tremendous physic voice. She was shaking and spasms jolted her alien body every other second. Vortex whispered something, just audible by Magus.
Yume wo akiramenai kyou ni makenai. Vortex looked at her gloved hands. The white gloves disappeared and her hair turned to blonde coloring. The pupils returned to her eyes and the rest of her 'shell' returned in a burst of dark energy.
Magus leaned against a tree, unsure of what to do. Vortex pushed herself up then fell. She grinned a painful smile.
"Kokoro nante sugu ni kizutsuku shi." Vortex then stood up, and seemed totally healed. Magus pushed away from the tree and discovered he was fully restored.
Vortex had a terrible burning in her eyes. Magus had the feeling that he knew what she would do now.
"To…the…DEATH!" Vortex roared. She bounded forward and punched Magus. The sudden attack surprised him and he flew back into a rock. Vortex stood straight up, clenching her right fist, itching to strike again.
Magus stood up and rubbed his head. He looked at his glove. It was covered in blood. He stood up and cast Dark Matter. Vortex jumped out of the way and was racing towards him.
"DEADLY CRYSTAL BARRAGE!" Vortex yelled. Hundreds of small black crystals shot from a dark energy well. Vortex watched as Magus dodged the spears, but one caught him in the left leg.
"Argh!" Magus gasped, dropping to his knees. He raised a hand and shot Dark Mist at Vortex. The attack took her by surprise and she was blasted into a tree.
"You fool!" Vortex shouted. She whipped a trickle of blood from her mouth and jumped at Magus.
Magus quickly cast Magic Wall on himself and moved out of the way. Vortex shot straight through the rock, then darted up, over, and directly at Magus.
"No!" Magus didn't have enough time to prepare a spell, so he just shot a small ball of black energy at the oncoming warrior. As the ball flew the air, it enlarged greatly and Vortex bore the full brunt, although Magus was blown back.
Vortex jumped up with a shriek of rage and charged at the failing mage with hatred burning in her eyes. Magus's magic power was wearing down and Vortex showed no sign of stress.
"KAGE AME!" Vortex roared. A large mass of black energy swooped down on Magus and drenched him with dark rain. It sapped his powers nearly dry and then, as it was dissolving, opened wounds all over his body.
Vortex halted in midair and smirked at the writhing Magus. "My Shadow's Rain really did a number on you, didn't it? Well, there's more where that came from!" Vortex flew up over the tops of the trees and brought her hands together.
"ULTIMATE…" Then she looked west. A flying machine was headed point-blank at them. The Epoch! And looking down at the ground outside the forest she saw Robo, Glenn, and Ayla rushing into the trees quickly.
"NO! THOSE FOOLS!" Vortex brought her hands up in a guard motion then clenched her fists in front of herself. Her hair flashed straight up as she charged all her powers. Then she blasted down at Magus.
Magus was staggering, trying hurriedly to heal himself. Vortex appeared three feet in front of him. Seconds later all six of his allies came from various directions. Vortex's pupils vanished for a second and she whirled around in rage.
"Do you come so willingly to your own death?!" Vortex shrieked. The six performed their most powerful attacks…on Magus.
"AAAH!" Magus cried. But the attacks did not wound him. Instead, he felt all their magnificent power being absorbed into himself. He felt the surge from Crono, the cold from Marle and Glenn, the heat from Lucca, the strength from Ayla, and the similar shadow power from Robo.
"I really don't want to kill you, but the madness festering in your soul demands it!" Magus yelled. He had now fully absorbed the power from his allies. Vortex smiled.
"Fool. You believe it will be that easy? Hah! I have been holding back. You have no chance to win." Vortex raised her arms up skyward. She called upon all her powers, hidden and broad, alien and human, to her. The unfathomable energies surrounded her and she drew them in.
Vortex, now teeming with power, shot a half glance over her shoulder. "A less crowded place would do better." She said. Suddenly Magus and herself were on a plain with rocks, trees, and a gentle breeze. The land seemed to drop suddenly.
Magus looked around confusedly. Then it dawned on him. "This can only be…ZEAL!" Yes, yes it must be! The palace was there, Kajar, and Enhasa in the distance.
"Now, let's see if you'll destroy your homeland, your people, and most importantly…" Vortex snapped her fingers. A long glass casket appeared in the middle of them. Inside was Schala.
"Schala!" Magus cried. He ran towards the glass casket, absorbing the frightened and confused look on his dear sister's face, trying to set her free. A wave energy flung him back. Vortex waved her finger in the air.
"If you defeat me, you can have your sister." Vortex smiled. Magus couldn't help but feel there was more to her smile than she allowed to be shown. That was of minor importance. Now he must…
"ATTACK!" Magus ran forward and swung his Doom Sickle in a mighty arch. Vortex jumped back casually. She raised a hand and shot a purple ball of energy at Magus.
"I'll kill you yet!" Magus roared, his rage burning in his eyes. Vortex closed her eyes and laughed. A deadly mistake.
Vortex staggered back. She wiped her gloves across her face. Blood! The red liquid gleamed brilliantly on the black glove. Vortex let it dribble down in the palm of her hand before clenching her fist tightly.
"My body dares to toss out its blood for this weakling?!" Vortex whispered, flicking the blood away. Vortex stared into Magus's eyes. A flame of rage ignited.
"Never!" Vortex charged forward and punched Magus in the stomach. He doubled up wheezing. Vortex watched as he flailed his Sickle madly. The tip of the blade skimmed her deep blue tunic. Vortex calmly traced the opening.
"So…weapons is it? Well, don't think I'm behind on that." Vortex clasped her hands together and when she brought them apart, a ridged whip was spinning in the gap between her hands. Vortex grabbed it and brandished it at Magus. The mage recoiled.
"This is my weapon. Its name is the Striker. Made of dragon hide and teeth, with a bit of sharp metal mesh." Vortex stated. She cracked the whip and leaped at Magus.
Magus rolled to the side and stopped the Striker with his Sickle. The whip wrapped around the scythe and Vortex pulled. The scythe flew from Magus's grip.
"I have you now!" Vortex threw the whip aside and blasted a beam of icy energy. The beam was rapidly flying toward Magus, who clenched his teeth in pure rage.
"Not quite." Magus disappeared. Vortex looked around. Magus materialized behind her and struck her in the back.
"Argh!" Vortex fell to her knees. Seconds later she jumped up and leaped up the mountain on Zeal to the top of the palace. Magus followed quickly.
"This is for my sister!" Magus threw a Dark Bomb at Vortex. She sprung aside of the blast. Instead of hitting the intended target, the bomb connected with the palace, blowing it apart.
"Nooooo!" Magus cried. He darted around to avoid the debris. And where the magnificent palace had been moments before there was a crater. A great, black, smoldering crater.
"Idiot, you have destroyed your past self! Within minutes you shall die!" Vortex laughed wildly into the wind generated from the explosion.
"If my fate is to destroyed, then now I have nothing to lose! Fear my true power!" Magus called all the dark energies within him he had been afraid to use for fear of death. But if he was going to die, then why not go all the way?
"You shall die, evil alien!" Magus shot blast after blast of dark power towards Vortex. The girl dodged them all but the effort left her slightly gasping. Magus knew she was wearing down.
"You…think that I'm…through!?" Vortex yelled. She too called all the energy within. She used it as a speed boost and then concentrated it into one gigantic blast. Magus did the same.
Even though Zeal was crumbling with the might of the two combatants, and the fact that Magus had forgotten about Schala, the deadlocked opponents didn't back down.
All of Zeal was gone now, and Magus and Vortex were the only things above the great sea of clouds. Vortex seemed under tremendous strain, the same as Magus. Death was pending upon them, and both knew it, this would be the final showdown.
"I summon the powers which have placed me here on this planet, at this time, in this universe!! Use my powers, concentrate them into a energy like this world has never known!" Vortex roared. She powered up and with eyes blazing anger and hatred she stared down at Magus.
"I WILL NOT LOSE TODAY!" Magus yelled. He held his arms outward, then he brought then to his side to power himself up.
The two deadly forces where battling for their fates and the fates of every living thing in the history of the world. Magus was calling all the powers, spells, and chants he had ever heard of in his life while Vortex was summoning her raw alien power.
Magus lifted his head glared darkly at the alien girl who was not so different from himself. Still, it was too late. After this last attack he would have no strength left. He was gambling everything on this one shot. Would it succeed?
Vortex stared down at Magus. She knew he wouldn't have any power after this next attack. She knew that she had power to spare, but even with her opponent drained, would his tremendous hidden strength defeat her?
Both had questions that would be answered after the final battle.
Vortex brought her arms in front of her in a firing position. She blasted all the power she had at Magus. The fire of bloodlust burned brightly in her eyes. The energy surge from firing the energy was almost too much to bear. Almost…
Magus formed his last energies into a great ball and hurled it at the oncoming beam. Vortex and Magus both watched and summoned up what was left of their powers to create a defense for the aftermath of the blast.
The ball of Magus's energy and Vortex's energy-beam collided. A bright flash engulfed the area and blinded both of the combatants. Vortex whirled her head around. She saw Magus falling slowly towards the land below.
"NO!" Vortex howled. She grabbed for her medallion but discovered it was not there. She cried out in fury and dove after Magus. There was only one way she could catch him and teleport out of there!
"Moeru honoo e to kazashita ame!" Vortex roared. She grabbed Magus as a wave of white energy engulfed her.
Crono watched Vortex and Magus apprehensively. They hadn't moved for almost and hour, but he had seen their expressions change and energy levels drop and rise. Suddenly Vortex and Magus opened their eyes at the same time.
"What the…where's Zeal?" Magus asked suddenly. He stared at his six allies, and then at Vortex. Her right eye was closed and she was breathing in heaving, ragged breaths. Suddenly blood and wounds appeared on her body. Magus looked down at himself and saw slashes on him too.
"What happened? You didn't move for nearly an hour!" Marle cried, throwing a Cure spell at Magus. The yellow sparkles were inches away from him when…
"NO!" Vortex jumped and pushed Magus out the way. And when it seemed like the healing spell was going to hit her, she raised a hand slightly and the sparkles disappeared.
"I transported us mentally to Zeal. Our bodies were left here, and…ah…" Vortex grabbed her right arm, which had started to gush blood. "we fought there. We must finish the fight, please do not intervene." Vortex turned her head to Magus.
"Where do you want to finish the fight? Just say anywhere, I can transport us there." Vortex clenched her fist.
Magus considered this. Where would he have a great advantage…his castle! He knew every hall and door, if they were in a replica of his castle…
"My castle. Take us there in your mind." Magus replied solemnly. Vortex raised her arms up and outstretched her hands. The world around them vanished.
Magus glanced around. They were in the room in which he had fought Crono, Robo, and Glenn. He smirked inwardly. Then he looked for Vortex. She wasn't around, not even in the near vicinity. Magus held his Doom Sickle at the ready and walked up the steps to the main part of the castle.
Vortex smiled. She floated feet behind Magus who flinched at every sound. Vortex used her illusion power to generate figures who looked like the real Ozzie, Slash, and Flea. Magus flipped back.
Magus shot Dark Mist at them, and Vortex appeared when the spell was inches away from the illusions. She smiled and the magic disappeared.
"Vortex!" Magus laid down his Sickle, and raced forward preparing a spell while he ran.
Vortex smirked and back-flipped away from him. Magus channeled black magic into his fist, so if he punched Vortex she would receive the full blast of a Dark Matter.
"Yaah…argh!" Magus propelled his arm forward. At this speed, the alien would have no chance to dodge! But, she was already gone.
Magus channeled the dark energy into his leg. He kicked back directly behind him.
Vortex flew into a suit of armor. The energy ball she had been preparing burst through the wall. The girl magician touched a gash in her back and the wound closed.
"Cheap shot." Vortex murmured. She smirked. Just then Vortex spied dust on the floor and she closed her fist around it.
Magus was standing straight up, gasping slightly. "Ready to continue?" He asked. The Shadow magic deep within him surrounded his body. The energy was welling up, screaming to be used.
Vortex smirked. "Yes!" she cried. Dashing forward she threw the clump of dust into Magus's eyes. Magus shrieked in slight pain and rubbed his eyes quickly. Then he blinked and rubbed them again.
"FOOL!!" Vortex roared. She clasped her hands together and brought them down onto Magus's head. The mage fell to the floor of his castle. Vortex landed on the floor about five feet away from the fallen and blinded Magus.
"You thought you'd have an advantage here? Bah! Now I will pick the battle grounds!!" Vortex whirled her hand around and Magus and Vortex were transported to another image of a place.
Magus stood up. It seemed that when they teleported, all the magic and energy he lost was renewed. He blinked and rubbed the still present dust from his eyes.
"Still blinded, great wizard?" A mocking voice asked. It was Vortex. She was standing on a giant rock pillar some ways a way. Magus looked around. He was on a grass plain which ended suddenly then a dark, and seemingly bottomless, abyss opened up. A few rock pillars stretched up from the dark hole.
"If this is where your final resting place is, so be it!" Magus called in a loud, would-be confident voice. Vortex leaped forward and punched Magus in left side of his face.
"Argh!" Magus flew into a gigantic boulder and felt blood running from his mouth and head. He flipped up and kicked Vortex. She flew backwards and Magus quickly caught up with her.
The two ultimate powers grappled in a giant energy well. Magus slammed his fist into Vortex's shoulder, and she wrenched back. Then, very quickly, Vortex brought her legs together and slammed her feet into Magus's chin.
Magus regained control of his flying abilities and brought his elbow into Vortex's stomach. She was slammed into the ground by pure force. Magus landed a little bit away from Vortex. He stared intently into the clearing dust.
Vortex stood there, clearly enraged but not frustrated. She simply raised her fist into the air and was surrounded by her own energy. She leaped forward and pummeled Magus with sonic speed.
The sudden power surge threw both opponents in opposite directions. Vortex caught her balance before she fell into the abyss and Magus rolled across the grass.
There was no need to speak, no need to yell out threats and taunts. Both knew that only one would leave, and neither was sure who it would be. There was only one way to find out.
Vortex skimmed across the grass and picked Magus up. She flew high into air and dropped him. Magus swiveled around seconds before he hit the ground. He blasted up into the air and threw a punch at Vortex.
No more hiding your true power… Vortex thought as she dodged Magus's attacks. I have no more reserves. When I run out of energy this time, that's it. Only one of us is leaving, and I can't tell who it'll be. Vortex flew under a kick placed by Magus.
The female mage threw punches and kicked out in a fury of movements. Magus fell back, almost tumbling into the abyss.
Magus valiantly blasted a dark beam of energy at Vortex. She disappeared and suddenly was behind him. She rammed her elbow into Magus's back. He fell forward onto his knees.
Gasping in pain, Magus looked up at the sordid Vortex. He expected her to throw a taunt at him, but she just stood there, silent. She was waiting for him to get back up.
Vortex then flew back up into the air. Magus followed. He flashed around, and saw his chance. He rammed Vortex, and she crashed into the ground. He raced after her, and slammed into the ground.
The girl had jumped away, though. Magus scanned the land and air for her. He gently floated around, snapping his head around. Then from behind the attack came.
A thin purple beam erupted from one cloud. Vortex had her hands spread out and her hair blown straight up from the immense energy. Magus kicked jumped up and slammed the beam away into the air, into space.
Magus leapt up to the air. Vortex suddenly shot a black sphere at Magus. The mage dodged and fired a thin red beam at Vortex.
The beam tore a hole in Vortex's cape. She ripped off her cape and headband. She whirled around and kicked Magus in the jaw. This blow would have been very crushing, but Magus didn't have a glass jaw.
Vortex and Magus floated so near to each other it seemed like the energies now surrounding them, Vortex's was blue and Magus's was black, was one. Vortex drew up her fists and charged her power. Magus stretched out his arms and spheres of dark energy surrounded his hands.
Vortex threw a beam at Magus and Magus shot a ball at Vortex. Each of them received a glancing blow. Vortex threw a slender but sharp crystal at Magus. The crystal passed clear through Magus's left arm.
"Yaah!" Magus cried. Ripping off a bit of his cape, he bandaged the wound which slowed the bleeding. Magus shot a tiny row of diamond-lined beams at Vortex. One beam shot through her right leg.
Vortex winced. She muttered a few words and the wound closed. Then, while she was tending her wound, Magus launched all of his power at Vortex. It was a cheap shot, sure, but he knew the battle couldn't go on. At that rate they would never finish.
Vortex fell to the ground with a thud. She was bleeding was many places all over her body, and was near death. Seeing now what pain she must be in, Magus regretted doing this. That was the first regret he had fell in a long time.
"I…was expecting…you…to win." Vortex gasped. A spasm ran through her body every few seconds. She winced and glanced up at Magus. He had a grim look on his face.
"I don't understand. You…you knew you weren't going to win?" Vortex nodded slightly. Blood began to trickle from her mouth. "Then why didn't you leave, why didn't you send us back to reality?"
Vortex sighed. "My death will mean so much more to me if it is in here. I will set…" Another spasm made Vortex twitch wildly for a few moments. "you free though. I am now off to see what lies beyond this place and time. Perhaps, if the legends of the afterlife are true, I might see you once again. Nakabuto…" Vortex opened both her eyes.
"Magus…do not forget me…or our mighty battle. I think it was one of my greatest challenges, I renewed…your strength but not my own. Be wary. My race is out…for vengeance for Storm." Vortex dropped her arms. She clenched her teeth and writhed in pain.
Magus didn't blink. He knew that if his eyelids closed, he would shed tears for the first time in years. Then, Vortex sang for the last few moments of her life. The words were translated in Magus's mind.
"Kagakitsuzuketai…Motto, motto kagirinai yume, daite. Tsuyosa wa subete o tsutsumikonda toride. Yasashisa namida o shirazu ni katarenai." Vortex sang. She sang softer and softer.
'I want to continue shining, embracing an unlimited dream stronger and stronger. Strength is a fortress that binds everything together. Gentleness cannot be spoken without knowing the tears.' Magus heard the words Vortex sang. He understood what she was saying. She was describing her life, soul, and being.
"Goodbye, Vortex." Magus was about to ask something else to the dying mage, but she answered it for him.
"No. This time I cannot return. Keep the Tiger's Eye. Remember me…" Vortex blinked and the painful looked on her face became serene. Magus blinked and salty hot tears began to run down his deathly pale face. Magus quickly whipped them away and held back his emotions. His eyes were red, still though.
"Goodbye." Magus said. Then the world around him was vanishing quickly. He faded from the disappearing world. The abyss and the rock pillars were replaced by the forest by Glenn's home.
Magus looked around. The only there was Glenn. Obviously they had taken turns watching. Magus flipped around and saw Vortex's body fading away. Glenn jumped up.
"What happened? What happened to lady Vortex!?" Glenn cried, seeing her body vanishing. The other six suddenly appeared.
"She is dead and this time there is no way to bring her back." Magus looked away. The tears in his eyes were threatening to show. "We fought for a long time…and I defeated her by using the rest of my power." Magus then fell down, unconscious.
"Let's get him to your house, Crono." They revived Magus and each went back to which ever time period they desired. Magus stayed in 1000 AD and found Vortex's icy eye medallion encrusted in dirt in a forest. He stared at it for a long time. Magus stared at the medallion all day and into the night, reflecting on the past events. A while later, he swore he could hear Vortex's voice in the wind…
'Hitori ja nai, nakama sae ireba wakachiaeru tsuyosa ga aru kara…'
Fin