DISCLAIMER: I do not own Crono Thrigger or
the characters, just the plot in this
story.
The
Black Wind
Part IV
Chapter VII
BY
D A R T H V A D E
R
"Ok, then how do I confront the Black Wind? It obviously
doesn't want me to know about it," said Magus.
"I know a way," said Melchior.
"Oh, really?" said Gaspar, "This should be
interesting."
"We're going to have to get you to shift realities again in order
for this to work, but I'm confident it will," said Melchior. "No
matter which reality you're in, there is one fixed point that interconnects all
the dimensions. If you can get each of your counterparts to converge on that
spot during a time when the Black Wind is strongest and then utter the chant of
the Black Wind, asking to exchange this world for Reality, the Black Wind will
be forced to concur due to the Law of the Black Wind."
"The Law of the Black Wind?" asked Magus. "What's
that?"
"The Law of the Black Wind states that if the sacred Chant of the
Black Wind is uttered, then the utterer's wish must be granted by the Black Wind
no matter what," said Gaspar.
"Unless the wish would cease the wind's existence," added
Melchior.
"So where do all these realities converge and when is the Black Wind
strongest?" asked Magus.
"The place is the Northern Cape, in 12,000 BC or as close to that
time as you can get. Or at least it's called the Northern Cape in this reality.
I don't know if it'll be called the same thing in the other realities,"
said Melchior.
"Alright. However, there's one reality that I unfortunately go to
where I'm dead and I'm forced to stay in the Afterlife. The only thing I can do
is communicate with Schala. What am I supposed to do about that?"
"That's perfect!" said Melchior. "I was thinking that this
might work better if someone uttered the chant of Lunar Magic with the chant of
the Black Wind. And don't ask why; the physics of it are entirely too
complicated to explain. What you have to do is tell Schala to go to the
Northern Cape (or whatever it's called) and upon your command, say the chant of
Lunar Magic. You'll give her the signal just when you're about to say your
chant. Got that?"
"I think so," said Magus..
"Good. Then let's hurry on over to the Cape in this reality,"
said Melchior.
Fortunately,
they had no trouble in arriving at the Northern Cape by using a teleportation
spell once they got to 12,000 BC, though along the way, Magus had some minor
dizzy spells.
"It's the Black Wind trying to get to you through the force shield.
You weren't experiencing it in the End of Time because that in itself is one of
the most difficult places for the Wind to reach," was Melchior's
explanation.
Once they got to the Northern Cape, Melchior instructed Magus precisely
where to stand in order to get the best results, and then he said, "Ok,
now we're going to have to take the force shield off of you, and the Black Wind
probably won't allow your consciousness to travel back here anymore since all
this has happened, so you're going to be alone. Are you ready?"
Magus took a deep breath, and nodded.
"Ok, I'm taking the shield off....now," said Melchior.
Magus was back in King Guardia XXXIII's bedroom again. Schala was beside
him and Crono and Marle were on the opposite side of the bed.
"Schala, I want to thank you for trying to heal me," the king
said warmly. Schala smiled.
"It was my pleasure, Your Majesty."
"If there's anything you need, please, feel free to ask."
"You've already given me your thanks for allowing me to live in your
kingdom," said Schala.
"Um...I'm sorry to interrupt, but I have to go now," said
Magus. He started out the door.
"Magus, what's wrong?!" said Schala. "What's SO important
that you just HAVE to leave right away??"
"Quite possibly, the fate of the entire universe," said Magus.
After he was gone, Marle said, "Do ya think this has anything to do
with what he said about jumping back and forth between parallel universes or
whatever?"
"Probably. Is it alright if I go with him, Hon? Just to make sure
he's alright?" asked Crono. Marle sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Fine. Just don't get killed or anything," she said
reluctantly.
"Thanks," said Crono, and he sped out after him.
"Schala, do you wanna go with them too?" asked Marle.
"No. If I'm not here, your father might get worse again. Besides,
they're grown boys. They can handle this themselves, whatever it is."
"Magus!!"
Crono called, just as Magus was about to open the gate in Guardia Forest.
"Crono?! What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to help you out. C'mon, you can explain what's going on on
the way."
"I'm perfectly capable of--"
"No you're not. You don't have a Gate Key, remember?" said
Crono, and he pulled it out of his pocket.
"No, I suppose not," Magus said disappointedly. He sighed.
"Alright then, if you insist on coming with me, then come on."
"Alright, genius," said Magus, as they stood on the coast of a
tiny island in 11,999 BC containing the cave with the time gate inside,
"What do we do now?"
"We go back to the present and get the Epoch," said Crono, and
they retraced their steps.
As Magus
walked into the cave, he found himself in one of the cars on a Ferris Wheel. He
was holding a cane and Clancy was in the car with him. "We've gotta stop
the ride," he said immediately.
"What? Why?" asked the Chancellor.
"No time to explain. I need to get somewhere," said Magus.
Clancy called out, "Stop the ride so we can get out!! It's an
emergency!"
The operator of the Ferris Wheel did as he was told, and Magus rushed
towards the very back of Leene Square, hoping that a Time Gate would be there
as it was 150 years ago.
Unfortunately, there was a circus tent in the way, and a large one at
that.
"Sir, I wish you would just tell me what you're trying to do,"
begged Clancy.
"I need to get around to the other side of this tent," said
Magus. He found a door and peeked inside. He was ready to charge on through.
The Chancellor managed to peek in, too, and tried to stop the king.
"Sir!! You can't go through there! They're in the middle of a
show!"
"Watch me," said Magus, and went straight through the middle of
the stage to the other side, everyone watching him in disbelief. When he got to
the other side, he took out his pocket knife and cut himself a door.
Sure enough, the time gate was there; Magus could feel it in his bones. The
problem was finding a way to access it. The Chancellor had already given up on
trying to figure out what he was trying to do.
With no other recourse, Magus did the only thing he could think of: he
prayed to the sentient being behind Lunar Magic. Like wonders, the gate opened
up, Clancy staring at it wide eyes. Magus leapt into it, and Clancy followed
just before it closed.
As he
appeared in the End of Time, Magus realized something: He would have the same
problem in this reality as he did in the last one, except this time he wouldn't
have access to an Epoch to bail himself out with. Following this revelation, he
figured that he'd have the same problem in almost every other reality. He
sighed, at a loss, and decided to confide in Gaspar, ignoring Clancy's constant
blubbering.
"May I help you..?" Gaspar asked as the two men approached. He
didn't recognize either of them, but one of them had a vaguely familiar aura
about him.
"Gaspar, it's me, Prince Janus," said Magus.
Gaspar adjusted his glasses. "Prince Janus?! But...you're
old...older than I am," he said.
"I know. Now listen, I don't have time for small talk. I need to
find a way to get to the Last Village in 12,000 BC. If I take the light pillar
to 12,000 BC, I'll end up in a cave on a tiny island with no way to get to the
village, so I need your help."
"Hmmm...I believe I trust you because I'm beginning to recognize
your aura's signature. I'll help you, but I need to think about how we're to do
this. What about using a boat?"
"Where are we gonna get a boat?" asked Magus.
"Sir," said Clancy, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but may I
point out that you have full access to any boat in Guardia?"
"Clancy, you're a genius!" said Magus. "All we need to do
is find a canoe or something. Small enough so it can fit through a time gate,
but sturdy enough to carry both of us to the Last Village. I think we can do
that! Thanks, Gaspar! Come on, Clancy, let's go."
After Magus
stepped into the light pillar leading back to Leene Square, he reappeared outside
of Dalton's room in Dalton Castle. Mere seconds after he found himself there,
everything started shaking. The empty cereal bowl on the kitchen table fell off
and broke on the floor.
Dalton stormed out of his room and unintentionally knocked Magus down.
"Prophet!! What's going on?? I demand that you tell me!"
Magus thought about this for a moment, and then remembered what day it
was: January 1st, 1999 AD. He'd been the only one in the world keeping track of
the date according to the timeline that incorporated AD and BC into it.
"Sir, I believe it's Lavos."
"What?" said Dalton. "Lavos..? But that's
impossible!!"
"No it's not," said Magus. He was unusually calm (to Dalton,
anyway). "It's not like Lavos died back in the Ocean Palace. He just went
back down underground. Now he's coming back for revenge."
Dalton thought about this for a second. "You're right!! I've gotta
get together my army! We have to get rid of this thing before it destroys
everything I've accomplished over the milennia!" and he ran out of the
room.
Magus sighed. This, of course, meant that he wouldn't have a chance to
get to any time gates any time soon. He'd have to wait until Lavos was dealt
with. After another sigh, he teleported directly to Lavos and hoped that
Dalton's military would be a good diversion so he could make a sneak attack.
Lavos roared really loud, just like he always did whenever something
happened.
"Ok, you stupid turtle, prepare to die. I have more important
matters to deal with than you, so try not to drag this out too long," said
Magus, brandishing his scythe. He made the first attack and sprung
forward at the beast, slashing deeply into its hypnotic eyes. It roared in pain
and fired a spike-missile from its shell. Part of it scraped Magus's shoulder
pretty bad and it bled.
Next, Magus tossed a Dark Bomb at the creature, further damaging its
putrid face. It sucked up some of the surplus energy from the bomb and spewed
it back at the wizard. He jumped out of the way and fired a laser blast of pure
darkness in mid-air. That acted as the final blow and the head disintegrated
into nothing.
"Well, that was easy enough," said Magus, and he strolled into
the shell to fight Inner Lavos.
"Whoa...." said Schala. Lucca was just starting up the Epoch.
"What?" she asked.
"The man from my dream...he's talking to me again..."
"What's he saying?" asked Marle.
"He's telling me to go to the Northern Cape in 12,000
BC.....Something about all reality being at stake," said Schala. She
sounded scared.
"What should we do?" Lucca asked Crono and Marle. "Go see
Cyrus, or do like this Magus guy says?"
"Let's go see Cyrus first. After all, this Magus-dude is supposed to
be all evil n' stuff, so I don't think we should--"
"Take me to the Northern Cape," said Schala.
"Huh?" said Lucca.
"Just do it. Take me there. Trust me, I know what's going on."
So, Lucca set the time gauge to 12,000 BC and pulled the lever. She drove
the ship to the Northern Cape as Magus directed her, using some previously-
installed floatation devices on the Epoch to exactly the right spot to stand.
Immediately she felt a strong connection with the man in her dream, as if he
was standing right next to her. Then, she started feeling the presence of
somebody else...
"Gaspar....look,"
whispered Melchior. Gaspar looked up from the snowy ground of the Northern Cape
and gaped at what he saw. Standing there beside Magus's entranced body was a
see-through version of Schala, like a ghost of her.
"Gaspar...? Melchior? Is that you? What are you doing here? And why
do you look like ghosts?"
"Schala....from our perspective, you're the one who looks like a
ghost," said Melchior.
"Ok, but what are you doing here?"
"That would take some explaining," said Gaspar.
Janus was
still watching the stupid parade when he came to. He turned around and said to
his sister, "I've gotta go now. I'll catch ya later. Bye," and he
teleported away.
"Janus?! Janus!!!!" Schala yelled. "I'm so sorry,
Honey..." she said to Sonaro.
"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault. Go on and look for him.
I'll be right here if ya need my help or anything," said her boyfriend.
She winked at him and disappeared.
"Let's see...." said Janus. He was in the royal library in the
castle, looking over a map of the world and trying to remember what the map of
the ruined 12,000 BC looked like so he could compare. ".....the Northern
Cape would be......Here!" and his heart sunk. On this map, in this
reality, there was no land in that location. It was pure ocean
Just as quickly, he realized that his powers were about ten times
stronger in this reality than in any other, and he could just float himself to
the precise spot or something like that. He was ready to teleport there when
Schala appeared beside him.
"JANUS!!! You are in SOOOOO much trouble...." she said angrily.
"Look, Sis, just go back to the parade. I'll be fine. There's just
something I have to do," said Janus, and he disappeared. Schala was ready
to chase after him, but decided to give up and let him go for now. She had more
important things to worry about.
Janus reappeared at the nearest coastline to the point in question.
Luckily, the place he was supposed to be wasn't terribly far away; maybe half a
mile. He raised his hands and they glowed. The glow transfered itself to the
ocean water, and the entire surface of the water froze completely for a full
five miles off the coast.
He teleported his pair of ice skates from the castle to where he was and
put them on. Then he skated across the ice and kept his senses alert so he
could tell where he was supposed to go. He finally found that spot and
skreeched to a halt. He took off his ice skates and carefully stood straight up
on the ice, and he concentrated.
This was
definitely the spot; he could actually feel himself in three realities at once,
seeing each one with crystal clarity and having full control of his bodies in
the two where he was still alive.
"I'm back," he said to the others, and he saw Schala's
ghost-form standing there. "Hi," he said, "I'm the one who's
been appearing in your dreams and telling you to do all this stuff. I'm your
brother, and it's nice to see you."
"Um..." said Schala, "Nice to see you too...."
Then his
consciousness was torn from those realities and transfered to the reality where
he was ready to step out on stage and give the speech which Ozzie had prepared.
He stood there dumbfounded for a moment, and a low mumble circulated through
the huge crowd of monsters.
Finally, Magus threw the speech to the wooden stage and ran to the
microphone. "We're doing great. You're all a good crowd and the Mystics
shall prevail. Gotta run, see ya," he said, and he jumped off the stage,
encasing himself in a magic bubble in midair and zooming through the sky.
Luckily, this was one reality where his powers hadn't diminished too much.
Ozzie and Flea looked on as he left with disbelief. "What's he
doing?!" Ozzie cried.
"I don't know, but you better get up there and think of something!
The crowd's getting restless!!" said Flea.
As Magus sped
toward Medina Village in pursuit of a time gate (the fairgrounds were a little
to the north of where the village would've been), he remembered that there
wasn't a Medina Village in this era, nor was there a time gate. He realized he'd
have to cross the ocean in order to get to Truce Canyon, and his powers weren't
strong enough for the magic bubble to carry him all that distance.
With increasing irritation, he reluctantly entered the Magic Cave, the
same cave that Crono and Frog would've used to reach his castle, had they
survived that long.
After a tiresome trek through the cave, Magus emerged east of Slash
Village. The humans had named it SanDorino, but it was re-named in honor of the
war hero who died there.
He crossed Magus Bridge (formerly Zenan Bridge) and sped toward Truce
Canyon. By this time he was completely worn out, but he forced himself to
continue on to the time gate. He could replenish his strength in the End of
Time with that bowl of magic water.
As soon as he arrived in the End of Time, he went straight for that bowl
of water. Sure enough, it totally re-energized him. He waved to Gaspar and then
ran back to the light pillars to find 12,000 BC.
In 12,000 BC,
Magus sat on the beach of the tiny island with the cave on it. He knew how he
would get across. It would be difficult, but he could do it. It was just a
matter of endurance.
Getting up and dusting himself off, Magus took a deep breath and took a
flying leap off the coast, catching himself in his magic bubble again. He flew
as fast as he could in the direction of the Last Village, stopping every now
and then on a stable piece of ice in the water to give his magical powers a
little rest.
He finally made it, but just barely. He was ready to collapse when he finally
arrived in the village. Realizing that he wouldn't be able to even stand up
straight in the Northern Cape, Magus decided to spend the night in the
inn/shop, run by the last surviving Nu from the Ocean Palace disaster.
"Thanks,
Lucca," said Crono. She'd just finished giving Crono a brief tutorial on
how to pilot the Epoch. He'd never done it before because she always insisted
on it.
"Don't mention it. Just don't crash into anything and be
careful," said Lucca. Crono nodded and turned the ignition. The Epoch
levitated up from outside Lucca's lab at her house, and Crono set the time
gauge.
"Crono, I appreciate you doing this," said Magus.
"No problem, man," said Crono. He pulled the lever and then
they were in 11,999 BC again. Crono flew to the Last Village and landed in the
middle of it.
"This is my stop. You can come with me if you wish," said Magus
as he hopped out of the cockpit.
"You bet! I wanna see what's up just as much as you do," said
Crono, following him.
Magus stopped in the correct spot, and then he felt himself in all four
realities at once.
"Magus?" said Crono. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, Crono, I'm fine," said Magus. He looked down. "Uh
oh...this ice is getting a little too warm. Hold on, lemme re-freeze it
again."
"What?" asked Melchior. "Magus, what are you talking
about?"
"You're not standing on any ice," said Crono.
"He's obviously standing on ice in one of the realities," said
Schala. The gurus had explained everything to her already.
"That's better," said Magus. Then he jumped realities again.
"There!
This one's perfect," said Magus. He was looking over the boats in the
harbor at Truce Village.
"Good. Alright, guys, pick it up and follow us," said Clancy.
The group of soldiers picked up the canoe and followed Magus and Clancy back to
Leene Square. Magus had already ordered that the carnival be closed for the day
and in return, it would stay an extra day.
After going to the End of Time, Magus ordered that three of the men take
the canoe through the appropriate gate and leave the boat in the cave they'd
appear in, then come back and allow him and Clancy to go through. He did this
because of the Law of Conservation of Time.
Magus and the Chancellor rowed the canoe slowly but surely toward the
Last Village. They got there after about two hours of rowing, one of the
longest times he'd spent in a single reality while still awake. Magus walked up
to the appropriate spot at the Northern Cape and concentrated. He was in five
realities at once this time.
"Wow...it's weird being in a young body and an old body at the same
time," he said.
"Oh! So that's what's happening. You're in five realities at the
same time?!" Crono exclaimed. "How can you keep up with
everything?"
"I don't know. It just seems to all fit together somehow," said
Magus.
"What seems to fit together?" asked Clancy.
"Forget it," said Magus.
"Forget what?" said Gaspar.
Magus sighed. "Alright, so this gets a little less confusing, I
think it would be a good idea for everyone to huddle around me a little closer.
That way, I think everyone should be able to see and hear everyone else, no
matter what reality you're in. Got that?"
They all did that, and in an instant everyone could see and hear everyone
else, though somewhat unclearly due to the fact that none of them were in the
best spot like Magus was.
"Oh, ok,
I'm about to fight Inner Lavos," Magus reminded himself. He continued into
the cave and met up with the large creature.
A few swift blows and well-timed spells got rid of the two remaining
forms of Lavos. Magus asked Dalton for some time off, and he was granted it
since he did, after all, save the world.
Using this free time, he searched for a time gate somewhere in the world.
He finally found one in Dalton Square (where Porre Village would've been).
Somehow, ever since he'd first prayed to the force behind Lunar Magic in that
one reality, every time gate he came near automatically opened itself up for
him.
Just like before, he traveled to 12,000 BC, and in this reality he had
more than enough magical power to float all the way to the Last Village in his
magic bubble. He'd been honing his magic skills for the past 14,000 years,
after all.
And then he was in six realities at once. There was only one more to go,
and in the last one he was already in the Last Village.
After some
time spent waiting, Magus jumped back to the last reality, where he woke up
suddenly. He got up and tossed a few hundred gold pieces on the floor beside
the Nu, and sped out to the Northern Cape.
"Ok,
I've done it!" said Magus. "I'm here in every single reality."
"Good," said Melchior. "On the count of three, Magus, say
the Chant of the Black Wind, and Schala, you say the Chant of Lunar Magic. Both
of you make sure and ask for Reality as your request. Do you understand?"
Magus and Schala nodded.
"Neuga, Ziena, Zieber, Zom.....Now the chosen time has
come....exchange this world for..." said Magus, as Schala uttered,
"Cornum, martis, zengil, zive....The Time of Light, has
arrived....Give the Gift of....."
And then, at the same time, Magus and Schala said,
"Reality!!!!!!!!!!"
Poof.