The Forsaken Stones of Zeal: Fate of Magus
By Colbison Plus
Chapter 1: Legend of Magus
"I am here", Magus said, "I have arrived my pedagogue"
"Yes my student", uttered Ozzie, "I have taught you all that you know today and I wish I could continue to teach you, but I'm afraid that all is lost. You see it has been long since that I last spoke of your father, but although he has died he still continues to haunt that which presides inside me. I can no longer teach you your spells or help you in any way. I know your father would have never wanted me to ever help you in the first place, so please just let me die in that which we call peace."
"But, I...I need your help", Magus screamed, "I cannot live without you..."
"You shall find a way Magus. I know you can do it. Defeat all that is inside of the evil Earth and you will find a way to...to...", said Ozzie as he was dying into a peaceful yet quiet place.
Magus took the sword that once belonged to Ozzie and drove it into the ground that was before him. His teacher's body was lifted into the air as if it weighed nothing and then was placed into a grave purified with Magus's soul and love. Magus said his sorrows and his sins of the world and walked into the universal gate to the End of Time.
As the master of shadow and the ruler of the Mystics passed through the time periods in which he once graced with his very own eyes in the time of Lavos, his former allies, Crono, Lucca, and Marle were living peacefully in Circa 1000 AD, Medina Village.
Crono, a tall eighteen year old man and self-proclaimed 'Hero of Time', lived peacefully in a small village called Medina in 1000 AD. Along with his friends, Lucca and Marle, Crono had defeated an evil creature known as Lavos two years earlier. Crono also received help from his friends in other time eras. Including, Robo- of 2300 AD, Frog- of 600 AD, Ayla- of 12,000,000 BC, and Magus- of 600 AD. They all helped in the defeating of Lavos, the internal Earth destroyer. But that was two entire years ago. Things have changed.
"Crono, are you awake yet?", yelled Marle angrily, "Because if your not I'm going to come up there and pound you into the dead earth your living on"
"I am up and alive", Crono answered, "Why must we get up so early? I don't understand it, I mean it's only your fathers birthday. It doesn't need to be a surprise"
"No, no, no Crono", Marle argued, "You don't get it. On my dads birthday we always have a surprise party and he always loves it"
"How is it a surprise if you do it every year", Crono said, "He surely knows what will happen"
"It just is", Marle laughed, and "He loves it, or seems to"
"Is Lucca coming to the party?", Crono asked, "I want to see what she got him. Probably a servant robot or maybe a floating chair for him to sit in"
"She told me she will definitely be there", Marle answered, "But I don't know what she got him or made him for that matter"
"That's for sure", said Crono, "She will do anything to impress someone, even if she knows them extremely well"
Crono and Marle walked all the way to the Guardia Castle and knocked on the door. After many moments of waiting, Marle tried to open the doors and go inside. But for some reason the door was completely locked and no one could get in. Finally someone opened the door, but instead of being a guard or a servant it was the King himself. Marle immediately started yelling. "What took you so long", "Crono and I were waiting out here for 10 minutes and no one answered", "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?", "Come on, I'm not going to wait any longer". But the problem was not the King. It was the person behind him.
"Who are you?", Marle screamed extremely loudly, "What are you doing in my daddies castle?"
"Ha ha ha", said the voice, "I am Eljeric, the Master of Misery. Come on in"
They entered the castle, which was very dark but still warm inside. They walked into the main hall and found that there were two neatly set tables. Crono found himself a seat and sat down in it. Marle did the same. The room was darkly covered in what looked like black gold. Above them was a beautiful golden dome covered with bright pictures of the king's honorable crescent Eagle.
"I came here from the Circa 3000 AD. The year of the Tech. You see I was sent here through a gate in which I created. I am making an invention for my entire world to see. But there is just one single thing that I am missing. That precious thing is Gold. I created a gate with my awesome power and than came through it. I ended up here in 1000 AD. I asked around where I could get some Gold. Everyone told me here in the castle, but that I am not permitted entrance. Well, looks like I will finally get my Gold. Your foolish king refuses to hand over his Gold. And because of that I am taking him hostage until I get what I want, now!", said Eljeric. "And if I do not get what I want you will never see your idiot king again."
Just than out of thin air a black gate appeared. It was large enough to fit a tall person inside it and when it opened it suddenly made the room very dark and cold. After a brief moment a person stepped out of it. That person was Magus, the shadow master. He looked just as pale and irate as ever. He stepped out of the gate and than took one look at Eljeric and then without any remorse blasted him away with a most devastating and destructive move ever to be seen by the eyes of living beings. The move was formally known as 'Dark Matter'. Eljeric was blasted out of his boots and disappeared right into the gray clouds that had abruptly appeared inside the castle. Magus, who was still standing in the same position as he was when he first came out of the gate, had now become very sensitive. He walked over to Crono, who was completely filled with shock and horror, in the middle of the hall.
"I must talk to you", Magus voiced deeply, "Is there a place where we may talk privately without any intruders or foolishness"?
"My house is empty", said Crono scarcely. "My mom is on vacation with in 600 AD."
"Well then, let us be off", Magus said. "And you, girl..."
"What do you want?", said Marle without any fear
"You may stay here with your father, while me and Crono talk", Magus answered. "
"I shall", Marle replied. "But...but that doesn't mean I trust you, I am doing it for Crono to learn from you"
Magus instantly transported themselves to Crono's somewhat joyful house. Crono went over to the table and cleared all the messy papers off onto the floor. He grabbed another chair and placed it in front of Magus. They both sat down.
"What do you need?", spoke Crono. "I know who wouldn't have called for me if you really needed my help"
"Yes, I have a story to tell you", Magus said. "About my life and about how I grew up. I will explain the whole thing to you so you can fully understand"
"I was born in the year 394 AD. I grew up without a father, for he died in a tragic accident that I cannot yet explain. My mother, Queen Zeal, was a wonderful person. She taught me how to be a prince. Yet, I was not the only child born. There was another before me. It was a girl, her name was Schala. She too loved my mom as much as I did. We grew up together hardly fighting. She showed me truth, happiness and love", Magus said with a cry of sadness in his voice. He started to lean back in his chair, but it had a broken leg and didn't allow it. Crono became very interested in Magus's tale, for he had never known what happened to Magus in his childhood. "My real name is Janus, and you will soon find out why I changed it. Schala and I always played together, we also worked together, and we did everything together until that one-day. I was only six years old when it happened. My mom was very much in love with my father. He was the greatest king in all of Zeal history. Sadly, I never met him and never saw him. When I was born he was not there to hold me and help me. He was off doing his business. But, Schala was always there for me, she never gave up hope for me whenever I failed at something", Magus continued. At this point Crono had gotten up to get a glass of water. Magus prolonged his tale so Crono could hear the entire thing because he had never told anyone of his deep story. "When I was fifth teen Schala went away to study the life of the Earthbounds. I was enraged that my mother would not let me go along. She said she wanted me here to continue the Kingdom of Zeal. So, I decided to run off and I did. I ran to where I thought the Earthbound ones lived, but no, instead I ran into the person I cared about most after Schala's death, Ozzie. Ozzie told me to come with him and he will teach me the craft of the Mystics. My mother would have never wanted me to go, so I did. I followed Ozzie to his fort in 600 AD. Ozzie was the strongest person I knew at that time. He saw hope inside of me, he saw strength and power inside of me that no one else saw, not even my own sister, Schala. Ozzie taught me the way of the Mystics and how to use magic. By the time I was twenty years old I was stronger then my own master Ozzie. Yet, he continued to teach about the things I didn't know about. Things like evil, and vengeance. As I gathered these thoughts of hatred, my mind grew larger. I became more and more powerful. Soon, no one could stop my powers. This is when Ozzie felt I needed a new name. He named me Magus. King of the Mystics. We went to the king of 600 AD and talked to him about what the Mystics wanted. The King ignored us and told us to leave this place and never come to see him again. But we didn't listen. No, we launched an attack on the humans for hating and ignoring our every move.", Magus said while filling with angry. As Magus began to get angry the room started to go black. Then clouds formed around Crono's house. Marle, who was standing outside of Guardia Castle saw the clouds and thought something terrible might have happened. She ran over to Crono's house. Magus continued on with his story. "Ozzie and I formed troops of the Mystics and rounded them up to attack the castle. But before we could do that the foolish humans had to get involved. On our way up to gather more Mystics for our battle, we ran into a couple of powerful humans who thought they could keep up with Ozzie and I. Those fools, Cyrus, and your dear friend Glenn. They stood no chance at defeating us, yet they still tried. I killed Cyrus for trying to attack me. As for Glenn, I turned him into a frog as well. We continued on our way to gather the Mystics and when we reached the top of the mountain they were there, waiting.", Magus spoke evilly. "I gathered them all up and took them to Ozzie's Fort.". Suddenly the door burst open and Marle stood at the entrance. She rushed over to Crono and said, "Are you all right?", "Why is there clouds above your house?". "That would be because I am telling my life story for the first time. Thank you for interrupting me", Magus said in a whispered voice. "Oh, sorry", Marle apologized, "Please continue on". "Anyway, I took the Mystics back to Ozzie's Fort and than we discussed our attack plan. Weeks later we attacked the stupid King Guardia. But as we were crossing the bridge, my Mystics ran into you, Crono. There my creatures were soundly defeated. I decided to create my own castle after that, so I could rule all the Mystics myself. And I did. I created my own castle. After it was finally complete, I met Slash and Flea. They had just come in to my castle from a distant land of Araidia. Creatures of beauty and delight lived there and Slash and Flea could not take it there any longer. I accepted them into my castle, where they were treated with respect for hating humans. Months later, after you had defeated me a soundly duel, I found out that my sister had died from fighting an evil that everyone had blamed me for creating, Lavos. Of coarse, it was not I who created Lavos, it was everyone that ever ignored me and hated me for something they created from me. From that point on, I considered my only purpose in life was to kill Lavos. That is when I decided to join your group. We were the best of a team, or at least, I was. I blasted the Lavos that had once killed my own sister. I defeated all the evil...", Magus said before being interrupted by Marle. "Hey, we helped you too. You would have never even came close to killing off Lavos if it wasn't for all of us". "Anyway, after Schala's death my mother went absolutely nuts. She created an evil inside of herself. The reason why, is a still mystery. No one knows why she even tried to kill anyone that didn't listen to her. I think it was because she could feel the power of the stones anymore. You see, when my father and mother were together, they had two very powerful stones that bound their love and happiness. But when my father died, my mom threw the stones into the hidden cave that lies south east of the Zeal Kingdom.", Magus continued. "So that's what was in there", Crono said amazed. "Yes", said Magus. "My mother buried them inside of there and that is why she has become so evil. Some people thought that after we beat the 'Black Omen' she had gone back to her normal self. That was not so. She is still very deeply touched. And so ends the story of life, which is so ever changing. All I can end with is that I desperately need your help to return the Zeal Kingdom to its original state. I have decided to go back to my mother. The problem is I cannot come within contact with her in less we can mange to get those stones back. If I do not get the two powerful stones back in safe hands, my future may be doomed forever.", Magus spoke with fear for the first time Crono and Marle had ever heard. At that same point, Crono's house went back to its original status.
Crono then walked over to Magus, who was sitting on the ground drawing maps of the Zeal Palace, and then said, "Magus, me and Marle have decided to help you out on this one. You helped us when we were in need and now I shall repay you to my fullest measure". The weather then went from cloudy and about to rain, to sunny and beautiful. "I thank you Crono", Magus uttered, "and Marle"
Suddenly a large blue gate opened up and Magus, Crono and Marle all were sucked into it. They were taken to what seemed to be the End of Time. But there were many people there besides Gaspar and Spekkio. There was Doan from 2300 AD. And many other people that Crono did not recognize.
"Gaspar what is going on?", asked Crono, "Why are there so many people here?"
Gaspar turned around and saw Crono for the first time in two years. He was shocked to see Magus and Marle as well. "Why, hello Crono, Magus, and Marle", spoke Gaspar in his deep yet satisfying voice. "I don't know why all these people are here. They have been popping up just like it was when Lavos was in power."
"Hello Crono and friends", said a familiar voice. It was Spekkio, who was now a large red Nu.
"Hi Spekkio, boy have you changed since we last saw you", said Marle. "Let me guess who want us to battle you again?"
"Actually, I would like your autographs", Spekkio said, "You guys are famous"
"Okay everyone", said Gaspar, "I want you all to leave if you have no purpose here". A young girl came up to Gaspar and asked him, "But what if you don't know?" "Please little girl, follow your mother to your correct time"
All the people that had been in the End of Time when Crono had walked in, all were gone. Only Magus, Crono, and Marle were left.
"Gaspar", said Magus, "We need your help. The only way for me to live any longer is if we can get back the powerful stones of the Kingdom of Zeal."
"Yes, yes of coarse", replied Gaspar, "I know what you need. You want me to open the gates somehow and then let you go back to the Zeal time and take the stones you need to live in the future"
"Right", Magus said in a deeply sad voice. "If you could for us. And most importantly, for...for me."
"I'm afraid I cannot do that", Gaspar said with a tear of sorrow in his voice. "But I can tell you who can help you. You must find the Trainer of Time Eras. His name is Tech and he will assist you in your journey to the Zeal Kingdom. I have not seen him a long time, but I believe he lives in the parallel dimension of Techno. The land is a vast, dark place that only the bravest warriors can travel through. I must warn you before you go that there are many monsters. Please be careful." At that moment a large gate opened up and Crono, Marle and Magus walked through it. "Please, watch your backs", whispered Gaspar.
Chapter 2: The Council
Magus, Crono and Marle we now in a very bleak, and dark mountain area. There were black clouds of fifty feet or more floating in the dark sky. "Is this Techno?" spoke Marle; "I'm freezing here". Snow started falling from the sky at that moment and Crono and Magus were creating a fire to sit around. "We will finished with a nice warm fire in a few minutes." Crono answered. Magus shot fire out of his hand onto a pile of sticks set up by Crono. A fire started immediately. "We must go and find Tech tomorrow mourning at dawn," said Magus. "I have to speak with him about the stones of Zeal, maybe we will know the answers to my problems"
After the fire went out, Crono, Magus, and Marle went to sleep early so when they got up at dawn the group would be ready for monsters they would have to fight on their way to Tech.
"Is anyone up yet?" asked Marle, "I think it is dawn."
"I have been awake since four o'clock", Magus told Marle.
"As have I", Crono exclaimed as he was getting up from his rock, which he was sleeping on.
Everyone got up and eat some breakfast of really old pancakes that a chef gave to Crono long ago. After eating, Magus led the way down a trail to find Tech. Immediately after entering the brush, the group had to battle a small bunch of scaly monster that looked like it should live in the ocean.
"Let's fight it out," said Crono as he pulled out his razor sharp sword.
The creatures were very fast and moved aggressively. They all attacked together, so when one of them died they weren't as strong. Crono struck one of the monsters with his sword and it hit the ground and disappeared. Magus hit another with his scythe and it also fell to the ground and disappeared. Marle bashed the last one with her needle like crossbow. It too, crashed down and disappeared.
Magus continued on the trail and ran into a lot more of those creatures and many monsters like the ones they had just fought. After a three-mile walk down the trail, they ran into a cave. A sign outside the cave stated, "The 'Cave of Uncertain Fortune'. Enter at your own peril."
"Should we go in?" asked Marle. "It looks dangerous". No one answered her, so they all walked into the cave. Inside, it was extremely bleak, and black. The walls were covered with black looking silver. Gaspar's prognostication never told of a cave, but Magus insisted they go through. As they reached the middle of the cave, monsters started showing up again. They battled their way through all of them. Finally, after what seemed like days, the group found their way to the end of the cave. At last Crono, Magus and Marle had found their way to the Realm of Tech.
Magus entered the kingdom and noticed how intensely empty it looked, "Why is this place so...so...so quiet." Crono walked up to the main hallway and asked where they could find Tech. The people, who looked very delighted and happy, told Crono he was on a very important trip. Magus marched over and demanded they know where Tech could be found. The people still refused to tell anyone where their king was. Magus was becoming very impatient and said, "If you don't tell me where Tech is, I will destroy you all and burn down your realm."
The people still didn't speak. Crono, Marle and Magus prepared for battle. They battled all of the people until they were knocked out of their senses. Then, finally they reached a young boy, about age fifth teen, and he told them that he would explain all about Tech, if they don't hurt him. Everyone agreed.
"Tech is a master of time. He knows all about every gate ever made on the planet, and he knows all about every era of time. But, I'm afraid he is very busy right now. A council meeting is being held in a special place known as the End of Time" explained the boy. He walked over to a large table and sat down to tell the rest of what was going on. "Tech was formally invited and decided to go. Other members of the council include Gasper-the Guru of Time, Spekkio-the Master of magic, and Gemini-the Mistress of Misery, also Dexta- the Minister of Compassion, and finally Tech-the Trainer of Time Eras. They are all meeting for a discussion on the future of the land in which they live. They are calling the council, 'The Committee of Time'. When they are done, it is supposed that peace in all the land will be restored." said the young boy. Magus immediately stated, "Jasper never told of a council". "It was supposed to be a secret, but I can see you really needed such information for your travels. My name is Tabard, of the Tecians. We here all live for freedom and peace. We do not have battles or anything like that. We know much about the time, future and past. Please come talk to me if you need help on your journey", exclaimed Tabard.
Magus stood straight up and said, "We must be going now. How long is the meeting planed to last?"
Tabard replied, "About three days. If you want to get there before it ends you best hurry to the End of Time."
"Thank you for your help", said Marle and Crono together. "We appreciate it"
Everyone rushed out of the fortress and into the defiled cave. This time around the monsters did not attack. They stood and crept in the darkness waiting for someone they had not been beat by. Out the cave they went, Magus leading the way. Soon after leaving the Realm of Tech, Crono found the gate that leads to the End of Time. He stepped through it, "Come on you guys. Let's roll". Magus and Marle then followed. After a few moments traveling through time and space the trio was in the End of Time. Crono rushed over to a large table where Tech, Dexta, Gaspar, Spekkio, and Gemini were seating. Crono, noticing they were very deeply in conversation tried to politely interrupt, but it didn't work out as he had planned. "What do you want?" said Gemini very rudely. "Can't you see we are trying to get some work done here to save your freaking lives"
"Well excuse us" replied Marle angrily. "We had some business to discuss with Tech. And you, Gaspar, you told us to go and find him when he was going to be here all along?"
Gaspar looking up from his paperwork stared at everyone for a moment before finally speaking. "Yes. I am very sorry I had to do that, but it was the only way for us to have a secret meeting, when no one else is here."
"Okay, I guess we could understand", said Crono. "But why are you having this meeting? I mean, there is really nothing going on that affects the whole world. Magus might die but the world won't care"
"No, no", explained Gaspar. "If Magus dies then the entire Zeal Kingdom will be in trouble. If the prince is dead, than the queen will die also because she can't live unless one of her family members is alive. But she doesn't know that. Magus, you must tell her that when we send you there. Right now, I don't think your ready. You need some training. But it is up to Tech if he wants to send you there now or later."
Tech turned around from his chair and spoke the first words Crono, Magus, and Marle had ever heard. "Hello. My name is Tech, the Trainer of Time Eras. And Gaspar, I disagree with you. I think they are perfectly ready for anything that tries to stop this epic force of doom and destruction."
"I agree", said Gemini. "They look powerful enough to me" All the members of the council stood up and agreed. All except, Gaspar. He still thought they needed more time to train themselves and prepare for the hardest days of their lives.
"Well than", uttered Gaspar. "I guess you will be sent to the time of Zeal, even though I still disagree with all that think your ready, you will be going to the Zeal Kingdom. I wish you all the luck in the world. But before you depart, I would like to tell you the story of...the story time.
Gaspar, Belthasar, and Melchior all walked into a secret room and Gaspar told Crono, Marle and Magus to take a seat and prepare for the story. They all did.
Gaspar decided he wanted to tell the story so he stood up and talked. "Time...time is a single element in the world of beings that belongs to everyone and is around everyone. It is a part of everyone's lives and even more so with you three. Time is the thing that no ones really thinks much about. That's why it is so important. On your journey to the Zeal Kingdom you will face people of different races and colors. People that don't even no time exists, let alone use it to become powerful. Time is the tool to happiness and peace. Use it wisely."
Gaspar walked over to Crono and patted him on the shoulder. And then continued, "Time was invented for the purpose of us to know where we are and where we need to be. Your journey will require strength, and commitment. You have all of that. And you will be able to defeat the evil that lurks inside of the beings that do not understand time. Queen Zeal once used her powers for good. Then she used them for evil, with Lavos. Now she doesn't use them for good or evil, she uses them for pure revenge on her husband and the rest of the world, which I guess, is bad and evil. You cannot help nor save the world she lives in. So you must save the people that must live in her newly rebuilt Zeal Kingdom.
Melchior now stood up and decided to take over on the story. "Yes, that is all true. But there is more. You see Magus, your sister Schala tried to save you from traveling to 600 AD, where you met Ozzie and his ghouls. But she could not. So instead, she decided to make a clone of herself and send it to look for you and save you from evil that had already taken over you. The clone had no name and she sent it to the time era of 1004 AD."
Crono, who had been hearing the whole story and was very interested stood up and said, "Hey that was just one year ago".
Gaspar continued, "Yes Crono, you are correct. It was just one year that the clone was made. Schala wanted the best for you Magus; she loved you very much. The clone was piled with no clothes on in a cave very close to where you lived Crono. There, your good friend Lucca found her. Lucca took care of her and raised her how to be a good person"
Marle now stood up and conspiracized, "We never knew anything about that. Why didn't Lucca tell us?"
"Now, now" said Gaspar; "All is well with the clone. Lucca was taking care of her when a deadly monster came. The monster burned the house down and stole Schala's clone for reasons even we here cannot explain. But now the clone, who we call Kid, is living with a young boy named Serge. Serge is very much like you Crono. He is brave and smart and also very good with a sword. They have been going on a wild adventure in their time, but their fun must be stopped so we can save the world we live in as we know it. I will open up a transport to send you to the correct time zone of Serge"
At that moment a huge blue gate opened up and remained opened.
"Your first job is to find the Clone and bring it to the Zeal Kingdom. Queen Zeal is only stressed with evil because no one of her royalty is around her. Magus, you must go on the journey to find the Clone yourself. Then you may all depart to save the world from Queen Zeal's evil return. In fact, you must leave now for she has already awoken the evil monster known as Eversky. Everysky is like a floating Lavos. You see, when Lavos came to Earth he tried to kill everyone in sight. But when he saw how strong you guys are, he decided he needed some backup. So basically, he created another monster to take his place if he died. That monster is now powerful enough to awake. Unfortunately, the Queen does not know that Eversky is alive. She only thinks that Lavos is still in power. So if you guys don't hurry up, there could be major trouble." With that Gaspar sat down, sweating.
"But we can't do it without Lucca..." spoke Crono, "All is lost without her"
Belthasar stood up and finally spoke. "You may go and get Lucca from her home. That is, her new home. She now lives in Astrad in 1005 AD. Who must find her and then find the clone and rush to the Zeal Kingdom before the evil monster Eversky awakens"
Gaspar said, "I suggest you work something out so you can accomplish the tasks faster"
"No, I believe we should stick together on this one" muttered Magus in a humanly voice.
Chapter 3: Schala's Clone
By Colbison Plus
Chapter 1: Legend of Magus
"I am here", Magus said, "I have arrived my pedagogue"
"Yes my student", uttered Ozzie, "I have taught you all that you know today and I wish I could continue to teach you, but I'm afraid that all is lost. You see it has been long since that I last spoke of your father, but although he has died he still continues to haunt that which presides inside me. I can no longer teach you your spells or help you in any way. I know your father would have never wanted me to ever help you in the first place, so please just let me die in that which we call peace."
"But, I...I need your help", Magus screamed, "I cannot live without you..."
"You shall find a way Magus. I know you can do it. Defeat all that is inside of the evil Earth and you will find a way to...to...", said Ozzie as he was dying into a peaceful yet quiet place.
Magus took the sword that once belonged to Ozzie and drove it into the ground that was before him. His teacher's body was lifted into the air as if it weighed nothing and then was placed into a grave purified with Magus's soul and love. Magus said his sorrows and his sins of the world and walked into the universal gate to the End of Time.
As the master of shadow and the ruler of the Mystics passed through the time periods in which he once graced with his very own eyes in the time of Lavos, his former allies, Crono, Lucca, and Marle were living peacefully in Circa 1000 AD, Medina Village.
Crono, a tall eighteen year old man and self-proclaimed 'Hero of Time', lived peacefully in a small village called Medina in 1000 AD. Along with his friends, Lucca and Marle, Crono had defeated an evil creature known as Lavos two years earlier. Crono also received help from his friends in other time eras. Including, Robo- of 2300 AD, Frog- of 600 AD, Ayla- of 12,000,000 BC, and Magus- of 600 AD. They all helped in the defeating of Lavos, the internal Earth destroyer. But that was two entire years ago. Things have changed.
"Crono, are you awake yet?", yelled Marle angrily, "Because if your not I'm going to come up there and pound you into the dead earth your living on"
"I am up and alive", Crono answered, "Why must we get up so early? I don't understand it, I mean it's only your fathers birthday. It doesn't need to be a surprise"
"No, no, no Crono", Marle argued, "You don't get it. On my dads birthday we always have a surprise party and he always loves it"
"How is it a surprise if you do it every year", Crono said, "He surely knows what will happen"
"It just is", Marle laughed, and "He loves it, or seems to"
"Is Lucca coming to the party?", Crono asked, "I want to see what she got him. Probably a servant robot or maybe a floating chair for him to sit in"
"She told me she will definitely be there", Marle answered, "But I don't know what she got him or made him for that matter"
"That's for sure", said Crono, "She will do anything to impress someone, even if she knows them extremely well"
Crono and Marle walked all the way to the Guardia Castle and knocked on the door. After many moments of waiting, Marle tried to open the doors and go inside. But for some reason the door was completely locked and no one could get in. Finally someone opened the door, but instead of being a guard or a servant it was the King himself. Marle immediately started yelling. "What took you so long", "Crono and I were waiting out here for 10 minutes and no one answered", "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?", "Come on, I'm not going to wait any longer". But the problem was not the King. It was the person behind him.
"Who are you?", Marle screamed extremely loudly, "What are you doing in my daddies castle?"
"Ha ha ha", said the voice, "I am Eljeric, the Master of Misery. Come on in"
They entered the castle, which was very dark but still warm inside. They walked into the main hall and found that there were two neatly set tables. Crono found himself a seat and sat down in it. Marle did the same. The room was darkly covered in what looked like black gold. Above them was a beautiful golden dome covered with bright pictures of the king's honorable crescent Eagle.
"I came here from the Circa 3000 AD. The year of the Tech. You see I was sent here through a gate in which I created. I am making an invention for my entire world to see. But there is just one single thing that I am missing. That precious thing is Gold. I created a gate with my awesome power and than came through it. I ended up here in 1000 AD. I asked around where I could get some Gold. Everyone told me here in the castle, but that I am not permitted entrance. Well, looks like I will finally get my Gold. Your foolish king refuses to hand over his Gold. And because of that I am taking him hostage until I get what I want, now!", said Eljeric. "And if I do not get what I want you will never see your idiot king again."
Just than out of thin air a black gate appeared. It was large enough to fit a tall person inside it and when it opened it suddenly made the room very dark and cold. After a brief moment a person stepped out of it. That person was Magus, the shadow master. He looked just as pale and irate as ever. He stepped out of the gate and than took one look at Eljeric and then without any remorse blasted him away with a most devastating and destructive move ever to be seen by the eyes of living beings. The move was formally known as 'Dark Matter'. Eljeric was blasted out of his boots and disappeared right into the gray clouds that had abruptly appeared inside the castle. Magus, who was still standing in the same position as he was when he first came out of the gate, had now become very sensitive. He walked over to Crono, who was completely filled with shock and horror, in the middle of the hall.
"I must talk to you", Magus voiced deeply, "Is there a place where we may talk privately without any intruders or foolishness"?
"My house is empty", said Crono scarcely. "My mom is on vacation with in 600 AD."
"Well then, let us be off", Magus said. "And you, girl..."
"What do you want?", said Marle without any fear
"You may stay here with your father, while me and Crono talk", Magus answered. "
"I shall", Marle replied. "But...but that doesn't mean I trust you, I am doing it for Crono to learn from you"
Magus instantly transported themselves to Crono's somewhat joyful house. Crono went over to the table and cleared all the messy papers off onto the floor. He grabbed another chair and placed it in front of Magus. They both sat down.
"What do you need?", spoke Crono. "I know who wouldn't have called for me if you really needed my help"
"Yes, I have a story to tell you", Magus said. "About my life and about how I grew up. I will explain the whole thing to you so you can fully understand"
"I was born in the year 394 AD. I grew up without a father, for he died in a tragic accident that I cannot yet explain. My mother, Queen Zeal, was a wonderful person. She taught me how to be a prince. Yet, I was not the only child born. There was another before me. It was a girl, her name was Schala. She too loved my mom as much as I did. We grew up together hardly fighting. She showed me truth, happiness and love", Magus said with a cry of sadness in his voice. He started to lean back in his chair, but it had a broken leg and didn't allow it. Crono became very interested in Magus's tale, for he had never known what happened to Magus in his childhood. "My real name is Janus, and you will soon find out why I changed it. Schala and I always played together, we also worked together, and we did everything together until that one-day. I was only six years old when it happened. My mom was very much in love with my father. He was the greatest king in all of Zeal history. Sadly, I never met him and never saw him. When I was born he was not there to hold me and help me. He was off doing his business. But, Schala was always there for me, she never gave up hope for me whenever I failed at something", Magus continued. At this point Crono had gotten up to get a glass of water. Magus prolonged his tale so Crono could hear the entire thing because he had never told anyone of his deep story. "When I was fifth teen Schala went away to study the life of the Earthbounds. I was enraged that my mother would not let me go along. She said she wanted me here to continue the Kingdom of Zeal. So, I decided to run off and I did. I ran to where I thought the Earthbound ones lived, but no, instead I ran into the person I cared about most after Schala's death, Ozzie. Ozzie told me to come with him and he will teach me the craft of the Mystics. My mother would have never wanted me to go, so I did. I followed Ozzie to his fort in 600 AD. Ozzie was the strongest person I knew at that time. He saw hope inside of me, he saw strength and power inside of me that no one else saw, not even my own sister, Schala. Ozzie taught me the way of the Mystics and how to use magic. By the time I was twenty years old I was stronger then my own master Ozzie. Yet, he continued to teach about the things I didn't know about. Things like evil, and vengeance. As I gathered these thoughts of hatred, my mind grew larger. I became more and more powerful. Soon, no one could stop my powers. This is when Ozzie felt I needed a new name. He named me Magus. King of the Mystics. We went to the king of 600 AD and talked to him about what the Mystics wanted. The King ignored us and told us to leave this place and never come to see him again. But we didn't listen. No, we launched an attack on the humans for hating and ignoring our every move.", Magus said while filling with angry. As Magus began to get angry the room started to go black. Then clouds formed around Crono's house. Marle, who was standing outside of Guardia Castle saw the clouds and thought something terrible might have happened. She ran over to Crono's house. Magus continued on with his story. "Ozzie and I formed troops of the Mystics and rounded them up to attack the castle. But before we could do that the foolish humans had to get involved. On our way up to gather more Mystics for our battle, we ran into a couple of powerful humans who thought they could keep up with Ozzie and I. Those fools, Cyrus, and your dear friend Glenn. They stood no chance at defeating us, yet they still tried. I killed Cyrus for trying to attack me. As for Glenn, I turned him into a frog as well. We continued on our way to gather the Mystics and when we reached the top of the mountain they were there, waiting.", Magus spoke evilly. "I gathered them all up and took them to Ozzie's Fort.". Suddenly the door burst open and Marle stood at the entrance. She rushed over to Crono and said, "Are you all right?", "Why is there clouds above your house?". "That would be because I am telling my life story for the first time. Thank you for interrupting me", Magus said in a whispered voice. "Oh, sorry", Marle apologized, "Please continue on". "Anyway, I took the Mystics back to Ozzie's Fort and than we discussed our attack plan. Weeks later we attacked the stupid King Guardia. But as we were crossing the bridge, my Mystics ran into you, Crono. There my creatures were soundly defeated. I decided to create my own castle after that, so I could rule all the Mystics myself. And I did. I created my own castle. After it was finally complete, I met Slash and Flea. They had just come in to my castle from a distant land of Araidia. Creatures of beauty and delight lived there and Slash and Flea could not take it there any longer. I accepted them into my castle, where they were treated with respect for hating humans. Months later, after you had defeated me a soundly duel, I found out that my sister had died from fighting an evil that everyone had blamed me for creating, Lavos. Of coarse, it was not I who created Lavos, it was everyone that ever ignored me and hated me for something they created from me. From that point on, I considered my only purpose in life was to kill Lavos. That is when I decided to join your group. We were the best of a team, or at least, I was. I blasted the Lavos that had once killed my own sister. I defeated all the evil...", Magus said before being interrupted by Marle. "Hey, we helped you too. You would have never even came close to killing off Lavos if it wasn't for all of us". "Anyway, after Schala's death my mother went absolutely nuts. She created an evil inside of herself. The reason why, is a still mystery. No one knows why she even tried to kill anyone that didn't listen to her. I think it was because she could feel the power of the stones anymore. You see, when my father and mother were together, they had two very powerful stones that bound their love and happiness. But when my father died, my mom threw the stones into the hidden cave that lies south east of the Zeal Kingdom.", Magus continued. "So that's what was in there", Crono said amazed. "Yes", said Magus. "My mother buried them inside of there and that is why she has become so evil. Some people thought that after we beat the 'Black Omen' she had gone back to her normal self. That was not so. She is still very deeply touched. And so ends the story of life, which is so ever changing. All I can end with is that I desperately need your help to return the Zeal Kingdom to its original state. I have decided to go back to my mother. The problem is I cannot come within contact with her in less we can mange to get those stones back. If I do not get the two powerful stones back in safe hands, my future may be doomed forever.", Magus spoke with fear for the first time Crono and Marle had ever heard. At that same point, Crono's house went back to its original status.
Crono then walked over to Magus, who was sitting on the ground drawing maps of the Zeal Palace, and then said, "Magus, me and Marle have decided to help you out on this one. You helped us when we were in need and now I shall repay you to my fullest measure". The weather then went from cloudy and about to rain, to sunny and beautiful. "I thank you Crono", Magus uttered, "and Marle"
Suddenly a large blue gate opened up and Magus, Crono and Marle all were sucked into it. They were taken to what seemed to be the End of Time. But there were many people there besides Gaspar and Spekkio. There was Doan from 2300 AD. And many other people that Crono did not recognize.
"Gaspar what is going on?", asked Crono, "Why are there so many people here?"
Gaspar turned around and saw Crono for the first time in two years. He was shocked to see Magus and Marle as well. "Why, hello Crono, Magus, and Marle", spoke Gaspar in his deep yet satisfying voice. "I don't know why all these people are here. They have been popping up just like it was when Lavos was in power."
"Hello Crono and friends", said a familiar voice. It was Spekkio, who was now a large red Nu.
"Hi Spekkio, boy have you changed since we last saw you", said Marle. "Let me guess who want us to battle you again?"
"Actually, I would like your autographs", Spekkio said, "You guys are famous"
"Okay everyone", said Gaspar, "I want you all to leave if you have no purpose here". A young girl came up to Gaspar and asked him, "But what if you don't know?" "Please little girl, follow your mother to your correct time"
All the people that had been in the End of Time when Crono had walked in, all were gone. Only Magus, Crono, and Marle were left.
"Gaspar", said Magus, "We need your help. The only way for me to live any longer is if we can get back the powerful stones of the Kingdom of Zeal."
"Yes, yes of coarse", replied Gaspar, "I know what you need. You want me to open the gates somehow and then let you go back to the Zeal time and take the stones you need to live in the future"
"Right", Magus said in a deeply sad voice. "If you could for us. And most importantly, for...for me."
"I'm afraid I cannot do that", Gaspar said with a tear of sorrow in his voice. "But I can tell you who can help you. You must find the Trainer of Time Eras. His name is Tech and he will assist you in your journey to the Zeal Kingdom. I have not seen him a long time, but I believe he lives in the parallel dimension of Techno. The land is a vast, dark place that only the bravest warriors can travel through. I must warn you before you go that there are many monsters. Please be careful." At that moment a large gate opened up and Crono, Marle and Magus walked through it. "Please, watch your backs", whispered Gaspar.
Chapter 2: The Council
Magus, Crono and Marle we now in a very bleak, and dark mountain area. There were black clouds of fifty feet or more floating in the dark sky. "Is this Techno?" spoke Marle; "I'm freezing here". Snow started falling from the sky at that moment and Crono and Magus were creating a fire to sit around. "We will finished with a nice warm fire in a few minutes." Crono answered. Magus shot fire out of his hand onto a pile of sticks set up by Crono. A fire started immediately. "We must go and find Tech tomorrow mourning at dawn," said Magus. "I have to speak with him about the stones of Zeal, maybe we will know the answers to my problems"
After the fire went out, Crono, Magus, and Marle went to sleep early so when they got up at dawn the group would be ready for monsters they would have to fight on their way to Tech.
"Is anyone up yet?" asked Marle, "I think it is dawn."
"I have been awake since four o'clock", Magus told Marle.
"As have I", Crono exclaimed as he was getting up from his rock, which he was sleeping on.
Everyone got up and eat some breakfast of really old pancakes that a chef gave to Crono long ago. After eating, Magus led the way down a trail to find Tech. Immediately after entering the brush, the group had to battle a small bunch of scaly monster that looked like it should live in the ocean.
"Let's fight it out," said Crono as he pulled out his razor sharp sword.
The creatures were very fast and moved aggressively. They all attacked together, so when one of them died they weren't as strong. Crono struck one of the monsters with his sword and it hit the ground and disappeared. Magus hit another with his scythe and it also fell to the ground and disappeared. Marle bashed the last one with her needle like crossbow. It too, crashed down and disappeared.
Magus continued on the trail and ran into a lot more of those creatures and many monsters like the ones they had just fought. After a three-mile walk down the trail, they ran into a cave. A sign outside the cave stated, "The 'Cave of Uncertain Fortune'. Enter at your own peril."
"Should we go in?" asked Marle. "It looks dangerous". No one answered her, so they all walked into the cave. Inside, it was extremely bleak, and black. The walls were covered with black looking silver. Gaspar's prognostication never told of a cave, but Magus insisted they go through. As they reached the middle of the cave, monsters started showing up again. They battled their way through all of them. Finally, after what seemed like days, the group found their way to the end of the cave. At last Crono, Magus and Marle had found their way to the Realm of Tech.
Magus entered the kingdom and noticed how intensely empty it looked, "Why is this place so...so...so quiet." Crono walked up to the main hallway and asked where they could find Tech. The people, who looked very delighted and happy, told Crono he was on a very important trip. Magus marched over and demanded they know where Tech could be found. The people still refused to tell anyone where their king was. Magus was becoming very impatient and said, "If you don't tell me where Tech is, I will destroy you all and burn down your realm."
The people still didn't speak. Crono, Marle and Magus prepared for battle. They battled all of the people until they were knocked out of their senses. Then, finally they reached a young boy, about age fifth teen, and he told them that he would explain all about Tech, if they don't hurt him. Everyone agreed.
"Tech is a master of time. He knows all about every gate ever made on the planet, and he knows all about every era of time. But, I'm afraid he is very busy right now. A council meeting is being held in a special place known as the End of Time" explained the boy. He walked over to a large table and sat down to tell the rest of what was going on. "Tech was formally invited and decided to go. Other members of the council include Gasper-the Guru of Time, Spekkio-the Master of magic, and Gemini-the Mistress of Misery, also Dexta- the Minister of Compassion, and finally Tech-the Trainer of Time Eras. They are all meeting for a discussion on the future of the land in which they live. They are calling the council, 'The Committee of Time'. When they are done, it is supposed that peace in all the land will be restored." said the young boy. Magus immediately stated, "Jasper never told of a council". "It was supposed to be a secret, but I can see you really needed such information for your travels. My name is Tabard, of the Tecians. We here all live for freedom and peace. We do not have battles or anything like that. We know much about the time, future and past. Please come talk to me if you need help on your journey", exclaimed Tabard.
Magus stood straight up and said, "We must be going now. How long is the meeting planed to last?"
Tabard replied, "About three days. If you want to get there before it ends you best hurry to the End of Time."
"Thank you for your help", said Marle and Crono together. "We appreciate it"
Everyone rushed out of the fortress and into the defiled cave. This time around the monsters did not attack. They stood and crept in the darkness waiting for someone they had not been beat by. Out the cave they went, Magus leading the way. Soon after leaving the Realm of Tech, Crono found the gate that leads to the End of Time. He stepped through it, "Come on you guys. Let's roll". Magus and Marle then followed. After a few moments traveling through time and space the trio was in the End of Time. Crono rushed over to a large table where Tech, Dexta, Gaspar, Spekkio, and Gemini were seating. Crono, noticing they were very deeply in conversation tried to politely interrupt, but it didn't work out as he had planned. "What do you want?" said Gemini very rudely. "Can't you see we are trying to get some work done here to save your freaking lives"
"Well excuse us" replied Marle angrily. "We had some business to discuss with Tech. And you, Gaspar, you told us to go and find him when he was going to be here all along?"
Gaspar looking up from his paperwork stared at everyone for a moment before finally speaking. "Yes. I am very sorry I had to do that, but it was the only way for us to have a secret meeting, when no one else is here."
"Okay, I guess we could understand", said Crono. "But why are you having this meeting? I mean, there is really nothing going on that affects the whole world. Magus might die but the world won't care"
"No, no", explained Gaspar. "If Magus dies then the entire Zeal Kingdom will be in trouble. If the prince is dead, than the queen will die also because she can't live unless one of her family members is alive. But she doesn't know that. Magus, you must tell her that when we send you there. Right now, I don't think your ready. You need some training. But it is up to Tech if he wants to send you there now or later."
Tech turned around from his chair and spoke the first words Crono, Magus, and Marle had ever heard. "Hello. My name is Tech, the Trainer of Time Eras. And Gaspar, I disagree with you. I think they are perfectly ready for anything that tries to stop this epic force of doom and destruction."
"I agree", said Gemini. "They look powerful enough to me" All the members of the council stood up and agreed. All except, Gaspar. He still thought they needed more time to train themselves and prepare for the hardest days of their lives.
"Well than", uttered Gaspar. "I guess you will be sent to the time of Zeal, even though I still disagree with all that think your ready, you will be going to the Zeal Kingdom. I wish you all the luck in the world. But before you depart, I would like to tell you the story of...the story time.
Gaspar, Belthasar, and Melchior all walked into a secret room and Gaspar told Crono, Marle and Magus to take a seat and prepare for the story. They all did.
Gaspar decided he wanted to tell the story so he stood up and talked. "Time...time is a single element in the world of beings that belongs to everyone and is around everyone. It is a part of everyone's lives and even more so with you three. Time is the thing that no ones really thinks much about. That's why it is so important. On your journey to the Zeal Kingdom you will face people of different races and colors. People that don't even no time exists, let alone use it to become powerful. Time is the tool to happiness and peace. Use it wisely."
Gaspar walked over to Crono and patted him on the shoulder. And then continued, "Time was invented for the purpose of us to know where we are and where we need to be. Your journey will require strength, and commitment. You have all of that. And you will be able to defeat the evil that lurks inside of the beings that do not understand time. Queen Zeal once used her powers for good. Then she used them for evil, with Lavos. Now she doesn't use them for good or evil, she uses them for pure revenge on her husband and the rest of the world, which I guess, is bad and evil. You cannot help nor save the world she lives in. So you must save the people that must live in her newly rebuilt Zeal Kingdom.
Melchior now stood up and decided to take over on the story. "Yes, that is all true. But there is more. You see Magus, your sister Schala tried to save you from traveling to 600 AD, where you met Ozzie and his ghouls. But she could not. So instead, she decided to make a clone of herself and send it to look for you and save you from evil that had already taken over you. The clone had no name and she sent it to the time era of 1004 AD."
Crono, who had been hearing the whole story and was very interested stood up and said, "Hey that was just one year ago".
Gaspar continued, "Yes Crono, you are correct. It was just one year that the clone was made. Schala wanted the best for you Magus; she loved you very much. The clone was piled with no clothes on in a cave very close to where you lived Crono. There, your good friend Lucca found her. Lucca took care of her and raised her how to be a good person"
Marle now stood up and conspiracized, "We never knew anything about that. Why didn't Lucca tell us?"
"Now, now" said Gaspar; "All is well with the clone. Lucca was taking care of her when a deadly monster came. The monster burned the house down and stole Schala's clone for reasons even we here cannot explain. But now the clone, who we call Kid, is living with a young boy named Serge. Serge is very much like you Crono. He is brave and smart and also very good with a sword. They have been going on a wild adventure in their time, but their fun must be stopped so we can save the world we live in as we know it. I will open up a transport to send you to the correct time zone of Serge"
At that moment a huge blue gate opened up and remained opened.
"Your first job is to find the Clone and bring it to the Zeal Kingdom. Queen Zeal is only stressed with evil because no one of her royalty is around her. Magus, you must go on the journey to find the Clone yourself. Then you may all depart to save the world from Queen Zeal's evil return. In fact, you must leave now for she has already awoken the evil monster known as Eversky. Everysky is like a floating Lavos. You see, when Lavos came to Earth he tried to kill everyone in sight. But when he saw how strong you guys are, he decided he needed some backup. So basically, he created another monster to take his place if he died. That monster is now powerful enough to awake. Unfortunately, the Queen does not know that Eversky is alive. She only thinks that Lavos is still in power. So if you guys don't hurry up, there could be major trouble." With that Gaspar sat down, sweating.
"But we can't do it without Lucca..." spoke Crono, "All is lost without her"
Belthasar stood up and finally spoke. "You may go and get Lucca from her home. That is, her new home. She now lives in Astrad in 1005 AD. Who must find her and then find the clone and rush to the Zeal Kingdom before the evil monster Eversky awakens"
Gaspar said, "I suggest you work something out so you can accomplish the tasks faster"
"No, I believe we should stick together on this one" muttered Magus in a humanly voice.
Chapter 3: Schala's Clone