Someone once said that the universe holds even more mysteries than it does planets and stars. In that sense, mystery is the essence of adventure, and thus, the only thing to totally fill the void of space.
Put simply, the universe is full of mystery. Literally.
Magus could hardly believe his eyes, much less the millions of thoughts rushing through his mind. Janus, an exact physical copy of Magus, stood right before his eyes, but the number of evident differences between them was staggering. The two time travel twins just stood there for several long, breathless moments, looking at each other.
It was an experience almost beyond description.
"… Oh my gosh…" Schala exclaimed, likewise caught up in the similarities between the two. Her gaze shifted from Magus to Janus, then back to Magus, to Janus, and back to Magus again. Then her eyes went wide with surprise as a memory flashed through her mind. "… Pr-Prophet? Is that you?"
"My my," Belthazar mused with a chuckle. "How the tides of time travel have come in. It's just like I told Melanchoir; there's a world of difference between them."
" . . . Are,… are you,… me?" Janus exclaimed. "Oh my gosh, what happened to me?"
That comment seemed to snap Magus's mind back to the present moment. Doing his best to swallow his astonishment, he took a deep breath, composed himself to his regular demeanor, and faced his duplicate with as much emotional control as he could gather.
"More like 'what didn't happen to you'." Magus stated confidently. He then turned to Schala. "Schala, you look older than I remember you. It's good to see you again."
"So it is you." Schala stated with slight relief at seeing Magus again. "When you and the gurus disappeared into the Gate, I never thought I'd see you again Prophet." She paused unsurely as she and Janus exchanged a meaningful glance. "But,… what does all of this mean?"
"We've explained to lady Schala and sir Janus about the End of Time and about the destruction of Lavos." Gaspar stated. "As well as the identity of my duplicate here. We were right about to tell them where you'd gone, but before we could you returned. I take it you have the Star Crystal?"
"Star Crystal?" Janus inquired.
"Yes, it's right here, although I don't feel any different after touching it." Magus stated, pulling out the dazzling crystal. Schala gasped slightly in amazement when she saw it.
"That's the most beautiful gem I've ever seen!" She exclaimed.
"Don't you remember it?" Melanchoir asked, taking the gem from Magus. He held it for Schala to see. "Your father made this and used it to give you your incredible powers, Ms. Schala."
"… I, I don't understand…" Schala stated.
Gaspar looked over at Magus. Magus nodded.
"I think it's time to put all of our cards on the table, Ms. Schala." Melanchoir replied.
Magus told them everything. About how, in his timeline, the Mammon Machine had summoned Lavos just like queen Zeal had planned. How the three gurus had been sent flying across the timeline, shortly before Magus himself had. It hurt Magus to say to his sister, but he told her and Janus how he'd been adopted by the Mystics, raised to be their leader in their war against humanity. Although he didn't say outright to Schala that he'd killed hundreds of people in the process, because he didn't want her to think of him as a murderer, he did tell her the truth. He told her how Glenn, Crono, and the others had come to his castle, putting a halt to his plans of the eve of his summoning Lavos, and how the resulting Gate had sent him back once again to Zeal where he had taken up the guise of a prophet. He held back very little of his story, because he couldn't find it in his heart to be untruthful to Schala, the one person he held as more important even than his own life. And so, he explained the time-twisted turn of events that had made him who he was, and had left Janus unscarred by Lavos's inbred evil.
But when he was done, Schala and Janus had a tale to tell as well. It seemed that, a few years after the failed attempt to use the Mammon Machine for immortality, queen Zeal had fallen victim to a fatal disease which, at the time, there was no cure for, leaving Schala to take her place and rule over Zeal kingdom. Barely a year later, Zealean scientists uncovered a cure for the fatal virus through a fusion of advanced-level healing magic and rare herbs being grown by a Zealean woman in secret. Unable to accept that a cure had come barely a year too late, Schala and Janus searched the Zealean libraries, looking for books by Schala's father that might hint at how time travel might be accomplished using a Gate. By this time, Janus's natural powers had emerged to the surface, Solar element by nature, and soon the Zealean siblings were following in their father's footsteps, reaching for levels of power that would allow them time traveling abilities.
But it seemed that their skills were slightly underdeveloped at the time they were first put into use. The instabilities in their time travel technique sent them, not merely a few years into Zeal kingdom's past, but to the End of Time.
"They're most fortunate that the instabilities didn't tear them apart." Belthazar noted. "All and all, though, I'd say things have turned out for the best, considering that they can both link directly from here to the time that they were aiming for."
"However,…" Old Man Gaspar interjected. "That's where our other problem comes in."
Old Man Gaspar explained to Magus about the changes in the timeline, and how they must be undone immediately to prevent Zeal kingdom's influence on the future.
"Crono and his friends' actions are quite securely set into the timeline." Gaspar explained. "Because they're all time travelers, they will forever live in the timeline that they have created,… at least unless they stop back here anytime soon. But that's besides the point. Lavos is no longer a threat, but we cannot risk all the changes in history caused by the continued existence of the Zeal islands. We must return to a stable timeline,-"
"If history is to change, let it change." Magus stated, turning his back to the elderly time-master. The expression in his features gave away just a hint of uneasiness. "What would you have me to do? Destroy the islands of Zeal?"
"Listen to me, Magus." Old Man Gaspar pleaded. "I've seen, in my mind, images of what the future of this world holds if the timeline isn't set right. Death, destruction, woe, and agony will cover the earth for centuries at a time. Is that really what you want?"
"What's the difference? You may think it's possible to right every wrong and make the world a perfect place through time travel, but I don't." Magus retorted, not turning to look at Old Man Gaspar.
Suddenly, Schala stepped directly in front of him. Her eyes met Magus's with an expression of both devotion and pleading.
"Please," She pleaded. " I know it's impossible to right every wrong, but we have a chance right now to save countless millions of lives. If for no one else, please, do it for me. If even a little of Janus lives in you still, you have to believe me." She looked aside for a moment. "I cannot stand by and be idle if I know I can help save a life, not after all I've been through in my life. If it comes down to it, Janus and I will do this alone, but I want you to know that, despite what other people might say, I won't judge you based on what you've done or who you've become. The choice is yours whether you're coming with us or not."
Magus was silent for a long, long moment as Schala's caring, understanding reprimand echoed in his mind.
At last, though, he nodded in agreement.
"… Only because you asked me to." He stated, looking at Schala. He then turned to look at Janus. "But if we're going to do this, we'll need a coordinated plan of action."
"We'll need to evacuate everyone from the islands before they can be destroyed, and then give my mother this medicine so she won't die." Schala stated.
"And the people will need a good reason to evacuate, and from someone they'll trust." Janus added.
Magus was silent for a long moment, contemplating potential plans of action. Then, visible even in his eyes, an ingenious plan came to him. He smirked.
"We'll need a second outfit, identical to mine, and another cloak like this one." Magus began, pulling out his prophet's cloak. "We'll need a plain long gray cloak too." He turned to Janus. "I assume you know how to use your powers in battle?"
"Yes,.. but why?"
"I'll explain later. Schala, your job will be to warn your younger self that the island will be under attack, then work with her to warn everyone on all the islands and evacuate as many people as possible. Since we're bound to run into Dalton and queen Zeal, we need to be prepared." Magus turned to the gurus. "I assume you four can show me how to use the Star Crystal's power to upgrade to Prism element?"
"Just what did you think you were doing, assisting the gurus and that insurrectionist?" Queen Zeal demanded. Schala, under guard, stood in the middle of the ocean palace throne room while her mother chastised her to no end. Queen Zeal paced angrily from one end of the room to the other. "Do you realize exactly what you have done?? By now the whole kingdom has heard of this treachery; what will they think of me for protecting you from the consequences that the law demands? You are a princess of the greatest nation to ever exist, and yet you find it necessary to have emotional entanglements with old fools and false prophets!"
"I was doing what I thought was right!" Schala retorted sharply. There were tears in her voice. "What has happened to you, mother?! Ever since the Mammon Machine was built-"
"Silence!"
"NO! I won't be silent any longer!"
"Quiet!"
"Lavos has poisoned your soul!!!"
"What?!!"
"It's true!! All you ever think about anymore is immortality and Lavos, and now that the Mammon Machine no longer functions you're consumed by your disappointment and outrage and inability to do anything about it."
"How, how dare you!!"
"But it's true, isn't it! After father died, all you've thought about is Lavos."
"Your father didn't die; he left us."
"W-what?!"
"Yes, it's true. Your father was too old fashioned to understand the promise that Lavos held for us. So, for no other purpose than to spite me, he took all his research and time traveled off, never to be seen again."
"Then he did it for our own good, so you wouldn't use him to further your consuming addiction to Lavos's powers. He must have seen what was happening to you, how you'd changed-"
"I've heard enough from you, young lady! Guards, take her to her room and make sure it's secured. No one gets in and no one gets out."
As the Time Gate opened to reveal it's three travelers, the light from the vortex momentarily illuminated the entire cave entrance with blinding light. The three cloaked figures stepped out and the gateway closed behind them, and the arctic temperatures soon reasserted themselves as the most powerful nonliving force in the small cavern.
"Where's all the guards?" Magus wondered, once again donning his prophet's cloak.
"Gates are kinda confusing like that." Janus explained. He was now wearing an outfit identical to Magus's, cloak, cape, and all. "Like time travelers, they exist only in the present moment, but in theory also exist and function at any point in history in which they're stable. But we can only come out of a Gate at it's 'present moment'."
"I can see someone's done his research." Magus stated.
"I don't understand why I have to wear this." Schala stated, wearing the long gray cloak, hood pulled back. "How does this fit in with the plan?"
"You'll understand soon enough. For now, just focus on finding your younger self and everything should go according to plan. You've got the medicine?"
Schala pulled out a small vial of deep, sparkling blue liquid from the folds of her robe, which she was wearing underneath the gray cloak.
"Right here."
"Good. Make sure it stays safe until I say to give it to your mother. Janus, you're with me." Magus stated, the group quickly making it's way out of the cave.
"I can not believe I'm wearing this." Janus muttered.
"Get over it." Magus returned sharply without shifting his gaze.