Henchmen
"Flea."
The
Mystic's eyes slightly opened, only to be closed again of her tiredness.
"Fleeaaa...."
Flea
turned around.
"Flea!"
Flea
immediately tried to sit, but was disturbed by her sleeping bag.
"Ough..."
She quickly got out of the sleeping bag, with a slight help from her magic. She
looked up to see Janus's grinning face. She moaned and rolled her eyes.
"You
just had to do that, didn't you" She said angrily. Janus nodded, and his
grin widened.
"If
I knew it was you, I wouldn't have bothered to wake up for you, you little
brat."
Janus
didn't seem offended by the statement, he just chuckled. Flea rolled her eyes
again. Janus rarely took anything seriously.
"Slash
told me to wake you up." Janus chuckled even more. "He's acting all
high n' mighty, but methinks he is as anxious as you, if not more."
"And
you Janus? Aren't YOU anxious? It is our first mission after all."
Janus
shrugged.
"I
guess... But it's nothing serious, nothing to worry about... Just delivering a
message to some Naga-ettes. Nothing to freak about. Unless..." He looked
at Flea with a sheepish grin. "You're afraid of some badevil
soldiers..."
Flea
didn't respond, there was no use to. Even at his relatively young age, Janus
was one arrogant brat...
Janus
exited the tent, soon followed by Flea. Slash, the older of the three was
waiting outside, his arms crossed.
What a pitiful little
bunch we are...
Flea thought, looking at the two... "Men".
Flash
was the oldest of the trio. He was about 23 years old in human counting, and 50
years old in Mystic counting. He was a skilled swordsman, which made him an
object for the female Mystics' affection, even though he was horribly ugly,
with a scaly blue skin and face that looked like something from hell, at least
at Flea's opinion.
There
was her, Flea, the second oldest in the bunch. In human counting she was 19
years old, and she have lost track of her age in the complex Mystic counting.
She was a magician, and a pretty good one either. Lord Ozzie always sensed a
great potential in her, she thought proudly.
And I am very pretty as
well...
She added. Even in human scales (Which were yucky) She was considered
beautiful, with a big pretty eyes, a pinkish skin and a long red hair, tied in
a bread.
And
there was Janus. He was the youngest of the group, only 16 years old. He was
Ozzie's favorite. Only Ozzie believed his unrealistic stories about the kingdom
of Zeal (A very famous faery tale, some crazy people believed it was true) and
this beast, Lavos. Flea never understood why Ozzie liked him so much. He was Human after all... And humans were the
mystics' enemies. But Flea had to admit: He was handsome indeed... He had a
shoulder length blue hair, and pointy ears, much like herself. He wasn't tall,
and not very muscular, but he wasn't fat or scrawny either. But Flea could
never understand why he had to come with them... His magic was pretty weak.
"Flea!
Are you ready?" Slash's voice has waked her from her daydreaming.
"Yeah,
yeah... I was just... Away, I guess" She muttered. Janus grinned.
"She
was dreaming about someone, no doubt" Janus's grin grew wider. "Who's
the unlucky victim this time Flea?"
"Shut
up you twerp!" Flea hissed.
Slash
scowled. "Can we get back to the subject please?" He said sternly.
Flea
rolled her eyes.
"Well,
now that we are all here," Slash
glared at Flea and continued. "I will explain our mission. Ozzie gave us a
letter to deliver to the Naga-ettes that resides in a cathedral, not far from
Guardia castle. This mission will be easy if we manage to sneak away from the
nuns, understood?"
Janus
raised his hand instantly as if he was in school.
"Well,
sir Slash, how can a bunch of nuns hurt us?" he said in an almost mocking
tune. Slash frowned.
"They
can call the knights, who will slay us with ease. Understood?"
Janus
nodded, and grinned sheepishly. Flea sneered.
"That's
Janus's special way of saying 'yes'."
Janus
started to laugh, and Slash rolled his eyes. Janus never seemed to take
anything seriously. But Flea knew that this was all just a charade. Janus used
his so-called humor to hide his real feeling... And maybe it was a good thing?
A not so serious, annoying boy was probably better than a dark, suicidal man
who only thinks of revenge.
Flea
shook her head. She was daydreaming, and that was not good, especially in a
mission.
"Are
we all ready?" Slash asked, but there was no real need to. Janus was
already wearing his light leather armor, holding his favorite weapon, the
crossbow. Slash already told him hundredths of times to get a new weapon, one
with a blade, but Janus refused to listen. In Slash's opinion, only cowards use
crossbows.
Flea
was also wearing a leather armor, accompanied with her favorite cape. She had
no use of weapons, since her magic was strong enough. And Slash-- Well, Slash
was always ready for a fight.
The
trio took their things, and headed away from the camp. At some point Flea
turned around and hurled a fire spell at it. No need to carry extra weight.
The
trio traveled down the road to Guardia forest, avoiding any travelers. Slash
was at the lead, a frown on his face and his hand on his sword in case of an
attack, something that is not likely to happen. Flea and Janus were trailing
after him, trying to keep up the pace. Janus was humming a tune that she
couldn't recognize.
After
few hours of walking, they reached Guardia forest. A relatively small forest,
lurking with Mystics and young knights. Suddenly Slash stopped at his tracks,
Janus, who was daydreaming walked straight into him.
"Ouch!
What was that for?" Janus moaned. Slash ignored him.
"We
are about to enter Guardia forest."
Flea
crossed her hands.
What a jerk!
"We
knew that Slash. Why did you have to stop?" She asked.
"As
you two know, some dangerous knights are lurking in the forest. We should trek
as silently as possible, and if we hear even the slightest of noises... We
hide. Understood?"
"Yes,
oh mighty leader" Janus said mockingly.
Flea
rolled her eyes yet again. Her eyes would fall from their slits eventually if
she'll continue doing that, she thought. Slash ignored them, as he always does.
After
a while of constant walking, Janus picked up a noise.
"Hey,
listen" He whispered, his eyes widening. "It sounds like... Like a
human!"
Flea
started looking around for a cover, and Slash beat his lip. He couldn't let
their mission go down like that!
"There,"
He pointed shakingly at a nearby bush. The trio quickly dove into that bush and
froze. Just like Janus said, a human came from the path. He looked around him,
but didn't find the trio. His small mean human eyes narrowed.
"Weird...
I was sure I heard something..." He shrugged. Than another human voice was
heard.
"GLENN!"
The
visible green haired human turned around at once.
"I'm
coming Cyrus, i just thought i heard something" He ran back and
disappeared into the forest. Now the trio could sigh with relief and leave their
hide.
"Fshew"
Flea sighed, "This was close..."
The
rest of their journey went smoothly, just until they reached the cathedral.
Both
Janus and Slash were staring into the cleared road in front of the cathedral, a
shortcut that didn't go through to woods. Flea was holding her head with her
hands.
"You're
telling me we could go in the short, easy way all this time?" She moaned.
"Yup."
Janus sighed.
"Well,
we have to learn through our mistakes," Slash said. "There's no time
for that however, we must sneak into the cathedral's back rooms now."
"And
how are we supposed to do that?" Janus asked.
Flea
smirked at Janus, who backed away one step.
"I
don't like that smile..." He mumbled. Flea paid no attention.
"You
will distract the nuns." Janus gulped.
"B...but
how...?" He already regretted for asking.
"Think Janus, use your not-so-bright
human brain... You are a young attractive human male, my dear..."
Janus
was now pale as snow, his eyes opened wide.
"B...but...
I... They are nuns! They don't care about such a things... And maybe they
do...And that's...Worst!"
Flea
chuckled at the sight of the petrified Janus trying to make excuses.
"Shut
up Janus, and go talk to them! We'll sneak at the back door and deliver the
message."
"B...but..."
"I
want to hear no 'buts'!"
Janus
moaned, knowing he has no chance against her, and walked to the cathedral's
semi opened door. He sent one last pleading look at Flea, but she just shook
her hand, and Janus entered.
The
inside of the cathedral was just like Janus imagined it-a domed roof, large
paintings on the walls, an organ, a shrine, and chanting nuns, who didn't seem
to notice him.
"Umm,
excuse me?"
The
nuns were all staring at him now.
"I'm,
umm, Janus and I'd like to know... umm, where is the bathroom?" He smiled
anxiously. The nuns just narrowed their eyes, and Janus bit his lip.
Oh great! I'm now in a
room full with humans, and hostile if it's not enough!
Then
one of the older nuns smiled, to his relief.
"The
bathroom? Outside, in a separate cabin." She said, and the nuns continued
chanting. Janus could see Slash and Flea hiding at the corner of the room,
waiting for him to distract the nurses.
I can't fail them...
Ozzie will be mad...
Janus
coughed again, and the nuns were all looking at his direction yet again.
"Err,
are you always chanting like this? I mean, don't you get a sore throat like
that?" The nuns just stared at him. Janus was more anxious than ever.
Oh great! No they'll
call the knights and I'm as good as dead!
Then,
one nun began to chuckle, and soon erupted into a laughter, followed by the
rest of the nuns. Slash and Flea sneaked without making a sound, and
disappeared behind one of the columns.
"I
wasn't kidding..." Janus muttered.
"Oh,
young man, it has been a while since we heard a joke in here... Come! Sit! Pray
with us!"
Janus
wiped some sweat off his forehead. The nuns wanted him to pray, but he didn't
know how. The Mystics had no religion that he knew of, and so did the Zealians.
Now Janus was really anxious to get away from the cathedral and the nuns, but
he had to wait for Flea and Slash to deliver the message, and then distract the
crazy nuns again.
Meanwhile,
Flea and Slash were wandering around the corridors at the basement of the
cathedral., flipping switches as they went by them.
"Hmpf,
i never knew the cathedral was so big..." Slash muttered.
"Where
are those damn Nagas anyway??" Flea complained. Suddenly she heard
something, and quickly spun around to meet a creature that was half a woman,
half a snake. The creature chuckled.
"Well
well! What brings you here, fellow Mystics?" it hissed, chuckling again.
Flea took out the letter and handed it to the Naga solemnly.
"We
deliver this message from the great Ozzie." She said.
"Ozzie?
How nice! Just let me open it..." The Naga fiddled with the letter with
her clawed hands, trying to open it. After two miserable tries she succeeded.
"Ah!
Here it is..." Suddenly the Naga shrieked, forcing Flea and Slash to cover
their ears. Soon, a whole herd of Nagas came bouncing through the corridors,
and assembled around the main Naga, pleading she would read the letter to them.
The
main Naga raised her hand. "SILENCE!" Soon the Nagas were as quiet as
a grave.
"Good.
Now let's see...
Dear
Nagas. I'm holding a party at my castle on Friday. Wanna come?" The main
Naga read, and the rest of the Nagas burst out laughing.
"A
party??" The main Naga said with tears in her eyes, caused by the
laughing. "Tell Ozzie that (haha) we can't come. HAHAHA! That
pervert!" In any other case Slash would aim his sword at the Naga, demanding
an apology, but now he was just staring at the Nagas, dumbfounded. THAT was
their mission?! To deliver a pointless message to those crazy Nagas?!
Wait.
An
idea suddenly popped into his head.
What if Ozzie was
testing us...?
...Nahhh, he's to
stupid. I have no idea how he got to the throne of the mystics anyway... That
lazy bum. All he does is eat, sleep, and flee from battles. The coward. I
should take his place and...
"Hey!"
The now angry Naga called, waking him from his daydreaming.
"Take
this letter to your dear Ozzie." She handed him a letter. Slash scowled
and nodded.
"C'mon
Flea, let's take Janus and get away." He mumbled. Flea nodded, and they
were on their way.
Janus,
who was sitting on one of the benches, saw Flea and Slash hiding behind the column,
a grim expression on their faces.
Uh-oh, something must
have went wrong... Janus
though. Now he had to distract the nuns again so his two comrades could sneak
past them.
"Hey."
He said. The nuns faced him yet again, but there were no hostile glares anymore.
"Err,
have you heard the joke about the nuns who played golf?" He smiled. Some
of the nuns raised their eyebrows; the others just smiled waited for him to
tell.
"Well,
two nuns were playing golf, and one of them missed and then she said, damn! I missed,
and then the other one said, if you curse god will punish you. Then that nun
missed again and said, damn, I missed! And then a lightning hit the second nun,
and then god said, damn, I missed!" Janus looked at the nuns with a forces
smile and a hopeful expression, but they didn't laugh. They didn't even
chuckle, smile... Janus's smile melted.
"Hey,
girls... Take it easy... 'Twas a joke, you know..."
The
nuns were still glaring at him. At the corner of his eye Janus saw Slash and
Flea sneaking across the room. He hoped the nuns were too centered on him to
notice, but unfortunately, one nun saw the two.
"MYSTICS!!!"
she screeched. Before Janus could do anything, three nuns grabbed him from
behind, the rest running around the room screaming, or hiding behind the
shrine.
"Look
at his ears!" One of the nuns that grabbed him removed some hair that
covered his ears. "Their like the Mystics'!"
Janus
was now as pale as snow. The nuns will call the knights and...
"There's
no reason to fear, ladies." Flea's voice echoed across the room. Janus
looked at her pleadingly, and she just grinned at him.
"We
are not really Mystics, we're just...
Actors." And with these words Flea wiped her cheek, casting a small
illusion that made her look like she was wiping pink make up. She casted a
bigger illusion, making Slash look like he was putting off a mask of his own
face. The nuns relaxed a little as Janus seemed to be removing the colored wax
from the top of his ears.
"Well,
actors," The main nun said. "I am sorry for doubting your identity.
This will not happen again."
The
three nuns that held Janus let him go, and he rubbed his arms.
"Whoa,
you're stronger than you look." He commented before Flea grabbed his arm
and stormed out of the cathedral.
Some points:
Yeah,
I know Magus is using a scythe. But in my fic he used a crossbow before that,
so, blah.
And
yes, I know everyone was out of character, but it's 12-14 more or less years
before the game, they can change in such a time period.
And
in many fics I saw that Flea and Slash were Janus's teachers. Well, in my fic
they're trainees like him, so deal with it.
And
i know the characters overplayed a little... As I said, it has been a while
since I wrote a fic.
If
I'll get some good reviews I'll do a sequel or something, (Oh, the horror!) But
I probably won't. (Sigh...)
