Chapter 2
While they were in shock, Janice released a strong howl of fury and raced toward Ercassam, with a scythe in her hands, as her hair changed from sapphire blue to a golden hue and her eyes shifted from light magenta to bright aquamarine. Ercassam saw her coming and dodged her, and planted a punch in her stomach, to which Janice gasped, before snarling and aiming a kick at his head. However, her kick was blocked and she was hurled away, straight against a wall.
Magus was the first to recover from his shock and when he saw Janice up against a wall with golden hair and aquamarine eyes, he thought he was gong crazy, but he knew he wasn't, somehow. Janice released another howl of fury and was suddenly surrounded by a giant golden flame that destroyed the wall she was thrown at. She suddenly fazed out and appeared in front of Ercassam, and elbowed him in his stomach, which nearly made him double over in pain. However, Ercassam managed to kick Janice against her chin and sent her into the air.
Janice growled, flipped over and hung there, before placing her hands on either sides of her hips and making two giant red bolls of energy.
She finally brought her hands together and screamed: "FIRE OF THE UNIVERSE!!!!"
A giant red beam shot from the boll she had formed in her hands, and raced toward Ercassam who simply unfolded two spiked wings, and jumped into the air, his wings moving so fast, you couldn't even tell they were there. The impact of the blast created a giant earthquake, and nearly everyone tumbled over, save for Magus, who used his Mana to float above the ground.
After the dust had cleared, Janice looked around, and noticed Ercassam was gone. Frustrated, she released a giant howl of fury that sounded like that of a wolf, a bear, and a wild-cat combined, before calming down, letting her hair and eyes return to normal, before touching down on the ground. She softly rubbed her temples and cursed in several languages no one knew existed, however, there was one language that Magus recognized, which was also the one she used most.
The Zealean tongue.
"This is just fucking terrific! Just great!" she mumbled and something whooshed around behind her, which made Marle squeal.
Janice quirked a curious eyebrow at her, but then looked back and chuckled.
"Not to worry, it's just my tail!" Janice said, as if it was the plainest thing in the world.
Magus noticed that it was a tail indeed, and it was the same color as her hair.
"A-a-a-a tail?!?!" Lucca squealed. "How'd you get that?!"
"From my dad! He had one, so I have one. However, my stepbrother doesn't have a tail, because it had been removed operationally. Bugger! That makes it a lot harder to find the guy!" Janice mumbled, crossing her arms and leaning against a wall in a classic Magus pose.
Ayla blinked, twice, before asking: "Why Janice act like Magus? Ayla no get."
Janice looked confused and asked: "Magus?? Who's he?"
Everyone pointed at the blue haired mage, who gave a groan of embarrassment.
Janice cocked her head to the side and gave Magus a good once over, before asking: "And 'Magus' is your real name?"
Glenn snorted and said: "Well, his real name is Janus Zeal but he refuses to--UMPH!!"
Marle had covered Glenn's mouth hurriedly before he'd give any more information away.
Janice simply looked the mage straight in the eye for awhile, until Magus looked away from the girl's intense stare.
"So, 'Magus', you don't happen to have a small patch of fur on the small of your back, do you?" she asked sarcastically, and a devilish smirk spread over her face.
Magus didn't know how to respond, for actually… he did, have a patch of fur there, but never thought anything of it. However, now that everything was explained, it all made sense.
Suddenly, Ayla looked thoughtful for a few seconds and cocked her head to different sides for awhile, before saying to Kino: "This be Ayla, or Janice be familiar?"
Kino also cocked his head a few times, before nodding and saying: "Not be Ayla, Kino think Janice be familiar also."
Janice sighed and said: "Well, usually I wear my hair different, something like this."
She began to maneuver her hair to form a pony-tail atop her head, making her look a little like Schala, hadn't it been her eyes.
This resulted into a jawdrop from Kino and Ayla.
"And I was usually known as 'Laze'," Janice added with an evil smirk as she let her hair fall onto her back again.
Ayla released a howl and ran over to Janice, before hugging the blue haired mage.
"Ayla no see you for a long, long time!" she said, nearly squeezing the life out of Janice.
"Okay, you can put me down now Ayla," Janice said, and Ayla did so.
Remarkably, all Janice did was rub her sore chest for awhile.
Janice cracked her fingers and said: "Well, might as well get that friend of yours back. There's no telling what might happen to him." She looked up. "But my Father set the Gates for four persons at a time, and we need a team leader to face the guy."
Marle looked confused and asked: "You mean you won't do it?"
Janice laughed much like Magus would laugh and said: "You can't expect me to lead anything, believe me! Ruling a Kingdom is one thing, but in battle," she thumbed herself, "I take orders, I don't give them!"
Marle nodded, and looked around the crowd, before asking: "Alright, who's coming aboard on this trip anyway?"
Lucca seemed to think about it, and stepped forward.
"I'll go! I could be of use with machinery we might encounter."
Janice nodded.
"Excellent! Who else?"
Finally, Glenn stepped forward.
"Though we may fail, I will do all I can to aid this world."
Marle smiled warmly.
Ayla growled and said threateningly: "Ayla no scared of nothing! Ayla help before! Ayla help now!"
Robo glanced around, before nodding and saying: "I shall go too. Maybe we can give this planet a chance."
Janice smirked, before it faded and she looked hopefully at Magus.
"What?!" he hissed.
"………Aren't you coming too?" Janice asked, a little confused.
"Give me a reason why I should!" he hissed at her, making her gasp.
She composed herself and said: "You're obviously Father's child. Not that I'm not like that myself at some times, but really!"
Magus didn't even know his Father and he was already being compared with, man, talk about ironic!
"Anyway, Magus, if you don't go after him, he'll come after you for sure!" Janice said, a look of worry written on her face. "And since he has Schala, he should have no problem in making you join him, believe me!"
Everyone but Magus gasped, and he considered this. He knew himself well enough to know he'd do anything to get his sister back, even if it cost him his life. He gave a sigh.
"Fine, whatever."
"Enthusiastic aren't we?" Janice said sarcastically.
Ayla turned to Kino and said: "Kino go back to Ioka to lead village! If Ayla no return, Kino be chief!"
Kino nodded, and Lucca opened a Gate, through which Kino stepped. Janice turned to Atropos, and thought for a second.
"If you're from the future, I think it'd be wise if you stay here, because if we can't change the future, you might die. Get it?"
Atropos nodded.
After the robot left to the castle, Janice looked around the entire gang, and asked: "Who's in charge?"
Right then, all hell broke loose.
"Ayla should be leader! Ayla be chief of Ioka Village!"
"So what?! I am Princess of Guardia! So I should lead!"
"Who cares about that?! I'm the one with the brains here!! So I can lead just as well!!"
"Big deal!? I led an entire army!! So that makes me the better leader!!"
The only ones who weren't involved in this, were Janice and Magus, who had their ears covered with their hands.
The two exchanged glances, nodded, and screamed on top of their lungs: "SHUT UP!!!! ALL OF YOU!!!!"
The gang shut up at once, shocked by the sudden outburst of the two mages. The two were looking pretty pissed off, and the gang simultaneously gulped. Janice growled once more, before she returned her face to normal and turned to Magus.
"Nice yell there," she said.
"You're not that bad yourself," Magus muttered.
Janice's eyes narrowed a little, as if she was trying to figure something out.
Suddenly, she smiled a knowing smile and turned to the rest of the group.
"I don't know about you, but I have a feeling that the best of leaders among us," she said, gesturing to Magus with her thumb, "would be Magus over here."
"WHAT?!?!" nearly everyone, including Magus, shouted.
"I think you lost it girl!" Glenn said.
"Magus could never lead us!" Marle said, heavily shaking her head.
Janice got a small object from her cloak, and showed it to them. It was some sort of necklace, embossed with the insignia of Zeal, and it hung from a golden chain. The pendant was pure silver, oval-shaped, and the back was a half-sphere. The insignia was made with small pieces of color-changing rock, and it went from black to blue, lavender, red, orange, yellow, gray, green, gold, silver, and back to black. Dreamstone spikes circled the edges of the pendant.
"A friend of mine gave me this a few years back, when I had accidentally landed in her 'home'. She told me this symbolizes power and leadership. But she also told me, that the necklace picks the leader, not the other way around," she said, and casually flipped it into the air with a flick of her wrist.
Surprisingly, the necklace was tossed a good distance into the air. They all looked up in amazement. Within seconds, they lost sight of it. Marle blinked, and looked at Janice, who just waited patiently, like she had all the time in the world.
"How can you throw that high?" Lucca asked.
"I'll explain later," Janice mumbled, her eyes looking up, and her head lightly tilted back.
10 seconds later, a bright flash appeared in the sky, and everyone screamed, covering their faces the best way they could. When they looked up again, they gasped.
The End of Time…
Gaspar suddenly saw one of the Gates flicker, and wondered what was going on. Spekkio also came out, wondering what was happening, when the fence was blown of its hinges. A dark figure loomed over them, and advanced on them. The streetlight in the middle of the room illuminated the creatures face good enough for Spekkio and Gaspar to make out who it was, and they were scared shitless.
The creature had fierce blood red hair that reached his waist, which was spiked and untamed, indicating that his type of Magic was Lightning. His eyes were glaring daggers, and glowed a fierce dark red. Scars marred his face on his left cheek, making a cross. Spiked armor protected his well-built body, which was much better built than normally. His nose simply existed out of two slits in his usually handsome face, which had now been changed into that of a monster. As his mouth opened, they noticed the razor sharp teeth there. A snakes-tongue darted out and back in.
The two gulped as the creature advanced. A second figure appeared at the fence, and the creature looked back.
"I want them both, alive, if you don't mind," the figure said, its arms crossed defiantly over his chest.
The creature growled.
"You'll have your fun later, just catch them and bring them back to the ship."
The creature nodded.
"Oh, and while you're at it," the figure added.
The creature looked over. Gaspar had the strange feeling he'd seen the figure before.
"Get rid of this dump!"
Back at the square…
A woman around twenty stood there, arms crossed over her chest like Pharaohs do, hands on her shoulders and head hung low. She levitated a few feet above the ground, and from her shoulder blades sprouted two black leather Dragon wings. She was dressed in dark red clothes that hugged her curves extremely well. Her hair was long and a bright golden hue, which disabled them to see her face, for it hung in front of it. Her hands moved to her scalp, and with a small movement, her hair was flipped onto her back. Her face looked nice enough. She opened her eyes, to look over the small crowd with sapphire blue eyes.
Magus gasped, and that was it, the others were too scared to even move.
However, Janice just smiled and said: "Hi Miden!"
The woman curiously looked over to the source of the voice, and when her eyes found Janice, she smiled.
"Janice!" she said with a soft voice, her smile not wavering. "How nice to see you again! I take it things aren't going too well?"
Janice's smile faltered, and she shook her head.
"Not at all Miden, my Father caught some boy named Crono, and he has Princess Schala, and we really don't know who's supposed to lead us!" she said.
Miden's smile also faltered, and she looked concerned for awhile, until she smiled again.
"Oh, I see, a leader during times like these is very important. Unless you have a death wish of course. Haelles is not someone to toy with."
"Who??" nearly everyone asked.
Miden sighed, but didn't answer, she just began to chant, the necklace Janice had tossed in the sky earlier hanging in front of her. That's when they all felt it.
***Ayla's POV***
Ayla feel woman in head. Woman look into thoughts of Ayla! Why do? Ayla no get! Ayla see past fly by before eyes. Watching Fireball go down with Daddy, meeting Kino next day, telling Daddy about Reptites, Daddy wanting leave, but Mommy no let. Daddy telling Mommy rule of life.
"If nature want Geteva dead, Geteva accept, it be nature law. Win and live, lose and die. No changing nature laws," Daddy said.
Daddy said he win, but he no win. He lose, so he die. Mommy die by broken heart. Ayla live with Kino for half of summer. Ayla then be chief! Ayla meet Janice 5 summers after. 8 summers later, Ayla find strange man with scar, he call himself Gearon.
We have party, Janice come, we have bigger party, lot of soup! Janice eat lot of soup. Janice wake up Ayla next day, telling stuff be stolen. We go to Snakebeast Lair, to get Gearon stuff back. Gearon leave with friends, and Janice go too!
Ayla then see stuff happen all go through!
***Robo's POV***
The woman invaded my artificial memories, how she succeeded I'll never know. I remember being put together, by a woman with blond hair with blue strakes, and different colored eyes, and a man with auburn colored hair and emerald green eyes. They were almost finished, when the clock struck twelve and something came. They ran outside, the man promising the woman that they'd fix me as soon as they got back. I silently shut myself down, waiting for them to return. They never did.
The next thing I remember is being turned on by Lucca, fully operational. They tell me about Lavos, and I then realized what must've happened. We went to the factory to turn the power on. The security system went haywire, and we just managed to escape, only to find my friends. They beat me up. Crono and Marle wrecked them all, and somehow got me back to Proto Dome, where I was once again fixed by Lucca.
I went with them, and we got to the End Of Time, where I staid for awhile until I was needed. It shifted to the battle with Masa and Mune, getting the Masamune, well… part of it. Our 'meeting', with Tata, Frog, and getting the other half of the Masamune.
***Lucca's POV***
Invading my memories, how dare she?!?! I remember my mother's accident, yet also that she made it through. I remember meeting Crono, and then, making the Telepod. Meeting Marle, discovering the Gates, creating the Gate Key. I smiled at Crono's expression when I said that Marle was Princess Nadia. Priceless I tell ya!
I see it all happening, meeting Frog, saving the Queen, the escape from the dungeons at Guardia Castle. The ruins of the future, discovering Lavos, finding Robo.
The fight with Heckran, getting the Dreamstone from Ayla, the fight with Magus. Man, it sure was a shock for us when we found out Magus didn't create Lavos.
***Marle's POV***
Why is this woman invading my thoughts? Is she searching for something? I allowed her though, if she wanted to know my past, fine. I see everything flashing by, my mother dying, meeting Crono, my first experience with the Gates, pretending to be Queen Leene, nearly dying myself. Whoa! Weird experience there!
The trial, the escape to the future, meeting Robo, his 'friends', me having a temper-tantrum, and everything else, that happened before the battle with Magus.
***Glenn's POV***
I wonder what she would want to do with my memories, but I allowed her. I remember Cyrus, and how he got the Hero's Medal and Masamune. How Magus killed him, how I was changed into a frog. How I went to the Cathedral to find the Queen, and met Crono and Lucca. The battle with Yakra, how Crono, Lucca and Marle came to my house to give me the Masamune.
The battle against Magus, until the battle with Lavos.
***Magus' POV***
I could care less if the woman wants to check my memories, I don't care about them anyhow. However, she also revealed something I couldn't remember due to my young age. It was that strange man I've seen when that Gate sent me away to the Middle Ages. He looked down at me with a smirk on his features, and his hand reached out to me. I didn't understand, but he brushed some locks out of my eyes, and stared straight into them. Back then, they'd still been sapphire blue.
He smirked.
"Eyes like the first Queen of Zeal," he muttered. "Too bad I had to kill her though."
I felt the Black Wind, and it scared me shitless, and I cried. The man simply huffed, and was gone, right before Schala walked into the room.
The rest, was history.
***My POV***
Miden finally stopped her chanting after reading everyone's mind, knowing enough. She blew some loose strands of hair from her face, and looked around the group. Janice looked at Miden in expectation. Miden sighed softly.
"I think, that the best of leaders among you, would be the ones with Saiyan blood running through their veins," Miden said.
"Saiyeen??? What are those?" Marle asked.
"Never heard of something like that," Janice said, lightly shaking her head.
Miden chuckled.
"It's not Saiyeen, it's Saiyan. And they're an alien race, they're not supposed to be known. But anyway, let's get on with it!"
She was suddenly engulfed by a sudden bright light, and everyone covered their eyes, especially Janice and Magus. When the light faded, Janice looked around the crowd who were looking dazed. Miden was gone, and the pendant now shone brightly on the neck of the one meant to lead them.
"Told ya you were the best leader!" she said teasingly to Magus, who was fidgeting with the pendant hanging around his neck.
Marle, Ayla, Lucca, Robo and Glenn were more than a little awestruck.
Magus sighed and said: "Well, might as well go to the End of Time to drop three of you guys off."
Janice gave a nod, and looked at the gang.
"Let's move! There's no telling what might happen to your friend!"
This seemed to bring everyone from their trance, for they all nodded and moved over to where the Gate used to be. Janice aimed an open palm at the spot where the Gate had been, and sent a bright colored beam of light at it, making it open in an instant. They easily stepped in, and arrived at…
To Be Continued…