The Fire When it Comes – Chapter 6: The Rising Storm: In which Janus seeks the truth in a dangerous place and Belthazar learns that some things are unavoidable.
A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic
By
Deborah J. Brown

Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft.

1001 A.D.:
Glenn bowed to the slender older man the Marbuleans identified as their Elder. "Sir, I must apologize for my uninvited presence on thy island."

"Humans do not ordinarily come to these lands," the Elder commented quietly, eyes on the knight considering. "And those that do are not usually so courteous. Still, I fear your courtesies prove nothing of your intent. Your people have used courtesy against us before"

"I understand, Elder," Glenn replied. "It is not my wish to cause thee trouble. If there is a way for me to leave thee in peace I wilt gladly do it." Well, I'd much prefer ye to leave me living he added to himself.

A strange expression crossed the Elder's face. "You say that as if you do understand," he said questioningly. "How can a human like you possibly understand the persecutions we demi-humans experience."

Glenn considered how to explain. "It may be that thou wilt not believe me, but – for a time – I was given a form more like thy people's than mine own. The spell was lifted from me but recently, yet during those days few humans would accept me in their company."

Frown deepening, the Elder demanded, "Who would have had such power? There is no magic great enough to permit a shapechange such as you describe. There were mages in the past, perhaps, but"

Nodding slightly, Glenn smiled ruefully. "To be honest, am not even sure what year ist this."

Surprise in eyes and voice, the Elder replied, "1001, by the way you humans reckon it."

***

1006 A.D.:
"What will he do?"

Serpent's question was a good one. Belthazar just wished he knew the answer. If only Glenn were there. Though, considering the way the two men seemed to have come to an understanding, it might be that he wouldn't have been of use. The knight had seemed so utterly incorruptible. How could he have allowed Magus – Belthazar refused to use the name the boy had chosen to go back to in his thoughts – how could he allow Magus to convince him to join him just for the sake of the lifting of his spell? Though I don't know that's the case it almost has to be. Why else would he work with someone so evil?

"I have no idea," Belthazar admitted, realizing the General was waiting, patiently, for his reply. "He's chancy. Chaotic. Do your people recall a legendary evil sorcerer who joined with the Mystics against humanity? A sorcerer who tried to summon the demon Lavos?"

Serpent frowned. "I believe there are stories of such to the North. He never bothered us, though. Magus, wasn't that the name?"

"He may be calling himself Janus, now, but that man was Magus and I'm almost certain he means no good for humanity." Belthazar shook his head, "No, I am absolutely certain of it." Not for the first or last time he cursed his foolishness regarding the boy. He should have known what Janus would turn into. A binding spell was not nearly enough to prevent something Magus from coming into his true power. If only we'd dared cast him out of time altogether.

The General paced. "We should find a way to stop him, then. Yet we have other difficulties. Porre is destined to battle us in the future. We must defend ourselves."

Belthazar shook his head. "That's another thing that puzzles me. How is it that Porre, which has never been a military power, seeks dominance?"

A sharp laugh escaped the General's lips. "Are we speaking of the same people? Porre has been expanding its borders for over three centuries now, in full defiance of destiny. Already they have chased the demi-humans out of their lands and forced them to the far south on Marbule. It is only a matter of time before they decide to expand in other directions." He smiled wryly. "Though it may be they will concentrate first on Guardia – a power in its own right since Crono and Marle took the throne last year."

Thinking of those two young people reminded Belthazar of the third in their little group. Lucca. If anyone could help him with the problem, she could. "Is there a way you could get me to Guardia without Porre knowing?"

***

Janus hovered high above the continent, eyeing the landscape with a sour expression. Yet more changes in time and space. More changes that Belthazar could have explained. He growled a curse under his breath. The old man had been his teacher once. He'd trusted the man as a child. Is it his knowledge of what I did in 600 that makes him so suspicious now? Truth to tell, he probably didn't deserve trust based on his earlier behavior, but it annoyed him not to even be given a chance.

More importantly, what was the old man talking about when he said Janus was an agent of Lavos? If there was anything in this world that was certain, it was Janus' hatred for that ancient power. No. Not just an agent. He said I was Lavos' physical representation An idea was beginning to occur to him. An idea that he did not like to think about. It answered so much though. The ease with which he moved through time His new-found power over its flow. His knowledge of a time stream that no other human had. His hunger for time. "Mother what did you do?" he wondered and knew what the answer had to be. What he had to be.

Confirmation through Belthazar was currently impossible, but he knew something else that might be able to answer his questions. Something that was almost certainly still hidden in that fog covered sea. Something called the Frozen Flame.

He looked in the direction of the ring of mountains. From his current height it was a pillow of whiteness surrounded by a circle of dark stone. Getting in would be difficult and he suspected impossible if he tried to walk in the way he and Glenn had before. No, if he was to reach the Flame he'd have to overwhelm Chronopolis' defenses. I seem to recall Lucca saying something about electrical overload once. A storm should do it. He began gathering his power.

***

1001 A.D.:
Glenn sat in the prow of the small fishing boat, small frown crossing his face. These islands, the main continent of Zenan None of these had been there in the time in which he'd grown up. Yet some conflicting memory said that they had. It was confusing, more signs of the mess all the time travel they'd committed battling Lavos had created. "Where is Guldove?" he asked the big woman piloting the boat.

"Cha don't know? Guldove is to the north of Sky Dragon Isle." Micha grinned as she spoke, her broad, friendly features full of good humor. "Cha not from around here?"

"Ye have no idea, lady," Glenn returned, smiling. "Truth to tell, neither do I." He gave a long considering look at the land they were passing. That circular island had to be where he and Magus had landed on in that other time. The one called Gaea's navel. He wondered if the dragon that had been bound there was still there. "Sky Dragon Isle. Doth a dragon live there?"

"Cha got that right. The Shamaness goes ta speak with him sometimes, ta learn his wisdom. It's too bad tha dragon race died out. They coulda made this world a better place. None of this silly relying on fate ta guide us."

"Fate?" Glenn frowned. "Guide? I thought fate was just what happened."

"Silly boy. Doncha know the pyramids are all over, guiding our lives, showing us tha direction we must go?" Micha grimaced. "I don't like it myself, but it's a bad thing ta defy fate. Seen those who do. Ain't a pretty sight."

Glenn went silent and wondered.

***

1006 A.D.:
The storm raged furiously, forcing fishing boats back to shore. Janus, busily watching for a break in the fog above Chronopolis didn't even notice one boat being forced to shelter in the entryway to the sea. Instead he aimed bolt after bolt of power downwards. He'd be exhausted by the time this was over, but determination kept him going.

Below, two men struggled to keep their craft upright. Between them lay a child, wounded by the claws of a panther and close to death. They struggled, desperately, to keep afloat, to work their way through the water filled tunnels leading into the sea. Until the storm died, they'd had to shelter here, but the flow of water was such that they were being carried through to the mountain's other side.

Suddenly their boat sped through the opening and slowed to a halt in a sea of such beauty that – for a moment – both Wazuki and Miguel were stunned. Then they spotted the building in the distance and started paddling for it. "This place is supposed to be holy. If we can't get Serge to help in Marbule then maybe we'll find help here," Wazuki gasped.

Miguel wasn't as sure. The stories suggested there was a great deal of peril in the Sea of Eden. Still, his daughter's best friend deserved a chance, damnit and he wasn't willing to desert his friend when this might be the boy's only hope. He frowned, noting something plummeting down towards that central island. It was difficult to make out, but it looked like a man. No point in worrying about it now, though. If it was, we'll find his corpse. No human could survive such a fall. I just wonder where he fell from.

***

Janus made his way through silent halls, past unmoving guard machines. Going back down into the basement, he used his own power to force the elevator into obedience. The door into the room containing the Frozen Flame was open, as if waiting for him. When the voice spoke at his entrance he knew it was.

"I will require your assistance before anything else, Janus."

Janus frowned up at the shining light at the center of the glass sphere. Climbing up, he moved so that he could look into the Flame more closely. "My assistance? What sort of assistance are we talking about?"

"Lend me your power. What needs to be done will take the both of us." A smile seemed to lurk within the Flame's brilliance. "Your humanity is needed here as a focus. Come now, you want to help your sister, don't you?"

"Schala? What? Where?"

"Assist me. You'll learn."

Hesitation only lasted a minute. If anything could help Schala he'd dance with the devil himself. "Here. Take it."

Pain hit. His very Self was being sucked out, used as a conduit between another Place and this one. Then an figure flickered into being, standing on the metal floor below. Garbed in a simple white shift, hair its natural blonde again. So very beautiful, her face was just as he remembered. "Schala?" he whimpered, and blue eyes raised in puzzlement to look at him. Then they turned away with a bemused expression and she practically drifted to a computer nearby. "SCHALA!"

"She won't answer," the Flame's voice was as strained as Janus felt. "She's only partially here. Enough to do what must be done. Not enough to really see what's around her, to see us." There was sorrow in the Flame's tone, an aching sadness that echoed Janus'. That, more than anything else, confirmed another growing suspicion.

"What is she doing?"

"Cloning herself. You'll need to take the baby when you leave. Go back a couple of years – 1004 should work – leave her with Lucca." A faint edge of humor touched the Flame's voice. "Not to mention another child, though you won't have to take him through time, just to Arne."

"Cloning? Other child?"

"Just a moment." The Flame seemed to be turning its attention elsewhere. "Bring that wounded child to me," it said, voice echoing as if it were calling someone, though Janus was at a loss to know whom.

Something was happening at the console where Schala was. Her body was fading, disappearing. "Oh Schala" Janus could have wept all the worse for the fact that it wasn't he who spoke then, but the Flame. The loss in its tone was terrible to hear.

"What are you? Who are you?" He knew he didn't need to ask, that the answer was plain to see.

A soft chuckle. "You'll have to get your answers from Belthazar – as if you really need them. You'll be seeing him when you go to see how Kid is doing in a couple of years. Lucca will help you. Though I wouldn't mention the fact you brought Kid to her until after you meet Belthazar" It paused. "Ahh, here they are."

***

Miguel stared around in awe at the room. It was huge, with metal walls and metal boxes everywhere. The dim red light of the hallway that had led to this room was brightened by another light from inside the great glass sphere that dominated it. It was that light that spoke. "Bring him to me."

Wazuki started forward, only to pause in confusion as he spotted the tall, hard faced, skinny man at the top of the ladder. The man merely moved back and gestured silently, however, and the fisherman hurriedly climbed up to stand on the ledge beside an opening into the sphere. "What what do I do?"

"Hold out his hand. Touch it to me."

Miguel felt a sudden nervousness. "Wait. Who are you? What will we owe you for this?"

"You'll owe me nothing," the light replied. "The Mistress of this place, on the other hand, will not be pleased. You may pay with your lives or your sanity. I cannot tell."

"Can't or won't?" Miguel began to demand, but Wazuki was already moving forward. "Wazuki wait!"

"No! I don't care if I die. Serge is too young to die this way!" Before Miguel could say another word the boy's father thrust the tiny, pale, hand forward into the light.

Pain. Pain slicing through his body. A great cat, crouched over him. Screaming for his father and hearing Wazuki's yells in the background as darkness enveloped him. He was in agony, curled in on himself, the poison in the feral cat's claws seeping into his blood. Then – mercifully – unconsciousness. "Daddy will save me. Daddy can do anything."

The boy opened his eyes to find his father staring down into his face. "Oh Serge" Then there was a flurry of sound and light and a roar of fury. Then a new pain, stopped only when pale hands reached down and took him in strong arms. A voice spoke, strange voice. Not a nice voice. Scary, like it held all the pain and suffering in the world and knew every dark thought in every human heart. "Take him and hurry, Janus. Him and the baby in the crèche below."

"His father The other man" That voice wasn't much better. It hurt to hear it. Hurt the more because there was something familiar to it.

"She has them now. I can't prevent that. Just get the Arbiter out of here to safety. Remember. Arne for the boy, Lucca two years ago for the girl. HURRY!"

Strong thin hands swung him up and over a dark cloaked shoulder. "I don't like children," their owner said. "Don't bother me and don't cry for your daddy." Then darkness as unconsciousness claimed him once more.

***

1001 A.D.:
Glenn knelt before the older woman, Direa, Shrine Maiden to the Dragon Gods. "I sense," she said softly, "That you have traveled a long road and that thy road ahead is longer still."

The knight nodded slowly. "Aye, tis likely true. To be honest, though, I fear my next action is uncertain. Those I companioned are lost to me, or I to them, and I know not what I should be doing."

Direa considered this. "It is said that those who art uncertain of future plans would do well to consult the Oracle of Fate," she gestured at the emerald pyramid that floated nearby. "However, if ye would accept another suggestion instead?"

Glenn bowed slightly. "Micha told me something of these Oracles and I confess I find the concept of being forced to follow some unknown power's will to be – unpleasant. Please, if there is another alternative"

"Go to Sky Dragon Isle. Seek the great one who lives there and ask his advice."

Remembering the Green Dragon's words in that long ago time, Glenn felt a prick of doubt. "Methinks that dragons have little love for humans, though. With all due respect for thy position, Shamaness, surely it is not wise to take the advice of one who holds such feelings towards our race?"

A small smile crossed Direa's face. "The Sky Dragon's greatest concern is the safety of this world," she murmured. "Ye need have no fears that he wilt steer thee in the wrong direction."

Glenn still wasn't sure, but for lack of another solution, he bowed again and agreed.

***

1008 A.D.:
Belthazar gazed around the landscape with a pleased expression. Guardia was flourishing under Crono's rule. It was obvious from the neat houses and prosperous looking people. He'd had a high opinion of that young man and he was glad to have been proved right on that boy's account. He'd have to stop in and see him and Marle before he left, but first "Excuse me, sir," he said, stopping one of the passersby. "Could you direct me to Lucca's house?"

"Hah. If you listen for the explosions you're likely to find it," the man grinned. "But – just in case she's taken a day off from inventing – go over that bridge to the island and you'll find the orphanage there."

Puzzled, Belthazar repeated, "Orphanage?"

"You didn't know? She started an orphanage a few years ago. After she found that girl, Kid." The man's grin broadened. "She's quite a woman, that Lucca. Inventions known from this continent all the way down to Zenan and capable of taking care of a bunch of homeless children at the same time."

"Well, from what I remember of Lucca, she was definitely up to the job," Belthazar noted. "Thank you for your directions, though. I'll be on my way." He continued on his way, glad to have finally made it up this way. One thing after another down in Termina – Serpent's death and a small demi-human war – had forced him to wait two years before he could get away from Zenan continent. The one thing he had, though, was time. Far too much of it, to be honest.

The house where Lucca lived wasn't huge, but it looked like it'd been added onto recently. The addition was off to one side and was, no doubt, the dormitory. He walked to the front door, only to nearly be mowed over by several small children dashing out, all naked as the day they were born. One was strangely familiar, a little blonde girl with brilliant blue eyes. Belthazar's eyes narrowed, but before he could get his memory to cooperate, a small, compact, woman was hurrying out the door. "Toan! Eike! Reiken! Kid! You come back here right now and take your baths! Honestly, running around like this in front of company!"

Belthazar smiled at Lucca. The genius of Guardia had matured somewhat in the eight years since her adventures in time, but she was still young, trim and handsome. "Hello Lucca," he said. "I don't suppose you remember me?"

"Belthazar! He said you'd be coming soon. Please, come on in, I'll have to chase those rotten children down, but let me get you something to drink first. You two can talk while I find them."

Before Belthazar could ask who "he" was, Lucca had grasped his hand and drawn him into the machine filled living room, then back into the kitchen where a thin, pale-haired figure was sitting, a cup of hot tea in front of him, his scythe leaning against the wall behind him. He wore clothing more like those of modern times, long sleeved shirt and simple pants stuffed into scuffed dark boots, but it was him. Oh my god I'm dead

Ruby eyes raised to meet the Guru's and Magus smiled dryly. "Welcome, old man. I've been waiting for you to show up."

To Be Continued

Author's Notes: I think by now it's obvious where I'm going with Janus. Half the fun will be the path getting him there and the other half figuring out how to connect everything with Chrono Cross. Methinks, as well, that Belthazar may be regretting his big mouth right now.

Oh, and I probably play entirely too many video games. Who recognizes what names among Kid's 'brothers' and 'sisters'?

-- Kosagi