"So there you are."
Crono just about jumped out of his skin. MAGUS! he thought, his face breaking into a smile before
he was even able to stand up and turn around and say:
"MAGUS! You're okay! I was so worried!" Before he knew it, the boy had latched onto the dark
magician and was holding him in a vice like hug. He was just too happy to see him to care about
the response he might get, so he didn't even notice the arm that briefly encircled him, and
squeezed him tight.
"Bah, enough of this," Magus said, prying Crono off of him. "You hugged me as if you've forgotten
who I am. Did you hit your head or something?," he then asked, a smirk on his face that was a bit
more jovial than usual. THIS Crono picked up on.
Is he...happy to see me?
"N-no, I'm fine," the boy stammered."I was just..."
"Worried," the dark magician finished for him. "Yes, you said that already. When will you learn
not to worry about me? It's a waste of energy." And with that, Magus broke out into a full
fledged, no malice, genuine, happy SMILE. Crono could hardly believe it.
"Are you...okay?" he asked, and was answered with a look of confusion.
"I'm fine," Magus answered, and didn't seem to see it fit to add anything else.
Hmm...Crono thought. He seems...different. It's a GOOD different but...gah! Why am I
overanalyzing! I should be happy that he's happy!
With that, Crono decided to let the topic of Magus's uncharacteristic cheeriness go, and move on
to more important things.
"Well, anyway, do you know how we got here? The last thing I remember is being hit in the head
with something..."
Magus's face suddenly resumed it's usual, guarded expression.
"Well," he began,"When you were knocked out you got sucked out of the ship. I...was sucked out
too, but it worked out because I managed to catch you on my way back to the ship. Marle was flung
out of the ship as well, but she was unfortunately able to make it back to the ship."
"Magus!" Crono exclaimed. There was that dark humor he was used to. Magus was back to himself it
seemed, a derisive smirk on his face to prove it.
"Anyway, the ship was sucked into one gate, and we were sucked into another. That's why we're
here, and well, they aren't. As far as we know, anyway."
Crono nodded his head slowly and began to look around.
"Where is here, though? Or when is here...?" He turned back to Magus and sighed, but the man had
turned away from him. He seemed to be looking around as well.
So I didn't tell him the ENTIRE truth, Magus thought. At least he knows the important parts.
But not even that was true. The taciturn wizard had left out plenty of details, the least of
which was his frantic leap into chaos to save the boy. What about the whole swirling energy
episode? What about the mixing bodies thing? And what about....
Magus spun towards Crono.
"What happened to you while you were unconscious?" he asked.
Crono hesitated, and his eyes diverted their gaze before the boy turned as if to examine
something to the left.
"Nothing...just dark...it hurt a little."
Magus knew the boy was hiding something, but he wasn't THAT concerned about it. If he won't tell
me what happened to him, then that saves me the embarrassment of recounting MY experience. For a
moment, he relived the whole Marle's baby episode, and shivered.
"Why?" Crono asked, the casual tone of the question a bit to stressed and artificial."Did
something happen to you?"
"Nothing worth mentioning," Magus answered, and quickly he changed the subject. "You know, I
think I know where we are at least." Crono furrowed his brow. "Look around," Magus said simply,
and took another look around himself. He was pretty sure of it. They were standing in Gaurdia
Forest.
At least we're somewhere familiar he thought to himself, as a look of recognition dawned on
Crono's face.
"Oh! It looks like we're just a little ways away from the castle!" he exclaimed, looking more
than a little relieved.
Good, Magus thought when he saw the change in expression. He wouldn't allow the thoughts to go
any deeper than that though. Besides, there was something troubling him. Something in the air...
"The Dark Wind...?" he half whispered.
"Wha?"
"Nothing. Let's head for the castle. With any luck we'll find Marle there and be able to sort
things out," he said, and Crono nodded in agreement.
So they began to walk. Crono could not help but think about the times he'd been through the very
same forest, and been attacked at every turn. There were no beast hiding in the bushes now
though. In fact, the closer to the beaten trail they came, the browner the grass and leaves
became.
"This is weird..." he said, more thinking out loud than anything.
"..."
He looked to Magus and noticed the gloved hand that held tight to the handle of his scythe. It
was as if he were expecting something to happen. His instincts are usually right, Crono thought,
and grabbed the handle of his own weapon as well.
Trudging along the path, everything around was either sickly or dead, and it was too quiet. No
birds singing or insects buzzing. No nothing. Crono's own instincts were warning him of danger
now. They were nearing the last bend though. Around the corner up ahead, and there would be a
straight shot to the castle. He remembered what it was like to see the majestic structure from
afar. How huge and regal it was. All he would have to do was see it, and he wouldn't feel so
threatened anymore, but the moment they rounded the bend, they had to stop.
"A gate?"
There in front of them stood a huge metal gate. Above it and through it's bars the castle could
be seen. There was nothing beautiful about it now though. It seemed more like ravens nest, with
all the birds perched on it's towers and spires, and circling overhead. From this distance, there
was little else that could be discerned, but Crono quickly turned his attention from the castle
to the row of guards before the gate.
There's...something wrong.
The men wore the same armor that the knights of the Square table had worn ever since Crono had
known of them, but it was rusted in spots, and in bad repair. They're swords were all covered in
old blood and other organic debris. The helmets they wore all had the visors pulled down, so
their faces weren't visible. The did not move to greet the duo. They stood deathly still.
"Stay back, Crono," Magus whispered harshly, and took a step forward himself, hand never leaving
his scythe for one moment.
"King Cronus has decreed that there shall be no visitors allowed into the castle this day." came
the deep, monotone voice from one of the guards. There was no telling which.
This can't be, Magus thought to himself. This is not what I think it is.
"We are friends of Marle," he replied."We are here to see her."
But the smell...of death clings to them...
"The Queen is dead," came the answer, and Magus raised a hand to silence Crono before he could
speak.
"How long-"
"GO BACK the way you came."
It was uncharacteristic of Magus to back down, especially when he could come up with more than
twenty ways to dispatch the guards offhand, but there was to much he didn't know. The situation
was too dangerous. He quietly turned and strode back the way he'd come, grabbing Crono by the
hand and pulling him along as well.
"But aren't we going to-" the boy protested.
"No," Magus interrupted. "We're not going to do anything yet." He released the boy's hand.
"But why!? Something happened to Marle!"
"Come now, Crono, you're not this foolish. Use your head. First of all, we don't know what
dimension we're in. This could be an entirely different world than ours, so maybe this Marle
isn't the one we know, or maybe she died of old age, or maybe she's just supposed to be dead.
Now, if time travel is as linear backwards and forwards as we're used to, then we're still in our
same world...but this would have to be the future."
The walked on towards the forest's exit, in silence for a moment before Crono spoke up again.
"It's more likely that things are linear, like you said. That means we should at least
investigate, right?"
Always so willing to help...regardless of the danger...Is that what is so-
"Maybe, but not by talking to them."
"But why?!"
"Because they weren't alive you fool. They were zombies, the whole lot of them."
Crono's face was one of careful scrutiny. Trust me, Magus wanted to say. I've risen enough of
them myself to know; but that would sound too bitter.
"You knew it yourself, without really knowing. You sensed something odd about them, didn't you?
You knew things weren't quite right, didn't you?"
"Well, yeah..." Crono admitted. The whole thing had creeped him out really."And they stunk."
"That's the give away. The smell of rotting flesh, aging blood, and death."
Thank's for the visuals...eeeych!
"Still, why would Zombie's be guarding the castle?"
Well, anything could have happened, Crono answered himself. Anything at all.
"Who knows," Magus responded, casting a glance back down the path they had covered."We'll find
out what we can back in the village, if That's not overrun by zombies too."
Ah, mom...and Lucca. I hope everyone is ok.
They emerged from the forest after walking the rest of the way in silence, each absorbed in their
own thoughts. Every now and then Crono would cast a glance at Magus and wonder what the man was
thinking. His own worries would then sneak back in, though, and he would start to worry about his mother. Leaving the forest did nothing to abate his fears though. Rather, it increased them.
"What the Hell IS this?" he exclaimed, his eyes wide as he surveyed the landscape.
EVERYTHING was ravaged. The long stretch of land that had been a lush, grassy plain, was nothing now but dry dirt, clouds of it being blown up into the air to further darken the murky view. Over the bridge to the southwest, there were huge clouds of dust, and the unmistakable sound of fighting. Thick black smoke rose from the village of Porre, and if he looked hard enough, Crono could see spells going off. To the east was his own home town, Truce, or what was left of it. Crono turned away from it, and could feel his knees weakening beneath him.
"No..." he barely whispered."No, no, no...I'm not seeing this!" he cried. "It isn't real!"
He did not look at Magus. He shut his eyes against the rising tears and turned away, determined not to cry.
"I-it's like you said, right?" he started suddenly."This probably isn't even our world, right? That's not my village...no, it's not...Right!?? Tell me I'm right! Please..."
For once, Magus could not worry about the repercussions of his actions. He saw the boy's head hanging, his shoulders droop as he lost the battle against his emotions, and he did what he had to do. He wrapped his arms around Crono from behind, and let the boy lean back against him, and cry. It didn't matter if Crono remembered this later, or that there was no way Magus could explain the action away. It didn't matter, just so long as he did it, because he cared for Crono more than he was ready to admit, and because he knew what it felt like to lose everything in a flash of time...
Don't cry, Magus wanted to say. Just don't cry...
"Alright," he said instead, his voice devoid of any harshness. "Enough of that."
Crono turned to look at him, his green eyes given new depth and brightness by the tears, and Magus could feel the sadness in those eyes, fresh as the day he'd been sucked away from his own home. The boy wiped his eyes, and gave a little nod.
Stronger than I thought...
"Look," Crono said, pointing towards the ruins of his village. Something was coming their way fast, and from the amount of dust it kicked up, it was big.
Hmm....
"Be on your guard," the wizard stated simply, and stood at the ready himself.
The closer the thing got, the louder it became. It sounded like a rushing breeze, with a mechanical buzz, and it was beginning to look familiar.
Is that...?
"Looks like..."
It was the Epoch, or at least a modified version of it. It came hovering up the slight incline from the village at tremendous speed, a woman with a mane of hair like fire at the helm, wearing goggles. The vehicle seemed as if it would come straight at them, but slowed dramatically a few feet away, and lowered itself to the ground.
"I knew it, I knew it! That was a temporal distortion if I ever saw one!" the woman exclaimed, pulling the goggles up onto her forehead, and beaming at the two with dark colored eyes, and though the voice was a bit huskier, and the body was MUCH more mature, there was no mistaking this woman's identity.
"Lucca?" Crono asked, incredulous.
"The one and only!" she replied, still beaming.
Lucca, Magus thought to himself. What IS going on here?
Crono just about jumped out of his skin. MAGUS! he thought, his face breaking into a smile before
he was even able to stand up and turn around and say:
"MAGUS! You're okay! I was so worried!" Before he knew it, the boy had latched onto the dark
magician and was holding him in a vice like hug. He was just too happy to see him to care about
the response he might get, so he didn't even notice the arm that briefly encircled him, and
squeezed him tight.
"Bah, enough of this," Magus said, prying Crono off of him. "You hugged me as if you've forgotten
who I am. Did you hit your head or something?," he then asked, a smirk on his face that was a bit
more jovial than usual. THIS Crono picked up on.
Is he...happy to see me?
"N-no, I'm fine," the boy stammered."I was just..."
"Worried," the dark magician finished for him. "Yes, you said that already. When will you learn
not to worry about me? It's a waste of energy." And with that, Magus broke out into a full
fledged, no malice, genuine, happy SMILE. Crono could hardly believe it.
"Are you...okay?" he asked, and was answered with a look of confusion.
"I'm fine," Magus answered, and didn't seem to see it fit to add anything else.
Hmm...Crono thought. He seems...different. It's a GOOD different but...gah! Why am I
overanalyzing! I should be happy that he's happy!
With that, Crono decided to let the topic of Magus's uncharacteristic cheeriness go, and move on
to more important things.
"Well, anyway, do you know how we got here? The last thing I remember is being hit in the head
with something..."
Magus's face suddenly resumed it's usual, guarded expression.
"Well," he began,"When you were knocked out you got sucked out of the ship. I...was sucked out
too, but it worked out because I managed to catch you on my way back to the ship. Marle was flung
out of the ship as well, but she was unfortunately able to make it back to the ship."
"Magus!" Crono exclaimed. There was that dark humor he was used to. Magus was back to himself it
seemed, a derisive smirk on his face to prove it.
"Anyway, the ship was sucked into one gate, and we were sucked into another. That's why we're
here, and well, they aren't. As far as we know, anyway."
Crono nodded his head slowly and began to look around.
"Where is here, though? Or when is here...?" He turned back to Magus and sighed, but the man had
turned away from him. He seemed to be looking around as well.
So I didn't tell him the ENTIRE truth, Magus thought. At least he knows the important parts.
But not even that was true. The taciturn wizard had left out plenty of details, the least of
which was his frantic leap into chaos to save the boy. What about the whole swirling energy
episode? What about the mixing bodies thing? And what about....
Magus spun towards Crono.
"What happened to you while you were unconscious?" he asked.
Crono hesitated, and his eyes diverted their gaze before the boy turned as if to examine
something to the left.
"Nothing...just dark...it hurt a little."
Magus knew the boy was hiding something, but he wasn't THAT concerned about it. If he won't tell
me what happened to him, then that saves me the embarrassment of recounting MY experience. For a
moment, he relived the whole Marle's baby episode, and shivered.
"Why?" Crono asked, the casual tone of the question a bit to stressed and artificial."Did
something happen to you?"
"Nothing worth mentioning," Magus answered, and quickly he changed the subject. "You know, I
think I know where we are at least." Crono furrowed his brow. "Look around," Magus said simply,
and took another look around himself. He was pretty sure of it. They were standing in Gaurdia
Forest.
At least we're somewhere familiar he thought to himself, as a look of recognition dawned on
Crono's face.
"Oh! It looks like we're just a little ways away from the castle!" he exclaimed, looking more
than a little relieved.
Good, Magus thought when he saw the change in expression. He wouldn't allow the thoughts to go
any deeper than that though. Besides, there was something troubling him. Something in the air...
"The Dark Wind...?" he half whispered.
"Wha?"
"Nothing. Let's head for the castle. With any luck we'll find Marle there and be able to sort
things out," he said, and Crono nodded in agreement.
So they began to walk. Crono could not help but think about the times he'd been through the very
same forest, and been attacked at every turn. There were no beast hiding in the bushes now
though. In fact, the closer to the beaten trail they came, the browner the grass and leaves
became.
"This is weird..." he said, more thinking out loud than anything.
"..."
He looked to Magus and noticed the gloved hand that held tight to the handle of his scythe. It
was as if he were expecting something to happen. His instincts are usually right, Crono thought,
and grabbed the handle of his own weapon as well.
Trudging along the path, everything around was either sickly or dead, and it was too quiet. No
birds singing or insects buzzing. No nothing. Crono's own instincts were warning him of danger
now. They were nearing the last bend though. Around the corner up ahead, and there would be a
straight shot to the castle. He remembered what it was like to see the majestic structure from
afar. How huge and regal it was. All he would have to do was see it, and he wouldn't feel so
threatened anymore, but the moment they rounded the bend, they had to stop.
"A gate?"
There in front of them stood a huge metal gate. Above it and through it's bars the castle could
be seen. There was nothing beautiful about it now though. It seemed more like ravens nest, with
all the birds perched on it's towers and spires, and circling overhead. From this distance, there
was little else that could be discerned, but Crono quickly turned his attention from the castle
to the row of guards before the gate.
There's...something wrong.
The men wore the same armor that the knights of the Square table had worn ever since Crono had
known of them, but it was rusted in spots, and in bad repair. They're swords were all covered in
old blood and other organic debris. The helmets they wore all had the visors pulled down, so
their faces weren't visible. The did not move to greet the duo. They stood deathly still.
"Stay back, Crono," Magus whispered harshly, and took a step forward himself, hand never leaving
his scythe for one moment.
"King Cronus has decreed that there shall be no visitors allowed into the castle this day." came
the deep, monotone voice from one of the guards. There was no telling which.
This can't be, Magus thought to himself. This is not what I think it is.
"We are friends of Marle," he replied."We are here to see her."
But the smell...of death clings to them...
"The Queen is dead," came the answer, and Magus raised a hand to silence Crono before he could
speak.
"How long-"
"GO BACK the way you came."
It was uncharacteristic of Magus to back down, especially when he could come up with more than
twenty ways to dispatch the guards offhand, but there was to much he didn't know. The situation
was too dangerous. He quietly turned and strode back the way he'd come, grabbing Crono by the
hand and pulling him along as well.
"But aren't we going to-" the boy protested.
"No," Magus interrupted. "We're not going to do anything yet." He released the boy's hand.
"But why!? Something happened to Marle!"
"Come now, Crono, you're not this foolish. Use your head. First of all, we don't know what
dimension we're in. This could be an entirely different world than ours, so maybe this Marle
isn't the one we know, or maybe she died of old age, or maybe she's just supposed to be dead.
Now, if time travel is as linear backwards and forwards as we're used to, then we're still in our
same world...but this would have to be the future."
The walked on towards the forest's exit, in silence for a moment before Crono spoke up again.
"It's more likely that things are linear, like you said. That means we should at least
investigate, right?"
Always so willing to help...regardless of the danger...Is that what is so-
"Maybe, but not by talking to them."
"But why?!"
"Because they weren't alive you fool. They were zombies, the whole lot of them."
Crono's face was one of careful scrutiny. Trust me, Magus wanted to say. I've risen enough of
them myself to know; but that would sound too bitter.
"You knew it yourself, without really knowing. You sensed something odd about them, didn't you?
You knew things weren't quite right, didn't you?"
"Well, yeah..." Crono admitted. The whole thing had creeped him out really."And they stunk."
"That's the give away. The smell of rotting flesh, aging blood, and death."
Thank's for the visuals...eeeych!
"Still, why would Zombie's be guarding the castle?"
Well, anything could have happened, Crono answered himself. Anything at all.
"Who knows," Magus responded, casting a glance back down the path they had covered."We'll find
out what we can back in the village, if That's not overrun by zombies too."
Ah, mom...and Lucca. I hope everyone is ok.
They emerged from the forest after walking the rest of the way in silence, each absorbed in their
own thoughts. Every now and then Crono would cast a glance at Magus and wonder what the man was
thinking. His own worries would then sneak back in, though, and he would start to worry about his mother. Leaving the forest did nothing to abate his fears though. Rather, it increased them.
"What the Hell IS this?" he exclaimed, his eyes wide as he surveyed the landscape.
EVERYTHING was ravaged. The long stretch of land that had been a lush, grassy plain, was nothing now but dry dirt, clouds of it being blown up into the air to further darken the murky view. Over the bridge to the southwest, there were huge clouds of dust, and the unmistakable sound of fighting. Thick black smoke rose from the village of Porre, and if he looked hard enough, Crono could see spells going off. To the east was his own home town, Truce, or what was left of it. Crono turned away from it, and could feel his knees weakening beneath him.
"No..." he barely whispered."No, no, no...I'm not seeing this!" he cried. "It isn't real!"
He did not look at Magus. He shut his eyes against the rising tears and turned away, determined not to cry.
"I-it's like you said, right?" he started suddenly."This probably isn't even our world, right? That's not my village...no, it's not...Right!?? Tell me I'm right! Please..."
For once, Magus could not worry about the repercussions of his actions. He saw the boy's head hanging, his shoulders droop as he lost the battle against his emotions, and he did what he had to do. He wrapped his arms around Crono from behind, and let the boy lean back against him, and cry. It didn't matter if Crono remembered this later, or that there was no way Magus could explain the action away. It didn't matter, just so long as he did it, because he cared for Crono more than he was ready to admit, and because he knew what it felt like to lose everything in a flash of time...
Don't cry, Magus wanted to say. Just don't cry...
"Alright," he said instead, his voice devoid of any harshness. "Enough of that."
Crono turned to look at him, his green eyes given new depth and brightness by the tears, and Magus could feel the sadness in those eyes, fresh as the day he'd been sucked away from his own home. The boy wiped his eyes, and gave a little nod.
Stronger than I thought...
"Look," Crono said, pointing towards the ruins of his village. Something was coming their way fast, and from the amount of dust it kicked up, it was big.
Hmm....
"Be on your guard," the wizard stated simply, and stood at the ready himself.
The closer the thing got, the louder it became. It sounded like a rushing breeze, with a mechanical buzz, and it was beginning to look familiar.
Is that...?
"Looks like..."
It was the Epoch, or at least a modified version of it. It came hovering up the slight incline from the village at tremendous speed, a woman with a mane of hair like fire at the helm, wearing goggles. The vehicle seemed as if it would come straight at them, but slowed dramatically a few feet away, and lowered itself to the ground.
"I knew it, I knew it! That was a temporal distortion if I ever saw one!" the woman exclaimed, pulling the goggles up onto her forehead, and beaming at the two with dark colored eyes, and though the voice was a bit huskier, and the body was MUCH more mature, there was no mistaking this woman's identity.
"Lucca?" Crono asked, incredulous.
"The one and only!" she replied, still beaming.
Lucca, Magus thought to himself. What IS going on here?
