Chapter 12: The Fated Battle
The sun had positioned itself halfway past the horizon. Night had past, and it was morning. One by one, the warriors awoke to see Shadow standing at the door, ready. They gathered their weapons, clipped on their armor, and prepared themselves. They stood outside of the cabin, Shadow standing in front of the seven warriors.
"It's time…" whispered Shadow.
"Tis time to face… our destiny…" said Frog.
"Finally… our training is put to the test…" said Cyrus.
"Albrook…" whispered Patricia. "This… is for you…"
"The world is in our hands…" added Lucia.
"This is it…" said Celes.
"We are in too deep…!" said Locke. "To turn back!"
"Agon… time to pay!" said Claribel.
With their weapons in hand, they ran towards Agon's castle, which was just past the clearing in the forest. Shadow was ahead of them, as the seven warriors followed close behind him, with anger and determination in hand. They arrived at the castle's entrance, and as they neared the door, it flew open, and a large wind blew them all back, causing them to collapse on the ground. The silhouette of a man came into view, as Frog stood up. The wind made his hair blow to the side, as well as his purple cape, as he came into view, clasping a scythe in his hand.
"M..Magus…" said Frog as he looked at him.. "MAAAAA-GUS!!"
Magus's dark blue eyes drifted onto the standing warrior, as blinking once and widening his eyes more at the sight of Frog.
"It…It's that stupid Frog…" he said. "Kissed any princesses lately?"
"I rather enjoy this form! And I owe'th it all to you!" he replied with a fierce voice.
"Maybe being a Frog wasn't enough… I should have killed you when I had the chance…"
"A mistake you will pay for… I have something for you, Magus…"
Slowly, he lifted the Masamune and held it with both hands.
"Ah..! The Masamune… I bet your just dying to use it!"
They locked eyes and stared at each other, as a wind passed by, causing their capes to dance in the rhythm of the wind, as they both held their weapons.
"The black wind begins to howl…Okay… give me your best shot…"
Magus got into a fighting position, and raised his Scythe in front of him.
"If you're prepared for the void!!"
Not caring about the journey, not caring about his death, charged at Magus. Frog leaped into the air with the Masamune in his hand, and brought it down at Magus's head. With his Scythe, Magus repelled the attack, the recoil causing Frog to stumble back. Magus spun his Scythe, and then struck Frog's stomach with the wooden end of it, as Frog leaned forward, out of breath. Standing before Frog, Magus kicked him in the stomach over and over, then knocked him to the ground with a small fire blast, making Frog land on the ground, face down. Slowly, Frog lifted himself up to his knees, and looked up. Magus grabbed Frog's neck tightly, and lifted him up from the ground.
"Poor little froggy… how does it feel? How does it feel to know your life is in my hands?"
Frog's struggle seemed to be hopeless, as Magus's grip got tighter and tighter on him. With the rest of his energy, Frog started glowing blue, as he released a gigantic water beam on Magus, knocking him away. Frog collapsed on the ground, struggling to breathe.
"Hm… you've gotten stronger… It wont do much help though… this is your end, Frog!!"
As he ran towards the battered down Frog, he stopped in his steps as he saw Claribel standing in front of him.
"Stand down, Magus…" she said.
"C…Claribel!?!"
"Stand down!!"
"Sorry to disappoint you, but you left us and are no longer my general. You foolish traitor, you gave up protection, power, and we will rule the whole world! And for what? A frog and a couple of friends?? You are giving up your life for this?"
"My life was given up when I was working for Agon… that's why I left… If I would have stayed any longer, she would have killed me… just like she will do to you!"
From behind Claribel, a large water beam shot out, and hit Magus, slightly scathing him.
"Lower thine guard… and thour't letting the enemy in…!"
"Frog!" said Claribel. "We will finish this together!"
"No… this be my fight… and only mine… all of you, stand'eth back!" said Frog, standing on his feet.
"Your persistence will lead to your own demise, frog boy!"
They charged at each other once again, as they both swung their weapons, causing them to clash. They each were putting equal force into it, as their eyes looked upon each other, full of determination, anger, and hate. Frog broke away, ducked then thrusted the Masamune at Magus's stomach. In an attempt to dodge, he quickly stepped to the side, but was cut deep in his side. Magus readied to strike back, but was struck in his face by Frog's elbow, then hit in the back of the head by the Masamune's handle, causing him to fall. Frog raised the Masamune, and was about to bring it down through his spine, but Magus stood on his hands, and then kicked Frog's stomach full force, as Magus quickly stood. Frog was on the ground, holding his stomach tightly, as Magus stood somewhat far from him.
"I grow tired of this…" Magus said angrily, as he closed his eyes. "DARK MATTER!"
He extended his arms towards Frog with a black aurora, as a black triangle formed out of the dark glow, right above his head. Extending his hands to his sides, the triangle grew bigger and bigger, as the warriors on the side looked at him.
"WE CAN'T ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN!" yelled out Cyrus. "THAT'S OUR FRIEND, DAMMIT!"
"Your right!" replied Lucia. "This has gone too far! We are a team!! We are supposed to HELP him!"
"Stay where you are…" said Shadow.
"Frog is getting slaughtered!" replied Lucia "And you want us to stay here and watch!?!?!"
"Where's your honor?" asked Shadow.
"HONOR!?!" asked Cyrus. "HONOR!?! WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HONOR!?!?!"
"Not much… but I can tell you this, Cyrus…" said Shadow, as he turned his head and looked at him. "We all trained as much as we could… we all had our goals, be it revenge, pride, or protection… this is what Frog trained for… this is what he struggled for. Help him and you strip him of his pride…"
"…But… don't you see what will happen if we don't help him…" asked Patricia, as her eyes filled with tears.
"If this keeps up… then he will die…" said Shadow. "But that will be his decision… as much as you feel you want to help him… this is Frog's fight, and his fight alone. And he deserves the fight it as a true warrior would… and that means to the death…"
"Glenn…" whispered Patricia.
Frog was still on the ground, slowly getting up little by little. Magus opened his eyes, as the black triangle spun above him.
"Death… is only the beginning… of your pain, Frog… now DIE!!"
He pointed his right arm at Frog, as the triangle took motion, and headed towards its target. The 'dark matter' crashed into Frog, and trapped him inside of the black triangle. Inside of it, small black bolts began striking his body, slowly draining his energy, and near killing him. The black bolts took hold of him, surrounding his whole body, sending an enormous shock through his body, as he yelled out in pain. The triangle disappeared, as Frog dropped to the ground, covered in blood, still weakly holding the Masamune.
"FRO-G!" cried out all of the warriors, Shadow still watching silently.
"Ugh…" said Frog faintly. He had been wounded beyond his limits, but he refused to give up. As long as he had the ability to stand, he would not give up.
"I'm willing to make you a deal, Frog!" said Magus. "If you bow before me, then I'll let you live! I will even step out of your way…What do you say to that, Frog?"
Frog stayed there on his knees, feeling the pain all over his body. Was his pride worth his life? What was he fighting for? Slowly, he looked up and stared at Magus.
"N…n…n… never…"
"Hm? What was that, Glenn?"
"…never… never… NEVER!!!!"
"Gr… fine! Enjoy your death Frog! I doubt you can survive this one!"
Magus once again began forming another dark matter. Frog's resistance was strong, but his body could not take another severe blow.
"I can't lose…" Frog whispered to himself. "What be left… not even… the Masamune…"
The Dark Matter was complete, and slowly floated above Magus's head. The only thing that gleamed in Magus's eyes was the look of victory. The Dark Matter was launched, and once again headed for Frog. It made impact with him, as once again the bolts struck his body, only no sound came from him this time. As the bolts surrounded his body, a large bolt from the sky hit the dark matter, and caused it to explode. The warriors slowly lowered their heads, as Patricia cried softly. A large cloud of dust lifted into the air, as Magus looked at it.
"What a pathetic last minute attempt… even for you, Frog."
A silhouette was seen inside of the dust, as Frog came out of it, with the Masamune in hand, and jabbed it through Magus's stomach, as it let out a bright glow.
"Farewell… Magus…"
The Masamune blinked once more, then let out an enormous white beam through Magus's stomach, which was the absorbed energy of the Dark Matter. Magus collapsed on the ground, with a giant wound on his stomach. Shortly, he would be dead.
"You…brought this… on yourself…" said Magus, lying half dead on the ground.
Slowly, Frog limped over to the near dead Magus, as he gave him an odd look.
"What treachery doth thou speak'eth now…"
"The prophet… he forgot to mention one thing… about the prophecy…" said Magus as he slowly reached for his scythe.
"…?"
"That when I die…" he quickly grabbed it, then slashed Frog across the chest with it, piercing through his armor, and leaving a wound on him. "You…die… with me…" Magus slowly dropped his head back, and died.
"Guh… mmpph… ah…" muttered Frog.
He held his wound, and fell to the ground. The wound had pierced deep into his body, as blood quickly poured out.
"GLENN!!!!" yelled Cyrus in anger.
"No!!! NO!!!!" cried out Patricia.
"YOU SEE SHADOW!" said Lucia. "WE SHOULD HAVE HELPED HIM! WAS HIS PRIDE WORTH HIS LIFE!?!"
They all looked at Shadow coldly, as the six warriors ran to Frog's side. Shadow stood and didn't move, with no sign of change, or sign of feeling in his face. Frog slowly looked up and saw his friends, as his sight started to fade away, due to the lack of blood.
"C…Cyrus…" he said softly.
"Yes, Glenn…?"
Frog slowly lifted the Masamune from the ground, and handed it to him.
"T…take it…"
"No… Glenn… it's your sword… your destiny…"
"My destiny… was to perish along with Magus…"
A glow surrounded Frog, as a yellow beam came from the sky, encircling his body. As the light disappeared in a flash, he had become human once again, but the wound still remained.
"Glenn… your human again…" said Cyrus.
"But why are you... still..." asked Lucia.
"Magus hath been defeated… his curse on me is broken…the wound can not be healed..."
"Frog…" said Patricia in a breaking voice. "You can't leave us… please...you just can't…"
"It's my time… as the prophet said, it be something that we can not escape…" said Frog, in a slow voice. "Farewell… my friends…take care of yourselves…"
He looked up once again and looked at Patricia, as tears rolled down her face.
"I'm… going to miss'eth thee… most of all… P…a…t…r…i…c…i…a…."
With a small smile, he lowered his head and fell lifeless onto the ground. Shadow looked at the six warriors who had their heads lowered, in respect to their friend's death. After a hard fought battle with his destined rival, the warriors knew it could not have been avoided, for it was part of the Prophets foretelling.
The sun had positioned itself halfway past the horizon. Night had past, and it was morning. One by one, the warriors awoke to see Shadow standing at the door, ready. They gathered their weapons, clipped on their armor, and prepared themselves. They stood outside of the cabin, Shadow standing in front of the seven warriors.
"It's time…" whispered Shadow.
"Tis time to face… our destiny…" said Frog.
"Finally… our training is put to the test…" said Cyrus.
"Albrook…" whispered Patricia. "This… is for you…"
"The world is in our hands…" added Lucia.
"This is it…" said Celes.
"We are in too deep…!" said Locke. "To turn back!"
"Agon… time to pay!" said Claribel.
With their weapons in hand, they ran towards Agon's castle, which was just past the clearing in the forest. Shadow was ahead of them, as the seven warriors followed close behind him, with anger and determination in hand. They arrived at the castle's entrance, and as they neared the door, it flew open, and a large wind blew them all back, causing them to collapse on the ground. The silhouette of a man came into view, as Frog stood up. The wind made his hair blow to the side, as well as his purple cape, as he came into view, clasping a scythe in his hand.
"M..Magus…" said Frog as he looked at him.. "MAAAAA-GUS!!"
Magus's dark blue eyes drifted onto the standing warrior, as blinking once and widening his eyes more at the sight of Frog.
"It…It's that stupid Frog…" he said. "Kissed any princesses lately?"
"I rather enjoy this form! And I owe'th it all to you!" he replied with a fierce voice.
"Maybe being a Frog wasn't enough… I should have killed you when I had the chance…"
"A mistake you will pay for… I have something for you, Magus…"
Slowly, he lifted the Masamune and held it with both hands.
"Ah..! The Masamune… I bet your just dying to use it!"
They locked eyes and stared at each other, as a wind passed by, causing their capes to dance in the rhythm of the wind, as they both held their weapons.
"The black wind begins to howl…Okay… give me your best shot…"
Magus got into a fighting position, and raised his Scythe in front of him.
"If you're prepared for the void!!"
Not caring about the journey, not caring about his death, charged at Magus. Frog leaped into the air with the Masamune in his hand, and brought it down at Magus's head. With his Scythe, Magus repelled the attack, the recoil causing Frog to stumble back. Magus spun his Scythe, and then struck Frog's stomach with the wooden end of it, as Frog leaned forward, out of breath. Standing before Frog, Magus kicked him in the stomach over and over, then knocked him to the ground with a small fire blast, making Frog land on the ground, face down. Slowly, Frog lifted himself up to his knees, and looked up. Magus grabbed Frog's neck tightly, and lifted him up from the ground.
"Poor little froggy… how does it feel? How does it feel to know your life is in my hands?"
Frog's struggle seemed to be hopeless, as Magus's grip got tighter and tighter on him. With the rest of his energy, Frog started glowing blue, as he released a gigantic water beam on Magus, knocking him away. Frog collapsed on the ground, struggling to breathe.
"Hm… you've gotten stronger… It wont do much help though… this is your end, Frog!!"
As he ran towards the battered down Frog, he stopped in his steps as he saw Claribel standing in front of him.
"Stand down, Magus…" she said.
"C…Claribel!?!"
"Stand down!!"
"Sorry to disappoint you, but you left us and are no longer my general. You foolish traitor, you gave up protection, power, and we will rule the whole world! And for what? A frog and a couple of friends?? You are giving up your life for this?"
"My life was given up when I was working for Agon… that's why I left… If I would have stayed any longer, she would have killed me… just like she will do to you!"
From behind Claribel, a large water beam shot out, and hit Magus, slightly scathing him.
"Lower thine guard… and thour't letting the enemy in…!"
"Frog!" said Claribel. "We will finish this together!"
"No… this be my fight… and only mine… all of you, stand'eth back!" said Frog, standing on his feet.
"Your persistence will lead to your own demise, frog boy!"
They charged at each other once again, as they both swung their weapons, causing them to clash. They each were putting equal force into it, as their eyes looked upon each other, full of determination, anger, and hate. Frog broke away, ducked then thrusted the Masamune at Magus's stomach. In an attempt to dodge, he quickly stepped to the side, but was cut deep in his side. Magus readied to strike back, but was struck in his face by Frog's elbow, then hit in the back of the head by the Masamune's handle, causing him to fall. Frog raised the Masamune, and was about to bring it down through his spine, but Magus stood on his hands, and then kicked Frog's stomach full force, as Magus quickly stood. Frog was on the ground, holding his stomach tightly, as Magus stood somewhat far from him.
"I grow tired of this…" Magus said angrily, as he closed his eyes. "DARK MATTER!"
He extended his arms towards Frog with a black aurora, as a black triangle formed out of the dark glow, right above his head. Extending his hands to his sides, the triangle grew bigger and bigger, as the warriors on the side looked at him.
"WE CAN'T ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN!" yelled out Cyrus. "THAT'S OUR FRIEND, DAMMIT!"
"Your right!" replied Lucia. "This has gone too far! We are a team!! We are supposed to HELP him!"
"Stay where you are…" said Shadow.
"Frog is getting slaughtered!" replied Lucia "And you want us to stay here and watch!?!?!"
"Where's your honor?" asked Shadow.
"HONOR!?!" asked Cyrus. "HONOR!?! WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HONOR!?!?!"
"Not much… but I can tell you this, Cyrus…" said Shadow, as he turned his head and looked at him. "We all trained as much as we could… we all had our goals, be it revenge, pride, or protection… this is what Frog trained for… this is what he struggled for. Help him and you strip him of his pride…"
"…But… don't you see what will happen if we don't help him…" asked Patricia, as her eyes filled with tears.
"If this keeps up… then he will die…" said Shadow. "But that will be his decision… as much as you feel you want to help him… this is Frog's fight, and his fight alone. And he deserves the fight it as a true warrior would… and that means to the death…"
"Glenn…" whispered Patricia.
Frog was still on the ground, slowly getting up little by little. Magus opened his eyes, as the black triangle spun above him.
"Death… is only the beginning… of your pain, Frog… now DIE!!"
He pointed his right arm at Frog, as the triangle took motion, and headed towards its target. The 'dark matter' crashed into Frog, and trapped him inside of the black triangle. Inside of it, small black bolts began striking his body, slowly draining his energy, and near killing him. The black bolts took hold of him, surrounding his whole body, sending an enormous shock through his body, as he yelled out in pain. The triangle disappeared, as Frog dropped to the ground, covered in blood, still weakly holding the Masamune.
"FRO-G!" cried out all of the warriors, Shadow still watching silently.
"Ugh…" said Frog faintly. He had been wounded beyond his limits, but he refused to give up. As long as he had the ability to stand, he would not give up.
"I'm willing to make you a deal, Frog!" said Magus. "If you bow before me, then I'll let you live! I will even step out of your way…What do you say to that, Frog?"
Frog stayed there on his knees, feeling the pain all over his body. Was his pride worth his life? What was he fighting for? Slowly, he looked up and stared at Magus.
"N…n…n… never…"
"Hm? What was that, Glenn?"
"…never… never… NEVER!!!!"
"Gr… fine! Enjoy your death Frog! I doubt you can survive this one!"
Magus once again began forming another dark matter. Frog's resistance was strong, but his body could not take another severe blow.
"I can't lose…" Frog whispered to himself. "What be left… not even… the Masamune…"
The Dark Matter was complete, and slowly floated above Magus's head. The only thing that gleamed in Magus's eyes was the look of victory. The Dark Matter was launched, and once again headed for Frog. It made impact with him, as once again the bolts struck his body, only no sound came from him this time. As the bolts surrounded his body, a large bolt from the sky hit the dark matter, and caused it to explode. The warriors slowly lowered their heads, as Patricia cried softly. A large cloud of dust lifted into the air, as Magus looked at it.
"What a pathetic last minute attempt… even for you, Frog."
A silhouette was seen inside of the dust, as Frog came out of it, with the Masamune in hand, and jabbed it through Magus's stomach, as it let out a bright glow.
"Farewell… Magus…"
The Masamune blinked once more, then let out an enormous white beam through Magus's stomach, which was the absorbed energy of the Dark Matter. Magus collapsed on the ground, with a giant wound on his stomach. Shortly, he would be dead.
"You…brought this… on yourself…" said Magus, lying half dead on the ground.
Slowly, Frog limped over to the near dead Magus, as he gave him an odd look.
"What treachery doth thou speak'eth now…"
"The prophet… he forgot to mention one thing… about the prophecy…" said Magus as he slowly reached for his scythe.
"…?"
"That when I die…" he quickly grabbed it, then slashed Frog across the chest with it, piercing through his armor, and leaving a wound on him. "You…die… with me…" Magus slowly dropped his head back, and died.
"Guh… mmpph… ah…" muttered Frog.
He held his wound, and fell to the ground. The wound had pierced deep into his body, as blood quickly poured out.
"GLENN!!!!" yelled Cyrus in anger.
"No!!! NO!!!!" cried out Patricia.
"YOU SEE SHADOW!" said Lucia. "WE SHOULD HAVE HELPED HIM! WAS HIS PRIDE WORTH HIS LIFE!?!"
They all looked at Shadow coldly, as the six warriors ran to Frog's side. Shadow stood and didn't move, with no sign of change, or sign of feeling in his face. Frog slowly looked up and saw his friends, as his sight started to fade away, due to the lack of blood.
"C…Cyrus…" he said softly.
"Yes, Glenn…?"
Frog slowly lifted the Masamune from the ground, and handed it to him.
"T…take it…"
"No… Glenn… it's your sword… your destiny…"
"My destiny… was to perish along with Magus…"
A glow surrounded Frog, as a yellow beam came from the sky, encircling his body. As the light disappeared in a flash, he had become human once again, but the wound still remained.
"Glenn… your human again…" said Cyrus.
"But why are you... still..." asked Lucia.
"Magus hath been defeated… his curse on me is broken…the wound can not be healed..."
"Frog…" said Patricia in a breaking voice. "You can't leave us… please...you just can't…"
"It's my time… as the prophet said, it be something that we can not escape…" said Frog, in a slow voice. "Farewell… my friends…take care of yourselves…"
He looked up once again and looked at Patricia, as tears rolled down her face.
"I'm… going to miss'eth thee… most of all… P…a…t…r…i…c…i…a…."
With a small smile, he lowered his head and fell lifeless onto the ground. Shadow looked at the six warriors who had their heads lowered, in respect to their friend's death. After a hard fought battle with his destined rival, the warriors knew it could not have been avoided, for it was part of the Prophets foretelling.
