And now, time to start moving out! I mean, with this Janus with
them, how can the Mystics possibly stand a chance?!
Rrright.
"We're almost there, hang on for a while longer," Janus said over his shoulder.
Great, just when I was starting to get used to it… Crono grunted, hanging onto his horse the best he could.
"At least I was right about the monsters being calm for the moment."
Crono nodded. He hadn't ever been riding before and gotten a quick lesson back at the castle before he and Janus left on a horse each, bringing one extra with them for Frog. The Masamune was safely held in place on Crono's back, resting in a simple sheath that Melchior had had to spare for it.
Because of Janus' guess that the Mystics would need time to recover after the failed attack at the Zenan bridge, they had decided to move out as quickly as possible not to waste this possible weakness. During the trip southeast Crono had silently wished for a little more practice in handling the art of traveling on the back of a horse, though.
But as the wizard said, at least they hadn't been attacked. All seemed uncharacteristically peaceful.
'Just makes me more worried…' Janus grimly thought.
'Indeed,' his teacher muttered.
Pain, shame, defeat, sacrifice, pain… beware, prince! Beware…
All three of the blue-hairs clenched their jaws. The black wind had been howling throughout the entire journey, from the moment the wizard walked down the stair of the castle.
'I have a feeling this could get ugly…' the youngest thought.
'Yes, but it shouldn't,' the Prince said with a frown, 'in our time streams there were no greater troubles beating Ozzie, Flea and Slash…'
Sacrifice… defeat…
Janus? Crono nearly shouted.
"Huh?"
The wizard looked around again.
"Sorry, I was in my own thoughts," he said, "you were saying?"
Well, I was wondering about yesterday… Crono carefully said.
"What about it?"
Um, well… why did Slash call you Magus all the time? It seemed to make you quite angry.
Janus looked forwards for a moment before turning his head once more.
"That's simply something between me and the Mystics," he calmly said, "many years ago, when I was still a child I got captured by them and they wanted to enslave me under the name Magus, but I was saved by a man that also taught me magic."
You were? Who then?
"He's not here anymore. He saved me, brought me to the castle and gave me a few lessons in my powers. Then he left. And there's the cursed woods now."
Crono caught the message and didn't ask anything more. About twenty minutes later the two men reached the brink of the forest and tied the three horses to a tree. Janus cast a protecting spell to keep possible monsters away, then the warriors went into the world of leaves and trunks.
Beware, prince…
Janus walked a few steps before he realized that that was the last thing that the black wind had said.
'Strange…' he commented the silence.
'Very,' the Prince agreed, 'but we better stay alert.'
'Yes.'
Soon they reached the clearing in the middle of the small forest, crossed it and worked their way past the small bush hiding Frog's entrance "door".
"Hey, nice to see you!" Marle called and stood up from the chair she had been sitting on.
"Good afternoon," Frog merely muttered, remaining on his seat.
"And the same to you," Janus said, holding back a sigh.
We've got the Masamune, Crono announced.
Now that startled Frog.
"What?!" he croaked and leaped off his chair.
Apparently he hadn't really believed what Janus had told him earlier.
Crono reached the floor and freed the blade from his back.
"We need your help now," Janus grimly said, "you are the best broadsword warrior in the kingdom."
After a moment of staring at the blade Frog shook his head.
"Nay," he bitterly said, "I canst not help thee. I failed to protect the queen, and besides that I cannot dream of wielding the weapon belonging to Cyrus."
"He'd want you to keep fighting when he couldn't and you know that," Janus said, keeping his voice calm.
"I cannot fight, not after my failing," Frog sternly said.
We could really use your help! Crono tried, we wouldn't have been able to save the queen at all if we hadn't worked together.
"Yes," Janus nodded, "and now we need to strike the Mystics, while they're still vulnerable. Don't you see?"
"I see that thou dost not need me," Frog said in a poisonous voice, crossing his arms and staring at the wall, "please be on thy way."
"Glenn, get a grip of yourself!" Janus sharply said.
Frog looked away.
"We need to kill Flea in order to reverse your curse, don't you want to help with that?"
No reply.
"Frog, please listen…" Marle helplessly said after a moment of hesitation.
"I canst not…"
But before any of them could continue, there suddenly was a ritsching sound from above and sunlight flowed through the hole in the roof since the bush had been torn away.
"Janus, come out and fight!" a sharp, screeching voice shouted.
"For heaven's sake, I've had my assassin for this month!" the wizard shouted back, frustrated.
'It's the grasshopper again,' the Pawn sighed.
'Sturdy fellow…'
'Very.'
"One moment," Janus grunted to his friends, ran over to the ladder up and jumped.
He dashed out of the hole with his staff in hand and glared at the waiting mantis.
"I haven't got time for this, so make it quick!" the wizard coldly said.
The mantis attacked. Janus parried and countered.
Marle, Crono and Frog climbed out of the hole to watch the combatants dance around in the clearing, almost too fast for the eye to catch.
"See there," Frog bitterly said, "with Janus by thy side, why dost thee need me?"
"Glenn, will you stop being so stubborn?!" the wizard shouted and ducked at the same time as he sent out his staff in a wide swing with one hand and arm.
"I hath no right to battle after what I hath done!"
"It wasn't your fault! No one's perfect!"
"Nay!" Frog shouted while the wizard leaped out of the way for a thick, sticky thread from his foe's mouth.
"Now you list… gh!"
Defeat, shame… beware…
Janus stumbled aside, for him it could pass as very clumsy. Still he avoided the monster's blades, even though it was close this time.
"What is it?!" the three watchers called, nearly simultaneously.
"Dammit…"
Janus leaped aside, pressing one hand against his forehead.
"The black wind howls…" he grunted and ducked again.
Pain… sacrifice…
"The what?" Marle asked, blankly.
"It doesn't matter…"
Janus shook his head to clear it after the violent slam of bad omens. It had returned so suddenly that he nearly had lost his orientation for a moment. Now he straightened up and glared at the mantis, ready for battle again. There was no time to be confused or worried.
"The only thing that matters is that we're going to need you whatever you may think, Glenn!" Janus snarled and attacked.
The mantis ducked out of the way of the staff.
"Nay!" Frog stubbornly stated, "'tis nary a thing I can do!"
"Look, we…"
Sacrifice…
Janus' eyes narrowed.
'Oh no, you're not going to…?!' the Prince shouted.
"Very well, I guess I'll just have to do something melodramatical to talk you into it!" the wizard snarled.
The staff left his hand and disappeared somewhere among the trees and bushes.
'Stop!' the Pawn roared.
But there was no reply.
"What are you doing?!" Marle, Crono and Frog shouted in surprised shock.
Janus pursed his mouth and crossed his wrists, holding them up for the perplexed mantis.
"I give up," the wizard calmly said, "take me to Ozzie."
"Wha!?" the humans screeched.
But the mantis awoke from the surprise quickly and not being one to question that offer spat out another thick string that snaked itself around Janus' wrists in the blink of an eye. And just as fast another one for his ankles. The wizard swayed, but before he had time to fall the monster's claw feet dug into his upper arms and they both zoomed up above the treetops.
"Janus!!"
The three left on the ground ran a few steps forward, forgetting that their friend and foe was completely out of reach.
"Now what, Glenn?!" Janus shouted through a violent grimace of pain.
Before there was time for any more talking the mantis had turned to the northeast and bolted away above the forest.
Very few heard the smacks as the Pawn and the Prince nearly caved their own heads in when slapping their foreheads.
For a moment Crono, Marle and Frog stood frozen in shock, their jaws dropped. Then:
"Damnation, Janus!"
Frog dived down his entrance hole and returned a few moments later with the Masamune by his belt.
"I take it you're coming…?" Marle said in a rather weak voice.
"Indeed," Frog snarled, "for I shalt kill him for that!"
'Not if I kill him before that!' the Prince snarled as the two spirits dashed after their mirror.
'Oh no, you don't!' the Pawn growled, 'as his teacher I've got the right to do it first!'
'Let's team up with Frog and do it...'
'Good idea.'
The two guardians clenched their teeth and doubled their speed to reach the flying two. The beast was insanely fast.
'Are you crazy!?' the Pawn shouted as they reached Janus again, 'I should...'
'It was you who said that we really needed Glenn,' the wizard countered, still grimacing over his bleeding arms.
Healing himself with the mantis' claws still within his flesh wouldn't be a good idea...
'Not this badly!'
'It would have taken hours to convince him, if we'd ever manage. I'll be fine.'
'Oh really? I saved you from this, you full-fledged idiot!'
'Too late now, isn't it?'
The two warlocks exchanged glances and groaned, shaking their heads.
And the mantis flew on, towards the lair of the Mystics.