Chapter 11, Attack
The Prince's spirit rushed through stone, water, gates and walls to meet the Pawn on the stairs in the entrance hall of the dark castle.
'Where is he?!' the oldest demanded.
Silently the one who had been enslaved pointed at the floor.
Almost as if on demand there was a distant, disgusting slam and a scream.
The two warlocks cringed, their hands clenching into shaking fists.
'Frog will be here any minute, I'll go protect our friend and try to win some more time,' the Prince snarled, 'do you know the secret pass way from Flea's room to the dungeons?'
'It's in Slash's room as I remember it,' the Pawn said.
They exchanged tired glances and shook their heads.
Time streams be cursed!
'I'll just take them to that room and make them destroy the wall,' the younger one grunted.
'Do that.'
The Prince began to descend through the floor.
'But what if Flea manage to ban you?' the Pawn pointed out, warningly.
The oldest Janus shook his head.
'I'll take that risk, and if so I'll find a way back again.'
'It should be me, you know. He's my student.'
The Prince gave a joyless smile.
'Don't forget I was inside of your head the whole time. Besides you fought for him the last time, it's my turn and I need to repay your help for earlier.'
He disappeared through the carpets and stone.
And the main gate smashed open. With a grim nod the Pawn of the Mystics began to turn his spirit fully visible.
Janus just let out a weak, shivering groan as the cold Slasher touched his torn, bloodied chest.
"Think his precious king would like his heart?" Slash smirked.
"Heart? That's so old-fashioned!" Flea loudly protested.
"Alright, alright…"
The royal wizard clamped his teeth against a hiss while the sharp tip teased his burning flesh that normally should be protecting his ribs better. On the floor at least one foot below him drops of blood and sweat mixed.
"I'm not that good at human biology," the bald monster said, with a sadistic smirk watching Janus' grimace, "is the liver important?"
For the first time in a while words that could be understood left the wizard's lips.
"I happen to like all of my insides," he growled though his voice was stuttering and swaying, "so I'd be happy if you'd keep all your grubby hands, swords and imps off them."
Behind Slash's back one of the goblins raised his whip with a questioning look, but Ozzie waved at him to let the purple swordsman handle the situation.
"You're one to talk, royal wizard," Slash calmly commented.
Janus' exhausted eyes suddenly sparkled with a tired relief.
"Maybe…" he hoarsely croaked.
A blade flashed through the dark air and the Slasher made a flight as its owner had no chance to be prepared for it. With a surprised growl shared with every other monster in the dungeon Slash leaped backwards.
"Good evening," the Prince of Darkness coldly said, skilled hands changing grip of his scythe again.
"Not another one!" Ozzie snarled.
"Hold it you idiots!" Flea growled as several of the monsters moved into attacking poses, "it's only a spirit!"
"Oh really?" was Slash's dry comment, "I suppose I just accidentally threw away my own weapon, then?"
"It's a question of pouring your will into a physical form," the middle-aged Janus informed with a sneer, "a bit troublesome to master but not impossible. Isn't that so, Flea?"
"You're not the one who escaped with Janus all those years ago, are you?" the magician replied, grimly eying the warrior.
The free blue-haired man smirked a bit.
"For the sake of keeping it simple, no I am not. Would a slave of yours wield Lizard's weapon, my generals?"
Before they had time to even start letting that one sunk in the spirit threw out his right hand at the room.
"Chela ta luon yleqie!" he shouted, sending small, glowing stars towards the hesitating monsters.
These stars were not for healing. Flea, Slash and a few others managed to duck, Ozzie stood behind a slow goblin and escaped, but many got hit and yelped. It wasn't more than a bee's sting since magic couldn't be properly lead through simply a spirit - as earlier pointed out -, but it added to the confusion.
"I'm not in the mood for this!" Flea angrily stated and raised his hands.
Black-purple lightning bolts hit the wall as the spirit ducked and moved out of the way with movements similar to a snake.
"Nice to see we're keeping the shape…" Janus hoarsely muttered with a small triumphant grimace.
"You just shut up…"
The Prince leaped out of the way and sent another storm of stars straightly at Flea, who managed to duck even this time. The goblins behind him had less luck.
"… And wait for being properly rescued, you idiot," the oldest warlock snarled.
"You make me miss Lai again…"
"You're already hanging on a wall…"
Duck.
"… Bleeding more than you should…"
More stars, spin aside.
"… Don't make yourself seem like a love starved fourteen year old too."
"Heh… what did I do?" Janus exhaustedly smirked despite the throbbing, flaring pain.
"I don't even know where to start."
"We're coming, Janus!"
Marle's voice pierced the heavy air, like the bolts of her weapon did. In the back of the room there was quite a ruckus going on due to said princess, two swordsmen and yet another spirit.
"Stalling is a dirty art, but has its bounties," the man with the scythe said with a smirk.
"Oh dear, oh dear," Ozzie said, floating up a little to see what was happening, "two spirits and three warriors against about two hundred monsters."
"You know, I really wish you all would stop saying things like that…!" Slash snarled, warily changing grip of the Slasher.
There was a hissing chuckle. The Prince suspiciously turned to see Janus slowly raise his heavy head, a dangerous glistening in the tired, red eyes.
"It must be lonely being the only one thinking clearly in this pack, Slash…" the royal wizard whispered in a rasping voice.
Surge… oh crap.
"You don't have the power!" the Prince hoarsely shouted.
"Hah!"
Janus' whole body exploded with darkness, and the force threw every single monster up against the walls. A lot of them passed out, smacked between the stone and their allies. But the spirits, Frog, Crono and Marle were left unharmed, rather stupidly blinking at the chaos.
"My mistake," the Prince sighed and watched the wizard smirk triumphantly before his eyes rolled upwards and he lost consciousness due to the agony and power he'd used to help in the battle, "you fool…"
"Ohh…"
Flea got up with a snarl, supported by the mantis which in turn was making a dangerously buzzing sound.
"You'll regret that dearly, boy! Worch crahela krun shar retetack!"
From the fine hands a Dark Mist flew, a hideous black cloud growing for every feet of air it passed. Straight towards the comatose and bound wizard.
"Not this again…" the Prince snarled and grudgingly jumped in between the attacking storm of corroding power and Janus.
His body had nasty memories of that spell, and he had no idea what could happen if his spirit was caught in it. But at this rate he had to do something. He swung his scythe at the dark fog and it backed away, trying to get around him as if it had a mind of its own. A hungry mind.
"Na sela uloro worch netal vonodra kchar!"
The Pawn's chanting was almost too quick to be heard, and in his current form he couldn't do very much. But perhaps it was enough.
While Frog attacked one of the first monsters to regain its senses, the black and white void swirled into the middle of the room. The controlling spirit clenched his jaw and forcefully made a complicated movement with both his arms.
The Prince leaped backwards and the white triangle fled the grip of the black one, absorbing the Dark Mist before it got swallowed itself.
This wave of dark pressure wasn't as powerful as the original, but it still knocked everyone backwards a little. The mantis turned unconscious after a forceful knock into the wall.
But though it for a moment seemed like a won battle a couple of legless monsters known as sorcerers left the confused, mostly fainted heaps of monsters and sent wave upon wave of healing stars over their comrades. It wasn't enough to awaken more than a couple of dozen of the Mystics, but among the healed were the three leaders.
"I keep telling you…" Slash grumbled as he stood, "but do you ever listen? No, no, never…"
He turned his head at the wall were Janus hung, finding two half transparent, blue-haired warriors guarding the man. The swordsman shrugged and turned back to the rest of the room, with an "I don't have the nerve anymore" look about his whole being.
The two Januses that were awake exchanged glances and nodded, staying put to watch the oncoming battle.
Your battle, people.
Crono knocked a rather dizzy purple goblin with a bow aside and parried Slash's attack with his own thin sword. In the next second Frog was at Flea's throat while Marle carefully aimed at the monster that her soon-to-be boyfriend was fighting.
"They're that good already," the Prince commented, "taking on all three at once."
"They took on Flea, Slash and me about now, you know," the Pawn said, watching the fight rage on.
The oldest one gave a dry chuckle.
"Frog and the others had trouble taking care of them one at the time in my time stream," he said, "on the other hand, then my generals were at full strength and their brainwashed helper didn't suddenly turn against them."
"True. Hmm?"
The Pawn suddenly frowned.
Ssshhh…
BEWARE!"Augh!"
Even Ozzie and his helpers looked around in surprise as they heard the clanking of a fallen, ghostly weapon and the two shouts.
The two men with read cloaks were staggering and crouching, pressing their hands against their heads in agony.
"What is happening to thee?" Frog called.
"The black wind…" the Pawn hissed.
He leaned against the wall and glared at his still staggering companion.
"Can you handle it?" he harshly asked.
"Good question… I think so…" the older snarled, trying to keep absolutely still as if the slightest movement would cause him to break apart.
"What in Lardon's name are…" Flea began, but the whole castle suddenly shook and caused everyone to with surprised shouts loose their balance.
The walls cracked dangerously.
"This is very familiar…" the Prince snarled, attempting to straighten up.
What's going on?! Crono shouted above a second quake.
"Theoretically, if there is an evil being who loves Shadow energy sucking on the planet's life force underground," the Pawn harshly growled, "and two sets of a man it would die to get in its clutches releases their dark powers…"
"It should have the same effect as a spell going 'nuega, ziena, zieber, zom, now the chosen time has come'," the Prince snarled, "by the powers, there is a limit to how much of Lavos I can handle in such a short time!"
"Lavos?!" Crono, Marle and Flea more or less screeched.
"He's going to wake up on us!" the Prince snarled and rushed through the air.
Flea wriggled in surprised shock as an almost transparent, bigger hand caught the pink, fine fingers.
"Normally I wouldn't do this you cretin," the oldest Janus growled and glared the surprised magician straight in the eyes, "but we need to teleport the Mystics out of here, understand?!"
"B-but… what?!" Flea stammered, naturally dumbfounded.
There was a second shake and of the creatures with bodies present only the female looking one could keep his balance because of the suddenly two warlocks holding his hands.
"This is a one timer," the Pawn snarled, hooking up his free hand with his older mirror's, "get those red things off Janus and we'll give you enough power to teleport your people out."
"What art thee doing?!" Frog called in distrust.
"Lavos is awakening, a huge Gate will open any second!" the one who had led the Mystics snarled, "and having Mystics thrown through that will be a catastrophe for everyone!"
He turned to the still stunned Flea again.
"Do it, you fool. For Lizard and Magician if nothing else!"
A third shake.
There was a dark sparkle in the air a few feet from Janus…
Princes! The darkest one is coming! Flee, now!
"Flea! Let them help or we'll all die!" Ozzie snarled.
"You're nuts…"
Finally the magician closed his eyes and began to mutter, a frown of concentration disrupting his normally smooth forehead. The air sparkled as a dancing light swept around the three magic users, sweeping hair and cloaks around while they all chanted. Golden threads exploded from their chests, creating a glistening spider web of power between them. The swirling light spread across the dungeon and every monster it touched immediately disappeared.
"Flea, you can't…!" Slash shouted but was gone before he could finish the sentence.
Apart from the magician, he had been the last one.
The Pawn, Prince and Flea stumbled as their chanting halted, exhausted by the huge consume of willpower.
"Free Janus… now…" the oldest snarled through clenched teeth.
"Idiots…"
There was a thump and Janus limblessly fell to the floor as the tentacles left him. Mere inches from his hand the border of a great flashing darkness pulsated, steadily growing. As the ground shook a fourth time and rocks from the roof began to hit the floor the huge Gate began to quickly develop a gravitation of itself. And a powerful one at that.
Flea tiredly smirked and tugged his hands free, falling into the last of the teleporting light. He was gone.
"Janus!" Frog screeched, helplessly seeing his friend being sucked closer to the darkness.
"He'll be fine, trust me!" the Prince called and zoomed to the fallen wizard's side, "we'll take care of him, you hold on to each other and jump in!"
"Are you completely crazy!?" Marle shouted.
"It's that or being buried alive!" the Pawn snarled and joined his mirror.
"It should take you back to Ayla's time," the former leader of the Mystics shouted above the increasing wind and crumbling, "you'll be fine! Trust me!"
We don't have a choice, Crono grimly said with a look at the roof, come on, take my hands!
He sheathed his sword and reached out. Hesitatingly Frog and Marle put their weapons away and took a hand each.
See you later, then! the young man called.
"Dost not allow anything to harm Janus before I hath spoken to him!" Frog growled.
"Take care…" Marle said, a bit nervously but sternly looking at the center of the darkness.
"Don't you worry," the Pawn called as the three leaped into the Gate.
The warriors seemed to spin around the edges of the time portal for a moment before they became vanishing streaks of color within it.
Another quake, but it didn't matter that much anymore. The gravity had gotten a grip of Janus and he was half floating, half dragged into the Gate.
"Good point with making Flea teleport," the Pawn commented.
"Yes. As much as we all hate helping him, we cannot risk sending the Mystics all over history."
"Exactly. Did this happen to you?"
"Something similar, it was my battle with Frog, Crono and Lucca that awoke Lavos, combined with my summoning spell," the Prince explained.
"I'm sorry for this mess, I shouldn't have used Dark Matter."
"No, it's better this way. At least if it works like it did for me. Lavos won't awake to the fullest, and go back to sleep when our presence leaves."
The darkness engulfed them and they were sucked through the corridor of unearthly colors. But the two who were awake kept their grips firmly on their friend not to loose him in time.
"So if it works, where are we going?" the Pawn wondered.
There was no need for answering that, as the corridor opened up and the three fell out on a grassy field.
"It worked."
The Prince's voice was forcefully calm, but there was a bitterness in it that he couldn't hide. His ally glanced around and sighed deeply.
The field was filled with the most beautiful flowers one could dream of. A small, clear river floated through it from a distant spring. Even further away was a town of white, peculiar houses.
To the west was a pointy mountain, wearing an even on this distance glamorous and impressive building like a crown. The thing was, the mountain was on another island than the one the tree men was on. And it wasn't water separating the lands, but winds and white clouds.
It was beautiful, the place of their birth. And oh so painful to see.
The kingdom of Zeal had a grown prince and his guardians visiting.