Took a while longer than usual, but now that you can read about what happened in the other time stream too there's more freedom for you readers and me as well :) It's finally time for the truth to be revealed.
I have a problem though. I have no real idea of what will happen in the palace. I had this lined out and what's to come afterwards (most of it) but not that. Oh well… it'll come. Somehow, somewhere over the rainbow…
Ahem.
~*~*~
"What a peculiar place…" Frog mumbled in amazed puzzlement.
"Yeah…" Marle said in a low voice, "now I really wonder what year it is."
Well, it doesn't look like the future, but neither like any past I've heard of, Crono said.
What amazed them the most wasn't the fantastic architecture or not even the fact that they were upon an island floating high up in the sky. By now they felt more bewildered about that nobody of the many strangely dressed people inhabiting the era seemed to mind Frog at all. The men, women and children glanced a little at the travelers every now and then, but they seemed to look more at what the three wore than the rest of them.
Lucca and Ayla had profusely explained that they hated cold, and Frog had been about to fly off the handle of his worry for his lost blue-haired friend. Therefore it had been decided that he would be better off following Crono than stay in the End of Time, just being apprehensive. Robo hadn't had anything against staying, and Marle had been curious about the new time, thus the party had been sorted out.
The showdown against the Reptites had been tiring, but their main worry was all the same ever since the Mystic's castle, though.
"I wonder if Janus is here somewhere," the princess concernedly said, glancing at Frog who bitterly clamped is teeth.
How big were the chances to ever find…
"Are you looking for young sir Janus?" an elderly man said.
He almost jumped when the three peculiar guests spun at him.
"What?!"
"Excuse me, I overheard you…" he said, rather surprised.
"Is Janus here?" Marle hurriedly asked, unable to be polite in her freed anxiety.
"Do you have an urgent message for the prince?" the old man asked, puzzled over their behavior.
"The wh…" Frog began, but Crono managed to cut him off before they got even more suspicious.
In his recent travels the young man had picked up a way to act neutral with the new people he met, finding that it always was easier to play along and find out the facts later to avoid trouble.
Yes, it's very important, the red-hair quickly said, we need to see him as soon as possible. Have you seen him?
The old man nodded, thoughtfully. Inwardly Marle groaned, seeing a rant coming as she was used to scholars and people liking the sound of their own voice.
"He's here somewhere," the man said and sighed, "I've never seen such a troubled boy…"
Truly? Crono said, managing to sound natural even this time though it was a close call.
He was only trying to coax more information, but Marle could have whacked him over the head with her bow out of habit.
"Yes," their informatory gladly continued, "it is indeed tragic that a boy of his bloodline cannot use magic. And his asocial manners! They're inexcusable… truly sad."
Crono, Marle and Frog blinked rather stupidly, but the man didn't even notice, caught up in his own thoughts.
"He should really open up to more than his sister," he said, "what shall we do with such a heir to the throne? It's impossible that a monstros… I mean, low-level human could ever rule our kingdom. Then again, when the Ocean Palace is finished maybe…"
"We… we truly need to see the prince, sir," Frog said in a rather weak voice.
"Oh, of course. Excuse me."
The man smiled and looked around.
"I saw him just a moment ago… ah, there he is. Above the stair."
Slowly the three warriors turned to follow the man's gaze and pointing finger.
A small body dressed in purple robes was crouching down over a cat, stroking its head. The boy had blue hair, but that was all the observers could see from the distance.
Thanks a lot! Crono said so fast that it was almost inaudible, just half a second before he, Marle and Frog broke into a run.
They rushed towards the stair, absentmindedly apologizing to the people getting in the way.
The boy suddenly straightened up and turned around, looking down the stair at the runners that skidded to a halt and almost crashed into each other as they stared up at the sad, gem-green eyes.
Not Janus' red eyes…
The staring seemed to go on for an eternity.
"The black wind howls," the boy suddenly said in a bitter voice, "one among you will soon perish."
Crono, Marle and Frog were already shocked by what they just had heard from the old man and it just became worse by the boy's words. They couldn't even open their mouths or reach out as he quickly brushed past them.
"Wait…" Marle whispered, but prince Janus and his purple cat were already by the town's exit and leaving.
They were silent for a moment.
The… black wind? Crono finally slowly said, a tad bit pale.
"'Tis… 'tis too much of a coincidence…" Frog whispered.
He almost jumped through the roof when a hand touched his shoulder from behind. Spinning around the three travelers' breath got stuck in their throats again.
Janus pressed a finger against his lips with a cringe, his face shadowed below the hood of the cape he wore.
"My hair will give me away," he hissed, "lets get out of here, I'll explain everything."
That would be appreciated… Crono slowly said.
He and his two companions hurried after Janus as he walked towards the gates in a quick stride.
The four began running as soon as they had exited the town, rushing away from all the people that could overhear their conversation. Soon they reached the small river flowing over the island and down towards the clouds below.
Janus threw his hood backwards and sunk down in the grass, seeming almost relieved.
"Nice to see you again," he said, trying to smile a bit.
"What happened to thee?" Frog asked with a frown as he too sat down, "what is happening?"
"What about the prince?" Marle wondered.
Who was he? Crono questioned.
Janus held up his hands.
"It's a long story, calm down," he tiredly said and rubbed his forehead, "I hardly even know where to start."
"Do you have a headache?" Marle concernedly asked, noticing the wizard's frown.
He nodded with a small, strangely ironical grimace.
"I've got one you wouldn't believe," he said.
'Are you calling me a headache?'
'Do you really want to serve me a comment on that?' the Prince shot in before Janus could reply.
'I'm burning with offence!' Flea pouted.
'Just shut up, I'm trying to think!' Janus grunted.
"It's passing," he said aloud, "now let me explain."
He made a motion with his hand towards the entire area around them, the floating islands, buildings and sky.
"I have been keeping it a secret, and I apologize for that I wasn't being honest," the wizard said with a stitch of bitterness in his voice, "but I felt it was better to wait until you had seen some of it with your own eyes. This is the year 12000 BC, the kingdom of Zeal. And I was born here; the boy you saw was truly me."
"Thou art a prince?" Frog said in disbelief.
Janus nodded, watching his hands.
"I was born a bastard son of Queen Zeal, nearly nobody knew who my father was and I could have lived without finding out. Sadly that wasn't the case and he will most certainly cause us trouble."
His voice grew even more bitter, but shifted to soft at a certain point as he continued:
"Though my mother was the queen and the most finest of magicians, I never showed any signs of being able to use magic. Thus I was considered a worthless child, a freak even. To a point mother still loved me, but suddenly she stopped caring. Left were only my cat Alfador and my sister, Schala. She brought me up as mother was lost."
He fell silent, trying to figure out how to continue.
"What happened to you, why did you come to Guardia from here?" Marle asked, carefully.
Janus smiled a bit, bitterly.
"I'll get to that," he promised, "first of all… when I say that my mother went lost I don't mean that she died. It's as simple as it is horrifying. Look around."
Again he motioned at the floating world.
"Zeal is a magical place," he explained, "however, no human could keep these mountains afloat like this. The power that allows this life above the harsh winter lands comes from the god of this land. And that is Lavos."
"Say what?!"
"Lavos is an intelligent being," Janus growled, "and you felt his power when he awoke in the Mystic's lair."
How can you know that? Crono asked, you were uncon…
"My guardians," Janus mildly said.
Oh.
"Who are they?" Marle asked, unable not to stray from the subject in her puzzlement.
"They're from different paths of time, versions of what I could have been," Janus said, "the oldest you saw led the Mystics in the war against the humans, the younger one served them as a slave. But he was also the one saving me from either fate. Calm down, we're getting there."
His friends nodded and he continued:
"Lavos has this land under control through my mother, whom he is possessing. I don't look forward to fighting her but I have been forced to face that it's inevitable. Now then…"
He smiled a bit at this point.
"Remember that history is different now, and that my guardians are from what one can call different versions of the same timeline. Different sides, almost identical but not truly. Do you understand?"
"I believe I do," Frog slowly nodded.
Marle and Crono agreed after a moment of trying to grasp the idea.
"Well then, that's the main thing you'll have to remember to understand my tale," Janus explained, "my story began from early tomorrow, as it takes some time to travel over to the palace from here. One day when I was seven years old I had just returned from Enhasa, where I had gone trying to get my mind off things. Though I was so small I was a troubled child, as I was regarded worthless by almost everyone. And soon the Ocean Palace would be complete, robbing me of the one human caring for me. Schala was to move into the new capital, and I'd most likely not see her whenever I wanted ever again. Upon coming back from Enhasa I went to talk to Schala. Apart from my normal troubles I was worried about the black wind. It's a sort of omen that only I and my sister seem able to feel…"
"What did your younger self mean with that one among us soon would perish?" Marle worriedly asked.
'Bloody hell…' Janus thought.
He seldom cursed but there were times it felt better.
'Stay calm,' his teacher warned.
'Right.'
"The black wind sounds to me like a choir of ghostly voices warning about misfortune, pain and death whenever such approaches. Something horrible will happen to this country, that much is certain, but it's vague on the details," Janus lied, trying not to glance too much at Crono.
Does it say that one of us three will die soon? the young man grimly asked.
He will die to save others, prince… it's so sad, such a young, strong human…
"I can't say for certain," Janus calmly said, "it has been wrong before and I can hardly grasp the message now. So don't worry unnecessarily, that'll just eat at your focus."
They looked a bit skeptic but before they could continue the wizard smiled a little, dryly.
"Don't worry. You seemed healthy enough when you showed up here last," he said.
"Huh?" the listeners wondered, dumbfounded.
"While I was talking to Schala that day three strangers entered her room, but none of us noticed them before Schala was called to the throne room. There was one young man with red hair, a young blond woman with green clothes and a big, fully dressed frog."
Their looks just caused him to smile a bit more.
"What happened then wasn't so good however," he continued, dropping his good mood a little again, "you got captured by the queen's head advisor Dalton."
Shaking his head he growled:
"He's a corrupt, backstabbing, power hungry, murderous, cruel, weak-minded, cowardly, egoistical swine of a fool. And on top of that he's my father."
"Oh dear…" Marle mumbled.
"I see why thee never spoke much of family," Frog mildly said, his green face a tad bit pale though.
At that, Janus even smiled a bit again, although dryly.
"So is the cruel truth," he said, "in any case, Schala decided to free the strangers from the prison and let them out, hoping that they could do something about the catastrophes the two of us felt nearing. This was since they had proved themselves brave warriors against Dalton's henchmen. So they left… a couple of days later the Ocean Palace was finished. Schala and I decided to try to flee to the Earthbound ones, meaning humans without any magic skill. They are banished from Zeal and have to try to survive best they can down on the ground. Hadn't I been the queen's son I had probably been thrown there as well."
Now his smile turned more genuine again.
"On the way to the caves of the Earthbound ones Schala and I met another stranger, walking through the snowstorm shielded by spells different from my sister's. As we closed in we found him quite fearful, he was pale as death itself and his crimson cloak flapped like demon wings in the storm. He seemed very weak too, almost scared of us. After a moment he explained that his name was Janus; a future me. You have no idea how such information shocks, I'm just glad Schala was there to calm me. Then he teleported us to the caves…"
It took the wizard a while to tell his tale to the end, then listening to his companion's story about the reptites.
"So what do we do now?" Marle asked as both sides were finished.
"First of all I think we better try to stay as close to the timeline as I remember it as possible," Janus grimly said, "because I don't want to risk loosing this boy-me to the Mystics by wrecking havoc in the story. We should travel in a group of three."
"But thou knowest this time, it would be wise that thee followed us," Frog wisely pointed out.
The wizard nodded.
"I suppose so. Then again, giving myself away as Janus so that Lavos finds out I'm here would not be wise. He wants my death more than Flea ever could dream of."
'Darn right! You can't accuse any of me to eat your magic and make a package of your soul!'
The three Januses just silently grunted something.
"Have you learnt healing magic yet, Glenn?" the present one mildly asked aloud.
There was a silence. Then Frog chuckled, shaking his head.
"I canst not believe thou can still surprise me," he said, "and nay, not much though it grows within me."
"I believe that my presence here already change history," Janus said with a sigh, "and we'll have to be prepared for fights. Magic is essential as it's the way of battle here. I'm sorry."
"Though it pains me I see thy point," Frog nodded with a sigh.
What should we worry about? Crono asked.
"Dalton, mainly," Janus said, "he looks like this…"
He raised his hand a pressed two fingers against his forehead, with simple willpower creating a life sized illusion of the one-eyed man.
"I'll avoid using Shadow spells at any cost," the wizard said and made the picture disappear again, "it may draw Lavos' attention and we might not be ready for him yet. Especially not since he can rally the whole Zealan army against us."
"Infiltration mission, eh?" Marle said and smiled nervously.
We'll be fine, we have a guide who knows the whole place this time, Crono said, trying to calm the princess.
"If it makes you feel better, Enhasa has some useful shops," Janus calmingly said, "I would have proposed seeing if there's anything we can use anyway."
"Wouldst thee go to explore the city?" Frog asked, looking at Crono and Marle, "I wish to have a word with Janus alone."
The two youngsters exchanged glances and looked at Janus, who nodded lightly.
Alright, Crono said and stood, we'll be back soon.
"Take the time you need," Janus kindly said.
Crono and Marle walked off, puzzled glancing back a couple of times. As they we're out of hearing range Janus nodded.
"Alright, what is it?" he calmly asked.
"I wish to apologize," Frog replied, sadly shaking his head.
"For what then?"
"In the past I have scolded thee for being cold to lady Lai," the knight said, "but upon learning about this time travel and thy past I can finally draw a line between our friend and miss Lucca."
Janus watched his hands.
"I don't blame you," he said in a controlled voice, "it was I who never told you."
"But dost she know this?"
"Yes…"
Janus shook his head without looking up.
"It was very trying for me to keep quiet around you and everyone else, but when it came to Lai it was impossible. I could not keep lying to her."
"Dost thee love her, then?" Frog softly asked.
"It can never be, Glenn. For Lucca's sake; I am not meant to be her ancestor. She might stop existing."
"I see."
"Since you're going back in time, would you go home and tell everyone that we are still alive?"
At this, Frog very dryly chuckled.
"Question thyself what thou art asking of me," he said with a small smirk, "thou ask me to return to the castle and tell Her Highness and His Majesty, all the knights, our friends and most importantly Lai that thou art well, but canst not return yet? That I failed to bring thee home safe? There would be fried frogs legs on the menu by nightfall."
Janus finally looked up and even chuckled a bit at the comment. Frog smiled a little, glad to have recovered his friend's optimism a little.
"True that," the wizard said with a small grin, "I better come with you when time allows, so that you'll be left out of the slaughter."
"Fair enough," the knight chuckled.