Chapter 26, Face off
"This'll protect you against the cold," Janus said with a smile, placing a sparkle on Marle's forehead and turning to Lucca for the same treatment, "good luck you three."
"Thanks," the princess of Guardia said, her eyes glistening with determination.
The assembled troop in the End of Time waved at the two women and Robo as they jumped off the edge to Epoch, Marle clutching the Chrono Trigger in a safe grip.
That over with, everyone went back to just waiting. Or rather, Gaspar, Frog and Janus did. Ayla went to fight Spekkio out of boredom. The sounds from the battle was magically and thankfully distant.
"Don't you get bored here, Gaspar?" Janus asked in a conversional manner, sitting down in a free corner of the room and leaning against the railing.
He put the staff on the ground and stretched out before getting into a casual and relaxed stance.
"Heh, if I couldn't watch time I'd go crazy living here," the guru admitted with a chuckle, "I get to see quite a few interesting things."
He tipped his hat a bit with a small smile.
"You know, family lines growing, love stories, frogs with broadswords killing dinosaurs…"
Frog chuckled and gave a light bow.
"'Tis an honor to entertain thee, sir Gaspar," he smirked.
"Can you see where Schala is, then?" Janus asked.
'Hey, gotta try.'
'Now you're thinking like that alternate Flea talked,' the Prince grunted.
'Blasphemy.'
"I'm sorry, prince Janus," Gaspar said with a sigh, "not all events of time are always open to me. Otherwise I would have sent you to find her already."
"I trust you as much, my friend. And quit calling me prince, it's wizard or just Janus if you please."
"If you say so, Janus."
The wizard smiled a bit and leaned his head backwards, looking up into the never ending brownish sky. After a moment he began feeling like he was falling into it and closed his eyes to get rid of the sinking sensation.
'Aww, he's feeling down again,' Flea commented.
'You're too attached,' the Prince muttered.
But in the next second he sighed.
'I'm one to talk…'
The other three of the group smiled a bit at their second oldest member, not scornfully.
'But it's personal this time!' the Mystic said.
'Isn't it always?' Janus dryly replied.
He looked up and smiled a bit as Frog plopped down beside him.
"Dost thee believe they will be victorious?" the swordsman softly asked.
"I don't think they're allowed to fail," Janus replied with a gentle smirk, "we're stopping Lavos at all costs. Hm…"
He sighed lightly.
"… And cleaning up history."
"Dost that bother thee?" Frog wondered.
"Well you know…"
Janus leaned his cheek in a hand.
"When Lavos is dead I'll leave Guardia to find Schala," he muttered.
"Oh, I see…" Frog said in a low voice, looking down at his hands as well as his misplaced eyes allowed.
Grunting lightly the wizard shifted.
"Will have to make sure the Mystics are gone first…"
He smiled joylessly.
"I'll have to kill Flea."
For the strange tone in his voice he got a puzzled gaze.
"Does thee hesitate when facing that deed?" Frog wondered, frowning.
"Ah, not in his case. But when I saved the boy I met another kind of Flea, one that helped me. It will be hard to wash his memory out of my head when I fight."
'And you're not helping either,' he grunted in his thought to one of his guardians.
'Aww…'
"'Tis a true twist of fate," the swordsman commented, "why wouldst he aid thee?"
"He didn't get along with Ozzie, Slash or any of the other Mystics very well, so to speak."
Janus put a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"I'm still freeing us from our magician though," he declared and smiled a bit, "for your sake if nothing else, Glenn."
Frog smiled a bit.
"Thy loyalty warms my heart. But pull a stunt like with the mantis again and I shall cut thy hands off."
"Alright, alright…" Janus chuckled.
'Heh…' the spirit Flea muttered.
Nothing else.
'You're awfully quiet,' Janus suspiciously thought.
'I'm leaving you this moment,' his teacher mildly said, 'don't know about those two though.'
Flea and the Prince exchanged quick glances, as if offhand.
'Just remembering,' the oldest Janus calmly stated.
'Yeah, my shoulder still aches where you cleaved. All the way down to my…'
'Thanks, I remember just fine by my own.'
'Tch, tch, tch…'
'Is there something you're not telling us?' the Pawn wondered.
'It's something you'll find out and pass on your own, boys,' the Mystic happily said.
'Sounds like fun…'
"And for the memory of Cyrus," Frog pointed out, his smile dropping.
The wizard's face changed to a grim mask as well and he nodded.
"Of course. And everyone else that died in the war."
"Truly."
Janus, Frog and Gasper looked up as a flash of light announced the arrival of Epoch. Moments later Marle, Lucca and Robo swept up from the darkness below. Crono landed between them, grinning widely.
"Crono!" Frog called with a big smile, leaping to his feet and dropping the earlier moment's dark determination.
The wizard got up as well to joyfully welcome his friend back to life.
The two warriors from Guardia nearly got overrun by Ayla, who dashed out of Spekkio's room and literally pounced the surprised returner.
Marle flinched for a second, but got a grip of herself as Ayla leaped off the young man almost immediately as if she was afraid he had gone broken. But he got up with a chuckle.
Glad to see you too, he mildly said.
"Ayla glad Crono okay!" the cave woman beamed, "so worried about Marle too!"
"Eh…" the princess began, though dropping it.
'They were so cute on Death Peak, hugging! Nyaha!' Flea giggled, causing the Prince to roll his eyes.
'Good update…' Janus just commented with a faint smile and grabbed Crono's hand.
And you're back in one piece too I see, the red-hair grinned.
"It went as well as I could have hoped for, yeah," the wizard smiled, "good to have you back."
Gasper let the reunion go on for a while, then he cleared his throat to get the attention.
"Now that you're back in full force you might be able to tackle Lavos," he announced, "however I have seen glimpses of history that you might need to look into before that…"
The fact that the sun shone from an almost cloud free sky didn't seem to fit into the picture. Not even the thin forest seemed as threatening as it should have.
The iron portal in the dark wall did add up a little, but it wasn't nearly enough.
'It should have been raining,' Janus idly thought, his fingers tip tapping against the staff as he silently watched the dark castle.
'Don't be so sentimental,' the Prince muttered.
'It's not just that, it's hard enough to get into the right mood for this as it is. More appropriate weather could help.'
The Prince just shook his head at that.
'You have to see it from his view, milord,' Flea said with wide, innocent eyes, 'would you be able to kill me again after all that's happened?'
'Don't push me.'
The spirit Mystic cheerfully grinned.
A pair of gargoyles screeched at each other on top of the wall as the three warriors came out of the forest. When realizing they were seen, the monsters dove down on the inside.
Janus exchanged glances with Frog and Crono, then walked closer to the gate.
The knocks rung through the still air like a gong.
"Mystics!" the wizard called, "I am Janus! Let's settle this once and for all!"
Even though the song of iron hung in the area for several seconds after the last knock, it was as silent as the depth of the ocean. A very tense silence.
They're not answering the bell… Crono grimly concluded, his hand on his sword hilt.
"So it seems," Frog said, motioning at the gate, "shall we enter as they dost not decline us to do so?"
"Be my guest," Janus nodded and stepped aside.
It took a couple of swings to break the gate, but in the end it fell before the might of Frog's blade.
With the wizard in the lead the three entered the fairly small courtyard, only to be greeted by an angry buzz.
A big, familiar insect stormed out of the castle gate, it's black eyes set upon Janus.
Again the staff suffered deep cuts but remained in one piece. Without a word the wizard threw his weapon at the nearest wall, sending the mantis flying. It got control of its flight in time and zoomed back, finding itself forced to parry a thin sword. Hissing it tumbled over Crono's head and rushed towards Janus again.
The staff slammed into its chest, hardly marking the steel-hard panzer. But Frog's swing nearly cut off the nearest sword arm, had the opponent not been so quick.
We're getting more company! Crono warned.
Freelancers and goblins with varying weapons were hurrying down the stair to the fort, flanked by sorcerers and skeletons. They were much more scarce than expected, but still not a nice sight.
"Keep him busy for a while, I'll clear some room!" Janus growled.
"Aye!" Frog grimly nodded.
Crono would have agreed had he not been busy with the mantis already.
"Powers of the Underworld…"
A shrill whistle tore the air into pieces and nearly caused all the fighters to drop their weapons in the fight to cover their ears.
"That's enough, in you go!" Flea's voice snarled.
Sourly buzzing the mantis turned and flew into the fort again, past his master in the doorframe. The other monsters were giving their magician puzzled looks.
The humans cautiously tightened the grip of their weapons as the monsters cleared way down the stair for the pink skinned one.
'Either he's got more guts than I thought possible or it's a trick,' the Pawn commented.
'I think it's something just in between,' the spirit Flea muttered, raising an eyebrow.
"What trickery be this?" Frog aggressively demanded.
Flea smirked a bit and stretched a bit of the glowing whip he held between his hands.
"I give Janus as much," he stated, "this is between him and me and I'm not sharing again."
Feeling down after the fiasco last time? Crono scoffed.
"You stay out of this, human."
'Is he serious?' Janus thought, a bit surprised.
'As far as I can see he's pretty offended from when we helped him save the Mystics,' the Prince emotionlessly said, 'whether you'd believe it or not he's got more sides than the childish one.'
'Oh, thank you, milord,' Flea smirked, 'I think. Erk!'
"Back off, you two," Janus calmly said, motioning at the area behind his back.
"What?" both the swordsmen said, disbelieving.
The wizard smiled a bit.
"It's the first time Flea and me agrees on something, it's only fair. You stay out of this one."
He'll make them shoot at you at any chance possible! Crono growled, glaring at the common Mystics.
"Hell no," Flea snapped, "no one's interfering this time."
"Wouldn't something be wrong if I had a fight with Slash, but not with my archenemy?" Janus mildly said, "we really need to get this done."
Hesitatingly Crono and Frog backed away.
'Heh, you know…' the spirit Flea muttered, scratching his cheek with one finger, 'there's something very disturbing about watching yourself get wasted, so see you guys later.'
And he was gone from Janus' head, leaving a somewhat empty space behind.
"It should be raining," the wizard said in a low voice, almost idly.
Flea's lips twitched a little as he drew his hand back and moved his feet into a fighting stance.