Today, one of the most popular characters among our writing team, Magus of Chrono Trigger, has his first match, against Splinter Cell star Sam Fisher. Seadragon76 wrote the prologue, BigCow wrote the match, and Furious J wrote the aftermath.
Preshow
Sam Fisher's locker room, 2 hours before the battle
Sam Fisher, the Splinter Cell, was in his locker room, preparing for the match. He calmly cleaned the muzzle of the AK-47 rifle he had brought with him to this tourney. Yeah, it's nice to have all of this high-tech gadgetry and all, thought Sam, But, will this be enough to survive the tourney, let alone survive against someone like the wizard?
Just then, Sam heard a knock on his door. It was Max Payne, a fellow law enforcement worker... Max and Sam had bonded over their past similar experiences over the month of preparation for this tourney, and Max had come to wish Sam well in the fight. "Max, my friend. Nice of you to come by." said Sam. "Same here, Fisher. Are you ready for Magus?" "I guess so, Max. I happen to have my AK-47, some Night vision goggles, and this pistol. Hopefully, it'll be enough to take down Magus… That wizard has power in him."
Sam Fisher paused and looked at Max for a moment. Max seemed fairly relaxed as he stood before his fellow gunman… He hadn't been training quite as much as Sam over the past month.
"Max, have you been preparing for your fight?"
"Somewhat," replied Max Payne, "I just happen to have THE secret weapon against Gordon Freeman." He grabbed a poster that he brought with him, grinning, and held it up for Sam's scrutiny. It was a nearly nude poster of Tina Armstrong, one of last year's contestants. "Right, Max." snickered Sam, "What do you think a nudie poster can do against Gordon?"
"Well, it's to cause a distraction, Fisher. Gordon lost to her last year, and I found a poster of her, so if I use it, I'm going to win easily. He'll love being reminded of that."
Max and Sam shook hands, and went their separate ways. Perhaps it would be the last time they would speak to each other in this tourney…?
Magus' Locker Room
The wizard Magus hadn't been training all that much for his match. It wasn't that Magus was supremely confident… Sure, he believed that he would win the match. But the type of skills he used were hardly those that could be improved by training… He'd spent more time observing the area around him.
And instead of last second scampering to make sure everything was all right… Magus just calmly ran his scythe across the floor, in thought.
He was ready for Sam Fisher. He had waited a long time for this tournament, after the intriguing display that he saw Crono put on last year, and though he was aloof and uncaring about most things… Magus genuinely wanted to do well in this tourney. It was his challenge to himself.
It would certainly be challenging… If he got past Sam Fisher, which, with his magics, he was confident that he would do, Magus would likely have to then face the two opposite ends of the spectrum from the land of Hyrule… An evil warlock, power-hungry, cruel, and the benevolent Link, courageous… and confident. But Link wasn't who was on his mind at the moment… The warlock, the pitiless man who had laughed as he separated Tidus and Yuna, the couple in love, was. He was not someone Magus could identify with or hold any respect for… And after Sam Fisher, he would be the wizard's next opponent.
That match yesterday… So much like when I lost Schala…
The Battle
Unlike most of the contestants, Sam Fisher suffered from no delusions of grandeur.
He knew he was mortal. He knew that in the face of ridiculous odds, he had been best served by exploiting every cheap advantage there was. Surprise. Stealth. And simply avoiding conflict when necessary.
He was a Splinter Cell. A lone agent trained to infiltrate, and operate below enemy radar. The NSA had grown to appreciate the abilities of what one man was able to as long as his presence was sufficiently masked. He was the best in his field at combat operations, but he wasn't Rambo. He had survived by outsmarting his enemies.
His opponent was an enigma to him however. A magician wielding a scythe... but he didn't expect him to start cutting corn or pulling rabbits out of his hat. His foe's name was Magus, and he seemed more than confident in his ability to take out Sam.
Sam needed an edge. So, he had offered a challenge to the overconfident wizard as they were about to take their places on the battlefield that morning.
"You know you'll win."
Magus had looked at him in surprise. "Yes I will. Nice of you to admit it."
Sam had shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "Yeah, you know we'll win if we fight now." He had really been hazarding a guess; he had little opportunity to see what the wizard could do. "I'd rather fight you on my turf. The night. I prefer to operate in the darkness myself."
Magus had merely grinned at him. "I am a creature of shadow as well. You can have the fight your way, on your terms. I'll see you tonight." Magus turned around and left the arena.
The audience had been enraged-Crono in particular couldn't believe that Magus had let the crowd down.
But the time had passed eventually, and the crowd was gathered again.
"They expect us to watch this fight in the dark?" Ganondorf had grumbled. "I was really hoping to see what my next victim could do. Even if it soon will be irrelevant."
Crono was nearby, but he didn't say a word, as usual. He knew what Magus was capable of-and the operative Sam Fisher looked impressive as well. I just hope I don't have to fight Magus in there.
Sam himself wasn't worried about the darkness. He felt at home. If the crowd had a hard time seeing him, than Magus wouldn't likely be much better off. And he had his own equipment to assist him. He switched on his night vision, and saw a green shape, with a fuzzy curved object he knew represented a scythe.
"Are you finally ready?" Magus asked. "I could come back. If you prefer rainfall, hailstorms, or thunder and lightning for your ambience, I'm sure we could convince them to wait around."
Sam shook his head. Then he realized the wizard probably couldn't detect the motion. He smirked and spoke up. "Let's go."
----
Magus nodded and raised his scythe. He didn't think the battle would be very interesting if he simply blasted the man right where he stood, so Magus decided to make it a physical battle. He dashed forward, his cape spreading in the cool night air. Keeping the man fix in his sights, he swung his blade in a horizontal cut.
Naturally, he missed. He would have been disappointed if it had been otherwise. He felt the air, trying to detect the man's presence. He possessed so little magical or spiritual energy that it was a challenge. Apparently he had sidestepped out of the way...
Magus saw a tiny flash of light as a little ping sounded, and felt a bullet tear through his cape. Almost without realizing it, he had instinctively used his magic to lift him in the air temporarily to try to avoid the shot.
He quickly ran away from the spot where he stood, but heard a rapid succession of shots following him. A few of them managed to hit him in his left arm. Magus gritted his teeth, and charged with his scythe whipping through the air to where he last saw the light. He ran into nothing, and another shot had nearly hit him in the head.
This is impossible, no one's instincts are that good. What is he... some kind of animal? Magus continued running around the arena, dodging and anticipating the fire as it whizzed through the air. He reached out with his mind... and realized his mistake.
He can see me. He has some kind of device to amplify light. How sad... Melchior or any of the sages would have realized Sam's trick right away. Magus angrily shook his head. He had had enough.
Magus raised one hand in the air and let off a lightning spell. A swirling spiral of light filled the arena, and the crowd gasped in awe. Sam Fisher stood just a few feet away from him under a headset, although the light must be blinding him. Magus directed the spiral towards Sam and watched the electrical force pour through his body.
----
Sam's equipment survived the shock, but he was a little worse for the wear. All his muscles wanted to twitch, but he controlled himself. The wizard was powerful, all right sure. And that lightning blast had blinded him to the point where he couldn't see well enough to get out of the way.
He quickly put on his infared headset and pulled out his Splinter Cell automatic. He fired round after round into the direction of the magician, running sideways to avoid another blast like the last one. He saw his shots clearly hit the magician, and even traces of blood, but his opponent kept standing. That's one tough S.O.B.
Magus threw his hands up and huge chunks of ice appeared around him. Sam stopped firing-it would take more than his automatic to penetrate those, and the wizard was clearly up to something.
The ice split up and flew at him through the air. Sam held back his disbelief and held down his trigger. He shot several pieces of ice out of the air, and the others he dodged to watch them crash down onto the ground. Sam reopened fire, but the wizard quickly repeated his previous spell and ice again surrounded him.
This time however, a circle of fire formed inside the ice and began to flow outwards, turning the ice into water. Sam's infared headset was overloaded by the heat of the spell, and cried out as he felt the wave of flame pass through him.
----
Magus ran in the direction of the cry, but caught another bullet. He winced, and set up a magic wall. He could be guarded from physical attacks, but he would be unable to attack physically. Sam continued firing even as his shots were slowed down and absorbed by Magus's spell.
Magus cast a dark bomb at Sam, and watched the black energy take its toll on the human. Sam was struggling to keep going. He was a worthy opponent, but he was out of his league, and his field. Magus looked at Sam with something akin to compassion.
"I'm sorry."
Sam looked back at him, sweating. "Why?"
"Because a fighter such as yourself deserves better."
Best to end it now... Magus threw another dark bomb at the fighter, attempting to focus the energies on Sam's head and knock the agent unconscious. He chose not to cast anything that might kill his foe... Sam had proven enough of a challenge to deserve that much. Besides, Crono always complained when he did something like that.
Sam slumped forward and landed on the ground. Magus walked over to his defeated foe, making sure he was all right. The crowd began clapping and yelling, but Magus ignored them.
Magus leaned over Sam. "You alive?"
Sam gasped, but nodded. "Thanks" was all he managed to get out.
Magus nodded back. "Thank you. May your skills serve you better in the future."
Crono was cheering up in the stands, bragging to his fellow warriors that he actually knew that guy. Ganondorf was staring at him with a surprised expression. Magus burned inwardly as he thought about what the self-titled king of evil had done to the boy, Tidus. You'll be next, wizard... and I won't hold back.
The crowd was in an uproar. Cheers of "Magus the Merciful!!!!" rung through the stadium. However, in the ever dwindling area closed off for the contestants, there was silence.
"Hmph...." muttered a pleasantly surprised Crono to no one in particular, "I thought he'd kill him…"
"I wish he'd killed him. That was boring. I couldn't see anything and then it was over." Bowser grunted, as he moved for the exit. All the contestants were talking as they returned to the hotel for rest for the next day. One person stayed, Ganondorf.
"Amazing..." he whispered to himself. "So much power...all under his control." He had seen magicians before, but never a dark magician. Could it be that this, 'Magus' possessed power that rivaled the Triforce? He had sensed an animal essence a primal power in him, one that reminded him of well, himself. "No matter," Ganondorf said aloud, "Only one who wields the Master Sword can slay me." He returned to the hotel, and slept. There was plenty of time to prepare for this new challenger.
----
Snake exited the arena, a little disappointed. He had anticipated this, but something about actually seeing it had made it more real. Fisher's strategy was sound, his marksmanship perfect, his weaponry top-of-the-line. Yet that had not been enough. Could it be that magic was more effective than guns?
"…He just wasn't used to dealing with magic," Snake told himself. "He's just had to deal with inept guards the whole time, I take on the real freaks."
"Keep telling yourself that," a dry voice said. "Maybe it'll become true."
"Dante, didn't I tell you to stop bothering me?" Snake shot back at him.
"Oh, I see you're in a bit of a fit from seeing another secret agent get whooped."
Snake didn't respond.
"I don't blame you, I'd be pretty upset if I were you, knowing that I had no chance in this contest."
"Listen, are you gonna get to the point? I have a match in a few weeks, and I've gotta go train."
Dante pulled out his two guns, Ebony and Ivory, and began spinning them around. "All I'm saying is that guns are all well and good, but...." Suddenly his body was engulfed in black skin and purple lightning. "If you don't have the magic to back it up, you're as good as dead." He turned around and began pumping purple lighting bolts into a spectators car, which exploded almost instantly.
"I got better things to do than watch you destroy public property, kid."
"Hahahaha...," chuckled Dante, "See you in Round 3."