Kit Thespian: This is a fairly serious fic (though it has some humor at times) so to prevent you from becoming bored, I have decided to play with what is the essential formality in fan fiction: The Disclaimer! And to give the disclaimer for this chapter, we have our favorite wizard: Magus!
(Magus steps onto a stage)
Magus (grumbling): Oh… Why does it have to be me?
Kit Thespian: Because I said so, and I'm the author. You're a character, and, as far as the fan fiction world is concerned, your life is putty in my hands. You are mine to toy with, and if I say so, you will either live or die.
Magus: Dying would be a lot better than this…
Kit Thespian: Then how about a nice little slash? And I'm not talking about that crony of yours.
Magus (gulps): Slash?
Kit Thespian: Mm-hmm, with Frog.
Magus: Frog!
Kit Thespian: Or better yet, FLEA!
Magus (on his knees): No, please! I can't bear the thought!
Kit Thespian: Or a triangle involving you, Crono, and…
Magus: No! You wouldn't dare!
Kit Thespian: …Ozzie.
Magus: NOOOO!
Kit Thespian: Then you'll do it?
Magus: I'll do it! I'll do it! (grovels at Kit Thespian's feet) Have mercy on me, mighty one!
Kit Thespian: Very well. Go ahead.
Magus (stands up and puts a very goofy grin on his face): The Disclaimer, everyone. Kit Thespian does not own the video game Chrono Trigger, or the characters therein. (with a sneer) Though she does seem to take delight in torturing them.
Kit Thespian: You're my favorite, Magus. I only torture my favorites.
Magus: …Somehow I'm having a difficult time taking that as a compliment.
Kit Thespian: Finish the disclaimer.
Magus: And she's not making any money off of this fic. (to Kit Thespian) There, does that satisfy you?
Kit Thespian: Oh, yes. You may go now.
(Magus exits muttering something about the void.)
Kit Thespian: Sorry about that, everyone. Back to the story!
Chapter Three- A chat with Gaspar…
"And then…he saved my life. He struck Sir Slash away as the foul mystic was about to deal me a finishing blow," Glenn was quietly explaining everything to Gaspar and Marle and the others. Magus was curled up in a far corner, resting. The moment the group had returned to the End of Time, Magus, without a word, had found his customary spot, curled up in his cape and fell straight to sleep. The casting of his spells had taken more of a toll from him then he had let on.
"He saved all of our lives," Lucca said, "He knew that he was perfectly capable of taking out those three by himself. He didn't have to do what he did."
"Janus had a good heart when he was a boy," Gaspar said, "The pain of all the events around him filled him with bitterness, though, and sadness. I do not think that his heart turned to stone. Simply…to ice. And ice melts eventually when placed in warmth."
The members of the team looked at each other and Crono spoke, with a raised eyebrow, "Meaning…?"
"Perhaps it's about time that you would all take the trouble to give him a kind word," Gaspar replied, "He has done horrible things in his life, but now he wishes to repent. It would be well if you aided him along the way. It is not as if all of you are without sin."
There was an uncomfortable silence and the team dispersed to go to their separate sleeping spots. Lucca slept by the door to Spekkio's room, not very far from Magus, who slept by the door to the Epoch. After a while, when everyone was asleep, Lucca felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Lucca, wake up."
Lucca turned to find the guru of time standing over her. Her eyes widened. She had never seen Gaspar move from his spot before, and it was a little unsettling at first. What did he want?
Leaning on his cane, Gaspar slowly knelt down and sat on the ground beside Lucca. He spoke, almost in a whisper, "I have noticed something, Lucca."
"…Yes?"
"Of all the members of the team, you were the first to ever treat Janus with civility. As I recall, you were the one to plead for mercy for Janus on the cliff."
Lucca bowed her head, embarrassed but not knowing why. She knew that Gaspar could see all the things that had happened from his standing in the End of Time. He continued, "And you are the only one that Janus has seemed to warm up to. Why have you been so kind to him?"
"Well…I pity him. He is alone in the world."
"He is no longer alone, now that he has you."
"Wait, wait, wait. He does not have me. I mean, he doesn't have me," Lucca started to blush, "He doesn't think about me in that way. He thought I was a boy when he first met him in his castle."
"When he saw you again, on the cliff, when you no longer had that hat and those ridiculous glasses, he thought quite differently. He sees you as pretty. Why do you think he was so shocked to learn that it was you who had attacked him with fire after all?"
"Pretty?" Lucca tried not to cry, "I'm not pretty. I've never been pretty.And why are you…?"
"You haven't seen yourself beyond what your fellow students said about you when you were little."
"You…know about that?"
"Of course, and it wasn't true. Your burns healed after the accident, and you still refuse to notice how pretty you have become."
Tears misted Lucca's eyes. When her mother had almost been injured when Lucca was only eight years old, Lucca had tried to stop the machine by hitting the motor with a hammer. The machine stopped, but steam had blown out and burned Lucca's face and eyes. Her face had healed in a few weeks and she didn't go blind, but she had always been very nearsighted from then on. The other children Lucca's age had called her a freak because of her glasses.
When Lucca, Crono, and Marle stepped into the recovery pool in Enhasa, her eyes were healed and she no longer needed the glasses. But she still couldn't forget what the children had said to her. Now that Gaspar brought up the subject, she began to cry. She muffled her sobs with her hands, not wanting to wake the others. Gaspar patted her on the shoulder.
"There, there," he said, "let it out. You've been holding it back for so long."
Lucca cried herself to sleep after about ten minutes. Fortunately, none of the others were disturbed, not even Robo. Gaspar watched over her for a moment to make sure she was truly asleep. He shook his head; some people's issues were apparent, like Janus', and then some kept them hidden, like Lucca.He walked over to where Magus was sleeping. That orange kitten that Magus had brought from Ozzie's fort was sleeping right beside him. Gaspar shook his head and chuckled to himself at the sight. He then touched Magus' shoulder and spoke, "Janus? Janus…"
Magus opened one eye, and then closed it again.
"What do you want?" he asked, shortly.
"Simply to talk with my brightest student. Is that a crime?"
"It should be at this hour of the night."
"You were always such a sensitive sort, weren't you? I just want to help."
"Help? With what?"
"I've always prided myself on being a good-advice giver…"
"And what would I need your advice for at this time?"
"Well, from what I have seen (and I've seen a lot, mind you) you don't have much experience in matters of romance."
"In matters of what?" Magus' eyes became wide open.
"Romance. You know, a man and a woman…"
"I know what it is," Magus spoke through his teeth.
"Than why did you ask?"
"I wasn't asking what it was, Gaspar. I was asking why exactly you would wish to apply such a concept to me."
The guru grinned, "Because you're falling in love."
"What in the Entity's name makes you think that? Just who am I supposed to be falling in love with?"
"With her," Gaspar pointed a thumb at Lucca, "Do you deny it?"
Magus opened his mouth to fervently deny such an accusation, but the words failed him. He couldn't bring himself to say it. He looked at Lucca, who had her face resting upon her hair, and couldn't stop looking at her. He saw how red her face was, and he asked, "Has she been crying?"
"Yes," Gaspar replied,
"Why?"
"A past issue that she had to face."
Magus grimaced at the old man, "No doubt something that you brought up."
"I needed to bring it up, just like I need to bring this up for you. Do you know what the word romance means exactly?"
Magus sighed, "I have a feeling you're about to tell me."
"Pursuit, Janus. Tomorrow morning, I'll see to it that you are the one that gets to wake Lucca up."
"…Wake her up?"
"What? You would've done it anyway. Take my advice, Janus, and do this."
"And after I wake her up, what do I do next?"
"Just let it take off from there."
"How do you know that she will feel the same way about me?"
"You mean, the same way you feel about her?"
"…I didn't say that."
"You implied it."
Magus' reply was a glare. Gaspar said, "What?"
"I am battling visions of taking you by the remnants of your hair and hurling you into the void. You haven't answered my question."
"What question?"
"How…do…you…know…that…she…feels…that…way?"
Gaspar leaned in and grinned, "I'm the guru of time. I just know."
"You're a fool," Magus said, lying back down on the ground and wrapping his cape about him. He muttered with disdain, "Wake her up...ridiculous notion..." The kitten had remained undisturbed the entire time. Gaspar went back to his spot below the lamppost, and went to sleep.