Disclaimer: No, I don't own the characters, places, people, things or any other noun related to Chrono Trigger.

A/N: Thanks for your reviews, and sorry for the pause, but I had to go to Wisconsin with my folks for the weekend, so I haven't been able to work on the fic. Just in case you haven't noticed for some reason, I do not like Marle, so I will bash her pretty bad. And last thing, anyone who thinks they have difficult or unusual couplings, let me know, I thrive on those.

italics=thought

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Chapter Two: The Hunted

The walk back to the camp site was an uneventful one, it even seemed there were fewer monsters around to keep warm on. Not that the monsters in the medieval Guardia Forest were a challenge, but dodging a bite or a sting was much easier than placing right after left as he walked quietly through the forest. Crono stopped, his hand resting on his katana, he could feel eyes on him, raising the hairs on the back of his neck.. The swordsman waited for a few heartbeats. The feeling dissipated, but the red-spiked warrior waited a little bit longer. The sensation brought back rather unpleasant memories, which would be sure to taunt him in his sleep. He dropped out of his fighting stance and kept his hand clasped tightly on the sheath of his blade in case the weapon was needed to be bared in great haste. He walked the rest of the distance calmly, but with his emotions cloaked in ice.

Crono surveyed the camp. Marle had finally bored herself to sleep and Robo was still recharging. Lucca was sitting against the same tree, awake and waiting for her best friend. Even across the fire he could see the relief in her eyes. He gave her a reassuring grin and walked over to her. He sat down next to her.

"Crono, don't do that.. I was worried about you. I sent Glenn and Ayla out to find you, next time check in." She chided softly, before smiling fondly and tousling his already messy hair like he was a little kid. He laid down, resting his head on her leg gently. He closed his eyes, he was only slightly tired, but the heat from the bonfire lulled him to sleep before he knew it.

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Crono opened his eyes. Something was wrong, no one was there with him. He looked around slowly, and noticed something. The forest.. he was in Guardia Forest.. and the trees were a lot bigger. He looked at his hands.. not again.. no.. He was seven again. Playing in the forest. He began to panic, and his hand flew to where his katana should have been. It was gone. He turned inward, trying to summon his magic, anything that could possibly protect him. He could find nothing. He began to run, towards the exit of the forest, but it seemed to stretch out further away from him with each step. He heard heavier footsteps, and in shear fear he began to try even harder. Strong hands grabbed his arms harshly. He was picked up off the ground and brought close to his assailants face. He could feel hot breath on his neck, smell the whiskey. He heard the voice. Not again.. no..

"Poor boy.. let me help.." A deep male voice whispered into his small ear. He felt the clothes being ripped from his small frame. Then... Pain...

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Crono shot up from Luccas lap, he was covered in a cold sweat and it had soaked through his clothes, his heart was pounding in his ears. He swallowed, forcing himself to calm down. For comfort, he grabbed the hilt of his katana, squeezing it until his knuckles turned white. He stood up slowly and looked around. He felt eyes upon him again. He suddenly turned, towards where he had felt the eyes earlier. He slowly began to walk away from the group. Lucca, Glenn and Marle were sleeping already, Robo was still recharging, but he would be done soon and Ayla was keeping watch, but she paid Crono no mind, knowing he could take care of himself. He continued walking, moving his hand down to the sheathe, getting ready to draw his sword. He was alone, far away from the group, and he still felt the presence. Even if he screamed, they might not hear. He suddenly heard rustling around him. His eyes became focused, his hand lowered onto the sword hilt, and he waited. Five people stepped from the woods around him. He quickly sized them all up.. none of them would go down easy, but he had an advantage on his side.

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A rapid movement caught his eye. The boy had awoken. The smell of fear permeated the clearing, coming from Crono. Magus looked at him from the shadow of the tree. The fear died down quickly, and even in the dark he could see the heavy breathing, and the sweat. Crono calmed down slowly, grasping his weapon as if it was a security blanket. Magus suddenly felt himself drawn to the boy, more than anything else now. The boy wandered off, and the mage considered following him, but decided against it, he could protect himself from anything they'd find in this forest. Magus stretched, and then stood up, he decided to go warm up on a few monsters. He crept away from the campsite, in a different direction than Crono. The boy wanted his privacy, and Magus could respect that. He stopped in a small clearing, there was something odd about it. Suddenly, the smell of smoke hit him. He looked closer, and saw a spot of charred grass. He moved closer, knelt down. He felt water as his knee pressed down. There was definitely something wrong. He slid a hand onto the haft of his sickle. He felt a sharp sting on his shoulder. Slowly he moved a hand up to it. The cause of his pain was a small feathered dart that had been shot into his shoulder. He pulled the dart out and looked at it. Dyed purple feathers and purple painted wood. He brought the tip to his nose. Among the scent of his blood was a sleep inducing toxin he recognized, and several other scents he didn't. Subconsciously, he was glad he almost always wore his full armor, and his gloom helm, but now, he had more pressing matters.

He. still kept his amulet near him, but he had the third eye equipped. Magus turned, preparing for battle as he sized up his opponents. There were three of them, two with swords and one with a blow dart gun . They looked decent enough fighters, and they had their scents covered up. The dark clothing was made to hide in the foliage. Suddenly, his eyes gravitated to the symbol over their heart. Two black snakes twined around a sword. They were mage hunters. The dark wizard met the eyes of the leader. He began to chant. He felt the power of lightning surge away from him, engulfing the clearing, but instead of the pain or shocks he expected, they simply charged through. They were wearing white vests. Magus put two and two together. They were going after Crono. Magus charged.

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Crono groaned. His muscles were aching, for some reason his magic was ineffective against these people. He had only felled one of them. A swordsman, but the rest were slowly wearing him down, he had no significant cuts, but he was starting to get sloppy. He barely raised his blade in time to block the slash to his left shoulder. He stepped to the side and twisted his blade. Crono felt a jolt as his sword hit flesh deep right under the ribs of the closest enemy. Two down, but the fight was far from over. Crono twisted, taking a step back and ducking low, barely dodging the slash that threatened to kill him. His eyes widened as pain lanced through his shoulder. He looked down, and a gleam caught his eye. A sword went all the way through his shoulder. He dropped his sword, he could no longer operate it. A boot slammed into his back, and he flew forward, he rolled twice before stopping. He looked at the three remaining fighters. The looked winded, but their grins had nothing to do with victory. Crono closed his eyes. He knew what was going to happen, but this time, he would be expecting it. Somehow, that just made it worse.

"He's a fighter.. this might be fun." He heard the voice coming nearer.

"They say the redheads are the best."

"Yea.. " A noise of a machine echoed through the clearing, cutting the man off. Cronos eyes popped open. He caught the last blow of the Uzi punch, before the man was knocked from the clearing. A very recognizable sickle finished him off. Magus was suddenly between him and the two standing mage hunters.

"Robot.. get the boy on his feet. We'll need him. They're fools if they only brought eight." Crono would have hugged the man if he could have pushed himself to his feet. He heard Robo run towards him, and then the refreshing cold of the cure beam. His aches and cuts began to recede, his body stitching himself up at an accelerated rate. Crono stood up, feeling as if he hadn't eaten in a day and a half. It brought Luccas theory about his healing beams somehow being related to the enertron technology. He looked to what was left of the five. He was surprised to say the least, at only one of them moving, and that one obviously on his last legs. He was leaning on his sword heavily, and glaring at Magus.

"You won't get away with this. " The man said through gritted teeth. The shadow mage only flashed his sharp canines. As the man raised his sword for what he knew was his final movement, Magus moved faster than the man could probably trace, split his gut wide with a sickles slash, Magus spun quickly, taking a second swipe for good measure. The mystic wiped his blade clean, and hid it in the dark recesses of his cloak, before walking over to the Rainbow. That blade too, was cleaned, before tossed lightly back to its owner.

"We should head back to the camp and wake everyone up. " Magus said as the katana slid into its sheath. Robo seemed to be analyzing Crono for further or yet unhealed injury.

"Affirmative. We need to determine the threat before we neutralize it. Also, leaving the others unaware may prove hazardous to the health of our allies." Robo proved logical as always, supporting Magus this time. Crono nodded, he needed to rest and let Lucca know he was okay.

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In short order, the camp was awoken. Lucca was asking for details about the fight and the men. Robo was recounting everything to her, Ayla was shouting about beating the men to a pulp. Magus and Glenn were talking quietly away from the group, and Marle was throwing herself at Crono, who was standing next to Lucca. He was ignoring the princess as always. The swordsman was watching Magus and Glenn, wondering what they were talking about. Their discussion came to an end and the knight walked towards the group, followed by his arch enemy. Crono frowned, trying to remember when the pair started working together like that. Glenns voice cut off his train of thought.

"Listen everyone." His voice rang out, stopping the other conversation, and silencing both Ayla and Marle. "We will be fighting a group of Mage Hunters, they will most likely have numerous vests, so don't depend on your magic. We won't be able to push them out if we all go after them one group at a time. We need to split up into two groups."

"It isn't exactly ethical to go hunting after humans. " Lucca cut in, hands on her hips as she watched Glenn and Magus carefully, it seemed she had noticed as well. Crono didn't nod, he simply looked down, he was thinking about what the Mage Hunters had been planning for him. He couldn't agree with Lucca this time.

"Lucca, its either that or we run from them, its their job to kill people who use magic. These hunters don't just kill people who use magic. You don't know what they're like, you don't have any in your time. " Glenn said, his eyes meeting hers, both were intense, but Lucca looked away first. She sighed, then nodded. Magus smirked.

"To be the hunter or the hunted.. there is nothing else. " He said, before closing his eyes, and leaning against a tree, his arms folded across his chest as usual. Calm, and collected.