Disclaimer: all proper nouns belong to squaresoft. I don't own the rights to Chrono trigger, and if I did, Marle would have died and it all would have been for the better. Of course, Robo'd be an android with all the outdoor plumbing and the cut scenes would be XXX.
A/N: me tired. not sleep for several days. no coffee. Me shut up and write now. Now that I have some form of caffeine in me, I will point out, that yes, I know Glenn lost his old English accent. I figured if he can help take down an interplanetary menace he can drop his accent so his desired mate understands him. It may come back into play later.
Also, I am sorry for the extreme wait. I've been zoning off and Christmas snapped back into reality, I am sorry and will send a written apology to all who reviewed my fic, If I become questionable again, anyone interested in this fic, send me a letter at ArcadiavictimX@aol.com
italics=thought.
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Chapter Three: The Hunters
At those words, Crono couldn't repress a shiver, the way it was said, it wasn't especially cold or harsh, but the way Magus said it screamed experience. His attention snapped back to Glenn as he continued.
"I suggest that the first party be Magus and Crono. The next should be myself and Lucca. The rest of you make up the third group. We meet back every hour and a half." Glenn said, and Crono couldn't help but frown. He was beginning to think they were up to something. He realized he wasn't the only one as Lucca walked forward, hands on her hips as she investigated Glenn, and then Magus. It was exactly the way she did it to him when she thought he was hiding something. Crono barely held back a grin.
"Out of curiosity, why did you pick those couplings? " Lucca asked carefully, watching Glenn's eyes with tightly pursed lips. Glenn looked down at her, as if thinking of something for a few seconds, then he answered.
"Both Crono and Magus are physically strong as well as magically adept. Ayla and Robo will balance out Marle. Since you still haven't worked the bugs out of the wondershot, I put you with me for the Flare Frog technique." He answered carefully, trying not to leave his theory full of holes. Naturally, Lucca being Lucca, found one.
"Wouldn't it make more sense for me to be grouped with Ayla and Robo to balance out the instability of my wondershot?" Lucca smiled triumphantly as Glenns face fell ever so slightly, but the knight picked it up as if nothing happened.
"I suppose that makes more sense." Glenn grumbled as Lucca switched places with Marle. She was in a bad mood, but for a more petty reason, of course, she was much louder as well.
"I WANT TO BE WITH MY CRONO!" Marle a whine in the form of a scream, directed at Glenn. Her hands in fists as she leaned forward at an angle which took away the purpose of the few flimsy garments she wore. Crono scratched his head, he may have lived in Guardia, but she wasn't queen yet, hopefully, she never would be.
"I don't remember him agreeing to that wench." Magus said in a low voice, his gaze unblinkingly focused on Marle, his face serious. Crono jumped at his voice, he hated when the dark mage did that, popping from one place to another.[1] Marle turned to him next, red faced.
"SHUT UP YOU... BIG DUMB IDIOT!" She screamed, once more bending over red face, and managed to defeat the purpose of her overly tight shirt completely. Magus calmly tightened his glove.
"Don't strain yourself princess. I understand that you require less oxygen than ninety seven percent of living things, but if you don't breathe you'll forget your few useful spells." He closed his eyes, then turned slowly. "Come on Crono, before she attracts any more attention from unwanted parties."
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Once more, Magus thanked his biology for his ability to filter out loud noises and keep his sensitive hearing working properly. He could still hear the whore whining. He couldn't understand why she thought Crono was hers, he didn't remember the redhead returning her obvious advances. Truly, that girl needed to learn the meaning of subtle.
His mood was alarmingly good for him, since Crono did follow him, instead of staying, like Magus had ever doubted it, no one wanted to listen to Marle. He had to stop himself from chuckling at Glenn's luck. Completing their deal might be harder than he initially predicted. Lucca was too intelligent to sneak things past her easily. Glenn did have good taste, the dark wizard had to agree, if he was so inclined, he might think her a potential mate, but Magus' eyes were focused on a certain red headed swordsman. Besides, she was right for Glenn, even though the dark mage hated to admit it. He was thinking too much and Magus knew why he was thinking too much.
He began to focus on his surroundings more intensely. It had been uneventful so far, neither had seen hide nor hair of the mage hunters. His eyes focused on Crono, the boy ahead of him, by maybe a foot, his hands placed to unsheathe that super sharp katana in an instant. He was tensed, and even through the gi, Magus could see the contours of the well and rapidly developed muscle. Here he was, alone, with his hopeful love. Idly, he noticed the time traveling and all the monsters he had been forced to slay had done him good. Certainly much better than waving around the wooden sword he'd been practicing with.
"I haven't seen a monster in this entire forest. " Magus grumbled, mainly to take his mind off of it. That was usually a bad sign, if there wasn't any of the native monsters, there was usually something worse. Crono nodded. "I don't like that." They sat in the silence for a few minutes, before they slowly moved forward in unspoken unison. Muscles loose, the tension of battle ready to take form at the slightest reason for worry. Magus could focus, even while admiring the red head in front of him, every little detail. Magus stopped as something suddenly struck home.
"Crono.. stop." He said mildly, and the swordsman spun, eying him in askance. Magus moved a little closer. "we should head back now.. It is almost time to check in with the rest." The sheer proximity of his infatuation near drove the wizard insane. He could smell the sharp, clean, arousing scent of his living fantasy. Magus forced himself to turn. The swordsman relaxed, and joined his comrade's side. Crono cocked his head to the side. He too could probably hear the blonde screaming even at their distance.
"My best guess, is that she attracted all of the attention." They were making good time, simply because the lack of creatures to slow them down. Magus couldn't wait to have another chance to conspire with his amphibian compatriot.
Not to say the silence wasn't eerie, in fact, it kept him on edge, even more so was the man he had to protect at his left side. Magus inhaled deeply.. and tasted woodsmoke. Immediately , his arm shot out to his side, stopping Crono in his tracks. Magus motioned towards the trees, and the swordsman nodded. Quickly, both were in the tightly packed branches, traveling forward, within eyesight, but on opposite sides of the path. The scent increased, and he could tell Crono found the woodsmoke as well. He wasn't sure of Crono's eyesight in the night, and there was no way to tell him to watch for sentries. Magus saw one, which meant there was at least one more.
Once more, the dark wizard thanked his heritage, being able to see better than any human in the night made sneaking up on his sentry much easier. He pulled his scythe out, and permanently silenced the hunter with a blade in his vocal chords. Magus slung the body over a branch, wiping his sickle clean. He looked across the clearing, seeing the younger male separate head from body. Magus' eyes widened as the head began to fall toward the path. He flew across the path, just barely grasping the decapitated head by its hair and throwing it as far as he could in the opposite direction.
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Glenn muttered to himself as he wiped his broadsword clean on a dead enemies shirt, before sheathing the blade. His ears were ringing hard and her constant shouting wasn't helping. He silently thought to himself 'By the gods, why do I have to suffer so... please! just quiet her for a few moments.' He looked up just in time to see what looked like a head fly over his own. He turned just an instant too late before a bloodied head smash directly into Marle's face. Her mouth wide open, bent over. She was finally quiet, as she rushed towards the lake. Glenn smiled, as he looked skyward. 'Thank the Gods' (karma)
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Magus watched the people at the campfire. All of them were mage hunters. Crono was close to his side, frowning, and obviously deep in thought as he concentrated on the numbers at the enemy camp. There was six men for each of them, plus one, who looked to be the boss, and probably much stronger than the rest. He had no weapon, but he was built like an ox, and just about as ugly. Magus heard something running before the rest of them, and he looked to the other end of the clearing, just to see Marle run past the edge of the fires light.
"That was their Ice Witch. Blue team, go after her, and two from red and yellow, just in case its a trap." The leader barked out, and eight of the men started running after her. Magus shared a grin with his ally.
"Give them a few minutes, we need them far away, no way could we fight against them all." Magus whispered, while silently praying for her to be caught and killed. A few minutes passed, and they moved in unison, Magus casting his ice spell, and Crono hitting the ground as he went straight for the yellows, who were just coming out of the effects of the magic. Both were dead in one swift movement. Three to two were much better odds, since all of the others were weakened. Crono began to chant his Luminaire, and the mage stepped in between him and his attackers. The two red team members, who now had their long swords unsheathed, looked ready to fall over by themselves, while the leader looked fine. The two reds charged, with what looked like the X-strike, but not very well coordinated. All Magus had to do was take a step back, and the two swordsmen glided to either side of both him and Crono. The leader escaped just before the lightning mage blasted his henchmen to the gods themselves.
Crono cleaned and sheathed his sword, looking meaningfully at Magus. The wizard shook his head, putting his scythe away. Magus turned his back on the wreckage, trying to divine the correct direction, as he found it, he jerked his head in the right direction.
"There is nothing we can do, they have too great of a head start." Beginning to walk towards their camp, Crono joined him at his side once more. Walking carefully through the rubble, heading quickly. Of course, the best place to wait would be where they set up as a meeting spot. The pair made it to the designated spot with no further trouble.
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They had been waiting almost fifteen minutes before Magus shifted. Crono, was sitting with the back to the tree. As close as he could get to the wizard and not tip off his feelings. He wasn't sure how Magus would react. He couldn't tell Magus himself. Physically he could, but if he spoke, the man might come back. He couldn't speak until that man was dead. He knew how Lucca would react, she would be happy he finally found someone. The others were questionable, but he also didn't want Marle to know. She might try to do something about it.
Crono stood up and dusted himself off. Magus nodded to him, and he looked towards the clearing. He heard the footsteps a few seconds later. A very weathered looking Glenn, Lucca, Robo, Ayla, and sopping wet and shivering Marle.
"What'd you do frog, take her bobbing for oxygen?" Magus replied to her appearance, speaking from the shadow, otherwise unmoving. He raised a glove delicately to brush a strand of hair from his face. That movement always near drove the red head over the edge.
"She attracted all the attention in the whole damn forest with her shouting." Muttered Glenn as he sat near the fire Magus had magically produced. "Until that gods got tired of her incessant shouting and silenced her with a decapitated head." Magus' rich chuckle seemed to warm Crono in a way he wasn't used to.
"I wouldn't quite call myself a god, but I do have a tendency to smite things I don't like." The knights eyes were suddenly glued to Magus, a smile on his face.
"You did that?" When the wizard nodded, Glenn burst out into laughter, as did the rest of them. Marle ran towards Crono, almost tripping over the firewood. She dove on the swordsman, sopping wet.
"I'M COLD! WARM ME UP!" She ordered. Crono frantically tried to find escape. Magus snarled at her, he seemed to hate the blonde more than the rest of them for some reason. A bright idea struck Crono, and he stripped off his tunic, and gave it to her. He crawled out of reach and stood up. In only his flimsy T-shirt and his armor.
"Lay near the fire, that would be the most efficient way to warm you up." Lucca said, hands on hips, annoyed. The tramp moved towards the flames in his tunic. The night seemed to get even colder as the metal quickly lost his body heat. The seconds melted into minutes, into an hour, and the night got even colder. Lucca was sleeping near Glenn, and Robo had powered down. Ayla had long since curled up near the fire.
Crono couldn't sleep, it was too cold. He brought his hands to his arms, and began to rub, hoping the friction would warm them up. He felt a cloth weight on his shoulders, and looked back to see Magus, without his cloak. Crono shook his head and began to give the cloak back. Magus sighed.
"Fine, we'll both use it. Take off your armor." The wizard said gently, taking off his own armor, Crono did as well, setting it aside. They both crawled under the cloak. It wasn't meant for the both of them, and as the red head pondered how to keep them both warm. A gentle hand snaked its way around his waist, pulling him back into a slim muscular body. Crono tensed at first, but as he realized it was just Magus, he relaxed, leaning his head back into Magus' shoulder. 'If only Magus loved.. at least desired me.'