Again, I don't own Chrono Trigger or any character there-of
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Chapter 1: The dark mage returns
Lucca wasn't too sure if what she saw was completely real or not. She swore she had just seen a gate open up out in her front lawn, and saw Magus pop out of it. She grabbed her coat, and put it on, the nearing night cooling the area around the island.
She ran out the front door, off her porch, and blinked.
"Aw no..." she sighed, "What the hell are YOU doing here?" she asked inquisitively.
"It is good to see you too, Lucca." Janus held back a smirk, deciding to play the part of 'Magus' for the time being.
"Well look what the cat dragged in." a voice said behind Lucca. Stepping out of the house, the first thing Magus saw was a bright, spiky patch of red hair.
"And Crono, Still not hanged after kidnapping the princess? Pity." Crono gave him a hard look.
"No, I'm not." Was all he replied, "Both Lucca and I were given royal pardons, and are free to visit the castle whenever we like."
"Visit?" Janus said, letting out a laugh, "I thought you would be living there, what with how much you 'loved' the princess."
Lucca held up a hand, and gave him a look. "Why ever would he be living there, instead of with his fiancé, hm? Crono, would you mind going inside and getting my gun? I think we need to show this 'old friend' of ours some manners." Just as Crono was about to say something, Janus laughed.
"No need, Lucca. I am mearly poking some fun at you." Janus said, still laughing, though a little more evil.
"Magus? Poking fun?" she asked, blinking, "I won't ask. Though I will ask something else, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!?! You are supposed to be looking for Schala, not bothering us with your dark and evil ways." She almost gasped at the look that spread over his face. It was gentle, sad. It was so...human.
"Schala is gone..." he said, a bit downhearted, "...As is Magus." He turned, his cape flapping behind him. "And if you will excuse me, there is someone I must go and see before I can explain this." With that, he took off over the island and flew towards Guardia castle.
"That..." Lucca said, "Was very weird." She turned to Crono, "Lets go to bed, Maybe this will make sense in the morning." He nodded and followed her in.
Princess Nadia brushed her hair gently. She had finished her bath and was already in her night clothes, getting ready for bed.
She looked to the picture by the vanity, a picture of the whole crew, taken shortly after they defeated Lavos. She looked over each person with a smile, but her eyes kept fading to two of the men in the picture. One was Crono, the gentle swordsman whom she had cared for their entire time together. She pushed the thoughts out of her mind.
"He's Lucca's now...and that is just the way it should be. They grew up together, they belong together."
The other man was one whom was surrounded the most in mystery. She remembered the day they all parted ways as if it was yesterday.
"We will all meet up again soon for an anniversary." Lucca said, "I still have the Epoch, so coming to get you won't be a problem."
First frog left, returning to the past kingdom of Guardia. Then Robo was next through the gate. Ayla was next, and last was him. The one whom she had wondered about since that day.
He seemed so cold when they met him. He scared her at first...but when he left he seemed different.
"Maybe it was just me...but I believe Magus smiled at me before stepping through the portal."
"That is because I did." Came a voice from behind her. She nearly jumped as she looked in the mirror and saw him standing on her balcony. In the growing darkness it was hard for her to see him, which may have been why she didn't notice him show up.
"...Magus?" she said, as she turned around. She was scared now, not sure what was going on. "Wha…?"
He held up a hand. "Do not be frightened. I am not as I once was. And yes, I did smile at you as I left through the portal. Because you reminded me of someone, maybe that is why I am here now, because of you."
"You…what?" she was totally confused. Her pulse was racing, her head was spinning.
"Shh…calm yourself, Marle. I am not trying to seduce you, so you can put those thoughts from your mind. I am merely here to tell you that, I have come to this time, and am staying."
Calming herself a bit, and more sure about herself, she stepped forward. A look into his eyes told her he was different, not the cold hearted man she knew a year previously.
"C…come in." she said, regaining her composure. She sat back down on her vanity stool, sure she would faint if she didn't.
He nodded, taking a few steps into the room. "I am sorry if I scared you."
She said nothing, only looked at his face a moment.
Gone was the grin, that evil, sickening smile that haunted her dreams days after she saw it. Gone as well was the battle scythe he carried oh-so proudly with him. He wore the same clothing, the dark pants, leather boots, gloves, and breastplate, the dark cape, the single gold ring in his ear.
"...Janus?" Was all she said.
"I always knew you were brighter then they took you for." This made her blush, as did the bow he gave her, "I am no longer Magus. I have found myself in my search for Schala."
She nodded, "How goes the search, anyway?" she asked.
"I am finished searching. All I found of her was her pendant, which was destroyed upon my coming here. Though, as I said, I found myself in the process. She has always been with me, even though she disappeared. She was with me ever since she gave me that pendant I always wore." He sighed, turning to look at the window. "...may I ask you a question?"
"Yes." She answered after digesting all had said.
"Crono, he is...with Lucca. I expected to come back here and find him with you." He turned back to her, "...Why, then, has he been engaged to Lucca?"
She looked away, sighing. "...I loved him so much...I had to let him go. Lucca and Crono grew up together. They are inseparable, and I couldn't break that up. I loved him so much I let her have him, because I knew he would be happy, even if I felt regret, he would be happy."
"You cared for him that much?" He asked. He thought a moment, and gave a small laugh. He had never really cared for anyone, besides for Schala. He had been so pompous and arrogant he couldn't have any time to care for anyone. Sure there were the prettier slave girls that pleased him during his days as Magus, but he never really cared for them. They were merely an extra perk to being in charge.
"...Janus?" she asked, after a moment of watching him think.
"Hm? Oh...I am sorry. I was just thinking about..." He shook his head, "There has only been one person I have ever cared that much about...enough that I would let them go. That is Schala, and I have done that."
She nodded, "Then you must know how it feels to lose someone dear to you."
He nodded, "Yes...You know, I was thinking earlier that you and Schala would have gotten along very well together."
She blushed gently, quirking a brow. "Oh really? I didn't think you paid enough attention to me to even know what I was like."
He nodded, "Yes, I suppose I was rather dark back then. But I noticed you. More then I would have liked to say, as a matter of fact." It was his turn to blush this time, and against his pale skin it was easily visible. "You reminded me so much of my sister that it hurt. I nearly forgot about her when you were around, and I didn't like that at all."
"...Janus, are you saying you…" she asked, but was interrupted.
"When you were around, my sister was reborn. That is what I am saying, Marle. Her grace, her kindness, her beauty, even her temper, at times, was awakened whenever I saw you. It scared me...and it changed me."
"...changed..." she managed to get out, but was cut short again.
"...I wanted to thank you, Marle. You helped to return me to myself. Now, if you will excuse me...I have to be alone..." He took two long strides to the window and was gone.
"...But...did he?" she was so confused at the moment, she thought it best to just go to sleep."
"Damnit..." Janus said, floating just out of sight of her window. He watched her crawl into bed, a confused look on her face, and try to fall asleep, "...I didn't mean to say all that tonight...What has gotten into me?" The answer hit him like a ton of bricks. He thought back to what he thought about earlier.
"...I cared only for Schala...Marle is much like Schala was...could I be?" He pushed it from his mind. "No...that's crazy. I could never fall... Magus could never fall...but I'm not Magus, I'm Janus...could Janus?" He shook his head, thinking it better to go get some sleep, as Marle had.
A sleepy Crono yawned, "A room? Yeah...I suppose we could let you use the guest room..."
"As long as you don't..." Lucca started to pipe in as she walked into the living room. She stopped at the look on Janus' face, "Are you ok?"
"Yeah...just tired from the travel. I promise you I will not harm your house. I have...changed."
She believed him too, almost. "Alright...the room is upstairs and to the left. It's my old room, which we keep as a guest room. We will be asleep in the master bedroom down here. If you need anything...what am I saying? If you need anything, you can find it...I am going to bed, I have projects that need finishing." She walked into the hallway, which looked newly built, and into the bedroom. Crono followed her, with a "G'night" to Janus.
He trudged up the stairs, and walked into the room. It was small, but compared to the huts he had been living in, which had all their living space confined to about the size of this room, it was huge. The first thing he did was kick off his boots and fall upon the bed, making his cape and hair fly about randomly onto the bed. He didn't care, because he was already asleep within seconds of touching the mattress.
"I love you, Marle..." Janus said, wrapping his arms around her and sweeping her off her feet. He leaned down towards the smaller girl and kissed her gently.
His lips were soft, and gentle, and the kiss was perfect. She blushed as he slowly ran his hands down her back. In a flash her cloths were gone, as were his, and they were standing in a bedroom.
He began to run his hands along her body, across her breasts, bottom, legs, arms, back, belly...even her most private spot. This sent a shudder through her body, literally.
Marle woke with that shudder, the feel of pure gentle pleasure.
"...A dream?" she asked, catching her breath.
She looked out the window to see that it was already light out; the clock on her mantle saying it was about 9:00 in the morning.
She placed a hand to her head. "Why was I dreaming that?" she wondered, "He is back for one night and already..." she shook her head, pushing it out of her mind.
Little did she know that Janus, too, was having trouble sleeping.
"I love you, Janus." Marle said to him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she kissed him. He couldn't pull away.
"Why?" he wondered, "did she say that"
The scene changed, Marle was in a bed, smiling sweetly to him. Her clothing was gone, leaving him a clear view of her beautiful chest.
"Come, Janus...No need to be afraid." She was beckoning him, and he was going to her. He sat on the bed and peered into her eyes. "No need to be afraid anymore, I am here." She leaned in to kiss him again…and that is when he woke up.
His breathing was shallow and he was sweating as he bolted right up. He held a hand to his head, trying to clear his mind.
"What is going on with me?" He asked.
"That's what I want to know." Came a voice from the door. Lucca was standing there, looking at him.
"My lab is the room right next to this, so I couldn't help but hear you moaning and groaning. What the hell are you doing in here?"
"I was dreaming that..." he paused, "...you wouldn't believe me if I told you."
She quirked a brow, then walked out to her lab again, mumbling something about "Men" and "Dreams".
He stood up from the bed and walked downstairs. Crono was at the table, reading the newspaper, and looked up to see Janus walk down the stairs.
"Morning Magus."
"Janus," he corrected the man, "Magus is gone..." he looked down to the table, which had a place settings of eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee. He looked back to Crono.
"Thought you might want something to eat after such a night. I don't know what you were dreaming, but you were tossing and turning all night." All Janus could do was nod as he sat and happily ate the food.
Stomach full, he felt very much better, and his mind was clearer. He sipped the coffee, still thinking about the dream.
"You're lucky Taban and Lara decided to move onto the mainland. When they did, Lucca decided to move out of her room and add the new one. If they hadn't left, you would have had to stay at an inn." He blinked, noticing that Janus wasn't entirely listening.
"Hey, you there?"
"Wha? Oh...yeah." Janus replied.
"You're sorta spacing out. Anything on your mind?" Crono asked.
"I think I finally care for something other then my sister." He said.
Crono quirked a brow, "Oh really? And who, or what, might that be?" he asked. It wasn't as if he didn't already know, Janus had been saying her name in his sleep, and could be heard easily, since he didn't bother to close the door when he went to sleep.
"You wouldn't believe me." He said.
"You only say that because it's Marle." Crono replied.
"How did you?" Janus asked.
"Lucky guess?" He chuckled, "You were moaning her name pretty loudly this morning. You forgot to close the door when you headed up, so I could hear you in here."
Janus nodded, "I don't know where the dream came from, though." The pale man stared at the table, the coffee long finished.
"I have an idea. How about we let you freshen up a bit, then maybe you might feel a little better. You can take a shower, and I will get your cloths washed up. Lucca set Gato to do a new job now. He is a washing machine and dryer. Cloths are clean and pressed in about twenty minutes."
Janus thought about it, then nodded. "I suppose it would be for the best. The scent of magic components always masked it...but I suppose living without a proper bath in the B.C. was turning me a bit ripe."
Crono chuckled and led him to the shower.
Marle couldn't shake the dream from her head. After breakfast she decided she would have to go out to Crono and Lucca's place to see if they knew where he was.
After convincing her father that she needed a few days off from her royal duties, she ran to the carriage waiting by the front of the castle, dressed in her old jumpsuit, and was off to the island.
"Hi, Marle. Good to see you." Crono said, letting her in.
"Hello Crono...I was wondering if you have seen..." she looked on the table, and saw Janus's now clean clothing sitting on them. The door to the bathroom opened, and Janus's voice came out before him.
"Crono, where are my..." as he stepped out, clad only in a towel, which showed his torso, he saw Marle and stopped short.
"...Janus..." She completed her last question. Seeing his defined muscles in his arms and chest made her blush as the dream came back to her. She turned away a moment as he walked to the table and gathered his clothing. He was dressed and back out of the bathroom within moments, and stopped again as he saw Marle looking at him again. Crono had disappeared from the room, so it was just the two of them.
"Hello Marle..." he said, breaking the awkward silence.
"Hello Janus..." She said, a feeling of awkwardness crossing her face.
Janus tried to regain his composure, "Are you alright?" This brought a nod from her, and a small laugh.
"I'm fine..." she said, looking about nervously, wishing that, at that moment, she wasn't there alone with him. They sat for a good half hour, neither saying anything. Along came Crono and Lucca to save her, both clad in swim suits.
"I've convinced Lucca that she needed to get out of the lab for the day." Crono said. "We are heading to the beach on the south side of the island. Why don't you two accompany us?"
Janus nodded, as did Marle.
"I brought my suit, it's out in the carriage with some other cloths." With that, Marle headed out, glad to be able to get some air.
"Janus, I am guessing you need some trunks?" Crono asked. "I can let you borrow a pair of mine."