Chapter II: The Devil and Sergiepoo
The shadowy figure approached the beach, summoning up magic to float on the air and meld with the shadows to avoid detection. He saw the two figures sitting there, half expecting one of them to be Schala, his lost sister. He was disappointed to see that the girl had red hair, not the natural blonde of Schala or the blue headpiece she wore in Zeal. The boy sitting next to her was of great interest to him. He had been touched by Schala, had met her recently. Then this was the last piece of the puzzle for him to find her and be at peace.
Still, he hesitated for a moment, perhaps out of sentimentality, but more likely as regarded to two in a slightly different light. Something felt wrong. The girl had her head on the boy's shoulder, and the boy had his arm around her. But in his visions, he had seen Schala embracing the boy as might a lover, indicating some destiny between the two. Of course, none of that matter now. Destiny, as the shadowed man knew all too well could change, and soon there would be no more destinies to be fulfilled.
"So, I have found you at last," the man said, melting away from the shadows into the sunlight of the beach.
Serge leapt quickly to his feet, lifting his swallow in front of him as he did. Leena remained on the ground behind him, Serge taking a defensive position in front of her. The man raised his hand and sent forth a burst of magical energy, meant to disarm the boy, but the boy raised the Mastermune in front of him, deflecting the burst harmlessly away.
The man took a step back, his mouth agape. "The Masamune," he whispered. He thought it to be lost, corrupted after it's theft from Guardia, and yet here it was and as great a force of good as ever. "How very interesting, it's power, it's all there."
The swallow quivered in Serge's hand, feeling the energy from the man. It remembered him from so very long ago.
"Who are you?" Leena demanded from behind Serge, not nearly as afraid as she had been a second ago, Serge had that affect on her.
The man smiled and lowered his hood, revealing his pale features and long silvery hair. His ears ended in sharp points and his canine teeth appeared slightly elongated as he spoke. "I am called Magus."
The Mastermune quivered in Serge's hand at the mention of the name. He was wary, staring at the man claiming to be Magus. Even in El Nido, the legend of that name proceeded him, a wizard from the 7th Century who was defeated at the hands of the great Sir Glenn wielding the very blade Serge now held in his hands. Serge gave Magus an incredulous look, there was no way the wizard could still be alive after 400 years, and yet something about him felt familiar.
"I have been searching for you, Serge," Magus continued, noting the look in the boys eyes. "You and I both are looking for the same thing, or perhaps, the same person."
Serge's eyes now flashed wide and he lowered his swallow a bit, the girl. I'll find ya, Serge…Serge…KID! The name came flashing back to his brain and he gripped his head in pain, dropping the swallow completely.
"Serge!" Leena shouted. "What did you do to him?"
Magus stared hard. Then the boy did not remember. Memories came flooding back into Serge's head, he remembered Kid now and looked up at Magus.
"That's right, my sister Schala, or as you knew her, 'Kid.'" Magus said as Leena helped Serge back up to her feet. "Help me find her, and you too shall know peace, no more dreams, only reality. I too have sought her out, ever since the defeat of Lavos by Crono of Truce and Nadia of Guardia. I played my own part in that struggle, now I wish only for my own peace, to find my sister before the end. I had nearly given up, until I found out about Kid and your adventure this past summer."
"What are you talking about?" Leena demanded. "Serge has been here the whole ti—" She paused, and then she knew, that was what changed Serge when she found him on the beach, that was what he couldn't tell her about, because he didn't even know himself. Serge once more gripped his head in pain and Leena held onto him tight.
"My sister, she must have buried those memories, at least until she found him again. But she underestimated the strength of those memories and Serge's love for Kid."
"Serge," Leena pleaded, "Let's go. Magus was supposed to be a cruel man. Let's go back to the village." Tears were streaming down her cheeks, what if he were telling the truth, what if Serge did love this Kid and not her. Serge remained still.
Magus paused, he was cruel wasn't he, but he also was not the villain here, "My dear, Serge knows the truth, he wants to find Schala as much as I. He knows that I can help him. Come with me and together, your dream will come true." Serge looked up at him, still shaken by the pain in his head. Magus smiled at him, "Oh yes, I know of your dream. Schala is waiting for you at the beach. I have seen it as well in my dreams."
Magus held his hand out to him. Serge paused looking at the hand and considered for a long moment.
"He's at the beach," Marle explained to the three visitors to the small hut in Arni Village. "He went there not long ago with Leena." Marle smiled at the mention of the name. "What do you need him for?"
"Oh, we wanted to talk with him about something that happened earlier this summer," Marle explained.
"He's not in any trouble is he?"
"Oh, no," Marle said. "We just need to talk to him about it."
"You know, he has been acting strange since a few weeks ago, even for Serge. He's never been much on conversation, but sometimes I just don't understand the boy."
Marle giggled, "Oh, that I can understand, believe me." She nudged her husband just a bit, who sat in the hut recovering from his injury. "We'll do what we can to help him."
In fact, she didn't really know what that might entail. Crono and Glenn stood, bowing neatly to Marge as they left the hut.
"Thanks again," Marle called as they left.
Marge waved to them as they left, but she was worried for her son.
"I know of the beach," Glenn said as they walked from the village. "It's not far." He led them down the path to the beach, but when they arrived they noticed a figure which was quite recognizable to both Crono and Marle.
"Janus," Marle whispered. The last they saw him, he was in 12,000 B.C. looking for his sister, Schala. Marle and Crono exchanged a look and then Crono motioned for them to hide in the bushes and watch. Both silently dreaded what Magus's true purpose here might be, as even though he helped them against Lavos, Magus kept his own agenda.
Magus still had his hand held out to Serge. Glenn in the bushes nearby dropped his hand to his sword, instinctively not liking the wizard. Crono put his hand on Glenn's shoulder and shook his head. Now was not the time.
Serge then looked up into Magus's eye and his expression filled with resolve. He took Magus's outstretched hand, prompting Leena to collapse back in the sand beside him, eyes filled with tears freely flowing again.
Serge bent down and picked her up, wiping the tears from her face and giving her a smile. He embraced her briefly, and Leena stopped crying. For the first time, she truly saw the old fire return to Serge and knew this to be the right course for him. She parted from him and looked him in the eyes, making a resolution herself.
"I'm coming with you!" Leena stated firmly. Serge nodded his approval and smiled at her. Magus was silent beside them for a moment, considering.
"If you must," he said finally. "But come, we should retire back to the village, I doubt I am the only one looking for you." He cast a glance into the bushes and Crono and company tensed for a second. But if Magus saw them, he gave no indication, and he led Serge and Leena back to the village.
Crono, Marle, and Glenn lingered at the beach for a moment after they left. Crono went to stand on the spot that Serge and Leena had occupied a few moments before, bending down to examine the sand and closing his eyes as if feeling a presence there.
"I don't understand," Glenn said when he felt it safe. "Who is Janus?"
Marle smiled softly, "he was better known as Magus throughout Guardia over 400 years ago. The question is, why is he here? After we defeated the Entity the Gates were closed and he was left in 12000 B.C."
Glenn's puzzled expression grew darker and he sat down on a nearby tree stump. "Guardia, the Entity, 400-year old wizards, I'm completely lost."
"Janus Zeal was born in the ancient Kingdom of Zeal thousands of years ago. When the kingdom fell trying to harness the power of Lavos, he was sent to the 6th Century where he was raised by Mystics and became known as Magus, an enemy of Guardia. Though, his true goal was the destruction of Lavos and to that end, he eventually allied himself with us," Marle explained as sympathetically as she could.
Glenn scratched his head, "So you are telling me this is the same wizard that my ancestors fought against all those Centuries ago?"
Marle nodded.
Glenn stood up, hand falling to his sword. "Then I shall finish the job if need be."
Crono put his hand on his shoulder and again shook his head.
"Again you hold me back?" Glenn frowned. "Is he not evil?"
Marle smiled, "it's not as simple as that. Janus can be misguided, but he did help us fight Lavos."
"Just who are you, how do you know all this?"
"All in good time," Marle said. "It's starting to get dark, we should head back to the village and keep an eye on Janus. The ship for Choras leaves early tomorrow and we'll all need our rest."
"Am I to come with you then," Glenn asked.
"Of course!" Marle nodded. "General Viper did put you at our disposal did he not? We've got a long journey ahead of us and if you haven't noticed, we're not as young as we used to be." She gave a sympathetic smile to her husband, who she knew must be in considerable pain at the moment.
"Who are you?"
Back in Arni, Magus and Serge settled at the local restaurant run by Belcha. Over a bowl of Heckran Bone soup, Magus explained a bit of the next step. "We'll have to open the gates," he explained, but Serge was hardly listening. Leena had returned home for the night and Serge intended to leave early tomorrow without her.
Magus continued, "I'm not sure how that might be accomplished. Perhaps we might find something at the ruins of the orphanage." That sounded familiar to Serge, the orphanage, but what memories had returned were still a jumbled mess. The thought of flames crossed his mind and he shuddered at the thought. But then there was Kid… what did she have to do with the Orphanage?
"In any case, we'll travel to Zenan, though I am loathe to confront the armies of Porre. Lucca must have left something else behind that we could use." Serge remained silent, not really understanding what Magus was talking about and not much caring either. His thoughts centered on Kid, he tried to pull out more memories of all, each one precious to him, but no more came. I'll find ya.
Shortly after, Serge returned to his hut. When he returned, he searched below his bed where he found a strange rock he had in his hand when he woke on the beach those weeks ago. He didn't know what it meant at the time but now, thinking of Kid and the Orphanage, he wondered if it might be connected. He put it in his pocket and collapsed on his bed, soon sound asleep.