To the Death

I do not own Crono Trigger. But I do love it. That works for me. =)


The moving of the Mammon Machine had been exhausting, and he wasn't sure if one of the actual transporters would survive. It felt like he was on the verge of collapsing.

So he decided to sleep.

Magus walked to his private chambers, and didn't have the energy to ward his doors. But he didn't care. He was close enough to his goal, he could taste it, acrid on his tongue. Or was it the salty tang of blood?

When he finally reached his bed, he did collapse. It was a healing sleep, nonetheless. The Prophet of Zeal Kingdom regenerated energy at a phenomenal rate. Perhaps it was a survival trait of living in dangerous times. Being weak for too long could kill you. But either way, his breathing was soft.


Magus heard nothing of the door opening, but he opened his eyes anyways. And in his view, as usual, was Schala. She looked sad and careworn. He wanted to comfort her. His hand reached for hers, but she was just outside of reach, as always.

He sighed, and covered his eyes instead.

"You know this is wrong," was what she told him.

"Of course it is wrong, everything is wrong here," was his response, mainly to himself. "If it weren't wrong, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have to be here. Nothing would be necessary."

His fists clenched in his hopeless fight. Not hopeless. Never hopeless. As long as Lavos was destroyed, it wasn't.

"Don't you wish you could fix it all?" was her next question.

He didn't answer. He knew his answer. He was going to fix all of it. Soon. He knew it was soon.

"Goodbye, Magus," she told him next. And she was going away, as she always left.

In the safety of dream, he wanted to tell her how much he had missed her, and how much he loved her. But it was too late, again. It was always too late.

Did she call me Magus?


Magus woke up suddenly, but it was early morning. He tried to puzzle out his dream. She never calls me Magus in my dreams. And suddenly he had the need to find her.

He ran out of his rooms, and first searched her rooms, where she wasn't, and then the gardens, where she was missing from as well. Finally, he was on his way to the Mammon Machine, when he realized, it was now in the Ocean Palace.

So he went to the Throne Room, and found it devoid of everything but a column of light, which he knew where it would take him.

Magus jumped in without a second thought. He knew where everyone was.

Just like mother to be impatient. Flicked through his mind. And the stretching feeling of being turned to particles of light tore at him, and suddenly he was where he needed to be. Except on the wrong end.

So he began his trek, and found to his interest, creatures hiding in the shadows, none of them attacked him. But they gabbled in fear and confusion. The only ones who gave him any bother at all were the soldiers of the Queen, under Dalton's control. They were cheeky.

As his journey progressed, he was scanning everything, including those creatures, until it hit him, almost making him stumble. He recognized these auras, as twisted as they were. And he knew what had happened to all of those who had disappeared while working on the undersea palace.

Earthbound and enlightened alike had disappeared during the monumental effort of making this dream become a reality, and they had not even been allowed to die properly.

At one point in his life, it may have bothered him, but not anymore. Besides, he was so close to Lavos now, he could verily feel the energies all around him, powering the ship. And he could steadily feel the Mammon Machine as he closed in on it.

Suddenly the red and black interior of the palace changed to blue, and he saw copies of those that had defeated him, and ones he didn't recognize. And before him, he saw Janus attempting to claw his way out of a portal, for once, his cat left behind, still in the Zeal Palace. And then it was over, Janus gone, and the gurus as well. He knew it. And Schala was there, bruised slightly, and crying. Her tears fell on the floor, herself on her knees, while the Queen laughed as hard as she could, almost crying as well. Dalton was just smirking, chortling a little bit behind one of his gloves.

For his part, he did not laugh, he felt sad that Schala was to be hurt so, but he had planned it this way. Instead he strode forward. Face was somber, but detached from everything. He almost paused as he walked past Schala, but it was so small a stumble, that it barely happened at all. Instead he kept walking forward toward the Queen.

"Prophet! You just missed all of the fun!" she laughed.

"I noticed, my Queen," he answered her.

Suddenly coquettish, she smiled at him and simpered, "Can you tell me what you just missed?"

Looking around, looking at Schala, he said, "Lord Janus and the Gurus are gone, sent to unknown areas," was his response.

Dalton suddenly laughed, friendly. "I found Schala in Algetty, trying to tell those blasphemous outlanders about the Mammon Machine. Seemed that they had freed Melchior from his post on the floating mountain."

Magus felt himself stiffen. He had not remembered that they were coming back. But then he knew. With a certainty, even though he had not been around to see it, as the black wind was raging around him suddenly, that they were on their way. That he had only beaten them by a little.

"Majesty," he addressed Queen Zeal, suddenly, "They are coming, taking Schala away from them wouldn't stop those ones."

"Figures," she muttered, almost biting her thumb as she thought. "I prepared for them just in case, though!"

Looking around, he couldn't help but murmur, "I noticed," which elicited a laugh from the Queen.

Schala had finally picked herself up, and had walked over to them. "I'm not going to help you anymore, Mother," was all she had to say for herself, voice still wracked with grief.

"Oh, I think that you will help, especially if I threaten those poor, innocent travelers," Zeal purred at her daughter, menace in her voice, along with hunger. "Dalton, keep watch in the anteroom, I want you there to greet them."

And through that overwhelming sadness, Schala still had the kindness in herself to fear for others, even if she didn't know them. Her head snapped up, eyes wide, lips mouthing the words she couldn't say. Queen Zeal only nodded her assent, smiling, eyes narrowed.

"In fact, I would look forward to your hindrance, so I could torture them so exquisitely," was her crooning threat. And once more, Schala found herself defeated.

Magus felt bad for her, as well as disgust for his mother the Queen, but showed none of it. Instead he stood at attention for Queen Zeal, puppet of Lavos.

"Come now, child, Lavos beckons!" was her joyful cry. "We need to prepare ourselves!"

Queen Zeal hadn't noticed, for she was yelling at her daughter again. "You must raise the power of the Mammon Machine to it's limit!" was her current rant. Magus was watching as the children kept walking forward, as Schala gave in to her mother, and the joy Queen Zeal felt at the pulsation of sickening power. And Schala was thrown to the ground in the backlash of release. And he almost went to her, but he heard his mother telling her to keep going.

Then Dalton arrived in the room, panting, and looking somewhat panicked.

The travelers had finally arrived, walking cautiously, looking around in horror, looking fresh but battered.

A boy with two girls, all of them young, weapons well cared for, bangles and armor glinting in the light. They had defeated Dalton, as he had predicted.

When they saw all that was happening, Schala on the ground, trying to do as her mother commanded, they were suddenly lit with new fervor.

"Schala, were here to save you!" was what the blonde one said.

The purple-haired girl said something similar, but with turning off the Mammon Machine involved.

The red-headed boy said nothing, but wore determination on his face that was louder than the words of the others.

"You're...!" Schala began, but she couldn't go on, the power of Lavos was tearing her apart. "Help!" was all she could say, voice choked.

"Schala!" burst from his lips, before he could stop it, himself on his way to her, when he stopped. She had never actually asked for help before.

Queen Zeal was livid, her face flushed in anger. "Schala! What are you doing? I need your help!"

But already, the travelers were moving forward, yelling about a red knife,which the boy was unsheating as he ran forward with it.

Magus heard Masa and Mune talking, suddenly, and the small red knife suddenly turned to a sword that he knew. A sword that he hated. But the boy, Crono, he heard one of the girls call him, was running now, and was past him, past everyone faster than he could have imagined, and the blonde girl was glowing with power.

The Mammon Machine powered down, but the energy in the room didn't die. Schala was in a trance.

But then, with a last gust of the black wind, he felt it, a deep pulse, too low to hear, but felt in his very core. "It's coming..." was his murmur.

"That sword alone isn't enough to stop it," cried Schala, coming out of the trance as the power built.

Suddenly, it was as if a giant portal opened up, but instead of feeling like they had moved, it felt more as if they had stayed put, and Lavos had come to them.

Magus threw his cowl off, and his cape back to free his arms, and drew his scythe. "I've been waiting for this. I swore to destroy you. No matter the price," he growled, advancing towards the spined monstrosity, the black wind rekindled and screaming. But he ignored it. "It is time I fulfill that vow!" he snarled.

The Queen suddenly cackled out mad laughter. "What do you think you can do?" she cried, voice confident. "Hmph! False Prophet! You shall be a snack for the great lord Lavos!" was her final threat.

Schala finally had managed to claw her way over, starting to ingite her own power once more. "Mother, stop, this can only end in ruin!" she cried, voice desperate.

"Schala! Get away from there!" snarled the Queen. "You are a part of the life-force Lavos has granted us! You cannot change that now! Oppose me and I will destroy you as well!" And she was as good as her word. She began to crackle with power, and pain collapsed his sister, all in an instant.

She whimpered a word that sounded like a plea for help.

Magus didn't need another motivation. He went towards the head of Lavos, as far as he could figure.

"Come, Prophet," sneered the Queen. "Feel the power of Lavos!" and she didn't seem bothered by the fact that he was trying to destroy her god.

He attacked, but it had no effect, and Lavos fixed him with his abyssal stare, and suddenly, all his power was being destroyed. "How?" he had to ask. "I won't...be beaten. I have survived darkness past belief to defeat you!" he roared. Almost a howl. And he threw all the power he had left at Lavos, and was surprised by how miniscule it was compared to his power of before. Lavos had taken almost all of it. And his wide eyes only made Queen Zeal laugh louder.

"You think your measly power could touch Lavos! Foolish!" she crowed, triumphant still. "But I am kind, so here is a gift from me, to you. Immortality, as a part of Lavos!" And he was thrown in a wave of power, disabling him.

But somehow, the boy had gotten up again, and was checking on his friends. Then he went to Schala.

She tried to warn him off. "Please escape...Crono. Humans can't hope to defeat it!"

But before he could say anything back, Zeal interrupted. "So, you are Crono! Why don't you take her advice and flee in terror? Isn't your life precious to you?"

Crono only shook his head, and smiled, putting on a brave face.

"So you haven't given up yet? What can you hope to do? Challenge Lavos with that battered body of yours," Queen Zeal purred, even though it ended in a screech as Crono began walking up to Lavos. "Then feel his wrath!"

And his companions yelled out for him, for him to stop, and Magus smiled, knowing the boy couldn't succeed, but hoping he could. He was bitter. But felt the power of Lavos go up a notch, and he couldn't hold back an exclamation of horror.

The boy was disintigrated. Instantaneously. And he heard the heartrending cries of his friends, calling for him, as the dimensional rift left, taking Lavos and the Queen with it. The force holding them down went away, and they all got up.

Schala walked over to the two girls. "The last of my pendant's power will send you to safety," she told them, voice sad. "I know you can't forgive her...but please, don't hate my mother, or my kingdom," she asked them. And before they could say anything back, she cried, "I'm so sorry!...Now off you go!" and began her incantation, sending them away. They were reaching for her as they blipped out.

Magus walked up to her, and didn't say anything. Schala looked back at him, sad.

"Did you know what was going to happen?" she asked, voice tired.

"Only some of it," he replied, voice defeated. "I thought I could stop this..."

"I can send you to safety as well," Schala finally told him, face determined to do all that she could for others.

"But what about you? I can tell that you can't save yourself as well as me," he countered, suddenly desperate not to be saved. "I don't have the power to take us both anymore, Lavos took it all."

"Perhaps those strangers can help out in that department," she said, smiling slightly. "Not everything has to be done alone."

"No, it is my ordeal," he murmured. And was surprised when she put her hand on his cheek.

"I will send you away," she whispered. "I forgive you for what you have done, although we could have helped you."

"I would rather stay with you here," he whispered back, eyes suddenly wet, as he realized what she was doing. And he finally had the courage to tell her, now that it was the end, either way, and wishing he could have told her earlier. "I love you, Schala." And before she could say anything to him, he kissed her as passionately and carefully as he had wanted to, holding nothing back for once. Schala kissed him back, and he felt her tears, tasted them, and suddenly, felt himself ripped away, reaching for her.

She was saying something, he heard her say "I'm sorry for this. But..." and then he couldn't hear her anymore, although she was saying something else too. He couldn't tell what. He watched her collapse on the floor of the crumbling palace before she too blinked from view, and he found himself on the continent.

Magus saw the ground open up, saw Lavos, saw beams of energy go up towads Zeal, and saw the end of his world, and wished that he could die with his sister.


a/n: Well, that takes care of that. But there is always more...