Zenan Bridge, 599 Kingdom Calendar
*jiggle*
*jiggle*
Flea couldn't stop giggling.
After hearing about Magus's spell at Mount Denadoro, Flea had been doing a lot of experimentation, and decided that if he couldn't repair his anatomy... ...he would alter it. It all happened a few weeks ago, with a spell that began as an agonizing process and rapidly turned into a euphoria unlike any Flea had previously had the opportunity to experience. He was starting to like being a girl, but insisted he was still Flea, deep down.
"Flea, please..." a fierce man in a dark red cape groaned. "I find it disgusting."
"Hey, dude..." He smiled. "It's your fault."
Ironically, Ozzie's chest was bouncing nearly as much, and nobody seemed to care, least of all Magus. In back, Slash and Axl walked together.
The five fiends approached the bridge, and saw a small military gathered on the other side. "Look well," Magus called out. "Zenan Bridge is the chokepoint to Truce, and Guardia Castle along with it. Once we overtake this bridge, the castle will be ours. Burn Guardia Forest to the ground around it, then spread out: Send teams of ogres into the surrounding mountains: I want fiends closing in on it from all sides, that includes snipers perched to monitor the main gate, as well as the towers. We five alone will enter the castle and execute the majesties. If you encounter the frog knight, you may engage him but do not, I repeat, do not underestimate him. Once this operation is finished, you may do with Guardia Castle as you please. I will be at my own, making the final preparations for Lavos. Understood?"
The fiends all just sort of nodded their heads. Good enough, Magus figured.
"Alright then. You have your orders. ATTACK!"
A small military camp was stationed on the other side of the bridge, with several knights moving back and forth across it. The knight captain was seen exiting a medical tent with a lieutenant at his side.
"Listen well... I have orders from the King to destroy Zenan bridge if necessary. We will be unable to reach San Dorino or Porre if that happens, but the castle's safety is paramount. Relay this information to your archers, and be prepared if I give the order, understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"FIENDS ADVANCING!"
"Damn!" Captain uttered. "Liutenant! Scramble your men!"
Within seconds, swords and shields clashed. The knight's phalanx held for fifteen minutes before fiends began to compromise it. One soldier was actually crushed under his shield by the weight of an ogre, and the diablos had no reservations about climbing over their comrade.
In the heat of things, nobody noticed a hooded figure freeze her way across this mess, and most assumed it was Magus.
It definitely caught Magus's attention though, because he certainly didn't remember doing it, and it definitely came from the other side.
"! What in the..."
It didn't take long before he eyed the hooded figure, still trying to avoid the conflict while desperately crossing the bridge. Magus kept back, intent on investigating this oddity.
"That's impossible..." he muttered. "There's no way they could have a magician, especially one of that caliber..."
As she fled, she tripped over a fallen fiend and landed backward, her hood falling back.
...
..."Huh... Human alright..." Magus pondered. "I didn't think any other humans could come so close to matching me... heh, with her blue hair, and her bright, green eyes, she kinda looks like..."
...
...
...
"...no..."
Magus hovered above in silence, just staring at her.
"It's not possible... she's not... no! Dammit! I thought I got her out of my head... Why does she haunt me so?"
"STOP IT!" Magus screamed out loud, causing some of his subjects to look up in the sky at him in confusion.
"Stop?"
"YOU'RE DEAD! D-E-A-D! YOU'RE DEAD AND GONE! I'VE ACCEPTED THAT! WHY WON'T YOU JUST GO AWAY!?"
He was holding his head and thrashing about, screaming jibberish now. Slash, Flea, and Ozzie just stood there, their mouths hanging open. "Uhhhh... Magus?"
It was then that Magus noticed a large fiend approaching the young woman with an axe, laughing. "TIME TO DIE, HUMAN MAGE..."
The poor fiend never even had time to know what hit him, before Magus struck him back with such force that he collapsed through the bridge's entire width, taking several fiends with him. Before she could fall in, Magus drew up his cloak and grabbed her at lightning speed, depositing her on the south side and then running away from both his soldiers and the girl.
"BURN IT!" came the order from the other side, as flaming arrows drove into the wood. Many of Guardia's soldiers were able to retreat from the flames, but several fiends either burned alive or drowned as the bridge rapidly collapsed. Everyone caught between the flames and the holes, well... ...they fought for what they believed in and would be remembered.
What should have been a long-awaited and carefully planned-out victory for the fiends turned to disaster as Magus had suddenly flipped out and abandoned them. And what was with that other mage? A good portion of the fiend's military force was actually lost along with Zenan Bridge, so neither side came out of the battle happy.
"I don't believe it!" Axl shouted, as they marched with what little was left of their forces. "TWO YEARS OF CAREFUL PLANNING GONE TO SHIT, THANKS TO HIM. Is he trolling us or something? I mean, why did he take off like that?"
"It kinda looked..." Flea uttered, "...like he was having some sort of... panic attack or something. I guess even Magus can lose his cool in a battle."
Whether Magus liked it or not, he would have to answer to his forces for what just happened back there. Naturally, Axl gave him lip, which only resulted in Magus stripping him of his command. Again. As for the others...
"Hey... Magus..." Ozzie awkwardly smiled. "So uh... you wanna talk about what-"
"No."
"Oh.. ok..." Ozzie smiled. "You know, it's just that we had been planning that for a long time and suddenly you just..."
"I saw a ghost, Ozzie. A phantasm from an old life."
"Yeah..." Ozzie replied. "Talking about that human mage? Well, as human as you anyways..."
"FIEND, Ozzie..." Magus shouted. "I'm a fiend."
Ozzie whispered. "She kinda looked like you did, once. Hey, you two related? Ooooh, is that why you ran off?"
Magus really didn't want to discuss this, or even think about it. Something he thought he had accepted and buried was now crawling its way back up to the surface, just like Lavos was going to, soon.
"I saw her cast..." Magus thought to himself. "I carried her across... ...Ozzie saw it too... am I truly going mad, or... ...!"
San Dorino Desert, 3 days later
It had been nineteen years since Flea's manic rampage decimated San Dorino forest. Something deep underground dragged the trunks down, and shifting sands replaced the dirt. One poor woman lived in a small oasis, at the center of a dustbowl. Most people just ignored Fiona, or thought she was a lunatic to try and repair the damage. The fiends certainly didn't mind, as it made getting back and forth much easier.
...So when she received a visitor, she was rather surprised.
"I am told you know about the Magic Cave..." a blue-haired girl inquired. "Do you know where it is?"
Fiona nodded. "Where, yes. But please... don't be so foolish as to actually go near it."
The mage insisted. "Don't worry about me. I might just be able to help with... all this. I just... need to talk to him. Magus."
"You're the magician they're talking about up in town, aren't you?" Fiona said, backing up. "So what's the deal? Are you a fiend too? Are you the reason this desert persists? Magic has never brought us anything but trouble. Please, be gone."
Schala insisted.
"I am quite nearly inclined to agree with you," Schala replied. "It's rarely done much good for me either, until now..."
Schala eyed Fiona's outfit. It was fine for the forest, but not for the dry and brutal winds of the desert. She needed something that could breathe, but still protect her body...
...that's it!
"Here..." Schala smiled, pulling her old dress out of her pack. It was faded, and looked more brownish than it did purple, but it was still in one piece. "You can't save the forest dressed like that. Please, take this as a sign of my goodwill."
Fiona was shocked and, needless to say, moved by Schala's generosity. She invited Schala inside, and tried the dress on: it was a little shorter on her than it was on Schala, but it still fit her well enough. Together, they talked about the Human-fiend war, and about the arrival of Magus. Fiona deeply feared that her efforts would be in vain if the fiends won, but Schala smiled and reassured her she could end it. "I just need to go and talk to him..." she smiled. "Please... help me do this."
Fiona nodded. "Ok. The magic cave is north-east of here, past Mount Denadoro. Magus's forces greatly do not like humans though... if that's what you are..."
"Don't worry", Schala smiled. "I'll be okay. Thank you, so much for this..."
"And thank you, miss..." Fiona smiled. "...for these clothes. This is much better."
With that, Schala was on her way again. After the horrific experience beneath Arris Dome, she felt a strong warmth in her heart again. Now, it was time to go and see if she could bring that same warmth to her brother.
"Janus... ...I'm coming."