Chrono Corruption
Act 5: Revolution
Chapter 30: Queen of the Dead
*Medina, Dawn of Guardia, 1 A.D.*
Crono's party returned to the Gerzbuehlan Encampment as quickly as the Neo Epoch could get them there. Tomo was silent for the whole trip as she kept her head down. No one spoke to her, knowing that it was not their place to do so but Ty's. Once more, the party made their way through the dark lush forest battering enemies aside as they did so. The necropolis came into view and they made their way to it.
As they moved around the graves and sepulchers, Janus turned his gaze back and forth as if he noticed something strange. Crono noticed, "What's wrong, Janus?" he asked growing more serious.
"I sense something... dark..., let us be on our guard," Janus replied with suspicion.
The party hurried to the sepulcher where Ty had set up his experiment and everything was ready to go but Ty was not present. Tomo began to panic as she shouted, "TY! WHERE ARE YOU?! PLEASE, ANSWER ME!"
Then suddenly, a minor earthquake shook the sepulcher and a familiar voice echoed from no discernable source, "Hello meddlers. Looking for your... interesting friend?"
Everyone's eyes widened with astonishment, "That voice!" Crono started.
"The fiend lady, Quin, from my era?" Janus said with a raised brow. "How is that possible?"
"Oh, everything was revealed to me when a red-haired man came to me a little while ago and gave me a wonderful red jewel that is shaped like a marvelous flame!" claimed Quin. "I communed with that red flame and I now know who you people are so when you arrived at my necropolis I stayed quiet and observed. You people can move through time. How interesting."
Crono clenched his teeth, "Dad, come on now..."
Janus replied, "How did you survive our encounter in Antiquity?"
Quin's voice was angered, "At first I was vexed! I mean, who barges into someone's home and just takes their life?! Murderers that is who!"
Tomo angrily shouted, "YOU WERE HARVESTING PEOPLE!"
"For science, you burly nitwit! It was all for immortality! They were sacrifices!" Quin rebuked. "Nevertheless, in actuality, I must thank you. After you murdered me, my experiments proved successful! I rose from the dead as a new creature! One who gains power from death itself! I wandered the world for so long and yet 12,000 years seems like nothing when you are immortal. Well, I did take quite a few long naps but that is to be expected. I returned to the Furnace of Woe to take my revenge on Mathilda. I slaughtered them all. I gained great power after I took Mathilda's life. To think the Fiends would allow themselves to be ruled by such a privileged little brat!" she laughed heartily.
"Where is, Ty?!" Crono asked angrily.
"You want your little alchemist? Then come to my mausoleum!" Quin coaxed. "...Let us 'talk'..." she said creepily.
"That certainly was creepy! My hair is standing on end!" Lex said with a shiver.
"Damn it, we should have disposed of Quin more thoroughly," Janus said with a sigh.
"Well, we can't exactly do anything about it now! Ty needs our help!" Tomo said with distress.
"Tomo's right, it's obvious we've been played!" Crono said angrily.
"That would explain the message on Ty's coffin!" Lex stated.
"And that's why he turned into a zombie! She did this!" Tomo said with emotions bubbling to a peak.
The party left the sepulcher and began searching the necropolis for clues as to where Quin was hiding. The party decided to split up. Eventually, Crono took notice of a mausoleum that was recently broken into. He entered and dispatched some undead resistance with his magic. He then began to investigate. He looked over the strange chemicals and other ingredients that were stored in jars and lined on the shelves. "That's right, Ty said that the Fiends stored nasty things here. And it looks like he was here recently. Probably looking for something he could use. But is this where Quin got him?" he said to himself as he investigated. Crono looked around and couldn't see any signs of a struggle. "Hmm, perhaps not, but I do know that Ty had definitely come this way!"
Lex looked over the tombs, new and old until he finally found a large stone sarcophagus that had recently been broken into. He was drawn to it, "Crono and his friends rescued me from one of these. It still gives me shivers to think about. Wait a moment. Could it have been this Quin that ambushed me as well?" he said quietly as he looked into the coffin. "Hmm, these vials were once used to store the organs of the corpse but it seems their contents have recently been taken. Ty must have come this way," Lex believed.
Janus began his search in a small watch tower that had its door ajar. He noticed that a candle was lit and the nearby bookshelves had been disturbed but not by someone who had been studying. The books and parchments were disturbed by conflict, "Hmm, this is where Ty was ambushed. I can feel it...," Janus discerned.
Tomo wandered trying to focus but her mind only raced, "Oh, I hate this! I knew this was a bad idea from the start! Ty bails me out of trouble so much but the moment he gets into trouble I feel helpless. What do I do? I don't even know what I'm supposed to look for!" Tomo moaned in a flustered state. Just then, Tomo caught a glimpse of a ghost. She reoriented her gaze until the ghost of a soldier came into view. He looked like a man from the Gerzbuehlan Encampment.
Tomo was surprised, "Uh, h-hello? I'm looking for someone..., someone important to me. Have you seen anyone around here lately?" she asked full of hope.
The ghost nodded gently, "Yes...," he whispered.
"Where is he? A zombie lady named Quin drug him off somewhere!" Tomo asked frantically.
The ghost spoke softly, "Follow the oldest pathways. The sepulcher you seek is hidden in the fog. The owls know the way."
"Owls?" Tomo said as she looked up at a tree branch. Three owls glared at her without so much as a blink. She went to thank the spirit but saw that he had vanished.
Then, the voices of her friends came to her, Crono spoke first, "Anyone, find anything?" he asked.
"No, not me, just footprints as to where Ty had been," Lex claimed.
"I found where Quin ambushed him," Janus added.
"Well, I got good news!" Tomo said strongly. "A ghost told me to follow the oldest pathways and that owls could tell me which paths to take. Quin's sepulcher is hidden in the cursed fog!"
"That's great! Come on, let's follow those birds!" Crono said as his party regrouped.
The party followed the shady path marked by the dead tree. Through winding paths saturated with fog, the party followed the owls until finding a fairly large decrepit mausoleum. It was definitely of Fiend origin and seemed even older than any of the graves strewn throughout the necropolis. Crono and company approached cautiously as Crono surveyed the area for anyone who may be hiding, "Everyone, be on your guard," he said cautiously.
The party approached the door and found it to be open. They opened the squeaky door and peered down into the dark staircase that was only lit by torches on the walls. They slowly made their way down and noticed that there was only one stone sarcophagus. It was surrounded by ornaments and knick-knacks that were occult in origin. "Reminds me of the old castle...," Janus said as he inspected the sarcophagus.
Everyone drew their weapons as Janus began to move the lid. The stone lid hit the floor and the party's caution was replaced with immediate concern as the person inside was not Quin but Ty, unconscious.
"TY!" Tomo shouted as she rushed to his side and pulled him from his confinement. She hugged him tightly as a child would to a plush doll or beloved family pet. She looked him over, "He's so pale and clammy! We need to get him outta here!" she urged.
"We may be in luck! Quin does not seem to be here!" Lex said with cautious optimism.
"I do not sense her foul presence as of yet...," Janus claimed. "Here, allow me," he said as he took a slip of paper out of his satchel. It had runes in ink on it and he placed it on Ty's forehead. A magical gleam appeared for a brief moment.
"What's that, Janus?" Crono asked curiously.
"A Spell Tag, I crafted these myself after I put more emphasis on my Shadow magic. My Exhume spell can raise people but it places a Zombie Curse on them when they return, just as you have seen with Ty when he was a skeleton. I created these tags to remove the Zombie Curse on people I Exhume that are my allies. Ty's situation is different as it is more biological than magical. However, any magical components will be broken with this tag. So this should help stop any more of the zombification process."
"Thanks, Janus! I'm really glad we have you with us!" Tomo said as she gave Ty a piggyback ride. Seeing that the coast was clear the party fled the sepulcher. As they emerged the fog had become unnaturally dense and Janus sensed something, "...Ah, there it is... Quin arrives...," he said softly.
Everyone braced themselves and drew their weapons as her dark presence made itself known. Quin emerged from the fog and stood before them. "Ah, you are much earlier than I anticipated...," she said. "But no matter, this works better for me anyway."
Crono stepped forward, "Where are you keeping the Frozen Flame?"
Tomo added, "And what did you do to Ty?!"
She sneered, "My, so many questions! Well, I did invite you here just for that," she said eerily. "So, let's begin. As I said, the Frozen Flame was given to me by a red-haired man that looks strikingly similar to you. Crono? Is it? Yes, I can sense a family resemblance. Your father perhaps? Either way, he said that a person like me would make a great 'Disciple' of his God. Neo Emperor Dalton he addressed him as. He said he learned of me and my power through the Flame when it was in Mathilda's care. It was incredible! So many different timelines run through the Flame's gaze! I took him up on his offer and communed with this artifact and I became empowered beyond my wildest dreams!"
"...Empowered? You mistake deception as a form of empowerment," Janus claimed. "Lavos's power will consume you. Alive, dead or undead..."
"On the contrary, Janus of Zeal! Or should I say, Fiendlord Magus? Or maybe..., Prophet?" Quin snarled. "If it were not for the artifact I would not have even been able to discern who you are! But I have been enlightened to everything!"
"So what do you intend to do with this newfound empowerment?" Janus asked flatly.
"Why, I'm going to use it to further my studies!" Quin began. "I will create a new type of people with my zombie magic and the power of Lavos! People whose will can be written as I or Dalton himself sees fit! Disobedience will be a thing of the past! No, not even that! With the Flame, it will be as though it never existed at all!"
"So that's Dalton's game," Crono said angrily. "Dalton wants to make people obey him without question by just 'changing' them into something else that doesn't have the willpower to choose for itself."
"This is a very serious problem," Lex followed.
"Hmph! What a laugh!" Janus said with a hearty chuckle. "You people truly are weak! Grasping at every form of power just to satisfy such menial desires! What, someone denies you something you are not worthy of and you throw a fit like a child? Did serving little Mathilda cut your pride that deeply? And then, when she caught you committing a crime and came to you with a swift act of justice you take that little amount of power to enact twisted revenge?"
Quin became enraged, "And what makes you think you can judge me?! Privileged child of Zeal!"
"What allows me to judge?" Janus asked rhetorically. "One word..., 'experience'. I have been down this path Quin. It is a 'dead end' even more so than what you have already achieved. I used the Fiends to enact my revenge on the beast you call a God and still failed miserably. I tried appealing to my mother as a prophet while she was under the same influence you are now and that too failed. You will become expendable at some point, Quin. Dalton does not care about those who serve him..., he never has..."
"We shall see about that!" Quin snarled. "Did you not consider that perhaps you failed so many times simply because you are incompetent?!"
"ENOUGH OF THIS SHIT!" Tomo shouted with fury. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BEST FRIEND?!"
Quin seemed a little startled by Tomo's outburst, "He's my own latest experiment! I have never seen such a resilient human before! He has still not risen as my new zombie slave? What a man!" she praised coyly.
Tomo placed Ty softly on the ground, "...This time when you die. You're gonna stay that way... I don't care what it takes..." she said as she drew her hammer and gripped it tightly. She gleamed with yellow light as she cast an Earth Rumble spell. The spell knocked Quin to the ground.
Quin levitated back up with a smile, "Such a brute you are! I have a best friend too that would be none too happy if the four of you were to simply molest me like this!" she said mockingly as she performed a chant.
A monster began emerging from the ground. "Is that Zombor?" Crono asked no one in particular. "No, this one has some flesh on it!"
Quin laughed maniacally, "Meet my 'best friend!' Unbor, The Lost! This undead monster gains its power from those who were lost in their mother's womb! There was so much power that went untapped in a life that was never lived!"
Unbor's roar sounded like a multitude of wailing children. Its cyclopean eye glowed red and the skin that covered its body was white and pulled tightly over its large muscles and bones. Its stomach distended outward as a single eye emerged from the naval. Finally, it was wrapped rather loosely in chains that a large steel cudgel was attached to. It held this cudgel tightly in its right hand.
"Let us put an end to this foolishness!" Janus said strongly as he whipped his cape back behind him.
Quin flew around above her beloved monster and began showering Janus with Shadow magic. "Better dodge my Dark Gears or they'll cut you to pieces!" she taunted.
Janus avoided the Dark Gears and covered himself in a Magic Wall, "Crono, you and I should handle Quin. Tomo, Lex, handle the brute would you?"
The team nodded and they split up. "Alright Janus, she's Undead, and that means this is your territory so what's the game plan?"
"My Shadow magic will prove to be useless against her so I will use it to distract her. Your Light magic will no doubt decimate her but you must hit her with it. Just like with Ty, our weapons will be little more than a nuisance," Janus explained.
"Hey, even our weapons can buy us time," Crono said with a smirk.
Quin came closer as she lowered her altitude. "What the hell are you two babbling about?" she asked irritated. She collected more dark magic in her hands and threw down Dark Bombs on Crono and Janus and they both effortlessly dodged as Janus replied with his Dark Bombs.
Quin turned her back as her wrath focused on Janus. Crono took the opportunity to use his blinding speed to jump high and come down with his sword, cleaving her shoulder down to her abdomen. She groaned, "How annoying...," she said as she wove her body back together.
Tomo and Lex lured the lumbering Unbor further away from Quin as they taunted it with hammer and sword strikes. The creature was largely unfazed by such hits as it did not so much as even flinch. "What a grotesque monster!" Lex said reviled.
"Yeah, thankfully though, it's really slow!" Tomo said exasperated. "I think this is a good opportunity to use some of those monster techs I've learned!" she said excitedly. She placed her hands in front of her, "Needle Spin!" she chanted. Thousands of long needles materialized from her hands and turned Unbor into a pin cushion, but it did not mind as it continued to lumber forth. It opened its mouth with a roar and a fireball blanketed Tomo in return that enveloped her in the same way that Janus's Dark Bomb functioned. She was thrown back with slight burns as Lex helped her to her feet.
"Hold fast, Tomo! Healing Fog!" Lex chanted as he cast his healing spell.
"Meddlesome humans!" Quin shouted as she repelled Janus. She switched her gaze to Crono who had his hands raised. "I do not think so, Light-bearer!" she taunted as she cast a dark spell of her own, "Diminish!" she chanted as the ground beneath their feet was washed with dark power.
Crono felt the magic in his body grow weak and he let down his hands, "Damn, these wretched Undead monsters! They always get me right before I can use my magic!" he cursed.
"My Magic Wall has also fallen," Janus added.
Quin laughed as she flooded the field with her Dark Breath. Crono and Janus evaded the black smoke not wanting to see if it was as strong as Ty's Bad Breath spell had been.
As she breathed deeply, Crono saw an opening, "Ha! Gotcha! Let's see if you can handle the newest 'wild' improvement on my 'Frenzy' technique!" he said as he vanished leaving an afterimage that took the Dark Breath. The afterimage was of Crono making a taunting facial expression at Quin. She recoiled in disgust as she suddenly received a heavy sword slash from behind that cut her wide open. She attempted to counter but was met with another goofy afterimage. Crono attacked Quin over and over with unbound strikes of wild fury each time with a different sword that he owned. Once the attack was finished, Quin had been sliced and diced.
Her head rolled over, "I hate you...," she growled as she began to regenerate.
Once she pulled herself back together she went to attack Crono who pointed to Janus with a smile on his face, "Watch out...," he taunted.
Quin turned her head in surprise as Janus levitated in a chant as he looked up to the darkened sky. He was surrounded by little blue flames that danced around his feet. "All the enemies I have felled will come to my aid and they will tear your soul asunder! Soul Geyser!" he said with a raise of his hands.
Quin watched in horror as those same blue flames surrounded her and she became trapped in a hauntingly white pillar of light. She was levitated into the air as fiery souls came from the abyss beneath her and excruciatingly penetrated her body. The wailing of these souls mixed with Quin's wails until it ended and dropped her to the ground. Her badly burned body pushed itself up as she gazed hatefully at Janus in an unnatural way.
Unbor swatted Tomo and Lex aside and pummeled them with its Sand Breath and Sand Cyclones. Tomo turned her body to stone and braced herself with a defensive stance. She grinned as she did so, "Go ahead, try and attack!" she taunted. Unbor did just that as it tried to smash Tomo with its steel cudgel. She blocked it and counterattacked with a nasty, inhumanly strong, combo of hammer strikes that twisted Unbor's left leg at the kneecap. It stumbled as it roared.
Lex roared as he came crashing down with a Mist Strike that cut through Unbor's head. "That is the way, Tomo! We will vanquish this beast yet!"
Just then, Unbor roared as it glowed with a sickly light. The monster hiding in its stomach was in pain as the rest of the monster mended its wounds. Tomo was stunned, "It's drawing power from the critter in its gut! EWW!" she shivered.
"That is disgusting...!" Lex spat.
"I got an idea! If we can split these two monsters up that may defeat them!" Tomo deduced.
"Its skin is tough! It will be difficult to cut them in half!" Lex claimed.
"I got just the thing! I've been waiting to get strong enough to use this spell! I got it off of a stranger monster in the Darkness Beyond Time! And now, I'm powerful enough!" Tomo said as her body was shrouded in chaotic energy. "Chew on this! Chaotic Zone!" she shouted.
Unbor was consumed in a dark space that caught the attention of everyone, including Quin. Unbor was twisted and mangled by the chaotic storm that had enveloped it. Janus's eyes widened in astonishment at her display of power. When the spell concluded, Tomo was so exhausted she lost her Stone Form and reverted to her fat form. She stumbled backward and fell on her butt. Unbor's skin was mostly torn away leaving blue sickly muscle tissue behind. The monster roared as it picked up its pace and rushed the weakened Tomo.
Tomo's eyes widened as the beastly creature raised its weapon high above its head. The others shouted in panic as they were too far away to get to her in time and Quin smiled from ear to ear awaiting bloodshed. But just before the monster was able to bring its weapon down to smash Tomo to a bloody pulp, its body was torn in half from an impact from behind. A green saucer composed of wind magic sliced Unbor in two and critically damaged the spherical creature within it.
Tomo followed the spell to Ty who was propped up weakly with one arm and his other outstretched toward Unbor, his eyes blank with exhaustion. Janus's Spell Tag had fallen from his face. Breathing shallowly, he then collapsed to the ground again.
Tomo mumbled weakly, "Thank you, Ty..." She got to her feet and faced the suffering monster that had popped out from Unbor's body. She blasted it with her Gastromorph spell and the critter transformed into a warm bowl of creamy wheat cereal. She quickly took the ivory bowl and scarfed the cereal and she became inspired by a new power. She gazed at Quin, now angry as a hornet as her Unbor monster quickly began to turn to dust. "We're done playing with you...," Tomo said with a serious expression. She outstretched her hand towards Quin and glowed with yellow light as did Quin. In an instant, Quin had been drained of every last drop of her magical power, and Tomo regained hers. "Ha, how do you like that?! That Magic Power Buster skill just gave me all your magic power!"
Quin collapsed on all fours unable to do anything. "What?! This is not fair! You cheated! The living are not supposed to devour the dead!"
Crono blinked in confusion, "What do you mean? We eat dead animals and stuff all the time. Well after they've been properly prepared and everything," he chuckled.
Quin ignored Crono's statement and let out a banshee-like scream, "Frozen Flame, assist me! My enemies are about to destroy me!"
In an instant, a red light emerged from the very top of Quin's sepulcher shining like a star. The Flame opened to reveal itself and its little alien eyes locked onto Quin. A red beam of light hit Quin and she began to transform. "Damn! This is not good!" Janus shouted.
Quin smiled evilly as her body was broken down and absorbed into a black portal. A great quake shook the necropolis as a new monster emerged from the darkness. Quin had become a grim reaper-like being consisting of only a giant skull with a blue tongue and white hair that was partially tied in a ponytail. Her forehead was adorned with a crown made of thin spiky protrusions raising from her brow. Large skeletal hands floated in the air near the skull and the rest was nothing but a large tattered black cape that cast a shadow over the battlefield. "Oh, this feels good!" Quin said in delight. "Just call me the Queen of the Dead!"
"Crono, think you gather enough energy to hit her with Holy Light?" Janus asked.
"Yeah, I just need a little time! This Diminish spell is taking its toll!" Crono replied as he threw his hands up. Crono began gathering Light energy as the Diminish spell choked his progress.
Quin noticed what Crono was doing and opened her mouth wide. "Stop right there!" she bellowed as a bright magenta smoke billowed down on him.
Once it cleared Crono was left standing in a weakened pose as pale as a ghost. He moaned as he drooled on himself with a blank stare in his eyes. Janus cursed, "Damn it, a Zombie Curse!"
Tomo and Lex ran over to them, "What happened to him?" Tomo shrieked.
"It is a Zombie Curse! He will be useless like this until we break it!" Janus explained.
Quin laughed heartily, "I shall make you all my puppets! My 'Death's Odor' spell places a powerful curse that makes you into makeshift zombies!"
"I'll break the curse, you two cover my back!" Janus instructed.
Tomo and Lex nodded in an agreement. Tomo used her Stone Form spell and Lex cast his Frost Veil. Quin was largely unaffected by Lex's Veil as she began trying to search for them with fiery Blanket Bombs and Dark Bombs. Janus took another slip of paper out of his satchel and placed it on Crono's forehead. It glowed purple for a second and with a poof, Crono was back to his normal self. He shook his head back and forth to clear his senses, "Ugh, that was terrible!" he said with a shiver.
"Continue the spell, she is distracted," Janus claimed.
"Right!" Crono replied as he began collecting energy again.
"Damn you! Where are you?!" Quin shouted angrily.
Quin's hands were battered and cut by Tomo and Lex as they kept her busy. Lex cast a Healing Fog which would keep the party healthy and hidden all while making Quin squirm. Janus pitched in with strikes from his scythe as his magic did very little to Quin. Quin screeched and squirmed as her right hand fell apart and became dust. "You vile little humans! I WILL destroy you!" she rattled on as her other hand was struck by Janus's Reaper Hook technique. The hand was destroyed as it too turned to dust.
Lex's two support spells faded and Crono was nearing the completion of his Holy Light spell. Quin locked onto him in a panic and attempted to shower him with another's Death's Odor spell.
Tomo, however, jumped in front of the spell and her hard stone body took the spell. She looked herself over, "Hey, I'm not a zombie! I love being a rock!"
"Thanks, Tomo! That was all the time I needed!" Crono said as he finished collecting energy.
"No, you wretched woman!" cursed Quin as her fear rose substantially.
"Holy Light!" Crono cast. Quin's body was enveloped by the bright light of the spell and torn to shreds by the ribbons that cut through her like butter.
When the spell ended, Quin's skull was all that remained and it was broken and cracked revealing pulsating flesh underneath. At first, things were quiet, until suddenly Quin let out a banshee-like scream like before. "If I am to be destroyed then let this be my 'Dying Wish'!" she said strongly as she cast a powerful spell.
Crono noticed in a panic, "Not enough time but I can still-!" he said as he placed a Previve spell on himself.
Quin's eye sockets gleamed for a second as the field was consumed by darkness. A swarm of dark interstellar objects bathed in purple light hit the field and the energy waves consumed the party. Everyone was downed except for Tomo, who had just lost her Stone Form and was coping with the pain. Quin had been restored a little by the three knockouts and she desperately searched for a way to restore herself. Her gaze was set on the unconscious Ty, her little zombie experiment. She opened her broken jaw wide and her blue tongue stretched out to grab him. She then began to draw him in to devour him. Crono's Previve brought him back from the brink and he managed to get to his feet and begin making his way to Tomo.
Tomo's emotions began rising to a boiling point as she watched Ty getting dragged over to his doom. "No, stop! Stop I said! STOP!" she shouted as she crawled after Ty in an attempt to reach him.
Crono shouted at her, "Tomo, catch!" he said as he threw the Life Sparkle sapling to her. It landed in front of her glowing with a soft light. It was reacting to the environment around it. "Shove that into her maw!" he said as he collapsed.
Tomo picked up the Life Sparkle and stood up just in time to see Ty get swallowed by Quin and she snapped. "AHHHH!" she yelled as she went into an Aura Surge. Her tears flew into the air as she transformed. "GIVE HIM BACK!"
Tomo rushed to Quin and she charged a powerful beam in her mouth in an attempt to vaporize the heavily damaged but empowered Tomo. Quin fired the Death Beam but before it hit, Tomo was shielded by a swirling torrent of air that acted like a bubble around her body. She noticed that it was created via Wind magic. "DIE!" Quin shouted in frustration as the beam collided with the shield and was deflected elsewhere. "WHAT?!" shouted Quin as Tomo rushed her.
Tomo took the Life Sparkle in her fist and punched it through Quin's empty eye socket and her arm was enveloped by the sludgy innards. Quin paused as Tomo picked up her hammer, "Now spit out my best friend!" she commanded as she proceeded to 'Pulverize' Quin.
Quin could no longer hold herself together as Ty came gushing out of her mouth. He hit the ground with a thud, "Ow...," he moaned.
Tomo was brought to tears as she raced to grab Ty from the gooey saliva he was covered in. She held him in her arms but he was unconscious again. The rest of the party limped up to Tomo after being revived. "Great job, Tomo!" Crono said with a thumbs-up gesture.
Quin's remains began to pulsate. Janus sneered, "Ugh, just perish already...," he moaned.
"She surely cannot continue this battle!" Lex said with a raised brow.
"Just wait, my idea is taking hold!" Crono said with a smile.
Quin began speaking, "Ugh, I..., I feel something strange..., wiggling inside me! What did you do to me?!"
She moaned and bellowed in what seemed to be a burning pain as her remains began to sprout roots that took hold in the ground. Quin's bodily fluids began feeding the plant that was growing from her. Tomo was astounded, "The Life Sparkle is absorbing her like fertilizer!"
"Well, she is a form of pollution like this," Janus pointed out.
Quin let out a final death rattle as her remains turned to nothing but dust and bonemeal. A powerful magical wave of energy raced across the necropolis and the fog vanished along with Quin's Sepulcher. The Frozen Flame also vanished with it as the dark forest was kissed by a sunrise. Souls of the dead could be seen lifting off into the heavens like fireflies.
"Wow, how pretty!" Tomo said as her Aura Surge faded completely.
"The curse on this place is broken. Quin's presence is gone," Janus claimed.
The Life Sparkle grew into a large flower but it had only a bud instead of a full bloom. Crono approached, "Wow, after absorbing Quin this thing still won't bloom?"
"Give it time," Janus instructed. "Let's get Ty back to Chronopolis. We can check this flower later. I am sure Ty would like to examine it in the future."
"How do we go back? The Neo Epoch only seats four!" Tomo reminded.
Crono calmed Tomo, "It's okay, with the Neo Epoch I can take you and Ty to Chronopolis so Ty can recover and just come back for the last person.
Lex jumped in, "Ah, go ahead and take him back! If I am to go on this journey with you I simply must inform Lady Irma. I will explain... some... of the things that have transpired up until this point. She must be worried about whether or not I am still alive. I am sure she will be most overjoyed that the monsters here have been destroyed!"
"Then it's settled!" Crono said with a grin. "Let's get you back to Truce Village!"
*Village of Truce*
Lex was dropped off outside the village as the party took off in a flash. Lex quickly made his way into town as it was still dark and the sunrise had not reached this part of the world yet. The tavern was still illuminated by candles despite it being so late. Lex let himself through and Lady Irma turned to see him. Her face brightened with a smile, "Lex, my valiant and brave warrior! You have returned! You have been battle hardened I see. What has become of you these past few weeks?" she asked with concern.
Lex smiled, "Something that you would not believe Milady! Please, sit I must tell you the good news!"
And it was so, Lex told Irma everything while leaving out the time travel shenanigans so she would not become confused or think he had gone crazy. She was indeed ecstatic over the good news that Medina was freed. They talked long into the night while drinking spirits until both had fallen asleep.
*Chronopolis*
As Crono and his party returned to Chronopolis, they took Ty to the Biology Department where he ordinarily made his stay. He was laid out on an operating table and winced at the bright light above him. Everyone crowded into the department with concern for Ty. Melchior approached from the other side of the table, "Ah, so you managed to make the Life Sparkle then? Impressive work Mister Drayguard! Now, we should probably cure him of this nasty little zombie problem should we not?"
"How?" Tomo said with growing concern.
Glenn stepped forward, "Please, allow me!" he said as he stretched his hand toward Ty. "Purify!" Glenn chanted as Ty was bathed in the powerful healing spell.
After it subsided, Ty's face regained its color, and his breathing normalized. He opened his eyes wearily as he rose. He rubbed his head as Tomo gave a teary smile. Ty moaned, "Ugh, my..., 'everything'. I feel like I went to hell and came back."
"You take a rest here, Ty, I'm going to go back and get Lex," Crono informed.
Ty hopped off the table and he was immediately embraced by Tomo who burst into tears, "Never do that again! I was worried sick! I thought I had eaten a whole pavilion's worth of butterflies!"
Ty was shocked, "Why, what happened? What did I do?"
Tomo had a hard time figuring out where to start, "Well, when we left you behind, Janus turned you into a talking skeleton and you told us you failed and something went wrong so we went back to the Middle Ages to see Eston but Crono's dad was there and he tried to kill Janus and he also can time travel and Eston helped us but you turned into a powerful zombie in the future even with Eston's help and I had to destroy you by petrifying you and the Life Sparkle was in your body so we took it back with us and found that zombie lady Quin had abducted you and tried to turn you into a zombie again so we had to freaking destroy her ass!" she said as she took a deep breath.
"Wow, and that all happened in that amount of time? It was only a couple of hours!" Ty said with confusion. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry about me. I'm glad you were able to bail me out!" he laughed.
Tomo grabbed his hands and held them tightly. She smiled softly with her eyes still watery, "I know that for you it was a short moment, but for me, it felt like an eternity. It's just that..., well, it makes me really happy to see your face right now...," she said as she brought him low. She placed her hands on his cheeks and planted the most awkward and clumsy kiss that she could. Ty blushed deeply as his eyes widened to their fullest in surprise. It even lasted for a whole breath as she hugged and squeezed him tightly.
Marle bit into a handkerchief as many of Crono's friends made a quiet exit to leave them alone. "My ship just sank!" Marle said in comical tears.
Lucca sighed as she massaged the bridge of her nose, "...For God's sake, Marle..."
Janus approached Crono, "While Lex rests up, we should pay a quick visit to Mathilda. Quin said she managed to kill her so we should probably see to that."
"Oh, good thinking, Janus! Marle sweetie, come with me real fast would you?" Crono asked as they watched the seemingly never-ending kissing that Tomo was laying on Ty.
"Thank you...!" Lucca said with a sigh of relief.
"Oh, okay...," Marle whined.
*11,995 A.D. Furnace of Woe*
A party consisting of Crono, Marle, and Janus arrived at the Furnace of Woe and found it to be strangely quiet. "That is not a good sign...," Janus said ominously.
They approached and found the Furnace to be in disarray. Many Fiends were slaughtered by their zombified brethren as Quin could be seen stepping on Mathilda's head. "No, that's definitely not good! Let's get down there!"
However, before the party could even reach Quin, she opened a black portal and escaped through it leaving the battered Furnace behind. "We're too late!" Marle said in distress.
"...Yes, but it must happen this way now so our changes to the timeline will persist," Janus said stoically. "...However...," he said as he approached Mathilda.
Before he could interact with her, her battered and bruised Magic Knights came to her. Tarta was horrified, "No, Fiendlady Mathilda!"
Bickle followed, "I am so sorry, Milady!"
Wazabi knelt, "No, we could not match the power of the Lich that Quin has now become!"
"Crono if you please," Janus said as he pointed to Mathilda.
Crono was lost in thought for a moment until it hit him, "Oh, right! Raise!" he said as he blessed Mathilda with his revival spell. The Magic Knights watched in bewilderment as Mathilda began to stir. She propped herself up and breathed deeply. The Magic Knights cheered as they embraced each other. Mathilda quickly noticed she was back, "Silence!" she shouted childishly. She looked upwards at Janus trying really hard not to cry. "You again, Prince Janus? Did you revitalize me? What has become of Quin?!"
Janus knelt before her like a father to a daughter, "My friend here revived you, but I am afraid that we were too late to stop Quin. She escaped somewhere in the world as we arrived."
"What will become of us? I am supposed to be Fiendlady, but my exile of that nasty Quin only brought destruction upon us! I should have executed her instead!" Mathilda said with regret.
Her Magic Knights stepped in to comfort her, "Milady, it is not your fault!" stated Bickle.
"Indeed! If she was going to become a Lich it would not have mattered if you exiled her or executed her," Wazabi deduced.
"Yes, she would have returned for vengeance either way...," Tarta claimed sadly.
"Perhaps..., perhaps you are right, my Magic Knights. I am alive again and that will only cause her to return once she discovers this," Mathilda began. The Magic Knights became concerned. "...So, my only option left now is to simply... close the Furnace of Woe and disconnect our world from this one so Quin can never reach us again," she finished with a woeful tone in her voice.
"WHAT?!" the Magic Knights shouted simultaneously.
"My Magic Knights..., I have one final request of you...," Mathilda asked in humility.
"What is it?" Bickle asked in distress.
"Spread the word to any of the remaining Fiends. I will disconnect our worlds from one another. Any Fiend that wishes to stay may do so, but they will have no way of returning. If they wish to stay make sure they know it shall be permanent! As for the others, it is to stay or be left behind," Mathilda ordered.
Bickle wiped his comical tears aside, "Yes, Milady..."
"Oh, and one more thing...," Mathilda said turning to them. "I want the three of you to stay behind in the human world and lead the Fiends that stay here," she said as she smiled at Janus. "Perhaps your descendants will be of some... aid in the future..."
"Are you sure Milady?" Tarta asked tearfully.
"Yes! Now stop your weeping and carry out my request!" Mathilda barked as she tried to mask the sadness growing in her voice.
And it was so, Crono's party disposed of any remaining undead Fiends and the Magic Knights spread the news. In a short time, the many Fiends that remained chose to stay in the Furnace while a caravan with a multitude of many others, both humanoid and monstrous, gathered outside. They sadly gathered as they said their goodbyes to those below.
Mathilda could be seen deep down at the center as she gave the announcement. After her announcement she gazed up at the cold expression of Janus, "...Farewell..., Prince Janus of Zeal," she mumbled quietly to herself.
With a shout, Mathilda cast a great spell that lit up the entire Furnace and it spewed a great pillar of light. In a great flash, the hole in the earth that was the Furnace of Woe was nowhere to be seen. Instead, it was replaced, by nothing but flat lands.
The Magic Knights approached Janus, "Thanks for your help with Mathilda," Bickle said politely.
"Indeed, your timing was, impeccable!" Wazabi said in astonishment.
"Who knows, perhaps we will be able to repay you someday!" Tarta said regaining her bounce.
The party said their farewells and the caravan departed for territories further north. The party sat in the Neo Epoch and Janus breathed a heavy sigh as he closed his eyes for a moment. Crono chuckled, "Kinda eerie, huh? It's come full circle I'd say!"
"Yeah, but now we know where the Fiends got their actual start from in this world of ours!" Marle said cheerfully.
"I am simply... keeping the timeline intact...," Janus replied flatly.
"Well, that's a whole chunk of it we managed to fix! Let's grab Lex and head back to Chronopolis!" Crono finished as the Neo Epoch vanished into the time stream.
*End of Chapter*