A little bit of Slash's view this time. Don't worry too much about the place names... And Slash just doesn't get enough love...
I don't own Chrono Trigger, it belongs to Squeenix.
Slash floated down the halls, mentally preparing for the upcoming discussion with Tihl. The orange-haired general kept demanding more and more troops, stretching Slash and Flea's resources while, coincidentally, keeping his own men in strong defensive positions. Slash was tired of this, and wasn't going to let Tihl keep this up, hence, a private meeting.
Opening the door to the meeting room, Slash was unsurprised to find Tihl already waiting, looking very smug. "So glad you could make it," the other general said.
No subtlety, that was Tihl's problem. "So glad to see you are eager for this discussion," Slash countered, acting as though Tihl was early, and not that Flea had made him late. "So what is this about needing a company to take Chorun?"
"Yes, it is exactly that. My men are holding here," Tihl pointed to a spot on the map with a green finger. "Flea's information indicates that a quick strike here," he moved his finger slightly to the south, "and Chorun will simply fall into our hands."
Slash didn't even have to look at the map to know Tihl was wrong. "No, a strike there will only weaken the Human army. It won't cause Chorun to fall. And…" brushing aside Tihl's finger, Slash grabbed some pebbles and quickly lay them out. "If we strike there… and assuming it's successful…" The pebbles, indicating the Human troops, clearly surrounded the disputed target on three sides. "Warrior, Tihl, that's a deathtrap! A company could take that place, but we'd need half our army to hold it!"
A flash of irritation showed in Tihl's amber eyes. "You are forgetting our magic, Slash! With a handful of Sorcerers to augment that company, we could hold it long enough to take Chorek and maybe Choras."
This neatly explained why Tihl wanted Slash's troops for the attack. Tihl's own troops didn't include any magic users, reflecting Tihl's utter inability to cast spells. Unfortunately, Tihl hadn't yet done anything that would justify Slash following through on his desire to throttle the man. Casting a quick prayer to Warrior for patience, Slash practically growled out, "No, they couldn't, Tihl! Mages have a very defined, and limited role in battle. If we put them in Chorun, the Humans will simply move here and cut our supply line, and you know mages can't survive a long fight with no supplies! Their magic would run out, sleep would be insufficient, and they would die. Sacrifice your own troops if you want, Tihl, but I will not condemn my men to needless slaughter."
"Now you are doubting me, Slash? I would be guarding the supply line," Tihl protested angrily. "And I don't see you coming up with any grand strategies to take Choras!"
"You want a strategy? You really want a strategy, Tihl? Then cut each of your garrisons in half and send the extra troops to Chorot. If you reinforced my army there, we'd be able to take it, garrison it, and then we'd be well posed to take Chorun."
"I can't do that, that would leave my garrisons with little more than skeleton crews!"
"As opposed to mine, garrisoned literally by skeletons? By Lizard, Tihl, your garrisons are practically companies in and of themselves! If you don't want to halve them, then take only a third." Slash knew that Tihl would never take his advice. The green general was far too concerned with hoarding his own resources.
"So you're not willing to help me?" Tihl spat out, completely ignoring Slash's suggestions.
Slash's hand twitched towards his sword, but he wasn't confident of his ability to beat the orange-haired general. Very slowly, with forced calm, Slash answered, "No. I am not willing to condemn my men, or my mages, to a protracted suicide mission to feed your ego. Do what you will, but do not count on me to rescue your green ass." With that, the violet general left, walking from his need to actively do something.
He returned to his chambers, fuming the whole way. Glancing at the door to his dojo, Slash debated taking his temper out on Janus, but thought the better of it. Instead he went to his room, eliciting a startled squeak from his slave. Ignoring her, he opened a chest, pulled out four ethers, and then left the room. Now he went to the dojo, slamming the door open and startling Janus and Lyn.
"What can you summon, boy?" Slash snapped, handing two of the ethers to him.
Janus barely blinked at the odd question, smoothly taking the ethers. "Golems, sir. I saw Dalton do it often enough, and mine are even better than his."
"Can they be healed magically?"
"Yes sir."
"Good." Slash turned to Lyn and handed her the other two ethers. It seemed she had already regained some magic, enough to heal herself, at least. It hadn't cost Slash anything, and so he didn't bother asking about it. "You will heal the golem. The boy can likely tell you when it will need it. Both of you are free to support the golem however you want, but do not directly interfere, understood?"
"Yes, sir," Lyn answered. She recognized Slash was angry, and it was easy to know that she didn't want his anger directed at her.
Janus didn't waste his breath confirming his understanding. He began chanting, his words having a fullness and melody that the Mazoku spell casters lacked. The spell was long, and even Lyn could tell that it was very complicated. At the end, a brown, conical form made of stone arose from the floor. With another chant, this time brief, a green aura surrounded the golem. "Protection spell," Janus said, responding to Lyn's questioning look.
As the golem lumbered towards Slash, the swordsman didn't move. A large stone fist flew towards the Mazoku. At the last moment, there was a blur of violet and white as Slash leapt away from the rock. "Too slow!" he snapped as he landed.
Janus gave a smirk and chanted again. The golem moved faster, and with a flash of silver the Slasher left its sheath. When steel met stone, the only shriek was the sound the cloven rock made; the golem was silent as it battled.
With another jump back, Slash retreated from the golem, a small but rather terrifying grin on his face. His sword dropped, tip briefly touching the floor, and then with a yell Slash lifted the Slasher, using a tech to part the air in a silvery shock wave. The disrupted air sped towards the golem, and Janus barely had time to curse before shards of rock flew from the creature.
"Heal it!" Janus shouted to Lyn. Then considering her tech's effectiveness, he added, "Twice if you can, and take an ether!"
Lyn nodded and obeyed, having to dart closer to the battle then she liked. The two back to back techs didn't really drain her that much, but she understood the wisdom of preparing while she had time, and quickly downed her second ether of the day.
The fighting was a dance of steel and stone. Slash had won his position in the Mazoku nation by his cunning, yes, but also by his skill. Here, before two slaves he considered his students, the Mazoku warrior put his skill on display, his anger at Tihl now dismembering the golem that Janus had created.
Janus and Lyn fought valiantly to keep the golem well and functioning, but as the sun dropped in the sky, so did their magic. Lyn fell to the floor, kneeling and panting, once more completely spent, both ethers long gone. Janus, showing an unusual amount of generosity, began to hand her one of his, but a command from Slash stopped him.
"Don't worry about it, boy." With a final swirl, Slash destroyed the golem, not even watching as the stones faded away. In a calm, even tone, the swordsman said, "You should go sleep, both of you. Boy, you know where to take her."
The two slaves left, Janus pulling Lyn by the arm, and Slash returned to his room. Putting the Slasher away, the violet Mazoku looked at the slave he had chosen to warm his bed. "You are from Algetty, aren't you?" he asked in Zenese. She had worn the neutral, undyed colors of an untrusted but not rebellous slave when he claimed her, and she still didn't know Medinian.
"I was, sir," the blonde slave answered, not bothering to hide her distaste. Maris was not happy with her position in life.
"You knew a girl called Lyn?" Slash answered, ignoring her anger. He liked his partners to have a spine, and he found her ineffectual dislike amusing.
"Lyn?" Maris asked. "Lady damn her, she betrayed Herbert on the ship, and didn't even react when Tobias was killed!"
"I am sure she was dealing with her own issues," Slash answered, surprised by his slave's vehemence. "It might please you to know that she now belongs to Flea. Adequate retribution, I am sure, for any crimes she committed against you." He didn't try to stop the twist he gave to that last sentence; Flea was cruel to her slaves, but in reality, Lyn ranked far higher than a bed-slave like Maris could dream of reaching.
Maris smiled, forgetting her dislike of Mazoku in general. "It does, sir."
Sitting on the bed, Slash motioned for the slave to join him. She knew what was coming, but she was slowly learning that the more she fought, the harsher Slash was, and so she didn't make a fuss.
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