The Biggest Threat Part 2
The End of Time and the Meeting
By Husker Du
The End of Time
Brian cried out in pain as he finally landed on something hard. He tried to clear his head, still swimming from the dizzying portal journey, and slowly opened his eyes, to total darkness. Off in one corner, he could see a lamppost sticking out of the ground, and a man leaning next to it.
"Hey." said the old man, as Brian stumbled to his feet and approached him, taking in his surroundings, or lack of them as a matter of fact. All he could see was a door far off behind the old man, and nothing else. He then noticed that the floor only went so far in either direction, and then there was a drop into a swirling blackness with no bottom. He quickly turned his head away from looking down, as it made him dizzy. That looks like a far ways down, he remarked to himself.
"Uhh...hi. Do you know where I am?" remarked Brian, rubbing his eyes. The old man straightened up at this, and waved his arms in a grand gesture, saying "This is the End of Time."
"Huh? How did I get here? What's going on? End of time???" Brian said confused. He rubbed his eyes for the 3rd time now, thinking this was all a dream. Perhaps he was still home, just in a nightmare....
"This is no nightmare, this is real as it can get." said the old man. Brian was taken aback at him knowing what he was thinking of, but thought nothing of it to inquire as to how he did that.
"Please tell me what I'm doing here, I received this in the mail, and it told me to meet something at the Metropol, and then...." Brian stammered off, seeing that the old man was dilligently reading the note. The old man then sank his head, shaking it in what looked to be pity or sadness, and slowly handed the note back to Brian, who stuck it carefully back into it's envelope, and then into his pocket.
"Is something wrong? Please tell me."
"My name is Gaspar." the old man said, extending a trembling hand. Brian shook his hand in a friendly manner, as Gaspar motioned for them both to sit down.
"Now, you wish to know why you are here? I will tell you, but you must be prepared for what I am about to tell you......" he warned.
"Umm.....don't worry, I've been told many bad things."
"You've been told that you're life and the lives of everyone on the planet are about to end?"
"Uhh..WHAT??" yelled Brian, jumping to his feet. Gaspar motioned for him to sit back down, which he did, much more alert than before.
"Obviously not. Please bear with me, this is going to be a long story, but you must hear it." Gaspar extended his hand, and a small flame appeared on the wood pile in front of them. Amazed, Brian stared in awe at Gaspar as he continued.
"I am the timekeeper of all timestreams. I live here at the End of Time, making sure time follows it's course as it's supposed to. As for what is happening, this, my friend, is the story." Gaspar stared at Brian with eyes that seemed to glow a dark blue, demanding his full attention.
"You know of the past of your planet? You know of Chrono and the trials they have went through? Do you know of the threats that your planet has gone through for centuries, threatening to demolish all life?" he questioned.
"....yes, I do, although most people don't think much of it anymore." Brian said ashamed.
"Ahh.......Well, there is a problem in itself, but let's go back, far back. Chrono and his friends in 1999 a.d. defeated Lavos, the most heinous creature known to anyone ever alive. Everything was good again, as time was set back on it's course. But......"
"But?"
"Something must have happened, as you have received this note from yourself in the future, stating that lives are in danger." Gaspar stood up, and motioned for Brian to follow him. "Please, we will go and see what has happened in the future."
Brian followed him as they went through the door that they had seen before. Fearing he would fall off the edge, he hung onto Gaspar's shoulder as they went through. Inside was nothing but a small blue portal, similar to the one that had taken him to this place. Gaspar walked over to it, and extended his arms, murmuring something unintelligable. The portal took on a greyish look, as Gaspar grabbed Brian's hand and pulled him over to the portal "Look, at the future."
Through the portal, there was a picture of his planet. Or was it the real thing? Were they in space? He watched through the portal at the planet, noticing the grey skies and the strange tinted waters....
"What has happened?" asked Brian, turning to Gaspar.
"Watch." he commanded.
The portal started to sink closer to the planet, so the viewers could see closer to the surface. As the portal went through one of the grayish clouds, Brian gasped in sickness as he saw what had happened.
"It was a......nuke." he said, as he stared at the catastrophe in front of him. "There was a nuclear war." He stared out at the demolished buildings, the burned atmosphere, the sheer coldness of the planet. Nothing was moving, until he caught a moving form in the rubble. The portal closed in on the form, until they could see what it was, and Brian jumped back in disgust as he saw a human, or what used to be the form of a human, digging through the rubble, until it found a dead body, which it ate hungrily. Then the form bent back and yelled out, a monster-like scream, and proceeded to run off to find more food. The human like creature was brown in appearance, with one eye open and one swelled due to radiation. It had only one fully developed arm, and the other limb was missing anything from the elbow down. As the portal followed the creature, it fell upon many others of it's kind, in much worse condition. Brian turned his head away in disgust and horror, and Gaspar led him away from the room, into the main hall with the fire, which he immediately lit again. However, Brian was too busy to notice the fire leap to life, as his mind was swimming with what he had just seen.
"What you have just seen was the future of your planet, exactly 1 year in the future. Now, I'll tell you how it led up to this." stated Gaspar, taking a great breath. Brian listened intently as he explained.
"You're a descendant of Chrono, did you know that?"
"Yes, we even have an old photograph of him somewhere in the house, preserved, because it is so old."
"Well, about 120 years after Chrono and his companions defeated the Lavos creature, did you notice that in old historic books they never mentioned the words 'magic' ever again, only in reference to old times?"
Brian never had noticed this. "No, I had never noticed....."
"As probably did noone, except the very wise. After the war with Lavos, magic was at it's peak. Almost everyone on the planet could use it to some extent, until something horrific and beautiful happened.......Technology. Great technology was developed, and was formed over many centuries to the lifestyle which you live in today. Guns replaced spells in war, planes replaced magic airships, until the technology was morphed into the lifestyle you know of today. Noone on your planet can even USE magic, because it has been so long forgotten.......but one. One person could still use magic, and had a great mastery of it. And do you know where he came from?" glared Gaspar.
"No, where?"
"1000 a.d. This man's name was Rudian. He mastered magic on a lost forgotten island for years and years, until he could easily match up to legends such as Marle and Lucca. He watched as people slowly forgot the power of magic, laughing to himself, knowing that the time was coming. He eventually mastered magic to the point that he could create portals to different times, and transported himself here, to the End of Time. This was around 3000 a.d."
"Wait....." interrupted Brian. "Sorry to be rude, but how did he live so long?"
"He had mastered magic so much that age was easy for him to control." he continued. "As I was saying, he came here, and was able to overpower Spekkio and I....."
"Spekkio?? There's someone else here?"
"Ahhh......you've yet to meet him. That will come in time. Now please, let me continue. He overpowered us, and was able to jump through a portal that took him to 4020 a.d. We cannot interviene in the timeline, so we could not stop him. He waited until about 4048, when he killed the president and took his form. Leading the country in a manner so that people would trust him, he waited until 4051, where he ordered nuclear missles to be launched at Leanos. His advisors did not let him do this, so he killed them and took control of all the weapons of the country. He was able to launch every missle at somewhere in the world, which started the great war."
"Leanos......that's a small country, why start there?"
"He knew that if you start small, you end up big. He ended up shooting every country he could, and when they retaliated, he retreated to a small island in the ocean, knowing that the world would soon destroy himself. BUT, the problem is not just in Rudian. It is also with your society."
"Huh?"
"Let me explain. Magic is gone. One man with magic was able to destroy you're entire world. If you still practiced magic, and not these........weapons of war.....you're people would have been able to stop him."
"I see. So, how are we to stop this madman?"
Gaspar slowly rose to his feet, stretching. "It's not just about him, it's about magic. If you're people do not learn magic, this type of thing will just happen again. It would be a waste...."
"Well, how are we supposed to stop this all from happening?" Brian asked as he rose to his feet.
"Well, I only know part of the solution. We must, obviously, stop Rudius. He cannot destroy your world, it is still too young yet. As for the magic...........I do not know yet." said Gaspar, lowering his head.
"For now, we must prepare you for the journey that you are about to undertake," said Gaspar as he motioned for Brian to follow him.
"How's that? I brought these......" Brian reached into the plastic bag he had, and pulled out a small handgun and some other types of modern weapons. At the sight of these, Gaspar lunged for Brian, took hold of the items and tossed them over the edge of the End of Time. Brian grabbed Gaspar, and yelled "Why did you do that?!?!"
Gaspar shook himself free from Brian's grip, and looked him cold dead in the eyes, with a monolithic stare. "These are not the way. We are here to stop this, remember? Magic must prevale. Now, for your magic......"
"MY magic??" Brian looked questioningly at Gaspar. Gaspar let out a small chuckle and grinned.
"Please, follow me." Gaspar walked over to the opposite corner of the room, where a door, unseen by Brian before, suddenly appeared. Gaspar opened the door and motioned Brian inside, when he closed the door behind him.
Brian found himself in another empty room, this time with nothing inside of it. He banged on the door, trying to get himself out, but he couldn't. A small fly was buzzing around his ears, and he swatted at it, knocking it to the ground. He heard a small little voice yell "OW!", as something amazing happened. The fly started to grow, morph, change into a huge figure, humanlike, but all warrior. He had on a great suit of armor, and carried a gleaming axe. He howled in pain, than in laughter.
"Watch it! Haha, that hurt! Hello there, I am Spekkio, God of War!"
"God of.....war??? You taught Chrono and everyone else magic!" Brian proclaimed.
"Yes! Now I shall teach you. Now, please walk around the ......."
"edge of the room and think magic." finished Brian. Spekkio laughed, amused at Brian's knowledge of the past with Chrono. "YES! Walk and think magic."
Brian did as he was told, and when he was done, Spekkio's eyes started to glow a reddish flame.
"Your soul is sound, but your'e mind is not! You are a great candidate for Rainbow magic!" Spekkio cried out aloud, as a beam of multicolored magic flew towards Brian, encasing him. Brian jumped back in fear, as his eyes took on a blueish glow.
"You now have Rainbow magic! Would you like to try it out?" grinned Spekkio.
"Sure......I suppose." Spekkio jumped into a fighting stance, as did Brian.
"Ok, stretch your hands out and think magic." instructed Spekkio. Brian did as he was told, as a strange tingling overtook his arm, and he watched in amazement as a beam of red and blue light streamed from his hand, hitting Spekkio in the chest. Spekkio stumbled back, then smiled as he jumped for joy. "Good! That was very good! Now, do the same thing, but think of protection. You want to learn magic for protection also." Brian outstretched both his hands, and again a tingling overtook him as a multicolored barrier surrounded him, then disappeared. "Watch!" cried Spekkio, as he launched a fireball at Brian. Brian cried out in fear, as the fireball closed in, then disappated as it hit his barrier. "Wow....." said Brian in amazement.
Spekkio then reached into a satchel and pulled out 2 vials, putting them in Brian's hands. "The green one is Tonic," he instructed. "Tonic heals you from all your wounds sustained from battle, and the blue one," he pointed, "is Ether. You can only use magic for so long, and then your power runs out. You will feel dizzy and disoriented, so take this and you will be replenished."
"Good luck, and come back later!" cried Spekkio as Brian left the room, approaching Gaspar.
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