Chrono Trigger Dimensions Chapter 23
By Jerm
Magus stood at the top of Denadoro Mountain. He looked off of the edge of the cliff, to the waterfall. The water fell effortlessly and infinitely. A continuing cycle.
Magus's thoughts traveled. This was where it had begun. With the death of Cyrus, he had become a hated and hunted man. With his alliance with Ozzie, he had become a traitor to his race. He had removed all affiliation with humans, only looking for a way to kill Lavos and be reunited with Schala.
His whole life had been killing. But two years ago it had ended with the death of Lavos. Or so he had thought. Now it had begun again. He knew not why he fought, let the world find its own way out, he had thought.
But Nikades was someone who had destroyed his mother. And in the end, his sister too.
Nikades had drained Zeal of its power. His mother had to turn to that monster Lavos for new power. It had driven her mad, and had ruined his life.
That was why he must fight. And maybe someday he would find Schala.
But if Nikades died, would his vengefulness end there. Only if Schala was found, would Magus be purged of his evil life.
But for now, he must fight. Lavos had his turn. Nikades was next in line.
* * * * *
Cid looked down at the sleeping Lucca. She slept so peacefully, yet her life was in danger.
Her clothes had been covered in blood from her wound. The innkeeper had been nice enough to give them a gown. She now wore that gown, her clothes had been thrown away, ripped and completely useless now.
The bleeding had stopped and her arm was healing. But Cid could still see the poison's effect on her arm. He shuddered, wondering what would happen when the poison finished with her, what would happen to her body.
But for now, she was okay. Her chest rose and fell with her breathing, a sign that she still lived. Cid hoped she would still be breathing when the maid returned with the rest of the goods.
* * * * *
The maid returned several hours after noon. She had a small bag full of strange things Cid had never seen. The Marshall thanked her and took the bag. The maid, who still had around 40 of the 75 gold he had given her, left content.
The Marshall dumped the bag's contents and began checking them all.
"Good. They're all here." he said, "Cid, get a bucket and fill it with warm water. Not hot, 'warm'."
Cid left, wondering if the Marshall was being sarcastic or cautious, and asked the innkeeper. The innkeeper thought for a second, then left. He returned with a bucket filled with water. It was cold though.
"It really needs to be warm. . .not hot but warm," Cid said to the innkeeper, who sighed and walked back outside, dumping the water unceremoniously on the ground outside.
The innkeeper about three minutes later with the warm water. Cid thanked him and went back into the room with the bucket. He placed it down by the Marshall and went to check on Lucca's condition. She was still okay, but her right arm was beginning to show signs of infection.
Cid walked back to the Marshall, who was grinding the objects and placing the powders into the warm water. "How do you know so much about this stuff?" Cid asked.
"I've had to deal with this before. Being a bounty hunter, you find some people who don't want to go. . .or die."
"Die? You kill people?" Cid said staring at the large man with suspicion, remembering Marle's accusations.
"Bandits and outlaws," the Marshall replied, "And sometimes I'm hired to return missing people, just return. Without the killing part. But some people don't want to go. They use all sorts of weapons to show how good a return trip sounds to them. Some weapons are poison darts. Guardia forest used to flourish with poisonous plants. Still does, but not that quantity it used to have."
The Marshall picked up a stick and began stirring.
"Will this work?" Cid asked.
"Let's hope so," was the reply, "I don't know exactly what kind of poison those monsters use to kill their prey, but I 'do' know the ailments and they are a lot like another poison I know. This is the remedy for that poison, I hope it'll work for this."
Cid didn't answer, but he suddenly had a fear that it didn't matter if they were late or not.
Cid became nervous as the Marshall continued stirring. He plucked at the front of his new shirt, bought just a day ago at a nearby shop. Finally, just to do something, he asked, "What's your real name?"
The Marshall stopped stirring for a second, then continued, "My parents died when I was too young to understand. I was adopted, but I never knew my parents. . .or my name. They had been killed by a bandit, because they didn't have any money."
"The one who adopted you, what did she name you?"
"Does it matter?"
"It's just that 'the Marshall' isn't really a good name for friends to call each other.
"Friends?" the Marshall laughed, "I never thought I'd have one of those."
Cid remained adamant however, "So what is it?"
"It's not very original."
"Neither is Cid."
The Marshall laughed again. He added a few more things and began stirring again, "Fine. It's Marshall."
Cid thought for a moment, "So that's what you meant by not original."
Marshall nodded, "The lady thought I was bad luck, that I had brought bad luck on my parents and killed them. She made me strong so that I could protect her from whatever my 'bad luck' would bring. She called me 'her little Marshall', her little protector."
"It must have been hard for you," Cid sighed.
Marshall didn't respond, instead he changed the subject, "That Magus person. I don't think Magus is his real name either."
"Really?"
Marshall nodded, "You can see it in his eyes. He has something he hides, and whenever someone calls him Magus, he flinches slightly, as if he hates the name."
Cid thought, "You see a lot in people's eyes, don't you?"
Marshall nodded again, banging the stick lightly against the rim of the bucket so that the mixture stuck to the twig dropped off into the antidote, "Your eyes allow you to look out to the world, but they also allow the world to look into you."
"What do you see in my eyes," Cid asked suddenly, staring at Marshall and allowing his eyes to be inspected.
Marshall looked at Cid, "I see. . .fear and loneliness."
"Is there ever anything good in a person's eyes?" Cid asked as Marshall stood up with the concoction.
The Marshall shook his head, "Hardly ever. A person likes to share his happy moments, he brings them to the open and doesn't try to hide them. But the bad part of his or her life is stored inside, kept from the rest of the world. Only through the eyes can you see a person's secrets."
Marshall pulled out a cup and poured some of the liquid into it. "Here," he said handing the cup to Cid, "give this to her."
Cid walked over to the sleeping form. The sickness had spread all over her now and her breathing had slowed down slightly. That shallow, slow breathing was all that kept Cid's hopes up.
He sat her up and put the cup to her mouth. Then he held her head and began pouring the antidote. He hoped that this would work.
After that was done, he layed her back down and faced Marshall. The bounty hunter nodded his consent and said, "Now we can just pray."
"No problem," Cid said, "I've been doing that this whole trip."
* * * * *
Crono and Marle walked side by side down the slight path that led to the Cursed Woods. It had been a day now since they had left the others on their trip to get Glenn.
Neither had seen Glenn since the separation two years ago, and both were anxious to meet him. They walked at a slightly quicker pace than they normally walked.
Crono looked at Marle, he had a question that had been burning inside of him all day.
"Marle?" he asked apprehensively.
She turned to him, not slacking up in her pace, "Yes?"
"Why do you hate the Marshall so much?"
She stopped dead in her tracks. Crono didn't notice for a moment, then looked back to see her three steps behind him. He turned around and asked again, "There's something, and I was just--"
"I don't want to talk about it, Crono," she replied snippily.
"I would prefer it if you would. Maybe you can work it out with him and then we wouldn't have to worry about you trying to kill him."
"I won't kill him," she said, walking again.
Crono waited for her to catch up, then paced alongside her, "Then at least tell me why you hate him so much."
She was silent for a moment, then spoke, "I'll tell you when I'm ready."
Crono waited for a moment, but when it was evident she wasn't going to say anything else, he finished, "Fine by me. Just make it quick, it makes me nervous having to step in between you two every few seconds."
* * * * *
Glenn was sparring with a tree. He swung left and right at the already severely chipped tree. Miraculously, the sword had not dulled. The Masamune was a magical sword, of course.
Though he was still a frog, Glenn had still lived his life. This was what fate left him, and he would use it to his best advantages.
He darted around the tree, glancing blows all around it. A few more minutes of this and he would return to his home.
His home was a hole in the ground, hidden by a bush. He had dug out a sizable room in there and it was now livable. It had been his home for these many years after Cyrus's death and his defeat.
He had never forgiven Magus for what the sorcerer had done. It WAS unforgivable. But he would not kill Magus now. It had been so long ago. But the anger was still there, festering in him. He attacked the tree in increased ferocity at the thought of Magus.
Suddenly, he stopped. He heard footsteps crashing through the forest. He slowly turned and ducked to the ground. He hid the sword and its glow between him and the leaf covered ground.
The footsteps came closer and became louder. He peered from his hiding spot to distiguish the trespasser. Then it came into view. It was two people. When they came closer, he saw that it was. . .
"Crono! Marle!" he yelled jumping out of his hiding spot to greet them.
Crono, startled, jumped back and tripped over a log, falling to the ground. Marle, gave a slight shriek at the startling appearance before recognizing the figure.
"Ouch. . ." Crono moaned, rubbing his shoulder, which had taken the brunt of the fall, "Hi, Glenn. Why the surprise?"
"Sorry to have startled you," the frog said sheathing his sword, "There is nary a thing in these woods that can be trusted."
Marle stepped forward and hugged the startled frog, "Hi, Glenn," she said pulling back.
"Hi. What brings you here?"
Crono looked serious suddenly, "Could we go inside? This is important."
"This way." Glenn said walking toward his undeground home.
* * * * *
"Who is Nikades?" Glenn asked after Crono had finished.
"We really don't know," Marle said, "but Magus was really startled when we mentioned his name. Someone from his childhood, I guess."
"So Magus can be startled," Glenn mused, "it must be something big, then."
"He said that we would need your help, too," Crono said, "there is really something strange going on if he would ask for help. I can't even begin to understand it. Nikades was banished, then he returns with the help of Lucca's gatekeeper. . .THAT'S all I know."
"And that's all that we can make of it," Marle finished.
Glenn thought about it, "And you say he attacked you in Magus's castle? Hmm. . .A few days ago, I awoke to a noise. When I went outside, the whole sky was alight with colors. It was if the world was surrounded by one big rainbow. Then, moments later, the light vanished. What was that?"
"I don't know," Crono shrugged, "but when I find Magus, I'll be sure to ask."
Glenn sat up, "You may rest here for the night. We'll be leaving in the morning."
Marle lit up, "You're coming then?"
"Aye. If this monster is the reason for Lavos, then I want to make sure something like that doesn't happen again."
* * * * *
Lucca was suddenly thrown through a black abyssal nothingness. She drifted, not knowing where she was.
"Hello?" she called, but no answer.
Then suddenly, she was facing Nikades. He was much more sinister than before. His black eyes shone with the flames of evil and his mouth was a fanged snarl. His aura seemed to crackle with the energy of his power.
Lucca tried to scream, but couldn't. She was held paralyzed by those evil eyes. Nikades laughed.
Then the picture faded and she was in the dark again. She tried to awaken, but couldn't. It was an endless nightmare and she couldn't escape.
Another vision came to her. She saw her parents both dead. They lay bleeding, looking up at her in blame with dead eyes. It was her fault. She tried to shut her eyes but the vision stayed as if imprinted in the insides of her eyelids. Then it too disappeared to be replaced by Guardia castle. The castle was burning and everyone in there was screaming and burning with the castle. She tried to close her ears.
Then there was Cid, on the verge of insanity. He was holding a Chrono Trigger, a time egg. Below him stood Crono, Marle, Glenn, The Marshall, and Magus. They were yelling something at Cid, but she couldn't hear. Then Marle raised her crossbow and fired.
It struck Cid throwing him down. She tried to yell at her friends. . .
Then she was facing Nikades again. However, he was no longer human. He was a god. He laughed at her pitifulness and inability to control the chaos that was around her. Then a fire consumed her and she fell to the ground, writhing in the flames.
Though she felt no agony, she screamed and rolled as the fire surrounded her.
Then a voice came to her ear, "All these things," said the voice.
Lucca looked up. The fire was gone and so was Nikades. Only blackness.
". . .are what you have caused or will cause. Some have already happened, while some have not. None can be changed."
It was her own voice she heard. She looked around frantically, looking for the phantom.
"Your tinkering with time has reshaped the world. Kingdoms fall and time unravels. And now the worlds beyond time, beyond anything you can imagine are in chaos now. You have caused much death. . .will cause much more."
Lucca tried to deny, but she couldn't talk. She mutely shook her head in defiance.
"And the pain is not over, yet. Live yet longer. . .and witness the end of all."
Then suddenly, it was all gone. There was no blackness, no color. There was nothing.
Lucca opened her eyes and saw a blinding light. The sun was gazing in on her through the window. She blinked at the light, her nightmare fading away.
She shifted in the bed she was lying in, wondering what was happening. She felt extremely stiff.
Suddenly, Cid was there, blocking the blinding sun. He looked so happy.
"You're alive!" he said joyously, turning his head away form her to yell, "Marshall, she's up!"
She managed a smile back. "Hi, Cid."
"Hi, Lucca," he replied still happily smiling.
.