Chrono Trigger Invasions Chapter 30

By Jerm

". . .and then we'll be able to see what they're up to," Crono finished.

Schala quickly opened her eyes as voices entered her head. Looking around, she saw Marle, Glenn, and Crono were talking; well Marle and Crono were, at least.

"They'll see right through it," Marle argued, "I think we'd be better off if we did it my way."

"You mean just sit there and wait for them. If they take the offensive, that means they know what they're doing. If we can spy them out, then we at least have an advantage. An advantage we can--"

"Won't work, I've already told you it. . .will. . .not. . .work," Marle shook her head, "We don't even know if they plan to attack yet. Maybe Glenn's right and they'll be there for a while without even giving us a second thought."

Crono waited until she had finished talking, then continued, "An advantage we can use to strike them before they strike us. There is a way, there's always a way. We find it and make sure there aren't any pointless death that would occur if we wait."

Marle turned to Glenn finally, "Glenn? What do you think?"

Glenn shook his head, "Don't think to use me as a tiebreaker. The majority is not always right."

Crono finally noticed that Schala was awake. He turned from the argument for a second and faced her with a smile, "Good morning."

"Hardly," he heard Marle mumble behind him.

Schala smiled herself and replied, "Yes, good morning."

"I heard that," Crono said back to Marle through his smile; then he turned back to the other two.

Schala yawned, but stood up looking around. Magus was nowhere to be seen. The only other person was Cid, still lying where they had lain him. What would they do with him?

"Where did Magus go?" Schala asked finally, turning away from Cid to break into their argument once more.

"Ohh. . .I guess he went outside," Marle shrugged, "I've gotten so used to him leaving I never pay attention to it anymore."

"Thank you," Schala stated, then turned and left to go look for the mystery.

She stepped outside as the arguing inside continued, shutting the door behind her to shut out the noise. Looking around, she saw no sign of him. Schala sighed and began the search.

No sooner had she taken two steps, a voice came from over her shoulder, "What brings you out here?"

Schala jumped from the proximity of the voice, he must have been right next to her, how had she missed him. Schala whirled around to face Magus, who dropped his magical barrier which had hid him while he was outside.

"I was expecting you to come look for me," Magus said finally.

"Why?" Schala asked, surprised that she was so predictable.

"You aren't finished with your questions, if I recall," Magus stared at her for a moment, then turned away and continued, "I do not understand your curiosity, however."

"Something about you isn't right," Schala answered, "Your reasons for doing things seem all wrong, somehow. I know you're hiding stuff from me and I'm just trying to find out what."

"Plain enough, but some people's lives are their own and not others," Magus countered.

Schala decided to phrase her big question carefully, so as not to turn him against her, "Who is your sister?"

This caused a small reaction out of Magus. He didn't respond, instead he seemed to stand still, thinking. Magus bowed his head after a moment of thinking, then replied, "What brings that up?"

"When you were fighting Cid, he not only threatened you. He said "you and your sister," Schala replied, thinking back to that moment.

"I have no sister," Magus said quickly.

"What family do you have?"

"None. I am Magus and whoever I was before no longer exists," Magus turned back to face her and continued, ". . .I have no past from when Magus began his life."

"You're starting to speak of Magus in the third person," Schala noted, "Who are you when you do that?"

"Playing with words won't divulge you any of my life, girl," Magus was starting to become annoyed, "Why are you hooked on this subject?"

Schala gave him a thoughtful look, then replied, "I once had a brother. I don't know what became of him. All I know is that you remind me of him, your looks and your mannerisms."

This caught Magus off guard, he stared at her, trying to not give anything away. How much does she know?

"Oh, and Magus?" Schala asked, then finished when he looked her in the eye, "Open up a little, talk more and you'll find that you are more important to others than you think you are."

Schala continued to give him a thoughtful look for a moment later, then turned and walked back to the door, opened it and left Magus, shaking with inner struggles, to stand alone in the cold wind.

* * * * *

"Where is Morlis?" Storimae asked, when Dalack finally returned from his mission.

"Morlis is dead, Storimae," Marshall replied, "What has happened here?"

"That is for later," Storimae waved his hand as if setting it aside himself, "How did your partner die?"

Dalack thought of pressing for more information before answering, then remembered that Storimae had singlehandedly defeated the high council. This wasn't the time to test his patience. He then thought of pointing out that Morlis wasn't his partner, but due to similar circumstances, he brushed the thought from his mind. "The Masamune killed him."

"And after all that have been killed by it, you still go after it," Storimae seemed humored instead of angry, "Why would you do that?"

"He did, not I," Dalack quickly replied, "I was able to capture this man instead."

Marshall pointed to himself.

Storimae nodded, then began to explain about the invasion from the sky, which Dalack already knew about. But, due to similar reasons that had nixed his previous thoughts, he decided to listen Storimae out before delivering the good news.

* * * * *

"If we can't agree that, let's at least agree on returning home," Marle said finally, appearing very tired considering having only three hours' sleep.

"Yeah, that's something we'll be doing," Crono agreed, "We deserve a small break after that.

"What do we do about Marshall?" Glenn interjected, joining the conversation.

Crono shook his head sadly, "I have no idea."

"I'm sure he'll turn up sooner or later," Marle retorted calmly, "It'll at least give us another chance to dislodge the shadow--I mean spectre."

"Maybe Cid can help," Schala mused, glad she could finally be a part of their talking; for the longest time she had virtually been in the dark.

"It would be a first if he helped," Marle said, then changed her mind, "I mean, he hasn't been on our side for months."

"It seems like he isn't, but he's still our friend," Crono said, "I'm sure he'll realize what's more important sooner or later."

"I hope so," Marle agreed.

"And if he doesn't, I get dibs on the blaster," Crono finished.

Marle glared at him, but he merely smiled back. She huffed, and stood up from her seated position, "Let's go then."

"Right," Crono agreed, standing as well and turning toward where Cid was resting, "I guess I have to carry the luggage again--"

Crono walked over to where Cid would be laying, if he had still been there. The spot was empty. He sighed deeply, then muttered something.

"What?" Marle asked, curious.

"Looks like Magus has been giving free lessons on how to escape without drawing attention," Crono said, explaining the situation very well.

* * * * *

Cid numbly stumbled up the small hill south of the building that once housed Belthasar. He tripped dozens of times during his escape, but continued, driven by something only someone on the brink of insanity could understand.

He had betrayed them.

The thoughts flew through his head, each message causing him to lose part of his sanity, his mind. He couldn't think straight due to the ramblings inside his skull, but his body continued, walking to a destination that he knew of, but didn't fully know why.

He had betrayed himself.

Cid reached the top of the hill, then peered over the edge, toward the ocean that stretched out forever. To his left, the sun was slowly rising, it was still morning. He looked down and found that he was standing on the edge of a bluff that overlooked the bay.

Most importantly, he may have betrayed Lucca.

The thought stuck in his head for a moment, and he stopped, teetering on the edge. He had indeed betrayed her. If the spectre had succeeded, her death would have been for nothing whatsoever. Not only would he betray her, he would betray the world, his friends, and himself.

Who would he turn against next?

This could not be allowed to happen again. He had kept his past hidden well, despite the fact that it wasn't necessary anymore. Now his past was clouded with more death and trouble, he couldn't allow it to happen again. He would--

"Cid?"

Cid's thoughts stopped for a second. At first, he had thought that the vision of Lucca had returned. He then realized that the vision had merely been the spectre, the voice was someone else. Someone familiar. . .

"Leave me alone, Marle," he said, not turning from the cliff.

"No," Marle said defiantly, "None of us will."

Us.

"Who else is there?" he asked demandingly.

"All of us," Crono said, then added more calmly, "At least all of us who are still here."

Cid sighed, "Leave me alone, I've had enough of the rest of the world. I just want to be left alone."

"You're rambling, Cid," Crono pointed out, "Think this through clearly. We need to talk this over. This whole thing isn't over yet with the spectres and we desperately need your help. Lucca isn't here and you are her replacement."

"What kind of replacement would I be? She sacrificed herself to save her friends, I tried to sacrifice my friends to save myself. . .my guilt, at least."

"That's not how it was," Marle argued, "The spectre was doing it all."

"Step back and we'll talk this over. We've been through a lot of mental stress with this; and the spectres aren't helping. If we can just step back and stop rushing through this, we can figure out how to get through it," Crono added.

"It's over for me," Cid retorted, "Go your own way, but I've chosen mine."

"We need you, Cid," Marle pleaded, "Think, if you go through this, you will betray us again. You will turn your back on us in an hour of--"

"You do not need me, Nadia. None of you do. If I go along, I'll end up killing another one of you," Cid was angry now, "This is the only way to end a mistake."

"What mistake?" Crono asked, suddenly curious and apprehensive.

"The mistake that I am. I should never have been here, I am more trouble than I'm worth--"

"Shut up, Cid!" Crono yelled, "Remember how Lucca was? She felt the whole time she had betrayed us because she had built the gatekeeper. Instead of just ending it like you are doing now, she put her all into fixing her "mistake!" Don't think you can just hand us all of your problems without solving some yourself."

Cid seemed to take a step away from the edge, half won over. He muttered to himself, "Why can I never make a choice for myself? First the spectre manipulated me, now they are. . .but at least they are doing what they think is good for me."

"C'mon Cid," Marle pleaded again, "Come back with us. We forgive you for what happened, it wasn't you."

"No, it wasn't me. . . .wasn't me. . .it wasn't me," Cid bowed his head, but stepped away from the edge to reunite with his friends for the first time in months.

"Good job, Cid, we really needed you," Crono verbally applauded him.

.

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