Chrono Trigger Prophecies Chapter 21
Royal Aftermath
By Jerm
Janus felt as Magus was defeated, his persona being put into submission. Though only briefly. Janus would have to make this his moment. Quickly, he gathered his weakened strength and prepared to take control of the host once more. Perhaps he would have enough time to explain himself this time.
He watched as the blackness around him thinned, being replaced by the blinding white light. He shielded his eyes from the glare as a rushing noise erupted from around him. Another noise soon followed, Magus yelling in anger. Janus was much too far ahead this time, however.
He even managed to smile as the light embraced him and sent him to someplace he didn't understand.
"Well," Crono shook his head in wonder, "what do we do now?"
Marle nodded her agreement, "We can't just kill him in cold blood. Looks like we get another chance to try and figure him out."
Lucca stared at the body, then looked back at the empty castle halls as the marching feet came closer. "I don't like that idea. I say we leave this as the king's business."
Crono seemed to snort, "Yeah, we could. But do we really know what's happening with Magus?"
"Whatever's going on, he just killed about two dozen people," Lucca retorted, "I can't help him, Crono; he's just once again turned into the kingdom's worst enemy."
Glenn came limping down the stairs, stopping the argument. The fight with Magus hadn't been brutal for him, however the throw had sprained his left ankle. His Masamune was being used to support his weight on that side for the moment. Marle went over to help him as Crono and Lucca continued their argument. However, Glenn interrupted it before it began, "Take him with us, there's something we don't understand."
"Yeah, we already figured that part out," Lucca shook her head, "But is it worth our lives for our curiosity?"
"Tis not about that, I fear this is above Magus...Janus, I mean."
The marching became louder as the knights reached the bridge. Marle gave a glance in that direction, watching as they began to file into the foyer, examining the dead. She turned back to Crono, who nodded in response.
Crono turned from Lucca and Magus and went to greet the knights, "No problem here, everything's taken care of."
Lucca dropped her head and sighed, "Good one," she murmurred sarcastically.
Glenn limped over to Lucca, then started talking quietly, "That's not Janus."
Lucca looked at him quizzically, "I know that, it's Magus...Oh wait, Janus was his earlier name, wasn't it?"
"True," Glenn nodded, then gave a grim shake of his head, "But when we were struggling, he began to yell in pain. His words, I believe, were: 'Not now, Janus.'"
"Then you threw him off the roof afterwards?" Lucca pressed.
"He fell off, losing his balance. I didn't touch him," Glenn informed her.
Crono yelled something to the knight, drawing their attention for a moment. But after a look, there seemed to be no fight brewing and they continued. Lucca looked at Magus darkly, then sighed. She turned back to Glenn, "Okay."
"Okay?" Marle asked, confused.
"We'll find out what's wrong with him," Lucca conceded, "But I don't like this one bit."
"Nobody does," Marle agreed, "And something tells me 'Janus' doesn't either."
"Yeah," Lucca nodded, then started walking towards Crono, "You stay here and watch Magus, I'll help our daunting diplomat."
"If you say so." Marle replied, giving another glance to Magus, "Should I take the rubble off of him?"
"Not yet," Lucca shook her head, "Don't want to take chances."
Lucca reached Crono, who seemed to be getting nowhere with the knights. "Okay, Magus is officially dead."
"He is?" Crono and the knight asked simultaneously.
Lucca prevented herself from hitting Crono for nearly blowing her attempt to get Magus out, then continued, "We just checked, his lung was punctured by a broken rib."
Then knight nodded, then turned back to Crono, "Then this is no longer necessary. We will dispose of the body and rebuild."
"We'll dispose of the body, sir," Lucca responded quickly, "The disposition will requite magical influence, an advantage we have and you do not."
"Why is this?" the knight queried, confused, "Why does it require magic, I mean?"
Lucca sighed, too dramatically from Crono's point of view, "If you don't, then the magic inside him will release itself in the form of a curse."
"A....bad curse?" the knight was now tentative.
"I wouldn't know, it's never happened before. But this is Magus we're talking about," Lucca finished, "I wouldn't take any chances, enough soldiers have died already."
"I will talk to the king about this," the knight said, then turned and left.
"The king's here?" Lucca asked surprised, "Well, good; he is alive."
"Yeah, thankfully," Crono nodded, "When the knight gets back I'm going to have to ask where the captain is; it would have been a lot easier with him."
"Face it, you're just bad at negotiating," Lucca nudged him.
"......So?"
Lucca couldn't reply however, as the king was escorted to meet them. He stepped up to them, giving the standard greeting. Lucca nodded, then looked around at all the knights present, "Let's take this back her," she finally said, waving her hand behind her.
"You see," Lucca continued as the king listened, "Magus really isn't dead."
They were in the throne room now, just the small group, the king, and Magus' unconscious form. The throne doors were closed and the knights were outside of the room, gathering the injured and dead.
The king was sitting in his throne currently, the others surrounding him as they told him what they knew. He was a good listener, despite his fault of cutting in every few seconds.
"But you told that knight he was so," the king said, perplexed.
Lucca rolled her eyes and juggled her head about, "Yeah, yeah; I needed something to draw his attention away."
"Whatever for?" the king looked even more perplexed now.
"Yeah, why?" Crono added, nudging Lucca from behind.
Lucca swatted back at him, missing but not caring, "There's something wrong with Magus. I'm--We're not too sure what it is, but I think he's not doing this of his own will."
"He is being manipulated, you mean?"
"Well, maybe. Then again, maybe he is responsible for his actions," Lucca continued, "but that would mean there's something else behind this from the other side. I want to find out what's going on."
"So Magus is not to be executed for these crimes?" the king seemed tentative suddenly, "How will I explain this to the families?"
Marle broke in, "The same that Lucca told your knight."
The king leaned back in his chair to think. As he was pondering, Lucca pressed on, "Face it, one way or another, the 'Magus' that did this to your castle will die. We're making sure we're killing the right person."
"Someone could very well be manipulating him," Crono added, "Which means killing Magus wouldn't solve the problem."
"But that's just an assumption," the king remarked, still not liking the idea.
"Do you trust us? We defeated Magus before, not to mention countless other threats all over the world," Lucca was still trying to get the king to accept, "We can surely take on a weakened Magus compared to all that."
The king took a deep breath and held it, gazing at the four people before him. They saved his kingdom, twice now, possibly thrice if you were to count Yakra. Maybe he wasn't trusting them enough. Then again, what did he know of them?
The king let out his breath in a large sigh, then bowed his head, shaking it. What to do, what to do... Finally, he came to a decision. He raised his head and looked Lucca in the eye.
"He is yours."
.