Chrono Trigger Prophecies Chapter 4
Startling Coincidences
By Jerm
The trip had not been bad so far, despite the apparent unstableness of Antold. Janus still couldn't get over the near exact likeness Antold had of Dalton. The eyepatch, the hair. Even though Janus knew the truth, he still couldn't keep 'Dalton' from entering his head whenever he saw Antold. Janus merely shrugged it off after a while, considering it merely another thing from his head. The flashbacks, the hallucinations, the voices. Now he was seeing people where they did not belong.
About midday, Janus stepped out of his cabin for the first time. It was cold outside, as always, and the wind caused by the ships movements made it no better. He didn't shiver though, in fact he didn't seem to feel the cold at all. His cape was fluttering madly about in the small gale, he didn't bother to drape it around him for warmth. It felt like the cold wasn't there.
The ship he was sailing on wasn't that large, only about twenty feet from aft to bow. Sails were stretched above, as the navigated the ship using the wind as their propellent. The ship was travelling north-northwest.
Janus was worried about the speed, as the waters were still full of ice, but finally decided that the captain, no matter how ditzy, knew what he was doing.
He stepped away from the door and toward the railings. Leaning over one slightly, he stared at the waters and began to think. How many more "missions" will I have to perform before that person decides to cooperate? The stranger had yet to divulge one bit of information, and he was travelling all over the world--all over time--to do as the person bid.
Why was he being so gullible? Was it worth it? Janus shook his head, thinking over his gullibility. Then another thought struck him. The captain was giving this voyage--through dangerous waters for a complete stranger--for nothing. Not a single bit of payment needed.
Janus struck the bar with his hand and swore, he might have just stepped into a trap. Times were tight now in Zeal, what used to be Zeal, people were living by cooperating with each other, but that didn't mean that all of them did. He could have just stepped onto a slave ship for all he knew. What was he thinking?
This whole thing, the errands, and my overworking myself. I'm starting to slip, I need to take a break. . .
Janus bowed his head, he would have to be careful if his fears were correc--
"Hey, Magus!"
Janus whirled in a panic at the nearness of the voice. Standing right behind him was Antold. Janus quickly tried to slow down his breathing, trying not to show any sign of fear or suspicion. He purposely glared at Antold for a moment, then replied, "It's Janus."
"Right, right," Antold rolled his eyes and bobbed his head, "So you finally decided to get out and breath some fresh air?"
"No," Janus turned away from Antold, but not far enough that the person was out of his peripheral vision.
Janus did add any more to the statement, but Antold seemed to sit there waiting for more of a response. Or maybe he's preparing to attack. . . Janus shook the thought out of his head, he didn't need to worry. He could take on Antold.
You mean Magus could.
"Shut up. . ." Janus muttered, trying to be inaudible to Antold.
His attempts were failure, as Antold cocked his head at Janus, "Pardon?"
". . .I don't like being shut up in a room all day. I need something to look at when I think," Janus replied smoothly, half believing it himself.
And I don't trust you either.
Janus ignored that and continued, "How much longer until we reach the ruins?"
Antold ignored his forwardness, "Tomorrow sometime. Don't worry, you won't be "shut up" in that room for long."
Janus continued to stare off into the water, hoping that Antold would go away, but the captain persisted, "If you would like a tour of the boat, I'm sure Azel here would be glad to help."
Janus finally turned around fully. Staring at Antold for a brief second, then at the woman behind him, he realized that he hadn't been talking to one person this whole time. He then realized that something else strange was going on. Janus began to have trouble breathing again and his hand involuntarily went to his forehead, as he tried to figure out what was going on.
Before either of the two others could say or do anything, he was walking quickly back to his room. He opened the door a bit too hard, and it swung and struck the wall with a deep thud. Janus reached back and tried to shut the door behind him.
"Does this mean you don't want the tour, Magus?" Antold asked, jovially as always.
Janus ignored the remark, ignored the fact that Antold had called him Magus, ignored the fact that Antold looked too much like Dalton. But the final straw was that Azel looked just like his mother.
The door shut loudly behind him.
The anchor struck the water and sunk quickly, displacing the water around it in a large splash. A chain followed it down, clanking loudly as the pulley swung about to give it leeway. Finally, the anchor struck bottom, and the clanking stopped. As did the boat.
They were there.
Janus looked up when someone knocked on his door. He had felt the slight jar as the boat stopped, he knew where they were, knew that they had reached their destination.
But where was that? It could very well be the downed island of Zeal, but Janus didn't fell so sure anymore. Everything around him seemed to be falling apart, then repiecing itself in a completely new pattern. His whole life was going upside-down. And he couldn't stop it.
The knocking came again, this time followed by the captain's voice, "We're there, Magus."
Magus. There it was again. Something was wrong. Janus stood up and apprehensively walked toward the door. He stared at the metal knob as he approached, though he didn't know why. He most likely needed something to focus his eyes on.
Focus, that was what he was doing. He hadn't been able to focus in so long, he was now unconsciously trying to do so. Janus almost smiled thinking about that, but stopped when he remembered where he was. He didn't know where he was, to be exact.
He reached out and grabbed the knob, turning it. The clicking seemed loud in his ears, he didn't know why he was so. . .nervous about this. Shoving caution out of the way, he threw the door open, putting himself face to face with Antold.
"We're there, Magus," Antold repeated, seeming to have lost a bit of his care-free attitude.
"My name is Janus, not Magus," Janus said slowly, trying to dig it into the captain's head.
"Whatever you say. . ." Janus thought for a moment he was going to add "Magus" at the end, and if he had Janus would have gone for the kill; but nothing came afterward.
Janus sighed, trying to releave the tention he was building, but to no avail. Finally, he shook his head and walked past Antold, past Azel. He walked up the hallway and reached the door that led outside, listening behind him for their footsteps.
"Show me," he said when they stopped; then he wrenched open the door.
.