Chrono Trigger: Timeless Angels Part 11

Shatter the Mirror!

By Mefathiel

Tata swung his sword at his mirror image with a look of determination on his face. "Why won’t you die?" he demanded.

"Because I can’t die without taking you with me," Mirror Tata shot back.

They clashed their swords together, once over their heads, and once below their waists. Tata pushed forward and swung his blade in an upswing. The Light Sword of Gabriel sliced Mirror Tata’s arm open, causing the dark twin to clutch his wound. Tata backed up, feeling a stabbing pain in his arm. He looked down to see that he also had a slice in his arm.

"You see, boy?" Mirror Tata asked. "You can’t kill me without dying yourself!"

Tata grasped the sword grip tightly despite the pain shooting through his arm. "I’ll gladly die if your existence is wiped from this world!" he shouted, charging forward.

Cyrus held his sword ready, standing across from Mirror Cyrus. Neither warrior made a move, each studying the other for weaknesses. Cyrus tightened his grip on the sword. "It appears we art evenly matched," he said.

"Of course," Mirror Cyrus said, "we art one and the same. Thine weakness is mine weakness, thine strength is mine strength."

"Then fighting would be pointless."

Mirror Cyrus advanced and brought his blade into contact with Cyrus’. "Of course it would. Unfortunately, the only way for me to succeed is to destroy you!"

Cyrus jumped back and held his ground, refusing to attack. "Whatever happens to thee shalt happen to me, so why injure thineself like that?"

"Because death is a many splendored thing."

Natan jumped back from Mirror Natan’s dark whip, which was promptly tossed aside for the more preferable rapier. "Why do you use that weak weapon?" the dark twin demanded.

"It’s not weak, fiend," Natan said, putting his hand to the corner of his lip and wiping the blood away. "It all depends on how you use it."

The Vine Whip of Sachluph became charged with energy, and Natan snapped his wrist forward. The whip wrapped around Mirror Natan’s sword. Natan pulled back and snapped the rapier’s blade in half. Mirror Natan scowled and charged forward and started stabbing the air with his broken sword.

Schala held her ground, protected by her Zeal Shield as her mirror duplicate zealously attacked with magic. "Please, don’t waste your strength," Schala said, "the Zeal Shield is nearly impossible to break through. You should know that."

"Dark Zeal Wind!" Mirror Schala shouted. The wind magic started ripping through the air, only to be phased away by the shield.

Schala held the Staff of the Magi in front of herself and closed her eyes. Concentrating her energy into it, the staff flashed, and Mirror Schala was thrown into the stone wall and knocked unconscious. Schala grabbed her head and fell to her knees, dropping the barrier. "Then it’s true," she said, "we really are linked to the mirror twins. It’s hopeless to try and defeat them in battle."

"Eternal Flame!" Zephon shouted, plunging the Flame Lance of Nathaniel into the floor. A fire wall rushed out from the weapon and started burning Mirror Zephon. He fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

Zephon dropped to his knees and clenched every muscle in his body, trying to eliminate the pain. "We can’t… beat them," he gasped.

Slowly, every one of the Timeless Angels came to that realization, and they gathered together at the center of the room, surrounded by their mirror duplicates. "Tis hopeless," Cyrus said. "No matter what we do, we shalt die in the battle."

"Then we run," Natan said.

"Running is for the weak," Tata interjected. "I’ll fight until I die, no matter what! That’s what I learned on Denadoro, fighting for Dorino! Fight until the end!"

"Actually, I agree with Natan," Zephon said. "It would be better for us to run and regroup with the others. Perhaps we could formulate a plan to overcome this obstacle."

Spekkio cleared a hole in the circle surrounding the team, and they fled through the darkened hallways of Onseny, headed toward the throne room.

.

Crono kept slashing through his mirror twin, despite the terrible pain he felt and the blood that dripped from his wounds. Mirror Crono was on the floor in front of him, bleeding from the uncountable number of wounds; uncountable because of Crono’s furious attacks, and because the cuts couldn’t be seen due to the massive amount of blood covering his body.

"Crono, stop!" Lucca cried out as blood sprayed from a new cut in Crono’s arm. "You’re going to kill yourself!"

"It appears that whatever damage we inflict upon them simply duplicates and afflicts us," Robo noted.

Ayla watched Crono with a glimmer of excitement in her eye. "Go Crono, beat bad Crono!" she cheered.

Lucca turned to her and frowned. "Ayla, if Crono keeps attacking his dark twin, then he’s going to end up killing himself."

"Then why Ayla twin not get hurt when Ayla hit wall? And why Marle twin not hurt when ice fall on Marle?"

Lucca gasped. "That’s right! For some reason, they can attack us without receiving damage themselves, but when we attack them, we get hurt!"

Ozzie laughed at Lucca’s realization. "Of course, it’s my magic!" he cackled. "I created the Kagami Kage Team in such a way that they can attack and not be hurt! It’s the most evil plot I’ve had yet!" The fat Mystic punctuated his glee with an evil laugh.

"Fiend!" Glenn shouted, standing ready for an attack. The knight spread his arms wide, and magic energy swirled around his body. "Water!"

A stream of bubbles shot through the air at Ozzie. Magus stepped forward and cast a fire spell into the blast. An Antipode Effect ensued, causing an enormous explosion in the room. Magus was thrown back and hit the wall next to the Shadow Mirror. His scythe hit the surface, and formed a small crack on the reflective surface.

Crono’s mirror twin screamed in pain as Crono raised his sword. "What the—? You wuss!" he shouted. "I haven’t even hit you again yet!"

Robo scanned the room, and saw that the other mirror duplicates were reacting in the same way as Crono’s duplicate. He scanned the rest of the room and tried to detect any changes that might cause such a reaction. "The mirror," he said. "The mirror is their weak point. Perhaps…"

Lucca pulled out her Wonder Shot and aimed it at the mirror. "Way ahead of you, Robo," she said, pulling the trigger.

Robo’s duplicate jumped in the way and took the shot square in the chest. Lucca cringed and looked at Robo, seeing he was unscathed. "Another loophole!" she declared. "The dark twins can be harmed by a different person without the original being injured! Lucca the great makes another great discovery!"

She charged the gun for another shot, and pulled the trigger when the power meter reached 100%. Mirror Robo took another shot in the chest and collapsed. Marle struggled to her feet in her weak state and held up her crossbow. She knew Crono had saved her, and she knew that he was now killing himself by relentlessly attacking his dark twin.

"Shatter the mirror!" she shouted at the top of her voice as she pulled the trigger on her crossbow.

Crono heard her voice echo through the room and turned to see Marle standing on her feet. The bolt from the crossbow sailed through the air and connected with the mirror. Everyone could hear the sound of breaking glass, and the Kagami Kage Team fell to the floor, moaning in pain. Ozzie stood up from his throne.

"Curse you children!" he shouted. "Magus, come! We have business elsewhere!"

Magus stood and followed Ozzie through the Gate that led to the Beginning of Time. As they escaped, the Timeless Angels and Spekkio burst into the throne room. "Our duplicates art defeated!" Cyrus declared, thrusting his sword into the air.

"Yes," Glenn said with a nod. "Twas Lady Nadia who defeated the evil twins."

Everyone looked at the weary princess. She fainted from exhaustion, and Ayla rushed to her aide, catching Marle before she hit the floor. "Marle!" Crono shouted.

He stumbled forward and fell flat on his face from the wounds he’d received. Tata reached into his satchel and pulled out a Mega Elixir. Everyone felt rejuvenated as he pulled the cork out and a warm light filled the room from the bottle. Marle opened her eyes and blinked a dew times.

"Ugh," she groaned. "Is everyone okay?"

Ayla nodded. "All of us fine now, thanks to Tata and Tata’s sweet water," she said happily.

.

In the hallway just outside of the throne room, one of the fallen figures slowly started moving again. A tall, slender figure stood and dusted off its cape. "Those children must’ve broken the mirror," it said, its eyes flashing bright green. "Well, no matter. Even that fat Mystic twerp can’t control an elf, especially a Dark Elf. I’m glad I found that spell in the Onseny archives that broke my bond to that mirror. Now those time travelers don’t stand a chance!"

.

"The Gate to the End of Time is opened now," Robo said, pointing to the swirling blue portal that hadn’t closed.

"Why hasn’t it closed yet?" Schala asked.

Lucca turned and held up a Gate Key with a large smile. "Because I’ve still got this!" she declared happily.

Zephon smiled. "Lucca, you truly are a genius," he commended.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Crono asked, getting to his feet again. "Let’s go tot he Beginning of Time and end this!"

"Are you guys sure you’re ready?" Spekkio asked.

All eleven warriors nodded at the Master of War. "We’ve come this far, and we’ve been successful," Schala said. "It would be pointless to turn back at this point."

"Yeah," Natan added, "considering we’d have to fight through a whole army of Dark Elves to get out of this place."

"Then it’s decided," Marle said, reloading her crossbow. "We’re going to the Beginning of Time, and we’re going now."

"Time’s fate is resting on our shoulders," Glenn said. "We art the only ones who can do anything now."

"Yes, tis up to us to win," Cyrus said. "If not, then this whole quest was for naught."

Zephon lowered his head. "May the angels guide us well into battle," he said softly, "for I know what is to happen. May we be successful in this venture."

One by one, the entire Chrono Trigger Team stepped through the Gate, led by Spekkio. Lucca brought up the rear and closed the Gate as soon as she stepped through it.

Natan’s mirror twin walked into the throne room, seeing the aftermath of the battle that had ended no more than five minutes prior. "Natan is not a fitting name for an elf such as I," he said, "especially an elf of royalty. From this day forth, I shall be known as Mira! And time travelers, may you rue the day you were brought into this world. I will destroy you all, one by one, using any means possible!"

He belted out an evil laugh, which covered up the sound of the Gate’s crackling residue trail.

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"But why… why me?"
"Because there is no one else who can." —Shinji and Gendo Ikari, Neon Genesis Evangelion

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