The Trials Of The King Chapter 5
Mystic Mayhem
By Nanaki
June 12
Crono slowly stepped off the ferry, taking in the sight of Medina in the early morning. Sunlight glinted off the waves, and he could see the mountain containing Heckran Cave in the distance. Hopefully, Ozzie had picked up where Heckran left off. Once again, he wondered what he was getting himself into. This seemed pretty insane. But the mystics were the only people likely to have a large amount of manpower available. He quickly stepped up his pace and headed for the mayor's manor.
Ozzie was lounging around as usual, refusing to do any of the work. He looked exactly like his evil ancestor, except for his much bluer skin. There wasn't much the other mystics could do about his laziness, as his sheer size made him nearly immovable. "Ozzie VIII, let's make a deal!" Crono announced.
Ozzie glanced up disdainfully. "Why would I want to make a deal with you, human?" Then his eyes widened. "Hey! You're the one who killed Heckran!"
"True enough." Crono admitted. "But I think you'll be interested in what I have to offer."
"What could you possibly offer that would interest me?" The other mystics began to pay attention as well.
"The chance to fight some humans."
"What the hell?!" Ozzie actually moved his girth, and leaned forward. "Are you serious here?"
"Totally." Crono just smiled.
"Meet me at the Forest Ruins at noon. We'll discuss it in detail." With that, Ozzie waddled out of the house.
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Crono arrived at the Forest Ruins right on time. He wondered why Ozzie had made him wait, but maybe he wanted to put Crono in his place. Or maybe it had taken him this long to move his fat butt up here. "Good. You're here." Crono whirled around to find Ozzie right behind him. "So, you want me to fight some humans huh? What gives?"
"They're in rebellion against the Truce. I figure if we can overpower them by a large margin, we can simply surround and disarm them, with relatively few casualties. I know that's not exactly your style, but I'm hoping you'll be willing to help."
Ozzie laughed. "You act like you're talking to the original Ozzie. Maybe he wouldn't have agreed, but I sure as hell will. Do you know how long it's been since our faction saw any action? Not since Heckran's time, when that good for nothing imp somehow managed to gain power. I'm still not real clear on why that happened..." Crono remained silent, hoping his expression gave nothing away. "So who exactly will we be fighting?"
"A group of native Porrians, who want out of the Truce, and pretty bad, it seems. They've killed 53 of my special agents in the last year."
"Native Porrians..." Ozzie thought for a minute. "This wouldn't happen to be the Matuyama clan, would it?" Crono raised his eyebrows. "What? You're surprised I actually know something?"
"Yes." Crono answered both questions at once. "I just hope you have enough troops so that we can swarm them."
"That won't work." Ozzie shook his head. Crono looked surprised again. "Some of our ancestors fought those buggers in the years right before the cease-fire. If they lose, they just kill themselves. Unless you can actually throw enough men at them to totally surround every last soldier."
"They kill themselves? Why?" Crono was aghast.
"Just their way of thinking. If they lose, they're dishonored, and life's not worth living. Although the leader will stick around to make sure they'll always be able to rise up again some day."
"That's really not good..." Crono frowned.
"And another thing." Ozzie interrupted his thoughts. "I don't think these guys will be as big a pushover as you think. Those Matuyamas fight hellagood, to judge from the record."
"You will help us though?"
"Of course!" Ozzie laughed. "I'd never pass up the chance to fight humans, no matter what the conditions! As long as I have a chance at winning, anyway. There's no invasion plans for Guardia, if you're worried about that."
"I assumed that." Crono nodded.
"Now, if you'll come this way, I want you to meet some of my associates." Ozzie led him back through the trees at a surprising pace, until they reached the bottom of Mount Medina, which wasn't far from the remains of the North Palace. Ozzie guided him down to a cave, and led him inside. Crono noticed that the walls of the cave soon turned to dark bricks.
"This is the original Ozzie's fortress!" He exclaimed.
"I was wondering when you'd notice." Ozzie laughed. "Yes, an earthquake sunk Ozzie's fortress in 847 A.D. Ozzie V teleported it across the bay to here, under Mount Medina. I guess he figured it would be more secure underground, I don't know." They arrived at a large door, and Ozzie began to push it aside. "I want you to meet my two top men." He pushed the door open to reveal a tall mystic.
"Gaah! Slash!" Crono shouted. Ozzie opened the door all the way, revealing another mystic just beside the first. "Gaah! Another Slash!" Indeed, both mystics bore a remarkable resemblance to slash. Except one was decked out in green armor with gold trimming, and the other in brown armor with green trimming. But they had the same bluish purple skin.
"Not quite. These two are descendants of Slash. I want you to meet Pillage," the mystic in green bowed, "and Plunder." The mystic in brown nodded his head.
"Pleased to meet a warrior like you, sir." Pillage nodded. Plunder just snorted. "Will Yakra be joining us?" He turned to Ozzie.
"There's ANOTHER Yakra?" Crono groaned.
"There's always another Yakra." Ozzie said offhand. "No Pillage. Yakra has too much of a personal vendetta against Crono. He won't help. Anyway, Crono wants us to bash some human heads for him." Crono grunted. "Um... Well, he wants us to fight them into submission, but I imagine we'll get to bash some heads along the way. How many men are you willing to muster anyway?"
"Well, I can throw in over 300 henches. They're the best fighters. 150 Gargoyles, 100 each of the Gnashers and Naga-ettes, and probably over 1,000 imps." Pillage outlined his forces.
Plunder began to smile. "To fight humans, everything I got."
"That is a significant number." Crono smiled. "How soon can you get over to Guardia?"
"By the end of today." Ozzie smiled.
"Today?! But how?"
"They call us mystics for a reason, you know. We'll be over as soon as we can round up all our telekinesis masters."
"Can I hitch a ride with you?" Crono asked, smiling.
"Sure. We're allies, for the moment."
"All right then. We've got a war to plan."
"Yes!" Ozzie shouted gleefully, along with Pillage and Plunder. "A war against the humans!!"
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"Power is all that matters, and I've got the power!" - Flea
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