Schala's Return

By Tekmage

    It was a starry night out on the North Cape.   The wind whipped at Magus's face as he stared at the full moon.  He had been sitting there for almost a day now wondering where his sister might be.  It was only 3 days since the Ocean Palace disaster, then again it was only 2 days since he heard the final ear piercing scream of Lavos.  He spent his first day back in 12000 BC looking over the land for Schala all to no avail.  The Earthbound Village had accepted him not as a false prophet or as the child Janus but just as another face in the crowd.  He liked living here in the Earthbound village.  The people didn't dislike him and they also allowed him his solitude out on the North Cape.  Occasionally a young lad named Lans would come to visit Magus and check on how he was doing.  For once Magus had taken a slight liking to someone aside from his sister.  Magus's Cat Alfred had taken a liking to Lans due to his company right after the Kingdom of Zeal collapsed.  It was Lans that had kept Alfred company when Dalton had decided to take Magus's friends off for a little flight in the Blackbird.  Alfred's friendship with the young lad had eased Magus's mind about him and Magus allowed him to come and go from his small area of land.

    Deep in his thoughts, Magus didn't here the small clink of a plate being set down on the rocks behind him.  He awoke from his trance like state when Alfred meowed and padded over to greet Lans.
"Oh, hello Lans." Magus said without turning around.
"Hi Magus.  Hello Alfred.  I hope you're OK.  You haven't been into the Village lately."
"I've been trying to think.  Too many things on my mind, not enough time in a day to think about them."
"Well, I hope you can clear your head.  Maybe I'll see you in the village again soon." replied Lans
"Sure.  Soon, perhaps.  Thank you for the food, Alfred was getting hungry."
Lans smiled, waved good bye and left Magus to his own thoughts again.  There had to be a way to find Schala...

    A new day dawned and Magus awoke with the sun in his face.  He could see that Alfred had finished off his dinner and hadn't left a scrap for his master.  'Oh well,' thought Magus, 'I could do with a visit into the village, plus I need to see if I can put my little idea into action.'
And with that Magus set off down the small trodden path down towards the village.

    When he arrived it was about 9 in the morning.  'Ah, perfect timing' thought Magus as he walked into the familiar shop which belonged to one of the many Nu's that once lived in the Kingdom of Zeal and also into the shop where he was known for who he really was.
"Hi Janus.  How goes life out on the North Cape?" asked the Nu, always curious to know how Magus was holding up.
"Not too bad.  I could do with a few supplies though."
"Sure, what would you like?  Got some fresh full tonics here and I also think I managed to get a shelter in reasonably good condition."
"I think I'll just take 5 mid tonics," replied Magus "and whilst I'm at it I'll take 5 mid ethers as well."
"Great.  The mid tonics will be 500 GP and the mid ethers are gonna cost you 10000 GP." Smiled the Nu.
"Like I said... I'll just take 5 mid tonics and 5 mid ethers." Magus replied with a grin.  Nu's were always easier to deal with once they were threatened by someone stronger than they were and Magus knew that this one had heard about many of his battles.  The Nu especially remembered the parts about Magus's Dark Matter spell and right now was not in the mood for an argument.
"I'll be taking these.  Perhaps I'll see you again soon eh?"
And with that Magus took his supplies left the shop.

    Outside he saw many of the earthbound villagers along with quite a few inhabitants of the Magic Kingdom as well.  After a short walk he arrived at Lans' house and decided to see if he was around.  Two knocks and Lans answered the door.
"Hi Lans."
"Oh hi Magus.  Glad to see you out and about." replied Lans
"Thank you.  Anyway, I just popped in to see if you could watch Alfred for a few days."
"Sure, no problem.  Mind if  I ask where you're going?" queried Lans.
"Actually yes.  I'd rather just leave it at that.  Thank you again for watching my cat.  You can go up to the North Cape anytime you're ready and pick him up.  I'll expect to see him in good health when I return?"
"Definitely, without a problem."
"Thank you again.  Perhaps I'll see you in another few days huh?"
Magus smiled and walked off towards the Elder's abode leaving Lans in the dark about Magus's sudden need for a pet sitter.

    As Magus approached the Elder's house he could hear conversation between the Elder and one of the more prominent magic users, Darian.  Being the nice person he was, he decided to wait outside by the door and not listen intently to the muffled conversation which went something like this...
"Listen, we have to check it out.  What if there was something alive on that island?  There is also the possibility that there are fresh resources on the new land.  All of the people who used to live in Zeal can feel something radiating off this land."
"I can feel your concern Darian but right now we don't have the manpower to build a boat, not to mention the lack of resources.."
"Humph.  I still think it would be a good idea to investigate.  We'll continue this conversation another time Elder. Good day."
Darian stormed out of the building and walked out into the Commons.
"This is even better than I thought," Magus said to himself.  "At least I can check this new island for resources before I need to ask the Elder for the use of the villager's wood."
Magus decided to go back to the North Cape and set off on his journey but he needed one more thing before he left to inspect the new land.

    "Yes Magus? What can I do for you?"
"Well Darian, I'd like to know where this new island is."
"Can't you feel it? I thought all magic users would feel it..."
"Seems I can't.  If you could just point me in the general direction."
"Hmm... why do you want to go to the island?"
"I have unfinished business.  Please, if I could just know."
"Very well, but it won't be my fault if you return half dead... or dead for that matter."
"Thank you Darian.  Now if you would be so kind as to show me where the island is located."

    Something wasn't right about the air here.  Magus had been flying through the air towards the island for almost two hours now and there was a distinct change in the air.  He wasn't too sure about what it was since he was getting quite tired.  Two hours of channeling magic through his feet hadn't helped reduce the fatigue of flight.  As Magus concentrated on flight, another part of his mind started to think about the disturbance in the air.  He couldn't put his finger on it but somehow, the air seemed warmer.

    Magus could see the new island along the horizon.  The air was now definitely warmer but he was much too tired to notice.  There was also small piece of land half way towards the island so Magus decided to fly there, rest up for the night and wait till morning until heading towards the island again.  An hour later he reached the small piece of land and noticed that there was small patches of green scattered around.  Due to his tiredness he took little notice of the grass and immediately set up a shelter to get some sleep.

    "Magus?"
"Schala? Is that you? I can't see.  Where are you?"
"Wait."
A small warm feeling encompassed Magus and his vision cleared enough so that he could see but everything was still blurry.
"Schala?  Is it really you?  Am I dreaming?"
"Yes."
Then Magus awoke.  "Damn.  I hate it when that happens." Magus said to no one in particular.  'At least the sun was out' he thought.  'I can go and have a look at the island in light.'

    Magus left the small piece of land and headed towards the island.  As he arrived he noticed the green and the unexpected warmth unlike his ignorance on the previous island.  In fact the entire island was covered with grass, as well as quite a few trees.  The other awkward thing Magus noticed was the small building on the far end of the island.  He couldn't make it out from where he was standing so he started to walk towards it.  After about ten minutes walking he stopped, turned around, walked back towards a bush and flamed it with a fire spell.
"Look will you stop following me? I could get rid of you very easily except I have things to do.  Either leave me alone or you'll die."
A small Imp looked up at him with a slightly confused expression.  It then poked out it's tongue, jeered at Magus for a few seconds and ran.
"Waste of time and energy." said Magus, and he continued to walk towards the structure.

    Half an hour later Magus arrived at the structure.
"Well, here I am.  Wonder what this building is doing here?"
Magus inspected the front but couldn't see a way in.  After a small walk around towards the back of the building, he found the real front to the building.
"let's see... where's the doorway."
He brushed aside some branches and leaves and found a door bearing the emblem of Zeal on it.
"Shoot.  Not one of these doors.  Oh well, I'll do it the hard way."
Magus took a few steps backwards, outstretched a hand and spurted lightning from it.  The bolt hit about a metre towards the left of the door.
"Ah, perfect.  Now then..."
He took a few steps closer and started to concentrate.  His hand started to glow darkness and he was soon holding a ball of  shadow.
"Here goes." said Magus.  With that final remark, he hurled the ball towards the small crater formed by the lightning spell.  The darkness hit directly inside the crater.  There was a soundless explosion and the darkness expanded into a dome shape.  The shadow dissipated leaving behind a hole in the wall.
"Hmm, exactly what I was looking for." grinned Magus.
He went through the opening in the wall into a room filled with darkness.  The only light was coming from the hole he had blasted in the wall and it appeared to be reflecting off something.  Magus started to concentrate again.  This time a small ball of lightning appeared in his hand, lighting up the rest of the room.
"Ah, there's a sight for sore eyes." Magus smiled.
Before him stood Belthasar's greatest creation.  His Wings of Time.

    As Magus lay there leaning against Epoch in the darkness of the room, he thought about his options.  At least now he could go under the water in Epoch and hope to find the Ocean Palace, but how was he going to get the Epoch to swim? Dalton hadn't modified this Epoch because it was the one from the future that he used, not the one in here.  He could really use the help of Lucca and Robo now, although he wasn't about to ask for help.  He didn't even know if this time machine had all the parts in it and he wasn't about to send it to another time period without a way of getting it back.  Then again he wasn't going back to the Earthbound Village to ask for help either.  Another task to overcome would be how to get the machine out into the open so he could get it in the water.  'Perhaps I would feel better in the morning after a good nights rest' he thought.  It was getting late and the sun was setting, so he decided to call it a day.

    An explosion awoke him.
"What the...?"
Magus ran outside only to see himself lying on the floor crippled.  He also saw Queen Zeal, his corrupted mother, standing atop Lavos and laughing.  Magus growled, and started forming the words in his head for the Dark Matter spell.
"What? Another prophet?" screeched Zeal.  "Schala, destroy him."
Magus's sister faded into existence next to Lavos.
"I can't mother... I will not do your bidding any more."
"You dare to defy even your own mother? Very well, then become part of Lavos!!" Queen Zeal chanted some words and Schala started to demolecularise just as Crono did when he faced Lavos with his battered body.
"NOOOOO!!" screamed Magus, and he unleashed his Dark Matter spell hurtling it towards Queen Zeal.
    An explosion awoke him.
"What the...?"
Magus opened his eyes and saw out into the early hours of dawn.  "Crud, I've blown my shelter to shreds plus I've destroyed the top of the building housing Epoch.  Oh well, at least now I can get Epoch into the water." His grin soon faded once he realized he had destroyed both means of shelter on the island.
"Hmm...  I guess I'll have to get this done today.  All of it."
And so he started to make preparations to sink the Epoch and look for his sister.

    By the time Magus was finished fixing a a few missing planks in the Epoch and ready to lower it into the water, it was getting close to the afternoon.
"At least I can take a cool refreshing dip," he chuckled "Or maybe after a few minutes rest."
He hadn't used much magic to help him patch up the new Epoch as he would need most of his power to take the Epoch under.  As Magus rested in the shade of Epoch he heard bushes rustling around the other side of the time machine.
"Oh great.  Not again." groaned Magus.
As he walked around the side of Epoch, He saw the same lone Imp standing there with his tongue out, still jeering him.
"That's it.  Now you're going to die."
He pulled out his scythe and charged towards the Imp but was caught off guard by a kick from a Gargoyle.
"Oh, you want some too do you?  Fine, you can both have some."
Of course Magus didn't count on having to fight Beasts from the Terra Cave as well so he decided that now would be a good time to stop using his scythe and to burn some of his magic power.  As the Beasts slowly trod towards him, he closed his eyes, mumbled a few words under his breathe and started to float up into the air.  A small hole of darkness formed underneath him which slowly expanded into a large circle of pure darkness.  A quick flick of his hands and the hole started to pull on everything around him.  The Beasts had already started to try and move away but couldn't escape and were slowly being dragged towards the darkness.  Magus now opened his eyes to see that many of the Beasts had been sucked in as well as the Gargoyle.  He also happened to notice that the Epoch was slowly sliding towards the hole, with increasing speed.
"Oh no.  Better stop the spell before I lose my future."
Magus started casting the sealing spell for the Black Hole whilst Epoch sped towards the hole.  there was a clanging sound as the Black Hole closed up.  This caused some alarm for Magus because the Black Hole spell usually didn't close with a clang.  He look around to see Epoch halfway through flipping over a rather large rock which had caused the mahine to 'trip'.  Magus also noticed the Imp recovering from the gravitational pull of the black hole as well as the fact that the Imp was about to be crushed by the Epoch.  Since Magus had returned to his time period, he had learnt a little compassion as well as mercy.
"Oh fine.  Hold on."
He flew towards the Imp as fast as he could, and pulled him right out from underneath the falling time machine.
"Now will you leave me alone that I've saved your life?"
The Imp gave him another puzzled look and decided to stick out its tongue.  So it did.  And then it ran.
"If I see that stupid thing back here when I get back..." Magus complained.
Now he would have to use more of his magic to lift Epoch back upright.  He started to chant and slowly the Epoch lifted off the ground.  After a little while it righted itself and started to move towards the beach at the end of the island.  It took most of Magus's power to move the Epoch into the water but it was done.  Once he released his grip on the Epoch it started to go under quite slowly.
"Wait up!!" Magus shouted, and jumped into the cockpit.  "Now then, better close the hatch."
With the press of a button the glass dome closed over the cockpit right in time for Epoch to start sinking.
'Good thing I got those mid ethers from the Nu,' thought Magus 'Or else I'd never be able to power this thing through the water' as he took one of his mid ethers restoring his magic power.  Magus was also curious as to how all those monsters got onto the island but this was the least of his concerns at the moment.

    The Epoch had not been fitted with lights so it made it a little harder for Magus to see through the ocean depths.  Magus's only means of lighting was to burn his magic to light the way as well as keep the new submarine under control.  Epoch swam through the water heading towards the area where the Ocean Palace would be.  There would probably have to be a lot of water bailing when Magus got back onto land.  He finally found the derelict heap of metal which once was the grand Ocean Palace\Black Omen.  He saw an area of the outer shell that was in reasonably good shape, hoped Schala wasn't in the vicinity and crashed Epoch full speed into the outer hull.
    As Magus opened his eyes he saw the familiar insides of the Black Omen.  He popped the top of Epoch and looked around to check for damage to the fine ship.  Magus could only see damage mostly to the hull due to Epoch being crunched into the side of it so he let it be and started to move into the depths of the Ocean Palace.

    'At least there's air down here,' thought Magus 'Or else Schala may as well be dead anyway.'
He kept walking through the halls with a lightning ball in his hand to light the way.
"Now, if I remember correctly, you walked down through here, pass through this hallway... Ah, there we go.  The room with the clones of everyone."
There were the familiar pillars of light where clones of Crono, Marle and the others stood, although some of these were devoid of the faint glowing light as well as a clone.  Magus walked slowly through the dark hallway.
"Schala?? Are you here?" Magus questioned.  "Anybody around?"
"Hmmm???"
"Is that you Schala? Schala?"
"Jan..." Schala's voice trailed off.
"It is you!! shouted Magus.  "I thought I'd never find you..." said Magus as he ran up to the curled up figure of his sister.  As Magus turned her over he noticed that the familiar lustre was gone from her eyes.
"Jan... wait, you aren't Janus, you're the Prophet..." croaked Schala.
"No, listen, just take this and I'll explain."
Magus gave her a mid tonic as well as a mid ether.  Schala's eyes instantly returned to life.
"Thank you, Prophet.  But why do you come searching for me?"
"Listen, I'm the Prophet but i'm also your brother Janus."
"How dare you?!? My brother would not have been so stupid as to oppose Mother so much as to make her kill him!!" Schala retorted.  "For that lie, you shall pay!!"
'This isn't my Schala' thought Magus.  But his thoughts were cut short as he was knocked to his knees.
"For you, there will be no tomorrow!!" and Schala casted Skygate Lightning on Magus which forced him even further down towards the floor.
"Oh, for crying out loud.  It's not Schala, it's Mother..." groaned Magus.  "I gave her a mid tonic and a mid ether.  Schala had better still be around here."
Magus started to mumble the words for Dark Bomb but was cut short again when the Queen forced Magus down with her infamous Hallation Spell.  Queen Zeal made an attempt to finish Magus and pointed a finger at him.  A small beam of light started swerving towards him.  Magus rolled out of the way and unleashed a dark bomb.  The familiar dome of darkness engulfed Zeal and sent her flying into the crumpled Mammon Machine.
"Ah... the pulse of eternal life... I can feel it..."
"Not this time... I'm not going through that again."  Magus shouted.
Magus wasted no time and immediately chanted the words to Dark Matter.  The triangle materialized and started its familiar spin.
"No!! Not now... I'm about to be restored to power, I must survive!!"
"This time, you lose for good..."
Magus started to float and a black hole started to form under his feet.  His Dark Matter spell had finished it's work and had now dissipated.  The spell had knocked Zeal free of the Mammon Machine and she now started to scrabble for a handhold on the floor as she felt the pull of Magus's death spell.
"You will pay, prophet.  Lavos flows within all of us.  One day you shall join him in eternal life!!"
"Your speech is a little late.  Lavos is no more, and neither are you."
Queen Zeal was pulled into the vortex and vanished into the darkness.  Magus casted the sealing spell and closed the black hole.  Weak from his Mother's assault, Magus lay down near the Mammon Machine.  He could still feel it pulsing power, but it felt different to the first time he had felt it.  Strangely, the new power calmed him, and finally lulled him into a calm sleep.

    "Magus?"
"Schala? Are you there?"
"Yes, I'm here."
"Where? I can't see you."
"Open your eyes.  Seek and you will find."
Magus opened his eyes.  he was still inside the Ocean Palace's hallway with the Mammon Machine but there were lights on.  The place looked as if there was no Ocean Palace disaster but the Mammon Machine was still crippled.
"Seek and you will find." repeated Schala.
The voice seemed to come from all around but this did not disturb Magus.
"Do I get a clue?"
"Look behind all the power..." Schala's voice trailed off.
Magus looked around and viewed the Mammon Machine.  He looked at it again, but this time it seemed out of focus.  Magus adjusted his vision again, but it still appeared out of focus.  Then, the Mammon Machine flashed a brilliant white...
and woke him up.
    "Ow, that hurts.  My eyes..."
He got up and allowed his vision to clear.  The room had returned to it's usual lack of colours and light.
"Behind all the power..." repeated Magus.  "Hmm."
He got up and walked around the back of the Mammon Machine.  There, lying in a cramped up position underneath a small overhang from the machine, lay the familiar light purple clothing which belonged to Magus's sister, and within the tattered clothing lay Schala.
"I can't believe it.  You're still alive!!" exclaimed Magus.
"Janus? wait, you're not my brother.  you're the Prophet."
"Wait.  I know.  I am the Prophet, but I am also your brother as well."
"Really?  How can that be?"
"Yes... wait... the pendant you gave me, here."
Magus took the pendant from his neck and showed it to Schala.
"It really is you Janus."
"No time for Hellos.  I'd better give this to you now, it's a mid tonic"
"Thank you Janus." croaked Schala.
Schala drank the mid tonic and managed to sit up.
"Thanks again.  How did you get down here Janus? Did you swim?"  Schala was still in a bit of a daze, and Magus noticed so he gave her a straight explanation.
"I got down here another way and I intend to leave the same way.  By Epoch."
"What is Epoch?"
"Oh yeah... Belthasar's Wings of Time.  Do you remember hearing about it?"
"Of course.  But I've never seen it before.  I don't know if it exists or not."
"Never mind that.  As long as you can stay alive for a few minutes I can carry you there and we can finally leave here.  I'll fill you in on the details while we're returning to the surface"
He then picked up Schala and started to carry her towards Epoch.

    Off the coast of the new island bubbles started to form in the sea.  A few more bubbles rose out of the depths, followed by a silver submarine.  Magus continued to channel his power and the Epoch slowly drifted in the water and beached itself on the sand.  The mage lifted his sister out of the cockpit and rested her on the sand under the clear night sky.
"You don't know how happy I am that I didn't need to go all the way to the End Of Time to get a Time Egg and save you."
"What on earth are you talking about Janus?"
"Hehehe, we have a lot of catching up to do." Magus beamed.
He felt a tugging at his belt.  Magus looked down and saw the same Imp pulling at him.
"What is it now? And if you give me that stupid face you are going to get it."
The Imp looked at him in a confused manner, then smiled, made his usual face with the tongue and ran.
"Right, that's it." shouted Magus.
He raised his hand and a mist started to form.  It soon turned dark and became invisible due to the lack of daylight.  The mist became a small distortion in the air and it looked as if the mist moved off.  A few seconds later a small choking sound was heard.
"Finally." Magus rolled his eyes.
"We'd better be getting somewhere so we can sleep."
"..."
"Hmm, must've dozed off."
Magus sat atop Epoch, looking out at the sea and the stars.  He had finally found what he had been looking for and he was in a very happy mood.  He was suddenly jerked back to reality when he realized he was being pushed off the top of Epoch.  Magus floated up right before he his the water and turned about, only to find another Imp, attached to the legs of a small flying creature.
"Oh great.  Another one."
A scream caught his attention and he saw Schala being attacked by a Beast.
"NOOOO, I searched so long to find her!! You aren't going to take her again!!" Screamed Magus, and he made a lunge towards the Beast with his scythe.  A quick slice and the Beast toppled over, whilst it's head rolled in the other direction.  There was a sudden coldness around Magus as he felt his skin prickle.
"An ice spell??"
There was a chink as a giant piece of ice froze up Magus.  He managed to shake free and looked around for the cause of his freezing pain.
"Well well, who have we here?" screeched a shrill voice
"The name is Magus.  I suggest you leave before I destroy you."
"Not even going to ask me my name? Not very polite are we? And besides, how are the people at home going to find out who I am?" sniggered the voice.
"Fine, what's your name?" asked Magus as he prepared to launch a fire spell in the general direction of the voice.
"Ah, that's better.  I am Arty, leader of this island, the island of the Mystics."
"Mystics eh? Here's a tip, don't have any kids."
"A little late... the child is named Azy... AHHH!!"
The flames from Magus's spell scorched an area above a sand dune.  A lightning bolt from Magus in the same direction also caused another squeal of pain from the shrill voice.  The lightning spell also scattered the sand dune revealing a short, yet slightly tubby Imp who was yellow in colour.
"You stupid Magus, now I've been fried.  REVENGE!!!"
A sudden pain ran through Magus, as if he had been pierced by swords in all of his joints.
"Don't like that huh?" grinned Arty.
Magus fell to the ground writhing in agony.  He reached down to his belt to grab a mid tonic, but only grabbed at air.
'That stupid Imp must've taken my items' thought Magus.
"Muwaahaahaa" laughed Arty
"Oh god... I can see that family's genetics pass down through the generations like wildfire."
"Mweeheehee" gloated Arty.
A bolt of lightning knocked Arty to the ground, buring his face in the sand.  Magus looked to the source and saw Schala leaning against the Epoch for support with her hand outstretched.
"Schala!! don't waste your strength.  Let me handle it!"
"Don't worry about me Janus, just get him."
Magus turned his head and heard a muffled voice say "revenge!!".  He turned his head towards Schala to tell her to brace but it was too late.  He saw her pinned in the air by invisible swords and watched her spasm in agony until she finally slumped to the ground still shaking from the pain.
"That's it!!" roared Magus "You will regret that you met me.  You will wish that you were never born!! BLACK TEAR!!!"
Magus screeched out the name for a spell he didn't even know he could cast, yet nevertheless something happened.  His hands became encompassed in darkness and he brought them together at the palms causing a small flash of darkness.  A small pinprick of even greater darkness appeared in between his two hands and suddenly surged forward in a giant beam of darkness.  The oversized beam of pure black hit Arty square in the body yet passed through him, then returned to the size of a thin line and faded away.  Arty had a puzzled look on his face, much like that of the small irritating Imp that took his items, yet somehow Magus didn't think he was going to stick his tongue out.  Arty stood like this for a few more seconds, then his upper body began to slide slowly off his lower body and fell to the ground, followed by his other half which slumped next to his upper torso.  Arty's faithful Mystic followers took a look at Arty's fallen body, then at Magus, and made a choice to run.
"Serves 'em right," panted Magus "Oh no, Schala!!"
He ran over to his sister's lifeless body.
"NOO!! I spent so long looking and now it's all been taken away from me in an instant!! It can't be!!"
Magus slumped to the floor by his sisters side and cried himself slowly to sleep.

    The next morning dawned and Magus awoke.
'Oh please let it be all a dream' thought Magus, but this wasn't to be so.  "It can't be.  I've searched so long and hard, but I still have failed.  There must be a way to bring her back." Magus said to himself.  He sat atop Epoch in the warm morning sun looking out at the sea.
"If only... if only there was a way to get Schala back... back from the Ocean Palace and back here."
A few hours passed whilst Magus thought.  The sun was at its peak when Magus suddenly jumped up, picked up the limp body of Schala and placed her in the Epoch.  He jumped in after her, closed the hatch and levitated the Epoch back into the depths of the sea.

    Epoch neared the Ocean Palace for the second time but this time Magus didn't waste time with thinking what to do.  He went straight back to the hole he had made previously and rammed Epoch right through again, although the inside of the Ocean Palace was now filled with water.  Magus forced Epoch through the hallways leading to the main hall containing the Mammon Machine.  Magus kept pushing Epoch on, not caring about damage to the walls of the Palace, not to mention Epoch itself.  He finally reached the hall containing the machine and allowed himself to rest up a little.
"Right, this had better work because I'm not about to have wasted all my time and effort in bringing Schala down here and having this not work."
Magus set the Epoch's time dial for approximately 8 days before the present and hit the engage button.
"Please..." mumbled Magus.

    "I will use the last of my pendant's power to send you to safety.  Please don't hate Mother, or our Kingdom." Schala told Marle, Frog and Magus.
With that final sentence, she started to chant and the three of them vanished.  Schala knelt down onto the floor as the Ocean Palace started to crumble.
"Crono..."
A sudden flash of light blinded Schala.  She looked up and saw a large silver machine sitting there.  There was a small hiss and the Prophet jumped out from inside carrying something in purple rags.
"Huh? the Prophet? but I... you went with... how can this be?" Schala asked, in a daze.
"Listen, no time to explain, the Palace is collapsing as you know.  Jump in and don't touch anything."
Schala climbed up the side of Epoch and sat in the cockpit obediently.  Magus ensured that she wasn't watching and placed the limp and lifeless body of Schala in the place where she should have been standing.
"Right, off we go." Magus shouted above the roar of the crumbling Ocean Palace.  He flew up to the cockpit and closed the dome.  Magus twisted at the familiar dials and knobs and Epoch started to glow it's brilliant white associated with time travel.

    Epoch flashed back into existence 8 days after the destruction of the Ocean Palace with all contents intact.
"Whew, lucky us." stated Magus
"Well, I'm glad that we're alive, but you still haven't explained anything to me... Prophet."
"I wish you wouldn't call me that.  After all, I am your brother." Magus grinned.
"What?"
"Ok, here goes..."
The Epoch started it's ascent out of the Ocean Palace and up towards the surface with two very alive occupants.

    A small foam began to form off the coast of the new land.  The foam was followed by more foam, then the Epoch surfaced.  It glided slowly towards the sand and beached itself again.  The glass dome of Epoch opened and Magus and Schala emerged.  The sun was slowly setting on the two siblings.
"At least it isn't night time huh Janus?"
"Yeah, I'm not about to take you back down to the Ocean Palace again." chuckled Magus.
"Glad to hear it... brother."
Magus smiled at the sound of this.  It had been so long and he was finally reunited with his sister.
"I guess we had better fix up Belthasar's future home."
"Yeah, he has to finish making repairs to the Epoch, especially after all the damage you've done to it." Sneered Schala.
"Hmph.  Let's just get to work ok?"

    After a few days there was a structure resembling the original that had surfaced with the island.  Schala and Magus were resting against the building watching the sunset.
"At least now Belthasar can have a nice new place to work in 2300 ad." Magus huffed
"Yeah.  I hope he appreciates what we did for him.  It took us most of today to lift that roof on top of the rest of the building," panted Schala "But at least we finally did it."
"Just in time for the sunset too." replied Magus.
"Oh, one last thing to do.  I have to seal the door."
"But isn't your pendant's power dead? and besides, how will Belthasar get in then?" asked Magus.
"The pendant was for opening doors, I never said I couldn't lock them without the pendant," grinned Schala "And besides, I'm sure Belthasar will find a way to get the door open.  After all, there are two of the sealed doors in the future as you said, and the Epoch is in tip top condition then."
"Ah.  So we just let history take it's course do we?"
"Of course dear brother."
They both smiled at each other and enjoyed the sunset as Schala shut the last/first sealed door of Zeal.

    Schala awoke first the next morning and immediately woke up Magus.  They both gathered their belongings and cleaned themselves up.  Once they were both prepared, they started to float towards the sky and began to chant.  The new island started to rumble slightly and the small waves crashing on the beach began to get larger.  Soon, both of their chants became louder and they seemed to concentrate a lot more.  As the two of them became louder, the stronger the land began to shake.  After two minutes, both Magus and Schala were shouting at the top of their voices and the land was shaking as if it were to collapse like the Kingdom of Zeal.  The waves around the island were drenching land due to the amount of water being sprayed onto the island.  Both Magus and Schala ended their individual chants at the same time with a sound that could only be described as "sink".  Then both of them stood floating as they watched the land beneath them slowly dissolve into the deep blue sea underneath their feet.
"Well Schala, I guess our work here is done.  Shall we return to the Earthbound Village?"
"That sounds great to me.  But how about we rename it? I've never liked the name Earthbound Village."
"Alright, we'll have to discuss it with the Elder but I'm sure he'll agree.  What did you have in mind?"
"I was thinking...  since the village is made up of people who once hated each other, but now live in peace..." but Schala was cut short.
"Let me guess," asked Magus "Truce Village?"
"How di... maybe I shouldn't ask."
Magus smiled and led the way back towards Truce Village.

    "Hey look!! Miss Schala is returning along with Magus!!" shouted a Truce Villager.
"Really? Where?" the Elder replied, who couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice.
"Over there." Darian pointed towards the setting sun.
"Ah, I see now.  How did Magus find her?"
"I suggest we should ask them ourselves when they return." replied Lans, who was carrying Alfred in his arms and gently stroking him.
"Something tells me they're going say 'You won't understand' "
All the villagers present laughed.  They all knew that this would be the case when the two of them arrived back at their village.

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