The White Mage And The Angry Toad Part 1
By The Storyteller
There could be hundreds of things that happened to our friends, the Chrono Trigger gang, after they entered the last portal at the end of the game to go back to their respective homes. This particular story is the beginning of a saga of events and revelations, many of them hilarious, and many depressing. It all starts off with Magus, our resident warlock, aching with fatigue as he stepped into his last gate. I am The Storyteller, and you will now read the story of a single folly that led to a complete change in Magus's behavior.
Magus was tired; destroying the Lavos core took every last ounce of energy from him. He felt sickened by his state, but relieved that he no longer had to spend his days alongside the group of foul smelling humans that he had fought with. The only reason he had ever joined them was because he knew their combined strength could destroy him without a problem. However, he felt obliged to them, knowing that without them, he wouldn't have destroyed the monster that ruined his life.
The endless blue swirls of the time gate comforted him, but he was still uneasy. When Lavos was destroyed, he knew that the gates would become unstable, no longer supported by Lavos's power. Magus could only hope that he would end up in the correct time period, so he could resume his search for his sister.
A few seconds later, he landed hard on his back, the colors of the landscape around him swirling uncontrollably. After hearing the gate close, his eyes focused on his surroundings. His fear had become a reality. He wasn't in 12,000 BC, his desired location in time, but in 600 AD, back in the Middle Ages. Sighing, he stood, and leaned against a nearby tree.
I can't even think straight. The world around me is like a giant blur. How am I supposed to get back to the Dark Ages if I ended up here?
Magus grunted, and felt his forehead. He noticed a slight warmth.
Fever. I need to get some rest… to think about what I'll do tomorrow…
Magus stumbled as he tried to jump upward, shaking in the air as he gained height. He coasted toward the castle, as he tried to keep himself awake. His fatigue got to him eventually though, and even though he fought to stay awake, his eyelids fell, and he began to doze off in midair.
Unfortunately, Magus didn't realize that he was closer to his castle than he thought. He slammed headfirst into his castle, leaving a giant crack in the bricks where his head collided. His body fell to the ground with a loud thud, as the sprays of shattered brick fell upon his face while he lay unconscious.
* * *
Magus awoke in a daze. He could feel a strange sensation upon his forehead, as if someone had just hit him dead-on with an aluminum baseball bat. He wobbled around as he tried to regain his footing, finding a steady wall to lean against as he pulled himself upward.
"What a rush!" Magus groaned quietly, his head throbbing.
As Magus's vision corrected itself, he found that he couldn't recognize just where he was. As he leaned against the wall of the strange castle near him, he felt something under his cape that he couldn't quite recognize. Reaching under it, he pulled out a long wooden pole, with a strange curved blade at the end. It was a scythe.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!!!" Magus screamed, dropping the pole on the ground. He recoiled against the wall of the castle, bringing his cape around himself as protection from the strange instrument. Breathing heavily, he stared at it.
"My my my… what a funny incident." He said, as he realized that the object wasn't about to jump up and slash at him. He rested his hands on his non-existent hips, and felt the smooth leather that he wore on his body. As if acting upon instinct, he fabricated a large, full-length mirror that stood before him, and examined himself. He found that he was wearing a long, red cape, with purple pants, and brown leather armor.
"Normally, I like leather, but I wasn't expecting this!" Magus yelled in surprise, a strange femininity in his voice.
"These colors are so drab…" He said quietly. He recited a few words with a lisp-like tone, and watched as his entire wardrobe turned white. From his shoulders to his boots, his entire body was covered with white. White cape, white leather body suit, white armor, white boots, white gloves, white belt, all to match his white face. He stood, shining like a marble statue honoring a Roman God.
"Much better. Now what to do with these awful bags under my eyes… hmmm…" Magus suddenly turned his ear upward. "Voices! There must be a town around here!!!"
He flew upward into the sky, as he flew towards where the voices came from.
* * *
As he reached the town, he lowered himself near a small fountain that stood in the center of it. Wandering folks stopped their daily errands and stared at him. Many of them ran away in fear of losing their lives, knowing that Magus was cold-hearted and ruthless.
"I wonder what their problem was. Oh well!" Magus said cheerily. He sighed and walked into a local building, to try and get a bearing on his location. He unwittingly walked into a tavern, watching as the barkeep's eyes widened in fear.
"Excuse me, sir, but where is this?"
The man was baffled at the sight of the world's worst enemy wearing such strange clothing and acting so differently.
"Umm… uhh… M-M-M-Mah-guhs… Th-th-th this is S-S-San Duh-duh-duhrino T-Tavern… Here, have wa-wa-one on the house! Don't kill me!"
The tavern keeper handed Magus a large mug of ale.
"Nuh-uh, bar boy." Magus said, with a growing nasty attitude. "Raspberry daiquiris or pina coladas only. I'm on a fruit only diet. I looooove fruit! Oh, and what did you say my name was?"
The bartender stood backward and shut his eyes, waiting for the worst to come, but it didn't. When he opened his eyes, he saw Magus standing there, waiting for an answer.
"I said M-M-Magus, sir… don't hurt me!"
"Sir, I'm not looking to whip your particular behind, or at least not yet.
I just want you to get my name right. You can call me Janus. I come from
the Village."
"Whatever you say, sir!!!"
Magus smiled, and stretched his back. He noticed a small mirror on the wall, and examined his face. He shook out his long blue locks, running his fingers through them, feeling the softness of his well kept hair. With a sudden flash, a small rubber band appeared in his hand. In another swift motion, he tied his hair up on top of his head, the blue locks falling just below his shoulder.
"My me… I do need some cover up! Say, sir, do you know a place around
here that gives makeovers? Or anywhere that gives a good manicure?" Magus
asked the barkeeper.
"What?" Oh, no, sorry sir… I-"
"What? No manicures? What fun is this town? I'm like, gone, like ten minutes
ago!!!"
Magus stormed out of the tavern, noticing several bystanders trying to catch a glimpse of their enemy without getting hurt.
"Demons! You're all demons, denying me of the essences of Revlon!!! Go, go stare at something else, you annoying normal people!"
Suddenly, without warning, a young girl unknowing of Magus and the past war ran to try and get by Magus on her way to see a friend. She tripped over a rock in the ground and fell just before Magus's feet. She started to cry uncontrollably as a large red cut appeared on her knee.
"Oh, don't cry dear…" Magus said, lowering himself to his knees. "It's
only a scrape. It'll heal up in a few days. Here you go!" he said, lifting
the girl from the ground.
"Thank you, sir." The girl said, rubbing the tears from her eyes.
Suddenly, the girl's mother ran and snatched the girl up in her arms.
"Don't you EVER go near that mean old man, you hear me? Don't you ever!"
"I'm not old…" Magus whispered, hurt. "I'm not old… I'm only 29…"
Magus sighed and started to leave the town. He could sense the eyes of the townspeople watching him as he walked away. He didn't understand just why the people were afraid of him. He hadn't a clue to his history.
"What have I ever done to them? How can people just go and judge me?"
Magus's pace quickened, until he started running, running to escape the eyes of the townspeople who were still staring at him. Whether it be a sixth sense or paranoia, Magus knew he had to get away, and he knew just where to run to.
* * *
Magus had taken flight to pass over the ocean. His short trip came to a halt as he descended upon the large black castle where he had awoken earlier. Magus had a strange feeling inside of him, as if this castle was his property.
"Well, if it's mine, it's mine…"
Magus eyed the strange exterior of the castle. It was dark and creepy, its tall black walls extending upward toward the sky. Menacing towers pointed even higher, casting a dangerous shadow on the ground. Hoisted in the center was a giant stone gargoyle, a last warning to any visitors not to bother the residents inside. All of this was within a large fort made of black bricks, with a black creaky gate leading the way inside.
"This will NEVER do! This has GOT to go."
With a flick of his ever powerful wrist, Magus removed any remnant of the fort or the gate. Grunting, he changed the entire exterior of the castle, changing it from a depressing black to a positively glowing white, made completely of white marble, with the occasional black streak. The caged openings that once served as windows for those that were being tortured were now adorned with clear glass panels. The holes themselves were made much larger, so the windows themselves would let in more sunlight. The peaks of each tower were red cones, to add a sense of color to the white situation.
"A name… a name… it needs a name…"
Magus posed thoughtfully for a second, until his face lit up.
"A name indeed!"
With yet another flash of his hands, Magus created a huge sign right above the wooden doorway that lit up as one walked by it. Each end of the large white sign had a giant speaker. He set it up with a motion detector so that when a person approached it, the lights would turn on and play a song. Smiling, Magus added the name to the large white block that was the main sign itself.
"Poyozo Palace. I love it!"
Magus blinked, and a giant gargoyle of a Poyozo appeared where the other had been before. A small Poyozo doll appeared in Magus's arms, playing a soft tune as he squeezed it.
"Now this is a wonderful place to live. If only there were others to share it with…"
Magus sighed, and walked toward the castle's doors. As expected, when Magus drew near, the sign went on, and started blasting the ending theme to Star Wars.
"Classical! I LOVE IT!"
The mage slowly walked inside of his shining new palace, anxiously awaiting the sight of his new domain. His jaw dropped in shock as he entered. The walls were dark and dusty jagged stone, with pointed edges all around. Rusty tools of alchemy sat on the wall. Worn down blades of iron hung by chains from the wall, next to scythes of the Reaper. Broken chairs with huge splinters sat near a table with uneven legs. The floor, which felt uneven and dirty, was almost nonexistent through the low mist that hung at his feet.
He stood there, horrified, unable to tear his eyes away from the horror of his new domain. He looked around frantically, his eyes growing wider and wider until he let out a shriek of terror and cried,
"WHO IS THIS PERSON'S DECORATOR??!?!?!?!?!"
He let out shrieks with all his fury, sending forth punches and kicks into empty air, each attack sending forth a burst of translucent energy that collided with the nearest walls. He became embodied with the soul of a great fighter as he grew fiercer, sending forth more and more bursts of energy. He started screaming, his eyes glowing wider and wider with anger, his arms moving so fast that even he couldn't see them. Finally, he fell, out of breath. As he looked upward, he saw that the entire interior of the castle had become translucent.
Smiling, he turned over to lie on his back. He watched as the translucence disappeared, leaving an array of white walled rooms and hallways. He could see immediately that the floor plan wasn't well laid out, that corridors and rooms were all jumbled.
"I was never good for design in that sense… decoration is my true forte…"
Magus giggled as he lay on the floor, creating the lighting of the castle, a bunch of fluorescent lamps attached to the ceiling. He placed the lights all throughout the castle, using only his mind. He felt as the last possible light and its switch was created, and let out a final sigh of fatigue.
Suddenly, from a distant staircase, three strange figures ran, angry and confused. One was large and green, another was tall and blue, and the third was white and short.
"You wretched fiend! I knew you would return here, you traitor!" Ozzie screeched.
"And you call yourself a leader to our people? Running off with the humans…
just wait until our community hears of this!" Slash yelled.
"Yeah! You suck!" Flea added.
Magus sat up and looked strangely at the three. He had a faint recognition of them, but he couldn't quite place where they were from.
"And you people might be… who?" Magus asked.
"Just who the hell do you think we are? Have you gone insane?" Ozzie yelled.
"You only have your entire history based around us, you twit!" Slash added.
"I kinda like his new style, guys. I think he found some real fashion sense
for a change." Flea said. His two cohorts stared at him confused.
"Hmm… yes, little bronze haired person… may I ask where you shop?"
Magus said.
"Oh, all over. We should go together some day." Flea said.
"WILL YOU TWO STOP FLIRTING?" Ozzie yelled.
"You people have no proper manners! Out! Out of my home! Do not even DARE
to darken this door again, you, you, evil people, you!" Magus screamed.
"We'll just go to my fort then." Ozzie said, snorting.
Magus stood and watched as the three left. As Flea made his exit, Magus whispered in his ear.
"Me and you. Shopping. Soon."
"Bring a ton of cash. We have plenty of ground to cover." Flea replied.
"Love the cape."
"Love the hair."
"FLEA!" Ozzie yelled, noticing that Flea had ceased to follow him. Flea promptly
left the castle.
Magus slammed the door behind them. He sighed with sadness for the three, and returned to decorating his home.
.