The Fire When it Comes - Part 21: What the Prophet Seeks – In which
Serge storms a final tower and a prophecy is fulfilled.
A
Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic
By
Deborah J. Brown
Chrono-Trigger &
Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft.
OUTSIDE OF TIME:
::NO! Go! Do not do this thing::
It was a voice only Janus could hear. The howling terror of Lavos, infected with life – Schala's life – and wanting to live. Her screams of hate and fury were mixed in that voice and the anguish it caused Janus nearly made him falter. The long millennia of interacting with this world had given Lavos an awareness, a sense of self. With that sense of self came the fear of dissolution. The fear of death and endings.
::Leave me be! I don't want to::
Somehow Janus forced himself to stay calm, to hold his purpose, focusing all his will upon the force that was the soul of Lavos. Lavos' soul and his sister's. ::You may not want it, but it is time, my sire,:: he thought back. ::This is not the place for you. Not the world for you.::
The awareness focused on Janus, its force almost more than he could bear. This, he realized, was what he was like to humans, a vision and knowledge far beyond anything a mortal mind was meant to bear. ::FOOL!:: it hissed at him. ::I could give you eternity! You are but a broken shard of my very Self and I could make you whole. Come back to me. Join with me. Become me. Together we shall merge with Time for all eternity and make it ours!:: Sensing weakness, Lavos continued. ::If you do this thing you will become as nothing, all your energy spent, thy powers no more than any mortal man::
The pressure was immense as Lavos made him see. Infinite possibilities, infinite power, infinite mastery. The temptation was equally infinite, nearly overpowering. Only one thing, or rather three, held him to his course. Memories coursed through him, flung at him through the wills of the three he'd absorbed and joined with.
::You were born among the Enlightened, the only one without power,:: Crono said softly. ::Your own kind feared you. Feared the knowledge in your eyes.::
::Only your sister cared. Only your sister mattered.:: Marle added. ::And Lavos took her away.::
::For that, you sought vengeance, not just upon the world but upon Lavos itself.:: Lucca told him. ::A vengeance you gained at last, though not in the way you'd hoped. A vengeance that had no savor, for the one who mattered most was lost.::
::You have transformed time and been transformed by it.::
::You have sundered time and been sundered by it.::
::You have sacrificed others and been sacrificed yourself.::
Janus shuddered under the force of their words, under the force of the memories they recalled. Then from elsewhere, another voice spoke, its tone both new and old. ::Thou art thyself and none other. Through fear and pain and loss ye hath fought. For thy sister, for me, and for the world. Thou hast been as a god. Wast all that in vain?::
::GLENN?::
::Here in this place, in this time, for this last battle:: He heard Serge chuckle softly, even as he fought to cast the next element in the sequence. ::Here I remember, here I understand. And here I both forgive and thank thee.::
Stunned to silence, Janus 'looked' up at Serge's face, saw the calm determination that had always been the heart of the knight, no matter what form he took. Serge continued, glancing his way, ::Do what must be done, as I do. Ist time to make an end.::
No more words were said, no more were needed. Janus turned his attention on Lavos, even Serge and his companions set the last note in the melody. ::All this I have done,:: he said, flinging his entire knowledge and memories at Lavos, forcing the giant back. ::All this and more. All to one purpose. All to this one thing.:: Throughout time, throughout all reality, he felt the force of the song, felt it echo across the void from the world of the dragons, felt other places and other times facing Lavos down in countless forms. All came together in this place outside time. ::The chick fears the cracking of the shell. The babe its moment of birth. The beast fears the opening of its cage. But now it is time for the prisoner to be freed.::
So saying, he caught the notes of the song and drew them into a single note of purest harmony. Six notes became one, a sound that pierced the bonds that held Lavos to time and Schala to Lavos. ::Go, my sire. Go in peace and be what you once were.::
In the silence that followed, the world seemed to shatter around them.
***
Serge Or am I Glenn? T'is so confusing shuddered, eyes flickering open as he stared up at the woman floating down towards him. A voice was speaking. Hers? Or His? It seemed like it was both, Schala and Janus' voices, melding into something very like a poem. "I have been waiting an eternity... just for this very moment... " Words that spoke of death and life, of pain and loss, but – more importantly – of hope. She reached out, moving towards him.
"Each life-form that attempts to eke out a decent life for itself forms a link in the golden chain that leads to the creation of a new universe. If one link is missing, there will be no future." She reached out, touched Serge's face, gazing into his eyes with perfect intensity, as if burning his features into her memory. "Eventually all dreams will return to Zurvan... to the sea of dreams... "
It was fading. All of it. They were returning to time and Serge sensed that the Flame was drawing the lines of the two worlds together, focusing them down into a single, cohesive, stream that nothing could ever again tear asunder. That the Flame – that Janus – was carefully picking and choosing what was best about each world, so that lives lost or injured in one line and not in the other might be whole once more. It would not be a paradise, but it would be better than it had been.
Schala stretched out her hand, aching sadness in her eyes. "I'll find ya... Sometime... somewhere... I'm bloody sure of it! No matter the time period, no matter the world ya live in, I'll find ya! I'm sure... I am sure I will..."
Serge reached down and slid the Flame free of its place among his elements, releasing it releasing him. ::Goodbye, my friend. Though I forgetteth thee, I think a part of me will remember you always:: As the world faded in around him he felt a wordless touch that said more than anything else. Then reality returned and memory left.
***
For the briefest moment, Janus paused to look at Guile, at the body that had once been his. He could feel that one's fear and understood it. ::No. You and I have parted ways. You have your life, as I will have my own. I do not begrudge you the flesh that I once wore. Go, live well, and have more fun with it than I did.::
Eyes not at all like his own had been gazed back at him, locked on his for that one moment. Then, with only the smallest of regrets, Janus sent Guile home.
At last, Serge and Guile sent on, he turned to face his sister.
***
In the silence of that place out of time, two beings gazed at each other. Schala, still confused and bewildered by all that had happened, her mind melding with Kid's and her memories of her long imprisonment fading to a peculiar kind of distance. They could not be truly forgotten, but their pain and sorrow could and had to be.
Still, there was plenty of pain and sorrow in this moment. Pain sorrow and a certain level of anger. The Flame. It was all that was left of Lavos and she knew enough of what it was to know it for a danger and risk, the more so because it seemed to have been behind all that had happened, manipulating matters towards this final moment. Her memories as Kid, her sense of the world's pain all tied up in this thing.
"You are angry with me."
It startled her. The voice, so filled with power and a kind of glory, also held a confused sadness, as if the speaker didn't understand why she was angry. And how could it? It's a part of Lavos. It can't comprehend human needs, human emotions. I know that from It. "So many lives," she said softly. "So many losses. Why did it have to be this way? All that for my freedom?"
"Everything I have done I have done for you." The voice surged with anger suddenly. "I have turned the world upside down, sacrificed life, friendship and time itself, all to this moment."
She looked at the thing, forced herself to look into myriad agonized and aching eyes. "I did not ask it of you. And I do not understand why."
Something was happening around the Flame. It was changing, reshaping, taking a human form. A man, tall, white haired, with ruby eyes and a face hard and self-contained, a face that had seen eternity and held its secrets. It was a familiar face, none the less, Lucca's friend "Could I leave you to languish within my Sire's grasp when I had the power to change it all?"
He stepped forward, and became younger, a man dressed in the robes of the Prophet who had so taken up her mother's attention in those days before the Fall. "Could I let time itself shatter into nothingness for the sake of keeping all from harm?"
Then another step and it was a youth in armor, dark magics flaring around him. A young man, tears pouring down an achingly sad face. Something about that face made her stare, a name on her lips. "Could I do anything but sacrifice myself and my only friends to this purpose? For this very moment?
At last, as he stood within her reach, a small, unhappy, child gazing up at her. She stared at him and understanding came. "You have been everything to me," the child's voice said. "Substitute mother, sister, friend. How could I do anything but give myself over to millennia of entrapment, millennia of bondage to our mother's madness?"
"JANUS!" Falling to her knees, she drew him to her.
***
Laying his head on Schala's shoulder, Janus wept. In all the many dragging aching years to this time he had shed few tears, holding back anger, pain and sadness in the interests of completing his goals. Now he simply let it go, let the tears flow, her arms around him as they used to be, when he had been a real child, when the nightmares had refused to let him sleep. When his fear had grown too great. For that moment, at least, there was comfort. In this place, outside of time, it could have gone on forever.
At last, however, something in his mind went, ::Ahem.::
::Not that we like interrupting such a sweet moment, but::
::Have you forgotten something?::
He jerked upright, body reverting to its natural form. "Janus? What is it? What's wrong?" Schala reached out, touched him. "Not not Lavos"
"No, I just" He laughed, a deep, rich laugh. "Come I'll show you!"
Shifting their location was easy. A moment later they hung over the continent of Guardia, the land still lifeless, uninhabited after the terrible night ten years earlier.
"Guardia Home" It was Schala's memories as Kid that spoke, and that was well enough. Her sorrow was a blade that cut at them both. "Why here? Why"
"Wait" Janus reached into himself, into that part of his Self that had so long contained the true Guardia. Now what to do with the fake? A thought occurred to him, the question of where Zenan had come from after all. As he slowly replaced the seeming with the reality, he sent the seeming backwards in time, providing material with which his earlier Self could build Zenan and the Archipelago.
He heard Schala's gasp of shock as the Castle wavered into sight, then Truce. Finally the people appeared, staring around in puzzlement far below them, for a moment before it had been night and they had been under attack. A final touch, not quite as easy because he had to create it out of scratch, and to the south of the continent a small building reshaped itself. Then, at last, he released his friends, placing them in Lucca's kitchen, the room he remembered best. ::You won't really remember this, except as a story told to another,:: he told them. ::But you'll remember it happened, at least.::
"JANUS!" Schala caught him as he started to fall. His energy was nearly gone. Only one thing was left to do.
***
Finding herself floating down towards the orphanage, Schala clutched the dimly flickering Flame to her. Her joy at seeing Guardia returned was nothing compared to her fear for her brother's life. Had he made the final sacrifice?
Something was happening to him. Even as they reached the ground the Flame was changing. First the child, then the mage, the prophet and – at last – the wanderer. His eyes opened, their color the old bright ruby she remembered so well. "It's all right," he said. "I'm sealed. No more Flame. No more time travel. I'm still not human, but"
"But we won't have to worry about anyone using you to destroy what you've done," Schala whispered. She stepped back, looking at the man her brother had become. He was taller than she, now, tall and "You could have put a bit more weight on those bones, though. You need to start eating better."
His laughter was cut short as three figures stepped out of the orphanage and Schala suddenly found herself surrounded. It was Lucca who embraced her, with a muttered, "We are going to have to talk about your behavior, young lady. Radical Dreamers indeed!" Then Crono and Marle were holding her tight as well.
"I've put the thought into the other kids' minds. They'll be here soon a few days at most." Janus said, voice weary. "And they'll be glad to see all of you."
Schala looked over Lucca's shoulder and smiled.
***
Watching the little group made Janus feel a little lonely, but he couldn't begrudge them the moment. He watched them, wondering if it was his turn to break up the sentimental moment, when Lucca turned and faced him.
"Janus." Her voice was flat as she put her arms akimbo.
"Uh Yeah?"
"I don't recall my laboratory being part of the things you saved." She stalked towards him.
"It er it wasn't?" He found himself being given that glare again and felt a bit like an errant schoolchild. Oddly it was a feeling he almost treasured.
"No. It wasn't. If you didn't save it, how come it's back?"
"I uh I remade it?" He glanced over at Crono, Marle and Schala, who were grinning and not being any help at all. "Is ahh is something wrong?"
Lucca reached him then. "Plenty. You have no idea what kind of equipment was in my lab. Half my things look like they've been through a fire and a flood. My poor Gato is wrecked!"
"I'd never seen them before that night I'm sorry I don't have the power left to fix"
"Well then you'll just have to stick around and help me clean up the normal way!"
"Uh all right If that's what you want"
Suddenly she grinned and flung her arms around the neck. After years of being a disembodied Flame, the motion put him off balance, knocking them both to the ground. "OW!" He glared at her. "Hey, what" Her lips effectively silenced his protests.
At last, he drew back and looked at her, ignoring the grins of their audience. "I dunno," he said. "Didn't you get your fill of me in Time's Heart?"
"I don't remember that, right? Or not well. So we're just going to have to get reacquainted."
Slowly, he smiled.
***
EPILOGUE:
END OF TIME:
Belthazar gazed into the time stream and
nodded to the others. "It's done. It's over. Against the odds, against all
logic, it's done. Lavos is sent back out of time. Schala is free and most
importantly, time is no longer headed towards the destruction of humanity."
"If anything," Gaspar murmured, "There seems to be more forms of humanity than ever before. Even, if you look far enough, ones with machine bodies."
"Which – for this line, at least – may be how it should be." Melchior glanced at the Dragon's timeline. "Just as, for them, it's best the other way. Both lines are secure and flowing smoothly towards their destination."
"Then I would say our job here is done. Would you agree, Spekkio?" The three turned to the Master of War, the ancient being who had watched and helped them in such enigmatic ways.
"Oh, yes, yes indeed." The big creature smiled. "Then it's back home for you?"
"If my brothers concur?" Belthazar looked at them. He was the only one truly from that other place and though they shared his memories he considered it possible they'd not want to go.
"Of course," Gaspar agreed. "There's a lot of work to be done. Our experiences would fill a book."
"And three pairs of hands will make the work much much lighter," Melchior added as the three Sages left the room and the world together.
***
Behind them, Spekio took one last long look into the timestream, wanting to see where everyone was and where they went. That was one of his failings, that need to know just a little bit more
In Guardia, King Crono and Queen Marle ruled as happily ever after as was possible for any kingdom. There were the usual squabbles, the usual droughts and floods and occasional fire just to make things interesting. But their reappearance in time had impressed Porre enough to convince that country that an alliance was better than war could ever be. When you know you blew a place to smithereens, only to have it come back, well and safe, ten years later, you learn caution.
Medina managed to regain its independence from Porre and its demi-human inhabitants began trading more seriously with the other kingdoms, and if there was not perfect harmony between all the races, neither was there all out war.
With Porre no longer interested in finding a mythological Flame, Termina was released back into the hands of Viper and his Dragoons. Dario married Riddel and retired from the Devas, and if Karsh still felt any jealousy over the matter, he hid it well. Dario was replaced by his little brother Glenn, who wielded his Einlanzers with deadly skill – though no one was quite sure how he'd come by two of them. Marcy too retired to live with her brother and father on Marbule, leaving an empty space in the Devas for a while.
Uninhabited, Terra Tower slowly disintegrated, leaving only tiny fragments of the ancient race. . Despite this, the one tiny dragon Serge had found in his travels, aided by Luccia's genetic skills, became the beginning of a new race of reptites, these more tolerant and better able to adapt to the rigors of a changing world. Taking Fort Dragonia as their home, the reptites simply became yet another of the many races of the world.
Marbule became a haven for demi-humans and – like Medina – soon became a source of fine goods and elements, as well as becoming a favorite vacation spot for people who liked good music and gambling, for the Zelbess and the Magical Dreamer's ships used Marbule as their home port, and Sneff and Guile – having joined forces – ran a popular magic show. If the Zelbess also acted as a patrol ship for Zenan's waters, so much the better.
Though he returned to Guardia to see his long lost big sister, Doc went back to Guldove, where his skill with medicine was still needed. The knowledge he'd gleaned from a book found in a now lost future time ensured that he was considered among the world's premier physicians.
Norris and Grobyc, formerly Eike and Reiken, returned to their homeland and joined Crono's guards, becoming the first members of an elite corps known affectionately as the Knights of the Frog. Grobyc especially found it useful to be close to big sister Lucca, who always had a can of oil and a spanner handy when he needed readjustment. Not to mention the occasional attitude adjustment when his fondness for being the best got out of hand.
As for Serge once a knight, always a knight, even if he didn't remember it. Leaving Arni for Termina with Leena and the Mastermune, he came to Viper's attention as a young man of talent. After a year of service in the Dragoons, he took the place vacated by Marcy as one of the Four Devas, a position he held for decades, until at age 45, when Viper died of old age, he was chosen as the General's replacement by the other three. It was a position he held with honor for the rest of his long life.
Schala traveled around the world as Guardia's ambassador, visiting her homeland, and her brother, as often as time would permit. This life, she knew, was not for her and Serge, though she also knew that one day, some day, she would find him. In the meantime, she had much to do for this world she loved. She did find time to hire an up and coming artist from Termina to paint herself and Janus, asking for one small copy to take with her on her travels.
As for Janus himself, well Lucca had plenty to do to keep him busy. "After all," she was known to say, "If you insist on leaving messes behind you, it's your job to clean them up." That he occasionally left them just to hear her say that was something neither admitted to. After all, when you've cleaned up a mess of epic proportions, scattered through time itself, making sure the towel rack is properly attached to the wall is practically a vacation.
Sighing, Spekio stepped back from the timestream. It would be easy to get lost in the myriad stories. Easy to try and follow every one. But he had a place to go home to and people to dream. "Guess it's time for me to leave, too," he commented, smiling to himself. "Back to the Sea. It's been a long time."
He reached up to the lamppost and switched off the light.
The End.
Author's Notes:
(SFX of a babbit dropping into an exhausted faint on the floor.) Well it's done and hopefully to everyone's satisfaction. I will admit to being a raging sentimentalist. There was no way I could have finished off Janus after all he'd been through.
The scene with Schala and the Flame. I freely admit to having stole Jereth's line from Labyrinth. (Nervous look through window for snow owl.) I couldn't see the restored Schala, who had no idea of what Janus had been through as the Flame, understanding his motives or even knowing he was her brother.
I don't know what became of the canonical Serge in the game, but it seemed to me that he wasn't the sort to sit on the dock and fish, whether or not he could remember his adventures with Kid. (And if they find each other in another set of lives, that's a different story.)
Anti LuMa fans out there are free to consider that Janus simply works with Lucca without actually becoming involved. Those who prefer things otherwise may see it that way too.
As for Spekkio I have a feeling he was there to try and help fix things. Sort of as a guide to the direction our heroes needed to take.
So I hope everybody had fun. I know I did.