FicWad

Sins of Our Fathers
Part 1, Chapter 2

When Magus woke the next morning, the sun was just above the horizon, reflecting brightly off the ocean water which gently rocked up and down the beach. He rose, brushing the send from his trousers as he did so. He then picked up his armor and strapped it on, picked up his scythe which he then clipped inside its holster on his armor, and finally put on his cloak.
Magus decided that he should scout around the area to make sure the monster hadn't found caught up to them. After about half an hour, Magus had scouted a good portion of the territory all around, but all he had managed to find out was that the sun rose very quickly this time of year. His nerves eased a bit, Magus returned where they had slept, well, for a little part of the night anyway.
After Flea was awake and ready, the two set off towards the Magic Cavern. It took the better part of the morning to get within eye view and the whole while they neither saw nor heard the monster. Magus relaxed a bit even though he was sure that his attack hadn't been enough to destroy the thing. The sun was high in the sky when they reached the entrance to the cave which Magus commented on before entering the cave;
"Midday." he said as he squinted into the sun.
"Eh we can take our time Magus. After all..." Flea said as she entered the cave and trailed off as she went further in.
"It's not dead." Magus hissed in reply as he followed her in. When he entered the cave, Magus noticed that near the stairs lay a corpse, well, the bones anyway. Descending down the stairs Magus found the man's likely killers. Rats, there must have been at least fifty of them, but they stayed back in the dark, shivering scared over the man who came into their dwelling. He may not have been their lord anymore, but the rats knew well enough that he could still obliterate them on a whim. For that, he commended them; perhaps they weren't as stupid as he thought them to be. Then again, they were just standing there in a group, an easy target should he have got that whim.
Structurally the cave hadn't changed in the past few year from when he had last been in it. Then he wondered how it was that he did not pass through this place on his return trip from defeating Lavos. Now he remembered, the gate in the fairgrounds had taken him and placed him in the place where he had first left this time.
As he entered the next room, Magus saw Flea surrounded by a swarm of bats whose high pitch speaking flooded the room. Magus' eyebrow rose questioningly as he passed Flea who ignored him completely, focusing on the smaller Mystics' conversation. He shrugged and exited the cave, bat gossip bored him.
The first thing that Magus noticed was the flowing of magic within his blood; it had returned to normal. The cave had the effect of amplifying a user's magical ability, but he had been so deep in though that he hadn't noticed until exiting. Once outside he looked for a suitable resting place and found one beneath an old tree which gave just enough shade for him to stand in. So he learned his body against the tree and closed his eyes. His peace, however, was soon interrupted. Sensing a powerful magical force headed towards him.
Magus leapt and did a back flip, landing perfectly on the tip of the pine's treetop. Looking down, Magus saw what he had been expecting to see since they had first escaped the castle; it was the monster. The odd thing about it though, was that it just stood there, and it seemed to be...murmuring to itself.

"Kazar will get Its revenge." Kazar said.
"Yes yes I know, but let me talk to him once before you have your revenge." Slash said becoming a bit annoyed.
"Kazar will speak to it first."
"But..." a jolt of pain sliced through Slash's awareness. "Yeow! Okay okay you talk first!"
"It will get a chance when Kazar is satisfied."
"As long as I get a chance to gloat before Magus' tastes oblivion I'm satisfied."
"Magus? Janus." Kazar corrected sternly.
"Whatever."

Well it was time to do something; the unfortunate thing for Magus was that he wasn't quite sure what to do. Just as he prepared to do strike the monster tilted Its disfigured head up to look at Magus and it began to speak.
"Janus Zeal." the thing gurgled.
"How do you know that name? What are you?"
"It is Kazar. It knows your name because It is also of your time. It knows you because of Its newly consumed."
"Newly consumed?...Slash?" Magus frowned at the prospect of the monster being able to use Slash's knowledge and then he began to gawk as he saw the monster's ear and right arm. They were different...they were Slash's!"
"Indeed." the monster replied as it looked down for a moment then returning Its gaze to Magus. "Hello Magus, good to see you again...well not actually see, but sense...you know what I mean."
"Slash, I should have known you would cooperate with that...thing." Magus fumed.
"If it means destroying you of course I'll cooperate, I mean, I'm already gone to the outside world, why not send you to oblivion if I've got the chance?"
"Hmph. Even with that thing you're no match for me Slash." Magus replied snidely.
"Ha! Don't fool yourself Magus. You can sense Kazar's power just as well as It senses yours. We both know how this fight will end up. If you beg now I'm sure that I can convince Kazar to make your destruction quick."
"You may have been quick to be, but I am not a dog such as yourself!" Magus said. He could now practically feel Slash's anger within the thing that had called itself Kazar, but instead of hearing an outburst, Magus heard a cold, distant voice reply.
"It has agreed to help Kazar for a chance to destroy you, Janus Zeal, and for certain freedom of his and the being of the one he should own - Flea." Magus' anger boiled inside him, but he used the many years of self-control to restrain himself. "Kazar would see Janus Zeal destroyed for other reasons; Its' hunger and revenge."
Magus was struck by this. Ozzie had said that the thing consumed Mystics for their magic, so the fact that the thing wanted to eat him wasn't alarming but..."Revenge?" Magus said.
"Yes. Due to you being the only remainder of the Kingdom of Zeal and are related to Kazar's tormentor the King Zeal. You must be destroyed."
"We'll see who destroys whom." Magus hissed in reply.
The monster just lowered its gaze to the ground. "We shall." It said. Before Magus could move, a dark cloud poured out from the thing's body and formed a column that smashed into the mage, sending him flying. Magus landed with a thunderous boom as the tree he smashed against exploded from the force. He fell to the ground, air knocked out of his lungs, and gasped for air.
Another column came. This one he was ready for. Magus sprung over the incoming attack and gathered his magic. His hand began to crackle with yellow light and when his attack was ready he sent it towards Kazar. Three giant bolts of lightning sprung from his outstretched arm, but two of them were immediately deflected by the columns of black and sent hurtling into a few trees which exploded on contact. The third bolt looked to be directly on target...yes, it was! The bold struck the monster in the torso, blasting a hole in it the size of a small man's head.
The monster looked down at the hole and shrugged. What Magus saw next he knew couldn't be, but was there just the same; Slash's cockeyed grin.
Something snapped within Magus. Slash wasn't sure what but perhaps the grin was a bit much for the cornered Magus.
Magus' power shot up like a geyser, so quickly in fact that the landscape around him quivered. A simple spell couldn't cut it here, not now, not against this...thing. It was decided then. He needed to end this here and now and he was sure he knew how he would do it. Concentrating, Magus brought to memory the incantation of the dark magic, the only form of magic needing these types of chants.
"Ras dey na...-'Darkness calls'-...ein nora takashir...-'as mortals beckon'-..." Magus' body began to cover in a film of green magic as he closed his eyes. At the same time, Slash recognized what Magus was doing, although he had never heard the incantation before.
"Stop him!" Slash cried to Kazar. Kazar did not respond to Slash's command in speech, but instead sent the columns of darkness around Janus Zeal. It would soon be one with Kazar and his revenge complete. Kazar could not see Janus Zeal any longer as the darkness was too deep, but it could hear the strange noises coming from his mouth.
"...exis dominas zi jafana...-'though only I may command'-...al cerano des vante!-'the death it brings!"
Kazar was victorious! Perhaps Janus Zeal was not as strong as he believed and he would have to go back and consume the woman as well in order to satisfy his hunger. Just then Kazar heard a curious sound. A crackling coming from where Janus Zeal was, but that meant...
Kazar didn't have time to react. Where Janus Zeal was exploded in magical fury, a barrage of dark energy unleashed towards the being. The darkness Kazar controlled dissipated in the fury of Janus Zeal's attack and his body was sent flying. When the explosion ended, Kazar's body was left in a smoldering mass, and Kazar could not repair all the damaged parts. Leaving this flesh and blood was Its' only hope.
Magus approached the smoldering mass warily as he still sensed the thing called Kazar's presence. He was not afraid now, however, the darkness he had summoned upon himself had seen to that. He was now more powerful than anyone...anything that ever existed. He quickly shook that thought off, because thoughts like that could allow the darkness to take over. It was in desperation he had used this technique and he would purge that which was not wholly him when this thing was dead. He was now about five feet from the body when darkness began to spray from it like mist again. Surprised, he stepped back and waited warily. Then he picked up a telepathic voice coming from the darkness.
"My body may be useless but It is far from dead." the voice said as the last of the darkness emptied from the body. "And It has found a perfect replacement."
"Hmph. You're not nearly as powerful in that cloud Kazar. Not nearly enough to take me in this form."
"Janus Zeal presumes too much." the voice replied.
"Huh?" the darkness parted some, just enough for Magus to see what, or who rather, stood there. "Flea!"

*

The world was cold, he could feel nothing, but all of that changed when Magus saw the cloud of darkness known as Kazar part to show Its intended victim. Magus screamed for Flea to run, but instead she stood there, frozen in fear. There was nothing he could do except watch in horror as the thing rushed towards her. The darkness inside screamed for him to destroy Flea, she was dead anyway, but no, he couldn't. Maybe Ozzie could think of something, or perhaps even the Frog...
"NO!" the power raging throughout his body told him. "Once it had her she's dead." Magus was torn on what he should do, but before he could rend a decision it was too late.
Kazar bore down on Its target and surrounded it, then in meticulous fashion used its power to drain enough of the bodies energy to allow entry. The woman screamed, perfect, the cloud rushed in her open mouth, up her nose, anywhere that would allow entry to the body; cuts, other openings, anything. Kazar's victim fell to the ground, suffocating due to Its inhabiting her lungs. It was a gruesome, painful death for the body, suffocation not being the worst of it. He slowly began absorbing the woman's magic and her being, much like he had done with the last consumed, but from the inside was a much more painful takeover. As he took over the body and consciousness, the darkness that was It forced its way into her circulatory system and that which currently ran through it out the way he had come in. It had been centuries since he had last taken a fresh body, and Kazar had forgotten how exhilarating it was. When the takeover was complete, Kazar could still hear her screaming, but know the sound was coming from inside It.
"Flea I..." Kazar heard Slash say.
"You bastard!" she replied accompanied by what could be called a mental spit of sorts.
Kazar did not like this so he sent both entities a striking sensation of pain to shut them up. That settled, It decided to start Its operation of the body. Opening Its' eyes, the first thing It noticed was that Janus Zeal was gone. It shrugged, Janus Zeal would fall eventually, It had just seen to that.

Magus tore through the trees and within moments he reached the plains between the cave and Porre. He could go to the Frog's forest, but decided it would probably be best if he waited in Porre. Unlike the inhabitants of the forest, most of the citizens of Porre wouldn't be able to see through his disguise. Besides, he was confidant that the Frog, Ozzie, or even better both would be able to find him, hopefully before the monster did. Just then Magus heard, no felt, something cursing at him. A moment later he realized what it was. The magic he had summoned to help him earlier was still unhappy that he had decided to retreat and wait for help. Looking around, Magus decided that the monster was likely just discovering that he was gone, so it would probably be best to purge the power from his body now before it caused some serious problems.
Magus sat down on the ground and crossed his legs, taking up a meditation position that he had used for years. Once comfortable, he used his magic to levitate so that he was sitting to where he could probably stretch his legs out and not reach the ground. Again he made himself comfortable, discarding his thoughts and replacing them with magic which would act as a flush to his bodies' system. He could feel his own power clearing his body of the extra dark energy had summoned. Though he would likely need it again, it wasn't good for the body or the mind to have the darkness in him too long. If he wasn't careful he could end up like that thing he was fighting.
When the process was complete, Magus lowered himself to the ground and opened his eyes. He couldn't be entirely sure how long it had taken him to purge the darkness, but by the height of the sun it looked to have taken no more than two hours. Standing up, he stretched and decided that he should head to Porre now because if he delayed much longer it would be too late to get a room at the Inn.
It took the entire day and a better part of the night for Magus to get within a mile or so of the town. It was there that he paused to disguise himself. It was a simple magic spell which took what a normal person would see and transformed it, making it look as if Magus was just another poor traveler searching for fame and fortune. The most obvious change would be his clothes, changing from the armor, cloak, and other apparel he normally wore to a normal wool long sleeve shirt and wool breeches. Another key change would be him complexion and hair color which would both darken to be what was normal in Porre.
With the purging of his self completed, Magus decided that it would be best to go on foot instead of flying so he didn't blow his disguise. It had been ages since Magus had done any extensive walking, and the mile or so that he walked to reach Porre took its toll on the mage. Seeing a bench outside the local shop, Magus took the opportunity to sit. While sitting there the only sound that was to be heard was that of his attempt to catch his breath. There wasn't very much movement within the town, perhaps it was later than he thought it to be. After a few more minutes he had caught his breath and decided that it would be wise to get a room at the Inn and get a little rest. It had been a long day, and he was exhausted.
It didn't take long to reach Porre's only Inn. It was a two-story house that served as business and home to those who ran it, but there was never too many travelers this time of year so Magus had little worry that there would not be room. It was awfully late though, and it was possible that the innkeeper had shut down for the night.
Magus saw the door and approached it, walking up three wooden steps that creaked loudly as he walked up them. He reached out to knock on the door when it suddenly opened. Standing there was a short, middle-aged man who looked up at Magus in surprise. "Oh, hello there traveler," he said ushering Magus inside, "You're lucky, I was just closin' things down when I heard ya' come up the stairs."
At first this seemed a bit odd to Magus, but then he remembered that he wasn't using his ability to 'fly' in the town, and that the stairs out front had been rather noisy.
"A bit late for a traveler such as yerself to be comin' in isn't it?" the man inquired as he went behind the desk and withdrew the guest register from underneath the desk.
"Late start." Magus replied, "Out checking on a rumor in the mountains to the northeast." The innkeeper's eyebrow rose a touch as he opened the register to the correct page.
"Mountains eh? Made pretty good time then?"
Magus had to think about this question for a moment, taking into consideration that this man would be thinking of the time it would take to walk here. "Took me a good part of yesterday and today, being that I got a bit of a late start today." he replied. The man must've bought it because he nodded his head as he read the register.
"Well the single bed upstairs is open." the innkeeper said.
"Perfect, how much?" Magus replied as he reached for his wallet; a souvenir from his travels with the boy swordsman from the future.
"Sixty gold." the man replied as he turned the book towards Magus and retrieved a quill pen from the desk. Magus handed the money to the man who quickly counted it. Satisfied, he marked an "X" on one of the many lines within the book. "Sign here." he said. Magus took the pen from the man who them placed the sixty gold in a leather pouch and then turned the dial on a large safe behind the desk in which he placed the pouch. When the man came back Magus handed him the pen and book.
"Alright," the innkeeper paused as he looked at the register, "Jonas. Have a good night." Magus nodded and bade the innkeeper goodnight. Going up the stairs Magus noticed that there was only one of the three doors open, so Magus assumed that it must be his room. Walking to the open door which was between the other two, Magus looked inside to find that indeed it was his room.
Once inside, Magus closed the door and bolted it shut. He then lit the candle next to the bed and closed the shutters, expelling the moonlight and any possible nosy neighbors. Once he was settled in he let his disguise spell wear off as he began removing his armor. Once his armor was off he took his cloak and boots off, opting to wear his clothes while sleeping should he need to leave in a hurry. He then sank into bed, blowing out the candle as he closed his eyes and found sleep.

From what the being Slash told It, Kazar had chosen well. Not only did this body feel more comfortable than the last and add to Its' power even more, but it also could prove to be very useful in its revenge. Janus Zeal could only run from it, and Kazar knew that his prey could only run for so long before he fell into Its' grasp.
The being Slash was being very much useful to Kazar, letting It draw upon his power and skills while also giving Kazar directions through this unfamiliar land and to what Janus Zeal would likely do next. Of course, Slash had done this thinking that Kazar would release him, which in fact Kazar had no intention of doing. Actually, within a matter of days the being would be completely assimilated into the many souls that compromised Kazar's being, making the knowledge and skills of the being a part of It anyway, but Kazar found the being's cooperation ideal even though it really had no problems with waiting, after all it had waited centuries for Its chance to be free. Often times the fear and anticipation alone broke his prey's will, but Janus Zeal, he knew, would be different. That was why Kazar had been perhaps a little overanxious of late, trying to pressure his prey into a wrong move.
So far Its plan hadn't had much success. In the castle It had expected Janus Zeal to fight there, where it would weaken himself and perhaps try to run. Kazar would then have done this however many times necessary to weaken Its' prey enough to consume him. That had not worked however, so Slash had given Kazar information for Its' next plan. Its attempt at ambush had also failed because of Its' underestimating the powers of Janus Zeal. This series of events ended in the destruction of Its' old body and the acquisition of this one. Kazar could still taste the trail of Janus Zeal's aura though, and this time, Its' plan would not fail.

It was still pitch black when Magus was awakened by a series of three hard knocks on the boor. Growling in anger, he twisted so his legs hung off the bed and reapplied his disguise. Once that was done he brought out his scythe, which he held in his right hand so the door would block it from his visitor's view. Using his left hand he unlatched the door and pulled it open.
In the doorway stood the innkeeper, a bright candle in his right hand, the other hand behind his back. "Is there a problem?" Magus asked.
"J...Janus Zeal." the man said. Magus' eyes widened as he stepped back in surprise. The man dropped the candle, extinguishing it, and lunged at Magus. He was holding a long dagger in his left hand which explained why the hand was behind his back.
Magus caught the man's arm as it came in a deadly arc aimed for his chest and using the man's momentum, flipped and threw him to the ground. Magus considered killing the man but decided that it wouldn't be worth the time. Instead he pulled his boots and armor on and grabbed his cloak as he ran from the room.
The rest of the Inn was relatively dark, though a faint light crept in through a second story window in the lobby, which was more than enough light for Magus to see. Once he got to the middle of the lobby Magus paused to throw his cloak on. That done, he made his way to the door. As he reached for the bolt to unlock the door he heard something behind him. He jumped up and as he looked below he could see who he presumed to be the innkeeper's wife attempting to dislodge a butcher's knife from the door. Confused, he looked up again, and the windowsill became visible. Reaching out he grabbed the sill with his left hand. Using his right, which still held his scythe, he sheathed the weapon and then swung so that he could use it to also hold onto the sill. Pulling himself up, he looked at the window which appeared to be large enough for him to fit through, but there was only one way to be sure.
Magus let his arms extend until he was again hanging from the sill. Then, in one quick, fluid motion, he pulled himself up and through the window. In an explosion of glass and wood framing, Magus sailed outside. He flew face down and parallel for a moment before reflexes kicked in and he tucked his legs and shielded his head with his arms. He hit the ground with tremendous force and rolled a few feet before stopping. Stunned and sure he lay there for a moment but then pulled himself to his feet. He was cut and bruised, and sure he would feel a lot worse later, but he was alive, for the moment, and that's what mattered.
Shaking his head Magus wondered what could have gotten into those villagers. Shrugging, he began walking towards the other end of town, maybe he could find somewhere safe to sleep over in that area. After a few feet he stopped. Had the innkeeper called him Janus? He thought about this for a moment and shook his head. Yes, he was sure the man had stammered out "Janus Zeal" before attacking him. That wasn't good, that meant...
Magus thoughts were interrupted by an enormous explosion behind him. It seemed the entire Inn had just exploded! As he watched the giant fireball something bashed against his hair. Looking to the left where the contact originated Magus saw a man with a bow and quiver full of arrows. Had this entire town gone mad?
The thought hadn't even completely left his mind when at least a dozen more villagers came running towards him from the direction of the Inn. They were armed with apparently whatever was sharp and on the way out the door- knives, pitchforks; Magus even thought he saw a metal rake in there. And it wasn't just the men either, no, women and children rushed towards him with their fathers and husbands. Yes, this town had most definitely gone crazy.
Sighing inwardly, Magus decided that even though there were people attacking him, that it probably be good for public relations to massacre them. That said, he let this disguise spell wear off, because it seemed that the villagers knew who he was anyway.
The villagers weren't very far away now, and the archer to his left had yet another arrow strung. The man let the arrow fly and it seemed to be on target, but Magus lifted his hand towards the arrow which then burst into flames, disintegrating it almost instantly. The threat of the archer removed for at least a few moments. Magus began levitating and flew in the opposite direction of the mob of villagers.
Magus made his way quickly through the town, dodging arrows and just trying to stay in front of the villagers as he did so. Elation ran through his body as he saw the exit to the village, but the joy was short lived as a second mob of villagers swarmed to the exit, cutting off Magus' escape.
Magus cursed at his luck and at the damn villagers as they closed in around him. It seemed that he didn't have a choice but to fight.
"Janus Zeal." the mob chanted monotonously. Magus pulled out his scythe as the mob continued to get closer; they were now within a dozen feet of him. Gritting his teeth he looked around at the members of the mob. Their faces were blank as if they were sleeping, but their eyes were wide open and...
"All black," Magus whispered. Could that monster be controlling all of these people?
"You have escaped It for the last time." the mob chanted.
That answered that question anyway.
The mob was only about six feet away now, and Magus was still unsure of what tactics he should use in fighting these people. After a few seconds he formulated somewhat of a plan. Gathering some of his magic, he formed the spell in his mind.
"Fire two!" he said throwing his arms out towards the buildings on either side of him. A circle of fire shot from the ground underneath him, quickly expanding towards the villagers. Just as the flames were about to collide with the surrounding mob, Magus stopped the spell's progress, creating a wall of scorching flame between himself and his assailers.
The stunned mob stood in awe of the wall of flames for a few moments, but much to the shock and horror of Magus a few began to try and breach the flames. Those that did were consumed by the magic flames which crawled both on and through them, leaving only husks of burnt bone and flesh.
The flames began to slowly die down in spots due to the stacks of now dead villagers who didn't even seem to realize the consequences of their actions until they were already dead. At least a dozen of the villagers must have consumed by the flames, but the crowd seemed barely effected. Magus didn't even think that there was this many people in Porre, but apparently he was mistaken.
The air now was filled with ash and the revolting smell of burnt flesh, so much that Magus began to become sick to his stomach- and he was no stranger to death. He had fought a very bloody war with these people a little more than a year and a half ago, but had never encountered something so sickening. Clearing his mind of the smell in an attempt to keep himself from being sick, Magus heard the sound of metal clanking together. Then through the flames came two large, armored figures- Knights.
Magus cursed and for a moment wondered if the night could get any worse. He then cursed himself for thinking that, which always seemed to make things worse. On a good note, however, Magus could tell that the Knights were fairly new because of their rigid movements, something Magus would never had thought to see from any Guardian Knights. These two seemed as the type that would not be sidetracked by another delay like his fire wall. Saying such, he decided that it would be better for them to go than him.
That decided, Magus gathered his magic and focused it into the palm of his hand. "Lightning two!" he cried, releasing two large bolts of energy into the armored men. Immediately the one of the right fell and began to spasm due to the electric shock, but the other kept coming, unaware of the lightning or his companion's fate.
His armor must be protected.
The remaining knight slashed his sword at Magus who deflected the blow with the shaft of his scythe, but the force of the blow sent the mage reeling. He fell at the very edge of the fire, and Magus could feel the tip of his hair slightly singe. Shaking the fire out, he looked up to see the knight above him, readying his sword to attack. The knight stabbed down, and at the last second Magus rolled and instead of receiving a death blow to the heart the blade struck his left arm, removing a small chunk of it. Magus howled in agony and kicked the side of the Knight's left knee, causing it to buckle and the Knight to go down. Magus gripped his injured arm and stood. Even down the Knight attempted to attack Magus who snarled in contempt and took out his scythe with his uninjured are and brought it down on the man's unprotected throat as hard as he could. There was a gurgle from the man's throat as he suddenly went limp; dead.
The flames in front of him continued to die while those behind him effectively had him cornered. Magus began to worry about what would happen next. That monster seemed to be getting Its way. At this rate Magus would either be overrun or exhausted by the fight with these people that the thing would hardly have to work at consuming him.
As he was thinking, a great rumbling sounded in the distance. Great, now what? Magus looked around, trying to locate the source of the rumbling. Just then he saw what brought the noise; it was a wave the size of a small house. Magus watched as the flames behind him died and the mob on the other side of the new wall of steam were swept away. As the steam began to clear, Magus could see two small figures in the distance.
"Come, before thyself is killed." the frog had no idea how happy Magus was to see him, though Magus had no intention of telling him as much. Sheathing his scythe, Magus began to levitate and flew towards his saviors.