FicWad

Pain lanced through Crono's head as he hit the ground. Colors streaked to and fro throughout his mind, though he wasn't sure if that was due to the blow to the head he had just taken or if he was finally going nuts. Either way, he had to finish this. As he struggled to stand, Crono made a mental note to strangle Valence the next time he saw him. The sleazebag said he'd set Crono up with three easy ones, but he had forgot to mention that it would be three on one. Blood trickled down from a new cut over his right eye, but he wiped it away with a snarl as he heard sneers coming from outside of the fenced arena. They were real tough out there where he couldn't get them. But it was the three in here he should be worrying about, not the spectators.

Crono felt a hand grab his right shoulder and tug in an attempt to spin him around, but he held fast. Then, when the man was about to punch anyway, Crono ducked and came up with a quick uppercut that sent the man's head ripping back. Crono watched as the man's eyes rolled into the back of his head while he fell to the floor. Good; one down two to go. His victory was short lived however as the colors in his head spun forth again. He stumbled forward and gasped for air. When his vision cleared it saw the business end of a broomstick crack him in the nose.

By the sound of the impact and the amount of blood that now gushed from his nose, Crono was fairly certain that it was broken. The bastard would pay for that. He pushed himself to his feet and found the two remaining opponents. One was in the far right corner, knocking on the fence with that broomstick which made the crowd cheer even louder. The other man was about five feet away, bouncing back and forth between his right and left feet. Crono had met this kind of fighter before; if his memory served him correctly it was a style called 'boxing' and originated on one of the far continents. He grit his teeth together and snapped his head once to the right and once to the left; he had found that a little popping of the neck and other joints sometimes intimidated smaller fighters, and this man was by no means big, but damn he was fast. Just as Crono closed the distance the man let loose a barrage of punches that hit Crono in the stomach, kidneys, and face. Crono blocked out the punches and got as close as he could to the man; this was the most effective way to stop a 'boxer'. Once he was close he brought his right knee up into the man's gut and took the opportunity to tie up the man's hands with his own. Once he had the man in an arm lock he heard the crowd boom. He spun around and just as he had predicted, the man with the broomstick swung it as hard as he could, and as such he couldn't stop the blow from hitting his friend in time.

The stick splintered into pieces over his teammate's head, sending the man crumpling to the ground unconscious. There was a groan from the crowd as Crono grinned mercilessly and sprung into the air. As he jumped he pivoted his body and gave a full roundhouse kick to the man's left elbow. There was a snapping sound and the man screamed in pain as the arm broke; probably in multiple places. Well a break for a break, now it was time to end this. Just as he let loose the finishing blow the colors streaked through his head once again and once again he stumbled, but luckily enough the punch still landed, knocking the man out. The crowd was now silent as the bell to signify the end of the match was over, and people began groaning and filing out of the seats.

Crono smiled jubilantly for a moment before the world began to spin. Either he had lost more blood than he thought or those damn colors were affecting him more than he thought. His final thoughts before collapsing to the ground and meeting darkness were that he had best still get paid.

Out in the crowd sat a man apart from the rest, not cheering and shouting, not even with a pint of ale, but a lone spectator dressed in white. Many of the townsfolk had given the man troubling looks when they saw him, but when they saw the sword strapped to his back they just scurried on about their business. Janus had had a hard enough time finding directions to this place, and once he had received his information the little boy had scurried off with his gold without a moment's hesitation. Perhaps this place was worse than he had first believed.

Sighing, he reclined as much as was possible in the rickety chair and watched the fight. A normal person wouldn't be able to see the action that well from where he sat, but Janus would have to say that he was far from normal. He could see the four men's faces well enough, and it appeared that he could only recognize one of them. At least it wouldn't be hard telling which one was him. The barkeep had insisted that Janus wait until after the match to talk with Crono, and so here he sat.

For the first fifteen minutes or so everything seemed to be going okay; Crono toyed with the three men who tried vainly to land anything resembling an attack. The second fifteen, however, were a little different. Somehow one of the men had acquired a broomstick and was using it like a quarterstaff, a small, thin quarterstaff, but a quarterstaff nonetheless. The other two seemed to flip a switch inside themselves as they let loose a variety of single and double technique attacks and for awhile it seemed as if the three men would win. But when Crono went down after receiving a stout blow above his eyes from that staff the colors swirled within Janus' head and it was then that he knew that something had just happened. Now it seemed a switch was flipped inside of Crono as he rose and proceeded to knock out all three members of their little team in less than a few minutes. The colors swirled a few more times, but Janus had been ready for them, expecting them, and so they were fairly easy to push to the back of his mind.

When the fight was over and the crowd gone, Janus sighed as he began to stand. Just then the colors swirled harder than ever, sending Janus back down to the chair below. Out of the corner of his eye Janus saw Crono fall as well, but unfortunately he didn't have anything but his head to break the fall. Janus tried to stand once more as the colors subsided, but just as he heard shouts in the ring about passing out, Janus himself fell to the floor unconscious.

Light began to crack through the darkness after what seemed like only a few seconds. "There you are Crono; we were beginning to wonder if you'd fought your last match. Lucky for you this stranger had more than his fair share of tonic."

As his vision cleared he saw that standing over him was none other than Murray. Behind the bartender was the man that Murray referred to, or at least that's what Crono assumed as he was the only person here he didn't know. Rounding out the rest of the room was Valence; he was out from behind his desk a surprise indeed, and one of the barmaids that he had seen every once in awhile working in the back rooms.

Crono groaned as he reached up to rub his eyes with his right arm. It was then that he noticed that the shoulder no longer ailed him. His eyes opened immediately in surprise as he examined the arm. All the bruising was completely gone...how much tonic had the man given him? Murray began to laugh as he stood straight and moved away from the bed.

"I couldn't believe it either, but he says that he's got plenty."

"Which brings up an interesting business proposition." Valence said slyly as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Murray laughed while all Crono could do was roll his eyes.

"Oh Valence you're such a hawk." the woman scolded. "Now out with you, our new friend did have a need to speak to Crono."

"Oh? Yes, yes well then, off we go. Holler if you need anything." And with that they filed out of the room, starting with the barmaid and ending with Murray who grinned and winked at Crono as he closed the door behind him. Crono yawned as he sat up and stretched his arms towards the ceiling. He was wearing a new set of clothes similar to the ones he always wore, and the blood from his nose and the cut above his eye had been washed away, and it seemed the cut was gone entirely. Who was this guy? And how did he get his hands on so much tonic?

"Well then, I suppose you'll be wanting my name." the man said as he moved from his spot in the corner to a chair a few feet from the bed. "I am known as Janus, and I have...shall we say a business proposition for you."

Crono peaked an eyebrow. He didn't think he had ever remembered the man, but somehow the name rang a bell. Colors swirled through his head for a moment and as he winced, he could see the stranger noticeably sway. The man was dressed all in white, and he had a massive sword strapped to his back. The man's face was a mystery as he wore a metal mask that flickered with the candlelight.

"The colors can be quite bothersome can they not?" the man said with a quiet chuckle.

Crono again arched an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Yes I know about your malady, as I too am afflicted by it. I would explain, but I'm afraid I have very little to explain it myself. What I can tell you is that I have a once in a lifetime opportunity for you, one that you won't even consider passing up.

Crono smiled, and just how did this Janus know that? He swung his legs off the bed so that he now sat facing Janus.

"What if I told you I could help you fix your problems; your hunger, your pain, or better yet what if I told you that Lucca could be saved?"

Crono snorted and got up from the bed. Nothing could do what this man promised; evidently this man had drank much too much tonic in his days. As he turned to leave he could feel the man's eyes on him like two drills boring through the back of his skull. Then as Crono reached for the door handle, the man snorted.

"Fine, don't believe what I have to say, but I do believe I can do something else that may interest you in my proposition."

Crono turned his head towards the man, leaving his body directed towards the door. His expression was now glum and filled with doubt. This man had brought up old wounds with his talk of saving Lucca...wait a second, how did this man even know about Lucca? Crono supposed that a lot of people knew her, but Crono had spent nearly every waking moment with the girl, and he had never met this man before...had he?

Janus smiled and nodded as he watched this new Crono turn around. He could see from the puzzled look on Crono's face that he was more than interested, now it was just a matter of reeling in the prize. "Yes yes, I have something else that may interest you. How about this for starters?" As he finished talking he tossed a small bag to Crono.

Crono agilely caught the bag and arched an eyebrow. He then reached down and opened the bag. What sat inside made his eyes bulge because there, inside that small cloth bag, was more money than he had ever seen in his life.

"One hundred gold pieces." Janus said with a hint of amusement. "And that's a tenth what I can pay you."

Crono quickly closed the door and leaned against it. He looked inside the bag once more to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. Nope. There was definitely a lot of gold in that bag, but still...what exactly did this guy want him to do? He could just be some loon working for the Mystics...it was a definite possibility but Crono kept coming back to the money. He could quit fighting forever and never have to work for another second of his life with that kind of money...and if there was more...well, then this was a chance he would have to take. He drew the drawstring of the coin purse tight and stuck it inside his t-shirt so that it sat loosely between that and his long-sleeved tunic, both of which were tucked neatly into his trousers.

"So then, do we have a deal?" Janus asked.

Crono thought about for a second, but the slight jingle that occurred whenever he heaved a breath was the only thing that he needed to be convinced. He looked at the strange man called Janus and quickly nodded his hear. The man nodded knowingly and stood.

"I thought as much."

Janus led Crono towards the outskirts of town, and since they were going so near his house, Crono decided to make a pit stop. He didn't even have to tell Janus as much, because as they neared his house the man veered towards it, but was careful to stay away from the door and windows. Crono ran inside looking for his mother, but with her nowhere to be found he decided to hide the money under some overturned bowls in the bottom counter. He then scribbled out a note that he left in his mother's jacket detailing his purse and telling her that he'd be gone for a fair amount of time.

Once that was done Crono grabbed a few strips of the dried meat from one of the cupboards and shoved it into his jacket which he had taken back from Valence shortly before departing the arena. Mother could buy plenty more later, and besides, he was hungry. He bit into the first strip as he exited the house and met up with Janus who had begun to slowly wander towards the town exit.

Crono jogged even to the man and looked up to him curiously. It was funny, he hadn't noticed before that Janus was so tall, but now standing beside him Crono saw that the man was a good head and a half taller than he.

Janus looked down to Crono for a moment and then focused his gaze back on the road in front of them. "What we're looking for is in the forest where the old cathedral used to stand."

Crono arched an eyebrow for a moment and then shrugged it off. Evidently this man knew a lot more about ancient history than Crono; because there hadn't been a cathedral since, well...before the war, and that was four hundred and some odd years ago.

"Trust me, I know where to go."

Crono shrugged uncaringly. As long as the man was going to pay him he'd march to the ocean and back, hell, enough money and he'd march on the castle itself. After a few moments the two found themselves in the old battlefield where the skeletons of both Mystic and human still lay. Crono found it disgusting that the monsters hadn't cleaned the battlefield at all, and he also found it odd that the bodies hadn't decomposed; yet another mystifying lesson imparted to him by Lucca. He supposed it could have had something to do with the magic that was used in the battle, but he didn't know much about that. Magic, oh how he wished he had some of that, well, that and a good weapon. He had a good feeling that with those two things he could likely take on any monster that had the guts to challenge him, but those were children's dreams. All he could settle for now was killing one or two here and there and hoping that somehow they'd get the message. So far they hadn't, but he had quite a few years left in his life, and he planned to make every one count.

As they walked, Crono noticed that there were some buzzards flocked around something on a great slab of rock. Something fresh? Nothing in its right mind wandered out here alone...and not many dared to cross the place with someone, but Crono wasn't anybody, he was somebody, and until the breath left his dying lips he wouldn't fear anything.

That said, he was a bit curious so he ventured away from Janus who looked at him for a moment while continuing on. As Crono approached the birds they squawked and large, black feathered wings burst into flight. By the looks of what was left it looked to be some sort of human-esque Mystic. Most of the flesh had already been devoured by the birds, but what left Crono speechless was what lay on the ground a few feet away.

It was a beautiful katana with a gold lined hilt made of ivory and a blade that shone just as much as Janus peculiar mask. He knelt down and took the blade into his hands, examining it carefully. It hadn't been here long, but it seemed somehow that this sword was meant for him. It was then that he was once again blindsided by a bout of the colors that raced through his head. He lunged forward but caught himself by plunging the blade of the sword into the ground and grabbing onto the hilt.

"That can be quite bothersome can't it?" he heard Janus ask from behind him.

Crono nodded, that was quite possibly the most understated thing all year.

"From what I can tell they are memories of a sort; something imparted onto a select few by events determined in another time. But then again, many things can be taken from that." He said with a snort, as if making fun of his own interpretation. "As for the Mystic, it was one of the Slash line. He attacked me earlier today. Unfortunately for him he had no idea what he was getting himself into."

Crono pulled the sword out of the ground as he stood up straight. So what was he getting himself into being in cahoots with this Janus? Oh well, at least he knew the man could defend himself, and Crono was fairly certain with this new prize he could defeat most Mystics on this continent, with or without Janus' help. He looked over the blade once more as he held it and slowly turned his wrist back and forth. Crono then turned to notice that that birds had returned once again to their meal.

Grinning viciously, Crono approached the birds quietly and as they began to take off slashed down with the sword. The thing seemed to be an extension of himself, and he fluidly killed two of the birds in one stroke. Nodding his approval he went to the body to retrieve the sheath, however the stench was too much and he decided that carrying it would be for the better.

He looked around for a moment and found that Janus was now quite a ways a way. Out of the battlefield in fact. It took a few minutes, but by sprinting hard Crono was able to catch up to the man. So much for never running with knives; he snorted in amusement at the thought and slowed his pace to match Janus'. As he walked he tapped the blunt edge of the blade on the right side of his neck.

"Not too much longer and we'll be there."

Crono barely heard the man's words as he was in what Lucca had always called 'the zone'. He began to hum a soft melody that had heard somewhere so long ago that he couldn't even remember the name of the song.

Janus didn't look down to see his companion's response to his statement of their nearness to the gate, but when he heard the tune the man was whistling the toe of his boot caught the ground as the colors took him by surprise. Somehow he was able to salvage his consciousness and his footing, though not without receiving a curious look from Crono.

Janus inaudibly muttered a curse as he continued along, feeling a little foolish in not being ready for the barrage of colors. After a few seconds all was well again, but he made a mental note to ask Gaspar about the bizarre event while Crono received an eye-opening from Spekkio. His thoughts were interrupted when he ran into the back of a now still Crono.

"What the..." Janus trailed off as he straightened himself out. Crono just turned to him and arched an eyebrow as he motioned towards the forest with his free left arm. Janus adjusted his view to the forest and found that the trees were lined with a white sticky fluid that seemed to stretch from tree to tree in a shape resembling a net.

"Well then, it looks like someone's been here recently." He said sarcastically.

Crono shook his head in mock laughter.

Janus, however, was in no laughing mood. He had been hoping for a smooth trip the rest of the way, but unless they were unusually lucky he had a feeling he was going to meet the bug that made this web. Sighing, he reached into his cloak and pulled his scythe from its sheath. He noticed Crono's eyes widen for a moment and then he swore he saw the man grin before he turned towards the forest. He then started forward, using his sword to cut through the strings of fluid and make his way into the forest. Janus followed for a moment, but supposed he should exchange places since he knew where they should be heading.

It was fairly disturbing, the quietness of the forest. There hadn't been a lot of activity before, then again the forest hadn't been dark and full of weird netting either. They pressed on, Janus' bad feeling tossed into the wind, and for a while it seemed that they would make it to the gate. Just then there was a roar behind them and Janus could feel a presence moving quickly towards them. He could tell by the look on Crono's face that he felt it to, so Janus quickened the pace, but the closer to the gate they became, the more sticky the fluid became, and Janus realized that they would never make it in time.

"We'll have to make a stand." He said as he readied himself in a defensive position. He watched as Crono also took a defensive position with his sword loosely in front of him, held steady by both hands. There was yet another roar, and Janus was certain that he saw a shadowy figure closing on them, but as soon as he had seen it the thing had disappeared. For a few seconds there was silence before Janus realized what had really happened.

"It's above us!" he shouted as he dove forward into Crono. As he did so a fountain of the sticky goo showered down where they had been standing. One more moment and they would have surely been permanently immobilized. The two companions scrambled to their feet while they stared at the treetops above. Slowly they positioned themselves back to back as each slowly turned and scanned the area; up and down, left and right.

They came full circle before the beast appeared again, but this time it was on ground level, and it seemed to have something on its shoulder. "Illumina!" Janus said as he tapped the bottom of his scythe on the ground. A small ball of pure light then appeared and hovered over them as the creature came closer.

The thing seemed to be some sort of spider, though now it walked on only two legs while two held a figure perched on its massive shoulder and four more hung loosely. The monster's torso and legs were roughly covered in what seemed to be the remnants of clothing, but Janus discarded the things appearance rather quickly. What he wanted to know was who was sitting on the thing's shoulder. As he tried in vain to see through the odd darkness, the figure giggled.

"You want to see me do you? Okay then." The ball of light above them then flared to life; apparently this Mystic was some sort of a mage. When Janus saw the Mystic's face his heart sunk as he realized who this was...or rather, who they were descended of; Flea the magician.

"You're quite right, I am descended of Flea. I am Calisto, daughter of the ruler of this stinkhole."

"And what may I ask do you need of us?" Janus said in an attempt to fain innocence. Crono looked up to him in question for a moment but quickly realized Janus' intent.

"Oh you know exactly what I want." The Mystic said as she hopped down from her pet's shoulder. Her image then rippled and she seemed to be right in front of Crono caressing the side of his face. Janus closed his eyes and shook his head before opening them. So she was a psychic as well. That didn't bode well considering Crono had yet to see Spekkio and he himself was still recovering from his fight with the Slash earlier.

"Yes well, I'm not sure I'm in a position to give you what you want." Janus replied. "In fact, I'm still a bit unsure of why you'd want this human."

The girl giggled as she spun in a circle and walked back over to her pet who immediately picked her back up and set her on its shoulder. "Humans can be fun. I've had my eyes on this one for years as he wandered in and out of that old hermit's home for doctoring, and besides you killed my husband-to-be, so where does that leave a girl?"

Janus rolled his eyes. Great, so she was looking for love and revenge. As if dealing with a member of the Flea line wasn't enough. He wasn't sure how he knew that though. Could the colors be affecting him more than he could consciously feel? It was a definite possibility, though now wasn't the time to be pondering such things.

"Well then I suppose we should ask our friend here. Crono, would you like to go with this lovely specimen?" Janus asked sarcastically. As expected, Crono gave him an almost angry look before raising his weapon. "Hmm, he doesn't talk much, but I would assume that's a no."

Janus heard the female Mystic let loose a guttural growl from the bottom of her throat. "Fine, if he doesn't want me his fate can be the same as yours as you both feed my pet!" With that the form of the Mystic faded into the night, and Janus assumed that she had been merely an image all along. When she was gone the monster she left behind roared and reared back its three sets of arms.

Crono wasn't quite sure of what had just happened, but it was fairly obvious that it wasn't good. As soon as that creepy Mystic that had apparently been posing as the doctor's daughter faded away her pet monster roared and charged towards he and Janus. It was only then that he really realized what kind of monster this was. It was a spider, and though it walked on two feet normally, it now showed the ability to run very quickly on eight legs. The thing was massive, probably as tall as Crono even when it was on all eight legs, and its smelled of the sticky good that surrounded them on every side.

He jumped over the beast as it charged the first time, but using this tactic he was unable to land any sort of blow against the beast. Janus did the same, but it appeared to Crono that the man was just sizing up the monster; thinking about what to do. Crono decided that he didn't need to think; he needed to strike the monster before it struck him, and so he charged towards the spider.

Crono charged at the monster, which had yet to turn back around and lifted his katana so that the blade hung over his right shoulder. When he was close he slashed down diagonally through the spider's back left leg. The spider shrieked in pain and Crono readied a second strike, but before he could attack again the spider's left middle leg struck out and kicked him with enough force to send him into a net of the webbing about thirty feet away. Now wasn't this just great.

Janus watched as Crono streaked in front of him. He could have told him that wouldn't work. They needed to somehow kill the monster in one blow, and Janus thought he had an idea. The monster, however, had other plans as it charged towards Janus.

"Prism Wall!" he shouted, creating a barrier that rippled into a rainbow of colors when the spider rammed into it. That barrier wouldn't hold for long, but he figured it may just last long enough for him to cut Crono down. Janus reached Crono in time to cut his right arm free, but was forced to lead the spider away from his companion while he used his now free sword arm to cut himself down.

After bounding to and fro and around a variety of strings of goo the spider shot in his direction, Janus made his way back to a now free Crono. "I have a plan." He said as he threw up another Prism Wall. "I need you to cut the thing right where the webbing seems to be slowly oozing from the thing's abdomen. Janus hesitated for a moment before realizing that Crono had no idea what an abdomen on a spider was. "It's body!" he yelled as he jumped away to the right.

"Illumino!" Once again a bright light appeared above his scythe but this time he used the light to lure the bug away from Crono. The spider took the bait and followed, and Janus watched as Crono easily sliced into the spider's body, cutting right through the organ that created the webbing. The spider roared in agony and turned to Crono, but that was as far as it got.

"Power of the sun, heed my command, Sunflare!" With that magic fire came from nowhere and streaked down and around Janus' arm, shooting off towards the spider in a spiral of three pillars of bright orange flame. The flames impacted the spider in its new wound and just as Janus expected the raw materials of the webbing burst into flame, consuming the spider from the inside out. The spider shrieked in agony before finally collapsing to the ground.

"Let's go, before the rest of this webbing catches on fire!"

Crono looked around for a moment as if contemplating turning around, but he soon made his way around the burning carcass of the spider and began to follow Janus who had already begun cutting through the sticky webbing left between them and the gate.

The rest of the trip took longer than the battle with the spider as the webbing was so gooey and thick that it made it difficult to cut, and Janus could smell the burning of the webbing not too far behind, so when they finally reached the gate he was more than a little relieved. Slowly he approached the gate, but before activating it he turned to Crono.

"If you thought that was strange, you're going to love this."