The Folly of Magus

Disclaimer: All rights to the name "Chrono Trigger" belong solely to Square Enix. I neither own this franchise nor do I profit from the writing of this story.

Author's Note: Now that I think about it, the title is a bit misleading since there is really no folly on Magus' part. Well, it sounds cool I guess but I did think about changing the title. I haven't come up with anything so I'll let it be. Thanks to all those who have read and reviewed. Enjoy.

--

"Janus...."

"Who is that? Schala?" thought Janus as he tried to pry his tired eyes open.

"Janus...wake up dear."

Janus remained stubborn as he placed the cover over his head. He really wanted to sleep for a little bit longer. A soft, femine hand glided through his hair and he instinctively went over and took a hold of it.

"Stop it Schala. I'm not a little baby you know." said Janus in a huff though he really did like it when his sister attended to him like this. She was the only one who he cared about.

"Silly, your hair is all messy. Now get up and tidy yourself." said Schala.

"Oh alright then." grumbled Janus as he emerged from the covers.

He opened his eyes to find that his vision was blurred. Janus rubbed them furiously so that he could get his bearings before opening them once again to find his vision clear.

Again he felt those soft hands caress him but this time, instead of just stroking his long hair, he was drawn into an embrace. Janus blushed a bit when he came into contact with his sister's body as his head was on her bosom. He remained mute for a moment as confusion was beginning to set in. He knew that Schala was sweet and kind but rarely was she this openly affectionate.

"You know that I love you, don't you Janus?" asked Schala as she held Janus tighter to her body.

"O-Of course I know." stammered Janus a bit, his composure still a bit shaken from the proximity of his and his sister's body.

"Tell me that you love me." said Schala.

"Do I have to?" whined Janus.

"Of course! How would I know that you love me if you don't tell me?" replied Schala with a small giggle.

"Oh okay...I love you Schala." said Janus.

"I'm glad to hear that." replied Schala though her voice with traced with sorrow.

Janus looked up to look upon the face of his older sister. Her aquamarine hair cascaded down on the both of them . She held a smile on her face with teal colored eyes that sprinkled playfully. Yet beneath those playful orbs lay darkness. Janus could not understand it so he did what every child would do. He simply asked.

"Why, what's wrong Schala?" asked Janus.

"Janus...there is going to be a time when I'm no longer going to be around. I want you to be strong for me when that time comes." said Schala.

"Schala...what are you talking about?" asked Janus.

Schala looked down on her little brother and she felt terrible for having to say such things to him. While he was generally accustomed to more serious matters and was rather mature for his age, he was still only a child. She sighed softly to herself before continuing.

"What I'm saying Janus is that I am not always going to be there for you. I may die tomorrow so I wanted to tell you this before it is too late." replied Schala sadly.

"You're not going to die tomorrow nor ever. I'll make sure nothing happens to you." said Janus seriously as he placed his small hand on his sister's cheek. She smiled back at him, amused by his bold declaration but all the same she was touched as well.

"Thank you Janus." said Schala softly before tears started to roll down her face.

Janus, whose hand was on her cheek, felt the sudden moisture.

"Why are you crying Schala?" asked Janus.

"It is because you are such a good boy." replied Schala as she tried to gain control of her emotions lest she upset Janus anymore.

"I don't like it when you cry. I'll misbehave if it makes you stop crying." said Janus with a mischevious gleam in his eyes.

"Don't you get any ideas mister otherwise I will have to tell mother." replied Schala in mock anger though the change in mood made her feel better.

"That witch is not our mother." replied Janus coldly.

At once Schala got up in fury and slapped Janus hard across the face.

Janus was stunned as he felt the impact sting his cheek. He subconsciously went over and caressed his left cheek as, despite his best efforts, he began to sniffle.

"Schala...w-why did you h-hit me?" asked Janus, who feeling terribly crushed at the moment, began to sob quietly to himself. Never had he seen his sister so angry before, not even when Dalton would try to play touchy touchy with her when she didn't want to play.

"Oh my god! Janus I'm so sorry!" gasped Schala as she went over to Janus once more and started to rock his small body back and forth in her arms, cooing him quietly so that he would stop crying.

She could not believe what she had done. Never had she resorted to violence before now. She loved her mother, of course, and it always distressed her that Janus did not feel the same. She could understand why but if only he were to give their mother a chance then maybe he would know that she was a sweet and kind woman who loved her children dearly.

But that was no reason to just strike her younger brother like that.

"Janus I know why you feel the way you do but you should know that mother is not like that. Give her a chance. It hurts her when you ignore her the way you do." said Schala as she continued to rock Janus back and forth.

"T-Tell her to s-stop m-making you go to that h-horrible machine and m-make her say sorry." stammered Janus as he tried to compose himself.

"I can't do that. Mother needs someone there to power the Mammon Machine. It's my job." said Schala.

"T-Then I'll do it. A-Anything to make you stop hurting. I-If she lets me do that t-then I'll talk to her." replied Janus.

"Janus...."

For a while both brother and sister were together as Schala held Janus close to her arms. It was such a pity. She felt like her mother and Janus were getting further and further apart and she was stuck in the middle trying to hold them in place but herself getting torn apart in the process.

Soon, one of the Queen's attendants walked in on the siblings.

"My lady, the Queen requests your presence at once." said the attendant.

"I'll be there shortly." said Schala.

"Are you going back to that machine?" asked Janus with a hint of concern in his voice.

"Yes." replied Schala.

"Don't go, please!" pleaded Janus as he held his older sister tightly.

"I'm sorry Janus but I must." said Schala as she got up, releasing herself from Janus' grasp.

Yet, before she left, she pulled a small accessory that adorned the front of her robe. She went over to her younger brother and presented it to him.

"Here Janus this is for you." said Schala.

"What is it?" asked Janus who eyed the ornament curiously.

"If something were to ever happen to me Janus then I want you to keep this near you. It will protect you from harm. Keep it in memory of me so that you'll never forget." said Schala sadly.

"I'll never forget you, no matter what." said Janus as he received the amulet from his sister.

"Thank you...Janus." said Schala as she bent down to kiss her little brother on the head before everything went dark.

--

Magus woke with a start as sweat covered the entirety of his body despite the near freezing temperatures.

Taking a look around his surroundings he saw that he was in his hut and that it was dark already.

"What a strange dream." thought Magus as he lay there in the darkness.

He knew that it was a memory of long ago. He would have these often as a child when he stuck in some deep, dank dungeon and that he longed to back to Zeal and back to Schala and even back to his mother. As he grew, these memories and dreams became rarer and rarer until it got to the point to where he nearly forgot that he was once part of an enlightened race of people.

He felt something shift next to him and he turned and was nearly startled to find that Queen Zeal was sleeping right next him. Magus was confused for a moment but soon calmed down as he remembered why she was laying next to him.

Despite everything, he really did miss Schala. He cursed the fact that despite the second chance he was given to save her, even with all his powers, he had failed to do so. Perhaps Fate had already ordained that Schala's life would end at this time and that nothing, not even Lavos, could prevent that.

"Schala...."

Magus was suddenly surprised to hear that name being spoken. Knowing that the only other person with him was his mother, it surely had to be her.

Before he could do anything else, however, he felt a pair of arms grab hold of him as he felt himself getting pulled towards his mother's bosom. He felt her stroke his hair gently as she murmured in her sleep.

"Schala...please forgive me...."

"Looks like I'm not the only one who is haunted by ghosts of the past." thought Magus before the consuming warmth of his mother's body and soft heartbeat soon lulled him to sleep once more.

--

"This cannot have been your best effort Schala. I need you to be more serious than that or so heaven help me if this is the best you got." scowled Queen Zeal.

Schala was there on the Mammon Machine, continually powering it with her own mana and life force, using enchantations to hasten the process. Unfortunately, the effort was extremely taxing to her body.

"My lady, you cannot possibly have her continue. She will die if she continues to put more of her life force powering the Mammon Machine." said Melchoir, one of the Gurus.

It was a terrible mistake as the queen swung her arm over and blasted the Guru with a mighty gust of power. The old Guru was sent flying back as he fell to the ground harshly. The rest of the spectators, about three aristrocrats, the Gurus and, of course, Dalton, were there in a conference with the queen as Schala powered the Mammon Machine before them. They looked on at Melchoir and whispered amongst themselves. They were obviously frightened at their ruler.

"Silence! I will not tolerate your insolence. Speak one word out of line once more and you will find yourself dead regardless of your rank, Guru." spat Queen Zeal before she turned her attention to the small conference.

"What is the status of the Ocean Palace?" asked Queen Zeal.

"From our figures, the Ocean Palace is about twenty percent complete." said Belethsar.

"Only twenty percent? Were we not at fifteen a week ago?" asked Queen Zeal harshly.

"My apologies My Lady but the Earthbound are so weak, they'll die if we push them any harder." said Belthsar.

"What do I care if they die? Their lives are of no consequence." replied Queen Zeal.

"I understand My Lady but if they die then we cannot convince the other Earthbound to-"

"CONVINCE! I cannot believe you Belethsar! Use force if you have to. Make sure you use any method necessary to get enough labor to work on the Ocean Palace. Our immortality is dependent on the completion of the Ocean Palace." sneered Queen Zeal.

It was at this point that Dalton spoke.

"If you may, My Lady, I could possibly lead a squad of my men to make sure that we collect enough Earthbound for the construction of the Ocean Palace." said Dalton smugly.

"Very well Dalton. I give you leave to use whatever methods necessary to collect the labor we need to complete the Ocean Palace. You may take your leave." said Queen Zeal in an almost bored voice now as she waved him off lazily.

Dalton bowed low, his eyes gleaming as he now doubt had nothing but wicked intentions to inflict on the poor population that lived below the clouds. He soon got up and took his leave.

"My Lady, I don't think it is necessary for Dalton to-"

"You are wearing on my patience already Belethsar. Do you want to join your colleague in senselessness?" threatened Queen Zeal.

Belethsar soon backed down as he took his seat once more, knowing that to continue to argue to the queen would result in his undoing.

Queen Zeal soon took her attention away from Belethsar and turned it over to one of the aristocrats who happened to be an appointed offical of the queen to rule under a faraway province under her name.

"Aside from the Ocean Palace, I need to know what the situation is over at Province 5. I have heard that many rebels have openly dissented from me and I want to know what the situ-SCHALA!" roared Queen Zeal as she lost her train of thought as she saw her daughter go down to her knees in exhaustion.

At once Queen Zeal stood up from her vast thrown and strided over to where Schala was.

Schala looked up with nearly glazed eyes at her infuriated mother. She did not mean to go down like this but she was so exhausted. She felt that she would pass out at any moment.

"You worthless girl! Get up right now!" barked Queen Zeal as she stood over Schala.

"Mother...I-I can't. Please...let me rest but a while and I'll be sure to-"

Schala could not finish as she suddenly yelped in pain as she felt her mother grab her harshly by the hair and forcefully prop her up.

"Rest? You want to rest? You talentless wench! How dare you suggest such foolish thing? Time is of the essence. I cannot afford to have our plans for immortality thwarted because you are feeling lazy. Now get up!" commanded Queen Zeal as she propped her daughter up roughly by the hair.

Schala gritted her teeth to prevent from screaming out loud and tried to stand but her legs felt wobbly and she could not maintain balance as she fell to her knees once more.

Queen Zeal scowled in anger as she yanked her daughter up from the hair once more and proceeded to slap her harshly, knocking her back down to the ground again. She moved over to kick Schala harshly over the stomach, making Schala gasp loudly before coughing furiously. Queen Zeal then placed her foot over her daughter's head and proceeded to grind it on the ground.

The governors of the far away provinces and the Gurus could only watch helplessly as they saw their Queen torment her only daughter, standing over her and beating her down like a worthless dog.

"M-Mother...stop....please...." begged Schala as she curled in fetal position, her head still being grinded into the ground by her mother.

Queen Zeal proceeded to grab her daughter harshly by the hair with she pulled her up roughly until they were both about eye level.

"You listen to me. I want you to get up and continue, do you understand me Schala? If you don't then I'll banish the boy from the kingdom and have him thrown out into the wilds below the clouds." threatened Queen Zeal.

Schala's eyes widened.

"You wouldn't...he's your only son." said Schala softly.

"A talentless boy, even less talented than yourself. A shame he is to our family but I have kept him only because he amuses you. I give you that privilege. But if you do not do what I say then...."

Schala had no choice as she got up and tried to stay standing despite her exhaustion.

Queen Zeal then went over and grabbed Schala's jaw and yanked it towards her face until they were looking at each other once more.

"I hope you understand what is at stake here Schala. Now get to work." said Queen Zeal as she let go her daughter roughly and proceeded to make her way back to the throne.

Schala turned to continue her task at hand but as she walked towards the Mammon Machine, she could not help but feel much better, The pain in her stomach and her exhaustion seemed to have gone away to some extent.

It was then that Schala knew that her mother had been healing her the whole time she was in contact with her, quite possibly with a potent Aura spell as her mother was a water adept. Schala smiled to herself with this knowledge and got up, resolved more than ever to work towards her mother's ideal.

--

"Schala, are you feeling well?" asked Queen Zeal in concern as she held Schala close to her in her bed, stroking her daughter's aquamarine hair softly.

"I'm alright mother. The healing spell you casted on me gave me enough strength to continue." said Schala as she lay on her mother's body, her arms embracing the older woman.

Schala looked up to her mother and Queen Zeal could not help but wince at the sight of a growing bruise forming on her daughter's cheek. Her daughter smiled softly at her, as if telling her that everything was alright.

"Why does Janus not come to me? I summon him here every night and he refuses to come." said Queen Zeal sadly.

"I-I don't know mother. I have done my best but he still refuses to come." said Schala.

"Already he hates me. I see it in his eyes. His eyes hold nothing but resentment towards me. I go to him and he flinches. I touch him and he runs off. Perhaps I'm not fit to be a mother if all I do is either incite fear in one child and torment the other." said Queen Zeal bitterly.

"That's not true mother. I go to the Mammon Machine because I understand the circumstances. Janus is too young to understand now but I'm sure that once he is older he will realize this as well. Do not be so critical of yourself." said Schala in an effort to comfort her mother.

"I-I just wish that I could hold him in my arms, if only for a small while. Is that so much to ask? Maybe so considering my current ambitions. Schala...do you think what I'm doing is right? Is the price of immortality worth possibly losing both of my own children?" asked Queen Zeal sadly.

"Mother...I'm sure that Janus will come to you eventually. I'll see to that personally if I have to." said Schala in an effort to cheer her mother up.

"You are such a good girl. I'm so proud to have you as my daughter. If only you had a mother that would not make you suffer so-"

"Enough!" said Schala, interrupting her mother as Schala went forward and held her mother tightly, tears streaming down her eyes as she pulled her mother in.

"You are so strong mother, I envy you. To insure our absolute safety, even at the price of our affections you were still willing to do that. Even if you were suffering and we despised you with all our hearts and souls, still you would torment yourself for our safety. The pain I suffer at the Mammon Machine pales in comparison to the pain I KNOW you suffer from every day. But despite all that I still love you mother! I would never trade anyone else for you because I know that you love us with all your heart and soul and if it came down to it, you would lay down your own life for us. So please...stop tormenting yourself more than you have to. I love you and I know that one day Janus will come to you...I promise." said Schala as she now sobbed softly on her mother's shoulder.

"Schala...I-I...please forgive me Schala." begged Queen Zeal quietly as she began to weep as well.

"Mother...there is nothing to forgive. I love you and nothing will ever change that." said Schala as she then went forward and kissed her mother on the cheek.

"I love you too...Schala." replied Queen Zeal as darkness soon consumed them.

--

Queen Zeal awoke suddenly from the dream that she had just had. All around her she saw that it was nearly pitch black and she suddenly remembered that she was not at the palace in her chamber.

She felt a bit warm despite the chilly temperatures and she felt that someone was next to her.

Right next her was Magus, snuggled contently beneath her, his head just above where her bosom lay at.

For a moment, Queen Zeal was shocked that someone as cold and reserved as Magus would be so close and yearning for physical contact. Still, she knew that despite appearances that this cold hearted, harsh, frightening and even cruel man next to her was her only son, the supposedly talentless boy who grew up to be even more powerful than Schala and herself.

As she thought about this, she could not help but feel proud of him. If half of what he said was true, then Janus was far stronger than she gave him credit for. He would have made a good king for Zeal had their kingdom not gone down in disaster.

It was then that she suddenly remembered her dream and what Schala had told her in her bed chamber long ago.

I-I just wish that I could hold him in my arms....

I know that one day Janus will come to you...I promise.

It was then that Queen Zeal went forward and embraced her son, bringing him in closer as she stroked his hair.

It had been a long wait and perhaps he wasn't the little boy that she knew and loved but that didn't change the fact that the man she was now holding was still her son and now, she fulfilled the wish she had yearned for all that time ago.

That she could hold Janus in her arms and show him that she did love him...more than anyone else...even more so than Schala.

"...Schala I love you." murmured Magus in his sleep as he returned the embrace subconsciously and held Queen Zeal tightly to his body.

"Janus...I hope that one day you can say that you love me too." said Queen Zeal sadly before she soon nodded off and fell asleep once more.

--

Author's Note: I hope I did not make this sound cheesy and too OOC but as I said, this is just my interpretation of how Queen Zeal acted and the justifications behind her actions. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed.