PART 1
As the morning sun rose, the Guardia castle cast a shadow across it's kingdom. A new,
peaceful day had begun. The skies were clear, the sun was shining, and waves crashed gently on
the shore.
Marle, who had been sitting on the beach for the past hour, was thinking of her future.
She thought of what her life was going to be like after marriage. Marriage with her true love,
Crono.
She looked back at the house. The house that her father built for her and Crono. The
gardeners were busily working in the yard, preparing it for the wedding. The place was beginning
to look very beautiful.
The future wasn't something that scared her. She had seen much of it already, but Crono,
Lucca, and her all agreed never to use Epoch to "see into the future." Therefore, they only
visited Robo on special occasions. Not as much as they visited Frog, even though changing the
past was equally dangerous. Changing the past is something that they're familiar with, though,
so it doesn't scare them as much.
Marle thought back to all the times her and her friends spent together. Lucca saving
Crono from prison, Ayla defeating the reptites, Robo saving his sister from the clutches of his
evil mother, and helping Frog finally find the Masamune, ending the quest Cyrus started. They
don't call Frog 'Glenn' much, even though that is his real name. 'Frog' developed into a
nick-name of sorts. Lucca was the only one who frequently called him Glenn. Everyone else just
thought that it was because she felt sorry for him. She had done tons of experiments on frogs
when she was growing up.
Just then there was a big explosion. Marle got up and looked around, fearing the worst
of her new house. It happened at Lucca's. She could tell by the smoke coming from behind her
house.
Marle decided to go see what happened. She got up from her spot on the sand, brushed
off her clothes, and headed to Lucca's. When she arrived she could smell burning rubber. As she
walked behind the house, she saw Lucca furiously working on a broken machine. She was covered
in grease.
"What happened?" Marle asked Lucca.
"My latest attempt to reopen the gates backfired," she said as she reached in her
toolbox not even bothering to look up.
Ever since the gates closed, Lucca had been working really hard to find a way to
reopen them. She just wanted to know what the 'entity,' that had opened the gates, had done.
There were so many mysteries left by their last adventure, all of them Lucca wanted to solve.
She worked day and night trying to reopen the gates, but she hadn't come close, yet.
"Lucca," Marle said, "you're going to work yourself into an early grave. Take it easy
for a couple of days."
"There's no time for laziness and gluttony when there's work to be done," said Lucca.
"Just don't miss my wedding because you are too busy working," Marle said as she turned
to leave.
"I wouldn't dream of it," Lucca added as she looked up from her work with a big smile on
her face.
Marle turned around and smiled back at Lucca. Lucca then continued her work as Marle
headed over to Crono's house. She had to help him move.
"You doing okay?" Crono's mom asked as she came up the stairs. Crono was packing his
stuff into boxes, which were strewn across the floor.
"Yes, mother," said Crono. His mom was such a worry wart. Watching her son pack was the
hardest thing she could watch, knowing that he won't be living under her roof anymore.
"Remember to pack everything you need," said his mom. "You don't want to have to come
back and get something if you forgot it. You'll want to have enough clean clothes. Don't forget
about books, you love books. If you forget them, what will you do on a rainy day?"
"Don't worry," said Crono as he grabbed his mother's shoulders, "I'll be okay."
"I know you will, but having you move out of my house after living here for 20years isvery hard on me."
"You'll be okay without me."
"What about your cats?" she asked. "Who will feed them and play with them?"
"They can stay here to keep you company. You did such a good job of feeding them while
I was gone, so they'll be fine when I move. Don't worry, they'll be okay without me."
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Coming," Crono's mother yelled downstairs. "Marle must be here," she said to Crono.
Then, she went downstairs to answer the door.
While Crono filled up one box, took an empty box, and began filling it with books, he
heard a blood-curdling scream. He quickly ran downstairs to find the door open and a figure in
a cape and hood silhouetted in the sunlight.
"If you want to see Marle and your mother again, come to the town square at midnight,"
said the figure. It's voice was dry and raspy and sent shivers down Crono's spine. Then it
added, "tell no one." With those words, it was gone.
PART2
Crono sat silently in his room, waiting for midnight to come. He had done as the
strange person asked and not told anyone. Not even Lucca. He didn't want to disturb her
research, anyway. Besides, he thought, he should be able to defeat this person. He had helped
defeat Lavos, and he does have very strong magical powers. With his powers and his strong
weapons and armor he should be able to defeat this new foe.
All these thoughts kept running through his mind, but it didn't relax him. He got up
and began pacing around the room.
"Maybe I should tell Lucca," Crono said to himself. "She would be a big help and her
brilliance could figure out a good plan. But if the person would find out, he would probably
hurt Marle and my mom. Why doesn't Marle help herself? She does have magical powers, like I
do. Maybe something extremely powerful captured her. What am I going to do?"
Then, he sat down and tried to calm himself.
"I'll find a way to get through this, I just know I will."
Crono got ready for midnight. He put on his Moon Armor, made sure he had his
strongest bracers on, and fastened his Rainbow Sword to his belt. He also made sure he
had enough tonics, elixirs, and potions with him in case something went seriously wrong.
As he packed the last potion in to the pouch on his belt, the clock in his room
struck midnight.
Crono ran downstairs and opened the door. Nobody seemed to be at the Town Square,
but he began to go their anyway.
As he walked to the Town Square, he remembered the Millennial Fair that was
held there a year and a half ago. He thought of the first time he fought Gato, Lucca's
battle robot, and when he first "ran into" Marle, or, as she is more royally named,
Princess Nadia.
Soon he reached the entrance to the Square. He slowly walked towards the
fountain.
As Crono was looking around to see if anyone was there, he heard a voice that
said, "So you came."
He couldn't tell where the voice was coming from, so he said, "Who are you and what
do you want?"
"Wouldn't you like to know..." said the voice.
Frustrated, Crono said, "Show yourself!" As he drew his sword the hooded figure
stepped out from behind the fountain. He still couldn't see his face.
"Show me your face or I will run this sword through you!" Crono shouted.
He was tired of all the mystery and just wanted Marle and his mom back.
"Very well," said the figure. He pulled of his hood.
"No! It can't be!" said Crono, more astonished than he had ever been. He just
couldn't believe who it was.
CHAPTER 3
"Magus?!" said Crono, not sure if what he saw was really true.
"Yes," he said, "it's me."
"I thought you changed! Why did you kidnap my mom and Marle?" Crono asked.
"It was just a joke. Don't worry," Magus explained, "they're both safe at home in their
beds now. They won't remember any of this when they wake up."
"You've always had a morbid sense-of-humor, but why kidnap Marle and my mom? You could
have just knocked on my door," said Crono, with a puzzled look on his face.
"Well, this way it was more fun getting your attention."
"I never could understand you..." he said as he put his sword back in its sheath. As he
sat on the ledge of the fountain, he asked, "Have you gotten any closer to finding Schala?"
Magus looked into Crono's eyes, then turned his back to him. "No," he said, "I still
haven't found any hint that she is still alive..." His voice trailed off as he looked up at the
stars.
"Did you go back to the village of the Earthbound?" Crono asked.
Magus turned around and looked at Crono. "Yes. I even talked to some people who used to
be Enlightened. No body has seen even a trace of Schala. They did find mother, though."
"They did?"
"Yeah," Magus said as he looked to the ground, "they found her dead. She had killed
herself. I guess when she returned to land and Lavos had finally left her mind she saw what she
did. She was horrified by the fact that she killed so many people and she ruined so many lives.
Someone saw her take out the knife and tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen. She
stabbed herself in the heart. They buried her on the north cape by the sea," Magus sighed and
sat down next to Crono. "They inscribed on her tombstone: 'Here lies the Queen of Zeal, the
woman who made people realize what is important in life.'"
After a couple seconds of staring into space, Crono said, "I thought Queen Zeal died
when we destroyed the Black Omen. How did she survive?"
"When we killed her," Magus explained, "we killed the Lavos part of her, not her.
When we destroyed Lavos he completely left her mind and she was free to be herself again.
"So, what's happened around here lately?" Magus asked Crono, trying to change the
subject.
"Well, not much," said Crono. "Marle and I are getting married and the King is building
a house for us."
"What's Lucca doing?"
"She's been working day and night trying to reopen the gates," Crono said, rolling
his eyes.
"Do you guys do any time traveling?" Magus asked.
"Not much. Only on rare occasions when we visit Frog, Robo, or Ayla."
"So, I guess Glenn is still a frog, then," said Magus, with a smile on his face.
"Yep," said Crono. There was a moment of silence until Crono looked at Magus and
asked, "How did you get back here if the gates closed?"
"Well," Magus explained, "I was stuck in the Earthbound Village with no way to get to
another time, when I remembered a spell I had learned as a child. It gave me a way to contact
Gasper at the End of Time. He said he could reopen a gate for a short amount of time,
allowing only one person through at a time. So, he used a pillar of light to open a gate and
helped me get here."
"I bet Lucca would really like some information on how to do that," said Crono,
smiling as he looked at Magus.
With a yawn, Crono turned to Magus and said, "I hate to cut the rest of our
conversation short, but I'd like to go home and get some sleep. You're welcome to stay at
my place tonight, if you need a place to sleep."
"That's okay," said Magus. "I'll hang around here for a while."
"Okay, goodbye then," said Crono, as he walked back to his house.
When he got there he found his mom sleeping safely in her bed. As he closed her door
he headed up to his own room to get some well needed sleep.
Crono slept soundly for a few hours until Magus burst into his room as the sun was
coming up.
"Crono, are you awake?" Magus asked, with an excited expression in his voice.
"Yeah, why?" asked Crono as he sat up.
"You'll never believe this, but the gates have reopened!"
"What?!" Crono said, he could hardly believe what he was hearing. "Did Gasper open
them, again?"
"I don't think so," Magus said. "When I was walking around the Town Square, I noticed
some light coming from where the Telepad used to be. I went to check it out and found that the
gate had reappeared. It's been open for about half an hour, a lot longer than Gasper could
hold one open."
"Well, I'll go get Lucca and Marle and we can go check it out," said Crono as he tied
his shoes. He didn't need to change, because he had fallen asleep in his clothes again.
Before Crono left the house, he left a note for his mom that said that he was going
for a walk with Lucca and Marle. He left the note on the table and they walked out of the
house.
When they got to Lucca's they found her working in the back, again. Crono wasn't
surprised.
"Hi, Lucca," Crono said.
Without looking up, Lucca said, "Hi, Crono." But when she looked up she couldn't
believe who she saw. "Magus! What are you doing here?"
"A gate has opened at the Town Square. Grab the Gate Key and I'll explain the rest to
you and Marle later," Magus said.
Without any hesitation, Lucca got up and ran inside to get the Gate Key. As soon as
she came back out they left to go to the castle to pick up Marle.
When they reached the castle doors, Crono said, "You guys wait out here. I don't think
the castle guards will let all three of us in."
"Okay," Lucca said, "but hurry. The gate could close at any time."
Crono opened the doors and let himself in. As he was walking up the steps, two guards
stopped him.
"Stop!" said one of the guards.
Crono stopped and turned around. "What?" he asked.
"Oh, it's only you," said the other guard. "There have been sightings of a mysterious
man lurking around the Town Square, so we can't be too careful about who enters the castle."
"I don't think you'll have to worry too much about him," said Crono. "I'm just here to
see Marle."
"Okay," said the first guard. "I'm not sure if she's up yet, but you can ask the
King."
Crono walked up the rest of the stairs and entered the throne room. The King was there,
sitting on the throne, and talking with the Chancellor. When Crono got closer to the King, he
got down on one knee.
"Rise, Crono," said the King. "You don't need to bow to me anymore, since you are my
future son-in-law."
As Crono rose, he said, "I'm just here to see Marle. Is she up yet?"
"You can go to her room and check. She shouldn't be sleeping still."
"Okay, have a nice day," said Crono as he walked up the steps to Marle's room.
When he got to her room, he gently knocked on the door. He waited and there was no
reply, so he knocked again, this time, a little louder. Still no response.
The third time he knocked, he said, "Marle, are you up?"
No more than two seconds later, he heard a scream coming from her room.
He burst in to see what the problem was, to find Marle sitting up in bed, breathing
heavily.
"What happened?" Crono asked.
"I had a nightmare," Marle responded. "I dreamed that you were killed in an earthquake."
"It's over now, so just relax," said Crono, trying to comfort her. "Now get dressed
and meet me at the castle gate. Something big is happening."
"What's taking so long?" Lucca asked Crono and Magus. She was tired of waiting for
Marle. "It's been 20 minutes! How much time does she need to change?"
"She IS a woman," said Crono, smiling at Lucca.
"I resent that!" Lucca said as she glared at Crono. "Not all women are like that!"
"Relax, I was just kidding."
"Well, I don't appreciate your sense-of-humor."
"Cool it down," said Magus as he stepped in between them. "Marle should be out in a
little bit."
Two seconds later, Marle walked out of the castle.
As soon as she spotted Magus, she said, "Magus! What are you doing here?"
"You should know..." Magus said under his breadth with a smirk on his face.
"There's no time for a conversation," Lucca said. "The gate may close at any time."
With those words, she started walking towards the Town Square.
"I'll explain it to you on the way there," said Crono.
When they reached the Town Square, the gate was still there.
"I wonder where it leads," said Marle.
"There's only one way to find out," said Lucca, holding up the Gate Key.
"But this gate could spit us out anywhere," Magus said.
"Where's your sense of adventure?" asked Crono, slapping Magus on the back. "Let's go!"
"Okay," said Lucca as she walked closer to the gate. When she got closer to the gate,
the edges of the Gate Key began to glow.
Beams of light shot out of the key and entered the gate. The beams began to stretch
the gate open more and more until the gate was open wide enough for everyone to enter.
One by one, they all stepped into the gate. Then Lucca, the last to enter, walked into
the gate, it closed behind her.
As they all flew through the familiar colors and shapes of time-travel, they all
couldn't help wondering where this gate would take them.
The anticipation for the end of the "ride" was killing them.
'I definitely missed this,' Crono thought to himself as he flew through the
time warp. He couldn't wait to see where he would end up.
The further he flew, the closer he got to the gate in front of him. He could
see it growing as he approached it. The doorway shined bright, so it was impossible
to tell what was on the other side.
Half a minute later, he was standing in front of the doorway with Marle and
Lucca behind him. Magus had already stepped through the gate.
When Crono stepped into the door, the white light engulfed him briefly until
he came out on the other side. He saw Magus standing on the edge of a cliff looking at
a waterfall and the stream below coming from it.
As Marle and Lucca stepped through the gate, Crono asked Magus, "Do you know
where we are?"
Magus turned around, looked at Crono, and said, "I think we're somewhere in
Truce Canyon. I'm pretty sure this is 600 AD."
"So," Lucca said, "the gate in Leene Square took us to the same time period
as the last gate did, but a different location."
"I don't think that we are very far away from the original gate," Magus added.
"I think the original location is just across that ledge." Magus pointed to a rock
ledge no more than 20 feet away from them.
"Well, let's get out of this canyon and go see what's going on with the rest of
this time period," Marle said.
Marle climbed off the edge using a rope ladder that had been hung there.
There were ladders all over the canyon left over from explorers that had been there.
As everyone followed her they climbed down many ledges before they reached the
base of the canyon. When they all stepped on to the path that led into Truce Village
they brushed themselves off. The climb down had been very dirty.
"Let's go to Truce and see if anything strange has been happening," Lucca
suggested.
They all agreed and began their walk into the village. As they walked, Marle
couldn't help looking all around her. It was so weird to see everything in her time
period as it was 400 years ago.
When they reached the edge of the village nothing looked out of the ordinary.
The townspeople busily moved from one house to the next. The streets were busy with
people who had something to do and were going to get it done.
As the group walked through town they couldn't help wondering why the gate
had opened to this time.
When they reached the edge of town someone yelled out, "Hey, Crono! Wait up!"
They all turned around to see who it was. They couldn't tell who it was in
the crowd of people in the streets.
Two seconds later, someone stepped out of the crowd of people.
"Hey, Crono!" said the person. They all recognized him at once. It was Toma
Levine, the explorer and adventurer. They were all still friends even though Crono
had beaten him to the Rainbow Shell and Moon Stone.
"What have you been up to lately?" Crono asked.
"Well," Toma said, "I'm trying to find another legendary treasure."
"What kind of treasure?" Marle asked.
"A giant stone made of mithril," Toma replied. "They call it the Dragon's Egg."
When Magus heard the word 'mithril,' his expression immediately changed. He
looked extremely shocked. "Where did you hear of this mithril stone?" he asked.
"It's been a legend around us treasure-hunters for some time now," Toma said.
"I'd like to stay and talk more, but I've got to go. I have a lead I need to follow."
"See ya," Marle said as she waved goodbye.
Toma waved back at them as he ran across the town.
Lucca, who had noticed the expression on Magus's face, asked him, "What's
going on with you?"
"It's just..." Magus said as his voice trailed off. His expression was still
the same. "The Kingdom of Zeal was the only place on the planet that had mithril.
It must have sunk to the bottom of the ocean when Zeal fell."
"Do you think some washed ashore?" Crono asked.
"I'm not sure," Magus replied, "but I'd like to find more about it."
"We'll ask around later. Right now we have to find more information about the
gates," Lucca said.
"Let's go to the castle and ask the King if he's noticed anything weird
happening," Marle suggested.
With that they all headed to Guardia Castle. On the way there they passed
a few merchants who were traveling from town to town trading their goods and equipment.
When they reached Guardia Forest, the woods that surrounded the castle,
they all stopped.
"The forest in this time is definitely much darker than the forest in our
time," said Marle.
"Well," Crono said, "you're just going to have to bear with it because it's
the only way into the castle."
They all went through the forest singe-file on a narrow path that led to the
castle gates. Half-way through, Marle thought she heard something and jumped,
accidentally knocking Magus and Lucca over.
When they made it through, Marle gave a sigh of relief.
Magus just looked at her and said, "You, the Princess of the Kingdom in
your time, who helped defeat the strongest and most deadly foe this world had ever
seen, are afraid of a dark forest?"
"I can't help it," Marle replied. "Dark places just creep me out."
Magus rolled his eyes, but Lucca grabbed his shoulder and said, "Just forget
about it."
They all walked up the steps and into the castle through the gates. The
guards stopped them, but when they saw Crono they let them go through. Then they
walked up the steps and into the Throne Room where King Guardia and Queen Leene sat
with the Chancellor standing by them and talking to them.
As soon as the King saw Crono he interrupted the Chancellor, stood, and
said, "Welcome, Crono, Lucca, and Marle! What brings you here and who is this man
your are with?"
Afraid to tell the King that this person was Magus, the one who previously
tried to destroy the kingdom, he just said, "This is Janus, a hometown friend."
"Nice to meet you, Janus," said the King.
"Pleased to meet you," said Magus as he bowed low to the King. He couldn't
help from smiling.
"The reason we're here is a long story, however," Lucca said.
"You can tell us during lunch," said the Queen as she stood. "I must
insist you accompany us to lunch. I can imagine that time-traveling takes a lot out
of you."
"Well..." said Lucca, wanting to explore this time period some more. She
still hadn't gotten any answers to her questions.
"I won't take no for an answer," said the King.
"Okay," Crono said, and they all went downstairs to the King's special table
in the kitchen's dining area.
While they ate, Crono told them about Lucca's experiments, Marle's and
his engagement, the appearance of the gate, and their discussion with Toma. He
made sure he left out enough information about Magus, so the King wouldn't figure
anything out.
After he finished his story the Queen said, "My, you've had quite an adventure
today!"
"It's also safe to say that it's far from over," Magus added.
He just didn't realize how right he was.
CHAPTER 6
"So," the King asked Marle, "how are things with your father?"
Marle, setting down her water glass, said, "Things are better than ever. My
father is even building a house for Chrono and I to live in after we get married."
"That's good," said the King. "By the way, did I mention that my wife is having
a baby?"
Everyone immediately looked at Queen Leene and Marle said, "You had better take
good care of that child since it is my ancestor."
All of the people sitting at the table laughed.
"Have you decided on a name, yet?" Lucca asked.
"Well," the Queen responded, "Ruskin if it's a boy and Elizabeth if it's a girl."
"Ruskin..." Marle muttered to herself. She knew that the child was going to be
a boy. The history records she had to study listed all past kings of Guardia and Ruskin
was the next King Guardia.
The meal was soon over and Crono said, "We had better get going."
"Are you going back to your time?" the Queen asked.
"No," Crono said, "I thought that we'd visit Frog before we leave. He might
have an idea on why the gate opened."
As everyone stood up, the King said, "Say 'hi' to Glenn for us."
"We will," Marle said. "See you later."
The four left the castle and headed south. Marle didn't cause any problems the
second time through the forest. They crossed Zenan Bridge and started towards Fiona's
house. They didn't see Robo working outside, but when they walked by the house Fiona ran
outside and said, "Hey, everyone!"
"Hi, Fiona," said Lucca. "Where's Robo?"
"Well," Fiona said, "Robo's joints were sticking so Marco's inside oiling him."
"Oh," Crono said. "Did Robo see us?"
"No, I don't think so," Fiona replied.
"Well, don't tell him we were here. Maybe it's best if Robo in this time doesn't
know what's going on, yet," Crono said.
"Okay," said Fiona with an unsure look on her face.
"We'd better get going," Marle said.
They all exchanged goodbyes with Fiona and walked towards the Cursed Woods.
When they walked by the place where the Sunken Desert used to be, the sand was pure white.
They decided to walk around the big patch of white sand in case they'd accidentally fall
into an old cavern underneath.
They eventually reached the Cursed Woods, but it wasn't as dark as it used to
be. They walked to the back of the clearing and knocked on the wooden ladder hidden
behind the bush.
"Frog, are you down there?" Crono asked.
Frog replied with, "Who doth knock upon thy ladder?"
"It's us, Glenn," Lucca shouted down the hole.
"Thou may enter," Frog said.
They all took turns climbing down the ladder. Magus was last.
When everyone reached the bottom of the ladder, Frog said, "Alas, 'tis Crono
and thine company!" When he looked at Magus, he lowered his voice and said, "'Tis also
thine foe of thy past."
"Relax, Frog," Marle said. "Magus is here to help us."
"The gates have reopened!" Lucca added.
"I shall prepare tea. Thou may speak of the whole tale then," Frog said.
When the tea was made, they all sat at his table and told him the story, making
sure not to miss any detail.
When they had finished, they also ran out of tea.
"Thine tale is shrouded in mystery, but why doth thou come here? What is thine
reason for reaching this era?" Frog asked.
"Well," Lucca explained, "the gate in Leene Square took us here, but to a
different part of the Truce Canyon."
"We thought you might know something," Crono added. "So, when we came to this
time, we came to look for you."
"Alas, I know not of what's going on," Frog said.
"Well," Marle said, "if you can't help, we might as well go home for the time
being. It's getting late."
"Yes," Frog said, "that may be best. Return to me if thou finds any more
information or if thou need-eth assistance."
"Sure," Crono said.
They all said their goodbyes and left.
As they were walking by Fiona's house, they were lucky that Robo was still
inside. When they walked by Dorino Village, the small village before Zenan Bridge,
a young woman ran up to them.
"You must be Crono," said the woman, there was a little panic in her voice.
"Do I know you?" Crono asked.
"You may not know me, but you know my brother," the woman said. "I'm Toma's
twin sister. My name is Terra."
"Nice to meet you," said Lucca. "How do you know us?"
"Well," Terra said, "Toma always talked to me about you guys. How you always
beat him to the treasures."
"What do you need to talk to us about?" Crono asked.
"I need your help," she replied. "I think by brother's in trouble. He left 4
hours ago to look for the Dragon's Egg and he hasn't returned since."
"So? Maybe he's following a good lead as to where it is," Marle suggested.
"I know, but I have a really bad feeling," Terra said. "We've always been able
to tell when the other was in trouble, and I'm getting that feeling again."
"So, what do you want us to do?" Crono asked.
"I want you to look for him and help him if he is in trouble," she replied.
"I don't know if we have time," said Magus.
"Well," Lucca said, turning to Magus, "if we investigate this more we might
find some information we need about the gates."
"Then it's settled," Crono said. "We'll go look for Toma."
"Where was he going when he left?" Marle asked.
"I know he went to Truce to follow a lead, but I think he was headed to the
old castle east of here," Terra said.
Everyone looked at Magus when he said, "My castle?!"
CHAPTER 7
As Crono, Marle, Lucca, and Magus emerged from Magic Cave they looked
up at the now vacant castle.
"Why do you think Toma came here?" Marle asked as she looked up at the
castle.
"I don't know, but whatever it is, I don't like it," Magus said.
They all walked up to the front doors and Magus opened them. Then, they
stepped into the main hall and walked up the steps to the door into the inner
part of the castle.
Magus looked around and said, "I haven't been in here for a while." It
was almost as if he missed the morbid place, but with Magus, who knows?
They all walked along the passages that led to Magus's inner chamber.
Each turn of a corridor led to a darker one and, eventually, Magus lit a torch
so they could see their way through.
When they reached the doors to Magus's inner chamber, they heard a noise
coming from inside.
"What is that?" Marle asked.
"I'm not sure," responded Lucca. "It sounds like static or something."
"Well," Crono said, "there's only one way to find out." He took a step
forward and pushed open the door.
Inside, they followed the fire pathway to the circle of fire, and, in
the center, there was a green gate. It was giving off a bright green light while
it was making the static noise they heard before.
"I wonder where it leads," Marle said.
"I think if we follow it we'll find Toma," Lucca said.
"Do we want to follow it?" Crono asked. "It could be very dangerous."
"Well," Magus said, "if we want any of our questions answered we're
going to have to explore it."
"Let's go then," Marle said. "We've never turned down an adventure
before and we won't do it now!"
Lucca held out the Gate Key and the gate stretched open. They took their
turns entering and soon they were flying through time to the other end of the gate.
They soon reached the doorway that led to the other side of the gate,
but instead of its normal bright white color it was glowing green. They took
turns stepping through and they soon had all passed through the doorway.
They all took a long look at the world on the other side of the gate.
There wasn't anything strange about it. The sun shone down from the blue sky
littered with clouds. The green grass swayed in the gentle breeze along with
the bushes, trees, and other plants. Birds flew through the air as a squirrel
ran up a tree. There was a small town off in the distance.
"So," Marle asked, "where do you think we are?"
"It kind of looks like our time period," Crono responded.
"Why don't we go check out that town over there?" Lucca said as she
pointed to the some town about a half of a mile away. "We may be able to find
more information about this time period and Toma."
They agreed and all began walking towards the town. The more they walked
through the new land the more they began to like it. It seemed very peaceful
and it looked to beautiful to ever have any wars. The town ahead of them was even
beautiful. It was very clean and all the buildings were white. Soon they were
close enough to see the people in the town. They were all dressed in either white
or purple or a combination of both. They all had smiles on their faces as they
talked with one another and headed from one building to the next. Crono and his
company eventually entered the town.
"Boy, this place looks really peaceful," Marle said as she walked with
the others through the town.
"Maybe we should find someone to help us and tell us where we are," Magus said.
"But wouldn't that sound weird?" Lucca asked. "Just walking up to
someone and asking, 'where are we?'"
"I know, but it couldn't hurt. We need as much information as possible," Crono
said.
They kept walking through the town looking for the right person to ask.
They wanted to find the right person for fear of there being some kind of panic
if everyone in town found out that they came from a different time period. Soon,
they came to a well and found a very young and beautiful woman drawing water from
it. Crono decided to talk to her.
"Excuse me," Crono said, tapping the young woman on the shoulder. She
turned around and faced him and he said, "This may sound weird, but what year is it?"
The woman stared at him blankly for a brief moment and then said, "Oh,
you must be the time-travelers that Toma was telling me about."
"Toma? Is he here?" Marle asked with a little confusion and surprise in
her voice.
"Come with me," the woman said to them. "You can come home with me and I'll
tell you more."
Everyone agreed and followed her to her house. She lived only a few houses
down from the well. When they entered the house they found Toma sitting at a table
with a young man and very old woman.
"Crono," Toma said, "you finally came!"
"Yeah..." Crono said as his voice trailed off. He was examining the house.
There was nothing strange about it. To the left of the table was a stove, icebox,
and counter, and to the right were stairs probably leading to upstairs bedrooms.
"I suppose introductions are in order," said the woman as she walked over
to the table. "My name is Akria, this is my brother, Nova, and this is my dear
old mother, Gaia."
They all shook hand with each other as Crono introduced himself and his
group, "My name is Crono, this is Lucca, this is Marle, and this is Magus."
"I know this may seem a little forward since we just met, but could you
tell us what year it is and what's going on?" Lucca asked Akria, then she added,
"I'm sure Toma has already told you our story."
"Indeed he has," Gaia said. "Come, sit at the table and I will tell you
the story of our world."
They all sat at the table and Akria poured them all a cup of tea. Everyone
was silent as Gaia began her story.
"Akria, Nova, and I all used to live in the Kingdom of Zeal. Back when
Lavos corrupted our old Queen, we didn't know what was going on. We Enlightened
Ones lived our lives peacefully in Zeal thinking of nothing but our happy lives.
"When the island began to fall, we finally realized what evil had been
controlling the Queen and our magic. It was Schala who saved us before the island
completely crumbled. She created this dimension and sent us here. Away from the
evil so we could live our lives peacefully.
"Only some of us can still use magic, myself and my children included.
We all use magic of the element Earth. It was with that magic which we could
construct this place to how beautiful it is now.
"We call this world Neo Zeal, because it is a recreation of the beauty
we used to live in. This town is called Serenity, it's neighboring city is called
Peace, and the capitol of this world is Harmony.
"We have no wars, no quarrels, and no fights, just peace."
There was a short pause before Marle asked, "Who is your Queen?"
"We are led by Queen Schala," Nova said.
Magus immediately sat straight up and shouted, "Schala is alive?!"
CHAPTER 8
"I have to go see her right now!" Magus said as he paced around the
room. "Where's her castle?"
"It's in Harmony, about five miles from here, but you won't find her
there," Nova said.
Magus immediately stopped, looked at Nova, and shouted, "Why not?"
Gaia looked over at Magus and said, "Relax. Queen Schala often goes
on trips across our world. She is currently on a trip and will be back soon.
You can remain here and stay with us until she comes back."
"How long will she be gone?" Magus asked.
Gaia responded, "Not long, her trips usually aren't very big."
Magus sat down, took a deep breath, and said, "What's she like now?
Has she changed much? Tell me everything about her."
Akria looked across the table and said, "She's very pretty and knows
how to take care of herself. She's also very nice and loves talking with her
people. I bet she's the same gentle person you used to know."
Magus didn't respond, he just sat there and stared at the table.
Lucca looked around the room at everyone and didn't want to break the
pleasant moment of silence, but said, "I hate to say this now, but we had better
get going. We've been gone from our time too long and people might be worrying."
"You're right," Toma said as he stood up. "My sister is probably having
a fit."
"So," Nova said, "you're all headed to the gate that leads back to
Magus's castle?"
"By the way," Marle said, "that reminds me, I have something to ask you.
Do you know how the gate got there?"
"I put it there," Gaia said. "Schala wants those with magic to try to
create gates to other times so she can travel to meet more people and find Janus,
or, as you call him, Magus. I wanted to try to find the biggest concentration of
magic, and Magus's castle was the biggest I could find."
"So," Magus said, "Schala was looking for me."
"Yes," said Akria, "and now that you're here, she won't have to look any more."
"We'd better get going," Crono said. "We'll come back in a couple day to
see how things are going."
As Crono, Lucca, Marle, and Toma walked out the door, they exchanged goodbyes
with everyone.
They continued out of the house to the gate. Soon they were coming out of
Magic Cave having just finished their journey from Neo Zeal.
Then, Toma turned to them and said, "Well, this is where I leave you. I'm
going south before I return home. Since I didn't find anything in Neo Zeal I have
to find other leads as to where the Dragon's Egg is."
"Okay," said Marle, "see you later."
Everyone else said their goodbyes to Toma and he left. Then they continued
on their way and soon they were in Leene Square.
"I'm going to go home," Lucca said. "You can take Marle home, Crono."
"Oh no," Crono said.
Marle asked, "What's the matter?"
"Well, you remember what happened the last time I had to escort her home
in this kind of situation."
"I don't think you will be arrested this time," Lucca said.
They all laughed then they left Leene Square. Lucca continued on home and
Crono and Marle left for Guardia Castle. When they reached the doors, a soldier
came out.
With panic in his voice, he said, "Princess Nadia! Thank goodness you're
home! We've been looking all over for you!"
"I've been on a little trip with Crono," Marle said. Then she asked, "What
happened?"
"It's your father," the soldier said.
"My father? What's wrong with him?"
"The doctors aren't sure what happened to him, but he's dying."
"Dying?!" shouted Marle, and with those words, she ran up to her father's room.
The doors to the King's bedroom creaked as they slowly opened. Marle
stepped inside to find her father, lying in bed, with the Chancellor standing next
to him.
When the King saw Marle, he said to the Chancellor, "Could you leave us
alone for a moment?" His voice was very soft since he was so weak.
"Yes sir," the Chancellor said solemnly as he left the room.
"Daddy..." Marle said as she approached her father, not sure what to say at
a time like this.
"Come, my daughter. Sit next to me," said the King.
Marle went and sat on a stool by her father's bedside. She grabbed her
father's hand and held it tight as she said, "Daddy, I...I..." She couldn't say
any more because she burst into tears.
The King patted Marle's hand to try to calm her down. "I remember sitting
by your mother's bedside in the same situation. You were so young, but you had so
much fun that everyone you knew was here. You kept saying, 'it's so fun having all
my favorite people here.' You didn't realize at what price it came. When you ran
into the room to give your mother a kiss, I know she went peacefully knowing that
you were so happy.
"She wrote a poem for you before she died. She told me that when you are
mature enough I should read it to you, and I would like to share it with you now:
My time grows short, I realize,
The end of me is near;
But all the time that I have left
I'll hold you close and dear.
I wish I had more time with you
To see your smiling face,
But I've been told and now I know
That heaven has my place.
Even though I'll leave this world,
We'll never be apart.
I won't be right in front of you,
But deep inside your heart.
This is how I'll remember you,
Your face shining like a pearl.
Know that I'll always love you
Because you're my little girl."
Marle tried drying her face with her hands, but there were so many tears
that such action was futile.
Trying not to sob too hard, Marle said, "What am I supposed to do without
you, daddy?"
The King lightly tightened his grip around his daughter's hand and said,
"I'm sure you will manage. You helped save time, which shows a lot about you.
You're a very strong person and I am very proud of you. Once you and Crono are
married you will be able to rule this kingdom together and I have a lot of faith
in you two."
"Daddy..." Marle said softly.
"Yes dear?"
"I love you."
"I love you, too, my dear Nadia." And with those words he turned his
head to the side and died.
CHAPTER 9
The next few days in the Guardia Kingdom were some of the darkest
they had ever seen. Everyone mourned the loss of possible one of the
greatest kings they had ever had.
Royal law said that the King's heir to the throne would be his
first-born son, but he didn't have any son. Royal law also stated that the
Chancellor would run the kingdom until the Princess was married. This hurried
the plans for Crono and Marle's wedding.
Marle emerged from the forest east of Guardia Castle, where the King
was buried just north of the Cathedral ruins. By her side was Crono. They
were both sharing an umbrella because it was raining.
It had been three days since the King's burial and four days since
his death.
"Crono?" Marle asked. Those were the first words spoken since they
entered the forest that day.
"Yes?" Crono responded gently.
Marle just stared blankly at the ground as she asked, "Where do we go
from here?"
Crono tightened his grip with the one arm he had around her and
responded, "What do you mean?"
Marle just continued her gaze at the ground as she said, "What are we
supposed to do? You haven't had any royal training and I don't think I'm ready
to become a queen. I just don't think either of us are ready to run an entire
kingdom."
Crono stepped in front of Marle and as his eyes met hers he said, "I'm
sure things will work out like they always have. If we have any problems I'm
sure the Chancellor can help us. He's worked with your father for many years,
and I'm sure he'll work well with us."
Then, Crono put is arms on Marle's shoulders and added, "Besides, we
can do anything when we're together."
They just stared into each other's eyes until Marle put her arms
around Crono. He held her in a warm embrace, and for that wonderful moment,
time stood still for the both of them.
It wasn't long before Marle and Crono were back in the castle. They
were cleaning out an empty room where Crono was going to live.
"It's a shame we can't live in that beautiful house by the sea," Marle
said as she finished dusting off a shelf in the corner.
Just finishing putting sheets on the new bed, Crono said, "I don't have
any complaints about living in a castle, though. We'll still get to have our
wedding there, at least."
"Maybe we should have Lucca and her family move into the house," Marle
said as she started unpacking things onto the shelf. She didn't get very far
because Lucca had ran into the room and interrupted their work.
"I need your help!" Lucca said. She seemed frantic.
Crono went over to Lucca, put his hand on her shoulder, and said, "Calm
down. Come sit down and tell us the whole story."
Lucca agreed, sat down on the bed, and took a deep breath. Crono and
Marle sat next to her as she said, "I decided to check up on Magus in Neo Zeal
myself since you two were busy with the death of the King. I took some readings
of the gate in Magus's castle and configured them to the Epoch. Now we can
easily access the dimension.
"Once I was done with the modification of the Epoch, I decided to
visit it. When I got there, I couldn't believe what I saw. The beautiful world
we once knew is now in turmoil. The skies are constantly dark and all the
plants and animals are dying. They are trying to survive off their magic,
but people are still getting sick.
"I asked Akria what happened. She said that once Schala returned,
Magus went to her castle. Ever since then, the castle has been sealed and
no one has gotten in. After that, that's when things began to go bad.
"Everyone is blaming Magus, except Akria, Nova, and Gaia. I don't
think its Magus, though. We all know that he's not evil at heart. I think
it's the person or being claiming to be Schala, or at least a different Schala
than we used to know."
"What do you think we should do?" Marle asked.
"I think we need to get Ayla, Robo, and Glenn," said Lucca. "We're
going to need all the help we can get. I can sense that this new foe of ours
is as strong or stronger than Lavos was."
Then Marle asked, "How are you going to fit everyone into the Epoch?"
"I modified the cockpit, so now it holds six people instead of three,"
Lucca responded.
"Let's go, then!" Crono said as he ran out the door. Marle and Lucca
followed him. When they ran through the throne room, the Chancellor stopped
them and asked where they were going.
"I have something important I need to take care of," Marle said. "I'm
sure you'll do just fine while we're gone." And with those words, they were
gone, leaving the Chancellor alone in the throne room.
They continued running through the forest and southeast to a small
bridge that led to an island where Lucca lived. When they reached her house,
they went to the side of it where the Epoch rested, covered by a large, white
sheet.
In haste, Lucca quickly pulled the sheet off of the time machine and
began to unlock the hatch that led to the cockpit.
Once it was open, she turned to Crono and asked, "Would you like to
pilot it?"
Without any hesitation, Crono responded, "I'd love to." He quickly
climbed into the pilot seat as Marle and Lucca climbed into two seats behind
him.
Once everyone was done buckling the safety straps on their seats,
Crono pulled the ignition lever. Soon, the Epoch's wings were spread and
they were flying through the air.
Crono flew around a bit before he asked, "Whom should we pick up first?"
Lucca quickly responded, "Glenn." Then she realized she shouldn't have
said that so zealously, because she was getting weird looks from Marle.
"Okay," Crono said as he set the time gauge to 600 AD, "hold on to
your seats."
Then, with the push of a button and in a flash of light, they were
gone, off on another adventure.
CHAPTER 10
"Glenn..." Lucca said as she lightly tapped on the ladder that descended
into his house.
"Alas! Visitors!" Frog said as he looked up from the hole above him.
"What brings thee to thine home?"
"We need your help, Frog," Marle said. "Quickly gather your equipment
and we'll fill you in on the way to pick up Ayla."
"Where there is trouble, there am I. One moment, we shall depart shortly,"
Frog said as he began to collect his equipment.
Soon the party was together and all six of them were on their way to Neo-Zeal.
"What are we going to do when we get there?" Robo asked. "Have you formulated
any strategy?"
"Well," Lucca responded, "first we are going to check with Akria and her
family to see if there are any new developments. Then, we are going to have to find
a way into Schala's castle. I have a feeling many questions will be answered there."
"Ayla mad," said the hyped cave-woman in the back. "We fight Schala, then
Ayla return to Kino."
Marle had to laugh. She had missed Ayla's colorful personality and strange
speech. Then she said, "Ayla, we all want to return to our families. Let's just think
that we're fighting for them."
"Ayla understand," said Ayla as she nodded.
"Are you guys ready for the time jump?" Crono asked as he began to set the
dials in the Epoch.
"Affirmative," replied Robo, "we're all strapped in back here!"
"Then everyone had better hang on because here we go!" Crono pushed the
warp button and soon they were gone.
As the Epoch kicked up dust on the surface of New-Zeal, Lucca noticed that
it had gotten darker. There was even a fierce storm brewing in the distance, off in
the direction of Schala's castle.
When they exited the Epoch they took a look around. The place had the aura
of a war-zone, except no battle had been taking place and there was no damage to
the surrounding area. They began their walk to Akria's house in Serenity as lighting
flashed in the distance. The only thing missing from the storm was rain, but everyone
knew that the tempest was not a result of nature.
When they reached Akria's house, Nova greeted them at the door.
"We've been expecting your return," he said as he turned.
Inside, Akria and Gaia were seated at the table. Nova went and sat down at
the far end as Crono and his group each took an empty seat in the room, some at the
table and others on the sofa.
"I see you've brought your company," said Gaia, seated to the left of Lucca.
"We want to help," Lucca said to Gaia. "We want to save your world and our
friend, Magus. Has anything else happened lately?"
Everyone turned to look at Akria as she said, "Thing have only gotten worse.
The skies are getting darker, the storm is brewing bigger, and our people are dieing.
We sent our strongest mages to try to break the seal on the castle, but they couldn't
do it. There was one key element missing from the spell."
"Mithril," added Gaia. "There was plenty of it in Zeal, but it would take
millions of years for it to form here. Some of us have little mithril trinkets from
our old world, but the mages need a large amount of it. The Pyramid of Light used
to hold a big chunk of mithril, which we called the 'Dragon's Egg,' but it fell into
the ocean along with the rest of Zeal."
"Crono," Marle asked, "wasn't that what Toma was searching for?"
"Yeah, I think so," Crono replied. "He may have found it already! I think
we should go to find him and see if he has it!"
As Lucca stood she said, "Glenn, Ayla, and Robo can stay here and protect
this house while Marle, Crono, and I go look for Toma. Besides, I think we'll
need the extra room in the cockpit of the Epoch."
"Than you must leave right now!" Nova said. "And hurry back as soon as
possible!"
With those words Marle, Lucca, and Crono hurried out of the house and
began running toward the Epoch. The wind howled more furious than ever before as
the bare trees flailed in the wind, trying to hold their ground.
As soon as they reached the Epoch, they unlocked it and hastily got in.
They all buckled their safety straps as Crono set the time gauges. When everything
was ready, Crono immediately ignited the Epoch and took off on their search to
find Toma.
CHAPTER 11
As soon as the Epoch stopped in the year 600 AD, they flew to Dorino,
where Toma's twin-sister, Terra, lived.
Crono landed the Epoch just outside the town and they all walked into
Dorino to try and find Terra. They also didn't know where she lived, so it made
it a greater task than it should have been.
From house to house they walked trying to find Terra. Almost twenty
minutes had passed before they finally decided to ask someone. They found a
middle-aged woman drawing water from the well, so they decided to ask her.
"Excuse me, miss?" said Marle as she approached the woman.
The woman looked up from her work, smiled, and asked, "Can I help you?"
"Yes, we're looking for someone named Terra Levine. Do you, perhaps, know
where we can find her?"
The woman just smiled even brighter at Marle and said, "Oh yes, Terra is very
popular here. She should be at home right now. Her house is the small cottage on the
northern outskirts of Dorino. You can't miss it."
"Thank you for your help," Marle said as she lightly bowed. "Have a nice day!"
"You, too," said the woman as she returned to her work.
The three then took off, hurriedly trying to find Terra's house. They went
directly north of town and soon found the small wooden cottage set apart from the
rest of the buildings. In a dash, they all hurried up to the front door and knocked.
"Terra are you home? We really need to talk to you!" Crono said as he banged
on the door. There was no answer.
They continued the noise until the familiar figure appeared from around the
corner of the house. Terra was dirty from the knees down. Apparently, she had been
in her garden.
"What's the matter, guys?" Terra asked as she slowly removed her soiled
gardening gloves.
"Have you heard from Toma lately? Has he found the Dragon's Egg?" Crono
asked, there was anticipation in his voice.
"Actually," Terra responded, "I've just recently received word from him.
He sent me a letter saying that he found the Dragon's Egg and that he's in his
workshop in Porre trying to unlock it from its glass case."
"Thank you," said Lucca. "We can't stay and talk much longer, but I promise
you will find out what's going on soon enough."
And soon after that, they were on their way, running back to the Epoch,
and shouting their goodbyes back to Terra.
As soon as they landed the Epoch, they got out and began the next step of
their wild goose-chase to find Toma. They probably should have asked Terra where
in Porre Toma lived, but they were in such a hurry that they forgot. Shortly
afterward, however, they found a small wooden house that stuck out like a sore thumb,
so they decided to investigate. Once they got closer they discovered a wooden sign
with 'Toma Levine' engraved on it.
"Toma, are you home?" Crono shouted as he knocked on the door.
It wasn't long before Toma answered, and as soon as he opened the door he
exclaimed, "I've found it!"
"We've heard," Lucca said. "Your sister told us when we were looking for you."
"You have been looking for me?" Toma asked.
"Yes," Crono replied, "we really need to talk to you."
"Come inside and you can tell me over a cup of tea," Toma said as he motioned
them to come inside.
They all followed him in and sat around a table as he poured them all a cup
of tea.
"I'm sorry, Toma, but we don't have time to talk," Crono said. "Neo Zeal is
in turmoil and we need the Dragon's Egg to set it straight."
"My treasure?" Toma asked. He was afraid they were going to take the treasure
he worked very hard to find.
"Yes, I'm sorry," Lucca added. "Magus and Schala are locked in the castle,
now. We think we can help save their world if we can just go inside and find out
what's going on. Their strongest mages have been trying to break the seal on the
castle, but they need a large amount of mithril for the spell to work. The Dragon's
Egg is the largest amount that we'll be able to find."
Toma just sat and thought long and hard about what Lucca had just told him.
Then, he stood up and said, "I suppose the people of Neo-Zeal need it more than I
do. Come, follow me and you can take it."
The three followed Toma through the door that led to his work area. There
were tools, books, and papers strewn about the room, but in the center, sitting alone
on the table, was the glass case that held the Dragon's Egg. The large chunk of
mithril was larger than they had expected it to be. It was almost two feet in length
and it was perfectly shaped like an egg.
"I still haven't gotten it open, yet. My guess is that it's magically sealed.
See this crest here?" said Toma as he pointed to a golden crest on the top of the case.
They all got closer to look and as Marle got within a foot away from the case
her pendant began to glow.
"Look, Marle, your pendant," said Lucca.
Marle looked down at her glowing pendant and said, "It must be reacting to the
crest. Than means this is definitely from Zeal."
"Use your pendant to open it," said Crono. "We must hurry back to Neo Zeal!"
Marle stepped closer and soon the crest was glowing the same blue color as
her pendant. Then the crest began to fade away and in a flash of light the whole glass
case was gone.
Crono then began to reach for the Dragon's Egg, but, before he could touch
it, it began to flash through the different colors of the rainbow. Soon the light was
blinding and there was a strong wind surrounding them. They all covered their faces
to shield themselves from the wind and light, but they could still feel the energy
coming from the piece of mithril.
"What's going on?" Toma shouted, trying to choke out words through the
fierce wind.
"I have no idea!" Crono eventually shouted out.
Lucca uncovered one eye to see if she could get any glimpse of what was
happening, and as soon as she opened her eye she saw the small wooden workshop
being torn apart in the wind.
"Everybody get down!" Lucca shouted. "This house is falling apart!"
As everyone was kneeling and crouching down on the floor they could feel
wood being strewn about in the air above them. The air was littered with small chunks
of wood, but none of the large beams seemed to fly in their direction.
The fury continued for about 15 seconds longer, then, just as suddenly as
is started, the wind, noise, and light stopped.
The group slowly stood up and uncovered their faces. What they saw they
weren't prepared for. The workshop was gone and there was nothing but bits of wood
spread out in every direction. Only one thing remained. It was the table in the
middle of the room that still held the Dragon's Egg, but the thing that scared
them the most was standing behind the table. And enormous, green dragon stood
over them, its eyes ablaze with the color red.
"I am the guardian of the Egg," boomed the creature. "Who dared to disturb
my slumber?"
CHAPTER 12
"What's going on?" Marle asked, not removing her fixated gaze from the
dragon's glowing eyes.
"Will the one who broke the magical seal please step forward?" asked the
dragon. It's voice rattled the remaining base of the workshop.
Marle took a small step forward and shakily said, "I broke the seal."
"So, you are a descendant of the Kingdom of Zeal?" responded the dragon.
"I am," declared Marle.
"Now, one of you must prove your magical ability and power to gain true
possession of the Egg."
Crono took a bold step forward as he said, "I'm ready and willing. What
must I do?"
The dragon raised its head to the sky, spread its wings, and said, "You
must call forth your element! Call forth the power bestowed on you!"
As Crono raised his hands to the sky he closed his eyes and concentrated.
Soon his entire body began to glow green and he started to float in mid-air. He
continued his concentration as dark clouds gathered above him and a torment of wind
surrounded him. When he felt enough bower was summoned he opened his eyes and aimed
his hands at the dragon.
"I summon the power of lightning and thunder! Luminaire!" shouted Crono as
the sky began flashing. Soon bolts of lightning were attacking the dragon and a bubble
of light began to grow until the dragon was completely covered. There were three
bright flashes and soon the sky was clear and all that remained from the attack was
the dragon and the smoke from the brilliant bursts of electricity.
As Crono floated gently to the ground, the dragon said, "You have passed your
test. You may take the Egg."
The dragon then turned into a mass of light and entered the Dragon's Egg. It
glowed for a few seconds, then the light faded.
"I think it's safe to take the Egg," said Lucca after a few more seconds of
waiting for it to throw a few more unexpected surprises at them.
Marle stepped up to the table and examined the Dragon's Egg before picking it
up. As she held it in her arms she turned to the others and said, "This thing is a lot
lighter than I had expected."
"Let's hurry back to Neo Zeal!" Crono said. "We don't want to waste any more
time."
They all began walking hastily back to the Epoch, then Lucca turned back to
Toma and said, "Bye Toma, and thanks for everything! Sorry about your workshop!"
"Don't worry about it. Just be safe and make sure you tell me all about the
rest of your adventure," Toma shouted back.
They all waved and continued their journey to the Epoch. Soon they were
there and all strapped in, including the Dragon's Egg. Crono set the dials and soon
they were in Neo Zeal flying towards Serenity, where they were going to regroup with
the others.
Not trying to waste any time, they landed as close to Akria's house as they
could. When they finally entered her house Robo, Frog, and Ayla ran to them.
"Is that the Egg?" Robo asked as he pointed to the mithril that Marle was
holding.
Before anyone could answer, Gaia hurried over to Marle, took the Dragon's
Egg, and said, "It's been so long..."
Memories flooded back into Gaia's mind as she looked at a piece of her
past.
"You passed the test I assume?" she said as she ran her hand across the
black surface.
"I'm sorry to be rude, but we need to hurry. Time is wasting," Lucca said
gently.
"Of course," said Gaia as she handed the Dragon's Egg to Lucca.
"Do you know how to use this to open the castle?" Crono asked Gaia.
She replied, "There are Mages at the entrance of the castle that will be
able to help."
"Thank you," Marle said. "Now we must be going. All six of us should fit
in the Epoch if one of us holds the Egg."
"Let us depart, then," said Frog.
They all said their goodbyes to Akria, Nova, and Gaia as the three wished
them a safe adventure. Soon they were back in the Epoch with all six of them flying
to the Queen's castle in Harmony.
The storm would have been impossible to travel by air had it not been for
the Epoch's sleek design. It cut through the air like a warm knife in butter.
Once they saw the giant castle looming in front of them, they got out and
headed straight for the large, black double door entrance. As they ran they had to
cover their faces because of the fierce wind that howled around the castle.
Soon they found the four Mages that were trying to break the seal on the
castle. They were in a circle holding hands and each was glowing a different
color; red, blue, green, and yellow.
The group slowly approached the Mages.
Marle, who was holding the Dragon's Egg, said, "We have brought you a
sufficient amount of mithril for your spell."
The four Mages paid no attention. Each had their eyes closed and was
concentrating really hard on the spell.
"Maybe we should just put it in the middle of their circle," Lucca suggested.
So Marle stepped closer to the circle of Mages and placed the Dragon's Egg
on the ground. Then she pushed it so it rolled into the middle of the Mage's circle.
Once it reached the center, it began to glow purple and it stood on end. The Mages
also began to glow the same color as they started to float in the air with the Egg
spinning on its axis in the middle of them.
The doors to the castle began to glow the same purple shade as the Mages and
soon the Mages began to chant. The words were unlike anything they had heard before.
The chanting continued for a brief amount of time, and when it stopped,
the doors stopped glowing. The black color of the doors melted away to reveal a
rich, gold color. Then, the Mages and the Dragon's Egg floated gently to the ground
as the doors to the castle slowly sung open.
"Hurry!" said one of the Mages. "We can't hold the doors open much longer."
The group needed no further encouragement, so they all ran into the darkness
of the castle. Fear and suspense struck them as the castle doors closed, but they
all realized that they only had to face what they went there to do.
