Gaspar Chronicle I. The Empty Dimension

ZeaLitY

What was this feeling of disparity that suddenly arose inside the heart of the time traveler? Although he had just observed the destruction of years of intense labor and the death of a dream, he was physically fine; no harm had come to him, and the flashing blue aura in which he passed felt similar to a dip in the warm sea. He had left the destruction behind; strange sensations accompanied his journey, although the premonition of doom pressed on. The glowing portal that devoured him confused his senses; rational thought was not capable, leaving the man to simply enjoy the ride and pray for a safe landing. As his eyes dimmed, he caught little scenes passing by that were engraved in the throbbing auras; a child born; a knight struck down; a palace crumbling in hellfire. What gibberish was this? He could not make sense of it, even though the word 'time' appeared in his mind instantaneously; a fleeting thought that was soon relegated to the back depths of the mind. Ah, the smells of the world – grass, air, smoke – soon gathered around his nostrils; the sounds slowed until individually recognizable, and he once again felt the pressure of the atmosphere soothingly push on his body until equalized. His senses were returning, while a shining hole grew in size from the infinite curvature of space he directed his vision to.
The gate materialized, employing countless theories to be developed a few hundred years from the present, and instantly dispensing them to realize the once-thought of as impossible concept of time travel. A figure was fleshed out from the maw; slowly, his clothes took color, mirroring the life entering the man. As soon as it had opened, the gate retracted into the nether regions of space-time, leaving an elderly, exquisitely dressed man lying on the ground, unconscious and with his hands over his heart. Safe from the dangers of time travel, the uncomfortable feeling he had when the gate appeared lingered on within. Something was subtly different; although his lungs were in excellent condition and able to tackle any kind of polluted air (thanks to the high elevation at which they developed), a black presence came with every breath. Perhaps unfortunately, he would not retain his conscious state for a few days, and even such a small amount of time was vastly important in this line...

Two days passed.

Far away, and unspeakably higher, a couple among many rested at a table on which sat two cups of steaming coffee and a book entitled "Ripples on the Water: The Poetry of King Guardia X." Fashionable and 'new-age' according to their society's standards, the man and woman sipped from the coffee and gazed out of the window, revealing a stretching cityscape encased in a large glass dome. The view – as they would attest – was spectacular from the café high atop Medina Co.'s headquarters.
Compared to its surroundings, the book of verse seemed antiquated and dusty, although it was recently printed in AD 1996. The contents, however, were considered even more ancient, for the kings of Guardia had long since been relegated to the back pages of history books, buried by the achievements of Porre, which assigned itself the prominence of the name "Central Regime" soon after it began demanding tribute money and taxes in the late fourteenth century. Although the Guardian lineage somehow survived, living pathetically through the ages, the Central Regime maintained its intimidating over all states, including Medina. The man cracked open the book, sending the couple hundreds of years earlier.

"Mitsurugi," the woman asked. "Why such an old collection? I thought you hated that really early stuff.
"The Romantics were beginning to bloom then; it's interesting to see knightly principles evolve."
"Ah...well, you might as well read some of it to me. Hard to believe love existed at all back then..."
"But Fiona, the freezes were over. It was as spring..."
"Don't start, just read the book."
"Haha, all right. Hm... 'Eyes of Night." This one looks good."

On my way to the garden, a stroll in the cool eve,
I turned upward to sky, while thinking of thee,
And beheld: Thy eyes are like the boundless night;
Black, pure, untouched by rays of light,
And dashing in beauty. What glorious sight,
To awe at thy raven eyes in sleepless night.

"Rather amazing, isn't it Fiona? To think the people of Guardia enjoyed a spotless night of black sky. Nowadays, the auroras streak heavily."
"Yeah, I wish they could figure those out. The Central Regime should really fire a rocket up there or something; you know, try to break out of this world."
"Don't entertain such thoughts of heresy! You've heard the legends, and you know of the Helios incident. Anything that even touches the region a few miles above is instantly destroyed."
"Yeah, but it's...so boring to think we're confined to this crappy little place."
"Bah, don't sweat it. Speaking of which, the weather report is finally on."

Accidentally interrupting the broadcast of the weather, Mitsurugi soon quieted down and stared at the monitor over the bar.

"...And unfortunately for all you churchgoers, a series of lightning storms is forecasted tonight for the area between Shrine and San Dorino, which may force the Tour of Life to come to a screeching halt. Zenan Bridge looks to be in good condition; the sea is also quiet lately with a temporary decrease in vortex disturbances. On a side note, aurora activity will be hitting a peak tonight, and not surprisingly over the transport system between Shrine and San Dorino. Spectators are advised to stay away, due to the possibility of lightning. That's all for the weather; Fleador, back to you and the uproar concerning the Central Regime's new claims to area of sea circled almost completely by jagged rocks, whose tentative name is 'El Nido."

"Damn! More electric storms. When will it ever end?" Mitsurugi complained.
"Hey, don't worry about it. We should be able to take a ferry up to New Truce, anyway."
"Yeah, but I always like going through Desert Shrine, San Dorino, and over Zenan Bridge. Shrine is a fun little oasis in the middle of nowhere."
"Eh, forget it. You don't want to be caught in those storms; I heard yesterday that the Heckran Mountain Dome was without power for a long time. They seem to be increasing in strength."
"Bah. Well, I'll meet you in New Truce, but I'm going to take the mass transit system, regardless of any stupid lightning storm. I might even get to see the aurora."
"Hey, your choice. I'm going by sea. I think the Truce/Medina system is cutting prices anyway."
"Yeah, it's amazing they even exist. Mystics used to hate humans until the fifteen hundreds."
"Well, anyway, I'll seeya."
"Ok, have fun, and see you in Truce."

The two arose from the table and sauntered to the elevator, which promptly transferred them to the ground floor. From there, Fiona headed north to the ferry station, while Mitsurugi boarded the transit car leaving for eastern Zenan. A work of modern wonder, it had the capacity to stretch across the sea lying between Zenan and the continent of Medina, while seamlessly transporting passengers. Considered the long, scenic route from Medina to New Truce, it was nonetheless popular. The alternative, the Truce/Medina ferry, was born out of spite and greed, and these properties were inherent in its running. Nonetheless, these things did not bother Fiona, who happily boarded the nearest vessel, settled down in a comfortable chair, and began reading this month's copy of Tech Weekly. Looking up as the ferry began moving, she noticed a bulky humanoid robot make his way to the rear of the passenger area, and occupy two seats. Excited by the appearance of a piece of blooming technology, Fiona turned around and began conversing.

"Hey, shouldn't you be on some type of transport? You're a robot!" she exclaimed.
"Forgive me madam, but I am R-66Y, assigned to assist humans."
"Oh, so you're jumping right in to the human world! How nice. You headed to Truce too?"
"Yes, miss. My destination is the Arris Dome."
"Oh!"

The word instantly triggered caution. Although Guardia was formally defeated ca. AD 1005, loyalists continued to run an establishment where the castle once stood. Having survived through the ages, the current reincarnation of Guardia was the Arris Dome, funded by money from shipping. Although hardly the technological equivalent of the Central Regime's domes, the Arris Dome was a testament to human ingenuity and will to live. It was also rumored to hold a holy sword – called 'Masamune' – far underground; there was no validity to this, however, as the last recorded observation of the Masamune had been in AD 634 when an aging, odd knight blessed the fresh grave of the great explorer Toma.
She nodded and quickly turned back to her magazine, an observation duly noted by R-66Y. The ocean was unusually calm; lately, the intensifying storms had pushed large waves that threatened certain inland areas. The air ahead was dark; however, the magazine was much more interesting to contemplate. A new type of racer had been released, and competitions were already underway for prizes and product testing, since another corporation's line of tricycle robots were slated to reach higher speeds. It would be a heated battle, considering—Jolt! The ferry was rocked by turbulence. Frantic passengers rose and were knocked to the floor as a panicky voice blared over the intercom.

"Please, everyone remain calm. Due to sudden violent weather we are rerouting inland and shall reach San Dorino at 5pm. We apologize for any inconveniences; after the storm abates we shall resume our main course."

The ferry groaned as it struggled to turn inward amidst the tempest that had instantaneously formed. It was at once struck by lightning; fortunately, ferries had long become resistant. Fiona, grabbing her seat, refused to look outside into the storm; rather, she closed her eyes and waited for safety. Eventually, the ferry was able to reach San Dorino. Most passengers shouted loudly as they left the ferry, citing the system's unreliability and the oddity of the storm's condition. Fiona, still reeling from fear, was merely glad to be alive as she planned her next move, eventually settling upon waiting at the transit station for Mitsurugi. The wait would be numbingly long, however; thus, she decided to take a walk in the city's lovely expanse of park. Although it was mostly sunny in the old town, named after an ancient hero, the forecasted lightning storms hung in to the south over Shrine, while the disturbance that blew the ferry inward remained over the horizon of the sea. Fiona tried to push these out of her mind as she strolled through the verdant recreational greenery, taking interest instead in the many nature-lovers lying about the grass reading books or simply staring into the azure sky, tainted by light orange rays – the first sign of the impending sunset. Why then was the ground red in this spot – 'oh my – It is! An old man in ornate red clothing is passed out behind a tree over there!' Fiona hurried to the man's side, attempting to roll him over. With a large, unsettling groan, the old sage sat up, rubbing his head and opening his tired eyes.

"I say...where am I?" he mumbled.
"Sir, are you okay? What happened?"
"What? Who? I...ahh..."
"Amnesia? We need to get you to a hospital!"
"No no, that's quite all right. Things are returning to me. This happens sometimes when time traveling goes roughly."
"What? Are you delusional?"
"...but what am I doing in this era? This is...oh?"

Suddenly, Gaspar's eyes widened as full knowledge of his experiences came to him.

"Young woman! What year is this?"
"You don't know?"
"Please, just tell me!"
"It's March 14th, 1999! Don't you know—"
"Great Scott! Do you know what this means?"

Paradoxical images came to Gaspar's mind. A Victorian platform, set against nothing; a disaster in an ancient kingdom of magic; the construction of a device that could allow passage through time—

"Something must have gone terribly wrong! Young woman—"
"Please, call me Fiona—"
"Yes—Fiona, does a large forest exist in central Zenan?"
"Of course! I'm named after the daring woman who revived it in the seventh century."
"Ah, then – well, perhaps we have nothing to worry. May I inquire the location of the nearest library?"
"Are you sure you're all right? We need to get you to a psychologist—"
"Oh, I'm merely out of time, bright one. Come! I must go."

Desiring to object but held back by her intrigue of the odd man, Fiona led Gaspar to the nearest library, a stone palace whose front was supported by mountainous columns. Upon entering, Gaspar walked briskly to the history department, scooping up an armful of books and laying them out on a spacious table. Beginning with the first, Gaspar perused through the volumes while Fiona sat near, wondering what he could be doing. The wait eventually became unbearable; she spoke.

"So...who are you?"
"Ah!" Gaspar stopped reading. "I thought you'd never ask. Now, I don't expect you to understand all of this, but I will attempt to explain. You see, I am a guru of the magical kingdom of Zeal, which was obliterated in 12,000 B.C. by the mighty Lavos! Shortly before this occurred, I was detained by a prophet who was actually a prince of the kingdom – but that is another story. At the time of the disaster, I was sent through time to the weakest point in the spacetime continuum – I call it the 'End of Time' – and from here, I guided young adventurers through several gates that had mysteriously formed as a reaction to Lavos's destruction of the planet. However, it seems that something awry has occurred; while naturally I should have come to the End of Time, my temporal vector has been skewed and has resulted in my appearance in this era. Of course, I retain all knowledge otherwise, as time travelers are excused from the Recollection clause, as dictated by an engineer in Zeal after experiments on the subject. It reads:

If a certain time, X, is altered to become a new time, X', due to new events in a prior time, Y, where Y X, every person in time X' will have no recollection of time X or that time X ever existed. This rule applies to everyone in time X when the change occurs, including time travelers who happen to be at time X.

Of course, I am the time traveler in this case; thus, my knowledge is retained. It seems by some subtle action by Crono, the gate that originally took me to the End of Time in 12,000 B.C. has spat me out here. I can't object, however. Considering all the improvements in technology and health, I may be able to do some wondrous things."

Fiona's eyes were glazed over. She was silent for a few seconds, and then uttered an acknowledgement. Gaspar continued looking at her with a twinkle in his eye, feeling a certain sense of happiness he had not experienced since Zeal. Glancing behind her to several large windows, he noticed it had grown dark outside. His stomach, taking cues from the sun's setting, began to rumble. He promptly shut the book and inquired of a good place to eat. The rest of the night came joyously; Gaspar loved sampling the future life, and sought out many centers of culture. Quite the hip old guy, he was welcomed among revelers in clubs. Fiona initially stood a few feet away from Gaspar as he talked around, but she eventually joined him. The venture ended with the couple retiring to the ferry port's hostel, but not until Gaspar checked out a collection of books to study. While walking back he made a startling observation – a spinning vortex in the sky to the south.

"Fiona! Look!" he pointed towards the light show.
"What? Oh, that's just a storm. Nothing to worry about; they happen all the time."
"That is no storm! Behold the surges of lightning and beams of light!"
"Yeah, what about them?"
"This is normal? What is going on?"
"Didn't you have thunderstorms in your ... time or whatever?"
"Yes, but not like that! That's...that disturbance is extremely unnerving! Come, let's go. Is it headed our way?"
"Yeah, but not until tomorrow. I have a friend who...who is coming into Truce tomorrow. He's probably going through that right now."

Gaspar noticed her stop at the mention of this friend; his heart sank a little, but he continued to implicitly deny any strange emotions towards Fiona. They continued walking, with little else to say; upon reaching her hostel room, Gaspar stepped out onto the short balcony and stared into the far distance. The electrical storm seemed unreal and unnatural, similar to something Gaspar couldn't quite place. The sky was now dark, allowing one to see the full luminosity of San Dorino's city lights. There is something wrong with this picture, Gaspar knew. However, his thoughts could no longer deviate away from their natural course. Fiona...I have not loved or fallen in love since my young years in Zeal. My life has followed narrowly science, particular the physics of time and space. Zeal was perfect...there was no need for a binding, close love, as all the needs of the soul were satiated by our pristine residency in the clouds. There were no odd predicaments or oppression to cause lovers to, as victims, stay together. I could not thus bring myself to quest for love. It was not my duty, nor purpose in the heavens. Yet...often did I question why. I shoved love out of my mental repository, labeling it as an illogical thing that did not concern me. Yet...yes... I wondered why or how it came about, and if such a thing is natural. I suppose it is, answering those inquiries long ago, a natural thing, as I'm undoubtedly having these wonderful and indescribable feelings for Fiona. It is not unlike the sensations I receive while caught up in some great exploit in time. All these sounds and colors without names...I am an old man, however. Is that a strength, or a vice? Is there something to be had in blind, young, and rash (and often resulting in failure) love, or would it be better to have wisdom and forge a relationship that lacks that vigor, but nonetheless comes from experience? Oh, where has my time gone? I remember resting on cliffs in Zeal in my earlier years, on impeccably fresh grass, staring at the stars—Oh my— And thus, Gaspar's thought pattern was broken, perhaps never to be re-established in that frame. He had at last noticed the key feature of the reality he was now in—

"Fiona! There are no stars!"
"What?"
"Come here! Look at the sky! It's totally black!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Stars! Look! There are none! Can't you see, there are no stars!"
"Would you stop yelling? What the HELL are stars!?"
"Stars! Stars! Stars—"

The realization came slowly, but would soon utterly engulf Gaspar and mire him in despair. It was a culmination of worries; Gaspar began pacing about.

"No, no, but history checked out. But wait! That must what be that electrical storm is. No, it can't be. Gates cannot perform that sort of travel! What if someone was somehow in the process of rewriting time as it occurred—"
"Gaspar? What are you saying? What's wrong?"
"No, no, no, the changes should have been instantaneous; I retain my knowledge and end up at the same space – but perhaps those temporal energies at the Ocean Palace caused this – no, no, for I was preserved arbitrarily the second time through; what, then, happened? No, no..."
"Listen! Whatever it is, stop! Stop it, Gaspar!"
"No! Do you realize what this is? Do you know what the space we're occupying could be?"
"What?"
"Tell me! Did you ever hear of a great hero called Crono?"
"Uhh, no?"
"What!? What about Robo?"
"Of course! He helped restore the forest!"
"Confirmed! I know exactly what this is! I know what that storm is, why there are no stars in the sky, and what's going to happen! No, no..."

Gaspar sunk back into denial as he hurriedly made for the door, but he was temporarily stunned when a sonic assault tore through his ears. Fiona cursed that the storm had come prematurely; the Guru of Time continued to run. He ignored Fiona's shouts that she would not follow him, and continued out into the street, where he looked high to the dome of San Dorino. Making contact in a thousand points on its surface were incredibly fast bolts of lightning, which sent roars of thunder throughout the city. He shook himself from this display and entered the library, perusing books until settling on a controversial and entirely theoretical volume on dimensional mechanics. The reading would have been impossible with the sounds; fortunately, the library was equipped with elaborate sound proofing technology specifically designed for these storms. The sage buried himself in the book until he was disturbed by a hand –

"Fiona!"
"Tell me! What's wrong? What's going on? Why are you behaving so strangely?"
"I can't. No. It is too much. I cannot tell—"

Fiona grabbed his collar.

"Tell me. Please...please, Gaspar."

Meeting her eyes, Gaspar could not refuse.

"Please, try to understand..." Gaspar held up one finger. "Did you see that? Now, what if a separate reality existed in which I held up my other finger? Do you know that such things exist? You see, there are thousands of possible worlds, called dimensions, in which things are possibly different. These come about by changing time, but are generally all a matter of possibility. How then can we even begin to think about these? Everything is stabilized by the viewpoint of the observer. To us, this is the only world, and it's the only one we need concern ourselves with. However, this world is the product of the changing of another!
"When I instructed my young travelers to destroy the parasite Lavos, they also set many things in time right that were once wrong, such as the demeanor of the mayor of Porre and the desert of mid-Zenan. These events were meant to empower the party. This is how I made the conclusion about this reality we're in that I'm getting to.
"Now, my travelers made changes that directly got in the way of some of my own history! You see, I was to have come to the End of Time via a disaster at the Ocean Palace, yet the circumstances were different the second time around! I was supposed to have reappeared at the End of Time, but somehow the gate meant to take me there has sent me to this skewed dimension.
"This world – this reality – is the result of a few changes made by Crono and my other time travelers, and yet, some things they were have supposed to done are not present here! These events are also chronologically flawed – you see, Crono restored the forest after being honored and preserved in Guardian history for his exploits in the Mystic War, but as you know, Crono hasn't been heard of in several centuries! Thus, this leads me to conclude that this dimension is inherently flawed and incomplete – a damaged and flawed possibility of worlds, a pure anomaly – and that it resides in the Darkness Beyond Time, where most of these lame realities end up. That is why there are no stars, for this world is corrupted somehow; perhaps dark matter in space prevents their light, or the atmosphere blocks them somehow. I would lend a guess that the Sun is able to circumvent this, but nonetheless, it was the sure sign to me that this world is one of disorder.
"Thus, according to my calculations, tomorrow at 1:21 PM, Lavos is going to erupt! However, this is not going to be any normal eruption. These physics are beyond me, but this world is connected to the others in various ways. Do you know what those storms are that you've seen increase as the time nears tomorrow? Those are phenomena known as time storms! Relative disturbances in the time space continuum cause those, and they are a warning that something is terribly wrong! When Lavos erupts, I postulate that this world's going to be discarded at last – denied any further existence – and will violently separate itself and fragment explosively into nothingness! That is why...that is why we must find some way out of this dimension!"

Gaspar here ceased to speak, fumbling around with a back pocket in his ornate robe. He removed a small organic object – a very odd-looking egg, and stared at it. Fiona – amazingly, through hard determination – began to understand what Gaspar spoke of. Suddenly, many things lost purpose to her, for the very world in which she lived had been revealed as something corrupt and to be discarded the next day. All her friends were now nothing; her fate solely rested in the hands of an old man who she had just met that day. Her mind did not accept this turn of events passively, however.

"No, you can't be serious. This is all..." she started.
"Yes, this is going to be nothingness soon. It is a fragment of the truth, a shadow of another world. Dimensional mechanics are bane to the human mental capacity for understanding abstract concepts, but I know enough to foresee the destruction. Even if this dimension does not violently unravel, the world will be totaled by Lavos. We must escape, Fiona."
"But...how? How do you visit other worlds? Physically? I can't even begin to think—"
"I know. Don't try. It seems that time has given me one advantage; you see, when I was transported to the End of Time in both instances, I had with me a Time Egg that I had been working on. It's this." Gaspar held up the Egg. "This is the Time Egg. Since I was meant to finish work on this at the End of Time and later give it to Crono's party, it is in incomplete form; however, I believe that enough may be here to save us. Time Eggs are capable of creating portals in time and space; while my applications were initially only meant for time travel, I believe that with enough energy the Time Egg can also cycle one through dimensions.
Tomorrow, when Lavos erupts, we'll have more than enough energy present to undertake a jump through worlds. I have to modify a few things on the Egg, but that won't take much. Unfortunately, we're going to need some method of nearing close proximity with Lavos."
"I can get us a transport! No problem, there's a rental service in town."
"That will be sufficient. Once we get near Lavos, I shall explode the Egg to create the most fantastic and large gate possible; this will provide the most time for our departure. It will be dangerous – yes, but I have confidence that we can safely escape before the time disruptions coupled with Lavos's destruction become unbearable. We are going to observe chilling sights when this occurs – people will vanish and die as reality tears apart. Remain determined. We've got to make it out. Where the gate will take us, I do not know; speaking roughly from my technical knowledge, I believe I can alter the Time Egg to create odds in our favor for our transportation to the End of Time. It would be the optimum destination, as it is my home and vantage point over space-time."
"Gaspar..." she trailed off.
"Yes?"
"Gaspar, you know that I have no true concept of who you are, the past from whence you came, or how you know the things you know. But...I believe you, Gaspar. In your eyes, I know you are true...you wouldn't lie, especially not to me. It's so absurd. There's nothing real for me to believe in. Yet I know...Gaspar, I trust you. We will make it out...We will..."
"Yes. Fiona, we will..."

The two, at first awkwardly, drew near each other, and soon embraced. Herein lied potential. One may say that love was born, and lifetimes of it passed in that short space of time. Whether tomorrow's objective was complete, it was now a fact that love existed. This was everything to the two presently – although the pressing matter could not be ignored, they both knew something much more valuable and timeless had been formed between them.

"Now, there is work to do. Fiona, it is late, but cannot you secure the transport even at this hour?"
"Yes. I'll go."
"All right. See if you can't obtain some working tools while you're out; although formation of Time Eggs is largely based on magic, I will need to alter the Egg's physical form minutely, and this will require precise utensils."
"Do not worry. I'll find everything you could hope for."

The storm intensified, and cracks of thunder penetrated the library's soundproofed walls.

"Good! Hurry, before this tempest becomes even stronger. Meet me back at the hostel. I'm going to spend all night working; I ask that you please get rest after those errands."
"But...Yes. Rest."
"Good luck, Fiona. Now, we must hurry!"

Two figures instantly burst from the library and ran in opposite directions on the street. Fiona quickly boarded a mass transit system suffering several brownouts of power due to the storm, while Gaspar stumbled to the hostel, struggling to ignore the swirling storm of electricity that hung over the dome. Upon entering the room, he cleared the dining table and set the Time Egg in the center. Mumbling old, long-recited incantations, he created a sort of magical aura that the Egg rested in. The mute background was lit with countless colors and Gaspar began working on the Time Egg through magic. Fiona meanwhile signed a number of papers to rent a transport; the chosen air chariot bore a resemblance to the creation of one of Gaspar's peers. Upon securing the deal, Fiona got in and sped to a hardware compendium, expending all funds on her credit chit to secure the widest range of small tools available. Gaspar broke a sweat back at the hostel; his hands became tired from concentrating in a variety of gestures. The Time Egg continued to flare in color, but the spectacle was gradually reducing. He desperately needed the tools to undertake physical alterations that would allow more magical work. This was also the prime worry of Fiona, who broke speed limits in rushing back to the hostel on her transport. Many citizens of San Dorino had stopped traveling in the event of the storm; this made her journey somewhat easier. The storm unleashed a pummel of bolts on the dome, causing severe power surges and blackouts. It had reaches record-breaking status, also confirming Gaspar's supposition – this disturbance was most certainly a time storm, forecasting the soon-to-be at hand destruction of this world. Fiona disregarded it as best she could, and landed on the hostel roof. She hastily met Gaspar, giving him the tools and afterwards turning on the televiewer to San Dorino's foremost local station. Advisories flashed on the screen.

"Warning. Level 5 storm in progress. Please refrain from travel and wait until further notice. If dome break should occur, please take cover in place of residence or move to designated storm shelters."

"Gaspar – is that all you would have me do?" Fiona asked.
"Yes, yes," he said, wiping his brow. "Quickly, get some rest. Look at that screen – more storms are brewing. How's the transport?"
"It's the best that money can buy."
"Good. Just get some sleep."
"Gaspar...We'll make it."
"Yes, we will."

Fiona retired to the other room; however, the full weight of the matters soon to come pressed her mind. She could not easily rest, and lay awake several minutes. Gaspar meanwhile looked into his reasoning as he modified the Time Egg. I must consider that the End of Time is not free from time, yet it is somewhat a representation or symbol of time spatially. Now, I know from theory that dimensions are often linked to form a chain – if one rewrites time, a sort of wormhole-potential spot would remain where the rewrite occurred; I also hold that these spots would exist inherent in the matter. Thus, a spot would not be left behind on a certain beach even though the planet moved far away from that spot's true position in a coordinate plane of space time. After researching the events of this world, I believe everything is focused on Lavos – that somehow, his emanations and repercussions and perhaps the very events of Crono himself that are linked to Lavos are responsible for this bastard world. Thus, it is true that if I undertake the wormhole in close proximity to Lavos at the moment he erupts and is possibly engulfed or defeat by some incomplete manifestation of Crono, I will be allowed dimensional travel. Hmm...next on the agenda is whether the End of Time is unidimensional or exists in all worlds separately. I am inclined to believe that each dimension has its own End of Time...wouldn't this cause many problems? I could end up in an End of Time with another Gaspar! Yet...the 'Missing Piece' hypothesis may be my saving grace. It proposes that in the event of an item's removal from a particular dimension, that item will suffer stress and be pressured to return to that dimension in its rightful place – almost a tug across worlds, so to speak. Thus, if I enter the gate, I shall inevitably be pulled to the right world, as it shall yearn to fill in what it has lost. I know from first-hand experiences that if Fiona is also in physical contact with me, or if that we are together in an energy transport orb of some kind, she will come along...Amazing. What a task this is to perceive and understand wholly. I wonder if I am the only one to get this far, or if some group of scholars somewhere is struggling to make sense of timelines and dimensions as well. All right...It is finished. This Time Egg, supplied with energy from Lavos's disruptions of time, shall create a sort of open gate to other worlds. Once I position myself within the gate, with Fiona maintaining physical contact with me, the pull across dimensions of my world to replace its lost piece shall act and route the gate to my home world. In addition, the coordinates I have set into the Time Egg should also invariably result in our arrival at the End of Time. Dimensions. What a headache...I pray this shall work. Gaspar, at last, finished his mental dialogue and made the final few structural changes to the Time Egg. The resulting creation did not resemble a normal Time Egg; the body of the device had several receptacles on it that would eventually be used to absorb forms of anti-annihilation energy that would perpetuate from the destruction of the world and Lavos's temporal disruptions. Gaspar beheld his creation, and felt a flutter in his heart. Time would tell if his work was true, and if he was worth his salt as the Guru of Time.

The storm had partly subsided, but its remnant remained stationary over the San Dorino Dome. Beyond it in the sky, auroras ran rampant – another odd trait of the incomplete dimension. Gaspar could only stare in wonder from the main quarters window as he contemplated his present fate. He somewhat believed that life had a way of throwing one into situations to expressly provide experience in some area; in this case, he would have been placed here to learn love, he thought. However, because he had recognized this, could not he now safely escape? Was there something else to learn? These thoughts were tainted with ominous feelings that swarmed his heart. Worrying was for naught, however – Gaspar soon lay asleep with his hands over his heart.

A few hours passed.

The sun soon rose, creating a chilling contrast between its morning rays and the lingering time storm. Gaspar noted this as he woke around noon and ordered a light lunch from room service; he never undertook anything of importance without eating first. His sleep had been intermittent and unfulfilling – one could not blame him, considering the worries that now gathered around his head. The filtering ways woke Fiona as well; she groggily readied herself for the day and met Gaspar in the kitchen. Their eyes told all – for the events of that day came to Fiona as soon as she woke. She no longer partly refused to believe that any of this was happening, and confided wholly in the old guru.

"We're going to do it, right?" she asked.
"Oh, good morning, Fiona. Yes, today's the day."
"So...you have an idea yet?"
"Of the plan? Well, before Lavos erupts, geothermal activity is going to skyrocket. This will help pinpoint his location, giving us the chance to reach the site with time to spare. There will be enough time disruptions to generate sufficient energy for the operation; the Egg will absorb this energy and shall stimulate a point in space time to create a gate. Once inside, never let go of me. There is an infinity of other worlds, but I am distinctly missing from the one I came from. Thus, once inside, the gate will involuntarily pull me to this dimension – and you, if you hold on to me."
"Brilliant!"
"But something's bothering me, Fiona. Is there anything you are leaving behind here? Something you wish to take along?"
"No—I—we must leave here as soon as possible. Don't worry. Everything I want to keep is here," she said, pointing to her head.

She then remembered her flippant boyfriend, Mitsurugi. He had probably perished on the transit system through shrine. He could be forgotten.

"Good. Before we go, I want to collect as much information on this world as possible. Do perfect compendiums of history exist yet at this time?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I do know there is a data vault in this city. Data vaults contain huge amounts of information."
"How might I get it?"
"Oh, data vaults are still huge. You could probably only download certain information to portable data cubes."
"Let's go then. We have until 1:21, and it's 12:30. Keep that transceiver tuned to the frequency I've set it on. It's a service line for the World Disaster Service. Once the initial earthquakes occur, we'll hear about their location on that information line."
"Ingenious, Gaspar. All right."

The couple walked to the rented transport; Gaspar could not help but recognize a design similar to Belthasar's Epoch. The trip to San Dorino's data vault was somewhat drawn out, as it rested on the outskirts of the dome. Tension mounted in the form of a light sweat that pursued Gaspar each time he looked at his watch. Nothing could stop the trip – it had to work. The two soon landed at the data repository and entered the data cube dispensing facility. Here Gaspar perused a visual interface for certain scientific information and observation; locating what he desired, he downloaded it to a cube. 12:45. They exited the center, but not before a visitor caught sight of them and gave chase.

"Hey! Fiona! I've been looking for you – wait, who is this man?" the stranger asked.
"Mitsu...rugi? What are you doing here? I thought you took the transit—"
"I did! How do you think I got here? Fiona, who is this old man!? Why are you with him?"
"Excuse me, young man," Gaspar began.
"Shut up! What has he done to you, Fiona?"
"Mitsurugi, behave yourself! You don't have any idea what's going to happen—"
"I've heard of people like you, brainwashing young women and taking them away. Fiona's mine!"

Fiona and Mitsurugi continued to argue, spurring on for the next ten minutes. 12:55. Gaspar became mired in despair after discovering Fiona had a boyfriend, but forced himself to intervene.

"Fiona, it is almost 1. In approximately twenty minutes, the world is going to cease to exist! We've got to get ready."
"You crazy old geezer!"
"Young man, look at this storms on the horizon. Note their size. They spell doom for this entire planet."
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about!"
"Mitsurugi, why are you so damned belligerent? What has gotten into you?"
"You are running around with some old coot while I nearly die on the transit system through shrine! That's what's wrong with me!"
"Have you listened to this man? Mitsurugi, something's about to occur that will destroy the entire world—"
"Shut up with your nonsense! I don't know what apocalyptic cult this guy is from or why you joined it, but I have to get you away from him!"

Gaspar had had enough; he withdrew a cane from his Zealian robe and extended it to reveal a formidable weapon. Utilizing mandatory self-defense training, he quieted Mitsurugi with a gentle but effective blow to the head. The enraged man lay on the ground, unconscious.

"Fiona. It is 1. We have to go now."
"Yes – but we can't leave him behind!"
"This man nearly prevented you from being saved. I don't know what relevance he has to your life, but he is of no importance to this operation."
"We can't..."
"Fiona, you are admirable for your caring instincts – something to be desired – but you must think! By adding another person, we put further strain on the gate and time mechanics in general. Leave it. He is a headache to us."
"...Gaspar, please. He's just a friend..."

This caught the old guru by surprise.

"Fine. If it pleases you...load him in the transport. Hopefully he comes to when Lavos erupts."
"Thank you, Gaspar. We have to get outside the dome. It may take awhile to get through customs; let's go."

The transport slowly hovered off the ground and flew to the very outside edge of the dome. It entered in a long line of other cars at 1:10. Far underground, a titanic mass of molten magma was shifting to make way for a lumpy being's path; it caused minor disturbances worldwide in the form of small volcanic releases. Near Medina, a small sparkle appeared on a desolate stretch of land. All was slowly becoming red; the air's temperature increased, as did the ground's. As bubbly lava began to ooze on this plot, Gaspar at last received clearance to leave the dome. The time was now 1:18; beads of sweat hung on every pore of his body. Fiona maintained a stone gaze at the sky. In every direction, storms were forming and ravaging the land beneath; the transport and San Dorino dome seemed to be in the only clearing. 1:20. The minute was at hand.

"Fiona, it may be necessary to brace for impact. I'm not sure how deep the effects of Lavos's eruptions will penetrate the state of the world. Hold fast to the transport."
"I will—" and they took each other's hand.

And it happened. At 1:21, the plains below the Heckran Mountain dome exploded effortlessly as lava sprayed high into the air. All across the atmosphere, time storms suddenly burned brightly with new vigor and began electrifying anything in reach. It could be felt – a sense of uncertainty, a feeling of rending – by all; it seemed as if something inside was being pulled apart of the body. The open circle of air directly above the transport and San Dorino was instantaneously closed up by the blinding speed of clouds extending from the surrounding storms. The sun was blotted out – all became dark. Frantic messages came over the radio –

"Alert! Rating G earthquake detected with epicenter south of Heckran Mountain! Significant rupture in planet's crust! Oh, no – warning! Storms forming over all major cities – type E! Local stations, get warnings out to everyone—"

The information had been given. Fiona put the transport into its highest gear and the couple sped off towards the continent of Medina. Before the trip, she had prepared it with a racing blend of fuels and had stored an energy shield generator. Thus, the time storms were less of a problem that had been expected; however, different disruptions had manifested. Points of distortion dotted the storms' interior, altering the appearance of reality around them and causing eerie whining sounds. Gaspar began to shout.

"You feel it Fiona?"
"Yes! It feels like my body is being ripped apart—"
"It is! Time itself in this world is slowly fragmenting, and will soon begin to disintegrate at an exponential rate!"
"We're going to get there soon!"
"All right, Fiona, get ready!"

The storms became larger as the two neared their target. After coming close, they viewed an unbelievable sight. In the center of the violent tempest, a large mass of fire shot spires high into the air – some of which came down, raining destruction, while others vanished, apparently being phased out of existence. Below him, seven ghostly personages appeared and began seemingly fighting. It is them, Gaspar thought. Crono's party. They don't even exist here, but yet they are seen. Thus, this is truly where the dimensions intertwine...Encircling Lavos was a rotating funnel cloud of fire, lightning, and rain mixed together. Shockwaves of dimensional distortions cast quickly moving black shadows. The sensation of being torn increased for Gaspar and Fiona as they neared the maelstrom.

"Gaspar! Are we ready?" she cried.
"Yes!"

He took out the Egg from its case and pressed a button on the exterior, causing the Time Egg to shimmer. Reality distorted around the receptacles, which had already begun taking in anti-annihilation energy from the tearing of the fabric of time by Lavos and the unstable dimension. Soon, the Egg gleamed pure white; knowing the sign, Gaspar held it back and, with every ounce of force he could muster, threw it in Lavos's direction. Encountering a wave of distortion, the Egg suddenly exploded – the fragments, however, did not fly to the ground but began rotating in an increasingly wider circle. They became a blur, and the area of the circle became blue. It was done, although the gate was not large enough to accommodate a transport. The couple flew it in as close as possible. Mitsurugi began to wake.

"All right; come on, Fiona! We must jump into it!"
"Gaspar! Mitsurugi!"
"Forget it! Come on! The gate's going to close soon!"
"Hey, old man, what the hell is going on? Release me! What is this?" Mitsurugi began.

As soon as he began shout at Gaspar, however, Mitsurugi and part of the transport were instantly vaporized by one of Lavos's exploding spires.

"Come on!" Gaspar shouted.

Fiona grabbed his hand, and Gaspar stepped in. However, the gate instantly took hold of him; the effect did not have a chance to apply to Fiona, as she was only partially within the gate. She stumbled over and fell on the hull of the transport as she realized what had happened. She stared upward at Gaspar, who, no longer possessing the ability to physical exist in the incomplete dimension, could only worriedly look on her from within the gate. With tears in her eyes, she remained frozen. Gaspar began shouting at length and struggled to leave the gate; better he should die with the only woman he had ever loved than continue in the End of Time. However, he was unable to exit. The gate began closing on him...

"Fiona..."
"Gaspar. I..."
"Fiona, I'll come for you..."
"...love..."
"Yes...I'll find..."
"you," they said simultaneously.

The gate closed, and the incomplete dimension was instantly denied existence and eternally erased from Gaspar's sense of reality. The druggy effects of time travel set on, but Gaspar disregarded them. He could only sense depression and death in his heart, for he knew the truth – and judging from the look in Fiona's eyes as she passed from his view, she knew as well. It was an incomplete dimension; the product of mere chance, it could probably never be accessed again by any. No matter what world Gaspar might be able to enter, he would not encounter the same Fiona. She was forever lost in the void of nothingness. Gaspar entered a similar state...A gate materialized on the far side of the End of Time platform, and Gaspar stepped out reluctantly. The gate began to shine red, and soon fell away in sparkles rather than close. Tired and sickened, he shuffled to the edge and peered into the deep, swirling mists that surrounded the End of Time. His heart pained him; it had been pierced to its core by negativity – guilt, regret, sadness.

An odd creature approached him, and sat at his side.

"What has transpired, sage?" it asked.
"Spekkio, you will never know..."
"Yes?"
"Someday I'll relate all the events to you. But let me now ask you: have you ever been in love?"
"Love...one impassioned by war has also capacity to feel strongly love. You know that I have a long, long history...but to answer your question: yes, Gaspar, though I never pursued it."
"I want to die, old friend. I want to become part of the void...I don't deserve to live."
"My friend, it looks as if you've been hit pretty hard. Please, Gaspar, whatever it was, don't worry. You are safely here; it is all that matters. All is possible while you are still alive. Time eases all things, and there is solace to be taken everywhere. Rest, guru. That is all you shall do. Sleep, and let your difficulties mend themselves. There have been some interesting developments in time, especially in the modern era – these will take your mind off your troubles when you arise."
"Spekkio, just do one thing for me."
"Yes?"
"Run a trace of the gate effect with the destination being the Darkness Beyond. Limit results to volatile, expired dimensions or the fragments thereof, and use this data to assist you."

Gaspar removed the datacube from his pocket.

"Yes, sir. I'll begin now."

Spekkio left his side and began shaping a magical working environment. Gaspar remained on the edge of the platform, staring down at the cube. It seems that Fiona had left something on it before Gaspar took it from her to download the scientific information. A high-resolution hologram emitted from the screen. It was Fiona...

"I'll find you. Fiona...

I promise."

Explanatory Notes

Most of this fan fiction operates on findings made at the Chrono Compendium, Through interpretations of statements at Chronopolis, we know that an infinite number of dimensions other than those seen in the main body of the Chrono series exist; they are all a matter of possibility. However, we know the dimensions we take part in as home worlds to us, as they are our base – the world in which we 'reside.' Another statement was made in Chronopolis that other timelines in which Lavos erupts produce data that is extremely volatile; I've personally interpreted this to possibly mean that there might exist incomplete or flawed dimensions. By some quirk in time, Gaspar, after Crono's changes in time, has come to one of these dimensions.

Next, we know that Time Eggs can indeed allow dimensional travel, as the astral amulet in Chrono Cross that Serge uses is simply an incomplete Time Egg forged by Lucca. We also know from that game that an item missing in one world may feel a pull to return to that world – sometimes this pull will result in the involuntary transfer of this item, as observed by Serge's first trip to Another World. Lastly, we know that dimensional travel is probably only possible at points where the dimensions intersect – in Chrono Cross, that would be at Opassa Beach, where Kid rewrote time by saving Serge and caused the dimensions to split. Thus, Gaspar, missing piece to his home dimension, will be returned to that world naturally if he enters a gate at the place where the dimensions interconnect – the point of Lavos's eruptions, as dictated in the story by the fact that the corruption of this dimension is caused in some part by Lavos or his time-altering capabilities. On a sidenote, anti-annihilation energy is a mysterious force alluded to at Chronopolis that comes from the Frozen Flame.

Note: There have been recent developments on the Missing Piece theorem in the Axioms & Corollaries thread on the Chrono Compendium. I still hold that in this fanfiction, Gaspar's subjecting himself to the open sway of time allowed him to return to his home dimension, where a small vacuum did exist that naturally pulled him as a missing piece.

Lastly, I utilized something I inferred from Cross to give hope to Gaspar's quest to bring Fiona back. I believe that Serge's accomplices had to maintain some form of physical contact with him or at least be in the general proximity of the gate created by the astral amulet in order to travel worlds. This and the principles I have mentioned above form the basis of this fanfiction. One more thing: the 'Darkness Beyond' mentioned by Gaspar is the Darkness Beyond Time, or the Tesseract, where the Time Devourer resides and discarded timelines and dimensions go, as defined by Chrono Cross. I hope you've enjoyed and may comprehend this entirely; if you have any questions, please ask.