Chrono Trigger
The dream our planet once had
Defeated the darkness and brought forth a brighter future.
However, this was also the dawn of a new nightmare... The final battle over the legendary treasure, "The Frozen Flame"
A battle between dragons, humans, and FATE
That will surpass even space and time is about to begin... Our planet's dream has not yet ended...
Crono, asleep in distant dreams, suddenly felt the warm morning
sunshine shine upon his face. Now coming into consciousness, he groaned
and turned away from the morning light. "Crono," he heard his name called.
He tried opening his eyes but failed. "Crono," he heard again. He then
through the bed sheet over his head. "Wake up Crono," he heard his mother
say to him.
In defeat he sat up and tried to open his eyes. "Yes mother," he
said as he put his feet down on the ground.
"Do you know what day this is?" his mother asked him.
"No," said Crono as he finally opened his eyes. He saw his mother
putting some laundry in his dresser. She was a pretty woman for being forty.
She had long red hair, like Crono's own hair, blue eyes, a slim figure, and
not a wrinkle on her face. She turned to Crono and said, "Today's the first
day of the Millennium Fair!"
Immediately he shot out of bed and ran to the dresser and put some
pants on. All year he had waited for the fair, the once and a lifetime event.
It was to start on November 1, 1000 in Leene Square, and this was the day.
Not only was it to commemorate the first Millennium, but to also celebrate
the 400-year anniversary of the victory over the Mystics in the infamous
Mystic War. It would run all the way through December 31 with a huge parade
on the final night. "I'll be downstairs with breakfast," said Crono's mom
and she left his room.
"Okay mom!" Crono acknowledged her. He grabbed the first shirt he
could find, grabbed his boots, his brown leather jacket, and his wooden sword
and ran downstairs.
"Crono! Good grief! Don't break your neck!" she yelled as Crono
clumsily ran down the stairs.
"Now eat some breakfast," said Crono's mom as she laid a plate of
bacon and eggs on the table. Crono hopped in the chair, took a huge mouthful
of eggs and began to put on his boots. Crono's mom simply rolled her eyes.
"Any messages for me?" he asked with a mouthful.
"Oh yes! I forgot!" exclaimed Crono's mom. "Uhh, what's your
friend's name? Taban's daughter?"
"Lucca!" Crono reminded her.
"Thank you," she said, "Lucca came by to see if you were up, but you
were still asleep. She told you to look at the north end of the fair for her
tent. She and her father have a new invention. There is also a note for you
that was just delivered."
"Who is it from?" asked Crono as he washed down his breakfast with a
huge swallow of orange juice.
"It is from the military's office," she answered as she read the
return address. Crono groaned at the sound of it. He hated the military.
He was being forced to join the Royal Swordsmen of Guardia. "It's a family
tradition!" he constantly heard from his mom and relatives about how it was
a family tradition that the men of the William's family must join the
military. The William's family did have a long tradition of great military
officers in Guardia's army. He was given the choice to join any branch of the
military that he preferred. He decided to sign up with the Royal Swordsmen
because he knew his father was in command of the Royal Swordsmen at one time.
"Well, what does it say?" Crono asked.
She opened it and read aloud, "'Dear Crono, it is with great pleasure
to inform you that your twelve weeks of basic training are over. After the
Millennial Fair is over, on January 2 you are to report to the register's
office and sign up for the more advanced training of the Royal Swordsmen.
Congratulations for your hard work so far and I look forward to seeing you
next year. Sincerely, Captain Gerald Franks.' Well congratulations Crono
on a job well done! You made it!"
"Sure. Joy," said Crono with an ill tone.
"Oh come on Crono. It won't be that bad," Crono's mom assured him.
"Mom, they will make me cut my hair short! Less sleep, less food. I
don't like it!" he said.
"Oh, you won't miss that long hair of yours!" she said playing with
his long red hair.
"I will! You wait and see!" he said as he knocked his mom's hands
away.
"Now don't you worry about this. It will be a while before you play
with swords again. Now here is your allowance," she said as she laid the
twenty gold coins on the table. "Now remember that I want you home by
12:00 a.m. tonight. Okay?" She looked into Crono's blue eyes demanding the
right answer.
"Okay mom," he said in annoyance.
He quickly put wrapped a band in his hair making a pony tail, scooped
up the money, and grabbed his wooden sword as he ran out the door, leaving
the dishes for his mother. He quickly turned right along side of the house
and toward the fair.
* * *
The festivities had already begun, and nearly half the kingdom was
already there enjoying the fair. There you could find games, races, shows,
displays, actors, and performers, tons of food, anything that could bring out
a crowd. As soon as Crono ran into Leene Square, he about lost his breath.
He knew it would be a sight but still was blown away. "Wow!" was all he
could get out.
Balloons by the thousands in every color hanged on every tent and
fence making dozens of rainbows. In front of him a bunch of racers flew by,
running around the outside of the fairgrounds. Off to the side he saw a
couple of people juggling swords. He could see painters painting portraits,
venders selling food and neat clothing. He could see that the old bell tower
in the center of the square had been decorated. Of course it wouldn't chime
at the hour, since the mechanism broke a few years age. He remembered what
his mom once told him, that anyone who heard the bell ring at the gust of the
wind would have interesting lives. It was an old saying, and to his
knowledge the bell had only rung once or twice since it broke.
Crono was able to point out each kind of ethnic group from each
kingdom that he had learned of in training, except the Mystics of course.
For one thing the Mystics aren't even human, and tried to take over every
human in the world in the Mystic War which lasted nearly twenty years.
Humans may hate the Mystics, but the Mystics hated the humans more.
They would never show up here. "Well, let's check this out!" he said as he
entered the fairgrounds.
There were shows left and right. No matter where Crono would go,
there was always something that would interest him. Finally, something
really caught his attention. It was a display of real metal swords.
Crono ran up to the display and stared at the mighty pieces of steel.
"Beautiful aren't they?" Crono heard a voice say to him.
He turned around and saw a strangely dressed old man. He wore a
funny hat, a blue overcoat that went over a red collar shirt, and blue pants.
He had a white mustache, wore a pair of small speckles, and was fairly
round. "I would love to have a real sword!" said Crono enthusiastically.
"You like weapons now don't you," said the old man.
"A little," Crono answered, "I just mainly want to get rid off this
dumb wooden sword."
Crono held up the wooden sword and the old man chuckled. "I suppose
so! My name is Melchoir, and I made these swords that you seem to admire."
Crono shook hands with him and said, "I'm Crono. Nice to meet you."
Melchoir took one of the swords off of the display wall and handed it
to Crono. He examined the magnificent sword. What struck him was is wasn't
like the kind of swords he had been trained with. The sword was longer, had
a longer handle, and was sharp just on one side. It was a little heavier
than his wooden sword but surprisingly not as heavy as he had anticipated.
The blade itself was a shiny as a mirror. He ran his finger along the sharp
edge. It was sharper than a razor. He then held the sword out in an attack
manner, and began to slowly swing the sword in order to get a feel of it.
"Now this is a sword!" said Crono enthusiastically.
"It's my own special design," said Melchoir.
"How much is it?" asked Crono as he reached for his change purse.
"300 gold coins," he answered.
Crono felt like his heart was about to break. "But sir," he said
with a whining voice, "all I have is twenty gold coins."
Melchoir thought for a minute. "Well, I suppose we could work out
something· I'll tell you what. I'll hold on to this sword for you. If you
give me that wooden sword, I'll sell it to you for half price."
"But that still leaves me 130 coins short," said Crono.
"Now there are a ton of games here to win money. I suggest if you
want to get this sword you better hurry up."
Crono wasted no time and ran off. He looked back and forth at
various games. There were some games that would earn about a coin's worth,
but that would get him nowhere. Then, he looked to the left and saw it. It
was Gato, one of Crono's robots. Even though it couldn't think but only do
what it was programmed, Gato could walk, run, and use its arms. He
remembered seeing Gato being constructed at Lucca's house, but now it was
complete. Lucca told him that she would put it out at the fair to do some
games. Crono saw that a crowd of bystanders surrounded Gato. He squeezed
through to see whatever they found to be worth seeing. As he got to the
front, he could hear the crowd "oh" and "ouch" in unison. Finally, he
reached the front and saw what it was. Lucca had made a fighting robot.
This seven-foot machine was wearing boxing gloves fighting a man with gloves
on as they dueled it out. Gato was winning.
Crono laughed as this overweight boxing want-a-be was getting the
beating of his life. Gato finished him with an uppercut and the contender
fell to the ground. The crowd cheered with delight. Then, a man in a suit
stepped in front of the crowd and yelled, "That's right! The machine still
dominates over man! But don't despair! You can prove this theory wrong by
signing up for the next fight in half an hour! You can use any approved
weapons too! For 200 gold coins! Who will it be?"
Crono jumped forward and said, "I'll fight!"
He was surprised as the mob began to laugh hysterically. "Listen!"
he shouted over the laughter, "I can fight, and I will defeat Gato!"
This only increased the laughter. "Very well!!" shouted the man in
the suit, "This young man will fight the mighty Gato in half an hour!" He
then walked up to Crono and whispered to him, "Good luck, and don't get
killed."
Crono walked away and thought to himself, "I hope I didn't do
something stupid." He then looked at the bell tower in the center of the
square to see the time. He looked but there was a tent in the way. He
walked backwards to get a good view when he bumped into someone. They both
lost their balance and fell to the ground. "Oh sorry!" he yelled out hoping
whoever he ran into would hear. "Where's my pendant? Hey, what happened to
my pendant?!" he heard a young woman yell.
"Oh crap," he thought to himself. Then, to his right he saw the
pendant. He rose to his feet and looked at it. It was beautiful, a shining
red medallion on a gold chain. "Hey! I found the pendant!" he yelled in the
crowd hoping she would hear.
He looked around to see whoever it was. No one turned to look at
him. "Excuse me," he heard a voice from behind him. He turned around and saw
her. He was taken by surprise. It was a young woman in her early twenties
like himself. She was beautiful, having a light tan, was very trim, and her
blond hair was back in a ponytail. She wore a white collar T-shirt, a pair
of white pants, brown boots, and a backpack on her shoulder. He looked into
her blue eyes. They gazed back at him. "Uhh, he-here's your pendant," said
Crono with a nervous voice as he held out the pendent.
"Thank you kind sir," she said as she took it and put it back around
her neck. "This has a lot of sentimental value."
Just then there was a gust of wind and the Leene Bell rang. The bell
chimed three times, and then it stopped. Crono paused at this moment, for he
had never heard the bell ring before. "I wonder if the legend of the bell is
true?" Crono thought to himself.
"Excuse me, but what's your name?" the woman asked him.
"Uhh, Crono!" he blurted out. She jumped back in surprise. "Stupid!
Calm down you moron!" he thought to himself. "Okay, what's yours?"
"My name?" the woman asked.
"Yes," he answered.
She turned and thought for a moment. "My name is·Marle!" she
exclaimed.
"Nice to meet you Marle," said Crono.
She smiled and said, "I haven't been out much, and I am totally lost
here in Leene Square. I don't have anyone to be here with too."
"Well, I'm the same way," he replied.
"Well why don't we go through around the fair together?!" Crono
exclaimed.
"Sure!" said Crono, "But I'll have to be back here in half an hour."
"That's fine," said Marle. They then walked together in the fair.
* * *
For the next twenty minutes Crono gave Marle a tour of Leene Square,
from the bell tower to every attraction he knew would be there, except for
Taban's little attraction. Now with the time growing short Crono and Marle
made their way toward Gato's attraction. When they got there a crowd twice
the size of the last one had gathered there to see Crono fight. "What
exactly are you going to do Crono?" Marle asked him.
"I'm going to fight Gato," Crono answered as he began toward the
crowd. "Wait!" said Marle as she grabbed his shoulder, "isn't Gato that
robot that Taban made?"
"Yes."
"Crono, he sold Gato to a well known hustler. He is rumored to have
pumped up some juice in that robot's strength, so it will hit a lot harder."
Crono raised an eyebrow and asked, "How do you know this?"
"I know, because my father is·he has a high authority in the fair
and was about to kick him out."
"So what should I do? I need the money."
Marle tossed her backpack on the ground and opened it. Crono looked
in and gasped at what he saw. Marle pulled out a metal crossbow and a case
of arrows. She quickly armed it in a few swift motions. "I am going to help
you out. Trust me."
All Crono could do is smile at the sight. Not only was she very
beautiful but could fight as well. He ended up following her as they pushed
through the crowd as they made their way to the vendor. Finally, they made
it to the vendor. "Well young man, are you ready to show us your stuff?!"
said the vendor.
Marle then took the crossbow, and aimed it at the vendor's throat.
He froze in terror and the crowd turned to an eerie silence. The vendor
looked around in panic, taken by surprise. Marle then whispered into the
vendor's ear, "I know your game you swindler. You added some extra juice to
that robot you bought from Taban didn't you."
The vendor spoke aloud, "Now miss, I am running a perfectly honest
business here and-" he hushed as Marle shoved the crossbow up to his neck.
"Don't try to hustle me," she warned him, "or I may lose my temper
and accidentally pull the trigger."
Crono stood in awe at the spectacle. He couldn't believe his eyes.
Marle had so much confidence in her voice he wasn't sure if she was bluffing
or not. Faith whispered in his ear again, "Now I am going to give you a fair
proposition, you are going to let both Crono and myself fight Gato with our
own weapons. If he is destroyed, we win whatever you originally proposed.
If we lose, which I doubt, you still have to leave the fair. If you refuse,
then I will tell everyone of your past hustling."
"You wouldn't dare," the vendor hissed.
"Count on it," Marle whispered.
The vendor thought and finally said, "Okay, you win."
Marle took away the crossbow, and stepped away. "That was a
beautiful performance!" exclaimed Crono.
"What surprises me is that it actually worked," she whispered in
Crono's ear. His eyes lit up. He was almost certain that Marle would pull
the trigger, but it was all an act, and couldn't help but to laugh. "Ladies
and gentlemen!" the vendor exclaimed, "For Gato's final battle today, he
shall take on these two young warriors in one big match. Are you ready?!" he
asked Crono and Marle. They nodded. "Then begin!"
Gato immediately stepped into the middle of the circle formed by the
multitudes gathered there. Crono and Marle stepped into the middle and took
out their weapons, the wooden sword and crossbow. Gato then made an
unexpected punch at the both of them. It hit them both and they fell to the
ground. The crowd cheered. Crono then took his wooden sword and swung it
behind Gato's knees, and it hit the ground with a clang. Crono then got to
his feet and began to beat Gato's head, swing back and forth with his sword.
The crowd hooted and hollered at Crono. Gato then grabbed Crono with both
arms and tossed him into the crowd. He landed on a bunch of people that fell
beneath him, stunned and knocked out of breath.
Marle then got up and fired her crossbow. The arrow hit Gato's
chest, and a display of sparks came from it. But this didn't stop Gato.
Gato charged at Marle and swung its left "fist." She ducked under it and
slammed the shoulder rest of her crossbow across his head. The crowd
cheered at the move. Gato quickly came back with a punch to Marle's stomach.
The blow knocked her breath out and she fell to her knees stunned. Gato
was about to hit again when Crono came from behind and swung his sword behind
Gato's knees again. The robot fell to the ground again and Crono began to
beat at his head again. Marle then rose to her feet and took her crossbow
and reloaded it with an arrow from her case. Crono saw this and he dropped
his sword, grabbed the sides of Gato's head and held him down. Marle aimed
the crossbow and shot an arrow into Gato's head. It traveled all the way
through the metallic skull and into the ground, and Gato shut down. The
crowd cheered at the victors. They then walked up to the vendor. He looked
angry and couldn't bear to look at them.
"200 gold coins," Crono commanded.
"Take it," said the vendor pointing to a sack of money. Crono
counted the coins and put them in his coin sack.
"So what do you need the money for?" Marle asked.
"You'll see," he answered.
* * *
"A stupid sword?!" exclaimed Marle as Melchoir handed Crono the
sword.
"This isn't a stupid sword!" said Crono, "This sword is what I need.
Besides, I hate this wooden sword I had to use in training. Do you have some
kind of case to carry my sword in?"
"Of course," said Melchoir handing Crono a small wooden case.
Crono opened it and put the sword in it. He held the case under his
arm and turned to Marle. "So, what do you want to do now. We have 70 gold
coins to spend."
"Excuse me miss," said Melchoir.
"Yes?"
Melchoir starred at Marle's pendant. "That pendant is gorgeous."
"Thank you," said Marle.
Melchoir began to speak when he starred deeper at the pendant. "Is
it the one?! Impossible! Never mind. Go on."
Marle looked at Crono. He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't worry
about it. Now what can we do?"
"Let's go see some kind of show," said Marle. "I would really like
to see one."
"I heard of a good show at the East End of the fair. Let's check it
out," said Crono as he led the way.
* * *
"'Norstein Bekkler's Laboratory'" Crono read aloud at the sign above
big purple tent.
"Let's check it out," said Marle as she led the way in.
It was dark and damp inside, and there were just three chairs in
front of a wooden stage. Crono and Marle sat down. Then, the curtains
opened. Crono and Marle looked in wonder at the sight. Out from the
curtain came a hovering face of a clown and two white gloves, but no body.
"So, do you want to play?" the clown face asked them.
"Sure," they said.
"Place 40 gold coins on the stage please."
Crono got from his seat and counted 40 coins and dropped them on the
stage. One of the gloves swooped down and swept up the coins. "You, who
gave the money, stand up," said the clown face.
Crono stood up from his seat. "A robot clone of you will come out.
Do whatever it does exactly. If you do you will win the clone and it will be
delivered to your house. Are you ready?"
Crono looked back at Marle. She smiled and said, "Go for it!"
"Ready," said Crono.
The clown face and gloves disappeared behind the curtain. Then, from
out of the curtain came the clone. Crono and Marle gasped. It was
completely identical to Crono, even what he was wearing. The clone then
lifted its right hand. It stood still waiting for Crono to move.
"Go on Crono! You paid forty gold coins!" said Marle.
Crono then lifted his right hand. Then the clone lifted its left
hand. So did Crono. The clone then pretended to laugh. Crono then faked
his own laugh. This went on for about three minutes. Finally, the clone
stopped and the clown's voice said, "You win. The clone will be delivered
soon. Now leave!"
Crono and Marle left the tent. He looked at Faith and said, "So what
did you think?"
"It seemed pointless to me," said Marle.
"I agree."
"Come on, let's get some candy!" said Marle.
She then took off running up to the north end of the fair forcing
Crono to run to keep up. "Oh brother," said Crono in annoyance.
* * *
"Umm! I've never had cotton candy before!" exclaimed Marle as she
happy chewed some pink cotton candy.
Crono raised an eyebrow. "You have never eaten any cotton candy?" he
asked.
"Never. I don't get out much at all."
"Then how did you ever learn to shoot a crossbow?" Crono asked.
"In my spare time I practice shooting in Guardia Forest. It helped
relieve me from all the pressures placed on me," said Marle with a serious
tone.
"Pressure from what?" he asked.
"My father."
"Let's sit down on that bench over there," said Crono, pointing to an
empty bench.
They both sat down and Marle continued. "My home is far from normal!
I have to do something a certain way or it's wrong, even if my way is better.
I can't ever do what I want, all of my choices are chosen for me, and I don't
have hardly any friends."
"Not any friends?" Crono asked in surprise.
"Well, my maid Jennifer and I are close friends. That's it."
"You have a maid! Lucky!" exclaimed Crono.
"It's not that great being...wealthy. I hate it! If I don't do what
tradition says, then I'm just made of pure evil. At least that's the kind of
message that I'm getting."
"I know how annoying tradition is just as much as you do," Crono
acknowledged.
"So you have your own problems back home. Tell me," asked Marle,
relieved that the subject had switched back to him.
"Oh forget it," said Crono trying to avoid the subject as well, "I
complain too much."
Marle could hear in his voice that he really wanted to talk. "Go
ahead and tell me. You listened to me, now I'll do the same."
Crono took a deep breath and started. "My entire future has been
laid out in front of me and I hardly had a word it the whole situation."
Marle nodded and said, "I know how that feels."
"I have to join the army, no matter what I say. I at least was given
the opportunity to enlist in any division of the Guardia military. I choose
the Royal Swordsmen, because my dad was a lieutenant with them, so I have
some reputation to help me out. My mom is pretty understanding of my
objection, but every other solider that happens to have some relation to me
are just shoving this down my throat."
"What does your father think?" Marle asked.
"I wouldn't know. A prowler killed him before I was ever born. My
mom has cared for me, and the army continues to give her money and a home
since my dad was in the military."
Marle nodded and said, "My mom died when I was four. So we both
live with single parents and are forced to go through things we think are
silly. We have a lot in common Crono."
Crono grinned and nodded, "You're right. Marle, I think we are
going to be good friends!"
"You said it!" said Marle enthusiastically.
Then, Crono heard something behind him. It was a cat meowing. "Hey
little guy!" said Crono as he picked up the yellow coated cat from behind the
bench.
"What's your name?" he asked sweetly.
"Hey Crono, look over there!" said Marle.
It was a little girl standing alone in the street, calling through
her tears, "Who's seen my cat! Please anyone!"
Their hearts melted as they saw the little girl helplessly call in
the crowd. Crono stood up with the cat and walked up to the little girl.
He bent down to the girl and asked sweetly, "Is this your cat?"
"Oh thank you mister! Thank you!" said the girl.
She immediately took the cat from him and held it close saying, "I
missed you so much!"
Crono looked back at Marle with a grin of satisfaction. She shook
her head and said, "Crono, you are so sweet."
"Well, I try," said Crono as he took Marle's hand and pulled her up.
"My father needs to take lessons from you!" she said humorously.
Crono was about to talk when they heard a voice coming from behind
the grove of bushes. "It's Taban!" Crono exclaimed.
They walked around the bushes to see Lucca and Taban presenting their
latest invention. They saw a small crowd gathered in front of Tabanâs and
Lucca's invention. There were two huge pods that could fit a person in each.
A bunch of wires and cords came from the pods in all directions to two control
stations that were between the pods. Crono saw Lucca working on one of the
control stations while Taban was preparing the pods. "Hey Lucca!" Crono
called to her.
She looked up and saw Crono and Marle. "Oh hi! What's up Crono!
Hang on for a minute, okay?"
"Sure!" said Crono.
Lucca then walked up to Taban and said, "All right dad. I have set
the matter transfer modulator to .15 kilowatts per second. The matter
analyzers have been checked and the main energy bank is powered up."
Marle raised an eyebrow and asked Crono, "Does she always talk like
that?"
"No," he answered, "Just when she is working. Don't worry, she's
kind of normal."
"Kind of normal?" said Marle.
"Thank you dad!" Lucca waved back to Taban as she walked over to
Marle and Crono.
She wore her usual work outfit, her brown overalls, a yellow long
sleeve shirt, her brown boots, and a leather helmet that covered her brown
hair. She took off her glasses and whipped her forehead with her sleeve.
"Hi guys!" said Lucca with a friendly smile, "Dad is going to do the final
checks for me. Boy I can't wait to try this out!"
"Well, what is this thing-a-ma-jig?" Crono asked.
Lucca frowned and said, "Crono, I can't understand how you can't
see what this is. I just can't."
She then looked at Marle. "What's your name?"
"Marle," she answered.
"Okay Marle, answer me, what does this device look like? Tell Crono,
" Lucca challenged her.
Marle looked hard at the array of machines. "Uh, it looks like it
looks like a like a thing a-ma-jig."
"Pathetic," said Lucca with a frown of disappointment.
"Oh come on Lucca!" said Crono who now annoyed with her criticism,
"You know that only your father can ever come up with a good answer! Shesh!"
Lucca laughed and said, "I know! I'm just playing with you!"
"Looks more like annoying him," Marle commented.
Lucca looked back with a frown and Crono laughed. "Boy," said Lucca
looking at Marle, "you sure have a witty tongue! Have I meet you before?"
"No. I don't think so," Marle answered immediately.
"Hmm. Okay." Lucca then whispered quietly into Crono's ear, "Hey
Crono. Nice catch you have there. Way to go."
"Shut up!" said Crono as he pushed Luccaâs shoulder.
Lucca laughed again.
"What did she say?" Marle asked.
"Nothing," said Crono, "As you said, she was being annoying."
"Lucca! We're ready to start!" shouted Taban.
"Come on guys!" said Lucca as she waved them up, "Come and get in
front! This is going to be an awesome show!"
Marle started to follow when Crono grabbed her shoulder. "What?!"
she asked in surprise.
"I would stay back if I were you. A lot of her inventions blow up!
Taban is worse!"
"Oh come on and don't disappoint your friend," said Marle taking
Crono's hand and dragging him up in front of the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" announced Taban, "Behold the latest invention
of my wonderful daughter! The Matter/Energy Transport Machine!"
A couple of people clapped, including Marle and Crono. The rest just
stood and starred at Taban. "Hmm, tough crowd," said Taban.
Lucca whispered to Taban, "Then let's skip the simple stuff and go
right into the big guns, living matter."
"Will it work?" Taban asked Lucca.
Lucca nodded, but Taban didn't see her cross her fingers behind her
back. Crono did. "Okay, I'm leaving," he said as he started to leave.
"Oh come on Crono," said Marle as she attempted to hold Crono back.
"There! There is our volunteer!" shouted Taban, pointing directly at
Crono.
Crono began to step backwards. "Oh no," he said, "No way am I going
to be one of Lucca's guinea pigs. Not today."
Marle then grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him forward
toward Taban. Taban caught him and pulled him up. Crono looked back at
Marle. She gave back the most innocent grin. He rolled his eyes as he
turned to Taban. "So what do I do?" he asked.
"Just step inside this pod," Taban said pointing at the pod on his
left.
Crono slowly stepped inside the pod. He then looked at Lucca and
glared at her. Lucca winked back. "Ready?" Lucca asked Taban.
"Ready!" he answered.
"You better not blow me up like you did that rat when-"
Crono stopped when he heard the sudden sound of machinery start
running. Marle watched with anticipation as she saw flashing lights start
blinking around the pod. Crono shut his eyes. Lucca then finished the
countdown, "3...2...1...begin energy transfer now!"
A beam of light suddenly lit inside both of the pods. Marle then
saw Crono's silhouette begin to slowly fade. On the other pod to her
surprise she saw a vague silhouette slowly appear simultaneously. Finally,
she could no longer be seen in the pod he was in, but in the other pod Crono
could easily be distinguished. The crowd starred in wonder. Finally, the
beam in the pods ceased, and Crono was there in the other pod, still closing
his eyes. "Am I dead yet?" he asked in a small voice.
The crowd laughed with delight and cheered. Lucca had the look of
satisfaction on her face. Crono opened his eyes, and looked around in
confusion. "Hey! How did I end up here? Wow!"
He jumped out of the pod and ran to Marle. "Was it fun?" she asked.
"I guess. You might like to try it," said Crono.
Marle got a big grin on her face and said, "I will. Excuse me Taban,
can I go too?"
"Sure! Hop inside the pod!" Taban answered.
Marle got inside the pod and looked back at Crono. "I'm going with
my eyes open!" she said back to him.
The crowd laughed at the remark. Crono couldn't help not to blush a
little. "Okay!" shouted Lucca, "Here we go. Boot up the system. Good.
I'll start the countdown. 5...4...3...2...1...begin energy transfer now!"
The beams of light came down on the pods. Marle could be seen though
the light beams, smiling at the anticipation. Then, Crono noticed Marle's
pendant. It seemed to be glowing. Others in the crowd began to notice it
too. The pendant glowed brighter and stronger. "Lucca! What's going on?!"
Crono shouted to her, but she couldn't hear Crono over the sound of the
machinery.
Then without warning, bolts of electricity shot from the two pods
and traveled behind the monitoring consoles and hit each other. Then, a
round portal of swirling blue and white energy formed where the lightning
struck. The pendent then dropped on the floor of the pod. Marle suddenly
disappeared and reappeared at the front of the portal. Her face was full of
panic, when she was drawn inside the portal, and then it closed, leaving
nothing behind, except for the pendant on the floor of the pod. "Okay
everyone!" Lucca shouted to the crowd, "I forgot to tell you, this is a
different demonstration. She will reappear in an hour or so in perfect
condition. Come back at that time. Now go everyone. Go!"
The crowd murmured and talked among each other as they slowly left.
Crono stayed behind and ran up to Lucca. "Now tell me you wasn't lying!
Tell me!"
Lucca exhaled slowly and said, "I was lying."
"Lucca!" Crono shouted in anger, "Now what the hell happened?!"
Lucca thought and said, "It appeared the energy transfer somehow
affected her pendant. Obviously that was some kind of portal that Marle was
drawn into."
"A portal to where?" Crono asked.
"I don't know. I would think that wherever she went to, the portal
has closed on that side too, so she can't reenter the portal. I believe that
correcting that problem would be the correct course of action. Unfortunately,
it might take weeks for me to precisely know how, and then construct a device
to reopen that portal."
"Weeks?!" exclaimed Crono, "That's insane! She made not have weeks!"
"So what do you suggest we do?!" said Lucca in frustration.
Crono turned and thought for a minute. "There is only one thing to
do."
Crono set his sword case on the ground. He opened it and pulled out
his sword. He took the sheath with the sword in it and strapped it around
his belt. He then walked over to the pod Marle had disappeared in and
picked up the pendant. "I'm going in after her."
"Are you crazy?!" Lucca yelled, "We have no idea where that portal
lead to!"
Crono put the pendant around his neck and stepped into the pod.
"Lucca, if it is going to take weeks to rescue her, I need to be there in
case there is any trouble. Just do whatever you did before when she
disappeared with this machine of yours, and if I find·no, when I find Marle,
we will wait for you to pick us up."
"I'm totally against this!" said Lucca in anger. "Dad, what do you
think?"
Taban nodded and said, "I agree with my daughter, Crono. There is
no since in getting two people in trouble. Just be patient. Till then Crono,
you need to find her parents and tell them to come see me. My daughter and
I will work as fast as we possibly can."
Crono stepped down from the pod in defeat. He hadn't walked two
steps when without warning he felt some inspiration. He ran over to the
controls. In plain sight he saw the switch that said "START." He flipped
the switch and ran back into the pod. Lucca and Taban were talking when they
heard the machine start up again. "Crono! You idiot! You have no idea what
youâre doing!" Lucca shouted.
"Honey, can we disengage the teleport process?" Taban asked.
"No! It has to run full course, or we will lose Brad's signal! Come
on! We have to monitor that equipment!"
Lucca and Taban ran up to the control panels and checked everything.
All was clear. "Crono!" Lucca called to him over the roar of the machine,
"Be careful! I'll try to figure out what went wrong and come for you!
Don't worry!"
They saw Crono salute them. Lucca counted the last number. As usual
the beam of light fired down on top of Crono. The pendant immediately lit up,
unlike the first time when it slowly glowed brighter. Then, the bolts of
lightning shot from the pods and hit between them. Then, the portal
reappeared as it had before. Crono quickly grabbed onto the pendant when he
disappeared from the pod and reappeared in the portal. His face was full of
shock as the portal closed in front of him.
"Well," said Lucca with a sigh, "He took the pendant with him. Now
that just killed any ideas I had in mind."
"What's that? It looks like the portal, sort of," said Taban
pointing where the portal once stood.
Lucca looked back and saw what he was pointing at. It was a
sparkling blue ball, the size of a doorknob hovering at the sight of the
portal. "Now this is strange?" said Taban, "What could it be?"
Lucca smiled and said, "It's hope. Seeing this I think that Crono
and Marle might have a chance of getting back. I think."
The dream our planet once had
Defeated the darkness and brought forth a brighter future.
However, this was also the dawn of a new nightmare... The final battle over the legendary treasure, "The Frozen Flame"
A battle between dragons, humans, and FATE
That will surpass even space and time is about to begin... Our planet's dream has not yet ended...
Crono, asleep in distant dreams, suddenly felt the warm morning
sunshine shine upon his face. Now coming into consciousness, he groaned
and turned away from the morning light. "Crono," he heard his name called.
He tried opening his eyes but failed. "Crono," he heard again. He then
through the bed sheet over his head. "Wake up Crono," he heard his mother
say to him.
In defeat he sat up and tried to open his eyes. "Yes mother," he
said as he put his feet down on the ground.
"Do you know what day this is?" his mother asked him.
"No," said Crono as he finally opened his eyes. He saw his mother
putting some laundry in his dresser. She was a pretty woman for being forty.
She had long red hair, like Crono's own hair, blue eyes, a slim figure, and
not a wrinkle on her face. She turned to Crono and said, "Today's the first
day of the Millennium Fair!"
Immediately he shot out of bed and ran to the dresser and put some
pants on. All year he had waited for the fair, the once and a lifetime event.
It was to start on November 1, 1000 in Leene Square, and this was the day.
Not only was it to commemorate the first Millennium, but to also celebrate
the 400-year anniversary of the victory over the Mystics in the infamous
Mystic War. It would run all the way through December 31 with a huge parade
on the final night. "I'll be downstairs with breakfast," said Crono's mom
and she left his room.
"Okay mom!" Crono acknowledged her. He grabbed the first shirt he
could find, grabbed his boots, his brown leather jacket, and his wooden sword
and ran downstairs.
"Crono! Good grief! Don't break your neck!" she yelled as Crono
clumsily ran down the stairs.
"Now eat some breakfast," said Crono's mom as she laid a plate of
bacon and eggs on the table. Crono hopped in the chair, took a huge mouthful
of eggs and began to put on his boots. Crono's mom simply rolled her eyes.
"Any messages for me?" he asked with a mouthful.
"Oh yes! I forgot!" exclaimed Crono's mom. "Uhh, what's your
friend's name? Taban's daughter?"
"Lucca!" Crono reminded her.
"Thank you," she said, "Lucca came by to see if you were up, but you
were still asleep. She told you to look at the north end of the fair for her
tent. She and her father have a new invention. There is also a note for you
that was just delivered."
"Who is it from?" asked Crono as he washed down his breakfast with a
huge swallow of orange juice.
"It is from the military's office," she answered as she read the
return address. Crono groaned at the sound of it. He hated the military.
He was being forced to join the Royal Swordsmen of Guardia. "It's a family
tradition!" he constantly heard from his mom and relatives about how it was
a family tradition that the men of the William's family must join the
military. The William's family did have a long tradition of great military
officers in Guardia's army. He was given the choice to join any branch of the
military that he preferred. He decided to sign up with the Royal Swordsmen
because he knew his father was in command of the Royal Swordsmen at one time.
"Well, what does it say?" Crono asked.
She opened it and read aloud, "'Dear Crono, it is with great pleasure
to inform you that your twelve weeks of basic training are over. After the
Millennial Fair is over, on January 2 you are to report to the register's
office and sign up for the more advanced training of the Royal Swordsmen.
Congratulations for your hard work so far and I look forward to seeing you
next year. Sincerely, Captain Gerald Franks.' Well congratulations Crono
on a job well done! You made it!"
"Sure. Joy," said Crono with an ill tone.
"Oh come on Crono. It won't be that bad," Crono's mom assured him.
"Mom, they will make me cut my hair short! Less sleep, less food. I
don't like it!" he said.
"Oh, you won't miss that long hair of yours!" she said playing with
his long red hair.
"I will! You wait and see!" he said as he knocked his mom's hands
away.
"Now don't you worry about this. It will be a while before you play
with swords again. Now here is your allowance," she said as she laid the
twenty gold coins on the table. "Now remember that I want you home by
12:00 a.m. tonight. Okay?" She looked into Crono's blue eyes demanding the
right answer.
"Okay mom," he said in annoyance.
He quickly put wrapped a band in his hair making a pony tail, scooped
up the money, and grabbed his wooden sword as he ran out the door, leaving
the dishes for his mother. He quickly turned right along side of the house
and toward the fair.
* * *
The festivities had already begun, and nearly half the kingdom was
already there enjoying the fair. There you could find games, races, shows,
displays, actors, and performers, tons of food, anything that could bring out
a crowd. As soon as Crono ran into Leene Square, he about lost his breath.
He knew it would be a sight but still was blown away. "Wow!" was all he
could get out.
Balloons by the thousands in every color hanged on every tent and
fence making dozens of rainbows. In front of him a bunch of racers flew by,
running around the outside of the fairgrounds. Off to the side he saw a
couple of people juggling swords. He could see painters painting portraits,
venders selling food and neat clothing. He could see that the old bell tower
in the center of the square had been decorated. Of course it wouldn't chime
at the hour, since the mechanism broke a few years age. He remembered what
his mom once told him, that anyone who heard the bell ring at the gust of the
wind would have interesting lives. It was an old saying, and to his
knowledge the bell had only rung once or twice since it broke.
Crono was able to point out each kind of ethnic group from each
kingdom that he had learned of in training, except the Mystics of course.
For one thing the Mystics aren't even human, and tried to take over every
human in the world in the Mystic War which lasted nearly twenty years.
Humans may hate the Mystics, but the Mystics hated the humans more.
They would never show up here. "Well, let's check this out!" he said as he
entered the fairgrounds.
There were shows left and right. No matter where Crono would go,
there was always something that would interest him. Finally, something
really caught his attention. It was a display of real metal swords.
Crono ran up to the display and stared at the mighty pieces of steel.
"Beautiful aren't they?" Crono heard a voice say to him.
He turned around and saw a strangely dressed old man. He wore a
funny hat, a blue overcoat that went over a red collar shirt, and blue pants.
He had a white mustache, wore a pair of small speckles, and was fairly
round. "I would love to have a real sword!" said Crono enthusiastically.
"You like weapons now don't you," said the old man.
"A little," Crono answered, "I just mainly want to get rid off this
dumb wooden sword."
Crono held up the wooden sword and the old man chuckled. "I suppose
so! My name is Melchoir, and I made these swords that you seem to admire."
Crono shook hands with him and said, "I'm Crono. Nice to meet you."
Melchoir took one of the swords off of the display wall and handed it
to Crono. He examined the magnificent sword. What struck him was is wasn't
like the kind of swords he had been trained with. The sword was longer, had
a longer handle, and was sharp just on one side. It was a little heavier
than his wooden sword but surprisingly not as heavy as he had anticipated.
The blade itself was a shiny as a mirror. He ran his finger along the sharp
edge. It was sharper than a razor. He then held the sword out in an attack
manner, and began to slowly swing the sword in order to get a feel of it.
"Now this is a sword!" said Crono enthusiastically.
"It's my own special design," said Melchoir.
"How much is it?" asked Crono as he reached for his change purse.
"300 gold coins," he answered.
Crono felt like his heart was about to break. "But sir," he said
with a whining voice, "all I have is twenty gold coins."
Melchoir thought for a minute. "Well, I suppose we could work out
something· I'll tell you what. I'll hold on to this sword for you. If you
give me that wooden sword, I'll sell it to you for half price."
"But that still leaves me 130 coins short," said Crono.
"Now there are a ton of games here to win money. I suggest if you
want to get this sword you better hurry up."
Crono wasted no time and ran off. He looked back and forth at
various games. There were some games that would earn about a coin's worth,
but that would get him nowhere. Then, he looked to the left and saw it. It
was Gato, one of Crono's robots. Even though it couldn't think but only do
what it was programmed, Gato could walk, run, and use its arms. He
remembered seeing Gato being constructed at Lucca's house, but now it was
complete. Lucca told him that she would put it out at the fair to do some
games. Crono saw that a crowd of bystanders surrounded Gato. He squeezed
through to see whatever they found to be worth seeing. As he got to the
front, he could hear the crowd "oh" and "ouch" in unison. Finally, he
reached the front and saw what it was. Lucca had made a fighting robot.
This seven-foot machine was wearing boxing gloves fighting a man with gloves
on as they dueled it out. Gato was winning.
Crono laughed as this overweight boxing want-a-be was getting the
beating of his life. Gato finished him with an uppercut and the contender
fell to the ground. The crowd cheered with delight. Then, a man in a suit
stepped in front of the crowd and yelled, "That's right! The machine still
dominates over man! But don't despair! You can prove this theory wrong by
signing up for the next fight in half an hour! You can use any approved
weapons too! For 200 gold coins! Who will it be?"
Crono jumped forward and said, "I'll fight!"
He was surprised as the mob began to laugh hysterically. "Listen!"
he shouted over the laughter, "I can fight, and I will defeat Gato!"
This only increased the laughter. "Very well!!" shouted the man in
the suit, "This young man will fight the mighty Gato in half an hour!" He
then walked up to Crono and whispered to him, "Good luck, and don't get
killed."
Crono walked away and thought to himself, "I hope I didn't do
something stupid." He then looked at the bell tower in the center of the
square to see the time. He looked but there was a tent in the way. He
walked backwards to get a good view when he bumped into someone. They both
lost their balance and fell to the ground. "Oh sorry!" he yelled out hoping
whoever he ran into would hear. "Where's my pendant? Hey, what happened to
my pendant?!" he heard a young woman yell.
"Oh crap," he thought to himself. Then, to his right he saw the
pendant. He rose to his feet and looked at it. It was beautiful, a shining
red medallion on a gold chain. "Hey! I found the pendant!" he yelled in the
crowd hoping she would hear.
He looked around to see whoever it was. No one turned to look at
him. "Excuse me," he heard a voice from behind him. He turned around and saw
her. He was taken by surprise. It was a young woman in her early twenties
like himself. She was beautiful, having a light tan, was very trim, and her
blond hair was back in a ponytail. She wore a white collar T-shirt, a pair
of white pants, brown boots, and a backpack on her shoulder. He looked into
her blue eyes. They gazed back at him. "Uhh, he-here's your pendant," said
Crono with a nervous voice as he held out the pendent.
"Thank you kind sir," she said as she took it and put it back around
her neck. "This has a lot of sentimental value."
Just then there was a gust of wind and the Leene Bell rang. The bell
chimed three times, and then it stopped. Crono paused at this moment, for he
had never heard the bell ring before. "I wonder if the legend of the bell is
true?" Crono thought to himself.
"Excuse me, but what's your name?" the woman asked him.
"Uhh, Crono!" he blurted out. She jumped back in surprise. "Stupid!
Calm down you moron!" he thought to himself. "Okay, what's yours?"
"My name?" the woman asked.
"Yes," he answered.
She turned and thought for a moment. "My name is·Marle!" she
exclaimed.
"Nice to meet you Marle," said Crono.
She smiled and said, "I haven't been out much, and I am totally lost
here in Leene Square. I don't have anyone to be here with too."
"Well, I'm the same way," he replied.
"Well why don't we go through around the fair together?!" Crono
exclaimed.
"Sure!" said Crono, "But I'll have to be back here in half an hour."
"That's fine," said Marle. They then walked together in the fair.
* * *
For the next twenty minutes Crono gave Marle a tour of Leene Square,
from the bell tower to every attraction he knew would be there, except for
Taban's little attraction. Now with the time growing short Crono and Marle
made their way toward Gato's attraction. When they got there a crowd twice
the size of the last one had gathered there to see Crono fight. "What
exactly are you going to do Crono?" Marle asked him.
"I'm going to fight Gato," Crono answered as he began toward the
crowd. "Wait!" said Marle as she grabbed his shoulder, "isn't Gato that
robot that Taban made?"
"Yes."
"Crono, he sold Gato to a well known hustler. He is rumored to have
pumped up some juice in that robot's strength, so it will hit a lot harder."
Crono raised an eyebrow and asked, "How do you know this?"
"I know, because my father is·he has a high authority in the fair
and was about to kick him out."
"So what should I do? I need the money."
Marle tossed her backpack on the ground and opened it. Crono looked
in and gasped at what he saw. Marle pulled out a metal crossbow and a case
of arrows. She quickly armed it in a few swift motions. "I am going to help
you out. Trust me."
All Crono could do is smile at the sight. Not only was she very
beautiful but could fight as well. He ended up following her as they pushed
through the crowd as they made their way to the vendor. Finally, they made
it to the vendor. "Well young man, are you ready to show us your stuff?!"
said the vendor.
Marle then took the crossbow, and aimed it at the vendor's throat.
He froze in terror and the crowd turned to an eerie silence. The vendor
looked around in panic, taken by surprise. Marle then whispered into the
vendor's ear, "I know your game you swindler. You added some extra juice to
that robot you bought from Taban didn't you."
The vendor spoke aloud, "Now miss, I am running a perfectly honest
business here and-" he hushed as Marle shoved the crossbow up to his neck.
"Don't try to hustle me," she warned him, "or I may lose my temper
and accidentally pull the trigger."
Crono stood in awe at the spectacle. He couldn't believe his eyes.
Marle had so much confidence in her voice he wasn't sure if she was bluffing
or not. Faith whispered in his ear again, "Now I am going to give you a fair
proposition, you are going to let both Crono and myself fight Gato with our
own weapons. If he is destroyed, we win whatever you originally proposed.
If we lose, which I doubt, you still have to leave the fair. If you refuse,
then I will tell everyone of your past hustling."
"You wouldn't dare," the vendor hissed.
"Count on it," Marle whispered.
The vendor thought and finally said, "Okay, you win."
Marle took away the crossbow, and stepped away. "That was a
beautiful performance!" exclaimed Crono.
"What surprises me is that it actually worked," she whispered in
Crono's ear. His eyes lit up. He was almost certain that Marle would pull
the trigger, but it was all an act, and couldn't help but to laugh. "Ladies
and gentlemen!" the vendor exclaimed, "For Gato's final battle today, he
shall take on these two young warriors in one big match. Are you ready?!" he
asked Crono and Marle. They nodded. "Then begin!"
Gato immediately stepped into the middle of the circle formed by the
multitudes gathered there. Crono and Marle stepped into the middle and took
out their weapons, the wooden sword and crossbow. Gato then made an
unexpected punch at the both of them. It hit them both and they fell to the
ground. The crowd cheered. Crono then took his wooden sword and swung it
behind Gato's knees, and it hit the ground with a clang. Crono then got to
his feet and began to beat Gato's head, swing back and forth with his sword.
The crowd hooted and hollered at Crono. Gato then grabbed Crono with both
arms and tossed him into the crowd. He landed on a bunch of people that fell
beneath him, stunned and knocked out of breath.
Marle then got up and fired her crossbow. The arrow hit Gato's
chest, and a display of sparks came from it. But this didn't stop Gato.
Gato charged at Marle and swung its left "fist." She ducked under it and
slammed the shoulder rest of her crossbow across his head. The crowd
cheered at the move. Gato quickly came back with a punch to Marle's stomach.
The blow knocked her breath out and she fell to her knees stunned. Gato
was about to hit again when Crono came from behind and swung his sword behind
Gato's knees again. The robot fell to the ground again and Crono began to
beat at his head again. Marle then rose to her feet and took her crossbow
and reloaded it with an arrow from her case. Crono saw this and he dropped
his sword, grabbed the sides of Gato's head and held him down. Marle aimed
the crossbow and shot an arrow into Gato's head. It traveled all the way
through the metallic skull and into the ground, and Gato shut down. The
crowd cheered at the victors. They then walked up to the vendor. He looked
angry and couldn't bear to look at them.
"200 gold coins," Crono commanded.
"Take it," said the vendor pointing to a sack of money. Crono
counted the coins and put them in his coin sack.
"So what do you need the money for?" Marle asked.
"You'll see," he answered.
* * *
"A stupid sword?!" exclaimed Marle as Melchoir handed Crono the
sword.
"This isn't a stupid sword!" said Crono, "This sword is what I need.
Besides, I hate this wooden sword I had to use in training. Do you have some
kind of case to carry my sword in?"
"Of course," said Melchoir handing Crono a small wooden case.
Crono opened it and put the sword in it. He held the case under his
arm and turned to Marle. "So, what do you want to do now. We have 70 gold
coins to spend."
"Excuse me miss," said Melchoir.
"Yes?"
Melchoir starred at Marle's pendant. "That pendant is gorgeous."
"Thank you," said Marle.
Melchoir began to speak when he starred deeper at the pendant. "Is
it the one?! Impossible! Never mind. Go on."
Marle looked at Crono. He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't worry
about it. Now what can we do?"
"Let's go see some kind of show," said Marle. "I would really like
to see one."
"I heard of a good show at the East End of the fair. Let's check it
out," said Crono as he led the way.
* * *
"'Norstein Bekkler's Laboratory'" Crono read aloud at the sign above
big purple tent.
"Let's check it out," said Marle as she led the way in.
It was dark and damp inside, and there were just three chairs in
front of a wooden stage. Crono and Marle sat down. Then, the curtains
opened. Crono and Marle looked in wonder at the sight. Out from the
curtain came a hovering face of a clown and two white gloves, but no body.
"So, do you want to play?" the clown face asked them.
"Sure," they said.
"Place 40 gold coins on the stage please."
Crono got from his seat and counted 40 coins and dropped them on the
stage. One of the gloves swooped down and swept up the coins. "You, who
gave the money, stand up," said the clown face.
Crono stood up from his seat. "A robot clone of you will come out.
Do whatever it does exactly. If you do you will win the clone and it will be
delivered to your house. Are you ready?"
Crono looked back at Marle. She smiled and said, "Go for it!"
"Ready," said Crono.
The clown face and gloves disappeared behind the curtain. Then, from
out of the curtain came the clone. Crono and Marle gasped. It was
completely identical to Crono, even what he was wearing. The clone then
lifted its right hand. It stood still waiting for Crono to move.
"Go on Crono! You paid forty gold coins!" said Marle.
Crono then lifted his right hand. Then the clone lifted its left
hand. So did Crono. The clone then pretended to laugh. Crono then faked
his own laugh. This went on for about three minutes. Finally, the clone
stopped and the clown's voice said, "You win. The clone will be delivered
soon. Now leave!"
Crono and Marle left the tent. He looked at Faith and said, "So what
did you think?"
"It seemed pointless to me," said Marle.
"I agree."
"Come on, let's get some candy!" said Marle.
She then took off running up to the north end of the fair forcing
Crono to run to keep up. "Oh brother," said Crono in annoyance.
* * *
"Umm! I've never had cotton candy before!" exclaimed Marle as she
happy chewed some pink cotton candy.
Crono raised an eyebrow. "You have never eaten any cotton candy?" he
asked.
"Never. I don't get out much at all."
"Then how did you ever learn to shoot a crossbow?" Crono asked.
"In my spare time I practice shooting in Guardia Forest. It helped
relieve me from all the pressures placed on me," said Marle with a serious
tone.
"Pressure from what?" he asked.
"My father."
"Let's sit down on that bench over there," said Crono, pointing to an
empty bench.
They both sat down and Marle continued. "My home is far from normal!
I have to do something a certain way or it's wrong, even if my way is better.
I can't ever do what I want, all of my choices are chosen for me, and I don't
have hardly any friends."
"Not any friends?" Crono asked in surprise.
"Well, my maid Jennifer and I are close friends. That's it."
"You have a maid! Lucky!" exclaimed Crono.
"It's not that great being...wealthy. I hate it! If I don't do what
tradition says, then I'm just made of pure evil. At least that's the kind of
message that I'm getting."
"I know how annoying tradition is just as much as you do," Crono
acknowledged.
"So you have your own problems back home. Tell me," asked Marle,
relieved that the subject had switched back to him.
"Oh forget it," said Crono trying to avoid the subject as well, "I
complain too much."
Marle could hear in his voice that he really wanted to talk. "Go
ahead and tell me. You listened to me, now I'll do the same."
Crono took a deep breath and started. "My entire future has been
laid out in front of me and I hardly had a word it the whole situation."
Marle nodded and said, "I know how that feels."
"I have to join the army, no matter what I say. I at least was given
the opportunity to enlist in any division of the Guardia military. I choose
the Royal Swordsmen, because my dad was a lieutenant with them, so I have
some reputation to help me out. My mom is pretty understanding of my
objection, but every other solider that happens to have some relation to me
are just shoving this down my throat."
"What does your father think?" Marle asked.
"I wouldn't know. A prowler killed him before I was ever born. My
mom has cared for me, and the army continues to give her money and a home
since my dad was in the military."
Marle nodded and said, "My mom died when I was four. So we both
live with single parents and are forced to go through things we think are
silly. We have a lot in common Crono."
Crono grinned and nodded, "You're right. Marle, I think we are
going to be good friends!"
"You said it!" said Marle enthusiastically.
Then, Crono heard something behind him. It was a cat meowing. "Hey
little guy!" said Crono as he picked up the yellow coated cat from behind the
bench.
"What's your name?" he asked sweetly.
"Hey Crono, look over there!" said Marle.
It was a little girl standing alone in the street, calling through
her tears, "Who's seen my cat! Please anyone!"
Their hearts melted as they saw the little girl helplessly call in
the crowd. Crono stood up with the cat and walked up to the little girl.
He bent down to the girl and asked sweetly, "Is this your cat?"
"Oh thank you mister! Thank you!" said the girl.
She immediately took the cat from him and held it close saying, "I
missed you so much!"
Crono looked back at Marle with a grin of satisfaction. She shook
her head and said, "Crono, you are so sweet."
"Well, I try," said Crono as he took Marle's hand and pulled her up.
"My father needs to take lessons from you!" she said humorously.
Crono was about to talk when they heard a voice coming from behind
the grove of bushes. "It's Taban!" Crono exclaimed.
They walked around the bushes to see Lucca and Taban presenting their
latest invention. They saw a small crowd gathered in front of Tabanâs and
Lucca's invention. There were two huge pods that could fit a person in each.
A bunch of wires and cords came from the pods in all directions to two control
stations that were between the pods. Crono saw Lucca working on one of the
control stations while Taban was preparing the pods. "Hey Lucca!" Crono
called to her.
She looked up and saw Crono and Marle. "Oh hi! What's up Crono!
Hang on for a minute, okay?"
"Sure!" said Crono.
Lucca then walked up to Taban and said, "All right dad. I have set
the matter transfer modulator to .15 kilowatts per second. The matter
analyzers have been checked and the main energy bank is powered up."
Marle raised an eyebrow and asked Crono, "Does she always talk like
that?"
"No," he answered, "Just when she is working. Don't worry, she's
kind of normal."
"Kind of normal?" said Marle.
"Thank you dad!" Lucca waved back to Taban as she walked over to
Marle and Crono.
She wore her usual work outfit, her brown overalls, a yellow long
sleeve shirt, her brown boots, and a leather helmet that covered her brown
hair. She took off her glasses and whipped her forehead with her sleeve.
"Hi guys!" said Lucca with a friendly smile, "Dad is going to do the final
checks for me. Boy I can't wait to try this out!"
"Well, what is this thing-a-ma-jig?" Crono asked.
Lucca frowned and said, "Crono, I can't understand how you can't
see what this is. I just can't."
She then looked at Marle. "What's your name?"
"Marle," she answered.
"Okay Marle, answer me, what does this device look like? Tell Crono,
" Lucca challenged her.
Marle looked hard at the array of machines. "Uh, it looks like it
looks like a like a thing a-ma-jig."
"Pathetic," said Lucca with a frown of disappointment.
"Oh come on Lucca!" said Crono who now annoyed with her criticism,
"You know that only your father can ever come up with a good answer! Shesh!"
Lucca laughed and said, "I know! I'm just playing with you!"
"Looks more like annoying him," Marle commented.
Lucca looked back with a frown and Crono laughed. "Boy," said Lucca
looking at Marle, "you sure have a witty tongue! Have I meet you before?"
"No. I don't think so," Marle answered immediately.
"Hmm. Okay." Lucca then whispered quietly into Crono's ear, "Hey
Crono. Nice catch you have there. Way to go."
"Shut up!" said Crono as he pushed Luccaâs shoulder.
Lucca laughed again.
"What did she say?" Marle asked.
"Nothing," said Crono, "As you said, she was being annoying."
"Lucca! We're ready to start!" shouted Taban.
"Come on guys!" said Lucca as she waved them up, "Come and get in
front! This is going to be an awesome show!"
Marle started to follow when Crono grabbed her shoulder. "What?!"
she asked in surprise.
"I would stay back if I were you. A lot of her inventions blow up!
Taban is worse!"
"Oh come on and don't disappoint your friend," said Marle taking
Crono's hand and dragging him up in front of the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" announced Taban, "Behold the latest invention
of my wonderful daughter! The Matter/Energy Transport Machine!"
A couple of people clapped, including Marle and Crono. The rest just
stood and starred at Taban. "Hmm, tough crowd," said Taban.
Lucca whispered to Taban, "Then let's skip the simple stuff and go
right into the big guns, living matter."
"Will it work?" Taban asked Lucca.
Lucca nodded, but Taban didn't see her cross her fingers behind her
back. Crono did. "Okay, I'm leaving," he said as he started to leave.
"Oh come on Crono," said Marle as she attempted to hold Crono back.
"There! There is our volunteer!" shouted Taban, pointing directly at
Crono.
Crono began to step backwards. "Oh no," he said, "No way am I going
to be one of Lucca's guinea pigs. Not today."
Marle then grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him forward
toward Taban. Taban caught him and pulled him up. Crono looked back at
Marle. She gave back the most innocent grin. He rolled his eyes as he
turned to Taban. "So what do I do?" he asked.
"Just step inside this pod," Taban said pointing at the pod on his
left.
Crono slowly stepped inside the pod. He then looked at Lucca and
glared at her. Lucca winked back. "Ready?" Lucca asked Taban.
"Ready!" he answered.
"You better not blow me up like you did that rat when-"
Crono stopped when he heard the sudden sound of machinery start
running. Marle watched with anticipation as she saw flashing lights start
blinking around the pod. Crono shut his eyes. Lucca then finished the
countdown, "3...2...1...begin energy transfer now!"
A beam of light suddenly lit inside both of the pods. Marle then
saw Crono's silhouette begin to slowly fade. On the other pod to her
surprise she saw a vague silhouette slowly appear simultaneously. Finally,
she could no longer be seen in the pod he was in, but in the other pod Crono
could easily be distinguished. The crowd starred in wonder. Finally, the
beam in the pods ceased, and Crono was there in the other pod, still closing
his eyes. "Am I dead yet?" he asked in a small voice.
The crowd laughed with delight and cheered. Lucca had the look of
satisfaction on her face. Crono opened his eyes, and looked around in
confusion. "Hey! How did I end up here? Wow!"
He jumped out of the pod and ran to Marle. "Was it fun?" she asked.
"I guess. You might like to try it," said Crono.
Marle got a big grin on her face and said, "I will. Excuse me Taban,
can I go too?"
"Sure! Hop inside the pod!" Taban answered.
Marle got inside the pod and looked back at Crono. "I'm going with
my eyes open!" she said back to him.
The crowd laughed at the remark. Crono couldn't help not to blush a
little. "Okay!" shouted Lucca, "Here we go. Boot up the system. Good.
I'll start the countdown. 5...4...3...2...1...begin energy transfer now!"
The beams of light came down on the pods. Marle could be seen though
the light beams, smiling at the anticipation. Then, Crono noticed Marle's
pendant. It seemed to be glowing. Others in the crowd began to notice it
too. The pendant glowed brighter and stronger. "Lucca! What's going on?!"
Crono shouted to her, but she couldn't hear Crono over the sound of the
machinery.
Then without warning, bolts of electricity shot from the two pods
and traveled behind the monitoring consoles and hit each other. Then, a
round portal of swirling blue and white energy formed where the lightning
struck. The pendent then dropped on the floor of the pod. Marle suddenly
disappeared and reappeared at the front of the portal. Her face was full of
panic, when she was drawn inside the portal, and then it closed, leaving
nothing behind, except for the pendant on the floor of the pod. "Okay
everyone!" Lucca shouted to the crowd, "I forgot to tell you, this is a
different demonstration. She will reappear in an hour or so in perfect
condition. Come back at that time. Now go everyone. Go!"
The crowd murmured and talked among each other as they slowly left.
Crono stayed behind and ran up to Lucca. "Now tell me you wasn't lying!
Tell me!"
Lucca exhaled slowly and said, "I was lying."
"Lucca!" Crono shouted in anger, "Now what the hell happened?!"
Lucca thought and said, "It appeared the energy transfer somehow
affected her pendant. Obviously that was some kind of portal that Marle was
drawn into."
"A portal to where?" Crono asked.
"I don't know. I would think that wherever she went to, the portal
has closed on that side too, so she can't reenter the portal. I believe that
correcting that problem would be the correct course of action. Unfortunately,
it might take weeks for me to precisely know how, and then construct a device
to reopen that portal."
"Weeks?!" exclaimed Crono, "That's insane! She made not have weeks!"
"So what do you suggest we do?!" said Lucca in frustration.
Crono turned and thought for a minute. "There is only one thing to
do."
Crono set his sword case on the ground. He opened it and pulled out
his sword. He took the sheath with the sword in it and strapped it around
his belt. He then walked over to the pod Marle had disappeared in and
picked up the pendant. "I'm going in after her."
"Are you crazy?!" Lucca yelled, "We have no idea where that portal
lead to!"
Crono put the pendant around his neck and stepped into the pod.
"Lucca, if it is going to take weeks to rescue her, I need to be there in
case there is any trouble. Just do whatever you did before when she
disappeared with this machine of yours, and if I find·no, when I find Marle,
we will wait for you to pick us up."
"I'm totally against this!" said Lucca in anger. "Dad, what do you
think?"
Taban nodded and said, "I agree with my daughter, Crono. There is
no since in getting two people in trouble. Just be patient. Till then Crono,
you need to find her parents and tell them to come see me. My daughter and
I will work as fast as we possibly can."
Crono stepped down from the pod in defeat. He hadn't walked two
steps when without warning he felt some inspiration. He ran over to the
controls. In plain sight he saw the switch that said "START." He flipped
the switch and ran back into the pod. Lucca and Taban were talking when they
heard the machine start up again. "Crono! You idiot! You have no idea what
youâre doing!" Lucca shouted.
"Honey, can we disengage the teleport process?" Taban asked.
"No! It has to run full course, or we will lose Brad's signal! Come
on! We have to monitor that equipment!"
Lucca and Taban ran up to the control panels and checked everything.
All was clear. "Crono!" Lucca called to him over the roar of the machine,
"Be careful! I'll try to figure out what went wrong and come for you!
Don't worry!"
They saw Crono salute them. Lucca counted the last number. As usual
the beam of light fired down on top of Crono. The pendant immediately lit up,
unlike the first time when it slowly glowed brighter. Then, the bolts of
lightning shot from the pods and hit between them. Then, the portal
reappeared as it had before. Crono quickly grabbed onto the pendant when he
disappeared from the pod and reappeared in the portal. His face was full of
shock as the portal closed in front of him.
"Well," said Lucca with a sigh, "He took the pendant with him. Now
that just killed any ideas I had in mind."
"What's that? It looks like the portal, sort of," said Taban
pointing where the portal once stood.
Lucca looked back and saw what he was pointing at. It was a
sparkling blue ball, the size of a doorknob hovering at the sight of the
portal. "Now this is strange?" said Taban, "What could it be?"
Lucca smiled and said, "It's hope. Seeing this I think that Crono
and Marle might have a chance of getting back. I think."