Introduction
I've always wanted to write Chrono Trigger in a novel form, so I decided to get off my lazy behind and do it. Basically, this is a retelling of the Chrono Trigger story, but more from the point of view of Marle, and to a lesser degree, Lucca. That's right, Crono is no longer the main character. And he talks. I realize some fans will crucify me for this, but that's just how I wanted to write it. This is my first fanfic, so I'd appreciate any and all reviews. Depending on what those reviews say, I may continue writing into the future. My continuing work on this story is dependant on whether or not people read it, so if you like it, please review it! Chapters will be updated more or less weekly. If you want to ask me a question or have any (constructive) criticism for my work, email me at Thanks for reading!
Zane Rodnick-Smith aka ZanethePain
To Far Away Times: Chapter 1
She put on a pair of white trousers and matching tank top, then pulled her strawberry blond hair into a ponytail and checked herself in the mirror. Good. Nobody would suspect a thing. Her father had forbidden her from going to the Millennial Fair, but she wasn't going to let a little thing like that stop her. Checking to see if anyone was watching, she pulled a rope out from under her bed and lowered it out her window. Agilely touching down on the grass, she took off in the direction of the fair.
"Welcome to the Millenial Fair, young lady! Have fun!" a cheerful looking old woman greeted her at the entrance. The fair was like nothing she had ever seen. Vendors hawking wares to passersby, brightly colored balloons and ribbons everywhere, booths with all sorts of exciting games ringing the square, it was almost too much to take in at once. Trying to decide what to do first, she noticed a flier tacked to a fencepost. "TODAY ONLY! THE GREAT INVENTORS TABAN AND LUCCA PRESENT THEIR LATEST BRILLIANT INVENTION! COME SEE US AT THE NORTH END OF THE SQUARE!" She giggled to herself. Everyone had heard of the infamous father/daughter team of inventors and their often volatile creations. This was too good an opportunity to pass up. She headed for the north end of the square. Two fair volunteers were standing in front of the steps to the north plaza, blocking passage.
"Excuse me," she asked. "Is this where the invention is being shown?"
"Yeah," one of them replied, "but it's not set up yet. Come back later."
A bit put out, she walked back to the square. As she hurried through the square, deciding what to do next, she caught a brief glimpse of a shape out of the corner of her eye…
WHAM!
"Owwwww…" The shape groaned. She picked herself up off the ground and ran over to the person she'd bumped in to.
"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" she asked. It was a boy about her age, with spiky red hair. He stood up and dusted himself off. "Yeah, sorry about that," he said sheepishly. "I wasn't paying attention."
She checked herself for bruises and noticed something else. "My pendant!" she cried. "Did I lose it?" Quickly she fell to her hands and knees and started searching all over. The boy tapped her on the shoulder.
"Um, is this is it?" He held out a small red jewel on a silver chain.
"Yes, that's it! Thanks so much!" She replaced the pendant around her neck. "It has a lot of sentimental value for me. I would be really sad if I lost it." She looked at the boy again. Now that she got a good look at him, she thought he was kind of cute.
"Could I ask a favor? I'm not from around here, so I feel sorta out of place. Would you mind showing me around?" she asked.
"Sure, no problem," he replied. She grinned happily.
"You're a true gentleman! By the way, I'm, uh, Marle. What's your name?"
"Me? I'm Crono."
"Great! Lead on, Crono!"
"The first place I want to stop is at the swordsmith. My mom said I could buy myself a real katana this year." Crono and Marle were chatting lightheartedly as they wandered around the fair.
"You want to be a soldier or something?"
"Nah, it's more like a hobby of mine. Truth be told, I haven't really thought about it much. Here it is."
The sword smith Melchior was a man who had not let old age slow him down. His muscles still rippled underneath his traveling cloak. "Hey there, can I interest you in one of my fine blades?" Crono looked over the selection of finely crafted swords before finally picking out a long, curved sword and matching sheath.
"There you go. That'll be 350 gold pieces." The currency had long since been replaced by cheaper metals, but it was still called gold out of tradition. The transaction completed, Melchior turned to Marle. "Anything for you, young la…" His eyes narrowed as they fell on her pendant. "Say, you wouldn't be willing to sell that pendant, now would you?"
Marle clutched her pendant. "No way. This thing's important to me." Melchior shrugged, but his eyes didn't leave the pendant. Crono broke the awkward silence that followed. "Hey, I think the races are starting. Let's go watch!"
Marle, only too happy to be away from the sword smith's piercing gaze, readily agreed. The races were set up around the square, with a group of people in costume running laps around a closed off track. Crono and Marle squeezed into a spot near the starting line. Marle grinned roguishly at Crono.
"Say, Crono, care to make a bet on the race?"
"Sure, 10 gold pieces says the guy in the reptile costume wins."
"You're on. I say the soldier wins."
The runners moved up to the starting line. "Ready, go!" The runners took off like a shot. "C'mon, soldier!" Marle screamed. "You can do better than that! C'mon!"
"You call that running, lizard man?" Crono screamed in retaliation. "Put some muscle into it!"
Huffing and puffing, the runners raced around the track, with the soldier and the reptile jockeying for first place.
"Come on, soldier!"
"Go lizard!"
"Soldier!"
"Lizard!"
"Soldier!"
"Liza…"
At the last moment, a man in knight's armor made of cardboard pushed forward and ran into first place. The race committee presented him with a trophy as the other runners collapsed at the finish line.
"Aw man, neither of us won." Marle moaned.
"Don't get discouraged, at least neither of us has to pay,"
Marle grinned at him. "Don't worry about it. I'm having a great time!"
Crono got a mischievous look in his eye. "In that case, how'd you like to go see my friend Lucca's new invention?"
Marle's eyes bugged out of her head. "Lucca? The crazy inventor? You're friends with her?"
Crono chuckled. "I wouldn't exactly call her crazy, but yeah, I've known her since we were little kids."
Marle gaped. "This is almost too good to be true. I have GOT to see this."
The north end of the square was packed with people, all talking animatedly about Lucca and her father Taban's latest harebrained invention.
"Come one, come all, our Super Dimensional Warp is the invention of the century!"Taban's booming voice echoed over the crowd. He bustled back and forth in front of two large platforms with a bunch of complicated looking equipment around them. "Are there any brave souls in the audience who care to try? Anyone?" Crono and Marle pushed their way to the front of the crowd. Marle pushed Crono forward.
"Go on, it looks like fun, you try it and I'll watch."
"Crono!"
A girl with short black hair and large, moon shaped glasses looked up from the tangle of machinery and waved at him. Crono walked over to her.
"What's the matter, Lucca?"
Lucca wiped the grease off her hands and extracted herself from the machine. "It's a disaster! Nobody wants to try the machine! They're all scared."
Crono laughed. "Given your reputation, it's not surprising."
Lucca pretended to pout. "You're mean, Crono. C'mon, give it a try. It'll be fun and it'll help other people loosen up. Please?"
Crono gave an exaggerated sigh. "All right. After all, what are friends for other than to test your insane inventions on?"
Lucca clapped her hands. "I knew you'd understand! Right this way, Master Crono!" Lucca frog-marched Crono up to the left platform. He stood nervously stood on the pod while Taban and Lucca tinkered with the machinery.
"All systems go! Begin energy transfer!" A high pitched whine built up in the machine, followed by a bright flash, revealing Crono standing on the right telepod, looking a little woozy but none the worse for wear. Marle rushed up to Crono and jumped up and down giddily. "Oh WOW! That was great!"
Lucca glanced at Marle, then at Crono, then at Marle again, and nudged Crono in the ribs. "Crono, you sly dog. Where'd you pick up a cutie like her?"
Crono blushed furiously. "I'm just showing her around, that's all. Lucca, this is Marle. Marle, Lucca."
Lucca went into an exaggerated bow. "Well then, fair Marle, would thou like to try our fine invention?"
Marle giggled. "I thought you'd never ask!" Marle hopped onto the left platform.
Taban walked over to Marle. "Behold, ladies and gentlemen, as this lovely young lady goes through our teleporter! Let's give her a big hand when she reappears!"
Taban and Lucca began to throw the switches, and the high pitched whine started again. Instead of the usual bright flash, a dull glow was beginning to build up around the left pod.
"Hey, look at her necklace!" someone in the crowd shouted. As the whine got louder, the pendant was beginning to glow with a bright, blood red light.
"Wha…?" Marle stared at her pendant in surprise. Suddenly, a great explosion racked the machinery, throwing Lucca and Taban across the plaza. Great bursts of energy spewed from the machine, converging into a glowing blue hole between the two pods. As the glow around the pendant grew brighter, the hole exploded into a chaotic rift, a tear in the fabric in space and time. Everyone watched in horror as the girl was sucked into the glowing rift and disappeared, leaving only the pendant, glowing faintly on the telepod's surface.