(Nanaki: Welcome everyone, to the first new Chrono Trigger fanfic by me since 1998! (Based on the Icy chronology, not the FFN one.) I'm not really sure where this story came from, other than me mulling over what Kash's home universe must have been like. At any rate, if you haven't read The Origin and Aftermath of Mount Woe, this story will make little sense. Hopefully, you'd still be able to enjoy it and care about the characters, but I STRONGLY recommend reading both parts of the Mount Woe duology first. Though it's not as necessary, I also recommend reading Mox Jet's "Chrono Trigger: The Planeswalkers" ahead of time, because that story factors into this one as well. There'll be a few more details at the end of this chapter, but for now, let's get to the story!)

The Aftermath of Mount Woe: Kash's World

Chapter 1: The Turning Point

By Nanaki

12,002 B.C.

Greven Vecar let out a loud "Oomph!" as his back slammed into the floor, and his vision dimmed as his head followed suit a split second later. Queen Zeal's dangerously sweet voice sounded muffled in his ringing ears.

"What did I just tell you? Now, there are some matters I need to discuss with you." She said very calmly, as if she wasn't perfectly aware that the wind spell she had just cast on him probably would have killed him if he hadn't been wearing his armor.

"Go screw yourself!" Greven shouted as he twisted around, trying to scramble back to his feet. That probably hadn't been the smartest thing to say, but he was too pissed off to worry about being smart.

"Spirited. That was in the report." Queen Zeal said, very dryly. There was even a slight smirk on her face, though it disappeared when she spoke again. "Now then, it would seem that you have violated my daughter."

"Violated? What do you mean? I love her!" Greven snarled as he managed to get to a kneeling position, at least. It was not the first time he'd made that claim to an angry mother of a girl he was sleeping with, but it was the first time he'd meant it. None of those other angry mothers knew how to use magic, though. He realized that if he wanted to survive this confrontation, he needed to be more careful than he'd been so far.

"You probably do." He was surprised to hear Zeal admit. "But still, you use her for your own ends."

"I would never!" He exclaimed, and again, he meant it. God only knew, being the King of Zeal was the last thing he wanted. If he and Schala could get married, that was the necessary evil he was going to have to accept in order to do it.

Queen Zeal's calm facade disappeared. "You men are all alike!" She snarled. "You all use people, without even realizing it! Karak used me to get power. Even Vigo used me, to satisfy his need for a companion, and physical gratification. Yes, those count as ends. And you're using Schala, for all three of those reasons, probably."

Greven couldn't believe his ears. He was dealing with some majorly skewed logic here, but since it was coming from the ruler of the kingdom, he had to treat it seriously. "How can you say any of that? Vigo was a great man!" The irony wasn't lost on Greven that he was now defending Vigo's honor to the man's own wife. "And by your definition, Schala is using me for those same reasons! It's a two way trade." He pointed out.

"Ha! I doubt that." Zeal snorted. "And even if you're right, it won't stay that way. You're going to get her pregnant, if you keep this up."

If there was one thing Greven was truly an expert on, it was how to NOT get a girl pregnant, even in situations where it was pretty much inevitable. However, this was not a good time to bring that up. "So what? I love her. I would be there for her." He said sincerely. "It's not exactly like you don't have the resources to raise a child." He pointed out. The talking had bought him the time he needed to recover, and he got to his feet with a groan, rubbing the back of his head gingerly.

"That's not the point!" Zeal shook her head. "My daughter doesn't deserve that kind of pain. You have no idea what it's like, do you?"

"No." Greven answered bluntly. "But she's not like you. It would be worth it to her." At this, Zeal's face contorted in rage, and Greven realized he had messed up.

"Quit talking like you know her!" Zeal snarled.

Greven immediately bit his tongue to keep his retort in check. 'I know her a lot better than you ever did or ever will!!' He glared daggers at Zeal, but spoke calmly. "Maybe I don't know her as well as you, but your daughter is the most important person in the world to me. I think we have that much in common." He said reasonably. "So, what is it you want me to do?"

Zeal tilted her head to the side a bit as she regarded him, clearly surprised. She thought about it for several seconds before answering. "Leave. Go back to Enhasa, or the Earthbound village, and never return here."

Greven tilted his own head to the side, cracking his neck, and flashed his most charming smile. "Sorry. Can't do that. I'm sure Schala would come to visit me all the time, but it'd still be awfully inconvenient."

"That's the POINT, you imbecile!" Zeal hissed. "Obviously, you can never see Schala again."

Greven arched his back now, feeling pain radiate from several spots, but his smile remained in place. "Why? You got someone else in mind?"

"No." Zeal said bluntly. "Schala doesn't need you or any other man. She and I will shortly be immortal, along with anyone else I deem worthy."

"Huh." Was all Greven said. "So, let me get this straight. Your plan for your daughter's future is an infinite amount of time, spent completely alone. I'm sure she'll just LOVE that."

"Maybe not, but she doesn't know everything yet." Zeal replied.

'And neither do you.' Was Greven's reply, but he remained silent.

"She's an idealistic young fool who's managed to convince herself that she's in love." Zeal sighed. "So much like her father, it's scary."

"She IS in love." Greven insisted, quietly but forcefully. "And so am I."

Zeal snorted, then let out an unpleasant chuckle. "Love is just an illusion, a fairy tale created by the dominant to keep the submissive happy."

Patience had never been Greven's virtue, and his had just run out. Even before the words left his mouth, he knew that they would lead to trouble, but they left anyway. "How incredibly sad it is," he began as his eyes narrowed, "that the fate of the human race is in the hands of someone like you!!"

The smile returned to Queen Zeal's face as it disappeared from Greven's. "And what is the human race, anyway?" She raised an eyebrow. "A collection of stupid thugs and hopeless dreamers, seemingly determined to destroy each other." Zeal took her eyes off Greven and looked out the window, her eyes seeming to see something that wasn't there. "Did you know, before the Global War started, there were over 100,000 people on this planet? Yet by the time Vigo and I were born, there were less than 3,000. And why? Because our stupid race couldn't get its mind off of revenge even when its own self-preservation was at stake. Humans truly are despicable creatures indeed..."

"You speak as though you aren't human yourself." Greven pointed out, somewhat at a loss.

"Not for much longer." Zeal smiled once more. "The power of Lavos will change this insane world! From now on, this world is going to run the way I want it to run. The people I care about will live forever at my side, and all others will die. I will never have to be afraid of anything again."

"Afraid?" Greven was surprised. "You already rule the world! What do you have to be afraid of?"

The Queen grimaced now. "Guilt. Regret. Remorse. Pain. Always the thrice-damned pain!" Now her eyes returned to Greven. "And the great irony of it is, the people I love most have caused me more pain than anyone else! Especially my beloved Schala, Vigo's only heir, who damn near killed me on the day she was born!" She took a menacing step toward Greven. "It doesn't need to happen again. The cycle doesn't need to keep repeating itself. The end starts now, and all I have to do is kill you!!" Zeal thrust her right arm out, and a gigantic lightning bolt raced out of her hand, arcing into Greven's armor and smashing him hard into the outer wall. Greven heard pieces of rubble crumbling over his armor as he sank back down to a kneeling position.

"Forgive me for this, Schala." He whispered, then jumped back to his feet. "Seraphic Judgment!" A huge blast of purple holy energy erupted from his torso and slammed into Zeal, smashing her into the opposite wall even before her cry of surprise reached his ears. "You filthy Lavos Worshipper! Your reign of terror stops here!" Greven quickly drew his sword and charged forward. Dalton stepped forward to block his path, and Greven ran him through, not stopping until his sword was buried up to the hilt in Dalton's flesh. He yanked the bloody blade out and hurled Dalton to the side. Dalton began to chant a healing spell while he was coughing blood. Greven turned back to Zeal, just in time to see a razor sharp icicle slam into his armor, digging into his side and drawing a fair amount of blood.

"Reign of terror? How cliche! Ha!" Zeal laughed scornfully. "As I recall, your original death sentence was for terrorism! It's far past time that sentence was carried out!" She sent another lightning bolt arcing at Greven, this one aimed right at where the icicle was protruding from his armor. The incredible heat actually cauterized the wound, while doing plenty of damage at the same time. Greven roared in pain and rage, dropping to his knees once again. However, his roar turned into a shout of triumph as the true Holy spell launched from his chest. Zeal's form vanished in a blinding white explosion, and when it dissipated, she was sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath. Greven lurched back to his feet and charged forward with his sword once again. As he pulled the sword back behind his head for a vicious overhead chop, Dalton's hand grabbed his at the wrist.

"Why won't you die?!" Greven yelled. He twisted out of Dalton's grip and spun down into a brutal horizontal chop that nearly clove Dalton in half. The wizard screamed and dropped to the floor, murmuring healing spells while he crawled away, leaving an ugly trail of blood. Greven turned back toward Zeal, too late once again. He was mowed down as two rainbow colored Shadow beams crashed into him, rending gaping holes in his armor. Even as he regained his balance, he threw holy arcs of all shapes and sizes from various vectors, followed by one monstrous purple beam.

Queen Zeal was ready for him this time, and nothing got by her magical shields. They began to circle each other warily, not breaking eye contact. "You're a tough little fool, I'll give you that." Zeal said dryly. "But let's see how you handle this..." Greven ducked down low as he recognized the two Shadow triangles of the Dark Matter spell, but looked up again a second later when nothing happened to him. The two triangles had merged together in midair, becoming a hexagon of light.

'Schala warned me about this!' He realized. His eyes darted around, looking for somewhere to run, but Zeal was standing between him and the only exit. Then a small lightning explosion erupted in the center of the room, and the hexagon of light shot into it. The raging blue explosion that followed finally caused the weakened outer walls to blow out of the tower. Greven could only hold up his arms to protect his head as the destructive energy surrounded him.

Then the roaring in his ears stopped. He looked up, surprised. He felt awful, but he was still here! Zeal looked at him wickedly, and prepared another spell. Her smile faded fast when nothing happened. "Your wavelength all used up?" Greven achingly got to his feet. "Good." A very unhappy expression formed on Zeal's face as the incredible energy of Holy was thrown at her. She screamed as the blue and green ripples passed through her, and then, incredibly, circled around and hit her again! Zeal disappeared in the blinding white explosion, and Greven let a smile briefly flash across his face. He had used up his wavelength now too, but it was worth it. Zeal was practically finished.

As the Queen struggled back to her feet, Greven raised his sword once again and charged forward with all his remaining strength. "For everyone you've ever wronged!" He shouted, as the blade, unwavering, drew close to her heart.

Then he found himself stopping dead in his tracks as something smacked against his chest with a wet kind of sound. He felt an incredible wave of heat burning his face. Looking down, he saw a stream of lava flowing from the floor, up to his chest. It almost seemed to be an arm, and its fingers were wrapping around him. He grimaced as the heat began to melt his armor, and tried to squirm free. "What is this thing?!" He demanded, slicing at it with his sword. In one last burst of strength, he broke free, and made one last charge toward Zeal.

As the sword neared her heart again, he suddenly felt unbearable heat on his arm, and then it was gone. So was his arm. The brief second of relief was followed by incredible pain as blood poured out of the now empty socket. His stomach turned at the smell of burning flesh, and he saw the blackened remains of his arm being tossed away by the lava. Greven staggered forward a few steps. "Zeal!!!" He reached out threateningly with his left arm. "I'll get you if its the last thing I do!!!"

"This will be the last thing you do." She said with a wicked grin. "But you're not going to get me." Then the lava reared up in front of her, smashing into him, covering him much more thoroughly than last time. He felt the skin on his chin burning, his pores working overtime to put out enough sweat to cool him down, to no avail. Molten metal began to drip in his suit, and he screamed. "Aaauuugh!! You'll pay... Aaauuugh!!... for this!!!"

"I doubt it." Zeal's smile did not waver. "No one can withstand the power of Lavos!"

"Golem Breaker!!!" Greven and Zeal's eyes both widened in surprise as a ragged blast of purple and green energy tore through the arm of lava, and Greven collapsed backwards, breathing very heavily, while the lava that had been on his armor quickly solidified into rock. Zeal turned calmly to see Schala standing in the doorway, and she merely raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe no ONE can withstand the power of Lavos, mother." Schala growled. "But now you're dealing with two."

.

"Worlds turn in crucial moments of decision. Make your choice." - Gustha Ebbasdottir, Kjeldoran Royal Mage, Magic: the Gathering - Ice Age

(Nanaki's note: I just want to clear up one potentially confusing thing. I'm sure even very devoted fans of the Word of Imagination (Or me specifically. That's okay too.) were confused by Zeal's mention of the "Global War" in this chapter. This is the biggest change I'll be making to the continuity in "Mount Woe Special Edition". The Global War is another name for the war between Allegan and Besroda, which you may remember is the reason Dalton hates Schala (and Vigo) so much. In the original Mount Woe, that war took place over three hundred years in the past. In Mount Woe Special Edition, it's been bumped up to the much more recent past, so that it ended when Vigo was three years old. Dalton's hatred seems much more understandable this way, and it also explains why, at the beginning of the story, every person in the world was living in the caves of Allegan: There simply weren't that many humans left, and they all lived together for safety's sake. All right, on to chapter 2!)