Chapter 1 - Pathway to Adventure
"Crono? Crono." The bodiless voice seemed so far away, but familiar. "Crono!!"
With a thud a messy heap of 50% blanket and 50% boy tumbles to the rough oak floor. Shaking his head he manages to disentangle himself after a moment of awkward shuffling only to find himself face to face with the recognizable tapping of his mother's feet. "Sleeping in again I see, - melodramatic sigh- you know I wanted you to go in and pick me up some of those lovely flowers they're selling at-" "THE FAIR!" The young boy suddenly breaks in, fumbling for his blue jump suit and running a hand through hair. "I forgot!" Tying up his belt and bandana he rushes for the stairs, but is intercepted, a hand grabbing for his shirt collar, "Oof!". His mom arches an eyebrow dangerously, "Leaving without a goodbye hug?". Crono complies, giving her a quick embrace, to which she responds by placing a handful of coins into his palm. "Now don't spend it all in one place you hear?" But she might as well have been talking to the indifferent cat sitting nearby, because her son was already out the door.
Excitedly Crono bursts from the house, grabbing an old looking wooden sword lying against the well. He was attached to that thing, when he was young, his father used to teach him swordplay... but that was a long time ago. Blinking away his reverie and sliding the sword into a custom sheath, he makes his way up the dust beaten path towards the distant commotion of Leene Square.
Balloons dotted the horizon, dancers weaved their way through the crowd, drunks yelled obnoxiously to cheer on the racers they had bet on. Yes, this was the Millennia Fair. To celebrate the year 1000, almost all of Guardia was here to have fun and throw their worries away, welcome a new age. There were also merchants and others there out to make a few coins, one of which was a very aged, wizened looking man stooping over a bundle of various crafted weapons - well crafted by the looks of them. This man also had very curious dress. but this was not an odd sight in Leene Square at the moment. Murmuring to himself, the man places a few blades on display, overhearing an interesting conversation between two nearby individuals. "Aye, heard the she ran away again." "That she did. She's a regular tomboy, *laughs* his majesty sure must have quite a few more gray hairs with that'un.". The old man strokes his grizzled beard, reminiscing...
Pushing his way through a mob of rambunctious kids, Crono steps up to a merchant's tent, tapping the service bell. A friendly man in a turban quite too big for his head and a smile too big for his face appears from the recesses. "'Ullo there lad! Was afraid you weren't going to show." Crono nods vigorously "So ya got the flowers Gerin??" The man grins, knowing the boy's in a hurry to go see the sites. He ducks down for a moment, then appears, holding a bundle of Bell Flowers. they were very beautiful, special in their blue color and thornless stems. "Thanks a bunch!" Crono drops a few silver coins on the counter, stuffing the flowers in his belt- pouch and dashes off. The merchant cups his hands, calling after him "Oh and Lucca's doing a bit of a show up at the north end!". Now THIS is what I call fun, the beautiful young girl thinks to herself as she makes her way through the sights and sounds of the Square. It was easy to tell right off that this particular young woman was different enough to stand out here, she wore only an elegant white blouse and silk billowy pants, yet her manner and appearance did not quite belong. "Ooh!" She cries out, spotting a enormous bell situated atop a stone mount. Leene's bell. the center trademark of Leene Square. She starts forward quickly, hoping for a good look. when suddenly WHAM the girl falls backward, falling to the ground stunned. "Oww! Watch where you're...gah..." Crono looks down in awe at a girl. a very pretty girl he thought at first, long blonde hair tied back in a tail, green eyes. but Crono hadn't had much experience with the female species before, so how was he to tell? Just then a sparkle caught his eye, glancing over he sees a pendant on the ground close by, he picks it up and kneels down next to the girl, shaking her gently by the shoulders. "Hey, umm. you ok?"
Blinking open her eyes she gazes up at a handsome boy about her age with a mop full of red spiky hair, blue eyes. Now this girl, unlike Crono, new when she saw something she liked. "Ung... yeah, I'm ok. Thanks." She smiles and allows him to help her up to her feet. "Hey. I don't think I've ever seen you around here before. I'm Crono." He forces a crooked grin, glancing at her. "Oh... uhh, I'm...Marle, yeah. Pleased to meetchya!" She returns the smile. "Mind if I tag along? I'm kinda new around here." Crono shrugs uncomfortably. "Yeah, sure... I guess." He holds up the pendant. "This yours?" The girl takes it happily "Oh yes! Thanks a bunch." Crono nods. Trying to just go with the flow, he gestures and makes his way towards the north end of the fair grounds to see his best friend, Lucca's, invention she's been talking about lately. He thinks to himself : this girl business is easier than he thought. just do his thing, she'll follow, no big deal..."WAIIIT! I want to buy some candy!" Crono winces and turns around to see Marle grab him by the arm and practically drag him over to a nearby stand laden with candies of all assortments. Shaking his head, he crosses his arms and waits patiently as Marle takes her time, finally deciding on a selection. "Thanks for waiting." She smiles sweetly, the boredom oddly washing away from Crono's mind as he leads her up some steps into the north plaza, but not before stealing a glance at an array of nice looking swords... to which the odd looking old man responds, glancing back with a slight smile. "Hear ye hear ye! The Great Lucca will now unveil the most spectacular invention to mark the dawn of a new millennia!" With a dramatic gesture, Lucca indicates a large lumpy something covered in a tarp. Nodding to her father a few yards away who also was standing next to a identical object, they both fling away the coverings. =Confused ooh's and ahh's= "Erm. what is it?" A man calls out from the audience. Lucca grins, adjusting her spectacles on her nose. "Why... it's my transmogrifier-transporter of course!" Spreading her arms wide towards the still confused crowd, she spots Crono heading towards her accompanied by a strange woman. "Hey!" Lucca darts over, slugging the approaching Crono on the shoulder lightly. "How ya been?" Crono shrugs, gazing at her machine along with Marle. "Oh and =leans forward, whispering in his ear= where did'ja pick up the cute girl?" Lucca chuckles, not awaiting an answer as she leads them to a front row seat. "You're just in time... I'm about to test out... I mean uhh, 'use' my transporter." =Turning to the assembly= "Are there any volunteers to try out this most remarkable device?!" The crowd mumbles, glancing away... "He'll do it!" Marle jumps up, grabbing Crono by the wrist and waving his arm. "W-wait. just a second.!" Lucca nods and takes Crono's hand, leading him up onto one of the devices. Crono stands awkwardly on a wide metallic platform, the various appendages of the machine now fixated on him. "Now ladies and gentleman..." Waving to her dad they both turn to a control panel and begin pressing seemingly random levers, buttons, and the like.
At first... the crowd watches in silence... nothing was happening. Suddenly a whirring noise is heard, followed by a crackle of electricity as several beams of light shoot out from the machine and focus on Crono's body. The boy flexes his fingers, frowning a bit as a strong tingling feeling envelopes his body. In a flash of light he vanishes from sight just as the opposing platform clicks to life. Slowly Crono's body takes shapes on the platform, brought back to life as if by magic in an instant, yards away. The crowd gasps in awe as the boy stumbles off back to his seat, rubbing the side of his head. "Yow, what a ride..."
"Oh oh! Me next!" Marle, who had watched the whole thing with much enthusiasm now darted up onto the platform. "Throw the switch Lucca!" Lucca smiles and nods, resetting the machine, "And away we go!". Marle grins broadly, waving to the people, and calling out excitedly, "Buhbye everyone!". The machine begins it's process, and everything seems to be going smoothly. but Lucca was frowning. "Hey. this isn't ri-- whooaa!" Just then bursts of energy radiate from the device, centering on the now glowing pendant clutched in Marle's hand. A huge blue gaping hole suddenly springs up from out of nowhere, drawing Marle in it's undulating center. The audience roars in dismay, scattering away in all directions. Marle's scream of terror rises above the commotion, she drops the pendant to the ground as the hole shrinks and disappears as quick as it came, taking Marle along with it and cutting off her cry for help. "Crono! Hellll..."
"Crono? Crono." The bodiless voice seemed so far away, but familiar. "Crono!!"
With a thud a messy heap of 50% blanket and 50% boy tumbles to the rough oak floor. Shaking his head he manages to disentangle himself after a moment of awkward shuffling only to find himself face to face with the recognizable tapping of his mother's feet. "Sleeping in again I see, - melodramatic sigh- you know I wanted you to go in and pick me up some of those lovely flowers they're selling at-" "THE FAIR!" The young boy suddenly breaks in, fumbling for his blue jump suit and running a hand through hair. "I forgot!" Tying up his belt and bandana he rushes for the stairs, but is intercepted, a hand grabbing for his shirt collar, "Oof!". His mom arches an eyebrow dangerously, "Leaving without a goodbye hug?". Crono complies, giving her a quick embrace, to which she responds by placing a handful of coins into his palm. "Now don't spend it all in one place you hear?" But she might as well have been talking to the indifferent cat sitting nearby, because her son was already out the door.
Excitedly Crono bursts from the house, grabbing an old looking wooden sword lying against the well. He was attached to that thing, when he was young, his father used to teach him swordplay... but that was a long time ago. Blinking away his reverie and sliding the sword into a custom sheath, he makes his way up the dust beaten path towards the distant commotion of Leene Square.
Balloons dotted the horizon, dancers weaved their way through the crowd, drunks yelled obnoxiously to cheer on the racers they had bet on. Yes, this was the Millennia Fair. To celebrate the year 1000, almost all of Guardia was here to have fun and throw their worries away, welcome a new age. There were also merchants and others there out to make a few coins, one of which was a very aged, wizened looking man stooping over a bundle of various crafted weapons - well crafted by the looks of them. This man also had very curious dress. but this was not an odd sight in Leene Square at the moment. Murmuring to himself, the man places a few blades on display, overhearing an interesting conversation between two nearby individuals. "Aye, heard the she ran away again." "That she did. She's a regular tomboy, *laughs* his majesty sure must have quite a few more gray hairs with that'un.". The old man strokes his grizzled beard, reminiscing...
Pushing his way through a mob of rambunctious kids, Crono steps up to a merchant's tent, tapping the service bell. A friendly man in a turban quite too big for his head and a smile too big for his face appears from the recesses. "'Ullo there lad! Was afraid you weren't going to show." Crono nods vigorously "So ya got the flowers Gerin??" The man grins, knowing the boy's in a hurry to go see the sites. He ducks down for a moment, then appears, holding a bundle of Bell Flowers. they were very beautiful, special in their blue color and thornless stems. "Thanks a bunch!" Crono drops a few silver coins on the counter, stuffing the flowers in his belt- pouch and dashes off. The merchant cups his hands, calling after him "Oh and Lucca's doing a bit of a show up at the north end!". Now THIS is what I call fun, the beautiful young girl thinks to herself as she makes her way through the sights and sounds of the Square. It was easy to tell right off that this particular young woman was different enough to stand out here, she wore only an elegant white blouse and silk billowy pants, yet her manner and appearance did not quite belong. "Ooh!" She cries out, spotting a enormous bell situated atop a stone mount. Leene's bell. the center trademark of Leene Square. She starts forward quickly, hoping for a good look. when suddenly WHAM the girl falls backward, falling to the ground stunned. "Oww! Watch where you're...gah..." Crono looks down in awe at a girl. a very pretty girl he thought at first, long blonde hair tied back in a tail, green eyes. but Crono hadn't had much experience with the female species before, so how was he to tell? Just then a sparkle caught his eye, glancing over he sees a pendant on the ground close by, he picks it up and kneels down next to the girl, shaking her gently by the shoulders. "Hey, umm. you ok?"
Blinking open her eyes she gazes up at a handsome boy about her age with a mop full of red spiky hair, blue eyes. Now this girl, unlike Crono, new when she saw something she liked. "Ung... yeah, I'm ok. Thanks." She smiles and allows him to help her up to her feet. "Hey. I don't think I've ever seen you around here before. I'm Crono." He forces a crooked grin, glancing at her. "Oh... uhh, I'm...Marle, yeah. Pleased to meetchya!" She returns the smile. "Mind if I tag along? I'm kinda new around here." Crono shrugs uncomfortably. "Yeah, sure... I guess." He holds up the pendant. "This yours?" The girl takes it happily "Oh yes! Thanks a bunch." Crono nods. Trying to just go with the flow, he gestures and makes his way towards the north end of the fair grounds to see his best friend, Lucca's, invention she's been talking about lately. He thinks to himself : this girl business is easier than he thought. just do his thing, she'll follow, no big deal..."WAIIIT! I want to buy some candy!" Crono winces and turns around to see Marle grab him by the arm and practically drag him over to a nearby stand laden with candies of all assortments. Shaking his head, he crosses his arms and waits patiently as Marle takes her time, finally deciding on a selection. "Thanks for waiting." She smiles sweetly, the boredom oddly washing away from Crono's mind as he leads her up some steps into the north plaza, but not before stealing a glance at an array of nice looking swords... to which the odd looking old man responds, glancing back with a slight smile. "Hear ye hear ye! The Great Lucca will now unveil the most spectacular invention to mark the dawn of a new millennia!" With a dramatic gesture, Lucca indicates a large lumpy something covered in a tarp. Nodding to her father a few yards away who also was standing next to a identical object, they both fling away the coverings. =Confused ooh's and ahh's= "Erm. what is it?" A man calls out from the audience. Lucca grins, adjusting her spectacles on her nose. "Why... it's my transmogrifier-transporter of course!" Spreading her arms wide towards the still confused crowd, she spots Crono heading towards her accompanied by a strange woman. "Hey!" Lucca darts over, slugging the approaching Crono on the shoulder lightly. "How ya been?" Crono shrugs, gazing at her machine along with Marle. "Oh and =leans forward, whispering in his ear= where did'ja pick up the cute girl?" Lucca chuckles, not awaiting an answer as she leads them to a front row seat. "You're just in time... I'm about to test out... I mean uhh, 'use' my transporter." =Turning to the assembly= "Are there any volunteers to try out this most remarkable device?!" The crowd mumbles, glancing away... "He'll do it!" Marle jumps up, grabbing Crono by the wrist and waving his arm. "W-wait. just a second.!" Lucca nods and takes Crono's hand, leading him up onto one of the devices. Crono stands awkwardly on a wide metallic platform, the various appendages of the machine now fixated on him. "Now ladies and gentleman..." Waving to her dad they both turn to a control panel and begin pressing seemingly random levers, buttons, and the like.
At first... the crowd watches in silence... nothing was happening. Suddenly a whirring noise is heard, followed by a crackle of electricity as several beams of light shoot out from the machine and focus on Crono's body. The boy flexes his fingers, frowning a bit as a strong tingling feeling envelopes his body. In a flash of light he vanishes from sight just as the opposing platform clicks to life. Slowly Crono's body takes shapes on the platform, brought back to life as if by magic in an instant, yards away. The crowd gasps in awe as the boy stumbles off back to his seat, rubbing the side of his head. "Yow, what a ride..."
"Oh oh! Me next!" Marle, who had watched the whole thing with much enthusiasm now darted up onto the platform. "Throw the switch Lucca!" Lucca smiles and nods, resetting the machine, "And away we go!". Marle grins broadly, waving to the people, and calling out excitedly, "Buhbye everyone!". The machine begins it's process, and everything seems to be going smoothly. but Lucca was frowning. "Hey. this isn't ri-- whooaa!" Just then bursts of energy radiate from the device, centering on the now glowing pendant clutched in Marle's hand. A huge blue gaping hole suddenly springs up from out of nowhere, drawing Marle in it's undulating center. The audience roars in dismay, scattering away in all directions. Marle's scream of terror rises above the commotion, she drops the pendant to the ground as the hole shrinks and disappears as quick as it came, taking Marle along with it and cutting off her cry for help. "Crono! Hellll..."