My pager chose the opportune moment as I engaged the Epoch's engines to go off. I almost decided to ignore it- I had bigger things on my plate- but a voice from behind me advised me, "I would take that call, Miss Ashtear."

I swore a blue streak while simultaneously jumping out of my seat so hard I hit the canopy. Turning to face the intruder, I found the hawk-eyed man in the business suit who had mysteriously disappeared from Chronopolis the day I'd presented Melodyne to Belthasar. "You!" I accused, "What are you doing in my-"

"Prepare for unforeseen consequences." He smiled enigmatically.

"Wha-?" I made the mistake of blinking, and then creepy-stalker-man was gone.

My pager continued to beep in the puzzled silence that followed. Reluctantly, I reached for it.

"Lucca!" Belthasar's voice came through. "The facility is under attack! All our research…" he mourned.

"Under attack? By whom?" I asked.

"Monsters. Off-worlders. I'm not sure...I've never seen anything like them before. They seem to be part human and part...something else. We've engaged aerial defence but it's only a matter of time before they enter Chronopolis itself. If you could manage to sneak inside and salvage any of your data, any at all…"

My data was already backed up on my console at home, but Belthasar was unaware of that. The narcissist was still obsessed with his dreams of immortality, of unlocking the secrets of time and inter-dimensional travel. "Is that all you care about any more? Data?" I seethed. "I tell you something, when I find that data I'll shove it up your-" I was interrupted by the sound of a distant explosion. Looking out to sea, I could see plumes of smoke rising over the waves.

Melodyne was pounding on the canopy. I opened it, and she jumped inside, yelling frantically, "We have to save Hope!"

"You got the page, too?" I asked.

"Yes. Now go, go!" she urged.

I didn't need to be told twice. Closing the canopy, I kicked the engines into high gear and banked out over the ocean.

It wasn't hard to pinpoint the source of conflict. A glowing blue portal had opened in the stormy sky, spilling an eerie light down on the terrifying scene below us. Combine ships, looking like enormous, hovering insects, were opening fire on Chronopolis' limited arial troops. The smaller jet fighters of my world were more maneuverable but simply lacked numbers, and one had gone down, opening a hole in the side of the facility and leaving it vulnerable for ground troops to invade. I saw dropships coming in to do just that.

Fortunately, years of training with guns of all types have made me an excellent marksman. The drop ships fell like stones into the waters below as I got them in my laser turret's sights. The remaining gunships, alerted to the new threat, began to converge on us.

"Melodyne, take the controls for a while," I instructed.

"But I don't know how to fly!" she protested.

"Just hold the joystick steady for a few minutes. That's all I need. Oh, and be prepared for a little wind chill."

"Wha-?"

I punched the canopy button, and her protests were lost in the sound of rushing air. I had to time this right, or it could blow up in our faces, literally.

Closer, closer… I thought as I harnessed the arcane forces I would need to pull my little stunt off. My hands began to heat up, glowing with fiery light.

The gunships were gaining, and so was my power. Filled to the brim with energy that set my hair standing on end and had me levitating a good foot above my seat, I unleashed a hellish inferno on the Combine with a triumphant shout. The fiery explosion rocketed outward from my fingertips with the Epoch at the epicenter, engulfing everything within range. I quickly slid back into the copilot seat and engaged the canopy as pieces of burning shrapnel began to fall from the sky.

"Whooo! Score one for the pyromaniac!" I crowed as the canopy clicked into place. Melodyne was staring grimly forward, jaw clenched, hands gripping the joystick so tightly that her knuckles were white.

"A little warning would be nice next time," she gritted from between her teeth.

"Awww, were you scared for me?" I teased, the afterglow of magic still burning in my veins.

"Does 'Oh God, Oh God, we're all gonna die,' qualify as 'scared?'" Melodyne snapped.

I sobered a bit. "Sorry. I can sometimes make rash decisions in the heat of battle." I placed my hands over hers and pried them from the joystick. "Wanna let me take over the flying again?"

She nodded stiffly and relinquished her hold.

Landing in what was left of the hangar, I found a concerned group of colleagues huddled around an inert form on the floor. Data files were strewn about the prostrate form, heaped on the floor and left to scatter on the breeze that filtered through the room. Drawing closer, I could make out the features of my mentor- my dictator- Belthasar.

"Lucca…" he breathed, catching sight of me. The crowd parted to allow me better access. It was then that I noticed the blood soaking his bright blue robes.

"How did this happen?" I demanded.

"Burning shrapnel. Falling from the sky," Belthasar made a ghastly, wheezing attempt at a laugh.

I'd done this. Indirectly, perhaps, but I'd done it all the same. I was responsible for his death. True, I'd thought he was a megalomaniac, but I'd never wished for him to die. The weight of what I'd committed dragged me to my knees. "Please," I begged. "Tell me how to make this right…"

"Lucca, my only regret was that I did not live long enough to participate in your grand experiment. Promise me…" He hacked, wrenching coughs that shook his whole body. "Promise me that you will continue to use your genius to better mankind. I pass Chronopolis into your care."

Melodyne, who had been searching for a medic, returned at that moment with one by her side. The medic knelt, scanned for vital signs, and then grimly pronounced, "He's gone."

One of the scientists who had been there to hear Belthasar's last words turned to me. "Miss Ashtear, what do we do now?"

My head was spinning. What were we supposed to do? I was responsible for a facility and it's staff now, I couldn't just go leaping blindly off into the void on some suicide mission to retrieve the Flame.

Melodyne rested her hand on my shoulder. "I may not know how to fly, but I do have access to the personnel files and database for Chronopolis, should the new CEO chose to give them to me."

I mouthed a "Thank you," at her, and then announced to everyone within hearing radius, "As your new CEO, I promise to track down and neutralize this inter-dimensional threat. I will do so personally, meaning that my assistant, Melodyne, will be in charge in the meantime. All staff are to be on the lookout for inter-dimensional and temporal disturbances. Report them immediately to Melodyne if you notice any."

I took a deep breath and continued. "All of you were chosen because you are exceptional, brilliant, and outstanding in your fields. I believe that as we progress together into the future, we will not only have a better understanding of the obstacles that stand in our way, but be able to overcome them completely. Our genius, our drive, working as one, will better humanity and give it hope."

"So lets get moving, people! To the future!"

A few scattered cheers met my rallying speech, and people shuffled off to their various destinations. I bent and closed Balthasar's eyes. "I will keep that promise," I told him before the medics hauled him away.

I waited until I was safely in my own labs before I let the waterworks start. Hope really didn't help.

I thought you were all dead! she bawled, curling into a tight knot around my neck as soon as I laid my head on my desk and refusing to let go. They called out the artillery and...and…there was a horrible explosion… and...hggrrzzzt! she gave a mechanical noise that was somewhere between a wail and a burst of static.

"Belthasar is dead. Lucca is the new CEO," Melodyne announced grimly. "Or at least, I am, until you two get back from your mission." As Hope balled tighter around my neck, she inquired, "Are you still sure you want to do this?"

Of course I'm sure! I have to stop anything like this from happening ever again! Hope was adamant. I'm so- so sick of being leashed to the ceiling all the time and not being able to do anything!

I dried my eyes with my neckerchief and gently pried Hope's chassis away from me. "Well then, we have some work to do. You can start backing up your memory, and in the meantime, we'll decide how you want to look. I'm assuming you don't want a male analoge?"

Hope recoiled in shock. Ew, no! I'm a girl, thanks very much.

"Good. Now that we have that established, how about your hair color?"

Um, I don't know. What's Compy's hair color?

"White," I informed her.

Ugh, no, not white. That's too much like the ice I got stuck in. Too cold. It shut down my systems for years. What's a warm color?

"Red," I blurted, and immediately regretted it. It brought back too many painful memories…

"Crono, no, stop!" Marle cried out, reaching a bleeding hand toward him.

"Crono, you're going to get yourself killed!" my scream echoed in the void, similarly disregarded.

Crono, shielding himself from Lavos' energy with his own two hands, refused to look behind him. His body was already battle-worn, hence my concern, but there was much more at stake here.

Lavos horrendous mouth was gaping wide, preparing for another energy blast. It created a small vacuum that sucked us all in very slowly. Crono was about to break, I could see it. His unique magic was shielding all of us, but not for much longer. He was about to shatter, mind, body, and soul. A single, sorrowful tear ran down his cheek as he released his spirit, transporting me and Marle to safety. His body crumbled into the dust, unheeding of my last protests.

"Crono no! Don't leave me, DON'T LEAVE ME!"

He's alive now, I reminded myself sternly. He's alive and if you want to keep him that way you need to focus on the task at hand.

...Not red? came Hope's soft inquiry from the vicinity of my face. I went cross-eyed for a moment before I realized she was observing the tears pricking in my eyes.

"No, red is okay, if you like it…" I sighed and kneaded my forehead with my hands. "I just have death on the brain."

Hope mused for a moment. What about pink? Pink is warm and happy.

Melodyne laughed. "You want to go into a warzone with pink hair?"

Soon I was chuckling, too. "Beware this mad scientist's twisted creation, for it is warm and happy- yet deadly!"

Hope was properly offended. Hey, just because I have pink hair doesn't mean I can't kick butt. Just give me a punk haircut or something.

Melodyne laughed again. "One thing's for sure, Lucca. You're going to have the most unusual task force in the multiverse!"