Chrono Trigger
Break the Seal; In which our heroes discover a new way to travel through time…
The coldness of the fallen world was behind them and they found themselves in a lush and tropical world once more. Although the coldness of this world was nothing in comparison to the one from whence they came, there was a noticeable difference in temperature. Even more so, the air did not feel as humid. Even the flora and fauna were more bare and the ground was drier. A cool wind blew across the smooth stone of the crater field and it brought to their attention that night was drawing close.
Lucca looked at the gateway and asked in an almost timid fashion, "Should we try to go back and see what happens?"
Robo answered, "If Schala disobeyed and did not seal the gate, we are still unable to use magic as of yet. We would be defeated in an instant."
Lucca nodded her head glumly and patted Robo on his shoulder, "Ah, Robo...you and your depressing logic..."
"I felt that if you weren't going to say it, I might as well have done it." Robo said, feigning cheerfulness.
"I wonder when our weakness shall abate and our strength will be renewed?" Glenn looked at his hands and saw that they could still not conjure water.
Marle leaned in close to Crono while the others spoke and whispered into his ear, "What should we do?"
Crono, who's mind was still dwelling on the Earth bounders, said nothing and left it up to Marle and her intuition. Marle was not annoyed, but felt some kind of satisfaction in knowing how Crono felt just by his manner of silence. She gently rubbed Crono's shoulder and spoke with an unusually cheerful voice, "I suppose the first thing we should wonder is how are we going to get back?"
"I believe that upon all these many musings I am bothered by this most of all: why did the prophet spare us?" Glenn asked, his gloved hand holding his chin.
"Good question." Ayla said with a nod.
"Whatever the case, I believe that we cannot go back." Robo had taken the gate key and held it to the portal. The portal only fizzled in response and it did not open. "The gate is truly sealed."
"Then, what shall we do? Camp for the night?" asked Glenn.
"No," Ayla shook her head, "sleep in open is not a good idea. Remember, I can summon the flying beasts. We can ride back to the village. We talk there."
Ayla cupped her hands and shouted to the sky. It was several minutes before they could hear the distant screeches of familiar winged creatures. As the sun began to set there was the appearance of large flying beasts on the horizon. They alighted upon the ground, their massive wings beating against the solid and barren earth. A few were familiar and greeted the party with a nuzzle from their beaks. After they mounted they were soaring through the air and over the lava fields below (which had cooled greatly) until it gave way to thick jungle. As the night sky came there were many small dots of light in the distance. It was the village. They could hear the sound of a distant horn blast and they gathered that it was to announce their arrival.
True to their peaceful and well familiar community, the Ioku and a few Laruba refugees wanted to throw a festivity for the return of their heroes. However, Ayla was not in the mood seeing that Crono was upset as well. She asked Kino to explain the situation and inform the villagers, also adding to his dismay, that she would not be able to stay long for her great quest to defeat the sky demon was not yet complete. Of course, this caused hurt feelings amongst the villagers, but when the more sensitive part of their journey was revealed they immediately understood. However, that almost seemed to make things worse for Crono, for the Ioku went out of their way at times to console him even when he was in no need for it, constantly bringing that horrible event to the forefront of his memory.
"Please forgive them, they only mean to ease your pain." Ayla would say, as she fought the urge to comfort him by touching his shoulder as Marle had done.
"I know." Crono said. And in his heart he truly did. It was still hard for him though.
Sleep was much easier now that it had grown colder. The constant buzz of mosquitoes was considerably less so they did not bite them as they slept. The rest had done well for them, for their power was returning incrementally. It came to the point where Crono and Glenn were training again. Glenn had taken their lack of magic as an opportunity to work on sword skill and went over the basics once again. He was delighted to see how Crono had progressed. While Ayla, Marle, and Lucca would train with them off and on, the truly interesting prospect was Robo. During their recuperation, Robo found himself wanting to practice with Crono and Glenn and something extraordinary came from it.
Robo was never gifted with the ability to control the elements like the others were. At least, that was what they had all assumed. One day, during their training, Crono and Glenn were practicing their magical abilities while Robo sat to the side and watched. It was almost like a dance as the two kept their swords at their sides, occasionally using their blades as a channel for their powers. As they drew nearer, their swords began to clash and they immediately switched their strategy into disarming. Glenn was the victor this time and managed to force Crono's sword out of his hand with great speed and power. The blade spun toward Robo, its metal having been electrified. Most likely the blow would not have killed him, but Robo acted as if his life were in danger. Knowing that his hands would parry the blade but receive the shock, he stomped the ground and caused a great rock to burst from the earth beneath him. The blade had penetrated the stone, but it did not strike Robo.
Crono and Glenn were stunned, "Robo...did you just do that?"
Robo looked at his work in amazement, "I-I do believe I did...my goodness...I don't know what to say..."
Robo was not able to recreate that same feat when he was called upon to demonstrate. Something deep down came to his mind when he was in danger and what he did was instinctual, but he began to practice and found that he was able to move a little bit of earth just as Crono moved lightning, how Glenn and Marle moved water, and how Lucca moved fire. The fact that Robo was suddenly able to use magic was a source of much musing between the group and Lucca. She studied his circuits and found nothing to be out of the ordinary. She began to theorize that his AI was so advanced that he had begun to learn instinct. Surprisingly, it was Robo who had a more philosophical approach. "I believe that to use magic, one must have a soul...They must understand that they are part of the world and how life channels through each and every molecule in existence. I think that perhaps, in some way, maybe, I could be discovering my own humanity."
"That's reaching for the stars a bit, isn't it?" Lucca quipped, "But I suppose optimism really is a human trait...Just maybe you are right on that one."
Even Crono found some solace after the villagers stopped pestering him about his misfortune. In a strange sense, it helped his mind to be bothered and then suddenly earn a reprieve. He had thought about it so much when he was asked by the villagers that he had no trouble putting it out of his mind. Instead, he trained with the others and discussed with Marle the next step in their journey. After much deliberation they had decided that they were out of leads and knew no way to travel through time without use of the portal. However, Glenn had mentioned before that he remembered the name Gaspar and that caused Crono and Marle to gawk at each other. How could they have forgotten? There was a man whose sole purpose was watching time and guiding people through its many twists and turns.
"If there is anyone we should talk to about time traveling, it should be him."
They took a few extra days worth of rest before they set out one morning. Ayla had given her farewells to the villagers and to Kino before they traveled into the mountains where there was a known portal. It was tricky landing into a portal that was positioned on a steep slope, but they found themselves surrounded by the familiar blue streams of time-space. Then, within another moment, they found themselves in the eerie yet somehow peaceful swirling mists of the end of time. It had been the same as when they left it. In fact, they wondered how long it seemed to Gaspar that they've been gone. When they woke him up they realized that he honestly did not know and that he had slept the entire time they were gone.
"So, how goes your journey?" Gaspar noticed Crono out of the corner of his eye. He was scowling, his arms crossed and fists balled up.
"I figured you would know, being the prophet of time, after all." Lucca said heatedly.
Gaspar stood in silence, "'The prophet of time...that's what they called me...a long time ago...So, you have been to Zeal?" They nodded. "Were you able to dismantle the Mammon machine?" The shook their heads.
"Then he has truly betrayed us...for his own selfish reasons..." Gaspar said, his head bowing down in sorrow.
"Who?" Lucca asked, her eyebrow raising.
Gaspar thought for a moment and sighed, "That is not the important thing now. An opportunity has come and gone and we must undo the mistakes of others." He held back a tear and sniffled for a moment before he continued, "However, it was revealed to me many years ago what to do if we ever found ourselves in this situation. You must seek out Balthazar."
"But we cannot go back to Zeal Kingdom...and I think their lives are in danger."
Gaspar shook his head, "No, we managed to escape." His tone suddenly became more serious, "Unfortunately, many of our men died to ensure our escape. I must now make sure they have not died in vain." Gasper said this with a resolute tap of his cane. He almost began to speak again but was stopped by Lucca.
"You just wait a minute, you stupid idiot. All this time, from when we met you back then, you knew about all of this? Why the hell didn't you tell us anything!?"
Gasper stuttered for a moment, trying to conjure up an answer that would avert her righteous anger. "There are reasons why I have held back things from you, but you will not understand them."
The party was shocked when it was not Lucca who stepped forward, but Crono. His hand trembled as he reached to take him by the lapel of his coat, "'We can't understand them?' Do you realize that those men didn't have to die? Don't you realize what you've done?"
Gaspar lowered his head and dared not look Crono in the eye, "I didn't know then that the plan would fail...And when you came through the gate as it had been prophesied I thought that the outcome would have changed. I thought that Janus would have done the right thing...I never wanted those men to die..."
Robo leaned forward, "Why is Prince Janus a part of this at all?"
"It would take a long time to explain...But, he had a chance to make things right...he had a chance to avoid bloodshed...but it is gone now...history as we know it shall repeat itself..." Gaspar leaned against the lamp post, his hand rubbing his eyes. "How could the most pure among us become twisted?"
"But he did nothing!" Marle stated, looking around at her companions. "Right?"
Gaspar sighed and straightened his posture, "That does not matter now...the opportunity is gone. You have done well, but it was the sin and blindness of a single person who destroyed it all. That hope is gone, but as they say, 'a door closes and God opens a window'. The road will be longer, but you may still keep Lavos from awakening. You must return to Zeal Kingdom and stop them from finishing the Ocean Palace at all costs."
"And how may we accomplish such a task?" Glenn asked.
"Balthazar, under inspiration, constructed a machine of the likes the world had never seen. It is a contraption that can travel through time without relying on the gates."
"How is that possible?" Lucca asked.
"It takes a tremendous amount of power...a power that has fueled this planet since the beginning of time: the sun itself. When we escaped from Zeal we took with us the sun stone...and when we were separated Balthazar took the sun stone with him, knowing one day that the things he knew would enable to him to make full use of the sun stone. I know of a surety that it is prepared. We had received revelation that if any of us had failed there must be a way to make things right. The Wings of Time is what shall do it. That-that is all I can think of..."
"So, this is all based on a hunch? You think that it is there?" Lucca asked, her hands on her hips whilst leaning forward.
Gaspar looked down and said quietly, "Yes."
In an abrupt change in tone and surprisingly different manner, Lucca straightened up and said, "Alright...might as well. We have nothing else to do."
"But how will we find him?" Robo asked. "He must be a hard man to track down."
Marle pounded her fist into an open palm, "Hey, I think I know somebody we can ask! We can go and ask..." The party looked at her as she trailed off into silence.
Crono smiled, "It's alright. You can say it. I don't think he'll be a problem for us now. It's actually a good idea." Crono turned to Gaspar, "But first, I need a minute alone with Gaspar here..."
Gaspar avoided Crono's gaze as he looked at his feet. Everyone else gave each other quizzical glances but turned about to leave. They kept looking over their shoulders and quickly turned about when they noticed that Crono waited for them to get out of earshot. When they were gone, Crono turned to Gaspar and his voice was truly venomous, "You son of a bitch."
"Crono," Gaspar began, his hands raised to calm him, "I don't know what to say..."
Crono seethed in between his teeth and his hand found Gaspar's lapel again, "You said that if I let myself get taken that nothing would happen to anyone else. Now, everyone that you sent with us is dead."
Gaspar's eyes were downcast, the rims becoming heavy with water. "I do not understand...we had a vision...We were told that-"
"Keep your damned visions to yourself," Crono whispered, pushing Gaspar against the lamppost with as much restraint as he could muster. He was furious, but he didn't want to damage the old man.
It was Gaspar's turn to be angry, "Do you really think I wanted them to die? Do you think I have not prayed for a way to end things peacefully? The latter years of my life have been nothing but finding ways to accomplish things with as little blood spilt as possible. Don't you dare forget for even a moment that I knew those men too..."
"Then why?" Crono almost screamed this, but he forced it out as a muffled roar. "If there is some great and merciful god out there who is telling you how to do things, why the hell is he letting this happen? Do these lives mean nothing to him?"
Gaspar grew somber, "His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, his ways higher than our ways, and he knows all things. I may be an instrument for him, but I am not him. I do not know what he knows. Maybe the blood of the fallen shall condemn the Queen and Lavos on judgment day, maybe their deaths will weigh heavy on her mind and soften her heart, perhaps it could even be a test of our faith, but no matter the situation you must persevere. You have gone too far to stop now. You know too much, and doing nothing when you know what will happen is just as worse."
"You know I'm going to do whatever it takes! If it weren't for your damned advice I would have saved the lives of all those men! Everything would have been well and everyone could have lived."
Gaspar looked Crono into the eye and said calmly, "Why is it that you treasure the lives of all those around you, yet fail to treasure your own? Why are you in such a hurry to die?"
Crono's furrowed eyes went wide from surprise. The question seemed to bounce around in his mind, almost to the point it seemed to make him dizzy. His brow furrowed again and he turned about, leaving Gaspar to shake his head in a mixture of sadness, guilt, and sympathy. Marle watched him and noted that the others had heard only a few words and phrases from the conversation. Regardless, they knew what it concerned and they said nothing as they followed Crono through the gate.
"Well, well, well, I never thought I would be seeing you again."
It was like the first time they traveled with Balthazar. They found themselves in the middle of an army of sentries, all guns pointed directly at them. The cool wind blew and the skies of this apocalyptic future rumbled with constant thunder. Before them stood a cocky youth who grinned as if he were always satisfied with himself. Just like back then, he was so sure of himself and his smile never faltered. One thing, however, was different this time. Crono and his friends weren't scared and they had no reason to be. And even worse, Crono was in the mood for a fight.
"Johnny, it's been a while."
"I see you made some friends since the last time I saw you..."
"Yep," Crono said, pointing to another vehicle behind them, "and we found another ride at the ruins and fixed it up so I could bring them."
"Planning on racing me again? I've been waiting for this day, you know. Once word got out from old man Bal that you beat me...heh, well, let's just say I've been itchin' to redeem myself."
"I'm afraid that is not the way it is going to be. I don't feel like racing and I need some information."
That reply earned a symphony of cocking weapons and moving arms. Crono stood, unafriad in front of Johnny, his eyes never leaving his target. "Really, don't do this. I just want to find Balthazar."
"And what about what I want?" Johnny asked with a shout, raising his arms above his head. His minions cheered in response and he let his arms drop. He pointed a finger at Crono, his teeth still smiling yet clenching tighter and tighter. "You are going to race. As I said before, it is a killer deal for you. If you win, you get your information. If I win, I get your skin. If you walk away, I get the great pleasure of choosing what I like from your bodies after we plug them full of holes. So, what is it going to be?"
"I already won, so I call the shots. You are going to tell me where Balthazar lives and how I get there or you and your buddies are in a lot of trouble."
Johnny scoffed, "It's your funeral, kid." Johnny pointed to a random guard and shouted, "Hey! You! Shoot the spiky haired punk."
A shot rang out over the wasteland, the whizzing of the bullet traveling long after the bullet was parried away by Crono's blade. Johnny stood in silence as the guard fired again and again, meeting with the same result. The guard fired one final time, but Crono had grown tired of this and parried the bullet so that it reflected back. The guard was not critically damaged, "Uh, boss...I think we better do what he says."
"Ugh...you guys suck..."
Crono moved swiftly, causing whatever was human left in Johnny to shudder. The blade was at his throat, so much that the sentries dared not fire for provocation. "I told you we only want to know where old man Bal lives...We need him. It's more important than you know. We could go all the way back to the domes and ask there, you know. It's so far out of the way though, and you are so much closer. But I do want you to know, we will find out where he lives one way or the other."
Despite having a sword at his throat, Johnny smiled and even began to chuckle, "You know what? You've got guts, kid. Don't know why, but I kinda like it."
The sentries looked at each other in confusion.
Johnny moved his fingertips to the blade and slowly pushed it away from his neck. He cleared his throat and brushed his hair back, "Alright chrome-domes! Here's the new rule: these guys are honorary guests!" Crono almost laughed disbelievingly in response, but held it in. Johnny continued, raising three fingers in the air. "There are only three things I respect. Care to regale me on what they are?"
The sentries shouted in unison, sounding very much like juvenile marines, "Power, speed, and balls, sir!"
"That's right." Johnny nodded. "This kid seems to have all three, so he's fine by me which means he's fine by all of you."
"You want me to prepare a map for them, boss?"
"Yeah, I do, and be snappy about it."
The sentry went away and Crono looked at Johnny, suddenly feeling almost appreciative. "Why are you doing this?"
"Old Bal, as crazy as he may be, always swore by you kids even after you guys had gone...And as crazy as he may be, he's always been an alright guy. Besides, I don't think I can stop you anymore...just race me once in a while for the fun of it, alright? You're the only who's ever beaten me, you know."
"Really," Lucca began, "why are you doing this?"
Johnny waved his arms flippantly, "I don't know...maybe I just like ya guys...and not to mention the fact that the only friends I have here are my crew...What little left of me is still human, you know. It's just nice that there are people out there who don't..." Johnny thought for a moment while his sentries leaned in closer. Johnny groaned in frustration, "listen, why knock a good thing? Just run with it, alright?"
Lucca nodded and Johnny nervously soothed his hair, "Alright, now go on and get to your old man. Just- just don't forget to drop by once in a while...to race I mean...got it?"
Crono nodded, "Alright. I suppose it's the least I could do."
Johnny did not extend for a handshake. Even he knew that it was too much to ask for after all he had done. Instead, he had his men salute as they drove off. However, what he did not realize was that Crono would have accepted. It would have been forced and it would have been awkward, but Crono would have accepted. After all, it was the least he could do.
Crono, Marle, and Glenn rode in one vehicle while Lucca, Robo, and Ayla rode in the other. It was true that they were able to repair another vehicle they had found, but it could in no way obtain the high speeds that the jet bike was capable of. Therefore, Crono lessened his pace considerably so that Lucca may keep up. It had been about a day since they arrived at the end of time and Crono had already seemed to be in better shape. However, throughout the day Glenn regarded him with cool and calculating eyes that scanned his every movement. It had been that way since he overhead the final question from Gaspar. As he remembered the final question he envisioned Crono dropping his weapon far too willingly back within the confines of the palace. Glenn could feel his teeth clench, but he said nothing nor did Marle and Crono notice.
They had been traveling south for hours at this point, down an old abandoned highway. Their journey at some points became perilous, because the highway rose from the ground hundreds of feet in the air so that road could pass beneath it. It was a frightening affair, going over roads that were more fit to be ruins. There were a few times that they could hear their pathway crumble as they drove past. There were other times where they had to get off the highway and drive through cluttered city streets because ruined vehicles served as annoying obstacles. In fact, the whole trip for the drivers was almost nerve-wrecking since they had to slow down and move around broken down slabs of concrete and rebar often. There was a point where they worried that they could go no further, but it proved to be the final stretch in their journey. Ahead of them was a gloomy and choppy sea, even further was a destroyed city, a snow capped mountain that rose past the clouds into the heavens, and a tunnel that dove downwards and it did not seem structurally sound. With hesitation, they made their way through the underbelly of the tunnel, noting every trickle of seawater that had found its way through cracks in the tunnel walls. They breathed a great sigh of relief when they emerged from the other side on the adjoining continent. Finally, in the distance, above a smattering of three and four story buildings, they could see another dome that stood at twice the height of all that surrounded it.
"Is that the dome?"
"It must be. I don't think Johnny would lie to us now."
As they drew near to the dome they saw a junkyard filled with wrecked machinery. Also, they saw many robots working amongst the rubble.
"Whoa!" Marle exclaimed, "We might be in trouble...think we can take them all?"
Lucca steadied her with a gesture of her hand, "Don't worry. I can tell by looking at them that they are unsophisticated AI."
"'Unsophisticated AI?"
Robo explained, saying "There are robots like me who have multiple purposes, but there are robots who are programed to perform menial tasks and are therefore programmed with basic instructions. They are not given variable coding, and therefore cannot arrive to their own conclusions. They simply wait for a command."
"Yeah, so that means that there's a person in there who needs a lot of work done yet doesn't seem to get along with other people...sound like somebody we know?" Lucca said with a grin.
"Aye, it does, but thou'rt out here with us." Glenn said with a grin of his own.
Lucca playfully tapped him on the shoulder as they disembarked and headed inside the entrance. They could see the treads from the massive tank that Balthazar used for travel leading inward. As they walked forward a light would occasionally self activate and light the way. They came to another garage door where a group of unsophisticated robots stood on patrol. They did not act rashly, but they acted as if the party were not even there. However, when Robo approached they turned to him and an alarm sounded.
"State your business."
Robo was stunned into silence and quickly said, "Please don't shoot! I'm with these people here."
The robots did not move as their turrets pointed toward him. It did not matter if they did open fire, Robo could have destroyed them easily, but they relented and slowly lowered their robotic arms. They continued forward and began to hear the whirring and humming of electrical equipment. The dim light of the hallway gave way to the soft glow of computer monitors and the sharp dancing light from cackling streams of electricity. There were many disassembled robots scattered off to many places of the workplace, the smell of coolant and machine oil hung heavy in the air, the floor was dusty and covered in metal shavings. It was another place that had Lucca's heart beating fast with the possibilities of what could be made. How could she have had any contempt for this man? These things he made truly were a work of beauty.
"I have been expecting you."
A round, bulbous creature stood before them. His eyes were wide and his hand outstretched. It bore the similar form of the Nu that they had seen in prehistoric times and they recognized it as the creature that had come with them on their journey through the wasteland. He turned about without another word and began walking, signaling for them to follow. The party, with some confusion, obeyed and kept a lookout for Balthazar who was undoubtedly behind some machine waiting to jump out and frighten them. However, as they passed a greenhouse that had showed signs of slow decay and withering plants they truly wondered.
"Where is your master, little guy?" Lucca asked, still expecting the crazy old man to make fools of them.
"He...has gone away." said the Nu.
"What do you mean?" Ayla asked, "Will he be back?"
The Nu was silent for a moment longer, but then said softly, "No."
The party grew somber. They wanted to say words of condolence, but didn't know if they would be wasted on this machine who might not have had sophisticated AI like Robo had. Instead, they only walked forward and thought about what this would mean. Did it mean that there was no way for them to travel back to Zeal Kingdom? Before they had a moment to nurse on this doubt, the Nu rounded on them and said to Marle, "Hold your pendant up to this door."
It was like the door they had seen when they first arrived to this world. UGEE coursed over its face, its metal was a forbidding black, and it seemed solid and strong. Marle obeyed without another word and gasped when the door made a loud hiss. Locks spun apart from their own accord, the surging power quickly abated, and hydraulic holds burst apart as the door sunk into the ground. She looked at her pendant and then asked, "How did that happen?"
"When that pendant has been in the presence of Lavos it draws from his power, seeing that it is a part of him. That was the technology that had prevailed in Zeal Kingdom and in the future eras later."
"That would make sense," Lucca conceded, "the machine they used to keep us incapacitated could have been powered by Lavos and while it drained us it powered the pendant...since it is a part of him."
Marle didn't appreciate being reminded of the source of her pendant. She no longer looked at it as a treasured heirloom, but something filthy that she didn't want to touch. "But how could we have enough power in the pendant to travel through time and not be able to open up the other door we saw when we first came here?"
The Nu spoke now, "The time gates are not something that absorb power. Gates are manipulated by the mere presence of Lavos whereas the doors need power to disengage the locks. The press on these doors are upwards to several tons and can only be disengaged through reverse pressure. Balthazar had created them and stored his most valuable research wherever he set up labs."
"He has more than one lab?" Lucca asked. She was growing more impressed by the second.
"Yes," began the Nu, "he travels to many locations often and for various reasons. There are some experiments that he conducts which cannot be done elsewhere. He had spent his remaining time here to conduct his final bits of research, at the base of Death Peak."
The name seemed fittingly uninviting, "'Death Peak'? Is that the name of the mountain we saw on our way here?"
"Hundreds of miles beneath that mountain is where Lavos dwells, feasting upon the life of the planet until it is a dry husk. Balthazar had established his final lab here so that he may examine Lavos and the many ways he could manipulate UGEE. Likewise, he had used the principles of what he learned in construction of other power sources."
A light shone in Lucca's eyes, "Does he keep any of that stuff here?"
The Nu shook his head and Lucca felt deflated. "But that is enough for questions...I must pass on the message that Balthazar left with me."
"But wait...what is this about Death Peak? Why would Balthazar gain by being close to Lavos?" Crono asked.
The Nu smiled, which was not a pleasant sight if you knew it was a machine. The smile seemed soulless and creepy. "If you would let me rely the message he had left me, then you would know."
"Oh," Crono said, rubbing the back of his head, "where is it?"
"In here." The Nu said, touching the top of his head. "Before my master left this world he had programmed all the knowledge you would need into my memory. Therefore, I will be answering your questions on his behalf. Now, follow me."
The Nu shone as if he were a light, whatever fueling him with that energy showing just beneath his barely translucent skin. As they walked, the room grew darker until they could barely see whatever the light skimmed over. As they passed through the door they entered a sort of living quarters. This must have been where Balthazar slept, Crono thought. He let his fingers follow the grain of a cracked wooden desk that was piled over with books, smiling at the memory of the old man now that the unpleasant circumstances prior were of no more concern. Lucca joined him, feeling strangely moved herself. Her eyes glanced over the work on his desk which contained blueprints, books of science, religious texts, and...
"Quantum physics?" Lucca dusted the book off and took a casual glance at its pages.
"Yes," The Nu began, "many things tie into quantum physics...It was a theory of Balthazar that the with the defeat of Lavos there would be many time streams that would become paradoxical realities. He was wondering what effect that would have on this reality, but I think he grew tired of the subject and focused on the issue at hand..."
Lucca, her eyes glowing with the wealth of knowledge, said blatantly, "Would he mind if I took this book?"
"I don't see why not...It is your book after all..."
"What do you mean?" Lucca looked at the book again and gasped, seeing that her signature was inside the cover. Her fingers graced over her name, her head spinning with the absolute strangeness of it all. She looked over the many books on the table and saw that many were subjects on which she was very knowledgeable and had interests in: the application of energy, string theories, physics, machining and tooling, chemistry, mathematics, it was all there. And many of those books were authored by her hand. Tears came to her eyes and she wiped them away as she brushed the books lovingly.
"He regarded you as a brilliant mind..." Lucca turned to face the Nu who spoke to her, "but also as a mind that could not see what was in front of her...He studied your writings immensely, and many of his ideas were inspired by yours. I hope that you realize any disagreements he may have had with you were in a scholarly nature only. It was only a deep regret of his that he never had the opportunity to debate the idea of multi-verses with you."
Lucca chuckled whilst drying an eye, "Well, hate to let him down, but I'm not sure what that is just yet." She was lying. It had always been in her mind, but she never wanted to mention it in fear of alarming the party. After all, did all other realities just cease when they changed time? She did not know, but even if she had never gone on this journey something told her that her mind would have pondered on these questions. That, after all, was what Balthazar must have enjoyed about what she wrote: she considered everything.
"I suggest you leave the book. You don't want another person's theories to mess with your own."
Lucca giggled, still drying her eyes and wiping her nose as she put the book down.
"I always knew you were going to be famous and that people would listen to you without me." Crono said with a grin, rubbing her shoulder affectionately. Lucca smiled back.
The Nu continued to walk forward, passing by a library of other books that glinted faintly of fresh spiderwebs. As they left the living quarters they found that bolts and metal shavings were strewn over the floor. The smell of oil and coolant filled the air, but there was another smell that was undefinable. It almost smelled fresh, full of life and nature. Perhaps it could have even been their imaginations, for such excitement can stimulate the mind in such a way that even smells are conjured to thought. The Nu began to speak, "A great disaster in Zeal had separated the three gurus...There was a sacrifice made on Balthazar's part and he thought he would perish, but instead found himself here. He had received a vision, even without the presence of the other two, that there was more required of him. The fog of confusion parted over him and he went to work, knowing that one day there would be a band of heroes who would make his sacrifice worthwhile and everlasting. For the longest time, he had thought his two other friends had passed away on that fateful night. However, he was overcome with joy as he slowly came to realize that if you survived, then surely his friends did as well."
"Do you mean Gaspar and Melchoir?"
"Yes."
"I wonder if they thought that Balthazar had died as well..."
The Nu rounded a turn, bidding the others to do the same. "He was a lonely man. Even if he was guided by divine inspiration, he too, was a man. There were times where doubt ate away at his heart, but he pressed on and prevailed. He had found reason to live again, reason to fight back against the insanity that came with isolation, a reason to work. And he found that because of you all. So, in his words, I wish to say thank you and I hope that this repays the kindness and hope that you gave to him." The Nu pressed a switch within the perpetual darkness. Suddenly, light sprang up all around, causing them to shield their eyes. As they lowered their hands they gawked in awe at was stood before them.
"Unto you, he bequeaths 'The Wings of Time.'"
It was in the like appearance of a flying machine, except it had short stubs that appeared to be wings. Upon musing Lucca concluded that Balthazar had meant to make wings but either did not finish them or saw no need to add it to the finished product. It was made of a light-weight metal and bolts lined the surface. There was a cockpit fitted with several chairs and a glass canopy that was dome shaped. Within the machine were many meters and buttons whose functions would shortly become known. It was what truly sent Lucca over the edge in joy.
"I can't believe it! He found a way to travel through time without using Lavos and his gates! I cannot believe that this world could be so advanced! That he could be so ingenious!"
She touched the hull of the ship, her fingertips nearly trembling as it glided over the silky, cold surface. She was so in awe that she did not even notice the horrible screeching noise the mobile staircase made as the Nu pushed it toward the bow of the aircraft. The party recoiled under the herrendous noise and climbed aboard the machine when they had the chance. They called out to Lucca several times before she took her focus off the ship. Her focus was even stronger when she saw the cockpit, her eyes glazing over hungrily for the chance to try out the machine. Within moments she gathered how the machine worked. Although it was intimidating, everything had a logical layout to the point where everyone (except for Ayla, perhaps) could fly this contraption.
"One more thing that Balthazar would appreciate..."
The party looked at the Nu who waved them fairwell.
"Call it 'Epoch'. The good master was fond of that name."
They nodded in approval and all sat down in their random seats and strapped themselves into five-point harnesses. Lucca sat at the front, Crono sitting beside her, as she worked with the controls. The machine responded instantly, its lights starting off as a slow hum building up to a chorus of whirling cooling fans, power, and a closing canopy. Lucca felt a moment of doubt as her hand rested on the switch, but it was only for a moment. She pushed it up, forward and resolutely. The world around them suddenly disappeared and they were not surrounded by the familiar swirling blue portals. Instead, the corridor in which they traveled was a beautiful golden light. Streaks of light passed through the air, with some occasionally hitting against the ship to explode into harmless sparks that cascaded off into the streams of the unknown.
"It is...amazing..." Ayla said, her fingers pressing against the glass.
"Is this truly the power of the Epoch?" Robo asked, reflecting Ayla's astonishment. "What could fuel something so powerful?"
Within moments, the golden light faded and they were surrounded by snow once again. In a cold and dead world. They were back.
Author's note: Hope you guys enjoyed it. For a while, I have been making the characters a bit whiney to make them seem a little more characteristic and real. Now, however, I think I can start shaping them to be really likable; really make them out to be giants. I think these next few chapters are going to show how and how much they have grown. I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter. It was long, but I certainly hope it was worth the read and the wait.
Ha ha, it didn't take me three months this time either. :P