---------------
This ones a biggie, a lot longer than the other chapters I have written. It should explain at least a few things, including alittle something that you have probably been wondering since the start. I won't spoil it for you, go on read it for yourself and then write what you thought of it. Hopefully I found all the errors, but if you see one let me know.
--------------
Chapter 5
The banging of hammers and saws filled the empty festival grounds, emminating from the large space in the back. The grounds had been ordered off limits, any citizen found on the grounds was immediately executed, per Chrono's orders.
"Give it another try boys", shouted Taban.
A young man standing next to a large switch started pumping back and forth as Taban manned his own switch. The two large machines sat about 10 feet from each other, a large cable connected them from the back. Electricity sparked from where the two stood, illuminating the forest in the pre- morning background. Soon enough energy was produced and then shot across the air between the two machines, creating a circuit without wires, and a small purple orb began to form in the middle where they meet. It pulsated, energy around it crackled like mosquitoes hitting a bug lamp, and began to expand until it was large enough to fit a whole person. Then it died, for no other reason that to spite the person that sat in the background and watched it fail yet again.
"Alright that's enough boys", he shouted to his team as one stopped his pumping and the others drew out the blue prints again.
If it were not the wee hours in the morning, one might have assumed this to be a scene out of the last millennium fair. The same telepod station set up, minus the telepods, and the same inventor manning it, minus his daughter. Taban and his team of 4 had been up all night, working to get his telepod working again, or working like it had when it first teleported Chrono and Marle across time.
The glowering king watched in the background, his eyes glowing a soft yellow, and sighed yet again as the team failed for what seemed like the thousandth time. He had to resist the urge to fry them all, they were his only chance of getting that pendant back. All he needed was for them to create a portal, he had the gate key from Lucca but without the portal it was useless. Letting loose a lightning bolt at a random bird that was flying by, he decided that his time would be better spent elsewhere. Turning on his heal he walked away from the display area and through the middle of the square, spotting folded tents and closed displays. On the way out he stopped by the guard that stood watch at the festival grounds, "Get me when they have it working", commanded Chrono as he started walking again.
"Aye Mi'lord", automatically replied the guard.
It was nearly sunrise now, the sound of several roosters in the background being the first to alert him to the impending annoyance. He kept himself out of the sun most of the time to lower the morale of his other half, going on without seeing any sun was very depressing for it.
He quickened his pace, hoping to reach the castle before the sun rose. At the gates to the castle he passed by a knight carrying some peasant clothes. He recognized the face but couldn't quite match it up to a name. Waving him off as another worthless Knight he proceeded past him and took a quick glance at walls surrounding Marle's garden. He couldn't see its contents at the moment but he already knew the insides by heart.
'I wish I could tell her how beautiful it is, how beautiful she is', said the young voice in the King's head.
"I don't need this right now boy, keep quite", ordered the older voice.
Opening the door he was greeted by the short annoyance that called himself the Chancellor.
"Good day sir, I may need a moment of your time", spoke up the Chancellor as Chrono started to walk by, hoping he'd go away.
"What is it", rumbled Chrono.
"There are some people here to see you, they say they have something that might interest you", quickly spoke the Chancellor before he made Chrono lose his patience.
"Tell them I'll meet them in the throne room in 20 minutes", replied Chrono intrigued at what they could possibly have to offer him.
---------------------
The Epoch blasted out of the time stream and into the time period 1000 A.D. Lucca, seated at the controls, barely missed ramming a flock of birds on their entrance. They had appeared over the small town of Porre, some several hundred miles south of Guardia. Checking the systems over she peeked her head in the back to make sure the passengers were alright. Marle was already visibly shaken by just being back here, and Magus well he was his usual "Ice Cold" self.
Strangely the sun had not yet risen in Guardia, strange considering that it was the middle of the day back in the Dark Ages. Pausing the Epoch in a mid air hover, she scanned the landscape for a landing spot. It had to be out of site but next to the castle in case they needed a quick get away. Gliding over to where the old cathedral used to stand, she found a small clearing that the forest had yet to reclaim from the structure. Carefully guiding the Epoch to the small clearing, she landed successfully and turned off the twin engines. Popping open the hatch the party emerged just in time to the see the suns ray's illuminate the clouds.
Lucca sat admiring the beauty before she was snapped back to reality by the icy cold commands of Magus.
"We must move and get this done quickly before we are discovered"
Marle looked ok but her actions told everyone around her that she was still nervous. Constantly glancing over her shoulder, jumping at the smallest of sounds, and keeping her weapon drawn for safe keeping.
The party of three made their way through the forest, dispatching of the occasional goblin-like creatures that would try and ambush them. Conversations were kept to a minimum, the dominating sound was the crunch of the grass beneath their shoes as they tread the dew soaked forest. Finally reaching the draw bridge to the castle, a lone knight ran out to greet the Queen.
"Mi'lady, I've been worried sick about you. Are you ok?", asked the knight as he eyed Magus up and down.
"Yes I'm fine Timothy. We need you to inform the Chancellor that the king should be expecting three guests. Don't tell him who we are but only that we have something that should interest the king", commanded Marle to Timothy as she smiled at the luck they had of running into him.
Timothy was the only knight that didn't agree with how the king acted to Marle. The others probably didn't agree either but Timothy was the only one to ever actually say something. This "rebellious behavior" had gotten him killed almost several times if it were not for Marle intervening and asking Chrono to spare his life. This earned Marle a special place in Timothy's heart, he vowed to her that he would never let anyone hurt her. After the night she had disappeared he had beaten himself up for not being there to protect her.
"Yes Mi'lady", replied Timothy as he bowed and walked away.
"Oh and Timothy, we need some commoner clothes to disguise us", added in Marle.
"Of course Mi'Lady", responded Timothy as he went inside to fetch some clothes and relay her message.
The garden that Marle built sat just 30 feet away, a convenient enough hiding place to go until Timothy returned.
"Over here guys, I have a place to hide till he returns", whispered Marle to the rest of the group as she pointed to the garden she had. It was surrounded in a 10 foot high fence, easily enough cover for the three of them.
Walking over and using her key to unlock it, they slid through the door not making too much noise. Marle stood watch at the door, keeping a crack open so she could see when Timothy came.
"Wow Marle, who built this garden", softly said Lucca as she examined the large beds of flowers and rare plants.
"I did", responded Marle.
"What a waste of time", commented Magus as simply stood back against the wall.
"Can't you say anything nice", asked Lucca as she leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the door Magus was on.
Marle saw Timothy coming and readied to rush out and greet him but then someone else entered her sight. It was Chrono, he came walking quickly as though he was trying to outrun the sun, and brushed by Timothy.
Marle closed the door as soon as she saw Chrono start to look her way, breathing heavily and sweat pouring like a waterfall down her face.
"Calm down Marle, calm down", softly spoke Lucca to Marle.
"I'm…I'm ok", chanted Marle more to herself than those around her.
Opening the door again she saw Timothy faithfully waiting for her to return. Glancing around one last time to make sure Chrono was gone, she peaked her head out the door and gave a small whistle. Timothy heard the whistle and ran over to Marle, handing her the clothes.
"Here you are Mi'Lday", said the Knight to Marle.
"The Chancellor said he would tell the king, be prepared to be inside in about 10 minutes so he can tell you when you can see him", continued Timothy.
"And Mi'Lady, don't do anything too dangerous", warned Timothy as he bowed on more time and left.
Marle passed the clothes out to Magus and Lucca, Lucca examined her clothes strangely.
"These look strangely familiar, like my mom & dad's clothes", said Lucca as she studied the other 2 sets they had received. Taking it as a coincidence she slipped her new clothing over the current ones and adjusted it accordingly.
Each outfit had an accompanying hood or veil to keep the face out of anyone's direct view. Magus wore tan pants and a black shirt, his hood and cape were brown. Lucca had received a well used white dress, the kind you just throw on, and a white veil. Marle decided to just continue wearing the clothes that Magus loaned her but put on the black veil.
"I prefer my own clothes", commented Magus as he adjusted the hood.
"Me too", complained Lucca as she began to feel the rise in temperatures from having two layers of clothing on.
"Stop complaining", teased Marle as she peeked outside again to make sure no one was coming.
"Let's go", Marle said as they each crept out onto the main path to the castle.
--------------------
He hated to wait, it lost him valuable time that he could be doing other things. Tapping the wooden armrest of the throne he sat in, he grew even more impatient.
The room that the young king sat in was grandiose; it held two large thrones in the middle near the back and two other paths branched off from there leading to the King and Queens rooms. The king and Queen were suppose to sit in the thrones when greeting guests or addressing troops. Chrono glanced to his left where the Queen would normally sit, the seat sat un-inhabited by the Queen, the same Queen that Chrono wished was here right now. The lighting in the room had been dimmed according to Chrono's wishes, just enough light to see but not enough to see well.
'They had better hurry up, I am getting tired of waiting', said Chrono to himself.
The large wooden door at the front opened slowly, letting out sounds that told it needed to be oiled badly. Light from the main rooms covered the three figures as they entered his throne room at last. The last figure, a man wearing a cape, closed the door behind him and joined the rest in the middle of the room.
"What have you to offer me", commanded Chrono cutting down to business.
Observing them, they appeared an odd bunch. One was dressed in very lavish clothes, clothes that he can remember seeing in the Zeal kingdom. The others had plain peasants clothing and they all had something or other covering their faces.
"Chrono…", pleaded a voice that he recognized all to well.
"So you have returned Marle", stated Chrono amused, "Or did these good people catch you?", he continued as his motioned to the two others that were with her.
"No I came back on my own, we came to help you. Just come with us, please", said Marle regretfully as she removed her black veil. Magus removed his hood and Lucca removed her white veil.
"Traitors…", hissed Chrono as he drew his sword.
"I save the world and this is how I am repaid!!", said Chrono louder, "You traitorous bastards"
"Quiet boy", commanded Magus from the back as he materialized his scythe out of thin air and into his hands.
"How dare you call me boy", snarled Chrono, his focus now set on Magus.
"I'll call you whatever I want. You have become corrupt Chrono, you must be stopped", stated Magus as he moved his scythe to attacking position to back his words up.
"I….I have seen it done before and I swore by my sister that I would not let Lavos take root in another person again", declared Magus.
"I spit on Lavos, he wishes that he could do what I did! He is nothing compared to me, NOTHING", shouted Chrono.
"Now die for your disloyalty, traitors", judged Chrono as he raised his arms in the air.
"Lum."
'No, not them. Please don't do it to them', pleaded a young voice in Chrono's mind.
'They have betrayed us, you gave so much and look how they repay you', said an older voice.
"Ihhhh"
'Damnit stop, they are my friends damnit!! Run Marle, get out of here, RUN DAMNIT', screamed the younger voice in his head.
'They are not your friends, they have betrayed you', repeated the older voice.
Before Chrono could cast the rest of the spell, Magus dashed at him with is scythe and forced him to parry with the rainbow sword. The two metals collided sending sparks flying as Lucca fired a tranquilizing round at Chrono. It stuck into his left leg causing him to flinch with pain and jump back from Magus. Lucca shot another round at him hitting him in the stomach.
"You….", started Chrono as he stared at Lucca and stumbled sloppily towards her, already feeling the effects of the toxin.
Lucca left lose another few round, Chrono tried to block it with his sword but the sleep effect made him slower than usual and the darts found home in his right arm. The last shot veered him off course and he collided with Marle. The toxin worked quickly and he slid down Marle, unable to stand with his legs anymore.
"Traitor", whispered Chrono in her ear before he slumped down on the ground and fell asleep.
Her eyes filled with tears as his words sunk deep within her mind. Before turning away she mouthed, 'Forgive me'.
-----------------------
It was a scene from long ago, a scene that would be etched into the minds of all who lived to tell of it. Yet it was the beginning of something else, the beginning of his descent into the darkness. He wasn't defeated by an all powerful enemy, or a better swordsman, instead he was defeated by his pride.
"Chrono, stop before you get yourself killed", yelled Marle as she strained to get up after taking a heavy blast from Lavos.
"Guys, get the hell out of here", screamed back Chrono as he waved Marles's words off.
Lavos, the great beast that had fallen form space so long ago, growled at the young swordsman and intended to eat him. The ground beneath Chrono shook, knocking Chrono on his knees as he landed next to Frog. Turning to the beast that lay in front of him, he knew what he had to do, and he was ready.
"Hahaha, you are all fools", laughed the Queen of Zeal hovering above the far left of Lavos's head.
"Chrono", screamed Lucca, "What are you doing, get away from him"
"Lad, don't throw away thines life", pleaded Frog close to him.
"Frog, get Marle and Lucca out of here and somewhere safe. I am ready…ready to do what I must do", responded Chrono.
"Indeed, I understand thine wishes. I shall honor your words, fare thee well Chrono", sadly said Frog as he used his remaining strength to limp over to Lucca and Marle.
A cone extended from Lavos's mouth, pulling in everything around him into his giant jaws. It capture the rag tag group of time travelers, a group that somehow was going to save a future from this beast. It wasn't their future, not even their kids would live to see it but they did it anyway.
'Great, just need to block it', thought Chrono to himself.
Standing up and blocking the rest of the cone, it closed around Chrono and pulled him in faster as Chrono drew his sword.
"What boy? Do you intended to face Lavos with that battered body", mocked the Queen at Chrono.
He knew his sword would be useless and it dropped to the ground as he released his grip on it. Silently gathering energy, he raised his arms up for what would be his final attack. He was ready to die for his friends, he preferred to die this way to dying some day in his bed all alone. It had been a good life, a life blessed with care free days and late nights of fun. Thinking back to those days he felt a strange calmness, relaxing the muscles in his body he almost lost the spell he had been storing. Then it all stopped, the screaming, the pull of Lavos, the evil laughing of the Queen; all of it became grey and still. Looking around he saw a strange white light above his head, and it spoke one sentence.
"Do you wish for another chance, well do you boy?"
This ones a biggie, a lot longer than the other chapters I have written. It should explain at least a few things, including alittle something that you have probably been wondering since the start. I won't spoil it for you, go on read it for yourself and then write what you thought of it. Hopefully I found all the errors, but if you see one let me know.
--------------
Chapter 5
The banging of hammers and saws filled the empty festival grounds, emminating from the large space in the back. The grounds had been ordered off limits, any citizen found on the grounds was immediately executed, per Chrono's orders.
"Give it another try boys", shouted Taban.
A young man standing next to a large switch started pumping back and forth as Taban manned his own switch. The two large machines sat about 10 feet from each other, a large cable connected them from the back. Electricity sparked from where the two stood, illuminating the forest in the pre- morning background. Soon enough energy was produced and then shot across the air between the two machines, creating a circuit without wires, and a small purple orb began to form in the middle where they meet. It pulsated, energy around it crackled like mosquitoes hitting a bug lamp, and began to expand until it was large enough to fit a whole person. Then it died, for no other reason that to spite the person that sat in the background and watched it fail yet again.
"Alright that's enough boys", he shouted to his team as one stopped his pumping and the others drew out the blue prints again.
If it were not the wee hours in the morning, one might have assumed this to be a scene out of the last millennium fair. The same telepod station set up, minus the telepods, and the same inventor manning it, minus his daughter. Taban and his team of 4 had been up all night, working to get his telepod working again, or working like it had when it first teleported Chrono and Marle across time.
The glowering king watched in the background, his eyes glowing a soft yellow, and sighed yet again as the team failed for what seemed like the thousandth time. He had to resist the urge to fry them all, they were his only chance of getting that pendant back. All he needed was for them to create a portal, he had the gate key from Lucca but without the portal it was useless. Letting loose a lightning bolt at a random bird that was flying by, he decided that his time would be better spent elsewhere. Turning on his heal he walked away from the display area and through the middle of the square, spotting folded tents and closed displays. On the way out he stopped by the guard that stood watch at the festival grounds, "Get me when they have it working", commanded Chrono as he started walking again.
"Aye Mi'lord", automatically replied the guard.
It was nearly sunrise now, the sound of several roosters in the background being the first to alert him to the impending annoyance. He kept himself out of the sun most of the time to lower the morale of his other half, going on without seeing any sun was very depressing for it.
He quickened his pace, hoping to reach the castle before the sun rose. At the gates to the castle he passed by a knight carrying some peasant clothes. He recognized the face but couldn't quite match it up to a name. Waving him off as another worthless Knight he proceeded past him and took a quick glance at walls surrounding Marle's garden. He couldn't see its contents at the moment but he already knew the insides by heart.
'I wish I could tell her how beautiful it is, how beautiful she is', said the young voice in the King's head.
"I don't need this right now boy, keep quite", ordered the older voice.
Opening the door he was greeted by the short annoyance that called himself the Chancellor.
"Good day sir, I may need a moment of your time", spoke up the Chancellor as Chrono started to walk by, hoping he'd go away.
"What is it", rumbled Chrono.
"There are some people here to see you, they say they have something that might interest you", quickly spoke the Chancellor before he made Chrono lose his patience.
"Tell them I'll meet them in the throne room in 20 minutes", replied Chrono intrigued at what they could possibly have to offer him.
---------------------
The Epoch blasted out of the time stream and into the time period 1000 A.D. Lucca, seated at the controls, barely missed ramming a flock of birds on their entrance. They had appeared over the small town of Porre, some several hundred miles south of Guardia. Checking the systems over she peeked her head in the back to make sure the passengers were alright. Marle was already visibly shaken by just being back here, and Magus well he was his usual "Ice Cold" self.
Strangely the sun had not yet risen in Guardia, strange considering that it was the middle of the day back in the Dark Ages. Pausing the Epoch in a mid air hover, she scanned the landscape for a landing spot. It had to be out of site but next to the castle in case they needed a quick get away. Gliding over to where the old cathedral used to stand, she found a small clearing that the forest had yet to reclaim from the structure. Carefully guiding the Epoch to the small clearing, she landed successfully and turned off the twin engines. Popping open the hatch the party emerged just in time to the see the suns ray's illuminate the clouds.
Lucca sat admiring the beauty before she was snapped back to reality by the icy cold commands of Magus.
"We must move and get this done quickly before we are discovered"
Marle looked ok but her actions told everyone around her that she was still nervous. Constantly glancing over her shoulder, jumping at the smallest of sounds, and keeping her weapon drawn for safe keeping.
The party of three made their way through the forest, dispatching of the occasional goblin-like creatures that would try and ambush them. Conversations were kept to a minimum, the dominating sound was the crunch of the grass beneath their shoes as they tread the dew soaked forest. Finally reaching the draw bridge to the castle, a lone knight ran out to greet the Queen.
"Mi'lady, I've been worried sick about you. Are you ok?", asked the knight as he eyed Magus up and down.
"Yes I'm fine Timothy. We need you to inform the Chancellor that the king should be expecting three guests. Don't tell him who we are but only that we have something that should interest the king", commanded Marle to Timothy as she smiled at the luck they had of running into him.
Timothy was the only knight that didn't agree with how the king acted to Marle. The others probably didn't agree either but Timothy was the only one to ever actually say something. This "rebellious behavior" had gotten him killed almost several times if it were not for Marle intervening and asking Chrono to spare his life. This earned Marle a special place in Timothy's heart, he vowed to her that he would never let anyone hurt her. After the night she had disappeared he had beaten himself up for not being there to protect her.
"Yes Mi'lady", replied Timothy as he bowed and walked away.
"Oh and Timothy, we need some commoner clothes to disguise us", added in Marle.
"Of course Mi'Lady", responded Timothy as he went inside to fetch some clothes and relay her message.
The garden that Marle built sat just 30 feet away, a convenient enough hiding place to go until Timothy returned.
"Over here guys, I have a place to hide till he returns", whispered Marle to the rest of the group as she pointed to the garden she had. It was surrounded in a 10 foot high fence, easily enough cover for the three of them.
Walking over and using her key to unlock it, they slid through the door not making too much noise. Marle stood watch at the door, keeping a crack open so she could see when Timothy came.
"Wow Marle, who built this garden", softly said Lucca as she examined the large beds of flowers and rare plants.
"I did", responded Marle.
"What a waste of time", commented Magus as simply stood back against the wall.
"Can't you say anything nice", asked Lucca as she leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the door Magus was on.
Marle saw Timothy coming and readied to rush out and greet him but then someone else entered her sight. It was Chrono, he came walking quickly as though he was trying to outrun the sun, and brushed by Timothy.
Marle closed the door as soon as she saw Chrono start to look her way, breathing heavily and sweat pouring like a waterfall down her face.
"Calm down Marle, calm down", softly spoke Lucca to Marle.
"I'm…I'm ok", chanted Marle more to herself than those around her.
Opening the door again she saw Timothy faithfully waiting for her to return. Glancing around one last time to make sure Chrono was gone, she peaked her head out the door and gave a small whistle. Timothy heard the whistle and ran over to Marle, handing her the clothes.
"Here you are Mi'Lday", said the Knight to Marle.
"The Chancellor said he would tell the king, be prepared to be inside in about 10 minutes so he can tell you when you can see him", continued Timothy.
"And Mi'Lady, don't do anything too dangerous", warned Timothy as he bowed on more time and left.
Marle passed the clothes out to Magus and Lucca, Lucca examined her clothes strangely.
"These look strangely familiar, like my mom & dad's clothes", said Lucca as she studied the other 2 sets they had received. Taking it as a coincidence she slipped her new clothing over the current ones and adjusted it accordingly.
Each outfit had an accompanying hood or veil to keep the face out of anyone's direct view. Magus wore tan pants and a black shirt, his hood and cape were brown. Lucca had received a well used white dress, the kind you just throw on, and a white veil. Marle decided to just continue wearing the clothes that Magus loaned her but put on the black veil.
"I prefer my own clothes", commented Magus as he adjusted the hood.
"Me too", complained Lucca as she began to feel the rise in temperatures from having two layers of clothing on.
"Stop complaining", teased Marle as she peeked outside again to make sure no one was coming.
"Let's go", Marle said as they each crept out onto the main path to the castle.
--------------------
He hated to wait, it lost him valuable time that he could be doing other things. Tapping the wooden armrest of the throne he sat in, he grew even more impatient.
The room that the young king sat in was grandiose; it held two large thrones in the middle near the back and two other paths branched off from there leading to the King and Queens rooms. The king and Queen were suppose to sit in the thrones when greeting guests or addressing troops. Chrono glanced to his left where the Queen would normally sit, the seat sat un-inhabited by the Queen, the same Queen that Chrono wished was here right now. The lighting in the room had been dimmed according to Chrono's wishes, just enough light to see but not enough to see well.
'They had better hurry up, I am getting tired of waiting', said Chrono to himself.
The large wooden door at the front opened slowly, letting out sounds that told it needed to be oiled badly. Light from the main rooms covered the three figures as they entered his throne room at last. The last figure, a man wearing a cape, closed the door behind him and joined the rest in the middle of the room.
"What have you to offer me", commanded Chrono cutting down to business.
Observing them, they appeared an odd bunch. One was dressed in very lavish clothes, clothes that he can remember seeing in the Zeal kingdom. The others had plain peasants clothing and they all had something or other covering their faces.
"Chrono…", pleaded a voice that he recognized all to well.
"So you have returned Marle", stated Chrono amused, "Or did these good people catch you?", he continued as his motioned to the two others that were with her.
"No I came back on my own, we came to help you. Just come with us, please", said Marle regretfully as she removed her black veil. Magus removed his hood and Lucca removed her white veil.
"Traitors…", hissed Chrono as he drew his sword.
"I save the world and this is how I am repaid!!", said Chrono louder, "You traitorous bastards"
"Quiet boy", commanded Magus from the back as he materialized his scythe out of thin air and into his hands.
"How dare you call me boy", snarled Chrono, his focus now set on Magus.
"I'll call you whatever I want. You have become corrupt Chrono, you must be stopped", stated Magus as he moved his scythe to attacking position to back his words up.
"I….I have seen it done before and I swore by my sister that I would not let Lavos take root in another person again", declared Magus.
"I spit on Lavos, he wishes that he could do what I did! He is nothing compared to me, NOTHING", shouted Chrono.
"Now die for your disloyalty, traitors", judged Chrono as he raised his arms in the air.
"Lum."
'No, not them. Please don't do it to them', pleaded a young voice in Chrono's mind.
'They have betrayed us, you gave so much and look how they repay you', said an older voice.
"Ihhhh"
'Damnit stop, they are my friends damnit!! Run Marle, get out of here, RUN DAMNIT', screamed the younger voice in his head.
'They are not your friends, they have betrayed you', repeated the older voice.
Before Chrono could cast the rest of the spell, Magus dashed at him with is scythe and forced him to parry with the rainbow sword. The two metals collided sending sparks flying as Lucca fired a tranquilizing round at Chrono. It stuck into his left leg causing him to flinch with pain and jump back from Magus. Lucca shot another round at him hitting him in the stomach.
"You….", started Chrono as he stared at Lucca and stumbled sloppily towards her, already feeling the effects of the toxin.
Lucca left lose another few round, Chrono tried to block it with his sword but the sleep effect made him slower than usual and the darts found home in his right arm. The last shot veered him off course and he collided with Marle. The toxin worked quickly and he slid down Marle, unable to stand with his legs anymore.
"Traitor", whispered Chrono in her ear before he slumped down on the ground and fell asleep.
Her eyes filled with tears as his words sunk deep within her mind. Before turning away she mouthed, 'Forgive me'.
-----------------------
It was a scene from long ago, a scene that would be etched into the minds of all who lived to tell of it. Yet it was the beginning of something else, the beginning of his descent into the darkness. He wasn't defeated by an all powerful enemy, or a better swordsman, instead he was defeated by his pride.
"Chrono, stop before you get yourself killed", yelled Marle as she strained to get up after taking a heavy blast from Lavos.
"Guys, get the hell out of here", screamed back Chrono as he waved Marles's words off.
Lavos, the great beast that had fallen form space so long ago, growled at the young swordsman and intended to eat him. The ground beneath Chrono shook, knocking Chrono on his knees as he landed next to Frog. Turning to the beast that lay in front of him, he knew what he had to do, and he was ready.
"Hahaha, you are all fools", laughed the Queen of Zeal hovering above the far left of Lavos's head.
"Chrono", screamed Lucca, "What are you doing, get away from him"
"Lad, don't throw away thines life", pleaded Frog close to him.
"Frog, get Marle and Lucca out of here and somewhere safe. I am ready…ready to do what I must do", responded Chrono.
"Indeed, I understand thine wishes. I shall honor your words, fare thee well Chrono", sadly said Frog as he used his remaining strength to limp over to Lucca and Marle.
A cone extended from Lavos's mouth, pulling in everything around him into his giant jaws. It capture the rag tag group of time travelers, a group that somehow was going to save a future from this beast. It wasn't their future, not even their kids would live to see it but they did it anyway.
'Great, just need to block it', thought Chrono to himself.
Standing up and blocking the rest of the cone, it closed around Chrono and pulled him in faster as Chrono drew his sword.
"What boy? Do you intended to face Lavos with that battered body", mocked the Queen at Chrono.
He knew his sword would be useless and it dropped to the ground as he released his grip on it. Silently gathering energy, he raised his arms up for what would be his final attack. He was ready to die for his friends, he preferred to die this way to dying some day in his bed all alone. It had been a good life, a life blessed with care free days and late nights of fun. Thinking back to those days he felt a strange calmness, relaxing the muscles in his body he almost lost the spell he had been storing. Then it all stopped, the screaming, the pull of Lavos, the evil laughing of the Queen; all of it became grey and still. Looking around he saw a strange white light above his head, and it spoke one sentence.
"Do you wish for another chance, well do you boy?"