Chrono Trigger: The Online Novelization

by Masquerade

A retelling of events of the hit video game Chrono Trigger. Warning: I have made my own modificatoins to the story.

Chrono Trigger: The Online Novel

Game Adaptation by Masquerade

Chrono Trigger is © SquareSoft and Nintendo

Act 1: The Misadventure

Prologue: The Kingdom of Guardia

Somewhere on the planet Earth, there is a large cluster of islands that make up Guardia. It had been inhabited by an advanced race of humans for millions of years that created technology before its time.

It is the year 1000 AD, Guardia's domains include six islands, and 900 settlements and cities. The people enjoy the convinces of radios, perfumes, steam power, and artificial intelligence. They are well on their way to creating computers and the GWW (Guardia Wide Web). Monsters of all sorts co-exist with the people, as allies, or as the exiled Mystics.

Our story begins on the largest island in the kingdom: Leenia. The people of Leenia, called Leenejin, have been left mystified of natural events for the past year. A strange whirlpool appears in Glenn's Bay at least twice a week. Also, earthquakes had arisen, like the one on the night the story begins. It was a small tremor, like the ones that have sprung up every now and then. Most of the locals were nervous and jumpy about a "big one" happening soon.

The adventure began on a beautiful sunny morning. The gulls on Glenn's Bay cawed and soared through the sky. The steam-powered ferryboat gave a last "HROOW!" as it docked in Truce Pier. Noise from Leene Square traveled towards the sleepy, peaceful village of Truce. Among the joyous noise in the square was Leene's Bell, which echoed a light, happy gong of beauty over Leenia, and into a certain bedroom in Truce…

Ch.1: Chrono Trigger, Dreamer Boy

"Chrono…"

**Yawn**

"Chrono!"

"Hm?"

"Good morning, Chrono."

"Nmmm!"

Chrono, in a sleepy rage, thrusted the covers over his face, leaving only his bright-fire colored hair visible. His mother gently shook him awake.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head." She insisted. Chrono ignored her, and tried to get back to sleep.

"Mum, do you know what time it is?" Chrono moaned under the covers.

"Time to get up," Mum retorted, "get dressed, eat breakfast, and start a new day." She walked over to Chrono's window, opened the drapes, and pushed up the glass pain. A fresh morning breeze drafted into Chrono's stuffy room, mussing his spiky orange hair, flipping through pages of unfinished homework, and importing the sweet fragrance of Glenn's Bay. Leene's Bell was heard in the distance.

Chrono didn't care. He just wanted to sleep.

"Mum, I just got to sleep." He complained. Mum gave her thirteen-year-old son a glare.

"You were so excited about the Millennial Fair that you didn't get any sleep, did you?"

"Mum…"

"Don't you 'mum' me. Be out of bed and ready for breakfast in five minutes. Let's go now!"

"Alright, alright!" Chrono grunted, finally sitting up in bed. His mother walked downstairs as Chrono got dressed, tied his lucky bandana over his forehead, strapped his belt and wooden sword on, did a few stretches, and went downstairs to face the morning.

*****

Chrono Trigger wasn't his real name. It was actually Tommy Bishop. When Tommy was five, he had first heard the legends of great heroes and knights from long ago. When the Kingdom of Guardia was new, it was overwhelmed by Mystics, monsters that worshiped evil. Many brave souls battled the Mystics for control of Guardia and went down in history. Tommy was fascinated with such tales like the journeys of Sir Cyrus, the war against the evil wizard Magus, of hidden treasures, evil kings, might and magic, and so much more. Tommy decided that his purpose in life was to be a hero.

Tommy studied hard in school, and trained himself to fight the unfriendly monsters in Guardia Forest. After a few years of intense studying, Tommy found himself becoming a local celebrity in Truce. Unfortunately, his friends thought that a hero with an ordinary name was rather dumb, and they laughed at him. Tommy ran to his beloved grandfather for help. Grandfather just patted Tommy on the head, and helped him think of a heroic name. After a long, cheerful talk, Tommy Bishop was christened "Chrono Trigger."

Chrono walked downstairs to the scent of breakfast. His cat, Stripes, was waiting for him at the bottom step. Stripes mewed with hungry impatience. Chrono took the milk pitcher from the breakfast table, and poured it in Stripe's Special Milk Bowl for the pet to lap up. Mom already prepared a breakfast of oatmeal, so Chrono sat down at the table, and ate. His mother beamed warmly at him.

"Finally, you're up." She said as Chrono ate. "Your inventor friend…uh, oh dear, I forget her name…"

"Lucca?" Chrono asked, looking up at her.

"Oh yes, Lucca. She wanted you to come try out her latest invention at the fair."

"Thanks, Mum." Chrono nodded, going back to his oatmeal.

"Now, I want you to behave yourself today, Chrono." Mum lectured. "Don't be getting into trouble."

"I won't Mum." Chrono said between spoonfuls. Chrono and trouble, unfortunately, were constant companions. Fortunately, Chrono was a master at getting out of trouble.

"Be sure to be home before dinner."

"I will, Mum."

"Oh, and here's your allowance." Chrono's mother placed a leather pouch on the table. It chinked noisily. Chrono immediately snatched it with the rest of his money that he was planning to take, and stuffed it away in his leather satchel.

"Thanks, Mum." Chrono finished the last of his breakfast, and stood up from the table. "Well, I'm off."

"Have fun, dear." Mum wished. Chrono kissed his mother on the cheek, patted Stripe's head, and set off for the first Guardia Millennial Fair in Leene Square.

*****

Chrono Trigger was not a morning person, anyone could tell by looking into his baggy eyes and smelling his breath. However, this morning, he looked fresh and new as he faced the morning.

Along the way to Leene Square, Chrono unsheathed his wooden sword, practicing a few moves and swings. He was going to be the greatest hero who ever lived, and he'd probably be a King's Knight while he was at it, just like Sir Cyrus 400 years ago. Chrono had been training since he was five, and was the youngest swordsman in the village. He had to be a hero; he just had to be.

Suddenly, Chrono tripped over something, and he fell flat on his face. He looked over at what he tripped on, and grinned. "Oh, ho. So, you're looking for a fight, eh?" He stood up, dusted himself off, and looked at the beast before him. The beast was a Hetake, a ground burrowing plant/animal that looked like a cross between a mushroom and a monstrous turtle. This particular one seemed to have strayed from its home, which was Guardia Forest.

"Where's your buddies?" Chrono asked it with a smirk. "Hetake travel in groups. There should be at least two more of you." The Hetake growled and hissed in its own language. If Chrono were a Mystic, he would have understood the creature's language. Chrono could only understand its tone of voice.

"Hmm…either I should watch where I'm going or my sister sucks socks. Since I'm an only child, I'll watch where I'm going and continue on my way." He turned his back to the Hetake. "Later." He could have fought the Hetake if he wanted, gained some experience, but the Hetake wasn't looking for a fight after all. Chrono wasn't a bully; he picked fights only with people who started them.

*****

Leene Square at last. Whenever Chrono visited, it was a quiet shopping center. Chrono usually came with his mother to buy weekly groceries, or to hang out with some of his friends. Nothing really happened there, except a few races, and holiday picnics, but that was about it. Mostly, it was beautiful, yet boring.

Millennial Fair at last. Leene Square was loud with laughter, loaded with color, and filled with everything Chrono could imagine! Banners flapped and rippled in the air, merchant stands dotted the area, women gossiped at the fountain, men tried their luck at games of chance to win Silver Points, everyone was busy having their fill of fun.

Chrono looked around in awe.

He was going to have a blast!

Ch.2: The Millennial Fair

"Welcome to Leene Square." A staff man greeted Chrono. "Win Silver Points to buy prizes or enter in the contest at the Tent of Horrors. Enjoy the Millennial Fair."

Chrono nodded, and walked around cautiously. There was so much to do that he had no clue where to start. He wandered around, watching games and listening to small gossip. He was overwhelmed, and had no clue how to begin his day of fun.

"Step right up!" a merchant shouted, "test your strength! Swing the mallet, ring the bell, win Silver Points!"

"Races!" another shouted. "Who will win the Millennial Races? Silver Points for a right guess!"

"Don't miss Jurassic Rhythm!" yet another advertised. "Enjoy food, fun, and actual tribal dances and music from sixty-five million B.C!"

"Fight Gato!" more shouted. "Spar with the first humanoid robot of the century! Win Silver Points!"

"Enter the contest in the Tent of Horror's Showcase! Who has what it takes to step into Norton Bekklar's Laboratory? Mystery prize to contest winner! Parental descresion advised!"

Others advertised wares:

"Get your fresh tasty jute nuts! Grown from a far away land! Your taste buds will love you forever!"

"You want 'em, we got 'em! Healing potions, reviving potions, magical potions, right here! Cures for the soul!"

"Melchor the Great here! Feast your eyes on these antiques! Medallions, tokens, treasures, fossils, swords, staffs, scrolls…"

"Swords?" Chrono slowly grinned. He took a walk over to Melchor's stall, seeing that it was not a stall: it was merely an old rug with old…stuff lying on it. Melchor was seated in a chair, smiling through his huge, fluffy white beard and tiny sunglasses. His clothes looked antique, his beard trip looked antique…good God, that entire corner of the fair was all antique!

Melchor looked up from a lady customer, and smiled warmly at Chrono. "Hello lad. Feel free to look around."

"…Sure." Chrono agreed, bowing politely. He took a glance around at the …stuff the old man had on his rug. There was plenty of …stuff from the late BCs, but not one thing was AD. Where had this guy been for the last thousand years?!

After the female customer bought a silver earring, Melchor turned to Chrono. "See anything you like, son?"

Chrono actually had his eye on an expensive Lode Sword with the bronze hilt. Chrono wasn't sure how much money he had (let's see, his allowance Mum gave him was 200 gold coins, and he brought 300g of his 1,000g…), but it most certainly wasn't enough to buy the sword. So, he told Melchor: "No."

"Alright then." Melchor nodded. "I live on Janus, the island in the east. If you're in the area, come and visit."

"Sure." Chrono smiled, walking away. He sat down on a bench by the stairway leading up to higher levels of the square. He watched several of the kids playing and running around, having fun. A few youngsters close to Chrono were playing Wizard War.

"I am Magus!" the youngest boy declared, thrusting a toy sword in the air. "I rule all, and I'm coming to get you!" Then he chased the others around, casting pretend spells on some helpless victims, and tagging others whom tried to tag him back. Chrono smiled and laughed. He remembered that old game; he had played it a lot when he was little, and he was always Magus. Suddenly, the second youngest, a little boy with blond hair, ran up to him.

"Chrono Trigger!" he yelled, clutching Chrono's leg. "Help me! Help me! Magus is coming to get me!"

"Roar!" 'Magus' yelled, heading for Chrono and the "helpless victim." Chrono patted the boy on the head, and stood up. It had been at least six years since he last played this old game…

"I'll slay Magus." Chrono announced, borrowing the second youngest's toy sword.

"Yay!" a girl among them cheered. "Chrono! Only Chrono can kill Magus!"

"Nobody can beat Magus!" 'Magus' declared. He charged, and Chrono sidestepped out of the way. 'Magus' was tricked into running past Chrono. The other kids laughed at 'Magus' playfully, and cheered Chrono on.

"Can't catch me, Magus." Chrono challenged, running up the steps to the higher level of the square. 'Magus' and the young onlookers gave joyous chase. As Chrono ran past the top step, he looked behind him to stick his tongue out at 'Magus.' Suddenly…

POW! Chrono ran into someone!

"Oof!"

"Ow!"

Chrono lay dazed on the pavement, then he slowly got up, and shook his head clear of stars. The crowd of kids rushed up to help Chrono.

"Chrono, are you alright?" 'Magus' asked, out of character.

"Yeah." Chrono nodded, standing up. "Who did I bump into?"

"Her." The second youngest pointed. Chrono looked to see a girl his age lying on the pavement.

It is said that anyone who hears the Leene Bell toll on it's own will live interesting and happy lives from that moment on. Those who hear it toll while the bell ringer is operating it would live a peaceful, beautiful life. As Chrono glanced at the girl he bumped into, the Leene Bell began to toll three times by itself.

Ch.3: Lucca's Invention

"I'm sorry." Chrono apologized to the girl, slowly helping her up. "Are you alright?" He had to speak a little louder so the girl could hear him over the bell. She moaned as Chrono helped her to her feet.

"Yes, thank you." She nodded as the bell stopped tolling. She dusted herself off, first her sky blue pants, then her sleeveless top…suddenly she touched her neck in fear. "Oh no! My pendant! It must have fallen off!" She started looking around for it frantically. "Don't tell me I lost it!"

"Uh, I'll help you find it." Chrono volunteered. He began looking around for it. The crowd of children also pitched in to help ('Magus' claiming triumphantly that he'll find it first) . Chrono found it in a small flowerbed beside the bell. The pendent was a small, circular stone set in gold, and attached to a thin gold chain. Chrono tapped the girl lightly on the shoulder. "Excuse me, is this what you're looking for?"

"Oh!" the girl exclaimed. "You found it! Thank you so much. Uh, it's of high value to me; can I have it back please?"

"Sure." Chrono agreed, handing her back the pendent. The girl slipped it over her ponytail-ed blond hair, and it hung around her neck.

"I came to see the fair. You're…from around here, aren't you?"

"Yeah." Chrono nodded. "I live in Truce village, just down the road."

"He's Chrono Trigger." 'Magus' introduced to the girl. "He's the greatest swordsman that ever lived."

"Really?" the girl blinked at Chrono curiously.

"No, not really." Chrono chuckled, mussing up some of 'Magus's' hair. "I plan on being the greatest swordsman that ever lived. I'm pretty well known in Truce and half of Porre."

"Oh." The girl nodded. "Well, I'm not from around here. Uh, do you think I can follow you around a little?"

Chrono thought for a minute.

"Why not?" he shrugged. "Sure."

The girl cheered.

"You're a true gentleman! Thanks!"

"Of course he is" 'Magus' smiled. "He's Chrono Trigger." Chrono grinned proudly.

"Nice name." The girl smiled cutely at Chrono. "I'm Marle." She looked over at 'Magus.' "How about you? What's your name?"

"Who me?" he asked. "I'm John. John Little."

"I'm Alex." The second youngest introduced.

"I'm Alicia." The girl smiled.

"Andy Loxly." Another boy introduced.

"And I'm Fiore." The tallest boy grinned. "Nice to meet you, Marle."

"Can we follow you around too?" John asked Chrono, tugging on Chrono's blue shirt.

"Sure." Chrono smiled. "Welcome aboard, everyone."

"Alright!" Alex cheered. "We get to hang out with Chrono Trigger!"

"Where do you wanna go first?" Chrono asked his young admirers. Marle giggled.

*****

"Attention! Attention!" a crier shouted, ringing his bell. "The Ashtear invention is ready for public viewing! Demonstration in five minutes!"

"Hey, Lucca's invention is ready." Chrono lightened up. "C'mon guys, let's go check it out."

"Lucca?" Marle asked, walking along with Chrono and the kids. "Who's Lucca?"

"Lucca Ashtear." Chrono answered. "She's my best friend, and an inventor. She invited me to check this new thing out."

"I've heard of her." Fiore spoke up. "I heard her inventions never work. They always blow up."

"Some of her inventions work." Chrono informed Fiore. "She made an anti-rust oil that does wonders on the pluming."

"I heard Ashtear cuckoo!" John said innocently. "And she's silly looking."

"Well, her glasses are a little ridiculous…" Chrono thought, "…but I still think she's a genius."

"Is she you're girlfriend?" Marle wondered. Chrono shook his head.

"No, she's just my best friend. She's two years older than I am. We've been friends for years."

"Oh." Marle answered. They walked up the steps to the picnic area of the square, where Lucca's invention was set up.

*****

It was the wackiest thing ever! Two circular platforms stood opposite sides of the picnic area, with a strange control panel next to each. A man and his daughter stood next to each platform. The daughter was making some last minute preparations while the man made his speech.

"Step right up, ladies and gents! Behold the latest creation of the Ashtear Labs: the Time Space Telewarp! Travel made easy!" He motioned to the left pod. "Simply step up here…" then he motioned to the right pod, "…and, as if by magic, you'll appear over there. It's that easy! This wonderful device was made by my lovely daughter, Lucca."

Lucca Lannister Ashtear, a teenage girl with purple hair and ice blue eyes turned to the audience. She wore an orange lab coat, big black glasses, and a headset helmet with a radio antenna and communicator.

Chrono and Lucca had first met in the crib, when he was barely a year old and when she was three. They had been life long friends, and always thought positive things about each other. Chrono never thought Lucca was goofy looking, or had crazy ideas; Lucca always thought that Chrono was the best swordsman on Leenia, and could even become Knight Captain one day.

Still, even though Lucca was a prodigy inventor, no one thought that way about her. Especially the crowd that came to see her telepod that she had worked so hard on.

"None of Ashtear's inventions work." A woman snorted.

"Check out her glasses!" a kid pointed.

"She could probably see the back side of the moon with those." The kid's grandfather nodded.

No one stepped up to try the telepod.

"Who's that?" John pointed at Lucca's father.

"That's Taban Ashtear." Chrono said to the boy. "He's Lucca's father. He's really nice, and helps Lucca with her inventions."

"Where's the mommy?" Alicia, who had been strangely quiet, asked.

"Lara Ashtear isn't here." Chrono answered.

"She's crumpled." John answered for Chrono.

"Crippled." Chrono corrected. "She's crippled."

"Does anyone want to try the Telepod?" Taban asked the audience. There came no response. Almost embarrassed for Lucca, Chrono made a flat face. He brightened up a little and stepped through the crowd.

"Hey, I'll try it!" Chrono called. Lucca jumped in surprise.

"Chrono! Will you help us demonstrate? Nobody wants to try the Telepod."

"Sure." Chrono smiled. "What do I do?"

"Just hop in the left pod, and dad n I will do the rest."

"Okay." Chrono pulled himself up onto the pod, and stood straight up.

"We have a volunteer!" Taban announced proudly. "Okay, let's get started!" Chrono took a quick moment to wave to the audience, and his young admirers with the front row seats. Marle watched in excitement. Taban stepped next to a control panel while Lucca went to the next one. Both began pushing buttons and pumping levers.

"All systems on." Taban said to Lucca.

"Begin energy transfer." Lucca said to Taban.

Suddenly, the floor of the left pod began to shine and vibrate. There was a loud "swish" sound, like waves on the sea, and Chrono suddenly flashed into five tiny flickers of light. The crowd gasped in awe. Then, the pod on the right began to shine, and the five lights zoomed to it and flashed again. Chrono reappeared from the lights, and the glowing stopped. Dizzily, Chrono stumbled off the pod, and shook his head clear of multi-colored stars and spots. He looked up at the crowd, smiled, and waved.

"I'm okay." He said with a chuckle. "It works."

The crowd applauded, awestruck.

"Oh wow, that was great!" the children cheered.

"I guess even her inventions have to work sometimes too." The doubting woman sighed as she applauded.

"It…it worked?" Taban blinked. Then, he regained himself. "Uh, yes, ahem, it worked. The powers of science, ladies and gentlemen."

"You okay, Chrono?" Lucca asked her friend.

"Yeah." Chrono nodded. "It was fun."

"I wanna try!" Marle shouted, coming out of the crowd. "I wanna try! I wanna try!"

"Hop on, Marle." Chrono smiled. "You'll like it."

"Can I try it? Please?" she asked Lucca and Taban.

"Huh?" Lucca blinked at the girl, adjusted her glasses for better examination, then side whispered to Chrono: "Hey Chrono, how did you pick up a cutie like her?" Chrono blushed.

"Behold." Taban said to the crowd, "as this vision of loveliness steps up to the platform!"

"Let's do it!" Marle cheered, jumping up onto the left pod. "Don't go anywhere, Chrono, I'll be right back." Taban gave the girl an unsure look.

"Uh, are you sure about this?" he asked. "There's still time to change your mind."

Marle shook her head.

"No way, throw the switch." She insisted.

"Okay then." Taban nodded. He turned to his small audience. "Let's give her a big hand when she reappears."

Chrono smiled, and lounged on a nearby stone wall. His young admirers crowded around him to watch from his point of view. The crowd grew silent as Taban and Lucca stepped up to their respective control panels.

"All systems on." Taban said to Lucca.

"Begin energy transfer." Lucca said to Taban.

The left pod began to glow and vibrate under Marle's feet. Everything was going along normally, until…

Marle's pendent began to sparkle slightly, then shine like a pulsing heart. Marle cupped it in her hands, blinking at it strangely.

"What's going on?" she asked no one in particular.

Suddenly, there was a spark from Lucca's control panel, then a miniature explosion. Taban's control panel zapped a small lightning bolt of electricity.

"Whoa!" Father and daughter screamed, jumping away from the malfunctioning machine. The audience gasped, then covered their eyes as a bright light filled the picnic area.

Only Taban, Lucca, and Chrono saw what happened next.

The small electric bolts of lightning formed a circle in the air. Marle warped into the five small flickers of light at that moment. The small lights zipped for the circle of lightning, which became a sphere of blue light that pulsed in rhythm of Marle's pendent. Gradually, the light disappeared, and the sphere faded away.

The audience blinked away the stars and spots, wondering calmly what happened. Taban, Lucca, and Chrono wondered what happened too, only in a frightened way.

"Uh, show's over, folks." Taban shooed away the crowd. "Go along now. Enjoy the rest of your day." Chrono also shooed his admirers away. After the crowd left, there were only three people left in the picnic area. Taban, Lucca, and Chrono stared at the left pod. Marle's pendent was the only thing left of her.

"Where did she go?" Chrono demanded. "What happened to her?"

"I…I wish I knew." Lucca sighed. "Strange, I could have sworn I've seen her before…"

"What do we do now?" Taban asked his daughter. "This didn't happen in the tests!"

Chrono picked up Marle's pendent, and looked it over sadly. Was Marle all right? What would happen to her?

"Could it have been the pendent?" Chrono asked himself. He thought to himself for a while, then bravely made his decision. He stuffed the pendent into a pocket, and stepped onto the left pod. "Fire it up, you two." Chrono said to Lucca and Taban. "I'm going in."

"What?" Lucca gasped. She adjusted her glasses. "Chrono, are you serious?"

Chrono gave Lucca an I've-Never-Been-More-Serious-In-My-Life look.

"You're actually going to do it?!" Taban blinked, then said honorably: "What a fine lad."

"Chrono Trigger never turns down a challenge." Chrono said bravely to his friends. He took out the pendent, and clutched it by the chain. "Besides, I can't just leave Marle like this. She could be in big trouble."

"Good point." Lucca nodded, then stepped up to her control panel. "Chrono, you keep a good hold on that pendent, it might be the key. Here we go. C'mon dad."

"But won't they both be lost?" Taban asked.

"That's a chance we have to take." Lucca said, already starting up the machine. "Now c'mon, there isn't time to waste."

"Okay. Ready, Chrono?"

"Never readier."

"Here we go then. All systems on."

"Begin energy transfer." Lucca said. "Power to full."

"Roger."

"More. I need more power, dad!"

"Roger."

Chrono waited patiently, standing straight, sighing occasionally. Suddenly, from his grip, Marle's pendent began shimmering with the pulsing light.

"It's working, you guys!"

"Chrono," Lucca called over the noise of the machine, "I don't know where this will take you, but after I find out what's wrong with the telepod, I'll come after you."

"We did it!" Taban announced, as the electricity zapped from the control panels and formed the blue sphere in the air. Chrono's body flickered into five points of light, and zipped into the portal.

"Good luck, Chrono!" Lucca cried as the portal closed.

Ch.4: Queen Leene's Mystery

Chrono suddenly stumbled into a patch of high grass. It completely engulfed him the minute he fell. Spitting out some dirt, he sat up, straightened his bandana, and looked around. Nothing but tall grass all around. He stood up and looked around again. He was up to his shoulders in tall grass that stretched through a small clearing of forest. Tree canopy covered the air over his head with autumn leaves. Small pinpoints of sunshine peeked from cracks in the canopy. Chrono pondered the leaves on the trees.

"Autumn? It can't be autumn; it's supposed to be the first days of spring. Where am I?"

*****

Chrono was pretty good with history. When he was young, his grandfather would help him with his history homework every day. His grandfather was the town historian, five years elected. He and Chrono would make up games to remember years, and draw pictures to remember places and names. Chrono aced every history class afterward.

Chrono's grandfather had a strange fascination with the past. He enjoyed reading books and listening to radio specials about the land before the kingdom. He especially touched on the mysterious Zeal Dynasty, which he would draw beautiful pictures of legends from the Dynasty, which Chrono admired very much.

Chrono's grandfather, also, loved to tell stories. Whether they were true, fantasy, or for Chrono's studying, grandfather's stories were always enjoyable. His stories were colorful and delightful. If there was a story to be told from grandfather, Chrono was always there to hear it.

Sadly, Chrono's grandfather disappeared one day. He seemed to just up and leave one day. No trace of him was left behind, almost as though he never existed. No one in Truce was as sad as Chrono. Over the next few months, Chrono began flunking school, vowing never to study again until his grandfather returned. He remained true to his vow until he finally got over his grandfather's disappearance, and began working to bring his grades up.

That was about three years ago. Chrono almost never spoke of his grandfather. A new historian was elected, and all was forgotten about the grandfather. However, all that Chrono was taught was never forgotten…

*****

"Skweek!"

"Huh?" Chrono turned towards the sound behind him. Out from the bushes came a tiny blue creature wearing red suspenders. Chrono smiled at it, and reached down to pet the cute thing. "Awww, aren't you adorable." He tickled it under its chin. "Goochy, goochy, goochy, goochy…"

Suddenly, it bit him.

"OW! OW!" Chrono screamed, falling over on his back in surprise. "Ow, you little…that HURT!"

Suddenly, five more of the blue creatures jumped out of the same bush, and leapt on top of Chrono squeaking and screaming in angry fits.

"HEY! Get off me! OW! Don't bite me! Hey! Don't kick me either! Hey! HEY! Why you little…I'll teach you to kick me in the butt! Alright, that's it!" Chrono reached out for his sword, and jumped up to his feet. All six of the creatures fell off Chrono and looked up at him.

"Skweek?"

"Time to teach you guys a few manners." Chrono struck a fighting pose, and waved his sword into an "attack ready" position. Suddenly, the creatures screamed in fear and ran away back into their bush.

"Huh?" Chrono blinked in surprise for a second. Then, realizing that he had scared off the little brutes struck a triumphant pose, flexing his mussels and grinning. "Ha- ha! Nothing can beat Chrono Trigger!"

Suddenly, a large bird the size of a tiger swooped down from the sky at Chrono!

"SSKYAAAAAA!" it screeched.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Chrono screamed, running away, learning what really scared the little creatures.

*****

After a few more encounters and some wandering around, Chrono discovered that he was in a canyon with a little river running at the bottom. This was impossible. There weren't any canyons in Leenia. There were canyons galore in Azala, the continent to the southeast, but not on Leenia. The only canyon that existed in Leenia was the Truce Canyon, and that existed four hundred years ago. Since after the war with Magus, the canyon was carved and repaved into Leene Square, and the Leene Bell was put up in the square a month later.

That could mean that…

No way. Time travel was impossible.

Chrono walked his way out of the canyon and into a small village that almost looked like Truce. The center of town was missing its fountain, and the houses had red shingle roofs instead of blue and green shingles roofs. Strange, the homes of Guardia had red roofs four hundred years ago…

No way. Time travel was impossible.

"Marle!" Chrono called out on the main street. "Marle, answer me!"

SPLASH! A huge wave of water fell on top of him from above. Chrono looked up to see a woman with a water bucket from an upstairs window. She waved innocently at him.

"Sorry lad! Didn't see yu!" she said with an apologetic smile.

"Sure." Chrono nodded. Suddenly, he stopped the woman before she disappeared from the window. "Hey wait! Uh, would you please tell me where I am?"

"Where yu are?" the woman laughed. "How ridiculous!"

Chrono quickly came up with a story.

"I've been sick for the last few days, and I've forgotten almost everything I know. Please, mam, where am I?"

"You're in the village of Truce, in the kingdom of Guardia." The woman answered. "Anything else you'd like to know, lad?"

"Yes." Chrono nodded, feeling confident that he truly was home. "Can you direct me to the Millennial Fair?"

"Millennial Fair? Even more ridiculous! Tis the year 600 and King Guardia XXI is in rule! We're too concerned bout war to host a fair. Go home lad." With that, she disappeared from the window. Chrono stared into space in shock.

Year 600 AD?! Four hundred years into the past?!

NO WAY! TIME TRAVEL WAS IMPOSSIBLE!

Chrono fainted.

*****

Chrono came to outside of a bar. The loud voices and laughter woke him up. He looked around to see that the first hour of dusk had come, and most of the town was settling in for the night. Chrono stood up and dusted himself off. Just then, a man walked up to him, and looked him over in surprise.

"Aren't you a little young for a place like this, amigo?"

"Uh…" was all Chrono could manage to say. The man laughed, and fondly patted Chrono's shoulder.

"I guess you're not drunk after all." The man smiled. "C'mon lad, I'll buy you a root beer."

"Okay." Chrono shrugged. "But I really need to get going." He and the man walked into the tavern, and took seats by the bar.

"Bartender!" the man shouted. "One beer and one root beer!" He turned back to Chrono. "So, amigo, where are you from?"

"Huh?"

"By the look of you, anyone could tell that you aren't from here. Of course, a lot of travelers have been stopping by lately…" He grinned. "Like me."

"And you are?"

"Levine. Toma Levine, from Mexico. It's outside of the Guardia boundaries."

"Wow." Chrono had always wanted to hear about the lands beyond the Guardia realm. He never got to; no one he knew had ever seen the lands beyond Guardia.

"So, where are you from, lad?" Toma asked again.

"Oh, nowhere special." Chrono shrugged. "Oh, here's the drinks. Uh, by the way, my names Chrono Trigger."

"Chrono Trigger." Toma tried out the name for himself. "Strange. That name brings back some déjà vu."

"I dunno." Chrono shrugged again, drinking some of his root beer. "I've never seen you before."

"Si, same here." Toma nodded, taking a swig of beer. "So, since you're new around here, senior Chrono, maybe you'd like a little background on Guardia."

"Sure." Chrono accepted. Since he was four hundred years into the past, he could use a little history review.

"Alright then." Toma nodded, lounging back in his chair. "Well, ten years ago, this place was a real mess. Magus, the evil wizard, was beginning to win the war. Not too long ago, they knocked down Zenan bridge to the south. Anyway, Sir Cyrus of the royal guard left with a friend to look for a weapon to kill Magus and neither returned. About a few weeks ago, Queen Leene, who Cyrus had vowed to protect, vanished visiting the cathedral on the west coast…"

"Toma, ya idiot!" a man on the other side of the bar yelled. "Get with it! They found her just a few hours ago, wandering around Truce Canyon."

Silence.

"Oh." Toma said, then smiled sheepishly. "Never mind then, lad."

Chrono thought about this as he drank the rest of his root beer. So, he came around the time Queen Leene was rescued, which meant the war would be over in about…six months or so and two days after the Battle on Zenan Bridge. Strange how the queen was found in Truce Canyon instead of the outskirts of Dorino. Maybe…

Maybe the queen knew where Marle was!

Chrono immediately got up and paid for his drink. "Sorry to cut our chat short, Toma, but I've got to get going."

"I'll be seeing ya, Chrono." Toma said, waving. "Adios, mi amigo." Then he muttered to himself: "I still think there's something fishy about that cathedral…"

Chrono ran out the door, and down the street. He was headed for the Guardia Royal Palace, which hadn't moved an inch since year 100.

*****

The Guardia Forest didn't change a bit either. All the paths and most of the trees were still in place. A lot of the wildlife was very different. Chrono saw more of the blue creatures, and identified them as Imps. In the year 1000 AD, Imps were intelligent life that inhabited Janus Island. He didn't remember them being primitive beings in Leenia's forests…

He passed the sign that read: GUARDIA CASTLE AHEAD! NO TRESPASSING! It was just like the one in 1000 AD. He ignored the sign and continued onward. He crossed the bridge over the moat, and opened the castle doors.

*****

Chrono was quite well known with a few of the palace soldiers, especially the door sentries. Since Chrono wasn't allowed to enter the palace, the most he would do is walk up to the edge of the forest, and wave to them. They often waved back. It took a while for introductions to get around. The first two guards he met were Jet and Tommen. Jett was the Guard Captain's younger brother, and Tommen was a distant relative to the mayor of Porre. Jett knew a lot of funny jokes and Tommen knew every inch of Guardia Forest. Both knew how to fight, and they taught Chrono a few fighting tricks to enhance his training.

Jett gave Chrono a rare chance to meet the Guard Captain, Dante. Chrono learned from Dante many skills of fighting and strategy. "Brains before brawns." Dante had said. "My ancestor, Fiona, passed that down to all her children."

"Fiona?" Chrono had asked. "Who's she?"

Dante and Chrono took their seats, and Dante began his story.

"Four hundred years ago, lived a woman named Fiona Duneburro. She had lived in Choras on Azala, and came here to live in the forests. To her and her newly wed husband's dismay, the forests were being chopped down to nothing. They petitioned long and hard for four years. They were heard out, and the forests were to be preserved. However, the forest started to disappear."

"Disappear?"

"Trees were falling over by themselves, and the stumps would vanish over night. Fiona went with some food, a lantern, and her walking stick, and set camp in the woods to find out what was going on. She never returned."

"What happened?"

"Nobody was sure what happened to her. However, when the last of the forest disappeared, her husband found a skeleton…mouth opened in mid scream…clutching Fiona's walking stick. There was no question then that Fiona had died."

"That's sad."

"Very. She's buried in the Porre cemetery, just on the outskirts of town…facing the desert that was once her beloved forest."

"Wow."

"It is amazing what people will die for. Mostly for love, especially these days."

"What would you die for?"

"My king and princess. I vowed to protect them when I was elected Captain." He smiled. "Do you have anything to die for, young Chrono?"

"Me? Not me. I don't wanna die. I'm too scared."

"Ah, I see. Well, Chrono Trigger, here's another lesson."

The next sentence Dante said stuck to Chrono for life:

"No warrior is scared to die."

*****

The minute Chrono opened the castle doors he was seized by the arms, and forced onto one knee.

"Halt!" shouted a voice to his left. "Who goes there?!"

"Hey! Leggo!" Chrono protested the tight grips on his arms.

"Didn't you read the sign, punk?" a voice to his right demanded.

"I…I need to speak to Queen Leene." Chrono said politely. The sentries ignored him, and simply bickered to themselves.

"Check out the hair on this one. You think he's with Magus?"

"No way. He wouldn't have made the cut."

"You can't be too sure. Check his eyes."

Chrono's head was thrusted up to the ceiling. The soldier to his right looked into Chrono's blue eyes deeply, then shook his head to the other soldier as he let go of Chrono's head.

"He's human, and he's not with Magus."

Chrono looked back and forth at the guards as they bickered, deciding his fate. Finally, they looked back at Chrono.

"Okay kid," the one on the right spoke up, "show us your stamp collection, and get outta here."

"??????" Chrono blinked. The guards laughed at him.

"Seriously," the one on the left chuckled. "Move along now."

"But I have to speak with the queen!" Chrono again protested. The guards hoisted him into the air, and started forcing him to the door.

"Queen, shmeen." The one on the right sneered. "She's had a bad day, and she doesn't want people visiting her. So, just shove along your way now…"

"Stop that at once!" a new voice commanded. Everything froze and fell silent. The two guards looked towards the castle interior, at the top steps. The guards trembled, then dropped Chrono, and bowed on their knees. Chrono lifted his head to see who it was and he also froze.

On the stairs was a vision of loveliness:

Queen Leene.

*****

"This is the man who saved me." Leene said. "He is my friend, and I demand that you show him courtesy."

"But your majesty," the guards tried to explain, "we were just…"

Leene shook her head at them, not hearing them out.

"You would question my orders?" she said gently. The guards bowed their heads.

"Of course not." They answered, then to Chrono: "Carry on, sir." Chrono looked at the soldiers strangely, then back at the queen.

The queen giggled, and left up the stairs. Chrono watched after her, puzzled. He recognized that giggle anywhere; it was Marle's giggle.

Very strange.

*****

King Guardia XXI looked up to see the lad walking towards him. The boy didn't appear to be from his royal realm. Perhaps he was like Toma, and came from the outside world.

"Your highness," a guard introduced to the king, "Chrono Trigger, the man who rescued Queen Leene." Chrono bowed to the king, and the old man smiled.

"So, you are the one, lad?" the king asked. The boy looked at him, almost in wonder. "I thank you for saving my wife, sir Trigger."

"Uh, no problem, King Guardia." Chrono said nervously. Then, the king looked at Chrono curiously.

"Perhaps you can tell me, sir," the king said, "since she has returned, Leene has been acting very strangely."

Chrono looked up into the king's eyes. "Highness?"

"She has also lost her coral hairpin she always guarded with her life. Do you know what happened to her, sir Trigger?"

"Uh, I'm, uh, not sure, your highness." Chrono shook his head. "I wish to speak with her, if that's okay with you, sir."

"Yes, of course." The king nodded. "She's in her chamber, upstairs to the right." He clapped his hands twice. "Cicero, please guide our hero to Queen Leene's chambers."

"Yes sir." The guard nodded. Chrono followed the guard up the staircase past the throne room. The king glanced at his chancellor, who seemed to be in deep thought.

"Chancellor Akain?" the king asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Hm?" the chancellor looked at Guardia. "Sire, I must retreat to the cathedral for a bit."

"Feel free." The king nodded. The chancellor promptly left.

*****

"So, how goes the war?" Chrono asked Cicero as they continued to the queen's chambers.

"Not so good, I'm afraid." Cicero shook his head. "Fortunately, the queen's return has lifted a few spirits. I, myself, am thankful that Magus didn't get her."

Chrono nodded. To be Sir Magus's prisoner was a very traumatic experience. Almost no one got away alive from Magus's capture, and those that did told a horrifying tale of torture and driven madness.

Cicero stopped at a door, and stood before it with his hand on the handle. "The queen awaits." He opened the door for Chrono, and the red- haired boy walked in.

*****

The queen was looking out a sunlit window. The sunlight reflected off her jewelry and golden blond hair, making her sparkle like midnight stars. The two gossipy handmaidens with her brushed her hair, polished her nails, carefully dobbing make up on her cheeks and lips. The queen was a true sight to behold.

Chrono watched her in awe from the doorway as the handmaidens chittered about the queen's wedding day, how young she looked, how happy they were to have her back…Leene was silent. She just sat there with her natural beauty, listening to the handmaidens, looking out the window.

"Ahem." Cicero cleared his throat to make the male presence in the room known. The queen and handmaidens looked up at the guard and Chrono. "Your majesty, Chrono Trigger is here to see you."

"Thank you." Leene nodded, then looked at her handmaidens. "Girls, please leave us. I wish to be alone."

"Yes, your majesty." The handmaidens said at the same time, bowing and taking their leave. Cicero closed the door behind him, cutting off the dirty chuckles of the handmaidens. Chrono and Leene were alone.

Leene held out her hand, palm down, to Chrono.

"Come nearer, sir." She invited with a smile.

She was so beautiful, Chrono just couldn't resist. He walked up to her, and politely got down on one knee, and kissed her hand.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, she covered her mouth with her other hand, and giggled like crazy. Chrono looked at her, puzzled. Leene folded her hands before her, and smirked at Chrono.

"I fooled ya, didn't I, Chrono?" she asked playfully.

"Huh?" Chrono wondered as he looked into her face. Suddenly, it made sense: the missing hairpin, her strange behavior, that giggle! "Marle?" Chrono assumed.

"Yep." Marle nodded. "But everyone thinks I'm Leene."

Chrono was shocked to silence. Marle looked back at the window, but spoke to Chrono. "I just wanted to thank you for coming to save me. We barely knew each other, but I knew that you'd come after me." She looked back at her friend. "Thank you, Chrono."

Chrono stood up and gave a polite bow to Marle.

"You're welcome, your majesty." Chrono smiled. They shared a laugh, then looked at each other for a while. "I…I…you do look beautiful in that. You look just like how Queen Leene did on her wedding day."

"I do?" Marle wondered, looking into a mirror.

"There's a picture in my history book of her…I'm not kidding, you look just like her. She was married to Guardia when she was thirteen. It's ten years…yeah, ten years later, and nobody suspected that you're not twenty-thr…"

"Nope." Marle shook her head. "Not a thing. Makes you wonder where Leene is, huh?"

"Yep."

Suddenly, Marle began to glow green. She doubled over, clutching her stomach in pain. She screamed in surprise, and almost fell over. Chrono caught her, and she began wincing in unspeakable pain.

"What's happening to me?" Marle whispered in fear. "I feel like I'm being ripped in half inside."

"Marle?"

Suddenly, Marle screamed again, and began turning transparent.

"AAAAA! CHRONO! HELP ME! IT HURTS! CHROOOOONOOOO!!!!!!"

In a flicker of green light, Marle vanished from Chrono's arms. Stupefied, not knowing what to do or say, Chrono froze still as stone. After a few minutes, he dashed out of the room, down the stairs, heading for the castle doors.

Ch.5: Save the Queen!

"Chrono!"

"Huh?"

POW!

As Chrono ran, he accidentally bumped into someone and fell over. Chrono looked up to see an almost-out-of-breath Lucca Ashtear.

"Lucca?!"

"Huff, huff." Lucca breathed as she caught her breath. She must have been running really fast. "I…finally…found ya." She said in-between breaths. "Didjya…find…the girl?"

"Yeeeeeeaaaaah." Chrono said, unsure. He hung his head, a little sad. "But…she's…"

"She's what? Out with it; is she hurt?"

"I dunno." Chrono muttered. "She's gone."

"GONE?!" Lucca shrieked in alarm, standing up. "Whadaya mean 'gone?!'"

"She disappeared into thin air." He explained. "She said she was in pain, and she said it was like being ripped apart. Lucca, what happened to her?"

"Hmmm." Lucca thought for a minute, adjusting her glasses. "Chrono, did you ever get the year of this place?"

"Yeah. We're in the year 600 AD, and King Guardia XXI is in rule."

"Where's Leene?"

"Dunno. Still kidnapped, I guess. They thought Marle was Leene cause…"

"…she looks similar to her."

"Yeah. Hey, how did you…"

"I knew I saw her from somewhere before. See Chrono, she's a member of the royal family from our time."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She's Princess Nadia."

"!!!!!!!!!!!" Chrono's eyes nearly popped out of his head in surprise. "WHAT?!"

"Yep." Lucca nodded.

"Well…what happened to her?"

"I think I have an idea about that. So, Princess Nadia, or Marle as you call her, is the direct descendent of Queen Leene, right?"

"Yeah."

"And Queen Leene is still kidnapped, right?"

"Yeah. The story goes that Magus kidnapped her. Somebody snuck her out of his clutches and rescued her, but she should have been saved by now."

"I think someone or something changed history." Lucca feared. "If something happens to Queen Leene, then Marle will cease to exist."

"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"You get it, right? If Leene dies, the monarchy of our time vanishes."

"I know that, but where's Marle?!"

"She's dead, Chrono. Unless we can find and save Queen Leene."

"We…we have to find Leene, and quickly."

"Let's go then." Lucca suggested. "Time isn't on our side, Chrono Trigger."

*****

"I dunno where to start looking." Chrono shook his head in dismay. He and Lucca had exited the castle and were trekking the trail of Guardia Forest.

"Well, Magus captured her, so…"

"No!" Chrono immediately objected, scaring five Avian Chaos birds out of their tree. "One, there's no way I'm going into Magus's lair for any reason."

"Chicken." Lucca scoffed.

"Darn straight. Two, nobody knows where it is or how to get there."

"Except the Mystics." Lucca answered, noting that Green Imps riding Rolly monsters were following them.

"No human can understand a word they say."

"You can. You seem to know what they say back home."

"No. I think I know from their tone of voice."

"Oh." Suddenly, Lucca stopped walking and put her hands on her hips. "Either way, you're really striving to stay away from Magus's place."

"You don't have any clue how many people he killed, Lucca." Chrono said, stopping and leaning on a tree with his shoulder.

"We have to find Magus's place." Lucca said to Chrono's back, since he refrained from looking at her. "It's the only place she could be."

Chrono remained silent as an idea came to him. He began remembering Toma's words:

"Not too long ago, Queen Leene…vanished visiting the cathedral on the west coast...there's something fishy about that cathedral..."

"Wait a sec." Chrono snapped his fingers, turning to Lucca. "How do we actually know Leene is in Magus's lair?"

"Where else could she be? Magus only has one hiding place."

"I'll bet." Chrono said, pounding a fist in one hand. "Queen Leene vanished while visiting some cathedral in the west. So…"

"Cathedral? What cathedral? There weren't any cathedrals on Leenia during this time."

"Exactly!" Chrono exclaimed. "Our only clue to where Leene is held is in that cathedral!"

*****

It took a little wandering, but they found it: Cathedra de Gamus. As huge, gray, and holy as Notre Dame, its shadow cast a feeling of awe upon all it touched.

"Wow." Lucca gasped as she looked at it. "There's nothing in the history books like this."

"Nope." Chrono shook his head. He put a hand on his sheathe, and headed for the door. "Well, let's go." Lucca trailed behind him cautiously. Chrono stood by the doors, sighed in preparation, and pushed the doors open.

Instantly, the awe intensified. The inside of the cathedral was huge! Stained glass windows depicting holy saints with striking colors, and the sunlight shining through the windows seemed to make the saints come alive and glow. The light from the windows shone on the isle way like spotlights. Chrono and Lucca walked down the isle to the marble alter. Lucca noticed people sitting in the front pews and someone playing a nearby pipe organ.

Chrono stopped by the front pews to see who was sitting in them. He saw only nuns listening to the organ music. He cleared his throat to draw attention.

"Ahem. Excuse me, sisters?"

The nuns looked up and smiled at him and Lucca.

"Greetings." The closest one to Chrono welcomed. "Welcome to this holy realm. How may we help you?"

"Uh, we're just looking around." Chrono explained.

"Feel free to." She nodded, then turned away. Chrono and Lucca advanced towards the altar.

As Chrono looked around the cathedral, he picked up some conversation from the nuns:

"Such adorable children."

"Yes. They do look delicious…uh, delightful, I mean."

"Shush, they'll hear you."

"They're onto us. Quick, change the subject."

"Uh, world peace. All we want is world peace."

"This is true."

"Or a piece of the world."

"Hee hee. This is true too…"

"Hmmm…" Chrono thought to himself. "Suspicious."

*****

Within the shadows of the cathedral, two amber-gold eyes watched the newcomers suspiciously.

Who are they? They don't appear to be of Guardia. They're too young to be part of the enemy. Hopefully, they won't discover me. Hopefully…they'll lead me closer to Leene…"

*****

"Hm?" Chrono's foot had stepped on something. Chrono lifted his foot to see something small, long, and shiny. He picked it up to look at it; Lucca peeked over his shoulder.

"Whatcha find?" she asked, looking at the object. "Looks like a hairpin."

"Yeah." Chrono agreed, turning it in his hands.

The nuns turned their attention to the youths…

"I think it's coral." Chrono deducted.

The nuns became alert and suspicious.

"Wait a minute!" Lucca gasped, "Look!" She pointed to a carving on the coral: a shield surrounding a two-dimensional dragon. Chrono recognized the symbol before Lucca did. "It's the Guardia Royal Crest!"

The nuns stood up from their pews and approached Chrono and Lucca. The youths didn't notice the possible danger.

"It's Leene's hairpin…that she guarded with her life." Chrono said softly to Lucca.

"What happened to her, do you think?"

"Dunno." Chrono shrugged, "but I bet that Queen Leene is somewhere in this cathedral."

The nuns hissed an un-human sound through their teeth. Chrono looked up, noticing that angry nuns surrounded him and Lucca. Chrono sensed that something was wrong, and drew his sword. "Stay away from us, all of you! We know you're all hiding Queen Leene!"

"Foolissssh boy!" one of the nuns hissed through newly formed fangs. At every "s" sound, a thin, slick, long, forked tongue flickered out between her fangs. "Ssssso sssstupid to die sssso young."

"Naga-ettes!" Chrono gasped in fear.

"SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" all the nuns hissed, then a blue fire suddenly surrounded them. When the fire cleared, it replaced the nuns with hideous, half-woman half snake monsters…

…out for human blood.

*****

"What in hell…" Lucca screamed in fright.

"Lucca, let's go!" Chrono shouted, swinging his sword to strike at the nearest Naga-ette. It blocked with its long claws, and swiped at Chrono with its other pair of claws. Chrono managed to back away, and keep from being scratched. Lucca pulled out her Air Gun to defend herself, and started firing at the monsters. A couple of them were shot in the face and distracted, which made them easy prey for Chrono's sword.

Chrono jumped for one, and brought down his wooden sword on its head. It squealed in pain, then lashed out at Chrono with its claws. Chrono backed out of the way, and his shirt was ripped rather than his skin. He swung again, slapping the Naga-ette in the face with the blade. It was knocked to the ground where it fell, and vanished in a flicker of fire. It had died.

"Back off!" Lucca warned harshly, firing endless rounds of her air gun. Several Naga-ettes suffered shots to the face, which felt like being whacked with a baseball bat. One slithered behind her, and bit her shoulder. Lucca screamed, and tried to wiggle away from it, but it had a firm grip on her. "You pervert!" she yelled, taking a mallet out of her belt, and whacked the Naga-ette on the head. It fell to the ground, seeing pretty stars before its dead body enflamed and vanished.

"Two left!" Chrono warned, charging for them. Acting quickly, he jumped for them, and used a Cyclone Attack. Spinning a warrior styled pirouette, his sword whacked the two Naga-ettes senseless. He dragged his foot to slow down, and both Naga-ettes dropped to the ground. One enflamed and disappeared, the other got up and bit Chrono's neck. With a yelp of pain, he harshly elbow jabbed her gut. She let go of his neck in surprise, and he brought the blunt end of his sword on her neck. She fell, engulfed in flames, and her body vanished.

Their injuries were minor, but they had won the battle.

"Whew," Lucca sighed, "that was close."

"Yeah." Chrono agreed as he wiped his bloody sword on the ground and sheathed it. Lucca put her gun away and rested her elbows against the altar. "So, that proves it. This isn't a real cathedral. Those Naga-ettes were Mystics."

"How can you tell?"

"Did you see the color in their eyes?" Chrono pointed to his own eyes, then proceeded to tell Lucca what he had been taught by Jett. "Mystics have what looks like red eyes. However, the color isn't red; it's a color that hasn't been invented ever."

"Hey, when I arrived at the palace to get you, the guards checked my eyes to see if I was a Mystic or not."

"Me too. It's the only giveaway the Mystics have."

"Wow." Lucca gasped. "So, that could mean…"

"This is one of Magus's hideouts, right here on Leenia!"

Suddenly, there was a flash of blue light and fire on the altar behind Lucca.

"LUCCA! LOOK OUT!" Chrono cried.

Lucca screamed as another Naga-ette sliced her in the back with its claws. Lucca fell over on her stomach, and Chrono rushed to protect her. "Lucca, are you alright? Lu…"

Suddenly, before the Naga-ette could attack, the lurker in the shadows jumped into the fight.

"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

SWIPE!

"EEEEEEK!" the Naga-ette shrieked as it died. Chrono and Lucca, unharmed, looked up at the new presence that saved their lives.

"Who…" Lucca wondered. Then, the person spoke.

"'Lower thy guard, and thou allow the enemy to strike.'" He quoted an unknown person. Then, he laughed, which sounded more like croaking than laughing. "So, the two of you are here to save the Queen as well?"

"Come into the light." Chrono said. "We can't see you."

The person stepped off the altar and into the light from the stained glass windows. Lucca took one look at him, and screamed in fear.

Ch.6: Yakra!

"It's a frog! A giant frog! I HATE FROGS!" Lucca screamed, practically jumping ten feet in the air. Well, he didn't consider himself the biggest frog in the world, but four feet tall was pretty darn tall for a frog. He stood erect, like a human being (on his feet), and he wore human clothes too. He wore a bronze armor chestplate, cloth pants, cloth gloves, cloth boots, and dark green cape shroud that hung on his shoulders. He also had a sword sheath hanging at his side, and a quiver of arrows on his back alongside a string bow. To Chrono, this…guy…was a medieval swordsman.

The frog's amber-gold eyes sadly looked at the frightened Lucca. "So, my appearance doesn't gain your trust?" He lowered his head in small sorrow. "I was going to ask if you could join me since the three of us are looking for Leene…" He lifted his head, and gave a polite bow. "Very well then. I'll be off. The both of you are exemplary fighters." He walked past Chrono and Lucca, and began looking around for something as he headed for the door.

"…" Lucca hesitated as she watched Frog leave.

"Lucca," Chrono shook his head. "What is it with you and frogs?" Lucca gave him a hard glare.

"You should know." She snarled. "You stuffed one down my shirt when I was eight."

"I was six! How was I s'post ta…"

"Frogs gave me the heebie-jeebies since."

"Hey, you couldn't take a joke back then. It was funny."

"No, it…"

Chuckling interrupted their bickering. It was the frog. He had stopped in his tracks to listen. Chrono looked at the frog for a minute, then walked up to him.

"Hey, wait, you said you're looking for Queen Leene too, right?"

"Yes." The frog nodded.

"Well, you can help us, if you want. I'm Chrono Trigger, and that's Lucca."

"…" Lucca thought for a while longer. "Well, I guess he's a…nice…frog-person-thing…"

"What's your name?" Chrono asked. The frog smiled.

"Frog will do." He said simply.

"Frog? Nice to meet you, Frog." Chrono smiled, holding his hand out for shaking. Frog promptly shook it with a suprisingly firm grip.

"Well, we better get moving then." Lucca suggested, not wanting to shake the hand of a frog.

"There's a secret passage around here somewhere." Frog informed. "I know Leene is hidden behind it."

"Right." Chrono and Lucca nodded.

*****

Under pews, around the altar, behind the organ, under the floor…The trio of heroes searched throughout the cathedral for the secret passage. They had been looking for fifteen minutes, and still found nothing. They had agreed to keep the main doors locked just in case an innocent bystander or more Mystics came. Chrono, Lucca, and Frog were practically going through the entire room with a fine toothed comb, and there was still no sign of the secret door.

Lucca began growing impatient of the search.

"Look." She sighed. "We've checked everywhere. Something should have attacked us by now. There's no secret door."

"There is too." An exhausted Chrono argued, taking a seat by the pipe organ. "We just aren't looking hard enough."

"Then where else is it?"

"Dunno." Chrono said flatly. Bored out of his mind, he took both the pointing fingers on his hands, and plucked out "chopsticks" on the church organ. Frog, who was knocking on the walls searching for the door, gave Chrono a strange look.

"What do you think you're…"

"Chopsticks and chopsticks and chopsticks and chopsticks…" Chrono sang to the piano tune.

"Oh, that was a great waste of piano lessons, Chrono." Lucca smirked. Chrono grinned at her, then went back to occupying himself. Frog rolled his eyes, and began marching towards the organ.

"I thought you were going to help m…"

"…and chopsticks, chop chop!" Chrono wrapped up. Then he banged on a random key that gave off a loud squeak from one of the pipes. Then, everyone heard a distant sound of a door opening. Frog turned around to see a section of wall that had become a door. Everyone looked at each other in amazement, then back at Chrono. Chrono looked from the pipe organ, to the secret door, and gave a triumphant smile.

"Well, whoda thunk it?" He stood up. "Shall we?" He walked to the door.

*****

In single file, Chrono, Lucca, and Frog quietly made their way down hidden rooms and secret halls. The further along they moved, the bigger the rooms became, and the more elaborate and beautiful they seemed. Staircases and red carpets became more and more constant with each room.

Walking up a staircase, and into a room, the adventurers discovered a hidden armory. Quickly, everyone equipped themselves with what they needed. Frog found a beautiful Broad Sword that packed more iron punch that the bronze sword he had. Lucca kept her gun with her, but took a few throwing daggers. Chrono hesitated a moment before trading in his wooden sword. Frog seemed to understand.

"I can hold onto that for you." He offered Chrono. Again, Chrono hesitated. Finally, he handed the wooden training sword to Frog, and made a different selection of sword. Chrono picked up a Steel Blade. It wasn't a Lode, but it was a good sword.

"Are we ready to move on?" Lucca asked Chrono and Frog. Chrono watched as Frog put the wood sword in his quiver.

"Yeah." Chrono said with a nod.

*****

"Hey you!"

"Huh?" Chrono looked down the hall to see several creatures rushing towards them. He recognized them as Mystic beings: squat and round Henches, short and muscular Gargoyles, and snake-like Vipers. He made a face. "Hey, who are they?"

"Sentries!" Frog worried.

"Seize them!" a Hench ordered with a pointing finger. Two Gargoyles jumped to obey. Lucca jumped out of the way, while Chrono and Frog unsheathed their swords, and sliced down on their attackers. The Gargoyles screeched at their newly formed wounds, and fell over. Chrono looked at his new sword in amazement.

"Wow." He marveled. This baby packs more power than I thought it would."

"Pay attention, Chrono!" Frog warned, watching three Vipers rush towards them with fangs bared. "One bite from them, and you're dead."

"Got it." Chrono acknowledged, and charged. Swinging his sword in a figure 8, he slit the snake's throats, and they fell over dead. Their bodies engulfed in flames and vanished. A Gargoyle that survived the earlier attack jumped for Chrono's back. Chrono sensed the attack, and stabbed his sword into the Mystic's stomach. Four Henches charged for them, and Chrono flung the Gargoyle off his sword, and at the attackers. He could have sworn that he heard the sound of struck bowling pins as the Henches fell over.

"I got em!" Lucca volunteered the next attack. Taking out a spherical weapon, she pulled the pin out with her teeth, and threw it at the fallen Henches. "Cover your ears, everyone!" Chrono recognized the shape of the weapon and panicked.

"Grenade!" he shouted, dropping to the ground and plugging his ears. Frog, not sure what a grenade was, just put his hands over his ear holes. A high pitched frequency emitted from the "grenade," and the Henches fell asleep before they could get up. When the frequency ended, Lucca helped Chrono up.

"That's my Sleep Bomb, remember?" Lucca quizzed.

"You're what?"

"Sleep Bomb. It sends out a signal that puts listeners into a deep sleep for hours. I demonstrated for you once, remember?"

"No. I think I was asleep." Chrono shrugged. Lucca thwapped him in the back of the head with her hand.

"Let's move on." Frog suggested, taking the lead.

*****

They made their way through more halls and rooms. Chandeliers made of crystal began appearing on the ceilings, and the rugs sported a shining gold trim. The further back of the cathedral the adventurers moved, the more fancy the halls and rooms became.

"This is beautiful." Lucca gasped.

"What's up with all of this?" Chrono wondered. "this isn't a church; it's…it's a palace!"

"A shrine." Frog corrected. He pointed to his right. "Look there." Lucca and Chrono looked and gasped. Before them was a fourteen foot tall marble statue that stood tall and proud. It was incredibly life-like, with its long flowing cape, and boots that reached as far as the middle of the shin, slightly baggy pants, shiny chestplate armor, crinkled long sleeves, and rough leather gloves. His face was serious and stern, his hair seemed to flow down his back and around his shoulder, his eyes were looking into Chrono's no matter where the boy stood, there was a definite evilness around the real thing. One hand rested by his side, and the other clutched a huge and highly detailed scythe about as tall as the statue.

"Oh God…" Lucca gasped.

"Magus." Chrono identified. "It's got to be Magus."

"It is." Frog nodded. "We have to find Leene quickly." He drew his sword. "Let's keep going."

*****

"AAAAAAAAAA!"

At the sound of the scream, Chrono, Lucca, and Frog drew their weapons and held their ground.

"Leene!" Frog feared.

"AAAAAAAAAA!"

"Let's go!" Chrono cried, running in the direction of the screaming. Lucca and Frog followed up from behind. They stopped at a dead end hallway with one door. Chrono tested it by trying to turn the doorknob.

"Locked." He growled.

"AAAAAAAAAA!" Leene's scream came from the other side of the door.

"Step aside." Frog warned. Swiftly, he sliced the doorknob off with his sword, and, with one hop, kicked the door open with both feet. Everyone ran inside to see to their shock…

"And now, Queen Leene, it is time for you to die."

"No! Stop! Please stop!"

"God…" Chrono gasped. Queen Leene was bloody, ripped, torn, stabbed, bruised, and almost thoroughly beaten. Standing over her, with a sword raised ready to run her through…

"Chancellor?!" Chrono and Frog exclaimed, blinking in fright. Chancellor Akain turned angrily toward his intruders.

"What in…HEY! How did you get in here?!"

Leene's eyes lit up with renewed hope upon one of her rescuers.

"Frog!" she cried.

Frog instinctively got down on one knee before his queen.

"M'lady," he said, "hang in there. We shall save you." He glowered at the chancellor. "Kill her, and we will kill you." He held up his sword to prove it.

"Bah. I have plenty of time to kill her." He threw his sword and the queen aside. Frog walked around the Chancellor to keep his attention while Chrono helped Leene scramble to a relatively safe corner in the room. Lucca, meanwhile, had her gun drawn and kept it pointed at the chancellor.

"Traitor!" she hissed at him. "Double crosser! Magus worshiper! Give us one good reason why we shouldn't kill you!"

"Luu-caaaa…" Frog growled through his teeth.

"Because you value you life." The chancellor sneered at Lucca, then turned to Frog. "As for you, stupid frog, it's time for you to leap off this mortal coil." He raised his hands in the air. "True form…CHANGE!"

While Chrono and Lucca wondered what he was doing, Leene cringed in fear while Frog drew his sword and snarled.

A blue light shone from his hands and began to spark lightning and created a loud noise. Chrono, Lucca, and Leene covered their ears while Frog kept all his senses fixed on the transforming chancellor. Then, the blue light and lightning covered the chancellor, and his shape started to change. In an almost blinding flash, the light ceased and the sound was quiet. Chrono was blinking the spots away, so he had a hard time seeing what happened next.

"Imposter!" he heard Frog shout. "Infiltrator! Mystic! For what you did to Leene, you will die!"

"I'd like to see you trrrry, frrrreak!" a new voice growled. Suddenly, it let out a roar, and Chrono regained his sight. He found himself staring at an eight-foot-tall, slimy, sickly, ugly, toothy, bug-eyed, prong horned, spider legged monster.

"Ewww!" Lucca shrieked.

"Bring it on!" Chrono challenged, unsheathing his sword.

*****

Frog and Chrono circled around the monster nervously. It gave out a roar and charged.

"YAKRRRRA!"

"Look out!" Chrono yelled, jumping to the side to dodge. At the same time, Frog jumped into the air like a coil spring, and cleared over Yakra's head. He did a small front flip to righten himself before he landed, then spaced himself from the monster. Yakra attempted to turn with his long, scrawny legs, which appeared to be very difficult. Frog analyzed that Yakra was strong, but too slow to be an antiquate fighter. He used the opportunity to load his bow and arrow, and fire an arrow at the monster's back. Yakra rumbled in pain, and faced Frog angrily. Frog saw the unidentifiable red color in Yakra's eyes.

Chrono stood up, trying to plan out an attack.

*****

"Who or what is that?!" Lucca blinked in fear of Yakra. Leene weakly answered.

"Yakra, one of Magus's generals. Magus had sent him here to capture me, and now he tried to kill me."

Lucca immediately grew worried. Giving the queen a last, assuring look, Lucca sprang into action.

*****

"Chrono, to me!" Frog shouted to Chrono, motioning with one hand. Chrono ran to Frog's side, and Frog gave Chrono his plan. First, he pointed to a diagonal side of the room. "Slash down with your sword that way." Then he pointed to the opposite diagonal. "I'll go that way. We'll form an X, and move as quick as you can."

"Right." Chrono nodded. They hopped into position, and pointed their swords at Yakra. Yakra roared again.

"DRROOOOOOOOOOO!"

"X STRIKE!" Frog and Chrono shouted, jumping in their planned direction. They struck down their swords at the same time, causing Yakra double the pain. The growl went into a scream. Lucca fired her gun at Yakra, and shot one of his legs off. Yakra fell over with another scream. Chrono cheered.

"Yeah! We're doing it!"

"I'M NOT DEFEATED YET!" Yakra declared. Suddenly, sharp needles shot from his slimy skin at Chrono, Lucca, and Frog. Two struck in Chrono's shoulder, and more narrowly missed his head. Lucca's helmet deflected many of the needles, but one got stuck in her leg. Frog caught one with his hand that was aimed for his head, but the price he paid for that action was all the sharp needles that punctured his armor and stuck into his chest. Lucca tried to pull out the one in her leg, but screamed in pain as she yanked.

"Don't try to take it out!" Frog shouted to her. "You'll make it worse!"

Chrono got up, and pointed his sword at Yakra.

"That's it!" he declared. He jumped up into the air, and sliced his sword down on Yakra's head. Yakra growled, and opened his jaws wide. A black cannon ball shot out of his throat, and bowled over the swordsman. Chrono tumbled a few feet away and almost plowed into Leene. Frog swung his sword in anger a few times, and charged for Yakra. The monster shot more needles at the warrior, but Frog swatted them away with his sword. With a roar and brute strength, Frog sunk his sword deep into Yakra's flesh. The monster screeched, and thrashed around violently. Frog was flung from his sword, and his back smashed into the wall. He fell to the ground in a daze.

"Frog!" Leene panicked with tears.

"Moron!" Lucca roared, taking out her mallet. She ran for Yakra, and pounded the hammer onto his head and body. The blows did no damage to Yakra's soft skin, they just left impressions that instantly healed. Yakra swatted Lucca away with one leg, and she fell to the floor. Chrono pushed himself up to a stand, and pointed his sword at the monstrosity before him.

"I've had it with you!" he declared. He rushed towards Yakra, and performed his Cyclone Attack. Spinning quicker than the eye could follow, Chrono's sword swiped off all of Yakra's legs. Yakra screamed in pain. Frog launched an arrow with a red tip at Yakra, and the monster shrieked greatly. Everyone covered their ears, even Frog.

"What did ya do to him, Frog?" Lucca wondered. Frog showed her another arrow with a red tip.

"I'm a Poison Arrow Frog." Frog grinned.

"Alright, Frog!" Chrono smiled. "Now for the final blow!"

"One last X Strike should do it." Frog calculated, strapping his bow back over his shoulder. Chrono and Frog made their move.

"X STRIKE!"

SWIPE! SWIPE!

"GRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Chrono and Frog landed swiftly. Frog suddenly hurried everyone out of the room.

"Quick! Everyone out before he explodes!"

Yakra's slimy skin began to bubble and boil and expand. Lucca helped Leene out of the room, while Chrono and Frog ran out the doors, slammed them shut, and kept them shut with their backs. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion in the other room, and thousands of needles pummeled into the door, just missing Chrono and Frog by inches. They slowly turned their heads to each other.

"You know he's dead." Chrono said, pointing his thumb to the door.

"Yeah." Frog nodded.

*****

They helped Queen Leene out of the cathedral, and to the palace. Everyone was treated for their wounds, and all the needles were removed. An hour later, as the moon reached its peak in the sky, everyone was bandaged and healed.

King Guardia XXI took Leene into his arms happily.

"Thank heaven you're alive and safe." He said into her ear. Leene smiled and hugged him back. The king remembered something, and broke away from the hug. "Chancellor Akain. Where is he?"

"He's still in the cathedral." Leene realized. She turned to a guard. "Cicero, summon Captain Gilahad and have the knights search the cathedral for Chancellor Akain."

"Yes, your majesty." Cicero saluted. He walked off to the knight's quarters to get the guard captain. Leene looked at her three rescuers, and gave a light curtsy.

"I thank you all: Chrono, Lucca, and Frog." She smiled, looking very beautiful. She looked at Frog, and gave him a lovely, friendship-type smile. Frog lowered his head shamefully and sighed.

"Majesty…Leene…" he moaned in sorrow, "…I have failed you." Leene blinked in surprise.

"Gle…"

"No." Frog shook his head. "I'll take my leave now." He gave one last bow, then walked out of the throne room.

"Frog…" Lucca was about to stop him, but he was out the door. Leene sat back in her throne, and sadly look at her hands in her lap. Chrono and Lucca followed Frog outside.

*****

Frog sat on the top steps of the palace stairway. He sighed in sorrow and wiped the welling tears in his eyes. He heard the doors open and close, and was about to stand up and walk away when…

"Frog?"

Chrono. Suddenly, Frog remembered the wooden sword. He pulled it out of his quiver and turned to face Chrono. He saw that Lucca was with her friend. Frog handed the sword back to Chrono in knight's manor.

"Sir Chrono," Frog began as the sword was taken from his hands, "you will make a good swordsman. Keep up your training and good work."

"This," Chrono held out the wooden sword to Frog, "isn't what I came here for." He put the sword away. "What happened in the throne room? Is that how frogs tell people 'your welcome?'"

"Twas my fault that Leene was captured and almost killed." He admitted.

"But you saved her." Lucca argued.

"The past…" Frog was about to snap, then stopped himself and spoke with a gentler tone. "…has not been kind to me. It never has and never will." He stood up. "I will leave for good now. No more will anyone hear of my shame." He gave them one last bow, and disappeared into the Guardia Forest. Lucca watched Frog leave with a small longing.

"Froggy…" she whispered. "You're not a bad guy at all…"

Chrono tool a look at Lucca's fixed face, and even shook his hand in front of her eyes to get her attention. No response. Chrono half-smirked.

"Lucca, I thought you didn't like frogs."

*****

"Sir Chrono, Miss Lucca?" Leene came out to the steps. The adventurers turned to the Queen. "There you are."

"Frog left." Chrono explained. "He thinks he let you down." Leene nodded.

"Frog and I have known each other for a long time. He's been through a lot, yet…he's like a brother to me. He'd lay down his life for me, like Cyrus would have…" She smiled. "Which reminds me, another thanks for saving me. If you hadn't shown up when you did, I…I don't know what would have happened."

Lucca gasped.

"Ohmygosh, I just remembered! Marle!"

*****

After leaving Leene in the throne room, Chrono and Lucca headed quickly to the queen's bedchamber where Chrono last saw Marle. Chrono thrust the door open, and was greeted by a bright flash of light. There was a green glow, and a wondering voice asked, "What happened?" Chrono shook his head clear of pastel colored spots, and saw her standing in the middle of the room.

"Marle!" he cried happily.

"Princess Nadia!" Lucca cried too.

"Chrono!" Marle rejoiced, then started crying. "Oh, Chrono, what happened to me?! It was awful! It was dark, and cold, and…lonely. Oh Chrono, is that what it's like…to die?"

"Don't worry, Marle." Chrono conforted with a smile. "You're alright now, and that's what matters."

"Yeah." Lucca nodded. "Welcome back, Princess Nadia."

"Hey, it's you!" Marle recognized. "How did you get…" Marle stopped talking at the sound of her real name. "Princess…Nadia?!" She began to look pink in the face. "Uh oh. Looks like you guys figured it out, huh?"

"Yep." Chrono and Lucca nodded. Marle began to look nervous and embarrassed as she continued.

"I'll fess up. I'm Princess Nadia Starling Guardia, daughter of King Guardia XXXIII. Okay, so I guess I'm a disobedient child, I've lost count of how many times I've ran away from the castle. I just wanted to have a fun time at the fair, and…I found you guys. Chrono…" she looked Chrono in the eyes. "…I'm really sorry to have deceived you, but if I had told you who I was you wouldn't have let me walk around the fair with you, right?"

"Wrong!" Chrono argued. "You're a nice girl, and you're fun to be around. I don't care if you're one of the Gods, I would take you anywhere you please."

Marle smiled happily.

"You're a great friend, Chrono."

"Well, shall we go home now?" Lucca butted into the moment.

*****

They traveled to Truce Canyon with no incident. They stopped at the high grass place where Chrono had first appeared. There was only a small, floating blue orb hanging in mid air.

"So, how do we get home?" Marle asked.

"Aha!" Lucca smiled. "Like this." She took out what looked like a cross between a house key and a magic wand, and waved it at the blue orb. The orb expanded into the portal that Marle disappeared into. Both Chrono and Marle were amazed.

"Wow!" Chrono gasped. "Cool!"

"How'd ya do that?" Marle asked, pointing to the portal.

"Well, Princess…er…Mar…um…"

"Please!" Marle cried out. "Call me Marle!"

"Well, okay…Marle." Lucca giggled. She looked back at the portal. "Well, I call this a Gate." She held up her magic wand/house key. "And this is a Gate Key. I created it from the main components of my telepod. See, Gates are highly unstable, but the Gate Key insures that we can use them as we please."

"Neato." Chrono smiled.

"That is really cool, Lucca." Marle smiled. "You're a genius!"

"Ain't it the truth." Lucca chuckled.

"No, no, I really mean it! I'd trade my royal title for your smarts in a heart beat."

"If you say so." Lucca blushed.

"So, why did the Gate suddenly appear?" Chrono wondered, looking at the Gate.

"Hmmm…" Lucca took a minute to think about that. "Well, either it had something to do with the Telepod or…" she shivered a little, "…or somebody made it."

"This is getting creepy." Chrono shivered. "Let's just get back to our own time."

"Okay." Lucca smiled. Everybody hop in."

She jumped through the Gate and disappeared. Chrono and Marle followed, and the Gate closed behind them.

*****

There was a feeling of dizziness, like spinning a million miles an hour. Also, there was the sensation of a strong wind, like a hurricane breeze. It was a strange, frightening, wonderful feeling. Fortunately, it passed by quickly…

*****

They landed on their feet on the familiar, brown cobblestone of Leene Square. The Gate shrank back into the blue orb. Chrono noticed the Telepod behind him, and sighed in thankfulness. Marle cheered.

"Yay! We're back!"

"Phew." Lucca sighed. "Thank goodness that's over." She looked over at Chrono and Marle. "I hope we never have to do that again. Sorry to put you through all that, Marle."

"Are you kidding?!" Marle giggled. "That was the most fun I had in months! Plus, I made some new friends."

"Okay." Lucca smiled. "Well, I'm going to be going home now. Mum and dad worry. Hey Chrono, could you be a gentleman and take Marle home?" Chrono gave Lucca a brick face.

"Yes, Mum!" Chrono replied dryly, then grinned to show that he was just playing around. Marle giggled again as Lucca turned and left. Chrono looked over at Marle, and smirked. "Hey Marle, wanna walk around the fair before I take you home?"

"Yeah!" Marle cheered. She grabbed Chrono by the hand, and dragged him off. "Can we get some candy?"

"Sure. How about lunch?"

"Sure! I'm starved!"

"Then we can check out that Jurassic Rhythm thing. That looked like fun."

"Let's do everything before we go home."

"**chuckle** You got it, babe."

End of Act 1!!!

Next: An Uncertain Future!

((Note from the author))

Okay guys! I get the idea! Okay, so not too many of the experienced CT fans like my project, and I understand.

Okay people, this is the low down!

1. This was written for the people who are still learning about Chrono Trigger, for those who have never played Chrono Trigger, or for those playing Chrono Cross and want to know what Chrono Trigger was about.
2. Yes, Chrono is talking, even though he never says a word in the game. Well, later on in my story, Chrono's going to say a very important quote that's going to lift everyone's spirits…especially Frog.
3. I changed Frog's accent, because I didn't think that his Shakespearean speech was necessary, since no one else in 600 AD was using it. And if you hated that change, then you'll wanna hunt me down and lynch me when you see what I plan to do to Magus.
4. Chrono's full name is Chrono Trigger? Why is that? For the experienced fans, all I can say is "Think about his namesake and a power he will later have."
5. Names. Everyone is complaining about the names. Isn't his name "Crono" and not "Chrono?" Actually, I'm trying to keep some of the original Japanese names in the project. So "Crono" in Japan was "Chrono." And why's his name "Tommy Bishop?" Sorry, but what kind of mom would name her son "Chrono?" Nice name, but I wouldn't. It makes a better nickname. Some of the other changes are pretty minor, you'll mostly see them in last names. Speaking of last names, you guys really don't like them. I had to make my original last name for Lucca be the maiden name of her mom cause you guys kept harping "Ashtear, Ashtear, Ashtear!" Sorry, but I don't have a Playstation and I couldn't play Chrono Cross, guys! I don't know this stuff! Throw me a bone here! If there's any more last names that showed up in Cross that I don't know about, please e-mail me.

Thank you for listening to me. I know that a lot of you were wondering about all this. Please understand and enjoy my series. Thank you again.

~Masquerade