Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Captured

They had made into the Blackbird, but the increase in guards at the gate worried Robo. He knew that he was too far away be seen by the naked eye when he went on the recon run earlier in the morning and he didn't see anyone looking at him. He wondered how they could have known that something was going to hit them as they had. Robo looked around, he had been here once before and still had the information within his memory. He knew the duct system and how they were going toi reach the command deck. However, as they went further in he realized that something was terribly wrong.

"Does anyone else think that it is a little too… quiet in here?" Robo asked looking around for any roboguards or flight crew ninjas and finding none.

"Now that you mention it, yeah; this is weird. This place was crawling with baddies when we were here the first time." Marle said joining Robo in his search.

"Wouldn't know… I was kinda dead at the time." Crono said with a chuckle.

"Oh, that's not nice Crono." Marle said with a giggle of her own.

"That's all well and good to have a little fun, but we have what could be a serious problem. Why were there so many guards at the gate and nothing inside? My scans can't seem go beyond a ten meter radius in any direction, not something I like." Robo said as he continued to look.

"Why look a gift horse in the mouth? We don't have to fight for once in our lives as they are now." Crono said patting his metal friend on the shoulder.

"Since when have we been that lucky?" Robo said looking back at him. Crono thought about this one for a few moments.

"Good point." Crono said calling up his weapon. They continued into the corridor and found that the entire deck was empty. They knew that this was no longer a good thing but couldn't figure out what was going on. It took them a few minutes but they were able to reach the command deck. Still nothing and no one was present. Robo looked around and saw the controls her was looking for. He started to enter a few things into the ship when Crono looked up and a thought occurred to him.

"Robo, where is this going to take us?" He asked. Robo looked up.

"If I told you to hell would you believe me?" He said as he turned back to his work.

"What are you talking about?" Crono asked moving closer to see what he was doing.

"There it is done, soon this plane will come crashing down on the rats below this wonderful kingdom." Robo said with a maniacal laugh that wasn't his.

"What is going on here?" Marle said as she came up beside Crono.

"Fools, did you actually think that you could sneak on to this ship without my detection?" Robo said as his formed warped. When the ripples cleared they saw the form of Dalton.

"What the hell did you do with Robo?" Crono asked the man in the orange. Marle was all too familiar with him after their encounters.

"Dalton, what is going on?" She asked.

"You seem to have me at a disadvantage, you know who I am and yet I have never seen you pests before." He said with a laugh.

"I'll show you pests. Give Robo back!" Crono said as he charged at the seemingly defenseless man. However, as he came nearer; Dalton grabbed him by the neck and pulled him face to face.

"Yes… pests." Dalton said as he unceremoniously tossed Crono to the side.

"How… did you do that? You didn't have that kind of power the last time we met." Marle said running over to Crono.

"Once again, you act as if we had met before and yet I do not remember such a thing. Oh well, you are nothing but rats in a cage now. Have a nice trip." Dalton said as he disappeared. They both looked out and saw that the ship had begun to move. They looked around to see if there was anything that they could do and found that they could not understand the controls.

"You see this where Lucca would come in handy." Marle said as she tried a few things. Crono stopped for a moment and thought about what was going on. He thought about what Dalton had said and then put two and two together and realized that they didn't make four.

"Strangely, she'd be having the same problems we are." Crono said as he looked around.

"Why would you say something like that?" Marle asked in frantic tone.

"Because… none of this is real." He answered as he disappeared as well. Marle began to feel the fear well up inside her until she thought about what he had said. She knew that Dalton didn't have the power become Robo, nor the power to catch and throw Crono like that. Crono was right… none of this was real. As she thought this she saw a bright flash of light as the world around her disappeared.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Crono awoke to find himself restrained in one of Zeal Kingdom's energy prisons. He looked around and saw that he was in fact in the royal chamber of Zeal Palace. He wondered about what had just happened when he saw a familiar figure walk in.

"Zeal… where are my friends?" He asked her as she walked up to him.

"As your friend had Dalton at an advantage, you seem to have me at the same. How do you know who we are and better yet, how did you know that world we gave you wasn't real?" She asked she looked him over.

"Where are my friends?" He asked again ignoring her.

"You will find it wise not ignore me boy, I have powers that you could only dream of. Now answer my questions before you experience those powers first hand." Zeal said as her anger increased.

"I care very little for you or your powers. Where are my friends?!" Crono asked.

"You don't seem to understand. Perhaps you need a lesson on how to your masters!" She retorted as she launched and energy bolt at Crono. It struck Crono like an asteroid hitting a planet. He was thrown back into the energy field as he felt the electricity go through him. He was finally dropped by the field and fell to his knees. He looked up to see Zeal standing over him.

"You know, that didn't have to happen to you. Answer my questions before I show you the true power of the Zeal empire." She said quietly. Crono thought about to say and then another idea hit him.

"I'd be happy to answer your questions…" Crono started.

"Under what condition?" Zeal asked.

"Where's Schala?" He asked quietly. He looked around at Zeal and saw that he had struck a nerve that perhaps he did not want to strike.

"That name is never to be spoken in my presence!" She screamed as she beat him with blast after blast of energy. He was pinned against the other wall of the energy prison, being beaten both by Zeal's relentless assault and by the electric energy of the field coursing through him. When finally let him down his armor let off streams of smoke. His was burned, battered and broken; he had no idea what had just happened.

"If you must know, that wench tired to destroy me. She learned that that was not a good idea." Zeal said turning away from hurt Crono. "A fate that you will share if you do not answer my questions." She continued as she showed him a energy bolt at the ready.

"If you kill me, you'll never get your answers. If I am dead, Marle won't give you anything and I have yet to figure out where Robo is." Crono answered with sneer on his face. Zeal's anger continued to rage inside her but she knew that he was right.

"Very well then… I will show you to your friends. Dalton, bring this boy's friends to me." She said into nowhere.

"As you command." Dalton's voice answered from the same nowhere. Crono heard a noise behind him and saw a black gate open. Dalton appeared and threw Marle and Robo to the ground; they appeared to be lifeless.

"If you have harmed them in anyway, I'll…"

"You'll what, give us a sound tongue lashing, oh please. You held behind an energy field with the two most powerful beings in the world staring you down and you have no weapon to speak of." Dalton interrupted. Crono reached down and fro the first time realized he was in fact unarmed.

"Now I believed there were some questions that I asked you." Zeal said with a smile as Dalton began to laugh. Crono looked down and saw that his pendent was shinning. Then another thought occurred to him, a thought that frightened him to say the least.

"How long have we been under your control? Did what I remember… last night happen? Did our talk this morning happen?" Crono asked realizing he didn't know whether his most heartfelt words and feelings were ever conveyed.

"As for last night, yes; you rodents did have your fun. As for your little talk, well you didn't have it directly but it did happen and you both know what was said." Dalton said as he stopped laughing.

"It was a very touching moment. Now…answer my questions before I ensure that you never have another one of those moments again." Zeal said with a laugh of her own. Crono just sat there wondering what to do next. He looked as his glowing pendent and got an idea. He summoned up a healing spell to see if he could still use his powers. As he felt the warm light of the prism energy fill him he knew that he could.

"What? What is this power you have… it is like Sc… hers, but stronger… much stronger." Dalton said as he charged his powers.

"You are correct Dalton this is a power that is much like hers. Where did you get this power boy?" Zeal asked him as he stood.

"From the pendant that is embedded into my armor." He answered calmly. Zeal took a close look and then backed away.

"That pendant… it is forged of the same materials as the royal pendants of Zeal. How do you have it?" She said as her anger returned.

"Well, I guess there is no point in not answering your questions; though you might not believe me." Crono said as he explained the whole story to them. He talked about their adventures, about Tempest, about everything. Zeal was most displeased with the fact that she had lost.

"How could I lose to someone as insignificant as you? More to the point, how do that foolish Lavos ever defeat me?" Zeal said calming down.

"What do you mean, you were transformed by Lavos's power into a creature beyond the darkness you even now possess." Crono said remembering the battle that he, Robo and Marle had with her on the Black Omen.

"Ha, that miniscule create having the power to transform me? Yes, its power was quite large until we started siphoning it with the power of the mammoth machine. It was then that that wench tried to stop me from achieving my goals. I simple used my powers to remove her from existence. As for Lavos, I drained his shell into me and then had interesting conversation with the being at its core. It wanted to destroy me so I simply broke it into six pieces and sent it away." Zeal said with a laugh. Crono thought about this for a moment and also thought about what Robo had said to him. Finally, it dawned on him what actually transpired.

"You didn't simply break Lavos's core apart… you fought it, just as we had. When you defeated it, it shattered into six pieces and was drawn somewhere. Where did these pieces go?" Crono asked.

"If you must know, at last report they were heading to an uninhabited area far to the south of here." Dalton spoke up. Crono thought about where that could be in his time and reached the final conclusion.

"El Nido… So that's where Lavos awaits the one that can destroy him." He said to himself. He shook this thought out of his head; it wasn't a pressing concern at the moment. He looked around and saw that Marle and Robo had started to wake up. He quickly cast his healing spell over them and then looked out at Zeal.

"You know, these energy fields of yours just don't seem to be as hard to break out of as I recall." He said this a sneer on his face as called upon his full power easily shattering the energy column around him. Zeal and Dalton stood at the ready waiting for him to use his powers further when Robo called out to him.

"Crono, we don't have time for this. We have to get the Blackbird." With this said, Robo fired an odd-looking energy bolt towards the ceiling. It exploded and filled the room with a blinding light. When Dalton and Zeal came to they noticed that their captives had gone.

"Dalton… find them!" Zeal screamed as her anger built once again.

"Oh of course I will… can't have rodents like them running around in MY kingdom." Dalton said as an energy cloud formed about him.

"What are you talking about Dalton?" Zeal said staring him down.

"It is very simple my dear Zeal. I am getting tired of playing second fiddle to likes of you. It is time someone with real power takes command here." As he said this he released the energy he had collected. The beam of light streaked across the room and tied Zeal in its power.

"Wha… what are you doing?" She gasped as she felt her power being drained.

"It would be impossible to kill you with all the powers you have, besides; how can I be the most powerful being in the world if I don't have all the power." Dalton looked on as Zeal began to become frail. Finally he relinquished her and she dropped to the floor. Dalton reveled in the power he had stolen from her.

"I hope you have enjoyed your time in the sky… because you are about to take a great fall." Dalton said and with a wave of his hand, the floor underneath Zeal opened up. He walked over and laughed as he watched her fall to her death.

"Now where was I… oh yes, the rodents." He said as he opened one of his portals and disappeared. As soon as he was gone another flash filled the room and Crono, Marle and Robo reappeared.

"Cloaking shell, very effective stealth device." Robo said as he stood up. Crono walked over to Marle and help her up.

"You alright?" He asked her. She jumped up and gave him a hug.

"When you disappeared and you didn't wake up with us… I thought I had lost you." She said as tears streamed down her face.

"When Dalton threw you down, I thought the worst as well. But here we are safe and sound." He said as their lips met.

"Promise me that you'll never leave me. I know I've had you do it before, but it feels so good to hear." Marle said as the tears continued to flow.

"From this day forth, nothing will ever separate us again… I promise." He said wiping the tears from her eyes. They just stood there for a few moments looking at each other, in a moment that neither of them wanted to end. However, Robo knew he had to.

"I do not mean to pry but our window of opportunity closes with each passing minute. We must get to the Blackbird and fast." Robo said as he started on his way.

"Right."

"Lead the way." Crono and Marle responded as they followed behind him once again hand in hand. They did this all the way through the palace oblivious to the stares that they were receiving. They crossed the field that led to the Blackbird in the same way. Robo looked back at them every once in awhile and knew that this was the way it meant to be. When they reached the Blackbird, he found that the guard situation was he remembered it from earlier in the morning. This bothered him now, as Dalton surely knew that he and his friends were on their way there. He thought that perhaps Dalton wanted to fight them. He knew that engage these guards was going to tricky as he was the only one of them with a weapon. He also knew however, that something as trivial as that was not going to stop Crono and Marle. He looked over his shoulder and found that he was right. They were already charging their magical powers for the fight. His shook his head as the three of them charged the guards, who were easily dispatched by their combined force. With the guards out of the way they moved stealthily through the passages and air ducts of the massive airship. When they came to their destination they found that it was once again unguarded, however, they knew this wasn't to last. For when the slipped into the command room they noticed that the Starlight Twin Lance and Emerald Star Slayer were sitting there, waiting for them.

"This isn't good." Crono said picking up his weapon.

"I just thought I would give you a sporting chance to defeat to me… though you never really had to begin with." Dalton's voice sounded throughout the room. A black portal opened before them and he stood there, staring down his nose at the intruders on his ship.

"Well see about that Dalton." Crono said as he called upon his lance.

"Try as you might boy, I am one enemy you cannot defeat." Dalton said with a chuckle.

"Robo, do what you have to do. Marle and I will handle this fiend." Crono said, as he took ready.

"You might want to rethink that strategy boy, you are going to need all the help you can get." Dalton said unleashing his power. Both Marle and Crono easily dodged the blast.

"Is that the best you can do? Ha." Marle said as she gave him a does of her weapon. The battle raged behind him as Robo went to work on the console. He had to enter everything exactly; one mistake could mean doom. The ship they were about to travel on wasn't made for intertemporal travel and he knew they would feel it if he made even a minuet miscalculation. Meanwhile, the battle wasn't going to well.

"You see rodents, even you don't have the power to defeat me. Why you just stand still and die like the good little insects you are?" Dalton said as he launched two globes of dark energy at Crono and Marle. Crono looked on, as Marle was able to dodge what was sent at her. He jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being hit by the globe set for him. He looked over at Dalton and tried to find some weakness but was unable to come up with anything. Marle let go another volley that did nothing but sting Dalton. She ran over to where Crono was and stood with him as they both launch an attack him. Crono jumped into the air as Marle called upon her ice magic. The magic joined with Crono's spinning lance to form a dual tech that was launching icicles at Dalton. Incredibility, it finally looked like they were have an effect. Dalton stepped back at each strike; he felt the pain go through him.

"Fools, is that all you have!" Dalton said as the attack came to end. Marle and Crono just looked at each other and wondered what next. They knew they had the power to defeat anything when they fought together, but this battle seemed hopeless. Except for a few scratches, Dalton seemed untouchable. Crono and Marle were not ones to give up. They looked at each other, both with the same question in their eyes.

"You know what will happen if we do this." Crono said as he took a hold of Marle's hand.

"Yes, but together I think… no, I know we can make it through." Marle said as she took Crono's other hand. Dalton simply looked at them as he felt the power build between them. They looked into each other's eyes knowing that if they did this there was no way back. It no longer matter… this was what they both wanted. They were more then in love, they were one and it was about time they made it official.

"My heart to yours." Crono spoke his part of the incantation as an energy well formed around them.

"And mine to yours." Marle continued.

"May our souls become one…"

"Here now and forever…"

"As our souls come together…"

"So may our powers be released…"

"Heart to heart, soul to soul, love for eternity. Angel's in heaven, hear our cry, bring us together, and allow us to fly." The last line they said in unison as their lips met. The energy well around erupted around them as their armor melted away. They continued their embrace as their bodies filled with light. As the light enveloped them, their separate forms eroded away and with a burst of light a new form emerged. Before Dalton, was now an angel of light possessing the appearance of both of its creators.

"Wha… what is this power?" Dalton asked as fear filled his very existence.

"I am the embodiment of the power that connects my parents. Their combined love has created me and I shall be your undoing." With this the angel simply waved its hand and Dalton flew back towards the entrance of the command chamber.

"No… this power… it's not possible!" Dalton said as he threw everything he had at the angel. His attack had no effect on the being of pure light.

"Now it ends Dalton, you shall be sent to the nexus where you have belong for a long time. May you find peace in your eternity of suffering." With this, the angel summoned all of its power into one burst. It streaked towards Dalton ripping him to shreds on impact. His essences screamed as it melted away. Then angel knelt down and the energy formed around it. As the angel's form began to disappear Crono and Marle's forms reappeared still locked within their embrace. As the energy cleared they separated and looked deeply inside one another. They each smiled at each other, not truly knowing what was next. Their questions were soon answered.

"Greetings Crono and Marle. My name is Aurora; I am the love that you share personified. Because you are so able to give of yourselves to the other, I am able to exist." The angel said at it appeared in front of them.

"You are so beautiful Aurora. Thank you for your help." Marle said to her.

"I am beautiful only because I am from you. I help you because that is what I was created for. You powers guide me, just as they will in the future. The love you have for each other created me, just as it has created the daughter inside of you Marle." The angel returned.

"Does that mean…?" Crono asked.

"Yes, you are going to be a father. It was because of the strength that your souls possessed that I was able to freed for this short time to assist you with my powers." Aurora said as Crono and Marle looked at one another.

"So you are…" Marle began.

"Yes, I am the soul of the child within you, waiting to be born. I must go; I can only be outside my body for a short time. However, I must tell you this before I go. You souls are now one; each will feel the pain as well as the joy of the other. Should one of you fall in battle so will the other. However, as long as you both protect each other; you shall never feel the sting of time. We shall meet again… goodbye mother, goodbye father." Aurora said as light filled the area. After the illumination had cleared, she was gone. Crono and Marle knew within their hearts though where she was. They looked at each other and their hugged each other.

"Our souls are one… I will never let you go." Crono said as they Marle laid her head on his shoulder.

"Are we… are we ready for the responsibility?" Marle asked.

"Together we can handle anything." He said as he pulled her lips to his. Marle knew that this was the case; she just needed to hear it from him. She loved him more then life itself and was never going to give him up and she knew that he felt the same. Robo looked back at them, not really sure of what to make of what had just happened. He decided to just put it in the back of his mind and returned to his work. He finally punched in the final calculations that were necessary.

"That should do it my friends. Next stop… the future." Robo said bringing Marle and Crono back to earth.

"Right… let's created a world where all people will finally be free. Where our daughter can grow up away from the tyranny that evil has plagued us with." Marle said defiantly.

"To the future and world where peace is normal, not an exception. I will make this world free for my daughter and for all the people of this world, Robo… punch it." Crono said as the Blackbird began to move. Marle and Crono stood together as the gateway opened in front of them. They were now only a few steps away from the final conflict that would decide that fate of everything that ever was.