Chapter 5: Will The Real Hero Please Stand Up?
JANUARY 14, 600 AD
Truce Canyon was uneventful, but the town was in an uproar. The three watched as people ran everywhere in a frenzy. After a while, Crono shrugged. "Hm. We won't get anywhere by talking to one of these people. Let's see if Toma's at the bar." Unfortunately, he was not, and they were forced to look elsewhere. As they left town, Crono noticed something to the south. "Hey, Zenan Bridge has been fixed!"
The last time they had been here, the bridge had been torched. Now, however, it was completely rebuilt. The Guardian Army was camped on the bridge.
"What happened?!" Lucca demanded. "We were just here three days ago! Let's go ask the Knight Captain!"
At the bridge, the soldiers were clearly visible in ranks across the bridge. The Knight Captain's tent was at the back. As the three came near, the Captain grew excited. He started to protest when they grew close, but stopped when he saw who they were.
"Greetings. What do you require?" Marle gestured at the soldiers.
"What happened? We were just here three days ago!" The captain looked at her, unsmiling.
"On the night of the 11th, the Mystic Army repaired the bridge in the dark, then mounted a surprise attack in the morning. The king was injured in battle." The three gaped. Crono was the first to be able to speak.
"I see. I assume this is to fend off another attack?" The captain nodded.
"Yes. But we have been here since for two days, with no sleep and no food. We barely managed to sneak the Hero across. If we don't get rations soon..." He sighed and turned away. "Forgive me. I must make preparations."
Marle looked at the weak soldiery, then turned to Crono. "Let's go to the castle and find out where the rations are!"
Lucca was thoughtful as they left. "Who is this 'hero', I wonder?"
At the castle, there was almost no staff. Everybody had been taken to the war front. The king and queen were not on their thrones. Instead, the Chancellor sat in a chair with a desk in front of them. As they came in, the Chancellor looked up wearily.
"For the last time, I do NOT know when-"He jumped. "Sir Crono! Lady Lucca! Lady Marle! My apologies. What would you be wanting to know?"
Crono murmured, "How bad is the King?"
The Chancellor looked grim. "The enemy spear barely missed his lung. He'll live, but he won't be doing any more fighting." Lucca spoke up next.
"Who's this 'Hero?'" The Chancellor looked amazed.
"Haven't you heard? A young boy from the south showed up with the Hero Medal! It's a sign that he shall be the one to defeat Magus! He's at the Denadoro Mountains near Porre, looking for the legendary sword." Finally, Marle piped up.
"Why haven't rations been sent to the war zone?" The Chancellor gazed at her for a long moment, then gestured around.
"Do you see anybody who could take them? The only people left in here besides their Majesties and me are the Cook and the maids. None of them could carry three 50-pound barrels down there."
Crono shook his head sadly. "Well, that leaves out the idea of us taking it. I can't carry more then one, and Lucca and Marle..." Marle interrupted him sharply.
"Crono."
"Yes?"
"Shut up. Let's go get those rations." As the girls walked down to the kitchens, Crono stared after them and scratched his head, confused.
"What was THAT all about?"
Down at the kitchens, the Cook was frantically running from one stove to another. "Fine time! Fine time to have all my kitchen aides drafted! Fine time indeed!" He stopped his ranting as he glared at the three. "Hey! What are you doing in here? Get out! Out! OUT!" Lucca cooly measured him, then slapped him across the face.
"Listen, loudmouth. The army needs rations, and we're your delivery squad. So show us where they are, or that guy" here she pointed at Crono "is gonna split your stoves in two."
The Cook was stock-still for a moment, then chuckled grimly. "So, mister high-and-mighty needs MY help now?" He pointed them at three barrels in one corner. "Jerky. Go on! Get!" Crono and the girls exchanged glances, then picked up the barrels. Some people were just like that.
***
"Marle, are you sure-"
"Shut up."
Lucca sighed silently. They had been like this ever since they had gotten out of the forest. Crono was a good guy, but he was a complete goof when it came to some things, and this was one of them. Most guys are, she thought wryly.
After several hours, they finally neared the camp. As it happened, the Knight Captain was just leaving his tent, and spotted them first off. "Sir Crono! Is that-?"
Crono nodded. "Yup. Best quality Jerky, straight from the Cook."
The Knight Captain turned to his men, ecstatic. "Food rations! The Cook-he has saved us all!" He faced the three again, his face strangely humble. "I treated him badly... and now... Sir Crono, if I do not make it back... give my brother my thanks..." He noticed their stares, and turned back to see all his men abandoning their ranks and clustering around the barrels like hungry puppies. "No! You fools! Get back to-"
One soldier who had stayed in place ran up. "Sir! Magus's troops have launched an attack! They're breaking through our defenses!"
The Knight Captain swore intensely. Crono tapped him on the shoulder. "We can fight for you." The Captain glanced at him. "I thank you, but the enemy are highly resistant to weapons! Only trained soliders could-"
"Lightning!" The Captain turned to see the bolt disintegrate the Decedent that had been rushing him. He blinked.
"Amazing! I had thought that only Mystics had such magic! In that case, go with my thanks, sir Crono!"
As they crossed, they ran into a brawl between a pair of Decedents and a pair of soldiers. The outcome was fairly predictable. As the soldiers fell, a new creature floated idly across. Crono saw it was an ancestor of the Medina Chief as it spoke loudly.
"Oy! Losers! I'm Ozzie, Magus's top general! If you try to fight Magus, I'm the guy who flattens you! Go!" With that command, the two Decedents charged, spears raised. Crono sidestepped one and Lucca incinerated it, while Marle stopped the second in its tracks with a well-aimed Ice. Crono turned to the boss just in time to recieve a Lightning to the face. As he stumbled, Ozzie laughed.
"Can't do that, can ya, kid?" Crono grinned as he stood up.
"Actually..." The green general yelped as he was hit.
"Ozzie needs help!" With that, he ran backwards. Crono & Lucca gazed after.
"He runs fast for a fat guy."
"Mm-hmm."
"Do ya think we should chase him?"
"Mm-hmm."
Marle sighed. Sometimes I wonder why I wanted to leave the castle.
As the three ran past a few dead soldiers, Crono's instincts told him to turn. As he did, the soldiers rose and attacked. "Hmph. Apparently Ozzie can turn dead soldiers into Decedents." Crono muttered as they fragged them, then continued on.
At the end of the bridge, Ozzie was waiting. Marle was the first to speak.
"I don't suppose you'd wait up for us next time if we asked nicely?"
Ozzie pretended to consider it. "Hmm... no, I don't think so. Especially since there won't be enough of you left to wait up FOR."
Crono scoffed at this. "Oh, right. And who's gonna do that? You?"
Ozzie grinned evilly. "No. Him." The three turned to see a massive, two-story skeleton with a pair of strange skeletal wings. Ozzie laughed. "Go, Zombor! Crush them!"
***
Crono decided to start it off. "Lightning!" He smashed at the head. However, instead of being harmed, Zombor just roared happily. "Damn! He absorbed it!"
Lucca noticed that the skeleton was not connected at the waist. "Try it on the lower half!" Crono shrugged and complied. This had a markedly better effect, as Zombor screamed, its legs charred. Lucca smiled. "Aha! Each part has a different weakness! Marle, you take the top half!"
Zombor was not happy. It opened its mouth and belched a gout of flames that hit Marle in the head, who responded by firing an ice directly into the open mouth. As it choked, Lucca tossed a fire into the waist. With a rumbling, the lower half collapsed.
"Yay!" But her celebration was not to be. The lower half wasn't dead, which became evident when it started sending out shockwaves through the earth. Crono got up and fired up another lightning, stopping the shockwaves. The head screamed again, and the three heard a voice, chanting.
"Gore, gore, gore, gore..." As it finished, Marle was pulled towards it through the air.
"Marle!" Crono yelled as the monster's ribs transformed into blades that savagely raked her body before she was tossed back to the ground.
Lucca powered up one more flame, and the lower half finally was cremated while Crono gave Marle a Mid Tonic. Now the strange skeletal wings came into play, and Zombor stayed up. As Marle stood up, chanting began again.
"Doom, doom, doom, doom..." A giant beam of energy washed over them all, and Zombor exulted. Crono turned to the girls.
"Now would be a good time to whip out that technique you used on Heckran..."
"Right. ANTIPODE!" The double attacks knocked Zombor to the ground. Crono leapt into the air above the monster.
"Time to finish this! SPINCUT!" As the teen fell, he held his sword below him, and drove it right through the skull. But before it died, Zombor had one last attack left in it, as a huge beam of golden light rose from the shattered skull and enveloped Crono before soaring away. Zombor collapsed into dust.
***
"Crono! You okay?" Marle asked as she ran over. The object of her attention winced as he stood up.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just feel a little drained of magic." Lucca nodded.
"That beam probably did that. Take one of those Mid Ethers. Hey, where'd Ozzie go?" Crono smirked as he rummaged for the Mid Ether.
"He ran like a bat out of hell around the time the lower half was fragged. Now, shall we continue south, ladies?" Marle shook her head.
"I need a rest. I'll switch with Robo." After they did, the group went south to the village of San Dorino.
As they walked through the village, Crono heard a familar voice coming from the elder's house. "Hey, wait up!" He pressed his ear against the side.
The first voice was an old man-the elder, probably. "So, you're sure you can find the Rainbow Shell?"
A second voice came. This was the familiar one, although Crono couldn't place it. "No problem! Remember, I'm the most famous explorer in the world!"
The elder sounded skeptical. "Hmm... well, alright. Here's your advance. Now get going!" As the door opened, Crono broke into a grin as he realized who the second voice was.
"Toma!" The man grinned back.
"Hey, kid. Wanna get a drink with me?" Crono turned to his friends, who nodded.
"Sure thing, Toma."
At the bar, everybody was talking about the Mystics. The only happy one there was the bartender, since business was booming. After a while, Toma gazed shrewdly at Robo, then turned to Crono. "You're not ordinary fighters. That guy's from a long ways away, eh?"
Crono nodded. "Yeah, you could say that."
Toma took a swig, then sighed. "Knowing you guys, you'll be wanting to find your old buddy and climb the Denadoro Mountains." Crono blinked.
"Well, you got the first part right, but why would we wanna climb the mountains?" Toma winked at him.
"Because that kid with the Hero Medal's up there looking for the Masamune. You'll be wanting to get it, as well as save the kid's butt. If he's a hero, then I'm a Naga-Ette."
"Now, that's a disturbing thought if I ever saw one." Lucca commented. Toma ignored her, finished off his drink, then pushed the empty mug away.
"Right, here's the deal. The main population of the Mountains is a breed of Mystics called Goblins. They're relatively weak, but some of them have gotten some really nasty hammers and call themselves 'Ogans.' If you find one, burn the hammer. There's rumored to be a giant monster up there that can use wind magic. Your Ki wave should be able to interrupt it. As for your froggy friend, he lives in the woods to the south. Mystic Gnashers & T'Poles are combing the area for him, but he silences those who do find him, so they're having no luck."
With that, Toma stood up and walked out. "Hey, thanks!" Crono called after him. Toma simply called, "Hey, we're even. See you around." After he was gone, Lucca looked confused. "Even? What did he mean by that?"
The question was answered when a bartender asked, "Hey, you're paying that guy's tab, right?"
***
After paying up, the three spent the night before hiking south to Porre, where they heard the "Hero" had come from. That turned out to be a total waste of time. All the people said was that "Tata" had gone to the Mountains, and all his dad did was mumble something about oatmeal.
To the west of Porre was a small wood. At the entrance was a wooden sign: No trespassing... ribbit. Crono smiled.
"Frog." The wood was a straight path leading to a dead-end. Unfortunately, the path was blocked by several pink frogs as well as a few blue snakes. Robo analyzed the situation, then gave his opinion.
"I believe that the most prudent course of action would be to avoid contact." Lucca rolled her eyes.
"Ya think?" They managed to evade them and get to the back, where they spotted a ladder behind a bush, leading down into a hole. Down they went.
The room below was small, but neat. A single table sat in the middle, and a bed was to the right. The blanket appeared to be woven of grass. Next to the bed was a chest resembling a giant green acorn.
"So, this is Frog's house..." Crono observed. As they stepped off, a familiar voice rang through the air.
"Who be there?" Frog jumped from above and smiled as he saw them. "Sir Crono! Art thou here to practice thy skill in swordplay with me?"
Crono shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Frog. The King's been wounded, and..." Frog interrupted, shocked.
"What?! The king hath been injured?" Crono quickly told him all they had heard of the recent battles, the king & queen, and the hero. When he was done, Frog's face was lower then Crono had ever seen. It was like all his noble energy and spirit had been drained away. "I see... then thou hast seen the lad..."
Lucca walked over. "Frog, will you help us?"
"...There is nary a thing I canst do against Magus... please be on thy way..." He went over to the chest and stood there, unmoving.
Crono tried to come nearer. "Frog! Come on!"
"The hero, I am not. I can do naught." Robo spoke up for the first time.
"I do not think anything will change his mind... we should leave." So they did.
***
The Denadoro Mountains, a famous range to the east of San Dorino. A wild, untamed place of beauty-and danger. Crono wiped his sword off on a nearby bush. "Stupid Bellbirds. They had to wake those two Goblins up, didn't they?"
Lucca raised an eyebrow. "You want a straight answer to that?"
Up ahead, a ladder led up to the mountains proper. As they prepared to climb, a 6-year old boy with a small sword and shield ran down and away, screaming wildly. The three stared after him.
"My sensors indicate only a 10% chance that the boy is truly a hero. What was he running from?" As if to answer the question, a single Goblin ran down after the boy, saw the three, yelped and ran back up. "Make that 5%." Robo amended dryly. The boy turned back to them.
"Whoever you are, you should run! This is a horrible place! AAAAH!" As he ran away again, the Goblin mashed Robo in the head with a large wooden hammer.
"He just went to get his hammer. Figures. FIRE!" Lucca's blast burned the hammer to a cinder and sent the Goblin away, a screaming, flaming mess. Crono grinned.
"Good one, Lucca. You okay, Robo?"
"...Affirmative."
"Okay, then, up we go. Lucca, lead the way." Lucca muttered a yddish curse and began to climb the ladder. On the second level, the three saw another Goblin fast asleep. They passed by, avoiding disturbing it. As they passed by some bushes, Crono suddenly turned towards them, blade forward, and the Ogan that had jumped them, hammer out, was neatly skewered.
The path then led into a foresty area. As they went by, Lucca spotted a Free Lancer, a birdman Mystic, twirling through the trees. A moment later, the Free Lancer and a buddy dropped down, swords out.
Crono quicky drew his own sword and faced down one Free Lancer, while Lucca took aim at the other. Unfortunately, the Lancer jumped and the shot only grazed its foot. The birdman squawked and threw a ninja star which embedded itself in the barrel, blocking the fire. Lucca swore and attempted to extricate it, but the Lancer was already swooping in on her...
When Robo belted it so hard, its beak actually cracked as it slumped back. Lucca finished digging the star out as she looked at Crono, who was wiping his blade off on his opponent's corpse. "Amateur," he commented. "Onward!"
Back on the cliffy area, they were encountering no enemies, until a rock struck Crono on the head. "Ow! The hell?"
The source was a Free Lancer on the other side of the chasm. It snickered nastily as it chucked another, barely missing Lucca's glasses. "Yah! Cut it out, you creep!"
"Cut it out, you creep!" The Lancer mockingly replied as it threw a third at Robo. The robot was ready for it and punched it back, hitting the Lancer right between the eyes and knocking it out.
Crono sighed as he saw what was ahead. "A stream. Time to get wet again." Nearby, a pair of Free Lancers were restringing bows. They didn't move as the three came up. Crono decided to try the friendly approach. "Uh... hi."
"Shut up!" "Get lost!" The three shrugged and waded in, then out the other side.
The path took them to a peak, and the three decided to stop a little and rest. The mountain air was particularly fresh up here, and despite his best efforts, Crono found himself dozing off...
When he woke up, he was staring straight into the leering face of a very ugly Goblin. Yelping, he divided it down the middle as he scrambled to his feet. Looking around, he saw that Robo & Lucca were already up, and they were up to their necks in Goblins, Ogans & Free Lancers. "Damn! This isn't good! Any ideas?" Lucca looked at Robo.
"Wanna try out that trick we were discussing earlier?" Robo nodded.
"Chance of success is 74.9%. Chance of failure is 25%. Chance of mountain collapsing and deactivating us all is 0.1%." He paused. "I believe those are what you call, 'Sporting odds.'" Lucca chuckled.
"Robo, I couldn't have said it better myself. FIRE!" The magic did not head for an enemy, but instead landed on Robo's fist. The robot turned to a Goblin and Rocket Punched it-hard. The flaming wreck smashed backwards with a hole in its chest, plowing through several others and knocking them all off the edge. Squealing, the remaining enemies fled. Crono wiped his brow. "Close one. No more rest stops. Onward!"
On another peak, a Kilwala was lounging. "Hey, guys. Mountains r'nice, eh? This is the life." Crono stepped up to him.
"Hey, bud. Do you know where the Masamune is?" The Kilwala raised its sunglasses and looked at him incredulously.
"Man, you nuts? It's in a cave up ahead, but nobody who goes in there comes out again! 'Cept for that knight dude about 15 years ago." Crono smiled.
"We'll be back. Thanks for the hint." As it turned out, the cave was next to the Free Lancer who had been throwing stones. He was still out cold. They stepped over him and went in.
Inside the cave, for some odd reason, there was a small boy spinning around crazily. Crono cautiously walked up to him. "Uh... hi. Who are you?"
The boy grinned wildly up. "I'm the wind! Woosh!" Crono looked back at Lucca & Robo. Lucca twirled her finger at her head and the three went past the boy. As they neared the back of the cave, they heard the boy yell, "Aw, crap!" as he ran in front, blocking the way.
"Uh... couldja get out of our way, kid?" Crono asked politely. The kid stared into his eyes.
"Are you here for the Masamune?" Lucca snorted.
"What, you think we'd fight off an army of fatass Goblins just for the fun of it? DUH, we're here for the Masamune!" The boy looked peeved.
"Crap, I thought so. Just a second, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, he yelled towards the back. "Oh, big brother... Masa, get yer butt out here!" Another boy, almost identical, came out. The only difference between them was that one boy's eyes were blue, while the other's were purple.
"What is it NOW, Mune?" Then he saw the three, and sighed. "Not again..." He came up and glared at Crono. "Thought you'd get a name for yourself by grabbing the Masamune, eh? What a buffoon!"
"No, that's not..." Crono started, but Mune interrupted.
"Humans are so... silly! It's how you USE the sword that matters... not who owns it!"
"Yes, we k..." Lucca tried, but she, too was interrupted, this time by Masa.
"You just can't understand that kind of thing. It's why you're human."
"Excuse me, but..." Even Robo was stopped.
"Well, what shall we do with them?" Crono sighed inwardly. They weren't even being allowed to talk! If those two kept it up, they'd be feeling the flat of his sword, kids or no kids.
"The usual... test them. You can entertain us for a while." What did THAT mean?
"Yay! Here we go!" The two brats spun around, then suddenly transformed into a pair of yellow gremlins wearing white robes.
"Yaaa! They're monsters!"
"Gee, ya think so, Lucca?" Crono yelled back as he performed a Spincut on Mune. The creep grinned up.
"Ow. X-Strike!" Crono recognized that technique.
"Oh..." That was all he got out before the twins slammed their fists into him in the same maneuver he and Frog had used on Yakra. The two didn't let up. "Waltz of the Wind!" Dancing around him in a circle, they created a spiraling tornado. But as Crono distracted them, Lucca & Robo had been preparing.
"Fire Punch!" Masa was completely unprepared for the blow that rocketed him across the room into the back wall with a sickening crunch.
"Masa!" Mune gasped. Without him, the tornado died out. Crono stood up, dazed.
"Phew. Good thing ya did that. I dunno what would have happened if that had kept up longer. Had enough?" Mune just growled angrily as Masa stumbled back in, rubbing his head.
"Ow... what a kick... they're pretty good, eh bro?" Mune observed them carefully. "Yeah. The only one better was Cyrus." "Well, ya know what that means. No more goofing off!" "Yeah! This time we're serious!"
Lucca almost exploded. "THAT was goofing off?"
The twins ignored her and stood across from each other, going into fighting stances. "With Masa's bravery and..." "Mune's knowledge!" "TWO BECOME ONE!" As they spoke the last part together, they charged and a hole opened up in the air. Flashing with prismatic colors, they disappeared in... and a nightmare came out. 10 feet tall, the yellow demon had a fat gut but incredibly muscled arms. The head sported a pair of horns, and the eyes shone with fury. "TIME TO DIE, LITTLE ONES!"
***
Crono lept into the air and performed a Spincut, but the monster just grinned and knocked him out of the air with a fist. "Yar! This thing's nasty! Lucca, Robo, try the new technique!"
"FIRE PUNCH!" The attack slammed into the beast's gut, and it staggered for a moment before creating a pillar of wind that lifted Robo into the air. Crono looked to Lucca.
"I don't think he's coming down until we land a good hit! Fire seems to hurt 'im. Shall we dust off an old technique?" Lucca grinned.
"Gladly. FIRE WHIRL!" It didn't do as much damage as the Fire Punch, but it still clearly hurt it. The monster angrily turned the tornado to Lucca, and Robo came crashing back down. Crono had a flash of inspiration and jumped onto the robot's head.
"Robo! I have an idea! Channel your Laser Spin into my sword!" Robo shrugged and complied. "ROCKET ROLL!" A blazing wave of energy radiated outward at the enemy, who took it before moving the tornado again, this time to Crono. Another Fire Punch was the response, and the fight continued.
As the battle dragged on, it became apparent that the monster was getting the worst of it. He could only keep one of them up at a time, and whenever he did, the other two would strike, be it with Fire Punch, Fire Whirl or Rocket Roll. They were doing more damage to him than he was doing to them, and sooner or later he'd be worn down. Eventually, he decided there was only one thing left to do: The ultimate wind spell.
"What's he doing?" Crono asked as the monster crouched, unmoving. Lucca scowled.
"I dunno, but it probably ain't good. FIRE PUNCH!"
The monster ignored the flaming fist to the face. "Pain..."
Robo blinked, then jumped. "Pain? What did he mean by tha... oh, my! Immense energies detected from enemy! Prepare for massive magical attack!" As if to agree with him, the monster suddenly spewed a blast of wind that quickly grew and amplified until the entire room was filled with a huge tornado. The three were whirled around, battered against walls, each other, and the monster (who batted them away with punches) over and over. As he bashed into Lucca, Crono knew they would be dead if he didn't do something. He searched his memory desperately, frantically, for anything that could stop the attack. Suddenly, he remembered Toma's advice.
There's rumored to be a giant monster up there that can use wind magic. Your Ki Wave should be able to neutralize it.
"Sword, don't fail me now! SLASH!" The Ki Wave flew straight and true, burying itself into the beast's face. With a roar of agony, the tornado dissipated immediately, leaving the beast completely defenseless, clutching its face. "Lucca! Now's our chance! Toss me a Fire!" Crono lept into the air with another Spincut, and Lucca threw a Fire straight into his path. As he descended, the red magic enveloped his sword. "Time to finish this! FIRE SWORD!" The monster looked up, but it was too late. The attack smashed straight through its skull, and with a rush of red magic, the entire head was enveloped in flames. Crono ran back as the monster's body fell over onto its back, began flashing rainbow light and exploded, leaving the two imps behind, who then flashed back to their human forms.
***
"He beat us, big brother..." Mune murmured. "Yeah." "Will they fix us? Will they find us an owner?" That one made the three jump. "Yeah... it'll be all right." With that, the twins jumped back into the shadows.
When the three followed, all that was there was the blade of a broadsword with no hilt. Robo scanned it. "It is the Masamune. However, I detect that it has been broken for at least 10 years."
Crono sighed. "Damn. Now we have to find the hilt and get it fixed. Shoulda known it wasn't gonna be that easy." Lucca scoffed and clocked him.
"You call that easy?" Suddenly, Masa's voice came from the blade. "Allow us! We'll ride the wind to the base!" As they were lifted into the air, Crono thought for a moment and smiled.
Masa... and Mune. Masamune.
***
The next day, they went south again. First stop, obviously, was Tata's house. When the boy opened the door, Crono reached out and picked the boy up by his collar. "I think you have something that doesn't belong to you..."
Tata squealed and threw something at their feet. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Some frog guy dropped this in a Cafe!" Crono dumped the kid on his butt, grabbed the medal and walked off. Following, Lucca whispered to Robo, "I think he's ticked."
When they arrived at Frog's house, he tiredly turned around to face them. "Thou hast returned..." Crono nodded.
"I believe this is yours..." Frog looked in his hand, then jumped. "Th... the Hero Medal!" His eyes brightened for a moment, then he became gloomy again. "Aye, the lad was a fraud. Yet there is nary a thing I canst do against Magus. The legendary Masamune is required to defeat him. And I've no right to wield it, even if twas not destroyed."
"Are you kidding?" Crono yelled. "You have every right to-"
"Sir Crono, please... just leave me be. If ye knew my past..." Frog stopped, and started walking towards the back. "If ye wish, take what is in the chest. I have no use for it." Without another word, Frog retreated into the back. Crono silently opened the chest and removed the hilt of a broadsword, shining gold.
"The hilt of the Masamune." He murmured. Robo bent over it.
"There is archaic script engraved on it. R... O... I... H... C... L... E... M..." He stood up. "Roihclem?" Suddenly, he started making a strange noise. "Error! I read it backwards!" Lucca looked at him curiously. "Robo? Are you... laughing?" He paused, then continued. "Yes, I believe I am, Lucca. How odd. The correct translation is 'Melchior'." Crono did a 180 from where he was looking at Frog.
"Melchior?!"
***
JANUARY 19, 1000 AD
Irvin groaned as he heard the crashing in his closet. Opening it, he found the guy and the robot from earlier, along with a different girl. His wife sighed. "We'd really appreciate it if you didn't do that..." Crono thought about that for a moment.
"You know, you're right. It really isn't fair to you that there's a temporal disturbance in your cupboard." Irvin blinked.
"Is THAT what that is? I never figured it out. No way to move it?" Lucca shook her head.
"None. Not even getting rid of the cupboard. And we're gonna need to use it..." She had an inspiration. "I know! We can rent it out, like a room or something!" Irvin thought for a moment, then turned to his wife.
"Well?" His wife nodded after a moment.
"Okay. Shall we say 2000 a month?" The three conferred, then agreed. South to Melchior's they went. The old man was happy to see them. "Crono! Lucca! And whatsyername... Robo! What brings you here?" Crono silently opened his pack and removed the pieces of the Masamune. The old man nearly had a heart attack.
"Th... if I'm not mistaken, this is the Masamune! How on earth did you get it?! It was lost over 400 years ago!" Lucca quickly formed a response.
"We'll tell you that if you can tell us why your name was engraved on it!" Melchior sighed, and looked down at it. Crono blinked. Every time he had met him, the old one had been full of energy. This was the first time Crono had seen him actuslly look... old.
"It's a long story... I know you'd love to hear it, but it's no use."
"Waddaya mean it's no use?! Do you know what we had to go through to get this sword?!" Crono almost screamed. Melchior nodded.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. But this sword is made of Dreamstone, and it cannot be fixed without it." Robo processed.
"Dreamstone? No record in my memory banks of such a mineral." Melchior nodded.
"That's why I said it's useless. The mineral doesn't exist any more. The last of it was destroyed many years ago." He suddenly remembered something. "Of course, if I was correct about you, you won't have any problems. I don't know how, but... well, if you find any Dreamstone, come see me and I'll repair the sword."
***
JANUARY 19, 0000 XD
The old man was sleeping again, and Marle was nowhere to be found. Crono wisely decided to wake the guy from a distance.
"Eh? Oh, it's you. What do you need?" Lucca spoke a single word:
"Dreamstone." The man jumped, then settled down.
"Dreamstone, eh? Try the south warp. 65000000 BC. Your friend's in Spekkio's room."
In the room, Spekkio and Marle were sitting on a couch that had mysteriously appeared, and staring at a box with moving pictures and sounds. Crono blinked. "WHAT is THAT?!"
Lucca smiled and ran over. "TV! TV!" Spekkio looked up. Crono noticed that he had another beer in his paw.
"Oh, yer back! Hi, kids!" Marle looked up and smiled. "Hey! Where are we going next?"
Crono absently answered, "65000000 BC," as he watched the "TV", which was showing a black-haired wierdo in a red karate gi shooting fireballs at some purple horned creature. Robo shrugged and sat down as well, followed by Crono. Several hours (and one snack binge provided by Spekkio) later, it was decided that Marle and Lucca would go with Crono to the prehistoric, and off they went.