Chapter 10: Whose Bright Idea Was It To Make That Mountain Fly, Anyways?
MAY 2, 12000 BC
"Shit!"
Crono's profanity had a reason; apparently, the skygate wasn't working.
"We spend all that goddamn time getting the goddamn Epoch, hike for a goddamn day through that goddamn blizzard, and the goddamn skygate is goddamn OUT OF ORDER?!" Crono took a break from his ranting to kick the skygate, followed by the traditional "dance of injured foot." Marle just rolled her eyes for what seemed like the thousandth time since she had met him.
"Can we get going already? Maybe we should head back to the Epoch and see if the old man has some advice." Ayla just walked back outside. Marle followed, and a moment later, still cursing, so did Crono.
***
Crono's library of obscene expressions got another workout about a day later as they got caught in a very bad blizzard.
"It's too rough!" Marle yelled over his profanity. "We're gonna have to take shelter!" Ayla soon located an abandoned tent. They didn't know who had made it, and didn't care. All they knew was it kept the storm off them. Ayla immediately flopped on the ground and zonked out, and the other two decided to follow her example. After about an hour, though, it became apparent to Crono that sleep was not happening. As he rose with a groan, Marle also sat up.
"You too?" She asked. An affirmative grunt. The princess sighed. "You know, while we were out searching for the Epoch, we were always on the move... I never really had a chance to stop and think..." Another grunt. "But now that we've stopped, I'm worried..."
"About what?" Crono spoke coherently for the first time.
"Well... about Janus..."
"Ohh..."
"I mean, we all know that's just hogwash, right? But... but what if it's not?" She wiped her eyes. "What if one of us is really gonna..."
"Marle." He looked into her eyes. "Look, stop obsessing. He was just spouting gibberish."
"But..."
"No buts, Marle. None of us are going to die." He smiled. "Just trust me, okay? Remember, we took down Magus. Nobody can touch us!" Marle still wasn't fully convinced, but she smiled anyways.
"Thanks, Crono." She gave him a peck on the cheek, then laid back down and went to sleep. The teen looked at the wall and frowned. He wished he had been as confident as he sounded.
Yeah, we beat Magus... but we still got our butts kicked by Golem... why am I getting the feeling that all that business with Magus was just a warm-up? These people at Zeal mean business... well, not that Magus didn't but... Crono groaned. I'm tying my brain in knots. I guess all I can do is hope that we don't run into more big ugly yellow things.
When he woke up, the blizzard had let off enough so that they could go back heading north. Ayla charged out, completely oblivious to last night's conversation. Marle gave Crono a quick smile before they followed.
Another day later, Marle asked for the fiftieth time, "Why won't you just admit we're lost?"
"Because we're-" Crono's fiftieth repitition was cut off by Ayla's whacking him in the head. The cavewoman pointed ahead.
"Cave!" As they walked in, Crono grinned widely.
"See, I told you we weren't... dammit." It wasn't their cave. A higher ledge was covered with a thick moss, and a primitive reed ladder hung down. After some careful deliberation (mainly Crono and Ayla yelling at each other), they decided to go on up. At the top, a filthy man sat, dressed in a garment that resembled a potato sack more than anything else. He raised his head at them and blanched.
"Oh, no... please, no more... we are few enough now as it is..."
"What are you talking about?" Marle demanded. The man stared at her incredulously.
"Are you telling me you're not from Zeal?"
"No. We visited Zeal, but we do not come from there..." Crono told him the same story they had told the Zealans. When the tale was done, the man was shaking his head incredulously.
"Amazing! So you bear us no malice... welcome to Algenny, town of the Earthbound Ones."
"Earthbound Ones?" Marle cut in sharply. The man stared at her.
"I see you really do have no knowledge of us... we Earthbound Ones are the people who lack magic. We have none at all; therefore, if we were to enter the Lands of Zeal, we would die horribly."
"What?!" Crono exclaimed sharply. "But our friend Ayla here has no magic, and yet..."
"No, Crono." The cavewoman stopped him. "Ayla no go to flying land. Ayla go back to End of Time."
"Oh yeah..."
"Well, you're wrong about one thing..." The man said. "She does have magic. It's very faint, and it's very strange, but it is magic... even us Earthbound Ones can detect it."
"Hm." Crono said. "So Ayla should be safe. But this still seems fishy... are you sure the people of Zeal aren't telling you lies to try and keep you down here?"
"Oh, the people of Zeal are very kind to us... mostly. Many of them will sometimes come down and see if we're doing alright, although they cannot use their magic to help us..."
"What do you mean by that 'mostly'?" Marle asked. The man looked down.
"Well, the Queen... and her aide, Dalton... are both very cruel. They are in charge of the Ocean Palace operation..."
"What's that?"
"Well, they are constructing a giant palace beneath the waves that will allow them to tap into more of Lavos' power then before. We Earthbound ones are taken to work on the Palace, but none of them have ever returned."
"But wouldn't you have to go through Zeal to get there?"
"Yes, but the Queen has developed a marvelous new shield which will shield us from the magic ambience! However, there are not very many of these shields, so they can only be used for things of utmost importance, like the Ocean Palace..."
Crono motioned the girls over to another area and whispered, "These people are nice enough, but they have the intelligence of cattle. It's obvious Dalton and the Queen are pulling something over on them."
"What about the Zealans?" Marle whispered back.
"Same thing. Too much soft living will boil your brain just as too much hard living will. Zeal and the Queen are duping everybody."
"Maybe we help later. Now, we look around." Ayla offered. The other two agreed, and they all walked into the tunnels. The man at the entry waved at them as they walked by.
All the people in Algenny were dressed in the same way as the man at the entrance. It seemed word that they were not Zealans had passed through, and they were greeted with smiles. At the lower level, there was a cave which was painted red around the edges. A child ran up to them.
"Hey, the beast's nest is dangerous! Better stay away from there!"
"Beast's Nest?" Crono echoed.
"Yeah! This cavern is filled with horrible monsters! The Queen herself came down here to put a magical seal that keeps them out, but anybody who actually goes in the cave is doomed!"
"Magical seal my butt." Crono muttered under his breath. "More of the queen's tricks, I'll bet." He raised his voice again. "Don't worry, kid. We're really strong, so we're gonna clear out all the beasts for you."
"What?" The kid gasped. "You'll be massacred!" Crono sighed.
"We beat Dalton's Golem." This caused all the Earthbound Ones in the area to jawdrop, including the child, who looked impressed.
"WHOA! Well, in that case, go ahead!"
"Crono, you lied to them!" Marle hissed in his ear as they walked past.
"Yeah, but we needed to get through. Besides, now that you've got level 2 magic as well, I'm sure we'll be fine. Trust me."
All conversation was halted as a large, vaguely bull-like creature plodded in front of them.
"That must be a Beast..." Crono said as he drew his sword. Before he could do anything, though, Ayla charged ahead and actually picked up the brute! She wasn't done there, though; with a ferocious yell, the cavewoman heaved it into the back of the cave, onto another one that was just rising. The Beasts did not appear to be blessed with any particular intelligence; the two immediately began fighting each other, apparently having completely forgotten about the three, who quietly moved on.
The next two beasts were dealt with the same way. At the back of the cave was a huge, stone chain attached to the ground, with the other end leading through a hole in the ceiling. Blocking it were two more beasts, with their skin colored an unusual red and blue respectively. A brown imp slid down the chain; one of the very rare Mud Imp breed.
"You can't pass through here!" It sneered and made a face. "The Queen has decreed that all who attempt to climb Mt. Woe shall be killed! Go, boys!"
The Red Beast immediately charged, fully intent on goring the three. Ayla met it with the same maneuver she had used on the other Beasts. However, these two did not engage each other; instead, they counterattacked by ramming her at the same time!
"These are my special babies!" the Mud Imp snarled. "They're far smarter than those other dolts!"
"LIGHTNING 2!" The old electrical radius sent the Blue Beast reeling, as well as blasting the Red Beast and Mud Imp. The Imp took one look at the Blue Beast before jumping onto Red's back.
"You creeps! I'll fix you!" The Red Beast roared approvingly and blasted forward, picked Crono up on its horns and smashed him into the wall.
"ICE 2!" Marle's spell slammed a pair of giant glaciers onto all three enemies, and the Red Beast flopped down. The Imp ran over to the Blue Beast and began kicking it.
"Get up, you lazy bum! Kill these intruders!" The Beast slowly rose to its feet and flattened Ayla. Crono extricated himself from the wall and made a dash for the Imp, sword ready. He was a perfect target for the Red Beast, who charged for the unwary teen's back... and was met by Marle's Ice 2 and sent skidding across the floor to crash into his partner. The Imp groaned.
"Idiots! HEAL!" Golden sparkles washed over the beasts, and they got up. Immediately, they jumped and came down at the same time, causing a quake that kocked all of the good guys off their feet. The Imp laughed.
"That's more like it! Go for the X-Strike!" Crono got off his feet and turned to see Marle get slammed brutally into the wall. He immediately changed his strategy, jumping towards Ayla; those poor excuses for hamburger meat were going DOWN. The Cavewoman immediately caught on, picked him up and flung him into the air. Unknown to either of them, her vague aura of Mysticlike magic leaked into the throw, and as Crono readjusted, he was aided by a glowing energy that formed into a whitish blaze.
"Awright, you bull-brained morons... FALCON HIT!" He charged, sword ready, and the energy smashed him forward too fast for any of them to follow. He landed, struck a dramatic pose, and a moment later, the heads of the two beasts crashed to earth on either side of him.
"Ugh." Marle said, holding her nose. "That would have been more impressive without all the blood. It appears Beast guts stink to high heaven."
"Sorry." Crono grunted as he turned to glare at the heavily sweating Mud Imp. It took a step backwards, then kicked something at Crono. It hit him in the face and exploded in a lcoud of green dust. A moment later, he dropped to the floor, completely asleep.
"Time to make my getaway! See ya, chumps!"
"Oh, no you don't..." Marle growled. "Ayla! Let's try that thing we talked about! ICE!" Her spell was aimed at Ayla, but did no damage; instead, the cavewoman picked up the huge block and threw it towards the Imp.
"OH, NO!" The Imp tried to run, but the block was faster, smashing him flat against the earth.
Crono slowly rose. "Geez... what a hassle." He looked at the ice. "Takes care of him. What do we do now?"
"I think we climb the chain..." Marle offered. Ayla immediately jumped up and clambered up the chain through the hole in the ceiling. A moment later, she fell back down with a cry.
"What's wrong?" Crono asked. She looked at him, obviously frightened.
"Mountain..."
"Mountain?" Crono blinked. "The earthbound ones said something about a mountain of woe... lemme see." Crono and Marle climbed up, followed by an apprehensive Ayla. Then they stopped.
"Holeeee.... sheeit..." Crono swore. The mountain was flying! The goddamn mountain was FLYING!
"Crono..." Marle's voice shook. "Crono, this is... if the queen can do this... we're dead!" Her voice slowly rose as she began to panic. "Dead, Crono, DEAD! We're going to be slaughtered! What were we think-"
"MARLE!" He yelled, breaking her off. "Do NOT go hysterical on me, okay? If you panic, then we're in big trouble!" His tone softened as he looked into her eyes. "Look... you're overreacting. If you think about it, things aren't as bad as they seem. I'll bet Magus could've lifted a mountain, and look what happened to him! Everything's going to be okay, Marle... just trust me..." He kissed her, and saw her face relax.
"Yeah... yes, I'll trust you..." She frowned. "Hey, where's Ayla?"
"There she is..." Crono pointed to where Ayla was crouching, a ways away. As they walked closer, they heard her talking.
"Then they kiss! Hee hee hee!" Crono heard Lucca's voice respond from the white globe.
"Hee hee hee! What're they doing now?"
"They is... URK! Aylagottago!" The cavewoman attempted to run, but Crono grabbed her by the scruff of the neck.
"Care to handle this, Marle?"
"I'd love to." A moment later, a low-powered Ice spell had sealed Ayla's mouth, and the three continued up onto the floating mountain.
***
"What's that? Looks like a gold Shist..." Crono asked as he caught sight of his first creature on Mt. Woe. Marle glanced at it.
"It's a Rubble. Harmless, but if we go near it, it'll lock our magic."
"I've been meaning to ask you... how do you know about all the creatures?"
"Fossil lessons as a princess, plus watching documentaries with Spekkio."
"Ah." They continued on, silent, until a pair of screeching birds appeared, each carrying an imp. The remarkable thing was they all appeared to be made out of stone!
"Who do you think made these?" Crono shouted at his teammates as he jumped into the air and cleaved a bird in two.
"Probably Dalton!" Marle yelled back as she shot the other bird out of the sky. The imps got up from their crash landing and immediately resumed attacking. Ayla growled and charged, knocking them both off the mountain. As their screams faded, the three pressed on.
The next obstacle was a quadruplet of orange gargoyles, growling fiercely.
"Geez! Is everything made of stone around here?" Crono yelled as he slashed one in half. Its neighbor immediately turned and pinned him against the wall, then delivered a powerful series of kicks, ending with an explosion that almost knocked him unconscious. "GAH!"
"CRONO! Cure!" Marle healed him, then yelled herself as another flung a crystal ball at her head. "ICE 2!" All three gargoyles were flattened.
As it turned out, Mt. Woe was not one solid mass, but rather a series of segments connected by more giant chains. The three heroes continued up, fighting more Bantam Imps and Gargoyles. Near the top, they finally found something new; plants remniscient of the Meat Eaters of the future and Fly Traps of the past.
"Man Eaters! Watch out, their gas is a hallucinogen!" Marle yelled as she shot a bolt into one, neatly imapling it.
"Okay, we'll stay away! LIGHTNING!" Another was fried, but a third was turnng its blossom towards him, and blew a stream of pollen towards him. As it enveloped him, he suddenly saw that there not two, but four Meat Eaters left, one on either side of him as well as the two he had seen before! As he watched, their appeared to be an argument among them; one flattened another, and a third shot a fourth. Angrily, he charged at the third, and although it dodged, he did give it a nice cut on the "shoulder". Crono heard a sound behind him, and turned, too late, as the other survivor was on him...
Ayla's punch literally knocked Crono off his feet.
"Whuh... what the...? MARLE!" He screamed as he realized what happened.
"It's all right, Crono. I've already healed myself." She winced as he caught her in a fierce hug.
"Oh, Marle! If something had happened..."
"It's okay! Nothing's happened... yet..." Crono frowned.
"Hey, are you still thinking about Ja... wait, where's Ayla? If she's blabbing again, I'll... oh." The cavewoman was standing right next to them, pointing to her still iced-over mouth. Marle blushed.
"Oh. Whoops." After it was defrosted, Ayla yelled a war cry and raced ahead.
"Come! We almost to top!"
***
As they climbed the last, completely vertical chain, the sky quickly darkened,and they could hear lightning.
"Huh, boy..." Crono grunted as he heaved himself up. The mountain's peak was surrounded by many spiky edges. The back was a huge gorge, and before them, a podium held a large crystal block.
"I wonder what that is?" Marle said softly. Ayla, ever the impetuous one, walked over and tried to grab it. The moment she touched iit, however, it flickered and disappeared, and an angry rumbling came from the gorge.
"That doesn't sound good!" Crono yelled over the shaking. A moment later, its source was revealed, as a gigantic stone guardian rose! The monster was purple and covered with spikes, and sported two massive arms but no body below the waste. The ugly face stared down at them, then grinned horribly.
"DARK... PLASMA!" From the hands came a massive purple energy blast, and all three heroes reeled.
"FARG! Lightning 2!" The monster did not seem unduly affected. "Damn! Looks like Lightning ain't his weakness! Marle, Ayla, can you try that thing you used on the Mud Imp?"
"I can do better, Crono!" Marle said. "That was just using an Ice spell! Let's try... ICE 2!" As the giant ice block appeared, Ayla heaved the entire thing into the air. It landed on the right arm, flattening it, then erupted in a large pillar of blue energy that left the stone creature minus its right arm.
"Awright, gir-AWK!" Angrily, the creature grabbed Crono in its remaining arm and began to slowly crush him.
"CUBE TOSS!" The technique worked just as well, and Crono dropped to the ground before glaring up at the now-defenseless guardian.
"You stupid SOB... you don't like Ice, huh? ICE SWORD!" The attack damaged the creature, but did not destroy it. They continued to harry it until about a minute had passed, at which point it growled, "Commencing arm restoration..."
"Damn, damn, damn!" Crono cursed as he jumped up. Let's see if all this swordplay has payed off... "CONFUSE!" Levitating in the air, the red-haired teen began dancing circles around its head, slashing at it time after time. After three rotations, he finished with a dazzling upward slash, then dropped to the ground and turned to look back at it. It was heavily damaged, but remarkably, still survived... and as he stared, two new arms rose from the gorge and attached themselves.
"Damn! It looks almost beat... Ayla, can you stun it?" The cavewoman nodded, and even as the hands began to glow red for a new firey attack, she jumped up and kicked it square in the nose. Crono could almost see the stars around its head as he jumped into the air.
If this doesn't work, we're toast... "Alright, Marle, gimme an Ice 2!"
"WHAT?!"
"JUST DO IT!" As she reluctantly complied, Crono looked down at the grinning gargoyle.
"Grin at this, you bastard... ICE SWORD 2!" The giant block of ice encased its head, and Crono continued with his Confuse technique. However, this time when he ended it, he double-slashed horizontally, dividing the ice into three segments that ground away... taking the monster's head with them. The arms dissolved into sand, and with a flash, the entire giant followed them.
"Whew... what a hassle..." Crono groaned as the crystal block appeared on the podium, then melted away, revealing...
"MELCHIOR?!" The old man blinked at them.
"Yes... yes, I am Melchior, the Guru of Life. Have we... met?" He blinked again. "Never mind that, what is happening with the Ocean Palace?"
"From what we've been able to hear, it's almost complete. Zeal's moved the Mammon Machine there..." Crono explained. Melchior bowed his head solemnly.
"I see... the Queen has degenerated to that degree..." He looked up at them. "The more energy the Mammon Machine absorbs, the further the Queen degenerates. Her soul has been stolen by Lavos... whom I once thought a god..." Suddenly, there was a horrendous rumbling. Melchior looked about frantically.
"We must flee! With Giga Gaia destroyed, the mountain will collapse!"
"NOW he tells us!" Crono yelled over the increasing shaking. Melchior quickly formed a strange portal and jumped in, and after a moment's hesitation, the others did as well.
***
"Elder!" The elder of Algenny looked up as a man ran in. "The Mountain of Woe is crumbling!"
"What?!"
In the Beast's Nest, a family who had been cutting up the dead monsters stared up at the chain.
"Mommy, the mountain's gonna fall!" The child squealed.
Above the snow-swept planet's surface, the Mountain of Woe swayed in place, unconcerned with the titanic ruptures within its surface. Suddenly, the ruptures ended, as every single magical chain disappeared simultaneously. The Mountain hovered for one last second, before falling to earth with a titanic crash that they heard all the way up in Zeal.
***
"Lavos sleeps deep underground, while consuming the energy of this planet..." Melchior's portal had led to Algenny, and now the four of them were conferring with the Elder. Malchior was speaking while pacing back and forth. "If the Mammon Machine was brought closer to him like you have informed me, he could awaken at any time!" He stopped his pacing and looked directly at them all. "We must hurry, before it's too late!" Suddenly, a man ran in, breathing heavily.
"Elder! Schala is here!" Melchior stared incredulously at him.
"What? Schala's here?"
The question was answered when the beautiful young Zealian walked in, trailed closely by little Janus. The Elder looked at her firmly.
"Schala... why have you come to such a miserable place?" Schala frowned back.
"Stop degrading yourselves! We 'Enlightened Ones' are no better than you, and you know it! The only difference is that we are under Lavos's control..." Janus frowned as he looked around.
"What a filthy hovel..." However, his words seemed to lack theiir usual bite. Schala ignored him, walking over to the Guru.
"Melchior... when the Mountain of Woe fell, I knew I would find you here!"
"Is it safe for you to leave the palace?" Melchior asked worriedly. She shook her head firmly.
"That no longer matters! The Ocean Palace is now operational, damn the thing!"
"Then all is lost!" The old man cried. She shook her head again.
"You forget... without me, the Mammon Machine won't work! I have turned my back on that cursed, evil device!" She turned to the three.
"I've broken the Prophet's seal on the Skyway. Hurry! You must stop... my mother... no matter the cost..."
"Why don't we stop this right now?" A new voice rang out as a familiar man walked in.
"Dalton!" Schala cried. The Queen's Aide frowned, mock-severely.
"Tsk tsk, my dear. Your prescence is required elsewhere! You've been a very bad girl, sneaking out of the palace..." Melchior stomped up in front of her.
"Dalton! You fool, leave us be!" Dalton just stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"Ah! The geezer speaks! How was your visit with Giga Gaia, Melchior? He wasn't much for conversation, I'm guessing..." The laughing stopped imeediately, and Dalton's face turned hard. "Silence, old man!" He flung a fireball that knocked Melchior back, then jumped over the table and pinned Schala's arms behind her.
"She's coming to the Ocean Palace with me. Do anything funny, and she's dust. Got it?" Janus ran over and began hammering on Dalton with his small fists.
"Schala!" Dalton frowned and brutally thre Janus towards a wall. The small boy hit it then slid down slowly. Dalton just smiled.
"The Queen's children all seem to have a problem with authority, don't they?" The three drew their weapons, enraged, but Dalton pulled out a wicked-looking dirk and held it to Schala's throat.
"Stay back. The life of this woman means nothing to me!" Grudgingly, they dropped their weapons, and Dalton forced Schala to her feet. "Shall we get going, Schala dear? Your mother awaits!"
She muttered several obscenities under her breath, and Dalton slapped her across the face.
"You must learn to control your mouth, milady..." He opened portal like the one Melchior had used and threw the unconscious Janus in before following with Schala, making sure to close it behind him.
***
The three clustered around Melchior, who was slowly rising to his feet. Ayla helped him up.
"Old man okay?" Melchior nodded slowly.
"I'm all right. But we must save Schala, or else..." The Elder, who had remained silent for the most part, spoke up.
"Impossible! Even you could not do it, Melchior!"
"If the Queen is allowed to fulfill her scheme, all life as we know it is doomed, Elder! We have no other choice!"
"He's right." Crono said firmly. "We are going to kick ass for the common good. Enough said." Melchior blinked.
"You're willing to challenge the Queen?"
"Hell yeah!"
"Of course!"
"AWOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Melchior looked happy and worried at the same time. "You've done so much for us... and I don't even know your names!" Marle giggled.
"You'll see... sooner or later!" Melchior stared at her.
"What did you mean by that..." Ayla stopped the questions with another war cry.
"AWOOOOOOO! Crono, we go now! Kick Queen butt!" Melchior quickly pulled something out of his pocket.
"Wait, take this with you!" It was a beautifully carved knife of Dreamstone.
"It's made from the same magical red stone as the Mammon Machine. With it, you can destroy the machine!" Crono took it and slid it into his pack.
"Thanks, Melchior..." Suddenly, he became aware of the old man's eyes on the Swallow.
"Th... that's Belthasar's sword! How did you..." Melchior sighed and shook his head. "No, no time. But when you've finished, promise me you'll explain things to me!" Crono smiled and waved, and as he left, he could not help but think More like the other way around...
MAY 6, 0000 XD
"Crono..." The teen sat up. After a few hours eating, drinking and vegging out with Spekkio, they were getting some rest. It had been decided that Frog and Lucca would accompany Crono into the Ocean Palace, with Marle on standby with the Blue armor ready in case they ran into any Golems. The voice had come from Marle, Crono realized as he saw her sitting on the floor, looking at him.
"Yeah? What's the problem?" He frowned. She sighed.
"Well... I'm worried again..."
"About the Queen?" A nod. He smiled. "Hey, chances are we won't even have to go up against her directly. All we have to do is jam Melchior's Knife into the Mammon Machine, and the Ocean Palace is dust. Lavos is NOT gonna win, okay?"
"Yeah..." She said sadly as she walked over to him. "But... Crono, I'm still thinking about... Janus..." Crono frowned. He knew now was not the time to ridicule her worries. Instead, he hugged her comfortingly.
"I know it may sound bad... but Marle, nobody's gonna die. I'll make sure of that personally... trust me." She smiled, and hugged him back, and the two of them remained like that for the rest of the night.