Chapter 11: If There's A Leak, We're All Gonna Die
MAY 7, 0000 XD
"You two ready?" Crono asked. Frog and Lucca nodded. Marle raised her head.
"Remember, if you catch a glimpse of a Golem, swap me for Lucca. I'll bring the blue armor." Crono nodded as Spekkio walked in.
"Hey, kids. Leaving?" Crono nodded, frowning as he remembered something.
"Hey, Spekkio. A bunch of people in Zeal said something about magic coming from Lavos. Care to explain?" The shape-shifter frowned back.
"Okay, time for another impromptu lesson." The whitescreen, pointer and hat all appeared and the lights clicked off. The first slide showed three pictures: Ozzie, Schala, and Lavos.
"Okay, here's the deal. Basically, there are three main types of magic. The first, Mysticism..." here he pointed at the picture of Ozzie. "...is the magic that came with the earth at the start. Besides the Mystics, it was also the source of Azala's-and cave girl's-magic. Mysticism involves a lot of mumbo-jumbo; wierd symbols, strange chants, summoning, and the like. A lot of gibberish. It's not individual; when somebody uses Mysticism, they're only borrowing from the Earth's collective whole aura. There are drawbacks to this, naturally, but we don't have time for that." He paused to take a swig from the ever-present mug.
"Next is Zealean. Now, your pals in 12000 BC are partially wrong; this magic doesn't come directly from Lavos. Zealean magic was created from the disruption when Lavos fell to earth. His magic interfered with the planet's aura of Mysticism, and Zealean magic was created. This is the kind I gave you guys. Zealean magic comes more from your inner self. It's from your soul. Unlike Mysticism, the use of Zealean magic mostly involves focusing your soul's energy. Since no two people think alike, there will be some things that some people can do that others will never be able to. It's divided into the four elements, but I already went over all of that with you, so there's no need to do it again, is thtere?" He pointed at the picture of Lavos.
"Finally, we come to the third kind; Lavosian. This magic is completely alien to the planet, and totally evil. Do NOT get mixed up with this shiznit. At any rate, Lavosian magic is only used by Lavos and those very close to him. Besides that, we don't know squat. And we probably don't want to, although I would appreciate any info you can find. That knowledge is barred from me, so I have to do it the old-fashioned way." He sighed.
"There are one or two cases of people combining types, but we can do that later. Well, no, I lie. Actually, I don't know anything about that either." The tools disappeared. "Well, there ya go. Now get going and blow up that place!"
MAY 7, 12000 BC
True to her word, Schala had opened the Telepod. After a total of two days, the three arrived back in Enhasa. As they rested, Crono remembered the Elemental books and looked for copies in this city. He found them, and they opened a door behind the front counter. Inside, a Nu was sleeping, but it woke as they entered.
"The Guru Of Reason is out. Would you care for a duel?"
"Um... no, not right now." Lucca said. "We have to conserve our strength."
"Pity..." The Nu sighed. "I'll be going to the Northern Palace soon, and that will be so boring..." It went back to sleep.
2 days later, they came to Kajar, and rested up before beginning the one-day hike up to Zeal. When they reached the city, they were so exhausted they decided to take a snooze before heading in. When they woke, people were buzzing around excitedly.
"Where's the fire?" Crono asked a woman. She turned to him.
"Haven't you heard? The Ocean Palace will be activated today!" He paled.
"TODAY?! We gotta move!" As they turned to leave, the lady called after them.
"Excuse me, but could I ask you a question?" She gestured to an oddly familiar looking plant. "The Guru Of Life gave me this plant. He said that if the environment ever becomes endangered, this plant could restore it." She frowned. "But the Queen ordered me to burn it. What should I do?" Frog was the one who answered.
"Keep it, lass, and plant it in secret. I think the Guru wouldst know more about it than the Queen." The woman nodded, looking relieved.
"You're right. I'll grow it with love." They left and ran into the throne room, where Dalton sat on the queen's throne, whining to himself.
"Phooey! Why is the Prophet allowed inside while I'm stuck with guard duty?"
"Boy, looks like somebody has high ambitions!" Crono taunted as they walked in. "You'd better hope the queen doesn't catch you on there!" Dalton straightened up and glared at them.
"Think you're funny, do you? I let the Prophet go ahead without an argument. I knew he'd screw up sooner or later. But I've no use for you anymore."
"Oh, please." Lucca scoffed. "You 'let the Prophet go'? If you'd raised a finger, the Queen would have atomized you!"
"Silence, fools!" Dalton jumped from the throne and struck a pose that looked remarkably like a hood ornament. "You're history!"
"More like the other way around!" Crono yelled as he jumped towards his opponent. "CONFUSE!" He whirled around Dalton, slicing wildly, and ended with the fierce stabbing uppercut. Dalton winced with pain, but did not fall.
"Oh, yeah? Well, have some of this! IRON ORB!" A huge, steel ball fell out of nowhere and flattened Crono against the floor. Frog immediately took action.
"That shalt be the last spell thou cast, varlet!" He leaped into the air, preparing to do a Leap Slash, but his eyes grew wide as he saw Lucca's Fire spell heading right for him! A moment later, though, he realized her meaning, and caught the flames on his sword, diving downward and impaling Dalton through the back with the burning blade.
Or at least that was the plan. Unfortunately, the magician dodged and the sword took him through the leg instead of the back. Crono jumped into the air, not giving him the chance for a counterattack.
"This ends NOW, Dalton! Lucca, you saw what we used on Giga Gaia, right? Can you...?"
"No problem!" The scientest snarled. "FIRE 2!" Flames danced around her as Crono neared Dalton, then left her and concentrated into a pillar of blazing red light that completely enveloped the magician as Crono stabbed downward with a vengeance. Dalton threw him off, eyes burning with hatred.
"Damn you all! BUURP!" As the magician exhaled gas, noxious black waves flew from him and washed over them all, hitting them severely and knocking them away from him. He tried to rise, but fell back down as a bloody froth came from his mouth.
"N... nooooo! I'm going to be immortal! I CAN'T die now!" With a supreme effort, he rose to his feet, and with another blinding flash, disappeared. Crono cursed.
"Damn it all... hey, wait a sec!" There was something left over; a pillar of white light roughly the diameter of a person.
"Looks like Dalton got careless." Lucca noted. "I'll bet anything this goes to the Ocean Palace."
"Well, what be we waiting for?" Frog asked impatiently. "Let us be on our way!" The three stepped into the pillar and immediately sank through the floor, going down towards the ocean. As they grew close, Crono looked down and almost choked.
"It's... huge!" The Ocean Palace was roofed by transparent domes, giving them a look at the interior. It was a twisted maze, a combination of Zealean architecture and imagination that could only have been hellishly inspired. Pits of lava were interlaced with bizarre statues, and hideous creatures roamed through the halls. The three shimmered into existence atop a glowing floor carving, and jumped as they saw who had been waiting for them.
"The black energy grows..." Mune whispered conspiratorily to them. "Something scary is waking up!" As if to confirm his words, an angry rumbling came from below them, in the lower palace...
***
"Schala, raise the power of the Mammon Machine to its limit!" The young lady quailed under the imperious eye of her mother, the Queen. Desperately, she gazed around for any sign of help, but the eyes of the seven Zealian scientests held pity, but no aid. And as for the Prophet... who knew what he was thinking? The Queen frowned at her reluctance.
"Schala! You DARE disobey me?!" She sighed, knowing that disobedience was useless. In the end, her mother would have her way, as she always did.
"All right, mother..." She began her chanting with the Pendant, and the room flashed an angry red. The queen cackled as she walked up to the Mammon Machine.
"Oh... what bright splendor! The incredible power of Lavos!" Ignoring her, Schala collapsed. The endless raising of the Machine's power had taken its toll on her. The Prophet turned to her, started to say something, then just shook his head and turned back to the Machine.
What was that? Schala wondered. Who is this Prophet? And then another flash of red, and her only thought was of pain...
***
"Hey! Where'd he go?" Crono yelled. Mune had vanished. Lucca shrugged.
"Ah, well, that's not important. What's important is getting moving!"
They moved out of the hall and into the next area: a teeming mass of firepits and narrow corriders patrolled by small, cycloptic winged monsters.
"I have no clue what those are," Lucca whispered, "But they come in three different colors. Red, blue, and yellow. We might wanna try being careful with our elements."
"Roger that." Crono whispered back. "Come on, everybody. Time's a-wasting!" They dashed out and confronted a pair of yellow ones, Crono leading with a Lightning 2 that incinerated them on the spot.
"Okay. Lucca takes the reds and Frog the blues. If we run into a mixed group, use your Level 1 spells and target your color." Another pair of yellows divebombed them and were dealt with as easily as the first. To the north, three reds attacked, and Lucca strode forth grimly.
"My turn. FIRE 2!" A circle of fire swirled around her, and a ring of bright red power radiated out, covering all the space between it and Lucca with a crimson haze. A moment later, the haze burst into explosions, frying all three instantly. A look around revealed the only remaining creatures were a trio of blues at the west side. Frog boldly walked over to them and raised his arms.
"WATER 2!" Bubbles circled him, and a huge tidal wave washed over the room, sweeping away the foe.
"Okay, now to figure out a way to go..." After a few seconds, they headed southwest. Two more reds met them, and they left a nice surprise in the form of a treasure chest containing a shiny new gun for Lucca. The next room was disappointing, though; a thick lava moat surrounded the island passageway going east and offered no way through. They checked out the southeast door from the main room and found it almost exactly the same, the only difference being the creatures were blue instead of red.
"Well, that was a total waste." Crono sighed. "Now where?" Northwest, it turned out. The door led to a small room with the only feature being a bright blue button in the center of the floor. Pressing it prompted a rumble to the south-but more importantly, it released a pair of spinning monsters that straightened up into things similar to the Sorcerers of Magus's Castle. The twins, one a pale grey and the other a bilious green, leered down. Crono jumped for the green, but his sword was deflected by a grey aura that surrounded it.
"The other be protecting it!" Frog snarled as he leaped for the grey beast, dividing it down the middle.
"Roger that!" Lucca aimed her new gun and fired. With the grey dead, the shield shattered like glass under her shot, leaving Crono to finish it. Another door led southwest, and held two blues and a short, fat human-sized figure in bizzare pink clothes that completely obscured it. Frog's Water 2 squashed the blue ones, but the humanoid survived and sent a cluster of energy balls at Lucca. A moment later, Crono's sword seperated it from its head. Going through a door, they found themselves back in the main room. The only door remaining took them northeast, where they found almost exactly the same thing, the difference again being the color of the flyers.
"Looks like whoever designed this place liked identicals..." Lucca muttered. Frog's eyes brightened with a sudden thought.
"Those switches we pressed... mayhap they could alter the rooms to the south?" Sure enough, the lava moat was breached, allowing them access to the island-like structure. As they stepped on, one blue and one red swooped down, and a pink magician teleported in.
"They're getting smarter!" Crono yelled. "Use your level one spells. I've got the piggy pink!" He charged and slashed its arm off as his partners dealt with the sidekicks. Undaunted, it raised its remaining limb and chanted a wierd incantation, and a red X slammed into Crono's head. Angrily, he finished the job and turned to Lucca.
"Any idea what that did?"
"As far as I can tell, you won't be able to use magic for a good 10 minutes."
"Great. Just great. Let's hope we don't run into any yellows..." In the center of the island another switch rested, and a press caused a blinding flash and a telltale rumble from the north, where the main chamber rested. When they returned, a formerly dead-end peninsula going straight south had been filled with a door. A red and a blue met, along with a tall man in a yellow uniform and purple mask, wielding a staff.
"A human guard!" Crono groaned. "I'll hit him. You two go for the bugs!" The man was no slouch with his staff, and managed to get a good whack in before being killed.
"We've got no time for this!" Crono yelled impatiently as he charged south through the door... and braked to a stop just before plummeting over the edge of the pit into the gleaming metal chasm that extended so far down it was lost in the darkness. He shuddered at the though of what would have happened if he hadn't stopped in time.
"Wrong way. Definately wrong way." An inspection of the previous room found a staircase leading downward that they had missed before. At the bottom waited a pair of statues; one of a beautiful woman, the other of a hideous demon. As the group ran by, the statues came to life, belching fireballs that resolved into two Mages and two staffmen. The Mages were easily dealt with; the staffmen, however, proved more problematic. As soon as the second Mage went down, they jumped towards the center of the screen and began spinning around in a vicious tornado attack that slammed Crono against the wall.
"That's Masa & Mune's Waltz of the Wind!" Lucca's eyes narrowed, and she plugged one right between the eyes as Frog killed the other. The next staircase held four staffmen, each doing a bizarre dance that involved rising into the air and dropping back down. Carefully, they ran under each as he was in the air, and escaped unnoticed.
"These guys are pretty thick..." Crono noted as they ran past another set of statues and down a staircase. The third set of statues boasted four staffmen running back and forth at high speeds. The group managed to slip past, even though one statue began sniping with fireballs midway. Down a staircase again to more statues, but this time, a crimson-armored Omnicrone lookalike came from behind. It did not fight, but shot off four fireballs before retreating, each of which formed into a staffmen. Two of the foes, however, had masks of steel grey instead of purple, indicating a higher rank. The purples were taken out quickly before they could use Waltz of the Wind. The greys had their own dual-tech, the X-Strike technique which Masa & Mune also used, and which Crono and Frog had used to take down Yakra what seemed like ages ago. It was nowhere as skilled as they had done it with, though, and the greys were killed quickly as the three moved on... then stopped in front of a cheerily grinning Masa.
"The ancient red rock has been passed down through the ages. From it, many artifacts were made, both for good and evil... two of these were a magic pendant and a knife." He frowned, suddenly serious. "We embody the dreams of the Gurus, sealed within the knife... Now hurry, if you plan to confront the Queen. The whole world is depending on you!"
***
"Ahh, I can feel it! The pulse of eternal life!!! Ha, ha ha...!" Zeal laughed as the power surged thorough the room. Schala's chanting stopped, her form weakening under the immense evil in front of her.
"D... dark... force... wild energy...! Aughhh!" She fell again, and this time, the Prophet flinched visibly, his eyes seeming to linger on her, hidden by the ever-present hood. More flashes of red energy, and a scientest finally gained control of his courage, running up.
"Th, the Mammon Machine! Your majesty, it's too dangerous! If the energy growth continues at this rate, we'll all die!" The Queen turned, her face contorted in rage.
"You DARE preach to me? Well, don't worry, any worries you have of life end now!" With one slap, she sent ten million volts through the unfortunate man, turning him into the daily roast. The horrifying act gave Schala the strength of will to get back up.
"Mother, what have you done?!" The Queen just laughed.
"Noone will miss that fool! Don't stop, Schala! We're almost there! Immortality will be ours! Zeal will have the glory she... I mean IT... deserves!" She began laughing evilly.
"Mwa, ha, ha... too long have I waited!" Schala simply looked at her, eyes filled with despair. And though she could not see it, the Prophet also gazed at the Queen, but his eyes were filled with hatred...
***
At the bottom of the stairs were another pair of green and grey spirits, easily dealt with, followed by a gleaming metal vertical tunnel like the one before. This one, however, had a floor, which seemed somehow disconnected from the walls. Lucca's eyes grew wide.
"Is this what I think it is...? It is! It's an elevator! I saw them on Spekkio's Tv..." She examined the floor. "Now, all we need is to find the switch..." A moment later, two blue fliers and two yellows appeared, accompanied by a mage. Level 1 spells zapped them quickly. Several minutes of searching found nothing resembling a switch, and Frog finally grew angry.
"We be wasting time! The Queen could gain victory any time!" Furious, he kicked a large crystal orb built into the floor, and a massive rumbling came from all around.
"I-is it a trap?" Crono wondered. Lucca shook her head, grinning wildly.
"No way! Frog found the switch! Here we GO!" Suddenly, the FLOOR began rushing down the shaft!
"Lucca, is this thing safe?" Crono yelled over the noise.
"Normally, yeah, but we've got company!" A trio of purple staffmen jumped on... and were promptly knocked back off by the attacks. Their screams faded down the shaft as the next wave of attack came; two mages and two grey staffmen. Again, a few quick attacks knocked them off. The last wave, however, was much worse, as swarms of flyers of all three colors swooped in, ready to kill.
"We'll never be able to beat 'em off in time!" Crono yelled angrily. "We'll have to use all our level-2 spells simultaneously, and hope we don't explode! LIGHTNING 2!"
"WATER 2!"
"FIRE 2!"
The elemental attacks, instead of performing their usual functions, combined into a rotating pyramid of blinding energy. First, it took the form of bubbly blue water. Then, it became red flames. Finally, yellow electricity blazed forth, and the pyramid disappeared in blinding white. When the light dimmed, not a single flyer was left.
At the bottom, the three averted their eyes from the remains of the foes who had fallen and moved on. A huge lava pit, with thin walkways curving left and right around the room, each ending in a door. The left one had a small room with a flyer of each element. Crono grunted.
"Child's play." When they were dead, he pressed the switch behind them and went to the other room, which was identical. The second switch created a bright blue button in front of the huge lava pit, and pressing it extended a long red carpet over the pit to a door on the other side.
"Rolling out the red carpet for us." Crono noted. "Let's not disappoint them." Through the door was an old friend with his back to them. Dalton.
"How are your new scars, buddy?" Crono called as they took up formation around him. He reponded without turning.
"Hmm... you've managed to make it THIS far, haven't you? It looks like I might have underestimated you..." He turned to face them. "But this is the end of the line! THEY will take care of you! Come, GolemTwins!" He jumped back as a familiar-looking black gate opened...
"Crap! Lucca, switch with Marle!" Crono yelled. A moment later, the scientest was replaced by the princess wearing the Blue Vest. She threw the Blue Mail to Crono, and as he stuggled into it, Golem appeared, as ugly as ever. A moment later, though, he split into two!
"Let's hope this strategy works... ICE 2!" The twin blocks of ice crashed into the GolemTwins.
"Copying Water..." They returned fire, and Frog was the only one damaged!
"It doth look like Spekkio was correct... WATER 2!" The water spell had the same effect. Crono grinned, despite the pain.
"Okay. Now, let's get down to business!" The battle took on a rather back-and-forth tone. Crono and Marle would attack one with an Ice Sword 2, then the other, while Frog unleashed Water 2s. When Frog got weak, Marle would Cure 2 him. Finally, though, Frog lost his temper.
"We doth not have the TIME for this! Lass, cast your Ice 2! WATER 2!" Marle complied, and the spells combined into a teeming surge of a tidal wave and an iceberg that completely flattened the Twins. Angrily, one opened its hideous mouth.
"Copying Dalton... BLUURP!" The gaseous wave blew them back as its causer dissolved. The other Golem seemed to be preparing for something similar, but Crono had other ideas.
"Not this time, you freak... Marle, Ice 2! Frog, 3-d X-Strike!" As she hit the Golem, Crono jumped and bounced off of the surprised Frog's head, reaching high velocity. Frog immediately got the idea and dashed to the Golem's side, and as Crono sliced it vertically, he did the same horizontally, both their swords strengthened by the ice power. After a moment, the Golem fell apart in four neat segments. Dalton jumped back down, outraged.
"They beat the GolemTwins?! Impossible! All right, this calls for extreme measures. Here comes the GolemBoss!" Before he could summon, though, a red glow permeated the room accompanied by a rushing sound. Dalton turned, scared.
"W, what's this strange force? Could this be... Lavos's energy?" He frowned, then took a look at the three. "Why are you trying so hard, anyway? Mere nutcases don't usually have THIS driving a mentality... and this energy has a certain... ugh! I have a bad feeling about this..." He growled, torn between two emotions. "Damn it all! All my work will be vain if I expire before I'm immortal!" He turned back to the three, making up his mind.
"This is your lucky day, you three! Be sure to give my regards to Lavos... bye-bye!" He flew away in a beam of light. Crono turned confidently to Marle.
"Ha-ha! What did I tell you? We kicked Golem's ass, and his twin too! I told ya nothing could beat us! We're invincible! And now, we're gonna go hand Zeal her head on a platter!" Marle smiled, the remainders of her doubt fading away with the death of the only foe to ever best them.
"Yes... Crono, you're right! I'm sorry I doubted you... let's go!" She caught him in a fierce kiss, which he returned. They held it for several seconds, until Frog rolled his eyes and interrupted.
"Ye two... this is all well and good, I suppose, but dost thou think Lavos shall wait forever? We must make all haste! Romance can wait for later! To the Mammon Machine, and the Queen!"
***
The long hall was dark and filled with strange, glowing machinery. As they entered, a Nu turned, its eyes wide with fear.
"This is the hall of the Mammon Machine... Now is the time to turn back... AYYIIIEEE!!" With a scream, it threw itself off the walkway and disappeared from view. The three averted their eyes and walked on. Ahead, six scientests stood in two rows, with the corpse of a seventh near the back. At the heads of the rows were Schala and the Prophet, and between them, standing before the Mammon Machine...
"Zeal! Thy time has come! We shan't allow thee to meddle with Lavos, Queen!" Frog challenged. Marle turned to Schala.
"We're here to save you, Schala!" Crono just stood there, glaring, his challenge open in his eyes. The scientests stepped back, sensing the violence implicit in the air, as Zeal, Schala and the Prophet all turned to face the three. Schala started to speak.
"You're..." Before she could go on, she was struck by a magic bolt from the Machine. "Help!!"
At this, the Prophet let out a cry and moved over to her. "Schala...!" The Queen ignored him and glared down at her daughter.
"What are you doing, Schala?! You can't fall now! I need your help to finish this!" Frog spat a rancid oath at her before turning to his leader.
"Crono, use the old man's knife to stop the Machine! Hurry!" Crono nodded, and pulled out the knife, then let go with a gasp as it began levitating by itself! As all in the room watched, two familiar voices came from the blade.
"Here we go, Mune!"
"Ready, big brother!"
"WHAT IS THIS?!" Zeal shrieked as the knife plunged itself into the Mammom Machine's head, converting into a massive broadsword. Beautifully polished, the sword was a masterpiece, with intricate designs all up and down the blade from a time long ago. A small orb of untempered Dreamstone formed the pommelstone on the smooth golden hilt, and Crono could tell instantly that the blade razor-sharp. Frog choked, looking at the weapon he held and then to the one in the Machine.
"T, 'tis... the Masamune?!!" The Queen was staring at the Machine, shorting out around the blade.
"What the... th, the Mammon Machine is...!?" The Prophet jerked his eyes off the still-wounded Schala and turned to the Machine as well.
"It's coming! Finally, after all these years...!" Schala stared at him for a moment before switching her gaze to the Machine as well.
"N-no, stop! That sword alone can't stop it!" But it was too late. As the room began flashing a brilliant red, a sound was heard that only had been heard once before, on an aged recording in the far future.
With an alien scream, Lavos emerged.
"It's time! Let's atta..." Crono's cry of fury was drowned off by the explosions as the monster launched a rain of destruction into the heavens, which then fell back and totally devastated them. All three of them were instantly defeated, only a step away from unconsciousness. And Lavos laughed.
***
Crono groaned as he opened his eyes. No... NO... we tried so hard... we can't have lost like this... we just can't.... it's over... wait... somebody's coming... it's... the Prophet? Wait... no it's not... or is it? That's the Prophet... but it's also...
"I've waited a long time for this... almost my entire life..." The man who called himself the Prophet whipped off the hood and concealing robe, and let his long, blue hair fly, above the deep purple cape...
"I've been waiting for you, Lavos." Magus said softly. He turned to face the enemy, eyes narrowed with hatred.. "I swore long ago... when you first sent me away... that I'd destroy you! No matter the price! Well, guess what? It is time to fulfill my vow! Feel my wrath, Lavos!!"
"What do you think you can do, you fool?" Magus scowled angrily as the Queen appeared behind the defeated three, dragging Schala. "Hmph! A false prophet... you'll be a snack for the great Lavos!" Schala moved between her and the others.
"Mother, please stop! This evil power can only end in ruin for all!" Zeal just laughed.
"Get out of my way, Schala! The almighty life force of Lavos lives in us all... you are a part of it! So it was destined! You cannot change fate now. Oppose me, and I will destroy you also. I care not for your objections!" She slapped her daughter, causing her to fall back (and causing Magus to flinch), then jumped onto the giant beast, just behind it head. "Come, Prophet, feel the power of Lavos!" Lavos roared, and a bolt of magic lashed out, ensnaring Magus. The sorcerer reeled, obviously in great pain, as he began to grow paler than he already was.
"ARGH! No... no! My magic... being drained! NO!" With a crash, he broke from his bonds. "I will NOT be beaten! I survived the darkness to destroy YOU, Lavos! I may have lost my magic, but I still have this!"
He drew from beneath his cape a weapon, but not his scythe. It was a staff of brilliant red. "This staff is made of pure, whole Dreamstone, untainted by your evil prescence! It was the chosen weapon of Gaspar, the Guru of Time, and now, combined with the weapon of Melchior, it shall be your undoing! Take this, Lavos!" With a scream of pure hatred, Magus launched himself at its head and delivered a brutal smash that sent a wave of force through the entire creature. For a moment, it looked like he had been right... then, with a flash of red, the force stopped and reveresed, andMagus was sent flying away.
"WHAT?! It... it didn't work?! AUGH!" He was now in the same condition as the three and Schala as the Queen began laughing again.
"Foolish one! Your measly power can't touch Lavos!" She paused, in some kind of mental communication with the beast, then smiled cruelly.
"Here is a present from me to you! You shall all enjoy eternal life... as part of Lavos! Uwa, ha ha ha!" Witht another roar, Lavos began slowly pulling them all towards his head.
Crono had been watching this with a kind of clinical detachment. He couldn't explain it himself, but for some reason, he felt completely calm, as he realized what he had to do, as strange, foreign voices filled his head. Marle and Frog struggled to rise, but could not. They were too weakened to do anything but speak.
"Can you move, Crono? Do something! Please!"
"Magus! Thou art mine to slay!" Schala and Magus couldn't even move. Crono slowly got to his feet, looking at them each in turn, then speaking softly.
"Frog... you're in charge from now on... and Marle... Marle... just take care of yourself..."
"What dost thou mean, lad?"
"Crono? What are you talking about?" He ignored them both, walking past Schala and Magus. The Zealean girl looked up at him, her eyes filled with fear.
"Crono... please... take your friends and leave! Humans... can't hope to defeat it!" Zeal heard this, and turned to him, sneering.
"So! YOU are the Crono. Not very impressive, are you? It looks like the fates were wrong. Why don't you do as Schala says, and run away, yelping in terror?" Normally, this would have infuriated Crono, but in his current state, he barely noticed as he stood in front of Lavos and the others, his face defiant. The Queen's face was slightly amazed.
"Haven't given up yet? What do you think you can do? You really challenge Lavos with that battered body of yours? Well, your spirit is strong, at least... but that won't save you! See the power of Lavos, and feel his wrath!" With a flash, for an instant Crono saw inside the minds of all present.
No... we lost... Crono... you said we would win... you promised me... you promised we would defeat Lavos... you promised nothing bad would happen... you promised... what are you doing now, Crono? Are you still refusing to give up? What... what is there left to do? We've already lost...
Impossible... Magus survived, and fought the same opponent as we... and now, both of us lie together, to be consumed by this foul beast... even he falls beneath Lavos's evil power... but what is the lad doing? Is he still fighting? I must help him... but I can't... I'm too wounded...
No... I waited so long, and went through so much... and yet, I failed... I hate him so much, that I would gladly sacrifice my own life to rid the world of him... and yet I cannot... I am finally reunited with Schala, and THIS happens... even that brat friend of Glenn's can move, but I cannot... I HAVE to, but I can't... what IS that kid... could he actually be... impossible!
I warned her... I warned them all... and they didn't listen... my mother... what has Lavos done to her? And who IS the Prophet? He acts as if he knows me, but I've never seen him before... and what is Crono doing?
I almost admire him... ALMOST. He is completely defeated, and he still challenges Lavos? A strong spirit, yes... but a fool. He is of no use. Destroy him, great Lavos!
Enough, Crono decided. He wasn't even going to attempt to take a look into Lavos's deseased brain, if he had one. Well, Crono old boy, looks like this is it. It's been fun, hasn't it? I never thought this would happen. But if they say so, then I can't argue, can I? They're the ones who chose me for this rotten job, after all. Funny, how I never even thought of that until now. Now I understand how Azala felt. I hope Marle will be able to move on... I'm gonna miss her, all right. It's really too bad about that... Argh! I can't have too many regrets. There's no turning back now... hell, if I understand this right, there never was. Here it goes... Might as well go down fighting!!!
"TRY THIS, YOU SICK BASTARD!!!" Crono screamed, raising his arms above his head. "LUUUU... MIIIIN... AAAAI-"
He never got the chance to finish.
Furious that this weakling DARED challenge him with that shreeded body, Lavos concentrated all the power that had been working on the room into one beam. Frog and Marle's eyes grew wide, finally realizing what he was doing... goading Lavos into...
"DESIST, CRONO!"
"CRONO!!"
But it was too late. Even if he had wanted to, Crono would not have been able to pull away from Lavos's fury. Before Frog and Marle's disbelieving eyes, the room became an incandescent white. A massive beam of power slammed in to the teen, and through him, holding him in place. Everything was still for several moments... moments that seemed like an eternity, as Crono hovered in the air, caught by Lavos's attack, yet not respnding... and then, a small, sparkling object flew out from Crono and into Marle.
And then, as if that object had been the final barrier, holding him together, Crono's lifeless body crumpled under the attack, slowly turned to a charred black blur, dissolved into ashes, and melted into nothingness.
"NOOOOO!!!!!" Marle shrieked in a voice of indescribable loss.
***
The scientests watched in stunned amazement as, one by one, Schala, Magus, Marle and Frog reappeared. Magus was the first to speak.
"Damn him... damn him straight to hell... I can't beat him... Lavos!"
Marle's eyes were vacant as she mumbled, "Crono? Where's Crono...?!" Suddenly, her face stiffened with horror and understanding."NOOOO!!!" Frog cursed.
"Crap! It is too late for him... we must plan our escape! The palace crumbles!" A moment of silence, in which nobody said anything. Then, the silence was broken by Schala rising to her feet, amazingly.
"The last of my pendant's power... will send you to safety..."
"But what of thyself, lass?" Frog asked. Schala bowed her head.
"That matters not... I know you can't forgive her, but... please don't hate mother, or our kingdom... it... it wasn't her fault... I'm so sorry..." Frog was first to go, followed by a sobbing Marle. Magus forced himself to his feet and looked into her eyes.
"Schala... one thing you should know first, before you send me away. You knwow me. I am..." She looked back.
"Yes... I know..." He blinked, incredulous.
"You... knew?!" She shook her head slowly.
"No... I only just discovered... now..." She smiled sadly. "Goodbye..." With a kiss on his hardened cheek, she spoke one last word, before he vanished as well. With a sigh of exhaustion, she collapsed.
Now... I leave it up to you... my task is done... the future is yours... the kingdom of Zeal is no more, and with it, I also am...
And then she raised her head, startled, as three figures rushed into the room, followed closely by a fourth...
***
Under the ocean floor, a titanic crevice opened. Inside the crevice, molten lava from the earth's core could be seen, but more noticable was the huge, demonic insectlike creature. Thousands of spines covering its shell rushed to angry life, firing off bolts of firey destruction into the heavens. The bolts ripped upward through the air... where the Kingdom of Zeal floated. Under the intense barrage, the magical earth crumbled, shattered, broke, splintered, and fell, piece by piece. Explosions rocked the land, and people died by the truckload. Enhasa, Kajar and the Palace were all ripped apart, their beauty and wisdom shattered like glass. To say nothing of the people inside them. Those that were not killed by the blasts were crushed by earth or fell to the land below. None were spared. The Magical Kingdom of Zeal, the most beautiful kingdom that the Earth would ever behold, was utterly destroyed in those few moments, consumed by its own pride.
Below, on the earth's surface, the blizzards that had endlessly rocked the planet finally stopped from the heat of Lavos rising. But this peace was not to last, as the Magical Kingdom of Zeal came crashing, piece by piece, down to the planet. Some pieces hit land, smashing it into the waters. Some pieces hit water, causing massive "ripples". The Earthbound Ones of Algenny watched as the forbidden land of the sky came crashing down upon them, destroying, flattening, crushing, obliterating. And then came the tidal wave. The "ripples" all built up to one massive, all-flattening mass of destruction that tore across the lands, leaving only empty water behind. In less than an hour, the world was changed forever.
***
At least 95% of humanity died in the Ocean Palace Disaster. The land itself was forever changed by the destruction. Most of it sunk into the ocean, leaving one sole continent and one or two small islands. The rest... was lost. The remnants of humanity were a scattered mix of Zealeans who miraculously survived the fall, and Earthbound Ones who had lived through the tidal wave. As they emerged and met each other, a horrible discovery was made; Magic had been forever lost to the Zealeans, as if the earth was not satisfied with mere physical anguish, and was punishing them for their hubris with the erasure of their energy. And so, they were forced to live as the Earthbound ones did. The Earthbound Ones accepted them freely, bearing no grudges. Together, they built a rough village on the sole continent, and began to erk out life as the pitiful remainder of intelligent life on Earth. Besides this small colony, there were only four instances of survivors.
Two strangers, deep in slumber, who arrived in a mysterious flash as the cataclysm was occuring and were cared for by the kindly former Elder of Algenny as the long days passed. A beautiful young maiden with blond hair, and a short, green frog-like humanoid with a mystical sword...
One forgotten loner, who arrived on a lonely cape and recuperated by himself, thinking of the ordeals of the past few months, and to what he would do now that he had failed again. A tall, pale man with long blue hair and a purple cape...
One group of elite soldiers, on a flying fortress, who had barely escaped in time. They stayed in the air and bided their time, watching the village grow and prosper, waiting for their chance to strike and conquer. Their leader was a phenomenally arrogant man with long brown hair and a similarly-colored cloak...
And one insane madwoman, who could not be properly called human any more, as she made her preparations deep beneath the ocean, in a Palace that was supposed to be destroyed...