Chapter 14: Somewhere Over The Rainbow...
JUNE 1, 0000 XD
"So, you were successful!" Gaspar smiled as they emerged at the End of Time. Lucca, Robo & Ayla all ran over, shouting greetings.
"Crono, you're back!"
"The procedure was successful!"
"Crono! Crono!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm glad to see you too." The teen laughed. "Thanks, Gaspar. We'd be dead if it weren't for you." The old man harrumphed.
"Bah! Don't thank me. You guys did all the work; I just helped you out of it."
"And broke about a dozen rules and regulations in the process!" Came a familiar voice from the door. Crono turned and laughed.
"Hey, Spekkio! Put on a few pounds, I see!" The purple Masamune clone laughed back.
"Welcome back, spiky. Boy, are you gonna get it, Gaspar! They're really pissed!"
"Couldja forward them a message for me?" The old man said, raising his middle finger. Spekkio shook his head, still chortling.
"Sorry, bud, but no. You've still got things to do, and forwarding THAT message might result in you being atomized or something. You'll have to handle this yourself."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Gaspar dismissed it. "Anyways, Crono. If you really want to thank me, make me a part of the team!"
"Don't you think you're a little old?" Lucca called out cheekily. In response, he jumped ten feet into the air and performed a German Suplex on her. "ARGH!" Everybody else in the room except Spekkio stared, wide-eyed. Gaspar picked himself up and walked back to the lamppost, ignoring the moaning pile of scientest. Crono raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I can't argue with your credentials, and the demonstration scores five stars. You're in!" Gaspar sighed.
"Actually, I can't really help you in the physical sense. However, since you accepted me as a team member, I can now use more of my powers than before."
"You're still gonna get chewed out, though." Spekkio added.
"Shut up, fatboy. Anyway, as you recall, the last time you took on Lavos, you got the bad end of the bargain."
"You don't have to tell me about it." Crono said, rubbing his head. "Dying isn't something I'm likely to forget."
"I wouldn't." Gaspar conceded. "At any rate, you were fated to lose that battle. But now, you can take him on at any time and stand a fair chance of winning. But that's not the only think you can do; there are a number of secondary quests which you can undertake, each of which will raise your power greatly upon completion." He stopped talking and took out a plate-sized wooden circle, with eight gems of different colors set in it; yellow, blue, brown, red, white, green, purple and black. The yellow stone was shining brightly, while the others were dimmed. Gaspar smiled. "Pick a stone!"
Crono looked at the gems, then at the party. "I dunno... one of you guys pick." Marle silently walked up and pointed at the blue stone. Gaspar nodded and placed his hand on it.
"In the Middle Ages, there exists a marvelous artifact, which shines like a rainbow... ask the one known as Toma for aid." He sighed, slumping forward. "The problem with using that thing is that it wears me out. I'll need to nap for a bit before I can do that again." His rambling was interruputed by a loud whining from the dock, as Epoch suddenly appeared and powered down. "Hmm... your Wings of Time appears to have followed you. It looks as though it has a heart and mind of its own. You're very lucky to have it. Now, time to sleep."
"Oh no, you don't." Spekkio chortled. "Nice try, bub. You still need to have that little "talk." In the door." Grumbling, Gaspar walked past the shape-shifter and through the door. Spekkio looked at the group.
"I can't help you as much as the old fart, but I can give you a few hints. For this one, take cave girl. And visit her place before you go on."
"Okay." Crono looked at the group. "I'm guessing you three will want to rest. That leaves Lucca or Robo as the third adventurer."
Lucca and Robo looked at each other, then, on some shared thought, began playing a game of rock-paper-scissors. Or, in Robo's case, club-tinfoil-laser. Lucca won and skipped over.
"Okay, let's go! I'm sick of this place." As they turned to leave, an explosion came from Spekkio's room, and a blackened Gaspar tottered out. Crono just shook his head and got in the Epoch.
"I like the wings. You say Dalton put them on?"
"Yuuup."
"I'll send him a christmas card. I'm sure Spekkio could find a way to get it to him. But for now, onward!"
JUNE 1, 65000000 BC
At Ayla's insistence, their first stop was the ruined Laruba. But it was empty!
"Where'd they all go?" Crono wondered. "Hold it... there's somebody in the very back... it's a Nu!" The creature opened an eye as Crono approached.
"Hmph... I give you strange rock, you go away, nu...!" Depositing a spherical silver stone into his hand, the Nu dropped off again. Concluding that there was nothing else here, the team departed.
"Maybe Kino know." Ayla said as the team went to Ioka. When they landed, though, the mystery of the missing Laburans was solved. They were in Ioka! Kino stepped out of his tent when he heard Epoch's landing, and his face broke into a wide grin.
"Ayla! Crono! Lucca! How you been?" Laughing, Ayla ran over and caught him in a bear hug, then playfully pinned him.
"Kino still not strong as Ayla. Who chief now?" He puffed his chest out proudly.
"Kino chief!" Ayla grinned.
"Take good care Ioka. What new?"
"Hmmm..." Kino mused. "Trading man have new armor in! Go see! Much expensive, though... 10 of each!"
"Aya! To Hunting Range!" Ayla commanded.
***
"Why are we doing ths again?" Lucca aked as she shot a green frog.
"To get local currency." Crono responded, killing another.
"UWAAAAOOOO!!!" Ayla shrieked happily, splattering a grey blob-creature across the range. "How many we have now?"
"9 Petals..." Crono said slowly. "8 Fangs... 8 Horns... and 9 Feathers." Lucca suddenly perked up and tiptoed away. A moment later, they heard her voice.
"This is a stickup! Drop it all and run!" A moment later, the noise of something heavy crashing away came, and Lucca walked back carrying 3 of everything.
"A Nu. I jumped him from behind. We've got enough now; let's go!" They walked back to Ioka and went in the trading hut, where they traded 10 of each item for a suit of armor made of pure ruby.
"Ruby Armor, eh?" Crono mused. "Looks like we'll be dealing with fire. Good thing we got this, then; it won't be as good as the Red vest and mail, but there's three of us and two of them, so now we're all fire-protected. And we got a wierd silver stone and a few leftover Hunting Range things to boot. Now, let's get on with it!
JUNE 2, 600 AD
"Where IS he?" Crono yelled angrily. They had checked the bars in Truce, San Dorino and Porre, and no Toma. Lucca snapped her fingers.
"Choras! We forgot to check Choras!" Choras was a town on a large island in the far southeast. They flew the Epoch there and quickly located the bar. As they entered, a familiar face turned around.
"Hey, kid. Long time no see." Toma gestured at the empty stools next to him, and the group sat down. "You guys are quite the talk of the world."
"Oh?" Crono asked idly. Toma snorted.
"Yeah; 50-to-1 odds say you died when you blew Magus's Castle into orbit. Lucky for me I bet on the long shots. So, whatcha here for?"
"We're looking for info on the Rainbow Shell..." Toma's expression darkened.
"Hey, bud, I already got dibs on that claim!" He thought for a moment. "Tell ya what, though. This is a dangerous expedition. If I die on it..." He produced a black bottle. "...pour this on my grave." The explorer got to his feet. "I'll be leaving now. See ya later." Crono frowned, looking at the bottle, and by the time he realized Toma had left them with the tab AGAIN it was too late.
JUNE 2, 1000 AD
"If memory serves me correctly, Toma Levine was buried on a cape west of Choras... here we go." Lucca pointed downward, and Crono landed the Epoch. They were on a cliff with a beautiful view. At the far end was a single tombstone, faded with age. Crono could barely make out the encryption.
The great explorer, Toma Levine, rests here
September 16, 555-June 3, 600
"He died on the next day?!" Lucca said incredulously. Crono shook his head sadly.
"Toma wasn't kidding when he said the place was dangerous... let's get to this." He uncorked the bottle and poured it over the grave. Ayla ran over and sniffed it.
"Smell odd. Like rotten skins." A moment later, something came out of the ground, to everybody's surprise. It was the hazy, indistinct form of Toma.
"Hey, buds." It said weakly. "Bugger caught me by surprise." Crono noticed the huge teeth marks all over the explorer's ghostly body and shuddered. Toma laughed.
"Hey, don't cry for me. I don't really mind. What day is it?" Crono told him, and he said something that would've sent Marle into a dead faint.
"Sheez! Quick, you guys, get back to 600 AD! I die at roughly noon tomorrow, and when I do, the whole cave collapses!" He walked up to the edge of the cliff. "See that island way out there? That's the location. It's called the Giant's Claw."
"Thanks, Toma." Crono said. The explorer smiled.
"If ya wanna thank me, then go and see if you can keep me from getting chomped. Being dead isn't THAT bad, but I wish I could live a few years more."
"Okay. We'll do all we can to keep you from dying so you can tell us this." Lucca said with an absolutely straight face. Crono glared at her.
"Ayla, knock that little nuisance around, will ya?" Toma began laughing as the cave woman dived on the scientest.
"You guys are a laugh riot! See ya in -400 years!" With that, the spirit did a back-flip over the cliff and was lost from view.
JUNE 3, 600 AD
"So this is the Giant's Claw..." Crono said as they walked through the long dirt tunnel. "Hey, a piece of paper!" The teen bent and picked it up, reading what was written.
Dammit, this place is a dead-end! The only way left to go is... those holes! Maybe if I fall in on purpose... yes!
"Toma's already passed this area. We've gotta catch up to him! Lucca, what time is it?"
"9 AM. We've got 3 hours." The group ran forward, then simultaneously put on the brakes, startled.
"Tyrano... Lair? Azala place?" Ayla said softly. They were in Azala's throne room. Lucca frowned.
"Lavos's impact didn't destroy most of it; it just pushed it underground and out of the way. I wish I knew what they made it of." She skipped forward and sat on the throne. "Look at me! I'm Queen Luccazala!" Ayla was rolling on the floor laughing. Crono shook his head, laughing himself.
"Very funny. But for every minute we spend here, it's another minute that may be too late for Toma! Come on!" The next room was a crossroads; they could go left or right.
"Left." Crono decided, and they began walking, only to stop as a Thundersaur and two Runners came out.
"They're zombies!" Lucca noticed. "Much stronger than normal!"
"Okay, then... LIGHTNING 2!" Crono grinned as the Gigasaur and the two Leapers absorbed the attack. The Leapers went down, but the Gigasaur grinned, then sent it back at them!
"Ow! Bastard!" Lucca spat and hurled a Napalm down its throat, causing it to explode. Crono groaned.
"Dammit. Looks like those things have learned to retaliate over the centuries. Let's go on and hope we don't meet many more." They went on and down a set of stairs, then into the next room-a dead end! There was half a rope ladder hanging down from overhead, but no way to reach it. Lucca sighed.
"Ok, we go back and take the right fork." They did so, but as they were about to go in, there was a screeching from overhead, and zombified Avian Rexs dropped down. Ayla let out a war whoop and began spinning wildly.
"What is she doing?" Crono wondered. The question was answered when tall tornadoes spun out from her and slammed into the enemies, violently smashing them into the walls. The other two stared. "But... I thought she had no magic!" Lucca was the first to recover.
"Spekkio said she had some abilities in Mysticism. This place is from her time, and there's a lot of Mysticism energy here. Stands to reason she'd find a new technique." Ayla grinned at them both.
"Ayla strong! Ayla make death wind! Ayla find strange explorer man!" Laughing, she charged ahead, and the other two followed. Running on all fours, Ayla accidentally trod on a floor switch, dropping a pair of zombie Apes in. Before they could move, Ayla hit one with her Charm spell. A golden bottle flew out from its paw, and the cavewoman grabbed it, handing it to Crono. The teen's eyes went wide.
"Is this what I think it is?" Lucca slowly nodded.
"Yeah... it's a Megalixer. Do you think the other would have one too? Hey, Ayla, hit the other!" The cavewoman nodded and performed the trick again, and another Megalixer emerged. Crono suddenly noticed an outline on the floor under the Apes, as well as another button. Grinning, he stepped on it, and the floor opened beneath them, dropping them in holes. Crono looked over and winced.
"It appears falling is not good for those who are rotten. Let's get going." Up ahead was one of the Lair's skull-doors, but it led to another dead-end.
"Now what?" Ayla wondered. Crono thought back to Toma's Note and looked into the holes again, this time seeing the path onward.
"We jump down. Use those dead apes as landing spots." He jumped down, followed by Ayla. Lucca shuddered and waited a moment before jumping, thinking that it was a good thing Marle wasn't here.
JUNE 3, 0000 XD
"What are you thinking about, Marle?" Robo asked. The princess raised her head, looking at the robot.
"...My dad. I wonder how he's doing..." Robo blinked.
"Ah, yes. Parentage. Such an interesting part of human life." Marle looked at him oddly.
"What do you mean, Robo? Don't you have parents?" The robot stared at her, then began laughing in his odd manner.
"Marle, I am a robot, not a biological life form. Such things are a physical impossibility." Marle frowned.
"Now hold on a moment. I thought you said that those six R-Series we fought in the Factory were your brothers!" Robo stopped laughing.
"...A figure of speech. We were all built as a group. I have no father... or mother. We came from an assembly line." Marle shook her head sadly.
"So you can't understand love..." Robo suddenly stiffened. "Robo?" The robot didn't respond. The word "love" had triggered something... a memory of a voice...
Prometheus, it's no good! They've been taken, just like the others! ... There's no way around it. I'll hold them off. No! Don't interrupt, I want to do this! You oversized toaster, didn't it ever occur to you that I love you too? One of us has to hold them off, and you're a scientest, not a fighter! I'm lost, even if you're the one who stays! Now, GO! Get away from this place! ...Prometheus... I love you... and I promise I'll never forget you no matter WHAT happens! Now run!
"AUGH!" Robo started forward, holding his head. Marle jumped.
"Robo, what happened?!" The robot slowly got to his feet.
"A... memory... of my past. Somebody speaking to me... Marle, I think I would like to go into stasis now." Marle bit her lip.
"O... okay." Robo's eyes dimmed as he dropped off. Marle looked around idly at the others. Frog & Magus were also asleep, as far away from each other as possible, and Gaspar... no need to finish. "So, I've got two options. I can go to sleep myself, or watch The Simpsons with Spekkio."
A moment later, another voice joined the snoring.
JUNE 3, 600 AD
"Stupid apes." Crono grumbled. "Hiding in that gorge like that... Well, at least we got two more Megalixers. Hey, look at that." He bent over and picked up the shining blue rock. "Waddaya suppose this is?"
"Beats me." Lucca said, looking at it. "It looks similar to the black one we found in Zeal and the silver one we got from the Nu." Ayla, uninterested in rocks, went on ahead.
"Front hall of lair!" She called back. They had reached the large hall that was originally the first room of the Tyrano Lair. Two Leapers appeared to be sleeping. The tip-off was the pools of blood beneath them. Lucca checked the knife marks in their necks.
"These can't be more than five minutes old. We're gaining on him!" Crono nodded.
"We started at the top. I'm guessing the Rainbow Shell's at the bottom. Let's go to the dungeons." Unfortunately, the skull door leading to the dungeons was jammed shut, and they were forced to go up to the second floor.
"Same old guarded crossroads." Crono noted, seeing the Fossil Ape to the right and the Gigasaur to the left. He grinned. "Same old buttons." The traps worked as well as they did back in 65 Million BC, dropping the beasts into the void. The left path was another dead end, so they went right. Walking past a couple watching Rubbles, they found an open skull door with a single treasure chest in the back. Shrugging, Crono opened it... and the trap door dropped them all into a prison cell.
"Great. Now what?" Lucca grumbled. Ayla smiled and broke the decrepit bars. "Oh. That." Crono walked out.
"We're almost to the bottom. Let's hurry!" They ran down to the final cell which had held Kino, and found somebody else there instead.
"TOMA!" The explorer spun around at Crono's shout.
"Huh? What are you... oh." He frowned, remembering. "So, I 'died'?"
"Yah." Crono nodded. "We're here to save your ass and take home the Shell." Toma cracked a smile.
"Given a choice between that and dying horribly, you make one damn convincing argument. Let's go on." The four friends walked through the rough opening in the back of the cell... and froze.
Standing in front of them was the zombified Black Tyrano! Its head was a horrible mass of melted flesh and exposed bone, colored a bloody red. The rest of its body was a more rusty red, stained by Lavos's impact. It did not seem to notice them; it just stood there, roaring endlessly.
"Tyrano back!" Ayla yelped. "Ayla thought dead! We fight again?"
"Again?! You FOUGHT that thing?" Toma gasped. Crono slowly nodded.
"Yeah. We're the ones who did that to its head. We left the red armor back at the End of Time too... great. It doesn't seem particularly intelligent... maybe we can slip past. Toma, stay behind; I think this bugger was what did you in. No sense taking chances if it comes down to a fight. Lucca, put on the Ruby Armor just in case." That turned out to be a good move; as they walked over, it noticed them for the first time, angled its head to glare at them, and changed the pitch of the roars so that there was no mistaking the challenge implicit. The group gave up the sneaking act and took up their battle positions. Crono grinned.
"We're not gonna go easy on you this time! CONFUSE!" The teen jumped to its head and moved around it, his blade slashing, flashing and cutting insanely before finishing with a mighty upward smash. The Tyrano roared and began glowing slightly. Crono went pale at this.
"It's charging up that massive flame attack! Hurry and kill it!" Ayla responded by hitting it with a Charm spell, bringing out... a Red Mail! Crono shoved it on and smiled at Lucca.
"Shall we?" She smiled back.
"Let's. FIRE SWORD 2!" Crono's flaming blade worked just as well as it had on Dalton. Ayla smiled and tossed out a Tail Spin, battering it with wind, followed by another Confuse. But all of their attacks had not been enough, and now they faced the zombified dinosaur's fury.
With one more roar, the Rust Tyrano spewed waves of molten lava. Crono was protected by his Red Mail, but the other two heroes were scalded horribly. As soon as the attack ended, Crono jumped up.
"LUMINAIRE!!!" As he floated in place, a massive green globe of lightning energy formed around him, then slowly opened, releasing massive amounts of energy. "Chew on that, you ARGH!" The furious Tyrano snatched him up in its awful jaws and began slowly chewing, crushing him. For a moment, it looked like the end... but then it opened its mouth to roar in pain, dropping Crono, as the throwing knife thudded straight into its right eye.
"Try to eat my friend, who just saved my ass from YOU, will ya? I don't think so." Toma snapped, before throwing his other knife. Even though the explorer had only one eye, his aim was still a marvel, and a moment later he outnumbered the Tyrano in working eyeballs. Lucca and Ayla struggled up.
"Thanks, Toma. This ends NOW! FIRE STORM!" Ayla's Tail Spin and Lucca's Fire 2 mixed into deadly, spinning pillars of flame that ripped through the Tyrano like a scythe through wheat. As its neck was burned away, there was a split-second in which the head began to fall, followed by a blinding explosion which completely blocked all of their vision. When they recovered their sight, the only remnants of the ancient Tyrano from an era long past were dark red stains on the floors, walls and ceilings.
"Hey, look!" Toma called out. Behind the battle site was their goal; the Rainbow Shell. It was a good ten feet on any side, and appeared to have been used by a Nautilus-like creature. It sparkled with every color of the rainbow, and glimmers of light played along it endlessly. They all stared at it for several moments, taken aback by its beauty. Ayla was the first to speak.
"Pretty shell! We carry back!" They gathered, one on each side, and attempted to lift it; but it was far too heavy, even for all of them.
"Damn.. we found it, but we can't take it back? That sucks!" Lucca voiced her opinion. Toma frowned.
"You guys are friends with the royalty, right? Why don't we go ask them for help?" Crono slowly nodded.
"Sounds like a plan."
***
On their way back, the group had switched Lucca for Frog, since they were going to Guardia Castle. Toma made no comment. The knight still looked tired from the ordeal on Death Peak, but managed to act normal as they walked in. The soldiers at the front gate were wide-eyed as they saw who it was.
"S... sir Frog! Sir Crono! The King wishes to see you!" As they walked into the throne room, the King half-rose.
"My goodsirs! Is it true that you hath defeated Magus?" Frog kneeled.
"I doth swear that Magus shalt never disturb ye again!" The king smiled.
"Most excellent! Eh? Aren't you the explorer, Toma Levine?" Toma nodded, and Crono spoke up.
"Hey... we have a favor to ask..." The king listened to the story of the Rainbow Shell.
"...I get it. You want me to bring the Rainbow Shell back here and store it in the basement?" The Queen turned to him.
"Please... do it for Frog." He nodded.
"Done! I shall declare it a national treasure! Knight Captain!" The gold-armored leader walked up to his king.
"Yes, my lord?"
"You shall immediately take the knights to the Giant's Claw and retrieve the Rainbow Shell!" The Captain turned and left, and the king returned his gaze to Frog. "Frog, before now you have been the guardian of my Queen, but held no official title. No more. As of now, I declare you a knight of the kingdom!" Frog bowed, trying to hide his eyes.
"Waste not, such precious words on me..." Queen Leene smiled.
"Frog, I know you have a lot to do now. But when you're done, come back to the castle and stay as long as you want."
"My heart is glad... thank you, my liege!" The group slowly turned and walked outside, to the Epoch. Nobody spoke until they were inflight. Toma was the first.
"Ahem... couldja drop me off at Choras?" Crono nodded.
"Sure, Toma." On the island, they landed near the local bar, and Toma jumped out.
"So, you guys got the Rainbow Shell after all... but I'm not sore. Better than me being Tyrano chow. But I WILL find the Sun Stone first! Ha ha ha!" Chuckling, he disappeared into the bar.
JUNE 3, 0000 XD
"So, now what?" Crono asked. Ayla charged over to Gaspar and grabbed the brown stone on the wooden wheel, waking the Guru.
"Wha... there's an object that shines like the sun, casting light on each generation... look on an island south of Belthasar's dome... when you're done there, go to the northwest corner of the world... zzz..." He dropped back off. Spekkio stuck his head out the door.
"My turn. Take cave girl again. And here... you'll need this." He tossed something that Crono caught.
"Beef jerky...? Well, whatever. Thanks, Spekkio. Frog, why don't you swap with Robo?" Robo eagerly switched places with the knight, and they were off again.
JUNE 3, 2300 BC
"There's the island..." Crono pointed out. They landed and discovered that the only feature was a single cave. Inside was something they had though they would never see again.
"This architecture... Zealian?" Robo noted. It was like being back in the Ocean Palace. There were two main pieces of land; the one they were standing on, and one in the back, seperated by a river of lava. As they walked over, something emerged from the lava...
"WEEEEOOOOOORRRRRGGGG!!!" The creature was a large orb, red with black patterns. Its only real feature was the single eye on the front. Five small flames appeared in a circle around it, and it squealed again.
"While in Zeal, I read that the Guardian of the Sun Palace was a horrible monster known as the Son of Sun! It is hostile!" Robo yelled, but Ayla had already taken action, casting Charm and recieving a Black Mail. The Son of Sun was not amused; it spoke a single word in a horrible voice that sounded like a watermelon squishing combined with nails on a chalkboard.
"FLARE!" With a rushing sound, waves of pure red energy exploded out of it, smashing all three with tremendous power.
"ARGH! Robo use heal wave thingy!" Ayla gasped. Robo understood and released a Heal Beam. Crono grinned.
"My turn. HIYYYAAA!" He charged forward, aiming his sword for the eyeball... and it passed through, like there was nothing there. "Huh? ARGH!" It counterattacked with another Flare. Robo frowned.
"I remember... the Son of Sun's essence is in one of the flames. The others are decoys. Oh, pardon me. Heal Beam!" Ayla charged forward, bashing a flame... which exploded, knocking her back. Crono ran forward and tried a second, with a similar reaction. It was Robo who found the correct one; when he attacked the third, there was no explosion, and Son of Sun squealed in pain. Crono and Ayla immediately began concentrating on that one, and Son of Sun took several hits before screeching again.
"ROULETTE SHUFFLE!" As it commanded, the flames spun around wildly before stopping in new positions. They quickly discovered that no matter which attack they used, it always did the same damage to Son of Sun, so they just stuck to their regular attacks. Wide-range spells turned out to be a definately bad idea; Crono's Luminaire brought retaliation from all five flames as well as Son of Sun. Slowly but surely, they whittled away at it, dodging or healing its Shadow Beam attacks. After the third Roulette Shuffle, Ayla noticed something.
"Fire going out!" Indeed, the flames were sputtering, and Son of Sun looked sickly. Crono grinned.
"We got 'im! Keep it up!" He found the flame, and the foe writhed. Desperately, it cast Flare, but that did not save it; Ayla was bearing down on the vulnerable flame. The Son of Sun sucked all the flames into itself, becoming solid, and attempted to run. Robo was waiting.
"My brothers were masters of the Beast Toss tehcnique, but I could never master it. Would you care to try it with me, madame Ayla?" The cavewoman grinned wolfishly. Picking up the frightened Son of Sun, Robo punched it over to her, and she sent it back. Back and forth the Son of Son went, until Ayla finished by heaving it across the river of lava, sending it crashing into the back.
"Touchdown!" She said impishly. Crono facepalmed.
"Too much tv... well, now what do we... oh." As he spoke, a bridge extended across to the other side. They went across and up the several stairs, where the Son of Sun laid, violently trembling. Crono walked up to it.
"Had enough?" It responded by releasing a flash of light, and was gone when vision returned. In its place was a perfectly smooth, dark jewel the size of a football. Robo picked it up.
"This... was a Sun Stone. But it is unpowered. However, if we expose it to constant sunlight for approximately 65.2167 million years we may be able to recharge it. For now, let us call it a Moon Stone." Crono smiled.
"Okay! Gaspar already told us where to go, and the time is obvious. So what are we waiting for?"
JUNE 4, 65000000 BC
"The northwest corner of the world." Crono looked at the small island with a cave. "Let's go inside." The cave was simple; the only unique thing was at the back, where a beam of sunlight shone through a hole in the roof. Crono gingerly placed the Moon Stone into the center of the light.
"Okay. Now, let's go back to 2300 AD and check this place."
JUNE 4, 2300 AD
"Stone gone?!" Ayla yelped.
"If that moron Toma took it, I'll..." Crono growled before lapsing into unintelligible profanity. Robo blinked and scanned the dust patterns.
"I detect it has been gone 1300 years. Let us look in your time, Crono."
JUNE 4, 1000 AD
"Hey, what the hell?" Crono choked. There was a pillar of light rising from the house of the mayor of Porre! He quickly landed the Epoch and went inside. The mayor was lounging on the couch, going through bags of gold coins. The house was a garbage heap, and there was nobody else there, but he didn't seem to mind.
"Excuse me? But have you found a Sun Stone?" Crono asked. The mayor began snickering.
"Heh heh... Sun Stone? Heh heh heh... never heard... huh huh... of it! GWAA HA HA!" Crono shook his head, disgusted at the obvious lies. He wanted to teach the slob manners with his sword, but the teen was already on thin ice with the government in his time.
Maybe I can do something in the past... change his family line or something.
JUNE 4, 600 AD
"I'm sorry, dear," The mayor's wife said to her husband as Crono walked in. "There's not a scrap of jerky left in the entire town! I'm afraid I can't make your favorite meal for your birthday..."
Crono blinked and pulled out the jerky Spekkio had given him. The lady looked over to the visitor and gasped at what he was holding.
"Jerky! Please, sir, will you sell it to me? I'll pay anything!" Crono smiled and pressed it into her hand.
"Take it. No charge." The woman stood as if frozen.
"You're giving it to me? For free? I thought there were no kind people left in this world... how can I repay you?" Crono had an idea.
"If you really want to repay me, then make sure you teach your children how important generosity is, and have them teach their children!" The woman smiled.
"Oh, I will, I will! I hope some day my children are as generous as you, sir!" Crono nodded and walked outside, and the noise of the Epoch taking off rang through the air. The mayor's wife turned to see her husband approaching.
"Dear, have you heard the news? Magus is defeated! The war is over! We got some pictures of the heroes who took him on single-handedly!" The mayor's wife took one look at the pictures he was holding before fainting.
JUNE 4, 1000 AD
The mayor's house was changed a great deal. Now, the entire house was bright and clean, and happy children ran through it. The town looked a lot better too; it seemed that the money which had previously gone straight to the mayor was now being used for the good of Porre. Inside the house, the mayor sat on the couch, going through papers. He looked up.
"Hey, buds! Can I help you?" Crono smiled; this was a great improvement.
"Yeah. Have you seen the Moon Stone?" The mayor pointed to the coffee table, where the treasure was resting.
"Yup! Found it in a little cave while I was on a boat trip. Didn't know it was yours. Go ahead, take it."
"Thanks!" Crono picked up the stone and started to go. The mayor smiled as well.
"Share and share alike! Help the needy! Thinkin' about making THAT the town motto. Whaddaya think?"
"Sounds good to me."
JUNE 4, 2300 AD
They had put the Moon Stone back in its spot in 1000 AD, and now, it was done. As they entered the cave, bright flashes of light were continually emitted from the fiercely glowing stone. Robo blinked.
"Perhaps Lucca could handle this. I shall switch with her." A moment later, the teenage genius was there, picking up the amazing stone.
"Let's get back to my lab! I've gotta do some scans!"
JUNE 5, 1000 AD
"The Sun Stone continually replenishes its own energy..." Lucca mumured as she read the readout from the large, cylindrical machine the Stone was in. "I can drain 97% of the energy without critically damaging it. It'll recharge itself. Now, I just have to drain the power... and vacuum pack it into a cartridge!" A wide beam of purple light shot out of the top of the machine, and Lucca began cackling. When the light turned off, she took out a glowing cartridge and replaced the ammunition of her Zealian gun with it. She smiled, pointing it in all directions.
"Much lighter. Now, to test it..." She pointed at the window and fired. A thin beam of light shot out and left a smoking hole through the window. Lucca cackled again.
"Mwa ha ha! I've created the world's first real laser gun! Now, what to call it..."
"Phaser?" Crono called out helpfully.
"Shut up."
"Moonraker?"
"Shut UP."
"X-Buster?"
"Shut up or I'm using this on YOU next! Hmm... I know, I'll call it the Wondershot!"
"Great name!" All of them looked at the door, from which Taban walked in. "Hey, Lucca. While you were in the bathroom, I nabbed a bit of the Sun Stone and made something nifty!" He held up a pair of sunglasses. "Sun Shades! They'll channel some of the energy into your attack!" Lucca grinned and took them.
"My dad, the mad scientest. Thanks!"
JUNE 5, 0000 XD
"Now, who would look best in these..." Lucca said evilly, looking at their slumbering comrades. Crono pointed at Robo, who was in stasis, and they slipped the Sun Shades onto him, nearly laughing at the absurd look. Gaspar coughed, causing them to jump; they hadn't known he was awake.
"Ahem! I'm not happy with you. You're supposed to complete one quest before starting another!" The guru picked up the wooden circle, where the brown stone was shining brightly to match the yellow, but the blue was still dim. Crono facepalmed.
"Whoops! Guess we have to go GET the shell. And that means Guardia Castle, my time. Marle's coming. And since we're still on the blue, Spekkio's advice about Ayla still holds true. Come on." Ayla groaned; she was getting tired from all the running around.
JUNE 5, 1000 AD
"Remember, we're not exactly going to get a warm welcome." Marle cautioned as they walked towards the front door. "Me and my dad did NOT get along well last time..." However, what they did get was something that none of them expected. There were soldiers everywhere, blocking off almost all the doors. Marle ran up to one. "What's going on?"
"King Guardia is standing trial!" The guard reported, amid stunned gasps. "The Chancellor is accusing him of selling the national treasures!" Fortunately, the way to the courtroom was one of the only ways not blocked. Two soldiers were standing outside the door, however. Marle stepped up.
"Ahem... LET ME THROUGH!!!!" Accustomed to life in the castle with a temperamental princess, the soldiers reacted automatically, jumping out of the way.
"I have here an ancestral will..." The Chancellor was saying as they rushed in. "'Unveil the Rainbow Shell to the people at the end of the Millenium.' ... Nadia! What are you doing?" The king whirled around from his spot, staring at the princess.
"Nadia! The chancellor is trying to frame me!"
"Insults!" The chancellor sneered. "He confirms his guilt! If you're innocent, confirm it with proof! Bring the Rainbow Shell here!" He turned to the guards. "Remove them, and do not allow them to pass!"
"Hey!" Marle yelled as they were thrown out and the door was locked. "That's not... ooh!" She turned to Crono & Ayla. "Something stinks here! My dad would never sell the Rainbow Shell!"
"I agree!" Crono nodded. "Let's get down to the basement and find that thing!" They tromped down and found that the guard of the cellar was unconscious. "Convenient." Crono muttered as they started to round the corner. Ayla, however, grabbed them and pulled them back.
"Ugly purple snakes! Bad!" Marle peeked around the corners and hissed. Gnashers!
"Duh huh huh... this plan is genius!" The first hissed. The other laughed as well.
"Yeah... heh heh heh... We're gonna bring down the kingdom! Ha ha ha!"
"I hear the boss is itching to avenge a grudge that's been in his family for four centuries... ACK!" Both of them never had to worry about anything again as the crossbow bolts went into their brains. Marle turned to her friends, her face a mask of fury.
"So, it IS a plot! Come on!"
***
"I admit it... I bought the Rainbow Shell from the King." The merchant said, eyes down. "He said he needed the money..."
"Lies!" King Guardia shouted. "I've never seen you before!" The judge banged his gavel.
"Order in the court!" The 'merchant' walked over to the Chancellor before leaving.
"Hee hee hee... did I do well?" He whispered.
"Perfect."
***
"Ambush!" Crono yelled as two Naga-Ettes jumped out from behind a stack of barrels. Without stopping, Marle mowed them down with her crossbow and kept running. The next attack came from two Gnashers who jumped out of holes in the wall and a Naga-Ette who came down the hall like a banshee out of hell. Their momentum kept their corpses moving for a good while even after their death. Finally, they reached the door at the end of the hall, and burst through to find the Rainbow Shell waiting for them. Crono looked at the thing.
"...You realize there's no way in hell we can lug this all the way back up to the courtroom?" Marle wasn't listening.
"There's a piece of paper attached to this..." She picked it up and began to read.
Dear Marle,
I know that times will be tough between you and your father. But you have to remember that despite all the arguments, despite the fights and screaming and tantrums, the two of you are still father and daughter. That is a tie that can never be broken. You must remember that. If you're reading this, it means that it's time for the two of you to be reconciled. Make the family proud.
Queen Guardia XXI, Leene
Marle slumped forward, her eyes shining. Ayla stepped over and helped her to her feet.
"Ayla see before... when baby dinosaur grow big, leave nest. Now Marle want to leave nest too. But Marle still young... maybe not time to leave nest yet." Malre slowly smiled.
"Yes... come on, we have to go save my dad!" Crono walked up and looked into her eyes.
"Marle... I promise you I will kill whoever is behind this." Marle smiled and kissed him, her face gentle for a moment before it hardened.
"Not this time, Crono. This time, he's mine." The red-haired teen nodded silently, then turned and slashed at the Rainow Shell's edge. A single shard flew off into Marle's hand.
"That's all the proof we need! Come on!"
***
"Members of the jury. If he is guilty, stand to the right. If innocent, stand to the left." The judge announced sadly. He already knew the outcome, and he didn't like it. The Chancellor was openly gloating as the first jury member approached.
"Guilty." The second walked up behind him. "Guilty." Then a third, and a fourth. "Guilty." "Guilty." "Guilty." Guilty." King Guardia bowed his head. The Chancellor had won.
***
"Come on! Let us in!" Marle screamed. The guards shook their heads reluctantly.
"I'm very sorry, princess, but we have been ordered to not let you through." Marle gave them her little-girl look, the one she hadn't used in years.
"You won't reconsider? Pleeeeease?" They couldn't look at her.
"No, princess."
"Phooey!" She walked back to her friends. "There is one other way. A secret passage. Let's go to my room."
"And woe betide the guard who gets in our way." Crono growled. Ayla just grunted as they all ran off. The guards looked at each other.
"We should probably stop them."
"No, we've been ordered to guard this door. Nothing about chasing them."
"The Chancellor will be pissed."
"I don't think so. I think those three will beat him. And as long as they're not using this door, it's none of our business."
***
"The verdict is in! Guilty!" The Chancellor announced triumphantly. He walked over to the King, not seeing the figure moving around behind the massive stained glass window in the back of the courtroom. He fought the urge to dance at the look on King Guardia's face, and instead lifted the crown off his victom's head. "The Guardia Line is no more! I hereby crown myself..."
"SHUT UP!!" Everybody stared as Marle exploded through the stained-glass window with a terrific shattering noise. The princess landed in front of her father and turned to the judge. "I have the proof of my father's innocence!" She held out the Rainbow Shard for him to inspect.
"Hmmm... yes, yes it is!" The judge turned a glare to the cringing Chancellor. "This is the second time something like this has happened. I think you owe us all an explanation!"
"Uh... well, you see... heh heh..." The Chancellor began backing away as Crono & Ayla climbed down. He stopped quickly when Marle pointed her crossbow at him.
"Your little scheme is over, Chancellor!" She hissed from between clenched teeth. The Chancellor looked nervous for a second, then suddenly started laughing uncontrollably.
"Hee hee... it's not the scheme you think! I'm doing this to avenge my ancestor!" Marle's eyes grew wide as information poured into her brain.
"No... impossible!" The Chancellor laughed insanely and began spinning.
"Nothing is impossible, my dear! Super-Ultra-Presto TRANSFORMO!" The spinning grew faster, and lightning bolts danced around him.
"What's going on?" Crono shouted to Marle. "Who is he?"
"A descendant... of the first real opponent you ever faced!" With a flash, the 'Chancellor' assumed his true form. A giant blue buglike monster.
"FEEL THE WRATH OF YAKRA XIII!"
***
"LUMINAIRE!" The ultimate lightning attack smashed Yakra XIII into the wall, but he quickly recovered.
"What? Is that all you got?" The monster grinned and spewed a gout of brown dust at Crono, confusing him. Ayla Charmed a White Mail as Marle healed Crono. Yakra snickered.
Don't get too cocky, princess! "Droooooo..." He jumped and stomped the ground, creating an earthquake. Crono jumped forward and performed a Confuse technique, then was slammed againt the wall by Yakra's counterattack. Marle shot at him while trying to puzzle out how she could be talking to him mentally. Yakra turned to her.
Yes... you have the same gift that all your ancestors did. You're the strongest, even more than that wrecthed LeARGH! He broke off as Ayla picked him up and threw him into the wall. Marle shot an Ice 2 to Crono, who turned it into an Ice Sword 2.
Why are you doing this to me?
Because the Guardia line was responsible for my ancestor's death! Yakra screamed. For that, the royal family must die!
"Hey, bugboy! I got a zapper right here! LUMINAIRE!" The attack did much more damage this time, and Yakra had to struggle to get back up.
Playtime is over, princess! "Mwa ha ha! My ancestors remembered which of our attacks you humans hated most, and concentrated specially on it! Each generation, the attack grew stronger, until... this is it! NEEDLE SPIN, VERSION 13!" Huge quantities of deadly needles emerged from Yakra's back, showering the group. Crono and Ayla angrily went on the attack again, while Marle began tossing out Cure spells.
You'll never succeed! Never!
Mwa ha ha... foolish girl, I already have! Crono's trial was first... that stupid brat was just the tool I needed to drive the wedge in between you and your father! Then you came back, and you were stupid enough to believe the lies I told you about your mother! From that point, I wasn't exactly sure what to do next, but you solved the problem for me when you went and cussed out your dad! Now, the both of you will die hating each other, and my revenge will be complete! "NEEDLE SPIN, VERSION 13!" The needle attack slammed into the group again, and Crono and Ayla went down. Marle stayed up, unmoving. Eh?
"BASTARD!" Marle screeched, running forward. Yakra laughed; the brat was coming right to him!
Come on, little girl! Shoot me! UGH! Marle had smashed him right between the eyes with her crossbow, stunning him momentarily. She took advantage of that moment and held her hands out right in front of his disgusting face. "ICE 2!"
Now, the Ice 2 spell is unpleasant enough normally. Having one share your skull with you is guaranteed to ruin your day. At that moment, Yakra discovered an entirely new meaning of "brain freeze." But Marle wasn't done yet by a long shot; as Yakra writhed, she took out her crossbow and began pumping shaft after shaft into her foe. Crono and Ayla had gotten back up, but neither of them made a move. They just watched as the princess turned her hated foe into a pincushion, Rambo-style. Finally, the damage was too much.
"D... defeated again..." With a horrible scream, Yakra XIII exploded.
"Nadia!" As Marle began to fall, her father ran over and caught her. "Nadia, I'm so sorry... I was a fool."
"No..." she smiled up at him. "We both were. But that's in the past now. The one who was really behind this is gone." The king glanced over at the arrow-riddled remains of Yakra XIII and couldn't help but agree.
"Yes. But I was still bullheaded. If Aliza could see me..." Marle's breath caught for a moment.
"Father... what was mother like when she..." The king lowered his head.
"She... she was happy. She said something odd to me at the end. 'One day, Nadia will bring her loved one to meet you. Accept him.' You were there too, but you were too little to understand what was happening. You ran around, laughing. 'Mommy, daddy, it's fun having all of us here together!' Aliza was happy, seeing you like that, and she left us peacefully." Marle stared at the wall for several minutes, then slowly looked over her shoulder.
"I... used to call you daddy?"
"You did." Marle walked back and kissed her father on the cheek.
"I'm sorry... daddy."
***
"Now, Crono!" They were back in the throne room, and the King was on his throne. "I am going to repeal your sentence."
"Thank you, my liege." Crono said, bowing.
"However...!" They all froze as the King gave Crono the evil eye. "...I must insist that you take care of my daughter. If she's hurt..."
"I'll guard her with my life, your majesty."
"Now, it's my turn to help..." All of them looked behind the group, where they saw a familiar face.
"Melchior!" Crono smiled. The Guru nodded.
"I heard the news, and came down here to see what I could do. Your majesty, permission to use the Rainbow Shell to help Crono and his friends?" The King smiled.
"Permission granted!" The group and Melchior walked down to the basement, and the Guru examined the shell.
"Very well. I can either make one Prism Dress, with maximum protection, OR three Prism Helms with less. Which will it be?"
"The dress." Crono said firmly. Melchior nodded, then sighed.
"It's a shame... if I had a Sun Stone, I could make more things..." Crono grinned and tossed the Sun Stone at the Guru like a baseball. Melchior caught it easily. "I should have known. Now, go and do something, this'll take a while."
JUNE 6, 0000 XD
Marle had fallen asleep on the ride back. "That must have worn her out more than I thought... and after that Mt. Woe thing, too." Crono noted. Ayla groaned.
"Ayla exhausted too. No take Ayla anywhere for while." She jumped out. Crono picked up Marle and carried her to a couch, placing her on it. He bent over and kissed her on the forehead.
"Sleep well, princess."
She smiled.