"What the hell was that all about?" Trent said when he and Lucca were alone.
"Do I have to take on a whole army for that guy to get off my case?"
"You already did. Remember?" Lucca said. "It didn't help. I wouldn't let it get to
you, though. Magus is… well, Magus. No other way to describe him,"
"The others don't trust me either," Trent said. "Marle's thinks I'm the cause of all
this. Ayla doesn't like to be bossed around. Frog wants to trust me, but he thinks I'm bad
news," He sighed. "The only ones that doesn't think I'm going to turn on them are Crono
and Robo,"
"What about me!" Lucca said. "I trust you,"
"I know," Trent said with a smile. "But you're my friend. I guess I kinda take you
for granted,"
"Well, don't let it happen again," Lucca said. "I'm going to bed. See you in the
morning,"
"Ok," Trent said. "Remember that if I look like I'm out of it, I probably am,"
"Sure thing," Lucca said as she put out the light. "Night,"
Trent waited until he knew that she was asleep, then he walked up to the window
and opened it. He climbed out, but then turned and said, "Good night. Hope I'm still
around when you awake," Then he looked down. 'Great,' Trent thought. 'I'm like four
stories up. I've got to be alone for a bit. Well, it's closer to the roof. So looks like I'm
climbing for a while,' He jumped up off the windowsill, and reached up till he caught a
loose stone in the wall. Trent found another loose stone and started the long climb up.
Soon he approached a window. Inside he could see that a light was on, and heard
two people talking. "I don't want you to go!" It was Marle. "I won't lose you,"
"Listen, I nothing's going happen to me," This was Crono. "I promise,"
"That's what you said last time," Marle said.
"I've got more help than last time," Crono said.
"Who? Trent? I don't think we should trust him," Marle said. Trent felt himself
grow angry. "He knows way to much about them to not know more than he's telling us,"
'I've heard enough of this,' Trent thought. He climbed around the window and
continued to make his way up the wall. Finally he reached the top. "No to get down to
business," he said. "Let's see what this magic can do," He made a fist and concentrated.
Before long his hand began to shine with a white glow. He pointed at a nearby chimney.
A blast shot out and the chimney exploded. "Whoa," Trent said. "This stuff might come
in handy,"
"How very impressive," a voice came from behind him. Trent turned to come face
to face with his one enemy, Cloud. He was not in any facade, but his true form. He was
short, only three feet tall. His deep sunken eyes gave his bald head a sickly look. His blue
skin was mostly covered with a robe. On the front, it had a strange symbol, a star that had
each point colored differently. "It seems that you've learned a trick or two, kid,"
Trent stared at him. "What do you want?"
"I want to make you a proposition," the wizard said. "You see, I've got this
problem. You have something I need. It's a small black cassette. It is vital to my plans.
You give it to me, and I'll tell you something you want to know,"
"What could I possibly want from you?" Trent growled. He had hated this man
since he was a small child.
"Tell me," Cloud said with a smile. "What do you know about yourself?"
"What the hell kind of question is that?" Trent said.
"Just tell me," Cloud said.
"My name is Trent, and I was born in the mountains. And now, I will kill you!"
With that, he lunged at Cloud and drew his sword.
Cloud laughed as he flew over him and hovered behind him. "Wow," he said.
"You really know nothing. First of all, you will never kill me. Second, you're name's not
Trent. And finally, you were born in a city known as New York, not your precious little
mountain,"
"What are you talking about?" Trent yelled. "Tell me!"
"Sorry, but that's all you get for now. Give me what I want and you'll know all
there is to know," Cloud said as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Come back here!" Trent yelled, but he knew it would do no good. Cloud always
disappeared like that. He sat down away from the edge of the roof. He felt another trance
coming on, and he didn't want to fall off. He felt the normal dizziness overwhelming
him, then he saw nothing.
His vision soon returned, but it was not his eyes that were working. It was his
mind that he now saw with. He saw a city. Not a town like Truce or Porre, but a true city,
who's buildings towered far above the ground. "Where am I?" Trent said. Up ahead, he
saw a woman's figure standing with her back turned to him. He knew he recognized her,
but it seemed that she was from a past life. A time lost to him. As she turned, Trent
realized where he knew her. "Mom!" he cried. "Wha—How?"
She shot him a look and then said, "Who are you?"
"What do you mean?" Trent said. "I'm your son!"
"My son is just a child," she said. "Get away from me!" The vision began to fade,
and then an object filled all of Trent's sight. It was the small rectangular thing that he had
found in his mother's possessions when she died.
Suddenly, the trance ended, and Trent awoke to find himself still on the rooftop.
He was slightly shaken by the vision he had, but he had grown used to them over time.
"I'd better get back," he said. "I don't want them to think that I ran off in the middle of
the night,"
After a short climb down, Trent reached the window that he and Lucca had been
sharing. But as he neared it, he noticed that the light was on. 'Great,' he thought. 'Now I
got to explain what I was doing on the roof in the middle of the night,'
As he entered the window, he saw that Lucca, Magus, Robo, and Frog were all in
there, waiting for him to return. "Hi guys," he said calmly. "What's up?"
"Care to explain this little endeavor?" Magus said.
"Actually, I'd rather not," Trent said. "I'd kinda like to go to sleep,"
"I am sorry, lad," Frog said. "But an explanation shall be required to satisfy mine
suspicions,"
"I went to the roof," Trent said. "The fresh air helps me think,"
"And what was all that noise up there?" Magus said.
"I was testing out my new magic," Trent said. "I don't want to be in a battle and
not know how it works,"
"And the voices we hath heard?" Frog said.
"I talk to myself," Trent lied. He didn't want anyone to know what had really
happened up there.
"Come on guys," Lucca said. "If he was helping our enemy, do you think he'd
have come back? I mean, he has enough information to do some serious damage,"
"Very well," Magus said. "But be warned boy, I will watch you. And Lucca, be
careful. There is a great secret he hides. I feel it in him," With that, he and the others filed
out the room.
"Thanks for sticking up for me, Lucca," Trent said.
"Don't thank me," Lucca said sternly. "Explain. Now. I heard two voices up
there, yours and one I didn't know,"
Trent sighed. "I guess I can trust you. The other voice was Cloud,"
"You mean that wizard that poised as Crono?" Lucca asked. "What did he want?"
"He wanted that thing I gave you," Trent said. "I don't know why. He said he'd
answer all my questions if I handed it over,"
"What questions?" Lucca said.
"I don't know," Trent said. "I don't care. I know who I am, and that's enough. If
he wants something, it can't be any good. Next time I see him, I'll make him pay,"
"Pay for what?" Lucca said. "I'm confused,"
"Don't worry about it," Trent said. "We should get some sleep,"
"You know, the others might trust you more if you weren't so mysterious," Lucca
said.
"It won't matter tomorrow," Trent said. "Go to sleep,"
"What are you talking about?" Lucca asked. He just ignored her. Realizing that
she would get no more information from him tonight, Lucca lay down and tried to fall
asleep. It took some time, but eventually she drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
Lucca awoke late, feeling the mid-morning sun on her face. She sat up and saw
Trent standing in the corner with his head leaned forward. "Morning," she mumbled.
"What are you doing?"
"Thinking," Trent said, looking at her.
Lucca looked at him. After last night, she knew that he wasn't going say much
more. He was troubled by something, but she didn't know what. Then she noticed that his
shirt was no longer stained red with the blood of yesterday's battle. "Did you wash your
clothes or something?"
"They're new," Trent said. "Marle had them made for me. Yours are over there,"
He said pointing to the corner.
"So those are all new clothes?" Lucca said. "They look just like your old ones,"
"Yeah, everything except the head band," Trent said.
"Didn't she make you one of those?" Lucca asked.
"Yeah," Trent said. "But this one is special. It's made of the dress my mom wore
when she was killed,"
"What?" Lucca asked. "Why on earth would you keep that around?"
"I have my reasons," Trent said ominously. "Hurry up and get dressed.
Everyone's meeting soon," He left the room.
"He can be really annoying sometimes," Lucca said as she dressed. "He seems so
distant. I guess that is to be expected, though. He lived alone for so long, it's amazing
that he communicates as well as he does,"
Lucca went downstairs to the throne room, only to find that everyone else was
already assembled there. "So what's up for today?" she asked.
"Trent hath told us to meet here," Frog said. "I know not what he plans,"
"I doubt that it will be for the good of us," Magus said. "Where is the boy?"
"I don't know," Lucca said. Trent walked into the room. "Trent. What's up?"
"Nothing," he said. "Is everyone here?"
"Yeah," Crono said. "What's your plan?"
"I have discovered who our enemy is," Trent said. "He is a wizard named Cloud.
He is not particularly powerful as far as magic goes, but he is very cunning. He can cast a
spell known as 'Illusion', which will make himself and others appear different. Do not
trust what your eyes perceive. If you are wise enough, you will be able to see through his
disguises,"
"How do you know all this?" Crono asked.
"I have my ways," Trent said.
"What should we do?" Lucca said.
"You? Nothing," Trent said. "I thought that Cloud would want Crono, but I see
now that I was wrong. I am his target. I will find him and defeat him, alone. Goodbye,"
With that, he turned and walked out of the room.
The others stood in shock for a while. Finally, Lucca snapped out of it. "What?"
she said, running up to him. He stopped in the doorway, but did not face her. "You mean
you're just going to leave us? Just like that?"
"I will not put you and your friends at risk," Trent said. "I am going to do this
myself,"
"What about you?" Lucca said. "What makes you think that you can beat him
alone?"
Robo joined the two at the doorway. "Lucca is right. The odds of you surviving
are impossibly slim,"
"Oh well," Trent said. "I'll figure it out. I do need one thing from you, Lucca.
That thing I gave you. Can I have it back? I don't want him attacking you for it,"
"Sure," Lucca said as she dug around in her pocket for it. "Here it is. What do you
suppose he wants it for?"
"I don't know. No way to tell without knowing what it is," Trent said.
"That is a audio cassette," Robo said. "I was commonly used in the late 1900's to
store sound, such as music and information,"
"How do you know?" Trent said, finally turning to them.
"I have had various data on past machinery uploaded into my circuitry," Robo
answered. "If you will give me an hour or two, I will make you a device that will play
you the information stored on this cassette,"
Trent thought for a second. "Ok. Lucca, you've got the tools in your workshop,
don't you?"
"I'm sure I do," Lucca said. "Come on, let's go!"
"There. Done," Robo said as he made some final adjustments with a screwdriver.
"Hurry, play the tape," Trent said.
"Be polite," Lucca scolded. "You've waited an hour. You can stand to wait
another five seconds. Here goes,"
She pushed the button. A voice cracked through the speakers. "Hello, Trent," It
said. "I guess you've figured out what this thing is, so lets make this short. I'm your
father. I know you never knew me, but I have a good reason for that. You see, you're not
from where you think you are. In fact, you're not even from WHEN you think you are.
You were born in 1985 in New York City. Don't bother looking at a map. It hasn't been
discovered yet. One day, about two years after you were born, I found this portal that led
to the year 979. Your mother and I were always the adventurous type, so we decided to
pass through it. Unfortunately, I became very ill. We tried to go back to our own time,
but the gate had been sealed somehow. Now, in my final days, I am recording the truth
about your past to you. And if you ever feel the urge to go back to your own time, the
gate is located approximately 200 yards to the east of the house, at the bottom of a deep
valley. If you go, find a man named 'Rocko'. Goodbye, son,"
Trent stood silent. "This is crazy," he murmured to himself.
"What are you going to do?" Lucca said.
"I'm going to go find Cloud," Trent said. "We've got a little score to settle,"
"Ok," Lucca said. "Let's go!"
"I said 'I'm going'," Trent said sternly. "You're going to stay in the castle where
it's safe,"
"Why can't I go?" Lucca demanded. "I want to help you,"
"I will not put you in danger anymore," Trent said. "I'll be back. I promise,"
Lucca looked at him. She saw that she could not change his mind. "Ok," she said.
"Where are you going?"
"There's an old castle over by Choras," Trent said. "Cloud's been know to hang
out there. I'll try there first," He got out and started to walk out. "Promise me you won't
follow,"
"What makes you think I would?" Lucca said.
Trent smiled. "You were going to, weren't you?"
"Maybe," Lucca said. "I just don't know why you refuse to let me help you.
We're friends remember?"
"I know," Trent said as he walked out the door.