Chrono Corruption
Act 3: Origin of the Flame
Chapter 10: Reminiscence
*End of Time*
Lucca stood gazing sorrowfully over the gothic fences into the abyss. Meanwhile, Marle and Crono comforted one another in the resting chamber by themselves. Ty and Tomo sat around lazing about, their calm mood shattered by the fall of a kingdom.
"Say...," started Lucca still gazing into the abyss. Ty and Tomo turned to her, "I think this may be a good time to tell you everything that has happened with me and my friends."
Ty leaned up against the fence and Tomo sat down quietly. "Alright, but don't force yourself. I know you've just been through hell," Ty said gently as he crossed his arms.
Lucca's grieving expression turned to a soft smile as she looked up at his peaceful face. She took a deep breath, "Well, it began five years ago at the Millennial Fair as we were celebrating our 1000th-year reign. I always loved inventing things for... personal reasons. I invented this new device I called, the 'Telepod'. It was a machine that could take any object or even a person onto a pad and transfer them to another pad far away at light speed. I knew it was well ahead of its time, but it ended up working when my childhood friend, Crono, took the test. He brought along Marle and that's when we first met, although at the time we didn't realize she was the Princess. Well, she wanted to try the Telepod and when she stepped aboard the pendant she wears around her neck reacted to the machine, and a portal I called a 'Gate' formed, sucking her inside."
"All this started because of your invention then?" Ty asked curiously.
"That's what I thought initially," Lucca replied. "But, Crono was unable to sit by and watch so when he went through to go get her. I told him I would soon follow once I figured out what happened. I quickly figured out how to make a 'Gate Key' that could open these Gates at the touch of a button. I followed Crono as soon as I did and it turned out we ended up in the Middle Ages around 600 A.D. During the war between Guardia and the Fiendlord Magus. When Marle first appeared there she was taken in and the people believed she was the missing Princess of their age. The truth was, Marle vanished into thin air because her ancestor was still captured and her life threatened. So, we searched around and found ourselves at the Manolia Cathedral. In our timeline there was no Manolia Town like there is after we changed things. After we entered the cathedral we were ambushed and promptly saved by a knight who had been transformed into a humanoid frog by the Fiendlord. We sought his help and it turned out that a Yakra monster was impersonating the Chancellor to undermine the Kingdom. We beat the Yakra and freed everyone. With that, we thought our little paranormal experience was over. We returned to our own time and let history play out as it should have."
"Wow, so you guys inspired the creation of Manolia Town? That's so cool!" Tomo said shaking with excitement.
"Huh, and that's also where we first met," Ty reminisced.
"Yep, funny how life works out sometimes," Lucca chuckled. "Anyway, after we got back, I went back home and told Crono to 'be a gentlemen' and escort Princess Nadia back to the castle. Little did we know, our actions in the past fueled a grudge and the Yakra took the Chancellor in our time as well. As such, Crono was arrested for abducting the Princess, although we didn't know it was a Yakra at the time. After three days, Crono and I broke out of the castle with Marle and fled into the forest where we found another Gate. We took the Gate as a means of escape. As it turned out, the Gate spit us out into the far Future about 1300 years later. What we found was horrifying," Lucca cringed as she recalled the Future.
"That bad, huh?" Ty asked rhetorically.
"The Apocalypse actually. There was nothing left of our world," Lucca said solemnly.
Ty and Tomo were surprised, "What?! The end? That's what you found?" Tomo said astonished.
"Yep, as we were looking for a way back home, we found out that the world was destroyed by a parasitic life form called, 'Lavos' and it rose from the depths of the planet in the year 1999 to end the world. There were only a few humans left and they were dying quickly. So we did the only thing we could think of, save the world. However, before we were able to leave the desolate Future we got help from a humanoid robot we simply called, 'Robo'. Having nothing left, it decided to come with us on our quest to save the future."
"Cool, a humanoid robot joined up with you guys?" Ty asked with a grin.
"Yeah, he was always really sweet for a machine," Lucca blushed. "As I was saying, we left the Future with the four of us and ended up here for the first time. We got our Magic from the 'Master of War', a spirit named, Spekkio in the room behind Gaspar. After receiving some tutelage we decided to head back home through open Gates here at the End of Time. We took a trip back home and found ourselves in the town of Medina, in someone's closet... At the time they worshiped Magus and hated humans."
"What, seriously?!" Tomo said with shock. "I've never known them to hate humans!"
"You bet, we left Medina and found an elderly man name Melchior and as it turns out, he became a big part of the puzzle later. We left the Medinian continent through the Heckran Cave where we learned that Magus was supposed to have summoned Lavos during the old war. So, we set our sights on the Middle Ages to confront him."
"Just how did you do that?" Ty began. "You couldn't have simply walked up to his door to say, 'Hello, we are new to the neighborhood! Can I ask you a question about world-destroying parasites?'"
"You're absolutely right," Lucca said as she adjusted her glasses. "We had to fight our way across the Zenan Bridge to buy the Guardian forces time to recover. With Magic, it was much easier than you'd think. We even managed to fight off Magus's General Vinnegar and force him to retreat. After that, we had to convince our Froggie friend from before to help out. As people kept saying the 'Legendary Hero' appeared to slay Magus and save them. However, it turned out to be a kid named Tata, who held onto an object called the 'Hero's Medal'. Which originally belonged to Frog. The squirt told us that at the top of Mt. Denadoro there was a legendary sword called the Grandleon stashed in a cave that could kill Magus."
"So, you're the ones who found the thing!" Tomo said with realization. No wonder we could never find the blade!"
"Yeah, we must have turned Denadoro upside down looking for that stupid sword," Ty mused with a chuckle.
Lucca scratched her cheek in embarrassment, "Well when we found it, it was broken. We found just the blade itself and no hilt. Apparently, the sword had two living spirits within it. They manifested themselves in the shape of two small identical boys. Although they changed into a more monstrous form when we fought them for the right to earn the blade. Even after we retrieved it Frog was still not convinced to join our cause as the sword was deemed a lost cause. He still had the hilt of the sword in his house and we found a name on it. It read, 'Melchior'."
Ty and Tomo were stunned, "So that strange old hermit forged the blade?" Ty asked puzzled.
"How?" Tomo asked confused.
"It turns out he was caught in a time-traveling disaster, but I'll get to that in a moment," Lucca explained. "Anyway, he told us that the Grandleon was made of an ancient mineral called, 'Dreamstone' and that it can't be found anymore. I'm sure the artifacts you guys have are made from it. So, we came back here to ask Gaspar for help. With his help, we traveled back to the distant past, like I'm talking 'Prehistory' far."
"Oh, like with dinosaurs and stuff?!" Tomo asked amazed.
"Not just dinosaurs, but a race of intelligent Reptites that fought our species for dominance!"
Ty nearly jumped from his position, "Ha, I knew it! There WAS a sentient race of reptiles that were different from the regular saurians!"
"Indeed, they were led by a female named, Azala," Lucca started. "This is where we met an energetic cavewoman named, Ayla and she was the strongest woman we've ever seen! You kinda remind me a little of her, Tomo. I wonder if she could have used Magic, would it be Earth or maybe even Fire like myself? Then again, she can just throw boulders, so she doesn't really need magic!" Lucca chuckled.
"Wow, she's stronger than me?! I don't think I've met a woman yet who could topple my strength!" Tomo said excitedly.
Ty almost seemed frightened, "Whoa..."
Lucca cleared her throat, "As it were, her power made her the leader of their village, named 'Ioka'. She also held onto the Dreamstone which was a sign of power then. Crono had to beat her in a drinking contest although the stuff was alcoholic and we all passed out after Crono won. As she said, 'sleep like stone'. Then when the morning came we found that the Reptites had taken our Gate Key and she offered to help us go over to their hideout and rob the place. Needless to say, we did just that and got our stuff back. We left and Ayla stayed home."
Tomo grinned and slapped her stomach, "I bet I can beat her in an eating contest!"
"I really don't think anybody can beat you there, Tomo," Ty said with a chuckle.
"Once we got back to Melchior, I assisted him in the repairs," Lucca continued. "We then took the sword back to Frog, now revealing his name to be, 'Glenn' and that he was the squire to the legendary Cyrus. He joined us permanently from that point forward."
"Wait, he was the squire to Cyrus?!" Ty said with shock. "The history texts claim he was killed along with Cyrus by Magus. Oh, wait, I guess that's where the Frog form came from..."
"Yeah, many history books claim that the Frog knight who beat the Fiendlord was a Fiend that defected and formed a small alliance with a few people... that... went after... the Fiendlord. They all vanished after that...," Tomo said with a startling revelation.
"We did all this stuff under the table, so as not to alarm the general common people. So much of what we did wouldn't have been known to more than a hand full of people," Lucca stated. "It's better that way. Either way, Glenn used the Grandleon to cut the Magic Mountain in half, and reveal the secret place the Fiends would invade from. We traveled on through and made it to Magus's Castle. We fought long and hard through each of Magus's cronies until we finally were able to confront the wizard himself. The Grandleon was of great use as it weakened Magus enough for us to hurt him. We didn't kill him, however, as when we first arrived at his chamber he was performing some ritual to summon Lavos. After we smacked him around he lost control and awakened Lavos for a brief moment. He claimed it was for revenge as he was hoping to use all that he had learned from the Fiends to destroy Lavos. He never created it and only used the war to cover his tracks. Lavos opened up a massive Gate with a blood-curdling scream and we all got blasted back to Prehistory, save for Magus."
Ty laughed, "If I hadn't time traveled myself before hearing any of this I would brand you a crazy person, walk away, then think about how some of the artifacts I found in my life actually now make more sense. Then probably come back and hear more."
"Yeah, this is some history lesson! It's much different than what school taught us!" Tomo said scratching her head.
"Well, as it turns out, Lavos was extraterrestrial and it fell to the planet from space like a comet in Prehistory," Lucca went on. "When we appeared back in Prehistory, unconscious, Ayla found us and brought us back to the village. When we woke up, the Reptites had attacked the neighboring village of Laruba and kidnapped its people. This time we had to go to the Reptites' stronghold, the Tyranno Lair. So Ayla got us a ride on some Pterodactyls and we raided the place. We confronted Azala and her new secret weapon, the Black Tyranno, and whooped her. We noticed the red star in the sky and Ayla interpreted Lavos's name as 'La, meaning Fire, and Vos, meaning Big. We escaped and Lavos fell to the planet's surface right smack dab onto the Lair and pushed it underground. That's actually where we found the Rainbow Shell later, but I tell you more about that another time. Lavos also left a Gate behind in the crater as it dug its way underground at a hasty rate. So we entered it..."
Ty breathed deeply, "Wow, so that ancient comet was actually a living creature... Who knew..."
Tomo perked up, "That explains a lot really. The planet's tectonic movement, the formation of the Rainbow Shell, the nail in the coffin for the Reptites..."
"Well anyway, we ended up in the age of Antiquity and this is where the story gets even weirder for you," Lucca began as she cleared her throat. "We ended up at the tail end of the Ice Age where the human beings somehow cultivated magic. Some could use it, while others could not. The ones that could use Magic called themselves, the Enlightened Ones, and the ones that couldn't use Magic were called the Earthbound Ones The Enlightened Ones, elevated their cities into the skies while the Earthbound stayed in caves."
Ty nearly lost himself in a moment of confusion, "So they really did, huh?! They really had the cities floating in the sky?! Well, I'll be, the conspirators would love this to death!"
"That's incredible, the artifacts pan out too!" Tomo claimed.
"Yeah, and I'll bet that's where my Cloud Key and your Crystal Hourglass come from!" Ty deduced.
"Exactly, your artifacts are made from Dreamstone, and set in them are jewels made from the Sunstone. A power source the ancient Zealians used to help them cast magic. Just like you. As we traversed this strange era. We found that this is where Magus was originally from. He was never from the Middle Ages to start with. Queen Zeal, the crazy woman in charge, was his mother and she went a little bat-squeak insane from the grief of losing her husband some time ago. Apparently, these Enlightened Ones, became aware of Lavos somehow and she lusted after its raw power. She did so much that, she enslaved the Earthbound Ones of the village of Algetty to construct an Undersea Palace and bring her wicked Mammon Machine closer to Lavos so she could siphon its power. Unfortunately, this was done by her daughter, a poor girl named Schala, who is the original owner of Marle's Pendant. She could control the machine, but it was hard on her. This is also the magical era where we met Dalton, the asshole responsible for everything that's happened just now. Schala tried to escape her unwilling duty only for Dalton to show up and take her away as well as seal the Gate we used to come to that era."
"Aaaand just like that I have a whole new hatred for this guy," Ty said as he pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed deeply.
"So, why didn't you bash his head in then and there?" Tomo asked. "Surely, if this Schala girl was the only person who could control that Mammon thingie he would have been in deep crap if he would have killed her, wouldn't he?"
Lucca broke out in a cold sweat, "I guess we were just thinking about Schala's safety at the time. Not the best decision we made, not gonna lie. Really though, we came back to Gaspar here and he told us that a friend of his had a time machine that he was working on. We managed to find that in the Future hidden away by a guy named Belthasar, who at the time transferred his memories into a mechanical Nu. He instructed us on how to use the 'Wings of Time' as he called it, although it had no wings at the time. We then used the time machine we now called, Epoch to get back to Antiquity and follow the Queen to her Ocean Palace of doom and well..., that's where things went a little sour for us," she swallowed hard as her head drooped.
"What happened...?" asked Ty, raising a brow.
"An incident I call, 'The Ocean Palace Disaster'," Lucca explained. "We had some good control on our quest up until this point. When we arrived, it was too late, the Queen had summoned Lavos and it caused quite a stir. This is when Magus, then as a boy called, Janus, Melchior, who we rescued from imprisonment by Queen Zeal, Belthasar, and Gaspar, were all sent to different eras in time thanks to Lavos opening artificial Gates."
"What?! That old goober over there is some old wise man from Antiquity?!" Ty said in shock.
Tomo seemed overwhelmed, "The hell! This incident changed our world immensely! I mean it's probably second to Lavos actually arriving, but still!"
"That's not the worst of it," Lucca continued as she grew saddened. "This is where we fought Lavos for the first time and it turns out Magus was masquerading as a Prophet to the Queen the whole time. He knew the events that were coming and managed to impress his mother without her knowing it. So she took his advice. But it was here we all felt Lavos's true strength. This..., is where Crono died..."
"Come again? That guy with the red hair, the one that I sparred with, died?!" Ty asked completely puzzled. Tomo was at a loss for words.
"Yes, completely obliterated..." Lucca said holding back tears from the painful memory. "Janus, Magus as a boy, told us that one among us will perish and it happened."
"Um, question, how did you get Crono back if he died?" Tomo asked in confusion.
"Well, after our severe loss to the beast, Schala sacrificed herself to send us to safety and the Ocean Palace became a floating palace called the Black Omen. It persisted throughout the ages. Distraught, we found Magus and managed to convince him to join us instead of fighting as we weren't in the mood for obvious reasons. However, he told us that Gaspar knew how to bring people back as long as the conditions were right."
"Conditions?" Ty said.
"Yeah, after another altercation with that fool Dalton, who we sent into some portal after clobbering, we now had wings on the Epoch thanks to his meddling," Lucca started. "We came to Gaspar who offered us an invention called a Time Egg that he claimed could bend time as long as something was important enough to warrant it. Like a real egg, it could hatch into something beautiful, or be scrambled. He sent us to that wily Norstein Bekkler, so we could get a Doppel Doll of Crono from him. We then took said doll to the Future where we scaled a nasty mountain that was actually Lavos with just a ton of debris on it. We got to the peak and used the Time Egg powered with Marle's pendant and at first, it seemed like we messed up, but our prayers were heard. We entered a frozen moment in time where we exchanged Crono, just before he died, with the Doppel Doll and brought him back to us."
Ty began to laugh, "No wonder he was so tough, bastard actually cheated death!"
"That's so cool!" Tomo cheered.
"After being reunited, we just sort of prepared ourselves for the inevitable fight with Lavos. We harnessed the strength of the planet's resources and came to terms with our own personal problems and eventually, we brought down the Black Omen, Queen Zeal, and finally, Lavos, or so we thought. Then we celebrated with the Moonlight Parade."
Ty sighed as he threw his head back, "Wow, that's some story. If I hadn't traveled through time myself, I would think it were all a science fiction novel or a fairy tale you just told me. Just one problem though, where did it all go wrong? This Dalton guy I mean."
Lucca sighed as she stared out into the emptiness, "That's what I'm trying to figure out. I need to know what this Frozen Flame is and how Dalton ties in with it. That's why we're going to need your guys' help," Lucca stated.
"Well, we can't just go home after all we've seen here, so where do we go from here?" Ty asked progressively.
Gaspar cleared his throat, "I believe it's not 'where' you go, but 'when'," he chuckled.
The door to the rest area opened and Crono and Marle stepped out. Marle wore a cold expression on her face, her eyes reddened from crying, but she was much calmer now.
Crono was also very stoic with not much expression on his face. "Ah, I know you've been through hell, but we must act before Dalton learns more about the Frozen Flame," Gaspar said as he turned to Crono.
Crono sighed as he regained his composure, "Wait, we still have time to get Dalton? What more does he have to learn about it?"
"If Dalton learns of its true power, he can rewrite all of history to his liking," Gaspar said as he stroked his mustache.
Everyone broke out into a cold sweat, "He can... rewrite all of history?" Tomo said fearfully.
"An unstable nut job like him would bring hell to this world!" Ty warned.
"No need to tell us that! We already know!" Lucca said in frustration.
Marle clenched her fists, "We should have killed him when we took back the Epoch...," she said, her voice shaking.
"It's alright Marle, we can fix this. I don't know how just yet, but we will!" Crono reassured confidently. She smiled at him weakly.
"Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about the Flame," Gaspar said with a sigh. Everyone moaned, "However, I do know how to guide you to someone who will help you. Ty, where did you and Tomo first come into contact with the Frozen Flame?" he asked.
"It was at the bottom of the EL Nido Sea in some kind of futuristic complex," Ty explained cleanly.
"Well then, there you have it," Gaspar started with inspiration. "You have to make your way to the distant future and find out who discovered the Frozen Flame originally. Unfortunately, there isn't a Gate open at this time that will lead you there. You will have to make some stops across time to find a Gate that will take you there."
Crono, excited and revitalized began to rally everyone, "Alright, since only three people at a time can go through a Gate whose with me?" he said establishing leadership.
Marle placed her hand on her husband's shoulder, "Take Ty and Tomo with you, I want to stay behind with Lucca and train. You were right about us needing to polish our skills and make new ones. Plus, Ty and Tomo know much more about history and geography, so they can help you out more right now," she explained solemnly. She then approached Lucca, "Come on Lucca, we need to train and rethink our skills!" she said perking up a little.
Lucca adjusted her glasses, "Very well, I've been meaning to try out some new things! If Dalton can learn some new tricks then it should be simple for us!"
Marle gained a serious expression on her face, "The last thing Dalton will see before he dies is my arrow piercing his heart."
Gaspar cleared his throat, "Well then, I have good news to share with you if it's about training. Do you remember the Bucket that took you to the Apocalypse before? Well, it's now a Gate to a place I like to call, 'The Prison of Time'."
"The Prison of Time?" Crono asked with intrigue.
"Yes, I call it this because it is a phenomenon that gathers bits and pieces of lost time streams, " Gaspar explained. "There you can fight monsters from all across space-time! So if you need a good workout then that's the best place to do it!"
"Cool!" Lucca said as she approached Crono. She handed him the Gate Key, "Here Crono, you know how this works! Just exchange one of us if you need someone or just want to say hi," she giggled.
Crono took the Gate Key and stored it safely away, "Okay, you two be careful down there!" he said with concern.
Marle and Lucca went to the corner of the room and gazed into the bucket. It felt as though space and time were bending around them and drawing them inward. "The monster inside will explain in a little more detail!" said Gaspar as Marle and Lucca teleported with a bright flash of light.
*The Prison of Time*
Marle and Lucca appeared in what seemed to be an extension of the End of Time. There was nothing but a large rectangular room with a street lamp at the center and a strange blob-like creature standing beneath it. It was blue in color and had a rather empty expression on its face with a wide grin. Marle and Lucca approached the creature, "Hi, you're new! Allow me to introduce you to the Prison of Time! This is a place where you can witness battles of the Past, Present, or Future! If you step into the pillars of light back there where you came in you'll be transported to a battlefield where you can fight monsters you may have missed or some you may have never seen before!" the creature explained in a peppy tone.
Marle faced Lucca, "Let's do it, we have to get stronger!" she said as Lucca nodded affirmatively.
"Alrighty then, down into the Prison you go! When you get tired I'll take you back here to rest!" said the blob monster as it transported them.
*End of Time*
Gaspar turned to Crono, "Say, before you go ripping through time again, why not pay the back room a visit?" he urged.
Crono nodded and took Ty and Tomo with him. He entered the door and it took them to a perfectly square room where a tall red blob-like creature stood. It had two bulging yellow eyes and a wide smile that made it look rather humorous. It also had four small ball-like appendages at its base.
Crono approached with a wave and a smile, "Hey Spekkio, boy you sure look weaker than last time I saw you! Have I really let myself go that much?"
The creature responded with a comical tone of voice, "Hey, spike-top you know the rule! If I look weak, you are weak! If I appear strong, you are strong! So what brings you all the way out here?"
"What is this monster?" Tomo asked curiously.
"I thought it was the Quadffid's favorite prey there for a second!" Ty said surprised. "Then it spoke...!"
Crono faulted, "What, so I'm essentially as weak as the prey for a carnivorous plant?!"
"And just who are these two?" Spekkio asked with a widening grin. "A tall lean guy and a short chubby girl? I would have given them Magic, but it seems like you made friends with an anomaly! They have powers even I wasn't aware of."
"Yeah, about that," Crono started. "I thought you said the universe and by extension, everything was built off of four elements, yet these two add two more to the design. How does that work exactly?"
"That's why it's an 'anomaly' kid! Even I don't really know! But since they laid eyes on me, I can already feel myself adapting. If I were to hypothesize, some force broke down the elements further, probably to adapt to make things more stable. Who knows, perhaps the universe or a Godly prank is at work, but either way we're still existing, so the very fabrics of time and space seem to account for them!" Spekkio theorized ecstatically.
"So in other words, we just discovered something 'new' then?" Crono started. "Meh, kind of underwhelming when you think about it, but it makes sense!"
"Anywho, because of this I can't really teach them anything or give them Magic since they seem to already have it!" Spekkio elaborated. "However, because their Magic works differently than your 'Innate' kind it has a few differing properties. As you can already tell it requires a catalyst to activate. It would seem that these two types of Magic have not been fully developed, or something to that effect. Heck, for all I know these two have Magic that's from a different plane of existence altogether! How exciting!"
"So that means we're special or something?" Ty asked still not fully grasping the subject.
"I know I'm special, my dad told me so!" Tomo said with a cheeky grin.
"How about you guys show me this Magic first hand? If you do I'll give you a present!" Spekkio claimed.
Crono nodded as he turned to them, "Spekkio is a 'Spirit' you guys, so physical strikes won't work on him! Just use your Magic on him!"
"I kinda figured that was the case!" Ty said as he distanced himself. He took his stance and his body was enveloped in a green luminescent air. He aimed his palm at Spekkio, who smiled in excitement, "Wind Spiral!" he announced as the razor-sharp tornado barreled towards Spekkio. Spekkio took the hit with no resistance and it caused as much damage as one would anticipate.
Tomo took her stance as well, her body enveloped by a yellow light that seeped through magical cracks in the ground, "Earth Rumble!" she shouted as Spekkio was shaken up by a powerful trail of rocks.
"Hee, hee, hee!" rose Spekkio, laughing. "You guys are a riot! I love it! Here you can take this!" he said as he gave Crono a rainbow-colored rock via telekinesis. "That Rainbow Rock has my spirit attached to it. Take it with you! If you get caught in some kind of scrap and need a trump card, just ask! I'll be able to shower the battlefield with a surprise attack!" he finished as he vanished into thin air. "Remember now, the stronger you are, the stronger my attack will be!"
With that, Crono and the gang left the room and when they shut the door behind them, it vanished as if it had never been there. Gaspar turned to them, "Hey, come here for a second...," he said as Crono did just that. "Well, it looks like the so-called Master of War's role has ended here at the End of Time. He's a strange one, isn't he? Nevertheless, this is the End of Time and as such, it is unnatural for anything to be here, even us. That too will come to an end sometime!" he laughed. "Well now, off you go! Good luck and the Goddess of Fate be with you!"
Crono thanked Gaspar and the trio walked up a small flight of stairs until they reached a square open room with a single pillar of light emanating at the center. "So, where will this Gate take us?" Tomo asked curiously.
"I hope it's in a safe and secluded spot...," Ty said, hiding his nervousness.
Crono gave them a thumbs up, "It'll be fine! Well, you know what they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained!" he said as he activated the Gate Key. The pillar of light seemed to swallow them up in a blinding white light as they vanished.
*?*
The team was ejected from the supernatural Gate and gained their bearings. They found themselves in a very cold cavern with an open mouth that had snow blowing inside from a fierce wind outside. Small torches lit the walls and the howl of the wind can be heard outside. Ty was quick to react, "Gah, it's cold as hell in here!" he said as he began to shiver. "Where are we? The north pole? The south pole?"
"It's not so bad! It could be worse after all. We could have been dumped out into that storm outside!" Tomo said also shivering.
"Easy for you to say! You have extra blubber to keep you warm!" Ty said sarcastically.
"Oh yeah! Hey, I'm no seal!" Tomo said defending herself, but still remaining in her fat form.
"Okay you two, be on the lookout for anything that might give us clues as to what era we're in. I've never been here before," Crono said as he looked around. "Maybe there are some people around who can give us some extra clothes!" he said smiling widely as he began to shiver as well.
*End of Chapter*