Chrono Corruption
Act 4: New World Order
Chapter 22: The Ghost of Zeal
*Era of Antiquity*
The Rift opened in an open field and Crono and his party emerged. They took in the sights and found they had indeed arrived in Antiquity. Only now, Winter had passed and the flooding from Zeal's fall had abated. "Hey, look!" said Marle as she pointed to the north. "The Last Village! Wow, it certainly has come a long way in the last five years!"
"Let's find the Elder, maybe he's seen Glenn," Crono suggested.
"That is likely, I hope Glenn is not too far," Robo whirred.
With that, Crono's party headed to the Last Village. Upon entering, they viewed the Earthbound Ones and the Enlightened Ones had mixed well over the last five years. The people wore more colorful clothes than before, but they were also more humble than the elaborate garbs of the Enlightened Ones. The town bustled with a thriving culture of animal herding and the trading of furs, seeds, spices, and other various things.
The party looked high and low for the noble knight but found no sign of anyone shaped like a frog. "I wonder where he could be?" Crono asked curiously as stared off into space.
Marle then got an idea, "Wait! What if Glenn isn't cursed to be a frog anymore?"
"That is a possibility," Robo added. "Perhaps the Glenn we know changed back into his original human state."
"Yeah, but we don't know what he looks like originally!" Crono said worriedly.
"That's fine," Marle started with a raised index finger. "We can just ask the Elder if he has seen anyone dressed in armor carrying a very shiny broadsword! Glenn had to have stopped here!"
And so, the party made their way to the commons and found the Elder's Hut sitting snugly in the corner of the village. There were fewer people here as the party entered. The Elder seemed to be in much better spirits than before as he adapted to life after the fall of Zeal. As Crono approached, his gaze widened, "Ah, it's you again! My how good it is to see you!" he said as he stoked the flames of the campfire in the center of the hut. "Did you come looking for Janus or perhaps your knight friend with the large sword?"
Crono smiled, "Oh, so Glenn has been here?" he asked hopefully.
"Yes, he's been here for the last couple of weeks or so, I can't really say how long it's been since he started coming around, but he has been in very low spirits and is very distressed," explained the Elder. "I was wondering why he was all alone, but now that you're here, I can see now that he must have been searching for you!"
Crono and Marle chuckled with unease as Robo simply hummed, "Um, anyway, could you tell us where he is now?" Marle asked.
"Oh yes, he just left a little while ago to meditate at the cape on the northern peninsula!" the Elder claimed.
"Thank you, thank you!" Marle said with a bow. "Let's hurry guys, maybe we can catch up to him!"
Before the Elder could say anything else, Crono and his party left the hut, "Thanks again!" echoed Crono's voice as he was hurried out of the hut by his wife.
"Um, oh, you're very welcome," the Elder relented with a light-hearted chuckle. "Those guys are always so full of energy!"
*Sometime Later, North Cape*
A familiar knight gazed out into the ocean, his face full of melancholy and hopelessness, "Oh, Tata, my King, forgive me!" spoke Glenn loudly as a tear of frustration formed in his eye. "I simply cannot find a way to return home! Without those Gates, there is no way for me to return!"
Behind Glenn, the familiar voice of Crono reached out, "Hey, Glenn is that you?!"
"Oh, how cruel the Goddess of Fate is!" Glenn spoke with despair. "Am I now resigned to hearing the voices of familiar friends as I grow weary?!"
Marle's voice followed Crono's, "Glenn, turn around! It's us!"
Glenn heard Marle's voice much clearer than Crono's as she was closer and he opened his eyes wide as he turned. "Huh, can it really be?!" he said as he came face to face with Crono. Since he was no longer a frog, he could look Crono in the eye at equal height. Tears of joy flowed from his eyes. "This is..., Crono, Princess Marle, and Robo! This must be a miracle! I take back what I said earlier! The Goddess of Fate has surely blessed me! How is it that you came to be here and find me no less?!"
Crono sighed, "It's a looong story, but we got time so we'll fill you in! Nice haircut by the way. It feels like we're meeting again for the first time since this is the first time we've seen your human face."
"Oh, yes, Magus's curse broke sometime after we put an end to Lavos," Glenn said. "I'm still not sure why though. I tried to seek out Magus, but he is nowhere to be found!"
"Hold on Glenn, just let us explain everything," Marle urged with a smile.
After finally getting Glenn to calm down, the party filled him in on everything that had happened up until this point, and he shared his side of the story. "I regret not driving my blade through the heart of Zealian bastard!" Glenn said grinding his teeth.
"Don't worry Glenn, we'll get to that, trust me!" Crono said with a serious look. "Right now though, I would actually like to know what we can do about Guardia's little frog problem!"
"Myself as well," Glenn stated. "It would be better though if we could find a way back home first though," he chuckled with unease.
"What about the Gate in the cave that we originally came here in from before?" Crono asked curiously.
"Ah, yes, I tried to access it even though the water levels had dropped, but when I reached the cave it had collapsed since then!" Glenn said in distress.
"That's going to be a big problem...," Crono said in frustration.
"May I propose an inquiry?" Robo then asked.
"Sure, what is it?" Crono retorted.
"My scans picked up an unusual amount of ravens and crows in the area," Robo started as he began to point out the rather numerous amount of black feathered birds. "Is there any reason they are so transfixed on us?" he asked curiously.
A voice with no origin echoed softly amongst the ravens as if one of them spoke to them, "Follow my birds, come to me. My name is Raven and I am the Crow Mother. I can help you find what you seek," said the soft female voice.
"Sh-should we do it?" Marle stuttered faintly. "That was kinda spooky!"
"Do we have any other choices right now?" Crono asked with a shrug.
With a gust of wind, many of the birds dispersed, leaving only a small flock that urged the party to follow them wherever they went. The party regrouped and followed suit not having any other leads.
*Three Days Pass*
Marle sat on the ground in frustration, "Where the hell are we?! How did we end up in this chilly valley? I'm tired of following these birds, Crono!" she whined.
"I know sweety, but...!" Crono was interrupted by a dark-haired woman that appeared before them.
Glenn placed himself almost instinctively in front of Marle, "Who goes there?" he asked protectively.
"Ah, so you have come, I am Raven, the Crow Mother," she said introducing herself. "Come, my home is just up ahead," she said as she produced a magical portal. She stepped through and vanished.
"Well, here goes nothin'!" Crono said as he lifted Marle up and the party entered.
The party appeared in the center of the open-air palace before the Crow Mother's makeshift throne. She sat down and crossed her legs and welcomed them, "Greetings, I have been watching you since you arrived, Knight. Your heart quickly grew sorrowful the longer you stayed," she said addressing Glenn. "The birds tell me you came here through a doorway that can no longer be opened. Is this true?"
Glenn came forward, "Yes, but how did you learn such a thing from these birds?"
"I am an Oracle with a magical gift to speak to these creatures. They fly all over the surface and tell me of their findings in the world," Raven began. "By your increasingly negative reaction over the last month, I can tell you did not intentionally come here. Are you perhaps looking for a way back to where you are from?"
"Yes, if you know a way I would be eternally grateful!" Glenn said.
"Ah, then you are very fortuitous!" Raven began. "The birds speak and tell me that the ruins of the old kingdom have emerged from the depths. I know not why these ruins came to be on the surface, but I can say that their appearance is not natural in origin. As such, there is a weakness in the fabric of space-time here. It may be what you are looking for."
"Thank you very much!" Glenn said thankfully. "Is there any way we can repay you?"
Raven smiled, "You needn't bother with monetary things. Simply this, you are the travelers that Lord Janus spoke of when he came here...," she paused.
"Janus knows you?!" Crono said in surprise.
"It's not that surprising, she totally dressed like someone who would hang around Janus!" Marle giggled.
Raven cleared her throat, "Ahem, when you meet up with him again, please tell him I wish him well and eagerly await his return."
Marle blushed as she gained a smirk on her face, "Ohh, I see now! Come on guys, let's get going! We don't want to keep her waiting too long, tee hee!"
A light blush passed Raven's fair skin, "Anyway, I can open a portal that will bring you to the edge of the ruins. It shall hasten your journey," she finished as she cast a shadow spell that opened another portal. The gang thanked her again as one by one, they entered the portal. Off they went as Raven waved goodbye with a gentle smile on her face.
*Ruins of the Kingdom of Zeal*
The party appeared on a small peninsula that was beaten by the waves behind them. Ruined buildings cluttered the landscape and one large building off in the distance could be seen. It was mostly reduced to rubble, but the party knew what building it was. "The Zeal Palace...," Crono murmured.
Robo analyzed the surroundings, "Raven was right, there is a mass of energy floating around this place. It is flooding out from the former palace. I believe if we are to find a Gate, that place is our only hope!"
"Then let us proceed!" Glenn said staunchly.
The party began their trek through the mangled and soaked ruins of the dead kingdom. They quickly began to notice strange things happening around them, but could not pinpoint a source. "Seeing the kingdom this way..., it's haunting, isn't it?" Marle said.
On point, Glenn spotted a ghostly figure wandering in the distance, "I think you may be right about the 'haunted' part, Lady Marle," he said on alert.
The party then quickly noticed that the ruins were chock full of apparitions. Many ghosts from past citizens of Zeal, cowering in their final moments. "The levels of emotions such as fear were very intense before the fall. Most perished with no way out," Robo whirred analytically. "Since I'm a machine, I cannot fully grasp the weight of their emotions. It kind of reminds me of the ruined future I originally came from."
"How terrible," Marle muttered.
The party continued, and as they did some hostile spirits made themselves known. Shadows, formless blobs of spiritual resentment emerged from the ruins like ooze from the cracks and crevices in the walls. The party quickly resorted to the use of their magic as their weapons had no effect on ghosts. After the spirits calmed, they cautiously continued their way to the ruined palace. After many more encounters with the supernatural, the party picked up on Glenn's new list of skills. Crono turned to Glenn, "I see you've been training as well! Had to change some things up after becoming human again?"
"Indeed, I lost the perks of being a frog, so I thought I would use the time with Tata to retrain myself as well!" Glenn stated. "However, we can still do an X-Strike and even a Triple Raid if you so desire! My Nirvana Strike is a suitable replacement for a frog's tongue!" he chuckled.
"Nirvana Strike? Wasn't that Cyrus's technique?" Marle asked.
"Yes, I mastered it to honor him! I see you've made alterations as well!" Glenn complimented.
"Yeah, just wanted to change things up a bit!" Crono retorted.
"Ugh, well get ready boys, more Shadows up ahead!" Marle said in disgust. The party quickly dispatched them with magic and even a few of their old double techniques.
Finally, after all the ghostly altercations the party made it to the massive double door that once stood as the entrance to the Zeal Palace. Since half of it was strewn across the many other structures of Zeal the palace was easily entered.
"Whew, would you look at this place?" Marle said astounded.
"The damage is so severe," Robo added.
"I would hate to navigate this place at night, so we should hurry," Crono said as he noticed the sun already beginning to set.
Then, Glenn noticed some fiery blue orbs emerge from the debris, "Another spirit!"
They converged somewhat in front of the party and an unfamiliar voice emanated from them, "Come...," the voice said.
"Who is that? I don't recognize the vocal patterns," Robo said as he scanned the voice.
"I don't know either, Robo," Crono said as he too tried to recognize it.
Then the blue flames levitated into the air above the ruins and ascended to the right, where some bookcases and other nicknacks were scattered about. The blue flames came together and formed an image of a male, but they had no discernable features. "Come... come...," repeated the spirit.
The spirit went further into the ruins and the party followed. They followed and followed until reaching what looked like the remains of Queen Zeal's very own bedroom. It was here the spirit fully manifested itself and it was a man who bore similar features to Janus. His face was chiseled and his blue hair was kept up in a braid. He had light facial hair and sorrowful eyes. His garb consisted of a long dark blue cape with gold trimmings, regal clothing underneath, and a gold crown adorning his forehead. The spirit's gaze seemed to penetrate Crono's own soul, "Greetings," the spirit whispered. "I am the King of Zeal... and who might you travelers be?" he said softly.
The party introduced themselves, "Uh..., hello, my name's Crono, and these are my friends, Glenn and Robo, and my wife, Marle."
"I hate to be so sorrowful in front of visitors, but considering my condition, the regret I feel is overwhelming," King Zeal began. "Nevertheless, what is it you came here for?"
"We are looking for a way home," Marle stated. "It's a distortion, we call them Gates, that lead to... other places! We were told we might find one here!"
"You would be correct," the King murmured. "I will tell you where, but first...," he paused. "Will you help me ease my regrets? Listen to my woes?"
"Sure, go ahead," Crono said curiously.
"Very well then," the King said with a twinge of hope in his whispers. "As I said, I am the King of the once-proud kingdom, but now that is no more. I place my blame on the Red Flame of Lavos, the evil from the stars."
"Not hard to see why...," Marle said as she gazed at the destruction around them.
"When Zeal found the Frozen Flame we placed it under study, but that was long before I was even born," said the King. "The Three Gurus were finally tasked with studying the artifact and then the strangeness began to occur. Oh, woe is me! Such a great evil, this Lavos!"
"Evil? I thought it was just a mindless beast!" Glenn spoke up.
"No, the creature haunted my dreams through the artifact!" moaned the King. "Such malice! It only desires one thing! To devour! Lavos is a parasite of cataclysmic proportions! No, it is worse! Lavos enjoys the torment that it brings! Slowly, its power seeps into every living thing eventually choosing a host through a devastating mental process!"
"Wait, it can reprogram organic life?" Robo asked for clarity.
"Yes, but only the one whom it perceives as worthy to be its host!" Zeal continued. "The worm from the heavens tried to indoctrinate my mind, speaking of its own survival through unimaginable power! It gives a false promise of salvation and immortality! However, my mind was too strong! I would not be tempted by it! So as a result, Lavos suddenly stopped trying and it cast disease on me! It drained my life painfully and slowly!"
"How horrible!" Marle said cringing.
"I passed with such hopelessness as I could see the beastly parasite try my beautiful wife next!" wailed the king. "I passed knowing Lavos was going after my beloved and I knew everyone, no, all of humanity was in danger! I could do nothing to stop it! No one believed, not even the Gurus! The creature hid its voice from them as it knew of their wisdom! I tried to warn anyone who would listen, but none would, not even my children..."
"Lavos is more dangerous than previously thought," Robo said updating his information.
"They placed the Flame into a machine and as its power grew, my life ebbed away faster and faster," said the King sadly. "Finally, I closed my eyes for the last time and now my spirit lingers here in the rubble that used to be my home..."
Crono held his sword up high, "And that's what my friends and I intend to do!" he announced bravely.
The King's ghost's eyes widened, "Truly?! Do you know of the dangers? You believe me?"
"Your Highness, I already fought Lavos and we won..., err, for the most part!" Crono said strongly.
Marle quickly added, "But now Lavos's remains have attached themselves to your General Dalton!"
"Even the remains of Lavos are dangerous!" said the King. "It is like any parasite, it will just grow back if not all of it is destroyed! General Dalton was always easily tricked. Anything that he wanted, he chased with obsession! It is no wonder Lavos's power snatched a ride in his mind!"
"All right, please! Tell us where the Gate is! We still have time to kill Dalton and Lavos!" Glenn pleaded.
"Yes, I can feel my regret falling away to relief now, someone believes, someone is fighting back!" he said as tears formed in his ghostly eyes. "This place, the naval of the world is the weakest area of space-time on the planet. Miles beneath this ocean lies a forgotten temple. It rose up one day allowing us Zealians to find it and the Flame. I can reveal the Gate for you, but I will remain here until Lavos is defeated. So thank you, Sir Crono, and friends, for fighting... and believing..." he finished as he began to vanish.
With a sudden blast of ghostly flames, a makeshift Gate was formed, but it was clearly incomplete. Crono took out the Time Egg and Marle began to pray as she funneled her pendant's power into it. The Time Egg shattered, flooding the incomplete Gate with power and it took a familiar shape.
"It worked!" Robo hummed happily.
"A new Gate is formed!" Glenn added with cheer. "Let us be off then! There is much to do!"
"You got it!" Crono said as Marle cheered. Using the Gate Key, Crono opened the Gate and they all stepped inside. With a sudden bright flash of light and a gust of air, the party vanished into the void, leaving the haunted ruins of Zeal as the sun finally slipped beneath the horizon.
*Chronopolis*
Glenn was astounded by all that he witnessed in Chronopolis, remarking that even though he saw the future with the party before it felt like a brand new experience since it was all intact. Belthasar debriefed Glenn and Glenn then wanted to take the time to get acquainted with some new faces as well as old ones. He decided to approach Garet first as he was closest, working on the computers with Belthasar, "Greetings friend," Glenn said to Garet.
Garet nodded, "Greetings Sir Glenn, I know much about you. I study history as a hobby and you were always a popular choice of study."
"I see," Glenn said a little embarrassed.
"I am honored to meet you and I am glad to see that you regained your human form," Garet continued. "I look forward to working with you."
"I look forward to it as well!" Glenn said getting over his embarrassment with a chuckle.
Glenn politely dismissed himself and Crono took him to see Lucca. As they entered the workshop where Lucca had settled in, she was curious, "Um, is this..., Glenn?" she asked adjusting her glasses.
"Yes, it is I! Magus's spell wore off sometime after we went our separate ways!" Glenn said cheerfully.
"Well, look at you being all handsome!" Lucca complimented with a chuckle. "Anyway, it's great to see things finally go your way."
"Yes, it is the way of things I suppose. I do not know why the curse broke, but I am grateful nonetheless!" he said with a blush. The two continued to catch up on things for a few moments as things quickly took a turn to the serious.
The team gathered themselves in a conference room to discuss their next moves. "All right!" Crono started with a confident smile. "Now that we got Lucca and Glenn back, what challenge does everyone want to tackle next?"
Glenn raised his hand, "I hate to sound desperate, but I would like to make haste to save Queen Leene and Guardia in my time... if there is nothing more urgent that is."
"I agree, everything seems less urgent at this time," Robo claimed.
Marle turned to Glenn, "How do we save them though? We don't even know how you got back to normal!"
Glenn swallowed hard, "Yes, I do have a minor theory though. I believe my transition into my normal form came from my disconnection from Magus. When we went our separate ways, Magus did not follow me back... So perhaps, the spell simply wore off as he would have been long dead by my era if he went back to his own."
"Hmm, it sounds possible," Lucca started. "Do you have any knowledge of any other cursed individuals returning to normal?"
"Not unless they rose from the dead," Glenn said drawing a blank.
Crono broke out into a cold sweat as he remember the undead problem that plagued the Fiends in his time, "Um, well. When Garet bailed me out of Medina we found it to be overrun with the undead instead!"
"What?!" Marle said with astonishment. "Why didn't you say something about this Belthasar?!"
"Hmm, it did pop up on our scanners, but it hasn't developed just yet," Belthasar claimed. "We can't yet trace the source of the problem, but we do know that it's a plague of some kind. The damage came to an end with the extinction of the Fiends just before the new millennium. That entire continent is just a barren wasteland. It became such a heavy wound on this planet."
"Well, we'll have to get to that when you guys get more info on it," Crono stated.
"Speaking of info," began Lucca as she faced Glenn. "Is there anything at all you can tell us about what the Frog King did to make all this happen?"
Glenn thought hard as he crossed his arms and went deep into thought, recalling the events. He murmured and stammered a little before he was suddenly struck with something, "Now I remember! The Frog King said he put something in our food and contaminated it. All the knights and people were afflicted!"
Crono blinked for a moment, as a thought came to mind, "You mean like... some kind of poison?"
"Yes, that must be it!" Glenn deduced.
Everyone paused for a moment as Crono then spoke with a smile, "Then we do have a lead! There's only one guy I know that is that good with poison stuff!"
"Ty!" Marle said with a cheer.
"Yes, and how fortunate that his signature is already coming from the Middle Ages!" Belthasar said. "The Goddess of Fate is with us!"
"Wait, so Ty's been stranded in the Middle Ages? Where exactly?" Lucca asked with concern.
"Yeah, Lucca wants to save her man!" Marle said coyly with a mischievous grin.
Lucca blushed slightly, "Not dignifying that..."
Robo interjected, "Mister Drayguard's signature has been seen around Choras for the past month. We discovered it via the signal from his Cloud Key's magical emanations."
Glenn paused for a moment, "Wait, you said Drayguard...," he said as everyone's attention was now glued to him. "I know that name... Are you speaking of Eston Drayguard? He had a descendant?"
"Yes, his name is Ty Drayguard, he and his whole family lived in the swamps of Choras for 400 years," Garet explained.
"Who is Eston Drayguard? How do you know him, Glenn?" Marle asked curiously.
"...Because, Cyrus was the one who caught him," Glenn said worriedly.
"What?" Crono said as the others gave assorted gasps.
"It was shortly before our first confrontation with the Frog King in fact," Glenn began. "He was a smug young man that was the same age as me when I was Cyrus's squire. I thought he was just a petty thief though, not much to be worked up over. From what I remember, Eston Drayguard was tried and sent back to Choras for punishment. When he got there his fingers were promptly broken instead of removed as the King went easy on him because he was still young. He was treated after the punishment and was then sent to a prison hidden in the swamps of northern Choras. By now, Eston should have been freed from his sentence roughly two years ago."
"Rough..., I guess you guys were harsher back then," Crono said. "Ty was saying a few things about how his family is scorned for being branded as thieves and pirates. He isn't one himself though, he said his family rivaled Toma and his family for treasure hunts and exploration."
"Ah, that is disappointing, I would have hoped he would have turned from his ways," Glenn started. "I actually felt sympathy for him. He was a lot like me, but he had no Master to teach him anything. Perhaps that would have changed his life if he had."
"Well then," Lucca began. "I think I know where we'll find Ty then. He spoke of how he wants to place his family in a better light. I'll bet you he's gone to Choras to have a little chat with his ancestor!"
"Good thinking, Lucca!" Crono started as he was nudged by Marle quietly. "Uh, care to assist me and Glenn with this one then?"
Lucca gave a cross gaze to Marle who noticed and quickly began to whistle a tune as if to feign innocence. "Joke's getting old Marle! Fine, this one sounds like it needs a little scientific touch anyway. Ty may need help with the cure."
With that, everyone dispersed and Crono's team went to the Rift Generator Room to take the next step in their quest to restore order. Crono grabbed another Time Egg and with the press of a few buttons, the party vanished from sight, hurtling into the past.
*End of Chapter*