Well, looks like we're getting into the big chapters now! And you know what that means... big mitts. Really. Big. Mitts.

Thanks a million to everyone reviewing and following! :)

"On Death Peak you will find the power to restore life."

In the muted and musty room deep within the confines of Keeper's Dome, the words rang out like water in a desert. By both the irony and potential of the statement, Robo gathered that the significance of what was being said was too important a thing to be forgotten, and so pushed a small button on his chest to create a vocal record. Marle, who was already as close as she could be, leaned forwards a little more as if to absorb every word the creature spoke.

"Death Peak…" she tapped her chin thoughtfully, then her eyes lit with brilliant remembrance. "Hey! That's that mountain we saw when we went through the sewer!" She looked hopefully over her shoulder at the rest of her team. "Remember!?"

Yet she was not met with equal excitement. Out-seriousing everyone as always, Magus scoffed at her hopeful veer from where he stood down the stairs, not caring to be involved more than necessary in these trivial matters. All that particularly mattered to him at the moment was leaving this hell-on-earth wasteland he had unwittingly been drafted into, and getting back to tracking the scent.

And Robo wasn't particularly a master of crafting expressions, either. He met her growing frown of disappointment with his typical, unchangeable and stoic stare.

"However," the monotonous Nu continued on, "to activate this power, the deceased must be important to the time-space continuum."

"The what?" Marle asked blankly.

"And you MUST have a clone identical to that person. Only then can the Chrono Trigger work its magic…"

Marle's nose crinkled in confusion. "A clone? To continue… what?"

"Enough," the Nu spoke the last of its recorded command, looking at her as though she were not truly there.

"Enough what? Are you even listening to me?!" She waved a hand in front of the creature's face in hopes of a response, though she got none. "Hello?"

Turning suddenly, the Nu walked up the stairs and disappeared behind the sealed door, which promptly slammed in their faces.

"H-Hey! Wait!" she yelled, sprinting in surprise up the stairs after it. "I have questions for you! Come back here!" She pounded on the smooth, glassy door with a great measure of impatience. "Where do you expect us to get a clone from? And what about Crono being important to time and space continuing?"

"The time-space continuum," Robo corrected as he pushed the button on his chest, deeming it a valid time to end his recording.

"Time-space continuum?" she repeated slowly, turning from the glassy door to look down the stairs at him.

"This refers to how time and space relate in a series of events, or in the continuum as a whole. In physics, this is also referred to as space-time, and is any mathematical model that intertwines-"

"Oh brother." She groaned at his long and foreign explanation; physics was Lucca's specialty, not hers. Her fingers slide down the ancient door as she stepped from it, leaving a clean streak in the grime and dust which had settled long ago. "Times like these I REALLY wish I had Lucca's brainpower." She crossed her arms in brief frustration. At her breast, her pendant glowed a soft and golden color, but either the princess didn't mind or she was too deep in thought to notice. "I hate to say it, but I think she should have come along after all, cause I have no idea what that Nu is talking about when he gets all science-y."

"Don't worry," Robo assured. "I have recorded our conversation with the Nu and will relay my conclusions to her upon regrouping."

"Well then," she paced in circles for a decided minute. Death Peak looked miserable enough from far away; she could hardly imagine getting past the insanely strong winds at the base of the mountain, never mind climbing it. No, they hadn't even been able to get beyond the first slope. Death Peak… Death Peak… Hadn't that old man- Belthasar- said something about it?

"Wait a minute," Marle uncrossed her arms and turned to Robo. "Robo. Didn't Belthasar say something about staying away from Death Peak till 'the right time'? Gosh, that was the first time we met him!"

"I cannot recall such a conversation," Robo replied blankly.

"No…" Marle frowned to herself and began her thoughtful pacing. "You weren't with us yet, were you? That was just before we met you. Lucca might… hmm."

It was then a soft, subtle glow from the corner of Magus' eye stole his attention from the grey stained wall he had been staring at for what felt like an eternity. Intrigued, he glanced up the stairs and past Marle to find the sealed door with the Zealian crest vibrating with a golden, ethereal light. It glowed brightest as she stopped near it. He blinked a few skeptical times to be sure he wasn't imagining it; it remained.

His brow slowly dipped.

Robo, who seemed ignorant of this strange light, was readying himself to leave the area. "Considering Lucca's experience with such matters, it now seems most appropriate to return to the End of Time and consult with her in-"

"How are you doing that?" Magus deadpanned suddenly, materializing out of thin air at her side and looming over her.

"Ack!" Both startled and oblivious, Marle nearly tripped over her own feet to back away. "How did you-"

"How are you doing it?" he demanded with no less force than the first time. He moved towards her quite intently, though of what intent she was uncertain. "Tell me."

Blinking slowly, she looked around for what he could possibly mean. "Doing what?"

"The door. It's glowing."

Marle turned just after the golden flush around the door evaporated. "… Uhhh, Magus…?"

Magus held his ground. "It just was."

Marle gave the wizard a strange look. Though it wouldn't be the first time she believed him to be crazy, this seemed like an… unusual kind of crazy for him. Looking to Robo for some sort of confirmation, he rolled backwards indifferently. "I saw nothing."

"Of course you wouldn't see it," Magus spat, fixing his eyes on the dull, lifeless door behind her with what could have been disappointment. "You don't have a soul."

"Hey now!" Marle quickly felt the need to defend. "Don't you go getting all snarky! What kind of insult is that, anyway?"

Magus almost rolled his eyes at her ignorance; did she always have to be such a hero? "It's not an insult; it's a fact. Anything without a spirit can't sense that kind of subtle magic." His attention turned from the door to her. "It doesn't even have senses. Anything without a soul is considered dead."

"You!" she growled, letting the inflection spark another surge of anger.

Magus recognizing the spark in her eye and was all too eager to fuel that fire. Fixing his eyes on her, he extended a gloved hand in Robo's direction, letting one, small ribbon of dark energy fly freely at him. Seeing this and fearing the worst, Marle instinctively jumped to stop the wizard but she stopped short as the dark magic simply rolled off Robo's metal breastplate.

"See?" the wizard concluded dryly. "Nothing."

"Wh- Arrg! What's wrong with you?" Marle shot back in frustration, quickly in his face again. "This is just like Johnny! Just because he's not a human doesn't mean he isn't alive, and it doesn't mean you can shoot magic at him like... like he's some sort of target practice!"

Something akin to a horrific smile tore at the corners of his lips. He crossed his arms slowly. "Can't I?"

Quite visibly, Marle's right eye twitched, and it was clear that the last straw had been had.

Frayed blonde hair and dirty steaks on her cheek did little to hide the triggered temper of a princess already well past hungry, tired and thirsty. The mountain of irritation and anger Magus had created over the last few weeks had collected a little too long and did not pair well with the above ill physical conditions. It could be argued as common knowledge that further angering an already angry monarch had never gone particularly well for anyone in the past, but Magus could care less. In fact, if there were one thing he could classify as personal enjoyment, it was causing strife. Being on Marle's bad side was one guaranteed assurance of this.

"You," she growled, hands set heavy on her hips as she took an angry step further into his personal space bubble. "You think you can go around wrecking whatever you want, don't you? Something makes you angry and you just... you just..." between smacking her palms together and throwing her hands up, she managed to mimic some kind of explosion. "You just blast it to pieces without any regard for what consequences there will be for others! Something looks stupid to you, and zap! Something frustrates you, and BAM!" She flung her index finger into his breastplate for emphasis, and the sound of crackling ice resonated through the empty room.

"Do you mean to tell me what to do, princess?" His near-smile didn't wane any as he brushed her icy fingers away.

"Yes, actually," she pushed her finger back at him. "I do. Magus, you've got to stop this! Just because you did it to Johnny doesn't make it right. That's not how you're supposed to deal with people you disagree with."

"Yes, well I could agree with you." He took a step back from her un-desired closeness. "But then we'd both be wrong."

"Augh." She threw her hands up in the air. "You're just as pig-headed as-"

"Oh please, if I wanted a lecture I'd ask that frog."

She glared at him for a moment. "So I suppose you don't see anything wrong with your stupid-ness? You just justify it with your stupid reasoning." She growled. "I don't care what you think; no one deserves to be treated that way!"

He made to say something smart in retort when something strange happened; he paused. As if the words had been slapped from his mouth, the smile-of-sorts suddenly vanished and his mouth clamped shut.

A silence encompassing a thousand pin drops fell upon the room. That strange, almost smile had completely disappeared from the wizard's expression, and in its place grew an even stranger look; confusion. No masked, half emotion- no stoic façade. Indeed, bedlam was written over his face like an open book, and it was written in such a unusual expression that it was… unnerving.

"Magus?!" Marle asked sharply.

Somewhere deep within his mind, the same words echoed in a different voice, the soft and convicting tone he knew like the back of his hand.

Schala's voice.

"Janus?"

His head was spinning. He closed his eyes to make it stop, but it didn't help. In fact, it made it worse; real, even.

Waiting by the window in Schala's room, Janus had lost track of how long he had been there and exhausted all of his usual means of entertainment. The silver string lay discarded on the floor, and any other objects of interest had fallen along with it. Despite himself, and despite his previous vow, he found his eyes land on the towering bookcase across the room. Then, he felt his feet move towards it. Maybe they had some… pictures? He didn't really have to read them… just… look over them.

That would do for now.

He chose the biggest book he could find, hauled it down and dragged it over to the bed beside Alfador. It was a big, red leather book bound with large gold print. He opened it and inhaled a smell that reminded him of the homes of the old Gurus who lived out on the western islands, although he had only been there a handful of times. Crinkling his nose, he began flipping through the pages of Zealian literature, but was quickly disappointed in not finding any pictures; truly, Zealians were boring through and through. He squinted at the dull text so hard that his head began hurt. With slow strain, he mouthed the words to himself, shaking his head and sighing.

Truthfully, he was still learning to read and write. It wasn't that he wasn't old or smart enough; no, he laughed at the thought. He was a perfectly capable learner. It was simply that hated being forced to do anything, and his mother had been demanding that he study for hours and hours every day, which of course drove him further away from the written word. He didn't understand why she cared what he did, anyway. All she cared about lately was Schala's 'training', or further stretching the boarders of Zeal. Selfish, cruel woman. He hated calling her mother.

His thoughts upset him, nearly overpowering the tranquil resource of solace he found in the room. Realizing this, he breathed deeply to calm himself, and his lungs filled with the familiar, favorite cologne. Even now as the wind blew in the widow, it grew stronger...

"Do you know what it is you are reading, young prince?"

Surprised and more so displeased that someone had come uninvited into the room, Janus rolled onto his stomach and came eye to eye with the strange creature standing at the foot of the bed. It stood there, peering around the simple wooden head board, watching him with its small black eyes. It smiled at him. Hoping it would go away, he rolled back onto his stomach and ignored it.

This, of course, did not earn the desired effect. Either it had heard the rumors of how the prince never spoke when spoken to, or it simply lost patience waiting for an answer, for it reached over the bed and took the book from beside him.

Instantly, his head snapped up. While he hadn't really cared to read the book, it certainly angered him that this thing had the nerve to barge in and take it, so he made to take it back. But in the blink of an eye, the creature was on the other side of the room, dancing and smiling in place with its bald head and silly, seamless dress as some strange wind crept into the room. It was then he recognized it as the strange, she-creature of Melchior's. He had seen her and her brothers at the grand production the Guru of Life had given for the Queen a few weeks ago. There she had seemed... different. Up close, she was almost smaller than him and quite a silly thing, jumping all over the place with her shiny head... what was her name now? And more importantly, why was she still here?

He pushed his feet off the side of the bed. He was contemplating chasing after her when the book in her hand suddenly flew open at the command of the unnatural wind whipping about the room. To his further surprise, a large tongue of fire crackled to life off the open pages, filling the room with a crackling sound. Alive with the flames, the creature's eyes flickered and the golden energy.

"It all began eons ago," she began, reading the flame with those wild eyes, "when man's ancestor picked up a shard of strange red rock. Its power, which was beyond human comprehension, cultivated dreams," she stopped to look up at him through the flame.

Janus watched as the flame's dance grew wider, wilder. He could feel the soft heat of its warmth on his face, calling him, drawing him closer and closer. Inside the flame, something was happening. Small, intricate silhouettes and shadows swayed with the dance of the flame, so wholly consumed that it looked as though it were simply a trick of the flame.

"In turn, love and hate were born." Her silky voice seemed to come from within his own mind- had he imagined it? Yet the flame seemed to hear her. Its dance became fierce, fast and dangerous. Licks of the flame shot about spontaneously as though it were lashing out destruction. Inside the flame, those figures wreathed in the fire, some melting away into nothing and others turning a brilliant, pure gold until the flame exploded into a puff of heat and disappeared with a sharp breath of wind.

The strange creature smiled. "Only time will tell how it all ends."

Janus blinked fiercely, only now realizing that he had been standing close enough to practically read the book. He stammered backwards scowling at her, the demand for her to leave ready to burst from his silent revere. But he held back.

"Now what do you think of that?" the creature asked listlessly, as though it were something sweet she were tasting on the tip of her tongue. "What strange boding this is! What could it mean and how do we know?"

"How do we know indeed," came the saving voice from the stair case. To his relief, Schala came up the stairs, looking very seriously at the creature. "And what right do you have to invite yourself into my room, Doreen? Especially in my absence?"

"Yours, mine; isn't it all relative?" She closed the book in her hand and it disappeared into thin air. "Actually, dear princess, I was hoping it would be you that I found here, but your brother appears to occupy your space just as rigorously as you do your training time. Although I must say, he does so wisely, for he was about to enter the gateway of truth."

Schala looked at her skeptically. "What are you talking about? There's nothing like that in here."

"Oh, it is not a matter of here," she smiled. "It is a matter of there. We find truth in the bliss of sleep, and surly the boy's tortured soul could use both!"

Janus looked from the expression of his confused sister to his sleepy cat, then back to Doreen. What was she talking about?

"Truth in blissful sleep indeed. Such dreadful philosophy will be the dignified destruction of our people," Schala replied sharply. As though suddenly aging twenty years, she sunk into a chair by the window and her fatigue became clearly visible. Janus could see char marks along her sleeves. "It sounds like slothfulness and false security to me; an attempt to justify our selfish way of life, and I truly hope you of all people do not believe such things."

"But what is behind such belief, dear princess?" Doreen danced a little, perhaps thinking to herself before she replied. "And do you truly believe that I am such a people, or even a people to begin with?"

Schala looked as though she wanted to say something, but perhaps wasn't sure what to say.

Doreen coked her head in disappointment, then danced towards the stairs. "Never assume that what you think or feel is correct. But you already know this, do you not?" Then, she smiled one last time and disappeared into thin air, her voice lingering behind her like a shadow. "You are a very wise, young Schala. I think we shall be good friends."

Startled, Schala blinked to be sure she hadn't imagined it all, then looked to Janus for confirmation. Seeing a similar, but more annoyed look on his face, she finally relaxed and laughed a little. "What strange creatures Melchior brings to life..." She turned her weary body around so that she was looking out the window, and the sunlight bleached her pale face. "Relative, gate of truth… ugh."

"What was she talking about?" he asked, pouting at the distance between himself and his sister. "About truth and being friends?"

"I don't know, Janus… She's a little strange." She sat down beside him on the bed in serious thought for a moment, then suddenly snatched him into her strong arms with a laugh. He smiled against the scarlet ocean of fabric enveloping him, breathing deep the fragile scent of serenity only his sister could carry with her. He nearly missed her convicted lecture in the midst of it. "All I know is that truth is more than a dream. It can't be fabricated; it just is. Right is right and wrong is wrong, and deep down, everyone feels it. There is injustice going on below our feet, my dear brother. No one should be treated like that… no one should..."

"Magus?"

He blinked, the dim and musty lack light of Keeper's Dome greeting his dilating pupils.

"Hey!" Seeing the uncharacteristic, spaced out appearance overtake his usual lackluster, Marle's need for verbal bashing suddenly diffused. "Magus?"

He blinked at her. He blinked at Robo.

Marle, whose anger had all but evaporated, stepped up to him and put a concerned hand on his shoulder, which was more than he would have allowed under fully conscious focus. Though she was the kind of person who didn't seem to invest in the concept of personal space, it was strange and foreign to him. He made to move himself away, but found he not only would not, but could not; his limbs were not responding to the mental command. Yet he could not make out if it were a physical or mental block.

Cursing inwardly at his sudden passibility, he suddenly realized that there was something strikingly familiar about Marle in this moment, be it a feeling or a sense, which he could not explain. In that moment of closeness, Magus realized with some amount of horror that amid the horrible fragrance of destruction in the dark, lifeless dome, a light, transcendent scent practically danced along an unseen wind. It was almost as if he were back in Schala's room, sitting by the sun lit window and waiting…

But it wasn't Schala, or even Schala's room; it was Marle.

"Hey…Magus?" Obviously ignorant of this strange revelation, she shook him by the shoulder, attempting to earn some of his focus. "Are you okay?"

"How?" His breath was warm and surprisingly soft. It tickled Marle's collarbone. "How is it…?" he inarticulated, staring at her blankly.

"How is what?" she asked with an unintentional shudder, as much at a loss as he seemed to be.

While Marle could all but wonder what serious condition had come over the resident wizard, Magus had a million of his own questions filling his mind. Why did Marle hold that foreign scent so prominently? Was this what he had been following this whole time? The questions ripped through his mind, a thousand at a time, making the seconds feel like the longest moment of his life, where he was somehow uncertain of what to say or do. Now confused and (heaven forbid) embarrassed, he finally retained control of his movement and stepped away from her hands, tucking his cape around his torso. And blinked.

She blinked back at him, a skeptical look growing on her features.

The door glowed again.

"This," he pointed behind her with a cool hiss, more grateful for the diversion than he let on. "This was what I was talking about."

"Don't think I'm going to fall for your excuses again," she started stubbornly, despite the fact that her head was already turning to look. "Cause I... Huh?" Marle eyes went wide when she saw that the door was in fact glowing. "Ooooo cool! I've never seen it do that before!" Without thinking twice, she was reaching out to touch it.

"Wait!" came the dry but flustered command from behind her. In the blink of an eye, Magus was standing between her and the door. "You don't know what kind of effect it will have on you. Or us."

"It's just a door," came the short reply. Impatient, she stepped around him and reached out again, but a cold hand grabbed her wrist, holding it inches from the radiating depth of the glow.

"Let me go!" she growled, trying to reef her arm out of his grasp to no avail. He gave her a stare as cold as his touch and pursed his lips, refusing to let go. "Fine," she glared back, shaking her head. "Two can play at this."

To Magus' somewhat surprise, Marle grabbed onto his wrist and twisted it, not to get out of his grasp but to spin herself forward. Momentum and surprise as her guide, she reached out again for the door with her free hand and this time successfully placed a hand on it, and the golden glow weaved in between her fingers.

Magus' eyes widened as he backed away, expecting something terrible to happen.

But nothing happened. At least, nothing like what he had expected.

Marle let out a laugh. "Mmmm! Look, it's warm- feel!"

He glared at her wiggling fingers blankly. "Do you have any idea what you could have done? You could have thrown us into some stray time stream that we could have been stuck in forever!"

"Oh sure, and why should I believe you?" she asked, though she didn't care much for an answer. She was mesmerized by the glow. "Nothing happened."

The wizard crossed his arms over his chest. "The Zealian crest doesn't respond like that unless there is a trigger near by, and activating the door could have-"

But Marle was completely gone. With a goofy smile, she pressed her face onto the door, and the rest of her followed. "OoOoOo!" she giggled. "I'm gloooowing!"

Staring stupidly, the wizard finally turned and stormed back down the stairs.

"Robo, you have to try this!" Marle called as she peeled herself off the door excitedly, running down the stairs to grab her robotic friend. "C'mon!"

Robo didn't move to meet her. "As much as you may disagree, Magus is correct. I am unable to see or experience what you do."

"Awe, really?" she pouted.

"I told you," Magus flung an angry hand over his shoulder, not bothering to look back at her. "But that doesn't matter, does it?

"You just hate fun. Admit it."

"Fun? Yes, there's nothing more fun than potentially-" his gloating tone came to an abrupt halt as he glanced over his shoulder and everything- including his breath- came to a stop. His eyes were fixed on her chest.

Marle noticed this quickly, and rather suspiciously. "What do you think you're looking at?!" she asked, crossing her arms.

His mouth moved, but next to no sound came out. "Your necklace…"

"What?" her cheeks went red, though whether with anger or embarrassment was unclear. The wizard's gaze flicked briefly into her eyes before he looked away, stubbornly silent.

"Marle," Robo interrupted. "It is best that we hurry to the end of time to speak with Lucca about what the Nu has told us. I predict that there is very little left here for us to do at this point in time, and that the others are eagerly awaiting our arrival. Also, I believe it is not beneficial for our health to remain any longer than necessary. "

"..." Her angry glare at the wizard gradually dulled. "Right." She shot one last suspicious glance at the wizard and without another word, she was sailing down the stairs. Silently, thoughtfully, the wizard followed. Only this time, he followed her a little more closely.

"In fact," Robo continued, unaware of most of what had really happened, "my data states that the health effects of such pollution on a human population contributes greatly to issues such as blah, blah blah and blaah…" Marle heard very little from here. Whether it was due to her thoughts already being consumed elsewhere, or the fact that most of what he said went right over her head… was debatable. Now that she had consciously thought about the air which she was breathing again, all she could think of was getting back to clean air, the rush of flying back through time, the familiarity of clean wind blowing through her hair, the sound of…

CRUNCH

Broken glass crunching under foot.

"Ouch!" Marle yelped quietly, yanking her foot away from whatever she had stepped on. She looked down to see what must have been one of the magic tabs Belthasar had left to instruct them. "What the? I guessed we missed one." She was about to slip it into her pocket when a small voice caught her attention.

"Is your friend important to time and space?" came a soft, barely audible whisper.

"Huh?" Confused, she shot up and looked around the room to see who else had snuck in, but found no one. A gentle draft wafted through her bangs, tickling her still-flushed cheeks. "Hello? What do you mean?" she looked around hesitantly.

Not knowing who (or more so, what) she was talking to, Robo commenced to repeat his last sentence. "I mean that if time and space were to be so closely related, then only motion could cause enough of a disturbance to reverse the flow of time, therefore, blah blah blah…"

Even if she had been listening whole-heartedly, Marle would have wound up lost as to how Robo went from talking about the weather to time physics in a matter of a minute- in a one-sided conversation, to boot! But now, she could not seem to take her focus away from the glint of light she held in her palm. It let out a little sparkle, but gave no other intelligible resonance.

Regarding her lack of both forward motion and response as incentive to keep moving, Robo did so, taking lead of the team and continuing with his randomly-generated rambling. "It would be in our best interest to hurry, as you must be hungry and in need of a bath."

"Yeah, I-" Marle stopped short. "Hey! What are you saying?"

Magus, always the observer, eyed the small spec in her hand from behind with well-masked interest before she gently slipped it into her pocket. She shot him a warning look and followed after Robo, though she was unaware that Zealian ears were not so long without good, magical reason.

-v-

"A clone, huh?" Lucca adjusted her glasses with hesitance at the last of Robo's long transmission, setting her monkey wrench aside as she rolled out from underneath the Epoch. Discontent with the thought of the rest of her spare time spent idly upon fully resting up, she had hoisted the airplane up and managed to wrestle it back into general well being. Of course, simply having some time to cool down had done it some good, but she was sure there was some damage done to the engine from her... abuse.

Taking her helmet from her head, she rubbed a streak of oil further across her cheek.

"Pray tell, exactly what is this 'clone' thou speak of?" Frog asked slowly, leaning away from the white picket fence.

"It's a copy of something that already exists," the inventor answered shortly. The End of Time held an elongated moment of thought despite the group's restlessness. "And I only know of one person who can make a clone." She was on her feet and brushing the dust from her pants before anyone could make two steps. "Unfortunately. I know just who we need to go see."

"You do?!" Marle sounded grateful and relieved all at once.

"Yes," she grimaced. "A certain magician at a certain millennial fair."

The princess's relieved expression dropped. "Wait. You don't mean…"

Lucca nodded regretfully. "I've always thought there was something more to Bekkler and his lab, though I've never wanted to stick around long enough to find out..."

"Stick around! I never wanted to go inside in the first place!" Marle shuddered involuntarily. She sat cross-legged between Frog and an impatiently bored Ayla, who was absent-mindedly swishing her fabric tail in circles along the cobblestone. "I hate that freaky tent!"

"Freaky tent?" echoed the energetic blonde between throwing her tail about.

"Crono always loved it," Lucca shook her head quickly. "Although I'm positive that half of his kick was dragging me in there to freak me out, the jerk."

Despite herself, Marle giggled at the idea of Crono pushing Lucca into the tent and running for the hills. There was a silence full of reminiscence. Lucca sighed.

"On another subject," Robo whirred, not sensing that his transitional timing was, as always, impeccably terrible. "There are still other matters of concern to deal with, one being of immediate importance. It seemed the strange sink-hole that appeared in 600 B.C. is a direct result of our facing Lavos in 12,000 A.D. I am concerned that if left unattended, it would cause unprecedented change to the future."

"Really?" Marle asked, suddenly wide eyed. "You mean WE caused that?"

"Aye," Frog piped up. Lucca slowly looked over at Gaspar, who seemed to be waiting for her eyes to catch his. She swallowed as her amphibian friend went on. "I fear'th for the lives of Fiona and Marcus, for they do dearly cherish their forest above their own health and would fight to the death to protect it. Tis' an unfortunate thing that they lack'th such necessary skills to protect themselves."

If Marle's attention wasn't already caught, it was hooked now. "Oh no! That's awful! We have to go and-"

"No, we don't," Lucca stated in a sudden cause of resistance. Everyone to look at her in surprise. She grabbed her bag and had it slung over her shoulder, making for the portals. "We need to go get that clone and get to Death Peak now that we know what to do. We've messed around with the time stream more than enough for one lifetime already."

"Lucca?" Frog nearly blurted in surprise as he peeled himself off the fence. "Tis' a matter too grave to merely turn'th an eye from. Lives hang'th by the thread, and thou would'st look away, knowing the thread would snap…? Impossible!"

"We're heros, Lucca," came Marle. "It's our job to fix time."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on here. Have we forgotten about Crono?" she cackled in disbelief, turning back to them in the slightest. "You heard Gaspar; we don't have time to waste, and we're not entitled to 'fix' time; we're supposed to save the world from Lavos. That's it. So can we get moving on that now?"

Instead of earning the wave of followers she expected, she earned a wave of blank and surprised stares. And Magus' disinterested sigh.

"Come on," she insisted sharply, pulling a loose string from her frayed sleeves. "What are we all waiting for?"

"Lucca," Marle stood, starting softly but seriously. "You know we haven't forgotten about Crono. We all want him back, and we would do whatever it takes to make that happen. I will do whatever it takes," she emphasized. Lucca didn't meet her gaze. For some reason, her gut didn't want to hear this coming from Marle. From Frog, Robo- heck, even Magus (though that was highly unlikely). But not Marle. "But how can we turn a blind eye to the lives that are in danger right this instant? What about Fiona? She's in very serious danger."

"And Crono isn't?" Lucca shot back hotly, throwing her bag to the ground in frustration. Marle didn't flinch, but she did pause to reconsider how to react. While the inventor was at speaking again, it was clear that she was still unpredictable aside from her Crono-centric mindset, and while the princess couldn't blame her for wanting to save her best friend, it was unlike Lucca to throw aside completely the needs of others.

"I need you to hear me out here, okay?" The inventor didn't answer, but Marle went on. "I know that Crono is going to be okay. I can't explain how, but I just… I just feel it, you know? We're going to bring him back."

Lucca laughed dryly. "You expect me to trust a feeling?"

"Yes," came Marle's simple reply. "I do."

"I'm sorry Marle," Lucca began, but Marle wasn't done.

"Lucca, remember when Crono told you that I disappeared right in front of his eyes when we first met?" The inventor looked at her blankly.

"When something happened to your ancestor, Queen Leene?"

The princess nodded. "That was one of the scariest things thats ever happened to me. The darkness was so thick around me that it felt like I was drowning. I... I don't ever want to go through that again. I really don't know how I survived in... wherever I was. It felt like I was there for years. But do you know what got me through it?"

Everyone, even Lucca, stood waiting.

"I don't know if I was alive, or if I even existed wherever I was..." from his favored place near the bucket of doom, Magus' eyes flickered up at her curiously. "But I do know that had hope- a small flicker somewhere... I knew that Crono would save me. Funny, huh? Trusting a complete stranger with your life..."

Lucca blinked at her slowly, biting at her lip.

"And now..." Marle nodded slowly to no one in particular. "Well, I have that same feeling now, Lucca. This isn't going to be an easy journey up the mountain, but I know with all my heart that we'll get there. The same hope kept me afloat then is reassuring me now. I can't mistake that feeling. Can you trust that?"

Although skeptically, the inventor slowly looked up to meet her gaze. Marle was at her side now, placing a reassuring hand out for her to take, which she slowly did. "This isn't your fault, Lucca. Don't beat yourself up. It was his choice to do what he did for us. And now it's our turn to pay him back."

Lucca was silent, standing still as a statue.

After a long moment of silence, Marle took a breath. "We can split up. Besides, we can't all go directly after that clone. If we have a bit of time, then let's use it to save some lives. Okay?"

Frog jumped forwards. "I agree," he croaked. "We shall stone two birds!"

"Bird?!" Ayla jumped up angrily. "No bird! No more bird ride!"

Marle looked at her primitive friend blankly. "No more birds?"

"The Epoch," Lucca mumbled dryly. She wasn't particularly happy with this supposed 'split up' plan growing its legs, but they were right... though she didn't want to say it. "Don't put her back in there; it drives her crazy."

"Oh, okay that's easy then," Marle began in her authoritative tone. "Robo, Frog and I will take care of this weird dessert situation in the past, and you, Ayla and Magus can go get the clone from Bekkler."

"Sure, send me to the creepy tent with the creepy guy and force me to go with another creepy..." she jumbled her words, opting to jest a thumb towards Magus.

"You get used to him after a while." Marle, who chose not to decipher whatever Lucca had mumbled, shrugged innocently. "We need all the water wielders we can get to fight off those sand creatures, and the two of us-"

"Three," interrupted Magus (seemingly) impassively at his typical leave beside the doomsday bucket with the dangerous gate shining inside. "You have three; ice and water are one in the same."

Marle turned to him as if he were sharing some great revelation. "Three, huh?"

"I'm hurt, princess. You're trying to get rid of me so soon?"

The princess pursed her lips; she couldn't explain how, but there was something different about Magus since what happened in Keeper's Dome. It seemed like he actually wanted to be around now, and it freaked her out a little. So she said nothing.

"Okay." Lucca scratched her head, looking between Magus, Frog and Marle with slight concern. They hadn't been travelling particularly well together by the sounds of it, but Magus was right, although it was strange of him to bring light to such a point- or to actually be right about something. "Well then, Robo will come with us, and we'll wait for you three at the fair with Crono's clone."

Frog, although rather unbecoming of him, half grumbled against his foul luck at being paired with his sworn enemy-ally once again; yet he was torn, for he felt it was his duty of sorts of to keep track of Marle's well-being around the likes of the wizard. He had noticed that Magus especially difficult around the princess for some reason, and of course, that didn't sit well the eternally loyal, Guardian knight.

Magus was silent on the decision, apparently without opinion on the matter or simply not caring enough to share it. Though when no one was directly looking, he looked… smug about something or other.

"Cat?" Ayla piped up, motioning to Alfador. "Where go?"

Everyone looked to Magus, whose eyes shifted to the tiny creature at his feet. There was a moment of silence before he nodded at the cat, and then tossed his cape further behind himself. "He goes with you to the fair. He'll keep up fine."

"Alright, let's get moving then!" Lucca adjusted her glasses and reclaimed the pack on her back, then almost as if she had forgotten, turned to the man napping at the light post. "Thanks for all your help, Gaspar."

Everyone looked up to him in surprise. "Gaspar!"

"The Time Guru?!"

"What?"

Gaspar tipped his head lightly at the attention. "Well, that's what they used to call me…"

Magus fixed him with a long, hard look. Everyone else gawked.

"Sorry if I blew your cover," Lucca stated as she made for the steps, eager to get going. "Thanks for all your help; we really owe you. C'mon Robo. Ayla. Alfador." The little cat fell in line behind Ayla, watching her tail with great intent. Lucca rolled her eyes, wondering what kind of trouble two cats could cause. "We'll see the rest of you by tomorrow- or else."

With that, one group was heading to the restored Epoch and the other to the gate leading to the fair. Gaspar watched them go with a smile. "To bring back lost ones… it's what everyone wants." He placing a wrinkled hand over his chest. "Crono… must be proud to have friends like you."

Magus' sharp ears overheard the old man's musing, however. He watched Marle walk up the stairs before looking over his shoulder at the old man, who he recognized the Guru now. But his remembrance of him was fuzzy. Had he always been a crazy old man who talked to himself? Or hadn't there someone he…

-v-

The festival music was something Lucca had not heard for what felt like forever, she realized. It felt good to move through the gate and hear the familiar tune. With a smile, she stepped forward and admired the sun and clouds and sun and sky and everything the End of Time didn't have to offer. The realization of how long she had been gone finally dawned on her, although it didn't seem as if much had changed. Kids were still running around candy stands, merchants were still pushing their sales on any passer-by and the runners were still racing.

In fact… it looked like nothing had changed.

"Geeze, you think they'd pack up by now, right Cron…" she caught her tongue suddenly, realizing that her lifelong friend wasn't behind her typical observational complaints this time. Perhaps not everything had remained the same.

"Lucca, there is an error in your sentence. What is wrong?" Robo asked, a slight chirp in his tone despite his lack of an emotional component.

Swallowing her sorrow, Lucca shook her head. "Never... mind. Let's get to that tent."

Ayla, however, had already managed to become distracted and had a different destination in mind. "You hear?!" she practically shouted, earning a startle from the young inventor. "Music! My music!"

The inventor tried in vain to hold her still. "What are you talking about Ayla?"

"You no hear?" Rolling towards the lower right-hand staircase, the cavewoman pound her chest, making a deep thunk of a sound. "Here, this way!"

Before Lucca could flinch or even reach out to stop her, Ayla was running past the pop-chugging contest and through the bushes towards the local primal dancers. Taking a moment to thoroughly enjoy smacking her head, she turned to Robo. "Looks like it's just you and me, then."

"Although I would have no objections to such a plan," Robo gestured to the small cat pacing around them, unaffected by the constantly changing environments. "I believe you are mistaken, Lucca. Magus' feline friend remains with us."

She wrinkled her nose and began walking down the steps. Alfador followed. "Magus? Friends? Hah, who knew?"

Robo wasn't as concerned with the small cat, however. Even as they walked, his attention was fixed on the grotto their friend had run into. "Are you positive it is safe to leave Ayla unattended? This is a time period alien to her in every manner."

"Oh, she'll get along just fine where she's going. Besides, we won't be long." She swallowed, patting the long forgotten silver coins in her pocket. "I hope."