Disclaimer: I'm not saying I own Chrono Trigger, so don't sue me. I've no money, self-esteem, or hard drive space to spare.

Strange Occurrences:

1648 A.D. - 22nd Winter

Thrice have I beheld the glimpse of a gleaming white bird... clad not in feathers nor flesh, nor wood or crude stone. For what she came, I do not know. But there she once flew on flaming gold wings from amidst the Sun; and there she did plunge from her heavenly glide – a gruesome peal betwixt the trees.

Bounding forth despite my torpor, to her aid I quickly dashed. There she lay in one battered piece, several tongues of flame grazing idly on her frame. I took steps ever nigh, perusing the downed creature as would a runt inspect some grand, snoozing giant. My gaze was soon beckoned, however, to a sight most unexpected. The colossal fowl revealed to my leery eyes a hatch of sorts, which opened skyward along her back with a soft hiss. And inside? Her very innards – three, each unlike the rest from one scene to the next – approached and bespoke to me of umpteen woes our Earth has crossed.

The first, a lustrous blot of orange perched far to my left, was a feminine presence who wept tenderly of love lost... life redeemed, and a fledgling's essence snipped short in the face of utmost evil. Surely my interest had been peaked by such a lamentable recital, but the gleam had already fulfilled her unknown purpose. I turned on my heels as she floated away, briefly questioning my own mental state.

And just when I began to suspect this whole scenario to be but a dream, a hearty gust from the east brushed past my features like a pair of gloved hands to tug at my cerulean locks, as if searching for a listener. Its fragrance, a faint wisp of moist soil and perspiration, swarmed my senses as I lent the specter an eager ear. It hummed a plaintive chorus in honor of fallen heroes, forgotten ambitions, and the mending of heart and dreamstone alike... then waned to a sullen breeze.

This lax draft proved quite short-lived, moreover, when a gloomy gray haze encircled the vicinity. A powerful gale, which I initially mistook for a tornado, began to slice and slash at some poor rocks below with the explicit fervor of an enraged and lonely child. Unlike the former forces, the child spoke of nothing, and simply pursued its quest to eradicate every pebble around. This process continued for what felt like hours. What could I best do but speak? And so I inquired, in the most humble and hushed of tones, "What... what troubles you so?"

As if on cue, it was then that the tar-hued veil and twister dissipated, and before me stood a young boy of no more than nine years of age; in his arms slept a lilac kitten. His optics, severely jaundiced and bloodshot, seemed to pierce right through my very core, and even through the forest behind me. The face that bore such a gripping stare rang all too familiar in my mind as well, but I had not the chance to mull over any sort of possible correlation for long.

Quoth the solemn, soot-stained soul but one foul word in reply:

"Lavos."

65,000,000 BC – The Mystic Mountains

The early Paleogene sun, inhibited by neither cloud nor eclipse, peeped timidly over the beige alps of the Mystic mountain range, casting a spectral glow onto each exposed structure below. A nippy breeze meandered through the landscape's lush fauna, its low drone echoing against nearby hills and cliff sides. Local Kilwalas and Runners were just beginning to skulk from their verdant burrows in search of food. Prehistoric insects chirped and chattered in harmony to complement their fellow creatures' bustling routine. Every noise, big or small, congregated flawlessly to form a symphony unlike any other. No flute, pan, or bongo drum would ever compensate for the planet's natural instruments.

'Twas a serene, aesthetically pleasing dawn indeed – perfect for those who enjoy a quiet morn with Mother Nature as their sole escort... until a very distressed young scientist began to stomp and holler.

So much for Earth's unscathed rhythm.

Jolting from her sleepless stupor, Lucca began to panic as she spotted two unconscious forms. Everyone was supposed to be awake by this time, working together to finish a myriad of simple errands. There was food to be gathered, wood to be lit, medicines to bought, and berths to be bundled.

"Augh, get up! Marle! Ayla! We have to get going, NOW! We can't move on if you don't get your lazy butts up! We have things to do!" the mechanical prodigy sputtered incoherently as she stumbled from one unmade makeshift bed to the next, unaware of the ear-shattering pitch in her voice. Lucca had never been the type to go batshit over ordeals that could be just as easily be solved with rational logic, but all-night watch posts were not her strong suit. While everyone else slept peacefully, she had to prop herself against a thick conifer tree to look out for stray monsters. The girl had grown understandably choleric by the crack of dawn.

Amidst the manic shouting and pacing, Ayla continued to snore like an Ogan with some God-awful sinus infection, and Marle had long since taken refuge beneath a plushy cotton pillow. Robo was on a quick quest to gather as much kindle wood as possible for a mid-morning cookout, and so remained only one particularly broody – and awake – mage. Even Frog and Crono, who were in town stocking up on Potions, Elixirs, and Panaceas, made better company to Magus than this sleep-deprived maniac. It was only 8 AM, and the magician was already determined to make use of his infamous Doom Scythe on Lucca.

"Would you please shut up over there? Whether they're feigning deafness or not, I can certainly hear your incessant yapping," the pale man snarled, pausing briefly to massage his downcast brow. "Besides, panicking will do nothing to slay Lavos. Panic portends weakness. The weak--"

"--Go quickly to their graves, BLUH BLUH BLUH. Sing a new song, won'tcha?" Lucca retorted with a tad too much haste as she rolled her blue eyes. A large artery in Magus' temple began to throb, and it took every ounce of self-control to restrain himself from either decapitating the exhausted scientist, or turning her into a frog like he had Glenn. Both sounded nice, really... but alas. His priorities forbade him from indulging in such sinister pleasures as of yet. So instead, he walked over to Marle's area of slumber and knelt beside the dreaming princess while Lucca went back to traipsing along the messy campsite.

"Awaken, Your Sleepiness. It's time to pack up." A few moments passed before Magus's pithy wake-up call yielded any results. Marle lifted the pillow from her contorted face, eyes still clamped shut, to spit a raspberry at the impatient fiendlord. With a childish whine, she then plead half-consciously, "But it's so early... Five more minutes?"

"... UP, damn you," Magus snapped, the aforesaid artery now threatening to hemorrhage. He didn't have the mind or time to deal with one tired teenager, let alone two. How in Zeal had he wound up with such a trifling group? He could have smacked himself silly for not extinguishing them back in what was now Ozzie's keep. Broad hands seized the young girl's pillow and chucked it sideways before returning to either side of the silver-haired wizard's lips.

He then positioned himself inches from the side of her sleep-softened face, above her jaw. Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply and proceeded to shout as loudly as possible into Marle's unsuspecting ear canal. "AAAAAAAHHH!"

Her flabbergasted expression, barrage of curses, and onset of shakiness exceeded his expectations to the extent that he even backed away with a chuckle. It was a chuckle of sadistic origin, yes, but he had indeed chuckled and therefore proven himself capable of feeling amusement. Had Lucca been paying any mind to the scene, she would have gasped at this once-in-a-lifetime display of positive emotion, but she hadn't. The inventor's attention was directed towards her robotic companion, who was fast advancing uphill from the Dactyl Nest with an armful of logs.

"Good morning, Lucca!" the amiable machine called, now setting the trunks onto a patch of bright green monkey grass. As she smiled wearily towards Robo, she could not help but envy his inhuman resilience. If only she could stand watch all night, then gather wood, then wave merrily to her friends without collapsing or biting someone's head off.

Robo's parabolic cranium turned several times to survey his teammates, taking notice of a snorting cavewoman and a very shellshocked Marle. He then eyed Lucca, whose face was the epitome of fatigue. "Are you not feeling well, Lucca? And what has happened with Princess Nadia? Is she ill?" he inquired with a metallic, emotionless voice, despite his earnest concern. Moving a few strands of purple hair from beneath her glasses, Lucca shook her head and glanced disdainfully towards Magus. "I'm alright, don't worry. And Count Dracula over there scared the wits out of Marle 'cause she wouldn't wake up. I suppose his method was successful, but..."

"Shall I wake Miss Ayla, then? I will try not to startle her."

"Heh, good luck getting her up. Magus should've shouted at Ayla, not Marle," Lucca replied with a snigger. Robo beeped in response, which apparently substituted for human laughter in this context. He strolled over to the bikini-clad blonde and bent forward to poke the top of her skull. Nothing. The golden android then attempted to jiggle Ayla's left shoulder, but even the rhythm of her labored breathing did not budge; upon utilizing this method several times thereafter, Robo came to realize that he would in fact have to startle the comatose warrior lest she sleep until high noon. Yet luck smiled upon the gentle robot on this cloudless day – for the two swordsmen had returned from Ioka's merchant hut with plenty of medicine, three sets of Ruby Armor, and a large, uncooked bird carcass. If there is one sure-fire method to awaken a tired caveperson, it would be the sweet aroma of breakfast. And awaken Ayla it did, quite easily.

With a burst of energy owed entirely to carnal instinct and enhanced olfactory nerves, she leapt straight from her bed of leaves and landed dead in front of Frog. Her lips curled into a devious grin, baring her ivory choppers to the chivalrous amphibian. "Smell food! Ayla eat! Can eat?!"

Frog hopped astern with a grimace, clearly disturbed by the ravenous glint in Ayla's eyes. "H-haven't we gone over this? Does sleep still cloud your mind?! I'm no morsel to be chowed upon! Get back!"

A stoic Ayla paused to put her hands on her hips and motioned her head towards Crono. "Not frog want eat! Crono bird eat! Smell good. Ayla want help frog carry thing too. Frog so touchy," the blonde stated in an uncharacteristically professional tone, aside from her broken English.

"... I see." Frog cleared his throat while releasing his white-knuckle grip on the Masamune. With a polite bow, he then apologized and offered the exuberant chief a few small sacks of supplies. "Shall we cook ourselves a feast then, or stand about as idle statues?" Every member of the team, even Magus, acknowledged Frog's rhetorical question and prepared to cook the gargantuan game. To an onlooker from afar, the meal could easily be compared to a strange variation of The Last Supper... and so it was, to a degree.

An hour and six full stomachs later...

"Alright, I do believe it's time for us to head off. We've business to attend to," announced a slightly less ornery Magus to the other six, who sat circled around a barren roasting stick. Ayla belched and rubbed her stomach with a contented sigh, still rejecting the whole idea of manners. "Fight Lavos now?"

Crono stood up from the fallen trunk that contrived his bench, stretching lazily before he could reply. "Not yet, Ayla. Remember what the Guru of Time said? There are still several portions of time that need... well, fixing."

"Yes, such as the era of my old keep, the Middle Ages," the ex-prince turned to look Frog in the eyes as he continued, "an old general of mine, Ozzie – whom Glenn has met, of course – swiped my status as lord of the fiends. You all assumed his death, and so the rift between humans and Mystics still remains. He is arrogant and cowardly, unworthy of my title. He and his cronies must be snuffed."

Pointed ears then perked at the din of a sword being culled from its leather scabbard; it was none other than a glowering Frog, who had unsheathed part of his legendary blade to Magus as a warning.

"You will not refer to me by that name, Janus." The heat of his mandate could have easily thawed the most frigid of glaciers.

... Silence. Ayla, Marle, Lucca, Crono, and Robo all peered warily between the two enemies, praying a scuffle would not ensue. After several minutes of an intense staring contest, both did nothing, to everyone's assurance, solely because it was not the time pick trivial fights. Today was the genesis of a long, harsh path to reach and obliterate the planet's worst nightmare. Salted wounds could wait for now.

"There's also the Rainbow Shell to find. You know, the one Toma Revine had been searching for back in the 600's. Melchior said we could make great armor from it! We'd definitely be ready to fight that no-eyed porcupine," Marle proclaimed, her notorious idealism shattering the awkward hush that had enclaved the entire group.

Crono pitched in with an excited voice, "Yeah! That shouldn't be too hard to find, and I've still got the bottle of sake he gave me back at that old tavern. What do you guys think?"

"Whatever. I don't need armor or alcohol to affront Lavos. Do what you will, but I have my own plans," Magus spat, now trussed against a nearby stone wall.

Ignoring the magician's riposte, Lucca nodded in agreement to Crono's proposal, but reminded him of one other key issue at hand: the Geno Dome of Robo's time. "We can't forget about the malfunctioning robot factory of the 2300's, though. If I recall correctly, Robo said that the main computer of his own birth-- er, manufacturing place has been re-programmed. It wants to destroy the remaining humans of our future, and we can't let that happen." All but Magus bobbed their heads slightly in agreement.

"I concur with Lucca on this matter," Robo chimed in with a nod, "for we must confront Mother Brain, as she is called by our kind, before humanity is erased. It is a mission of great importance."

"Ayla say too many things do in short time. Head go boom! How we finish fast?" Of course, she did have a good point. There were only seven of them, and several moderately difficult tasks to complete before facing the day of cataclysm. How would they go about it? Each mused for a small amount of time before Frog spoke up.

"Mayhap we split into groups? As long as we each equip plenty of healing goods, our efforts will pay off without a great deal of time spent--"

"But who shall go with who?" Magus inquired, interrupting the knight's verbal bemusement.

"That's the issue I was I was about address..." Frog's eyelids lowered in annoyance at the wizard's lack of amenities; he wordlessly begged Cyrus to grant him the patience and will to not strangle the livid man before their journey would end. Did Magus take pleasure in patronizing the poor squire so?

Lucca stepped forward, a mixed expression of excitement and determination etched upon her bespectacled face. "I'm going with Robo to negotiate with Mother Brain then, if that's the plan. With my fire and his fists, we can go at it ourselves. You up for that, Robo?" She turned abruptly to face her steely partner with an intrepid smirk, holding her right hand up for a high-five.

"It sounds like a good idea, Lucca," spake Robo, clueless as to why his fleshly friend was waving hello to him. Many human mannerisms were still so unfamiliar to his ever-learning hard drive, and this was no exception.

"Crono, let's go after that sh--" began princess Nadia, the second speaker to be cut off by Zeal royalty in a single minute.

"No, Princess. You'll accompany me as my healer. While I've no concern of perishing at the hands of that fool Ozzie, I know well the ailments he can inflict. We'll infiltrate my... his keep through the Wings of Time."

Crono bit his lip at the mage's sudden demand, offended that he didn't even bother to take into consideration Marle's input – or his. He said nothing of it for peace's sake, however, and replied with a curious tone, "So who'll accompany me, then? Frog mentioned wanting to return to his own time to check on Queen Leene, and I'm sure Ayla has priorities here--"

"Ayla go with Crono. Crono strong, Ayla strong. We find shell easy!" the blonde exclaimed with a wink, confidence dripping from her every word. Lucca grinned, already clutching her beloved Gate Key. "It's settled then! Let's hit the road, everyone. We'll meet once more at the end of time, head off, and regroup again once we've finished. Sounds simple enough, right?"

"Sure, if it's for the best..." the white-clad princess trailed off, overtly disappointed at the prospect of separating from her should-be boyfriend. Again.

"Yes, Lucca. You and I shall head to Geno Dome while Crono and Miss Ayla locate the Rainbow shell. Magus and Princess Nadia are bound for Ozzie's fortress," repeated Robo, his green oculi flashing several times.

"Oh!" yelped Ayla before she turned to Crono, as if remembering something. "Before leave Ayla want say goodbye to Kino. Is okay with Crono?"

Crono said not a word, though he did give Ayla a curt nod. In all honesty, the swordsman would have preferred to venture off with Marle, or at least Lucca. Sure, the catty cavewoman was a valuable fighter of utmost strength and perseverance, but companions from his own era still made for better conversation. As if he weren't tongue-tied enough around girls, add sixty-five million years of culture shock to the mix and the result was terribly awkward. On top of that, Crono was also aware of the fact that his disappointment was not unrequited, namely judging by the tomboyish princess's now crestfallen demeanor; spotting a frown on such an optimistic young woman's face tugged at his heart, though he would never admit it aloud.

Nadia began to feel slightly nauseous, not to mention envious of Ayla, when a familiar croak saved the girl from her own spiraling thought process.

"Hold, Magus. This battle is not yours alone to fight. I have met this bovine general of yours, have I not? I know more of him than Her Majesty. His fall by my sword shall be the single rose among the many thorns of sparing your life for comradery."

Magus couldn't help but roll his eyes at the knight's cheesy metaphor. "Hmph. Suit yourself. Just know that I won't come to your rescue if he trips you up."

"... As shan't I if you are to lapse," muttered the bearer of the Hero's Badge, who soon evaporated into the newly opened temporal gate beneath the edge of the campsite.

'Chivalry my steely buttocks,' the mage thought sourly.

Marle pressed her palm to her face for a moment, already regretting the agreement to break up into groups. Her cup runneth over with anticipation of Frog and Magus butting heads throughout the entire trip to Guardia. Not.

"Can we just go?"

Magus drifted earthward into the gate with a stolid grace, his arms crossed against his plated chest; moments passed, and his visage faded. At least he had assented to the princess's suggestion without controversy – one less battle to fret over, Marle mused.

Lucca shook her head at the quarrelsome duo, but shrugged nevertheless before vaulting through the threshold behind Zeal's prince. As Robo joined her to depart for the future, she shouted hoarsely to Nadia, "Good thing you're going along with those two, Marle. Keep them sane! And good luck to you too, Crono. See ya soon!"

Gone then were the technologically savvy partners, leaving behind Nadia and her musclebound ally. Neither said a thing, and simply locked eyes for some time.

'This isn't goodbye, Marle. I promise.'

Without a sound, she gave the young man a warm, sullen smile, then descended into the beryl vortex. All sights before her dissolved into a vicious cyclone of blue and violet smears, and her oval eyes hid beneath their lids in response to the brilliant aurora. She was too deep in thought to be distracted by it, anyway. 'Be safe, Crono... I... we can't lose you again.'

And she vanished.

Having watched each friend take their leave, Crono issued forth a sigh as the warp finally abated to its regular diameter. Now only he and Ayla remained, but she was nowhere to be found. Alone, he began packing away his newly purchased armor and tonics when a stray beam of light struck his vision. After several curses involving blindness and myopia, Crono headed for the source, only to discover Nadia's blue pendant. It lay sparkling in the sunlight, as if imbibing the heavenly energy, by a boulder she had slept near last night. The youth scooped the mysterious piece of jewelry into his clash-calloused hands. It was of wondrous design, thought he upon scrutinizing the gem and its golden chain.

Now he would have to come back safely, if only to return to Marle her beloved artifact.

'But so do you, Nadia. You must.'

Poor Crono wound up lingering by the cliff for two hours more, azure pendant round his neck, bag in hand.

At the Brink of Time

By the time Marle arrived through one of the legion pillars of light, Robo and Lucca had already slipped into their allotted era, and her cross troupe had made their way across the dock moments ago. Had they the courtesy to even wait on her? Heaven forbid! She expected such from Frog, at the very least.

With a subtle scowl, she trudged between each remaining portal and over the rickety wooden planks. Her heavy steps percussed into the vast emptiness of the air, but were soon drowned out by another familiar, raspy voice.

"Hey, you three!" called the Guru of Time, who wasn't napping for once. His bid sounded neither urgent nor complacent, but his tidings had always given the team important – and almost eerily convenient – clues.

In lieu of this, Marle and Frog lent the hooded elder their full attention. Magus cared less what he had to say, though he listened vicariously for boredom's sake.

"Yes?" chirped Frog, anxious to leave.

"Perhaps it is a misconception on my part, but I feel as though something... odd is bound to happen. As a matter of fact, I have witnessed a small number of folk slipping right through the seams of time into years unexplored – a vortex of sorts, if you will. Should it happen to you all, your return may be nearly... well, impossible. For your own sake, I ask that you all tread carefully through time's stream, especially now as you head out."

The princess's already ill-tempered disposition sank further and further as the guru's words began to register within her mind. The idea of falling between eras sounded absolutely terrifying to her. What if it did happen to them? Would she ever return to Guardia? How she truly wished Magus hadn't called upon her to be his aide. Couldn't he have Frog cast Heal spells instead? But again, a throaty retort drew Marle from her speculation.

"I am indebted to your heed, but we shall return victorious. Worry not," assured the web-toed paladin, giving Gaspar a strained bow. He would not allow a small chance of calamity to deter him from their mission; vengeance summoned him to Ozzie's fortress, much like a siren singing to a horde of starved sailors. Caution be damned.

Frog sprang beyond the ledge of the cobblestone bridge, a muffled thud the sole indication that he'd landed squarely within the cockpit of the Epoch. Magus just as soon gave his rubicund cape a swift tug, then teleported himself into the adjacent seat of his rival; he had paid no mind at all to the cloaked man's warning. Who did the old fart think he was, claiming to have felt such a conveniently vague premonition? Bah. The two temporary allies kept their gaze averted in a tense reticence to await their fair-skinned pilot.

The redhead ran one hand through her long ponytail, frowning as she questioned time's guide, "How often has this happened? Do you... think that's what'll happen?"

"I apologize for worrying you. My warning is likely for naught. In fact, I could count on my two hands the instances," coughed Gaspar, his aged guise revealing slight regret. "I am informing you of the possibility, that is all."

Nadia softened and nodded with a weak smile. "Alright... Thank you. I'll be on my way then. G'bye!"

The decrepit prodigy waved to the now distancing spitfire, praying to more gods than one that his intuition would prove incorrect. It hadn't throughout his days, though, and so he prayed also for the trio's safe return. Earth was in desperate need these three, however belligerent they had been around one another.

She could not bear to lose them.

Author's note: Gwah, I despise typing up introductory chapters. Biggest apologies for the two-week wait, but I was stricken with a major case of brainfart recently. Surely there are some sentences that still require tweaking, along with forgotten typos; you're more than welcome to make any suggestions or corrections. And fret not – I won't force you to wait until I hit a certain number of reviews to post my next update. I'm too slow for that sort of thing anyway.

Arrivederci for now, and thank you for reading! :3

Second chapter, "To Lost Epochs," coming soon!