Author's Note: Here I present the prologue to "Stranded in Time – 600 AD", followed by my plot ideas.

Stranded In Time:

Middle Ages AD 600 – Yearnings of the Wind

by Chronos the Cat

Prelude – Millenial Fair AD 1000:

Crono grasped the Pendant in his hand as Lucca and Taban charged up the machine. Threads of blue electricity crawled across the Telepod, then, the swirling blue vortex opened up again. Crono disappeared in a flash of blue light, and the sparks that appeared in his place were drawn into the portal. Crono appeared again for a moment, before the portal closed.

Several days later...

"There's no other way, Dad. I need more readings if I'm going to find a way to open the Gate at will from the other side."

"But, isn't there another way to get those readings without stranding yourself in another time?" Taban pleaded with Lucca as Lucca stepped up onto the Telepod.

Lucca looked at her father sadly. "It would take years. And from what we've already discovered, we know time is passing in the other time period, as well. I promised Crono I'd come after him – I won't abandon him!"

Tears filled Taban's eyes, and he nodded. "Very well. You come home as soon as you find a way, though, you hear?"

"Of course, Dad." Lucca got down off the Telepod and gave him a hug, then stepped back on it.

Becoming (mostly) all business, Taban stepped up to the controls. "Setting systems to reproduce the Gate. Do you have the pendant-stand in? The sensors for the experiment? You notes and anything you think you'll need?"

Lucca nodded. "Of course. I'm ready."

"All right then. Good luck." Taban began charging up the machine. Lucca held up the device she'd constructed to stand in for the Pendant. It would, hopefully, one day be part of a Gate-Key that would allow her to open Gates through time just by inserting it into a potential Gate. For now, it would redirect the energies of the Telepod to create a gate to the time period Marle and Crono were in.

The "pendant" began glowing in a pulse, and blue electricity danced over the Telepod. The Gate opened between the Telepod stands, and Lucca was dissolved into her component molecules, those molecules reforming into her inside the portal. Finally, the portal closed, and she was gone.

Taban no longer held back the tears. "Please come back, Lucca..."

AD 600 – The Middle Ages:

Lucca ran down the hall of the castle to Crono. "I'm sorry it took so long. Did you find the Girl?"

"..."

"Gone?! What do you mean?"

"..."

"I see... I thought she looked familiar... She must be Princess Nadia!"

Crono gave an expression of shock.

"As I recall from history, someone kidnapped Queen Leene at one point, but she was eventually rescued. However, when Nadia showed up, they must have mistaken her for the Queen, and called off the search.

"But... If the Queen dies in this time-period, without having kids... She won't have any descendants... which means no Nadia!"

Crono was (still) shocked.

"There may still be time! If we can rescue the Queen, the timeline should be restored!"

Crono and Lucca raced off to find the Queen...

...And so...

With a flash of light, Marle re-appeared.

Lucca knelt down. "Princess Nadia. Thank goodness you're alright!"

"I was someplace cold and dark and alone... Is that what it's like to... die? ...But you two rescued me, didn't you." Then, the name she'd been addressed by sunk in. "Princess Nadia... uh-oh."

Marle giggled a bit. "You figured it out, did you? I'm sorry to have deceived you, but you wouldn't have shown me around the fair if you'd known who I was, would you have, Crono?"

Crono disagreed. "I would still have shown you around."

"Oh Crono! That's what I love about you!"

Lucca added, "He would have been all flustered and would have tried to be formal, though."

Marle said, "Well, I prefer 'Marle' over 'Princess' anyway."

After a brief pause, Marle asked, "So what now? Do we go home?"

Lucca looked away from both her and Crono. "We can't," she said so quietly it was hard to make out.

"What?"

"I said we can't go home. At least, not for quite a while." Lucca looked back at them, her eyes pleading for forgiveness. "I couldn't find a way to reliably open Gates from the other side. I may have to construct another Telepod to open the Gate to get us home. At the very least, I'm going to need to study the readings I got when I came back through time, and I'll need to construct something or other to open the Gate. The problem is, they just don't have the technology for that in this time-period."

Marle's eyes widened. "You mean, we're stuck here?"

Lucca shook her head. "I don't think so. I'm confident I can construct what I need given enough time and resources. However, building all the equipment I need from scratch... It could take years." She looked Marle in the eyes, then Crono. "I'll find a way to get us back, I promise. However, it won't be any time soon. I'm sorry."

Crono put his hand on Lucca's shoulder, and Marle said, "It's okay, it's not your fault."

After she was certain Lucca wasn't blaming herself too badly, Marle turned around and walked over to the window and looked out. "So, this is our home for now. The Middle Ages. I suppose it could be worse, but I sure am going to miss Ice Cream..."

Plans:

Part One:

Crono, Soldier of Guardia! Lucca, the great Inventor! Marle – not the heir to the throne just yet, and don't you forget it!

The Hero Tata Appears!

Denendoro Mountains: The Quest for the Masamune and the True Hero

The Battle for Zennan Bridge

Crono, Lucca, and Marle – Knights of Guardia!

"One day, a swordsmith will appear to repair the Masamune..." But in the mean time, can't anything convince Frog to join the battle against Magus?!

Magus is killed by the Demon Lavos he summoned, but his forces fight on – the great heroes confront Magus's lieutenants Ozzie, Slash, and Flea.

Epilogue: Just a few years later, Lucca has an impressive Lab. Seals it up, and the Heroes depart for the future!

Part Two:

...The Gate was fading when they used it, so they don't appear exactly 400 years later. Instead, they arrive either after the fall of Guardia, or just after they left. If just after they left, "Halt! Kidnapper!" - But this Marle's lost any habits of submission she once had, and all three are used to Justice by the Sword...

Author's Note: That's all my ideas for now. No plot notes or story fragments for "Stranded in Time – 2300 AD" either, I'm sorry to say.