Chrono Corruption
Act 6: Preparations
Chapter 41: The Last Days, Part V
*Prison of Time*
The entire party gathered at the Prison's entrance where they stood before the silly blue slime creature. It greeted them warmly, "Welcome back! It's been a while, or has it? I can't tell! You might have been gone for weeks or moments as far as I know! Have you come to continue your challenge of the Prison of Time?"
"If by challenge, you mean, train, then yes!" Crono said with excitement.
"Would you like to continue where you left off or begin anew?" asked the Slime.
"Where we left off? Where were we?" Crono asked quizzically.
"Your next challenge would be waiting on floor 11!" informed the Slime.
"How did we get started again?" Crono asked, unable to remember.
"That's because of Tomo and I," Ty answered. "We were training here before we reached the Temple of the Red Star, remember?"
"Yeah, Ty and I fought a hard fight on level 10. It was with Mustarl and Ralsh, two robots we failed to defeat the first time we encountered them," Tomo explained.
Crono was astonished, "Oh, you guys got that low by yourselves?!"
"You didn't even know what that meant five seconds ago!" Lucca scolded humorously.
"Hey, Slime, how deep does this place go?" Marle asked curiously.
"The Prison of Time houses entities from across space-time! It goes down 100 floors currently!" said the Slime. Its demeanor then soured a bit, "Uh, and I don't see it expanding passed that anytime soon. The uh, 100th floor has a phenomenal, err, let's say, 'resident' sealed in it. Can't say we've ever found something or someone more dangerous!"
"So, how do entities end up in this place?" Janus asked curiously.
"The mechanics aren't known, but generally, the actions of time travelers seem to play a part," explained the Slime as best it could.
"So, I wonder then, if the beings held here are ones from deleted possibilities?" Janus mused out loud.
Ty and Tomo seemed shocked, "That would make sense," Ty began. "We first fought Mustarl and Ralsh aboard Viper's ship right after we found the Frozen Flame."
"Yeah, but then, 'stuff happened' and we were thrown through time only to end up changing our own history a bit," Tomo followed.
"And that significant version of that duo slipped through the cracks of reality and ended up here!" said the Slime.
"So who knows what entities ended up here," Crono pondered. His excitement grew, "Well everyone, shall we?"
The entire party of 11 entered the Prison's main gate and Crono instantly found himself stranded with Marle and no one else. "Wha-! What happened? Where did everyone go?!" Crono said with alarm.
"I don't know!" Marle said with a shriek. "Did it scatter us randomly?!"
"It might have, let's take a look around," Crono said as he and Marle examined the area.
It quickly became apparent the environment was also not one they recognized. "Where are we anyway?!" Marle asked distressed.
Crono tried to find something familiar about the frozen still water, the dotted islands filled with destruction, and the darkened sky made up of frozen clouds decorated with lightning. Then Crono seemed to recognize something, "Hey, this architecture, this environment, is this... El Nido?"
"Oh, you're right!" Marle said catching on. "But wait! This was... all at the bottom of the ocean when we were here! You remember? When we first met Ty and Tomo? I dragged them all the way back out to El Nido to find your dad... Was this the timeline that was deleted...?" She ended with a gasp.
"It certainly seems that way," Crono said in agreement. Then suddenly, Crono heard some rustling behind him. He turned to only be greeted by some seemingly harmless monsters he had never seen before. "Oh, it's just some critters, let's take care of them!" He said as he drew his blade.
"Let's use our Polar Lights technique!" Marle said joyfully.
"Okay!" Crono agreed as he threw his arms up.
Marle followed and the monsters were atomized by the beautiful light show. "Huh, that was easy, huh, sweetie?" Crono asked with a grin. However, there was no response as Marle had vanished and the area had changed slightly. "Huh?! Did I get transported? Did Marle get transported?! This place is freaky!" He said in shock.
Crono's voice had reached someone, however, that someone, came from the rubble, revealing themselves to be Ty. "Hey, fancy meeting you here!" He said with cheerful sarcasm. "You wandering around too?" He continued.
"No, I was with Marle just a second ago and we killed some monsters," Crono explained.
"Oh, as soon as we entered I found myself alone and wandering around. Then I heard you talking and followed your voice," Ty explained.
Before Crono could respond, more monsters showed up from the battered environment. Crono turned his eyes to Ty and got an idea, "Hey, think you can bless my sword with that Bio spell of yours?"
"Hah, ha, I knew you'd use my poisons at some point!" Ty laughed.
Crono smiled uneasily as he remembered his earlier discomfort with Ty's fighting style, "Okay, okay, knock it off. I want to see what this looks like!" Crono said cracking a smile.
"Here ya go!" Ty said as he blessed Crono's blade.
"Biochemical Frenzy!" Crono shouted strongly as he furiously slashed every critter down with a splashing strike of his sword. The monsters all dissolved after they were cut into pieces.
"Ha, see, it wasn't that bad-!" Ty said as he was cut off by Crono's sudden vanishing. "And, I'm alone again..."
The party quickly adapted to the Prison's mechanics and began blowing through floors. Upon reaching the 20th floor a party consisting only of Janus and Ayla was met with a familiar sight. A large teal-colored Nu emerged and the duo let down their guard seemingly disappointed that this was the creature trapped there. "Strange creature only monster?" Ayla said as she inspected the creature.
"Let's just end this quickly before it decides to attack," Janus said as he began his hand signs.
Ayla jumped back as the Nu took point, ready to headbutt her, "Give Ayla shadow power!"
Janus silently complied as his Dark Bomb was applied to Ayla's foot. She leaped high into the air and came down, "Shadow Kick!" She shouted as she planted her foot right between the creature's eyes. The shadow magic erupted from her foot and atomized the Nu. The recoil from the force threw Ayla backward into a somersault. When she cheerfully smiled to congratulate herself, she saw Janus was nowhere to be found.
Some time passed as the party shifted in and out mostly in groups of two. Until that is, a party consisting of Ty, Marle, and Lucca had made it to the 30th Floor. The three chatted for a moment, "These monsters are just really rare variants of ones we've faced before," Marle said flatly.
"Yeah, nothing too hard or strikingly familiar," Ty said with slight disappointment.
"Maybe so, but I can tell these floors are starting to ramp up the difficulty a little. Each floor has slightly stronger monsters than the last," Lucca said with warning.
"Even the landscapes change every ten floors, too," Marle noticed. "We've been in this weird version of Guardia Castle for a while now. It makes me uneasy seeing it in such a disheveled state."
"You too, huh?" said an unknown voice with an acidic tone. Ty and Lucca were amazed at the voice as it was identical to Marle's. Surely enough, through tapping footsteps, a person arrived that was identical to Marle. However, there were key differences. Her eyes were cold and sharp, and she wore a dark skimpy dress that was adorned with crow feathers.
Marle herself, was astounded as she laid eyes on her doppelganger, "W-what? Is this an Alabaster Shade? Or something else?"
"I don't think it's an Alabaster Shade, Marle, this is perhaps another type of shade!" Lucca claimed.
"Hey, uh, this is more like the Marle that I always heard of," Ty claimed with a cold sweat.
A cold wind blew from the doppelganger's position and she grew angry, "So, you people are the reason I'm here?!"
"Uh, hmm," Ty mused, unable to find words.
"So this is why we don't meet doubles," Marle began. "You're the 'Marle' I replaced when I came back from defeating Lavos! When Schala died, my ancestry changed. Janus took it over. And it looks like shades of the Crow Mother are in there as well."
"And why should you get to replace ME?!" the Shade asked furiously. "I am Princess Marledia of Guardia! I was about to ascend the throne and become Queen! But then, I suddenly found myself here in this hell hole, unable to find any sort of escape!"
"Because I'm the first version to time travel..., I'm the original," Marle said flatly.
"So what's with the crow get up?" Ty interrupted with a raised brow.
"It is a garb I crafted myself while I studied an ancient form of witchcraft from my ancestors!" the Shade explained. "I was experimenting with it in secret in the catacombs beneath the castle. When I found myself stranded here, I decided to lean into it and train it. I believed it may provide me with a means to escape!"
"Sorry, but you won't be leaving here," Marle said darkly.
"Excuse me? Oh, but I think I will!" said the Shade as she performed a minor summon. Two Bellbirds came to her. A red one to her right, and a purple one to her left.
Marle glared at her, "No, you won't. Ty, I want to try that Blizzard spell now," she said to him softly yet sternly.
"You got it!" Ty said as he summoned his Wind Storm.
Marle molded Ty's wind spell with her most powerful spell, "With my Snow Warning spell and Ty's Wind Storm a Blizzard is created!" Marle announced.
As the spell took shape, it was almost as if a warning siren could be heard in the distance as everything became engulfed in a cold white mist. Then, powerful gusts of air that held tons of snow and ice crystals began blowing through the area.
When the torrent had ended, the two Bellbirds were frozen solid and shattered as soon as they hit the ground. The Shade herself was nearly wiped out by the attack as well. Her limbs were badly frostbitten and her teeth chattered so loudly, one might think they would begin to chip and break. Despite the heavy damage, she shrugged off the frost and snow with a striking pose as she threw her arms down to her sides. She then summoned a magical wooden staff and she began chanting. Shadow magic energy began flowing from her as she ceased chattering, "I MUST escape from this-!" the Shade said as she was suddenly cut off by a fatal blow. Marle had used a Deadly Arrow and it went straight through her heart with no resistance.
The Shade fell to the ground, lifeless. Marle approached, unsure how to feel, "I don't know what kind of Princess you were, but if Ty is correct, you must have been a pretty ruthless ruler. Sorry, but I can't let a person like that rule my country."
As Marle finished, the Shade vanished into the depths of the Prison like sand from an hourglass. Marle found herself alone and in a new territory. It was an ancient cave filled with lava pools. "Well, I guess I better try to find someone," She said nervously.
The lava pools gave off a still heat that choked the air. It was a slog to reach the 40th floor with that heat. A party consisting of Crono, Lucca, and Janus stood before an altar of some kind. As they approached a strange monster appeared. It was a blob. The gooey creature was featureless save for two nubs at its top. It was threatened by their presence and used those two nubs like retractable tentacles that it waved violently at the party. Its consistency and color were that of dirty dishwater. "Step back, this creature is very cold," Janus sensed. Sure enough, as it wandered away from its altar it gave off a cold mist when it hit the heat.
"Ha! A blob? That's the monster that hides on the 40th floor? Too easy!" Crono stated.
"Let's evaporate it! I got an idea for a spell we can all use!" Lucca said with a grin. "Crono, give me a Holy Light! Janus, I need a Black Hole! I'm going to combine the two with my Mustard Bomb!"
Crono cheered and Janus silently agreed. Lucca created her Mustard Bomb and before it reach the blob, Crono and Janus's spells were integrated into it. However, the two opposing forces only caused the Mustard Bomb to expand and become like a reddened sun. "This Red Giant will take care of this Giant Gloop in no time!" Lucca said as the bomb exploded. The spell did just as Lucca predicted. The Giant Gloop was completely vaporized. When Lucca caught her breath, Crono and Janus were nowhere to be found.
As the party wandered and battled their way through another set of floors, they found themselves completing the 49th floor. Now they consisted of a party comprised of Marle, Lucca, Ayla, and Robo. The environment was a dark spooky forest with graves and ruins frozen in time. "Oh, this party shuffling is beginning to get on my nerves!" Marle whined.
"Tell me about it! I can't even control it with the Gate Key, so we can't swap people here willingly to come up with a strategy," Lucca said with a sigh.
"Ayla not need! Monsters weak!" She said confidently.
"Yes, but they are increasing in power as we get lower," Robo said with warning. "It is still best we-!" He was cut off.
Ayla took a cat-like stance and began sniffing the air. She became offended by what she was smelling, "Bad smell! Ayla smell death!" She said as she covered her nose.
Out from the darkness, two figures emerged. The party recognized the two in horror, "It's Ty and Tomo, but-!" Marle stumbled.
"They're monsters!" Lucca followed, finishing her sentence.
Indeed, Ty was a shambling zombie, dressed in rags with a noose around his neck, a hood over his head, and his trademark goggles around his glowing red eyes. Tomo was now much larger than Ty. She had become a grotesquely obese creature with blue skin and flaming red hair. The lower half of her body was nothing more than flesh. Her legs and abdomen seemed to have melded together, leaving only stubby feet poking out from underneath the wall of flesh. Her dark eyes also gleamed red in color and her clothing had almost become a skin of sorts.
Robo analyzed them both, "How strange, these Shades seem older than the two we know. Perhaps these two were deleted versions of their future selves."
"So this is the zombie that scared Tomo so much...," Marle said unblinkingly.
"No, this zombie lacks the life sparkle formula within. It is a different version!" Robo claimed, continuing his analyses.
"So why is Tomo like that?!" Lucca asked reviled.
"She seems to have consumed too many monsters...," was all Robo could say.
Without warning, the Zombie Shade lunged for Lucca with his daggers. Robo interrupted with a strong tackle, "Let's split them up! Lucca and I will take Ty! Ayla, Marle, you handle that Monster Tomo!"
The Zombie rose creepily and lunged for Lucca again only for Robo to grab him by the throat and send him through a series of slams and bashes until finally, he cast his Cure Beam on the creature which burned him. Lucca took the opportunity to step out from behind Robo and take aim with her gun and shoot the zombie's lower jaw clean off. However, the zombie simply grabbed it from the ground and put it back on.
"So what's the plan, Robo?" Lucca asked as she reloaded her gun.
"Burning will suffice," Robo claimed quickly. "We don't know if this version has subverted the damage that could be dealt from potions. My Cure Beam made him uncomfortable but it did not destroy him!"
"I like that idea, let's use the Lens Flare and just flash-burn him!" Lucca followed up as she ducked behind Robo again.
The Zombie tried several more attacks including Bad Breath, but it did not work on Robo because he was a machine. Robo kept Lucca out of his reach and Lucca began to charge a Flare. Robo opened his plates to reveal his core. "Ready, please channel the Flare into my body!" Robo said politely. The Ty zombie made a mad dash for Robo, drooling and snarling with every uncanny step. However, it was too late, Robo had magnified the Flare and unleashed it. It consumed the zombie completely turning him into white ash.
"That was a good idea, Robo," Lucca said with a grin.
"Thank you, Lucca. I need to take this data into account and present it to Ty. Hopefully, I can dissuade him from working with plagues," Robo claimed.
"Yeah, no kidding, let's go to the others!" Lucca said urgently.
The Monstrous Tomo had many attacks that would otherwise be used by horrendous creatures. Ayla and Marle, however, were still well protected against such moves. Her body proved to be very resilient, even to Ayla's physical assaults. Ayla's speed and agility frustrated the monstrous woman until she grinned evilly at Marle and outstretched her index finger. A glowing yellow beam came for Marle but luckily, Ayla threw a tree in its way. It became a rather crass-looking pastry. This angered her but she was now distracted by the moldy pastry that she didn't see the ice spell Marle began casting.
"Since your body is so rubbery, freezing you solid should be a snap!" Marle said as she finished her spell. A cold wind swirled around the monster and a bright light from above flashed. In an instant, Marle's Freeze spell, flash froze Monster Tomo into a block of ice.
"Ayla finish!" Ayla shouted as she picked up the frozen body. Ayla roared and threw the body high into the sky until it came back down and the resulting impact shattered her into thousands of pieces.
The two stood over the frozen pieces and Marle sighed with relief, "I really hope this never happens to our Tomo."
"Ayla need show Tomo good food to eat!" Ayla said strongly.
"Yeah, she just needs to adjust her dietary habits..., this one nearly ate a moldy donut!" Marle said grossed out.
The party regrouped and continued their descent. The floors were still not much of a challenge even now when they were more than halfway down. Once more, the party found themselves on the 60th floor where a seemingly powerful monster awaited them. This monster was in a fortress-like environment just like the Giant Gloop and it was a tall one. A robotic Minotaur stood before them at an altar. The party, now consisting of Ty, Tomo, and Crono stood in its shadow.
"So, what's this thing?" Tomo asked curiously.
"Some kind of robot I guess," Ty joined.
"I can tell it's a little stronger than some of the other things we fought so far. Maybe we're getting a challenge now!" Crono said excitedly.
Indeed, this Taurusoid, as it came to be called, was much tougher than the previous monsters. It attacked mostly with wrestling moves and proved weak to Tomo's Earth Magic. After roughing it up quite a bit, Crono got an idea, "Hey, can you two create a Sandstorm for me?" He asked.
The two agreed and began their spells. They created a Sandstorm and Crono leaped into the twister before it became two. With his swords, he followed the cyclone, "Dust Blade!" Crono shouted strongly. The Taurusoid was cut to pieces and destroyed once the sandstorm calmed down. Crono hopped around excitedly after the rush from the technique but when he turned around to thank Ty and Tomo, they were gone and Crono was now in a different area. "This is getting kind of old now!" Crono sighed with a slump of his shoulders.
The next 10 floors took place in a mansion that seemed to have the Viper Clan's theme spread throughout. The 70th floor gave the party an encounter with a strange elemental creature that was in the shape of a sun with a very expressive face. A party consisting of Janus, Garet, and Lex faced it down.
"What the hell is that?" Garet asked with a hint of horror.
"Ridiculousness, given form," Janus replied flatly.
"Elemental spirits sure have many faces don't they?" Lex said with a pun. Janus and Garet gave no reaction, "Oh, come now, that was a good one!"
The party found the elemental to be very resilient and it would cast different Light spells depending on its facial expression. After attempting to soften it up with Shadow Magic and physical assaults, Janus turned to Garet and Lex, "Lex can you summon your Mist Dragon? Garet will you cast your Incineration spell? I will send this elemental back to the spirit world," He said coldly.
Lex and Garet's spells combined to create a Steam Dragon which was then filled with souls of the dead thanks to Janus's Soul Geyser. The caricature roared as it breathed souls drenched in tails of superheated steam. When the steam cleared along with the wailing souls, the elemental, the Son Of A Gun, was vanquished.
Janus sighed, "Ah, that's better. That uncanny face even gave me chills... That Soul Dragon spell was able to bypass its resilience."
The party's trek, now with more powerful monsters, took them to the 80th floor. The party, now consisting of Glenn, Robo, and Marle traveled through a strange flooded tower that was made from eroded stone and filled with colorful corals. A large amphibious creature met them on this floor. Glenn was unamused, "A frog? What sort of joke is this?"
"You really can't escape from frogs can you, Glenn?" Marle giggled with her hand over her mouth.
"You don't suppose this Bunyip is a regular frog do you?" Robo asked rhetorically.
"I seriously doubt it," Glenn said as he drew his sword.
The party attacked right away and found the lumbering toad to be rather underpowered for the floor it was on. It cast only low-level fire spells and at times, seemed to space out. After taking a beating the creature spaced out again but its body began to react strangely.
"Warning, a reaction is happening deep within the Bunyip!" Robo warned.
Before any more actions could be taken, the Bunyip opened its mouth far wider than its anatomy should have allowed. A black mass emerged from within it and then supported itself with two long 'arms' made from the shiny black substance. A large glaring eye opened at the center of the black shiny ooze.
"Nope, no regular frogs here," Marle said nervously.
This version of the monster proved much more formidable. It cast strong shadow magic and gravity-based attacks that shook the party. After a struggle, the Bunyip leaned low to the ground as it had taken considerable damage.
"Come, let us fell this creature with Master Mune!" Glenn announced with valor.
Marle blessed Glenn's sword with a Cure Splash and Robo charged it with his Laser Flash. Instead of summoning a large frog to squash the Bunyip, multiple copies of the fused over-muscled form of Gran and Leon's dog-piled on top of the Bunyip, crushing it. The muscular giants vanished with a puff of smoke and the Bunyip too, disappeared upon its defeat.
Finally, the party was nearing the end of the Prison and the monsters now proved to be a considerable threat. However, they managed as they paced themselves. The 90th floor was reached after some time and the sandstone caverns they had been traversing led them to the strangest creature they had met yet. Standing atop a small cliff relaxed a chimera. Its body was that of a lion and its head was a ram's head that was set inside a golden set of armor with its large horns jetting outside of the armor. It had large golden wings that it proudly displayed. A party consisting of Crono, Marle, Lucca, and now Tomo faced the monster as it leaped down from its cliffside hangout and landed with great power.
Crono was taken aback the most, "Woah, now this is a monster! This one is not weak by any means! What power!"
The creature spoke, "Humans, why have you desecrated the chambers of the Criosphinx with your presence?"
"Oh, wonderful, another human hater...," Tomo said tiredly.
"I sense you are most powerful to meet me," said the Criosphinx. "I give you two propositions. You can either best me in battle or you can solve my riddles and I will depart quietly and leave you with powerful gifts."
Crono scoffed with a smirk, "Ha, We will take you on-!" he was interrupted by Marle and Lucca. They drug him into a huddle near Tomo.
"What are you doing dummy?!" Lucca scolded.
"Yeah, this monster is giving us something nice for answering a few riddles! Let's not fight it! I don't want to waste any more supplies before we get to the big guy at the bottom!" Marle said with a strong whisper.
Crono seemed bummed out, "Oh fine, we'll do it your way," He pouted.
Lucca stepped forward, "All right, we'll answer your riddle! What do we need to do?"
The Criosphinx spoke with intrigue, "Ah, Humans that take the path of brains over brawn. Very well. I sense you can use magic. I will speak one of my riddles and you must cast a spell on me that corresponds with the element you believe me to be referring to!"
The party took defensive stances, "Ready when you are!" Lucca stated.
"Very well, first, an easy one!" began the Criosphinx. "I am full of life, yet never breathe. I have no mouth, yet I always feed. What am I?"
The party thought hard about the riddle. Crono was the first to shrug, "I got nothin'."
Lucca and Marle gave him a glare but continued, "Full of life, yet never breathe. It can't be air or wind...," Lucca pondered out loud.
"No mouth... always feed..., it can't be fire either," Marle followed.
Tomo also gave in to deep thought until it hit her, "OH, I know, I know!" She cried like a schoolgirl. "The answer is, soil, dirt, Earth!" She finished as she cast her Earth Rumble on the Criosphinx. The Earth Rumble merely bounced off the creature as if it were nothing.
The creature responded favorably, "Correct! Well done!"
"Way to go, Tomo!" Crono cheered.
The Criosphinx flapped its wings and gave a chuckle, "For my next riddle. Answer if you can!" It gave pause before presenting it. "No legs have I to dance, no lungs have I to breathe, no life have I to live or die and yet I do all three. What am I?"
"No legs, no lungs, no life..., a Shadow maybe?" Crono said scratching his head.
"No, Shadows don't do any of those things," Tomo responded.
Marle was merely stumped at this one, "Can he repeat that one?"
Lucca approached as she adjusted her glasses, "No need, Marle! This one is a flame!" She said as she threw a Fire Ball at the Criosphinx. Just like the last spell, the Fire Ball seemed to shatter upon hitting the monster without so much as a burn mark left behind.
Once again, the monster acted favorably, "Ah, correct!"
"Oh, right, wind makes fire dance doesn't it?" Crono said recalling the Zealian proverb.
The creature flexed in excitement, "Ready are you for the next one?" It took a breath. "Voiceless it cries and wingless it flutters, toothless it bites and mouthless it mutters. What is it?"
The party thought hard about this one. Yet, each one could not think of the answer until Crono realized it. He did so, with a pale face, "Uh, it's Wind, isn't it? We can't switch to Ty!"
Lucca and Marle broke out into a cold sweat but Tomo chimed in with an answer, "That's okay! I know a monster spell that's a Wind type!" She said with a cheerful smile. "Mutant Gas!" She shouted as she threw her hand up high. Just then, a heavy, dark-colored gas blew in like a gust and enveloped the Criosphinx and it laughed.
"Correct! You are doing well, Humans! I haven't been this excited in centuries! Ready for the next one?" said the Criosphinx. "Glittering points that downward thrust, sparkling spears that never rust. What are they?"
"Hmm, downward thrust...?" Crono mumbled as he thought about swords.
Marle faced the creature with stars in her eyes, "I know, it's icicles, so Water!" She said as she hit the indomitable monster with an Ice Blast.
The Criosphinx's excitement grew, "Correct! How refreshing! Here's another, you are almost done! Light brings me to life, but darkness kills me. What am I?"
Crono laughed at that one, "Ha, that's easy! That's a Shadow! Uh, wait, do we have any Shadow spells right now?"
"Um, our Antipode spells deal Shadow damage, but I wouldn't risk it just in case," Lucca warned.
"That's okay, I got one for this too!" Tomo said cheerfully. She threw her hands up again as Shadow energy erupted from around her feet, "Dark Gear!" She chanted. Two large black gears appeared and flew around the Criosphinx with afterimages trailing them. They hit the monster but broke into pieces as they did so.
The Criosphinx reared up excitedly, "Yes, that is correct! Are you ready? You are so close! I am always around, but never seen. I can be reflected but never touched. What am I?"
Crono tightened his bandanna, "I would never be forgiven if I answered this one wrong! The answer is Light!" Crono said as he cast a Lightning Bolt on the monster.
It shrugged it off with ease, but then the Criosphinx took a mischievous pose with a glint in its eye, "Well done, but wait, there's a Lightning Round! The final question! Not above nor down below, I am not weak nor am I strong. In the middle, I stand firm and allow others to come to terms. What am I?"
Everyone was caught in surprise as cold beads of sweat formed on their brows. Tomo then got an idea. "Oh, I got it! It's Neutrality! Non-Elemental! I've been waiting to use this spell for a long time now! Chaotic Zone!"
Tomo opened a weird null space that warped the area occupied by the Criosphinx. Blue streams of energy danced across its body and actually gave the creature discomfort. However, it shook it off like a wet cat and spread its wings excitedly. "YES! Ah, thank you, Humans! As promised I present you with a gift!" It said strongly as it materialized four items. One for each person. It gave them a Master's Crown, a pair of Sun Shades made from the Sunstone, a pair of Moon Glasses that were made from an unknown material, and lastly, a pair of Prism Specs, made from Rainbow Shell.
The party beamed at their gifts, "These are all really nice things!" Marle said with giddy excitement.
"And now, I shall depart, I thank you for not choosing violence this day, Humans! May we meet again!" congratulated the Criosphinx as it walked away and vanished slowly into thin air.
The environment changed once more as well and Crono found himself alone. "Well, 10 floors left to go...," He said to himself.
The new environment was foreboding and frightening. It was nothing but a flat wasteland. The sky was dark as the sunset peeked in through the seemingly endless horizon. The monsters on this series of levels had pre-emptive defenses in the form of magical shields and regenerative properties. Getting through these floors was a slow burn but eventually, the 99th floor was cleared. The 100th floor was reached and a party consisting of Crono, Marle, Lucca, and Robo stood back to back waiting for their opponent to appear.
"What place even is this? It's kinda hard to breathe!" Lucca asked no one in particular.
Robo did a scan, but after a few moments, he came up with nothing, or what he initially thought was nothing until he tried a few more times. He then reacted with fear, "Y-you'll never believe this! But this space says that it's millions of years into the future! This landscape is our planet's natural death! Only a little bit of the atmosphere is left!"
The party's complexion was that of a ghost. This was their world's natural death. A few more centuries and even the atmosphere would be no more. The planet would be like so many others in space, a cold ball of dust drifting through the vastness of space.
Then suddenly, an incredible presence appeared with a shake. A machine appeared before them and it took their breath away. It was fairly large and had a centaur-like build. The upper body was highly reminiscent of the Mammon Machine from Zeal but it had two large arms attached to it. This entire upper body was attached to a quadrupedal body that sported a single eye and clawed feet. Its body was silvery with red lights and accents.
It spoke with an artificially generated voice, "Chrono Weapon, online!"
"This should be impossible! My scanners cannot even analyze it, it's so powerful!" Robo claimed nervously.
"What a robot! Who made this thing?!" Lucca asked rhetorically.
"Never mind that! How did it get down here?!" Marle asked in astonishment.
Crono held his sword out and he smiled. "Now this is the challenge I've been waiting for!"
Crono rushed the strange machine and attacked it with a Wild Frenzy. It took the damage then it responded, "Adaption, physical damage taken. Increasing defenses. Chrono Weapon modifies all energies."
"Ah, so just like the Mammon Machine, this Chrono Weapon will adapt to our attacks!" Lucca noted.
"So that means it'll get stronger if we use magic then?" Marle asked for confirmation.
"Yes, but we have no choice! Let's pound it with physical attacks first!" Robo said as he began strategizing. The party began their assault with some of their heaviest hitting attacks with Chrono Weapon utilizing some of its own. It peppered the party with gunfire until it became almost too tough to attack physically anymore.
Crono backed off and Chrono Weapon locked on to Marle with a Bazooka that folded up and out from its shoulder. She stared fearfully like a trapped animal and the beastly machine blasted her with a powerful shot. Once the smoke cleared, Marle was downed.
Crono went into a rage and his body glowed. He went into the Aura Surge state, "After nearly 100 battles non-stop? I am really revved up! Lucca, get Marle!" He commanded.
"Right!" Lucca said as she cast Rebirth on Marle. Marle rose and was equipped with several magical buffs.
"Oww, that really hurt!" Marle whined as she stretched herself out.
"Sky-Splitting Sword!" shouted Crono strongly as he struck Chrono Weapon with his most devastating attack.
The attack landed and did great damage. However, Chrono Weapon adapted, "Magic detected. Increasing physical strength."
Upon witnessing Crono's display of power, his friends also began to glow. One after another, Marle, Lucca, and Robo all entered the Aura Surge state. Chrono Weapon, on the other hand, retaliated, "Halation!" it whirred. It released an incredible shockwave of energy that reduce Crono's entire party to shambles despite their enhanced states. Luckily, the Aura Surge granted them regenerative abilities so they began to quickly heal after the attack.
"Robo, let's use Holy Healing Beam!" Crono decided.
"Indeed!" buzzed Robo.
The two used the technique to restore the party and give themselves Reflective and Deflective shields. Marle and Lucca attacked with their Aura Surge powers, "Celestial Six-Shot! Icicle Rain!" They said strongly.
Chrono Weapon took the damage but still stood strong as it rose its strengths again. After doing so, the great machine retaliated, "Releasing stored energy, Wave Beam initiated." It said. The attack covered the party in a rain of energy waves that tore through them. Luckily, some of the damage was reflected back at it.
The party immediately had to pick themselves back up as the attack had nearly sent them over the brink. This time, Marle and Lucca took point and attacked with a combination of their most powerful spells. "Antipode Blitz!" They shouted as the Flare spell and Snow Warning spell. Ice and Fire mixed all over the field causing Chrono Weapon to be consumed by explosion after explosion.
After the spell cleared, Chrono Weapon stood still. "Is it defeated?" Marle asked with cautious optimism.
Chrono Weapon then responded, "Point Flare, activated." It said as it shot a superheated beam at Lucca. The Flare was like hers only much smaller and hit only her. When it cleared she was downed. She dropped like a sack of potatoes.
"Lucca!" Crono shouted. "Raise!" He said as he bathed Lucca in a restorative light.
Lucca got up, angry as a hornet, "Robo, let's hit it with our Lens Flare!"
"Okay!" Robo said strongly.
Lucca charged her spell through Robo's body and the Lens Flare did massive damage, but Chrono Weapon stood still and strong.
"Sweetie, Polar Lights!" Crono said strongly to Marle.
"You got it!" responded Marle as the two took the opportunity to attack. The attack did considerable damage and everyone's Aura Surges wore off, leaving them exhausted.
Chrono Weapon then stirred, "Halation." It announced.
Once again the party was reduced to shambles. From the ground though, Crono cast his Previve on everyone as Chrono Weapon showered them with bullets knocking them all out. Luckily, the Previve brought them all back and Crono and Robo used the Holy Healing Beam to restore the party. "Damn, that was close!" Crono muttered weakly.
"That Slime wasn't kidding when he said this thing was super strong!" Lucca followed.
"It's gotta be getting close to defeat, it's just gotta!" Marle whined.
"Without the Aura Surge, we must go for Triple Techniques and Quadruples!" Robo claimed.
"All right, ladies!" Crono began. "Shall we try a Delta Force?"
Both girls cheered, but Robo interrupted, "Hold on, please! If I add my Laser Flash to that skill, we can upgrade Delta Force! I call it Delta Force +!"
"Good thinking, Robo!" Crono responded.
The party of four combined their different elements together and Chrono Weapon was enveloped by a sharp, geometrically-shaped pillar of light that fell from the sky. Light, Fire, Water, and Shadow. Each element flashed before them and tore through the powerful robot.
Chrono Weapon now showed its fatigue as its body leaned forward a little, giving it a slumped posture. "It's still not pushed over the edge?" Crono asked bewildered.
"I thought for sure that would have done it!" Marle followed.
"Quick, can we finish it with a Summon?" Lucca said as she searched frantically for her Red Gem.
"The fields flooded with different elements, but-! I got it! It doesn't matter what the field is when we use this one!" Crono said as he held up the Rainbow Gem. "Spekkio, let's see what you can do!" He commanded.
"Well, it's about damn time!" Spekkio said with comical anger. "Let me just push this thing offa cliff, so to speak!" He appeared and he took the form of the big blue muscular giant with horns that he once was. He waved his giant arms up and then brought them down. "Elemental Decay!" He shouted.
Spekkio's attack tore through Chrono Weapon as it was bombarded by a six-part spell that featured all six elements. Once it was over, Spekkio vanished and Chrono Weapon was nothing more than slag smoldering in a heap. It was now the only remaining piece of creation left by the denizens of the planet.
Crono's party wearily got to their feet. "We did it! It's defeated!" Marle said as she tried to jump for joy.
"When this is all over, I will make sure that no machine like that is ever created!" Robo claimed with lag in his voice.
"You do that," Lucca said as she tried to pat down her hair.
"That was great, what a short but intense battle! It was like a fireworks display!" Crono said with a wide grin.
"Well, I'm glad someone had fun...," Lucca stated sarcastically.
Now that the last opponent was defeated, the Prison of Time began to deteriorate. The place faded until all was dark. Until that is, a light appeared from an opening of a door. The party walked out and found themselves in the lobby with the rest of their friends. Everyone was ecstatic to meet up and talk about the Prison and its challenges.
"Well done!" said the Slime. "Now that all the weird possibilities are deleted! We can close up! Thanks for all your hard work!"
The party decided to leave the Prison lobby and as soon as they all made it back to Gaspar, the Prison of Time and the way to access it had vanished without a trace. Gaspar greeted them with a chuckle, "Ho, ho, ho! So I see you've conquered the Prison. Well done!"
"Yeah, it wasn't that bad!" Crono said with his fists planted at his sides. Everyone gave him a rather cross glare.
Ty went up to him, "Yeah, never doing that again. Anyway, while we were down there, some of those monsters were carrying some pretty good stuff! Mementos, really. So you guys can have some of the spoils!"
Ty passed around strange weapons and goods to everyone and they all took the time to store them up. "Yeah, turns out it's really easy to steal stuff from monsters when Marle shakes her rear and Ayla with her chest. Monsters don't pay me any mind at all with such a 'Charming Distraction'!" He laughed.
Ayla smiled proudly, "Ayla have strong chest!"
Marle blushed, "Okay, okay, let's move on shall we?"
"All right everyone, here's the deal," Crono started as he grew serious. "After we patch ourselves up and get some rest it's time to bring this long strange journey to an end. Hopefully, I can still save my dad."
"We will, sweetie. That's what we originally set out to do remember?" Marle said as she embraced her husband.
Crono returned the embrace as everyone sort of disbursed to tend to their own devices.
Finally, everyone was ready for the final push. Crono selected Marle, Lucca, and Janus to accompany him and they took the Neo Epoch to the year 3000 B.C.
As it appeared in the sky overhead, the Neo Epoch quickly came within range of the storm. "So how do we get past this storm?" Crono asked puzzled.
"We drive through and pray," Janus replied.
Marle nodded and Lucca gave one last piece of advice, "Go with the wind Crono, not against it."
Crono swallowed hard as he began the descent into the storm. The Neo Epoch braved the winds as it shook and creaked. It felt like the storm was going to tear the time machine to shreds, but then a miracle. The machine broke through even though Crono had lost control. The time machine plummeted toward a sandy beach and it landed hard enough to slide across the sand. "Everyone, all right?" Crono said as he shook his head.
The party responded positively. Then the Neo Epoch began doing something strange. "It's overloading! The power source is damaged! Get out now!" Lucca shouted urgently.
The party escaped the time machine and took cover as it exploded. Lucca approached the rubble with a sad expression. When the smoke cleared though, something caught her eye. "Can it be? It is! It's a Gate!" She said astounded.
The rest of the party approached, "Hmm, a way out, just in case?" Janus mused.
"Maybe, but with these belt-buckle Gate Keys, we can switch people at any time!" Marle said reassuringly.
Crono gazed up at the massive building that loomed over the beach. The tower was composed of many other significant landmarks from throughout history. "My dad is up there. I can feel it. Do you see me, dad? Because I'm coming for you!"
*End of Chapter*