Chapter 15 / Rise of the Black Omen

"So the Epoch was able to detect the different time periods that we've traveled and use that to record different destinations?" Lucca shook her head. "I was only able to mimic the distinct frequency of the telepod when it interacted with the pendant. I was working in a hurry so I still haven't had much time to study it on how it works. But if the Epoch could grab that kind of data... does that mean that time traveling leaves like a residual energy on us? Perhaps that is why we aren't directly affected by changes in the timeline we've caused..."

"Then how do you explain what happened to Marle in the middle ages?" I asked as we found ourselves walking towards the next land bridge. The cold air and snow pressed against us but Lucca kept talking, likely to keep her focus off of the situation.

"I think we already theorized that enough. Considering we didn't forget who Marle was... that meant the future had not been settled in. If we had returned without rescuing her then it is likely our memories would have been rewritten at that point. Or the moment that Queen Leene died at the hands of Yakra," Lucca said.

"But... the flow of time continues to move forward. As far as we know, we can't go back to say a week before the millennial fair and make it so Crono and I never meet. It seems so arbitrary on when and where we end up... at least on the surface," Marle spoke up next. "But if you look at what ties everything together, it paints a picture."

"All era's we've visited have had some connection to Lavos," Glenn added.

"I would be first to dismiss such a thing but, if it is Lavos' energy that allows the possibility to begin with... I think we could be on to something. Or close to it. Considering we've been given the gift of magic by a god of war... Intervention of supernatural elements is not something I would dismiss. Though the thought that there is some otherworldly being allowing us to go through these specific moments in time has not been crossed out as a possibility. I'm not a fan of such a thing," Lucca noted as we all finally arrived at the land bridge and stepped inside.

Taking it, we all teleported up to the land above, in Zeal. A forest to the east... bridges over rivers to the west...

"This place continues to defy even my databanks," Robo said as we all headed towards the bridges.

"All of this... it's about to fall isn't it?" Lucca said as we reached the bridge. Stopping, she looked over the side and could see fish swimming within it. "It will fall, the land will reshape over the next 12,000 years to become the continents we come to know. And this place will be forgotten."

"You're right," I said after a moment. "Even still, we made a promise to save Schala. More than that... I think Magus is waiting for that moment to strike himself. We have to hurry."

"Magus... to think this is the place of his origin. We are certain that the young Janus is him?" Glenn involuntarily croaked.

"Without a doubt. I confirmed it from him when we were sealed through the Gate," I answered.

"Magus was trying to summon Lavos, not to threaten the Guardia kingdom, but to kill Lavos itself. In revenge for his sister, Schala. That's why we have to save her," Marle added as she came close to me. "Plus, Schala looks so lonely. She is carrying so much weight on her shoulders. Burdened by what her Mother has become, and unsure if she can do anything to stop her. She loves her Mother, her family... I can only imagine how much she is suffering as a result."

"All of this is a result of Lavos' power," Glenn said. "I blamed Magus much for my own mistakes. Cyrus may have died at his hand but he spared me when it was within his power to kill me. I have often pondered if perhaps Cyrus and I were too hasty to confront Magus. Ozzie's presence in that confrontation and how we have learned that he might have been using Magus for his own means... There is much I would ask Magus. We must not allow him nor his sister to fall victim to a grim fate."

"Then I suppose there isn't anything to discuss. We're all decided on this, right?" I asked everyone as we all started moving again.

"Ayla save Schala. Protect boy from Lavos," Ayla spoke up.

"That sounds like a yes to me," Lucca smiled.

"Having Magus indebted to us has a lot of appeal," Glenn added. "Either way, this machine that draws upon Lavos must be stopped."

"If we can stop Schala being separated from Janus... maybe we can also stop Janus from being pulled into a portal to begin with," Marle said as we were passing the second bridge.

I guess it would be like if I had been separated from Lucca. That is the closest thing I could equate such a thing too as I didn't have siblings. Janus was lost to time, wound up in the middle ages with only his memories. He survived, somehow coming to the mystics... And he survived. Driven by a desire to... I would imagine... reunite with his sister. But I'm sure at some point he realized it was an impossible task. However... the reason everything happened... Lavos, it was still alive. So Magus changed focus, he sought power, experimenting with magic, gaining power until nothing could stand in his way. Even going so far as to attempt to acquire the Masamune in the hope it would give him an advantage against Lavos. But we appeared... rushing Magus' Keep and confronting him just as the summoning happened. Because of that we were all scattered to different parts in time... once again by Lavos. Yeah, from everything we had seen and learned up to now, this was the most logical of explanations.

I don't think it would change what we wanted to do either way. Schala was a victim. No, all of humanity was the victim here. This... Frozen Flame that they used in the Mammon Machine... if it was a direct connection to Lavos itself then the creation of Zeal and its events might have been influenced... or guided to come to being because of Lavos. I couldn't begin to fathom what that would mean if it is true. To admit that such a... creature was guiding humanity... The implications just made me angry.

We made no stops as we passed by Kajar and made our way to the Zeal Palace. Upon entering we all felt something was different. The man who was there to greet people that entered the palace regarded us with a neutral expression, "Welcome to the Palace of Zeal, the center of the Magic Kingdom, that is to say it is the center of the universe."

None of us responded as we walked by.

"I've been here the whole time but the name Zeal just becomes more appropriate as I have talked to these 'Enlightened Ones' as they call themselves. They are all just zealots of a radical cult. Unfortunately that cult controls this society and revolves around Lavos and its power. Power that becomes more imposing the more we've learned about it," Lucca shook her head as we moved past a woman who was mumbling about something about calling upon the power of Lavos.

"Yes, I see your point," Glenn said. Despite how we all stood out by comparison no one stopped us as we made our way to the throne room. We went into the hallway, a pair of nu's... the strange blue creatures were in the hallway... seemingly as if on guard, but they did nothing to impede us either.

"This whole place creeps me out," Marle whispered to me. I had to agree.

As we got close to the door to the throne room a pair of women stood there. They were gossiping rather loudly.

"The Queen and Lady Schala have descended to the Ocean Palace. It's finally come!" one of them seemed to squeal, unable to contain her excitement.

"We Enlightened Ones will finally attain immortality," the other woman was quick to say with a large smile. "With the Ocean Palace, there is nothing to stop Zeal from ruling forever."

But we moved past and into the throne room. What was there to say about it? As Lucca said... they were zealots, devout to the Queen and her ambition to use Lavos power for their benefit. All of these people... would they somehow survive the fall of Zeal? That wasn't something I think we could stop. We entered the throne room and saw Dalton casually sitting on the throne.

He truly was an arrogant looking bastard. Long brown hair, a bronze colored cape and an outfit that was meant to show off his status and power. Expensive looking clothes to be sure, and probably was. He looked up at us and shook his head, "So you did come. You all offer little compensation. I would rather be in the Ocean Palace itself. Why was it that the prophet was allowed inside while I'm stuck guarding the entry anyway? I suppose it doesn't matter. I had hoped that your interference would force the supposed prophet to reveal his hand but that doesn't matter at this point."

"I imagine you're just waiting for your chance to stab even your Queen in the back," I said as I placed a hand on the hilt of my katana.

"The Queen has been rather useful, but her obsession with Lavos is rather... unsightly. But her own usefulness is starting to wane. So..." Dalton got up from the throne. "I can't exactly allow you to enter the Ocean Palace."

The rest of the group responded by pulling out their weapons.

"Allow us to make it easier for you," Glenn spoke up as he brandished the Masamune.

"We will see about that," Dalton flourished his cape out as he seemed to unleash his magic power which he clearly had been holding back. "What I've seen from the lot of you might have been good enough for my first golem, or the one I left on the Mountain of Woe. But you'll find that it pales in comparison to what I control." As if to prove this point he sent out a wave of his magical power to push all of us away from him.

Ayla and Glenn were first to react and jumped to opposite sides of Dalton. Likely to try and split his attention. I was next with Robo joining my charge. I pulled out my katana and swung towards him as Robo threw his weight into a punch. But both of our attacks stopped midair a few inches from Dalton.

"You really think you can take all of us on your own?" I glared at him.

Ayla came in first, flying through the air with her right foot a moment away from slamming against Dalton, but a wave of his hand sent her flying back. I continued to press against the invisible field that prevented my own attack from connecting. However, Ayla was quick to jump back at him and continue an endless assault, forcing him to keep up his defenses.

"You aren't that impressive," Marle spoke up some distance behind me. "Let's see you deal with our magic on top of it all."

"Blaze and Frigid. The depths of cold give birth to unending flame, Twisting Antipode!" Lucca and Marle yelled in unison. The air immediately around him began to heat up, while it looked as if Dalton himself was being frozen. The magic attack averted his attention enough that Glenn came jumping down thrusting the Masamune down and at Dalton. His defenses collapsed all at once, but he rolled out of the way of the majority of our attacks, but Ayla was quick to capitalize on it and landed a kick on Dalton's midsection with enough power to send him flying back against the throne with a thud.

Dalton groaned as he got back to his feet, "Your fighting style is just as unrefined as I expected. Perhaps it's time I move to my next plan... a bit ahead of schedule, but I can improvise. The Queen will have to deal with you herself. Good luck." Then with another flourish of his cape, he disappeared, and after he did so the throne spun around revealing... a teleport pad? It was similar to the land bridges.

"Dalton man, coward," Ayla said, crossing her arms.

"Indeed," Glenn croaked as he sheathed the Masamune. "He never intended to fight us. Why pretend to entertain such feeble resistance, when he clearly could have fought much more."

"To backstab the Queen, of course. As Crono said," Marle said as we all looked at the teleport pad. "Whatever happens he plans to make use of it to take power for himself."

"Then we'll deal with him later. Our problem is the Mammon Machine and getting Schala out from the Ocean Palace. If we don't hurry it is likely that Schala will be forced to turn the Mammon Machine back on," Lucca brought our focus back to the present. There was no time to waste, that much was true. But I didn't like thinking that their actions were going to be used by that man. He's definitely someone that would only remain a problem the longer he lived. One thing at a time I suppose.

I sheathed my katana and stepped towards the teleport pad, "Then let's go."


When we reappeared off a similar teleport pad we found ourselves... looking at a scene I hadn't exactly expected. On both sides of the teleport pad were gargoyles... a humanoid body, long hair but demon-like wings and long ears... and eyes that glowed red.

"Oooookay..." my voice drags for a bit.

Lucca pulled out her scanner and after turning it on was making a lot of noises, "I thought as much. These readings are dangerously similar to Gates and well... I've suspected since we learned of Lavos and seeing the destruction he causes that the energy he releases has to come from him..."

"A Gate appearing at the place he landed does say a lot in itself," I said after a moment. I squatted down and put my hand on the ground. "Metal... processed? Did they make this place with magic?"

"Structure suggests precision tools. Perfect calculations, and my sensors detect complex circuitry as well," Robo said after a moment.

"Place creepy. Ayla not like," Ayla muttered.

"I concur," Glenn said. "It's unsettling"

"I don't like how it feels, the air... it feels hostile, unwelcoming. It's the same feeling I've felt at that time..." Marle shook her head. "When Lavos energy forced us through that gate at Magus' castle."

"Lavos, huh?" I said as I got back to my feet and saw a familiar figure standing in the doorway that led out of this chamber.

"You're right," the odd being that was either Masa or Mune stated as he walked forward. "It's dark energy filling this place. What you feel is something frightening stirring from rest. The Mammon Machine has already been activated. I would pick up the pace." They then spun and disappeared.

"We've seen them a number of times, so I'm not surprised considering Melchior is the one that created the Masamune... but they also seem to have a sister named Doreen," I stepped towards the doorway that Masa or Mune had been blocking.

Putting her scanner away, Lucca pulled out her newly customized gun she had created. I'm guessing she had been working on it in the time that Marle and I had been away. She walked next to me, "And to think it wasn't that long ago where the most I worried about were the equations on a chalkboard. And now we're in an underwater palace, charging in to attempt to stop the machinations of a Queen seeking to use the power of an otherworldly abomination to gain eternal life."

I can't help but chuckle, "Don't forget us running around with a progenitor of our race, a robot from the future, and a knight turned frog."

"Indeed, we are in many ways a representation of the different eras in which Lavos influence has touched," Glenn croaked involuntarily after his words.

"And many more that are unable to do anything about this, who know nothing about the fate of our future. In a way I don't blame people trying to take advantage of Lavos power. But the danger and outcome of doing something like that is beyond any one individual's comprehension," Marle added.

Ayla came up and engulfed Marle and Lucca in a hug, "No worry, Ayla here. Ayla protect, take down Lavos."

I smiled seeing the comradeship that we had all developed. United in a goal to help each other to take on a threat that even with all we had learned was rather insurmountable in scope. And this... this was probably the most reckless we had been, but time allowed for nothing less than this. I put my hand on the hilt of my sword as I started to move forward, "Stay aware, everyone. Let's get moving."

Navigating the palace was not as intuitive or welcoming as one might expect a location of power for a civilization to be. If the location was finished building, I had expected it to be populated with researchers or devout followers of Queen Zeal. Instead what we found was a labyrinth of magical creatures that seemed to have taken up residence within it. No doubt they were attracted by the power of Lavos and sought to leech that power for themselves. I was just speculating but they were tough customers. If not for the ability to use magic, these fights would have been that much tougher. But it still made little sense to me... why build a place like this that would be so complicated to... unless the place we entered was not the only place you could teleport to. Perhaps this place... while it was possible to navigate and go further... maybe it was made to deal with unwanted guests. That seemed plausible at the very least.

It's a good thing that everyone was here, or else our stamina would not get us this far. We did our best to swap out who fought to give people rest. After going down an elevator... and being ambushed a few times, we managed to get out of it unscathed and reached the bottom, where we found both Masa and Mune standing in front of some stairs.

"It's you guys again. Hey, Masa, they have the ruby knife," Mune was the one to speak.

"Ah, so the old man entrusted it to you guys..." Masa nodded as if he was confirming something to himself. "Dreamstone has been used throughout the ages. The Mammon Machine and that pendant were made from it, and so was that knife. We are the embodiment of Melchior's hope, sealed within the knife."

"Hurry, if you mean to confront the Queen. Hope rests within your hands," Mune said as the two spun in place and disappeared.

"Wait, if the ruby knife has Masa and Mune sealed within it then..." Lucca's eyes widened.

"And we had to acquire a dreamstone from Ayla's time in order for Melchior to reforge the Masamune for Glenn..." Marle shook her head.

Glenn looked down at the sword sheathed near his waist, "Perhaps a precursor to its final form. That being the case, it would mean the Masamune will prove effective against the infernal machine."

"Good call," I nodded. "In that case, Glenn will lead the charge to destroy the Mammon Machine."

"Sounds like a plan," Marle readied her crossbow.

Another trip on an elevator and activating a retractable bridge and we ran into him once more. Dalton had his back to us but it was obvious he was on his guard and aware of our presence.

"Amazing. You truly made it all this way. Perhaps I did underestimate you. Or perhaps, this is a chance for something more," Dalton swung out his robe as he turned towards us. "But this is the end. My pets will stop you here. Come forth, Golem Sisters!"

Dalton jumped back as something that appeared like a gate opened and it grew quickly as two massive floating monstrosities appeared. Both with massive arms, a gigantic mouth with oversized fangs and amber like skin... and the center of its forehead looked like a red jewel. The two apparent golem sisters let out devastating roars as all of us readied our weapons. Dalton crossed his arms, a grin on his face as we squared off against the golems.

Glenn jumped towards the left golem and Robo towards the right. Ayla came forward, standing in front of me.

"Crono, come! Attack up high!" Ayla said as she bent and cupped her hands together. I jumped towards her, onto her hand and steadied myself as she then used her strength to launch me into the air. It wasn't until this moment that I considered how high up the ceiling of this place was, but Ayla had sent me with enough momentum that this became a necessary consideration. I spun around in the air, my feet firmly planting on the ceiling allowing me to for a moment look at the battlefield.

Pushing off from the ceiling, the momentum along with gravity forced me down with an extreme amount of force onto the golem as my katana came free and I stabbed down and into the red like jewel in its forehead. It shattered as my blade pierced it. At the same moment Glenn came charging as the golem I had attacked slammed against the ground. Glenn sliced it's underbelly as Lucca then threw a bomb into it. I gripped my katana and jumped free as everyone got clear as Lucca's bomb exploded. The golem disappeared.

I turned my attention to the other as I saw Marle encase Robo in ice just a moment before he slammed into the golem. Somehow that caused Marle's ice magic to slam into the golem. Arya then flipped over Robo and kicked the golem and landed a series of devastating kicks before she grabbed the golem's mouth. She wedged it open as I watched Marle aim her crossbow and release several bolts into its mouth and finish with Robo landing a devastating punch on the inside of its mouth. The golem collapsed backwards and then disappeared.

Dalton frowned, "The Sisters, too! I suppose I have no choice." But as he looked prepared to fight us, everything around started to shake. We all managed to stay standing but something felt different. "Hmm, this can't be good. Sorry boys and girls, but this isn't the ship I'm going to go down on. Farewell!" Dalton then pulled his cloak around him.

I charged, bringing my sword to bear but he disappeared before I could get to him. "Asshole. If there is one guy I want to make sure doesn't survive, it's him."

"Shit, if I had another bolt prepared..." Marle shared my anger. After all we both had reasons to hate him after all he had done to us.

"JANUS!" a scream, it was clearly Schala. Not taking another moment, all of us ran through the door ahead. A grand hall welcomed us as we rushed ahead and saw a gathering of people. Schala knelt down on the ground... and many denizens of Zeal were present... The robed Prophet, aka Magus, stood there unmoving as the Queen seemed to be grinning.

"Schala!" Marle yelled out as we came sliding to a stop and we readied our weapons again.

Something was wrong... We were too late. So, it had already happened... the moment that sent the Gurus and Janus to different time periods. Schala had lost her brother. The denizens of Zeal moved away from us as the Queen's attention along with Schala and Magus turned to us.

Schala had tears in her eyes, "You're here? I'm sorry but..."

The Mammon Machine glowed as energy moved forward and assaulted Schala. The Prophet moved and shielded her, producing a barrier of magic between Schala and the Mammon Machine. The Queen glared at him.

"What are you doing!? Schala must control the machine!" the Queen demanded.

I pulled out the ruby knife, "Ayla, launch Glenn!"

"Ayla ready!" she said as Glenn jumped towards her. I tossed up the knife as Glenn was thrown into the air. He grabbed the knife and went right at the Mammon Machine.

Glenn came down fast and stabbed the knife down... but as he did, the resulting release of energy caused Glenn to be pushed off... remaining stabbed into the machine was... a sword.

"It's the Masamune!" I called out.

"The sword alone cannot stop it!" Schala called out.

"I will contain the excess energy, you must fully destroy it!" the Prophet yelled towards me.

"It's too late! He's emerging!" Schala shook her head. Then an energy surrounding us, time and space warped and we found ourselves standing in front of the spiked abomination that we had only seen in the video of him in the future... the reason we had set out on this journey to begin with. Lavos.

It released a screech that made all of us collapse to our knees... it's power had a suffocating presence. We got to our feet but as we did it somehow launched spikes off its back and right at us. They moved at a ridiculous speed making it impossible to completely dodge. I jumped to my side, tackling Marle and trying to cover her, but I couldn't completely shield her. I felt it hit my side, piercing me, but even Marle was hit. I felt off, like... wait... was it coated in some sort of paralysis? I tried to glance around... no one else was moving... not even Robo.

Someone stood in front of me, "I've waited for this moment. Lavos." It was Magus, pulling off the hood and revealing himself. Although I had long figured this out. "I swore on that day long ago that I'd destroy you, no matter the price. It's time I fulfill that vow. Feel my wrath, Lavos!"

A laugh echoed around us as we could hear a familiar voice, "You truly think you possess the power? What are you but a false prophet? You'll be no more than grazings for the great Lavos!" The Queen said approaching Lavos but Schala rushed forward standing in front of her.

"Mother, please stop this madness! This power can only end in ruin! Do you not see how volatile and destructive it is? Why have you allowed it to influence you? What happened to you?" Schala pleaded.

The Queen glared and backhanded Schala out of the way, "You cannot change what has been set in motion. The almighty life force of Lavos flows through us all. With this, not even death can be feared by us."

"Mother... is this... because Father died?" Schala asked straight out.

The Queen said nothing and then jumped up and onto the shell of Lavos. And Lavos seemed to not oppose the presence of the Queen. Not attacking as it had us. "Never again will anything be taken from me! Not with this power at my side!"

I could see Schala from my position, and she looked shocked. No doubt... her Mother's obsession with this power wasn't because she wanted to be powerful... It was because she was afraid. Afraid of losing another person she loved. I felt my heart grow heavy, remembering when I had learned about my Father's supposed death. There is helplessness that you can't escape. That feeling in which you feel there has to be something that you could do to prevent it. You search desperately for a solution, something you could do to reverse the flow of time... to revert to before you had felt that pain. Lavos' power... if he was the source of the Gates, of how we traversed the different eras... then what was to stop such a possibility? Surely the Queen became obsessed with such a thought. What a pitiful woman.

Magus turned towards the Queen and Lavos, saying nothing in front of this exchange. Although he denies it, the truth of this had to affect him. After all, the Queen was his Mother.

"Come, Prophet of Lies! Feel the power of Lavos!" The Queen seemed to direct Lavos attention to Magus. Was she truly commanding Lavos, or was she simply being used by Lavos to have an understanding of the situation? Was the will of the Queen actually her own?

Lavos' beaked mouth opened and energy wrapped around Magus.

"Tch, draining my magic?" Magus growled as he collapsed to a knee. "I endured the darkness alone. Survived with only one purpose and will not suffer defeat!" Magus seemed to push Lavos energy aside, getting back to his feet as he pulled out his scythe. He launched forward and seemed to pour magic into his scythe as he struck at Lavos, "Take this!" But his scythe stopped, his eyes widened. "What!? No effect at all? NO! After all this time!"

Magus was hit by some sort of compact magic and sent spiraling along the ground, stopping close to Marle and I.

"Fool! Your pitiful powers are no match for him!" The Queen laughed. "I shall give you a gift. Eternal life, as part of Lavos!"

Schala and Magus were being pulled towards Lavos... if something didn't happen... Lavos would likely absorb them both.

"I truly am a fool, after coming this far," Magus' anger formed on his face.

Was this really hopeless? Could I do nothing to save them I... no... I would not believe that. I would not allow it. "Marle, I love you," I found myself saying.

"C-c-crono, what are you saying?" her eyes widened.

"You can move, right? I'm going to shield you and the others... Get everyone out, okay?" I told her as I got to my feet.

"No, no!" Marle shook her head.

"We made a promise didn't we? No matter what happens," I said as I pulled off my bag and placed her pendant back around her neck. "It was a pleasure to kidnap you, Princess Nadia."

"NO! Don't you dare! Crono!" she reached out to grab me but I was already beyond her reach as I moved in front of Lavos,

"You've still not given up? What do you hope to do? You would challenge Lavos alone with that battered body of yours?" the Queen scoffed.

"If it were me alone, I would have never been here. But this won't be the end of us all. No matter the consequence I will face off against fate with everything that I am, and every ounce of strength I can muster. Now, come! I stand against the will of the heavens!" I tossed my sword aside as I floated into the air, summoning magic I had never used, a depth of power I had never before reached.

"Fool! Gaze upon the power of Lavos!" The Queen yelled.

"-I become a conduit of defiance and temper fate to my own will! Luminaire!" I unleashed my magical power and it slammed against Lavos' energy as it seemed to release its own attack at the Queen's instruction.

"Crono!" Marle yelled.

I was holding it back as best I could, "Magus! Take your sister! Get out of here!"

Magus put a hand to the ground and looked up towards me, "You would have me survive? Even after all I have done against you and your kin?"

"What have you been fighting for all this time!? To get revenge? You're lying to yourself! You came to save your sister! Don't let your anger cloud your judgement!" I yelled as I did my best to keep my spell up against the oppressive energy from Lavos. Magus' eyes widened.

"I truly am a fool," Magus said as he managed to move over to Schala.

As he did Lavos power spiked further and I increased my own, not even sure where this strength came from.

"Crono! Crono!" my friends, comrades, they all yelled out for me.

That's right... They were my strength. This was the reason I could stand here against such force. I turned my full attention to Lavos. Father... Did you die protecting someone? As strong as you are, I could never imagine anyone beating you. But I realize now that no matter how strong you were... some things could not be avoided. For my friends, for Nadia, the one I love... I would hold Lavos back.

I met a girl at the fair. We ran into each other, and before I knew it I had spent the day with her. Gone through time, found a future we couldn't believe. And on our journey, I fell in love. I experienced prosecution, nearly executed, went to the past, fought dinosaurs, the middle ages, I defended the kingdom. Fought Magus, and all to track down Lavos. A strength that words could not properly describe its power. And I felt that my magic would not sustain for much longer. All other sounds could no longer reach my ears. I stared directly at Lavos and screamed in defiance. My body became numb. I closed my eyes. "Live on, everyone. I know you'll find a way to beat him. Take this moment and learn from it. Thank you for fighting with me. And Nadia… I'm sorry."

The world around me went white, and then... there was nothing.


My heart felt numb, broken, shattered, frozen in ice colder than any of my magic could ever be. No tears fell down my face, but nothing seemed to register anything. I looked to see that somehow we were no longer in the presence of Lavos but back in the Ocean Palace in front of the Mammon Machine. I got to my feet, not trusting anything I was experiencing. The world around us shakes more violently than it ever had before.

"I lacked true resolve, my power was as nothing in front of him," Magus was near me. He shook his head. "Crono, you saw right through me, didn't you?"

"Crono? Where's Crono?" Lucca called out in a panic. "There was nothing I could do!"

"This will not be the last time Lavos! I shall get vengeance!" Glenn declared.

"Why? Why Crono gone? Ayla weak..." Ayla wiped tears away from her face.

"We must leave, or his sacrifice will be in vain," Robo declared.

"I will use the last of my pendant's power to send you all to safety. I know you will not be able to forgive her, but... Please, do not hate my mother, or our kingdom," Schala said, getting to her feet. I got up and went over to her, taking her hand.

"No! You are coming with us! We came here to save you! Crono is dead and I will not let his last promise go unfulfilled! Magus, you still have power left correct? And I have my pendant, combined we can all escape," I insisted and glared at Schala to speak against it. Although it hurts to speak, to move, to breathe... I had to do this. I could not just die here. Even if I felt I already had.

"Yes, we haven't the time to waste," Magus got to his feet and moved to Schala. He took her hand. "I will not waste the opportunity to do this again."

Schala blinked looking at Magus and her eyes widened, "Janus? Oh my God! It's you! But..."

"For another time, Sister," Magus said. "Come, everyone!"

"Let space be undefined, and our destination clear! Teleportation!" Schala called out, a large magic circle similar to what we had seen used on the land bridges appeared underneath us... and the magic wrapped around us. Magus, fueling power into his sister as we all disappeared from the Ocean Palace. And the remnants of my own stamina gave out as I blacked out.

Just when I believed I had found my reason for living. I had found something to fight for, a future to look towards. But now... what? What exactly was there now?

When I next opened my eyes I found that I was in some sort of tent, alone. There was a fire going and so I sat up and turned towards it, looking into the dancing flames. I wrapped my arms around my knees. Empty... it just felt empty. He was gone, wasn't he? What was the point now? Why should I care? After pushing all of this, and to save the world... Was I so naive to believe that we would come out unscathed? What had I expected? What was I hoping for when it was all over anyway? We would still be wanted back in our time, and even if that wasn't true, I was still the Princess.

"Crono," I breathed, putting my hand to my chest. I should be crying, shouldn't I? I just lost the other half of my heart... but perhaps that was why I couldn't feel anything at all.

"Ahhh... You've woken," an older gentleman walked in. It was the Elder from Algetty, the Earthbound village.

"Marle!" Ayla came rushing by and quickly engulfed me into a hug. Her warmth was something I almost didn't want, but I didn't fight her. "You dream heavily, move much."

Lucca lingered in the doorway, "Good to see you up. It's been nearly a whole day."

I looked away, "Is that right?"

"It seems that Lavos released an attack that brought down the entire nation of Zeal. It'll be some time before the land and everything settles again. The wake of the destruction unleashed a tidal wave that destroyed and killed a lot of people. Everyone that survived is here," Lucca explained. "Glenn and Robo have been keeping an eye on Magus and Schala. We decided to wait for you to wake up before we did anything. Also, it seems the Epoch survived. It seems to be in good working order, other than a few dents."

"Everything is here, but him," I said looking at the ground. I then felt aware of the pendant around my neck. He had returned it to me. He knew what he was about to do.

"The lad knew what he was doing," Glenn walked past Lucca and into the tent, letting out an unintentional croak as he stopped. "The power he unleashed at that time was enough to break Lavos' hold on the rest of us. It is what allowed us to get back to the Ocean Palace. And then through your own efforts, Schala and Magus we were able to teleport away. Not an outcome we wanted, but likely the best given the situation."

I felt an irrational anger as I stood up, "You call this, the best? Crono is dead!"

"And the whole world will eventually die because of Lavos," Glenn countered. "If we all had died down there... there would be no one left to continue the fight. No one knows what fate awaits our world. And all of us would have been forgotten. Do not mistake my words to be those of relief. Now, more than ever, I will continue the fight. I will finish the fight that Crono gave his life to protect."

Hanging my head, I felt the anger wash away as fast as it had come, "I understand. My mind comprehends it, but my heart cannot, will not accept this. I apologize... and I'm sure this will not be the only time I lash out. I'm sorry."

"There is no need for such words," Glenn said and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Do what you must. Do not hold your grief within. I shall take my leave for now."

"Please, take your time and rest," the Elder encouraged, he bowed slightly and also left.

Ayla and Lucca stayed with me as I turned back to the fire. I wanted tears to come, for the pain and sorrow to hit me and yet... I felt nothing. However, another thought came to me and so I started to speak, "Lucca, did you know I snuck into the bathroom in your house while Crono was using it?"

Lucca shifted, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. But he turned you down."

"From the beginning, Crono saw through me. Not about me being a Princess, though he was pretty quick to figure that out. But what I meant was that I couldn't hide my real feelings from him. I tried to act cheerful, you know. I wanted my time at the fair to be all the memories I was never able to have. Find a cute boy, do everything I wanted to do and then when it was all over... I could go without regrets. Life hadn't meant anything to me at the castle. After Mom died... after Lazarus was gone... my Father caged me and took away any freedom I had. There was nothing, no reason to live. That was what I believed. That was what I felt," I found myself repeating words that I had only told Crono in secret. In the night between the two of us. "Crono changed everything for me. Or maybe it was because I was sent to the middle ages. I felt what it was like... at least how I believe it likely feels like to die. It was cold, unfeeling... nothing. But yet, Crono came for me. You came for me, Lucca. Someone cared about me. Went into danger, for me! So I vowed to change, vowed to find a path, a way that I could return that kindness, that warmth and love I had felt ever so briefly when the two of you rescued me. You know what happens after that Lucca. But I was determined to give everything to Crono. My heart, my life, my very soul. Every part of me can only see a world with him... so now... now what am I supposed to do?"

Lucca stepped forward as well as Ayla.

"Crono never gone. Crono live here," Ayla put her hand on my chest. "Marle live. For Crono."

"He was my friend, my family," Lucca spoke softly, tears falling from her eyes. "I relied on his strength for all my life. I took him for granted all these years. And now I'll never be able to tell him. Gods, I hate myself for never saying anything to him."

Ayla pulled Lucca into the hug. I know there was a part of me that wanted to cry, to scream in pain. But I felt nothing.

I was a broken husk... my heart had died with Crono.


Ayla, Lucca and I walked into what was deemed the village commons. The people here were full of the Enlightened and Earthbound Ones... anyone that had survived the events seemed to have gathered here. It had been a couple days now since the destruction of Zeal. It seemed though that the once Enlightened had lost their capacity to do magic. Maybe they were severed from their connection to Lavos. Perhaps it was also why they seemed much more sensible than before. I made my way towards the Village Elder who gave a slight smile as we approached.

"Feeling better, are we?" he asked.

I looked away from him, "Better enough. Have you seen where Glenn and-"

"-Bow, churls, and pay homage to your new liege, King Dalton!" a loud cry came as soldiers came rushing in and quickly subduing several individuals as the man in question grinned.

"Whyever the looks of disappointment? You should be thankful you survived," Dalton was satisfied with himself as he looked right at me.

"A shame that it didn't claim you as well," I found myself saying.

"Hmpf, defiant even now? The crazed old crone is gone, and that insufferable prophet with her. Henceforth, Zeal shall be known as the kingdom of Dalton," Dalton dramatically flared out his cape. "I can only presume that the ship I saw from overhead is yours. You must have been working with that fool, Belthasar. It matches that man's designs perfectly. I thank you for your part in ridding me of the Queen but I don't need individuals as strong willed as you lot about. Allow me to take your vessel and your lives."

A loud noise came from behind us. Instinctively I turned only to see that one of Dalton's soldiers had made the noise. But it was too late. Dalton still had use of his powers and his magic crashed up against my head. Again I felt myself surrender to darkness.

My head ached when I woke up. I found myself on a metal floor. I sat up and looked around... some sort of room? Lucca and Ayla were looking around.

"Looks like they've taken all of our belongings," Lucca shook her head.

"Ayla still fight, get back our things," Ayla said.

I got to my feet, "Where in the hell are we?"

"You remember that massive ship we saw up in Zeal?" Lucca asked.

"Oh yeah... I think it is called... the blackbird," I answered.

"Blackbird fly high in air," Ayla added.

"Fully operational. As curious as I am as to how it runs since it is likely not dependent on the energy of Lavos, our first objective is to recover our belongings and get out of here. I woke up earlier and as far as the talk from the guards outside are concerned... Glenn, Magus, Robo and Schala weren't taken. However, they did take the Epoch," Lucca brought me up to speed.

"So we're on a flying airship with no backup, no weapons and..." I reached for my neck... it wasn't there. My pendant was gone. Of course he would take it... it looks the same as Schala's... no it was the same one as Schala... I clenched my fist. Crono was dead, Zeal destroyed, the people who survived now facing possible servitude under an uncaring self declared monarch. Don't worry, my love. I'll make sure he can't hurt anyone ever again. Not after what you sacrificed. I took a deep breath and focused my thoughts. "First weapons. Do we have any options?"

"There is a vent up there. Should be big enough to climb up. Or we could try to lure the guards in and have Ayla take them out," Lucca suggested.

"As much as I want to bash some heads in, let's try to even the odds before we get ourselves into a fight," I let out a sigh.

"Marle... are you okay?" Lucca asked.

"Are any of us?" I countered but shook my head. "No, I'm not. I'm not sure I will be for the foreseeable future. But Dalton dares to destroy everything that Crono sacrificed to protect. The Epoch is likely the only way out of this era, and the only way we can move forward. We're going to take the Epoch back, and I will not allow anyone to stain Crono's memory."

Lucca nodded, "Then let's do this. Ayla, can you get up there?"

"Ayla go," Ayla stretched and then leaped up and in a swift motion managed to get up into the vent by kicking the cover up into it. She then turned and offered her hand. I ran and jumped, grabbing her hand. Ayla pulled me up into the vent. And then Lucca followed behind. Once we were all in the vent we started to navigate it. It was a surprisingly complex ventilation system that spanned the majority of the ship.

"Let's explore as much as we can from up here before we make a move. See if there are any obvious places our stuff might be," I stopped and saw a means to look down. There seemed to be a number of guards about the halls. "Does Dalton really have this many loyal to him?"

"Zeal is gone, there isn't anything left. Dalton holds onto the remnants of society. I'm sure even if these people have lost family and loved ones that they are simply clinging to the comforts that are left. Even if it means following Dalton," Lucca said.

"Weak cling to strong," Ayla added.

"As much as it hurts to admit it, Dalton might be trash but his magic is nothing to underestimate," I sighed and shook my head. "Come on, let's get moving."

As a Princess I had learned a lot about what it means to be a leader. Taught about strategies and methods in which to direct military campaigns, but until now, I had never wanted to use any of those teachings. I was taught because of the family I was born into... a potential leader of a nation. It didn't compare to the knowledge and experience that Crono or the others had. Crono was a natural leader, he did so without effort. At the very least that was how it had seemed to me. As much as a part of me wanted to curl up into a ball and forget about the world... I couldn't do so when people like Dalton were around to ruin everything that Crono had fought for. And I couldn't wait to get my hands on Dalton, and pay him back for everything he had done.

Dalton had tortured both Crono and I, along with the Queen. And even forcing us to watch as they tortured the other. Crono's screams of pain echoed in my head. It was just as deeply imprinted as the pain inflicted on me, and Dalton's threats of raping me in front of Crono. Claiming that if it weren't for the Queen he would have done so. I wasn't about to let him get away with anything anymore.

It seemed they had spread out our equipment into different rooms on the Blackbird. Which was really damn annoying. We managed to find a way down where a guard had decided to take a nap. Still wanting to avoid creating a ruckus just yet we gathered up what turned out to be my equipment and back into the vent. The equipment I usually had on me was here... still no pendant. That asshole better not be wearing it.

We moved to a different location in the vents and saw a group of guards in another room... they looked to be standing over the rest of our belongings.

"Did you hear about Dalton's plan?" one guard asked.

"You mean about those women he captured? Sounds like he wants to train them to be his personal concubines," the other guard laughed.

I shared a look with Ayla and Lucca. Not much of a surprise, but it just added more fuel to the fire at this point.

"Ha! King Dalton can do what he wants. No one around that has the power to go against him. Who knows, maybe he'll let us have a chance with them for a reward," another said. The group of guards laughed, but it changed quickly.

Ayla kicked off the cover and already dropped a guard in a flurry of kicks and punches as I jumped down to follow her. Before they could react I shot a bolt causing a guard to be pinned to the wall. Ayla took down the next guard just as quickly as I reloaded my crossbow. Lucca had also dropped down and got to our belongings and pulled out a backup weapon and shot the remaining guard. I walked up to the guard that was pinned to the wall as he tried to pull the bolt from the wall to free himself but stopped when I put the crossbow in his face.

"Still want a chance, big boy?" I glared at him.

"It was a joke! Yeah a joke!" he said his eyes on the metal bolt that was a moment away from going into his head.

"Where is Dalton?" I asked pushing the crossbow against his neck.

"He's down in the hangar! He's been down there working on that vessel of yours since we came back..." the guard gulped, hoping that his information wouldn't net him a bolt in his face.

"Thanks," I lowered the crossbow and plastered on a fake smile moments before I shot the guard in his crotch and then swung up and connected the butt of the crossbow with his face.

"He's modifying the Epoch?" Lucca focused on gathering up our belongings as I came over to help as well. "Marle... You might as well have killed that man."

"Sorry you had to see that," I said as I picked up something. Crono's katana. I closed my eyes for a moment before I tied the weapon to my waist. "But I've decided not to hesitate anymore."

"Ayla agree. Bad men die," Ayla spoke up.

Lucca sighed, "Yes, I understand. I just don't want you to lose yourself to that kind of rage, Marle."

I looked at her and saw the clear concern in her eyes. Without Crono here, I felt I had already lost myself, and who I was. It was Crono who told me that if given the moment that I shouldn't hesitate. I don't know if that could have changed the outcome of his death, but I could only think about the immediate future.

"Sorry to make you worry, Lucca. But right now, let's get the rest of our things and find Dalton. Once we get out of here... well... I'll listen to whatever complaints you have for me," I said, trying my best to comfort her. Was I fine? No. But one thing at a time.

Lucca took a deep breath and readied her backup weapon, "Then let's hurry. Before Dalton uses the Epoch to go through time."

"That's something we definitely don't need happening," I nodded.

"Ayla ready. Let's go," Ayla looked more than ready.

As we navigated the ship, it had been easier to reclaim all of our gear in full than I had expected. Then again, most of them did not seem that worried or thought that we would escape from our cell. That said, we made our way down to the hangar bay.

Ayla knocked a guard across the floor, sliding to a stop at the base of the Epoch. Dalton turned with soldiers and a pair of engineers at his side. Regarding us he shook his head. "Do you truly seek to stand up against me? It didn't work out so well for you last time."

"A mistake we won't repeat," I brought up my crossbow, and saw it... my pendant around his neck. "You will return everything to me."

"Hmm? Oh you mean this?" Dalton touched the pendant. "You don't need it. This is a pendant meant for true royalty."

"And you think that's you?" I laughed. "You know nothing of what it means to be a royal. Everything you have, you stole. And the only ones that will follow you are nothing but hyena's looking for your scraps. You could never find anyone that is truly loyal or respects you. You're nothing but a cheat and a coward."

"So what?" Dalton wasn't even bothered by a thing I had said. "Your idealistic notion of what a royal is has no place here. The only thing that matters is who has control, and that's me. Your ship, your trinket, your very lives are now mine to control and use as I see fit. But go on, fight. This will be your last act of rebellion against me."

I shot the crossbow bolt, it screamed through the air, but one of his soldiers stepped forward and caught the bolt with a shield. His soldiers attacked as Dalton retreated into the Epoch with his engineer. I rapidly loaded another bolt as Ayla jumped forward and knocked a soldier down. Her hand to hand combat technique was too much for the soldiers to handle. Combine that with her raw strength and she was quickly overpowering any of them that dared challenge her.

Lucca and I used our long range weapons to keep other soldiers off Ayla's back when they attempted to use magic. In a matter of a few moments the soldiers were defeated and knocked to the side as we moved up the ramp and into the Epoch.

"Why won't this bucket of bolts move? What kind of useless engineer are you?" Dalton was yelling at the pair of Engineers who were clearly trying to rush them.

"I don't understand, everything should be working, but it just won't respond to our input," one of the Engineer's said.

"That's because it isn't your ship," I said as we stood at the top of the ramp and I pointed my loaded crossbow at them. "Isn't that right, Epoch?"

"Welcome back, Lady Marle. Normally I wouldn't have allowed such integrations onto my ship, but once I realized what they were adding, I decided to help them a little. We can now take to the skies," Epoch eagerly answered.

"Huh?" Dalton twitched at the sound. "I know that voice."

"Glad was I, that I couldn't recognize yours at first, Dalton," Epoch replied. "But the constant ego stroking prattle could only belong to one individual I had the unfortunate fate of knowing."

"Belthasar," Dalton said as if expelling something foul. "No wonder why this machine seemed to have a familiar design work. Did you finally go mad and turn yourself into one of your inventions?"

"A story you would likely want to hear... so I'm disinclined to tell you. Either way, I won't be taking off with you at the helm. Only Lady Marle and her friends have that right," Epoch answered defiantly.

"Then I'll just have a pet project. How to rip out Belthasar and keep your little machine functional. But I'll deal with the three of you first," Dalton then released a wave of magical energy that had enough force to push us down the ramp. He jumped down the ramp as his body glowed. "Come forth, Golem Overlord!"

Then like the Golems he had summoned before, a rift opened up and a massive floating body, long arms and massive eyes and mouth. It let out a roar that was unlike the previous golems he had used. A gold tinted tan color covered its body as it suddenly summoned its own magic and started its attack. Orbs of magical energy were thrown through the air towards us. I dived behind a crate as the others dodged as well.

"Marle! Ice, want!" Ayla called me. I nodded.

"Gather the shivering cold to be used as a weapon! Ice Toss!" I let my power work gather, and Ayla took it and was able to toss it around the golem. As Ayla did so the magic was given a form of ice and erupted in freezing energy around the golem.

As this happened Lucca had quickly put something together from her bag and tossed out, and followed with rapid explosions. Lucca seemed to have made a napalm because the flames it created were not easily distinguished. As a result the golem became more concerned about that than us. When we moved back out to press the attack it was Dalton that unleashed his own magic attack to try and stop us. His magic involved him summoning an iron sphere and launching it towards us. But Ayla met it head on and caught the iron sphere and then surprised him when she launched it back at him.

In response he quickly un-summoned his own magic to avoid being hit. Lucca and I got to the golem as it was finally able to extinguish the flames on itself. I shot from my crossbow on its hand, and as it yelled out in pain, Lucca jumped up and shoved another napalm into its mouth, then jumped away and shot the napalm with her gun causing it to ignite. More screams ensued as it writhed and collapsed to the ground, rolling around to try and make it stop the burning. I reloaded my crossbow with another bolt but switched attention to Dalton as he got behind cover, as I barely missed him.

Ayla ran towards the golem and then Lucca added her own support with her magic. I kept focused on Dalton and loaded another bolt into my crossbow and readied to aim for if he poked his head out. I could hear Ayla and Lucca attacking the golem behind me, and I was confident I could leave it to them.

"So Dalton, is this who you really are? A coward that hides only behind his possessions? Who uses others to do his work while he benefits from it? How much of the black bird and its technology is actually yours? Or have you been just stealing the theories and progress done by the Gurus like what you were going to do from the Epoch?" I called out, taunting him.

"What good are such accomplishments to the likes of them? They are so narrow minded that they couldn't even begin to use it as well as I could. Yet a scrawny girl like you would question me? Perhaps you don't remember how effective I was at your interrogation. Your partner seemed to be a real fan of my work," Dalton was laughing.

"Meaning you have to tie someone down to even entertain you? You have probably never known the touch of a woman have you? So your only delight comes from looking down and using others. Truly you're a pitiful man. Even now you only benefit from this situation because the Queen has been dealt with. But that was always your plan right? Wait for a chance to steal the glory... but only after the people you couldn't stand up to were gone," I had moved up to where he was taking cover. I heard him suddenly moving.

He jumped out, clear anger on his face and let loose magic towards me. I didn't have time to think about it. I put my crossbow up to absorb the blow. It did, but my bow took the brunt of the damage. I attempted to fire, but my bolt flew off in a wildly different direction. I closed the gap between us.

"You bitch! What do you know!?" Dalton went to let loose another magic spell but I was on top of him. I swung the crossbow up hard, meeting the butt of the crossbow underneath his chin. After that I spun around, letting my crossbow fall the wayside and kicked him in the gut and sending him reeling back and against the wall of the docking bay. "Tch, I've accomplished more than anyone before me. That is how history will remember you."

I leaped towards him. He tried to swing a fist towards me but I ducked under it and slammed his right arm against the wall, and the next moment I took out a bolt and stabbed it into his hand and into the wall. When he reached over with his left hand I countered with grabbing his hand and then slamming it against the wall as I grabbed yet another bolt and stabbed his other hand into the wall. "You are a pathetic man. And you won't even be a footnote in the history of this world. Allow me to pay you back for every mark you put on Crono's body." I pulled out another of the crossbow bolts and shoved it into his shoulder.

Dalton screamed as I pulled out more bolts. "You won't get away with this. I'm not done yet!" He continued to be defiant as I started stabbing bolts into his body as I began to see that image in my mind's eye. Crono being tortured. His screams... I wouldn't be satisfied unless this man felt that anguish!

"Why are you alive? Why are you allowed when Crono gave his life to protect us? A selfish worm of a man that only thinks for what he can gain. Why do you deserve it?" I said as I stabbed another bolt into his arm.

"Because it's my destiny to rule," Dalton grinned as I noticed his hands lighting up. He was going to use magic. He was likely trying to escape.

Without a second thought my hands went to my waist and grabbed what I had attached there. I stepped forward again. Dalton's arms and hands that had started to gather magic, stopped. His eyes widened.

"You would kill me?" he coughed up blood. "Bitch. I didn't think you'd go this far."

I held Crono's katana as I buried the blade further into his chest, "If Crono was here. He would have stopped me. But as a future queen, it would be remiss of me to allow someone of your nature to escape and affect the future in any capacity. I won't hesitate. Not for a future I want to see. To protect the vision and ideals that the man I loved held. A man like you, who dared to put a mark on me and my beloved, doesn't deserve life." I leaned forward, anger burning hot within my chest. "Die."

In one motion, I put my foot on his chest and withdrew the sword and spun, gripping the sword I turned and removed Dalton's head from his body. I then flicked the blood off of Crono's katana and sheathed it. I looked up to see Lucca looking at me. I know she was worried about the path I was heading down. I didn't have any words I could say to comfort her. I remembered my conversation with Crono. And we had both agreed, if we had the chance, we needed to eliminate dangerous people like Dalton. And I would do just that.

"Bad man dead. Now what?" Ayla asked.

"Lucca, what should we do with this airship? It isn't like we have anything like this in the present day," I said, bringing Lucca back to the current situation.

She shook her head, "No we don't. I suspect this thing runs on magic, or rather the power of Lavos. So it would be best if it was disposed of."

"Lady Marle," Epoch spoke over the speakers. "I do have an idea."

"Alright. I suppose we also need to deal with the rest of Dalton's hapless followers that are on board as well," I sighed as I stepped towards the ramp of the Epoch.

"Wait, Marle..." Lucca stopped me. "Are you alright?"

I looked towards her, the concern in her eyes made me pause. "You know, after Mom died I didn't really have anyone that cared for me. I was just a spoiled Princess that was trapped in a cage by her father." I moved past her and stopped at the top of the ramp going onto the Epoch. "It was Crono and you that showed me something different. But I also had a conversation with Crono not long ago. The stakes we plan to change are on a scale that could have untold consequences on the fabric of time and reality of our world. More than that, our ability to travel through time could potentially be learned of by others. People that would pose a danger in the future. Could change things to benefit them."

"Like Dalton... who made a career of using the idea's and abilities of others..." Lucca said. "So that's why."

"Him escaping in any capacity could have made him realize where we came from. Finding out I was a Princess wouldn't be difficult if he had ended up in the present day. And then, there is no telling what a man with such ambitions and an ability to rally people to his own goals could do. Maybe it's wrong for me to condemn anyone, but he is one individual I could not allow to live. I won't blindly follow an idealistic notion of fairness and equality. No, right now the focus has to be on securing the future. For not just Guardia, but the world," I said, trying to convince myself that it was the truth.

"Marle, you killed someone. We're all hurting from losing Crono but..." Lucca faltered.

"And if Crono had been here, he would have killed Dalton himself," I turned back to Lucca. "We can't hesitate from doing the actions we need to, in order to ensure the future we want to see. And you know that defeating Lavos isn't the only thing we need to do."

She nodded, "Yeah, you're right. But it doesn't mean you need to shoulder the burden alone. I'm here for you. We'll finish this together." Lucca came up the ramp and put her arms around me. "I know you feel alone. I do too. But you aren't alone."

At first I wanted to resist it but soon I found tears running down my face, as the both of us were reminded of the pain we shared. Crono was gone.


A/N:

This chapter had a lot happening. And some clear deviations for moving forward with the story. I think people that are familiar with not just Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross will understand the implications that are involved here. But this is kind of what I was building towards.

From here on out, things will be similar but different. And I hope people will enjoy what things might change along the way. We have Schala with the group now as well. But well... we'll see a lot more of Magus and Schala starting next chapter.

Thanks for taking the time to read my little corner of the internet. See you next time.