Chrono Vortex Pt. 1

Chapter 1: Time Vortexes

         One month had passed since the defeat of Lavos. Peace was returning throughout all the time periods, from the prehistoric era to the future. Crono, Marle, and Lucca had been working with their friends, Ayla, Robo, Glenn, and Magus to return the time periods to normal. In addition all the different people they had met, including Kino, Doan, Johnny, and even Atropos, who had been revivied, were helping them. All their cross-time adventures had taken its toll on the very fabric of space and time. They had been dealing with many problems including the fact that people were being ripped out of their time zone and flung throughout time. The seven heroes knew they had to find a solution and they had to move quickly.
         To aid in the search for a solution to these “Time Vortexes” (As Lucca had named them), the heroes decided to split up into several different groups. Lucca had managed to create several copies of the Epoch, the group’s time machine, based on the technology of the Enlightened Ones and the original Epoch. This allowed each group to go where they needed. Ayla and Kino were going to search the Prehistoric Era, while Magus decided to investigate the Dark Ages. The Middle Ages were being investigated by Glenn and the Guardian Knights, along with some questionable help from Toma. Crono and Marle were looking after the present day. Lucca had taken on the task of looking in the year 1999, formerly the Apocalypse, while Robo and Atropos, joined by Johnny and Doan searched the future. However, after two weeks of searching for a solution, no one had any idea what to do.
         Lucca had been searching frantically, through all the databases that she could find. She wondered if there was a solution to the Time Vortexes. Then she came across an archive that spoke of a place called the Nexus of Time. It said that the Nexus was a place that was unaffected by time and that the Nexus had been created by a goddess by the name of Schala. She apparently had the power to both destroy and mend time. Lucca was blown away; there was no way that this Schala could be the same one as Magus’s sister. Further research showed that legend spoke of a way to reach the Nexus. It stated that when four treasures are gathered at the end of time a portal would open to allow travelers to reach the Nexus. The four treasures had been lost throughout time and would be difficult to find. They were the Rainbow Shell, the Sun Stone, the Chrono Trigger, and the Kronos Stone. Lucca was ecstatic; she and her friends had already collected three of the four items and would have little trouble gathering them up. The only problem was the Kronos Stone, Lucca had never even heard of it before. Lucca decided to gather everyone and tell them what she had learned.
           Crono, Marle, Magus, Glenn, Robo, and Ayla were all amazed by the information. Magus seemed, if only for a moment to have a sign of hope on his face, when he learned about Schala’s existence. The group looked at one another and began to discuss where to start their search for the four treasures. Ayla and Robo decided to go get the Rainbow Shell. Lucca and Marle went to see Taban, Lucca’s father, and see if he had any of the Sun Stone left. Crono and Glenn decided to go visit Gasper to see if they could get another Crono Trigger. Finally, Magus stayed in the year 1999 and continued to research the Kronos Stone. It seemed as though the heroes were off on another time splitting adventure.

Chapter 2: Quest for the Rainbow Shell

         Ayla and Robo set off for the year 600. As they walked towards the Epoch 2, Ayla asked Robo was it was like to be a robot. Robo was surprised; his memory banks had lost the data that Ayla was in fact from the prehistoric era. He explained that he had similar feelings as humans. He spoke of how the various components that he was made of were similar to the various aspects of the human body. Ayla was satisfied by this answer and said nothing more about it. The two of them got onto the Epoch 2 and took off.
         The two adventurers were off, they had flown through the time stream many times before and were used to the sensational colours and sounds that surrounded them. After a few minutes, they arrived in the southern part of the Guardia, near the town of Porre. Ayla had a depressed look on her face, very unusual for the usually cheery cavewoman. Robo asked her what was wrong. She said that she felt bad for all the people of her time. They had a hard life, constantly worrying about animal and dinosaur attacks. She also worried about the Larubans. After she had defeated Azala, she had let her summon Lavos to the earth, dooming her people to a harsh winter that would last for years. Had it really been her fault that their village had been destroyed? Robo told her that she did what she had to and that she should no feel guilty about their village. He also suggested that they bring back some weapons from the future to help the people of her village. This seemed to make Ayla cheer up. The two of them decided to walk to the castle.
         The journey was relatively uneventful, aside from the fact that Robo saw himself helping Fiona to replant the forest. Robo remembered the 400 long years he had spent working to replant the forest. It was strange, but was simply a time paradox that had been accepted by the metal man. When Robo and Ayla reached the castle they approached King Guardia. They explained the situation and the King granted them permission to retrieve the shell.
As Robo and Ayla walked down to the vault, Ayla turned to Robo once again and she said that she really appreciated the advice that he gave her and hoped that he would join her for on a hunt when they were finished. Robo gladly accepted. The two continued down the castle’s winding staircases until they reached the vault. They looked in and were shocked to discover that the shell was missing. What could have happened to it? Robo scanned the area for clues, as did Ayla. They had to move quickly to find the shell.
They spoke to the guard who said that he didn’t remember anything happening to the shell and that it was there an hour ago. Robo and Ayla began to think about what could have happened, and then it hit them. Marle’s father had been put on trial for the theft of the Rainbow Shell in the year 1000, yet it had been in the basement the whole time. They realized then that it had been stolen, but that they had already found and returned it. It was certainly a paradox, but they understood it nonetheless. They knew exactly where to look. They headed to the cathedral located just west of the castle.

Chapter 3: Battle in the Church

When Ayla and Robo arrived at the church they were surprised to find Toma there. He explained that he had been helping Glenn search for the solution to the Time Vortexes and he had asked him to help them find the Rainbow Shell. The three of them join together and set into the church, surprisingly still open from Crono and Lucca’s previous adventure. They proceeded cautiously into the deepest part of the church, which had been decorated with skulls and other evil things.
As the worked their way deeper into the church they came across a hidden room. They heard chanting from the inside. The three cautiously entered and were amazed to find the snake-like Naga-ette’s and the gargoyle-like Diablos worshiping a large statue of Yarka, the large, ladybug-like commander of the monsters in that region. Ayla was confused; Crono, Lucca, and Frog had defeated Yarka last time they were in the church. Robo explained that in order for there to have been a Yarka in the present, there must have been another one in the past. Toma clapped excitedly. Suddenly the three adventurers found themselves surrounded by several Naga-ette’s and at least 4 Diablos. It was time for a fight.
Ayla, always battle ready clawed and scratched at several of the Diablos, successfully taking out 3 of them, but suddenly the Naga-ette began to sing, bewildering Ayla and causing her to attack Toma, who was just standing there anyway, sending him halfway across the room. Robo leaped into action and used his powerful lasers to blast at least 4 Naga’s, but more were coming from behind. Ayla finally snapped out of her bewilderment and took a defensive position next to Robo. Suddenly Robo had an idea and gesturing to Ayla the two began to dance around the room, while Robo created a funky light show. The enemies became confused and were attacking everything in sight. Taking this opportunity the two grabbed Toma and headed for the back room of the church.
While they ran Toma finally came to, he was fine, albeit a tad confused. The three used a medicine pack, known as a shelter to heal their wounds. The continued on towards the back when suddenly they spotted another much smaller group of Naga’s standing in a circle around what appeared to be the Rainbow Shell. Robo overheard one of them say that Master Yarka Jr. would be pleased. So that’s what happened, Yarka’s son had taken the Rainbow Shell. The three formed a plan to take out the guards and take back the shell.
Ayla, being an excellent hunter, snuck up on the unsuspecting Naga’s and clobbered each of them. She was pretty proud of herself and gestured to Robo and Toma to come help her. Suddenly, Toma began to laugh and without warning ran and grabbed the Rainbow Shell. There was a flash of light and before them stood a rainbow coloured, somewhat smaller version of Yarka. He explained that he had taken the Rainbow Shell to unlock the secret of true power and that he would use it to rid the world of the so-called heroes that had killed his father, starting with Ayla and Robo.
Within a second Yarka Jr. was charging towards Ayla and bowled her over. Robo took this opportunity to slam Yarka with a ground dashing punch from his Terra Arm. Yarka took the hit hard, but fought back by launching a set of spikes from his back at Robo, which pinned him to the wall. Yarka laughed and approached Robo; he stood up and was about to hit him with body slam, when Ayla suddenly came at Yarka with a powerful triple kick. Robo took the opportunity to heal with wounds with his heal beam. Yarka became enraged. He suddenly let out a barrage of rainbow coloured beams in every direction, followed by a barrage of spikes. The two heroes dodged left and right to avoid them, but they were taking heave damage and would not be able to withstand much more.
Suddenly the barrage stopped, Yarka was seriously damaged, Ayla knew this was there one chance to finish this fight. Ayla leaped in behind Yarka and with a huge burst of power lifted the beast into the air and hurled him towards Robo, who caught him and threw him back to Ayla. The two continued the volley until Ayla hurled Yarka back towards the wall. He hit the wall with an earth-shattering crash and his shell shattered into pieces. Fortunately, the Rainbow Shell had survived the battle. The two lifted the shell and slowly loaded it onto the Epoch 2. The two heroes quickly returned to the year 1999 to wait for the others. As they flew threw the time stream, they hoped that they would be safe and not have as much trouble as they had had.

Chapter 4: Family Troubles

It was a bright sunny summer day. The birds were chirping and the children were playing. Nadia’s bell could be heard ringing throughout the countryside. The Millennium Fair had ended a month ago and Leene Square was finally returning to normal. It seemed as though every time the heroes came to the year 1000, the sun was out and shining. Lucca paused for a moment; she hadn’t even had time to see her family since destroying Lavos, nor had she told her mom about that night she went back in time to save her. Lucca knew that she had to tell her and it had to be now.
As Lucca and Marle headed towards Lucca’s house they decided to check in on Crono’s mother. She had been through quite an experience, after she chased Crono’s cat right into a time portal, the group had set out to find her. Fortunately, she ended up landing right behind Ayla and the group quickly found her. When they arrived at Crono’s house his numerous, yellow cats greeted them. They went inside and saw Crono’s mom, doing dishes as usual. She greeted the girls with a warm welcome and offered the girls a warm cup of tea. The three women spoke for a good fifteen minutes, discussing the weather and Marle’s relationship with Crono. It was a pleasant afternoon, but the girls had to get going.
Just as Lucca was turning the doorknob there was a sudden flash of light and a portal through time had opened up right behind Crono’s mother. Marle screamed and ran to save her. She leaped through the air and grabbed on to Crono’s Mom by the wrist, but the pull of the vortex was too powerful, Crono’s Mom slipped into the vortex. Marle screamed, but it was too late. She was gone. Lucca said that the best way to save her was to put and end to the Time Vortexes, so the two heroines sped off towards Lucca house. Lucca burst in and called for her father Taban. He came down the stairs in a panic. Apparently, Lara, Lucca’s mother had been pulled through a time vortex as well. Lucca broke down in tears; she couldn’t lose her, not after all that she went through to save her once before.
The girls calmed Taban down and sat down to discuss the Time Vortexes. Lucca also told her father about that night in the forest when she had gone back to save Lara. Taban hugged Lucca lovingly. She could feel his warmth radiate and felt a tear roll down her cheek. He told his daughter that their family would be reunited once again and that they would spend less time worrying about science and spend more time as a family. Lucca was comforted by this thought and took a moment to regain her composure. Marle understood the pain of losing a parent, as she thought about her mother Eliza.
Marle then asked Taban about the Sun Stone. Taban told her that he had the Sun Stone stored downstairs, but that it had lost its power. Lucca said that it would be no problem and went to retrieve the Stone from the basement. When she returned, she and Marle prepared to leave. Before she left, she turned around and told her father that she loved him with all her heart. The two girls left and climbed aboard the Epoch and set off for the prehistoric era and the Sun Keep.

Chapter 5: Ancient Cold

The girls got off in the Prehistoric Era. To their surprise, the landscape was coated in snow and ice, a far cry from the humid tropical temperature that had recently been the environment. The two realized that this was their first visit since they had defeated Azala. Suddenly, they heard a voice shouting greetings. The two turned to see that Kino was running towards them. He was heavily clothed wearing a large fur cloak on top of the rest of his clothes. Kino explained that ever since Azala had died there had been a bitter cold that swept the land and that it seemed to be coming from the Reptite Lair. Kino pleaded with the girls to help him investigate. The girls happily agreed. They first put the moonstone in the Sun Keep, they doubled-back and headed for the Reptite Lair.
Unable to land the time machine next to the lair, Lucca landed on the outskirts of the Forest Maze. Marle, Lucca, and Kino set off through the forest. Aside from the battles with the dinosaurs, which had been much easier with Crono’s thunderbolts, the journey through the forest was relatively calm. As the three approached the exit, Kino suddenly halted and hid the girls in the bush. The three watched quietly, and to Lucca and Marle’s amazement, they saw a gorgeous purple cloak being dragged along and what appeared to be the silhouette of Magus’ lost sister, Schala. Unfortunately, as quickly as she had appeared, she disappeared. Lucca wanted to inquire further, but Kino and Marle pulled her along to the Reptite’s base.
As the three headed into the deserted base there was sharp chill in the air. This was defiantly the source of the ongoing winter that plagued the land. The three worked their way down to the lowest level of the base, where they were horrified at the sight of hundreds of reptites. However, something was different, they were not their usual green or brown, but a light blue, and they all wore a snowflake pendant around their neck. Suddenly, one of them spotted the three heroes and without a second’s warning they had been overtaken and knocked unconscious.
When the three awoke, they were surprised to find themselves in jail cells. Marle and Lucca knew they had not been there before. They were also surprised to hear a familiar voice calling from the cell next to them. It was Lara! Lucca was stunned. Her mother explained that after being pulled into the time vortex she showed up in this cave and that the Reptites had captured her. Lucca had to find a way to get her mother out. She took a good look around and was ecstatic to see that the jail bars were made of ice. She secretly thanked Spekkio for giving her the power of fire, as she blasted all the bars into water. The four escaped and headed towards the back of the base to escape, Lucca blasting away all the ice reptites in the way.
Finally the group reached the last room. To their amazement there was a huge machine that was sprouting ice from a small chute at the top. This was the source of the bitter cold. Without warning, Marle was hit with a blast of thunder. She stood up and looked around. To her amazement, Nizbel was standing behind her, an odd mix of blue and yellow. What had happened, Marle asked, why had the Reptites been turned to ice monsters? Suddenly Nizbel started to laugh, he explained that when Lavos destroyed the Tyranno base, that the reptites had become infused with an icy power. They built the ice machine to rid the world of humans and awaited the return of Azala. Lucca told Nizbel that Azala would never come back, but Nizbel shot out an icicle form his left hand and hit Lucca hard. Lucca pointed her mom towards the exit and told her to escape. It seemed that the adventurers had no choice but to fight back. They had to stop both Nizbel and the ice machine.
Lucca summoned a rain of fire to scorch Nizbel, but without the power of electricity to weaken him, even the fire barely hurt him, despite the fact that he was half ice. Nizbel charged and rammed into Lucca with a powerful body slam. Next he targeted Kino, and within a second had sent the brave caveman flying back to the other end of the room. Marle had used that time to cast a revival spell on Lucca. She attacked Nizbel once again, but Lucca was sent hurtling towards the ice machine. She hit it hard and severely damaged the machine. It spewed electrical sparks everywhere. Marle had revived Kino, who was on the attack. As Marle revived Lucca, she explained that they needed to get Nizbel to ram into the machine. Marle and Lucca focused their power and combined their ice and fire to create an Antipod, a massive elemental storm of fire and ice. The dinosaur suddenly lunged at the girls who leaped out of the way just in time and Nizbel was sent flying into the ice machine. Sparks flew everywhere and it was evident that Nizbel was heavily damaged.  Lucca focused all her power into her ultimate attack, Flare. Without warning the middle of the room exploded and an intense heat spread outwards from, Nizbel got the full blast of the flare and vaporized instantly. Lucca smiled, but suddenly fainted.
When Lucca awoke she found herself in Kino’s hut, her mother waiting patiently over her. She asked what had happened and Marle explained that Lucca had pushed her self to the edge. Marle told Lucca that she had been out cold for two days and that they were really worried about her. Lucca appreciated the concern and decided to use this as a chance to explain to her mother what had happened that fateful night. She told her how she had gone back in time, how Lara had gotten caught in her father’s machine, and how she had wanted to save so much, but had been unable to. Lara was speechless. All that she showed was a single tear down her right cheek. The next day the three women bid farewell to Kino for the time being and sped off to return Lara to her right time period and then to the future.

Chapter 6: Harvesting the Sun

The year was 2300. It was a beautiful spring day. All the plants were in full bloom and the animals were frolicking in the grass. It was a far cry for the wasteland that the place had been only one month earlier. Lucca and Marle looked around and recognized the area vividly. They had spent a lot of time here since they defeated Lavos. The world was a completely different place. Lucca and Marle settled in front of Arris Dome. The once starving population was now as joyful and celebrative as ever. Arris Dome was the political center and home the King Doan. The two girls entered the dome and proceeded to see Doan.
The two girls asked Doan if he would grant them entrance into the Sun Temple. The people of the future had built a temple to protect the Sun Keep. Doan gladly gave them permission, with the exception that they spend the night at the Dome before heading out to the temple. The two tired adventurers gladly accepted. That night they were pleased to see Atropos. Lucca was glad that Atropos had been resurrected when the group had defeated Lavos. They talked about Robo and all their friends. They spent a wonderful night eating and drinking and preparing for their journey through the Sun Temple.
The next morning, Atropos stopped Marle and Lucca. She told them that she had to join them. She wanted to help them, after all Lucca and Marle had saved Robo on a number of occasions and Atropos knew that having a mechanical ally would help them to disarm the traps in the temple. The two heroines gladly accepted and the three allies set off for the Sun Temple. When the three arrived at the temple they were shocked to find that the entire security system had been disabled. Suddenly and familiar voice came over the P.A. system. It said that all humans and traitors would be destroyed.  It was none other then Mother Brain. The three raced on to the main control room of the Temple.
When the three arrived at the main control room they were met with 6 XR robots. Lucca had remembered fighting them once before alongside Crono and Robo. However, these robots were different. It appeared as though Mother Brain had upgraded them. This would be a very difficult battle. Lucca and Marle both took out their weapons, while Atropos equipped a spare battle arm that Robo had given her for protection. Lucca and Marle took aim and fired at one of the XR’s. It hit him hard, but another XR quickly used its heal beam to repair his injured ally. Suddenly Atropos began to shake and her chest cavity opened to expose a generator. A huge electrical bolt shot out from it and instantly short-circuited three of the machines. Marle took the opportunity to summon two huge blocks of ice and crushed another of the XRs. The tide of battle was turning in the heroine’s favour, until the two remaining robots began to transform and combined into the XR Omega Delta.
Marle and Lucca both dodged an Uzzi Omega Punch, but Atropos took the full force of the attack. Marle had to do something; she wouldn’t let Atropos die again. Marle began to glow with a heavenly light as a freezing cold swept the room. Her eyes began to glow bright Red. She called out to Lucca and commanded her to cast Flare. Lucca quickly began the spell. Marle knew that they had to cast their ultimate combo spell, Antipod 3, a more powerful version of Antipod. The room exploded with an intense heat and Marle cast the most powerful version of Ice that she had ever conjured, instantly freezing XRs. Marle began to return to normal. She ran over to Atropos, who had sustained heavy damage. Marle cast Life 2, a curative spell on her, and Atropos instantly recovered. Overjoyed, Marle gave Atropos a huge hug. The three women took a moment to rest and headed for the inner chamber to put an end to Mother Brain once and for all.
The three slowly entered the room. There were computer monitors on every wall, lights were blinking on and off; it was a scene right out of a Sci-Fi show. Suddenly all the monitors went off.  A large floating head appeared in the center of the room. It was a hologram of Mother Brain and it shone with every colour of the rainbow. She announced in a maniacal and booming voice that death would be brought upon the three heroines and without warning a group of four bright red lasers began to sweep across the room.
Lucca, Marle and Atropos turned for the exit but it was locked tight. Mother Brain laughed, had they really expected to defeat her, the most powerful computer in the world. Lucca had an idea; Mother Brain was a computer and what better way to destroy her then to short-circuit her. Lucca told Atropos to distract Mother Brain. Atropos launched a series of powerful explosives, but to no avail. The computer screens around the room had already built up a defensive shield by the time the bombs hit Mother Brain. Lucca told Marle to summon the biggest block of ice that she could. Marle tried, but was exhausted from the battle with the XRs. The battle had worn her out mentally. Lucca searched her bag for an ether, a magical potion that helped to restore focus to a person providing them with the focus required to cast magic. Lucca managed to find a small bottle of the potion and quickly threw it to Marle, who quickly drank the potion. Marle attempted to summon the ice yet again, this time successfully summoning a piece that was at least twice the size of a mini-van. Lucca summoned forth a huge fireball, which she launched at the ice melting it almost instantly. Water flooded the room. Atropos put up her shield to protect her from the water as it flooded the room. The computers around the room began to short-circuit and sparks were flying everywhere. Mother Brain screamed out in agony. She questioned how some weak humans could have defeated her. Lucca responded that they had something that she could never have, imagination and friends. With that Mother Brain disappeared in a brilliant flash of light.
Marle, Lucca, and Atropos left the room in shambles. All the security was off and the three had no problem reaching the Sun Keep. Lucca gladly recovered the Sun Stone from the center of the altar. The three heroines returned to Arris Dome to thank Doan and tell him of their adventure. Soon after Marle and Lucca had to leave to return to the year 1999. The thanked Atropos for her help and promised her that they would get Robo back to her as soon as possible. Atropos thanked them for her concern and wished them the best of luck. Without another word Marle and Lucca climbed into the Epoch and were off. Marle looked at Lucca who apparently had the same concern, how would they tell Crono about his mother being ripped through time?

Chapter 7: The End of Time

         Crono and Glenn headed for the end of time. They hoped that Gasper would be able to help them. He had said once before that there was only one Chrono Trigger ever and it had shattered when the heroes had resurrected Crono after the battle in the Ocean Palace. It had been a terrible time. The heroes had finally tracked down Queen Zeal, ruler of the Zeal Kingdom, but it was too late Schala, Magus’ sister, was channeling her power into the Mammon Machine and had awoken Lavos. He had instantly defeated the party and killed Crono with an intensely cold laser beam. Since then, the party had not really spoke of his death and neither had Crono.
         The end of time was a dark place, lit only by a single streetlight. Crono had often wondered how the light had got there. It was split into three separate areas, to the north end of the platform was a door that led to Spekkio’s room. Crono and Glenn had been there many times. Spekkio, the self-proclaimed god of war, had been the one who had given the seven heroes the power of magic. The magic had saved their lives on a number of occasions, including the battle with Lavos. In the western part of the platform were nine bright beams of light. Crono had remembered traveling through those beams many times. They were gateways to various portals that had opened in the different time zones thanks to Lavos. The heroes no longer used the portals thanks to the Epoch, Crono was glad, the time portals always made him sick. In the middle of the dimly lit platform stood a lone man. This was Gasper the Guru of Time.
         Gasper was an old man. The signs of aging were evident on his small round face. Crono often felt bad for him, he had been ripped from the dark ages during a terrible accident with Lavos and banished to this timeless and endless place. The two heroes approached Gasper, who always had some cryptic advice that helped them continue on their adventure to defeat Lavos. Gasper greeted them in the same way he always did, a simple “Hey”. Crono and Glenn returned the greeting. Glenn explained to Gasper the problem that now faced the heroes. Gasper listened intently, seeming to hang off of every word. Finally, when Glenn had finished the story, Gasper took a long, deep breath. He told the heroes that the only person who would be able to create another Chrono Trigger would be Norstein Bekkler and that finding Norstein would be difficult, for he too knew the secrets of time travel. Crono and Glenn were stunned. In all their travels only they had known the ways to transcend time. Gasper went on to explain that Norstein was originally from the year 12,000 B.C, the dark ages. Gasper suggested that the two heroes look there for him. Crono and Glenn thanked Gasper and headed off. As they were leaving Gasper yelled that Norstein Bekkler had been involved in the Lavos accident and that they would be wise to find out his involvement. With that final message Crono and Glenn hoped back into the Epoch 3 and set off for the dark ages.

Chapter 8: Search for Bekkler

         Crono and Glenn looked at one another. How could Norstein have been involved in the accident with Lavos that had killed Crono? It might explain why he was a floating head and hands. The two pondered the possibilities as they quickly approached the dark ages. Glenn asked Crono if he remembered his death. Crono replied that all he remembered was this intense cold striking him; then he suddenly awoke on Death peak. Glenn turned away, he was ashamed for having considered leaving Crono behind, were it not for Marle in fact, Crono might not have even been alive that very day.
         The two heroes finally arrived in the dark ages. It was cold as usual. The world was basically water and ice, save for a few small islands. Crono couldn’t help but think back to the splendor that was the kingdom of zeal, the magical world that once floated above the sky and the limitless potential of its people. All was lost because of their queen’s thirst for power. Crono felt bad for them, but at the same time felt that they got what they deserved. After all, they had been prejudiced against those with no magical power. All that remained of either society now lived on one small island, one of only two in the entire world. The other was the Sun Keep. The two heroes set the Epoch 3 down beside the small village on the island and headed to the commons to see if anyone had seen Norstein.
         The commons were a small area within the village where people would gather to talk and peddle wares. Crono and Glenn both hoped that this society would flourish and become a magnificent world once again. Crono and Glenn approached the village leader, a great descendant of both King Guardia and Doan, who ruled in the future. He was an older man with a smile always on his face. He was trustworthy and was always looking for a way to improve the lives of the villagers. Crono had to admit that the village had come quite far in one month, what was once only a series of tents was now a full-fledged colony. He was truly impressed.
         Glenn spoke up and asked the leader whether or not he had seen Norstein. He explained that he had seen him the day before. He said that he often could see him sitting at the North Cape looking in the direction of the ocean palace. Glenn was reminded of Gasper’s words, “Norstein was there during the accident with Lavos,” what could this mean? Glenn and Crono looked at one another, who or what was Norstein and what was his involvement in the accident. The two heroes thanked the leader for the information and set off for the North Cape.
         Glenn and Crono made their way slowly towards the North Cape. Glenn couldn’t help but think of his close encounter with Magus on this very cliff. So much had happened during the heroes adventure. Glenn had gone so far as to work with Magus, his sworn enemy. He was the man who had killed his best friend, Cyrus, and had transformed Glenn into a frog for so many years. He even made a mockery of Cyrus’ ghost. Glenn had such great contempt for him, yet at the same time pitied the wizard. He had lost his entire family and was banished to a different time period. The only good thing that Magus had ever done was to return Glenn back to his original form. Glenn looked upward at the desolate cape. The wind howled as the two heroes continued towards their destination.
         
Chapter 9: A Hidden Past

A strange figure was at the top of the Cape. It was a floating head and two accompanying hands. He had a somber look on his face. It was strange, as Crono was accustom to seeing him was a wide smile on his face. Glenn approached him slowly. Norstein turned around and asked the heroes what they wanted. They explained to him about the Time Vortexes and needing another Chrono Trigger. Norstein told them that he would make them one if they would agree to search for his lost love. Glenn and Crono looked at one another, they knew they did not have time for this. They asked him who his love was. His answer shocked them both; apparently his lost love was none other the Schala.
         Norstein told them his story. Apparently, he was the fourth Guru that had existed at the time of Zeal; he was the Guru of Magic. He was the most handsome man in the entire kingdom; all the ladies had wanted him. He had been the one to tell Queen Zeal of the power that was contained within Lavos. She had accepted his advice openly, however, he had begun to fall in love. Schala was the most beautiful woman that Norstein had ever seen. He long purple and silver hair was like that of a unicorn and all knew her kind heart. He began to date her behind the Queen’s back but Zeal soon found out about the affair. She was furious and stripped Norstein of his title of Guru. She further punished him by removing his torso, leaving him as a disfigured and horrible floating entity. He was sent to Algetty, the cave of the Earthbound. He swore he would get revenge and with Schala’s help he succeeded. She reopened the pathway to the Kingdom of Zeal one night allowing him to sneak in and sabotage the Mammon Machine. He changed the mechanics of it so that when it was activated it would summon Lavos and kill all of those present.
         Crono was stunned. It was Norstein’s fault that he had died. Crono was filled with anger. He couldn’t believe it. He stormed off, leaving Glenn and Norstein behind. Norstein looked away, Glenn could tell that he was ashamed of his actions. Glenn told Norstein that Schala had been present when Lavos was summoned and also explained the fact that Lucca had found information that showed that Schala might still be alive, but they needed a Chrono Trigger. Norstein waved his hand and a bright ball of light appeared in front of Glenn. Slowly, but surely, it formed into an egg. Glenn recognized this egg. It was one of tremendous power. He took great care to protect the egg and thanked Norstein for his helped.
         Glenn walked down the hill. Crono sat at the bottom sobbing. Norstein had killed him. How could he have done that? Glenn sat down next to him and told him that it would be hard to accept the fact that he was responsible for Crono’s death. Frog knew what Crono was going through, he too had been the victim of a madman. Glenn told Crono that it would be all right and that he was still alive to this very day. Crono looked at Glenn. He was right, he was alive and things had turned out all right. It would be hard but Crono knew he would eventually move on. He stood up and told Glenn that they had to leave. Glenn followed his friend to the Epoch 3 and the two got in and headed back to the year 1999.