Specter of the Past Chapter 4
By KrossRodes
"What?!" Crono said, he could hardly believe what he was hearing. "Did Gasper open them, again?"
"I don't think so," Magus said. "When I was walking around the Town Square, I noticed some light coming from where the Telepad used to be. I went to check it out and found that the gate had reappeared. It's been open for about half an hour, a lot longer than Gasper could hold one open."
"Well, I'll go get Lucca and Marle and we can go check it out," said Crono as he tied his shoes. He didn't need to change, because he had fallen asleep in his clothes again.
Before Crono left the house, he left a note for his mom that said that he was going for a walk with Lucca and Marle. He left the note on the table and they walked out of the house.
When they got to Lucca's they found her working in the back, again. Crono wasn't surprised.
"Hi, Lucca," Crono said.
Without looking up, Lucca said, "Hi, Crono." But when she looked up she couldn't believe who she saw. "Magus! What are you doing here?"
"A gate has opened at the Town Square. Grab the Gate Key and I'll explain the rest to you and Marle later," Magus said.
Without any hesitation, Lucca got up and ran inside to get the Gate Key. As soon as she came back out they left to go to the castle to pick up Marle.
When they reached the castle doors, Crono said, "You guys wait out here. I don't think the castle guards will let all three of us in."
"Okay," Lucca said, "but hurry. The gate could close at any time."
Crono opened the doors and let himself in. As he was walking up the steps, two guards stopped him.
"Stop!" said one of the guards.
Crono stopped and turned around. "What?" he asked.
"Oh, it's only you," said the other guard. "There have been sightings of a mysterious man lurking around the Town Square, so we can't be too careful about who enters the castle."
"I don't think you'll have to worry too much about him," said Crono. "I'm just here to see Marle."
"Okay," said the first guard. "I'm not sure if she's up yet, but you can ask the King."
Crono walked up the rest of the stairs and entered the throne room. The King was there, sitting on the throne, and talking with the Chancellor. When Crono got closer to the King, he got down on one knee.
"Rise, Crono," said the King. "You don't need to bow to me anymore, since you are my future son-in-law."
As Crono rose, he said, "I'm just here to see Marle. Is she up yet?"
"You can go to her room and check. She shouldn't be sleeping still."
"Okay, have a nice day," said Crono as he walked up the steps to Marle's room.
When he got to her room, he gently knocked on the door. He waited and there was no reply, so he knocked again, this time, a little louder. Still no response.
The third time he knocked, he said, "Marle, are you up?"
No more than two seconds later, he heard a scream coming from her room.
He burst in to see what the problem was, to find Marle sitting up in bed, breathing heavily.
"What happened?" Crono asked.
"I had a nightmare," Marle responded. "I dreamed that you were killed in an earthquake."
"It's over now, so just relax," said Crono, trying to comfort her. "Now get dressed and meet me at the castle gate. Something big is happening."
.
"What's taking so long?" Lucca asked Crono and Magus. She was tired of waiting for Marle. "It's been 20 minutes! How much time does she need to change?"
"She IS a woman," said Crono, smiling at Lucca.
"I resent that!" Lucca said as she glared at Crono. "Not all women are like that!"
"Relax, I was just kidding."
"Well, I don't appreciate your sense-of-humor."
"Cool it down," said Magus as he stepped in between them. "Marle should be out in a little bit."
Two seconds later, Marle walked out of the castle.
As soon as she spotted Magus, she said, "Magus! What are you doing here?"
"You should know..." Magus said under his breadth with a smirk on his face.
"There's no time for a conversation," Lucca said. "The gate may close at any time."
With those words, she started walking towards the Town Square.
"I'll explain it to you on the way there," said Crono.
.
When they reached the Town Square, the gate was still there.
"I wonder where it leads," said Marle.
"There's only one way to find out," said Lucca, holding up the Gate Key.
"But this gate could spit us out anywhere," Magus said.
"Where's your sense of adventure?" asked Crono, slapping Magus on the back. "Let's go!"
"Okay," said Lucca as she walked closer to the gate. When she got closer to the gate, the edges of the Gate Key began to glow.
Beams of light shot out of the key and entered the gate. The beams began to stretch the gate open more and more until the gate was open wide enough for everyone to enter.
One by one, they all stepped into the gate. Then Lucca, the last to enter, walked into the gate, it closed behind her.
As they all flew through the familiar colors and shapes of time-travel, they all couldn't help wondering where this gate would take them.
The anticipation for the end of the "ride" was killing them.
.