A strange man sat on a black throne, covered in blood and decorated with the bones of…something. And bowing in front of him was a cloaked figure, and a woman. There behind them the two creatures that took his mom appeared, with her in hand. The on the throne flicked his wrist and in seeing this the two monsters picked up Crono’s mom and put her on an altar of some sort. Then one of the monsters took one of the spikes out of his back and…
"NOOooooooo!" Crono screamed.
"Crono, Crono! Calm down, it’s just us. Crono looked to his right to see Lucca, her weapon drawn from its holster and Marle to his left, crossbow in hand. Then he looked down into his own hands, to see them gripping the Rainbow.
"Wh…what happened?" Crono asked.
"I dunno, one minute you were sleeping, and then you were screaming, and then you stood up and drew the Rainbow and said, "Die." " Crono dropped the Rainbow, and then fell to his knees.
"The nightmares…" he whispered. Marle sat beside him and placed a hand on his back.
"What nightmares?" Marle asked.
"They started about three weeks ago." Crono replied. "They are almost always different except for one thing….someone I’m close to is always in them, and they’re always…well, killed. That’s why I was coming to Lucca’s yesterday to see if she could help in some way."
"Actually, I think I can," Lucca stated. "We need to get to my house and I have just the thing."
"Lucca, read what that note says again." Crono said.
"I have your family if you want them back come to the ruins of a wizard’s lair." Lucca read.
"So he wants us to go to Magus’ castle?" Marle asked.
"Sure sounds like it," Crono replied looking at the note. "So let’s go, Lucca, you haven’t dismantled the Epoch yet have you?"
"When have I had time?" Lucca said. "I’ve been so busy as of late that I haven’t had the time."
"Good, we can use that to get to 600 AD."
"You have to know that it’s a trap!" Marle exclaimed.
"Of course I know, but it’ s the only way to save our families." Crono said. "Let’s go." Lucca nodded in agreement and turned and began to follow Crono. Marle stood dumbfounded until Crono turned around and yelled, "Are you coming or not?"
"I’m coming!" Marle shouted back as she started running after him. Walking back to Lucca’s house, on of the Royal Guard approached Marle.
"Princess Nadia, the king is nowhere to be found." He said worriedly.
"Keep looking," Marle responded.
"And the Chancellor says you should come back to the castle immediately."
"Tell the Chancellor that won’t be possible." Crono said. "She’ll be under the finest protection, Lucca and I, right Lucca?"
"You bet!" Lucca exclaimed. "But we better get back to my house Crono."
"Yes, we better be going, and relay that message to the Chancellor for me." Marle said.
"Yes, your highness." He replied with a bow, and then he turned and began walking towards the castle.
"Can we continue?" Crono said.
"What has gotten into you Crono?" Marle angrily shouted.
"I’m sorry, I haven’t been sleeping well because of the nightmares…must be starting to get to me."
"Oh…well, it’s okay let’s get going." Marle said. Crono and Lucca nodded and began walking again.
When they got there, Lucca walked up to the door and opened it. "This way," she said motioning to Crono and Marle. Marle followed by Crono as they made their way from the clustered living room to her room.
When they entered, Lucca walked up to her desk and began to open drawers and examine their contents. "I have two things for you to wear Crono." She said. "One will protect you from regular nightmares, and the other should protect you from any tampering with magic. Ah ha! Found em!" She put her hand in the drawer and pulled out a belt and an earring. "There you go. They’ll even match your clothes and gold stud," she said with a snicker.
"Ha ha funny," he said and then he stuck his tongue out at her.
"Okay okay you two," Marle said with a smile. "Let’s head to the Epoch and get out of here!"
"Right." Lucca replied. "We gotta go downstairs." Crono threw his old belt on Lucca’s bed and followed Marle and Lucca as they went downstairs. As he came to the bottom of the stairs, he saw Lucca and Marle go into the living room. Following them in there, he saw Lucca reach under the table in front of the door and push a small red button.
"Outback now guys." Lucca said. As they made their way outside, Crono saw part of the ground lower about two feet and then move, revealing the Epoch.
"Woah, hi-tech." Crono said with a smile.
"You know it." Lucca replied. And the she followed by Crono and Marle got into the Epoch. "Co-ordinates set, destination 601 AD Magus’ Castle."
"Here we are," Lucca said.
"Great!" Crono and Marle exclaimed. "See if you can find somewhere to land inside the forest." Crono said.
"Right!" Branches tore off of trees as the Epoch came to a landing right outside the entrance to Magus’ former lair. "Alright we’re pretty sure this is a trap of some sort. So, let’s just keep our guard up." At once, they all drew their weapons, and headed for the door.
Approaching the steps, Crono and Lucca, on either side of Marle turned and walked backwards up the stairs, to make sure no one was behind them. "Looks good so far." Crono said reaching to the handle on the door, but before his hand could reach the door, they swung wide open, revealing nothing but pitch black.
Entering cautiously, Crono turned to Lucca and asked, "Lucca can you get us some light?"
"Does the weather change?" she said with a smile. Walking a couple steps to the wall, Lucca pointed her finger at an object Crono couldn’t see and whispered something. Then fire jumped from her finger onto what looked now to be an old torch, setting it ablaze.
"Alright lets go," Crono said.
"Wait!" Lucca yelled back. "Due to all the damage Lavos caused when he came after we defeated Magus, then if we go through a hole there, we’ll be in the main chamber." She said as she pointed to a spot on the low roof.
"There’s only one problem." Crono replied.
"And that is?"
"There’s not a hole…" BANG! Crono, startled, jumped and brought his katana up to a fighting position, only to see Lucca, Wodershot pointing at the roof, and smoking in her hands. She smiled and said,
"There is now." Crono shook his head in bewilderment as he walked over to where Lucca was standing and the hole was now above her head.
"What’re you waiting for? Gimme a boost!" Crono sighed and nodded, as he sheathed the Rainbow and clasped his hands together. Lucca stepped onto his hands and then he lifted her up and then she grabbed onto the ledge and pulled herself the rest of the way up.
"Next." Crono said with a smirk. Marle smiled and threw her crossbow strap around her neck and stepped onto Crono’s feet so he could repeat the process. "Only one question guys." Crono yelled up towards the hole. "How am I supposed to get up there?"
"Hmm, I dunno jump or……something" Lucca said.
"That’s a lot of help" he replied looking about the dark room. "Hmm that should work," Crono mumbled to himself as he walked over to a statue of Ozzie that’s top half had been broken, creating a perfect step.
Working his away around the rubble on the side of the statue, Crono got behind the statue and pushed. Using all of his might, he could only push the heavy statue a couple feet, "It should be close enough." He thought as he began climbing the statue.
Sure enough, the statue was just close enough that he could get up, though he had to do it in the most awkward way. First, he had to grab the ledge backwards, and then he had to swing his feet up into the hole and finally have Marle and Lucca hoist him the rest of the way up.
"Well, that was easy enough," Lucca said.
"For some of us." Crono mumbled.
"What was that?"
"Never mind, let’s get this show on the road."
"Well, we should be in the…" Just then the torch Lucca held went out.
"Not a problem, I’ll just light it again." Then torches started springing
to life, lighting up the room, revealing a person in a hooded black cloak,
and a woman with purple hair, and wearing a white outfit, much like Marle’s
but with a white cape also attached to it.
"What the!?" Crono thought, "Could it be…" Quickly he scanned his memory for any recollection of the night before’s nightmares. "It is you!" he exclaimed.
"What?" the women said shocked.
"You…you were in my dreams…you caused my nightmares!" he yelled in reply.
"Pay no heed to him." The cloaked figure said. "It doesn’t really matter anyway. They’ll die like the rest if they don’t bow before the master."
"Where’s our family!" Marle shouted.
"Oh, the pathetic humans we took from your time. Have a look." He snapped his fingers and more torches lit, this time revealing four tied and gagged figures…their family.
"Now, surrender yourselves to me!"
"Ha! You mistake us for someone else. We disposed of Lavos, if we can do that, you two’ll be cake!" Crono yelled back. "AHHH!" he yelled as he charged Rainbow in hand.
"I think not," the woman said, pointing her palm at Crono, "Fire Blast!" Then a column of fire erupted from her hand and shot towards Crono, impacting him in the chest and sending him flying across the room and into the wall.
"Okay…so I wasn’t ready for that. But now have a taste of my magic, Lumin…" Just then the sorceress disappeared. "What the…"
"Crono behind you!" Marle shouted. Looking behind him, Crono saw the woman levitating there, and before he could make any attempt to block, she kicked him in the face, sending him sprawling.
"Still think you can take us on?" she asked with a smirk.
"Lucca, Antipode!"
"Three." Lucca added. Then the two girls summoned up their most powerful attacks and combined them, creating a mist of red and blue energy, and then it fired off their hands towards to woman. The woman stood there calmly and when the massive amount of magic was about to hit her, she raised her hand and hit it, sending it flying through the wall.
"Ha you’ll have to do better than that!" she scoffed as she kicked Crono again, the force throwing him towards the girls.
"Crono!" Marle yelled. "Cur…"
"Naughty, naughty." The woman said, and then she was in between Marle and Lucca. "Spectral Blast!" She pointed one hand at each girl and then a white blast of magic shot out of them and impacted each of them sending them flying.
Then she appeared by each of them, kicking them to lay in a heap near Crono. Marle looked up at the woman and then the woman disappeared again, and then re-appeared next to the cloaked person, who still sat unmoved by any of the events."
"This was all very entertaining…" the cloaked figure said pointing his palm at the trio. "But, I’m afraid it’s time for you to leave this mortal coil."