Crono watched the frog very carefully. It was a frog. No doubt.
”Thou'rt here to save the Queen?” it said. ”The lair is deep within. Will thee accompany me?”
Lucca stood beside Crono and watched the frog.
”A... FROG?” she exclaimed. ”Crono, it's a talking FROG! I hate frogs!”
The frog looked quite disappointed at Lucca.
”My guise not incur thy trust... Very well, do as thee please. But I shall save the Queen.”
He walked away to the door. But Lucca stopped him.
”W, wait!” the frog turned around.
”You don't seem like a bad... ...uh, person-frog-thing... I mean....” she turned to Crono.
Crono nodded.
Lucca walked to the frog.
”What's your name?” she said.
The frog looked down at the floor.
”Frog will do.” he said.
Lucca smiled.
”All right... Nice to meet you Frog. You see, we seems to be here by the same reasons. Why don’t we help each other?”
Frog nodded, and started to feel at the walls with his hands.
”Eh...” Crono said. ”What’s that good for? Are you searching for anything?”
Frog turned to him, croaked, and said:
”A hidden door.” and then continued to check the walls.
Crono took the left wall and Lucca checked the altar.
After a few minutes, they gave up.
”You sure she’s here?” Crono asked.
Frog nodded.
”Well, I...” Crono said, but got interrupted by Lucca.
”Come on! She IS her. You’re even the one who suggested it.”
That was true.
Lucca walked to the organ and started to play a bit.
She had taken piano lessons when she was younger, but then her machine interest took over.
She played one of the first songs she learned, and quietly sang to it.
Suddenly, a bit of the north wall separated from the rest of the wall, and move away.
They had found the secret entrance.
Lucca was just as supriced as the other. ”H, hey!” she said.
Frog lifted his sword, and walked in. Crono and Lucca followed.
Now it was for real. Crono remembered stories of how heroes save princesses from dragons, but it was easy for them. This was not a story. Crono wasn’t the hero.
He was just... a... a... well, just Crono.
And Lucca was Lucca. Just an everyday person.
He didn’t know anything about Frog, but he must be the hero this time.
Whoever he is.
 

On the other side of the secret door was a corridor leading left. On the other side of the room,
there was a door. In the other side of the corridor, there seemed to be one also.
There stood some diablo statues in the middle of the hall.
”Which way?” Lucca asked.
Crono was clueless.
Not even Frog said something.
”Then we take this one.” Lucca said and pointed at the closest door, on the other side of the room.
Crono was just about to open it when...
”Humans in the hall!”
The statues started to run toward them.
”I thought they were statues!” Crono exclaimed and pulled up his sword.
The statue-looking diablos came closer, and one of them jump up and kicked Crono.
”Uuuurgghh....” Crono said when he was kicked into the wall.
”Down you go!” Frog said and made an attack on the first diablo.
Frog’s iron-edged sword, digged deep into the diablos body.
It screamed.
Lucca took her hammer and smashed it’s head. The dead body fell to the ground.
The second, and last one, took a big leap, and jumped up to kick Lucca.
But she was too fast, and evaded the attack. Instead, the diablo fell forward, and got pierced on Crono’s sword. Crono removed the dead body from his sword.
”IIIEEIiikks...” He exclaimed when he realized, it was a BIG pool of blood on his right.
”This way!” Frog said and took the lead. He opened the door and stepped in.
”T, that was a mystic... Right?”  Crono said and looked at the dead bodies.
Lucca nodded.
”Let’s go.” she said and followed Frog.
When they came out of the door, they saw a big room with a sort of balcony.
On each balcony was two doors, leading to two separate rooms.
There was a stair leading up to each floor on each side of the room.
Between the two balconies, was a hallway, leading to a big door.
A lot of different sounds could be heard.
Carefully, Frog, Crono and Lucca walked up the stair.
”Let’s try this one.” Crono whispered and pointed at the closest door.
Frog nodded, but waited for Crono to take the lead.
Carefully, Crono opened the door.

When Crono came in, he saw three mystics around a table, with a lot of food on.
”Buurp!” There was one naga-ette, one hence and one diablo in here.
”Hey! What’s with the disguise?” one of them said. ”No need for them here!”
They totally ignored Crono, Lucca and even Frog.
”Don’t you think Yakra is SO smart? His plan to capture the Chancellor and take his place worked perfectly. Now the Queen’s captive, and the castle is in an uproar. This is rich!”
They mystics laughed and so did Crono, to keep their attention away.
”Wrong room.” Lucca whispered.
Crono nodded, and they went out.
From outside, Crono could hear the diablo saying:
”It’s almost my shift. I hate pretending to be human... it’s so repulsive!”
He smiled.

Our three heroes sneaked carefully around.
”That big door, it could be something. Don’t you think?” Lucca suggested.
”Yeah. Perhaps.”
They watched it. There were a lot of guards outside of it.
”How do we pass them?” Crono asked, but didn’t get any answer.
He looked at Lucca and then Frog.
”I know!” Lucca said and smiled.
 

I was a quite normal day for the mystic guards.
They were glad they had been assigned here, deep in on enemy ground.
The two henches were quite enthusiastic about this war.
Without their Queen, the soldiers moral would fall.
The mystics would win.
Suddenly they heard a scream.
”Intruders!”
The henches looked at each other and then ran down the corridor to check what this was about.
The other guards who were stationed here also ran down.
When they were gone, Frog and Crono jumped down from the balcony and carefully opened the door. ”You coming Lucca?” Crono whispered.
”Yeah.”
She also jumped down.
”That hypnos-thing worked quite good.”
Lucca nodded.
”Only on mystics. Remember when I tried it on Fritz?”
Crono shook his head.
”Don’t remind me.”
 

”It didn’t look this big from the outside...” Crono said when they faced even more stairs and corridors.
”Quickly! Hide!” Frog exclaimed and hide himself under a stair.
Crono and Lucca followed and they sat there a long time.
”What is it?” Crono whispered.
”Don’t you hear?” Frog said. ”Guards.”
And then Crono could hear footsteps from above.
Lucca carefully inserted a needle into her gun.
”Where do you think they are keeping her?”
Frog shook his head.
”I have never been here before. I don’t have a clue.”
”Let’s just go as far in as possible, okay?”
Lucca nodded.
When they couldn’t hear the footsteps anymore, they got out from their hidingplace.
Crono took the lead and walked forward.
Carefully, Frog and Lucca followed.
They passed new corridors and doors, but Crono was headed for a door straight forward.
Once they reached it, Crono put his ear on it and tried to listed if anyone was in there.
”Well?” Frog said.
Crono nodded and was just about to open the door, when someone screamed:
”Hey! Humans! And a ugly frog!”
Two naga-ettes came out from a door, and a hench joined the first one who discovered them.
”The boy is mine!” one naga cried out gleefully.
”Sorry!” Lucca said and aimed with her gun.
She pressed the trigger and the needle was launched.
”Bull’s eye!” Lucca exclaimed when the needle hit the naga in it’s head.
Crono and Frog looked supriced at her.
”I, it felt right to say it...”
One hench ran forward and hit Lucca, which made her fly backwards.
”IIIEEE!!!” she screamed.
Frog jumped forward and cut the heach, but it’s armor took most of the damage.
The last naga and the other hench walked around Crono, tried to get an opportunity to attack.
Crono swinged his sword on the first hench, but it missed.
The naga countered with some strange spell.
Crono felt that his body was heavier. He moved slower.
Meanwhile, Lucca reloaded her gun, and aimed for the first hench.
It evaded her needle and attacked Frog.
Frog was thrown unconscious to the ground by a hit.
On the same time, the naga and hench threw themselves on Crono.
With all his might, Crono spun around with his sword pointing out.
His sword cut the naga in two, but the hench survived thanks to it’s armor.
”Though guy, huh?” Crono said and leapt forward and cut the two hench in one swing.
But again, their armor protected them.
Lucca picked up a bottle from her bag, and threw it on the henches.
”Crono! Get back!”
Crono leapt backward just a the bottle hit the floor and broke.
A liquid flowed out on the floor and on the henches.
Lucca picked up something else from her bag, and held it close to the liquid.
Suddenly the liquid began to burn.
It burned in a few seconds before it went out, and left two black smoking objects.
”Nice.” Crono said, and walked to Frog, who just wake up.
”How do you feel?” Crono said.
Frog shook his head.
”Worry about the Queen instead.”
Lucca carefully opened the door and discovered that they were just in time.
The Chancellor sat on a chair behind an altar in the big room they came in to.
On the other side of the altar was the real queen Leene standing.
”Prepare yourself Queen Leene...” he said.
Crono, Lucca and Frog ran toward them.
”Frog!” Leene exclaimed.
Frog looked at her.
”Majesty, stand back, and allow us the honor...”
Leene nodded and walked back.
”Be careful!”
The Chancellor laughed.
”Gyah, ha, ha... It's useless to fight... No one will leave here alive!”
He walked around the altar.
”Stupid Frog! It's time you jumped off this mortal coil!”
Lucca move to the left, and Frog to the right, trying to surround the chancellor,
but he just laughed.
”True-form... CHANGE!”
Big flashes appeared from his body and with a big light, he transformed himself to his true form.
”Revert to Yakra!” The monster said.
Yakra was like a big brown lump with twenty legs.
He roared gleefully.
Crono and Lucca was paralyzed by the look of this ugly monster.
He leaned back and spit a iron ball out of his mouth.
It hit Lucca and made her fly cross the room.
Frog leapt forward and made swinged his sword against Yakra.
It made a red cut and Yakra screamed of pain.
Lucca got up and ran back to her last position.
She fired a needle which hit Yakra, but he ignored it.
Crono waited for Yakra to do something.
And he did.
Suddenly he jumped a few times, and then moved fast against Frog.
Crono couldn’t believe that Yakra could move that fast with his fat body, but he did.
He ran over Frog, changed direction to Crono and ran over him. Finally he ran over Lucca.
Crono could confirm that Yakra didn’t just look heavy. He was.
Crono got up and counterattacked with his sword.
Yakra screamed as Crono iron sword buried deep into it’s body.
Yakra spitted a new ironball on Crono, but Crono evaded.
Then Yakra made something. Two thing raised under his skin, and fired two needles.
Supriced of the attack, Crono failed to evade the attack.
The two needles hit him in his shoulder.
”AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!” Crono screamed and fell to the ground.
Yakra laughed.
Lucca picked up a bottle from her bag and ran toward Crono.
Lucca poured half of the bottles contents on the wound and let Crono drink the rest.
Slowly, the wound regenerated.
Still feeling pain, Crono raised and pointed his sword on Yakra.
He looked at Frog and nodded.
”X-Strike!”
They both attacked on the same time from two directions, and their attackway formed an X.
The attack almost cut Yakra in two.
He fell dead to the ground.
 

Crono holstered his sword and looked at his wound.
It had healed completely.
”What was that bottle you had?” he asked.
”It’s called a tonic. I always carry one in case of... well, you know.”
”A tonic...” Crono repeated.
Frog walked to Leene.
Leene watched him relived.
”You came to rescue me! Thank you, Frog.”
Frog smiled proud.
”The King awaits. Let us return to the castle...”
Frog turned to Crono and Lucca.
”I thank thee Crono, and Lucca.”
”Yes, thank you so much.” Leene said. ”Please join us. Let's return to the castle...”
They walked out.
But when Lucca was about to exit the room, she saw two chests next to the door.
She opened the first one and found a lot of money in it.
”Crono, look!”
Crono looked into the chest.
”Awesome! How much is it?”
”Don’t know... More than 5000 gold, at least.”
Crono nodded.
They took the money and counted it.
The total value of all coins was 6000.
Then Lucca opened the second one and found the real Chancellor inside.
”Phew, Thank you! That monster stuffed me in there.” he said when Lucca helped him out.
He looked around.
”Oh! You highness! As you can see, I’m undamage!”
 

* * * * *
In the castle, a few moments later.
 

”You had me worried, Leene...” King Guardia said.
The real Chancellor shook his head.
”That no good Yakra! Impersonating me and kidnapping the Queen!
We MUST create a criminal justice system to do away with such fiends.”
King Guardia nodded.
Frog fell down on his knees and croaked.
”I failed to protect Queen Leene.  I hath disgraced thee.” He turned away and walked to the door.
”Frog!” Leene shouted after him.
He turned around, bowed, and then exited the room.
Suddenly Leene looked up. ”But where’s the girl who was mistaken for me?”
”Yes, where is she?” The king asked.
”Oh, yeah!” Lucca said. ”I almost forgot about princess Nadia. Where did the princess disappear? She might be back!”
”This way!” commanded Crono and ran to the stairs.
When they came into the Queen’s room, Crono and Lucca could see small blue stars fly around in the room and then gather at one point in the center.
A big blue flash appeared and when Crono opened his eyes, Marle was standing in front of him.
”Huh?” She said. ”What happened?”
Lucca ran to her.
”Princess Nadia!”
Marle fell on her knees but got up after a few seconds.
”Crono! It  was awful... I can't recall it all...
I was somewhere cold, dark, and lonely...Is that what it's like to.... die?”
Crono didn’t know what to say.
”Welcome back Princess Nadia!” Lucca said.
Marle looked at her.
”You risked your life to help me too?” Marle said.
Lucca nodded.
Marle looked at Crono, and then back on Lucca.
”‘Princess...Nadia...?!’ Uh oh...” She made a small giggle.
”I guess you guys figured it out, huh?
Sorry Crono. I didn't mean to deceive you.”
She turned around.
”I'm Princess Nadia. My father is King Guardia the XXXIII.
I really enjoyed being with you at the fair.
But if you had known my identity...”
She turned to Crono.
”Crono, you wouldn't have shown me around the fair, right!”
Crono didn’t know what to say. Or what she wanted him to say.
He thought.
”Wrong...” he finally said. ”I would have anyway.”
Marle looked supriced at him.
”Really?” Crono thought he heard a bit of glee and relief in her voice.
She smiled.
”The real Queen's safe, right? So let's go home, Crono!”
Crono nodded.
They walked down all stairs and came to the throne room.
Now were both the King and the Queen sitting on their thrones.
”You’re the real Queen Leene, huh?!” Marle said, when they came down.
”You really could be my twin.” Leene said, smiling.
Marle looked at the King and the Queen.
”Well, you two better get along... Or I’ll be in big trouble.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed!”
Leene looked at King Guardia.
”Excuse me?”
Marle shook her head.
”Um... Never mind. I guess it’s time to go!”
Crono, Lucca and Marle left the room with both the King and the Queen confused.
On the castle stairs was Frog standing.
”'Twas a fault of mine, which endangered the Queen. I shall depart for good.”
He looked at Crono. Then Marle saw him.
”Eeeek!”
Frog croaked and smiled.
”Indeed, your resemblance to the Queen is uncanny.”
He walked away, but turned around after a few meters.
”Crono, you hath potential to be a good swordsman!”
Then he ‘jumped’ out of the castle.
Lucca ran after him, but stopped when she realized that he was too fast.
”...
Froggy, you weren't such a bad guy either...”
”Let’s go.” Crono said, and walked out.
 

After a few hours, they reached Truce canyon.
”Ssshh...” Crono said when they came to a open field. He recognized this place.
The two Imps who were playing football was still here.
”Follow me.” Crono said and pushed himself to the mountain wall.
Lucca and Marle followed, and the Imps didn’t noticed them.
They slowly got higher and higher.
”Watch out Marle! There’s...” Crono suddenly screamed.
Quickly, Marle took her crossbow, and smashed an Imp with it’s handle.
”What were you fuzzing about?” Marle said.
”Nothing...”
After an half hour, they came to the field were Crono came out of the... whatever it was...
There was a small blue thing in the middle of the field.
”How do we get home?” Marle asked.
Lucca cleared her throat.
”Your Highness, er, Princess... we...”
Marle waved with her hands.
”Please... Call me Marle!”
Lucca look down on the ground for a second.
”Well then Marle, observe!”
She held up a small staff-looking object.
Then she pressed one of the buttons on it.
The small blue thing grew. It was like it opened.
”Wow!” Marle and Crono exclaimed on the same time.
”Lucca! You're amazing!” Marle said.
”Yeah!” Crono agreed.
Lucca laughed.
”Ain't it the truth!” But when she remembered who she was talking to...
”Oh, uh... I mean...”
Marle interrupted her.
”Enough with the false modesty! You have a real gift!
I would trade my royal ancestry for your genius in a heartbeat!”
Lucca looked at her.
”Well, if you say so...” But then she remembered the gate.
”Anyway, I call this thing a ‘Gate’
It's kind of a portal that takes you to almost the same location in a different era.
Gates are very unstable, so I used the principal behind my Telepod device to create a ‘Gate Key’.
Now we can use them as we please.”
Marle looked at it, quite fascinated.
”But why did this gate suddenly appear?”
Lucca looked down on the ground.
”Either the Telepod had something to do with it, or... something else made it.”
Marle smiled.
”This is getting pretty weird. Let's at least get back to our own time!”
Crono nodded. ”Yeah.”
”All right!” Lucca said, and our three heroes stepped into the gate.

Again, Crono found himself flying in this strange dimension, who took him to another time.
When they came out, they found themselves in Leene square, in front of Lucca’s telepod.
”Phew! We're back!” Marle said.
Crono looked around. They were. At last.
”Crono, Lucca, why don't you come home with me to the castle?
I'd like you to come over for dinner!”
”Sure!” Crono exclaimed.
”Eh...” Lucca started. ”Sorry for putting you through all that, Marle.”
Marle looked supriced at her.
”Are you joking? That's the most fun I've had in months... no, years!
And I have some new friends, too!”
Lucca smiled.
”Crono, be a gentleman and take her home.
I've got some work to do.”
Lucca walked away.
”See you soon, Lucca!” Marle shouted after her.
Then she turned to Crono.
”You heard her! Please escort me home!”
Crono smiled.
”Certainly, my lady!”
Marle giggled.
”You haven’t got any influences from the middle age, have you?”
”Who? Me?!?” Crono said.
Marle grabbed his arm and started to pull him to the other side of the square.
”Let’s get going!”

.

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