Natural Insanity
By Scyther
Crono was walking down a dark, ominous hallway. It had the stench of sulfur and ash that made Crono a little sick. Despite this, he kept going, curious of what was on the other side. Crono emerged from the hall and into a poorly lit room. At the very back there were two people, one male and one female, and each held a baby. The woman was holding a boy with a little red hair wrapped in blue, while the man held another boy with blond hair wrapped in green. Suddenly the man drew a dagger and slashed at the woman, killing her. As she fell, the baby vanished. Then the man turned to Crono and brought his arm back, preparing to slash at Crono. Crono tried to move, but he was too scared of this man to do it. The man swung the dagger at Crono's throat.
* * *
Crono sat up from his bed, covered in cold sweat. He felt around his throat, checking for a slash wound of any kind. He had none, but was still spooked. The dream was as real as life and twice as frightening. The look, the smells, the sound, all was too real to have been a dream.
Crono glanced around the room, still a little on edge. Maybe it was this castle, Crono thought. He had been living at the castle for about two months now, but it still didn't feel quite like home. His eyes fell on the grandfather clock on the opposite side of the room, which read 5:53 a.m. Really early for Crono to be awake, but there's a first time for everything.
He continued to look around the room, this time stopping at the bed beside his. Marle, his gorgeous wife, was sleeping soundly with a gentle smile on her face. The kind that made Crono fall in love with her in the first place. They would be in the same bed if it was up to them, but both King Guardia and Lana refused the notion. They had to settle for two smaller beds close together, but it was probably better that way since Crono kicked a lot in his sleep.
Crono slid back under his blanket and tried to get back to sleep, but it was difficult. He was afraid the dream would come back. He needed to know what that dream meant or he may never get a decent night's sleep. He somehow managed it, but if was only about half-an-hour worth. Crono woke up for a second time, but now he wasn't tired at all. Something about the dream kept him up and killed all desire to sleep. Crono stood from his bed and walked to the closet left of the bed. Inside were his clothes, Marle's, and a few odds and ends. He grabbed his familiar blue tunic and threw it on. He then grabbed a pair of tan pants and his black belt. His orange scarf was in there, but he no longer wore it since it was no longer wintertime. His boots were in there too, but he thought they would make too much noise. He slowly closed the closet door, trying not to wake Marle, and got dressed in silence. When he was dressed, Crono snuck out of the room and down the long flight of stairs to the kitchen.
When he reached the bottom, Crono took in a long breath, smelling fresh baked bread. The chef was up, too, baking a few items for breakfast like he does every morning. Crono snuck over to the table where the chef was laying all his baked goods. He reached for a blueberry muffin as the chef came out of the kitchen with a loaf of bread. "Good morning, Prince Crono!" Crono quickly pulled his hand back and nodded to the chef. He had been given an honorary title of prince after he married Marle. "It's alright! I made the muffins for you and the princess, anyway. I know you two hate the things I prepare for the king." Crono smiled and grabbed the biggest muffin he saw on the table. He quickly took a large bite, loving the warm taste of it. Crono took three more on a plate and two mugs of milk and started back for his room. He thought breakfast in bed would be a nice surprise for Marle.
Back in his room, Marle was still sleeping soundly. Crono walked over to the table between the beds and set the tray down. He had done this about three weeks before, and knew the smell alone would be enough to wake her up. As he backed up to sit on his bed, he stepped on something sharp, cutting his bare foot. Crono dropped onto his bed and pulled his foot up where he could see it. It looked fairly deep, but it was barely bleeding. He quickly looked down for whatever he stepped on, but nothing was there but smooth stone floor. Crono opened a shelf in the side of the table and pulled out a bandage Lucca came up with. Crono peeled off two pieces of paper, then stuck the bandage over his cut. As he finished, Marle began to stir. Crono put his foot down and eagerly waited for his wife to wake up.
* * *
Around 9:00, Lucca was waking up from a great nights sleep. She had been getting lots of sleep since she met Ash, the one guy that has dated her for so long. It was about two months ago since they met at the annual science fair and they were still seeing each other. Lucca even had a picture of Ash next to her bed, which greeted her every morning. The photo was taken in 2300 a.d., so the dome in the background was a little confusing to some of her friends.
Lucca pushed herself out of bed and stretched the stiffness out of her body. There was a slight pain in her left arm. Maybe she slept on it wrong. It wasn't very bad, so it was easy to ignore. She had her lens case at bedside, but she had gotten into the habit of wearing them to sleep. Another perk of Sun Stone contacts! Lucca made her way to her dresser and looked through her things, which she now had many of, for her old vest, shirt and shorts. It was going to be a rough day and she needed something comfortable. When she found them, Lucca quickly threw them on, then found her new boots. They were a light brown shade and very comfortable. Lucca had a feeling she was going to need that extra comfort today. Once she was dressed, Lucca grabbed the Wonder Shot from a shelf in the corner of her room and placed it inside of her pouch along with her hammer and a few other items. She buttoned the pouch, then threw it over her sore shoulder by accident, sending a sharp pain through her back. Lucca almost dropped her bag, but grabbed it with both hands, then threw it onto her right shoulder. Now that she felt was ready, Lucca left her room and marched downstairs.
When she hit the last step, she was surprised to see nobody in the house. There was a note on the table, sitting on top of a medium-sized, pink gift box, wrapped in a gold ribbon. Lucca dashed over to the table and snatched the card, eager to see it. She unfolded the letter and read it carefully.
Dear Lucca,
Guess you finally decided to wake up! It was such a nice day out, your mother
and I wanted to take a walk and Maybe a ferry ride to Porre. We may not be
back for a while, so stay out of trouble.
Tabin
P.S. Ash was over here earlier and left this gift. He really likes you, doesn't
he?
Lucca set the card down and reached for the box. She untied the ribbon and set it aside. She lifted the top of the box and gasped at what she saw. Inside was a solid gold crown covered with rubies and diamonds and many other gemstones. It looked like a crown from most fairy tales. Lucca carefully lifted it out of the box, then noticed a note on the bottom of the box. She set the crown aside and picked out the note, eager to read it.
Just something I found on one of Crono's treasure hunts for my princess. Love, Ash
Lucca smiled, then placed the card and crown back in the box. She rushed it up to her room, then rushed back down. Lucca took one quick look at the clock, then panicked at how late she was. She grabbed her bag with one hand and ran out the door to the Epoch.
* * *
It was now 9:30 and Marle was awake and already dressed for the day. She still wore her usual outfit, but she had a few new things, too. Lucca had told them the night before that she wanted to find out who that stranger was that saved them at Magus's castle, but Marle had no idea how she intended to do it.
Marle was sitting on her bed, waiting for Crono to return from his Knight Captain duties. She looked over and eyed the tray he brought in for her. She grabbed the last piece of muffin, now cold, and ate it in one bite. It was still pretty good. Marle kept looking back at the clock, wondering how long Crono would be. He should have been back a while ago. She laid back in bed and grabbed a book from her nightstand, waiting for Crono to return. After about half an hour of reading, Marle tossed the book onto Crono's bed, finally fed up with whatever was going on. She stood from her bed and walked out of the room, on her way to the knight's meeting room on the opposite side of the castle. It was a longer walk than she remembered. When Marle got to the meeting room, she looked around, mad and worried at the same time. She quickly spotted Crono's gear in the corner of the room, then Lance, Crono's second in command. "Hey, Lance!" Marle called. "What happened to Crono?" Lance looked over at Marle, but hesitated to answer. "Well…" he started. "He made me promise not to tell… but he went to Fiona's Woods. Said he needed some time to himself." Marle started calming down now. "Thanks, Lance." She said as she headed back up the staircase. Marle ran back to the throne room, then down the hall and out the door, on her way to the forest.
Marle ran nonstop to Fiona's Woods without even slowing down to breathe. She kept trying to figure out what would make Crono run off without telling her. Marle only thought about that and ignored the small branches that scraped against her arms and legs. She couldn't even feel them at the speed she was running. Eventually she came to a clearing with a small path on the other side. Marle noticed a few snapped twigs at the beginning of the trail and knew someone went down the path. She followed the thin path until it led to a cliff overlooking the ocean, similar to the North Cape. Marle looked closer and saw Crono sitting on a rock near the very edge. He was staring at the ocean, not even moving a bit.
"Crono!" Marle shouted. Crono only glanced back, barely turning his head. "Why are you here" Crono said with a cold tone in his voice. Marle took a step back, never seeing a reaction like this from him. "Well…" she started. "Someone said you went to the woods… I was worried… you didn't say a word to me." Crono stood from his seat, his Rainbow kitana in his right hand. "I had my reasons…" Crono replied. "I don't want to be bothered. I need time alone." Marle was set back by these words and Crono's tone. He was acting as cold as Magus, maybe colder. "Crono… whatever's bothering you, you can tell me… I love you…" Crono stood there for a moment before driving the Rainbow straight through the rock easily. "You want to know what's wrong?!" Crono said angered. "Everything. Lucca's not my best friend anymore since Ash showed up. My mom hasn't been the same ever since we married. I still can't get a decent word out of the Chancellor and now these dreams. They're telling me something but I can't tell what. They leave me cold inside, empty, and I can't stand it anymore!" Crono stormed past Marle, leaving the Rainbow buried in the rock. "Crono!" Marle shouted, chasing after him. Crono turned quickly and casted a Lightning spell, blasting Marle back. Crono loomed over her, glaring at her. "Stay out of my life, Marle, or you might end up as dead as that rock." Crono turned again and walked back into the woods. Marle heard every word but hadn't been able to move till after Crono was gone. It was the first time that Crono attacked her. He didn't even seem to care. Marle managed to make it to her hands and knees. When she looked up she was facing the Rainbow, driven into the rock. "Crono…" was the only work she said before she passed out, still hurt by the lightning bolt.
* * *
Marle awoke in bed with Lucca and Ash staring down at her. She could barely move a muscle. The lightning bolt had paralyzed her. "Wh… What ha… ppend?" Marle managed to get out. Lucca took a quick glance at Ash before explaining. "We went to the castle to get you and Crono, so we could start searching for the black stranger. When we got there, Lance said you went after Crono in Fiona's Woods. We found you knocked out on a cliff in front of Crono's sword." Marle could barely follow Lucca's words, but did manage to sit up. She looked around and found that she was in Lucca's bedroom. "Good." Ash said. "We thought you would never get up after a blow like the one you took." Marle shook her head, still disoriented. "I thought you and Crono got ambushed and Crono got kidnapped." Lucca said. Marle shook her head again. "No, no… Crono… attacked me…" Lucca's jaw dropped from disbelief. "No way!" Ash and Lucca both said. Marle nodded. "He said everything in his life was wrong, and when I tried to approach, he fired a Lightning spell at me… I still can't believe it myself…" Lucca had to sit down from the announcement. It was too hard to believe that Crono would attack his own wife.
Marle made her best efforts to stand up, but still wasn't recovered enough. "How long have I been out?" she said, hoping it had been a few hours. "Well…" Lucca started. "As far as I can tell, about two days. We thought you were dead when we found you." Marle suddenly felt a jolt through her when she heard Lucca. Marle raised her hands and used Cure 2 on herself, restoring her. She stood up and looked around the room. "Did you get Crono's sword?" Marle asked. Ash shook his head no. "We both tried pulling it out, but it's really stuck in there." Marle wasn't really concerned with the sword, but she didn't know what to think anymore. She only had one idea in her head. "We've gotta find out what happened to Crono. He's gotta be somewhere on this planet, right?" Lucca nodded, but still had a concerned look. "How are we supposed to cover an entire planet? Even in Epoch it will take a while." Marle nodded, but wasn't as worried. She darted out of the room and downstairs. Lucca stood from her seat and followed with Ash in tow.
The three reached the backyard where the Epoch was waiting. Lucca didn't see how this was going to help the search, but Marle seemed dead set on trying. She was already in the cockpit and ready to fly. Lucca climbed in and took the controls while Ash jumped in the back with Marle. The canopy closed and Epoch lifted off. "So where to?" Lucca said. Marle thought about it for a second. "Let's try Medina. We don't really know anybody there, so it would be easy to hide." Lucca was kind of surprised. Marle was quite the detective when she was determined. Lucca punched in a few buttons, then turned the Epoch in the right direction. At a slower pace than usual, the Epoch flew off towards Medina.
* * *
When the team arrived, they were met with quite a surprise. Some of the buildings in town were on fire or even reduced to rubble. People were struggling to put out the flames, some were just trying to get out of the town. Someone had attacked Medina. Lucca set the Epoch down and Marle jumped out right away, followed by Lucca. Ash stayed in the cockpit watching villagers try and put out the fires. One villager nearby saw the two time heroes and immediately ran over to them "Please, help us!!" he yelled. Marle covered her ears from the loud noise, but Lucca was trying to calm him down. "Don't worry," Lucca said, "We'll do anything we can to help. Just tell us what happened here." The man took in a breath, trying to calm down and explain things. "This man dressed totally in black attacked the entire town. He's too powerful for us to defend against him." With that, another fire broke out and the man ran off to help put it out.
"Marle…" Lucca said. "You don't think…" Marle frowned, then nodded. "Maybe our black stranger attacked this town. Maybe it wasn't him, maybe it was." Lucca looked to the center of town where a large scorch in the ground was made. "Maybe we better find out." Lucca said, walking to the center of town. Marle followed, casting Ice spells as they went to put our the fires.
At the center of town was what use to be a statue. It had been reduced to a large scorch mark and a crater in the center of it. "Whoever did this is serious…" Marle whispered to herself. Lucca was looking around, trying to find this warrior that had attacked. "Whoever it was probably hid when he saw the Epoch coming." Lucca said. Just then she spied a black figure jumping from one building to another. He stopped, then raised his arms. A black bolt of lightning shot from the sky and through the building in front of him, wrecking it. Lucca and Marle watched as the building collapsed into a pile of rubble. The black warrior now looked in their direction. Marle and Lucca pulled their weapons as the attacker jumped to the ground and rushed at them with an evil looking black sword in hand.
Both Lucca and Marle took a quick shot at him. He jumped both the blast and the arrow and was coming down, about to slash them. Lucca used a quick Fire spell, but he blocked it with his sword. Marle jumped back as he swung the sword at her. He barely missed, but he was still going after her. Marle used a quick Ice spell, but his sword actually absorbed it. He swung the sword at Lucca, throwing a block of ice at her. Lucca put her hands in front of her and blasted a flame at the ice rock, melting it just before it reached her. She put her arms down, but now saw that the fighter had pinned Marle to the ground. Marle remembered this from when Slash had her down. The warrior raised his sword and prepared to bring it into Marle's throat. Lucca pulled out her blaster and took a few shots at the warrior. Most of the shots missed but one connected with the sword, knocking it away. He gave one quick glance at Lucca, giving Marle a chance. She grabbed her crossbow and took wild shots at him, too close to do anything else. She was aiming too high, but one hit the very top of his mask, snagging it and pulling it off. From under it came a mass of spiked red hair.
"CRONO?!" both Marle and Lucca shouted. It was Crono. He had a strange glow in his eyes, but it was defiantly him. Lucca ran up to them and Crono jumped off of Marle, pointing the sword at Lucca. "Stay back…" He said, a hateful tone in his voice. "You're both responsible for this… you've both caused the pain in my life…" Marle stood up and glanced at Lucca, wondering what he was talking about. "Crono…" Marle said, "Why have you done this? Don't you even care about the people you've hurt in this attack?" Crono gave Marle a cold glare that seemed to make the glow in his eyes flare. "So what?" Crono answered. "My pain will end with the destruction of what has caused it. Their deaths fuel my hate and end the pain they cause me…" Marle took a step back, afraid of Crono for the first time in her life. "That's right." Crono continued. "You're the main cause. I warned you once, but you didn't listen. Now I'll have to keep you out of my life by ending yours."
Crono gave an evil laugh as he marched towards Marle, who was too scared to move. "Crono, stop!" Lucca yelled, running in front of Crono. "You don't know what you're doing!" Crono glared at Lucca, once again making the glow in his eyes flare. He grabbed her by the throat, making her drop the Wonder Shot. Crono tossed her to the side a good 10 feet, knocking her out. Crono walked toward Marle again, but this time stopped a few yards away. He raised his hands and another black lightning bold came from the sky, striking Marle. She didn't know which hurt more, the lightning bolt of the fact Crono was trying to kill her. The pain was incredible, too bad to even scream. Marle closed her eyes and started to black out.
Suddenly the bolt of black lightning was cut off by a beam of gold light that came out of nowhere. Marle fell to her hands and knees, still conscious only by luck. She looked around for whoever or whatever that beam came from. She looked behind her and saw another figure dressed totally in black except for his hair, in a male ponytail. It was the same stranger that saved her from Slash two months ago. Crono glanced up at him, then threw a black lightning bolt straight at him. The stranger jumped down from the building, dodging the lightning. He rushed to Marle's side, then fired another beam of gold light at Crono. It connected, sending him flying through the air and landing at least 25 feet away. Marle did her best to stand as Lucca began to stir, then she too got to her feet and joined Marle and the stranger. Crono, on the other hand, was out cold.
"Wow." Marle said. "Whatever you hit him with, it worked!" The stranger nodded, then reached to take off his mask. He yanked it off, then undid the band on his ponytail, causing it to spike up. With the mask off and the hair undone, he looked exactly like Crono, except with blonde hair. Marle and Lucca almost fainted. They couldn't believe it! "Whoa!" Marle said. "Who are you?! You look just like Crono!" The stranger smiled, expecting that reaction. "I should." He said, also sounding like Crono. "We're brother's. Twin brothers to be exact. My name's Alex" The two girls were now too amazed to faint. "Wait a second." Lucca said. "I've known Crono since we were both babies and I've never seen you." Alex shook his head. "Well, it's a long story. I'll explain later. Right now, we should check on Crono. Maybe that Force Bolt I gave him knocked some sense into him." Alex ran off to check on his brother and Marle and Lucca followed, wondering what a Force Bolt was.
Just before the three reached Crono a strange gate appeared above him, sucking Crono inside. The group stopped in front of it, wondering what just happened. Suddenly a person appeared in the gate. He was wearing a dark purple cloak that covered his face in a shadow, only showing two glowing red eyes. He had powerful arms and was wearing midnight blue armor. In one hand was a strange staff with a dark red crystal at the end. "What have you done with my brother!" Alex yelled at the figure. "Well, well." He said with an evil voice with a slight echo. "I was wondering when you would show up Alex." Alex was getting angry. "Tell me now…" He said, his fists glowing gold. The figure only laughed at the sight. "Attack if you wish, you can't hurt me through this gate. I am Necromancer, dark sorcerer of the shadows. You're brother is just a tool I needed for my plans and he's quite a tool, isn't he?" Necromancer looked at the destruction Crono had left and laughed evilly. Marle stepped forward, now beside Alex. "It was you, wasn't it?!" Marle said. "You're the one that made Crono act like this!" Necromancer continued laughing at the carnage, but was staring down at Marle. "My dear, you have no idea how right you are. I'll even give you a hint about how." Necromancer put a hand out and a large crystal appeared. It looked like a long diamond with a red stain on the tip that ran down the side in a few places. "This crystal is doing it to him. You figure things out from there. If you think you have, I'll be in the Sun Keep waiting." Alex's fists stopped glowing, no longer as angry. "Why would you help us at all?" Necromancer laughed again, now making the crystal vanish. "Simple! You and your friends don't stand a chance against me. You'll all die right along with the rest of your planet!" The gate vanished and all that was left was the destruction surrounding them.
"Oh no, I forgot all about the fires!" Marle said, looking around at the now intense flames. Alex rushed to the crater that use to be the center of town. "I'll handle them. Get over here quick!" Alex crossed his arms in front of his face and began to glow with a golden aura. "Get as close as you can or this is going to hurt pretty bad." Marle and Lucca stood right behind him, taking his advice. Alex threw his arms to his sides, releasing a huge wave of golden energy. It went fast, flowing over buildings and the surrounding objects. The force of the spell hit the flames hard, putting them out or at least sending them down to small fires that were easily put out. Alex dropped his arms to his sides, surprised by how well his spell worked.
"What was that?!" Lucca said, looking for the flames that use to be everywhere. "It's my magic type." Alex said, turning to face them. "One of Spekkio's newest, Force. It's kind of like when you get pushed or punched, only in a pure form. I keep finding the strangest uses for it, too." Marle found it hard to believe too. Alex was almost exactly like Crono, but that kind of magic was a lot better than Crono's lightning magic. Alex started removing his black karate gi, revealing a tunic exactly like Crono's, except the one Alex was wearing was green. "Now I know you two are twins." Lucca said, starting to walk towards the Epoch. Marle giggled and started to follow with Alex walking beside her. "That's right." Marle said. "You still need to explain yourself." Alex glanced at her, realizing he totally forgot about that. "I'll explain back at the castle, sis." He said, now running to catch up to Lucca. Marle stopped dead in her tracks, wondering why he called her sis. She realized that he was her brother in law now, then started giggling at her absent mind. Marle started running, eager to get back to the castle and hear Alex's story.
The three piled into the Epoch with Alex in the very back. Lucca flew straight to the castle and set down in the main courtyard, since they were talking about putting it there from now on anyway. Marle led Alex, Lucca and Ash to the library where Alex could tell his story. It was always empty since most soldiers were more concerned with fighting than reading. Normally the only visitor was Lucca, who was allowed in anytime she liked. As soon as they entered they found a small round table to talk at. As soon as they all sat down, Alex took a deep breath and started talking.
* * *
I was only a baby when my parents split up. It was only a month after I was born. From what I know, dad hated mom for getting pregnant and took me to make her feel just as bad. I learned this when I was four, and hated my dad for it. We lived outside Choras since that was the only town that hadn't heard of my dad's actions. Most of them wouldn't have cared anyway. Choras wasn't a very friendly town back then. My dad was worse than them and sent me into town every day for something he didn't even have a use for.
"Get back here!" a kid behind me screamed. He had been chasing me for at least ten minutes for no reason without much luck. I turned quick and headed down a thin alleyway. It was between the Market and the Inn, so it was kind of crowded with boxes and things. "I'll get you ya little punk!!" the kid was still behind me. I decided I had to get rid of him, so I looked ahead and saw a fire escape on the Inn. I slowed down a little, wanting him to get a little closer. When he was just out of arm's reach, I jumped as hard as I could and grabbed the steel platform the fire escape was on. I pulled my legs up, letting him right under me. He fell right into a pile of boxes the Market had left there. He pulled himself out and started to run at me again. I had to think fast. I stuck a leg out and hit the fire escape's pull down ladder. I pushed it with my leg, unlocking it and sending it down fast. Being a little stupid, the kid slammed right into it, knocking himself out. I let go of the steel platform, my finger's sore from holding my weight. I glanced down at him and decided that I had to train myself to survive in this town till I could leave it.
Three years later, when I was seven, my dad had gone on a trip to Medina for a few supplies. When he returned, drunk from the bar he was at for an hour, he had a new sword he said he would use to cut off my hand it I ever disobeyed him. Late that night, I took the sword from my dad's room while he was asleep. I brought it back to my room and studied it for at least an hour. It looked extremely sharp and was made very well. The letters M-E-L-C-H-I-O-R were scribed into the side of the blade. It made me wonder what in Medina could make such a sword. The next morning, as I expected, he had totally forgotten that he ever bought a sword. I hid it in my closet, in a corner where my dad couldn't find it. Every day I would wake up an hour or two sooner than I usually did so I could practice before my dad woke up. I had to explain the occasional cut or scrape on my leg, arm or cheek on one occasion, but otherwise it worked out perfectly.
When I was eleven, dad started getting into trouble with the locals. He would get drunk every night and get into bar fights all the time. I thought he deserved the trouble he was getting into, but I was also worried about what would happen to him if this kept up. I got my answer two years later. He had gotten into a fight with the biggest guy in town and didn't come out of the fight alive. The guy was sent to Guardia to be thrown into the dungeons, but I wanted to thank him. The local officials awarded the house and everything in it to me, not that my dad kept it in good condition anyway. I managed to sell it for quite a bit and the only thing I didn't sell was the broad sword, which I kept as a momento of the only thing my dad had ever given me. I hitched a ride on a ferry going to Medina since I still wondered about the sword's creator.
When I arrived I was surprised to find that the whole town was nice. A lot nicer than Choras. Many of the people were a little smaller than me and were blue or green. They were the Mystics and they were the oddest bunch I had ever seen.
"Excuse me!" I asked a green one that was walking by. "Hello! I haven't seen you before. Are you new in town?" I nodded yes. "Well then welcome to Medina!" I smiled, then remembered why I got his attention. I pulled the sword from its holder and showed him the engraving. "Oh! This sword was made by Melchior! You're lucky to have one of his swords at your young age!" I took a look at the engraving and wondered why I didn't think it was a name. "Well then, could you tell me where Melchior is?" I asked him. He nodded with a strange smile on his face. "I'll take you there myself! My name's Dorrin. What's yours?" I smiled, not only because of his offer, but I thought the name was funny. "I'm Alex. Nice to meet you." With him in the lead, we walked west, toward Melchior's hut.
When we arrived, he went back into town, leaving me at the door to Melchior's home. I though his house was a little plain for such a great weapon maker. I paid no further attention and went inside. After seeing the mystics, I thought nothing could surprise me about him, but one thing did. He looked pretty old! I couldn't believe the best sword crafter in the world was old. Then again, I thought the mystics were strange and they turned out great, so I decided to go about my business with him.
"Are you Melchior?" I asked, knowing his answer. "Why, yes. Have you come to purchase a sword or weapon?" I shook my head, showing him my sword. He took a very close look at it, then took it from my hand. "I remember this sword. Some drunken oaf wandered in and stole it while I was in the workshop downstairs. I never got to finish it." I remembered the night dad walked in wielding that sword. Now I thought even worse of him. "Tell you what." He continued. "I'll finish this sword up and give it back to you if you stay here as my apprentice." I took a look at the sword in his hands, then nodded. "Sure, I'd love to. How long will the sword take?" Melchior gave me an uneasy look, then said "3 years."
So I stayed for those three years. Melchior had me running errands that he couldn't do. Some as minor as running into town to deliver a supply of swords and armor to a local market. Some as major as mining in Magic Mountain for the materials he was using on his best swords. Every day, he set aside an hour to work on my sword. It was a small broad sword when my dad brought it home, but the design was for a very long kitana. I didn't see how it could be done, but every day, it started to look like the original design. The whole time I worked for him, he would tell me stories about a floating kingdom of magic called Zeal, where everyone had magic powers. He told me many tales of the kingdom, including one of a red haired time traveler who saved his life and stopped the queen from destroying the planet. He always said I looked more like him every day, he even said I might be him someday, if my blonde hair ever turned red.
When I was 16 the sword was finished. It had been made from a mix of enchanted metals and Dreamstone, making it very powerful. With it's new length, it was hard getting use to it. He let me go, but he told me once more about the red haired hero. As it turned out, I looked exactly like him now. Melchior also said I could only be his twin brother, so my goal now was to find my red haired brother. Melchior gave me the finished sword as he promised and sent me on my way.
About a year later I made my way into Guardia, just in time for the end of the Millennial Fair. I made my way in, but I was mobbed by people calling me either 'Crono' or 'hero'. Many of them wanted me to show them the magic I used to beat Lavos. I had no idea what they were talking about, but I did manage to get away. From what I pieced together, Crono was my brother and he was a hero in this time, too. He could also use magic, which surprised me even more. That same night I hopped on a ferry back to Medina, needing an answer from Melchior.
Melchior was surprised to see me to say the least. I explained the whole occurrence to him. "Hmm…" he muttered to himself. "Maybe it's time I told you the entire story…" Melchior walked out of his house without letting me get in even a word, so I followed him outside and into town. We didn't go very far in when he turned to a house and knocked on the door. When it opened, a green Mystic was waving us in. I remembered that it was Dorrin, who first showed me to Melchior's home. All Mystics looked the same to me, but maybe something about them told you if you knew them or not. At least that was my guess.
"So what brings the great Melchior to our home?" Dorrin asked. Melchior answered by opening up the cabinet on the back wall and waving his hand over it. Suddenly a strange purple and blue circle appeared. "This is a time gate." Melchior explained. "It leads to a place called the End of Time, where my old friend Gasper resides. Once there, we'll explain all about time travel and magic." With that Melchior stepped into the Gate and vanished. It started to close so I ran in after him, not knowing what to expect.
After a short trip through what I assumed was a hole in time, we arrived in a strange place that looked like a piece of a building floating around in the middle of nowhere. An old man, about Melchior's age, was sleeping against a post in the middle of the main area. The only other sign of life was a door behind him. Melchior walked to the old man and started to shake him a little. "Gasper, wake up!" Gasper started to wake up, then looked over in my direction. "Ah, Crono! Trying a new hair color?" Again I was being mistaken for my brother. "No, Gasper." Melchior said. "His name is Alex. He is Crono's twin brother and in need of a little magic!" I was kind of spooked. I knew I would get an explanation of things, but I had no idea I could have magic power. Gasper pointed me to the room behind him, which looked like it lead to nothing. Never the less, I walked in, trying to expect anything.
What I saw I didn't expect. In the room was a huge blue brute that looked really powerful. "All right! A newcomer!" he was evidentially nicer than he looked. "I'm Spekkio, the master of war! Also the master of magic around here! If Gasper sent you in here, it was to receive your magic type." I was kind of in shock. "All right then." I replied. "What's first?" Spekkio started to laugh, but held down the urge. "First I need you to walk around the room three times and don't lose count!" I looked around the room, seeing it wasn't that big. "Why?" I asked. "It's a small room, what makes the difference?" Spekkio gave me a strange look. Evidentially he never got a refusal before. "Well… um… well do you want magic or not!" He didn't have an answer, so I relented and walked around the room 3 times, then rejoined him. "Excellent! Now lets see…" Spekkio gave me an ever weirder stare, then jumped back, or at least as best as he could. "I've been waiting for this day! You're the first to come in here with a magic type that's not Fire, Water, Lightning or Shadow!" Spekkio walked up to me, chanted a few muffled words, then I was surrounded in a gold beam. It was kind of warm and it felt like I was getting pushed up. When it stopped, I felt kind of tingly.
"There! You now have the gift of magic! Wanna try it out?" I looked at the behemoth, then agreed, knowing I needed practice. He stepped back and immediately shot a lightning bolt at me. I dodged, then concentrated, trying to use my new magic. I put both of my hands in front of me, balled up two fists, then aimed at Spekkio. I released a gold beam at him that seemed to really affect him! I shoved him to the other side of the room before I cut the beam and prepared for another spell. "Wait a second!!" He yelled. "I never got hit like that before! I think we've found something beyond what I expected." Eventually we started going through different spells and abilities he had been learning in the last few months. We found a lot of new spells and types like Plant, Crystal, Poison, Ice, Wind, Earth, Psychic, Sound, Aurora, Light, Prism and Force. Some we had no idea how they worked, but we liked the discovery of them.
A few days had past by the time I emerged from Spekkio's room. "Well how did it go?" Melchior asked. I answered by blasting a beam, which I called Force Bolt, into the sky, or at least what would be the sky. Both Gasper and Melchior were impressed by the feat. "Now it's time you learned time travel." Gasper said. It took about an hour, but he taught me all about time travel and the rules of it. "alright then." Gasper said. "You can probably use your magic to force open the time gates in the other room." Gasper pointed to the room we had arrived in. "You should go to the year 600 a.d. and train there against the monsters in Magic Mountain and Giant's Claw. Besides, soon you'll be needed there." I didn't bother to ask what for. I was too eager to test my new powers on actual monsters. I reentered the room I first arrived in and found a spot marked "Truce Canyon, 600 a.d.". I stepped onto the spot and concentrated on forcing open the gate that was supposed to be here at one point. A beam of light appeared from above me and sucked me upward and into a gate.
When I emerged, things defiantly looked different. I started to walk down the path I saw, but three strange imps appeared. They looked like blue mystics, but I could tell they weren't. One came up to deliver a quick kick, but a quick Force Bolt sent him flying back into the woods. Another came up to punch at me, but I slashed at it with my Gold Edge, shattering the armor he was wearing. He ran back into the woods, scared to death. The last looked at me, then ran back into the woods, not wanting to fight. "I think I'm going to do alright here." I told myself.
That day I bought a black karate gi for training and to make sure nobody mistook me for Crono, since I had grown to hate it. I also got a black mask and put my hair into a tail to complete the look. After a few weeks of training in the areas Gasper had told me about, I felt a strange need to leave for a dark castle I had seen in my travels. I had no idea why, but I did. I wasn't very far away thankfully, so I grabbed a bag full of items I had handy and ran all the way. Maybe my Force magic was helping me speed up, but I didn't bother checking. When I arrived, I heard a lot of fighting going on, so I snuck up to the roof and down into the rafters, to get in on the fight while nobody was watching.
I reached the main room where the fight was taking place, I saw three wicked looking people attacking a lot of warriors, including my brother Crono. One was female and used throwing stars. One was clad in blue and wielding a vicious kitana. The third was a green floating guy with an evil looking blade. When they were all occupied with their own fights, I spotted a girl in white and injured pretty badly. The blue fighter was about to stab a hole through her neck. I jumped down in the shadows, so I couldn't be seen, and fired a Force Bolt. It knocked the fighter across the room and knocked a hole in his armor. I helped the girl up, then used a Max Potion to heal her. When she was okay I looked for another attacker. I spotted Crono pinned down and fired another bolt at the girl holding him down as a warning shot. I wanted her to last a little longer than the last one. She reached into her pouch, so I grabbed the Gold Edge, getting ready for her stars. When she threw them, I slashed at them, cutting them in half. Honestly, I was only trying to block them. Cutting them in half was luck! She panicked and threw wild spells, so I made a run for it, dodging them as I went. When I got in close, I slammed my hands together, using a wave of Force that knocked her through a wall. I turned to see the green guy choking out a guy that looked even meaner. I jumped up so I was over him, than fired a large Force Bolt straight down. It rocked the green guy, shattered his barrier, and held me up, so I kept up the beam, even though it hurt a lot. He got his so bad it drove him through the floor. I cut off the beam, tired from the spell.
I started to walk out, then I saw Crono starting to stir. I was tempted to say something, but I had a feeling it was better to wait. I let him catch a glimpse of me, but then I left, my job done. Besides, I needed a rest badly. When I got outside, I saw the Epoch, the time machine Melchior told me about. I was impressed by the technology that had gone into it. I sparked an idea and started looking around the back and sides. I found a door to a fairly large storage compartment, so I crawled in and shut the door behind me. It was so dark and quiet inside, I ended up falling asleep. When I woke up, I didn't think anything had changed. I opened the door and found myself back in Guardia, on an island with a lone house on it. I crawled out and dropped to the ground, hoping nobody would see. Nobody did, so I reached in and grabbed the Gold Edge and my pouch, then headed into town. I kept my hair ponytailed, but removed the mask. Without the spiked hair I don't look so much like my brother. I heard about your wedding to my brother, so I went to the church and made myself comfortable in the rafters so I could see the ceremony. When it was over, I left to find a training ground near Guardia so I could confront Crono when I was ready.
Two months later I heard of a warrior dressed totally in black that was running around destroying things in his path. Since I hadn't left Fiona's Woods in a while, someone was stealing my image, so I went exploring and found him going off to Medina. I followed him, remembering my friends there. When I arrived, once again I saw Marle pinned down, so I made the rescue. You know the rest of my story from there…
* * *
"Wow…" was all Marle could say when Alex finished his story. Both her and Lucca hung off every word, wanting to know as much about Alex as they did Crono. Ash had taken a nap on the table, tired from the whole day. "So how do we stop… um… Necr…" Marle couldn't quite get the word out. "Necromancer." Lucca said for her. "First we need to figure out what that crystal he showed us was for." Lucca got up and ran to a section of the library, grabbed a fairly large book, then ran back with it. When she reached the table, she slammed the book down and opened it up. "This is a book all about enchantments and spells." Lucca explained. "If that crystal is real, it will be in here." Lucca started flipping through pages like mad, hoping for anything about the crystal with Marle and Alex looking over her shoulders every second.
After about an hour Lucca found one crystal that looked like the one Necromancer had, except without the red on the tip. "So what is it?" Marle asked. Lucca started reading the text outloud. "The Crystal of Byria. Whoever comes in contact with this crystal is enchanted with a spell called Natural Insanity, where all good memories and emotions in the person are removed, so only bad emotions and painful memories remain." Marle took a closer look at the book. "So that's what Crono meant when he was talking about his pain." She said. Lucca ignored the interruption and continued. "If a person's blood makes contact with the crystal, the effected person loses his will as well and can be manipulated by anyone who can touch the crystal without being effected by it. These spells only wear off when the crystal is destroyed or the blood is removed from the crystal." Alex stepped back from Lucca and tried to remember the day's events. "It explains everything, doesn't it." He said. "So the red on the tip of the crystal was Crono's blood, but how did he stab him with such a big crystal?" Marle went back to her seat and remembered something from this morning. "Crono said he stepped on something sharp on his way from the kitchen this mourning. Maybe Necromancer made the crystal go through the floor somehow." Lucca closed the book, making a small cloud of dust kick up. "It could be done if he can create his own gates and we saw him do that once already." Alex walked to the table and grabbed his pouch and sword. "Where do you think you're going?" Marle said. Alex turned back toward her with a slightly angry look. "I've heard enough. I'm getting my brother back." With that he turned to the door and left. Marle followed, but Lucca stayed behind with Ash, looking to see if there was anything else she could find on the crystal.
* * *
Alex was running through Guardia Woods and into Truce when Marle finally caught up to him. "Why did you follow me?" Alex didn't want anyone else to go up against Crono. Marle was trying to catch her breath. "Well he's my husband! I have a right to come along if I want to!" Alex glared at her, then turned back toward Truce. "Alright then, I can't stop you. You are my sister after all. But if you get hurt, don't blame me." Alex started running for the new ferry station just outside Guardia when he spied another strange portal. Crono in his black outfit, minus the mask, came out of the gate and immediately threw a lightning bolt, blasting a crater into the ground. Some people were confused by the action, but most just ran for their homes. "Looks like Crono's been sent to destroy Truce and Guardia, too!" Alex said, drawing the Gold Edge. Marle reached for the Valkerye, then realized who she would be attacking. "I can't" Marle said to herself. "Alex, fight without me. I can't hurt him, even with him like this." Alex's nodded, then ran to intercept Crono before he started attacking.
"Crono!!" Alex yelled, firing a Force Bolt as a warning shot. It went by, but only missed by an inch, enough to get Crono's attention. "Who are you, blondy?!" Crono fired a lightning bolt, but it was no warning. Alex jumped to the right, avoiding the black lightning. "Wait, stop!" Alex yelled. "Crono, I'm you're brother, Alex!" The glow in Crono's eyes seemed to fade a bit, but it flared again right away. "Liar! I have no brother, nor do I want one! I'll kill you for what you just said!" Crono pulled out his black saber and rushed at Alex. Alex swung the Gold Edge, blocking Crono's own swing. "You've gotta listen to me, Crono!" Alex was struggling to keep his ground. Crono's fighting strength was greater than his. "You don't know what you're doing!" Crono laughed and kicked Alex in the gut, knocking him back. "I know just what I'm doing! With the destruction of Truce and Guardia, my past is erased and my pain ends. If you really are my brother, you'll have to be erased, too!" Crono shot another lightning bolt from the sky, now intending on killing his target. Alex created a Barrier of Force that easily blocked the evil charged lightning bolt. "So you're a better brawler than me…" Alex picked himself up and put away the Gold Edge. "…but I'm the better wizard!" Alex fired a stronger Force Bolt at Crono. Crono tried to counter with his own spell, but the Force Bolt went right through and slammed Crono, knocking the wind out of him. "Good point…" Crono said, struggling to his feet. "…but you can't combined them!" Crono gripped the handle of his sword with both fists and sent lightning into it, charging it with his new black lightning powers. When he was done, the sword had a strange black glow to it. "Now you're going to get it!" Crono charged at Alex, who fired five smaller beams at Crono. The newly charged saber sucked up Alex's spell and sent it right back, charged with evil magic. Alex barely dodged them, but ended up getting slashed at by Crono's sword. It sent an electric wave as it was swung that shocked Alex and sent him to the ground hard. Crono stood over him and started laughing. "Well its been fun, but don't worry. The entire world will soon be joining you." Crono jumped high into the air and charged the sword to full power, ready to bring it down onto Alex's head. Alex had been saving one last Force attack, his Giga Beam, but he wouldn't be able to get it fired in time. He decided to try anyway and aimed both fists at Crono, trying to fire the Giga Beam. Crono started falling, then swung his sword for Alex's head.
* * *
Necromancer was staring into the opening of the cave, waiting for Crono to return. He knew of Alex and Crono's battle, but waited to see the outcome for himself. A few minutes later Crono walked through the cave entrance. "Ah, my warrior returns. How did Alex fair?" Crono gave a mean smile and displayed a shredded green tunic to Necromancer, who enjoyed the sight very much. "Excellent! With him gone this puny mudball of a planet will fall easily! Come with me, Crono, its time to finish my plan." Crono gave another strange smile as he followed Necromancer to the back of the cave. The wizard waved his hand and the back wall vanished, revealing another tunnel that lead deep into the mountain. As he entered, Crono followed, slightly spooked.
Inside was a gigantic machine that ran along the walls of the entire mountain. In the very center was the Crystal of Byria, which was attached to the top of the main part of the machine. Massive cables and wires ran all the way along the walls from the main part to a strange machine on the very top of the cavern. It was an impressive sight to say the least. "This beautiful device has transformed this entire mountain into one massive magnet. With a little help from my magic, it can pull this planet into the sun, killing everything alive on it slowly. It shall be glorious, Crono!" Crono's evil smile quickly became a serious face. "No Necromancer. It won't even happen." Necromancer turned to see Crono ripping off his black outfit, revealing a green outfit. He whipped his head around, shaking a strange red powder from his hair. Eventually all the red was on the floor, showing bright blonde hair. "Alex?!" Necromancer said, surprised. Alex stood there with his fists clenched at his sides. "Yup. For once I'm glad someone mistook me for Crono!" Necromancer floated up to a spot above the crystal, staring down at Alex. "I commend you for your cleverness, but you won't get to use it again when I'm done with you!"
Necromancer started throwing balls of pure shadow energy. Alex countered one with a Force Bolt, but it exploded into a gas that made Alex a little dizzy. He decided to stick to dodging and ran around the room, trying to guess Necromancer's moves. One ball was thrown ahead of him and almost caught him, but Alex used a Force Bolt to jet backwards. When he landed, Alex fired another Force Bolt, this time at the crystal. To his surprise, it reflected off of a shield and into a wall. "Hah! As long as I remain above the crystal, it cannot be damaged!" Necromancer now used black fireballs that set fire to even the rocks it hit. Alex had a hard time avoiding them, but managed it. A few he had to use Barriers on to protect himself from being scorched. Alex needed a way to stall him long enough to break the crystal, but he couldn't even get a hit on him. Alex pulled his Gold Edge and leaped for Necromancer, slashing from a distance, trying to get just barely close enough. It seemed to be working. Necromancer fired a white beam at the machine it the ceiling, activating the magnet. It grabbed the Gold Edge and sent it up and into the rock beside the magnet. The machine shut off, but now Alex was unarmed. Necromancer switched spells and now fired black and purple beams of energy at Alex. It took even more skill to dodge these blasts, though. Alex used a Force Wave to deflect one, which was sent into the roof, nearly blasting the machine. Necromancer stopped his attack and casted a spell, reinforcing the machine. This was the weakness Alex was hoping for. "Omega Strike!" Alex threw his arms up, releasing 5 missiles of force energy. Each had its own speed and movement, but they were all going for the machine. Necromancer started shooting his purple beams at the missiles, blasting them one by one. Just as he stopped the fifth one, Alex leaped up and hit him with a Force Wave, throwing him back. Alex, still in the air, charged a Force Bolt to destroy the crystal. Necromancer recovered too fast and blasted Alex back and into the cavern wall, stunning him.
"You've lost Alex." Necromancer said, taking back his spot about a foot above the crystal. "This planet shall be destroyed and you will be the fist to go!" The sorcerer floated up a few more feet, then fired a beam through the crystal and into the machine on the ground. It started to make a strange whirling sound, kind of like the Epoch's engines at full power. Suddenly a huge pillar of light shot out of it, going all the way to the magnet at the top. When the beam hit the magnet, the whole mountain hummed with the energy flowing through it. "It's just a matter of minutes now Alex! You should be happy. Everyone else will watch their families and friends die first, but you get to die before everyone else!" Alex struggled back to his feet, trying to gather the energy for the Giga Beam. Alex jumped up and into the beam, floating in place. He raised one arm and fired a weak Force Bolt, nailing Necromancer hard enough to daze him. Alex kept firing Force Bolts, trying to confuse the wizard. "Little brat!" Necromancer launched a storm of purple lasers at Alex. Alex grinned as he darted back with a Force Bolt, sending the rain of shadow magic into the machine, blasting it hard. The beam of light faded and the crystal was thrown from the machine and toward Alex. "This one's for you, Bro!" Alex aimed both fists at the crystal, then opened his fists. "Giga Beam!!!" Alex fired a huge beam of force at the crystal, reducing it to sparkling dust. The beam continued into the air until it blasted the magnet, decimating it in a huge fiery explosion.
Meanwhile, an enraged Crono, eyes glowing more than ever, struggled against the door of a cell in Guardia's dungeons. Marle, Ash and Lucca sat in chairs about 5 feet away, hoping he would calm down. "Let me out!!" Crono screamed, shaking the bars madly. Lucca dropped her head in distress. "Just give it up, Crono. You've been trying to rip those bars out for nearly an hour now." Lucca raised her head just in time to see the glow in Crono's eyes fade, then vanish. Crono let go of the bars and fell to the flood unconscious. "Crono!" Marle yelled, running to the door. She pushed up on the lever beside the bars and they lifted up quickly. Marle kneeled beside Crono to make sure he was alright.
Back at the Sun Keep, Alex finally cut the Giga Beam, making sure he destroyed the doomsday machine. He looked around for Necromancer, but he had seemed to vanish. Alex looked up at the collapsing roof, watching in horror as rocks fell to the ground all around him. One rock fell right next to Alex, but it had the Gold Edge buried into it. He grabbed the sword and yanked it out, then put it away. Alex looked up again and saw the entire cavern falling in. Alex, out of desperation, fired a Giga Beam straight up and held it there for a good 5 minutes as the cavern slowly crumbled above him. When the chaos was over, the secret area of the Sun Keep had totally collapsed, but a hole was left in the destruction where Alex stood, panting hard and totally worn out from his constant spell use. He fell to his knees, but was still grinning. "So who lost, Necromancer?" he said to himself. Alex heard a crack of thunder and looked up, but saw no clouds. What he did see was a huge image of Necromancer with angered eyes. "You have beat me, yes, but this is far from over! Your planet is still doomed. It is its destiny to be destroyed at my hands!" With that, the image faded and nothing but the stars beyond remained. Alex dropped his head again. "Man, I picked a bad time to join up…" Alex laughed to himself as he stood and started back for Guardia Castle.
* * *
Crono opened his eyes slowly, but his vision was a little blurred. He sat up in bed and blinked a few times, trying to get the blur to go away. Once he had most of it gone, he looked around and saw Marle standing to his left and Lucca and Ash on his right. He felt exhausted. More exhausted than he ever felt before, but did manage to sit up in bed. "I thought you'd never wake up!" Marle said, embracing her husband. When they stopped hugging, Crono shook his head, remembering many things. "Oh man…" he said in a sad tone. "what have I done!? I destroyed Medina Village!" Lucca shook her head. "No, no! They don't know it was you. It wasn't even you really. Everyone who did recognize you think it was a fake anyway." Crono dropped his head, still saddened by what happened. "It was strange… I saw, heard, even felt everything he did, but I couldn't do anything to stop him…" Crono shook his head again and remembered something strange. "Who was the guy I fought in Truce? He was really tough." Lucca and Ash looked behind them, then moved to the foot of the bed. Laying in Marle's bed was Alex, battered and weak from his battle with the possessed Crono and Necromancer. "His name is Alex and he defeated the wizard that took control of you." Ash explained. "As soon as he got here he collapsed, totally drained." Crono looked closed and saw that the guy looked exactly like him. "Wait…" Crono said. "Is he my… my…" Marle sat down on Crono's bed and took his hand. "Your twin brother." She said. Crono's eyes widened, but somehow he knew it was true. He laid back, too weak to stay upright. "You need your rest." Lucca said. "He did kick your tail pretty bad!" Lucca giggled to herself as she left the room with Ash following. Marle stood um and started for the door. "When you two wake up, you'll both be too weak to move. Might as well get to know each other. You have missed 17 years after all." Marle left the twins laying in their beds. Crono took one last glance at Alex, then went to sleep, needing his rest.
* * *
After a few hours the brothers were awake and Crono was giving Alex a tour of the castle. They were now in the throne room with Marle and King Guardia. "So this is the twin brother of Crono!" the king said, looking over Alex. "And the one that saved Truce, Guardia and the world all in the same day! I've heard great things about you." Alex was nervous being in the presence of royalty, but he tried to stay clam. "Daddy, I think him and Crono need to keep going on their tour." Marle said, trying to get her father to stop. The king nodded and returned to his throne. "Well, I hope you prove to be as good of an asset to this kingdom as Crono has." Alex nodded, then followed Crono down the hallway to the main door. "So what do you think?" Crono asked. Alex looked around one more time. "Not bad for your first place." Alex answered, laughing. Crono started laughing too, until something crossed his mind. "Oh man! I forgot something!" Crono opened the door and started sprinting south as fast as he could with Alex following. As they left the Chancellor walked in and caught a glimpse of the duo heading outside. "Oh no!" he shouted. "Now there's two of them! I can't take this kind of thing!!" He ran back to his room to lay down and pray he could forget the sight.
The brothers headed past Guardia Forest, down past Zenon Bridge and into Fiona's Woods. Crono kept running down different paths, making it harder for Alex to follow. Crono eventually ran down one path that ended in a cliff overlooking the ocean. Alex reached him, but didn't understand why he was here. "This was the last thing I managed to do before I lost control." Crono was glancing down at the Rainbow, buried halfway into a large rock at the edge of the cliff. "I drove it into the rock so I couldn't use it to hurt anyone." Crono grabbed it by the handle and tugged, but it was stuck harder than he expected. "Guess I'm stronger than I thought!" Crono grabbed it with both hands and pulled up as hard as he could, but he had no luck. Alex wanted to laugh at the sight, but he walked over instead and grabbed the sword's handle. He started pulling up too and eventually the Rainbow emerged, leaving a deep hole in the rock. Crono took a glance at the blade, then put it away. "Thanks." Crono said, smiling. Alex smiled back. "Hey, what are brothers for?" With that the two brothers walked back into the woods to return to the castle, ready to start a new life.
The End
Author's Note: Sorry this story took so long. I hit the mother of all writer's blocks and I hit it hard! I hope the story makes up for how long it took. Like I promised, everything in Shadows of the Past got wrapped up in this story and I'm glad things connected so well.
Last time I tried something new. Namely, adding a love story into the tale. This time, I tried my hand at a first person perspective when Alex told his life story. I hope that added a little flair to this fanfic. Next up is a story I call Prehistoric Chaos, where I screw with the timeline more than most of you would want me to ^_^ Until that one gets done, and I promise it wont take half a year, see ya later!