The Search For Mama
Prologue:
The blue, purple, and white waves of energy which flowed over the Epoch were
dizzying, and almost an opiate in themselves. It was during these progressive
travels in time that Crono often wondered how such things could be,
contemplating on their existance in reality. Or was it a fantasy? Perhaps it was
all a dream, and none of the adventures were ever real.
"Only your mom," Lucca concluded, "could ever get lost in her own
home. Now she has gotten lost in time-how in the world are we supposed to find
her?" Lucca had set the Epoch to travel to the time period last
established by the Gate, which should have been 2300 AD, but wasn't.
As the waves of light dimmed, and faded out of existance, the cloudy Guardia of
600 AD appeared, gloomy in its own, special way. The scene was set in front of
the towering Guardia Montain, a steep vertical slope ascending endlessly into
the dark, pastel blue night sky. The stars were like diamonds in the air,
illuminating every portion of the world below with an eccentric glow; the moon
also aided the effect.
The glass covering of the Epoch slid backwards, allowing an exit from the craft
designed to traverse the timestream.
"She shouldn't be far. If the Gate was last opened to this time period,
there is a great chance that she is somewhere nearby. But why are we here? We
should be in 2300 AD." Lucca's statement would have made sense, had anyone
been paying attention to her.
The group was distracted by the image of a large toad illuminating the sky above
them. It was reflective, and shone bright like a rainbow. It was not directly
overhead, but a few meters away, at least twenty, and came smashing down onto
the ground, and the screech of various beasts could be heard.
"That's Frog. C'mon, let's get over there-maybe he's seen your mom!"
Marle's enthusiastic statement was of little help to ease Crono's mind.
The three darted toward the short creature, Frog, who was breathing heavily, the
strain of his combat becoming visible. His blood was shed, and covered the left
side of his face. His sword, the Masamune, was tainted by the crimson liquid
from the deceased body of a small creature with wings of flesh and bone, and a
face out of a nightmare. It had long incisors, about as long as a human male's
forearm, and serrated teeth lining those monstrous growths. The furry
black bodies highlighted the twin suns that were its eyes.
"Frog! What on earth happened to you?" Lucca's voice reverberated in
the small area, and caught Frog by surprise, startling him into a defensive
posture.
"Lucca, tis thee! What hast thou returned for?"
"Nevermind that, what happened to you?" Marle broke in. Frog was still
breathing heavily, though not as such as a few moments ago.
"I was attacked. Twas the creatures spawned of Magus' lair that struck! Not
by the will of Magus, but by their own megrim." Lucca spotted the strange
things at Frog's feet.
"Why would they attack you?" Marle asked. Frog sheathed his blade, and
drew long, deep breaths. His muscles strained, his lack of sleep taking its toll
on the weary warrior.
"Did I not specify? Thine beasts which thou refer to are left alive due to
my folly of not slaying them at Magus' place, but they besetted me due to their
own lunacy."
"Five of them." Lucca counted aloud.
"Nigh, seven. The two which do not remain made themselves scarce after the
maelstrom inaugurated." The group of the demonic batlike creatures had
surrounded Frog, and attacked at once, as he made it well-known. "Marle, if
it needn't be too much to ask, could you..." Frog did not need to continue
asking, as Marle focused her energy into her hands, and felt deep within her
soul to heal Frog. The blood dried off, and the wounds closed, and Frog stood,
his breathing now eased.
"I thank thee with might and main." Crono nudged Lucca, urging her to
ask the inevitable question.
"Frog, it's great to see you again, but we need to know something. Did you
see Crono's mother anywhere nearby?" Frog nodded.
"Aye, the maiden with the long hair? Tis true, I gazed her entrance here
after mine own. She was terribly frightened. I know not where she lay, or
whether she is safe. The Gate remained open just a few moments before you
arrived. Tis possible she leapt within the sanctity of the Gate, mayhap?"
Lucca nodded. There were now two options of where Crono's mother was. One was
within the realm of Guardia, in 600 AD. The other prospect was not one that was
overly mitigating; the idea that Crono's mother had gone back into the
timestream was a notion that was not settling.
"We should think on this, then," she said, voicing her thoughts,
"If Crono's mom... by the way, Crono, what is your mother's name?"
Crono shrugged.
"Mute moron! Jeez. I think her name was Alysson. We need to--" Lucca
was cut off by a thundering rumble, one powerful, that shook the ground, but
emitted from the air. A white object flew forward in the sky, a fiery trail
behind it that lit the treetops ablaze. It was in pursuit of a purple object, a
blur against a black background, flying through the air. Both of them vanished
in an instant.
"What was that!?" Marle screamed.
"That, mine fair lady, was the Epoch!" Frog's large eyes were better
adapted to seeing at night, and what he said made sense. But the question was;
why did the Epoch suddenly appear?
"Hey!! Where did it go, and what was that freaky lookin' thing it was
chasin'?" Lucca asked, still gazing skyward.
"Forget that," Marle said, looking to the treetops, "We have
bigger problems! Look, the trees! They're on fire, and catching
fast!"
As the four looked on, tree after tree was ignited by the flames, becoming an
ardent blanket of fire over Guardia Mountain. Crono drew his sword, and vaulted
into the trees, slicing off portions of the flaming extension of the earth
below. As bit by bit fell, Frog and Marle focused energy together. Frog summoned
a massive stream of water, and Marle summoned ice, and when the two elements
combined, near-freezing Ice Water was hurdled into the treetops, dousing the
flames. But it was to no avail; the flames spread in spite of Frog and Marle's
efforts.
"Crono! Chop down all the trees around the burning ones! It'll prevent the
flames from spreading!" Crono nodded at Lucca's suggestion, and set to work
slicing down any tree which could aid the expansion of the conflagration.
While Frog and Marle were attending to the flames by quite literally
extinguishing them, Lucca raided her bag of items, searching frantically for the
impact bullets which gave off no fire, but instead were designed to hit with
varying forces. She found the box of the red shells, the type used to
knock out walls.
"This should do!" She loaded a few shells into her weapon, and blasted
away a number of trees, and this action temporarily confounded the flames.
Crono, slicing the trees down, had made a half-circle of empty space where trees
had once been. He used a variety of moves to accomplish his task-mostly, he
sliced the tree, and then kicked it in the direction that he wished it to be
felled. On once occasion, a tree proved too strong for him to kick over, and
nearly fell onto him, and would have, had it not been for the firearm of Lucca.
"Aye, the flames are quite a recalcitrant group!" Frog screamed above
the roaring blaze, but was eventually drowned out by them. It must have
been at least an hour that they went to work chopping the trees into lumber, and
reducing the flames to smoke.
"I am sick of this! Crono, ready yourself!" Marle shouted at the
red-haired warrior, and he knew immediately what she intended to do. He steadied
himself, and she empowered him with her element, Ice, allowing him to use it for
one brief moment. He leaped into the air, and drove his blade into the ground.
As soon as it was firmly placed within the earth below, ice shattered across the
vast forest, and when the shards of the glacial substance were melted, they fell
onto the flames, dousing them permanently.
The small crowd, heaving and panting, sat down, or stood, and tried to breathe
in smokeless air.
"Okay," began Marle, her voice shakey and unsteady because of panting,
"I don't think I will get an answer, but what just happened here?"
"It seems that we just saw ourselves, provided that was us in the Epoch,
come flying by in pursuit of some strange object." Lucca's explanation may
have been stating the obvious, but it was comforting to hear it nontheless.
"Let's get things together," Marle said, "First, let's find
Crono's mother. Then we discover what that huge ...thing... was."
Lucca sat up, her heavy breathing quelled, and could not help but think that the
being being pursued by the Epoch was not the actual image of the being itself.
It altered the space around it to the point of light being bent by it; she
decided it was a device which had a form of cloaking (albeit a horrible cloak if
she could see its silhouette on a black background) that had not yet been
invented in her
time.
"It occureth to me that the night is not a safe time to be lurking in
the woods. Shall we seek sanctuary within the confines of the magnificent
Guardia Castle?"
"Frog," Marle said, "Do you ever speak normally?"
.