”I don’t know about you, but I got a bad feeling about this...” Lucca said when she, Marle and Magus approached Death’s Peak. It was a quite large mountain, with 5 different tops.
Belthasar had told them that, it was the highest top they had to climb. On one of the,
Lavos sat and looked out on the world. Lucca hoped that it wasn’t this one.
From the main continent, the mountain didn’t look very high, but from here it was different.
The cold showed no mercy, but that didn’t bother Lucca. Not Marle either, ‘cause she was still wearing hear white outfit, and probably didn’t even noticed the snow. Snow. That was what Lavos had plenty of up here. When Lucca put her feet down on the ground,
it sank almost 30 centimeter, and she knew that the snow was even deeper.
Something had removed all trees where they were walking, ‘cause it was like a street.
Lucca didn’t really wanted to know what it was who had made this ‘street’, she just wanted to get up, use the Chrono Trigger, save Crono (if possible), give him a big hug and then get out of here.
”The wind is getting difficult. I hope it will be better closer to the mountain.” Magus said, looking around for any danger.
”I don’t think it will get any better.” Marle said and picked up her crossbow.
When they came closer to the mountain, the wind became more extreme and even Marle started to regret that she didn’t have anything warmer to wear. The normal ‘future temperature’ was Florida to this.
”I’m blowing away” Lucca screamed, tried to make herself heard.
”Wha...” Marle answered, but she could guess what Lucca was saying.
”Here.” Magus said and tried to take cover behind a tree.
Lucca and Marle followed him and they stood behind it for quite a long time.
”What are we gonna do now?” Lucca said, hoping Magus would answer the question.
But he didn’t. Marle did.
”Think about Crono. Remember what Gaspar said? That...”
”I know!” Lucca interrupted.
”Good.” Marle said, and turned her face away.
”Look, Crono will always be in my heart. I don’t have to think about him all the time.”
Marle didn’t answered. Neither did Magus.
They stood there, covered by a tree until the wind went out.
They stood there probably just in 10 minutes, but it felt like 2 years.
”Now!” Magus said and started to run away against Death’s Peak.
Marle and Lucca followed.
They placed themselves close to the mountain. Magus looked around but couldn’t find any paths leading up.
”Now where?” Marle asked Magus. He shook his head.
”I’ve never been here before.”
Lucca looked around. Suddenly she pointed at a small cave opening, almost covered with snow.
”Over there!”
They ran to the hole and discovered that it wasn’t a small hole, but a big.
It was just the snow who covered most of it.
They came into a big cave, who was all dark so they couldn’t see very much.
Magus held up his hand, and it started to glow.
Now they saw that the cave went probably through the entire mountain.
”Boy! It’s scary in here...” Marle whispered.
They walked slowly forward, but suddenly, Magus stopped.
”What?” Lucca said.
”Shhh....” Magus whispered. ”Don’t you hear...”
Both Lucca and Marle tried to listen after anything ‘unusual’, and suddenly they also heard.
It was a strange mumbling and it couldn’t be from a human.
Magus increased the light power from his hand, and once the entire cave was filled with light, they saw something terrible.
”Lavos!” Lucca said.
”No.” Magus said and ‘turned off’ his hand just as he pulled the girls closer to the wall, out of the creatures sight. ”Not Lavos.”
”Your right.” Marle said. ”It was too small. Lavos is bigger. Do you think...”
”Yes I think!” Magus interrupted her.
”It’s Lavos spawn.” He said and shook his head.
”No...” Lucca said and sat down on the cold floor.
Marle watched them confused.
”What?” she said.
”Isn’t it obvious? We can’t go on. One of Lavos kids is guarding the only way through.”
”What!” Marle said, close to tears. ”NO!”.
She looked down and dried her eyes with her arm.
”I’m sorry...” Magus said. ”But I fear that thing”.
Marle looked at him supriced.
”NO! Don’t fear the reaper!”
Magus looked at her very strange.
She continued. ”Don’t be afraid!”.
Once she completed the last sentence, she walked to the monster, stood right in front of it and said:
”Sorry, but I’m here to get back a friend if you don’t mind!”
Lucca just watched. ”Hey!” she finally said and ran to Marle.
Magus stood there alone, and shook his head.
”Girls...” he said and began to move forward.
The spawn started to roar, and suddenly the entire cave was lighten up.
Marle could now see in detail what she faced.
Was quite big, not big as Lavos but about 6 meter long. It’s shell was full of spikes, and it mouth was a beak, just like Lavos. A mini-Lavos in other words.
She looked at it. It looked like the spawn looked at her.
Marle watched it with anger.
”This is for Crono!” she said and put her hands together, the way she used to, but the ice crystals didn’t appear. Instead, she lifted from ground and hovered about a meter up. Then, thousands of ice crystals appeared everywhere, and gathered in front of Marle.
Like she used to throw an ice crystal away, she pushed her hands forward,
and it was like a big blue blast wave was launched from her.
All walls became ice, and the entire cave was turned blue and white. As a finish, big ice chunks
fell down from the ceiling and crushed the spawn
Slowly, Marle landed and the blue color faded out.
Left was a crushed Lavos spawn, and a pool of green liquid, who not even Lucca wanted to take a closer look at. Magus walked by Marle and watched the spawn, or what was left of it.
”You know...” he said. ”It took me three years to learn that spell. And all you have to do is say:
’This is for Crono’.”
Lucca was more interested of something else.
”Where did you pick up that ‘Don’t fear the reaper’ stuff, anyway?”
Marle smiled, but tried to hide it. ”A great man once said it”.
Lucca looked strange at her ”Say what?”
Marle walked by both Magus and the spawn, and walked out of the hole the spawn was guarding.
”No time!” she shouted back. ”Let’s hurry!”.
”Yeah, right...” Lucca said and followed her.
Again abandoned, Magus repeated ”Three years...” before he also ran out.

There was a path just outside the cave opening, who Marle, Lucca and Magus walked.
It lead upwards, and soon it ended. In front of them, there was one of the tops.
”This one?” asked Lucca.
”No.” Magus said. ”This way.” He walked to right, and the girls followed.
Lucca tried to see which one who was the highest, but it was difficult from here.
Luckily, Magus seemed to know which one was the right.
He pointed at one of them.
Both Marle and Lucca nodded, but didn’t say a word.
There was something scary with this place.
Magus found a path leading up to the top, and girls gladly followed.
They walked through some small caves, and sometimes had to climb on the mountainwall.
”Can it be much left?” Lucca asked, just as they entered another small cave, just 10 meters long.
”How should I know?” Magus said as he watched the walls for anything unusual.
”Well...” Lucca started, ”You HAVE known a few things before, right?”
Magus didn’t answer. Just as they walked out of the cave, snow fell down and covered the opening.
”Great!” Marle said.
”We have more important things to think about, right?” Magus said, tried to sound like them.
”Like Crono” Lucca added.
”Or him!” Marle said and pointed at something.
”Wha...” Lucca said, just as she turned around and saw another Lavos spawn.
”Take cover!” Magus screamed.
The spawn roared, and actually ‘shoot’ away some of it’s needles.
The first one missed Marle with a few centimeters, the second one hit Magus, but it was hard to tell where, because he move to fast. Marle didn’t see where the last one landed.
She fired a shot from her crossbow, and the arrow hit the shell and made a big hole.
Magus jumped forward and attacked using his scythe. He jumped backward when he was finished, hoping it would give it something to thing about.
Lucca summoned her fire powers. She made a big fire explosion right in front of the spawn.
When the fire was out, they could see the beak was gone.
”Yes!” Marle shouted.
”Not quite...” Magus said, and pointed at the opening of the shell.
The beak had taken cover inside the shell.
”Die!” Magus said and moved his hands in complicated handmoves.
He pointed at the beak, and a big explosion erupted at it’s position.
But it wasn’t a fire explosion. Everything was black.
It was a pure shadow spell.
The spawn seemed dead. Lucca fired a shoot into the shell, just for sure.
Then they continued to walk upwards.
 
 

”It getting slippy here. Be careful!” Lucca warned the other.
They where walking on a small layer of snow, and beneath it, ice.
”No kidding!” Marle said.
They pushed themselves as far to the mountainwall as possible.
They were lucky, because the wind had changed direction.
Slowly, they were climbing upward Death’s Peak.
”Are you sure this is the right cliff?” Marle asked.
None answered.
”I’m asking you, Magus!”
”Then say it.” Magus answered. ”Yes, I believe this is the highest one.”
Marle frowned.
”You sure? I think that one’s higher.”
Magus looked around. ”Which?”
Marle pointed at a cliff, on the other side of Death’s peak.
”That noeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Marle fell.
She slided down the cliff, and tried to grab something.
She finally grabbed a dead tree,
but then she was hundreds of meters away from Magus and Lucca.
”Great...” Lucca said, ”I’m glad she didn’t have the Chrono Trigger.”
Magus looked at Marle. Then Lucca.
”Marle!!! You OK???” Lucca screamed.
But Marle couldn’t hear very much down there.
”What???” she screamed back.
”We...” Lucca started, but Magus stopped her. ”Pointless. She can’t hear us.” he said.
”Marle!!!” Lucca screamed, ignoring Magus. ”We go and save Crono!!! We pick you up once it’s done!!!”.
Marle could hear that sentence.
”Hell you are!!!” she screamed back.
Lucca shook her head. ”Nothing we can do, right?” she said to Magus.
”In your dreams.” he said and picked up a rope from... wherever he got it from.
”Probably.” Lucca said and watched as Magus tied the rope around a rock.
”Pick her up!” he said.
”No way!” Lucca said, ”This is your idea!”
Magus looked angry at her.
”Why do you hate her?” he said.
Lucca looked supriced at him.
”I don’t hate her.” she said.
Magus backed off.
”Good.” he said. ”Then go down, and pick her up.”
Lucca finally agreed, and used the rope to get down.
She got down to Marle and together, they climbed up.
On their way up, Lucca said:
”Isn’t it ridicules to fight over a guy?”
Marle nodded. ”Sure it is.”
”Right!” Lucca said. ”Believe me, I’ve known him for almost all my life. Your not his type.
Besides, I got the Chrono Trigger.”
Marle looked down at the ice, and slowly nodded.
”Yeah.” she said.
”It’s right here... What the...?!? MAGUS!!!”
Lucca screamed when she found out that the Chrono Trigger was gone.
She looked at Magus. He was just 50 meter away. And he was smiling.
The first time Lucca ever saw him smile.
”I’m gonna kill you!” she said when she got up.
 
 

”There is the highest point of Death’s Peak” Magus said and pointed at the top of their cliff.
”There seems to be one problem... There’s no way up.”
Lucca and Marle looked around. It was true. There was now way up.
”Look over there!” Lucca said and pointed at a mountainwall.
”We can climb up, if we just get a few meter higher up!”
Magus looked around.
”Good idea! How do we get up?”
Marle answered fast.
”I think there’s an old friend, who wants to join our discussion”
She pointed at a Lavos spawn, who was coming their way.
”We are getting used to fight these guy’s!” Lucca said, and aimed with her gun.
Marle prepared some magic, and so did Magus.
The spawn came closer. Lucca fired her gun, but missed.
The spawn counterattacked with some fire spell, like the one Lucca used on last one.
It hit Magus who was thrown backwards. Over the edge...
”No!!!” Lucca screamed. ”The Chrono Trigger!”
”Care about the spawn!” Marle screamed.
She summoned her ice powers and released an ice crystal, who temporarily freezed the spawns beak.
Marle turned around and saw that Magus was hold Lucca’s hand, and she tried to pull him up.
Marle assisted. As soon as he got up, he pointed at the spawn.
The ice was gone.
The beak fired a beam, who knocked down Lucca and Marle to the ground.
It followed by needles, who hit both Lucca and Marle.
Magus made a new attack with his scythe. He damaged the upper part of the beak.
It opened and gave out a sound who was extremely painful for Magus ears.
He fired another dark bomb at the spawn, but it survived.
”OOOooo....” Lucca said and got up on her knees, just to fall down again.
Magus picked up the two elixirs he had on his belt, and used it on Marle and Lucca.
Their deep wounds healed, and they got up.
”Look’s bad, huh?” Marle said.
Lucca nodded. ”Yeah... Let’s give him something extra!”
”ANTIPODE!!!” they screamed at the same time.
First, Marle summoned all magic particles. They formed ice crystals, and all crystals gathered in front of her. She pushed it forward and exactly when it hit the spawn, Lucca fired her fire bomb spell. The combination of those to spell, became a more powerful antipode then the last one.
It wasn’t very much left of she spawn. Just the shell.
”What now?” Lucca asked.
Marle shined up.
”I know! We push the shell a bit to the right, so we can climb on those big needles.”
Magus nodded. ”Good idea! Marle, you help me push it. Lucca, you tell us when it is in position.”
And so they did. With some cooperation, they succeeded.
 

”Finally!” Marle said, when they reached the top.
It reminded them of north cape, 15000 years ago.
From here, you could see all over the land. The darkness was still laying over the dark future.
Marle could see Proto dome from here. When they looked up in the sky, they could see that dark clouds were hiding the sun. They couldn’t see much of it.
They could see the highest point. it was just a few meter forward.
There was a tree right of it.
Finally!
Lucca reached out her hand against Magus, waiting for the Chrono Trigger.
Magus reached for something under his cape, but he suddenly stopped.
”Watch out!” he said, but it was too late.
One egg-looking creature appeared.
It opened it’s mouth and a red tongue flied out and caught Lucca’s arm.
”Aaaaiiee!!!!” she screamed.
Marle shoot an arrow against it, but missed.
”Do something!” Lucca yelled.
Magus draw his scythe and cut of the tongue. Lucca kicked down the egg.
Magus handed over the Chrono Trigger to Marle.
She walked up to the highest position.
”So, this is the summit of Death Peak!” she said.
She picked up the time egg and held it tight.
”All who fear the night and stand against the darkness... Please give us strength!”
The Chrono Trigger hovered up, and Marle’s pendant began to glow.
”The pendant's reacting!” Marle exclaimed.
Lucca held up the pendant and small particles flied from it to the Chrono Trigger.
Marle, Lucca and Magus watched as the egg flied high up.
Marle held her thumbs.
Then the egg scattered.
Marle looked shocked.
”It, it shattered!!” Marle said. ”But... We've come so far!”
Marle fell down on her knees. ”No...”
Lucca stepped forward.
”Don’t be sad. It was silly to think we could get him back...”
Marle put her head in her hands and cried.
”Please answer me!” she screamed. ”Don't leave me!!!”
She rose up.
”CRONO!!!”
 

Then something strange happened.
The moon started to move faster and stopped when it covered the sun.
Everything went black and when Marle opened her eyes again,
She could see herself.
And Frog.
And Lavos.
AND CRONO!
Marle looked around.
She recognized this scene.
It was in the Ocean Palace, just before Crono died. Magus and Lucca was here too.
Magus looked around.
”A time freeze... I never thought it possible.”
Lucca looked around.
”The Chrono Trigger... ...The guru’s Time Egg...!”
She pointed on each of them.
”Was this the situation?”
Marle nodded.
She walked to Crono.
”We'll just exchange the clone for Crono.”
Marle removed Crono from Lavos gasp and put the clone there instead.
She put Crono down on the ground.
She leaded over his head.
”Crono? It's Crono...! Crono?! You're alive!!!!”
Crono chest moved slowly up and down.
”Let’s hurry!” Lucca said.
Magus agreed.
”Save the hellos for later. We've got work to do.
......”
They disappeared with a flash.
 
 

Crono came up, leaning on the tree.
”Crono! Welcome back Crono!!” Marle said, not sure if she was going to cry or laugh.
”I’m so glad your back, Crono!” Lucca said.
Crono opened his eyes. He looked on Marle.
She rose up.
”We...” she said.
Never had she thought about what she would say if Crono came back.
It was all so distant.
But now, here he was.
”We knew this day would come.”
Marle stood paralyzed. What should she do? And before Lucca did anything?
She smiled at him.
She walked forward, leaned down, and put her arms around him.
She gave him a kiss.
And then hugged him tight.
Crono was about to say something, but Marle stopped him.
”You mustn’t...”
”Just a sec...” Lucca said, but Magus stopped her.
”Leave them.” he said.
Against her will, Magus pulled Lucca back.
Marle and Crono didn’t even noticed what Lucca said.
They were both in another world.
”You can't do that ever again! While you were away... A lot of things happened.” Marle said.
”There's so much you have to know.”
 

Everybody cheered as Crono came in halting to End of Time.
”Crono!” Ayla shouted gleefully.
”Crono!” Frog and  Robo said almost on the same time.
Even Spekkio looked out from his room.
”Hey! Punk head! Where ya been?”
Marle put Crono in his corner.
”So!” Gaspar said. ”Looks like you were successful!”
”Well with your...” Marle said, but Gaspar interrupted her.
”No, don't thank me. I didn't do a thing. I just gave you a place to begin.
If you really want to thank me, make me a member of your team!
You wish to fight Lavos, correct?
Many paths lay open to you.
You may use that bucket.” He pointed on a bucket in the back.
”It’ll take you to 1999 AD.
Or fly the Wings of Time to the day of Lavos.
Or there's Black Omen, which floats in the sky above your world.
Lavos is somehow connected with it.
It's up to you to decide when and where to fight Lavos.
By now you must realize you are the only ones who stand a chance against him...
However, you will not be alone.  I have had vague glimpses of events that will empower you...
A fugitive in the middle ages, Ozzie, maintains an evil hideout...
And there's a very special stone that can shine its light on each generation,
from the distant past to the far future.
There's a ghost of a lofty knight, slain by Magus in the Middle Ages, who haunts the present...
There's an object in the Middle Ages that sparkles like a rainbow...
One of you is close to someone who needs help... Find this person...fast.
Just as you touch the lives of every life form you meet, so, too, will their energy strengthen you.
Fail to live up your potential, and you will never win...
I am sorry that I must simply witness the coming spectacle from my vantage point here...”
Marle sat down.
”Where do we start?”
Lucca thought.
”Cyrus. I bet he’s the one who haunts the present. Frog? You come with me. Robo? It’s your turn also. Until Crono gets better, I take the command.”
They all nodded.
”Ayla?” Lucca asked.
Ayla looked up.
Lucca cleared her throat.
”Please... Don't let a lecherous young princess, who shall remain nameless, near him!”
Ayla nodded.
”Ayla understand. Lucca not worry.”
Lucca turned around. ”I hope so.”
Frog and Robo followed Lucca into the epoch.
With a flash, they traveled in time to 1000 AD.
”So it finally begins...” Gaspar said.
”What?” Magus asked.
Gaspar turned to him.
”The fated hours.”
Magus nodded.
”At last.”

.
 
Go To Chapter 18 (written from Crono's point of view)
Go To Chapter 18 (written from Marle's point of view)

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