Chrono Trigger: Timeless Angels Part 6
The Shrine, the Staff, and Cyrus
By Mefathiel
Crono nodded at Glenn’s news. "I see," he said. "So the five warriors Gaspar wanted us to find were people who became famous for their positions in history: Schala was Princess of Zeal, Tata protected Dorino from any danger and became a hero, Natan was the Prince of Veda Kingdom, and Cyrus was the most famous knight in Guardian history. But about Zephon…" He turned to the bright red-haired boy, and Zephon looked back at him. "What about you, Zephon? I know about everyone but you, except for the fact that you’re Lucca’s twin brother."
"We shall find out in time," Zephon said. "So are we going to go yet, because I have something to get from Spekkio before we do."
"Go right ahead," Lucca told him. "We’ll wait till you get back."
Zephon nodded and entered the door to the Magic Plane. Lucca turned back to the others. They all gave her odd looks. "You only brought him here because he’s your brother, didn’t you?" Marle asked.
Tata rushed to her defense. "No, Zephon has a very good reason to be here! You should see the magic he’s got!" the boy declared.
Lucca nodded. "And the thing is, Spekkio said that Zephon’s magic had already been awakened inside of him before they met," she said.
"Weird," Crono said. "The only other people here who don’t need to learn magic from Spekkio are Natan and Schala."
Everyone nodded. "I wonder why that is?" Natan asked.
"Ever since I first met him," Robo said, "I’ve sensed an immense power inside of Zephon; a power that surpasses all of yours combined."
"You don’t think…" Marle trailed off.
"Don’t go getting any ideas, Marle!" Lucca said. "Zephon is on our side! Don’t even think that he could be the enemy in disguise!"
"Who could be the enemy in disguise?" Zephon asked from behind her, having returned from Spekkio’s chamber.
No one spoke a word, and Zephon shrugged. "Fine, don’t tell me. Anyway, Spekkio gave me this." He held up a small egg.
"The Chrono Trigger!" Marle exclaimed.
Zephon shook his head. "No, it’s not. Spekkio called it the Magi Trigger. It will allow us to travel back to the Magic Kingdom."
"But we can already do that," Crono replied.
"No, because we need’th to get to the shrine there," Glenn said. "The Magic Kingdom we can reach now is after the fall of Zeal."
"That’s right," Crono muttered, thinking. "So this Magi Trigger will allow us to get back to that shrine?"
"That’s what I was told," Zephon said. "It’ll transport us right to the shrine, too. All we need to do is place our hands on it and concentrate on our destination."
Everyone placed a hand on the small egg and closed their eyes. An aura enveloped them all, and then they were gone. Spekkio walked out of his chamber to watch over time while no one was around. "Good look kids," he said softly, odd for a Master of War. "You’re going to need it."
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12,000 BC, before the fall of Zeal Kingdom:
Gaspar looked up as a red Gate opened up near the Shrine and nine warriors spilled out of it. He nodded toward them and let the other two Magi that the people they’d been waiting for had arrived. Melchior and Belthasar looked over. "Then it’s time to invoke our powers," Belthasar said.
"Yes. It’s time for the seal on this shrine to be broken," Melchior said.
The nine warriors gathered around the three gurus. "Well Gaspar, we’re here," Lucca said. "What next?"
"I need you to get into three groups: the three women stand by Belthasar, the three original men stand over by Melchior, and the three new men stand by me. If our magic gets out of control, we’ll need you to make sure this place isn’t ripped apart by our powers," Gaspar explained.
The three Magi stood at the three corners of the Shrine and closed their eyes. "By the three powers," Gaspar started, "of Time…"
"Life…" Melchior said.
"And Reason," Belthasar continued, "we, the three Magi of these powers, beckon to those angels above: give us the strength to open this seal…"
"For through opening this seal, you can bestow upon us the ultimate power: the power to return life, and the power to destroy life; the power to gain reason, and the power to take away that reason; the power to manipulate time to our will, and the power to destroy time itself…"
"With the all powerful staff contained within," Gaspar said, "along with the other four Legendary Weapons, forged at the Beginning of Time and placed in this shrine to await this day, the day for reckoning, the day for absolute need…"
"The Beginning," Belthasar said.
"And the End," Melchior finished.
Magic energy started pouring forth from each of the Magi, converging at the top of the pyramid-shaped shrine. The blue seal around the shrine started wavering until it finally collapsed. The three Magi collapsed themselves, falling to their knees in exhaustion. The time travelers rushed to their aid.
"Gaspar, are you okay?" Zephon asked.
The Guru of Time nodded and said, "Yes, but releasing that much energy will do this to anyone. Just make sure that the Staff of the Magi and the other weapons stay in the right hands…"
He trailed off, his last breath being expended with his last effort to help the teenagers. It was the same with the other two Magi. Schala, Zephon, Tata and Natan stepped into the shrine, knowing that its contents were meant for them. At its center were five boxes.
Schala opened the box at the center. She pulled out a staff that resembled the one that Hermes carried with him, with the two wings jutting out of the top. "The Staff of the Magi," she breathed. "And all this time I thought it was just a legend…"
Natan opened his box, pulling out a long, green whip attached to an ornately decorated handle. "This, I presume, is the Ivy Whip of Sachluph," he said.
Tata lifted the lid of the box he stood at and reached in, pulling out a sword. "The Light Sword of Gabriel," he said in awe. "And it’s for me…"
Zephon looked at the others and hesitated before opening his box. He reached in and pulled out and extremely long bladed weapon, taking the handle at the center before realizing just what it was. "The Flame Lance of Nathaniel," he whispered. "I’ve been waiting for so long."
Glenn stepped forward and opened the final box, knowing that the weapon it contained was for Cyrus. He pulled out the claymore, not knowing what it was as the others had. Then it struck him, as he’d seen drawings of it during his school days. "This be the Sword of the Archangel Michael! But I always thought twas just a legend…" he trailed off.
"We’ve come for what we need," Schala said. "Let us return to the End of Time and figure out how we can revive this Cyrus person."
Everyone nodded in agreement, and as they did so, they departed from the Magic Kingdom.
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The End of Time:
Spekkio stood at the lamppost, yawning. "Man, this place is so boring," he muttered.
He looked around, seeing nothing but the platform and the emptiness beyond. He shook his head and closed his eyes, getting ready to drop off to sleep as Gaspar often did. Suddenly, there was a flash of light before him, and the Master of War opened his eyes, expecting to see the Chrono Trigger Team standing there. Spekkio was pleasantly surprised.
"And who might you be?" he asked. "You look familiar…"
"I suppose you could call me Rempha," the visitor replied.
"Rempha?" Spekkio asked. "I know that name from somewhere…"
The little Poyozo looked up at Spekkio and laughed. "Well it should. I am the Master of Time."
Spekkio’s eyes lit up. "Is that really you? Wow, Rempha, I never expected to see you here!"
"Well, being the Master of Time, I decided to take over for Gaspar when I heard of his death."
"He’s dead?"
The Poyozo nodded. "Yeah, of course. I’m surprised you haven’t heard. Happened about five minutes ago. Word travels fast in the time stream. Nonetheless, I’m here to take over for Gaspar as the Keeper of Time."
Spekkio nodded and returned to his room. Rempha took the spot at the lamppost and leaned back against it. There was a flash of light, and the nine members of the Chrono Trigger Team returned to the End of Time. They all looked around for Spekkio, but found only a small Poyozo where he once was. Marle bent over and picked it up.
"Look at this little thing!" she cried out. "It’s so cute!"
"You must be Marle," Rempha said.
The princess freaked out and dropped Rempha, who crashed to the cobblestone floor with a thud. He stood up and dusted himself off. "I am Rempha, Gaspar’s replacement, so there’s no need to be alarmed," he explained.
Marle placed her hand on her chest and continued breathing heavily. "Talk about a heart attack," she muttered.
"Rempha?" Crono asked. "Well, it’s nice to meet you."
Rempha nodded. "I already know what you want."
"You do?" Schala asked.
The Poyozo nodded again. "You want to know how to revive Cyrus, right? Don’t be so surprised, I’m the Master of Time, and I see everything that goes on. Heck, I know exactly when all of you are going to die, so why shouldn’t I know what you want my help for?"
Everyone shrugged. Zephon stepped forward. "So how do we do it?" he asked.
Rempha nodded toward Schala. "She holds the key."
The team looked at the Princess of Zeal. "She does?" Lucca asked warily.
Another nod from the Master of Time. "The Staff of the Magi. It has the ability to resurrect the spirit of dead warriors."
Schala looked at the staff in her hands. "Really? How do I do it?" she asked.
Rempha started scratching his head. "Well, you see, there’s a catch."
"Being?" asked Tata.
"Well, since Lavos is consuming the world’s life energy, there isn’t enough here to resurrect Cyrus."
"But Ozzie is able to resurrect that fiend Magus!" Glenn declared.
"Because he has the help of one of Lavos’ kind. No, in order for you guys to resurrect Cyrus, you need to travel to another world…" Everyone groaned. Rempha sighed. "I know, I know, you have no way to get to another planet, nor do you know what planet to go to."
Natan looked at the Poyozo. "What do you mean? We must travel to a specific planet in order for this to work?"
Rempha nodded. "And fortunately, you’ve got me. I know where you need to go and the means to get there."
"Excellent!" Tata declared.
"Unfortunately, only four of you can go."
"Why is that?" Robo asked.
"Because I’ve only the ability to transport five at a time. If Cyrus is coming back, then only a maximum of four can leave from here. And you’re going to need to use this," he said, pulling out what looked like a Chrono Trigger.
Everyone groaned again. "Not another Trigger," Lucca complained. "What kind is this one?"
Rempha looked surprised. Then a sly expression crossed his face. "Guess," he challenged.
"Given the circumstances," Robo said, "I would have to say that this is a Cosmic Trigger."
A laugh escaped from the Poyozo. "No! It’s the Rempha Trigger!"
Crono stepped forward and snatched the Rempha Trigger from the Poyozo. "Fine, then who’s going to whatever this planet is?" he asked, annoyed at Rempha.
Lucca stepped forward. "I’ll do it," she offered.
The next person to step forward was Zephon. "I’ll go with her."
"As will I," Schala said. "After all, I have the Staff of the Magi needed to resurrect Cyrus in the first place."
"Allow me to join them," Natan said. "I would like a chance to prove my worth to be on this team."
Crono nodded and handed the Trigger to Lucca. "On second thought," she said, handing it to Zephon, "I think this would be the perfect mission for our four newest members to prove their worth. Thus, Tata should go in my stead."
Tata stepped forward, beaming. "If you insist," he said.
Glenn handed the Sword of Michael to Tata. "Give this to Cyrus when he’s back," Glenn instructed.
Tata nodded and joined the other three new members. Zephon held out the Rempha Trigger, and the other three placed a hand on it. "May the cherub’s bright wings shield and guide you," Rempha said.
The Rempha Trigger started glowing brightly, and the four warriors disappeared in a flash of light.
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"Each and every weapon is made for just one person—and only for that specific person." —Presea, Magic Knight Rayearth
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