Hero Undone Chapter 4
The Pain, The Anger, The Joy
By ZombieFrank
Crono picked up the Masamune and ran to the Mammon Machine control room. It was beginning to shut down from Lavos' death. The whole Zeal kingdom was losing it's power and descending back to the ground. Crono realized what was going to happen, and sprinted as fast as he could to the hangar, and the Wings of Time. As he crossed the hangar, something caught his eye. It was Marle's pendant. He picked it up and put it around his neck. "Goodbye, Marle." Tears filled his eyes as he climbed into the cockpit, tossing the Masamune into the back seat. He knew exactly what buttons to push, which levers to pull, but didn't know why or how he knew it. The time dial was set to the End of Time. He pushed the button labeled "Shift". The ship lifted a few feet off the ground, rotated to face the opposite end of the hanger, and blasted off toward it, the momentum mashing Crono into the pilot's chair. Just as it was about to crash into the wall, a gate opened and the Wings of Time shot into it. A few moments later, it emerged at the small flight of stairs on the southern end of Ozzie's platform. The cockpit slid open and Crono climbed out onto them, his head spinning from his first trip through time at supersonic speed. Ozzie floated toward him, his flabby hand waving a greeting.
"That's a nice looking machine you got there. I'll bet Toma made it." he said after quickly eying the ship.
"How did you know that?" Crono asked, his brow furrowed. Ozzie motioned for him to have a seat, then began.
"Because Toma, Melchior, and myself were once the Gurus of Zeal, before Lavos came." Ozzie explained, a small frown forming. "I was, ironically enough, the Guru of Time. Time is full of such irony, but I'll get to that later. Toma is, or was, the Guru of Reason. And Melchior was the Guru of Life. How ironic that he was the first to go. Lavos killed him outright for opposing him, but all three of us did. Melchior was always so outspoken, and he hated the idea of the kingdom of Zeal bowing before some alien monstrosity. Toma and I were opposed as well, we just hid it better. Toma and I were working on a time traveling device that we could use to somehow stop this from happening when Janus discovered what we were doing and accused us of treason. We were, of course, found guilty. Lavos decided to separate us, so we could no longer cause trouble and spread discontent. I though he meant separate prison cells, but he threw us into the time gates that you use. Or used to use. I ended up here, or should I say now? I'm not sure what happened to Toma. I met Slash just after I arrived. He seemed a nice enough guy, but he dwells on war and battle too much for my taste. I soon found-"
"But I just saw Toma in Zeal. It's where I just came from." Crono inturrupted. "How could he be banished?"
Ozzie glared slightly. "He set you free and explained what the ship was for, didn't he?" Crono nodded. "We were banished moments after. I wonder why we didn't meet? Now, let me finish my story. I found that as long as I was here, I would be almost immortal, since time doesn't pass normally here. It progresses at a tiny fraction, roughly one-onemillionth, of it's normal speed. I have been here twenty years, but I haven't even had my beard begin to grow back. I also began to calculate when Toma would have emerged from the gate. I believe, with relative certainty, that he is in the year 2335."
"Relative certainty? That's sounds like Lucca-talk to me." Crono started. "Relative could mean anything."
"Relative for me is far, far more pecise then you think." Ozzie waved his hands with a flourish. "Especially with time. It is my expertise, after all."
Crono stood. "What does this have to do with me? All I want is to find Schala."
"I want you to find him first. He may know how to find her." He answered solemnly.
"So let me get this straight. Ozzie and Toma were Gurus?" Lucca was almost laughing as the vision halted. "They were anything but Gurus here!"
"But 'here' is not my world, is it?" The second Crono said, his voice low. "The very fact that Janus stands here before me and I have no desire to obliterate him completely proves to me that it is not." The vision was in motion again.
"What about Schala? She said she was from Zeal, but wouldn't ever tell me what happened." Crono looked at Ozzie. "Can you tell me anything about her?"
"She was Janus' younger sister by about nine years." Ozzie explained. "She was, ironically enough, nine when she disappeared. I always suspected that Janus had something to do with it. He hated her because her magic wasn't nearly as powerful as his, and treated her like she didn't exist. I could never prove his involvement, and he went unpunished."
"Until now. Janus is dead." Crono said, his voice flat, his face cold and emotionless. "I killed him myself."
Ozzie smiled slightly. "Good. Now, I think you should go find Toma. Remember, the year 2335."
"Consider it done." Crono called over his shoulder as he walked to the ship, it's cockpit sliding open. As he climbed in, the ship spoke, in Toma's digitized voice. "If you are hearing this, you have used my 'Wings of Time' to travel the ages. I only wish I had a chance to ride in it myself, but the queen is under Lavos' control, and I fear my time is short. As a last request, please give this vessel a name, one suitable for it's purpose, I hope." The word Epoch scrolled to the top of the small monitor in the front dashboard.
"Epoch, huh? Sounds good to me." Crono said with finality as he set the time dial to 2335. " I will find her. She is all that matters now."
The ship took off with a mighty roar, and a gate opened before it. After a few seconds of time-travel, he emerged in the new future. Verdant forests spread out before him, and in the distance, there stood huge, metal and glass domes. Crono flew to the nearest and set down. Upon his exit, he noticed something strange. There weren't any people around. As he approached the dome, two massive doors slid open, as if they expected him. "Welcome to Truce Dome." a voice boomed out over the loudspeakers above him. He knew something was wrong, but couldn't figure out what just yet. "So," he said to himself, "I guess this means Lucca won the war." As he walked further into the area, he found a massive cathedral, it's stained-glass windows depicting a purple-haired goddess slaying evil machines by the thousands. Crono's brow furrowed. "Why would they worship Lucca unless she was-" the realization hit him like a bolt of lightning. "Dead." His eyes widened in horror, and he rushed into the church. Once inside, he found the sanctuary, and there was an old man kneeling in prayer to a statue of Lucca. Crono slowly walked to the statue. As he neared, the old man rose to his feet and turned around. His face was heavily scarred, as if the right side of it had been burned off completely. "Welcome to Lucca's Shrine." he said, a kind smile on his face. "Are you here to pray to the Hero of the World?"
"Lucca........What have you done?." Crono said, still staring at the statue of his best friend. There was a small plaque on the statue's base. Crono read it aloud. "Here lies Lucca Ashtear, who saved humanity and the world with an act of great sacrifice and heroism in the final battle of the Machine War." His eyes welled up with tears as he finished the inscription. She was dead. Lucca was dead. His best friend. Friends since they were two years old. The most brilliant person he'd ever met. She was gone. She sacrificed herself to win the war. "Classic Lucca. Never thinking of herself, only everyone else." Crono was sobbing now. "I never even got to say goodbye. She told me she was leaving, but I KNEW I'd see her again." He dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his face. He lifted his face skyward "Tata, Marle, Schala. Now Lucca. God damn it, WHY DO I KEEP LOSING PEOPLE!?!"
"You knew Lucca?" the scarred man said softly, taking a step towards him. "Are you Crono?"
Crono stood now, wiping the tears form his eyes. "Yes, I did. How do you know my name?"
"I have something for you." the man responded, motioning towards a wooden door. "Something Lucca wanted you to see."
Crono followed the man through the door, into a smaller room. There was a computer, Crono remembered the device's name, and a smashed-up machine. Crono looked closely. It was the Mammon Machine. Crono wondered how it got here as the man began to speak. "Crono, Lucca spoke of you often, always with kindness and love. During the last months of the war, she found me on Death Peak. I didn't know how I'd gotten there, but she took me back to her home, the human base. As the war was coming to an end, she told me about you and the time gates. She also gave me this," he said reaching into his robe and withdrawing a round, shining disk. "She told me to show it to you if you ever came back to find her." He put the disk into a slot on the computer, and Lucca's smiling face was displayed on the screen.
"Crono, if you're seeing this, you've come back. And I'm dead." her smile faded. "But don't mourn for me. If what I've got planned works, then we won the war and you're with a friend of mine. If my last wishes were carried out, then there should be a large machine in the room with you. It was called the Mammon Machine, and was used to absorb and adapt Lavos' energy for use by an ancient kingdom known as Zeal. Zeal disappeared suddenly, and this is all that's been found. One of the reasons I want this thing here is that there is a small panel in the center that we cannot open, even with this era's technology. It bears the same crest as Marle's pendant, and I think it may be the key to unlock it." Lucca began to giggle. "Remember that time you got stuck in the chimney when you were testing my dad's new chimney-sweeper? That was great!" Her giggling stopped, and her eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry we won't be able to do any of that anymore, but this is very important. If we did win the war, then I don't want you to travel back in time and save me. If my death helped to save this world, we must let it happen. It could change everything if I didn't die. Please, Crono. I know it hurts, but you can't. You were my only friend, you know." Tears began to flow. "I never fit in, but you were always there. I could always depend on you, and you were the only person who understood me. I'm sorry it has to end this way, but it does. Goodbye, Crono. I'll be waiting for you....." The screen faded to black, and the disc slid out.
"That is the entire message." the man said. "I'm sorry."
"What happened? What did she do?" Crono asked, tears again in his eyes. "How did she die?"
"It was the final battle, and Lucca faced Prometheus himself in combat. With her last ounce of strength, she created a massive explosion, killing Prometheus but also herself. Without their leader, the machines couldn't think for themselves, and most were destroyed." he said, walking over to the Mammon Machine. "I believe she wanted you to do something with this."
Crono nodded once and raised the pendant to the small panel. It began to shimmer brightly, and the panel reacted with a glow of it's own. After what seemed an eternity, the panel slid open, revealing another pendant. Puzzled, Crono picked it up, and it began to glow. Both pendants were glowing now, brighter and brighter. Crono, acting on instinct, brought the two pendants together. They were glowing like miniature suns now. Suddenly, the glowing stopped, and a small image of a man, with a large gray moustache and wearing a regal blue coat appeared. He spoke, his voice deep and wise.
"My congratulations. You have found the other pendant and the Mammon Machine. Now, you must place them both in the space you opened. They will change the Mammon Machine into the ultimate weapon. Toma and I worked on this for a long time." He extended a hand. "I beg you, stop Lavos from destroying the world!"
Crono placed the pendants in the small cavity, and the panel slid shut. The machine began to glow, it's silhouette melting away into a huge, glowing mass. It began to take shape again, this time more humanoid. It towered above them, at least two heads taller than Crono, but it didn't have a head.
"It is a suit of armor, capable of absorbing any magic and sending it right back to it's caster, as well as amplifying the wearer's own magical abilities, physical strength and stamina." the old man's voice came from the machine. "You who brought the pendant, you must be the one to wear the armor. You must stop Lavos!" The chest, thighs, shins, and upper arms of the suit swung open, awaiting it's owner.
"Melchior?" the scarred man stepped forward.
Crono spun to face him. "Toma? Is that you?"
The man's eyes were glazing over. He seemed to be lost in his own mind. Crono shook him lightly "Toma!?" He shook harder. "Toma Levine?!? Are you Toma?"
The man snapped back to reality. "Yes, I am Toma, but where am I? How did I get here?" He looked down and noticed Crono shaking him. Knocking his hands away he snapped "Stop shaking me, dammit! Answer my questions!" at Crono.
"You were thrown into a time gate by Lavos after you set me and Schala free in Zeal Palace." Crono said. "I guess you ended up here."
Toma leaned to his side and looked past Crono. "That's the armor that Melchior and I were working on, but how did it get here?"
"We'll have plenty of time to answer all of your questions after we get back to the End of Time. Ozzie should-"
"Ozzie's alive? Where?" Toma shouted. "He'll know what to do with all of this."
"It's not where, it's when." Crono answered. "And that's the End of Time. Now, please, we don't have time to waste. Help me get this thing on the ship and we can go."
"Ship? You have a time ship?" Toma stared at him.
"Yes, I do. The time ship you made is set down outside this dome, and I need-"
"The Wings of Time are here? I must see them immediately!" Toma said, walking swiftly to the door. "I can't believe it has survived for all this time."
Crono stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "Look, I want to get out of here as much as you do, but we gotta load this armor up on the Epoch first."
Toma stopped just short of ramming Crono out of the way. "Why don't you just wear the armor? You are the one who created it, after all."
Crono thought about it for a second. "You're sure it's safe?" he asked.
"I helped make it, so I know it's safe. There may be some momentary discomfort, but that shouldn't be much." Toma said, walking around Crono and continuing towards the door. "After all, it has to know what you can do."
Crono eased his left foot into the machine's leg, then the right, and the legs snapped shut around them. Crono wasn't tall enough, but the suit seemed to shape around him. It was a snug fit, but not too tight. After inserting his arms, the doors there shut, as did the chest, sealing him in the suit, his head sticking out of the top. Several small panel slid up from the collar and formed a helmet around his head. Inside, everything was dark, then a small green light began to glow, emitting a broad beam that swept Crono's face several times.
"user identity confirm." a voice beeped. "state your name."
"Crono." he answered.
"user Crono confirmed. standby for magic scan." Crono felt excruciating pain and screamed as the suit probed his mind for whatever magic he was capable of. "magic scan complete. results as follows: Annihilation, Shadow Doom Blaze, Crying Heavens, Cloak of Shadows, Grand Stone, Invading Light, Flame Battle, Obstacle, Time Warp, Dreamless, Planeshift all confirmed."
Crono glared into the dark. "Time Warp? Planeshift? What the hell kind of spells are those?"
"working............" it beeped several times before continuing. "Time Warp: The ability to change the caster's location in the time stream at will. Planeshift: The ability to traverse the other planes of a planet."
"Oh." he responded, mentally shrugging. "I have those powers?"
"affirmative." it beeped.
"How come I can't see?" he asked the voice.
"visor engaged. do you wish to disengage?" it beeped again.
"Yes." Crono said, nodding his head. A large T-shaped panel slid up into the rest of the helmet. "That's better. Now, about that Time Warp. How do I use it?"
"working..............analysis complete. focus on the time you wish to go to, and the spell will take effect." it beeped it's response.
"Okay. Well, here goes." Crono closed his eyes and pictured the End of Time in his mind. After a few seconds, Crono opened his eyes. Everything seemed to waver, then all was black as the spell began to work. Crono could feel himself moving, but couldn't see in the dark. He raised his armored hand in front of his face, but even that was hidden by the darkness. What if he never came out of this? Crono was beginning to panic, but he spotted a light in the distance. As it got closer, it seemed to spread all around him, and reality began to form again. Crono breathed a heavy sigh of relief as he looked around. He had made it back to the End of Time.
"How did your hair get those black streaks?" Crono asked the other.
"Prolonged exposure to the Mammon Machine has it's side effects. My hair and eyes are the result." the other responded.
"So you can travel through time without any help?" Marle asked him.
"Yes." the second Crono answered. "But everything I have done will be for nothing if I never find her." He looked out the window and saw that the moon was high. It had taken him all day and most of the night to explain this to them, and he wasn't even finished. "I've wasted too much time. Suffice it to say that Ozzie, Toma and myself spent a great deal of time on this armor. Installing the Masamune was the hardest part. The armor plating came from Lavos' corpse." He seemed to wince inwardly as the vision faded away. "Lavos will be waiting here as well."
"What are you talking about?" Lucca said, turning to him.
"Lavos isn't dead." he announced. The others' gasped in shock.
"That's impossible." Crono said angrily, rising to his feet. "I was there. I know he's dead."
"Aye! We defeated him with our own hands!" Frog croaked loudly as he stood. "You dare imply otherwise?"
"I don't imply. I know." the second Crono's voice was cold. "He is alive."
Magus stepped forward. "I demand proof."
"Very well." the second Crono said as he stood, his helmet sliding into place. "I will give you all the proof you will ever want." he closed his eyes, and a gossamer sphere formed around him and the seven heroes. "This will allow you to travel with me, as well as hide you from view. " Everything wavered for a moment, then all was black.
"Where, or when are we?" Lucca asked him.
"This is the Bastard Plane. It is a conduit to the other times and planes." he answered, sweeping his arms out to his sides. "Nothing is stable here, so you must never stay here too long." The light came, just like in the second Crono's vision, and they re-appeared. Ayla was hopping with excitement.
"Look! It us!" she pointed down, and they were watching the final battle with the Lavos Core.
"Wow, look at us!" Marle was almost giddy. "We really kicked his ass!"
The battle ended with Crono and the others using thier most powerful spells and attacks on Lavos, destroying him. Or so they thought.
"That's how it happened." Crono said. "We told you, he's de-" he stopped speaking as the seven heroes were thrown back to the year 1000, and Lavos rose again, although shakily.
"He used an illusion to fake his own death. All you did was weaken him." the second Crono said.
"What? If Lavos lives, why did the future change?" Robo beeped, turning to the second Crono.
"He is too weak to destroy the world in 1999." the second Crono answered. "But he will heal, and the Apocalypse will come to this world again." Reality wavered, and they were in a new time. They were in a blasted wasteland that spread out before them. Just seeing this told them who was responsible. "Welcome to the year 3229. The Day of Lavos was eight days ago. When you defeated him, all you did was delay the inevitable. You must kill him to save this world."
"What cans't we do against Lavos if our most powerful attacks cannot stop it?" Frog croaked loudly.
"We can stop him. He's just going to take more to kill." Magus answered him, lips curled in a snarl.
"Looks he takes more than we could ever do......" Lucca trailed off as she surveyed the destruction.
"That's not the worst part." the second Crono spoke. "In my travels throughout the planes, I have learned something terrible." His head lowered. "Something you may not want to hear."
"Well, don't keep us all in suspense. Tell us!" Marle said loudly. "What is it?"
"In all of the other planes, save my own and this one, Lavos has won and we are all dead. On some, we died fighting him. In others, we never even got close." he turned to Magus. "You were responsible for most of the other's failing. You killed them, then Lavos killed you and the Apocalypse came in the year 600. In a few, disease had claimed several of us, and in one, my mother was killed and my birth never took place, so no one ever knew about Lavos until it was too late. In the other worlds, some of you are other people, and some of you aren't' even there." he turned to Frog now, "I have only seen you here, never on the other planes. You seem to be the key to this world."
"You're serious? We're all dead in the other worlds? Lavos destroys everything?" Crono asked his counterpart.
"We are, and he does. But, after I found this out, I returned to my plane and told Ozzie what I had found. He said I could do something if I wanted to, but the repercussions would be immense. I decided anything was better than Lavos' reign, so I went to each world and killed him whenever he emerged. With each Lavos slain, my powers have grown in strength. I stayed invisible to the others so they wouldn't know I was there." he turned to Magus again. "You seemed so happy the day you finally got your revenge."
"So, you're gonna kill him here too, then?" Marle asked, and her eyes sparkled brightly.
"I must. The Lavos in each plane is connected to the others. They all share knowledge, and this one will know where Schala is." he smiled at her. "Besides, you've all done so much for this world already."
Frog croaked with excitement. "We will accompany thee."
"No. I will do this alone. Lavos is the source of so much pain, so much suffering." the second Crono's armored hands balled into fists, and his Masamune began to flicker faster and faster. "Lavos is responsible for my pain, my loss. He is mine."
Robo beeped loudly in disagreement. "We cannot let you do this yourself. This is our world, and we should be the one's protecting it."
"I agree. We should be the ones to kill Lavos." Magus said. "I have waited too long, endured too much to be told a simple 'no'."
The second Crono's eyes closed slowly in thought, then opened. "Very well then. We leave tomorrow." Reality wavered again, and they were back in Lucca's garage. "You should get some sleep. Lavos will still be there." the second Crono settled into a corner. "I will sleep here."
"Tomorrow, then." Magus said, walking towards the door. "I am going to the inn in Porre, and will return here at sunrise."
"Well, I guess the rest of us can stay here for the night." Lucca said, pointing up the stairs. "It might be a little crowded, though."
"'Tis no problem. We hath slept in far worse conditions, remember?" Frog told her, moving to the stairs.
"Are you comfortable sleeping in that armor?" Marle asked the second Crono.
"I've done it countless times before. I prefer it, actually." he answered.
"Okay, if you say so. But there's a perfectly good couch right here." she said.
"Let Ayla use it. Pregnant women shouldn't be sleeping on the floor." he said, looking at Ayla. She smiled warmly at him. "Thank you, New Crono. Ayla hate hard floor!" she said, laying down.
"I will remain here for the night." Robo beeped, sitting next to Ayla's couch. His eyes began to dim as he powered himself down."Goodnight, everyone."
"Well, I guess we get to split your room, Lucca. Again." Crono groaned at his best friend.
"Oh, shaddup! You know none of us can use my parents' room, so stop whining!" Lucca scolded Crono, shaking her finger at him. "Just get upstairs. We gotta get some rest." Once they were upstairs, Lucca closed her door and turned to the other three. "Can we really trust this guy?"
"I don't know." Marle said, shaking her head slowly. "He seems so sad and lonely, its almost like Magus. He lost Schala too, and look at what he has done. This other Crono doesn't seem to be evil, but I think he's hiding something.
"I agree, he's definitely not telling us something. He saw something, or did something he doesn't want us to know about." Crono added.
''What do you think, Frog?" Marle turned to him. "Do you trust him?"
"I am unsure of whether or not he is deserving of our trust." Frog said, sitting down in one of the room's corners. "But I agree that something hath happened to him, and I fear that it was something most terrible."
"We'd better get some sleep." Crono said, settling down under one of Lucca's desks. The others agreed, and soon they were asleep.
Later, in the dead of night, Lucca awoke. A bright light flashed through the window, and a clap of thunder followed. Seconds later another flash, and another clap of thunder. Lucca sat up in her bed. She was dressed in her usual sleeping attire, a simple purple nightgown.
"I don't remember any storms coming in tonight." Lucca said sleepily as she put her glasses on. She looked at her friends. They were all still sound asleep."Waitaminute! That's not thunder!" Lucca whispered, looking out the window. In the field, something was glowing, and every few seconds it would flare up again, and the rumbling came again. "I'd better get out there!" she said, already through the door and halfway down the stairs. She stopped and looked into a corner of the garage. "The armor's there, but not Crono." Lucca said as she began to run out into the field. When she arrived, she found the other Crono performing some sort of martial arts, but with each strike and kick he flashed with power, and the energy from him tore the air. He swirled his hands around, and a ball of multicolored energy began to form between them. He began to move faster, the ball growing, then he thrust his hands up and swung them back down to his sides, the ball of energy splitting apart above his head in a shower of brightly colored sparks. He closed his eyes and began to glow again. After a few moments, his eyes shot open and he slammed his fist into the ground. The shockwave from the impact knocked Lucca down, as well as several small trees. "Ouch!" Lucca cried as she hit the ground hard. The other Crono stopped and turned to face her. He walked over to her, the energy around him dissipating.
"I'm sorry, Lucca. I didn't think anyone would mind if I went outside to think." he said, reaching for her hand. "I guess I should've gone somewhere else."
"Don't worry about it." she said, taking his hand. His arm bulged as he pulled her to her feet. "What were you thinking about?" she asked.
"Trying to decide what to do once I've found Schala." he said, walking over to the others' picnic table. "I don't even know if she'll recognize me like this." He sat on the bench and held his hands in front of his face, staring through them into nothing.
"I'm sure she will. From what I've seen, she'd recognize you without a face." Lucca sat next to him on the bench. "You both love each other, right?" He nodded slowly. "Then you don't have anything to worry about. You'll find her and be so happy you won't care." A gentle breeze began to blow now, fluttering their hair.
The other Crono's eyes welled with tears "I've done so much, Lucca. My hands are soaked with the blood of humanity. How can she ever forgive me?"
"What did you do that's so bad she won't forgive you?" Lucca asked. Her eyes widening with fear. "Was he some kind of serial killer or something?" she thought.
"In the other worlds, after I killed Lavos, history continued on, but something was different. People didn't want to live peacefully, they wanted to control the world." Crono's voice began to waver. "They hated each other, and they developed horrible weapons, some more powerful than any magic. They used them on one another, and the world's were left worse than after the Day of Lavos. I'm responsible for it, all of it. I didn't care about the other worlds, and humanity is gone. Billions of people, all of them dead now, and I.....I..." He broke down now, sobbing into his hands.
Lucca put her arm around him, comforting him. "Come on. You didn't know what was going to happen, you just went with your instincts. Was it wrong for you to stop Lavos? No, it wasn't! What happened after that isn't your fault. You can't blame yourself for something you had no control over."
Crono turned and hugged her tightly. "Oh, Lucca." She felt the warm dampness through her nightgown, he was crying on her shoulder. "I've missed you so much. I don't want to lose you again, even if you aren't the same person I knew."
"It's okay, it's okay." she whispered into his ear. "You're with friends now. We won't leave you if you don't want us to." She pulled away and looked into his eyes. "You can stay here with us, even if you don't find Schala." Lucca never knew why she said what she did. "You can stay with me." She kissed him, her lips just brushing his. He hesitated at first, but then returned the kiss. She had lost Crono the first time, but seemed to have gotten a second chance. She was desperate not to let this one slip away. After what seemed an eternity, she pulled away, turning from him as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment "I-I'm sorry, Crono. I don't know what came over me." She turned back, and he took her chin in his hand and lifted her gaze to his. His eyes were soft as he spoke. "You don't have to apologize, Lucca. I knew how the Lucca in my world felt about me, but I didn't want to lose her as a friend. She died before she could tell me how she felt." He intertwined his fingers with hers and he took her hands. "I know I'm not him, but I am glad you got to tell at least one Crono how you really felt."
"So am I." she answered, and kissed him again.
.
"How deep I descend?
Until I reach my end?
How deep I descend?"
-Fear Factory, "Descent", from the album "Obsolete"
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