Chrono Chronicles

Chapter 13

The woods hadn't changed a bit. As a matter of fact, it was so much the same, it was creepy. Beyond the creepiness though, Crono and his partners pressed on. A few frog creatures managed to hop onto the path like before, and they were taken care of with a few slices of blades. A moment later, they were at the hidden entrance to Glenn's lair. Crono was the first to climb down the ladder, then the others one by one. Lucca was wondering the whole time what was going through Hypnotico's mind; he'd never been here before.

“He lives in a hole?” Hypnotico asked curiously as he took his first step down the ladder. “Glenn is a frog, correct? Shouldn't he be living in a pond?”

Nobody answered Hypnotico's inquiry, except for the quietness of the single bedroom that was Glenn's home. His furniture was how they'd remembered it, and nothing seemed to be disturbed.

“He must not be home at the moment. Perhaps he will be back later.” Robo commented.

“But,” Lucca replied, “what would he be doing early in the morning? Hunting?”

They stood there in silence for a minute or two.

“Swordsmen...” Hypnotico began, breaking the silence. “Swordsmen can be deep individuals. He could be training by himself, or sitting atop a hill watching the horizon. I would be contemplative if I were him, after fighting against that Lavos monster.”

Before Crono could respond, Glenn's voice called from atop the ladder.

“Halt! Whom stirs within the privacy of mine home?!”

Glenn fell from above them and landed on his feet on the ground, poised for battle, holding the Masamune ready. Everyone flinched, then stared at Glenn collectively. Glenn himself was surprised to have mistaken them for intruders, then hunched over and slapped his left knee as he burst into laughs and tears. A few croaks managed to slip out between his cackles, and he stood firm again. He clasped a hand on Crono's shoulder.

“Crono my dear friend! How wonderful it is to see my companions again, after a long and cold away! But I noticed, who is thine...new, partner in travel?”

Grinning still, Glenn looked at Hypnotico inquisitively. He rubbed his scaly chin; if he had eyebrows, one of them would've certainly been raised.

“Allow me to introduce our newfound ally.” Robo requested. Crono nodded.

Robo stood beside Hypnotico and held his right palm in the air, waving it in front of Hypnotico as if he were an expensive prize on a game show.

“This is Hypnotico; Glenn, meet Hypnotico, Hypnotico meet Glenn.”

They exchanged handshakes. Hypnotico smiled suavely. Glenn only smiled lightly, still suspicious.

“We met him at the Millennial Fair. He is aiding us in our newest expedition.”

Lucca took over the explanation.

“Crono's stepfather has been kidnapped and we're trying to find him!”

Robo was immediately disappointed. “You always get straight to the point.”

“Yep!” Lucca answered smartly.

“In that case, I would be honored to be of service to my best friends.” said Glenn. “But,” he began to ask, “by whom has thy stepfather bestolen by?

“We're not sure. After an attack by some kind of beast, he was sucked into a portal, and we took the same portal later and it brought us to this era.”

“Ah...” Glenn thought aloud. “Mayhaps it be the antics of Lavos once more? Tis a disturbing conclusion.”

“We can only hope not.” Robo commented.

Crono remembered the final battle against Lavos when Glenn mentioned how disturbing the thought was. It wasn't a nostalgic feeling, but it definitely felt like it happened eons ago. Almost like, it was an epoch, a single moment in history that would be the climax of some epic story. Was in a coincidence that their time machine was named “Epoch”? The creator couldn't have been that clever, could he?

“Where to? Have you any leads?”

In fact, they had no leads except that he was in this era. Technically, they had no idea where to start looking.

“Magus has long since gone from this place; no other agents of evil have risen since his time.”

Now they were all quiet, trying to find a solution or idea to send them on their way. Before, they had a lead. Like, the mysterious cathedral, or more portals. Now all was hidden, and nobody had a clue.

“On the contrary...”

A voice that matched none of theirs spoke out into the silence. It belonged to only one individual that they all knew.

“I'm just starting anew!”

A brilliant flash of darkened light sprang into existence and disappeared the moment it arrived. Magus stood before them like a proudly built statue.

“How do you like me now?!”

Lucca's jaw dropped; everyone else gasped in awe.

“Without a portal!! How?!” Lucca exclaimed.

Magus guffawed maliciously.

“My magic skills have grown since our time together! I'm surprised you haven't changed a bit.”

His pointed teeth shone as the morning light brightened and peeked down the entrance hole.

“And Crono!” Magus called out. “You're quite the survivor aren't you?”

Crono didn't know how to respond to such a pompous and pale man, so he didn't say anything at all. If you don't have anything nice to say...

“I know already what's going on, I've done my research. Time travel sucks me like vampire, so I'm-”

Magus dropped to his knees and cried in pain.

“Ahh! My bones ache!”

He stood back up, struggling.

“I can travel through time-aarrghh-but it hits me like a bi—arrgghghhg!!”

He gritted his teeth in agony, almost falling over but Robo caught him from behind. Once he regained his strength, he stood on his own again.

“Oh...I can travel through time, but not easily and only by myself. It hurts me later depending on where how much I travel at once. The farther in time I travel, the longer the wait is before it hurts me.” He snatched a couple deep breaths. “I've only just learned this spell...obviously...”

He was still in minor pain, but it would slowly wither away with time.

“I know where to go, and you're not gonna like it either.”