PROLOGUE
Nadia staggered from the shaft of light at the north end. There were only seconds before he arrived; she had to make them count. As she ran through the gate toward the lamppost, she muttered an incantation and allowed her magic to heal her. A subtle warmth covered her body as her aura materialized and mended cuts and bruises from recent battles; Flea, Magus, countless others. It had been a long time since she'd seen quite so much combat in so small a time.

As she reached the lamppost, she searched frantically for someplace to hide. The Epoch chamber; no good, Spekkio's room; too small. What's this? Never seen that door before. Where had it come from? Suddenly hearing the shimmer of the light shafts behind her, she soon forgot her questions and let fear make the decision for her. She dashed for the heavy, wooden door, pulled the elaborate knob, and ducked inside.

Nadia ran. Down long corridors with countless twists and turns she ran. The floor was stone; the walls were stone; every dozen or so feet a torch was mounted on the wall, offering just enough light to see a nearing corner. After a few seconds, she heard the door open slowly and light footsteps enter the room; he was in here with her. She ran.

Nadia sprinted past a torch and ducked quickly behind another corner. The footsteps had picked up, he was chasing her. She ran on. She ran so fast, so far, with so many turns and going in so many different directions, she soon forgot where she'd started. Finding an inconspicuous corner hidden in shadow, Nadia paused to catch her breath. She leaned heavily against a wall. She reached quickly into the inside pocket of her trench coat and retrieved a canteen. She drank deeply of the cool, purified water, and then splashed it across her tattooed face. She rubbed a hand across her aching back; she wasn't as young as she used to be.

She began to think.

Where was the Old Man? Each time she'd come to the End of Time with Crono and her friends, all those years ago, he'd been there, leaning against the lamppost, chomping on a piece of chewing gum. Where was he this time? Where had this door come from? Where had it been before? Why was there a labyrinth in the End of Time? Who was the man following her? Why did he kill her friends? How did he trail her to the End of Time?! How had he taken Ayla from her in the timestream?!? Why did he want to kill her?!?!

Engrossed in her own panicked thoughts, Nadia failed to sense the man in black's approach from behind a corner. When she heard his tread not two feet away, he was already close enough to deliver a deathblow. She turned to see his adamant, gray eyes, gleaming dead into hers. She tried to draw her weapon, use her magic, scream, anything. It was too late.

* * * * *

CHAPTER 1: the Present
Truce Village, AD 1000
Crono awoke with a start in the dead of night.

Visions of the demon bug Lavos and a mysterious man in black ran through his head, remnants of a recent nightmare. His forehead was slick with sweat, and Crono feared for his life, but he knew not why.

The next morning, not even pausing to put on fresh clothes, grabbing quickly the same blue tunic he had worn throughout his adventure the day before, Crono jogged out the door and toward Guardia Castle. It was not until he was halfway through the Guardia Forest that he realized he'd left his sword at home. A pair of Polies rolled out from the bushes and initiated a weak attack against him. No matter. Using the magic imbued in him by Spekkio at the End of Time, he called forth lightning from the sky and quickly electrocuted the beasts. Noting in the back of his mind the faint notion of a new spell, he was soon at the gates of the castle. Without introduction, he barged through the mammoth doors to the throne room and turned to the stairway to the princess' quarters.

Marle was overjoyed to see him, despite having accompanied him at the Moonlight Parade the previous night. She was giggling and jumping for joy when she noticed the look of seriousness on his face. She sat slowly on her bed and gazed at the carpeted floor.

"I suppose," she said, in a somewhat subdued tone of voice, "You want to know what happened while you were dead. After you... died, Frog and I escaped from the sinking Ocean Palace and found the others at the Earthbound Village. The Earthbound had accepted the Enlightened Ones into their culture after the fall of Zeal, and their future looked bright. While in the market, Lucca and I heard talk of a magician at the North Cape. Suspecting Magus, we left in the dead of night, not wanting Frog to challenge him to combat, or anything.

We thought Magus might know how we could bring you back to life. Of all the people we'd met, he seemed the most casual and confident about his magic, and we hoped he could forgive us and help us. It was a long walk to the Cape, and when we arrived, Magus was, he was dead. His body was hacked and cut all over, and he had a huge gash in his throat. Alongside him was the body of another man. Neither Lucca nor I knew who he. We didn't want to get any closer, but we could see he was wearing a green cloak. We were scared, so we ran.

With Magus dead, we didn't know whom we could turn to. Who else knew enough about time to help us? When we made it back to the Village, the others were gone. We didn't know what to think, so we curled up in the market tent and slept.

The next morning, Ayla, Robo, and Frog appeared, and told us how Dalton had captured them and held them captive on the Blackbird. Ayla was able to break free from her cell and free Robo and Frog. They fought Dalton on board the Epoch and banished him to Limbo, the world of the Golems. We told Frog about Magus. He went crazy, crying and screaming because he hadn't been able to avenge Cyrus. He hopped off into the snow and I haven't seen him since. Lucca started crying too, not maintaining that we could ever save you. Robo consoled her, and after talking it over, the two of them returned to Robo's time via the Time Gate. I couldn't believe it! How could they abandon you? Ayla was mad because everyone was leaving, but she was sad too, because she missed you. I decided to take her to the End of Time and send her home, and then go home myself, because I knew we couldn't do it alone.

When we reached the End of Time, we found you sitting under the statue of Magus at the North end, behind the light shafts. Then we went through the Old Man's bucket and fought Lavos and, well, you know what happened then."

Crono stood up, without a word, deep in thought. He remained just long enough to present the princess with a peck on the cheek before leaving her. No monsters challenged him in the wood, and he decided to go to Lucca's house to check on her. She was not around. Crono began to wonder what exactly had happened and who had brought him back to life. Wanting to know more, he asked Taban if Lucca had been working on any other projects before she'd left.

"Well," Taban said, "she was working on a handheld device that worked on the same principles as the telepod, but she could never quite get it to work. Oh, you want to see it? Sure, it's up in her room."

After collecting the device, Crono went home. He was sitting on his bed, staring at it, while his cat, Gogo, rubbed against his leg, whining for food. Crono scratched his head. He had no mind for machinery. How could he make this work if Lucca couldn't? Just then, he felt a searing hot flash against his chest. He ripped Marle's pendant off his neck. Hmmm, the pendant was what had reacted with the telepod and sent Marle to the past in the first place. Maybe, yes, on the flip side of the device, there was a hollowed out portion labeled, "power source".

Crono thought for a moment. Did he really want to get involved in this again? Should he get Marle?

He shoved the pendant deep into the device and its systems came online. He slung his SamuraiSword onto his back and attached the glowing device to his belt. He keyed "12,000 BC" into the display. Waves of energy enveloped him and in a burst of white light, he was gone.

* * * * *

CHAPTER 2: the Future
Grid 12, Truce Sector, AD 2316
command: TRACKING SEQUENCE...

ANOMALY PINPOINTED... COORDINATES 4,12,81...
TARGET DESIGNATE: T-200, TERMINATOR SERIES, SERIAL NUMBERS AA23, AA24, AA25...

command: ARMAMENTS SCAN...

LOADING... ... ... ... ...
EQUIPMENT CONGRUENT ON ALL TARGETS... TERRA ARM... DEFENDER...
ROCKET PUNCH, ROBO TACKLE, LASER SPIN...

ANALYSIS: TARGETS POSE LITTLE THREAT... TERRA ARMS OUTDATED... PERSONAL "DARK MAIL" UPGRADE NEUTRALIZES TECH DAMAGE...

WARNING!!! TARGETS APPROACHING...
command: FIRE ROBO ARM

DESIGNATE: AA24 AND AA25 NEUTRALIZED... DESIGNATE: AA23 INITIATING LASER SPIN...
command: COUNTERPROCEDURE: TK421...
COUNTERPROCEDURE: TK421 SUCCESSFUL... LASER SPIN NEUTRALIZED...

WARNING!!! WARNING!!! APPEARANCE OF UNIDENTIFIED HUMANOID...
WARNING!!! WEAPON DETECTED...

DESIGNATE: AA23 NEUTRALIZED BY DESIGNATE: UNKNOWN...

command: NEW FILE... DESIGNATE: UNKNOWN CATALOGUED...
DESIGNATE: UNKNOWN = DESIGNATE: MANINBLACK

WARNING!!! DESIGNATE: MANINBLACK APPROACHING...
WARNING!!! WEAPON DETECTED...
command: COUNTERPROCEDURE: PC321...

command: VISUAL CONFIRMATION...
DESIGNATE: MANINBLACK PREVIOUSLY CATALOGUED AS DESIGNATE://///////////////////////////////////..........................
...................................................
...................................................
COUNTERPROCEDURE: PC321 UNSUCCESSFUL...............
...................................................
...................................................
UNIT R-Y66 SYSTEMS FAILURE...
SHUTDOWN...

* * * * *

Online Log, Final Entry, AD 2316
"Prometheus is gone. I keep trying to tell myself it can't be true, but it is. He's gone, destroyed, disintegrated by those damned Terminator droids. We were making a routine sweep of grid 12 in the old Truce sector when we came under fire. Being the only robot on the continent not under the command of Mother Brain, Prometheus has become a prime target for assassination missions. With the Displays recreating new weapons and defense systems monthly, he is our one ace in the hole. As an original creation of Mother, he can still tap into her systems, giving us a tiny lead as to their next strike points and battle strats. It's just barely enough. I've been through 15 years of this war, and now that he's dead, I just don't know if I can go on.

I keep replaying the scene in my mind: we picked up a group of anomalies in the north end of the grid. I charged my buster while Prometheus uploaded an armaments scan on the Terminators. He pushed me down behind a rock outcropping and caught the first wave. As I heard the familiar sound of his RoboArm beginning to fire, a pair of 'bots tried to flank him, but I was ready for them. I dispatched one with a dead center shot from my buster, disrupting its circuits and causing it to overload and detonate, sending shrapnel into its partner. I heard the detonation of other Terminators from behind the rock. Prometheus hadn't lost any tricks in the past 15 years. I took the wounded 'bot out with a few focused blasts of my BlazeGun. I turned to see a burst of white light from the other side of the rock, and by the time my optics adjusted to the flash, he was gone.

The scrap of multiple attack droids scattered the chasm, but none of it was his. We knew that the Displays had developed Disintegrators; funny how none had shown up on Prometheus' arms scan. I remember thinking to check with the Net for any word of a new jammer when our first set of reinforcements arrived. A wide scan was made of the surrounding area, but not a trace of him was found. Disintegration works that way.

I think back now to why I came to this time with him, and why I changed my name. A long time ago, I was unable to protect another of my closest friends. When he was killed, I fled from the past to this war torn future, just in time to witness a robot uprising in 2301. 15 years later, I'm more machine than woman. With a buster replacing my left arm and a cybernetic right leg, a computer jack and heads up display in my head, and synthetic senses, it was almost easy to forget my past, my name, and my friends. Now that Prometheus is dead, I can't help but think about the past, and wonder if there was any more we could have done back then. I'm finally facing what happened more than 15,000 years ago. I'm going to go and find my friends, and I know I can. I'm going to find them and then, finally, we will save Crono."

9.9.16
Commander Giga, Human Resistance

* * * * *

CHAPTER 3: the Past
The North Cape, 12000 BC
Crono watched from the shadows of the trees, sword ready, as two forms approached the Cape. One looked like a machine, with contraptions mounted on its arms and shoulders, but it had the face of a woman. Somehow, he felt he'd known her once. The other was even more familiar, as if he'd just seen her. She wore a long, weathered trench coat with black boots and a long, wispy blue tattoo ran past her left eye to her chin. Her blonde hair was held in a long ponytail and a high maintenance crossbow was slung across her back. As she glanced over her shoulder, a look at her beautiful face was all it took for Crono: it was Marle! As the two came closer, black strobes flashed across the precipice and Magus appeared before them. Resting on his scythe, he laughed at them. "Ah, the princess and the inventor. A little late aren't you? What brings you here: haven't you more important things than to pester me?"

"We must talk," Marle whispered hostily, eyes closed, staring at the ground. She looked up and her eyes blazed open, shining blindingly with blue light. "Not here." Her hand shot out and magic pulsed from her palm. Taken by surprise, Magus was quickly caught in an energy cage. "Are we online yet?" she barked at the android. Magus had already begun to weave a countering spell. "Lucca, are we on? I can't hold him much longer!"

"Damn it!" the other screamed, inputting commands on her forearm console, "Don't call me that anymore!" She typed quickly into the keypad hard wired into her arm and slapped a final key. "There, there, it's done!" A series of beeps emitted from her console and their three bodies were enveloped in a burst of white light. Then, they were gone.

Lightning arced across the sky and drops of rain began to fall against Crono's face. What had happened to Marle and Lucca? These certainly weren't the girls he knew. They looked so different, so hardened. Only time could have changed them so much, they must have been from the future. He thought more. Marle had told him that she and Lucca had found Magus dead here, and according Lucca's device, they would be along in just moments. How was Magus going to die? As he looked at the device's display, a message blinked across it:

...TRACKING SEQUENCE INITIATED...

Suddenly, there was a light burst and Magus was back. His cape was torn and he was bleeding from multiple wounds across his arms and face. He coughed and blood flecked forth. Leaning heavily on his scythe, he'd managed to bring himself to his knees when there came another burst. Two men appeared. One wore a green cloak hooded over his head. The other was shrouded in black. As the first hopped toward the wounded magician, the other teleported quickly away, creating a strobe effect as he radiated in and out of the time stream.

The cloaked one strode forward slowly, every step deliberate, as if each were agonizing. "Villain," he wheezed, revealing a mighty sword from the folds of his raiment. Magus rose to his feet to meet the man. "Murderer," he croaked, his voice growing stronger. Magus struggled to raise his weapon. "Demon!" he howled, his rage evident, brandishing his blade.

"Die, you monster!" Magus wailed as he leapt forward, swinging his scythe. The man caught the attack head on and shattered the magician's weapon with a surge of energy and a great swipe of his sword. He knocked Magus to the ground and laid the tip of the blade on his chest. He brought his face, still hidden by the hood, close to Magus'. "Release me," he whispered. Magus smiled and spat. The dishonor had yet to even splatter against his face before he lunged. The sword was buried to the hilt into Magus' chest, and his lungs were pierced and windpipe crushed before he could even scream. Lightning cracked the sky and a wave of shadows rose from the ground as the King of Monsters left the mortal plane. He writhed in inconceivable pain for a few short seconds before expiring, his adversary still standing over him. Crono had to look away, and his eyes fell on Lucca's device, now flashing the words:

...LOCATION FOUND...AD 600...CASTLE MAGUS...

The machine came to life and Crono allowed its light to encompass him. As he left for the future, the man who'd killed Magus stood over his body, threw back his head, and let forth a mighty croak. The hood fell, and an amphibian face gazed into the moonlight. Rain splattered off of his rubbery skin and he drove his weapon into the ground. "Cyrus," he coughed, voice pained, "It is done. After nearly 20 years, it is done." The creature stood tall, awaiting the storm. Then suddenly, bolts of lightning sprang from the magician's dead body and burned into him. As his body flashed psychedelic colors and was wracked with uncontrollable spasms, his legs and arms stiffened and he fell to the ground.

Glenn's quest had ended.

* * * * *

CHAPTER 4: the Princess
Castle Magus, AD 600
Nadia couldn't understand how everything had gone so horribly wrong.

The intent was to abduct Magus to the year 600 and interrogate him on any and all knowledge he might have on the timestream, ultimately leading to the greatest question of all: "How do we save Crono?" Unfortunately, Giga's plan had failed at its inception. Magus escaped from Nadia's energy cell shortly after arrival, siphoning chaotic plasma from the Gate to counter her holding spell.

A battle ensued.

The Unholy Trio met their demises quickly, but Giga disappeared soon after. Nadia managed to defeat Magus in magical combat, but not before the wizard had felled Glenn. Ayla was incapacitated as well after her water broke, leaving her writhing in contractions on the floor even now. Her anger rising, Nadia was just about to deliver the deathblow to Magus when he was whisked from her grasp by a mysterious man in black. The man pushed Magus into a Gate he'd opened and disappeared into the shadows. Then, as Nadia searched the castle for him, she realized that she'd lost Glenn as well.

Now she could feel the man in black stalking her, hunting her. He must be; he'd protected Magus. She tried to reach out for his mind with the psionic abilities she'd acquired in her training in Medina, but as she made contact with him, a coldness fell over her body. Fear wracked her thin frame and she dared not probe him further. She sensed in him a darkened secret, a sacred quest from which no one could stop him. Then, in a terrifying instant, he contacted her and forced his way into her mind. Images flashed across her mind's eye: Robo, Lucca, Frog; through their eyes she saw the man in black, flanked by monsters, approach them, weapon drawn. Then, there was a frightening slash across their vision and immediate oblivion.

The man in black was killing them, one by one.

Nadia was petrified. If this... creature had murdered her friends, what chance did she have? What chance did Ayla have? Fear overcoming her once again, Nadia ran, panic-stricken, through the castle corridors until she reached Ayla, still groaning on the floor, at the base of the great staircase. She supported Ayla's neck as she tried to sit up, legs spread, already deep in labor. For a splintering second, the man in black shattered into her mind, and then he was gone. He was close to her. Very close. All Nadia could do was run. Her battle-hardened survival instinct kicked in and she let Ayla's head thump to the ground.

"Uuuunnnngggghhhh!!....."

She looked down in horror. How could she leave Ayla? How could she leave her unborn child? She searched frantically from side to side for someplace to hide, already knowing that hiding wouldn't throw this maniac off for long. As she whipped her head to one side, she felt something solid swing in her inner pocket against her chest. Of course! Giga's telecom! She hastily keyed in coordinates, hoping the man in black couldn't follow them there. The Gate materialized and she pulled Ayla in after her. Just as it sealed, she saw him dash into the hall on the other side. He turned and glared at her through the closing Gate. Then the timestream swept them up and they were on their way.

Nadia relaxed and let the currents of the timestream gently push her towards their destination. She smiled. He couldn't follow them there, she was sure of it; they would be safe. Nadia considered what she was to do next. Could she risk taking Ayla back to the past, knowing that the man in black might chase her? No, that would be out of the question, they would have to remain together until Ayla had given birth. But then what? She could hardly save Crono on her own. With everyone else dead, and no way to trace Magus, there was little she could do. She didn't want to return to 1008, she'd had enough of fighting someone else's war. It was her father who'd broken the truce with the Mystics, and she'd helped Guardia enough. The last thing she wanted to do was give up on Crono again, but she had no other choice. Besides, she said to herself, she wasn't "giving up" on him...

...She'd failed him. How could it have happened? They should have had no problem coercing Magus into revealing his secret. Prometheus and Giga had 15 years of robot fighting under their belts. But then Prometheus had been murdered. Now she knew it had been the man in black. Frog had returned both to society and to his birth name; he'd joined the Square Table and stamped out evil the world over for 10 years before they'd contacted him for this final mission. The only reason he'd agreed to come was to get at Magus. Nadia had trained in magic with the Mystics for years before the war broke out; she had her own battle experience. And Ayla, well, married and mother-to-be, simply wouldn't allow them to leave her behind, exhibiting the same strength and skill she'd had only a few years before marrying Kino.

The drop to the light shafts was beginning and Nadia was deep in thought when the time currents began whipping her and Ayla wildly. She clutched Ayla, still moaning, close to her, not wanting to lose her. Suddenly, the man in black crashed into her mind again, quickly, violently, and then, he was next to her, pushing her away, grabbing Ayla, jumping up, back into the timestream. There was nothing Nadia could do as she was sucked down, down, and then landing in the hard, stone floor.

She staggered from the shaft of light at the north end. There were only seconds before he arrived; she knew he would be back for her. As she ran through the gate toward the lamppost, she muttered an incantation and allowed her magic to heal her. A subtle warmth coated her body as her aura materialized and mended the cuts and bruises covering her.

As she reached the lamppost, she searched frantically for someplace to hide. The Epoch chamber; no good, Spekkio's room; too small. What's this? Never seen that door before. Where had it come from? Suddenly hearing the shimmer of the light shafts behind her, she forgot her questions and let fear make the decision for her. She dashed for the heavy, wooden door, pulled the elaborate knob, and ducked inside.

* * * * *

Truce Village, AD 1000
Crono stepped out of the Gate back into his room. He's seen a lot, maybe too much. All of his friends were about to die. And they were all trying to save him, but why? Here he was, alive and well. And why did they all look so different? He'd seen Marle just this morning and could tell that the Marle he'd followed for the past hour was at least ten years her elder. What had happened in the future that had caused his friends to reunite to save him? There was something Marle said, about them all leaving. Did Lucca, Robo, or Frog even know that he was all right? Maybe, in a few years, they had gotten back together to save him. But where had this futuristic Marle come in?

Crono looked down at his leg. Gogo was rubbing against him again, purring this time. He glanced over at Gogo's dish. It had food in it... Hmmm... No one feeds Gogo but me...

* * * * *