Due to popular demand, I am continuing this series.  Thanks to all of
you who commented on the prologue.
PM Productions Presents
A Phillip Masters Fanfic
Where Time Lies
Part One

-1999, The Day of Lavos-

	"Chrono!  Use it again while we fend it off!" Marle cried as she shot
an arrow uselessly into one of Lavos' bits.  The small mass of pure evil
launched a counter attack that knocked the princess back into the wall.
	Lucca found out if Marle was okay and flashed Chrono the thumbs up.  He
nodded and turned to the monstrosity before them.  The creature that was
to destory mankind if they did not finish it off right then.  He began
to concentrate on the powers swirling around him, feeling the energy of
the planet and focusing it with his own inherent skill.  He began to
glow a pale white as he raised his hands to the air.  The sheer
magnitude of the energy he was collecting lifted him from the ground as
crackles of lightning danced between his outstretched arms.  He made a
small prayer to the heavens and released the full power of Luminaire.  
	Lucca threw her body down as the room exploded with pure light.  Then,
all the energy converged on the point where Lavos stood and expanded
violently outward once more.  This time there was an ear-splitting blast
to accompany the burst of radiance.  A number of rocks fell around
Lucca, and she hoped none of them happened upon Marle or herself.
	After the smoke and rubble cleared, the young scientist glanced up
while blinking the soot out of her eyes.  "Chrono?" she asked, but it
came out too lightly to be of any use.  The room was now pitch black,
with just a slight luminescence emanating from Lavos' decimated corpse. 
"Chrono?" she said again, this time much louder and more clearly.  She
reached into her pocket and pulled out their last remaining Megalixer. 
She unsealed the small bottle, and it blinked out of existence in a
meager blue flash of light.  She almost instantly felt herself
reenergize, any wounds she may of accrued vanished without a trace.  
	Next to her, Marle sat up suddenly with a sharp inhalation of air. 
"Wow," she commented, "that 'lixer sure can pack a whollop!"
	Lucca grinned at her friend, then panned the room once more for the
missing hero.  A pile of rocks moved slightly, and she had her answer. 
She rose and ran over to the loose gravel and began pushing it off of
the body beneath.  After another minute she had, with the help of Marle,
a fully conscious and grinning Chrono sitting in the hole he so neatly
placed in the earth.
	"How're you feeling?" Marle asked.
	Chrono blinked for a second, then felt about his body a moment.  "I'd
say pretty damn good for having been buried alive."  He looked over at
Lucca and winked, "That Megalixer didn't hurt any either."
	Lucca blushed, but it was hidden by the dirt that covered her face. 
She smiled lightly and reached down a hand to help Chrono out of the
hole.  He stood up straight and stretched emphatically.  "Come on!  We
just saved the world, and I'm sure everyone wants to hear what
happened!"
	They gathered themselves together and climbed out of Lavos' dead
shell.  The Epoch awaited them outside like a faithful puppy as always. 
The three saviors strapped into their machine and activated it.  With a
blast of superheated plasma they were airborne.  Lucca set the
multi-dimensional coordinates for the end of infinity, which she still
thought was a typo, and pulled the activation lever.  The Wings of Time
let out a mighty roar as its engines reached full throttle.  The
inertial dampers kicked in as the ship's acceleration reached in
intolerable level.  They flew around the planet, gaining in speed and
mass as they approached the velocity of light.  They hit it in a
brilliant flash of raw power and found themselves moving through the
segue between times.  Moments later they burst forth into the ether of
the... 

-End of Time-

	"I still say this place is an oxymoron." Lucca commented absently as
they stared at the emptiness around them.  The ship docked at the only
solid mass that existed in the place with a thud.
	The instant the travelers opened the door to the annex of the End of
Time they were swamped.  They found themselves surrounded by friends and
questions of all sorts.  Chrono held up his hands and cried out, "Hold
on!"  Everyone's banter dwindled slowly to a halt.
	Magus grinned, "This is your game, sport.  Give us the story."
	This caught Chrono up short.  Not that he didn't know what happened, he
was simply taken by surprise at Magus' suddenly personable attitude. 
And where did "sport" come from?  "Uh..." he replied.
	"Well, that was concise, I'll give him that." Magus said, then laughed
out loud.
	Frog let a small croak to get everyone's attention.  Seeing that he had
it, he began, "Seeing that thou are here, the greatest assumption is
that Lavos hath been vanquished.  Our own eyes show that thou are in
good health still, so methinks a party would be in order.  Then we can
all receive the relaxation we both deathly need and desire, as well as
talk of your mission and its success."
	Magus looked down at Frog in amusement.  "Well, it is good to see that
perhaps the curse has made you more wise."
	Frog unsheathed his sword.  "Having not tasted of Lavos, the Masamune
still thirsts for blood."
	Magus stepped back instinctively as Frog waved the sword around a bit
to bring the point across, quite literally.  Everyone chuckled at his
discomfort.
	"That you had coming." commented Lucca.
	Chrono turned to the Guru of Time.  "Well, old man, we did it.  Lavos
shall no longer threaten the future."
	The ancient figure smiled grimly.  "Yes, Lavos does not plague
mankind's future anymore.  Its evil reign has been stopped before it
could begin.  I must give you credit, you did your task well."  The
smile turned more mischievous, "Now, how about that party?"
	The group let out a big cheer.  Chrono turned around and asked, "So,
where in time do we hold this bash anyway?  We have all of it to choose
from!"
	"Let's not go to the future." 
	Everyone turned to Lucca, who was looking at the ground.  Chrono's brow
furrowed in worry.  "What's wrong, Lucca?"
	The red hared girl looked up, her eyes moist.  "The future is blank to
us once more.  We do not know what lies ahead, and should not.  I say we
leave it as it will be, and stick to our own eras."  She looked at Robo
as a tear finally worked its way down her cheek.
	A somber veil drooped over the crowd of fighters.  They all knew the
robot had been built in a future that no longer existed.  Only his
continuing travel with Marle's pendant has kept him from paradox, and
fading from existence entirely.  They could not know if he would still
be built or not if they did not go forward and look, it was up to time
to decide.
	Robo whirred noisily, breaking the quiet atmosphere.  "Come on!" he
cried, "Don't get down over my account.  This old robot has done more in
this lifetime than I ever could in a thousand.  I'm happy to have met
you all and gone on this amazing adventure.  If I no longer exist, I'll
fade away content in knowing what I've done, and if you remember me I
will never truly vanish completely."
	Lucca couldn't hold back, and jumped up to hug the massive machine
around the neck.  "Robo, we could never forget you," she whispered as
the tears flowed freely down her cheeks.
	Marle spoke up, "It seems to me we should hold the party in Leene
Square... I mean, the fair is already set up there, and I have the
influence to throw quite a rave."
	Chrono grinned, "Sounds good to me, milady."  He bowed and waved a hand
toward the Epoch, "After you."
	The group chuckled and everyone piled into the Epoch.  
	"Methinks this wasn't the best of ideas." Frog croaked from under
Magus... somewhere.
END PART ONE
Well, give it up... tell me what you think.  I wasn't sure if I should
actually go ahead with this story or not... tell me if I still should or
shouldn't.  I'm not sure if I get the feeling or the characters right,
so comments are very much appreciated.  This part really just sets up
the scene, the next should begin the actual story.
Thanks for reading,
PMasters (3-26-98)