Okay, here's part three!
Comments? Critism? Please?

*****************************************************************
	A Love to Span the Ages
	A Chrono Trigger Fanfic
        Part 3
	Written by Jenny 'Android18' Chan
	android18@hotmail.com
	www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Pagoda/4071/index.html
*****************************************************************

			    Chapter 3 : Rescued 
			   Cyrus's Point of View

	I am sitting here, pondering what I could do with the rest
of my life when I am suddenly assaulted from behind. Something
has leaped onto my back.
	Years of training has sharpened my reflexes. I yank my
attacker off my back and slam him into the floor quickly.
	Spekkio grins up at me. "Wow!" He says, "it's been such
a long time since someone has evaded one of my ambushes I almost
forgot how much it hurts when you get slammed into the ground!"
	Apparently, it didn't hurt the fur ball much, because he
just gets up again and looks up at me, grinning.
	"Let's fight!" He says.
	"Is that the only thing you ever think about?" I asked in
a tired tone of voice.
	"Uh... pretty much so. Come on! Let's fight!"
	I sigh. "Spekkio, I don't want to fight you today. Let's 
just say you won, okay?"
	"What?! Aww... you're no fun!" Spekkio sits up beside
me. "So what do you wanna do?" He asks.
	"I... don't want to do anything," I confess. "I just don't
feel like doing anything, anymore. It's not like it would make
a difference to anything..."
	"Someone's feeling apathetic today," Spekkio grumbles.
	"I'm going to be feeling apathetic forever, Spekkio. There
is no 'today' here, because there is no time here!" 
	Spekkio rolls his eyes. "Fine then, I'll find my own fun."
	He just sits there beside me for a few minutes.
	Then he shouts, "time window!"
	That black screen which changed my life forever, opens
up in front of us.
	I blink. "Hey, don't you need Gaspar's stick to summon
that thing?"
	Spekkio shook his head. "Nope. Anyone can do it, but the
stick is just something to be used to focus your control
on. That's why I was just sitting there. I had to focus my 
thoughts onto bringing the time window."
	I blink. "You mean... I can open up the time window?"
	Spekkio nodded. "Yup. Time window, close."
	The black screen disappears.
	"You try it. Close your eyes first, it helps. Visualize
the time window and now, will it to open up right before you."
	I do as Spekkio commands. Then, I shout. "Time window!"
	Nothing happens.
	"Eh, you'll get it sooner or later. Maybe I'll get the
stick for you later." Spekkio closes his eyes for a few seconds
before shouting, "time window!"
	The black screen appears again.
	Spekkio snaps his fingers and a bucket of... something
appears beside him. He offers it to me.
	"Popcorn?" He asks.
	I think back to what Gaspar had told me. 
	~ I am the keeper of the End of Time. Everything here molds 
itself to whatever form I want it to. ~ 
	"I thought only the keeper of the End of Time could do
that," I say, motioning to the 'popcorn' that Spekkio is now
wolfing down.
	"Well... that's usually true, because, usually, there's
only one person at the End of Time: the keeper. But I've been
here so long, I can make things appear out of nowhere, too. In
time, you could do so too."
	I nod, understanding. "So, what exactly is this 'popcorn'?"
	"It's food that people eat while watching movies."
	"'Movies'?"
	"Yeah! Haven't you seen a movie before?" Spekkio blinks.
"Oh yeah, you haven't seen a movie before. I forgot you were
from the middle ages."
	Spekkio laughs. "Well, let me introduce you to one of
the finer parts of living: movies and TV!"
	"A movie or a TV show is a moving picture, that people
watch for fun. Time window! Show Lavos@Kingdom of Zeal!" Spekkio
chuckles. "The time window makes a wonderful TV. We can see
any story that takes place in all time. Only thing is, usually,
TV shows and Movies are make believe, fake. But everything the
time window shows, actually happened at one time or another."
	Spekkio shrugs, "actually, I like watching the time
window. Sometimes, the truth is more entertaining than fiction."
	I look up at the screen. It shows a piece of land, floating
up in the sky. "T-that actually happened in one point in time?!"
I ask.
	Spekkio nods. "Yup. The Kingdom of Zeal flourished around
13 000 BC to 12 000 BC until it's untimely destruction." Spekkio
laughs. "This is 12 000BC. It's also one of my favorite moments 
in time. Time window, play. Audio sequences on."
	The time window starts to move. It goes down onto this
floating land and moves to a place which I think is a shrine
of some sort.
	There are four stone columns around a square stone slate 
on the ground. On the slate is a circle of majestic purple.
Suddenly, the circle starts to glow and then, three forms
appear on it.  Instantly, the three forms move into defensive
positions. I look at the three.
	One is a handsome youth with tuffs of red spikes for 
hair. The next was a startling woman with yellow hair, wearing
a very revealing outfit and holding a wooden club. The last...
was a giant frog dressed in familiar clothing.
	Each of their style of dress is different, and didn't
seem to correspond with the time era.
	"Spekkio, who are they?" 
	"The red-head is Crono from 1000 AD. That hot mama is
Ayla, from 65 000 000 BC. The frog is Frog from-"
	"600 AD," I say, awed. 
	"Eh? How did you know?"
	"I recognize his clothing as that of a Guardian Knight!"
I peer closer at screen and gasp. "Spekkio! He's wearing the 
Hero's Metal! How can this be?! Did Leene and John start
excepting Frogs as knights?!"
	Spekkio shook his head. "No. Frog... wasn't always a
frog. He use to be human, like you."
	"Then who is he? Did I know him?"
	"Well..." Spekkio is fidgeting. "He's... Glen."
 	I stare at Spekkio. "WHAT?!"
	Spekkio gulped. "Uh... after Magus supposedly killed
you, he turned Glen into a Frog..." 
	I stare at Spekkio some more before I leap to my feet, my
sword in my hand. "Bring me back! I have to stop Magus! I have
to stop him!!" 
	"Cyrus... I can't do that, buddy." Spekkio says, 
apologetically. "Gaspar has restricted my inter-time interaction
privilege from the Time-window. Even if I wanted to, I can't
help you."
	"You have to find a way! I have to stop him! I have to
stop Magus from turning my best friend into a frog!"
	"Well..." Spekkio says, "Cyrus, don't worry about it.
Glen will be alright. He'll be a frog, sure, but he gets use
to it and a few years into his future, when given the chance,
he doesn't even choose to become human again. He will like
becoming a frog. Besides, in the grand-scheme of things, Glen
HAS to become a frog. It's a very important thing to the
time line. I won't and can't let you stop that."
	I fall to the ground, defeated. I do not want Glen to 
become a frog... but Spekkio says for the greater good, he has 
to, and, besides, if Glen will enjoy being a frog... then... I 
have no authority to stop his transformation.
	I am upset, but for a man who just discovered his best 
friend turns into a frog, I don't feel all that bad, strangely 
enough.
	"Hey... you want to get on with the movie then?" Spekkio
asks.
	"I don't care."
	"I'll take that as a yes."
	I watch this 'movie' with Spekkio for a little bit. Spekkio
yammers on about 'getting an Oscar' or something to that effect
but I don't listen to him.
	I watch as Glen walks about the Kingdom of Zeal. I am 
surprised and relieved when I see that no one thinks that it
is strange for a giant frog to be walking around a city.
	Then again, how strange can a giant frog be in a kingdom
that floats in the sky?
	Glen and his friends walk and talk to a few of the locals.
One of them is a giant blue thing with a tuff of green hair, arms
and legs. He tells them that the door leads to Princess Schala
and Prince Janus's room.
	I am surprised that they let strangers into the rooms of
the royal heirs. Aren't they worried about kidnaps and 
assassinations?
	I ask Spekkio about this. Spekkio laughs.
	"No one would dare think of kidnapping the Zeal children!
Save for Lavos, they are the single most concentrated source of
magic in all the world and all time! If you commit an offense
against them, they'd blow you out of the sky faster than you
could apologize! Besides, who would want to kidnap Schala and
Janus? Janus is basically harmless and useless and Schala is
such a sweet kid."
	I accept Spekkio's explanation and turn to the screen.
I must admit that I am interested in meeting the Zeal children.
I like kids.
	Glen and company goes into Janus's room, and I see two
people in there. One is a young boy who had the typical spoiled
brat aura to him. 
	The other... the other was fascinating. She was a woman in
her late teens or early twenties. She was giving an amulet of
some sort to the younger boy and obviously cared for him. 
	She... seemed familiar to me, some how, like I've met her
before, although that is impossible.
	She was very beautiful (typical of princesses) and had
a look of kindness around her (also typical of princesses).
	"Spekkio, who are those two?" I ask.
	Spekkio is annoyed. "Would you stop interrupting the
movie?!" He hisses, "the boy is Janus. The girl is Schala, okay?!"
	Schala is not a girl. Schala is a woman. Any idiot could
see that. 
	I am disappointed when she leaves Janus's room and the
time window does not show her any more. 
	Something about her... seems very... familiar.
	Spekkio and I watch as Glen and company charge up some
sort of pendant and stumble into some sort of secret meeting.
	The four people were Schala, a man who looked like a
pirate named Dalton, a woman referred to as Queen Zeal, and
another person who's face could not be seen and was simply
called Prophet.
	It looked like a meeting of the masters of evil. I am
disappointed that Schala is ranked among these obvious
evils.
	I am relieved when it turns out my assumption was
wrong, and Schala and Janus saved Glen and his friends from a 
force field.
	Unfortunately, the Prophet caught her in the act. I
suddenly have the urge to rip the Prophet to shreds when he
makes Schala seal Glen, Crono and Ayla away in a 'portal'.
	Spekkio and I watch a bit more, before he suddenly
grabs my arm.
	"Shh!! The exciting part is coming up!" He says. His
eyes are glued to the screen.
	Crono, Glen and Ayla are facing against Lavos. The
Prophet has shed his disguise, revealing Magus. No wonder I
wanted to rip him to shreds before.
	At the moment, Glen and Ayla were both collapse and
exhausted. They were unable to help Crono, who had a little
bit of energy left and was trying to stop Lavos from devouring
both Schala and Magus. 
	Suddenly, Crono lifts his hands over his head to summon
up all the lightning he could in a last attempt to stop
Lavos.
	It is all in vain as the lightning is absorbed by the
beast. Lavos then strikes Crono with a blast of his own, 
reducing the boy to dust.
	I stare at the carnage.
	"What?!  He dies?! Just like that?!" I ask.
	"Shh!! You haven't seen Death peak yet!" Spekkio says.
	It turns out that Crono's last blast wasn't completely
in vain. He had bought Schala enough time to teleport Magus,
Ayla, Frog and herself away to safety.
	I wish she had left Magus behind.
	As I watch, Schala uses the last of her energy to send
Ayla, Frog and Magus out of the ocean palace. She does not have
enough energy to send herself as well. The entire palace is
shaking. Boulders are falling and everything is shaking.
	I see that Magus is very upset as Schala sends him
away, for some reason. He is screaming 'nooooo!!!'
	Schala collapses from the energy drain as she whispers
her brother's name, Janus, who had just been swallowed up by
a black hole a few hours ago. I see a tear slide from her 
eye.
	Boulders and rocks fall all around her and one falls on
top of her, just as the time window blacks out and then fades
back in, showing Ayla and Frog in a hut.
	I leap to my feet.
	"What happened to Schala?!" I shouted. 
	"Eh?" Spekkio asks, obviously surprised at my outburst.
"Schala? I think she dies. I mean, a big honking rock fell
on top of her! She's probably dead."
	"We have to save her!" I shout.
	"What?!"
	"We have to save her!" I repeat. "She can't just die
like that, we have to save her! It's not fair!"
	Spekkio sighed. "You hero types don't get it, do you? You
CAN'T save her, just like you couldn't stop Glen's transformation.
Her death is a part of the time line- not a vital part, mind
you, but a part none the less. You can't save her."
	"I must," I say, determined. "She shouldn't have died
like that."
	"Who are you to say how she should have died?" Spekkio
asked, annoyed. I look down at him, and I am surprised that he
seems to be serious- more serious than I have ever seen him
before.
	"Cyrus, people die," Spekkio says. "People are born, they
live, they die, they are reborn. It's a cycle. If you save Schala,
you'd want to save another, and another, everytime you watch the
time window because people are dying unjustly all the time! You
can't do that! You'll go insane!"
	Spekkio turns to the window. "Time window, close." Then,
he turns to me again. "I think you shouldn't use the time window
until you think about what I've said, okay?"
	I feel like a little boy being scolded by his mother. But
I nod. Now was not the time to act prideful.
	"Good. I'm gonna go look for Gaspar now." Spekkio looks at
me closely. "Forget about Schala."
	I nod. I will try.

*****************************************************************

	It's been three days since I've seen the time window- at
least, I think it's been three days. I've gone to sleep three 
times, so I think it's a safe guess.
	I can not get Schala out of my head. When I am asleep, I
am assaulted by a random string of images of her. Since I have
only seen a little bit of her, most of these images are used over
and over again.
	When I am awake, it is slightly worse, because the only 
thing I can think about is her.
	I think Spekkio was wrong about me going insane. I think I
AM insane. Either that, or obsessed.
	I haven't thought about someone so much since... Leene. And
that was only AFTER I had known her for years! I've only known
Schala for the scant minutes she was on the screen of the time
window, and I am already acting like this!
	I cannot help it. I keep seeing her sad face just before
she gets crushed by a falling ceiling. Every fibre of my being
screams at me to find a way to rescue her. 
	The reflex to help people in need has been pounded into 
my so throroughly during my knight training that it has become 
a part of me. A LARGE part of me.
	I sooo want to rescue her. I NEED to rescue her. I cannot
let her die a meaningless death. It is an urge I cannot control. 
	 I suspect that knight-training has little to do with this
urge.
	Someone taps me on my shoulder. I instantly know that it
is Gaspar and not Spekkio. The latter would never greet me so
civilly.
	"Yes Gaspar?" I say.
	"You are preoccupied with something," he says. He looks at
me through bushy eyebrows. "Care to talk about it?"
	"Well, I..." Suddenly, I remember that Gaspar was from the
same land as Schala. I nod. "Yes, I'd like to talk. Actually, I'd
like to ask you some questions."
	"Ask away," Gaspar says. Sitting on a chair. One suddenly
appears beside me, and I don't even think before I plop down on
it.
	"Tell me about Schala," I say.
	Gaspar raises his eyebrows. "How did you learn about her?"
He asks.
	"Spekkio was showing me a 'movie', and I saw her." I say.
	Gaspar frowns. "He was using the time window?"
	"Yes, but he didn't open it to pull someone through," I
say, calming the old man instantly.
	"He'd better hadn't." Gaspar grumbles. Then, he smirks and
looks at me again, a twinkle in his eye. "Now, why would you 
want to know about Schala?" He asks.
	"I... I am bored," I lie. For some reason, I don't think
telling him that I think I'm obsessing will help matters.
	Gaspar laughs, "well, let me enlighten you. Actually, when
I was still in the time line, that was what I was. An Enlightened
one. Back then, there were two peoples. The earthbound ones, and
the enlightened ones. The earthbound ones were not part of the
Kingdom of Zeal. They were bound to the earth, because they had
no magic. The enlightened ones had magic. They were part of Zeal.
Three guesses which race looked down on the other one, and the 
first two don't count."
	"I'm thinking the enlightened ones thought they were better
than the earthbound ones," I say.
	Gaspar nods. "Of course. The ruler of the kingdom was a
woman named Zeal. She... well, at one time, she was a benovent
ruler. But then we discovered the power of Lavos, and you know the
saying, power corrupts all and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
	"Corruption basically described everyone in the Kingdom
except for Schala, and the three gurus of life, of which I was
one." Gaspar sighed, "they were so foolish, to think they could
safely harness the power of Lavos. So foolish.
	"Schala... Schala was the most proficient magic user of
all time." Gaspar squints as he thinks. "Actually... this is no
longer true. I believe Magus outranks her by just a little."
	I frown. "Magus has more power than Schala?" I ask. "Then
why didn't HE use HIS power to save everyone from death? Why
was it Schala who had to use all her energy to save everyone
else?"
	"There are two main branches of magic, Cyrus," Gaspar
explains. "There is potential magic, and there is destructive
magic. Potential has many uses but is limited to the aura of the
user. Destructive magic's main use is to destroy. It is split 
further into four branches. They are Lightning, Fire, Water, and 
Shadow. Destructive magic is limitless. The amount of destructive 
magic you can wield is only limited by the about of Ether you 
consume.
	"Schala may have more potential magic than Magus, but Magus
can control all four branches of destructive magic where as Schala
has yet to use any destructive magic. Of course, once she uses
destructive magic, she may be more powerful than Magus, but for
the moment, Magus is more powerful."
	I nodded, storing this little bit of information for
future reference.
	Gaspar continued. "Schala... despite all her power, was not
corrupted in the slightlest. She was the most kind, gentle, 
compasionate young woman in all the land. She was like the
grand-daughter I never had... and I know the other gurus felt the
same way. She was kind to everyone, regardless to class. She
treated the yougest earthbound child with the same respect she
gave to the highest enlightened noble. She was beautiful in all
ways that a woman could be beautiful."
	Then, Gaspar sighed, and closed his eyes as he said the
next part, like it pained him. "I believe that her greatest 
fault, and possibly her greatest asset, was her sense of 
loyalty. If she sticks by you... she sticks by you all the way.
	"That was her undoing. Her mother, Zeal, was obessed with
Lavos's power and since she knew her daughter had more potential
power than she did, Zeal forced Schala to help her summon Lavos
through the Mammon Machine.
	"Schala knew that it was wrong. She pleaded with her mother
so eloquently... but to no avail. Zeal could not be perswayed to
forget her quest for immortality, believe me, I know. Thus,
because Zeal was her mother, Schala did as she asked, even though
it made her so miserable she cried herself to sleep at nights.
	"At the end, it was Schala who paid for her mother's
'immortality', with her life."
	Then, Gaspar said no more. He puts a hand up to his eyes.
	But I had heard enough. I get up, give the old man a pat
on his back, and let him reminise about old times.
	I have made up my mind.
	Schala will not die the death that she did.

*****************************************************************

	Gaspar and Spekkio are asleep in one of the rooms when I
sneak out into the darkness. 
	I wish I had Gaspar's stick but, alas, I couldn't retrieve
it since Gaspar had a death grip on it, even in his sleep.
	So, I was out in the darkness, with only my will to summon
the time window.
	I close my eyes and take a few breathes to clear my mind
them, I visualize the black screen in front of me.
	"Time window!" I cry. When I open my eyes, I see... nothing.
It didn't work.
	I bite my lip. ~It MUST work...~
	I close my eyes again, but I cannot calm down. My heart
is pounding so loudly...
	~I have to save her... I have to meet her... Schala...~ 
	"Time window!" 
	Perhap the time window heard the desperation in my voice
as I shouted my command and felt sorry for me.
	When I open my eyes, there it is! The time window has
responded to my command.
	I am so happy I fall over.
	"Ah... ah... time window, show me Schala," I say after
getting up.
	The time window remains blank.
	"Time window, show me Schala!"
	Still blank.
	"Time window, show me Schala... just before she dies and
pause."
	I think I have gotten the hang of it because suddenly,
the time window comes to life, and shows me Schala's beautiful,
sad face.
	The rock is just about to fall on her.
	"Ah... unpause and..." I rack my brain, trying to think of
the command. "And... open to... ah... inter-time interaction?"
	The window paused and then started to give a humming noise.
Then, a loud bang of ceiling hitting ground was heard. I blink
when I feel the heat of destruction on my face and I realize
that the time window had done as I had asked.
	I leapt through the window and instantly find myself in
the Ocean Palace. The rock has just fallen on Schala. I can
see her arm and sleeve sticking out from a pile of rubble.
	"No!!" I shout, running to her. I claw at the rocks, and
lift them away from her. Gradually, I uncover her until I can lift
her away from the rocks.
	But before I do so, I stop and place my ear on her mouth,
my hand directly on her pulse.
	She was still alive!
	Quickly, I lift her, and run back to the time window. I
have to doge falling rocks on the way and a few times, they hit
me though I make sure none hit her.
	Finally, I lunge through the window, and back into the end
of time, using my body to shield hers.
	The sound of destruction is deafening and I know that the
noise must have awaken Spekkio and Gaspar.
	"Time window, close!"
	The time window does so and instantly, the sounds of
destruction are no longer there. The only sound that I can hear,
is that of my panting and the footsteps of two people running
towards me.
	I turn and see Gaspar and Spekkio. They are both shocked.
	"Cyrus, what have you done?!" Gaspar demands.
	I swallow. "I...I..."
	"Who did you pull out?!" Spekkio cried, pushing me away
so he could see. Then, his eyes widen as he looks at me. "Cyrus...
this is-"
	"Quickly, get her to the healing elixer!" Gaspar commands.
	I lift Schala and follow Gaspar's commands. 
	I know he will be very upset once he gets over the shock... 
but at least Schala's alive.

*****************************************************************


______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com