Time travel is one of those fictional puzzles that I love. And Dark Cloud is one of my favorite series. Yet, the workings of time travel in those games, especially the second, are rather unclear. I decided to figure out the implications of all the time travel in Dark Cloud 2 and make a sort of epilogue to it. Plus, I get to use lots of the fun characters.

Future Perfect

The large windmill creaked in the salty sea breeze. The sapphire blue waters sparkled unlike any other patch of water in the world. Overhead, the sky was starting to yellow as one of the famed sunsets of Vennicio began. With the pale sands, the lush palm trees, the monumental stone formations, and all the glittering shards in the shallows, it was little wonder that this cove was said to be one of the most beautiful spots in the world.

At the end of one set of piers, there was a bench made up of earthy-brown ceramic pots and a thick slab of wood. A pink-purple light orb glowed nearby, one of the Luna Lights that was prolific in this setting. A man sat on the bench, playing a slow and sad song on a long necked instrument, a sitar. With blue-toned skin and thick pale gray hair, he clearly was one of the foreign races. A pair of reading glasses was in his coat pocket and a book sat next to him on the bench.

There was a soft thump on wood as someone walked down the pier towards him. The man glanced over to see it was one of the rabbit people, a brown furred person with long ears. Like most of his kind, he wore a long blue cloak that could easily hide his entire form. Unlike most, he wore a moon-shaped pendant on a necklace. He nodded, but finished out his song as the rabbit came to sit on the bench with him.

Once he did, he set the instrument in his lap. "Good evening, Pau," he said.

The rabbit nodded. "Evening, Jaming. Are you waiting on Shingala and the others too?"

"I hope you don't mind, but yes." He rubbed his chin. "There's something about that stone he gave to us last time. Its presence is calming, yet it makes me focused, not relaxed. I had hoped to ask about it."

Pau smiled. "Oh, well then I don't mind translating for you. I think the older ones would be glad to tell you about it."

Jaming looked down a moment, then leaned over and pulled a device out of his bag. It looked like a seashell, but had some mechanical widgets on it (Pau was never sure what to call that kind of thing other than a 'widget'). "Actually, I've been working on a translation device. Obviously, I can't refine it without the Shigura around to test with. But they are wise in ways that others have forgotten, I think. I'd like to be able to speak with them too."

"That's great," the rabbit said, patting his leg reassuringly. "It's better when we all get along. Can you get it to translate for the more intelligent monsters too?"

"Well this was designed for the Shigura." Jaming turned it in his hand. "Although I see no reason why other translation devices couldn't be possible. It would take a lot of time, and I have other projects I'm working with too."

"But there's going to be a scientific lab built here soon, right? You should have plenty of help then."

The blue-skinned man looked surprised. "Oh, you've heard of that already? We had been discussing the idea. I think we've got financial support from Donny and Claire, but the plans have only been discussed by a few."

"I live here," he pointed out. "I heard some things."

"I hope you're all right with this," Jaming said. "We've got small plans right now, but it will change this area."

Pau gripped the pendant he always wore. "It's okay. I don't know a lot about inventing things, but I know a lot of stuff. I can help, and until you get your translation device working, I can help the Shigura get involved too. This is part of their territory."

"And they should know about our plans then," he agreed. "Your knowledge has always been a touch arcane. But a true scientist doesn't dismiss anything until it's studied sufficiently."

"Is that why you're reading this?" he asked, picking up the large book on the bench. He seemed thoughtful in looking over the illustration on the cover, a copy of a mural called the Moon of Destruction. "It's that book everyone is talking about."

Jamming nodded. "Oh yes, that's the one about the world remarkably like ours, only it has two moons in the sky instead of one." He paused. "Actually, I just got to a part that mentions the both of us."

"What did you think about that?" Pau asked, looking up at him intently.

Looking back at him, Jaming thought again how his friend here had a face that seemed so innocent, and yet he had an uncanny knowledge of things. He hadn't wanted to tell anyone of his real opinions of this book. But in seeing those strange black eyes, he found that he couldn't help himself. "I…" his throat tensed and he felt a sense of guilt that had always seemed misplaced or superstitious. But it seemed all too real. "I felt like I knew about it already."

"Did you?" His voice wasn't condemning, though. It was a friend's understanding.

He picked up his instrument again and strummed the strings. "It was quite a few years ago when I was having a string of tough luck. I had lost nearly all funding for my research into aeroharmonics, seemingly hit a dead end in that, and there had recently been a scathing criticism in a scientific paper about me. I got caught up in despair over it, even hatred. And on the darkest day of that time, I had… well I couldn't call it a vision, but I found that I had memories from the future, two futures actually.

"In one, I had enslaved the Shigura and used them to attack many seaside towns until I was killed in vengeance. And in the other, I had tried to do the same, but there was this boy and girl who stopped me, and the Shigura forgave me, causing me to change my mind and work for the good of everyone. Finding I had those future memories was a shock. Not only did I know two possible futures, but I had the feeling that everything had been reset and there I was at the bottom again, with a new chance at life.

"Having seen the kindness and wisdom of the Shigura in that second life, I saw the dangers that were in becoming desperate to despair. That gave me reason to keep pressing on with my research, even if it meant exploring other possibilities for a while. I still ended up coming here, and when I saw you with an injured young Shigura, I remembered the pain I had put you both through and I felt horrible." Jaming bowed his head. "That's partly why I offered to get the medicine for him and became friends with you: I felt guilty about something I did in another lifetime. I always felt ashamed at having those future memories, and then this book came out…"

After a pause, Pau said, "And that's why you were playing out here tonight."

"Right." Jaming ran his fingers along the strings. "A sitar and a guitar are similar instruments with different shapes. This produces a different and distinctive sound from each instrument, yet they are similar. Kind of like those lifetimes that I remember but haven't actually experienced. They're a different shape with different tones, and yet it was still me. It's frightening to think how different and similar they are."

The rabbit looked out to the sea, perhaps looking for his other friend. Not seeing anything, he turned back to Jaming. "Those memories are all real, you know. I remember them too."

He tensed, feeling a sense of dread. "You do?"

Then he chuckled. "Don't worry. I know they're different. You're my friend too, in this lifetime. I'm a history keeper."

"A historian?"

Pau shook his head. "No, historians only keep track of the history they live in. I keep records on alternate histories, although I can't tell you where those records are kept." He set the book back on the bench. "I'm not certain how this one got out, but there seems to be no harm in letting it stay out as quite a few people seem to remember it. It's a tradition that's passed along my people. But not a lot of people are interested in alternate histories, once they hear about it. Quite a lot of it is disturbing, as you know."

Feeling relieved, he took a deep breath, then asked, "If you're a keeper of secret histories, then why do I remember two of them?"

"Because my people made a mistake long ago," he explained. "And it ended up in a massive snarl that nearly destroyed many histories, secret and otherwise. If you're interested, I could tell you more about those two particular histories, like why they came about. The book explains the resolution, but not everything." He paused a moment, gripping his small fist. "Just promise me one thing."

"What is it?"

"In this history, don't ever fall to the temptation to use time travel."

He gave that some thought. "I don't know if that's even possible," he said finally.

"It is," Pau reassured him. "Through magic, alchemy, and even science, it can be done. But it should not be done. That may be what solved the snarl, but it's also what started it. When time isn't tampered with, it's calm, like the waters here now. But once you start tinkering with time itself, it creates waves in all directions, causing problems that can only be fixed with more time travel, which causes its own problems… eventually it snowballs into a huge mess and the forces of nature conspire to snap everything back into one history. But not everything will fit back into place nicely. You shouldn't remember your part in the time snarl, but due to its complexity and the extensive period of time that the snap back covers, you do. It does seem to end up with a better history overall as the real one."

"Like how I haven't mistreated the Shigura here because I know what could happen if I do?" Jaming asked.

Pau nodded. "Right, stuff like that. But it's not worth it to tamper with time itself. So promise me that you won't."

He nodded. "I promise, I won't use time travel."

"Good." He touched the pendant again. "You see, ten thousand years ago, there was a war between two great empires. The moon folk, my people, were split between both sides, even though humans made up the majority of the empires. We've always had great inventors in our numbers, and they advised the leaders. Someone came up with a spell that allowed time to be captured in a bubble, so to speak. It let workers spend years inside the bubble working on projects, but when they came out, only a few minutes of actual time had passed. And their age was determined by the time outside the bubble, not within. It didn't seem like it would cause problems, but the snarl had begun.

"This spell allowed for vast increases in technology in short amount of time. The fighting became extremely violent, wiping out massive populations and ruining both empires as well as any other government in the world. Although they became highly advanced with incredible speed, the end result was anarchy and the destruction of all that technology. It would be like people of this time being forced to go back to having just sticks and stones for tools."

"That's quite a step back," Jaming said. Here he was working on building vehicles that could fly safely. To go back to technology that barely had wheels, it would be tough to manage.

"And there was something that the time capture spell did to my ancestors," Pau went on. "They didn't seem to age physically, but mentally, something started happening to those who used time bubbles too much. They lost a sense of reality and a connection with other people. A group of those who were already quite unhinged got together in a time bubble to discuss a creation of the greatest weapon of all, one that would stop fighting altogether by destroying everything by creating a whole new moon and crashing it into Earth. And they didn't see a problem with it. The plan required three Atlamillia to work."

"Those legendary stones?" he asked. "But only one comes up every one thousand years."

"Right. But there's always been a forbidden spell known to magicians, the art of time travel. It was called forbidden even back then, but its mere existence has proven an irresistible temptation to those who think it can solve all their problems. The group planning the Moon of Destruction set up a special altar in a deep cave, near what is now Palm Brinks, in order to grow the Atlamillia they needed. And then, a few members traveled forward in time in order to claim the three.

"Travel to the future is said to be difficult to guide. According to my records, they ended up well over a hundred years in the past from now and only found one whole Atlamillia, the yellow Sun. The blue Moon and the red Earth Atlamillias were not quite ready, so they returned to their time to try again. However the Sun Atlamillia managed to escape them. Instead of going with one of its creators, the Sun waited for a young rabbit who was feeling very powerless at the time."

It wasn't like gold. It glowed unlike gold, like a yellow sky in sunset. It was almost the color of her hair, which was why he had taken it. "It's an artifact of great power, a gift from the Earth," the older rabbit told him. "It's an Atlamillia and it's capable of great things. You must be a special person to have been chosen by it."

The young rabbit touched the yellow stone that hung around his neck by a black cord. He had been keeping it under his cloak, to avoid thieves, but he had brought it out to show this librarian. "I see. Will you help me then?"

She frowned and started putting books back in their places. "I should think not. They were a terrible bunch, part of the reason the world is in such an awful state now. You have a great blessing that could make this world immensely better, maybe even make up for all the wrongs the old empires made. There's no reason for a young person like you to be looking into the Moon of Destruction."

No, she was wrong; he needed to know about the moon! His hidden hand clenched into a fist as he considered attacking her for refusing to help. His powers were awakening and he could easily kill her on the spot. But then he wouldn't know where to begin looking in this massive library to find out about the moon. Moonflower Palace did not have any such records of it, but an oracle in a Holy Drake had told him to come here. But how to make her see?

Then a simple lie came to him. "I know that the red moon is trouble," he said, hoping he sounded believable. "But with this Atlamillia I have, I've been able to speak with the spirits. They say that the creation of the red moon has already begun. It needs to be stopped before it becomes too late, or even before it fully forms. I want to help, but I need to know more about it to do so."

This surprised her, causing her to pause in her task again. "Oh, really? Well we've been working on this Geostone project in hopes that it will help the future… but you're right, if we can stop the moon from even forming, that would be best." She paused, scratching her head. "And… the Atlamillia did choose you, after all." Then she nodded. "Okay, I'll help you find the books. What's your name, by the way?"

"Sirius."

Puzzled, she looked at him. "Oh, Sirius? That's not a traditional name of our people."

Because he hadn't been named by a fellow moon rabbit. "But it is my name," he said.

"All right. The books for that would be in the back room. Come with me."

Sirius smiled. He was on track to setting things right.

For many years, Moonflower Palace had been one of the last places where life made its refuge. All around the palace walls, there was dead earth, razed brown and black by the weapons of war. Even this place couldn't hide from the rage of war, though. The moon rabbits had developed the weapons and the humans had used them to devastate everyone, spreading death instead of life. For someone so young and full of life, it was easy to hate them for it.

And it was easy for him, a spirit of annihilation, to reach out to someone full of sadness and hatred to turn it into all-consuming madness. In fact, the sweeter they started, the bitterer and more satisfying they would turn out. Sirius here was innocent and powerful enough to attract an Atlamillia. But he was also desperate enough at the sudden loss of his replacement mother Alexandria that he willingly listened to the spirit who engineered this cycle of destruction.

Perhaps this time, the destruction could complete itself without falling into a cycle of revival.

The Dark Element took to teaching his protégé about magic and the Atlamillia. "According to the specifications made by your ancestors, the blue Atlamillia can travel backwards in time by a century, while the red can travel forwards in time by a century."

"What about this yellow one?" Sirius asked, looking into it.

Instead of answering immediately, he replied, "The Moon orbits the Earth, assisting it but captivated by its power. In the same manner, the Earth orbits the Sun, captivated by its power." He tapped the Atlamillia; it gave him a brief insight that it was irritated by this, pleasing him. "This is the Sun, holding the red Earth, which holds the blue Moon. The blue Atlamillia will come to the red, and then the red will come to the yellow. This will unite them all once again, allowing whoever holds all three to hold enough power to activate the Moon of Destruction to annihilate everything at the time that the blue Atlamillia appears. Unfortunately, that is ten thousand years into the future now."

The rabbit stiffened, laying back his ears. "Ten, ten thousand years? But what am I supposed to do until then?"

"Keep communing with the Atlamillia you have," the Dark Element said. "Let it know your pain and sorrow; let it know how terrible the peoples of the Earth are. Convince it that the Moon of Destruction must be brought about… and it will draw the other two Atlamillia to it, no matter how far distant in the future they will awaken."

The process would also create a massive snarl of time, unlike any that he knew of. But if it led to the ultimate destruction of everything, to where even he ceased to exist, then that would accomplish his goals.

They were rebuilding the garden.

It made no sense. Why were they rebuilding the garden? He had left it brown and dead, to remind himself of the terrible things that humans did to each other. The part of the palace that he stayed in was still dark and cold, but the levels they had explored were bright and warm now. What was with these two human children?

They couldn't be restoring it to please him. He had done terrible things to them. While the palace had been aloft in this time, he had looked into their histories, then made sure to set them in stone, as sure as fate. He had killed the current form of Jurak and turned the Rainbow Butterfly insane. He had ordered his followers Gaspard and Jaming to kill Sage Crest before he became a sage, enslave the Shigura before they could help the Lunatic Wisdom Laboratory form, to destroy Heim Rada and Gundorada… and then he'd helped the children in cruel ways. He made certain that they set off on their quests by getting King Raybrant killed and setting up Max to get caught by Flotsam. And then he'd left treasures at certain points and invented the game of Spheda to help them along. In the end, he made certain that they would go back in time so that he could take their Atlamillias and come to this time to ruin their lives once again. It was them who had renamed him Griffon.

While it was confusing and self-causing, it got the job done.

Somehow, their response to this was rebuilding the garden. They were using Geostones scattered throughout the palace (possibly set there by the librarian rabbit) to remake it exactly how he remembered it. He had left pictures of its former glory in the entrance hall, but as those pictures only brought him sorrow, he rarely looked at them. And looking out at the partly completed garden, he felt another pang of sorrow.

But it wasn't quite the same. While the two humans were in the palace making their way to his quarters, Griffon warped out to the garden to see it in person. He was so much taller now that even sitting down he couldn't see things the same. Yet it was all familiar even though he'd discovered that some of these plants, like the Camellia Trees, hadn't existed for thousands of years. And the sorrow he felt sitting here in the new garden, listening to the babbling stream and the rustling trees, was like Alexandria was saddened to see him like this.

Why should she feel sad for him? She was the one who died. Sure, it had been like his whole world had died on the day that she was killed. But he had grown powerful out of it. No one could call him helpless now, as he had been the day that the palace had been invaded. And, he would be with her in time. Wouldn't that make her happy? It'd make him happy.

Was what he was doing… wrong?

Griffon shook his head. No, this was just. Humans, and even his own people, had destroyed everything he loved. They didn't appreciate life, just kept spreading death and destruction to gain power for themselves. When he had called for the Moon of Destruction thanks to Max and Monica giving him the other two Atlamillias, he had done it to restart life and give it total power over death.

Then again, he was the one who said that he would go on destroying the eras of history one by one, going backwards, until there was nothing left. Wasn't that empowering the forces of destruction more than those of creation?

No, the Dark Element had told him otherwise. He was doing the right thing.

But once he got a fresh scent of the palace gardens, a nagging doubt had taken seed in his heart.

You get one chance to correct this mistake, and then the power of the Atlamillias will be completely consumed.

Reality was shaky, finding Sirius sitting in the sun room of the palace. In front of him, there was the book detailing the Moon of Destruction. It was flickering, here and gone again, only to reappear with a different cover. Three lights shone on him, one on each wrist and a third around his neck. The Atlamillia were attempting to pull time out of its messy snarl. But something needed to be set in stone.

And it is your choice, Sirius.

What should be done about the Moon of Destruction?

There was a terrible pain in his heart. It has only been a month since the invasion of the palace, and the death of Queen Alexandria. And yet, he suddenly had memories of the future in his mind, memories from thousands of years after now. His whole world had been shattered when she had died. But then he'd listened to the Dark Element, which would appear itself in a few minutes. Listening to it had drawn him to create more destruction than any army on Earth was currently capable of.

One choice, one chance.

What should he do? Like the Dark Element said, he couldn't bring the dead back to life. But, he didn't want to become known as Emperor Griffon, one of the most evil beings in all of history.

"The idea for the Moon of Destruction should have never existed," Sirius stated, his voice shaky as he was uncertain of what the right path was.

The three Atlamillia shone brightly, yellow, red, and blue, then shattered into fine dust. The book was gone. And, he was alone.

Sirius dropped back into the sun chair, letting his ears droop. So, that was it. What did he do now? The world was in ruins. He could keep taking care of this garden, but it wouldn't be the same. The future looked like it would just be one big long struggle.

And then, he felt something odd. A ripple through time. He sat up, alert to it. Next, the door opened. But it wasn't one of the monsters reporting in to him. It was her… "Alexandra!" He hopped off the chair and ran over to hug her.

"Oh?" She rubbed his head, very much there, very much alive. "What's the matter Sirius? Why are you crying?"

He sniffed, but didn't let her go. "I… something terrible happened. But then it didn't happen. I'm not sure."

"Tell me anyways," she said gently.

It took some time, but eventually he figured out that the Atlamillia stones had erased precisely one event: the invention of enclosed time bubbles. The lack of that spell meant that magic and technology both were developing at a snail's pace, leaving war in an inefficient and slow state. And that meant that the invaders were a long ways off, and Alexandra was still alive. Not only that, but Sirius' knowledge of an alternate history allowed them to make peace with the invading country, preserving so much.

Later, the librarian rabbit told him that he was indeed special among moon folk. He was a history keeper, a knower of secret pasts and futures.

It was on a stormy night that she remembered. It was like a whole different life she had led… no, two different lives, as she had changed history. Her and a boy, Maximillion. They had traveled back and forth between her time, the present, and his time, a hundred years ago, all in order to set things right. It had been a grand adventure: meeting interesting people, building a better history, fighting twisted monsters, sometimes even being those monsters.

And tonight was a very important night, she remembered. This was the night that things had started for her. It was the night that her father had died.

Sitting up in bed, Monica felt a sense of panic. Tonight? She even knew who would kill him. It was one of the castle knights, the half-elf Gaspard. But, that was another time, and a whole different life. In that time, she had practiced with her sword and magic for three years, said to be a magic warrior with a lot of potential. In this time and life, she had practiced with her magic, but not a sword. There was no war against… Griffon, right? There was no war that required a warrior princess.

Feeling anxious, she got dressed and left her bedroom. It was quiet, save for the footsteps of the servants and the rain and thunder of the storm outside. No strange thin soldiers came to chase her down. No calls of alarm were sounding. Just the storm and the usual background noise.

A shadow moved across a window as she made her way down the curved hall. Her heart thumped; was it the monsters? No, it was just the shadow of trees being blown about. Monica felt both relieved and ashamed. The memories of her other life had her as bold and brave, charging headlong into battle. Part of that was because she had lost everything; her world had disappeared bit by bit, leaving her with memories that felt certain, but had no proof. Nothing like that had happened to her in this life, and she wasn't sure if she could manage a swordfight now.

Then she was there, in front of the tall double doors that made up the entrance to the room of her parents. Parents, she thought. She had her mother here, whom she had lost due to Griffon's monsters in the other lives. The door was open, letting sounds of chatter and laughter come out. And her father's voice was one of them, lively and happy. On one hand, it seemed like nothing could go wrong tonight. On the other hand…

Monica heard footsteps coming her way. She clenched her fist, but stepped away from the door. Trying not to look so nervous, she took a few deep breaths. It could just be the guards. Or it could be Gaspard.

No, it was neither. An elegant woman came walking down the hall, wearing a fancy shawl and carrying a feathered fan. Because she remembered her in those other lives too, but very different from this life, Monica didn't feel any less uneasy. "Elena?"

She looked up and smiled. "Oh, good evening Monica. Isn't it late for you to be up?"

"Well I…" she stopped before she could say anything. How did she explain that she knew that her father was supposed to die tonight?

Strangely, Elena got a knowing look on her face. She came closer and patted her shoulder. "You remember, don't you?"

Monica got flustered at that. "Wh-what do you mean?" She felt her face turn pink; somehow, she didn't feel like herself, and yet this was how she was.

"It's okay," Elena said gently. "I was restless tonight, but my husband and I had already arranged to come over. I'm not really quite ready to return yet; would you walk with me for a bit?"

"Um, sure." She wasn't sure where to go, so she walked back down the circular hall towards her room with Elena. "Do you remember?"

She nodded. "I remembered it all quite some time ago. Just before I married Agrais, actually." She smiled, twisting her fan about. "It was quite awkward, especially since I already had pre-wedding jitters. It'll take some time for you to get used to having alternate sets of memories. And don't worry about your father. I asked Sir Gaspard to go to Elder Jurak for me. And, he remembers too. He's not the same person, such as you are not the same person, due to the actual life that he has lived. He swore to me that he has no desire to betray his King this time, and I believe him. Griffon is no longer a threat, or even in existence perhaps."

Something about that didn't seem quite right. The words 'do not blame the child' wandered through her head. "But what about the Dark Element? That was…" she tried to find it. "That was what was actually controlling him. I think. That part's murky."

"That's part of what I want to know from Jurak. According to what records we can find, the Dark Element is a force of destruction. Whether it's an actual living being or not is debatable. There seems to be a continuous cycle of destruction and creation going on throughout history; it never lets anything stagnate for long. I want to know if the Dark Element is still capable of acting out a massive period of destruction."

While they had been speaking, something kept nagging at Monica. She wasn't sure if it was polite to ask, even of a family friend. But, she had to know. "Right. But, what happened to Max? If our history got reset again, then where is he?"

That. It worried Elena and she felt that Monica might unintentionally be a dangerous person because of it, one who could lure the Dark Element as well. She wouldn't mean any harm, no, but she was just twelve. At that age, she didn't realize that a first love might not be a life love. In fact, there was a high chance that a person's life love was never their first love. The girl could be tempted to find a way to get to Max, breaking the continuity of time again and causing a chain reaction of disasters. This had to be handled very carefully; she ought to let the King and Queen know what the problem was so they could avoid further problems. The next few years, in which Monica would be going through teenage troubles, would be critical.

"I'm not certain what happened to him," Elena said, some sadness coming into her voice. It was strange to have loved two persons in a remembered alternate history, and then never met them in her true history. "I have two children now, but neither of them are Max." And neither of them could be.

"Could he be in the past?" Monica asked.

"We could look into it," she replied. "But, I have received a long and strange letter from him. And there is a book that you ought to read. Both documents seem to support each other, as does the memories of those of us who do remember."

Sindain was a village of dwarves, humans, and elves. It was surrounded by the mystical Rainbow Butterfly Woods, where many strange and peaceful monsters lived. Filled with straw and wood houses, it was a peaceful place where the neighbors all helped each other and worked to keep nature intact. Everything was made to fit into the landscape, not impose on it: the streets, the lights, the bridges, the water wheel power plant. Glowing mushrooms and unusual flowers sprouted everywhere, not kept to strict gardens and yet cared for.

And on the edges of this nature loving place, on the shore of a mysterious lake, Elder Jurak watched over his neighbors. Jurak was an enormous tree, with sprawling roots and a lush canopy. He had two large holes that served as a nose with two large blue eyes that never looked aggressive or harsh. For thousands of years, the spirit of Jurak had been continually reborn, always remembering his past lives. He acted as a gentle and practical voice of wisdom. Sometimes, his answers didn't immediately make sense. But he would invariably turn out to be correct.

At an edge of the shore that was some distance from Jurak, Gaspard considered that idea. He sat on a rough wooden bench and watched the white mists gather over the water's surface. Night was falling, and the fog would soon extend into Sindain itself. But due to his elven blood, he would be able to see through it just fine to get back to where he was staying in town.

He knew why Elena had sent him out here at this particular time, so that he would be away from the castle on this night. And he had been more than willing to agree to the mission, even though it was a simple quest for answers. There was no reason to do the deed now. And yet, he could remember it all too well.

It was a hatred of humankind that drove him, even though he was half human. He had hated himself in that way, although he would never hate his mother and father for it. As that hatred was so broad, he focused it on one particular person, a human king who never prosecuted crimes against elves. And he'd killed King Raybrant; in that dark moment, he had relished taking another's life by surprise, forgetting about honor to attack after he'd disarmed the man. There had been something so satisfying about it that he could feel it strongly even if it wasn't his current life.

And then, there had been the princess. That girl with her long pink hair, giving up her royal background to dress as a warrior and pursue him for revenge. Her eyes had been so bitter… and yet, she had forgiven him at the last moment. Just before he had been possessed and turned into a giant devil only able to watch his controlled actions. Then, he was killed by the disapproval of his master.

Gaspard remembered that too.

Shuddering, Gaspard drew his sword. It was the sword of a knight, one loyal to King Raybrant. He wanted to be loyal; he wanted things to go better. But he could remember that darkness. He could remember the voice of his master, the bitter childlike voice that spoke of the world being irredeemably evil and due to be purified in the power of the red moon. And he had been called to ensure that the destruction happened. At the time, following the voice of Griffon was something that soothed his need for vengeance and resolution. But it had never been fully satisfied, even in the king's assassination. He had continued to feel empty and alone, seeking to assist the destruction of the world in order to find the destruction of himself.

But he didn't want that anymore.

He had lived a very different life in those alternate histories. His father had died early in that life, for one. But in the time he lived in, his father had survived and had helped him when his mother had grown ill and died. And when he remembered all this madness right after the loss. Not only that, but he remembered people as being kinder to him, with very few discriminating against nonhumans. In fact, as he knew the King now, the man favored justice for all, not just humans. So, there was absolutely no reason to kill him.

Gaspard just had to diminish the connection he felt to his other lives.

According to Elder Jurak, the Dark Element still existed. It could never be fully destroyed unless its mission of destruction was total and complete, with absolutely nothing else left. Due to the influence of the Light Element, the force of creation, that could never be. But the Dark Element was due to come around again, luring people with the promise of power, or anything they would desire. In Jurak's slow words, Gaspard knew who two very likely subjects of that temptation were: himself and Princess Monica.

Over the lake, he watched as two fireflies flew alongside each other, blinking their lights and almost dancing. If they were both weak, perhaps it would be better for them to work together to resist the Dark Element. Would Monica accept him, though? Gaspard knew that he always felt uneasy around the girl, recalling how fiercely she had fought him. She knew nothing of swordplay in this life, although her magic was a force to be reckoned with.

Perhaps he could teach her and demonstrate that he meant her no harm this time around?

Her life flashed before her eyes. Not her past life, though: her future life. Lin would stand before this tree again, ill and not remembering. Then a girl and boy would fight off a vampiric monster for her, and she would remember… Crest had died. The lighthouse had burned and the Moon Crystal had been shattered. She had died a month later.

No, Max and Monica had saved her in time, showing her the bravery of her master and teacher. She had dedicated herself to learning then, and to protecting the Moon Crystal. In that, she became a great Sage and renamed herself after Crest. And she had helped them defeat the one who had caused it all.

And, somewhere behind those lives, there was a life much like this one, where the great battleship had not appeared. She had learned much from Master Crest then, yes, and even helped him in his quest to become a Sage. However, she had never had a reason to grow beyond being meek, eventually moving away and never returning to Balance Valley. It had hurt too much to think on what could have been, if she had not missed out on it.

"Lin?" A hand nudged her shoulder, shaking her out of those strange memories. Master Crest was there beside her, his deep blue hair standing out against the clear blue sky. "You okay?"

"Ye-yeah," she said, still hesitant to raise her voice. She looked up the Yorda Tree, so ancient and yet so green. "Something strange came into my mind."

"Like what?" He sounded as positive as he usually did, but there was a hint that he was concerned.

"I'm not sure. I don't think it's dangerous." She paused, and he waited. "I just need to think about it."

"All right. But we'd better get moving; the terrain's easier past here, but the monsters are tougher."

"I'll be careful."

It seemed like a long time later, but they were back at the lighthouse. The Moon Crystal was perched over their heads, a mysterious orb of silver and blue. Even for a novice like her, its power was impossible to ignore. When one looked into it, one could see images from all throughout history, past, present, and even future. The images weren't clear, though. It took years of training to be able to read it, and it took a Sage to read it well.

Standing at the railing, they watched the sunset over the vast ocean. Lin had butterflies in her stomach ever since the sky started changing colors. According to the strange future memories, this was the exact moment that the great battleship had appeared. And Crest, such a beautiful and pure person, would die in order to protect the Moon Crystal from destruction.

The sun sank lower and lower. The quiet was oppressive. And then, the light vanished. The sky was turning to dark blue, then black. The moment was past; the battleship was not coming.

"I hope this landscape never changes," Crest said, leaning on the railing. "I've seen that Palm Brinks is growing, and may even break down its walls to keep growing. But nature is beautiful; I hope progress doesn't take it all."

Lin's anxiety over the battleship had vanished, but that wasn't all. If this was the path history was taking, then was she going to live a lonely life separate from Crest and the Moon Crystal? She didn't like the idea of that.

Somewhere in her mind, her memories of her older self, the Great Sage Crest who had met Max and Monica, teased her for this. Yes, it would be a bold move. But if she stayed meek now, she might be meek forever and find little happiness.

"Crest, I want to live my life with you," she blurted out, looking over to him.

And then she saw her master in a way she'd never seen before: confused. He looked back to her as if uncertain of how to answer. "Lin? What brought that on?"

She gripped the railing, but kept looking at him. "I have memories of a life that is not this one. They say that you should have died this night. Listening to the voices of destruction, some people brought a flying battleship here and tried to destroy the lighthouse and the Moon Crystal. You stopped them, but it killed you. You're lucky to be alive and here now. And in that history, I became a sage in your memory. You will be a sage… and I should be too. So I want to be with you from now on."

He puzzled through it, observing her. "Memories of another history... how strange. And yet, I've heard of that before. The moon rabbits have a person called a history keeper; if we could find the current one, he or she may know about this." Then he smiled sweetly. "And, I suppose I would get lonely without my first student around. You are a part of my life now. I wouldn't mind it if you stayed that way."

Perhaps he wouldn't mind if it progressed beyond that either.

For being in the shadow of a volcano, Heim Rada was a thriving town. The structures were made of primarily brick and stone, allowing them to endure the occasional hot ash shower that came when the winds and the lava fountains were just right. The current lava flow was on the mountain's north side, so they were well out of danger. Not only that, but there was evidence that the hot spot Mount Gundor was over was shifting off to the northeast. It was clearly still active, but in a slow release instead of sudden. In the meantime, there was a telling bulge in the land several miles from here.

There were geysers everywhere, including a couple that ran the town generators. And several others that had been tamed to provide heating. While the ground was pretty rough right now, being from a volcano made it potentially rich, encouraging a few folks to start cultivating gardens. That required machines; a lot of projects around here required machines. And so he had finally decided to move out here. Cedric had been reluctant to give up his place of business in Palm Brinks, but a great offer to buy it and the need for a machinist here convinced him otherwise.

The old man walked along the dirt paths; a sign noted that they were working to bring stone pavement here in time, but for now it was just pathways worn by feet, hooves, and wheels. He came to a house that was larger and quickly becoming grander than any other home in Heim Rada. No surprise, as the owner of the Zelmite Mine lived here. Gerald and his family already had a grand mansion back in Palm Brinks, but he had decided to move out and 'get away from the city'. But it seemed that he was bringing the city here.

The man himself was outside, stirring up the dirt in preparation for planting. Even if he was nearly a lord in this area, being so rich and noble, Gerald still believed in hard work. That was how his and his father's fortunes had been made, after all.

"Morning, Gerald," he said, stopping by the iron fence.

Pausing to look up, he nodded. "Good morning, Cedric. How're things going?"

He shrugged. "As usual, I suppose. I just wanted to ask if you knew that your daughter Lucy has been hanging around my shop lately."

"Sure, that's fine," he replied. "I know Lucinda has an interest in tinkering with things, so she may as well learn to do it properly."

Although he was usually a bit gruff, he had to smile at that. "You sure? You used to always tell me that machines were doing things the easy way, not the proper way."

"I've changed since then." He stuck the end of his tool in the dirt to partly lean on it. "Say Cedric, do you remember anything peculiar?"

Peculiar? "What do you mean by that?"

"Like do you remember Maximillion?"

He shook his head. "Nope; can't think of anybody by that name around."

"Hmm." He picked up his tool and started working then. "Never mind then. Are you getting in with Borneo and Erik on the project to build a workshop around here?"

That puzzled him again. "Yes, but how did you hear about it?"

"I live here," he pointed out. "I hear about things. I know we closed off the mines several years back, but I think there's still a few deposits of Zelmite in the deeper parts. If you need any, or if you need some financial backing, just ask me and we can work out a deal."

"Hmm. Thanks for the offer, Gerald. I'll let the other guys know."

"You're welcome." He whistled a few notes, then chuckled. "I've come to appreciate my life, even if it's not perfect. Maybe if you hear about it, I'll say more. By the way, did you ever read that book about the Moon of Destruction?"

The Lunatic Wisdom Laboratory only had one moon rabbit working for them. However, Osmond's personality was so strong that he influenced how the place looked after its redesign. Thus, it was very colorful and bright, with sleek designs, egg-shaped chairs, and large monitors. Some workers commented that it was like an amusement park. Doctor Cobb liked it himself. Then again, he was a nine year old boy super genius. He usually made a machine's form to follow its function, or left the aesthetics to Osmond.

He was working at one of the consoles in a quiet lab. Much activity was going on in Labs 1 and 4, but 2 was deserted save for him. Because of that, he could work on something he didn't want too many people to see. It might plant dangerous ideas. Since Luna Lab held a solid open-minded attitude towards everything, an idea that was dangerous here was significant. And one they didn't want to escape.

When the main door opened, Cobb brushed his bangs aside and looked in a mirror. Osmond had even warped the orange jumpsuit uniform by wearing it with crazy false hands and full head patchwork mask. He knew he could trust this scientist with the idea, so he got back to work. It was quite a problem to unravel.

Osmond came right up to him. "So this is where you're hiding," he said, dragging another chair up to the console. "What are you up to?"

"Oh, just something out of personal curiosity," he said. "What do you want?"

"Nothing much, right now. I was remembering, actually, about the Ixion."

Dr. Cobb shook his head. "No, we are not recreating that machine."

"I know," the rabbit said, resigned to that answer if disappointed. "But I was wondering if we could make a normal flying train with the concept. No time travel, no warping, just straightforward flight."

"Hmph. Define what's normal about a flying train designed like that." When Osmond laughed, Cobb smiled a bit. "I suppose a flying train would be all right. However, the idea of the Ixion as a time traveling vehicle is out there. You may want to remake the aesthetics and rename it so that people don't get the wrong image."

"Sure thing boss." Then he leaned forward, looking up at the screen. "So what are you working on? A paper with lots of references?"

"If it is a paper, then it's not going beyond a few eyes," Cobb told him. He glanced up at the screen through his bangs. Some people wondered how he could see like that, but there was a reason. As everything was highly contrasted between light and dark in Luna Labs, having a shield for one's eyes, whether tinted goggles, a full helmet, or even long bangs, was a necessary precaution. "I'm unraveling the time snarl surrounding the alternate histories that you and I remember."

"I tried that once," Osmond said. "It was a headache, with effects being causes in a tight loop."

"And figuring out how it all matches up to the straight running history we now live in," he added. "That's yet another layer of complexity. But nearly all of it is matching nicely."

"How so?"

Cobb caused the program to highlight a few lines of his diagrams. One looked like a giant knot, representing the time snarl. The other was straight, the 'true' history. "Well look at this. According to the Moon of Destruction book, the heroes helped move Claire and Donny into Veniccio, where they eventually helped fund the labs. In a previous version of history, the two had stayed in Palm Brinks and the labs were never built. In this history we live in, Claire and Donny both moved to Veniccio of their own accord. Records indicate that she didn't remember the alternate histories, but he had some vague realization of them. But they both felt drawn here as the place they belonged, influenced by the alternate histories of the snarl."

Osmond looked over the diagram. "Ah. Like I feel drawn to remake the Ixion somehow?"

"Well it could also be the forces of destruction trying to influence us," Cobb stated. "I've been drawn to the time travel technology even though I realize how dangerous it could be. It's not a simple action; rather, it will have complex reactions. It may even be bad for me to be looking into this, but I really want to know how things connect."

"It is showing you how complex messing with time can end up," he pointed out, trying to be helpful.

"Right. There is one thing about this that is intriguing. Check this out." He shifted the focus to other areas of the diagrams. "At this point in the time snarl, Max and Monica fought and defeated the Dark Element. Obviously the snarl continues past this point up until a hundred years past it, and just a little beyond today's date actually. But this line represents the life and actions of Max."

Osmond looked at it. "You know, if you ignore the jumping around it does between past, future, and alternate histories, it looks almost like the straightest line there."

Cobb nodded. "Right. Part of that is due to the fact that the Moon of Destruction book has him as the main viewpoint of the story. And, the other document that I'm using also has him as a focus, but in first person. Elena has a mysterious letter that she picked up in Kazarov Stonehenge that seems to be from Max, and it matches up with the book. She gave me a copy of all but the most personal sections of it."

"That's interesting. Could I look at that?"

"Sure, if you want. But then, right at the Dark Element battle, you can see how his line passes right through it and carries on for a bit further until it jumps to his actions in the current era. It doesn't even hit his thirteenth birthday before it just ends."

"That's sad. Did he die then?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "One reason for this cutoff is that this is the last point in both the book and the letter of Max's actions. So one could deduce that this was when he mailed the letter. Why the book ends there too is anyone's guess. But there's another point to this. See, from the Dark Element, Max's recorded actions are the last ones of the present era and go as follows. He said goodbye to his mother and Monica, promising to write and leave a letter at the Stonehenge. Nothing much happens until Mayor Need asks him to go into Palm Brinks Mine to find the lost Zelmite deposit. Monica manages to come back with a Starglass, which is also noted in one of the time snarl histories, and the two of them fight their way deep inside the mine to find the Zelmite.

"After they succeed, she goes back alone and nothing more happens. And even then, the whole adventure is given such little attention in both the letter and the book. Which is strange, because both documents go into deep detail about everything else, yet the Zelmite quest only takes up a short chapter, almost an epilogue, in the book and a mere two paragraphs in Max's letter. I admit, it doesn't have much to do with the adventure to restore a proper history, but the lack of details is strange."

Osmond rubbed his chin. "Yes, that last chapter was awfully short and skimpy compared to the rest. Like it was unimportant, but the author wanted to note that it happened."

Cobb then zoomed in on the streamlined version of history they were living in. "And another thing significant about Max is this: he does not show up at all in our history."

"Really?" the rabbit asked, puzzled.

He nodded. "His parents were from two different eras and so when history was snapped back into place, there was absolutely no way that he could be born. Both Elena and Gerald have other children, but none of them fully match Max. Indeed, nowhere in our history of these two eras brings up anyone like him. In the time snarl, he suggested that a number of people in Palm Brinks relocate to other areas. In this history, those people all did so of their own accord, or perhaps their memory of what the boy had done. Max himself seems to be simply a loose thread that was lost in the revised history."

"But he did so much to fix things," Osmond said. "That really seems unfair."

"And he's also something of a time snarl himself," Cobb pointed out. "If we tried to make things 'fair', then he could cause a massive amount of trouble and completely not mean to, just because his existence is illogical. But everything else could be adjusted back to normal time. Even the woman in the painting, Julia. Parn still painted her image, but she turned out to be a real person that he had not met yet, instead of an image brought to life with gold paint found by Max. They eventually married."

The rabbit kicked his feet in the air. "Bummer. It's like we shouldn't mess with time so that he doesn't come back into existence, even though he was an innocent person."

And that was a good reminder. "Right."

The Shigura had moved on, but Pau was still in Veniccio. He was considering moving, either to Balance Valley or Sindain Village. To his knowledge, either place would be good. This place was about to change, and as a history keeper, he knew things he didn't want eager but thoughtless scientists to get a hold of.

He still approved of Jaming, though, so he got up from sitting in the sand when the man approached him. "Good morning," he said. "You came at a good time; I'm thinking of moving to another place soon."

Smiling, he replied, "Good morning, and I'll miss you being around. But construction could start in the next few months, so you might like that better." Then he dropped the pleasantries and spoke seriously. "There is something that concerns me, and you're the only person I could think of with a possible answer."

"Oh, you think so? What is it?"

"It's about that book," he said, bringing his hand to his chest. "I was able to finish it a few days ago, but something bothers me. What happened to Max? He was instrumental in fixing things, and yet I find no record of him existing now."

Pau flicked his ears. "I'm afraid that you won't find any trace of him," he said, touching his moon pendant. "He was a loose thread in the knot, an impossible child. Nothing can be done about it. At least, not without messing up the time stream even worse than it had been in the snarl."

Jaming still looked troubled about it. "Truly? Because it seems like a terrible fate for someone who helped everyone else selflessly."

After looking to the tall windmill for inspiration, Pau responded, "it may be. But, I think the Atlamillia realized that he could not survive a snapback of history. So they made sure that he fully enjoyed the experience he had."

"How's that?" Jaming asked, curious.

He looked up to his friend. "Well look back over the book and see all the amazing things that are in it. Max was fascinated by everything he ran across. Even the Rainbow Butterfly and Moonflower Palace; they don't seem like things a boy would enjoy, but he did and the book shows the awe he had of everything well. And a great many things seemed to go out of their way to be impressive to him. The powerful Moon Crystal being used to find truth, an ocean paradise becoming a scientific lab, a giant flying fortress which turned into a giant flying robot… it's all things that he thought were cool and amazing.

"And then just look at Monica's reactions to things. She was amazed by things too, but there were a considerable amount of things that she didn't like: the giant Lafracia flower which she thought was gross, or the flashy design of the time travelling vessel Ixion. A number of the puzzles they had to solve also seemed to lean towards things that Max could solve or find a solution for before others. The whole adventure seemed skewed towards him. He may have had a short life, but it was clearly a magnificent and enjoyable one."

"I hadn't considered it in that way," Jaming said, crossing his arms over his chest and thinking.

Pau smiled. "And who knows? He might still be alive in an alternate history, doing great things. But if he is, I haven't been able to see it yet. At any rate, I wouldn't worry about it too much. What's important is the life you lead now, not the ones you may have lived in another history."

He nodded. "Right. But, I hope that he is happy, wherever he is."

Yes, I am sad too that this ends up erasing Max. But he is an impossible child; time travel makes things really messy.

I considered adding the Parn and Julia story, but decided against it in the end. Besides, have you ever put Julia in a house and then talked with her? It made me dislike Parn.

The Lin and Crest scenes in the game are so adorable! And yet tragic; that could be why I like them.