Present

The Present (現代, Gendai^?) is the year 1000 AD in Chrono Trigger. It is the time period where the game begins and is visited only a few times and for very short sequences during the main storyline.

Geography

The geography of 1000 AD is very similar to the Middle Ages, since the two time periods are so close together. The main difference is that the area on the East Continent where Magus' lair once stood is now the site of Medina Village, an all-Mystic village. There are several ruins that were once in better repair 400 years prior.

Notable Locations

• Truce - Crono's home village
• Leene Square - Site of the Millennial Fair
• Guardia Castle
• Porre
• Melchior's Cabin
• Heckran Cave
• Medina Village

Native Characters

Crono, Marle, and Lucca are native to 1000 AD.

Other notable characters from this time period are:

• Crono's Mother
• Taban - Lucca's father
• Lara - Lucca's mother
• Melchior - the swordsmith
• King Guardia XXXIII - The King and Marle's father
• Chancellor - King Guardia's right-hand man
• Fritz - A hostage in Guardia Castle, and son to the Merchant at Truce Market
• Elaine - Fritz's sister
• Steel Runner - A racer
• Green Ambler - A racer
• Catalack - A racer
• G.I. Jogger - A racer
• Ozzie VIII - The mayor of Medina (or used to be)

Gates

Being a "hub" for the first half of the game (that role falling to the End of Time later), there are several Gates:

1. Leene Square - Opened by the Telepod, this connects to Truce Canyon in the Middle Ages.
2. Guardia Forest - This connects to Bangor Dome in the Future.
3. Medina Village - This connects to one of the three initial pillars of light in the End of Time.

Major Visits

Since 1000 AD is the starting point of the game, it is considered the first "visit."

1st Visit

Crono is awakened by his mother and reminded of the Millennial Fair taking place in Leene Square. Upon arriving, he bumps into Marle, who accompanies him around the Fair. Eventually, they make their way to the top tier of the square, where Lucca and her father are displaying their new invention, the Telepods. Crono is the first volunteer teleportee. When the devices activate, Crono vanishes from one platform and reappears on the other. Excited by this, Marle steps up to try it herself. The teleportation field reacts to her pendant, ripping open a hole in time and pulling her through. Crono grabs the necklace and follows her through to the Middle Ages.

2nd Visit

Crono, Lucca, and Marle emerge from the Gate at the fairgrounds. Lucca tells Crono to take Marle home to the castle. Upon arrival, Crono is arrested for kidnapping the royal heir. Despite Marle's pleas, her father declares that Crono shall stand trial. Regardless of the outcome of the trial (which is influenced by the player's decisions up to that point), the Chancellor takes Crono to the prison tower - which Crono caused the creation of by changing the timeline - where he will be executed in three days. With Lucca's help, Crono breaks out of prison. After the duo battle the Chancellor's Dragon Tank, they meet up with Marle and flee the castle. Being chased through the forest, they come across another Gate. With nowhere else to go, the trio jumps through the Gate and land in the far future.

3rd Visit

The trio's return home lands them in an awkward place, in the cupboard of a house in Medina Village. There, they learn how the Mystics have built up an anti-human civilization, awaiting the day that their lord and master - Magus - would return to lead them in another war against the humans. Traveling over the East Continent, they come across the home of Melchior, the swordsmith Crono met at the Fair. He tells them that there is a short cut to the West Continent through the cave to the north, which is populated by evil, magical creatures. Making their way through the cave, the team battle the evil Heckran and learn that Magus has something to do with the appearance of Lavos. They return to the Middle Ages to find out how to stop him.

4th Visit

This brief visit is a quick jaunt back to the East Continent to ask Melchior why his name is on a 400-year-old sword and how the shards of the sword can be reforged. He tells them of a rare red rock from which the sword was forged, but it no longer exists. The only place it can be found is in the distant past.

5th Visit

Another short visit, Crono and team return to the present with the Dreamstone and ask Melchior to reforge the sword. After he has done so, it is finally time to return to the Middle Ages to arm Frog with the Masamune and defeat Magus once and for all.

6th Visit

After the death of Crono at the hands of Lavos, the remaining heroes hatch a plan to use the Chrono Trigger to return him to life. To do this, they need the duplicate doll of him from the Millennial Fair. Retrieving the doll, they proceed to the future to enact their plan.

Final Visit

After beating the game, the crew returns to the present. After a few tearful goodbyes, the four other heroes to their native times. The force holding the Gates open lets go, and all of the Gates close forever. Crono, Lucca, Marle, and their families enjoy the final evening of the Millennial Fair together.

Finally Home

After beating the game and watching all the credits, Toan and a re-catified Xiao travel back to the time of the Festival, the town now safe from attack.

Side Quests

There are not many side quests in the present, except for those that are off-shoots of things occurring in the past or future.

Fiona's Shrine / On That Day, 10 Years Ago...

After leaving Robo in the Middle Ages to help Fiona plant the forest, you return to the future to find the forest a teeming greenery covering most of the South Continent. In the center sits Fiona's Shrine, an eternal testament to her work. A broken-down Robo sits on a pedestal on the altar. They reactivate him and he re-joins the party.

That evening, the entire team is camping out while Lucca is repairing Robo. He regales them with thoughts he has mused over for the past four centuries, like what created the Gates, and why they have all been drawn through time.

That night, Lucca awakens from a dream to find a small Gate in the middle of the forest. Opening it, she is transported 10 years into the past, on the day her mother lost the use of her legs. Lucca acts quickly to stop the machine that injures her mother. She returns to the present to find Robo waiting for her.

The Sun Stone

Tracing the missing Sun Stone through time, Crono and company find evidence of it in a house in Poore. However, the man living there refuses to give it up. The team must travel into the past to teach his ancestor the joy of giving. Returning to the present, the man happily gives them the Sun Stone, and they return it to the shrine to finish recharging.

The Hero's Grave

In the present, the ghost of Cyrus will not let the team enter his grave. After travelling back to 600 AD to find his shrine in disrepair, they return to retreive the Carpenter's Tools so that the grave can be repaired in the past.

The Rainbow Shell

The group locates the grave of Toma. Speaking with his spirit, they learn the location of the Rainbow Shell. Retrieving it in the past, they take it to the King of Guardia so that he may hang on to it for them for the next 400 years.

Returning, they find the shell missing and the king imprisoned for selling royal treasures. As the Chancellor puts the king on trial, Crono and team must locate the Rainbow Shell to prove the king's innocence. When they locate it, the Chancellor transforms into Yakra XIII, a descendant of the same beast who masqueraded as the Chancellor in the Middle Ages.

Dimensional Vortex

One of the three Gates connecting to the Dimensional Vortex is in the present.