Peaceful Days 
Before we get to today's side quest, we have one last person to introduce to Crono's Mom.
...
Another quiet one?! Don't be shy, dear!It's always amusing watching Magus be forced to interact with normal folk. He suddenly goes from brooding badass to the awkward doofus he really is.
What a great day for laundry!It's still eerie how "normal" the Black Omen is for everyone, considering that behemoth has been floating around for the past 13,000 years or so.
Once we request 600AD Guardia to obtain the Rainbow Shell, we unlock a new quest in 1000AD Guardia. It's worth our while to finish things up here!
Courage and Pride 
King Guardia's, of course!
King Guardia is now on trial for selling the royal treasures. Is that a crime, though? They're his treasures, he's the king, what's the harm?
But weren't there some stairs, over there?There's a new set of stairs to the right.
No exploring here. It's fine though, since there's clearly nothing interesting hiding here. Nope, just a regular old treasury.
The guards are stricter than ever.
And this chest? Still locked!
At any rate, the guards have no interest in letting us into the stand. Marle, however, has a fool-proof strategy...
The Kingdom Trial 
I too, had no idea until I found this...
What are you talking about?! We have no family heirlooms here! So this is a forgery? Why does the defendant deny the people a glimpse of the "Rainbow Shell?" Because he no longer HAS it!! He sold the heirloom for cash! Witness, please!
Marle busts in during the prosecution. At least they're getting their money's worth from this courtroom, right?
Father! Nadia! The Chancellor is trying to frame me! SILENCE 
Proof? Yes. If he hasn't sold the heirloom, it should be in the castle. Show me the "Rainbow Shell," and I'll accept his innocence, heh, heh...
Undersea Palace 
So much for talking things out.
Well, if it worked before...
Well, shucks.
What ARE you saying!? It's a lie! There IS no heirloom!
Remember Marle?! We ask old king save shell! "Rainbow Shell" here now!
It's probably in the basement!Marle's a bit slow today. When Ayla is the one keeping facts straight, you know you have a problem.
I kinda wish I brought Magus here since he flat-out calls Marle an idiot, but Ayla works better for this sequence anyway.
We're stuck finishing this segment.
Nowhere to go but forward!
Hmmm.
The enemies here are the same ones from waaaay back at the 600AD Cathedral, the very first dungeon in the game. At this point, they are insects to us.
As the party progresses, there's a cool transition between them and the court room.
Liar!! I've never even seen you before!
Order in the court!
Perfect!
More fodder to blow through.
SILENCE 
But eventually, we find what we seek.
Again, if Magus is here, he suggests burning it. It's not even a bad translation, he suggests the same thing in the Japanese text, he's just a massive doof.
"Dearest Marle, I know things are tough between you and your father. But nothing can break your bond of blood. Neither words of anger, nor great distances. Someday, when you have children, you will understand. This special bond is part of a family tree which links us together.
-Queen Guardia XXI, Leene."
It's pretty sweet of Leene to write a letter for Marle to find four hundred years later (well, likely less than that considering Leene likely had children when she wrote it) to encourage her to reconcile with her father. Not that I really know how Leene found out about Marle's daddy issues, but hey, maybe Frog is a big gossip.
Ayla leave nest! Dactyl leave nest too. Marle leave too? Big change!
Interestingly, Ayla has more to say here than the other party members, but she's also the most mature and wisest of the group considering she's a leader and the oldest person that isn't a robot, frog knight, or brooding loner wanna-be. She understands the circle of life and is probably reaching that point where she's considering motherhood herself.
I should mention that Ayla's last text box in the Japanese version involves nursing said kids as well.
We've got our proof, now it's time to save King Guardia.
...Ayla's not talking about Marle's height here.
The Hidden Truth 
At any rate, the jury is delivering its verdict. We better get our proof in, and quick!
You won't reconsider? No, Princess.
Take him away! Manoria Cathedral That's one way to make an entrance!
You're too late! The King has been found guilty. Even kings are subject to our laws.Don't the kings make the laws...?
Nonsense! The King's a crook! But the treasure is right here!
Your little scheme is over, Chancellor!
Huh?
It's not the plot you think! I'm here to avenge my ancestors!
The judge disappears, and the king rushes out of the room. You probably know what's about to happen.
Boss Battle 1 
Yep, turns out the Chancellor from 1000AD was none other than Yakra...'s great-great-great-etc. grandchild!
Yakra has standard defenses, but a whopping 18000HP and some tricky attacks, so he's no pushover. He'll start off inflicting Chaos, so hopefully you can take care of that.
More delightful things to steal.
He also has a mild earthquake attack.
But once you whack him enough...
Your weaknesses are...
At this point, Yakra starts spamming NeedleSpin, with the iterations over the past four hundred years being refined enough to pack a hell of a lot more of a punch.
That said, we also pack a lot more of a punch now than we did when we fought Yakra I, so eventually...
Yakra XIII is defeated, though not before leaving one last parting gift.
And so we finally shut that jerk Chancellor up for good.
At the Bottom of Night 
After the battle, King Guardia re-enters. That shining thing will taunt us for the rest of this cutscene.
No, don't say it. I was wrong to be so stubborn. No, I didn't even think about how you felt.
I too, have that problem. I thought you left me, but realized that it was I, who abandoned you.
There's a lot of subtle pauses throughout this conversation, as they each try to find the words to say how they truly feel about each other, their only family (in this era).
"Someday when Nadia grows up, she will bring her beloved to meet you. Welcome him warmly. It will be a day you remember forever."
Of course! You were so young! You ran around saying "Daddy, it's fun having all my favorite people here!"
Yes, why?
Unsurprisingly, the Chancellor flat-out lied to drive the two apart. King Guardia is not the callous, cold-hearted man he seems to be, and Marle had almost forgotten that these past few years (give or take several thousand).
Courage and Pride 
You no worry! Ayla protect Marle!
Can't let you run the whole show. Let me make some weapons from the Rainbow Shell! Finally time for me to do somethin'. Watch and learn!
It's been a long journey, but we're just about to get our rewards from this long quest line.
But first, time to chat everyone up.
Take care of Princess Nadia, OK?
It's nice that King Guardia has finally found some peace with his daughter.
um
I'm gonna start by walking away, why are you all still loitering in the princess's room anyway
Wow. You're all idiots.
So there we go with that.
We can now dine at the dining hall, and there's a particular dish I'm dying to try...
A meal fit for a hero.
I wish I could, but alas, adventure calls.
Oh yeah
Turns out this shiny little distraction is a key. A key to what, though...?
The real chancellor was locked in that chest for...wow, it must have been weeks by now!
The guy should be on death's door, dying for some food, water, and a nice bath, but this Chancellor is such a professional that his very first act upon being freed from weeks of captivity is to start planning a parade.
It's really a shame we don't get to spend more time with this guy, he's a true pro.
And he's giving us presents! I love this guy!
What kind of fair would it be if we didn't have a parade?
Alright, alright. Talk is over. While meeting the real Chancellor is its own reward, the stuff Melchior makes from the Rainbow Shell is a more tangible, far better reward.
I can make you 1 Prism Dress, featuring maximum defense. Or I can make 3 less-effective Prism Helms.
The Prism Dress is the best armor in the game, though only the women can wear it because the robot's dumb programming won't allow it to wear dresses. In addition to having the best defense in the game by a wide margin, it also gives permanent Barrier status to reduce magic damage.
The Prism Helm doesn't even have the highest defense in the game, though the helms that beat it are the Magus-exclusive Gloom Helm and Ozzie's underwear, so for not-Magus they're pretty much the best helmet. They also give a nice +9 Magic Defense and block status ailments, so they're really solid.
I opt for the Prism Helms here, but either is a good choice.
OK
However! We are definitely not done here yet!
Since we have the Sun Stone, we unlock some really good stuff!
Remember the Sun Specs and how they boost physical and magic damage by 25%? These babies boost it by 50%! Now we're talking with power.
But he's not done yet! The best has yet to come!
I finally feel like I'm doing something worthwhile!
This is Crono's ultimate weapon, and outside the gimmicky Wondershot, this is the strongest weapon in the game by a good margin, even moreso than the upgraded Masamune. That alone would make it great, but what really makes this thing disgustingly good is its seventy freaking percent crit rate. So not only is Crono going to hit like a damn truck, but he'll be doing double damage more often than not on top of that. A great reward indeed.
Next time, we complete our final side quest as we make our biggest change to history yet.
