Chapter 14: Return to Elzion: Reflections of Professor Chronos

You might not think it to look at me now, but I used to be on the Xeno Prisma research team. It's not like I worked with the prof personally, though. He was a true visionary, a genius!

Eh? You want to know more about Professor Chronos? As much as I'd love to talk more about my glory days, I'm sworn to secrecy about a lot of that stuff.

Trying to get info out of my dad, huh? I could hear you from out here. Maybe a little gift would help loosen him up? I happen to know he has a thing for rare drinks. But knowing him, nothing short of a legendary blend will do the trick.

A legendary blend? What kind of drink would that be?

Thousands of years ago, they made something called Mirth Punch. It's too bad you can't get some of that.

Hmm, that name sounds familiar... I believe a villager in Ratle once mentioned this concoction to me.

Not much to go on, but it's the only lead we have right now. We'll ask around in Ratle.

Bweeheehee! Nothing like a refreshing drink after a hot bath.

I've been looking forward to slurping down this Mirth Punch all week. This stuff has a real kick to it!

Hey, did that monster just say something about Mirth Punch?

Uh, hey, you're...

Whuh huh huh? Humans! How dare you disturb the great Lord Ukulele during his leisure time!

Sorry, it's just we've been looking for some Mirth Punch ourselves, and...

Fire and brimstone! So you're after my tipple, are you? You wretched humans truly have no shame!

The cooling sweetness after the heat of a lava bath... It's one of the greatest pleasures I know.

How dare you try to take that from me! Prepare to face the consequences! No mercy! Battle mode, engage!

Bwuh! I tire of this senseless violence. Consider yourselves lucky. Ahuihui!

What was that all about...

Phew, none of it got spilled. We got what we came for, we should head back to Elzion.

You might not think it to look at me now, but I used to be on the Xeno Prisma, Hey, is that Mirth Punch you've got there?! How did you get your hands on a rarity like that?

Let's just say we, uh...persuaded a guy to part with it.

It's hard to believe this even exists anymore... and you're giving it to me? Heh, don't mind if I do! I'm going to really take my time and appreciate this.

What was it you wanted again? Oh, right, Professor Chronos! It must've been...aw, 16 years ago, maybe...

One day, the prof and his entire family just disappeared. They were never seen again. I still haven't been able to make sense of it. They weren't the types to leave without notice.

If you want to know more, you could check out the Xeno-Domain. It's a floating research facility high above this city. The prof and his family used to live there. The official investigation didn't turn up any clues, though, so you probably shouldn't get your hopes up.

The Xeno-Domain, huh... Thanks for your advice. We'll go take a look.

How'd it go? Did you get him to open up?

A little. He was able to point us toward the Xeno-Domain, at least.

You're kidding, right? That place has been closed for years. The old Babel Elevator is shut up tight, and that's the only way to get there from here. Apparently they closed it down to reassess its safety measures... The Administrator is in charge of all that, but you can't just walk into his office and demand to see him.

So we need to figure out a way to talk to this Administrator and get access to the Babel Elevator...

Where there's a will, there is a way. I can search for all relevant personal information relating to the Administrator.

Hey, hold on a sec. Are you sure it's okay to do that?

It is for an important cause, is it not? ... ...... ......... Search complete. The Administrator often plays chess with Sebastia.

The same Sebastia we met before?

That makes things a little easier. Let's head over to Sebastia's place.

Oh, hi, everyone. What brings you to my humble abode?

Hi Sebastia. We were wondering... Could you introduce us to the Administrator?

Huh? What do you want with my chess buddy? Let me guess. Someone's gotten themselves into trouble again, right?

"Trouble" doesn't even begin to cover it! We're talking about saving all of time and space here!

Sounds like a whole bag of serious. All this time and space stuff is a little too heavy for me, but sure, I'll introduce you. What can I say? I've got kind of a soft spot for you guys.

You do us a great honor.

Here you go. Take this recording module. Now, here's what you do. Go to the same elevator you always use. Tell it you want to go to the Administrator's office. After it replies, play back the message I've recorded on this. Tell him I say hi when you see him.

It pays to have friends in high places. Thank you very much, Sebastia!

Uh, we'd like to go to the Administrator's office...

W-Wait!

Don't just stand there, Aldo! Play back the message Sebastia gave us!

Oh, right. I push this button here, right?

"Hi there, this is Sebastia! Administrator, I know you're listening." "These people are my friends, and they reeeally want to see you. It's a matter of life and death, so they say." "They're looking into a researcher by the name of Chronos. Ring any bells?" "How about you talk to them for a minute or two, just as a favor to me? Kay thanks, bye!"

What good is a message like that going to do?

It worked...

That's really something...

I suggest we get in the elevator before it leaves.

Okay. Here we go!

This is my first time accessing such a high-level area.

Are you the Administrator? Can you tell us anything about Professor Chronos?

What? The professor? Just who are you people?

Sorry about them, sir. My name's Amy from Ishar's. I'm a hunter by trade. These are my friends: Aldo, Riica, and Cyrus. For what it's worth, Aldo and I were the ones who defeated the Synth Human officer, Galliard.

Ah, of course. I've heard about you. I knew this day would come...

Professor Chronos vanished 16 years ago, along with his wife and young children. It was so sudden, as if they'd been completely wiped from the face of the earth. The last project Chronos worked on was shrouded in mystery. Rumor has it something went wrong with one of his experiments, and that led to his disappearance. Even after all these years, we haven't been able to discern what really happened that day.

Chronos's lab has been left exactly as it was found. Whether that was out of respect for his memory or fear of what he discovered, I honestly can't say. You'll need my permission if you want to investigate it yourselves. I'll need you to tell us everything about the situation up there. Do we have a deal?

Sure, sounds good to me.

Very well. I'll grant you access rights to the Babel Elevator and Xeno-Domain. Report back to me if you find anything. Chronos was a good man... I hope you can finally solve this mystery. You can use the airbus to get to the elevator entrance. There's a station right outside this room.

It's good to see this future again. How do we find information on Professor Chronos, though?

Shall I search my database?

Professor Chronos led a whole team of Elzion's brightest scientists, all in pursuit of the truth about Xeno Prisma. Lots of that info is going to be classified. I doubt searching a public database will turn up anything useful.

Perhaps it would be better to do things the old-fashioned way. Had the professor any friends or colleagues we can speak to?

There must be some researchers still around somewhere...

Come to think of it, there's a guy right here in Gamma District who was on that team. We can start with him.

All right. Let's see what he can tell us.