So I decided not to go back into Black Omen. Instead I went back to the fair. There I fought Gato three times to grind silver points. Reason for doing this is so I could get a Crono clone. After getting the clone, I headed back to 2300 AD. There is where I was finally able to go through Death Peak. But once I scaled the mountain, then came the one battle that was starting to frustrate me...Lavos Spawn. But after several attempts, I finally beat Lavos Spawn and then minutes later I went back to save because I do not want to have to beat that boss again (at least not until the next time I play).

So I eventually made it to the top of Death Peek, and that is where Crono was brought back to life. From that point I decided to head back to Black Omen and I actually made some progress throughout. But the one battle that I found rather annoying was this one where these enemies steal your MP. This actually make using Ethers a complete waste of time. And I got as far as another battle that takes place on an elevator.

FYI: In case any of you were wondering, while Crono was dead, I used Marle, Ayla, and Magus as my party.
Now that Crono is back, I'm using him, Marle, and Ayla.

So, basically I was made more progress through Black Omen. Though the one battle that really annoyed me was the battle with the Cybots on the elevator. But I got through that battle and after that I found some armor that can prevent status ailments. But when I did I totally regretted not looking through my other armors & accessories to see if they can prevent status ailments as well. That's something I'm gonna look into as I get closer to the end of the game. Then after making much more progress, I fought Giga Mutant. Due to the fact that Giga Mutant has an attack that can drop your HP to just 1, it was a good thing I had a lot of MP to use. Otherwise I probably would've been a goner. After that, I noticed another elevator battle was coming which me all "I'll save for next time, I'm going back to save."

Basically, I just made more progress through Black Omen. However, I ended up using a lot of MP throughout. By the time I defeat TerraMutant, Crono and Marle were dangerously low on MP and I ran out of Ethers. I tried to turn around after saving, but I kept getting bested by Goons. With this in mind, I am now afraid to fight Zeal. With this in mind, I'm pretty much screwed. And I only have one back-up file. But the last save on that file was back in 12,000 BC outside of Zeal Castle.

At first I didn't want to backtrack a long way, but in light of the situation I was in, I had no choice. So, I went back and found an item shop where I could stock up on Full Tonics and Full Ethers. And after re-reading the guide, I decided to put Ayla's Charm ability to good use. Good thing I did because I got some good items out of that. Anyway, at some point I ended up getting back where I left off. Then came three boss battles in a row. The first was the battle with Zeal. The fact that Zeal can knock all allies down to 1 HP worried me at first. But somehow I found that battle a lot easier than expected. Then came the battle with the Mammon Machine which I also thought was rather easy. But after that came the one battle I lost on after making so much progress: Zeal's Face. I was more worried about this battle than the first battle with Zeal. Mainly because of the amount of magic attacks in that battle. But since there was no chance for me to save in-between those battles, I now have to start over at Zeal.

It turns out I'm not as worried about the battles with Zeal and the Mammon Machine as I was before. But Zeal's Face is one battle that worries me because as you get further into the fight, Zeal's Face uses stronger magic attacks. But I got through that fight, and then it was back to that Lavos battle I attempted earlier. The first few phases of Lavos went pretty well, but the Magus phase took me the longest (and for that I totally regret not switching Ayla with Lucca). Anyway after a few phases, Lavos got stronger and by the time that happened I eventually lost. Now I got to start all over at Zeal. But regardless if I'm under level for Lavos or not...I'M NOT TURNING BACK AGAIN!

By the way, I have a question for Lantis: I noticed you listed all of the phases of the Lavos battle in the walkthrough (as in the one where he copies attack patterns from previous bosses), did you list the phases in order? (I just want to make sure so I can make a note of it for later)

So after getting fed up with Zeal's Face, I decided to change my mind about turning back. So when I got out of Black Omen I went back to End of Time to both recover HP/MP and talk to the old man. When I did, I found another way into Lavos. And knowing all the phases of the Lavos boss rush, I felt a bit more prepared this time. And in the Magus phase I switched Ayla with Magus which made that phase go much faster. I believe it wasn't until the final phase when Lavos got stronger. Anyway, after going inside Lavos' shell, I found a save point and a portal. Good thing too because I'll need both. The portal would come in handy if I have to turn around due to being under level. Anyway, then came the Inner Lavos battle, unlike my last attempts at fighting him, I actually didn't lose with a one hit KO this time. But after the first few minutes I did end up losing. If it's because I'm STILL under level I'm gonna look up other places (besides Black Omen) to grind experience points.

By the way, I'm assuming I'm now ONE boss battle away from the final fight. Which means I must ask you guys this: Which set of party members do you recommend I use for that fight? (I'm still currently using Crono, Marle, and Ayla)

Since you defeated Lavos's shell, if you decided to go through the Black Omen again, Lavos's shell will already be defeated. But aside from the satisfaction of defeating Queen Zeal once and for all, I don't think beating the Black Omen will get you anything special. It's more for personal closure than anything else.

For once I was actually able to beat Inner Lavos. Which means I made it to the final fight (and since no one was able to recommend a good set of party to use for that fight, I stuck with the three I'm currently using). So, for the Lavos Core battle, everything was going just fine until he used his Grand Stone attack. So now I'll have to beat Inner Lavos again. On another note, I did end up talking to the old man at End of Time. I tried to look up what he was trying to tell me in the guide, but I couldn't find anything. If you have any information on this please let me know. Then it was on to Ozzie's Fort (and yes I know it's optional). I ran into Ozzie a bunch of times until he fell down a trap door. Does this mean he's gone for good? And then after that, I decided to do some more grinding. At this point: Crono and Ayla are at Level 50 and Marle is at Level 51. My goal for next time is to finally put an end to Zeal.