Chrono Trigger

The Queen Returns; A tale concerning an exploration through foreign mountains and a city.

A strong rush of adrenaline filled Crono with a strange dizziness, but at the same time he was readily alert for anything that might come his way. However, he wasn't really ready for this. Suddenly his vision came back as quickly as it had distorted and he was surprised to see nothing threatening. In fact, he saw nothing that seemed out of the ordinary. He was no longer in Leene's Square, but he was in some sort of mountain. Tall evergreen trees surrounded him, mixed in with trees whose leaves had begun to change colors. It was very serene, but it seemed it was only deceptively so.

"Marle!"

His voice boomed throughout the forest, reverberating as it bounced of the trees and the cliffs behind him. There was not a sound, except for the wind and a few birds who were startled with such a sudden outburst. He waited for his echo to die out before he tried it again. There was still no response, but he strained his ears before he would shout again. Suddenly, there was a rumbling in the bushes nearby. A bad premonition came over him as the shuffling of bushes came closer. Crono tried to focus his eyes in the direction of the bushes, but could see nothing. "Is that you, Marle?" he said hopefully. At this point, the bush had stopped shaking, but a sound was audible and it struck fear in his heart.

It was a low, throaty growl.

Crono watched the bush intently, slowly backing away. However, the more he stared, the more he could make out the shape of his hunter. It had yellow eyes that were bloodshot and hideous fangs, and its lips were dripping with saliva. It gazed at Crono, not daring to make a move, but wanting to do so all the same. Its lips smacked as a red tongue graced the corners of its mouth, waiting for a good meal such as Crono was sure to be. A single paw came from out of the bush, almost as if it were trying to make as little sound as possible.

Suddenly, to his horror, Crono saw another paw followed by another. He could see more eyes glaring at him, and he involuntarily shivered. It almost seemed as if it were a rabid wolf, foam building up around its jaws as it sized up its prey. At that moment, a still small voice came to Crono. Its instruction was very simple: "Run." If he wanted to silently protest within himself, there was certainly no time for it. He obliged, turning about and sprinted as fast as he could.

The monsters were surprised at such a sudden burst of speed. Crono had turned about and taken off at a full sprint, feeling the leaves fly up from his boots. It did not take the beasts long to fully regain their senses and they were chasing after him, gaining all the while. To his surprise, Crono was calm, but was at a lost of what he should do. He calculated that they would inevitably catch him, and it would happen soon. He needed to fight, but how could he when he had no weapon?

There was a thin path that was covered by large patches of grass, but it seemed as if it came to an end. He was entering a thicket, and it was a very dense one. Branches tugged at his clothes, scratching his skin, impeding his progress, but he paid no mind as he flailed his arms to snap any twigs that blocked his path. All the while, he could hear the labored breathing of his pursuers. He also heard a few jaws snap at his heels, but he tried his best to ignore it and focused on the one thing that caught his eye.

There was a cliff up ahead and he had no idea how far down it would go. There was another ledge on the opposite side, but it was a distance apart. However, those hellish demons were closing in on him, and it left him little room for thought. The ledge approached him quickly and he felt his feet push with all their might against the dusty earth. Wind billowed through his clothes as the opposing ledge grew nearer and nearer. He landed with a grunt on the other side, rolling down an unforeseen decline. He quickly pushed himself to his legs and continued to run, not stopping to look behind him to see if his pursuers had fallen.

That was a wise decision, because the majority of them had made the leap. A few had stopped their chase at the Cliffside after seeing a pair of their comrades fail at the jump. They hit the opposing side on their stomachs with a yelp, scrapping their paws against the ground in a bid to pull their selves to safety. The pair fell down into a rushing stream below them to be swept away and dashed against the rocks. Meanwhile, the group that had made it continued to hunt down their prey, which had suddenly made an abrupt change in direction.

Out of the corner of his eye, Crono saw something that would be of use to him. He did not know the number of his enemy, but he would have to stand and fight. Up ahead was a fallen tree with thick branches that had rotted over time but were still thick enough to use for defense. There was a branch that was on the upper-side of the tree and it was pointing upward. He waited until he was a few yards away from that certain branch before leaping of the ground, jutting out his two legs in the direction of the branch. There was a loud crack as the grain of the branch exploded into a thousand splinters. Crono fell, skidding on the ground, right next to his newfound weapon.

It was strange to think of a stick as a weapon, but it was a meter long, the thickness of a human leg, and laced with sharp little twigs that went off in their own directions on the branch. It would be enough to fill the face of an offender with splinters. The hunters seemed to have no foresight as they lunged forward. Imagine the pain and the surprise of the leader as he felt himself being bludgeoned by a strong swing of that impromptu weapon! An ear-splitting yelp echoed throughout this strange valley as he vainly made an effort to remove the splintered by massaging his snout with his foreleg.

The others had become far more cautious after seeing the pain their leader had to endure. They began to circle him, flanking to their left and right. They stared him down hungrily while they seemed to communicate by soft growling noises. It seemed like they would make a move any moment, but there was one thing Crono knew that was to their disadvantage. He learned that animals, before an aggressive action, would bare their fangs. The meaning would depend on the situation, meaning either a warning or a prelude to an attack. Therefore, he stood poised, glancing at each snout, waiting for that first snarl.

He noticed the lips of one curling into a vicious snarl. It barked, spittle flying from its lips. Its hair rose on the scruff of his neck and his haunches coiled from underneath him. True to his thoughts, the creature bared its teeth and began its dash forward. It almost seemed to happen in slow motion. It leapt into the air, and its jaws went agape as he moved for the jugular. Crono felt his arms tense as he pulled back the branch, and he felt his arms explode with all his strength as he pushed it forward. The branch whooshed through the air, the blow landing on the creatures face. The force was so powerful that the poor creature spun in the air, falling awkwardly on its leg. It howled as an audible crack announced a broken bone to its comrades.

The creatures looked about them, suddenly fearful that their enemy could fight in return. They slowly backed away, but began to hastily retreat when Crono raised the branch with a loud yell. Even the leader limped away and they left their comrade behind. It howled mournfully as he realized his companions left him to die at the hands of his enemy. Even though they were engaged in bringing about his death, Crono could not help but feel sympathy for the creature. It struggled vainly to run after his allies, but it became evident to Crono that he had not only broken a leg, he had broken the front two. It would not live to see winter, let alone live through it. There was no other choice but to end its suffering now.

A sickening feeling went to the pit of Crono's stomach as he raised the branch high into the air. At that moment, the creature had looked up at Crono with pleading eyes, oblivious that he would only die a slow painful death of starvation if he were not killed now. "I am so sorry. God, please forgive me." The branch came down on the head of the creature with a sickening wet crunch as the skull of the beast was crushed under the blow. Thankfully the blow was enough to kill it on the first try. It didn't even cry out. If the creature had survived the first blow, Crono would have to feel the pangs of guilt by purposefully adding to its pain before following it up with another strike.

You could imagine that he would feel a sense of relief, but he felt a strong sense of shame mingled with that relief. He let the branch fell down to the ground, the branch crushing the leaves under its weight. Crono rubbed his face and sighed in depression, but he knew that he must put it behind him for now. He was now able to explore his surroundings, sure in his mind that those monsters would not attack him again. He moved forward at a leisurely pace, trying his best to let his surroundings smooth him.

He was a small distance away from the struggle at this moment, and already the feeling of guilt gave way to justification and it almost completely vanished. Still, he hoped within himself that he would never have to do such a thing ever again. Suddenly, he tore himself away from his thoughts as a horrible sinking feeling came over him: he was lost. He looked up to the sky, seeing that the sun was already beginning to set in the west. He began to discuss a plan in his head, trying his best to keep calm.

"Hmm, if the west is to my right, then that must mean I am heading south…I would want to leave this forest anyway. Who knows what other creatures come along in the nighttime?" He involuntarily shivered. "No, I will get out before nightfall. I have at least four more hours until sunset. But which way leads me off this damn mountain?"

He had a seat down on a tree stump, and he considered all of his options and he even begun to prepare for nightfall in case he would be forced to campout in the forest. He suddenly remembered something that was vital: all he would have to do is find a stream! "Ah, that's right! All water flows towards the ocean. Even if it does end at a lake, there will still be a clearing around the water and that would make a good place to camp." Already a sense of pride burst inside his chest and he complimented himself on his forethought. In fact, he even remembered the crevice he had leaped over. He wasn't certain, but he remembered the sound of rushing water.

No sooner had he remembered he began to jog briskly in the opposite direction he had ventured earlier. It was further than he thought, but he reached the cliffs that seemed to stretch for miles. He laid down on his stomach as he slid to the edge, pebbles and gusts of dirt falling from underneath him to the swirling cascade of water below. The waves splashed violently against jagged rocks that poked out in places from underneath the water. The width of the river was wider then the peak of the cliffs, the cliffs forming a semi-arc above the raging torrent. That disappointed Crono, who had hoped that he could simply climb down to the stream below him where that was a rocky bank. He would have to follow the stream from the cliff.

The river grew wider and wider as did the distance of the opposing ledge. The flow seemed to head southward which was the direction Crono instinctively agreed on beforehand. As he continued he reached a part of the river that allowed him to climb down to the rocky banks below. He was able to slide down the slope, which made his clothes dirty, but at that moment it wasn't important. The flow of water began to decrease as he went on downstream. Eventually, it came to a calm, pleasant trickle.

Crono suddenly realized that he hadn't had a break all day, and he also realized that he nothing to eat that day either. If there was ever a time to rest, this was it. He had a seat on a boulder as he opened up his side pack. Thankfully, some candy he had bought had been stored for later. He chewed the candy slowly, trying to savor the taste, but being careful not to let his hunger drive him to eat more than was necessary. It was important to ration food at this point, knowing that he could spend far more time in the forest. He sighed as his feet throbbed gently from his day long excursion. It was the first rest he had in some time.

He began onward, the rocks grinding under his thick leather soles.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Your majesty, you must be tired. Please, have a rest."

"No, you don't understand. I am not your majesty…well; I am…but not yours…"

The group of men looked at her with queer expressions. The men were all dressed in thick armor that looked heavy to wear, but nothing short of a direct stab from a sword could pierce that armament. Only their heads were uncovered, which revealed dirty faces that had become that way through hours of training earlier. Their expressions turned to that of sympathy as they realized that perhaps she was traumatized in one way or the other.

Meanwhile, the feisty blonde had a look of disdain on her face as she vainly tried to explain that she had no idea where she was and that this was not her kingdom. It was very strange; she had traveled all over the world with her father, but she had never seen this place. She almost felt like she wanted to cry, being so far away from home, but not realizing where home was.

An hour or so ago, after the traumatic experience with that damned invention, she was left alone on a mountain with nobody around. She wandered to the west, for what seemed a few minutes and then she came to a dirt road that led downhill. She had hiked along that road until she came across this same group of men who had been practicing their methods of combat. When they saw her walking down the mountains they feel onto bended knee, bowing their heads. To her surprise they quickly approached her and began to ask her questions frantically, questions which seemed to be nonsense…

"Did the Mystics take you?"

"Who had kidnapped you?"

"Did they make any demands?"

Finally, they realized that they were getting nowhere and took her back to a city that lay below the mountain range. They had to do it gently, because she was a little prone to resist, herself not being absolutely certain who these strange men were. Everything seemed strange to her as they walked through the streets of this foreign kingdom which seemed to be impoverished. There were dirty children everywhere playing with skinny dogs. Smoke billowed out from the chimneys of several houses, the appealing smell of fresh bread filling the air. The buildings were new, but their style seemed so archaic insomuch that it was hard to tell just how old they were.

"Where are we?" Marle asked.

The leader of the party looked at her with wonderment as he said, "You don't recognize your own kingdom?"

"This is not my kingdom!"

"It is if your last name is Guardia, which I be sure it is, ma'am."

"What do you mean?" Marle asked incredulously.

"This is your home, Guardia kingdom."

- - - - - - - - - -

Nighttime was drawing dangerously close and there was still no civilization in sight. Crickets began to chirp by the thousands as the world became illuminated by a glowing red hue that shined deep in the pristine stream. Crono was no longer surrounded by thick trees, but they had become sparse as he entered a meadow. He could see deer grazing over the fields, looking for choice pastures of grass. It was time he began to look for a place to camp, which he did so grudgingly. Suddenly, a great surprise and a sense of cheer overcame him as he saw smoke off in the distance.

He no longer looked for a place to sleep, confident that the fire belonged to someone that could help him. The sun had gone down while he trekked towards the curling smoke which was still burning. There were a few trees that obscured his view, but when he was able to get closer, he realized with great enthusiasm that it was a house. He ran to the front door, curling his hand into a fist, beating it against the door. He could hear voices whisper from behind the door.

"Who can that be at this hour?"

The door was pulled open to reveal a man that was most likely in his late twenties. A woman could be seen nursing a baby in front of a chimney from whence the fire had come. There were also a few children swarming the door, their eyes lit up with curiosity. Crono looked at the man who had a slight scowl on his face. "Who are ye, to come barging in at such an hour. You nearly frightened my children to death."

Crono nodded apologetically, "I am so sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you."

"Well, come on in then! Have a seat by the fire. I won't have ye answer no."

Crono was surprised at such a gesture. The man had seemed annoyed, yet he was allowing admittance into his house. In his own city that would never happen unless you were vaguely familiar with the person that you let in. Even then, there was some quick appraisal, but this man had let him in without more than another thought. Crono shuffled in, still uneasy about disturbing them so late at night. The heavy wooden door closed behind him as he rested his weary legs on a hardwood floor that seemed a little dusty and old. In fact, the whole house seemed a little run-down. He swore he saw a mouse or two dart across the floor, most likely to snatch a crumb or two that had fallen from the dinner table.

"So, what is a lad like you doing this far out of town at night?" The man said, stroking his chin.

Crono was about to open his mouth and recount the whole story about the machine and how his friend had been taken away, but that seemed like a very foolish thing to do. Not only would he think he was lying, but he would think that he was crazy. So instead, he simply replied that he got lost in the mountains up north. Surprisingly, this had a more startling effect on the man. He looked at his family who only looked back at him with wide eyes. "You were in the mountains?" asked the man.

"Well, yes." Crono said hesitantly, seeing the odd reaction, "I have been looking for this one woman with blonde hair, blue eyes. About to my chin in height."

The surprised look quickly disappeared; almost too quickly. He only shook his head, replying that he knew not a single soul that matched his description. Crono only sighed in disappointment and a type of sympathetic horror came over him when he realized that Marle could still be wandering around the mountains. What if she was attacked by the same monsters he was? It made him shiver at the thought!

The rest of the night was strange, because when he came in the house that evening it seemed as if the father wanted to engage in friendly conversation. However, after they ate a meager dinner of bread and some type of meat he remained oddly and uncomfortably silent. He also kept suggesting to Crono that he should rest; insomuch that he wondered why. It was possible that he was only concerned for his welfare, but something irksome was bothering Crono and it came from the man who had such a friendly first impression. Even then, Crono did feel the vigorous activities of the day overcome him and he drifted off into an uncomfortable slumber on the dusty old floor.

It did not take long until the husband whispered to his wife. It was inaudible to Crono whose ears began to ignore what was said. The wife only nodded and she went out the door and into the night with a lantern. She would not be back until morning. The father only looked nervously at Crono who was in the midst of a deep sleep.

Something strange was afoot…