Chrono Trigger

A man of strange repute; Crono, Lucca, and Marle discover a lead to return home with the help of a strange hermit…

It was beyond these three the reason why anyone would call him insane. He seemed almost regal in his shimmering robes. However, it has always been said that a book cannot be judged by its cover and this party would learn the meaning of that statement soon enough. Behind those silky robes and shining eyes was something that was amiss. Although this small band of youths knew little concerning this world, they knew from a glance that this man was not like the others who lay about in the dust. There was something entirely different about this man and nobody could put a finger on it. The very air about him seemed different and out of place. Simply put, it did not seem like he belonged here…

"I am the man. And who may you be?" he said with a slight bow.

"They are visitors to the dome, and maybe potential customers." The operator said with no little amount of gleam in his eye.

Crono stuttered, not wanting to build hopes for profit to have them destroyed later, "Actually, we were looking for a way home."

"Oh, I see." The operator said dejectedly.

"Yes, so maybe I can show these people around later and I can finish your order." The operator said hopefully.

It almost seemed as if he were about to concede as he turned about, but something seemed catch his interest. It was very diminutive, but due to Crono and his growing gift of discernment, he was able to see the old man twitch his eye as if it could not believe what it had just seen. Although his lip was covered in thick, snow-white hair, his mouth could be seen and it stood agape ever-so-slightly for only a moment. The man turned towards the youths again and looked back at the operator and with a calm voice replied, "Actually, I would prefer to escort these people about. I do believe I might have something to ask of them."

The operator gave a queer look, but simply turned about and walked away, thankful that this old man did not corner him for his verbal abuse.

The old man, who was known as Belthazar, watched the operator retreat off into the distance until he faded out of view behind a flight of descending stairs. At that point he turned about and put on quite a convincing show of amiability, not to say that it wasn't genuine, but rather sudden and unexpected. He smiled widely, showing surprisingly garishly white teeth. He reached out a wrinkled hand while he said his name, introducing himself in a more formal manner, and he asked for the names of this rag-tag group.

"Well, I am Crono."

"I am Lucca."

"And I'm Marle! Please to make your acquaintance."

The man grinned as he shook the hand of his last addressee, "The same as well; to all three of you."

"And what is this thing next to you, Belthazar?" Lucca asked, kneeling down to look at the strange, slightly luminescent creature.

Have you ever been in a situation in which you did not mean any offense, but you would have that sudden uncomfortable feeling as if you had said something horrible wrong? Lucca did not even have to look up at the old man to realize that there was a strange tension in the air. Although the creature to which she was referring seemed to be emotionally unscathed, it was obvious in his tone that Belthazar himself was silently outraged.

"What is that 'thing', you ask?" said Belthazar with a voice that seemed more like a low growl.

"Did I say something wrong?" Lucca said coolly, straightening herself to her full height while intertwining her arms across her chest.

"Oh, not at all, as long as you don't mind being referred to as it, or that, or thing. If you don't mind that, then you said nothing wrong."

Lucca was one who never took an insult or challenge from anyone, and she was not willing to let this old man be the exception. "Well, then I guess you will have to enlighten me as to what it is, won't you? What is this…creature?"

The old man hid his growing indignation as said proudly, "This creature, as you call him, is designed after the first animal inhabitant of this planet. I would ask that you show Nu proper respect."

"What do you mean 'designed'?" Crono said quickly, seeing that Lucca was about to mouth off again.

"It is a bi-pedal machine."

A look of dawning excitement replaced Lucca's harsh scowl as she leaned closer to the animal. Its beady eyes, which seemed so real and lifelike, turned and dilated as it observed this strange person and her movements. Suddenly, the creature did something that surprised each and every youth in the party.

"Is there something you wish of me, madam?"

Lucca could barely contain her glee as her fingers began to trace all over the smooth surface of the glossy skin. You can imagine how Belthazar looked on with annoyance and disdain, but the others smiled when they saw her glow with exhilaration. "I cannot believe it! My father and I have been working on this type of technology for years! These are the advancements in robotics that I have only seen in my sleep! There are no seems where the skin has been grafted! You can't hear the whirls and clinks of the gears! Wow! Look! It's so eloquent and responsive! Can it…" Lucca was silent for a moment while she took out a hammer from her pack and gave the creature a slight rap, to which it stumbled back in surprise. "I can't believe it! It even reacts realistically to stimuli! This world is so much more advanced then our own that it is almost…"

"'Your own world?'" Belthazar said, raising an eyebrow.

A dark feeling came over the party. Lucca rose to her feet and muttered something in the way of an excuse, but it was unclear and muffled. Marle, who had been taught a thing or two about persuasive discussion, quickly pulled Lucca behind her and said a few things in the way of apology. "Please excuse my friend Lucca. She tends to get overly excited about works of art such as your own. Sometimes she gets so excited that her tongue speaks faster than her mind."

"You're one to talk." Lucca said dejectedly.

However, there was almost no look of concern or anything that could be considered as doubting, but when Marle began to speak the man went deathly silent and his mouth, although covered in snowy-white beard, was obviously agape in surprise. His eyes, which could easily be traced towards Marle's upper chest, caused her to shrink uncomfortably. Instinctively, she clutched the pendant that hung around her neck as she prepared herself for any disturbing advancements. She was very pleased to hear the man ask her, "Where did you get that pendant?"

Marle sighed in relief, instantly realizing that was not the best thing to do and quickly said, "Oh, this is a family heirloom."

"A family heirloom…" The man repeated silently. "Could it be a coincidence? No…it is not probable…"

"Excuse me? What are you saying, sir?" Marle asked cautiously, afraid that she may have offended him by her former assumptions.

"Oh," he said, fixating a nervous smile on his face that did little to hide his true thoughts, "nothing at all. May I show you three around?"

The three merely looked at each other with shrugs and unanimously agreed.

There is perhaps a reason why kings and men of power seem oblivious to poverty. When they are riding through the poorest areas in coaches or upon a majestic horse, their point of vintage offers a different view. They do not see the poverty from their comfortable seats, but rather let their comfort blind them unintentionally. If that same king were to walk on foot amongst the people and look about himself, rid of his comfort, then the world becomes a much different place. It almost seemed that the whole entire dome had spider webs within its corners and dust coated everything. Now that they were no longer riding in what little comfort they had they could now see how despairing this world really was. However, the thing that seemed the most disturbing was the fact that this man that led the way seemed to do it on purpose. When there was a dirty hallway or a low ceiling with a starving family sleeping underneath, he was quick to go that direction. Marle felt her heart sink as she reflected that perhaps there were parts of her kingdom with people who suffered in the same way these poor souls did.

Have you ever seen a person cry in hunger? Have you ever seen a group of men drink themselves into a stupor just to numb the pain of their stomach? Have you ever seen a person wrapped in rags face to face and hear him ask you personally for food? Your heart reaches out for them, but all the while you know that it will only ease their pain for a short time. It is quite different to see a picture than to actually see them living, breathing, and living in pain. Marle had all the wealth of a princess back in her world, but in this place she was powerless and unable to help. She bit her lip in an effort not to cry as she walked past a crying baby while her mother, ignorant of her paucity, sung cheerfully and rocked her child until it feel asleep again.

"It is a sad thing to see, isn't it?"

"What?" Marle said, trying not to show her thoughts.

"These people. These poor people that try to struggle for life day to day. Even within the dome a sense of capitalism prevails. It is good in a way, because it motivates people to work so that these people may survive, but all the while there are those who are unlearned and cannot work for food. Therefore, they beg those that can, and may god bless them, they often times share, but it is still not enough." He ducked under an overpass while his group followed behind. "They live in a place that is structurally unsound. They are bitten by insects. They sleep with rats. It is a hard life."

"Why are you telling us this?" Crono asked.

Despite of himself, he smiled, "Because I need your help and you need mine."

"Well, what do you want us to do?" Lucca asked, placing her hands on her hips as if her patience were at end.

"Do you know what I do? No? I am more than a machinist. Although I have more than enough money to buy parts, I also pay more than is needed in food. I also own a greenhouse in which I cultivate produce. That is the reason why you have heard of my insanity. These people cannot understand how someone would give away so much without receiving anything in return. They sense a lust for life within me because they have none, and I assure you that before the day is done they will think the same of you as well. This place is an ignorant place but it is not their fault. This is all they know.

"So, how can we help, if you don't mind me pushing the topic?" Crono said, rather impatient himself.

"Oh, forgive me. I do tend to prattle along at times. I have a greenhouse as I have told you. Also, I buy machine parts from these people to use in my other experiments." Lucca seemed to perk up at the mention of experiments. "There is a ruin that separates me from this dome and my own. I rarely travel in that direction and I go days out of my way to avoid it, but if you were to escort me then perhaps I can give you some food and a place to go on from there. Afterwards there is a place that might help you.

"Help us to what?" Asked Marle.

"You said to the operator that you need to return home, right?"

"Yes…" Lucca said slowly.

"At the end of our journey is a dome that has a supercomputer, or a memory device that is connected to a star sender."

"Star sender?" Asked Crono, growing more confused by the moment.

"A star sender is a device that hovers in the sky beyond this earth and transmits data back to us; it can take pictures and measure any kind of electric activity."

"Like UGEE?" Lucca asked, suddenly becoming enthusiastic and hopeful.

"Well, if it is large enough, then yes. In any case, if you could take a look at that thing you could find a way home."

"Can we talk it over for a second?"

"Of course."

There was a knowing glimmer in Belthazar's eye, but they did not notice since a strange sense of excitement filled Lucca to the point that she had difficulty taking in a hushed tone. They gathered together in a huddle as Lucca smiled saying, "This is great! This is almost too good to be true!"

"What's the deal, Lucca?" Crono asked.

"The supercomputer he was talking about; the star sender that can measure electrical activity. If we were to use it to find a gate, what should we look for?"

Crono's eyes suddenly flew wide with Marle's as they simultaneously said, "A high energy source!"

"Exactly," she said, pounding her fist into an open palm, "we can use that star sender, find the highest UGEE source, and that will be the gate back home!"

"Should we trust him though?" Asked Marle.

"What could he do to us?" Crono asked, "I have a sword, and Lucca has a gun, and maybe we can scrounge up something for you before we go. He can't take all of us."

Marle nodded and they broke apart, looking at the old man, saying, "When do we leave?"

Author's note: This is one long story. I hope it is still enjoyable after all this time. If you happen to get bored, maybe some of my short stories can interest you. Nobody has read my "wasteland" story. I think it's because it's about Robo and he doesn't seem to be a favorite. :-) Well, I'm going to start being really precise with my writing, because it is taking me a long time to get to where I want to go. Enjoy and I hope this lasts you until the next installment.