Chrono Trigger
The Factory Ruins; Belthazar suggests that he had met Crono before. The race ensues…
The wind howled as it had always done since they arrived to this terrible place. It was funny to think that when they first came here they expected nothing but amazing sights and experiences in this new world, but they were incrementally more horrified with each experience. It almost got to the point where Crono wondered if his life would have been better if he never met these two women at all; he shook his head as if he were annoyed at the thought.
To be completely honest, he was annoyed by any thought that entered his head. He learned that when someone swordfights it is best to improvise. Thinking could distract you from your current task, or you could exaggerate your plans by over analyzing. So, for that reason he tried his best to clear his mind before the race would begin. However, since you all know what the stakes are you can imagine how hard it must be to keep yourself from thinking at all.
Everyone experiences nervousness somewhere in the course of their lives. It is a most unpleasant feeling that makes you feel as if you're about to be sick. It can occur anytime; when you make an advance on someone you like, when you speak in front of a crowd, or when you feel threatened in very much the same way Crono was.
I sincerely hope that anyone who reads this story has never experienced a bet that could change the course of your life. Our imaginations are more powerful than we think they are. Poor Crono stood beside a vehicle to be used in the race and he thought on his conditions. Isn't it strange that when we imagine the outcomes, we tend to imagine the worst one? Crono, knowing that confidence was an important aid in this race, could not help but imagine what strange instruments would be used to perform the procedure if he failed. He couldn't help but to think how painful it would be to feel his skin ripping away from his body and muscle…
"Crono?"
"What do you want?" Crono spat.
The same old man that brought him to this position approached him gingerly, "What is wrong? Are you frightened?"
"Go away." Crono growled as he stared at the rolling red mountains in the distance.
"You can't win with that attitude, you know." Belthazar said with a waving finger.
"I told you to leave! Can't you hear, old man?" Crono said with a balled fist.
"You won't hit an old man, no matter what he does." Belthazar said with a bow.
"If you stay around me any longer we will find out for sure, won't we?" Crono said threateningly.
Crono leaned against a vehicle that had been provided for the race, which also turned out to be the vehicle that they would win if they were victorious. Before this time and after the bet was made, Lucca took it upon herself to examine the vehicle Crono would use. Suffice it to say, she was amazed by its quality and capabilities. Despite its old age she claimed that it could travel faster than anything she had ever seen. If they were to win they could find their way home in no time, but for the moment Crono used it as support while he tried his best to calm his troubled mind. While he leaned against it, he was surprised when he felt the vehicle tip back further as another body rested against its hull.
"I guess we will find out." Belthazar said very calmly.
"If you don't leave I will make you." Crono said very grimly.
"Why are you so frightened? I remember you being so bold when I last saw you, all those years ago. You were the most valiant man I had ever met."
"What are you talking about?" Crono said, giving him a sideways glance, "You know perfectly well we met only a day or two ago."
"Ah, that is right. You haven't experienced everything yet. Perhaps the person I met then was the person that you will become."
"Leave me alone." Crono said softly.
"You know, both of those women really care for you."
"You better leave now."
"They would still love you if you were to lose your skin; but thankfully I remember that you were the same as I see you today."
"What are you talking about? Crono said, his head beginning to ache with this nonsense.
You deal differently with people depending on who they are. If a stranger was to talk back to you, typically the average person is too stunned to make a quick reaction. If it is a younger sibling that acts out of place we tend to show them what we think of their acts with fighting. If it is an older sibling, we would simply sit and listen while they would tower over us. However, if a man you believed to be crazy talked nonsense to you, you would try your best to ignore him.
"I saw you then, but of course you haven't seen me yet."
"How could you have seen me and I haven't seen you?" Crono said, suddenly changing to a humoring tone.
"You will see."
"I guess I will!" Crono said sarcastically.
"Do not worry. You will live to see Guardia once again."
An icy wind blew at that moment.
"What?" Crono said with much surprise evident in his face. "How do you know that name?"
"I will be gone by the time you both race, but listen very closely to me: when you reach a tunnel, stay to the left, no matter what happens."
"How do you know about Guardia?" Crono asked as Belthazar began to walk away.
"Stay to left! Remember that, Crono!" Belthazar said, casting a final glance before he walked towards his tank.
"Answer me! How do you know that name?" Crono yelled, but the reply he heard was the incessant wind…
"Are you ready, Crono? There's no turning back now!"
For miles ahead of them there was nothing but road with the mountains peaking out from the horizon. Fallen buildings were scattered left and right, but the only thing that both eyes were focused on was the road. Crono supposed that he had to thank the old hermit somewhat, because the strange new mystery that he presented diverted his mind to more pleasant matters. He was no longer frightened, but was very confused. How did the old hermit know the name of his kingdom? Why did he tell him to stay to the left of a tunnel when he saw none in the distance? Why did Belthazar have so much trust in Crono? For that matter, why did Crono have so much trust in him?
"I'm ready!" Crono shouted.
The vehicle was topless with only a small windshield protecting the driver. Although the paint was wearing off, the vehicle felt as if it were brand new. The seats were cushioned making it very comfortable and it hardly rumbled as Crono felt the engine roar. The vehicle had no wheels and it hovered in the air, but behind it were two large exhaust pipes that also seemed to be used for propulsion. It was funny, because when Crono heard that engine roar he could not help but feel excitement. How fast could this thing really go?
"You can do it Crono!"
Crono turned his head to see Marle and Lucca sitting on the ledge of a crumbling building. Their legs dangled as they waved enthusiastically from their seats. Crono nodded in reply to their support and turned to face a robot that stood in front of them both. It stood right in the center of the road where small white lines were painted repeatedly for miles. He looked to his left to see Johnny and he couldn't help but be surprised.
Johnny acted in such a human-like manner that Crono usually forgot that he was a machine. Therefore, he did not have the restrictions that bones and sinew tend to put on the body. He found Johnny bent in such a way that his shoulders (which looked strangely like tires) were resting on the ground while his head looked forward down the road. It would be difficult to describe him, but he looked very much like a strange type of motor vehicle himself.
"You seem like a good guy, Crono. It's a shame that I have to beat you."
"That's strange, because I thought the exact same thing."
The engines roared as both figures lurched forward only a foot and came to an abrupt halt. The noise had become louder until it seemed to be the only sound in the world. Thankfully, that was the kind of concentration that Crono needed for this match. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as he looked ahead. The sentry raised an appendage in the air,
"Ready, get set, go!"
The sound of roaring engines turned into a high pitched whistle. The two forms that had shape and texture suddenly became two blurs. For the two racers that blazed the way they could see nothing but indistinguishable blurs out of the corners of their eyes. Perhaps there is a hidden metaphor in this observation, but when they were going at such a fast speed it did them no good to look to their sides. The only thing that was not made indistinguishable by the blurs was the road ahead. A good racer will never be distracted by what lays next to him, but he will keep his eyes straight no matter what happens.
In case there might have been a single person wondering why Crono would take place in this event and not Lucca the matter was very simple. Lucca, although knowledgeable in machinery and their operations, did not have such highly developed reflexes as Crono did. When it comes to repairing things and making them right, no one could beat Lucca. However, when it came down to instantaneous reaction and bravery we can already see that Crono had this in spades.
As they moved along he realized that he really needed it…
The tall building where they had originally met faded from view behind the maze of destroyed buildings and shattered cars. Even though there were crumbled buildings all around them he noticed that no debris lay in the road. A sight chilled him to the bone as he saw an entire city block littered with beams and concrete fragments the size of his house. The worst part was that the entirety of it all seemed to cover most of the street. This would be a little more complicated than a simple straight race…
"Are you scared yet Crono?"
A maniacal laugh sounded in his left ear as he felt his body thrown all around the vehicle. He did not have to look to his left to see that Johnny had run into him. He continued to laugh as he eased closer to Crono. At that moment Crono made a temporary promise to himself that he would not look, knowing that Johnny wished for it as they proceeded towards the city at breakneck speed. He felt another jolt as Johnny laughed raucously.
It was at that moment that Crono saw an opportunity. He gave himself a quick smirk as he heard wheels squeal, signifying that Johnny was intending to ram him again. Instantly, Crono decelerated only for a moment, which was enough to send Johnny past him and swerving to his right. Crono, did not stop there, but accelerated again, and very gingerly pushed against the back end of his opponent. The effect was potentially disastrous and if Johnny were not so maneuverable the race would have been over.
In this world of technology they had created a metal that can sustain considerable damage. Johnny was particularly thankful for this as Crono forced him onto his side, causing him to spark and smoke from the maneuver. In the space of a second his wheels jerked violently as he felt his world spin around. The obnoxious sound of screeching tires filled his ears as he came to a brief stop. He growled in frustration, seeing that Crono had gained a considerably large lead by the time he set himself back on the track.
Johnny murmured viciously under his breath, "You think you're all tricky, don't you? Wait until you see this one!"
Crono was smiling cheerfully to himself as he felt his heart burst with relief and confidence. He turned back for just a moment to see Johnny spin uncontrollably and that assured Crono of his impending victory. He no longer heard his taunting voice or the squeal of his tires, but just the hum of his own engine. Suddenly, there was a brief silence as if the world went still, and then he heard a loud boom that shook the road. His heart leapt as he even felt his vehicle shake and it almost felt as if he would lose control. He could see that a bright light was reflecting on his vehicle and the light came from his rear.
He heard the squeal of his opponent's tires once again and he could hear his maniacal laugh. "You thought you got me, didn't you, punk?
Crono kept his eyes on the road while he shouted, "What was that? How could you possibly…"
"It's called a nitrogen blast! I guess you could call it a turbo!" He laughed evilly again.
"You're cheating?" Crono yelled with an accusatory tone.
"I call it my little fail safe device, and just to let you know, I have two more!"
"Then I guess I'll make you use them both before they can really affect me!" Crono shouted with a grin.
Just a distance ahead was a narrow passage that could barely fit the two racers. On each side was a crumbled building that was covered in shattered glass and broken metal beams. Crono leaned forward, focusing on the narrow space. The two drivers grew closer and closer until Crono did something rather unexpected. He gripped the wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and jerked the wheel to the left.
A sea of orange sparks flew into the air which was accompanied with the horrible screeching of metal scraping against metal. There was a moment where Crono thought he was going to bounce back and run right into the face of the crumbled building. There was an extremely brief moment where an image of his body flying into the shards of broken glass and jagged rebar filled his mind. He did not meet with the wall, but he passed right through the narrow opening while his opponent spun so that he was skidding on his side. There was the ugly crunching sound as wall, glass, and metal rebar meet whatever Johnny was made of.
"You son of a"
Crono had already gained enough of a lead so that he could not hear the curse of his infuriated opponent. There was a moment where he was horrified, because he didn't expect Johnny to actually hit the wall. If he were not weaving between boulders that covered the road he would've turned his head to see if he were okay. He expected him to use whatever he used before to achieve such speed, but the burst of light never came. Instead, he heard the sound of a roaring engine above him! He already knew who the noise belonged to.
"You thought I was going to use it, didn't you?"
If Crono were to look, he would have seen his nemesis riding up a slanted building face to reach some type of veranda above the road. An icy chill engulfed him as he realized that there was a particularly dark shadow covering his vehicle and he could no longer hear the strain of an engine. With incredible instinct Crono jerked his vehicle to the right just as Johnny came barreling down from above. He landed noisily on the concrete, the frame crunching onto the street. As soon as his wheels straightened out he began to slam into Crono once again, shouting vehemently. Obviously, he was upset for the quick move Crono had done because he was adding far more obscenities than ever before.
They moved through the ruins and Crono was relieved to see that the debris was beginning to become scarcer. However, the race was about to become much more perilous, because there was a strange dip in the road, but the horizon was still there. As they drew closer Crono was able to see that the road went down so that it formed an underground tunnel. Within a moment they left the dark world and went into a darker one. The roar of their engines intensified as the sound reverberated against the arched walls. The tunnel was as long as the eye could see. They were bathed in the pale glow of fluorescent lights that were installed to aid people in ages past to see their way. Now they flickered and gave out on occasion, causing the pair to race in darkness every few moments.
Lucca was correct, the vehicle was fast and it was enough to keep up with Johnny. They had almost been neck and neck the entire time. It was at that moment that Crono decided that something must be done, and he was becoming rather annoyed by Johnny's foul mouth. He allowed Johnny to ram his vehicle while they proceeded through the twists of the massive tunnel. With each bump Crono edged his vehicle gingerly until they had become rather close to the left side of the wall. Johnny realized this too late as his side began to rub against the wall, bathing the two in orange light as metal screeched and popped with each slam that Crono gave Johnny.
"It's not that much fun when you are being run into, isn't it?" Crono yelled with a victorious smile.
Johnny growled in frustration, decelerating his vehicle slightly in hopes of escaping. Crono matched his speed and he did the same when Johnny accelerated. It became clear that if he stayed in his position he would be in critical condition. A sound of rubber meeting asphalt echoed throughout the tunnel as Johnny brakes hard, giving Crono a large lead for the second time.
It was then that Crono could hear nothing except the roaring of his engine. Then there was a blinding light and a boom louder than anything Crono had ever heard in his life. The light was so bright that it almost seemed as if the sun itself resided in this place. However, it wasn't the brightness the concerned Crono. When he used his secret weapon last time, Johnny passed him and the rumbling disappeared. Johnny did pass Crono (letting loose a vile word all the while) but the rumbling never ceased; in fact, it began to grow very severe and it suddenly dawned on Crono why it was so.
Had he been going a normal speed he would have realized that this tunnel was extremely dilapidated. Cracks lined the walls and dirt would fall from the ceiling in thick clouds. The roar of their engines was not enough to cause a disturbance, but a loud cracking boom that came from Johnny's vehicle would be enough to destroy the ceiling of the tunnel itself! Crono went pale as he could see large blocks of ceiling crashing down behind him, almost as if they were trying to catch him. By this time, Johnny was a good distance ahead and he already knew what was going on.
"Stay to left! Remember that, Crono!"
Occasionally there are times of great distress when someone will hear something so audibly that we can not imagine that it came from our minds. Amidst the thunderous quaking of the tunnel and the roar of their engines the small voice seemed to piece his mind. It was louder than everything around him and for some reason it seemed that trust had taken complete hold of all his functions. The falling slabs of concrete were almost upon him and it seemed as if the left side was to give first. For some reason, Crono could not help but drive along the left lane.
Crono gritted his teeth as the wind pushed against his face and dust flew onto his windshield. He was not aware, but he was yelling as he drove through the left side of the tunnel, gaining on Johnny. The pounding slabs were almost right behind him now and he could see that the right side ahead of him was collapsing at that very moment. Had he been there…
"Do not worry. You will live to see Guardia once again."
Although the world they were in was considerable darker than their world anything was lighter compared to where he came from. He was momentarily blinded as the road inclined upwards. Crono looked behind him as saw that he had passed under a mountain. He looked ahead and was more than happy to see a familiar sight in the distance. There was the gigantic bridge and the same wrecked buildings he saw before. The road was now clear of debris and it was a neck to neck race.
"Good! For a moment I thought I would have lost my prize!" Johnny yelled out with a laugh.
Crono said nothing, but leaned forward in his vehicle. All this time he imagined that what he did to Johnny only allowed him to gain a fleeting lead, but that wasn't true. There was considerable damage done to Johnny and he was no longer equal in speed. Slowly, but surely, the neck to neck lead began to disappear and Crono was pulling ahead. Although they were the size of ants, a multitude of sentries and two orange and white dots could be seen, waving enthusiastically. Crono grinned as the gap began to lengthen. He could hear Johnny's seething among the wind and the engines. Finally the finish line was in view and victory was inevitable. He could hear the cheering of Marle and Lucca and the stamping of robotic limbs.
Then he could hear nothing at all as the world went silent.
"I call it my little fail safe device, and just to let you know, I have two more!"
There was a great flash of light and a clap like thunder echoed across the barren desert. Although he was in the lead a single turbo boost would get Johnny across the line before Crono. A sense of impending doom quickly gave way to a flash of brilliance. Crono swerved in front of Johnny just before the light subsided and he felt a jolt that slammed him into his chair. Once again the horrible screech of metal filled the air as Johnny slammed into the back of Crono's vehicle. He felt the vehicle rattle and give an almighty lurch and for a moment he felt as if he were flying. He could hear Johnny utter one more loud profanity as Crono crossed the finish line.
You should have seen the celebration that the two women had when Crono pulled off that miraculous maneuver. Their hearts sunk for a brief moment before Crono rocketed himself to victory. When he arrived they smothered him with hugs and kisses to the cheek that made him blush horribly. You would figure that Johnny would be rather upset about such a mistake but he handled it very well and he did seem really impressed once he managed to calm down. At that moment they were standing in the center of the highway.
Johnny said rather humorously, "I have to admit, you can race. Using my own speed against me…I am so pissed off right now!"
"So will you let us pass?" Marle said with her hands clasped together.
"It wouldn't be human of me if I didn't!" Johnny said with outstretched hands.
"So will you let us pass?" Lucca said with a sneer.
"Hey, you punched a little bit low there. Take it easy. Is it that time of the month of something?" Johnny said with a nervous chuckle.
"Hey, take it easy. If you talk that way to her, than she will punch you 'a little bit low.'" Crono said cautiously.
An army of sentries no longer surrounded them and the situation seemed far friendlier than it had been. However, this group of teens was not keen on staying in this person's company. In fact, with each adventure and challenge they were more anxious to return home, feeling that they would gladly accept the hand they have been given in their own world. Johnny pointed with a damaged hand towards the vehicle that they had used, "From now on you guys can call that beauty your own. We also promise that the geezer and you three can pass without paying a toll. We fixed the damage on your vehicle. I told them to repair me last so they could fix it first."
"No offense, but don't expect me to thank you." Crono said with a diminutive smile.
"Oh come on!" Johnny said with mock offense.
"Hey, can you tell me one thing?" Crono asked.
"What, what do you want?"
"Do you occasionally have people travel that course? Do men sneak through and can they possibly set up traps?"
"Well, we prepared it just this morning before I raced you, so it had to have been a lucky guess. Are you talking about the cave-in?"
Crono nodded.
"If you are suggesting the old man tried anything, than you are wrong. There is no way he can know that we would choose that direction and he was with me all morning."
"Then how did he…" Crono froze for a moment as he thought to himself.
"How did he what?" Johnny asked, leaning closer.
Crono realized that it probably wasn't best to tell Johnny about how Belthazar knew about the cave-in before it happened, therefore he only wove his hand lackadaisically and said, "Oh it's nothing." He would tell the girls later when they would ask about what happened during the race and they would discuss in their spare time, but for now he only wanted to leave this strange company. "Which way is Arris dome?"
"Just take this road past the bridge. Go east and you should drive past some old factory ruins that span for miles. You should see it ahead and it sticks out like a sore thumb. Just remember to be careful. There are some renegade machines over in that area."
"Renegade machines?" Lucca asked.
"Yeah, not all machines are as nice and charming as me," the group rolled their eyes collectively, "these machines are vicious and kill any who trespass."
"Yeah, we'll be careful." The whole group spun and was surprised to see that Crono was already starting the engine. "Come on, let's go!"
The girls were very quick to obey his words and they left Johnny stammering as they leapt into their seats. Before Crono was able to cause it go forward he was stopped by Johnny who shouted out, "Hey! If you ever want to race again just for the fun of it, I am your man!"
Crono, who didn't want to be offensive, said rather unconvincingly, "Uh, sure."
The girls shrieked in pleasant surprise as they felt the pull of quick acceleration leaving Johnny rather dejected and speechless. Within moments they were zooming down a dilapidated road that would inevitably lead them home. For the first time since they came into this world they began to be happy and they chatted excitedly amongst themselves as they felt the cool air whip about them. They did not know what would happen or if this road was the correct one, but at that moment they were more than euphoric to be in each others company. And so we end this chapter and we will go onto the next.