Chrono Trigger

A humorous interlude; Crono and Lucca finally find a way to relieve a little stress at Marle's expense…

It was much cooler in the morning. That is always true no matter where you are in the world, but it was especially noticeable while the three adventurers traveled through the wasteland. They wasted no time in heading out on their way, seeing that the sky was beginning to turn a lighter shade of blue as the sunrise neared. The people in the domes were kind enough to give them blankets and that kept them warm, but their noses grew numb from the wind and its constant barrage on their faces.

While Crono kept his eyes focused on the road (which was still hard to see in the lack of daylight) and Lucca tried to sleep upright, Marle was fidgeting about as if she were very uncomfortable. Not only that, but she could feel a stuffy heat rising from underneath her cold skin. She was blushing and that could not be seen in the dim light, but they could feel the effects of her movements.

"Is something wrong?" Lucca asked, groggily, being deprived from her uncomfortable slumber.

Marle jerked her head upwards as if she were surprised, the heat under her face growing hotter by the second, "What? No, no!"

Lucca rubbed her eyes before giving Marle a disbelieving look, "It sure sounds like something is wrong."

"Nothing is wrong!" Marle snapped.

"I think there is!" Lucca sniggered despite her exhaustion, "Why are you so unwilling to say what it is?"

Marle said nothing, but her eyes instinctively went towards Crono who was barely paying attention.

"Oh," Lucca said, becoming slightly ill-at-ease, "well, I suppose you could whisper it in my ear."

Marle leaned in closely and Lucca braced herself for whatever may come to her attention. She expected some type of confession or some kind of declaration of love that would increase the recent awkwardness between the two. Thankfully, that was not what she needed to say, and even better, what she needed was enough to cause Lucca to laugh as hard as she did for a while. Marle blushed so strongly that it could be noticed in the dim light. "Hey! It's not funny!" She snapped while Lucca began to grab her sides. Crono looked back with a curious smile.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Marle has to go pee!" Lucca shouted out melodically.

"Hey!" Marle shrieked in an unusually high-pitched voice, "You weren't supposed to tell him!"

Crono laughed, which caused another high-pitched response, "Not you too! Come on!"

Crono shrugged, "It's not that big of a deal! I don't know why you had to whisper it!"

Marle was a rebellious princess. She was a thorn in her father's side and she would pester him constantly by doing the opposite of what he asked. However, she was raised in such a way that doing something so natural was never really openly discussed. She was trained from a young age that doing such a thing should not be announced, but done quickly so that not a soul suspected the reason she left the dinner table or wherever she may be. Besides, it was her feelings for Crono that caused her embarrassment. Starting up such a topic is not really something that she felt comfortable with. There are some that would even go as far as to create the illusion that the fairer sex is incapable of such a thing.

"Well, even then, I just don't want to say it!" Marle said defensively.

What Crono did next horrified her completely. They drove through an open plain that had no hills, no bushes, no crags, no boulders, and no debris of any sort. It was all just level terrain that stretched as far as the eye could see, or at least until the distant horizons where mountains stood at one and a dome stood at the other. There was absolutely nothing to hide behind, or in, or anywhere. Even so, the vehicle began to slow down until Crono was able to cut the engine off completely, leaving only absolute silence that was broken by the howling wind.

"What are you waiting for?" Crono said with a sly smile.

"What do you mean?" Marle demanded.

"You said you have to go; so go." Crono replied causally.

Marle looked over the barren landscape dubiously as if there was something that she missed that Crono could see. After a few moments she gave up trying to find the spot and said, "Well, where?" Marle said stretching her hands out to the landscape.

"Anywhere." Lucca said with a grin.

Her jaw hung agape and she stammered, "Y-you must be joking! There's not a single place to hide! I'll be right out in the open!"

"It's not like anybody can see you!" Lucca said with a laugh.

"I'll look away!" Crono guffawed when Marle gave him a nervous glance.

Marle stood up in her spot and took a more earnest look. Marle danced in place, looking towards the plains and towards the horizon as if a monumental struggle were taking place within the chambers of her mind. She moaned in despair while she finally made a decision. She turned towards them while sitting down and said strongly, "I can wait! Let's get going!"

"No you can't!" Lucca laughing hysterically, "Your legs are crossing and everything!"

"I'm not starting up the engine until you do what you need to do!" Crono said in a sing-song voice that earned him a throaty growl from Marle.

Once again there was another tremendous battle that took place within the cognitive part of her. She looked over the landscape uneasily and back towards Crono and Lucca (who were wearing broad smiles) even more uneasily. Her head went to and fro so much that the pair was amusing themselves with the possibility that she would break her neck if she continued. Finally, Marle looked at Crono with a stern face that was far more severe than he had ever received before, "Crono, just drive! I can wait!"

Crono was about to give in, but the hilarity continued to egg him on while he replied, "Oh no, the engine has gone dead!" A single hand went gingerly to his cheek.

"You are lying! Come on!" She growled.

"It must have overheated," Lucca said, playing along, "we could be here for quite a while."

"You guys are pure evil! I'm still mad at you for earlier Lucca!" Marle shrieked, her open hand slapping their backs.

"Hey, you slapped me if I remember." She sighed in a teasing way, "Oh fine, Crono, please start the engine…"

She looked at them, seeing that Crono was barely turning the ignition so that it merely struggled. He held his hands up in mock defeat while Lucca pointed towards the open landscape. Marle gnashed her teeth as she yelled "Oh!" in great indignation. She leapt over the side of the vehicle and walked a good distance away from the vehicle. She was easily fifty yards away before she stopped and turned around with the most threatening expression on her face, "You better turn around, Crono, or I swear that I will kill you!"

Crono obliged, only doing so very slowly to the point that it was obnoxious. "You too, Lucca!" Marle shouted.

"I'm a girl!" Lucca shouted through cupped hands, "Or did you not notice?"

"I don't care!" Marle said, stamping her feet, "This is embarrassing enough!"

"Just go already!" Lucca said, holding her stomach while Crono's head was shaking as if he were laughing just as hard as she was.

Marle's icy blue eyes were so narrow that they were almost snake-like slits. She slowly obliged, facing towards them to make sure Crono would not look. She was fuming as she saw Lucca say something to Crono (most likely that she had actually started) and then she did something that frightened Marle further. Lucca cupped her hands again and yelled out towards Marle, "Hey! Crono is turning around to see if the coast is clear of any monsters!"

"There are no monsters! Don't turn around!" Marle shouted and pleaded.

Lucca leaned towards Crono as he said something else before sniggering again. Lucca yelled back, "He says that we need to be vigilant! He's going to look!"

Marle felt blood boil in her face as Crono acted as if he were turning around, "You better not look!" Marle said, seething between her teeth.

He turned around enough that she could see a small part of his tanned face. In a very unprincess-like voice she shouted, "CRONO! DON'T YOU DARE!"

She finished quickly and leapt to her feet, dashing towards the vehicle. Crono and Lucca only looked at her with impish smiles while she clambered into the vehicle with a type of annoyed fussiness. She gave them a very well deserved punch to the arm that caused them to yelp with pain. After that she felt much better as the engine "magically" began to work again. As they drove off she crossed her arms and said with the utmost seriousness, "One of these days, I will find a way to get even with you guys for this!"

Author's note: Yes, it is very short, but I did this merely for fun. I thought it would be hilarious to write this and I hope that you guys enjoyed it.