Chrono Trigger
The Metal Knight; an interesting discovery is made in the form of a new companion…
By the time they reached their destination the sun was just barely over the mountains. As usual, the sun could only be seen as a hazy ball hidden behind clouds, but it was still strong enough to determine that it would have been a bright day if not for the endless veil. The structure they approached was a dome. It was very much like all the others, only it was even smaller than the one they had just left. There was nothing visibly wrong with it, and it even seemed more fortified than the other domes they had visited. They circled around until they had found a door just like the last time and they drove partway inside.
"Hey! This place is all lighted!" Marle exclaimed with pleasant surprise as they made their way down a cobwebbed filled corridor.
The cobwebs were thick but showed that they had been abandoned long ago for more prosperous spots but even then the girls had no desire to feel the tingling sensation of sticky threads clinging to their bare arms. Crono, being the decent gentleman he was, was willing to forego his uneasiness towards the webs and took the lead. It was something the girls were truly thankful for, because there were thick webs that were visible, but thinner lines that would cling to your face unrepentantly. It is difficult to describe what it feels like to have a face full of spider webs, but I will do so anyway. When you feel the very strands themselves stretch from their rooted positions and attach to your face there are several things that happen at once: you feel the sudden urge to claw at your face, you feel your arms shiver as goose bumps cover every inch of your torso, and you moan in disgust without thinking.
Crono was just in the middle of vigorously wiping his face so that he didn't notice they had just stepped into a large foyer. They were very cautious as they made their way up some metal steps that led to a higher edifice and saw something that gave them an interesting surprise. Actually, there were two things that gave them an interesting surprise.
The first that thing that was noticed was a blast door that stretched towards the ceiling with a valve attached to the front that must have been used to open the door. There were very small windows that were placed in evenly spaced places across the wall. The window interesting them more than anything else, because a pale blue light was emanating from within. The three ran to the windows and peered inside and shouted in joy when they saw that a blue portal was hovering in midair, blowing dust and webs in its wake. Crono ran straight to the door to turn the valve. He twisted with all his might, which I have said before was quite abundant within him. However, his hands had become sweaty and slippery from his excursion that it became quite a chore just to keep a good grip on the wheel.
"Hey, what's your deal Crono?" Lucca asked with hands placed on her hips, "You could kill a mutant of death but you can't open a door?"
Crono breathlessly gestured to the blast door, offering Lucca to step up to the challenge.
Lucca gave a smug expression as she walked up the door, an air of effortlessness about her; at least it was effortless until she felt her body jerk against the wheel with no effect. Her confidence was still there, but it was beginning to fade as she strained against the valve, sweat beginning to trickle down her forehead. Finally she had to cease her striving when she felt a sudden pang in her arms.
"Um," a single finger tapped repeatedly against her chin, "maybe it needs oil?"
It was truly distressing and awfully annoying. Here they were so close to the finish line, only to see that the line was obstructed by a brick wall. In fact, this was worse than a brick wall. This was a wall of solid steel and a mixture of other metals that had yet to be discovered by their time. While they took a break, Crono mused that this was far more frustrating than the time he was only a jig-saw away from completing a thousand piece puzzle only to find that his cat had eaten it. Marle mused that it was more annoying than the time she tried to catch a mouse that found its way into her room. Lucca simply stated that this had wiped any former problems from her mind. After all, how incredible was it that their way home, after all their other obstructions, was a single door?
It was even worse than that! They could see the portal! They could hear the wind beat around inside the room! When the door didn't open they tried using some of Lucca's grenades on the face of it. As you could have guessed, Lucca knew better and only did it to assuage Crono and Marle's constant demands. After that, they tried it on the glass as well only to find that it was even more formidable than the door.
It was at this point that they finally paid attention to the secondary surprise that did little to deserve their attention. In the corner of the foyer was a hunk of metal that sat against the wall. Typically Lucca was the one who was more than willing to look over any technological advancement, but the prospect of returning home was so enduring that even something as interesting as a battered machine did not grab her attention. Finally, after trying every out every single idea they could think of, they stopped to gather their breath while Lucca looked around her surroundings. (Admittedly to find another way to open the door). It was only then that she fully inspected the old thing.
Whatever it was, it was in decent shape as far as parts being where they needed to be. The metal itself (which was a strange copper tone that seemed to have the same consistency as steel) was badly rusted and corroded in certain parts. There were also several cords that had been chewed on by rats, causing a few wires to stick haphazardly from the body. Although it was in deplorable condition, it seemed as if only time was to blame. It almost seemed as if it had been repaired ages ago, only it had not been started.
"Hey, guys. Look at this."
Her friends came to her side and inspected the humanoid creature as it sat there silently as it had done for years. Marle touched it, streaking a finger across its surface, clearing away a fine line of dirt in the process. She stuck her tongue out in disgust at the dirt, but it only seem to be more reason for intrigue on Lucca's part. She learned in closer and began to inspect it more diligently.
"I think I can fix it." She said as if she were only musing on her ability to repair it.
"I don't know what good that would do," Crono stated, "it would probably be a waste of time."
"Maybe," Lucca said, but then smiled in a devilish way, "except…"
Crono rolled his eyes, knowing full well what that smile meant, "Except what?" He said while folding his arms.
"What if this robot worked here? Maybe he could tell us how to open the door!"
They thought a moment and Lucca took that as an opportunity, "You guys keep on working on the door while I repair it, okay?"
"You just want to be lazy, don't you?" Crono said with an affable laugh.
Lucca only gave a smile and quick nod with her head as she set to work on the seemingly useless heap of metal.
"What if it attacks us?"
They had long given up on the door. It was clear that there was something that prevented the valve from turning and they could not put their finger on it. They were sitting in a circle around Lucca who was sweating and replacing old wires with newer wires that she found with a little help from her comrades. Lucca seemed to pay no attention as her forearms tensed, turning an old quarter wrench. She wiped her brow while saying, "It won't attack us if it worked here."
"And if it didn't?" Marle asked, a little worry detected in her voice.
Lucca set down her wrench and was in the middle of connecting a certain type of pressure gauge to the limbs. Her hands were covered in thick black grease, but she seemed happier than Marle had ever seen her. Evidently this was her element and the fact that Marle was taking her attention away from it was cause for Lucca to give a cross look to her, "Trust me. If there is anything I know about, it is engineering. Besides, we can take it out I think." She said this with a small sense of pity.
"What's wrong?" Marle asked.
"Oh, nothing. I just hope it works. It would be a same to waste such an interesting machine."
They sat in quiet while Lucca set to work again while quietly humming to herself; "The hip bone is connected to the leg bone, the leg bone is connected to the…"
It took a while but Lucca finally stepped away from the machine with a look of triumph. She outstretched her arms towards the machine that no longer had bare wires sticking out from its frame. It had also been dusted and actually seemed too shiny for something that had remained immobile for many years. Marle and Crono were no longer standing close by (having had experience Lucca's mishaps first hand) but were standing against a few yards away. Lucca ignored their lack of trust as she told them to brace themselves. (Which they had been doing since she started working on the device).
"How is it going to work? Does it have any fuel left?"
"It doesn't need it. It works on UGEE." Lucca attached a jumper cable somewhere inside the machine.
"Well, how come it isn't working then? Why can't you turn it on?" Marle asked.
"Well, the same reason you can't start the vehicle without turning the ignition. When you turn the key there's a spark that causes the energy to burn."
"I thought you said this energy doesn't burn." Crono said with his arms crossed.
"It doesn't, but it can lie dormant until something stirs it into activity, now stand back, cowards." Lucca said with a sarcastic smirk.
She rolled her eyes when they stepped back a few paces despite her obvious sarcasm. Lucca went ahead and flicked a single switch, hearing the gentle hum of energy flow throughout the mechanical being. Small little lights began to flicker and gears began to whirl (the strange components residing within the body silenced them a great deal insomuch that it was comparable to a human heartbeat) and a strange noise come from what Lucca had deemed to be its head. All of this she had expected, but she didn't expect this to happen next.
This was probably worse than the explosion that Marle and Crono feared. The mechanical being stood on its feel, wobbling and almost tipping over. Its head jerked about as if it were taking in its surroundings, the sensory receptors serving as eyes dilated and contracted. Suddenly, a brilliant shower of sparks erupted from its frame and the mechanic monstrosity began to shudder, sputter, and spin out of control! The helpless onlookers dived out of the way of durable limbs that could hit them with the force of an uprooted tree while the floor was bathed with glimmering sparks.
Suddenly, it stopped.
The three got to their feet and looked intently at this creature as if they were bewildered woodland animals investigating a disturbance. What they hadn't noticed before was a strange exhaust pipe that stuck out from what seemed to be a box welded onto his back. Every few moments there would be a small hiss of steam as it moved about. Although the machine was blocky and seemed stiff and rigid, it actually moved with an effortless grace that could almost be considered human. It had a pair of arms, the hands almost looking like a metallic skeleton, the fingers being pulled by gears and such the same way tendons and muscles flex our fingers. And also, it did something else that was surprising.
"Forgive me, madam, I seem to have lost control of myself. I am so sorry."
A mechanical hand reached out towards a frightened Lucca who was sprawled out on the floor from her recent dive. She looked into its "eyes" with a sense of uncertainty, but saw that he would not retract his offer. She took his hand and felt her body being lifted from the floor as if she were simply a lightweight doll. She even squeaked in surprise when she felt herself fall on her feet, her eyes slightly wide.
"Oh, I do apologize," the smooth voice quickly added, "it has been so long since I have functioned that I seem to be uncoordinated."
The machine instantaneously went over to Crono and Marle who had rose to their feet by the time he had helped Lucca. He merely bowed in a show of humility and sincere apology. "I must apologize to you both as well, when a machine is left shut down for so long there can be certain problems readjusting to balance and certain other abilities, very much the same effect that sleep may have on you all."
"You weren't just shut down," Lucca added with hands on her hips, "you were totaled."
"Totaled?" mused the robotic voice.
"Yeah, wiped-out, trashed, wreaked, put up for sale, turned into scrap metal; go ahead and pick one."
"Oh my…" The robot said, standing very still.
"Are you okay?" Marle asked, feeling a little braver and stepping up to the machine that stood nearly a foot higher than her.
"I am, but I do not remember being 'totaled' as madam here has described it."
"Please, call me Lucca. I hate titles. Don't you, Marle?"
"Hate 'em!" Marle replied with a girlish giggle. "I'm Marle."
"I'm Crono. What's your name?"
The robot seemed as if it were producing a response, "Actually, I do not remember my name either."
"What?" Lucca scratched her head.
"When I was shut down, or totaled, it seemed to have affected my memory bank; therefore I have minimal information pertaining to my personal events."
"What?" Crono scratched his head.
"He has some type of amnesia." Lucca offered.
"Oh."
"Well, what should we call you then?" Lucca asked, a little impatiently.
"I am a multi-facilitated humanoid mechanism. There were many of my kind developed for use around factories or military bases. Therefore we are equipped with battle stratagems and have battle-ready capabilities. However, the answer to your question lies in the name of the series of the creations. We are series X-398."
"X-398?" Lucca smiled as if she enjoyed the sound of it. However, she was brought out of her world when Marle shook her head.
"You can't really yell out 'duck X-398!' in a fight, can you?" Marle said with a laugh and smile, "You would be out cold before you know it!"
"Well, what should we name him?" Crono asked, his arms shrugging.
"Maybe X for now?" Lucca responded.
"I guess…" Crono replied, showing evident dislike for the name.
"Very well," the robot gave a courteous bow, "I shall go by X for now."
There were excited to see what would happen. They expected the machine to show its potential and barge into the door, knocking it clear off its hinges and landing it with a thunderous clang. They at least expected to try and turn the valve with his immeasurable might, but he did not do that either. Instead, he approached a console and his arm did something that was slightly interesting. His hand, which held five fingers, suddenly changed into a strange prong that he pushed into an outlet. There were a few moments of beeping from the console, and whirling sounds from his body and some unknown process had come over him. After a moment he faced them and said in his cool voice, "Your efforts to open the door were in vain. The door is powered by a power plant that lies exactly ten miles to the south. I have downloaded the breaker codes into my memory so that I may program them into the system that we may activate the door."
"Activate the door?" Marle asked as if this were very redundant.
"Yes, the door is far too heavy for any being to lift without damaging the station itself. Therefore, countless gears connected to presses, which are connected to power cords are unable to function, making the valve virtually impossible to turn."
"Virtually impossible to turn? Is there some other way to turn it?" Crono asked hopefully.
"The only way I know of is if we detonate a weapon of mass destruction in front of the door." X replied with the utmost seriousness.
"I suppose that the power plant is the only option." Crono said with an annoyed sigh.
"Agreed," said X. "Also, it should be noted that one of you three shall remain here. I am uncertain how the condition of the main line may be, but I may guess that any power we have will not last long. One of you shall remain behind and open up the door."
"What? By his or her self?" Marle whined.
"The electricity will supply the pumps which will help turn the gears connected to the valve, causing the door to open with little effort on your part."
"Well, who will stay behind?" Crono mused.
"If I may speak, sir, I elect that Marle stay behind. The reason behind this is that I am afraid I may malfunction again, and Lucca shall be of great assistance."
There was a small amount of hurt on Marle's expression as she reluctantly replied with a nod, "But be quick about it. I don't like this place…"
With that the three left the strange indoor compound and climbed aboard their vehicle and sped off towards the south. Meanwhile, Marle hummed to herself, already feeling bored and depressed by the gloomy silence that surrounded her. While she hummed it turned into a faintly memorable tune along to her own invented lyrics…
"It really stinks here, let me leave now! Wanna go home soon, let me leave now!
"I just wanna open that door! I don't wanna stay anymore! Whoa I wanna leave now!"
Author's Note: Anyway, I forgot what Robo said his series was. Also, don't worry, I plan on changing his name to what it is supposed to be, but it has something to do with the next chapter. As for the song at the end, uh, I'm tired? I don't know what I was thinking? Anyway, just to let anyone know, I am on so if you wanna see my picture or anything else, search for my email and you should see my picture and stuff.
Why did I put out something like that? 'Cause I'm tired? Time for bed…