Chapter 15
Sacrifices to Destiny's Call
"Mmmm." Marle said as she was
roused awake by Crono's hand. All this time she had been sleeping soundly,
dreaming of their life together after this thing was over. She could picture it
all, a grand wedding in which all of their friends would be in attendance. She
also saw the birth of their daughter and their life together. She saw how Crono
would train her to be a warrior, just like her parents, but in this teaching
would instill into the values of Strength, Courage, Determination and Valor
that he had fought so hard to procure. She knew that it would be wonderful. She
opened her eyes to see Crono standing over her. She always wondered why his
hair always remained in the spike pattern, then she remembered that if it
wasn't for her asking him to go back to it; he would still have that ugly long
silver hair that didn't suit him at all. She liked him the way he was and was
actually starting to like her own long hair. She guessed this was the way it
was always meant to be.
"Good morning beautiful." Crono
said to her quietly.
"How long did we sleep?" Marle
asked looking more towards Robo and Johnny who were standing a few feet behind
them. She noticed that both of them had more battle scares then they had had
previously but that Robo was looking worse every minute.
"Eight hours, enough time to
heal your wounds." Robo said walking slowly towards them.
"Are you alright?" She asked
being helped up by her love.
"We have faced a lot of fighting
since we left you. I will be fine, all internal systems are running perfectly."
Robo said flex his arms.
"EMERGENCY: CORE TEMPERATURE
REACHING CRITICAL… NINTY-EIGHT DEGREES CELSIUS AND RISING. COOLING SYSTEM… 4%
EFFICIENCY. IMMEDIATE REPAIR REQUIRED." His internal computer flagged his lie
to her. Luckily for him, he was the only one who could hear the annoying
ominous voice inside his head.
"Are you sure?" She asked him
again.
"Yes, I am fine. We have only a
few more kilometers to go to get through this nightmare. I suggest we make
haste." Robo said calming her fears. Marle shook it off as nothing and followed
her robot guides. Crono on the other hand was not fooled so easily.
"Robo, I know you lying… but
why?" He asked himself. He wasn't sure why Robo would need to keep his damage
from them but knew that if he kept going he was going to go beyond the point of
repair. Crono continued to watch and think as they finished the course the led
to the inner sanctum of the Lab. Battle by battle, little by little, Robo was
getting worse and Crono knew that there wasn't much more that his Robo friend
could take.
"Hey Robo, you ok over there?"
Crono asked knowing the answer.
"I am… *static… fine." Robo said
stressed.
"And you expect me to believe
that for what reason?" Crono said helping him forward.
"It is not important… *static…
We have reached our destination." Robo said as they rounded a corner and before
them was a huge hall. The entry to the place was guarded by a strange swirl of
energy.
"Pretty… what is it?" Marle
asked looking at the rainbow colored cyclone in front of them.
"That… is a graviton tear. It is
like a gate except for one major difference." Robo said leaning against a
nearby wall.
"That is?" Crono asked.
"A gate is a tunnel through the gravitonic
space. It has a beginning and an end and always leads to the same place. A
graviton tear is an opening into gravitonic space that while having an end… is
so charged with neutrons that it has been disrupted. This disruption makes it
impossible to navigate." Robo said looking around.
"So how do we close this tear?"
Johnny asked.
"The only way to close a
graviton tear is by crossing into it." Robo said continuing to look around.
"Oh good, so we just throw
something into it and get it out of our way." Marle said looking for a rock to
toss into the rift.
"It's not that simple. To seal
the tear, something with mass and energy has to pass through it. A rock or
boulder is not alive and thus would simple pass throu… *static… it. We
something with energy." Robo informed her.
"So where do we find something
with energy that we can toss through this thing." Johnny said. Robo had been
looking at the entrance for this entire time and wonder why the century lasers
hadn't blasted them to atoms. He pushed himself off the wall and walked up
towards the door. As he crossed the center of the room an alarm sounded.
"Welcome… children of time and
to you Johnny. This is my stronghold… enter, if you are foolish enough to do
so." An ominous yet almost lyrical voice murmured deeply.
"Gato…" Robo said continuing
towards the door.
"Ahh! Prometheus, I am glad that
you have returned. Allow me to extend to you a proper welcome." He said as the
century cannons that Robo had been looking for came online… targeted for him.
"NO!" Robo screamed as the
energy blasts ripped through and he was tossed like a rag doll back to the wall
behind him. Crono and Marle ran over to the now completely decimated Robo.
"Speak to me you bucket of
bolts." Crono said propping him up.
"I… *static… am of no more use
to you. Cross… *static… the barriers of time and space and set right what has
been put… *static… wrong." Robo said as he shut down. Crono set him down and
looked at the graviton tear that was blocking their path.
"Gato… are you afraid to face
me, lower this barrier!… GATO!" Crono's words would come to no avail. Johnny
looked over at the fall Robo. This machine was once his mortal enemy, but now…
he had become his first friend.
"You know what you must do…" The
voice resounded in his processor. He knew whom it was and what he had to do. If
this was all meant to be replaced by a better then it would matter what he did
now… just as long as they fulfilled their duty and fought the destiny that
awaited all of them.
"Well, it's been a kick folks
but I must be going. Have a riot and give that oversize calculator a hit or two
from my greatest collection… see ya." With this, Johnny transformed into his
bike form and drove towards the rift. As he crossed the threshold he could feel
the gravity already ripping him apart.
"JOHNNY!" Marle screamed as
Johnny stood and gave him his usual stance before the graviton serge got too
much for him. He was ripped apart in a violent explosion that was contained by
the closing of the tear.
"He sacrificed himself for us…
let's finish this and find our way to forever." Marle said as he stood from
Robo.
"Are you going to be ok?" Crono
asked Robo.
"I… *static… shall be fine.
Destiny has given you the call… it is time for you to answer it. Besides…
*static… my auto-repair systems are online… I will be fine in a few minutes.
You need to go and fight that monster in there." Robo said struggling to sit
up.
"Are you sure that you are going
to be fine?" Crono asked knowing that something was seriously wrong.
"Go… I shall join you shortly."
Robo said bracing himself against the wall again. Marle and Crono gave each
other a quick glance and then both looked forward with determination.
"It's time we put an end to
this, once and for all." Marle stated making ready. She took Crono's hand, as
he stood reflective.
"I made the mistake once of
thinking that I could change time for the better. Maybe this is destiny… maybe
we can change all we want but the more we change the worse things become. Are
we really doing any good?" He stood his ground looking down at it.
"Don't do this to yourself… not
now. If you won't do this for the future then do this for Johnny, he sacrificed
himself so that we could have the chance to change the future for the better. He
believed that we could… and so do I. If you won't do this with me then I will
do it alone." Marle said moving towards the opening as she let Crono's hand
fall.
"Wait!" Crono screamed as he
grabbed her hand. He looked into her eyes… the very same eyes that had reminded
him of his love were now reminding him of his duty.
"I won't let you do this alone.
You're right… it is about time we put a stop to this. I have the belief of too
many riding on me to give up now. I shall fight destiny and I will create a
better future for us all." Crono said as Marle jumped and kissed him.
"Now that's the man I love. Come
on… our future awaits us to create it." Marle said as they both ran towards the
now open entry to the inner sanctum of the lab. Robo had been watching all of
this from his vantage point and knew that the time to fulfill his duty was soon
upon him.
"Computer, condition report."
"MAIN POWER… 0% EFFICIENCY"
"AUXILLARY POWER… 13% EFFICIENCY"
"EMERGENCY POWER… DEPLETED."
"WEAPON ARRAY… 16% EFFICIENCY… MALFUNCTION:
TARGETING SENSOR OFFLINE."
"INTERNAL COOLING… OFFLINE… ALERT: CORE TEMPERATURE
CRITICAL."
"INTERNAL SENSORS… OFFLINE"
"LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM… 5% EFFICIENCY… SYSTEM SEVERLY
COMPROMISED."
"COMUNICATION SYSTEM… 6% EFFICIENCY… SYSTEM SEVERLY
COMPROMISED"
"SYSTEM CHECK COMPLETE."
"OVERALL RATING… 3.5% EFFICIENCY."
"EMERGENCY: SYSTEM SEVERLY COMPROMISED… IMMEDIATE
STASIS LOCK REQUIRED TO REPAIR SYSTEMS."
"Transfer all remaining power to weapon array."
"UNABLE TO COMPLIE… I REPEAT: SYSTEM SEVERLY COMPROMISED…
IMMEDIATE STASIS LOCK REQUIRED."
"Override."
"UNABLE… SYSTEM SEVERLY COM…
"Override!" Robo screamed to the voice in his head.
"STASIS LOCK… OVERRIDEN."
"Now, Transfer all remaining power to weapon array."
"POWER TRANSFER IN PROGRESS, CHARGING WEAPON'S
ARRAY… COMPLETE SYSTEMS FAILURE IN TEN MINUTES."
"Good
enough for one final shot." He said as he limped his way after Crono and Marle.