No, I did not abandon the computer. I merely lost it. (Track of time, not the comp)

Disclaimer: Chrono Trigger is not mine, which is stupid, because I have the game. .

Dedicated to Kayla the koala, Spot the giraffe and Fluffy the sheep.

Chapter 4: Loner

Mini-prologue

Crono ran to his mother, who was sitting on the red couch, rigid with shock. He looked at her curiously.

"Why are you freezed, Mommy?"

He noticed a piece of paper on the ground, by her feet where she had dropped it. He picked it up, and joyfully ripped it in two. The sound made him laugh.

"Yayyy!"

Then he ripped it into quarters...then eighths...then tiny, tiny pieces.

The four-year-old threw them everywhere, laughing and shouting happily. His mother didn't even stop him. She just watched as the last message her husband left her fluttered to the ground like a million snowflakes.

.::::.

"Poke him," Crono heard a voice urge.

"Poking won't wake him."

Crono opened his eyes, barely wide enough to slide a piece of paper through.

Rough-looking people were gathered around, staring menacingly down at him.

Crono shut his eyes again.

"Ha! No use pretending," said a cold voice. "Get up."

Darn it. Crono sat up. The people backed away a little.

He was on the deck of some kind of ship.

The pirate ship! It all came back. Crono reached for his sword – and grabbed empty air.

They had taken his stuff!

"No use trying anything," said the voice. It belonged to a young but vicious looking pirate with knotty blond hair. He leered at Crono. "Know where y'are?"

Duh, considering they'd burnt the ferry and taken his best friends. Crono seldom wasted words.

The blond pirate smirked when he didn't answer. "Welcome aboard the Mutiny."

"... " What did the name matter?

The blond pirate smirk became more prominent. "Not one for words, are ya? Just another of many fools upon this ship."

The other pirates snickered, each hoping the captain wasn't talking about him.

Crono frowned. It didn't pay for people to think he was dumb. Say something useful, now.

"Where's Marle?" Crono demanded.

"Ah. So we can talk, now!" The blond pirate jeered.

"I'm not mute -" Crono began defensively.

The blond pirate slapped him on the shoulder. "Good! I can finally tell someone to shut up. So you can shut up now, and get on with your work. I've assigned you to deckswabbing."

He turned away. Crono rubbed his forehead. Some pirate. The others looked at each other, smirked and they, too, continued with their daily lives.

Crono decided to go look for Marle himself.

Oh yeah, and Lucca.

He wandered around all the cabins, over every deck, up one mast and down another. No sign of his friends. Or anyone else who had been on the ferry.

Where? Where? Where?

"Get back to work," a girl snapped at him while carrying what looked like a truckload of laundry in her arms.

"Where... are the others?" Crono asked.

"Working," the girl replied.

"The ones who were on the ferry," Crono said quietly.

The girl rose her hard blue-grey eyes to his. "You were the only one. Pity that... would have been more workers 'round this place."

So it was true. Crono was alone, save a couple of sea-bandits and seagulls overhead on this harsh, lonely ship.

Oooh, depressing.

I will add the other characters from the game too, soon. Keep reviewing!!!!!! :D