Chapter six

Enter Robo

Their trip back through the complex was uneventful, most of the bugs had scattered to other locations and the robots were still in pieces. Within minutes they had reached the ladder that lead back up.

"Ladies first."

Lucca went first followed by Marle. With one last look around Crono followed as well. Glad to be back among people instead of mutated bugs and killer robots, they heaved a collective sigh of relief. Then Doan noticed them.

"You're back!" His happy cry alerted all of the others and they were soon gathered around and looking expectantly at them. "Well? What did you discover?"

"This is....our future." Marle said just above a whisper.

Doan looked at her questioningly. Before he could talk another ragged man spoke up. "Who cares, where's the food?"

Reaching into her pocket Marle pulled out the seeds. "This is all we could get..."

"Everything else was rotten." Crono added sadly.

Doan took them. "Seeds?"

Lucca addressed the crowd. "You don't know how long the Enertron'll hold out." She took a deep breath and glanced at Crono, who nodded to her. She sspoke to Doan this time. "Those seeds might be your only hope."

Marle reached out and took Doan's hand in hers and closed it about the seeds. "You have to stay alive! And so do we!"

"Huh.... You're strange... You're different from us."

"I think it's because we're healthy." Marle replied

"Heal-thy?" Doan closed his eyes and smiled. "Got a nice ring to it!" He looked back at the healthy kids. "We will try growing the seeds..."

A very small child disengaged from her mom and walked over to Doan. "What're those?"

"They just might be our future." Doan fished a smal object out of his pocket and held it out to Crono. "You are heading for Proto Dome correct?" Crono nodded. "Go by way of Laboratory 32, and take this with ya." Crono took the object from Doan. "It's a key to the Jet Bike in Lab. 32. I used to ride it when I was young." Doan paused to catch his breath. "Hope it still works... They've got more powerful robots over there." Crono pocketed the key and smiled at the old man. "Take care, and stay....healthy!"

"Let's go guys." Marle and Lucca nodded anf followed Crono outside.

Once outside Lucca pulled out her compase "Proto Dome is north of us, we should head that way." Lucca pointed north, toward what to them appeared to be a junkyard.

"This place keeps getting worse." Marle whined.

Crono wrapped one of his arms around her shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze. "It will be alright. We can handle anything together." Marle smiled, but Lucca just rolled her eyes and started walking.

The trip took less time than they thought it would and within an hour they were at the entrance to the lab. There were old burnt out buildings and decrepit broken machines scattered all over. "Wow!" Lucca cries. "Look at all these machines on the ground." She runs up to one and examins it. "Now who would leave something like this to rust." Marle takes one look at the weird snail looking machine in her hands and beguins to laugh. "What is so funny?"

"That looks like something from a flowerbed." Marle stopped laughing whwn she heard Crono yell out.

"I found the Jet Bike!" The bike looked like a bright yellow jet ski but without the blades on the bottom. It was bright yellow with blue racing stripes.

That's great, now we can go!" Marle was jumping up and down.

Lucca adjusted her glasses. "Only if it still runs."

"One way to find out." Crono said, inserted the key and turned it. He was rewarded with the sound of the engine firing up. Unfortunately the noise also alerted four of the strange insect-like robots, just like the ones in the dome to come out and surround them. "This is bad, were surrounded." He yelled unsheathing his sword.

"We can take em!" Marle cried as she unstrapped her crossbow.

"That's right!" Replied Lucca drawing her gun.

"Hold it right there!" Cam a loud shout from behind one of the robots. It moved out of the way to allow an even stranger robot to get by. This resembled Elvis, right down to the pompadour hair style. He was traveling on two wheels attached to his hand and feet. When he stopped they were pulled to his back with some kind of mechanism they couldn't see. He stood hands crossed staring at them.

Marle leaned over so that Crono and Lucca could hear her. "Who the heck is this nut ball?"

As if on cue one of the robots spoke. "The MAN!"

The MAN spread his arms out in acceptance. "Like, thanks for the intro babe!"

"The MAN!"

The MAN turned to address the humans. "You lowlifes can call me Johnny. Now listen up. Part of the old highway leads through these ruins." Johnny grins at them. "Think you can beat me in a race? Use that Jet Bike over there, and....don't chicken out, babe!" Then his face took on an all serious demeanor. "Do you know how to ride?"

Lucca looked up defiantly. "Of course we do!"

"Then get in and lets race!"

"Crono you drive."

"Me?"

"Yes you. I'm not good at driving."

Crono mumbles under his breath. "And I am?" The trio climb onto the Jet Bike, Crono fired it up and they waited for the signal to go. Johnny had already changed back to his motorcycle form and was also waiting.

One of the four robots stood between them and held up a red flag. "On your marks, get set, and GO!" The robot dropped the flag and they both took off at breakneck speeds.

The one saving grace for this track was that it was a strait stretch of road. The problems were not only was it littered with debris, Johnny was also slamming into them at any opportunity he got. Their speeds were also perfectly even, the race would only end in a draw. "Crono!" Lucca cried over the wind. "Press the blinking yellow button!"

"Why!?"

"That's the tubo booster! It will give you a burst of speed!" She looked forward then back. "Use it now! Were about to reach the end of the track!"

"Here goes nothing!" Crono pressed the button, and the engines shot out a burst of fire. The Jet Bike sped up and knocked Johnny over as it crossed the finish line just ahead of him. Then the bikes engines died and it came to a jerky stop. They piled out of the vehicle, Marle looking a little green and waited for Johnny to catch up.

Driving up Johnny reverted back to his bipedal form. "You beat me? I don't get!" He shrugged his shoulders and chuckled. "Ah well! You can challenge me anytime. We'll ride the wind, babe!"

They waved to Johnny and walked out of the lab, then Crono stopped. "Why does he keep calling me BABE?"

Lucca fought back a laugh. "Maybe he likes you." Marle giggled back.

"Yuk!" Crono glared at Lucca who was still trying not to laugh. "How far to Proto Dome?"

"According to the computer it should be south of the factory over there." Lucca pointed to a large building belching smoke into the sky.

"How far south?"

"Bout a kilometer."

Marle blinked. "How far is a kilometer?"

"Less than a mile I think." Crono said.

"Close enough." Replied Lucca.

"Well then let's go." Marle grabbed Crono and Lucca by the arm and started to drag them in the Dome's direction.

The dome they came to was in rather good condition, few cracks on the outside and none of the windows were busted, though you still couldn't see through them because they were so filthy. However the inside was in horrible shape. Like the others the floors were broken and the supports showed signs of imminent collapse. They couldn't see the back of the dome because there was a turn in the path. They walked into the room and found an Enertron in the left corner ans another walkway to the right.

Lucca stretched. "Might be a good idea to use that thing." She pointed at the Enertron.

Marle sighed. "I hat the way it makes me feel."

"But she does make a good point. Who knows when we will have time to rest."

In agreement the stepped into the Enertron and flipped it on. The familiar electric sensation passed through their muscles removing the aches. Stepping out the fought off the hunger pains caused by the machine. Lucca looked back at it. "I would still love to know how they did that."

"Did what?" Marle asked.

"Make the Enertron. By all logic it shouldn't be able to do what it does."

"Does it really matter?" Crono asked. "It does it, isn't that enough for now?"

"I suppose." Just then three weird octopuse shaped robots dropped on them from the rafters. "Not more robots!" Lucca whipped out her pistol and fired at the eye of one of them. It exploded taking one of the others with it. The third crono cut in half. Four more dropped down only the meet the same fate from a volly of arrows from Marle's crossbow.

Marle was able to salvage her arrows from the battle, and she proceded to complain while collecting them. "I hate robots! They don't care for anything alive."

They took the walkway on the right side of the room and through the doorway at the end. Through the door they found a square control room with another door at the other end. But what caught their attention was sitting in the center of the room. A humanoid robot sat there, covered in a thick layer of dust and a thin coating of rust. It was about six feet tall and as broad and the three of them combined. It had a dome shaped head and bulky arms and legs. It's eyes were Green light bulbs, except they were burnt out now.

Marle walked up and looked at it. "Wh, what's this?"

Lucca ran over and examined the robot from top to bottom. "It's in bad shape... But it appears to be a humanoid robot!" Lucca squeals with joy. "Incredible!" She looks at it one more time. "I think I can fix it."

Crono looked skeptical, but Marle just looked scared. "What?! It might attack us!"

"I'll make sure it won't. Machines aren't capable of evil......humans make them that way." Lucca looked sadly at the wrecked machine.

"Lucca, you.....pity them don't you?"

"Lucca has always had an empathy for machines."

"Let me get to work now." They nodded and moved out of her way.

As Lucca worked Marle and Crono explored the room. As Crono was checking out a control panel Marle pulled on the door in the back. "The door won't budge."

"The panels don't work either." Crono sighed and sat down next to the wall. "Guess all we can do is wait."

"I guess your right." Marle also sighed and sat down next to Crono. They must have fallen asleep because next thing they knew Lucca was shaking them.

"I'm done now." Marle and Crono get up and watch as Lucca flips a switch. "I'm going to give it some juice." As the power surges through the robot it twitches and shoots sparks from it's joints. The robot stood up shooting more sparks, and it's green eyes light up.

"........."

"Good morning!" Marle cries.

"Mo.....Good Morning, mistress. What is your command?"

"I'm not your mistress. I'm Marle!" She points to Crono. "And this is Crono! And Lucca." She points at Lucca. "She fixed you."

The robot tuns to Lucca and takes a deep bow. "Understood. Madam Lucca fixed me."

"Just Lucca will do."

The robot shakes his head. "Impossible. That would be rude."

Lucca scratches her head. "Look, I hate formal titles!" She looks toward the others. "Don't you agree Marle?"

She laughs into her hand. "Hate em!"

Soft beeps and hums are heard from the robot. "I understand, Lucca."

"All right! Now what's your name?"

The robot whurrs in confusion. "Name? Ah, my serial number. It is R-66Y."

"R-66Y? Cool"

"Cool? Please specify."

Marle curls her lip in disgust. "No! That won't do at all!" She looks to Crono. "Come on Crono, let's give him a better name!"

Crono thinks for a moment before speaking. "Well he is a robot so why not just Robo for short?"

"Robo....Robo....that's perfect!" She turns to the robot. "Your new name is Robo, okay?"

More beeps and whurrs are heard. "I am.....Robo. Data storage complete." Robo bangs his chest. "I am Robo."

Lucca and Marle giggle at this, and Crono just smiles. Lucca adjusts he glasses yet again before speaking. "Hey Robo, why aren't there any people here?"

Robo glances around the room, distress is apparent in his eyes. "What......what happened here? There WERE many humans and others of my kind in this dome."

"I think something awful happened here." Lucca said with her eyes downcast.

"It would appear so..... But how is it you survived?"

"We came through a time warp from the year 1000."

"So time travel is possible." He replied while beeping.

"Yes but don't ask us how."

"Crono's right even we don't know how it happened. While we were exploring Arris Dome we learned there was a gate here." Marle said.

Lucca also spoke up. "We found you when we came looking for the gate!"

"But the door to the inner chambers is locked, so we're out of luck."

Robo walks up to the doorway and examines the locking mechanism. "The power is off." Turning back he poins to the control panel. "If we go to the factory up north, I can pass through the security and activate this dome's generator."

Marle gazed at him. "You'd do that for us?"

"You reapaired me. Now it's my turn to help you."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Robo put up his hands to stop them. "The generator won't run for long, so someone must stay behind to open the door while the power's on."

Crono looked at the others. "But who will stay?"

Lucca raised her hand. "I will stay."

Marle stared dumfoundly at her. "Why?"

"Crono, you need Marle more than you do me. She can heal your wounds should you get hurt. I can't. I'll handle things here."

"Thanks Lucca." Crono motiond to Marle and Robo. "Let's go!"

To be continued.....

Sorry for the delay, but these things happen. Reviews please. I won't post another chapter without them. I like to know people read my stuff.