Chapter 13: Footsteps! Follow!

Act One

August 12, 65,000,000 B.C.

Crono was the first to stir the next morning. He could see the sun almost directly over his head, and concluded that it was around eleven. He rolled over, and saw two metal feet facing him. He then looked up.

"Good morning," Robo greeted. "That soup seems to affect humans."

"No kidding," Crono replied as he rose to his feet. A few yards away, he could see Lucca laying face down.

"Lucca," he began.

There was no response.

Crono bent down on his knees.

"Lucca!" he repeated as he shook her.

There was still no response.

Then, without warning, Crono took Luca's arm and buzzed on it.

"CRONO!" shouted Lucca angrily as she hopped to her feet and smacked him in the face.

"Miss Lucca," Robo pleaded, "please do not promote violence."

"Are you kidding?" Lucca replied to Robo with a smile. "I used to babysit him when he was little. I'd spank him if he was bad!" She then put on her glasses and scanned the surrounding area. "If the three of us are here, where's Ayla?"

"Passed out in her hut, I suppose," Crono replied. "Where's Marle?"

"Last I saw her, she was with you," Lucca replied. She then spotted a giant tree just outside the village that would be perfect to hide behind. "I need to relieve myself."

As Lucca was returning from behind the tree, she spotted Marle standing near one of the other huts. She quickly adjusted her glasses, and confirmed what she was seeing: Marle was dressed in a fur bikini similar to Ayla's.

"Good morning!" Lucca greeted.

"Hey there!" Marle greeted back as she placed her hands on her hips. "What do you think?"

"What have you done with your clothes?" Lucca asked.

"I'm a cave girl!" Marle giggled.

"It looks...nice," Lucca complimented, trying to hide her disappointment.

"I'm sure Crono will notice!" Marle continued. "Besides, it helps me blend in, and it feels so free! You should try it!"

"No thanks," Lucca sighed.

Just then, Crono came from around the corner. Sure enough, he noticed. He scanned her head to toe, blushing slightly as he gazed at her midriff and legs for the first time.

"Morning Crono!" she greeted with a smile before tip-toeing to Crono, placing her hands on his shoulders, and kissing him. "Wasn't that fun last night?!"

"You bet!" Crono agreed.

Marle giggled and kissed him again.

"So are you going to go around like that all day?" Lucca asked.

"You bet!" Marle replied. "It feels so free! Remember what Robo said about the cavemen yesterday? You're lucky I'm wearing anything at all!"

"Besides," added Crono, "don't forget about last night."

"What do you mean?" asked Lucca.

"You were doing that twerk dance," Crono informed her.

"What?!" Lucca exclaimed. "Liar! I was a perfect lady last night! But why does my tummy hurt so?"

At that moment, Marle looked down. She could see a trail of footprints that had not been there the previous day.

"Who made these footprints?!" she exclaimed.

Crono looked down, and realized that they were not human.

The awful moment came when Lucca checked her pockets.

"It's gone!" she exclaimed. "The Gate Key's been taken! These prints were left by the thief! Without it, we're stuck here forever!"

"Not forever," Crono corrected. "That meteor you mention will put us out of our mystery."

"This isn't funny!" Lucca snapped. "Let's go see Ayla!"

MINUTES LATER...

They found Ayla sleeping in the fetal position inside her hut. She was snoring quite loudly, and seemed in a deep sleep.

"Who gets to wake her?" Marle asked.

"I'll do it," Crono volunteered.

"Don't buzz her arm," Lucca warned. "Or anything else. You'll get pounded for sure."

"I don't think Ayla would do that," Crono insisted.

"Who said it would be Ayla?" Lucca replied as she eyed the bikini-clad Marle.

Crono then took a look at the sleeping woman.

"Ayla," he gently called.

Ayla immediately opened eyes.

"Crono, you up already?" she asked groggily. "Too much soup! Sleep like stone."

"Sorry to wake you," Lucca apologized, "but we've been robbed."

"What?" exclaimed Ayla as she sprang to her feet. "Must be Reptites! Crono come with Ayla! We settle with Reptites! Who else come?"

"All of us!" Marle replied.

Ayla scanned Marle's attire.

"Look good!" she exclaimed before darting out of her hut.

The other four ran out to find her scanning the ground.

"Reptites here!" Ayla shouted. "Footsteps! Follow!"

MEANWHILE...

Reptites, as intelligent as they were, did not invent doors. Thus, they had no idea what a key would be used for.

Burko, holding on the key, had scanned it for hours. He had no idea what it was.

"What could it be for?" Azala inquired.

"I'm not sure," Burko replied. "Maybe it's a religious or cultural symbol."

"I certainly hope not," Azala sternly added. "We risked our lives for it."

"Maybe it glows in the dark?" suggested Burko as he eyed a nearby cave. "Maybe they use it to guide them through the caves."

Azala gave him a long stare.

"Well?" she began.

"I guess there's only one way to find out," Burko said.

He duly made his way into the cave, with Azala following him and stopping at the entrance.

The Gate Key failed to glow.

Burko began to tremble as he heard Azala begin to growl; she had been known to eat underlings that had failed to please her.

And, at that moment, a Gate opened, causing the two Reptites' mouths to drop open.

"My heavens!" exclaimed Azala.

"So that's what it does!" added Burko.

"You said they came out of nowhere," Azala pointed out. "If we go through, it should take us to where they came from."

Burko nodded.

Azala nodded back and pointed her snout at the gate.

"You first!" she commanded.

Burko, left with not other choice, nervously stepped into the Gate.

Act Two

The tracks led to what Ayla called the Forest Maze. Beyond it, there was a cavern where Reptites were known to dwell. It was beyond the maze for a reason: any unlucky humans would have an extremely hard time escaping.

When Crono, Marle, Lucca, Robo, and Ayla arrived at the entrance, they saw that Kino was standing at the mouth.

He had a guilty look on his face.

Ayla's face nearly became red.

"Kino!" she demanded. "What you do?!"

Kino stood in silence.

"Say now!" she snapped.

"Ayla," he began sheepishly, "Kino take Crono stuff."

Ayla's face became even redder.

"Why take?!" she demanded.

"Kino like Ayla best," Kino answered. "Ayla like Crono, but Kino not like…"

Ayla raised her fist and punched Kino in the face with an audible smack.

Kino staggered back. A few seconds later, blood began to ooze from his nose.

"Ayla!" Marle exclaimed as she covered her mouth in shock. "Mellow out!"

"Wow," Lucca whispered in Crono's ear, "talk about strict!"

"Kino!" Ayla yelled. "You know why I punish?"

"Ayla no like Kino," Kino muttered as he dried his eyes.

"No!" Ayla dismissed. "Ayla like Kino best! No more do bad stuff, okay? That wrong!"

"Sorry Ayla!" Kino apologized. "Sorry Crono!"

"Give back stuff to Crono!" Ayla ordered.

"No have," Kino replied as he lowered his head. "Reptites take!"

"Reptites!" Ayla exclaimed. "Where they go?!"

"Run into trees," Kino replied. "There!"

Ayla took a look into the woods.

"It looks like we have no choice but to follow them," Crono announced.

"Ayla go too," Ayla announced. "Kino go back village. Kino protect village when Ayla not there."

"Okay, Ayla!" Kino agreed.

With that, he began to run back toward Ioka Village.

"Kino is man," Ayla said. "So if Ayla die, Kino chief then."

"Ayla," Marle said softly.

"Ayla's one tough cookie," Lucca whispered. "But I didn't know she liked him. She's old enough to be his math teacher!"

"Chase Reptites!" Ayla announced as she turned toward the entrance of the Forest Maze. "Get back Crono stuff!"

The Forest Maze was not a maze, thanks to the GPS in Robo's system. He led the way, followed by Ayla. Marle was in front of Crono, and she could tell he was still checking her body out.

And it was exactly how she wanted it.

"How's the view?" Marle giggled as she turned her head slightly to face Crono.

"Perfect," Crono complimented.

"Keep your eyes peeled for danger!" Lucca ordered.

Around the corner, there was a huge creature browsing. It had a horn on its nose and two longer ones above its eyes.

"What's that?" Lucca inquired.

"It's called a triceratops," Robo answered.

"Will he eat us?" Marle asked nervously.

"Not to worry," Robo assured her. "It's an herbivore."

Suddenly, the triceratops made a hideous noise. It gave Marle a nasty glare before beginning to charge her.

"Crono, help!" she cried.

Crono, thinking quickly but carefully, raised his finger and cast lighting on a nearby tree. The tree came down, landing right on top of the triceratops.

The triceratops died instantly.

"My hero!" Marle exclaimed as she placed her hands on Crono's shoulders and kissed him.

"We need to be more alert," Robo warned. "Even herbivores can be territorial. And there are dinosaurs much worse than that one."

"I don't like the sound of that," Marle whispered.

MEANWHILE...

Azala emerged from the Gate and quickly scanned her surroundings.

"The cave looks exactly the same," she noticed.

"That's what I thought," Burko agreed. "But, then, why is it so cold in here?"

Azala directed her attention to the mouth of the cave.

And that was when she noticed.

"What is this white stuff?" Burko asked nervously.

Azala peered beyond the mouth. She could see the ground covered in a white blanket of snow as far as her eyes could see.

"I have no idea," she replied solemnly.

She carefully approached the mouth of the cave and poked her head out. Instantly, the freezing wind stung her snout. She could see nothing but snow, both on the ground and flying horizontally through the air.

She squinted her eyes. The same mountains that she had been used to were still visible, though they were slightly smaller. A wooly mammoth was roaming in the distance. She looked up at the sky, and noticed another difference.

"I don't see the Red Star anymore," Azala observed. "But everything else is the same."

"I would hardly call it the same," Burko replied. "I've never felt this cold in my life! We have to be in another place."

"No," Azala corrected with her head down. "The same place. A different time."

"A different time?" Burko asked.

"The mountains have been eaten by the wind," Azala replied. "This is the future."

"The future?" the puzzled Burko inquired.

"A long time from now," she clarified.

"But...how would we survive this cold?"

"We're doomed," Azala announced solemnly. "We cannot survive in such cold weather. Something must have happened. It destroyed the Red Star. It destroyed us. It created all the cold."

"But those apes live here!" he protested. "Unless..."

"Unless?" asked Azala, with a tone of hope in her voice.

"Perhaps the key could take us to yet another time," Burko suggested.

"It is possible," she noted. "But there's only one way to know for sure. We'll have to pry it off of them."

"And if they won't tell us?" asked Burko.

"I'll make sure that they do," Azala insisted.

Act Three

Meanwhile, Crono, Marle, Lucca, Robo, and Ayla had made their way through the Forest Maze and to the cave. Upon entering, the five of them spotted an armored dinosaur roaming the chamber.

"An Ankylosaurus," Robo observed.

"Look out," Ayla whispered. "Dangerous."

The creature turned towards the group and began to approach them, swinging its tail and hissing as it did so.

Suddenly, Ayla darted toward the creature, jumped, and kicked it in the head.

The creature fell down dead.

"Azala near," Ayla said. "Come."

In the next chamber stood Azala and Burko, examining the key.

"Could those apes have made something this advanced?" Azala said to herself.

"Azala!" called Ayla.

Azala immediately turned and smiled.

"Ah, the apes have arrived!" she announced. "You're nothing like Ayla. Tell me what this is, at once!"

Crono, completely unable to understand what Azala was demanding, stood in silence.

Azala sighed.

"I guess you need some motivation," she said before turning to the back of the cave. "Come, Nizbel!"

The ground suddenly began to tremble. Moments later, a twelve-foot bi-pedal dinosaur emerged from the chamber behind.

Even Robo was unable to identify it.

Suddenly, lightning struck the monster, killing it instantly.

Crono blew on his finger; he had cast lightning.

"Th…the apes beat Nizbel!" Azala exclaimed.

"Give thing back to Crono," Ayla demanded. "Now!"

Azala, not understanding, simply hissed.

Marle then raised her finger.

"Last chance," she warned.

Azala and Burko both gave a blank stare.

Suddenly, two bubbles emerged from Marle's finger. They quickly floated to both Azala and Burko, encasing them (as Azala tried, unsuccessfully, to grab the Gate Key), and began to carry them away.

"But remember," hissed Azala, "we Reptites will rule the world! Your days are numbered!"

"I guess the moral of the story is to never underestimate a half-naked girl with magic powers," Lucca observed. She then turned to the familiar red object. "Is the Gate Key okay? No problem!"

"I do not detect any damage," Robo added.

Ayla turned to Azala, who was still floating away.

"I fight anytime, Azala!" she shouted. "Ayla no lose!"

And then, without warning, Ayla let out the biggest belch; she practically rumbled where she was standing.

Marle turned to Crono, and smiled.

"Kiss your cave girl?" she requested.

Crono immediately wrapped his arms around Marle's waist and kissed her.

"Carry your cave girl back?" she then requested with a smile before looking down at her bare feet. "I probably should have worn shoes."

"No problem!" he replied.

Marle squealed in delight as Crono picked her up in his arms.

LATER...

Crono, Marle, Lucca, Robo, and Ayla had returned to Ioka Village. They were all standing in Ayla's hut, preparing to depart.

Marle had changed back into her usual white attire, much to Crono's disappointment.

"You leave, Crono?" Ayla began. "No fun for Ayla!"

"I'm afraid so," Crono replied. "We do have a world to save."

"I'll never forget you!" Marle added. "Thanks!"

"Thanks Ayla," added Lucca. "I learned a lot from you."

Kino stood by Ayla, looking sheepish and humiliated.

"Sorry, Crono," he apologized. "I try be strong now. Just like Crono!"

"No worries," Crono assured him.

"Come again, Crono!" Ayla invited. "Party! Eat! Dance! Fight! Fun! Come again, Crono! Marle, Robo, and Lucca too!"

As the four of them were walking up the path back to the Gate, Lucca had a sad look on her face.

"What's wrong?" asked Crono.

"Ayla," she replied. "She deserves a long life, and she's not going to get one."

"I know what you mean," Crono said solemnly. "But she helped save the world. She'll never be forgotten."

"I suppose you're right," Lucca sighed as she opened up the Gate. "I suppose you're right."