Start Date: July 16, 2021

Windwillow

Chrono Trigger

Chapter Five

Time ebbs and flows, outside human understanding. Perhaps Destiny isn't set? Is reality static or malleable?

It certaintly didn't help Crono much. He will be tried for 'kidnapping' Marle, all that after warping time to save her. Justice? Foolishness?

Or will the Fates take his side, and defy destiny? All that can be said...

... is we're telling a story, folks, so if you haven't played the game, here we go.

Scene One

"Gathered here in the name of the Almighty, administrated by Duke Marcus and Duchess Sharon of Truce, in the year one-thousand, hereby begin the trial of Crono. In God's name, may justice be done."

Spoken by the judge, and elderly man with fiery eyes that didn't match his face. In the courtroom there were spectators both citizen and noble. And, at the podium in the central court was Crono. His arms were shackled, as were his legs.

"I," stated the Chancellor, "will lead the prosecution."

A thin, wiry man stated: "And I, Pierre, shall serve as defense counsel."

The judge banged his gavel.

"Charges are as follows: kidnapping, treason, and resisting arrest."

Crono growled. He hadn't fought back. Little prick made that up.

From the west table, the Chancellor began his case.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, this man, Crono, abducted our precious Princess Nadia. We shall prove his guilt."

Then, Pierre.

"There has been no crime, if he didn't abduct the Princess. That is our defense."

The Chancellor.

"Absurd! This pest, err, defendant, was seen bringing Princess Nadia to a little side-show, whereupon she disappeared. My friends, 'disappear' and 'abduction' go hand in hand. We also have evidence of the defendant's character.

Pierre.

"Objection! Crono's character isn't on trial here!"

The Judge.

"Care to elaborate, Chancellor?"

Do I need to do this again?

"We have a witness, one Alex Agerate, who will testify he commited theft! Mr. Agerate, step up and give your testimony."

A withered old dude entered the room. Seemed like he'd been drinking, too.

"This brat," he croaked, "stole my mama's lunch! Right in front of me!"

Crono piped up.

"You lying old fart! I don't even eat bento!"

"And that," the judge said with a bang of the gavel, "will not be tolerated! The defendant will stay silent or watch the trial from a cell."

Pierre stepped forward.

"Mr. Agerate, you testify your mother's lunch was stolen?"

The old bag nodded.

"Given that she's been dead for thirty years, why should be believe you?"

In unison the court nodded.

As Agerate exited, Pierre again spoke.

"We also have a character witness, Your Honor! Please step up, Lilly Anna!"

The girl whose cat Crono (sort of) found, related what happened. No cross-examination was given; the Chancellor wouldn't bully a six-year-old or he'd look like a jackass. He WAS one, but I digress.

And now, the motive.

"It's clear this boy would ransom Nadia! HE even struck her first - he BEGAN by attacking her! Isn't that RIGHT, BOY?"

Crono took a deep breath.

"Can I talk now? We ran into each other; neither of us was looking where we went, so we hit each other. It's on both of us! Besides, what would I spend money on after stealing and returning Marle? I'd just get caught and tried like this."

The court nodded. He abducted her, returned her, and thought he'd get away with it? Each of the jurors agreed.

"And with that," said the Chancellor, "the prosecution rests."

Pierre stated, "The defense does the same."

"The jury will reconvene at 10:00 A.M. tomorrow for their verdict. We're done here," he said with his gavel.

Another Angle

"Did I raise a criminal?"

Gina nervously paced her house.

"There's no way Crono'd do that! He wouldn't! I never found drugs or dirty magazines under his bed... why would he do THIS?!"

She sighed.

"I just hope the jury gets it right."

Another Angle

"Let Me In!"

A guard gripped Lucca by the shoulders. After she'd barreled through the front gates, she'd been caught at the courtroom door.

"You can't go in, ma'am! This court-"

"Can SHOVE it," she snarled. "I won't let you railroad my friend!"

Another voice came.

"Let ME in. You'll obey MY order, right?!"

Scene Two

10:00 A.M.

"Gathered here," stated the judge, "has come the time for judgment. Jurors, I thank you for your service, and now I shall reveal the verdict."

The judge twirled his moustache.

"Not Guilty."

A howl broke out among the crowd, reacting in joy and irritation depending which caste they came from.

"However...!"

All eyes to the judge,

"The fact is that he vanished with the Princess at Leene Square. Three days, solitary confinement. We're done here."

"The HELL we are!"

Marle blasted through the doors, dressed as a princess would be.

"I'm not gonna let-!"

Once again an interruption. Even the author dislikes this format.

"It's over, Nadia. You've done more than enough for this rogue. The sentence will be carried out." The King said, stepping through the gates (with a bruised guard, the one who let Marle by)

As Crono was dragged from the courtroom a look of glee reflected on the Chancellor's face, a shroud of outrage from Marle. But the deal was done. Crono was led across a bridge, connecting the castle and the prison. A well-dressed guard manned the desk.

"This scoundrel," the Chancellor said, "has been convicted and sentenced to death in three days. Detain him."

However, the official cocked his head.

"I didn't receive any papers-"

A glint in the old fart's eye shined.

"Yes, you did, and your bank account just received 5000 Gil."

Crono struggled, both with his bonds and outrage.

"You lying son-of-a-bitch! What the hell are you doing?!"

But he passed out when a guard slammed his fist into his gut. He woke up in a small cell. All the amenities consisted of a table, toilet, and a desk holding a bag.

The fat guard said, "Some sympathizers gave you that. Bunch of cola or something..."

Crono opened the bag and found six cylinders. He didn't think it was soda, at least not when he found a hand-drawn picture of Lucca, smiling.

God only knows what's she's up to... but I have to stay calm.

"Captain Kasundi!"

A thin guard gave a salute.

"Officer Ponzu and Officer Sambal, have the prisoners been confirmed?"

The fat guard said, "Rumblin' right! All accounted for!"

Now the captain saluted. Then he left the room. And so, the first day passed...

Noon.

The captain returned, and gave the same ceremony with the two nitwits.

This is getting old...

The second day, noon. Same thing, same people. But Crono noticed something: the captain carried a katana. The normal cops had batons, but captain rank and higher could carry a personal weapon.

It may be old-fashioned, but I think I've got an idea...

The final day came, and the fat guard rattled on Crono's cell.

"Finally time for judgment, punk! You're rumblin' for some justice!" the fat guard gloated. Crono, though, grinned.

"Big man, taunting a dead man. If I had the chance I'd whip your fat ass from here to Tuesday."

The guard was furious.

"Say what?!"

"I mean, when you were so ugly when you were born the doctor probably slapped your mother."

Fury out, hatred in.

"You bastard! I'll rumblin' give you hell! Sambal, open the rumblin' gate!"

The slim guard was unsure. "But... we'd get in trouble, yeah?"

Fat dude pumped his fist. "Jerk won't be alive to say nothin'! OPEN THE GATE!"

With a sigh, Sambal opened the cell door. As Ponzu strode in, Crono knocked him out with a gut punch. When Sambal followed, same thing. He dragged the two guards into the cell and locked it, but not before stealing Ponzu's outfit; it was baggy, but Sambal's wouldn't fit.

Into the room, Kasundi saluted someone who wasn't conscious, and quickly succumbed to Crono's punch. As he threw off the uniform he knelt and gripped the captain's sword.

"Looks nice... Dumbass don't deserve somethin' like this! Now, to get out..."

A call came from an adjacent cell: "GUARDS! A prisoner's on the loose! Catch 'im!"

"Hey!," shot Crono. "What'd I do to you jackass?"

The prisoner smirked.

"You didn't break us out!"

As Crono threw the keys into the guy's cell, he turned back to run. The prisoner kind of felt like an ass now...

"Stop!" shouted a guard. Seven more joined him against Crono.

Crono sighed. "Alright, boys, let's rumble..."

At the foot of the entryway only a Lieutenant stood in his way, and as Crono rushed to engage the poor fool was struck from behind from Lucca, using a large mallet.

"Oh, HELL YEAH!" she shouted. "Crono! I came to save..."

She looked at an armed Crono, and then the unconscious officer.

"..."

"Yeah," sighed Crono. "I sort of busted myself out."

"... Crap..."

And now, of course, Lucca was a criminal. Great way to handle the matter, but she couldn't expect he would jail break himself. Regardless, Lucca readied to head out, but noticed an open blueprint for a "Dragon Tank" and began reading it. But as they crossed the bridge, the Chancellor and a very... dragon-looking... tank, stood in their way.

"Damn," cursed Crono. "Any ideas, Lucca?"

"Page 16: Armaments..." she muttered. "First weapon..."

A machine gun fired rounds at the two, barely deflected by Crono.

"... machine gun turrets, model S-12.."

Blade drawn, Crono lunged, but the tank's dragon-head spewed burning fire. He fell back, singed and pissed off.

"... secondary weapon, head-mounted flame thrower..."

Crono grit his teeth.

"Oh, I have so HAD it with this thing!"

At that he moved swiftly, bouncing from the machine turret onto its head, and drove the katana deep into its body. Once firmly imbedded, he turned and twisted the weapon, then ripped the torso apart. Naturally, the Chancellor was less than pleased.

"G-Get them! Repair the tank! KILL THEM!"

"Lucca, jump!" Crono yelled. She stepped on the tank and, as Crono dragged her through the entryway the tank exploded. The two of them rolled down the stairs.

"Agh, I think I broke my butt bone..." Lucca whined. Crono, though, gripped her hand and dragged her down. Along the way a number of soldiers followed, and more were waiting on the ground floor.

Lucca took out her pistol. "It's no use!" she yelled. "We gotta break through!"

They did just that. But, Crono struck the guards with the back-end of his weapon - non-lethal - and Lucca used her mallet more than the gun. But inevitably they were caught at the castle's front gate.

"Let them GO!"

All around jumped, as Marle flew down the stairs in her royal attire. At once the soldiers kneeled.

"And I say DON'T let them GO!"

A bruised and battered Chancellor limped in. He was clearly pissed off.

Marle shouted, "I command you at once! All you soldiers, stand down and-!"

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone jolted as the King exited the throne room.

"Jail them both," he snarled. "and return my daughter to her quarters..."

Marle screamed, "The hell I'm giving up! We're out of here!"

The King shook his head.

"You learn strange things outside the castle..."

Marle snorted.

"Common sense isn't strange! Well, screw you! We're leaving, all three of us!"
She tore off her gown, revealing her previous tunic, a case of bolts, a crossbow, and a slim silver dagger. All three dashed out the gate and into the forest. As the Chancellor sicced them, King Guardia only dropped his head, murmuring her name.

Another Angle

"Concerned Parents"

"WHERE'S LUCCA?!"

Taban bashed through the door. Lara was seated at the table, cocking her head in confusion. He took a ragged breath.

"S-She's gonna break Crono outta jail! We gotta-"

"Why not?"

He paused.

"I just want her to live the way she wants, criminal or not. If she cares about Crono so much, then what will be will be. All we can do is love her, dear."

With a deep breath, Taban slumped back on the couch.

"Well, I gotta help her somehow! I can make somethin'! Maybe a cool vest, or a new weapon...? I'll figure it out."

He looked solemnly at his wife.

"Whatever happens, we have her back. Criminal or not, it don't matter."

Scene Three

Our heroes darted through the trees as fast as they could. Every so often a few soldiers caught up; they receieved a nice cut or hammer concussion for that. Crono had been through the woods many times as a child, but now they had a bigger issue.

Where could they run? Truce? They'd be found, tried, and fried. Getting to Porre was impossible, too: assuming they crossed the bridge the Porreans would STILL turn them in. So, in their wild confusion, the trio moved into unknown territories, into a glade holding a very interesting object.

"A Gate!" Lucca gasped as the blue orb came into sight.

Marle muttered to herself, and then said: "Open it up!"

Lucca looked at her like a lunatic.

"We might not be able to SURVIVE wherever it leads to! It could be-"

The sound of dozens of soldiers could be found... they had them.

"-better than this! Hang on, guys!"

Thrusting the Gate Key, the azure sphere pulsed to life. All three of the teens jumped in just as the Chancellor and his men reached the glade.

Another Angle

"My Daughter"

King Guardia rested his head atop his throne. Nadia gone, Chancellor pursuing, and a desire for some nice jerky. Some rogue from who-knows-where had humiliated the Crown by breaking into and out of the castle prison. Then the girl that blinded his guards and headed to jail.

He sighed.

"Am I doing this right, Aliza...? Have I made a horrible mistake, with our Nadia...?"

He sighed again.

"I just want to keep her safe... for both you and I..."

Scene Four

Through the vortex, down the rabbit hole, and then delivered unceremoniously onto a hard, cold surface. Crono groaned, Marle sighed, and Lucca cursed under her breath.

As he sat up, Crono said, "This stone's hard. What are the floors made of...?"

Lucca examined the flooring.

"This isn't stone, it's steel! But I never saw steel this sturdy..."

The room around them was sparse, several heavy platforms and stairs that seemed to go nowhere. Several doors dotted the area, none of which had a door.

Marle lifted herself up and walked towards a nearby door. To her shock it slid open violently.

"The hell?! I didn't even touch a door knob!"

Lucca quickly grasped the situation. She was the only one who knew automatic technology was in the works; doors and windows that open by themselves.

"It's not a door like we've seen. But this place is creepy... Let's split up and suss out the situation."

Marle moved around and examined the self-opening doors and a series of pipes that seemingly had no purpose. The stairs went every whichway, and the decor was drab to the nth degree. Feng Shui didn't exist here.

Next, Crono tapped the walls as he moved. He didn't open any other doors, though. All he found was steel and grime. At the back of the first room, though, he found a strange, black-crested door. He tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

Lucca scanned around. Clearly there were exhaust pipes and wires and cables she didn't understand. Stronger steel then she'd ever seen, and only leaving a large opening at their starting point leading to outside.

"GOD IN HEAVEN!"

Crono and Marle jumped, and ran to see what Lucca was seeing. As they did, though, they quickly regretted it.

They were in what looked like a large, domed structure. But right beyond those gates was a barren wasteland. The skies were darkened and crackling with acid rain. The ground seemed seeping with grime and dead tissue. Across all they could see were dead oceans and dying cities, and the smell was ungodly.

Lucca fell to her knees.

"Where... in God's name... are we...?!"