Start Date: August 9, 2021

Windwillow

Chrono Trigger

Chapter Seven

By way of a Gate from C.E. 1000, Crono and his lady friends had wound up in a desolate wasteland. After witnessing scenes of humanity at its nadir, and facing wicked machines and twisted mutants, they came upon a computer bank that showed them a way home. However, that wasn't all there was to see.

[Visual Record of the Day of Lavos, C.E. 1999]

[1:24 P.M.]

_Satellite 3-K, narrow on co-ordinates 449, 461_

_Satellite A-7, seismic activity detected at 449, 461_

_Satellite R-8, narrow camera_

It was on the Medina continent. A small crack broke the ground, growing with a crimson light that seemed to envelop the entire landmass. One crack became two, seven, until the ground erupted into a crescendo of flame.

_Satellite 3-K, co-ordinates 449, 461... critical seismic activity_

_Satellite A-7, seismic-_

The eruption shattered half the continent, blowing magma deep into the atmosphere. They shot up at incredible speed, piercing the atmosphere and puncturing several satellites before swerving madly, covering the globe, and rained destruction from the heavens on everything.

Fires engulfed the planet. Domes shattered, plains scorched, rivers evaporated. Everyone outside met a fiery death; those inside the domes felt the tremors and could hear their roar. The world's very skin was wiped clean by the rain of fire. Mountains, lakes, even entire continents vanished into deep red hellfire.

What no one noticed, was a large "structure" emerging from the chasm. No one could know the name, but in the Truce Dome a lone engineer entered a few words before passing out.

"The Day of Lavos... C.E. 1999... hell on earth."

_Satellite A-7 malfunction... critical damage to network..._

_System wide alert: catastrophic damage worldwide... system will shut down in 3... 2... 1..._

...

Scene One

The image petered out.

"In the name of God...!" Lucca exclaimed. "What the hell is 'Lavos'?! Is it what did this...?!"

Crono was stunned silent. He tried to speak, but no words entered his mind, only chaos and horror. Marle staggered back in a stupor.

"Are... we in the future...!? THIS is our future?! NO! This..."

She sank to her knees and wept.

"... this can't be the way the world ends..."

The same words echoed in Lucca and Crono's minds. What was there to say? They'd just watched the apocalypse, right before their eyes. They couldn't hear the screams, they couldn't feel the quakes, but the satellites' view spoke volumes. The other two wanted to collapse but couldn't; their legs locked up.

"This..." Marle sobbed, "this can't be the end..."

Stunned silence followed until Marle staggered to her feet, a look of desperation in her eyes.

"We have to change it!"

"Come again?!" Lucca exclaimed.

Marle ran to Crono with tears in her eyes.

"We changed history once, right?! When you saved me?! We have to do it again! We HAVE to! We..." She fell back to her knees and cried. Seeing her like that made something in Crono tweak, a tiny ember. They had to change this! In his mind many things echoed, but one was stronger than the rest.

Marle's crying...

A look of determination flashed in his eyes.

"We'll change it! We'll kill whatever the hell Lavos is!"

"Are you INSANE?!" Lucca screeched. "This thing nukes the planet and we're supposed to stop it?!"

Crono turned his head to her slowly.

"We have to try. You know that we can't leave this here, not after seeing what happened."

He was right, and Lucca knew it. The thought of what her parents would have felt in that horrible scenario, multiplied by the billions that DID die. With a sigh of resignation, her will was set.

"... Let's go home. I can do some research on all this, but I want to find another terminal at Proto Dome first. We'll start there... right, Marle?"

Words were over. Their resolve was set.

The battle began then and there.

[Unwritten Dossier: Day of Lavos]

Lavos was the final enemy here. On that day, the world was rent asunder, and all that they'd seen came to pass. What they didn't know was what Lavos actually was. We'll get to this later, but for now I can say the following.

Its objective for destruction was to pave the way for its spawn to mature and head into the stars, where all of this would occur over and over again. At the site of its eruption, Death Peak, volcanic explosions created a mountain locked in eternal winter. Whatever happened in 1999, they were living the aftermath.

And so, we begin the fight against Lavos: our war.

Scene Two

The group solemnly climbed up the emergency hatch. What to say? They'd just seen the apocalypse and so their mood wasn't cheerful.

Doan lifted his head.

"They're back!"

All eyes turned to the trio.

"Well?" asked Doan. "Have you found anything?"

Lucca nodded, and sighed.

"Yeah... this is the future..."

A man from behind Doan piped up.

"Who cares? Where's the damn food?!"

Another woman ran to Crono, the one whose husband they'd found below.

"Did you see my husband?"

"Yeah," yelled her child, "where's my daddy?"

Silence.

"He's still looking," Crono said slowly. "But I don't think he's gonna find anything else..."

The woman broke down crying. Her child was oblivious, and for the best, but our heroes could feel the grief in her tears. Doan stepped forward again.

"Did you find anything...? You look troubled."

Marle shook her head.

"We found this," she said as she handed the seed to Doan. "I think you can grow it in here, and you can start a new garden."

"A new garden? How can you be so sure?"

"Because," Crono said slowly, "we can't just give up hope. You guys, too. This might be our best chance to change things... and we have to face the issue."

Doan was quiet for a moment.

"It's been a long time since I heard the word 'hope'... Never thought we had any."

The child whose father died asked, "What's that thing?"

Quietly, Doan looked up, a glimmer in his eye.

"Our hope."

Our trio turned to leave, but Crono caught a strange object thrown by Doan.

"It's a key to the jet bike out east. Used to ride it when I was healthy enough..."

"Hey!"

All eyes turned to the angry man.

"If you wanna know something, try the crackpot down south. The sewer access will take you to his dome... and he might know something."

The heroes left, leaving silence in their wake. A tear ran down Doan's cheek.

"... thank you. And now, I... think I found some hope 'cause of you guys. Godspeed."

Another Angle

"A King's Lament"

King Guardia stepped into his room quietly. No one else to watch, no one to hear, just the picture he kept at his bedside: a beautiful young woman who truly resembled Marle.

A silence followed.

"It's been ten years, Aliza. You gave me such joy, but... I fear I haven't understood your final words... to accept Marle's future love. I've yet to find a prince or duke good enough to marry her. Is there something you knew that I don't...?"

He sighed.

"This is all bad for my nerves. If only I could eat Porrean jerky my mood might get better..."

Scene Three

Reaching the sewer access took less than half a day. To the group's relief, the entryway consisted of stairs and a doorway rather than a ladder and a hole. Once there, they assessed the situation.

"Well," said Marle, "we're here... but what next?"

Crono held his chin in thought.

"Keep going till we reach the dome. I just hope we find something to eat!"

Travel went smoothly, until Crono spotted a piece of pizza by a waterway. Mouth watering, he dove for it, only for Lucca to exclaim: "It's a trap!"

Beore he could react a merman leapt from the water and lunged at him. He quickly drew and swung his sword, cutting it in half. Marle eyed the collection of various fast foods along the path,

"Yeah, it's a trap. If we grab those, the enemies will come above and attack. As long as we walk by quietly, we'll be okay."

"Problem, Marle," said Crono, "they'll jump us anyway. Let's cut 'em up!"

Lucca drew her pistol.

"Excellent idea! Give 'em hell!"

They disposed of a horde of monsters. As they progressed a tiny, winged one-eyed mutant followed them. The creature flew up to a new monster, one shaped like a giant centipede.

"Sir Krawlie!" it croaked. "Some filthy animals are comin' this way! Bad news!"

The abomination snorted.

"Then I'll crush 'em!"

"Yeah, Sir Krawlie! Kill 'em!"

"Grind 'em up!"

"...!"

Krawlie turned to face Crono, who had his sword drawn. The other mutant had fled.

"How 'bout 'cut 'em'?"

With that he cleaved Krawlie in half. He swung the blood from the blade and sheathed it.

"Yeah," he chuckled and licked his lips, "I'd go with cut 'em."

Lucca shuddered.

"Did you have to be so scary?"

Scene Four

For a crackpot the old man was a talented builder. While the dome was shaped similarly to other domes, it had a distinctly foreign look to it: sleeker towers, a rounded dome with a silver shimmer. The gang approached and entered the dome. The inside was slightly different. No girders, just a sleek purple metal shine.

He was at the end of the area, equipped with a giant computer system three times the size of Arris Dome's. A number of them didn't even LOOK like computers, but something more biological. The old man himself was dressed in intricate blue, white, and purple robes.

"Aye, section 77-K needs a tweak... Oh! The flux capacitor's off by 3.18 millimeters... and I need to install the stereo systems! Yes, we can't have a craft without rockin' surround-sound... too boring!"

Crono and the rest stared in silence. Then, they saw another creature: blue, rounded, with limbs too small for its rotund body.

"I believe, sir," it said, "that you must rest. It has been three days."

"Absurd!" he scoffed. "I can go for FIVE if I try! Can't be much of a Guru without a strong constitution! I'd lose my license..."

Crono finally approached.

"Uh, hey, mister? We want to ask some questions-"

"NO!"

All three jumped. Instead of turning around, the elderly man slammed his fist on a console.

"You can't go there yet! Besides... THEY have to help you! Ahh, Schala, how I miss you..."

"Master Belthasar, you really must rest," the creature (a Nu) said.

"Hah! I've produced the world's greatest constructional feats - the Ocean Palace and the Blackbird - and I'm supposed to take a nap? Madness!"

Quietly the heroes left. It seemed clear they wouldn't make any progress. Thus, they recrossed the sewer access and reached a large, open area surrounded by debris and garbage.

There they found it - what Doan must have said was a jet bike. The design was a blue frame with golden plates below it, another series of silver plates stacked up like shark fins, one behind another for at least four or more on the back.

All of a sudden a claxon sounded and a horde of robots swarmed the area, armed with lasers. The three heroes drew their weapons and prepared for a brawl, but a voice rang out.

"Hold it right there!"

A new robot skidded to the scene, quickly changing form into a humanoid robot with a pompadour. He was dressed in a purple jacket. The rest of the metal monsters swirled and bowed.

"It's... THE MAN! Johnny's here!"

"And that, baby," said Johnny, '"is my name! Remember it, 'cause it's cool."

Our heroes paused. This guy was so embarrassing, they didn't know how to respond... But since the other option was fighting everyone, tact seemed appropriate.

"Listen, dude," said Crono, "all we want is to get through the ruins. I mean, you're cool and all-"

"HELL YEAH I AM!"

Crono jolted.

"You've got a good eye, kid... I like ya! But 'fore ya get by I wanna see you race!" yelled Johnny, grinning. "Climb on that bike and show me what'cha got!"

He'd forgotten about the jetbike.

"I can race you," Lucca said as she stepped up. "I'm always up for-"

Johnny waved his finger.

"Uh-uh, baby! The road's a man's world!"

Lucca fumed.

"You sexist prick! I'm gonna-"

"Stop!"

Crono held her back. He shook his head.

"And if we don't?"

Johnny paused.

"Then you fight us, and then go through the mutant's nest. Your choice."

Marle piped in, "Let Crono ride. We need to get past him."

Crono mounted the bike.

"I'm not leaving them alone here," he said. "I'd rather fight than leave them."

Johnny scoffed.

"Press the green button twice."

He did so, and the fins on the jetbike slid back to reveal two additional seats, complete with seatbelts. Our heroes mounted the vehicle, but Lucca leaned close to Crono's ear.

"Last time you rode my bike it took a week to put it back together."

Crono slid the helmet on his head.

"I know that, you know that, he doesn't. Live with it."

Johnny returned to his motorcycle form.

"Allow me to explain," he said. "The course is Lab 32. We've got a ton of turns, but if you feel lucky the three red buttons on the left handle each start one booster. Now let's start before I get mad!"

Each of them took to the field. A female robot spun up, counted from three, and waved a flag. They both took off.

I'm not a motorcyclist, but let's make this simple enough for me to write, 'kay?

Crono and Johnny both sped through the ruins. Twists and turns abounded; more than once a mutant lunged and they evaded- less gracefully by Crono. Towards the end of the track was a wide, open area. Here Johnny had a clear advantage, and took the lead.

"Crono," groaned Lucca, "we're gonna lose! Speed up!"

He paused, and his eyes fell on the boosters. Lucca knew what he was doing, but before she could protest Crono slammed all three buttons at once. With that the jetbike soared past Johnny.

They'd won the race.