Start Date: October 21, 2021

Windwillow

Chrono Trigger

Chapter Ten

To those not keeping up with the story, allow me to summarize. Beat the big bad Lavos, save the world. The gang arrived at the mysterious "End of Time," where they'd been taught magic by a frog god. Then, returning to their own era, they were immediately detained by Mystics and left to fend for themselves.

Luckily, the smith Melchior resupplied them with weapons and directed them to the cave leading home. They gathered their courage, set out, and went to return back to Truce.

What they DIDN'T know was, the old man had more secrets than they realized.

Scene One

The cavern seemed innocent enough. Usual crags, cobwebs, and a sign saying "Humans Must Die."

Cheerful.

"So we're supposed to go IN THERE?!" Lucca exclaimed. "The damn sign says-"

Crono muffled her.

"The damn sign is the only way back to Truce. Would you rather swim? I hear the sharks are active this time of year."

Lucca groaned, but made no further protests. They entered the cave and found... well, a cave. The path was normal until a large creature emerged: a hunchbacked demon with wings and claws, a gargoyle. Lucca drew back and blasted the sucker, but to no effect. Another shot, a slash from Crono (which it caught) and Crono promptly blew its head off.

"Guess they were honest about THAT," he sighed. "Get ready to fight."

The group proceeded. Along the way, though, a series of henches, gargoyles, and imps besieged them. They all drew their weapons, but first attacked with magic. Marle thrust out her hand, and an imp was frozen solid; then she shattered it with a crossbow bolt. Another two attacked and were also frozen and skewered.

Crono swiftly charged Byakko with magic and cut off a gargoyle's arm. But, because it kept attacking he grabbed its head and dissolved it with lightning. From there he instinctively cut a hench in half.

"The henches aren't magic-weak!" he shouted. "We can kill 'em with weapons, too!"

Lucca quickly blasted three henches with her gun, following up with a four-sided fire bomb that wiped out a gargoyle and two imps. Another attacked from behind and was pierced with a crossbow bolt. Lucca turned and gave Marle a thumbs-up.

"Behind you!" she yelled. A hench leered above Marle, arms outstretched and a dagger in hand. She defty grabbed her dagger and charged it, a large icicle breaking through its gut and turning it to dust. Crono had already taken down the rest with both sword and spell.

He sighed and swept the blood from his sword, sheathing it.

"I need a cola..."

They continued through the cave. No flashy fight scenes were needed; no enemies were stupid enough to attack. They eventually came upon a huge waterfall, several meters high. Lucca turned to Marle.

"Looks like you're up!"

Marle nodded and stepped forward. She slowly lowered her hands and focused. From there, a sheet of ice crackled to life, and a shimmering ice platform lifted the three above the water. Marle sighed, and Lucca and Crono both high-fived her.

Another Angle

"Cockiness"

"Viper wine!"

An imp scurried to give Ozzie VIII a bottle of wine, which he promptly popped open and downed. A hench approached.

"Are you sure we should have let the humans go, sir?"

Ozzie VIII belched loudly.

"If the soldiers can't kill 'em - which they should - Heckran will chew the flesh from their bones. Wish I could watch, I love reality TV."

Scene Two

Finally, the end of the cavern beckoned.

"I'm sick of this," moaned Crono. "Aren't we done yet?"

Marle patted his shoulder.

"This is the last room."

Lucca shook her head.

"They said it was called 'Heckran Cave.' Logic is that Heckran, whatever it is, is in there. Brace yourselves."

A feral bellow echoed, but having no other choice the heroes entered. What waited was a bloated, blue skinned beast with scales, a hide of leather and two nasty looking claws. By the smell it didn't like showering.

All three drew their weapons, and the demonic creature lunged with its giant claw. Crono shoved Lucca out of the way and threw a lightning bolt at it only for it to be deflected. With a thrust of her hand Marle launched an icicle, but this time it froze its arm solid from the wrist to its forearm.

Crono charged Byakko with lightning and swung, and this time it cleaved the appendage clean off. He smirked.

"He's not much of a boss! I don't hear no music, buddy!"

The creature smirked, and kneeled like a shrimp.

"Try me, punk!"

Lucca lifted her gun and fired. But, as soon as it connected Heckran blew it away with a giant wave of water. The tsunami blew Lucca back into the wall, denting it and knocking her out. Crono snarled in rage, but as Heckran resumed his position a thought came to him.

"Hey, Marle! Think I should attack?"

It took only a moment for Marle to get the idea. She nodded. Crono lunged forward as Heckran again prepared his water wave. But when Marle froze the whole blast solid a shiver ran through its spine. Increasing his pace as he went Crono charged Byakko and sliced the beast from shoulder to gut. It roared in pain, and began to writhe in fury.

"If the Great Magus had only killed you humans with Lavos, we Mystics would have obliterated you all centuries ago!"

The demon blew apart into motes of darkness.

Marle rushed to Lucca, cradling her and shaking her awake. But as she opened her eyes Crono stood where he'd slain Heckran. Its words echoed strong. Magus had made Lavos...? HE destroyed the world? A chill ran through him as he tightened his grip.

"That bastard Magus did it! He made Lavos! I'm gonna kick his sorry ass to Porre and back!"

Lucca weakly smiled.

"That's great. Now how do we leave!?"

Scene Three

The 'way out' was through a vortex, which rocketed them through the sea and into unconsciousness. When they woke, though, they were right in front of Lucca's house, which they promptly entered.

It was an odd house to say the least. Computers littered the living room, as did plans for God-knows-what to God-knows-less. What stood out was a huge tube in the corner, which from behind Taban emerged.

"Lucca!" he shouted, rushing to her. "Come in, come in, let's get you patched up!"

Lucca's wounds were bandaged and a painkiller administered. Taban and the group took her to her room to rest and returned to the living room.

Taban plopped on his recliner. He gave a ragged breath.

"The hell happened to you three?!" he shouted. "Lucca goes to break you out of prison, and now she's recovering in bed from some big blow? Tell me what happened... all of it. I'll hear you out."

They explained the situation in full. The escape from the castle, the jaunt into a nightmarish future, and through Medina to the battle with Heckran. Taban could barely believe it. But then, it was Lucca.

"So," he groaned, "we're gonna try to save the world? This Lavos blows everything up and we're gonna fight it?!"

Marle sighed.

"This is all my fault... if I hadn't left the castle none of this would've happened... and Lucca wouldn't be bedridden! It's all because of me!"

Taban rose.

"And," he said softly, "it's because of you guys that we'll change the future. Don''t beat yourself up, 'cause my daughter's too tough to croak from that. In a way, you may have made it possible to see the future, and now we can set things right."

"Taban!"

The three jolted as Lara rolled from upstairs to her lift and lowered herself down. Once there she promptly slapped Taban.

"What have you done to my daughter?!"

"Just a minute, sweetie! Let me explain!"

She slapped him again.

"Shut up, you jerk! I'll knock your block off!"

Marle quickly stepped between them.

"Ma'am, please! He didn't do anything wrong!"

Lara paused.

"Y-you're... Princess Nadia, right?"

She nodded.

"We've... got a lot to talk about, ma'am..."

Lara turned to Crono and scowled, then sighed and smiled.

"Should've known Crono was involved..."

Another Angle

"Careful Consideration"

Melchior sipped his tea.

"The Pendant... means she's descended from the Guardian line; she's Princess Nadia. Being Nadia means she's descended from the Royal Family... and all three of them know magic. When I met that lad at the Fair I knew something was off, but this...?"

He sighed and put down the tea. Placing a hand to his forehead he leaned back and closed his eyes.

"Taking all this into consideration, they've come in contact with some outside force strong enough to teach them magic. I've only two men in mind capable of doing so, but they're both dead..."

Melchior's eyes snapped open.

"But...! If they're ALIVE...? Dear God!"

Scene Four

"I see," said Lara, "that the situation is... complicated."

Marle nodded.

"We'll need Lucca's help to win this, so we're gonna have to wait for her to recover. Again, I'm so sorry-"

Lara hushed her.

"Leave it, Your Majesty. It's fine."

Marle smiled.

"Thank you, ma'am... and can you just call me Marle?"

By this time Taban and Crono had exchanged drinks - beer for Taban and cola for Crono - and discussed the scenario carefully.

"Aye, lad," Taban said. "We'll tend to Lucca for ya, so go ahead."

Crono smiled.

"Thanks! We'll wait for..."

"... me!"

All eyes turned to Lucca, on the balcony of her room. Taban rose.

"Dear, you have to rest!"

Lucca winced and shook her head.

"Marle, you're up!"

Everyone cocked their head. Lucca sighed and scowled.

"Spekkio told us you can heal! Get up here and fix me!"

Marle turned to Crono. She'd forgotten that part. So, slowly, she ascended to Lucca's room, where she lay bandaged and bloodied on her bed.

"Pay attention!" she scolded. "I can't just lay here..."

Marle nodded. Laying her hands on Lucca's shoulders, she channeled her energy - notably different from her ice magic - and a blue light enveloped the both of them. They couldn't see it, but the spell stitched Lucca's bones and mended her wounds.

Lucca rose with a deep breath. She scowled, but quickly smiled and stuck her tongue out, making Marle grin. The both of them returned to the living room. There, Lucca plopped down on Taban's recliner, upsetting him a little.

"I'm gonna send Robo with you. With my magic and the technology in the Capsule House, I think Dad and I can create some cool stuff. If we're going to the Middle Ages, he'll pass for a knight anyway... but, Marle, be careful. The King might not like sending you down south."

Crono gulped the last of his cola and threw it in the recycling bin. Naturally he wanted to save the planet.

"Don't worry, I'll vouch. But how do we get Robo here?"

As she rose, Lucca pointed to the back of the house.

"There's a Power Spot in the tub. I'm just glad it wasn't on the john!"

Another Angle

"The Law is the Law... Sort Of"

At the police station the Chief spoke to the Royal Guardsman that had entered the precinct.

"They have nothing to do with this," he said. "Just because their daughter broke the law doesn't give us the right to arrest them."

"They might be harboring a fugitive," the Guardsmen growled. "That makes them criminals!"

The Chief abruptly rose from his chair.

"On what basis?! Guilt by association was washed from the books years ago! Think of the public response. Taban and Lara are respected citizens, and unjustly arresting them would spark protests. Martial law, much?"

The Guardsman, furious, stormed out without a word. Smiling, the Chief sat back on his seat.

He'd bought it.

Scene Five

Robo had a bit of trouble emerging from the bathtub but managed to get to the living room. There, the group had assembled, with Crono and Marle stocked with supplies and ready to leave.

After some discussion, among the sundries were tents and blankets. Not only could they not use the Capsule House because Lucca had it, popping it in the modern era could raise unconfortable questions. The same applied to the Jetbike; Crono protested, but eventually agreed.

"Right then. We're off," Crono said as he shouldered his backpack. "Make us some goodies, Lucca."

Lucca smirked.

"Try to get by without me. Emphasis on 'try,' since I'm such a genius. You need me."

Taban cleared his throat.

"Can't we wait a day or two? I'd kill to study this Robo fella."

Lucca smacked him on the cheek.

"Quiet, you were overruled."

Lara rolled herself up to Crono, and laid a hand softly on his face.

"Take care of yourselves," she said, smiling. "Don't worry about this end of things. Taban and Lucca can figure things out."

Robo stepped forward.

"However, I have a request," he said. "The Capsule House contains a laboratory, and I would like the two of you to upgrade me. Is this acceptable?"

Taban scoffed.

"No sweat, big dude!"

Between the two of them they set about their task. Before they'd left the future Lucca had downloaded most of the technical info from Proto Dome, so they had something to work with.

Robo's body was heavily upgraded. The gatling gun in his left arm was augmented with a 3-D printer to instantaneously create ammo. A similar technology installed a cannon there, which unfolded from his hand, complete with a scope.

His right arm was fortified with stronger steel; his hand was connected to a wire, allowing it to be fired and retracted. The center of his chest was also modified, with a reactor half again as powerful.

The treads on his legs were replaced with new rockets, so that he could move quicker and slam into an enemy with considerable force. Taban had wanted to include a hairdo machine, but Lucca slapped him and decided otherwise.

And, with all supplies gathered and Robo enhanced, the heroes set out for the Middle Ages.