November 25, 2021
Nickolas Anderson
Chrono Trigger
Chapter Twenty
Well, the situation was dire. Crono and his friends had rescued the Guru of Life - Melchior - but Schala had been abducted and taken to the Ocean Palace. Whatever Queen Zeal was planning, she had everything she needed to pull it off.
Now, it was time to stop her!
Scene One
"Are you alright?" asked Crono.
Melchior nodded, slowly, as he rose.
"I'm better than the rest of us will be soon. Once the Queen activates the Mammon Machine, Lavos will awaken and, well... pardon the parlance, we're all screwed."
Frog crossed his arms.
"Is there any way to stop it?"
Melchior paused.
"If you can stop the Machine from activating, we might avert a crisis."
He handed Crono a solid, ruby-red dagger.
"Take this and use it on the Machine. That might stop it... maybe?"
Crono sighed.
"Glad you're so confident."
He turned to Frog and Ayla.
"Let's head back to the End of Time."
Ayla nodded.
"Ayla... tired."
Frog sighed.
"This is madness..."
Another Angle
"Hold Down the Fort"
"Finally, the time has come," the Queen laughed, "to fulfill my dream! Ah, the awesome power of Lavos!"
Dalton entered with Schala.
"Your Majesty, I've brought her."
The Queen looked at him coldly.
"Good. Dismissed."
He cocked his head. The Queen grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
"You'll defend this position. We're going."
As she turned to leave, Dalton began to shake.
"Defend?! From whom?!"
The Queen slapped him, hard.
"From the rats you let escape before. Shall I remind you of our fun time together?"
Dalton froze.
"I'll defend this place with my life, Your Majesty."
Scene Two
"Now I really wanna cut that bitch."
Crono scowled as he leaned against a lamp post. Lucca shook her head.
"Now she kidnaps her own daughter! 'Bitch' seems appropriate."
The old man shook with rage.
"Bitch doesn't even begin to cover it..."
Marle cocked her head.
"Are you alright?"
He coughed, almost bloody.
"This cold is hell. The point is that we need to move quickly."
Frog nodded.
"So, who will go?"
Crono crossed his arms.
"I'm a given."
Lucca raised her hand.
"I'll give that bitch a black eye!"
Marle patted Crono on the shoulder.
"I'm going too."
He startled.
"It's too dangerous! You..."
She shushed him.
"I'm coming with you. I... wanna be close to you."
Crono paused.
"You... I... wanna be close to you, too..."
The old man scowled.
"If you two are done flirting, get going! Schala needs your help!"
If I could go slap her myself, I would...
Another Angle
"On the Way"
The royals exited the portal from the palace, the Queen, Prophet, and Schala in the lead. Schala bowed her head.
"Mother..."
The Prophet pushed her.
"Keep moving."
She sighed.
Scene Three
The party hurried through the halls of the palace, sprinting. One of the guards tapped Crono on the shoulder.
"Hey! The Queen's busy-"
Crono cut the soldier down. A woman screamed.
"Then," he growled, "we're on time."
Lucca drew her gun as the soldiers began to surround them.
"Let's break through!"
They did just that, Crono diced up two guards as Marle smacked another with the butt of her crossbow. Lucca blasted two more away.
"Keep moving!"
The three charged through a group of soldiers, dispatching them as they approached the throne room. There seemed to be no end to them. Crono growled.
"Alright, ENOUGH!"
He swung Seiryu and severed part of the ceiling, blocking off the hallway from further pursuers. Crono took the Pendant and held it up, unsealing the door. Then, he offered it back to Marle. She shook her head.
"You take care of it," she said with a smile. "I trust you."
Crono smiled, and put the Pendant around his neck.
"Then let's go give that hag a black eye."
Another Angle
"Further On"
"I've waited a long time for this," said the Prophet. "My whole life has been waiting for this moment..."
Schala cocked her head.
"You really want to meet Death?"
He shook his head, and narrowed his eyes.
"I want to..."
The Prophet paused.
"It doesn't matter. Keep going."
Schala sighed.
Scene Four
As they entered the throne room, the party found Dalton pouting on Zeal's throne.
"Guard, she says... bitch. There's no way those worms could..."
He paused and looked at Crono, who flipped him off.
"Dammit!" Dalton cursed. "I'll kill you punks!"
Dalton launched a wave of fire, but Crono cut through it. Marle aimed and sent a crossbow bolt in his direction, which he caught with one hand and crushed.
"That's the best you can do?"
Lucca nailed a shot in his eye. As he staggered, she smirked.
"Blind spots can be a bitch, huh?"
He fumed, and threw a line of lightning at her, which Crono dissolved with his own lightning. Crono reared back, dashed, and cut a deep gash in Dalton's shoulder. He skidded back.
"Damn you! I'll kill-"
A roar sounded, the portal to the Ocean Palace bursting open. Dark energy crackled throughout the room. Dalton, seeing it, widened his eye.
"Whatever's going on, I'll be there to..."
He gave a loud fart. As the three heroes reeled in disgust, Dalton turned and leapt into the gateway. The party followed.
Next stop: Ocean Palace, party of three.
Another Angle
"Lemme In!"
Dalton fell through the gate rather... gracelessly. He bounced, rolled, and hopped up with fury.
"Uh-uh! I'm outta here!"
He dashed towards the palace's center, towards the Mammon Machine's chamber.
Scene Five
Shortly afterwards, Crono and company entered and passed through the gateway. Lucca heaved.
"Glad I didn't have a big lunch..."
A familiar face approached: Masa.
"You folks chose a bad time to sight-see."
Lucca reeled.
"YOU?!"
Masa nodded.
"Indeed, I am me. And, word of warning, something scary's gonna wake up soon. Watch out."
At that Masa disappeared in a flash of light. Crono sighed.
"Vote of confidence, great..."
The party continued on and found themselves in a wide, long hall filled by ornate statues and architecture, of many colors and made of materials none had seen before. Some of it was metal, others looked like stone.
Crono narrowed his eyes.
"It's quiet... almost TOO quiet..."
A yellow, batlike Mystic flew into the field.
"Quiet would be nice..."
He swung his sword, but the thing evaded. Another three swings failed to connect, so he just blasted it with lightning, causing it to dissolve. Two more of them appeared, one red and one blue.
Crono zapped the blue one with lightning, to no effect. Two sword swings were evaded and, a cuss word later, it had bit Crono hard on the shoulder. The red one zoomed in, and Lucca blasted it with fire, destroying it.
"Maybe these things are color coded? Marle!"
Marle nodded and hurled an icicle at the blue one, which destroyed it. Lucca smiled.
"Yep, color coded. Now we know what THEY do..."
A series of robed Mystics appeared.
"... and they're next?"
The magicians flung balls of fire at the team, but they were evaded. As one launched a concussive ball of water, another blasted with lightning, before both were taken out by Lucca's gun and Crono's sword.
Crono sighed.
"Keep moving!"
Another Angle
"The Ritual Begins"
A cabal of priests flanked Zeal and her team, chanting in a strange language and making strange prayer movements. Zeal cackled.
"Begin, Schala!"
Pausing, Schala nodded and began to chant. The Mammon Machine started to glow with a diseased red light, interspersed with crackles of dark lightning. The Prophet smirked.
Finally... I can take my vengeance on that monster...
Scene Six
The team entered a large elevator, which began to move with a clank and thud. Lucca leaned back and sighed.
"I'm tired..."
Crono flexed his shoulders.
"So am I, but I ain't whining. Marle, are you alright?"
Marle paused, then nodded. Crono smiled.
"Good."
A crash sounded, as the elevator stopped and a series of Zealian soldiers ran into the room. The party drew up and prepared, quickly blasting, cutting, and crossbow bolting them into submission. Then the elevator began to move again.
Lucca sighed again.
"I don't think it's over..."
Another round of soldiers dashed in. After taking care of them and allowing the elevator to continue a third wave came.
"Dammit!" cursed Crono. "How many levels does this frickin' elevator have?!"
As it turns out, that was the last. Once they party defeated the third wave the elevator landed harshly. The team stumbled, but didn't fall. Lucca groaned.
"I'm frickin' sick of these frickin' Zealians on this frickin' elevator!"
Another Angle
"The Ritual Goes Wrong"
Schala chanted, more energy emanating from the Mammon Machine. As Queen Zeal laughed, though, a backlash staggered her. The Prophet rushed to her side.
"Schala!"
Queen Zeal scowled.
"Come on, Schala! I need you here! You are mine to use, of course!"
The Prophet glared at her, eyes narrowed as his fist shook.
Even I have my limits... you bitch.
Scene Seven
The team rushed down several sets of stairs, seemingly endless. As they moved from one floor to another, Crono's eyes widened.
"Get back!"
He deflected a sword from a Zealian soldier, one wielding two blades backhanded. Ten more appeared, brandishing their weapons, so Crono drew his own and charged it - and himself - and cut down one of them. Another clashed with him and managed to pin him.
Marle speared the Thrasher through the gut with an icicle, allowing Crono to bounce up and cut it down. Lucca, surrounded by three enemies, slammed her hand into the ground, igniting a massive shockwave of flame that incinerated them.
Crono briefly matched swords with one soldier, before slamming his hand to the ground. A spark ignited, and a wave of pure lightning obliterated the rest of them. He sighed.
"God, I'm tired!"
He was stabbed in the shoulder by another Thrasher, as several more appeared. Crono popped a Tonic and splashed it on the wound, closing and knitting it. But as more arrived he began to stagger. If he could take another Tonic he'd recover enough to fight, but...
"That's ENOUGH!"
Marle slammed her hand to the ground, instantly spreading a wave of ice along the ground. The pulse quickly froze the attackers solid, from skin to bone, and with a snarl she snapped her fingers. The Thrashers broke to pieces and fell to the ground in segments.
As she staggered, Crono caught her. They looked deep into the other's eyes, smiled, and moved quickly ahead to the next chamber.
Another Angle
"Overload"
As she chanted Schala began to gasp, falling to one knee as she screamed out in pain. Zeal snarled.
"Stupid girl!"
She moved to slap Schala, but the Prophet caught her hand. Zeal bared her teeth in fury.
"You DARE...?!"
The Prophet quickly released her hand.
"Your Majesty, we need her intact. Wounding her might marr the ritual."
The Queen growled, but turned back to face the Mammon Machine. Schala staggered to her feet, and looked strangely at the Prophet.
Scene Eight
The party rushed into the next chamber, where they found Dalton waiting. He laughed, creating a black orb in his hand.
"Playtime's over, kids! Golem Twins!"
He tossed the orb into the air, where it created a portal that revealed the demon he'd used to defeat them before, only this time two appeared. Lucca groaned.
"Not again! I hate that thing!"
The Golem Twins cackled, hovering just ahead of Dalton. Crono narrowed his eyes.
"If they bounce everything back, how the hell do we beat 'em?!"
Lucca paused, then smiled.
"Come around me, guys!"
They looked at her strangely, but obeyed. The Golems positioned themselves between the three. Marle gasped.
"They can't miss now!"
Lucca grinned.
"Get ready to duck!"
As the Golem Twins created orbs of solid steel in front of each other, the metal spheres crackled with dark energy. As they launched them, Lucca pushed her friends to the ground.
The two orbs flew past each other and broke holes in the Golems, dissolving them in wisps of black smoke. Dalton fumed and clenched his fist.
"Damn brats! I'm gonna-"
He let out a loud fart.
"Gahh, too much beans! How DARE you see me like this...!"
Crono paused.
"You're the one that farted, we're just here to smell it."
Dalton created another orb in his hand.
"Insolent son-of-a-bitch! I'm gonna kill-"
Everyone was knocked to the ground by a huge shockwave. Dalton was the first to recover, and stared at the Mammon Machine chamber with terror.
"S-something's wrong! I... I ain't dying here!"
He hurled the orb and jumped into the portal he created. As it closed, Crono managed to get to his feet and drank a Tonic. He turned his eyes to Marle.
"Are you alright?"
Marle nodded. Crono frowned.
"Are you sure?"
The princess placed a hand on Crono's shoulder, smiled, and nodded. He grinned and sheathed Seiryu.
"Then we're gonna kill that bitch of a queen now!"
Another Angle
"At the Ritual's Limit"
The energy around the Mammon Machine shook the room, and forced the chanting priests to their knees. Schala screamed, the Prophet growled, but Zeal just smiled.
"Yes, yes! So close!"
One of the priests rushed up to her.
"Your Majesty, we can't-"
Zeal blasted him backwards, in two pieces. She snarled.
"Silence, worm!"
Scene Nine
As the party rushed into the room, they ran past fleeing priests. Crono drew his sword and charged it.
"Hey, bitch!"
Zeal turned and threw a blast of energy, but Crono charged himself and dodged it. He smiled and flipped her off. She angrily started to create another orb. Lucca tapped Crono on the shoulder.
"Melchior's knife! Use it!"
Crono paused, but removed the dagger and thumbed it. As he started to throw it, though, two voices echoed: Masa and Mune.
"Here we go, Mune!"
"Let's do it, Masa!"
The dagger was thrown, and as the energy around it pierced the Mammon Machine's aura a violent wind kicked up. Slowly it pushed towards the abominable device, but as it broke its barrier the dagger shattered to reveal the Masamune, which dug into the Mammon Machine deeply.
"The Masamune?!" gasped Marle.
Schala staggered, then fell again.
"No, it's too late! That dagger can't...!"
At that moment the most horrific sound echoed. It was like a rolling, echoing squeal. As their vision dimmed, the team watched as the ground broke open to reveal a blue void.
Another Angle
"Flight to Safety"
Dalton rushed into the Blackbird's hangar. A guard met him in shock, saluting.
"Sir, what are you-"
Dalton slapped the guard to the ground.
"Gather the Dalton Corps! Get everyone on the Blackbird and prepare to take off! Evasive maneuvers!"
Another guard saluted.
"Wait, evasive maneuvers from what, sir?"
The military leader gasped, as his soliders saw real fear in his eyes for the first time.
"Get moving or we're all dead!"
Scene Ten
Crono staggered, eyes unfocused. He looked up and his blood froze cold. Before him was a huge, unholy abomination of a creature: several meters across with a shining black carapace, spikes everywhere and the scent of death about it.
He froze, as he saw a mouth-like beak snap open to reveal a swirling mass of energy. Before he could even speak the thing's spikes began to glow. Then, they launched a series of lines upwards, which then rained down destruction from the heavens.
Everyone, from the party to Schala, was blown away in a violent explosion. Lucca tried to focus her weary senses, but noticed through her pain that she couldn't see the Queen. Then, a black fortex formed just before the beast. It dispersed to reveal the Prophet.
"How long I've waited..."
The Prophet cast aside his cloak, revealing himself - much to the shock of everyone present - to be Magus. He snarled and turned to face the demonic creature.
"I've waited years for the day I could kill you... LAVOS!"
Crono staggered to his feet in shock.
"Did he just say LAVOS?!"
Magus brandished his scythe, shouldering it.
"Lavos, the incarnation of evil..."
Queen Zeal suddenly appeared atop Lavos's carapace, smiling. She began to cackle madly.
"A false prophet shall make fine food for the Almighty Lavos!"
Magus snarled.
"Bitch! Now you're in league with that thing?!"
The Queen laughed.
"The great one has chosen his proxy! ME!"
Lavos opened its beak, and a crackle of energy surrounded Magus. He staggered, and fell to one knee.
"He's draining my magic?! NO! I survived the emptiness to kill you, you bastard...!"
The evil warlock cast the energy aside and struck Lavos. Or, rather, he tried. Before his scythe could even approach it, Lavos shattered it and threw him back in a crumpled heap.
"I couldn't even SWING...?! What the hell is this thing?!"
A wave of energy blasted him onto his back, where he rolled, crawled to his knees, and fell again. His eyes narrowed at the blast's source: Zeal.
"Rejoice! You all will become immortal... as part of the Almighty Lavos!"
Schala screamed.
"I can't even concentrate! NO!"
The Queen cackled madly. Then, she doubled over in laughter.
"Can it, bitch."
She startled, and watched as Crono began to walk towards Lavos. He was clearly in pain and dragged one leg and one arm limply by his side, but he continued on.
"Impossible!" she hissed. "You should be dead!"
Zeal noticed a spark, watching as an aura of lightning surrounded Crono. She sneered.
"You're moving your body with magic, literally forcing electricity through you to move! HA! Your broken body is useless before-"
Crono staggered, then flipped her off.
"I said shut it, bitch! Your voice makes me sick!"
As Zeal quivered in rage, Crono glanced over at Schala. His eyes narrowed, as he moved them towards Marle and Lucca. Schala gasped, sobbed, and struggled to get up. Crono coughed up blood, as he looked closely at Marle. His eyes narrowed, and through his tears he smiled.
"Don't die, Marle. I... I love you!"
He turned and snarled at Lavos.
"Wanna take me on or what, punk?! You afraid of one guy?!"
Lucca's eyes widened. He was provoking Lavos to give Schala time to save them! She screamed in pain and terror.
"Don't do it, Crono!"
Marle gasped, coughing up blood, as she reached her hand out to Crono.
"CRONO! DON'T!"
Crono grabbed Seiryu in both hands and charged. As he jumped and prepared to strike, however, Lavos made that same hideous noise as before. All the energy in the area quickly focused solely on him.
His sword never touched him.
Lavos's energy struck hard, ripping his legs off. His left arm dissolved, along with his sword. Marle's Pendant glowed around his neck, lifted up, and was all that remained as Crono was reduced to dust. Marle let out a voiceless scream, her throat bloody and raw.
Her will was as broken as her body.