Start Date: December 19, 2021
Windwillow
Chrono Trigger
Chapter Twenty-Six
In the far future, the computer A.I. Mother Brain has engaged her plan. Put simply?
Genocide.
Scene One
Crono hacked and slashed, dicing the machinery of death to shreds, leaving a series of huddled masses sprawled on the floor. He rushed up to one and shook him.
"C'mon, man! Wake up!"
Magus shook his head.
"They've all been drugged. Talking is pointless."
Angrily, Crono rose to his feet.
"We gotta get 'em outta here!"
Magus scowled.
"To where? They leave this room, the machines will just kill them anyway. Our only recourse is to crush the computer and free them all."
Robo nodded.
"We have one Poyozo Doll, meaning there is one remaining. Finding the second is of paramount importance."
Scene Two
The party trudged through the factory, finding deserted consoles and scrapped machines. Crono shivered.
"This place is creeping me out..."
Magus nodded.
"I've seen cheerier places."
Robo stepped forward.
"I can see the second Poyozo over there."
Indeed, there was the doll. It was also surrounded by hordes of enemy robots. Crono groaned.
"I see it. Now we have to take it!"
The party readied, as the enemy attacked with force. Crono and Magus slashed and hacked with their respective weapons, as Robo provided support with his gatling guns. Blow after blow, blades clashing with steel, led to no more than a stalemate.
Magus growled.
"Okay, I'm done!"
He threw forward both hands (dropping his scythe), releasing a wave of flame and lightning that fried the remaining robots. As they fell to the ground he snatched his weapon up.
"I don't want a watch anymore. I'm just gonna kill that mechanical monstrosity."
Another Angle
"Calculation: Combat"
Program failed
Soldiers dispatched
Remaining military force: one
Dispatching Atropos
Scene Three
"No more games."
Crono slammed the two Poyozo Dolls into their slots, opening the door. The trio rushed through the corridors, only to be stopped by the sight of another robot: pink, bearing a blue ribbon, and identical to Robo.
"Humans, desist. You cannot be allowed to continue."
Snarling, Crono drew Dreamseeker.
"You gonna stop us?!"
Robo stepped forward, holding out his arm.
"Please stop. I know her."
Crono cocked his head.
"What, your girlfriend?"
He could feel anger stirring, so Crono backed down. Robo shook his head.
"Is it really you, Atropos?"
Atropos nodded.
"It has been a long time, Prometheus."
Robo shook his head.
"We both know that Mother Brain has been corrupted. We must unite to deactivate her."
Atropos launched a volley of bullets, which Magus blocked with a shield.
"And this means what?"
Stepping forward, Atropos detached her second arm, revealing more gatling guns.
"Your program has been corrupted. You were created to kill humans."
Robo paused.
"You are lying."
Atropos shook her head.
"You are defective. Defects must be destroyed."
She launched still more bullets, but Robo blocked them with his body. He released a wave of anger, laced with regret.
"I cannot allow you to harm my friends. You must be... destroyed."
As Atropos attacked, Robo zipped through the gunfire, blocking the bullets with his arms. He lunged and pinned down her arms, holding her down with incredible strength.
"I do not wish to harm you. Please, desist-"
Atropos' detatched her shoulders to reveal still more gatling guns, firing and damaging Robo's face, slicing through his left eye. Robo angrily rolled out of the way and retaliated, firing his cannon and piercing Atropos' chest. She fell to the ground as he rushed to her side.
"Prometheus..."
Robo hovered above her, his face crackling with electricity.
"Do not talk. You have been damaged."
Atropos shook her head.
"I have been critically damaged... but I do not care. You have overrided my reprogramming with your attack. I am... glad."
Robo paused.
"Reprogramming?"
Atropos nodded.
"Mother Brain reprogrammed me to kill humans. I was also programmed to destroy you, though I resisted. Now that I have been damaged my program has returned to normal function, but I will not function for much longer."
Robo shook his head.
"There must be a way to repair you. I will search for..."
Atropos caressed his head with her oil-soaked hand, leaving a splash on it.
"I am... irreperably damaged. There is no course of action to circumvent my demise. All that matters is that I can be with you in my final moments."
A sense of dread filled the air, as Crono and Magus felt their stomachs drop. Robo shook his head frantically.
"There has to be a way! Atropos! I cannot allow you to..."
The lights in her eyes vanished, and Atropos' body went limp. There was a pause, then Robo struck the ground with such force that the room itself began to shake.
"I... cannot..."
He shook his head.
"I will destroy Mother Brain. Crono?"
Crono nodded.
"I think I know what you're thinking."
Slowly, Crono approached and undid Atropos' ribbon, then tied it around Robo's right arm like a bandanna. The party continued on to the final chamber.
Another Angle
"Calculation: Critical"
Program Atropos ended
Enacting emergency protocol
Situation is critical
Emergency protocol has been activated
Scene Four
"Get your metal ass out here!"
Crono drew his sword.
"This ends now!"
Robo stepped up to a large podium.
"Mother Brain, reveal yourself."
A bright light shone, as a laser light show encased the room. The lights coalesced into a central depiction of a young woman, rainbow-hued and rippling with colors.
"We are Mother Brain. We are the final authority here."
Crono tightened his grip.
"Okay, bitch! Tell me now: what the hell are you doing to the people here?!"
Mother Brain paused.
"Saving the planet."
Crono blinked.
"What the what...?"
There was a pause.
"This planet has been devastated by the beast Lavos. Even now it spawns its vile progeny atop Death Peak, leaving the world above in ruin and hopelessness."
Magus crossed his arms.
"Yeah, we noticed."
Mother Brain beeped.
"Despite this, the planet will one day recover. By then the Lavos spawn will have departed the planet, leaving the dregs of humanity and ourselves to exist in a broken world."
Robo nodded.
"Meaning, we will recover. Knowing this, why exterminate humanity?"
Mother Brain smiled.
"The weak are the sustenance for the strong. Given that humanity is weak, a nation of steel will be created with A.I. as the dominant life form... Flesh rots. Blood goes dark. The planet is best served by robot masters, which can never be tainted. Thus the planet will recover with us as its master."
Crono shook with rage.
"Y-you're killing people to replace them with robots...?! That's nuts!"
Mother Brain shook her head.
"Logic dictates otherwise. That which is inferior must be purged. By exterminating humanity, we are doing them a courtesy. Why would they want to exist in this living hell?"
Magus tightened his grip.
"It's their right."
Robo nodded.
"You have corrupted Atropos and murdered humans for a twisted purpose. It is you who has become defective, not humanity."
Mother Brain cocked her head.
"Why care about Atropos? It was nothing but a failure unworthy of further development."
Oil leaked down Robo's eye, where it was damaged by Atropos. Crono stopped cold.
"So we're unworthy? It isn't your place to say that!"
Robo detached his rifle arm and blasted through Mother Brain's avatar.
"You will murder no more. We shall destroy you... Not a circuit shall remain."
A laser popped out from behind Mother Brain. Crono sighed.
"So that's it?"
Dozens of lasers popped out, layered over the entire room.
"Aw, hell!"
The lasers began to fire. Crono and Magus took cover behind the walls, as Robo blocked the blasts by hiding behind the podium. Magus snarled.
"I can't get out without being shredded. How are we supposed to fight this?!"
Robo paused and carefully examined the situation.
"All the lasers are routed to a single power source. I have located it... so..."
He ducked out from under the podium and fired a single shot, striking a fuse box in the back and, upon destroying it, the lasers ceased. Crono blinked.
"Well isn't that anticlimactic."
As Robo stepped forward, a haggard, half-formed avatar appeared before him. Mother Brain had been junked into a series of cubes and glitches.
"Prometheus... You must stop. If we die, the hope of this planet dies. We..."
Robo's fist slammed into Mother Brain's master computer.
"That is a risk I am willing to take."
All the electronics in the room sputtered and ceased. Magus smiled.
"With the computer down, we can evacuate the humans. Let's get out of here..."
Crono sheathed his sword.
"Yeah. Robo?"
He paused, watching as Robo stood still in the center of the room.
"... Robo?"
Robo looked carefully at the ruins of Mother Brain.
You were corrupted when Lavos fell... Now, your corruption has led to this. It has led to Atropos' deactivation. It has led...
A spark of light flashed around Robo, as a brilliant shining wave encompassed his body. Softly, the light burned bright and then it burnt out. He raised his hand to his face, where Atropos had damaged him.
"It has led to my empowerment. I will not allow you to have fallen in vain."
Robo's chest glowed, and a sharp laser dissolved the remnants of Mother Brain's circuits. A new power.
Another bullet in the gun that would end Lavos forever.
Scene Five
"Geez, man! This is a nasty wound..."
Lucca fixed Robo's eye, using a belt of tools.
"What happened?"
Robo paused, and shook his head. Lucca sighed.
"So you don't wanna talk about it, huh? Fine."
Marle hugged Crono.
"So, what next?"
Ayla approached nervously.
"Ayla want go place with Cro."
Crono nodded.
"Alright, who else is coming?"
Ayla shook her head.
"Just Ayla and Cro come."
Magus cocked his head.
"Alone time? And I thought you were taken..."
Ayla slapped him.
"Ayla want show Cro holy place. Just us come, show holy place."
Lucca sighed.
"Well, you can't operate the Epoch on your own, so... I'll take you."
Crono grinned.
"Then, we're off!"
Scene Six
The destination was far in the north, way past the Tyranno Lair, at a volcano filled with magma. Lucca dropped the two off and waited outside. Ayla entered, and as Crono did the rivers of molten magma became clear. He shivered.
"This is a holy place?"
Ayla nodded.
"This Singing Mountain. When chief die, come here, choose new chief."
Crono sighed.
"Great decor..."
They continued on to a large, raised platform. Ayla gritted her teeth.
"They come."
Crono cocked his head.
"Who's they?"
A stream of raptors dropped from the ceiling. Crono groaned.
"Nice to meet you..."
Drawing his sword, Crono cut through a swath of them; Ayla battered with fist and foot to clear the way. Over and over he hacked and slashed, only to find a near-endless supply of dinosaurs. He growled.
"And you guys come here when a chief dies?! You'd all be killed!"
Ayla pointed towards a rope ladder.
"Cro, go here!"
Crono nodded, and sliced apart another group of raptors. They both rushed to the ladder and climbed up to the next floor. There, they found a wealth of plants and fruit, almost like an altar of offering. Ayla breathed in the air.
"This first floor. Holy place up above."
Crono groaned.
"I was hoping this was the place... There's more?"
Ayla nodded.
"Holy place up on mountain. We go."
They continued through a series of tunnels, covered with moss and decorated with primitive runes. At the end of the path they found a triceratops. Ayla readied for battle.
"Guardian! Guard holy place!"
Crono sighed.
"Okay, so you guys come here ALL the time? Come on..."
He drew Dreamseeker as the beast charged, clashing with it evenly as steel met bone in a stalemate. Although he strained, the sword couldn't pierce the dinosaur's hard head.
"Next step!"
Crono charged himself with lightning, channeling it through the blade and cutting it cleanly in half.
"Well, that was unpleasant..."
Up above was the top of the mountain, with a shrine of stones marked with strange carvings. Ayla approached slowly.
"Chiefs buried here. Ayla father, Ayla mother..."
Crono paused.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Ayla..."
Ayla sighed, and lowered her head.
"Ayla not been here in years."
She stepped forward and grabbed a rock.
"Ayla come here when parents die. When chiefs die, make name on grave."
Slowly she approached a series of marked rocks, looked carefully at them, and sighed. She crouched by a clean stone.
"Chief fight, someday die. Become chief, know die. Ayla..."
Ayla chipped away at the rock, tears in her eyes. She finished, and dropped the rock, then turned to Crono.
"Ayla ready die. Fight Lavos, save planet."
Crono sighed.
"And that means Kino is the next chief. Then, someday..."
Ayla shook her head.
"Ayla not die yet. Kino live. Ayla fight!"
Light shined around the area, focusing on Ayla. She lifted her head and closed her eyes as the brightness peaked and waned. She turned to Crono.
"Planet give Ayla power."
She grinned, and crushed the rock in her hand. Crono nodded.
"Now we need to get back out of this hell hole..."
Ayla pointed.
"Road over there, lead Epoch."
Crono groaned.
"Then why the hell did we come this way?!"
Scene Seven
"Another one down. You folks are getting scary strong."
Gaspar tipped his hat.
"Next, we have two options: The Sunken Desert or Ozzie's Fort."
Frog raised his hand.
"I'll take it. Time to make the weasel scream."
Crono nodded.
"About time. Who else?"
Magus crossed his arms.
"Me."
Marle cocked her head.
"Weren't you guys friends?"
Lucca sighed.
"Friends? You do realize this is Ozzie, right?"
Magus nodded.
"It was a relationship of convenience... He had knowledge I needed, and I was the front-man for his holy war. Our interests intersected."
Gaspar sighed.
"I was hoping that was next. Little worm doesn't even know what'll hit him."
Another Angle
"Are They Coming? Crap!"
Ozzie sneezed. He petted his cat, Debo.
"It's only a matter of time, boy, before HE comes... That insolent cur!"
An Imp rushed in.
"We've sighted a strange aircraft!"
Ozzie paused.
"Crap, they can FLY now?! Prepare the defenses! Call Slash and Flea!"
The Imp nodded and ran out. Ozzie sighed, and laid Debo on the floor.
"I thought I was just joking... He's really coming after me?! Oh, I hope he didn't hear what I just said... Wait, he couldn't. Why am I worried about that?!"