The Legend of Chrono Trigger Chapter 5
Beyond the ruins
By Martin Berglund
 
"When you kill one, it is a tragedy. When you kill ten million, it is a statistic."
- Stalin

 
When Crono, Marle and Lucca came out of the gate, they appeared in a small room.
Marle looked around.
”There's no way the Chancellor can reach us here. But, where are we?”
Lucca looked around.
They were trapped inside a room with metal walls.
”The civilization here seems so... advanced...”
”Yeah.” Marle said. ”Like we're in another world.”
Crono checked the room for doors. There was one door to the north, and one to the south.
On the north door, there was some strange inscriptions. The south hadn’t.
Crono tried to open the north door, but it didn’t budge.
”Any suggestions?” Crono tried, but no one answered.
”Well, it wasn’t my...” Lucca started, but Marle interrupted her.
”Whatever you like it or not, we’re here. And it’s much better here than there.”
Crono opened the south door. They saw a wasteland outside.
”Still so sure?”
 

”I’m freezing to death!” Marle exclaimed as they walked. The land had no grass, only brown dirt. It was snowing, but the ground was free from snow.
”Then walk faster!” Lucca answered.
They had walked a bit, and was just going to check the nearby area from a hill.
Crono looked around as they came up.
There was a big dome to the south, and a lot of collapsed buildings to the north.
On the east, across the sea, was a big mountain. It looked scary.
”Any ideas?” Crono asked.
”Nope. You’re the leader.”
Marle turned to him.
”Just go someplace warm, okay?”
Crono nodded.
”...and where we can rest.” Marle continued.
”Rest!” shouted Lucca suddenly. ”I’m not tired!”
”Me neither!” Crono said.
”What?” Marle asked supriced.
”It’s a side effect of gate traveling.” Lucca explained. ”But we show no affect of it now... Perhaps our bodies are getting used to time traveling.”
Crono nodded.
”Yeah. Maybe...
Let’s head south. Those buildings in the north don’t show much interest to me.”
Lucca and Marle nodded, and followed Crono.
They had reached the dome after  two hours of walking.
It looked like nobody had been here the last 100 years.
Lucca could see different machines who had been without electricity for... centuries.
Crono found the main entrance, and they walked in.
The dome looked much like the place they came to.
Just like the last building, all walls were metal.
All over the floor was a lot of different metal things.
Inside the dome sat people dress in torned clothes.
It looked like... sacks...
Most of them looked like they’ve never eaten a full meal ever in their lives.
No one reacted when Crono, Marle and Lucca came in.
”Eh...” Lucca said, trying to get some attention. ”I know this is a stupid question, but...
When is this? What year is it?”
First silence, then...
”Who cares?”
Crono walked around in the room where everybody was sitting.
Some of them sat very close to each other to keep the heat up.
”Can anyone tell me where this is?” Crono said. ”Truce dome?”
One man looked up. ”Truce dome? Never heard of it. This is... or was Trann dome.”
Then silence again.
”This got to be the future!” Lucca said to Crono and Marle.
Crono nodded.
”How far?” Marle asked.
Lucca shook her head.
”I don’t know.”
Then she saw something.
”Hey, you!”
She walked to one man.
He looked up on her.
”What?”
She pointed at a small object beside him.
”Is that a gun?”
The man nodded.
”May I buy it?” Lucca asked.
The man shook his head. ”Money is useless here.”
Lucca picked up something from her bag.
”Then what about this?”
The man rose.
”Deal. Gimme!”
Lucca gave him the food she had showed to him and then took the gun.
”Thanks.”
The man nodded and started to eat.
One woman came up to them.
”You look... strong. In Arris dome, they have food. Can you go there and get some for us? Please?”
Crono nodded.
”I can. Where is it?”
The woman pointed in a north direction.
”You must pass the ruins, or Lab 16 as they call it.”
Crono nodded.
”I know what you mean.”
 

”How nice of you to help them.” Marle said, when they were outside the dome.
”Me? Hey, you’re in it too.”
First, Marle looked supriced, but later she nodded.
”I guess I am.”
Lab 16 was far away from Trann Dome. I took even more hours to get there.
Once they got there, Crono, Marle and Lucca could see that it contained most of crashed buildings. Small paths were leading through.
They slowly walked in.
”I got a bad feeling about this...” Lucca said.
”You’re not alone about that...” Crono added.
”Definitly not.” Marle confirmed.
They seemed to walk in eternity. All they saw was buildings everywhere.
”How long is this ‘Lab 16’ anyway?” Marle asked.
”Stop complaining.” Lucca said. ”It’s over once it’s over.”
”Not long.” Crono said, to avoid any conflicts.
Suddenly...
”Did you hear that?” Marle exclaimed.
”What?” Lucca asked.
”I heard it.” Crono said and draw his sword.
”I wonder what...” Lucca said. ”Marle watch out!”
A big rat jumped up and grabbed something from Marle.
”It stole a tonic!” Marle shouted.
”Yeah...” Crono said and leaped forward.
He tried to slash the rat, but it was too fast.
After a few seconds, it was gone.
”But that wasn’t what I heard...” Marle said and picked up her crossbow.
Lucca picked up her new gun.
Suddenly, a big pink creature jumped down from one of the crashed buildings.
”What... is that?” Marle said.
”Why don’t you ask it yourself?” Lucca replied.
It was a tall creature with two legs. It had small arms, and the top part of it’s head was yellow.
The rest of the body was pink. It roared with a strange voice.
”Is it friendly?” Marle asked.
The creature kicked Lucca into a wall 3 meters away.
”Uuufff...”
Crono looked at Marle.
”Does that answer your question?”
Marle nodded and fired an arrow.
The arrow hit the creature in it’s body, and purple blood flowed out from the wound.
But the creature seemed to ignore the damage.
It gave Marle a kick. Like Lucca, she flied into a wall.
”Don’t.” Crono said, and made a leap forward. He cut the thing in it’s stomach, but it ignored this to. A red tentacle came out of it’s mouth (or what looked like it’s mouth) and surrounded Crono.
It grabbed him.
”AAAaarrrggg...” Crono yelled.
Marle and Lucca came up.
”This situation demands a radical action.” Lucca said and ran forward.
The tentacle squeezed Crono harder. Crono lost sword, so he couldn’t counter attack.
Lucca picked it up and cut the tentacle in two.
”AAAhhhh...” Crono said and took a deep breath.
Lucca gave him his sword and he stroke back.
The creature tried to kick Marle but she evaded.
As a response, Marle smashed the shaft of her crossbow in the head of the creature.
Now it hurt.
It screamed.
”Cut the yellow spot!” Marle shouted, and she didn’t have to say it twice.
Crono jumped up, and drilled the sword deep into the yellow spot.
The thing fell down dead.
Crono dried his sword on the dead body.
”Nice.” Marle said. ”What is it?”
Lucca shook her head.
”Don’t know.”
They watched the body for a long time.
”Let’s go.” Crono said finally.
But they didn’t get very far. Their way was blocked by a flower looking thing.
It looked like a flower with legs.
”What...” Marle said.
”I think it’s a scavenger.” Lucca said. ”It felt the dead body.”
Crono nodded. ”Let get out of here.”
They walked around the flower and it ignored them.
They continued carefully.

When the darkness came, they had crossed the ruins. On their east was a bigger dome, but it looked just as the last one. No light, just a metal dome.
Carefully, they entered the dome, and what they found inside was not very much different from what they found in Trann dome. Just inside of it was a barley readable sign who said:
”Arris dome”
There were probably more people here than in Trann, but the attitude was the same.
Once they came into the big room, where all people was, an old man shouted at them.
”You there, where're you from?...”
They looked at each other.
”We came from the laboratories to the west.” Crono said.
”W, what?” The old man said. ”Hey, we've got people who crossed the ruins!”
Crono nodded as a lot of people looked up.
”Say again? You're joking?!” one said.
”So there ARE people who can beat up those freaky mutants...” the old man said.
”Pardon me, I'm Doan.  I'm the descendant of the Director of this info center.
In the basement, there's a huge computer and a storage center for food.
But we can't get through 'cause of the robot guards. It's a pity.”
”Yeah.” Marle said. ”Those guys in Trann dome said something about food here.”
Doan shook his head.
”We don’t have more than they do.”
Lucca nodded.
”The computer... Does it know anything about ‘time gates’ ”
Doan nodded.
”It knows everything, I believe.”
Marle looked at the stairway down to the basement.
”Perhaps we should...”
Crono nodded.
They walked away to the stairs.
”Are you going down below?” Doan asked.
Marle nodded.
”Of course! Someone’s got to help you.”
”But no one's ever returned from there.” Doan said.
”Gotta try, right?” Lucca replied.
Doan looked down.
”...
It's nice to see spirited young people for a change.
Careful, now.  And come back alive.”
Crono nodded and climbed down the ladder.
Marle and Lucca followed.
The came into a room with two doors.
Next to each door was a console.
The room was not totally dark, ‘cause some lights were working.
Lucca couldn’t figure out why they worked, and not anything else in this building.
She checked the consoles.
The west one was broken, but she could use the east  one.
”We need a password. I think it will open this door.”
Lucca tried a few combinations, but nothing worked.
”Let’s try that door.” Crono said and pointed at the left door.
Marle nodded.
”Yeah. C’mon!”
They all entered it.
On the other side was a huge room.
It looked like a storage of some sort.
Immediately when they came in, they found themselves standing on a platform, 5-6 meters over ground. Small iron girders was laid across the room, probably made for people to cross it.
They could see a lot of containers below. They were quite big, probably 3 meters high.
To get down, it was easiest to jump down on one container, and from there, jump to the ground.
But they weren’t going down. On the other side of the room, in their height, was an iron door.
Crono walked on the girders to get there, and Lucca and Marle followed.
They looked down.
”Is this the food storage?” Marle asked.
Crono shook his head.
”I don’t think so. This is not the way to store food. It’s probably behind that door.”
They walked towards it.
Crono carefully opened it.
Then...
”BBBBBEEEPPP BBBBEEEPPP!!!”
An alarm signal echoed in the room.
Suddenly a HUGE robot entered the room from nowhere.
Missiles came out of it’s body and the coming explosion threw the party backwards.
Lucca picked up her gun, and jumped down on a container and took cover.
Crono looked around for Marle, but he couldn’t find her.
The robot spun around and searched for them. Apparently, it couldn’t see very good.
Crono watch over an edge.
Marle was hanging there in one hand.
”Crono...” she said.
”I help you up.” Crono said, but...
”No.” Marle replied. ”I’ll jump.”
Crono looked down.
”But there’s no container under you... You won’t make the fall.”
Marle looked up.
”But he is up there...”
Crono thought for a second.
”Don’t fear the reaper!” he finally said, thinking about what Melchior once told him.
”C’mon!
Take my hand!
Let’s scrap him.”
Marle thought for a second. Then she grabbed his hand, and he helped her up.
”Let’s go get him!” Crono said, and turned around.
But then he saw two new robots.
They were smaller than the first one, and hovered around.
One got down and searched the containers.
Suddenly a BANG was heard, and a few sparks appeared.
The main unit and the second small robot went there immediately.
Marle aimed with her crossbow and fired an arrow on the other small thing.
It fell down with a few sparks.
Then the main unit went back to the ceiling and started to search on it’s own way.
Then Crono realized that those two units were it’s scouts. It didn’t need to see, when the small ones could. Crono leaped forward and cut the main unit. But his sword didn’t broke through it’s armor. The robot turned around and fired a missile at Crono. It missed.
The robot backed and then two new scouts came. They searched the floor again.
Crono and Marle, who were still standing on the girders were quite supriced of that they didn’t check the bridges first. But they were probably programmed how to search.
Suddenly one of those scouts came up. Crono waved with his hands in front of it.
”Here I am! Come and get me!”
But instead of calling for the big robot, the small one fired a laser beam on Crono.
It hit him in his stomach. ”AAAAaaahhh....” he yelled.
Crono fell down from the girder, and landed on the roof of a container.
”You....” Marle shouted, and fired an arrow on the scout. It fell down.
The main unit came up. ”Execute program” It said and opened an ‘eye’.
A laser beam came out of it, but Marle evaded.
She fired an arrow right in it’s eye.
The whole thing exploded with a red fireball.
The explosion lit up the room even more, and small pieces of the robot flied into every corner of the room.
”Are you okay, Lucca” Marle shouted.
”Yeah.” A voice said.
Marle jumped down on the container where Crono had landed.
She checked the wound.
”This is bad!” she said, and in the same moment, Lucca climbed up.
”How bad?”
”It went right through. You got a tonic? I lost mine.”
Lucca nodded.
”Just one.”
They used it on Crono and the wound closed.
Crono opened his eyes.
”Eeeeeegghhhh....”
”Let’s go, superhero.” Lucca said and helped Crono up.
They climbed back up on the bridges, and entered the room where the robot had been.
It was quite a large room, and on the other side of the room was a door.
They entered it.
Once they came into the new room, they could hear a dripping sound.
In the room was a lot of capsules. In the other side of the room was a man, probably dead, sitting against the wall.
”Phew! Something reeks!” Marle said, once they came into the new room.
Lucca checked the capsules.
”Everything's completely rotten.  The refrigeration must have failed...”
Marle and Crono walked to the dead man.
”Passed away long ago, I suppose... He's holding something. What do you suppose this is?”
Marle held up a small bag.
Crono checked it.
”It looks like some kind of seed.”
Lucca joined them.
”A seed? Do you suppose it could grow in a place like this?”
”Perhaps.” Crono said.
Marle took small bag with seed.
Then Crono found a chest in one corner.
”Look!” he said.
Lucca and Marle came.
”Do you know what this is?” Crono said and showed them the two bottles who he found inside the chest.
Lucca shook her head.
”No idea.”
”Someone might know. Take it you.” Marle said.
Crono nodded and took the bottles.
”Look over here!” Lucca shouted. ”LRA. I think that’s our password!”
”What?” Marle said. She walked to Lucca who was holding in a piece of paper.
”He had it.” Lucca explained and pointed on the dead man.
”Then let’s find that computer.” Crono said. ”I guess it’s behind the door.”
”Tomorrow.” Lucca replied. ”It’s already midnight. We’ve been through a lot today. We have saved a princess and escaped from the castle prison. We have all the right to rest.”
The others agreed. They had no sleeping bags, but it was warm enough in the room.
Laying in each corner they fall asleep.

”Crono...”
”Crono.”
”Wake up, Crono.”
Crono opened his eyes. It was still dark as usual.
”What?”
”Shhh...”
It was Marle.
”I’ve been thinking about one thing.”
Crono looked at her.
”Really... Is it nothing you can take tomorrow?”
”No.” Marle answered. ”I want to take it now. Else I can’t sleep.”
Crono smiled.
”Then we have to do something about it, don’t we? What is it?”
”I know this sounds stupid, but... When you look at me, what do you see?”
”I see you of course!”
”A stupid question gets a stupid answer...” Crono thought.
Marle looked away, trying to formulate the question different.
”No... I mean... What do you see?”
Crono thought for a second.
”I see the girl I met on the Millennial Fair. Marle. Not princess Nadia. She’s far from here.”
Marle nodded and smiled.
”Thanks. I’m sorry for...eh...”
”For what?”
”...for thinking you thought of me as the princess. I realized that you didn’t when you said
‘take my hand’.”
Crono looked supriced at her.
”What’s so special about that?”
”You see... Normal person would try to put the princess in safe, but you didn’t.
You offered me to join the fight.
Thanks for thinking of me as Marle.”
Crono smiled.
”That all?”
Marle nodded.
”Good night, Marle.”
”Good night, Crono.”
 
”Let’s go and find that computer now.” Crono said the next morning.
He, Lucca and Marle walked out and to the first room with the two consoles.
Lucca typed in the password, and the right door opened. They walked in.
In they new room was two consoles, and one big screen on the wall.
”So this is the info center!” Lucca exclaimed and ran to one of the consoles.
”Good! The computer's still operational!
Let see... Oh! It’s year 2300 AD... It was quite a jump we made...
If I run a search on time warps, we might find our Gate!”
She pressed on a few buttons and a big map appeared on the screen.
It pointed out a dome.
”There! East of Arris Dome... That would be Proto Dome, I believe...”
”Yes!” Marle exclaimed gleefully.
”Leave it to Lucca! I'm beginning to think you could do anything with this device!”
She walked forward to the console.
”Say, what does this button do?”
Marle pressed it.
”1999 AD? Visual record of the "Day of Lavos"... What’s this?” Lucca said.
The screen turned black, and then a map... no, not a map... A visual record.
They recognized their own world. But instead of normal buildings, there were domes.
But those domes were living. Cities were built inside of them.
Suddenly the picture became a little bit dark, and the ground started to shake.
Just south of where the castle was in 1000 AD, the ground opened up, and a big thing came up.
It was like a hedgehog, but much, much more bigger. It had huge spikes on it’s shell and fired rocks and spikes from it. The spikes hit the ground and destroyed everything.
The screen started to get fuzzy, and then black out.
”Uh, what...IS that?” Marle said.
Lucca looked down on the consoles.
”Lavos? Is that what's destroying our world?!”
Marle looked down on the floor.
”We must truly be in the future...”
Then she screamed.
”NO! NO WAY! I refuse to believe it!!”
She sat down on the floor.
Tears came out of her eyes.
”This...
This can't be the way the world ends...”
Crono and Lucca looked down on the ground.
The room was silent except for Marle’s sobs.
But suddenly she jumped up.
”Crono... Lucca...
There's only one thing we can do!
We must change history!  Just like you and Lucca did when you saved me!”
She looked at Lucca.
”Okay, Lucca?”
She turned to Crono.
”Okay, Crono?”
Lucca looked up.
”I...guess so...
It was a stroke of luck that we were sent here through that Gate. Yes, let’s do it!”
Lucca looked at Crono.
”I don’t know... What do you think we could...” Crono whispered.
Lucca looked at him.
”C’mon! Show Marle what your made of!” But when she realized what she just said, she quickly tried to correct it. ”I mean...”
”Let’s do it. Let’s save the future!” Crono said. ”Save OUR future! But it will be dangerous.”
Marle shook her head.
”I don’t care! As long as you two are with me, I don’t care!”
”Together we can do this!” Lucca said.
Marle nodded.
”I know we can do this!”
”Let's take a second and do some more activities on Lavos's activities back in our time period!”
Lucca said. ”Next stop, Proto Dome!”
 

.

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