Chrono Trigger Loops Chapter 1
By Reido Shougeki
The year is two thousand fifty-four. The world is at peace. Giant cities known as "Domes" were set up in nineteen nintey, over sixty years ago. Many people populate these domes, but the largest was Arris. The large glass structure covered over thirty miles of land. Our story begins at Arris.
"Come on, Zac!" Niki shouted to her friend as she ran down the street, backpack in hand. "We're gonna be late!"
Her light blue hair bounced as she sprinted towards the school. She suddenly stopped, looking over her shoulder. The sixteen-year-old blinked her brown eyes. Zac was nowhere to be seen.
"Where'd he go?" she said softly. At that instant, a blur dashed by her, blowing her hair around. She stamped her foot angrily.
"Zac!" she exclaimed. "You promised not to use your full speed!"
The blur stopped, his features becoming clear. Zac was seventeen. His hair was a dark shade of red, almost black. He grinned broadly at Niki as he walked to her, his brown eyes twinkling.
"Just thought I'd surprise you," he said, albeit cockily.
"Well, thanks to you, we're really gonna be late!"
Zac sighed. "You take this school thing too seriously. We have plenty of time."
"Zac, you don't take school seriously enough! You make good enough grades to get by, whereas I actually try!"
Zac rolled his eyes. "Well, thanks to your speech, we WILL be late now." He turned around.
"Get on my back."
"No way!"
"Okay, I guess you'll be late then." He was about to take off when Niki stopped him.
"Alright! Just...don't touch anything!"
"Do you actually think I would do that?" he asked as she climbed on his back.
"Well..."
"Niki, you've known me long enough to know that I'm a jerk, not a pervert."
"Yeah, you're right," she said. "Let's go."
Zac took off down the sidewalk at mind-blowing speeds. Niki was forced to shut her eyes due to the force of the wind. Zac was accustomed to it, only squinting his eyes slightly as he ran. He stopped in front of the school, Gemini High. Niki hopped off his back.
"We have one minute to get everything we need," she said excitedly. "We have to hurry!"
Zac stepped into the school. The halls were crowded with other kids.
"Niki?" he called to her.
"What?"
"What time is it?"
"Eight twenty-nine."
"And what time does school start?"
"Eight thirty-five...oh."
"Yeah. Big 'oh'."
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Prehistory was silent, a rare thing for the home of dinosaurs. Ayla stepped out of her tent, stretching. It was a beautiful morning in sixty-five million BC. Dew glistened on the foliage around the meeting grounds. A drop fell off a leave, landing with almost no sound. All was calm.
Deep under the earth rested a sphere of unmeltable ice. The ball contained a fourth dimension being. It started to shake, resulting in a small-scale earthquake above ground.
Ayla felt the ground shake beneath her, causing her to grab a nearby pole to stabilize herself.
"Another one," she sighed, brushing a strand of blonde hair out of her face. "When they stop?"
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"Zac!" Niki called after him as he walked down the hall. He seemed to be in a hurry.
"Zac!" she said again, jogging after him. "Wait up!"
The black haired teen stopped, turning.
"Are you okay?" she asked. He sighed, pulling out a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it, holding it up. It was a test. At the corner was a big red number. Sixty-seven.
"That's horrible, even for me." he said, his head dropping. Niki put her arm around him.
"I'm sorry," she said, giving him a friendly hug. "Come on, let's go home."
They left the school, walking towards Zac's house in the eastern part of town.
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Twelve thousand BC was dark. The Dark Ages were cold. The snow seemed eternal, only breaking for a few days at a time. Magus stood atop a cliff, looking out over the water. The wind fluttered his long purple hair, as well as his cape. The chain that held his sickle jarred against his leg armor, causing a soft clang. Suddenly, an earthquake struck, shaking the wizard. A chunk of ice fell off the cliff, splashing into the ocean. Magus simply sighed.
"Another earthquake...I hope Schala is okay."
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"You seemed bummed about that grade," Niki said.
"Niki, you have no idea! My fos--"
"What?"
"My father is gonna kill me!"
"You were going to say something else...what were you...” She stopped, looking at his face. He seemed ready to cry.
"Zac?"
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Glenn sat in his home, thinking. The Masamune sat near him, encased within its sheath. Six hundred and two AD, the Middle Ages, as they were known to modern man. The frog blinked, adjusting his belt. It was early in the morning. The Cursed Woods were misty, as they usually were. Frogs and giant snakes roamed around Glenn's home, not bothering the four-foot amphibian. As in other times, the ground quaked, causing the animals to turn and run back to their own homes.
"Hath the earth gone insane?" Glenn said to no one, speaking in Olde English. "There have been too many quakings hereabout." He turned to the Masamune.
"Masamune, canst thou tell me the cause of the quakes?"
"Sorry, Glenn," Masa said.
"We don't know," Mune added.
"'Tis alright, friends. I have a feeling we shall learn soon enough."
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"Zac, are you okay?" Niki asked, concerned. He had been silent for most of the way.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I must have touched a tender spot."
Zac said nothing. A tear rolled down his cheek.
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"Crono!" Marle called up the stairs. "Dinner's ready!"
As soon as she said that, a blur flew by her, running towards Guarida Castle's kitchen, whipping her pony-tailed blonde hair around.
"That man," Princess Nadia said as she walked towards the kitchen herself. "Always thinking through his stomach."
It was the year one thousand and two, the year Crono, Marle, and Lucca called home. Two years had passed since Lavos' defeat. Crono and Marle had long since married. Lucca still tinkered with things. Every now and then, an explosion could be heard from her house. Prince Crono was already sitting at the table, scarfing everything he could get his hands on. Marle shook her head.
"Is that all you think about?" she asked the wild red haired man. Crono shook his head.
"Mo, sometims I fink avout seepig," he said with a full mouth.
"What?"
Crono swallowed his food. "I said, 'No, sometimes I think about sleeping,'"
Marle had to laugh. Lucca entered just then. Her deep purple hair fell around her face, her glasses glinting the light in the room.
"Hi, Luffa!" Crono said, his mouth full again. Lucca smiled.
"Is that all you think about?"
"No, sometimes he thinks about sleeping," Marle replied. Crono scowled at her.
"Funny, Marle, REALLY funny." Marle and Lucca laughed.
"Care to eat with us?" Marle asked Lucca. She nodded. The girls were walking down the stairs when the earthquake hit. Marle and Lucca fell to the ground. Crono's soup splashed to the ground.
"I was still eating that!" he whined after the quake stopped.
"Crono, this is serious!" Marle shouted. "There have been too many earthquakes around here lately."
"I know," the prince said. "I have a feeling something big is coming."
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"I'm sorry, Niki," Zac said. "I just don't like to talk about it."
"It's okay, Zac."
Suddenly, the teen stopped.
"Zac, wh--"
"Get down, now!"
Niki did not ask questions. She got to the ground and covered her head. Zac did the same. An earthquake struck at that instant, shaking the two up quite a bit.
"How did you know?" Niki asked as the quake stopped.
"Are you okay?" Zac simply responded.
"I'm fine...how DID you know?"
"I don't know," he said. "A voice told me to get down, so I did...good thing, too."
He jerked his thumb back towards where he was seconds ago. A chunk of a building had fallen there. He would have been killed.
"Oh, my God..."
"I'm okay. Let's go home."
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Deep under the earth, the sphere of ice cracked. Fuinaire was coming back.