The Absence of Friends Chapter 4
The Lone Survivor
By Cloud Strife
Crono would not stand another loss. He needed his friends more than anything, and he would do anything to get them back. Of course, some of them might still be around, But he had a feeling that one friend would already be gone. The Epoch appeared in the ancient prehistoric land of the Ioka. He saw a few tents of the main settlement, along with the Dactyl Nest mountain range. Crono also spotted the crater, where Lavos had crashed, and where the Tyrano Lair had met it's doom. Crono landed near the meeting site, where he had hoped to see someone that would recognize him. He hopped out of the Epoch, and into the Ioka village. He approached the chief's hut, when he noticed Kino running towards him.
Lemme guess what happened.... He thought. Ayla's-
"Crono! You come to visit?" Kino's question interrupted Crono's thoughts.
"Uh... Yes. Is Ayla here?" He asked nervously.
"Ayla..." he whispered. "Ayla went to train at Dactyl Nest! She say that she come back after few days, but it's been a week and she not back yet!"
"......."
"Something wrong, Crono?" Kino asked.
"shoot...." he whispered. "This is too much. It's...much....too....much.."
Kino asked if Crono was okay, But he was too paralyzed with rage. He stormed toward the Epoch, shouting,
"WHAT THE HELL'S IT ALL FOR, HUH?!"
Crono jumped into the Epoch once again.
"GODAMMIT!! AAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
SLAM!
Crono slammed his fist on the control panel, little realizing that he had hit the dial to 12,001 B.C. The Epoch lifted off the ground, and shot into the sky in a blast of light. When he finally calmed down, he realized that he had traveled forward in time. As he stepped out, he thought of Magus. Even though he wasn't on very friendly terms with him, he thought that he might be the only friend left. After his disappointing encounter in 65,000,001 B.C, he suddenly realized that Ayla was Leene's VERY distant grandmother. If she disappeared, then Leene, and Marle, would be gone.
Crono jumped outside the Epoch and looked around. There was ice and snow as far as he could see, plus the fact that this time period was plagued by an endless snowstorm. The last few people surviving were located on an island not far from the plateau that Crono landed on. He decided to find Magus quickly.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a flash of light. Crono turned toward the source, and watched as it came toward him. He carefully drew his sword, expecting a fight, But as the light came nearer, he saw that it was Magus! He landed in front of him. Magus could be mistaken for a vampire almost. He sported a long, thin face. He wore a purple cape, and carried around a lethal scythe called the Doomscythe.
"So you're back. What do you want from me?" Magus asked.
"....My friends are disappearing one by one! So far, I've lost Lucca, Marle, Frog, and Ayla! But I was curious to see if you were all right...."
"Oh.. So should I be thankful or something? So your girlfriend's gone? That's just horrible." he teased. "And Frog? Ha ha ha... It's not that much of a loss to you, is it?"
"Huh. You haven't changed much. All right, now it's my turn. Have you found your sister?"
"....no. But I haven't given up hope." he answered.
"Oh? Well boo hoo for poor Magus! That's just too bad, huh?" Crono shot back.
"Hey, HEY! Are you looking for a fight or something?" he shouted.
"No. I don't have time for that. What I really want to know is if you'll help me."
"Why?" Magus asked.
"Because you might disappear next." Crono answered.
"And what if YOU'RE next?"
"Dammit, Magus! Why the hell are you being so stubborn?!"
"........" Magus kept silent.
"Fine. I'll do it without you." he said.
Crono started to walk back to the Epoch, But remembered to add, "By the way, I saw Flea."
"Flea, huh?" he answered. "That idiot doesn't give up."
Crono was on the verge of either insanity, or suicide. He only had one stop left, But it almost seemed pointless. The future seemed to be Crono's final destination. As he arrived at the peaceful year of 2301 A.D, he spotted the Arris dome. It was the greatest structure Crono had ever seen. It was a large, shiny glass dome, and it was even more amazing when he walked inside.
As he walked inside, he saw a scene that Lucca would pay millions to experience. There were many machines among the homes that were located inside Arris dome. One robot was equipped with a vacuum, and was cleaning some one's carpet. Another was giving a woman a back massage! One yellow robot walked up to Crono and began to speak.
"WELCOME TO ARRIS DOME. HOW MAY I HELP YOU?" it said.
"Uh.... Can you tell me where to find... uh... Robo?"
"IF "ROBO" IS A ROBOT, PLEASE GIVE ME HIS SERIAL NUMBER." it replied.
"Uh...I believe that it is R-66y." said Crono.
"PLEASE WAIT HERE. THANK YOU FOR VISITING ARRIS DOME."
The yellow robot walked away, and soon, it came back with a very familiar-looking robot. It was equipped with platinum armor, (Which Doan made for Robo for his efforts of saving the future.) a vigil hat, and a familiar looking ribbon attached to it's head. Crono also noticed the Terra arm attached to it's left arm.
"Crono? What brings you back here?" it said.
Before Crono could answer, he felt the presence of evil.
"Wait, Robo." Crono said. "Something's wrong."
"What? (beep) What is it? (blip)" Robo asked.
CRASH!!
Crono heard the nerve-racking sound of glass breaking right above him! When he glanced up, he saw a shadow swoop down from the now broken glass ceiling! The last thing he saw was a familiar looking sword that struck him on the head...hard.
.