Chrono Trigger: Timeless Angels Part 15
Time Squared
By Mefathiel
Lucca looked around in horror as time ruptured. All of time converged on itself, creating a massive time warp. Every era overlapped themselves, creating one, huge, messed up world. "What’s going on?" she asked.
Robo, who was floating upside down nearby, started whirring. "According to my sensors, that energy discharge caused time to rupture, and now every time stream has converged on itself to create a warped world," he said.
"Schala," Magus said sadly.
"How can we fix this?" Crono asked.
"How is anyone supposed to know?" Spekkio asked. "This has never happened before. Normally, an explosion that big wouldn’t do something like this, but because it occurred at the Beginning of Time…"
Energy started pouring from the time warp as the rupture grew bigger to accommodate the number of eras within it. "What’s going on?" Marle asked. "Why is it doing that?"
"Time is unraveling," Lucca said. "If we don’t repair the rupture, then Magmas’ plan will succeed, and all of time will be destroyed."
"How doth we repair the rupture?" Glenn asked.
"That would be the main problem we have. Like Spekkio said, we have no idea how to reverse the time stream convergence and fix the time rupture."
Magus started flying toward the rupture, a look of determination on his face. "Magus, what are you doing?" Marle asked.
"Schala sacrificed herself to save us," Magus replied. "I should do no less. Perhaps if we can release enough energy, this time warp will fix itself."
Ayla floated into his way. "No, you no die now," she said. "We need all people here to solve problem."
"I believe Magus is correct in his thinking," Robo said. "If we are able to release enough energy, we should be able to stop the rupture. It worked to cause it, so why would it not work to stop it?"
Lucca floated past. "But how are we supposed to release that much energy?" she asked. "It would take all eight of us to do something like that, and only Spekkio and Magus have the ability to tap into their magic reserves now."
Robo started scanning his memory banks. "Lucca, that is not true," he said. "It is not necessary for all eight of us to release our energy. One of us should be able to release the energy needed to fix the time warp."
"Really? Who?" Crono asked.
"If I position myself at the center of the time warp and self-destruct, then the energy released from the explosion should realign the time streams and seal the rupture."
"No!" Lucca protested, projecting herself at Robo. "We don’t need anymore sacrifice, Robo! It’s bad enough we lost the Timeless Angels; we don’t need to lose anyone from the original team. Like Ayla said, we need everyone here to solve the problem."
"Lucca, I am sorry, but it is a necessary sacrifice; for the good of the team, and for the sake of time itself, I must self-destruct at the center of the disturbance. You have nothing to be sad about."
Lucca’s eyes teared up, and she looked into Robo’s optical sensors. "I have everything to be sad about!"
Robo looked away and started drifting toward the rupture. "Are you sure this will work?" Crono asked.
"If it does not, then I do not know what will," Robo replied.
"Robo, don’t go!" Lucca screamed, floating after him.
Crono and Glenn grabbed Lucca by the arms and held her back. "There’s nothing else we can doeth now," Glenn said. "If Sir Robo’s sacrifice doth not work, then we shalt perish with him. If he succeeds, his sacrifice will not be in vain."
Tear droplets were flung from Lucca’s cheeks as she struggled to reach Robo. Finally, she hung her head in defeat, crying in sorrow. Lucca’s hair covered her face from view, but the quaking of her body was enough to prove she was struggling to stop crying.
Robo could feel the fabric of time streaming around his metallic body as he neared the focus of the time warp. "Odd, the energy level from the event horizon to the focus rises at irregular intervals," he noted. As he reached the center of the time warp, Robo turned to face his friends, especially Lucca. She looked up at him, tear stains streaked her face. "Goodbye, Lucca. My only regret in this action is that I will not be able to spend more time with you afterward. Self-destruct sequence activated, counting down from 10 seconds… 10… 9… 8…7…"
"Robo!" Lucca screamed, breaking free of Crono and Glenn’s grip and floating through the time streams toward Robo. "Roooobooooooo!!"
Robo’s ocular sensors lit up brightly. "Warning, unforeseen energy spike has occurred! Former plan will now fail because of this! Unable to abort self-destruct sequence! Lucca, get away!"
But Lucca wouldn’t listen. Robo started glowing brightly as electricity arced through his circuits. He raised his arm and used the Robo Punch to knock Lucca out of the blast radius. "Forgive me," Robo pled, just before he exploded.
Lucca screamed even louder. She could feel the heat of the explosion wash across her skin. The only thing that made the heat unbearable was the fact that it was caused by the sacrifice of one of her best friends. The time warp shifted slightly, but it only seemed to get worse. Lucca could feel her body moving on a power that was not her own.
"It pull us in!" Ayla shouted, trying as hard as she could to move away from the disturbance.
"That energy spike must’ve screwed everything up," Magus said. "Instead of his energy sealing the rupture, Robo’s energy opened it even wider."
Instead of trying to move away, Lucca started moving toward the rupture as fast as she could. Crono moved toward her. "Lucca, stop, what are you doing?" he demanded, trying to stop her insanity.
"I’m going to join Robo," she said in a determined voice, moving faster toward the focus.
"No you aren’t!" Crono reached out and grabbed Lucca’s arm roughly.
Lucca looked into Crono’s eyes again, and Crono could see the sadness, the anger, and the determination she felt. "Crono, you can’t stop me, no matter what you try to do. I’ve lost Zephon twice, and now I’ve lost Robo. There’s nothing we can do about the disturbance, and everything is going to be destroyed, so why not die a few minutes early?"
"Because we still have a chance. We’ll always have a chance to survive, Lucca. We’ve been through everything from a missing princess to saving the world from a psychotic alien. We’ve stood up against the worst that life could throw at us, and we didn’t buckle. You can’t give up, Lucca, not yet! Sure, you’ve lost Zephon and Robo, but you still have us, you still have me…"
"Crono, move your ass!" Marle shouted.
Crono looked up to see that he and Lucca had drifted closer to the time warp than he thought was safe. He held Lucca in his arms and tried to project his body away from the rupture, but it was to no avail. Energy flared from the disturbance and flung them toward the others. But as Crono and Lucca sailed away from the time warp, Lucca’s pouch opened, and a small, pendant-like object fell out and started floating back toward the rupture.
"No!" Lucca cried out. "No, I can’t lose that!"
The emerald, imbedded in the amber that made up the rest of the pendant, reflected some of the light. "What is it?" Crono asked.
Lucca started struggling to chase after the object, but Crono held her back. "It’s the last thing I have of Robo," she said, "the Green Dream…"
"Leave it," Magus said coldly. "It won’t be of any use to you I the afterlife."
Lucca turned to the warlock and glared at him sharply. "You should be more compassionate, Magus," she said. "After all, both of us lost our siblings to Magmas. Robo truly understood me, and the Green Dream is all I have left of him. If we do survive this ordeal, then I’ll have nothing of him left."
Magus was taken aback by her words. "I—I apologize, Lucca. I didn’t know how much he meant to you."
Lucca turned back and started clawing at Crono’s hands. "Now let me go, you ignoramus!" she shouted at him. "If I don’t get that back, then, then…" Then an idea hit her. Lucca clasped her hands together and started praying. Everyone stared at her.
"Lucca, what art thou doing?" Glenn asked.
"Praying won’t do us any good now," Marle pointed out.
"Please," Lucca pled, "Green Dream, sacrifice your existence to bring back your creator. Return Robo to us using your power, the energy contained within you."
The pendant known as Green Dream started glowing brightly. "What happening?" Ayla asked.
Lucca opened her eyes and looked at the Green Dream with hope in her eyes. "I asked it to bring Robo back… if any of his energy still remains, then it should work… please work…"
A beam of energy shot from the Green Dream into the disturbance. There was a flash, and the pendant shattered. Golden energy started swirling from the disturbance and formed a ball. Everyone watched as the ball flashed, and the scraps from Robo’s armor and circuits came together again. Another flash, and Robo reappeared where he had disappeared from.
Using the jets in his back, Robo projected himself into the midst of the others, where he was greeted with cheers of happiness and delight. Lucca rushed to the robot and embraced him tightly, not wanting to let go again. Tears ran down her cheeks in her relief. "I’m so glad you’re back," she said.
"Thank you, Lucca," Robo said, returning the embrace.
.
"C…can you r…repair…me?" —Robo
.