[I've decided that since this chapter is rather lacking in sex scenes I should just let everyone see it]
Chapter 3
Strange New World
Unlike
her previous entries into the time gates, Crono had leapt forward to escape the
guards chasing her. What she found out shortly after exiting the rift was that
her forward momentum did not change during the trip and she was sent careening
forward into a hard, metal wall with Marle still in her arms. Marle barked out
a yell before the impact knocked both of them unconscious. When she woke up
Crono saw that Lucca’s body was lying on top of hers, making the redhead think
that Lucca had had the same thing happen to her. The young woman carefully
crawled out from beneath the genius and checked to see if she was okay. She
found that other than a bump on the head she was fine, or at least well enough
to move after her jailbreak. Lucca groaned as she recovered but Crono was more
concerned with Marle.
The
Blonde was wedged into the corner made by the wall and the floor and she had a
large red mark on the side of her face. Worse was that her foot was still
bleeding, but it seemed to have at least partially clotted. Crono helped Lucca
off of Marle so she could attend to the Prince, ripping of strips of cloth from
her outfit to fashion a bandage. Once the purple-haired girl recuperated she
offered her help, looking around for something that could be used as a crutch.
While the genius was searching Marle woke up and gave Crono a tired smile. The
redhead helped her sit up so her back was against the wall and made sure she
was alright. The blonde tried to pretend that she was fine but the loss of
blood had her feeling a bit weak and she settled for wrapping an arm around her
temporary nurse and holding the young woman to her body.
A
bit later Lucca returned with a metal pipe and something soft that could be
used as a brace under the arm. “Hey, this was all I could find. Are you
alright?” Marle nodded and allowed Crono to help her stand. “Yah, I’ll be
okay.” She stood on one foot while her two friends wrapped the end of the pipe
with the brace and then held it so she could use it. Marle placed it under her
arm and tested her weight on it. The improvised crutch didn’t seem to be all
that sturdy but it might last long enough if she took it slow. “Thanks, so
where are we?” Lucca gave a bit of a smirk. “In the middle of Guardia forest.”
After both Crono and Marle looked at her incredulously she continued.
“Remember, these are time portals. We’re in the exact same spot that we left,
just at a different point in time.”
Marle
rolled her eyes. “Okay, so…when are we?” Lucca shrugged. “No idea, but from the
look of thing we’re probably in the future.” She walked over to the side to gesture
at some mechanical contraption. “This place is entirely made out of metal and
seems to have machines all over through they look like they haven’t been active
for centuries.” She pointed to the wall behind them. “I can’t quite be sure but
it looks like that might be a door.” Marle looked up behind her. “Oh, hey,
what’s that symbol on it?” Marle was referring to a gray, raised surface on the
otherwise flat metal wall. It looked to be in the shape of a person wearing a
very large dress but there were no details beyond a general shape. “Dunno, I’ve
never seen it before.” She ran a hand over its surface before turning back to
Crono and Marle. “Anyway, we should probably get moving if we want to find a
place to rest.”
Marle
frowned at her. “Why, what’s wrong with this place?” Lucca looked at her hand
and held it up for Marle to see the sooty dust on her fingers. “No one’s been
here for a long time and I don’t know about you but I’m getting hungry.” Marle
looked down at her stomach. “Oh, okay. Wait, but…why can’t we just go back
through the gate?” Lucca winced a bit. “Well we could, but there’s no guarantee
the guards won’t still be there. I still don’t know enough about the gates to
say if we’ll get dropped back at the point we left or if the time we spend here
passes at the same rate back then. Crono tried to follow along with the
conversation but like most times when Lucca started to ramble Crono became
lost. The redhead placed a hand on Lucca’s shoulder and urged the genius to
hurry up. “Right, sorry.” She turned slightly towards Marle. “Are you alright
to move?” The blonde nodded and the three of them left their small shelter.
As
they got outside they were met by the most discouraging sight; a dead, gray
landscape with dark clouds roiling overhead. The wind howled around them,
rushing through their clothes and causing them to shiver against the cold.
Crono scanned the area and saw a blinking light in the distance. She got
Lucca’s attention and pointed in its direction. The purple-haired girl nodded
in agreement and the three set off as fast as Marle could manage. During their
long trek the land changed very little. There was almost no plant life and what
did exist was twisted and menacing. When they came upon a pool of water Crono
knelt down to test it but immediately spit it out of her mouth. She had drunk
some fairly unclean water in the past when necessary, but what she had just
found was like someone had mixed acid with a wet shit and let it fester for a
month. She wiped her tongue on her sleeve to get as much of the taste out of
her mouth as possible but the foul tang lingered.
They
pressed forward, walking for several hours before the source of the light came
into view. There was a lighthouse-type structure on top of a large glass dome.
The dome itself must have been over a mile wide and must have been very
impressive in its day, but now there were cracks and holes that dotted its
surface as well as a multitude of large debris that had been thrown into it and
become stuck. Crono imagined it was caused by a windstorm which would probably
be incredibly dangerous if the current gusts were the normal state of affairs.
Lucca ran forward towards the metal collar that circled the base of the dome
and waved for the two others to follow her as she disappeared into the
structure.
Once
Crono and Marle made it into the shelter they both crinkled their faces at the
stench that permeated the place. It was painfully obvious what was causing the
smell with a large number of filthy and bedraggled people sprawled out on the
metal ground before them. Just about everyone in the place was gaunt and
clothed in some mishmash of dirty fabric that Crono couldn’t identify. It was
clear to the redhead that not a one of them had bathed recently but when she
looked at their faces and saw the abject despair she understood that
cleanliness was the least of their problems.
One
of the people shambled over to them and tried to look imposing but her scrawny
built hurt the effort. “Hey, you can’t just come in here like you own the
place; you need to pay the tax.” Crono looked at Lucca and shrugged. “Uh, how
much is it?” The woman smirked and pointed at Marle’s pendant. “I think that
will do.” She went to grab for it but stopped when she suddenly had Crono’s
sword pointed at her neck. “Okay, uh… never, nevermind. You don’t have to pay
the tax, it’s fine.” She backed away slowly and once the woman felt she was far
enough away she turned and fled out of sight. As Crono put away her sword
another woman who looked a bit more collected but no less thin stepped forward.
“Well,
strangers, it’s not every day you get to see Marco scared off like that. I’d
tell you to watch your backs, but judging by the size of you I don’t think
that’s necessary.” She held out her hand and Crono cautiously shook it; she was
surprised by how strong the grip was. “Name’s Fiona, I’m responsible for the
supplies here so if there’s anything you need come to me.” Lucca stepped
forward. “Actually, we’re in a bit of need of a few things. We’re low on food
and our friend here injured her foot.” She gestured to Marle and the trader
looked the blonde over. “Well aren’t you a cute one, I do have a soft spot for
vulnerable blondes so I might be willing to give you one of the medkits, but
You’re going to have to do something for me in exchange.” Marle made a frown
but nodded in agreement. “Excellent, now if you’ll follow me….”
They
were led off into an adjoining room full of metal crates large and small. The
woman walked around the place with aplomb, but the rest of them had to step
carefully as to not bump into any of the equipment, something they did several
times. Eventually they reached the center of the room, finding the woman
sitting in a chair that had seen better days behind a table that wasn’t more
than crate with a couple panels removed. The woman put her feet up on the table
as they arrived and smiled at Marle. “Please, sit down.” Fiona waved her hand
towards a few squat crates opposite of her. The three of them sat and she
continued. “Here’s the deal, I can give you a medkit and it should take care of
your foot…” “What do you mean should?” Lucca interrupted, “It’ll work fine as
long as she doesn’t have an infection the kit can’t register. If that’s the
case than it was good knowing you but you won’t last long around here.” Lucca
frowned but saw back with the answer she received. The woman continued;
“Anyway, as you might expect these little gems are getting harder and harder to
find and no one is in the business of making any more, so I’m going to need
something from you.” She paused for dramatic effect. “Namely your cum.”
Marle’s
eyes shot open. “My what?” The woman placed her feet on the floor and leant
forward. “I don’t know if you noticed it out there but the gene pool around her
is getting a bit stagnant and nothing would be more valuable than an influx
of…diverse traits that you possess.” Marle stared open-mouthed at the woman’s
suggestion. Lucca stepped in to voice her outrage. “You can’t expect her to
take that deal?” Fiona shrugged. “Why not, it’s not like you’re losing
something you can’t replace and judging by the size of that bulge I daresay you
have plenty to spare.” Marle shook her head. “No, the answer’s no, no way.” The
woman grew a wry smile. “Fine, but don’t come crying to me when that gets
infected and your leg starts to rot.” Marle looked down at her foot and could
see the blood just seeping through the bandage that had been applied. She could
have all the pride she wanted but it wouldn’t do her any good if she was dead.
“I’d offer your friends the same deal but neither of them have the right
equipment and no one around here knows how to run the egg collector.”
Lucca
looked quizzically at Fiona. “What’s that?” the woman stared back at Lucca
blankly. “A device for harvesting eggs.” When none of them seemed to understand
what she was talking about Fiona continued. “It snakes a few tubes up your
pussy to your ovaries and picks a few of the ripest eggs to be fertilized
later. All three of them gaped at Fiona having grasped just enough of what she
had said to understand the implications. “But you don’t have to worry; no one
knows how to use it and the automatic feature hasn’t worked in decades.” She
thought for a second. “Well, I guess we could make a deal if you guys were
willing to stick around for a few months and give us a healthy baby or two.”
The sudden glare was all Fiona got in reply and she held up her hands to hold
off the furor. “Hey, hey, don’t be like that. I’m just asking. If you don’t
want to do it, you don’t want to do it.” She looked back at Marle. “So, what’s
it going to be, cum or death?”
Marle
looked at Crono with an apology in her eyes but Crono just nodded, knowing that
it had to be done. “Alright, you can have my seed, but I’m going to need more
than just a med-thingy.” Fiona squinted her eyes but gave a slight smile.
“Hmm…like what?” Marle took a breath. “Food, supplies and weapons.” “And
information.” Lucca interjected quickly. Fiona responded to the genius but kept
her eyes on Marle. “What kind of information?” Lucca collected herself before
answering. “We’re…searching for something. And I need to know if there have
been any strange holes or portals that have been found.” Fiona now turned to
look at the purple-haired girl. “What, do you mean like a sinkhole or
something?” Lucca shook her head. “No, not in the ground, in the air.” Fiona’s
eyebrows raised but the rest of her face remained impassive. “Oh. Uh, well I haven’t
heard of anything like that.” She thought for a second. “But I might know
someone who does.”
Fiona
stood up and left the area, returning quickly with a thin, torn book that had
the words ‘Road Atlas’ printed on the front. She opened it and showed the three
of them a map of the world. To their eyes it was a strangely familiar image but
the land looked a bit different than what they were used to. Fiona pointed to a
dome on a large island below the major continent. “There’s an old person who
lives there, near Death Peak, who knows a lot of strange things. She’s been
known to wander around from time to time but I haven’t heard much about her
lately. She might be dead but if it’s a strange thing you’re looking for she’s
the one to ask.” Lucca thanked the trader but she just waived it off. “Don’t
worry; I gave it to you for free because I have no idea if it’ll pan out. Now,
to the rest of it.”
The
trio was led deeper into the structure, down a series of long hallways until
they arrived at a strange room with metal and glass cases. There was a bed in
the middle of the room and a soft light glowing from the ceiling. A quiet hum
could be heard throughout the slightly cold room. Marle was helped onto the bed
and Fiona pulled some menacing metal device from the side of the room. Lucca
looked both interested and worried. “What’s that?” Fiona responded while fiddling
with a hose and other attachments. “It’s the collector. It’s going to deposit
whatever she shoots out into a sealed container so it can be stored for future
use.” Fiona held up a long metal tube open at one end and with a hose connected
at the other. “Get hard and slip this on.” Marle took the device and looked at
it dubiously. “Uh, I’m not sure this is going to work.” Fiona finished her task
before standing next to Marle. “Why?” The blonde showed her the open end. “It’s
not big enough.” Fiona’s eyebrows raised and her eyes moved between Marle and
the device. “Really?” She seemed more interested than upset. As an answer Marle
raised her butt off of the bed and pushed her panties down enough to reveal the
fleshy tube contained within.
Fiona
stared at Marle’s soft cock for far longer than she needed to, but so were
Crono and Lucca. Even though her clothing had been designed to highlight her
endowments it was only when massive prick was revealed that its size could
really be known. Tentatively Fiona reached a hand out and placed it on the warm
skin if her penis and seemed almost to pet it for a moment before holding up
the end and lining it up with the metal tube. She could feel Marle beginning to
stiffen, but while her dick was still flaccid the crown was still as wide as
the rim of the tube. “Oh, wow.” The prince smiled at Fiona’s reaction, always
satisfied when she could get that response out of someone. The shopkeeper’s
face shifted slightly from awe to mischief. “I guess we’ll have to get it out
the old-fashioned way.”
Lucca
and Crono took positions on either side of the blonde and Fiona knelt between
her legs. The shopkeeper began by gently sliding her hands up and down the
still-growing prick while nuzzling her face between the large balls beneath, filling
her nose full of the testosterone-fueled musk. Lucca ran her hands over Marle’s
body, massaging her form through her clothes while Crono stared the blonde in
the eyes with a sultry look. One of the prince’s hands rose up and pulled the
redhead into a deep kiss. The two of them embraced with Crono’s gigantic chest
pressing against Marle’s side while the blonde’s pride finished swelling and
stood up to its full height. The prince pushed Crono back so she could look
down between her modest chest at the rampant prick and saw Fiona’s face rose up
from the base and as she appeared over the head her lips opened and swallowed
the tip of Marle’s dick. The blonde let her head drop back to the bed and
returned to the kiss with her paramour. Lucca, meanwhile, had freed the
prince’s breast from their confinement and was busying herself with caressing
the soft mounds. She stroked her hands over the swells and traced her fingers
around the nipples. When she couldn’t stand it any longer she dipped her head down
and took one of the nubs between her lips and gently sucked on the sensitive
flesh.
Crono
had to pull back to give Marle enough room to breathe as the blonde’s writhing
began to increase. She wrapped a hand as best she could around the prince’s
cock and pumped the shaft while Fiona worked her mouth over the tip. The
shopkeeper was finding it difficult getting more than a few inches past her
lips but not for lack of trying. The woman’s tongue lathered the head of
Marle’s prick and bathed it with as much attention as she could, even slipping
the tip into the slit at the end. Her free hand busied itself by caressing the
huge balls that were pulsing in the blonde’s sack, urging them to produce as
many sperm as they could. Lucca slowly became more aggressive with her
attentions, moving on to pinching and teasing one of Marle’s nipples while
gently biting down on the other and pulling on it to just before the point of
pain. Crono looked down at the blonde as her breath quickened and she arched
her back. Fiona could feel Marle’s balls pull up against her body and removed
her mouth from the end of the cock, replacing it with the metal tube and with
one hand around the shaft she could feel the huge load being shot out pulse by
pulse.
Crono
cradled the blonde’s head in her hand and looked down at her with a sweet smile
as Marle finished cumming. The prince gave a tired smile in reply and relaxed
back into the bed, clouding her eyes. The redhead looked down at Fiona and saw
that she hadn’t been able to get all of Marle’s jism into the tube as some of
it had sprayed out around the rim and gotten onto the blonde’s legs as well as
the shopkeeper’s face and hands. Fiona didn’t seem to mind too much and when
she tipped the tube down while squeezing the softening cock into the tube to
get as much as she could she also brought a hand to her mouth to lick the
sticky residue from her fingers. Lucca found that to be a good idea and joined
Fiona in cleaning Marle up with her tongue and fingers, collecting as much cum
as she could and holding it in her mouth to savor the taste before swallowing.
With
their payment now made Fiona removed the device and, after playing around with
the buttons and dials for a moment, removed something from a cabinet and handed
it to Marle. “Here, wrap this around your foot and press the button then lay
back and let the medkit fix your cut.” Marle held up the large bandage and
though it looked like it was just a mass of cloth it was much heavier than it
appeared. She held it to the bottom of her injured foot gently and wrapped the
straps over, making the kit look like an oversized sandal. After a moment she
felt an uncomfortable pressure against the bottom of her foot for a moment
before losing feeling in the limb. The prince grew a bit worried but Fiona assured
her that that was supposed to happen. About a half hour later the medkit gave a
loud beep that made everyone jump and when Marle pulled it from her foot she
could see no sign of the cut save for a thin white line that amounted to the
least visible scar she had ever seen. When the prince gingerly slipped off the
table and put a little weight on the foot she was surprised to find that there
was no pain at all.
With
Marle recovered Fiona led the group back to a small room full of squat crates.
Some of them were closed but most had their lids off revealing the contents;
Many kinds of long metal objects along with spherical and ovoid devices. “I’ve
got guns, grenades, mines, mortars, rockets, anything you guys could want.”
Crono and Marle looked at the equipment dubiously but Lucca was wide-eyed in
excitement. “I…I’ve never imagined….” She picked up a weapon and held it in
both of her hands. “What does this thing do?” Fiona smirked. “It’s an
automatic, pull on the trigger and it’ll fire until it runs out. Ammo’s hard to
come by though, so I wouldn’t suggest being reckless with it.” She looked at
the other two. “Feel free to check out the inventory, find something you like.”
Marle looked around and frowned at the selection. “You wouldn’t happen to have
a crossbow would you?” Fiona couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “What? A
crossbow, are you serious?” Marle looked a bit chastened. “Yah, I’ve had
training with them. Why?” Fiona shook her head smiling. “You three really are
odd. Alright, I’ll see if I have one tucked away but no promises.” She looked
at Crono. “What about you sweetie, what’s your poison?” Crono pulled out her
sword and held it up, indicating that she wanted something a thinner blade than
the broadsword she had appropriated. Fiona shrugged. “I’ve got tactical knives
and maybe a machete or two, but nothing that’ll be better than that.” Crono
grimaced but nodded in understanding.
With
the gun in Lucca’s hands the four travelled to another room that had boxes of
clothing set against one of the walls. While old the outfits were in decent
condition and Crono was able to change out of the getup she had stolen from the
guard. Marle was able to swing a deal where she traded her regal gown for
something a bit more practical. Crono grabbed a skin-tight green shirt and tied
it under her huge chest to use as an improvised bra since nothing else could
possibly fit her. She slipped on a pair of tan yoga pants that hugged the curve
of her lower body and slipped her feet into short-heeled leather boots. She slipped
a thick blue tunic over that to help fight off the cold wind and took a purple
cloak and orange scarf for good measure.
Marle
stuck with her white color scheme, opting for a white body stocking that clung
to her form and left nothing to the imagination. On her feet she went for more
sensible footwear than she usually used; plain, brown flats. Following Crono’s
lead she also picked up a light purple felt coat that would keep her protected
from the cold. Lucca had little need for a new ensemble as she had gone to
rescue Crono from the castle already prepared so she hung back with Fiona and
watched the two of them try on new clothes with a smile on her face.
With
the entire group appropriately attired they returned to the main room. While
Fiona tried to thank them for their business and move them out of the storeroom
Lucca stopped and asked about the food. Fiona sighed in resignation. “We don’t
have any.” Marle eyed her skeptically “What do you mean you don’t have any,
there must be at least twenty people in the hallway, how do you feed them?”
Fiona got a curious look on her face. “We have a den mother.” The trio looked
at each other to see if any of them knew what the shopkeeper was talking about.
Lucca was the first to speak up. “Uh, what’s that?” One of Fiona’s eyebrows
raised in curiosity. “You’ve never heard of a den mother?” The three of them
shook their head. Fiona tilted her head back and took a deep breath before
looking at them again. “Well, when Enertrons fail…” “What’s that?” Marle
interjected. Fiona looked confused for a moment “Huh? You don’t know what an
Enertron is either.” She got blank stares in response. “You mean you’ve all
been living on actual food you whole lives?” The nods Fiona received struck her
dumb for a moment.
The
shopkeeper shook her head as if to clear the cobwebs. “Wow. Alright, an
Enertron is a machine that can keep your body alive and functioning without
food, but you end up losing alot of weight and you’re always hungry.” That
explanation seemed to satisfy the three of them so she continued. “A den mother
is someone that has been…changed to serve as a food supply. I’ve heard of some
settlements that prefer using a den mother to Enertrons but you usually don’t
see them unless all the Enertrons have died.” Lucca, again, was the quickest to
ask a question. “What do you mean by ‘changed’?” Fiona was a bit sheepish in
her answer. “Well, a mixture of hormones are injected into a person and it’s
supposed to induce lactation. The problem is that there are side-effects.”
Lucca folded her arms and waited for the shopkeeper to continue. “While not
everyone reacts the same there are common occurrences: breast growth, increased
fertility, becoming mute. Many of these traits are passed down to the next
generation or two which is why I was surprised you haven’t head of a den mother
before.” She pointed at Crono. “I was sure your friend here was related to
one.”
Marle
took a step forward. “Well, let’s go see the den mother than, I’ve had
wet-nurses before.” Fiona held her hands out as if to hold back the blonde’s
exuberance. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. You can’t see the den mother, the guards won’t
let you.” Lucca tilted her head slightly “What guards? I didn’t see any guards
when we got here.” Fiona rolled her eyes and acted as if she was explaining
things to a child. “Well yah, no one cares about a few dozen people, but the
den mother and the generator have to be protected at all times in case we get
raided by mutes.” It was Marle’s turn to look confused. “Mutes? You mean like
other den mothers?” Fiona started to look a bit exasperated. “Mutants. You know
like the freaks in the ruins.” She continued when she saw no recognition in
their faces. “Up north.” With still no impact she threw up her hands and walked
away from the trio. “Where the hell do you people come from?”
After
the shopkeeper calmed down she told them that they had to pass through the
ruins to get to the Arris Dome, a place that was rumored to have food.
Additionally if they wanted to talk to the person near death peak they’d have
to go through the sewer system that was southeast of the Arris Dome to cross
the sea. In any event they would have to set out in the morning because the day
was ending and they wouldn’t be able to find their way north. The three of them
returned to the hallway and found a quiet spot to rest for the night, using the
cloaks they had grabbed as pillows to keep their heads off the hard, metal
floor. Crono wasn’t sure if she was the first to knock off or not but with the
exertions from the day finally catching up to her it didn’t take long for sleep
to claim her.
******************
Crono
was jolted awake when she felt someone grab her. Still a bit groggy she was
slow in fighting back against the many arms that were trying to hold her down.
The redhead barely even noticed when someone placed a hand over her mouth while
she was pulling against her assailants. Quickly Crono’s head began to swim and
she started feeling dizzy. As the dark figures around her began to dance in her
vision she realized that they were trying to drug her. She tried to bring her
hands up to fend them off but the strength had already left her body at that
point and she was helpless to prevent the darkness from overtaking her.
******************
Crono
woke from a dreamless sleep with a groan. She tried to bring a hand to her head
in response to the massive headache she had but found that her arms were bound
to the table she was on. She tried to sit up to get a look at herself but there
was a strap that went across her forehead to prevent even that movement. She
did see someone in the shadows looking at her but they left her sight before
saying anything. She pulled at her restraints and heard them creak in response
but the fabric they were made of seemed strong enough to hold her secure. Soon
thereafter she heard footsteps grow louder followed by the appearance of a thin
woman in ragged clothes. She looked just like everyone else Crono had seen
since coming through the gate except for the look in her eye; while everyone
else looked like they were resigned to their fate this woman was focused and
determined on her task. There was something else mixed in there as well, through
Crono couldn’t tell if it anger, sorrow, or guilt.
The
woman pulled a tray over and set it next to the bed Crono was on. The woman
picked up a pair of scissors and held it up high enough for the redhead to see.
“I’m sorry we have to do this, but our den mother is sick and she doesn’t have
much time left.” The woman placed her hand on Crono’s clothed breast. “You’re
the biggest one I’ve ever seen so you should provide plenty of food for the
community.” She brought the scissors down and began to cut through Crono’s
green shirt. “I wish there was another way, but I can’t all those people
starve.” She pulled the thin fabric away to expose the redhead’s gigantic tits
in all their glory. They sat proudly on the young woman’s chest despite her
prone position causing some of the soft flesh to settle against her body. The
woman ran her fingers over the generous slopes with wonder for a time before
she collected herself and retrieved a second instrument from the cart. When
Crono saw that it was a syringe she didn’t immediately recognize its purpose
but the sharp end gave her all the incentive she needed to renew her struggles.
The ineffective writhing caused her bust to jump and shake in the air but the
woman didn’t seem to mind. After watching the hypnotic display for a short time
she grabbed onto the end of a breast and held it still while she brought the
needle close. Crono winced in pain as she was pierced and felt an odd sensation
as something was injected into her flesh.
Crono
was near tears after the woman repeated the process on her other breast, though
more for her helplessness than the pain. The woman gave her a weak smile and
ran a thumb across the redhead’s cheek. “Don’t worry, soon these babies will
start making milk and once we get you hooked up all this will become a distant
memory.” A distant crashing noise caught her attention and she spun around.
“What was that?” The woman took a few steps away from Crono and called out:
“Mable! Peter! What’s going on?” Crono heard her gasp sharply and back up until
she was stopped by the table. “Let her go. Now!” Crono was overjoyed to head
Lucca’s voice and after she felt the straps being removed she sat up and smiled
at the genius who was busy pointing her weapon in the woman’s direction. She
turned slightly to look at the redhead. “Crono, are you okay?” The young woman
nodded and went to hop off the bed but she wasn’t yet used to her expanded bust
and stumbled forward. Lucca dropped a hand from her gun to stop the redhead’s
fall and while she managed to catch Crono the woman who had captured her was
given enough time to reach for a weapon.
Lucca
was just a little too slow in recovering and found herself looking down the
barrel of a strange-looking gun. “I didn’t want to do this; all we needed was
one person to be a den mother.” The woman had a pained look in her eyes. “We
were going to let you and the blonde go but you just couldn’t leave her could
you.” She took a step to the side and motioned with her gun for Lucca and Crono
to move towards the bed. “If you don’t want to leave her I guess we could use
two den mothers. Who knows, maybe with two of you you’ll last longer than the
last….” Her words were cut short with the sound of an arrow being loosed
followed by a bolt hitting her in the arm and sending her to the ground. The
gun in her hands was sent spinning away while the woman’s attention was focused
entirely on the wooden shaft sticking out of her forearm. It took a moment for
the pain to register but when it did she started to scream. Lucca pointed her
gun in the direction that the bolt came but quickly lowered the muzzle when she
saw Marle smiling at her with an empty crossbow in her hands. “I told you I
know how to shoot one of these.” She slung the weapon over her shoulder and
walked towards Crono. “Are you okay, can you walk?” Crono looked away from the
screaming woman and nodded. She did her best to pull the two sides of the shirt
together and retie it under her chest before following her friends out of the
structure.
When
the three of them returned to the entrance hallway they saw several people
standing in a semicircle looking at them in anger. Lucca pointed her gun in
their direction and the people seemed to get the message, staying a safe
distance away from the trio. From behind Crono saw that her sword was slung
over Lucca’s shoulder and pulled it out so that she would be armed as well in
the event that the mob decided to charge them. As they retreated, however, no
one in the irate crowd was willing to risk getting killed and just followed the
retreating threesome. After making it out into the open and seeing that the
people weren’t willing to follow them outside of the dome’s protection the
three of them stopped to take a breath.
Crono
was shivering in the wind of the early dawn and was grateful when Marle pulled
the purple cloak from a pack and draped it across the redhead’s shoulders. Once
Crono was warm enough to stand without shaking uncontrollably the three of them
began making their way north towards the safety of the small structure they had
arrive in. It took an hour or so before they reached their destination, a far
easier march with Marle’s foot now healed. Exhausted by the day’s events the
three of them bedded down behind a locked door and fell asleep in each other’s
arms.
******************
The
trio got a late start to the day, rising long after the light had reached its
apex. Because of the cloud cover it was impossible to tell the exact time of
day but that was immaterial at the moment. With their disastrous encounter with
the people of the ruined dome to the south Lucca pointed out that they had a
few options to choose from but none of them good; they could try to head back
through the gate but risk being captured by soldiers stationed around the area,
they could try to find another gate to use but there was no guarantee that they
would be able to find one, or they could give up trying to get home and stay in
this time period (something that each of them discounted immediately).
After
a bit of discussion they agreed to try and head back through the gate to see if
the area was still being watched. With their weapons out Lucca activated the
key and they stepped into the portal. A moment later they were standing in the
middle of the forest in the middle of the afternoon. Lucca was about to say something
about it appearing that time passed normally while they were on either side of
the gate but she was disrupted when the sounds of soldiers scrambling through
the underbrush drew her attention. The genius fumbled for a moment to
reactivate the key and saw the gate open just as the soldiers appeared in the
clearing. The three of them vanished into the portal before anyone could lay a
hand on them but when they arrived back on the other side they all agreed that
they couldn’t risk using the gate again, at least not for a while.
The
only palatable option left to them was to search for another gate they could
use and try to find their way back to their own time in a roundabout fashion. With
nothing to hold them back they immediately set out for the ruins to the north.
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