Chapter XVI: The Factory Ruins

Chapter XVI: THe Factory Ruins

Marle and Crono looked on in wide eyed terror, as a 800 pound, 7 foot tall mound of metal, spiraled, swirled and tumbled about the room like a tornado that swept into a mine. Metal footfalls pounded upon the ground like machine-gun fire, causing their knees to quake, and their teeth clash. Marle hit the ground when a steel arm came flailing at her. Lucca's project propellored on the floor like a drunken metal dirvisch.
Lucca gazed and smiled. She felt like crying, 'It's alive!!!! It's ALIVE!!!!!!!!' but she was too occupied trying to dodge her creation's frenzied rampage.
Crono clave to the wall like moss on a stone. He cursed himself for letting himself witnessing another Lucca mishap. Seeing the whirling mass of steel, he felt like a weed beneath a lawnmower's hood. Knowing the futility of trying to outrun one of Lucca's creations, Crono made his peace with God, closed his eyes. He could feel the ground grow more and more turbulent, as though a train were rumbling closer, as it approached.
Perhaps someone was looking out for Crono, for the metalic cyclone halted it's furious rampage.
It came to the center of the chamber and stood like a soldier at attention. It's eyes flashed, like lamps in the mists, It's circuits and mechanisims buzzed and hummed like a cruising automobile. It beeped, and bliped, and blinged, and dinged, and bleeped, and made all sorts of sounds Crono had never heard before. Unsure of what to say, if anything at all, Marle spoke up.
'Um, Good Morning!' She was a little hesitant at first, but her tone grew cheerful, as it always was.
The creature turned it's head towards Marle, and made some more noises. 'Mor-ning,' it replied, sounding out each sylable, with a very monotone, uninflectious tone.
Marle looked at Lucca, unsure of what to say next, Lucca was nearly out of her skin, excited at seeing her work come to life.
'Wow, it said, "Morning!"' She felt like a proud parent seeing her child take his first steps and say his first words.
It spoke again. 'Good morning Mistress,' The mechanism addressed Marle, 'What is your command?'
Marle reacted as though it had flipped her off. '"Mistress?" I'm not your mistress, I'm Marle, that's Crono, and Lucca here fixed you!' Marle pointed at a beaming Lucca.
Lucca chuckled somewhat sheepishly. 'Yeah, that was me!'
'Understood. Madam Lucca repaired me. My gratitude Madam.'
'Hey now, no madam, it's just Lucca.'
'Impossible, that would be improper.'
'Just drop it, I hate formality. Titles are no good, isn't that right Marle?'
'There's nothing I hate more' She and Lucca shared a giggle.
'Understood. Lucca, Marle, Crono'
'Say do you have a name?' inquired Lucca.
'My designation is RX-65Y'
'"RX-65Y' COOL!' responded Lucca.
'Ehhh, I don't think that will work, you need a real name!'
'"real name"'

'Yeah. Something we can call you. Crono, let's think of something better!'
'Why me?'
'Just give him a name.'
'Let's see, how about...' Crono mused, sounding out a couple names that just didn't feel right. 'Data, Haro, Astro, Ein, Tahei...' The names were like shoes that were either too small or too big. 'Robo, Enoch,'
'Robo.' reitterated Marle, 'Robo. I like that! Robo, you're new name is Robo!'
'Sounds great. It fits you, Robo.'
'Robo' It said it a couple more times. 'Robo. I am Robo. Data storage complete.'
'Hey, Robo,' Addressed Lucca, 'Why aren't there any people here?'
It turned it's head 360 degrees, clicking and whiring. 'I do not know. This dome used to be full of people, and others of my kind.'
'Something awful must have happened.' Lucca stated.
'...It would appear so. But why is it that you three have survived?'
'Long story.' Answered Lucca. 'We came here from the year 1000AD through a time warp.'
'We were in the Arris dome and learned there was a gate here.' interjected Marle.
'Yeah, and we came here looking for the gate, and found you! And I fixed you, so that's our story.'
'Well, I do not know of a gate, so I cannot help you in that matter.' stated Robo.
'We've been all over this dome, but that door there is locked, so we figure what we're looking for is behind there. DO you know how we can get through?' Lucca wanted to know.
'The power is off.' explained Robo. 'I can take you to the factor up north, and there I can turn the power on.'
'You'd do that for us?' queried Lucca.
'You repaired me, so it was the least I could do.'
'Where is this factory?' asked Crono.
'Just north of here. I can get through the security and turn on the generator, but it won't remain on for long, so someone will need to stay here.'
'Here?' reiterated Marle. 'Well Lucca, I could, or you could?'
'It doesn't matter to me. Crono, who should stay?'
Crono deliberated. He was hesitant to leave Marle alone, yet if something were to happen to Robo, Lucca would be able to make repairs. Crono went over a couple other reasons, but ulitimately decided to bring Lucca.
'If it's okay with you?' he asked Marle.
'Yeah, I'll be fine. Just don't take too long, I don't want to die of bordom.'
'Okay, we'll be back as soon as we can.'
Robo spoke. 'It shouldn't take too long. My calculations figure that the factory will be much the same as this dome.'
They bade each other farewell, and turned to go.
'Hurry back!'

Lucca and Crono walked behind Robo, who stood as a buffer between them and the harsh, torturous elements. They clung to it's arms and proceded like cars behind a tow truck. Robo walked at a very brisk pace, causing plumes of dust to billow up like a dragon puffing smoke.
It was a very turbulent ride, Lucca found it difficult to keep a steady grasp onto Robo. her hands became sore from clutching to a pipe on the back, and her shoulders began to ache from all the bumps. Nonetheless, it was smoother than Crono's cannonball run on the Jet Bike by far.
They arrived at the threshold to the Factory, and Crono and Lucca hopped down to survey the distance they spanned.
'That's quite aways!' Commented Lucca as she squinted, unable to spot the Arris Dome.
'12.58 kilometers exactly.' Answered Robo.
'Oh. Well how long did that take us?'
'Appoximently 12.32 minuets'
'Can you outrun the Jet Bike?' inuired Crono.
'Negative. The Jet Bike can reach speeds of 550 kilometers per hour.'
'You don't say. I'll tell you about my experience with the Jet Bike once we're finished here.' Crono offered.
'Yes. I would like to hear about that.'
'Well, the sooner we get in, the sooner we can get out' prompted Crono. 'How do we get in this place?'
'Step aside.' Advised Robo. 'A distance of 13.4 meters should be appropriate.'
Robo went over to a panal by the entrance. Lights flashed from his eyes, scanning it. It hummed buzzed and dinged, while looking for a way in. Lucca watched in amazement as Robo's arm opened up and a metal reed entered into the wall. She saw a burst of energy traverse from Robo, across the metal, onto the wall, and a door opened.
'Wow! I didn't know you could do that!' Lucca felt like she was on stage with Elvis.
They entered into the factory and were greeted by the sent of rust and must. They heard the skittering and scratching of rats across the hard, cold and metal floor, and wrenching creaking of metal bending painfully towards the ground. Their footsteps echoed like shots in a canyon as they walked across the floor. The lights from Robo's eyes as they scanned across the floor.
'What are we looking for?' inquired Crono.
'Just follow me, I know what we are looking for. This factory was built a long time ago. There are three levels, and we first have to deal with the level we are on.'
As they walked, Crono began to stray from Robo's path. He was unaware of the beam that hovered an inch off of the floor, untill his tripping of it, sounded an alarm. It was blaring and ear-wrenching like the wail of a bitter arctic wind.
'What did you do?!' shouted Lucca.
'Lucca, Crono, duck right now' commanded Robo.
The mechanical whiring of treads upon the floor shook the ground. Three sentinel robots came onto the floor, laser sights scouring the ground like little red spot lights. Robo dashed foreward, leaping over Lucca, and slamming a fist into one. Metal struck upon metal like a piledriver. It staggered back, and Robo cocked his fist into it.
Lucca arose, and fired three shots at another robot. Crono arose, sprang up, and ran his sword across the back of the sentinel that Lucca fired upon. Robo turned and slung his fist into the final sentinel, and Crono finished it off.
After the sentinels fell, the lights came on.

'The backup power has started. Finding the core generator should be no problem now.' informed Robo. 'There is a computer up ahead that will allow us access to the rest of the plant.'
They came to a conveyor belt that was still functioning. It ran through the factory like a river through a canyon. It was their only passage through the floor, so they stepped upon it.
'Something about this just doesn't seem like a good idea' Cautioned Lucca.
'If this is running, than odds are the security is up as well.' stated Robo, 'SO we must remain weary. Also be careful as to not get any articles of clothing caught in the belt.'
Crono's eyes scanned the area. 'Things have been quiet here' He commented 'I don't like it.'
'Stop it Crono you're making me nervous'
'Lucca, Crono.' summoned Robo. A robot gaurd stood in the path. Robo hunkered down, readying himself. Crono and Lucca drew their weapons, as they neared it. Lucca fired, and Robo threw his fists. The Gaurd replied by shooting a couple of blasts. Robo raised his arms, and weathered. Crono climbed upon Robo and with a boost, sprang at the robot, sword foreward like a hornet's sting. He landed a couple of blows, and ducked, as Robo and Lucca fired again. The sentry fell off of hte belt like a stone off of a cliff.
They heard and alarm sound, shrill and ear-piercing like a banshee's cry.
'Great.'
'What do we do?' asked Lucca.
Before Robo or Crono could answer, a giant crane bent down and plucked them off of the belt. Lucca struggled as the cold, heavy metal hand tightened. It tok them up by the rafters and across the room. Crono tried to take in deep breaths to prevent him from panicking. Lucca stopped thrashing about, as the crane lowered. It released them onto another stretch of the belt. Lucca hunkered upon all fours, voraciously taking in the stale, musty air. Crono tried to crack his joints, and strectched out his limbs.
The Conveyor belt dropped them off by an elevator, which they took down. They walked around a bend and came to a room, which held a computer. They walked across the floor, footsteps resonating like a bell at night. Lucca nearly clave to Robo's back, Crono's eyes roved about the area to spot any asailant. Robo came to a console. He inserted a probe into a slot drive, and began to interface with it. THe console ground and rattled. The screen flickered on, flashing symbols and characters, at such a fast rate that neither Crono nor Lucca were able to read them. The console flickered off like a snuffed out candle.
'Access allowed.' stated Robo 'We can either go upstairs or downstairs. To go up stairs, we will be able to find the code to the main generator.'

'Guess it's upstairs then.' said Crono.
Crono and Lucca followed Robo to an elevator that took them up. Lucca was amazed that she was riding a section of floor up to another floor. They came to the main factory floor. It was delapidated and run down, like a tornado had waltzed through room. Barrells and drums were scattered across the floor like a child's toys strewn across a room, catwalks had fallen like downed trees, conveyer belts were broken like fault lines in the earth. There was so much rubble and debris, the party was unable to cross.
Robo scanned the area. 'We need to clear the area, come I know how we can.'
They followed Robo over to a booth which controlled a crain. 'We can use this to open a path. Lucca if you could handle the controlls of the other'
Lucca took the levers in hand, and the two of them sent the cranes down from the celing, lifting objects and stacking them to the side, enough to clear a path for them to reach the other side of the floor.
There was still little room for them to walk across, but now had room to walk. Robo was at the point with Lucca close behind. Crono brought up the rear, wary of any attacks that would strike from behnd. Their route was like a deer's trail in autuum leaves, it led them across the floor, over heaps of broken machines. Robo pried open a door and took them into a small room. In the room was a dark, blank monitor, above a control pad.
Robo approached it, and inserted a probe into the controls. Robo began to click and hum, and the monitor flickered and flashed. Lucca wathed the interaction intently, eager to take in any and all information she could. THe monitor gave a hard flash, and a loud bang like a firecracker. Lucca and Crono leapt back, as Robo just stood there.
'Robo!' shouted Lucca, 'Are you alright?'
His neck clacked as he pivoted to face Lucca. 'All systems working!'
Lucca let free a sigh. 'Well what did you find?'
'THe access codes. Come we must find the central unit, so we can restore power to the dome.'
'Lead the way.'
Robo left, with the other two following. 'What just happened?' asked Crono
Lucca simply shrugged.
THey navigated through the factory ruins, over hills of scrap, rivers of still conveyor belts and myriads of rusted equipment. The party went up an elevator, and across another congested chamber. They came to another interface, that Robo could communicate with. Lucca watched as his eyes pulsated and changed colors, while the unit clicked and vibrated.
'Here I can enter the access information, I obtained from the other unit.' informed Robo
'What do we do after that?' Lucca wanted know.
'It depends on what I can learn from this unit.'
When Robo finished, they heard a rusted door screetch open. They entered the door, and found themselves in a corridor that was for the most part undamaged. Lucca looked about as they walked.
'This hall should take us to the power core.' stated Robo.
Lucca was too busy taking in her surroundings, to pay any heed, but something with the hall just didn't sit right with Crono. He gripped the hilt of his sword and stepped lightly as they continued. His eyes roved the walls, not sure of what to look for. THe corridor bent and brought them to another elevator. With a jolt they arose, and stepped into the central power chamber, where before them stood a large metal double door.

Robo approached it, lights from his eyes scanning the surface. Lucca watched eagerly, wondering what new marvels robo could perform. Crono stood with his back turned to the rest of his party, gaurding for anything which may follow them up the lift.
Robo went up to the door to get a closer look. 'This door should have opened when we were at the console. This does not compute.'
'You're right.' added Lucca. 'That's why we worked at that thing.'
'Just hit it.' avised Crono.
Robo launched a metal foot into it, and sure enough it opened. The path that lay behind, took them to the central power core. It sat in the chamber like an unworshiped idol, still and silent and cold. It was a large pillar, wide and tall as a sycamore tree.
'All we have to do is to get this started, and we can enter into the room.' Robo stated.
He went around to the otherside, eyes scanning the surface. He stopped before a pannel, and established a connection with it. Lucca heard robo tick and buzz and hum. The power core began to sputter, like a car struggling to kick on. Robo ran back to the front of the core. He inserted a probe into it, and dove into its vast network. Robo sent his essence coursing through its metallic synapses and biways. He went through busted processors and wrecked busses and collapsed bridges and dull conductors. As he traversed, he mended gaps, reactivated channels, and whatever else he could do.
After miles of silicon and empty spaces, Robo located the center of the core. fired more energy into it. The energy core sputtered and flickered, Lucca could feel it's vibrations through the floor. The core gave a pop, and began to hum lights aglow. The core kicked on like a plugged in Christmas tree.
'Robo how did you do that?!'
'I cannot put it into words. Perhaps later I'll explain it. The core has been reactivated. Now we should be able to access the rest of the dome.'
The exact moment Robo completed his sentance, an ear-wrenching alarm began to wail.

End Chapter