Chrono Trigger: Redreamt

- IV -

Giudicato

Lucca had upset the table completely, causing everyone to get their hot chocolate dumped into their laps. Lucca hyperventilated as her mind raced with a rapidly linking set of conclusions, while everyone else groaned from the mess. Marle yelped and stood up, trying to fan off her lap, "Ugh! Luuucccaaa! It's all over my lap!"

"Whoa! Down, Lucca! Baaaad theoritician!" Crono shouted.

"NO, YOU SEE…" Lucca cleared her throat, "He is an object of magical properties. Therefore he is technically immortal. So why could he not have existed here and simply LIVED to our time? Now we get into the time-traveling debate: my theory, and correct me if I'm wrong, is that he works like that pendant, a trigger of sorts to send himself through the rifts of time. FURTHERMORE the rules of Puppetmastery state that the owner cannot leave his animated objects alone in case he met his fatality. Why? Because the puppet is controlled by the same force as his soul! YES, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I BELEIVE THE HUMAN ALPHONZ DIED AND HIS SOUL SNAPPED BACK TO THE CAT!"

Everyone -stared- in deathly silence. Crono finally spoke, "You on crack, girl."

"Aw, c'mon! You HAVE to agree the logic is unflawed for our base of evidence has come from firsthand observers," She gasped for air, "And how else would a cat know SPECTRUM ELEMENTS?"

"Oh my!" Cecelia looked shocked, "She speaks in such tongues!"

"Yeah it's called techno babble." Crono groaned. "Okay, Lucca, I'll agree with you on the magic part, but you've just totally lost me on the rest. Souls in stuffed animals? I've seen more believable B movies."

"It's true." Todd muttered. "Puppet masters supposedly stem from ancient mages. They're almost extinct, save for a handful including Alphonz. They were all killed, except… His cat was animated as a familiar."

"SEE!" Lucca shrieked.

"Alright," Crono rubbed his forehead, "So why did he run away?"

"…I…" Cecelia held her hands close to her mouth. "I tried to kiss him."

"Wow!" Marle looked surprised, "He must be really bashful!"

"Yeah. Terminally so."

"If…" Lucca adjusted her glasses, "While weighing his options in the wild, he fell victim to some plot… If he was killed, and the connection to the cat was still active, it would be possible that his soul was unable to leave the planet!"

"K…killed?" Cecelia grew pale.

"Bad word, Lucca." Crono sweated, "Take it back, please."

"But!" She shouted, "But it's EXACTLY how it must have happened!"

Cecelia lost all color completely, rolling her eyes up before collapsing into a heap on the floor. Everyone flinched, and Crono glanced scoldingly at the scientist, "Told you to take it back."

"Whoops…"

"Maybe YOU'D better leave." Todd growled.

"Y-yes sir!" Lucca bowed repeatedly, backing out through the door.

Crono nodded, "Sorry about, er, listen… just tell her that we'll FIND the cat. Maybe there's a way to reverse this."

"Right." He got up, picking up Cecelia, "Make sure that woman NEVER speaks to my Cecelia again."

"Done and done. Good day, sir." He pulled Marle along, "C'mon, Marle!"

"Aww! She was just sayin' stuff that was in another language!"

Todd literally threw them out the door, causing them to land in a heap. The door was closed loudly behind them. Crono groaned, muttering, "Well we're just a bunch of happy-making guys, aren't we?"

"Hey, get off!" Marle giggled. "Or are you making sure I don't blow away?"

"G-gah!" Crono got off, turning away, flushed. Marle got up and dusted herself off with a few quiet giggles. Lucca however paced about, thinking hard, muttering to herself. She gave off that horrible, mad laugh…

"…so if you can't talk to the mage… talk to the cat…yessss…"

"Talk to the cat?" Marle walked over.

"Meeheeheehee…" Lucca rubbed her hands together.

"Aw Hell. Not ANOTHER invention…!"

"I'll work on it back home!" Lucca started off, "C'mon!"

The crew headed back to the woods, not having nearly as much trouble with monsters since they were in a group. Most, in fact, left them alone. Heading up and past the waterfall into the clearing, Crono and Marle marveled at an odd glimmer. Marle looked at Lucca, "Good and spiffy, but how do we get home?"

"Wait just a moment," She dug in her bag. "I took care of that."

"I hope so," Crono rubbed his eyes, "Otherwise I'm going to have to get very used to freaky mist."

"Ah!" Lucca pulled out a wand-like device that sparkled.

"YAY!" Marle jumped. "…what is it?"

"Looks like the curling iron from Hell." Crono scoffed.

"My no!" The scientist laughed merrily, "I call this a Gate Key. What we came through is a 'Time Gate'. Modified from the technology of my teleported, this SHOULD bring us back unscathed!"

"I like how you added that unscathed part. REALLY fills me with confidence."

"So let's give it a whirl!" Lucca waved the Gate Key at the portal which opened. "Everyone in!"

"WHEE!" Marle leapt in as if diving into a pile of leaves.

"Woo…" Crono sighed and followed.

"What abo-" Marle was interrupted as the gate closed, and opened on the other end.

"Tada!" Lucca came out, posing.

"-t Alphonz?"

"Miao!" As Crono crawled out, they all stared at Alphonz, who was waiting at the top of the stairs. They all blinked as the cat calmly flicked his tail.

"ALPHONZ!" Marle cheered, running over and petting him.

"Oooo-kay… Stalker cat. Yeah."

"He must just know where we were going to come out again." Lucca nodded to Crono, "While I go… invent… why don't you escort Nad- … Marle home?"

Marle sighed… "I suppose I should go home."

"Yeah, before they try to cut my head off for kidnapping you."

"Don't be silly," she waved a hand, "They'll do whatever I say, trust me."

"Eh heh… alright."

"Alphonz, you wanna bring me home?" The cat leapt up onto her shoulders. She giggled and petted him, "Great! Let's go!"

She abruptly grabbed Crono by the arm and began dragging him. He stumbled along, mentioning, "You know, I can walk…"

"Not without help, you can't!"

When they reached the castle, Alphonz transferred shoulders. Marle gave Crono a reassuring pat on the shoulder, and smiled. "Okay, now let me do the talking!"

"Sure. Your folks."

Marle burst in through the doors with a mighty shout, "YO YO YO. HOMIEZ!"

"Princess Nadia!" The guard shouted.

"Where did you ever get to!" The second yelped. "We were so worried!"

Of course, this commotion called more guards.

"Crono, Morris and Dennis. Morris and Dennis, Crono."

"HEY!" One of the new guards pointed, "THAT MAN MUST BE HER KIDNAPPER!"

"No, h-"

"DETAIN HIM!"

"Stop this at ONCE!" Marle fanned her arms out protectively in front of the frightened young man.

They surrounded the two. Marle ran to one side, shouting, "Stop it, stop it!"

As they closed in, she moved to the other side. "KNOCK IT OFF!"

Crono sunk nervously closer to Marle, sweating.

"CAN'T YOU FOLLOW ORDERS?" Marle -screamed-. The guards all jumped, then dropped onto their knees.

"Y-yes, your Majesty…!"

From the throne room came the King and the Chancellor, with the King looking shocked, "Ah! Nadia! You're safe!"

"Well YEAH!" She put her hands on her hips and gave 'em a wiggle. "I did have the best guide ever!"

"Sir! …. That man. He's… suspicious!" cried the Chancellor.

The King narrowed his eyes… "I concur."

"But DAD!" Marle whined loudly, "This is Crono! He's really cool! He even won me a kitty!"

"Miao!"

"You mean to say you have been with THIS boy? You know you are forbidden from leaving the castle walls, Princess!"

"Well FUCK that!" Marle whined again, "You know how godforsaken boring it is stuck in a room all day?"

"ACK!" The Chancellor jumped, "The language the Princess has picked up!"

"Atrocious!" The King narrowed his eyes once more, "I bet you learned this foul language while being held captive by this boy!"

Crono sweated profusely. Marle shouted angrily, "NO! I read it in a dictionary!"

"That's merely what he has trained you to say, isn't it? I know your type, young man!"

"Oh god damn it!" Marle tore at her hair. "HE DIDN'T CAPTURE ME!"

"MEN!" The short Chancellor leapt up and down, "Off your knees and DO something!"

The guards looked at each other, so confused. Crono quietly sobbed, pleading to god that he'd manage this unscathed. Marle instead screamed at the guards, "Move and I'll KILL you all in your sleep!"

"Proof!" The King pointed, "Men, seize him!"

The guards instantly leapt upon Crono and Alphonz. Alphonz immediately drew his claws and fought back, hissing, while Crono attempted to get away. Marle shrieked and tried to pull everyone away. She was grabbed by Morris and held, "LET ME GO! CRONO!"

"W-what about this cat?" A guard held a snarling, screaming Alphonz by the tail.

"He must be a WITCH! That's his ENCHANTED CAT!" The Chancellor screamed.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Crono was being held by several guards, "We left the witch burning era a hundred years ago!"

"…"

"Down, Chancellor." The King glanced over. "Bad boy."

"It's about time for a new one! Arrest them both!"

Crono, before he knew it, would up before a jury and judge. The jury murmured lowly at the sight until the Judge hit down his gavel, commanding silence. He nodded, "The court is now in session."

"I'm Gary," A foppishly dressed attorney in a lavender suit flipped back his silver, long hair, rings glittering on his fingers, "Representative of the Royal Family and the Castle."

"And I'm Bob Villa, the Defense's lawyer!" Bob was still dressed in cobbler apron but at least he looked tidy.

"The defendant has been charged with kidnapping AND witchcraft!" Gary smirked as the jury ooh-ed and aah-ed.

"Woah," Bob blinked, "Two at once? You've been busy."

"HEY!" Crono whined.

"You bet your apron!" Gary pointed gracefully at a door, "Please, bring forth my first piece of evidence."

From the doors came two armed guards, hauling a glass-and-metal cage filled with a muzzled, angry Alphonz. The cat clawed fruitlessly at every edge of the cage, being set down upon a table. The jury all gasped at the sight of the seemingly rabid cat.. Nobody from a distance however could see the bruises on the poor kitten's little frame…

"This is Mister Innocent's enchanted cat." Gary smiled.

They SO did not pass the purr test. Crono blinked at the sight.

"This feline was an accomplice in the kidnapping of Princess Nadia. As of now, this cat refuses to testify."

"Objection!" Bob jabbed out a finger, "Of course he can't testify, Gary, he's a cat. I can't even get cats to help with roofing, let alone talking!"

The jury murmured. Gary continued, "Ah, but, he is an intelligent being. We observed him aptly undoing a lock on his cage before transferring him into this containment."

"…Objection overruled. I have never seen a cat that angry."

"SHAA!" Gary smirked, "Take that!"

"Wince."

Alphonz finally gave up and flopped over, panting heavily. He calmed down so quickly that the fast-thinking Gary smirked, "See, now obviously, the accused has told the feline to calm down. Further proof of witchcraft."

"Objection!" Bob shrieked, "The defendant sprinkled no magic pixie dust in order to communicate, and trust me when I know magic pixie dust. Nothing insulates better than that."

"We are talking PSYCHIC POWERS, Bob."

The jury gasped! Mr. Villa blinked, "What do sidekicks have to do with anything?"

"Oh now that was just lame." Crono groaned.

"The cat assisted with lulling the princess into a trap. I have an eyewitness… please let in the first witness please."

In came a girl with great blonde, poofy hair wearing a green suit. Her star-shaped glasses glitter. The jury squealed at the sight of the well-known celebrity. She walked up to the stand and was sworn in, pulling off her glasses and clipping them to her shirt.

"Please introduce yourself."

"Like, I'm Miki Hoshii." The jury tried hard not to scream, "Hey, honey, I'm really famous now! Can you see me? I'm at a trial at Guardia Castle!"

Oh god! Crono dropped his jaw, It's an Idol Master! A BLONDE one! Oh gooood!

"Tell us what you saw.

"Like," She looked up a moment, "I saw the princess get lead off by this totally crazy guy, and, like… straight to a tent where there were cats. And, like, they came out with that VERY one!"

"Did you not try to win the same feline, considering it is a rare Royal Zealian Purple and matches your furniture?"

"Totally! It was going to be a gift for my honey!" She giggled then looked concerned, "But it was, like, feral, mondo majorly! He, like, totally had told that cat to go nuts until they came to pick it up!"

"He did?" Bob tilted his head.

"Yeah, totally!"

"Whoa. Far out. How do you know, miss Hoshii?"

"It's like, magic and sparkles! You know, like when I'm dancing! Oh, how does my hair look, is it still in place?"

"No further questions for the witness…" Gary waved a hand.

"Totally cool, man!" Miki giggled, "And I'll sleep with you anyday you like, honey!"

She headed out with a wink as Gary sweated. Bob grinned, "Heeey, nice going, Gary! You got a -live- one!"

"E-er, yeah."

I want a new lawyer. Crono silently wept.

"Well!" Bob shouted, "I call out MY witness! Ladies and gentleman of the jury, I introduce to you to this young man's mother. Please, ma'am, come on out."

Mom hurried in, looking at Crono, "Oh, Crono! I'll get you out of this mess!"

Aw FUCK! Not MOM!

Mom was sworn in and took to the stand. Bob nodded at her, "Yes. Now ma'am, what can you tell us about your son? What sort of person is he?"

"The best little boy a mother could have!"

The jury aww-ed.

"And do you think he could ever be capable of such an atrocity as kidnapping or-" Bob gasped, "-casting spells?"

"KIDNAPPING? My boy? Never!" Mom gasped, "And as far as magic, he's worthless when it comes to fighting!"

Everyone laughed. Crono winced, "Ow."

Bob continued, "But I bet he does a great job with the shingling, huh?"

"Of course!"

"Objection!" Gary shouted, "What relevancy does this even have?"

The judge munched on some cookies… "I'll let it pass."

"Drat…"

"Thank you, ma'am. You may leave."

"Don't mention it. See you at home, Crono dear! I'll have dinner ready!"

The woman headed out. Gary stewed in his seat nervously. How could he break this case? He thought hard as Bob confidently smiled, "That rests our case, your honor."

"AH HAH!" Gary smiled, flipping his hair back with a sparkle, "I have one more witness."

"Yeah, mmkay. We're not due for any more trials today, and it's worth the laugh."

"Well, I'll certainly not be coming here again for next week's episode of This Old Courtroom!" Bob scoffed.

I want a new lawyer. NOW.

"I call to the stand Miss Ashtear." The jury gasped. The plucky scientist was lead in and sworn in, taking to the stand. Gary smiled, "Please, introduce yourself."

"Heya." Lucca adjusted her glasses, "I'm Lucca Ashtear, and I think you have me testifying on the wrong side."

Crono was startled.

"My, no, don't worry." He smirked. "Alright. In your own words, tell the jury what TRULY happened."

"Okay, so I only saw him and Nadia after they came to the show. After deminstrating my Telepod with the cat," She pointed at Alphonz, "and having a great success the Princess asked if she too could try. Seeing no harm in it, and not really knowing who she was, I said yes and we set her up for a ride."

Gary nodded.

"Here's the funny thing: Her pendant triggered a rift in time to split open and spontaneously sent the girl to the distant past where we followed after some adjustments were made on our portal's coordinates." She adjusted her glasses once more, "And we had quite a ride through the dimensions of time. Yes, you may think it sounds impossible, but I have prepared a packet of all the information I have gathered and concluded."

She dropped a book in front of the Judge, who flipped through it.

"So when we disappeared we were actually riding the waves of time and spewed out in the past whereupon Nadia was mistaken for the then-current queen, Leene, and we went on a wild adventure to set time to rights... Afterwards, we came home." Lucca smiled, "And so, as I was busy with research, I asked my friend here to escort the Princess home. I assure you there was no kidnapping involved."

The jury was silent. Gary smirked from ear to ear. Crono nearly sobbed. Thanks, Lucca, that'll just about set me up for life…

"Anything else?" Lucca glanced at Gary.

"The cat… explain his… human like properties to the jury."

"Alphonz? Oh, indeed! He is a marvel of science to be sure!" She laughed, "He was once a stuffed animal belonging to a mage of the same name… But through his death his soul re-entered the body of his own puppet. The cat, as I've come to think, can split his own timeline into seperate 'threads' which he displaces into different timelines which WOULD explain his change of appearances in different times but heh, it's only a theory! He also responds to all sorts of English commands. If he could talk, I'd assume he'd be fluent."

Bob yelped, "Objection. Witness is obviously frickin' nuts."

"No…" The judge was surprised, "She's incredibly intelligent. You should read this, it's brilliant!"

"Ain't it the truth!" She laughed, but then paused. "I mean…"

"She's scientifically explained the whole journey."

"…Which PROVES it was a KIDNAPPING!" shouted Gary. The jury gasped sharply. Lucca looked confused as hell. "Obviously it was THREE people and this girl was a hidden accomplice!"

"Easy boy. Do it slow and gentle if you have to go for my head." Crono sighed.

"NOW, I rest my case."

"…can I leave?" Lucca blinked.

"No… stay there for a moment. We shall let the jury decide the fate of… this man and his feline."

Bob snapped his fingers. "I knew I should have read those Do-It-Yourself Law books closer."

The jury was dismissed for discussion. Crono and Lucca stood around in deafening silence, sweating buckets. After a long, silent pause, the jury came back out into the stands. The lead member stood and said aloud, "We hereby find this young man GUILTY of kidnapping and witchcraft. Also we deem the witness responsible but acted out of insanity and should be kept under house arrest."

"Aw hell…!" Crono held his head.

"Right. So, er, set up his execution date. Three days… And make sure this woman is brought under house-arrest with guards around the premises 24 hours a day for the next three years."

"HEY!" Lucca yelped, "But…!"

"Hey, I ain't soaking in brilliance," Crono shouted, "But don't you have to hold a -separate- trial PER person in order to sentence them?"

"I'M THE JUDGE." He shouted. "I MAKE THE RULES."

"Besides, we switched to the express lane last week…" Bob sighed.

Lucca shrugged… "Oh well. At least I can get the house cleaned up this way…"

"Yeah, and I get my head chopped off!"

"You'll see…" Lucca giggled. But she was suddenly dragged out by guards, "Hey! Careful! I'm delicate…!"

"Take them away." The judge hit his gavel down soundly.