Okay, the following in a scene from my Chrono Trigger movie script, our heroes first enter the future, they wander about and encounter an acid monster (called the Acid Phantom in this movie) and are saved by a group of scavengers who live in the Trann Dome. you can read the first part in my other post, but this is merely me asking if the film could do with or without this sequence.
The 3 open the exit and see the hell that their world has become.
Lucca: My god….
Dust storms and bone crushing hail ravage the land. All that remains of the world is numerous destroyed cities and domes, just outside the Bangor dome is a skeleton grasping some wires on a broken console. The skeleton looks to have suffered severe head trauma. The Hale is dying down.
Marle: Poor guy, he was just trying to find shelter.
Lucca: Looks like something fell out the sky and crushed his skull, I would assume he died instantly.
Crono sees a trashed car, he goes over to check it out and sees the bones of one adult, and 2 kids. Each with bullet wounds. He waves to Marle and Lucca and they come over. Marle has tears coming out of her eyes and Lucca opens the car door.
Lucca: Seems like this was his wife, and kids. I guess she just lost hope and didn’t want the kids to suffer. I need to get to a laboratory of some sort; hopefully there is a gate around here somewhere because this place is really depressing. Maybe there’s another standing dome somewhere amongst this ruined world…I also want to know what the hell happened here. Lets go.
Crono,Lucca and Marle begin to walk south, we see a lot of disturbing imagery wrecked cars, bodies being picked clean by rats, the bodies of creatures that may have once been human but are no longer that. Broken swords, guns and axes are strewn across the wretched fruitless soils. What used to be the roads and sidewalk are now gravel and dust. We see a few bloody sleeping bags, smashed robot parts and a few tattered ponchos and coats.
Lucca: *shivering* Crono, grab those before we freeze to death.
Crono lifts the clothes up, and out from under it appears a strange creature that is liquidy and has a terrifying face. It spits acid at Crono, he blocks it with his sword, but the sword melts. Lucca goes to hit it with her Hammer, but the being grabs it and whacks Lucca in the head with it. Marle fires her Crossbow at it, but the bolts go right through, the thing jumps at Marle and expands, but a man comes to the rescue and whacks it with some sort of baton, the baton is seemingly electrified and zaps the creature, causing it to explode.
Man: Come on let’s get out of here!
Crono grabs Marle and the Man picks up the unconscious Lucca, they run through the now thickening dust.
Marle: How do you know where you’re going in all this dust?
Man: Well, this is either the way to the Trann Dome, or we are going to end up in the ocean, the sun is going down we have to hurry.
The man is met by 4 of his friends, they are all wielding various weapons, mostly makeshift, we then see the Trann Dome entrance. More men wait near the entrance, an older man with a rusty revolver opens the doors to the dome.
Old Man: Hurry up! The storm is gonna get bad!
Two of the Dwellers get blind sighted by a strange mutant, it is 8 feet tall and looks wretched. It lets out a terrible screech and grabs one of the men by the throat, the 2nd man starts hacking away at the mutant with a fire axe, but it does nothing. The Mutant begins to salivate and is about to take a bite out of the poor soul, Crono sees this and rushes to the aid of the men, Crono then jumps up and jams his damaged sword into the arm of the beast, causing it to release the dweller. The dweller runs away, so does Crono but not without signaling the second dweller to run.
Dweller 2: No! This ones mine!
The dweller goes to swing at the mutant, but something grabs its weapon, a second mutant arrives at the scene. The Dweller lets go of the axe and runs away, but it is met by a third mutant that catches him, and many more are seen in the distance, the Dweller lets out a terrified scream as the other two mutants close in, grabbing him by each limb. The last image we get is the mutants fighting over the man like children over a stuffed animal, the door to the dome closes and we hear a loud scream of agony.
Old Man: Quick, arm the sentries!
The man who saved Crono, Lucca and Marle hits a switch and we hear machine gun fire coming from the outside.
Man: I just hope we jury rigged those things well enough to last the night.
Lucca comes to, Marle helps her up. Crono is seen looking through the piles of scrap metal to find a replacement for his sword.
Old Man: Hey, you aren’t a member of the Trann Dome, you are not free to take weapons from us.
Man: Hey, back off Dad! This kid sacrificed his blade to save Max, let him take one piece of scrap to defend himself.
Old Man: John we can’t be giving away our resources like this. The kid is a hero and a remarkable Swordsman, but I am sorry, we cannot spare any of our scrap.
John: Hmph, stubborn old man.
Old Man: Hey, you don’t like it why don’t you just go to the Arris Dome and sit with Doan.
John runs out.
Old Man: I’m sorry; my name is Kyle by the way and thank you for helping us. I wish I could spare some scrap for ya, but we are almost down to stripping pieces from the structure here.
Lucca: Maybe we can trade?
Kyle: Trade? What do you have that we don’t we have some old guns, swords and other weapons. We are more than fit to defend ourselves. Water is rationed and thanks to the Enertrons we don’t need food, not that there is anything other than human meat, we won’t stoop down to the level of the Bangor Dome inhabitants. The only reason we left this place today was because our radar picked your movement up.
Lucca searchs for her hammer, which Crono picked up for her on the way over. She then loads a fire cartridge into her gun.
Lucca: What if I told you I could forge this scrap metal into better weapons?
Kyle: Ha! The art of blacksmithing is long lost little girl.
Lucca walks over and grabs a large piece of scrap, she begins to forge a blade out of it using the fire and her hammer, we cut to her dropping the crude sword in front of Kyle.
Lucca: Now, if you let my friend here have one piece of scrap metal for a sword, I will make all sorts of weapons for your people. If not, we will be on our way.
Kyle picks up the sword and runs his fingers down the blade, he is impressed by the craftsmanship and nods his head, before walking away. Lucca gets to work.
Meanwhile Marle and Crono are sitting on some pipes, chatting.
Marle: You know, being here actually made me appreciate home. Its just so sad, how did this happen? Was it pollution? Was it War? If it was war I will do everything in my power to prevent Daddy from waging war with Poore.
Crono agrees, he then looks to his left for a second at a rat, the rat scuttles away. Marle is suddenly closer to him than before.
Marle: You know, throughout this entire ordeal I knew I was going to be okay because you were by my side. I am sure my father would love you as a son when we get things sorted out. There is nothing Daddy respects more than a man who can wield a blade, in his heyday he was top of his class in swordplay. Man am I tired, maybe we should get some sleep? We still have those rags we found in the wasteland.
Marle makes a bed out of the rags they found and she lays down in it, Crono lays down next to her and they fall asleep. Meanwhile Lucca is working on an arsenal for the patrons of the Trann Dome. John approaches her.
John: Hmm, fine craftsmanship especially given the materials. However, you are at a loss.
Lucca: How so?
John: Half the things out there aren’t exactly affected by swords, or guns. We merely use these weapons to fend them off. Those mutants out there are nearly impossible to kill, last time we managed to kill one it injured 3 of our men, paralyzed one and killed 5 more. A word of advice, they are scared of fire, in fact they are mortified by it. I guess all the chemicals in their bodies are flammable, because once a guy threw his cigarette at one and it burst into flames. The thing ran into the ocean to put itself out, where the powerful tide took it away, oh and it was still burning. So whatever you plan to do, fire is your friend.
Lucca checks her belt, there is 10 Flame Cartridges left.
Lucca: There is no shortage of friends here.
John looks at Lucca’s belt.
John: I have the feeling you aren’t from around here Lucca. I mean, your weapons are well forged, you have a gun that isn’t rusted. You know things, things nobody else knows. So tell me, your from the future aren’t you?
Lucca smiles.
Lucca: No, I am from the past. The Year 1000 AD, I figure its fine to tell you because well, there is no cause and effect here.
John: Hmph, you are lucky to live in a time before the Big Fire happened.
Lucca: Big Fire?
John: That wonderland you saw outside? Its because of the Big Fire in 1999. I don’t know what caused it, as I only have read pieces of journals that were sealed in scrapped cars. All I know is a big hole ripped in the middle of the world, and we were plagued by firestorms and massive earthquakes. I also read somewhere that these quakes caused the Chemical Weapons plant in to crumble, washing 1000s of harmful chemicals into the water, which combined with the radiation from the nuclear weapons that accidentally deployed. Volcanoes erupted, the toxic water flooded cities, the atmosphere was clouded up with toxins and smoke, blocking the sun. Find a way to stop the Big Fire or don’t even bother trying to help us. Because, these swords are WORTHLESS TO US!
John throws a sword across the room.
Lucca: Look, I don’t know how to stop this Big Fire, if it was a natural disaster then there may be nothing I can do to prevent it.
John: Hmph.
Lucca: If I can learn more about the Big Fire, maybe just maybe I can look into stopping it.
John: I have always hoped to make it to the Arris Dome, that’s where the surveillance database is, a wanderer came in here once. Pale white, nonsensical and such, I assumed that he had narrowly escaped death. No, he watched the stuff on the database. I don’t know what he saw, but he threw himself into the ocean a few days later. I could never find enough volunteers to come with me; nobody wants to go through Lab 16. Awhile ago a man named Doan took half of the Trann Domes inhabitants and led them through it, my mother and sister included. We received a radio transmission a few weeks later stating that they made it, but the loss was tremendous. Doan was hoping to go to the Proto Dome, where much of the pre-fire technology is rumored to remain untouched, and recently we have been detecting large energy signatures from it.
Lucca: Hmm, I see. Well I guess I know my next stop.
John: Your serious? I mean getting to the Arris Dome is one thing, but a gang of psychotic robots guard the remains of Lab 32, a guy named Johnny B. will rob you of all your goods and send you either under the bridge or back where you came, unarmed.
Lucca: Technology is on my side, I just need to avoid the things that knocked me out before.
John pulls out his Shock Baton
John: Electricity, their molecular structure can’t handle it, well that’s what Dad says. If I touch them with this thing they burst, they also lose the ability to corrode you on contact.
Lucca: Well, I guess if I can find source of power in the wreckage outside I can rig some sort of shock device.
John hands the stun baton to Lucca
John: Take it, but promise me you will do anything in your power to stop the Big Fire.
Lucca: I will John. I will.
John: Goodnight Lucca.
John leaves the room and Lucca continues with her work, she looks at a sword she made, then at the shock baton.
It is morning, the darkness is slightly brightened to grey, the dust seems to have settled for now and the monsters have retreated back into the wrecked cities. We see the rats claiming the bodies of those who did not survive the storm.
Kyle: Well, I hear you kids are planning to go to the Arris dome, well if you make it send us a transmission. I don’t understand why you don’t just stay here, you may be able to fight the mutants, but the Acid Phantoms will be your downfall.
Lucca pulls out a sword and hands it to Crono. Crono tests the weight, runs his finger across the blade and gives a thumbs up.
Lucca: Push the button on the hilt and touch the tip of the blade to the metal floor.
Crono does just that, and we hear the sound of small electric bolt, a few of the barefoot patrons jump as they got a small electric shock from the bolt.
Lucca: Those Acid Phantoms aren’t going to be a problem anymore, I managed to modify John’s shock baton so that it can charge its electric power, the longer Crono holds the button down the more powerful the electric shock. Also, I found a few batteries in some of the electronics around here I used some to increase the efficiency of Crono’s sword and I was able to make a few things work around here. It turns out that this place was merely running on emergency power supply, that power supply was about to die out, when that power died all the doors would have opened up and stayed open, letting whatever in. I recharged the emergency power supply, but we must get to the Arris Dome soon in case their power supply is nearing its end too.
Kyle: We thank you for everything you have done, just remember to cross Lab 16 with caution, and stay out of there at night.
Marle: Don’t thank us, we should be thanking you. If your son didn’t save us we would have certainly perished in that storm.
John enters the room.
John: Well, I guess we could do some trading with you before you go, even though you pretty much saved all of our lives.
Kyle: Yes, John has lots of medicine that he has scrounged from the wastelands, of course we have no food to give you, but if you feel weak the Enertron will recharge you, but you will feel no relief of hunger pains. I am sure you have grown as numb to it as we have.
Lucca pulls out a handful of gold coins.
Lucca: We could use some tonic, in case one of us is terribly injured.
John pulls out 4 bottles of tonic, he takes the gold coins.
John: What the hell are these? Oh, there gold so I guess they have value to us, we could throw them into the Sentry Guns or use them to fix the wiring. Here you go.
Lucca hugs John, as does Marle, Crono shakes his hand and the 3 bid farewell to the inhabitants of the Trann Dome, we cut the to door slamming shut and we see the wasteland. Wind is minimal, the dust has settled and the hail has ceased. The only thing happening with the weather is the slight snowfall.
Marle: Well this is nice…
Lucca and Crono shoot Marle a dirty look.
Marle: What? I mean, compared to last night it is. All the hail has stopped, the dust isn’t clogging up my windpipe, and there isn’t a mutant grabbing at my hair. Just snow, like our winter festival.
Lucca: Well, in comparison to last night I guess your right…lets get to the Arris Dome, I don’t know how much time we have left until nightfall. It could be 30 minutes or it could be 5 hours. Either way lets Atleast try to make it to the Bangor Dome.
The 3 travel the wastes, the air is more clear and we can see much more of the world. Bones everywhere, people who have been handcuffed to light posts that only recently perished.
Lucca: What sick being would have done this?
Marle: I don’t know, but this poor man.
The gang continues to traverse the wastes. More post apocalyptic imagery. Then they reach Lab 16.
Lucca: Lab 16…
Marle: How are we going to do this?
Lucca: Carefully, quietly and quickly. I think the sun is starting to go down, of course its hard to tell with all this dust.
