Lucca sat alone on the dock where Epoch, at that particular moment, wasn't. She was near where Magus normally stood, though he was similarly absent, having taken Marle and Ayla with him to the ruined Sun Palace. Remembering the things she'd heard of the Sun Stone's properties, she wished she could have gone with him in Marle's place, but for some unknowable reason he'd handpicked the two blondes. Since when is he in charge, anyway? Lucca thought as she gazed over the mists of what timelines had never come to pass. If it had been anyone besides Magus, she'd have chalked the decision up to fair hair and large bosoms, but when she tried to think of Magus in that way, it had the effect of breaking something in her mind. She turned away from the inky blackness, toward the lamppost where Gaspar quietly snored. Crono and Frog were conversing with each other, exchanging sword techniques, and Robo was switched off. Even though no time had actually passed, it seemed like it had been ages since Epoch had taken off for the post-apocalyptic future: the End of Time had a curious way of distorting one's perception, and that distortion almost always led to unbearable boredom.
"You're in my spot," drawled a voice behind her.
Damn. They were back.
"I don't see your name etched in any of these stones, Maggot," Lucca snapped by way of a reply. "If you want me to get up, make me."
"I shall choose to ignore your feeble attempt at an insult, Grease Monkey," Magus shot back. "And like it or not, you are occupying my spot. I advise you to leave, before I take up your challenge and forcibly remove you. Let me assure you, I have no intention of bothering to be gentle, either." He waved a hand absently at Marle and Ayla. "Just look at them, returning to their own favored locations like good little girls. And you, for no apparent reason whatsoever, decide to take mine instead."
"You personally chose those 'good little girls' for your mission to Sun Palace," Lucca replied. "Why in the world did you choose them of all people? Don't tell me you've got a thing for blondes... I'd never have guessed, after what you did yesterday morning."
"For your information," Magus sneered, "I picked them for their abilities, not their hair color. The Prehistoric Prostitute is a useful asset when it comes to ferreting out treasures. Princess Airhead is, I must admit, a far better healer than either she or your pet golem, and there is no way in hell I would take the Amphibian." His mouth twisted in distaste. "And I would request that you kindly not remind me of yesterday morning's fiasco."
"I don't exactly relish the memory myself," said Lucca, mentally debating whether it would be more satisfying to just push the whole thing under the rug or to never let Magus forget it. "And Robo is not a golem, he is a robot," she finished.
"That's even worse. Now, will you please leave my personal space, as while any distance is much too near, further is better."
"All right, I'll go somewhere else! But only because I'm sick of arguing with you!" Lucca left in a huff, and took her normal place near Gaspar. "I can't believe you didn't invite me," she shot at Marle.
"Oh yeah! Yeah, Lucca, you gotta see this! We put the Moon Stone in Ayla's time, and then went to the future, and it wasn't there, and we went back to our time, and it still wasn't there, and the mayor's house was glowing in Porre, and he said he didn't have it, and so we gave his ancestor some jerky and then he gave us the stone." Marle inhaled sharply, out of breath from her run-on sentence. "And then we put it back and we're about to go back to the future to get it and do you want to come?"
Lucca rubbed her temples. "First," she said, "please learn how to punctuate when you talk. Second, I most certainly do. Lead the way."
"Okay!" said Marle, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "Come on, Crono, let's show Lucca the Moon Stone!"
"Sun Stone."
"Yeah, Sun Stone!" Marle amended, and grabbed Lucca's wrist to drag her back to Epoch, with Crono following. Lucca shot Magus her most venomous glare, which he obliterated with his own (far more practiced) as Lucca settled into the pilot's seat. There go two idiots and a smartass, Magus thought as Epoch's engines fired up.
"Set course for 2300," Lucca murmured, then turned to Marle. "You'll have to give me directions, since you're the only one here who's been there. And you will not get us lost. That's an imperative, not an assurance."
"A what?"
Lucca sighed inwardly. "Never mind. Just tell me, did you actually fly anywhere after you took off?"
"Nope!"
"That's good, then, we'll come out -"
Epoch broke out of the space between times, hovering over a vaguely heart-shaped island with a high rock spire, tall enough to break the clouds, at its center.
"- right on top of it," Lucca finished. "This the place?"
"Yep! The cave's over..." Marle squinted, then pointed. "There," she said.
Lucca maneuvered Epoch down through the howling winds and landed near the mouth of the cave. She wrapped a weatherproof cloak around herself and retracted the canopy, and the three of them made for the cave.
----------------------------------------
Crono and Marle sat together on the sofa in Lucca's house. Lucca had been near-ecstatic upon discovery of the Sun Stone, and had rushed it back to her house to begin experiments on it immediately. She'd been working for hours, murmuring to herself, to determine a safe and reliable way of extracting the energy of the Stone and storing it in a more portable container. Finally, with a shout of jubilation, she held aloft a small cartridge, which she then placed in the ammunition slot of her gun. "And it's finished!" she said triumphantly, leaping up and twirling about the room. She dropped into a battle stance and pointed the gun at various places around the room, finishing with it aimed directly at Marle's chest. "One Wondershot, now in possession of its inventor, Lucca Ashtear! Sometimes I amaze myself."
"It's very nice," said Marle, "but could you point it the other way? You're creeping me out."
"Relax, it's not active," Lucca assured her, and clicked the trigger to demonstrate. Sure enough, nothing happened besides Marle jumping about a foot. "But I'll put it away if it makes you feel better." She struck one last pose, then clipped the gun to a strap so she could easily carry it across her back.
Taban, standing in the doorway, applauded. "That's my girl," he said proudly. "Now, Lucca, are your friends staying for dinner?"
"Dunno. What's to eat?" Crono asked.
"Oh, maybe I could make some of that cheese and broccoli casserole you liked so much last time you were here? Oh, come on, you should eat your vegetables," he said when Marle looked unsure of his proposed creation. "Lucca and Crono can vouch for it, can't they?"
"Seriously," Lucca told her, "it's really good. It's got ham in it too."
"What kind of cheese?" Marle asked, still dubious. "Because Crono eats just about anything, and Lucca's sort of...;"
"Mozzarella," said Lucca and Taban at the same time.
"I've never heard of mozzarella in a casserole! Isn't that kind of weird?"
Taban raised his eyebrows. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, young lady! I know how to cook my own invention!" He laughed. "Just you wait. I promise you that you will enjoy my cooking, and if you don't, I shall personally prepare Her Royal Highness a meal of her own taste." He swept a theatrically low bow.
Lucca snickered. Her father had no idea of the accuracy of his statement. "He's like this with me too," she whispered to Marle. "Except I only get it when he's improvising, not when it's something he's made before."
"Good," Marle replied.
