Things Unseen, Chapter 3:

Fate Gets Twisted

By Darknightdestiny

Lucca's wrist moved again to the lever, as her other hand was busy flipping switches and setting coordinates. She turned the dial all the way to the right until she heard a definite clicking sound, then a second telling her that she'd reached the end of the timeline. She moved forward to press the button…

And she stopped.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a form down below, making its way to shore. When it reached the shore it stopped, and began making signs in the sky, as if it were preparing to cast a spell. Lucca strained her eyes to see if her suspicions were correct. They were.

Magus…

Lucca voided all of her careful calculations and landed the ship, the grinding sounds of the engine coming to a rest and leaving the rest of her party in confusion.

"Miss Lucca, why are we stopping?" asked the robot.

Lucca didn't say one word. Instead, she released the hatch on the ship and pulled back the glass, it's smooth material making a swift shuffle against the padding that insulated the pressured chamber. When that was done, she stood there in place for a bit, then hopped down and walked off.

"…Why do you suppose she did that?" Marle finally spoke up.

Ayla jumped up in her seat and leaned over the edge of the craft, looking into the distance, where Lucca was headed.

"That man. Ayla don't know."

Frog came to stand by her. "What dost thou…mean…" he trailed off as he squinted his eyes in the direction that Lucca was taking. "Lady Lucca!" he shouted, "Hast thou lost thy senses?!"

"Frog talk funny," Ayla laughed.

"I fear for thy safety…" he said softly to Lucca, as if she could hear his now silent pleas from where she was.

"What wrong, green man?" asked the cavewoman.

"Magus…"

"Oh. That blue-haired one? One from boat?"

"Indeed."

"What he want?"

"I haven't the knowledge…but I intend to-"

"Wait!" shouted Marle, just as Frog was lifting his leg over the edge of the ship, about to run after the scientist. He cast a look at her that said, 'Why not? Are you sure you're feeling okay? This is Magus we're talking about here!' Marle caught his drift and continued, "We should let her handle this on her own."

"Blue man hurt Lucca?" asked Ayla.

"I don't think so…" said Marle.

Frog was in shock, hearing this come from the princess. "Thou wouldst let her run to her death?"

"I think…" said Marle, "that if she wanted us to come with her, she would have asked us to go."

Robo piped up, "Mistress Marle is correct. It would not be wise to start another battle at this moment."

"Besides," said Marle, "we already fought him and won. I don't think he would have the energy to fight us right now."

Frog relaxed a bit, but his guard was still up.

"If there's trouble," Marle continued, "We'll go after her."

Ayla turned to Frog. "Frog fight man with long hair? What he do?"

"Hey!" called Lucca. "What do you think you're doing?! You had better not be communing with that thing, because I'll have you know, if I have to take you down all by myself, I will-"

"Silence!" shouted the figure before her, his back still turned.

Lucca swallowed the lump in her throat, which had formed from her rushed shouting and a bit of fear. Never did she think she would have the courage to say something like that to Magus. All was quiet, and he had returned to tracing his patterns in the sky. She just waited and watched, for about five more minutes.

"…What are you doing?"

Magus sighed in obvious annoyance. "You're still here."

"Yes."

"Leave."

"What? No!" she shouted. "What are you doing out here?"

"Look. An ice bridge is extremely hard to construct, nevermind the difficulty that comes when a child is hounding you."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

"I'll only say it once more."

"How about I pistol-whip you?" Apparently she had a bit more courage than she thought.

He smiled in amusement, despite the task set before him. "…You are welcome to try."

Lucca hesitated. "…Nevermind that. What do you need the bridge for?" She looked ahead of him at the floating palace, and her eyes grew wide. "You're not seriously thinking of going up there, are you?!"

"I have unfinished business."

"You're going to die if you go up there. You've got to know that, right? You can't do it! She'll crush you!"

He turned and eyed her skeptically, one eyebrow raised. "And this bothers you because?"

Lucca paused, unsure of what to say. Why should she care? He had hurt them all in one way or another, so why shouldn't she just let him meet his fate? If Zeal didn't do it, she was sure it would one day be up to them, so why not?

She still felt sorry for him.

One side of his mouth twisted upwards into an evil smile. "Do you pity me?" Her eyes met his and she was afraid to answer. "I think you do. I can see it in your eyes…"

She averted her gaze to the ground, where his foot stood, still wary of any sudden movements on his part.

"…Don't go up there…"

"Why not?"

"You'll die…"

"And? I thought you were supposed to be my enemy. I must say, I'm disappointed in you." He laughed. "You betray your friends to help me?"

"You know there's nothing left for you here."

"Wrong!" he became more angry than agitated. "I am going to finish this, and I don't want your pity!"

"You'll never make it alone…"

"As I recall, I was doing just fine until your group of misfits showed up."

"You don't even have a cover anymore…"

"And why would I need that?" He turned back towards the sea. "I'm out for blood this time, and not just… his. So I'd suggest you stay out of my way."

Lucca mustered what little bravery she had left. "You won't hurt me."

"Oh?" he asked casually, trying to continue his spell, still facing the sea. "And why is that?"

"Because if you do, the others will run over here and take you out faster than you can say, 'Lucca was right, I'm going to die.'"

"So that's your name," he mused, still unfazed.

"…Yes."

"Well then, Lucca. Go away."

"If you're going to be such a stubborn ass," she fumed, "then I'm going with you!"

He whirled on her. "You think that you stand a chance when you're so sure that I don't?"

"You think you're so much better than us…"

"Hmmm, I wonder?"

"You know what? You're not! Frog took you out all by himself…"

This stung his pride, but he didn't let it show. "And you think you can do the same?" He advanced on her, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Lucca continued, her voice a bit shaky. She couldn't back down now. And it was so far back to the ship. "We'll all come, then."

'Think, Lucca,' she urged herself on, 'he's just the kid, right? Nothing scary about that…' She made herself look into his eyes again, and she wasn't so sure.

He stopped and looked her up and down. "You know you are not ready."

"In that case, you sure aren't." Almost regretting she'd let that slip from her mouth, Lucca was surprised she'd been able to talk with him this long without him ripping her head off. She didn't know for sure what had driven her out there, but she was starting to think that it was probably not the best idea. Silently, she wondered whether or not she would make it back to the ship. Nevermind that the others would kill Magus off- she still had to see her old friend again.

"I could take you out with one hand tied behind my back." His eyes wandered up to the floating palace. Lucca came to stand next to him, for what reason she didn't know.

"Why don't you try and see what happens?" Must have been the adrenaline in her system.

He glared down at her, ready to ruin her right then and there.

"Not so tough without your flunkies, huh?"

'I'm going to die…'

"If you were wise, you would start running now."

"Why don't you just show me? I'm sure the Great Magus could teach me a thing or two before I go to beat Lavos up."

He glared at her even more, his eyes tiny slits of white in the reflection of sun on snow.

'I was right, I'm going to die.'

"If I ever had a student like you, I don't know what I'd do with myself."

"Kill yourself, maybe?" she squinted her eyes at him and smiled a sarcastic smile. Being around Magus sure had strange effects on her personality.

"Don't hold your breath. I have things I must do."

"Fine," she finally said. "You go in there, and you die. But we'll go destroy Lavos. It seems a waste, though…" she trailed off and walked back towards the ship, overjoyed that she could finally tear herself away from her strange compulsions and get herself out of there.

"See? That wasn't so bad," said Marle. "Look, nothing happened. She's fine!"

Frog watched Lucca's form returning to them. "'Aye, thou hath been correct."

"What happen?" asked Ayla.

"Lucca's coming back. We're going to find Crono."

"Ayla no think so," said the cavewoman.

"What?" asked Marle, and turned back to face Lucca's distant figure.

"Behind thee!" shouted Frog.

"What's he babbling about now?" Lucca wondered aloud, watching Frog wave his arms frantically in the air from the Epoch. He hopped down and started running towards her, his arms still waving.

"Behind thee, behind thee!"

Lucca turned around to see Magus following her. She stopped dead in her tracks. "What do you want?"

"I am coming with you."

"You think so?"

He smiled another one of his twisted smiles. "You seemed so eager to help me before."

"Indeed," she imitated him. Somewhere in the distance, a cursed knight was tackled by a scantily clad woman, and was now struggling to get to his feet as she half-buried him in the snow. No one seemed to notice.

"I know of a way that can bring him back…"

"Don't toy with me, oh great and evil one."

"I have no need to toy with anyone. But in return, you are bound to go with me to the Palace, where I will confront the queen."

"Wait just one minute. Who are you to tell us what to do?"

"Not them," he gestured with his head towards the ship and the two figures wrestling on the ground, "just you."

Lucca thought about this for a moment. It had been her idea in the first place, hadn't it? She couldn't make the others go along with it.

Magus went on to say, "Lavos is on the other side of that gate."

"Gate?"

"The palace…is a gate. It leads to Lavos."

Lucca had a feeling she would be able to get some help from the rest of her party on this matter. Then again, having Magus around all the time might very well ruin the mood…

Mood? Ha! What mood? Misery? That already abounded. But still…she was trying to give them all a bit of hope. She hadn't really expected their hope to come in the form of a demon. And one who was getting the most out of this deal. Did he really think they were just going to leave the palace hanging there in the sky? Surely he knew they would take it down themselves later on. He was now along for the ride, trying to find some allies in his quest for revenge. Lucca definitely wasn't buying this. But…how could she put a measure of value to her friendship with Crono? If there was any chance of getting him back, even a small one…

She didn't really have time to answer, because Magus walked past her and over towards the ship, effectively dodging the knight and the cavewoman, who were still struggling for control on the snowy terrain.

"Unhand me, you heathen!" demanded the frog.

"Frog strong! But Ayla stronger! Much, much stronger!"

"'Tis not the time for horseplay…Ah! What business dost thou have?!"

Magus ignored him and walked over to the open hatch, levitating off of the ground and landing inside. Lucca heard a faint and familiar 'Eep!' coming from the open hatch. She ran over to the Epoch and climbed up the railing, landing inside as well, wanting to know the cause of Marle's distress. Magus stood in the back corner of the ship, next to the resting shell of the humanoid, alone and minding himself. Lucca chanced a glance at Marle, who was staring at the wizard's still form with wide eyes.

Marle motioned for Lucca to go over and meet her. "Lucca," she whispered, "what's he doing in here?"

"Treachery!" shouted Frog, as he climbed up into the ship. "He will smite us all as we slumber!"

Magus, no matter how much help he would need in defeating Lavos, began to have serious doubts about whether or not it was worth it to go with them.

Ayla was next to hop up into the craft. "What happen?"

"Fiend!" cried the knight. "I ask again, what business dost thou have-"

"Shut your mouth, tadpole."

Lucca looked over at Magus, who had just given out the insult. 'Oh no,' she thought, 'this is not happening. This is not going to happen!'

Frog stared at Magus, daring him to continue. But the wizard sunk to the floor and stretched his legs out in front of him, ready to start moving towards their next destination.

"Magus! If thou bringeth harm to-"

"Shut. Your. Mouth." Magus clipped the words. "I won't say it again."

Frog looked in astonishment towards Lucca, who stood before the pilot's seat and shrugged her shoulders back at him, as if to say, 'What can I do about it?' He shot a glare at Magus, who had already shut his eyes and come to an unsettling, suspicious calm. He then strode over to Lucca and whispered, "Why is mine enemy here?"

"He's going to help us find Crono."

"Lies!" he hissed.

"Look. He's going to help us, and we're going to fight Lavos with him. This is the way it's working. I don't know what I think of it yet, and to tell you the truth, I'm to exhausted to even want to think right now."

"Lucca…"

"Things are going to be okay," she said, loud enough so that Marle, who was sitting by her side, could hear her. "This is going to work. It really will."

(A/N): Ahem…worried a bit about how the characterizations are coming along. Please let me know what you think about them…

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