Chapter 10: Lucca

*Okay, first off, Thank you, Sailor Leo, for your constructive criticism. I'm going to clarify your questions in this chapter, so please, bear with me. And don't worry, I refuse to be crowned "The Undisputed King of LuMa Corniness" with such an atrocity as a resurrection by kiss. No offense to the makers of The Matrix, but that, I agree, is very stupid.

We arrived at the Dead Sea. It was a cold, barren sea, in which I despise very much, even to this day. I noticed a boat tied down near a small cave. The water was still, even around the boat. It sent a chill down my spine. We seemed to be waved down by someone. He seemed very familiar and her was holding a black sword. After a few moments, I realized it was Slash. We landed in the small area of land surrounding the cave.

"What are you doing here?" Cyrus demanded. Slash looked at him for a moment before chuckling a bit.

"Cyrus! I didn't know you had been brought back, but, I'm not here to cause any trouble." Slash seemed somewhat amused.

"Where's Magus, Slash?" I asked him, with as serious a tone as I have ever used. I wanted to find him.

"Keep your pants on. Jeez, you get excited quick. He's inside. He said he's got to kill himself to resurrect his sister..."

"That's what he's doing!" Cyrus said in alarm. I don't think he ever though Magus would give his life for someone else.

"Yeah, he said that he kept leaving you those notes because he thought you would try to stop him."

"Then why did he leave those clues!?" I was somewhat enraged, I didn't like the idea that I was being toyed with.

"Ho ho! I'm gettin to that. He said he left the notes because there could be a way of keeping him from dying. He said the process of death is slow, but it can be reverse if the spirit is strong enough and has the will. You're gonna need to ask the spirits about that one."

"Spirits?" I asked.

"Yeah. Masa, Mune, Mura and Same. The spirits of the swords. He said they'd be the ones who'd know how to do it."

"Okay, the we've got to hurry. You coming, or are you going to stay out here?"

"I'm obliged to come. Can't leave the spirits of my new sword in the hands you guys. It wouldn't be fair to the sword." Slash said as we headed into the cave.

The cave was a long, sinuous tunnel. In many placed, it was quite beautiful. The Stalactites and Stalagmites had an eerily beautiful glow. The shimmer of the rock shown in this cave extremely well. The trip through gave me time to think about things. I knew Magus would have already given his life, he wouldn't hesitate. Would we have time to revive him. I could see why he wouldn't want there the moment he did it. I probably WOULD have tried to stop him. Knowing my luck, I would have done something that would have cost him his life anyway and we wouldn't have saved Schala.

I noticed a light after a few minutes into the cave. I knew that was where he was. Don't ask me how. Women's intuition, I guess. I ran towards it. It was difficult for Slash and Cyrus to follow, given their larger size and the fact the Cyrus was wearing an incredibly heavy suit of armor. When I arrived I saw three figures. The first was conscious, and appeared to be taking care of the other two. Frog. The other two were easily identifiable. The first was Schala. She hadn't woken up quite yet. The other was Magus, whom if I didn't help, he would never wake up. As I took my first step towards them, four imp-like figures appeared around them. They wore the same color tunic, but each had different color collars. The two I recognized were Masa and Mune, with the blue and green collars, respectively. The others, in the yellow and red collars, I didn't quite know, but they only could have been Mura and Same.

"Lady Lucca!" Frog called to me.

"Frog!! Is he dead?" that was my main concern.

"No, he's just holding on. It hast been some time since he freed Miss Schala from her icy prison. Magus spoke of the spirits knowing away to revive him." Frog said as he looked to the spirit children.

"Indeed, we have." they said in unison. It was eerie the way they spoke. "We four can take three to the spirit world. There, many spirits will try to take your souls, which will be vulnerable while in the spirit world. His spirit has lost it's will to stay with the body. One may speak with him. One may be given the chance to persuade him to fight. Even if you do, his fight may be futile, and you may only watch from out here." as they finished speaking, I realized what they spoke of. Magus's soul had lost sight of what he needed to fight for, when he sacrificed most of it to free Schala.

"Who may go?" I asked them.

"The holder of the Masamune. The Bearer of the Murasame. They are needed to stay in the spirit world and to fight. The last must be someone who he cares deeply for, and cares for him as well. His soul is weak and will be difficult to convince to return if a effort cannot be made on both sides." the spirits spoke.

"Alright. Frog, Slash. Are you ready?" I asked them.

"Hold, one moment." Frog said as he approached Cyrus. "Cyrus, my friend. Thou must watch over Lady Schala. She will need someone to stay with her, but do not speaketh of her brother's identity. He wished it to remain secret. Til we meet again, Cyrus." Frog smiled. Cyrus smiled back.

"Til we meet again." Cyrus said.

We stood between the four twins who began a strange ritual. They danced around us. Slash and Frog held their weapons, ready for battle. I stood between them, not knowing what would be next.

In an instant, we were transported to a strange place. There was not floor, nor ceiling, nor walls. It was an infinite space. It glowed a dark green. There were many dark creatures around. Frog and Slash fought our way through many of them. More would appear behind us as we advanced. Eventually, we found Magus. His crumpled form was being attacked by one of the creatures. Frog and Slash quickly killed the beast and tore the body off Magus. Frog and Slash stood guard as I tried to talk to Magus.

"Magus.........Magus........MAGUS!!!" no answer. He groaned slightly. He moved a bit. I kept calling his name, hoping it would bring him around. His spirit flickered. In and out of view is went. After a few moments it got the strength to speak.

"..........W..Who......" it said.

"It's me, Lucca! Come on, Magus. Fight!"

".......Lu.......Lucca.......wh.....why.....are....y..you....h...he.....here?"

"I'm trying to save you!"

".......Let.....m....me......d....die....."

"No. I don't want that, and YOU don't want that! You want to live. You want to see your sister. You want to be happy!" I tried to convince him. The crumpled form looked at me.

".....H...Ha...Happy?........I......d...do....n..not.......de.....desverve...." I didn't know what to say. I couldn't think. Time was running out. He was fading fast.

"Magus! Don't leave me!! Think about me!!! Think of how I'll feel!!! Think of my pain!!! If you won't do it for yourself, then do it for me!" I shouted. I couldn't hold it back any longer. It was my last chance. He looked at me then. We stared at each other for the longest time. After a few moments, he broke the silence.

".....L....Leave....m....me......" he said. I couldn't think of anything else. I walked away from him. Slash and Frog's swords began to glow. Before we left, one of the beasts got through. As the tears came down my face, I saw creature lunge.

I had lost hope in the moment. In that single moment, I knew in my mind that I hadn't changed a thing. I left him defenseless in that harsh world. I left my love to die. I couldn't hold myself back, behind the tears. I cried out to him.

"Magus!!!!!!!" and as we left, just as the beast was about to land and make the killing blow, he dodged and struck. It left a look of shock upon my face, but I knew then that he had decided to fight.

*Well. There's that chapter. I know it's kinda Chrono Cross-ish, with Masa and Mune brining them there, but what are you gonna do. And I know you were worried, DON"T YOU TRY AND DENY IT!!!! Just remember, he's not out of the woods yet. He's fighting, but so far he's already got the Petooti kicked out of him, and we don't know if he'll last. Well, I suppose I can reveal Schala's pairing. Someone has already guessed it, but it's Cyrus. It's gonna take a while for Magus to wake up, maybe two or three chapters, and if I can get Magus and Lucca to fall in love in that amount of time, than Schala and Cyrus will be child's play. Thanks for the reviews, compliments and criticisms. Keep'em all coming. PEACE

Dark Creation