Chapter 2
Truce Village: 1000 AD
Lucca prided herself on keeping her compose under pressure. She'd faced off against dinosaurs, robots, Mystics, and mutants and, aside from her odd first encounter with Frog, she rarely lost her cool. It's understandable, however, that she couldn't keep from letting out a small shriek when she opened her eyes.
Most people would if they awoke to find a very unfriendly-looking Hench looking over them.
The Hench raised the club he was holding menacingly. "Get up, you impudent human, before I let you experience the same beating your mother received!"
"No! Please don't hurt her!" Lucca's mother Lara cried out from across the room. Lucca looked over at her mother. Had this freak hurt her? Aside from being visibly distraught, she didn't look like she was in pain.
Then Lucca noticed how she was sitting. The way her legs and feet were twisted, it was clearly the result of displaced and badly healed broken bones.
The Hench looked down at Lara's crippled legs with a cruel smile on his face, obviously admiring his handiwork. "Lord Ozzie VIII will be arriving soon to collect his dues from you and unless you want to lose the use of other body parts, I suggest you be awake and presentable by the time he gets here."
The normally composed Lucca felt a burning rage growing in her. "Did you do that to her?"
The Hench turned his cruel smile towards Lucca and raised his club again. "Yes I did. Want to see what it feel's like?"
Suddenly Lucca's father Taban rushed into the room and placed himself between Lucca and the Hench. "No! Don't hurt her!" he pleaded.
"Shut up, fool!" The Hench smacked his club against the side of Taban's head, knocking him against the wall. "I'll not be told by you who I can and can't hurt."
That was enough to rob Lucca of what little self-control she had left. Closing her eyes she cast a Fire tech at the lumbering Mystic, engulfing him in flames. The burning Hench screamed and flailed around wildly, trying in vain to put himself out. After a few moments, however, he slumped to the floor and didn't get up. Taban stumbled to his feet and rushed to another room. He returned with a small fire extinguisher and put out the remaining flames consuming the now-lifeless Hench.
Taban turned to his daughter with a look of both pride and concern on his face. "You shouldn't have done that Lucca. There'll be consequences for this. I heard the Mayor of Choras and his family tried to resist the Mystics and they slaughtered half the village!"
Lucca looked at the floor. "I'm sorry, dad, but I just couldn't let him hurt you and mom." Suddenly, she remembered something. "Oh my gosh! Robo! Where is he? Is he all right?"
Taban started rubbing the large bruise on the side of his face. "That mechanical friend of yours? Don't worry. They didn't see him. I'll go reactivate him."
As Taban left to bring back Robo, Lucca's scientific mind went straight to work, trying to figure out how all this had happened. When she and her friends defeated Ozzie in 600 AD, history had been changed so that the Mystics were now friendly. So why had one of them attacked and intimidated her family? It was possible that not all the Mystics had become peaceful but that didn't explain what he'd said about Ozzie VIII, who she'd last seen scrubbing a counter in Medina Village, collecting dues. No, the only other possible explanation, that someone had altered time, fit the facts much better.
Just then, Taban walked in with Robo. Robo looked around the room, which had been wrecked by the fight with the Hench. "Lucca, what has happened here? Your parents have both been damaged. Has there been some sort of threat?"
Lucca moved closer to Robo and whispered so her parents couldn't hear. "Somebody's altered time. We have to find out who and stop them. First we'll have to make sure Crono and Marle are all right."
Robo's logic processors confirmed that that was the correct course of action but we was still troubled. "What about your parents? Will they be all right here?"
Lucca shook her head and turned to Taban and Lara. "No. We should all go now."
Lara looked down her crippled legs. "I can't walk anywhere like this."
Robo nodded his head. "Indeed. I do not understand. I thought you prevented that from happening. Her legs should be at sufficient capacity."
A look of frustration appeared on Taban's face as he looked at the dead Hench's charred remains. "That was his handiwork. He said she didn't look properly presentable for Lord Ozzie VIII."
"Why did you not seek medical attention?" asked Robo.
Lara looked at the floor. "Truce has been without a doctor ever since the Omnicrone overseer had him put to death. The doctor was performing surgery on a man when the Omnicrone had came in and demanded the doctor bandage a scratch he'd gotten. The doctor tried to explain that the man would die without immediate treatment and that overseer's injuries were minor, but he wouldn't hear it. He ordered his guards to beat the poor man to death on spot. When that Hench broke my legs, Taban did all he could, but with no one to treat them, they never healed properly."
Lucca wasn't sure if Robo could feel outraged but this was the closest she'd seen him. "This is unacceptable! We must put a stop to this! Lucca, where can we take them where they will be safe?"
Lucca thought for a moment. "Crono's house is probably the best place to go. We need to go there anyway. We can come back for the Epoch later."
Lara looked around at the room. "They'll burn our home to the ground when they find out what happened."
Lucca put a hand on her mother's shoulder. "I know, but have to go now. We have no other choice."
Robo carefully picked up Lara and the four exited the room.
Lucca had no idea where to begin repairing the damaged timeline, but she swore she would. She had a personal stake in this. She owed it to her parents.
Truce Village: 1000 AD
Lucca prided herself on keeping her compose under pressure. She'd faced off against dinosaurs, robots, Mystics, and mutants and, aside from her odd first encounter with Frog, she rarely lost her cool. It's understandable, however, that she couldn't keep from letting out a small shriek when she opened her eyes.
Most people would if they awoke to find a very unfriendly-looking Hench looking over them.
The Hench raised the club he was holding menacingly. "Get up, you impudent human, before I let you experience the same beating your mother received!"
"No! Please don't hurt her!" Lucca's mother Lara cried out from across the room. Lucca looked over at her mother. Had this freak hurt her? Aside from being visibly distraught, she didn't look like she was in pain.
Then Lucca noticed how she was sitting. The way her legs and feet were twisted, it was clearly the result of displaced and badly healed broken bones.
The Hench looked down at Lara's crippled legs with a cruel smile on his face, obviously admiring his handiwork. "Lord Ozzie VIII will be arriving soon to collect his dues from you and unless you want to lose the use of other body parts, I suggest you be awake and presentable by the time he gets here."
The normally composed Lucca felt a burning rage growing in her. "Did you do that to her?"
The Hench turned his cruel smile towards Lucca and raised his club again. "Yes I did. Want to see what it feel's like?"
Suddenly Lucca's father Taban rushed into the room and placed himself between Lucca and the Hench. "No! Don't hurt her!" he pleaded.
"Shut up, fool!" The Hench smacked his club against the side of Taban's head, knocking him against the wall. "I'll not be told by you who I can and can't hurt."
That was enough to rob Lucca of what little self-control she had left. Closing her eyes she cast a Fire tech at the lumbering Mystic, engulfing him in flames. The burning Hench screamed and flailed around wildly, trying in vain to put himself out. After a few moments, however, he slumped to the floor and didn't get up. Taban stumbled to his feet and rushed to another room. He returned with a small fire extinguisher and put out the remaining flames consuming the now-lifeless Hench.
Taban turned to his daughter with a look of both pride and concern on his face. "You shouldn't have done that Lucca. There'll be consequences for this. I heard the Mayor of Choras and his family tried to resist the Mystics and they slaughtered half the village!"
Lucca looked at the floor. "I'm sorry, dad, but I just couldn't let him hurt you and mom." Suddenly, she remembered something. "Oh my gosh! Robo! Where is he? Is he all right?"
Taban started rubbing the large bruise on the side of his face. "That mechanical friend of yours? Don't worry. They didn't see him. I'll go reactivate him."
As Taban left to bring back Robo, Lucca's scientific mind went straight to work, trying to figure out how all this had happened. When she and her friends defeated Ozzie in 600 AD, history had been changed so that the Mystics were now friendly. So why had one of them attacked and intimidated her family? It was possible that not all the Mystics had become peaceful but that didn't explain what he'd said about Ozzie VIII, who she'd last seen scrubbing a counter in Medina Village, collecting dues. No, the only other possible explanation, that someone had altered time, fit the facts much better.
Just then, Taban walked in with Robo. Robo looked around the room, which had been wrecked by the fight with the Hench. "Lucca, what has happened here? Your parents have both been damaged. Has there been some sort of threat?"
Lucca moved closer to Robo and whispered so her parents couldn't hear. "Somebody's altered time. We have to find out who and stop them. First we'll have to make sure Crono and Marle are all right."
Robo's logic processors confirmed that that was the correct course of action but we was still troubled. "What about your parents? Will they be all right here?"
Lucca shook her head and turned to Taban and Lara. "No. We should all go now."
Lara looked down her crippled legs. "I can't walk anywhere like this."
Robo nodded his head. "Indeed. I do not understand. I thought you prevented that from happening. Her legs should be at sufficient capacity."
A look of frustration appeared on Taban's face as he looked at the dead Hench's charred remains. "That was his handiwork. He said she didn't look properly presentable for Lord Ozzie VIII."
"Why did you not seek medical attention?" asked Robo.
Lara looked at the floor. "Truce has been without a doctor ever since the Omnicrone overseer had him put to death. The doctor was performing surgery on a man when the Omnicrone had came in and demanded the doctor bandage a scratch he'd gotten. The doctor tried to explain that the man would die without immediate treatment and that overseer's injuries were minor, but he wouldn't hear it. He ordered his guards to beat the poor man to death on spot. When that Hench broke my legs, Taban did all he could, but with no one to treat them, they never healed properly."
Lucca wasn't sure if Robo could feel outraged but this was the closest she'd seen him. "This is unacceptable! We must put a stop to this! Lucca, where can we take them where they will be safe?"
Lucca thought for a moment. "Crono's house is probably the best place to go. We need to go there anyway. We can come back for the Epoch later."
Lara looked around at the room. "They'll burn our home to the ground when they find out what happened."
Lucca put a hand on her mother's shoulder. "I know, but have to go now. We have no other choice."
Robo carefully picked up Lara and the four exited the room.
Lucca had no idea where to begin repairing the damaged timeline, but she swore she would. She had a personal stake in this. She owed it to her parents.