And yes, I know, I know... "DS, don't you have two other stories which you haven't ever updated?" I have to admit, they weren't very well planned out... and probably will not be updated... This however; I already have 2 more rough draft chapters written down in my chapter notebook and... when my Spring Break FINALLY arrives on Friday, more chapters shall arrive.
And so... here. Enjoy.
- Over the River and Through the Woods... -
Oh this was fine and dandy. Left behind AGAIN at that woooonderful place called the End of Time... more like the End of Fun. She had spent so much time there, that she had reinvented all her inventions and had made polka-dotted versions of them in various sizes. Books had ceased to be mildy interesting; one could only read the same books so many times.
She let out a loud groan of frustration. It was swallowed by the endless swirls of time that danced about the platform.
The old man continued to snore. Loudly.
Lucca fell back against the fence, letting her helmet topple off her head and her short lavendar hair to spill from it. She had been sitting there for who knows how long, thinking back over the mission she was (supposedly) a part of. When was the last time that she had been called upon? Oh yah. When Crono, Marle, and Frog, the usual party, suddenly burst in, dropped Frog off, grabbed her, and leaped into the pillar to the ravaged future.
She had been too happy to be rescued from endless boredom and had been eager to help until she discovered why she'd been brought in the first place.
They needed her technical genius. Not her battle skills, not her magic. She seethed silently.
When they arrived at Proto Dome, she was forced to engage in an odd conversation with Balthasar's memories, which took the form of an aggravatingly stubborn, programmed Nu. Lucca had been unspeakably relieved when the whole ordeal was over, and was pleasantly suprised when they uncovered the Wings of Time.
It was a beautifully crafted machine with a sleek covering that glimmered in the dimmed light. Yet, before she could even tinker or marvel at its complex inner machinery, much less pull a lever, Crono had leapt ahead, and practically pushed her out onto the End of Time's platform... and they sped off with Frog.
It had been like that ever since Frog had joined the party. Ayla had been left behind as well, but she was hardly concerned. She spent the majority of her time curled up by the lamp post or fighting Spekkio (in vain for she had no elemental magic). Fighting Spekkio was always an option, but one could only take so much of his lame jokes. He tended to repeat them several times in a single battle, conveniently forgetting each time that he did.
Lucca smoothed out her orange tunic and sighed. She had been an instigator of the mission, a co-founder of the team, and yet here she was, sitting about like a third wheel, (or rather sixth.) Her rather formidable abilities in battle were going to decay at this rate, and she was bound to be dwarfed in growth the next time she was called on. If ever.
Heh. How the mighty have fallen. She reached up towards the fountain beside her and felt a refreshing energy engulf her. If she wasn't gonna be given the opportunity to expand her strength, she was just going to have to do it herself. She threw her turquoise bag over her shoulder and checked her pockets for the Gate Key. Resisting the urge to look back for Robo, who was currently replanting the forest with Fiona in 600 AD, she proceeded to the Room of Pillars. Without a single glance behind, she leapt into the portal for 65,000,000 BC.
As per usual, she had forgotten about the twelve foot drop out of the portal and winced as the ground collided painfully with her butt. As soon as she had finished pitifully bemoaning her abused appendage, she found herself face-to-faces with a disgruntled pack of Runners. They tossed their heads back and reared when she leaped to her feet and took aim.
Pathetic. The battle had been painfully easy, and the dancing Kilwalas hadn't put up much of a fight either. None of the monsters in that particular area seemed very strong. Heck, even her Air Gun, which she kept around for emergencies, was taking em out. Lucca was not going to disillusion herself however. She knew that her current strongest weapon, the Dream Gun, was way behind the others in weapon strength. Which meant she needed to invest in her magic abilities. With a sigh, she tucked the Air Gun into her bag, and began heading south.
Very few monsters had dared attack her as she made her way towards the Forest Maze. She had dispatched them easily with her simplest fire spell, and she was pleasantly shocked when she noticed it had morphed into something more potent. The first time she had ever cast the spell, it had emerged as a wildly small, disjointed ball of flame. And now, it was bursting forth in a line of flames that danced around her before becoming a powerful blaze upon the target. Lucca smiled. Her chanting had definitely improved, and she recalled the strange sensation that accompanied the summoning.
As the trees of the Forest Maze came into view, she strode off the beaten pathways and plunged into the foliage. Minutes later, she began to regret her split second decision. The vegatation was thick, and she was forced to shield her face as she plowed awkwardly in some odd direction. Branches snapped back in her path, and she snagged dozens of times on prickly plants.
"Ooooooww!" A thorny vine ripped into her left arm, and she flung backwards to free it. Quite suddenly, the ground beneath her crumbled, and she was swallowed by a cavernous darkness.
Ssssh.. Hssssh... Her green eyes snapped open. Like heavy boulders, memories of the previous events crashed onto her head, weighing her down with intense nausea. Uggghhhh... I feel like I've been stepped on by Black Tyrano all over again.. Blood ebbed slowly into her limbs, and she drowsily assumed that she was flat on her back. She blinked rapidly but the pitch black would not dissolve. Her bag was not at her side. Panicked, she scrambled to her feet and tripped over something large and bony... which let out a loud, inhuman grunt. An ice cold feeling trailed up her spine and the hair on her arms stiffened and tingled. "GYAAAAH!" she screamed and swung out blindly with her mallet. When it didn't collide with anything, she pivoted on her right foot, swung, and felt it impact. And crack. Shoot. She felt the mallet splinter in half.
Lucca stood stock still. The air was empty and silent... strangely silent...
"KYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The piercing, unmistakable cry of a Winged Ape resounded in her ears. Not good. Very bad... very, very bad. She was definately not ready for this. They had barely been able to defeat one in a party of three in the sunlight. She was as good as dead.
Lucca scrambled for a spell, any spell, but the words were lost to her, and fear clouded her mind. Finally, she began mumbling the spell for Fire, but a warm breath at her neck stopped her. It grabbed her and tossed her up, then down, and she crunched painfully against the walls. She felt its claws break through her sleeves and crimson liquid dribbled out her wounds. Her life was draining fast. She need out of there. Now. She clenched her eyes shut and gritted her teeth. Innate magic exploded through her throat, and intoned ancient words of power. Words that spilled through her, and moved of their own will.
"Advoco flamma a terra et caelum. Emergo, exuro, aboleo. Viscus decoquo." Bright dots of orange and red flew about her prone form, illuminating the large chamber that reeked of death and decay. Bones were scattered about the floor, but Lucca barely noticed. She smacked her hands together and bellowed, "FLAARE!"
Orbs of flame condensed and disappeared with an enormous pop. The Winged Ape suddenly shrieked as its hide began to glow and incinerate. Within moments, its ashes fell upon the floor softly and it was pitch black once more. Lucca felt out once more for a presence, and finding none, she let herself relax into the ground. Her eyelids shut, heavy with fatigue, and the drain on her magic reserves smothered her. Exhausted and dazed, she fell into a deep slumber.
The sun had ceased it's endless wanderings above the vast, changing lands, and Lucca awoke to the same bland scenery. Drums pounded incessantly upon her head, and her arm was searing painfully. With a sharp intake of breath, she tottered onto her feet and lurched forward. Bile rose in the back of her throat, and she struggled to suppress the urge to puke. Struggling to stay upright, she accidentally fell into the wall, and gripped the loose roots that dangled into the hole in a strangle hold.
Weakly, Lucca brought up her right arm. "Ar... Arcesso I-Ignis." A meagre flame arose from her fingertips and her weary eyes began to moisten.
"Crap..."
The barely whispered expletive abruptly smothered the flame and she was overwhelmed with feebleness. The debilitating gap in her magic stores was catching up with her; she had used more than she had, and her nonexistant physical energy was not there to balance it out. Lucca suddenly swayed and found herself once more on the ground. Her bag. She vaguely remembered it flying off her when the Ape first plowed into her. Her energy levels were rapidly depleting and she was running out of time. Crawling blindly upon the earthen floor, she sighed in relief as her hand collided against a solid, cottony surface. She gingerly reached out with her arms and shifted sightlessly through its infinite pockets. Lucca's bruised hands finally closed around a cool cylindric bottle. With a grunt of triumph, she savagely ripped the cap off and gulped the viscuous liquid down her throat. Almost immediately, energy flowed back into her, and the stiffness in her limbs began to loosen. Relief flooded through her as she felt the quivering in her body stop. Thank the Entity that she had brought along an elixir.
Slipping her bag around her left shoulder, she slid upright and stretched out her arms. With renewed energy, she brought forth a beautifully resilient flame and scrutinized her surroundings. She appeared to have fallen into a deep burrow beneath the ground. Gnarled tree roots poked intrusively into the chamber, scolding fingers that mirrored intricate traps. Twisted bones, some still stained with blood, littered the ground towards the upper half of the area. Some even looked like human skulls. Lucca repressed a shiver and brought the flames above her head, examining the ceiling critically. Where was the opening?
An idea erupted into her head and she carefully hoisted herself onto a particularly large segment of dangling tree root. When she shot her arm (fireless) into a divergent spot of ceiling, it burst through the barrier. A couple of browning leaves floated down to her, and she cleared away the rest of them with an enthusiastic wave.
The night's brilliant stars greeted her through an opening in the branches overhead. She gazed up in awe. Never were there as many stars in her time that twinkled so brightly or shone so clearly. Lucca shook the sweet distraction off, extinguished the flame, and proceeded out of the hole.
Her previous joy was swallowed by a sour grimace. No doubt, the enormous trees and fern were distinctly unique, but they covered the forest in its entirety. To put it shortly, everything, everywhere looked the same. A sudden crack from about ten feet away sent her into a crouch among the huge fronds of a nearby fern. Vigilant and fully alert, she strained her ears for the silent sound that crept ever closer. There! Her gaze fell unwaveringly upon foliage to the left of her and she prepared to ambush the comer. The bush shook...
... and she leapt forward, wielding a thick stick she ripped from the dense undergrowth.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"OOOOOOOOOOWCH! Kino head go boom!"
A well-muscled blonde was sprawled in front of her, clutching his head as an ugly bump formed on it. She blinked in shock. Then recognition."Oh! Kino! I'm so so sorry!" Lucca dropped her makeshift weapon and launched forward to help the dazed man to his feet.
He looked up, suddenly unshaken as though nothing had occurred. "... Lucca?" He beamed. "How Lucca here? On big hunt? Catch good animal? Eat good?"
She stared at him. His grammar was awkward but the real trouble came from his suprisingly distinct accent. So it really sounded like this: "'Ow Ucca 'are? Onn big haunt? Keatch good animal? Eat good?"
"Uh.. uhm... Kino? I am kinda.. lost. Could you-"
"Kino show, Kino show!" He practically bounced off the ground, grabbed ahold of her arm, and dragged her off at a blinding speed. And somehow, they were able to dodge the whippish vegetation that Lucca found so hard to get through.
Whereas it took her an hour to wander into the very center of the forest, it took them exactly three minutes to burst through to the very edge of it. Kino still did not release his grip. They barreled down the hillside, past rows of "La Grup" or Fire Ferns, and towards the Village of Ioka. Swirls of smoke spiraled from the huts that sat about a mile ahead. Kino finally ceased their run and the momementum mandated that she fly forward at least eleven more feet into a goopy pile of a horrendously smelling, unknown substance. Kino scratched the back of his head as a rather impish grin etched upon his face.
"Kino sorry!" he offered brightly. Lucca didn't need to be told what she landed in; the smell told all. "Ugghhhh..."
AN: Enjoyed? Hated? Reviews are lovely things. Flames will only increase Lucca's magic abilities.