AN: I'm on Spring Break now, so more chapters will be coming out within a day or two. -tears up when she sees how many reviews she has- I need more feedback... I don't know if my story is being well recieved or even recieved at all.

When the Stars Were Young

After a blastedly wonderful thirty minutes of trudging back to the village with the ever so crawly feeling of being sooo well covered in dinosaur excrement… well, she wasn't exactly in a great mood. Foul. Indignant. Absolutely disgusted? The irritable inventor swatted at the buzzing flies that circled excitedly about her filthy head. She wondered how in the hell the flies were out at this hour. Swarms of them had assaulted her as she neared the chief's hut, and not even a burst of flame would dissuade them.

Lucca grumbled under her breath.

"Bath now!" Kino hadn't ever stopped grinning the entire way back. In fact, she was almost positive that his face muscles had been paralyzed in an aggravatingly gleeful expression. And it was really grating her fringed nerves.

As she pondered thousands of cruel methods to successfully "unparalyze" those muscles, Kino led her through the village, flies in procession and all, towards the hot springs that sat at the base of a nearby mountain.

"Lucca no speak. Why?"

"Kino, I don't feel too good." She took a deep breath and immediately choked as the smell engulfed her senses.

"No feel good? Lucca sick now?" Finally, the cheeky expression fell off his face. But were those wrinkles where his grin once sat?

"I'm fine Kino. Fine." She bit back her anger. Trying to calm her churning emotions, she gazed skywards. The stars were brilliant. Millions and millions of sapphires and diamonds shone down on her, and she marveled at them. As a child, she remembered drawing strength from them when things went downhill. Her night sky had not been so well endowed, but it was a single star that she had named her guardian. Lumos.

Lucca threw her focus westwards, but the faces were strange and cradled an ancient glow. Her star must not have been born yet.

A sudden glittering in the canvas above became a shower of lights and shimmering fireworks. It was breathtaking. Even Kino had suddenly halted to gaze at the heaven in awe.

"Stars fly. Life goes. Water drops, we dance."

The words were disjointed and simple. But it was poetry, echoing across time and merging with the falling meteors in the sky.

"Here! Come back when done." And without another word, he scampered off towards the village in the distance.

Sighing, Lucca threw her severely soiled bag upon the rocky ground and sank tiredly at the edge of the hot springs. She had been going through the motions, and it had held the ache at bay. Now, as she came to a stop and let the day come crashing back to her, her muscles felt deadbeat and useless.

"Unnghhh.."

And they always called me crazy… I can see why now… She tried to move, she really did, but the signals from her brain were simply being absorbed by the tension in her muscles.

"Gah…."

It felt terrible right there. And it also felt terrible to move.

I'm gonna move now. Nothing. Come on Lucca, you can do it! Her muscles began to react and proudly, she moved her pinky out from under the rock. It took about twenty more minutes, but she gradually dragged herself up, kicked off her boots, and waded into the soothingly hot water

"Ahhh…" She sighed contentedly. No matter that her clothes were still on. And that the natural fertilizer was now floating off of her and clouding her bath. Disgusting… Lucca shuddered and clambered out of the springs, "…uug-eck." Her choice had been a somewhat intelligent one, for now the rather nasty muck was off her clothing, and there were two other pools she could still pick from. She had almost forgotten the grimy state of her bag until she turned about and tripped over it.

It had been a lucky thing that she had left her helmet at the End of Time. At least now she only had herself and her bag to contend with, and the clean-up looked very promising of pain. Growling, she emptied the bag of its contents, stomped to the water's edge, and used a hand-sized rock to scrub it clean. Her light blue bag had been made with a strong fiber, which resembled cotton, but was resilient to stains. And flames. If it hadn't, she would've accidentally turned it into a useless pile of ashes months ago.

After hanging it to dry on the branch of a brush-like plant, she finally peeled off her wet outer clothing (you never knew who might pop up) and waded into the second hot spring. A quaint little fountain sat at the edge of it, and the water seemed to get hotter and hotter as she neared it. So she settled on a little ledge that kept the water level below her chin.
Lucca settled as comfortably as she could against the rocks and let her mind drift.

Cshh…cshhh… She snapped awake as the scarce foliage nearby rustled violently. A fire spell had begun under her breath, but she ceased when a lavender-haired figure stepped out from a jumble of ferns. She was a young Larubian, with inquisitive blue eyes and she vaguely resembled a clever cousin of hers. The girl timidly walked over and held out the bundle for Lucca. "Kino say bring clothes. Dinner soon."

Lucca smiled gratefully, "Thank you."

The girl nodded and left. It would hardly surprise her if the Larubian was her great-great-great-….well, a very distant ancestor.. Marle seemed to run into them everywhere, and in one unsettling incident in 600 AD, Crono ran into a disturbingly similar look-alike.

As her skin became resolutely more gnarled and wrinkled, she decided to draw her bath to an end. Rather reluctantly, she left the warmth of the water and shivered as the night's cooler air chilled her. The bundle sent to her contained the typical cavewoman clothing, scant and furry, and a towel-like cloth that she quickly dried off with. She swiftly discarded her wet underclothing and slipped the furry garments on. A brown furred cape had also been sent along and she threw it about her shoulders.

Lucca surveyed her appearance by the water's casting, and gasped. Had she not been wearing her glasses, she would have been a perfect cavewoman. Her light fuschia-like hair was in total disarray: parts of it had spiked up and bits of it still dripped wet. Her entire stomach was bared and there was so much skin showing! Though it was definitely not appropriate back home, she supposed it would do for now. However scarce, she loved the arm bracers it came with and she twirled, letting the trails float in the wind. The giddy girl danced around for another ten minutes before she got bored and settled down in front of her disheveled pile of items. .

It would be another fifteen minutes before her bag would be dry enough to use, so she busied herself with an assessment of her provisions. Of her healing supplies, there were three tonics, two mid-tonics, five ethers, and a single revive. Her supplies were relatively low; the last she restocked, she had been in Truce in 600 AD. Among the potion bottles were her other tools: a greasy wrench and screwdriver, a slightly cracked compass, fishing supplies, a couple of grenades, a flashlight, some gil, the Gate Key, a miniature reference guide to plant life, a pocketknife, some six feet of bungee cord, a potato sack, and a notebook.

Though her room was a beautiful indication to her spastic, disorderly ways, (it was hardly ever clean), she loved tidiness and dove into her work.

Lucca had practically sunk into a bed of furs in the Chief's hut after being fed a controversial dinner of dinosaur meat and what could only be described as red gloop. She forcibly shooed the memory out of her head. If she thought about it any longer, she was bound to puke.

As the sun began to rise in the East, she slowly spiraled into a deep, healing sleep.

"Bring three petals. Two red feathers. Five horns."

"Will do!" Lucca called out cheerfully. She had tried to convince the merchant to take gil, but he had insisted that she bring "good trade" and listed off his requirements.

The sun had been high in its zenith when she had finally awoken earlier in the day, and as she began hunting for the said items, the sun had become hot on her scarcely covered skin.

"Inflammo talio et tumulus! Fire 2!"

The pack of charred Cave Apes ran about in a frenzy as their furry hides were burned off of them.

Scary scary! Let's leave, - squealed one Ape to the other.

Owch owch owch! My wings,- shrilled the smaller one.

Mooo! -The other Apes turned to their strange three horned companion who resembled a potato. A precise volley of shots signaled the end of the battle and their strangely eventful, albeit incredibly confusing lives.

"Woohoooooooo!" Lucca the Great was out and about once more.

"Nyaahahahahhahahaha! Lucca shall smite you all!" The enormous pack of Leapers had no idea what they were in for when she calmly shot her arms towards the sky and began chanting the spell for Fire 2 (again). Ashes flooded the area as the blazing energy obliterated the creatures and evaporated into the humid air. She did a sort of happy dance when she noted the strong increases in her magic before she remembered something. She was entitled to take back her "hunt" for tonight's feast, but ashes would not make a good meal.

She sighed and left the open fields behind her. The river by the village was not far from there, and a meal of fish sounded tremendously agreeable to her after yesterday's traumatic dinner experience. Her civilized tastebuds could still recall the repugnant taste of the virtually raw meat and the woozy feeling she was hit with as the meat's blood had dribbled out of her mouth. About five minutes later, she came upon the murky path of water and looked upon its banks. It was a good ten feet across, and the shadows that played within it spoke of its fishy inhabitants. Lucca settled her back against a large boulder and fished into her now-dry bag for her extendable fishing pole. Memories surfaced into her mind as she remembered her pleasant childhood. Before she had become so… involved in machinery, she had loved nature dearly, and with Crono at her side, they had gone on some pretty wild journeys. Both of them had gotten lost so many times, and after a rather distressing encounter with a shroom, they had picked up weapons and been fighters ever since. Crono used a katana of Azyri wood, and she, a sturdy mallet. They even began to dress similarly, fancying themselves twins.

"SCHNP!" The young inventor extended the pole and instinctively began digging into the ground with a sharp rock.

She smiled. That silly kid. I hope his famous bullheadedness doesn't kick in anytime soon. His rather brash attitude had gotten them in some pretty tight spots before. There was this one time when they decided to explore a cave in the Denadora mountains. Crono insisted it was empty, but he had been awfully wrong when they came to the very end of it and found a very unhappy bear. They nearly died that day, and after that, she stopped trusting his judgment so blindly.

Lucca's hand closed around an unlucky earthworm and she hooked it onto the end of her line.

After becoming so deeply involved in science in the middle of her tenth year, their treasured adventures soon came to an end. They remained close friends, but she was so busy with reading, and construction that they hardly ever hung out. It had been ten years since then, and Marle was a new obstacle to their friendship.

She cast her line into the cloudy depths and rested her head against the top of the boulder.

Marle was an okay girl. It was definitely a shock when she turned out to be Princess Nadia, for her casual and unceremonious attitude were traits that deviated from the typical royalty. Lucca didn't hate her, but her babyish shrieks were vexing, and her lack of careful consideration was upsetting to her analytical ways. She strongly doubted that the princess would have had the patience or presence of mind to solve a simple puzzle. Not that she was stupid or anything.

The line suddenly wobbled then jerked as an enormous tug came from the other end. Pondering ceased and Lucca leaped to her feet and began reeling in hastily. In no less than a minute, a silver fish had landed on the bank and was flopping without end. Retrieving her bungee cord, she tied the front end to a bush, roped the bottom half through the fish's gills, and dropped the fish back into the water.

It was precisely three hours, twenty-two minutes, and five point eight seconds later when Lucca decided she had enough. Casting her pole to the side, she reached for the makeshift catch line and struggled to pull it out of the water. Eighteen fish thrashed wildy upon the stretched cord, and she rigidly dropped them into her potato sack. She was glad that the village was nearby when she finally began dragging her heavy cargo back to the huts.

Two blazing bonfires rose to greet the night on the north and south edges of the meeting ground. Various meats and berries colored clay-molded platters with deep reds, yellows, and greens. In the very center of the area, a large orange wild cat cooked upon a stick over a fire. Lucca initially avoided the poi like the plague until she realized that it was one of the safer foods there. The fish she had brought had been a big hit, as it turned out that the Iokians were seldom able to catch any. Halfway through the celebration, Kino had grabbed a hold of her and drew her to the center of the celebration. He waved his arms around comically until the raucous chatter and feasting halted.

"This Lucca is guest. Good hunter. Now on, Fysh hunter!" The cave people erupted into wild hoots and vigorous chest thumping. A jungle beat began to play and everyone started to dance.

After countless hours of dancing, food consumption, and strangely involving conversations with the cave people, Lucca collapsed onto the ground three hours before sunrise. When she finally woke up, the meeting place was disconcertingly silent and deserted. Something seemed a bit off, but the fog of sleep still clouded her mind.

"Reoow?"

Lucca turned over onto her stomach and buried her face into her furry arm bracers.

"Reow?"

Those arm bracers were suspiciously warm and talkative… Talkative…!…What the heck? Her eyes jerked open and she threw her head up. She was face-to-face with a pair of light blue and golden eyes; she bit back a shout of surprise.

It took her a second to realize exactly what it was, and she slowly sat up.

"Reeow.." The fluffy wild kitten stared at her imploringly and pawed gently at her knee. Lucca had no idea where it came from, but an idea formed in her head when she took note of it's odd coloring. Its silky fur was a light orange with a downy mane of subdued green. A similar, much larger feline had been cooked last night only a foot from where she sat. Hence, it was a logical conclusion that the adorable little bag of fur and saber-teeth was its orphaned baby.

"Reeeow." She had no time to take care of a cat.

"Rew?" This wasn't just a simple housecat either.

"…." It was terribly cute, but everything grew up… and what a thing this would grow up into.

A distinctively Larubian man had come to check on the area, and was pleasantly surprised to see the little animal that sat by Lucca. "Yummy Kizunthal! Good eating."

Lucca blanched and protectively scooped the kitten off the ground. "No! It's my pet! You can't eat him!"

Giput, as the man was called, blinked in confusion.

"No eat Kizunthal?"

Lucca shook her head. "No eat!" Her arms tightened around the poor kitten that was being squished in her protective embrace.

The Larubian scratched his head, perplexed by the idea that the Kizunthal shouldn't be eaten. As he became increasingly dumbfounded, he sunk to the ground and stared off into the distance. Noticing his distraction, she loosened her grip on the kitten and cuddled it against her face. It started purring. "Awww…Well.. I guess I can keep you."

"Rreow." And the sweet little thing was in her favorite colors too.

The return to the village itself had proved to be a tiresome affair. Everyone she had run into had looked upon the kitten hungrily and asked about it.

"Kizunthal! Eat soon?"

"No."

"Hunt good! Where find?"

"No, he's not food."

"Yummy hunt, good food."

"Yes. Hunt good if Kizunthal. Hard hunting."

"Soft meat. Put sweet water if have."

More people gathered around her and various cries of "Kizunthal" shook the ground.

Fuming, Lucca climbed onto the village's tree stump and raised her frightened kitten to the sky.

"You cannot eat this ca-Kizunthal! I will kick your butts if any of you even try!"

Her words weren't quite clear but the people got the gist of it, (and the threat behind her voice was rather obvious.) The crowd eventually dispersed and she made her way toward the chief's hut to retrieve her bag. Kino was busy in there carving out a weapon of stone. He looked up as she walked in.

"Kino hear. Lucca say no eating small Kizunthal. Kizunthal like Ayla's dactyls?"

Lucca nodded. Kino seemed to have a much better grasp on the idea of pets.

"Bring here," he dropped the sharp tools and held out his arms. She looked at him suspiciously and reluctantly handed the kitten to him. He gently held the formerly placid kitty up and examined it. After about three minutes of scrutiny, he handed the cat back to Lucca.

"Kizunthal hungry. Need food. Some meat in bag," he pointed to a bag of leaves at the far left, and she brought the cat over to it. She mused how lucky she was that the kitten had already been weaned, else this would've been a bad situation indeed.

As the kitten silently ate the pieces of raw meat she tore for it, she reflected over the morning's events. Kino had been rather tender with the cat. Yet, she couldn't stop the feeling of uneasiness at the pit of her stomach when her kitten had struggled unhappily in Kino's grasp.

"Reeow," meowed the kitten softly, as it climbed onto her lap and began purring. She stroked it soothingly as it slowly fell asleep and her look of adoration became indecision.

Kino must have been rather perceptible, for he noticed it and told her quietly,
"Kino know. Kino protect Lucca's animal with life. Lucca can go."

Lucca smiled. "Thank you Kino," she said softly, as she carefully moved the kitten onto a fur bed, slipped her bag onto her shoulder, and made her way towards the merchant's hut.

"Bring items?" asked the merchant the moment she walked in.

"Yup!" she declared triumphantly as she drew out the feathers, horns, and petals.

The merchant, or rather, trader, nodded once at the man beside him who drew out a wicked-looking weapon that resembled a mallet. Dangerous spikes had been carved into its head, and they glinted warningly. It was made of stone, wood, and another material that Lucca couldn't place, but she was ecstatic over it nonetheless.

So ecstatic in fact, that she had actually bounded out of the hut, danced over to the nearest woodlands, and began testing it out on whatever dared to attack her.

"CLANG" She swung the mallet to the right and knocked the evilweevil into the shitake that crept up behind her. Whirling to the left, she batted away a flying rock and sent it cometing back at the kilwala.

"GNNLK!" shrieked the red eaglet as it dived down towards her… "CLUNK!" … and it met with the sharper edge of the mallet. Lucca whipped the mallet down to flick the carcass off and leaped out of the way as a group of croakers emerged from the foliage.

"Get her!" bellowed the leading frog.

"Aye aye!" they shouted in unison, before leaping at Lucca.

A wild grin spread across her face and she crossed her arms. As the group of about thirty frogs surrounded her, an eerie chanting echoed in the clearing.

"Advoco flamma a terra et caelum. Emergo... exuro… aboleo… Viscus decoquo…. Flare."The frogs realized their mistake too late, and the leader, having stayed out of the way, leaped away at a breakneck speed. Lucca grinned contentedly for it was only the second time she had cast that particular spell, and it had already come out crisp and clear. She steadied the mallet and prepared for the next group of attackers. Here we go…

About an hour later, in the midst of battle with a shist, a shadowy premonition sunk into her heart, and a jolt of electricity shot down her back. A frenzied heat engulfed the surface of her arms and neck and she struggled for breath.

Something's not right… OMG… Something's very very wrong… "CRONO!"

An alien shriek of laughter resonated in her ears…..

"CRONOOOO!"

…..and the world fell black.