R&R! By the way, Lucca goes back before Lavos destroys Zeal, in case anyone is wondering.

7/6/05 – I reread over this, added a few things that were left out, and edited certain parts for consistency. It might sound slightly different from how you remembered it. Sorry about the long delay, but I've had a lot to do this summer. I was thinking of adding another dynamic to this story, but it might be out of place/too extensive, so never mind.

The transition part may seem a bit rushed, but that's because I'm trying to catch up on the story as fast as possible. I had a lot of extra ideas for this story, but I think I'll include those as standalones (including a possible lesbian escapade (XD) ). Again, please read and review; it encourages me!

Disclaimer: Don't ask, don't sue.

Date: N/A

Lucca sat listlessly on the dark courtyard that composed Spekkio's milieu in the End of Time. She had been lying there, slightly feverish, but more anxious than anything, and stared at the Master of War impatiently. The latter was pacing up and down in the middle of the arena, muttering silently to himself; the former had beckoned to him several times, but gave up when rebuked with silence. The atmosphere was tense and lonely. For one, neither Crono or Marle had accompanied Lucca (granted, the inventor hadn't alerted them of her departure), and the dramatic change in Spekkio's countenance when he heard the symptoms had annihilated whatever joviality could have existed in such a situation.

Lucca's forehead was burning, practically scalding her hand when she tried to feel it, but she didn't feel any internal malaise; in her mind, there wasn't anything wrong with her, so she was even more surprised by Spekkio's sudden change in expression. The Master of War in question, who had now assumed the shape of Masa & Mune, especially the fat lip, continued to pace up and down. Finally, he stopped altogether, and turned to face Lucca.

"What you have, is magical feedback." Spekkio said firmly, though a slight waver could be heard in his voice. Lucca hadn't seen Spekkio halt his pacing and jumped at the words, but as the syllables sunk in, she only grew more perplexed.

"Magical Feedback? What is that supposed to be? Radio wave interference? But I'm a human, not a machine! I don't understand, I don't'…" Lucca babbled, her eyes turning downcast when Spekkio had a pained expression on his face. It was as she feared. It was some sort of disease, maybe terminal, but definitely life-altering.

Spekkio motioned to speak, but quickly shut his mouth again, as if unsure of his words. He almost started with a sentence again, and again stopped. Lucca only grew more worried.

"What's going on? Spekkio, tell me!" Lucca pleaded. The large creature with massive lips lowered his eyelids, and shook his head.

"I will say no more. I'm not going to involve myself in this any longer!" He exclaimed, his voice suddenly growing stronger.

"In what? What's going on? What's wrong with-" Lucca stopped when Spekkio glared at her quite ferociously, and pointed at the rusted brass door that led to Gaspar's pavement. She pleaded more, asking for him to elaborate, but Spekkio did not move. Lucca started for the door, too dazed and confused. She didn't stop when she heard him mutter,

"The phoenix will rise again…"

Date: 1003 A.D.

Lucca had still not gone to her mother or father; likewise, she had not seen Crono or Marle since leaving to see Spekkio. Her scientifically-minded intuition told her to seek out a resourcem, whether it be a library or a person she knew, who would have details about whatever ailed her. She racked her brain from a solution, some path that would resolve the algorithm with an outcome even she couldn't predict, and only one place came to mind. Her bags were packed by midnight.

Date: 12005 B.C.

Snow and winds. That's all she saw for hours. Snow, snow, more snow, deathly snow hitting the Epoch's cockpits like waves of freezing death. There was no life on the surface, just barren wasteland; even the precipitation held a bland grayish color, a result of the nearly nonexistent sun, and reaffirmed its inhumanity. The little trees were laden with murderous frost and, any animal stupid enough to be outside their dens would become casts for the snow to fill and brandish, adding to the pile of the white sheet that covered the floor of the continent.

"I've always hated this place…Where's that damn Skygate?" Lucca said in exasperation. The irony was exasperatingly thick: after crossing 13000 years worth of time in a few seconds, she was spending hours looking for a shabby little dome. The snow was thick and heavy, falling like massive white boulders, and the hail that sporadically accompanied it held was more forceful than most medieval armies. It was nearly impossible to see.

"Guess I'll have to land. I won't find it from up here." Easier said than done. There was no safe landing spot, no flat land. The snow made mountains and hills, and it froze so quickly that most of the snow was even more dangerous to land on than the mountains. Landing on them would risk a landslide or avalanche, and Epoch would be buried underneath forever, or until all the snow melted a good twelve thousand years later.

Suddenly, a large mountain jutted out of the ground in front of her. Lucca turned the steering wheel hard to the right, just barely avoiding the utter destruction of the Epoch's left wing. She hadn't noticed the protrusion, distracted by her frantic search for a landing site and the horrible visibility.

"Goddamn…This place is horrible. I don't know how the Earthbound can manage…" She muttered to no one in particular. Under the mountain was a little cove, just large enough for most of the Epoch to fit. The mountain itself was made of black rock, scarred and cracked on all its surfaces. Yet, it held fast in face of endless insurmountable weather. The snow piled up in its chisels. It froze, breaking the mountain slowly, dooming it to a torturous death. But it seemed to be the only thing living; the only thing trying to survive. All else was white, but not the pure white that was so deeply enthralling around Christmas time in Truce; white in this place was so synonymous with nonexistence that the mountain's brown color alone was defiance. Once the Epoch had been safely landed, Lucca struggled immensely against the rushing wind and the snow slapping her face, and strained herself just to exit the vehicle, so unaccustomed was she to the volatile weather. Her hair threatened to rip out of her head, flailing back ravenously like whips. The wind seemed intent on stopping her movement. The more she walked, the harder the wind blew, to the point that it was impossible to progress. Yet, she heard something that drew her forward. It seemed like a wail; a very distant, faint wail, nearly nonexistent, for the owner of the voice was hidden by sheets of white. Yet, as Lucca struggled on, it became louder. She could now pick out some characteristics of the wail; it was a child, certainly. Possibly a girl, for it was far too high pitched and weak to be a boy. For some reason, Lucca could recognize the screams of children very accurately.

"Is anyone there?" Lucca screamed. The storm began to recede, forgetting its previous occupation of blowing Lucca across the landscape like a piece of paper. The child came into view. It was indeed a little girl. As Lucca came closer, she saw more. The girl was dressed in brown rags not uncommon to the Earthbound, her hair placed in a little bun over her head. It seemed that her hairdresser had tried as hard as possible to make her brown strands as elegant as Enlightened hairstyles, but failed horribly. The locks were dirty and clammy, most likely because of the storm, and the hair was simply so lackluster and insipid that the little bun was even pathetic.

Lucca was right behind the girl now. She had a shabby doll in her hand, and was wailing quite uncontrollably. Lucca knelt next to her.

"What's wrong? Are you lost?" Lucca asked. The girl stopped crying temporarily, though her eyes still held unspilt tears, and gave Lucca a bear hug, desperate for protection. She was shivering from cold and fear, her skin was clammy and cold, and Lucca was curious as to how this child had not died of frostbite or severe hypothermia by now..

"I qwan't find me mommy…" The girl said. Earthbound ones usually had bad speech, and considering her age, her enunciation was almost incomprehensible. Lucca asked the girl to repeat her sentence a number of times before she understood.

Ironically, it was such discrepancies that partly led to the gap between Earthbounds and Enlightened Ones. Little things like manageable hair, the color of the aforementioned hair, and even the thickness of one's fingers were always seen as in the Enlightened population. The Zealians were so superior that Earthbounds were seen as no better than the ground they stood on. Actually, the ground was probably more important.

"Do you know where she went?" Lucca asked. The girl shook her head sniffing.

The storm was completely gone now. Lucca took off the massive parka she brought just for the occasion and wrapped it around the little girl, leaving Lucca in a plain sweater and many layers of shirts. Lucca removed a few of these sweaters, and still did not feel particularly cold. The girl tugged on Lucca's pant leg.

"What is it?" Lucca said.

"Can yhoo cawry me?"

"Sure. What's your name, anyway?" Lucca said, picking her up and cradling her in her arms. The girl grabbed a fistful of Lucca's collar and held on, sniffling sporadically and shivering. Lucca realized how numb the girl was when her skin turned an awkward blue as she warmed inside of Lucca's clothes. She had gotten practice from carrying her younger cousin. The girl couldn't have been older than five, so it wasn't much different.

"Exholia. But my bhwudah calls me 'Exy'." She said simply. What an awkward name, Lucca thought. But then again, everything was awkward during this time period. Lucca started on a march, the cold biting her skin like a serpent. The fire running through her veins made her slightly more resistant, but it was still excruciatingly cold. Lucca had no particular destination at this point; she simply marched in a random direction, both to warm herself and to find some trace of the girl's mother. This took longer than she hoped.

After what seemed like hours, Lucca found tracks. There were footprints on the ground of a human being. Well, their boots anyway. Next to these were even larger tracks, however. Tracks of some sort of massive animal. The image of the dinosaur that had assailed her swarmed Lucca's mind. She was suddenly struck by fear, fear that she would be a snack, or be bitten and left to die of blood loss while the little girl lay stranded, doomed to an icy grave; the fear went as quickly as it came, but Lucca was shaken either way. She took each step with excruciating caution, if only to reassure herself of her security.. A little bit of sun shone through the clouds reassuringly. Lucca closed her eyes and smiled, glad to finally have some heat in that excruciating cold. The rays seemed to rejuvenate her. She felt full of energy, ready to resume her trek to find the girl's mother or the Skygate, whichever came first. Lucca scolded herself for bringing the girl along. She was only a hindrance, slowing down her search. Yet, she would have felt guilty if she had left Exholia to be buried in a frozen tomb.

Suddenly, the rays disappeared, a massive dark shadow falling over Lucca. The red glow on the inside of her eyelids vanished into darkness, and she opened her eyes almost instantly. In front of her was a massive beast, no doubt the producer of the tracks had been made by it. It had tusks the length of twice the Epoch jutting out under its mouth stained with blood, as if it had bore through some animal. Lucca felt fear once more, and the sun was not there to help her. The footprints of the human had stopped at that exact location. No doubt, they had been killed and propelled by the ravenous creature in front of her, and it must have been their blood that stained its tusks. Would Lucca be its next victim? Or would Exholia be a meal? There was no Marle to heal her now, and if she were dealt another blow like the first with the dinosaur, her life would certainly end.

"Iz-iz a maswudon!" The girl said. Lucca was paralyzed in fear. She couldn't think of what to do. There she was, stuck in a desolate place about to fight for her life with a monster 20 times her weight. What else was there to do, but rely what had always saved her before. Her trusty Wondershot.

Lucca pulled the gun out of its holster. It was already put together, but the bullets were not loaded. She struggled to put them in, her fingers suddenly becoming massive and unwieldy as the beast continued to advance on her. The footsteps of the creature were heavy. It snorted as it approached, adding more beats to Lucca's already frantic heart. Finally Lucca managed to pop in 4 bullets, too little to fell the beast, but hopefully enough to slow the animal's advance. The Wondershot had the amazing yet unreliable ability of causing little pain or causing a lot at random. Simply the direction of the air could change the propulsion system, and the bullets could go through many layers of stone. Or, if the conditions were right, it couldn't even be able to break through cardboard.

"I hope this works…" Lucca muttered. Exholia had crawled out of her hold and crept away. She was now watching the scene in amazement, as if it was some kind of demented theatrical performance. She didn't seem to realize the scope of it. If Lucca were killed, she would be next…Lucca held the Wondershot tightly in her hand, and aimed right between the animal's forehead. Just as her finger squeezed the trigger, the beast fell into a charge. The bullet launched from the weapon, skidded off the right tusk, breaking of a chunk of bone, and served only to anger the animal more. It gave a massive trumpet, its eyes widening in pain as it rushed to impale Lucca with its ivory tusks.

The adrenaline seemed to impair Lucca's judgment somewhat. She growled furiously, and threw the Wondershot down on the floor. Her eyes closed; she spoke softly, her words coming out as spidery syllables, the magic streaming through her veins, ready to explode. Suddenly, she opened her eyes, her mouth in a scowl. Her right arm glowed amber as if it was burning, and she steadied herself for the oncoming leap. If she were to do one false move, the tusk would certainly go right through her. Only a few moments left... Without a second though, Lucca jumped, grabbed hold of the horn, and used the momentum to propel herself onto the back of the animal with the lithe of an Olympic athlete. Her fist drew back, the fire crackling and sending smoke into the air, and in one swift blow, her right hand drove into the back of the animal, missing its spine by a few millimeters, but melting the skin and charring the muscle.

Suddenly, the air smelt like burned meat, and the large animal howled in incomprehensible pain. It didn't know where this pain had come from, or how it got there; only that it made it impossible to feel any other sensation. Its head jerked in all directions; the force of these movements threw Lucca off and into the cold snow, the permafrost underneath was frozen solid, and scraped her back roughly. Meanwhile, the brute continued to flail itself around, under the illusion that throwing its body around would mend the hole in its back. It did know one thing though; Lucca had done it. It tried to charge once move, its stubby feet moving awkwardly, trying to accommodate the pain that encompassed its back.

"Stupid piece of…" Lucca muttered, seeing the 'maswudon' come at her again. She struggled to her feet, and let whatever untamed strength her affliction granted her take over. Unconsciously, driven by instinct as if she had done this every day in her life.she summoned fire into her palms. Her fingertips burned, yet she felt no pain. The air around her hissed and fizzled and the small droplets of snow melted. The brute was close, less than a few yards. Without thought, Lucca's palm drove into the ground. She felt a distant rumble suddenly grow closer to where her hand had hit the ground; a red imprint marked her action. The animal drew closer, the rumble of its feet hitting the floor contrasting with the roar of whatever stirred under the earth. The ground heaved and groaned, the sound growing closer and closer just as the monster approached. It seemed to Lucca that her spell had done nothing; she had never used it before, yet something inside her being just told her to thrust her sizzling palm into the cold earth. Any minute now, she would be trampled. She closed her eyes, waiting, waiting…

A massive boom tore through the air, propelling Lucca backward. Lucca opened her eyes, only to see pure lava erupting from the ground. Yet, it wasn't the planet's lava. It was her own. Her magic had condensed so much that it materialized in this form; the contents of the core of the Earth itself. Without warning, the lava rushed upwards at uncontrollable speeds, resembling a pillar. The snow melted around it instantly. Likewise, the 'maswudon' lost its head, the charred skull chopped right off by the sheer force of the pillar, just as the dinosaur had lost its head. The fire continued to travel upward, slowly expanding in its diameter. Lucca was standing right on top of it. Any normal living thing would have been baked before they could realize a giant furnace had been opened under them. Yet, she felt nothing. The fire was soothing; it seemed to revitalize her essence, like a warm bath or a goodnight's sleep. As the heat intensified, Lucca only felt more comfortable, as if she was tucked into bed by her mother and read a bedtime story. A smile graced Lucca's handsome face, a smile that most would have interpreted as sadistic, but that was nothing more than glee. A loud crash erupted above her. Exholia screamed as she heard it. Lucca had completely forgotten about the child as she slaughtered the animal that threatened her. The girl was staring, amazed at the raw power that Lucca had unleashed from her bare hands. The pillar could be reflected in her eyes, as well as wonder and marvel.

Finally, the source of the crash was discovered. A massive chunk of rock flew downward as the fire pillar receded into the bowels of the earth. The place where it had erupted from was now a hot springs. Steam rose from it, and the rock chunk landed right on top of the pool, splattering hot water in acres around it. Both Lucca and Exholia were drenched; soon, both were laughing uncontrollably. The girl ran up and hugged Lucca tightly.

"Exholia!" A voice said. It sounded loud and clear now that only small snow flakes fell, instead of the massive clumps from before. A woman could be seen from far away. She was clutching her shoulder in one hand. Blood could be seen around this hand, though it did not flow openly. Undoubtedly, she was the victim of the creature. When she saw its dead body with a smoldering hole, and its charred skull lying not far away, she gasped in amazement.

"Wu-what happened here?" She asked in confusion. Lucca could see that this was Exholia's mother. Their hair was done similarly; the same marks of laughter adorned their cheeks. Her voice was melodious, soothing, and articulate. She was no doubt beautiful. Despite the dirt on her and the blood on her arm, she must have been the most beautiful Earthbound that Lucca had ever seen, probably surpassing even some Enlightened ones. Yet, it wasn't so much her appearance that struck Lucca. It was the determination to find her daughter despite of her injury, ignoring the fact that anything that stayed in that storm for any longer than an hour would have surely died. She was clearly in pain; she could barely walk straight, if at all.

"Mammy, this lwady saywed me and kwilled the maswudon!" Exholia exclaimed. She ran to greet her mother, who still could not believe her eyes. Lucca was lying at the side of her pond, smiling gratefully that her quest had been completed. The chunk of rock that fell must have certainly been from Zeal. The skygate couldn't have been far.

"Th-thank you. I-I don't know what to say…" The lady said, walking up to Lucca. Lucca saw her shoulder slump down, the blood crusted on it, but still oozing. Without a second thought, Lucca tore off a piece of her sleeve, and wrapped it tightly around the woman's shoulder. The lady didn't complain. Instead, she stared in awe into Lucca's eyes.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Lucca." Lucca said, extending her hand. The woman took it and brought it to her lips in reverence. This was a sign of respect that many Earthbounds did to Enlightened Ones. Of course, the Zealians always jerked their hands away, for fear that they would become as filthy as their neighbors.

"You don't need to do that. I just wanted to shake your hand!" Lucca said. The lady stared at her in confusion.

"Is this some kind of joke? You don't want to be worshipped like the rest of your kind?" She said, a tinge of anger in her voice. Looking at her painful expression, she could tell that the Enlightened Ones had wronged her in some way.

"I'm not an Enlighted Ones. I'm not even from here." Lucca said sincerely. The woman was about her age. Well, not exactly her age, for Lucca looked 5 years older than she was, but still her peer. The lady looked at her from head to toe and came to the same conclusion. Lucca's clothes were foreign. Her hair color did not exist in the Enlightened or Earthbound gene pools.

"I-I am sorry. I didn't mean to judge, it's just that…" Exholia's mother said. Lucca shook her head to show that she wasn't angry. "What happened here? Did you create that pillar? How did the mastodon die?" The woman said, asking frantically.

"Well…I was looking for the Skygate, when I heard your daughter crying. She was lost and afraid, so I volunteered to try to find you. I began to see tracks of boots, then tracks of a large animal. When your tracks ended, we paused to catch our breaths, but the monster attacked us. And well…you know the rest." Lucca said, grinning. Her usual pride was exposing itself.

"You would do that for a complete stranger?" Lucca nodded.

"Then you are truly kind. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, though there is nothing I can do to repay you." The lady said sweetly. She said the last part with sadness. The Earthbound were worst off than the average gopher in this wasteland.

"You don't need to repay me. All I need is your name. So, if I see you again, we can talk. Right now, I really need to get into Zeal." Lucca said amicably. The woman smiled.

"I am Hexia. I see you have met my daughter. I have one other daughter and a son." She said. Lucca was astounded.

"Three children? How old are you?" Lucca said with amazement. The lady seemed to think it natural. She couldn't be any older than 20 years old.

"I have endured 23 summers. My daughters are twins, however, and I gave birth to my son on my 14th year." Lucca still thought it odd, that Hexia could be so invigorated and youthful when half her life was practically gone. Earthbounds tended to die in their forties. "And about the Skygate," she said, pointing to a mountain that jutted out near the sea. It was quite distant, but without the snow and wind, it would be an easy march.

"Well then Lucca," Hexia said, embracing her. "Again, I thank you for saving my child's life." Lucca nodded. Exholia trotted up to Lucca and tugged on her pants.

"Thwank you, Lukwa!" She exclaimed. She grabbed her mother's hand, and they both began their trek to the Earthbound cave. Lucca watched them go, and she was glad to see that sight. But she still had quite a distance to cover before she could reach her destination: the magical kingdom of Zeal.

There's Chapter 4 for you. I hope everyone liked it. Please R&R, and sorry again for not updating sooner.