Chrono Corruption
Act 2: The Fall of Guardia
Chapter 6: Prince Versus Pauper!
*Leene Square, Kingdom of Guardia, 1005 A.D.*
Lucca lead Ty to Nadia's Bell and under that bell stood Crono and Marle admiring its last ring for the hour. "Here she is Ty, I present to you, the Princess of Guardia! As you may know, her name is Princess Nadia, but we just call her Marle! This fine young gentleman here is the soon-to-be Prince Crono!" informed Lucca.
Marle and Crono turned to see Lucca with her new tag along and Marle's eyes brightened. "Oh, you must be...!" Marle began with anticipation as she laid eyes on Ty. She clasped her hands together with a sickly sweet smile and then quickly pulled Lucca to her side so they could talk in private.
"W-what's going on...?!" Lucca shouted as Marle yanked on her arm.
Marle took her aside to whisper to her quietly, "You sly girl, you! You went and got yourself quite a cutie for a little fun didn't you? I'm so proud of you, Lucca!" she said with a coy smile and a bright red face.
Lucca waved her off as she turned her blushing face away, "Uh, no, he's here to see you. You know, about the Explorer Corps. thing? Besides, it would never work anyway, he's a fan-made character and I'm a canon character!"
"He's from the Explorer Corps?" Marle said as she was reminded of the special task at hand. She rose and properly met with Ty. "Ahem, anyway, I am Princess Nadia and it is my pleasure to welcome you to my Kingdom, Mister... um, may I ask your name?"
Ty was astounded, "This... is the Princess of Guardia? She's nothing like I was told! She's so... sweet, even a little sickeningly so... Ahem, my name's Ty Drayguard and I work as a Treasure Hunter, Archeologist, and Toxicologist for the Explorer Corps," he informed properly.
"That's wonderful, I bet your life is just full of adventure and mystery!" Marle said with a starry-eyed expression. "Doesn't that sound exciting Crono?"
Crono took a good look at the man before him, "Wow, he's tall. I wonder if he really would make a good match for Lucca? I don't know..., Marle loves that romantic stuff though. Lucca, not as much, I don't think. He looks decently tough though. I wonder what skeleton's he's hiding in his closet," he thought.
"Crono..., Crono are you listening to what I said?" Marle asked with a childish pout.
The two bickered as Ty tried to figure the princess out, "I don't get this! Isn't she supposed to be a cold-hearted tyrannical brat? What changed? So is she nice now or something? Wait, that gives me an idea! If this nice, childish princess is truly kind, that will make getting our independence easier! Okay, just play it nice and easy! Let's listen to what she has to say!" he thought deeply. "Ahem, your Majesty, I'm here about your special request!" he said as he handed over the letter he got from Tomo's mother.
Marle and Crono halted their playful bickering and Marle took the letter properly from him. She had a quizzical expression, "Hmm, that's odd. While this is my handwriting, I don't remember it quite like this. Meh, oh well, who cares!" she said joyfully as she tossed the letter into a nearby trash bin. "Yes, that's right, I want you to help us find someone."
"Find someone? Who?" Ty asked completely dumbfounded.
Crono stepped forward, "My dad..., he went to the El Nido Sea when I was a kid and never came back. We want you to help us find any clues about his disappearance. I may not find him, but I just want to know..., you know before I get married and become Prince. Once that happens I won't be able to go anywhere...," he said glumly.
Lucca kept her thoughts to herself, "Geez Crono, can you be any more depressing right now? I wonder if running the nation will be too much for him?" she thought with concern.
Ty went pale in the face recalling his strange experience, "T-The El Nido Sea..., you want me to go... back there...?"
Crono and his friends seemed puzzled, "Is something wrong?" asked Marle with genuine concern. "If being alone is what you're worried about, then don't because we're all going with you!"
Ty laughed with unease, "O-Okay, well then, I just need to inform my boss and we can start making preparations... What am I saying, am I really going back there already?!"
"Alright then, let's all go to the castle and get our things ready! I can't wait to study this anomaly!" Lucca said with excitement.
Crono smirked and placed his hand on the hilt of his dad's old sword. "Wait for a second, it's been a while since I had any actual practice. Five years of relaxing have kind of made me soft. There's a monster fighting ring at the northwest portion of the square. It still has time before it opens. I want to spar with you, Ty! I challenge you to a match of swordplay!"
Marle whispered to Crono, "What are you doing? That's hardly fair Crono! You know magic, he doesn't!"
Lucca followed as she huddled up to them, "Yeah, you'll just cream the poor guy!" she whispered.
"Relax, I won't use my magic on him, I just want to see how tough the guy is!" Crono said reassuringly. "It'll be a good workout!"
"I accept your challenge!" Ty said with a grin.
Everyone turned around in unison in surprise. Crono grinned with excitement, "This is gonna be fun!"
*Meanwhile*
"Ty, save me, I have no idea what's going on!" Tomo whined comically in silence. She didn't know any of the artifacts that were on display. She avoided people who wanted an explanation, so she wouldn't have to lie about them. Her dad eventually noticed his daughter's behavior.
Toma approached her with concern, "Sweetie, is something the matter? You haven't spoken to anyone since you got here."
Tomo thought quickly but decided the truth was the best, "Dad, I don't know what any of this stuff is... I don't want to make some 'intellectual guess' to anyone about where it's from or what it once was!"
Toma laughed, "Oh, is that all? There is no need to worry about that! None of us really knows either. We let people speculate for themselves until we have a better idea for ourselves."
Tomo sighed deeply with relief, "Whew, that takes a load off my shoulders! I'll... get back to work then!"
"Good, because I really need your help! You can go as soon as the crowd dies down and we get control," Toma informed.
"Yay, I was hoping I could go get some festival snacks!" Tomo said with joy. "I wonder if Ty's found that princess yet?"
*Back with the Others*
Ty and Crono stood in the ring facing one another. Marle had already told all the workers to take a break for a while and let them use the ring privately for a little while. Lucca sat atop a very tall chair that overlooked the ring. She acted as a referee while Marle stood right by her.
Ty tightened his gloves and tapped the toes of his shoes on the ground to make sure his feet fit properly. "Wait one second, now where did I put those?" Ty said quietly as he looked through his tool kit. "Still owe Biggs that drink!" He thought with a mischievous grin as he reached into it. "Alright, that ought to do it!" he said prepared.
"Good, let's do this!" Crono said as he unsheathed his dad's sword and took his stance.
"Ready, Set, and Go!" Lucca announced as she shot an air pistol into the air.
Crono dashed towards Ty and the two clashed, sword versus daggers. "Woah, this guy's speed is incredible!" Ty thought as he tried his hardest to block and parry all of Crono's sword swipes.
"Wow, Crono was right, he really has gone soft after these five years!" Marle said with surprise.
"Indeed, he was much faster back then...," Lucca said as she examined the fight more closely.
"You're pretty fast for such a big guy, Ty!" Crono praised as he broke from the fight, panting.
Ty panted as well, "Well, I don't really believe size is such a determining factor in speed or strength... as for you, I kinda guessed..., and was right..."
"Huh, what do you mean?" Crono asked confused.
"Well, heh, you're a lot shorter than me, so I thought you would be faster...!" Ty said as he was cut off.
"Who are you calling a pipsqueak! I'm not short I'm average I'll have you know!" Crono said with an almost child-like defensiveness.
"Uh-oh, Ty shouldn't have done that, he pushed the 'short' button...," Lucca stated with a sigh.
Marle simply sighed with a low chuckle as the fight continued. Crono attacked Ty with zeal and all he was able to do was dodge or parry. Any attempt Ty made to retaliate was met with him striking nothing but air. Crono backed off as he was breathing hard from all his exertion. Ty was faring no better as he was pushed back to the edge of the ring, almost wheezing. "Okay, I'm done with this method, time to get sneaky!" Ty thought as he whipped out a smoke bomb.
The smoke bomb bellowed smoke and quickly covered the entire ring. Crono was astounded as to how thick the smoke was. "Wow, that's some smoke bomb!" Marle said backing up a little.
"No joke, he must make them himself!" Lucca deduced. "The smoke just clings to the air, I'm impressed!"
"Well, it's become obvious I can't take you directly so let's try a different approach," Ty said from the depths of the smoke.
"Oh, so you're 'that' kinda guy, huh?" Crono said as his eyes began darting around looking for his opponent. "So I guess those Goggles you wear actually do something then?"
Ty then suddenly appeared and took a slash at Crono's left arm, leaving a superficial scratch. "Yep, they do!" he said as he vanished again.
"Rats, it's gonna be tough to counter this with just physical attacks," Crono thought as he took a defensive stance. "His attack didn't hurt so bad. Actually, I can't feel it at all right now. Is he just trying to freak me out and get me to surrender?"
Ty appeared again and made another superficial cut on Crono's other arm. Crono tried to counter, but his target vanished into the smoke as soon as he slashed at him. "What is Ty trying to do, Lucca?" Marle asked as she bounced up and down on her feet with excitement.
"Ty changed the battlefield so he could take the upper hand. Smart move, he must have realized that he couldn't beat Crono face to face, so he switched things up," Lucca reasoned with admiration. "Ty's using his brains more than his brawn."
"It won't matter! Crono will still win!" Marle said excitedly.
Crono hacked and slashed, but hit nothing but smoke and what he believed to be his target. "Ah, good the smoke bomb's lifting...!" Crono's thoughts were cut off by the sound of yet another smoke bomb going off.
"Not done yet, huh, you're a pretty determined guy aren't you?" Ty asked rhetorically. "Good, so am I!" he said as he leaped from the smoke to land another superficial wound on Crono. He then disappeared back into the new veil of smoke.
"I'm not getting this, if he wants me to give up with these little cuts, why don't they hurt at all...," Crono thought as his vision began to blur as if he was getting sleepy.
Then Lucca rose in her chair, "Crono, Ty is a toxicologist! He's probably using some kind of poison on you!"
"So that's what's going on!" Crono said fighting to stay awake.
"Ah, so it's finally kicked in has it?" Ty said from the protection of his smoke. "When that first smoke bomb went off I used some of the time to dab my daggers with some of my 'Tranquil Toxin'. A sleeping poison. Don't worry, it isn't fatal, it's perfect for these non-lethal fights! You probably don't even feel most of those other cuts I landed on you do you? You never responded when I cut you..."
Crono opened his eyes wide with amazement and realized he had more cuts on him than he remembered. "Impressive, he was able to strike me without me sensing his presence at all!" Crono thought impressed.
"That would be the result of my 'Ghostly Strike' technique," Ty explained. "No sign, no warning, no noise, just a quick invisible strike I use with my own speed and cunning. Sometimes, I think it has a little bit of 'magic' put into it! It goes great with my poisons. I lace every poison I make with a special numbing agent so you don't feel the small cuts. Actually, I developed it myself, because... I don't like making people suffer, so if I ever have to put someone down for good I just put them to sleep and let my other poisons do the work."
"You know, here I was thinking you're quite the rogue, but you're actually a really nice guy aren't you?" Crono said with a chuckle. "...But, why did you let me know what your special technique was? I can beat you now that I know that!" Crono said with more determination.
"We'll see about that, after all, all I need is to apply this toxin just one more time and you're out!" Ty said confidently.
Crono leaped into the air from his standing point and began to twirl in very fast circles. "You're not the only one with special techniques! I'm blowing your smoke away with my Cyclone technique!"
"The what now...?!" Ty said as Crono came barreling through the smoke in a circular pattern while spinning like a top. Ty tried to parry the attack, but only managed one parry as he was thrown out of the way with multiple other light strikes that were landed on his arms and legs. When Crono came to a stop, Ty was kneeling on the ground, his smoke dispersed.
"Heh..., that took care... of that little problem...!" Crono said with heavy breathing.
"Woah, that was some attack!" Ty said thoroughly surprised. "Ah well, just one smoke bomb left...," he thought as he tossed out the last smoke bomb.
"What another one?!" Crono shouted in surprise. Ty vanished into the smoke hoping he could get in one last Ghostly Strike. "Come on Crono think! Now where is he?!" he thought as he desperately attempted to use his senses to find Ty. Then Crono felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned around in a hurry and grabbed Ty's jacket. "Gotcha!" Crono smiled as he pointed at Ty with his finger. Bright white energy collected around Crono's finger as he blasted Ty with a powerful Lightning Bolt.
The bolt carried Ty out of the ring and dispersed his smoke. He landed on a table smoldering. "Crono, what the hell! Magic?! Why did you hit him with a Lighting Bolt spell?!" Marle shrieked in anger.
"Sorry, I guess I kinda got carried away...," Crono laughed mischievously.
"My butt, you just didn't want to lose!" Lucca accused.
Then something strange happened. Ty leaned up wearily, his body glowing with a green luminescent wind that surrounded him. His eyes gleamed through his goggles with the same color and he spoke, "Wind Spiral!" he shouted as a massive magical gust of wind barreled across the arena and collided with Crono.
Crono shouted as the gust of wind enveloped him in a tornado that spun him wildly around, leaving small cuts and throwing him around like a rag doll. "Marle, Lucca, stop this crazy thing!" he shouted as it ended with him crashing to the ground.
Marle and Lucca were stunned, "Don't tell me...!" Marle started.
"...That Ty can use Magic?!" Lucca followed.
The green winds around Ty subsided, "...There..., I finally have... a spell... of my own...," said Ty as he passed out.
Crono sat up and held the back of his head, "Ouch, what'd you do that for?! Ya jerk!" he cursed.
"I guess this guy's just full of surprises, huh, Crono?" Marle said as she knelt down beside him and used her own magic. "Don't worry, my Aura technique will fix you right up, Crono!" she said as she gleamed with a soft lavender light. Crono's body was enveloped in the warmth and his wounds healed before his eyes.
"Speaking of which, 'why' and 'how' exactly does Ty know magic? I really thought we were the only ones left in this era to use it," Lucca claimed curiously.
Both Crono and Marle came to Lucca, "Yeah, but that spell he used... It wasn't an element we know of," Crono said.
"Well, let's wake him up and ask him!" Marle said as she went over to heal Ty. Performing her Aura technique, Marle bathed Ty's body in a warm lavender light. All of his wounds were healed and he began to stir.
Ty sat up, moved his goggles back to his forehead, and massaged his eyes, "Oh, my aching head, what hit me...?" he moaned.
Marle took a good look at Ty and noticed his key, "Hey, that's a really pretty skeleton key you have! May I see it for a second?" she asked politely.
Ty came to, "Uh, sure I suppose," he said still trying to completely wake up. He took the key off and handed it to her.
Lucca began her examination and quickly took notice of what it was made from, "This key... is made from Dreamstone!" she gasped. "And this gemstone that is set into it is... the Sunstone!"
"Wow, it's so pretty!" Marle began as she examined it with her.
Lucca handed the Cloud Key back to Ty who was more than proud of it. "It's my finest treasure! It's a family heirloom... and it seems to let me use a type of Magic that... sorta moves the wind around. That Wind Spiral spell..., it just came to me when I got hit by... say what did you hit me with? D-Don't tell me that, you can use magic too?"
"Yeah, we all can," Crono stated reluctantly. "I can use Light magic. Sorry, it was kind of an old reflex..., but I hit you with a Lightning Bolt spell."
"I can use Water magic, but it always manifests itself as Ice," Marle explained. "I can also use healing magic too! That's how I patched you up so fast!"
"...And last, but not least, I can use Fire magic," Lucca followed.
"So I guess that means I can use Wind magic then? Neat," Ty said as he gazed at his right palm. "So how did you guys learn magic, what artifacts do you use?"
Crono and his friends looked rather pale, "Um, well it's a really long story, but we've been around the world a few times, seen lots'a stuff, met lots'a people, and picked it up along the way," Lucca said vaguely.
"Yeah, but we don't need an artifact though, we can... um, just because..., we were 'taught'," Marle said as she scratched her head.
"We've never met anyone who can use Wind magic or someone who needs an artifact to perform magic, so this is new for us," Crono stated with a wide grin.
"Is it really that rare...?" Ty asked curiously.
"I don't think so, I seem to remember the ancient Kingdom of Zeal and its people saying that some of them use artifacts to perform magic," Lucca said trying hard to remember. "Interesting, I wonder if Wind casters need artifacts to use it."
"My friend Tomo, the daughter of Toma XIII, can use magic that relates to rocks and stuff," Ty informed. "She also uses an artifact."
"You mean like... Earth magic?" Marle asked as her eyes widened.
"Yeah, but she's better than me with hers. She has a this antique hourglass," Ty explained.
"Oh, is that what they are called?" Marle asked curiously.
"Maybe, but that's what we call them," Ty said with a shrug.
"This is a lot to take in, why don't we start getting ready to head out?" Lucca suggested. "We can continue our conversation later over tea while we head to El Nido."
"Let's head out tomorrow. Ty, won't you have dinner at my castle tonight?" Marle invited with a smile. "Oh, and bring your friend as well!"
"Alright, I'll go and tell her!" Ty said as he jumped to his feet. "See you at the castle your Majesty!" he said as he took off.
"Oh and, call me Marle!" Marle whined as she flailed about.
*Later, at Guardia Castle, Marle's Room*
"So Crono, about Ty, how tough did you find him to be?" Lucca asked curiously.
Crono thought hard as he continued walking, "He's got some really good moves! If I'm gonna be king soon then I want to know where all the strong people in the world are. That Ghostly Strike move could have done some serious harm if he were a hired assassin! So now that I know about it I know how to counter it! Which reminds me, I think we should really learn some new tricks. That fight with him proved to me how out of shape I am, so I think we need to learn some new stuff."
"Makes sense," Lucca said as she took out her air pistol and shot it at a shield on the wall. She missed quite a few shots and only hit the center once. "It seems as though my sharpshooting skills have rusted a bit."
"Mine too," Marle claimed. "I tried hitting a training dummy earlier and I missed more than I would have liked. I should practice with the hunters and archers more."
"This is just sad, five lousy years, and our hard-earned skills are already so tarnished!" Lucca said in dismay.
"Anywho," Marle said as she approached Lucca with a coy smile. "So..., what do you think of him, Lucca? Quite a looker, huh? Real easy on the eyes!" Marle teased.
Lucca sighed, "...This again, well, I have a lot of respect for him. He's smart and knows his fields of study very well. Besides, you heard what he said he's got a woman in his life already."
"Oh, I heard what he said alright," Marle started coyly. "He said Tomo was a 'friend' of his. That didn't sound very romantic to me."
"Yes, but I wonder what she feels about him?" Lucca asked rhetorically.
"You're thinking about this too deeply, Lucca, you have nothing to lose by just trying!" Marle said trying to be convincing. "Besides, don't you want someone... 'special' in your life?"
Lucca blushed as she stammered, "...Well it's not like... I don't want someone... It's just that well, I'm not some 'milk maid' waiting to be swept off her feet by some dashing young rogue either!"
Marle giggled and Crono chuckled, "I find it funny that you used the word 'rogue', just now," Crono said with a wide grin. "I'm gonna go down to the kitchen to sneak some foodstuffs while you two get ready!" he said as he took off.
Lucca sighed deeper, "Marle let's talk about this later, please?!" she said losing her patience.
"That's fine, but since you're the Royal Scientist, that means you're my underling," Marle started with a mischievous grin. "Your majesty orders you to sit next to him at dinner tonight and establish more of a connection!"
"Ohh, fine...!" Lucca moaned. "...but this won't go anywhere I'm telling you!"
Marle jumped up enthusiastically, "Good, time for a make-over! I have the snazziest red gown for you to wear!"
*Royal Dining Hall*
The Royal Dining Hall was filled to the brim with guests who were attending the Guardian Festival. Ty and Tomo were overwhelmed. They each wore appropriate attire. Ty wore a black dress suit, while Tomo wore a black skirt and a white long-sleeved button-up dress shirt. She complained about a corset under her clothes. She spat in disgust, "Yech, I hate corsets, I can't eat very much while wearing one!"
"Aww, cheer up Tomo, it's not so bad, you look great in it!" Ty said with a smile. "You fill out that outfit so well, especially the backside!" he snickered.
"That's another thing about corsets, they make my hips look bigger than they are!" Tomo explained trying hard to find a more comfortable standing position.
"No, they just make your waist look slimmer, which makes your other areas stand out more," Ty replied.
"I-I guess you could say that...," Tomo said with a nervous blush. "You don't look half bad either. Your shoulders look nice and broad... ahem!"
"Thanks, every man should always have one of these suits for... just in case things like this pop-up!" Ty said confidently. "By the way, I don't see your hourglass on you, do you still have it? Don't you need it to keep your 'weight' issue under control?"
Tomo pulled the artifact out of her collar, "Nope it's with me, but strangely, I don't need it to change body types. I seem to be able to do that with or without it. Good thing, cause it would really be embarrassing to return to my original body right now! I just need it to cast magic spells!"
"That's good, at least you don't have to worry about a wardrobe malfunction!" Ty said with relief. "Oh, that reminds me, I dueled with the upcoming heir to the throne! I lost, but I learned a magic spell of my own! I call it the 'Wind Spiral' it's a powerful tornado that cuts things apart!" he continued with excitement.
Tomo brightened up, "That's great, see I told you, you would learn one eventually! But wait, you lost to the Prince?"
"Uh, yeah, he was a lot tougher than he looked, especially for a short guy," Ty explained with embarrassment. "Apparently, he, the Princess, and the Royal Scientist know how to use magic without an artifact!"
"Wow, so we're not the only ones!" Tomo said intrigued. "Hey, the Royal Scientist, wouldn't happen to be Lucca Ashtear would it? Did you meet her and tell her of our... little trip?" she said quietly.
"Not yet, it's kind of hard to break the ice on that one even if she is a scientist!" Ty said with worry.
Tomo sighed, "She is here tonight, right? You have to tell her... I'm sure she won't write you off as crazy. Here take this, I thought we might need it!" she said reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a shard of the Annihilation Fragment. "If she's any sort of scientist, this Annihilation Shard should get her interested!"
"Nice, but where did you get it?" Ty asked with surprise.
"Heh, you're not the only one who can snoop through people's pockets, Ty!" Tomo said coyly. "Anyway, I'm gonna head over to the buffet and get some food to eat. Hopefully, this corset won't get in my way... too much," she finished as she walked off.
Ty looked into the Annihilation Shard until he heard a familiar voice come from behind him. "Um, good evening Ty, how are you liking the party?" said Lucca trying to cast off her nervousness.
Ty quickly clasped the shard and faced Lucca with a smile. Her hair was cut even shorter than normal and it framed her face, reaching down to her chin. She was wearing a red tight gown with matching high heels. She also wore long white gloves and gold jewelry. "Great, it's lovely, I never thought I'd spend an evening in the company of royalty!" he said calmly.
Lucca had her hands behind her covering her rear, she was physically uncomfortable. "Marle picked out my wardrobe," Lucca started. "I really wish she would have lightened up on the corset underneath though, I can hardly breathe!" she chuckled.
Ty laughed as well, "My friend Tomo was just complaining about the same thing."
"Really? I'm kinda self-conscious about it myself. I just don't want it to be seen through the gown," said Lucca with a chuckle. "Along with the corset, the pumps and this gown really show my hips and my chest and I'm not used to that sort of thing. So I hope you don't think I... um..., never mind, what I mean to ask is, what did you think of the Princess? Is she different than you thought?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Definitely, she's... cute and sweet," Ty said as if he were describing a little sister. "I thought she was a cold-hearted brat with only selfish desires..."
"What made you think that...?" Lucca asked curiously with a raised eyebrow.
"I guess..., it's what everyone else told me..., all the rumors and things," Ty said sounding humbled and a little confused.
"Oh well, try not to worry about that," Lucca said reassuringly. "Marle's a jumpy, childish young woman and she's a tad bit of a crybaby, but she's a really kind person at heart."
"I see..., well I feel bad now for believing all that crap," Ty said embarrassed. "I can't believe I judged the book before I read it. I don't usually make a habit of that, but I guess it's kinda easy to do with politicians and other such people in high places."
"...So, did you have an opinion of me, by any chance? Before you met me, I mean," Lucca said sheepishly.
"Well, I never heard of you until recently... that is... until...," Ty said hiding his thoughts.
"Until...?" Lucca blinked curiously.
"Um... well, you're a scientist right?" he asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, of course...," Lucca said with confirmation.
"Now, don't think I'm a nut or anything... even Tomo can vouch for me, but do you know anything about... time travel...?" Ty asked with a cold sweat.
Lucca's eyes widened as she too broke out into a cold sweat. She tried to breathe heavily, but couldn't because of her outfit, "Um, I have... looked into such things, why do you ask?"
Ty opened his clenched palm and showed her the Annihilation Shard, "I stole this from a monster in some weird dimension that Tomo and I were... 'thrown' into... You know as proof. After we escaped through a portal or something, we ended up in some... futuristic facility. The head of the place threw your name out there and that's how I learned of you. I was hoping you could... explain a few things for us...," he said uneasily.
"Well, first things first, tell me exactly what happened... if you don't mind," Lucca insisted.
"Alright, let's have a seat first...," Ty suggested.
*Meanwhile*
Marle was dressed in her usual lovely white dress with blue trimmings as she overlooked the party with her fiancé, Crono, who was just as nicely dressed as she was. Marle watched with a playful grin as she set eyes on Lucca, who was chatting intently with Ty. "Oh good, they seem to be hitting things off pretty well!" Marle said with interest.
"You've been reading way too many romance novels lately, Marle," Crono teased.
"Nah, I just wanna look out for my friend is all," Marle stated as someone caught her eye. "Oh, that must be Tomo Levine! I saw her come in with him. I'm gonna go and chat it up with her!" she said as she trotted off.
Crono caught a clear view of Lucca's face and grew concerned, "She seems more like she's in distress than anything... I hope she'll be alright."
Marle approached Tomo and gave her a look over, "Wow, she's pretty thick! I kinda wish I had muscles like those!" she thought.
Tomo turned to catch Marle's gaze. She reacted in surprise, "Oh, is there something I can help you with your majesty?" she asked politely.
"Your Toma's daughter correct? I would like to chat for a while if that's fine with you?" Marle asked politely.
"Now to see if Ty's right about her!" Tomo thought. "Yeah, no problem!"
Marle and Tomo took a seat and Marle eagerly began conversing, "So, would you mind telling me about your work and your co-workers a little?"
"Well, as you know, I'm the daughter of the world-famous explorer Toma Levine XIII and I have a little brother who is XIV!" Tomo began. "We Levines founded the Explorer Corps. to unearth the world's mysteries."
"Oh, I love a good adventure, me and my friends went on quite a trip five years ago and it was the most fun I'd had in years!" Marle stated perkily.
"I bet! You probably get pretty frustrated being cooped up in this castle all day long!" Tomo guessed.
"Oh, it's terrible sometimes, I just don't know what to do with myself!" Marle continued.
"Ty and I just got back from El Nido recently, so that was... interesting...," Tomo said trying to find the right words without sounding suspicious.
"Hmm, so Ty is... your boyfriend then?" Marle said with a grin.
Tomo blushed, "Nah, I've only known him for a little while, plus... I think we make better rivals than something like... lovers..."
"Really, why's that?" Marle prodded some more.
"Well, my dad doesn't like him too much considering our families are sort of competitors... I guess," Tomo claimed still blushing.
"Oh, your families are feuding with one another?" Marle asked curiously.
"I wouldn't say feud... it's more like they compete for treasure and valuables. The Drayguards have always tried to get to someplace before us so they could get all the goodies, but we've beaten them for the most part," Tomo explained. "They also aren't the most honorable folks around, seeing as how they used to be a family of thieves and pirates."
"I had no idea..., but they aren't thieves anymore, right?" Marle asked clasping her hands.
"Nope, his grandpa put a stop to it and restored the family to a more honorable state," Tomo responded. "They still know the family trade skills, but decide to use them for better purposes. Although, their reputation hasn't really recovered even with his grandpa's intervention. "
"That's good he put a stop to that but I can that's too bad about the reputation. It'll get better for him though, I'm sure of it!" Marle interjected. "You said you were in El Nido recently? How about you come with us tomorrow and help me find clues as to what happened to my fiance's dad? Ty is already coming along so I think it would be good if we had another, so how about it?"
"Sure, I wouldn't pass up the chance!" Tomo said excitedly.
"Great, my servants will get you anything you need. So please feel free to stay here tonight. We'll head out tomorrow at the break of dawn!" Marle said as she excused herself.
"Wow, Ty was right, the Princess really is a cheerful woman!" Tomo thought as she munched on a shrimp.
*Back with Lucca*
Lucca placed her hands on Ty's arm in a cold sweat, "Quick then, you have to tell me everything you changed! Let's go to the lab real quick so I can take a look at this rock!"
"Um..., okay sure...," Ty said as he was dragged away.
Crono caught Lucca dragging Ty away in a hurry. "Hmm, I wonder what got Lucca all flustered?" he asked no one in particular.
Marle came up to Crono with a grin on her face, "Well, I've concluded that Tomo and Ty are not all lovey-dovey so that means Lucca still may have a shot!"
"I think she may be taking that shot right now," Crono said snidely. "She just dragged him off somewhere. Heh, you know what the Nu said back in Zeal, Wind makes Fire dance!"
Marle blushed fiercely, "Lucca wait, you're skipping a few steps, you're not supposed to be naughty yet! Oh, I must have made her too pretty!"
"I don't think that's what's going on Marle," Crono said trying to keep her calm. "She had that, 'science' look in her eye, so I think she may be headed to her new lab."
Marle moaned in distress, "Hmm, I don't know..."
*Guardia Lab, Guardia Castle*
The lab was filled to the brim with broken machinery as well as many tools that were laying around. Lucca approached her workbench and placed the Annihilation Shard onto a microscope. She looked into it and after a few moments, became astounded, "This energy..., it's the same as what's manipulated by a Time Egg," she whispered to herself. She turned to Ty, "So as I was saying, what history did you change?" she asked with full belief in his claim.
"I think we changed, El Nido, I don't know how far back, but it looks like there was some civilization there now. Before, it was nothing but an empty sea that had strange phenomena that would occur there," Ty explained.
"Hmm, so I wonder if you may have changed Crono's dad's fate as well?" Lucca mused. "He went there to investigate but never returned. That's where we're going tomorrow, I want to know more about this and more about that Frozen Flame you mentioned!"
*End of Chapter*