Lost and Found

Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Romance

Rating: PG-13

Setting: Post-game

Spoiler warning: This takes place during and after the new ending of the DS version and also mentions the new ultimate weapons. If you have NOT finished the new ending yet, turn back now!

Part 2

Part 2

1006 AD…

A dark period for the Kingdom of Guardia. Or whatever was left of it.

After the fall of the Royal Family and the death of King Crono and Queen Marledia (1), Porre had nearly taken complete control of the northern continent. The troops that constantly patrolled around Truce had driven many villagers to leave their houses behind and leave for Medina, where the Mystics took them under their wing almost instantly. Since they had kept neutral for so long, it would be a fool's errand for Porre to suddenly assault them. Not to mention the fact that their magic was still far superior to Porre's "Elements".

Only a few people still remained in Truce after all the setbacks that had happened. Fritz had taken over the market after his father had perished in the war against Porre.

Jina (2) had stayed put throughout the entire affair and refused to budge afterwards, even when the Porre soldiers came to her house. They didn't try again after meeting the blunt end of her frying pan one too many times. She still protected her house and everything her son had left behind, including the crimson Dreamseeker (3) that had, mysteriously, replaced the Rainbow he had once wielded. The hilt was still covered in the young King's dried up blood.

And lastly, there was Lucca Ashtear, Crono's childhood friend and the only one of the "Heroes of Time" from that era to have survived the war against Porre. As such, this meant that she was one of the two final survivors of that fabled group of seven, considering that Robo had been built long after that war. While she, Crono and Marle had not stuck around for long in the future when they had been searching for Jina, the world had appeared to be at peace.

Her own armor and weapons from their journey rested on a doll in the back of her room, relics of a time that seemed so far away… A time where every day was an adventure in their journey to stop the end of their world. Nowadays, she felt herself missing those times and she often found herself reflecting on the past, reliving those precious memories of her dear friends.

Saying goodbye at the end of their journey had been painful for all of them, she knew, but they had all known from the start that returning to their own time had been a necessity. Even saying goodbye to Magus had been a bummer. Sure, no one really said anything to him, nor did he say anything in return, but she had seen how he had been so tempted to say something to them before disappearing through the Gate.

And Lucca had seen how Marle had almost reached out to offer some healing magic for the wound on Magus' face. When Zeal had lashed out at him with one of her hands, they'd almost been afraid she'd lash his head off. Thankfully she had only struck his face rather than his neck, though the result was still far from pretty. There had been no time to waste on healing the injury, since, as Magus put it; it was a minor injury compared to the other injuries Zeal was causing.

After that, they had not stopped long enough to think about it, having more important matters to think off.

Now that they were 6 years further, Lucca couldn't help but wonder how everyone was doing. A brief trip to the library had revealed to her that Frog had eventually returned back to his human form, most likely because Magus had eventually passed away. After all; if the Fiendlord had been sent back to 12.000 BC, then naturally he'd die long before Frog… or Glenn, as he was henceforth called once more.

But that was as far as her research would take her; there was no data of 65 million years or 12.000 years in the past. That was just asking for the impossible.

And with Crono and Marle gone, she had only so little people to talk to. The majority of her other friends had moved to Medina, and Luccia, her old friend from Porre, barely had the chance to write, let alone come to visit.

She had changed her apparel over the last year, enough to the point where anyone not knowing her well enough would mistake her for someone else. Not because she really wanted to, but because she knew she had to stay in hiding for the moment. To say that she feared for her life without her friends was an understatement; if Crono, one of the strongest magic-users of their era, had died at the hands of an army with only those Elements, how much good would she be against them?

And besides, she still had one reason to live on.

Looking down at the girl sleeping contently in her lap, Lucca couldn't help but allow a small smile. The small girl was sucking her thumb, holding a small plush doll of Crono close to her. Standing up, she moved upstairs to tuck the small girl in.

Kid was all she had left now, and she'd be damned if she let the girl down.

"I'm okay, mom," Lucca quipped as she worked on breakfast, keeping the phone she had developed stuck between her head and her shoulder by tilting her head to the side. "Kid's doing okay, too. She's a bit hyper at times, but she's happy, and that's all that matters to me right now, really."

Pancakes had never been an easy subject for Lucca, but she'd managed somehow. Her mother had taught her the basics of cooking, and Jina was more than happy to provide her with any information she needed about raising a child.

But the pain in her eyes whenever she looked at the child nearly made Lucca's heart ache. As much as Jina would never admit it, she missed her own child dearly. After Crono's father passed away, the boy was all she'd had left of him. And she had nearly lost him as a child, too.

Losing a parent was never a good thing for a child, especially for one so young. Lucca had been lucky in that Lara had never actually died that fated day. Crono's father had not been so lucky, and Crono had become a silent, withdrawn child, refusing to speak even to his own mother. It had taken Lucca two years to drag him out of that funk, since she knew that it would destroy him if she didn't.

And besides, she owed him for pulling her out of the same thing.

"Anyway, I'll be sure to stop by when I can. … Love you, too, mom."

Sighing softly as she hung up the phone, she tapped it to her forehead. "…Crono, you dolt… why'd you have to leave me all alone like that? I could really use your and Marle's help… or anyone's, for that matter…"

Shopping was something that she usually didn't do much since she had Fritz bring some supplies most of the time, but sometimes, Lucca just wanted to go out, so she did just that. She always brought Kid along, just in case Porre decided to stop by her place when she wasn't home. Sure, she had Robby and Gonzales to protect her house, but she'd rather have Kid close-by.

No one really looked up as the two girls walked by, with Kid holding on to Lucca's hand tightly. The few people still living in Truce stuck together and did not betray each other, having lived their whole lives in the small city. So even if Porre did come just then, no one would give her away.

Kid was having fun just by walking around with Lucca, sometimes staying behind before kicking off and letting Lucca swing her forward. That simple act was enough to perk Lucca up, though, as she passed by several flyers on the notice board, the feeling started to fade. She'd seen those flyers multiple times, but there kept getting more and more of them.

They were "Missing" flyers, of the children that had disappeared after their parents had been either killed or captured by Porre. Most of them had been previously looked after by their relatives or other caring families, but after a while, they had all run away from home and had never been seen again. Whether Porre had captured them or if they were hiding somewhere, no one was sure, but everyone was worried about them.

And it made Lucca worry all the more about Kid.

"Are you sure you don't need any help?"

Lucca blinked, recognizing the voice as that of Fritz, and turned toward the market's entrance.

"No, thank you, I'll manage," said a man as he walked out the door, carrying what looked like a heavy bag of supplies in his arms. He was donning a heavy traveler's cloak, effectively hiding his features.

"Are you sure? I could have someone help-"

"No, really, thank you, I'll be fine. My camp is not that far from here." The man spoke with a confident, powerful voice while retaining his politeness, though it sounded a bit clipped at points, like he didn't really want to be there. It actually reminded Lucca of someone she once knew…

Shaking it off, she watched the man as he somehow managed to keep the supplies balanced in his arms, using one hand to keep the items inside from spilling out. His paces were pretty big, but still small enough so that he would not accidentally drop something.

However, just as he made to walk past them, Kid stepped back and kicked off once again. The sudden force of Kid's swing cause Lucca to yelp as she stumbled—and promptly smacked into the man as he passed them.

"Ack!/Ugh!"

Of course, because of that, both of them tumbled to the ground with yowls of surprise, followed by the loud crashes of the man's supplies scattering about the street. Kid, miraculously, had managed to stay standing somehow, thus saving her the pain of hitting the ground and quite possibly hurting herself, though she did look at Lucca and the man in slight confusion, still too young to really understand what she had just done.

"Oh shiiiiizzle!" Lucca caught herself from cussing in front of Kid at the last second. "I'm so sorry!" Climbing to her knees, she started to gather some of the supplies quickly. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting her to do that so suddenly… I'm sorry."

"It's okay…" the man said as he sat up, picking up some of the supplies and putting them back in the bag. Lucca did her best to help, putting the heavier and more solid objects in first, before putting the food supplies in on top to avoid them being smushed in the bag. "It happens… Kids can be unpredictable sometimes."

Thinking that it was a game, Kid toddled over with a bright grin, collecting whatever she could find of the man's scattered supplies and putting them in the bag. Luckily, either Lucca or the man managed to save the foods before they could be crushed under the weight of the other supplies. Kid's actions caused the man to smile a little, and Lucca was just glad that he wasn't angry.

She couldn't see much of his features, even when they were this close, but the few features she could make out did not tell her much. He had a sharp nose, and his mouth was drawn into a tight line, though it loosened up when he smiled. Strangely enough, the look on his face when he wasn't smiling actually seemed really familiar, but she couldn't place it.

Kid giggled happily, reaching into the bag to, obviously, empty it out and start the game again, but the man lightly took her hand and quipped: "Okay, enough playing for now, alright? Maybe next time."

Lucca giggled as Kid pouted unhappily, knowing that, while Kid didn't whine or cry, she would definitely keep up the puppy dog eyes until she had her way.

"Kid, enough already," Lucca said, reaching over and gently picking up the small girl as the man gathered up the bag and rose to his feet as well. "We'll play with the nice mister later, okay?"

Kid let out a brief whine of dissatisfaction, before she nodded. "Kay, Sis…"

Lucca looked to the man with a small look of apology on her face, and he simply nodded in return to show he understood. "I'm sorry again for the trouble."

"No need to worry," he said, briefly waving his hand without moving his arm from around the bag. "I do not mind, really. Nor do I mind if you were to stop by at a later time at my camp."

"Really? Well, thanks." Lucca allowed a smile. This guy might give off an air of total indifference, but he wasn't SO bad, really. "We'll gladly take you up on that offer."

A small smile flashed over his face as she said that and Kid perked up at the thought of playing some more. "I'll look forward to seeing you, then. My camp is to the west of Guardia Forest, within a clearing near some old ruins."

"Oh! You mean the cathedral's ruins?" It was out before she could stop herself and she nearly smacked herself. The people of the current age had all completely forgotten about the cathedral, both that it had ever been there, and why it was destroyed. She could understand why, and she usually avoided speaking about things no one should know, but that had just come out without her thinking about it.

"Oh, so it was a cathedral?" the man asked, a hint of something in his voice she couldn't decipher. "Hmm… In any case, yes, that is the one." Briefly adjusting his hold on the bag, he said with a nod: "I should be going now, before this bag gives in to the weight. I will see you later, then."

Lucca nodded politely, even as Kid waved cheerily after him.

It wasn't until after she had gotten home that Lucca realized that she hadn't asked for his name…

By the time that Lucca had actual time to go see the stranger, a week had nearly passed by. Kid had been jumping about, constantly asking her when they'd go see "brother" again. The small girl had quickly taken a liking to the man. And as much as Lucca didn't want Kid to get attached to anyone but her, she was kind of glad she might not be alone in raising her now.

That is, assuming the stranger actually wished to stay in Guardia with Porre on the move.

As she began the long trek to the western woods, she held Kid close to her. Halfway through the trip, Kid had used up all her energy and had fallen asleep in Lucca's arms, sucking her thumb. Lucca allowed a smile and kept walking.

As she walked, though, she couldn't help but wonder… Just who was that man? Something about his aura had felt hauntingly familiar, but she couldn't place it. It felt like he came from somewhere far, far away, so far in fact that mere words could not describe from whence he came. There was almost something… magical about him.

…

…

"…no way…"

The thought hit her with such suddenness, that she stopped walking altogether.

"Could it…?"

But before she could actually voice her thoughts, the sound of gunshots snapped her out of her stupor. Once she had managed to identify the sound, she felt herself paling. Only one group of people she knew of used guns.

Porre.

The soldiers did not move at all after the first shots had been fired, not because they were preparing to aim again, but because they were struck dumb at what they were seeing. A single cloaked figure stood between them and the forest's entrance, two fingers placed lightly on a single wooden staff he held in front of him, which appeared to be hovering about 3 inches above the ground without any help. Upon closer inspection, several bullets laid scattered about the man's feet, still lightly smoking from leaving the barrels of the guns at high speed.

The man's expression was one of anger, even if all they could see under his hood was the bottom half of his face, and with his stance alone he let it be known that he was very displeased. This should've been enough to make anyone back off, and about half of the soldiers seemed just about ready to run for the hills.

"This place is of no concern to any of you." The man spoke so icily that, had it been humanly possible, he would've frozen the entire surrounding area with his words alone. "Leave."

Some of the soldiers briefly glanced at each other, fright visible in their statures alone, before they each turned and ran as fast as their legs could carry them. The commander of the squad spluttered in surprise when they did that, before he shouted after: "Cowards!" However, even as he turned back to the man, it was clear he was just as scared of this person as his subordinates.

"You still want to fight?" the man quipped lightly, before he allowed an almost icy smirk, exposing a pair of razor sharp fangs. "Very well. Come, if it is death you seek!"

Lucca was hiding behind a tree as those words were spoken, and they made her blood run cold as she remembered clearly the first time she had ever heard those words. Only one person in existence could speak so coldly that he could make a grown man shake in his boots with fear.

"…Magus…" she mouthed, watching in rapt awe as he moved gracefully to use the wooden staff as a shield by spinning it around and around rapidly, deflecting the bullets fired at him, before he rushed (most would believe it to be sprinting, but Lucca could tell he was hovering) straight at them and gave each of them a powerful smack to the back of their necks with the staff. This action surprised her slightly; he had just said, or at least implied, that he would kill them, and yet all he did was knock them unconscious.

As the last of the soldiers fell, he stepped back and looked over his 'handiwork' for a few moments more. Once he seemed completely sure that they were knocked out, he said without turning around: "I know you're there. Show up."

Lucca yelped lightly in surprise, before she gulped and slowly stepped out of her hiding place as he turned around.

Once he caught sight of her, though, his stature shifted immediately. "Oh, it's you," he said wistfully, as if he hadn't expected them to appear, while casually propping up the staff over his shoulder.

For a moment, neither spoke, but then Lucca opened her mouth. "You know… you could have said something about who you were, jerk." She was glad that Kid was still asleep (somehow) so she wouldn't hear her big sister calling the guy names.

As that comment left her mouth though, his face tilted slightly to the side and his mouth twisted into a confused frown. "Something…? Something like what?"

"About who you were, duh!" She hated sounding so condescending at times, but at times, it was the only way to get a response out of Magus.

This time, he didn't give a peep about it. He just stared for a long moment, not really moving much. After about a minute, though, he finally opened his mouth, even if it took a few more tries before he got anything out.

"…you know who I am…?"

The question rendered Lucca speechless. The question had been simple, but it had been laced with something akin to hope, almost as if was hoping to hear her say "yes". But why would he…?

"What do you mean…?" Lucca had the distinct feeling she knew EXACTLY what he meant, but she found herself desperately hoping that he didn't.

"Do you know me…? I… I awoke in these woods three months ago. I do not know how and… I, honestly, don't know anything. But I feel… like something is missing. Something… important." He fell silent for a moment, lowering his head briefly before he looked up at her again. "So…do you?" There was no mistaking it now; he really was hoping for a "yes".

She contemplated on what to say. Sure, this guy did fight a lot like Magus, and he could even hover, but was it really him? Was it even possible? The last she and her friends had seen of Magus had been him jumping into a Gate to 12.000 BC, so how had he managed to get back to their time?

Could it really…?

"…could you remove your hood?" she asked after a moment, pointing to her own head as she did.

He tensed sharply at the question, and seemed about ready to decline, but he shut his mouth quickly. Silence befell them both for a moment longer, neither of the two really knowing what to say or do. However, as one of the soldiers groaned and tried to get up, he quickly struck the guy on the head again, once more knocking him out, without even glancing over to him.

"…all… all right…" he finally said, releasing the staff so that it hovered in place, allowing him to reach for his hood with both hands, moving it back almost hesitantly. Lucca kept her eyes trained on him as the cloth slowly fell away.

And she gasped.

The first thing she saw was the mass of pale purple strands that hung down past his eyes, the style having slightly changed from what she remembered. But once she had gotten over that, she finally realized why he had clearly been hesitant about removing his hood. The upper part of his face was adorned by a very nasty scar, and she knew right off the bat that it had been caused during the fight against Zeal.

But there was one thing different that made her hesitate.

His eyes were a dark emerald, rather than the fiery crimson she had known for so long.

Yet… those same emerald eyes… she had seen them before somewhere…

'…ah!'

"Darn! I lost sight of her!" Crono grumbled softly under his breath. They had been walking around the interior of the city of Enhasa, talking to a creature whom looked an awful lot like Gran and Leon, yet was clearly female. She had been a strange one to talk to, and they still didn't know her name, or even if she was somehow related to the two spirits Frog's blade held.

"Easy, Crono," Lucca quipped, patting his shoulder. "Let's check the upper floors. Maybe she went over there."

"Hmm… sure." Nodding, Crono walked ahead of Lucca and Ayla, with the cavewoman looking around quite energetically.

They moved toward the stairs, but stopped dead when someone blocked their way up. The trio blinked in surprise when they saw it was a young boy, his hair as blue as that of everyone else in Zeal, but his sharp, emerald eyes were nowhere near the dreaming gaze of the people in Enhasa they had met so far. At his feet sat a small, purple-furred cat, meowing curiously at them, as if questioning them on the boy's behalf who they were.

Lucca adjusted her glasses as she blinked, before she said: "Hey kid, it's not polite to stare, you know?"

Ayla pushed up on Lucca's shoulders curiously, nearly pushing the scientist into the ground with the force. "Oh! Creature for eat? Good eat?" she questioned hyperly, and Lucca could just imagine the big grin on the woman's face.

The boy did not respond to the questions, and instead dashed down the stairs, very nearly knocking them all over. The small cat hurried after him as he went. The trio quickly whirled around to focus their attention on him.

"The black winds howl…" the boy's voice was solemn and almost wistful, but there was also a certain coldness in it, as if he didn't care either way. Then he turned back to face the small group. "One among you will perish soon."

Lucca's breath froze as those intense emerald eyes told her that he was NOT joking around.

They were the same eyes… Sure, they were less cold than she remembered (in fact, they weren't cold at all), and the malice that was usually present in their red counterparts was missing entirely, but they were definitely the eyes of the same boy she had met so long ago in the Kingdom of Zeal.

Now, they were filled with a combination of sadness and a small ray of hope. Sadness at losing everything that had made him… well, "him", and hope at, maybe, finding someone who could help him to recover some of that. But, what was Lucca supposed to say? She knew very well who he was, but would he want to know the things he'd done?

…not to mention, would he believe that?

It took several tense seconds, before she made up her mind.

A warm but teasing grin spread over her face before she spoke again. "What? So you're saying you really forgot about "Lucca the Great"? Now that hurts, Janus!"

"So… this is where all those kids disappeared to?" Lucca asked as she watched Kid playing with the 'missing' children from Truce on the different wooden constructions that had been set up quite recently by the looks of things. The kids didn't appear to be either malnourished or mistreated by anyone. Rather, they seemed to be enjoying themselves quite a lot.

"I wouldn't really call it 'disappeared'," Janus said plainly. "I'd sooner call it hiding away after running away from home."

"What do you mean? That they all ran away on their own?"

"Pretty much. I merely took them in when they had nowhere else to go."

Lucca looked at Janus in slight disbelief, since the guy she had known so long ago would never do such a thing, but one look at his face and she could tell that he meant what he said, even if he wasn't looking her way. Rather than that, he was keeping a watchful eye on the kids as they played, probably to ensure none of them got hurt while playing.

That he was actually watching out for them was a bit of a surprise to Lucca, but somewhere, she felt she could understand it, just a little. He remembered nothing about himself, and he had nothing to live for at that point. He had said he was searching for something, but even he didn't know what it was he was looking for. Those kids might still have their memories, but they had, probably, also been looking for something; a place where there were people who would honestly care about them.

Sure, their family would be able to offer that if they really tried, but it wasn't what the kids wanted. They needed their parents, and that was probably why they had run off like that. It might not have been a very smart idea, to adults, but these kids had figured it was the best idea.

Turning her head away from the kids, Lucca regarded the man sitting next to her for a moment. Even after telling him his name, he had not given any indication that he had recognized either his own or Lucca's. He had thought long and hard, but had clearly been unable to place either of them. But the fact that she knew who he was had been enough for him at that point. Because at least he was not a "nobody" anymore.

Lucca also had an idea of what, or rather who, he was looking for, but she wasn't sure how he would take that. After all, that person was, more than likely, long dead by that point. There was no way that Schala would still be alive now, unless she had somehow been thrown through time, too, but that was something Lucca doubted.

Thus, she wisely kept quiet about his sister.

After a moment of silence, she quipped while pointing to the girls' doll houses: "You made all those yourself?"

"Hmm… pretty much," he said casually. "Children need to keep themselves busy somehow, otherwise they'll start thinking about the situation they're in."

Lucca allowed a small smile. She should be saying something along the lines that it was better to take those kids home, but she couldn't bring herself to. When she looked upon the kids, she could see how happy they were. Sometimes they would run over, calling Janus "Big Brother" and nearly begging him to play with them. Janus would humor them and play along for a little while, which was clearly more than enough for them.

And Kid?

She fit right into the crowd, having the time of her life whether she was playing with the other children or with Janus. The others made sure she wouldn't get hurt falling down or anything of the sort, with the older kids looking after the younger ones. It was almost like a small village of children, now that she thought about it.

With the children so focused on each other, though, it gave Lucca the time to talk to Janus.

She still found it a tad odd to call him that, although she made sure not to let him know of that. The last thing she needed was him getting suspicious of her.

"Sooo… anyway, you said you woke up in this place?" Lucca started casually.

Janus didn't answer right away, opting instead to watch the children play. But Lucca didn't pressure him into answering; she just waited patiently, since she remembered very well that Magus rarely ever answered immediately unless the situation asked for it.

"Yeah… pretty much." When Janus finally answered, Lucca glanced over again. "…I woke up a little further into these woods, but… yeah." At that point, he paused in talking, seeming to lose himself in his thoughts.

…or his memories…

It was dark… probably because it was night. One look up revealed a dark sky twinkling with several hundred shimmering stars, and a crescent moon smiling down upon the world. But all these things meant very little to him as he slowly walked past the trees, sometimes leaning up against them when he threatened to lose his balance.

Slowly, he moved his head to look around, seeing nothing but endless trees within the darkness, hearing nothing but the forest's night creatures calling out, and feeling nothing but the quiet wind that blew through his hair.

"…What is this place?" he whispered softly to himself, pushing away from a tree and moving forward a bit. However, as he did, his head started pounding, making him cry out as he reached up, falling down to his knees as he briefly lost his balance. The pounding faded after a few moments, leaving him gasping for breath.

He remained sitting there for a few moments, before a sudden realization came to him. "Who… who am I?" he breathed. "What's happened? I… I don't remember anything…"

Gripping his head tightly, he groaned and attempted to remember… anything. But no memories would come to him, though there was one thing he felt very strongly. "There was something… something I needed to do." No… that wasn't right. "Something I needed to… to find."

Yes, that sounded right…

Climbing back on his feet, he looked around once more. "I must find a way to remember," he determined. "I will."

And with those words, he began his solemn trek out of the woods into civilization.

"I see…" Lucca couldn't think of anything else to say.

The kids had no idea what they were talking about, too busy playing to really pay attention, and for that, she was kind of glad. She wasn't sure how many of them knew that Janus had amnesia, but she wasn't about to find out.

Loss of memory was not a good, or happy, occasion, but from what she remembered, people couldn't actually forget "everything". Somewhere in their subconscious, they'd keep traces of it hidden, and the moment you said something that had some connection to it, the person would begin to remember.

Or at least, that's what she heard.

"Hmm… let me think…" Lucca mumbled, tapping her temple in thought. "Well, maybe if you hear some things from your past, maybe you'll remember something," she offered.

"…That really works?" Janus asked, a touch of hope underlining his voice.

"Sometimes, not always. It all depends on the person, I suppose."

"Oh… I see."

"…Well, it's something, at least. You want to try?"

"…Yeah, sure."

Lucca turned to face Janus and he merely sat there, watching her while not turning his body around. That way, he could still keep an occasional eye on the kids. She didn't mind as she wracked her brain for anything that could possibly make him remember something about his past.

That was not the easiest thing in the world, since Lucca only had a minimal amount of knowledge of his past and she had a feeling if she said words like "Lavos" or "Schala" he would flip out. She'd save those words for very last if nothing else worked.

"Hmm… Okay, I got it! Time, Reason, Life."

Janus blinked a few times in question, but did not voice them and instead pondered the three words he had been given.

Lucca admitted, it might not do much had the words been said alone, but when put together, the only thing that Lucca would find herself thinking of was the trio of Gurus from Zeal. She just hoped that it would be enough for Janus, for now.

"Time… Reason… Life…" Janus murmured, rubbing his temple. "…there's… there's something… familiar about that… but… I can't…"

Lucca reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, making him look up. "It's okay. The fact that that did something is enough. At least it means you haven't 'completely' lost your memories."

"…I suppose… but I still want to know…"

Lucca allowed a chuckle. "I know, Janus, I know… Okay! New word!"

As the kids continued to play, Lucca and Janus continued to talk, with Lucca saying words about the Kingdom of Zeal as they came to mind, and Janus attempting to pin a meaning to them. Half the time he couldn't figure out the significance to them, but sometimes he would actually remember something, like when Lucca imitated a cat, and Janus remembered a cat with purple fur ("But… that doesn't make any sense, does it?" "Hey, we both have purple hair and no one's complaining about us!") or when she pulled a Nu face and Janus laughing while quipping about how she wasn't blue. Small things like that, usually, but it was something at least. And it cheered Janus up in knowing that he hadn't lost ALL his memories.

However, as was normal with everything fun, this made them lose track of time, and before they knew it, the sun was beginning to set and the sky turned red, signaling that Lucca and Kid had to go back home. And as expected, not everyone was happy with that; the other children were all whining and pouting for them to stay, and Kid was giving her trademarked puppy dog eyes at Lucca.

Thankfully, they all perked up when Janus quipped that Kid and Lucca were welcome to stop by at any time.

As Lucca and Kid came back home, Kid had used up all of her remaining energy and was already fast asleep before they had even crossed the bridge to Lucca's house.

Lucca smiled a bit as she headed inside and up the stairs to tuck Kid in.

She would have never imagined that she'd ever see Magus… correction, Janus again. Of all people, he had been the last one she'd expected to run into. Sure, it would've been even less likely to run into Ayla or Glenn, but even so, it was still surprising.

Maybe she should call Melchior sometime and see if she could surprise him with the guy. Who knows, maybe meeting the old man would trigger some memories with Janus. She couldn't get Alfador, so that was out. And as for Schala… well, that was pretty obvious.

She'd mentioned a lot of things from Zeal, but certain things like the Demonic Vessel (4), Dalton, and things that might be a tad sensitive, she had skipped over those, just in case he did remember them.

Some things were just better forgotten. Hell, Lucca wished SHE could forget them at times…

Then again…

If not for Dalton, they wouldn't have obtained the ability of flight for Epoch, and if the Demonic Vessel had never existed they would have never had the Grandleon to begin with. So she supposed that if she forgot about all of the bad things, it would be like forgetting everything that had mattered.

Shaking it away for the moment, Lucca finished tucking in Kid and headed for her own room. As she went, though, a small smile played on her face. She hadn't expected the day to turn out like this, but she wasn't complaining. At least she had someone to really talk to now.

As she climbed into bed, though, she couldn't help but wonder…

'I wonder if he remembers me…'

"…Those cretins are still alive?" Magus questioned quietly as he narrowed his eyes. It was obvious that he was not too happy with that little fact.

"Do you have any idea where they could be hiding?" Crono asked, doing his best not to aggravate the mage any further. Last thing they needed was an angry Magus on their hands. Thankfully, the question only made the mage think about the possibilities for a moment.

"…I think I do. Ozzie did have another stronghold not that far from my old one…"

That was how they ended up at Ozzie's Manor, where they ran into Ozzie, Slash and Flea, who had been more than ready to kill them, even with Magus on their side. …Or maybe that should be especially with Magus on their side.

Flea had been relatively easy… Slash, a little harder…

And then they were coming at them at the same time, which made it so much harder. Even Magus admitted that those three might be easy pickings alone, but when working together… ho boy.

The fight had been brutal. After joining forces, it was like their entire pattern had changed. Or maybe it had. In any case, they found themselves struggling quite badly, and sure, they managed to score in some hits, but they were hardly doing the damage they wanted to. Crono had Luminaire, sure, and Lucca had her bombs, but with most of Magus' energy drained by Lavos, the chance of him successfully pulling of Dark Matter was rather slim.

And then they used Delta Storm… and all that went through Lucca's mind was 'Yep, we're dead'.

But before the thought had really ended, a pale green glow seemed to come from their bodies, an odd kind of warmth coming over them. And while the attack still hit, the damage it did felt way less bad than she would have thought.

And she had not expected to see Magus standing there, glaring with his hand still partly raised from his previous spell-casting. "Now you've done it…" he mumbled, as if he wasn't expecting anyone to hear it. "Now you've REALLY done it!"

And both herself and Crono stared in a combination of surprise, relief and hope as dark energy began to spiral around Magus' hands. And when he shouted, she knew it would bring this fight to a close.

"DARK MATTER!"

The explosion that rang through the air caused Lucca to shoot up with a yowl of surprise. Blinking strangely for a few moments, Lucca glanced around her room, almost afraid that one of her inventions had blown up. Thankfully, that wasn't the case and the explosion of one of her inventions blowing up hadn't set her house on fire. And by the sound of it (or lack thereof) Kid hadn't woken up at the bang, either.

But where had it come from…?

Upon glancing outside by chance, Lucca got her answer.

The woods surrounding the ruins of the cathedral were still burning like mad by the time Lucca got there, despite the rain that was beginning to fall from the dark clouds above them. The storm had hit so suddenly, that it had startled many others from their slumber. There was little she could do about the fires at this point, and that wasn't really why she had rushed over here in the first place.

It was Janus and the kids she was worried about.

Kid had also been worried, but Lucca had left her in Fritz' care for the time being. She didn't know if she'd be able to find anyone, but in case she didn't, or found them burned along with the forest, she wouldn't want Kid to be there with her. However, she trusted Janus to keep the kids safe, though she really wouldn't know where "safe" would be in this situation.

The only thing she knew was that it was away from all this fire.

"Janus!" she shouted out, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Janus, where are you?"

But there was no response forthcoming from the flames and it made Lucca begin to panic, though she did her best to push it down as much as she could. Panic would only make her an easy target, as Magus had often pointed out when things had started getting antsy. Which kind of explained why she had never seen Magus panic before.

Quickly shaking the memory off, she focused on finding Janus and the kids again.

Just then, she coughed. "Dammit, I should've brought a handkerchief for the smoke!" she coughed out, covering her mouth and nose as she did. "Dang it, Janus! Where did you go!"

No sooner had she sad that or another bolt of lightning ripped through the air, the thunder nearly making her ears ring… just before something struck her to the back of her head and she fell heavily to the ground, vision going black in less than a minute…

When next she awoke, she could no longer hear the sounds of the fire, though she still caught the occasional thunderclap. She blinked a few times in confusion, wondering where she was, until a voice rang out a little off to the side.

"Ah! Big brother! Big brother, she's awake!"

Groaning, she pushed up, holding onto her head, a bit surprised at feeling the bandages that encircled her head.

"Lucca…" Upon hearing that voice, Lucca looked up. "Are you alright?"

"Janus…" Lucca sighed in relief. "Yeah… I'm okay. Thank you. …But… what about…?"

"The kids are fine. All of them are," Janus said, settling himself down on the 'bed' Lucca had been laying on. "I heard the storm coming a bit before it struck, so I managed to get them in here on time before the fire." Smirking a bit, he added: "And you're lucky you have such a loudmouth or I wouldn't have heard you over the fire."

"Eeeeeh!" Lucca glared. "Who're you calling a loudmouth, you little-"

When Janus laughed, Lucca blinked. "Well, at least you're well enough to be angry," he laughed out. "That's good. Was almost afraid that tree gave you a concussion with its falling branch."

Lucca pouted a bit at that, until she took a moment or two to properly look around. The surrounding area was dark, lit only by the occasional torch, though even those didn't provide enough light to illuminate the entire area. A red carpet covered over 70% the floor, minus about 15% where the moths had been gnawing on it. The walls didn't look to well with the brittle rocks, but they were familiar, still…

"This place is…" she whispered.

"Pretty amazing, huh?" Janus quipped, taking Lucca's surprise as confusion. "I discovered this place by accident. Seems this is an underground crypt of some kind. Whatever it was used for, I don't know… but it makes a good shelter for storms."

Lucca wasn't about to say that she already knew this place existed long before that. That would be weird.

"I see…" Rubbing over her head, she asked: "So how's the fire outside?"

Janus loosely shrugged his shoulders. "It's dying down. The rain's finally starting to douse it, so it should be okay in about an hour."

"That's good… Kid must be worried about me…"

"I'll bet she is…"

Once the fires had been thoroughly doused, they had all come back out from the darkness to review the damage that had been done. And it wasn't pretty…

The kids had been forced to leave most of their toys outside when the storm struck, and sadly, the fires had gobbled it all up. Despite Janus' attempts to cheer them up by saying he'd make them new toys, they were still saddened by the loss. Worse, still, was that their "hideout" had disappeared. The forest had effectively been burnt to the ground, removing their safe haven from them.

Naturally, Lucca couldn't just leave them like that, which is why, a month later, all of the kids and Janus found themselves living with Lucca and Kid.

That was pretty much how Lucca started her little orphanage alongside Janus.

Even a month after the first time they met, he still didn't remember everything and he didn't have any of his former powerful magic spells, but he hadn't lost it all. He used what little skills he had left to create elaborate magic tricks to entertain the kids, who loved every single trick he pulled.

Like that, they could forget the war, at least for a little while.

The only thing that had proven to be a bit of a downside was the fact that, with all the kids living in her house, there hadn't been enough room for everyone to have their own bed, which caused Lucca and Janus to share a bed for the time being until Janus could make one extra.

But you know?

Lucca had a feeling that Janus kept putting it off until later.

…not that she was complaining.

(1) Marledia = This was the original Japanese name for Marle as a princess.

(2) Jina = Crono's mother.

(3) Dreamseeker = Crono's ultimate weapon is about 20 attack points stronger than the Rainbow, and has a critical hit rate of 90% rather than 70%.

(4) Demonic Vessel = The original name for the Mammon Machine.

That took me long enough... As you can see, there's a lot going on in this part, and the last part is, most likely, going to be shorter, much like the first part. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this part as well.