A/N: Like sands through the hourglass, so is Lucca's life. :P
Rewrite
Chapter 6
by Shimegami-chan
Lucca spent the night in the woods on the outskirts of Porre, unable to bear the idea of sleeping alone in that dark room in Guardia Castle. It was funny; when she was younger and more inclined to girlish temptations, she had imagined the home of the royals as being a splendid golden palace filled with glittering jeweled decoration. She hadn't thought about that childlike misconception in years, but she remembered the surprise she'd felt the first time she'd seen the inside of the castle. It seemed so much more aged on the inside, even though the exterior was what staved off elements and attacks. The blue turrets and stained glass windows seemed so much more heroic from afar - even the ruby detailing of the Middle Ages version seemed more welcoming at that point to Lucca.
It hadn't taken her long to find Epoch and sneak it out of the forest under the cover of night. She'd thought about taking the ship back to the End of Time or returning to a safer era to sleep that night, but she couldn't bear the thought of facing Crono and Robo to ask them for companionship. If Marle and the others had filled them in on the situation, then surely the company of her two best friends was just what she needed...but for some reason Lucca felt selfish for being so depressed. After all, she wasn't the one who had potentially been erased from the timeline. Too late, as Lucca lay under the shelter of Epoch, she wondered if it was safe for Marle to be wandering about this era at all, particularly when she and Ayla had neither Gate Key nor Epoch to return them in a hurry. She resolved to bring the ship back to Truce first thing in the morning, royal search party or no.
Frog was still in Porre, she thought, and Marle and Ayla had been intending to head south as well when they'd parted yesterday morning. She hadn't encountered any of them during her quick trip into town, though, probably due to the late hour. She'd wandered Truce for hours the previous day before finally realizing that she wasn't going to get any closer to solving the mysteries by wallowing in her misery. Crono was definitely not in the era, though the villagers knew his name enough to say that he hadn't been seen in a while. She'd even grown desperate enough to ask Crono's mother where he might be, holding her breath until she was sure Gina wouldn't think she was the missing princess. The woman seemed preoccupied, though, saying that he was still out and had irresponsibly left the cats in her care, and wasn't he with you, dear? She'd asked how Marle was doing, and Lucca found that she didn't know what to respond. She slipped out of the house and headed north for the Guardia Forest, and the spot where she'd hoped Ayla and Marle had left Epoch.
At least Lucca could take some comfort in the fact that her character in this timeline wasn't very different from usual.
After spending a fitful night sleeping under the ship and eventually sitting straight up in the pilot's seat - who knew what the woods were like in this era? - Lucca woke up with her face in the console and the ends of her violet hair in her mouth. She felt as though she'd been trampled by an army of Mystics, and her stomach gnawed at itself. She didn't feel as though she'd gotten any sleep, though her chronometer argued otherwise. The sun was high over the cover of the woods - it was nearly noon.
That's fine, Lucca told herself. Not like I found out anything useful yesterday anyway. I just have to hope that Frog and the others were able to get some information. She wasn't quite sure what to do with herself; going back to the castle would just get her locked up (and it wasn't safe to fly Epoch near the place in daylight, really) and nothing had come of her investigating in Truce but trouble. Crono was gone and she had no idea where to find Frog, or the duo of Marle and Ayla, even if the four of them did happen to be in the same area. The Southern Continent was a pretty big place if you knew where to hide.
The only one who needs to hide their face is Frog, Lucca reminded herself. And he's perfectly capable of defending himself even from the angriest of mobs. But if anyone's looking for the 'missing princess,' that's me, not Marle. Maybe it wasn't such a hot idea for her to be wandering around either, but then again the only ones convinced that she was the Steward's daughter were the castle staff. The citizens of Truce hadn't batted an eye at the girl that was clearly Lara Organa's daughter.
Sighing, Lucca ran her hands through her dark hair and wished she had taken her helmet with her. She wasn't going to do any good to the party by sitting here all day; even down South there had to be something she could do to help the others. She'd start by finding one group or the other, right after breakfast. Lucca was still thinking about what to get to eat when she was alerted to a muted scuffling sound coming from the underbelly of the Epoch.
Lucca froze. Monsters? Great. And all I've got with me are the weaker backup weapons...well, let's see how the whatever-it-is likes Fire 2... Grabbing a Shock Wave gun from the storage chest behind her seat, she eased open the clear canopy of the ship, intending to exit right through the glass and surprise the enemy. Stealthily she re-lowered the protective covering as she perched on the sloped hood of the machine, and when it was solidly shut she whispered the incantation that brought flame to one hand while the other was ready to go for her pistol as needed.
There's no time like the present. Silently laughing at the terrible pun, Lucca swept her bag to the side with her free hand and launched herself from the lip of Epoch, landing in a crouch and whirling to face the monster before it had time to register her presence. "Hold it!"
Her enemy let out a yelp and dropped whatever it had been holding. "Wha- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to touch anything, I was just having a look at it!" When Lucca's vision cleared and her stomach caught up with her, she saw the 'monster' was just a human...a girl, probably around Lucca's own age. She had waist-length purple hair that framed wide blue eyes and wore a pair of pilot's goggles as a makeshift headband. Her clothes were simple and well-worn; a light blue tunic and brown trousers, and a belt full of tools was secured at her waist.
"You were...just looking at the ship." The fire in Lucca's palm flickered and died. "Christ, I'm sorry, I thought you were something a little more dangerous. I didn't mean to scare you."
"No, uh..." the girl looked extremely distressed. "My mistake. But if you don't mind me asking...how did you just do that, with your hand...?"
Belatedly Lucca realized that she'd just done something that could potentially get her arrested as a Mystic sympathizer in this era, for all she knew. "Ah...it's just a trick I picked up. An illusion, you know."
"But this isn't an illusion," the girl marveled, directing her gaze at the underbelly of the ship. "It's magnificent. What is its purpose? Surely it flies, does it?"
"Oh!" Even though Lucca hadn't been the one to build it, she felt a rush of pride that someone had taken such interest in the craft. Generally when people asked about Epoch, it was because they were afraid of or wanted to steal it. "Well, yes, of course it flies! I'm a traveler, and I just stopped here to rest for the night, but you know how some people are with technology...so I docked it in the woods."
"Well thought," the girl agreed, picking her tool up off the ground. Lucca saw that it was simply a magnifying glass that she'd been using to inspect the lift mechanism. "Did you build it?"
"Oh, no, I only wish," Lucca said with a laugh. "I just fly it."
The girl, who Lucca had finally decided looked oddly familiar, clasped her hands together. "Someday, I'd like to be able to build something like this. I'm an inventor." She smiled. "But I haven't made it big yet. You know how it is."
"Do I ever." Lucca put a hand to her head. "I guess we have a few things in common. I didn't even introduce myself after going and nearly attacking you, I..."
At that moment, Lucca finally realized who this mystery girl had to be. Oh, no...no way. This can't be the princess, can it? If that's the case, I can't tell her my name...my name is HER name! I don't even know what the version of me in this timeline is supposed to be called! And it's not like she's going to tell me who SHE really is...
Similarly, the maybe-princess seemed to have completed Lucca's sentence in her head and could only stutter out an "Uh..."
Lucca barked a laugh. "Well, now that I think about it, that's not really important, you know? I have secrets I need to keep, and I bet you do too." Oh yeah, nice save there. Go ahead and tell her that you can blow her cover at any time, right?
If the princess caught on to her companion's thoughts, she didn't say - she was busy trying to cover up a relieved smile. "I feel the same way. But don't run off just yet, please - won't you stay and talk awhile? It's been a while since I've actually kept conversation with anyone."
Dimly Lucca realized that this was the opportunity she'd been searching for, but she had absolutely no idea how to go about getting the information she needed. Just the same, it was a sure bet that she didn't intend to let the runaway royal out of her sight until she had a clue about setting the timeline to rights. "You know, I'd love to chat awhile, especially since we both seem to love inventing. I'm starving, though - I was about to go to the Inn when I heard you outside the ship. Would you like to come to Porre with me?"
The princess looked hesitant. "Well...I really hate going to the village, but..." A number of emotions passed over her face, and belatedly Lucca reached the conclusion that the girl was absolutely desperate for company. She was already compromising her disguise just by spending so much time talking here.
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Lucca said gently.
"No, it's just that..." The girl paused. She must have then decided it was worth the risk as long as her new friend was a 'traveler' with secrets of her own, because her smile reappeared after a moment of thought. "Listen, I have food back at my place, if you'd like to come over. I could show you some of the projects I've been working on."
That sounded a lot more tempting than dragging her feet around Porre all day hoping for a glimpse of Ayla. "Sold!"
The princess laughed. "All right then, follow me - it's not far from here."
The alter-Lucca (Lucca still wasn't sure what to call her - really, she wasn't an "alter" version at all, because she'd been born to the Steward's wife...it was only because this girl was born before her that her father had named the girl "Lucca," she supposed. It made the original Lucca somewhat jealous) led her time-travelling companion into the woods, a few hundred metres away from Epoch, until they came to a tiny cabin in the middle of a clearing.
"You live here?" Lucca gasped. "Aren't these woods infested with monsters?"
The girl looked at her quizzically. "Well, there's the occasional hetake, but nothing serious. I do keep a weapon, just in case." She patted her tool belt.
"Right, of course." Royal or not - Lucca was again falling into the habit of thinking like the castle staff, it seemed - there was no reason why she wouldn't know how to defend herself. She was a scientist, after all. Lucca wondered if some catalyst had driven the girl to taking up the study of machinery, like she herself once had - of course, being stuck up in that room alone all the time was probably enough by itself.
"Come inside," the Steward's daughter invited, and Lucca followed her into the little cabin. Though the outside appeared ramshackle, the inside was a more impressive testament of her skills with her hands, from the ornate carvings on the beams to the towering machines with their wiring wide open, inviting observers to witness movement as they puttered along. She had built by her own hands most of the comforts of home, it seemed, from a gas stove to an invention that looked like it might be for washing clothing. "I have a lot of time on my hands," the girl admitted, observing Lucca's awed stare.
Lucca ran a hand over the decorated doorframe. "You put it to good use."
"Thank you." She gestured at the small table, which had just one chair, and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Have a seat."
Sitting down, Lucca perched her elbows on the edge of the table and regarded her counterpart with some interest. "You have quite the talent. I guess we have that in common."
"Yes, inventing is my favourite pastime. My only one, really," the girl admitted. "Right now I'm working on a number of different things, mostly trying to outfit and expand the house."
"Other than to buy parts, I can't see why you'd ever need to leave!" Lucca said with a laugh.
"That's the idea," she returned, deadpan. "I like my privacy. I'm happy just sitting here all day, drawing up plans and putting them together. If I didn't have to go to the village to buy the occasional component, I'd be much happier. I even gather all my food from the forest."
Lucca's voice was noticibly appreciative. "You really are into it. Nothing wrong with that, though."
"But enough about me." Alter-Lucca looked the tiniest bit embarassed at her words. "What about you? Are you working on anything of interest?"
"Well..." The time-traveller trailed off for a moment before deciding that telling her a little bit couldn't hurt. Plus, a little exposition might help her find out what might or might not have happened to Marle. "Before I got caught up in the things I'm doing right now with Epoch, I was working on something pretty neat. It was called the Telepod, and it's a matter transporter of sorts."
"Oh, do go on!" Alter-Lucca looked extremely interested.
"I was able to use it to transport items from one platform to another, when they were spaced apart. Even living beings," she said with a touch of boastfulness.
"You know, I think I may have heard about something similar," her companion mused. "Are you, by any chance, from Truce?"
"Er, yes, actually." Lucca wondered if she'd said too much.
"Some time ago," the not-quite-princess continued, "I heard tell in town about a Porre girl who'd gone up to the Millenial Fair in Truce, and gotten involved in some teleportation experiment, and she went into the machine but she never came out. It's probably heresay, but it got around. I don't know if she ever returned."
"What - You don't mean Marle?" A Porre girl? It couldn't be Marle, could it? But who else would have the pendant to make the Telepod react?
"I don't know her name, I'm sorry. But you invented that machine, then?"
Lucca faltered slightly. A fine mess you've gotten yourself into now! How will you explain this!? "Uh, yes...it did return her, though. She was wearing an item that reacted badly with the machine, so it held her a little longer than it should have. She's absolutely fine now, I swear. In fact I just saw her yesterday!"
"You're babbling." Alter-Lucca smiled. "It's quite all right, though, I believe you. I just want to know more about your Telepod."
"Oh, well, you're welcome to see it if you're ever in the area. The Fair will be going on for a few more days." Lucca knew that this would never happen, as this rogue timeline ought to be erased by the next sunrise, so it didn't hurt to make the offer now. "It's still got a few bugs, but if you aren't wearing any weird magical items, it should be fine with you."
"Magical items." It was a statement, not a question. "You have truly piqued my curiosity. Your skills, your flying machine, the way you made fire appear in your hand...these are things I could only dream of. Perhaps it puts me in danger to ask, but I simply must know more."
Lucca winced. "I guess I said too much again. But if I told you the truth, you would never believe me...and really, it might endanger the entire planet for you to know it."
"How?" she whispered, softly.
"There is something trying to destroy this planet." These words will vanish at sunup, Lucca told herself. "Nine hundred and ninety nine years from now, it will strike and kill every living thing on Earth. I'm one of a few that are trying to prevent that from happening...right now, the future of the planet isn't looking so good."
"You can travel through time, can't you?" The girl's eyes were wide, her hands clasped together in front of her chest. "Your bird-machine...your 'Epoch'. It can fly over time, can't it?"
Lucca froze. She hadn't expected the girl to guess their purpose or Epoch's hidden abilities...she'd only wanted to tell the barest parts. But now Alter-Lucca knew everything...
And why shouldn't she? Lucca wondered to herself. She doesn't exist in the real timeline because most of her is a part of me. My father will have only one child, in the true timeline, and she will be a combination of the two Luccas in this world, won't she? Can't I see a bit of myself in every word she says? Who's to say that Dad didn't build the Telepod in this version of events while I was out gathering flowers or something?
Is there a harm in telling her what I've been doing? Don't I owe it to her?
"I...can," Lucca admitted. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you figured it out."
"Well, I am a genius," she said with a familiar laugh. "So if you're saving the world a thousand years from now, what are you doing here?"
"This is my home era," the scientist confessed. "I'm here because we made a bit of a mess of history sometime in the past four hundred years, and we're trying to repair it. If we can figure out what went wrong."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Alter-Lucca asked with interest.
Lucca thought she should explain it all, or what she knew of it, but she couldn't bring herself to tell her counterpart the truth. The truth hurt for even Lucca herself to think about. "There are things...but you'd be better off not knowing them. I've screwed up enough lives already."
"At least tell me your name," the Steward's daughter pleaded. "Even if you say nothing else, I will let you walk back to your ship at that, no questions asked. Please."
The scientist turned her head away, unwilling to look her half-sister in the face. "It's Lucca Ashtear."
At midnight, Frog and Ayla were preparing to depart, hovering around the pub in Porre while they waited for Marle to rejoin them. The two adventurers had hardly seen their friend all day thanks to her discovery of her heritage, and truth be told neither would have been certain what to say to Marle when she returned. Frog hoped that she simply wanted to get to know her mother better and would take it in stride when the time came for them to leave Aliza behind, but he suspected the Princess would be concealing her emotions on the subject. As activity in the village wound down, Ayla paced by the kitchen door while Frog nursed a tankard of ale in a strange reversal of the norm. Frog trusted that the cavewoman would not tell anyone that he had allowed himself to become so despondant.
The entire timeline, the existance of it...felt wrong in a way that burned in the swordsman's gut. He could sense some hidden enemy lurking just beyond their reach; not Lavos, but the strange, heavy-handed winds of change that could never be bound completely by Fate. He wanted to return to 600 A.D. before anything else went wrong, that much was certain - Frog could tell that the longer they stayed, the closer their plans were coming to falling apart. He did not speak of this to Ayla, uncertain how to put it into words that their opposite syntaxes could truly comprehend, but he felt she sensed his uneasiness and perhaps felt some of her own.
His fears were only confirmed when Marle eased open the door of the pub, her face a grim mask. "Marle, 'tis about time. We'll be hard-pressed to reach Truce by sunup, lass."
"I'm not going," the Princess replied, avoiding her companion's bulbous eyes. "You and Ayla can meet Lucca without me. I want to stay with Mom until...it changes."
"That bad idea," Ayla warned.
"Aye. What might become of thou if we were to change the past with thee in it, I hardly know. Pray rejoin us now; do not make things harder on thyself, lass."
Her controlled expression slipping, Marle's eyes filled with tears. "I mean it. If you don't go meet Lucca, then you may as well let this timeline keep going, because I'm staying here."
"Marle!"
She stormed out of the pub, leaving a shocked Ayla with one hand outstretched and Frog half out of his seat, his webbed fingers curled into fists. "Marle..."
"What we do?" asked Ayla after a long pause.
Frog sighed heavily. "We must hurry on to meet Lucca at sunup, lest the lass be accosted by the castle guards again. We shall make a plan from there..." he paused. "Though I know not what it should be."
-to be continued...