Fan Fiction ❯ Never Ever in a Million Years ❯ Rats! I'm Stuck With HIM! ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: Don't own Chrono Trigger; that's Squaresoft's job.

A/N: If you haven't done all the sidequests or played the game through yet, this one may be a little confusing. I'm more or less trying to concentrate on the whole Lucca/Magus thing instead of the actual sidequest, so don't be surprised if I didn't clearly explain some event that went on in the game; the way I wrote it, it's implied that the readers already know. Sorry if it gets weird!

"What did I ever do to deserve this?" Lucca muttered to herself, staring up at the roiling black mist that the End of Time was mostly comprised of. Shifting slightly because of the uncomfortable, cold metal railing, she wiped away a lone tear that was trickling slowly down her face. She stared at her wet finger, becoming almost angry at the sight of it. He, of all people, was making her cry. It just wasn't fair.

It was now the morning after, but time had changed nothing. She was still as angry and confused about Magus as she had been last night. (That bastard...) she thought, tensing up at even the thought of him. (Playing with me like that, as if he really meant it...)

Lucca had called Crono up earlier that morning, telling him that the Epoch was done, and they all had arrived together at the End of Time a few hours prior. There was really no reason to go here anymore, seeing that they no longer had to use Gates, but Crono wanted to pepper Gaspar's insanity-riddled mind with questions as to what to do next. They REALLY didn't have the weapons and items to defeat Lavos, if that encounter in the Ocean Palace was any indication, and the old coot always gave out clues to where the best stuff was hidden.

(That BASTARD!) a little voice in Lucca's head suddenly piped up. (He goes from wanting to kill you to kissing you within two seconds! He's clearly playing with you, Lucca! He wantsyou to be confused. He wantsyou to fall for him, so he can cruelly reject you when you need him most.)

The opposition was soon to follow. (Remember that kiss, Lucca?) the other voice chimed in.("Remember how wonderful it was? Well, that's because he's your MATCH, Lucca! He kissed you because he wanted to, not because of some dirty little game you think he plays all the time! Give him a chance to come around...)

(Well, at least remember the things he said to you, Lucca! The things he said about you wanting Crono were unforgivable. And then he goes and kisses you! The NERVE!)

(But the point is is that he ended up kissing you! And with quite a bit of tongue, I might add! Does that seem very Magus-like to you?! He would only DO something like that if he somewhat ca-)

"Oh, THERE you are, Lucca! Almost didn't see you in that corner back there!" Lucca, her thoughts interrupted, looked up only to see Crono standing nearby, with the usual goofy grin pasted sloppily on his face. (I can't believe Inever realized just HOW goofy,) thought Lucca with a tinge of disgust.

"Oh, hey, Crono. So what's going on? What are we doing today?" She winced at the sound of her own voice. It sounded so dry and croaky, almost as if she had worn out her larynx from sobbing for half of the previous night. And for good reason, too...

Crono's face fell when he saw the mood she was in, but answered her question anyway. "Well, remember that woman we met in the Middle Ages, her name was Fiona? It was on our way to Porre, and we asked if we could spend the night? Well, all those trees she had been taking care of are gone now. Everything's desert. And Gaspar says we should fix that."

"But WHY?" Lucca wasn't exactly happy upon hearing this little announcement. She had been disturbed for THIS?! "We might as well fight Lavos if all we're gonna do is plant a couple trees!"

Crono shrugged. "I don't know either, But Gaspar said to do it, and he's never been wrong about treasure before. So why not, I guess? We're too weak to fight Lavos at this point anyway."

Lucca sighed in resignation. Great. Now everyone would KNOW something was up with her. "Oh...well, I don't care, I guess," she said tiredly. "So we're leaving now?"

"Yup. Everyone's waiting by the Epoch. Let's go." He started to walk away, but then, thinking better of it, he stopped in his tracks and turned around, staring at her with a puzzled look on his face. "Um...Lucca? I wasn't going to say anything, but...are you OK? You look sort of - well, I don't know - run down. Like something bad just happened to you."

Feigning nonchalance, Lucca stood up and dusted off her jacket. "Oh, it's nothing," she lied. "I'm just so tired from fixing the Epoch, that's all. I was up all night with that thing!"

"Well...if you're sure, then." He gave her one last look, one that as good as said he knew a LOT more than he was revealing, and left the room.

Lucca followed, delicately picking her way around the many portals into different eras, a black hole slowly growing in the pit of her stomach. What would Magus DO when she saw him face-to-face for the first time since the slap? There was really no way to tell, as she had made sure to avoid all contact with him earlier that morning when everyone had piled into the Epoch to head for the End of Time. All she knew was that she would absolutely go postal if she learned that Magus had only done it to play with her head. But...how could something that had felt so GOOD be so mean-hearted? Everything about the whole episode confused her greatly. But that was Magus. EVERYTHING about him could be confusing.

***

Lucca threw a pebble down the hillside, watching it bounce several times before it landed somewhere in the vegetable patch below. "Geez, this sucks."

Upon arriving at Fiona's villa, they found that almost the entire area had indeed been turned into a desert and the cause seemed to be the giant sandpit that was currently whirling around about a quarter mile from Fiona and Marco's backyard. Knowing the risk involved, Crono had split the group up and headed down, bringing with him (thankfully) Marle and (even more thankfully) Magus. Everyone else was waiting here at Fiona's. And had been for a good five hours.

The sun was getting hot, and Lucca was becoming quite bored. She was sick of wallowing in her own self-pity, to tell the truth. What had happened had happened, and there was no way to change it. But she still felt so BAD...

She looked around at everyone, perhaps hoping to maybe find some companionship, maybe even somebody to talk to about...THAT. At the moment everyone was sitting apart, scattered here and there on the hilltop, currently either sleeping or in quiet reflection. Frog was out of the question. Not only would he tell her to totally forget about possibly EVER entangling herself with Magus again, he'd probably suggest that she impale him with his own scythe. Ayla wasn't a good idea, either. Going by the conversations the group had sometimes at campfires at night, HER idea of deciding of who was the one included things like -er- trying him out. Attempting to "try out" Magus, even if there was the small possibility that deep, deep down in his heart of hearts he cared for her just a little, would probably be like trying to corner a rabid bobcat. It just wasn't going to happen. Geez, there was just no one to talk to about something like this----wait, there was Robo. Lucca mentally slapped herself at not having thought of this earlier. Robo was probably the PERFECT being to talk to; being a robot, he would be impartial to either her or Magus and would think out the whole affair logically. And besides, he was her friend and she trusted him as much as any human (and perhaps more than most!) Yes, this was as good an idea as anything.

She found him sitting quite placidly under a tall, majestic oak, indeed one of the few trees still standing in the entire area. He appeared to have his external sensors turned off (as close to asleep as a robot could be), but immediately became alert again as she sat down on the ground beside him. "Greetings, Lucca. May I be of service?"

Lucca, who had gotten very used to his quaint, polite manner during the course of their travels, asked him, "Um, yeah... Um, can I ask you something?" When it got down to it, it was downright HARD to tell anyone about this.

"Of course, Lucca. I will answer anything that of which you ask to the best of my knowledge."

"We-ell, it's not that kind of question, Robo. It's not a question that you really know the answer to, but I'll ask you anyway. What if someone that hates you -not someone that just dislikes you, but REALLY hates you - does something to you that makes you unsure about whether or not he hates you anymore or not? And what if that action makes you realize that you're unsure too about whether or not you hate him still back?" Damn, this was hard to explain. The way she was putting it, it barely even made sense. But there was no way in hell she was naming names, even to Robo. This was strictly between her and Magus for the moment.

Robo's eyes lit up for a moment, but he seemed to get all of it. "I am not human, Lucca. I can only to a certain extent simulate human emotions and feelings, but I will try my best to answer your question. Having noticed a significant change in your behavior of late, I can only be concerned for your well-being and wish to help."

"A change in...my behavior?"

"I have noticed a change in your behavior patterns for about ten days. At first I credited it to the fact that Crono had perished, but the pattern continues to persist even after he has been revived. And today you especially do not look good, Lucca. It appears as if you have recently had an emotional outburst."

"You mean...you know I've been crying?"

"Affirmative. And Crono appears to have noticed your actions as well. He has not told anyone, but he seems quite concerned about your health. "

Lucca rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Well, I don't know what to say..." She really didn't. So Crono DID know that something was up. Of all the people that had to know about this, why HIM?! Although the idea seemed far-fetched, she hoped that he didn't know about EVERYTHING... Being the idealist he was, he would try to put a stop to the whole thing, and geez, she didn't know if she even WANTED this sudden new thing with Magus to stop, considering it ever started up again. But that was why she was asking Robo for advice.

After a moment Robo continued on, "As for your question, Lucca, I believe that your ability to be open-minded is one of your best traits. If you see the possibility of this person becoming your companion and wish to change things, then it is in your power to do so. As long as you allow the past to stay in the past, then anything is possible."

"I know it could happen...but should I do it? Will it cause me more pain later on? And I have no idea if M -um, this person I'm talking about - will even want to have anything to do with me. I wasn`t totally to blame, but I said and did some things before that I now regret."

"I cannot say, Lucca. It is ultimately up to you to what you do in the end. The only thing I know is that in the course of history many terrible things could have been prevented if only one person had held out their hand in friendship to another. Your situation is quite similar, just on a smaller scale. Remember that before you act."

Lucca cracked a small smile. Patting the robot's metal arm affectionately, she said softly, "Thanks, Robo. You're the best. I still don't know what I'm going to do yet, but I think I'm a little more s-"

"Hey, guys!" She was cut off by a shout further downhill. Standing up, Lucca sighted Crono, Marle, and Magus about halfway up, all almost unrecognizable due to the wet sand and dust caked all over their bodies. And, upon a closer look, it appeared that not only did everyone desperately need to bathe, but all three had some kind of injury or other. Crono had a bump on his head the size of Death Peak. Marle had two skinned knees and a black eye. Magus, however, seemed to be the worst off. He had a huge gash all across his left arm and was still trying to staunch the bleeding with his cloak. Lucca had this sudden urge to go and kiss his arm. He seemed so ATTRACTIVE, all dirty and sweaty like that...

"Well, do you even want to know what happened?" Crono asked Lucca, panting from the hot afternoon sun.

"Humor me. I do."

"We dropped down that huge pit and found the place overrun by monsters. Not just your normal monsters, either. They seemed to be mutated somehow. The only one of us that could even scratch them was Magus. We kept going further and further in, and then we saw-"

"Oh, it was horrible!" Marle piped up, having reached the crown of the hill. "We had to fight this giant skeleton thing, and it just wouldn't die! The only thing we could do was cast ice spells and then try to hit it while its guard was down!"

"It was a pretty close battle," said Crono, gently feeling the tender bump on his head. "We all ran out of magic power after awhile, and we looked like goners. I guess everything's all right now, though. We got out okay. The stupid thing's dead."

"It may be dead, but the trees won't be growing back any time soon," noted Lucca. "Fiona's seedling will revive the forest, but it will take a long, long time to scatter the seeds."

"I know, Fiona's not gonna be too happy. I guess we'll have to tell her, though, and we might as well do it now. Come on." Crono started to head further uphill to the house, waving for the others to come along.

Lucca followed, sighing with relief. She had managed to act normal in front of everyone, and as one of the people was Magus, that was no small feat. And another plus: she had finally seen him and knew what she was going to do, or rather what she was NOT going to do. And that was reconcile with him any time soon.

During the whole conversation with Crono, he hadn't ignored her with disdain as was his usual manner, but rather he had stared at her very intensely.

It had been a stare of pure ice.

***

Scowling irately, Magus continued to nurse his left arm, which over the hours had grown quite stiff. He leaned back further against the log, trying to get into a comfortable position.

(Goddamned thing. I saw that beam a mile away, so why did I just stand there and let it hit me?!)

His frown deepened as the sound of loud laughter reached his ears. Goodness knows he had TRIED to get as far away from the fire and the people that had built it as he possibly could, but things were just not going to work out for him. Even in a big huge forest.

(Idiots. As if going through all that work just to save a church wasn't enough. Now they've broken their own record of stupidity and have decided to have a weenie roast in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason. Oh wait---there IS a reason. Never mind. They're celebrating the fact that Scrap Heap came back. Hmpfh. For all I care, he could have STAYED gone.)

Shivering slightly from the cold midnight air, he removed his cloak and covered himself with it.

(Maybe I should go by the fire. But then again, maybe I shouldn't. SHE'S there.)

He unconsciously rubbed the angry-looking red mark on his cheek. It still hurt. As did his pride.

(Little four-eyes really did a number on me, didn't she? But perhaps I even deserved it. I know I cut her quite deep...)

(It's beyond me about how she can be so attracted to that simpleton. I would never admit it to anyone, but perhaps I even actually...envy...him...)

(She's so brilliant. The majority of anything I say goes right over everyone else's heads, but she catches every word. And her strong spirit! And fast wit! I know no one else that has the cheek to reply to me with a remark every bit as cutting as the one I dish out. It makes things rather...interesting. And she's not bad-looking, either. In fact, she's unaware of how good she actually looks...)

(And that spiky-headed fool cannot even see what's right in front of him! It's such a waste...)

(I still cannot fathom why I kissed her. It was the most idiotic thing I could have done. Although it felt quite good... Surprisingly good... But that doesn't mean it wasn't bone-headed. I'm sick of pretending, but I have no other choice. She'll never look at me the way she does him...)

(Oh, what the hell am I thinking?! Anything I had or could have had with her is now over. And I can't allow her to grow close to me anyway. Eventually...eventually she'll just get hurt. She'll disappear from my life like everyone else...)

***

"Move, move, MOVE!"

"Omigod, is it REALLY noon?!"

"Affirmative. 12:01 p.m., to be exact."

"We must hurry, Master Crono! With every hour that the Black Omen hangs in the sky, things become more dire for us."

"Shut up, all of you!"

"Get your filthy hands off my bag! I've got jewelry in there!"

Lucca forcefully kicked dirt over the remains of the campfire to smother the coals and embers that still burned. Narrowly avoiding bumping into Frog as she ran over to roll up her sleeping bag, she took a second to look up at the sky.

Noon. She couldn't BELIEVE they had overslept for so long. Now half their day was gone. Damn deep campfire conversations and the chaos that ensued from them!

"Hey, Lucca! What this?"

Lucca turned around only to see Ayla holding the Gate Key. Weird... How had it gotten on the ground? It was usually stowed safely away in Crono's pocket. But never mind that...

"Ayla, give that here, will you? That's a delicate piece of equipment, and-"

"All right, Lucca. You catch!" With a grin of absolute delight, Ayla forcefully lobbed it in the air at Lucca.

"Shit!" Lucca panicked. She didn't want that thing breaking anytime soon. What if the Epoch didn't work at some point? THEN where would they be?! Desperately, she judged where it would fall and jumped there...only to trip over someone.

"Ouch! Dammit!" They both fell over each other and onto the ground with a thump. And it must also be mentioned that the Gate Key fell right along with them.

"Crap!" Lucca suddenly became aware that she was right in the middle of a giant blue Gate. It sucked her and the other person inside and closed itself, transporting them to only God-Knows-Where. Lucca closed her eyes; Gate-traveling made her rather dizzy.

When she was safely at the other end, she slowly opened her eyes. She was in a cave. A dark, drippy cave. A blizzard howled outside. Despite the fact that the Key was with them, the Gate never reappeared.

"Damn my luck," she muttered, trying to disentangle herself from Magus.

A/N : I'm very well aware that I didn't mention that one part where Lucca time travels the night of the campfire to keep her mother from ever being crippled. I actually did that on purpose. Why? Because I want to keep the plot strictly Lucca/Magus and nothing really on the side except for the inevitable battle with Lavos. I'll probably end up mentioning it later, just so ya know. It's just that I stink at novelizing things and I know that I stink, so I try to spare everyone the punishment of having to read something that doesn't really have much to do with what's going on. I hope nobody's miffed!