Chrono Continuum Chapter 14
Temporal Television
By Cain
Pre-Time
The platform rocketed off at unheard of speeds. Rakin had closed his eyes at first, but had been surprised to feel no force at all. Upon opening his eyes, the hall around him was a blur. Thanatos stood, smiling as always. Magus stood, stoic as always. And Rakin stood surprised, as he found himself doing more and more often, as of recently. After all, it wasn't every day that one saw the destruction of the End of Time, was captured, met a wizard, escaped and ended up where no man had gone before. Not to mention the fact that Rakin had nearly been killed at most of those events.
He resigned himself to waiting. It appeared that Lucca's history was quite a while from the entrance. Rakin vaguely wondered if there was any organization to the records. Were there books stacked all around haphazardly? Had Thanatos memorized the location of them all? Or were they in alphabetical order? Or were they arranged by category? He decided that there was no way to find out until they stopped. He didn't have to wait long.
The only indication that they had stopped was that the blur was gone, replaced by hard walls, edges, gold, and wires? There were wires, as Lucca called them, threaded throughout the entire hallway, if you could call it a hallway. There was no discernible floor. They simply seemed to be in a long tube. Gold plates covered some areas. As did marble. And iron. In some places there appeared to be black windows, framed in gold, iron, marble, or, as he looked closer, mythril, and many cases where these metals were haphazardly fused. What had looked so impressive from afar turned out to be rather strange, and yet awe-inspiring at the same time.
He turned to Thanatos, and noticed Magus do the same, both expecting to see something. Thanatos merely looked at his surroundings, searching. He seemed to remember something, and clapped again. The platform suddenly flipped ninety-degrees, causing them to end up facing the "floor". Rakin was scared out of his mind until he realized he wasn't falling. It was as if the tube had flipped, instead of them, for the gravity remained the same. Thanatos went back to searching, turning occasionally, until he found what he had been looking for, "Aha!"
He turned back to the wall, as it seemed to them, and the platform began to move again, staying the same distance from the walls of the tube. They continued moving sideways until they were facing what Rakin guessed had originally been the "ceiling". Thanatos clapped, and one of the metal-framed black windows Rakin had seen all over slipped out from behind a tangle of wires. Its frame was of gold and marble, and a word was embossed on the top of the frame. Then it turned around, and Rakin could read the word, Lucca. Thanatos turned to him, and said, "You wanted to see what's going on in her life right now in relation to your area in the Timestream, correct?" Rakin had no idea how to answer the question.
"Got it in one," was Magus's reply. Thanatos smiled again, a gesture that was really starting to grate on Magus's nerves.
"I'll just set the dial," Thanatos began, fiddling with a knob, over which was a group of glowing numbers. It was set to coordinates that neither Rakin nor Magus could interpret. "And let's watch," he finished as an image popped onto the screen, of Lucca, sitting at a table across from a green-haired man.
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602 AD
"But Lucca, hath not I already told thee? The Denadoro Mountains art in the enemy's territory. We can not simply go into their encampment. 'Twould be like a rabbit running into a fox's den. And e'en if we could, why dost thou wish to go?" Lucca leaned back.
"Glenn, the Masamune is there." To Glenn's raised eyebrow, she replied, "Yes, I know you have the Masamune, but that's the Masamune of a different timeline. Remember how I told you that any actions done in one timeline would be nonexistent in another? This Masamune was picked up in another timeline, so while you have this one, the one in your timeline is still in the Denadoro Mountains. And the Masamune is a powerful weapon. You may not know this yet, but it's especially effective against those touched by magic, or moreso against those touched by Lavos's power." Glenn sighed, and leaned back himself.
"Very well, but how dost thou propose we succeed? As I hath said, 'tis suicide to enter there, for many a creature of the Kingdom resideth there. And to add note, would not the Masamune already have been taken?"
"Of course not. You have to be worthy in order to wield the Masamune." Glenn sighed. "Yeah, you have to defeat Masa and Mune for a worthy cause in order to get it." Glenn groaned. "Now that that's settled, I've got a plan. Let's rest up, and tomorrow we'll set out for the Denadoro Mounatains." Glenn didn't bother arguing. He knew it wouldn't get him anywhere. They soon separated, and prepared for bed, as it was getting dark.
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Pre-Time
Rakin's spirits had been lifted at seeing Lucca again, and even Magus had seemed to appreciate it, although he had seemed a little surprised at the mention of Glenn's name. Rakin wondered if the man and the wizard knew eachother. But as Lucca began to change, and Rakin decided that he should look away... eventually, the window began to flash, eventually becoming a random group of black and white dots, as a harsh sound flooded forth. Thanatos looked surprised for once, and began to fiddle with knobs and switches, to no avail. After a few moments a vague face appeared on the screen. It seemed to look away and make some gestures, and the face became sharper and sharper until they could see exactly who it was. Scar or not, it was clear. Lucca.
She leaned back, apparently pleased. Rakin took a look at her. She now wore a tight pink skirt that went down to the tip of her thighs, and her shirt was a black thing that began at her ribs and went to the neck, with no sleeves. It was very becoming. Rakin looked behind her, and saw the old man...uh, oh... Melchior! It was Melchior alright, but one sleeve hung limply, nothing to hold it up. He was apparently missing an arm. At the edge of the window he could see the back of a white-haired balding head. He assumed it was Gaspar. He had no idea what to make of this, and Magus, who had been told the situation, looked interested.
Lucca prepared herself and spoke, "..................................." By her mouth movements, every one could tell she had said, Guys, it's me, Lucca. Rakin and Magus glanced at Thanatos.
"Why is there no sound," Rakin asked, his reply a shrug from Thanatos. Lucca's eyebrows raised, and then she turned to the white-haired head and said something, scowling. They heard some loud beeps, and Lucca turned back to them. She repeated, in a surprisingly raspy voice, "Guys, it's me, Lucca." She checked to see that they had heard her. Satisfied, she continued,
"Hey, Rakin, and Magus. It's been a while since we saw you two. It helps us keep hope. Gaspar and Melchior are here with me. Listen up, guys. Thanatos, this doesn't concern you if you aren't interested. Alright now, I... am a possible Lucca. I'm not your Lucca, hopefully. We came back from the future, and through several timelines to give you some vital info. Rakin, Corea is in 64,999,998 BC, Gaspar is in 1020 AD, Lucca is in 602 AD, and the Epoch is in 2,311 AD. This has saved you a lot of time, if you'll pardon the pun, so use it wisely. If you don't, then what you see before you is it. A sweet old man who's too smart for his own good, a dirty old man with a missing arm, and a battered woman way over her swelled head. All with certain death hanging over our heads if we're found. You can win if you take the right steps. Now, here are some tips, while I'm still on the line. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-" The sound continued on as she talked, and she soon seemed to notice, yelling at Gaspar. But the image began to dim, flickering on and off, until it finally blanked out, replaced by and image of the former Lucca asleep in her bed. Thanatos looked to Magus, and to Rakin. He smiled.
"Well, should we head back to mainland?"
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602 AD
Lucca slammed the scanner irately with a fist, a dent making her realize that she shouldn't do that again. She turned to her friends, "Well, guys, it looks like they're on their own. We gave them the eras. Now let's hope they know how to use them."
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Pre-Time
Magus stood with his head back, arms straight out at right angles ot his body. His hair occasionally rippled, despite the lack of wind. Rakin paced back and forth, wondereing where, or when they should go. Thanatos leaned against the fountain, smiling, and amusing himself with his own thoughts. Finally, there was a thunder clap-type sound. Rakin looked and saw a disc of swirling darkness in front of the wizard. Thanatos looked mildly impressed. Magus looked back, apparently for instructions. From what he'd been told, his dad had led the first adventure. Apparently, Magus expected it to run in the blood. He thought a moment.
"Magus, how often could you do this?"
"Every few hours, if I don't do anything strenuous." Magus could see where Rakin was going.
"Well then, let's get some transportation. Off, to 2,311 AD, Magus." Magus nodded, and turned his attention back to the portal, causing the rhythm of the swirling darkness to change slightly. A wind began to come to the portal, as if it was hungry. Rakin braced himself, and jumped into it, letting it envelop him. Magus began to follow, but was stopped by Thanatos's voice, "Good luck."
Magus smiled darkly. "Luck. Yeah, right." And he jumped in.
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Our destiny changes with our thought; we shall become what we wish to become, do what we wish to do, when our habitual thought corresponds with our desire.
- Orison S. Marder
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