Chrono Continuum Chapter 63

Escaping Fate

By Cain

602 AD

The cloaked figure stood up, forgetting its meditation. It sniffed the air around itself, drawing in the scents of the present, past, and future. For a moment, it had caught the scent of its prey... Almost...

There! So that's where the boy was. The figure silently wondered how his prey had evaded him for such a long time, without even a whiff of his whereabouts. But it didn't matter. It had found the boy's location, and it was only a matter of time before it caught up with him...

What? The boy's scent was gone... It sniffed around, but was unable to find where the boy had gone to. No matter. It would simply follow the scent to his last location, and follow him from there. If necessary, it would steal a hundred, a thousand, a million souls, but it would find the boy. In fact, it would have to get another body very soon. The body the stranger had told him about was already deteriorating, the body obviously unsuited to the thing's presence. It didn't matter. The thing would find another.

"Rakin," it hissed, and ran off into the night at an inhuman speed.

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Same Time

Thanatos stepped out of the forest, fully knowing what sight was going to greet him. Or so he had thought. As he looked over the scene, he saw, as he had known would happen, that the cabin was burnt down. But the rest of the scene surprised him.

He walked in just in time to see Lilia, Flite, and Corea teleport away. That wasn't supposed to happen, he thought. Looking over the rest of the Travelers, he saw that every one of them, with the exception of Lucca, Robo, and Gedd was there, and alive. He knew why those three had yet to arrive, but the majority of those present should not have been here.

They should have been dead.

Had Thanatos been a mere human, he might have been frightened at the implications. But as it was, he was not frightened, but absolutely terrified. This chain of events could very well cause a paradox! What had he done wrong? He'd gotten many of them together, and...

The message! The message he, Rakin, and Magus had gotten back at the Beginning of Time, from a future Lucca. From the correct future Lucca. That had saved time, but Thanatos couldn't think of anything that had changed, except... Glenn!

He shouldn't have been here. Why didn't I think of this sooner, Thanatos asked himself. Glenn was supposed to have died in the first encounter with Drissom and Clairdena. How did he escape fate? Perhaps... The future Lucca. She must have had a hand in this. But how?

He looked up to see Epoch fly overhead, and land in the clearing containing the charred remains of the cabin, as well as the remaining Travelers. Lucca was in the ship. Perhaps she knows how this happened, Thanatos considered. I'll ask them once I get the chance...

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Pre-Time

Lucca sat back against the fountain in the center of the platform at the Beginning of Time, trying to hold back tears. Even though everyone else was sleeping, she couldn't let herself weaken enough to cry. How was it possible? How could Corea have been kidnapped?

Her teeth clenched in anger. It was all Janus' fault. He should've known what Flite was planning. Perhaps he had. Perhaps Janus was really a spy for the Kingdom...

But she knew that wasn't true, no matter how easy it would be to blame it all on him. And it would be very easy indeed. But it wasn't his fault. He'd risked his life too, and if he hadn't really cared about Corea, he probably would've tried to attack Flite, risking Corea's life in the process.

She looked over at the sleeping wizard. No longer did he just wear the simple pants. He now wore more sinister clothing: A black shirt, black pants, black leather boots and gloves, and a black cape. He looked almost as creepy as Magus did, without the definitive fashion sense.

Lucca was somewhat happy that he was asleep now, so she wouldn't have to look into his eyes. His eyes were no longer simply violet, but changed in color and intensity to varying shades of violet and red, according to his mood. It was a rather creepy effect, all in all, and probably a result of his first major use of his Shadow magic. That same magic was probably what had warped Magus' features to be so vampiric. But no one else with Shadow magic but those two were altered by it... Perhaps it was simply the fact that their power was so great that it had such an effect on their bodies. So would that same power affect Janus' daughter?

Lucca looked down at Hotwire, who was also asleep. Despite her newfound abilities, Hotwire's features looked much the same, although the same couldn't be said for her clothes. She no longer wore the shining outfit, but one that fit her situation. She wore what looked like war clothes from her time, green and brown camouflage pants, a simple black T-shirt, and a camouflage jacket. However, her boots were leather. She still wore the cape, almost as if out of respect for the man who saved her from the Kingdom. The mixture of camouflage gear and a garish red-and-purple cape didn't seem to fit in Lucca's mind, but Hotwire wore them well.

There was a tight black glove covering her human hand, but her golden hand was uncovered. It didn't look any different, but with Lucca's help that hand had been improved, and given some special additions. She still wore the leather sack at her side, shunning a backpack for some reason. Her hair had been left as it was, still covering her robotic eye, which Lucca had also helped to improve. Personally, Lucca liked the new outfit better, as it didn't show so much cleavage, or leg, and it was probably a lot lighter.

Lucca almost jumped to her feet as she heard a footstep at her side. She looked up to see that it was Thanatos, looking down at her with a somewhat serious expression. She raised an eyebrow, asking what he wanted, exactly.

He sat down. "Lucca," he began in a low voice, "Before you got to the Beginning of Time, did you have any contact with... well, you? I mean, a future version of you?"

Lucca nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

Thanatos' eyes widened. "You did? What did she say?"

Lucca raised her eyebrow. "You mean you don't know? I thought you knew everything, Thanatos." By Thanatos' serious expression, she could tell that he was really worried. "Well, we didn't actually talk. But I had indirect contact with her twice. The first time, she got Frog to give Glenn his Masamune for a short amount of time. The second time, she died."

Thanatos nodded. "I see. Did Glenn have the Masamune when you first met Drissom and Clairdena?"

Lucca nodded as well. "Yes. Why?"

Thanatos placed a hand to his forehead. "Because he wasn't supposed to have it. Clairdena was supposed to have won, and killed him. You were supposed to meet Frog alone, and you two would get here together."

Lucca's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? What does it mean? Has the change had any lasting effects?"

Thanatos nodded. "I'm afraid so. Already, Glenn has indirectly saved the lives of Ayla, Janus, Frog, and Corea, although I'm not sure if that will change anything in the long run."

Lucca's brow furrowed in thought. "I told you that I saw the future me die. Does this mean that I might not be doomed to that? Was that what was supposed to happen to me without Glenn?"

Thanatos shrugged. "Only time will tell, Lucca. I personally don't know what your final fate was supposed to be, only the fates of many of the people here. In fact, you all were doomed to lose this battle. But Glenn's introduction into the timeline might change everything, or it might make everything worse. I'm mostly worried about a paradox occuring."

Lucca looked as if she had been physically struck. "We were supposed to lose? And you took us through all this, knowing that?"

Thanatos nodded. "Yes. For the most part, I knew what was supposed to happen, when it would happen, and why it would happen, with only a few exceptions. But, like Gaspar, I'm now quite lost. I'm afraid of the paradox, that time and space might unravel. But things may not be as bad as they seem. I'd like to see you all win, but at the same time, I'm afraid to do anything, because I don't know what to do anymore. Half of the information I know is now useless, because nothing is as it's supposed to be."

Lucca placed a hand on his back. "Don't worry. Everything will be okay."

Thanatos smiled at her. "Thanks. I'll remember that. Meanwhile, you should get your rest. We have a big day in front of us tomorrow. Tomorrow, we attack..."

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"This weapon represents considerable power...Your actions may either save or destroy life. Wield your sword with full knowledge of the consequences!"
- Melchior

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