Chrono Continuum Chapter 23
Glenn on Glenn
By Cain
602 AD
Lucca rushed forward, half dragging Glenn along behind her. Glenn was surprised. He was in better shape than the majority of the Game Knights. And he was barely keeping up with this woman. Perhaps her magic had something to do with that. He knew that his magic was inspring changes within him. Already he could see odd colorings around people and objects, and had recieved a rudimentary understanding of them. One man, who was running in the opposite direction, away from the fire, had deep jealousy in his heart over... something. One woman was plotting to kill someone. One man couldn't understand why this was happening to him. Glenn could almost hear his thoughts, It's all because of the evil Resistance. My children shall hear of this. And then the man's thoughts switched to thoughts of how to survive, and how he'd lost his cat, and... Glenn would have stopped dead in his tracks, if Lucca weren't pulling on him. He could hear the man's thoughts! He tried to do the same with other passersby, but couldn't, except for one fat man thinking about the nice pastry he'd been eating before all this started. Glenn would have to look into this ability. He wondered if Lucca also had this ability. If so, he hoped she had control of it. It would not be meet for her to be reading his thoughts without his knowledge...
Lucca's thoughts were focused in a very different direction. Where to go to get where they were going, and how to get there without being killed by some hazard. They turned into an alley, and instantly saw it to be a dead end. As they turned, though, they saw that a fire had spread behind them, and they now faced a blaze. Glenn stepped forward. He could tell his water magic would be needed to put out the flames. Then Lucca did the same. As Glenn looked at her quizically, she put her palms together and pointed her fingers at the flames. With an expression of concentration, she slowly parted her hands. As Glenn watched, the flames parted in synchronisity (in synch for you laymans) with her hands, leading a clear path devoid of danger. Out of the side of her mouth, Lucca warned Glenn, "Hey, I can't keep this up forever." Glenn needed no further explanation. He picked her up, as he had on that first day, and ran through the flames, the heat giving him speed as they closed in at the tip of his heels second by second.
A large pole fell in his path, and Glenn stopped. He looked back. He'd gained some distance, but the flames were rapidly closing in behind him. He looked back to the burning pole. His jaw clenched. As before, his Knight's training, decisiveness, and desperation combined to give him absolute determination. Yelling out against the heat and the danger, he ran forward. So close to the pole that he could have spit on it, he planted both feet firmly in the ground and bent his knees. And he pushed back up. He was soaring up in the air, as high as a bird. He couldn't fail to make it. And then he began to fall. He looked down, saw that he wasn't yet over the burning obstacle. He yelled again, and willed himself to make it beyond the flames. Almost. Almost...
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Same Time
He stopped as he saw it. It was an encampment. It looked more likd a town to him, but to the Kingdom, this was an encampment. He shrugged. Who was he to complain? He had come at full speed after seeing the Epoch lift off. He looked down on the burning area from his hill, surprised. Lucca hadn't used the weaponry since that first day it was given wings. Which indicated an emergency. He looked around, searching for some sign of the flying machine, but saw nothing but Kingdom nobles and servants running for their lives. He felt no inclination to save them or to send them to their dooms with one well-placed spell. This was not his war. He turned, and walked away, leaving, now that his search was defeated. A crunch under one of his boots stopped him, and he looked down. Pieces of metal were strewn about, around two central masses. He bent down and picked them up.
They were made of a dull grey metal, and had complex "wiring" indicative of either Robo or Lucca. Or the Epoch. Still, that told him nothing. This could be from the future Lucca, or the Lucca closer to his view of things through the passing of time. He raised one up to his nose, and sniffed. A woman. A faint aura of magic showed him that one of the two Luccas had probably made this. He smelled the other one. A man. There was a very faint aura there, so faint that he could hardly detect it. There was something else there, something... familiar. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. He raised his arms to the sides, in a pose similar to that of the Magus. He concentrated, and found the familiar presence. It called out to him. He concentrated. He wanted to see how close it was. He gasped. It was beyond close! It was right here. The Masamune. His Masamune.
He leaped off the hill, soaring through the air for what was just a moment but felt forever. And then he landed lightly at the bottom, unhurt. He bounded at full speed towards the burning town...
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Same Time
He landed roughly on the other side, dropping Lucca. They both rolled to a sitting position, Glenn panting. Lucca soon jumped up lightly, and helped the unwilling Glenn to rise as well. They soon started off again, Lucca pulling Glenn along, and he was happy to let her do so. That had been one tough jump. He was amazed he had been able to jump so high and so far. Like... like a frog. That thought kept him preoccupied as Lucca made turns and went paths Glenn would have thought suicidal. There were no more people in the encampment, and he wouldn't have helped if there were. Unless it was a servant. Although some of them were more loyal than their masters. When he tripped on a fallen brick, he's brought back to present problems. He asked Lucca, "Lucca, where art thou leading me?" Lucca turned to glance at him, and went back to glancing at the paths she could take.
"I'm trying to get us to the path up Denadoro."
"Oh? Well, why dost thou not go this way," he asked, pointing to an alley she hadn't noticed.
"Glenn," she admonished. 'I know what I'm doing."
"But, Lucca, I do believe that there lieth your path." She turned to him, exasperated.
"Fine. We'll see if your way works." And she pulled him along, skirting fire, to a small alleyway. Glenn finally pulled his arm free, and they ran side by side. As they emerged from the alley, they found themselves looking at a path that stretched up and around the great mountain. The houses behind them all ended in a line, as if afraid to be built further up. Lucca looked back to the houses, and back again to the path. Then she looked back to Glenn, who was trying to look as innocent as possible.
"Not a word," she whispered. "Not one word." Glenn burst out into laughter. Before he knew it, he was sitting on the ground laughing, tears streaming from his eyes. Lucca began to snicker, then giggle, chuckle, and finally fall down on her rear laughing as well. The laughter died down slowly, until it came to Glenn wiping his eyes, and Lucca cleaning off her glasses. Glenn looked at her, smiling.
"Thou shouldst know that in mine mind, thou art prettier with thine spectacles donned than doffed." Lucca stopped smiling, and looked down to the ground. Glenn's eyes widened and he rushed to explain.
"But, thou art beautiful wearing any thing. Thou art not ugly with thine spectacles off... merely a lesser beauty than the absolute beauty that thou ownest when they'rt on." He smiled convincingly. Lucca's face raised smiling, and she soon fell on her back, laughing again. Glenn was quite confused. Lucca called out, while laughing, "Ha, haha, Oh, Glenn... hahahmhm... Man... did you ever fall for that." And her speech dissolved into laughter. Glenn blinked stupidly, then smiled and shook his head. He raised it to the sound of clapping. He looked to see a short form leaning against a house. Strangely, all the fires in the surrounding area seemed to have gone out. The form was standing with his green hood drawn over his face, as it had been when they had met at that tavern, days ago. Lucca sat up, and looked at it as well. A strange, creaking voice called out to them.
"Well done, Glenn. I could not have thought of better compiments to say to such a lady as her than thou didst. Then again, p'raps I did. She doth joke like this often." Lucca gasped in pleasant surprise, and jumped up. Glenn stood as well. The form walked forward, stopped two feet away from the pair. Lucca reached out, and settled his hood down about his neck. Glenn didn't get to see his face, however, because Lucca scooped him up and hugged him tightly. Glenn could hear muffled laughter. Lucca announced, "Frog! It's so good to see you." Finally a voice escaped besides hers. Frog shouted out, "Let me be, woman, lest I'm forced to drown thee!" Beaming, Lucca dropped Frog onto his feet. She glanced back at Glenn, wating patiently, and made a little gasp.
"Oh! Frog, I'd like you to meet Glenn. Glenn, Frog. I believe you've met." She stepped away. Glenn got his first good look at his alter-ego. As before he was short, up to Glenn's chest. He had a sword sheath at his hip that seemed far too large for him, but he wore it well. His armor differed from Glenn's, but had the same basic style. His face was something different altogether. It was green, and wider than a normal human head. His throat protruded out in the space between his... chin and his chest. His eyes were yellow, large orbs that were stationed near the top of his head. Four whisker-type things stuck out from the opposite sides of his face. And he looked infinitely confident. He looked not to have a muscle on him, but Glenn could see strength in his bearing. The empty sheath seemed to cry out to be filled. And despite all that was abnormal about him, Glenn felt a deep kinship to this man, as if they'd known eachother all their lives. The frog stepped forward. They both bowed at the waist, one hand at their stomach, the other at their back. At the same time as the other, they reached out to invite the other to shake their hands. They both did so. Glenn wasn't sure, but he thought the one before him smiled.
"Was I ever this handsome," Frog asked, somewhat wistfully.
"Fear not, sir. 'Tis no great fall from grace. After all, thou knowest how to swim." Frog's throat swelled, and a loud croak sounded. And as Glenn looked surprised, Frog began to laugh out loud.
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"Double the pleasure, Double the fun..."
-Doublemint Gum- Delicious
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