The Next Generation Part 1
Descendants and Pendants
By Krazy Sam
Nadia’s bell rang loudly throughout the large and beautiful Truce village at sunrise. The seagulls from the nearby Dorino coast called loudly, and many villagers were seen emerging from their small homes, stretching their arms and yawning tiredly. The rising sun cast a golden glow on everything, making the landscape hauntingly beautiful.
Out of a large, white dome, a fourteen-year-old girl emerged. Her long hair was pulled high and was purple in color, and her large eyes were a deep blue. She was already dressed for the day in baggy white pants and a sleeveless black shirt. She inhaled deeply as she pulled her black sandals on her bare feet. She silently ran across the dew-topped grass and stopped in front of Guardia forest.
“Almost there,” she breathed. She made her way through the thick forest, making certain to stay on the path through the dead pine needles, lest a beast hoping to use the forest as a hotel for the night surprise her. She walked along the route that she had taken for several years, and stopped when she found herself right in front of Guardia Castle. She gazed up at the gigantic castle, and marveled at how magnificent it looked in the rising sun’s rays. She raised her hand to the large wooden door of the castle, and knocked loudly. She waited for what seemed to be an eternity, and the doors were slowly pulled open. She found herself facing a man of average height and bright red, spiky hair.
“Good morning, Lana, what’s new?” The man asked her kindly.
“Nothing much, King Guardia,” Lana replied seriously. She paused, not knowing what to say next. “How is Queen Nadia?”
“She’s fine, but why bother with small talk? Come on in!” The king held open the huge door and Lana timidly stepped inside.
“Is Maro up yet?” She questioned. King Guardia shook his head.
“That boy… loves to sleep. Just like me when I was his age,” he muttered.
“Crono, is Lana here?” A feminine voice called from the throne room. King Guardia whirled around and found himself facing his wife, Queen Nadia.
“Yes, your majesty,” Lana said in a small voice, curtseying. Queen Nadia giggled.
“Don’t do that!” She objected, “Your mother did the same thing when she found out that I was the princess… but that was so long ago. I can’t believe that you don’t even call me Aunt Marle… or King Guardia Uncle Crono!”
“Umm… Sorry Aunt Marle,” Lana replied, making a face. She didn’t know why she had to call them “Uncle Crono” and “Aunt Marle.” After all, they weren’t family. Sure, King Guardia and her mother were like siblings, but it wasn’t right to her to treat them like they weren’t ruling the country.
“How’s Lucca?” Crono asked politely.
“Mother’s fine. My father is well, also,” Lana returned, “since Maro isn’t awake yet, maybe you can tell me how you got to be friends with my mom, and why she, you and …Aunt Marle… are so close.”
“Come on up to the throne room, and I will explain everything to you!” Crono exclaimed gleefully. He led Lana up the stairs. “Lucca and I were friends since we were babies. We were like brother and sister- that’s how close we were. One day, she invented this ‘telepod’, which was supposed to transport us from place to place…”
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“…And then, that beast, Lavos, was killed! Killed by my own sword! That parasite didn’t deserve to live- feeding off our planet and all. Well, that’s why your mother and the royal family got to be so close. The only reason that I’m in the royal family is because I married into it!” Crono laughed. Lana giggled, and stood up.
“How do I know this is true? Is there any evidence?” Lana inquired. Crono slapped his palm against his throne.
“HA! Spoken like your mother! The vehicle, Epoch, is in the courtyard. If you want, and if your mother is okay with it, you can follow in our footsteps and learn how to pilot this baby through time!”
“Yeah, right!” Lana said sarcastically.
“No, really!” Crono replied, “I think that you and Maro are old enough to pilot it, as long as you two are careful about what you do.”
“Pilot what?” A sleepy voice asked from behind Lana. She whirled around to find herself facing Maro. Even though he was only two months younger than she was, he seemed to be a lot older than he was. He was tall for his age- five foot eight- and his red hair was neatly cut in the usual fashion for a boy. He had his father’s gleaming eyes, hair color, and build, but he also had his mother’s soft smile. He was wearing nothing but a pair of baggy pants, and they were sagging. Lana stifled a giggle as they slid further down.
“Um…Maro?” Lana giggled, “your pants are…afraid of heights.” Maro looked down, and hastily pulled his pants up.
“You’re here early,” he replied in a deep voice, “why?”
“I love sunrise,” she answered, “well…maybe you should put some clothes on.”
“I was just going to do that,” he retorted quickly. He turned on his heel and ran back to his room to change.
“As I was saying,” Crono continued, “I haven’t discussed this with your mother yet, but I think that you are old and responsible enough to pilot the Epoch. I will need your mother’s permission, of course…”
“Yes, yes!” Lana interrupted, “as soon as Maro gets back down, I will go back to my house and ask my mom. I bet she’ll say yes.”
Crono nodded. “Have Lucca come here to make sure that the Epoch is fully operational and other stuff that only your mom would know.”
“I’m ready!” Maro called from his doorway at the end of the stone hall, wearing a pair of Crono’s old pants and his own maroon shirt and black boots, “now, what did you say that Lana was old enough to pilot?”
“Crono, don’t you think they’re a little young?” Lucca protested in the courtyard a while later. The sun had risen a bit, and the sky was a deep blue.
“Nonsense!” Crono laughed, “Lana and Maro both have common sense! They know what to do and what not to do!”
“Yeah, but we were seventeen when we first used the Epoch!”
“We didn’t even know it existed until we were seventeen!” Lucca heaved a sigh of defeat, and threw her hands up.
“Okay!” She finally groaned, “they can go, BUT…” She paused for a more dramatic effect, “they had better be careful!” Lucca turned to Lana and Maro. “The first thing I want you to do is to go to the End of Time. There, Gaspar will tell you how to travel, and Spekkio will teach you magic. Then, you can go wherever you want.” She leaned over the controls. “First, you push this button…”
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“Wow!” Lana exclaimed when in the cockpit of the silver Wings of Time. She gripped the controls tightly and prepared to lift off.
“No fair!” Maro whined, “how come you get to pilot?”
“I’m older!” Lana retorted. She pushed the ignition button and the Epoch lifted off the ground. She carefully set the large time gauge to the End of Time, and she hit the time shift button.
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“Whooooooooa!” Maro screamed as the Epoch slowed down. Lana pulled the lever that raised the dome, and an invisible force immediately sucked up her and Maro.
“So, you finally came,” an old voice called from in front of them, “I’m Gaspar, the Guru of Time. I viewed you right before you came here, and it seems like you need my advice.” Lana and Maro cautiously stepped toward him.
“You…were waiting for us?” Lana asked incredulously. Gaspar nodded.
“You are from the year 1024, and are the daughter of Lucca, and your friend is the son of Crono and Marle. I knew this day would come. I am happy that you could make it here. Now, you are here to learn how to travel through time,” he lectured.
Lana took a good look around. There was a single lamppost at the center of a fenced-in paved floor. There was a door on one side, but it looked like it didn’t go anywhere, for there were no walls, and there was nothing visible behind the door from the angles Lana saw it in. The floor was hovering above a swirling dark mist, and there was nothing else. Lana reasoned that if she were to fall, then she would fall forever.
“You have the Epoch, so you can travel through time. All time periods connect here, and one thing- only three beings can travel through time at once. Time shifts were made only for three or less people, and having more than that would have a heavy effect on the space-time continuum.”
“That’s okay. There are only two of us,” Maro replied. Gaspar chuckled.
“Not for long…” He whispered. He paused, and raised his head. “Take a look in the room behind me!”
Lana sighed, and prepared to fall off the edge of the floor when she stepped through the door. Much to her surprise, she found herself in another room, and a strange creature shaped like a giant frog greeted her.
“Hi!” It exclaimed happily. “I’m Spekkio, the master of war! I taught your parents how to use magic, and now, the time has come for you to use it! Okay, first, I need you and your friend to walk clockwise around the room three times.”
Lana shrugged and began to walk the perimeter of the room with Maro close behind. When she and Maro had completed what Spekkio asked, they stood before him, waiting for whatever would come next.
“You with the purple hair!” Spekkio boomed, “since you were born of fire, you are fire!” He pointed at Lana, and fire swirled around her. Maro screamed and leapt back. The fire abruptly ceased, and Lana’s eyes took on a red glow.
“You there! Yes, you! The one who just screamed!” Spekkio continued, “born of lightning and ice, but your inner character cannot support shadow. You contain more of your mother’s inner character, so you’re ice!” He pointed, and giant blocks of ice surrounded Maro. It soon melted, and Maro’s eyes took on a blue glow.
“So, fortified with magic!” Spekkio declared, “want to try it out?”
“No, not really.” Lana and Maro said in unison. They walked out of the room and back to the Epoch.
“Where should we go?” Maro asked.
“I don’t know. I’ll pick a random time,” answered Lana. She spun the dial, and it landed at 2324 AD. She pushed the time shift button, and soon found herself in blue sky above a field with twenty-two people, half with maroon shirts, and half with jade shirts. They were fighting over a black and white ball, and occasionally, it would fly into a net where another player was trying to deflect it. Lana landed nearby the field, and she stepped out of the vehicle. Miraculously, nobody noticed except for one girl. She was on the side of the field on a bench. She had shoulder length brown hair which was pulled back but still down, ice blue eyes, and glasses on. Her jade shirt was dirty, and her knees were badly scraped. Her long white socks were stained with grass and dirt, and were bulging. Lana and Maro walked around the fence surrounding the field, and stepped through the open gate, heading toward the girl. She stood up and eyed the newcomers suspiciously.
“She looks like ME!” Lana whispered harshly.
“Who are you?” She had a sweet voice, but it was tinted with fear.
“I’m Lana, and this is Maro. What’s your name?”
The girl hesitated. “Sari.”
“What’s going on?” Maro asked, “why is everyone fighting over a ball? Why can’t they all have a ball to play with?”
“This is a game called soccer,” Sari explained, “the object is to get the ball in the opposing goal. To tell the teams apart, we have different colored jerseys.”
“May we watch?” Maro questioned.
“Sure. Anyone can watch,” Sari answered kindly. She narrowed her eyes. “Where are you guys from?”
“We come from Truce Village,” Lana returned.
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“Where is this?” Maro interrupted.
“This is Proto City,” Sari responded.
“We must be in a different time,” Lana whispered to Maro. She cleared her throat. “We come from the year 1024. What year is this?”
“1024?” Sari exclaimed, “this is 2324!” She gasped. “You’re from the past?”
“Yeah…” Maro retorted.
“Do you want to come with me?” Lana asked.
“Sure, after my game,” Sari muttered. A man in a black outfit blew a whistle, and the players stopped playing. “Yeah!” Sari screamed, “we won! We won! We won!” She jumped up and down and laughed.
“What are you doing?” Maro asked, concerned.
“Our team won. It’s a good thing,” Sari explained. She ran to her team, and slapped her palm against theirs. Maro cocked an eyebrow and smiled.
“So that’s what people of the future are like,” he grinned.
Sari ran over to Lana and Maro. “Let’s go. You two can come over to my house.” She motioned for them to follow, but Lana shook her head.
“Come in the Epoch, and we’ll take you there,” Lana offered.
“Okay…”
“It’s really neat!” Maro persuaded. Sari finally nodded and followed them. When the dome was over the Epoch, Lana pushed the ignition. The Epoch immediately lifted off the ground.
“Whoa!” Sari screamed. Lana gripped the steering handles.
“Where do I go?” She questioned.
“West,” Sari instructed. Lana pushed the thrust button, and the Epoch hurtled forward.
“STOP!” Sari screamed. Lana obeyed and cast a puzzled look in Sari’s direction.
“What?”
“We’re here already.”
Lana set the Epoch down by a large building. It had four doors, and was a pale peach. She reasoned that they were separate houses. The house on the far left had a bigger yard, and more pine trees. There was a brown wooden fence surrounding the yard around the back door, and there was a bright green tent-like structure inside the fence. Sari led Maro and Lana in the door on the edge. She opened a screen door, and Lana found herself in another small room with crates in it. Shoes rested on little shelves inside the crates. Sari opened another door, and strode inside.
“Hi, mom! Hi, dad!” She called. “My new friends, Lana and Maro are going to stay for a while, okay?”
“Is it okay with their parents?” Sari’s mother questioned from a gray couch. She had wild red curls, and a face similar to Sari’s.
“Yes, it is,” Maro claimed. Sari made them take off their shoes, and she took off her spiked leather shoes. She pulled off her dirty socks, and revealed armor for her shins.
“What’s that?” Lana asked curiously.
“Shin guards. It’s so I don’t get hurt when people kick me.” Sari led Lana and Maro up the wooden steps of her house, and into a large room. There was a bright red poster on the door that had a drawing of a person with a pencil rammed through his ears. The words, “Education Victim” were printed in bold type on the poster. Maro grimaced. That really must have hurt, he thought. Sari ushered them in, and closed the door, revealing another poster. It showed a goldfish in a blender screaming, “I can’t take it!” Lana frowned, seeing the fish.
The room had green carpeting, and there was a cluttered desk at the far wall, with a miniature piano by it. There was a strange contraption sitting on the desk.
“That must be a computer, like my mother said!” Lana cried, “incredible!”
“How do you know about computers?” Sari asked.
“My mother traveled to the future twenty-four years ago. She saw computers there. She told me that they were neat. May I see it when the power is on?” Lana said honestly.
Sari reached down and flipped a switch. The computer made a humming noise, and she then turned on the monitor. Some meaningless symbols flashed up on the screen, and soon, a picture of a blue-haired girl staring sadly appeared.
“That looks like one of my ancestors!” Maro cried.
“That is one of my ancestors. She owned a pendant that was passed down through the generations. I have it now, right here.” Sari opened a velvet box, and the magic pendant made from dreamstone about 14,300 years ago shimmered slightly.
“My mom has that exact same pendant,” Maro said, dismissing the pendant. Sari thought for a moment, and shrugged, turning off the computer.
“You travel through time?” She finally asked.
“Yeah,” Lana confirmed.
“Will you take me to an era?” Sari begged.
“Sure!” Maro cried before Lana had a chance to refuse. Sari beamed, and frowned.
“I’ll have to change…” She took off her jersey, and Maro and Lana gasped. Sari noticed, and grinned. “I’m not shy.” She pulled a tight black shirt from a drawer and a pair of boot-cut jeans from her metal closet. She then put the pendant on her neck. She pulled the clothes on hastily, and led the stunned duo downstairs. She put on a pair of high-heeled ankle boots, and Lana and Maro put their shoes on.
“Here we go!” Lana cried as she pushed the time shift button when everyone was in the Epoch.
“Where is THIS?” Sari asked disapprovingly. She only saw a deep blue, swirling mist, and she was displeased.
“The End of Time,” Maro explained. The dome opened, and the three were sucked up. Lana immediately led Sari to Spekkio’s room, not giving her time to marvel at the sights all around her.
“Well, well!” Spekkio laughed, “who have we here?”
“I’m Sari,” Sari replied bravely.
“Well, Sari,” Spekkio cried gleefully, “you are a descendant of everybody here!”
“What?” Sari, Lana, and Maro asked in unison.
“Oh, my!” Spekkio suddenly exclaimed.
“Who is this wacko?” Sari whispered to Lana.
“I’m Spekkio, the master of war!” Spekkio boomed. Sari gasped and blushed.
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay. As I was going to say, your inner character is kind, but tinted with needs for revenge. You’re a perfect candidate for shadow magic… and… oh dear! You have mind powers, too! You just don’t know how to control them! Well, I’ll fix that in a jiffy!”
“Mind…powers?” Sari muttered.
“Yes! Telepathy, empathy, Telekinesis, intuition, the ability to plant thoughts in other people’s minds, ESP, you know, the kind of claptrap that no one believes!” Spekkio giggled. He pointed, and a black shadow covered Sari. It totally engulfed her, and went inside her body. Her eyes glowed black, and Sari grinned. Suddenly, she raised an eyebrow.
“Do I really look that scary?” Sari asked Lana.
“You…read my mind!” Lana screamed.
“Oh, yeah!” Sari cried, “Maro! You’re afraid of me!” Maro gasped.
“Not really,” he grumbled. Sari tittered.
“It’s okay, I’m not that way, really!” Sari burst out laughing, and Maro didn’t even know what the joke was. Lana gently led Sari out of the room.
“See you later!” Spekkio called.
When outside, Lana heaved a sigh of relief.
“Hey,” Gaspar called from the dimly lit lamppost. Lana ran over to him, with Maro and Sari close behind.
“Hiya, Gaspar!” Sari called back. She paused, startled. “How did I know that?” Gaspar chuckled and looked up.
“Well, Sari,” he started, “it seems that you are just learning how to deal with mind powers! Well, now that there are three of you guys, there will be more. When you gain another friend, then one of you must stay here.”
“Here? Alone?” Maro shrieked.
“It is pretty bleak…” Gaspar whispered, remembering the words he uttered to Marle twenty four years ago.
“Go on, go exploring!” He urged, “you have an adventure in front of you!”
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The Epoch slowed after a jump to 2324 AD. It hovered for a while, and Sari gasped.
“What happened?” She shrieked. There was no more city. Everything was a charred, smoking ruin, and dead lay about all over the place. Survivors were cut and bleeding, and were in poor condition. Lana swiftly landed the Epoch, and stepped out. Sari ran to a survivor.
“What has happened to Proto City?” She asked a middle-aged man. He was the least damaged out of the survivors, and he only suffered cuts.
“This is Trann City. A giant beast erupted out of the ground less than ten minutes ago. Word has it that Proto City was unharmed, but…I thought the heroes destroyed the beast a thousand years ago!”
“My parents…” Lana and Maro said in unison. Sari gasped.
“Lavos?” She asked the man.
“Yes, Lavos. Either that, or a being like it…” He knelt beside a dead woman. “My wife…” He knelt, sobbing, while Lana, Maro, and Sari walked back to the Epoch. Lana steered it in the direction of Proto City, and blasted through the air.
.
“Proto city is unharmed,” Lana said when they landed by Sari’s house. Sari told Lana and Maro to wait while she went to get supplies. She emerged two minutes later with a wooden baseball bat.
“Ready to go!” She cried. Lana piloted the Epoch back to her own time after Sari was safely inside.
.
“Mother!” Lana cried, dashing into her house with Sari and Maro close behind. “We found one of our descendants, got magic, and Lavos has destroyed Trann City in the year 2324!” She screamed in a rush.
“That’s ridiculous!” Lucca replied calmly. Her knee-length purple hair had remained the same length, and she looked like she hadn’t aged a bit. Her aqua eyes flashed red, due to implants she invented. “We killed him, like Crono told you!”
“No, Ma’am!” Sari screamed, “I saw Trann City. It’s ruined! If the beast isn’t Lavos, then it is another of his kind. We have to stop him!”
“Who are you?” Lucca asked.
“I’m Sari,” Sari muttered, “I’m a descendant of you, Crono, and Marle.” When Lucca gave her a skeptical look, she held up the pendant.
“The pendant!” Lucca turned pale. “So you are a descendant of Marle.” She regained her composure. “If this is true, Lana, then you will need this.” She pulled out a gold gun and a brown helmet with a gold antenna on top. “You’ll need these. I invented them when I was seventeen, and the gun is my strongest ever, made from the legendary SunStone. Use it wisely.”
Lana accepted the gun and helmet, and ran out the door, thanking Lucca on the way.
“Kids,” Lucca sighed. She turned to a nine -year -old boy with dark curls. “I hope you don’t turn out that way, Tam.”
“I won’t, mommy,” Tam promised.
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“Father!” Maro screamed in Guardia Castle. “There is another of Lavos’ kind in the future! Sari, my new friend and one of my descendants, needs our help!”
“What?” Crono asked coolly, “another of Lavos’ kind?” He started to get angry. “You need to use my best weapon, son!” He cried. Crono strode to a wooden chest and opened it. Inside was a prismatic sword and opalescent armor. “The Rainbow and the Moon armor- the best defense and the best weapon known to me. Use them, son, and kill that beast!” He turned to Sari. “Who are you?”
“I’m Sari. I-it’s good…I mean…nice…to meet you.” She turned to Maro. “You didn’t tell me that I was a descendant of royalty!” Maro laughed loudly, and began to walk out the door.
“Wait!” A voice called. The three whirled around, and found themselves facing Marle.
“Yes, mother?” Maro asked curiously.
“What kind of magic do you all have?”
“Fire,” Lana answered.
“Shadow,” Sari returned.
“Ice,” Maro muttered. Marle’s eyes lit up. “Spekkio said that I had more of your inner character.”
“That’s great!” Marle cried. “So, Sari, you’re my descendant? Well, I have something for you and Lana both.” She opened another chest, and with much effort, lifted two dresses out of chest. They sparkled and shone, and Lana didn’t know what they were for. “These are called Prism Dresses. They deflect most magic.” Marle handed one to Lana and Sari, and they put them on over their clothes. Immediately, a rainbow shield formed over each of the two girls, and the dress disappeared. Marle shot ice magic at both of them, and it bounced off, hitting the wall behind Marle.
“It works!” Sari exclaimed. “Thank you very much. Well, now, we have to go and save the world!”
“Take care, now!” Crono called. His next words were barely a whisper. “And come back alive.”
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