The Adventures Of Marle And Lucca Part 1
By Sir T. Magus
Crono slept in his peaceful bed, without any worry in the world. He destroyed the evil Lavos and returned the future to it's rightful, beautiful form. His home in the town of Truce just celebrated the Millenial Fair and the following Moonlight Parade. Crono's mother was already asleep and dreaming about her son saving the universe from a strange monster that looked like a toaster. Crono's mother had a humorous mind and dreamed up the strangest ones.
The window in Crono's room opened and Crono turned over. A strange dark mist seeped into the room and a dark figure appeared. The dark figure nailed a note to the wall and walked toward Crono. The figure's cape flowed through the dark mist and picked up a green bottle. He poured it in a glass next to Crono's bed and disguised the green liquid with a magic spell into water.
"Hope you like your drink, boy," the figure said and vanished as the dark mist seeped out of the window and it closed behind. In a forest, the dark mist and figure rode on a demonic horse and arrived in a clearing.
"I made the delivery, my master," the figure said, still draped in darkness and the mist circling him. A voice rung through the forest.
"Mwahahahahaha! You have done well my slave," the voice said. "Crono will have a good sleep, after he drinks his morning water. When he's out, our project shall commense shortly after he's dead."
"Yes, my lord," the figure replied. "But what of the Gaurdia army?!" The voice grew louder in the figure's ears.
"Do not question my brillaince, Nightmist! The Gaurdia army is an army of weak idiots! When Crono and the Gaurida army are out of their suffering, the project shall be intact!" the voice bellowed.
"But, my lord, there are others than the Gaurdia army," the figure, Nightmist explained. "Choras, Porre, and Medina have armies as well, Medina, over the years have grown powerful."
"Hmm, Choras and Porre will be like stepping on insects in an instant," the voice said. "We shall spare Medina, they shall be of a good use in the future. In the meantime, come back to Darktime and we shall continue the project."
"Yes, of course my lord," Nightmist bowed down to his master and jumped back on his horse and vanished as the black mist surrounded him and then vanished with him.
The next morning, Crono woke up and yawned. He stood up out of his bed and stretched. He looked down at his desk and saw the glass of water.
"Well, looks like Mom prepared a drink for me. Good thing, my mouth is full of morning breath," Crono said and gulped down the glass of poison, unknown to Crono. He got out of his night clothes and got into his regular clothes. He walked downstairs and his cat purred against his legs.
"'Morning, Mom," said Crono. "What's for breakfast?" His Mom placed a bowl in front of him.
"It's oatmeal, now eat up if you want to go to Princess Nadia's to meet Lucca," his Mom ordered. Crono picked up his spoon and put it in his oatmeal. He ate the spoonful and then fainted, his face dropping into the bowl of oatmeal. His Mom turned around and saw Crono's face in the bowl.
"Now, Crono, I didn't know you liked my oatmeal so much," Crono's Mom said. "I guess I'll have to make you another bowl." She waited for Crono to sit back up, but he never did. Crono's Mom lifted Crono out of the oatmeal and saw his face and then scared, she felt his pulse. Her scream echoed through Truce. At Gaurdia Castle, Marle and Lucca heard the blood curdling scream.
"What do you suppose that was?" Lucca asked her friend, Marle. They surveyed Truce and saw people rushing to Crono's house.
"Something's happening at Crono's," Marle said. "I pray he's all right." They ran down the tower they stood on and passed guards. They ran down a hall and the Chancellor passed by.
"What are you two doing?" the Chancellor asked.
"Crono's, gather a troop of five men, and tell them to meet us there," Marle commanded, after all, she's a princess, it's her job to order people around. Marle and Lucca arrived at Crono's home and saw people with surprised faces.
"Alright, what's wrong?" asked Lucca.
"It's Crono! He has no pulse!" Mom cried. Lucca felt her best friend's pulse and stood up, with her head hanging low.
"His pulse is dangerously low," said Lucca. Marle wiped Crono's pale face. Mom carried Crono up to his room and layed him in his bed.
"I don't know what happened," said Crono's Mom. Lucca and Marle ran upstairs to Crono's room.
"Maybe there's a reasonable explanation for this," Lucca deduced. She searched on Crono's desk and looked up. She pulled a dagger out of the wall and read the note that Nightmist left behind.
"Marle, Mother Crono, listen to this! Woman, that's you Mrs. Crono, your son has been poisoned! He will be dead in three days, but there is an antidote. You must find me though! When Crono's dead, our project shall continue," Lucca explained.
"When I find the villain who did this Crono, his body will be cremated!" Marle vowed. "I'm going to search for him to the far corners of the world!"
"Uh, heh, you're kidding, right?" Lucca asked a little shaky. Lucca knew that she also wanted to have revenge over the mastermind that poisoned her beloved Crono. Marle showed off her crossbow.
"You think that this is kidding?" Marle spat back. Lucca looked in a pocket in her overcoat and saw her dusty Wondershot gun. She never used it again since the battle with Lavos. Then she made her decision.
"I'm with you all the way, Marle," Said Lucca. Marle ordered the soldiers to bring Crono to Gaurdia Castle and care for him. Crono's mother went with them. Marle and Lucca walked outside and followed the soldiers to Gaurdia Castle. They entered the stables and walked over to two white horses.
"Lucca, you take Paladin. He's the strongest one here. I'll be taking Excalibur. He's the second strongest," Marle explained. "We're leaving now." King Gaurdia XXXIII walked into the stables, wondering what the two girls were doing.
"Where are you two heading off to?" the King asked.
"Avenging Crono," Marle said, gritting her teeth. "We'll be back, I promise. I have supplies already. See you, Daddy." Marle rode out of the tables to the Zenan Bridge.
"Your majesty, ask Crono's mom for more details, I'm going with Nadia," Lucca told the King. She left the king in the stables alone.
"Nadia, Lucca .... godspeed," the King whispered, and walked up to the sickroom. Lucca and Paladin rode through the kingdom, trying to catch up with Marle. The horse passed Marle and Excalibur and approached Zenan Bridge.
"Told you that's our strongest horse," Marle said. "When we cross Zenan Bridge, head to Porre. We'll check in at the inn there and turn in for the night. But first, let us go to Fiona's Shrine. That's where most people gossip." Marle and Lucca brought their horses to a trot and crossed the 400 year old bridge. After they crossed the bridge, Marle and Lucca galloped through Fiona's Forest and enjoyed it's beautiful surroundings. The horses rode through the forest and then halted in front of a temple, Fiona's Shrine. Marle and Lucca jumped off their horses and tied them to a tree. They entered the shrine and saw a group of people talking and praying. Three woman, nuns prayed at the pews and Marle and Lucca left them alone. Marle went over to a boy, about her age.
"Excuse me, but, do you know anything strange going on?" Marle asked. The boy frowned at her and turned his back and walked down the aisle. Marle grabbed his shoulder and forced him to turn around.
"Listen, you! The hero of history was just put out of commision! He was poisoned by a mysterious loser, and I want to know who!!?" Marle yelled. The wise guy rolled his eyeballs at her and spoke.
"Who wants to know?!" the boy asked. Marle showed him her glowing pendant and the boy gasped, everyone did.
"Alright, every night, a guy and a horse rides to a clearing in a forest and then talks to himself. But what's wierd, is that this booming voice always answers him back," the boy replied. "Since this forest is huge, he could be anywhere. I spied on him last night, I'm sorry about Crono." Marle and Lucca left the shrine and hopped back on their horses.
"Let's turn in for the night," Lucca suggested. Paladin and Excalibur galloped down to the Porre Inn & Cafe. The horses stayed in the stables and Marle and Lucca entered the cafe. They saw people drinking and eating and they checked in the inn. Lucca sat down to a meal, while Marle slept in their room. A few hours later, the lights went out and the people ducked behind the bar, except Lucca.
"Hey, crazy! Get behind here, if you know what's good for ya!" the barkeep whispered at her. Lucca looked confused.
"Why? What happens at twelve o' clock?" Lucca asked.
"Keep it down, woman! Every night at twelve, the Midnight Rider rides through Porre and through the land," the barkeep explained. "Now, get down here!"
Lucca ignored the old wives' tales and continued to read her book. The book was pulled from her grasp and then she was pulled behind the bar. They heard galloping from a distance and kept on getting louder and louder. A black figure passed the cafe and inn, leaving a black streak behind. A laugh echoed through Porre and the lights went back on and the people went back to their places.
"Aye, that's one scary demon I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley," another person said. Lucca ran up the stairs to her room and picked up her Wondershot gun and put it in her overcoat. She searched through her bag and pulled out a smoke bomb that Marle lent to her and a dagger. Lucca left Marle to sleep while she ran back down stairs and started to open the door.
"And where are you off to, human?" a Mystic asked. Lucca turned around to face the Mystic.
"I'm going after the Midnight Rider," Lucca said.
"You humans are so nuts!" the Mystic sighed. The barkeep walked over to her and gave her something.
"If you're crazy enough to go after that creature, take this mid tonic and mid ether," the barkeep offered.
"Um, thanks," Lucca said. She opened the door and ran to the stables. Lucca hopped on Paladin and followed the mist to Fiona's Forest. Paladin galloped swiftly behind the Midnight Rider. Lucca noticed that he was carrying some sort of bag. The Rider entered a clearing and stopped, Lucca hid in the bushes surrounding the clearing and Paladin stayed quiet. The Rider reached into the bag and pulled out a Mystic.
"I have a traitor!" the Rider yelled. He through the Mystic to the ground and it shivered when it heard the voice.
"His name is Karl," the Rider said. "His crime! He was talking to humans and actually telling humans what I do at midnight! And where I last met you! I shall slowly slit the human's neck and then strip it's skin from it's body! Then suck the marrow from it's bones!" Lucca wrinkled up her nose and did the best she could not to get caught.
"Let's not get that carried away, Nightmist! The Mystic has cast a spell to look like a human and then communicate with them, telling them our plans! Karl, you have such a strange name and a horrible crime! For this, you will be cast into the dungeon, then executed by having your head sliced off and have every part of your body and then burn them in acid from a Naga-ette!" the voice yelled.
"No! The human was the princess!" the Mystic yelled.
"Now, let's not get carried away, sir," Nightmist, the Midnight Rider said. Lucca listened to their conversation and wanted to save the poor Mystic.
"Princess?! Don't tell lies to your masters, Karl! Nightmist, bring the impudent worm back to Darktime and we shall continue the project," the voice bellowed. Lucca took notes in her trusty hand notepad she used when she was in school.
"Yes, my liege. And as for you, Karl! Back into Darktime!" the black knight jumped off the horse and grabbed the Mystic by it's neck.
"Nightmist, Exdeath! Don't do this to me!" Karl whined. The voice gasped and then snarled out it's words.
"Karl, you have yelled out my name outside of Darktime!" Exdeath's voice bellowed. "Nightmist, throw him into Draktime, while my knights wait for him!"
"No!" Karl once again cried.
"Yes, my liege," Nightmist replied. The poor Mystic was thrown into a black portal and then vanished, like a shadow at noon.
"As for me, sir?" Nightmist asked his leader.
"Nightmist, come back to the palace and the project's construction shall be complete," Exdeath answered. "Now, enter the portal." Nightmist jumped back on his demonic horse and trotted into the portal.
"This is it, Paladin!" Lucca yelled. She put everything away and jumped on Paladin. The strongest horse in Gaurdia galloped into the portal before it closed.
Marle suddenly woke up in Porre Cafe & Inn. She got dressed and noticed that Lucca wasn't in bed, being a late sleeper. Marle ran down the stairs and saw people eating breakfast and drinking juices and fresh cow's milk.
"Bacon, eggs and fresh milk please," Marle told the barkeep. He went to work and Marle sat down drinking her milk, served to her by an assistant. She waited no longer and asked people where Lucca was.
"Has anyone seen Lucca?" Marle asked.
"Aye, you mean the crazy, blinking, cute lassie?" a mustached man said.
"Crazy, blinking, cute lassie?!" Marle asked. "She's a genius, she doesn't blink that much, and I'm the cute one!"
"Sorry, m' las, she went after the Midnight Rider las' night," said the same person. "She headed toward Fiona's Forest. She never came back since she lef' last night at midnight."
"Do you have any idea what happened to her?" Marle asked.
"Nah, sorry, m' lady," the man replied. Marle thanked the man and began to eat her breakfast. She guessed that a lot of people had an accent like Frog's in these parts. She finished her breakfast and then rested in her room, ready to look for Lucca and find the antidote, she had seventy-two hours left. At eleven o'clock she went down to the cafe' and ordered venison and potatoes and soda pop.
"Sorry, miss, no venison. Your meal would be on the house if you hunted for deer and bring it back," the barkeep's assistant said. Without another word, Marle ran to the stables and jumped on Excalibur. The assistant ran out and yelled at Marle, galloping to Fiona's Forest.
"Miss! Watch out for the Midnight Rider!" the assistant yelled behind her. She arrived at Fiona's Forest and hopped off her horse, with her crossbow. She spent nearly an hour hunting for deer with no luck.
"Why am I hunting for dinner! People are supposed to do that for me!" Marle whined. She heard galloping from behind and brought Excalibur behind the bushes. Four knights of four demonic horses rode up into a clearing and the leader of the group spoke.
"Emperor Exdeath, we have returned to join the unveiling of the project," the leader said.
"Enter the portal," Exdeath's voice bellowed. The portal appeared and the four knights vanished into the void. Marle's instincts kicked in and she jumped on Excalibur and galloped into the portal that leads to Darktime ...
To be continued ...
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"The Adventures of Marle and Lucca" shall be continued in "The Adventures of Marle and Lucca: Enter Darktime". In that story your questions shall be answered. What is the so-called "project"? Exactly who is Nightmist? What happened to Lucca and the Mystic, Karl? How does Exdeath survive the incident in Final Fantasy V? All them will be answered in "The Adventures of Marle and Lucca: Enter Darktime"!
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