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A tall man in a dark hooded cloak walked through the dense forest, using a small amount of his powers to make a clear path to his destination. As he walked, several odd creatures stared at him then turned to run, causing the cloaked figure to chuckle. He continued walking for several moments till he arrived at a huge stone pillar. The stone pillar looked ancient, with plenty of evidence of decay over the years. It looked like an obelisk; the grey stone had some growth of moss and vines all over it. Before the obelisk, there were rows of steps to climb, leading towards the platform. The cloaked figure had no problem setting foot on the step. It was as if he was expecting something to happen. He let a small grin appear on his aged face. He continued his ascent till he reached the platform and looked around. With nothing happening, he wandered about, encircling the obelisk.
"At last!" The cloaked figure removed his hood and looked up at the towering stone. "I can finally summon them after all these years. Too bad it took this long for me to attain my current status." His grin finally turned into a frown as he looked down at the inscription on the stone. "Damn you, brother! If you hadn't protected this from me, I would have made things right!"
The old man slowly walked to the stone with the inscription on it and placed his left hand to it. At first nothing happened, but seconds later a rumble was felt as the ground started shaking. The rumbling intensified as the powers of the stone tried to resist the old man from breaking into whatever it held.
Suddenly, the rumbling stopped, then stone pillar began to move to the left. The stone pillar opened up an entrance to an underground cavern followed by steps that lead the way down. When the pillar stopped, the old man smiled and walked towards the entrance. He half expected resistance after it was opened, but nothing was happening. He looked around one last time before disappearing underground.
As he made his way down the long stairwell, the stone pillar closed on its own, trapping the old man underground. The old man stopped his descent as the stairs became pitch black, he held up his finger and a light began to emit from it so he could see. He continued walking till he arrived to a large open room. His finger began to glow brighter, illuminating the room all the way to the walls. He looked around for a few minutes, unsure where to go; till he finally spotted what he was looking for.
"So, the secret to calling fourth all portals in the universe lies ahead. As it was foretold, the one who unlocks it all lies in the hands of the one who had recently read the ancient scroll." He grinned and looked around the room to search for booby traps. There didn't appear to be any so he started walking towards the smaller version of the stone pillar that was outside. "Hmmm, that was history." As he approached the pillar, it began to glow red. He slowly placed both of his hands over it as if to get a read on how its security strength was.
"Ah, dear brother... this is all too easy." The old man spoke to nothing in particular as he concentrated his powers that caused his hands to glow white. After a second or so, the red glow died down as did the glow coming from his hands. When there was nothing left, a bright light filled the room as the stone pillar shifted outwards from its center. At the middle of the pillar was a crystal. The crystal looked like a baton with sharp pointed ends, tapering outwards. It lay floating on its own with an eerie white glow. The old man had to shield his eyes from the bright light, but he quickly got used to it. He took a few seconds to marvel its beauty before grasping it with his left hand. He grinned as the white light began to envelop him. A few more seconds later, he disappeared with the crystal and the room went black.
In the same room in a parallel Earth, a shimmering white light engulfed the room and the old man appeared with it, holding the crystal. He took a few moments to look around the room, which was well lit by torches.
"So they keep it here and here I shall expect resistance, but it is unlikely." He told himself as he walked straight to what looked like another large room underground and a pool of water lie ahead. The old man grinned and made his way towards the pool of water.
Once he was at the edge of the pool, he bent down, pulled his locket out of his pocket and placed it in the pool. After several minutes, the locket began to glow brightly. As it did, the old man jumped into the pool.
"At last!" He shouted. This caused some commotion in the adjoining room and several guards appeared at the entrance of the pool room. What they witnessed had caused their fear levels to rise considerably.
The old man let out a sinister laugh as his locket glowed brighter, causing the guards to shield their eyes. When the light died down, the old man was nowhere to be found. The guards started backing away, but the old man was directly behind them. No longer was he old, but now looked like his younger self. His skin, free of wrinkles and his hair no longer grey, but dark brown and his eyes that were stone grey are now dark red. The locket he had was now embedded within his skin, next to his heart. It looked like en emboss of a shaped heart on his skin and its glow was beginning to fade. The guards looked at one another and nodded, then faced the now younger looking man and thrust their palms out, sending a wave of green energy to him, which went directly though the man. It had appeared their shots went through him, but it was an afterimage of where he was last standing and appeared directly behind them. With just his finger on both hands, he pointed them towards their heads and let loose a black beam that pierced their skull. When the beam disappeared, the guards fell to the ground.
The man, pleased with his abilities, swiftly made his way towards the crystal and disappeared from the parallel universe, thus returning to his own.
Upon his return to the room, the crystal's glow faded and the stone pillars closed tightly.
"Now, its time to assemble my allies! Too bad, everyone's attempts to gather strength won't be enough!" The man spoke after sensing many training grounds being opened up for use in other parts of dimensions through out. He also knew his brother was watching him closely and deeply smiled at the fact that his brother will no longer be a match for him.
'Too bad I have to travel off world for my alliance. It would only take a day's worth of Earth time to assemble an army. They have been waiting for this for a long time and so have I.' The man thought to himself as he looked around the room. 'Indestructible, that crystal is. Too bad no one else would use it after a while. I shall have to watch this place closely! Brother, your time is almost up! What are you gunna do now?! Stop me?! Kill me?! Oh, wait! You can't! Your heart is too soft!'
Maniacal laughter filled the room as the man teleported himself to an off world planet where his allies were waiting for him..
In what seemed like a dark cloudy realm with swirling brown clouds in a reddish sky, two shadowy figures appeared in the center of a temple built by the founders of the old. The temple was shielded by a force field of some kind, which no one could see by the naked eye. Within it held stone pillars and a purple orb at the center that sat on a half meter pillar of stone.
Simon began looking around as the shadow teleportation was completed. He looked at the sky in awe and with an ounce of fear as he saw the orange streaks of what seemed to be some sort of lightning. As he walked closer towards the stone wall, he reached out to touch, but a slight shock to his finger caused him to quickly withdrawal his hand.
The woman, whose shadowy figure dissolved to reveal her full shape and form, came to light. She was wearing a green cloak that covered ninety percent of her body, but left her face hooded. One couldn't see her face unless she allowed it, so there was a dark shadow, which clearly blocked her facial features.
"Do be careful, Simon. The force field genteelly shocks you to let you know not to go any further. Sure you can pass through it, but this is a hostile planet."
Simon glanced at her for a second then returned his gaze to the view before him. Other than the sky, he began to look at the landscape. There was no trace of water to be found and no plant life either. He thought he could see tiny critters off in the distance crawling on the surface, but decided it must be his imagination.
"Come." The cloaked woman spoke with her hand urging him to come towards her in some sort of seductive manner. "Here, you are safe from his eyes."
This got Simon's attention as he turned his neck fast to face her. "Just what do you mean by that?"
"Do you seriously think I am that naïve? I have foreseen the future as it stands with the current choices everyone makes. Sure, some changes have been done here and there, but everything is on the same course." Simon just glared at her, trying to figure her out but couldn't, so she continued as if she was just pausing herself, "I brought you here to show you something. Come..."
Simon slowly walked towards her and the purple crystal ball began to glow.
"This... shows you all the possibilities of time. You saw only one, which was in your vision. That will come to happen, but the universe will permit you to make one small change to alter the course of the future."
"So this changes our ability to make choices even if they don't make sense?" Simon asked, feeling puzzled.
"Yes and no." She raised her hand to above the crystal ball and the ball began to change color from purple to white. Many images began forming, but they were unclear and fuzzy. Simon could hear voices, but they too, where unclear. He watched with intent as the images began to become clear. Right when they did, Simon saw two boys traveling through time searching for someone or something and almost immediately, the image disappeared. The woman quickly removed her hand and rested her arm at her side.
"This is all I can show you. From this point on, you have exactly twenty-four hours before the time is up. How..."
Simon interrupted quite fast before she could go on, "Just how do you expect me to figure that out? You ain't making this any easier! I don't even know how to..."
"ENOUGH!" The woman bellowed. The room shook like thunder at the sound of her voice, causing the ground to tremble some. She raised her right arm and pointed at Simon, "You dare talk to the ancient Oracle with that tone! How dare you! I have lived for eons through time and space, but to come here takes up half my life force and this is the thanks I get?! You of all people should know better than that! You haven't been a leader for most of your life! How exactly do you plan to accomplish this with such negativity?!" She scolded Simon like he was a small kid for not living up to a parent's expectations.
To say Simon was shocked was an understatement. He didn't know what to think. He didn't know what to do. It seemed like the whole world was depending on him to accomplish something he didn't think he couldn't do. He had to think this over and carefully. The woman gave him several moments to collect his thoughts before she decided to speak again, but Simon beat her to it.
"Honestly, you are right. Up till now I was selfish and only caring for myself. I can see how not only the entire planet, but the whole universe is at stake here and it's going to take a hell of a team to pull this off. I just hope I can figure this out..." Simon trailed off as his thoughts began to piece bits and pieces together.
The woman smiled at this, knowing Simon will live up to her expectations. "He continues to grow stronger and his vision widens with his strength. He cannot yet see this realm, but in several hours he will. We must leave." With that, she raised both of her arms and the atmosphere began to change. The clouds began to thicken and the lightning intensified. The last thing Simon saw before she teleported them back to Earth was the planet destroying itself.
It was evening at the Wyatt residence when Simon was teleported into the living room, causing everyone to jump in fear of heart attack. Barb and Ben took a breather while Will and Ty were busy cleaning up their shirts from spilled pop. Julian, Alex and Chad all ran off to the bathroom as they, indeed, had the piss scared out of them.
Simon looked around for a bit to get his bearings then looked at the expressions on everyone's faces. He then realized what happened and burst into a fit of laughter.
When the laughter died down, all eyes were on him, giving him the look of death. It was a funny sight, but to everyone else, they half expected a threat to pop up in their own home. Simon also saw this, for the first time in his life; he was able to see things from a different perspective.
"Sorry all, while that was a tad funny, I could have been mistaken for a threat. It wasn't in my power to be brought back in this spot, but I suppose she was testing to see how everyone would react." There was a complete look of bewilderment on everyone's faces as the boys entered the living room from the bathroom. They had been overhearing some of the words Simon was saying, but Chad knew exactly who he was talking about. Chad wasn't sure why or what she wanted with him, which added to the confusion in the air. Simon simply ended it, "I'll explain later..." Simon was interrupted with a thought in his head, 'Don't you dare! Damn boy, I told you he sees everything!' Simon snickered to himself, 'Damn hag, I know that! I was testing you!' Simon had a devilish grin as she began screaming incoherent thoughts in his mind when he finally shut her out. Everyone in the room was glaring at Simon, as if he had grown an extra head or something. "Sorry guys, I was having a convo in my head and of course, I can't tell." He left the discussion there and everyone got the point, except maybe his boys. He felt it was better that way.
Barb stood, "Well, since we're all here, we might as well get dinner started. Simon, I'd scold you for not leaving some sort of 'note' as to where you went, but since it is higher than top secret, I felt we all should wait till you got back so we can have dinner together."
Barb, Ben, and Simon went into the kitchen to make dinner while the boys sat at their respective places, scattered around the living room watching whatever was on TV.
Several hours later after dinner, it was nearing bedtime and Simon began to wonder how he could manage his powers better. He was quite surprised Chad was still hanging out with everyone and wondered why. Simon had a thought and wanted to try something, but he needed Chad to help him with it. He decided to try whatever he was going to try after everyone went to bed. Time seemed to speed up for everyone, yet it was only going at it's usual pace. All too soon it was bed time and slowly, everyone began saying their good-night's after some story telling, TV time and some playing on the Wii.
Barb slowly made her way to standing up and stretched, then headed to the bedroom without saying anything. She was certainly tired and Ben followed, but stopped to say good night to Simon and Chad.
Simon slowly stood, "I'll be back." He headed off to the twin's room to tuck them in and give them their good night kisses. Once he returned, he found Chad slowly drifting off to sleep. Simon had a devilish grin across his face as he approached Chad, but Chad suddenly woke up as he felt a presence nearing him and wanted to see who it was.
"Nice try." Chad yawned as he wearily eyeballed Simon.
"Thanks, I need to talk to you about something."
"Are you sure you wanna..."
"I think it'll be safe." Simon turned and headed towards his bedroom. Chad followed after thinking some things over, trying to figure out what Simon wanted.
Once Chad entered Simon's bedroom, Simon was sitting up on the bed and there was a chair directly across from him. Now, Chad was puzzled, but he also noted the serious expression on Simon's face as he slowly made his way towards the chair.
**I think I'll use telepathy here. I seriously doubt "he" wouldn't hear our thoughts, but aside from that, why is everyone calling him, "he"?** Simon wondered as he sent his thoughts to Chad.
**First off, his true name is forbidden, and second, I don't think we are allowed to discuss this matter at hand.** Chad thought quickly as he began to sit down.
**Actually, let me try this.** Simon raised his hands into the air as if he was holding up a heavy rock, but there was nothing. Seconds later, a huge black shield formed in the room, enveloping everything.
Chad looked around in disbelief. He couldn't believe what was happening and at the same time, he felt some relief. He knew, from his teachings, about such a black shield, but only a certain few people could use it. The black shield is an extremely powerful barrier that shields anyone within it for a limited time. Nothing can get in, not even the most powerful creature could destroy it nor could the most powerful telepath be able to hear what was happening within the shield.
"You finally managed to..." Chad began.
"...complete this shield?" Simon finished the sentence in the same question Chad was going to ask. "Yes and no. I've always had it, but never saw a reason to use it... till now. The ancient scrolls were quite helpful; however, there are a few several things, which I cannot read. I've kept it with me for safekeeping and shielded a part of my mind that knows its location, so no one else can discover it. So... my earlier question...? Simon grinned as he waited for Chad's answer. Yet at the same time, Simon wondered if he should really trust this boy with whom he really is.
"Ah...I see. As for "him", he is the blood brother of the current Elder Guardian, whom has had his powers stripped and banished to a parallel universe. For reasons unknown, he was able to travel to that parallel universe and re-claim his powers. Sadly, there is no one powerful enough to..."
"I'm aware of that. There's always hope ya know."
"I'm not so sure..."
"Well, maybe not you, but I am. The ancient oracle took me to a different planet to show me something. It is up to me to figure out how to do something about what was shown to me. She had opened up a lot of possibilities and it's time I took charge of my life and did something about it. In my vision, I was helpless. This time around, I won't be so helpless."
Chad stared at Simon as if he was growing a second head. He closed his eyes and thought for a few minutes. "So, everything will be the same, except for a few small details here and there. But how does that help us? "He" can find us anywhere and everywhere, 'cept here, of course."
Changing subjects, "How's the white void?"
Chad looked at Simon with a puzzled expression. "Huh?"
"You heard me." Simon chuckled, "Yes, the white void. Didn't you just visit it?"
"Oh, that...I don't recommend it for a refuge hideout if that's what you're thinking."
"But, I am. It's the only way."
"Are you sure...?" Chad was beginning to become curious what Simon was planning.
"Very sure. The void is the only place where no one else would dare go, other than my boys. I don't know why, but I know this for sure: When they enter the void, their presence disappears from this plane. It's like the void masks everything once you enter it. While I do know you can lose yourself in there, I also wonder if some barrier can help..."
"You mustn't! That's suicide! It could erase you completely if things go wrong! It's a forbidden technique, one in which the founders had set fourth after one of their own got lost in the void and attempted the exact same thing you are suggesting!" Chad was out of breath as he finished his rapid-fire answer to Simon.
"I know." Simon closed his eyes and pushed pictures into Chad's head. Simon decided right then and there to completely trust Chad, as he knew Chad knew some history of the council. Simon hoped a part of his painful past would help Chad understand better. He felt it was a wise decision sharing a little about himself on what happened on the day he supposedly disappeared from existence.
"THAT CAN'T BE!" Chad shouted at the top of his lungs when images were shown to him. "Y-y-you... and... that guy who got swallowed by the void... are..."
"Yes. It seems I've lost my memory. Up till the ancient oracle showed me a place I haven't been to in eons, a place that was once mine, but is now "his" is destroyed. That place leaves traces of your presence, but never mind that. I finally have my memory back, but you are forbidden to pass this information along." Simon quieted to a low, but serious tone.
"Ok, let me put the information in a corner of my mind and shield it. This is something the elder taught me and only he knows how to break into the shield if he really has to. I seriously doubt he would at a time like this. He has foreseen the same events as you did. How will they play out, these events? And how are you not looking frail and old like the Elder?"
Simon chuckled at Chad's straightforward question then swallowed hard. He wasn't sure yet but he had a vague idea and still wasn't sure how to go about making the idea a reality. "As it has been foreseen. Don't worry; I'm not "his" target. He doesn't realize who I am till the last possible minute. I don't know why his target is the two boys in my vision. Besides, the void shielded me and quite possibly teleported me through time. The downside was my memory loss and my body became that of a child's."
"Those boys you refer to are the descendants of the founders and direct line to the Elder Guardian... and yes they are twins."
"That's it! The key to his defeat lies within those two boys! They cannot know this yet, but one thing still puzzles me..." Simon trailed off as his mind went deep into thought, 'they must figure out a way to defeat 'him' on their own'.
"Describe the unknown boys to me." Chat asked as he read Simon's thoughts of what he had been shown by the ancient oracle.
"They both appear to be twelve years old and one of them has white hair with blue highlights. The other looks like a human, hell they both look like it. They are however, higher beings than any of us could hope for. They could possibly be able to defeat Sid, but..." Simon paused suddenly as he said the forbidden name for "him".
Chad's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets upon hearing this. "I wasn't supposed to know that name!"
"I'm sorry!" Simon apologized profusely. "I didn't think it'd slip out like that! Yes, even I knew who he was and still is and would have been!"
"You..." Chad let out a long sigh then paused. "Wait a min...you said would have been... what do you mean by that?"
"Space and time has been changed. Drastically changed to the point where things are happening much sooner than I thought. You see, I've foreseen things that happen some several thousand years into the future.... But they are mostly major changes and events. The more I think of this, the more I can see how the future has been changed, as in right now, in this very specific time frame. It would take too long to explain everything and even if I send you what I saw, it would be too much for both of us. This shield drains me if I use it too often and today is the first time in eons since I last used it. I'm feeling quite ok right now, but I can't multi-task. Originally, the twins were to be kidnapped during random times. This was supposed to be the future I saw, which happens around now. For some reason, someone powerful enough was able to change the "past" and make things normal, without realizing what it affected, which is what happens now. We are, in fact, going to enter a deadly war. I don't think the time line could handle any more changes into the past. However, since "he" traveled to another universe, it didn't affect this one, but only him. The logic of the situation is this: Change this timeline too often, it will begin to self-destruct. All it takes is one more change and we do not need that. Not now, not ever. I will see to it, but now isn't the time to be worrying about that. "He" is the problem currently, so we should focus on him."
Chad sighed, "If this time frame was reverted back to the normal flow without any interruptions, would it still collapse?"
"I'm afraid so. The universe isn't happy and it needs to find a way to make up for the big change. Right now, it's making "him" take the changes sooner." Simon was looking down towards his feet as if there was not too much hope and the losses would be enormous.
Chad had an idea, but wasn't sure how to go about asking. It was a long shot, but he had to try. "What if the ancient oracle was actually showing you a way to save someone?"
It was as if a light bulb went off in Simon's head as he looked up at Chad quickly. "Ah! Yes! That is the answer! The only thing left to do is finding a way to contact those two... or send them some sort of signal for help." Simon then lowered his had causing Chad to lose his smile. "The sad part is, they are running from someone as well as searching for something or someone."
Chad's smile returned, "It can't hurt to try and ask for help. We can use all the allies possible for this."
"You're right. There is also something you must know: "He" is gathering his army and they will arrive tomorrow in force and numbers. I don't think it will be enough for us to stop everyone. Not even the original Founder of the Guardian Council could hope to defeat them and "him" all at once."
Chad groaned, "Will ya stop losing hope over such things?! Nothing is hopeless! This was something the Elder Guardian taught us."
"What do you mean? Does he know something I don't?" Simon was curious as to what Chad meant by that.
"What I mean is, the Elder Guardian has better perception than you do, better reasoning and on top of it all, he was the one who banished "him" from the council. The Elder is quite good at what he does, but sadly, "he" has surpassed him in every area possible. The elder will fight as needed, but he cannot leave the glade. They can either come to him or destroy the glade or he will destroy them or be destroyed. The only way to..."
Simon cut Chad off quickly, "Leave it for me to return. Hmmm..." Simon furrowed his eyebrows and appeared to be deep in thought on what to decide on. "I wonder if it's possible..."
"To do what?" Chat asked out of curiosity as Simon was thinking out loud.
"To be in more than one place at the same time of course... not including the white void, that is. I will not make the same mistake twice. I'll need to sleep on this before I take any action and besides, it is getting late. The shield in here is starting to wear off, not bad. Not bad at all." Simon was grinning, but he was also looking quite worn out.
Chad smiled as well and noticed the shield beginning to fade. It didn't take long before the room was looking like normal.
Simon was about to drop into a deep sleep, but before he did, he placed his hand on Chad's head. "I'm sorry, but it must be done."
Chad's happy expression now changed into that of shock and fear. He didn't like what was about to happen and he tried to move, but he was paralyzed by the force coming from Simon's hand and the energy surrounding it.
"I must erase your memory of this meeting since we entered the shield. Please forgive me." Simon grunted as he used up the last of his energy to erase Chad's memory of the discussion that had taken place. Chad screamed within his mind and protested several times, but Simon didn't answer. After Simon was finished, he immediately fell asleep as he sat while Chad began to shake the cobwebs from his head. It only took a second before Chad wondered why he had followed Simon into his bedroom. He was now looking at Simon sleeping while sitting up. He had to laugh; it was a funny sight. He decided to make the best of it and gently tuck Simon in then headed to bed. The Wyatt residence was now silent for the night.
The ancient oracle observed everything that had happened. She knew she wouldn't be able to eavesdrop on their conversation within Simon's shield, but from the little of what she heard afterwards, she knew full well Simon had figured out a way to save the twins, or at least so she assumed.
'Ah my long lost brother, it was good to see you again. It's sad that things have come down to this, but I cannot interfere with anything to do with "him". He would destroy me in an instant and therefore I hide myself from his watchful eyes. Call it paranoia or whatever you want to, brother, but the truth is, there is something I want to see before my time is up.' The ancient oracle peered through the crystal glass of hers, watching, overlooking the Wyatt residence, making sure things went the way they were supposed to. She then let out a sigh of relief that "his" powers have yet to see Earth, but it was only a matter of time. To no one in particular, she spoke out loud, "Now we wait."
So....I've finally done something about the long wait! The action is coming and so is something else! Find out in the next chapter of Falls On Deaf Ears!
~Hammy
Wow! What in the universe has Simon got himself into? Maybe we will soon get to see how all this folds together and we can see the true power Simon and the twins have. This is way too much for my puppy brain to handle! I have no idea where Hammy get's all this but I sure am glad he does!! I wonder why the Oracle thinks she does not have much time left? What does she see in that crystal ball of hers? Oh, so many questions. We have to get to the next chapter. I need to go get a treat and get back soon so we can find out when the next chapter will be coming out.
Happy Holidays!!!
Boxerdude