Post by Mizagium on Apr 13, 2011 14:40:38 GMT -5
Because I'm bored and am killing time for class, I decided to write the first of my Interludes that take place between the Original Series and the Reboot.
~~~~~
Knox paced the empty halls of the Clock Tower for many days after Torran's departure. Even with Theska still residing in the Tower, he felt very much alone. Is this what the last Time Keeper felt? No wonder he lost his mind. After the first week, he had the layout memorized. After the first month, he could travel the corridors in his sleep - and often did. Perhaps he was deliberately avoiding Theksa; he wasn't sure. But after a unknown amount of time had passed (Knox made a point of not keeping track, although all he would have to do is think about and he would know) Theska finally caught.
"Knox."
"Theska."
"We have - well, you have a visitor."
Knox narrowed his eyes. "Who? Who would come all the way out here to find me?"
Theska didn't' respond, but made a gesture that said Come find out.
Reluctantly, although curiously, Knox followed Theska into the large study that the old Light Immortal had made a home out of. An armchair was turned away from the entrance and faced the fireplace; it was cold in the tower, despite Knox's best efforts to the contrary.
Very dramatic, the Time Keeper throught wanly.
"He's here," Theska announced and the figure seated in the armchair rose. At once, Knox recognized him, though he had only met him once in passing.
"Trey!"
Atreides Haarkon bowed slightly. "Time Keeper." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice, though it didn't seem to be directed at Knox.
Shocked, Knox took a step forward. "What - How - What are you doing here? I thought that you..."
"Vanished? Yes, I had thought so as well. After Ventus gifted Johnny the Holy Claymore and helped him defeat Xavian, I thought my existence was finally at an end, and I could rest peacefully." He paused. "But no. It seems I have been cursed to live a while longer. There is one other who must communicate through my being, one who wished to speak with you."
"Who?"
Trey bit his lip. "Before I...let him, I must ask you one thing."
"Anything."
"Let me pass away after this. Use your powers and...end..."
Knox placed a gentle hand on Trey's shoulder. "I will. I promise."
Trey looked down at the rug and inhaled deeply. "Very well. Stand back."
Knox stepped away from the man. Trey shut his eyes and concentrated, sending his mind back down into himself, through the years and the lives until he found him, the only one who could communicate through him now. Come on. Let's get this over with
While he has inhaled as Trey, he exhaled as...someone else.
"Hello, Knox. It's been too long."
Knox's jaw fell open and he staggered backward. That...that voice...no...it was impossible.
"What? You look like you've seen a ghost, although I supposed in this situation its an applicable statement, eh?" Stanislaus Grueman, the former Time Keeper raised an eyebrow at his former protege. "Are you really surprised to see me, Knox? For one thing, I was the Time Keeper - well, I still am right now, but that's not important - and for another, that's Trey's ability. You've seen it before."
Knox shook his head to compose himself. "No, sorry, it's just..."
The Time Keeper sighed. "I understand."
"Why are you here?"
"...Sit down, Knox. I have a lot to confess."
They each took a seat in an armchair, while Theska sat at a distance. After a few minutes of silence, the Time Keeper spoke. "Knox...do you remember how we met?"
"Sure, it wasn't that long ago."
"And do you know the story of how you were inducted into Organization XXI?"
"Well, yeah. Ara found me as a child and discovered my...where is all this leading?" Knox had a very, very suspicious feeling.
"I hate to tell you this, kid, but that was all set up ahead of time. All of it."
"What."
"Organization XXI, you joining it, the War of Four Kings, you becoming my apprentice, my death. All of it."
A deathly silence settled over the room."
"Explain."
"Yeah. I've been the Time Keeper for...a very long time, kid. After a while, it starts to get to you. The centuries start to crawl by and you don't get any older, or change at all, while everyone around you keeps moving - you're stuck. It seems awesome at first, but...I hated it. I wanted to be done with it all, but an Immortal can't...die unless someone else takes his or her place.
"So for many years, I plotted a way out. Eventually, I did something I wasn't supposed to do - I looked into the future. And I saw you. There were a very specific set of circumstances that had to occur for you to replace me...and I set those in place. Ara was a friend I made while taking a vacation in Fun Land - and he understood me, so when I told him what to do, he accepted.
"Organization XXI was really a front so he could find children with powers similar to yours: a natural affinity for time. He called if Focus. Eventually he found you and knew you were the one. So he raised you and taught you to use your powers. However, in order for you to meet me...I had to become a villain."
"The War of Four Kings," Knox whispered.
"Exactly. Although it got out of control, it accomplished what I wanted. It brought you to me. I played the part of the repentant villain, which seemed to be enough for Bill and the others - although I think my brother suspected my motives all along. In truth, I almost lost myself in that war. If Mass hadn't invaded CHRONO RIDLEY's mind, I might not have returned to myself. I might still be the villain."
Knox couldn't help but smile. "You were a good villain. A bit overpowered though."
The Time Keeper raised an eyebrow. "Me? Overpowered? Have you met Narrator?"
They both chuckled. Then laughed. It felt good to laugh, for both of them.
When they sobered, Knox said, "So then...everything was just...your gambit? To die?"
"More or less," he admitted. "And I know what you're thinking. I had no idea Jiir-Row and her ilk would be casualties of my selfishness. I regret their deaths, and wish I could bring them back - but that's not how our power works, you know that."
"I know."
"Would...you like to speak with her?"
Knox folded his hands and thought. Yes, very much.
"No. I promised Trey this would be his last time. And...I think it would just hurt too much. Nothing would change."
"Right." He twiddled his thumbs. "Well, that's all I had to say. I don't expect you to forgive me, Knox, and I don't regret my actions. I'm just sorry it had to be someone."
Knox nodded and they both stood.
"I'll leave now. And I'll take Trey with me."
"Where are you going?"
He smiled. "Where else? The Timestream. Who knows, you might need me again. Me and the rest of us Time Keepers are just floating along the great river of time, so don't hesitate to give us a call, huh?"
Despite himself, Knox smiled.
"Goodbye...Time Keeper."
"Goodbye...Stanislaus Grueman."
Ready to go, Trey?
I was ready lifetimes ago
Knox and Theska watched as Trey's figure disappeared from sight. And they were alone again.
"Knox?"
"We should move, Theska. Somewhere...some place where we won't be alone. Where it's never boring no matter what time we live in."
The old man sighed. "You don't mean...?"
"Oh yes." For the first time in a long while, Knox genuinely smiled. "I'm going home, Theska."
~~~~~
Knox paced the empty halls of the Clock Tower for many days after Torran's departure. Even with Theska still residing in the Tower, he felt very much alone. Is this what the last Time Keeper felt? No wonder he lost his mind. After the first week, he had the layout memorized. After the first month, he could travel the corridors in his sleep - and often did. Perhaps he was deliberately avoiding Theksa; he wasn't sure. But after a unknown amount of time had passed (Knox made a point of not keeping track, although all he would have to do is think about and he would know) Theska finally caught.
"Knox."
"Theska."
"We have - well, you have a visitor."
Knox narrowed his eyes. "Who? Who would come all the way out here to find me?"
Theska didn't' respond, but made a gesture that said Come find out.
Reluctantly, although curiously, Knox followed Theska into the large study that the old Light Immortal had made a home out of. An armchair was turned away from the entrance and faced the fireplace; it was cold in the tower, despite Knox's best efforts to the contrary.
Very dramatic, the Time Keeper throught wanly.
"He's here," Theska announced and the figure seated in the armchair rose. At once, Knox recognized him, though he had only met him once in passing.
"Trey!"
Atreides Haarkon bowed slightly. "Time Keeper." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice, though it didn't seem to be directed at Knox.
Shocked, Knox took a step forward. "What - How - What are you doing here? I thought that you..."
"Vanished? Yes, I had thought so as well. After Ventus gifted Johnny the Holy Claymore and helped him defeat Xavian, I thought my existence was finally at an end, and I could rest peacefully." He paused. "But no. It seems I have been cursed to live a while longer. There is one other who must communicate through my being, one who wished to speak with you."
"Who?"
Trey bit his lip. "Before I...let him, I must ask you one thing."
"Anything."
"Let me pass away after this. Use your powers and...end..."
Knox placed a gentle hand on Trey's shoulder. "I will. I promise."
Trey looked down at the rug and inhaled deeply. "Very well. Stand back."
Knox stepped away from the man. Trey shut his eyes and concentrated, sending his mind back down into himself, through the years and the lives until he found him, the only one who could communicate through him now. Come on. Let's get this over with
While he has inhaled as Trey, he exhaled as...someone else.
"Hello, Knox. It's been too long."
Knox's jaw fell open and he staggered backward. That...that voice...no...it was impossible.
"What? You look like you've seen a ghost, although I supposed in this situation its an applicable statement, eh?" Stanislaus Grueman, the former Time Keeper raised an eyebrow at his former protege. "Are you really surprised to see me, Knox? For one thing, I was the Time Keeper - well, I still am right now, but that's not important - and for another, that's Trey's ability. You've seen it before."
Knox shook his head to compose himself. "No, sorry, it's just..."
The Time Keeper sighed. "I understand."
"Why are you here?"
"...Sit down, Knox. I have a lot to confess."
They each took a seat in an armchair, while Theska sat at a distance. After a few minutes of silence, the Time Keeper spoke. "Knox...do you remember how we met?"
"Sure, it wasn't that long ago."
"And do you know the story of how you were inducted into Organization XXI?"
"Well, yeah. Ara found me as a child and discovered my...where is all this leading?" Knox had a very, very suspicious feeling.
"I hate to tell you this, kid, but that was all set up ahead of time. All of it."
"What."
"Organization XXI, you joining it, the War of Four Kings, you becoming my apprentice, my death. All of it."
A deathly silence settled over the room."
"Explain."
"Yeah. I've been the Time Keeper for...a very long time, kid. After a while, it starts to get to you. The centuries start to crawl by and you don't get any older, or change at all, while everyone around you keeps moving - you're stuck. It seems awesome at first, but...I hated it. I wanted to be done with it all, but an Immortal can't...die unless someone else takes his or her place.
"So for many years, I plotted a way out. Eventually, I did something I wasn't supposed to do - I looked into the future. And I saw you. There were a very specific set of circumstances that had to occur for you to replace me...and I set those in place. Ara was a friend I made while taking a vacation in Fun Land - and he understood me, so when I told him what to do, he accepted.
"Organization XXI was really a front so he could find children with powers similar to yours: a natural affinity for time. He called if Focus. Eventually he found you and knew you were the one. So he raised you and taught you to use your powers. However, in order for you to meet me...I had to become a villain."
"The War of Four Kings," Knox whispered.
"Exactly. Although it got out of control, it accomplished what I wanted. It brought you to me. I played the part of the repentant villain, which seemed to be enough for Bill and the others - although I think my brother suspected my motives all along. In truth, I almost lost myself in that war. If Mass hadn't invaded CHRONO RIDLEY's mind, I might not have returned to myself. I might still be the villain."
Knox couldn't help but smile. "You were a good villain. A bit overpowered though."
The Time Keeper raised an eyebrow. "Me? Overpowered? Have you met Narrator?"
They both chuckled. Then laughed. It felt good to laugh, for both of them.
When they sobered, Knox said, "So then...everything was just...your gambit? To die?"
"More or less," he admitted. "And I know what you're thinking. I had no idea Jiir-Row and her ilk would be casualties of my selfishness. I regret their deaths, and wish I could bring them back - but that's not how our power works, you know that."
"I know."
"Would...you like to speak with her?"
Knox folded his hands and thought. Yes, very much.
"No. I promised Trey this would be his last time. And...I think it would just hurt too much. Nothing would change."
"Right." He twiddled his thumbs. "Well, that's all I had to say. I don't expect you to forgive me, Knox, and I don't regret my actions. I'm just sorry it had to be someone."
Knox nodded and they both stood.
"I'll leave now. And I'll take Trey with me."
"Where are you going?"
He smiled. "Where else? The Timestream. Who knows, you might need me again. Me and the rest of us Time Keepers are just floating along the great river of time, so don't hesitate to give us a call, huh?"
Despite himself, Knox smiled.
"Goodbye...Time Keeper."
"Goodbye...Stanislaus Grueman."
Ready to go, Trey?
I was ready lifetimes ago
Knox and Theska watched as Trey's figure disappeared from sight. And they were alone again.
"Knox?"
"We should move, Theska. Somewhere...some place where we won't be alone. Where it's never boring no matter what time we live in."
The old man sighed. "You don't mean...?"
"Oh yes." For the first time in a long while, Knox genuinely smiled. "I'm going home, Theska."
