Forum Thread

Look up, look up, tell me, what do you see?
The stars, the skies, like an endless sea
Questions whose answers are hidden from sight
Do you think I am worth the fight?
Keep all your love, but share your pain
I'm trying, I'm trying - am I trying in vain? -
To hear your words, to be there for you
But I feel like you're not the one I once knew.

Hiraeth. Welsh. No direct English translation. A deep longing for a home, a bond you feel for a place you know and are nostalgic for.
That's what flew through my mind when I saw the Guardian standing in front of me. A little voice in the back of my head told me she looked different from the last time I saw her. I could not verify that. I had long forgotten her appearance.
"Cassie?" Hiraeth asked. She was small and thin, almost child-like in her appearance. A gut feeling informed me she had always been this way. I searched for some clues to recognize her by. Blonde hair, gray-brown eyes, slightly tanned skin - none of it struck a chord. Within a matter of milliseconds, faster than she could ever comprehend, I gave up.
"Um, Hiraeth?" The only part of her I could recall. Her name. The name Luci and Monji had asked our dad to give her. A deep kind of homesickness. It made me want to be sick, even though I knew I couldn't manage a single retch. Was this some kind of joke? Nostalgia showing up at my door when I'm so desperate to get back to Haven?
"Mom..." I hear Casper murmur from the other room. Probably in his illness-induced sleep. Hiraeth hears it, and confusion passes over her features for a few moments. I know what was going on in her head. Mom? Angels can't have children.
"I came... I just wanted to say hi." The dainty Guardian says, her gaze dropping to the floor. Something is wrong. Something is troubling her. She probably hasn't been on Earth that long, but it's done the same thing it does to every creature from Haven. She's already gained full awareness of her emotions, and the fear and sadness is eating her from the inside out. It takes me a moment, really less than a second for her, but I figure it out. She must have visited her other angelic friends and realized how much they've changed.
"Let me guess. Lucifer first, you two were always close, and you also met Mals at the Base, too. Then it was Lee, Michael, and finally Eloa. They didn't live up to your expectations, so now you're here, hoping you can find comfort in the one person who never really seemed to change." I could tell the words I'm saying hurt her. I didn't care. Ever since Casper started getting worse and worse, I'd felt my emotions shifting, hiding themselves like they did for centuries. No, billions of years. They'd never been the greatest, my love tended to mess with my logic a lot, but they weren't that bad. The only ones I could really still feel were anger and despair.
"Newsflash, kid. Things aren't magically going to go back to the way they were before. Luci and Mals and Michael are dealing with a full scale war right now, on top of Luci trying to keep his boyfriend from tear off Michael's wings. Lee's too busy drinking and distracting herself to be of any help, and Eloa is so mentally and spiritually crippled it'll take Dad to fix her. So don't come crying to me, not when I've had to deal with this for years. Not when my Casper is dying and I can't even get Mom or Dad to listen to me.
"Go back to Haven while you still can, Hiraeth. It only gets worse." With that, I slam the door in her face, turn around, and come face to face with Casper. His bright blue eyes are hazy with fever, his skin is marbled gray and red from the heat in his body, and his hands shake when he reaches for me. To a human, he'd seem about twelve or eleven. To an angel, he's like an infant, unprotected and vulnerable.
I pull him close to me, wrap him in my arms. "Hey, you should be in bed." I chide him gently. He shakes his head.
"You shouldn't be so mean, mom." He replies. Even when sickness took over the rest of his body, even when his throat was sore, his voice was always fine. I pick him up, quite easy since he was small and slender before he became ill, and carry him back over to his bed. I tuck him in and kiss him on the forehead before I reply.
"I know, Casp. But I can't help it."

"2929"
Daniel (Danny)
Danny gets most of the dialogue here. Main protagonist. While not as smart as Brian, he thinks logically and is able to analyze situations and human expressions easily. Short-tempered and stubborn, yet persuasive (for the most part). Long, curly black hair, brown eyes, tall and lanky.

Brian
It is unknown whether or not Brian is able to speak. Insanely smart, but not a very logical thinker and can overthink things very easily. He communicates by expressions and body language--no sign language. This can make him hard to understand, but this much is clear--he is the 'strong yet silent' type, and will gladly fight if need be. White hair that goes brown as it climbs up his head, leaving gray sideburns and a light brown flat top. Blue eyes. Shorter than Danny by about three inches, and more muscular.

Plot
When Danny finds a time machine, he and his best friend Brian find themselves on a quest to travel to the future to save it from the Earth's current fate. Though they first go there with the intention of looking around and having fun, they find the year 2929 to be a harsh, dystopian reality with strict rules punishable by death or lifetime imprisonment. They must liberate the Earth and return to their time with their lives if they wish to help anything.

The year was eighteen ninety-two of the third age when I stumbled upon the Arcane flight within the Starfall Isles. I had looked around in confusion before setting up a place to call my own within the Crystalspine Reaches. There I studied the many wonderful phenomena of the place I called home. So much intrigued me, but I could not help but feel as if I did not belong there. Many other clans within the Arcane flight turned towards the sky and stars for answers while I ventured out past The Scarred Wasteland to The Sea of a Thousand Currents. There I would listen to the mighty Tidelord bellow and moan out his prophecies. Every night I would go back to my humble lair and record what was said before resting my weary body. This had gone on for many weeks now until one day all changed. I was at my normal spot for the day, listening to the various prophecies with the rest of my clan when the Stormcatcher flew overhead within a fierce storm. This normally would not have bothered me, except that I was on a cliffside overlooking the sea. We all jumped as a crack of lighting resounded and struck the area behind us causing the part we were on to crumble under our combined weight. We all shouted and scrambled for purchase only to fail and plunge into the sea. I had turned and watched as the light fade as I slowly drifted lower and lower into the cold depths of the sea. Soon the air left me and my vision blurred before going away entirely.

I do not know who had found me but when I awoke I was staring at the Tidelord with my clan surrounding me in a protective circle. The Tidelord and I stared at each other for many heartbeats before he chuckled.

"Your clan is protective of you. That is good." He mused out with an air of laughter.

"I am grateful that they are, sir." I replied causing him to grin at me before it turned into a frown.

"Child I can not help you get back to the surface but I can offer you a home here within my domain." I frowned and thought for a moment while looking at my clan. Most were in agreeance with the deal but some were not. After a little bit of persuasion though, I was able to get those that were not in agreeance to agree with the idea. I nod my consent at the Tidelord. He smiled and guided my clan to an empty lair in Leviathan Trench, where we still live even now as I recount this tale. Some of the elders from my clan have moved on and now work for the Tidelord while young continue to dance around within the halls of my lair before they to become strong and old enough to serve the Tidelord. Our leader. Our friend. Our father.

Mauve was not fascinating, not in the slightest. Nor was she talkative, bubbly, popular, or important at all. In fact, nobody really noticed her. She was so quiet, so normal, she faded into the background like she was never there at all. People didn't know her name, much less her hobbies or interests, but they did not waste time worrying about it in their little heads. As soon as someone did realize she was there, they were always distracted by something far more captivating moments later, and she was once again invisible.
Now, you'd assume someone as boring as Mauve would have an equally boring life. I regret to inform you that you'd be correct. Her parents were nothing special - they had average jobs and made a suitable amount of money - and she was sorely lacking in any sort of sibling or relative to pull her into the crazy things young high schoolers think up in their spare time. Instead, she spent her time reading and drawing silently in her completely normal bedroom. Other children her age didn't even know the couple living there had a daughter, as she only left for school and the occasional errand.
What Mauve was could be described in one simple word. She was an observer. She watched others live their lives instead of living her own. She was ordinary in every way, but she enjoyed seeming those that weren't. It made her feel content, even if it condemned her to a meaningless existence full of nothing but mind-numbing work and loneliness.
However unexciting Mauve was, she did seem to get into the most peculiar situations that many would not believe in all their years. Such as the time she encountered a housecat the size of a great dane and helped it's owner - a dainty girl with flawless white skin, black hair, and two pairs of arms - catch the not so little rascal. Mauve knew no one would believe her claims, so she kept them to herself, and it soon became normality to her. The oddest thing, perhaps, was the idea that no one else saw what she could see. They did not glance at the mismatched animals in every color to ever exist as they walked down the sidewalks. They didn't look at the strange claw-marks that dripped pink goo or the assortment of fur and scales and who knows what else scattered in street corners.
So Mauve kept it to herself. She learned quickly. Yet, the downright weird situations continued until she was well into her third year of high school.
Then, she stumbled upon one that would unwittingly bring her end

“Oh… Oh god. He’s dead…” Tucker sniffled, taking the dull helmet off of Tom’s head.

“No he’s not!” Sonja growled, lightly slapping his face. “Come on. Come on, Tom. Wake up.”

He was unmoving… For the most part. His eyes tightened, as though he were dreaming a horrible dream, and Jordan sighed in relief. “He’s…” He couldn’t finish. He simply stared at Tom, grateful, horrified. I’m alive.

Tucker suddenly began to sob, crashing backwards onto the ground. “Why?!” He screamed. “Every single time we run into that… That demon, he takes another part of us with him. He-”

“He’s dead.”

The shock of someone finally saying it made everything go silent. Tom’s soft whimpering broke the silence, and Jordan spoke again: “Tom killed him.”

“But… He’s…” Sonja looked down at Tom. “His Hero. The one to make Dianite rule all.”

True heroes bring others together, not tear them apart… A soft voice echoed in the back of Jordan’s head. He thought for a moment, a pensive look in his eye. “That’s not what the Heroes were supposed to do.”

“You wised up.”

Jordan jumped out of his skin and turned around only to see a tall woman standing behind him. Her purple hair wrapped over her bare shoulders and over her golden chestplate, and stopped before it reached the middle of her back. A cloth covered her eyes.

Jordan stared for a moment as the woman raised her hands and untied the cloth, flinging it off. She opened her eyes cautiously, revealing two brilliantly purple eyes with one spot of green in either one. Upon opening them, a brilliant glow emitted off of her.

“It’s-”

“Ianite,” Tucker whispered, finishing for Sonja. Jordan stood up almost instantly.

“Jordan,” She smiled. “It’s good to see you face-to-face.”

Jordan stood, dumbfounded. He had absolutely no clue what to say or do as she looked past him to Tom. “So it’s true. He freed me. My brother is dead.”

“He did it to save Jordan,” Tucker explained quietly. Ianite glanced over and chuckled slightly.

“Makes me feel bad that I struck the guy with lightning. Hmph,” She shook her head and bent down on one knee, looking more closely at Tom. “...A simple sword. Enchanted, I suppose, but…” She trailed off. Standing up, she turned around and looked at the others. “I thank you all for coming for me. The work you’ve done today will change the world forever. The imbalance brought here will be repaired in time. For now, we will survive.”

Jordan, Sonja, and Tucker looked at one another. “What do we do now, m’lady?” Jordan muttered.

“I must go. Mianite will need my help… He’s been weakened. This reality is in danger as it is without Dianite; Mianite will need me to take his place for a bit and help him regain his strength,” Ianite explained. “As for you… I must keep you all safe. For now, at least. As such… She thought for a moment, clicking her purple fingernails together. Her gaze brightened and she snapped her fingers, sending them all to the edge of a cliff. She was hovering above the drop.

Tom jolted awake at the warp on the ground behind them. He sat bolt upright and glanced around, startled. “Good. You’re up. You’ll need to be before…” Ianite smiled. “You all have to jump.”

Tucker yiped and walked backwards, almost crashing into an unsteady Tom as he staggered onto his feet. “Wh-why?”

“Protection. You’ll all survive, and will wake up safe,” She muttered, almost reluctantly. “We’ll meet again. I promise.”

“But what about-”

“Declan, Tony, and the wizards will be okay. Please. I must get back as soon as possible,” Ianite insisted, cutting off Sonja. Jordan looked to everyone, standing together next to him.

Tom was the first to jump. He more or less tripped in, trying to get to everyone else. He disappeared into the void below them. Tucker and Sonja looked at each other. Tucker snuck in a kiss to her cheek before jumping--Sonja dove in after him.

Now, Jordan and Ianite were alone. He looked at her and smiled; she returned the face. “Until we meet again,” She whispered, flying up to him. Her smile turned sad.

“Goodbye,” Jordan sighed. She blinked, and the woman was gone; vanished into thin air. He looked around before, without thinking, jumped into the void. Black surrounded him until he couldn’t even see his hands when suddenly, he glowed purple. He looked at his hands in wonder, squinting at the violet light, when words appeared from light in front of him.

YOU SAVED ME

He smiled sadly and watched as the letters formed into one last word:

BEWARE

Jordan gazed at the word. He clenched his fist nervously when the light disappeared one last time. In the absolute black silence, Jordan felt his eyelids close, and consciousness slip from his mind.