Keep the Story Going

[Always 309]

“I could tell you,” Ezekiel says, “but before I do, I’d like to see those censored parts of your memory. And I’d really rather not have to wrench them from you.” He holds out the chain once more.

 

You hesitate, studying Ezekiel’s face. It was difficult to tell just by glancing at him, and the dim light certainly hasn’t helped, but now that you’re really looking, you are surprised to see that Ezekiel does, in fact, appear to be your own age, as he should, considering you’re now six years in the past. You wonder at the contrast between the boy you saw in Molly’s memory and the one you know now, or think you know--the one who has contributed to putting you and Molly through hell. What brought about the drastic change? And what exactly is his state of mind like right now? Either way, you would think that no matter what state of mind a person was in, he wouldn’t be very happy to find out that you had killed his brother...or were going to...or whatever it would be in this crazy time warp thing. Well, anyway, you can’t proceed without Ezekiel’s help, and if he ends up trying to kill you, you can just hope that you’ll have a chance to fight back and escape. You take hold of the chain and go back through the island memories, and this time, you don’t leave anything out.

[WerXand-XV 34]

You feel a fist collide with your face. You hit the ground, you look up to see Ezekiel, obviously unpleased. He's shaking with rage, and at the risk of another blow, you say to him, "Can you blame me for trying to hide it?" He raises his chain and you flinch, but nothing comes, you peek with one eye open and now that your eyes have adjusted to the lack of light, you can clearly see that Ezekiel is starting at someone who has just entered the room.

 

You turn your head to see who he's looking at, and it takes effort for you not to drop your jaw. A girl, your age, dark violet hair, walks in. She's starting disappointed at Ezekiel, after a sneer from her, Ezekiel backs of and she helps you up. You try not to stare, thinking of Molly and how she'd kill you if she found out about this, but still, you notice her ash gray eyes and the vividness of her dark violet hair. "Are you okay?" She asks, apparently, you've been spacing out, and she has been trying to get your attention. Your mouth dry, you only nod. You feel bad, Molly had only just confessed her feelings towards you, and now here you are staring at some new girl. You feel like face palming right in front of her.

[Always 309]

“Um...yeah,” you finally mumble. Then you clear your throat and start to speak with better diction. “I'm Conner,” you tell her. Yes, it's awkward to introduce yourself this way, but you can't think of anything else to say at the moment.

 

“Well, nice to meet you, Conner. My name is Natalie,” the girl says. She then turns to Ezekiel with a glare. “So, you mind telling me what was just going on?”

 

Ezekiel quickly proceeds to tell Natalie everything: who you are, why you're here, the memories you've showed him, and finally the ones you had held back from him which you showed him just now. You look at Natalie intently to gauge her reaction at the revelation of you killing Damion, but you can't read her expression. “Interesting...” she says, then looks at you. Her eyes turned to you so quickly that she must realize you were staring at her, and you quickly avert your own eyes.

 

“So, um, you and Ezekiel...work together?” you ask her.

[WerXand-XV 34]

Before Natalie can respond Ezekiel steps forward, "Do not act like you did nothing," he says aggressively, "if you think that I-" now Natalie comes to intervene, "Ezekiel!" She says, calmly yet commanding. Surprisingly, Ezekiel backs off without any reluctance or hesitation, he steps back and Natalie looks at him, "Good" she says, treating him almost like a dog.

 

Seeing her command Ezekiel so easily shocks you, and makes her seem a bit more scary than maybe she might be and, to your dismay, that much more interesting. You shake the thoughts from your head and think of Molly, if you're in the past, then where is she? And how are you going to get you and her back home. Natalie sure isn't making things easy for you, she has been whispering to Ezekiel for the time and suddenly grabs your hand, which makes you blush so much you think you're glowing, "This way," she tells you leading you down the hallway.

[Always 309]

You end up in a chamber filled with computers. In the center of the room, there's something that looks like a large tube. Only it's not solid—instead, it's made of a matter that constantly moves in a steady, slow motion. It shimmers, and has a blue tint to it. It reminds you of a lava lamp.

 

Natalie leads you to a large desk where there are two chairs, and she lets go of your hand, gesturing for you to sit in one of them. She takes a seat in the other chair and types into the keyboard on the desk. In front of the two of you is the biggest monitor you've ever seen for a computer. “This is something of an archive room,” Natalie explains in a soft monotone as she types, clearly absorbed in the work she is doing at the moment. “Here, we monitor the goings-on in time and dimension travel. I'm trying to find when and in what dimension your island adventure took place in. It's a strange happening, to be sure...” she trails off, and now seems to be completely zoned out. You admire her slender fingers as they hit the keys with incredible grace and speed. Her face, clouded in concentration, the grey eyes blazing.

[WerXand-XV 34]

You look at her for a while, she's unaware due to the fact that she's so enthralled in her work, however, she looks up for just a moment and sees you staring. She gives a slight smile and continues her work. You feel a tap on your shoulder, you turn around to see Ezekiel, "I'm still very much going to kill you," he says. The bluntness of his statement catches you off guard, but you're otherwise not surprised.

 

A door somewhere bursts open, "Ezekiel!" comes a voice, "I'm bored! Where are you?". The three of you look to whoever just came in. It was a young boy, but despite his age, he still had a very intimidating look about him. He wore a red shirt and a black vest, and had a single studded ear ring, his most distinguishing feature was his deep red hair.

[Always 309]

You realize with shock that you are looking at Damien. He looks at you. “Hey, who's the weirdo?” he asks.

 

“This guy is a loser whom you don't need to associate with,” Ezekiel says, walking to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. He glares at you threateningly, then exits the room with his younger brother.

 

“Looks like you did get yourself into a bad situation with Ezekiel,” Natalie says. Her voice startles you, as she's been silent this whole time. You look at her, and she's got a small smile on her face. “But I was able to get the relative time in which the island event took place. Unfortunately, I can't find anything else yet, but I may be able to start trying to fix your problem.” She points to the monitor, and you go to see what she's pointing at.

[WerXand-XV 34]

You see the island on the monitor, the wreckage of Justin's gummi ship is still lying on the beach. As Natalie continues to work, you begin to steal so sideways glances at her. You feel horrible about it, Molly's certainly not-"Molly!" You cry, breaking your train of thought, "Natalie, can you look for certain people in other times and dimensions with this?" She said working for a second, "Hmmmmm, never really tried that before, but is worth a shot, who is it you're looking for anyway?"

[Always 309]

You find yourself unexpectedly tongue-tied. It’s not like you’re in a relationship with this girl or anything, but you feel uncomfortable telling her about Molly. “Um, well...” you start to say, trying to prevent any awkward silence, but you can’t think of what words to form next.

 

Natalie gives a mischievous smile. “Is it that girl? The one you killed Damien over, right? Looks like she means a lot to you.”

 

Of course. She’s seen the occurrence on the screen, otherwise how could she know exactly why Ezekiel wants to kill you? You wonder what else she’s seen so far...did she see the kiss? “No!” you immediately say. “I mean, yes... Well, she’s been my friend forever, so...” you trail off. You’re also wondering what she thinks of Damien after seeing his sadistic behavior as he cut through Molly’s skin just for his own sick pleasure. She looks so unfazed by everything--the fact that you killed Damien, that you ended up here from a different time, that Damien takes pleasure in hurting other people (at least the twisted sixteen-year-old version of him that you’re familiar with). For all she’s revealed about herself, she could be a complete psychopath, too. But you don’t believe that about her, looking into those fascinating, gray eyes, and the beautiful, dark hair that reaches to the middle of her back.

 

Natalie giggles melodically. “Don’t worry, I’ll see if I can find her for you.” Soon she’s zoned out again, typing feverishly, staring at the large monitor.

 

There’s a tap on your shoulder from behind, and you whip around, expecting to see Ezekiel, but it’s only Chase, who’s snickering at you. You wonder where he’s been this whole time. “Try not to drool,” he says quietly, nodding very slightly in Natalie’s direction.

 

“What...?” Natalie says in a distant voice, not looking away from her work.

 

“Nothing. Guy talk over here,” Chase responds merrily. You elbow him in the ribs.

[WerXand-XV 34]

"So what is this place anyway?" You ask Chase, "What's with all the computers down here in the darkness?" Chase just sort of wags his finger, "Sorry, can't tell you just yet," you feel slightly annoyed, your experience on the island made you hate when people don't give you answers. Before you can protest to Chase, Natalie calls you, and she sounds urgent.

 

" What's going on?" You ask. She points to the screen, "Looks like Molly wasn't the only found," you look at the monitor and see Molly, bit behind her, chasing her is a familiar hooded figure, their hood is up, so you can't tell if its Locke or Krista. Your eyes widen with horror, you grip Natalie by her shoulders and make her look at you, "How do I get there," you say pointing to the screen. To Natalie and Chase, you look calm and cool, but in your mind it's all panic and fear.

[Always 309]

Natalie looks a little taken aback, like she's not accustomed to other people taking hold of her the way you're gripping her shoulders. “W-well, I can get you there, but I can't guarantee that--”

 

“I don't care about guarantees, just get me there!” you say.

 

There's a flash of something in Natalie's eyes. Annoyance? Apparently she's not accustomed to being interrupted, either. But she nods and signals to Chase, who punches a couple of buttons on a control panel mounted on the wall. The tube in the center of the room changes in appearance, and becomes solid, with an opening large enough for you to step through. “Get inside,” Natalie instructs, pointing at the tube. When you comply, she continues: “This may be risky. If you go, I'm not sure you can come back here, and thus, you may not be able to get back home. And this whole thing could be a trap, anyway. I just want you to know what you may be getting into.”

 

“That's okay,” you say. “I have to help Molly, no matter what.”

 

“Alright. Good luck, Conner.” Natalie smiles sadly, and Chase hits another button so that you are completely enclosed in the tube. Natalie turns her back, and you can see on the monitor that she is putting in the settings for your departure. You feel a pang of sadness at the idea of possibly never seeing Natalie again. You put your hands against the transparent walls that now separate you from her, having a sudden urge to kiss her, but it's too late now. She looks at you one more time, still with that sad smile, and punches one last key. You see a flash of white, and the next thing you know, you're in the town that Molly's in.

[WerXand-XV 34]

Looking around, trying to get your bearings, you let a thought of Natalie pass through your mind. Who was she really? And what was that place for, you regret not saying goodbye, but you reluctantly shake this thought from your mind, you have to find Molly. You pull out the Devil's Fang and begin to follow the path you suspect Molly went down, you only had a glimpse of the town and were doing guess work to navigate.

 

You rush around a corner and see a person in dark garb, you speed up. You close in on the one chasing Molly, you point the Devil's Fang and attempt to shoot the blade,a skill you haven't fully mastered, but now know how command at will. The crimson blade shot forward, and pierced a wooden create ahead of the person, they stopped in their tracks and turned to you, their hood came down to reveal it was Krista, "I've had just about enough of you!" She yelled. She spread her arms and a barrier formed around her and rapidly expanded, pushing away and crushing everything in its way.

[Always 309]

You jump upward, trying to avoid the path of the barrier, but you can’t get quite high enough. The powerful force hits your legs, and you flip over in the air, losing all your coordination. In your moment of sheer confusion, the dagger leaves your hand. Finally, you find yourself crumpled on the ground, dizzy, legs in great pain below the knees. You expect Krista to kill you any second now, but you look up and see that she is distracted, drawing the Devil’s Fang out of her side, cursing angrily. You realize your weapon must have hit her when you dropped it while flying through the air. Out of the corner of her eye, she notices you staring at her and gives you a full-on death glare. “Well, maybe some other time,” she says in a strained voice, holding her side. Then she throws the Devil’s Fang back at you and vanishes. She was obviously intending for the dagger to hit your face, but you dodge it just in time, and it clatters to the ground beside you. You drop your head and let yourself relax and catch your breath for a moment.

[WerXand-XV 34]

After your brief rest you stand up and continue to search for Molly. You leisurely walk through the city, Krista won't be able to move with a wound like that in her side. You make your way into a more heavily populated part of town, children are running here and there, shop keepers and street vendors are making business with the various townsfolk. You quickly conceal the Devil's Fang as to not attract any unwanted attention. This place seems kinda nice, you think to yourself, if you and Molly couldn't make it back to your own time, at least you could live here.

 

You sigh sadly as you think of Molly. You think of everything you went through on that island, how different you really are. Before that incident, you thought yourself as a pretty boring person, someone a little too normal. Then you think what Molly's new through, she's known about this since she was ten, all of this must of been so hard for her. You stopped walking after a while, only to sympathize for Molly, on top of all that has happened, she confessed her feelings towards you. Even of that isn't the most ground breaking discovery at the moment, you still feel that this was the most important. Your stride begins a new, continuing your search. You make a promise to yourself, that once all of this is done with, and when your finally back home, your going to confess to Molly too, and make it up to her for everything that's happened to her.

 

The population isn't as dense here as where you were before, and somehow that makes you a little nervous, everyone here looks shifty and like a criminal. You contemplate turning around when out of the corner of your eye you see someone, someone with coppery red hair, Molly?" you whisper to yourself, your turn towards the person, she was most defiantly a girl, and she didn't have that black coat, it was Molly! You begin to follow her, she's going down an alley, still not aware of you behind her. Going down the alley, she she suddenly turns to some sort of sectioned off area. The only entry way is a sort of archway, then its just a large square area of brick walls. "Molly?" you say, "Molly I can't believe I found you," She turns around, its her alright, she gives you a warm smile, and before you ask of she's okay, she runs over to you and grabs you, wrapping her arms around your shoulders, placing her hands on the back of your neck.

 

"Oh thank god, I thought you'd never find me," she said, sort of whispering into your ear. She brings her head closer, your foreheads are touching, and she keeps talking in a sort of hush voice, "I'm so happy you found me, I didn't know what to do," she said, she kissed your cheek, and slowly you began to lose focus, the way she held you, the way she whispered in your ear. You weren't a pervert or anything, but you were a guy. She leaned on for a kiss, one of her hands caressing your arm, you close your eyes and.....

 

"Connor?" you hear, breaking your trance, "Connor what are you..." you turn your head and see in the archway is Molly, the real Molly. you look at whoever's holding you, panic plays across her face, and then rage. The girl, obviously Krista, pulled the Devil's Fang from your jacket and went for your heart. Quickly you give a swift kick to her stomach, but she made a small barrier to stop the kick, and instead of her thing back, you said backwards, out of the way of the dagger.

[Always 309]

You fall on your back, then grab the Angel Blade and scramble up to your feet. “What are you doing here again? I thought I stabbed you!” you say angrily.

 

“Yes, you did, you little brat. And I'm about to get you back for that. But you should know that I can heal quickly—stabbing me will only get me angry!” Krista slashes at your face with the dagger and you dodge the worst of it, but the tip still slices into your cheek and you experience the searing pain once again.

 

You look at Molly, who is still in the archway. “Run, Molly!” you call. Then you slash at Krista's hand that's holding the Devil's Fang in an attempt to get it back for yourself.

[WerXand-XV 34]

"That was a sick and twisted trick you pulled just now! What the hell is wrong with you?!" You are more than mad, you were pissed beyond belief, you were beside yourself with rage. "What are you talking about?" Krista replied, "after all, I am technically Molly," her twisted smile sent a chill up your spine.

 

"This ends now you psychotic piece of shit!!" You run at her, Angel Blade ready. "I couldn't agree more," she said, tossing the Devil's Fang at you. Her hands flash, and the one and only entrance to this little area was closed if by a large barrier with Molly just in the other side.

[Always 309]

You snatch the Devil’s Fang out of the air and keep running at Krista. You’re glad that Molly’s safe from getting injured from the crossfire that’s about to take place between the two of you, but she’s still just behind the barrier. You wish that she would leave and run as far away as she could so that she can escape Krista if you lose this battle.

 

No. You’re not going to lose. Krista is going down, future version of Molly or not. You slash at her with the Angel Blade, but she evades and swings her arm to punch your stomach, all in one flowing movement. You move to the side at the last instant and bring your blade down on the top of her wrist, cutting through the fabric of her sleeve, but not quite making it to her skin before she shifts her arm downward out of harm’s way. You put the Angel Blade in your jacket pocket in a flash, grab her wrist, and pin it behind her, giving it a hard twist as you swing your other weapon towards her heart. She elbows your face with her free arm and sweeps her leg across the ground to bring your legs out from under you, but you let go of her and jump up out of the way, slashing the Devil’s Fang at her head on your way up. She cries out angrily as the tip of the weapon cuts the side of her face, starting at the jawline and ending just below the temple, and also taking a strand of hair with it. She glares at you and shoots a wall of energy in your direction. There’s no way for you to avoid it, and you’re knocked back several yards by the force, landing painfully on the solid ground. You struggle to breathe, having had the wind knocked out of you, and your entire body feels numb from the shock of the wall of energy. Krista charges at you, offering no time for you to recover, and you’re sure this is the end. She places her boot on your chest and you feel like your ribs might crack under the pressure, which also doesn’t help you try to breathe again. You’re overcome by a painful, suffocating sensation, and as a sphere of energy pointed at your face forms around Krista’s fist, you’re sure this is the end. You close your eyes and wait for death to come, hoping it won’t be too painful, when you feel the pressure lifted from your chest, and it rises dramatically as you gasp for air. You open your eyes to see Krista, a few feet away from you now, facing a long, metal rod. At the end of the rod is a familiar figure with long, dark hair... “Natalie!” you call out.

Edited May 13, 2012 by Always

[WerXand-XV 34]

You clutch you chest from the pain, feeling the relief of air finally able to come back into your lungs. You turn in your side to look at Natalie, who smiles at you, "It looked like you need help, and I couldn't stand to see you get hurt any more,". She turned her attention to Krista then, and rushed forward attacking with the metal rod. Krista savagely attacked right back, sending spheres, walls, columns, and every other shape and form of energy at Natalie, but she wasn't deterred. Natalie spun around with extreme grace, dodging anything too large, and her staff easily smashed anything else sent he was.

 

Krista panicked, and soon wasn't even aiming, only desperately trying to hit Natalie, who eventually made her way to Krista, closing the gap. With a swift spin of her body and her staff, Natalie gave a solid jab with the end of the staff into Krista's stomach, then quickly brought the end up, slamming it into her chin. Krista was stunned, her focus lost and the wall of energy the kept them all in the small alley fall, allowing Molly to run in and come by your side, "Molly," you say a little weak, still slightly struggling for breathe. She pulls you in for a hugthen gives you a quick and sharp slap across your face, "That's for almost kissing her," she said half jokingly, the other half genuinely angry.

 

Krista was letting rage and desperation get the better of her, she had taken quite a beating from Natalie. Krista screamed many obscenities at you three, then looked at you with death in her eyes, "If you won't die, I'll make you wish you would!!!" she screeched and leaped at Molly. The booth of them rolled around, scratching and clawing at each other. Natalie helped you up and observed the scene beside you. The two girls both got up, looked at you and screamed at the same time, "Get her!" the two looked at each other and then at you again, taking at the same time once more, "She's Krista! Her! Get her!"

 

This was frustrating, "Damnit, Krista! This cliche? You're really going with this damn cliche?!" Krista did have a slight but noticeable age difference, but somehow this difference went away during their little scrap, perhaps she had some sort of age altering power, "Conner, c'mon, you know it's me," the one on the left said, "Conner, don't let her trick you again, its me, I'm Molly," said the one on the right.

 

You pull out the Devil's Fang, pointing it at one then the other, "Enough, I know how to decide who's who," the point of your dagger kept going back and forth, which kept the two girls quiet and obedient, "Whoever answers thus question right is Molly, so here goes. What's my real name?" you ask, letting the question settle over them

 

The one on the left just started at you, looking betrayed, "But...Conner, you never told me your real name," she looked defeated and sad. The one on the right smirked, "I told you she was the fake. Your real name is Lucas...isn't it?" she said the last part as you shot her an icy cold glare, "...wrong answer..." the blade of the Devil's Fang shot forward, piercing the right one's knee. She looked down, not quite registering what just happened, but once she did, she screamed in pain, the blade extended far enough to go through her leg and stick into the ground. The blade recedes and Krista falls to her knees.

 

"How...h-how did you know?" she said shaking. You give her the same cold glare before answering, "Molly's right, I never did them her my real name," Krista begins to sob, "You're a monster, if you're expecting mercy by crying you can forget it," The blade of the Devil's Fang flies forward and pierces her heart.

[Always 309]

Krista instantly falls to the ground lifeless, her eyes appearing to stare blankly into some other dimension that you can’t see. You gaze at her corpse for a moment, unable to believe you just killed a person, and to your amazement, it starts to fade away until it’s completely gone. You are breathless and shocked, but also relieved that you don’t have to deal with her anymore. You sigh heavily.

 

“Lucas?” Molly questions from behind you. You turn to her, glad to stop thinking about the act you’ve just committed. No matter how much of a monster Krista was, you still feel slightly shaken about having taken someone’s life.

 

“Yeah,” you say to Molly, nodding at her. “Even though Krista had the wrong answer, she was right about my name. It’s Lucas.” Your voice is quiet as you say this, and you’re looking down at the ground a little bashfully. If you ever told Molly your real name, you didn’t think it would be like this. You don’t exactly know what your expectations would’ve been for the right moment, but...this wouldn’t have been it. Too late now, though.

 

“You were embarrassed about that?” Molly asks, smiling. “What wrong with a name like Lucas? I think it’s a nice name.”

 

“N-no, I wasn’t embarrassed about it!” you say, a little too quickly. “I just...didn’t like it as much as my middle name.” The truth is, you were embarrassed about that name. Shortly before you met Molly, some annoying kid in your preschool class teased you because you had the same name as the creator of Star Wars. You realize now that the kid was probably a total idiot for making fun of you on such a petty subject, but for some reason it stuck with you all these years, and you’ve been hiding your real name ever since.

 

“So you still want me to call you Conner? I will if you want me to, though I do like your real name a lot.” Molly is still smiling and she steps a little closer to you, placing her hand lightly on your cheek.

 

You smile back timidly. “S-sure, you can--” you stop mid-sentence when you happen to glance up and realize that Natalie is still there, looking at you and Molly. You look back at Molly and clear your throat, trying to hide the awkward feeling you’re experiencing. “Hey, Molly, this is Natalie. She’s the one who helped me find you.”

 

Molly turns to face Natalie, then extends her hand. “Nice to meet you,” she says warmly.

“Likewise,” Natalie says with equal warmth, shaking Molly’s hand. “You’re lucky to have such a great friend like Conner. I’m so glad I’ve gotten to meet both of you.” You wonder why Natalie is still referring to you as Conner. Is it that she heard your real name, but still calls you Conner because that’s what you prefer to be called? Or did she really not hear about your real name? You can’t tell, and you don’t really want to ask, either. You scratch your head nervously, watching the two girls in front of you. Molly, whom you’ve known your whole life, and are beginning to realize you have special feelings for. Natalie, whom you just met not too long ago, but who gave you goosebumps the instant you first laid eyes on her. You shake your head to clear it.

 

“So, um, Natalie, what are you doing here anyway?” you ask with astonishment. You hope she has a way of getting home--it would be awful to know that she left with no way of getting back just so that she could save you.

[xion---424 51]

they all got bloody and gorrily massicerd and came back as gruesome ghosts (MUHAHAHAHHAHAHA)

[WerXand-XV 34]

Natalie turns to you with a look of regret, "When you left, Chase kept an eye on you with those computers. We saw everything, and once I saw how dangerous Krista was, I had Chase send me here as well," she explained. You were about to ask if that meant she had a way to get home, but she already had an answer to that before you could ask, "I'm sorry, I know that you and Molly really want to go home, but I left before I could figure out how,"

 

A look of sheer disappointment went across your face, Molly case to your side and put her hand on your shoulder, "It's alright, we'll just have to keep looking," the two of youlook at each other, both of you feeling reassured, "I guess its gonna be the three of us for a while," you say, wanting Natalie to join you, but not quite sure if that's the best idea considering Molly.