Chapter 4 “Questions”

Seth walked in first and Akira followed behind, her head down. Hearing a thud she looked up to see that Seth had taken his helmet off and tossed it into the corner of the room. Reaching up to her own Akira pulled her helmet off her head, yet instead of tossing it away she kept it in her hands, her fingers playing absentmindedly with it.

Realizing just how silent it was Akira shot a glance around to see that Brandon sat behind his desk, his face lined with worry. Will stood to one side of the room while Gina sat on a chair, her wedding dress looking somewhat rumpled. Drake stood behind her, an assuring hand on her shoulder. Akira wondered how they had made it out of the mess hall without the students becoming suspicious.

 “I’m guessing you didn’t find them,” it was Brandon who spoke.

Akira suddenly realized that everyone was staring at her and Seth expectantly and it dawned on her that if Brandon was asking so openly then everyone in the room must already be clued in as to where she and Seth had gone.

“Actually,” Seth spoke softly. “We didn’t make it to five hundred years. We ended up traveling only a few years from now.”

The picture of the scorched land and the Academy lying in ruins flashed through Akira’s mind.

Brandon frowned.

“But you’ve never traveled to any other time before,” Gina murmured as she looked up with question in her eyes.

Seth shot Akira a look and yet seeing that she was not about to speak he continued. “Our aim was five hundred years in the future, yet if we only made it to a few years from now. It couldn’t have been more, the landscape showed that. How that happened even we aren’t sure.”

“So, what did you find?” Drake asked curiously.

Seth opened his mouth to reply when he paused and shot a look towards the door. Seeing that Akira was looking towards it too her realized that she too felt what he was feeling. There was someone out there, someone most likely trying to listen in. While the door was thick, the risk of the person hearing about things that most of the students did not know about was not something they wanted to take.

“Seth–” Gina began pleadingly yet trailed off when Seth held a finger to his lips.

He nodded at Will who nodded and walked softly walked to the door. Seth followed. He stood beside the door before he nodded to Will. Taking the signal he jerked the door open. At the same time Seth lunged into action. As quick as a flash he reached through the open door and grabbed a hold of a small figure. He jerked the person’s hands behind his back before he could react and pulled him into the room.

“Hey!” a voice protested. “Owe!” is added and Akira realized somehow the voice sounded familiar.

“Cain?” Will asked in surprise as he stared at his younger cousin.

“Well well, what have we hear?” Brandon asked.

Cain looked up, blinking in innocence and Seth, realizing that Cain posed no serious threat, let him go. He turned and casually closed the door before he leaned against it, cutting off any way of escape.

“Cain what are you doing here?” Will asked angrily.

Cain looked sheepish at having been caught. “I saw you leave so I wanted to see where you were going.”

“You little–” Will growled.

“Leave him be Will,” Brandon spoke up sounding tired. “What’s done is done.” He turned his eyes sternly on Cain. “Now little man, just how much did you hear while you were so conveniently standing outside that door?”

Cain’s eyes darted from Brandon to Will and Akira got the impression that his mind was racing with what to say.

“I…uh…” Cain licked his lips. “I couldn’t really hear anything,” he began to fidget with his hands. “Honestly, I really didn’t hear anything!” He finished off, yet his actions gave him away. Cain seemed to realize this too as he saw everyone stare at him.

“Seth, Akira, what did you find?” Brandon asked as he turned his attention away from Cain.

Will shot Brandon a look of disbelief, “Sir shouldn’t we wait until Cain has been–”

“Even if he heard but a little the damage has been done,” Brandon explained. “He might as well stay. I’ll deal with him later.”

Cain shrunk back, his eyes filling with fear as he wondered what exactly Brandon meant by ‘dealing’ with him.

“It wasn’t good,” Seth spoke up and all eyes turned to him.

“Wasn’t good as in bad?” Gina asked.

Seth opened his mouth to reply and yet closed it again, seeming uncertain as what to say.

“It was like Haiden’s land, except on our side,” Akira spoke up for the first time. All eyes turned on her yet she seemed not to notice as she went back to being silent.

Seth shot Brandon a look and he nodded in understanding, realizing that Seth and Akira did not want those in the room knowing the details.

“Maybe it’s a bad time that the Lands face before Dominique’s time,” Gina spoke up. “I mean maybe there is another war in between.”

“Only a few years from now?” Will shook his head.

“He’s right. Besides, if something like that had happened wouldn’t Dominique or at least one of the others have mentioned it?” Drake agreed.

“What I want to know is why you didn’t travel five hundred years to the future but only a few instead,” it was Brandon who spoke up. “Did you at least attempt to travel to Dominique’s time again after you arrived at this unknown time?”

All eyes turned on Akira.

“Yes,” Redemption’s voice sounded in all their minds.

Cain’s eyes widened yet he was the only one in the room surprised at hearing the white dragon’s voice.

“I tried again just before we came back.”

Seth raised an eyebrow at this new piece of information. He had not been aware of Redemption trying to travel forward in time while they were in the future. Akira also felt somewhat surprised. She had been so lost in her own thoughts at the time that she too had not been aware that Redemption had attempted such a thing.

“Nothing happened though. We stayed in the time we were in. It almost felt as though something were stopping us from traveling forward. The time a few years from now was the furthest we could go.”

Brandon frowned and exchanged a look with Seth while Gina looked aghast. Drake squeezed her shoulder and shot a look at Will. Cain looked from one person to the other, looking completely lost.

“You couldn’t travel five hundred years forward?” Will asked as though needing to clarify.

“But then,” Gina looked up. “What about Dominique, Anita and the others?” she whispered.

“Maybe they were called back to the future somehow and just like we can’t go to their time they can’t come to ours,” Drake tried to reassure her.

“Yes, perhaps that is the case,” Brandon stood up as he spoke. “Gina, Drake, I think you should get back to the mess hall in order not to worry the students further. Take Cain with you while you’re at it.”

“But–!” Gina began.

“Come on,” Drake grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. “Brandon is right Gina. We shouldn’t worry the others.” He pulled her towards the door.

“I’ll be talking to you later young man. You had better not breath a word of this to anyone until then,” Brandon told Cain sternly.

The boy gulped before he turned and hurried after Gina and Drake, leaving the room as fast as possible. Will watched him go with a frown, as though wondering if his cousin would really keep his mouth shut, yet Brandon looked confident that he would.

When the door closed Akira turned to Brandon. She knew there was something on his mind and he wanted to talk to them about it. Whatever it was, he seemed to not want Gina and Drake here.

“How bad was it really” Brandon asked softly.

“The Academy was in ruins, the land was scorched. There wasn’t a living thing in sight and the air felt filled with death and evil,” Seth didn’t bother on leaving anything out.

Brandon let himself fall back into his seat, looking more tired than before. “I doubt that your friends from the future have gone back to it,” he said gently.

Akira shot him a surprised look but Seth nodded in agreement.

“I cannot think of a reason as to why they would be suddenly called back to their time and all links between us would be cut off. It’s not really possible,” Brandon explained.

“That leaves only two logical explanations,” Seth said softly. “Either, we cannot travel five hundred years to the future because that future no longer exists, which explains why Dominique and the others disappeared, yet in that case, should we not have been able to travel to the different future that has taken its place?” he asked.

There was a moment’s silence.

“What’s the second option?” Will asked the question everyone feared.

It was Redemption’s voice that spoke the answer to all their minds, “The Lands no longer have a five hundred year future. In other words, not only does the future we know not exist, but there is no future, at least not further on from the time we traveled to. In other words, the Lands may cease to exist altogether from that point on.”

“You’re saying Dominique and the others didn’t just disappear but they ceased to exist?” Akira asked softly, the thought that her friends could be gone for good concerning her more than the latter Redemption mentioned.

“Impossible,” Will shook his head. “There is just no way something like that could suddenly happen! How can an entire future just disappear let alone the Lands cease to exist?”

“Because, someone has changed the past, altering the course of history,” Seth spoke.

“Meaning, someone must have done something in our time that changed everything,” Brandon added.

“Deception,” Akira said the first name that came to mind.

“No,” Brandon shook his head. “Everyone from the future disappeared meaning she must have as well. Besides, she wasn’t even in our time.”

 “Well at least she’s gone, that’s one positive outcome,” Will muttered.

Akira frowned. Something bugged her about all this.

“But then why has the future disappeared? And how do the Lands end up like we saw them?” Seth asked.

Brandon frowned. He stared into the distance and there was a moment of silence as he seemed to try and think of something. Yet then he let out a sigh of defeat.

“I don’t know what happened or why,” Brandon spoke. “But somehow I have the feeling that this is just the start of something much larger.” His gaze wondered over the three students in the room. “But please, keep this from the other students for now. We need to find out what exactly is going on here and try to stop whatever it is. We cannot let the future head towards what you say.”

Seth nodded in agreement.

“What about the council?” Will asked.

Brandon frowned, seeming uncertain of this and Akira shifted uncomfortably. The council never seemed to be of any help but more of a hindrance when things came up.

“You two should be getting back to the party as well,” Brandon decided, seeming to want to leave the topic of the council out of this for now. He shot a look at Akira and Seth. “Though you may want to change first as not to worry the other students,” he nodded pointingly at the battle gear Akira and Seth wore.

“Your right,” Seth agreed. He grabbed Akira’s hand before she could protest and proceeded to lead her from the room.

“Seth, Akira,” Brandon’s voice made them pause. They turned to see he had gotten up and was staring at them, his look more worried than ever before. “Keep alert,” he told them, “Something is amiss, and by the looks of it, it isn’t pretty.”

Akira stared at him, wondering where this had come from. Brandon wasn’t one to make such comments. Even if he was worried, he never let his students know.

“We will sir,” Seth said softly before he dragged Akira from the room.

“Brandon is right,” Redemption’s voice spoke in Akira’s mind. “Something is going on here and I don’t like where it’s heading.”

Akira didn’t reply, too lost in her own thoughts.

Were Dominique and the others gone? Had they really ceased to exist? What about Deception? Did this mean she was gone too? If so that solved one problem and yet at the same time raised another. Why was the future a few years from now one where the Academy lay in shambles and the Lands were scorched and lifeless, filled with evil and death? What was the cause of it all? If not Deception then who?

“At moments I wonder if she’s even in our time.” Akira frowned as Dominique’s words echoed in her mind. Could it be that he had been right? Could it be that Deception had not been in Dominique’s time at all but in Akira’s? That she had somehow changed something that erased the future? And yet no, for wouldn’t that mean that if Deception had done so she would have erased her own existence as well. It all just didn’t make sense!

“See you guys later,” Will commented from behind as he turned into the direction of the wedding party.

“I’m going to my room, meet you at in the mess hall,” Seth told Akira.

Akira only nodded in reply. For a moment Seth just stared at her, looking worried, yet after a moment he turned and hurried off. Akira continued towards her own room.

Upon reaching it she shut her door before she tossed her helmet onto her bed. She proceeded to un-strap her sword from her back and carefully lay it down on the chest at the end of her bed. For a moment she stared down at it.

“Keep alert, something is amiss huh?” she asked remembering Brandon’s words. “Don’t you think something is always amiss and we’re always alert?” she asked, knowing full well that her dragon was listening to her thoughts. “I mean seriously, why does solving one problem always seem to causing another?”

“I don’t know Akira. I think I may to agree with Brandon on this one. Something is coming, I don’t know what it is, but it feels bigger than anything we’ve faced yet,” Redemption thought seriously.

“Well that’s just great,” Akira sighed as she walked to her bed. She looked down at the blue dress she had tossed there so carelessly before she had run off to Redemption to try travel to Dominique’s time.

“Are they really gone?” she murmured as the faces of her friend flashed through her mind.

Redemption didn’t reply and Akira wouldn’t have wanted him to. She had already made up her mind that no matter what anyone said, she was not going to believe Dominique, Anita and the others were gone for good. No, Seth and Brandon had to be wrong. They had not ceased to exist, they were only gone for the moment. They would be back, she would see to it herself.

With a sigh she sat down on her bed. Her fingers brushed against something and Akira turned her head to see the bundle wrapped in yellow cloth beside her. Letting her fingers trace over it Akira wondered had such a joyful day ended up like this.

As her eyes caught sight of the dirty piece of cloth lying some way beside the yellow bundle Akira suddenly remembered the dagger. Leaning forward she slipped a hand into her boot. Her fingers clasped the smooth hilt of the dagger and she pulled it forth.

Holding it up she stared at it while turning it over. The dying light from outside was still bright enough for her to just make out the daggers details. Akira wondered where is had come from and who could have given it to her.

Frowning she suddenly remembered that it had been when she had clasped its hilt for the first time that the scream had interrupted her. Maybe the dagger had something to do with… Snorting Akira tossed the dagger down on the bed. Yeah right, now she was just letting her imagination run wild.

Right now she needed to get back to the mess hall so that the other students did not begin to wonder. As for the dagger, she could always ask around later to try and find out where it had come from.

Without further thought on the matter she kicked off her boots and stripped from her clothes, changing back into the blue dress. Snatching the yellow bundle from her bed she turned and headed from the room. It was at the door that the headache hit without warning.

Gasping Akira raised a hand to her head. Bending over slightly she hissed in frustration at the pain.

“Akira?” Redemption asked his voice filled with worry.

Akira didn’t reply as she clenched her free hand into a fist. She stood, her head bent down before suddenly she lifted it up. For a brief moment her eyes seemed to flash a dark blue.

“Akira!” Redemption sounded frantic.

Akira’s eyes returned to their normal color. Shaking her head as she realized that her headache had gone as suddenly as it had come Akira started down the hallway.

“It’s nothing, I’m fine,” she informed her dragon.

Redemption did not reply and yet Akira could feel that he was beyond worried. She also knew that that he wanted her to tell Seth or Brandon and yet she could not. They all had bigger things to worry about now. She would just have to try and deal with her headaches by herself.