"Existence is fluid. It comes and goes, depending on your perception. You, for instance, can technically never exist, yet you stand here. You were never born, neither were your parents, yet you came to existence. You stand here, what do you want from me? I can't change the deed you have done. Past, Present, Future, Time, and Fate rest together, set in stone. It's not my fault YOU screwed it all up."
"I didn't, that's why I'm here! I didn't do anything!"
"Have you ever seen Fate angry? It's not pretty. She can be a real witch when she is set off, and set off she is. You really have her panties in a twist."
"How do I have her panties in a twist? If you ask me, she's got no business with twisted panties at all. I should be the one with twisted undergarments" Ahote barely got the last word out before a large rock fell not even two inches to the left of her.
"Hey," Time said whilst ducking and looking around for other falling rubble, "watch it! Fate can be cruel, honey. I wouldn't giver her reason."
"Why is Fate even upset with me?"
As Ahote said that sentence, the giant stone doors (which is later learned to be the doors to a place called Of) revealing a plain white, barren land.
"What… What is this place?" Ahote wondered out loud
"That, my dear girl, is Of. It is the only thing that truly exists at all. The only land, though its not really land at all. It is, and always will be. Noting can change Of. Of can never end. Of is existence." As Time said this, he shoved Ahote into Of, and shut the doors before she could even respond.
"Ah, Ahote, we have been expecting you." A voice called out.
"Oh, Fate, be nice to the poor girl. She has a lot to take in." a second, nicer voice called to her.
"Who are you? Where am I?" Ahote asked to the barren land with strange voices
"She isn't the brightest, is she?" The first voice said, "You stupid girl, don't you have ears? You are in Of. I mean Time just told you that."
"Right, right. Now back to the matter at hand." A third voice said.
There was a bright flash, in which Ahote fell to her knees and shielded her face. It lasted for what seemed like hours, and then the world went dark. Ahote looked up in the darkness, dazed, slightly blinded, and confused. After a short moment, four astoundingly beautiful women appeared, each staring at her fiercely.
"Now then, can you see us?" the first beautiful woman said
"Yes… but why couldn't I see you before?" Ahote asked
"Humans ask too many questions." The last woman whined,
"Now Past, be kind to the girl." The second woman said, " Hello Ahote. I am Present. This," she said pointing to her left, "is future. This," she said pointing to her right, " is Fate, and this," she said pointing to the last woman, "is Past. We, together, are Of. Time is outside, but is not part of Of anymore. Time can be broken, but we still cannot."
"Wait, you mean you guys are the Past, Present, Future, and Fate? Of everything?" Ahote asked
"Yes and no." Present said, "We are Past, Present, and Future, but the way you humans look at us, is in time. We are not solely based on time. We also depend on location, population, and environmental factors. In other words, we depend on Fate here." She said, hugging Fate on the shoulders.
"Ok, that's all great, but why am I here?"
"You, Ahote, are here because you tampered with me. You, in doing that, tampered with all of us." Fate said.
"How did I do that?"
"You were on a hiking expedition recently, weren't you?" Future asked
"Yes, but why does that matter?"
"You went off your trail Ahote. You were hiking in a research facility. You trampled over the only two plants left with a nectar that could later prevent a disaster." Past said
"Wait, what?" Ahote asked, cocking her head to the side
"That nectar would heal a man whom you do not know, and never would. That man would realize something in his dreams the night after the nectar was administered. That dream would build a corporation, and that corporation would build a barrier. That barrier would block out one sick man. That barrier would save the world." Present said
"Instead of all of that, your clumsy, misguided feet stepped on the plants. That barrier was never built, and a man with a super virus entered the country. He infected most everyone, and the nation was destroyed." Fate sneered.
"Look, I'm sorry I stepped on your plant. Can't you just send me back to stop myself?" Ahote asked
"I say not!" Time yelled from outside
"What Time means ,dear, is that you can never see yourself in the past. It changes things." Future said
"Well, can't you guys save the plants?" Ahote asked
"No. We can never leave Of." Present said, sadly
"What about Time? He can! He could go, right?" Ahote said happily
"No. Time cannot enter the flow of time, it would disintegrate him, destroying the fabric of time. It simply cannot be done." Future stated, matter-of-factly.
"Then what am I supposed to do?" Ahote asked
"Well, that's the dilemma." Fate said," I say we throw you down there to die, but the sisters disagree."
"We," Future said while pointing at Past and Present," want you to fix it."
"Fix what?" Ahote asked
"The foundation of democracy." Present said," Your name, Ahote, do you know what it means?"
"No, but who cares?"
"It means restless one. And if you do not fix this, you will be restless for the duration of time."
"How," Ahote asked, nearly crying," Is a 15 year old girl going to fix this? I killed the only two plants with nectar to save the man!"
"That's the thing, we have nectar. Or rather, we can make it come to be. Our creations are deep within Of. You will have to go find it."
"Yes! I will do so immediately!" Ahote called out
"Wait Ahote!" Past warned," Of is everything that has come to be. Bad things, good things, and everything else. There are scary things in there, and there are things that come from Future times when you are not around. You must know this, and be willing to sacrifice your existence for the sake of it all."
"Wait, I could see dinosaurs and super robots at the same time?" Ahote asked
"Basically, yes" Present said with a chuckle
"We cannot enter our creations, because we cannot touch them."
"Why?" Ahote interrupted
"If we go into creation, we become creation. We were never created, we just are. You were created, and grown. You are creation and can be with creation." Fate said
"So I'm on my own?" Ahote asked, feeling herself weaken at the knees
"No, Ahote." Future said," We can send creations to help you. Not only that, but there will be creations to help you. Someitmes, in the form of other humans."
"Be weary young one," Past warned," People are not always people at all."
With that eerie message ringing in her ears, Ahote accepted this challenge and walked into creation. She had only the clothes on her back, a small bottle of water found at the gate, and determination. These three things would carry her, but creation was vast.