Chapter Thirteen: Revealed

"So we're going to do this the hard way then?" James asked.

"It's only because you're making this difficult," Aeon said. "If you'll just let me tweak a few things with you, we'll spare your life."

"Yeah right, my business is my business. You aren't getting any information out of me!" James exclaimed.

"I'm not looking for information," Aeon replied. "I'm looking for an agreement."

"No," James said sternly. "Everything I'm doing right now is because of you, and not in a good way. Just leave me alone." Aeon refused and James became inpatient quickly. He drew a dagger, but Alucard had already seen that one coming. Better than Aeon's eyes could've caught, Alucard sung his own knife in front of Aeon and took the dagger from James. Alucard knocked him out as he did the skeleton guard earlier.

James lay on the dirt path, Aeon looking at Alucard.

"Now, was that really necessary?" Aeon asked.

"Maybe, maybe not. Who cares? Can't negotiate, might as well make everything easier, right?" Alucard asked as a rhetorical question. "Well, let's get him back to Marry's."

"I wonder what happened to him?" Marry asked as she dabbed on the music guy's forehead. "Cutting through time? How ridiculous." Synthia and Smiddy looked at each other.

"Anyway, no matter. He's seems to be asleep. That might help him some," she said, satisfied. Synthia looked at a clock. Several hours had passed already.

"Where are Aeon and Alucard?" Synthia asked. "They said they only had to be gone for a few hours. That was a long time ago."

"Don't worry. They're fine," Marry said. "I'm sure." Smiddy began wondering the same thing, as it was practically sun down and there was no sign of them anywhere.

It got dark quickly and the music guy was still asleep. Smiddy kept a close watch on him, even tying him down with more ropes just in case they both fell asleep watching him. However, Synthia wasn't falling asleep. She was too worried. Until...she heard voices coming from downstairs. She ran to the stairs to make sure it was them.

"I mean, really Alucard, you just had to carry him all the way here?" Aeon's voice came. "He doesn't even deserve that."

"Yes, yes I did. Come on, it was better than anything else we had planned so far," Alucard replied.

"You didn't even give me time to plan," Aeon countered.

"Oh because you're lacking time...uh huh," Alucard was joking of course.

"Aeon!" Synthia exclaimed, running down the stairs and jumping into his arms. Aeon caught her, surprised she was still awake.

"Synthia," he said. "You're still awake?"

"Yes, I was worried about you," she replied. He knew they'd been gone longer than they thought. He apologized for making her worry, and as she laid eyes on James, Alucard dragged him up the stairs. She asked what happened to James, but Aeon shook his head, pointing to the upstairs. He'd explain it all then. They all walked upstairs and Smiddy smiled as he saw the two men go into their rooms. Alucard would stay up all night, however Aeon was not.

The two went into Aeon's room for the night. Synthia sat on the bed as the time keeper took off his coat and detached the sword from his belt. He wrapped the chain around the clock, made sure the windows were locked and then stripped until his chest was bare. It was chilly tonight; he would keep his pants on but take off the boots and accessories. he leaned his sword against the closet and came to join Synthia on the bed.

As they lay together, Aeon explained why he and Alucard were gone so long. She was content no matter what he would say anyway. He was back and that's all that mattered to her.

"All will be revealed in the morning," Aeon said. Synthia told him that they should let Marry in on everything too. It was kind of awkward with her not knowing anything.

"Just her," Synthia said. "please?"

"That's alright," Aeon said lying down fully, facing her. Synthia rolled onto her other side, and Aeon came closer so he could wrap an arm around her waist. He kissed her on the head before falling asleep.

"Okay, whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa! Hold on one moment," Marry said. "Let me get this straight...You-" she pointed to Aeon "are a time keeper?" Aeon nodded, showing her the thirteenth hour on the handle of his blade.

"And you-" she pointed to Alucard. "are from the future? Why are your teeth so pointy?"

"I...file them. As a child I liked to...bite things...so...I just file them now. Makes meat a whole lot easier...to chew," Alucard said. He wasn't fooling Aeon one bit. That was by far the worst lie he'd ever heard Alucard tell. Yet, they all fell for it.

"Okay," Marry was trying her hardest to just breathe for the moment, trying to take it all in. "And, you two knew about this the whole time?"

"I'm sorry Marry, but please understand. I wasn't supposed to know, none of us were," Synthia explained. "I stuck my nose where it didn't belong..."

"That was always like you, Synthia," Marry said, relaxing slightly. She took a deep breath. "So, everything in this time that has involved you, really shouldn't have happened?"

Aeon was silent for a moment. He knew that the majority of this was his fault. "Yes," he sighed. "I was trying to be careful with myself. I came here to get away from my stresses, not cause more of them. I didn't think interfering with a commoner's fight would effect this much of the future. I was just trying to be nice. If I wouldn't have stopped the argument, none of this would have ever happened. I'm sorry to have dragged you all into this...especially you Synthia. I'm so sorry."

"Why me?" Synthia asked. "You saved me if anything. I'm glad you did..."

"No no," Alucard said. "Don't even finish that sentence, Maiden. You don't know what we saw on our little trip."

"Why what-" Synthia began when a giant THUD was heard from upstairs. Smiddy ran up there and there was a WHACK sound before he came back down.

"Um, yeah. Okay. Now that we've caught up about you two, I've got a little somethin' for ye. There was this guy, and we have no idea who he is but...he saw you cut through time so...I don't know what to do with him..." Smiddy explained. Aeon sighed, annoyed.

"So...you just hit him on the head with a frying pan?" Alucard asked. Smiddy nodded. "Works for me. What should we do Aeon?"

Aeon stood before all of them, no knowing how to answer even that question. He didn't know what to do next. He walked out of the room, Synthia starting after him, however she was stopped by Alucard.

"Leave him," he explained. "The man needs time to think."