Hello there.
Welcome my friends, to the next chapter of Avatar Heroes II: Rebirth.
Hope your going to enjoy it and now to the review.
NinjazNeverDie: Avatar Duality: The Missing Years is going to be a sequal to Avatar: Duality adapting the LoK comic's. It takes place after the wedding but before the hundred years later epilogue, hence The Missing Years.
Justarandomboi: I've been trying, but have been busy with other stories.
Now to the story time.
In the far reaches of the plane of existence, settled between dreams and reality, the living world and the great beyond.
The pearly white beach reached across the plane, a massive high rise apartment was seated at the edge of the sea named Collective Consciousness, forming into a swirling mass of blue water like substance.
The skies above was bright white filled with an aurora as a massive blue sun was shining its light down on the ground.
"What you want is impossible."
A man with swept back platinum blonde hair, which puts emphasis on his face and amber eyes. His outfit consists of a black dress shirt and purple waistcoat and black pants.
"You are being presumptuous, Luci." another person said.
The other one was a tall androgynous individual, with a slim muscular build. It was dressed in an blue coat with long white sleeves and a high collar over a silver and a black top. On its lower body it wore a black skirt like cloth above black pants tucked inside knee length boots with heels with a golden rim.
On the head it had messy dark blue hair and glowing blue eyes.
"I know it's weird of me to try and bring down your party, Arcmoani... But mortals can't come back from the dead. It's one of the reasons they are mortal." the man called Luci said, "And I'm pretty sure his soul, the thing you need to be alive, was obliterated. It's not even in the afterlife."
"That's because his soul is different." Arcmoani said looking into the blue sun, "None has connected to so many hearts across the Worlds."
"A yes, the so called Light of Hope." Luci said using his finger to form air quotes, "Because you believe that humanity is more special than your first creations."
"It's not like you to be so doubtful about humanity." Arcmoani said slightly concerned.
"True, these flawed creatures aren't without merit." Luci said, raising a glass with a expensive whisky, "And they are a very entertaining species."
"Yes, what was the saying again?" Arcmoani said amused, "The world is a stage and the stage is a world of entertainment." as their attention was drawn towards the doorway.
"Oi Luci! Arc!" a young girl with a thick Russian accent said.
The small young girl had long blonde hair held in place by a black hairband, she has dark grey eyes. She was dressed in a deep blue hooded coat, on her lower body were a black short pants and black socks covering her entire legs.
"What is it now, Potato?" Luci said, looking down on his small assistant.
"The Kung Fu Space Jesus sleeping in the cancer orb." Potato said pointing up, "He's waking up."
"...Impossible." Luci said with wide eyes, swiping his hand to call up some sort of screen.
The trio look at it to find it depicting the ruins of a bleek city, where a young man wearing a white jacked with flaring out tailcoats over a blue polo shirt and black plants. His hair was black and spiky, bangs framing his face.
He was hurt and panting but still standing as the seemingly infinite mass of dark power was swirling over the city. The darkness was being controlled by it's favored avatar, the dreaded being called Morgenstern, but this time he had pitch black skin covering it's muscular humanoid body.
"Go ahead and try to beat me if you're able. You're no man and it makes you feel unstable. Everything you love has turned ashes." Morgenstern said, commanding it's dark tendrils to speed towards the young man.
But instead of backing down, he removed the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand before the young man continued to fight against his all powerful opponent, who had decimated everything and everyone else in this World.
"Where did all your friends go. I killed them yesterday." Morgenstern continued trying to break his opponents spirit, "Even you can't bring them back and even you can't save the day. All alone we both know you're a weakling."
"Your right... I am weak..." the young man said, vaporizing the tendrils with a continues stream of red energy from his eyes, "And what's wrong with that?"
He glanced up to Morgenstern, a fiery determination in his faintly glowing amber eyes.
"I know who you are, I'll put you in your place." the young man declared, as he charged forward with blinding speed as he continued to fight even with nothing left for him to fight for, "And the next time that you stand up."
In the burst of speed, the young man appeared behind Morgenstern with bend knees. "It'll be your last today." he said as with a delayed reaction, Morgenstern was caught in an explosion.
"He has done it, something beyond a miracle, he has become the Undying Light." Arcmoani said with soft smile gracing it's face, turning from the screen to look up at the sun, "The multiverse as we know it will end one day... But you will endure."
In the lab of Alliance HQ, Aqua had just turned around to leave after Team Avatar and the others had entered the rift, another one opened almost immediately and the team came back out, carrying a Marc still in his ruined armor.
"We're back." Jaysen said proudly, gesturing over his shoulder, "We got the guy who looks like the black haired male version of my mom."
"That was quick." Aqua said surprised.
"Well, we did opened a rift into his cell." Jaesa said, looking around the room, "What? How have you guys been doing it?"
"Normally, the rift created by the Martha Box just places you in the general place you wanted to go." Asami said, "Luckily it never opened a portal into a wall."
"So Alliance tech, which is suppose to be bleeding edge, was improved by a twelve year old..." Mako said dryly, turning to the twelve year old, "Pretty impressive Jaesa."
With an embarrassed chuckle, a blushing Jaesa rubbed the back of her head as she mumbled a soft, "Thank you."
"Looks like someone has a crush on your bro." Classic whispered to Bolin.
"That's not unusual." Bolin whispered back.
"Aqua." Marc said, as he was placed on a nearby chair and his old friend immediately stood at his side.
"Marc, how are you?" she said, kneeling to his eye height.
"Aqua, I'm fine... But we have a much bigger problem on our hands." he said, turning dead serious, "I found out what the Vanitas of Zeru is after."
"You did?" Korra said amazed, "But what is so bad about it?"
"We have known for a while now that they worship an ancient being from outside the Verse... And they intend to bring him back." Marc said, looking around the people in the room, "They want to bring back Morgenstern."
"They what!?" Asami said horrified, the thought of it alone send a feeling of dread over them.
"But Morgenstern isn't an ancient being! He's..." Aqua began.
"A fallen Keyblade Knight, I know. But there is more to it than that. " Marc said bitterly, "What they theorize is that he was a human who got possessed by The Wild, a being that embodies the void between Worlds and Networks. He had his personality modified, becoming the avatar of The Wild."
"Oh that's just great!" Bolin exclaimed, throwing his arms up in frustration, "It was bad enough when Morgenstern was just an uber powerful fallen hero who only the chosen one could beat, but now he is apparently some multidimensional being of evil incarnate."
"I feel sorry for the guy." Jaysen said, "I mean, with a name like 'Morgenstern', you can't help but turn out evil."
"That's one way to put it." Claire said dryly.
"But I thought Jason killed him?" Korra said, looking around the room, "That's why Jason made that sacrifice, to make sure he couldn't come back."
"I think he did." Marc continued to theorize, "I think Jason cut off all his anchors to this Network, his Vessels of Power. Without inside help he can't return."
"What's our next move?" Aqua said, immediately realizing how dire the situation was.
"Simple." Marc said, "We take the fight to Zeru before he can bring him back."
Lily looked out of the window of the train she was on, as it moved out of the portal, giving a magnificent view of a lush and green surroundings.
She along with Iroh and Jinora had boarded it as they were traveling towards HQ.
"Uhm... Miss Lily?" Jinora began as gaining the attention of her, "You seemed a little confused about what has happened these past few years..."
"That's because the last time I was here..." Lily said with a sad thought, "Was when I helped Avatar Aang put a stop to the hundred year war... And I returned one more time to help Zuzu find his mother."
"Zuzu?" Iroh said, having a feeling he heard that name before.
"Sorry, it's a habit of mine to call him that." she said with a slight chuckle, "But most people knew him as Fire Lord Zuko."
"Wait. Your that Lily Skywalker!?" Jinora said, feeling just a shocked as Iroh, "Your the legendary Woman of Wonders?"
"That is a title I haven't heard in a long time." she said with a hint of nostalgia, "But yes, that is me."
"But the Woman of Wonders should be over ninety years old." Iroh said confused, "How do you still look so..." he gestured at her.
"Time between Worlds doesn't always sync up." Lily said, "A minute in one World can be a year in the other. But if a visitor from one World enters another, then those two Worlds sync up, making their time flow current with each other."
"That explains so much, like how Remnant is decades ahead of us in technology." Jinora said interested, "But can you tell about your adventurers with grandpa Aang. It would be nice to hear of them from a different view point."
"Of course, little one. I could tell you some tales of a Lily." she said with a slight chuckle, patting her on the head, "Now where shall I begin? How about when I first met Aang, Katara and Sokka?"
A dark purple Rift opened a few meters above the snow covered grounds, a small silver oval shaped pod with a dark glass window crash lands into the snow. With a swooshing sound, the door released itself, the front window slid open and a fifteen year old Lily stepped out.
She scanned the surrounding with her faintly glowing amber eyes, her eyes widening at the excitement of seeing the surroundings.
"This is great!" she said with a giddy smile on her face, "I successfully arrived in another World!"
Her attention was drawn towards a nearby river, where she saw a canoe with tow people, a young man and a young woman fighting against the stream.
Upon closer inspection she noticed that they were heading towards a large icebergs which block the end of the narrow passage formed by the towering walls of ice.
The girl raised both hands, concentrating on the canoe.
"Come on, Lily. Remember your training, true power lies on the edge between rage and serenity." she thought as she reached out, lifting the boat with passenger and all out of the water and placing it safely on the snowy ground.
"Katara is this more of your weird water magic!?", the boy asked in annoyance and shock.
"It's not 'magic', it's waterbending! And it's...", the girl said but was interrupted.
"Yeah, yeah, 'an ancient art unique to our culture'.", the boy responded.
The black haired girl let out a soft giggle at the two antic's, drawing their attention to her.
"Well it seems you two are okay.", she said with a smile, but upon noticing their expression she continued a bit more serious, "I don't think I have introduced myself, my name is Skywalker, Lily Skywalker."
The two gave each other a strange look, before the girl spoke up, "That's an unusual name... my name is Katara.", the girl now named Katara said, "Nice to meet you, Lily Skywalker."
"Please, just call me Lily.", she said, but the boy didn't seem so trusting of the stranger who just saved their lives.
"So 'Lily' if that's your real name, where did you come from?", he asked.
But before she could answer, Katara spoke up, "Don't mind Sokka, he is just shy to meet a girl his age."
"I knew I should've left you home!" the boy now name Sokka said, Lily looks at him surprised as Katara stares down at her brother in anger while he rants calmly, "Leave it to a girl to screw things up!"
Katara's face as it contorts with fury, "You are the most sexist.", she said as she brings her hands up to her head and swings them back down and behind her in her rage; the movement creates a small wave of water behind her, "immature, nut brained. This girl just saved our lives and all you can do is be suspicious of her. I'm embarrassed to be related to you!"
She swings both her hands back forcefully once again and her unconscious waterbending hurls a wave directly into the towering iceberg behind her; with a loud, splitting crack, a hooklike fissure arcs up its surface and out its side, leaving a spray of ice where it ends.
Petrified, Sokka gasps for air and Lily looks in the same direction, several small bubbles appear on the surface of the water directly in front of them and a small spot of water begins to glow with a bright bluish hue.
Crashing waves were generated by an iceberg suddenly rising, within the iceberg itself, showed a human shaped within below a larger, indistinguishable mass.
The human figure, has glowing arrows on its head and hands.
"Is this normal for this World?..." Lily said just as the figure opened its eyes, the same brilliant light emanating from them, revealing it to be a boy.
"He's alive! We have to help!", Katara said, getting a nod from Lily, before Sokka can stop them, Katara grabs Sokka's club out of its sheath on his back, heading in the direction of the strange boy sealed in the iceberg.
Reaching the iceberg first, Katara repeatedly strikes the iceberg with Sokka's club.
"Wait, let me." Lily said, placing her hand on the crack ice sending a wave of invisible energy through it, breaking through the surface and a great gust of wind, which escapes from within the iceberg, throws her, Katara and Sokka back from the side of the dome.
Fissures quickly snake their way over the whole iceberg and, in a massive outward explosion, the entire orb of ice destroys itself. A beam of light bursts from the core of the iceberg and rockets into the sky.
As the gale begun to settle, light still encircles the remains of the former mountain of ice, now reduced to a hollowed-out crater.
"What was that?..." Lily said just as a figure emerges slowly from the iceberg.
The circles of light finally dissipate as the boy stops glowing. The figure is revealed to be nothing more than a young boy, who gives a moan of exhaustion and suddenly faints.
Katara gasps and runs forward to catch him before he hits the ground and Sokka begins to poke at the boy's head with the blunt end of his spear. Katara places the boy gently against the base of the crater.
"Hey, kid. Your alright?" Lily said, standing behind Katara as the boy slowly opens his gray eyes.
"I need to ask you something..." the boy said in a weak voice, "Please... come closer."
"What is it?" Katara said.
"Will you go penguin sledding with me?" the boy asked in a suddenly in a clear, happy, hopeful tone as he elegantly rises to his feet in one swift motion, surprising the other three.
"Uh, sure... I-I guess.", Katara said awkwardly, looking at him in awe while Sokka backs away in shock, aiming his spear at him again.
Lily looked at the boy with raised eyebrows.
"So what's going on here?" the boy asked, looking around and rubbing his head.
"You tell us, we just found you in that iceberg a moment ago." Lily said just as a low, gruff noise suddenly fills the air, coming from within the crater of the iceberg.
Quickly, the boy scrambles up the ridge of ice and happily jumps on the head of a large, furry creature that has the same arrow-shaped marking on his forehead as the boy.
"The fuck is that?" Lily said in awe, landing next to the young boy, "It looks so cute."
"This is my friend Appa!" the boy said, "He's a flying bison."
Sokka and Katara appear around the corner as Appa opens his mouth and licking Aang with his giant tongue, "Your okay!" the boy hugs the bison's nose.
"Hello, Appa. My name is Lily." the girl said and the bison turned his head towards her, opening her mouth and giving Lily a lick as well.
"Appa seems to like you." the boy said, "My name is Aang by the way, nice to meet you Lily! So do you and your friends live around here?"
Lily and Katara let out a chuckle but Sokka interrupted them, "Don't answer that! Did you see that crazy bolt of light?! He was probably trying to signal the Fire Navy!"
"Oh yeah, I'm sure he's a spy for the Fire Navy." Katara addresses him sarcastically, "You can tell by that evil look in his eye."
"Girls with weird bending, giant light beams, flying bison...", Sokka muttered as he began to walk away, "I think I got midnight sun madness. I'm going home to where stuff makes sense...", but he realizes, however, that he is stranded in the middle of the ocean with no way home.
"If you guys are stuck, Appa and I can give you a lift." Aang offered as he propelled himself onto Appa.
"I'm ninety eight point nine percent positive that Aang's last words to Katara were, 'Thanks for penguin sledding with me." Lily narrated, "Or what about the first time I met Zuzu?"
Later of that day when she saw dragging her ship towards the Southern Water Tribe. A ship had plow through the snowy shores, splintering the ground. Zuko and six of his men where standing in front of the villagers.
"Where are you hiding him?" the younger Zuko said, as he surveys the crowd of villagers who fall completely silent.
Without warning, he extends his arm out into the crowd and grabbing an elderly woman, holding her by the hood of her parka, "He'd be about this age, master of all elements?" he shoves the woman forcefully back into the crowd.
Receiving no response, Zuko swings his arm out and releases an arc of fire that passes just over the heads of the people, causing them to cover their heads and cry out in fear.
"I know you're hiding him!" Zuko shouted impatiently.
"Seriously? This is how you intimidate a village? Send some embers over their heads? I don't even think you burned anyone with them." Lily said, getting the attention as she stood in front of her pod with her arms crossed.
"I was going to kill one of the sick ones if they didn't comply." Zuko said.
"Oh, kill one of the sick ones." Lily said sarcastically, "What are you going to do next, waterboard the elderly?"
"I didn't come here to be judged by you." Zuko said, glaring at Lily, "Now stand down or I will put you in the medical bay or whatever it is you people have here!"
Faintly glowing amber eyes looked into golden ones, before the young woman bursting out into laughter.
"You are the only one who is gonna need a trip to the medical bay." Lily said with a cocky smirk, "And for your sake, I hope there's one or whatever it is you have, on that ship of yours."
The soldiers behind the young man exchanged looks under their helmets, as Zuko whispered threateningly, "Who do you think you are?"
"Why don't you come and find out?" Lily said, uncrossing her arms, and taking her fighting stance.
Zuko's good eye twitch enraged as he suddenly bends a stream of fire from his fist. Lily counters by sending a telekinetic push, splitting the stream harmlessly into the ground.
His golden eyes widen in surprise at the display in front of him, the girl speed past him, before his soldiers could react, she hits one of them against the head with a back spinning kick, before sending to flying across the ground with a telekinetic push.
"What just happened?" Zuko muttered, "Is she?... A girl is the Avatar?"
"Wait seriously?" General Iroh interrupted, "He thought you were the Avatar?"
"Yeah... That was weird." Lily said before continuing.
Retaliating for their fallen friends, a group of soldiers aggressively send large fire stream at Lily, but she easily slide under it, and with an upwards spinning kick, sending send on of them flying. As she stood back on her feet, she flashes a cocky grin to Zuko.
The two stared each other down before she jumps forward through his stream of fire, as she reaches the man, she grabs his hands, turning Zuko around one time to build up momentum, as she throws him up, and with a spinning kick, sends him crashing into an nearby igloo.
Landing on one knee, Lily looks at her handy work, very pleased with herself before standing up, "Got an idea about who I am now, chumps?", she chuckles arrogantly.
Turning around, she saw Sokka looking at her with her mouth dropped open, "What?"
"You were like... zoom... then bam and then...", Sokka said, being at a lost of words, "Then all Fire Nation soldiers were just knocked down on the ground."
Lily let out a slight chuckle, when suddenly they heard Zuko speak up, "Avatar! Your coming with me." he said, holding an elderly woman hostage, "Or else this woman will die."
At Sokka's angry growl, she figured that the woman must be important to him, "Alright, take it easy. There is no need for that." Lily said, holding up her hands, "I will come with you if you leave this village alone."
Zuko nodded, agreeing to her terms. "On your knees. Hands behind your head and no sudden moves." as she complied with his demands. It was then that the recovered soldiers, rushed over and quickly bound her hands with heavy metal.
"Take that vessel she came with as well." Zuko said to his soldiers as he grabbed Lily by her upper arm, dragging her aboard his ships walkway, "And head a course for the Fire Nation. I'm going home."
As the ship made its way through the icy waters, Lily had her hands bound to the wall with heavy metal claps.
"I can't believe you let us restrain you, Avatar." Iroh said.
"Wouldn't have been much of a surrender if I hadn't, now wouldn't it?" Lily said, earning a light chuckle from the elderly man.
Having ordered his men to take Lily's space pod to the lower decks, Zuko had returned.
"Don't friendly with the Avatar, uncle." he said, before turning from his uncle to the captured girl, "I have spent years preparing for the encounter with you. Training, meditating. You're just a teenager!", he added angrily.
At this she raised an eyebrow, "Your just a teenager." Lily said back, with a smug grin.
The young man shot her a glare, and proceeded to exit the room with Iroh following him. Before he left the room, the young man ordered two guards to kept a watch at her at all times.
"Your are a beast in combat." Jinora said impressed.
"I can vouch for that." Iroh said, "She tore those hoodlums in Republic City apart."
"Don't sell yourself short, you helped as well." Lily said, returning the compliment, "My people were warriors, so I was raised for battle from a young age and as royalty it was expected for me to be the strongest. Though it wasn't always easy... Like that time in the desert, where I fought a bunch of Sand People."
Outside Wan Shi Tong's Library, which was beginning to swallow into the sands, if it wasn't for Toph holding it in place as Appa was surrounded by sandbenders yielding weighted ropes. They throw the ropes over Appa and solidify the sand near their feet to bring Appa down.
"Don't make me put this down." Toph groaned.
"You don't have to." Lily said, jumping out of the tower and landing near Toph.
It was during the battle with the spirit named Wan Shi Tong, Lily felt her strength and power slipping away.
"Lily, are you okay?" Toph said, being able to hear that her friends heartbeat steadily increasing.
"Keep a hold of that tower." Lily panted, ignoring the question as she took a leap into the air and sending a telekinetic push at the sandbenders, but misses and she falls to her knee.
"Fucking magic..." she grumbled, realizing what she must do, "I'm sorry everyone." before an aura of golden flames began to form around her as she rose back to her feet.
The aura began spiking in volume. With every step he took, the entire desert quaked beneath her from the sheer power she was releasing from her body.
Blue arc's of electricity formed around her arms, before launching it from her finger tips. The blast hurled through the air toward another sailer. The sandbenders watch in shock as it blows up.
Some attempted to fight her, but they where send flying backwards with a simple gesture of Lily's hand.
Boarding the last remaining sailer, the sandbenders decided to cut their loses as they made an escape as fast as possible.
The aura disappeared from a now panting Lily, placing a hand on Appa as Aang, Sokka, and Katara land. Toph lets go of the library, falling back as the library fully sunk into the ground.
"We got it. There's a solar eclipse coming." Sokka said, jumping into the air and hugging his sister, "The Fire Nation's in trouble now!"
"Where's Lily?" Aang said, looking around to see her standing next to Appa, who still had some weighted rope around him.
Lily looked over her shoulder, giving him an exhausted smile, "I did it..." she said before falling over into the warm sand.
The group gasp and immediately rushed over to their fallen friend.
"Or how about that one time I went to that restaurant with Zuko in Ba Sing Se?" Lily said.
"You went on a date with Lord Zuko!?" Jinora said surprised.
"Was it a date?" Lily said rubbing the back of her head, "I thought we were just getting a bite to eat. So anyway, this happened after we got to Ba Sing Se..."
In the town square where several people stand around doing various activities as Lily and Zuko are eating at a restaurant, she sipping tea while Zuko pokes at his last meatball with his chop sticks, not looking at her.
"So tell me, Zuko." Lily said, "How do you like the city so far?"
"It's okay." he said.
"Since your not hunting the Avatar anymore." Lily said, "What do you like to do for fun?"
"You think I hunted the Avatar for fun?" Zuko said annoyed, "It was about getting my honor back."
"Honestly, if you ask me." Lily said, "You never needed to get your honor back."
"What." he said flatly.
"Like when you captured me for the first time, you agreed to leave the Southern Water Tribe alone if I came with you and you did." Lily said, "Do you think Zhao or Azula would have honored that deal? What you did, that sounds pretty honorable to me."
Zuko was surprised at what this girl, who had been something of an enigma to him. She had been his enemy, yet she did save him from drowning, saving him when he was wounded when he freed her from the Pohuai Stronghold, or letting him go at the Northern Water Tribe.
"I used to think this scar marked me. The mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever." Zuko said, gesturing to the scar on his face, "But lately, I've realized I'm free to determine my own destiny, even if I'll never be free of my mark."
"I don't know, you look kinda badass with that scar." Lily said, gesturing to his face, "It adds to the tall, dark and handsome package named Zuko."
"Excuse me, sir." the waitress said to Zuko, "Would you and your girlfriend care for dessert?"
"She is not my girlfriend!" Zuko yelled in an assertive tone as he pounded the table.
The restaurant becomes silent as everyone's attention focuses on Zuko. The waiter walks away and Zuko laces his fingers and looks at Lily, who is slurping down a large bite of noodles from a bowl.
"You have..." Zuko said, staring at the sight in surprise for a moment, "Quite an appetite for a girl." he fiddles his thumbs awkwardly.
"I know..." Lily said with a sheepish grin, "I just enjoy the taste."
"Not because you actually need it." Zuko said.
"Actually I don't." Lily said, "I don't need food or water for nourishment nor do I need to actually sleep. As long as I have enough yellow sunlight absorbed."
"So you do those things..." Zuko said, "Because you want to?"
"That's pretty much my approach to life." Lily said.
Later that evening, Lily and Zuko were standing at the Firelight Fountain, the lit lamps make the water sparkle and reflect in the pool in the most beautiful way.
As Zuko looks at them, Lily brushes her hand through her hair, smiles at him, and holds his hand. Zuko turns to look at the girl smiling at him.
"I've brought you something." Zuko said, holding up apiece of paper, "It's a coupon for a free cup of tea."
"How sweet." Lily said, accepting the gift, "Thank you, Zuko."
"Don't thank me..." Zuko said, taking a few steps back, "It was my uncle's idea. He thinks you're our most valuable customer."
"Your uncle is a good teacher." Lily said.
The story that Lily was telling them came to an end as the train pulled into the station, Lily, Jinora and General Iroh got off. Where she followed the young airbender to Alliance HQ.
And there ya go, another chapter, hope you enjoyed.
Many thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, favorite or follows this story, you beauties!
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I wish you all a fantastic day and I hope to see you ladies and gents next time.