Disclaimer: Anything that may be mentioned in here that exists outside of my own brain belongs to other people. I am aware that much contained within this section is made up of inside background information, but I'm thinking it may not be necessary to actually explain in depth all of that info. However, if it is requested of me, I will add a more in depth explanation to the Glossary chapter. Just let me know.

"Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One,

Countdown to the Change in Life That's Sure to Come."

-Creed, "Are You Ready?"

Prologue: This is Not My Room

"Taylor." Wind rustled the curtains in the quiet room, making them billow and balloon out with each fine gust of cool air out of the summer night. Pale moonlight lit the room with ivory tones, casting dark shadows off of still and silent forms that filled the room with their presence.

"Rise." Unmoving, he lay on the bed, the cover thrown back and draping onto the floor allowing the cool breeze to drift over his heated skin and create little bumps along the honey-colored flesh of his chest that was exposed to the night. His dark hair ruffled lightly in the breeze but he remained sound asleep, oblivious to the world around him.

"Follow." The wind gusted in suddenly carrying multiple whispering voices, all talking at once in a variety of different languages, some of them old, some of them new. The voices and the wind seemed to take on a kind of ethereal substance that washed over his body and caused him to stir from his quiet slumber. His body fought the force which was pulling him awake but it was of no avail. Soon, his eyes were slowly drifting open.

" 'Oia kali no 'oe." A voice. A familiar voice. His eyes blinked and turned towards the source of the sound. A shadowy figure stood on the fire escape behind the curtain. It stood in silent stillness, waiting. Another breeze wafted in, billowing the curtains and allowing for a glimpse of the person who stood beyond.

"Reese?" Taylor whispered, sitting up in his bed. It couldn't be. He wasn't due home from Berkeley for another two days, so how could he be outside his window in New York? "What are you..." he started but the figure outside began to move away. "Hey, wait!" Taylor called, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and quickly walking over to the open window.

He pulled the curtains wide apart in a flourish of movement, letting the bright warm glow of golden light flood into his room. He was confronted by a long dark corridor, ancient in appearance. It was made of stone and lit by torches near the entrance; the walls and ceiling disappeared into chilling darkness, a visual testimony to the size of the room. Taylor looked back over his shoulder and saw a large golden doorway, sealed shut behind him. "This isn't my room."

"No, it is not," said the voice. Standing there in the center of the hallway was Reese. Or so it appeared to be. It was the Avatar. He was dressed all in white, with hints of silver and gold. Loose baggy pants, a loose white shirt with a golden collar, and a long sheer white robe. His shaggy blonde hair glowed golden in the firelight and Reese himself seemed to have an inner glow as he smiled out at his friend.

"Where are we?" Taylor asked, peering past his friend to look at what appeared to be a small little light hovering in the darkness.

"The Temple of the Son," Reese said, watching Taylor as he walked closer to the small light. "In the Vault of Ages, the Hall of Time." He gestured to the long dark expanse behind him.

"What is this?" Taylor asked as he looked down at the tiny little glowing orb. It was just there, suspended in the air, glowing bright hot white light.

"This is the Nexus," Reese explained, bringing his hands up to either side of the orb. "The Apex, the Locus, the Before of the Beginning. This is the Pre-Time when existence as you know it had not yet been sparked. When all that was, was us."

"The nexus? What is the Nexus?" Taylor asked, looking at the being using his friend's image to speak to him.

"The center," The Avatar said, walking around Taylor and the orb in a slow circle, "outside of space, thought and time. The place where all things, all universes begin and branch out, including your own. Come," Reese extended his hand," The time has come to learn." He pulled Taylor over by the doorway and they stood facing out towards the orb and the darkness. " Long did we wait in the darkness before the beginning, waiting for the time of First Light to occur."

"First Light?" Taylor repeated, watching out towards the dark. Suddenly, as if in response to his words, the orb exploded, shooting out tiny bits of light all over the room, lighting up the entire hallway, and still leaving the far end in darkness. Taylor stared in awe as little spirals and discs of tiny little lights spread throughout the darkness of the Hall. "The Big Bang."

"All universes began in this moment, infinite in number and never-ending, ever expanding and multiplying," Reese began to slowly move forward, pulling Taylor with him. Taylor saw that there seemed to be faint little separations in room, like little fields that all intersected at the point where the Nexus had been. "We exist in all of these, in many forms, but they are not our current concern," The Avatar Reese continued. He led Taylor forward through a series or barriers until they came to One in particular, a glowing path stretched out before them down the hallway and all the other universes faded into the darkness behind them. "This is the Path of Ages," Reese explained, indicating the line of light, "that which we have been following since the beginning of time. You see, since before the beginning, we knew that at First Light the Path would be shown unto us, leading us towards that for which we waited. The Light came and through the many universes the One Path was revealed, in the universe that is yours. With that found, we were finally able to move forward."

The walls around them seemed to start moving of their own accord, coming towards them and then moving past them. Little galaxies spiraled and moved around them in random fashions, but all of this went unnoticed by Taylor. His gaze was fixed on the large, what appeared to be digital, clock that seemed to now hang from the ceiling. There were electric red numbers on it, rapidly decreasing, and he could make out words above the separations: Centuries, Decades, Years, Months, Weeks, Days, Hours, Minutes, Seconds. "The Countdown."

"Yes, like us, that has existed before the beginning as well," Reese said, looking at Taylor. "More as a feeling than an actual countdown. You can't really count down the minutes if time itself hasn't started." He smiled wryly.

Taylor smirked. "That does seem like it would be difficult."

"But with the Beginning, the Countdown appeared and has long been ticking down towards the many comings and events, foreshadowing all of the great moments and great people," Reese now looked forward, unwaveringly. "See, we now approach the First After the Light. The birth of the Great One and his ordering of the universe."

"Birth of the Great One?" Before Taylor a large dark shape rose, without any clear defining shape. But soon the form began to take on a more definitive shape, and two bright piercing glowing eyes shown out from the dark shape and gazed down upon them. With a blink of the eyes, the whole figure flashed with color and the image was clear: Ari'ena, the Dragon God of the Chainkans. "Ari'ena was born?"

"Our beloved son," Avatar Reese said, smiling proudly up at the large beast before them. He turned to see Taylor's surprised expression. "Yes, Son. We created the Creator. After all, he had to come from somewhere, didn't he?"

Taylor considered this quietly, turning back to the moving path before him. One of the galaxies had stopped before them and was growing in size, as if they were getting closer. It looked familiar. They zoomed forward through the stars and nebulae and comets and galactic objects until the reached a large plasmatic energy sphere. "What's that?"

"The Center of the Chosen Galaxy," the Avatar explained. "Location of Ho'kuu Eakahi." They zoomed in further and passed through the plasmatic barrier. Inside was a star, a bright star, orbited by three planets.

"First Star," Taylor translated Reese's words in his mind. "That would make this where Ari'ena the planet is."

"There," the Avatar pointed. One of the planets came closer and grew in size, it's appearance largely Earth-like. They continued through the atmosphere until they were passing Aeriel like over the landscape. "The Home world of the Ancient Ones."

Images of people appeared around them now. Dark skinned with long black hair. Beautiful people with piercing eyes. Their bodies were painted with intricate markings; they wore beads in their hair and jewels around their necks and arms and waists. They had an ancient primitive feel, but one that radiated an unspoken wisdom and power. "The Quagans," Taylor said as he recognized the ancient race, the oldest on all of the Ari'ena planet.

"The Quagans," Reese repeated, indicating the people before him. "The Kaatysians," A Felinoid people appeared, tall and bipedal, but very feline; "Meluu," Green people, light and graceful, mottled and beflowered due to their florific nature; "Umdai," Humanoid people with translucent skin and what appeared to be scales and gills and slight fin-like appendages; "Chainkans," Dark and exotic like the Quagans, but more modern in appearance, with an inner glow of fire; "Trium," The three animal races: Behenniei, the rabbits, Esomo, the 2-foot tall bipedal moose, and Mechuna, the small raccoonesque creatures; "Voda," Dark and solid, Broad and metallic, marked with shining, incandescent Tattoos; "Kudai," Offshoot of the Chainkans, simpler and mortal, hints of an Arabic desert look; "Jikari," Dark, Native looking people with forehead ridges in the shape of a scallop shell, each ending in a small, pointed horn; "And all others who came after," indicating to the variety of other species that appeared in the faint beyond. "Here we lingered for long and waited," Reese continued, "watched and waited as many other events were ticked off the Countdown."

"The Building of the Temple of the Mother," the image of a tall golden building rose before, covered in intricate designs and jewels, attended by the priestesses; "The Raising of the Portals," The circular Stargate field appeared before them and they passed through the image like the others before them; "The Rise of the Ruling Age," Kings, Queens, Chieftains and such appeared before the two; "and then, the First Darkness."

A darkness swept into and over and permeated the room and a shadowy figure emerged, like a wisp of cloud but with an aura of evil about it. "Iokita," Taylor said, recognizing the Jaris type of demon from his past experiences with Katoi, the son of Iokita.

"This was the first moment that Evil raised and revealed itself to us and the universe," Reese explained keeping his eyes locked on the demon before him. "But it was still young and foolish in the eyes of time and was easily put down for a while." Images of battle appeared before them and a lone figure stood amongst the fighting, raised his arms. And light exploded from his body. All other images faded and the Man stood alone, regal and powerful.

"The Rise of Taboro and the Ngadi Dynasty." Taylor recognized the first emperor of Chainka from the many descriptions and pictures Neah had showed him. He stood tall and proud, in shining armor and exotic robes, the Dragoni crown atop his head and the Dragoni necklace hanging from his neck.

"The Age of the Living Gods," Reese confirmed, and the images of the others appeared beside Taboro. Nadega, his Empress and the Goddess of the Elements; Gods and Goddesses, all originally Chainkan, all elevated by Luasha, the daughter of Ari'ena. "Soon after follows the Ascension of the Old Ones," The Gods glowed and disappeared in flashes of light; "The Return of Iokita," The dark Figure reappeared and images flashed around them of more battles and darkness; "The Union of Hanibei and Nishaqua and the Second Fall of Evil," A man and woman stood together amidst the chaos and the power flowed out of them, calming the surrounding.

"The Ascension of the Three," Three Woman appeared before them, the daughters of Taboro: Wogaluha, the Priestess of the Royal Family, the eldest; Keaniaha, the Dragon Lady, She who was the go-between for the Dragoni gods and the Chainkan people, living alone on the Temple Mountain.

"Hosha," Taylor said in recognition of the third and youngest daughter, the familiar one, The Enchantress of many ancient legends and stories. She who was keeper of the Temple of the Mother. She who traveled far and wide as the Messenger of the Gods, their Hand in influencing the Fates. She who would appear to Taylor and Neah to offer cryptic guidance in their actions in order to obtain desired outcomes. She whom Taylor had long begun to dread seeing because it always meant something gigantic was coming and the pain of his existence would once again rear its head.

But the Images continued forward unceasing and unaware of whatever thoughts Taylor had in his mind. The images were once again speeding through the stars until coming upon one tiny dot. "And then, the moment for which we long had anticipated occurred." The star exploded.

"A Nova," Taylor observed, watching as the dust cloud expanded outward. He lifted his hand to touch the image but it passed through without effect.

"Technically a supernova," Reese said with a smirk.

Taylor gave him a good natured glare. "Fine, be a science geek."

Reese smiled ad continued. "Soon, a New star formed, with a new system of planets, Where the seeds of life were soon planted." The gas separated out into the small shapes before them. A bright light in the middle with numerous smaller ones orbiting around it. "We saw all of this from afar and knew that our task had begun, that for which we waited was drawing nearer and nearer."

One of the planets became larger and clearer. It was colored with browns and blues and greens and wisps of white. Taylor's brow furrowed. "Earth."

"Nothing could be left to chance. Everything had to happen as the Hall of Time ordained it." Reese lifted his arms as the Earth began to rapidly spin. Little bits of colored light shot off of the surface. "The Ordering began."

"The ordering?" Taylor looked up at the lights with his brow still furrowed. This was all going somewhere and he wasn't sure he liked the implications. "You mean that everything that has happened on Earth has been directed by you?"

"Not only on Earth," Avatar Reese said emphatically, "Everywhere, we are in all things. We are the ones who determine how the worlds must go."

Taylor stared up at the colored balls of light that were mingling with each other in the air, circling and spinning in a vaguely chain like form. "What are all the colors?"

"They represent the, uh, Bloodlines, if we can be allowed usage of the word," Reese said with a gesture up at the lights, "Technically life on Earth doesn't really have blood yet."

"Bloodlines." There was a coldness in his voice as he said this. He had seen the evidence of this before and he had never liked the notion of it. Taylor didn't really want to hear it again.

The Avatar continued, without paying any heed to Taylor's quiet brooding, gesturing as new images appeared before them around the planet and the lights. "Through the Age of Invertebrates; Amphibians and Insects; through the Age of the Reptiles we continued, ordering the bloodlines that were necessary, weaving the tapestry of the life we needed."

Taylor frowned. "I think I see where this is going." An explosion on the planet created clouds across the globe and the surrounding images of dinosaurs faded to darkness. "The Extinction of the Dinosaurs. You did that?"

The Avatar nodded. "To make way for the Rise of Mammals, and the Dawn of Men." He turned to look at the images of evolving Hominids.

"Whoa, sudden acceleration in speed." Taylor held up his hands to steady himself as the speed of the images picked up before them as evolution sped up and little colored lights shot up off of the planet to attach themselves to the others.

Reese moved forward along the line that continued to glow at their feet. "We ordered and weaved, chose and created, mixing the bloodlines in the proper order, combining them and purifying them through the ages. Taking those who were necessary, those who were best, and weaving the web of life, all the while watching the clock tick down through that ages." Taylor looked up at the Countdown and saw that the digital numbers were counting down in a blur of red light.

He looked at the lights before him and felt the cold realization continuing to engulf his body. "The Web of Life," he repeated quietly.

"As Humanity evolved, it became clear that a more hands on influence would be needed," Reese continued. "So, on the Homeworld, the Temple Island was elevated and the Lagoon of Time began its influence, allowing the island to appear on far distant planets."

The Temple of the Mother appeared again before them, this time surrounded by a lagoon of multicolored water that produced a strange warped effect about the temple, and the surrounding city of the Quagans, and the Labyrinth Mountains, the Spider Jungle, and the Reef of Peril. "Lua'kiini Mo'kuu."

"As the Ancient cultures began to form in Europe and Africa, Asia, the Keepers of the Island ventured forth into the world, imparting their wisdom upon the locals, coming to be seen as Gods."

"What is that?" Taylor looked before them where a large ocean had appeared and a glow had begun beneath the surface.

"The First Terran Portal," Reese said as the the Stargate field appeared in the water and the volcano erupted from it. Islands emerged from the mist around the growing mountain before them. "Where the Ancient Ones came and seeded the Ocean race with their blood."

The Islands shapes became familiar in his mind. "That's Hawaii," Taylor stated, nearing numbness. "The Kilauea portal was the first?"

But the Avatar again seemingly ignored him. "Greece, China, Egypt, the Eastern and Western empires rose and prospered under the tutelage of the Temple Island." Many different people of Ancient appearance now surrounded them, but soon became lost in the darkened shadow that descended around them. "Then SHE came."

Another Jaris appeared. Not Iokita or Katoi, but the other, the female. "Atakaia."

"After the demoness was expelled, the Island was removed and hidden for ages, sparking Ancient Legends."

As the island faded, a spark of insight hit Taylor. "Atlantis," He nodded in understanding, then watched as the familiar shape of another island group came into focus. "It moved to England?"

"It became a roaming island," Reese explained. "It would waver in and out of many different locations all over the planet, all over the universe, deliberately trying to avoid contact with Her. New people became influenced, new legends were formed."

"Avalon," Taylor said as he gazed at the misty isle. The image of a Man became clear and another realization came upon him. "Ho'kuu'ao was Merlin."

"Yes, among others," the Avatar confirmed, then turned back to the planet before them. "And through all this, we continued."

"I noticed that, yes," Taylor said staring up at the swirling colored lights that had form a definite chain shape that was becoming all to recognizable to Taylor.

"Empires rose and fell and were replaced in cyclical fashion. The Dark Ages came; The Rise of Kingdoms and Crusades; Colonization began, an action which began the major events of your time."

The familiar continental shape appeared before them. "America." Taylor noticed the odd storm shape moving along the Atlantic. "What is that, a hurricane?"

"As the European nations moved into the Americas, new legends came to their ears. Including the Fountain of Youth and the Wandering Isle. Ancient Indian peoples with riches and magics that guarded an Ancient Power. These stories came back to Europe where they were heard by the one called Circe."

Taylor stared in dark recognition of the hurricane before him. "The Storm of Atakaia."

Reese stared hard at the Caribbean islands. "With her descent onto the Caribbean our plans were almost laid waste. For she followed the rumor started from stories of the Pirate Captain Bartholomew. The Legend of the Three Maps. The Island Prince Ho'kuu'ao was sent out as a result to retrieve the maps, but became caught in the Slave trade for many years before he could find all of them. But not before Atakaia was able to find her way back to Lua'kiini Mo'kuu, endangering the bloodline in the process. Atakaia sought the Power of the Ages, but the power was not meant for her. It was meant for the one who came later." The glance Reese gave him did not go unnoticed to Taylor. "So Atakaia became the first of the three Jaris demons to be imprisoned."

Images of those individuals in that legendary tale became apparent before them. Taylor stared ahead at one man in particular. Dark brown hair and Deep brown eyes. Tanned skin from sailing and callused hands from working. "Wait a minute, that's William Turner, he's my..."

"Your Ancestor, yes, many generations back." The Avatar tilted his head to look at Taylor. "Through him and his progeny much of the bloodline flowed, containing ancient mixtures that could not be lost and yet almost were. But in the end, Ho'kuu'ao and Moe'Uhaani prevailed with the aide of a great Pirate and the one woman who could claim his love."

Figures of historical familiarity appeared before him. Captain Jack Sparrow of the infamous pirate vessel, the Black Pearl, and the woman, "Hosha?" Taylor was stunned.

"And we continued," The Avatar said. "Further and forward through the years as changes swept across the New World. The Revolutionary and Civil Wars came and went, leading to the next age. The bloodline was almost complete, only a few more generations and the One would Be."

The colored lights had now become a fully recognizable, almost complete form. The colors were fast becoming uniform and homogeneous but Taylor wasn't paying attention to them anymore. "You sent her." Taylor turned to face Reese head on. "You're the one who sent Hosha."

"She was already here," Reese replied. "You see, out of her house in Singapore came the one who would marry Asa Parker and be mother to Joshua Parker, the one whom you met in the past."

"This is all about me. This is my bloodline," Taylor was beginning to feel weird, he couldn't quite place his reaction to this.

"Time continued forward still and the ordering entered its final stages," the Avatar pushed on turning to look back at the light. "And then, the bloodline was complete."

Taylor looked up at the Glowing form of a DNA strand that now slowly rotated above the image of Earth. "You created me," Taylor said in a state of disbelief. "I'm the one you've been waiting for, the one who can access the Power of the Ages." He knew that they had been manipulating the events of history but he had no idea for how long.

"No," Reese shook his head and looked at him. "You are the Power of the Ages."

"But what am I?" Taylor persisted. "What is my power? What does, where does it come from?"

"You rush into things," Avatar Reese shook his head. "We're trying to show you what you need to know for what's coming next."

"Yeah, well, you're being vague and unclear and it isn't helping anything," Taylor spat out bitterly. "How about for once in your existence you try being direct instead of wrapped up in riddles, then maybe I wouldn't do some of the things I do."

"You blame us for your choices?" Reese turned to face Taylor full on.

"I blame you for not being clear on which ones I should make."

"Free will is still a concept that is in existence and if we had tried to provide you with guidance you would have resisted us."

"You keep saying us," Taylor fixated. "We, us, what's with the familiar inclusive plural?"

"Watch and learn," Reese said calmly, turning towards the images that were now coming clear in front of them. "See your life? See you experiences? All that has happened has been preordained. Yes, it's true, I'm sorry if that upsets you," he said off the look Taylor gave him. "It has been written in time since before anything else existed so it would have mattered not what our influence would have been. Some things, no matter what, cannot be stopped." Reese moved closer to Taylor. "You were meant to receive the Power. Hosha was meant to return to help you and Neah was to come to guide you, but any choices you made involving those therein were made on your own, and yet still according to the predetermined flow of the universe. The Power knows what it needs and does what it has to to make it happen. We needed you to reach a certain level before we could reveal ourself in our true form unto you and the universe."

"What does that mean?" Taylor cried. "That all that happened in these past six years happened because you thought I needed it? You thought I needed to be torn back in time and almost destroy my own existence? You thought I needed to be manipulated by the First into traveling into the future and causing havoc and damage and international chaos? You thought the First had to manipulate me into being oblivious to my best friend until it was too late and he was terminal and then I had to find out I could have saved him? This is all fun for you?"

"Taylor..."

"You thought I had to fall into a dark vengeance streak and scare my family and friends and the whole world before snapping back to reality? You thought my alternate and his minions from a twisted alternate universe had to come here and make my life a living hell? That they had to cast a spell on me that would cause me to live in two universes at once and fade out of this one as Tahiir fell in love with Leto? Then I had to be trapped inside his head while the First and Spike played with my world and Neah and Jilan tried to figure out a way to kill someone who deserved to live more than I did. That was part of your grand scheme? M&M's life torture? Justuce's? The Buchman family's insane inexplicable vendetta against me? Mush coming forward in time? Jilan appearing from nowhere? What the hell is all this? How is this necessary?"

"We can explain--"

"Well let me finish and then you can do the whole annoying cryptic answer." Taylor began pacing around while he ranted. "What about September 11th? Was that necessary? And Katoi, wonderful Katoi. He who plants doubts and suspicions into the heads of my friends and loved ones. Katoi, who triggered some crazy chemical reaction in my body that caused me to evolve into something other than human in time to undergo the Chainkan Heat, almost rape my best friend, oh and yeah, go insane with the weight of the world entering into my brain! He who inspired Alec and his siblings to take initiative and ensure the First a body of flesh by using their own mother as a vessel to carry his natal form. Katoi, who flung us into the X-Men universe in hopes that Lenni would sacrifice herself and Marissa would go insane. Katoi, who possessed Neah's alternate and used her to conquer the alternate universe and then come here to seduce the Buchmans. Katoi, who ordered the death of Mason. Katoi, loyal servant of the First, who unfortunately wasn't as clever as it thought because Alterna-Reese broke free and then the First decided he must die so he possessed Spike and used him to kill the only person that he has ever loved and tricked me into believing it was my best friend so that I would again fall into darkness and not be able to stand up to any of the claims and accusations my loved ones made and Katoi could reign in control of the universe. Did that have to happen? All this pain and death? Did Thunder have to die? Did Mason? Reese's alternate and Tahiir? Did Buffy and Faith and all the slayers have to? Did I? What is the point?" Taylor was bordering on pain and fury and his voice held an edge within it that was barely kept back.

"You need to know," the Avatar said calmly. "You have learned and grown through each of these experiences. You have become that much closer to what it is you are meant to be."

"So, what doesn't kill me makes me stronger, is that it?" Taylor spat out bitterly.

"You went back in time to learn that what already has been cannot be changed, that even you, the Power Incarnate, even you have rules and limitations you are subject to," Reese stood tall and firm as he walked closer to Taylor with the full force of his power echoing out through his voice. "You cannot change the past. You cannot impose your will on others. Every action has consequences. These are things that must be learned on their own other wise they have no impact." Reese's tone and demeanor softened, "Just because you have power does not mean you aren't still capable of fallacy and human mistake and misjudgment. You hold yourself to an impossible standard because you feel others expect it of you. That they feel you are supposed to be this Infallible God being and when you aren't you think they feel let down."

"I don't care what they think," Taylor lied, trying to sound indifferent.

"No, only what He does." Taylor visibly flinched and turned to look at the form of his best friend. "But he doesn't think these things. He sees you as you are, as Taylor and that confuses you," The Avatar continued, moving to stand barely a foot in front of Taylor. "You believe yourself to unworthy of him and his love and therefore you strive and push yourself to do all these things to alleviate your own guilt and to make yourself worthy, but don't you see? You already are! By doing all these things you are worthy!" Reese held Taylor's face in his hands and forced him to look at the kind smile on his face.

Taylor shook lose and turned away, shaken. "Will you explain now?" He asked, wanting the subject to change. "What am I? What is my power? What is this Us you keep mentioning?"

Reese sighed. "You are the Chosen, the one for whom we have long been waiting. You are the Son of the Universal Power. You are the Power. You have seen what you are, what we are. We are one. The same. We are the Power."

Taylor still didn't understand. "What are we then? What is out Power?"

"You already know the answer to that," Reese told him plainly, looking at him. "You just refuse to see it. Soon the time will come when it will be made unfathomably clear and you will no longer be able to hide from it or deny it. In order to Become you must first submit."

Taylor didn't like the sound of that. "Submit?" he asked, suspicious. "Submit to what?"

"See here, we have reached the Barrier." Taylor turned to look at the Path of Ages. Clear enough the had come across to an energy barrier. "That which is the present." Taylor looked up at the Countdown and saw that it had returned to Real Time speed. "Beyond this barrier lies the future. The far distant future is unclear but vague shapes and forms can be made out. That which is closer to the present is clearer and larger," Reese explained, indicating the many things beyond the barrier. "And as the future comes closer to being present..."

"My dreams," Taylor connected. "This is where they come from." He stared at a large Darkness that blocked the rest of the shapes behind it from view. "What is that?"

"What is next," Avatar Reese said. "All that is to come. Don't you see it? The Countdown? It's closer now than it has ever been." 'Well duh,' Taylor thought, 'that is what counting down tends to mean', but he still looked up at the Red Digital clock and saw that it had now dropped below 11 months. "The Big Band grand finale is approaching. It is coming hard and fast and you have to be ready to do what you must," Reese imparted to him, almost pleading him into understanding. "There will be choices that you have to make. Decisions with consequences. But it will be easier. Soon you will know all that it is you need to know about who and what you are and with that knowledge the choices will flow out of you."

Taylor absorbed all this in a slight state of daze. He looked back into the foggy figures of the Soon-to-Come and caught a glimpse of a strangely familiar shape. "Frodo?"

"Time is ticking," Reese was looking back up at the Countdown. "Your time is near. You will Become, and the worlds will know and be glad for it. But do not think that it will be the end of all opposition. For the light shines brightest when the darkness is at its most black." Reese gave Taylor a rueful smile and turned around to walk back down the path.

Taylor turned to follow and saw that they had already reached the door without moving. "Remember," Reese told him, taking his hands. "You must submit to it, only then will you become. At that moment you will see clearly and you must submit." He smiled and leaned in to Taylor, his eyes drifting closed...

Taylor started awake in his bed. He blinked in the darkness of his room, glancing at his clock to see that it was only 3:47 in the morning. He lay quietly on his back in bed, thinking about all that he had just been through in his mind. Certain words remained and echoed in his brain and they chilled him a bit as he turned on his side to attempt to fall back asleep.

"Soon the time will come when it will be made unfathomably clear and you will no longer be able to hide from it or deny it. In order to Become you must first submit."

"Do not think that it will be the end of all opposition. For the light shines brightest when the darkness is at its most black."

"Don't you see it? The Countdown? It's closer now than it has ever been. The Big Bang grand finale is approaching. It is coming hard and fast and you have to be ready to do what you must. There will be choices that you have to make. Decisions with consequences. But it will be easier. Soon you will know all that it is you need to know about who and what you are and with that knowledge the choices will flow out of you."

"You are worthy!"

Taylor faded back into the darkness of sleep with a small grin.

End of the Prologue. Questions and comments can be directed to me. If you wish for something to be clarified or if you have a suggestion to make on the structure or whatever, simply review the story or email me at the addy available in my profile. Again, I am aware that this chapter does contain a bit of inside information that hasn't quite been explained and all that, but that is mostly because the whole canon of this universe is still in a state of flux and is slowly being nailed down. I will create a glossary section at the end of each part, you just have to let me know what you want explained. So review! It makes me tingle! In a good way. I'll shut up now.

--Taylor the Incognito