Iniora: See Author's notice at end.
Gateway Future
Time That Stood Still
They both looked down upon the black stealth jet that had hobbled back into his master's heart begging for a merciful end to his failure with eyes that echoed a similar taste of disgust. He was unconscious now, standing in what the greater of the two watchers had called a 'Regeneration Status Pod'. There was something in his eyes that, despite the fact they were a deep dark silver in their inactive status, held a rekindled flame of disobedience and disloyalty to his master. Something in his comrade's pet had been awakened and this something was a power that could not be dealt with, that much he was sure of.
"Unicron," the Invader Commander began dryly.
"Yes, Commander?" Unicron answered. The Invader could tell that he too had seen the change in his pet just by listening to the disgust in his voice.
"Your pet has outlived his usefulness to our cause,"
"Agreed. However, there is one last task he can accomplish for us. The human Gate Keeper, the one with the duel gates?" The Invader Commander flinched at the very notion of the child.
"Yes, what of Erin Topaz?"
Unicron seemed taken aback as he voiced the shocked question, "You know her name?"
"That detail is of little importance. How shall your pet's final act unfold in a useful manor to us?" the Commander demanded. Unicron cleared his vocal transmitters before continuing on with his plan.
A dark smirk crossed the thin line that served as the Commander's lips as Unicron explained his plan in detail. This dark smirk, once small, began to spread into a demonic smile that stretched from ear to ear when the final echoes of the pet's last waltz echoed through his hearing.
Where was he? Voice echoed around his head, unfamiliar distant voices. One soft boy's voice let out a squeak of laughter directly above him. A second more demanding voice answered the squeak. He knew it wasn't his own voice that had answered the question. Instinct began to direct his motions, forcing him to sit up and open his eyes. The source of the squeak, a small boy with light black hair and brilliant blue eyes, blinked in his vision in a confused manor.
"Sis!" the boy shouted back behind him, kindly turning his head before shouting in his ear, "Sis, his eyes are blood red!"
"Huh? What are you talking about, Teno?" a second stronger feminine voice question in confusion. The boy's face was replaced by a tall young woman with flowing electric blue hair that fell down around the center of her chest over her right ear in a flowing brad. Her own eyes were a soft heaven blue color and matched the younger boy's almost perfectly. "Wow, they are. Good morning, stranger."
"...Are you an angel?..." he whispered on instinct alone. The woman blinked, before lifting her head up and letting out a roar of laughter.
"Hell no! I'm more of a devil than an angel!" She turned to look at the boy who was off in the background and barked, "Don't just stand there, Teno! Go tell mom and dad the guy's up and he's got cool looking eyes!"
"But I want to talk to him too, Terin!" Teno huffed.
Small leather-clad feet pounded against solid oak while tight black jeans shifted against a linen black long sleeved thin waterproof-looking jacket. Underneath the jacket was a white plain t-shirt spotted with two tiny flecks of red and brown. He looked over at Teno once he was sitting upright in the soft feather bed, then looked blankly at the young woman whom he had mistaken for an angel. She was dressed in a similar black tank top with a black waterproof-looking jacket hanging loosely over her shoulders. The sleeves were shorter than normal, however due to the way the jacket hung, exposing the straps of her tanktop and her whole neck to the tops of her shoulders, a normal person couldn't tell how long the sleeves really were at first glance. She had fingerless silver biker gloves over her hands that made soft rustling noses whenever they brushed against her silver jeans.
"Oh shush and go get the folks!" the girl, Terin, huffed back at the younger boy. He looked between Terin and Teno and finally asked a question that had surfaced in his mind several times already.
"...Um...Excuse me... Do you...know who I am?"
Blaze sat quietly outside of the small farmhouse. He was hidden behind a vale of shadowed moonlight so well that only a Shinobi of Swords' caliber could have spotted him. He saw his friend dressed in regular civilian's cloths – a black t-shirt, black jeans, and he could only guess tennis shoes with a tight blood red string of bandages wrapped around his black speckled red head of hair – speaking with the adults of the household.
He saw every word that was spoken between the group. An internal debate began between his wanting to swoop in and retrieve his friend and a more pressing urge to leave him to a chance to live peacefully. Finally, Blaze let his consciousness direct him away from the small farming community back towards Ocean City, over forty miles away from his current location.
Erin was bound to be having a field day worrying about what had happened to the duo. Blaze, however, took his time. Looking up at the stars, he guess that if he kept up his snail's pace, he'd be back by sunrise. Perfect. The madder Erin was, the better his mood would be. He needed to get into a good brawl or two right then, if only to cool his anger at himself for allowing such a mentally fractured enemy to escape, and at the cost of Swords' memories as well.
"Damned idiot... You better not get killed while you're on vacation..."
There was a rather strong stench of extreme worry mixed with anger, frustration, and furry that echoed through the halls of Ocean City in an almost tangible aura. Hot Shot was dead silent at the report the now found and treated Blaze had delivered to the same group he had been venting his anger to before.
"I suppose then," Erin began with a surprisingly joyful tone of voice, "That if anything, we should mark up two good things about the past battle."
"Good things? Good things!" Hot Shot almost snapped.
"Yes, good things. One – Swords isn't dead and he isn't going to be caught up in these sorts of deadly battles anymore. Two – we know Starscream still has his memories; they've simply been locked away by an Invader component." Erin explained gently. Hot Shot looked at her blankly for a few minutes, before finally asking,
"An Invader component? What the hell is an Invader component!" Before Erin could answer, a voice that some had feared never to hear again answered for her.
"An Invader is an alien life form that seeks to populate earth and wipe out the human race. An Invader component is a small piece of Invader technology that is specified to one specific job in a larger Invader machine." Rick's voice answered from the entrance. Everyone turned to face him with eyes and optics a mix of glee and worry, or in a mix of confusion as was Blaze's reaction. Kicker was supporting his twin slightly on one side, with Ironhide providing a giant combination backdrop and safety net in case Rick began to feel faint and fall again.
"How the hell do you know that?" Blaze demanded. In answer, Rick tapped his temple lightly with his right hand.
"There're bonuses to have a dragon's consciousness sleeping in the back of your head. One of 'em just happens to be that he fills yah in on stuff like why Kicker and the others have to wear those sometimes fashion-challenged bracelets." Rick explained, smirking.
"Rick, I'm glad to see that you're awake." Optimus smiled.
"Yeah. For a while there, some of us were thinkin' you'd never snap out of it." Jet Fire echoed. Rick let out a light laugh and thumbed over to his twin, laughing,
"With this annoying twin hanging on me twenty-four seven? How could I not have snapped out of it?"
"Hey!" Kicker laughed, grabbing his twin in a headlock, "I don't know if I should say thanks or no fare!" Blaze remained deafly silent.
"Did you say... a dragon?" The question was so soft hardly anyone could hear it.
"Yeah. Turns out I've got the Gate of Spirits, and a kick-butt black dragon to boot." Rick answered calmly. Blaze stood from his seat at the medical table without word or emotion. He walked calmly past Rick and whispered,
"Don't let your guard down around the beast your Gate creates even for a second. If you do, you might lose your mind to it – or worse, you might lose your soul."
"Blaze! You don't have to scare him back into shock!" Erin reprimanded.
"I was only telling him of the truth. Not every Gate Keeper is as fortunate as you to have Gates that keep each other in balance." Blaze countered. He left the room before Erin could counter his statement, leaving her to sigh,
"Sometimes that Shinobi really ticks me off..."
There was unusual silence from the Shinobi instructor, which normally meant one of her famous pop-tests was on the way. She stood hiding just within the light of the door, her arms crossed, her body relaxed in tentative silence.
Flowing raven hair dotted with robin's egg blue spots of color spiraled down in a tight, controlled braid to the center of her back. The trademark flowing black trench coat hid both the assortment of randomized Gate-born weaponry and a simple grey tank top and jeans from view. Shades as black as a raven's wing hid her eyes constantly, leaving only the daring to guess what gems lay hidden behind darkness's veil.
"Um... Lady Twin...?"
Twin, as she was known as around the Western Base, looked up towards the daring lower-class Shinobi trainee. Said trainee gulped, loosing his nerve.
Twin stood up from her slouched position against the wall, smiling warmly at what was once a brave young boy.
"Sorry – daydreaming. Back to the lesson; Gatekeeper of Guardianship, I believe it was your turn to be on the offensive."
Erin lifted her head slightly, looking up at the midnight sky. Blood red stars sparkled in warning of possible death, of bloodshed. She pushed the small, well written note tightly against her heart, almost as if afraid to loose it.
She knew what was going to happen if she did what was asked of her. How many years had see been running from it? From what other people considered perfection? Now that she'd found something so close to peace, her gift, her curse, was about to break it apart. She'd tried running. That'd worked so well. Not.
Soft, almost pleading beeps echoed behind her. She smiled softly in the midnight wind, almost laughing at some secrete pain.
"Alright," she turned to face the small F-1 racer behind her, "Here's what we've got to do."
The Commander snapped to his feet, his fist clenching the formal request tightly, squishing it into dust.
"You want to what!"
Twin leaned against the open morning sun, looking out into the still rosy afternoon light as if she hadn't a care in the world.
"I want," she repeated as if this were the hundredth repetition of her sentence this hour, "To track down Erin Topaz and our two missing Shinobi, Blaze and Swords."
"It's suicide, even for you!" the Commander boomed. Twin tipped her head towards him, shaking her head in a mock-scolding manner and smirking teasingly,
"Joseph, Joseph, Joseph. If there's one thing I should have taught you, it's that I, more often times than not, know what I'm getting into."
"But Twin..." the Commander's voice reached a squeak of protest, which died to the tinniest gurgle of a complaint when Twin raised her hand for silence.
"I've decided to stop running, and I think it's time you did to. Shinobi Section Commander Joseph Gia Gigues, I think it's time to brush off Ye Old Horn o War, don't you?"
The Commander slowly sank down into his chair, his once billowing concern deflating, leaving him with nothing to stand on but hard oak floor. He unwrinkled the notice of reassignment slowly, painstakingly, pushing out every last crinkle he could find.
"Very well then, Twin; but you know the Hi-Commander's not going to like this." Joseph sighed, slowly sweeping his signature and seal across the bottom of the page.
"Good," Joseph pinned her with a death glare. She turned her back to him, smile hidden under layers of shadow.
"Chaos, Joseph. Chaos is what keeps order in balance. This place has too much order and not enough Chaos."
I've bought us some time, but not enough. I'll be there soon.
Plots are burning within plots. Devils are planning. The world is near its breaking point. There is far too much order where there should be Chaos.
Sleep, little one. The world shall not end before you do.
For how much longer must my puppets go unchecked?
Sleep. All is well tonight.
But how long will it last?
How long...?
Iniora: This is it, folks. Gateway Future ends here and now. How long before a sequel, some might be asking? Don't know. There are shadows still hiding, a mystery folding around this new Twin lady. Swords is out cold while Erin is trying to safe Starscream's life.
To be honest, I have no clue if I will ever pick this story up again. However, know this. For now and until I make a sequel, this story is fin.
OFFICIAL END OF GATEWAY FUTURE