Trës
Jet slowly opened his eyes and sat up from the cold, clear, floor he was laying on. He started when several sets of violet eyes stared vapidly back at him. It took him a moment to realize that they were nothing more than his reflection. He stood up and looked around nervously. The light making the reflections possible was coming from the crystals themselves. Had he not been scared, he would've been wondering how much a hunk of one of those crystals would sell for on the black market. He walked over to one of the walls and stroked its smooth, cool surface.
I wonder, do I feel cold like this too? He closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against the cool, glimmering, crystal. Moments passed and Jet could not find the gumption to move from his spot.
I'm reminded that I'm alive when I'm pressed against this. It's odd, it feels both solid but I keep getting the feeling that it could very quickly turn into a thick, comforting, liquid. Was I born like that?
"..Like a dream?" He murmured, slowly pulling away from the wall and looking around, assessing his situation a bit more closely.
There were no exits, and, hence, no entrances. How he gotten there was a complete mystery to him and he was afraid
If I don't get out of here, I'll die…
that if he didn't find a way out soon, he would be fated to stay there. He slowly walked around the room and knocked on random parts of the wall, hoping that one of them would budge revealing an exit out of this crystalline prison.
Strange, you'd think that I'd be in paradise here. But, all I feel is alone. I want to be with somebody, anybody…
None of the walls budged so he walked back into the middle of the room and sat down, glancing up at the stalactite like ceiling.
What if the ceiling were to fall down on me right now..?
A trick in the light made the glimmering point seem a bit closer.
No..
He closed his eyes and then slowly opened them again, much to his relief, the ceiling stayed at its original spot.
Cool it, Jet; the ceiling ain't going to fall down on you…
His thoughts were slashed with a cold cut of fear as he heard something in the corner of the room screech. He quickly rose to his feet and reached for his weapon, only to discover that it wasn't there.
No.. No, no, NO!
The screech did not falter but instead got louder. Jet stared wide-eyed at his now fractured reflection; the screeching had caused several miniscule fractures to streak across the walls and ceiling. He was no longer safe and he knew it.
Why? Damn it, why!
The floor started to crack and he backed away cautiously as the crack chased him menacingly.
He was just about to scream when the room went dark and he was thrown into the meaningless abyss once again.
"It… fair..! …ound… irst!" came a cracked, distant, voice in the back of the young android's head. He once again opened his eyes, and, instead of coming to in a crystal prison, he was greeted by the sight of luscious, green, grass and brilliant blue skies. After a moment or two of deliberating, he sat up and rubbed his eyes in response to the bright sunlight.
He heard laughter and then a series of catcalls. He was quite sure that there were several kids in the vicinity. He pulled himself to his feet and looked around, his clear eyes absorbing the multitude of colors and light. He was just about to take a step forward when a soft, fuzzy, ball smacked him upside the head. He turned around, irritation now slowly creeping into his pale, soft, features.
"Hey, sorry about that mister!" Squeaked a voice from a little below the other side of the hill. The voice was soon given a face as a boy of around ten years old crested the hill; his long, blond, hair streaking brilliantly behind him like another ray of sunlight. Jet blinked, the boy seemed strangely familiar.
"Can you give me back my ball?" wheezed the young boy, coming to a sliding stop in front of Jet and holding out his small, lean, hand. Jet blinked and handed him the ball that he had caught after it had rebounded off his head.
The little boy smiled and wrapped his hand around the ball as he reached out his other, still shaking, hand toward Jet.
"What's your name, mister?" smiled the little boy sweetly, his hand starting to steady a bit.
"M-my name? It's, um…" Jet's eyes darted nervously back and forth. Should he tell the child?
Will it cause some type of horrible reaction?
"Don't be shy, mister, I'll tell you my name if you want. It's Shane, Shane Caradine.
The answer caused Jet's legs to buckle and he fell down on his rear with a soft thud.
'W-what!" blinked Jet, looking up at the younger version of Shane.
"My name, it's Shane, now you have to tell me yours. It's only fair, after all." smiled the young boy, offering his little hand to the android. Jet glared off the offering hand and stood up on his own.
"My name is Adam, Adam Kadmon…" huffed Jet, looking down at the boy with hooded eyes. Shane backed up a bit and tilted his head to the side skeptically.
"Are you one of them, Adam? Are you one of the "Hopes"?"
Jet blinked to this question, not sure as to how he should answer.
"A-a hope? I don't know if I'd be called hope but…" Shane cut off the rest of his sentence by grabbing his hand, straightening his own head, and closing his eyes, his brow furrowed in concentration.
"Your past is intertwined with the future. From the past, you saw the future and from the future, you reflected on the past. You are, in your essence, a hope for the planet. A song sung out of fear and hope, intertwined. You may not know this, but I know you in another plane. You're known as "Jet" there and you're acquaintances with…" Shane slowly opened his eyes, a frown of concentration on his face.
"Gallows?" finished Jet, slowly taking his hand from Shane's, a look of shock embedded in his semi-dilated eyes. Shane once again closed his eyes and shook his head. "Yes, Gallows, he is here right now but he's not with me. His mind rests somewhere else.
"But why are you here, Shane? You're not dead, are you?" asked Jet, adding the last part after a second of hesitation. Shane laughed to this and shook his head slowly from side to side.
"No, I am not dead. I am simply the past. You see, every second that passes ends up in the great stream of time and is put where it needs to be. Simply put, I am but a memory engrained into the sentience of the planet. The reason you can talk to and interact with me is that you, yourself, are linked to the planet directly. Every breath you take corresponds with the movement of the planet. Little by little, the planet spins, and, at the same time, your heart beats. My brother may not know it yet, but he is destined to do great things. However, his lot in life does not compare to yours. May I show you something?" Concluded Shane, dropping his hands to his side and giving Jet a kind smile.
"Umm, sure…" quipped Jet, watching as the young man did an about face and headed back toward the hill. Jet reluctantly followed, carefully watching the young boy's moves.
If something bad were to happen, chances are he would be the one to start it. I don't think he means me any harm but still…
"Hey, this way, we're almost there!" shouted Shane, indicating the direction he wanted to go with a grand sweep of his arm to the left.
"Where're we going, exactly?" inquired Jet, now a couple of paces behind the now running boy.
"It's a cave that my brother and I found before you came." smiled Shane, looking back at Jet with a grin on his face.
"But, wait a minute, didn't you just say that your brother is not here with you right now?" asked Jet, his mind spinning out empty thoughts like a spinning wheel without thread.
The young man laughed as they came up to a mountain with a small opening in one of its gaping crevices.
"I'm sorry, I meant the Gallows you know. I was told by some strange woman that I should be expecting a visitor so I left Gallows behind to guard our treasure." smiled Shane, ducking down and entering the cave. Jet followed suit and soon they were standing in a spacious, damp, cavern. The air smelled musty and was tinged with the chalky smell of limestone.
"Hey Shane, did you..?" came a voice from the dark recesses of the cave. Jet squinted a bit and watched as one of the shadows began to walk toward him and Shane. For some reason, Jet felt rather protective of Shane and took step in front of him, taking in a deep breath as he did so.
"Did I bring Jet? Yeah, I did, he was there just as the lady said he would be." smiled Shane, waving a bit to the shifting shadows that was supposedly Gallows. Soon, the shadows parted and a lean, young, man stepped into Jet's line of sight. His eyes were still bright blue and the streak in his hair had just stared to form. His hair was, at present, shoulder length and pulled back in a leather tie.
Jet looked over the younger version of his comrade with surprise. His muscle tone, while not as defined as it was as an adult, was still impressive and various scars spoke of many adventures and scuffles.
"That's great, little brother." smiled Gallows, walking up to Shane and putting a strong hand on top of his brother's head. Gallows bowed his head apologetically and tousled his younger brother's hair.
"You must excuse my lil' brother. He's a bit too smart for his britches sometimes." smiled Gallows, lifting his head and locking eyes with Jet.
"Hey, I'm not the one too big for my britches, you are, brother." laughed Shane, pulling away from his elder brother's tousling and punching him lightly on the arm. Gallows shook his head lightly and put his little brother in a loose headlock. Shane squealed with delight and tried to pull away, kicking lightly at Gallows knees and shins.
"Ack! My little brother is abusing me!" whimpered Gallows playfully, releasing Shane from the headlock. Jet couldn't help but smile to this scene and he tried to hide it by burying the lower part of his face into his scarves.
"Hey, Jet, you wanna play with us?" laughed Shane, walking over to Jet and handing him the small ball that he had been hit with earlier. Jet, after a few seconds of pondering, accepted the ball and lifted his smiling face from the scarves.
"Sure, how do you play this silly game?" asked Jet, looking down at the ball for a moment or two and then looking up at the two brothers.
"Well, basically, it's a one sided game. We try to get the ball from Gallows. I know it may sound stupid but it takes quite a bit of strategy to bring him down." laughed Shane, looking affectionately up at his brother.
"Hey, it's not my fault that I fit the bill of "Big Brother" so well! I have you know that I don't try too hard when evading you! You're slow!" laughed Gallows, poking Shane lightly on the arm.
"Slow, is he? Well, Gallows, let's just see how well you do against me!" laughed Jet, throwing the ball at Gallows who caught it easily.
"Ready?" asked Gallows, jogging in place excitedly. Jet nodded and rushed him. Gallows barely dodged Jet's outstretched hands and was about to back- peddle when he tripped over Shane's conveniently outstretched foot.
Gallows let out a whimper of surprise as he fell down on his rump and dropped the ball as he fell. As Jet watched the ball fall, he noted that the ball now had a small dust storm swirling around it. Gallows was about to stand when the ball flashed blue and caused him to fall back with surprise.
"The world… is changing." whispered Shane, as the ball hit the ground soundlessly and continued to glow a simple, tranquil, blue. Jet stumbled forward and dropped to his knees beside the ball, watching as the blue tinged sand storm formed shades from the past. One moment it was that of a smiling Virginia as she looked up at him while yet another was that of an elderly man looking upon him with tender eyes and a crinkled smile.
Elliot?..
Jet reached a trembling hand toward the ball and stroked the face lovingly…
"Papa…".. He whispered, cringing a bit as the visage faded and was replaced by the mocking sneer of Beatrice.
Why did you do it? Why did you destroy what little family I had left? Why could I not have been real?
A firm hand on his shoulder broke his tattered thoughts. He tilted his head to look at the owner of the hand. Instead of seeing a younger Shane or Gallows, he found himself looking at Elliot's kind face.
"Oh, my dear Adam, why do you lament over not being human? Being human only leads one down the path of weakness, pain, and sorrow. Sure, we have our moments of joy, but, ultimately, we meet our demise at the hands of the reaper known as "Time". You swear off affection because it makes you jealous. It makes you feel inferior because you think yourself below that of a human. But, let me tell you something, you are at the very least, on par with humans, if not a bit superior. Stop pushing away those that love you and open your eyes to…" he pointed down to the ball and smiled. His teammates smiled warmly up at him and waved for him to come forward. "What you have. This is not the time to move backwards into despair, it is the time to move forward to the brightness of a heavenly tomorrow. Heaven and Hell are all relative to desire and despair. Keep that in mind, my dear son." And, with that, Elliot faded into the darkness, leaving a teary-eyed Jet gazing at the fading, blue, ball.
"This is my time… but, where do I start? Where? He said to…" murmured Jet, slowly standing up, picking up the now normal ball as he did so.
"Spreading your wings is a start, my friend." came Shane's adult voice from behind him. Jet slowly turned around, the darkness blurring and dancing waveringly before him. There was nothing there but darkness and the smell of dust stirred by the faded shades.
"So, am I all alone?" he asked, looking down at the ball, which was now starting to crumble into dust.
"You're never alone so long as someone believes in and loves you." came Shane's younger voice.
"Does it all… crumble?" whispered Jet as the dust sifted through his outstretched fingers.
"Only if you let it. Wizen up, my friend, there is much more to life than loneliness and regret. You were brought here to make a choice; a choice of whether or not to remain in the past, which is gilded by false glory, or to reclaim your life and move forward with what you have. Ultimately, it is your choice to make; I cannot make it for you." Spoke the older voice of Shane once again.
"But why you? Why did you appear? Why was it not Virginia or Werner?"
The older and younger voices of Shane laughed in unison.
"We've a bit more in common than you think, my friend." said they, their voices blending in perfect unison.
"How's that? I don't recall talking to you very much." quipped Jet, pushing a strand of silver hair behind his ear.
"We both are unsure of who we are. Sure, we are given a purpose in life but we're not sure if that purpose is of our own volition or something that's just shoved upon us by fate. You shoulder the past with quaking shoulders just as I shoulder the future, shaking, upon mine. Jet, if we continue to be uncertain, then we, too, will be controlled by the hands of uncertainty. Sometimes it doesn't hurt to lean on those that lend you a shoulder when you're weary. Open your eyes, now, Jet, and face the future with new eyes and a true heart. That is all I can really tell you." Concluded Shane, his voices starting to untwine and fade. Jet shook his head and sank back to his knees, his legs no longer able to support his shaking body.
Whose fate is this? Is it mine, or is it something Filgaia dreamed up years ago…
He closed his eyes, the years of suppressed sorrow spilling down his face as the cave swayed and then crumbled into itself. He was all in the midst of nothing. A speck in the middle of infinity, and it was up to him to decide which path he would take.