A/N: Good grief…this is a hard and rather boring chapter to write…I'm terrible at explaining the whole thing about time travel theories so that Albel can understand them and you can too. Just so you know…I got my two theories from the Time machine and back to the Future…if that helps to clarify things.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything…except cute little Albel. XD

After the younger Albel was securely locked up in a room at the inn, Fayt went down the hall to talk to Maria using the communicator. Albel stood outside the room's door, rolling his eyes as the child cursed and banged on the door loudly.

Albel eyed Fayt wearily as he returned. 'Well?"

Fayt sighed heavily. "I got both Maria and Mirage to weigh in on the situation. I can't make heads or tails out of it. I don't know what to think."

"What did they say?" Albel demanded.

"They disagree with each other almost completely," Fayt said helplessly. "I don't know who to believe."

"That should be relatively simple," Albel retorted. "Choose the wench that is the most reliable and get on with it."

Fayt hesitated, a stricken look on his face.

'Of course," Albel muttered sarcastically. "You trust both of them equally and don't want to hurt anyone's feelings by choosing someone over them. Bah. All that emotional rubbish. Alright, let me hear their ideas and I'll decide what's the most believable."

Fayt settled onto the floor in front of the door next to Albel, who reluctantly sat down as well. "Maria believes that the kid can't possible be you, because if that were so, it would interrupt the fabric of the space-time continuum."

"What?" Albel growled.

"it means you'd cease to exist," Fayt said gently. "If the child came to our time from the past, he'd see an alternate present, without you. It'd be like you vanished at whatever age the child is and he would be you."

"So if that brat was actually me from the past, I'd have to vanish in the present so he couldn't see me?"

"No, the you now would have never existed. You would have never grown up. There can't be two of you existing at the same time."

"That doesn't make sense,' Albel growled.

Fayt sighed patiently. "If the you as a child left his time to come to ours, there would be no young Albel left in his time…and if there is no young Albel, there can be no adult Albel. So, when he comes to our time, he finds a changed time, what our world would be like if you had never lived past nine years old or so. But when he goes back to his own time, he'll be able to grow up and you'll exist again."

"Well, obviously I exist now," Albel said acidly.

"Yes," Fayt said cautiously. "So that brings us to Mirage's theory. She believes it's possible for a pas you to travel through time and be able to see the present you, but any future technology or people the child sees will affect your past, so we've got to be careful or our whole world will change."

Albel scowled. "What difference would it make if that brat sees a little bit from the future? He doesn't seem all that changed."

"Albel, what if your younger self went back to the past believing in aliens and time travel?' Fayt asked sternly. "They might completely discredit you and prevent you from becoming a soldier. What would have happened if you weren't taking part in the war?"

"What would have happened if I never…" Albel whispered, glancing down contemplatively at his mechanical arm.

"No," Fayt said firmly. "We are not trying to change the past. Who knows what it'll do? We might think it was just an innocent little change and it could all end in calamity."

"Nothing is changed so far," Albel said irritably. "All this worry over nothing."

"Maybe the change isn't noticeable, or maybe we don't know things have changed because we've changed too."

"Or maybe things won't changed until the brat gets back to his own time," Albel snapped.

"Time is always changing…unless," Fayt stopped and smiled suddenly. "We combine the two theories. Little Albel gets taken from his time and time stops so you can exist as an adult and he doesn't exist in his time, at the moment. Brilliant, Albel!"

Albel frowned and muttered mutinously, not used to receiving so much praise. "Well, if you've settled whether he exists, let's move onto how he got here and how to send him back."

Fayt hesitated, his enthusiasm fading. "Maria and Mirage both said you'd need some kind of time machine to travel through time, but they don't think such things exist. At least they agreed on that point."

"Wonderful," Albel muttered savagely. "And even if they exist, we don't have one."

Fayt looked hurt. "Don't be angry at me. I didn't bring him here."

"I know you didn't fool. But none of you maggots with all your wonderful technology knows how to send a snotty brat home."

Fayt sighed. "I'm afraid not. We'll just have to deal with him for now."

"I can hear you thickheads babbling on about me out there," the child shrieked.

Fayt sighed, suddenly struck by how archaic Albel's speech used to be until he met Fayt and his group.

"You be quiet in there or I'll let you starve," Albel shouted through the door.

The child let out a huge string of curses that Albel seemed to recognize. He laughed. "Is that the best you can do, brat?"

The young Albel, enraged by his adult's taunts started screaming more curse words at Albel that was interrupted by a loud crashing sound like furniture being overturned.

"If you destroy that room, I'll take ever little scratch out on you miserable little body,' Albel bellowed.

"It wasn't my fault," the child protested. "It was him."

Albel and Fayt looked at each other. "I assure you I never had imaginary friends," Albel spat.

"He's not imaginary," the child howled. "He's' right here."

"There's' no one in that room except you."

"Yes there is! He's right here. He's an alien. He fell out of the sky and knocked over the table."

'Don't make excuses for your handiwork, brat," Albel growled.

"I'm not, get in here and see for yourself, or are you too much of a coward?' little Albel snapped.

A small cry that sounded nothing like the younger version of Albel issued form the room. "See, that was him," little Albel said triumphantly.

"Maybe we better have a look," Fayt said quietly.

"Don't believe all his rubbish," Albel snorted. "He just wants to get out of there."

"But what if he's telling the truth? Besides, you can always catch him again, right?"

"Of course I can catch that miserable excuse for a brat, but-"

"Good, then it's settled," Fayt said briskly. "You go in and check up on him and catch him if he tries to sneak out."

"Alright," Albel groused. "Move aside, brat," he called in through the door. "I'm coming in."

Albel opened the door just widely enough for him to squeeze through, entered the room and closed the door behind him so his younger self wouldn't run out.

There was absolute silence for a few minutes and Fayt was starting to get worried. Finally, Albel said, "Fayt, you better come have a look."

The quiet way in which Albel said it unnerved Fayt. He quickly opened the door. Little Albel was lounging on the bed with a bored look on his face. Albel was standing in the middle of the room, staring in shock at a small figure huddled on the floor. He was still sniffling because of the blow little Albel had dealt him earlier and the adult Albel's appearance made him even more upset.

Fayt walked closer and the child stared up at him, innocent green eyes look slightly hopeful.

"Good lord," Fayt whispered. "It's me."