Cole's flashback...

It felt like he were being lifted and brought to another realm of time he at first did not remember vividly,a long corridor stretched before him and a distance light was peeking out from ahead. Cole blinked blindly,not sure if he saw correctly but hindsight finally found him.This place...he thought ungraspingly.It can't be.Disbelief racked his mind as he tried to make sense of it all.

He hadn't noticed it but he was moving forward and the long slant of light around the bend of the narrow hall was shifting more upon him,all the while thoughts were shooting through his mind.What happened?Was he still in the past?And had the very realistic tradgy he was still trying to get straightened out actual fact?Of all the things in the world he had ever come across,of all the woundings he had seen and even inflicted onto others himself,never had one like this been deeper,been painful.

"Coleton!"A heckled shriek meet his ears as the light casted down from an over hanging corded lamp from the ceiling appraised his eyes but what quickly brought his attention was a small girl with bright auburn-colored hair and watery round green eyes,garbed in normal clothing and in a mid-recoiling sort of position.She looked frightened and was trembling.

"How weak,"Came a young boy's voice and Cole looked down to see a child that was about the girl's age with his back turned to him,as he continued on with an arrogant,browbeating laugh."The Huntsman told me about your kind,those who can't stand up to a challenge.Good thing I've finally met one,so I'll have an idea of what to look for in the future."

A scowl flashed across her pale features."Stupid boy,wait until my dad gets out of having that conference with the Huntsman,"she warned him,clearly using that as her only defense mechanism."Why would I want to join this anyways?It's dumb."

"What makes you think you'd make it?"The younger Cole scoffed back coldly."It takes hours of training each day to become a perfect Huntsclan member.In fact,I slayed my first unicorn last week.In a few years I'll be working the fields alone."

They both watched as the little girl,Angela Cole recalled correctly,turned on her heel and stalked away.The faint weeping noise she emitted made it all real to him and though he'd already figured it must be the Time Travelling device'ss work,Cole didn't hesitate now that he remembered what would happen next and made his way over to the slightly huffing nine-year-old,lowering himself to the boy's height.

"Don't you think that was a little uncalled for,kid?"He inquired cooly,watching the child's small shoulders moving upwards some."She was only asking how you liked it here and I think you should have given her a chance,instead on pulling on her hair."

"She needed to be taught a lesson,"The boy replied defensively,not meeting whom ever had spoken to him."It's disrespectful to just approach someone and not even consider their ranking.I'm almost an apprentice and she hasn't even begun,the weakling."

"Yes,but not everyone has to start at the same time as everyone else to become good at something.Who knows?She may even be near the top of your class one day."Cole told him with a note of implication,knowing for a fact it was the truth.

His carriage ridgified."And just who are you to say these things?"he dared him and turned challenging sable eyes his way."I don't have to listen to anything anyone says besides my uncle.And you,I noticed you haven't stated your ranking yet..."

"Listen to me,"He placed a hand down onto the child's shoulder and said in a firm but steady voice."You have to watch out for yourself and others as well.I have a feeling after this you'll never see me again.Just..."a weary sigh surfaced,as he took in the plucky youngster carefully."Just don't let life get you down.Also,it'd be alot better if you wouldn't get down on others."

A sense of accomplishment washed over him as he saw the younger him seeming to consider what he had just heard.If he could do anything to redeem himself,why not take one random oppurtunity to try and set things right?He hadn't seen his face long enough,Cole decided to himself and rose again.Gazing down upon himself as a child,he saw that his blond and black-tipped hair was a bit unruly,his outfit a bit too big on him for his young age as a trainee.Satisfied,Cole turned to walk away.

"Wretched..."The gratingly familiar voice of his uncle came just as he was out of the circle of light shining down on his younger self."I thought I told you to remain in the classroom until I finished with my meeting."a pause ensued."And WHERE is she?"

"Who?Angela?"A causual voice awnsered him."She left a while ago,Master.I don't know exactly where she went."

"And you didn't watch out for her?"His voice grew hostile."She could get lost."

"I didn't know she didn't know her way back to your office."Cole now spoke with a small quivering too his voice.

The memory of feeling his uncle's rough hand coming down across his face made it nearly manifest into the stinging sensation again and then the few beatings that followed.He would stay very still,very quiet,his eyes glued to the floor as the Huntsman stood over him with one glove removed.An urge to go back and strike him a few good blows almost overcame him and yet he found himself resisting,he had meddled too much in the past already and it was time to return back to the future,to his future.

But he would never forget,nor would he ever share the memories that plagued him still to this day and that was that he had been countlessly abused since he was four years old by the Huntsman into being one of the deadliest humans ever.

The fateful night...

Wendy didn't know if her dragon vision was being deceptive or if she perhaps was dreaming this,as she stood in her human form with tall timbers surrounding her and an abysmal ivory moon that took up much of the clear night sky.But what met her gaze flabbergasted her and yet intrigued her,for before her were three people that were somewhat older then she was,battling it out and what made her breath lock up in her throat was that one person was someone she had seen all her life in a picture she always kept.It was her mother.

I was fighting the Dark Dragon...Common sense rattled her thoughts.How is it even remotely-

She wasn't able to finish her perplexed contemplation as a soft whining noise reached her hearing and made her look over to the side where a large oak tree had it's sturdy roots corded up above ground.The tree itself looked to be accient and it's branches were mostly far up to the top.Curious,Wendy padded over to peer down at two swaddled infants side by side and it stunned her why someone would do such a thing.

"Hey,there."She whispered soothingly,falling to her knees gradually and letting one of them grasp the index finger of her right hand."Who would leave you..."a startling idea caused her to gasp,her mouth to drop.It was her and her brother.

"You fight well,"A young man's voice sounded from over a ways,marked by truthfulness."But not enough to take us both on and win I'm afraid.Were taking your son and that's all there is to it.Stop resisting us."

A woman grunted in fustration,as she shouted in loud,fierce words between breaths."Over my cold,dead body are you taking any of our childern!I don't care if I lose,I don't care how skilled you are.I will fight for the life of my family no matter what the costs and so will the American Dragon.You're going to loose."

Rose's declartion,even if the first part of it was bitterly real,was so beautiful to Wendy that it was only then that the idea of changing the course of what would be her family's fate crossed her mind.Right now,very easily if she took the twins or helped fight the two Huntsmembers,Wendy could save her mother's life,she could save her father from a life of unbearable loss and she could save her brother from being brought up in a horrible place full of lies.She could do it all...and yet,things would be different.Maybe even too much.

Her eyes fell from facing her own infant face,to the one of Cole's.The little boy was napping silently and in no form or fashion knew what was to come.Just like his mother had been,he would be abducted from his family.He would be trained to be a hunter just as she.Suddenly,his tiny ebony eyes popped open and a toothless smile emerged across his face,making her smile back in amusement but what made it vanish was the long dragon birthmark that was on half his arm.

"I can't stop you."

For a moment Wendy thought that her mother was right behind her but when she turned all three had now resumed fighting.Every which way she glanced the path through the forest stretched without a soul that was insight other then the three.Shrugging one shoulder,she was about to look back down on the babies when the voice went on.

"But as your mother I can tell you it isn't a good idea not to learn from your mistakes."

An idea formed and a clutching at her heart weighed her down heavily as she asked in a timid,hushed voice."How can you not want me to prevent this?Don't you want to live life the way it was suppose to be?Growing up,all Daddy would do was talk about all the adventures the two of you had when you were my age and up.Why would you not want more of them?"

"Gwendolyn."Her mother's voice was patient."After this I will never be able to contact you again,so I can only say this now...if you continue to mess around with time like this you're going to ultimately screw things up for good.Everthing is meant to happen for a reason and so did this."she sighed,a sigh that was so faint it sounded like air."I can't be with you the way you want for me to be,not because it's impossible but because I wish it to remain so.You've been told that already."

"Why?"Wendy's dry eyes felt warm and she hated herself for how easily they teared up nowadays."Why don't you want to be here with me so we can do things together like normal mothers and daugthers?Why not be here with your family?"

Arms she could not see embraced her around the shoulders."I am here."a hand touched against Wendy's heart."Everyone who loves you unconditionally saved your life by simply lying their hands down upon you,myself included."

Slowly,the young girl nodded her head."I love you,Mom."she spoke with pained relinquishment in her voice.

"And I you,my light-hearted little angel."Rose replied with playful tenderness."Tell your father I'm sorry."

The tone of her mother's last request sounded oddly that of regret and somehow Wendy knew it was not because Rose had given her life to save them all,it was because she was sorry for putting her husband thorugh fourteen years old heartache.But,Wendy closed her eyes and stepped away solemnly to the other side of the large tree to stay hidden as the two young men were starting to advance up on the infants,to seperate brother and sister from one another.

"You know,"88's voice cut through the darkness."It's too bad Rose betrayed us,she was pretty hot."

"Yeah,hope you didn't hit her too hard.I might just take her with us,brainwash her back into the Huntsclan and we could raise her son together."89 replied wistfully."And as a plus,the Huntsman would respect me."

"Dream on,fool."88 laughed absurdly."Huntsmaster wouldn't respect you if you were the last hunter alive!"

"That could be arranged."A low,cynical female voice said.

As the sounds of terrifed and crying wails from the two men rung out and one of them eventually shouting he had gotten a hold of the marked infant,fast footsteps against the dry earth rushing off caused Wendy to feel at ease.

"Take me home..."she clasped her hands together,saying in a quiet voice."Take me back to my future."

Just as she left her shadowy covering,and only one infant was savaged,a person came from behind one of the many rocks that randomly dotted the straight lined clearing.Without a word,he felt himself returning to 2026.Both accepting of everything that was occuring because of his sister's decision but also knowing he still had his life to figure out.

To Be Continued...

A/N:Next to the last chapter.R/R!

LP