A/N: Emel is pronounced Eh mel. I forgot to give you guys brownies last time…-leaves brownies- munch on those as you read…
"Thanks for the hospitality," Bobby said, rising from the chair.
"Anytime, Bobby," Raux said. "You and Saangi are welcome here anytime, as well as everyone else."
"Same to you," Bobby said, and he embraced Rose. He followed the married couple out the door and back out into the open. As he walked through the city and back towards the cliff, he glanced around at the city and it's surroundings, noticing many things he hadn't before, like that a humongous cliff towered over the city. Anyone capable of climbing to the top of the cliff would be able to chip off some of the rock and destroy the city below…
A plan to rid himself of the memories was slowly forming in his head. Bobby grinned. Everything would work out perfectly…
Bobby stepped closer to the flume and stared inside. Could he possibly meet Emel again inside the flume? Only time would tell, so Bobby stepped closer into the flume.
"Second Earth!" he yelled. The calming melody began, and Bobby was whisked off of his feet and into the crystal tunnel. The music was the same unfamiliar tune it usually was, and when Bobby came to the spot where he thought he had stopped before, he began to try to stop again.
"Stop!" he yelled, but he continued moving through the flume at a steady pace. He tried grabbing onto the walls, but that also didn't work. Finally, he tried something very simple: leaning forward, something he had never tried before on a flume ride. After all, why walk through a tunnel going through time and space when you can float going through a tunnel going through time and space?
Bobby landed on his feet, and looked around. The music had picked up speed a small bit. To his left was just a regular crystal wall, but on his right he could barely see a small opening. He crept towards it, and when he reached the area, he realized it was a corridor. Bobby stepped inside. The walls were also made of crystal. It was a small corridor, and if the others were walking with him, they would have to walk in a single file line instead of side by side.
Bobby walked through the tunnel, the flume music still playing as if speakers were hidden in the walls. After about five minutes of walking north, Bobby came to a staircase, also crystal. He began the climb upwards, and soon arrived at a cliff. If he was to fall off, Bobby would fall into the clouds. Note to self: don't fall off. Bobby was amazed at the sight of the clouds from so high up. Bobby wondered what was below him.
He leaned against the wall, and felt some kind of bump on the regularly smooth as silk crystal wall. He stood upright, and stared at the bump. It appeared to be some kind of symbol written on the wall. Bobby watched, amazed, as the symbols began to shift and form themselves into letters, and soon a word. It now read:
Exem
The word meant nothing to him. Happy about his discovery, Bobby traveled back down the staircase and through the corridor and back into the main tunnel of the flume. He was picked back up off his feet and he began to float back to Second Earth.
Bobby was mystified about the fact that the flume had back tunnels. But deep down, he wasn't so surprised. The flume was probably one of the most mysterious things about the Travelers and their duties to protect Halla from Saint Dane.
At that moment, Bobby arrived back on Second Earth. He stepped out of the flume, and the magical music faded back into the now craggy rock tunnel. Bobby walked out of the Sherwood house and back into Stony Brook. He rode his bike back to his home, where he was greeted by Saangi with a kiss on the cheek.
"Did you find anything out?" Saangi asked.
"About the dreams, no," Bobby said. "But something did happen."
"What happened?" Saangi asked.
"As I was riding the flume," Bobby started. "The music picked up pace and suddenly the ride stopped and I fell to the floor, and that strange girl that was controlling the Quigs appeared from the side of the flume and then disappeared."
"Weird," Saangi said.
"Yeah," Bobby agreed. "But it gets stranger. After going to Ibara, I was riding the flume back, and I stopped the flume on my own. Then I discovered a corridor leading to a staircase. The staircase leads to a ledge looking out on the sky. You can see clouds, and the sun, and it's really amazing. But there was a word written on the wall." Bobby searched his mind for the word that meant nothing for him. "It was uh…Emel," he said finally after about five minutes of thinking.
"Emel…" Saangi said, thinking. "Doesn't ring any bells."
"Exactly," Bobby said, collapsing onto the couch. "This is all so confusing and messed up. I wish this would all just…end. I was enjoying the time I had alone with you."
"Bobby," Saangi said. "I'll help you for this. But after this, can you promise me that we'll end this Traveler thing for good? Maybe have a kid or two?"
"Absolutely," Bobby said. "After this, it's over for good."
The Saint sighed a heavy sigh. This voice inside him was starting to really get on his nerves. He felt like he now had no control over his body or his life. More than once he had found himself blacking out and waking up somewhere completely different than where he had remembered fainting.
Damn voice, the Saint thought. He stared down at his arm, at the two illegible letters that entwined between themselves, and the lines that followed after it all the way up his arm and slightly onto his shoulder and chest. What did I get myself into? he thought.
"Hello," said a voice coming from inside the Saint's body and echoing all around his mind.
"You," the Saint said, appearing as if he was speaking to no one. He was lucky his wife was out shopping in the city like usual. "What do you want with me? Why have I been passing out constantly?"
"Everything will be explained with time," the voice said. "For now, I have come to warn you of the future."
"Future?" the Saint exclaimed. "What's going to happen? Is it bad?"
"Yes," the voice said, the perfect voice now sounded emotional and sad. "It could end up changing all of Halla if you let this event happen." This was getting more interesting by the second.
"Continue," the Saint said, anxious to hear what he would have to stop.
"Two people, one of them a Traveler are planning on destroying you home territory of Ibara at this moment."
"Destroying…Ibara?" the Saint said, dumbfounded. Who could want to destroy this place? It was the second most populated territory, second to the three Earth territories. This place was too large to destroy anyways. It wasn't possible. The Saint smiled. "That's impossible. Ibara is too big to destroy. You're just messing with my head, I know it."
"Believe what you want," the voice said. "Don't blame me when they come here to find you unprepared and millions end up dead."
"Who the hell are you, anyways?" the Saint asked. "And why the hell are you in my head? Why are you telling me all of this?"
"I've been called many things." the voice replied coolly. "But you're special, and you can call me Edae. I grew up on Ibara. I'm in your head because I'm concerned about this wonderful placed and I'm telling you all of this because I can do nothing about the troubles of this place and I care about it." The voice…Edae…sounded sincere enough for the Saint to believe what he was saying.
"All right," the Saint agreed finally. "You've got me hooked. Who do I need to look for?"
"A boy and a girl. That's all that I can see at this point."
"Thanks," the Saint replied.
"No problem" the voice replied. "Until next time…" the voice faded into the back of the Saint's head and he prepared himself for the two visitors that would be coming soon to destroy his home.
Bobby pulled Saangi's car into the parking lot of one of Stony Brook's busiest restaurants, Roberts Ribs. He parked the car and opened the door for Saangi, and they proceeded towards the door. Spader and Serenity were already inside getting a table.
"Hey guys," Bobby said, pulling out a chair for Saangi and then sitting himself down. "Long time no see,"
"Yeah, Pendragon," Spader said, sitting down and leaning across the small table to shake Bobby's hand as the two girls hugged. "So," Spader said, taking a sip of his Pepsi. "What did you call us here for, Pendragon? You finally get that promotion you've been wanting at your uncle Press's old technology company?" (There's the answer to your question of Bobby's job, Rich.)
"No, it's not that good of news actually." Bobby said. At that moment, the waiter arrived and the group placed their orders. After the waiter had left, Bobby continued.
"Dang, it's never good news, is it?" Spader said with a heavy sigh. "First I get fired from Burger King for yelling at a customer because he dropped his burger on the ground and I wouldn't give him a new one, and now you have more bad news."
Bobby snickered. "Lost another job, eh, Spader? That's too bad. Anyways, I think that Saint Dane is coming back. This weird girl named Emel now controls the Quigs and I think she made some kind of new tunnel in the flume too." Bobby continued on with the story, watching Spader's expression as he learned of what was happening in Halla.
"YES! ADVENTURE!" Spader practically screamed when Bobby finished. Many other customers stared at the table in the corner where a man was standing up, screaming and punching the air with his fists in excitement. Spader grinned stupidly and said "Uh…lovely weather, isn't it?" and sat down quickly.
"Nice goin, Spader." Serenity said with a smile.
"Thanks, Serenity," Spader said, and then the food arrived. The rest of the meal passed in silence. Or, as silent as you can be when you're eating BBQ Ribs and you're with the man with the bottomless stomach, Vo Spader. The group broke up and headed back home. Spader had to work the night shift at the grocery store tonight, so he needed a little sleep before that.
Bobby pulled the car into the driveway and stepped out. He opened the door to his home and stepped in, placing his keys on a hook. No one had called or left a message, so Bobby turned on the TV to Lost, one of his favorite shows. Randomly, the show cut to an unexpected stop and the screen was replaced by the face of a woman from the news crew.
"We're sorry to interrupt the show folks," the woman said. "But we have breaking news. A woman has appeared in town. She appears to be normal but has strange monsters at her command. These monsters, and the girl are lethal. Five people have already been killed tonight alone. If you are approached by this woman, please call this number and help will come." A number flashed across the screen, and a picture of this mysterious woman appeared on the screen. It was Emel.
"What the hell," Bobby said. "This is all messed up."
Suddenly, the front door was blown down. Bobby jumped off the coach, checked to see that Saangi was ok in the kitchen, and grabbed the hand gun from the drawer. Emel emerged from the dust, four Quigs at her side.
"I'm not here to hurt you, Pendragon." Emel said, brushing a strand of dark hair out of her eyes.
"Oh really?" Bobby said, cocking the gun. "Then why do you have Quigs here?"
"The Quigs are only here if things get out of hand." Emel explained. "I'm actually here to ask for your help, Bobby Pendragon."
"Help?" Bobby said. "What could you possibly need my help for? You're a murderer! You're on the news as a lethal criminal!" Emel smiled.
"One day, Pendragon, when you have a goal, you'll know you must do what you have to do to achieve it." she paused. "But anyways, I need you help to help me destroy the territory of Ibara."
A/N: WOW. You guys have no idea how happy your reviews made me last chapter. Nothing but compliments. This story must be pretty good. shrugs Anyways, I cannot thank you guys enough for reviewing…13 reviews already. That's a lot. Now thanks to those reviewers: Inu.Rox, PotatoPuff, Lady Pendragon, Uchiha James, Rich, and beliver07747. -leaves brownies- Hope you liked the chapter. I'll update again maybe next week or something.
