Sorry this chapter took so long. I've had all kinds of drama to deal with…school stuff, work stuff, kid stuff, and a death in the family…sometimes life just knocks you down so hard you don't wanna get back up, but get back up I have…I hope…
James and his brothers sat around the dining table along with Jordan and Benjamin. After having dealt with Shelina and Sarah, they all decided to rest a little before tackling the overwhelming task of cleaning up.
"Well," James said, "we did it again."
"Not we," Matthew said, pointing at Jordan, "him."
"I can't take all the credit, Uncle Matt," Jordan said bashfully.
"One thing's still bothering me," Wesley noted, scratching his chin. "Before, you told us that Sarah could control you with her power of persuasion. Why didn't it work this time?"
"I think I can answer that," Benjamin said. "I knew that if I could stay close enough to Sarah, I'd be able to channel some of her powers through me, so while she was using her persuasion powers, so was I."
"Interesting," Matthew said.
"At any rate," Benjamin said, "I really don't know how to thank you guys enough for helping me. There's no way to show how much I appreciate it."
"Money talks," Wesley mumbled under his breath. He smirked to himself, but James heard him and smacked him on the back of the head. "Oww!"
"We're just doing our job," Matthew said. "We should go and check the MENSA building to see about the trapped souls, though."
"Don't worry about that," Benjamin said, standing up. "I'll do it. Besides, I need to swing by there anyway. I'll keep in touch, and Matt, why don't you stop by MENSA sometime. You seem intelligent enough."
"Seriously?" Matthew asked. "I mean, of course I knew I was smart, but MENSA smart? I guess it makes sense."
"C'mon," Wesley said, stopping the conversation. "I'm just as smart as you, Matt. Why don't we both take an IQ test and see?"
"Me too," James said, not wanting to be left out.
No one said anything for a short moment. Then everyone burst into laughter, everyone that is, except for James, who seemed to not know what was so funny. Benjamin walked around and shook each of the brothers' hands. He looked at Jordan, who looked back at him expressionless. Jordan slowly extended his hand and Benjamin met him halfway. Though neither one of them spoke a word at that time, they both knew that everything was going to be okay between them.
"We should get started cleaning up," Matthew said, standing up as well. "This mess isn't gonna clean itself."
"I saw a spell in the Book," Wesley suggested, immediately covering his head.
"What was so funny?" James asked cluelessly as they all walked Benjamin to the door.
When he left, Jordan walked over to the staircase and leaned against the rail, exhaling deeply. In the past few days, everything had happened so quickly that he never had much time to take everything in and realize what was going on. In just a few short days, Jordan had almost died, gone back in time, seen his family in their younger days, and vanquished the girl he once loved. His father and uncles joined him.
"I guess it's time for me to go," Jordan sighed. "I've done what I came back to do."
"You changed your future," Matthew said. "That's a pretty big deal."
"I'd say so," Wesley said. "Do you know what you're even going back to?"
"Hopefully a future where my family exists," Jordan said.
"Well," James said before stopping for a moment to control his emotions, "if you ever need anything, we're just a…couple decades away."
"Right," Matthew stretched out the word, staring strangely at James.
"Don't be a stranger," Wesley said, shaking Jordan's hand and pulling him into a hug.
"Tell us we said hello," Matthew said, shaking Jordan's hand firmly and patting him on the back.
"I'm uh," James said uneasily, "glad that you came here. It's been…great."
"Thanks Dad," Jordan said, hugging his father. James ruffled his hair. "I better go before you start crying. I knew you were tough, but in my future you got a lot softer for some reason."
"Is that so?" Wesley teased.
"That's one thing that's definitely gonna change," James said, inflating himself and flexing his arms. "Nothing can soften me up."
"Right, Dad," Jordan said, walking into the middle of the room. "Uncle Wes, Uncle Matt, take care."
Jordan picked up the Book of Light from the floor and turned to the page he needed. He took a deep breath and recited the spell:
"I call upon the magical White line,
Send me forth through space and time.
Return me now to whence I came
For in the past I can no longer remain."
A burst of white light emerged from the Book and swirled around Jordan. Just as it was before, when he was traveling from the past, the light seemed to not be strong enough alone. Suddenly, a larger white light pulled itself from each of the three brothers. The three orbs of light danced around the room before combining with the smaller one, creating a powerful blast of light that claimed Jordan in an instant. The Book of Light fell to the floor as James hid his tears from his brothers.
Chyp woke up groggily. His head throbbed relentlessly and he felt physically exhausted, too exhausted to glimmer away. Yet he felt almost no pain at all. He slowly looked around and took in his surroundings. Wherever he was, it was not the brothers' house, nor was it where all the other Guardians resided. This place exuded no kind of aura at all. It wasn't evil, but it wasn't good either. It just was. Everywhere he looked, he saw nothing but grayness and haze. The bleakness stretched out endlessly in every direction.
The sound of footsteps caught his attention. A figure walked slowly and quietly toward him. The mysterious person was well concealed, showing no facial features whatsoever. Chyp was very confused. Why had he been brought to where he was? And who was this strange person approaching him? He did not sense anything dangerous about the person, and at the same time he could sense anything at all from the person. His innate empathetic ability seemed to be failing him.
"This is Limbo," the person said to Chyp. "It is a between place for everything."
"Limbo," Chyp repeated, thinking carefully. He had been a Guardian for quite a long time, yet had never seen Limbo. "Why are we here? Who are you? I cannot sense anything from you."
"It's the power of Limbo," the person said, revealing herself to be Sam. "I brought you here to ask a favor of you."
"The previous Guardian of the Complete," Chyp said, instantly recognizing her. "I don't understand what you need from me. The Superiors told me everything I needed to know about the brothers. As we speak now, their memories of you are being erased."
"That's my favor," Sam pleaded, her eyes glistening with hope. "You can get them to remember me."
"My power is nothing compared to the Superiors," Chyp stated. "Besides, I don't think that is such a wise thing to do."
"I know you can't actually restore their memories," Sam said, "but you can tell them about me. I'm…not allowed…to see Jimmy anymore. I can't see any of them or else I'll be stripped of my powers. Seeing Jordan, seeing my son, it made me realize that I am destined to do something great. It proves that what Jimmy and I have is something that is stronger than any of the Superiors."
"What does your love have to do with me?" Chyp asked.
"You can talk to the Superiors," Sam said. "Appeal to them on my behalf. I know that deep down, you understand me. Please!"
"I," Chyp began hesitantly, "I don't know what to say. This is a very difficult decision you've given me."
"I know," Sam said, "and I'm sorry for that. You have been a Guardian for longer than anyone I know, and if anyone has any sway over the Superiors, it's you."
"And that's why you brought me here," Chyp said, putting the pieces together. "No one can be tracked in Limbo, so you knew you would be out of earshot of the Superiors."
"Yes," Sam said. "I didn't know what else to do."
A very long silence passed between the two. Sam only looked at Chyp with mixed emotions. Would he agree to help her, or would he walk away? Chyp, spent the time thinking carefully about the choice he was to make. The wrong decision could potentially end his career as a Guardian and render him completely powerless and destitute. He paid no attention to Sam; his entire focus was on making a choice.
"You present a good case," Chyp said after a long time, "but after considering things, you cannot put your job as a Guardian behind a relationship with one witch, regardless of who he is. You cannot put the one before the many. We serve the greater good. You know that. I do sympathize with you, Samantha, but you need to reevaluate your status as a Guardian."
Chyp gave her a compassionate look and gathered enough strength to glimmer away. He disappeared in a myriad of white lights, leaving Sam behind to think about what he said.
And that's the end of this story…finally! I know I've strung it out for a lot longer than I should've, and for that I apologize. It will take me a while to get the next story up, but as I always say, don't forget about me!