Kiri: Yay, chapter 6! back in Ravan's pov. Some interesting information becomes known in this chapter, and it took a long time of staring at the compy screen and daydreaming to come up with it all.

Ravan: Well aren't you proud?

Kiri: yes, I am very proud... hey, Ravey! You're back!

Ravan:... never call me that again.

Kiri: You can deal with it.

Ravan: And I don't like the fact that I was stabbed in the last chapter by the Dark Prince, either!

Kiri: You'll get over it. Now get back in the story.

Chapter Six

It's strange to say this, but I was hurt that Erik had betrayed me. I know I said that I never trusted him in the first place, but for some reason, the emotional pain of it all stung horribly. Maybe even worse than when he drove the dagger through my stomach. But as I slowly sank to the bottom of the water, some strange things began to happen. First, there was nothing. No sensations, no light, no sound, or anything. It was all darkness. I thought I was dying at first, but a kind, gentle voice suddenly began speaking to me. And for once, since Babylon had been destroyed, I felt at peace.

I felt strange. I was emerging out of the dark abyss I thought was death into this weird blue light. I couldn't even feel the pain from where Erik had stabbed me anymore. Come to think of it, I couldn't feel much at all. For a moment, I thought I could breathe again, when I realized I wasn't. I didn't even need to breathe. Maybe I was dead and this was heaven… maybe I could see my parents again.

It was really weird when I discovered that my eyes weren't working. Then how could I see that blue light? I couldn't see it… I could feel it. I focused on this sense to make it as acute as possible and I noticed the large amount of energy radiating from the bright center of the light. It gave me a pleasant warm feeling from my fingertips to my toes… wait… what happened to my body? Am I just a spirit?

"Yes, Ravan. You're not within your body anymore." The words were soft, and kind, but startled me nonetheless. I wanted to ask who was there, but the words wouldn't come. "I can't hear you, Ravan, but I can feel your emotions, and I know what you want to say. I am Father Time." Father Time…

"Where is this place?" I asked.

"You are within my realm, now. A realm where the flow of time does not exist and where only the deities that control the Timeline may enter."

"Oh? What makes me so special?"

"In your world, there exist certain artifacts to help keep the Timeline under control, such as the Dagger of Time, and the Mask of the Wraith, both of which were used by your father to change his destiny."

"That doesn't really answer my question."

"You and the Dark Prince stumbled onto the Waters of the Ages. I created those waters personally to serve as both a doorway into this realm, and to record everything within the Timeline. Every glitch, every change, every memory is within those waters. The Prince of Darkness, or should I say, 'Erik' struck you down and threw you into them."

"Why?" This was all making little to now sense to me at all.

"The Empress of Time resurrected him in hopes that he would be able to live again as a human. But he was so bent on getting his revenge on your father he completely ignored every one of her warnings to him and hurried off to Babylon. Of course, you know what happened from there."

"He's trying to get revenge through me? Is that it?"

"Not quite, child. You see, when the Empress was resurrecting him, some of her knowledge spilled into him. It wasn't intentional, of course, but he saw it all in the form of dreams, and he knew about the waters. He was so greedy for you father's blood that he tricked you into coming to the Empress's island."

"Why did he need me?"

"The Sands of Time and the Waters of the Ages go hand in hand, but are also opposites. They are both vulnerable to one another, and he knew it. So he got a third party to do his bidding for him. In other words, you, Ravan."

"But why? Why me? What is he trying to do to me?" The voice was still a moment longer than I would've liked and I felt some reluctance on his part.

"If you hadn't been unconscious, and had not been wounded, the Waters would have no effect on you. I would have temporarily sealed the doorway and nothing would have conceived here between us. But because you were struck with the Dagger of Time, and you were unconscious, the waters corrupted you." If I had teeth, they would be grinding together right now.

"They corrupted me how?" I questioned in a dark tone.

"They got inside of your bloodstream, filled your lungs, and your stomach. I apologize, Ravan, but when you awaken, you will be endowed with my powers. You will be able to manipulate the flow of time and bend it to your will, freeze it, slow it down, rewind it, whatever you like. And just like the Empress, you will carry a part of the Timeline with you for eternity." I was silent and very still.

"So that's what he meant… Erik wanted me to turn back the clock, change Babylon's fate so he could get his bloody revenge… is he so selfish that he'd turn me into a freak just to achieve his goals?" I exclaimed angrily. I fumed for a couple minutes. "Alright, how do I fix this mess I've gotten myself into?"

"Why not look at the Timeline and decide for yourself?" With that, everything started to fade. I felt my senses leaving me, and I slowly plummeted back into the darkness…

I suddenly jolted awake as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice on my head. My eyes focused, and I came to the realization that I couldn't breathe. I started flailing my limbs around wildly through the water that surrounded me, trying to figure out which way was up, and I started swimming in that direction. My hand was the first to break the surface and I searched for a ledge and pulled myself out of the water. With a huge effort, I flopped onto solid ground and coughed and drug air into my lungs. I rested on the ground for a long while, trying to get everything functioning properly again, when I remembered.

I forced myself into a sitting position and searched my stomach for the stab wound Erik had left there, but my eyesight was still trying to come back, so everything I saw was just a big blur of color. But I could vaguely feel a scar there. It hadn't been a dream… it had happened… then what about that other dream? …What was that other dream? I don't remember… I hope it comes back to me…

I rested against the wall a while longer until I felt strong enough to stand. My legs were really wobbly, so I had to use the wall for support and I slowly made my way out of the chamber, up the steps and out the trap door. I squinted as the light from the outside hit my eyes, and shivered as the cool air hit me. I was still wet.

It seemed like I wandered around for hours before I found the beach. Maybe my campfire was still there and I could relight it to get warm and dry off. I was surprised, however, when I found my fire remnants gone, and a motionless figure lying helplessly on the sand instead. Curiously, I climbed down towards it, knelt next to whoever it was and bent down to see the person's face. It was a man, that much was clear, but his wet hair was covering his features and I couldn't make them out. Carefully, I brushed the moist locks away and tilted my head. I couldn't believe my eyes.

"…Daddy?"

Was it really my father, lying there on the beach? Had he come to rescue me from the island? No, I knew that was impossible, since he was dead. My head was still fuzzy at the time, so I wasn't thinking very clearly, but some small voice in the back of my mind was telling me loud and clear that the man lying there on the beach was my father. In a different time, maybe, but still my flesh and blood. I knew I was in the past, so the only question left to answer was when exactly?

Kiri: omg, evil cliffhanger!

Ravan:... why do you do this to people? Do you enjoy torturing your readers, even if you only have a few?

Kiri: Of course not! I love all my readers, even if they don't reveiw!

Ravan (rolls eyes)

Kiri: stay tuned for chapter seven!