Chapter 6: Chrona

Varen opened the portal again to the Black Mirror and he let me follow them. They entered the Black Mirror without a problem, but for me, the hole was deep and dark. Victor and Varen stayed close together like a family. They reminded me when I was little when Jazz and I used to be together, but those memories were gone. I wonder if she ever gonna come back with the help of the Ewell cousin.

So then, I jumped into the Black Mirror and being pulled by gravity by force. I feel like I was going to throw up and everything around me was spinning. It feels like being sucked into a vacuum by that black hole.

I lay down on the ground and I open my eyes. I saw full of gears moving and ticking like a clock. Victor helped me to get up and told me to look around. This must be the place.

Varen scoffed, "That time-travelling must be dizzy for you, but anyway we are at the Clocktower in the Spirit World."

Hold on. Spirit World? What realm is this? "What is the Spirit World?"

Victor smiled, "The Spirit World is a replica world of earth, it's almost like a mirror but it's not, but the sky is red in the opposite of blue, but anyway, it's a safe world. The Spirit World is full of mythical creatures, elementals, and Spirit Enforcers. You don't want to get near by the Spirit Enforcers."

"Spirit Enforcers are known to be masked animal spirits and they can turn your mind into an infant or a toddler," Varen added, "Besides, you'll be fine here as long as you're with, Chrona."

I heard a small childish voice, "Hello? Did somebody call my name?"

A little small girl walked out in front of me and I look down at her. I was like, is that her? That's it? A small girl in a blue time dress? But wait, was she pictured in my mind that I thought of? I was going to laugh at her, but she seems cute to be a time ghost.

Chrona smiled and greeted, "Hello, my name is Chrona. I am Clockwork's Doll. I manage the four clock towers of earth, water, air, and fire, by the way, two of the towers have seem to be broke down by the Shees."

"Two clock towers? How can they be broken?"

"They're broken because the gears were destroy, I need you to get to the other tower to fix it. Right now, we're in the broken fire clock tower. You have to get to the earth tower and fix those gears to make it sing again!"

"Are you really that serious? What is the purpose of that Clock towers were for?"

"It's for Harmony and Peace between the timeline of the real and the dead. You need to get them back to singing to stop the Shee from ruining another person's life. That's how it did to you," the Clockwork's doll whined.

Varen whispered something to Chrona's ears and then Chrona nodded. She looked at me and said, "These two boys…are not Shees. They're half-human, half shee."

I dropped my jaws, "Half-human, half-shees?"

Victor shrugged, "Well we couldn't tell you, but we can bring them back, but we need to be at the right time and at the right place. That what took so long. You need to find out who we are before you can get them back without telling you."

Varen added, "We are never Shees until either one of us decided to become a shee like I said to you before about the Shee contract part."

Oh my god, why was I so stupid? Man, Shees are really tricky and they don't tell you everything, even the half-shees too.

Chrona asked, "Do you have any questions for me?"

"Yes, are you Clockwork's daughter?" I nervously chuckled.

"Ironically no, I am not the other Clockwork's daughter because…I was created by a man who created the four clock towers. I was called, "Clockwork's Doll" because I control the clock towers and I am actually a doll, but I am alive because this eye of time in my eye helps me to move and talk. This staff in my hand is the key to activate the towers. "

"I was wondering, have you ever meet Clockwork in the Ghost Zone?" I was wondering if she ever met him, but it would be cool to see what she have thought of him.

"Never. I never meet any time ghost in other realm. I stay in one place just like Clockwork, the other time ghost too. I never move from this world, but sometimes, I like to visit the Elemental Spirits and let my time wolves to guard the four clock towers. If any time ghosts meet each other with the other time ghost, it could be chaos, which is time collision, or invisibility like time ghost can't see each other. The only thing we can see is the Shees because they're timeless. Clockwork doesn't know it, but now he probably know because you met the Summer Shee. Shees are always hiding from us."

I nodded. "Ah, now I see…but anyway, can you bring my family and friends back after the two towers are fix?"

"Well, my time wolves are fixing it now, but you have to get to the earth clock tower and fix it and use my extra staff to activate the tower. I put my time staff in every four clock towers. And to get your love ones back? I don't think I can, the Shees have to get them back, not me. I'm a doll," explained Chrona.

"Oh…"

"I'm sorry, Phantom, I can't help you, but the half-shees can. To weaken the Shees…good music must be played…any kind of music except accordion and bagpipes because they're the worst instruments and Shees can stand them, but they cannot stand other instruments. One more thing to add…you can rip off all of the four wings of the Shees so they can't fly and they're powerless without the wings. The only Shee's wings that cannot be ripped off is the Shee with six wings, who is the Queen Shee of the Shee's paradise. If you ever meet the queen, you're dead meat."

"Ouch," I shut my eye hard. This gotta hurt. I better make sure that I do not meet the Queen Shee. She has to be the most powerful Shee in their world.

Victor touched my shoulder and smiled, "Don't worry about the Queen Shee, we'll defend you. We will make sure she doesn't kill you either."

"We'll take the punishment from the Queen Shee for you," Varen added.

"Thanks guys and come on, let's get to the Earth Clocktower."

"Wait guys, may I come with you? There might be something I need to get there," Chrona looked at Varen. Varen nodded to Chrona and carries Chrona behind his back.

Then, we all go travel to the earth tower safely. No one notices the Spirit Enforcers, or us but I think Chrona is the key to keep us safe from danger.

It was a long flight, but we made it. When we reach inside of the earth clock tower, all of the gears were burned and broken, Chrona cries and fainted, but Victor tries to revive her.

Varen and I both tried to fix the gears and replace it with new ones. When the earth clock tower was fixed, Chrona puts her staff into the keyhole.

Chrona warned, "Varen, Victor, stay outside, I'm about to open the music now."

Varen and Victor immediately ran outside and stay away from the clock tower. I turned my head toward Chrona and I asked her, "Why do they have to stay out when they're half-shees?"

She replied, "Because it weakens them too, you don't want to hurt them either because they're like…the good shees, but all shees are bad. Some look friendly, others not, but they're still all bad. They can manipulate you by using lies and all of those stuff to make you believe in. Varen and Victor are the not the type of half-Shee that follows the rules of the Shee's paradise. They lied against the rules too like they told me that they want to tell you that they're actually half-shees."

"Ah, now I get," I totally understand now. Those silence and those slow times. They couldn't tell they and me start lying to me. I wonder why they tell Chrona to tell me about their truth. Maybe it's because they know each other.

Chrona looked up and smiled, "The tower is singing again." The tower turned white and I can feel the tower is singing again. The tune was "Lu, Li, La" of the song called, "Lapis Lazuli." Chrona giggled and she opens a screen in her hands and saw the white light connected to the other three towers connecting to each other and all of them synchronized and sang the same song. The four clock towers are in harmony.

Chrona continues to look at the screen from her hands and I saw the Seasonal Shees yelling and they were staying about from my timeline. That's right. My timeline. I was finally relieved that they are no longer going to bother me, but they still have my parents from the past timeline and my friends and sister kidnapped by them. I have to go and find them.

Varen and Victor used an earmuff so they won't hear the song. I have to study them a little bit while because they are also the key to bring my parents back too, I hope. They are just almost like the Seasonal Shees, but different. I hope they won't lie to me. If they do, I'm hopeless. I will never be able to get them back home. I wonder where are they now. I wonder if they're safe.

Chrona looked at me and smiled, "To defeat the Shees, time must be defeated by love. The song of time will help you to bring them back and time will be defeated. For Shees, they will get angry and attack you. Time still exist now, but you have to feel connected to time to get them back. Understand?"

"So let me get this straight, I have to sing a song in front of the Shees and get them back? Are Shees time?"

"Shees are timeless creatures. They have no alternative versions of themselves. You have to sing a song in front of them to weaken them and remove their wings to keep them powerless. They will grow their wings back over time by the powers of their symbolism. If an autumn shee loses his wings, he needs the season fall to get his wings back. If a water shee loses her wings, she needs water to get it back. Understand?" She turned away from me and hummed the "Lapis Lazuli" song again.

I nodded and I totally understand. Now I have this kind of information, I know what I'm going to do when I bring them back. I stand straight and look serious.