Two
The Nanite Age
We found ourselves stranded in the past, but more recent. For the first time in months, I found myself in Abysus, the place where the Nanite Event took place. "Abysus looks different, all the buildings are intact," I said.
"You're sure this is Abysus?" Trent asked.
"I'm pretty sure," I answered.
"This raises some serious questions. If I recall correctly, time travelling to a parallel Earth, let alone a multiverse is impossible. This is a new field of science altogether. Our first order of business is to figure out when we are," he said.
"Let's head into town," I said.
We head over to the capital. The city was busy, filled with townsfolk talking, eating and buying. Trent picks up a newspaper and reads it. "I found a newspaper. Does the date mean anything to you?" he asked.
He gives me the paper, I read it and I recognise the date. "Oh boy, we got a week to get back to the present. Otherwise by next week, the Nanite Event will occur," I answered.
"Building a time travel machine will be hard. We need to find somewhere where we can regroup," he said.
We then head over to a disused barn. "I can't believe we're here. Abysus, before the Nanite Event," I said.
"This must be hard. Coming back to the one place where everything changed for you. We need to be extra careful, one wrong move and we can disrupt the timeline," he said.
"Yeah, be extra careful," I said to myself.
"Since you know Abysus, do you where we can find any useful equipment? Like a laptop for instance," he asked.
"Most of the tech is in that castle where the Nanite Project is. If I recall correctly, security at the castle is tight," I answered.
"That'll complicated things and time is something we don't have. I'm more worried about those assassins," he said.
"We need to come up with a plan to get back to the present," I said.
"In order to build a time machine, we need a lot of resources and most of them are at the castle," he said.
"What do we need?" I asked.
"For starters, we need an engine capable of running on FTL speeds and something that can generate chronologic energy. As for the design, it shouldn't be that hard. I need some paper and a pen. But first, I need something to eat," he answered
"I agree with you. I'll go back into town, grab some food and stationary," I said.
I would advise against you going into town, but I won't stop you. Be careful, we don't want to alter the timeline," he said.
I head back into town to get some food and stationary. I looked around and I noticed my dad sitting alone in the cafe, going over his notes and speaking to someone on his cell phone. "I'm looking at the results, Maya and it does not look promising," my father said.
"If this is the case, it'll set us back a few months. Violeta was right, cellular degeneration within the nanites shouldn't occur like this. Once I get back from my vacation, I'll run the numbers again and find out what we're doing wrong," Maya said over the phone.
"Do you want me to say hello to Caesar for you?" my father asked.
"Much appreciated, but no. I'm concerned about his wellbeing lately. He spends days in the lab without take a break. Even he does, all he thinks about his the project and wonders if he's made a miscalculation," she answered.
"I'll see you in a couple of weeks, Maya," he said.
"Will do," she said.
He puts his cell phone away and carries on going over his notes. "That couldn't be an easy call," I said.
I sat opposite him. "Do I know you? Of course I don't. My apologies, I got deadlines over there and deadlines here. I have to admit, it's nice to talking to someone outside of work. Even if it's a stranger," he said.
"Is that a x-ray?" I asked.
"It is, the x-ray belongs to a colleague who's studying the effects of Alzheimer's and whether there's a cure or not. The details are classified," he answered.
"I don't need all the details; I just want to know a bit more about you. I'm a journalist from New Scientist. I'm taking a break to explore the world," I lied.
"I won't look a journalist in the eye. My name is Dr. Rafael Salazar," he replied.
"Rueben, Rueben Starr," I replied.
"What brings you to this country?" Rafael asked.
"I always wanted to visit Europe at this time of year," I answered.
"No kidding, there's a festival going on tonight. I and my wife are going to attend, assuming she can get Rex to go to bed," he said.
"Who's Rex?" I asked.
"My youngest son," he answered.
"Oh, I might be attending or not. It's been a pleasure meeting you." I left the cafe and head back to the barn. Grey Wold was lying on the straw, bleeding from his wounds. "What happened to you?" I asked.
"I was able to kill Savage, but Zhen is still out there. I sent him to another multiverse. I did get the device off him," Grey Wold answered.
Trent examines the device. "Is it repairable?" Trent asked.
"It should be, but I need the right parts," Grey Wold answered.
"How long will it take you to repair the device?" I asked.
"A week or maybe more," Grey Wold answered.
"We got some bad news. In a week's time, a very important event will occur here and it'll destroy this country and affect the entire world," I said.
"We got a week to get back to our timeline," Trent said.
"I know what you're planning to do. When we were set free, portal activity went through the roof. If you time travel to the moment when we were set free, it'll destroy the space/time continuum," Grey Wold said.
"So the safe bet is to travel a few months or a year into the future. Should be simple, we need to find resources, a lot of resources in order to repair the device," Trent said.
"I have an idea. My parents will be attending a festival in the city centre tonight," I suggested.
"No, we're not going to ask your parents for help. There's no telling what it can do to the timeline. Wait, you interacted with one of them, didn't you?" Trent asked.
"I did, I just had a conversation with my dad and it didn't feel any different," I answered.
"What were you thinking? You could damage your own timeline or worse," he said in anger.
"Enough! There are times when this timeline can help. Zhen will stop at nothing to kill us all. We'll go with Rex's plan," Grey Wold said.
"Fine," Trent said in frustration.
Later that evening, we attended the festival and met up with my parents. "There they are." I waved at them and they walked over to us. "I see you two are enjoying yourselves?" I asked.
"It's nice to get out of the lab. This is my wife, Violeta and who's your friend?" Rafael asked.
"This is Marcus Wall; he's a businessman and scientist. He runs his own company," I answered.
"I'm a third generation chairman. My family used to make weapons, but we stopped making them after Hiroshima. My father's philosophy is that weapons do not solve problems, it makes them worse," he said.
"I like it," Rafael said.
"So what is it you two do for a living?" he asked.
"I, Rafael and my eldest son are scientists. We're working on a project that'll change the world," Violeta answered.
"That's what my company does. Make the world a better place to live in," he said.
"I wish the world was a better place. With the War on Terror still ongoing, its bad enough that there're terrorists out there," Rafael said.
A cell phone rang and Violeta answers it. "We may have to cut this conversation short. There's been a problem in the lab," she said.
"Let's talk again sometime," Rafael said.
They left the party. "Well, that blew up in our faces," I said.
"We were so close to getting access. We may have to roll out Plan B. Break in, get the parts, repair the device and time travel to the future on my parallel Earth. That's a lot to take in. Did you notice any backdoors or secret passages that'll take us into the castle during your adventures?" he asked.
"If I recall correctly, there a sewer pipe that should take us into the castle and I know where it is," I answered.
Sometime later, we arrived at the castle and the main sewer entrance. We entered the sewage system and we began exploring. "My morpher is back online and Phoebe has gone into lockdown. Understandable, but it'll do. What about you? Have you got your powers back?" he asked.
"I have," I answered.
"We may going to need them," he said.
We stopped. "We're here, time to cut a hole." I used my powers to cut a hole above us. We climbed into the castle itself. "If I were components, where would I be?" I wondered.
Trent finds a terminal, walks over to it and uses it. "According to the terminal, we're in the lobby. The castle is divided into several areas. The basement level is home to the nanite core and the upper levels are mostly offices and R&D labs," he said.
"We should find what we're looking for in the R&D labs. Does it where the scientists live?" I asked.
"The project has several properties in the city, but nothing serious. I should get to work hacking the security system," Trent said.
Trent then gets to work hacking the security system from the terminal. "Good luck with that. My brother designed that system to be flawless," I said.
"I doubt that. I read the psyche reports regarding your brother. He really does have a lot of issues," he said.
"You have no idea. I literally thought he was going to prison for what he did. Shortly after the civil war in Gaim ended, he got pardoned," I said.
"Okay, that should do it. I turned off the alarms in the R&D labs. It should make things easier. Come on," he said.
We head up to the R&D labs. We arrived at one of the doors and I took a peep. I notice Van Kleiss speaking to someone via speakerphone. "How bad is it?" Van Kleiss asked.
"It's worse. I analysed the tissue samples you provided and the results don't lie," the speaker answered.
"Is there anything you can do on your end?" Van Kleiss asked.
"There isn't. If I were you, you better start making arrangements," the speaker answered.
I moved and we entered one of the labs. Trent finds a laptop, powers it up and uses it. "I'm in. Hmm, there's at least six unread emails and it looks like your father has several disagreements with Caesar about the way how the nanites should be controlled. I hate to admit it, but I have to agree with Caesar on this one," he said.
I was angered by that remark. "How could you either say that? You always condone the use of weapons," I said.
"Having a human to control that much nanites has major disadvantages. One of which can lead to the host's mind being damage or worse, it'll kill them," he said.
"I'm still breathing, aren't I? Look, we can argue all night, but we got a job to do," I said.
"Check the store cabinets, there should be equipment there that'll repair the device," he said.
I then felt weird, my hand begins to phase in and out and I was in pain. "What's happening to me?" I asked.
"I knew something like this would happen." Trent checks his morpher. "There's a disturbance in the city and it's not human. Zhen is here," he said.
Minutes later, we arrived in the city centre to find Zhen attacking it. "Well now, I figured by harming the couple would bring you two out of hiding," Zhen said.
"Isn't damaging the timeline a new low for you?" he asked.
"No, but at least I get to finish the job I started," Zhen answered.
Trent activates the morpher and transforms into the Mighty Rider. "I'll handle Zhen. Save your parents," he said.
Zhen and the Mighty Rider engage in a fight, while I saved my parents. They were trapped under some rubble. I used my powers to get them and they were shocked by what they saw. "What are you?" Rafael asked.
"It's a little hard to explain, but I'll tell you about it later. Now, I need to help my friend," I answered.
I joined in the fight. "So, you were able to restore the timeline. Now, I finish you both off," Zhen said.
We continue fighting until Grey Wold arrives. He lands a punch on Zhen's face and throws him into a building. "That was nicely timed," I said.
"Thanks," Grey Wold said.
Zhen lunges out and stabs Grey Wold in the chest. "Not so tough, aren't you Grey Wold? Now then, onto the killing effect," he said.
I grabbed him, throw him over to the Mighty Rider and he kills with a sword slash. "That's for Grey Wold." The Mighty Rider and I rush over to Grey Wold. "Are you okay?" the Mighty Rider asked.
"I'm afraid this'll be my last adventure. Did you get the parts?" Grey Wold asked.
"No, we came over here when we notice Rex started to be erased from the timeline," the Mighty Rider answered.
"Before I die, promise me you two will never tell anyone else regarding the origin of human life. If they find out, the results will be catastrophic," Grey Wold said.
"We promise," I said.
Grey Wold dies from his wounds. A day later, we buried him under a tree in a potter's field. Rafael and Violeta walked up to us. "We need to something. Are you our son by any chance?" Rafael asked.
"To be honest, those weren't our real names. My name is Rex Salazar and this is Trent Mason. Believe it or not, we're from the future," I answered.
"Six years from the future to be precise. Look, we're trying to find a way home. Now, the only person who can help us is dead. We were hoping the Nanite Project can help us, but we're on a tight deadline," Trent said.
We noticed a wormhole opening up and a ship comes through and lands in front of us. "Is it friend or foe?" I asked.
Carter comes out of the ship. "You can stand down, boys. We're here to pick you up," Carter said.
"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes? I take it everyone is onboard?" he asked.
"Apart from you two, yes. Come, we got a multiverse to save," Carter answered.
"Go, I'll join you shortly." Trent and Carter head onboard the ship. "I guess this is goodbye," I said.
I hugged them for the last time as I cried. "Why are you crying?" Violeta asked.
I backed off. "Its nothing," I answered. I then wiped the tears off my eyes.
"Here." Rafael gives me a letter. "This letter should explain everything. Good luck in your travels," Rafael said.
I got onboard the ship and it flew back into the wormhole. Sometime later, I sat alone in the observation deck, I opened the letter and read it.
Rex
I admit, things haven't been easy since you were born. I apologise for ruining your childhood. I tried to be a good father, while your mother would do the same.
Lately, your older brother has chosen to put the needs of his own curiosity first rather than the needs of others.
I had a suspicion that was you I encountered in the cafe the other day and you didn't have you to lie.
Whatever happens, I know you make me proud. Regardless of the choices you made. You always be my son. No matter what people say about you.
Your father
Rafael.
I then cried. On the bridge, Blake enters the room as Trent stares at the screen.
"Everyone is here and accounted for. Its time for us to go home and stop the Elder Ones once and for all," Blake said.
"It's not that simple. If we travel to the moment the Elder Ones were set free. It can destroy the space/time continuum. Our best shot is to travel a few months after they were set free. It should be safe," Trent said.
"How?" he asked.
"When I searched Grey Wold's body after he died, I found a USB key on him. It contains a firmware update that should enable the time drive on this ship to time travel to parallel Earths in the future." He inserts the key into the slot and installs the update. "That should do it. Now then, let's go and kick some Elder One butt," Trent said.
The End?