Hollyshadow the medicine cat: Oh, I'm fine if you die of waiting...cats have nine lives. Then again, my neighbor's cat didn't.

Shimmering-Sky: "Because reasons." The logic is strong with this one :D

GoldGriffin: I probably would keep you in the dark, lol. Funny how both you and Shimmering-Sky thought the friend was Dimitri. Speaking of funny, it's funny when you say you can't stand cliffhangers when THE ENDING TO YOUR STORY IS ONE *sobs* sequel pls.

Chapter 16: The Emissary's plan comes to fruition...and it's quite a cruel one.

Chapter Sixteen

Leap of Faith

Tom returned to the hotel room late in the night. Surprisingly, Claire was still awake.

"What took you so long?" she grumbled irritably.

"Nothing," Tom quickly said. "Anything interesting happen today?"

"Oh. Um..." Claire blushed. "I was eating dinner...and Hershel walked by..."

Tom laughed. "Of course." His face turned serious. "He doesn't know you're here...does he?"

"No. I didn't talk to him."

Tom sighed in relief. "Good."

"Tom..."

"Yes?"

Claire looked at him. "Will I really see him again?"

Before, Tom had always considered Claire an ally. No more, no less. If she and the Professor were still alive after the Oculus was found, then he'd reunite them and disappear from their lives. After all, he had important responsibilities.

But as he heard Claire's childlike whispers, saw her vulnerable expression, he realized that she would become one of them.

I will protect them both, at any cost.

I have found another purpose, and I will fulfill it.

I will make sure that one day they meet again, even if I do not live to see that day.

"Yes. You will."

The next morning, Tom woke up before Claire (as usual). He chose to be a nice person and let her sleep some more. So, instead of yelling at her to get up, he walked over to the telephone and dialed a certain number in.

"Good morning, Tom. Why are you calling me so early?"

There was a pause. "It's already 9:30."

"Oh. Sorry, I'm a bit tired from exploring all day yesterday...you're coming to the Cthlin Chasm today, right? I'll meet you there."

"Sure. I'll leave in about half an hour."

"Okay." Randall hung up.

Tom ate quickly and left for the Cthlin Chasm as soon as possible. Before he did, though, he left Claire a note:

Claire:

I am going on a long journey. I expect that I won't return for some time. I've left you enough money to get by for a couple months; take up residence with my friend, the physics professor at Cardiff University. He, too, is helping me find the Oculus, though the others do not know of his involvement. Hopefully it will stay that way until I return. Best of luck to you. Good bye for now.

-Tom

The Cthlin Chasm was a remote area located in the middle of nowhere, surrounded completely by forest. It was a little wider than most chasms, but it was also shorter in length. There was almost nothing really extraordinary about the place whatsoever, except for Randall's discovery. At the bottom were extremely sharp rock formations, prompting geologists to question how it had formed without a body of water.

None of that mattered to Tom. After taking a taxi to the nearest city, he'd trekked for more than an hour, and was quite glad to see Randall waving at him.

"Hello, Tom!"

"Hello, Randall. How much further do we have to go?"

"A while. A long while. Don't tell me you're tired already!"

"As a matter of fact, I am, after walking for an hour straight!"

"Sure, sure." Randall pointed. "What I found is actually at the OTHER end of the canyon, so..."

Tom groaned. "Alright then, lead the way."

Tom lasted another forty minutes before he had to desperately try to get his mind off of the pain in his feet. Hell, I might as well talk to Randall.

"Randall, how did you first meet Angela and Henry?" Tom asked as he and Randall hiked along the edge of the chasm.

Randall smiled. "It was a really long time ago...we just lived in the same town, that's all. Somehow we became friends. I was more of a prankster. She was lively too, just a little more...conformist. And Henry was always the sensible one."

"At that time, did you ever think you and Angela would ever become a couple?"

"No." Randall laughed. "Come on! We were still children!"

"How about when you just became a teenager?"

"Well...yes. In the last few months of middle school, I realized that Angela and I could possibly become a couple, and that some people would eagerly consider us as such."

"When did you first really fall in love with her?"

A pause. "...why are you asking these questions?"

"Partly because I'm curious, and partly because I'm trying to ignore my pedalian agony."

Randall pondered this question for a long time. "I think it was when we first started high school. Alphonse told me he'd overheard Angela and her friends talking about me, of all people. He said that she confessed her love for me. Of course, I didn't believe him. In my mind, Angela and I were friends, no more. Imagine my surprise the next day when she told me directly that she loved me! And it was then that I really started to consider her as more than a friend."

"How did the Professor react?"

"He was as surprised as I was, of course. But he approved. He was a great friend. Oh! That's the rock, up ahead." He pointed to a large boulder.

Instead of following Randall, however, Tom stood still.

"That was a good story, I must say. Sadly, your research was somewhat incomplete."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"First of all, the real Randall would never be awake at 9:30 in the morning. Ever. Especially not after a tiring adventure. Also, your note to me arrived a few hours after you left Professor Layton's house. I doubt you could have reached the chasm, found the rock, inspect it, walk back, write a note, and get it to me in that time. Finally, and most damning of all...you stated that Hershel 'approved' of your relationship with Angela; but, if my memory is correct, you and Angela were a couple before he ever arrived in Stansbury."

Randall's fists were tightly clenched at this point. "So? What's your point?"

"My point is that you are a fraud, an impostor. You are not Randall Ascot. Who are you, and where is the real Randall?"

Randall smirked before pulling a Descole and suddenly turning into a hooded figure whose face was obscured.

"Greetings, Time Guardian. I must say, fantastic bit of deductive reasoning."

"Thank you. You still haven't answered my questions."

"As you wish." The figure chuckled. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Emissary. Of unknown intentions, of calculating mind, of profound intellect."

"And of prodigious ego," Tom muttered to himself.

"It is I who orchestrated the recent museum break-in. It is I who opened the Hellspawn portal."

"What do you hope to gain from all this?"

"My goal is the same as yours, Time Guardian."

"So it is you who is after the Oculus. Very well. Where is Randall? The real one, I mean."

The Emissary grinned. "He's inside that rock."

"What?"

"You heard me." As if on cue, the rock's exterior seemed to crack before breaking into a million tiny pieces, revealing a cell with a familiar face inside.

"Tom? Is that you?" Randall asked.

"Now, Tom, I will play a little game." The Emissary held out a remote. "When I press this button, this cell that holds your friend will start to shrink. It will continue shrinking over the course of an hour until it is a one-foot cube. You will notice there is a sensor on one of the bars. The cell will stop shrinking and break apart when the sensor only detects one person within a forty-foot radius, that person being the one inside the cell. Unless you wish to subject your friend here to a somewhat gruesome fate, I suggest you escape that radius very quickly."

"I'll leave you two alone now. But..." The Emissary pulled out a rapier. "If you run, I'll catch you."

Tom looked at the massive 1600-foot drop to his left. "So you've left me only one option..."

"Yes." The Emissary grinned and ran into the forest, stopping to say, "Make a break for it if you dare!"

Left alone, Tom and Randall both seemed to stare into empty space for a while.

"Tom?"

"Yes?"

"...just...let me die. It's my fault you're here anyway."

Tom sighed. "You know I can't do that. Besides, you will be vital if we are to stop this man."

"How!? You're the Time Guardian! You know the most about all of this!"

"Randall..." Tom began. "Have I told you how a Time Guardian is chosen?"

"No."

"Well, I owe you an explanation. You see, if a Time Guardian dies and has no children, someone else randomly becomes the Time Guardian. It's easy to tell when that happens: they glow blue and are knocked unconscious for several days, which is generally why Time Guardians marry and have children; so other people aren't really, really confused when that happens. Regardless, there will still be a Time Guardian. So it's not a great loss if I jump off the edge of this cliff here."

"Don't say that! That's not true!"

"Well, think logically. You're not replaceable, I technically am."

"But...the next Time Guardian won't be nearly as experienced as you! They won't know a thing!"

"Perhaps that is true. However, that fact shouldn't matter."

"How!?"

"I can't tell you that." Tom chuckled. "You'll figure it out on your own. And when you do, don't tell anyone else. However, inform everyone of my death and tell them about this...Emissary. Split into groups when the Hellspawn come. I have a feeling they're on their way."

"But-"

"Randall, my last wish is for you to stop protesting."

"But-"

"Run free, Randall." And with that, Tom calmly stepped to the very edge of the Cthlin Chasm...and took one step more.

Cliffhanger! (Excuse the pun) Okay, things look pretty bad for humanity right now. The Emissary's on a roll, and Tom's side hasn't even come up with a cohesive plan yet. Without Tom, what will happen?

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-InstaGimp