A Leap Into Destiny
Dark Night of the Soul
The first thing Sam saw as soon as he was teleported back into his original time was Kairos standing there alongside Dr. Oliver.
"You!" Sam growled.
Clenching his fist, Sam charged Kairos. Dr. Oliver stepped away as Kairos merely pointed his time staff towards the quantum physicist. Before Sam could reach him, the time staff glowed as a blue energy lash erupted from the weapon and wrapped itself around Sam.
As Sam fell, the blue energy whip surrounding him transformed into iron chains.
"Time manipulation is not mine only specialty," Kairos informed Sam.
"Yeah?" Sam spat angrily. "Well I'd like to think breaking your chin would be my specialty!"
Before long, several soldiers came into the room.
"Take him away," Dr. Oliver told them.
Two soldiers hoisted Sam up and dragged him off.
"Now as for the rest of you," Dr. Oliver gestured for the remaining soldiers.
Kairos stood there patiently as Dr. Oliver handed information cards to each of the agents.
"Art thou ready?" Kairos asked.
"We understand," one of the soldiers replied.
"Good!" Kairos raised his staff into the air.
At once six portals appeared out of thin air, crackling with mystic energy.
"Go forth!" commanded Kairos. "Find them and do not delay!"
Each of the soldiers nodded and went through the portals. After they entered, the portals closed up.
"You are really outdoing yourself this time, you know that?" Dr. Oliver smiled. "I can think of nothing more agonizing than making Dr. Beckett watch helplessly as his life's work is undone!"
Kairos merely crossed both arms proudly and smiled.
oooo
"Unfortunately your friend has survived," Zoey said to Al with much disgust to her voice. "Dr. Beckett has the tenacity of a cockroach!"
"I bet you're feeling pretty toasty right about now," Al sneered.
Angrily, Zoey turned around, focusing all of her anger on the observer. She grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
"You don't know the half of it!" Zoey growled.
"So what're you going to do now?" demanded Al. "Kill me?"
"Zoey!" a sharp voice rang out.
Zoey looked behind her to see her master Kairos.
"Release him," Kairos gestured towards her.
Zoey looked like she wanted to disobey his direct order for a second but thought better of it. With a huff, she let Al go.
"I don't suppose you're here to let bygones be bygones?" Al asked sarcastically.
"On the contrary," Kairos replied. "Thou hast been a nuisance to us for far too long."
At that moment, Al realized what the time mage was getting at.
"Well, I'll let you know this," Al promised. "If I go down, I don't go down without a fight!"
At once he charged Kairos but the time mage merely stopped him in his tracks with a mere wave of his wand.
"Farewell Al Calavicci," Kairos created a time portal right behind Al.
At that moment, Al regained control of his body again but it was far too late. The power of the portal drew him back, sucking him into its embrace.
"No!" shouted Al.
"Begone!" shouted Kairos, striking Al with an invisible telekinetic force that knocked him directly into the portal.
"Impressive!" Zoey grinned. "Shall I open a portal to keep an eye on him?"
"He has been sent to an era a man of his age and infirmity surely would not survive," Kairos promised. "It is not necessary for you to do so."
oooo
"I'm surprised you lived through your ordeal," Wellington said to Sam.
The guards had carelessly thrown Sam into the same cell as Wellington about five minutes after Kairos had transported Al away.
Sam glared at Wellington contemptuously.
"Yeah, well I'm a survivor," Sam replied miserably.
"I overheard the guards talking," Wellington said to him. "They said something about how you were being fed to some age-old vampire."
"So vampires exist," Sam shook his head. "Whoopty-do."
"I have to admit, I am quite fascinated by that," Wellington held the bars with his hand. "But first I would like some plan to get out of here first."
"Where's Al?" asked Sam. "Does he still have that lock pick you gave him?"
"Um, about that…" Wellington gulped.
"About what?" demanded Sam. "Where is Al?"
Wellington sighed. "Before you came down here, that warlock sent your companion somewhere through time. I overheard some of it."
"What?!" Sam got up and grabbed Wellington by the collar.
"Now calm down, Dr. Beckett!" protested Wellington. "I was not the one who committed the act! In fact, my whole escape plan centered upon your companion!"
Sam then let go of Wellington, realizing that he wasn't getting anywhere by getting emotional again.
Sam sighed. "You're right."
"I don't particularly care what opinion you hold of me," Wellington told Sam sternly, "but if we are to escape from here, we will have to work together!"
"Fine, I agree," Sam nodded. "But only under one condition."
"What is that?" demanded Wellington.
"When this is all over, you turn yourself in," Sam told him. "After everything you've done, you don't deserve to walk free."
"I certainly will not!" protested Wellington. "Besides, we had a deal!"
"Well now that Al isn't here anymore I'm renegotiating the terms of the deal!" Sam raised his voice to let Wellington know that he meant business.
"You bloody fool!" growled Wellington. "I am Vincent Wellington! I have taken the theories of a feeble-minded idealist like Nathaniel Lothoman and turned it into the most successful time travel project of this generation! I will not submit myself to the courts!"
"You won't have a choice when I'm through with you!" Sam yelled back.
Before the two men could come to blows, several soldiers appeared before them, along with Dr. William Oliver.
"I see Judas Iscariot has raised his serpentine head," Wellington glared at Dr. Oliver. "Come to collect your thirty pieces of silver?"
"Oh spare me Vincent," Dr. Oliver said dismissively towards the former project head. "I'm here for Dr. Beckett."
The soldiers took Sam out of the cell and escorted him away.
"Good riddance," Wellington snorted.
"Don't get so comfortable Vincent," Dr. Oliver smiled. "Your turn is coming up soon."
oooo
Before long, Sam was escorted to a dining hall. After walking past the fireplace, Sam noted that there were several people there being guarded by the soldiers of Project Chronos.
"Recognize them?" Kairos asked. "Thou should. After all, thou hast told me all about them while thy mind was under my spell."
After getting a closer look, Sam realized he was looking at the faces of people from his past. Either they were people he had leaped into or they had been people that he had helped out during his leaps.
"Jimmy!" Sam cried out, recognizing the mentally handicapped man before him.
In that brief instance, he even felt a brief stab of joy despite the circumstance he was in.
There were several more people there along with Jimmy. Father Mac was there as well. In addition, there was also Sister Angela, a nun he had aided in his first year of leaping. There was Katie McBain, a young rape victim whom he had to find justice for. Next to Katie was a slightly unkempt man dressed up in wilderness survival gear. It was Roy Brown, an epileptic Vietnam Veteran whose life he had saved in Washington State.
There was another woman present as well, a woman he had fallen in love with before during his very leap. Abigail Fuller was her name.
"Who are you people?" Father Mac glared at the soldiers around him. "And why are we being held captive?"
"I have brought thee here for a grand purpose," Kairos promised and then gestured towards Sam Beckett. "Take a look at this man here. He was able to touch all thy lives without thee even realizing it."
"I don't know why you've brought them here," Sam told Kairos slowly. "But I think it's clear now that I'm the one you have a grudge against. Let all these other people go back to their own time to live their own lives peacefully."
"Let them go?" Zoey smiled at him. "But we haven't brought in our VIP yet."
"What?" Sam glared at Zoey who gestured for the soldiers to bring in their latest prisoner.
"Donna!" Sam cried.
"Sam!" Donna rushed towards her husband.
Two soldiers got in between them but Kairos waved them aside. Donna quickly embraced her husband in a hug.
"I can't believe they got you too, Donna!" Sam held on to her tightly.
"What will we do now, Sam?" asked his wife.
"I know I'm not the most mentally stable person to be asking this," Roy Brown stepped forward. "But why is all of this happening? One minute I was in the woods enjoying a hike and the next minute, I get seized and brought here through some kind of time warp."
"Thou art here because of the man named Sam Beckett," Kairos pointed towards Sam.
All the people from the different eras Sam had been looked at Sam as if to try to recall who he was.
"I… I'm afraid I don't know who he is," Roy shook his head.
"Me neither," Sister Angela looked at Sam curiously.
"I know him," Katie McBain stepped forward.
"Katie…" Sam recognized the traumatized woman he had once helped.
"Shortly after I had been… raped, Sam leapt into my place," Katie almost shuddered at having to remember her own traumatic experience. "I was there at my own trial as a hologram to help Sam. We didn't win the trial but after it was over, Sam found justice for me and my family."
"A touching story," Zoey smirked. "You are but one of many lives Dr. Beckett has touched."
"S-Sam?" Jimmy stuttered.
Zoey pointed at hand at Sam Beckett.
"I suppose now that the cat's out of the bag, it's only fair to inform all of you what is going on here," Zoey told them. "This man you see before you is Dr. Samuel Beckett. In the year 1999, he will have launched a time travel project, the most successful of its time. In order to travel through time, he often leaps into the places of different people. And as for all of you, he has either leaped into your place or leaped into the place of those people close to you."
Abigail Fuller broke away from the rest of the group and walked towards Sam.
"I know I haven't met you like this before," Abigail told Sam. "But I recognize you. I recognize that same look in your eyes that I saw in my father and Will. Tell me, is it true that you took their place?"
Sam looked at his own wife and then he looked back at Abigail hesitantly before replying.
"Yes," he confirmed. "I was also in Will's place during the time you two were to married."
He was unsure what to say beyond that. Would Abigail despise him for completing the leap as her father only for her father to die? Would she be aghast that it had been him who had been with her on her wedding night instead of Will?
Before Abigail could say anything, Zoey interrupted.
"Most of you were never meant to find justice or peace," Zoey further informed them, looking especially contemptuously at Jimmy. "However, thanks to Dr. Beckett, many of your lives were saved, regardless of whether you knew about it or not. You were never conscious of this fact before but now you are. Sam Beckett has changed history to save all of you."
"The chapel that we had gained," Sister Angela looked at Sam. "It was all because of you?"
"And regaining my faith wasn't due to Father Pistano's help, was it?" Father Mac asked. "It was you in his place?"
"Yes," Sam acknowledged. "Yes to all of your questions. I'm sorry if I mislead any of you in any way. But for each journey I had a mission to complete and many times that mission involved leaping into people close to you or into your place."
"You should all be grateful," Zoey reminded them. "Had it not been for Dr. Beckett, most of you would either be dead or wallowing in absolute misery!"
"Then why bring all of them here?" asked Sam. "Why not let them return to their original time?"
"Because, just as you leaped into their lives for a reason," Zoey informed him. "All these people will be here for a special reason as well."
"Why are you doing this to us?" demanded Donna.
"Well, this wasn't exactly my idea," Zoey smiled. "I'll let the head of this operation take over now."
"In truth, thou hast loved many women across thy journey," Kairos walked in front of Sam and Donna.
"That's true," Sam told him. "Believe me, I would take it all back if I could but in order for me to leap, I had to complete the mission by any means necessary."
"Hmph," Kairos snorted. "I wonder how thy bride feels about such a thing."
"Sam and I have discussed this," Donna stated firmly. "I was the one who told Al to never reveal to him again that he had a wife during his leaps. I needed Sam to make his leaps and come back to me one day by any means necessary!"
"Thou art a strong-willed woman indeed," Kairos paced around Sam and Donna like a tiger stalking its prey. "Tell me, what would thou do in the event thy husband's infidelity resulted in… complications?"
With that, he pointed his staff towards Abigail Fuller.
"While thy husband was under mine enchantments," Kairos informed her, "he admitted to me a dalliance with this woman during one of his leaps that had resulted in a child being born. Tell me, Donna Eleese-Beckett, is thy love for thy husband still so steadfast?"
Donna did her best not to show the turmoil of emotions that were churning in her own heart. Slowly, she looked towards her husband.
"Yes," she said resolutely.
Kairos then pointed his staff towards Sam Beckett.
"Thy wife is steadfast in her love for you," he told Sam. "But is thy love as strong?"
The time mage took special care to glance over at Abigail.
"Yes it is," Sam took Donna in his arms.
However, Sam's eyes began to waver for a second as he looked from his wife to Abigail, the one woman he had also genuinely fallen in love with during his many years of leaping.
"Thy gaze is wavering," Kairos said almost gleefully. "Perhaps thy mind has not yet decided."
Without warning, Kairos stretched out his hand and Sam was sent flying by an invisible force. He slammed against the wall, sliding down as a wave of pain washed over his back and head.
That same invisible force also forced Donna to her knees. Kairos then turned his gaze towards Abigail and with that same invisible power, forced her down only a few feet away from Donna.
Zoey took one of the swords mounted from the wall and handed it to the time mage.
"Time to make a choice," she said mockingly to Sam as the quantum physicist got to his feet.
"Let them go!" Sam shouted. "Take me instead!"
"You've loved both women," Zoey told him. "Now is the time for you to choose."
"Choose wisely, for only one shall return to thee alive," Kairos warned, holding the sword over Abigail's shoulder.
"I… I can't," Sam stammered, falling to both knees. "Don't make me do this! I'm begging you… please let both of them go! I don't know what I've done to wrong you but take me in their place!"
"The clock is ticking, Dr. Beckett!" Zoey taunted.
"You monsters!" Father Mac cried.
The Catholic priest tried to enter into the fray but quickly a soldier got him in a chokehold from behind and pointed a gun into his temple.
"Don't move, priest!" the soldier warned.
Father Mac elbowed the soldier and knocked him back. He punched out another soldier next to him. However, several more soldiers intervened, overwhelming the priest in sheer numbers and beating him unconscious.
"Get off of him!" Roy tried to pry the soldiers off.
Unfortunately for him, he was not as strong as Father Mac. A backhand from one of the soldiers quickly knocked him down and out. Soon, everyone from Sam's past was subdued.
"Stop this all of you!" Abigail cried, even though Kairos held the sword close to her neck. "Can't you see how much you're hurting him?"
"That would be the point," Zoey pointed out.
"Sam has done so much for me even without me knowing it," Abigail said softly. "He even gave me the greatest joy of my life, Sammy Jo. He's given meaning to my life and I can't do otherwise for him. Take me in his wife's stead."
"A valiant effort," Kairos told her, "but this is a decision only Sam Beckett can make for himself."
With tears in his eyes, Sam finally looked up.
"You son of a bitch!" Sam cried. "Let them both go."
Without warning, Sam charged, attempting to tackle Kairos away from the two women. Unfortunately for him, the time mage phased away just before Sam made contact, causing the quantum physicist to crash into one of the tables.
As he looked up, he saw Kairos once more, this time right in front of Donna.
"I warned thee," Kairos told him. "If thou did not choose, the choice would be made for thee."
He held up the sword menacingly as Donna looked sorrowfully at Sam.
"Whatever happens Sam," she said tearfully to her husband. "Know that I love you forever."
With that, Kairos plunged the sword right through Donna's stomach. As blood flowed down the blade, Donna fell to the floor with her hands outstretched.
"Donna!" screamed Sam.
Soon, Donna moved no more as Sam began sobbing uncontrollably. Slowly, he crawled over to her fallen body. In sorrow, Abigail hugged Sam from behind, tears also flowing freely from her own eyes.
"Sentimental fool," Zoey said mockingly.
"Why?" Sam slammed his hand into the ground. "Why?!"
Sister Angela also went to Sam's side in sadness. She wished she had the right words to say… perhaps some way of helping Sam cope with the grief. In that moment, she wished that there were some words of comfort or faith to offer to the grieving man. But there was none.
As Sam cradled Donna's head, the soldiers closed in on him.
oooo
Al Calavicci was not exactly sure what had just happened to him but so far, he was still alive and ticking.
The older man got up, realizing that wherever he was, it was not a pretty scene.
He was in some sort of village that resembled something straight out of a Renaissance Fair. Unfortunately, much of the place had been destroyed as fires burned on top of the roofs. On the ground, there were multiple bodies lying there.
Had he not arrived under less auspicious circumstances, Al would have very much liked to explore the place.
Through the smoke, a man ran out, crashing into Al. He was a long haired man in about his late forties with hair that looked like it was graying already.
"Who art thou?" the man demanded, surveying the suit that Al was wearing. "And what manner of clothes are these?"
"You tell me!" Al shook his head, dazed from falling down.
"Beware the Saxons!" the man got up as well. "Get as far away from here as—"
The man was not able to finish his sentence as an arrow pierced his heart, killing him. As the stranger's body fell to the floor, Al saw several warriors heading to his direction.
They were all powerful grizzled men. None of them were clean-shaven and each individual warrior wore either some kind of armor with a helmet, some animal skins, or some combination of both. From where he was, Al counted at least six or seven.
"Uh oh," Al backed away.
"Who's this stranger?" one of the barbaric warriors stepped forward, unsheathing his sword.
Against the backdrop of the burning houses, Al backed away as the Saxon warriors closed in on him menacingly