A Leap Into Destiny
Partings
Lured by the sound of an explosion, the now-conscious Lee Harvey Oswald walked down a flight of stairs through a secret passageway until he reached the source of the disturbance.
Smelling smoke, Oswald walked towards a charred and unmoving figure on the ground surrounded by burnt pieces of shrapnel and wood. It didn't take long to deduce who it was.
A few feet away, the assassin noticed the remainder of the time staff on the ground, badly damaged but still somewhat intact. Quickly, he walked over to pick it up.
"Once I get this fixed up, nothing's gonna stop me," he said to himself.
Oswald was still unsure what the object in his hand could truly do but based on what he had seen from Kairos, it had the ability to manipulate time on a very basic level. Perhaps he'd get one of the technicians in the castle to fix it up again. Then he could return to his own time and ensure that the communist revolution he had fought so hard for could finally come to fruition.
He walked past the body of Kairos and paused. His curiosity began to nag at him again.
"Alright, let's see what your mug looks like under that hood," Oswald walked back and knelt down before the time mage's body.
Oswald lifted Kairos up by the back and removed his hood.
At once he jerked back in shock with a yelp of fear at having seen the features of the malevolent sorcerer. It was also at that moment that the time mage's eyes opened up once more.
"You're alive?!" Oswald nearly fell back in horror.
Before Oswald realized what was happening, Kairos put his hood back on and slammed the assassin to the floor with a knife pressed against his throat.
"No please!" pleaded Oswald.
"Thy arrogance will be thy undoing!" Kairos threatened. "Hast thou really believed thou could take what was mine?"
"Please forgive me!" Oswald begged. "I had no idea! I thought you had perished!"
"Give me one reason not to cut thy throat," Kairos growled.
"Because I'm an assassin," Oswald spoke quickly. "Taking the lives of others is what I do best. And I'm guessing you'll still need someone to do a job on Sam Beckett? Well, you'll find no better killer than me!"
"Thy point has been made well," Kairos got up, removing the knife from Oswald's throat.
"You won't regret this," Oswald promised.
"Do not make me regret sparing thy life," Kairos turned around. "Or else it would be most unfortunate for thee."
"So what do we do now?" asked the sniper.
"Sam Beckett shall return at some point," Kairos replied. "Thou shalt put an end to him then. As for myself, it is time for me to remake the world in mine own image!"
oooo
Somewhere deep in the woods surrounding the English countryside, Sam Beckett and Al stood before the graves they had dug.
They had dug three graves in the forest. One was for Roy Brown. The other was for Sam's wife, Donna. And the last one was for the recently deceased Alia who had sacrificed herself to save both Sam and Al.
Father Mac, Sister Angela, Katie, Abigail, and Jimmy stood there as well.
"I'm sorry Sam," Al stood next to his friend. "Being at a funeral for your loved ones is never easy."
"I remember back when I had leaped into that Jewish Rabbi," Sam told his friend. "Back then I knew what to say and what to do to help that Rabbi's brother out of his grief and help him move on. Now I don't even know what to say to myself…"
"You don't have to say anything Sam," Al reassured him. "You know what to do. Just like you knew what to do in all your leaps to make things right again. Donna… Alia… Roy… they all knew that you cared for them. They'd all want you to be happy again."
Father Mac walked up to them, revealing a small vial of holy water he had with him.
"I know we're not in a more formal church setting," the priest told Sam, "but may I be allowed to bless their graves?"
Sam nodded.
"Thank you Father," he said and turned away, allowing Father Mac to begin his chant and sprinkle holy water over the graves.
"When I encountered Zoey in the past, I was able to take the hourglass from her," Al showed Sam the magical object in his hand. "After this funeral we can send everyone back to their proper time."
"Will the future be changed in any way when we send them back?" asked Sam. "I know Ziggy didn't originally make calculations for some crazy warlock to pluck them from time and traumatize them all over again."
"I'm not sure, I'll have to check with Ziggy," Al reached inside his pockets.
Before Al could give any definitive answer, Sam turned around just in time to see Jimmy collapse on the spot.
"Jimmy!" he yelled.
Katie and Sister Angela knelt down to help Jimmy up.
"Water…" Jimmy moaned.
"It's no good," Abigail told Sam. "He's gone too long without food or water, on top of being tortured."
"Al," Sam turned to his friend. "We're going to have to hold off on sending them back. Right now they need food and water."
"I saw a town which should be a two mile walk for us down the hills," Father Mac told them. "We can get Jimmy help there."
Father Mac then realized how dehydrated and famished even he was.
"And truthfully, it's not just Jimmy," the priest told Sam. "All of us could use food, water, and rest."
"Are the rest of you alright?" Sam asked the others in the group.
"I can make the walk," Abigail confirmed.
"So can I," nodded Sister Angela.
"Alright, let's move then," Sam told them.
"I'll go help Jimmy," Al walked over towards the handicapped young man.
"Go ahead," Sam told him. "I'll catch up. Right now I just want a moment alone with Donna."
"Alright Sam," Al agreed.
As Al left, Sam walked up first to Roy's grave as a mixture of emotions raged inside of him.
"I'm sorry I let you down," Sam told the deceased veteran. "I only knew you for a short while but I cherished our time together. Another time, another place, maybe I could've leaped back into your life and the two of us could've gone searching for Bigfoot. But now that'll never happen. I saved your life in the past but now I couldn't save you in the present. I'm sorry, Roy."
Next Sam walked up to the grave of Alia. He took the time to pluck a flower from the nearby ground and placed it on top of her grave.
"We didn't meet under the best circumstances," Sam stared at Alia's grave wistfully. "Hell, our first encounter almost ended with you killing me and ruining Jimmy's life. But I knew there was something good inside of you and you proved that to me when we leaped together. Not only that, you also saved Al's life, you saved my life, and you saved Abigail's life. I'll forever be in your debt, Alia."
Finally, he turned his head to Donna's grave.
"Well, what is there to say that hasn't already been said," Sam walked to her burial site and knelt down.
He looked down at his wedding ring.
"It's my fault this happened to you," Sam stated honestly. "I was the one who changed history so that you'd have married me after all. I was being selfish and I was only thinking about my own happiness. If I had only left you alone when I leaped back to your college era, you'd most likely still be alive today."
Sam paused to allow the tears flow down his face.
"I didn't deserve you," Sam took off his wedding ring and placed it on top of Donna's grave. "I'm sorry, Donna. I love you."
Before he could break down even further, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"Abigail," Sam turned around. "You haven't left with the others?"
"Sam, I'm sorry what happened to Donna," Abigail clasped Sam's face.
"Not as sorry as I am," Sam shook his head. "If I had just left history intact and just let her leave me at the altar, she would still be alive today."
"Sam," Abigail looked at him intensely. "I don't want to bring back harsh memories of what happened but when your wife died, I looked into her eyes. They were the eyes of a woman who loved you and absolutely did not regret meeting you and becoming your wife."
"Yeah but…"
Abigail silenced him with a hug.
"Donna didn't regret meeting you because she loved you," Abigail told him. "And I don't regret meeting you either."
"Abigail, I…"
"You gave me Sammy Jo," Abigail assured him. "You gave me the best thing in my life I could ask for."
"Thank you Abigail," Sam hugged her in return.
oooo
"Any particular reason we're here?" asked Oswald.
"Be silent," Kairos ordered. "I have much to do here."
"Okay, don't answer me," Oswald sulked away.
The two of them had just arrived at Stonehenge. The sniper took the time to walk away and lean against one of the nearby stones.
Kairos walked towards the center of the stone formation and took out the damaged time staff. He laid it down and began chanting in Latin, enveloping the time staff with a glowing magic which emerged from the ground, fixing it instantly.
Oswald's eyes widened.
"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to this," he muttered to himself.
With the newly fixed time staff, Kairos rose up and held it into the air as dark clouds gathered overhead.
At once, glowing runes emerged on all the standing stones in the area. The mystical time staff in his hands seemed to draw power from them.
He pointed his staff into the air as it dispersed a wave of energy which traveled towards the castle where Project Chronos was being hosted.
As soon as the energy wave hit the castle, the entire fortress became transformed. What started out as a simple but elegant medieval castle transformed into a towering mass of gothic spires and forbidden walls.
"It is from my new abode that time shall undergo a reformation," declared Kairos.
"Uh okay," Oswald blinked. "And what do you want me to do?"
"As soon as Sam Beckett arrives, kill him," ordered Kairos.
oooo
"Good thing I still had my credit cards on me," Al said to Sam as everybody took their keys. "Monetary exchange here was a real hassle."
By now, the entire group had checked in to a local tavern. Abigail, Sister Angela, Father Mac, and Jimmy had gotten enough nourishment to where they were healthy again. Sam, too, had finally gotten some food and drink as well, along with Al.
"Get some rest, everyone," Sam told the group. "Tomorrow this nightmare will be over and you can go back home."
Quietly, everybody headed to their rooms. Only Jimmy needed assistance as Father Mac helped him to his room to help tuck him in.
"First things first," Sam sat down on a nearby sofa with Al. "Once we send everybody else back, what will we do about that time mage?"
"Well, not a whole lot," admitted Al. "His control over time is so good he can freeze time, speed up his own healing, leap anybody back in time he wants, and who knows what else."
"Good ol' fisticuffs won't be solving this situation," Sam acknowledged grimly.
"But I have gotten this hourglass from Zoey," Al took out the mystical object. "It's supposedly the creation of some death goddess from Ireland. It has the same powers that his time staff does and with this on our side, we might just have a fighting chance after all."
"Do you know how it works?" asked Sam.
"Not entirely but we can take it out for a spin," Al offered.
"It's good to be prepared," agreed Sam.
The two friends headed outside but what greeted them outside was a shock they had not prepared for. In the distance was the castle which hosted Project Chronos. Instead of the drab gray castle they had seen before, now it had transformed into a nightmarish fortress filled from head to toe with gargoyles, gothic spires, and a massive moat.
Up above, thunder and lightning crackled above the newly refurbished castle.
"Holy Mother of Mary," Al gaped in shock.
"Oh my God!" the tavern owner stepped outside to join Sam and Al. "Just what happened to that place?"
"Something we shouldn't grow too comfortable with," Sam shook his head.
"I always knew there was something suspicious about that place," the tavern owner told Sam and Al. "In the past few years, there have always been men in black, men with guns in uniforms, and other shady looking ne'er-do-wells driving past my tavern towards that castle."
"Well your suspicions are correct," Al confirmed. "That castle was the site of a black ops project run by criminal elements."
"Dare I ask what they were doing?" the tavern owner asked.
"The kind of things that cost the lives of people close to you," Sam glared at the castle.
Realizing instinctively that Sam was talking about his own losses, the tavern owner sheepishly decided to head back inside.
"I'm sorry to hear that," the owner told them. "I'll be inside if you need my services. And let's pray to God whatever is in that castle doesn't make its way here."
After the owner headed back inside, both Sam and Al walked a little while away from the tavern and into a wooded area.
"So what exactly can you do with that hourglass?" Sam asked.
"Well, I haven't fully gotten used to it yet but so far, I can make is respond to my will," answered Al.
"So if you just hold it and will for time to freeze, it'll do it?"
"Something like that. Here, let me test it out."
Al Calavicci held the hourglass in his hand and concentrated, focusing solely on slowing time down to a crawl.
As soon as he looked up, he realized that the air around him seemed to have completely stopped. Sam, in the meantime, appeared to be frozen in place.
"So far so good," Al mumbled.
He walked towards Sam and then turned the hourglass over, allowing time to resume its course once again.
"Hey Sam," Al greeted his friend from the side.
"Al!" Sam was surprised. "You just disappeared on me and now you're next to me!"
"That's how this thing works apparently," Al replied. "I can use it to slow down or stop time. I don't know what else I can do with it though."
"Could I see that for a second?" asked Sam.
"Sure," Al handed the hourglass over.
Sam picked it up and held it in front of his face. He turned it upside down to watch the sands fall down the glass tube into the other side.
Without warning, the hourglass glowed, enveloping Sam in a similar aura comparable to his leaper's aura.
"Sam, what's going on?" Al panicked. "Don't tell me you're leaping again?"
"No," Sam shook his head, feeling warmth flowing into his body. "I'm not leaping this time."
The energy coalesced together, slowly forming into the shape of a woman. Soon, before both Sam and Al, there was a woman dressed in Celtic garbs.
"You!" Al gasped. "Nevena! I met you back in the Dark Ages!"
"Tis good to set eyes upon thee once more," Nevena smiled at Al.
Al reached over to clasp her hand but soon found that his hand phased right through her.
"Unfortunately, I am no longer of this world," Nevena sighed. "Though my earthly body perished, my spirit continued on and dwelt in the presence of the hourglass."
"Now I know how you feel whenever you're talking to me and I'm a hologram," Al said to Sam, who nodded in agreement.
"It's nice to meet you," Sam told her. "I heard that you helped to save my friend's life back in your era. Thank you."
Nevena smiled sadly. "Thy friend Al was a good man. I could not do otherwise."
"Nevena, what happened after Alia and I left?" asked Al. "The last thing I remember is that you and your children were surrounded by an army."
"Things did not end well," Nevena shook her head in sorrow. "I perished and mine children were taken from me."
"I'm sorry," Al closed his eyes sadly. "I should have stayed to help you and your children."
"No, it would have made no difference," Nevena reassured him. "If thou had done so, both thou and Alia would have perished against Wulfric's army. Thou were needed back in thy own time."
"What happened to your children?" asked Al. "Did they survive?"
"Only one," answered Nevena. "He was so filled with so much pain and rage at the loss of his mother and sister that darkness overcame his soul."
"There's nothing I could have done but I can't help but feel that all of your suffering was my fault," Al told her.
"The past cannot be revoked," Nevena said firmly. "However, there is the matter of the present."
"What would you have us do?" asked Sam Beckett.
"Kairos must be stopped," Nevena requested. "Thou must do whatever is necessary to put an end to his madness."
"We'll do our best but how can we do it?" asked Sam. "His power over time seems limitless."
"I will help thee as much as I am able to," Nevena told them. "However, salvation may come to thee yet through means beyond mine own magic."
"I take it we'll need to confront Kairos with the hourglass?" Al asked.
"Yes, it will help thee in thy mission," confirmed Nevena. "After my passing, I continued to reach out beyond the grave to my son but his thirst for vengeance and power grew to be too much to bear. Please, thou must stop him by any means necessary."
"Your son?" Sam was aghast. "Kairos is your son?"
"You… you mean that sweet little boy I befriended back when I met you?" Al was equally shocked. "He turned into this psychotic warlock?"
Nevena only nodded her head once in brief acknowledgement.
"I had reached out to him many times to encourage him to put an end to his dark path," Nevena confirmed. "However, he was too far gone. The only reason he had not conquered all of time was the fact that my son was defeated by a young wizard by the name of Ambrosius during his time and was sealed within the hourglass. It was only centuries later that he was released once more when the hourglass was broken."
"This is unbelievable," Al looked at Sam.
"All I ask of thee is to stop my son by any means necessary," Nevena pleaded. "He plans on travelling back to the very beginning of time to re-shape the fabric of our world in his own twisted image. Such a thing must not come to pass."
"God willing we'll do whatever we can," Sam promised her.
Nevena looked at Sam sadly but with understanding before vanishing into thin air once again.
"I still can't believe it," Al said to his friend. "The time mage was her son all along. Kairos sent me back in time and it was because of my involvement in his era that he became what he is today…"
"Time paradoxes can be crazy like that," Sam mused.
"They sure can," Al shook his head in bewilderment.
oooo
As daybreak arrived, Sam stood outside with Al Calavicci, patiently waiting in the wooded areas.
It was not long before Father Mac, Abigail, Sister Angela, Katie McBain, and Jimmy all arrived on the scene.
"Before I send all of you back to your own time," Sam began. "I want you to know that I'm sorry. I created Project Quantum Leap as a way to travel back in time and during my leaps, I believed that I was helping people. However, my own project was used against me by the people in Project Chronos and that time mage Kairos. They hunted all of you down and brought you to my time to face torture. I'm the reason you've all suffered so much in the past few days."
"Sam?" Al looked at his friend quizzically.
Father McRoberts was the first to speak out in protest.
"That's nonsense, Sam!" Father Mac declared. "If it wasn't for you, I would have never gotten over Sunny's death or made peace with God! It was through your help that I was able to find the strength to forgive Sunny's murderer. I was sinking into alcoholism and despair. You took me by the hand and got me out of that quicksand!"
"You… mentioned that most of us didn't have very good endings before you leaped into our lives," Katie said next. "If it weren't for you, Sam, I would have never gotten justice and my rapist would have walked free. You helped us when we couldn't even help ourselves."
"Before I became a nun, I didn't have any hope as an orphan," Sister Angela put a soothing hand on Sam's arm. "It was because of you coming into my life that we had our chapel built. You showed me that God does indeed work wonders in our lives."
"The two of us have also been through this before," Abigail said resolutely. "You gave me the greatest thing I could ever ask for… our daughter Sammy Jo."
Jimmy, on the other hand, had nothing to say. He simply went over and embraced Sam.
"Thank you for your kind words," Sam told them. "You'll all be in my heart forever."
With that, Samuel Beckett walked forth, holding the hourglass in his hand. He held the mystical artifact up and concentrated. Soon, the hourglass began to glow as it summoned multiple portals out of thin air.
"Sam, you did it!" Al congratulated.
Jimmy was the first to notice the LaMotta family in one of the portals.
"Frank!" Jimmy exclaimed. "It's Frank!"
"Go on, Jimmy," Sam smiled. "Take good care of yourself and your family."
Al led Jimmy towards the portal as the handicapped man walked through it.
"Godspeed Jimmy," Al said as a single tear came out of his eye, watching as Jimmy Lamotta walked through the portal to rejoin his family, disappearing with the portal.
Sister Angela was next. She noticed the portal which led directly to her chapel.
"Thank you for everything, Sam," Sister Angela smiled. "It was through you that I saw God's grace working miracles."
Slowly, Sister Angela stepped through the portal, vanishing from Sam's life forever and returning to her own.
Katie was the next one up. Before she stepped through her portal, however, she walked over to Sam and hugged him.
"You've given me my life back and you've given me the justice that I would have never gotten if you hadn't leaped into my life," Katie thanked him. "I'll always remember you."
"I'll always keep you in my heart," Sam promised, hugging her back.
After hugging Sam, Katie walked through her portal, returning to her renewed life as well.
"You've also saved my life, Sam," Father McRoberts shook Sam's hand. "God bless you."
"God bless you too, Father Mac," Sam clasped Father Mac's hand firmly.
"You and Al are in each other's lives for a reason and it's no small coincidence that you've become the best of friends," Father Mac added as he walked towards his portal. "Take good care of each other."
"Take care, Father McRoberts," Al nodded his head in respect as he and Sam waved goodbye to the priest.
Abigail was the final time traveler to walk up to Sam. As she came up, Al walked away to allow them a bit of privacy.
"Deep down, I wish this could have ended another way," Abigail said to Sam.
"I do too," Sam admitted. "But things are the way they are. I still have a mission to complete and you have Sammy Jo back in your own time to care for. I wish that we could be together, but we both have separate roles to play in our own timelines. I love you, Abigail, more than anything, but when you love someone, you also have to know when to let them go."
"I love you too, Sam," Abigail whispered in Sam's ear. "Thank you for saving my life. And thank you for our daughter."
Abigail leaned forward and gave Sam a quick kiss on the lips. She did not dare prolong it for the knowledge that to hold on to him longer would only weaken her resolve to return to her own time. However, she realized that she still had a life and a duty to fulfill in her own era, not just for herself but for Sammy Jo as well.
"Goodbye Sam," Abigail walked away.
"Goodbye Abigail," Sam said as tears streamed down his face.
Before long, Abigail disappeared into the portal leading back into her own timeline, leaving behind both Sam and Al.
The two of them looked on wistfully for a few seconds longer before walking away together as Al put a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder.