For a moment, everyone was silent, but eventually, curiosity got the better of Cassandra.
"Forgive me for asking, but is there a particular reason you all were so shocked that the...creature that just came through the portal was attacked by a flock of birds?"
"The creature is called a Leshen, and it is said to possess the power to control animal and plant life via magic, such that the birds should've been immediately enthralled by the creature and fought for it as an army of slaves. And yes, I can confirm those tales are true."
"I see. Is it possible to coexist with this creature?"
Tristan beat 'Phil' out in answering that. "Yes, but Leshen are ferociously territorial."
"True enough...I have an important question, directed at my companions rather than our guests."
Tristan's gaze was inscrutable. "Shoot."
"Should we tell Nigel about this when everything is said and done? And if so, do we tell him the full truth or leave out the more...fantastical elements?"
It was Sean who answered that. "We tell him, but only the less fantastical parts. This is weird enough as is, and I doubt it would be a good idea to drag Nigel into something this big."
The rest of the group acknowledged this point, deciding to let the topic rest.
Before the group could question 'Phil' further, his gaze seemed to glaze over, with his expression changing as well - it appeared as if he was holding a conversation with someone else.
Elise had a feeling this was important. "You having a conversation with someone else?"
"Yeah. They wanted me to hurry up and get back on the other side of the portal."
"Does that mean you're leaving now?"
"Not until I help you figure out what this place is."
"Sweet. Anything else we should know?"
"I have someone coming to guard me/pick me up."
Sean decided to interject into the conversation at this point. "Are they from a video game we might know of?"
"Depends. Does the name 'Digital Extremes' mean anyting to you?"
Sean blinked in surprise. "You've been to Warframe?"
"Yes."
Cassandra was unaware of the significance of this, but the siblings and a few others practically lit up with glee.
"Neat. Which one is it?"
"Protea."
Sean tilted his head in confusion. "Huh?"
"You wouldn't know about it - I don't think she's been added into the game yet."
"Oh. I see...You got any ideas what, exactly, this place is?"
"Nope. Gonna check my mini-probes now, see if they found anything useful."
The Commander turned his attention toward the probes...and promptly let out a shocked 'whoa'.
"Um, you said that out loud."
'Phil' turned to glance at Melissa. "How much?"
"Just the whoa."
"What did you find out?"
Glancing at Elise, the boy didn't answer, merely projecting his findings onto a nearby screen.
"This is a map of the sea floor for the surrounding area."
Said map was primarily a mixture of rocky outcroppings covered in coral and sandy seabed. Particular focus, however, was drawn toward a set of underwater caves.
Sean was not exactly sure why this was important. "Why are the caves of interest?"
Without missing a beat, the map updated, showing a probe had traveled through the network and ended up exiting into an outcropping bordering the open ocean.
This time, Elise was the perplexed one. "So it traveled all the way to the open ocean, big deal. Your mapping of the area shows that the open ocean isn't too far away, so I don't see why this is so odd."
The map promptly adjusted to show the distance the probe had traveled between the entrance and exit of the cave.
That gave everyone pause, unsurprisingly.
The distance from the cave entrance to the open ocean was quite a few miles as the crow flies. The distance between the entrance and exit of the cave, also as the crow flies?
Just two hundred meters.
And that wasn't all - examination of the surrounding area reaveld that the cave exit was significantly further from the island the park was on...which, somehow, was actually smaller than the one all of us were on.
Yeah, that was weird.
"..But...but...but..."
"Yes, Cassandra, this makes absolutely no sense," 'Phil' said, smirking. "Also, this is just the least odd thing here."
The images displayed changed, now showing the island itself. Except Island was no longer really an appropriate term - this landmass was one-fifth the size of Australia.
And that wasn't even accounting for all the people living on it...some of whom were busy fighting each other for whatever reason. Those reasons, though, were a topic for another time.
The surprise of seeing all of this, however, left the team mostly unable to speak.
"Is there anything else you want add that makes this place weird?" questioned Melissa.
"...The stars here don't match anything I've ever seen, in the past or the present...or in the future, according to Tristan."
Quirking an eyebrow, 'Phil' gave what the group presumed to be the order for some of the mini-probes to start heading toward space.
It took only a few minutes for them to reach the exosphere and...wow.
Oh, the stars sure were different here. The moon also looked a bit different, having a few craters and mare that weren't on Luna.
The real difference was the Earth, though.
Not only did it's surface not match up with the Earth they knew, it was also a lot bigger. As in, even with the probes up high, theyI still couldn't see the curvature of the Earth.
"...I am now officially completely beyond the capacity to give fucks."
Melissa glanced at 'Phil'. "Did you mean to say that out loud?"
"Yes, yes I did."
"Okay. Also, our friend should be coming through the portal now-what?!"
Instantly, all attention was focused on Melissa. "What happened?"
"The Tenno is saying that something screwed up her frame. Most things are fine, but she's getting weird readings and having some trouble with her abilities...specifically, she can't get Temporal Anchor to work properly."
"Well, why could that...be a...problem..."
Slowly, a look of comprehension occupied the Commander's face.
Tristan focused on him, Concerned and curious. "You figure something out?"
"...Have any of you guys ever noticed anything weird regarding the island?"
"...Well, we've always entered it with our vision obscured by something - either storm clouds, fog, and in the case of a mini-sub, murky waters. Why, exactly, is this important?"
"Well, I think I might finally know why this place is so odd."
All eyes focused on a smirking 'Phil'.
"See, this place is a deposition zone for beings from all across time, as the presence of so many time portals would indicate."
Cassandra nodded in agreement.
"Yet it appears that attempts to travel backwards and forwards in time here are met with failure, since my companion was unable to reverse time with one of her powers."
The group clearly had questions, but were willing to keep quiet until 'Phil' finished speaking.
"Additionally, the surface of this land does not match up with that of Earth at any known point in history, nor do the stars or moon... which could be explained if we aren't actually in history, in ongoing, passed, or yet to be."
The vagueness of these statements was growing on Cassandra's nerves. "Can you get to the point, please?"
He nodded. "I think the reason this land is so different from the rest of your Earth is that this land isn't part of Earth."
"What?!"
The Commander smirked. "I believe that this land exists parallel and atemporal to your Earth. More simply, it is a land outside of time."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the team was racing to throw out counterarguments...only to realize they didn't have any.
Even Cassandra didn't have a retort. "You suggestion is...odd, to say the least, but it does have its merits. And sounds more reasonable than any other possible solutions."
"That's what I thought."
Before anyone could begin a discussion, thought, 'Phil' raised his hand. "Look, I admit that this is a groundbreaking idea, but I need to get going. Now. And I would be remiss to leave Melissa behind."
"...Can we see you off?" questioned Tai.
"...Sure, why not?"
XXXXXXXXXX
On the other side of the portal, the team found a verdant, hilly grassland, with a forest visible in the distance, behind which was a snow capped mountain range. Mechanical wrecks dotted the battlefield, as did several small craters - evidence of recent combat.
Combat the Commander had likely been involved in.
The group took a few pictures, but mostly stayed away from the wrecks - this was not the place to go exploring in.
"Is this where we part ways?" questioned Tristan.
"..Yes, I do believe it-"
Without warning, a pillar shot out of the ground and fired a beam of energy at the Protea, causing it to collapse in shock. Not missing a beat, it fire a burst of electricity at the group.
A few seconds later, their bodies stopped convulsing, all alive, yet unconscious.
XXXXXXXXXXXx
AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!