Agents of T.E.M.P.U.S.

Episode Eleven

Vanishing Point (Mulitverse Coordinates 99999 x 999 x 9999)

T.E.M.P.U.S. Headquarters

The End of Time

Ganthet took his seat at the head of the council, and cast his gaze around the room at the other members. A few had been unable to attend the meeting but most were here: time travelers and wizards and wise men from across many, many realities. To his right sat Dr. Wells with Nebogipfel, a civilized Morlock from a timeline where that people continued to grow instead of regressing to savagery. There as well were Professor Shantoto, Master Yoda, The Doctor, and Rip Hunter. To his left sat Gandalf the White, Oracle Himerish, Emmett Brown, Mister Peabody, Yshtola, and the Equestrian night princess, Luna. "I thank you all for attending." Ganthet said, "For I have unfortunate news. It seems Aaravos has not yet been conscripted by our enemy."

"Another bust." Hunter said. "What are we to do? We need this information."

"Oh yes, indubitably we do." Peabody agreed. "But our enemy seems to be, for now, playing it's cards close to it's chest."

Yoda said "A question I would pose: Certain, are we, that the greater evils we have faced will not be conscripted? Palpatine, perhaps, or Sauron?"

"That seems unlikely for now. After all, they are more powerful than most evils, and would be both more resistant to serving another, and harder to force into doing so." Ganthet said.

Gandalf disagreed. "Perhaps. But we all know that any sufficiently powerful evil can force lesser evils into it's service whether they wish to serve or not. And whoever or whatever this darkness is, it is greater by a measure than any other we have seen. Even now an agent of evil attempts to interfere with my younger self's work, and then there is the situation on Earth 2084..."

"Not to mention," Luna said, "That even Narnia is coming under threat..."

"All valid concerns." Ganthet agreed.

The Doctor said "As I see it, we have three major goals. First, identify our enemy and ascertain it's goals. Second, deal with the crisis that are currently building. And third, hire in some more agents to aid in our mission. Perhaps You and Peabody should focus on the first goal while the rest of us divide up the other two."

"Sensible." Luna agreed.

Ganthet nodded. "Very well. Doctor, Gandalf, until Peabody and I are back I would like the two of you to take care of contacting and briefing our existing agents when the time comes for interventions. The rest of you, please begin finding as many trustworthy new agents as you can."

The council agreed, and it's members went their own ways, save for Ganthet and Peabody who remained in the chamber discussing their options. "So, where should we begin?" The dog asked.

"As much as I would prefer to avoid contact with the other Guardians, I think our best start is to consult the Book of Oa." Ganthet said. "It contains the entire history of my people and our servants, past, present, and future. Surely over billions of years there has been some kind of encounter with the enemy..."

"Very well." Peabody agreed, "Lead the way." Ganthet nodded and the duo vanished in a flash of light.

XXXXX

Earth 1102 (Multiverse Coordinates 4904 x 912 x 5620)

Indianapolis Suburbs

August 16, A.D. 1992

Aerith and Christian walked side by side as they made their way towards the high school's back exit doors. The day's classes were over, and for once nothing had gone wrong save for Keri acting weirder towards them than usual. "I don't like that." Christian grumbled, "It's totally 'plotting' behavior."

"True, true..." Aerith agreed. "But why worry until there's something to do about it?"

Nodding, Christian said "I suppose so. And we do have bigger things to focus on right now. You've still got the location where the cells showed up?"

"Within fifteen or twenty feet, yeah. We should be able to zero right in on- Oh! Hi Brooke!" Aerith interrupted herself at the girl's appearance from around a corner.

"I've only got a few minutes, gotta be at track practice," the girl said, "But can we talk real quick?"

Christian looked around and saw how crowded the halls still were. "At my car." He said and Brooke nodded in agreement.

"Is everything okay?" Aerith asked once they got to the car.

Brooke replied "I... Think so? Maybe?" She sighed. "I don't know, Keri and the others are acting weird towards me. I suppose it could just be that I never showed up at Keri's like I was supposed to yesterday, but... Did you hear what happened? I guess there was some kind of car crash, someone went right through her back yard privacy wall, threw stones hard enough to wreck her room too! I'm kinda glad I wasn't there..."

"She was acting odd to us too. Maybe it's just trauma from the destruction." Christian said.

"Maybe..." Brooke mused. "Either way, I think my hard choice has been made for me, I'm out of the group no matter what."

Aerith hugged Brooke. "Sorry. I know how important friends can be."

"Not your fault." Brooke said. "And even if it was you're the ones on the right side and that's where I wanna be." She looked towards the tracks. "Better go before I catch it from Coach."

"Yeah we better move too, still need to do a little detective work." Christian said.

"Okay! See you soon!" Brooke waved and jogged off towards the tracks.

"On the clock?" Aerith asked watching the girl jog away.

"Yeah, let's go."

XXXXX

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the location Aerith had been given from the Libra materia: An empty abandoned lot bordering an alleyway. The lot was overgrown with weeds and young trees, and while there were indications that it had once been enclosed with a wooden fence only a few support posts remained now. Birdsong could be heard, along with the sounds of traffic on the nearest main road and somewhere nearby a dog was barking. It was the very picture of innocent normality.

"Did we take a wrong turn?" Christian wondered.

Aerith shook her head. "No, this is it. The Jenova cells arrived, and departed, somewhere in this lot." She unbuckled her safety belt. "Let's take a look around."

Exiting the vehicle, the couple walked out into the open lot. At first, they saw nothing suspicious or out of the ordinary, and as they looked they talked of more normal things. "So..." Aerith said, stepping in front of Christian and walking backwards looking at him, "I heard some girls talking in gym class. What exactly is 'homecoming?'"

"Well it's a dance. The first of two big formal dances. Sometime in late September if I remember right." Christian answered.

Leaning forward, looking up at Christian with her head slightly cocked, Aerith asked "Aaaaand are you gonna ask me?"

Christian chuckled. "Of course, though, we've both got some prep to do. Like learning how to do the popular dances and getting appropriate clothes for it."

Aerith stood up straighter but continued to walk backwards in front of Christian. "Yeah I guess so. I kinda have two left feet with dancing though."

Favoring her with a flat look, Christian said "Now that I have a hard time believing. I've seen you in fights after all, the way you move when you're swinging a staff around... That might as well be dancing."

"Aww that's sweet of you." Aerith said, "Just don't say I didn't warn you when I'm stomping all over your feet. Though, as far as that go-" She fell silent for a moment, looking at something across the lot. "Hey take a look at this!"

What Aerith had seen was fairly straightforward. On the far side of the lot from where they had started, the brush was beaten down in a path that led towards one side of the lot that faced another lot with a small house on it, and a road beyond. "This has to be pretty recent." She said, "Plants spring back fast after all."

"Yeah..." Christian agreed. Noticing something, he bent down and looked at the ground more closely.

"See something?"

"Yeah take a look." Christian replied. Aerith knelt by his side and he pointed out what looked like a single set of tire tracks impressed into the soil. "Motorcycle I think, though I don't know enough to tell if these tires match any local models."

"'Local models.'" Aerith repeated. "So you're thinking the same thing I am. A lot of SOLDIERS ride." She realized something else, "And if we're right, that explains the arrival and departure readings being from here. He showed up in this spot, rode off to do... Whatever... And then came back here to leave."

"Yeah I think so." Christian said, standing. "Though of course, it's all based on the assumption that these are tracks from a bike that doesn't belong here on Earth."

"Know anyone who could take a look at these tracks and tell us anything?" Aerith asked after a moment.

"Maybe. Come on, let's find a payphone..."

XXXXX

Detective Kira Stephenson sat at her desk, looking over documents from a current case. Unusually, she was working alone, her partner having a day off for something personal. The investigation wasn't going well, and Kira feared they might have to put this one out to pasture, as much as she wanted to catch the guilty parties. As she was examining a blurry photograph, feeling something was off with it, reaching for a magnifying glass to look closer, her partner's phone began to ring.

Kira considered ignoring it. Anyone who might be calling in an important capacity had her number too, after all, and would ring her next if it was something critical. And she was busy with this case... As Smithson's phone continued to ring, the ring count passing twelve, Kira sighed. She couldn't let it go. "Detective Smithson's desk, this is Kira Stephenson." She answered.

"Detective this is Christian and Aerith."

Kira sat up straighter. "Is something happening?"

Christian answered "There's no current danger so far as we know. But, we seem to have had... A guest... For a short time yesterday."

"Not the big kahuna?"

"No." Christian explained, "We're investigating and we might have a lead but there's a snag. We were hoping you or your partner, or maybe someone you know, could take a look at some motorcycle tracks and tell whether or not they belong to any... Models produced domestically."

Tracking Christian's meaning, Kira replied "Smith's out of town today and it's not my area of expertise."

Apparently the couple were both close to the handset, for Aerith's voice came next, "Well... I suppose it could keep 'til tomorrow."

"No it can't." Kira said, "Haven't you seen the news? Strong storms tonight, it'll wash any evidence away... Listen, I might know someone. Gimme the address and then go back and wait. I'll be there in an hour, either with help or at least with a camera to get pictures." Christian did so, and then they hung up.

Kira leaned back in her seat, sighing, and then picked the phone back up and dialed. The call was picked up on the first ring. "Who dis?"

"It's me Crankshaft." Kira said.

"How many times I gotta tells ya? Don't call me dat!" The voice on the other end complained.

Kira chuckled. "You look like him and sound like him. Look, I'm not calling to get into an argument. I could use a consultation and it's right up your alley."

"Well... Never could say no to a pretty face. When and where?"

"Right now, if possible. I'll pick you up in twenty..."

XXXXX

Gaia 787 (Multiverse Coordinates 5548 x 320 x 11294)

Aboard the Highwind hovering over Kalm

Date: August 16, Shinra Year 0008

Tifa Lockhart was becoming exasperated. True to his word, Barrett had kicked the rest of Avalanche into gear and come to meet them. At first their reunion had gone well. Everyone was relieved to see they were well, and happy to finally put the worry of Cloud and Tifa's disappearance behind them. Then Cloud told them about Aerith and Christian and everything went off the rails and into the land of disbelief. Yuffie, and to a lesser degree Nanaki, seemed willing to put their hope in charge, but everyone else... Even Vincent, who had previously been the one who questioned Aerith's death the most due to the mystery of the disappearance, was playing skeptic.

"Guys it's true!" Tifa exclaimed after Cid had insultingly blown Cloud off for the third time, "I mean, okay, Cloud had some issues before, even if you all know he's over them now, but it did happen so maybe it would make sense to be skeptical if it was just him. But I saw her too! Saw her, talked to her, touched her. Christian as well. I know it sounds crazy but it happened!"

Vincent spoke, "Cloud, Tifa... Please understand. We want to believe you. And certainly there is a mystery of what happened that day in Knowlespole. But what you are saying... Tifa, you do understand that even if Aerith were alive, it hasn't been long enough for her to have recovered from such an injury?"

Tifa rolled her eyes, but before she could respond Cloud beat her to it: "I told you. Her healing was accelerated by Minerva."

"Convenient." Vincent said.

"Oh for the love of-"

Cloud put a hand on Tifa's shoulder, calming her, and looked at Yuffie who was being uncharacteristically quiet. "Yuff? What do you think?"

Fingering the pink ribbon tied around her arm, Yuffie softly said "Vincent's right about one thing... I want to believe you. I want it to be true. I want it so bad that I'm going to go ahead assuming it is true. But... What's that saying Red?"

Nanaki said "I expect you are thinking of 'extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."

Nodding, Yuffie confirmed "Yeah that's the one. Vincent, and I think Barrett and Cid too, they're being cautious because they have to. Like I should be, it's kinda a ninja priority, but like I said I'm hoping so hard right now I can't. But for them... Is there any proof?"

Tifa shook her head. "No, I don't suppose there is. But look, you guys, think of it like this: If we are telling the truth, there's still a danger out there that we all have a personal stake in. So, forgetting everything else, putting aside whether Cloud and I are right or crazy, can you at least give us enough benefit of the doubt to come?"

"We're here ain't we?" Barrett said.

"Your request is reasonable but I would still prefer to have something hard to go on." Vincent said.

It was then that Cait, who had been silent through the arguing thus far, suddenly exclaimed "Of course!"

"Cait?" Yuffie asked, looking at him.

"I've had an idea lads and lasses! Now, am I right or wrong, that Cloud, Tifa, Barrett, Vincent, and Yuffie are the only ones here who have seem Miss Elmyra since Aerith... Since whatever happened?"

"Not even us." Cloud answered. "She wasn't at home this morning when we let ourselves out through the house."

"Okay good. Now, Barrett, when you picked up Marlene did you tell Elmyra about Christian?"

"Well no... I figured Reeve told her everything when he talked to her, so I told her how sorry I was but that's all." Barrett answered.

Yuffie said, 'Well then, Reeve must have bought it up, because Elmyra talked about how she was happy Aerith found someone when Vinny and me saw her."

Shaking his head, Cait said "Nae lass. Reeve didn't say a word. Didn't think it appropriate when he was delivering a death notice after all."

Vincent stared at the robot cat. "Cait are you certain Reeve said nothing? Absolutely certain? Because Yuffie is right, Elmyra did speak of Christian, in an unusually familiar way now that I think about it, almost as if..."

"As if she'd met him?" Nanaki asked. Vincent merely nodded. Nanaki then said "Given this new information, I believe we should go down and see Mrs. Gainsborough. And subtly pose a few questions..."

XXXXX

Earth 1102

Indianapolis suburbs.

Christian looked up as he heard the sound of a car engine, just in time to see Kira drive into view. There was someone in the passenger seat, a grizzled elderly man who reminded him of the main character from Crankshaft. Kira pulled to a stop, switched off the engine, and got out of the car along with her passenger, the pair walking towards Christian and Aerith.

"Cranky, these kids are the ones who found what I need you to look at." Kira said.

"You boughts me outs fer kids!?" The old man complained. "Consarn it!"

Aerith stepped forward and took the man's hand. "Sir? We are sorry if this disturbs you. But it really is very important."

The old man hemmed about, clearly trying to make up his mind whether to help or be angry. "Well... I don't want's t' diserpoint a pretty face. Name's Aldous by the way but Kira here jus calls me Cranky. Whats it you gots?"

Aerith began to lead the way to the tracks. "We've got tracks that we think are from a motorcycle, but we don't know enough to tell what kind." She pointed to the ground. 'Right here!"

"Oh I see..." Cranky bent down and looked closely, several time using his hands to measure things out. He muttered under his breath repeatedly, and Christian was beginning to wonder just what asylum Kira had pulled this guy out of. Finally, after nearly ten minutes Cranky looked Aerith in the eyes and said "Lil lady, I'm afeared you gots me hornswoggled." He looked back down at the tracks.

Eyes wide, Aerith looked to Christian and Kira and silently mouthed the question "Hornswoggled!?" Christian and the detective looked at each other, then back to Aerith and shrugged.

"Sir, I'm not sure what you mean..."

Cranky finally stood and motioned everyone closer. He explained "You right about two things... Deese is tire tracks, and since there jus the one, they gots t' be from a bike. But. I ain't never seen no bike tires big as deese."

"Could it be a custom modification?" Christian asked.

"Coul be, cept fer one thing... You sees how deep these track is? Dis thing musta weighed a few tons. Ain't no one makes a bike dat heavy, a cause ain't no one strong 'nuff t' ride a bike dat heavy."

"I see."

Kira said "Okay, thanks for this Cranky. If you wanna wait in the car I'll get you home in a minute. I just need a moment in private here."

Cranky nodded, and said "Aight. Sorry I couldna be more hep."

"You've helped more that you know. Thank you." Christian said. Aerith also called out thanks as Cranky turned and ambled back towards the car.

"So what is this?" Kira asked once Cranky was out of earshot.

Aerith answered "We're not really sure... But, there was something with Jenova cells in it here for a couple hours yesterday. Between the number of cells, and now a motorcycle too heavy for a normal person to control, probably a third class SOLDIER."

Christian added "Ganthet says there's something working against his council. We're guessing this guy was working for that. But why he was here, where he went and what he did... I'm afraid we've got nothing."

"Except that it can't be good." Kira concluded.

"No."

Aerith said "Okay it's bad no matter what, but I wonder... SOLDIERS always end up experiencing mental and physical deterioration sooner or later... Maybe this one wasn't actually doing anything here. Maybe he's just crazy and wasn't even supposed to be here." At the looks Kira and her husband gave, she added "Yeah yeah I know. Not likely." She stomped a foot. "Someone has to be positive here!"

"I'll leave that to you." Kira said. 'Keep me in the loop." She turned and walked back to the car.

As soon as Kira was in, before she could even buckle her safety belt, Cranky asked "What dis 'bout anyways?"

Kira just shook her head. "You really don't want to know..."

XXXXX

Earth 2084 (Multiverse Coordinates 77514 x 512 x 4242)

Just outside Moonlight Cove, California.

October 22, A.D. 1982, 9:56 p.m.

Chrissy Foster, age ten, was terrified. She had noticed, nearly a month ago, that her parents were acting... Wrong. The formerly casual, easygoing manner in which they carried themselves had been replaced by an odd tension. They often seemed to be barely in control, not angry, no, not angry, they didn't show any emotion whatsoever, save for fear. Even expressions of love seemed forced and faked. But the tension and weak control were there nonetheless, a sort of nervous energy just below the surface.

Of course, Chrissy had just assumed this was some adult thing she was still to young to understand, and had simply hoped and prayed that it wasn't divorce. Until this morning.

Chrissy had left the house as usual, walking down the long driveway towards the road where her school bus stop was. But she only got halfway there when she had suddenly realized she forgot to bring the library book that was due back. So, she went back home to collect it. And what Chrissy had seen when she opened the door...

Whatever those things were, they were not her parents. Not anymore. They had been changing shape, almost like werewolves though Chrissy didn't think that's what this was. Her father, -former father- had grabbed Chrissy and locked her in the pantry, where she was left for several hours. Then both parents had come back with another man, someone called they called Tucker. Chrissy had listened through the door as her parents and Tucker discussed what was to be done with her, that they were going to 'convert' her, presumably into whatever they had become. Then the pantry door opened and Chrissy was ordered out.

Luckily, they had underestimated her. During the hours waiting, Chrissy had found a small can of WD 40 and secreted it in a pocket. As she stepped out of the pantry, as all three whatever they weres approached, she made her move, blinding them with sprays to the eyes, then ran for her life, out the door and into the woods.

And so here she now was, fleeing, and being chased. Evidently the shape shifting ability included rapid regeneration because they could clearly see again already, even though they hadn't found Chrissy yet. Running, the girl came across a concrete drainage culvert that ran under the nearby highway and decided it was the best hiding place she was likely to find. She slipped in, passed the decaying remains of something dead, and continued until she was sure nothing could see her from the entrance.

She made it just in time. Moments later, something horrible appeared at the entrance. It took one step into the drain, two, then stopped. And spoke in her mother's voice. "Chrissy...? Chrissy here? Here you here?"

Another creature appeared, different but just as twisted. "Girl here?" It asked, "Here girl here?"

"No girl." The mom thing answered, "Dead thing. Dead raccoon. Dead. No girl."

"Come then, come. Come. We hunt. Hunt kill feast."

"Yes. Hunt. Hunt then girl. Come." Both creatures turned and went away.

Shivering, Chrissy huddled up and wrapped her arms around her legs. She would wait an hour, maybe two, then try to make it into town. Surely someone there could help...

Author's Note: As you can see from the final section we're prepping for the next crossover. This one is somewhat more obscure than the ones we've done before: It's the novel 'Midnight' by Dean Koontz.