The Sanctuary
Timpani really had no idea what was going on. She left her seat and walked over, looking very confused as Mayne did this science experiment on the stove. Or it looked like a science experiment at least. What was this called, Chemistry? Timpani found herself struggling to remember what the 'clues of a chemical change' were... stuff changing into weird colors and textures was probably part of that list. Although it wasn't really weird colors and textures.
It just looked like normal pancakes.
She walked over to her chair when Mayne was done. All the way, she was just staring incredulously at the pancakes. What the disgrace? When she sat down and Mayne served her, she didn't even understand what he was saying, especially since she was still staring at the pancakes.
"I never watched batter turned into pancakes before," Timpani admitted. "I always thought men had alchemy powers to turn... things... into food."
She chuckled. "After the war, can you teach me to cook?"
Rowan wanted to hug everyone and everything right now. He gently put his other arm around Lily as she kissed his hand. Being who he was, he couldn't help but also yawn along with her, almost at the same time.
"I love them too," He said affectionately. His eyes were closed, but this was the one time he wished he could use them properly. Only to make puppy dog eyes at her. "I have enough room in my heart for everyone, but you get the penthouse with the balcony and sunroof."
He could sense Lily's fatigue and sleepiness. Rowan wasn't sure if he felt sleepy too, or if it was just his inhuman empathy acting up again. "We could sleep here if you want. These cushions are very soft." He squeezed what he thought was a cushion.
That's one of the teenagers' bundled up coats, Luno explained to him with a giggle.
It's very dirty. I don't think my dear Maple Adamson will have a use for that anymore.Rowan put his late old sister's coat down on the floor.
"I don't know where Solara is," Rowan explained to Lily. He didn't want to ask Luno either, because not everyone was comfortable with his telepathy. From what he knew from old history textbooks, many people found it disconcerting. Rowan was okay with it because he was an Adamson. They believed in total honesty. That way they would have nothing to hide.
"I think she left, but I don't know where or why. You can ask Luno if you want," Rowan said. "If not, maybe she'll be back by the time we wake up?"
Gavotte, as a native from the musical nature paradise, had always looked up to the Celestial Couple- literally and metaphorically. Luno was the original Nightingale of Hesenia, the one who created music. Windwoods life might have been inspired by him, but they revolved around Solara in many ways. They rose and slept with the sun. Each dawn they would wake up at sunrise, and sing the anthem of Hesenia as the morning sun broke free of the horizon. Every evening they would gather together and tell stories as the sun made its way towards the west. The stories would include episodes of song. Everyone had a story to share, it just depended on whose day it was. But everyone had a different story.
Gavotte always felt so safe under the Hesenian skies. During the day, Solara's watchful eye would cast its warm beacon over his village. And at night, he slept soundly in the peaceful knowledge that Luno wouldn't let him out of sight. They made him feel very protected. Then again, so did Jen.
"Maybe we could sleep by the tree," He suggested. He would have went to the lake, but there was the possibility they would accidentally fall into the water. Nobody had a change of clothes here. "Do you want to say hello to Xia first?"
He looked up, meeting the tall blonde's eyes. He honestly had never felt so safe around a woman before. Normally they were very intimidating. Although Jen was a formidable fighter, Gavotte knew she was like most fire elements. She fought for what was right, and she would never hurt innocent people.
It would make him feel very safe (and very warm) to fall asleep in her arms.
"Aah!" Cilan exclaimed as he woke up beside the lake. Any more to his right, and he would have gotten soaking wet. He laughed at his bad accuracy. Not wanting to get up, he just kind of rolled away from the waterside.
"Hi Xia," He said as he waved to the approaching girl. Cilan was still lying on the ground. He just didn't feel like getting up. It was nice and comfortable out here, like a warm summer night. The only things missing were the fireflies and crickets. They would probably appear once they figured out those basilisks weren't coming back.
"Up to anything fun? And please don't say 'water fight'."
---
Birvale Beach
Ivana was getting very irritated, especially with this random adult. Despite having spent all her current electricity, she could still feel the static crackling through her hair. This wouldn't be useful electricity, except for skin-to-skin contact to shock someone slightly. She stood up, then stretched out her limbs, making sure this ruffian woman saw her whole 5'8" of lean muscle. Ivana was a bit unhappy this lady was taller, but it was no big deal. She had dealt with enemies much larger than this intruder before. She was the Timekeeper's daughter, and this woman was a nobody.
Ivana was annoyed with everything though, not just this nobody. There was sand in her hair and all over her clothes. The beach was in a state of disarray after Agatha's attack, and there were still bodies here. The darkness hanging overhead reminded Ivana of her father's storm clouds that would accumulate over the tower when he was overly stressed. She couldn't say she missed her father all that much.
"Let's go. Lead the way, Amber. I'll take the back." Ivana made it clear she was not letting this woman out of sight. She wanted to be the first one to attack this imbecile. This stupid blonde thought she could just march in here uninvited. She could think again, if she had even a brain. Ivana would latch onto her and electrocute this woman until she admitted she was an inferior who probably plagiarized her assignments, and copied off others during tests.
The instant she awoke in Hesenia, she found herself at the front of an abandoned cottage. She was still on the beach, and she knew the teenagers were moving in this direction. They had not stayed put and Solara had decided to revive directly in thir path. Her eyes were still closed, but she could see life inside the building. Someone was alone here, and had been alone here for quite some time.
That someone wouldn't be alone for long.
Solara skipped the stairs altogether, stepping onto the porch in one step. She didn't want to risk breaking the old wooden steps. The porch creaked beneath her feet, but Solara walked carefully.
She approached the door and knocked slowly, twice. It was the signature way an Adamson knocked. She then let her arms rest at her sides, and made sure she didn't look threatening. It was difficult considering her ridiculous height and ridiculous build. Solara had learned that certain people would feel uncomfortable if a muscular 6'4" visitor showed up at their doorstep when they were home alone.
---
Parliament Building
Alastair was so furious. He was going to murder everyone in sight after he finished with this girl. He would disgracing rip off their heads with his bare hands, no matter who it was. The stupid bird girl flew around Alastair like a maniac Thunderbird short-circuiting its puny brain. He heard the characteristic noise of a sword being unsheathed, but he already knew she was going to attack from behind. Alastair was used to fighting while angry. In fact, he only fought while he was angry. He was surprisingly peaceful when he didn't get himself riled up into a mad rage... which was his little secret.
He just kept charging forward, like he thought Amelia was still on his throne. He looked like he was blinded by stupid rage, but he knew what he was doing. The farther he was from her, the worse she would over-extend himself trying to hit him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the sword coming at him fast. He dropped to the floor and rolled to the side, but also
towards her. Just before getting to his feet, he aimed a hard kick at the side of her knee. He just kept going, using his momentum to roll completely past her and then he leaped to his feet.
"Agatha relied on me, and so did you," Alastair snarled at the traitor like a wolf. The anger was giving him insane confidence, even against Agatha. He was going towards Amelia again, on the offensive despite being unarmed and facing a weaponed opponent. He didn't even care.
"Show some respect, kid. I'm the only King you've got."
---
Clock Tower
Exhausted would be such an understatement that 'understatement' itself would be an understatement.
Adam was on the verge of losing his Solara-damned mind. He was not just providing power to all of Hesenia, he was also making sure the Sanctuary seemed to stay off the grid. He had known about it since the beginning, and Luno knew he knew. Adam couldn't hide from Luno's mind. Luno couldn't hide from Adam's power, as long as the Sanctuary used electricity. Fortunately both of them were only trying to protect Hesenia. They worked together. It had to be either win-win, or lose-lose.
He had kicked Clair out of the tower. Well not exactly. He had sent her downstairs to play with her friends, in the garden. At least, it used to be a garden before Alastair torched it. The deranged King wanted to show his 'superiority over Solara'. As a result, he had burnt every garden in the Capital City by hand.
It was difficult for Adam to provide electricity to the Sanctuary, yet still prevent Alastair's people from finding out. The new, dark Parliament had spies all over the place. Some were just as technologically adept as Audrey. Adam was struggling to keep on top of their intelligence. He constantly found hostile attempts at security breaches, so he was constantly writing code that would keep Alastair's spies out of his systems. One mistake meant the Sanctuary would be compromised.
"Adam."
He finished typing the last few lines of code before turning around in his creaking old chair. Adam didn't find comfort to be a high priority when everyone's future was at stake.
He squinted in the light coming from the hallway. Audrey's features were difficult to see with the backlight, and her eyes were spots of red. Adam's eyes were more like digital cameras than human eyes. Despite the light obscuring everything, he could make out the bags under his wife's eyes.
"What is it?" He said, slightly irritably.
"Clair hasn't come back now. You told her two hours." Audrey crossed her arms. "I'm going to check on her."
"Go. Why are you telling me this?" Adam didn't want to sound so mean, but he had no control over his emotions right now. He had no filter. Honestly, he felt bad about it, but then that annoyed him even more.
"Are you going to be okay, alone up here?" Audrey's tone was harsh, almost scolding.
Adam sighed and hung his head. Poor Audrey was the only one taking care of him, and she had to put up with his horrible temper. He felt very bad for snapping at her. "Thank you, but I'll be fine. I'm sorry for being immature."
"I really do feel like your mother sometimes," Audrey chuckled warmly. "I love you, Sparky. I'll make sure Clair drops in for her bedtime kiss."
"Yes, my flower."
She closed the door, and Adam turned right back to his work. He wished he had a mother. Truth was, he had been created, and not in the 'personal' way the others were created. When Hesenia discovered electricity and they started to become more and more advanced here, Adam slowly came into existence. When the Clock Tower was built to regulate all of Hesenia's power, that was when he took a physical body. He remembered opening his eyes in this very room, as a baby. He crawled around inspecting all the gears and wires. Back then, the phonograph machine was a new invention that Hesenians regarded as a 'magical artifact of the future', and the telephone was seen as a 'breakthrough alternative to telepathy'.
His existence was dismissed as just a rumor, the 'ghost in the machine'. That was his own fault. He had been a shy, timid boy who shrunk from human contact. He would hide in the wires whenever anyone came into the room. Meaning he would literally hide inside the wires. Nothing but a rogue program, an encrypted file, or a hidden piece of code locked in an inaccessible folder.
Slowly, he grew as Hesenia's technology grew. He became a toddler as the radio was invented, and a single voice could be broadcast across Hesenia. As a child, he watched as television changed from its black and white infancy, to a colorful maturity. He became a teenager when the Internet was created. Still he remained shy. The Hesenians who came to the Clock Tower to check, they weren't always logical beings. Adam didn't understand them, and he was so frail and weak compared to them. At that time, he hadn't realized he was supplying more electricity to Hesenia than every generator.
It was Audrey who found him. She was Hesenia's best weather lady, but the weather wasn't all she knew. Every bit of information on the Internet was hers to know. Just like Adam was born from technology and electricity itself, Audrey was born from the creation of the Internet. People constantly questioned her about everything, and interviewed her demanding to know facts about their pasts. Some even mistakenly thought she had precognition, and could see the future. To seek refuge from the demanding crowds, who Audrey often referred to as 'just like the social medias', she had hidden in the Clock Tower.
Adam let her know she wasn't alone from the very beginning. He would move things out of place. He would alter the code of any technology she used, and find a way to put his little symbol everywhere. An open book. When Audrey went to use the computer, he even changed her cursor to the open book.
It was days before the ghost in the machine finally revealed himself to her.
"Hi," The small boy had greeted her, stepping out shyly from behind the desk. With his short stature and bad posture, he was completely concealed behind it.
"I knew you were real," She said as a wide smile spread across her face.
He smiled timidly and looked at the floor. "From the Internet?"
"No, silly." She crossed her arms as she always did when she got irritated. "From here."
Adam watched curiously as Audrey pointed to her chest. "What's in there?" He asked her.
"My heart." She took a step towards him, and Adam fought the urge to run away. The weather girl didn't seem as scary as he originally thought. Maybe Hesenians weren't so bad.
"What's that?"
"Everyone has one." Audrey laughed. "It's in your chest and it beats to keep the blood moving. I know that from the Internet."
Adam placed a hand on his own chest. He wasn't very familiar of what blood was. Once a Hesenian accidentally cut himself with a metal part, and red liquid came from his hurt hand. Adam had received his fair share of injuries in Clock Tower mishaps, but the red liquid never came out of him.
Audrey just kept speaking. "My heart also tells me how I feel about things. I can't get that from the Internet."
"Does it make a sound when it beats?" Adam asked her. "Can I hear it?"
"Of course! Come closer and you can listen."
He wasn't absolutely certain of this, but he decided to trust Audrey. He walked forward into her outstretched arms. Adam tensed as she wrapped her arms around him, and faint sparks of electricity began to leap from his hair. Was she going to kill him?
"This is called a hug. Hesenians give these to make each other feel better," Audrey told him.
"Uh-huh." He slowly relaxed as he pressed his ear against her chest. He expected to hear familiar noises like sparks crackling, hard drives whirring, or even gears grinding. To his surprise, the sound was something he never imagined before. It was a rhythm- lub-dub, lub-dub... yet it was completely natural.
"An open book, huh?" Audrey's voice snapped him out of his stupor.
Adam blinked and pulled back, looking at her. A stray spark flew from his hair in surprise. He had been mesmerized by that comfortingly rhythmic sound. "Hm?"
"I saw your symbol everywhere. It doesn't exactly represent you." Audrey let go of him and crossed her arms again, but this time she was smiling.
Adam squinted at her. "What do you mean? I love to learn."
"In Hesenia, an 'open book' is someone who doesn't hide himself or his secrets," Audrey explained to him.
He felt a little embarrassed. He had been hiding his whole life, and even his existence was a secret to everyone except her. "Did you learn that from the Internet?"
"No, silly. I heard it from my friend when he was bragging about his personality."
"What's a friend?"
Audrey laughed. "A friend is someone you trust, and you like being around them. You can tell them your secrets."
Adam smiled, and finally he met her eyes directly. "Can you be my friend?"
"You look like you really need one," Audrey told him.
Silently, Adam nodded. Now that he had met someone he liked, who now knew his biggest secret, he realized he did trust her. He wanted to make a friend, and this was the best place to start.
She placed a hand on his shoulder, and looked him in the eye.
"Then you're stuck with me, Sparky."
Adam smiled at the memory, despite his crippling fatigue. He hadn't slept since Solara forced him unconscious, and he had immediately recovered once she went out of range. He was a Timekeeper. Instead of wearing off with time, Solara's power wore off with distance. She could keep him in a coma indefinitely if she never left. Or her power would wear off immediately, if she was immediately teleported away from the area. It was like a cell phone signal, not medicine. For normal people, it worked differently. It would wear off with time (or exposure to cold water).
Of course, Adam was not fond of unnecessary contact with water. Once he spilled a glass of water on himself and it had been disastrous. Fortunately Audrey had saved him and cleaned him up. At times like that when he was helpless, he realized just how much he needed her. Adam would never regret the day they met. It was the best choice he ever made on his own, especially since all the choices after that were influenced- directly or indirectly- by her.
They had both disliked too much company as teenagers. As they grew up, both of them became more confident. Audrey admitted the truth about her genius, quit her high-publicity job and moved to the Clock Tower. Adam broke out of his shell, revealed himself to the people, and took responsibility for running Hesenia's electricity. Some of the employees complained, but Adam invented video games and let those employees take credit. They started the video game industry that way. Audrey had secretly got the idea off the ground, but eventually she cut her mental connection with the Internet altogether. The web could run without her watching- she wasn't the one running it. People had complained about her presence ever since she told the truth. After she detached herself from the internet, Hesenia felt safe to social-media without worrying about a mother figure reading all their private messages.
Afterwards, she found she could 'ground' Adam with her touch, defusing any dangerous situations involving his power. It was due to her birth as a technological being, and her choice to give up that power. Instead of an excellent conductor, she became an excellent resistor. It became more useful as Adam matured, and his power became more destructive when used incorrectly. It was thanks to Audrey he hadn't accidentally ruined the tower and electrocuted all the employees.
Eventually Livius blessed them with two children. Both greatly resembled Audrey in her youth, and neither shared any traits with Adam himself- except his power.
Clair would grow into her role eventually... and Ivana would make an excellent heiress. There was also Amber Soare. Adam had never heard of anyone else with his same power, but she was an exception. He was glad he took her in, and not just because of her talent. Adam had grown to love her as he loved his own daughters.
He missed his daughters dearly. Audrey was running a little late, but she would be here with Clair soon. Adam would be finished this program in just a minute. He promised himself he would tuck his daughter in before doing any more work. He wasn't just a Timekeeper anymore.
He was also a father.
Darius Winters was proud of himself. He was so used to lying and faking, he managed to convince all his friends he was in love with Amelia. Sure, the bird girl was kind of good-looking. She was definitely not Darius' type though. He didn't trust or like any of his friends, so best to ensure they would never learn who he really liked. He was above those dumb 'friends' anyway, despite his rank being much lower.
Despite his confidence, there was a seed of worry at the back of his mind. He had been eavesdropping on a certain someone's dream just recently. He knew that there was a traitor among the Sanctuary, and that Agatha was back in Hesenia. Soon chaos would consume the land.
Darius had more in common with Agatha than with the stupid tyrant. He was nothing like that idiot King Alastair, who tried to look strong by choosing the most pathetic and useless wife. Darius hated Atalanta more than he hated anyone. Her existence was an embarrassment.
Darius had experienced his fair share of embarrassment, thanks to old Alastair. It was Darius who found the Soares, all because he was a loyal soldier who followed Alastair's orders. He had nothing against the Soares; they were strong people. He even looked up to them at some point. But orders were orders, and back then Darius was so faithful following them. He had tracked Jonah through the Soare boy's dream powers. Darius had the same powers, only more twisted- he unintentionally turned good dreams into nightmares when he entered them.
It was him who pinpointed the Soares' location, but Alastair gave him no credit. Darius didn't get promoted or rewarded. Instead, he was told he was useless for 'sleeping during the battle and not joining the soldiers'. He was demoted to one of the lowest spies, responsible for getting information off the pathetic Clock Tower.
Well, he would teach Alastair a lesson. Darius didn't even care about him anymore. Agatha was more worth serving, especially since even Regina had joined her. Darius knew he could be more impressive than that crazy old lady. Agatha was delusional, and she should be retired by now.
Why was Darius worried? He was stuck at this stupid Clock Tower job, and he would be fired for one more infraction. He was the lowest of the low here too. But that wasn't what worried him.
He had never been afraid before. At least, not that he would admit. But now, Regina was in a foreign and hostile territory, and Darius couldn't even track her location this time. She had made a deal with Agatha herself. Darius was stuck here, and he couldn't fight the need to get his heinie over there immediately.
He had to get out of here. In order to do that, he would ask Alastair to send him on a mission. The only time the King would approve though, was right after Darius did something drastically impressive.
He was going to get some information from the Timekeepers, information that would lead him- and only him- directly to the Sanctuary of his worst enemies.
And he knew exactly who to target.
