Time Troubles

Prologue

Time.

Time is such a strange and beautiful concept.

People write poems and songs about time and all it's glory. They glorify what time they get, and complain when they think they have too little. Barging for more time is just human nature.

But the humans don't know how fragile time is, how valuable and vulnerable, time truly is. They think of it as a concept, something that will always continue and never stop. They're wrong.

Time is a living, breathing force, and like all living things it can be killed.

Time wraps around our universe, our worlds, like a warm blanket of security. A mother who will always be there and no matter what happens will continue to go on. But, there are forces that wish for that to stop.

We consider these forces living as well. These forces go against time, they fight every second to over throw it. Forces of Darkness and Eternity.

Darkness is the things you fear, the unknown and known, the very essence of the universe. For the Darkness is the oldest force, before anything there was only Dark, and they want it that way again.

Eternity, the child of Time that fights it's mother's grip like a man fighting to breath underwater. Because Eternity does not like Time, Time limits how long things last and nothing can live for Eternity. Eternity hears the calls and begs of the humans pleading for something to last forever, but Time wins every battle.

Darkness and Eternity, like father and son against their wife and mother, wish for nothing more than Time to fall. And so after so long they bonded together to force Time to it's knees.

Little did they know that Time would not fall without a fight.

-:-:-

The city was quiet. Unusually so, not a car horn or shout to be heard. It was almost as if the world had stopped. Covered in Darkness and held for Eternity.

The woman was the only thing moving. Her brown hair flying out behind her and eyes frantic. She wore a brown trench coat as she flew down the street. The woman weaved through cars and trucks frozen in place.

The night was so dark even the moon was blotted out like someone had dripped ink over it.

The woman stopped for a split second before running into the building beside her. The red brick walls that made the outside leading up three stories before a flat roof. The windows were blacked out, no light inside, but life was in the building.

The woman read the name 'Josy's Orphanage'. She ran right through the door, flying through it as if it wasn't even there. The inside was dark just like the outside. They would find her soon. She had to act fast.

She doges coffee tables and chairs as she made her way to the staircase. Running up to the second floor she pulled out a pocket watch and glanced at it. She was running out. The woman opened doors to bedrooms holding different children. In a few rooms kid laid tucking into bed.

In others the kids were frozen in place doing some activities, jumping on the bed, watching tv, listening to music, talking to other children. Finally she opened the seventh door on the right of the third floor. The last door she checked.

The woman made her way into the room. She seemed to admit a small broken glow. In fact everything about her was bronze. Her skin and hair seemed to be made of the stuff. The only real thing about her face seemed to be her eyes.

Eyes that were filled with worry and anxiety but were strange. It was if they were made of clock parts. The irises's bronze works slightly darker that the rest.

She looked around the room, a bed, a tiny desk with coloring books and crayons laying out. But on the bed was a girl lost in a book. The book was much too large for the girl, she had to be less than six.

Her hair was a warm brown and her eyes a icy blue. They seemed to glow even in the complex dark. Her skin was pale but dotted all over with freckles. Her soft and delicate features painted the picture of a sweet little girl.

The woman kneeled by the little girl's bedside. The little girl was laid back holding the book above her and smiling faintly. The woman moved the little girl's hair behind her ear and smiled. In the distance a crack like lightning let her know she was almost up.

Without waiting a moment she kissed the little girl's forehead. Bronze light glowed from the spot in the middle of her brow out until her whole body was shimmering. Finally the light died down, and the woman smiled weakly. She took out her pocket watch once again and snapped her fingers. Suddenly the watch was on a necklace.

Careful not to pull the younger girl's hair the woman placed the necklace around her neck. The stood to leave. With one more glance to the child the woman ran out and left the building.

She ran far away. She was not about to lead them to the girl. But the woman was very weak now, she stumbled and landed on the side walk. That's when she heard the clicking of boots behind her.

Two men made the turn around the corner and walked to where the woman sat against the outside of a building like a beggar looking for change.

One was a tall and slender man. His hair was blacker than midnight and matched his skin. He looked as if he was made from obsidian. His clothes of a simple T-shirt and jeans seems to moved and sift as if made of liquid.

His partner was a man that seemed made of diamonds. He gave of a bright light with his crystal hair and skin. His hair fell to his shoulders unlike the other man who's hair was cut short and spiky. The crystal man wore a cloak that seemed to trail behind him forever.

Both men closed in on the woman and leaned over her. "You're up now." The dark man rumbled without moving his mouth. It was like the night air had formed words around them.

"Oh it's been a wonderful run but I think it's over now." The crystal one said sweetly. His face contorted into feral rage as his eyes, black pits in the white outside if him, had a red glow in the center.

"This is not over. You will never win. Time will never stop. Light will-" the woman was cut off by the dark man running her through with what looked like a sword. The woman did not bleed. She just burst into dust, bronze glowing powder.

The crystal man opened a small locket he wore around his neck and the dust flew into it. Gone was the woman or any trace she had been there.

"Well looks like we're done father." The crystal one said as he smiled. His mouth didn't move but it was if the words just always sounded through the night.

"Yes we are," the dark man spoke. "But don't get cocky. We've still got your aunt to find. That bitch with pay for shoving me to the side all these Millenia!" He grasped his sword tightly and looked around.

The crystal man sighed and skipped around the Dark man a bit before leaning down and asking a question that neither knew the answer to. "But if she's gone, why can I feel Time going?"

It was a question that the answer to was still frozen. But she blinked. As if the bronze shimmer had broken her spell. The little girl shook her head and freed herself from the spell. A wave of bronze light seemed to flood her room and pour out to the rest of the building and beyond.

The two men gasped as life restarted around them. Time returning to normal.

"That woman! What did she do!?" The dark man hissed. The crystal man looked around with panic. "Leave, the humans can't see us, I've already drained myself, GO!" He roared and the crystal man disappeared. The man looked around once more. "You will not win Time, once I get my sister and lock her up your precious little plan to stay alive will fail!" He spoke into the night.

Sound started again as he left.