Parallels- an MCSM AU [COMPLETED]

THIRTY-FIVE- Shadows of Time

warning! this chapter deals with some sensitive topics and generally heavy angst! proceed with caution!

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I knew something was wrong as soon as I didn't appear back in the In-Between within a few seconds of going through the gate. Sure, gates had been a little screwy recently, but this wasn't right.

I was floating in a blank void, surrounded by swirling white. It looked exactly like it did normally when I travelled to other timelines, but it wasn't fading.

But there was something else strange here as well. I was struck again with that unsettling feeling of being watched, and pivoted in a full circle, looking carefully around. Turning was somewhat challenging, since I was hovering in empty space, but that didn't stop me from scrutinizing the area.

There was nothing, no matter where I looked, and somehow this only elevated the nervous feeling. It was slowly starting to sink in now.

I was trapped.

There was visible exit, and no way to call for help. None of my friends knew where I was.

Hell, I didn't even know where I was.

Glancing around again, I considered my options. Maybe there was an exit somewhere, and I would need to explore to find it. But...I kind of felt like it would be a bad idea to get too far away from where I was now. On the off chance that someone did manage to get here, it wouldn't do me any good if they couldn't find me.

So in that case, it would be smarter to stay and wait. But I knew I couldn't depend on being found- when my friends woke up and realized I was missing, there was absolutely nothing that would lead them to believe I had gone to talk to Essa.

I'd gotten myself into one hell of a bad situation. In hindsight, speaking with Essa had been a horrible idea right from the beginning, and I'd only made it worse by provoking her.

But that didn't matter now. I had to figure out where I was, and how to get out.

What if you aren't anywhere, though? What if Essa's sent you somewhere completely beyond the timelines?

I shuddered, trying to push that thought away. No. I had to believe there was a solution.

I stayed still for several moments, listening and watching and simply thinking. I was in a perfect void, surrounded by nothing but cloudy white and able to hear nothing but my own heartbeat and breaths. My body was instinctively tense, though it was hard to maintain that since I was hovering above nothing.

A thought suddenly occurred to me, and I closed my eyes. If I was somewhere in the realm of the timelines, maybe there was a way to reach out and channel the power of the In-Between to either get out, or contact someone who could get me out.

I focused all my willpower on my mental image of the In-Between. Help me out. I need to escape. I need to get back. Take me back to my own timeline.

At first, nothing appeared to change. When I gradually opened my eyes, I was still in the blank void. But then I felt, rather than saw, a slight shifting of the air, an indistinct change in the structure of this inverted realm.

There. A flicker of motion, of colour, in the near distance.

I floated steadily towards it, or it moved towards me. I didn't make any motion, but I somehow drew nearer to it anyways. As I approached, I saw that it wasn't another person, nor a type of gate as I'd been hoping. It was a three-dimensional image caught in midair, the scene faded and strange.