Past and Future: END

The fortress was dark and empty, the sounds of the fight outside echoing and diminishing as they went on. It was haunting, and each of them felt a shiver creep up into them.

They glanced at their surroundings, paranoid of any threat about to descend on them. None more than the soldiers, who had to make sure every corner held no surprise.

The hallways were beautiful; polished black stone arranged in such strange patterns, artfully crafted tapestries hung from the ceiling and walls, suits of armor stood at full attention, brandishing medeival weapons. These statues caused everyone to walk in the center of the hallway as much as possible. It reminded them all of ancient royalty, with a king and queen and princes and princesses, but it stirred them to the reality that a great evil was here. And for Edd and Jon, a familiar evil.

The soldier's walkie talkie crackled, "Soldiers," F.Edd's voice came over. Everyone listened, "You know where to go. Once you reach the Nest, you'll need to leave those five. They need to do this with us. Over,"

The soldier, blonde hair poking out from behind his helmet, scratched the back of his head nervously, "Green Leader, sir, if I may ask; why are you sending these unexperienced Sparcies in the the Nest so unprepared?"

The line was quiet, everyone stopped dead in their tracks, "It is not your place to ask such things, but you need to trust us. This is something between us Leaders and those Sparcies. Over,"

The soldier hesitated, "Yes, sir," They continued on, their footsteps echoing on the dark marble floor.

The large set of doors towered over them, the ends of the door coming together in a peak. There were runes written on it, making the Pasts think of dark magic. No one wanted to touch the doors.

"Yo, Sparcies," The Pasts turned to face the soldiers, "Take these," they had each taken off some of their armor and were offering it to them, "You'll need it. The Yassi is a nasty piece of work. And these also," they gave them their souped up rifles, "We'll trade ya," They did so.

Decked out in helmets, vests, and laser rifles, the Pasts stood before the soldiers, their faces confused.

At last, Tom asked, "Why?"

A soldier missing his helmet, chocolate hair mussed and filthy, answered "Yeah, we hate Sparcies, but you five are different. Ya gave up your ultimate luxury to help us in our sewn together army. I've seen you," He pointed to Edd, "go through withdrawl and still stayed with us. And so, we respect that," They each saluted the Pasts

"What about you, though?" Mark asked, concern coating his voice, "You won't last long in battle without your armor,"

"Consider it a sacrifice for the greater good, Sparcie," A different one replied, no vest on.

A large explosion rattled the fortress, stone falling to the ground, the sounds of battle finally penetrating their ears.

"We hope you fulfill your duties, Soldiers," They held their new weapons and took off down the hall and out of sight.

A second went by, the Pasts' emotions running rampant. It wasn't until Matt's talent did they take action.

"Well, let's get going!!" And they shoved the doors open

"EDUARDO!!!" Edd and Jon yelled as they stormed the room, shocking the rest, but held their ground. They leveled their guns at the first thing they saw. The doors slammed shut behind them.

The room was just as regal as the rest of the castle; statues, dark stone, tapestries. The big main difference was the large collection of screens displaying various angles of the battle and a large, curved black chair in front of them, its back to them. A laugh began to build from the chair until it was maniacal.

"So, you know my name," The voice behind the chair was unmistakable, a cold sweat beading down those who did not know. The chair began to turn their way, slowly but surely revealing the Yassi "I should've known. You rebels are quite the digger--" His dark eyes widened at the sight of the five soldiers in front of him, the shock of the nostalgia rushing back to him. But as soon as it came, it vanished into a sneer, "So, I take it time travel is possible now. You rebels have such sharp minds,"

"Not just that," P.Jon's voice came from above, and five blurs landed in front of them. The Futures strightened up, and leveled their laser guns at Eduardo as well, "We got some inside knowledge,"

Eduardo's eyes widened again, this time his mouth dropped open, and it stayed for a bit. Eventually he threw his head back in another maniacal laugh, "So you five lived, eh?" He shifted his pose in his chair to resemble a posture of one who doesn't care, "Apparently I'm not very good at making sure someone's dead,"

A new figure jumped down from the ceiling, right in front of the Yassi. Red Leader, or rather, Tord, pointed his gun right at Eduardo's forehead, "No, you're not,"

Once again, Eduardo's face fell into a look of utter horror, but this didn't last nearly as long, "Well, hello there, Tordie. How have you been?" his gaze slighly shifted, "Nice arm,"

Tord's expression steeled, he pushed the gun more, causing Eduardo's head to slink into the cushion of the chair, "I'm giving you one chance, Peppy," Tord used a nickname not used in decades, "release your grip on this people,"

The Yassi's grin grew inhumanly wide, "Ah, and why would I do that? You see, I have the upper hand," He flicked a panel on one of his arm rests, revealing a red button, "You may think you're the only one who has a grip on paradox, but that can't be farther than the truth!!" Letting out a laugh, he pressed it. Walls closed around them, three distict slamming noises heard. Tord and Eduardo dissappeared from their vision and the world grew dark. Weightlessness drew them off the floor and into the air.

"Ahh!!" P.Jon screamed, his voice sounded like her was talking through a microphone. He was on the other side of the walls

"Jon!!" P.Mark bellowed in response, trying his best to push himself in his direction.

"Everyone remain calm!!" F.Edd's voice was right by P.Tom, but was heard by everyone.

"We gotta get outta here!" F.Jon called out, "Everyone, light up your weapons!"

One by one, the weapons' barrels lit up the room in either purple or green. They were all in the same room, but they looked...different. Everyone looked static-y, and when they tried to get closer to one another, invisible walls separated them all.

F.Matt got an idea where they were, "We're inside the t.v.s!!" He pointed to the sides, "Look!"

Everyone looked to left of them, and it showed the dark twisted chair Eduardo was sitting on. Behind it though, flashes of colored light erupted, as well as a limb and a face every now and again. They were fighting.

"Let's shoot the screens! That'll free us!" P.Edd pointed his rifle at the chair.

"No!" f.Mark called to him, flying to his side. He tilted the gun up, the laser firing at the ceiling. With a pop and a smack, something shattered, and they dissapeared.

"NOOOO!!" F.Edd called out, waiting for the moment he would fade away. When he didn't he was shocked. A crackle came over the walking talkies

"Everyone shoot at the ceilings! That'll get you out!" P.Edd shouted through it.

Everyone did just that.

With a pop and a shatter, they were right back where they began, with the screens busted and Eduardo fighting Tord.

It was practically a ballet. Tord jump-flipped backwards, firing his gun. Eduardo backflipped, dodging the bullet, and firing one of his own. It knocked a suit of armor down, ripping a taspestry along it's way. Eduardo ditched his gun and pulled out a glowing sword, reminescent of a lightsabre, and charged at Tord. Ready for this, Tord pulled out his own lightsabre and they clashed.

The ten of them couldn't move. They were rooted in one spot, despite how much they wanted to, to aid their dear Tord in his battle. Slowly but surely, they gained control of their bodies again. Their fingers began to move to their will, then their arms, then their necks, then their chests, then their toes, then at last, their legs. Eduardo had Tord on the ropes, Tord's sword knocked away. F.Edd ran forward, grabbed the sword, and charged right at the Yassi. He let out a battle cry.

"No! Edd, don't!!" Tord got between Edd and Eduardo, stopping the charging man in his tracks. Confusion colored both faces, "Don't kill him--augh!!"

His chest sprouted a glowing red sword, Tord's eyes growing wide, blood dribbling out of his mouth.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Everyone yelled and sprang forward, their faces red with anger.

The sword withdrew, the man slumped to the floor. Eduardo made to deliver one last strike, but the Futures tackled him to the ground, his weapons sliding far away. The Pasts picked them up and drew back.

F.Matt grabbed his walkie talkie, "Unit 5 and 10, report to the Nest immediately!!"

In less than five seconds, the doors sprung open and no less than fifty soldiers spilled in, holding ropes and gags. They surrounded all the Futures and within a minute, the Futures walked out of the group. The crowd dispersed a little, showing Eduardo bound to the teeth and Tord receiving medical care, though Tord was very pale.

The Pasts felt their collars get yanked, "C'mon," Their respective Future gave them a push

They approached their Red Leader, who shooed the medical help away, "Go tend to other wounded out in battle, 10," He commanded. Twenty soldiers ran out the door and out of sight. Tord turned to the crowd that mattered, "We did it, Ghost Dagger phase 3 complete," His voice was raspy and faint, "Good job, my friends. Now for phase 4,"

"And what exactly is phase 4, Tord-o?!" Eduardo cried out, "Put me in jail where you know I'll just break out?! I see some potential flaws there! I think it's better to just kill me! Or is that your plan?!" His eyes held insanity,

Tord shifted his glance to the man, eyes sharp and fill of authority, "a quick death is too good for you. Yes, you will be sent to a prison, where you will spend the rest of your days rotting, remembering your horrible deed,"

Eduardo cackled, "Horrible deed?! I regret nothing I did over these forty years!! And I'll do it again as soon as I can!"

Tord's expression steeled more, "But before you do, you will receive a Cleaning,"

"A Cleaning?!" Eduardo must've thought this was hilarious, "You're gonna take my memories away but not the desire?! Still some flaws there, Boy!"

"No, not a Cleaning, a Thorough," Tord's words made Eduardo go quiet, his expression dropping, "In fact, two Thoroughs, just in case we missed anything. And I will make sure you remember every horrible thing you did, and not the satisfation you got out of doing it. You will rot in that cell, remembering all you did to deserve it, and you will never be treated well for the rest of your life. You will live out what you had brought upon the world on yourself, and you will spend every night cursing the day God gave you life,"

Eduardo's face was utter terror, his eyes so wide they looked about to pop out. The soldiers pushed him away, making sure to hurt him as much as possible on the way out into the hallway and out of sight. When they were gone, Tord's face lost his luster.

"Um...Tord?" Edd asked. Tord smiled at the mention of his name, "Why did you bring us here? Why were we needed? You could've solved it without us,"

Tord chuckled, gloomy happiness coating his voice, "Oh Edward. I brought you here for a reason your counterparts know, and one only known to myself," This shocked everyone, "Eduardo needed a shock; a blast from the past, if you will, to be defeated. I figured he would be kept off guard enough to be defeated, and even though it didn't work out exactly as I planned, it worked nonetheless. His moves were sloppy, and it was his undoing,"

"No, it wasn't," P.Jon pointed out

"His lip was his undoing, in the end," Tord coughed up blood; he was holding on by a thread, "And the other reason; to influence you ten in the right way. For example, Jonathan, both of you. You," He pointed to the Past, "need to know what you will be like so you will become him; it needs to be this way or else our future falls. And you," He pointed to the Future, "need to be softer, and he has reminded you of it. You began playing the guitar in front of the fire again, after so many years,"

It took a moment to sink in; it all made sense. The way the future happened this way was because of Red Leader's decision.

"But," Tord went on, now running on fumes, "you will be sent home, and the vortex will give you a Cleaning,"

"WHAT?!" The Pasts exclaimed,

"It will wipe your memories, but not your subconcious. In the years to come, it will remember everything and act accordingly. It is...for the best..." A smile grew on his lips, his eyes dying, the blood puddle too big, "Relieved of duty, soldiers. Help...repair..." Was his last words before he breathed out and never breathed in again.

Tears threatened to come forward in everyone's eyes; Jon was weeping openly. A moment passed in tearfull silence, before a WHOOSH came from behind them and sucked them in. The last thing they say was a ray of sunshine peeking through long covered sky.

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Jon's eyes snapped open. Had he fallen asleep on the couch again? Drat...he didn't remember falling asleep. He looked at the clock. 10:30 pm. Huh? Not even a minute? He felt utterly exhausted! Surely he was alseep longer than that, or he just blinked for too long.

He shifted around a bit, now suddenly aware of another body on the couch. He looked up, Mark was asleep, his head touching his. Heat rising up a bit in his cheeks, he pushed his sleeping roommate away. This movement made the man wake with a snort.

"Huh?" Did I fall asleep?" Mark replied, grogginess apparent in his tone, "Ugh, I feel exhausted!"

"So do I," Jon cracked his mack with a groan, "If you fell asleep around the same time I did, we weren't asleep for too long,"

Thr front door burst open, revealing a hunched Eduardo leaning against the doorframe, holding an enlongated bottle of some kind. He looked utterly wasted.

Mark chuckled, "Hey Ward!" He called to him, "Too sloshed to stand?"

Eduardo did nothing for a moment, until his head lifted up, and his gaze locked with theirs. His expression held insanity past hope. He slowly lifted the bottle, which turned out to be a gun, at his roommates.