Falls on Deaf Ears - Book 1

Chapter Three

Eric, gripping a long dagger in each hand, dropped to his knees and slashed the guts out of the incoming Cast'ari. Three more approached in the same manner and received the same treatment. As more Cast'aris poured in, Eric was at the brink of exhaustion. The lone Cast'ari coming up behind him, with his dagger raised high, attempted a swing at Eric, only to stop, suddenly, in mid-swing.

Time had stopped, everything stopped, even Eric. Something had been watching Eric as he fought. The being appeared out of thin air, made a dash towards Eric at lightning speed, then took him outside and vanished again, allowing time to return to its normal pace, for Eric at least. 

Eric looked around confused, wondering how he got outside. He attempted to scan the area with his mind to find out what had happened; only discover a message transmitted to him through his mind.

**Eric, I am here to protect you. In time, all will be revealed to you. It is pointless arguing with me. Just trust me, please; you are humanity's only hope. **

A sudden image flashed through Eric's head. He tried to block out the invading entity, but it was too strong. A movie of sorts was playing in Eric's mind. Eric watched himself, as he had been moments ago. He was in the Cast'ari chamber. He watched his fight, helpless to stop anything from happening. He watched himself as he fought, growing more and more tired. He saw the mistake he made that would prove fatal. As he saw the Cast'ari blade slice his arm, leaving him in pain and unable to defend, he saw the next blow, the one that came across his throat. Eric watched himself fall to the ground, saw the life leave his own eyes as his blood spilled across the floor. Moments after he died, he saw Sid and his team crash through the door and clear the room of Cast'ari. But it was too late for him. Sid kicked the lifeless body and muttered about it being a waste of good money. As Sid's team left the room, the mental movie began to fade.

**You see what was supposed to happen? I couldn't let it happen though. Humanity needs you! So I broke the rules. I can't tell you anymore, it might endanger you in the future, but I had to do what I did. You're the one that has to survive. You're special. Eventually, you'll find out just how special. I will tell you one thing, when I unfreeze time you're going to feel something strange, a feeling of loss. It will pass in a bit, and you will feel some added strength. This is normal when a doppelganger dies. I know that doesn't make any sense to you now, but it will in the future. Isn't time travel fun! What's that? Oh no, I've been here to long, I have to go. Be careful of Sid, he's more dangerous than you know. Goodbye Eric, till we meet again. ** 

The voice and the presence faded from Eric's mind before he could think of any reply. Eric felt time slowly slip back into gear. Eric could care less. He was lost in thoughts of his strange savior. He didn't even look up as Sid and his elite squad came running towards him. At the same time, Cast'ari warriors came pouring out of the entrance coming right after Eric. Sid was yelling something, but Eric was too lost in his own thoughts to understand what. Eric looked up, confused, as Sid leveled his blaster toward Eric's head. Eric couldn't think of anything but the message he had heard in his head, even as Sid fired. The blast went past Eric, who turned slowly to watch its progress as it hit a Cast'ari, who was poised behind him to perform a killing blow. The rest of the elite squad quickly and easily dispatched the other warriors. Sid walked up to Eric, who still wasn't thinking straight. Sid punched Eric hard enough to knock the breath out of him and double him over. This brought Eric's attention back to the real world as he looked up at Sid in pain.

"Pay more attention you little shit! If I weren't here you would have had your guts on your shoes! I paid too much for you to loose you to your own stupidity!" Sid reared back, as if he was going to hit Eric again, but this time Eric raised himself to a defensive position. "That's better," Sid remarked with his evil grin.

"All right gentlemen, lets not stick around any longer! There's bound to be more coming, we take our leave now!" Sid ordered.

Within minutes all equipment and the surviving soldiers were loaded onboard Sid's personal shuttle and readied for takeoff. Sid took one final look around, groaned, then sighed.

"Get us outta here and engage the cloak, this was obviously a trap. Let's get back to the ship. I do not want to run into any more surprises!"

"Roger boss" said the shuttle pilot.

The shuttle then took off and cloaked at the same time while heading back to their ship.


On the surface of the planet, the cloaked being stood there, watching the shuttle head to safety. It was lost in its thoughts of the battle, wondering if it had been right to intervene.

**Hmm, this changes things a bit, but as I remember it, this is exactly what happened 100 years ago. I better be going now before I am missed back home. **

The being concentrated his thoughts for a moment, then punched a few buttons on his arm pad. The pad itself was hidden to everyone but him. A large rift appeared and the being walked into it and vanished, leaving a ripple behind as it disappeared. The being was no longer in this physical plane or time. {cool I want to do that!!! - T.W.}


Earth, Monday Morning, Ross Residence - 

Jason lay awake in bed thinking of the recent events that have happened. School was closed for Halloween, and he had a day off, but the sounding of his alarm clock woke everyone up.

"Here come the badgers!"

"Here come the badgers!"

"Here come the badgers!"

"Here come the badgers!"

"Here come the b..."

"JASON AUSTIN ROSS!" a yell from his parent's bedroom echoed down the halls. "Turn off that damn alarm clock!"

Jason giggled a bit, hopped out of bed and turned the annoying noise off just before the twins entered the room about to chant along with the sound of the alarm.

"Aahhhh!" Jason nearly jumped out of his skin when the twins appeared in his door way.

The twins giggled then asked "We want more, pwease! Pway it again, pweaseeeee". They were nearly doing the sad puppy face, it was so cute, Jason burst out laughing. 

"Sorry guys, mom hates the noise." 

"Awww..." the twins chorused. They looked at each other with a silly grin on their faces, closed their eyes in concentration. Jason began to wonder what they were up to. The look, to him, wasn't anything new, he saw Eric do it many times when he did telekinesis.

Suddenly the alarm came back on in the same manner.

"Here come the badgers!"

"Here come the badgers!"

"Here come the badgers!"

"Here come the badgers!"

The twins were having a ball doing jumping jacks, till several really annoyed adults appeared in the door looking at a really red faced Jason. All Jason could do was use his thumb and point at the twins. Joyce was about to speak up, but Trish cut her off with a wave from her hand.

"Boys, what did I tell you about using your minds in that manner", Trish spoke sternly.

"A mind is a tewibble thing to waste?" Both boys replied in unison, while giggling.

"Boys..." Joyce said, barely able to hide her smile.

"We sowwy mommy..." Andy started

"...We won't do it again." Ryan finished the sentence.

The three J's just stood there shocked, while Trish and Jerry just shook their heads.

Jerry spoke up, "Ok, boys, go and clean up, I'll help ya then we'll head down for breakfast. But, please turn that annoying noise off, my head is spinning enough as it is."

Ryan and Andy looked at each other, giggled, and then closed their eyes in concentration. The noise disappeared. The twins then took off towards the bathroom followed by Jerry.

"So son", Jack started. "Wanna help with breakfast? You might want to put some decent clothes on; we are expecting company sometime after we eat and it wouldn't look right to have my son in his underwear, now would it?

Jason blushed a bit then shooed the adults out of his room so he could change. Jason was excited and nervous at the same time so he hurriedly changed out of his underwear and into some decent clothes.

Jason was about to leave the room when he felt waves in the air. He turned around to see what it was, only to see a ripple forming, then dissolving in a matter of seconds. A figure that resembled an older teen began to appear out of thin air.

Jason's eyes nearly popped out of his head and he was about to faint, barely managing to keep a hold of himself.

To his surprise, the figure moved closer and put his hand on Jason. Jason just stood there frozen with fear. Seconds later, they both disappeared into the ripple. {Way cool}


Meanwhile, in the ships shuttle bay, The Hanover, Sid's shuttle, was just arriving. Once it landed, a medical crew entered the bay carrying various instruments for the injured.

Sid was standing at the hatch back door as it opened signaling the medical team to move in. They all took their rounds and paid special attention to Eric. Once they discovered there were no injuries, they left to head back to med bay.

Eric looked at Sid in confusion at first wondering quite a few things, but all Sid could do was smile.

"Sid, what happened?" Eric questioned.

"We'll discuss that in debriefing." Sid spoke flatly.

Eric sighed and nodded.

Everyone followed Sid into the same cargo bay as they started in before the assignment.

Once the doors closed, Sid spoke quietly, yet loud enough for all to hear and understand, especially for Eric.

"Okay, since this assignment was a failure, I realize I made a grave mistake. My informant betrayed me and informed the enemy of our tactics and plans to raid their compound. I apologize for trusting him fully and putting Eric in a trap which he couldn't get out of, even if he somehow managed to anyway." Sid was eyeing Eric as he said the last bit of his speech. He noticed Eric's shocked look at his apology, and then continued on. "I expect a full report on the situation by 08:00 tomorrow. Dismissed." As Sid finished his debriefing, short as it may have been, he looked down and sighed. He placed his hands on the console and shook his head. Eric was about to leave when he sensed a familiar presence in his mind.

**Eric, hold it! ** Sid thought to him.

Eric looked towards Sid, eyes slowly widening, then walked towards him.

There was a moment of silence between the two of them. Nothing was said or thought, till Sid spoke up.

"Eric, what the hell happened back there?!" Sid asked in wonderment.

"Dunno. Really, Sid, it was just a blur, one moment I felt as if I froze in fear, and then the next moment I find myself standing outside the tech center in time to see you running towards me. There must have been someone out there who saved me; I'm not sure who. Wasn't able to get a good look, but I do know I felt a presence of some sort that had good intentions." Eric finished the last statement with a sigh.

"Eric, I want you to be more alert next time, otherwise there won't be a next time! Your to expensive to simply loose to something as stupid as a Cast'ari! Although, I'd very much like to meet the person who saved you, myself and thank them properly for looking out for my investment." Sid added with a slight smirk. A Smirk Eric was all too familiar with.

Eric just shook his head at his remark then spoke up. "Am I allowed to leave now?"

"Yea, go eat, then its lights out afterwards. You know the drill." Sid was about to force Eric to spend the night in his room, but decided against it.

"Yes sir", was all Eric said. He turned to face the doors and exited the cargo bay leaving Sid there looking back at the console then at Eric as he left the room.


An hour later after dinner, Eric entered his room, turned the lights on, and then sat on the bed. He decided to get comfortable and meditate for a short time to clear his troubled thoughts. He had, once again, felt the temporal shift in the heat of battle and began to dwell on those thoughts.

**Sigh, I just can't think straight. ** Eric thought to himself.

**I'll have to think about this some more later on. The one thing bugging me is that guy I saw during the battle. He looked so familiar. I wonder if he's the person that was in my head. I just don't know. Everything was so fuzzy. {Like a sandwich. Grin - T.W.}[you and your fuzzy sandwiches, lol]

Eric growled inwards then decided to strip his clothes down to his boxers and head to bed for some much deserved sleep.

As he reached for the light, he looked at the golden chain with a heart attached to it. Eric began to wonder. Reaching over, he picked it up, and opened it. Eric's eyes grew wide with surprise.

"Oh my god! Jason! That was you!" Eric nearly shouted in excitement.

The guard outside heard something, pressed the intercom. "Problem, Eric?"

Eric's sudden surprise turned to shock as he heard the guard's voice. "I'm fine, Rob."

Rob shook his head without saying anything further and remained at his post.

Eric got over his shocked response and began his train of thoughts.

**Jeez, that was close. I need to be more careful. Damn, Jason looked good from what barely I saw. How could I forget him after all this time? Damn Sid for making me forget everything I loved. Damn that bastard for pulling me away from Jason. I need to escape from this hell, somehow, and soon! ** 

As if on cue, a ripple began to form in his room. Eric's eyes widened in panic and he began to reach over for the alarm to alert the guard standing outside, of an intruder, but his fear was overcome by the calmness of the figure approaching him as the ripple subsided.

**Don't be afraid, I'm not here to hurt you. ** The masked figure thought towards Eric as it walked towards him slowly.

**W-w-who are you? What do you want? Stay where you are, or I'll press this button!** Eric was nervous enough but there was something stopping him from pressing the button.

**You are the one who saved me back there, aren't you, mister...** There was a long pause as Eric struggled to remember. When he finally did, he thought back excitedly. ** Do I know you? There is something familiar about you; I just can't place where I felt a similar presence before. Are you here to get me out of this hell hole?**

The masked figure chuckled silently and stepped in the light for full exposure. He raised his hands to communicate to Eric in sign-language. "Sadly, I can't say who I am yet, but I'm not here to rescue you." He paused in between his signing then continued, "I can't tell you who will, it'll only screw up time and we can't have that." The figure chuckled at the irony of his statement. "I already did that when I saved your life, but that was needed. The future couldn't be saved if you died then, neither could the past. I know Sid has screwed with your head, but hold tight to that locket and remember who you were before he took you. It's the only way you can defeat him. When he kidnapped you from your time and brought you to this time, he messed with more than just Earth. He set a chain of events into play that will destroy the universe itself. You are now three hundred years in the future, it's the 24th century on Earth, and things aren't right because you weren't there. I promise that things will work out soon and you will have your freedom from Sid. That's all I can tell you about it though." 

Eric looked at the white figure wide eyed with his mouth hanging out in shock.

After a few moments, Eric began to collect his thoughts. "So..." Eric just couldn't find the words, so he sat there for a few minutes then started signing again, "What am I supposed to do till then? And how do you know sign-language?"

The masked figure giggled, "Hahaha, you'll find out soon enough. I have always known sign-language ever since I was young. Oh by the way, Sid can't know of our meeting. If he finds out about me, or that you will escape him soon, he will prevent it at all costs. He may even kill you rather than loose you. You can't let that happen. Remember who you are, and you can beat him. Your mind is a lot stronger than his; he just doesn't know it yet. My time here is up, gotta go!"

The figure stepped back, punched a few buttons on his arm, and waved to Eric as a ripple behind him began to form. Moments later he stepped into the ripple, and it disappeared.

Eric sat on his bed for a while taking in all the new information he had just received. Still unsure how to properly make use of the information he was just given, he shut the lights off and lay on his bed, eventually drifting to sleep.


Monday May 18, 1992 - Mercy Hospital, Ambridge, OH, 12:30am

A ripple formed in the middle of the hospital hall on the delivery floor. Someone stepped out, wearing a black uniform with a full mask covering its face. It had no weapons of any sort, and the figure was thin and well toned. If someone were to see the figure, they would most likely assume it was a male, by the obvious bulge in the lower region. He punched a button on his uniform's arm and suddenly the figure became invisible.

Screams could be heard down the hall. The masked figure walked down the hall, passing a nearby nurses station. There were no receptionists or nurses at work. He kept on walking towards the delivery room. Once he approached the twin doors to delivery room 2, he pressed another button on his arm and began to walk through the door. Once he was inside, he stood and watched a woman give birth to her child while her husband stood next to her.

She was breathing heavily using the Lamaze techniques as instructed for expectant mothers. She was young, in her early 20's as was her husband. They were both sweating up a storm as the doctors encouraged her to push when needed.

"Trisha, common! Push!" Jerry encouraged while holding her hand and wincing in pain at the same time.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Trish screamed.

"How much more doc?" Jerry demanded to know why the labor was taking so long.

"Almost there! One more push, Trish!"

Jerry shifted his sight from the doc to his wife, "One more push, love!"

Trish was breathing heavily, wanting to be done with the pain. She gave one more final big push.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" A simultaneous scream could be heard as Trish and Jerry both were in pain.

"It's a boy!" Doc Rice exclaimed.

A sweating Trish looked over at her newborn son then groaned in pain as she began to give birth to another child.

The nurses did their usual rounds making sure the first twin was healthy, wrapped him up, and held him while the doc prepared Trish for her second birth.

Thirty minutes later, she gave birth to another boy.

The nurses, once again, did their usual rounds while the doc cut the umbilical cord. Once they were satisfied everything was ok, they wrapped the youngest baby boy up in a white blanket and carried him and his brother to a very exhausted, but happy Trish and Jerry.

In one arm Trish held Matt, in the other she held Eric. "Hi Matt", Trish spoke softly as she touched her oldest son's nose gently. Then she turned her attention to her youngest son. "Hi Eric."

"Wow, they're so small." Jerry said.

"I'll leave you alone with the babies for a few moments, then Trish needs her bed rest. You look like you could use some rest as well Jerry. Don't bother arguing, you'll thank me later for it." Dr. Rice said with finality, as Trish and Jerry were about to protest.

After spending some quality time alone, the nurses came in to make sure everyone got to their rooms to rest for the night.

The masked figure outside their room, which had been watching, chuckled evilly. 'His plans were coming along perfectly' he thought to himself. 'Soon the boys would be his.' A ripple began to form behind him. Once it was large enough, he stepped in and the ripple closed.


Morning came all too fast, and Trish was the first to wake up. She looked around her room, then towards her sleeping husband. The sun shone brightly into the room. Trish took a few moments to admire the sunlight since it has rained for a week straight. She smiled happily and closed her eyes.

She felt a sudden presence and it caused her to open her eyes and search the room, but she found nothing. When the sun shone once again after a stray cloud passed by, she saw a figure standing in front of her bed staring at her, but she couldn't make out his face. He had appeared to be dressed in white. After a second or two of wondering who he was, she fell asleep.

The masked figure was wondering what she was looking at, but could have sworn she was looking directly at him.

After just staring at Trish for what seemed like an hour, he left the room to check up on their newborn sons

**Time to check on Matthew and Eric.** Thought the masked figure. Suddenly, he looked around in alarm. **I feel a dark presence here; damn I figured I'd have more time! They've found them! I can feel someone lurking around. I hope they haven't noticed my presence.**

As the white figure rushed towards the nursery, he noticed a black figure rush across the hall. The figure was indeed invisible, but he could still see it, thanks to enhancements of his body suit.

**Hmmm, I better hurry. I can't let them get those boys.** He thought, as he punched a few buttons on his arm pad, and then took off at lightning speed in the direction the black figure was heading.


Upon his arrival at the maternity ward, the white figure looked around looking for Matthew and Eric, but it took a while to find them. There were at least a dozen newborns in the room! Once he had spotted the names he was looking for, he immediately saw that the worst-case scenario was indeed true, there were no babies in there!

**Damn it, I'm too late! ** He thought.

He heard a "whoosh", turned around and saw the black figure running past him on the other side. The white figure then began pursuit, hoping to catch the baby-napper before it was too late.

When the white figure began catching up to the black figure, the black figure chuckled. "You'll never catch me!" The black figure was getting frustrated with carrying two babies at once. He had tried to reach over to the controls on his arm, but was unsuccessful. He had to make a decision and fast. Thinking he could make an excuse to his boss, he threw the green-eyed boy, Eric, at the closing white figure, punched a few buttons on his arm pad and a ripple began forming several meters in front of him. 

The white figure growled inwards, pulled out a small, almost invisible tracking device from his pocket, and threw it towards the back of the black figure just moments before he entered the ripple. With his lightning speed, he dived in the direction Eric was being thrown and barely managed to catch him. After breathing a huge sigh of relief, he looked at his arm pad, watching where the black figure was heading, or rather, when.

Once his transport through time stopped and was on a specific time period, the white figure smirked. **Gotcha! ** He was about to go to the new location and time, but he decided it would be better to have others with him in case he was walking into a trap.

**I'll head back to headquarters and get reinforcements. But first I need to take this lil guy back to his proper bed.** He muttered in his thoughts. After making quick work of returning to the maternity ward to return Eric back to his proper spot before the nurse returned, he disappeared as soon as the ripple appeared.

A nurse walked in, just as soon as the ripple came to a full close, carrying fresh bottles for the newborns. After a few minutes of taking care of some of the other babies, she made her way to Eric and Mathew. She gave Eric his bottle, then turned to give Mathew his. When she didn't feel a body, she looked down, gasped, and ran out to the nurses' station.

"Gladys, did you see anyone take Mathew Shannon? He is not in his bed!" Nurse Haley spoke in rapid fire. 

"Calm down Haley." Nurse Gladys spoke with the calm of a veteran who had seen everything in her day, "Let me look at the sign out sheet." After several moments of looking, she gasped, realizing there was a problem. "Damn, nothing, call security!"

"Already on it Gladys!" Haley spoke while dialing for security.

"Sound the alarm, they're on the way." Haley spoke after explaining the situation to security, and hanging up the phone.

"Better inform the parents." Gladys cautioned. "Also, alert the other nurses' station down the hall for extra help just in case! Be sure to tell them to bring something to keep the mother and the father calm!"

Haley shot back a "Yes ma'am" as she headed out the maternity ward's nurses' station.

The hospital alarm sounded waking up all patients, Trish and Jerry included. Trish was very worried, her instincts were going into overdrive, and it was driving her crazy. When the nurse entered the room, she did not appear to be happy.

"Mr. and Mrs. Shannon, I regret to inform you one of your twins is missing. We are doing everything we can to locate him, please don't panic." The young nurse told them, trying to remain calm, so they would too, but it was no use.

Trish was going ballistic after hearing the news. Trish tried to get out of bed, but her body was still weak from the drugs they gave her. Jerry was in shock, asking the nurse all kinds of questions. Ones she couldn't answer. When several more nurses came in, they had to give Trish a shot to really calm her down. After several minutes, of being restrained, she finally calmed down then broke into tears. Jerry saw this, walked over, lay on the bed, and tried his best to console her. They both cried themselves to sleep.


Webb Investigators, Monday October 31, 2005, 8:00am

Detectives Webb and Foote were going over the Shannon case for review so they could present their progress to Jerry and Trish as promised.

Charles Webb stood next to his desk, examining a file. He had already gotten on his long trench coat, but the paper he was looking at made him realize that they had some more investigating to do before their meeting with the Shannons. The Shannons had told them about Eric's birth, and about his twin brother who was kidnapped, but this was the first time he had really looked over the case file. There had been a lot of chaos at the hospital that day, but one girl claimed to have seen something impossible. They needed to talk to her, if they could find her. He shifted his glaze from the file he was looking at to the view outside his window. After staring at the blue sky for a few moments, he turned to look at Roger.

Roger was buffing his damn glasses again. He always played with those things when he was bored. He was going to wear a whole in the lenses. Charles stood up, walked over and grabbed the glasses out of his partner's hand.

"Hey give 'em back!" Roger yelled trying to take his glasses from Charles who lifted them up over his head. He was taller than Roger and he knew doing this ticked Roger off.

"Your wife told me you can't afford a new pair of glasses and I promised her I wouldn't let you wear these out," Charles told Roger with a grin, "If I give them back will you put them on and take a look at something for me?"

"Yeah sure just give them back. I won't play with them anymore I promise."

"I've heard that before." Charles handed Roger his glasses and then gave him the file. Roger looked down at it for a minute and then looked up at his partner. 

"What are you bothering me with this for? She was obviously crazy. That's why no one took her seriously."

"Maybe, maybe not. What I can tell you is, she is a witness who we haven't talked to. Besides, like the great Sherlock Holmes was fond of saying, 'When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.' We've run out of leads, maybe she can tell us something."

"So you want to find her and interview her?" asked Roger. From anyone else he wouldn't have believed it but from his partner he knew it was true. This man brought new meaning to the word thorough, and anal for that matter.

"You bet, we can't tell them our findings until every lead is checked. We have to cross all our T's and dot all out I's. I'll go make the call."

"O.K. Fine you win, go call them, I'll contact the boys and have them find her."

Charles grabbed up the phone and dialed up the Shannon's cell phone.

Ring, ...Ring..."Hello? This is Jerry speaking." Jerry spoke in his cell.

"Hi Mr. Sha..." Chuck caught himself remembering the last time Mr. Shannon had told him to address him by his first name. Although it went against their policy, they still respected him. "Sorry, Jerry, it's Detective Webb, I am calling to inform you we will be running a bit late."

"Oh that's no problem, in fact, we have all day. The Ross' and their son have the day off today, so we'll all pretty much be here when you do arrive. Please call ahead to let us know."

"That's fine, we are investigating a new development, so please expect us sometime in the late afternoon."

"All right, Trish says to hurry up, she doesn't want to wait all day!" Jerry chuckled into the phone as he spoke.

"We'll try. We'll be in touch." Chuck hung up without waiting for an answer.

Jerry was about to speak up, but heard the line go dead and pressed a button on his cell to terminate the connection.

"That went well." He muttered.

After Chuck hung up, he stood, grabbed his keys and began to head for the door, only stopping momentarily to look at Roger, who took his cue to follow his lead. The two detectives exited the room getting ready to head to Ambridge for a short visit.


Ross Residence, 8:00am, same moment as Jason disappears from his bedroom

As Jerry was walking into the living room about to head for the kitchen, his cell phone rang.

After searching for it for a few seconds, he found it on the coffee table and picked it up.

"Hello? This is Jerry speaking." Jerry spoke in his cell.

"Hi Mr. Sha..." There was a slight pause, "Sorry, Jerry, it's Detective Webb, I am calling to inform you we will be running a bit late."

"Oh, hi Detective, that's no problem, in fact, we have all day. The Ross' and their son have the day off today, so we'll all pretty much be here when you do arrive. Please call ahead to let us know." Jerry spoke with a surprised expression on his face.

"That's fine, we are investigating a new development, so please expect us sometime in the late afternoon."

Trish walked into the living room upon hearing Jerry mention 'detective'. "Tell him to hurry up!" Trish said being a little pushy.

Jerry nodded while speaking into the phone and chuckling at the same time. "All right, Trish says to hurry up, she doesn't want to wait all day!"

"We'll try. We'll be in touch." The line went dead.

Jerry looked at his phone then disconnected the call. "Well, that's that." He then looked at Trish to find her looking at him with a big question mark expression across her face. "They said they had a new development come up and will be a bit late. Don't worry; they'll call before they get here."

Trish sighed and rolled her eyes. "Might as well take my mind off a few things and help Joyce make breakfast. Can you check on Jason? I'm having a bad feeling right now and I'm not sure what it is."

"Ok honey, I'll go see what the lil brat is up to." Jerry added with a chuckle.

Once Jerry turned to head through the living room towards the stairs, Trish headed into the kitchen to help Joyce with breakfast.

In the kitchen, Joyce was busy mixing the eggs to make ham and cheese omelets when she noticed Trish walk in. "What was that all about?" Joyce wondered.

"Oh, just the detectives procrastinating as usual, something new came up." Trish just rolled her eyes and swatted her hand in the air as she spoke.

"I'm sure its something important, Trish. Relax hun, if they say they'll be here, then they will." Joyce spoke while turning to look at Trish then back at her breakfast creation.

Trish sighed, "Anyway, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yes, please start the bacon and toast."

Trish proceeded to get the bacon out of the fridge and the bread off the counter.


As Jerry was walking up the steps, he stopped to see the twins sitting a few feet outside Jason's room, waiting for Jason to open his door.

"Hi daddy!" Both boys chorused.

"Hi lil guys, Seen Jason yet?" Jerry asked, while bending down on one knee to give them good morning hugs.

"Nuhuh." Both boys shook their head.

 

"Oh, okay, well let's knock on his door to find out what's keeping him. He's never late for a meal." Jerry spoke as he stood up and walked past the twins. Once Jerry was standing in front of Jason's door, he knocked a few times and called his name. "Jason, you in there?"

After not getting a response, Jerry reached for the doorknob and began to open the door. [I can't believe Dibs actually wanted to end the chapter here, LOL]


A ripple formed in a white void. A white figure and Jason exited the ripple and it began to close. Jason turned to watch in amazement as the ripple was closing.

Once the ripple was completely gone, Jason rubbed his eyes for a few moments then turned to face the white figure.

"Okay, this is too weird." Jason spoke out loud.

"I know it is, but don't worry. I'll have you back 5 minutes after we disappeared from your room. I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but we can't be in here too long. I only brought you here to warn you of the events that may happen." The white figure explained.

"Ummm, ...okay, but at least tell me who you are!" Jason questioned in rapid fire.

"If I must," the white figure spoke as he began to remove his mask. He took his time removing every strap that held it in place. Once all straps were loose, he lifted his mask off and held it in his hand and shook his head to let the hair flow freely.

Jason's eyes widened as the mask came off. "IT CAN'T BE!" Jason exclaimed, just before his eyes rolled back and fell to the floor, unconscious.


....To be Continued.....


Author's Notes:

So, Chapter 3 is here. I'd like to thank Taron W. and The Radio Rancher for some suggestions back in Ch2. They really gave me a different perspective how to go about my own way with writing. Also special thanks to Taron for helping me re-write two scenes, thanks Taron! Once again, a few new characters have appeared and a surprise {hehehe I'm editing your notes - T.W.} brother Eric never knew about. It seems I've got some sort of aakd (add a kid disease) bug, not sure if there is a cure for it. I hope you liked reading this chapter as much as I wrote it. I apologize for the excessive time shifting, however, it was necessary to tell the tale. That's all for now! Once more, I won't be held responsible for any badgers popping up on the forums! Stay tuned for ch4!

-Hammer


Editor Number 1's log :

See Hammy I can get some things done in a fairly timely manner. When I offered to edit I never claimed to be punctual. **grin** Well Things are certainly getting interesting, why is it people in the future always wear full body tights? You can tell their religion in those things! Well I'm done with edit one; lets see how many we can do this time before sending this to Dibs. ELOL.

Keep up the good work Hammy. I hope you all enjoy. -T.W.


Editor Number 2's log :

Oh man, you had me so into the story, I read it three times before I realized I was supposed to be editing the jolly thing. So there is some weird bad guy in black, some weird good guy in white, and some really crossed signals coming from that Sid chap, who I do not trust one bit. Umm, yeah. I asked for one simple answer. How are the boys going to get back together? Sort of answered that one, but threw in a whole lot more. (Read gazillion) Bloody brilliant, even if I had to drink some brain juice first. Now when is the next one ready? And just a question, but don't tell Taron. Am I allowed to edit his comments? Not that I want to do anything too bad to them. Just add in some things like, "Oh yeah, and Dibs, you're the man!" Nothing too vein mind you.

Cannot wait for the next one. Keep it up Hammy.