The Time Stone, Third Edition (Extended Version)
Chapter 85

Time: 14 Million, B.C., Chronix Bay

The vortex roars loudly in the desert and Princess Celia in her traditional hunting gear exits with Cornelius and five knights on horseback, armed and ready. The vortex subsides.

“We are in another time, my lady?”

“Yes, I explained this to you many times already Cornelius. We have traveled backwards through time like James and his friends. We are here to help them.”

“How do we know he is here?”

“I just know.” she says proudly as they ride on into the desert.

The foursome exit the scorpion car and approach the fire that they notice is a beast whose bright eyes are looking at them as they approach.

“Whoa, how do we fight fire?” asks Mercedes.

“With fire!” says Tina laughingly.

“I don’t think this is a time for…” starts Drax, but James points out “Look.” as he sees people approaching on horseback.

“Celia!” screams James. He runs over and she dismounts to their sudden embrace and passionate long kiss.

“Oh James,” says Celia.

“Where did they come from?” asks Mercedes.

“We got a situation here” says Drax as the flame beast began to attack them. As they dodge, the flame beast suddenly split into four flame beasts. The five knights dismount and run towards the beasts with their swords, shields, and lances and attempt to pierce the flaming flesh of the beasts, but are burnt to a crisp. Celia stands in shock. Some of the horses are spooked and run off. James grabs Celia and jumps on her horse and rides off as Drax, Tina, Mercedes, and Cornelius ride off on the remaining horses. James waves his hands back as they ride and with a quick use of his powers stimulate his psychic energy fire force that allows him to create a whirlwind of sand and debris that blow around the beasts and extinguishes the flames that give sustenance to their being so they are no more in existence. A single drop of eyelid with a small spark falls to the desert sand and is buried and extinguished.

“Where are we going?” asks Celia.

“Away from there.” says Tina. They ride and see a series of caves that look familiar like the caves they saw before.

“Those resemble the caves at Shireville,” says Celia.

“Except they’re higher up and have more rocks covering it as it hasn’t been dropped by millions of years of land shifting and tectonic movement,” says James. James pulls out his time stone and Celia pulls out hers. When they met, the two stones merged into one and James holds it in his hand.

“Unbelievable,” says Celia.

“You get used to it,” says Tina, “by the way; I don’t think we’ve met.”

“Not now,” says James.

“We need to get up there, but we can’t on horseback or on foot and that crevice is too narrow for the scorpion car to fly into,” says Drax.

“Can’t we blast a hole?” asks Mercedes.

“I don’t feel comfortable with that here as the rock face looks too unstable and could cause a cave in,” says Drax.

“Only one way in” says James. He holds out the time stone and turns it, opening the vortex and they all ride into it and exit the vortex inside the cave.

“Cool!” says Tina.

“Nice thinking kid!” says Drax.

“How did we know to arrive here inside?” asks Celia.

“Must be fate,” smiles James.

“You are intelligent and handsome” says Celia smiling at him, “a magnificent combination fit for a king.”

“Are you proposing to me my dear?” asks James.

“Anything is possible” she replies.

“I am a man of the road.” They walk forward in the darkness. Drax activates his beacon light and they see writing and drawings on the cave walls depicting various tales.

“More stories,” says Mercedes.

“Yes,” says Drax. “I understand these….”

“What does it say?” asks Tina.

“There seems to be a story about a long distant land, a utopia where perfection is epitomized, like Eden, Atlantis, and Shangri-La… The old indigenous translation into Spanish is Tierra de la tiempo.”

“The land of time,” says Mercedes.

“There is more about a battle and light versus dark forces, chosen ones destined to meet again and again, and conflict over the land of time. A union of thirteen races mastering the elements, exploring all there is to see and do in the vast and infinite universe, then discovering their own past, being time masters… the Pregivers….”

“So they were here?” asks James.

“I don’t understand,” says Celia.

“I’ll explain later,” cautions James.

“The Pregivers had an artifact by which to control the forces of time, the time stone, but they also had a magnificent vessel that is the heart of their extravagant space universe civilization, a ship or station or place…connected to the land of time and based on the harmonious notes of the cosmic symphony. It gets faded here, but the legend of the holder of the stones… he, James, is the one to fight for forces of light against the dark emissary of evil. James is destined as others before him supposedly… to stop the coming… uplift and walk amongst angels.”

“James is an angel,” asks Celia. “No doubt they were correct.”

James’ face stills, as his mind starts to form inward and he sees a vision of the entire universe and then a white light that he sees not just in his mind’s eye, but in actuality before him glowing and vibrating as it reached out to him, then he saw eyes appear in the light, white eyeballs with black pupils floating amidst the sea of white light before him. “Who are you?” he asks, not fearing it. The light moves and he understands it. He recognizes the light and knew it because he had felt its presence before, inside him, the growing force that is accumulating and giving him greater abilities, he understands has formed itself outside of him allowing him to see and communicate with its life essence now before him. He remembers each incident of his experiences with the cave writings and the Pregiver legend and realizes it is all part of the same plan, his fate to be here with this form to subsume and to join with it.

“What is it?” asks Tina, but James’ mind remains fixated on the life force before him glowing brightly, ever shining and beautiful like the sunlight, piercing in its own energy. It speaks to James softly with its movements and he understands it. “What is it James?” screams Tina. “There is nothing there,” she yells, dismounting her horse and approaching James. James’ mind and body remain focused and linked with the form in a psychic bond. “I am afraid to leave them. I don’t want to leave them.” He sheds a tear and several tears fall down his face as he looks into the light being staring into him, speaking to him softly and seeming sympathetic with his plight. He knows he has to do what is necessary. He dismounts his horse to the dismay of his companions and approaches the light.

“I know what I have to do,” he turns to them and smiles with his face full of tears. “I was given these powers for a reason and I know what must be done. I won’t see you guys for a while, but I will always be with you. Remember that!”

“James? You’re scaring us,” says Tina.

“Yeah what’s this about?” asks Mercedes.

“Sometimes you have to go your own way,” says James.

“He has to fulfill his destiny” says Drax.

“James, don’t go,” says Celia.

“I will never forget you…” he looks into her eyes and drank the sorrow within as she sheds tears with him. “That is true for all of you.” He looks up and he lifts his arms and turns to the energy being with light wings stretched like an angel engulfing him. He feels his molecules pull apart and his physical body disassemble as he is being pulls upward, uplifted by a higher source and James generates into that source as he is completely absorbed into the light as it fills the entire cave. As his physical body deteriorates and he forms a cloud of pure white energy, he remembers the faces of his friends and the words that echo his very being since he was a child, knowledge is power.

Tina looks up in shock and tears, “I will miss you,” as she saw her friend formed upward into a white halo of smoke and light last seeing the white of his eyes as he fades disintegrating into the empty air above them. Celia, Cornelius, Drax, Mercedes, and Tina remain there, confused. A beam spot in the cave is triggered and the entire room is filled with light.

Drax, Tina, Mercedes, Cornelius, and Celia replace themselves with their horses back at the location near the scorpion car, away from the caves.

“He’s gone” says Mercedes sadly. Celia weeps. Tina sobers. Drax mopes.

“We should get going,” says Drax, holding the time stone he picked up off the ground. Drax, Tina, and Mercedes enter the scorpion car, and Celia and Cornelius mount their steeds while the vortex roars before each of them to their respective destinations.