Chapter Eighteen: premonitions

"to take a look into the future, one must also look at their past..."

-masked chrono-agent.

in their home that night, lily and amelia slept.
but nowhere near peacefully.
they were seeing things they couldn't believe.

-amelia's vision-

amelia sat in the brances of a tree as a young fox happily played around with an aging, elder fox.
"yay, gr'npa! le's go fiss'in again!" the toddler-fox gleefully exclaimed.
"oh, my... i'm terribly sorry, but i'm afraid we can't..."
the fox pup looked jovial nonetheless "why gr'npa?"
amelia noticed that the little fox wasn't talking, but a speaker-collar on his neck was talking for him, a wire ran from the collar to a node on his head.
the old fox trembled, bearing his weight upon his cane "...well... my old bones... and i don't have any lures left, since a certain little miscevous pup lost all of them." he said kindly, in what otherwise was a scolding lecture.
"sa'wee gr'npa!"
the little fox's brown eyes turned green "i c'n make a new one ferr yew?"
the old fox tapped the little pup's forehead "ah ah ah! what did i say about technomagic?"
the little fox bowed submissively "tuh nawt use it." then he hugged the old fox's legs "ah'm sa'wee gr'npa!"
the old fox knelt beside his grandson "it's okay, now, what do you say we go enjoy some of your grandmother's orangecake?"
the fox pup jumped in place and clapped "gr'mas cake! gr'mas cake!"
amelia couldn't place it, but the pup was familiar somehow...
and then a well dressed blonde man walked into the scene
"good day Mr. palmer." then he knelt beside the pup "how're you doing, pup?"
the pup beamed and the voicemachine buzzed with static "i'm gr'at, mister!"
he ruffed the pup's head fur "oh, i can't believe your grandpa built this for you! despite it's low-quality, it's far more advanced than most devices these days." he patted the fox on the muzzle "wear it with pride, pup!"
the pup's device emmitted laughter "yessir mister ken'zee!"
amelia froze, the man was VERY familiar, the name the pup called him by confirmed it.
the man was... or was he? he'd said he immediately changed his name when he entered their world...
the old fox sighed "oh, my... he'll need to forget who you are, won't he?"
the pup looked sad after hearing that.
"yes, Mr. palmer... sadly, he will."
"but i dun' wanna fer'get, i like yew, ken'zee! pweeze?"
"i'm sorry, pup. but i'll make you a promise, okay?"
"oh'kay!"
"when you're older, i'll still be your freind, and i'll protect you after your grandparents pass on, deal?"
"dee'lll!"
the man shook the pup's paw.
"but... imma fer'get aw'r pwom'iss..." he said sadly.
"don't you worry, i wont... it's what i owe you, afterall, it was my fault..."
"that daddy and mommy left... i noe! but i dun' hate yew, yerr mah fw'end, ken'zee!"
"benny, i promise you, one day, i'll make it so you can talk on your own..."
the old fox touched his shoulder "now, kenzi, that's too much, you know what would happen to you..."
the pup beat lightly against kenzi "yeh! dun' her't yer'sew'f ken'zee!"
kenzi seemed to remember something "benny, do you want to give me my name for my next life?"
"c'n i?"
kenzi nodded "it'd be my honour to be named by you."
"uhmmmmm.... EE'YAN! yew'll be ee'yan buck'waa!"
"Ian Buckler... yes, i like that. thankyou benny."
the old fox sighed as he stood "you'd better get going, kenzi."
kenzi nodded, stood, waved goodbye to the pair of foxes, and vanished.
the pup hugged his grandfather's legs "wen'lll i fer'get, gr'npa?"
"on your next birthday, ben, you'll forget all about kenzi... but you'll see him again, he'll leave the name you gave him in your mind, you'll be drawn to him, even if he looks different."
"yay!"
the pup skipped away happily as his grandfather followed him down the path.

there was no mistaking it.
this was from benson's past... as well as ian's.

kenzi landed next to her, and her body went solid
"hello, traveler."
"who...?"
"i am Kenziel." he said, offering a hand
"amelia, i know you in the.... future, i think"
he shook her paw "yes, i can sense that, but i think you should return. can't have the past damaged."
she nodded "can you sense when i come from?"
"yes. i can..."
"then you'd better explain this to me when i get back!" as amelia spoke, she began to fade out.
"i promise you, amelia, i will not forget."

and then everything faded away.

-Lily's vision-

lily stood outside a burning cathederal, inside, a pre-teen fox was dressed like a king, sitting on a throne.
beside him, to his left, a brown wolf hung crucified, the wolf wore a charred, tattered red vest and hole filled nobleman's clothing.
to his right, a teenage man wearing a tattered grey cloak, and a broken, cracked white mask upon his face hung in the same manner.
both looked long since unconsious.

she walked inside, and saw a cyborg german shepherd standing straight, facing her...
but couldn't see her.
someone walked straight through her from behind.
like she was a ghost...
the person was pushed over, in front of the german shepherd.
the man had a red-stained black tuxedo on, it was tattered and broken.
his legs were broken.
the fox sneered, opening his eyes to reveal purple sclerae, gold irises, and red pupils.
"ah, my old friend is finally here! general, bring him here."
the cyborg grabbed the man and tossed him a few meters, landing at the bottom of the steps.
lily ran straight to him.
"now, old friend, how're your friends doing?"
the man glared "you Already know! DEAD, THEY'RE ALL DEAD!"
"well, i just forgot... oh wait, no i didn't!"
"your parents would be ashamed, virlan!!"
"mother dearest and father dearest? ... eh. whatever."
"BEN WOULD HAVE-!"
the fox glared "my father would have done NOTHING. he allowed the 'king' and the 'emperor' groups to ravage this world! and I STOPPED THEM!"
"monster. just kill me already. i'm tired of listening to your insolent blathering."
"oh, very well." he waved dismissively, and the man fell into a pit.
the fox's ears swiveled "general..."
the cyborg stepped forward " YES SIR? " it said in a mechanised voice.
"i can... sense mother..."
" YOUR MOTHER HAS BEEN DECEASED FOR FIVE YEARS, SIR "
"i know... but... i can feel her nearby..."
the cyborg turned, dismissing the comment.
the fox closed his eyes "mother.... why... why did you have to die...?"
lily couldn't explain it, but this evil child... she felt the need to comfort him...
(who are you, child?) she wondered.
the fox gasped "mother...?"
lily stepped back, she knew she couldn't be seen ...
"don't go..." the fox whispered.
(who was your mother?) lily wondered
"why, you were my mother, of course..."
(can this kid hear me?)
the fox began nodding "i can, i can hear you, mother!"
(what was her name?) she wondered
"your name, mother? ... it was... elilabetha, wasn't it? ... Elilabetha Heartrow... right?"
lily gasped, but the fox didn't seem to hear.
he could only seem to hear what she thought right now.
(how did your mother die?)
"you... you died when my shadow emerged, mother... it killed you, but i subjugated it..."
(is that why he said you destroyed...?)
the fox nodded eagerly "yes, mother! in my pain, i turned on Draco Shay, and the Wolf... i stopped the war, but you stayed dead..." he said sadly.
the cyborg powered down.

"mother... please show yourself... i will not harm you..."
lily felt herself become solid.
"m-mother!"
"is that ... who i am?"
the fox leapt up and over to lily, and hugged her "mother... you're younger...?"
"what's going on?"
he buried his face in her fur "i cannot say, for i don't know, mother."
"i feel as if i know you..."
"i am your firstborn son, Virlan Palmer..."
"palmer... does that mean...?"
virlan snapped, and stood straight, his evil eyes full of sadness "i understand now, you told me of this once... you are dreaming, and your mind wandered across time... you have yet to become my mother..."
lily stumbled backward "so... you... destroyed ... will destroy everything... because your shadow ... will kill me?"
virlan began to cry "yes, mother... ciril, my twin brother, confronted his own previously, and tried to save you with his power..." he glared at the two crucified messes "but THEY interfered. they sealed ciril, and let my shadow kill you... so once i had control of it, they tried to convince me to join them... and i did this to them in response."

lily felt her head swim "i feel..."
virlan turned to her and reached out "no, please don't leave!"
her body faded
"mother!"
everything faded out.

"MOTHER-!"

the sisters both snapped awake.
amelia looked down from the top bunk.
"lil... did you just...?"
"see the future... i think..."
"...the past... i think..."
"i saw my son..."
"i... saw ben and ian..."

"what does this mean, ammie?"
"no idea."
"the last time this happened... it was because we were drunk, and we saw..."
"... everything flying around, upside down."

both sisters looked at eachother.

"this is different, totally." they said in unison.

-the next morning-

in the library, before open hours, the sisters scoured over hundreds of books, trying to find out the meaning behind their dreams.

"nothing in this one, either... find anything, ammie?"
amelia emerged from behind a bookshelf "no..."
lily tapped her head "there's got to be some kind of meaning..."
amelia remembered something "there's psychology texts in the attic!"

the sisters quickly made their way up to the attic.

once there, amelia opened a small white box, recovering a little padlocked book.
she read the title "a memory of arlius estrange, 1900's to unknown "
lily noticed a red sticker on the cover
"it's marked 'chronomoly' ... so it's a diary which includes things that don't fit the dates?"
they broke the fragile lock, and amelia read the page it opened to...

"date unknown.
i have yet to recieve my name, i have been in this world for eight years already, i have kept hidden, all except for my existance to an old fox, there's something about his grandson that i just can't place...
for all i know, i could be endangering them.
but the little fox pup makes me happy.
one day i'll repay him."

amelia looked at her sister in shock "doesn't this sound familiar?"
"sounds kinda like ian..."

amelia kept reading...

"date unknown.
a name, a name! today i was given my new name, and by none other than that fox kid!
Arlius Estrange is no more, now i am Ian Buckler.
asfter meeting the foxes, i came across a beautiful young feline in a tree, it seemed she'd observed the whole thing.
she said she knew me in the future.
this must mean, in the future, my fate will be intertwined with little benny's... doubtless, i sensed a pathway through her, that another was timewalking... but into at least fourty years into the future!
but i cannot ignore what else i sensed.
the girl i met will be a librarian, so i will leave my journal in the location she will one day work.
i cannot ignore the events i can sense coming..."

amelia turned the page, it was the final entry.
lily saw the date.
"hey! that's the day we met benny, and ian!"

"oh, gods... you're right! ... let's see..."

"final entry.
today i will join the education curriculum, so i may learn how to function on this world.
i can sense that today i will meet the people crucial to the coming events; the time walking girls, and i will see benson again, i hope that when i erased his memory of me, i left the message to draw him to me.
i have a feeling that my intended targets will doubtless be reading this.

if you are reading this 'amelia' then please, know this; when we spoke, i detected an abnormality through you.
benson, in your time, will be hunted.
his powers, he will lose...
and his TRUE self will try to take hold.
if you wish to help him, you'll need to know how that dream happened.

when my future self percieves coming danger, he sends his trusted allies through time, in doing this, he not only endangers his own life, he reveals vital information to his intended allies, information that will help save the world, or provide insight. this can only be done once every 3000 years.
i believe you gained insight on my past, amelia.
please, save benson palmer!

i'm being approached by benson now. it seems not all was in vain.
he is signing at me...
where is that amazing collar?
he's asking what i'm doing...
i'll have to stop here.
i'm sorry, but... goodbye.

-Ian Buckler, AKA: Kenziel the guardian."

amelia closed the book, and turned to her sister.
"ian's due to give us some answers."
lily nodded.
amelia called ian...
"h-hello? .... amelia?"
"ian, we need answers."
"ah, it's... today... isn't it? ... i'm sorry, but i'm weak, near unconsious in the strells right now..."
amelia gasped, puttng a paw to her muzzle "what happened?"
"the... order.... attacked Aeon... he only barely made it... but that's... because i had to... save him..."
"no..."
"yes... and... i've been told... the wolf who accompanied... Aeon that time... was with the order... but he has left them, due... to this attack."
"oh, gods ian! are you okay?"
"no... not really."
"lil, can you watch the library?"
she nodded, and amelia ran out, heading for the nearest transit station.
"i'll be there soon, ian! i'm going by transitor!"
the line went static, then dead.
she raced out onto the street, being a feline, she zipped across the ground at major speed, reaching the terminal in under a minute.
she programmed the pod, and paid.

the air buzzed, her fur stood on end...
DZZZT!!

the world blurred, energy crackled, and she found herself in the middle of a burning, ashy crater.
ian lay motionless, standing nearby was a feline woman, and kneeling beside her was Aeon.
"IAN!"
the large canine stopped her by putting down his paw.
"no... try to calm down."
"but ian's-!"
"calm..."
the woman walked towards her, and rolled up her sleeves, crouching beside ian
"don't worry, i was QUITE the doctor in my day."
Aeon allowed amelia to approach.
"who... are you?"
"miss Heartrow, I am Verona, once Verona Alliet... the number one of thirty years ago!"
verona set to work on ian
"where's... peter?"
"patrick went down into the city to get an ambulance." Aeon answered
ian groaned
"ame...lia..."
she knelt beside him "i'm here ian!"
he smirked, giving out a pained laugh "look... at my wings..."
the huge wings unfurled from his back, startling verona.
"sorry... madam."

amelia stared at the beautiful wings, one black, one white.
"one's ... white!"
"saving Aeon... somebody forgave... me"
amelia cried in joy "that's wonderful!"

-one hour later-

amelia sat in the waiting room of the Cryopolis Central Hospital, verona was in the operating room, directing the medical technicians with ian's treatment.

Aeon sat outside the window, peering in.
amelia spoke with him through her phone, which had been specially designed to be usable inside a hospital.
"so that's it? you gave it up... and... ian helped you take them BOTH back?"
"yes, miss Heartrow, that is correct. would you like to hear about earth?"
"yes, please!"

Aeon regailed her with tales of his life as a human on planet earth, of the religions, cultures, arts, wars, the wildlife, sports, tales of knights, spartans, essentially the whole 'earth' expierence.

"amazing... but... it's a one way trip?"
"unfortunately, without a summoner on this world, AND earth, the journey is impossible... unless, you're that damn red-vested wolf, that is."
"i understand... besides, i guess only humans can be on earth."
"well, them and animals."
"but, we don't count as these 'animals' you say?"
"no, animals are classed as 'non-sentient' life, unlike your kind."
"hm. i'd very much like to see earth one day..."
"it might be possible one day...."
Aeon noticed the emergency light go off "what's happening?"
"i can hear her getting very angry, she's saying it is very much an emergency."
he saw everyone inside jump.
"what was that?"
"she ... just hit somebody... for trying to disable ian's life support."
a black feline burst into the waiting room, angry.
"i see patrick's arrived."
before he could get to his point, amelia pointed out the window, to his father.
Aeon winked.
amelia handed over the phone "hello, dad."
"patrick. how did things go?"
"they think ian is some kind of freak. they're all older staff, still moronic from 'the ravaging' time."
Aeon sighed
"i-i'm sorry... i wasn't thinking..." he said, flustered.
"it's fine, patrick. you're ABSOLUTELY right. by the way, why does she refer to you by your second name?"
"i'll ... explain later... i have to get moving, i'll see you later, dad."
he handed back the phone, and ran out.
amelia sighed "i'll have to leave, soon, the transitor will return me soon."
"i'll tell your friend... he's more than a friend..."
Aeon's giant eyes lidded knowingly "isn't he?"
amelia blushed "i'd... like him to be..."
and she hung up.

---

back at kevin's, the little fox stood in a tray upon the table, working on his destroyed bike.
"kevin! i need a wrench!"
the german shepherd, who sat nearby, picked up the tiny tool, and handed it to the fox.
"you're really goin' t'rebuild the whole thing?"
benson grunted "yes, as much as i can. wrong wrench, i need metric, not half inch."
the giant sighed "ben, can't you just buy a new one?"
"no kevin, this bike... it belonged to my grandmother."
kevin winced "ohhhhhhh... i'm sorry..."
benson waved an arm, still needing the metric wrench "no, you couldn't have known, neither could've your father." benson grunted "still need the wrench, kevin!"
kevin saw the right wrench and handed it over.
"ah! that's it. metric!"

kevin watched for an hour, as the jumbled mess of parts began to take shape.
"okay, i'll need your help to attatch the pipes."
kevin carefully picked up the exhaust, holding it in place as the fox welded it back on.
the bike could be rebuilt, but the electrornics were long gone.
not even technomagic would help.
benson climbed onto the bike, and fitted the hub.
"it's out of oil."
"virada doesn't have oil." kevin reminded him
the fox stood next to the bike and groaned "ugh, i know."
"it's out of fuel, too, isn't it?"
"yes." he groaned louder.
"what'll you do tommorrow, when i'm at school?"
"just lock up. i'll stay, tommorow's not a workday for me."
the german shepherd shrugged "fair 'nuff."

benson checked the engine "oh, fuck."
"what?"
"we... i... i've put the engine in backwards!!"
benson kicked the bike "i'm STUPID!" he hit his head on the metal. "stupid, stupid!, STUPID!!"
kevin put his finger between his friend's head and the metal. "stop that."
benson fell to his knees "argh... i should've just got it rebuilt in a shop!"
"but... they'd need too much pay, and would steal all the valuable parts, ben."
"i know..."
kevin picked up the despondent fox.
"i think y' need t' rest."
the fox sighed, looking over his blackened fur "a shower, too, by the look of it."
kevin smiled
"don't you get any ideas!"
"who, me?" he said theatrically
"yes, you, you big jerk. NO. PEEKING. AT. ALL." he said sternly.
kevin pouted "oh, fine... you should see it as a compliment, though."
"hmm, let me think about-NO!"
kevin laughed
"kevin, i see it as having my privacy invaded!"
kevin stood and headed upstairs, he partially filled the bathroom sink, broke off a chip of soap, and allowed the fox to bathe.

he really tried hard to will himself to not look.
but he managed.
"kevin, where'd i put my clean clothes again? .... i think my bag...."
kevin stood, back to his friend "s'alright, i know where it is."
benson sighed sadly "sorry i have to depend on you so much..."
kevin laughed "contrary, i like being needed." he offered earnestly "makes me feel useful."
"but you shouldn't have to..."
"no, i'm fine with it, really. it makes me important to you!" he laughed.
"you're already important, as my best friend... not an assistant." benson said apologetically.
"ben?"
"yes, kevin?"
"please shut up." the giant laughed "i'm okay with it, besides, we can just role reverse."
benson's ears splayed "kevin... the imprint will wear off one day..."
kevin walked out to retrieve benson's clothing "well, we'll at least understand each other's perspective, ben... and i know you'd do the same for me, that's why i don't mind."

benson was left in the bathroom.
a thought appeared in his mind
one day he'd repay the giant german shepherd's kindness...
somehow... some way, he'd reimburse him, and THAT was a promise.
"maybe... i could buy kevin a bike of his own...?"

benson thought about how to repay his friend, unaware that kevin was planning a similar thing.

AUTHOR NOTE
how does everyone think the events will play out? and who would like more of virlan's story?
see you next chapter!