Chapter Sixteen: The Triumverate of Time
By: nike13

   A single figure sat near the spinning wheel now. Her sisters had left to the Dreamscape that surrounded their home. Clotho looked at the empty seats next to her and silently prayed for their safety. The songs of present and future were silent, the soft melody of what used to be whispered as she continued to work.

   The sound forelorned and sad as it continued without any support, any future, any purpose. The cave had only been this quiet once before, or will only be this quiet once. As soon as the future is stopped, the present dies, and there is only what has been. The destruction of the domes the humans called home in the twentifourth century signaled the dealth of Atropus, followed by the slow degeneration of Lachesis as the last of the humans died. Clotho could not bear being alone without her sisters.

   Soon she would be leaving the cave as well, taking with the melody of the past, to meet the ones that will save her sisters.

   Waren laid on the cot in the small room he had been brought to, his mind raced as he stared at the gray ceiling. The image of his home destroyed burned into his vision as he heard his voice agree to help Lorid. He could only hope that he could stop what had happened to his people, and if that meant selling his soul out to do so, he felt it would be worth it.

   But who would want to destroy the domes? Waren wondered, turning on his side to face the door as he searched his memory for any group with the means and motive to cause such a catastrophe, but he could think of none.

   The off world colonies had some greivances with Earth but none would resort to the mass destruction of innocent people. The alien cultures they knew were understanding and peaceful. Earth alwasy tried to stop the cultures from clashing as much as possible.

   Unless it was some unknown group that has yet to form he could think of none cold enough to destroy humanity.

   Then there was the missile used. Earth's last war ended generations ago with the building of such weapons banned soon after. Waren closed his eyes and tried to comprehend all of what apparently will happen, a small chill traveled down his spine. He could only hope what he was doing was not what caused the destruction in the first place.

   Minutes dragged by like hours as one possibility replaces the last, each more horrifying than the last. The cold feeling he had began to slowly dissapate as a tingling sensation took its place, increasing in magnitude by the second. He opend his eyes and saw the room grow brighter, gold and white light replaced the dark gray of his cell and thoughts. The tingling reached its peack when the vortex of light opened to reveal his companions and for a second time that day, he felt true terror.

   As Teresa's and David's form solidified, Waren stood and waited. He was amazed and slightly proud that they had been able to travel without him as a guide, and astonished that they had found him. They both appeared to be fine, Teresa had her back to him and held onto David's hands while David appeared to be in deep concentration.

   Teresa opened her eyes, slightly at first, then fully and let out a sigh, "This isn't what I saw, David. Are you sure you were concentrating?"

   David looked around and then behind Teresa before he responded with a soft chuckle, "Why don't you look behind you before you make accusations."

   Waren moved closer as Teresa turned to face him, her expression lit up with victory and then confusion once Waren grabbed her shoulders and shook lightly as he whispered with great worry, "What the hell are you doing here? You should never have come."

   "Waren," David whispered in surprise, "What are you talking about?"

   Waren moved his gaze to his other companion and David saw terror swirling in Waren's gray eyes. "We should never have met."

   "You called for me, Lorid?" the Outlander asked after she entered the observatory Lorid occupied. It had been three hours since she delivered the dome-dweller to his room to rest, Lorid ordered that neither he nor his guest be interrupted, until now.

   During those few hours, Lorid had been thinking, contemplating his next course of action. Although he had sworn not to go back to retrieve the other members of the Triumverate, he was still sure he would need all three in order to stop the destruction of Earth's Human Race.

   The scene of the rocket colliding with the central dome had been played back dozens of times; each time, Lorid searched for the smallest of details that could help. He was finally able to pinpoint the origins of the missile, after much searching through historical databases. During the third world war, several such missiles were used on all sides of the conflict to bombard the other. To keep track of these missiles, the people would number them or otherwise mark them. With enhancements to the video of the destruction of the domes, Lorid was able to make out the 'serial number' of this specific missile, which (according to records) had been disarmed in the year 2089.

   With this information he would propose to Waren a trip to steal that missile and then destroy it themselves, to ensure it cannot be used against them in their time. What worried Lorid the most though was the fact that for someone to have that missile more than one hundred years after its recorded dismantelling, they would have had to steal from the past since everything in the Outside was ruined and metal corroded very easily. With time travel still experimental and somewhat unreliable, there were only a few that would be able to retrieve the missile, unless that person was from an even further future, from the colonies perhaps.

   Turning his attention back to the present, he looked back at the woman standing at the door, "I wish you to bring me Waren, Letessa," he said softly and watched as she exited the room. His plan would require much convincing, but Lorid knew, eventually, Waren would agree to his plan. Of the three children, Waren had the most to lose. The other two could merely continue their existence in their own times and never see what he was trying to prevent. This plan had to work if he wished for the help of any of the thre protectors. But if it did not, a small voice whispered to him as he continued to plan, If it is a failure, to save Earth, humanity must end.

   After what felt like hours, Waren was able to finally adequately describe his situation, explain his less than warm welcome, and try, without success, to convince the others to leave. Waren had refused to leave with them, saying that he would rather do something to stop the deaths of millions than to protect the timeline that kills them.

   After much arguing, it was decided that when Lorid came to discuss things with Waren, David and Teresa would be able to see for themselves what was to happen and hear how it could be stopped. Until then, the three of them waited in the small room Waren had been given; Waren sat on the edge of his cot and watched the door; Teresa was on the floor with her back leaned up against the foot of the bed with her arms crossed over her chest; David stood against the opposite them, the door a foot from his shoulder, his eyes fixed on the floor.

   They waited like this, each refusing to break the silence, until they heard a loud click as the door to the room was slowly opened and a woman walked in, which cause all three to stand. The woman had long white hair to her waist. Her pale blue eyes surveyed the room with little emotion as the uninvited guests watched her, ready for any sort of trick. From what they could see, she had no weapons, her clothes a simple gray color and consisting of plain pants and a long sleeve shirt that hung loosely on her frame. She stood about equal to David, her head held high, as if she were royalty herself.

   "I see your friends have come to visit," the woman spoke quietly, her voice as emotionless as her cold stare as she addressed Waren.

   "Yes, we have," Teresa said, causing the woman to face her, "And who might you be?"

   "My name is unimportant-"

   "I would prefer," Teresa interrupted, taking a step towards the stranger, "to know the name of someone before I hurt them for kidnapping my friend."

   The woman gave a small grin to Teresa before quietly responding in another cold whisper, "I was not the one to kidnap your friend. If he was so distressed about being here, away from his friends, why did he not just leave? I doubt locks on doors could really stop him from leaving here if that is what he wanted."

   Teresa glared at the woman before her through narrowed eyes, not knowing anyway to respond to her observations. David cleared his through to call attention to himself before he began to speak, facing the older woman with an air of bored curiousity.

   "I beg your pardon, madam," he began as he tilted his head in a small bow, "My companion can be very rude at times. I appologize for her behavior. Could you, perchance, tell me your name?" He walked slowly to where she stood, picked up her right hand with his left and placed a gentle kiss upon it as he finished, leaving the woman slightly surprised.

   "Letessa," was her simple reply as she seemed to process what just happened.

   "A beautiful name, and very befitting."

   "I think I'm going to be sick," Teresa muttered to Waren.

   "I believe, Letessa," Waren spoke, "that you came here for a better reason than to flirt with my friend. And I must say," he added, watching as her eyes chilled again as they turned to face him, "that I would expect a woman such as yourself to be a little less coy."

   "Now you listen to me, Dome Dweller," she spat back, fury drenching every word, "don't you dare think of using that tone with me. I'm not here to help you. If I had my say, I'd let that damned rocket blow you all to ashes, but Lorid wished to help. After your people banished him here, he is still willing to save you from what fate has delt you."

   "Save us?!" Teresa scoffed. "Lodirs wanted to kill every human being before they even existed. How would that be 'saving' anyone?"

   "We would've been safe. Lorid would've saevd my people so that we would rule the Earth and stop the pollution and destruction your kind caused."

   "We're all humans, Letessa," Teresa spat back, taking a step towards the woman, "And how on Earth would Lorid be able to save you if he destroys the beginnings of mankind? By killing your ancestors before they have you, you would never be born."

   "Ladies," David shouted, trying to stop them from killing each other. "Please stop the bickering. Letessa, that did you want with Waren?"

   Her face still flushed with rage, inches from Teresa's and not wanting to turn her back on someone whose hands where glowing, replied simply, "Lorid wanted him."

   "Then lets go see Lorid," Waren said, sidestepping the two women and coming beside David, "Are women always this crazy?" he whispered.

   "Only around Teresa, I guess."

   ~*They are doing well*~

   ~*Well arguing with everyone*~

   ~*Patience sister. We will explain and answer their questions soon, this is only to be expected*~

   ~*Then they will understand*~

   ~*But they must sleep for us to speak to them. Sisters, how can you be patient when your destiny is in the hands of these children?*~

   ~*They wil rise to the challenge before them*~

   ~*But what if they don't understand when the time to choose is upon them?*~

   ~*We will explain ourselves*~

   After a very enthused argument involving morals, temporal paradoxes, and the occasional influx of fire and lightning it was decided by majority vote to at least attempt the retrieval and later destruction of the rocket. The trio would not need to go back to 2086 in order to steal the missile. Instead they would use their powers to aide Lorid's machine to lift the object from its place the moment before it was destroyed. The timing was crucial for this, if they lifted the object too early, people would know it was not destroyed, too late and the enemy might have it in their custody. There was little concern about the light that appeared before and after a temporal jump because, if timed correctly, the flames would cover it.

   Waren was confident of their abilities to lift the missile, using Lorid's machine as a pointing device to the time and place left all three able to concentrate completely on the moving.

   It took several hours to calculate and reconfigure the equipment, something that Lorid, Letessa, and a few more of the Outsiders completed; partly to give Waren, Teresa, and David a chance to gather their strength and partly because some felt they could not be trusted.

   "The capture of the missile will take place in exactly one hour," Lorid called out to everyone in his laboratory after he finished the final calibrations. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked towards him, Lorid had been living with these people for over twenty years now. He scanned the familiar faces that looked back at him and felt an odd sense of guilt. These people were working to save a group of people they were always taught to hate; they were helping Lorid save the Dome Dwellers not because they wanted to but because he wanted them to. Although many would much prefer to let the dome's inhabitants perish, they also trusted him and felt that they had to do this because of what Lorid had done for them.

   Lorid had been a scientist for the Earth Dome, specializing in the effects of time travel, not just on the people who did the traveling, but also to the people left behind. After years of exhausted research it was concluded that although the inhabitants of the current time did not notice any changes, any temporal jump will result in some variation to the time line. The only way to know what changed was to adk the people who jumped and even then, once they had returned to the time they left from, their memories of the previous timeline would fade rapidly.

   With his only source of evidence disappearing mere hours after the experiments and the increasing demands by the council to provide evidence that time travel could be done without drastic reprocussions, his findings were ignored.

   He was then ordered to increase the survival rate of the jumps and find some way to calculate what changes might occur depending on what action was done. Furious with the council for ignoring the dangers he had tried to bring to their attention, he quit his work and destroyed the equipment that was altering their future, setting the project back years. His actions were viewed as traitorous and he was banished to the Outside.

   The Outsiders had taken little liking to Lorid at first, him being a Dome Dweller and scientist, he was not seen as trustworthy. In fact, it took much to convince them not to simply kill him. He had promised his knowledge and gave it to them willingly. He helped them create walls that would stand against the acid rains or the surface and helped in healing the burns from their skins. In the eyes of the Outsiders, he had kept his promise and earned their acceptance and trust. Lorid shared their hatred for the Dome Dwellers but still felt a sense of guilt at the thought of letting them parish. He had originally thought things would be better if none had existed in the first place but the girl Teresa had brought up a valid point. He would be commiting genocide were he to change time so drastically. Although the others, like Letessa, saw no problem with that, Lorid felt he would not be able to go through with it.

   "Now it is time to let fate run its course," he whispered into the deserted lab. "If humans are truly meant to die, then this plan will fail, but at least we tried."

   One hour later, Waren, David, and Teresa entered Lorid's lab with hardset determination etched into their features. They had agreed that if this did not work that they would jump back themselves and blow up the missile manually, and if this was a doublecross, they were prepared as well.

   Lorid was waiting for them, making a few last checks before they started at a control panel in the far left corner of the room. The lab was a large, plainly decorated room with gray walls and no windows. The tables that took up the front half of the room were cluttered with notes, panels, scrap peices of metal, and half finished machines. The back half of the laboratory contained on machine, one very large machine with optic wiring, lights, and panels covering its surface. The thing was about ten feet deep by twelve feet wide and towered over seven feet tall with some form of silvery casing to house the power source.

   When the panels he was working on showed the proper readings, he turned his attention to the three teenagers in the doorway. "It would seem that now is the time to act," he said and smiled across at them, "Are you ready to change history?"

   "Its only history to you and Waren," Teresa said stubbournly.

   "I just wanna get this over with," Waren muttered.

   Lorid surveyed their faces then looked at Davidm "And what does your highness have to say?"

   David straightened his back and looked difiantly into Lorid's eyes, "If this turns out to be a trick, I will kill you for what you've tried to do."

   "And if this works?" Lorid asked, still with a smile across his features.

   "I haven't decided yet."

   "Lorid," Waren said, returning the ex-scientist's attention to him, "I do have one question."

   "What is it, Waren?"

   "When you were cast out of the dome, it was because you saw the dangers of time travel and wanted to preserve the time line that exists now. What made you give that up?"

   "Travelling through time creates ripples of change but veiwing it does not. It took some time but I was able to create a sort of window into any time and place. I used that to see the future the Dome Dwellers created for us. It was that vision I shared with you and that was what made me realize that preserving this timeline was insanity. "Do you have any other questions?"

   Waren seemed to be satisfied and shook his head while Teresa and David looked at Waren slightly confused. "You mean, he used to be a good guy?" Teresa blurted out.

   "I would suppose," Lorid said smuggly. "Now, shall we?" And he beckoned the teens over to the panel he had been working on when they had first entered the laboratory. The controls were set for August 18, 2086 on the right third of the panel, the rest of it being taken up by a viewing screen of the time period.

   On the screen could be seen a large missile silo of concrete and metal. The flag painted on the side was unrecognizable to Teresa and David. When they asked, Waren said that the flag was of the Sol Council, the current ruling body in his time. In 2086, the council was just forming from the fragments of the United Nations. It was the council that was in charge of the disarming.

   There were a few people in hazard suits finalizing their checklists. It seemed as though they were planning on destroying all the missiles held at that silo in one big destructive blast. A few men were moving what appeared to be a core of one of the missile.

   "They must remove the cores now or else the fire would set off the nuke. They used the nuclear corse as a power source in that time," Lorid explained as they watched. "What hit the dome was an empty shell, it didn't have the 21st century core but a highly concentrated type of thermal powered explosion which broke the dome. That device, we can assume, was added after the enemy captured it."

   "But I do not see anyone out of place," David said, worried that the capture had already happened.

   "I don't understand," Lorid said as he checked the temporal coordinates. The view moved to focus on one of the manny missiles, its unit number 200684 coming into focus. "Well, the missile is still there."

   "Then we should continue with the plan," Waren said. "Is it almost time?"

   "You may begin when ready, the machine will focus your powers to the right time," Lorid motioned to the panel next to the view screen. "When the time is right to lift the missile, this control panel will flash red. I shouldn't have to remind you that the timing must be exact."

   Waren nodded his understanding and turned toward Teresa and David and took their hands in his. "You might want to step back, Lorid," he called over his shoulder, then closed his eyes to concentrate, the other two following suit. Lorid moved back to the entrance of his lab and watched.

   The optic cabling of Lorid's creation began to glow with lights as its power charged, a soft humming noise filled the room. In the corner, the three teenagers stood in a circle, eyes clased, with power flowing through them like lightning through a stormy sky. Once the power seemed to reach an impossible level, Waren opened his eyes to view the side panel Lorid had indicated, the light flashing red. It was time.

   With Lorid stunned in amazement at the sheer opwer being utilized before him, he watched as the flow of the Triumverate passed from their forms into the machine he had mreated. As the light grew in intensity, the noise began to shift from a mechanic hum to something more natural and less man-made, like that of the wind in a hurricane. Lorid covered his ears from the noise as the light became blinding. Just when he thought he could not take the toll on his senses another second, everything stopped.

   The missile was in the room, crushing all the equipment and tables as it lay in the dying wind.

   Waren, Teresa, and David stood in their corner, still in their circle, hands locked and eyes shut as a mini-tornado lulled around them, sweat dripping from the exertion as they seemed to realize the mission was a success.

   Lorid took a step towards the young saviors when a sound near the entrance causght his attention. He turned just in time to receive a shot to the chest. Lorid was dead.

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