by silverluna
A great part of true understanding, true consciousness, exists only in the mind. —silverluna (u can quote me on that, k?).
Prologue
This is not your typical spy game. It has spy-like qualities, with otherworldly elements. This is a story which transcends time-space. The barrier is revoked. Dissolved. Blotted out as a young man shifts from the myriad present to the shattered walls of the past. He's an interloper—what will the past do to him?
Will his past essence remember, having remained?
Or is it just some twisted mind game induced by that very secretive government based organization that has snatched this man from his friends? Forced him to endure mind torture. Panic. Drug induced trauma. Misleading. Fear frayed against him. A loss of personal identity.
And, in all hopes of revival, the trap is set for another to fall? How will they handle this mayhem, this danger? This absolute mind bending paralyzing insanity? How will they fare as interlopers in time-space? Will their friends be able to rescue them , or at least their sense of identity and self, or will they have to find the surface again alone?
Separated from each other in time, taunted, terrorized, will they merely become ghosts, shadows, essences of dreams lingering in a haunted time-space continuum? Or will they be able to unlock the secret mystery stretched out from one time to the next?
How long till their wills, their minds, the fibers of time, give out? How will these simple fibers and bits and pieces be manipulated against these young souls? These souls who are slightly naive to otherworldly events. Will it be ultimate destruction? A higher understanding of the complexity of consciousness? A descent into utter horror and madness?
It is a mystery which transcends time-space, brought back to life in a new era by the high-tech world and overactive imaginations. Parting words. Decrepit and yellowing photographs. Black and white. A mystery which so many stake claim to solve, but for difficult purposes—selfish, greedy ones.
If Lance cannot recall then can....JC? Chris? Joey? Justin? As one, though separated by the boundaries of time-space, can they piece together the puzzle, the interwoven web of tangled threads before those meant to destroy their minds would sink their teeth into its tender flesh? Though separated by time-space and vemoness beings, they must use their love to solve the mysteries, or they will all sink into the the past as victims of utter defeat....
~*~
100 years ago....
A swish of skirts. Ardent. Velvet. Lavish. Parting words.
She nuzzled his ear softly. "You will return to me?" A nervous giggle.
He clutched her hand, the ring on her finger gleaming. "I will. You have my word."
A fire sang in the form of luscious music between their eyes. He gazed slightly longer, then crossed the foyer.
She was dewy with water, waving her white handkerchief in the doorway, dabbling salty mist breathing from her eyes into the sultry heat. "I'll wait for you! For e'er," she whispered into the crushed air.
Already stained with blood. Screams. Heady violets wilting.
Her whisper carried, over and over until it became embodied, weaved into time. Carried like a mermaid's tear on a wave through the ages....
Later, much later, she graced the foyer one last time.
She crossed the threshold, brushing wisps of time from her satin sleeves. Absentmindedly, she fingered the beads hanging loosely about her neck. Thinking of nothing.
And then, blood. So much of it. Everywhere. Pooled and precious, mirroring, mocking the beads with a similar horror.
A twisted body.
A neck turned ungracefully to one side.
A face. Eyes wide open, but not alive.
She saw white noise, and her screams.
Her screams echoed across the ages....
...into the present....
~*~
And so, it begins....
Chapter One
"Agent Little Flower, are you sure you can handle this assignment?" A gruff voice. "It is imperative that you feel you can. It may involve going against natural law—"
Cold eyes. Ice lips. Jet hair poised. "Yes, sir." But not disrespectful. Assured.
Papers changed hands, a manilla folder. A picture jutted out from its top. Manicured fingers pressed it back against the paper clip within.
"This must be kept secret. If the other divisions discovered—"
"I know the consequences, sir." Agent Little Flower's voice edged on slightly irritated. She secured her beeper, straightened the seams on her stockings, combed her hands through her jet hair, and set her eyes.
The man behind the dark screen smiled. "You've trained her well," he murmured to a young man at his left side. He rarely gave compliments.
The young man nodded. "Yes. She's the best for this job, this act, sir."
The older man gave a smug smile. His beady eyes sweep the room. "Soon," he muttered. "Yes. Soon."
Agent Little Flower walked from the steely building to her car. Putting her mini cell phone against her ear, she hummed, "I'll be in touch." She entered the car, sped off into the night.
~*~
"Do you really have to go?" Melissa pleaded to her boyfriend, Lance.
Lance let out a low chuckle. "Melissa, we've been talking for almost a half an hour. The guys have to be finished wrapping things up by now."
"So the concert went really well? I bet you looked so hot. I'm sorry I couldn't be there, baby."
Light played off of Lance's soft features. "It's okay. I understand."
"Well, did you look hot? How was your hair?"
Lance grinned, self-consciously stroking his golden spikes. His girlfriend, Melissa, was obsessed with his hair. "My hair looks great. I made them style it just the way you would like it."
"Really?" Melissa squealed. Then she caught herself, coughing briefly. "I mean, I'm happy for you. Really."
Lance cracked up. "I really love you, Mel. You so funny."
"Is Justin rubbing off on you? Or is that just your southern charm?"
Lance paused, pressing his lips together in a tight smile.
"Lance?" Melissa's voice shuddered over the line. Lance waited for it. "Lance?! Did you hang up? Lance?" While he was freaking his girlfriend out, he heard her listening to a song he hadn't heard before.
"Mel?" he broke in gently.
"Ha! I knew you wouldn't just—"
"What are you listening to?" he interrupted.
Melissa giggled nervously. "I was listening to you before you called, honey, I swear." Lance rolled his eyes, but smiled. "This is some CD I borrowed from a friend. She said it was a good CD."
"What's the song called?"
"Mad About You."
"So, it's appropriate lover music," Lance began.
"Lance!"
"What?" he asked innocently. He listened to some of the words of the song briefly:
Feel the vibe, Feel the terror, Feel the pain, It's driving me insane I can't think, For God's sake why am I driving in the wrong lane? Trouble is my middle name—But in the end I'm not too bad Can someone tell me if it's wrong to be so mad—about you, Mad—about you....
From the shadows where Lance couldn't see into, he was unaware of an unseen presence watching his every move, hanging on his every lilt. To use it against him, if need be.
"Lance! There you are!" Justin called, rushing up to his friend.
"Just—" Lance protested as Justin slammed into his back. He inadvertently dropped his cell phone. Lance scowled at Justin. "Tell her you're sorry," Lance told Justin, holding up the phone within an arm's length of him.
"Sorry Melissa!" Justin practically screamed. He grinned at Lance. "JC says you got 5 minutes. Less now that you've wasted 4 of them." He grinned and scampered off.
Lance tried to unclench his fist. It wasn't working. "Melissa, I've got to go."
"No! Already?" Melissa cried. "First you drop me and now you're leaving!"
"I'll sing you a little lullaby."
"Really? Sing This I Promise You!"
"I've loved you forever, in lifetimes before," Lance drawled in his deep bass voice. He could almost see Melissa's happy smile.
"Poofoo! Now!"
Lance looked over his shoulder to see Joey, Chris and Justin standing there, close by. "Melissa, they've come to get me, honey. I love you."
"I love you too, baby. Make sure to call me soon!" She made a kissing sound over the phone.
Lance eyed Joey, Justin and Chris. "Night," he told her, pushing the end button on his cell phone. He walked over to them, waiting for Joey to start up. A smile played over Joey's lips. It was late, past midnight, and Nsync had just finished a concert about an hour ago. After getting cleaned up, they were ready to head out. Lance finished first, and took the opportunity to call his girlfriend. "Where's JC?" Lance huffed. "I could've talked for about 30 more seconds—"
"I'm right here, let's go!" JC called, dashing up to them.
Chris gave him a sideways glance. "Man, aren't you tired yet? I'm supposed to be the hyper one. Geez." He gave a sneering smile.
"Let's go, let's get on the bus before management kills us." JC gestured towards the exit.
"Excuse me." A voice from behind them startled all five of them.
Joey rolled his eyes. "Geez, Lonnie, don't scare us like that." He sighed.
Their bodyguard strolled up to them. "Better me than somebody else."
"Is the bus in hold up or something?" Justin asked, stifling a yawn.
"They said about 10 minutes."
"I'm calling Melissa back," Lance announced, pulling out the flip phone.
Joey and Chris snickered. "So you can finish singing This I Promise You to her?"
Lance froze, blush creeping into his cheeks. JC raised an eyebrow questioningly. Lance laughed, or rather, stutter-laughed. He slipped the phone back into his pocket, and studied the wall. "You know," he tried offhandedly, "she's probably sleeping by now. She said she was going to sleep—" He snapped his face to Joey's. Joey laughed at his _expression.
"Hey, Poof, I didn't say anything."
"Yet," Justin added. He yawned.
"Um, excuse me." Nsync and their bodyguard turned around, surprised that anyone was still there. Lonnie rolled his eyes, amazed at how this fan had alluded their security check. They had searched thoroughly for crazed fans hiding out, trying to catch a glimspe or perhaps snatch an article of clothing. He began to move in front of the boys.
"Wait, Lonnie," JC protested.
Nsync eyed the girl. She looked like an early teen, a slightly geeky one. She had crimped, messy hair pulled into 2 side ponytails. Thick horn-rimmed glasses. Her clothing resembled that of the late 80's. Bright red cherry chapstick waxed her lips. Her lips parted slightly and they could see she had a metal retainer holding her teeth in place. Her hands nervously gripped a notepad and a pen. "Um, I, well," she said, a little giggle escaping in the form of a snort. Justin's eyes widened and he drew his lips into a smile.
"Can we help you?" JC asked softly.
His voice seemed to appeal to her, because she picked her head up. She wasn't really looking at any of them, but for some reason, Lance felt unnerved by her. Even though her appearance led to believe otherwise, he wanted to tell Lonnie to make her leave. Stop acting like a jerk just because you're tired. She's a fan, and she's probably here to see you.
"Were you at the concert?" Justin tried gently, wondering if she somehow got separated from her group. But it was late late late. What was she still doing here? The concert ended at least an hour and a half ago.
That's strange, JC pondered, waiting for her answer. I wonder why Lonnie and the rest of the security team didn't find her before.
"Yeah, I was here for the concert," she smiled, flashing them her hot pink retainer. "I just really wanted to get your autographs. All of you," she said softly. Her eyes dropped to the notebook.
"Well, we can do that," Justin said. "I thought you were going to ask for something serious, like one of our hands in marriage or something."
Chris kicked Justin in the ankle as the girl snorted in laughter. He had to bite his own lip to keep from laughing at the girl. Joey smiled, but didn't laugh. JC took the notebook and pen she offered and signed his name, with some cute little message like "fancy meeting you here," and then passed it to Joey. Joey signed, giving it to Justin. Justin signed, saying something about marriage as a joke, with a smiley face. He tried to hand the notebook to Lance, but Lance was still toying with the notion that there wasn't something right about the girl.
"Earth to Poofoo," Justin laughed, elbowing Lance. Lance reluctantly took the notebook, scrawling his name. He wrote it off as tiredness, and gave a little smile to cover it up.
After Chris was finished, he handed it back to the girl. She stared at the notebook with an open mouth. "Wow," she lisped through the retainer, a little spittle escaping down her chin. "Nsync really sighed my book! Thank you so much!" They all smiled, with Chris trying not to cringe with disgust. Joey had already averted his eyes. He wished someone would offer the girl a tissue.
Lonnie said he was going to escort the girl out, and told them to get on the bus. "Dre's out there. He'll check things out." Nsync made their way out to the dark. Dre got them secured on the bus, and waited at the doors for the rest of the team.
"That was a freak occurrence," Chris quipped, fake snorting.
Joey grunted.
"Stranger things have happened," Justin commented.
And will, JC thought, immediately stunned at why he thought that. He wrote it off as an intellectual connection.
Lance decided to voice his concern. "Did any of you guys notice how she seemed?"
"Whadda ya mean, Scoop?" Chris asked tiredly.
"I mean, even though she was nerdy looking, she seemed kind of poised. And how she didn't seem afraid of Lonnie."
Joey scrunched his face, thinking of the spittle on her chin. "So, what are you getting at, Lance?"
"Yeah, is this Justin's 'everyone is an alien out to get us conspiracy theory' idea again?" Chris wondered. Both Lance and Justin protested, but for different reasons.
"No more watching Men in Black," JC said, heading for his bunk.
"What about Conspiracy Theory?" Chris asked just to irritate JC.
"Go to bed, Chris," JC growled from his bunk. Chris shrugged his shoulders.
Lance still couldn't shake the feeling. It was as if hands were crawling all over his body. Parasites reaching into his mind. A truly creepy feeling that spanned the dark still night.
~*~
He'd only stopped for a second. Turned around when he'd received a call on the walkie talkie. He'd halted the girl, telling her to excuse him, that they'd be on their way in a moment. He turned around, and in the 3 minutes he was talking, the girl vanished. Completely. It was a big place. She could have gone anywhere. He sighed, and walkie talkied that he was heading back.
~*~
She found a rest room. Pulled the rubber bands from her hair. Unclipped the hair extensions. Combed her jet hair. Pulled the glasses from her eyes, staring at her hard, pale face in the half lit room. She got a tissue and wiped her lips. She spit out the contraptions in her mouth, and wiped her mouth viciously with the back out her hand. She took a bag into a stall with her, changed her clothes. Into something fitted and black. She opened her bag and stuffed the props inside. Including the notebook and pen. She pulled out her mini cell phone. "Contact," she said into the phone.
"Agent Little Flower?" The voice asked on the other end of the line.
"It's all set," Agent Little Flower said quietly. Definitely. Poised on the edge of an orb. As she spoke, she looked in the mirror, her brown eyes edged to the pupils. She stroked her lips with a red lipstick. Her hands searched her bag for the dark, tinted sunglasses.
"Are you certain?" The voice asked. It was a touch demanding.
"Absolutely. I've got fingerprints. I'm going to run them into the system ASAP."
"And their destination?"
"Handled. I know where they're going." She paused, and then added with a touch of seduction, "You will meet me there, hmm?"
The voice laughed. A tinny sound. "This is Contact signing off."
"Ditto," Agent Little Flower murmured. She packed the phone, situated the sunglasses, and proceeded to blend with the night as she traveled the path to her car, a black monster stealthed in the dark.