Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Mission Monitor Board Under the Hills and Far Below...

< A BRIGHT FLASH >

<the Traveler stumbles forward through the archway and lands on a cold marble floor in a vast, pillared hall. He frantically looks around.>


Yes... yes... the pyre...

...the hourglass...

...the altar...

...oh, they're all still here!

And unsullied by the hands of any of those Legion Worlders. They haven't found it, yet!


<smiles wryly as he turns around to face the archway through which he had just passed>


Or rather... we're long beyond the time when they did find it!


<the Traveller watches with slight amusement as he sees on the other side of the arch... himself... moving in reverse. He listens to the words:

".emoh m'I ... tsal gnol ta ...won tuB .smrof namuh yttep eseht htiw snoisrevid ynam oS. kcab teg ot gnol os em nekat s'ti ...gnol oS

.railimaf os ,sey hA"

Then he watches his former self pause, and begin ascending the stairs backward into the darkness. He can barely contain his glee.>


Ha, ha, ha... it's mine again!!!

I have all the Time in the World!!!

[Satchmo]
Time enough for life to unfold
All the precious things love has in store
We have all the love in the world
If that's all we have, you will find
We need nothing more

Every step of the way will find us
With the cares of the world far behind us

We have all the time in the world
Just for love
Nothing more, nothing less
Only love

Every step of the way will find us
With the cares of the world far behind us

We have all the time in the world
Just for love
Nothing more, nothing less
Only love

Only Love
[/Satchmo]

<the Traveler smiles as the final notes of the song drift off>


Ah... I had nearly forgotten the raw power of the Temple. A place where the lines between time... space... even thought... blend into one. I must maintain my focus.

It is within this crucible where the last vestiges of this weak projection shall be melted away and I may emerge in my true form.

Second Shooter... merely a historical artifact.

Justin Thyme... a poor joke indeed.

Traveler... that road is at an end.


The body that I'm currently inhabiting has served it's purpose and the time has come to perform the final exchange. But this time... well... let's just say there is no turning back. I must choose wisely.


PYRE!!!


<at this shout, the pyre bursts into flame. The Traveler approaches the fire and gazes deeply within>


Who, though... who is fit for this purpose?


Cobalt? No, he has already proven too resistant to my mechanisms. How many times must I make that mistake? Yellow Kid... hmmm... he does have quite a history... but, no, in the end it is too linear. STU??? No, where he currently resides even I daren't tread. Wait a moment...


<gazes deeper into the flames and sees a buck-skinned man trekking through the hills. >


Of course!!! That is almost too simple.

Tomahawk is already a man out of time. The residual temporal energy that clings to him almost acts as beacon to this place. He wanders those hills, edging ever closer, not even realizing that the path he is tracking is not one leading forward... but back.


<turns to look at the hourglass sitting upon the altar. The bottom chamber is full of sand, while the top is yet empty. Looks closer...>


Come on... come on...


<suddenly one grain of sand rises into the top chamber>


And it begins...

H'llo?

Anyone yonder there? I don't remember this place at all.

<lights torch, and treads down stairs>

Ugh! What in tarnation...suddenly have the worst headache...

<enters the below temple chambers>

Wh-who? Exnihil? B-but...but you something seems wrong...

OW!!

<grabs bridge of nose>

*cough*

*cough*

wh-what's happening to me...?

<the Traveler's lips curl into an evil grin, as he turns to face his visitor>


Exnihil, you say?

No, dear boy... I'm afraid appearances can be deceiving... as you'll find out soon enough.

I'm glad to see you made it through my little "trial by fire" relatively unscathed. It would have been such a bother to have had to have plucked you from an alternate timeline.


<crosses his arms behind his back and begins walking across the temple floor to where Tomahawk is on his knees holding his bleeding nose>


Still and all, it looks as though you've had another mishap there... the blood. I'd forgotten how fragile these human forms are to the ravages of time travel.


<Tomahawk looks confused, but lets the Traveler continue>


Oh... you didn't realize what this place is? Just take a look behind you...


<Tomahawk reluctantly turns to look back up the stairwell, and sees himself, torch in hand ascending backward up the stairs. Slowly the realization hits>


That's right! You... my friend... are out of time.


<the Traveler walks away from Tomahawk, as though he has suddenly tired of this conversation. He walks toward the large hourglass sitting upon the altar where the sands are now flowing upward at a more regular pace>


Yeeessss... your arrival has locked us in. Final destination:

1776!

<nose begins to bleed, stomach feels queasy>

n-not...this again...

*cough*

I remember this from last time...my time's done here on Legion World after all...

Just when they need everyone the most...

<looks at the Traveler, square in the eyes>

You bastard...

<sees himself one year ago, being hurled forward through time, and Liberty Monkey up ahead of him, upon the same journey; sees himself again, exiting the chamber; sees an Ancient Pyramid atop of Legion World thousands of years earlier; and soon his vision becomes blurry>

ugh...my damn head...feel like I'm turning inside out...

<the Traveler speaks disaffectedly to Tomahawk>

Yes, it always hurts a bit... at first.

Oh! But how rude of me! Letting you suffer in silence. I should at least allow you the courtesy, in these, your last moments on Legion World, of hearing my master plan.

No matter, of course. In just a short while, you'll be back among those Revolutionary do-gooders... Big Anvil... Kaintuck Jones... Stovepipe... all of your quaintly named little cohorts... running about with your muskets and such. But in the meanwhile... I do love the sound of my own voice.

So... where to begin? You have surmised, of course, that I am not, in fact, Exnihil. My own real name shall be revealed soon enough but, suffice it to say, your fellow Legion Worlders know me well enough.

Long ago I was happy... content in my own realm. But one by one they discovered it. Lash... Poverty Lad... STU!!! All of those petty little heroes with their complete disdain for my world. Their presense... their very words... completely overran and sullied the realm of...

No, I won't speak the name yet, but... it was then that I vowed I would have my revenge.


<Continued...>

My realm... you can't begin to understand.

This outpost, this temple, is but the smallest corner of an entire world composed entirely of... Time itself.

How could I penetrate into the place called Legion World when it was so crudely constructed as a spacial dimension? Well... there are ways.

Beyond space, beyond time, there is another avenue... that of thought. This would be my path of assault. I was able, over the years, with great effort, to project my very mind into that of select Legion Worlders. Lard Lad, Cobalt Kid, this Exnihil... one by one I was able to temporarily exchange my consciousness with these people, all the while gaining strength and knowledge of this world.

During that period, their own minds were sent to key points along a timeline of my design. They never had any memory of the time lost... well, except one... Cobalt Kid. It was for this transgression, his knowledge of the journey that I attempted to have him killed. But, he's like a flea, he keeps just jumping back. Damn him...

That brings us to your role...

<smiles evilly>

<Continued...>

You, little pioneer, are unique among the residents of Legion World.

You never belonged in this time. You, like myself, are a Traveler... one displaced from your own natural place in time. The chronal energy that clings to you shines like a sun to one such as myself, who knows what to look for.

It is this energy that, once siphoned off by returning you to your proper temporal alignment, will allow me to dispense with this ridiculous projection and assume my own physical form within Legion World.

Then... the game begins.


<looks again to the Hourglass. The last grains have risen to the top chamber>


Ah... and here we are. Ready or not... there you go!

<beginning to fade out completely, Tomahawk screams but no sound is heard; the faintest echoes of Liberty Monkey are also seen once more, until neither remains>

...

<and at long last, another figure begins to emerge>

...

Yes! Yes, at long last!

Yes! Yes, at long last!

<the Traveler's voice echoes the words of the fading Tomahawk, and for a moment the voices seem as one>

It's working!!!

<the flames of the pyre burn higher, brighter, as the Traveler's very form seems to shift. The form of Tomahawk fades ever thinner as bit by bit, the Traveler's appearance more closely resembles him>

More! MORE!!!

MY TIME IS NOW!!!

<all at once Tomahawk disappears completely>

NOW BEGINS THE AGE OF....

<span style="font-size: 30px;">PHINEAS B. FUDDLE!!!</span>

<the man left in the wake of Tomahawk's disappearance slowly stands up. He looks down at his new form. He raises his hands to his face, patting it, as if to make certain it's real>

Yes... oh, yes... this will do nicely. Already I can feel the vestiges of Tomahawk beginning to disappear from Legion World. History itself is being rewritten to replace all of his past works with my own.

Phineas, old boy, you've done it!!!

<pauses from his self congratulations for a moment and looks back at his formerly possessed Traveler form, who now stands with the evil clearly gone from his eyes>

...and you! Don't think I've forgotten our deal.

Come along, we've still got work to do... Exnihil.

<exnihil... still dazed from the purgation of the Traveler's consciousness from his own, stands up, slightly unsteady on his own legs>

Our... deal?

Our... oh! You mean it's done?!?

<impatiently>


Yes, yes... the fat one has won the election. Did you honestly think such a small thing as that would be beyond my powers? The timeline in which Gary Concord became leader has been wiped clean and this... ugh... Lard Lad... now sits on the throne. Or rather... a Lard Lad...


<shakes his head, as if he tires of this line of conversation>


No matter, the vagaries of Time are not of your concern. I have made good on our bargain. Now, it's time for you to make good on your half. Away...


<waves his hand and Ex disappears in a wink, transported elsewhere >


I... on the other hand... believe I shall travel by more conventional means. PYRE OUT!


<the flames of the temporal pyre go out, and a slow grinding is heard as the backward slippage of time slows to a halt>


It's been quite a while since I've enjoyed the physical.

I think I fancy a walk.


<phineas casts one last look around his temple, and... letting loose an honest laugh... begins his ascent back up the stairwell>