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October 24th 2004 -- backtracking : "Sin and Suffering with no Redemption"

They came in the middle of the night, amidst sleep and while they were in their most vulnerable state.

One subtle difference told the tale of trouble. Dare had not been summoned for his duties regarding the receiving of files during his night following the incident. This, in itself, gave proof that they had certainly caused something to go terribly wrong..
---


Dare rests on his crossed arms, asleep against a dull white table and placed on a heavy white mesh seat. His eyes flutter open to this new setting, one very unlike his bedroom where he'd fallen asleep. Rubbing his palm against his tired eyelids, he slowly rises in the chair and allows his body to adjust to the amount of light in the room and recover from the awkward, twisted sleeping position.

"Hullo?" he calls out meekly. The whole room is sealed off, and is decorated with nothing, save the heavy table and mesh chair he occupies.

This isn't my bedroom. I didn't fall asleep here. I'm awake, I'm not still dreaming.. am I?

A piercing sound, that which can be described to a hundred nails on a hundred chalkboards if you want a weak comparison, drills into the child's ears in a blast from all four walls. Crying out in pain, though his voice is lost amongst the deafening sound, Dare withdraws into the chair, hands desperately trying to block out the sound and knees against his chin as in a protective ball. This lasts all but six seconds, but the sudden silence can be described as even worse of a follow up.

Ears ringing, Dare waits a few seconds to remove his hands from his ears very carefully. Expression screwed up into confusion, he peers around the room as if expecting something, anything to happen next.

Nevermind dream, this is a nightmare.

Slowly but surely, the Legend makes his way around the room, examining it for any source of a way in or out. It is impossible, without the special knowledge, to detect the entranceway in this type of facility. However, having nothing else to occupy his time with, Dare tries every corner and ridge.

All the while unaware that he is being watched.

In the fair legal buildings of the Real World, one would be supplied legal rights, as well as a lawyer, for this type of situation. A Time Ranger in custody is stripped immediately of all and every right, except those basic ones that the Creator assigned in the Beginning.

Dare pounds a fist against the northern wall - at least he thinks it is, having traveled the room in circles already - out of frustration for the situation. Stomping a boot against the equally white floor, Dare raises his head up and begins shouting wildly.

"Let me out of here! I'm going to run out of air in here! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRO-"

The words don't even have time to spill out of the Legend's mouth before the right wall spreads open. It seems liquefied in the way it smoothes away from the central point to cause a break, an entrance way for someone or something to step through.

Dare scrambles back and against the wall, fingers gripping onto something that's not there to grab hold of. He holds his breath as he waits for whomever to emerge.

Two people step into the room. The first to enter is a woman; in appearance she can be classified as 26, though in actuality she is 283 lifetimes and 74 years old. A dark brunette with penetrating ice blue eyes, she is thin, wiry, and determined in her walk. She steps aside as a male, her partner perhaps, makes himself welcome. He is slightly older, 32 perhaps and yet 190 lifetimes and 57 years in age, black hair and trusting eyes.

The wall closes itself up like a wound healing over perfectly and without any flaws.

"Please sit down," the woman says without any emotion.

Dare growls softly, but complies to what is asked of him. If they can prove him at least some breakfast, he'll agree to their commands.

The woman smiles, but it's a very empty smile. She means business, and nothing will come between her and just that. Her partner fixes his tie and moves to the opposite side of the table, making it hard for Dare to look back and forth at them while still keeping up his guard.

"You're probably wondering why you're here, correct?" he speaks with more emotion than his partner, but still seemingly neutral. He adds on as an afterthought, perhaps strategically, "Or have you already put that together, child?"

Dare grips the underside of the mesh chair's wire base in agony. An interrogation is what they want. Trying to remain as emotionless as his interviewers, he replies calmly though through gritted teeth. "I might have an idea as to why."

The man raises his eyebrows, pretending to be surprised that there, in fact, might be something he does know. Of course, it is all out of a mocking nature at which he does so.

"Oh, do you? Because, please, by all means, share it with us." He sits halfway on the desk, eyes glued down on the child. Dare tries not to falter, not to break down so early in their sarcastic match.

Instead, the Legend leans back a little, taking this situation as leisurely as possible. "I don't need to tell me why I'm here. You need to tell me why I'm here. I watch the cop shows, I know I got rights and can't talk to you without a lawyer!"

The female barks with sudden laughter. "You're in our courts now, Mr. Dare. You'll be representing yourself, and you have no rights." She nudges her head toward the male, who swiftly removes a radio device from his pocket. Setting it on the table in front of Dare, he cranks up the notch to turn the device on.

At first, nothing but a slight wave of static murmurs out of the electronic. Perhaps because of the enclosed space and the ability to pick up on signals.. perhaps not. The conversation spurs out from the radio sooner than Dare can think about it much longer than that.

"She's a damn mute. Not even growing her up to par did anything, Sir."

"Keep trying. There's got to be something to have her make a sound. We've got to know, and that's it!"

Dare grits his teeth harder, grinding at them to keep his tongue in his mouth where it belongs, and not to immediately lash out at what he'd heard. It was April they were talking about, he knows this.

The device crackles gently; it could be mistaken for static, but this time it is far too regular.

Whips.

Gently at first, but they lash out repeatedly with no remorse for the victim. Not a sound comes spills from the baby, though it is possible, Dare nauseates, that she's either passed out already or true to her silent form.

Either way does not make for a happy Dare.

Wielding a fist, the child smashes the radio across the floor and into pieces. The male interrogator gives the female a curious side-glance, but nothing more as a reaction. Instead, they leave this alone completely, pushing it aside as if it didn't happen or didn't matter.

The woman leans her left hand on the table as she speaks. "Tell us what we know, Mr. Dare. You cannot hide from us what we already know.. in fact, it is useless to us. Enough of simple human tactics; we're Time Rangers." She talks with such fire, though without passion, that Dare could compare her to a computer program where one could type in what they want said back to them.

She isn't finished here. "Now. Tell us the how and why of your visit to the past."

Dare narrows his eyes into slits. "You can't make me do anything. You're just.. just trying to scare me, is all!" He has long lost his shield of protective courage, and is more insistent and angry.

Without any warning, the metal of the mesh chair gives Dare an electric jolt. He cries out, more in surprise than anything else, as the shocks pass through his body. The male removes his hand from his pocket subtly.

"You are a very ignorant boy. You will tell us what we need to know; we have our ways of getting information from law breakers."

Dare grips the chair again, having tried to release himself from the chair while it was shocking him. He is beyond angry now; stripped of his rights, having his sister cruelly tortured, and now accused of breaking some law! "You can't! This isn't fair!" he howls, slamming his foot against the table in rage. "You say I broke the law. Well, I dun come from here, so my laws count too! And my laws say I get a FAIR TRIAL."

As his voice fades into the white walls and silence meets the three Time Rangers, awkwardness sets in. Both interrogators look.. amused, at the least, and perhaps surprised by the notion.

"Fine," the male speaks, finally. "You shall get your court trial."

Dare is slightly dumbfounded. It worked? There must be a catch.

And, indeed, there is. The two start to move toward where the entrance used to be; they stand shoulder to shoulder and look back down at Dare in an orderly fashion. The door drizzles open, awaiting their exit. It's the female who speaks now, just as they leave the room with a co-coordinated step backwards.

"You will get your trial, Mr. Dare, but in no way should you expect it to be fair."

As soon as the door vanishes, the whole room plummets into total darkness.

"We will begin with opening statements. I first call upon the Lawyer representing the People's Government in this case," the judge croons from his place.

A stocky man rises from the table, but goes no further. The judge bobs his aged head at him.

"Your Honour, and jury members. Mr. Dare Aspere not only broke hundreds of minor laws in the process of his negligence to the Past, but in the process brought along a child - a non Ranger. She has since been granted powers that can only be explained as those given to her from the experience. We will prove that Mr. Aspere's rebellions seriously hurt and destroyed part of our cleancut history. There is no argument he can provide that could possibly prove against the points we will present to the courtroom today."

He sits down, adjusting his tie shortly but making no other movements.

The judge turns to Dare, segregated at his lonely table, and speaks flawlessly. "Will the defendant please state his case?"

What? They expect me to represent myself? Dare's face goes blank, as does his mind. What is he supposed to say to that? Biting his lip shortly, he quickly tries to summon an opening statement from his clean slate mind.

"Uhm, your honour and jury.." he mumbles, taking the lead from the other statement, "I'm here today to represent myself. I've been accused of something I had no intention in doing in the first place.. And what I did mess up, it wasn't on purpose.. and my sister wasn't supposed to come back in my flashbacks. So I'm not guilty of.. what I'm charged!"

Dare sits down, flustered and embarrassed. His speech certainly was a lot weaker than that of the defence. There's absolutely no way I can win all by myself..

The judge clears his throat, trying not to react to the informal statement. He raises his hands and continues on as if what Dare had done was acceptable, which it could very well be in a Time Ranger courtroom; this is the first, after all.

"Having completed the opening arguments, I now call upon the Lawyer for the People's Government to question his witnesses."

A different man stands up now to speak, not even the same one who made the arguments. Dare clenches his fists beneath the desk. So very unfair..

"We would like to call on Ms. Truth Riel."

There is a slight murmur over the audience, but nothing more. Clearly, these are very obedient people.

Truth rises from her place, heels clicking softly as she approaches the stand. She isn't dressed any differently for this occasion than any other time Dare has seen her. She faces the clerk, who then speaks to her. "Please state your name for the court."

She replies blandly with her own name. "Truth Riel."

"Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth as you know it in this matter?"

Truth looks amused at the context her name was being used in. Obviously she doesn't tire from the old joke of her name also being a word, much like Dare's. "I do," she replies, then is allowed to sit. Adjusting herself on the seat, she then leisurely leans forward on the wooden stand.

The lawyer, lanky and balding, steps out into the open space in front of the platform, looking as thoughtful as possible. Tapping his lower lip, he stops short near the judge.

"Ms. Truth, what is your relationship with the accused?"

Flawlessly, Truth speaks honestly. "He's my partner, assigned many lifetimes ago. I was around when they trained him, too."

The lawyer nods understandingly, again getting a thoughtful look on his face. "So, what would you say he was like in his younger lifetimes?"

Dare stares at the lawyer's back. Younger.. lifetimes?

The witness shrugs. "He's gotta be the most rule-abiding person I know, sir. He had the handbook down to a T."

Pressing his hands together suddenly, Dare could tell that this wasn't exactly what they wanted to hear. They want a clear cut win, but Truth isn't providing them that leeway.

Continuing, he spills out more questions. "What happened to your partner that made him change how he used to be?"

Confused for a moment, Truth speaks her mind. "What do you mean, change, Sir?"

"Well, you said he was straight for the law! He wouldn't be here on trial if that was the case," explains the lawyer noisily, gesturing with his hands.

Truth doesn't look amused. "Fine, I'll play it like that. I think you're making a mistake, bri'ggin him and his infant sister here!"

The judge interrupts before she can continue, banging his gavel. "Answer the question, Ms. Truth."

She struggles to keep from glaring, instead staring straight beyond the lawyer as to not make eye contact. "Dare was killed earlier this year."

"By whom?"

Frustrated, she shoots her eyes at the lawyer instead of looking past at the sea of the audience. "Everyone knows what happened to him," she growls in reply.

The lawyer turns in a circle, pacing slowly. "We cannot assume that in court. Please restate the incident, in all details you are aware, for the courtroom."

Dare, meanwhile, is at too much of a loss for words. Edging forward on his seat, he warily awaits the details of his death.. something he'd failed previously to discover on his own.

Disgruntled but obedient, Truth begins to recount the tale.

"It was March, but I can't tell you the exact date. You'll have to go look that up in your records. But anyways, he was in the office already that morning, as always he was there before me.. with a cup a'coffee too. He looked a bit busy that morning, so I didn't bug past saying hello. Said he had important business that day that needed to be taken care of, and that he was up all night trying to figure out how to pursue it in the best way. So I figure, he's got a tough case."

She pauses, helping herself to the glass of water.

"Turns out it was even more tough than I could've thought. In that lifetime, he was assigned to a guy named Kevin.. Ink is what he wanted to be called, but Dare never is informal with nicknames so he called him Mr. Kevin. Seemed to peeve the dude a bit. So, that day we left way early.. I think it was 7 am in the area he went to. Beyond this, all I've heard are rumours."

The lawyer, who was leaning against his own table, pushes himself up.

"Please continue your account, Ms. Truth. You are aware of much more."

Truth narrows her eyes, but complies. There's no lying to a Time Ranger, nor are their half-truths.

"I was worried about him. Lately, he'd gotten all stressed out about this one case. He began pushing all his others aside to tend to this one. An' after some research.." she pauses for a second, then continues defensively, "An' no, I wasn't snooping- I discovered that the Earth cover he had was a relative to his case. Brothers, in fact.

He was following him in the morning. Mr. Kevin's a lot younger than Dare in his human years, though by character Dare's a lot more submissive. I wasn't there for the incident, but Dare had been out of the family for years previous. He'd sunk into other duties, and made off that he'd gotten.. Oh, I've forgotten, it was either he ran away or was kidnapped when he was a younging. Either way, he just had it set up to make the situation easier on himself. But boy, did that explode in his face."

She takes a moment to rest her mouth, but quickly picks up the pace. Her voice is grim to have to recount this.

"Mr. Kevin found out about Dare that day.. it was a day when he had to be Helped. Except, the absence had been the destruction of the family. On sight of Dare, he'd started a brawl as a way of payback and to get out his instilled anger bottled up from since the family broke down. Dare isn't a fighter, and he ended up dead."

Throughout this story, Dare sat and watched Truth very closely. His eyes burn greatly, but all and any tears he has don't spill over. Besides that, he reminds himself of the last time he cried here, nearly dying and reverting into soul form in the process.

The lawyer doesn't seem to be finished in his interrogation, though is pleased by the extensive reply.

"The first - and only - Time Ranger to die an untimely death, correct?"

Truth remains grim. "Yes, that's correct."

"Just a few more questions," he continues, twirling a wrist in the air. "Would you say that the regeneration process changed the defendant, in personality and behaviour?"

Leaning back against the chair, Truth rubs her lower arm. "No," she replies gently, frowning gently. "He's still the same guy."

Raising an eyebrow, the lawyer takes a few steps toward the bench. "Even after being brutally murdered by his own brother, he does not have any hostility about his having to regenerate from his natural state and regain everything.. absolutely everything he's worked for?"

Dare tries to muffle a whimper, as the courtroom is deathly silent as it is. Nothing would be worse now than to have the attention turned onto him.

"The efforts have been and will be difficult, but his soul remains the same as the first day I met him," she growls angrily, trying to force herself to calm down at the accusations.

"But do you know this for sure?" croons the bald lawyer.

Through gritted teeth, Truth forces out her answer. "No."

Smiling gently, having got the answer he wanted, he raises a hand to the stand. "Thank you, Ms. Truth."

"My.. pleasure," she snorts, hopping down from the platform, shoes clicking all the way back to her seat.

The judge examines Dare in his current state, trying to form the words in his head to describe the boy's reaction to all this. Needless to say, he himself wanted to see the Legend at his breaking point for disobeying one of the most sacred of laws.

No, he would not get his fair trial.

April is unhooked from the mechanism, and Curiosity strings to life groggily. The woman from earlier reclaims her, disappearing out the back with her. Dare grips the arms of his chair at this action, having returned to his spot.

The judge taps his gavel, unnecessary for the type of grim silence already over the gathered people.

A lawyer stands up, one who hadn't previously talked. "Those are all the witnesses we have, your Honour."

The judge bows his head, turning to Dare for his answer.

The Legend spitefully copies the other lawyer, standing up at his own table. "I don't have any witnesses, either."

Up atop of his stand, the elderly judge bobs his head in a nod. "At this time, I would now ask for the closing statements of the two sides. Would the Lawyer for the Peoples please summarize your case?"

The same man, probably barely in his twenties, confidently strides to the jury's bench to restate the case. Much like the rest of the lawyers against Dare, he keeps a steady and straight pace, determined to swiftly conclude without any problems.

"Mr. Dare here, the one struck in his place at the defence, has committed an awful crime," he starts off, pressing his fingers patiently into one another and passes his eyes over the jury. "So awful that we have been forced to call upon the courts for an actual criminal case, something unfamiliar to us in our history. If there was ever a reason to call a court session, there most definately is a reason to punish him for his crimes."

Without even a pause, he continues straight to the point.

"And those crimes, my fellow Time Rangers," he says, motioning to the audience of silent, sullen faces, "The jury of the High Council.." And again he emphasizes, motioning to those he refers to. The jury is unmoved, or at least shows nothing of the sort. "These crimes are breaking the law that we have held so dear to our hearts since our existance began. He is the first offender - a child, no less - but not a child he will be in the eyes of those passing his fate.

The task is clear. He has broken a sacred bond, smashed the rites, obliderated the hopes of our very purpose of remaining the secret, silent assistants. By allowing the freedoms of time travel, control, and shifting to his non-biological sibling, he has forfeited his right to be one of us any longer."

For now, he pauses, his eyes dropping to the floor, hands clasped. Solemnly, the lawyer raises his jet black head to conclude with all seriousness.

"I ask that you consider all that we have shown for you in this short period and make the right decision," he says, almost simply. With that, he returns to his seat, his mission completed.

Dare takes his cue, standing up and walking as calmly as he can over to the jury. They watch him in utmost silence, as does the rest of the courtroom without a doubt. Not one to falter under the pressure of public speaking, he is moreso destroyed by the whole situation.

"The case which has been presented to you is full of conflicting facts. There is no certain proof that has been produced that proves that I went into the past with my sister to give her some powers. In fact, I dinnit even know she had any of these powers! She's just a baby, no matter what they did to her soul.. She's got to intentions other than do what babies do."

Sighing lightly, crumpling under again not finding the words to truly express himself, he attempts to continue.

"I asked for this trial to be a fair one. Well, I 'unno what fair is for you people, but so far I've seen none of that! You've all got a hatred t'ward me, but I dinnit do anything wrong, honest! My sister, April, she's a special baby. She isn't a normal baby who just drools and cries.. she hasn't made any noise at all. Mum thinks she could be mute, but I've been trying to get her to talk, I know she can do it." He furrows his eyesbrows, pleading with the stone-cold faces of the jury.

"If you say we're guilty, you're making a wrong choice. You don't want anything to do with me, and I don't mind having nothing to do with all this! Take away my powers, take away my position! Just don't take away my sister!"

The last of Dare's shouts - he hadn't realized his voice was growing louder - fade off into the walls of the courtroom. Silence burns the ears of onlookers as much as distruptive noise would.

Atop his bench, the judge looks unamused. "Are you quite finished, Mr. Dare?"

Tense shoulders of the Legend fall to their place in shame and disappointment. "Yes," he admits meekly, a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Good. Please return to your seat," the old judge commands. He turns to the jury, the High Council, as Dare follows these orders. "Jury, at this time you have an important decision to make. Please take your time to discuss among yourselves the arguments of both sides. Be sure you have all the arguments to weign in your decision, as your verdict will be extremely important in the history of the Time Rangers."

The jury stands up and exits through a back door connecting only to their raised platform. Stepping off his own, the judge departs next, followed by the lawyers of the opposing side. As a whole, the thousands in the courtroom leave shortly, with no more than a slight murmur overcoming them.

Dare remains at his table; silent, solemn, and contemplative, he tries to accept that his fate had already been decided before he stepped into the courtroom.

When one's fate is hanging in their air, nothing seems longer than the waiting before the verdict is announced.

Dare enters the courtroom under heavy supervision, as if at any second he could pull a full out attack that'd strike a blow against everyone. Silently, he wishes he did. These people are lunatics, he concludes, tugging his sleeve out of the grubby hands of one guard. He receives a glare in return; he has already been escorted to his table, so the massive security departs from his side and takes their seats elsewhere.

Sitting down in the stiff seat, the feeling of being alone strikes a weighted impact against his chest. He can feel his heart drop into his stomach, awaiting the time to just stop entirely in wary anticipation for what comes next.

Fidgetting gently, he turns in his seat and leans against the backrest in an attempt to pick out his sister from the crowd; they had already arrived, some hours in advance to get the better seats up front. Even to the child, it is obvious that all of their eyes are trying not to look in his direction, trying not look like they've judged him prematurely [though chances are that they have.]

Dare slumps back properly into his chair, allowing himself to slide down against it. His eyes focus on the thickness of the tabletop, dully wondering when this agonizing embarassment will be over. Forcing his eyes to blur over, he grips the arm rests until his knuckles are white.

What did I do to deserve this? Everyone here hates me. They all want to see me go to jail, or worse.. whatever it is they do here. I wish I wasn't so stupid, April's never going to be the same! If we ever get out of here, Mum and Da' are gonna kill me anyway..

Swallowing, he reminds himself not to cry. Beyond his baby stage of his development, it really isn't a good idea. Running a hand over his wrist, he pushes up his right sleeve slightly.

No worries. It'll all be okay.. it always turns out alright, he reassures himself, yet failing in every respect to do so.

During the time that the Legend argues with himself within the restricted part of his head, the judge and jury make their entrance. Olive green eyes move up to the separate doors where they enter in sync, quickly scrambling to sit up properly again.

The judge adjusts his glasses on the bridge of his nose, holding the sides of his gown as he seats himself upon the platform chair. The jury separates into their two rows of benches on their own raised platform.

On the end, a jittery balding man with glasses clutches an envelope.

Tapping his gavel unnecessarily, the judge scans the turnout briefly before clearing his throat. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, have you come to a verdict?"

Still as jittery, the man holding the envelope raises to his feet. From behind his glasses, he gives a nervous glance before speaking aloud. Dare doesn't look, but is certain that his opposing lawyers are sitting on the edge of their seats for this moment.

"Yes we have, Your Honour.." begins the representor of the jury.

Thoughts swirl rapidly in Dare's head. The moments are drowned out, watered down to stretch longer than they're supposed to. Childishly and under the table, he keeps his fingers crossed. His eyes are glued to the envelope in the hands of the man. In fact, those same olive eyes follow it as it is passed up to the judge.

Up atop his stool, the judge reads the slip of paper inside the sacred folds. He strives for the most unflawed expression so as not to give a premature reaction to the audience. The paper returns to the awkward hands of the odd Council members on the end of the bottom row.

Pandora sits on the top row, third from the left. Her mouth is stretched in a sly smile, narrowed eyes glued to the judge's face to read for any type of reaction he might accidentally release. Legs and arms crossed, her black and red hair hangs straight; if looks could kill, this one would be deadly for numerous reasons.

Clearing his throat once more, the representor continues to talk uneasily.

"In the case of the Unimaginable versus the People, we find the defendant, Mr. Dare, not guilty on all charges."

Relieved to have completed his job, he sits down and fiddles with the envelope between his hands. The whole audience, unlike the rest of the trial, breaks out into murmurs and outraged whispers. Actually requiring to use it, the judge bangs his gavel, sending a grim look over the courtroom in general.

Dare sits in dumb awe. Not guilty?

"Silence in the courtroom!" he commands, and the talking falls short. Someone in the far back coughs gently. His look not faltering, he turns his head to the High Council. "Is this decision in agreement?" he asks, not bothering to hide his own opinion from this statement.

"Yes, Your Honour," hisses a triumphant voice from the top row. The owner taps her fingers across her forearm in sequence, smile poisonous by nature. Dare, watching this lady since she'd moved slightly before talking, feels his heart clench at a slight memory..

The judge stares for a few seconds, then nods grimly. "Then that is the ruling." He turns, looking angrily at the defence table; Dare breaks out of his trance, eyes wide and aimed high up at the bench. "Stand, boy," the old judge growls in a way that no one would dream of disobeying without a deathwish.

The boy raises like he was told, chair slipping from under him and making a quiet noise as the legs scrape against the clean tiles. His lips are pulled together, but every muscle in his body yearns to jump for joy at the victory.

Pointing a long, crooked finger over the bench, the judge waves it fiercely. "You were lucky this time boy. You'll have us watching you for your next slip up, and you won't be nearly as lucky. Instead of ridding you of the memory of this occurance, you will hold the guilt that your sister - by whatever 'magic' she is, from a source I disbelieve to be true - will never return to her old self."

Dare trembles gently, eyes stinging from the hatred aimed at him. Whatever happiness accompanied the joy of winning has long faded from his childish heart. Instead, he stands in front of all those people, feeling as naked, weak, targetted, and worthless as an abandoned newborn in a pack of wolves. His lower lip quivers gently, so he clamps his front teeth down on it for it to stop.

"You're free to go. We will not make accomidations for the time lost between the start of this trial and the end. You will have to come up with an excuse for yourself, boy; any word of the Time Rangers and you'll be back here without any remorse or even your bloody trial."

The white, white room begins to melt into a murky black, starting from the farthest points of the room; it slowly slips closer, like a growing liquid expanding to the farthest reaches to meet up together in the end. The darkness swallows up the lawyers, the crowd, and the floor up until a segregated ring of the jury, judge's platform, and the small spot where Dare stands. Even the table and chair he previously had disappear.

They stand in this darkness, which engulfs the room in under a minute's time, without a word. An unknown light source hangs above them, illuminating only the faces of those remaining, save the Legend still standing alone.

Return.

The command is ominous and without a voice. It appears within Dare's head, so loud, forceful, and without warning that the boy stumbles a step backwards. He slips from his lit floor tile, falling directly backwards into the darkness.

----

It is late afternoon. The sky is blood red, itching across cloud and air to slip into the night. Dare falls roughly in the centre of his bed, arms outstretched as proof of this fall. His eyes are clenched shut, a reaction from the beginning of his sudden slip. The remaining sunlight, falling through the third floor window of his bedroom, dances on his eyelids, taunting him to open his eyes.

Groggily, his obeys. He moves not a muscle, remaining frozen in the spot where he had been thrown; and now, his eyes stay on the ceiling that impossibly stands from where he fell. A rush of mixed emotion floods the young, fatigued boy, and a new wary awareness has become his own. His heart feels slightly hollow in his chest as the thing called childish innocence has disappears from that place.

Light pressure brushes against the side of Dare's body. He jolts his head upright, but all the rest of his muscles remain pained and in place. Two tiny hands, one before the other, grab hold of his shirt and pull an equally small figure against the boy. Dare feels a smile of immense relief tug at the corners of his mouth, and he finds the energy to raise the hand closest to her to use as reassurance against her back.

April, tears trickling off her bright cheeks, carries her weight up onto his chest and against his neck. She, too, suffers the shock of the travel and the weight against both of them upon their return. She nuzzles her black head up against his neck, crying silently into his shoulder. Dare strokes her hair, dropping his head back against his pillow and tilting it so his chin rests against the top of hers.

Both lie in silence and pain until sleep takes them.

December 20th 2004 -- backtracking : "Those Eyes"

Thoughts and emotions swirling together, the vast oblivion of dream swallows the Legend whole. This sleep, undisturbed on the most comfortable couch of the HQ, is exactly what he had aimed for. Chandra had asked of him something very important; after the time experienced with his fellow Time Rangers, questions of the extent of his powers both intrigue and bother the teenager.

Now, he seeks the guidance of the only one who he can trust, the only one with the answers.. and the only one most dangerous to his own health and safety. The wear on his muscles had finally stopped agonizing him, yet the memory of the terrible suffering he'd put upon his baby sister, now a toddler, would never cease to exist from his heart.

The scene is a cheerful one. A vast meadow stretches over every corner, and a well worn path leads out from under Dare's feet. The air, opposite to that in December, is warm and humid. It would be a landscape cut straight from a photo book, besides the fact that nothing seemed to breathe life into this place.

A gentle tap on Dare's shoulder breaks his concentration. Jolting to life, as he'd nearly conformed to the dutious landscape himself, the Legend whirls around to meet his approacher.

"Don't look so surprised. I can reach any part of your dreams, Dare-y boy," Truth says to him in the most smug way. She seems shorter now; well, everyone did, now that he'd grown. But she also appeared younger than usual, possibly to match his own age.

"I wasn't surprised," he grumbles roughly, shrugging his shoulder to force the sleeve to fix itself. "Just startled me, is all."

The smile remains on his friend's face. "You need my help. That's it, isn't it? You need to talk to me about something." She skips directly to the point, not bothering to cover up that she already knew the answer to her own questions. She just enjoys the satisfaction in hearing what she wants.

Dare rolls his eyes, promptly catching on. "It's about my friend, Chandra. She .. She asked me-"

".. If you could look into her past for her?"

He shoots her eyes full of daggers. Recollection of the ominous threats that the Rangers will always be watching circulates in his head. So they really are keeping tabs..

"Sorry. Continue," Truth whispers unnecessarily with a whisp of the hand.

The air is dead; not even a single breeze lifts a hair on either of their heads.

"Can I?"

Truth shakes her head, not in a way of saying 'No,' but more of a 'Bad idea..' way. "It's very risky business. It's also extremely difficult to learn the hollogram process, the recollective mirroring, as well as the resoration method."

Each of the named off items flew right over Dare's head, meaning nothing to him. Sure, he knew he was in for some sort of work, that was obvious. It wouldn't come right away. He nods vigorously, his hands perched against the top of the material of his pockets.

Truth's eyes flicker, their dark ovals narrowing in seriousness. "If you're determined, I will teach you, but only through your dreams. They cannot track you while I accompany you in your dream, therefore the risk is not as high."

A grateful smile spreads over Dare's lips, jumping too quickly to conclusions. Truth raises her hand up to his mouth, touching two slender fingers against the smile; her face is stern and wiped from emotion. His own expression drops back down, switching into confusion. She releases her hand down slowly, letting it dangle by her waist again.

In the moment of silence that follows, awkwardness fills both of them. Truth's face turns slightly pained, trying to brush away any of the saddening thoughts that arose. No, he's not yours anymore. He's different now, he has a new life, she tells herself, sternly. Dare, opposite his mentor and friend, stands in wonder at how complicated the simple things can be. Girls, in particular, fall into the catagory of
complex simple things."

Truth is the one to break the silence, her black eyes falling to the stone blocks beneath their feet; she puts a hand to her mouth and against her stomach in a nervous second. "It'll be dangerous, that's all. I don't want to risk my life - more importantly, my career- on you slipping up."

A sharp pain takes a jab at Dare's guts. He can be oblivious to most signs of affection, but this one was too blatently obvious to mistake for stomach pains, or something else. Awkwardly, Dare takes her around the shoulders. Her eyes make their way back up to his, and she quickly gains back her composed figure. Before he can be brushed off, however, his olive green eyes lock down on her black ones.

Those eyes.

"You can trust me.. I wouldn't wanna do something to hurt anybody. S'why I gotta help out Chandra, too. She's my friend, and she needs me."

A very hidden, warm smile - the kindest out of Truth he would get - leaks into her expression. "I know, Dare. Heck," she laughs oddly, "I've known you longer than you've known yourself. Just hope this isn't the one time you let me down, okay?"

She takes a step backwards from him, briefly looking him up and down.

"You're growing up nicely," she states very plainly before all goes dark.

December 28th 2004 -- backtracking : "Death of the Lost"

It's a particularly sunny mid-morning when Dare awakens. No one gives him a wake up call, mainly for the reason that the children of the household receive their schooling for the week every Sunday and are assumed to engage in independant study in their free time throughout the weekdays. However, being so close to the holidays as it is, everyone is off the hook for any type of work.

Thus, the Legend has allowed himself to sleep in.

No matter how much sleep he manages to get, nothing can knock away this certain weariness that has affected him since he returned to the regular Gaian world. Silently, thoughts arise in his head on whether April silently suffers as well. Guilt always takes a blow after such thoughtful reminders of what happened long ago.

Dare's bedroom is sectioned off in a level slightly resembling a separate tower. In fact, it was built with the purpose that it could be rented out as an apartment, having the outlets for large appliances as well as its own bathroom.

With a twist of the faucet, Dare cups his hands in the sink and proceeds to splash his face with the frigid water, effectively awakening in full. He dries his face then hands on his black towel, walking slowly in a return to the main bedroom. He stops, however, as ideas circulate themselves in his busy head.

With no more thought or hesitation on the matter, Dare swings closed his two windows. He locks his bedroom door, climbing back up the short private staircase to the middle of the room. His hand fumbles for the light panel, making sure all of them are off. Kicking back items from the floor, he shoves aside everything until he succeeds in clearing space he assumes to be enough for this.. duty.

Planting his feet forward toward the windows, he tries to ignore the fact that tiny streams of light peek out from under them. Dare, with an utmost seriousness accompanying his spontaneous actions, raises his hands to his wrinked shirt and begins to close his eyes.

Concentration, he says in his head, trying to clear absolutely everything out. She told me I wasn't concentrating properly. Maybe it's easier when I know it's not a dream..

Opening his right eye, the teen Legend leans over and unwinds his pendant from its place on his guitar. He twirls it in and out between his fingers, pressing the tiny hourglass between his palms and returning his folded hands to his middle.

There's no tellin' what'll happen. All I gotta say is, there'd better not be any damage I'll have to explain about later..

Nothing could prepare the nervous Time Ranger for what comes next in the File Opening process. Truth told him all she knows, but as with everything there is nothing like the true experience. So when all light immediately shuts off for no explicable reason, even Dare can tell through his closed eyes. It takes everything in him from opening up his eyes and disrupting the process; he doesn't allow for anything more than the uncontrollable nervous teeth chatter.

There is a slight change in the air circulation of the room. It seems that all previous ventilation systems abruptly stop, allowing for some sort of wind to rise without a viewable source. Dare's hair begins to ruffle from the beneath, and a few scattered sheets of paper flutter noiselessly.

Finally, when all grows perfectly still and silent, the four walls of the enclosed room turn perfectly black. It doesn't seem to matter that the room is already as dark as a movie theatre before all has begun; somehow in this inky black there is something even more purely dark in shade to replace it.

Dare opens both of his eyes now. He hadn't been able to watch as these changes unfolded, rather relying on his ears to timidly signal him as to whether he's on the right track. Now, the immensity of what he is capable of doing without lifting a finger strikes a blow over the trembling teenager. Nothing that previously inhabited his bedroom - his bed, dresser, chair, desk - was there anymore. Instead, like a hollow shell, the room has transformed into a live theatre currently missing the life.

What did she say next? Dare thinks quickly and forcefully, swallowing at the lump at his throat. A name? I've gotta say the name, and try and find the right file..

It takes a few moments before he can really find his voice. Eyes fixated on an unmarked, anonymous space on the wall, he forces out the words.

"File for -"

Who?

What seems like so long ago, Dare read the name belonging to his brother on a piece of parchment Truth has dangerously sent to him in real times. Now, only this name seems to surface in his mind anymore; Chandra's completely slips into the momentarily forgotten.

"Kevin Aspere."

Something knocks the wind out of Dare, hitting him straight in the gut. His eyes fall closed as an immediate reaction, and though there really is no telling and no difference between the darkness of the closed eyelid and that displayed currently by the room. But when his eyes fall closed, the brightly lit files spring to life in the darkness.

Not able to distinguish the difference between this imagination and that reality, Dare stumbles forward. The files usually whiz right by him and into the massive hourglass. Here, they stop and form a line as if jittery kindergarteners ready to spring off in another direction once given the okay. They rest within reach, and the Legend takes a dumbfounded moment before picking one up.

This file is a dark green, brighter near the middle. It falls limp when grabbed, and the lock bursts into crystals of light. Dare cautiously pulls on the name tag, containing the basic information before the actual file is released.

"How do I know which one's the right one?" Dare asks himself. It is now that he realizes he is truly alive in his head, for the words he thinks rumble aloud. He falls silent, the twenty-some odd files continuing to jitter. He'd never thought of how many people must have the same name..

His eyes scan the green file, whose light fluctuates more rapidly as well as the temperature of the foreign material it is constructed of. 56 years old, lives in New Zealand.. Can't be. He brushes his hand over the place where a lock once was, surprised to find that one reappears in its place. The file's temperature bursts into a sudden heat, forcing Dare to release it from his grasp. It flies at an impossible speed away into the darkness.

Dare's search continues, grazing through the line so that he doesn't needlessly break any seals. Pink, blue, aqua.. none of which seem to be the one he is looking for. But, really, what is he looking for? Will there be a lightbulb switching on in his erased memory, signalling that he has the right person..?

No. There it is.

The file emits a low silver light. Its material is more rough; it appears grainy and torn in places. As all of the other files disappear their separate ways, Dare holds this one with both hands. Unlike the other file he'd actually held in his hands, this one struggles needlessly. Ignoring this and not letting it discourage him, he holds it above his head, quite unsure of what to do next. This certainly wasn't taught to him.

"Kevin Aspere," he shouts, restating the name.

His eyes burst open, irritated by the jolt of light that annoyingly engulfs the walls. White light it is, but for eyes adjusting to the darkness it forces Dare to rub his palms into them for a few seconds.

The walls alight all around him with fully vivid picture. It might as well be true that Dare is brought into the action, as the picture is 360 degrees around the teenager. His breath is stolen from him, and he steps backwards in surprise from the wall in front of him; again, forward his stumbles as he is alarmed from the behind as well as the sides.

Life bustles all around him as people go on their way. One target in particular, a fairly tall young man with brightly silver hair leans on a wooden cart, tossing an apple up into the air. Dare, kneeling on the black floor now, finds himself gaping at the similarities between his looks and that of his.. brother?

It is clearly not the same time era as that of the current. The man - his brother - is dressed in very rough clothing, possibly that of a traveller or street person. He grins as the seller turns his back, walking casually away with stolen merchandise in hand and apple in mouth. He begins to walk towards the harbour; Dare hesitates to follow, but quickly discovers that there is no need. This window of vision into the past follows the unknowing subject automatically.

The next is nothing anyone would want to see their family, having met them or not, go through.

Dare watches his brother walk more rapidly, closing in on the harbour. A merchant ship, or one resembling one, is boarding. He slips aboard behind a few sailors carrying heavy boxes, but it seems he does indeed know the guard as he tips his invisible cap in his direction. The ship sets sail, and time moves more quickly out here. Dare watches with utmost facination as the movie of one of his brother's past lives unfolds.

Unfortunately, it is not a pretty sight.

Another ship is in the distance. His brother, chatty with a few sailors as they neclect their business on deck, leans against one of the sails' posts. From how far the view is, Dare can't listen to what is being said. Instead, his eyes are drawn to the changing flag owned by the ship closing in from the distance. The flag that raises is muddy, almost black, bearing a skull and crossbones.

There are a few shouts, but the rest becomes a blur to even a bystander such as Dare. His brother raises up, alert as anything and slides a dagger out from his boot. All too late to move away, the ship braces for the enemy pirates arrival on board. Ropes, even a ladder and a board, are used to carry these savages across to the merchant ship. As expected, the sailors put up their best fight.

The brother bustles into action, swinging accurate punches at a few pirates within reach. It is all too obvious, though, that their numbers are much fewer than those of the pirates.

Refusing to give up, he swings his dagger at a more stout pirate. He has this one caught up in against the rail of the ship and within an arms length of swiping him defenseless. However, through the shouts and anguished dying cries of his fellow sailors, Dare's brother doesn't hear the clanking of the heavy boot of the pirate captain's targetted path to his exposed back.

With a sharp kick to the back of his legs, the captain quickly grabs his jacket and roughly tugs him in. The view, Dare's view, has become a lot more accurate and much closer, to his horror. It was a story gone wrong.. completely wrong..

"Such a pitiful defence, matching yer oblivious crew," the pirate captain sneers, rotting teeth close to the brother's face. He scrunches up his own face, spitting at the dirty, vile one close to his. The captain just laughs with his rough voice, raising a dagger underneath his target's chin. "I would'r liked a challenge, but spilling blood from a worthless pig's throat is just as much fun."

Behind the captain, the pirate crew had cleared the ship of all of the resistance. The bodies remained in their place, blood spilling and staining the floor, soon to be tossed overboard as most of the occupied pirates were doing. They erupted into a laugh on their captain's crew.

With a disgrusting grin over his shoulder at the obediance, he turns back to the last remaining sailor, Dare's brother, tight in his clutches.

On his spot on the floor, Dare grips the ruffles of his pant legs, his knuckles turning white from the surpressed anger and horror. "No. No, no, nonono.."

He finds himself useless, powerless to look away from the decided scene. The captain rips his brother's own dagger from his hand, sliding is own back into its place.

"How would you like fer a lick of yer own blade?" he chuckles cruelly, raising the new dagger up threateningly.

Dare's brother speaks his last words, his face hard as stone and fairly grave. "I am ready," he says strangely, turning Dare's stomach with the simplicity. The blade is brought across his throat, and his brother's broken body collapses to the wood of the boat.

Like the end of a reel of film, the picture fades to black. Everything returns to how it was originally.

And yet Dare remains, frozen on the hardwood floor of his bedroom. Light has returned, but he feels no light. Not anymore. The brief vision into the past is over, and it has drained him in many more ways than he could ever be prepared for.

He can't even find the tears to cry for the horrid loss of this brother he never really knew.

December 31st 2004 -- backtracking : "Ringing in a new year"

In the vast yard behind the Taciturn Lime household, many rather unique types of trees make their rest. Dare, having been commanded to leave his room and get some fresh air, rests in the massive branches of one of these trees in particular, a gnarled beast of a tree that stretches over a river. Seeing how it's the dead of winter, the river has mostly frozen over with a thick sheet of ice.

Arms crossed behind his head, Dare slowly moves his legs; they'd fallen asleep, because the teen had already been sitting out here for hours. The sun had long ago set, and he'd watched it stretch down beyond the horizon, dragging a bloody smear across the sky.

Although he'd been forced to make the trip outside into the frigid environment, the hype back at home was unbearable. Various plans for New Years events had cycled the house, falling upon deaf ears once they were brought to Dare's attention. It was more of a relief to escape from that with nothing but a candle, a few matches, and a nutrient bar. All three items had been left untouched within the last warmth of Dare's jacket.

Time is meaningless, he grudgingly states to the emptiness of his head. Who cares of people think it's the start of a new year? What are years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds?! For a moment, he wishes he was on the ground instead of so high up. It'd be fun to chuck a nice big rock at something right now.

Apparently, the dark, sickening effects of opening up his first intended File strike the Legend with much more than he'd bargained for. Furrowing his eyebrows, he takes a good look across the clearing, having a good direct view of the house from here. The massive building, three stories and two towers strong, seems to bubble with life. Growling under his breath, Dare grabs a strong, angry hold on the nearest branch to pull himself into a position where his back is against the festivities.

Another damn year, and what's been done? We're all just spiraling in an endless cycle of living and death. And people are so arrogant.. they don't even know.. they don't know what I know..

The scene is much darker when he sits this way. His slitted eyes burn as he feels himself on the verge of tears; panic controls him at this point, steering him away from any sort of emotion. The last time he did that.. he'd almost..

Guys don't cry, is his stern cover-up. He wouldn't let himself relive any moment of that, nor repeat anything that happened, even if it was only to himself. He rests his head back against the ice drenched branch, closing his eyes wearily. Ever since he could remember, he's had a startlingly accurate mental clock in his head, ticking down by the seconds as often clocks do. Now, with darkness against darkness, there isn't anything to prevent his curiosity of checking what time it is..

11:59 pm. Well isn't that just great timing.

Sighing, he accepts this as a twisted kick from fate. Although the real concept of time is skewed and shredded in his mind now, Dare rummages within his worn jacket for the materials he'd absentmindedly brought with him. Positioning the candle between his knees to keep it steady as he lights it, he finds that it burns quite easily and doesn't require the flaming match for more than a few seconds. Shaking it out, he grasps the candle between the fingers of his right hand.

The light is very shallow and doesn't cast farther than a few inches, enough to brighten up Dare's face had anyone been present to see it. The nutrient bar - one of his least favourite snacks in the house - slips out of its pocket space into Dare's free hand. Tearing it open, he slips out the hard narrow bar and holds both items up into the pitch black atmosphere above his head.

"Here's to the new year," he toasts, his tone surprisingly only fairly angry now.