Chapter Text
Prologue
700BCE
King Revaita, held the last of the Shadow Scrolls. They were his last will and testament in this lifetime. His travels to learn with the god Brahma had seemed like a few short weeks. But returning to earth, thousands of years had passed. The secret of dimension travel may one day be documented by others, but for now. His script of shadows were all that were in existence and it was most important that they be protected until the worthy arrived.
1641 China
Desire is enough to end man's pursuit of greatness, thought the Monkey King. To break free of the flesh, and its control on the mind. He built a tower of mirrors, each layer provided a portal to domination over the flesh, something the King wished above all else. It was in one such layer that the Money King was able to access the burial place of King Revaita, in the ancient city of Gurjarat. He wished to find the Script of Shadows that would reveal to him the pathway to salvation.
Beneath the water in a secret cave, lay the ancient whose daughter he gave in marriage to Lord Krishna. But all he found was one singular scroll, with the barely legible words…“There has to be something better than this.” In barely legible dye.
He tossed the scroll angrily, muttering the words as he moved to step out of the cave. All at once the sea filled in the cave and the Monkey King was swept up in the turbulent water. The last thing he saw was the scroll floating in the opposite direction.
Friday the 13th 1307
Gerard, snuck through the ancient tunnels, with his crew of men. They had been deceived by Philip lV of Spain. The Templars treasure was never the coin they collected from weary travellers, or the riches they were reputed to have collected in vain in the name of the lord. But those had been just a cover for the true treasure they’d been entrusted to keep safe. Relics from another age, not just another age, but another time, in fact time itself.
Driston and Avergine between them carried the water proof trunk containing the scrolls of Brahma, or better known as the script of shadows. Most people didn’t even know of their existence, but the Spanish, ever the treasure seekers had heard that the knights held a treasure beyond value. Philip had only seen dollar signs. But the knights knew if Philip controlled the scrolls written by King Revaita after visiting the god Brahma, the world would fall apart.
They raced for one of the ships setting sail from La Rochelle. What his men didn’t know, was their ship was headed for Scotland. King David had offered a safe haven for the knights and a secret place to hide their values.
As their ships sailed out of the harbor, Gerard looked back to see their strong hold, what had been home these past twelve years, on fire. The Templars would never again walk freely in the east. He turned his head westward. There would be time for mourning later, but first, the trunk of scrolls to Scotland.
Chapter 1
Alex Stanford
1980’s
There was an uncomfortable stillness in the room, like the calm before the storm. Eyes cast to the floor, tapping feet, a bouncing knee here and there. Arms spread wide over chair backs. Shuffles, breaths, and the poignant knowledge that no one wanted to be there.
“Let's begin.” The therapist looked nice enough, but looks could be deceiving, at least in my experience. I glanced beside me at my twin sister, Montana. She leaned back in her chair, the front two legs hovering in space perfectly balanced. She wasn’t looking at the ground, not my sister. She openly regarded the therapist with a ask-me-if-you-dare look painted on her face. Yeah she was fierce, and wasn't about to be cowed by anyone.
I glanced around the circle taking in the posture of our new Shenobi friends. Zabuza looked ready to gut someone, and could have if his giant sword had followed us inside, instead of in Adam’s vehicle. Haku had eyes only for Darry, our friend who’d arrived in Adam’s fathers living room while we examined the ancient scrolls he’d collected.
Darry wasn’t the only Greaser to arrive at Geoff’s home, from the 60s. His brothers, Sodapop and Ponyboy, and fellow friends and gang members, Two-Bit Matthews, Steve Randle, Dallas Winston, and Johnny Cade. Surprisingly, Cherry and Marcie had come through with them. All we knew of that event is Cherry had a scroll like Geoff and had arrived with it in her hands. We still didn’t know why, or how exactly the two groups had arrived simultaneously.
My gaze moved to Kimimaro, the third in the group of warriors to have come through our portal. He collapsed upon entry. Adam’s family were rich, and he was able to get Kimi hospitalized and healed from malnutrition and a lung disorder closely related to tuberculosis.
Everyone here was suffering from some sort of ptsd, and a host of other things. It had taken weeks to get the greaser and the warriors up to speed on what time they were in. The Shenobi thought they were in some type of time warp which I guess was true to an extent. Adam and I speak Japanese and were able to figure out the ancient dialect they used to help them understand.
Weeks later and no closer to a why, here we sat in group therapy. We all needed to live our lives regardless of what era we were in and there was so much animosity and confusion. Geoff and Adam hoped group therapy would help bring everyone closer together. Me, I knew better than that, but I was happy to be a liar in this particular case.