Theodore J. Croff watched as the metal cockpit of the Time Winder Mk I closed around him. Sitting comfortably in his prized time machine he begins the start-up sequence. As the final control panel light flickers from red to green to signify all systems are operational. Theodore glances at the fuel gauge seeing it only half full he presses down on the intercom and asks.
"Are we sure I have enough Temporal Sand for a return trip?"
After a few moments of silence, a static male voice reverberates through the cockpit.
"After running the numbers again we can confirm that unless you lose fuel after arriving you should have enough Temporal Sand to return. In addition, since you will only be jumping one day into the future we will be able to recover you if you run out of fuel."
Theodore lets out a sight sigh as he double-checks that all systems are green. Then after inputting the space-time coordinates, he stares at the big red launch button with bated breath. Gripped with immense excitement and pride he slams his fist on the big red launch button. There was a slight pause as nothing seemed to happen then...
*Zap!*
Theodore watches in horror as golden sparks began to form around the control panel of Time Winder MK I. The green status lights began to pop one by one as the golden sparks jumped all over the cockpit. Theodore desperately tried to cut the power before the lightning reached the fuel line but he was too late. Bright golden light flooded Theodore's vision as the golden lightning stuck the fuel gauge. Eminence pain racked his entire body as Theodore lost consciousness.
For an unknown about of time, Theodore drifted in and out of consciousness. During his stooper, he heard an unfamiliar voice but he was unable to make out any bits of the words. He felt his body be moved as the blurry silhouette of a young girl carry him away. After a few minutes, Theodore's eyelids grew heavy as he slipped into unconsciousness once more.
When Theodore opened his eyes he found he was staring at a grey stone cling. Sitting up Theodore slowly looks around his surroundings. White cloth curtains formed a small cubicle around a small bed slightly bigger than Theodore himself. Slightly dazed and not sure of his current location Theodore calls out for help.
"H-hello~"
Theodore covered his mouth in shock, startled because the voice that came out of his mouth was the voice of a young child! Theodore's eyes widened in horror as he remembered one of the experiments done with the Temporal Sand. During that experiment, they exposed various lab animals to small amounts of Temporal Sand and found that when a living thing is in direct contact with Temporal Sand time seems to flow backward for as long in direct contact. Theodore looked at his hands and let out a gasp. His hands were not the firm hands of an adult but that of a young child! Judging by the size of his hands his current appearance must be that of a 12 or 13-year-old. Taking a few deep breaths Theodore calmly assesses his current situation.
'Ok Theo, let's calm down and think about the facts. First, something definitely went wrong when you launched the Time Winder MK I. There was a bright golden light and a lot of pain. Definitely some kind an explosion... Maybe the explosion caused me to be in direct contact with the Temporal Sand from the fuel tank.'
Theodore's expression turned grim as a realization hit him.
'The fuel tank on the Time Winder MK I was not small. Even if it was only filled halfway that amount of Temporal Sand was enough for me to cover me completely!'
Feeling that he was still missing something Theodore held his chin in contemplation.
'Although It doesn't seem like I was out for too long. Could it be that the more Temporal Sand a living creature is in contact with the faster time reverses? That could certainly be a posibilty~'
The sound of a door opening followed by nearby footsteps snapped Theodore out of his thoughts. Still unsure of his current location decided he would call out to the nearby figure.
"Umm... Hello!"
There was a moment of pause then the sound of hurried footsteps rapidly approaching Theodore. Then the white curtains of Theodore's cubical were flung open to reveal a young girl in what looked like a school uniform of some old-fashioned British private school. Her straight brown hair was tied into two neat pigtails. Small freckles dotted her face accentuating her big brown eyes that's seemed to stare at Theodore with wonder and curiosity.
The silent stares of this mysterious girl made Theodore hesitate for a moment before tentatively asking a radome question to break the silence.
"Umm... H-hi, my name Theodore what's your name?"
In response, the young girl beamed a cheery smile and said with a bubbly attitude.
"Nice to meet you! My name's Tina!~"
Before Theodore could ask anything else, Tina began to fire off a barrage of questions not even waiting for a response. With each new question inching closer and closer to Theodore's face.
"~You have a really long name, mind if I call you Theo? Hey, Theo are you a new student here? *Gasp* Does that mean we will share the same classes? That would be amazing right?~"
The sudden intrusion of personal space made Theo a bit flustered. unsure of how to respond he just awkwardly nodded his head. Seeing this Tina's smile grew as she continued her questions.
"~Yup, I knew it! ya know when I saw that flash of golden light and you appeared on the ground surrounded by those sparkly rocks I knew you just had to be a student here, right? Oh by the way-"
The mention of the golden flash and sparkly rocks made Theo's expression turn grim. Cutting Tina off Theo hurriedly asked.
"Did you touch them!? Please tell me you didn't touch those rocks!?"
Startled by the sudden outburst Tina backed off and fervently shook her head in response. Seeing this Theo let out a relieved sigh. Seeing this with a slight tinge of fear in her voice Tina asked.
"Theo, what are those rocks?"
There was a slight pause as Theo contemplated how much to tell Tina. In the end, all he said was...
"Those rocks are dangerous..."
The serious expression on Theo's face gave Tina a chill down her spine. Not knowing how to react to this new feeling she asked.
"Theo, what do we do?"
Theo closed his eyes for a moment let out an exasperated sigh then looked at Tina with a serious face then said.
"I should be able to find some way of containing them once I know how bad it is... Tina, I need you to take me to those rocks."
Now feeling like she can do something to help Tina nods with determination. Then without any hesitation, she grabbed Theo by the hand and began hurriedly leading him to where she found him.
After a few minutes of racing down stone corridors, the two made their way outside to a small garden pathway. After another minute of running the two kids found themselves in front of a bunch of colorful stones all with a slight golden sheen to them. The stones looked to be arranged in an undisturbed ring.
Theo was sightly surprised by the sight before him as these stones were not Temporal Sand, but looked more like pieces of sparkly amber. Taking a moment to think of the possibilities he inspects the stones.
'Perhaps these stones are a crystallized form of Temporal Sand? If so what caused the crystallization process? Was it the heat from the explosion? No that's not important right now! I need to make certain of the effects of this amber! For now, I will operate under the assumption that this amber is just like Temporal Sand. In which case I need a way to move this amber without touching it.'
Looking around Theo remembered they passed a small garden shed on their way here. he then turned to face Tina still looking a little worried. Seeing this Theo relaxed his expression and said.
"Good news, I have a pretty good idea on what these are and how to deal with them."
Hearing this Tina let out a sigh of relief then said with a wry smile.
"That's good to hear, I was worried I would have to ask my dad for help and he is super busy today with getting ready for the news students that just arrived."
Hearing this a question arose in Theo's mind that he probably should have asked earlier. Letting the curiosity get the better of him he asked.
"Tina, I have been meaning to ask what is this place? I am guessing a School of some sort judging by your uniform. Although I have never seen a school that's also a castle~"
Before Theo was able to continue speaking he was interrupted by a loud gasp for Tina.
"Oh that's right I never formally welcomed you did I? Allow me to reintroduce myself then! As one of the top-scoring students in the Magic Combat part of the entrance exam. I, Tina J. Croff formally welcome you to Stonehall Magic Academy!"