Several Years Later . . .
"And I'm bored. Again." Zeph whistled and twisted his keys around his fingers. "Someone put me out of my misery, I was supposed to be home an hour ago."
"I know, and you are late for supper." Ky walked up to him with their son in tow. "Zephyr."
"Oh," he groaned as he hugged Ky. "I know, honey, I'm so sorry." He gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "King Hortencia though, he won't let me leave duty."
"Well, go get one of the other guys." Ky hugged him deeper. "It's not like that time machine even works."
Zeph laughed at her. "I know, I know. But the regular guard is off this week, and I need to make up for last month."
"Daddy!" His son grabbed onto his legs, almost making him fall. "Come home!"
"Ah, you know I can't yet." Zeph bent down and looked toward his son. "Daddy will come home soon, I promise. Mommy is going to tie daddy's tail in a knot again if I don't." He stopped to look toward Ky while his son ran off. "Ky, baby, I really am sorry. It's not like I can say no to King Hortencia. He'd have me beaten to a pulp by a Guardian or something."
Ky fixed the collar on his uniform. "Guardians are not the worst thing in the world."
"Yeah, sure." Zeph chuckled as he pulled her into an embrace. He hated to stay late, he'd much rather be at home with his family. Tucking his son in, and then spending some extra time with his wife. Their fiftieth anniversary was tomorrow, and he wanted to get her a special ring for it. In order to do that, he needed a few more extra hours to get the money. "Sorry, Ky. Look, I promise. Within the next two hours, okay? I will take the night off tomorrow and spend all day with you." He smiled, and brought her in for one more kiss. "Okay?"
"Okay." Ky pulled herself away. "Supper is waiting on the table, so you better keep that-"
Zeph and Ky both heard it. They looked toward the time machine. It was glowing with lightning in the center of it, and and they saw Junior-
---
Zeph screamed, not know what to do or where to go! His son was in trouble, he and Ky had become surrounded by light, everything was just too much.
"Everything is just too much, I can't take it!"
"Everything is just too much, I can't take it!"
That scream was his, and that scream was not his.
That scream was his, and that scream was not his. "Kyyyyy!" Where was she? Where was his son? How would he get home? "I want to go home! Kyyy!"
"I want to go home! Kyyyyy!"
That scream was his again, and that scream was not his again. It was like an echoing of pain, but it wasn't an echo. It was something tangible. It was something real.
"I'm a failure, just like he always said I was!"
That wasn't his scream, but Zeph knew what the scream was about. Mister Saga. The Saga's never came to like him. Ky rarely saw them. No one attempted to visit. They never even met Junior. He just wasn't worth it to them. Even after all those years, he never amounted to anything to them.
"I can't keep her safe. I can't keep my family safe. I'm nothing. I can't do anything."
The voice kept coming, full of doubts. His doubts. Maybe they were his screams? He understood all of them. They understood him. "I want to save my family!" He yelled. "I don't know what you are, but please! Help me!"
"Help me!"
"I'll give anything to save my family! Anything!" Whatever creature was reading his mind, it had to understand that he meant that phrase. "Anythiiiiing!"
"Anythiiiiiiiiiiiing! Anything to save her!
Right, anything. To save them.
To save her.
To save them.
"To save me!"
That thought wasn't his. He was a part of his family, the term them included him. Unless it didn't? "Save me?"
Save me. Save her. Please.
Then, there was a connection. A solid connection between the two. Zeph just went rigid when he realized what that meant. He glimpsed what would happen.
Death, would have been better.