Pour aller au-dela du temps

Before you begin, I advise you to get a cup of tea, or a your favorite hot beverage, play soothing music. Make sure you have enough time to read through the whole thing.
So, shall we begin?




"Clocks? We're living right UNDER one you idiot!"
DeLuca slapped down his paper work in frustration,  files just kept appearing every where around him about trying to make the clocks 'connect'.
"Today's Tuesday, we only have two days until 'it' matches up. Now bring it over here!'  Mechanics around him whirred on it's own in silence as he clicked his way toward his employee Lucas. He was terribly impatient due to the fact that he wanted to get everything done as soon as possible. Of course no matter how soon he completes it, he'll have to wait until Thursday, the day when the timing feels about right to start over.
"But sir he isn't re---"
He loomed and crouched before him until his nose touched his. His breath smelled of black coffee. "I never assigned you anything a half wit couldn't do, now will just get it over here?" His eyes seemed emotionless, but it was obvious enough he was impatient.
"..Yes sir."  Lucas sighed while he filed up all the papers that sprayed everywhere, of course he was nothing more then a mere worker. Matter of fact, he didn't really know what he was trying to accomplish. He only accepted this job because it was the only place that would take him in during the time. Only papers,clocks and trying to figure out magic on how to conduct a perfect time traveler. It's all to laugh! He's stuck cleaning floors and doing other meaningless chores.
DeLuca patted his shoulder and walked toward a narrow hallway,and smiled a bit, "I'll call you in tomorrow, you can go home for now." DeLuca's hand was cold enough to make Lucas's shoulder go numb.
He sighed, when the man was out of sight, he slammed his papers to the ground and walked right out, placing on his fedora and jacket and heading out into the mid-day England rain. Yes, it rains a lot in England as you might know.
          He stomped his way to his flat, Monteque Tops. He just came out from the clock tower, the famously known clock tower in London. Despite the fact that there was a slight rain the wondrous wafting smell of scones and earl grey tea escaped from a small shop nearby, it looked cozy and smelled of sweet honey. Quite reminds himself of back than, when everyone one was together.  Everyone.  He felt himself almost whimpered in public. At least is was raining, a time when no one would know when you're crying, he placed his fedora down and just let the afternoon rain drizzle all over him.  Aahh, wouldn't it be nice if he could just forget about his work. A work that he doesn't even know exactly what the purpose is for.  His red hair seemed to have grown down a bit to his shoulders, turned a bit darker as the rain slowly dampened his hair by the seconds.
                   He was about to take another step on the brick designed ground below him when he suddenly heard a rapid fast running sound. It wasn't windy, the branches would make those kind of noises, but not that fast. Nothing more then a split second the figure crashed right into him, he felt his back being carried down by a heavy weight while his face met the ground making his glasses skid across the ground.  His fedora made a damp plop in a nearby puddle, his favorite hat was soaking wet. What a shame.

"Goodness, watch were you're going!"  He extended one hand and grabbed for his glasses, and sat up. He still didn't quite understand what bumped in to him.  Lucas's eyes widened, amazed that he actually confronted the 'it' that De Luca was talking about all this time!
"Aren't you supposed to be in there?" He pointed in the opposite direction he came from, the clock tower.  The man that bumped into him didn't say a word.  He had black hair, which was really curly, one of his bangs completely covered his left eye.  His skin was really pale, as if he'd never been outside much, he didn't realize it before but there was a light blue flicker on his right arm. Getting dimmer. His eye looked a little sad but it was a pretty blue color, not the common ones. He wore pants, and only that but it was terribly baggy and ripped, he needed a new wardrobe.
      "Hey uh, you alright? I didn't mean to be so hars--"
He bursted into tears.  Lucas was frantically trying to figure why on earth he started crying. He picked up his fedora from a distance and smacked it on his head and crouched down. it landed on his head with a wet 'plop'. that didn't seem to cheer up the matter. Too bad he didn't think of the second thought that it  was filled with water.
"Hello~ I'm not the other guy, I have not the slightest idea what he did to you, but uhm... perhaps you'd like to come to my house?" Okay, maybe inviting someone from a clock-tower that was being made by your boss wasn't the greatest idea of all times, but hey, it was start!  He grabbed his arms and lifted him up, people were staring at him with confused look for a second, but carried on with their lives.
             Lucas  kind of figured that he wouldn't be able to walk on steady for the next mile, so he hauled him up onto his front chest and carried him until he got to his door. He expected him to weigh in the hundreds but not even close, he felt like a life sized rag doll. His back felt harder than it should be.  He just wanted to think that he wasn't getting enough to eat. Yes, that sounded like a good conclusion to come to.  He looked to his right, where the man's head was resting on his shoulder, for some reason he looked a bit calmer and relaxed, not so much scared as he did before.
           It was already ten o` clock and Lucas still didn't prepare for bed. His coat was hanging on the back of his chair, still dripping a bit from what happened earlier. He was by far to busy working on documents that had to be turned in tomorrow. Blueprints,  rough drafts, and half completed essays. He felt like a high-schololer all over again. Under all those endless stacks of papers was a drawing that he would work on to make time fly by if he just wanted the day to be over. It was of his wife, Clarice. He must have been spacing out, since before he knew it, the letters he was writing became a watery mess. No, it wasn't water, he didn't recall bringing in any beverages in his room, and his wet jacket was behind him. It was coming from his eyes, even his glasses seem to be holding in a puddle. He placed his pen down and just rubbed his forehead. It felt like a lifetime ago, but it actually only been a few months since his wife left him. For really no reason that is. All he did was walk into the house yelling out in a happy tune that he finally got a job.
     "Clarice!  I finally got a job that pays enough! We can cut off our debt!" His face was truly cheerful.  His hands were stained dirt and grit, it was also covered in a bit blood of his own, he wound up running and tripping more than a few times.  His face was also covered with the outdoor mess. He looked like a rat that just came from a dumpster. It was already thundering outside, so his bangs stuck to his face like it was another layer of him.  Clarice grabbed his collar with a furious look on her face.  Lucas stooped smiling and talking and any other movement at once. His arms dropped to his side and he just stared at her. "What is i--" before he even finished the sentence he was stroked across the face and shoved out. The door slammed directly on his nose, he probably looked pathetic with the surprised look on his face.
         It was all coming back to him now.  Okay well, not everything, he still couldn't find a reason why he was kicked out. But he just felt like he should just cry his eyes out at the moment. A pained look started to settle on his face, he turned his head to the right and lied down on his crossed arms. He closed his eyes not even caring if his work was done. He didn't see how the blueprints will help in any way possible, so he just crumpled them up and threw them in the trash can. He went back to laying his head down and decided to call it a day.
     Though he was already in bed, he was staring at Lucas slowly dozing off into his own head.  He looked sad, why? He didn't know. All he saw was him writing on papers and than breaking down the following next minute. He wanted to comfort him but he just couldn't bring himself to do so. Maybe he would be twice more freaked out if he fully understood what he was.  A device to make everything stop at a certain moment. He over heard the conversation with Deluca and Lucas. He saw Lucas face and it was enough to tell him that it wasn't a happy occasion that was coming up.  It seems as if DeLuca was the only one who knew exactly what was going on. He might even being doing this for his own intentions.  He stole one last glance at the man sleeping and tossed to the opposite direction. He couldn't bear the thought when he'll find out what he truly was and the actual purpose why  he was there at all.
         He was awakened by the sound of a briefcase being dropped and shoes being slammed down on a wooden stairway rapidly.   Today was Wednesday, a day before it'll happen.
    The moment Lucas stepped afoot into the clock tower room, he was greeted with a solid feet on his chest and two hands around his collar. He got slammed to the ground by DeLuca. His suspenders were pulled forward, making his pants uncomfortable.
  "Jim Dandy! A top of the morning to you, sir!" Lucas smiled, took off his hat and made a nodding guester, if that was even possible at all if one was stuck to the floor.
    "Where is it?!" DeLuca's eyes was filled with hatred, if it wasn't filled with enough of it already.  What a tempered man.
  " Where is what? I do not ever recall taking anything from you,sir." Out of the corner of Lucas's eye he saw a mace landing next to his head. He blew out a low whistle. Okay, apparently DeLuca had the ability to spontaneously sprout chains from his sleeves. Nope, nothing to be concerned about at all! Except for the fact he was breaking out in a cold sweat. He decided it would be better if he didn't show that he was nervous. Luckily, his bangs covered most of his forehead, so it didn't show his sweat much.
    "You know what I'm talking about! I already have everything in order, and you decide to take it away from me?"  His face was mixed with anger and a drop of sadness.
       "Oh! Then I suppose you mean Incen,yes? He's a very sweet man. A kind one at that too!" He felt like a genius! What a perfect name for him, it just popped into his head, but he felt it would fit just right. DeLuca's eyebrow twitched and wore on a poker face. It was just a mechanical device to be used nothing more than to stop time.
              "You've gone and named it? As if I should care much about it." he shook his head. "Anyways, could you just bluntly tell me where 'Incen' is?"  Wonderful, he now looked ignorant.  It may not look like it, but he was having a hard time accepting the fact that Lucas was getting a bit to attached to it.
"Ah! he's down the hallway to the left. I fixed him up a nice outfit. Check it out while you're meeting him!" Lucas's face was grinning a dopey grin. He took his left hand and pinched DeLuca's cheek.
   "HE. SO. CUTE."
"Are you off your trolley today?!"  DeLuca screamed in shock.
Lucas was rewarded a hand being struck across his face. No, let me take that back. It was more of a punch.
              Incen came in running, grabbed Lucas's hand and headed for the enterance of the clock tower. incen's face was covered in fear and surprise, he was also running at a terribly fast pace. Lucas almost stumbled a couple of time until he thought he was about to fall on his face. There was a sudden rush of wind that came slapping across his body. His fedora flew off his head and his bangs got tangled but eventually got snapped backwards in the direction of the wind.  Seconds after he felt arms wrap around his chest and Incen's cheek near his own.  He looked at his surroundings and found himself being eveloped by shiny sparks, they looked like stars.  Below both of them shined even brighter, he even saw the whole London city before him, speeding away faster then one could record. Lucas's glasses reflected everything, making it harder to see.  Before he could blink, he heard Deluca yelling about something, and saw that he was back at his own flat. His unfinished papers on his desks flew everywhere, even the bed spread seem to fly out of place due to the massive gush of wind.  
        Incen stepped his way  toward the bed and slouched down. His hands removing his long bangs and brought it behind his ear. Lucas stepped forward  and extended his hand and touched the left side of Incen's face to get a better view of his eye. Strange enough, it still looked normal, it just that instead of a pupil, it was a clock. He leaned in closer to get a better view, it was weird enough to the point he wanted to poke it. The minute and hour hand was still ticking to the correct time.  It showed the roman numerals and shined of gold and silver. The craftsmanship was just brilliant! He thought of who could make such types of clocks. It looked really pretty, he wondered why he wanted to cover it up at all times.   
            Though Lucas's breath smelled of cinnamon and gingerbread, a friendly smell, he shivered.  He never had anyone's face up this close, matter of fact, Lucas was friendly, he didn't try to hurt him once. Well, except for that moment when he accidentally placed a hat filled with water on his head, but he was given a towel after that.  Incen placed both of his hands on Lucas's shoulder and gave him a slight push backwards, but still gripping onto his vest.  He tried to form a sentence, but was interrupted before he got a chance to look up.
"Sorry, it was my fault that I was so close to you." Lucas raised his hand up in surrender and chuckled a bit with a soft smile. Ah, so he knew he was pushing him back a bit.
       "Well then, Incen, what was it that you used? The type of magic that is." He fastened Incen's turtle neck of his sweater to raise it higher, looks like he'll  have to be re-sizing it again sometimes soon.  
"Ah....I....don't know..." he turned his head away and tugged at his sleeve. His hands were quite skinny and small. How cute.  
       Lucas let out a long heavy sigh.
"That is quite alright, there probably isn't a name for it anyways. If there was, then it must be indeed quite impressive! Now if you will just excuse me for a minute, there's a mess that i must attend to clean up." If Lucas was told what he hated to do, then it would cleaning a mess that was caused by someone else. He just couldn't help it, he just loves seeing his room being neat and tidy.  He patted his head and let out a groan. His hat. His most favorite hat was missing. He wouldn't be surprised if it landed on a pole. or worst, in the middle of a huge lake.
             It was five, near the time where everyone would be taking a late stroll with there posh poodle or be dining in the 'Les Cafe`s De Baguette'. One of the best places where they sell sweet, honey topped bread.  But now really wasn't the time to be eating, there were only a few hours until the London clock would strike twelve. He wanted nothing more than to know what will happen.  Incen was walking alongside him, they were both holding hands, but taking a brisk walk. Falling would not be so good, there where still puddles from the rain this morning. Each step only came in as questions to Lucas.
             At last, they reached the tower, kicking the doors open and making a dramatic entrance sounds fitting, but he'll have to hold on to that thought. Mechanics were whirling into their normal routine, their movements was sent up to the very top, where the hands of the clock would tick by the seconds,minutes, and hours. Lucas felt his left hand being squeezed, it was Incen, of course he didn't like the clock tower.  His right hand felt empty, oh, right. His briefcase. He completely forgot about it, he needed it in order to ask the questions. Talking it out just wouldn't make sense.  
    "Dear, I'll be right back, there's something I need to get. MY house is only a mile away, so it won't be long, stay and rest."  That was that, he ran on his tiptoes at his top attainable speed. He slapped his hand onto the doorknob and yanked it open, excellent, his briefcase was left on his desk.  Ten minutes or so might have passed, the streetlights near the pavements were already starting to light up.  What was he doing?! Now wasn't the time to be gazing out the window!  Wait a minute, why were people pausing in mid-walk? There where  two couples talking to each other on a nearby bench across the street, their faces were smiling but they didn't move, not even their hair seem to fly with the wind.  Lucas slowly grabbed his briefcase and stepped out of his flat in a brief step. He opened the door and found the street with absolutely no activity what so ever. The air was still, he felt lonely. The last part of the sun just dipped itself into the farthest horizon of the vast lake.  Lucas felt his whole body vibrating, the ground too.  He covered up his face with his arms, dropping his case in the process, making a dull thud. Again, everything stopped. He looked ahead and took a glance at the time, the London clock tower. It was 11:30, but how?  It was only five when he left!  he heard a chirping sound, no,  that wouldn't fit, it sounded more like singing. If the smell of sweet honey was capable of having a sound, then that was what it sounded like.  The moon wasn't the only one giving off it's light, there was something on top of the clock-tower, it was standing in thin air, and...singing? That was where the sound was coming from? He couldn't come to any other conclusion but that.  Lucas adjusted his glasses while crouching down to get his briefcase once more. He tried to get a better look. He gasped, it wasn't a small fairy. It was Incen.
               Deluca looked at his pocket watch one last time before placing it in his pocket of his jacket. He managed to speed up the timing, he had enough magic to do it anyways.
     "It won't be long now Clarice, it won't be long." He adjusted his hat, the lock on it dangled to it's right, shining against Incen's light.  He saw Incen turn around with tears streaming down his cheeks, his face hardened.
         "I don't want to do this!" His voice was nothing more then a hoarse whisper.
He didn't want to do this? What? That was his purpose! Ah, it didn't matter at all now, he took out his pocket watch once more and took in a deep breath.  He looked down, not at the ground but at the clock that was below him. The hour hand was a few centimeters away from the roman numeral of twelve. One more minute and he'll get Clarice back.  The minute hand finally struck twelve. It was finally Thursday. Considering the fact that he was standing on top of the clock, he felt the vibration of the low sound, it was announcing the hour. It felt so good, he even started to smile a bit.
He raised his left hand, which held the pocket watch and yelled out smoothly. "Chanter pour le nick de temps!"  
    Incen gripped his head, he could feel the clock on his left eye whirring to life. It was already too late to stop Deluca from doing anything now. He wanted to curl up and just let Lucas hold him tight, but he wasn't there with him, he was frozen in time, just like the others. The pain stopped abruptly, his left eye was shining at full power now. He spread out his arms and started singing, it sounded nice but he knew himself that the outcome wasn't going to be people clapping.  He only felt right that he should apologize, but of course that was out of the painting of reality now. There was no one to apologize to.
         Lucas knew by now that asking questions wouldn't solve anything. He threw down his briefcase and ran faster then he usually would. If he wasn't able to keep Clarice happy, then he wanted to make Incen smile, at least once. Just once, was that to much to ask for? He skidded to a halt, a moped was laying there out in the open of a nearby shop. It wouldn't hurt to 'borrow' it, would it now? Without any hesitation, he grabbed the handle and gave the peddle a good kick. The engine was still in good shape, after taking one last look at the top of the clock-tower, he rode his way down the London streets.  He took a sharp turn to the right, it was a moped so it could only handle so much.  The wheels stopped and the moped spinned out of control. Lucas lost grip of the handles and flew backwards, his back was crashed onto the wall, the moped landed onto one of his legs. The front wheel of the moped seemed to rip through his pants on his leg, skin,muscle and all.  His head slammed onto the ground and everything went into a fuzzy blur.The wheel finally stopped ripping into his leg, he felt as if it was scrapping on his bone, but at least it wasn't. He hope it didn't at least, he didn't dare to look at how bad his leg was.  He digged his fingers into the dirt  and bit his lower lip.  Lucas eyes started to water and finally started dripping down his dirt caked cheeks.  He glanced up and saw Incen, behind him, was Deluca, standing on the tip of the tower,  he was picking his nose and smiling.  That idiot.
             Incen saw only one movement at the city down below him. A man was riding a moped, it was Lucas, he was looking right at him. He lost control and crashed into the side of a building.  He winced.   Incen started to run, he was able to float in the air so landing shouldn't be to much of a trouble. He placed his hands at his sides, closed his eyes and rocketed toward to where Lucas was laying. His left eye was still in pain, but Lucas was obviously suffering a lot more then he should.
      Incen landed with a soft tap, blue sparks swirled around his feet as he walked. He dropped to his knees and placed both hands on either side of Lucas's face.  He brushed off his bangs, his eyelashes were a bit longer then most mens would have. His eyes moved toward the rest of his body, his right leg wasn't bent, but it was damaged badly enough.  He looked so fragile, like a glass. Incen leaned in toward Lucas's face, removed his glasses and gently placed a kiss on his forehead.  He started to tear up again but took in a shaky breath. He placed his forehead and against Lucas's and started singing. He only knew one song that was meant for healing, he went on ahead and sang the soft melody.
         Lucas heard a melody, it was so near he felt like taking it in, savoring every musical note in his ear. It was just that amazing.  He opened his eyes and saw a fuzzy image and muttered.
".....Clarice?" He whispered softly.
"You don't say! She isn't here, she would have if he didn't move outta the spot!" Deluca jerked his thumb toward Incen, who was now holding onto Lucas. He heard a clanking sound, Deluca was aiming his arm,chain in hand towards Incen's back.  Lucas sat up, he tried ignoring his leg and screamed out Incen's name for his dear life. Deluca snorted and rasied his hand and snapped the chain foward before incen had a chance to look behind him.
          Lucas shut his eyes and gritted his teeth. he opened his eyes to only find Incen's face surprised and crying.  He really didn't want to, but he looked down at his chest, oil was dripping out and wires were sprawled.  Lucas has never been more surprised then he ever was till this moment.
"...Ince---"
            Deluca grabbed Lucas's suspenders and pulled him away from under the moped and out of Incen's hands. He started gasping in pain, since screaming just wouldn't cut it. Deluca leaned his face toward Lucas and chuckled, he stood up. Once more, sparks were erupting from under his feet, a simple circle was formed and they were on the  top of the clock tower in no time. Lucas was thrown down onto thin air, but he didn't fall. A ripple of golden sparks shimmered on where he  landed instead.  Lucas lied down and and turned to his right. A cane was smacked onto his shoulder and he was forcefully turned flat on his back.  Deluca crouched down and jabbed his cane deeper into Lucas's shoulder.
     "Why did you take Clarice?" His eyes were emotionless,beady but still filled with hate, as if it never was filled with hate in the first place.
"Eh....It never existed." Lucas was still dizzy, he lost a lot more blood when he was ripped away from the moped.
  "I beg your pardon?" He twisted the cane into his shoulder even deeper until it was met with his joint. It made a sickly snapping sound.  Alright he had enough, Lucas started screaming in pain. His fingers twitched and his leg was still oozing. All he wanted was everyone to be happy, of course that was indeed to much to ask for.
     "Your memories......They don't exists." Lucas was staring at Deluca dead in the eye. He never saw him this serious, just earlier today he was laughing.
   "All the memories you have of Clarice......they don't exists." he pushed the cane away,he pushed up from the palm of his hand so he get stare at Deluca with the same eye level.
       He placed his hand on the side of Deluca's face and the other on his hat.
"The hat you're wearing is making you imagine these things." Lucas's rough dirt stained hand yanked off his hat. Deluca's eyes widened, they changed colors from black to green, light shone in his eyes with emotion. His face softened and the lock shattered to pieces until it was turned to dust. He finally showed feelings other then mad and impatient. The barrier under them broke like glass, before they knew it, they were falling. Lucas lost grip of the hat, it flew upwards and disappeared too along with the lock. It was all to sudden and unexpected, Deluca grabbed one his hand and pulled him toward his chest. It seriously felt like he was falling with a boulder, but he felt the warmth of his cheeks coming back. His eyes were wet, he could see droplets of bitter sweet tears shooting upwards like bullets. He never thought he would do it himself, but he hugged Deluca back, gripping onto the back of his jacket. Even his sparks changed, it turned into pink. Pink sparks. How appropriate.
             They slowed down and landed gently.
          He felt as if it was to late, but he was on the nick of it. He placed his hand under Incen's head, he didn't care if he wasn't human, or was a robot. He didn't care about anything  right now.  Not the pain in his leg, not about time. Nothing.
He started yelling and shaking him. "Incen! ...Incen ...please.."
A lump was starting to form in his throat. He tried to swallow it but failed. He hiccuped and bent his head toward Incen's head. His head shifted toward Lucas and he smiled for the first time. London was frozen, even the outskirts of it. He was the only one who witnessed his smile. Lucas cheeks filled with a light blush and kissed him on his forehead and hugged him tighter. The light on his arm began to fade away for the last time. The clock on his eye stopped ticking.
          "Thank you."
Incen's whole body started to shine, sparks were starting to fly upwards, he was fading away.
           Lucas wiped his cheek with his sleeve. At least he finally saw his smile, he went away happily. He drew his head upward. Not even magic can make the beauty of stars stop it's twinkling.
                        You had to be a real jerk to do that.