Disclaimer: Oh for the love of...okay fine. Sebastein, Erik, 
Vincent...they're mine. Chronos, the name, is from Greek mythology 
but I'm using it for my own twisted purposes.

Thanks:To the voices in my head who have to put up with me, to Aero 
who helped me through my writer's block and to the DWD board and Old 
Haunt, who'll never know I thanked them cause they'll never read 
this. Well most of them won't. Not that I blame them.

***********
Sebastien fell slamming into the ground. He groaned and looked 
around to see what he'd tripped over. Nothing seemed to be around.

"Are you hurt boy?"

His head snapped up. "What do you want? Leave me alone!", he shouted 
into the forest.

A small chuckle was heard behind him. "No, I'm afraid I can't do 
that. You see you're much too  important to be simply left alone"

Sebastien turned around and stared. In front of him was a very 
strange figure. He was avian but what kind was not clear. He wore a 
loose black cloak over a gray suit, the color of the fabric 
flickering from light to dark and back again. It wasn't this, 
however, that caused Sebastien to gape. No, it was the strangers 
dark purple feathers that caught his attention.

The stranger helped Sebastien to his feet. "Now, my boy, you may 
have some questions and I'd be delighted to answer them for you. But 
first a cup of tea!"

Sebastien blinked. Tea? Did he say tea? He was handed a cup and as 
the stranger poured from the teakettle he nodded. Yup...tea.

"Your questions Sebastien?", the stranger asked sipping from his own 
cup.

Sebastien was startled by the use of his name. He looked at the tea 
in his cup, suddenly at a loss for words. "Um...are we...are we 
here?"

The stranger laughed. "No. We're not here. We're there. You need me 
to get you here and away from there.  To get to here you need to 
leave there and only I can get you to here. Cause it's quite 
impossible to get from there to here without a guide. You'd get lost 
you see."

What?

Sebastien took a sip of tea and thought about it. Okay....I'm not 
here. Well that's good cause here doesn't make a whole lot of sense. 
Of course if I'm not here then how can I be drinking tea here? But 
I'm not! I'm drinking it there! Oh...yeah.

The stranger grabbed his and Sebastien's cups and threw them away. 
"Come, my boy! We're going to here!"

Oh good.

Sebastien wandered over to where the stranger was standing. The 
stranger was grinning at the bewildered boy. "We will us course have 
to go through everywhere but just for a second. You can't of course 
know how long that is but I assure you, you will understand. Soon. 
Yes very soon."

A bright light flickered...and stopped. Color spinning...stopped. 
And...no....the ticking! Don't. Please. It stopped. Darkness.
*******

"He's where?"

"Um...I couldn't stop him. There was a voice and..."

Erik stared at Vincent. He had found his old tutor sprawled on the 
ground. When he had managed to get him back to the cottage, the old 
man had started rambling about voices and all such nonsense. He 
sighed and shook his head. The important thing was to find 
Sebastien, he'd worry about Vincent's sanity later.

He stood up. "C'mon Vincent, better find him before somebody else 
does."

The old teacher followed his former student, worriedly.

*******
"You can open your eyes now."

"Where...?", Sebastien asked slowly opening his eyes.

"Here. We are here."

Sebastien looked around in wonder. Colors flashed changing 
constantly, garbled voices talked and music played a constantly 
changing melody. He shook his head. "Why?"

"This is here. Here lies thought and deed. Here lies emotion and 
inspiration. Here is constantly changing as we go from here to 
there!"

"There?"

"There my boy. There is consequence and pain. There our dreams 
become reality or are dashed agaist the rocks. But there is here 
then and of no consequence."

"I don't understand."

The stranger bent to whisper in his ear. "Don't worry my boy. You'll 
understand...in time." He pulled out a pocketwatch and dangled it in 
front of Sebastien.

Sebastien found himself breathless. The watch was beautiful. He 
reached out to touch it but the stranger snatched it back. The young 
duck cried out.

The stranger chuckled. "Not so fast. First answer a question for 
Chronos."

Sebastien blinked. It took him a second to realize the stranger was 
talking about himself. "Okay. What do you want to know?"

"Do you hear it?"

"Hear what?"

Chronos grabbed Sebastien by the shirt. "Don't play stupid with me 
boy! The ticking! You hear it?"

The boy struggled. "I....sometimes! At night more then anytime. I 
don't know why! Let me go!"

Chronos let him go. "Your mother was right, you know. You are 
destined for great things."

Sebastien flinched. "You...are you my...?"

The old man's eyes sparkled. "Your father? Oh wouldn't that be 
cliche! No I'm not." He put his hand up before Sebastien could ask 
an obvious question. "The purple feathers right. You are a chosen 
one Sebastein! The first of a time keeper! A Fedora time keeper!"

"I'm not a time keeper! I don't want to be a time keeper!"

"I'm afraid you have no choice in the matter Fedora. None at all." 
With that he pulled out the pocketwatch again. "In your pocket lies 
your soul, forever out of your control. To keep it safe with key and 
lock, protect the ticking of the clock."

Sebastein found himself frozen as he listened. Chronos placed the 
watch in his hands. He screamed as the ticking grew louder and the 
watch burned for an instant then....

Oh God!

He knew.

End of Part II