“A light, a person floating and then it was done”

THE STORYTELLER as she documented the heroes trials

Graham drew Alex into a full on bear hug. "You'll get there one day. I promise."

Alex smiled at him, obviously unsure. "I'm not sure and now I've got a heap of godly stuff."

Graham grinned. "You know it makes perfect sense. Have you read about Loki's exploits? Please do cause oh lord I can see him in you."

"I'll add it to the reading list, Now seriously Graham are you okay? If you're messing with time it can't be good for you."

He shrugged, but didn't speak.

"Oh no. You're not being the strong silent type, that's too cliche even for you."

Graham couldn't help but laugh before replying. "I've never been strong or silent but right now I can't think about how the energy feels flowing through me. It's strange and painful but reassuring too." He grimaced, he couldn't help it. "They've talked about leveling up. I'm hoping that doesn't just mean I slow time more, I really want the pain to be a little less."

"Can't we help?" Lisa seemed to stare into his soul.

"I don't think you can help with time anymore than I can help with other things. We all have our skills."

The friends all nodded at him as a loud Tic Toc could be heard through the room.

"What is that?" Georgia asked,

her eyes opened wide.

Tic Toc.

Tic Toc.

It was getting louder. Graham considered his friends. "I think you should leave, this is for me and I don't want you to get leave."

Tic Toc.

Tic Toc.

The noise reverberated through him.

They didn't leave him, his friends wouldn't if they thought danger was incoming. They were more than friends; they almost felt like family.

"We can't help when the woowoo happens solo but do you really think we'd leave you alone." David said not a question, it was a truthful statement. "Though if it's some giant walking and talking grandfather clock I might run screaming." He was trying to break the obvious tension. There'd been too much tension in the past few days.

Graham's fingertips started to glow.

"Seriously, this is for me it's under control." David was fascinated watching in awe as the glow seemed to spread before he was alone with whatever was making the exaggerated clock sound.

The voice that greeted him was gentle and old. "You are everything I expected you to be." It was familiar, and yet Graham couldn't quite work out where it was from. It was Scottish just like him.

"Who are you?" Graham asked firmly, he felt nothing to be scared of. The glow was spreading up his arms now.

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"You don't remember me?" A question as he felt himself go weightless.

"I feel I must and yet something is unfamiliar." The glow was warm and welcoming as he felt it spreading through his entire body.

"Ah you are and were always sure and solid. You were my choice and you are perfect."

Graham let the glow wash through him and just listened to the voice.

"Uncle?" He asked for the first time, unsure.

"There you go. You were always my favorite. Though I think you probably realise I'm not your uncle. I am as old as time and I gave a part of my heart to your heart when you were born. You had a stubborn and strong streak from that very moment."

"What's happening? I don't feel afraid. Should I? I don't totally understand everything"

The voice chuckled deep. "You are doing so well. You are ready for this or it wouldn't be happening. You're leveling up. Think you'll be able to slow time more. This will give us a year or so there. It means we have more time though it means you will have to bear the pain and pressure for longer."

"I can do it."

"I know you can." The voice replied. "The more you can level the more time you can give your friends but please understand it won't be easy for any of you. For however long we are allowed or it takes you will face great foes and have to battle yourselves. Have faith my boy, have faith."

The glowing and the warmth was leaving him as he felt his body lower to the ground, he was back with his friends in the common room they were surrounding him with concern etched on all their faces.

"We thought you were being ripped apart." Sophia said. "Light seemed to be splitting you."

Graham tried to talk but nothing left his mouth. Lisa helped to prop him up and got him to take small sips of water from a glass.

He couldn't speak, he really wanted to as he clenched and relaxed joints and muscles. It was as if his body needed to reboot itself. He took some more sips of water. Then he let go and cried, full on sobbing. It was as if a dam had broken and he couldn't mend it. It was way past the dutch boy plugging the hole.

"I." He managed to get one word out of his lips before the tears started again.

Aiden shook his head at him. "Mate you'll set me off if you keep going and I don't like being a little crybaby." A little chuckle escaped the Australians lips as he moved to look elsewhere, pretty obviously hiding whatever emotions that were building.

"I think." Two words and the sobs thankfully didn't start up again as he took in a solid breath before continuing. "That was a skill level up. I'm not sure but I think my power ups may be faster because at the moment I'm using my skill every second in this world to keep that space from racing towards oblivion."

"It makes sense." Sophia said.

"What does that mean for me?" Alex asked. "I don't even know what my skill is. I'm going to be so useless."

"None of us are useless, we all have our uses, just some are clearer and easier to see and we haven't really spent any time in the other world. I think we have our special skill but also will have to learn to fight, use magic and whatever other woowoo stuff we get thrown at us." Graham was very thankfully beginning to feel almost normal, well as normal as you could be with what had been happening.

Graham felt his mind wander; he wanted to be in the conversation with his friends because this felt so important yet he started to feel like he was moving into the workings of a grandfather clock. This clock was large enough for him to walk around in.

He really wasn't understanding what was happening when a booming voice sounded. "You must learn how to control this, how to become one with time. "When You can control all time everywhere you will be strong enough to fight the final battle." He blinked sure that he was finally losing his mind, he'd been so close since all this had started.

With a shake of his head he was back with his friend's conversation.

"Has anyone worked out if we can practice our skills in this world? You know, try and work on things. I have so much to learn but I don't want to make a mess with the rules." Graham asked though his voice sounded quite monotone even to his own ear. He could sound more enthusiastic but he still wasn't sure if he wanted the responsibility that had been dropped on him from seemingly a great height.

"We can try something, if it works then we can." Georgia spoke with a shrug of her shoulders as. "Shouldn't at least one of us know the rules? I feel like I'm letting everyone down."

"No one is letting anyone down." Graham reached for Georgia grabbing her hands and pulling her down until she was sat in his lap. "We just have to ask some questions of people who might know, maybe Mrs Hodges?"

When David sat next to them with a small grin. "What I want to know is are we going to eat some food soon?"

A laugh spread through them all when Mrs Hodge wandered in as if on queue like she got warned everytime they were hungry. She smiled at them as she spoke. "I thought you might be hungry, you missed dinner and well you know."

Without waiting for an answer she pulled in the cart with boxes of fries and Graham's stomach growled like a lion when he saw burgers at least two each maybe three or four.

"You are a saint in human form." Aiden said with lots of nods of approval and yesses. Graham didn't say a word, he was through burger three and onto four with enough fries to feed a family before he joined the conversations in the room.

"Welcome back." Sophia said softly. "I'm not quite sure where Graham disappeared to but it's good that you're back now. You morphed into Aiden for a while and it wasn't pretty having two of you at the dining table." They all laughed and talked about something and nothing while they finished fuelling their bodies for whatever they might face this evening.