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     �	  Out Of Time 
 by Akamine chan  

 Author's Notes: This is for Roadrunner1896, who's been extremely patient
with her birthday present. Additionally, Sionnain provided a quick 'n'
dirty beta and cheerleading-on-demand. Also, my RL friend L helped by
standing there, unfazed, while I threw weird ideas at him until something
stuck. He had no idea what I was doing but was willing to try to help.

 Story Notes: Part 4 in the In Time Turtle!fic series

 

 January

 Fraser found himself unable to sleep. Rather than continue to lay in bed,
tossing and turning and possibly disturbing Ray, he got up, pulled on some
sweat pants and padding silently out to the living room. He sank down onto
the couch, stretching out and staring at the ceiling, letting his mind
wander.

 A soft ticking noise distracted him and he looked over at Turtle's tank,
unsurprised to see that the reptile was back from where ever it had gotten
off to. Turtle's comings and goings disturbed Fraser on several
levelschelonians shouldn't just vanish like that. Though Fraser was sure
it was physics and not magic, it wasn't logical and he had absolutely no
explanation for Turtle's disappearances that wouldn't make him sound
unhinged.

 Turtle crept over to the lettuce that Ray had left out for him and
started to nibble at a leaf, slowly and methodically, ignoring Fraser as
usual.

 Fraser got the distinct impression that Turtle didn't particularly care
for him, that the reptile tolerated him only for Ray's sake. Sometimes he
felt a vast and ancient presence behind those beady red eyes, older than
time and alien, analyzing and coldly calculating.

 Eventually, Fraser gave up pondering the mysteries of the universe and
went back to bed, curling around Ray's sleep-warm body and counting his
blessings. 

 January

 Ray carefully lifted off the top of the aquarium and put some fresh
lettuce into Turtle's tank.

 "Hey, buddy, listen, we need to talk." He fidgeted for a moment with the
basking rock, checking to make sure it was properly aligned with the
sunlamp. "I would really appreciate it if you'd tone down the weird stuff
for a while. It's really starting to freak Fraser out. And when he's
freaked out, he's distracted, and that's not good for so many reasons." He
checked the temperature in the tank, happy to see it was within the proper
range. "What do you think?"

 After a moment, a slow, heavy feeling of acceptance curled around his
mind. He smiled. "Thanks, buddy."

 May

 He had taken a trip to Ottawa, and then to Regina to work with a
committee on some materials for a course on international policing issues,
and was gone for a week. He got back to Chicago tired but happy to be
home.

 Opening the door to their apartment, Fraser was almost tackled by a
tail-wagging, drooling deaf half-wolf. He fended off Dief's attempts at
ear-licking and moved further into the apartment, setting down his
suitcase and going into the kitchen when Ray was in the middle of cooking
dinner.

 He sniffed appreciatively and hugged Ray hard from behind. He'd missed
Ray terribly while he was gone. "Kotlet schabowy? he asked, eyeing the
breaded cutlets in the frying pan.

 "Uh-huh. And potatoes and golabki and some pierogi and even pierniki." He
looked a little sheepish. "Mom stopped by, and you know she's convinced
that we can't survive on our own. She cooked enough food to last for a
month." Ray turned the pork cutlets over and looked at Fraser, stealing a
quick kiss. "Go wash up, dinner's about ready."

 Fraser passed by Turtle's tank and came to an abrupt stop, staring
intently at Turtle. "Ray?" he called, hoping Ray could hear him over the
sounds of cooking.

 "Yeah, what, Frase? Kinda busy here."

 Fraser sighed and scrubbed at an eyebrow with his thumbnail. "How long
has Turtle been...ah...glowing like this?"

 "Couple of days now. Why?" Fraser could hear Ray dishing out the food and
moving to set the table with silverware. "He seems okay. Didn't seem worth
the hassle of taking him to the vet." He came out of the kitchen and
joined Fraser in staring down at Turtle.

 "Raywe can't continuesomething needs to be done" It frustrated Fraser,
that Ray could be so calm about the subject of Turtle while he was the one
who became incoherent and tongue-tied. "There's something wrong with
Turtlehe could be dangerous"

 Ray gave a bark of ironic laughter. "Of course, he's dangerous, Fraser.
He appears to be a time-traveling turtle, defying all the laws of physics
and common sense." He shrugged. "But he's here for a reason. I'm not going
to argue with him about it. Are you?"

 Looking into the tank, he watched Turtle nibble contentedly on a chunk of
apple. The glow was brighter along the edges of Turtle's scutes,
highlighting them and giving him the appearance of glowing brightly from
the inside, as if he had swallowed a miniature sun.

 "Members of the order Testudines really shouldn't glow."

 Ray hugged him again and gently steered him towards the bathroom. "It's
okay, Fraser. It's going to be okay."

 August

 "Fraser, what is that?"

 There was a long pause as Fraser tried to gather his thoughts. "Well, it
looks likeit appears to be the beginnings of a funnel cloud." 

 "It's kinda big for that kind of thing, don't you think?"

 Fraser could only nod absently as they both stared out the window at the
enormous swirling cloud that hung above the city, blocking out the summer
sun. Dief woofed quietly and joined them. It stretched as far as they
could see, a sickly greenish-gray whirlpool in the sky, rotating steadily
counterclockwise. The center of the cloud was pitch black, except for the
bright flashes of lightning that illuminated it. It looked ominous and
sent a shiver of fear down Fraser's spine.

 "Maybe we should get on the roof, might have a better view of what's
going on," Ray remarked, heading towards the door.

 They took the stairs up to the top of the building and opened the door to
the roof. This new vantage gave them a better view of the city, the
shoreline and the lake, even in the gloom. They could see how large the
cloud was; it obscured an unbelievable amount of sky, from the Navy Pier
south past Northerly Island, creeping westward to Michigan Avenue. To the
east, it swirled out over the lake. 

 Somehow, it had to be an artificial creation; Fraser couldn't imagine a
natural weather system causing such a phenomena. Here, on the rooftop, he
could feel a strange wind blowing, icy cold and biting. He inhaled deeply
and could smell something...musty and old, almost rotten in the air. It
reminded him of dark places, of gravestones and damp dirt and dead things.
Choking a little, he spat and tried to clear the taste out of his mouth.

 The city was unnaturally quiet. Streetlights were flickering on, their
sensors registering and responding to the artificial darkness. The normal
hustle and bustle, the sound of cars honking and the rhythmic click-clack
of the El, the screaming and yelling and singing and shouting of an urban
landscape of almost three million people, it was all gone. Not muffled by
distance or the heavy humid heat of a summer day, but utterly absent.
That, more than anything else, frightened Fraser.

 "Look, Fraser."

 He looked at where Ray was pointing, at the panicked people fleeing away
from the Lake and the menacing cloud.

 "Seems to be centered over the aquarium." As they watched, the middle of
the whirlpool widened and grew, much like the iris of a camera. There was
a loud, earthshaking rumble and the Shedd Aquarium just crumbled, like it
wasn't made out of steel and bricks and masonry. Large chunks of the
building slowly floated up towards the whirlpool, sucked into the swirling
center. "Oh, fuck! Did you see that, Fraser? It just ate the aquarium!" 

 Dief howled mournfully.

 "Yes, Ray." Fraser backed away from the edge of the roof. "Maybe you
should call it in before we go see what we can do to help."

 Ray gave him a look like he was crazy but pulled out his cell phone and
dialed dispatch. While they were watching, a section of the city lost
power with a high-pitched, almost inaudible whine, street lights
flickering before dying out completely. There was another deep rumble, and
Fraser could feel the building tremble. The sound set off hundreds of car
alarms, the sound loud and disconcerting in a city that had gone
abnormally silent. 

 With a curse, Ray closed his cell. "I get the 'all circuits are busy'
message. I think we're on our own."

 They raced back down the stairs to the apartment. Moving quickly, Ray
went into the bedroom and knelt next to the bed, reaching underneath and
pulling out the hard case he kept there. Fraser followed curiouslyhe'd
known that Ray had a rifle case under the bed but he'd never seen what was
inside. He'd always assumed that it was a rifle. He stood over Ray as he
unlocked the case and opened it, revealing a sawed-off shotgun.

 "Ray"

 "Shut it, Fraser. We can discuss the legality of modified firearms
later." He checked and loaded the shotgun quickly, his hands competent and
sure, before placing it back into the case. "There's extra ammo for this
in the front closetget it. And get your service pistol." Ray grabbed his
shoulder holster and squirmed into it as Fraser retreated to the front
hall closet to get the ammunition. 

 The power flickered again, accompanied by another ominous rumble. He
could hear Ray talking softly to Dief, most likely trying to dissuade the
half-wolf from accompanying them. Ray had a father's tendency to try to
keep Dief locked up and safe, away from danger. Dief understood Ray's
motivations, appreciated the sentiment, but didn't agree.

 Fraser's 9mm service pistol was there in the closet as well, locked away
in his small gun safe, wrapped in its holster. When Fraser had finally
gotten licensed to carry a firearm in this country, Ray had bought him a
shoulder harness similar to his. Fraser still wasn't used to it and he
fumbled it on. He checked the safety on the gun, loaded it and shoved it
into the holster.

 "Ready?"

 "Let me grab the shells." Fraser tossed several boxes of ammunition into
a small knapsack he kept ready for emergencies and slung it over his
shoulder. "Okay."

 They were halfway out the door when Ray stopped abruptly.

 "Wait." Ray handed him the rifle case. "Go on down to the car and start
her up. I've gotta get something..."

 Fraser didn't wait, trusting Ray would catch up as soon as possible. He
and Dief loped down the stairs and out onto the street where the GTO was
parked. He looked up, surprised to see that the whirling cloud mass had
grown even larger. He couldn't see the center of the vortex here at street
level, but he could hear the low rumble of thunder and occasionally, the
tortured shriek of stressed metal being pulled apart as the whirlpool
consumed another building. 

 "Get in, Dief." He started the car up and got back out, circling around
to the passenger side. He slid into the bucket seat and looked at Dief,
hoping Ray wouldn't take too long to join them. He was thinking that maybe
time was of the essence.

 They were luckyChicago was Ray's town and he knew every short cut, every
alternate route between any two given points. Too many roads were blocked
off by abandoned vehicles, many with the keys still in the ignition and
the doors left open. Fraser had Ray slow down when they came upon accident
scenes, but they never saw a soul.

 It was like someone, or something, had emptied the city of all its
people. 

 Fraser wasn't sure what to think. Nothing made sense. He reached over and
put his hand on Ray's thigh, seeking some measure of comfort from the
physical touch. Ray touched the back of Fraser's hand for a moment. "I
know, buddy. I know. This is some freaky shit." Dief whined in agreement.

 Ray eventually pulled over at State Street, frustrated. There was no way
they could go any further in the GTO; they would have to travel on foot
from this point on.

 August

 It wasn't long before Ray started to get a itchy, creepy-crawly feeling,
like someone was watching them. When they'd left the GTO, he'd taken out
the shotgun; now he held it loosely in his hands, safety off. The feel of
the wood stock between his palms helped ease the uncomfortable prickling a
little. 

 Dief was feeling it, too. His hackles had risen and a low growl rumbled
in his chest. Fraser touched his head and with a soft command, Dief went
from animal aggression to a more watchful, tense state of readiness. 

 Ray caught a flash out of the corner of his eye, stopped and swiveled to
track the movement, but there was nothing there. Just dim shadows,
clinging to the buildings and the alleyways. Ray took a deep breath and
put his glasses on. He didn't think he could afford to be self-conscious
about how dorky he looked in them right now. He needed to be able to see,
and to shoot.

 Next to him, Fraser twitched, cocking his head. "Ray."

 The quiet, even tone set off all of Ray's alarm bells. "What is it,
Frase?"

 "There are...things. I can almost see them in my peripheral vision. Large
creatures, approximately grizzly bear sized; they seem to have an odd
number of appendages." There was a long pause as Fraser tried to make some
sense out of what he was seeing. "I don't think they are...natural."

 "Fuck." He looked around, but couldn't see a damn thing except for an
occasional shapeless blur out of the corners of his eyes. Dief couldn't
see them either, though he did sense their presence.

 "On a positive note, Ray, the creatures seem to be moving away from where
the cloud is located."

 Ray choked on a bitter laugh. "I'm not entirely sure that's a good thing,
Fraser."

 "It's good in the sense that it allows us to approach the phenomena..."
Fraser trailed off as he looked at Ray, his eyes growing wide.

 That look worried Ray. "What is it?"

 "Nosebleed."

 Ray swiped at his nose with the handkerchief that Fraser handed him,
startled by the bright stain on the white cloth. "Yeah, great, great.
Let's keep going." He pinched his nose shut in hopes of stopping the
bleeding.

 Shooting him a concerned glance, Fraser nodded.

 A block or two later, Dief stopped, shook his head and pawed at this
ears. Ray realized that there was a change in pressure and he needed to
pop his ears. Once he did, he heard a low whine, almost subsonic. It set
his teeth on edge, and seemed to be bothering Fraser and Dief as well. He
grabbed Fraser's arm and squeezed reassuringly.

 Weaving between abandoned cars, they finally maneuvered their way under
the whirlpool. 

 The center was open, having sucked up the debris of another demolished
building. Through that opening, Ray could see a sea of swirling colors,
electric-looking reds and greens and grays. The inside of the cloud didn't
have boundaries; just a twisting, sprawling space that blurred at the
edges and dared the eyes to distinguish between here and not. 

 The constant crackle and flash of lightning inside the mouth of the cloud
was blinding; Ray blinked rapidly, trying to adjust his vision. In the
distance, between lightning strikes, he could almost swear he saw the
twinkle of stars. He wrinkled his nose at the strong smell of ozone.
"Fraser, any ideas?" 

 Dief barked at the whirlpool.

 "Yes, I agree, Dief." Fraser was looking up, a frown on his face, pale
and sweating. He looked scared and spoke slowly, choosing his words with
care. "The vortex appears to be a...conduit to another place, like a
Lorentzian wormhole, as proposed by modern physics."

 "Okay." Ray shrugged his shoulders and wiped away the slow trickle of
blood from his nose. He didn't really care what it was, he just wanted to
know what he needed to do next. "This...wormhole thingy probably needs to
be closed. Otherwise things are going to keep getting sucked up into it
and" He broke off, reaching into the rucksack slung over Fraser's shoulder
and pulling out Turtle.

 Fraser looked at Turtle, who had withdrawn as far as he could into his
shell. He looked like an ordinary Terrapene Carolina carolina, nothing
remotely fantastical or unbelievable about him. Just an normal chelonian,
who was emerging from his shell and levitating a couple of inches above
Ray's hand.

 "Cool." Ray wiggled his fingers in the empty space under Turtle, much
like a magician performing a magic trick. "I didn't know he could do
that."

 August

 Fraser hunched down a little to look closer at Turtle. Reptile faces
weren't designed for emotional expressions, but Fraser was almost sure
that Turtle looked worried. There was something in those red unblinking
eyes...

 He was falling into those eyes, the red swirling around him. He reached
out for Ray and felt his presence, bright and shining, supporting him. He
let go

 and found himself in a dark place, a barren, rocky plain. In the distance
were jagged mountains, gray and forbidding. All around him, he could feel
an powerful intelligence, something vast, ancient and incomprehensible to
his human mind. It pressed upon him, squashing him with the weight of
millennia, cracking his mental shields and spilling his thoughts onto the
stony ground.

 Fraser could feel it sifting through the layers of his mind, turning some
memories over for closer examination, ignoring others as unimportant. He
held himself still, fearing that this presence would break him if he
struggled too much. In the back of his mind he could still feel Ray, a
beacon of warmth and light in this frightening place. It was the only
thing that kept him calm.

 Abruptly, he was released and a burst of light coalesced in front of him,
slowly shrinking until it was in the shape of a brightly glowing chelonian
floating in air in front of Fraser. Turtle in his more familiar form,
bobbing gently in an unseen breeze, red eyes piercing.

 Turtle blinked slowly and showed him...

 ...a life form, not easily recognizable as such, but life nonetheless,
older than time. Solitary and unconcerned with the activities of other
intelligences, driven by an overwhelming hunger...

 ...hunger driving it to devour whole planets, solar systems, galaxies. It
feasted on matter and energy, consuming whatever it came across in the
wide universe...

 ...unknowingly powerful and unstoppable, destroying countless
civilizations...

 ...Ray, smiling and dancing around the apartment. Feeding Turtle lettuce
and apples and crickets, talking to him, sharing his thoughts with his
reptile friend. Joy written clearly on his face as he smiled at Fraser.
Fraser and Ray kissing in the kitchen, under some hastily hung
mistletoe...

 ...Ray setting Turtle down on the road, directly underneath the vortex
and backing away as the chelonian slowly rose up into the air, blindingly
bright, only to disappear into the swirling mouth of the cloud...

 ...an enormous explosion, seen from a distance, the shock wave visible as
it left behind a wake of destruction. Crumbled buildings, destroyed
structures, cars tossed aside like toys...

 ...Chicago, parts of it still in ruin, parts of the city rebuilt, alive
with people and noise and life...

 ...Ray and Fraser and Dief, walking in the park, throwing sticks for
Dief, sleeping in their bed...

 Fraser blinked and

 "Fraser, Fraser, Fraser" Ray's words were clipped and worried, his hand
gripping Fraser's shoulder painfully hard. "Fraser!"

 He shook himself. "Yes, Ray. I'm here." He looked at Turtle one last
time. "I know what we have to do."

 August

 Ray didn't want to do it. Didn't want to leave Turtle alone to fight
whatever the vortex thingy was, but Fraser said it was what needed to be
done.

 He met Turtle's beady eyes. "Are you sure?"

 A wave of love rolled over him, almost knocking him over and squishing
him flat with its intensity, tinged with sadness and friendship and
memories.

 Ray stroked a trembling finger across Turtle's splotched shell, a
bittersweet smile on his face. "'Bye, buddy. It's been great having you in
my life." He set Turtle down on the asphalt and backed away, watching as
Turtle floated slowly upward, glowing and getting brighter as he rose
higher.

 "Ray, we need to go."

 Ray watched until he couldn't see Turtle any more before turning to
Fraser and Dief. "Okay, let's go."

  
� 

End Out Of Time by Akamine chan 

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