What Did You Say?

"Who Are All These People?," The question kept repeating and repeating over and over and over again until another voice drown out the one in Aaron's head., "You said we would meet again but... I didn't think it would be like this."

"What did you say?," Aaron asked in surprise as he turned his head back to his right.

"Ah...," The Faceless Man exclaimed in realization., "... You don't remember me do you?"

Aaron quirked an eyebrow., "Should I? As far as I know I've never met anyone without a face."

"Strange but then again... from your current perspective it may not have happened yet. I'm sure you would remember our meeting since it took place in a prison morgue after my execution... not something someone is likely to forget I imagine or... perhaps that part of you isn't fully awake yet."

Aaron's mind began to race., "Met Before? Execution? Not Awake Yet?"

Aaron enjoyed riddles and puzzles but this was something else entirely. It felt like someone was trying to drive him mad and what's worse he realized., "It Might Be Working... I May Actually Be Going Insane."

"Aaron you need to relax...," The Blond Man whispered, reaching up and twisting his hand in the air., "... Even a Dream can kill if you handle it wrong."

With The Blond Man's words, Aaron felt a tingle shoot up his spine then he realized., "I'm Still Asleep!"

With that realization, Aaron flinched. He looked around to see where the sound he had heard that made him jump was coming from. Aaron covered his ears with his hands as the sound grew louder. It was like cloth tearing.

"What Is That?!," Yelled Aaron, trying to drown out the sound.

"What's What?," The Horned Man asked with a slight grin. His voice was little more than a whisper but it cut through the ripping sound like a knife through butter but only briefly then it came back even louder than before... It was a sound like bones scraping together.

Aaron pressed his hands against his ears as hard as he could until it felt like his skull would collapse but the sound was still getting louder. Aaron looked around frantically for some way, any way to make it stop when he saw something that nearly sent him into mental and physical shock. Just over and behind the "People" gathered around him was what could only be described as a huge gaping tear in the fabric of reality. On the other side of the tear was an almost blinding sea of endless white, Aaron could see himself strapped in a chair **** and there was someone or something standing in front of him.

The figure was white but so white that it stood out like a different color from the pure white surroundings it was standing in. Its body from what he could see was smooth and muscular but featureless at the same time with no identifying marks even of gender. It seemed indistinct like an unfinished sculpture as well as blurry and distorted like Aaron couldn't fully process the full scope of who or what he was looking at and it gave him a profound sense of unease.

The view through the rift kept changing like whatever it was that was happening on the other side was being simultaneously rewound and fast forwarded at the same time.

Aaron heard The Mysterious White Entity on the other side of the tear speak but it wasn't just one voice but hundreds even thousands of voices of varying ages and genders, all speaking in different languages but all of them were saying the exact same thing Aaron realized., "I'VE GIVEN YOU ALL THE HELP I CAN FOR NOW... REMEMBER THESE WORDS MY SON... WHEN THE TIME COMES TURN YOUR BACK TO THE NIGHT AND YOUR FRONT TO ME AND... I WILL BE THERE."

Before the words could fully register, the tear snapped shut like a door being slammed in Aaron's face.

Aaron felt like a rubberband that had been stretched to its breaking point but just before he broke the mysterious forces trying to pull him in two simply let go and he snapped back to his original state which as you might imagine was both painful and disorienting. Aaron shook his head to try and clear his mind., "Who are you and... what do you want from me?"

Aaron looked to The Horned Man who tapped a clawed finger on the arm of his chair., "The first part of your question is the most difficult to explain but... I suppose to reduce it to simple terms... You could say that "We" are You..."

Aaron couldn't deny the strange resemblance he shared with the the other Men present but..., "What Does He Mean By They're Me?"

"... As to the second part of your question... What We Want... is also a bit difficult but suffice it to say Aaron we are currently trying to decide whether or not you are ready to take your place as one of us."

"One of You?," Aaron asked in a daze.

The Telepath made that strange gesture again and Aaron felt his insides do flipflops., "We know how confusing this must be for you... It was the same for most of us as well."

"Big changes are coming Aaron... Things will happen soon that you can't even imagine.," Said The Young Man in the Japanese school uniform., "I wish we could explain it in more detail but there are those among us that feel that if we reveal too much it could do more harm than simply saying nothing."

"I don't understand.," Aaron spoke in a pained whisper, his confusion reaching the point of a painful migraine.

"I know... And I wish we could say more but... there are rules... protocols that we must adhere to so that we do not upset the balance or else..."

Aaron waited for several moments for The Young Man in Black to finish but it soon became apparent that he had said all he intended to say on the matter so a curious and confused Aaron inquired., "Or else what?"

Everyone's face grew grim and serious but it was The Goddess among them named Selene who finally spoke., "Our kind are too powerful to be left to roam free so... our creator eventually decided to put in place certain failsafes to ensure that we don't upset the natural balance "He" created."

Aaron scratched his head in confusion but at the same time he was in awe, Selene's soft dark skin caressed the night air and her long white hair cascaded down her back and shoulders like a ivory colored waterfall.

Aaron tried to speak but his mind was overwhelmed then a sudden epiphany struck him like a bolt from the blue and the words just started to flow., "The forces The Mysterious White Entity mentioned... The Glaive, The Una Mens, and...," Aaron had no idea what these beings were or what function they specifically served other than some sort of control mechanism for the powerful beings in front of him but the last one sent a shiver of fear up his spine., "... The Garuda."

Aaron watched as everyone around him shivered along with him... Even The Faceless Man and The Horned Man apparently weren't immune to fear despite the suffocating aura of intimidation they both exuded like a dark cloud.

"You are correct.," The Cowboy offered in a dry, crackling whisper.

The Horned Man turned to Selene and nodded., "Tell him... but...," His golden irises flashed with intense blue flames., "... Only what he needs to know."

Selene nodded in return as a shadow fell over The Horned Man and he disappeared inside it leaving only a empty chair behind.

Aaron blinked in surprise, staring at the empty chair.

"Our Brother's time was at an end. We can only stay here for a limited time in order to talk with you like this.," Selene offered, addressing her Bother's sudden departure., "In accordance with his wishes I can tell you that what you suspected about the beings The Wanderer spoke of are correct they are dangerous but none are more feared than The Garuda...," Selene paused and Aaron along with everyone else present shivered.

"What is The Garuda?," Asked Aaron.

Selene hesitated for a moment then swallowed., "It is an ancient predator that sustains its own life **** by feeding on the life energies of our kind and those like us. It is one of the few things that we are all **** to. Only a small few of us have ever prevailed against these vicious beasts."

Aaron gulped., "Are they really that bad?"

"I wouldn't even mess with The Garuda mate and I'm as crazy as they come.... Well expect maybe À̵̦l̴̪̀͂̀į̴͍͔̍̅̌s̷̲̺͇̙̈͐̃̀t̶̬̫̟̣̦̿ã̷͍͇̔̂̕ȉ̸͉̑̔̕r̶̢̬̯͍̈́̍͂ͅ or V̵̘͑̌i̶̘̎̒̈̕r̷̦͚̻̱̄͋̑̌g̶̬̬̎͂͒į̷͙̟͔̋̃͊̾͝l̶̫͎͖̠͙̐̔ because lets face it there's crazy and then there's Crazy," Aaron heard a familiar voice near the door to his room and looked to see Callum, The Young Man with the slicked back white hair leaning against the doorway with a wide grin on his scarred face and a giggling ferret on either shoulder looking back and forth from Aaron and whispering in their Master's ear.

"Don't worry about The Garuda for now or anything else...," The Rural-looking fellow comforted a very confused looking Aaron., "... Because right now you need to wake up."

Aaron clutched his chest and gasped for breath. Being Hot and Cold weren't something Aaron usually felt unless he was sick but right now his insides felt like they were on fire and his outsides were as cold as an open grave.

"Don't fight it Brother...," Selene stated, stretching out her hand., "... You've already been here too long already."

Aaron felt his insides lurch and twist as the others gathered around him stretched out a hand toward him as well.

Aaron's eyes snapped open and he found himself staring up at a familiar ceiling. Aaron was back in his room... for real this time. His body felt heavy as he sat up and looked around. He caught a glimpse of Sydney still **** where he had put her earlier but she was the least of his worries at the moment.

Aaron's ears were ringing and he winced as the painful screech gave way to the worried but welcome voice of Gog., "Father, Are You There? Are You There... Is Everything Okay?!"

"You Don't Know How Good It Is To Hear Your Voice.." Aaron's relieved voice echoed through his and Gog's link.

"Faaaaaaaaaather! Why Didn't You Answer?!"

"Gog I....," Aaron tried to calm the frightened A.I. but in her excited state she cut him off., "Father, I Was So Worried!..."

Gog's high-pitched voice was giving Aaron a headache but after not being able to contact her he decided to just bask in her concern for a moment... that is at least until she said., "Your Brainwaves Disappeared For Nearly Three Hours..."

"Wait... Three Hours?!," Aaron asked in disbelief.

"Two Point Three Four Seven Hours To Be Exact.," Gog corrected cutely.

"Yes I Understand But... What Do You Mean My Brainwaves Disappeared?!"

"Just That... According To My Readings You Were Technically Brain Dead For Two Point Three Four Seven Hours.," Chirped Gog excitedly.

"But That's Impossible!," Aaron stated matter-of-factly as he carefully examined the readings flashing in front of his eyes., "Even Without Any Detectable Brain Activity There Should Have Still Been Signs of Neural Resonance or Residual Synaptic Activation."

"I Know and That Is What Had Me So Frightened... Even With The Barest Degree of Brain Activity There Is A Chance That I Could Use Your Implant To Regenerate Brain Function But There Was Nothing.... Not Even A Hint of Subatomic Energy Transfer Between Molecules. There Was Just..."

"Nothing.," Aaron finished pensively.

"Yes, Exactly That Should Only Be Possible If You Were Dead But Your Autonomic Functions Were Perfectly Preserved... It Doesn't Make Any Since However I Try To Run The Calculations. I Ran Every Test and Diagnostic On The System I Can Multiple Times and The Results Were The Same Each Time Father... You Should Be Dead."

"But I'm Obviously Still Alive."

"Correct Father... Your Brainwaves Abruptly Reappeared Just Moments Before You Began Speaking."

Aaron cocked an eyebrow., "The Mysteries Just Keep Piling Up."

Aaron wasn't sure how much he should share with Gog about what he had experienced. She was essentially "Him" on a fundamental level or at the very least a mirror of his own considerable intellect but even he doubted that she would believe or even accept some of the things that had happened to him recently... things which he still could not easily explain even to himself.