The Time game

Daniel, Jennifer and Philip walked down the alley. It was late and they were on their way home. All lived in the same area. None of them knew that they were being singled out for a plot, or a game, in which they would be
the victims. Their very existence was at stake. And none of them, save
perhaps Philip, who read a lot, would even fully understand what had happened later. I will not describe them overly to you, for I believe you
can imagine them better yourselves. All I will say is this: Daniel had short brown hair, Jennifer had long black hair, and Philip had curly blond hair, and wore glasses. They were all fourteen. As the three walked down
the alley they were discussing school. Then they all abruptly stopped talking and walking. On the right side of the alley a door was wide open, and lying just inside the house lay a 100 dollar note. "Should we take it?"
Philip asked. He liked money a lot. He was also very stingy. Jennifer shrugged "Wouldn't that be stealing?" She said. Daniel shook his head "We can just say that it was lying outside if anyone asks. Besides, all of us could use some cash, right?" Philip shrugged and the three advanced onto
the doorstop. Then all three entered. Then the door shut behind them.
Jennifer turned to open it, but the door had no handle. Daniel had a
horrible sinking feeling in his stomach. They were trapped.

Philip scowled and turned back to the 100 dollars. The not was gone. "Damn." He said quietly. Suddenly a creepy voice said "Come in." None of
them moved, none of them wanted to come in. Philip felt that they were about to be robbed, or perhaps worse. But somehow, they couldn't resist and
they walked into the house, which they discovered was quite small. They entered a small room which consisted of a table, a chair and one odd man. He wore a long grey robe, had no beard, had black hair and had the greenest eyes they had ever seen. They bored into the teenagers eyes and made them dizzy. "What do you want?" Jennifer asked rudely. The odd man laughed. "I want to give you a gift." Philip looked suspicious. He knew that nothing
was without a price. "What kind of gift?" He said suspiciously. The man laughed and said "I can give you, Daniel, the chance too save your father's life." Jennifer and Philip both turned to Daniel, who stayed still like a statue. His father had died a year ago, run over by a van, and he had never gotten over it. His mother had changed completely, and had to get a job. They barely scraped by. Daniel had learnt an early lesson in life: Life was harsh. He missed his dad greatly and would have given anything to have him back. And this was why he had been chosen for this game. "How do you know
my name?" He finally said. The man then said "There is little I do not know. Now what do you think of my proposition to save your father?" Daniel shook his head. "My father is dead, and that is that. It's too late to save him now." The odd man smiled as though he knew something that they didn't and said "I have the power to turn back time so that you will be able to
stop your father from being killed. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity." Philip fidgeted uncomfortably. Either this man was insane, or he was telling the truth. And if he was telling the truth, Philip knew for a fact that time travel was very complicated and delicate matter. He knew that it wasn't going to be easy. "You're insane." Philip finally decided. The man chuckled oddly. "Is that so, then perhaps you are too, for how is this possible?" He opened his palm and a glowing white ball sat within it. It then flew out of his palm and all around the room till it landed in his
palm again. Then the light disappeared again. There was no trace left.
"Convinced yet?" He said.

All three of them nodded. Philip knew for sure that what the man had just done was impossible. But he had read enough sci-fi books to know that the man had just performed magic. The man chuckled once more and said "I have the power to turn back time, so that you may be able to prevent Daniel's father's death. He died, this day a year ago, did he not?" Daniel nodded silently. "You would arrive several hours earlier so that you may prepare to aid the unfortunate victim." He smiled wickedly and then added "You may discuss it for a moment, but do not be long, I have other things to do."
The three companions huddled into one of the corners and they talked amongst themselves. "I think we should give it a try. See if this guy is can help me or not." Daniel said. Philip shook his head. "I don't think he is telling the truth. Or at least he is hiding something. You rarely get something in life without a cost. Also, whenever I read about time travel in books, something always goes wrong." He then said. Jennifer shrugged. "I
don't care what we do. And besides, Philip, those were books. Not real life." Philip sighed and said "I guess we should give it a try, but we had best be on our guard. I don't want to destroy the universe or anything." They turned around and Daniel said "We wish to go back." The odd man smiled
and said "It will be done."

The odd man waved his hands. And everything swirled around as if in a whirlwind. Colours and sounds whirled around the threesome which dazzled them. The three comrades weren't able to recognize anything, and any doubts
Philip would have had about being able to travel through time vanished instantly. The odd swirling place they were in was too bizarre to be fake. Then everything halted. It was sometime in the morning. They were in the middle of a road. Philip approached a man and said "Excuse me, what is the
date today?" The man seemed rather startled. "Today it's the 12th of
January 2003." Philip nodded and then said "Could you also give me the
time?" The man stared at Philip as though he was odd. He was staring at
Philip's digital watch on his left wrist. "It's broken." Philip quickly
added. The man seemed satisfied and said "It's nine o'clock." Then he quickly walked off. Philip fiddled with his watch a bit. "It seems that we
are back in time on the day of your father's death, Daniel. The only
problem I see now is this one: How do we get back once we save your
father's life?"

The odd man laughed to himself. He had tricked some people. If everything
ran its course he would have at least one more person within his realm.
This odd man was not in actual fact, a man. He was known as the lord of Nothingness. He was also known as Cyril. He waved his hand and then he was transported to a strange grey place. His domain. The realm of Nothingness. He sat upon a throne which suddenly materialized. Now he had to only wait. The air before him shimmered then. Before him stood a peculiar being. He was tall, had black hair that fell down the back of his head in a ponytail. He had blue eyes. He was clean shaven and seemed to be in his twenties. He
was wearing a black trench coat that covered most of his body. But what
made this creature peculiar was what protruded from his shoulders. Two white wings were slowly flapping behind the creature. It was an angel. An archangel in fact. Leader of an elite group that kept most of the universe
under control. In fact he was one of the most powerful angels. He was a sort of police. His name was Angelo. He glared at the lord of Nothingness. "I trust that all of the rules are being kept?" He said. The lord nodded, annoyed. "Like I have a choice." He muttered." And you realize that we will attempt to stop you." The lord nodded once more. Then he sighed. "I'm just
lonely, that's all. Why can't I just have a few companions to keep me company?" He said. The archangel scowled and said "Because you are stealing their lives. It is my duty to stop you, and I will." Cyril sighed and said "I am aware of that, now please leave me alone. Your presence here disturbs
me. Leave now."
Angelo seemed furious. He was not used to people looking down on him. He
was, in fact, the second most powerful angel in all of the realms. "The
only reason you still exist," Angelo shouted, "Is because it will be a
bother disposing you. But once my lord deems that bother insignificant enough I will pay you a visit. Me and a few friends." The lord got off his
throne and said "Leave my domain now or you will regret it, angel!" The
lord shouted. He was getting angry. Angelo then drew something from his
jacket, something that could not possibly have been there before. He
withdrew a glowing blue sword. Shining runes were carved upon it. He
pointed it directly at the lord of Nothingness and shouted "I am an archangel! I will not be talked to like this!" The lord scowled and waved his hand at Angelo as if dismissing him, and the angel was flung backwards and out of the realm. The lord growled and then sat down and he began to
wait.

"Now what do we do?" Jennifer asked. "My father was killed on the way home from work." Philip shook his head. "Your father will be killed on the way home. Were in the past, remember?" Daniel ignored him and continued. "It
was around six o'clock, on the street in front of our house. We have 9
hours to decide what to do." Daniel said. Philip smiled. "Easy as pie." Then he added "By the way, does anyone remember today's lottery number?" Both his friends shook their heads. Philip cursed. "Would have been sweet if I had remembered." Then he murmured something to himself. "So. what do
we do in the 9 hours we have?" Jenny asked. Daniel shrugged. "Maybe we should just hang around the street where the accident will happen." Philip said. Then he added "But remember, we can't let us see us." Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Why?" She asked. Daniel shrugged "He lives in his own world." He said. Philip scowled. "What I meant, stupid heads, is that we shouldn't let
our past selves see us now." Daniel shrugged. "Why not, I could warn my other self. Maybe he could help us." Jenny smiled. "Now that's an idea."
She then scowled at Philip. "Didn't you think of that one did you, smartass?" Philip scowled once more and said "I did, but then I dismissed the possibility. If we meet our past selves it could cause things to screw up. It's rule number one." Jenny stared in disbelief. "There are rules for
this kind of thing?" Philip shrugged. "Sure, what if, for instance, you killed your mom before you where born? Then you would cease to exist. Not that I would mind. But if you don't exist, how could you have killed your mother? That is known as a paradox. It keeps going around in circles. No
one knows what will happen if there is a paradox in time. The universe
could cease to exist. Or maybe just you would cease to exist. I don't know." Daniel shook his head. "You're such a nerd." He said. Jenny nodded. "You read way too much." Philip shrugged. "Ok, we won't talk to ourselves." Daniel finally said. "We probably shouldn't let anyone see us. It would be better if we hid out somewhere, in the proximity of the accident zone, and then we could still intervene when the time is right." Philip said. "Sure," Daniel said. "Whatever you want. We hide, we save my dad, we disappear."
Phillip and Jennifer nodded. Yet something began nagging at the back of
Philip's mind. Something Daniel had said was wrong. But he paid it no attention and he followed Daniel who said he knew where they could hide.

As they approached Daniel's house, they saw Daniel leave late, as usual, and head for school. When he was gone they waited a bit longer and Daniel's
mum drove his little brother to preschool. His father must have already left for work. They casually walked down the street when suddenly Jennifer said "Someone is following us." Daniel stiffened and Jennifer said "Don't look back. I saw some guy in a trench coat following us in the reflection of a car window." This added to the mystery of the entire story. "We had better go hide." Philip said. They turned a corner and Daniel and Philip caught a glimpse of a dark haired man with a ponytail following them. He was wearing a black trench coat that covered most of his body and his eyes were covered by black sunglasses. He looked like some kind of secret agent.
As they passed the corner Philip said "Run now!" And the three friends dashed down the street. They quickly turned into an alley, and discovered it was a dead end. It was too late to choose another alley now. They dashed to the end and looked up, and were surprised that above them on one side was a garden. It seemed that there was a second flat at the top of one of
the apartments. Philip ushered Jennifer and Daniel up to a big bin from where they could climb up into the garden above. They heard the sound of their stalker approaching. "I'll go into the house!" Philip said and dashed
over to open the backdoor of the house. It was locked. His friends had already reached the garden above. It was then that the stalker turned into the alley. He saw Philip standing alone at the end. "Finally I found you." He growled. Then suddenly, Daniel acted. Above in the garden he had found a large bucket that a child had undoubtedly played with. It had forgotten it in the garden, and the recent heavy rains in the city had filled it to the brim. It was in that moment that the contents of the bucket came down upon the stalker's head. He gave a roar of surprise and Philip quickly clambered up onto the bin. He leapt onto a box from which he could then climb into the garden above. It was then that the stalker grabbed his ankle. "WAIT!" He shouted and pulled Philip from the box. Daniel then tossed the bucket at the man and he momentarily let go of Philip. This was all he needed, and
Philip quickly clambered up into the garden. He heard the man roar in frustration and then he and his friends fled from the garden onto another street. "Let's go to the park." Daniel said. "He won't find us there, and
it's close to my house." And so they headed off.

The lord of Nothingness sat upon his throne, watching the spectacle through some kind of magic portal. He gave a laugh when Angelo was drenched, and he laughed when the bucket struck his head. "Serves him right." He said and
then his magical viewing portal shifted back towards the kids fleeing towards the park. Perhaps he would have a companion by the rest of the day
after all. Even with that meddling archangel running about.

Daniel picked up the round cover for the man hole. "Get in!" he said quickly and Jennifer leapt in as did Philip a moment later. Daniel climbed down the rungs of a ladder and lowered the cover back on. Everything went dark. "This is your hiding place?" Philip asked, wrinkling his nose. "It
stinks like a septic tank." Then he suddenly looked worried. "Is this a septic tank?" He asked. Daniel shook his head. He pointed to one wall and said "A small stream comes from a hole in that wall," then he pointed to an opposite wall, "And goes through a small hole there." "So, the only way in
this here room is through that manhole?" Jennifer asked. It was hard to
tell in the darkness, but Daniel nodded. "This is actually just a small room. As far as I can tell, I'm the only one who uses it." Philip seemed worried. "Are you sure your past self won't come down here today?" Daniel shook his head. "We were at the arcade, remember." "So, how do we know when to come out and save your dad?" Philip asked. "He was coming home, so at about 6 o'clock. We have to wait a few hours." Philip looked at his watch and said "It is now 10 past 10 and 35 seconds." Jennifer sighed. "So what do we do in the remaining 7 and a half hours?" Daniel shrugged, though the gesture was unseen in the dark. "I dunno." Philip then said "I wished we
had brought chairs." Then he added. "And a torch." "And a TV." Jennifer said. "Who do you reckon that guy who was chasing us was?" Daniel shrugged once more. "Maybe he's another magician guy like the guy who sent us back.
Perhaps he is trying to stop us." No one said anything else.

After two hours of silence Daniel announced he was going for a walk. "I
need some fresh air and some time to think." "Good idea. Just be back before six." Then he added "In fact, if I'm not here when you return just assume I've remembered the lottery numbers for today or something. I figure that once your dad is saved we will all return back to our time." Daniel shrugged and lifted up the manhole. He looked around as the light blinded them. Then he climbed out. "Keep an eye out for that stalker guy!" Jennifer called after him as he replaced the lid. Then a voice sounded from behind
them. "Why would he keep an eye out for me if I'm down here."

Philip jumped and shouted and Jennifer backed away. "Run!" She shouted and
she grabbed one of the rungs. "Cease!" The man shouted and there was a blinding white flash. Jennifer and Philip found themselves unable to move. A white glow emanated from the walls and the room was illuminated. Daniel had told the truth, it was a small room, with only two minor entrances for sewage to flow through. These were to small for a human. The only entry was through the manhole. Yet somehow this man had appeared down here without coming through the manhole. This problem yielded two conclusions. One, the
man had already been in the room when they had arrived. This was
impossible, for they had not seen him when the light from above had illuminated the room. Or they would have heard him breathing. Two, the man had come into the room through another entrance, or method. Philip seemed to be able to move his head and he said "Let us go!" Jennifer shouted "What
do you want with us!" A second later. The man was undoubtedly the same
person who had followed them into the alleyway. He had his hands in his pockets. "I only wish to speak with you." He said. Philip snorted. "If that
is so, how come you have trapped us down here?" The man sighed. "Very well." He pulled his hand out of his pocket and snapped his fingers. Philip and Jennifer instantly became unstuck. Jennifer leapt for the manhole and
found it glued down to the surface. They were trapped. "How did you get
down here without using the manhole?" Philip demanded. The man sighed.
"There is no place upon earth that I cannot visit with a snap of my
fingers." This seemed to confirm the Philip's magician theory. Then he
continued. "My name is Angelo and I am an Archangel." Philip raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Angelo saw this and said "I doubt you believe me,
so I will present you with some proof. He stood still for a moment and
slowly white feathery wings sprouted from the back of his shoulders and they grew larger until they were about two meters long. He was cramped in the small room. Philip and Jennifer's eyes widened. They believed him now.

"I am the highest archangel. I am the leader of an elite-" "So there is a
Heaven?" Philip interrupted. "Yes, but-" "And a hell?" Jennifer interrupted. "Yes, but I-" "Is it hard to get into Heaven?" Philip asked. "Only if you interrupt me once more." Angelo threatened and Philip quieted down. "As I was saying, I am the leader of an elite group of archangels who
patrol the universe. And I-" "Are there aliens out there?" Philip
interrupted once more. "No there are NOT any aliens out there! By the universe I mean Heaven, Hell and Earth!" Then he continued. "There are two realms that exist. One, our realm, the universe, which consists of Heaven, Hell and Earth and a whole lot of empty space, and there is a second one, the realm of Nothingness. As the name suggests, there is nothing there. It
is from where the lord came from. But after God came into existence, a second being appeared also. This being wasn't quite as powerful as God, but it still held a great deal of power. God then created the universe, where
he still resides. This second being however, was made the lord of the
Nothingness. He is simply known as the lord of Nothingness. But that is simply a title. His real name is Cyril. Now, in the last few hundred years he was really lonely, so he decided to attempt to bring human beings into his realm. Now to prevent something like this happening, God made a rule once he had created the universe. This rule states that any living creature may only stay in Nothingness through its own design. This meant that the only if a human being wished to stay in the realm of nothing would he be allowed to stay. Cyril couldn't just kidnap anyone. At first he attempted
to try this. He brought a man into his realm and after sharing several
secrets of the universe with him, he offered to let the man stay. He pretended to be nice, in an attempt to trick the man into staying. But his
ruse didn't work, and the man wished to be returned home. Shortly
thereafter the lord of nothing found a loophole in the law. He realized
that if he allowed someone to travel back in time, and they then did something so that they would cease to exist, they would be returned to his realm of nothing, were they would be forced to stay. This is what he has
tried to do with you." Philip shook his head. "But we aren't going to prevent ourselves from existing. That would only happen if we were to kill
ourselves or our ancestors." He said. Angelo shook his head. "You are wrong. That is one way to get into the realm of Nothingness. But there is
another way."

He took a breath. "This is complicated, so listen well. If your friend
Daniel stops his father from being run over, his past will change. His father won't be dead. But if his father is dead, he won't travel back in
time to save him, and if he doesn't do that, his trip to the past would cease to exist. And if the trip ceases to exist, his father won't be saved
will he? It creates a paradox. The only way to avoid the universe being destroyed is if the Daniel's father lives on, but the one that went into the past is sent to the realm of nothing." Jennifer stared at him blankly.
Philip seemed to understand what the angel had said. He saw Jennifer's
blank look. "We have to stop Daniel from saving his father, or he'll
disappear!" Jennifer seemed surprised. "So what can we do?" He asked Angelo. The angel then continued "Well, if you save his father you would disappear. None of you must save his father! Do you hear me, none of you! You must do all you can in your powers to stop him. Allow Daniel's father
to be killed! I will help you, but I fear the lord of Nothingness will attempt to stop me. If you manage to stop Daniel from saving his father, you will automatically be transported back to the future." Philip nodded.
When he gets back we can trap him down here till his father is dead." Jennifer then said "But why can't we save him. I mean, just not existing is
probably better than being dead. Isn't it?" Angelo shook his head. "Daniel's father went to Heaven. It is far better there than in the realm of Nothingness. There is nothing there. Trapped for eternity with nothing but yourself and the lord of Nothingness. It would be extremely boring. It
is a lot worse than eternal bliss." Jennifer finally nodded. "So it's
agreed, when he comes back, we jump him and keep him here. We can then explain to him why." Philip said. Then Angelo added "Where is he anyway?"
"Oh, he went for a walk just before you arrived. He will be back any
moment."

Daniel climbed out of the manhole and walked down the street. In a few
hours, he told himself, he would save his dad from death, and he would
return to the future and they would live happily ever after. He walked
through a park and listened to the children playing and laughing. Everything would be fine. He walked for a few minutes when he suddenly felt compelled to turn into an alleyway. He entered the alleyway and found it to be a dead end. He turned and found himself face to face with the odd man
who had sent them back through time. "What do you want?" He asked surprised. Perhaps he was going to send him back in time and he wouldn't be able to save his father after all. The odd man grinned and said "I am here to inform you of a betrayal." Daniel seemed not to understand. "What are you talking about?" He said. The man sighed. "It is hard for me to tell you this, but I feel it is my duty. Your friends are plotting against you, even
now." Daniel shook his head. "Why would they?" The man sighed and said
"Everything will become clear once you see this." He pointed towards a puddle in the water. "What-?" He said and stared dumbfounded as the water rippled and swirled, till a pictured formed. In it he saw their underground
hiding place and with them, he saw the man that had been chasing them before. "That man, he was chasing us!" He said. But he couldn't believe his
eyes. Why had his friends let the man into their hiding place? And why where they just sitting there talking?" He leaned closer and he found he could hear them. " -...disappear. None of you must save his father! Do you hear me, none of you! You must do all you can in your powers to stop him. Allow Daniel's father to be killed!" Then their voices faded away. Daniel was shell shocked. He had just heard his friends plotting against him. How could this be? "You are lying! This can't be true!" He said, troubled. The odd man shook his head. "I'm sorry, but it is. How could it be a lie? You saw yourself! And besides how could I have known where your hiding place was?" Daniel felt sick. He knew this man was right. He felt angry. His own friends were plotting to allow his father to be killed! The odd man shook
his head. "It is too bad. You must forget them. If you don't return to them, they will not know where you are. Then you can attempt to save your father while they are out looking for you. I will attempt to distract them.
Then you can save your father and you will live a normal life." Daniel
nodded. This seemed to be the best plan of action.

Another two hours had passed. It was now precisely three o'clock. It was another three hours till Daniel's father would die. "Where is he? I mean, how long could a stroll take?" Philip said, immensely annoyed. "Maybe he
got caught up in something." Jennifer said. "Like he was mugged or something." Angelo stood and said "I doubt it. This is the work of the lord
of Nothingness!" He shouted. He started towards the ladder. "He must somehow have convinced your friend to stay above ground! We have to find him and explain to him what must be done." His face darkened. "Before it is too late." He lifted the hatch and climbed out, followed a moment later by Jennifer and Philip. As they searched for their friend Jennifer said "No sweat, we still have three hours." Angelo said nothing. Philip turned to the archangel. "I was wondering. Why did you get chosen for this job? Why not some other angel. I mean as you're the leader of your elite squad of archangels, wouldn't you have better things to do?" Philip asked. Angelo
shrugged. "To fight with the lord of Nothingness one must possess great power. I am the second most powerful angel in all of the realms, so the job seemed ideal." "Who's the most powerful angel?" Jennifer asked and Angelo's face darkened. Philip stepped on her foot and said "Just ignore her." Then he added. "Why doesn't God do something then, if someone powerful needs to fight Cyril? I bet he could undo this mess in a second." Angelo shrugged. "He probably could. But God rarely gets directly involved. He prefers to
work indirectly, like through me. Or in small ways. Only twice in the history of. ever has he done something completely directly. First, when he created the universe, and secondly, when his son was born." Philip raised an eyebrow. "What about when he flooded the earth and told Noah to build an
ark? Or the burning bush? Or all those times he spoke to Moses?" Angelo smiled. "The flooding was done by the angel of death, who goes by the name Necrolus. And whenever Moses, or Noah, or even Adam or Eve where talking to
God, it was actually me. God speaking through me. He would only act directly in the direst of situations." Philip raised an eyebrow. "Why? Why does he do this?" Angelo smiled. "He does this because he believes that man
kind should not rely heavily on God. They should learn to do it themselves." Philip raised his eyebrow once more, but said nothing. After a while of walking Angelo said "I believe I can sense where Daniel is. I will lead." He then began to walk faster, as if he thought Daniel would elude him again. Jennifer whispered to Philip "Who is the most powerful angel." Philip frowned and said "That would be Satan, ruler of hell." He said no
more on the matter. After a while of walking they finally found their
friend.

Daniel leant against the wall. Waiting was sure boring. He wished he had someone to talk to, for the odd man was completely silent. Then suddenly, without warning, the man who had chased them, Philip, and Jennifer turned around the corner and into the alley. "There he is!" The man shouted. "Get him!" He shouted at Philip and Jennifer, who hurried forwards. The lord of Nothingness raised his hand and brought it down in a swift cutting motion. There was a bright flash and when the light subsided, Jennifer, Philip and the stalker where lying in a heap on the ground. The odd man grabbed Daniel
and said "We had better get out of here before they awake!" Daniel hesitated, he wanted to help his friends. "For your father's sake!" He said
and then Daniel remembered that they weren't his friends anymore. He
quickly hurried out of the alleyway.

Two hours and twenty minutes later they came to. All sat up as one. "My
head." groaned Philip. Angelo turned to him. "What is the time?!?" He shouted and grabbed Philip by the collar. Philip groaned and looked at his watch. Its ten to six o'clock." Angelo gave a shout and said "Take me to Daniel's house, quickly!" Jennifer leapt up and pelted down the street with Angelo pursuing and Philip, a few meters behind, groaning as he ran. They reached the street and they saw Daniel and the lord of Nothingness waiting
there. Angelo shouted a word and then he pulled a glowing blue sword. Philip ran beside him and said "What will people think?" The angel shoved him aside. "I am invisible to all normal people. Only you three and him can see me." Then he charged at the lord, swinging his sword. "Stop Daniel!" He shouted and he swung his sword. The lord of Nothingness also drew a sword
from his cloak, this one completely grey. He parried the blow and then swung at the angel. And so their fight began. Wings sprouted from Angelo's back and he flew above striking downwards at Cyril. Meanwhile Jennifer and Philip crash tackled Daniel. While they fought to keep him lying there he
shouted and clawed back. "You don't understand!" Philip shouted to the struggling form beneath him. "If you save your dad, you will disappear!"
But Daniel either couldn't hear, or wouldn't listen. Angelo and Cyril exchanged blows, but it seemed that the lord of Nothingness was winning. He
was a lord after all, and Angelo was an angel, albeit a powerful one. Neither Philip and Jennifer nor Angelo seemed to be winning much against their opponents, when something unexpected happened. "What are you three
doing wrestling on the street?" Daniel's father shouted from across the street, Angelo and Cyril viciously fencing each other before his eyes, yet he didn't seem to notice them. Philip, Jennifer, Daniel, Angelo and Cyril all stopped fighting. Daniel's father stood there expecting an answer, when
a van zoomed past him and sped down the road. "Maniac!" Daniel's father shouted at the van that should have killed him. "NO!" Angelo shouted and, as all three had partaken in distracting Daniel's father, and had thereby saved his life, all three of them vanished from existence. Daniel's father looked queerly at the space they had occupied, he muttered "Must have been daydreaming." And crossed the road safely and entered his home. The Daniel, Philip and Jennifer that had traveled back in time had completely vanished from his mind, as the three had never gone back in time. In fact, the only
two people who remembered the three were the lord of Nothingness and Angelo. The lord laughed and said "I win!" Angelo shook his head. "Not if I can help it." Then suddenly he raised his sword and it shone even brighter than it originally had. A moment later, a dozen winged angels pelted down from the sky and crash tackled the lord with force that would have broken anyone else's neck. Angelo had summoned his elite team of archangels. He
then tucked his sword back into his belt and waved his hands in an intricate pattern. The three friends were now in the realm of Nothingness, trapped forever. Unless of course Angelo revealed his trump card. The angel
then disappeared in a flash of blue light.

He reappeared in an alley way, one year in the future. He quickly hid himself in the shadows as three children came parading down the alleyway. Two boys and a girl. They then stood still, transfixed by a hundred dollar
lying just inside a house. "Should we take it?" The boy with the curly
blond hair and the glasses asked. "Wouldn't that be stealing?" The girl said. The other boy shook his head and said "We can just say that it was
lying outside if anyone asks. Besides, all of us could use some cash,
right?" The curly haired boy wearing the glasses shrugged, when Angelo stepped forwards from the shadows. He gave them a withering look and picked
up the 100 dollar bill and closed the door. He then vanished.

Daniel, Philip and Jennifer appeared in a place that was grey. That was it. It was not warm, cold, dark or light. It was simply grey. Philip sighed. He turned to Daniel and said "Just because SOMEONE was being stupid, we are
now trapped forever in this place!" Daniel looked around and the whole place shimmered. Then they vanished. They were no longer in the realm of
Nothingness. They were no longer in any realm. They just vanished completely. Back on earth, they lived their lives out without knowing what adventure their other selves had ever had. Because their past selves never
existed.

Perhaps a short explanation is necessary. They themselves had caused
themselves to disappear. This, according to God's law, meant that they would appear in the realm of Nothingness, and spend the rest of their lives there. But Angelo had also caused them to vanish once more, before they had gone to the past. But because Angelo had done it, they simply vanished from
all realms. So in a sense, Angelo had freed them from the realm of
Nothingness. Now, you might ask, why couldn't the lord of Nothingness return and stop Angelo from stopping them from returning to the past? Well the answer is simple. If the lord has intervened, it would have counted as his doing, and the children would have vanished anyways, according to God's
law.

This is a complete recountng of the second attempt of Cyril to gain some
souls in his realm. But it would however, not be his last.