THE TIME GATES

Nothing prepared me for the Time Gates. The moment it opened, I realized how I really wasn't thinking things through. I'm not sure what I was expecting, like maybe a black rectangular doorway to materialize out of black curse? Excuse me if that was my only experience with magic portals! I've also traveled through the magic paths in the Warlock lands - which were pathways that linked Time Gates together -which I realized now was actually a very technical and scientific thing. No wonder the Warlock Fount was mad at us - we broke so many of his magic paths and loops getting to the top of his tower.

Could it be that from the Warlock Fount's point of view we were really oversized pups that trampled into this garden maze and destroyed a lot of topiary? This made me feel a little be sorry, just a little, but then I remembered that he was trying to kill us. This made me feel a little bit better. When I remembered how treacherously he dealt with us in the tropical jungle level with the talking squirrel and all, I stopped feeling sorry entirely. How could I be so naïve to think that it was all a misunderstanding?

Oh, but back to the Time Gates and how I wasn't thinking things through.

I mean, Future Me had followed a cat named Peri into the woods and never came back, and our plan was to follow another cat into the woods to stop her. I think just this underlying foundation for the plan was very, very flawed.

Goddess! I really hate my gift of insight! It really makes me feel like a fool…

Since I was a fool, I didn't realize what a stoopid plan I was leading my wolves into, and my foolish idiot wolves (yes, including Genius IQ Ben from the future, the great Professor Hotstuff, Fluffy the Pure Scholar Alpha Bloodline wolf prince, Harvey, my sensible a good Beta… Oh right, and Neil and Jax who were supposed to be the trusted aides that Bell had placed to keep an eye on me. I'm not sure how they were going to report this unscathed, and of course Charming Ki who was unable to say no to save his life.) My sweet foolish wolves had unanimously decided to follow me.

"Let's go!" I announced.

Fluffy let go of his hostage, "You heard Pretty Alpha, kitty."

"I'm not a kitty!" Peony took offence.

"Pretty kitty." Fluffy amended with his usual smile.

Peony's fur quivered and it ducked its head and meekly led us forwards, "This way."

It started like a drop, where the space started liquefying in thin air, and then the liquid space swirled in larger and larger circles until a vertical pool of water opened in front of us.

"Quickly. Or we will miss the moment." Peony told us, "Don't blame me if you get lost."

"Perhaps we should all hold on to your tail, Pretty Kitty." Fluffy decided, "We wouldn't want anyone to get lost in time."

"That's not necessary." Peony quickly assured us, "I will be careful."

"Since you say so." Fluffy demurred, smiling like the devil, "You may bear all responsibility."

"Since you say so…" Peony meekly agreed.

"No bad, Fluffy!" Jax commended the blond prince, "You show the cat who's boss!"

"You should apply first aid on your face when you can." Wolfgang felt it would be appropriate to advised Jax.

"What this?" Jax's face was drawn in red bloody lines, "It's nothing. My last girlfriend was worse."

Their easy prater made it feel like a field trip, and without a second thought, we stepped into the Time Gate.

Once inside, I realized we were in some kind of watery time passage way.

"Please bear with this." Peony said.

I didn't quite mind it though. Compared to passing through the void between the Tyger's cursed doorways, this was a calmer steadier space. I mean, we were still traveling through magic and not solid ground, but at least the magic wasn't as chaotic here. My only complaint was that the grounds was wobbly inside and the magic rushed around at dizzying speeds, not that we could see it, but I could definitely smell it flash past.

It was also very confusing for my lucky sense of direction, because it would change its mind every millisecond.

"Choose a gate." Peony said.

"What gate?" Jax asked. We all looked around the watery space gushing around us.

"Just pick any one." Peony said.

"What the hell." Neil shook his head.

"Sam. You pick." Future Ben said.

It wasn't like I could see anything resembling a gate either. What should I do? The gates were as invisible to us as the Warlock's magic paths. I can't believe we stepped in blind and now had to rely on a cat to lead us to an exit.

"Like can you narrow it down… and maybe number them?" I asked. I was just winging it.

"Of course, kitty will do it." Fluffy smiled, "Kitty only lives to serve you, pretty alpha."

Fluffy's alpha wolf was being quite prominent right now.

Peony mewed miserably, "Those three… probably."

Should it worry me that Peony didn't sound all that certain?

"So I can choose either Gate 1, Gate 2, or Gate 3?" I asked.

"Of course, Pretty Alpha." Fluffy promised on Peony's behalf.

"So which would it be, Sam?" Ben asked.

Like hell if I knew!

"How did you get through to find me?" I asked the grown up future adult Ben. Maybe I could get some clues on how to navigate through this.

"I just yelled at the cat to just go already." Ben admitted.

Sometimes, I wonder if Ben's genius IQ was a lie.

Okay, never mind. I had always been lucky. I decided to treat it like a multiple choice question I didn't know the answer to - just use my lucky sense of direction.

Gate 2.

Yeah! Follow my heart! Let's go!

"Hurry!" Peony suddenly picked up its paws much quicker from the ground.

We had to run for it, and the space formed another vertical pool for us to step through.

"Did everyone get through?" Harvey decided to do a headcount.

"It would appear so." Ki answered.

We all checked ourselves. We were all fine, but looking around, we were still trapped in time.

"Choose again. Gates 1 to 6." Peony instructed.

Oh, so we had to cross more than one gate to get to the other side.

"2." I said automatically.

"Does Pretty Alpha know the answer?" Fluffy asked.

"No, 3." I changed my mind.

"Quickly. Follow me." And Peony disappeared through another vertical pool. The rest of us quickly ran/jumped through too.

The next passageway looked exactly the same as the previous two, but by now, the magic was gushing so quickly around us, it was like we stepped into the rapids. To make matters worse, my lucky sense of direction was going bonkers.

"Choose again. Gates 1 to 14." The cat said.

"Have you gone mad?" Wolfgang asked the cat. No one pointed out to Professor Hotstuff that he was the one yelling at a cat.

When Peony didn't answer, Wolfgang demanded, "Tch! Why are the options increasing?"

"What should happen if we picked the wrong Gate?" Harvey asked.

"What? How would that be my responsibility?" Peony hissed.

{S***, should not have trusted a cat.} My good beta realized.

"Let's play a punishment game, kitty." Fluffy informed the cat, "Every time pretty alpha guesses wrong, I will punish you."

Peony became quiet and only spoke very meekly, "I can only promise to suggest good gates."

Ah… but I had a godlike luck at Multiple Choice Questions. I'll just follow my lucky sense of direction.

"6,7,8…no! 9! Open Gate number 9!" I had meant to just call our a random Time Gate, but then my lucky sense of direction urged me to start running, "Quick! We're going to miss our Gate!"

The moment I popped up into another time passage, Peony said, "Gate 1 to 27."

No way! That was way too many options even for a Multiple Choice Question! But my lucky sense of direction felt very sure.

"17! Run!" I yelled and started running.

At the last passageway, Peony said, "Gates 1 to 56."

This last passageway was spinning all around like crazy. It was as if every passageway was determining the hour, minute, and second of our exit.

"43!" I said, and then changed my mind, "44! No 45!"

"Make up your mind Sam!" Ben grumbled, "We aren't choosing ice-cream flavors!"

But what was a few seconds in the grand scheme of things? I didn't even have time to explain though, "Just follow me!"

And just like that, our Time Gate opened up into our woods again. We all got out, but Neil said the trip was making his stomach turn over.

"Don't puke, big guy." Jax told him, "You know I'm sensitive to smells."

"Whew! It was a race against time, but we made it in the nick of time." I grinned at my own clever play of words.

Future Ben groaned, but I couldn't help but notice that it was a very half-hearted groan. Maybe future Ben had learned to enjoy my humor over the years. Who knows?

I looked around us and tried to figure out where we landed. According to Boo's internal radar, I was very much at home - in the woods behind the Alpha House. I knew this in my heart, but we were surrounded by apple trees in their full regalia of pink and white blossoms. Oh, the sight of it! Oh, the smells!

"What the…" Future Ben stopped and looked up into the canopies of white and pink.

"What is this place?" Neil wondered.

"We're home." I answered, hardly able to believe it myself.

"Not what, but WHEN is this place." Fluffy beamed.

"Not any time I'd ever seen." Ben narrowed his eyes.

"So… what now?" Neil asked.