Dimensions!
By: Kristi Huff

	I don't have much time. Ziff and his minions are looking for me so 
I'll have to make this quick. My name is Erik Felton and I'm a dimensionist. 
The gold watch in my pocket can prove it. I'm writing myself this letter in 
case my memory gets wiped. I'm not sure if the removal of my memory will 
affect if I still know how to use the watch or not, but better safe than 
sorry. I'll explain how it works. First, to even be able to use the watch, you 
have to be a descendant of Thomas Biderbeck, which luckily, I am. You also 
have to understand the basic principles of dimensionism. The first dimension 
is length. The second is width, the third is depth, the fourth is time, and 
the fifth is place. Now, I've mastered these techniques, but to be on the safe 
side, I'll tell you how the watch works: Simply click the button on the top of 
the watch and focus on which dimension you're using and on what. You also need 
to know what you're manipulating the object into. Note that whatever dimension 
you're using, all the lesser dimensions can be used at the same time. For 
example, if I used just dimension one, I could only manipulate the length of 
an object. Whereas if I used dimension five, I could manipulate the length, 
width, depth, when it time it would be, and where in space it stood. I, myself 
mainly use the first three, as the manipulation of time and space is extremely 
dangerous. Not to mention it requires a great deal of physical energy as a 
cost to open a time and space transcending portal. I tell you all this so that 
one day, you might be able to correct the terrible mistakes I have made. Even 
though you are me... anyways, I am 16 years old, and my birthday is the 15th 
of November. I am going to use what little energy I have left to send myself 
far into the future to a time where, hopefully, all of my enemies will believe 
me to be dead. Good luck, Erik Felton. And DO NOT attempt to use the fifth 
dimension to come back here, as everyone is out to kill me for the terrible 
mistakes I've made.
		Best of luck,
				Erik John Felton

	I folded the note in half. There. That ought to do it. Suddenly, I 
realized I hadn't written how I was supposed to redeem myself. If I had my 
memory wiped, I'd have no idea what to do! I picked my pen back up when 
suddenly, there was a loud banging. I heard a voice outside.
	"You think there'd be anyone in here?" Someone asked.
	"Are you kidding? In a trash dumpster?" Another voice said.
	"Well, Boss said we should look everywhere!" The first one said.
	"Okay, fine. I'll check over here." The other answered.
	Uh-oh!
	I quickly scrawled on the back of the letter.
	'Find the key to the locke-'
	I was suddenly blinded by light and dragged from my hiding place. I 
quickly shoved the note into my pocket.
	"Hey Ozzy! I think I found him!" A stubby robot said. He held me out 
by my neck for the other robot to see.
	"Are you sure, Blitz?" The other robot asked.
	"Well, he fits the description." Blitz said. I quietly pulled out my 
pocket watch. Ozzy noticed. 
	"Quick! He's got his pocket watch! Use the mindwipe!" I smiled and 
clicked the button on my watch and focused 100 years from now. That ought to 
be enough time. I felt myself beginning to disappear. I soon vanished, but not 
before a bright blue light shone in my face. I felt my memories slowly 
slipping away...
		*		*		*
	"Miss Sally! Could you please clean off table number four? We have 
more guests waiting!"
	"Yes, sir!" Sally said. Sally was a kind girl. She had been working at 
the Kibling Inn for four years. They had found her abandoned in the streets of 
Firo with no parents and no past. Just a name. Mr. and Mrs. Kibling adored 
Sally and welcomed her into their home with open arms and gave her work at the 
inn. Hyrum Kibling, Mr. and Mrs. Kiblings' son, also worked at the inn. 
Everyone who came to the inn loved Sally. She was always happy and willing to 
help. She had the sweetest smile and beautiful brown hair that reached her 
shoulders. She had sparkling blue eyes. She took a rag and cleaned off the 
table and set down clean plates and silverware while Hyrum took the dirty 
dishes to the back to have them cleaned. 
	"Miss Sally! Refill of apricot juice on table seven!" Mr. Kibling 
called.
	"I'm on it!" Sally answered. She quickly brought another pitcher of 
apricot juice to the table.
	"Miss Sally! Could you work at the front desk for a bit? The sink in 
room 313 has stopped working and I've gotta go fix it!" Mr. Kibling said.
	"Sure!" Sally said. She slid behind the counter. A man and a woman 
walked in. The man stepped forward.
	"Excuse me, Miss! Can we got a room for the night?" he asked. Sally 
smiled cheerily. 
	"Of course! That'll be 20 shubles!" she said. The man handed her a 
handful of blue coins. Sally quickly counted them. Then she smiled and handed 
him a key.
	"Here is room 127. Allow me to show you the way!" She bowed and 
beckoned for them to follow. As they walked, the man said:
	"It's a beautiful night in Firo, isn't it?" Sally nodded.
	"Oh, yes! Every night after my shift is done, I like to go for walks 
down by the river!" The woman smiled.
	"How nice!" she said. Sally stopped and turned around.
	"Well, here's your room! Have a wonderful stay!" The man and the woman 
thanked Sally, and then went inside. Sally went back to the desk. After a 
while, dinner was over. All of the guests slowly went to their different
rooms. Soon, the main floor was empty. Mr. Kibling came down and smiled at 
Sally.
	"Alright, Sal. Your work here is done. Be back soon!" Sally smiled as 
she grabbed her hat and headed for the door.
	"I will!" She called over her shoulder. The door closed behind her. 
She placed her straw hat on her head and began her walk. The city of Firo was 
quiet. All Sally could hear was the crickets and frogs as she made her way 
down to the river. The warm, summer night was perfect with a slight, cool 
breeze. The only light was the moon overhead. As she walked, Sally brushed 
her hands by some flowers that grew there. She'd pick some as she went. Soon, 
she had a lovely boquet of flowers in her hands. Suddenly, she heard rustling 
coming from one of the bushes. She froze.
	"Hello?" she said. She was answered by a pained groan. She gasped.
	"Is someone there?" she asked, taking a cautious step forward. She saw 
the dark figure of a person lying beside the riverbank. She moved the branches 
of the bush away so she could get a closer look. It was a young man dressed in 
odd clothing. He had light blue jeans on and red and white boots. He was 
wearing a black undershirt and a strange red over jacket with an abnormally 
large zipper and short sleeves. His hair was also strange. In the back, his 
hair was a chocolate brown, cropped short, while his bangs were longer and a 
light blonde. On both of his wrists he had silver cuffs. In his right hand was 
a shiny gold pocketwatch. He was indeed very odd-looking. Nevertheless, he was 
alone, seemingly unarmed, and uncontious. Sally sighed. What would she do?
	"Sir!" she called. "Sir! Are you alright?" The young man didn't move. 
Sally sighed. She dropped her boquet and put her hand on the young man's neck. 
Good. He had a pulse. Sally could see the rhythimic rising and falling of his 
chest that meant he was breathing. Sally realized there was only one thing to 
do. She used all her strength and dragged the young man all the way back to 
the Kibling Inn.
	"Hyrum!" Sally gasped as she burst through the front enterance. 
"Quick! Get some hot water and a rag!" Hyrum did as instructed. Mr. Kibling 
rushed forward to help Sally.
	"Sally! What's wrong?" he asked. They both put the young man on a 
couch next to the fireplace.
	"I'm not sure! I found him on the riverbank like this! He's ice cold! 
And he barely has a pulse!" Hyrum returned with the hot water and rag. Sally 
put the rag in the water and wrung it out. Then she gently put in on the young 
man's forehead. She removed his boots and put them next to the fire to warm 
up. Then she threw a blanket on top of him.
	"Very strange taste in clothing." Mrs. Kibling remarked. She had 
walked in a few minutes ago and was watching as Sally took care of the 
stranger. Mr. Kibling bent down to examine him.
	"He's uncontious, but not for long. He'll revive soon." he said. Sally 
stood up.
	"I'll make some dinner for him, then. In fact, I'll just make enough 
for all of us. Has anyone eaten yet? Mr. and Mrs. Kibling shook their heads. 
	"Nope." Hyrum said. Sally soon whipped up a delicious dinner of beef 
stew. She set it out on the table next to the young man. The Kiblings gathered 
around to eat. Soon, Hyrum said:
	"Why don't you eat, Sally? You must be starving." Sally sighed.
	"I can't. I need to watch over him." she replied.
	"Why?" Hyrum asked.
	"Because he's my responsibility!" Sally answered. Suddenly, the young 
man groaned again. Sally spun around.
	"He's waking up!" Mr. Kibling said. The young man slowly opened his 
eyes.
	"Wh-where am I?" He asked. Sally was surprised that his voice sounded 
so low. And that he had bright green eyes.
	"You're in the Kibling Inn in Firo!" she anwered. The young man looked 
at her.
	"Firo?" he asked. Sally nodded. The young man looked confused. He sat 
up, looking disoriented and uncomfortable. His eyes darted from face to face, 
then came back to Sally. She reminded him of someone. Someone important. He 
coudn't remember who.
	"What's your name, son?" Mr. Kibling asked. The young man stared 
blankly at Mr. Kibling for a while before answering.
	"Uh... my name?" he asked.
	"Yes!" Mr. Kibling answered. "What is your name?" There was a long 
pause. The young man stared down at his hands in confusion.
	"I... I don't know." he said, as though he had just realized it 
himself. "I don't know who I am or where I came from or how I got here!" Sally 
pushed a bowl of beef stew onto his hands.
	"Never mind about that now. You must be hungry!" The young man looked 
up at Sally. She was looking at him with almost motherly concern. He coudn't 
explain to himself why, but he rather liked it. Taking his eyes awayfrom her, 
he began to eat.
	"Thank you." he muttered. Sally smiled.
	"So... that's an interesting pocket watch!" she said politely. 
Startled, the young man looked up.
	"A what?" he asked. Sally bent down and picked up the golden pocket 
watch sitting next to the young man.
	"It was in your hand when I found you." she said. The young man took 
it with gentle hands, examining it carefully. Then he shrugged.
	"It's important. That's all I know." he said. Mr. Kibling grunted.
	"Well, if you don't know who you are or where you came from, what DO 
you know?" he asked. The young man looked up at Mr. Kibling in surprise.
	"I... I don't know!" he said. A worried look crossed his face. Sally 
sighed in irritation.
	"Well, we can't sit here pressuring him into remembering things he 
obviously can't! Maybe this pocket watch has a name engraved on the inside or 
something." She fiddled with the watch. When it opened, Sally gasped.
	"What is this? It's not a pocket watch! It doesn't even tell the 
time!" In response, the young man searched his pockets.
	"Maybe I've got something else... What's this?" He pulled a crumpled 
piece of paper out of his pants pocket. He flattened the note as best as he 
could. Sally leaned over his shoulder to read it as well. By the time they had 
finished, they were stunned. Sally spoke first.
	"Well, now we know that your name is Erik John Felton!" she said. Erik 
stared at the note in his hands.
	"I'm a dimensionist?" he asked. Suddenly, he groaned and held his head 
in his hands. Sally gasped.
	"Are you alright?" she asked. Erik sighed.
	"I just got a little of my memory back. I've been training in martial 
arts for four years. And... I remember how to use the watch." Sally cocked 
her head.
	"So when you have a headache it's because you get some of your memory 
back?" she asked. Erik shrugged. 
	"I think whatever gave me amnesia was supposed to be temporary.I seem 
to remember some kind of conflict I was fighting in, but nothing else." All 
was silent for a while. Sally began to wonder if he would speak again. This 
was hard for her to believe. He couldn't possibly be from the past. That was 
crazy. But she'd also heard about dimensionists. She'd read books about them. 
How they defied the laws of physics and could perform what looked like magic 
on anything they wanted. But could they really perform dimensionisim on 
themselves? She glanced at Erik's watch and saw the symbol engraved on the 
front. She'd seen that symbol before. Not just in the books that she read, 
but somewhere else, too. She couldn't quite think of it. She felt sorry for 
Erik. She couldn't remember anything about her past either. She knew she 
hadn't lived with the Kiblings all her life, but she couldn't remember 
anything that happened before that. She jumped suddenly when Erik spoke.
	"I can't believe I didn't tell myself why I was in trouble." he 
muttered. "If I was going to write myself a note to tell myself to fix what I 
had done before, why wouldn't I tell myself what to do?" his voice rose and 
he clenched his hands into fists. "And why send myself into the future in the 
first place? I should face my problems instead of procrasinating them for 100 
years!" he yelled. He jumped up and bolted out the window. "I need to think!" 
he called back desprately.
	"Wait!" Sally called after him. Then she sighed. "He forgot his 
boots..." she whispered. She watched him spring into a tree and fling himself 
onto the roof with agile perfection. Then she turned back to the note. She 
read it over again. The Kiblings all went silently to bed, but Sally couldn't. 
Erik wouldn't leave himself without some kind of lead, would he? Finally, in 
exasperation, she folded the note in half. That's when she saw it. Written on 
the back in messy handwriting: "Find the key to the locke". Now this was 
something. Sally picked up the note and Erik's boots and went up to the roof. 
When she opened the door to outside, she found Erik sitting on the edge of 
the building looking up at the night sky. The light of the moon cast a pale 
glow on his features. Sally was surprised she didn't notice how handsome he 
was before. She walked forward timidly.
	"Hey," Sally said quietly. "I brought you your boots." she said. Erik 
sighed.
	"I'm sorry." he whispered. Sally stopped.
	"For what?" she asked. Erik closed his eyes.
	"You've shown me nothing but kindness. I shouldn't have acted the way 
I did. I apologize." he said. Sally smiled softly.
	"Well, you have every reason to be frustrated. You have no memory of 
your past, you're in a strange place 100 years from where you're supposed to 
be, and the only clues you have are a pocket watch and a piece of paper." she 
said. Erik let out a  small laugh, despite himself. He stood up and pulled on 
his boots. Sally handed him the note.
	"I found something that might help you." she said. "On the back of 
the note." Erik flipped it over and read silently. Then he looked up at Sally 
with his brow wrinkled in confusion.
	"What's a 'locke'?" he asked. Sally shrugged.
	"Well, you did write in cursive. Maybe you meant 'lock'." Erik nodded. 
	"I guess I must've been pretty rushed as well. I could've misspelled 
it without noticing. besides, it makes sense. 'Find the key to the lock'." he 
mused. "But what lock? And how do I find the key? What am I supposed to be 
unlocking?" Erik dropped the note and sighed. He ran his fingers through his 
blonde and brown hair in exaspiration. Sally put her hand on his shoulder.
	"Come inside. You're exausted and confused. I can give you somewhere 
to stay."
	"I don't have any way to pay you." Erik replied. Sally smiled. 
	"That's okay. You can sleep and eat here for free." She said. Erik 
turned and looked at Sally wearily.
	"Sleep does sound nice." he allowed. Sally perked up. She gave him a 
warm smile.
	"Then please allow me to show you to your room!" she said. Erik 
followed her as she led him through the inn. She walked back to the front desk 
and picked up a key off the wall. She handed it to him.
	"This is your key. I suggest locking your door. We get some pretty 
strange guests now and then." Sally smiled. She gestured for him to follow her 
again. She led him down a hallway on the first floor. They walked past many 
doors. Sally stopped at one. 
	"Here we are! Room 111!" Turned to Erik with a smile. "If you need 
anything, my room is at the end of the hallway." Erik gave a polite bow.
	"Thank you. You're very kind." He gave her a smile. Sally smiled back 
and turned and walked away. Erik opened the door to his room. It was a small 
place, but comfortable. There was a bedroom off to the right, but Erik was too 
tired to concider it. He flopped down onto a sofa in the main room and 
immediately went to sleep.
		*		*		*
	"Master?" Robert asked. His pale face contrasted greatly with his 
black bangs. The rest of his hair was brown, however. A style that was once 
popular almost a century ago. His eyes were hollow, his tall form seemed to be 
void of life. He faced a figure sitting atop a black, sleek throne. The figure 
was tall, taller than any normal human. Its eyes were mere slits, and the 
smile that streatched accross its whithered face was full of pointed teeth.
	"What is it, my friend?" hissed the dark figure. Robert gulped.
	"I... I was in my room. When I sensed-"
	"I know what you sensed, for I felt it too." Interrupted the figure. 
"HE has returned." Robert's breathing was uneven.
	"But that's not possible. He can't- he didn't-"
	"Calm yourself, Agent One. He used dimensionism to appear here. That's 
the reason he's been missing all this time. But we have waited. As we could 
wait for all eternity." 
	"But Master, he could be anywhere! What if he makes contact with the 
Rebellion?" There was a silence.
	"He won't be looking for the rebellion. He'll be looking for you. 
Don't worry, he'll come to us. Then he can either join us, or die." Robert 
gasped.
	"Master! He's my brother!" Robert shouted. The figure smiled again.
	"It's time to come home now, Agent One." it hissed. Robert's 
expression changed. A dark, angered look crossed his face. The figure laughed.
	"I want Erik destroyed!" it rasped. "Either he becomes one of us, or 
he ceases to exist!" Robert smiled grimly.
	"As you wish, Ziff." And with that, Robert turned, and stalked out of 
the room.
		*		*		*
	Erik was standing in the middle of a meadow. He didn't know why, but 
he felt happy. He looked up at the clear blue sky and smiled. 
	"Hey Erik! Let's play catch!" said a voice. Erik turned to see a boy 
with hair similar to his. Except where Erik's bangs were blonde, the boy's 
bangs where black. And the boy's eyes were blue instead of green. Other than 
those two things, the two looked exacly alike. Erik grinned.
	"You're on!" Erik yelled back. The boy threw a ball. It soared high 
into the sky. Erik jumped up and caught it. A woman laughed. Erik turned his 
head to see a woman with black hair and green eyes smiling at him. Erik 
smiled.
	"I caught it, Mom!" he said, holding up the ball for her to see. The 
woman smiled.
	"Good job, Erik! Now throw it back to Robert!" Erik obeyed. He threw 
it back. Robert caught it out of the air. Then he threw it back. Erik watched 
it fly towards him. It seemed to fly in slow motion. 
	Suddenly, the sky turned dark. The ball transformed into a metal 
pendant. Its metal chain trailed behind it. As it got closer, Erik could see a 
hole it it. A keyhole. Erik reached out to catch it, but a strong hand 
snatched it away. Erik looked back at Robert. He was taller now. And wore 
similar clothes to Erik. The jacket with short sleeves, the giant zipper, the 
black undershirt. His blue eyes were almost black. He grinned at Erik 
defiantly. Behind him, a black figure rose up from the ground. It looked like 
a human, but it was disfigured. Too tall to be human. It's blackish skin 
looked almost like leather. It bared its pointed teeth and held out a hand to 
Robert. Robert smiled. Erik yelled.
	"NO! Robert! Don't do it! It's a trap! It's a trap!" He ran forward 
and caught hold of Robert. Robert's smile turned sour.
	"Let go of me, Brother!" Robert growled. "This is my decision!"
	"Robert!" Erik whispered desprately. "Don't... don't go where I can't 
follow..." And with that, Robert melted away into the darkness, leaving Erik 
all alone. He could hear the rasping, hollow voice of the dark figure calling 
his name.
	"Erik... Erik..."