((Horatio from the X-man Neptune roleplay: http://www.menewsha.com/forum/showth...post1771782287))


"Where did you go?" the boy in the park spoke softly as he sat on the bench with his legs dangling below. His strange eyes stared sightless before him at the sunset.
She said she would return. How strange, she didn't seem like a liar to me. That man however... the one who came to take her home. There was something odd about him. he thought to himself. perhaps I can find her? If I follow them from yesterday... but first I have to find yesterday he sighed. Horatio hopped down from the bench as his eyes glowed brightly and the world turned black and white but now visible to his gaze.
His eyes turned down to the book in his hand and he tucked it away into a small backpack. "I can't finish the story without her" he smiled a little and took off.

---------- Post added 04-08-2013 at 08:32 PM ----------

He found her, sort of. She was in a strange place with very strange people that were hard to avoid. Horatio didn't like the smell of them so he tried to keep out of view. They noticed him now and again and would freak out, speaking of a ghost that haunted the labs.
Horatio tried to visit her in her room when he could, he even tried to get her out of there but he didn't know how to manipulate time with someone in tow. He was still so young, so much to learn.
And then it happened... the man with the red eyes pushed too far.

"Please" Horatio begged, grasping her little hand in his own as he stared down into Ciara's lifeless eyes. Especially among the black and white world those ocean blue eyes were so enchanting but the lifeless stare left a lump in his throat. "Don't leave me..." his voice cracked, why couldn't he have figured out how to freeze time with her sooner? "you're the only one who understands... No one else ever spoke to me like you do... no one else even cared..." tears streamed from his eyes, "why? Why? WHY?!" he screamed, rocking back and forth. The world around spun and sped ahead before reeling back in reverse again. Buildings and mountains grew and fell and then rebuild themselves again as he threw his tantrum. The grief rose in his chest and for a moment it felt like his eyes were going to burn out of his head as their searing glow blotted out even the light of the sun.
And then there she was. Still alive on the other side of what looked like a shimmering wall of water. Horatio stared in awe but his hands were still clutching something so he looked down and saw the Ciara that he knew still dead in his hands. He yelped in fear, looking back and forth in confusion to try and figure out what was happening, how could there be two?
Finally the boy got to his feet, slowly walking over to the strange wall. He glanced back, there was nothing for him there... but ahead, over here, somehow she looked live. So he stepped through, unknowingly finding a brand new timeline.

---------- Post added 04-08-2013 at 09:05 PM ----------

"There are rules Horatio" the woman with purple hair walked in circles around the dark boy, "the timeline is a very delicate thing and we time mutants have to be very careful."

"I can manage" Horatio replied haughtily, "Now release me! I do not require the services your 'school' provides."

"Tch" she frowned in disapproval, "Crossing alternate timelines, creating new ones, do you even know what would happen if you killed yourself in an alternate universe or in this one? You risk destroying more than yourself but everything you've ever touched! This is not a choice Horatio, it is mandatory. I find it difficult to believe that you were able to escape our knowledge even this long."

"Because I have met you before" Horatio snapped back, "In an alternate timeline. I am actually quite knowledgeable about my abilities at this point thanks to your previous attempts at 'educating' me. That is, if you can count locking me in a time status room for years on end being EDUCATION"

She was a little taken aback by that, "you've been crossing timelines... I see." she regained her composure with a stern look on her face, "it would appear we're going to have to take this to the next level then. A companion bond, someone to keep you grounded."

"I do not need it" Horatio hissed. He knew it wasn't much use trying to run for the door by now, he had learned the past few times that this place was trickier than it seemed. He needed to wait, to find his way out and take it before they knew what hit them.

"It is abundantly clear to me, that you do." She replied crossly as another boy the same age as Horatio was brought into the room. His hair was white as snow and he seemed rather anxious. "Maximilian has also been having issues keeping... grounded." she placed a hand on his shoulder and the boy flinched but didn't move away. "I think the two of you are perfect for each other."

The man who had brought in Max went to Horatio and urged him forward into the woman's grasp. "What are you doing?!" Horatio demanded, somewhat panicked now as he struggled to get away, even if it was in vain. "Stay away from me!"

"I thought you said this would help us" Max spoke meekly, looking up at the woman, "why doesn't he want this?"

"he just doesn't understand" she assured Max in a gentle voice, "we can't be bouncing around the timeline as we please, some things must be as they are remember Maximilian?"

A terrified look entered those bright eyes, "l-like... apocalypse?" Max asked in a squeak, referring to some event that Horatio had never heard of.

"Exactly" the woman replied, reaching out to touch Horatio's shoulder. "You understand Maximilian. Help me teach that to Horatio now." her body glowed and from her a tiny thread grew and looped around each of the young boys, binding them together and then disappearing from sight and feel.

Max's eyes widened and suddenly he screamed and dropped to his knees, clutching his head. "STOP!" he screamed, "MAKE IT STOP!"

The woman took a step back, alarmed by the reaction, "What?!"

"What did you do?!" Horatio demanded, he felt fine but what on earth was happening to his other child?

"I bound you together" she replied in confusion, "through all time and space, wherever you go he will follow. This version of himself should bind this version of you to one reality as it should be."

"oh..." Horatio bit his lip, "and... if... if there's only one me?"

"What do you mean if there's only one you?" she retorted, looking at him oddly.

"In every reality I have been to, I have never found another version of me" Horatio explained, "I left that reality behind... a long time ago actually. I believe I am on attempt thirteen."

She stared at him as the knowledge began to sink in, "... one of you... but then..." she looked back at Max, "there can only be one of him..."

"What is this place?" Horatio gazed around the strange room, a combination of blacks and whites with clocks ticking away at different paces.

"A place between places" Max replied, "a world between worlds." he looked around himself, "Whenever you move on to another world I get pulled in here and... and it feels safe for once." his eyes fell to the endless and non-existent surface he was standing on, "instead of being dragged in all directions at once I am whole. Not questioning which me is me, what name to use and where I am or should be, here I feel at... peace."

"It feels strange" Horatio observed, "I can see here..."

"There is no time here" Max explained, "we won't age, there is... nothing, essentially. The whole place is just a reflection of what you perceive it to be." he moved over to where there was a table surrounded by chairs and sofas. He held his hands over what looked like a crystal ball, "and we can watch the worlds from here to. I can see into them all. I guess it's because I'm connected to every one of them, instead of like you who's... well, not connected to any"

Horatio came over and sat across from Max, gazing into the milky glass surface, "So wait, you can... you can see them before going there? You can know if it's a place worth visiting? Can you... find her for me?" his young eyes looked to Max with hope.

Max smiled and waved his hands over the crystal ball, a little red headed girl appeared, frolicking through a field of flowers, "That's her, isn't it?"

Horatio touched the glass, "Yes..." there were tears of joy in his eyes, "I can finally find you Ciara McCoy..." he looked up at his friend and whispered, "thank you Max"

Horatio was kneeling on the ground, Ciara's head on his lap as he wept. This Ciara had blond hair, wore army camouflage clothing and even had a gun holster on her hip. The weapon itself had fallen from her hand, void of ammunition.
It was the wake of a massive battle field, dead lay all around them but Horatio only cared about the one in his arms, "we were so close" he whispered to her, "but this war... the rebels didn't stand a chance did they? I have to stop it, I will stop it" he kissed her forehead and his shoulders trembled as a new wave of sobbing struck his heart.

"Horatio" Max spoke softly, appearing out of what seemed nowhere, "we have to move on... you can't keep doing this to yourself"

"Just give me a moment" Horatio sniffled, "I have to say goodbye"

"You're tearing yourself apart" Max argued, "and for what? One girl? Take a look around you Horatio, thousands died here today. thousands"

"I have no grief for them" Horatio replied coldly, burying himself in her hair for a moment. "This isn't my world... we haven't found her yet." he breathed deeply and then sighed, finally laying Ciara's limp form back on the ground. He was very gentle, she almost could have been sleeping if it wasn't for all the blood.

Max grabbed Horatio's arm as the blind mutant stood, "You can't be serious. These people loved you, they looked to you for support, hope for the future and you don't even care that they were slaughtered!"

Horatio yanked his arm away, "I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH LEFT TO CARE" he yelled, his voice echoing across the barren plains, "People die Max. It's what they do. They die and most of them never get to find their true love, or to be everything they can be by the time they pass on. Well that's not going to happen to me. I can't afford to care about anyone else."

"... even me?" Max questioned, staring at Horatio as he saw him in new light.

"Max, I-"

"No" Max cut him off, "I get it. It's all about her. Ciara McCoy. Well fine, go ahead and find her without me then because I'm staying behind this time."

"Max please" Horatio begged, "I didn't mean it like that"

"Somebody has to clean up your messes" Max retorted, "all these people are dead because of you, well I'm going to fix that. Everything you do, I will undo. Your actions have consequences and if you keep running away you're never going to see what they are, what kind of massive impact they have on all these worlds." Before Horatio could interject, Max went on, "So go damn you! Go find your precious little girl from way back when and heaven help you for all the poor souls you destroy on the way to your damned happiness."

Horatio frowned, he rubbed the fresh tears from his eyes and breathed deeply, "Fine then... Goodbye Max. You certainly know how to find me." His eyes glowed brightly and with some effort a portal appeared for him to step through.

"Good ridden" Max spat as the portal closed. He sighed and shook his head, staring at the massacre before him with sad eyes. Suddenly the time mutant collapsed on the ground, clutching his head. Thousands of lives racing through his mind at once as the one before him began to blur. He'd been expecting some version of this to happen but nothing this extreme. It was always a little painful, moving from one reality to another but this was insane.

The ground beneath his feet began to dissolve and give way. Max startled and tried to run but soon there was no earth to stand on and he began to fall through an endless black abyss. Suddenly all of those lives boiled down to one version of himself and it's that life that flashed before Max's eyes.

Then he felt it, a sharp pain throughout his body like a million needles on fire, pressing into every nerve. Panic filled his gaze, this was it, the end. Death.

It was fire and ice, pure agony and darkness seared with a blinding light that consumed him. Then it was over, Max lay gasping for breath as he lay in an open field of flowers in the open sunshine.

Confused he looked around and quickly got to his feet, trying to figure out what had just happened. "I just died" he realized with wide eyed horror. He couldn't remember the details of that world, at least not in the life that had just passed before his eyes. It was like... like, "it doesn't exist anymore..." he took in a shaky breath, staring at the field around him. The place that in the previous world had become a war zone but here it was just a beautiful open park.
"He's not just killing people... he's destroying worlds"

A new world, Max's head was spinning, how many worlds had Horatio left him behind in now? How many times had he died? He stumbled down the street in a daze as other lives went reeling through his mind. In one life he remembered walking down a street much like this, a kind old lady lived on the corner and she always had something sweet to give him as a child, "Mrs. Jules, Mrs. Jules" Max rambled, "may I have a lolly?" in the current reality people crossed the street to avoid the strange white haired teen, most assumed he was on drugs.
In another life Max had found himself growing up in Germany, in the height of world war two. His pure white hair and chilling blue eyes made him quite a popular fellow and he had climbed the ranks of the Nazis with a thirst for blood. A maniacal grin slid across his face, "they won't know what hit them" he had hissed in the ear of Adolf Hitler, "You want them gone, just leave it to me."

A ball bounced across Max's blurred vision, giving him something to focus on as it came to a stop in front of him. A child, no more than seven with pure white hair and curious blue eyes came for the toy although he stopped a few feet away from Max. "... mister?" the boy called a little uncertainly, after all, Max looked rather disheveled, "can I have my ball?"

Max licked his dry lips, picking up the ball slowly and staring at the child for a moment, "... hello Max" he whispered.

"... do I know you?" the boy looked confused.

"You will" the teenager replied sorrowfully, "millions of billions of lives and lies will fill your head and make you dread" he rhymed away, stepping towards the child with leaded feet as the ball moved back and forth between his hands, "and then when all seems good and true, you'll find you're me, no longer you" he leaned over, eyeing his younger self, inches from his face

"Max? Max!" a woman with red hair called in alarm as she saw her boy talking with a strange man, "Get over here!"

Max slowly placed the ball in the boy's hands but held on tight for another moment, "thirteen thirteen, unlucky number" he hissed, "enjoy yourself til then" he let the ball go and watched as the child ran away in fear, into his mother's arms.
Max turned away slowly, his hands were shaking and he had to wipe away a drop of blood that was falling from his nose. These episodes were getting worse and worse with every passing reality.

"What are you doing?" Horatio demanded. He was alone with Ciara in a decorated room, she was wearing a wedding dress.

"What do you mean?" Ciara asked in response, "I'm getting married Horatio, what's it look like?"

"Yeah but... to him?" Horatio looked confused, "this isn't right. This isn't how it's supposed to be"

"And how is it supposed to be?" Ciara chuckled, thinking he was joking or something, "am I supposed to marry, I dunno, Pietro?" she snickered at the thought.

"no..." Horatio looked heartbroken, "it's supposed to be me... where did I go wrong?"

"You?" She blinked, looking at him, "oh... time bug, I'm sorry. You're wonderful" she took his hands gently, "you're the best friend a girl could ask for... it's just..."

"You don't love me..." Horatio hung his head, "You love him... that... that thing"

"Nathan is a good man!" Ciara argued, "and I love him with all my heart! I thought you would be happy for me!"

"He's a monster" Horatio's tone hardened, "or at least... he will be. Next time. You'll hate him like I do"

"Next time?"

Horatio gripped Ciara's wrist tightly, "You have to understand... I can't stop until I make things right again. I need her"

"Ow-Horatio let go" Ciara winced at the tight hold, "who?"

"Ciara McCoy"

"I'm Ciara McCoy" she argued, "though after today it'll be Essex"

"NO!" Horatio snapped, shoving her away, "You aren't her! I've lost her again and it's HIS FAULT!" he yelled, "I'll ruin him! You'll never love him again!" his eyes flared and he was gone.

((Current timeline))

Ciara walked down the isle and stood by Pietro. Everything was beautiful, perfection as she and Pietro faced each other to begin their vows.
That was when everything froze.

Horatio walked slowly down the isle, viewing the crowd. Some people were holding back tears of joy, others were beaming with excitement and even one or two looked bored.

"I can't stop it... can I?" Horatio asked, touching Ciara's cheek lightly. She looked so happy, "You'll always find someone else who's better than me..."

"You know better than that Horatio" Max stated as he walked towards the time reaper, "She does love you but you have to realize, you can't be together."

Horatio hung his head, "I'm starting to see that... the more time I spend with her, the higher the chance of something going wrong. It's my fault she keeps dying." he swallowed hard, tears threatening his vision.

Max placed a hand on his shoulder, "then leave her alone... let her be happy" he urged, "step away from this foolish task and let these people live their lives."

"but will she be happy?" Horatio looked back at Max, his voice strained, "how can I know?"

"Come back to the place between worlds" Max told him, "We can watch together from the sidelines."

Horatio looked back at Ciara, wiping the tears from his eyes, he touched her cheek, "I don't know if I can leave her..."

"If you love her, you have to let her go" Max insisted firmly.

Horatio kissed her lips, holding onto the moment for as long as he could bare. "Goodbye" he choked the word from his throat, pressing his forehead against hers as he breathed in her scent for the last time. "Goodbye my love... Goodbye Ciara Maximoff."

Max let him have his moment before the two of them left together, leaving nothing behind but Horatio's tear on Ciara's cheek.