New Joint Fanfiction: Once and Future Love

[Juxapose]

*Note* Zero and I have worked together in this chapter. Please enjoy.

Part 2, Chapter 8

Serious Business

Summer 12, 2108 (Forget-Me-Not Valley)

Things has been quite active in Forget-Me-Not Valley within the past week. Eric has been skipping out of his work in the mines, and has been trying to shape Marty into a perfect farmer. Flora on the other hand, has also been skipping work in the mines. While Eric is distracted with Marty, Flora has been making daily visits to Mineral Town.

In the farm, Marty collapses from exhaustion. Within the past week, Eric has made him clear about a quarter of his field from every last rock, log, and weed that he had ignored the whole time he has lived there. Under his strict supervision, Marty has tilled enough soil to plant nine bags of corn seeds. It's hardly much progress, but it's all he can handle so far. But all things considered, the corn seeds grow to about a foot tall, but they're nowhere even close to a harvest.

“Get up Marty, the work is not done yet!” Eric scolds.

Marty gasps for breath and says, “Give me a break! I have been working for three whole hours! Three hours! Gone and wasted!”

Eric sighs and whispers to himself, “I can't believe that we are actually related. This guy is hardly able to keep a garden, let alone a farm. When I was a farmer, I had fields of corn ready to be harvested by now.”

Marty then sits up and complains, “I know it's a bit late to say this, but why do you care so much about my farm?”

Eric folds his arms and answers, “Because it's YOUR farm. You should be the one taking initiative, not me. Now get with the program, and get to work!”

Marty then becomes irritated with Eric. He stands up with an angry look on his face, and walks toward Eric. He then points at Eric and yells, “Listen to me buster! I don't know who you think you are coming into MY farm, and telling ME how to run it!! If you're such a professional farmer, why don't you go back where you came from, and leave MY farm alone!!”

Eric cringes both angrily and sadly. Marty has no idea that he has just hit a sensitive nerve. However, he tries his best to keep his cool, and responds, “Trust me, if I could go home, I would. But I'm here now because I can't! I'm trying to be a good sumaritan, and help you out.”

Marty grins and says, “Oh really? Well, this is what I think about your help.” He then walks over to the corn field, pulling out his sickle on the way. Before Eric can figure out what he is planning to do, he swings the sickle cutting down several of the corn plants.

“HOLY HARVEST SPRITES!!! What the hell are you doing!!” yelled Eric.

Marty points at him again and yells, “Listen to me Mr. Pro Farmer! I am not a farmer! I don't care about crops and plants and all that junk! My dad was a farmer, but I am not my father!”

“But. . . You worked hard to grow those! You can't just cut them down like that!” complained Eric. He is not sure what he is more, angry, confused, or worried.

Marty threw his tools on the ground and yells, "I don't care! This is MY farm, and I get to decide what happens to these crops! They can just die from dehydration for all I care, because I am not going to water them anymore!”

Eric is nearly pushed over the edge. He trembles trying his hardest to keep his cool. He wonders how can someone hate farming so much especially Marty of all people. He thought that there was a little bit of a farmer inside of him when he saw that he is taking good care of a cow. But he has no idea why Marty doesn't want to take the extra step.

Eric takes a few deep breaths and says, “Listen Marty, I guess you're probably upset that I have been a bit too hard on you the last seven days. But I think you shouldn't turn your back on this farm. This farm is something your father left you, and you should take care of it.”

“What do you know about my father anyway?” snapped Marty. At that point, Eric thinks for a moment. He thinks about what sort of relationship did Marty have with his father? Now that he thinks about it, have Marty and his father even live together while he was alive? Marty has never talked about his family history to Eric before. He only assumed that Marty had a strong relationship because he had a strong relationship with his own parents.

After they both have cooled down a bit, Marty looks at Eric and says, “I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I don't need this kind of pressure at all. So just go.” He then waves him away and goes to his house, where he slams his door shut.

Eric nods, and does as Marty says. As he walks out of the farm, he mumbles to himself asking why is Marty so upset at him. He was only trying to help. And if he was so against it, why didn't he just say so from the beginning.

And after thinking about it for a while, he asks himself why was he trying so hard help Marty anyway. His main goal is to get back home, but all he is doing is distracting himself again. Then he remembers that Flora had asked him to do that. He was doing this for her sake.

As he walks towards the east side of Forget-Me-Not Valley, Eric doesn't pay attention as to where he is going, and makes an early left turn. In order to go to the tent, he usually turns north after the bridge. But he turns north before the bridge into a path that leads deep into the forest instead.

Marty returns home, and throws himself into bed. He is tired from all the work Eric has made him do within the past week. He knows that Eric is only trying to help, that's why he didn't complain much at first. But Eric has been stepping past his limits, and he had to say stop somewhere. He feels bad that he cut down some of the corn plants, but he felt that it was the only way to show Eric how serious he was.

Since most of the corn crops are still standing, he does intend to continue watering them, but after they die from the changing of the seasons, he will go back to just mining, and caring for his only cow. His father may have been a farmer, but he has never picked up the interest in it.

His only interest is the girl in the picture he has standing on a table nearby. He turns his head, and stares at it for a minute. As he looks into Lumina's eyes in the photograph, he wishes to know why she will not respond to his feelings for her. He talks to her as often as possible, brings her gifts, and tries to be as kind as possible to her. But after over a year, she still has no interest in him.

After resting for a few minutes, he feels that it may be a good idea to pay Lumina a visit. He hasn't seen her in about a week anyway, so he feels that she would appreciate the company. He then jumps out of bed, and heads straight into the shower. After brushing his teeth, and combing his hair, he cheers himself up, and heads over to the villa.

After some walking, Eric has finally noticed that he took a wrong turn by the bridge. He is now in the woods looking up at the dense leaves with only a few rays of light seeping through them. But rather than turning back, he continues to walk deeper into the woods. Something inside is luring him in, almost like a voice calling for help.

In the end of the path, he finds a clearing. A huge patch of dirt covered in weeds, flowers, sticks, and stones. In the distance, a huge tree, and a pond before it. Standing over the pond, Eric sees a statue. He becomes very interested in the statue, so he walks over to it. He quickly notices that it looks remarkably like the Harvest Goddess. He looks into the water, and thinks that maybe there is a Harvest Goddess in this pond as well.

Rushing over to the clearing, he picks a few flowers. He then returns to the pond, and throws the flowers into the water as an offering. Normally, a flash of blinding light would come out of the pond, and a beautiful goddess would appear before Eric. But this pond does not react to Eric's offering at all. The flowers just float in the pond, no flash of light, and no goddess appears.

But as he is looking at the statue, he thinks he hears a faint cry for help. A light, faint voice that he can hardly make out any words. But after a while, he passes it as the wind blowing and turns to leave. It is about the time for Lumina's tutoring lesson anyways. However, he couldn't help but gaze at the statue again, wondering why he is so drawn to it.

Marty arrives at the Villa looking his best. On his way there, he thought of a good idea on how to make Lumina recognize his feelings. After her daily practice, he will confess that he likes her, and will ask her out on a date. He thinks that the worst thing that could possibly happen is that she'll turn him down. Even if that happens, he could try again another day.

After gaining his confidence, he knocks on the door. Lumina answers after only a minute's time. Lumina nods at Marty and greets, “Hi there Marty. What can I do for you today?”

Marty pushes his hair back and says, “Hi there Lumina. I didn't have anything to do at the moment, so I thought I'd drop by. You don't mind, do you?”

Lumina feels quite disappointed. As soon as she heard the door knock, she was expecting Eric instead. Since Eric has been tutoring her in piano lessons lately, she's been enjoying his company more than Marty's. But since Eric has not arrive yet, and her lessons weren't for about another hour or so, she accepts his company anyway.

Back in Mineral Town, Flora has already talked to every single person in town, but she has yet to receive a single clue about Eric's identity. They all claim that they have never met him before he first arrived injured with Flora. Seeing that Eric's story doesn't add up, she checks in with the clinic in Mineral Town for answers. If Eric had lived in Mineral Town as he claims, the clinic should have at least some records. So she heads there and asks the doctor if she could see Eric's records.

Since the doctor is a friend of Flora, he did her the favor, and gave him Eric's medical records. She found just as she thought, nothing except that one time Eric passed out at the library. She was completely sure that this moment that Eric has not lived in Mineral Town as he claims.

As she passes through the roads of Mineral Town, she feels a bit thirsty. So she heads over to the summer shack to buy some iced tea, and a newspaper to read. She then sits on a bench in the beach, and reads the paper as she sips her iced tea. After flipping a few pages, her eyes nearly pop out of her head as she sees a very unusual article. In the village of Homeland, very far away from Mineral Town, the villagers are celebrating a 100 year anniversary of a time that a farmer has saved their village from turning into a theme park. The article has a photograph of the statue that the villagers are dancing around.

The statue has the image of the farmer who is responsible for saving the Homeland. The statue looks exactly like Eric while wearing his farming clothes. And in the base of the statue, the words “For Eric Hikari, in memory of beloved mother Mai Hikari” can be seen.

Even now, Flora has yet to learn Eric's last name. But the fact that there is a statue with Eric's image, and his first name matches the engraving seems too awkward for a coincidence. Eric may be a common name, but not his look. Especially the long hair, and the three cow licks is a pretty rare for a guy.

Eric continues to admire the statue for a while longer. He then checks the time, and realizes that it is been there a while. He grabs his bag, and heads out of the forestto start Lumina's piano lesson. Since he's pretty deep in the forest, he knows that he'll be a few minutes late. But Lumina is an understanding girl. He can easily see why Marty likes her.

Inside the mansion of the Villa, Lumina plays the song that Eric has been coaching her. Even with Eric not around, she plays the song correctly and accurately. Not even a single note missed. Marty appreciates the song very much. After all, the song is in his blood. A member of his own family had written the song so many years ago.

After the song is over, Marty prepares to tell her how he feels. But as he is about to open his mouth, the hear a knock on the door. Marty then feels annoyed that someone is coming over while he is about to express to Lumina how he feels. Lumina stands up to answer it, but Marty volunteers to do so instead. Whoever it is, Marty is not going to give a warm welcome for their bad timing.

He opens the door, and finds the one person he doesn't want to see the most. His rival for Lumina's affection, Rock. Rock looks back at Marty, he is not pleased to see him either.

“What do you want? I'm a little busy at the moment.” said Marty in a rude tone.

“I'm here to see Lumina. Do you mind?” answered Rock making a gesture for Marty to move out of the way.

Marty stands his ground, and says, “I was here first, so come back later. Or you could just do everyone a favor, and not come back at all.”

Marty tries to shut the door on Rock's face, but he stops it with his foot. At this point, they are furious with one another. Rock forces the door open, and says, “Hey, farming reject. I don't get what makes you think you have a chance with Lumina. She is a high class young lady, she doesn't need a reject like you bothering her all the time. So why don't you just go back to your farm, and grow brains. Maybe then you'll get the idea.”

Marty is not going to take those insults from him. He wouldn't take them from Eric, let alone from Rock. So he turns around, and tells Lumina that he will be back in a moment. He then shoves Rock outside so that they can argue once again.

As they argue, the Witch Princess who lives in the hut just outside the mansion hears them argue. Before they were arguing, she was peacefully reading a book about new spells she can learn. She then covers her ears and walks over to the window to see who is yelling. An artery bulges on her forhead as she yells, “It's them again!? When will they give it up already!?”

She then walks over to her broom, and says, “That it! I'm going to kill them!”

She then walks over to the door, and takes a look outside. Just then, she sees something interesting happening. Instead of going outside, and venting her frustrations on them, she stands by, and watches what happens.

This time, the argument is getting pretty nasty. They exchange harsh words, and they prepare to get into a fist fight. Eric then arrives at the villa, and sees things getting heated between Marty and Rock. Lumina also hears them get pretty serious, so she runs out of the mansion, and tries to stop them.

“Please stop it you two! Fighting is not the answer! Lets just talk about our differences in a mature manner!” yelled Lumina.

“Stay out of this Lumina. This has nothing to do with you.” said Marty. “This is between me and Mr. Disco Ball here.”

Rock folds his arms and taunts, “Hah! You act so tough, but I bet that you fight as pathetic as you farm. You haven't grown a damn thing in your daddy's farm yet, after all this time you've been living here. You're just a reject, and that's all you're ever going to be!”

Those words pushes him over the edge. Marty then balls up a fist, and is about to make him regret those words ever came out of his mouth. But as he is about to charge at him, Eric grabs on to his arm and stops him. Marty looks back, and tries to pull himself away from Eric. But Eric's has a strong grip, and he is not going to let him go willingfully until Marty hears him out.

“I would listen to Lumina if I were you.” said Eric. “Fighting is not the answer. . . I should know, I've been through something like this before.”

Marty then pulls his arm from Eric's grip, and shoves him away. He has already been agitated enough by Rock, but Eric meddling in his affairs only makes him feel worse. Out of anger, Marty yells, “What the hell are you doing here?! Why do you keep budding into my life, and telling me what to do!?”

“That's not true.” said Eric. “I'm just trying to help, that's all.”

“Help my foot! I already told you, I don't need your help! You think you're so smart just because you know how to farm and junk. However, I kind of find it funny how a pro farmer like you doesn't even have a farm of his own. Instead, you're working in a mine.”

Eric trembles with anger as he says, “Just shut up already. You don't know what my situation is.”

“I can only guess.” snapped Marty. “I bet that you had a farm of your own. But that cocky and bossy attitude of your's got you kicked out, and you can't go home anymore. It's so pathetic, I bet your father and mother are ashamed of you.”

As fast as the blink of an eye, Eric punches Marty across the face before anyone even sees it coming. The punch sent Marty flying several feet through the air before crashing to the ground. Everyone else gasps in shock as Eric shakes his hand off.

“Lumina, I think you should go inside. I need to have a little talk with Marty.” said Eric. Lumina nods, and returns into the mansion.

He then looks at Rock and says, “Unless you wanna get decked too, I suggest you go home.” Rock nods, and runs back to the the safety of the Inn.

Marty remains out cold for several minutes. He then wakes up, and feels his cheek swollen to the size of a baseball. Eric looks at him, and says, “I hope you know, this is the first time I have ever hit anybody. I never thought you would be the first person I'd hit though.”

Marty looks down and says, “Thanks a lot. You really embarrassed me in front of Lumina. You completely blew any chance I had to go out with her.”

“Don't flatter yourself.” snapped Eric. “You never had a chance with Lumina anyway.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” asked Marty.

“Lumina is a nice girl. She's kind, sweet, and loves company. But what she needs to work on is her honesty. You see, Lumina does not like you. In fact, I've pretty much known for a while that see that she almost hates you.”

The news comes to a surprise to him. Lumina has always greeted him with a smile, and she has always accepted his company. The whole time he has known Lumina, he thought that there was a good chance that he could go out with her. Not once did he feel that Lumina may not like him at all.

“I don't get it, why would she feel that way?” asked Marty.

Eric kneels down and says, “It's your farm. Lumina thinks you're a nice guy, but she also thinks your a lazy person. As long as you don't respect your father's farm, she will not develop any feelings for you.”

Marty begins to think for a while. He doesn't want to believe what Eric is saying to be true. But deep within himself, he knows it is. Marty does not care for farming, but he does like Lumina. But Lumina does not like him because he does not enjoy the life his father passed down to him. Thinking about the wild oxymoron hard enough confuses him.

Eric stands up, and reaches his hand out to Marty. “I'm not trying to control your life, I just want to help, that's all.” Marty looks at Eric's hand, and slaps it away. He then gets up, and walks out of the villa on his own.

“Where are you going?” asked Eric.

“Just leave me alone!” snapped Marty as he continues to walk down the hill.

Eric sighs and whispers, "If only you didn't act so much like Gray.....maybe you would have realized that if you let me help you, I would've been doing you and Lumina a favor." Seeing what has just happened, he is sure that Lumina is not going to be in the mood for a piano lesson. The only thing he can really do is return to the tent, and rest for the day.

On the way back, he looks at his fist, and sighs regretfully. However, watching Marty arguing with Rock only reminds him of the time he was arguing with Gray back in his own time, and just how much it had costed him.

Back in the tent, Flora was already there making some dinner for them to eat. He sits on his futon, and lets out a very stressful sigh. Knowing that he actually hit someone will burn itself into his conscious for a long time.

“Is everything okay?” asked Flora.

“It's nothing, don't worry about it.” answered Eric.

Flora then hides the newspaper that she brought from Mineral Town. She wants to ask him many questions, but she feels that now is not the best time. But she will ask him soon enough, she wants to know the truth about who Eric is.

Spring 23, 2008 (Mineral Town)

In the Harvest Sprite hut, the little sprites have checked every last corner for even the slightest remains of flour. But no matter how hard they look, the find nothing. They all are now lying on the floor breathing hard rubbing their hungry bellies groaning. As they lie on the floor, Chef says, “No more cookies. . . This is it, we're going to starve to death. . .”

The Harvest Goddess then suddenly appears before them and yells, “What are you talking about!? A harvest sprite cannot die from hunger!”

Chef stands up and says, “Oh yeah? Well. . . You don't know that for sure!”

“Yes, I do.” leered the Harvest Goddess. "Me and my sisters created you, remember?"

Chef blushes red from embarassment, "Oh yeah, I forgot."

The Harvest Goddess sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. The time rope situation is landing her in hot water, and she needs a solution fast, not more headaches. "Chef, Staid, and Aqua, I need your help. Find a Harvest Sprite named Flik, and bring him back to my pond." she orders them, and then vanishes.

"Well....you heard her fellas. Maybe if we do good, she can make some flour for us." Chef said, and he and the two blue sprites leave the cabin, and once again runs off to Forget-Me-Not Valley.

This time though.......they're being watched. By more than one pair of eyes.

To be continued.

[zero]

next chapter should be up within the next two weeks

[zero]

.....make that nearly a month later. But with baby madness, I can't get too much time to myself.

Part 2, Chapter 9

The Sweet, Sweet Lies Of The Condemned ,aka Eric's painful mistake

Summer 20, 2108, Forget-Me-Not Valley

Eric yawned as he woke up from a rather interesting dream. Lately, he's been seeing Mary a lot in them, and even though it feels like only a few minutes, he can talk to her, and hold her, and even kiss her. Even though it was a dream, it just felt so real. Though other days, he'd encounter a really bad nightmare. The nightmare that he could possibly never get home, Mary would leave him, and then she'd marry Gray, who would give him such a smug look, he wanted to punch his face in despite the tears that would fall out of his eyes should such a thing happen.

As he goes about getting his things ready and heading to the inn for his daily shower, he sees Flora gets up. She looks at him for a few minutes before he leaves so she could change her clothes privately. That was another thing that was happening lately. Since Marty more or less banned him from coming to his farm until he cooled down, he's been working twice as hard with her in the mines. Yet she'd always give him a funny look, like he was a puzzle she wanted to solve.

It was starting to creep him out, and he was also starting to wonder where that big change in her attitude came from. Personally, he liked her better when she was semi-flirting with him. "Still...." he thought as he opened the door to the inn. "As much as it'd piss Mary off, if I wasn't with her, I'd be trying to win her over. She's so much like Mary sometimes that it hurts looking at her."

Spring 27, 2008, Mineral Town

Mary let out a big sneeze, dropping the basket of cucumbers she had planted sometime during the middle of spring and was now harvesting. At first, she thought someone was talking about her, but as random sneezing was becoming more and more common to her, she wondered if she was coming down with a case of spring flu, or maybe an early summer cold. Karen and Cliff stopped collecting some of the other crops to come and help her out pick up the cucumbers that fell.

Karen noticed that Mary seemed a bit happier lately. When she asked why, Mary told her that she's been having wonderful dreams. Dreams of being with Eric again, and they were acting as if he had never left at all. When she had finished explaining, Karen had a soft smile on her face.

"Even when Eric is not here, he finds a way to make her happy." she thought as she finished up putting the last cucumber back into her basket before going to the tool shed to get a scythe.

Cliff hadn't really wondered Mary's small change in personality. In his own mind, he was silently blaming himself for Eric's vanishing act. He was the one who told him to play the dirty tricks against Gray. Encouraged him to fight over Mary.

Now his best friend was gone, and he just couldn't help but blame himself for that.

Though the one thing neither of them knew was the fact that Mary was actually reading Eric's journal every night before she went to bed. Currently, she was on his first summer in Mineral Town, rereading his spring misadventures and accomplishments over and over again, which would make her happy, espically when he mentioned her in a positive light.

Then when she fell asleep, the Harvest Goddess would appear before her and tap into her subconscious, letting her speak to Eric and motivate him into coming home. This cycle was so far being effective. The rope hasn't gotten worse, but neither has it gotten any better. Everyone's spirits were neither falling nor being lifted, and everything was going at an ok pace.

As such, nothing could stay that way for very long.

Not too long after helping Mary pick up the cucumbers, Gray came onto the farm, and the trio let off a collective groan. At first, some might have thought of it as sweet that Gray kept on asking Mary for a date. Now it was just getting annoying.

"Mary, will you...." Gray began, before he was cut off by Mary herself.

"For the 67th time Gray, NO I WILL NOT GO OUT WITH YOU!" she told him in a voice that made one feel like they were a child who got caught with their hand in a cookie jar.

Gray quickly left the farm, and sighed as he walked back to his grandfather's shop. He was trying to hard to win Mary over, but she clung on to the hope that Eric would come back so strongly. He was beginning to doubt he'd ever be able to win her heart. However, a tiny ray of hope inside of him told him to wait out a little longer.

"But how much longer can I keep handling these rejections?" he muttered to himself as he opened the door to the Blacksmith shop.

Summer 20, 2108, around Noon in Forget-Me-Not Valley

Eric has finished helping out Flora in the mines, and has gone to visit Lumina's mansion for her daily tutoring lessons. As he reached to knock on the door, he saw Marty coming up from behind. He didn't say a word as he knocked.

"What are you doing here?" Marty asked.

"Piano lessons. I'm tutoring Lumina." Eric replied in a curt manner.

Marty was about to ask why when the door opened. Then it seemed like his whole life came crashing down in the next minute that followed. He saw Lumina's normally sad face brighten up greatly as she saw Eric. ERIC, and not him. He didn't hear the words she said, but he could see the smile she gave him as she took his hand and dragged him inside, leaving poor old him out alone.

All Marty wanted to know, was how.

HOW, after all of his visits, all of his gifts, did Lumina fall for a complete and total stranger? He hadn't even been living in the valley for half a year. His heart and spirit were crushed, more so when he heard the song HE had given her being played. Taking one last look at a nearby window, he gasped. He saw not Lumina, but Eric playing the song.

That normally wouldn't be strange. However, he was playing it without even looking at the sheet music, explaining something to a wide-eyed Lumina. That music was over 100 years old, and that sheet was the only one in the world. So how could he play it like it was nothing? Not even a prodigy could do that!

Now with his heart and mind all jumbled up and confused, he went to the only person that could maybe give him some answers. Flora.

The woman being thought about sneezed a bit as she landed back in the valley. Newspaper from Mineral Town clutched firmly in her hand, she wanted some answers to the pileing mound of questions forming in her mind.

Who was Eric? Was he a phantom from the past? A clone? Why was he here in the future?

The questions just kept going and going till she felt like she was having a small migrane. Going back into her tent, she put the newspaper on her folding table and grabbed an asprin and some water from the mini-fridge. Quickly taking one, she felt her mind clear up. And have more questions keep forming.

Spring 27, 2008 Forget-Me-Not Valley

Chef, Aqua, and Staid went back to Forget-Me-Not valley, looking for the Harvest Sprite of Time, Flik. When he wasn't time-hopping like a kid, he usually hung out somewhere in the valley. They had to find him fast. The Harvest Goddess showed them the time rope. It was snapping every few hours, more threads falling. She told them that if something good did not happen soon, then time and space would fall apart in a years time or less.

The threat was taken very seriously as the three sprites split up. Aqua took the Harvest Goddess pond, and Chef checked out the town. Staid was lookng at the farm and the houses that weren't part of the main 4-5 house town.

Hours ticked by like minutes. They had came around noon, and by nine o clock PM, nothing had been found of Flik. Not a single trace. Though the three sprites felt like they were being watched. By something that was not good. Something that was evil.

Something like the Witch Princess, who was going to use them in her plot for revenge...........

Summer 21, 2108, Forget-Me-Not Valley

After Eric woke up from another happy dream with Mary, he gathers his stuff, and gets ready for another day at the mines. As he is gathering his soap and shampoo, he looks back at Flora who is giving him another strange look. He can see in her eyes that she wants to say something to him. He thought about asking her what's bothering her, but something inside him was telling him that he shouldn't. So he packs his things, and heads out to the inn.

After Eric leaves, Flora begins to get ready herself. She changes into something casual to wear, a pair of jeans, and a plain white t-shirt. She packs her usual clothesthat she uses to wor in the mines in a backpack, she will change into them after she takes a shower. She then heads to the river, and gathers a bucket of water she uses to make some breakfast. After getting out some eggs, flour, and milk, she begins to make some pancakes.

As she is making breakfast, Flora hears someone knocking on the outside of the tent. She thought that it was Eric, who might have finished his daily preparations early. She shouts, "Come in Eric!" inviting the guest in. She looks back, and sees that it was not Eric, but Marty who has visited her unusually early.

"Oh, Marty. I wasn't expecting you so early. Is anything wrong?" asked Flora.

"It's about Eric. I saw him go into the inn, so I knew that this was a perfect chance to talk to you privately." answered Marty. Flora nods, and turns down the heat of the portable stove so that breakfast wouldn't burn.

Marty explained what he saw yesterday about Eric playing the song at Lumina's mansion. At first, Flora didn't find anything unusual about it, until he explained how unique the song is. A song that a member of his family wrote 100 years ago, and the only other person who can play it so well has already died. Marty cannot play that song on the piano, and Lumina had a lot of trouble playing it when he first gave it to her. Now a total stranger arrives, and plays the song like if it was natural.

Flora then explains her side of the story, and shows him what she found. The newspaper with a statue that resembles Eric which was erected about 100 years ago. They found a link, both of them had some sort of proof that Eric and someone from 100 years ago had some sort of connection. But what they want to know is how? Who is he? And what is his purpose?

Eric arrives back at the tent about 30 minutes later. He was shocked to find Marty in the tent along with Flora. Marty has come around every once in a while to visit Flora, but never this early. Both of them stare at him unusually, like if they are about to accuse him of murder or something. The only thing that he can think about is that Marty may be bothered that he is tutoring Lumina, and he is talking to Flora about it.

"Eric, can we talk for a bit?" asked Flora. Eric nods, and takes a seat.

Everyone is now sitting in a triangle, so that they can look at each other in the eye. The way that everyone looks at him makes him feel rather uncomfortable. He knows that he didn't do anything wrong, but somehoe, he feels that he is about to get attacked.

As soon as Flora gathered the courage to say something, she starts with the interrogation, "Eric, I know that this may seem like an odd question, but what is your last name?"

Eric is stunned by the question. Since he has started living there, nobody really bothered to ask him about his last name. It wasn't really important unless he planned to get married, and his wife would change it. "My last name is Hikari. Eric Hikari. Why do you need to know that so suddenly."

"We have the same last name?" asked Marty in a shocked tone.

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence." replied Eric.

Flora shakes her head no, and asks, "Do you know someone named Mai Hikari?"

Once again, Eric is shocked by that question. Not once did he mention his mother's name to anyone, there shouldn't be anyone who knows her name, even in the Mineral Town of the past. It was something he swore he'd only tell Mary and then take it to the grave. Even then......he'd never speak of how she died, not to anyone. He looks down sadly, and answers, "She's my mother. She died a long time ago. But, where did you hear that name? I don't remember mentioning that to anyone."

Flora sighs, she feels that everything she might have assumed may be correct. She is a professional archaeologist, so putting the pieces together is something she is good at. So she looks at Eric seriously and asks, "Eric, who are you? Tell me the truth."

"The truth?" asked Eric. At this moment, he feels that he is caught in a corner, and being forced to admit something he rather not say. He inhales his next breath rather sharply and tries to get out of his problem by saying, "I'm Eric Hikari. An ex-farmer, and now a miner in Forget-Me-Not Valley. That's really all that I can say."

Flora and Marty both sigh sadly. They can clearly see that Eric will not spill the beans unless they tip it themselves. So Flora feels that she has no other choice but to use her trump card. She pulls out the newspaper, and hands it to Eric showing him the article. "Eric, that's your statue, isn't it?"

Eric takes a look at the statue, and nearly passes out from shock. The statue is clearly of him, his and his mother's name etched in stone. The statue was erected 100 years ago after saving the Homeland. But at this point, Eric also feels confused. According to the date, the statue was built after Eric had vanished from Mineral Town. Why did they build a statue of Eric if he had never even visited Homeland before?

He looks at Flora who is still waiting for an answer. Marty also waits patiently for an answer. The problem with the existance of the statue will have to wait till later, now he knows that everyone in the tent knows something, and they want the truth. After what had happened since he arrived, he feels that they deserve to know. So he sighs, and says, "........Fine. Just don't tell anyone about this. This...all started when....."

To be concluded in the end of Part 2

(There will be a third, a fourth, and maybe even a fifth part.)

[Rozewater]

Very good! We're getting to the good, thick stuff...

Can't wait for the next installments.

[zero]

It's up to you now Jux. Let's end part 2 with a bang!

[bchunter]

yes bang eould be nice

[Juxapose]

Part 2, Chapter 10

The Witch Princess Strikes!

Spring 28, 2008 (Mineral Town)

After a day of searching, all seven Harvest Sprites of Mineral Town meet back up at the Sprite hut behind the church. They are all tired, and still hungry. But they need to work harder to find Flik, the Harvest Sprite of time. Without him, they cannot find Eric. And if they cannot find Eric, then they cannot get anymore flour for cookies with their tea.

They sit at the round table having a meeting about finding Flik. But after so much time of searching, they come up with nothing. Bold then stood up and says, “So Chef, how is the search for Flik?”

Chef shakes his head no as he says, “Me, Aqua, and Staid had no luck finding him. Face it, with him jumping back and forth between time, he could be anywhere. I thought that our best bet would be in Forget-Me-Not Valley, but we still never came up with any leads as to where he could be next.”

Nappy then brings out a ball and says, “Aw, lets just forget about Flik for a minute. I want to take a break for a while and play. And why do we have to look for him anyway? After all, Nic, Nak, and Flak are his best friends. Why aren't they looking for him instead?”

Chef, Aqua, and Staid then look at one another. As soon as Nappy mentioned their names, they noticed something that they missed as they were looking for Flik. Chef then takes a moment to think, and says, “You know. . . Now that I think about it, I didn't see neither Nic, Nak, or Flak yesterday as we searched for Flik.”

He then turns to Staid and says, “Did you see them at all yesterday?”

Staid shakes his head, and says, “No, now that you mention it, I didn't see them all day.”

They then look at Aqua, who is admiring his light blue clothing. He has been so preoccupied about his clothes, that he has not paid any attention to the meeting at all. Chef then slams his fist on the table, which catches Aqua's attention. He then screams, “Aqua! This is important! Did you see either Nic, Nak, or Flak yesterday?! You were the one who was looking around the pond of the Harvest Goddess!”

Aqua then turns his attention back to his clothes and says, “Sorry, I didn't notice them either. I was too busy cleaning out a stain on my beautiful clothes at the pond next to a statue of the Harvest Goddess.”

“Statue of the Harvest Goddess!?!?!” yelled the other six Sprites.

“You saw a statue? Why didn't you tell me earlier!!” yelled Chef.

“Well, it's just a statue. People erect statues all the time.” said Aqua.

Chef then runs to Aqua, and bonks him on the head, then yells, “You idiot! Most people cannot see us or the Harvest Goddess. How are they going to make a statue of someone they cannot see?”

“Oh. . . I never thought about that before.”answered Aqua.

Timid panics, and says, “This is bad. This is real bad! I'm getting a bad feeling about this. . .”

“So am I.” said Chef. “Yesterday, I got the feeling that we were being watched. Normally, people would not be able to see us unless we want them to. If someone is really watching us, then there's something happening other than Eric's disappearance.”

“Could this be related to Eric in some way?” asked Staid.

“I really don't know. But we're going to need to check on the Harvest Goddess of Forget-Me-Not Valley. I just hope that everyone is okay.” said Chef.

Meanwhile, the Harvest Goddess of Mineral Town waits patiently for Flik. Worries of what may happen if the rope finally breaks flood her mind. As a goddess, she knows that if the rope does break, time, space, and reality will collapse, and everything will be destroyed.

One of her biggest worries is finding Flik on time. Unlike the other Harvest Sprites, Flik is a special Harvest Sprite. Flick is the only sprite that belongs directly to the Harvest Lord. Her worries temporarily fade as soon as a Harvest Sprite wearing black clothing appears before her.

“Nic, Nak, and Flak said you needed to see me.” greets the black clothed Harvest Sprite.

“Flik, I'm glad you're here!” said the Harvest Goddess letting out a sigh of relief. “I need your help! I need you to go to the future, and help bring back a farmer.”

Flik folds his arms and asks, “Bring back a Farmer? What is that supposed to mean?”

The Harvest Goddess sweats nervously. Since Flik works directly under the Harvest Lord, explaining the whole deal with Eric and the cursed stone which she was supposed to protect will be trouble for her. But she doesn't have any other choice, so she explains the whole story about Eric, how he got to the future, and what may happen if he doesn't come back soon.

“Hmm, looks like you got yourself in a pickle there Harvest Goddess of Mineral Town.” said Flik. “But why on earth do you need my help? If you only told the Harvest Lord what happened, he can fix this in a jiffy.”

“No, you can't tell the Harvest Lord!” yelled the Harvest Goddess. “If he found out what I have been doing, he'll have my head! Please Flik, you have to help me!”

Flik thinks for a moment, and says, “I see. But trying to bring back a human lost in time is going to be hard work. What am I going to get out of this?”

“Umm. . . I'll have one of my Sprites make you a lot of cookies. Chef makes some very tasty cookies you know.” answered the Harvest Goddess.

Flik shakes his head no and says, “If you want me to help you fix a problem this bad, I demand a date!”

The Harvest Goddess gasps, and says, “What? Me, date a Harvest Sprite? That's unheard of!”

“If a Harvest Goddess can date a human, I don't see why a Harvest Goddess can't date a Harvest Sprite. Besides, I was created by the Harvest Lord himself. That means that you and I are in the same rank, unlike the Harvest Sprites you created.” Flik then looks away, and continues, “Of course, if you want me to report to the Harvest Lord, I don't mind at all. But it's not like I'm asking you to marry me, I just want to go on a single date.”

“Okay, fine! We'll go on a date. But please, bring Eric back. If he doesn't come back soon, there will be trouble.” said the Harvest Goddess agreeing to Flik's conditions.

Flik nods and asks, “So, where is this 'Eric' human anyway?”

The Harvest Goddess pulls a rolled up piece of paper, and hands it to Flik. “I have written down the coordinates of the timeline where Eric will most likely be found. I used a bond between him and his girlfriend to locate him. Now please, hurry!”

“One 'Eric', coming right up!” said Flik as he vanishes into the void of time.

Forget-me-Not Valley 2008 (Same Day)

All the Harvest Sprites huddle, and use a teleport spell to quickly jump to Forget-Me-Not-Valley. As soon as they get there, they all run to the pond of the Harvest Goddess to check on the Harvest Goddess of Forget-Me-Not-Valley. But as soon as they get there, they all gasp as they find the Statue of the Harvest Goddess.

Chef walks to the statue, and places his hand on it. He can feel pain and sadness coming from the inside of the cold statue. “I knew it! This is no ordinary statue. Someone has turned the Harvest Goddess to stone!”

“But who could have done it?” asked Hoggy.

“Wait a second!” yelled Chef recollecting what the Harvest Sprites of Forget-Me-Not Valley told him earlier. “Nik mentioned something that their Harvest Goddess was going to confront an 'Evil Coniving'. I have no idea what that means, but I bet that this has something to do with that.”

As Chef is trying to figure out who might the “Evil” that Nik mentioned, the Witch Princess slowly creeps behind the Harvest Sprites carrying a net. As soon as the seven Harvest Sprites see the mysterious shadow over them, they turn around and scream.

But they are too late. In only a split second, they find themselves captured by the witch's net. The Witch Princess then raises the net, and lets out a wicked laugh and says, “Foolish Sprites. I've got you!”

Chef struggles in the net, and says, “Who are you?!”

“Who am I?” she asked. “My name is none of your business. But if you must call me something, then call me, Witch Princess”

Chef laughs, and says, “Witch Princess eh? I have no idea why you can see us, but you don't know a thing about us! If you think this net can hold us, your crazy.”

“I would just love to see you try to escape!” said the Witch Princess.

The Harvest Sprites then tries to use their teleport spell to escape the net, and go to the Harvest Goddess of Mineral Town. But as soon as they try to escape, the net sends a high voltage shock to the seven sprites, canceling their spell, and causing lots of pain.

The Witch princess laughs again, and says, “You really think I didn't know all about your little tricks and spells. Well, I have news for you. This net is no ordinary net, it's a anti-magic net! If you try to use any magic while I have you trapped, you'll just be hurting yourselves.”

“Evil witch! Let us go!” demanded Chef.

“Not a chance!” answered the Witch Princess. She then begins to cast a spell on the water of the pond of the Harvest Goddess. A wormhole to another dimension opens up in the pond, the cries of other Harvest Sprites can be heard from within.

As the Witch Princess is about to throw her newly captured Harvest Sprites, Timid begs, “Please stop! Let us go! Why are you doing this?”

“Why am I doing this?” asked the Witch Princess. “This is revenge!!” She then throws the net filled with Harvest Sprites into the wormhole, and quickly shuts it before any sprites have a chance to escape. Afterwards, she goes back into her hut, and checks in the seven sprites she had just captured. After counting all the sprites, she notices that she only has 100 sprites out of the 101 that exist.

Rather than caring about the last sprite, she feels that one Harvest Sprite would make little to no difference. But if she does find it, and if it causes her any trouble, she will capture it.

Summer 21, 2108 (Forget-Me-Not Valley)

Flora and Marty's eyes widen as they listen to Eric's story. He felt that hiding anything would make them lose trust in him, so he told them everything. How he found the black teleport stone, his relationship to Mary, his friendship to the Harvest Sprites, and their goddess, and how he got to Forget-Me-Not Valley 100 years later.

“Well, that pretty much sums everything up. Everything else, you already know.” concluded Eric.

Flora remains speechless. Marty looks at Eric and says, “Let me get this straight. . . You run a farm 100 years ago, which then your son decided not to take over. Then his son opened up a farm here, and I am the son of that farmer. . . So that makes you my great-grandfather?”

Eric nods. Marty then shakes his head in disbelief, and says, “This is unbelievable. Almost something I read in a drama novel back in school. I mean, I guess some people have mentioned that we look a little alike, but I'm not ready to accept the idea that you're related to me, much less my great-grandfather. How do I know that you're not making this up?”

Eric then pulls out his only proof that his story is true. The necklace that his mother had given him a long time ago. As soon as Marty sees it, he checks his pocket for his necklace. They then compare the necklaces, they are exactly alike in every which way, no chance that they may be copies.

“My mother passed away a long time ago. Before she did, she gave me this necklace when I was a young boy. She told me to give it to someone I loved, so that no matter how far apart we are we would never be separated. I'm sure I must have passed it down to the next generation.”

Marty sighs, with this proof in his and Eric's hands, he realizes there could be no way that Eric could be lying to him. But to accept that someone who passed away a long time ago is now talking with him. He doesn't know what to do, or say.

Eric puts the necklace back in his pocket, and asks, “By the way, the necklace you have is only one half. Lumina doesn't have the other half, where is it anyway?”

“My mother gave it to my sister.” answered Marty.

“You have a sister?” asked Eric shocked by the news.

Marty nods and says, “A long time ago, my father gave one half to me, and the other half to my sister. That way, even though me and my sister are far apart, we would still be a family.”

Eric nods. Even though the necklace is supposed to be for lovers, technically it's still serving it's purpose keeping two people together. Flora then stands up, and walks out of the tent.

“Flora, where are you going?” asked Eric.

“I. . . Need to go for a walk.” answered Flora.

Eric scratched his head in confusion. As she left, he almost saw a look of sadness in her eyes. He thought that the news would affect Marty the most, he doesn't understand why Flora is so depressed over it.

“So tell me, what are you still doing here?” asked Marty unexpectedly. “If you're from the past, and you're supposed to be my great-grandfather, then why are you still here? You should be finding a way to get back to your own time, and marry my great-grandmother so that I would be here right now.”

Eric looks down sadly, and says, “I don't know how to get back home. If I did, I would have left a long time ago. I really don't understand why everything just continues to pass as if nothing has happened even without be being in the past. Maybe I'm supposed to go back eventually. Or maybe I'm in another time frame where I existed as both in the past and in the future. After all, there is no other example of people getting lost in time, so there is no way to tell if I can even go back to where I came from or not.”

Things grow silent for a while. Neither of them know what to say to one another at this moment. Should they apologize for the trouble they caused each other? Or should they start over, and greet one another as distant family members? Whatever that they decide to do, they know that their relationship will change for as long as they know each other.

Marty then looks up, and asks, “So. . . I was wondering. . . Do you have a thing for Lumina?”

Eric shakes his head no, and says, “Lumina is a nice girl, but I already have someone I love more than anything.”

Marty then smiles, when he saw Lumina and Eric together playing the piano, he was almost certain that he was a rival for Lumina's affection. But now, he sees her as only a friend. With that weight off his shoulders, he feels that he can at least learn to get along with him a bit better.

Summer 8, 2008 (Mineral Town)

Mary is in the library reading an entry in Eric's diary. As she reads she finds an entry to be rather interesting, because it mentions how Eric first meets the Harvest Goddess. Mary does believe that Harvest Goddesses do exist, but she never knew that there was a way to communicate with them.

In the entry, it mentions that Eric dropped an offering for the goddess, and she appeared before him. After reading that entry, she feels that possibly the Harvest Goddess might be able to tell her what might have happened to Eric. So she closes the library for the day, and heads off to the farm to “borrow” a crop to offer to the goddess.

In the goddess pond, the Harvest Goddess prays for the health and welfare of plants and trees in Mineral Town. But as she is praying, she feels something unusual about the air. “My sprites have not checked in with me for a long time. I cannot even feel them anywhere nearby. And for some odd reason, I cannot communicate with my sister either. Something is wrong, very wrong. . .”

Just then, she sees a tomato being dropped into the pond. For only a moment, she thought that Eric might have returned on his own. So he quickly jumps out of the pond, and makes herself visible. But instead of finding Eric standing over the pond, she finds Mary instead.

Mary and the goddess look at one another awkwardly. Mary has never seen the goddess before, so seeing that the offering really works just shocks her. The Harvest Goddess is just as shocked to see that someone else other than Eric has given her an offering. But even so, she puts on a cheerful smile, and says, “Hello there Mary. Thank you for the offering!”

“You know my name?” asked Mary.

“Of course I do! I know the names of everyone who lives n Mineral Town. So, how can I help you today?”

Mary then folds her hands together, and begins to pray to the goddess saying, “Oh Harvest Goddess, I beseech you. My boyfriend Eric has mysteriously gone missing. I worry for his welfare, so I started reading his diary for clues as to where he may be. I read that he comes to you for aid every once in a while, so I come to ask if you have any idea what may have become of him.”

The Harvest Goddess floats to where Mary is standing, and says, “Its okay, you don't have to worry. Eric did not abandon you, he just got a little lost traveling to a far away place. Eric will come back for you, please just be patient.”

Hearing the goddess promise that Eric will come back revives hope that she will see him again. A tear of joy drips from her face as she says, “Thank you goddess. But I just miss him so much, I wish there was a way I can see him again. Even if it's just for a moment.”

“I can arrange that for you.” answered the Harvest Goddess.

Mary gasps and asks, “You can? How?”

“Show me your necklace, the one Eric gave you. With that, I can open a window where you can see him. I'm afraid that you can only see him, for he cannot see or hear you.”

Just plain knowing that she can see him again is good enough for her. She then pulls out the necklace, and shows it to the goddess. Using the feelings that Eric and Mary share between the two halves of the necklace, the Harvest Goddess opens her hands, and allows a window to open where Mary can peek inside, and look at Eric.

Summer 22, 2108 (Forget-Me-Not Valley)

Eric is at the the Pond of the Harvest Goddess staring at the old statue of the Harvest Goddess. He is not sure why, but he can feel something unusual about it. He can almost feel as if it is alive for some reason. But no matter what angle he looks at it, it's just an old statue to him.

Just then, Flora joins Eric at the pond. For a while, they say nothing to one another. Eric is too preoccupied with the statue to say something, and Flora's mind is lost from Eric's story.

After some time, Flora takes the initiative to say, “It's a nice statue isn't it. I heard that it first appeared about 100 years ago. No one has any clue who made it, or why was it left here.”

Eric sighs, and continues the conversation, “This statue looks exactly like a Harvest Goddess. There's a goddess in Mineral Town that I once communicated with to help me with the farm. I thought that since there is a statue of the goddess here, that I could summon her from this pond. But when I drop an offering here, nothing happens. Sometimes I feel like I can no longer see goddesses or Harvest Sprites. Because if I did, I would have seen one already.”

“It's amazing, I spend my whole life looking at relics, pottery, and statues to study the past. I never thought that I would meet a real live person from the past. I really don't know what to do or say at this point.”

Things grow silent for a while longer. Flora then looks at Eric's determined face, and knows he's thinking about that other girl of his affection. The girl named Mary that he kept mentioning in his story. So she dared to ask, “So this girl. . . Mary. I guess you love her very much.”

Eric sighs sadly and says, “She is the first girl I have ever loved. But, sometimes I feel that because I used something I was not supposed to have, I was torn away from her. Cursed to live here, to only have only dreams or nightmares of her.”

“You really want to go back, do you?” asked Flora.

“I do. But at this point, I don't really know if I can. How am I supposed to go back, if I don't even have what brought me here in the first place? Without any clues, I'm just a sitting duck. I get scared that maybe I cannot go back. Or even worse, what if I go back, and it's too late?”

Flora than grabs on to Eric's hand. He is not sure why, but he feels a bit of comfort feeling his hands in his. Small, yet warm, just like Mary's. Flora then looks at Eric in the eyes, and says, “Eric, I want to help you. I am not sure if I can do anything, but I will do anything I can to help you back home.”

She then moves a bit closer, and says nearly whispering, “And even if you can't go home, just remember that I'll be here with you.”

Flora then moves in, and presses her lips against Eric's. Eric doesn't move away, or stop Flora. Instead, he accepts her kiss. His heart is confused at the moment, he does like Flora, but he loves Mary as well. The thought that he'll never see Mary again leans his heart to Flora.

As they are kissing, Mary is witnessing the whole event through the window the Harvest Goddess has opened up. As she is watching, heart breaking tears fall from her eyes while she begins to whispers frantically, “No. . . No. . . NonononoNO!!!”

She then shouts, “You promised me you would always be there for me! You liar!!!”

She then drops the necklace Eric had given her, and runs away crying the whole time. The Harvest Goddess panics at Mary's extreme reaction. Using what little of the connection that was left as she can muster, she turns back time a bit to see what Mary saw. She feels very disappointed in Eric's actions as she closes the window, but she cannot blame him. She knows that he must be lost, confused, scared, and hurt. Flora has been giving hi lots of kindness, patience, and care without asking for noting in return. Naturally, he'd start to feel something for her.

Just then, she realizes that she had made another mistake that could put the whole balance of time at risk. She let Mary run away without explaining the true meaning of what just happened. Even worse, seeing what she saw. . . Could mean that she had lost the only connection she had to Eric in the future.

In the timeless void, the rope of time begins to snap at a rapid pace. The beginning of the end has just started.

End of part 2

[zero]

Uh, Jux, you put summer 21 in the first Forget Me Not Valley thing, then you put the 9th in the second one. It was the 21st by then for both of them

[bchunter]

i am embarrised to admit that i acually dropped a tear this is getting AWSOME!

[Juxapose]

Fixed

[zero]

I'm already working on Part 3. Jux, check your inbox.

[bchunter]

yes . .working is nice

[zero]

Still working on first chapter of part three, got kind of stuck.

Announcement though. I asked Jux about it, and Once and Future Love might appear on fanfic.net on his account. Along with another story we're beginning to make.

[Pickle]

The words Oh **** appeared in my head.

As much as I love all the story, is it wrong that the parts that make me feel good are the sprite parts?

[Butterscotch]

Should I lock this, or are you continuing this by yourself, Juxapose?