(12) Gathering...

Winter Lake, eight hours ahead...

"I'm Jay."

Jay didn't understand why his new acquaintances were now staring at him as if he were some sort of freak. "Wait a minute. You're Jay? The 'Jay'?"

"Uh, I guess." Jay was starting to feel a tad bit doubtful of these people's sanities.

"Finally!" The blonde girl hugged him, almost crushing his ribs.

"You don't know how great it is to finally meet you!"

"It is?"

"Oh, sorry we haven't introduced ourselves. My name is Rachel. The brunette cyborg over there, you've met already. The buffed up cyborg next to her is Delta Knight or DK as he likes to be called. And the semi-conscious drunk over there is Michael."

"I'm not drunk!" Michael exclaims. "I'm just not fully charged yet."

"See?" Rachel said smirking. "Drunk."

"Okay. I see." was all Jay could say. "I don't suppose you could tell me where we are?"

"To be sure, we're standing in the middle of Blizz...er, I mean, Winter Lake."

"Winter Lake? Wait a minute..." Jay rubbed his temples in disbelief. "That's, like, 3,000 miles from where I started."

"You mean, you were at Ultima?"

"Where?"

"Um...never mind. Anyway, how'd you get here?"

"I don't know, last thing I remember I was with Rufus and..." Jay's short-term memory finally came back into play. "Oh no! Rufus! I've got to get back there!" He tries to stand up too fast and ends up sitting back down due to the inertia of blood flow. "Don't worry," Rachel says. "We'll..."

"DK," Michael whispers while Rachel calms down Jay. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

DK looks at Michael curious. "Yeah, sure. You fully powered up yet?"

Michael nods. "I've got enough."

Michael activates his "Matrix Flight" ability and vanishes into the sky. DK follows with a boost from his hover-capable boots. After ending up above the cloud layers and into the direct sunlight, Michael waits for DK to catch up. "Took you long enough."

"Hey, I was taking it easy because I thought you were still weakened."

"Yeah, right." Michael smirks.

"So, what's on your mind that's so private we have to fly out of earshot?" DK asks.

Michael's face becomes a somber expression. "Do you really believe this is the Jay we're looking for?"

DK raises an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

Michael crosses his arms and sighs. "After all the adventures up to this point, I've learned never to take situations for granted. If this is Jay, then we've got nothing to worry about. But if it isn't..."

DK nods. "Yeah, I know. We all have to stay on our guard."

"I'm just saying that this seemed a little too easy. We're barely here for an hour or so, and the first human being we end up running into is the one we're looking for. That doesn't seem like too much of a coincidence to you?"

"Well, didn't the Oracle say we'd meet Jay soon after we arrived?"

Michael threw a side-glance in consideration. "True... but then again, the Oracle has made mistakes. It thought we could defeat the enemy in our time period, but then it changed its mind and we ended up here..."

"But what we're doing now is our best chance at survival, or at least our best chance at saving the planet."

"Still, I think we should be careful." Michael crosses his arms again.

"Well, hopefully you're just being paranoid." DK smiles. "It wouldn't be the first time."

Before Michael can retort DK flies back to the group.

"Heh. Cute." Michael says. He closes his eyes and absorbs as much energy from the sunlight as possible. With his solar battery and his backup battery fully charged, he returns to the group.
...
"Where'd you say you guys were from again?" Jay asks the girls.

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you." Lara replies.

"I've been through a lot of crazy stuff so far. Try me."

Lara and Rachel glance at each other. "We're from the future."

"The future, huh?" Jay says rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "That would explain your appearance."

"What's wrong with our appearance?" Rachel asks with a hint of anger in her voice.

"Well, you don't look like you're from around here. I mean at least Lara doesn't."

"Why me and not DK?" Lara says with a slight growl.

"Uh," Jay starts to wish he hadn't said anything at all. "DK looks almost normal, except for that body armor of his. You however..."

"So let me get this straight. He can blend in, but I can't?" Lara looks at Rachel. "Are guys stupid in this era too or is it just him?"

"Never mind! I'm sorry I said anything. But I've got to know. What's the future like?"

Lara still a little steamed at the disrespect remained silent. Rachel rolled her eyes in thinking of a way to explain. "Well, you know how back in the 1990's, people were expecting flying cars and neon lights at the turn of the millennium?"

"Yeah?"

"Pretty much the same thing. I mean sure, there have been some technological advancements, but not as much as you'd think."

"A disappointment, when you think about it," DK says, landing beside the group. Glancing at Lara's expression, DK knew better than to ask what happened.
"So, what's our next move?"