Chapter 3: So, What kind of timeline am I in?
Ethan can be seen pacing around his room thinking about what this implies. His aunt is Morgan Le Fay, that means that one of his parents is probably from his Aunt's time as well. The question is, since that's the case, were they really just in an accident, or is there something amiss?
'So, right now, it is 2008, but wasn't the first episode of Modern Family in 2009?' Ethan thought.
'Are they like my tutorial for my new life? They moved the events a year earlier as to not coincide with the first Iron Man movie? So, what kind of timeline am I in?'
Ethan's been trying to rack his brain for quite some time and didn't notice that it is already night time, and at that moment...
*Ding**Dong*
The sound of the doorbell got him out of his stupor and went to the door. Before he can ask who the person outside is, he already found out the answer.
"Hey, Vitamin E, it's Vitamin P. Can you open the door?"
Ethan then opened the door and smiled at Phil.
"Hey, Phil! How was the dinner?"
"It was good! Mitch and Cam introduced us to their new baby named Lily! Mitch is Claire's brother if you didn't know, and Cam is his boyfriend. They just got back from Vietnam and when they told us they have an announcement, Claire's dad thought that Cam got boobs, which is hilarious."
Phil then went on and on about what happened at the baby reveal then he suddenly looked like he remembered something.
"Oh, right I forgot. We brought you some food. Claire and I didn't know if you ate yet, so here you go. If you have just store it and heat it up tomorrow." Phil said while smiling and handing Ethan a bag.
"You shouldn't have, but thank you. You guys are so nice to me."
"Well, you seem like a nice young man. You may be the kind of guy who keeps to yourself, but your aunt told us all about you and what a nice kid you are. Now she's gone, we hope we can at least take care of you in some ways."
'Phil is really good. Even though he's silly most of the time, he's really mature when it matters. It's too bad neither of my dads—whether from this life or my past one—were like him.' Ethan thought.
"Don't worry, Vitamin P," Ethan grinned, trying to lighten the mood. "I'm okay. And I'm really thankful for you guys. Honestly, I'm kinda jealous of how nice of a family you have." His smile lingered, but something in his eyes hinted at the weight of those words.
"If you marry one of my daughters, then you'd be officially part of our family too." Phil said with a huge smile which made Ethan cough a bit.
"I'm just kidding, Ethan." Phil laughed and continued, "I got to go, then. Claire's waiting for me and I need to touch her all over."
This made Ethan's eyes go wide, then Phil said in a hurried manner, "For a massage. The dinner stressed her out a bit and asked for my help as I'm a licensed hair stylist and masseuse. So, if that hair of yours grew any longer, just come over and I can cut it for you."
"Haha! Okay, Phil. Go and help your wife with a "massage"" Ethan said while making air quotes on the word massage.
This made Phil blush and then defended himself.
"It really is a massage"
This made Ethan smile and waved Phil goodbye.
"Wait, I get one of this? Awesome!"
*looks at the camera then looks behind it*
"Do I get a script or should I just say anything?"
*stands up and accidentally hit the camera and everything ends with static while hearing Ethan saying sorry a couple of times in the background*
"The Dunphy's are really nice"
When I opened the bag I saw a huge piece of barbeque with potato salad on the side.
"This looks delicious"
I then proceeded to heat it up and eat it all in record time.
After lazing around watching the TV, I decided that it is time to sleep and went to bed, forgetting that I had the ruby necklace in my pocket.
"Huh?" I looked around and saw a familiar castle behind me.
'Am I back in Morpheus' Domain?'
I looked closely at the castle. Although it looks like Morpheus' Castle, there are some difference. Especially when I went inside. It was completely empty.
'Was Morpheus' robbed?'
"No, he isn't, because this isn't his domain."
'Why does that sound familiar?' I turned around and saw Stan again.
"Oh, hi! Did you pluck me out a universe again?"
Stan smiled at me.
"No. I just thought that you might need some help around this new place of yours."
"My place? I took Morpheus' place?" I asked with a look of surprise.
"Yes, but actually no."
"What does that mean?"
"You're in your own version of Morpheus' domain, but it's unique to you. The true Dreaming exists elsewhere, but your connection to the Dreamstone gives you access to this space."
I just stood there with a look of confusion in my face and asked, "Since I have this place, am I like an Endless as well? And are you sure that only I have an access to this place? Aren't dreams in Marvel Nightmare's domain?"
"You're really quite well informed, aren't you? Although, you are wrong in some sense. Nightmare's domain is Nightmare world which is only a part of the Dream Dimension. And you're not like the Endless. You're still a mortal, with an access to his own dimension, and to be clear, it is not part of the Dream Dimension since the current Dream Dimension is nothing but the
"Wait—hold on. Let's rewind a bit. Do I really get my own dimension? That's—whoa. So, if I become a sorcerer, I could… what, not need to borrow from other dimensions?"
"Well, that's one of the benefits, yes."
"Cool. Though, right now, I am in this place, but not actually?"
"Yes."
"Okay, I get it, somehow. What can I do here, though?" I asked Stan, hoping that he could shed some light on what I can use it for.
"Right now, you can't do much. Though, you can try and do what you did in my white space and see the difference." Stan said.
I then thought about changing the surroundings into New York while Godzilla is trying to destroy it, and when I opened my eyes, gone was the castle, and instead Stan and I are in the middle of a street in New York where Godzilla is walking on.
As I watch it happen, Godzilla then looked at us and try to slam his tail at us. I told him to stop, but everything around us froze.
"Huh, I guess you still need to practice control." said Stan.
"Well, that's all the time I have right now. I'll make sure that this little dimension of yours is safe until you can defend it yourself."
Stan snapped his fingers, and suddenly the dream faded away. When I opened my eyes, the morning light was already filtering through the blinds, and my alarm buzzed beside me.
"Excelsior" a faint voice said, which I knew was Stan.
I smiled but I was pissed about my alarm buzzing.
*bzzt**bzzt* *bzzt**bzzt*
"Ugh, stupid alarm. I'm already awake."
I then took my phone and remembered that it was Monday. So I hurried to get ready for school and ate my breakfast quickly to avoid being late, since I'd need to take my bike.
"Couldn't she have left when school was over?"
I said remembering my Aunt who was the one who drove me to school but is currently "dead". So, I have no choice but to pedal my way to school.
When I got out of the front door, I saw Claire getting inside their car while her kids were already inside. Claire noticed me and called my attention.
"Hey, Ethan! Are you going to school?"
I nodded.
"How about you get in the car? We have enough room. I'm sure it's too tiring to use that bike to go to school with, right?
"Is that okay?"
"Of course." Luke then popped his head out the window. "Yeah, come on, Ethan! That way, I won't be the only boy in here."
I smiled and then agreed.
The drive to school was quiet, other than Luke telling me all about how he plans to beat his dad in basketball and asking me for tips. Haley was too busy with her phone, while Alex was reading her books as her mother warns her that it might make her eyesight worsen.
Haley was the first one to be dropped off, and after that it was me and Alex. Alex then ignored me and just went straight inside.
I saw one of Ethan's(before unlocking his memories) friend, Zoey, who turns out to be Zoey Deutch. I didn't know her that much, just the fact that she was in Zombieland Double Tap in the future.
"Hey, Ethan. Saw you getting off the car with the Ice Queen. Are you dating?
"What? No, we're not. Her mom just let me ride with them instead of biking here."
"I know, I'm just messing with you. Sorry about your aunt, by the way. I guess that's why you weren't around since last week."
I didn't know what to say, so I just said thank you.
"Well, we need to get inside or else Mrs. Mulligan will get mad at us." said Zoey before pulling me to our class.
The rest of the classes was uneventful. Mrs. Mulligan give me some requirements to catch up on the week that I missed, but other than that, it has been easy.
I had to go to the Music Club room after school, though, and when I get there, our advisor was waiting for me.
"Ethan! Welcome back. I heard that your aunt passed. My condolences."
Like earlier, I just thanked her since I really don't know what to say since she's not really dead.
"So, I know this might be all of a sudden, but the school will have a talent show in a month, and I was hoping that you can perform that day. Is that possible?" she asked.
I thought about it and find the idea fun so I agreed.
'Maybe I could finally use my Audiographic Memory and impersonate someone for the talent show.'
After catching me up on the music club's happenings, I find Alex waiting for me outside the clubroom.
"Mom asked me to call you over. Do you know how long I've been waiting here?"
"Oh, you could've went home already."
"Mom didn't want to leave you since she asked you to go with us."
"Okay, then."
I walked with Alex through the corridors and I noticed people are staring. I looked at Alex and saw she's hiding her face with her books.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah, let's just go." Alex then started walking faster than earlier.
As we were walking, Zoey run up to us.
"And you said you're not dating" Zoey whispered in my ear.
"We're not. Her mom's just helping me get home, okay?"
"Well, when can I come over again? You need help with some of our assignments, right?" Zoey asked.
Alex then looked at our direction and with a scowl said, "Come on Ethan, Mom's been waiting for some time. "
This earned a smirk from Zoey, and teased Alex.
"Are you jealous?"
"Wha-? Why would I be?" Alex walked away with a huff.
"Well, I better get going." I said to Zoey.
The moment we got to Claire's car, Luke surprised us by popping out of the window again.
"Hey, Ethan!"
"Waah!" both Alex and I screamed a bit.
"Luke, what did I say about putting your head out the window?" Claire said.
"Not to." Luke answered, and when Claire was about to nod her head, Luke added, "but the car is not moving"
Claire just gave Luke "the look".
"Come on, you two. Get in. We need to get home."
"Are we not picking up Haley?" Alex asked.
"She's going to the mall with her friends"
"Why can she go wherever she wants with her friends, but I can't?" Alex asked.
"You need to have friends first before you can do that." Luke answered, while I just quietly said, "Daaaaaaamn"
Needless to say, the ride home was filled with Alex and Luke's argument that when we reach their place, Claire apologized for her kids.
"It's okay, Mrs. Dunphy. I should be thanking you for letting me ride with you."
Claire smiled then asked me if I'd like to come over for dinner, which I declined, saying I have a lot of things to finish for school and still have some food I can heat up for dinner.
With that, I get inside my house, but I froze when I see someone sitting on my couch while drinking tea.
"Hello, Young Ethan. We have a lot to talk about."
The figure stand up and opened a sparkling portal. The Ancient One stepped through, her calm presence contrasting with the swirling magic of the portal behind her. Through the shimmering doorway, I glimpsed a courtyard bathed in golden light, an air of ancient wisdom hanging over the stone walls. She motioned for me to follow, and really, who was I to resist?
Am I really lucky or jinxed?
*to be continued*