Alista Azimuth: Time Stops Here - Chapter 1

I stand completely still. In front of me there is a time portal. How it got here and where it leads to, I don't know. But it's there. I know it is. I think for a minute and finally, I decide to leave it because who knows what's behind it! There could be some angry space pirates looking for battle or something else that is not what I want to get myself into… I turn around and start heading home. I originally came out just for a walk, but I'm the type of Lombax that gets side-tracked very easily… Which I still don't know if that's a good thing, or a bad thing. I guess it's a good thing because I might notice something totally out-of-the-blue that's important, or could save the Universe… Or my dad. I stop dead in my tracks. "What if that portal leads to my father?" I ask myself quietly. I sigh, "…but I highly doubt that it does." I start walking a few steps, but stop again. "No," I say, "I've got to go through that time portal! I have no idea where I'll end up, but there's a one in a million chance that it leads to my dad, and so, maybe this is one of those times you should just go with what you're feeling. And I have the slightest feeling my father's behind that portal. Let's do this." I turn around and start running directly for the portal. But once again, I stop. "Why can't I do it?!" I say frustrated. "I have to do this!" I try to force my body through the portal, but it's no use. My heart wants to go through it, but my common sense won't let me. "I…I have to…" before I can finish my sentence, I fall backwards into the portal. Someone must have pushed me into it purposely, but I was too busy screaming to do anything about it. I keep falling and falling, until I land ontop of a ship. I'm still screaming, and my ears are flapping crazily in the wind, but I manage to grab on tight to the wing of the starship. Then all of a sudden, I feel this tug on my tail. I turn around to see an orange and yellow male Lombax holding my tail! At this point, I am totally out of breath and shocked. "What are you doing?!" I yell at the yellow figure dangling below me. "Trying to get a grip on Alister's ship! Where the heck did you come from?!" he yells back. I pause and it feels like my heart stops beating. I take a deep breath and try to focus. "This is Alister's ship?!" I ask, holding out my hand for him to grab on so I could pull him up. I am feeling really dizzy now and can barely speak. So many questions are running through my mind. But the only one I manage to actually say out loud is, "Are you going to grab my hand or not?" He gives me a look, then grabs my hand. I pull him up onto the starship and he looks at me. "Woah," he says, staring into my eyes. "You're a…" I cut him off, "…Lombax?" I say. "Heh, yeah," he says. "What's your name?" I ask. "Ratchet," he replies. "And yours?" I pause for a minute. "Oh, uh, Alista!" I reply in a rush. "Really?!" he asks. "That name is very similar to Alister's…" he says. I can tell he's kind of spaced-out at the moment. "Here," I say, "Move up a bit more." Ratchet moves up beside me and just about slips off. Luckily, I grabbed his hand just in time and pulled him back up. "Haha, are you okay?" I asked laughing. "Yeah, couldn't be better!" he replies. The starship is going a billion miles per hour and now I am beside another Lombax. What the heck is going on?! First thing I know, I am pushed backwards into a portal, next thing I know I'm ontop of a ship with another Lombax I don't even know, nor have I ever seen… And it's my father's starship! Things couldn't get any more ironic than this, I swear.