The Nevermoor Multiverse

Ezra the Boy meets Squall the Monster PT.1

Good evening everyone! I’m your host, Andromeda the Watcher. Tonight, we have some breaking news! A fifteen-year-old, Morrigan Crow variant, has slain the great Rumplestiltskin. Also known as the one controlling the timeline. While it might seem like she made a good decision, she made a decision that has dire consequences. Be careful everyone, we are now entering the multiverse. 

Seventeen-year-old Ezra Squall was not where he was supposed to be. Or at least, that’s what he thought. He thought he was taking a stroll through Nevermoor. However, he noticed that everything was starting to look different. For example, the last time he was here; that store had been a candy store, not a bookstore. And the streetlights were a different design too. He started to take in the people around him. People were wearing shorts, skirts, short-sleeves, long-sleeves, clothes with vibrate patterns, etc. There were people with brightly colored hair, nails, and makeup. Ezra didn’t mind this at all. He thought they looked lovely and was happy that people were able to express themselves. He just didn’t understand how things had changed so suddenly. Nevermoor didn’t look like this five minutes ago. He decided he needed to take a break from walking. He noticed an alleyway and started to head for it. Once he was inside, he would sit there for a few minutes. 

Once he was inside, he sat down and closed his eyes. There’s an explanation for this, he thought to himself. You’re not going crazy. Everything will be okay. But he was still worried. He could feel his anxiety starting to rise up inside of him. There were negative thoughts that kept coming and coming. They told him that he would not be okay. That there was something that was seriously wrong. His arms were wrapped around him and he was having a hard time breathing. He tried to do his breathing exercise that Brilliance Amadeo recommended. But he was still shaken up. He wished Brilliance Amadeo was with him. If she was here, she would know what to do. Divine, why did I insist on walking by myself today, Ezra thought to himself. 

“Hello there,” said a soft voice coming from Ezra’s left side.

There was a man coming from the entrance of the alleway and heading towards Ezra. He stopped only a few feet away from him. Ezra’s panic began to rise again. The man looked like him. Like, a lot like him. He literally looked like an older version of Ezra. There were some differences though. For example, the man wore wire-rimmed glasses and his hair was combed back. He also had some gray hair at his temples and a scar that cut through his left eyebrow. 

The man seemed to be observing Ezra too. Then, he spoke again.

“Are you okay?” he asked, still in a soft voice. “It sounded like you were scared.”

“Who are you?” Ezra said in a shaky voice.

“I’m Mr. Jones,” he said with a kind smile. “And you are?”  

He bent down and held out his hand for Ezra to shake.

Ezra was not going to shake his hand.

“You’re lying,” Ezra said while inching away from the man.

Ezra had had enough for one day. All he wanted to do was take a stroll and observe Nevermoor’s scenery. Now? Well, now he is stuck in a place where everyone and everything looks different. And to make matters worse, a man that looks like him won’t leave him alone. And Ezra had a feeling that he couldn’t trust him. Despite the fact that the man seemed nice; there was something off about him. 

The man stood up and sighed.

    “Yes, yes I am,” the man said as he dropped his soft voice and replaced it with a dull one.

    He tilted his head and observed Ezra before continuing.

    “Do you know who I am?” he asked.

    “You’re me,” Ezra replied, still wary of the man, “But that’s impossible.”

    “Oh, trust me,” the older Ezra replied, “It is,”

    “Why am I here?” young Ezra asked him.

    The older Squall tilted his head to the side and looked at the sky. It was clear to young Ezra that he was trying to figure things out.

    “I don’t know,” older Ezra said, “But perhaps we can start from the beginning, so we can try to figure things out?”

    “How are we going to do that?” younger Ezra asked hesitantly.

    He still did not trust older Ezra.

    The older Ezra tilted his head to the side and looked at him.

    “I need you to tell me what happened before you stepped into this alleyway.”