"We won't get there in time. Robin Hood and his so called Merry Men already left. The contest is going to begin soon. Unless we don't get there in time, but I really, really don't like doing this unless I have to, and my powers don't work very well this far away from the Disc." Susan muttered.
"What are you talking about? Will we make it or not?" Lucas asked, confused. Pit was frustrated with himself because if he could fly, they'd already be there.
"No, I'm going to place us outside of time. We won't get there inside time." Susan explained.
"How… how on earth does that work? Is it dangerous?"
"No, I've done it millions of times. As for how it wprks, well, I don't really know. It's sort of like throwing off a metaphorical large overcoat, but the overcoat is time." she said.
"Will we get separated from our bodies or something? I'm still not sure I'm following…"
"Time itself stops, but the duration continues, I guess."
"…What?" What the heck is she trying to say?
"It'll be better if I showed you." Susan told them, snapping her fingers. The finger snapping wasn't essential, but time stopped. The leaves flowing in the gentle breeze stopped, and there was an unnatural silence.
Lucas felt weird. Something about this just seemed… wrong. The birds slowed to a stop, and everything was just frozen. The complete silence was unnerving, and he could hear his heart pounding.
"Off we go then." Susan said, resuming the hike.
(Hello? You there?)
"How fascinating…" Pit murmured, glancing about. "You know, I've never seen it done this way before. Usually when Lady Palutena sends me to the past, it's instantaneous."
"Well, I'm not really what you'd call a creature of time. More of a schoolteacher. Handy skill for grading papers, I suppose."
(Are you online?)
"True… is the Doctor a creature of time? I mean, Lady Palutena's a goddess, so she can kind of do what she pleases in that area."
"Yes and no." Susan said. They were nearing the castle now.
"What?" "Does the Doctor know when you're stopping time?" Lucas asked curiously.
"He knows I can do it, he doesn't bother to care. I've saved his life with this ability many times, so it evens out."
"Must be cool to say you've saved the Doctor's life. He doesn't seem like a man who often accepts help."
"Yes, the trick is to force the help upon him. He was reluctant to ask for my help with Harry as well, but that's a story for another time. Anyways, I can place us back inside time since we're at the castle now." Susan said, snapping her fingers. Suddenly , everything resumed, and the sound of crowds cheering could be heard for miles.
"Won't people notice that three people, one of which is an angel, just suddenly appeared out of nowhere?" Lucas asked, looking around at the crowds who appeared to have noticed nothing.
"Oh, right, I forgot to mention. Funny thing about most humans, they rarely ever see what's really there. They have Second Sight, which glosses over the bits that don't fit or make sense, but people like me and you have First Sight, where we can see what's really there. It's a good skill to have. The Doctor might call it a perception filter." she explained.
(The whole "First Sight" thing is actually a thing in Discworld, so I'm using it as your friendly neighborhood plot device lmao.)
"Wait, wait, wait… did you say that I have First Sight? But… but I'm just a normal person! Right? Why would I have it?" Lucas asked nervously. Is there something wrong with me?
"No, normal people can have it. You should feel lucky, honestly."