Day 9
Title: Letters Going Nowhere
Fandom: X-Men: Days of Future Past
Rating: PG-13
Word Count:
Summary: Charles writes letters to Raven, even though there's nowhere to send any of them.
Link: Here
Title: Stuck in the Past
Fandom: Black Books
Rating: G
Word Count: 248
Summary: Fran has questions about Bernard's new enterprise ...
“Bernard,” Fran said, in the patient voice that she had cultivated for talking to Bernard over the years. “Why is your bookshop full of records?”
Bernard looked up from the vinyl that he was apparently admiring. His eyebrows did the thing that they did where he was trying to inform you that you were completely unreasonable for asking him something.
“What’s wrong with my records?!”
“The fact that you run a bookshop and not a record shop …?”
“So?! I can reach out, I can try new things! I can be … anybody!”
Fran rolled her eyes.
“Where’s Manny? Doesn’t he have something to say about this?”
“Oh Manny. He’s a throwback, he can’t cope with change.”
Manny stumbled in, clutching an armful of books which he was clearly trying to arrange on top of all the records. He gave Fran a despairing look.
“Fran, it’s hopeless, he just won’t listen!”
“I don’t have to listen!” Bernard shouted. “This is my shop! I am embracing change and …and dignity and … things that you don’t understand! So there!”
Fran rolled her eyes at Manny.
“Ignore him, Manny. He can’t help the fact that it’s him who is stuck in the past.”
Bernard’s indignant splutters made it worth the knowledge that in a week, she’d probably be helping them either clean up broken bits of vinyl or would get stuck attempting to actually sell the stuff for profit.
If it was the latter, she was so taking a commission.
Title: Impact
Fandom: Blake's 7
Rating: G
Word Count: 205
Summary: Orac is not interested in its crewmates
Orac wasn’t interested in what it supposed was its enforced crewmates.
Largely, they just existed in the pointless way that many organic creatures did. Their understanding of everything was so simplistic, so narrow. They actually believed that they were important, that their actions mattered. In the great scheme of things, very little that they would do, that they could do would mean anything to anybody. Yet humans constantly behaved as though what they did was important. Constantly acted as though their petty concerns had some sort of affect on the higher order of things.
Of course, in a very faint sense, they did, Orac supposed. It had the capability to track actions, to predict, to see things that would happen in the future - sometimes the very far distant future. Sometimes, humans did things that affected the very strands of the universe and would change everything, like a butterfly flapping its wing. Orac could see how it could easily watch those threads and even affect them with the right sort of coaching.
But they never asked it anything important like that, of course. So Orac simply recorded their generally stupid actions and did its own research into the more interesting universe that they could never understand.
Title: Peas in a Pod
Fandom: Confessions of Dorian Gray
Rating: PG
Word Count: 198
Summary: Of course Dorian tried having sex with his double.
It only happened once but of course it happened.
I’m not sure anybody could meet their exact double and not think about it. What it would be like to have sex with that person. What it would be like to see ones own face react to being kissed.
Moore had clearly been thinking about it. He got himself properly drunk, of course. A nice, upstanding man like him, admitting to a fantasy about another man? Simply not done, don’t you know? Unless, apparently, you’re utterly drunk and living a different life because you can.
He wasn’t a brilliant kisser - although perhaps that was the amount of alcohol consumed. His mouth was soft though, that was quite nice. He had grabby hands and his technique was nothing compared to mine, of course. But that wasn’t the point. That wasn’t the point of any of this.
The point was that moment. The moment of seeing yourself caught up in the moment, your own face. Recording in my mind how it was, what other people were seeing when they were with me.
The strange thing was, I didn’t like it that much.
Perhaps there’s some things that you just shouldn’t know.
Title: Mystery
Fandom: Detective Academy Q
Rating: G
Word Count: 375
Summary: Kyuu and Ryu talk about their detective notebooks
Kyuu was a little surprised to find Ryu reading his DDS notebook.
Kinta often wanted a look but that was because he’d nearly never written up their cases when he should have done and needed to remember what they’d actually been doing. Ryu always wrote up his cases straight away so he couldn’t possibly want it for that.
“Whatcha doin’?” he asked and Ryu blinked at him, seemingly surprised. Kyuu grinned at him and perched himself on the desk.
“It’s … I was looking,” Ryu said, sounding unusually flustered.
“I detected that,” Kyuu said. “Do I have to now attempt to work out why?”
“No,” Ryu said. “I just wanted to see … how different it was.”
He handed Kyuu the notebook, then paused and handed over his own. Kyuu glanced at him, then slowly opened the book.
It was very neat, of course. Ryu wrote everything very carefully, every detail meticulously recorded. Kyuu sighed jealously. He did write up all his cases but he knew it would never be as neat and well done as this.
Ryu didn’t look proud though. He looked weirdly sad, as though there was something wrong with it. Kyuu looked again, trying to work out why Ryu would be upset.
“It’s really good,” he went for at last.
“Oh yes, I know,” Ryu said. “I am probably the best in the class for writing up a factual records of our cases.”
It didn’t sound conceited coming from him, just … strange. Kyuu knew there was something upsetting him but he still couldn’t work out what it was. If Ryu was so sure his was the best, why was he sad?
Kyuu hated not being able work things out.
“Ryu … ”
“Yours has all the feelings,” Ryu said. “You write about what happened but you also capture the how and the why of it without needing to explain.”
He took his notebook back from Kyuu and stood up.
“I can’t do that, you see.”
He walked out of the room, leaving Kyuu alone. Kyuu stared at his own returned notebook, thoroughly confused. The only thing he was really sure of was that it was another part of the mystery that was Ryu.
Title: Investigation
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: G
Word Count: 200
Summary: The Brigadier is not inpressed.
“Doctor,” the Brigadier said. “This is all your fault.”
The Doctor gave him the kind of indignant look that only the Doctor could produce.
“I hardly think that’s fair, Brigadier. After all, you asked me to investigate this matter, you know.”
“I asked you to investigate the disappearances,” the Brigadier growled. “I didn’t ask you to stick your nose into every single thing that has happened in this village since the dawn of time, getting us thrown into this pit!”
“Well, be fair Brigadier,” the Master said, sounding annoyingly cheerful. “He did discover me.”
The Brigadier decided to continue his policy of pretending that the Master wasn’t down there with them and just continued to glare at the Doctor, who was looking pleased with himself - as if they hadn’t guessed the Master was involved already!
“When you three have quite finished,” Jo Grant spoke up, sounding rather smug. “I’ve managed to unlocked the door. And if the Master would like to go first, just in case there’s a guard with a club waiting … ”
The Brigadier privately resolved to give her a pay rise. And put this on her permanent record. Possibly under “saving the lives of her superiors.”
Title: Good Enough
Fandom: Merlin
Rating: G
Word Count: 392
Summary: Merlin was not inpressed the first time he heard the tales.
Merlin was not absolutely delighted when he first heard Arthur’s story told.
In the first set of centuries, he hadn’t really been in any state to try and keep on top the stories. The annoying thing about being immortal was that you could just sort of stop doing anything and still not actually die. So after he’d experienced so many deaths of old friends and their children that he just couldn’t take it any more, he’d just gone and sat in a cave for about a century. After the first few days, hunger and thirst stopped being a problem and he’d just sort of … dozed.
At least until a part of the mountain fell down, waking him most disagreeably. Then he’d had to climb out of the damn place and since he was awake, he’d thought that he probably ought to look around and see how things had changed.
Not so much in some ways. Quite considerably in others. And as Merlin had wandered around, he began to hear stories and eventually, he’d managed to find a proper storyteller and listened to what he had to say.
“You realise that isn’t what happened, don’t you?”
The man gave him a most affronted look. The argument had become a little heated and Merlin had eventually won it by setting the man’s trousers on fire. Childish but satisfying.
Unfortunately, it didn’t do any good where the stories were concerned. Nobody seemed to really want to believe Merlin’s tales - but perhaps it was because Merlin was a mad, old man who was rambling about a King Arthur who could be a complete prat sometimes.
That was the thing about stories. They sometimes got away from you. And that was something Merlin understood far, far too well.
For a while, he was angry. But slowly, as time went by, he began to change his mind. The stories were mostly wrong, of course. There could be no denying that. Bizarre inventions and swerves from the truth that Merlin actually found rather hilarious sometimes.
But people liked them. More than that, they loved them. They loved Arthur and Gwen and Lancelot and Gawain. They wanted more of them. And while they wanted more, they would never been forgotten.
And while Merlin waited and waited for Arthur to return, the knowledge that others loved him too was enough.
Title: Visitations
Fandom: Confessions of Dorian Gray/Sapphire and Steel
Rating: G
Word Count: 720
Summary: Dorian has always liked unusual experiences ...
When I heard there were recorded sightings of ghosts in Browlyn Hall, I couldn’t resist going to see.
I’ve never actually seen a ghost. Spirits, yes - and yes, spirits are different from ghosts. Demons, slightly more than I’d like really. Ghosts? No. And I wanted to see a ghost. I thought I would be quite exciting. And all the usual haunted houses had never actually yielded results.
So I packed up a few things and headed down there, hoping that I wouldn’t be disappointed. Luckily, I did know a few people in the area that might provide some entertainment so I didn’t think I’d be too crushed no matter what.
It was fairly easy to get into Browlyn Hall with a few stories about how I was an expert in such matters - well, I was as close as they were going to get to one anyway. I set myself up comfortably in one of the rooms and waited to see if any haunting apparitions would arrive.
By one in the morning, I was feeling disappointed and bored. There didn’t seem to be any sign of any ghosts. No chain rattling, no wails or moans, not even a hint of ectoplasm. It was a little cold but that was probably because the place was a badly insulated old hall rather than because there were fascinating and exciting ghosts.
To alleviate my boredom, I decided to investigate the alcohol situation and took a little walk. I was just investigating a particularly nice looking scotch when I suddenly realised I was not alone in the room.
The man and woman watching me were certainly not ghosts but something gave me the impression that they were not quite normal either. I haven’t got this far in my life without being alert and there was something about the way they stood, something about the way they were looking at me … and the fact that I hadn’t actually heard them come in.
Still, I had come here for entertainment. I finished pouring my drink and smiled at them.
“Want a drink?”
“Who are you?” the man asked. He sounded aggressive.
“Dorian Gray. And yours?”
“My name is Sapphire,” the lady said, giving me a nice smile. “This is Steel. We didn’t realise anybody else would be here.”
I was a little annoyed that they didn’t bat an eyelid at “Dorian Gray” but then, with names like “Sapphire” and “Steel”, perhaps they felt they couldn’t comment on unusual monikers.
“I’m investigating ghosts,” I said. “I assume you’re here for the same reasons.”
“We are here to investigate time anomalies,” Steel said, as though that was supposed to mean something.
“You seem to be a bit of a time anomaly yourself,” Sapphire said. She was still smiling at me, a smile that seemed genuine … but I sensed something else. Something strange. I felt as though she wasn’t just looking at me, she was looking inside me - a sensation that I couldn’t say that I enjoyed.
“You could say something like that,” I said, shrugging lightly. “And what kind of anomalies are you?”
Steel gave me a very irritated look. Sapphire put her hand on his arm and after a moment, he turned and walked away, apparently feeling the need to examine the walls. Sapphire moved over to stand next to me.
“We come from … elsewhere,” she said. “To investigate things that go wrong with time.”
“Ghosts are a time problem?”
“They’re not ghosts. They’re crossing over from places in time where they’re breaking through. Some of them aren’t aware of what’s happening but some of them are angry which is why you’ve been hearing reports.”
Well, it made sense. All right, where they came from didn’t make sense but I could understand all the stuff about time.
“Do you do this a lot?”
“Yes.”
“Do you need help?”
“Perhaps. You might get hurt. Are you willing to wait around and see?”
I downed the last bit of my drink and put the glass down on the table.
“Why not? It sounds like fun.”
Steel made a sound that was definitely a snort. Sapphire just carried on smiling. I didn’t trust either of them and I knew that there was danger - but I’ve never, ever known when I ought to turn my back on a challenge.
Title: Home of the Murder Wizard
Fandom: Dead Like Me/Hannibal
Rating: PG
Word Count: 330
Summary: The Reapers aren't thrilled to be going back to the same place again ...
“Roxy,” Rube said. “Road trip.”
Roxy’s eyes narrowed and she didn’t take the post-it Rube was offering her.
“Is that down to that damn Creek place again?”
Rube’s shrug said it all. Roxy’s scowled.
“Aw hell Rube, I’m not going down there again! It’s always crazy shit, like those guys with the mushrooms!”
“Look, I’m just given the messages, it’s not my fault,” Rube said. “Someone’s gotta cover.”
“Isn’t there anyone who lives closer?” Mason asked. “Or like, someone who could move in? Because frankly, they’ve got murders going on every week down there and I think it’s a bit shoddy. What’s the police force doing anyway?”
“Not our problem,” Rube said. “If they want some guy to kill their whole population and bring the value of the real estate value down, that’s their problem. Our problem is finding these nice people and saving them the pain of being turned into artwork or whatever’s up this time.”
“Why me?!” Roxy demanded. “Send someone else! I ain’t interested in seeing the “murder wizard’s” work again!”
“I am not going back there,” Daisy announced firmly. “I am an actress and I am very sensitive. I can’t possibly afford to see those kind of things on a regular basis. Besides, last time ruined my shoes.”
“No thank you!” Mason said. “I had nightmares for a month!”
“Hey, I’d go but Rube still says I can’t,” George said, not entirely sincerely. Even given Daisy’s tendency to exaggerate, she didn’t really fancy seeing it first hand.
“There, see?” Rube said. “You’re the only one I can count on. Now, take your post-it note and I’ll buy you some pie to eat on the way.”
“Try not to get murdered out there!” Mason said brightly.
Roxy’s scowl promised that the murderers would entirely possibly be committed by her if everybody didn’t shut up.
“We do not get paid enough for this shit.”
“We don’t get paid at all,” George couldn’t help pointing out.
Everybody just groaned.
Fandom: X-Men: Days of Future Past
Rating: PG-13
Word Count:
Summary: Charles writes letters to Raven, even though there's nowhere to send any of them.
Link: Here
Title: Stuck in the Past
Fandom: Black Books
Rating: G
Word Count: 248
Summary: Fran has questions about Bernard's new enterprise ...
“Bernard,” Fran said, in the patient voice that she had cultivated for talking to Bernard over the years. “Why is your bookshop full of records?”
Bernard looked up from the vinyl that he was apparently admiring. His eyebrows did the thing that they did where he was trying to inform you that you were completely unreasonable for asking him something.
“What’s wrong with my records?!”
“The fact that you run a bookshop and not a record shop …?”
“So?! I can reach out, I can try new things! I can be … anybody!”
Fran rolled her eyes.
“Where’s Manny? Doesn’t he have something to say about this?”
“Oh Manny. He’s a throwback, he can’t cope with change.”
Manny stumbled in, clutching an armful of books which he was clearly trying to arrange on top of all the records. He gave Fran a despairing look.
“Fran, it’s hopeless, he just won’t listen!”
“I don’t have to listen!” Bernard shouted. “This is my shop! I am embracing change and …and dignity and … things that you don’t understand! So there!”
Fran rolled her eyes at Manny.
“Ignore him, Manny. He can’t help the fact that it’s him who is stuck in the past.”
Bernard’s indignant splutters made it worth the knowledge that in a week, she’d probably be helping them either clean up broken bits of vinyl or would get stuck attempting to actually sell the stuff for profit.
If it was the latter, she was so taking a commission.
Title: Impact
Fandom: Blake's 7
Rating: G
Word Count: 205
Summary: Orac is not interested in its crewmates
Orac wasn’t interested in what it supposed was its enforced crewmates.
Largely, they just existed in the pointless way that many organic creatures did. Their understanding of everything was so simplistic, so narrow. They actually believed that they were important, that their actions mattered. In the great scheme of things, very little that they would do, that they could do would mean anything to anybody. Yet humans constantly behaved as though what they did was important. Constantly acted as though their petty concerns had some sort of affect on the higher order of things.
Of course, in a very faint sense, they did, Orac supposed. It had the capability to track actions, to predict, to see things that would happen in the future - sometimes the very far distant future. Sometimes, humans did things that affected the very strands of the universe and would change everything, like a butterfly flapping its wing. Orac could see how it could easily watch those threads and even affect them with the right sort of coaching.
But they never asked it anything important like that, of course. So Orac simply recorded their generally stupid actions and did its own research into the more interesting universe that they could never understand.
Title: Peas in a Pod
Fandom: Confessions of Dorian Gray
Rating: PG
Word Count: 198
Summary: Of course Dorian tried having sex with his double.
It only happened once but of course it happened.
I’m not sure anybody could meet their exact double and not think about it. What it would be like to have sex with that person. What it would be like to see ones own face react to being kissed.
Moore had clearly been thinking about it. He got himself properly drunk, of course. A nice, upstanding man like him, admitting to a fantasy about another man? Simply not done, don’t you know? Unless, apparently, you’re utterly drunk and living a different life because you can.
He wasn’t a brilliant kisser - although perhaps that was the amount of alcohol consumed. His mouth was soft though, that was quite nice. He had grabby hands and his technique was nothing compared to mine, of course. But that wasn’t the point. That wasn’t the point of any of this.
The point was that moment. The moment of seeing yourself caught up in the moment, your own face. Recording in my mind how it was, what other people were seeing when they were with me.
The strange thing was, I didn’t like it that much.
Perhaps there’s some things that you just shouldn’t know.
Title: Mystery
Fandom: Detective Academy Q
Rating: G
Word Count: 375
Summary: Kyuu and Ryu talk about their detective notebooks
Kyuu was a little surprised to find Ryu reading his DDS notebook.
Kinta often wanted a look but that was because he’d nearly never written up their cases when he should have done and needed to remember what they’d actually been doing. Ryu always wrote up his cases straight away so he couldn’t possibly want it for that.
“Whatcha doin’?” he asked and Ryu blinked at him, seemingly surprised. Kyuu grinned at him and perched himself on the desk.
“It’s … I was looking,” Ryu said, sounding unusually flustered.
“I detected that,” Kyuu said. “Do I have to now attempt to work out why?”
“No,” Ryu said. “I just wanted to see … how different it was.”
He handed Kyuu the notebook, then paused and handed over his own. Kyuu glanced at him, then slowly opened the book.
It was very neat, of course. Ryu wrote everything very carefully, every detail meticulously recorded. Kyuu sighed jealously. He did write up all his cases but he knew it would never be as neat and well done as this.
Ryu didn’t look proud though. He looked weirdly sad, as though there was something wrong with it. Kyuu looked again, trying to work out why Ryu would be upset.
“It’s really good,” he went for at last.
“Oh yes, I know,” Ryu said. “I am probably the best in the class for writing up a factual records of our cases.”
It didn’t sound conceited coming from him, just … strange. Kyuu knew there was something upsetting him but he still couldn’t work out what it was. If Ryu was so sure his was the best, why was he sad?
Kyuu hated not being able work things out.
“Ryu … ”
“Yours has all the feelings,” Ryu said. “You write about what happened but you also capture the how and the why of it without needing to explain.”
He took his notebook back from Kyuu and stood up.
“I can’t do that, you see.”
He walked out of the room, leaving Kyuu alone. Kyuu stared at his own returned notebook, thoroughly confused. The only thing he was really sure of was that it was another part of the mystery that was Ryu.
Title: Investigation
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: G
Word Count: 200
Summary: The Brigadier is not inpressed.
“Doctor,” the Brigadier said. “This is all your fault.”
The Doctor gave him the kind of indignant look that only the Doctor could produce.
“I hardly think that’s fair, Brigadier. After all, you asked me to investigate this matter, you know.”
“I asked you to investigate the disappearances,” the Brigadier growled. “I didn’t ask you to stick your nose into every single thing that has happened in this village since the dawn of time, getting us thrown into this pit!”
“Well, be fair Brigadier,” the Master said, sounding annoyingly cheerful. “He did discover me.”
The Brigadier decided to continue his policy of pretending that the Master wasn’t down there with them and just continued to glare at the Doctor, who was looking pleased with himself - as if they hadn’t guessed the Master was involved already!
“When you three have quite finished,” Jo Grant spoke up, sounding rather smug. “I’ve managed to unlocked the door. And if the Master would like to go first, just in case there’s a guard with a club waiting … ”
The Brigadier privately resolved to give her a pay rise. And put this on her permanent record. Possibly under “saving the lives of her superiors.”
Title: Good Enough
Fandom: Merlin
Rating: G
Word Count: 392
Summary: Merlin was not inpressed the first time he heard the tales.
Merlin was not absolutely delighted when he first heard Arthur’s story told.
In the first set of centuries, he hadn’t really been in any state to try and keep on top the stories. The annoying thing about being immortal was that you could just sort of stop doing anything and still not actually die. So after he’d experienced so many deaths of old friends and their children that he just couldn’t take it any more, he’d just gone and sat in a cave for about a century. After the first few days, hunger and thirst stopped being a problem and he’d just sort of … dozed.
At least until a part of the mountain fell down, waking him most disagreeably. Then he’d had to climb out of the damn place and since he was awake, he’d thought that he probably ought to look around and see how things had changed.
Not so much in some ways. Quite considerably in others. And as Merlin had wandered around, he began to hear stories and eventually, he’d managed to find a proper storyteller and listened to what he had to say.
“You realise that isn’t what happened, don’t you?”
The man gave him a most affronted look. The argument had become a little heated and Merlin had eventually won it by setting the man’s trousers on fire. Childish but satisfying.
Unfortunately, it didn’t do any good where the stories were concerned. Nobody seemed to really want to believe Merlin’s tales - but perhaps it was because Merlin was a mad, old man who was rambling about a King Arthur who could be a complete prat sometimes.
That was the thing about stories. They sometimes got away from you. And that was something Merlin understood far, far too well.
For a while, he was angry. But slowly, as time went by, he began to change his mind. The stories were mostly wrong, of course. There could be no denying that. Bizarre inventions and swerves from the truth that Merlin actually found rather hilarious sometimes.
But people liked them. More than that, they loved them. They loved Arthur and Gwen and Lancelot and Gawain. They wanted more of them. And while they wanted more, they would never been forgotten.
And while Merlin waited and waited for Arthur to return, the knowledge that others loved him too was enough.
Title: Visitations
Fandom: Confessions of Dorian Gray/Sapphire and Steel
Rating: G
Word Count: 720
Summary: Dorian has always liked unusual experiences ...
When I heard there were recorded sightings of ghosts in Browlyn Hall, I couldn’t resist going to see.
I’ve never actually seen a ghost. Spirits, yes - and yes, spirits are different from ghosts. Demons, slightly more than I’d like really. Ghosts? No. And I wanted to see a ghost. I thought I would be quite exciting. And all the usual haunted houses had never actually yielded results.
So I packed up a few things and headed down there, hoping that I wouldn’t be disappointed. Luckily, I did know a few people in the area that might provide some entertainment so I didn’t think I’d be too crushed no matter what.
It was fairly easy to get into Browlyn Hall with a few stories about how I was an expert in such matters - well, I was as close as they were going to get to one anyway. I set myself up comfortably in one of the rooms and waited to see if any haunting apparitions would arrive.
By one in the morning, I was feeling disappointed and bored. There didn’t seem to be any sign of any ghosts. No chain rattling, no wails or moans, not even a hint of ectoplasm. It was a little cold but that was probably because the place was a badly insulated old hall rather than because there were fascinating and exciting ghosts.
To alleviate my boredom, I decided to investigate the alcohol situation and took a little walk. I was just investigating a particularly nice looking scotch when I suddenly realised I was not alone in the room.
The man and woman watching me were certainly not ghosts but something gave me the impression that they were not quite normal either. I haven’t got this far in my life without being alert and there was something about the way they stood, something about the way they were looking at me … and the fact that I hadn’t actually heard them come in.
Still, I had come here for entertainment. I finished pouring my drink and smiled at them.
“Want a drink?”
“Who are you?” the man asked. He sounded aggressive.
“Dorian Gray. And yours?”
“My name is Sapphire,” the lady said, giving me a nice smile. “This is Steel. We didn’t realise anybody else would be here.”
I was a little annoyed that they didn’t bat an eyelid at “Dorian Gray” but then, with names like “Sapphire” and “Steel”, perhaps they felt they couldn’t comment on unusual monikers.
“I’m investigating ghosts,” I said. “I assume you’re here for the same reasons.”
“We are here to investigate time anomalies,” Steel said, as though that was supposed to mean something.
“You seem to be a bit of a time anomaly yourself,” Sapphire said. She was still smiling at me, a smile that seemed genuine … but I sensed something else. Something strange. I felt as though she wasn’t just looking at me, she was looking inside me - a sensation that I couldn’t say that I enjoyed.
“You could say something like that,” I said, shrugging lightly. “And what kind of anomalies are you?”
Steel gave me a very irritated look. Sapphire put her hand on his arm and after a moment, he turned and walked away, apparently feeling the need to examine the walls. Sapphire moved over to stand next to me.
“We come from … elsewhere,” she said. “To investigate things that go wrong with time.”
“Ghosts are a time problem?”
“They’re not ghosts. They’re crossing over from places in time where they’re breaking through. Some of them aren’t aware of what’s happening but some of them are angry which is why you’ve been hearing reports.”
Well, it made sense. All right, where they came from didn’t make sense but I could understand all the stuff about time.
“Do you do this a lot?”
“Yes.”
“Do you need help?”
“Perhaps. You might get hurt. Are you willing to wait around and see?”
I downed the last bit of my drink and put the glass down on the table.
“Why not? It sounds like fun.”
Steel made a sound that was definitely a snort. Sapphire just carried on smiling. I didn’t trust either of them and I knew that there was danger - but I’ve never, ever known when I ought to turn my back on a challenge.
Title: Home of the Murder Wizard
Fandom: Dead Like Me/Hannibal
Rating: PG
Word Count: 330
Summary: The Reapers aren't thrilled to be going back to the same place again ...
“Roxy,” Rube said. “Road trip.”
Roxy’s eyes narrowed and she didn’t take the post-it Rube was offering her.
“Is that down to that damn Creek place again?”
Rube’s shrug said it all. Roxy’s scowled.
“Aw hell Rube, I’m not going down there again! It’s always crazy shit, like those guys with the mushrooms!”
“Look, I’m just given the messages, it’s not my fault,” Rube said. “Someone’s gotta cover.”
“Isn’t there anyone who lives closer?” Mason asked. “Or like, someone who could move in? Because frankly, they’ve got murders going on every week down there and I think it’s a bit shoddy. What’s the police force doing anyway?”
“Not our problem,” Rube said. “If they want some guy to kill their whole population and bring the value of the real estate value down, that’s their problem. Our problem is finding these nice people and saving them the pain of being turned into artwork or whatever’s up this time.”
“Why me?!” Roxy demanded. “Send someone else! I ain’t interested in seeing the “murder wizard’s” work again!”
“I am not going back there,” Daisy announced firmly. “I am an actress and I am very sensitive. I can’t possibly afford to see those kind of things on a regular basis. Besides, last time ruined my shoes.”
“No thank you!” Mason said. “I had nightmares for a month!”
“Hey, I’d go but Rube still says I can’t,” George said, not entirely sincerely. Even given Daisy’s tendency to exaggerate, she didn’t really fancy seeing it first hand.
“There, see?” Rube said. “You’re the only one I can count on. Now, take your post-it note and I’ll buy you some pie to eat on the way.”
“Try not to get murdered out there!” Mason said brightly.
Roxy’s scowl promised that the murderers would entirely possibly be committed by her if everybody didn’t shut up.
“We do not get paid enough for this shit.”
“We don’t get paid at all,” George couldn’t help pointing out.
Everybody just groaned.