HAPPY BIRTHDAY nakeisha!!!!!!
Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Nikki, Happy Birthday to you!
Yes *hugs* and birthday wishes for today.
I do have you an actual gift as in one that needs to be posted (and it will be). It quacks. There's a clue. However as my postal organisation hasn't worked here's your other 'virtual gift' (although you can print it out and then it would no longer be virtual...).
It's the sequel to the first DragonRay/NCIS crossover, set ooo about six months after the last one *g*. Rated well...G safe. It's about 4450 words. Fraser/Vecchio, strong hint of Gibbs/Ducky and if you really, really squint you might see Abby/McGee hints. Enjoy!
Crystal Balls
Leroy Jethro Gibbs surveyed the crime scene. He had seen many bodies in his time but never one quite like this. The victim was dressed in what could only be described as old fashioned clothing, medieval almost. Said victim was a man and he also had a beard. He was carrying a strange looking crystal ball in one hand, and a scroll in the other, and he was lying on the floor with a spear sticking out of his torso.
DiNozzo was busy photographing the odd scene.
“I didn't think it was Halloween until October,” Ziva noted.
“It's not,” McGee replied, as he looked around for any evidence to bag. “Why would anybody wear this?”
“Maybe he escaped from one of those renaissance fairs,” DiNozzo replied. “Don't you wear this kind of stuff, elf lord?”
McGee sighed. “No, Tony.”
“That where you think he came from, DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked, as he waited for Ducky and Jimmy to arrive.
“Well, it's possible, Boss.”
Gibbs said nothing, keeping his thoughts to himself. Had the guy not been carrying a crystal ball and a scroll he might have bought DiNozzo's explanation, but after their adventure six months ago he was not as willing to dismiss a more supernatural explanation. Travelling to a world of dragons and witches did that to you.
“What have we got, Jethro?” Ducky asked as he came in.
“You tell me, Duck,” he replied, waiting to see if Ducky would voice the same suspicions.
“Well, cause of death would probably be this spear. He's dressed rather strangely for a June day.”
Jimmy arrived and was quick to hand Ducky the liver probe.
“You know it reminds of a re-enactment group I was once involved with. Of course we weren't...” Ducky stopped mid-sentence. “This is very odd.”
“What is?” McGee asked as he gently removed the scroll from the corpse's hand.
“This can't be right,” Ducky muttered.
“Duck? Something wrong?” Gibbs asked.
“Well, according to this gentlemen's liver temperature he died days ago. The reading is nothing. Are you sure you checked this?” he asked Jimmy
His assistant nodded. “Very sure, Doctor. The last time we used it was on the petty officer who was found two days ago.”
Gibbs bent down to whisper to Ducky. “Look at his clothes, see what he's carrying.”
Ducky caught on to what he was saying. “You think he's from the other place?”
“It would explain the liver temp.”
Ducky nodded. “And the clothing.”
“Erm, Boss, I can't read this,” McGee said as he studied the scroll.
DiNozzo came over. “Come on, Probie, it can't be that hard.” He took the scroll from McGee. His brow furrowed. “Okay, Ziva, do you read hieroglyphics?”
“No. Why? Is it Egyptian?” she asked.
Gibbs took the scroll. “It's not Egyptian.” He recognised the symbols and they weren't from Egypt. Or any other country he knew. “Finish up here,” he instructed. “We'll meet in autopsy.”
“But, Jethro, I won't have time to perform an autopsy on this poor fellow.”
“You won't need to.” Gibbs took the glass ball out of the man's other hand and headed off alone. The others could catch up with him later. “Meet me in autopsy in an hour,” he called.
Sure enough one hour later the team had all gathered in autopsy. Abby had joined them, interested to see why Gibbs was taking an unorthodox approach. They milled around until Gibbs strode in, carrying the crystal ball.
“Everybody here?” he asked, looking around.
“Yes, boss,” DiNozzo, McGee and Ziva chorused.
“What's going on, Gibbs?” Abby asked.
“You're sure about this course of action, Jethro?” Ducky asked.
Gibbs nodded. “There's no other way, Duck.” He held the crystal ball out. “Put a couple of fingers on it,” he told everybody.
Ducky touched it first, demonstrating the correct fingers to use. Then one by one everybody else did the same.
“Close your eyes,” Gibbs ordered next.
“Close our eyes?” DiNozzo laughed.
Gibbs gave him a look.
“Yes, Boss.”
“This is so cool,” Abby said, as she closed her eyes.
Gibbs was the last to do so. He closed his eyes and remembered how to use the ball. It took longer than expected, but then there were more of them than usual. There was a rumble and a bright flash. If anyone had walked into autopsy at that point they would have found it empty.
Far way from any kind of autopsy a dragon named Ray was observing his human trying to light a fire.
“You know, Benny, you don't have to keep rubbing sticks together,” Ray said. “I can light you a fire.”
Fraser looked up from his busy work and smiled. “I know, Ray, but I like to keep my skills sharp. In case there's a time when I'm separated from you.”
Ray frowned. “You want us to break up?”
“Oh no,” Fraser reassured. “No. In case I have to go on an overnight trip somewhere and you're not able to come with me.”
“Why wouldn't I come with you?” Ray asked.
“I don't know. I just feel I should be ready to light a fire. In case, for example, you become sick.”
Ray could understand that reasoning. “Okay, Benny, rub your sticks.”
“Thank you, Ray.”
As Fraser rubbed his sticks together there was a flash and a loud bang. Ray got up and stood protectively near his human. He recognised the sound as being one of those strange things that occurred whenever somebody, or something, arrived from the other world. Fraser though seemed to be trying to get into a position to protect Ray.
Ray strained to see what it was that might have come though the 'portal', as Fraser called it. His eyes adjusted from the bright flash and he saw a number of figures appear in front of them. There were a lot of them. He didn't say anything and Fraser's hand on his shoulder prevented him issuing a warning growl.
“It's all right, Ray, I think we know them,” he said.
Ray was beginning to see what Fraser meant. He strained a little and he did recognise at least one of the humans. “Gibbs?”
“Hello, Special Agent Gibbs,” Fraser added.
“I thought we dreamed this last time,” DiNozzo whispered to Ziva as they approached Fraser and Ray.
“You didn't dream it, DiNozzo,” Gibbs replied, speaking out loud. “Ray. Fraser.”
Fraser shook the hand Gibbs offered. He then shook Ducky's. “It's good to see you again,” he said. “And your team.”
Diefenbaker and Lester immediately appeared from where they had been cowering behind a bush. “Hi guys!” Abby called, and they ran straight up to her to be petted.
Ray refrained from hand shaking given he didn't have hands as such. “You brought your team with you,” he said, suspecting there was a good reason behind it. “Who's the human with the glasses?”
“My assistant, Mr Palmer,” Ducky said.
“Hi,” Jimmy said shyly. “Nice to meet you. Doctor Mallard has told me about you. About how he and Agent Gibbs visit you.”
“He has?” Ray was surprised.
“You visit them?” DiNozzo asked.
“Do you have a problem with that DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked.
“No, Boss.”
“I'm afraid we're here on business not pleasure,” Ducky said, bringing the subject back.
“We're investigating a murder,” Gibbs added.
Ray didn't like the sound of that. He put an arm round Fraser.
“A murder?” Fraser asked, patting Ray in reassurance. “What sort of murder?”
“We found thus guy murdered on a naval base with a spear through him.” Gibbs held out a picture of the dead man.
“What is that?” Ray asked, tentatively touching it.
“It's a photograph, Ray,” Fraser explained. “He appears to be wearing the clothing of the king's court.”
“Yeah, and he's got one of the king's guard's spears sticking in him,” Ray added.
“He was carrying this,” Gibbs handed Fraser the scroll.
“We couldn't read it,” McGee added, speaking up.
Fraser showed it to Ray. “It appears to be dragon writing.”
Ray frowned as he read it. “Yeah, it says this guy was a courier, he was supposed to deliver a crystal thing to some dragon named...Joey.”
“There are dragons named Joey?” DiNozzo asked.
“Well, it follows if there is a dragon named Ray there will be ones named Joey,” Ziva replied in a whisper.
Gibbs brought out the crystal ball. “He was carrying this.”
Fraser took it. “It's as the letter described.”
“How did one of the king's delivery guys end up in your world?” Ray asked, clearly puzzled.
“We were hoping you could help us find out,” Ducky replied.
Fraser looked thoughtful. “We'll do our best. Won't we, Ray?”
Ray nodded. “Yeah, but there's a lot of dragons named Joey. We need to find out which one the king wanted to send a crystal ball to.”
Gibbs looked thoughtful. “Do you know where to start?”
Fraser turned to Ray. “We can't go to the dragon council.”
“No, if we did they'd start investigating, and how are we supposed to tell them this came from the other world?” Ray paused. “It could be Joey P.”
Fraser nodded. “He was due payment for the work he did at the palace.”
“You know who he was going to see?”
Ray nodded. “It might be Joey P. Might.”
“The evidence points in his direction.” Fraser was examining the ball. “It's a fine specimen.”
“Better than ours,” Ray said, slightly jealous. Dragons as a general rule were very fond of shiny things and Ray was no exception.
“Not really, Ray,” Fraser reassured him.
“Hmmmm.”
“Can we go and see this dragon?” Gibbs asked.
“Sure,” Ray said. “But he didn't kill the guy.”
“How do you know?” McGee asked.
“Because if a dragon wanted to kill a human he wouldn't use a spear. He could use his claws or his teeth,” Ray said, showing them off. “Or he could just burn him. He wouldn't need to use human weapons.”
“We're looking for a human killer,” Fraser explained. “No dragon would ever think to use a human weapon.” Over the time he had been with Ray he had learnt a lot about dragons. They thought very differently to human beings in some ways. But, fortunately for Fraser, they loved as deeply as any human ever could.
“But Joey might know who would want to kill this guy,” Ray explained.
“Is there any reason they left the crystal ball?” Ducky asked.
“It could not have been a robbery if they had left that,” Ziva added.
“Actually they may not have had a choice,” Fraser explained. “The balls work by utilising emotion to open a portal. The shock of the man's death could very well have activated the ball and sent him through a portal before his killer had chance to retrieve it.”
“Yeah, the guy that killed him might not know that,” Ray said. “Which is...”
“Unusual,” Fraser finished.
“But you think this Joey will know who killed him?” Gibbs asked.
“He might,” Ray said. “He lives the other side of Chicago.”
“Will it take long to get there?”
Fraser looked at the sky. “Going around it might take time, we can't really go through it,” Fraser said. “Ray tends to cause disruption when we pass through. It's not his fault.”
“It's only morning, we've got time,” Ray said.
“It might rain, Ray.”
“So? I've got wings, I'll keep you dry.”
Fraser let a smile slip out. “I'm sure you will.”
“Let's go then,” Ray said, nudging his human affectionately.
Fraser smiled and began to walk, Ray at his side, confident the humans from the other world would be following them.
Sure enough Gibbs and Ducky led the way for the NCIS agents. McGee, Jimmy and Abby were in the middle with Diefenbaker and Lester leaping around them. DiNozzo and Ziva brought up the rear.
They walked for some time. Ducky and Fraser shared stories and Ray interjected at appropriate moments. Their journey was uneventful except for the sheep farmer who panicked when he saw Ray and tried to usher his sheep to hide behind the bushes. Eventually he was persuaded it was safe and they all continued on.
The party soon came to a cave in the side of a small hill. Outside the cave sat a dragon. He appeared to be carving some wood. He was the same size as Ray although he was a browner colour, as opposed to Ray's green scales.
Ray walked up to him. “Hey Joey,” he greeted.
Joey looked up. “Ray? Ray V?”
“Yeah, good to see you again. You remember Fraser?”
Joey was smiling. “Of course I do, nice to see you guys.”
“We've brought some humans,” Ray said.
The NCIS agents stood awkwardly, not getting too close.
“We need your help,” Fraser explained. “We're looking for the human that killed a man who travelled through to their world.”
“They're from the other place?” Joey sounded awed.
“Yeah. They've got a picture of the guy with them.”
Gibbs stepped forward and took the picture out. He allowed Fraser to show the picture to Joey.
“Anything you can tell us would be a great help.”
Joey took a good look at the photo as shock flittered across his face. “Paulie's dead?”
“What's his name?” Gibbs asked.
“Paul, Paul Walters,” Joey replied.
Ray recognised the name. “The guy who saved those kids last year?”
Joey nodded. “He was a good human.”
“Were the kids human?” McGee asked.
“No, they were dragon children,” Fraser explained.
“One of them was a friend of my niece,” Ray added. “The kids had wandered out of school and ended up being cornered by some hunters. This guy fought off four of them and saved the kids. The king gave him a big reward and a new title because the hunters were out of town poachers.”
“I can't believe he's dead,” Joey repeated.
“Guy sounds like a hero, DiNozzo said.
“How could someone overpower a man who could fight off four poachers?” Ziva asked.
“He was probably taken by surprise,” Fraser said.
Joey dipped his head. “He saved my son. Now he's dead.”
“That is so sad,” Abby sniffed. Diefenbaker gave her a lick.
“I hope you find the guy who killed him,” Joey said.
“You don't have any idea who could have done it?” Fraser asked.
Joey shook his head sadly. Then he seemed to remember something as his head shot up. “There was the other human.”
“Human? What human?” Ray asked.
“A couple of days ago one of the villagers said they saw a human wearing strange clothes in the forest. Said he thought the man came from the other place,” Joey explained.
“It would explain why Mr Walters was killed,” Fraser said to Ray and the other humans.
“And why the guy didn't know how to work the crystal,” Ray added.
“How would he have got here?” asked Ducky. “Without the use of a crystal ball?
“He could have used it,” Fraser said. “But it's a fine art. If he didn't have the full instructions it could easily have gone wrong.”
Ray nodded in agreement.
“Have you seen him? Gibbs asked.
Joey shook his head. “No, but try this side of the forest. There's been some strange noises coming out of there.”
“Thank you, Joey,” Fraser said.
“Yeah, we'll find him,” Ray added.
“Thanks guys.”
They left Joey to his carving and headed into the forest.
“This place is creepy,” DiNozzo said, as they wandered deeper into the forest.
“It's just trees,” Ziva replied, although she didn't look at ease.
“Do you know where he might be in here?” Gibbs asked.
“He'll probably stay near the stream,” Fraser said. “It's a good source of drinking water.”
“And it's not too far in,” Ray added. “So he's not going to meet anything nasty.”
“What sort of nasty things?” asked Jimmy, speaking up for the first time.
“Oh, nothing to worry about, Mr Palmer, I'm sure,” Ducky reassured him.
“Except the pixies,” Ray said.
“I'm sure we won't run into any pixies,” Fraser said.
“Oh no, I mean they're asleep,” Ray replied, taking the hint.
“Dief would protect us wouldn't you, Dief?” Abby asked.
The wolf gave an unsure whine.
Fraser saw a flash of white out of the corner of his eye.
“What was that?” McGee asked.
All of them trained their vision on where on they had seen the flash of white.
“That's not a pixie,” Ray said.
“I think it's our missing human,” Fraser replied.
Ray immediately took up a more protective stance, shielding Fraser and the other humans.
“NCIS,” Gibbs called. “We know you killed a man, we know you're stuck here. If you want to go home come out!”
Ray heard the sound of a bullet, more than one bullet. They all ducked but the shots were wide.
“How do I know this isn't a trick?” the man shouted. They could see him now, white peeking out from the side of the tree trunk he was hiding behind.
“I can assure you this isn't a trick,” Fraser called. “But if you don't go with these NCIS agents you will have to deal with the king's guards, they've probably already picked up your trail.”
“You'll have a better chance with us!” Gibbs added.
There was a pause as the man seemed to consider it. “I didn't mean to kill him. I just wanted him to help me get home. He came at him, started telling me I was ruining things for him. I thought he was going to grab me so I grabbed the spear. He ran at me. It just happened. Then he disappeared. It was an accident.”
“Makes sense,” Ray said.
“Okay, I'm coming out,” the man came forward, hands up, holding his gun above his head.
Ziva and DiNozzo both had their guns trained on him.
Gibbs came forward and took the man's gun. “What's your name, Petty Officer?”
“Petty Officer Simon Dugan, Sir.”
“Okay, Petty Officer Dugan, we'll take you home.”
“Will I be charged, sir?” the young man asked, worried.
“You might be, but there might not be a body.”
“You're going to send it back,” Ray said. “He did kill a human, a good human.”
Fraser agreed. “But he's from their world, Ray. It's only right their justice system judges him.”
Ray sighed. His human did have a point. And the killer did seem to be a scared young human. Ray suspected if he ended up in the other world he might end up doing something he wouldn't do otherwise. “Okay, take him back. What are we going to do about the dead human?”
“We can say he was killed in an accident,” Fraser said. “It would be the truth. I think the king will understand.”
“We can always come and explain things to him,” Ducky said. “Can't we Jethro?”
Gibbs nodded. “Yeah, if you need us to we will.”
“If you needed me to tell him,” Petty Officer Dugan said. “I will.”
“It's up to you,” Gibbs said.
“We could go and see the king,” Ray said, happy with the idea.
Fraser's attention, however, seemed to be on something else. “I don't think we need to travel to see him,” he said.
There was the sound of many horses hooves heading toward them and it wasn't long before the king and his party came into view. They stood still, waiting for the party to come to them. Dief and Lester crouched behind Abby and the Petty Officer seemed very nervous.
The horses pulled up in front of them. The man at the front of the group spoke. “Constable Fraser, Ray.”
“Hello your majesty,” Fraser and Ray replied simultaneously.
“He's not wearing a crown,” McGee noted.
“He doesn't need to, Timmy, he's the king,” Abby whispered back.
“But how...”
“Shhhh,” Abby said.
“We're investigating the disappearance of one of my guards, a Mr Walters. He's suspected of stealing from the treasury.”
Ray frowned. “He was a hero,” he said.
“We're not sure he was,” said another man who Ray recognised as Huey, one of the king's more important courtiers.
“How do you mean?” Fraser asked.
“We think he stole money from the treasury to bribe the hunters into attacking the dragon children,” the King explained.
“Hoe could he do that?” Ray asked. “Why would he want hunters to attack kids?”
“The prestige,” Huey said. “He rescues a bunch of dragon kids, he gets to be a hero, he gets a reward. We think he's been bribing the poachers to come onto the king's land so he can be seen as protecting the place.”
“He probably had no intention of giving Joey P an actual crystal ball. We think he was going to swap it for a fake,” the King said.
“He wasn't the man we thought he was,” Fraser noted.
“No,” the king replied. “Have you seen him?”
“I'm afraid he's dead,” Fraser said. “These humans from the other world found him.”
The king appeared to be eyeing them. “What happened?”
“This young man got into an altercation with him, he accidentally killed him and he was sent through to our world,” Gibbs said.
“It's true,” the Petty Officer spoke up.
“Tell me,” the king replied.
Petty Officer Dugan related his tale again. The king listened patiently. Ray knew the king was a fair human, he and Fraser had had a few dealings with him in the past and had found him to be kind and wise.
“Thank you,” the king told the Petty Officer. He turned to Gibbs. “You're a knight? You enforce your laws.”
“Yes, Sir,” Gibbs relied.
“I'll leave him to you,” the king said. “If you return Walters's body I see no reason for this man,” he indicated Petty Officer Dugan, “to stay.”
“Thank you, Sir,” Gibbs replied.
“Thank you, your majesty,” Fraser and Ray said in unison.
The king nodded and the party on horseback set off once again.
“I'm not going to be thrown in jail?” Petty Officer Dugan asked.
“Not unless you want to be,” Gibbs told him.
“I guess you need to go home now,” Ray said, sadly.
“You're welcome to come back,” Fraser added, quickly.
“We'll come back,” Gibbs promised.
Fraser handed him the ball that had brought them there. “You can use this to get back. If you could send it back we'd appreciate it.”
“No problem.”
“It was nice seeing you again,” Ducky said.
“It was nice to meet you for the first time,” Jimmy added.
The others all murmured similar opinions.
Abby enthusiastically petted Dief and Lester as she said her goodbyes.
“Abby,” Gibbs said firmly.
They all gathered back into a circle as they had done in autopsy. Petty Officer Dugan seemed unsure but followed the NCIS agents' lead. Once again they closed their eyes. Ray and Fraser watched as the blue light flashed and the loud sound thundered. Then their human friends were gone again from view.
“Do you think they'll come back?” Ray asked.
“I'm sure they will,” Fraser replied. “It's a shame we can't visit them in their world.”
Ray agreed. “Yeah, they don't even have dragons.”
Fraser turned and kissed Ray. “I'm fortunate that I do.”
Ray smiled. “Yeah and so am I.”
They hugged briefly before they, and Dief and Lester, set off home.
A blue light flashed in autopsy and the NCIS party had returned home. The walls of autopsy seemed welcoming in their familiarity.
“Did that really happen?” DiNozzo asked as they removed their hands form the ball.
“What do you think?” Gibbs replied.
“Well, I think it happened,” Abby said. “I even got wolf hair on my lab coat. I bet if I did a DNA analysis it would come back as some kind of magic wolf.”
“Magic wolf?” McGee asked, looking at Abby.
“I don't think you need to do that, Abigail,” Ducky replied, defusing the situation.
“No, you don't,” Gibbs added.
“Agent Gibbs,” Petty Officer spoke up. “What should I do?”
“Are you MIA?” Gibbs asked.
“No sir, I'm on leave. I have four days left.”
“Then use the rest of your leave and don't try and mess with crystal balls again.”
“Understood, sir.”
The Petty Officer saluted and marched out, too shocked to do anything else.
“How are you going to send that thing back Gibbs?” Ziva asked.
Gibbs held the ball in his hands. He looked at it. “I don't know,” he said.
“But they said you could send it back, boss,” McGee said.
“Did they?”
“I remember they did, Agent Gibbs,” Jimmy added.
“We'll see.”
Ducky carefully took the crystal ball from Gibbs and secreted it under his lab coat.
“Come on, don't you people have work to do?”
The others murmured dissent. Gibbs glared at them and they all looked at a each other, sighing. They finally turned around and headed out of autopsy.
“Why don't you go with them, Mr Palmer?” Ducky asked.
“But we have work to do, we need to process the body.”
Ducky waved a hand dismissively. “I wouldn't worry about that. Take the rest of the day of. Go and study perhaps.”
“But I...”
Ducky now gave Jimmy a look. He nodded meekly. “Yes, Doctor.”
Then he too left autopsy.
“I think we need to return that body, Duck,” Gibbs said.
“Oh, I agree, Jethro,” Ducky replied. “Of course time does work differently there.” he pushed the body, still on a gurney, to the right position.
Gibbs smiled. He took their own crystal ball from the cupboard where they kept it. “Think Ray and Fraser will mind us dropping in to visit?”
“Not at all,” Ducky replied. “They did promise us a double date.”
Holding hands the two men activated their own ball. There was a blue flash an d aloud noise then they, the body and the other ball disappeared.
Upstairs there was a rumble and the other agents looked at each other. “Did you hear that?” DiNozzo asked.
“Think they went back without us?” McGee asked.
“Without who, McGee?” Gibbs replied coming into view.
“He's still here,” Ziva said.
“Why does he look like he needs a shave?” DiNozzo pondered.
The younger agents weren't going to get an answer, however, as Gibbs simply smiled. He and Ducky had fulfilled their plans and they had other ones for later. Downstairs in autopsy Ducky was gently placing the crystal ball back in it's hiding spot. He smiled as he closed the cupboard. He and Jethro would certainly use it again. In the meantime they had their memories to draw on.
In a cave far away, in another world in fact, a dragon curled up to sleep with his human and they did just that.
Yes *hugs* and birthday wishes for today.
I do have you an actual gift as in one that needs to be posted (and it will be). It quacks. There's a clue. However as my postal organisation hasn't worked here's your other 'virtual gift' (although you can print it out and then it would no longer be virtual...).
It's the sequel to the first DragonRay/NCIS crossover, set ooo about six months after the last one *g*. Rated well...G safe. It's about 4450 words. Fraser/Vecchio, strong hint of Gibbs/Ducky and if you really, really squint you might see Abby/McGee hints. Enjoy!
Crystal Balls
Leroy Jethro Gibbs surveyed the crime scene. He had seen many bodies in his time but never one quite like this. The victim was dressed in what could only be described as old fashioned clothing, medieval almost. Said victim was a man and he also had a beard. He was carrying a strange looking crystal ball in one hand, and a scroll in the other, and he was lying on the floor with a spear sticking out of his torso.
DiNozzo was busy photographing the odd scene.
“I didn't think it was Halloween until October,” Ziva noted.
“It's not,” McGee replied, as he looked around for any evidence to bag. “Why would anybody wear this?”
“Maybe he escaped from one of those renaissance fairs,” DiNozzo replied. “Don't you wear this kind of stuff, elf lord?”
McGee sighed. “No, Tony.”
“That where you think he came from, DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked, as he waited for Ducky and Jimmy to arrive.
“Well, it's possible, Boss.”
Gibbs said nothing, keeping his thoughts to himself. Had the guy not been carrying a crystal ball and a scroll he might have bought DiNozzo's explanation, but after their adventure six months ago he was not as willing to dismiss a more supernatural explanation. Travelling to a world of dragons and witches did that to you.
“What have we got, Jethro?” Ducky asked as he came in.
“You tell me, Duck,” he replied, waiting to see if Ducky would voice the same suspicions.
“Well, cause of death would probably be this spear. He's dressed rather strangely for a June day.”
Jimmy arrived and was quick to hand Ducky the liver probe.
“You know it reminds of a re-enactment group I was once involved with. Of course we weren't...” Ducky stopped mid-sentence. “This is very odd.”
“What is?” McGee asked as he gently removed the scroll from the corpse's hand.
“This can't be right,” Ducky muttered.
“Duck? Something wrong?” Gibbs asked.
“Well, according to this gentlemen's liver temperature he died days ago. The reading is nothing. Are you sure you checked this?” he asked Jimmy
His assistant nodded. “Very sure, Doctor. The last time we used it was on the petty officer who was found two days ago.”
Gibbs bent down to whisper to Ducky. “Look at his clothes, see what he's carrying.”
Ducky caught on to what he was saying. “You think he's from the other place?”
“It would explain the liver temp.”
Ducky nodded. “And the clothing.”
“Erm, Boss, I can't read this,” McGee said as he studied the scroll.
DiNozzo came over. “Come on, Probie, it can't be that hard.” He took the scroll from McGee. His brow furrowed. “Okay, Ziva, do you read hieroglyphics?”
“No. Why? Is it Egyptian?” she asked.
Gibbs took the scroll. “It's not Egyptian.” He recognised the symbols and they weren't from Egypt. Or any other country he knew. “Finish up here,” he instructed. “We'll meet in autopsy.”
“But, Jethro, I won't have time to perform an autopsy on this poor fellow.”
“You won't need to.” Gibbs took the glass ball out of the man's other hand and headed off alone. The others could catch up with him later. “Meet me in autopsy in an hour,” he called.
Sure enough one hour later the team had all gathered in autopsy. Abby had joined them, interested to see why Gibbs was taking an unorthodox approach. They milled around until Gibbs strode in, carrying the crystal ball.
“Everybody here?” he asked, looking around.
“Yes, boss,” DiNozzo, McGee and Ziva chorused.
“What's going on, Gibbs?” Abby asked.
“You're sure about this course of action, Jethro?” Ducky asked.
Gibbs nodded. “There's no other way, Duck.” He held the crystal ball out. “Put a couple of fingers on it,” he told everybody.
Ducky touched it first, demonstrating the correct fingers to use. Then one by one everybody else did the same.
“Close your eyes,” Gibbs ordered next.
“Close our eyes?” DiNozzo laughed.
Gibbs gave him a look.
“Yes, Boss.”
“This is so cool,” Abby said, as she closed her eyes.
Gibbs was the last to do so. He closed his eyes and remembered how to use the ball. It took longer than expected, but then there were more of them than usual. There was a rumble and a bright flash. If anyone had walked into autopsy at that point they would have found it empty.
Far way from any kind of autopsy a dragon named Ray was observing his human trying to light a fire.
“You know, Benny, you don't have to keep rubbing sticks together,” Ray said. “I can light you a fire.”
Fraser looked up from his busy work and smiled. “I know, Ray, but I like to keep my skills sharp. In case there's a time when I'm separated from you.”
Ray frowned. “You want us to break up?”
“Oh no,” Fraser reassured. “No. In case I have to go on an overnight trip somewhere and you're not able to come with me.”
“Why wouldn't I come with you?” Ray asked.
“I don't know. I just feel I should be ready to light a fire. In case, for example, you become sick.”
Ray could understand that reasoning. “Okay, Benny, rub your sticks.”
“Thank you, Ray.”
As Fraser rubbed his sticks together there was a flash and a loud bang. Ray got up and stood protectively near his human. He recognised the sound as being one of those strange things that occurred whenever somebody, or something, arrived from the other world. Fraser though seemed to be trying to get into a position to protect Ray.
Ray strained to see what it was that might have come though the 'portal', as Fraser called it. His eyes adjusted from the bright flash and he saw a number of figures appear in front of them. There were a lot of them. He didn't say anything and Fraser's hand on his shoulder prevented him issuing a warning growl.
“It's all right, Ray, I think we know them,” he said.
Ray was beginning to see what Fraser meant. He strained a little and he did recognise at least one of the humans. “Gibbs?”
“Hello, Special Agent Gibbs,” Fraser added.
“I thought we dreamed this last time,” DiNozzo whispered to Ziva as they approached Fraser and Ray.
“You didn't dream it, DiNozzo,” Gibbs replied, speaking out loud. “Ray. Fraser.”
Fraser shook the hand Gibbs offered. He then shook Ducky's. “It's good to see you again,” he said. “And your team.”
Diefenbaker and Lester immediately appeared from where they had been cowering behind a bush. “Hi guys!” Abby called, and they ran straight up to her to be petted.
Ray refrained from hand shaking given he didn't have hands as such. “You brought your team with you,” he said, suspecting there was a good reason behind it. “Who's the human with the glasses?”
“My assistant, Mr Palmer,” Ducky said.
“Hi,” Jimmy said shyly. “Nice to meet you. Doctor Mallard has told me about you. About how he and Agent Gibbs visit you.”
“He has?” Ray was surprised.
“You visit them?” DiNozzo asked.
“Do you have a problem with that DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked.
“No, Boss.”
“I'm afraid we're here on business not pleasure,” Ducky said, bringing the subject back.
“We're investigating a murder,” Gibbs added.
Ray didn't like the sound of that. He put an arm round Fraser.
“A murder?” Fraser asked, patting Ray in reassurance. “What sort of murder?”
“We found thus guy murdered on a naval base with a spear through him.” Gibbs held out a picture of the dead man.
“What is that?” Ray asked, tentatively touching it.
“It's a photograph, Ray,” Fraser explained. “He appears to be wearing the clothing of the king's court.”
“Yeah, and he's got one of the king's guard's spears sticking in him,” Ray added.
“He was carrying this,” Gibbs handed Fraser the scroll.
“We couldn't read it,” McGee added, speaking up.
Fraser showed it to Ray. “It appears to be dragon writing.”
Ray frowned as he read it. “Yeah, it says this guy was a courier, he was supposed to deliver a crystal thing to some dragon named...Joey.”
“There are dragons named Joey?” DiNozzo asked.
“Well, it follows if there is a dragon named Ray there will be ones named Joey,” Ziva replied in a whisper.
Gibbs brought out the crystal ball. “He was carrying this.”
Fraser took it. “It's as the letter described.”
“How did one of the king's delivery guys end up in your world?” Ray asked, clearly puzzled.
“We were hoping you could help us find out,” Ducky replied.
Fraser looked thoughtful. “We'll do our best. Won't we, Ray?”
Ray nodded. “Yeah, but there's a lot of dragons named Joey. We need to find out which one the king wanted to send a crystal ball to.”
Gibbs looked thoughtful. “Do you know where to start?”
Fraser turned to Ray. “We can't go to the dragon council.”
“No, if we did they'd start investigating, and how are we supposed to tell them this came from the other world?” Ray paused. “It could be Joey P.”
Fraser nodded. “He was due payment for the work he did at the palace.”
“You know who he was going to see?”
Ray nodded. “It might be Joey P. Might.”
“The evidence points in his direction.” Fraser was examining the ball. “It's a fine specimen.”
“Better than ours,” Ray said, slightly jealous. Dragons as a general rule were very fond of shiny things and Ray was no exception.
“Not really, Ray,” Fraser reassured him.
“Hmmmm.”
“Can we go and see this dragon?” Gibbs asked.
“Sure,” Ray said. “But he didn't kill the guy.”
“How do you know?” McGee asked.
“Because if a dragon wanted to kill a human he wouldn't use a spear. He could use his claws or his teeth,” Ray said, showing them off. “Or he could just burn him. He wouldn't need to use human weapons.”
“We're looking for a human killer,” Fraser explained. “No dragon would ever think to use a human weapon.” Over the time he had been with Ray he had learnt a lot about dragons. They thought very differently to human beings in some ways. But, fortunately for Fraser, they loved as deeply as any human ever could.
“But Joey might know who would want to kill this guy,” Ray explained.
“Is there any reason they left the crystal ball?” Ducky asked.
“It could not have been a robbery if they had left that,” Ziva added.
“Actually they may not have had a choice,” Fraser explained. “The balls work by utilising emotion to open a portal. The shock of the man's death could very well have activated the ball and sent him through a portal before his killer had chance to retrieve it.”
“Yeah, the guy that killed him might not know that,” Ray said. “Which is...”
“Unusual,” Fraser finished.
“But you think this Joey will know who killed him?” Gibbs asked.
“He might,” Ray said. “He lives the other side of Chicago.”
“Will it take long to get there?”
Fraser looked at the sky. “Going around it might take time, we can't really go through it,” Fraser said. “Ray tends to cause disruption when we pass through. It's not his fault.”
“It's only morning, we've got time,” Ray said.
“It might rain, Ray.”
“So? I've got wings, I'll keep you dry.”
Fraser let a smile slip out. “I'm sure you will.”
“Let's go then,” Ray said, nudging his human affectionately.
Fraser smiled and began to walk, Ray at his side, confident the humans from the other world would be following them.
Sure enough Gibbs and Ducky led the way for the NCIS agents. McGee, Jimmy and Abby were in the middle with Diefenbaker and Lester leaping around them. DiNozzo and Ziva brought up the rear.
They walked for some time. Ducky and Fraser shared stories and Ray interjected at appropriate moments. Their journey was uneventful except for the sheep farmer who panicked when he saw Ray and tried to usher his sheep to hide behind the bushes. Eventually he was persuaded it was safe and they all continued on.
The party soon came to a cave in the side of a small hill. Outside the cave sat a dragon. He appeared to be carving some wood. He was the same size as Ray although he was a browner colour, as opposed to Ray's green scales.
Ray walked up to him. “Hey Joey,” he greeted.
Joey looked up. “Ray? Ray V?”
“Yeah, good to see you again. You remember Fraser?”
Joey was smiling. “Of course I do, nice to see you guys.”
“We've brought some humans,” Ray said.
The NCIS agents stood awkwardly, not getting too close.
“We need your help,” Fraser explained. “We're looking for the human that killed a man who travelled through to their world.”
“They're from the other place?” Joey sounded awed.
“Yeah. They've got a picture of the guy with them.”
Gibbs stepped forward and took the picture out. He allowed Fraser to show the picture to Joey.
“Anything you can tell us would be a great help.”
Joey took a good look at the photo as shock flittered across his face. “Paulie's dead?”
“What's his name?” Gibbs asked.
“Paul, Paul Walters,” Joey replied.
Ray recognised the name. “The guy who saved those kids last year?”
Joey nodded. “He was a good human.”
“Were the kids human?” McGee asked.
“No, they were dragon children,” Fraser explained.
“One of them was a friend of my niece,” Ray added. “The kids had wandered out of school and ended up being cornered by some hunters. This guy fought off four of them and saved the kids. The king gave him a big reward and a new title because the hunters were out of town poachers.”
“I can't believe he's dead,” Joey repeated.
“Guy sounds like a hero, DiNozzo said.
“How could someone overpower a man who could fight off four poachers?” Ziva asked.
“He was probably taken by surprise,” Fraser said.
Joey dipped his head. “He saved my son. Now he's dead.”
“That is so sad,” Abby sniffed. Diefenbaker gave her a lick.
“I hope you find the guy who killed him,” Joey said.
“You don't have any idea who could have done it?” Fraser asked.
Joey shook his head sadly. Then he seemed to remember something as his head shot up. “There was the other human.”
“Human? What human?” Ray asked.
“A couple of days ago one of the villagers said they saw a human wearing strange clothes in the forest. Said he thought the man came from the other place,” Joey explained.
“It would explain why Mr Walters was killed,” Fraser said to Ray and the other humans.
“And why the guy didn't know how to work the crystal,” Ray added.
“How would he have got here?” asked Ducky. “Without the use of a crystal ball?
“He could have used it,” Fraser said. “But it's a fine art. If he didn't have the full instructions it could easily have gone wrong.”
Ray nodded in agreement.
“Have you seen him? Gibbs asked.
Joey shook his head. “No, but try this side of the forest. There's been some strange noises coming out of there.”
“Thank you, Joey,” Fraser said.
“Yeah, we'll find him,” Ray added.
“Thanks guys.”
They left Joey to his carving and headed into the forest.
“This place is creepy,” DiNozzo said, as they wandered deeper into the forest.
“It's just trees,” Ziva replied, although she didn't look at ease.
“Do you know where he might be in here?” Gibbs asked.
“He'll probably stay near the stream,” Fraser said. “It's a good source of drinking water.”
“And it's not too far in,” Ray added. “So he's not going to meet anything nasty.”
“What sort of nasty things?” asked Jimmy, speaking up for the first time.
“Oh, nothing to worry about, Mr Palmer, I'm sure,” Ducky reassured him.
“Except the pixies,” Ray said.
“I'm sure we won't run into any pixies,” Fraser said.
“Oh no, I mean they're asleep,” Ray replied, taking the hint.
“Dief would protect us wouldn't you, Dief?” Abby asked.
The wolf gave an unsure whine.
Fraser saw a flash of white out of the corner of his eye.
“What was that?” McGee asked.
All of them trained their vision on where on they had seen the flash of white.
“That's not a pixie,” Ray said.
“I think it's our missing human,” Fraser replied.
Ray immediately took up a more protective stance, shielding Fraser and the other humans.
“NCIS,” Gibbs called. “We know you killed a man, we know you're stuck here. If you want to go home come out!”
Ray heard the sound of a bullet, more than one bullet. They all ducked but the shots were wide.
“How do I know this isn't a trick?” the man shouted. They could see him now, white peeking out from the side of the tree trunk he was hiding behind.
“I can assure you this isn't a trick,” Fraser called. “But if you don't go with these NCIS agents you will have to deal with the king's guards, they've probably already picked up your trail.”
“You'll have a better chance with us!” Gibbs added.
There was a pause as the man seemed to consider it. “I didn't mean to kill him. I just wanted him to help me get home. He came at him, started telling me I was ruining things for him. I thought he was going to grab me so I grabbed the spear. He ran at me. It just happened. Then he disappeared. It was an accident.”
“Makes sense,” Ray said.
“Okay, I'm coming out,” the man came forward, hands up, holding his gun above his head.
Ziva and DiNozzo both had their guns trained on him.
Gibbs came forward and took the man's gun. “What's your name, Petty Officer?”
“Petty Officer Simon Dugan, Sir.”
“Okay, Petty Officer Dugan, we'll take you home.”
“Will I be charged, sir?” the young man asked, worried.
“You might be, but there might not be a body.”
“You're going to send it back,” Ray said. “He did kill a human, a good human.”
Fraser agreed. “But he's from their world, Ray. It's only right their justice system judges him.”
Ray sighed. His human did have a point. And the killer did seem to be a scared young human. Ray suspected if he ended up in the other world he might end up doing something he wouldn't do otherwise. “Okay, take him back. What are we going to do about the dead human?”
“We can say he was killed in an accident,” Fraser said. “It would be the truth. I think the king will understand.”
“We can always come and explain things to him,” Ducky said. “Can't we Jethro?”
Gibbs nodded. “Yeah, if you need us to we will.”
“If you needed me to tell him,” Petty Officer Dugan said. “I will.”
“It's up to you,” Gibbs said.
“We could go and see the king,” Ray said, happy with the idea.
Fraser's attention, however, seemed to be on something else. “I don't think we need to travel to see him,” he said.
There was the sound of many horses hooves heading toward them and it wasn't long before the king and his party came into view. They stood still, waiting for the party to come to them. Dief and Lester crouched behind Abby and the Petty Officer seemed very nervous.
The horses pulled up in front of them. The man at the front of the group spoke. “Constable Fraser, Ray.”
“Hello your majesty,” Fraser and Ray replied simultaneously.
“He's not wearing a crown,” McGee noted.
“He doesn't need to, Timmy, he's the king,” Abby whispered back.
“But how...”
“Shhhh,” Abby said.
“We're investigating the disappearance of one of my guards, a Mr Walters. He's suspected of stealing from the treasury.”
Ray frowned. “He was a hero,” he said.
“We're not sure he was,” said another man who Ray recognised as Huey, one of the king's more important courtiers.
“How do you mean?” Fraser asked.
“We think he stole money from the treasury to bribe the hunters into attacking the dragon children,” the King explained.
“Hoe could he do that?” Ray asked. “Why would he want hunters to attack kids?”
“The prestige,” Huey said. “He rescues a bunch of dragon kids, he gets to be a hero, he gets a reward. We think he's been bribing the poachers to come onto the king's land so he can be seen as protecting the place.”
“He probably had no intention of giving Joey P an actual crystal ball. We think he was going to swap it for a fake,” the King said.
“He wasn't the man we thought he was,” Fraser noted.
“No,” the king replied. “Have you seen him?”
“I'm afraid he's dead,” Fraser said. “These humans from the other world found him.”
The king appeared to be eyeing them. “What happened?”
“This young man got into an altercation with him, he accidentally killed him and he was sent through to our world,” Gibbs said.
“It's true,” the Petty Officer spoke up.
“Tell me,” the king replied.
Petty Officer Dugan related his tale again. The king listened patiently. Ray knew the king was a fair human, he and Fraser had had a few dealings with him in the past and had found him to be kind and wise.
“Thank you,” the king told the Petty Officer. He turned to Gibbs. “You're a knight? You enforce your laws.”
“Yes, Sir,” Gibbs relied.
“I'll leave him to you,” the king said. “If you return Walters's body I see no reason for this man,” he indicated Petty Officer Dugan, “to stay.”
“Thank you, Sir,” Gibbs replied.
“Thank you, your majesty,” Fraser and Ray said in unison.
The king nodded and the party on horseback set off once again.
“I'm not going to be thrown in jail?” Petty Officer Dugan asked.
“Not unless you want to be,” Gibbs told him.
“I guess you need to go home now,” Ray said, sadly.
“You're welcome to come back,” Fraser added, quickly.
“We'll come back,” Gibbs promised.
Fraser handed him the ball that had brought them there. “You can use this to get back. If you could send it back we'd appreciate it.”
“No problem.”
“It was nice seeing you again,” Ducky said.
“It was nice to meet you for the first time,” Jimmy added.
The others all murmured similar opinions.
Abby enthusiastically petted Dief and Lester as she said her goodbyes.
“Abby,” Gibbs said firmly.
They all gathered back into a circle as they had done in autopsy. Petty Officer Dugan seemed unsure but followed the NCIS agents' lead. Once again they closed their eyes. Ray and Fraser watched as the blue light flashed and the loud sound thundered. Then their human friends were gone again from view.
“Do you think they'll come back?” Ray asked.
“I'm sure they will,” Fraser replied. “It's a shame we can't visit them in their world.”
Ray agreed. “Yeah, they don't even have dragons.”
Fraser turned and kissed Ray. “I'm fortunate that I do.”
Ray smiled. “Yeah and so am I.”
They hugged briefly before they, and Dief and Lester, set off home.
A blue light flashed in autopsy and the NCIS party had returned home. The walls of autopsy seemed welcoming in their familiarity.
“Did that really happen?” DiNozzo asked as they removed their hands form the ball.
“What do you think?” Gibbs replied.
“Well, I think it happened,” Abby said. “I even got wolf hair on my lab coat. I bet if I did a DNA analysis it would come back as some kind of magic wolf.”
“Magic wolf?” McGee asked, looking at Abby.
“I don't think you need to do that, Abigail,” Ducky replied, defusing the situation.
“No, you don't,” Gibbs added.
“Agent Gibbs,” Petty Officer spoke up. “What should I do?”
“Are you MIA?” Gibbs asked.
“No sir, I'm on leave. I have four days left.”
“Then use the rest of your leave and don't try and mess with crystal balls again.”
“Understood, sir.”
The Petty Officer saluted and marched out, too shocked to do anything else.
“How are you going to send that thing back Gibbs?” Ziva asked.
Gibbs held the ball in his hands. He looked at it. “I don't know,” he said.
“But they said you could send it back, boss,” McGee said.
“Did they?”
“I remember they did, Agent Gibbs,” Jimmy added.
“We'll see.”
Ducky carefully took the crystal ball from Gibbs and secreted it under his lab coat.
“Come on, don't you people have work to do?”
The others murmured dissent. Gibbs glared at them and they all looked at a each other, sighing. They finally turned around and headed out of autopsy.
“Why don't you go with them, Mr Palmer?” Ducky asked.
“But we have work to do, we need to process the body.”
Ducky waved a hand dismissively. “I wouldn't worry about that. Take the rest of the day of. Go and study perhaps.”
“But I...”
Ducky now gave Jimmy a look. He nodded meekly. “Yes, Doctor.”
Then he too left autopsy.
“I think we need to return that body, Duck,” Gibbs said.
“Oh, I agree, Jethro,” Ducky replied. “Of course time does work differently there.” he pushed the body, still on a gurney, to the right position.
Gibbs smiled. He took their own crystal ball from the cupboard where they kept it. “Think Ray and Fraser will mind us dropping in to visit?”
“Not at all,” Ducky replied. “They did promise us a double date.”
Holding hands the two men activated their own ball. There was a blue flash an d aloud noise then they, the body and the other ball disappeared.
Upstairs there was a rumble and the other agents looked at each other. “Did you hear that?” DiNozzo asked.
“Think they went back without us?” McGee asked.
“Without who, McGee?” Gibbs replied coming into view.
“He's still here,” Ziva said.
“Why does he look like he needs a shave?” DiNozzo pondered.
The younger agents weren't going to get an answer, however, as Gibbs simply smiled. He and Ducky had fulfilled their plans and they had other ones for later. Downstairs in autopsy Ducky was gently placing the crystal ball back in it's hiding spot. He smiled as he closed the cupboard. He and Jethro would certainly use it again. In the meantime they had their memories to draw on.
In a cave far away, in another world in fact, a dragon curled up to sleep with his human and they did just that.