"Collapse" 2/3
Title: Collapse, part 2.
Author: Keenir.
Characters: David, Colby, Nikki, Liz, Alan, Amita, Charlie; Michelle Mazur,
Pairings:
AU and not-AU.
Rating: Mature, just in case.
Length: 3 parts.
Spoilers: Lets try that again, shall we?, Devil Girl, Arm in Arms, Cover Me.
Summary: The situation is explained, and the search begins.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
previously...
And just as swiftly as before, everything changed. This time, the four of them were on the beach...only the familiar beach was devoid of surfers. It looked like there was a family further up the shore, but other than that, they had the place to themselves.
"You're not Alan Eppes," said a woman walking up to them - and, by the look of it, had started walking towards them before they were here. "This could be a problem."
"I know that voice," Nikki said as the four FBI agents turned to face the new woman.
"Michelle Mazur," Colby said, remembering her from when time folded.
"This is a problem," Michelle said.
"What's a problem?" Liz asked. Besides kidnapping federal agents.
"I needed Mr. Eppes' help with this problem, but I suppose the four of you will suffice."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What problem?" Colby asked.
"Look around. What do you see, agents?"
"Nobody here but us hostages," Nikki replied.
Michelle Mazur rolled her eyes. "If you want to go home, go right ahead - I'll drop you all off at your respective doors. I just thought you'd want to do your jobs."
"I don't know about you, but I want to hear her idea of what we do," Liz said. "Go ahead," she told Michelle.
"Investigate crimes and threats against your country."
"Not yours?" Colby asked.
"It was. But yours and mine differ on a few points."
David had been spending this time peering at their surroundings. "Wait a minute," he said. "I recognize this stretch of beach - only there should be condos right there," pointing to a slight rise to their left, with the sea to their right. "What happened to them?"
"They were never built, not in this when," Michelle explained. "A few houses were, though - only to be palimpested this morning."
"'Palimpest''s a writing word," David said.
Mazur nodded. "The meaning's the same here. My job's to make sure the histories are stable."
"And you need our help to do your job?" Nikki asked.
"Ordinarily I wouldn't. But I felt a bit of assistance wouldn't go astray."
David fished the business card out of his pocket, holding it out to her. "This?"
Michelle nodded. "And I didn't leave it for you. But we're trained to make do with what circumstances arise."
"Then what's the problem?" Nikki asked.
"This history's merging with its neighbor - that's why the houses on that rise aren't there anymore - and we have to stop the merger."
David was about to say 'why us?' when he asked, "Why did you leave your card for Alan Eppes? He's not FBI or police."
"For one, this is the sort of world I've always suspected he would enjoy."
"For two?" Liz asked.
"Another Alan Eppes is behind the merger."
"Another one?"
"That's right," Michelle said.
"Assuming we believe you," Colby said, "why should we help? You haven't answered that yet."
Michelle nodded, drawing in breath to ready and steady herself. "When carried out properly, mergers only effect the histories that get merged."
"Why would you merge things anyway?" Liz asked.
Michelle raised an eyebrow. "How many worlds should there be where the Killing Fields of Cambodia and Final Solution of Germany go undefeated? We cull the herd, you might say."
"The universe isn't totally random, then. Okay. And what about when its not done correctly?"
"Like cutting down the wrong tree in a rainforest or yelling fire in a crowded place - there's collapse and squeezing all over, mergers spreading without restraint. And the four of you come from a history that's close enough to this one to be in danger."
"How long do we have?" David asked.
"A day. At most."
"Minimum?" Nikki asked.
Michelle shrugged. "As I've already said, the merging's already started."
"Are we in danger of merging or anything?"
"No. The four of you will survive the merger...unless."
"Unless what?"
"Unless we're in a second-story building that stops existing?" Liz asked.
"Or replaced by a hill, a monument, a lake, the middle of an explosion," Michelle said, and named a few other possibilities of what might show up.
"This just gets better and better," Colby said.
"Took the words right out of my mouth," Nikki said.
"If it helps any," Michelle told them, "when this is over, I can drop you off in histories you may find favorable."
"A bonus for services rendered?"
She nodded.
"How favorable is favorable?" Liz asked.
"For you, a world where you kept your child. For David, a world where his sister didn't go back to her ex-husband. For Colby, a world where he wasn't a spy -"
"Oh hell no," Colby interupted.
Michelle shrugged. "Wherever you lot want. When you solve it, push the button," and tossed to David something that looked like one of those keychain car door remote openers.
And she was gone.
David read the text on the back of the remote: "'Comparison. How much of your job can a college student do as well as you do?'" Looking around at his fellow agents, "Looks like we're on the case."
"Yeah," Nikki said, "but how many times do we throw college students in the deep end?"
"Are we counting 'Ottobahn'?" Liz asked. "And Amita was a student when her and Charlie started helping us," where 'us' is the team of Don, David, and Terry Lake.
~~~
"Tell me you saw that," Colby asked under his breath.
"I saw," Liz said, standing beside him aboard the trolley going up the hill. Before their eyes, the sign on the lawn in front of a mosque had fuzzed up as though obscured through a haze, and been replaced by the name and menu of a Chinese restaurant.
The original sign came back seconds later, but it had been noticed by those who were looking for that sort of thing. "Huh," Nikki said. Charlie'd probably have a word - or words - for the behavior of the sort of thing we just saw.
~~~
The team was able to piece together some of the differences of this history from their own, figuring that, once they understood the differences, they might have an idea as to why an Alan Eppes would want to wreck the universe.
The first thing they'd learned was that there had been no Vietnam War, no Conflict in that region of the world, nor a Police Action. Nothing to forment a counter-culture of rebellion like it had in their history. Though the communities weren't absent, there were fewer Vietnamese and Hmong in LA and the rest of the nation - though there were more Cambodians.
It was the Cuban War that had called up a draft; barely needed, given the massive enlistment that that conflict saw. And one of those enlistees had a statue in on the trolley ride to his house, a man who had served with distinction in the Iranian Conflict against the Muslim Communists, a man who had helped re-install the Shah in power - a man named Alan Eppes.
Looking at the statue that was unquestionably a match for the man they knew, "Huh," Colby said, echoing Nikki earlier. I think she was half right - Alan would've liked how this place started out, but not where it went.
"I'm almost afraid to ask what Don and Charlie are like," Liz said.
~~~
The Eppes household was exactly where it was in their own history, with the trees and shrubs in the same spots of the yard. Missing was the koi pond, rearranged were the flowers and ornamental grasses.
"So what now?" Nikki asked as they stood at the front edge of the lawn. "I mean, I'm not sure we could storm this place if we wanted to."
"We know this place inside and out," Colby said.
"Or we know where things should be in there," David said. "How much renovation has either house seen since Vietnam?"
Or the absence thereof, Liz mentally added. "I vote for knocking," she said.
David nodded, and the four of them walked up to the front door.
Their knocking was answered by a boy of around eight opening the door. "Yes?"
"I'm sorry," David said, "I thought this was the Eppes house."
The boy nodded. "This is," said Suleyman, whose family had been brought here after collaborating with the Americans.
Then came a voice they all recognized, as calm and relaxed as anything they were familiar with: "Suleyman, you can take the rest of the afternoon off. As for the rest of you, come in," Alan said from his seat in the living room. "I've been expecting you."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC
Author: Keenir.
Characters: David, Colby, Nikki, Liz, Alan, Amita, Charlie; Michelle Mazur,
Pairings:
AU and not-AU.
Rating: Mature, just in case.
Length: 3 parts.
Spoilers: Lets try that again, shall we?, Devil Girl, Arm in Arms, Cover Me.
Summary: The situation is explained, and the search begins.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
previously...
And just as swiftly as before, everything changed. This time, the four of them were on the beach...only the familiar beach was devoid of surfers. It looked like there was a family further up the shore, but other than that, they had the place to themselves.
"You're not Alan Eppes," said a woman walking up to them - and, by the look of it, had started walking towards them before they were here. "This could be a problem."
"I know that voice," Nikki said as the four FBI agents turned to face the new woman.
"Michelle Mazur," Colby said, remembering her from when time folded.
"This is a problem," Michelle said.
"What's a problem?" Liz asked. Besides kidnapping federal agents.
"I needed Mr. Eppes' help with this problem, but I suppose the four of you will suffice."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What problem?" Colby asked.
"Look around. What do you see, agents?"
"Nobody here but us hostages," Nikki replied.
Michelle Mazur rolled her eyes. "If you want to go home, go right ahead - I'll drop you all off at your respective doors. I just thought you'd want to do your jobs."
"I don't know about you, but I want to hear her idea of what we do," Liz said. "Go ahead," she told Michelle.
"Investigate crimes and threats against your country."
"Not yours?" Colby asked.
"It was. But yours and mine differ on a few points."
David had been spending this time peering at their surroundings. "Wait a minute," he said. "I recognize this stretch of beach - only there should be condos right there," pointing to a slight rise to their left, with the sea to their right. "What happened to them?"
"They were never built, not in this when," Michelle explained. "A few houses were, though - only to be palimpested this morning."
"'Palimpest''s a writing word," David said.
Mazur nodded. "The meaning's the same here. My job's to make sure the histories are stable."
"And you need our help to do your job?" Nikki asked.
"Ordinarily I wouldn't. But I felt a bit of assistance wouldn't go astray."
David fished the business card out of his pocket, holding it out to her. "This?"
Michelle nodded. "And I didn't leave it for you. But we're trained to make do with what circumstances arise."
"Then what's the problem?" Nikki asked.
"This history's merging with its neighbor - that's why the houses on that rise aren't there anymore - and we have to stop the merger."
David was about to say 'why us?' when he asked, "Why did you leave your card for Alan Eppes? He's not FBI or police."
"For one, this is the sort of world I've always suspected he would enjoy."
"For two?" Liz asked.
"Another Alan Eppes is behind the merger."
"Another one?"
"That's right," Michelle said.
"Assuming we believe you," Colby said, "why should we help? You haven't answered that yet."
Michelle nodded, drawing in breath to ready and steady herself. "When carried out properly, mergers only effect the histories that get merged."
"Why would you merge things anyway?" Liz asked.
Michelle raised an eyebrow. "How many worlds should there be where the Killing Fields of Cambodia and Final Solution of Germany go undefeated? We cull the herd, you might say."
"The universe isn't totally random, then. Okay. And what about when its not done correctly?"
"Like cutting down the wrong tree in a rainforest or yelling fire in a crowded place - there's collapse and squeezing all over, mergers spreading without restraint. And the four of you come from a history that's close enough to this one to be in danger."
"How long do we have?" David asked.
"A day. At most."
"Minimum?" Nikki asked.
Michelle shrugged. "As I've already said, the merging's already started."
"Are we in danger of merging or anything?"
"No. The four of you will survive the merger...unless."
"Unless what?"
"Unless we're in a second-story building that stops existing?" Liz asked.
"Or replaced by a hill, a monument, a lake, the middle of an explosion," Michelle said, and named a few other possibilities of what might show up.
"This just gets better and better," Colby said.
"Took the words right out of my mouth," Nikki said.
"If it helps any," Michelle told them, "when this is over, I can drop you off in histories you may find favorable."
"A bonus for services rendered?"
She nodded.
"How favorable is favorable?" Liz asked.
"For you, a world where you kept your child. For David, a world where his sister didn't go back to her ex-husband. For Colby, a world where he wasn't a spy -"
"Oh hell no," Colby interupted.
Michelle shrugged. "Wherever you lot want. When you solve it, push the button," and tossed to David something that looked like one of those keychain car door remote openers.
And she was gone.
David read the text on the back of the remote: "'Comparison. How much of your job can a college student do as well as you do?'" Looking around at his fellow agents, "Looks like we're on the case."
"Yeah," Nikki said, "but how many times do we throw college students in the deep end?"
"Are we counting 'Ottobahn'?" Liz asked. "And Amita was a student when her and Charlie started helping us," where 'us' is the team of Don, David, and Terry Lake.
~~~
"Tell me you saw that," Colby asked under his breath.
"I saw," Liz said, standing beside him aboard the trolley going up the hill. Before their eyes, the sign on the lawn in front of a mosque had fuzzed up as though obscured through a haze, and been replaced by the name and menu of a Chinese restaurant.
The original sign came back seconds later, but it had been noticed by those who were looking for that sort of thing. "Huh," Nikki said. Charlie'd probably have a word - or words - for the behavior of the sort of thing we just saw.
~~~
The team was able to piece together some of the differences of this history from their own, figuring that, once they understood the differences, they might have an idea as to why an Alan Eppes would want to wreck the universe.
The first thing they'd learned was that there had been no Vietnam War, no Conflict in that region of the world, nor a Police Action. Nothing to forment a counter-culture of rebellion like it had in their history. Though the communities weren't absent, there were fewer Vietnamese and Hmong in LA and the rest of the nation - though there were more Cambodians.
It was the Cuban War that had called up a draft; barely needed, given the massive enlistment that that conflict saw. And one of those enlistees had a statue in on the trolley ride to his house, a man who had served with distinction in the Iranian Conflict against the Muslim Communists, a man who had helped re-install the Shah in power - a man named Alan Eppes.
Looking at the statue that was unquestionably a match for the man they knew, "Huh," Colby said, echoing Nikki earlier. I think she was half right - Alan would've liked how this place started out, but not where it went.
"I'm almost afraid to ask what Don and Charlie are like," Liz said.
~~~
The Eppes household was exactly where it was in their own history, with the trees and shrubs in the same spots of the yard. Missing was the koi pond, rearranged were the flowers and ornamental grasses.
"So what now?" Nikki asked as they stood at the front edge of the lawn. "I mean, I'm not sure we could storm this place if we wanted to."
"We know this place inside and out," Colby said.
"Or we know where things should be in there," David said. "How much renovation has either house seen since Vietnam?"
Or the absence thereof, Liz mentally added. "I vote for knocking," she said.
David nodded, and the four of them walked up to the front door.
Their knocking was answered by a boy of around eight opening the door. "Yes?"
"I'm sorry," David said, "I thought this was the Eppes house."
The boy nodded. "This is," said Suleyman, whose family had been brought here after collaborating with the Americans.
Then came a voice they all recognized, as calm and relaxed as anything they were familiar with: "Suleyman, you can take the rest of the afternoon off. As for the rest of you, come in," Alan said from his seat in the living room. "I've been expecting you."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC