Some Place In Special Collections, Sunday Evening
The Mirror Chamber
At the end of the cave system, the temperature seemed to go up considerably. The ice faded away, and so did the noises of any remaining Draugr...
The Mirror
But the second thing that would leap to attention was the large, icy mirror at the end of the room. Through it, one could see shapes - shapes that might grow increasingly familiar when you approached.
Columbus
Columbus was ever so grateful to be away from the Draugr and to feel some warmth in his bones. Spying the mirror at the end of the room, he cautiously approached it.
Jack
"There are people on the other side of that," Jack said cautiously. He was also relieved to no longer be frozen down to his bones. "I'm not ready to hope they're friendly."
Columbus
Columbus nodded in agreement as he cocked his shotgun, just in case. "I'll keep an eye on the mirror," he announced, feeling his stomach twist in anxiety. "Though I wouldn't mind backup if someone else wants to check the rest of the place out."
The Book
The Book did not have a very prominent place in the room. It stood almost innocently on a single pedestal in the corner of the room, and the only distinction it held was that it was the only thing in the room besides the mirror.
It had a strange symbol on the cover, and underneath it simply said, The Neverending Story.
Jack
Jack was letting Columbus (and anyone else who felt driven to do so) stand guard while he explored the chamber. He'd looked at so many books over the last few weeks that it was perhaps no surprise his eyes were drawn to this one.
"This might be something," he called loudly, running a finger over the cover. "The second dragon didn't give us a title for his book, did he?"
Cara
Cara had no desire to play with magic mirrors, instead coming over to join Jack.
"Well, he could have meant of the other books on pedestals this place is full of," she said dryly, gesturing around the empty chamber.
Susan
Susan took a good look around the chamber, looking almost appreciative. "This is exactly where I'd think a book like that would be," she said. "Points for ambiance."
Jack
A smile quirked dimly around Jack's face. "Yes, it's all quite lyrically designed. Though they might leave out a few monsters next time without lessening the effect."
He picked the book up and opened it, turning so the girls could see the pages.
The Book
Jack opened the book and showed it to Susan and Cara, the book began. None of them knew that the solution to their problems was only a hair's breadth away - or at least the shortest of distances.
In a paragraph, it detailed events from the past few months in concise summary.
Cara
"Trust me, a few monsters and a book is better than a mess with lockets, tattoos, compasses, scrolls, and stones," Cara said. Her eyebrows rose as she actually read the book. "Especially you only need to travel a 'hair's breadth' for your answers instead of a few thousand leagues. Often on foot. With detours."
Susan
"I never thought I'd see a book like this outside-" Susan stopped herself. "Telling us where this hairsbreath is exactly would be helpful."
Jack
Jack wanted the story to keep going, but he glanced up at Cara. "Tattoos?" he asked, then read the last bit of the book again. "It knows we're here. It would be more useful if it tells us what comes next."
The Book
"It knows we're here," said Jack, "It would be more useful if it tells us what comes next."
He did not pay attention to the shades on the other side of the mirror. These shades had followed him, and Cara, and Susan, in their own quest through great odds in order to get here. Now they were trapped, with no obvious way out.
For the library they were in was no ordinary collection of books; the ones it held were tailored to what the reader might need... and so was this one.
Cara
"Technically it wasn't actually a tattoo," Cara said absently, her attention on the book.
She frowned and cast a glance towards the mirror. "Good to see it's nice and vague about who or what those shades are." She tapped the line 'no obvious way out' with a gloved finger. "Especially since I'm guessing we have to figure out how to free them. That's usually what happens."
Susan
"Well, if either of you has input on how to free shadows that are being portrayed as Bad Things, now would be the time to say so," said Susan, eying the shades.
Jack
"We could start by breaking the window," Jack said, frowning. "But if they're bad, I'm not sure we should do that."
He offered the book to the girls, wanting to take a closer look at the shades.
The Book
Jack stepped closer to the mirror, and then they came in sharp relief. What he saw weren't evil spectres. They were--
The book shut abruptly, and of its own violition.
Cara
The book was getting Cara's best glare right about now. "Be more helpful, or I'm finding matches."
Yes, she was threatening a book.
The Mirror Chamber
The door they stepped through had seemed like any door out in the village: dusty, wooden, almost falling apart.
Yet as soon as it shut, the room they found themselves in looked nothing like the sheriff's office, or anywhere else in town. It was clean, neat, and a little chilly. At the back stood a large mirror, covered in ice, but still clear.
Belthazor
Bel stepped inside and looked around, somehow entirely unsurprised when the room changed form after the door closed behind the last person. "So, do we just smash the mirror or melt it down?" he wondered aloud, eyeing the mirror.
The good thing was if he screwed up, no one would be left around to blame him.
Bo
The bad thing was, there were people around now who could blame him in advance. Wait, why was that a bad thing?
"Do I need to knock you out to stop you from trying to bash us all into oblivion with your gonads?" Bo asked, taking a step toward him with folded arms. "Because I will."
Belthazor
"I didn't say I was going to," Bel growled at Bo. "I was just asking."
And then, since she was hot, and he was Bel, he had to smirk a little and add, "But if you think my gonads are that powerful, you're absolutely right."
Bo
"They're big, I'll give you that, but please take it as the word of a professional when I point out that size isn't everything," Bo shot back, though she couldn't completely suppress the twitch of a smile at the corner of her lips.
Belthazor
"Nice of you to notice," Bel grinned, hands on his hips. "And I assure you, I know how to use it. I can give you well-satisfied references."
Hey, he was very much taken, but that didn't mean he still couldn't flirt.
Even if it was the end of the world.
Bo
"And I can give you an orgasm you won't wake up from until Tuesday." Vague disclaimer: no one's friend, and let's face it, Bo's not-human cat was well out of its metaphorical bag on this island. "This isn't the place for either of them, is my point, though like I said I'm willing to make an exception if it'll stop you from throwing your balls of fire at everything we meet before we figure out if it's friendly or not."
That was only a lie insofar as if she did have to knock you out, she'd only go as far as kissing on the first date when there were high schoolers watching, Bel.
Surreal SaDiablo
Surreal rolled her eyes at them. "Your mothers teach you to talk like that around fifteen-year-old females you don't know?" she asked acidly. "Save it for the bedroom."
As for Bel himself... "By the way, ever tell me to shimmy at someone again, and you'll wake up shaved, sugar. You aren't my pimp."
Belthazor
Bel had given Bo a very appreciative look at her statement, but then rolled his eyes right back at Surreal after her interruption. "You're the one who brought giving him honey up, sweetheart. Now go bitch to someone who cares."
He wasn't even going to ask about the shaving. He was a little scruffy now, yes, but it wouldn't be a hardship to lose the stubble.
He really had no idea.
Bo
Bo, on the other hand, winced and nodded towards the girl. "Can it; she's right." Not every high schooler was Kenzi; you'd think someone who'd been Bo in high school, even if that hadn't been the name she used, would remember that.
Karla
"I'm pretty sure she's going to laugh at you if you try to give her detention after she stabs him," Karla told Bo.
No, not every high schooler was Kenzi. Some were waaaaay more hardcore. Sorry, Kenz.
"When she says shave, she doesn't mean your face," she informed Bel sweetly. "And your balls--flaming or not--aren't going to faze her at all. Just sayin'."
Belthazor
"Oooooh, scary," Bel said. His eyes were going to roll out of their sockets at this rate. "Look, blondie, it's going to take a lot more than little girls with knives to take me out. Why don't you run back to the kitchen and make us some snacks while we deal with this."
Phoebe was so going to kick his ass if she ever heard about this.
Bo
"Oh, no," said Bo, not seriously but with a lot of conviction. "I seem to have something in both of my eyes and would not be able to testify to what went down if this man should take the unlikely option of not shutting up right now."
Belthazor
"What can I say, threatening demons brings out the worst in them," Bel shrugged. "Stabbing them even more so. But I'll play nice as long as the pipsqueaks do."
Unless it was Anakin he was talking to, of course.
Karla
"You could say the same for witches," Karla said, a wicked smile blooming. "Only we don't threaten. We promise."
That would probably have come out better if she wasn't still dripping creepy things from her mouth.
Whatever. She'd flung black widow spiders at the bandit's face. The baby viper that had landed in her hands could easily be used for the same thing.
Surreal SaDiablo
"She's the healer, boyo, she's the nicer one," Surreal offered, helpfully, jerking a thumb at Karla. "I'm just a witch with a legitimate grudge against perverted males and over a thousand ways to make them die."
"Besides." The once-over she gave Bel was absolutely clinical and unimpressed. "I've killed better. You wouldn't even be any fun."
The man raising her was known as The Sadist. Surreal's idea of fun was a bit...off. Sometimes.
Belthazor
"Hell, who said to unleash the piranhas? If either of you are trying to impress someone, it's not working," Bel said, crossing his arms. God. Teenagers.
"I've killed better witches than you back in the day." That wasn't going to help, Bel. "Before I reformed. And my girlfriend is a witch who could wipe the floor with both of you. So unless you really want to make a go at it, go bark at somebody else."
Surreal SaDiablo
"Are you seriously supposed to be an adult?" Surreal asked shortly, throwing up her hands. "I have told you not to insult me multiple times, we keep giving you reasons to leave us alone, and you keep being an ass. Is this a perverted male version of playing Whose Is Bigger with girls, or are you just naturally stupid?"
"Because yours must be pretty small, if you're still picking on Bluebell and threatening us with another witch who isn't even here instead of focusing on the problem."
Surreal was going to be the adult, now, and stalk off to poke at the walls and start trying to pass things through the walls to see what happened. She didn't like mirrors; never liked what she saw.
The Mirror
The icy mirror was the only real object of interest within the room. Through it, one could see shapes - shapes that might grow increasingly familiar when you approached.
Bo
"This thing's gotta have a point besides not showing vampires," Bo muttered, moving towards the mirror after sparing a moment and a wince for, well. Vampires.
Columbus
A image then appeared on the other side of the mirror of Columbus Ohio holding a shot gun in his arms. He looked warily at the mirror for a second or two before giving Bo a hesistant wave hello.
Bo
"Or succubi either," Bo added, blinking at her non-reflection, then waving back. "Columbus? Where are you?"
Columbus
A puzzled look crossed Columbus's face. He began to speak and realized that Bo couldn't hear him so he shruggged in response to indicate he had no idea.
Then he clearly mouthed back "Where are you?"
Bo
Well, dammit. Magical 2-way mirrors should come with speakers!
Bo got the point though, especially since it was the same questino she'd just asked.
But how did you explain a room in some weird western town with grumpy aliens invading in charades?
Bo got as far as tipping a fake cowboy hat and pointing a fake six-shooter, then rolled her eyes at herself and spread her hands to match Columbus' shrug.
Columbus
Columbus was right now making another rule which involved always having paper and pen with you.
He looked back at his very damaged suitcase and sighed.
Then he blinked in inspiration.
He leaned forward and breathed on the mirror.
Cold place. Dragons. Zombies. he wrote with his fingertip in between fogging up the mirror with his breath. And a book
Hopefully Bo could read backward letters.
Bo
She could, though it took a few moments to turn her brain around that way. Plus there was the delay for her to point into the mirror and mouth YOU are effing brilliant.
Bo might be described as less so for starting to slide her hand across the mirror to wipe away the condensation from the wrong side. Right, over here facepalming and breathing on a spot of glass he hadn't already used.
Cowboys + aliens she wrote, then waved over her shoulder towards Karla, now signing animatedly to Jack, so she didn't have to add "other people." Then she just pointed to where Columbus had already written the word book and tapped the glass hopefully.
Columbus
Columbus made an "O" with his mouth and stepped away to jab his thumb at the group checking out the book.
Karla
Karla peered closer at the mirror, leaning forward until she was almost touching the glass. "I can't see myself," she said. "Not at all, and I'm no vampire."
Thank the Darkness.
"I can't see any of you in the mirror!" She narrowed her eyes. "But...I think I can see...Jack? Jack Priest?!"
Jack
Jack couldn't hear his name, of course, but it happened to be a moment when he was glancing away from the Neverending Story. He raised a hand to wave to Karla, clearly happier than he'd been in several days.
Then he approached the window and excitedly mimed opening and closing a book with his hands. "We found the book!"
... not that she'd hear that part.
Karla
Karla looked down at her hands, puzzled. He was thrilled about...clapping? What the Hell has they been going through over there?
She repeated the gesture a few times and then it hit her. Not clapping! A book! Right? She looked back up at him, mimicked his 'open book' gesture, and then, just to make sure she was interpreting this correctly, mimed turning a page and reading, finger tracing lines over her palm.
...Did that make sense? Karla had never been great with charades.
Jack
Jack nodded enthusiastically, and gestured to indicate his group as well as the figures on the other side of the mirror. A book about them.
Karla
Again, Karla repeated the motion, including everyone on her side of the mirror in a big circle and then everyone on his side, following it up with the reading gesture again.
"I think they've found a book for us to read," Karla reported. "An interesting time to start a book club, but I'm assuming it's relevant."
Jack
A book for them to read, a book about them: Close enough, really.
"Can we show the book to them?" he wondered, stepping back to call to his own group. "That might be the best way to explain."
Susan
Susan helpfully walked over with the book to hold it up to the mirror. There wasn't any gesturing, though. What was she going to do, express 'here it is' through arm gestures? She'd pass.
But book!
The Book
The book fell open as soon as Susan held it up.
But its pages were no longer legible - it was instead shining with a heavy white light, which transferred flawlessly to the other side of the mirror and then overtook both rooms, swallowing up everyone in them and transporting them elsewhere.
~
Swamp of Sadness
The swamp was black and drab, and filled with an atmosphere of utter despair. The mud clung to one's feet, the water sucked at their ankles, even the trees seemed to wish anyone who strayed here down, down into the ground. The swamp pulled and plucked on their worst emotions, attempting to coax them into equal despair.
And yet, something struggled up. Many somethings, little somethings, black and the size of a fist, speaking of keep fighting, speaking of keep forgetting, and - occasionally - biting down on flesh that brushed too close to them, leaving little stinging marks behind.
Columbus
All Columbus could remember was a flash of light and then being surrounded in muck.
"What the fuck just happened?" he asked looking around. "And where the hell are we now?"
Jack
"An evil book took us here. Keep up. And do you have more ammunition?" Jack asked, all in one breath.
He wasn't quite as snippy as he normally would have been, though. It was hard to be snippy when something was trying to gnaw through your pants leg.
Columbus
Columbus looked around and swore. "My suitcase didn't make it," he replied. "All I got is my shotgun and two rounds."
Alice
Alice had the Draugr axe, and her Vorpal Blade, and -- nothing else.
Leto (You chose to come here, so where else could I go?) had been gone for two days. Hania was lost. Alice had been afraid of loving her daughter, and so she had gone to lie down and become a tree. Leto (You are not alone in this) had found her, and lured her back. She had believed she could have a family again.
"So we've nothing," she said. Her voice sounded as if it came from far away.
The bites on her legs grew more persistent. Leto and Hania and Mother and Father and Ina and Matilda and ...
Katniss
Katniss had what was left of her arrows (a paltry four, so she'd have to make it count.)
"Not true," Katniss countered, glancing at Alice and raising her brows. "We've got our wits. And there's a fair number of us. It could be worse."
Trust her, it could.
Elphaba
"I can still summon a little fire, though it's getting exhausting," Elphaba said, her dress getting absolutely bogged down with wet and muck. It did, however, afford a bit of protection against whatever was poking about in the water. "I might not manage more than a candle flame."
Zoe
"You should save your energy until we need it," Zoe said, trying to ignore how very much she did not want to be wet right now. "That goes for all of you. If we got in here, there must be a way out."
She almost still believed that, at this point.
Cara
Cara's hands were curled tightly around her agiels. She doubted there's be an attack, but the pain served as a reminder to keep her back straight. For now at least.
"If we'd walked in here, maybe, instead of trusting that book," she said, kicking at whatever was nipping at her ankles, the bites dulled by her leathers.
Susan
"I suppose it's too much to hope that this is part of a bigger plan and we're meant to be here," said Susan, though her tone probably said that she thought it was, in fact, too much to hope for.
Cara
"A bigger plan that involves dying in a swamp?" Cara's tone was defiant, her expression...not so much. "Not really one I want to be a part of." Unless she could somehow twist it into protecting Richard and Kahlan, then she'd be all over it.
Cara had some issues.
Columbus
Columbus frowned. "Where's that guy with the laser sword?" he asked. "What happened to him?"
Swamp of Sadness
The little creatures in the swamp were starting to crawl up now on anything they could get their grubby little hands on.
"Fight fight fight."
"Forget forget forget."
Jack
"Does everyone else hear that?" Jack wondered. "About fighting and forgetting. It's not useful advice."
His tone lacked energy. He was so far beyond tired at this point.
Cara
"The first part is," Cara remarked tonelessly as she flicked things off her legs with an agiel and not that much enthusiasm.
Kate
Oh ugh. Kate kicked at the disgusting little things tugging on her pants legs, in a half-hearted attempt to dislodge them, for whatever good that would do.
"Laser sword guy is probably gone like everyone else." It was becoming far too normal for her, losing everyone. It wasn't surprising that it had followed her to Fandom, it probably wouldn't be long before everyone else vanished. "That's the way this pattern works, isn't it?"
Cara
"Seems to be." Cara wanted nothing more than to just stop, lie down, and never get up again. Only the knowledge that it didn't matter what she wanted kept her on her feet. "It's the way everything else works."
Columbus
Columbus' shoulders slumped. "We're not getting back, are we? We might as well be nothing'd like everyone else."
Zoe
Zoe wanted to be optimistic, but she just couldn't force it anymore. "No, I think we've reached the end," she admitted.
Susan
"We have not," Susan said. She might not have believed it right this moment, and didn't sound the least bit convinced, but she was finding that sort of talk just wouldn't come out of her mouth. "We just have to keep going."
Probably forever. Into nothing, at this rate.
See, she could think it, just not say it.
Elphaba
"Keep going where? We're just waiting the inevitable step where we tumble neck-deep into the muck. Or worse," Elphaba said. "What's the point in moving forward?"
At the same time, Team 2 found itself somewhere much cleaner...
Falcor
One minute, there had been a mirror.
Now, there were bright white floors and an endless expanse of stars, an object like a large stone rosebud in the center of this round platform, and...
...a few dozen scared people of all types and species, men with two heads and women with purple skins, looking downtrodden and scared and tired.
Jono
Well, that had been... unexpected. And not really a huge surprise, either. Jono frowned thoughtfully while he worked on getting his bearings again, looking around at the people gathered. And maybe not feeling so much like a horrible oddball for the first time in... Ever. Crazy, that.
"Well. I hope people take this as a lesson to never doubt the power of a good book."
Karla
"I should stab you with your spear for that pun," Karla muttered under her breath while she looked around.
Okaaaay. These people look terrified--terrified, exhausted, and almost pushed beyond their limits.
Stepping forward, Karla raised her hands to show that they were empty. "Please," she said, hoping they would understand her. "We're trying to find our friends. We don't know where we are, but we mean you no harm. We just want to...save the world, I guess."
Have some pretty gemstones to convince you she was telling the truth?
Surreal
Surreal stared at Karla for a moment before pushing her hands through her hair in exasperation. "You sound like one of those books that Ladies never admit to reading," she laughed. "'We mean you no harm.'"
"Most of us are wearing blood that isn't ours, Queen-to-Be." Her smile was sharp and bright. "I intend many things for that which would pervert the Darkness and steal children, and harm is just one of them."
Karla
"I'm not a lady," Karla snapped. "I'm a witch. And just look at them! You can feel the fear in their psychic scents, can't you? We're not about to hurt them if they don't offer us violence first!"
Mother Night, what was wrong with Surreal?
Switching to a psychic thread she added, *When we find what is causing that, then yes! We will paint the walls with their blood and dance naked in it if that's what you want, but these people are about to wet themselves in fright.*
Kenzi
Kenzi looked around, then paused. Wow. People were freeeeaeked out. And Karla and Surreal could've been helping, or, you know, maybe not.
"Hi people!" Kenzi beamed at them, very harmless. And pulling out a chocolate bar. "Almond Joy?"
Jono
Something told Jono that, without context about Kaeleer, Almond Joy would probably do more good than promises to keep the Darkness from being perverted. He glanced downward for a moment, and then carefully crouched down, laying his spear on the floor, leaving it there as he stood up again.
See. No reason to fear the big blue man in the skirt.
Kilt.
"Actually, if anyone could tell us a reason why a handful of would-be world savers might find ourselves here, we'd be ever so appreciative," he intoned, holding up his empty hands.
Bo
Bo's hands were empty to start with, her knife tucked away in her boot; now she just crossed her arms and nodded. "If it helps, we got sent here by a book..."
Belthazor
Bel didn't have any visible weapon (or fireball), but he was keeping a wary eye on the people around them. They certainly looked scared, but he knew from experience it could be a trap.
"Where are we?" he asked. "What is this place?"
Jon
Well, this looked all sorts of familiar, scared natives, armed intruders...
Jon made sure to keep his hands in plain sight and nod at the people around them. "Do you have a leader that we can speak to?"
Alexander Aaron
"We, uh," Alex said, then chuckled a little wryly before finishing, "We come in peace? From the library." That probably wasn't going to mean anything to these people, but it didn't hurt to try.
Falcor
Finally, one of the refugees was pushed forward (and away from his snail), looking grim and just a little nervous. "This is the Ivory Tower, don't you know?" he said. "We fled here from the Nothing to seek the counsel of the Empress. Much like you."
Or so he assumed.
Jono
Well, one out of two wasn't so bad, really.
"Empress?" Jono's eyebrow twitched up a little, at that. "And you suppose there's something she can do in order to fix all of this?"
Kenzi
"Oh God, I've always wanted to say this." Kenzi grinned and stretched up on her toes. "Take us to your leader!"
But Zayne did not suffer Team 1's misfortune. Rather, he suffered a case of strange serendipity...
Falcor
Something broke through the heavy clouds that hung over the swamp. Something shining and white, half-scaly and half-furry, with the face of a dog and a grin full of joy that marked a stark contrast against the world around it.
"Now this is no place for nice people like you," Falcor spoke warmly as he flew ever lower.
Zayne
Getting transported somewhere suddenly was starting to feel familiar for Zayne. He expected to end up with his fellow travelers, though, rather than facing... a big, dog thing.
"That's funny. I find myself in places like this pretty often," Zayne said.
Falcor
"Why would you do a thing like that?" Falcor wondered, then burst out into laughter. "Not that it matters," he added. "Would you like a ride?"
Zayne
"It's not usually by choice," Zayne said, laughing along with the huge, happy creature. "And a ride sounds great, but I need to find the rest of my group. I got separated from them somehow."
Falcor
"Don't worry," Falcor said, his voice slow, even, and utterly full of certainty. "It'll all work itself out."
He shook himself to get some of the ugly mud out of his fur. "Climb on my back, and we'll see if we can find your friends."
Zayne
"You seem pretty confident about this," Zayne said. The dog...dragon thing seemed friendly enough and had plenty of time to attack if it wanted to. And this just didn't feel like some kind of con to get more food or anything. So he climbed on and gave a sigh of relief that this guy was sentient and he wouldn't have to figure out how to steer.
Falcor
"Why not," Falcor asked, laughing again. "It's all about luck!"
With that, he took back off into the sky, still terribly amused.
"Though... would you..." He shook his head, ears flapping.
Zayne
Luck. Zayne's best friend and greatest enemy. Still, given the last few days he was due a massive lucky break. Why shouldn't it come in this form?
"Do you need something?" Zayne asked as he watched the ears flap.
Falcor
"My ears," Falcor proclaimed, stilling his head. "The left ear-- there's an itch."
Scritch the puppy, Zayne. Scritch him.
Zayne
"Over here?" Zayne asked, reaching over to scritch behind the ear. He somehow resisted the urge to ask Falcor 'who's a good boy?' That might sound creepy when the puppy could talk back.
Falcor
The puppy in question hummed in complete and utter satisfaction, tongue flopping happily out of his muzzle. "Ye-eeees," he said. "Oh, that's better."
Now that that was out of the way... "So what's your name?"
He managed to sound even more relaxed than a minute ago, which was no small feat.
Zayne
"Glad I could help," Zayne said. "I'm Zayne. Very nice to meet you."
Falcor
"Nice to meet you too. My name is Falcor," Falcor replied, his smile very broad, for all that Zayne couldn't see it. "I'm a luck dragon."
Zayne
"All good luck, I hope," Zayne said.
Falcor
Falcor thought that was hilarious, going by how hard he was laughing. "Only good luck," he agreed.
Meanwhile, Team 2 finally advanced to the Empress... despite a few snags along the way.
Childlike Empress
Suddenly, a man stepped forward from behind the construction in the center. "Hello?" he called, almost tentative, for all that he sounded authoritative. "The new arrivals-- the Empress wishes to speak with them."
Anakin
Anakin blew out a slow breath, then whirled to waggle a finger at Bel. "You do anything stupid to screw this up--" he growled. "No weapons unless they start it, and even then think twice."
Bo
"Once for each brain," Bo explicated helpfully.
Belthazor
"Bite me," Bel snapped at Anakin. "I'll leave the stupid to you."
Which was in a way admitted he sometimes did stupid things. SHUT UP. But he did get that this was important, and he wasn't going to deliberately screw anything up. Phoebe's safety and Anders and Piper's returns depended on him.
He held back a respond to Bo, because the last thing he wanted was the Teenage Ninja Harpy squad snapping at his ankles again.
Childlike Empress
The man who had just appeared raised his eyebrows at them.
"Any time," he prompted, gesturing towards the structure.
Jono
Jono eyed Anakin and Bel for a moment, and then shook his head a little, collecting his spear and slinging it over his back, making sure it was secured there, and then pointedly keeping his hands off of it.
Honestly, now.
"Shall we save the bickering like small children for later and focus a bit more on saving reality as we know it, then? Or we can make you wait in the car."
He wasn't waiting for a response before he started walking. He wasn't being paid enough to babysit, here.
Surreal
"We would be honored to meet with your Lady?" Surreal tried, giving a lopsided smile to the attendant and attempting to discreetly wipe the worst of the dirt and grime off her face with a clean bit of sleeve before she started after Jonothon.
Protocol was always a safe last-resort, right?
Childlike Empress
"The doors will open when you approach," the man said politely (but looking fairly stern and I'll-rip-your-head-off-if-you-keep-this-up). "Please remain polite."
The doors were actually already sliding open, revealing a bright light.
Anakin
"We haven't come all this way to die stupidly," Anakin said, walking into the light.
As far as pep-talks went, his could use work.
Belthazor
Bel shrugged and moved toward the light, really hoping bowing and scraping wasn't required for a solution here. Because he sucked at it. Well, actually, he'd been pretty good at it years ago, but not so much anymore.
Jon
Jon headed for the Door and paused when he got through, blinking away the spots from the light. And then blinked again at the person inside.
"Are you the Empress?" he asked. Because asking where her mom was if she was the Empress would probably be rude.
Childlike Empress
The girl within was small, dainty, and clothed in a fine white dress. Pearls adorned her head. She looked pale, though this could be blamed on her white surroundings.
"I am," she said. "Please, come in, be quick. We have much to talk about."
Anakin
Anakin's first wife had been elected queen when she was fourteen, so the relative youth of this empress didn't surprise him.
"You know about the multiverse being erased, then?" he asked. "Can you stop it?"
Might as well cut to the chase.
Kenzi
"Quick we can do." Kenzi resisted the urge to pat the kid on the head, then said carefully, "You don't look so good, Your Highness. Imperialness. Um. Yeah."
Childlike Empress
"I can't," the Empress said, and shook her head. Her eyes held a wet sheen, like she'd been crying. "I was waiting for you," she said. "We need you. My world needs you. We have held out for a long time... but now the Nothing is coming."
Jono
See Jono. See Jono's soft spot for Sad Girl Eyes take over. He crouched down a little so that he was on eye level with the Empress, his voice going soft.
"But what can we do?"
They'd been doing a whole lot of no good at all for the past several weeks, so far as he could tell.
Anakin
"We got rid of the Auditors," Anakin added, "but that didn't do anything against the Nothing."
Good name. Very apt.
Bo
"Everything's gone." See Bo. See Bo's genetically undernourished Faedar for once pick up that something which looked human wasn't anything like it, though hell if she could tell what this little girl was. "Everything out there in our world."
Childlike Empress
The Empress dropped her eyes to Jono's. "It takes what is forgotten," she said quietly. "And it makes us forget what is taken. Almost all of us have forgotten so much already."
Karla
"Can we fight it by remembering?" Karla asked. "Because we all do. We remember the worlds that have fallen and the friends that have vanished. Can that help at all?"
Grasping at straws? Hell yes. But if it worked...
Belthazor
"That's...." Bel did stop himself from saying "bullshit." "...not entirely true. I remember Anders and Piper. I'd never forget them. Why were they taken?"
Childlike Empress
The Empress's eyes slid to Bel. "The Nothing was once of my world," she said, "But someone set it loose among so many others. So many places, all similar but not alike. What is remembered in one doesn't exist in another, do you understand?"
She sounded a little desperate on that last word, and reached for Jono's hands, because they were closest.
"None of my people remember," she said, "we know we are running from something, but we don't know what we've forgotten. And this place, it's where memories are written down and stored, memories and ignorance have power, do you understand me?"
Her voice cracked in earnest.
Anakin
"Putting the 'special' in Special Collections," Anakin murmured to himself. "So because we're from...overlapping stories, and not just your particular world, we could reverse this by remembering everyone from inside the library?"
Jono
Yeah, Jono was totally like putty in this kid's hands, letting her take his and holding on gently.
"Remembering our own stories, and theirs. Not letting any of it go forgotten, like the Nothing wants it all to be."
Memories were power. Well, then.
"We'll do whatever you need us to, Sunshine."
Childlike Empress
Finally, a smile.
"Then stay here," she said, "And remember. All of you. As strongly as you can, and our worlds might just come back."
Even now, with the Nothing seeping into her territory, bit by bit.
Bo
"There's more of us left," Bo said, looking around at the small group that had made it this far. "Is there some way we can get them here?"
Alexander Aaron
"More people to...help remember couldn't be a bad idea," Alex agreed.
Shane 'Goose' Gooseman
Goose had been staying quiet so far, but he still nodded in agreement with the suggestion of having more people around would be more helpful.
Karla
"There are lots of things that we won't remember," Karla pointed out. "Things we've never known that others would. The more people we have remembering things, the power we'll have."
Childlike Empress
The Empress nodded. "That shall be arranged," she said softly, patting Jono's hand again before standing up. "Just remember. As much as you can, as strongly as you can, and as quickly as you can."
The doors leading out of the throne room opened again. "Your friends are waiting for you on the platform."
[[ just a little bit more in the ocd, and after that, stay tuned... but already I offer a great big thank you to everyone who signed on to do this. you were absolutely magnificent. ]]