Nanowrimo 2010 (2/2)
Synopsis -- Based off a number of my strange dreams about my various comrades. And as always, I failed to complete it. Oh well! There is next year. This year, I managed to at least type 800 or so more words than last year. It could have been more if I wasn't so aptly distracted by... distractions.
Word Count -- 7,622
Nanowrimo Ending Word Count -- 12,874
They landed with a thump upon the grassy knoll on the side of what appeared to be a mining town out of a western movie. A whine came from Mustard's right that was unmistakably a Cream sound. "What on earth..." a grumble from Cream's right made Mayo and Mustard peer from their various positions sprawled on the grass. The skinny girl called Potato sat up and rubbed her face where it had been kissing the grass.
"I second that. What are you guys doing here? I was at home doing the laundry and now I'm here and what happened to the zombies looking for some binder and why are you holding that jaunty looking hat Mustard? But more importantly why are we in the middle of an oasis thing?" a flurry of questions came from above Mustard causing everyone to look up to reveal Coriander standing over them with a look of confusion on her face. The boys were no where to be seen.
Mayo looked at her two friends, wondering how they could be present when they weren't in the very same storage room. Especially the strange substitution "Well this certainly is a strange pickle," Mayo laughed nervously as she was met with two very confused looks. "Well it seems the binder somehow has the ability to transform and teleport us. What was a lime green folder has now transformed itself into a jaunty hat with a terrible colour scheme." She gestured towards the article of clothing which lay in her lap.
"Looks like something your dad would purchase," Cream jabbed cheerily and laughed as Mayo slumped in agreement at her father's taste in hats or lack thereof. Regardless, she tucked the green silk hat into her bag safely away from harm and ridicule. Mustard wheezed as she found her middle mysteriously restrained and naturally looked down to discover that her clothes had been transformed.
She lay down upon the grass and slowly began to learn how to breathe again. "No more. Laughing. Pain. Too much. Haha. Ow," she spoke in gasps and tilted her head to see that although everyone's outfit had changed, they all had been blessed with wearing curtains as dresses. Mustard cursed her luck and attempted to seat herself upright once more. Her futile attempts seemed to create more mirth for the others as she vented out her frustration silently, her fist shaking at the bright periwinkle sky.
Cream and Potato helped Mustard sit up and once all the laughter had died down hugs were exchanged. But the confusion continued to linger in the air and the looks on Potato and Coriander's faces still demanded answers. Mayo waved her hands about and began to explain. "Well, I'm not too sure what happened. But we were at university a few minutes ago and we got teleported here through the folder that the zombies were all looking for. It also appears to be sexist because we were with Peanut Butter and Cookie but they both don't seem to be here."
Potato raised both eyebrows and interjected with her own thoughts, "Yeah, I was on a bus though, granted it wasn't moving anywhere since we were in a sea of zombies. I'm surprised there are... were so many." She folded her arms and shuddered in memory of the large mass of moaning reanimated corpses.
Something was definitely afoot and Coriander added that she had been nowhere near university so it was entirely impossible for her to have teleported with them in the first place. "Well whatever the case it is, we are here now and whether it be the same year different location or different year same location or a little bit of both. Children, I do believe we aren't in Kansas," Coriander piped up, ignoring all the protests that they were never actually in America to begin with for the sake of reference use.
"Our beautiful pairs of converse!" came the collected cry of lamentations as Cream, Mustard and Potato all simultaneously pointed out the non-existence of the various ankle and boot length Chuck Taylors replaced by high heeled cowboy leather boots. Coriander began to laugh some more as Mayo looked on in alarm and on the verge to slap her palm against her forehead.
Ignoring the small hysterical group that were lamenting over shoes, Mayo stood up and dusted off her suit pants. She peered over the horizon to see he era that they were dealing with. A large mine sprouted to the right whilst an endless desert ran towards the edge of the earth as far as the eye could see. Mustard glowered at her, the only one who didn't seem to have sprouted petticoats out of them all which Mayo obliviously ignored, stating "Definitely not in the 'naughties' era. In any case, we should move. The sun is setting and I for one don't plan on camping out here all night. Look through your bags and let's see if we have enough to afford a room."
They rifled through their satchels and came up with a small fortune. Being the commerce student of the group, Mayo was naturally thrifty with money and was appointed the treasurer of the group. "We should also prepare for the long run. I'm not entirely sure if this is enough money to last us for goodness knows how long," Mayo pointed out.
Cream and Mustard smirked, "If the need comes we may have to start busking." The comment caused Potato to laugh as Coriander folded her arms across her chest clearly displeased at the idea of singing as a way to earn money. "Think about it. With our onslaught of ABBA and Queen songs up our proverbial sleeves, they'll be paying us to shut up."
Mayo shook her head and let out a sigh as the three giggly girls presumed to lose control over their laughter. "Either way, has anyone found anything of use in their bags?" As they all pulled out their objects from their bag, it became apparent that the folder had somehow also managed to send them mostly items that belonged in a Cluedo board game.
Mayo clapped her hands at the metal objects that lay in the middle offhand circle. "Wonderment. We have a candlestick, some metres of rope, a revolver, a small sack of potatoes and a lead pipe. We are totally equipped for a riot and maybe a stakeout," she spoke with a droll voice much to the amusement of everyone else. "Of course let's hope we won't have to resort to that."
Mustard poked at the revolver with her finger in curiosity and spoke aloud to speak her thoughts, "The closest any one of us have been to a fire arm is probably Cream and I playing Ghost Squad. I hope that we don't shoot our knickers off. I can feel those frills against my leg." Mustard grimaced as she shifted her position to ease the itch from the scratchy unfamiliar material.
Easing to her feet daintily, Coriander looked well at home in her lace and frilly hat. "Come on you lot. There is no use just sitting here all day. I wonder if we will need fake names." she clapped her hands in excitement which was reflect by the gleam in her eye. "I've always wanted to be a Sal or a Laelia. Away children! We must go find our humble lodgings for the night and rest up. Who knows what tomorrow may bring?"
Items were smuggled amongst handkerchiefs and hidden easily between the seams of satchels under the handy fingers of Mayo and Potato. "Coriander, lend me a hand will you?" Cream asked as she helplessly hoisted up Mustard to no avail who had dark clouds looking on her face. "Don't worry Mustard. We will get you some sensible clothes later."
"We don't have the money woman. What? Wear the curtains and tie it around the middle with a length of rope? We aren't in Sound of Music and I'm pretty sure Julie Andrews had a sewing machine," she spoke as her friends helped her onto her feet where she swayed precariously for a moment. Cream snickered and patted her shoulder sympathetically in silent support. Once their bags had been hoisted onto their shoulders, the small group trudged through dry dust and grass to enter the small town.
The sound of lively music attracted the small band of heroes to the nearest saloon, where a large number of male townsfolk had congregated to celebrate a job well done and to unwind with booze and a woman hanging from each arm. They slipped in quietly, largely unnoticed, into the bar. With Mayo acting as their leader, they slunk past the large amount of couples pressing against the wall of the saloon towards the desk at the back. Cream and Potato kept watch of the crowds as Coriander leant against the desk and tapped the bell awaiting some service.
An elderly man stepped from behind the red velvet drapery and adjusted his monocle, a frown upon his face that could rival that of any disappointed parent. His greying moustache covered most of his face and a fierce beard settled upon his square jaw. "How may I help you ladies?" His voice was scratchy and from the blotchy redness on the patches of skin not covered by facial hair, it was clear he had been hitting the bottle on the job. It explained the displeased look on his face at the interruption they had caused between his lips and the neck of his hip flask.
"A room, please. For five, sir," Coriander spoke calmly as she fixed the alcoholic with a stare, silently judging him for his lack of sobriety. Cream and Potato watched the arcordian man in fascination, as the instrument was opened and closed like a book to produce such strange sounds to the accompaniment of the bouncy upbeat piano. Mayo fiddled with her vest for the fobwatch that was tucked into the vest pocket, slightly alarmed to see that time had passed so quickly since their descent from the grassy patch of grass into the town below. Mustard elbowed her and motioned with her eyes at the men in the corner that had seemingly taken an interest in them.
As Coriander dealt with the drunk innskeeper with as much patience for the incompetence he was showing as she could muster, Mayo kept an eye on the two men in their top hats sitting in the corner through the reflection in her fobwatch's lid. "We should keep a close eye on our belongings. I have a feeling some of these men here aren't as drunk as they seem to be," Mayo warned in a low voice, keeping a close eye as one of the men produced a pipe from his pocket and lit it up.
A clipped thank you was heard from near the counter and Coriander turned around with a key in her hand, a clear look of disgust on her face at the man finally passed out before his hip flask reached his lips. "Come on, we should go before some of these men dig their claws into your pale white skin," Coriander teased and headed towards the staircase at the right that lead to the guest rooms where more women in corsets were clinging to scuffy looking men. Mustard scowled as a toothless man stared a her funny, feeling rather exposed in the terrible costuming choice on the folder turned jaunty green silk hat's part.
The staircase continued to spiral upwards, each floor having a number of rooms which all seemed to be thoroughly occupied by girls having pillow fights and men watching them have pillow fights. The girls stiffly ignored any invitation to join any groups of pillow wielding ladies in corsets with a polite declination. Cream seemed thoroughly baffled at the entire situation though everyone had gotten used to her permanent state of confusion.
It was difficult to say how many storeys the building had, having passed well over ten if Potato's counting could be trusted. From the outside, Mustard could have sworn it was only a two storey establishment making this hotel like the Tardis of rental rooms or something.Coriander finally stopped at the room that seemed to be on the last level that the flight of stairs took them to and inserted the key into the lock, twisting it to allow them entrance into the room.
The door swung back on is hinges and Coriander snapped the lights on. The room stretched out and was much bigger than they had initially thought, their measurements of the room sizes being roughly translated from what they could see past the pillow fights and the giggly ladies. There were two beds pressed against either wall with a third bed near the big window furthest away from the door and closest to the stars. Potato, having spied the bed at the end closest to that window, squealed and pranced towards it before loudly announcing that she had claimed it as her own. She promptly began to roll about on it as she claimed it was marking her territory.
With the door securely locked behind her, Mayo dumped her bag onto the last unclaimed bed and sat upon its squeaky bed springs. "I know we're all tired from the events beforehand and I know we probably don't want to think up of any plans aside from plans for dinner, but what are we going to do if we are here for more than a couple of days? We need some kind of plan and then a contingency plan and then a back up plan in case the contingency plan and the plan don't work."
But judging from the looks on several blank and bewildered faces, Mayo had only managed to confuse everyone but herself with her words. Cream sat on Mustard's bed listening with half an ear as she poked the other girl in her corset. "I don't know why you got stuck with this." A grunt of agreement came from the body in the constricting material. A lightbulb suddenly went off in Mustard's head and she lifted her head up from where it lay buried in the pillows.
"Take it off. If we're not going to go downstairs with all those drunkard me, let me breathe. Quickly unlace it woman." With the combined help of Coriander and Cream's dextrous fingers, the laces were loosened enough to allow Mustard to finally inhale a large lungful of air which apparently tasted oh so sweet. "I live! Sweet sweet oxygen!"
Potato, having successfully finished messing up her bed sheets, rejoined them on Mustard's bed. Her cheeks were flushed pink with the physical exertion. "Can we have dinner now? I mean yes we should make plans but there's no point doing that on an empty stomach right?" There were murmurs of agreement and Coriander walked towards the corner of the room dedicated to food preparation. The small kitchen in the corner of the room was open to Coriander's skilful prying fingers and in amongst the shelves and drawers were pieces of cutlery and a saucepan that someone before them had left behind.
The sack of potatoes was procured from within Potato's bag and were put on the boil under the watchful combined eye of Coriander and Mustard. Cream and Mayo put two beds together and Potato snooped around to find something that could be used as plates. "This is a far cry from we love our bread and we love our butter," Potato remarked as she successfully found a stack of questionably clean plates where the plainly cooked potatoes were unceremoniously placed and shared about.
With fork in hand, Mayo took out her green silk hat and looked at the lining. "If only we knew how this worked. Though if all the manga and anime and movies and television series have taught us, this will throw us into another world with another problem that we have to solve. That has to be the trigger for the teleportation," she mused as she placed the hat in the middle of their makeshift dinner table bed and jabbed at her potato with her fork.
"So then, what seems to be the problem in this timeline and location is what we need to find out and to solve before we can go back home," Cream picked up the hat and shook it furiously, "What do we look like to you? The Scooby-Doo Gang? The Famous Five?" The last label illicited a snort of laughter from Mayo. "That could be our code names! Mayo can be Anne, Potato can be Dick... obviously we may have to change the names a little to suit our genders, Coriander as Julian and I can be George... Georgina! And Mustard, you can be Timmy the dog since that's the only character you'll fit, sorry dude." Mustard waved her fork and polished off her food, wondering begrudgingly why she always ended up with the shorter end of the stick. She needed to donate more, as per the advice of Cream when in need of more good karma.
With their bellies satiated, they piled the dishes into the sink and chatted around whilst they took turns cleaning their plates. "What would be the girl form of Dick? Dickette? Dickina? Diana?" Mustard nodded as Potato mused her new potential code name. "Then there's Julia for Coriander and Mustard... Tim-ina? Timona? Tommy? Oh I know, Tammy! That's perfect!" Potato chuckled to herself as she washed her plate then set it aside to dry. She bounced away back to her bed and happily sat on the mattress.
A knocking came from the door making them jump to their feet again. Cream, who had been washing her plate at the time, cursed silently as she nearly lost her grip on the ceramic. "Should we get that?" she asked in a low whisper to Mayo standing beside who shrugged her shoulders, not entirely sure if contact with the people on this world was such a good idea. Especially going by the one track mind of the townsfolk when the sun sank below the horizon.
"Open up, ladies. I know you are not of this time period and I have come to help you," came the low voice of a man outside their door. Mustard pushed Mayo to go answer it with her convoluted reasoning being that the one in pants should obviously be the one to answer the door. With a lot of flailing, Mayo slowly wrapped her hand around the door knob. She cast a quick look over her shoulder to see that Coriander had slid herself behind their makeshift table and had taken out the revolver from her satchel. From her position crouching behind the pillows, she took aim and waited for Mayo to open the door before gauging whether to take a shot.
Cream stood on the other side of the door, hidden away by the slight jut in the architecture of the room with her lead pipe in hand and gave her nod at Mayo. If the male outside was to storm in with ludicrous ideas, they were ready. Mayo took a look through the peep hole and saw a man that oddly reminded her of Jude Law with a rather bushy moustache. She cautiously opened the door and spoke slowly to calm her thundering heart, "Yes, how may we help you, kind sir?"
The man bowed and cast a look down the staircase that was illuminated only by the light from the chandelier. There was not a soul awake at this hour which had turned rather late. "My name is John Watson. And you and your lady friends are not safe here. Mr. Holmes and I have prepared transportation for you in the morning, the destination will become clear to you once you get there. It is imperative that you come with us so that we can figure out how to help you and how you have somehow managed to include yourself in this case," he spoke lowly and calmly, the effects of his smooth voice apparent by the sneaking glances that Potato and Mustard threw over their pillows and the quiet bouts of giggling that was happening.
With a hand on her hip, Mayo tilted her head slightly and frowned a little. "How do I know to trust you? How do I know you aren't just leading us into some trap and using the character names of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?" She spoke in turn whilst quenching the feeling of unease in her stomach. Though the origin of that unease could also stem from the potato that she had just consumed.
"Who is this Sir Doyle you speak of? In any case, it would be in your best interest to accompany Mr. Holmes and myself for we will be returning to London in the morning. He always loves a good mystery and one of the finest minds of our time. I'm certain we may help you with whatever pickle you may find yourself in. We would very much like to help. Of course by all means discuss it with your lady friends. We will be leaving shortly after breakfast and will be waiting for you outside. Please, have a good nights rest," Watson tipped his hat and bowed once more before turning on his heels and heading back down the stairs and disappearing out of sight presumably back to his room.
The door closed with a thump and the locks redone. Mayo turned around and let out a long sigh, her imagination thoroughly running off places prior to meeting the man named Watson. Thankfully, none of her scenarios had come true. "What do you think? Should we go with them?" Mayo asked as she took off her suit jacket and slung it over the end of her bed. Cream yawned in reply as she stowed her weapon back into her bag and climbed into her bed that had yet to be separated from Mustard's.
"I vote yes. A man that looks like Watson with a mysterious partner in crime... I would follow him to the ends of the earth," Potato's voice piped up from her bed by the window, her head propped up in her hands as she stared dreamily at the ceiling. The urge to slap her palm against her forehead was high, though Mayo could understand where Potato was coming from before that train of thought got thoroughly derailed.
She looked to Coriander, who sat on her bed observing her friends with an amused look in her eye and nodded. "Would be a good idea. Mr Watson seems trustworthy and I'm certain if they are the embodiment of a certain pair from the great literature, heir intelligence is unparalleled. It could spell good things for us," Coriander wisely said as she flicked her bedsheets up and ready for bed.
Mustard and Cream sighed in unison, agreeing with Potato's words wholeheartedly and chuckled girlishly as they plotted together about the likelihood of a certain Mr Holmes also being roguishly handsome. "It is a super idea. I mean think about it, there's a gorgeous guy sleeping downstairs somewhere with another gorgeous guy, presumably. Cream, stop sniggering. Gosh woman, bad choice of words. My bad," Mustard elbowed her friend in the shoulder as Cream hysterically laughed behind her hand at the innuendo. She rolled her eyes and fluffed up her pillows before leaning back against the headboard of the bed.
A yawn came from Coriander and she walked to the ensuite bathroom to get ready for bed. It was most probable that the day after would require their fullest attention. Soon, the bathroom became the most popular area of their rented room as the Famous Five of a different sort cleaned and got rid of their outer day clothes down to their petticoats. Mayo preferrred to stay in her suit.
Without the wonders of the internet for appropriate distraction, they were suitably tired. Especially without their daily recommended dose of radiation, it was quite impossible to stay awake at this suitably early hour. The Famous Five climbed under their covers and wriggled about till they found a comfortable enough spot. Mayo sighed as she tucked her hands behind her hand in a similar fashion to Potato.
"Should we take turns standing guard, or am I just being paranoid?" Potato chimed from her bed by the window, her face pale and illuminated by the moonlight. They were in an unknown place in an unknown timeline and possibly even in a different universe. Coriander shook her head, feeling it was all rather unnecessary and Mustard agreed, thinking it would be rather impossible when she slept so deeply. But Mayo seemed to agree, her paranoia besting her. Cream didn't seem to care either way, her confusion once again making her sit on the fence.
"I know I am probably the veteran of staying up late and being generally ok looking whilst sleep deprived, but we are in a room with pretty decent locks. There are no zombies out to get us to our knowledge and there is a man sleeping somewhere else with another man willing to help us. Cream, stop sniggering. I admit it was a bad choice of words but I don't English very well when sleepy," Mustard poked her friend in the forearm as Cream attempted to curb her laughter behind her hand. "We should be fairly safe."
One by one, the Famous Five fell asleep. Each of them were thinking of a variety of different things but it was certain that home was in the forefront on each of their minds. A few of them were thinking of the tall rugged man that had come to mysteriously help them, a few of them were thinking of what tomorrow would bring. A number of them were considering whether it was truly safe to be so blindly trusting and yet another portion of them were thinking that this time line could do with a few technological advances.
When daybreak broke over the horizon, the unlikely band of heroines all began to stir from their dreams and someone loudly yawned. Potato woke up with the sun on her face and bathing her entire bed in gold. She grumbled at her lack of foresight and sat up in bed with a yawn. All around her the rest of her friends were sleeping soundly but within the hour, Potato knew they would wake and a fight would break out for the use of the single bathroom. Slipping out of bed, she crept to the bathroom and claimed first use.
Potato washed her face and lamented the lack of a toothbrush that the magical binder had kindly forgotten to provide. She hoped that Watson and Holmes would be happy to provide them with some basica hygiene products once they got to their mystery destination. There was a knock at the door and Coriander stood on the other side, waiting patiently for the minute that Potato was finished such that she could use the bathroom.
The door opened and Coriander squeezed past whilst simultaneously pushing Potato out of the room. She chuckled to herself as she watched Mayo curl in on herself and hide under her pillow away from the shining light whilst grumbling. Finding herself with nothing to do, Potato walked back towards her bed and opened up the window to let in a fresh dusty breeze.
"I hate mornings..." Mustard declared with a groan as she sat up and bent over her stomach, yawning loudly into the sheets. "There's combined hunger, combined yearning for more sleep and the natural calling for food." Cream rolled over next to her and grumbled in earnest, having been woken by the clanging in the bathroom and the words that could belong to any grumbling grandmother. There was an answering call made by Mayo who was already seated and looking like she hadn't slept for weeks.
Coriander returned from the bathroom and Mustard bounced off the bed to use it. "Should we really be trusting this Watson guy? I mean, he could just be faking what about the whole Sir Doyle thing. We could be walking into a trap," Mayo spoke as she rubbed the back of her hand against her eyelids and stifled a yawn. The morning shone on and from the sounds of horses and wheels crunching on earth, they weren't the only ones that were also busy getting on with the day.
Mustard sighed and stared at the general direction of where the jaunty hat lay from her position by the bathroom door. "If only we knew for sure how to activate its power. Now instead we have the option of trusting people, questionably if there are two of them or an entire gang, and who knows where we may end up. Despite this always nagging danger, we still need breakfast. If they don't jump us by then I'm pretty sure they should be relatively safe," Cream said, knowing exactly what Mustard was thinking in their strange distantly related telepathic way of communicating.
Dusting herself off, she jabbed her thumb to the inside of the room and Mayo got up to use it. "Food sounds great. But do you think they would so readily help us just because we are not from around here? It seems so oddly coincidental. Now if only he looked less like Jude Law and more like Benedict Cumberbatch, I would have no quarry with following him anywhere. Men like him have to be noble to match his gorgeous appearance," Mustard nodded sagely to herself as she joined Coriander on her bed. By the time all of the Famous Five had cleaned themselves up and were ready to leave, Potato had a sinking suspicion that they were going to be late.
They readied their satchels, stowing away a number of clean metal utensils in their satchels and thundered down the stairs towards the now empy and sober dining hall of the inn. The scene below was different to that of the night before. The drunkards had all vacated the premises and presumably all the corsetted woman had returned to their day jobs. Mustard dusted her flowing white dress that was kindly a layer borrowed from Cream's multilayered dress and breathed a sigh of relief for having nothing constrict her movement any longer.
True to Watson's word, he sat at a table in the corner with a man who could have been an ancestor of Robert Downey Jr with the latter being extremely tactless in his appraisal of where that woman's dress in the corner was obtained. Having seen the Famous Five loiter in the doorway, Watson immediately stood up and set his cup of coffee back onto its saucer. "Ladies, please come join us. We were beginning to think you were not going to come with us. If you please, this is Sherlock Holmes. Mr. Holmes, pay attention would you? And stop saying nasty things about that dress. Good heavens, I see you've stolen my shirt again."
The brunette with that great busy moustache walked towards them and like a sheep dog rounding up sheep, the girls were ushered towards the large table filled with breakfast things. They all sat down and politely began a heart breakfast in the company of the two men. The dark haired man, with enough stubble to grate cheese off (but that didn't seem to stop Potato to swoon), laughed to the dismay of Watson. A pipe was in his hand with the other wrapped around a newspaper that seemed to be fresh from London. "Ladies, it is a pleasure. My name is Sherlock Holmes and I have a few friends that have told me that you require some assistance. If you would like to accompany us back to London, I'm certain we can help sort you out. It's awful staying in this town is it not? So stifling and the ludicrous nightlife here."
To the knowledge of the girls about London and mining towns, which was something that was shameful enough to not be able to write home about, they were convinced that something out of a western movie should not be put together with London. Especially due to the industrial revolution and all that jazz that English in high school had taught them. But nevermind, it wasn't like zombies and the magical transforming teleportation object was also true to real life itself even if they had yet to experience much of it and much of that was not on the forefront of Potato's mind at the deep-voiced, very good looking even with stubble manly man that sat at the table.
Coriander spoke for them calmly, being the most mature and therefore by default the most wise, answering any question and introducing the Famous Five using their new identities to the two men who sat and listened with an air of interest. Mayo was pretty sure the air surrounding Watson was genuine whilst it was hard to decipher that belonging to the dark haired man who was shrouded in sarcasm and mystery. "The logistics of our travel here is, cloudy and we aren't entirely sure how to return to our, hometown," she spoke with many pauses, cautiously wording her phrases so as not to arouse any suspicion from the patrons aside from themselves.
Mayo watched as Holmes sat back and nursed his pipe, puffing on it briefly as he stared at them in thought. It was strangely unnerving, though Potato seemed to relish in the attention. "That is quite a pickle. I'm certain it would be far more comfortable and easier if we discussed this in private later. But please take your time eating. From what Watson and I found last night, there was a faint aroma of cooked potatoes coming from your room last night. That could hardly constitute for a proper meal. So please, this one is on us." He offered a smile and turned to stare out the window again.
Breakfast was a quiet affair as they ate their fill and in the case of Mustard and Cream, had managed to empty out the jug of coffee between them. Mayo exchanged nervous glances at their surroundings from time to time, feeling rather out of place in the grand scheme of things as she nibbled on her scrambled eggs on toast. She looked briefly at her friends noting with a slight slump in her shoulder at how easily they had seemed to fit in.
Once they had all eaten their fill, Watson stood up and settled the check. For some reason, that Mustard and Cream had managed to wheedle out of him during breakfast, Watson never seemed to trust Holmes with money. They watched as Holmes shrugged on his coat and headed out the door towards the main door without a care in the world. It dawned on them, from their knowledge of watching a three part mini series about the relationship and the case solving John and Sherlock that were most definitely fictional, that the Holmes of this era ran on his own type of schedule much like the Sherlock from the teleivision series.
The carriage the Famous Five had been expecting to fit the era of western movies were cut in a matter of minutes as they found themselves on a bus. The transportation Mustard had been envisioning was a horse and cart type get up. The air conditioned comfort was a welcome change. "How on earth is there a bus?" she asked incredulously as she leaned over the back of Potato's seat.
Watson laughed from across the aisle. "You really didn't think we were set in a place without these types of transportation did you?" Mustard nodded in reply, explaining that the hotel had left a lot to be desired but had stayed true to the old western movies one would expect Clint Eastwood to star in. "We may not be from the same type of time line you are from, but personal hygiene and transportation were fully developed years ago. This bus runs on nothing but oxygen." Mustard felt her jaw hang slackly as she contemplated the logistics of a bus that ran only on oxygen and the type of engine that they had developed. She felt her fingers itch, curious to get themselves on the blueprints and make of this bus.
Coriander and Mayo were questioned by Holmes, who seemed to have a different idea of interrogation than Watson's. His questions were oddly ludicrous and Coriander was certain had nothing to do with them being in a different timeline. "Meeting us was certainly an act of coincidence I wager. But you say you were being chased by the undead prior to coming here." He paused and got the confirmation he needed. "Curious. It is unlikely that you were presented with any problem here that needed solving. Getting back seems to be problem enough. What was the last thing you remember thinking? Perhaps there's a reason that the binder turned hat had brought you here to us."
Holmes sat back into his seat and stroked his stubble in thought as he watched the scenery roll past. Mayo sat back leaning against the plush seat, taking that as a sign that he wanted his thinking time. She heard laughter coming from behind them and turned to see that Watson and the rest of the Famous Five were having a wonderful time. Coriander shrugged and wondered what was with the significance of someone thinking about Cluedo weapons whilst they were being teleported. It all seemed rather farfetched.
It was early afternoon when they finally reached what appeared to be modern day London and true to all interpretations of Sherlock Holmes, they did live at 221B Baker Street. Mrs Hudson was surprised to find the pair of bachelors in the presence of so many fine ladies (she was pretty sure they were exactly like the married ones next door) and ambled away before Holmes could make use of her tea making skills (I'm not your housekeeper dear).
They seated themselves on various bits of furniture that resembled sofas, finding it hard to articulate themselves around towers of books and precariously placed plates without knocking them over. "May I please see that hat, Anne?" Holmes asked as he sat himself in his chair next to Watson's. The green silk jaunty hat was produced and passed along till Holmes could finally have a good look at it.
Under a direct stream of sunlight, he examine every thread and corner of the hat as if to memorise the very shape and feel in his head. Watson ran his fingers through his hair and ordered lunch in the meantime.
"there is a trigger for this type of teleportation device. It reacted the first time around when you were in danger but from Anne's words, your gentleman friends were not with you when you awoke. I can not fathom as to explain how," Holmes spoke partially to them but mostly to himself. He got up suddenly and handed the hat back to Mayo. His long legs made it easy to get to the door and Holmes declared he had somewhere to be. He disappeared minutes later with his coat before Watson could say anything.
Graciously accepting an offered tea cup, they sat around waiting for the Chinese takeaway to be delivered. "Does he often do that? Just leaving randomly like that?" Potato asked Watson as she took a sip from her tea cup. Watson nodded and shrugged explaining that Holmes was the embodiment of a sort of thrill he couldn't receive from anywhere else since his discharge from the military. "One of a kind special type of man, Sherlock Holmes is."
Cream looked at her spot from the one seater couch and wondered to herself how someone like Watson who looked all prim and proper and clean could live in a place that looked like a hurricane had swept in and messed the place up five times over. Watson laughed at her observations. "You don't mind it once you get used to it. I've asked if he has some secret to his chaos, but all Holmes says is 'This pile is books and so is this one'. I'm afraid There is no sense of organisation in this flat."
There was still no sign of Holmes by the time the food arrived, a meal that the famous five insisted on paying. As they sat around eating their lo mein and stir fry, they began talking about how coincidental the entire teleportation thing seemed to be.
"Maybe there is no trigger that we can figure out and maybe I requires to be powered up and is a one time use thing. Think of it like summoning Shen Ron, wait that analogy won't quite work," Mustard began as she poked around with yer chopsticks in her carton. "if it does react to danger or maybe our increasing fear or something. But I guess whoever gets touched by the blue light it touches will be sent to another realm". She gave up halfway and shrugged unhelpfully and returned to her lunch.
Watson listened to it all calmly and smiled as he looked fondly at the girls he had only known for a few hours. From his insistence that Holmes and he give their assistance to them when first laying eyes on them to now as thy sat about amicably talking about things of interest from their own place; he had gotten rather fond of them.
Mayo sat back and noted that the time was getting close to when the folder had been activated the day before. It was still entirely possible that the device worked on a timer basis and that had yet to be disproved.
Footsteps thundered up the stairs and Watson rose from his chair to open the door. At that precise moment the hat began to shake. Coriander and Potato looked at the article of clothing in alarm and were surprised to see it was the blue light that their friends had spoken of earlier.
"Detective Lestrade. Holmes! What are you-" Watson asked in surprise at the number of men that were lined up in the staircase all having seemingly arrived from Scotland Yard. The hard faced man shook his head and pushed past the brunette.
"Ladies. I'm afraid you will have to all come with me," he spoke as his men surrounded them from the second door in the kitchen. Holmes followed him in with his pipe in his mouth. The famous five looked on in shock as the number of men in the small space increased by the minute.
"What have we done wrong?" Cream demanded as Mustard and Mayo moved closer towards them, the hat in the latters hands. Coriander and Potato peered over their friend's shoulders, highly surprised to find that the police were reaching for their guns. Mustard looked down at the hat and made Mayo turn it upside down. The base of the hat along with the brim was still made of green silk but the top (or the bottom) of the hat was purely blue. For a moment, she wondered if this was a warped version of the time vortex or something that the Doctor would know everything about it.
Lestrade shook his head and put his hand onto the holster of his firearm, "I don't want to hurt you girls, but I need you to all come down to Scotland Yard right this instant. It is not safe for you to stay here." Cream glared at the detective, unconvinced by the message behind his words. They weren't criminals looking for justice. Far from that, they were looking to return home somehow. He gave a curt nod at his men who began to slowly advance. "If you won't do it the easy way, then we will just have to do it by force."
Mayo looked down at her hat, willing it to work because now as any was a good time for their quick getaway. Away from their run in with the law. The blue light expanded and Mustard looked up to see Watson had been restrained by Holmes, who looked awfully grim despite entertaining a small smile on his face. She blinked and recognised that instead of condemning them to some terrible fate at Scotland Yard, he had instead helped them into causing their device into working.
Potato looked forlornly at Holmes, wondering what she had done wrong to have deserved this from such a gorgeous and manly man like him. But she couldn't find it inside herself to hate him and with a heavy heart she took a hold of Mayo, just in case the jaunty hat decided to separate them once again.
She gave Holmes a salute and felt the familiar rush as they got sucked into the inside of the jaunty hat. In the blink of an eye, the Famous Five disappeared. Watson growled and broke free from someone's hold. "What was that about Sherlock Holmes? I thought you were helping them!" His angry eyes turned onto Lestrade who seemed to shrink back under Watson's gaze.
The dark haired man shook his head, not minding at all. "But that was exactly what I did. You didn't really think Lestrade was here to arrest them did you? I was just recreating the sense of urgency and panic that perhaps could have lead to their device working." Watson stared incredulously at Holmes, unsure of whether to applaud the man or punch him in the face. Holmes ignored the conflict of emotions and nodded to Lestrade. "That ought to do it."
<- Part One
Word Count -- 7,622
Nanowrimo Ending Word Count -- 12,874
They landed with a thump upon the grassy knoll on the side of what appeared to be a mining town out of a western movie. A whine came from Mustard's right that was unmistakably a Cream sound. "What on earth..." a grumble from Cream's right made Mayo and Mustard peer from their various positions sprawled on the grass. The skinny girl called Potato sat up and rubbed her face where it had been kissing the grass.
"I second that. What are you guys doing here? I was at home doing the laundry and now I'm here and what happened to the zombies looking for some binder and why are you holding that jaunty looking hat Mustard? But more importantly why are we in the middle of an oasis thing?" a flurry of questions came from above Mustard causing everyone to look up to reveal Coriander standing over them with a look of confusion on her face. The boys were no where to be seen.
Mayo looked at her two friends, wondering how they could be present when they weren't in the very same storage room. Especially the strange substitution "Well this certainly is a strange pickle," Mayo laughed nervously as she was met with two very confused looks. "Well it seems the binder somehow has the ability to transform and teleport us. What was a lime green folder has now transformed itself into a jaunty hat with a terrible colour scheme." She gestured towards the article of clothing which lay in her lap.
"Looks like something your dad would purchase," Cream jabbed cheerily and laughed as Mayo slumped in agreement at her father's taste in hats or lack thereof. Regardless, she tucked the green silk hat into her bag safely away from harm and ridicule. Mustard wheezed as she found her middle mysteriously restrained and naturally looked down to discover that her clothes had been transformed.
She lay down upon the grass and slowly began to learn how to breathe again. "No more. Laughing. Pain. Too much. Haha. Ow," she spoke in gasps and tilted her head to see that although everyone's outfit had changed, they all had been blessed with wearing curtains as dresses. Mustard cursed her luck and attempted to seat herself upright once more. Her futile attempts seemed to create more mirth for the others as she vented out her frustration silently, her fist shaking at the bright periwinkle sky.
Cream and Potato helped Mustard sit up and once all the laughter had died down hugs were exchanged. But the confusion continued to linger in the air and the looks on Potato and Coriander's faces still demanded answers. Mayo waved her hands about and began to explain. "Well, I'm not too sure what happened. But we were at university a few minutes ago and we got teleported here through the folder that the zombies were all looking for. It also appears to be sexist because we were with Peanut Butter and Cookie but they both don't seem to be here."
Potato raised both eyebrows and interjected with her own thoughts, "Yeah, I was on a bus though, granted it wasn't moving anywhere since we were in a sea of zombies. I'm surprised there are... were so many." She folded her arms and shuddered in memory of the large mass of moaning reanimated corpses.
Something was definitely afoot and Coriander added that she had been nowhere near university so it was entirely impossible for her to have teleported with them in the first place. "Well whatever the case it is, we are here now and whether it be the same year different location or different year same location or a little bit of both. Children, I do believe we aren't in Kansas," Coriander piped up, ignoring all the protests that they were never actually in America to begin with for the sake of reference use.
"Our beautiful pairs of converse!" came the collected cry of lamentations as Cream, Mustard and Potato all simultaneously pointed out the non-existence of the various ankle and boot length Chuck Taylors replaced by high heeled cowboy leather boots. Coriander began to laugh some more as Mayo looked on in alarm and on the verge to slap her palm against her forehead.
Ignoring the small hysterical group that were lamenting over shoes, Mayo stood up and dusted off her suit pants. She peered over the horizon to see he era that they were dealing with. A large mine sprouted to the right whilst an endless desert ran towards the edge of the earth as far as the eye could see. Mustard glowered at her, the only one who didn't seem to have sprouted petticoats out of them all which Mayo obliviously ignored, stating "Definitely not in the 'naughties' era. In any case, we should move. The sun is setting and I for one don't plan on camping out here all night. Look through your bags and let's see if we have enough to afford a room."
They rifled through their satchels and came up with a small fortune. Being the commerce student of the group, Mayo was naturally thrifty with money and was appointed the treasurer of the group. "We should also prepare for the long run. I'm not entirely sure if this is enough money to last us for goodness knows how long," Mayo pointed out.
Cream and Mustard smirked, "If the need comes we may have to start busking." The comment caused Potato to laugh as Coriander folded her arms across her chest clearly displeased at the idea of singing as a way to earn money. "Think about it. With our onslaught of ABBA and Queen songs up our proverbial sleeves, they'll be paying us to shut up."
Mayo shook her head and let out a sigh as the three giggly girls presumed to lose control over their laughter. "Either way, has anyone found anything of use in their bags?" As they all pulled out their objects from their bag, it became apparent that the folder had somehow also managed to send them mostly items that belonged in a Cluedo board game.
Mayo clapped her hands at the metal objects that lay in the middle offhand circle. "Wonderment. We have a candlestick, some metres of rope, a revolver, a small sack of potatoes and a lead pipe. We are totally equipped for a riot and maybe a stakeout," she spoke with a droll voice much to the amusement of everyone else. "Of course let's hope we won't have to resort to that."
Mustard poked at the revolver with her finger in curiosity and spoke aloud to speak her thoughts, "The closest any one of us have been to a fire arm is probably Cream and I playing Ghost Squad. I hope that we don't shoot our knickers off. I can feel those frills against my leg." Mustard grimaced as she shifted her position to ease the itch from the scratchy unfamiliar material.
Easing to her feet daintily, Coriander looked well at home in her lace and frilly hat. "Come on you lot. There is no use just sitting here all day. I wonder if we will need fake names." she clapped her hands in excitement which was reflect by the gleam in her eye. "I've always wanted to be a Sal or a Laelia. Away children! We must go find our humble lodgings for the night and rest up. Who knows what tomorrow may bring?"
Items were smuggled amongst handkerchiefs and hidden easily between the seams of satchels under the handy fingers of Mayo and Potato. "Coriander, lend me a hand will you?" Cream asked as she helplessly hoisted up Mustard to no avail who had dark clouds looking on her face. "Don't worry Mustard. We will get you some sensible clothes later."
"We don't have the money woman. What? Wear the curtains and tie it around the middle with a length of rope? We aren't in Sound of Music and I'm pretty sure Julie Andrews had a sewing machine," she spoke as her friends helped her onto her feet where she swayed precariously for a moment. Cream snickered and patted her shoulder sympathetically in silent support. Once their bags had been hoisted onto their shoulders, the small group trudged through dry dust and grass to enter the small town.
The sound of lively music attracted the small band of heroes to the nearest saloon, where a large number of male townsfolk had congregated to celebrate a job well done and to unwind with booze and a woman hanging from each arm. They slipped in quietly, largely unnoticed, into the bar. With Mayo acting as their leader, they slunk past the large amount of couples pressing against the wall of the saloon towards the desk at the back. Cream and Potato kept watch of the crowds as Coriander leant against the desk and tapped the bell awaiting some service.
An elderly man stepped from behind the red velvet drapery and adjusted his monocle, a frown upon his face that could rival that of any disappointed parent. His greying moustache covered most of his face and a fierce beard settled upon his square jaw. "How may I help you ladies?" His voice was scratchy and from the blotchy redness on the patches of skin not covered by facial hair, it was clear he had been hitting the bottle on the job. It explained the displeased look on his face at the interruption they had caused between his lips and the neck of his hip flask.
"A room, please. For five, sir," Coriander spoke calmly as she fixed the alcoholic with a stare, silently judging him for his lack of sobriety. Cream and Potato watched the arcordian man in fascination, as the instrument was opened and closed like a book to produce such strange sounds to the accompaniment of the bouncy upbeat piano. Mayo fiddled with her vest for the fobwatch that was tucked into the vest pocket, slightly alarmed to see that time had passed so quickly since their descent from the grassy patch of grass into the town below. Mustard elbowed her and motioned with her eyes at the men in the corner that had seemingly taken an interest in them.
As Coriander dealt with the drunk innskeeper with as much patience for the incompetence he was showing as she could muster, Mayo kept an eye on the two men in their top hats sitting in the corner through the reflection in her fobwatch's lid. "We should keep a close eye on our belongings. I have a feeling some of these men here aren't as drunk as they seem to be," Mayo warned in a low voice, keeping a close eye as one of the men produced a pipe from his pocket and lit it up.
A clipped thank you was heard from near the counter and Coriander turned around with a key in her hand, a clear look of disgust on her face at the man finally passed out before his hip flask reached his lips. "Come on, we should go before some of these men dig their claws into your pale white skin," Coriander teased and headed towards the staircase at the right that lead to the guest rooms where more women in corsets were clinging to scuffy looking men. Mustard scowled as a toothless man stared a her funny, feeling rather exposed in the terrible costuming choice on the folder turned jaunty green silk hat's part.
The staircase continued to spiral upwards, each floor having a number of rooms which all seemed to be thoroughly occupied by girls having pillow fights and men watching them have pillow fights. The girls stiffly ignored any invitation to join any groups of pillow wielding ladies in corsets with a polite declination. Cream seemed thoroughly baffled at the entire situation though everyone had gotten used to her permanent state of confusion.
It was difficult to say how many storeys the building had, having passed well over ten if Potato's counting could be trusted. From the outside, Mustard could have sworn it was only a two storey establishment making this hotel like the Tardis of rental rooms or something.Coriander finally stopped at the room that seemed to be on the last level that the flight of stairs took them to and inserted the key into the lock, twisting it to allow them entrance into the room.
The door swung back on is hinges and Coriander snapped the lights on. The room stretched out and was much bigger than they had initially thought, their measurements of the room sizes being roughly translated from what they could see past the pillow fights and the giggly ladies. There were two beds pressed against either wall with a third bed near the big window furthest away from the door and closest to the stars. Potato, having spied the bed at the end closest to that window, squealed and pranced towards it before loudly announcing that she had claimed it as her own. She promptly began to roll about on it as she claimed it was marking her territory.
With the door securely locked behind her, Mayo dumped her bag onto the last unclaimed bed and sat upon its squeaky bed springs. "I know we're all tired from the events beforehand and I know we probably don't want to think up of any plans aside from plans for dinner, but what are we going to do if we are here for more than a couple of days? We need some kind of plan and then a contingency plan and then a back up plan in case the contingency plan and the plan don't work."
But judging from the looks on several blank and bewildered faces, Mayo had only managed to confuse everyone but herself with her words. Cream sat on Mustard's bed listening with half an ear as she poked the other girl in her corset. "I don't know why you got stuck with this." A grunt of agreement came from the body in the constricting material. A lightbulb suddenly went off in Mustard's head and she lifted her head up from where it lay buried in the pillows.
"Take it off. If we're not going to go downstairs with all those drunkard me, let me breathe. Quickly unlace it woman." With the combined help of Coriander and Cream's dextrous fingers, the laces were loosened enough to allow Mustard to finally inhale a large lungful of air which apparently tasted oh so sweet. "I live! Sweet sweet oxygen!"
Potato, having successfully finished messing up her bed sheets, rejoined them on Mustard's bed. Her cheeks were flushed pink with the physical exertion. "Can we have dinner now? I mean yes we should make plans but there's no point doing that on an empty stomach right?" There were murmurs of agreement and Coriander walked towards the corner of the room dedicated to food preparation. The small kitchen in the corner of the room was open to Coriander's skilful prying fingers and in amongst the shelves and drawers were pieces of cutlery and a saucepan that someone before them had left behind.
The sack of potatoes was procured from within Potato's bag and were put on the boil under the watchful combined eye of Coriander and Mustard. Cream and Mayo put two beds together and Potato snooped around to find something that could be used as plates. "This is a far cry from we love our bread and we love our butter," Potato remarked as she successfully found a stack of questionably clean plates where the plainly cooked potatoes were unceremoniously placed and shared about.
With fork in hand, Mayo took out her green silk hat and looked at the lining. "If only we knew how this worked. Though if all the manga and anime and movies and television series have taught us, this will throw us into another world with another problem that we have to solve. That has to be the trigger for the teleportation," she mused as she placed the hat in the middle of their makeshift dinner table bed and jabbed at her potato with her fork.
"So then, what seems to be the problem in this timeline and location is what we need to find out and to solve before we can go back home," Cream picked up the hat and shook it furiously, "What do we look like to you? The Scooby-Doo Gang? The Famous Five?" The last label illicited a snort of laughter from Mayo. "That could be our code names! Mayo can be Anne, Potato can be Dick... obviously we may have to change the names a little to suit our genders, Coriander as Julian and I can be George... Georgina! And Mustard, you can be Timmy the dog since that's the only character you'll fit, sorry dude." Mustard waved her fork and polished off her food, wondering begrudgingly why she always ended up with the shorter end of the stick. She needed to donate more, as per the advice of Cream when in need of more good karma.
With their bellies satiated, they piled the dishes into the sink and chatted around whilst they took turns cleaning their plates. "What would be the girl form of Dick? Dickette? Dickina? Diana?" Mustard nodded as Potato mused her new potential code name. "Then there's Julia for Coriander and Mustard... Tim-ina? Timona? Tommy? Oh I know, Tammy! That's perfect!" Potato chuckled to herself as she washed her plate then set it aside to dry. She bounced away back to her bed and happily sat on the mattress.
A knocking came from the door making them jump to their feet again. Cream, who had been washing her plate at the time, cursed silently as she nearly lost her grip on the ceramic. "Should we get that?" she asked in a low whisper to Mayo standing beside who shrugged her shoulders, not entirely sure if contact with the people on this world was such a good idea. Especially going by the one track mind of the townsfolk when the sun sank below the horizon.
"Open up, ladies. I know you are not of this time period and I have come to help you," came the low voice of a man outside their door. Mustard pushed Mayo to go answer it with her convoluted reasoning being that the one in pants should obviously be the one to answer the door. With a lot of flailing, Mayo slowly wrapped her hand around the door knob. She cast a quick look over her shoulder to see that Coriander had slid herself behind their makeshift table and had taken out the revolver from her satchel. From her position crouching behind the pillows, she took aim and waited for Mayo to open the door before gauging whether to take a shot.
Cream stood on the other side of the door, hidden away by the slight jut in the architecture of the room with her lead pipe in hand and gave her nod at Mayo. If the male outside was to storm in with ludicrous ideas, they were ready. Mayo took a look through the peep hole and saw a man that oddly reminded her of Jude Law with a rather bushy moustache. She cautiously opened the door and spoke slowly to calm her thundering heart, "Yes, how may we help you, kind sir?"
The man bowed and cast a look down the staircase that was illuminated only by the light from the chandelier. There was not a soul awake at this hour which had turned rather late. "My name is John Watson. And you and your lady friends are not safe here. Mr. Holmes and I have prepared transportation for you in the morning, the destination will become clear to you once you get there. It is imperative that you come with us so that we can figure out how to help you and how you have somehow managed to include yourself in this case," he spoke lowly and calmly, the effects of his smooth voice apparent by the sneaking glances that Potato and Mustard threw over their pillows and the quiet bouts of giggling that was happening.
With a hand on her hip, Mayo tilted her head slightly and frowned a little. "How do I know to trust you? How do I know you aren't just leading us into some trap and using the character names of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?" She spoke in turn whilst quenching the feeling of unease in her stomach. Though the origin of that unease could also stem from the potato that she had just consumed.
"Who is this Sir Doyle you speak of? In any case, it would be in your best interest to accompany Mr. Holmes and myself for we will be returning to London in the morning. He always loves a good mystery and one of the finest minds of our time. I'm certain we may help you with whatever pickle you may find yourself in. We would very much like to help. Of course by all means discuss it with your lady friends. We will be leaving shortly after breakfast and will be waiting for you outside. Please, have a good nights rest," Watson tipped his hat and bowed once more before turning on his heels and heading back down the stairs and disappearing out of sight presumably back to his room.
The door closed with a thump and the locks redone. Mayo turned around and let out a long sigh, her imagination thoroughly running off places prior to meeting the man named Watson. Thankfully, none of her scenarios had come true. "What do you think? Should we go with them?" Mayo asked as she took off her suit jacket and slung it over the end of her bed. Cream yawned in reply as she stowed her weapon back into her bag and climbed into her bed that had yet to be separated from Mustard's.
"I vote yes. A man that looks like Watson with a mysterious partner in crime... I would follow him to the ends of the earth," Potato's voice piped up from her bed by the window, her head propped up in her hands as she stared dreamily at the ceiling. The urge to slap her palm against her forehead was high, though Mayo could understand where Potato was coming from before that train of thought got thoroughly derailed.
She looked to Coriander, who sat on her bed observing her friends with an amused look in her eye and nodded. "Would be a good idea. Mr Watson seems trustworthy and I'm certain if they are the embodiment of a certain pair from the great literature, heir intelligence is unparalleled. It could spell good things for us," Coriander wisely said as she flicked her bedsheets up and ready for bed.
Mustard and Cream sighed in unison, agreeing with Potato's words wholeheartedly and chuckled girlishly as they plotted together about the likelihood of a certain Mr Holmes also being roguishly handsome. "It is a super idea. I mean think about it, there's a gorgeous guy sleeping downstairs somewhere with another gorgeous guy, presumably. Cream, stop sniggering. Gosh woman, bad choice of words. My bad," Mustard elbowed her friend in the shoulder as Cream hysterically laughed behind her hand at the innuendo. She rolled her eyes and fluffed up her pillows before leaning back against the headboard of the bed.
A yawn came from Coriander and she walked to the ensuite bathroom to get ready for bed. It was most probable that the day after would require their fullest attention. Soon, the bathroom became the most popular area of their rented room as the Famous Five of a different sort cleaned and got rid of their outer day clothes down to their petticoats. Mayo preferrred to stay in her suit.
Without the wonders of the internet for appropriate distraction, they were suitably tired. Especially without their daily recommended dose of radiation, it was quite impossible to stay awake at this suitably early hour. The Famous Five climbed under their covers and wriggled about till they found a comfortable enough spot. Mayo sighed as she tucked her hands behind her hand in a similar fashion to Potato.
"Should we take turns standing guard, or am I just being paranoid?" Potato chimed from her bed by the window, her face pale and illuminated by the moonlight. They were in an unknown place in an unknown timeline and possibly even in a different universe. Coriander shook her head, feeling it was all rather unnecessary and Mustard agreed, thinking it would be rather impossible when she slept so deeply. But Mayo seemed to agree, her paranoia besting her. Cream didn't seem to care either way, her confusion once again making her sit on the fence.
"I know I am probably the veteran of staying up late and being generally ok looking whilst sleep deprived, but we are in a room with pretty decent locks. There are no zombies out to get us to our knowledge and there is a man sleeping somewhere else with another man willing to help us. Cream, stop sniggering. I admit it was a bad choice of words but I don't English very well when sleepy," Mustard poked her friend in the forearm as Cream attempted to curb her laughter behind her hand. "We should be fairly safe."
One by one, the Famous Five fell asleep. Each of them were thinking of a variety of different things but it was certain that home was in the forefront on each of their minds. A few of them were thinking of the tall rugged man that had come to mysteriously help them, a few of them were thinking of what tomorrow would bring. A number of them were considering whether it was truly safe to be so blindly trusting and yet another portion of them were thinking that this time line could do with a few technological advances.
When daybreak broke over the horizon, the unlikely band of heroines all began to stir from their dreams and someone loudly yawned. Potato woke up with the sun on her face and bathing her entire bed in gold. She grumbled at her lack of foresight and sat up in bed with a yawn. All around her the rest of her friends were sleeping soundly but within the hour, Potato knew they would wake and a fight would break out for the use of the single bathroom. Slipping out of bed, she crept to the bathroom and claimed first use.
Potato washed her face and lamented the lack of a toothbrush that the magical binder had kindly forgotten to provide. She hoped that Watson and Holmes would be happy to provide them with some basica hygiene products once they got to their mystery destination. There was a knock at the door and Coriander stood on the other side, waiting patiently for the minute that Potato was finished such that she could use the bathroom.
The door opened and Coriander squeezed past whilst simultaneously pushing Potato out of the room. She chuckled to herself as she watched Mayo curl in on herself and hide under her pillow away from the shining light whilst grumbling. Finding herself with nothing to do, Potato walked back towards her bed and opened up the window to let in a fresh dusty breeze.
"I hate mornings..." Mustard declared with a groan as she sat up and bent over her stomach, yawning loudly into the sheets. "There's combined hunger, combined yearning for more sleep and the natural calling for food." Cream rolled over next to her and grumbled in earnest, having been woken by the clanging in the bathroom and the words that could belong to any grumbling grandmother. There was an answering call made by Mayo who was already seated and looking like she hadn't slept for weeks.
Coriander returned from the bathroom and Mustard bounced off the bed to use it. "Should we really be trusting this Watson guy? I mean, he could just be faking what about the whole Sir Doyle thing. We could be walking into a trap," Mayo spoke as she rubbed the back of her hand against her eyelids and stifled a yawn. The morning shone on and from the sounds of horses and wheels crunching on earth, they weren't the only ones that were also busy getting on with the day.
Mustard sighed and stared at the general direction of where the jaunty hat lay from her position by the bathroom door. "If only we knew for sure how to activate its power. Now instead we have the option of trusting people, questionably if there are two of them or an entire gang, and who knows where we may end up. Despite this always nagging danger, we still need breakfast. If they don't jump us by then I'm pretty sure they should be relatively safe," Cream said, knowing exactly what Mustard was thinking in their strange distantly related telepathic way of communicating.
Dusting herself off, she jabbed her thumb to the inside of the room and Mayo got up to use it. "Food sounds great. But do you think they would so readily help us just because we are not from around here? It seems so oddly coincidental. Now if only he looked less like Jude Law and more like Benedict Cumberbatch, I would have no quarry with following him anywhere. Men like him have to be noble to match his gorgeous appearance," Mustard nodded sagely to herself as she joined Coriander on her bed. By the time all of the Famous Five had cleaned themselves up and were ready to leave, Potato had a sinking suspicion that they were going to be late.
They readied their satchels, stowing away a number of clean metal utensils in their satchels and thundered down the stairs towards the now empy and sober dining hall of the inn. The scene below was different to that of the night before. The drunkards had all vacated the premises and presumably all the corsetted woman had returned to their day jobs. Mustard dusted her flowing white dress that was kindly a layer borrowed from Cream's multilayered dress and breathed a sigh of relief for having nothing constrict her movement any longer.
True to Watson's word, he sat at a table in the corner with a man who could have been an ancestor of Robert Downey Jr with the latter being extremely tactless in his appraisal of where that woman's dress in the corner was obtained. Having seen the Famous Five loiter in the doorway, Watson immediately stood up and set his cup of coffee back onto its saucer. "Ladies, please come join us. We were beginning to think you were not going to come with us. If you please, this is Sherlock Holmes. Mr. Holmes, pay attention would you? And stop saying nasty things about that dress. Good heavens, I see you've stolen my shirt again."
The brunette with that great busy moustache walked towards them and like a sheep dog rounding up sheep, the girls were ushered towards the large table filled with breakfast things. They all sat down and politely began a heart breakfast in the company of the two men. The dark haired man, with enough stubble to grate cheese off (but that didn't seem to stop Potato to swoon), laughed to the dismay of Watson. A pipe was in his hand with the other wrapped around a newspaper that seemed to be fresh from London. "Ladies, it is a pleasure. My name is Sherlock Holmes and I have a few friends that have told me that you require some assistance. If you would like to accompany us back to London, I'm certain we can help sort you out. It's awful staying in this town is it not? So stifling and the ludicrous nightlife here."
To the knowledge of the girls about London and mining towns, which was something that was shameful enough to not be able to write home about, they were convinced that something out of a western movie should not be put together with London. Especially due to the industrial revolution and all that jazz that English in high school had taught them. But nevermind, it wasn't like zombies and the magical transforming teleportation object was also true to real life itself even if they had yet to experience much of it and much of that was not on the forefront of Potato's mind at the deep-voiced, very good looking even with stubble manly man that sat at the table.
Coriander spoke for them calmly, being the most mature and therefore by default the most wise, answering any question and introducing the Famous Five using their new identities to the two men who sat and listened with an air of interest. Mayo was pretty sure the air surrounding Watson was genuine whilst it was hard to decipher that belonging to the dark haired man who was shrouded in sarcasm and mystery. "The logistics of our travel here is, cloudy and we aren't entirely sure how to return to our, hometown," she spoke with many pauses, cautiously wording her phrases so as not to arouse any suspicion from the patrons aside from themselves.
Mayo watched as Holmes sat back and nursed his pipe, puffing on it briefly as he stared at them in thought. It was strangely unnerving, though Potato seemed to relish in the attention. "That is quite a pickle. I'm certain it would be far more comfortable and easier if we discussed this in private later. But please take your time eating. From what Watson and I found last night, there was a faint aroma of cooked potatoes coming from your room last night. That could hardly constitute for a proper meal. So please, this one is on us." He offered a smile and turned to stare out the window again.
Breakfast was a quiet affair as they ate their fill and in the case of Mustard and Cream, had managed to empty out the jug of coffee between them. Mayo exchanged nervous glances at their surroundings from time to time, feeling rather out of place in the grand scheme of things as she nibbled on her scrambled eggs on toast. She looked briefly at her friends noting with a slight slump in her shoulder at how easily they had seemed to fit in.
Once they had all eaten their fill, Watson stood up and settled the check. For some reason, that Mustard and Cream had managed to wheedle out of him during breakfast, Watson never seemed to trust Holmes with money. They watched as Holmes shrugged on his coat and headed out the door towards the main door without a care in the world. It dawned on them, from their knowledge of watching a three part mini series about the relationship and the case solving John and Sherlock that were most definitely fictional, that the Holmes of this era ran on his own type of schedule much like the Sherlock from the teleivision series.
The carriage the Famous Five had been expecting to fit the era of western movies were cut in a matter of minutes as they found themselves on a bus. The transportation Mustard had been envisioning was a horse and cart type get up. The air conditioned comfort was a welcome change. "How on earth is there a bus?" she asked incredulously as she leaned over the back of Potato's seat.
Watson laughed from across the aisle. "You really didn't think we were set in a place without these types of transportation did you?" Mustard nodded in reply, explaining that the hotel had left a lot to be desired but had stayed true to the old western movies one would expect Clint Eastwood to star in. "We may not be from the same type of time line you are from, but personal hygiene and transportation were fully developed years ago. This bus runs on nothing but oxygen." Mustard felt her jaw hang slackly as she contemplated the logistics of a bus that ran only on oxygen and the type of engine that they had developed. She felt her fingers itch, curious to get themselves on the blueprints and make of this bus.
Coriander and Mayo were questioned by Holmes, who seemed to have a different idea of interrogation than Watson's. His questions were oddly ludicrous and Coriander was certain had nothing to do with them being in a different timeline. "Meeting us was certainly an act of coincidence I wager. But you say you were being chased by the undead prior to coming here." He paused and got the confirmation he needed. "Curious. It is unlikely that you were presented with any problem here that needed solving. Getting back seems to be problem enough. What was the last thing you remember thinking? Perhaps there's a reason that the binder turned hat had brought you here to us."
Holmes sat back into his seat and stroked his stubble in thought as he watched the scenery roll past. Mayo sat back leaning against the plush seat, taking that as a sign that he wanted his thinking time. She heard laughter coming from behind them and turned to see that Watson and the rest of the Famous Five were having a wonderful time. Coriander shrugged and wondered what was with the significance of someone thinking about Cluedo weapons whilst they were being teleported. It all seemed rather farfetched.
It was early afternoon when they finally reached what appeared to be modern day London and true to all interpretations of Sherlock Holmes, they did live at 221B Baker Street. Mrs Hudson was surprised to find the pair of bachelors in the presence of so many fine ladies (she was pretty sure they were exactly like the married ones next door) and ambled away before Holmes could make use of her tea making skills (I'm not your housekeeper dear).
They seated themselves on various bits of furniture that resembled sofas, finding it hard to articulate themselves around towers of books and precariously placed plates without knocking them over. "May I please see that hat, Anne?" Holmes asked as he sat himself in his chair next to Watson's. The green silk jaunty hat was produced and passed along till Holmes could finally have a good look at it.
Under a direct stream of sunlight, he examine every thread and corner of the hat as if to memorise the very shape and feel in his head. Watson ran his fingers through his hair and ordered lunch in the meantime.
"there is a trigger for this type of teleportation device. It reacted the first time around when you were in danger but from Anne's words, your gentleman friends were not with you when you awoke. I can not fathom as to explain how," Holmes spoke partially to them but mostly to himself. He got up suddenly and handed the hat back to Mayo. His long legs made it easy to get to the door and Holmes declared he had somewhere to be. He disappeared minutes later with his coat before Watson could say anything.
Graciously accepting an offered tea cup, they sat around waiting for the Chinese takeaway to be delivered. "Does he often do that? Just leaving randomly like that?" Potato asked Watson as she took a sip from her tea cup. Watson nodded and shrugged explaining that Holmes was the embodiment of a sort of thrill he couldn't receive from anywhere else since his discharge from the military. "One of a kind special type of man, Sherlock Holmes is."
Cream looked at her spot from the one seater couch and wondered to herself how someone like Watson who looked all prim and proper and clean could live in a place that looked like a hurricane had swept in and messed the place up five times over. Watson laughed at her observations. "You don't mind it once you get used to it. I've asked if he has some secret to his chaos, but all Holmes says is 'This pile is books and so is this one'. I'm afraid There is no sense of organisation in this flat."
There was still no sign of Holmes by the time the food arrived, a meal that the famous five insisted on paying. As they sat around eating their lo mein and stir fry, they began talking about how coincidental the entire teleportation thing seemed to be.
"Maybe there is no trigger that we can figure out and maybe I requires to be powered up and is a one time use thing. Think of it like summoning Shen Ron, wait that analogy won't quite work," Mustard began as she poked around with yer chopsticks in her carton. "if it does react to danger or maybe our increasing fear or something. But I guess whoever gets touched by the blue light it touches will be sent to another realm". She gave up halfway and shrugged unhelpfully and returned to her lunch.
Watson listened to it all calmly and smiled as he looked fondly at the girls he had only known for a few hours. From his insistence that Holmes and he give their assistance to them when first laying eyes on them to now as thy sat about amicably talking about things of interest from their own place; he had gotten rather fond of them.
Mayo sat back and noted that the time was getting close to when the folder had been activated the day before. It was still entirely possible that the device worked on a timer basis and that had yet to be disproved.
Footsteps thundered up the stairs and Watson rose from his chair to open the door. At that precise moment the hat began to shake. Coriander and Potato looked at the article of clothing in alarm and were surprised to see it was the blue light that their friends had spoken of earlier.
"Detective Lestrade. Holmes! What are you-" Watson asked in surprise at the number of men that were lined up in the staircase all having seemingly arrived from Scotland Yard. The hard faced man shook his head and pushed past the brunette.
"Ladies. I'm afraid you will have to all come with me," he spoke as his men surrounded them from the second door in the kitchen. Holmes followed him in with his pipe in his mouth. The famous five looked on in shock as the number of men in the small space increased by the minute.
"What have we done wrong?" Cream demanded as Mustard and Mayo moved closer towards them, the hat in the latters hands. Coriander and Potato peered over their friend's shoulders, highly surprised to find that the police were reaching for their guns. Mustard looked down at the hat and made Mayo turn it upside down. The base of the hat along with the brim was still made of green silk but the top (or the bottom) of the hat was purely blue. For a moment, she wondered if this was a warped version of the time vortex or something that the Doctor would know everything about it.
Lestrade shook his head and put his hand onto the holster of his firearm, "I don't want to hurt you girls, but I need you to all come down to Scotland Yard right this instant. It is not safe for you to stay here." Cream glared at the detective, unconvinced by the message behind his words. They weren't criminals looking for justice. Far from that, they were looking to return home somehow. He gave a curt nod at his men who began to slowly advance. "If you won't do it the easy way, then we will just have to do it by force."
Mayo looked down at her hat, willing it to work because now as any was a good time for their quick getaway. Away from their run in with the law. The blue light expanded and Mustard looked up to see Watson had been restrained by Holmes, who looked awfully grim despite entertaining a small smile on his face. She blinked and recognised that instead of condemning them to some terrible fate at Scotland Yard, he had instead helped them into causing their device into working.
Potato looked forlornly at Holmes, wondering what she had done wrong to have deserved this from such a gorgeous and manly man like him. But she couldn't find it inside herself to hate him and with a heavy heart she took a hold of Mayo, just in case the jaunty hat decided to separate them once again.
She gave Holmes a salute and felt the familiar rush as they got sucked into the inside of the jaunty hat. In the blink of an eye, the Famous Five disappeared. Watson growled and broke free from someone's hold. "What was that about Sherlock Holmes? I thought you were helping them!" His angry eyes turned onto Lestrade who seemed to shrink back under Watson's gaze.
The dark haired man shook his head, not minding at all. "But that was exactly what I did. You didn't really think Lestrade was here to arrest them did you? I was just recreating the sense of urgency and panic that perhaps could have lead to their device working." Watson stared incredulously at Holmes, unsure of whether to applaud the man or punch him in the face. Holmes ignored the conflict of emotions and nodded to Lestrade. "That ought to do it."
<- Part One