Roadtrip: Prelude
EDIT: I just realized that "From Out Of Nowhere" is officially my lame-ass fic of a gazillion super-short chapters which only exists for purposes of implausible porn. Plus it's written all out of order. I am one of Those Writers, aren't I?
I started this...ages and ages ago, to give some background for how the whole roadtrip thing happened. Since I'm feeling reflective it might be a good idea to try and hash it out.
Also I've finally decided that I need to skew the timeline a bit. The whole From Out Of Nowhere 'verse takes place in 2008, so for purposes of not cutting everything TOO close I'm putting the events of the mini in the spring of 2007. Because I can.
The Outer Zone
Ambrose was different from the man they had met as Glitch, no matter how much he told them he was one and the same. With the rest of his brain restored he was quieter, more solemn, he moved and spoke with a new sort of caution. The one thing that hadn't changed was the way he smiled, which he still did frequently and with the whole of his being.
"I remember everything," he assured them early on in his recovery. "Other than that I don't feel any different. It's a little anticlimactic, I know, but given time..."
Time was something they had plenty of, and Wyatt was still not sure it would be enough for he and Jeb. Once the initial joy at reunion faded they looked at each other and saw nothing but loss, each attempt at conversation trailing into the same lonely dead ends.
It hurt less than it should have when Jeb announced he was going back to a certain village to find a certain girl he promised he'd come back for. Wyatt understood that he was not invited, and father and son exchanged one more awkward embrace.
"One day," they promised each other. "One day it'll be set to rights."
Thus untethered, Wyatt found himself following the whims of his friends. When DG announced her plan to go to the Otherside, he recalled his oath to the Mystic Man and opted to go with her. This came as a relief to her parents, who were loath to deny her closure but even more worried about leaving the shattered realm without its rulers for any length of time.
Ambrose's insistence on tagging along was understandable as well. He'd developed (or regained) a voracious curiosity, and months spent pent up in the palace following his surgery had left him excruciatingly bored. DG had assured him that Kansas was no more entertaining, but he had dug in his heels.
Unfortunately Raw could not come with them, as Viewers could not leave the Outer Zone without risking madness or death. He was there to see his friends' departure, along with the Queen, Ahamo, Azkadellia, and Az's new and incomprehensible paramour, Airofday. Raw had said something about love being unpredictable, which DG had called an understatement as she eyed him thoughtfully.
Once goodbyes were said, Azkadellia and her mother clapped their hands and sent the trio on their way. Four months later DG returned, alone but triumphant with a diploma in her hand. Eight months after that Wyatt and Ambrose followed.
This is what took them so long.
LATER, IN KANSAS:
At first, DG had known exactly what she'd been doing when she introduced Ambrose to the internet. He was a knowledge seeker, and and giving him access to the greatest store of information on the Otherside was only logical.
"Your culture seems preoccupied with pornography," he announced the following day over lunch. Wyatt choked on his sandwich and DG blushed with furious humiliation. "It's nothing t be ashamed of," Ambrose went on. "Besides, your economy is much more interesting."
He spent the rest of the afternoon learning eTrade, and over the following two weeks tripled DG's trust fund.
I started this...ages and ages ago, to give some background for how the whole roadtrip thing happened. Since I'm feeling reflective it might be a good idea to try and hash it out.
Also I've finally decided that I need to skew the timeline a bit. The whole From Out Of Nowhere 'verse takes place in 2008, so for purposes of not cutting everything TOO close I'm putting the events of the mini in the spring of 2007. Because I can.
The Outer Zone
Ambrose was different from the man they had met as Glitch, no matter how much he told them he was one and the same. With the rest of his brain restored he was quieter, more solemn, he moved and spoke with a new sort of caution. The one thing that hadn't changed was the way he smiled, which he still did frequently and with the whole of his being.
"I remember everything," he assured them early on in his recovery. "Other than that I don't feel any different. It's a little anticlimactic, I know, but given time..."
Time was something they had plenty of, and Wyatt was still not sure it would be enough for he and Jeb. Once the initial joy at reunion faded they looked at each other and saw nothing but loss, each attempt at conversation trailing into the same lonely dead ends.
It hurt less than it should have when Jeb announced he was going back to a certain village to find a certain girl he promised he'd come back for. Wyatt understood that he was not invited, and father and son exchanged one more awkward embrace.
"One day," they promised each other. "One day it'll be set to rights."
Thus untethered, Wyatt found himself following the whims of his friends. When DG announced her plan to go to the Otherside, he recalled his oath to the Mystic Man and opted to go with her. This came as a relief to her parents, who were loath to deny her closure but even more worried about leaving the shattered realm without its rulers for any length of time.
Ambrose's insistence on tagging along was understandable as well. He'd developed (or regained) a voracious curiosity, and months spent pent up in the palace following his surgery had left him excruciatingly bored. DG had assured him that Kansas was no more entertaining, but he had dug in his heels.
Unfortunately Raw could not come with them, as Viewers could not leave the Outer Zone without risking madness or death. He was there to see his friends' departure, along with the Queen, Ahamo, Azkadellia, and Az's new and incomprehensible paramour, Airofday. Raw had said something about love being unpredictable, which DG had called an understatement as she eyed him thoughtfully.
Once goodbyes were said, Azkadellia and her mother clapped their hands and sent the trio on their way. Four months later DG returned, alone but triumphant with a diploma in her hand. Eight months after that Wyatt and Ambrose followed.
This is what took them so long.
LATER, IN KANSAS:
At first, DG had known exactly what she'd been doing when she introduced Ambrose to the internet. He was a knowledge seeker, and and giving him access to the greatest store of information on the Otherside was only logical.
"Your culture seems preoccupied with pornography," he announced the following day over lunch. Wyatt choked on his sandwich and DG blushed with furious humiliation. "It's nothing t be ashamed of," Ambrose went on. "Besides, your economy is much more interesting."
He spent the rest of the afternoon learning eTrade, and over the following two weeks tripled DG's trust fund.