SMOKE WITH MIRRORS: PART EIGHTEEN

"I will start to listen." Alijdah cleared her throat. "That said, you mentioned negotiation. Not capitulation. Talking is hard when staring down the barrel of a gun."

"I only remove the gun if you return our people now," Trixie asserted.

Alijdah frowned, then again looked at something out of their field of view and nodded. She turned back. "I'll bring them over in a shuttle. I'd prefer to talk to you face to face."

Beam's nose twitched before she also nodded. "Acceptable."

Beam looked to Trixie. Trixie honestly felt a bit disappointed, she'd been wondering whether the chewing gum would have properly exploded out of her delivery containers.

But she understood, and with her own nod and a small sigh, she cancelled her interface between Rixi and the Epsilon station.

***

Trixie stared at the monitor in the auxiliary control room. It showed only a closed conference room door. She was toying with the idea of magically eavesdropping when Alijda walked in.

This was the "good" Alijda, the one Trixie had been speaking with about programming, not the H-one with the bunny ears currently in discussion with Fate and Beam. And presumably this Alijda wasn't thinking about eavesdropping. But then why stand silently for over two minutes?

"You going to keep staring at my ass, or what?" Trixie finally asked, looking over her shoulder.

Alijda flinched. "Sorry. I didn't want to disturb, in case you were doing something mystic. Uh, they making progress in there?"

Trixie gestured at the monitor before fully turning around. "Who knows? It's early yet. I will say I'm certain your counterpart brought over that busty bunny girl not only as a personal guard, but also as a way to distract Beam. Though I doubt it'll work."

Alijda nodded. "You think Fate will keep Beam on track?"

Trixie smirked. "More like I think my promise of one last make-out session with Beam before I leave, contingent on the right outcome, will keep Beam on track."

Alijda half smiled back. "Ah. You two really hit it off then."

"Oh, not really," Trixie said, shaking her head. "Don't get the wrong idea. I mean, physically, sure. But any romantic feelings on my part are strictly for Beam's sophisticated program, not for who she is as a person."

Alijda blinked. "Hm. And are you sure Beam feels the same way about you...?"

Trixie giggled. "What, you think I got Beam hot for my human programming?"

"I just mean maybe she's become romantically invested."

"Mmm, as much as I'd like you say how could you NOT fall in love with this package," Trixie stated, gesturing back at herself. "We really do have a relationship built only on needs and lusts. And I don't get too attached as a rule, she knows that."

Trixie eyed Alijda, trying to read between the lines.

"Why? Are YOU worried about how someone you've associated with at this Station might feel about you romantically?"

Alijda coughed, and changed the subject, which was enough of an admission as far as Trixie was concerned. "That's irrelevant," Alijda said. "I actually came in here to ask you about your name. Your real one."

Trixie deflected. "If you don't know, I'm not telling you what it is."

"It's not that," Alijda clarified. "We both know I could probably hack to figure it out. It's that... well... okay, so while I was stuck on the Clover station, I learned my double's origin story."

Trixie became curious despite herself. "Do tell, if you're willing."

Alijda pressed the heel of her hand to her head. "Yeah. Okay. Well, long story short, there was a point in my past when I met an alien. Mason, actually, I heard that you saw him during this mission."

The name clicked. "Oh, the guy who called us out for being a bunch of white girls."

"Yes. Well, ladies. Well, anyway, this Alijdah-H went with Mason in her history. Whereas I didn't. That's when the split occurred. Then the two had a falling out, and she returned to Earth."

"Huh." Trixie considered that. "So her quantum Earth is immediately adjacent to yours, or something?"

"That's what I can't figure out. See, as I didn't go with Mason, I went on antidepressants, embezzled money from my corrupt company, fled to the US under the pseudonym Alison van der Land, and got teleportation powers."

Trixie stared. "Why are you telling me all that?"

"I think largely because I want the opinion of someone with whom I share common traits and yet will likely never see again."

"I actually meant how does your past connect to the quantum name stuff."

"Right." Alijda rubbed her forehead. "From what little quantum theory I've read, events are the cause of different Earth dimensions more so than individual actions. And external observation causes many quantum realities to blend back together. But maybe... we two were so different... she couldn't blend, even as our worlds did."

Trixie was reminded of her earlier discussion with Para. About whether there could be other versions of themselves running around. It had felt like the answer was no, at least until this Alijda-H issue.

"So, what, you think because you'd changed your name and location there was somehow room for both of you?" Trixie wondered.

Alijda sighed. "Possibly. Both our experiences having been so wildly unique as to prevent us from collapsing into a single dimensional existence once Epsilon observed me. So maybe my alt-self escaped detection, even came under fire for crimes I'd committed. Assuming she was even on my Earth then, and not with Clover Enterprises already."

Trixie was fascinated by that idea. "I'd be game to investigate that for you."

Alijda shook her head. "Oh, I could probably get that started myself. I mostly wondered what you thought about the theory."

Trixie considered. "Seems like Mason might be a better person to ask."

Alijda shook her head. "I know he doesn't remember being with me. Whether by choice or by circumstance. It's not my having a possible double that I'm wondering about here though. It's more, under these circumstances - should I maybe return to calling myself Alison? It IS the name I go by whenever I'm not on this station, after all."

Trixie considered again, for close to a minute. "You have as much right to your original name as anyone else," she concluded. "Besides. Even within a single Earth, individuals are mistaken for each other on the internet a lot. I don't think anyone here will believe you're a Clover operative if you keep Alijda."

"It's not really about that."

Trixie shifted her hands to her hips. "Then you'll have to explain better, I'm not a mind reader."

Alijda grimaced. "Sorry. Here's the thing. If my history was different, I COULD have been her, been that Alijda. Right? Instead, I'm me, a changed person in all but appearance. Yet for some reason, I'm clinging to that old name. And the baggage that may go with it."

"Presumably that's because you still identify with the name somehow. Do you?"

It was Alijda's turn to think in silence for a moment. "I guess I did. Before Epsilon. Because I thought I was living a lie on Earth. But after Alice moved in... well, maybe my new life as Alison is just my life. Maybe some of my suicidal thoughts are even from me continuing to wrestle with my past instead of just releasing it."

"So maybe you have your answer." Trixie eased her stance. "Know that I'm not saying you should forget where you come from, and remember I'm not a psychologist."

Alijda nodded. "I get it. Do you find it weird though, people here calling you Trixie instead of whatever?"

Trixie shook her head. "No. It's more like how someone might equally answer to 'Beth' or 'Elizabeth'. Plus for me, 'Trixie' is a reminder of where I came from, and how I'm still in the business that I'm in."

It had, after all, been 'James' who had both given her the pseudoname, and the business, once he and 'Melissa' had departed.

Alijda nodded. "All right. Thanks for the talk." She glanced towards the monitors again. "I'm off. Let me know if my alt-self does anything problematic."

"For sure," Trixie said. Part of her was even counting on it, as she was still wondering about the effectiveness of her retooled pocket dimension armoury. "See you around, Alijda."

The brunette woman paused at the doorway, and half smiled. "Call me Alison," she suggested, before departing.

***

"The trouble with Clover Enterprises," Fate reflected, "isn't that they were evil, per se. They merely seemed to have a callous disregard for the consequences of their actions."

Para frowned. "Maybe it's because I'm not human, but is that... not the same thing...?" she wondered.

"Sometimes. The Clover group were definitely self serving," Trixie offered up. Honestly, Para had a pretty good point, but Trixie didn't want Fate to overanalyze it.

The group of them had congregated one last time in the main control room, after the Station Administrators had observed the departure of Alijah's shuttle back to the Clover station. Fate had brought along a box of assorted muffins to eat.

"I'm a bit surprised by your take, Fate," Beam admitted, who was apparently fine with continuing the conversation. "Given how you were abducted from your world and nearly brainwashed as a consequence of them giving Compton Senior dimensional knowledge."

Fate nodded. "I know. Kind of had to make peace with that to survive though. Besides, that's what ended up bringing me here. And my helping to put the Clover situation to rest is a good note for me to go out on."

"That's a good way to think of it," Trixie agreed. She had heard from Para about Fate's concerns over not being spoken to by the Epsilon Station's 'God'. It was good that Fate had apparently been able to move past that.

"And we'll be leaving the station in good hands," Alice said, whacking Beam on the back as she grinned. "At this point, I am SO over Clover."

"Yeah? I wish I could be as sure," Alijda/Alison mused. "Considering how my alt-self is apparently high enough ranked with them to be able to sign off on the agreement here. Did anyone else notice that?"

"Well, sure, but I think you can be over them too," Alice insisted. "Come on, don't stress over what wasn't in your history. Yeah?"

"I... yeah." Alijda/Alison fired off a quick smile back at her roommate.

"Now, speaking of the Clover agreement, what exactly was in there?" Trixie pressed. "I need closure."

Beam cleared her throat as she recited from memory. "Clover Enterprises are to make restitution anywhere that they have transgressed, as decided by the ethical algorithm we provided, not their own beliefs. Further, they will not initiate any further experiments without broadcasting their intentions and possible side effects to the other party. Communicating with US if needed to mediate. Pyon pyon."

"In return," Fate put in, "they get all Beam's vaccine research, and we don't get to know the size of their organization or what else they might have been doing out there in secret."

"Good enough I hope?" Beam purred, sidling up next to Trixie and giving her rear a quick pinch. Thankfully out of view of the others.

Trixie jumped despite herself, merely nodding back as she smoothed her skirt. She honestly hadn't expected much more. And thanks to Fate's choice, Clover didn't know that Trixie had broken through the scattering field technology. So Epsilon was less likely to be caught off guard by their presence in the future too.

"What about these planets though?" Para wondered. "Does Clover start their work here, or are they still going to be recruiting?"

"They'll be making sure Tech World doesn't transmit the pandemic any more," Beam noted. "Though if they were to suddenly vanish, it might raise more issues on the Fantasy World than not. Fortunately, the Alijda battle might make people more hesitant to join them, pyon pyon."

"And as to the planets themselves, I think they'll get out of their pandemics, based on the computer projections I ran," Trixie offered up. "Beam will be cured too, we've turned on the flag that purges the bunny changes over time."

"So we're good," Alijda/Alison sighed. "Missions accomplished."

"Except... wait. Clover is powering up some sort of ray," Alice said, hurrying to where a light had started flashing. She tapped at the keyboard. "It's targeting us."

"What? Open a channel," Fate said, tossing aside her half eaten muffin.

Alijdah was back on their main screen moments later. "Hi! Just thought I'd note how there's nothing in the agreement that says we can't give you a parting shot. So there." She smirked.

Fate glared back. "Alijdah! We haven't transmitted the vaccine information yet. You want to jeopardize receiving it?"

"No worries, we can wait on firing until after you send it," Alijdah said airily. "You DO have to do that, after all. It IS what we agreed to."

"It's fine," Beam declared, moving in next to Fate. "Because the agreement doesn't specify how we transmit my research to you. Right?" Her eyes sparkled. "Trixie, one last request, if you please."

Oh, hell yes.

Trixie swung her arm out to the side, enjoying the sense of deja vu. "Rixi? Reinitiate Epsilon interface and materialize delivery gun."

Again, there was the globe of light, the sphere over the hub, and then the modified gun, both in her hands and large scale, hanging in space.

Alijdah stared at them with a mixture of confusion and suspicion. "You can't mean--"

"You want the research? It's all in this capsule," Trixie declared. She pointed the barrel of the gun at the Clover station, then swung it off to the side. "Protrudo."

The capsule was propelled out of the gun barrel into space in much the same way the freeze necklace had once been fired through a hotel window. It spun off into the dimensional void as a light dusting of confetti was expelled from the smaller version of the gun in Trixie's hand. Success!

"Son of a--"

"You should be able to track that - until the capsule gets small again," Trixie said, cutting Alijdah off for a second time. "Still want to waste time with us?"

The communications channel was shut down.

"Ziggy?" Beam announced to the ceiling. "While they're distracted, let's temporally uncouple and leave orbit."

"Understood," came the voice of the main computer. "Please disengage your interface, Trixie."

Trixie did so, pleased that she'd been able to test out at least one of her interface objects.

She was also pleased that Beam had suggested that backup plan in the first place, that they'd come through the entire pandemic situation without any new infections, and that she'd made some new friends.

But mostly, she was pleased that she'd be going home soon.

She raked her fingers back through her twintails once more. Only time would tell if she might ever have cause to return.

OPTIONS:

Polls on character and possible plots for possible future entries...

[crowdsignal poll=10801273]

[crowdsignal poll=10801295]

VOTING REMAINS OPEN

PATHS NOT TAKEN:
Had Alijdah accepted the conditions, Trixie would have fired off confetti, and the two groups might have worked together in the future (whether Clover would have ultimately screwed that up is unknown). Had Alijdah not backed down, Trixie would have fired off a computer virus to mess with their systems, while allowing Epsilon to track Clover in the future... since the Clover station would get away but without any medications. We ended up middle of the road for the second time, with a kind of agreement to disagree and Trixie firing off Beam's data.

EXTRA ASIDE:
First, if you missed it, there was an April Fools Part in between the prior part 17 & this part 18, so check that out. With regard to the voting last time, I didn't want the last choice and apex of our Clover plot to be decided by a single person's single vote. So I kept things open past the end of March, which was helpful for the April Fool writer anyway. Finally got a third vote April 2nd after the usual pleading, so closed things on the 3rd. Didn't get much of a chance to write in the following week, but it's done now. Thank you for sticking with me, whoever's out there. Another post coming in a few weeks about my status and what will come next on this site.

SMOKE WITH MIRRORS: PART SIXTEEN

Alice wasn’t clear on why Evil Alijdah was willing to allow for collateral damage. She only knew their Alijda planned to fake-out her double, tricking her into leaving, meaning Alice would need to track Alijdah back to her base.

Alice hoped it was true that Alijdah couldn’t teleport like their Alijda, or all this setup would be for nothing.

“This is what happens when you stir up trouble, Avril,” grumbled a quiet voice behind Alice.

Alice jumped, and looked over her shoulder. It was Harriet, the woman who had made the link for her between Alijdah and Clover Enterprises. A few townspeople were observing the scene by now.

“I… didn’t expect an Alijda to fight herself?” was all Alice could think to say.

“One of ‘em is a fake,” Harriet scoffed. “Maybe both of ‘em. Mercury better get here soon, that’s all I can say.”

Alice blinked. “Mercury?”

“Pandemic gave her control over water,” Harriet elaborated, gesturing at the nearest fire. “She can get this under control pretty quick.”

Alice had no time to follow up on that, since her communicator chirped. The sign that Alijda was about to enact her plan. Her plan of a blind teleport.

Of course, the chirp had originated with the Epsilon station itself, Alijda being rather preoccupied.

While the improved Epsilon communicators had allowed for Alijda to speak directly with Alice, here they needed the Station to monitor too. Specifically, the place Alijda had chosen as a teleport site. To make sure it was clear of people.

Apparently, it now was.

Alice remained hesitant about this plan, yet they hadn’t really been able to discuss it, what with Alijda being on the run. Now they were committed.

Alijda appeared via a teleport into the middle of the square.

Alijdah ran out of a side passage moments later, drawing another bead with her gun.

“Look, you’re right,” Alijda called out, seemingly in response to something her counterpart had said while out of earshot. “I can’t keep doing this. Why don’t we talk? Your bunny ears, for instance, we can help–”

“SHUT. UP,” Alijdah yelled. “FOREVER.”

She fired off another pulse from her ray gun. Alijda vanished in her usual cloud of purple and black smoke.

Except she didn’t.

As the smoke rapidly dissipated, Alice saw that Alijda was still standing there, clutching at her front. “Hell,” Alijda choked out, stumbling backwards.

Her foot hit the edge of a loosely boarded up old well behind her, she fell back against the planks, they cracked, and she plunged down into the abyss below.

Alice honestly felt her chest tighten, and she instinctively reached up to clutch at her tunic. That had been way too convincing. Had Alijda truly managed to teleport away from the energy ray, and then immediately back, as planned? Or had the plan gone wrong?

Even if that had worked, had Alijda’s blind teleport out of the well been successful?

Evil Alijdah was naturally suspicious, edging towards the well. It’s like she was expecting Alijda to teleport in behind her, and push her inside the hole. In the end, she got down on one knee to move in and peer over the edge.

It must have been too deep to know. Alijdah, at least, seemed satisfied.

“You’ll have nothing to worry about regarding that lady trying to recruit again,” Alijdah announced, standing up and looking over at some of the bystanders. An audacious lie.

Even more people were around by now, along with Alice and Harriet. Some were trying to deal with the largest of the fires, but most had been too nervous to move. What with how the fight had tended to change locations.

Alijdah proceeded to stalk out of the area, with no further comment. No one tried to stop her. Alice supposed that was the sensible thing to do, under the circumstances.

Alice immediately gave chase, ignoring Harriet’s quiet mutter of “Avril, you’re crazy”.

She wasn’t that crazy though. As she followed, Alice tried to keep hidden. Peering around the corners of the houses, as she tracked the fake version of her roommate. Making a mad dash forwards whenever she was able.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Alijdah tapped at something on her wrist, and walked into what looked like a tool shed, out behind one of the houses. After a minute of waiting for her to come out with a tool, Alice circled around to see if there was another exit.

There was not. The building was quite small. What was Alijdah doing in there?

The natural answer, to Alice at least, is that it wasn’t a tool shed. Maybe, like the telephone pole on Bunny World, it hid some sort of secret elevator. To an underground base.

Seconds ticked by. Alice finally decided she would have to risk going in.

At least this time, she wouldn’t have Trixie smooshed up against her for any length of time. Even if that had been her own suggestion on the prior mission.

“Ubi fumus, ibi ignis,” Alice muttered to herself as she reached for the doorknob.

“Alice has vanished from our sensors.”

Alijda forced herself to sit back up. “What now?”

Over the communicator, Fate sighed. “I’m sure you heard me.”

[caption id=“attachment_976” align=“alignright” width=“168”] Alijda van Vliet (chibi).
Commission from: Shirochya[/caption]

Alijda pressed her palm in hard against her forehead. She’d hoped to take a longer rest after all those teleports to avoid her alternate self, but apparently that wasn’t going to happen. “When? Where was she?”

“Moments ago. She was a short distance away in town. Kind of hoping you can check this out.”

“You can’t?” Alijda grumbled.

“We’d focussed our sensors on where you are, to make sure your teleport would be clear,” Fate reminded. “It’s taking a while to recalibrate.”

“Uh huh.” Alijda pushed herself to her feet.

She was in a grassy meadow. It might double as someone’s backyard, since there was a house nearby, but the grass was long enough to obscure her when lying down. The twisted tree next to her been a good marker to visualize, in terms of accomplishing her blind teleport.

She really hated doing those… her stomach still felt queasy.

“I’m on my way,” Alijda said, stumbling as she walked. “Direct me.”

Fate had her standing outside a tool shed in less than five minutes.

“I don’t see anything around,” Alijda said. “No sign of a struggle, no message left behind, no nothing. You think Alice is inside this little shed, shielded from sensors somehow?”

“No. At least, the interior registers for us,” Fate amended. “So it’s not shielded. But I guess it could be a false reading.”

Alijda shook her head. “Opening the door then,” she announced.

The door pulled out, and inside there was only blackness. A pitch black that seemed impossible to achieve, given how there should have been some light spilling in from the doorway itself. Strange.

“Alice? Are you there?” Alijda yelled.

There was no answer.

“I’m going to poke my head in,” Alijda decided. “And report on what I see.”

“Be careful,” Fate cautioned. “Magic has a tendency to produce strange effects at the best of times. That world right now? Could be producing anything.”

“Great.” Alijda held onto the door frame and leaned in. The blackness enveloped her.

Before she could even speak, the door was slamming shut, bruising her fingers.

“Okay,” Fate said after a moment. “We’ve officially gone from bad to worse.”

Para felt her ears twitch as she looked at the blank screen. There should have been a green dot there, denoting Alijda’s position. Technically two, as one should be pinpointing Alice as being there also.

Para had come to the main control room after Fate’s universal page, stating ‘Warning: A situation is developing’. Alice had vanished before Para had even arrived.

Neither Beam, nor Trixie, had made an effort to respond yet. Para hoped that they weren’t asleep, or more awkwardly, keeping each other busy.

“You think Alijdah is on to them?” Para wondered. “Led them into a trap?”

“Either that, or there’s more to this World than what we see on the surface,” Fate said. She glared at the screen. “Thing is, I don’t know of anything, magical or technological, that can spirit people away like that.”

“Aside from us,” Para reminded.

Fate turned to stare at her instead. “Pardon?”

“This Station does teleport retrievals,” Para reminded. “Someone walks through a door on their world, they end up here, in our Control room. Happens all the time to me. Right?”

“Right,” Fate said slowly. “Our door manipulation power.” She turned back to stare at the blank monitor. “Oh. Oh, damn. Hold on.”

Para watched as Fate entered a sequence into the computer, and ran her finger down the screen as some sort of result scrolled across it.

“You did it, Para. Signs of door manipulation. Alice, both Alijdas, all transported using the tool shed as a doorway. But how could they get so far away as to not be picked up again by our Station sensors?”

Para shrugged, having never looked into the door technology herself. It had always seemed more mystical than mathematical.

“Seriously now,” Fate continued, seemingly talking more to herself at this point. “We’re tapped into three Worlds at once. No reading. What other World could they have gone to? Even doors have limits. Deeper scan maybe?”

Fate typed at her keyboard for a minute, frowned, muttered ‘no dice’, then looked at Para.

“Okay Para, new thought,” Fate said. “Alijdah used that door first. Where would SHE have been going? Any more brilliant ideas?”

Para was tempted to shrug again, but instead offered up, “Somewhere we can’t scan. Like when Trixie and Alice vanished, back in Jake Hyde’s underground lab.”

Fate pointed at her. “Nice. Yet you were able to punch through that time, with the sensor enhancements.”

“Because we knew where to look,” Para admitted. “This time, we don’t know. And we don’t have pylons to triangulate, giving us a necessary signal boost.”

“True,” Fate agreed. “But we DO know the origins of that scattering field technology. Maybe Trixie hacks back into Vortex Limited to find–”

Fate stopped speaking, tapped at her chin, then pushed back from the side of the keyboard and crossed her arms.

“Go with me on this,” Fate requested. “Do your good listening thing, and tell me if I’m off base. Okay Para?”

Para nodded, having no idea where Fate was going with this.

“This all started thanks to an encrypted communication we received. It led to a scan we did on this dimensional sector. Turning up the airborne virus.” She paused.

“Correct,” Para said.

“Thing is, the scan message didn’t tell us to look for a virus. Just that we needed to scan here. And Smoke, pandemic-wise, turned out to be natural. Almost. Meaning the only real reason we’re here is due to that communication.”

She paused again, and this time Para simply nodded and shrugged.

“Okay. So what if the first message wasn’t about Smoke at all? What if it was meant to help us locate something else?”

Para considered that. “You mean Clover Enterprises?” She was reminded of Mason’s comment about how the best place to stay hidden would be somewhere like a pandemic world. Somewhere nobody wants to go.

“Maybe,” Fate said. “But it may also be that Clover was drawn here by the same communication. In fact, hmm… what if the message was meant for THEM? And we simply intercepted a subspace copy?”

Para raised her eyebrows. “That could explain how they got here first, indirectly setting off the pandemic.”

“Okay,” Fate said, smiling. “We’re onto something. Bunny World flags the dimensions. Clover Enterprises responds. They get an artifact, or… you know what? Maybe this is about the scattering field technology. Honestly, it’s so unique that it could be at the heart of all this.”

“It IS something that would allow Clover to hide from this Station,” Para mused. “They’d like that. I think the Vortex documents referred to that particular tech as Mirrors?”

Fate nodded. “All right. So, Vortex Bunnies broadcast that there’s something here worth investigating. Clover comes for Mirrors. We pick up the same message later, after the pandemic, and assume it’s about the virus, Smoke.”

“Because after Clover’s techno-magic soup, Smoke became the bigger dimensional issue.”

“Right,” Fate said. “Yet we know Clover didn’t leave after that. Because Evil Alijdah was on the planet moments ago, trying to recruit.”

“All of this implying that Clover Enterprises have their own station here,” Para decided. “Or at least some ship, set up to receive encrypted messages in the same way as us.”

“And for all we know, their vessel could be off our port,” Fate concluded. “If they’re using Mirrors, we have no way of knowing. Short of setting up signal boosting pylons.”

“Exactly,” Para realized.

“Almost,” came a voice from above.

Para looked up, to see Trixie at the hatch in the ceiling. The redheaded techno-witch smiled, then reached out to flick the nearby switch. She began to ride the telescoping ladder down to the floor, in much the same way Fate had done it at their first meeting.

“Do elaborate,” Fate said, hands going to her hips.

Trixie ran her free hand back through one of her twintails, then the other. “Simply that my earlier analysis of that scattering field may pay off now. If what you’re saying is true, we CAN find them.”

Even as Fate seemed about to say something else, Trixie’s smile shifted to a more serious expression.

“The question becomes, do you want them to know that we see them?” Trixie continued. “Because that’s what will happen. And while it may make this Clover group hesitate in their future use of the tech, it may also get them upset.”

“Is there another option?” Para asked.

Trixie hopped off the ladder. “I could be more stealthy about finding them. There’s less of a guarantee of success, unless we assume that Alice or Alijda are already on this ship, and can do more on their end.”

“Trixie, we don’t know their status,” Fate objected.

Para looked back and forth between the other two. “Nothing says we have to act now,” she offered up. “We could do more research first. Fate could try to mind swap with Alice again. Something like that.”

Fate shook her head. “At this point, I don’t think Alijda-h is going to hang around any longer than she has to. We may already be too late.”

Trixie nodded. “Sums up my analysis. Glad it’s not my call,” she added.

OPTIONS:

[crowdsignal poll=10759324]

VOTING CLOSES MONDAY MARCH 8th.

THE ORACLE PROPHESIED: Trixie was always going to have to come through at some point - she started this whole serial saga. So when the vote sent Alijda down to the planet with Alice instead of her, Trixie’s Mirrors project was retroactively born (in part 14) as her contribution. (Incidentally, the ‘Mirrors’ codename was not pre-planned, but I’d say it meshes nicely with the title now.)

EXTRA ASIDE: I actually forgot to close the poll until yesterday. Oops. Writing was mostly done, good thing it was unanimous, hard for that to change. Enjoying the twists at all? Or perhaps they were too predictable. We’re probably looking to wrap this up in the next few instalments, wouldn’t you say? In any event, thank you for your continued interest. Hope you continue to vote.

SMOKE WITH MIRRORS: PART FOURTEEN

Meaning, who was the woman who looked like Alijda, standing across the market square?

The more Alice watched, the more she was sure that this was not her roommate of six months. The mannerisms were all wrong. So either this was Alijda being mentally controlled, she would have experienced a major temporal issue in the future/past, or… something else. But what?

Alice decided to dub the woman ‘Alijdah’ in her mind.

She also decided to wait until Alijdah had left the area before approaching, and even then, she went up to a woman who had only been observing the scene, like her. Better to scout out the situation first.

“So, that brunette woman is back, huh?” Alice remarked, with a smile.

The other woman turned to look at her. She had dark skin, and wore a dark, battered cloak to help conceal her features and other clothing. Her mask told Alice that she was sensible, given the pandemic, and her piercing eyes told Alice that she was observant.

“Who the heck are you?” the woman demanded.

Maybe a bit too observant.

[caption id=“attachment_929” align=“alignright” width=“185”] ALICE VUNDERLANDE
Commission by Cherry Zong[/caption]

Alice looked down at herself, then back up. She hadn’t wanted to give up comfortable pants to wear a dress or skirt, but in general thought her clothing blended in fairly well with the others in this area of the planet. On the bright side, the question confirmed that Alice didn’t also have a doppelgänger running around.

“My appearance has become that of some illusion girl, off some guy who got powers,” Alice offered up. “Maybe you saw me around before that? I’m Avril. Avril Carroll.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell.” The woman peered at her more closely. “Getting hit by a projectionist though? That’s not unheard of.” She seemed to relax a bit. “I’m Harriet, and yes, Alijdah’s back. If indeed she ever left.”

Alice felt a chill at the woman’s name being the same, mental addition of the ‘h’ notwithstanding. She tried to nonchalantly clasp her hands behind her back. “She still doing the same thing as before?”

“Trying to recruit?” Harriet supplied. “Yes. Though if you ask me, her organization is only interested in the one guy.”

Alice clicked through her mental file folders to remember what Alijda had said about the last time she was here. Regarding the old man in the jail who had seen Alijda’s doppelgänger speaking to a friend of his. “The guy who can read people’s futures,” Alice recalled.

Harriet nodded. “That’s the one. Jonas only seems to see the BAD stuff, of course, but it didn’t work on her. Piqued his interest. And if things continue to turn around here, Alijdah’s recruitment drive might work.”

Alice tilted her head. “Turn around?”

Harriet stared, visibly troubled, despite the mask. “With the government officials listening to us and stopping the arrests. Avril, are you sure your brain wasn’t affected by that projection too?”

“Ooh, I hope not,” Alice said sincerely. “Not sure we can really believe the government’s sincerity. That’s all.”

Harriet grunted. “Okay, fair point. Some of ‘em are still massive bastards. We’re trending in the right way though, enough to the point where Jonas and some others might feel they can leave.”

“With Alijdah,” Alice clarified.

Harriet nodded. “I mean, personally? I don’t think I’ll miss him. But I worry about that Alijdah woman. I don’t think anyone should go with her.”

“Bad news,” Alice summarized.

Harriet nodded again. “I’m pleased you agree.” She looked Alice up and down once more. “You do also give me a vibe, incidentally. Not bad news, exactly, but you strike me as a woman on a mission.”

“That’s not inaccurate,” Alice admitted. “It’s one related to Alijdah, as you’ve likely guessed, so if you know anything else about her…?”

Harriet slowly shook her head. “I think I’ve already told you enough about her and Clover Enterprises.”

Alice was grasping for Harriet’s cloak almost before she realized it, and it was only in retrospect that she applauded the other woman’s ability to dodge. Harriet then smacked her outstretched hand away.

“Correction, I’ve told you too much,” Harriet decided. “If you’re going after them, you leave me out of it. Good day.”

Without another word, Harriet spun on her heel and stalked off, leaving Alice rubbing her hand as her thoughts pinwheeled through her head.

Alijdah? Connected to Clover Enterprises? What sort of science fiction madness was this?

“Don’t look at me like that,” Alijda said. “I legit have no idea what that conversation was about, or what my supposed double has been up to.”

Alice had spent the better part of an hour trying to get more information from anyone in the square about Alijdah or Clover Enterprises. To no avail. She supposed she might have come across as a bit manic.

Alice had then reunited with Alijda, who had spent her investigation time in the Hall of Records. But Alijda hadn’t turned up anything new about the pandemic or her earlier ‘visit’ to the planet.

“Okay, well, we just need to get you to pose as Alijdah-with-an-h,” Alice decided. “That should get us what we need to take down Clover for good.”

“Or I’m arrested. Again,” Alijda noted. She shook her Epsilon communicator. “What’s with you using an ‘h’ anyway?”

“It’s a recognized symbol for hydrogen, which is explosive, medical attention, which she’s gonna need after messing with you, and the letter H itself is full of controversy,” Alice explained. “Also, you’re non-h, meaning non-hentai.” She smiled.

Alijda pursed her lips. They both knew hentai was sexualized animation. “Sorry I asked.”

“Hello?” came Fate’s voice through the communicator. It was loud enough for both women to hear.

Alijda lifted the device back up. “Hello! Where have you been?”

Fate sighed. “Sorry for the delay. Trixie’s thing caused a thing.”

Alice leaned in. “Has Trixie been doing something new since she started sleeping with Beam?”

“No, this is a project she was working on even before that,” Fate corrected. “It’s just she’s been doing more with it since the two of you went planet-side. To the point of even asking Para for help.”

“Hm. Makes sense. I guess if Beam were the one helping, the two of them wouldn’t get much work done,” Alice reflected, tapping her chin.

Fate sighed again. “Can we not be talking about who’s sleeping with Beam?”

“Oh, whoops,” Alice apologized. “Forgot you might be jealous.” She really didn’t see the hologram’s appeal, but that was no reason to be rude.

“I’m NOT,” Fate said, in a tone which implied to Alice that she was, at least a little bit. “I’m trying to focus on WORK. Does one of you have a report?”

“Alice does,” Alijda said.

She held out the device and allowed Alice to fill the Station in on the earlier conversation with Harriet.

“Okay,” Fate said after a moment. “So on the plus side, I was right about Clover’s interest in that planet. On the negative side, suddenly wondering if Alijda is a security risk. Given how you’ve been against this Station’s mission from the start.”

“I was against the Station’s creepy oversight,” Alijda said, visibly irritated. “I have no plans to become Alijda-h.”

“Yet,” Alice intoned.

Alijda looked at her. Her expression above the mask showed she was hurt. “Et tu, roomie?”

“Not ruling out mind control is all,” Alice soothed. “More to the point, have you two made the link yet? Between the pandemic and the recruitment?”

Alijda quirked up an eyebrow, but it was Fate who spoke, asking “Link?”

Alice nodded. “Clover Enterprises gets Vortex technology. Leaves techno-magic soup in it’s wake, which becomes a pandemic bridging dimensions.” She began to gesture as she spoke. “Said pandemic finds it’s way here to Fantasy World, where it starts activating magic powers. At THAT, Clover swoops back in to recruit those people. People who wouldn’t be of interest if not for Clover’s earlier interference.”

“Hold on,” Fate said. “Are you suggesting Clover deliberately put the pieces for the pandemic in place, hoping that they could get employees out of it?”

“If the shoe fits,” Alice said, shrugging. “And I know. I know. It sounds a bit like my conspiracy theory about leprechauns and rainbows, but seriously, Fate - HOW can this be coincidence?”

“She may have a partial point,” Alijda put in. “In that while I’m not sure Clover set up the pandemic deliberately, they have to be monitoring. This communication is encrypted, right?”

“Yeah,” Fate said. “But now that you mention it, I’m going to rotate the bandwidths.”

“Clover. They appear, observe, then vanish in the chaos,” Alice intoned.

“That is their standard operating procedure,” Fate yielded. “Much like how their involvement in ‘Chanced Erasures’ might have gone unseen, had that world’s attempt to seal themselves away had worked. The question becomes, can we shut this down?”

“I seem to be the key,” Alijda admitted. “Without my double, we wouldn’t have twigged into this scenario at all.”

Alice nodded. “That’s why you need to pose as Alijda-Hentai.”

Alijda cringed. “Alice. Do NOT call me that.”

“I’m not calling YOU that, I’m calling your cloned mind controlled double that.”

“Still,” Alijda said. “My body. You’re making Alijdah-with-an-h sound good.”

Alice grinned; she couldn’t help it, that had been part of her plan. “That’s settled then. So, I can describe what the other you was wearing, and we’ll get you–”

“Hold on,” Fate cut in. “Maybe sending Alijda into this is exactly what gets her caught and sent back in time working against us.”

“In which case this is a predestination paradox and we have to do it,” Alice concluded.

“Or by not doing this we change history,” Fate argued.

“Alice, maybe we send YOU,” Alijda fired off. “If I go into the square, I might meet my mirror image, or say the wrong thing, and everything goes sideways. Possibly gets violent. Whereas you’ve already been asking about Clover and being recruited. Maybe we follow that through to its natural conclusion.”

Alice considered that. It wasn’t a bad plan either, to be honest.

“Okay,” Alice declared, putting her hands to her hips. “Avril will take a stand until the end! I’ll get by. I’ll survive.”

“Am I still in charge here?” Fate said dryly.

“For the moment,” Alice yielded, dropping her hands. “You have another idea?”

“Hey, yeah, what is Trixie’s project about?” Alijda mused. “I don’t remember her talking about it with me.” And the two women had indeed been conferencing about a number of things, Alice recalled. “Is it magical? Can we use it?”

“I don’t think so. It’s not even virus related,” Fate explained. “Something about an idea for station upgrades, after seeing the analysis of the scattering field that Vortex Limited was using. No, I was considering Beam’s angle.”

Alice tapped her chin. “I’d make a quip about Beam actually working, except I know that beneath her bunny hormone exterior, she is a good Station Administrator,” Alice remarked. Even if the two of them had wildly different operating procedures.

Something clicked for Alijda. “The Para DNA.”

“Or whatever passes for it, yeah,” Fate agreed. “Beam spoke with you about it?”

“In passing,” Alijda said. “Given how Para’s a regular bunny instead of a pandemic one. Trixie was going to extract Para’s ‘blood’ for further analysis, right?”

“She did. Beam’s taken up the analysis herself now,” Fate explained. “And she’s making progress to the point where we might have a workable vaccine soon.”

“In a DAY?” Alice said, incredulous.

“Beam went hyper speed,” Fate explained. “Something she’s been loathe to do since catching the virus, because it’s a massive power drain and had the chance of just making her hyper horny. But she had been feeling better, and Alijda, you got us access to some of the files on the other planets for cross checking, so… yeah.”

Alijda stared at the communicator. “Then this vaccine would work on humans, not just maths or holograms? For real?”

“That’s where we’re less sure,” Fate said. “But we’ve got enough that we could be suggesting a recruitment drive. For testing.”

“Ohh,” Alice said, nodding. “You’re suggesting we recruit for the exact opposite reason that Clover’s recruiting. That might annoy them, draw them out.”

“Or cause more unrest down here,” Alijda said. “Fate, wouldn’t this be against Epsilon’s laws of interference? Or something?”

“Well, the way I see it,” Fate stated. “Is that unless the Epsilon God personally conveys to me a reason that this is a bad plan… we have the chance to stabilize the situation and maybe save lives. They didn’t ask for this pandemic, why should they have to ask for a vaccine?”

“I could say something about us pretending to know better than they do,” Alijda pointed out. “Which we don’t. But I do see a potentially larger downside to us doing nothing, so I’ll stay quiet.”

Alice clasped her hands behind her back. “So which one of us does the vaccine trial recruiting?”

Alijda looked at her. “Are we for sure rejecting our earlier plans of getting at Clover then?” she asked. “Since there’s no guarantee this will work. Clover might simply decide to vanish again.”

Alice nibbled her lower lip. That was a problem. But didn’t seem too likely, given how Clover had already invested at least a couple weeks in courting that Jonas guy.

Still, Alice was now torn. Which was the better plan?

OPTIONS:

[crowdsignal poll=10708797]

VOTING CLOSES SUNDAY JANUARY 31st.

THE ORACLE PROPHESIED: Alternate Alijdah has been planned since the start (hence the “mirrors” part of the title). The votes have not been going her way. A romance vote (at the very start) would have pivoted around Alijda, Kat and Alijdah. While our Alijda did get voted into the plot to end part four, we then pivoted away to Mason. Voting options to end part eleven and twelve would have involved Alijdah, but were not selected… ALL paths this time led to Alijdah. Feel free to speculate more.

EXTRA ASIDE: Last poll got one vote initially. Posted to social media again after Xmas, we got to three. Closed it all down January 1st, barely got to writing, and then the past week of remote teaching kept me away. Marathoned an afternoon yesterday; I don’t see being able to do that again until February. Hence the long voting time. You’re welcome to return every week and vote again, if you feel strongly! (If the recruitment option wins, the runner up will decide who takes point.) Thanks for reading, share if you’re enjoying. :)

SMOKE WITH MIRRORS: PART TWELVE

Granted, in that elevator she’d been pressed up closer to Alice than she had been to her occasional boyfriend the last time they’d been together. And Alice was staying in quarantine.

[caption id=“attachment_2345” align=“alignright” width=“186”] TRIXIE VIRGA
Commission from Sen Yomi[/caption]

But Alice had been wearing a mask, and according to Ziggy’s preliminary analysis, Trixie had a negative test.

Besides, they now had to deal with the situation involving the Vortex scientist… in Fate’s body, sealed off in an isolated area of the station. Trixie had volunteered to do the interrogating, off Beam’s suggestion of getting more information from him somehow.

And Trixie stepping up wasn’t merely because of the looks he’d been giving her, after they’d been caught at his lab, down on the planet. She also wanted to know more about how he’d been allowed to work alone in secret in the first place.

She considered what they knew already.

Alice’s plan of pretending to be members of Vortex Limited, ‘checking up on their scientist’, had worked. To a point. That point being the man in question asking them what his name was.

“This whole assignment has been pretty hush hush,” Alice remarked. “We only get codenames. Yours is Nye.”

He stared at her.

Alice waved her hands back and forth. “You’re the science guy! No? Maybe? Not a thing on this Earth? C’mon, work with me here.”

“Who are you really?” he demanded.

Alice lowered her hands as Trixie clasped hers behind her back. “How about this,” she proposed, leaning forwards. “We’ll tell, if you do. Along with why you let us come through your decontamination area, despite suspecting us of something nefarious.”

He seemed to consider her. “My name is Jake Hyde. As for letting you back in, it should be obvious that, now that you’re in my underground residence, it will be harder for you to leave.”

“Was already hard, what with you controlling the elevator,” Alice pointed out.

Jake nodded. “True, but now it’s also easier to judge what you know, as you’re here in front of me. For instance, based on where you two specifically aren’t looking, I divine that you also know of my hidden passage to the lab area.”

Trixie made a face. He was smarter than she’d hoped. “And here I thought you let us in because you wanted to see me all wet,” she remarked, referencing how the decontamination chamber worked.

He chuckled. “Fine. Not going to lie, that’s nice bonus. Particularly given your pants.”

Trixie smiled, shifting her hip out to the side. Smarter, but not gay or celibate, so she had something working for her after all. Maybe the leather pants hadn’t been a poor choice.

“You still haven’t reciprocated,” he pointed out then, frowning.

Trixie nodded, standing straight. “I’m Trixie,” she admitted. “This is Alice. We detected a weird reading outside the park, and then when we arrived, thought you might have useful information about the pandemic.”

He eyed them. “You’re from that Tech World then,” he decided. “There’s no other way you could have figured out access to this place, short of truly working for Vortex.”

“Maybe we’re Tech who also work for Vortex,” Alice suggested, wiggling her eyebrows. “Also, have I mentioned that I’m single?”

‘Alice, don’t help,’ Trixie thought mentally. Aloud, she simply stated, “We’re not about to confirm or deny anything. We did see some suspicious stuff in our brief time here though, so maybe you should take us back to your lab and explain how you have different strains of the virus?”

He again took a moment to think about it, before gesturing to Trixie to lead the way. She went over to trigger the knothole, and soon enough all of them were back in the larger computerized area.

Jake went over to log into the computer system. “If I do this,” he remarked, “perhaps you’ll tell me how you didn’t turn up on sensors coming in. The first time. Invisibility fields?”

“Classified, sorry,” Alice said, clasping her hands behind her back.

Classified information was an idea Trixie could get behind. The fact that Jake asked the question also implied he hadn’t noticed (couldn’t notice?) her wiping of the security footage.

“You’ll have to ask for something else,” Trixie stated. Then with a wink, she remarked, “Like our phone numbers.”

Jake snickered. “Nice try, you two. As if I have time for personal relationships when I’m this close to a breakthrough.”

He called up something on the screen and pointed to it. “Here. I manipulate and look at different strains because some of them are less resistant to attack. The data could lead to a treatment, or a vaccine.”

Alice peered at him. “Why do this in secret though?”

He shrugged. “Vortex isn’t fond of my methods. Actually, the main problem I’m running into is a lack of subjects. Mice only get me so far.” He eyed them again. His gaze seeming to linger on Trixie. “You two might want to be more forthcoming. Since right now, you’re new possibilities.”

Trixie felt her heart rate increase. He didn’t seem like he was joking. “It’s true we have advanced technology,” she admitted. “But it’s coded to us, thus of no use to you.” Which was true enough; Rixi wasn’t about to respond to anyone else.

“Who even knows you’re here?” Jake continued. “If I were to detain you for a few hours, or days, would anyone even come looking?” He smirked.

“Oh, we have people who’d be looking for us,” Alice assured him. “Also, given your attitude, I withdraw the Nye codename. Bad Jake. Learn ethics.”

“Anyway, do you really think we’d tell you if we wouldn’t be missed?” Trixie challenged.

He laughed. Then seemed to hesitate. Then his eyes went wide.

“Oh no, Alice, if you’re over there, then who am I?” Jake gasped.

Meaning prior to the mind swap, Jake had confirmed that Vortex had been turning something of a blind eye to him. No doubt if his work had proved successful, the company would have taken some credit, while if his work had failed - medically or ethically - they could have claimed to have no part in it.

But had he really had ‘carte blanche’ to do whatever he wanted?

At the least, Trixie now knew he wasn’t responsible for Smoke itself. Beam had found in the files that the pandemic’s origin had been due to the tech-magic-dimensional soup, which came about thanks to the interference of Clover Enterprises.

Resulting in computer simulations, to the point of being able to run one on Beam’s holographic matrix, hence why she’d ended up in quarantine. The worlds being affected by this virus definitely had some technological advantages.

Yet there were still unanswered questions.

Trixie unlocked the door to the storage area. “I’m coming in, I wouldn’t try anything,” she said, before entering.

Fate’s body was sitting over near the corner of the room, examining Alice’s jeans and looking decidedly unimpressed. “Oh, it’s you,” Jake said. With Fate’s voice. That was going to get weird. “I should have guessed.”

Trixie leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms. “We need some answers.”

The clothing was tossed aside as Jake/Fate stood up. “Perhaps it’s my turn to say I’ll tell if you do. What the hell’s happened to me?”

Trixie considered him. She pointed and unpointed her toe. “Let’s just say the people Alice and I work for were concerned for our safety,” she said at last. “Resulting in your abduction. One of them, incidentally, is Beam.”

Jake/Fate looked surprised, then nodded. “Again, I should have guessed. But know what? If you Tech World types are trying to intimidate me with that knowledge, it’s backfiring. I was able to infect that computerized woman without much difficulty. Meaning I might get out of here without much trouble too.”

Trixie stared. “In the body of a woman.”

Jake/Fate looked down at himself. He cupped his chest. “I won’t deny it’s a mite distracting. But I could do illegal things out there now and not have it traced back to me. Plus I feel like there’s worse places you could have put me, if you’d wanted.” He looked back up and smiled. “So why didn’t you?”

Trixie glowered. She was simultaneously glad that he wasn’t in her body, and confused as to whether she should attempt any of her distraction techniques now. I mean, did she really want Jake admiring her legs while he was effectively possessing Fate? Particularly if it wasn’t giving her the upper hand?

Trixie settled for, “I suppose this is where I point out YOU haven’t reciprocated any information yet.”

Jake/Fate snorted. “You haven’t told me what you wanted to know.”

“Fine. Then first, how was Vortex able to send out a dimensional message?”

His eyebrow went up. “Best guess? By uncoupling the heisenberg compensator.”

Trixie sighed. “Be serious.”

“Hey, if you’re going to ask me nonsense questions I can’t answer, I’m going to fish to see if your background is truly scientific in any way.”

Okay then. Beam HAD said it was possible that Jake didn’t know anything about the message. Trixie shifted gears.

“Hmph. Second then, has there been any indication in your - admittedly thorough - viral analysis to suggest that Smoke was deliberately engineered?”

He seemed about to laugh, then thought better of it. “What, like this was intentional? No, this is very much Vortex Limited not understanding how magic and technology can play nicely together. Fusion go boom.” He tilted his head. “Why, were you hoping we could sell you a patent?”

Trixie felt a little ill. “No. What’s wrong in your mind that you would think that? I wonder how many have suffered already, thanks to your experiments down in your bunker.”

The main reason for the question had been to confirm what was in the Vortex files, and judge his own scientific understanding. And ethics, apparently.

His eyes rolled. “Suffered? Really, Trixie?”

“For all I know, you’ve been killing people,” Trixie pointed out.

Jake/Fate looked genuinely offended at that. “Hey now. I may have experimented on a few homeless individuals, but not with anything lethal. Unless your warped mind sees bunny girls as being some lethal condition.”

This was unbelievable. “So you don’t even deny experiments. First, do no harm? That ring any bell?”

Jake/Fate gestured. “That’s medicine, not science. We’re in a pandemic, we need answers.”

Apparently Vortex Limited didn’t have an ethics board. Maybe that was answer enough as to why he had never been cut off.

With that, she wanted to say ‘we’re done here’, but there was one other thing they needed to figure out on that front. She bit down on her tongue. “Okay, last thing. Do you have a way to contact Clover Enterprises?”

Jake/Fate nodded slowly. “Oho. Now we’re getting to the heart of things. You want them, do you? You know, maybe I should get your phone number first. You did offer it earlier?”

“I regret that,” Trixie said. “And this isn’t critical information. So maybe I leave instead.”

It really wasn’t critical. According to Beam, if the pandemic was natural, along with the link between Tech World and the other planets, their work was effectively done. Once they’d made sure that the outbreak wouldn’t spread further, and tracked down the source of the original dimensional message, at least.

Of course, nailing Clover Enterprises might prevent this sort of thing in the future. So it would be a nice bonus.

Jake/Fate considered. “Know what?” he said at last. “If I tell you, I want asylum on your world.”

“You what?” Trixie sputtered. The audacity of this guy.

“I want asylum on your world, the one with all the technology,” he insisted. “It’s obviously better than ours, with the possible exception of our scattering field. The fact that you cut ties with us implies you’re handling your pandemic better, and there’s really nothing left for me on my planet anyway.”

“I doubt asylum’s in the cards,” Trixie assured.

“Then I doubt Clovers are in your cards,” Jake/Fate concluded. Fate’s body sat back down and smirked at her.

Trixie sighed. She supposed that the option could be floated to actual representatives from the technological world, the one whose pandemic had affected people’s ability to use teleports. Both worlds had already been in contact already.

Would that violate Epsilon’s interference directives? She didn’t know enough about them. It might be a breach of ethics though. Given this guy’s attitude. But then, maybe Tech World had a way of rehabilitating him.

Of course, if all they wanted was the Clover information, there might be another way to get it, deceptively or otherwise. He was smart, but Trixie judged she was smarter.

Either way, she’d have to consult with Beam. She left the room before he could start eyeing her any further.

OPTIONS: [crowdsignal poll=10656324]

VOTING CLOSES SUNDAY NOVEMBER 29th (probably).

EXTRA ASIDE: I had vague plans of writing on Thanksgiving Monday (Oct 12) to get the part out on Oct 18. Still only had one vote then. Decided to leave the poll open, got distracted by a week of teaching. Closed it on Friday the 16th with 2 votes… and that weekend decided to continue “Time Untied” edits instead. (There is now a character page for that serial.) The minute engagement here was getting me down. Then I got a viewer spike in late October, and I decided I didn’t want to leave things much longer than a month. So, we’re back. Next part in December, school and NaNo’s taking time. As always, thanks for reading through to this point. Hope you’re enjoying?

SMOKE WITH MIRRORS: PART ELEVEN

Beam froze in place. The police officer had reached for the stick she had on her belt. “I’m stopped,” Beam said, adding, “I wasn’t about to jump on you and smother you with kisses, pyon pyon.”

The police officer walked closer, her hand still on the end of the baton. “That’s good,” she said, voice slightly muffled by her mask. “Why were you approaching my position in the first place?”

Beam took in a deep breath. “Here’s the thing. There’s been suspicious activity in the park. I was hoping you could help me look into it, pyon pyon.”

When a transparent lie was likely of no use, best to tell the truth. To a degree. After all, they merely needed the police officer to go elsewhere, so that Para could set up the final pylon undisturbed.

The officer stopped about four metres away, sizing Beam up. Beam could now read the label on her uniform, identifying her as Officer Mikoto.

“The park is closed,” Mikoto reminded. “What activity do you mean?”

“Drones,” Beam answered. “Possibly magic as well, pyon pyon. I was just walking through, and well, it’s something that I definitely shouldn’t handle by myself.”

Mikoto frowned. “Wait. I think I’ve seen you around here before, haven’t I? A couple weeks back, before you, uh, caught the virus?”

[caption id=“attachment_1997” align=“alignright” width=“202”] CHIBI BEAM (pre-bunny)
Commission from Gen Ishihara[/caption]

Beam bobbed her head eagerly, clasping her hands. “Yes! My name’s Beam. I was away doing self-quarantine. Now that I’m not contagious, I’m back investigating, pyon pyon. It’s partly why I think there’s something going on here. Can you help me out? Mikoto, I’m so, euh, so worried.”

Beam cleared her throat, glad she had managed to catch herself before saying she was so aroused. Mikoto really was very pretty - even given that Beam’s definition of such had loosened considerably since the virus. The officer had short, dark hair, intense brown eyes, moderate curves and looked good in her uniform.

“Officer Mikoto,” the woman corrected, even as her stance relaxed, her hand moving away from her baton. Apparently recognizing Beam from earlier had added further credibility to the story. And although Beam had protested it less than an hour ago, perhaps wearing the large overcoat while on this mission, to cover her swimsuit, had been a good plan too.

“Okay,” Mikoto granted. “Okay, Beam. Can you show me what you saw safely, without us being detected? Or for that matter, without us being closer than two metres apart? No offence.”

Beam smiled. “None taken. And I think so. Follow after me? We’ll go in the same way I did.”

She walked off, looking back over her shoulder to verify that the officer was following. Behind Mikoto, she then saw Para poking her head out from around the corner and applauding.

Feeling her cheeks going pink, Beam quickly brought her gaze forwards again.

She quickly led Officer Mikoto around and into the park, trying to keep an eye out for drones or other activity… surely there would be something here, right? As whomever it was who had Alice and Trixie, they’d probably want to be doing surveillance for others… particularly if the Epsilon Team had tried some sort of bluff, about calling police. It was why Beam and Para hadn’t planned on going into the area at all.

Beam stopped a short distance away from the bench she’d formerly used as a place to sit and think. She again looked back at Mikoto, and gestured towards it. “It was over there, pyon pyon,” she said, mildly annoyed at not having seen anything specific yet.

Mikoto peered towards the trees and bushes where Beam had gestured. Beam wondered how long it would take Para to set up the last point of their triangle, working all by herself. Likely not that long? She might be done already.

“I’m not seeing anything now,” Officer Mikoto said, starting to peer around suspiciously in all directions. Her hand was back at her baton. “Are you certain it was a drone, Beam? Not some sort of animal?”

Beam nodded her head. “Oh, yes. At least, I’m sure it wasn’t an animal.”

“Hmmm,” came the uncertain reply. “And you said something about magic too? What exactly gave you the idea that it was operating?”

As if in answer, a purple beam of light shot through the area some distance behind them in the park. It was followed by another, and another, on the exact same bearing.

Mikoto’s baton was immediately in her hand, as she crouched. “Holy…”

‘That’s our triangulation!’ Beam realized. Para must have set up the last pylon… but was there a reason they were activating the field now? Was Para in some sort of trouble? She had to get back to the mathematical blonde.

“Yes, so, I think we should leave now,” Beam said, all in a rush. “Get going before something bad happens here that puts us both in–”

Everything went white. And then Beam found herself standing in the small set of rooms that Epsilon had sealed off as quarantine. She knew them all too well after her recent time spent there.

“–danger,” she finished.

Beam barely had enough time to register that standing around her there was Para, Alice, Trixie, some guy in a lab coat, and Officer Mikoto. Then the lights went out, dropping them all into pitch blackness.

She heard a door open, but no light accompanied it.

“Ziggy,” came the voice of Alijda van Vliet. “Lights on? Please?”

“It’s as I told you when you insisted on the activation,” came the calm female voice of the station computer. “Some systems are going to blow out.”

“The LIGHTS? Really?”

“There is a reason we do not do wide area teleportations as a matter of routine,” Ziggy said, with a hint of petulance. “Particularly when a scattering field is involved. Be glad that the lighting circuit is separate from the door locks.”

“Great. Fate’s body is still contained?” Alijda pressed.

“Naturally, as is the seal on your quarantine,” Ziggy answered.

“Lovely,” said an unknown male voice, which could only be the individual Beam had seen in the lab coat. “Though I had better be locked up too, since as I recall this mental effect has a randomized time-out.”

“Okay,” Officer Mikoto put in. “Well, before you time out or whatever, someone had better explain what in the hell is going on.”

Beam’s eyes had already adjusted to the darkness by now; she suspected that the only reason there had been a delay was the elements of her programming that made her seem more human. As such, she could see that Mikoto had taken up a defensive pose, and was edging backwards.

“Careful Mikoto, you’re going to trip over an ottoman, pyon pyon,” she warned. The police officer was heading for the comfy part of the room.

“Officer Mikoto,” the policewoman corrected, though she also froze in place. “And again, barring an explanation, everyone here is under arrest. For, at minimum, abduction.”

“I feel like this would be a good time for me to apologize again,” Alice remarked. “Fate, if I’d known it was you trying to get into my head, I wouldn’t have rejected it. I thought it was him doing something.”

“Yes, well, if I’d known the attempt would jump me to the nearest person on a rejection, I never would have enacted this plan myself,” the strange man said, crossing his arms.

Para cleared her throat. “Maybe I’m partly to blame for this new situation? Alijda just told me to get in the field, that we needed to break through with a teleport before the scattering elements took hold again.”

“Ugh, all I know is that none of this is MY fault,” Trixie asserted. “Though I am in awe of how randomly you people operate. I’ve half a mind to simply transfer the rest of the files Rixi has over to your Ziggy, and then leave your group before something more terrible happens.”

“I hope the other half of your mind wants to talk to me before that,” Alijda remarked. “Very curious about that whole tech-magic blend thing, and we have yet to properly chat.”

“There is that,” Trixie yielded.

“We would also appreciate your input in putting the pieces together, Trixie,” the man in the lab coat added. “You are good at your job.”

Trixie sighed. “And I’m not immune to flattery. But unless I miss my guess, all of us are both in quarantine and under arrest anyway? Soooo…”

“Yes. Arrest. This hasn’t been much by way of an explanation,” Mikoto said, sternly.

“If I might?” Beam said. People turned to look in her direction. Beam hoped that everyone else was starting to see in the darkness, and weren’t merely homing in on her voice.

“Go ahead,” Alice chirped in encouragement.

“On account of my situation, I can leave quarantine, pyon pyon,” Beam said. “Which means I can fix things like putting on the lights. I can even interrogate whomever’s in Fate’s body. Moreover, if I’m forced to stay in here instead, I may find myself hitting on Trixie soon, in part due to her tight leather pants. Pyon pyon.”

“She makes a strong case,” Trixie said dryly. “Anyone against?”

“Possibly,” Mikoto insisted. “I still don’t–”

“Look, we’re sorry you’re here, but you don’t want lights? Really?” Alijda interrupted.

Mikoto sighed. “Fine. But no one here try anything funny.”

Beam hurried for the exit before anyone could change their mind. Ziggy unlocked the acrylic barrier at her touch.

It had been an hour. Beam had decided to stall the others in quarantine, leaving them in the dark, once she’d learned that Trixie had resumed transferring the files from her device.

After all, it had not escaped Beam that she was technically in command for however long Fate was out of commission. Not to mention how Fate had been looking into relinquishing control of the station in any event. Bunny infection or not, Beam knew she had to step up here.

Particularly in light of what was turning up in the files.

“Ziggy?” Beam said, leaning in against the console. “Is there any other explanation here aside from them making a dimensional doorway, pyon pyon?”

“None. Vortex Limited made a dimensional doorway,” Ziggy agreed. “With the common sense to restrict it using decontamination chambers. Trixie must have been correct in her assumption, this is how the pandemic spread between Earths.”

Beam drummed her fingers. “Okay. So. Vortex gets a bunch of magic from the mysterious Clover Enterprises after trading their tech. In particular giving them things like the scattering field, which even we cannot punch through, pyon pyon. They use the new magic to, among other things, set up this underground bunker. From there, they punch a hole through to Tech World.”

“All before the pandemic,” Ziggy remarked. “And technically outside our policing, as Earths in the multiverse can do their own dimensional investigating.”

“Except for how Clover Enterprises was involved,” Beam pointed out.

“That’s why I said ‘technically’.” Ziggy’s petulant tone was back.

Beam rolled her eyes. “Anyway, Smoke soon becomes a thing due to the tech-magic-dimensional soup, and very soon after, Tech World catches a novel version. The virus must have made it through more conventional quarantine procedures, which have since been upgraded, pyon pyon.”

“Logical. This also explains how you were able to be infected,” Ziggy remarked. “Both sides were working on a computer simulation of the effects in the aftermath.”

“But that stopped a few weeks ago,” Beam continued, pointing at a date. “When Tech World cut off the link, leaving Bunny World to it’s own viral analyses. We know from our scans that Tech could then use the pandemic as cover to purge information, pyon pyon. Likely details about any dealings with other worlds, including Bunny World, the one Alijda went to, and more.”

“Another logical assumption. A world with teleporters would have had the capability to extend on the dimensional technology too, after all.”

“Loverly.” Beam hooked some hair behind her ear. “Still, two things these files don’t answer.”

“Only two?” Ziggy mused.

Beam ignored the remark. “First, why one Vortex scientist was left working on all this down there in his secret lab, alone, pyon pyon. I mean, why not a whole team?”

“I would hypothesize that Vortex Limited does not want their dimensional dealings or their part in the pandemic to go public,” Ziggy remarked. “Don’t forget, over time Smoke clears and people return to normal.”

“Except there might be side effects. And don’t enough people know about this, such that it would get out in the end?” Beam wondered. “It’s better press to say you’re working on a fix, pyon pyon. And second, while it makes sense that one of these planets would seek help by sending a dimensional message, I don’t see how we managed to be the ones to receive an encrypted communication from them. If they were the origin. A fluke?”

“I have no answer for you,” Ziggy stated, not pleased by the admission. “Though we could now apply some of the techniques in these files to attempt a better trace.”

Beam pushed away from the console to pace. Given this new intel, what was her next step? Well, probably to restore the lighting to the quarantine room, and get some help from her friends. But even then, what should she be proposing to them?

OPTIONS:

[crowdsignal poll=10619965]

VOTING CLOSES SUNDAY OCTOBER 11th (probably).

EXTRA ASIDE: Closed the vote on Oct 1st as promised, most writing done on Oct 3rd. At what point do I give up on more readers? At least we avoided another tie. Whoever you are, thanks for reading through to this point. Hope you’re enjoying.

SMOKE WITH MIRRORS: PART NINE

Could Para catch the virus? If she caught it, would she grow a second set of bunny ears? If so, would they be partially tied to her mood, as her parabolic ears currently were? Or given that she wasn’t human, would there be no physical effect, only mental problems?

Ever since Beam had been out of quarantine, Para had endeavoured to engage the other woman in conversation about the non-physical aspects of the disease. Just in case.

But that only tended to result in Beam getting seductive. Of course, it now felt questionable in terms of usefulness, as for all they knew, Beam might have been infected with some holographic variation in the first place.

Para was now spending her time trying not to think about it, instead working to improve the Station’s sensors.

[caption id=“attachment_848” align=“alignright” width=“219”] PARA
Commission by Michelle Simpson[/caption]

Granted, she didn’t know that much about the technology, but she’d asked Alijda for some help. And while her first human friend was more of a hacker than a sensor specialist, it gave the both of them something to puzzle though while Alijda was quarantined, after her return from the magical world.

The initial reason for Para’s work had been better communications in advance of future teleport retrievals. A larger part of the logic now was the encrypted message the Station had received, the one pointing it towards this pandemic problem in the first place. Perhaps they could locate the source? Or find more such messages out there?

Either way, it was fortunate that she’d put her efforts there. Because this meant that it registered right away when Trixie and Alice disappeared from routine scans for their communicators.

Para double checked. She attempted a triangulation from their last known position, and it looked like they’d been headed towards some sort of park. Somewhere Beam had frequented. An attempt to scan more directly revealed a blind spot in the sensors.

“That can’t be good,” Para muttered aloud.

Para wondered about calling Fate, but the poor woman was finally getting some rest after having sent Trixie down to the planet in the first place. So she opened an internal communication to Alijda instead.

“Hey, do you think we could finish our upgrades fast?” she asked.

Alijda’s head bobbed. It looked like she was sitting up. “Maybe,” she yawned. “Why?”

“I’ve lost track of the team on the planet,” Para explained.

Alijda flinched. “Go to Auxiliary Control and illuminate a panel there. So that I can see what you’re doing.”

“I’m already here,” Para remarked. “I’ll set it up straight away.”

They were collaborating in less than five minutes, Alijda visible on the panel from the waist up as she peered at what Para was doing.

“Okay,” Alijda said. “I think as soon as the amplifier is hooked in, we’ll get a signal boost.”

Para peered at the wires, making sure not to hook a positive to a negative. “You’d think the station could access the best equipment,” she mused aloud. “Or at least be able to replicate it or something.” This amplifier had been assembled from parts in a storage bin.

“There’s probably some law preventing them from grabbing the best dimensional technology,” Alijda remarked. She grinned. “They have to make due with temporarily grabbing the best people. Or, er, beings. Meaning us.”

Para half smiled herself as she completed the hookup. “Even though we’re in the dark. It makes me wonder about the God that Alice referred to in our first mission. Like, why can’t they help out more?”

“Or as Alice would say ‘what does God need with a Dimensional Space Station’,” Alijda remarked. “All I can say is her take was that we still needed to have free will to fix things. Or screw up. Or both, considering how she was fired. They’re good questions though, I’m glad you’re asking them.”

“I’ve been questioning more than usual lately,” Para sighed.

“Okay, that should do it,” Alijda said, as Para moved back. “Flip the switch.”

Para stood back up, dusting off her skirt. “Great. Let’s see if we can learn more about the blind spot.” She reached out to activate the enhancements.

“This area didn’t show up unless you were looking right at it, yeah?” Alijda observed. “Implies there could be more down there.”

“That’s unsettling,” Para said, frowning. “Also, it’s still there… albeit smaller. Oh wait, I’m picking up…” Para twisted a knob.

“Hello? Hello?” came Trixie’s breathless voice.

“Hello, Trixie?” Para asked.

“Oh, thank goodness,” Trixie sighed. “Hurry. We’re trapped in the elevator with valuable information. Can you beam us up? Like, we don’t need Beam but… you know what I mean, yes?”

“Um, let me check,” said Para. She looked towards Alijda, hoping her friend had some way to know.

Alijda looked at the ceiling. “Hey Ziggy, you clued in?” she asked the main computer.

“More or less,” the computer responded after a moment. “Parts of me go inactive during your work, given that I don’t entirely want to know what surgery it is you’re trying to perform on me.”

“Can we do what Trixie asked?” Para wondered.

A pause. “No, there is a scattering field in place. You will want Trixie to move further away from that location.”

Para cleared her throat. “Trixie, there’s–”

“I heard. What part of us being trapped in an elevator did you not get?” Trixie complained. “And yes, there’s an emergency hatch, but it’s stuck. In much the same way that my elbow is stuck in Alice’s side.”

“At least it’s not poking me in the breast any more,” came Alice’s deadpan voice for the first time. “This is not a large space.”

“Hey, waving my wrist communicator around WORKED, didn’t it?” Trixie shot back.

Para decided not to mention the sensor enhancements. “Ladies, you’re on the edge of a strange blind spot,” she explained. “Maybe instead you can provide us with information to shut it down, or get around it?”

“Information? Well, there’s a whole secret base down here under the park,” Trixie said. “Funded by Clover Enterprises.”

“Indirectly funded,” Alice elaborated. “It’s local, run by Vortex Limited, who have been making their money through magical upgrades to the world’s technological systems. Upgrades obtained through Clover.”

“Right, right,” Trixie agreed. “Though you’re the one who thinks this is all some global Clover Enterprises experiment.”

“Taking advantage of the locals, why wouldn’t it be?” Alice argued. “Besides, we DO know that some aspects of the magic have been less than compatible with indigenous biology. Which led to the current planetwide situation.”

“Oh, damn. The pandemic,” Alijda gasped.

“Right,” Alice confirmed. “The Bunny disease is natural, except not, because it came from components that never should have interacted. Clover is at fault.”

“Kind of makes your Epsilon Project sensible,” Trixie admitted. “Keeping items out of dimensions where they shouldn’t be. You never know what might happen when they mix.”

“But then how is the disease jumping dimensions?” Para asked. “And mutating?”

“That? Not sure,” Trixie said. “This Vortex scientist has been playing with different strains here, in an attempt to find a cure. Could be his corporation also has the ability to jump dimensions? We didn’t find evidence of that - yet - but it would account for the spreading.”

“I wonder if these guys offered a biological sample to Clover Enterprises,” Alice said. “Clover themselves could be the ones spreading it. After all, the first file we saw was for a trade, not a cash payment. Might have been for items to be provided later.”

“I feel like Clover wanted some of this blended magical technology up front though,” Trixie noted. “I mean, from what little I’ve learned through working with your Epsilon group, tech and magic fusions are not that common in the greater multiverse. Even on my Earth, it’s not as simple as it might appear.”

“Maybe,” Alice said, sounding unconvinced.

“The blend was certainly messed up on the tiny world I went to with Para,” Alijda recalled.

“These Vortex people have certainly mastered their fusion to the point of infecting Beam,” Para reminded. “I’m starting to think we DON’T want them getting their hands on Trixie, and all the extra information she has.”

“I’d settle for getting my hands off Trixie right now,” Alice remarked. “No offence.”

“None taken,” Trixie mumbled.

“So far I haven’t heard anything that would get us past the scattering field,” Para pointed out.

“Can I transmit Rixi’s files to you somehow?” Trixie suggested. “You might find something there.”

“That’s an idea,” Para agreed. “Can we link her device with Ziggy, or have it send the information as an attachment?”

“I will attempt to set up a link through this channel,” came Ziggy’s voice.

“Rixi, try to coordinate. Para, there’s a bunch of files, and we haven’t had time to read each… wait, the elevator’s moving again,” Trixie realized.

“Going down,” Alice sighed.

“Oh no, he’s calling us back,” Trixie yelped. “Beam us up, beam us up!”

“We’ll start working on an extraction plan,” Alijda noted. “No worries. Stall if you can.”

Alice sighed. “It’s my fault we’ve been caught,” she admitted. “I insisted we stay long enough to get the files. So, know what? Even though I’m not the one in those pants with that perfume, I’ll try to seduce him to get us free. Okay?”

“Ha ha, good joke,” Trixie grumbled.

“I’m totally serious,” Alice insisted. “He’ll be so confused by my doing it that you might have a chance to escape out the front. With all your tech-magic intelligence. No elevator there to slow you down. Right?”

Trixie sighed audibly. “As amusing as … fine with taking point on … clarify our cover story?”

Para frowned. The communication link was breaking up.

“We could … members of the Vortex Limited team following up …” Alice stated, just before the channel went completely dead.

“That’s not good,” Alijda said, redundantly.

“I was able to obtain a few files before we lost the link,” Ziggy commented. “Shall I pull those up for you?”

Para nodded. “Yes please, and I guess we’d better wake up Fate.”

Only fifteen minutes had passed since they’d lost the communication link. It didn’t feel like that much time to Para, but she suspected that it felt longer to Trixie and Alice, down on the planet.

Fate had tentatively labelled them as hostages, though for all they knew, the two Epsilon employees were running a convincing con job.

“I see three options,” Fate said, pacing back and forth. “First option is sending Beam and Para planet-side, to evaluate the situation. Possibly set up a signal booster on site to cut through the interference, and we get everyone back that way.”

“Don’t you need Beam to help with the Station?” Para wondered.

The blonde hologram shook her head. “Stuff I’m dealing with is routine enough that Alijda could handle it from her room for now, pyon pyon. Plus I know the planet and would blend right in.”

“Also, Para, I don’t want to send you alone,” Fate noted. “I won’t lie though, it might be dangerous.”

Para felt her bunny ears quivering. “Second option?”

“We contact the Vortex group,” Fate stated. “There’s enough information in the few files Trixie transmitted for us to do that. We could even pretend to be with Clover Enterprises. There’s less risk to us this way, and if we do it right, we can get our people released as well as obtain more information about both groups.”

“But if we mess up, we could end up putting Alice and Trixie in even more danger,” Alijda chimed in from the monitor where she was observing the meeting.

“Possible,” Fate yielded.

“And the third option is my idea,” Beam remarked. Fate gestured at her to continue, and Beam smiled. “Thing is, we do have some artifacts on this station that have not yet been returned, pyon pyon. Between those and the sensor upgrades, we might find a way to punch through all the interference and get our ladies out without interfering with anything else happening down there at all.”

“Might?” Para wondered.

“Yes, well, it’s still half a plan,” Beam admitted. “But it emphasizes our non-interference policy and could mean we get a useful tool for later use.”

“We’ve already interfered,” Alijda pointed out. “And what if your plan turns into a wasted hour?”

“Look, sorry, we don’t really have time for a debate here,” Fate cut back in. “I’m going to choose. This meeting was mostly to see if there was an obvious flaw in any of the plans, and I’m not hearing anything I didn’t already consider. So unless someone had any other ideas or input…?”

Everyone exchanged uncertain glances. It didn’t look like there was anything else to say.

Para turned her attention back to hear Fate’s decision.

OPTIONS:

[crowdsignal poll=10605190]

VOTING CLOSES AFTER SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 13th.

EXTRA ASIDE: Already over 50 spam messages for September. Really? Contrast just over 10 actual page views. As for voting, three way tie until late Sunday. I guess it’s nice that there’s no one clear path I should be following? (Which would make things too predictable, right?) Though I sometimes wonder if people who don’t get their choice are annoyed. (Is it even the same people week to week? Who knows?) Either way, thank you all for sticking with it.

SMOKE WITH MIRRORS: PART EIGHT

Alice rolled her eyes. “Fine. We stay together then. You want to decontaminate at the same time, or would that be as awkward as the elevator ride?”

Trixie flinched, and immediately cursed herself for that reaction. For whatever reason, it was taking some effort to keep her hormones in check, after all that time stuck on the Epsilon station. It didn’t help that Alice was attractive, in her own way.

Fortunately, it did help that Alice was pretty practical in terms of staying on task.

[caption id=“attachment_2345” align=“alignright” width=“186”] TRIXIE VIRGA
Commission from Sen Yomi[/caption]

“It’s fine,” Trixie said, clenching her jaw. “I’m having a little trouble adjusting to everything, that’s all. But I can take it.”

Alice tilted her head to one side. “Am I everything? People do sometimes have trouble adjusting to me. Can I do something to help you with that?”

Trixie sighed. “Alice. It’s not you. Not directly. Let’s just say I was dealing with Beam on the station, plus I haven’t seen my open relationship boyfriend in a while, so I’m… adjusting. Can we leave it at that?”

“You’re adjusting…” Alice blinked, then her eyes widened. “Oh. Ohhh. Would it help if I slapped you? Or if you slapped me?”

“It’s FINE,” Trixie repeated, pressing the heel of her hand to her head. A thought occurred. “Just tell me that we can decontaminate while still wearing our clothes.”

Alice walked over to read the signage more closely, as Trixie belatedly used her Rixi to take some photographs of the file folders about the virus. In case it was useful or even necessary for later.

“We’re good,” Alice called out after a moment. Trixie turned, to see the other woman giving her a thumbs up. “Shirts, socks, panties, they can all stay on. Hella suspicious, bad for any fanfic writers we have, good for you.”

Trixie came over to give the chamber a look herself. The system seemed automated, and she saw no reason that the same spell that got them down here wouldn’t work again. More to the point, unlike the elevator, which had been smaller than a phone booth, the small window in the door showed the chamber to be the size of a small bathroom at the least.

“Suspicious in what sense?” Trixie asked, deciding not to delve into the other comments.

“I’ve read up on decontamination,” Alice remarked. “Being on a pandemic planet and all. Removal of clothing is pretty standard, implying a level of technology down here that exceeds the technology up there.”

“So the government has been hiding advances from the people,” Trixie hypothesized. “Or there’s some element of magic on the planet that isn’t well known.”

“Mmmm, or something,” Alice mused. She shrugged. “Anyway, we might want to leave anything behind that we don’t want getting wet or damaged. I bring it up, as your pants might qualify. But again, that’s fanfic bait.”

Trixie looked down at her leather pants and sighed. Maybe they had been a bad choice after all. “I’ll live. And Rixi can handle water.”

Alice nodded. “Speaking of, we’ll need your magical device to get us access to the room. I’m no hacker.”

Trixie nodded. “That shouldn’t be a problem.” The techno witch pressed Rixi up to the keypad with one hand, while waving her other hand out in front of her. “Ubi fumus, ibi ignis,” she restated.

There were some clicks, and after a moment, the decontamination door swung open. A combination of magic, and Rixi doing a fast interface.

“Piece of cake,” Trixie remarked. “After you?”

“Thanks?” Alice said, peering inside. “It occurs to me that these things are gas-tight, and it’d be real easy to see us on a monitor and suffocate us. I hope our emergency beacons still work.”

“My Rixi is always available,” Trixie said, waving it in the air. “It can get us out. Besides, a smart director would want to question us before a death sentence, to know how we got past this security in the first place.” She wondered whether to ask why Alice was fixating on horror movies.

Alice nodded. “Okay then.” She walked into the room, with Trixie following. As soon as Trixie closed the door behind them, the lighting - which to this point had seemed automatic, Trixie presuming it had been triggered by their use of the elevator - tinged red.

A spray of what Trixie hoped was water came from the ceiling. She wondered about closing her eyes, to protect them, but she was equally nervous that she would miss something important that might result in them getting trapped. She squinted.

The spray went on for what Trixie judged to be about a minute, and when the water was finished - she now saw a small drain in the floor - there was a heating effect. This helped to dry them, as well as presumably frying anything that might have been airborne. There also came a humming noise, possibly a sonic effect, as Trixie couldn’t think of a reason for the noise to be sustained in that way.

Alice was right, it definitely felt more high tech than anything else on this world, or on her own for that matter.

The whole process took almost five minutes, and left Trixie sweating in her outfit, but in the end, the lighting went back to normal. There was a click at the door on the far side. Trixie quickly stepped forwards, pushing it open. Once she was out, she quickly raked her fingers through her still slightly damp twintails and wiped her fingers down on her pants to try and remove any excess moisture.

They were now in a small one room apartment. There was a cot, a table and chair, and a small kitchen area with a fridge and a lot of cardboard boxes.

“Guess we came in through the back door?” Alice mused, taking off her mask. “The good stuff must be through there.” She pointed to the door directly opposite to them. “Now that we’re in, can your device scan for life signs?”

“Not like the movies,” Trixie said, belatedly pulling her own mask down. It made sense that they wouldn’t need those after having gone through that chamber. “Rixi needs a link to internal sensors.”

“Worth a shot,” the other woman sighed. She crept over to the other door, listening at it for a moment. Then she carefully cracked it open wide enough to peer through. Then she fully opened it. “Never mind.”

It looked to be a small bathroom.

Trixie crossed her arms. “No way out. So this is a bunker of some sort.”

Alice shook her head. “All that high tech setup for this small area? And an entrance that felt more like an emergency exit? I don’t buy it.” She looked around the room again.

Trixie wandered over to check in the boxes. It looked like an excessive amount of canned goods. The fridge seemed to be more of a freezer unit, which held more perishable items. Someone could definitely hide out down there for a while. Say, if someone was on the lookout for them.

Alice had started knocking all along on the wall to the right. By Trixie’s reckoning, that direction led back towards the entranceway of the park.

The redhead cleared her throat. “What, you think there’s a–” Alice pushed on a knothole, and an entire piece of panelling popped out. “–secret passage?” Trixie finished, eyebrows going up.

“There are secret passages all around you, if you know where to look,” Alice intoned. She gestured. “You first this time? Distract anyone inside, okay?”

Trixie sighed. She supposed turnabout was fair play… besides, she probably wouldn’t have even found the secret area without Alice’s help.

“I’m trying stealth before I shake my ass,” Trixie noted. As such, she quietly edged in through the opening. The room on the other side was dark, but Trixie got the impression that it was larger. In part because there seemed to be a panel blinking off to one side, some distance away.

She edged along the wall, then over towards the panel. Up close, she realized it was a monitor, and the system seemed to be in standby mode. Trixie held Rixi up.

“Can we interface with this?” she murmured.

“Clarify,” Rixi stated.

“Use the same spell to get access.”

A pause. “Unlikely. There is higher security. I do believe we could circumvent it manually.”

Trixie knew that Rixi’s use of ‘manually’ meant inserting some code into the system, rather than looking for a physical switch. But that would take time.

She looked back towards Alice, who was now silhouetted in the doorway. “Have a look around,” she suggested. “I’ll see if I can break into their computers.”

Alice nodded. “If you can’t get all the way in, see if you can tweak communications to get to the station. Alijda can hack almost anything.”

“So I’ve heard,” Trixie said dryly. Alijda had come aboard Epsilon while she’d been asleep, and had been very quickly whisked off on her own mission. So the two of them had yet to meet. She was curious about the other woman, as a preliminary file she’d been granted access to indicated that Alijda had a teleportation power, mental issues, and a not unattractive presence.

Still, that was a consideration for the future. Trixie was sure she could handle this.

Only when the lights came on, did Trixie bother to look around the area. The room WAS larger, along the lines of a lecture hall, with the computer banks over on her side, and a number of specimens or samples lining shelves on the opposite wall. In between were lab benches. There also seemed to be two visible doorways… not counting the way they got in, which seemed to be a hidden panel door both ways.

One of the new doors had the look of another decontamination chamber. Trixie didn’t know where the other one led, but Alice seemed to be on her way to check it out.

Trixie returned to her coding. Based on Rixi’s initial scans, the program she was writing into her device would grant them access, at least temporarily.

“Any luck?” Alice asked, startling the techno-witch on account of standing almost right behind her. How much time had passed?

“Probably. Give me another five minutes,” Trixie muttered.

“No problem for me, but someone else could come by in that time,” Alice pointed out.

“Uh huh,” was all Trixie bothered to say in response. No one had come yet, and talk was a distraction that delayed her coding.

Another five minutes passed, or she hoped it was only five minutes. Either way, she was done. She gestured vaguely to Alice before tapping at Rixi’s red crystal. “Execute.”

“Interfacing and executing,” Rixi responded.

Trixie wiped her arm across her brow as she waited.

The standby screen flickered. A login screen briefly appeared… and then a logo appeared in its place, spinning around on its access. It looked to be a four leaf clover.

“You’re in?” Alice breathed.

“For now,” Trixie agreed. “Rixi, record all screens as we browse.”

“Acknowledged.”

The screen now resolved into a graphical interface with two words on the background screen.

“Clover Enterprises,” Alice continued. She started to hop from one foot to the other. “Yes! I KNEW it, I knew Clover would be behind something inter-dimensional like this. Now we are so happy, we do the dance of joy… that is, assuming you can copy over their corporate manifesto??”

“I don’t know where I’d even find that,” Trixie complained. “And for all we know, this Clover refers to a company that makes computers.” She opened up what looked like a file directory. She immediately went into the first subdirectory. “Also feeling like the Security folder should be a priority.”

Alice let out a long sigh. “Yes, okay, fine.”

Trixie quickly realized that there had recently been a file backup to archives… but not recently enough. “Rixi, I’m going to erase all signs that me and Alice got in here. Let me know if I miss anything.”

“Acknowledged.”

Trixie tapped at the keys, finishing by tuning into a live video feed. It looked to be a view of the park above them. “I think this confirms that someone was monitoring Beam wandering about. Hence the hijacking of her code.”

“Yes, well, some of the jars down here are for knockout drugs,” Alice affirmed. “And there’s items to disrupt systems like hers. And there’s something that might have been able to inject her. We need to know the WHY though… manifesto?”

“Yes, okay, hold on Miss One-Track-Mind,” Trixie grumbled. “It’s not like that’s labelled.”

She was hesitant to delve into the archived files, as it would give current date stamps to their most recent access. She wanted to reprogram as little as possible. But maybe whoever this was had been looking at something more recently?

“Okay, how about this,” Trixie mused. “Opened yesterday, but the file name is dated from even before the pandemic began.”

The document appeared on the screen. She scanned it, even as Alice enthused, “This is an agreement with Clover Enterprises to trade technologies for magical items.”

“Yuh huh,” Trixie agreed. “Now I pull up recent files related to those items.” She began to type in the search command.

Rixi’s crystal pulsed. “You are about to have company.”

A video feed popped up again, this time showing a figure in a hood and cloak who was entering what looked like some sort of storm drain near the park fountain. It didn’t look like a drone camera. Trixie concluded that it was pointed at the other entrance to this place.

“We gotta go,” Trixie sighed.

“No, the files,” Alice protested. “He’ll be five minutes getting through decontamination. We need this information.”

“He’ll SEE us from that room,” Trixie said, pointing at the small window in the door and shaking her head. “I mean, I can get copies into Rixi to look at later, but only at a cost of having to hide down here, hoping we’re not found.”

“Pfft. Once we have the files, we confront this guy,” Alice objected. “Since even if we leave now, we won’t make it to the surface before he’s onto us. That elevator was hella slow.”

Trixie frowned. Alice was right, their chances of getting away weren’t great. But perhaps they could contact Epsilon from the elevator. Wasn’t that better than provoking this guy, either by hiding in his lair, or by throwing their investigation into his face?

What was the least terrible option?

OPTIONS:

[crowdsignal poll=10597815]

VOTING CLOSES ON SUNDAY AUGUST 30th.

EXTRA ASIDE: Only one vote for a week, then abruptly three more when I mused on Facebook… I guess that’s where I need to be hyping? The fifth vote was when I left it open for an additional day anyway (possibly the original voter returned). The posting delay today was owing to a busy week, and me wanting to get through ‘Steins;Gate 0’ prior to the week before school. Wheee. I do appreciate that you’re still reading!

SMOKE WITH MIRRORS: PART SEVEN

A redhead with twintails slid out of the portal, landing on her behind. She was wearing the same kind of protective face mask as Alice herself, though her glistening white blouse and dark leather pants were a departure from the pink T-shirt and blue jeans that Alice had selected that morning. As were the woman’s ankle boots.

Alice approached as the wormhole closed back in on itself. She extended her hand.

[caption id=“attachment_929” align=“alignright” width=“185”] ALICE VUNDERLANDE
Commission by Cherry Zong[/caption]

“Hello! Trixie, I presume?”

The woman eyed Alice for a moment before reaching her arm out to accept the help rising to her feet. “Correct. And you’re Alice, I recognize you from the videos.”

“Only the public ones, I trust,” Alice chirped. “I’m more interesting in person.” She gestured at her new companion. “Did you dress up special for me? I thought you preferred skirts.”

Trixie dusted off her pants. “No. This simply seemed more practical for the mission, while still being prone to distract anyone that I’d want to keep off balance.” She looked back up at Alice, her eyes worried and searching. “Please tell me you’re not aroused.”

“Oh no. I’m not Beam,” Alice said, laughing. “Just, those wouldn’t be my first go-to after ditching a skirt.” She hooked her thumbs into the belt loops of her jeans. “Gotta stay comfortable.”

Trixie dragged her fingers back through her twintails. “Oh, tight leather’s comfortable, if you wear it enough. And it’s not like you’d see my ass less if I wore jeans.”

“I suppose,” Alice granted. She gestured down the alley. “So, shall we regroup back at the apartment?”

To Alice’s surprise, Trixie shook her head. “I’d rather start by taking readings from the nearby park,” she said. “The one Beam used to frequent.”

“You think that’s the place we want?” Alice asked. They had no conclusive proof yet about where Beam might have been infected, only that it had likely been a deliberate act.

“I don’t know,” Trixie said. “Hence the taking of readings.” She pulled some sort of small device out of her blouse pocket and waved it in the air.

“I did take a few preliminary scans of all locations where Beam hung out,” Alice remarked. “Including there. Though I guess if that’s some magic detector, you’ll register things I didn’t.”

“It’s Rixi,” Trixie stated. “I downloaded some of the data on this Earth into her, but for the most part, I’m starting from scratch. At worst, this gives me a baseline. At best, we find something’s up.”

Alice nodded. “This way then,” she concluded, turning the opposite way out of the alley from her original plan.

Honestly, Alice was just as happy to start their association by doing some investigating. She had been getting tired of all the dead ends, and after the recent Station news, had been tempted to start looking into infection sites on her own. However, once she’d learned of Fate’s decision to send Trixie down, she’d decided to wait the additional day.

For her part, Trixie seemed to be warily looking at everything and everyone as they walked down the street. It was a bit hard to tell how she felt given the mask over the lower part of her face, but she seemed troubled.

“You won’t see many late-stage infected,” Alice remarked. “The bunny ears are a dead giveaway, so they tend to stay at home. And while there could be people in the early stages of Smoke, as there’s been no way to identify such cases - I mean, beyond a test that takes a couple days to produce results - we just have to keep our distance.”

“It’s not only the virus that has me on edge,” Trixie admitted. “This is a whole new world. Yet it doesn’t look that different from being in some foreign city on my world. It’s weird. Will we turn a corner and see dogs walking upright? I keep expecting some other shoe to drop.”

“We can only hope that this will be the last footwear to fall,” Alice quoted.

Trixie focussed in on Alice. “What?”

Alice smiled back, despite knowing that Trixie wouldn’t be able to see her expression. “What?”

Trixie continued to stare for a moment, then looked back down at her Rixi device. “Okay then. So, is this park we’re going to still closed?”

“All of them in the city are,” Alice confirmed. “Except to walk through. Beam kind of ignored that, it gave her a quiet place to think.”

“Right. I’d ask why she didn’t think the apartment was a quiet enough place for that,” Trixie remarked. “Except I read your report about the lady across the hall.”

“And her boyfriend, and the fact that they’ve both turned bunny?” Alice considered. “Yeah. I mean, don’t get me wrong, they’re nice enough. But they need me to do grocery runs, and the other day, one wanted me to fluff their tail.” She lifted up her palms. “I wash my hands a lot.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“Yup. If I’m gonna be a bunny, it’s gonna be on my terms,” Alice stated, clenching the hands into fists. “Or possibly because I’ve become so popular that my merchandise warrants the Playboy Bunny variation. Ehhh?” She winked.

Trixie blinked back. “Sorry, are you… famous on some world out there…?”

“Nope. Not yet,” Alice sighed, clasping her hands behind her back. “Infamous, maybe. Unless being part of Epsilon itself counts.”

“Um. Well, you are unique,” Trixie said after a moment.

Alice again gave a hidden smile. “Thanks! So I’ve been told.”

Trixie cleared her throat. “So, Beam did her thinking in a park?”

“Yes. She also investigated at city hall, the airport, and on a carrot farm outside town,” Alice reminded. “But it’s true the park is the most suspicious case, since others have done reporting in the other places without any consequence that I’m aware of.”

“Are there more bunny cases among those living closer to the park?” Trixie asked.

Alice shrugged. “I’m good at tech tinkering but I’m no hacker. So I don’t have that data. However, the property for the park changed hands a bunch of times before it became what it is - that’s in the public record - and this whole neighbourhood is a pretty large subdivision. So maybe someone’s been hiding out or running experiments? I dunno.”

“Hmmm,” was all Trixie said. She looked back down at her device.

They didn’t speak again until reaching the park, though Alice did notice how more heads turned to look at Trixie and her outfit than had ever looked her way. Meaning it would probably be up to Alice to do any covert work while the eyes were on her companion. She was okay with this.

It was as Alice started to walk through the park gate that Trixie reached out to grasp her arm. “Hold up,” Trixie murmured. “I think there’s a drone in there.”

Alice reached down to pretend to tie up her running shoe. “You sure? My earlier scans were inconclusive for electronics.”

“I don’t think that was a bird I saw,” Trixie said, dubiously. She tapped at a few buttons on her device. “Maybe it was some kid who… hold on. This world has no magic? Aside from me?”

“None that I know of,” Alice said. It occurred to her belatedly that they should have tested out some of Trixie’s magic. Different Earth dimensions could react differently to individual abilities. Hopefully it wouldn’t be an issue.

Trixie remained silent for a moment, then started to walk down the sidewalk, parallel to the park. Alice finished with her shoe and hurried after. “What’ve you got?”

“I’m reading something. Something like when I access my Hammerspace,” Trixie muttered. “That is, I don’t think someone’s accessing a pocket dimension, but the more often you cast a spell, the more I can register it’s existence, given how it becomes less effective.”

“On your Earth, at least,” Alice pointed out.

“True,” Trixie granted. She came to a stop at a thick telephone pole on their side of the park fence. “But something’s been cast here. A lot. Rixi, can we duplicate?”

“Working,” came a sound from Trixie’s device, as the redhead touched a small red crystal. To Alice, it sounded like an electronic version of Trixie’s own voice.

Alice took the opportunity to look around for signs of another drone, or anything that might indicate that they were being watched. They were in the shadow of a large tree, which helped to conceal their presence, and she didn’t see anything in the branches that might indicate spying.

Too bad she hadn’t thought to bring any of her own scanners to the meet-up with Trixie.

“Analysis complete. Greatest chance of success, fumus ignis,” Rixi intoned.

“Huh,” Trixie mused. “That’s alarmingly relevant.”

“Was fumus a reference to Smoke?” Alice asked. “Something about the virus?”

“Not directly,” Trixie answered. “There’s a few catch-all spells that can be used to, well, in a sense, hack someone else’s system. In this case, we try… ubi fumus, ibi ignis.”

As Trixie spoke, she waved her hand out in front of her body. There was a click, and the telephone pole swung open, revealing a hollow with what looked like an elevator panel inside. “Translated as, where there’s Smoke, there’s fire,” Trixie finished.

“Got it,” Alice remarked, leaning in to look at the panel. “Only one other floor. Going down?”

“If you think we’ll fit,” Trixie said, dubiously. “It’s obviously made for one.”

“I’d rather not split up,” Alice insisted, moving to press herself up against the back wall. Though it was true that the cylindrical space would not fit the both of them very comfortably.

Trixie seemed to agree with the sentiment, moving in to press her body up against that of Alice. Alice suspected that the only thing that kept the shorter woman’s breath from being hot against her neck was the mask. “Pull me as close as you need,” Trixie murmured. “But try not to grope my ass too much.”

“Only a little bit then?” Alice quipped, as she fumbled for the elevator button.

“I’d hate to think I was completely unappealing,” Trixie giggled.

The door slid closed, leaving them in almost total darkness as Alice felt the platform they were standing on descend. Trixie squirmed against her body, seemingly looking for more space that didn’t exist. Eventually, she gave up.

“Alice, do you wear perfume?” Trixie murmured after a moment.

“Not usually,” Alice answered. “Though I notice you do.”

“Um. Yeah,” Trixie admitted. A pause. “Sorry if that bugs you.”

“No, no,” Alice assured. “It’s a way to distract people if they’re not keen on leather pants. I get it.”

Trixie took in a deep breath, which Alice felt more than heard. “Right.” The elevator continued to move very slowly. “Mmmph. So what are you thinking about?”

“Right now I’m thinking about horror movies that take place in elevators. Devil, Elevator, The Lift…”

“Yikes. Okay then,” Trixie said, as Alice let her voice trail off. Then, after another pause, came a mutter that sounded like, “Why am I thinking about my last Tinder hookup.”

Alice wasn’t sure how to respond, but before she even could, the door slid back open. And after Trixie had pulled away from her with a faint sigh, Alice stepped out to see what they were dealing with.

Problematically, it seemed to be a dead end. For all intents and purposes.

“Decontamination chamber,” Alice remarked, taking a couple strides to look at the exit on the other side of the small room. It was sealed shut with a sign and a keypad.

“But also some files,” Trixie remarked.

Alice turned. Sure enough, the room they were didn’t didn’t have much aside from what looked like an emergency generator, a coat rack, and a table… but on the table were a few file folders. Alice glanced over Trixie’s shoulder as the other woman flipped through them.

“I think these are all viral analyses,” Trixie said after a moment. “Of Smoke in different settings. But it’s not clear whether it’s related to causing the pandemic, curing it, or something else.”

“The dates seem to be from after the first case,” Alice noted. “If that’s relevant.”

“It probably is,” Trixie said. She put the files back down. “So, we keep going?”

Alice sighed. “Do we? Someone will surely notice when their decontamination chamber is in use. If not now, then when someone checks the inevitable video footage.”

“They might have already noticed their elevator was active,” Trixie pointed out. “We should get as far as we can before they’re really on to us.”

“Let’s at least call for backup,” Alice decided. She pulled out her Epsilon communicator… only to find that no signal was available when she attempted to use it.

“That’s that then. We could leave the area to call, but I think by the time Beam or Para got down here, we’d have lost the element of surprise,” Trixie insisted.

Alice crossed and uncrossed her arms. “Maybe we should split up then,” she yielded. “You can go up top to check in, as well as be distracting to anyone monitoring the park. I’ll keep trying to sneak in the back way here.”

“What? Why should I be the one to go topside?” Trixie argued.

“Because you have the spell ability to get back down, if necessary,” Alice pointed out. “Along with your claims of being a better visual distraction.”

Trixie’s nose crinkled. “Ah. You’re not wrong.”

Alice nodded. “So, what do you think?”

OPTIONS:

[crowdsignal poll=10590282]

VOTING CLOSES ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16th?

EXTRA ASIDE: I actually had all four votes within 6 days. Maybe I was talking about it more? Maybe you’re more eager? Either way, thanks for reading.

SMOKE WITH MIRRORS: PART THREE

Alice clasped her hands behind her back, leaning closer to the large, clear wall that had been erected in place of a doorway. She scrutinized their colleague and friend. “I did say I wanted to teleport someone here, remember? Before you went down? So I created this area. You’ll have everything you need.”

“Sure, but when you said you’d bring me back in quarantine, I didn’t expect THIS, pyon pyon,” Beam protested. Her gaze shifted to Fate, who was staring, wide-eyed. Despite her own obvious irritation, Beam smiled. “And what are you looking at?”

Fate took a half step back, a blush starting to colour her cheeks. “Nothing? Just, maybe the bunny ears suit you?”

Beam’s omnipresent hairband now had two bright blue bunny ears sprouting from it, one of them partially flopped down. And her normal outfit of a dark blouse, blue skirt and dark stockings had been accessorized with a neck choker containing a bright blue bow.

The blonde holographic girl did a quick spin then, lifting her skirt to reveal a blue bunny tail poking out through a hole she had cut in her panties. “Do you like my tail too?” She wiggled.

Fate cleared her throat and turned her attention to the clipboard in her hand, idly spinning a pencil in her fingers as she stared intensely at the paper before her. “Irrelevant. You’re in quarantine.”

Beam spun back. “But I won’t be contagious forever, even assuming I am now.” Then her eyes opened wide. “Oh NO… this is two weeks without any hugs, isn’t it. I don’t know if I can handle that.”

“You have before,” Alice pointed out dryly. “Running this place all alone.”

“Yeah, but I think maybe now I have a stereotypical bunny libido?” Beam said, chewing her lower lip. “I’m thinking about sex more than usual. Come to think, thank goodness the virus didn’t switch my sexual preferences, pyon pyon. Makes me wonder about the guys it infects.”

Fate rubbed her forehead. “Back on topic, please. Beam, do you know how you, a hologram, caught a virus that, as far as we know, only targets humans?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Beam admitted. “Remember my programming is meant to emulate human physiology as much as possible? I sweat when I work out, I bleed when I’m cut, and so on. It’s likely that an accidental exposure to the virus triggered these bunny changes, to help me blend in with the locals.”

“But you’re not sure,” Alice pressed. “It could be some new mutation.”

Beam shrugged. “It’s possible. But I even caught a cold once. This isn’t too different. And as I said when I contacted you, I’m willing to ride this infection out so that you get some data, rather than trying to reprogram myself, pyon pyon.”

Fate nibbled on the end of her pencil, then finally brought her gaze back up to scrutinize Beam. “So, the tail. The ears, the bow. It’s become part of your program? You woke up one morning and had them?”

“The same way it happens to someone on that Earth, yeah,” Beam affirmed. “Though for humans, the bunny ears come from the scalp. Also, this bow collar?” She tapped it. “It didn’t appear, it’s an accessory. I just had this… compulsion. To buy it.”

“You felt compelled to accessorize?” Alice said, lifting an eyebrow. “How?”

“It’s like how I’m compelled to say ‘pyon pyon’ sometimes,” Beam explained. “My tongue starts to feel funny, until I do it. Likewise, my neck felt funny until I put the bow on. Even now, part of me feels like I should wear a one piece swimsuit too.”

Alice crossed her arms, looking thoughtful. “I wonder. Could the initial virus have been created by some clothing corporation?”

Fate rolled her eyes. “Any other physical changes for you, Beam? I mean, given that the males who catch this apparently change sex?”

“Like what, a bigger bust?” Beam mused, smirking. She shook her head. “Not that I’ve noticed. Did you want me to strip down and let you take my measurements, pyon pyon? Hmm?”

Fate pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead. “Oy, I should never have let our relationship get unprofessional.”

“For now, let’s just have you type up a more detailed report for us,” Alice interjected. “Okay Beam? It will be important if I’m going down there to replace you.”

Beam’s smile vanished. “What? Alice, no. It’s not safe for you there.”

Alice brought her hands to her hips. “Why? Were there riots in the streets or something?”

“Well, no. At least, not that I saw,” Beam admitted. “It’s just, the virus. Right? It apparently takes at least a day to incubate, so you can have it, and transmit it, and not know it. And I’ve seen what happens to people who catch it, pyon pyon. They’re socially shunned.”

“I’ll wear a mask,” Alice soothed. “Besides, it won’t be for long, just to get any additional data we need.”

Fate looked to Alice and shook her head. “What? No way. Once you’re down there, the only way you’re coming back is through quarantine. We’ve got to have a closed border policy in place.”

Alice opened her mouth as if to protest, then seemed to think better of it. “Valid. I guess I should be glad we’re not talking Andromeda Strain deadly here.”

Beam looked hopeful. “Then Alice would join me in here after? Ooh, so maybe Fate should go down instead?”

“Fate is still in charge,” Alice objected. “As to the rest, we’ll figure it out before I leave. Your job for now is that detailed report. Understood?”

Beam’s expression became a pout. “Pyon pyon,” she mumbled, her bunny ears visibly drooping.

The second video finished playing, and Para closed the file. She then turned back to Trixie, to see the redheaded witch had taken two steps back, and was now glaring at her.

Para glanced down at herself, smoothed out a wrinkle in her purple dress, and looked back up. Trixie was still glaring. “What?” Para asked.

Trixie pocketed the device she had called ‘Rixi’ and then crossed her arms over her chest. Her posture seemed to convey that the problem was obvious. Except it really wasn’t.

“Trixie, what?” Para reiterated.

Trixie sighed, shook her head, then raised her hand to point. “You’re infected.”

[caption id=“attachment_848” align=“alignright” width=“219”] PARA
Commission by Michelle Simpson[/caption]

Para blinked. Then reached up to the bunny ears on her hairband. “Oh! No, I said these were because I’m a quadratic function.” She smiled in what she hoped was a conciliatory way.

“Uh huh. The last guy I chatted up in a bar said he was allergic to latex,” Trixie shot back, while lowering her arm. “Could be true, sure, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s a red flag to continuing a conversation.”

Para nibbled her lower lip. She’d never been stereotyped on account of that part of her appearance before. “Okay, well… what can I do to convince you? Should I calculate the arc of a thrown object real fast or something?”

“I don’t have anything to throw at you,” Trixie pointed out. Para still couldn’t figure out if the woman was bluffing. “Is this some sort of a test?” Trixie pressed on. “Is that Fate woman watching us now, to see how I react?” She glanced furtively around the room, possibly looking for cameras.

Para slowly shook her head. “Fate went to take a call from Alice. Whereas she brought me to the Station in part for my expertise - more on vectors than on bunny girls, by the way - and in part because I’ve worked on the station before. In case an emergency situation comes up with Beam in quarantine.”

Trixie continued to stare for a long moment before relaxing her stance. “Fine, whatever. I’m staying over here. Further if you cough. Since studies vary in terms of how far away I need to be.”

Para nodded. “Are you at least taking the case? You seem to know a bit about disease transmission.”

Trixie’s expression became hard to read once again. “I know a little about a lot of things,” she said eventually. “And I still have questions.”

“I’ll answer as best as I can?” Para offered. She wondered if she should keep smiling or not.

Trixie mumbled something under her breath. It sounded like ‘bet she won’t answer questions about this place until we talk virus’. Before Para could speak up, Trixie was speaking aloud once again.

“Three obvious problems, Para. First, everyone’s been talking about this thing as a virus. What about this realm-hopping thing being a bacteria? Was that ruled out because bacteria are larger, or what?”

“I don’t know,” Para admitted. “Though I guess something smaller might more easily slip through a dimensional crack.”

“Except a virus can’t exist without a host,” Trixie continued, taking a couple steps sideways to slap at the wall. She then pointed at Para again. “Which is probably a lot LARGER than a bacteria. Can you explain that?”

Para winced. “No? Again, not a biology expert, more in this for the math.”

“Uh huh. Second problem, that holographic lady.” Trixie gestured towards the computers. “I’m thinking she could catch a cold because her programming recognized the virus type, and as such she runs some program to act accordingly. Yet in this case, the virus would be unknown… so how would her software know what program to run? Or did it only change her appearance?”

Para shook her head. Here, at least, she and Fate had discussed the situation a bit. “It’s more than cosmetic. One possibility is that Beam’s program was able to do an analysis of the viral effects at a very high level. Meaning she’s got valuable data we can use somewhere in her subconscious.”

At that, Trixie leaned against the wall with her elbow, resting her hand back against her head. She looked thoughtful. “Really? The technology buff in me kind of wants to talk to this Beam now. Is her fourteen days of quarantine up yet?”

“Not yet, but the talking is easy enough. Oh, there’s also been talk of bringing Alijda back on board to look at Beam’s programming,” Para added. “She’s a woman who was even able to hack into alien technology on my first mission here.”

Trixie stared. “You’re making this sound more and more interesting, and part of me hates you for that. But before I commit, third problem. Did anyone run a check on how you first noticed this virus thing? Alice said something about tripping a scan, but that detail was swept aside.”

Para winced. “We’re back to me not having an answer. Um, good job picking up on that?”

“Thanks, I know,” Trixie said. She glanced around the room. “So when DO we get someone in here who can answer my questions?”

“Now,” came a voice from above.

Trixie’s head tilted up. Para followed Trixie’s gaze, to see Fate was looking down at them from the hatch in the ceiling. The central control room was a couple stories tall, so the only way she could join them would be to shut off the artificial gravity, or–

Fate flipped a switch, and a short ladder swung into view. She hopped onto it as it started to telescope down. Bringing the ponytailed blonde close to the floor, as she was standing on the bottom rung.

Para turned back to Trixie. The techno-witch’s expression had resumed being inscrutable. “How long were you listening in?” Trixie asked, as Fate jumped off the ladder.

“Long enough,” Fate said, brushing off the lapels of her suit jacket, before offering up a smile of her own. “And Para’s right, good job. I can give you access to Ziggy and even Mr Smith, to track down the origin of the initial scan. Or I can look into it, while you talk to Beam about technology and the virus.”

“Sensing a big ‘if’ coming,” Trixie remarked, as Fate paused.

Fate shrugged. “It’s contingent on you agreeing to join our cause and take the case, of course.”

“Which is now a double barrelled statement,” Trixie pointed out.

Fate’s smile faded. “Yup,” was all she said.

Trixie grimaced. She looked back at Para, then the computer banks, then up to the hatch in the ceiling, then Fate again. “Will you guarantee my safety?”

“Wish we could,” Fate answered. “Know that we’ll do our best, and aren’t trying to lie to you. For that matter, maybe you’d prefer to chat to Alijda about not simply programming, but also about how much we suck? That can be arranged too.”

Trixie stared. Finally, she nodded and made her decision.

WITH WHOM WILL TRIXIE TALK NEXT?

OPTIONS:

[crowdsignal poll=10566901]

VOTING CLOSES ON SUNDAY JUNE 21th

EXTRA ASIDE: Only 1 vote by the end of last Sunday, so I kept the voting open an extra couple days (busy time of year at school anyway). Thanks to those who boosted the count. I’ve also started posting to Tuesday Serial, we’ll see if that does anything for us.

SMOKE WITH MIRRORS: PART TWO

Para smiled tentatively at the redheaded woman who had been teleported aboard the Epsilon Station. She had just dropped into a wary crouch. In her defence though, the Station really didn’t have a good way to warn their targets before retrieval.

“I - we - brought you in,” Para explained. “Because you accepted the virus case.”

“The hell I did,” came the woman’s sharp response. She now seemed torn between shouting at Para and looking around the circular control room. “I phoned your number to get more information, only to get a recording saying ‘Thanks for your interest’ or some such. Decided to go to the kitchen to make myself a snack - and now I’m here?”

Para pursed her lips. “Oh.” Apparently there had been a miscommunication. “Well, Trixie - er, should I call you Trixie? Professionally? Or would you prefer–”

“Trixie will do,” the redhead interrupted. She finally settled her gaze fully onto Para as she drew herself up and folded her arms over her chest. “And you would be?”

“Para. I’m a personified parabola.”

An eyebrow went up. “Quadratic equations are blondes with bunny ears?”

Para instinctively reached up to touch the parabolic rabbit ears of her hairband. She had normal ears too, to be sure, but the hairband was almost an extension of herself, the long ears reacting to whether her depression was at a minimum or a maximum. “Yes? Or we can be? I do have a twin-tailed variation.”

That seemed to cause Trixie to reach up and run her fingers quickly back through her own twin-tailed hairstyle. Para idly took note of how Trixie’s red hair was much shorter in comparison to her own, yet it did manage to reach her shoulders, even tied as it was.

“Hmph. Okay, so math can be seductive,” Trixie decided. “Doesn’t explain this abduction.”

Para felt caught off guard. “Seductive?”

A partial smile graced Trixie’s features. She posed with a hand on her hip. “I know math can reel a person in, Para. Practically taught it to myself because high school classes went so slowly. And I know seduction too. Because why have people like you only for your brains? So don’t you try to use my own distraction techniques against me.”

Indeed, with the light dusting of freckles on Trixie’s face, the schoolgirl-style blouse and skirt outfit, and the stance, Para could see how the redhead might be called… well, funny enough the first phrase to come to mind was ‘Sexy Cute’. The same moniker that her first human friend, Alijda, had once used to describe Para herself.

Of course, Trixie was human, whereas Para was a amalgamation of various theoretical concepts, given human form. Still, Para had always suspected that her curves were to make her more appealing to those who didn’t like math… were there humans like Trixie who saw quadratics as appealing already? Is it that she didn’t pick up vibes from them as often?

Still. “Trixie, wouldn’t I look more, um, male? If I was trying to seduce you?”

“Tch. Again, you can’t spirit me away and claim to know my actual name, and then pretend not to know about certain other aspects of my personal life. Honestly, it’s not like you’d be my first choice, Para. But if it’s for a case - or a dreary Friday evening - I’d be game to see what’s under that dress you’re wearing. The math aspect makes me curious.”

Para felt her cheeks getting red. “Oh.”

It occurred to her then that she had never considered any relationship entanglements with humans. But was it possible that others she had encountered might have seen her in a romantic way? Could that be partly why Chartreuse had saved her on their last mission together?

“See? I play the game better. So.” Trixie snapped her fingers in the air. “Abduction, Para. Why?”

Wait, had Trixie been bluffing? Para couldn’t tell. She shook her head. “Sorry. Um, you gave me something to think about there.”

Trixie’s smile became a smirk. “Fantasize about me later.”

“That’s…” Para shook her head, and decided not to bother correcting the woman. “Look, the Epsilon Project didn’t mean to abduct you. Per se. Phoning that number was enough to indicate agreement that you’d take the case. Or that’s what I was told, at any rate. Hence the summons.”

“Told? You’re not in charge?”

“Oh no,” Para said, raising both hands up. “I’m more of a… consultant? Though I suppose I go on missions too. Either way, Fate had something to take care of, so she asked me to fill you in on all the details.”

“Uh huh.” Trixie’s gaze had resumed wandering around the room. “I’d prefer to speak to Fate. Or whomever’s in charge.”

Para nibbled her lower lip. “Could I at least show you the video first? You’ll see her - everyone - on that. It might also answer the questions you had about the mission. And it will mean that I’ve done my job properly.”

“One moment.” Trixie walked over towards the one visible door in the room. She paused, then wrenched it open and looked into the storage closet. Seeing no-one there, she glanced around once more and sighed. “Fine, video. But I reserve the right to be returned home after.”

Para smiled. “Thank you.” She then gestured towards the computer banks on the wall. When Trixie approached, she cued up the file that Fate had left for them.

“For reference, the woman in the T-shirt and jeans you’ll see is Alice,” Para supplied. “The one dressed a bit like you, but with a darker blouse, is Beam. And the one in the business attire - when she arrives - is Fate.”

“Thanks.” Trixie pulled a device out of her blouse pocket. “Rixi, active recording. I assume you have no objection, Para?”

Para shrugged. “No. The others might ask you to erase it later, is all?”

“Well, they can ask,” was Trixie’s final word on the matter as the video started to play.

“I did hear you the first time,” Alice admitted, following the third time Beam cleared her throat. The brunette woman finally turned away from all of the sheets of paper she had stuck up on the wall of the auxiliary control room. “Something wrong?”

“Well, you?” the holographic woman said tentatively. “Between the recent alcohol intake and, er, this…” Beam said, gesturing at the wall Alice had been scrutinizing, “…Fate and I are worried you’re getting too emotionally invested.”

Alice’s lips tightened. She looked back at her wall of sheets, then Beam, then the wall again. “But they’re OUT there,” she declared, pointing. “We know they are.”

[caption id=“attachment_929” align=“alignright” width=“185”] ALICE VUNDERLANDE
Commission by Cherry Zong[/caption]

Off Beam’s silence, she turned back to the blonde. “The organization that provided one world with the means to abduct people like Fate. Who were getting funds from another world, to the point of that Earth thinking they had to shut down dimensional travel to get away. What else is this ‘Clover Enterprises’ involved in? We have to know.”

Beam clasped her hands behind her back. “With all due respect, we don’t. That’s not Epsilon’s job. We’re meant to clean up dimensional irregularities, artifacts that have become accidentally displaced. That’s all.”

“That’s FATE’S job,” Alice argued. “She’s the one in charge of the Station. We were both fired, remember? And later recruited by Fate to look into this very thing?”

Beam winced. “Technically, I resigned. But listen, after a month of us turning up no new leads? Fate’s been looking into returning control of the station to one of us. Remember, this was never meant to be a permanent position for her,” she added, as Alice seemed about to protest. “She has a world she might want to return to, unlike us.”

Alice frowned. “Are you saying I wouldn’t like to return to living with Alijda?” she accused, crossing her arms.

“You know I’m not,” Beam sighed. “Just, your original world became a hell dimension, while mine was all about free love, making my lesbian self an outcast. So neither are an option. You’re welcome to go back living with your friend, while I take over again here. Kinda the very thing I was trying to bring up.”

Alice again turned from Beam to the wall, and then back to Beam. “But we’re close to something! Right? I mean, look here.” She began to gesture and point at the sheets.

“This world has no clovers. While on this world, four leaf clovers are the norm instead of three leaf ones. The dimensions between them when we do a four dimensional projection contain THIS cluster of worlds where magical leprechauns are either a rumour, or fact, even if they don’t call themselves that. Now, if you draw a rainbow from that set over to these dimensions where the ‘Star Trek’ franchise didn’t have its first prequel known as ‘Enterprise’, you can see that a shadowy influence might have caused–”

“Mr Smith?” Beam interrupted.

“Hello, Beam,” came the male voice of the Station’s auxiliary control computer. Its control panels had been previously opened, the artificial intelligence offering assistance to Alice wherever possible during her analyses. Alice paused in her gesturing and turned at the remark.

“Hi,” Beam chirped back, wiggling her fingers in a wave. “Could you show Alice what she looks like lately? That picture I suggested from before?”

“Indeed,” Mr Smith said. An image came up on his main screen.

Alice made a face. “My face on Charlie Kelly, ha ha. Never watched that show, weirdly enough, so I’m not certain what you’re trying to say about me.”

“Oh.” Beam rubbed the back of her neck. “I thought you’d know it. He’s a guy who loses himself in fantasies, as you seem to be doing. Now, don’t get me wrong, your ability to free associate has its merits, just… maybe not here.”

“Then again, maybe Alice IS on to something,” came a new voice. Fate walked into the room then, looking down at a clipboard.

“Ungh. Way to spoil my vibe, girlfriend,” Beam said, hands moving to her hips.

Fate looked up then, seeming momentarily flustered. “Please don’t call me that when we’re on duty, Beam. It’s unprofessional.”

Alice’s eyebrows shot up. “Whoa! I was gonna simply dismiss the remark, given how Beam’s programming still has trouble differentiating girlfriends and girl friends. But now? What DO the two of you get up to when I’m not around?”

Fate’s cheeks got pinker. “Alice, it’s not what you think. I’d had a few drinks and… um, look, let’s just say this job can get stressful, and it’s important to relax.”

Beam smiled, running her tongue over her upper lip. “And women have needs. And I have–”

“OH-kay,” Fate said pointedly, waving her clipboard. “Listen. I came here to say that the scan you recommended? It’s turned up key information. About an airborne virus. Jumping dimensions.”

Alice and Beam immediately stopped looking sidelong at each other, coming to attention.

“A virus can’t do that,” Beam stated. “Not based on everything we know.”

“Not without outside help,” Alice agreed, pounding one fist into her other palm. “Excellent, a clue. Now, what was this scan you ran, Beam?”

Beam blinked. “I didn’t run one. Isn’t Fate referring to something you ran?”

Alice frowned. “I don’t think so? I’ve been running a few things though, so maybe I tripped a scan in the process.”

“Well, someone put it in the system,” Fate stated. “As we wouldn’t normally have picked this up. In particular, the virus causes different reactions on different Earths. But now that we have the data, well, it’s highly suspicious.”

She turned the clipboard around, allowing both Beam and Alice to glance over the printout and her written notes.

“Arranged by most infected,” Alice remarked after a moment. “Could mean one of the three at the top is the virus' origin… do we have ANY vector data?”

Fate shook her head. “Not yet. Ziggy’s still running an analysis. Could take days.”

“Scope as origin is kind of a dangerous assumption,” Beam cautioned. “Still, I can go down to that world at the top of the list, to learn more. With my holographic matrix engaged, I should be protected.”

“Should be?” Alice objected. “Also, your hairband is still a tether, we know you can get hurt that way even while insubstantial. It’s like the a mobile emitter on Star Trek: Voyager.”

Beam shrugged. “I’ll be careful. Besides, this says all the virus does is turn people into bunny girls. That’s not so bad, it’s even kinda sexy.”

“On the more standard Earth it’s doing that,” Fate pointed out. “Which, I add, is preliminary data, and it has the potential to become bad. Once all the males have become female bunnies.”

“Meanwhile, on that fantasy world, it seems to be activating more latent magical abilities,” Alice mused, peering closer at Fate’s clipboard. “And on the tech world it’s causing teleporter malfunctions. This is WEIRD. Are we even sure it’s the same thing?”

“According to our data, yes,” Fate confirmed. “Only slightly mutated. Giving us insight that those worlds don’t have.”

Alice frowned. “I’d say we should just teleport someone here, but I’m not sure how far I trust the bio filters on this station.”

“Who? No one on those worlds popped up in the recruitment folders, that I know of,” Beam pointed out. “We can’t risk revealing ourselves. It’s fine. I’ll go. What’s the worst that could happen?”

WHAT HAPPENS TO BEAM?

OPTIONS:

[crowdsignal poll=10559999]

VOTING CLOSES ON SUNDAY JUNE 7th

CHANCED ERASURES: PART FOURTEEN

Fortunately, Alice didn’t have to do anything.

As the unconscious guy behind the desk let out a groan, everyone looked in that direction. That’s when Alice felt Sue grasping for the invulnerability badge she had on. She felt Sue, rather than saw her, because Sue had used her invisibility power again.

Alice let Sue take it. Moments later, Sue was standing right next to Mary-Lynn, and kicking the gun out of her hand. The cat woman snarled in response, rounding on Sue with a punch - that bounced off the invulnerability field, causing Mary-Lynn to let out a mewl of pain. Would that end up draining it for good? Well, Alice now noticed that Marlin had a hand on his wand, so could probably help out if necessary.

There was no need. In a clever move, Sue managed to twist Mary-Lynn’s arm back behind her, putting the cat woman into a hold. Fortunately, that only took one hand, leaving her other hand free to grab the tail, right before she said, “Tell us how to fix this.”

“Ow! Ow, ow! I already said there’s nothing you can do. Let go of my tail, that hurts!” Mary-Lynn hissed.

“Shay could probably help,” Usa suggested. “He’s the sort of person to have had an emergency override installed.”

“Except he’s unconscious, like Chartreuse here,” Para remarked, where she was softly stroking Chartreuse’s hair.

“Oh, my gun was set on sensory stun,” Usa said, holding it up. “Shay’s merely frozen, he’s still able to hear everything that’s going on. It’ll wear off in less than five minutes. All we need to do is use that time to somehow convince him that Mary-Lynn here is the real enemy.”

“You think we can?” Sam asked. “Shay wouldn’t listen to reason earlier.”

“Wait, um, is Chartreuse also aware of what I’m doing?” Para said, pulling her hand back. Usa simply smiled at her.

Alice turned her attention back to the dimensional device. “So, I can’t be sure, but I don’t think we’ve got much more than five minutes anyway.” Another plush cat hit her on the head. “Also, I feel like that rift is getting more aggressive, maybe due to the proximity of this thing.” In her part of the room, the small toys were stacked above her ankles.

“So how do we get Mary-Lynn to confess… wait,” Sue said. “The Hypno drug used for interrogations, is there more of it around here? We saw some in the infirmary.”

Before Usa could answer, Sam was stepping forwards. “I have some, I grabbed a vial, remember?” he said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his handkerchief. “Would someone like to do the honours?”

Sue flashed her friend a smile. “Usa, you know how to administer that stuff, right?”

“Th-That drug won’t work. Cat genetics make me immune. Go fly a kite,” Mary-Lynn yelped.

“It’s worth a try,” Usa decided. She took the vial from Sam and advanced on Mary-Lynn.

“No, this is illegal on so many levels. If you do that, you’ll never work for the Council again. Let go of my damn taaaail!” Mary-Lynn mewled, struggling against Sue. But either Sue’s grip, or the invulnerability field, or both, kept the cat woman in place.

“If you’re one of the leaders, I don’t think I want to be working for you anyway,” Usa concluded. “Thanks for your help with restraint, Sue Morts.” She administered the drug.

Alice took the opportunity to get closer to Para. “Do you know how good the shielding down here is?” she murmured, crouching. “Because you might be out of here either way.”

After all, the Epsilon station had temporal circuits. If the dimensions were to close off, Fate could, in theory, bounce back to just before that moment and initiate a retrieval. Alice kind of hated to piggyback out that way, but there was only so much they could do to influence things before they became part of the problem. Right?

Para could only shake her head and shrug back though. So Alice resigned herself to standing back up and watching as Usa stepped back from Mary-Lynn, staring her in the eyes. Hopefully there was still more they could learn.

“Your name, for the record,” Usa stated.

“Mary-Lynn Emrys, and for the record, go take a flying leap,” the cat woman snarled.

“Who sent you to this reality?” Usa continued.

“I was born here, nitwit,” Mary-Lynn said. “You know, you’re not going to trip me up this way. You don’t know the right questions. Give up now, let the device finish, the dimensions will close, and we will be safe.”

“Safe from what, from whom?” Usa pressed.

“Anything or anyone out there who’s a threat,” Mary-Lynn answered.

“But especially from the Clover group,” Alice decided to suggest. “What is it they’re calling themselves?”

“Clover Enterprises, duh,” Mary-Lynn said. There was a brief silence. Then, “Aw, hell.”

Alice smiled quietly. At last, after all this, a solid lead.

“Is that something related to this school’s Clover Club?” Sue asked.

“No, idiot, the similar name just makes for a good smoke screen,” Mary-Lynn said. “I’m not saying anything more.”

Usa had glanced over towards Alice; now she turned back to the cat woman. “I think you will say more. Because you’ve had dealings with Clover Enterprises. Right?”

“I have not, not personally.”

“But for some reason, they’re after us,” Usa insisted.

“Sure, in a sense.”

“Can you explain why in five words or less?”

“We owe them money.”

“Why’s that?” Usa challenged.

Mary-Lynn attempted to shrug. “How the hell would I know? Do I look like the top brass?”

“If it’s only a money issue, why not pay off this Clover Enterprises?” Sam spoke up, from where he’d returned to check on Thred’s unconscious body. “Is it too expensive?”

“Not really, it’s more that the CEOs want their pay raises,” Mary-Lynn stated.

Sue leaned in closer to Mary-Lynn’s ear. “Wait. Wait, let me see if I’ve got this straight,” she said. “The Council has had extra-dimensional dealings with Clover Enterprises. Some pretty long-standing dealings, as you’ve had years to use school Clover Clubs as a smokescreen. And now, instead of paying a debt, our Council is funding a dimensional closure device, which will isolate our world and hurt our economy. All this, merely so CEOs can keep their pay raises? And you’re okay with this?”

“I might be getting a cut,” Mary-Lynn said sullenly. “Besides, no worries, there’s this trickle-down effect for the cash, whereby–”

“Oh, shut it,” Usa snapped. “I cannot believe that our organization has become so corrupt.”

“But this doesn’t make sense,” Sam protested. “Why take the drastic step of shutting down all dimensions, rather than just the one where this Clover Enterprises exists?”

“Because we can,” Mary-Lynn snarked.

Sue looked towards Alice. “You mentioned the group in the first place, do you know?”

“Well, there’s a shadowy Clover group that’s been behind at least one other dimensional incursion,” Alice admitted, exchanging a glance with Para. “Meaning I doubt your Council knows which other dimensions do or don’t have ties, hence the decision to go totally dark.”

“Actually, here’s a thought,” Para piped up. “Could this Clover Enterprises have been involved in the magic wars on this very site? Maybe the company even suggested to ‘Fenduro’ that a school be put here, along with that puzzle to solve for access to the base. Could things go that deep?”

Usa frowned, and looked back at Mary-Lynn. “Well, could they?”

“I can’t say ‘no’,” Mary-Lynn said, mouth twitching. “Which actually bothers me, why am I getting creeped out?”

“Attack of conscience?” Sam suggested.

“Hi, so, the dimensions are about to get shut down,” Marlin said, speaking up again. He’d spent the last few minutes alternately looking inside the device, glancing up at the rift, and eyeing the dimensional control item that Sue had clipped to her belt.

It occurred to Alice then that Marlin could probably have rushed Sue and grabbed it by now, if he’d wanted to. It was nice that he wasn’t interrupting the interrogation with magic either. Then again, maybe the issue was Marlin had no clear idea what was going on.

That’s when Shay mumbled something.

Sam moved closer to him. “What was that?”

Usa placed her hands on her hips. “Given what we just learned, along with Shay’s brother being off-world, hopefully it was an override code.”

Sam leaned in closer. “He said… ‘Video Err’.”

“Another anagram,” Marlin muttered. “Not helpful in actually giving us an override.”

Alice snapped her fingers. “Except where it just might be.” She peered at the inside of the device again. “Heck yeah, just need to uncouple the video. Fun failsafe. Seems you can’t shut down what you can’t see. Jolly good.”

The rectangular box showing the pulses went dark. At which point the dimensional rift opened wider, and even more cat plush started pouring out.

“Aaaand pretty sure that’s coincidence,” Alice remarked.

“Okay, so, any way we can still shut THAT dimensional connection down?” Sue asked.

Mary-Lynn rolled her eyes. “You people. A regular dimensional device can patch that, at least temporarily. Release me, and I’ll show you how.”

Sam blinked over at the cat woman. “Huh. While I realize that has to be the truth, why are you offering up the information…?”

“Leniency? Also, I’m starting to question my own place in reality, given how I seriously didn’t think there was a way for you to screw with our plans. But here we are. Will you let go of my tail already?!”

“Fine. Help,” Sue said, finally releasing Mary-Lynn, “And if it’s any consolation, I don’t see any reason that the results of this interrogation should get out.”

“Otherwise the CEOs will see you coming for their blood money?” Para wondered.

“That, and the fact that we’d prefer to deal with this little problem in-house,” Usa remarked. She looked at Sam. “So this better not end up in your newsletter.”

“Don’t look at me,” Sam said, raising his hands. “I’m not sure anyone would believe me. Also, I’d prefer to stick around at least until that device is disassembled. It’ll help me sleep nights.”

“S’fine,” came Shay’s slurred voice from the floor. “Saw rye for every ting. ‘N yer in, Sham.”

Sam blinked down at Shay. “In? You mean, you won’t wipe my memory? That’d be nice, because I actually have some suggestions. Chief among them, writing instruction manuals.”

“You see?” Sue said brightly, looking over at her friend. “This has all turned out for the best.”

“Spike for yersluf,” mumbled Sir Thred, still face down on the floor.

“Great, keen, lovely, can I please get out of here before we all drown in plush cats?” Marlin pleaded. “I’ve been nothing but helpful, seriously.”

Alice flashed him a smile. “In fact, it’s high time Para, Chartreuse and I were clicking our heels together three times. We can bring Marlin along, if that’s okay.”

“Maybe you could even make it such that we were never here?” Para suggested. “I suspect the school records will automatically wipe anyway.”

Usa nodded. “This is plausible. Paperwork can get misfiled, and we’re rather busy right now dealing with this plush cat infestation.” She gestured at where Mary-Lynn was reconfiguring Sue’s gadget. “So if you have your own means of departure…”

“Say no more, say no more, say no more, squire,” Alice burbled, grasping Marlin by the sleeve and pulling him towards what she hoped was the nearest exit. Marlin didn’t resist. Para lifted Chartreuse, who now seemed to be slowly regaining the use of her limbs, and followed after. Once they reached the music room, they were able to contact the Epsilon station almost immediately.

“And you never looked back?” Fate asked, scribbling on her pad.

“Nope, we’d already overstayed our welcome,” Alice reported. She clasped her hands behind her back, wondering if they’d be able to sit down any time soon.

“Also I wasn’t, you know, able to turn my head at that point,” Chartreuse added.

“Right.” Fate made another notation, then looked up. “Well, that takes care of the report then. Good work out there.”

“I’m just soooo glad you’re all back safely,” Beam said, bouncing into the room after having gone to return Marlin to his proper world. “The fact that you got Clover information is a bonus. Ooooh, I want to kiss you all!”

“Down, girl,” Fate said, shaking her head. “Lesbian hijinks later, for now, we should get Chartreuse and Para back home too.”

“Then you’ll be continuing your Clover investigation alone?” Para mused.

Alice nodded. “For now. I mean, on the one hand, the fact that Clover Enterprises never showed up on our radar at all is significant. On the other hand, we still don’t have a specific way of finding them. But that’s for us to mess with, you all have your own dimensions to handle. Don’t worry, we’ll let you know if we need your help again.”

“Don’t forget, there’s still regular dimensional issues to monitor as well,” Fate reminded them.

“Well I’m always willing to, you know, do what I can for friends,” Chartreuse said, smiling. She looked at Para. “Speaking of that, it was nice to meet you. Thanks for, like, all the help.”

Para found herself smiling back. “Thanks for accepting me on your team, and taking that hit for me at the end.”

Chartreuse dropped a quick curtsey. “I do what I can.”

“Group hug with everyone before you go!” Beam squealed, throwing her arms open wide. “Please?”

Alice rolled her eyes, but followed the other women into the embrace. Personally, she hoped that the next stage of their investigation would involve bringing in Alijda, their super hacker. Or at least, she hoped to connect up with her roommate again soon. Might she even get a few days of relatively normal every day life then? Only time would tell.

END OF STORY 5: CHANCED ERASURES

Preferred POV character from Story5? OPTIONS:

[polldaddy poll=10212250]

VOTING WILL LIKELY REMAIN OPEN AGAIN

THE ORACLE PROPHESIED: Usa’s vote from a couple parts back had a secondary consequence about Sam’s Hypno drug. I didn’t want to bring up then, lest readers had forgotten about it. If Usa had helped them find Shay, they’d have used the drug on him, to learn more on using the device (recall they could have found files for what Mary-Lynn had said here). If Usa knew how the device worked, the drug for sure would have been used on Mary-Lynn, similar to what we saw. Since they improvised using the device, I was still improvising on who would get the drug… and it turned out to be the cat woman.

EXTRA ASIDE: As a coins follow-up, in the first couple days of 2019, I got one of the new 2018 $10 bills with Viola Desmond on it, so that was kind of cool. Going forwards, I plan to edit the old Melissa Virga archive - any preference between longer parts every two weeks, or shorter parts weekly? Looking back, would people prefer if I stopped changing the point of view each part? Let me know. There’s a final Behind the Scenes here, looking at anagrams and stats. Thanks for reading!

CHANCED ERASURES: PART THIRTEEN

“It’s like a handheld Mattel electronic football game,” Alice chirped. “If it was the size of a large Christmas tree.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Usa muttered, as she went to inspect the device. “As far as I knew though, this invention was supposed to allow for mass transport of items between dimensions. Not shut down travel. Can you prove otherwise?”

“We… don’t actually know how it works,” Sam admitted. “I was kind of hoping it would be better labelled. Or that you would have more information.”

Usa shook her head. “Maybe someone’s been playing you. Feeding you misinformation.”

“Maybe someone’s been playing all of us,” Thred suggested. He glanced at Alice.

“Maybe someone got getting tired of playing rugby and invented this,” Alice quipped. “Want a quarter back?”

“Usa, hold on. You mentioned this place had increasingly crazy security,” Sue reminded. “This can’t be a simple case of misinformation. I mean, you must have had some suspicions of Shay and the Council before this, otherwise why give us this chance at all.”

Usa crossed her arms. “Even so, I still have a duty here. I need proof positive.”

“You know, there’s still that rift,” Marlin spoke up. “Could we maybe deal with that first?”

[caption id=“attachment_848” align=“alignright” width=“219”] PARA
Commission by Michelle Simpson[/caption]

Para got the distinct impression that Marlin was hoping to use ‘dealing with that’ as a chance to escape Usa, but he did have a point. She moved closer to Chartreuse. “I don’t suppose you’re able to get any useful impressions?” Para murmured. In response, Chartreuse nibbled her lower lip.

“How about this. If we activate the shutdown device for a short burst,” Sam suggested, “it could fix the rift as well as prove our point. Just bring one of the dimensional devices along and try to use it. If it doesn’t work, this device isn’t for mass transport.”

“Except what if, once we throw the switch, it never turns off again,” Sue cautioned.

“Okay,” Chartreuse said, stepping forwards. “Gonna, like, try something here now. Give me a moment?”

She took off the jade ring she’d been wearing to help acclimate her powers gradually to their surroundings, and reached out to give it to Para. Para took it, then watched as her mission commander moved to one of the unconscious scientists on the floor. Chartreuse passed a crystal around his head, and finally reached out to touch his forehead.

“Your mind to my mind,” Alice murmured. “Your thoughts to my thoughts.”

Usa took a step forwards. “What is she–”

“Chartreuse is learning about the device,” Para said, holding up her hand to prevent Usa’s advance. She was pretty sure it wasn’t through whatever means Alice had implied, but still.

“Or, you know, she’s flailing blindly in the dark,” Chartreuse admitted. She stood and moved on to another scientist. “I don’t control my impressions, but am kinda hoping one of them is thinking about using that thing, or would, like, have ended up using it in a possible future that I can then, you know, divert.”

“Look. There’s six buttons and a switch,” Marlin protested. “How hard can this be? We do this by trial and error.”

The young wizard reached out for the device, only to have Thred grab his arm. “You want to hit the button labelled ‘CANS’ or the one labelled ‘POTS’?” Thred said. “Because I feel like we need neither of those things in our dimension right now.”

“We’re not in a hurry,” Sam said. “Let’s let Chartreuse try again.”

“I kind of thought that guy running off for reinforcements was an issue,” Marlin groused. But other than shaking free of Thred, he made no further objection.

The third scientist Chartreuse touched made her sit up straighter and stare off into the distance. Then she turned towards Sue and Sam. “Okay, so, the TARTS/POTS button will, like, switch that thing on and off. Meaning we can turn it off, if things go badly. That’s, you know, about the best I can do.”

Sue searched Chartreuse’s expression, then nodded. “All right, so we activate it then,” she relented, looking towards Usa for confirmation. “And see what it does to the dimensions. After all, what have you got to lose?”

“My job?” Usa said dryly. She followed it up with a sigh and another shake of her head. “But, I haven’t been thrilled with what I’ve had to do lately. Hurry up, get me your proof.”

The device was large enough that both Thred and Sam were needed to carry it. Sue was the one who grabbed a couple of the portable dimensional devices from the back, Usa not wanting to let Marlin, Alice, Chartreuse or Para near them. Para could understand that.

They all headed back out to the entrance room, which by now had plush kittens littering floor everywhere. Para helped to clear a space on the ground underneath the rift, so that the device could be set down. Everyone stood back, leaving Sam standing next to it.

“Okay,” Sam said, taking a breath. “So we turn it on.” Sam hit the TARTS/POTS button. There was a pause. Another plush kitten fell to the floor. “…and nothing happens.” He crouched down for a closer look.

“Actually, a light came on,” Alice corrected. “I suspect that now, someone will need to dial in a dimension that matches the rift, so we can shut it down.”

“Dial? I thought when this thing was on, it would turn everything else off,” Thred grumbled.

“Then why have the buttons for CANS and NO ANTIDOTE?” Marlin sniped back.

Chartreuse toyed with her crystal. “Is anyone else worried about, like, poking around randomly with that thing?”

As she spoke, another plush kitten fell out of the rift. It bounced off Sam’s head, and knocked against the CANS button. More of the machine lit up, and pulses started to scroll across the rectangular box with the vertical lines.

“Oooh, he’s at the twenty, the ten, touchdown,” Alice murmured.

“Reminds me of a heart monitor,” Para observed. “Perhaps it’s doing a scan?”

“A cans scan… of COURSE!” Usa snapped her fingers. “That’s it. It makes sense now. Those plans I saw, they were encoded this way.”

“Plans?” Sam mused.

“Another part of why I was inclined to believe you,” Usa admitted. “The Council’s plans for this thing, they were written in a way I didn’t understand, and they wouldn’t explain it. But I see now it’s anagrams. Cans for scan. The same way in our school the ‘secret’ door can be read as ‘erects’, if you use the letters as ordered by room.”

“Ahh, anagrams. It’s how ‘Search and Rescue’ can become a phrase like ‘Chanced Erasures’,” Alice quipped. “Makes sense.”

“Fine, it’s a scan. What’s it scanning for?” Thred wondered.

“More to the point, I now know what ‘no antidote’ means,” Marlin said, frowning. “It’s not good.”

“Speaking of not good - security’s been activated for this room,” Sue shouted, pointing over at the nearby vent. “Hear that hissing? It’s knockout gas.”

“Dammit,” Usa muttered. She ran over to the main desk, and the console there. “Fortunately I have the codes to turn that off. Oh, hello Polsit,” she remarked, seeing the unconscious man there. She quickly typed in her codes.

Chartreuse looked over at Sue. “How much time do you think we have before Shay storms in here with more troops?” she wondered.

“Not long,” Sue admitted. “Surely there’s some way to get the proof we need without hitting random buttons. Usa, you said you saw plans?”

“Yes, but I didn’t take pictures.” Usa straightened. “I think we’d better head back to the interrogation room. Unless one of you has more dimensional knowledge than Shay.”

Para cleared her throat. “Ah, hello? It occurs to me that Alice probably has some experience.” After all, Alice’s time spent manning the Epsilon Station, coupled with her eidetic memory, had to count for something.

Everyone turned to look at Alice, who fired off a huge Cheshire-Cat smile. “Possible. I figured I wasn’t high on the trust list, after failing to convince Shay of anything. But hey, if you’re willing to give me a chance…”

“That’s not a good idea,” Thred protested.

“But we don’t have much of a choice at this point,” Sam yielded. “Okay Alice, let us know what you can come up with. Knowing that if you betray our trust, there will be consequences.”

Alice cracked her knuckles. “Of course! Now pop the back off of that thing and give me five minutes.”

Usa pulled a gun out of the main desk. “This only stuns,” she remarked. “But as Sam said, don’t try anything funny.” She trained it on Alice as Sam and Thred managed to unscrew the back, revealing all the electronics.

“Oooh, pretty,” Alice muttered. She both peered and felt around inside for a bit. Para spent the time looking at the reactions of everyone there. Only Usa didn’t seem tense, probably due to her security training. As they waiting, more plushies rained down from the rift near the ceiling.

“Okay,” Alice said at last, dusting off her hands. “So, pretty sure the scanner is, as we speak, locking in dimensional addresses - every ten yards. The ‘no antidote’ button will be the detonation, removing their link to this place. Interestingly, doesn’t matter how many addresses you lock in, so if we had more of a clue, we could seal only the rift while draining the device.”

“As interesting as that is, can you point to the bits that would be proof for Usa?” Sam wondered.

“Wait, back up to that detonation thing,” Marlin said, eyes widening. “Could this device torpedo other dimensions?”

Alice scratched her head, looking to Marlin first. “I doubt it? I’m good, but I’m not Mr. Wizard good. I’d need more time to - duck!”

Para spun to see where Alice was looking. In the entranceway stood Shay, and some woman who seemed to be part cat. They were pointing guns of the same type that Usa was holding. One was aimed at Sam, who was closest to the device, the other was aimed at… her. Para felt her bunny ears quiver.

Even as Para processed that her being a target was likely only because she was the one standing closest to the two arrivals, she was tackled to the floor. Somewhere, someone called out, “Sam!”. With that, there was the sound of three guns going off.

Para rolled to the side to take in the scene. Apparently Thred had jumped in front of Sam, and he now lay sprawled out on the ground. Shay, over by the entrance, was also unconscious, with the cat woman and Usa now pointing their guns at each other in a stand-off. And the one who had tackled Para… had been Chartreuse. She was also unconscious.

Para honestly wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that. Wasn’t it the role of subordinates to protect their leaders, not the other way around? Yet Chartreuse had taken the hit for her. As such, Para resolved to make sure Chartreuse was kept safe. She reached out to brush her fingers against Chartreuse’s hair, only to pause as someone spoke.

“Mary-Lynn Emrys,” Usa said dryly. “So you’re the reason for heightened security here.”

“Usa Staling,” Mary-Lynn said evenly. “Have you become a traitor to the Council?”

“I’ve learned that there’s something shady going on,” Usa fired back. “Let’s lower our weapons and figure things out.”

The cat woman seemed to think about it. “I think not,” she said at last. Then she adjusted her aim, and shot at the dimensional shutdown device. Sparks flew from the ‘on/off’ switch. The stun field had to be electronic in nature. What had Mary-Lynn done?

“Okay,” Alice said, side-stepping towards Sue. “Unless I miss my guess, we can’t shut that down any more, and once the current scanning completes, it’s going to unlink completely from everything that got scanned. I can only assume that’s what you were hoping to do.”

Mary-Lynn smiled. “Yup. Stun me all you like now, there’s nothing you can do to stop the plan from succeeding.”

Well, that couldn’t be good. Para scanned over everyone present for their reactions one more time. She couldn’t be sure, but three people seemed like they were about to try something.

Marlin, surprisingly enough, had his hand twitching towards his wand. A final escape attempt? Or was there something magical he could do to repair the device? More interestingly, if a dimensional traveller were the key person behind foiling the plan, what would that say to someone like Shay?

Sam also seemed tense, as if he was about to make a jump… somewhere. To grab Usa’s gun? For Alice’s invulnerability item? Para wasn’t sure what he hoped to accomplish, but a success might cement his involvement with the group of dimensional investigators. Just as a failure could ruin his chances forever.

Then there was Sue, who seemed a bit translucent - as she had her invisibility power on her side. Could she use that to convince Mary-Lynn to fix things? On the plus side, it would mean that someone who had been involved with Council affairs would be cleaning up their own mess. But then, maybe that would simply perpetuate a system that needed to change.

As Para finally completed her movement to softly touch Chartreuse on the head, she wondered what was going to happen.

WHAT’S NEXT?

OPTIONS:

[polldaddy poll=10201648]

VOTING CLOSES 7am EST MONDAY JAN 7th

EXTRA ASIDE: A few things! First of all, yes, I’ve been playing with anagrams this whole story as far as names are concerned, Alice kind of lampshading the title itself. (See also, this entry title.) Only two names haven’t involved anagrams, did you catch them? Secondly, when this “Epsilon” ends, I will likely return to the follow-up Melissa Virga story from my archives, unless anyone has another preference (recall the options were in this post). Comments are open. Finally, a Happy New Year to you - here’s the results of the 2018 coins I received over the past 363 days. Namely 3 toonies, 9 loonies, 5 dimes, and 2 each of quarters and nickels, for a total of 21 - no differing designs. You may recall 2017 had 20 coins while 2016 had 37 coins and 2015 had 42 coins. I have no theories, merely the data. Wondering why this is a thing? Consider reading my Time & Tied story. That’s everything, hope you stay tuned for the conclusion of “Chanced Erasures”.

CHANCED ERASURES: PART TWELVE

“I’m not sure Alice should deliver a speech, to Shay or anyone else,” Thred remarked, adjusting the cowl of his borrowed robes. “She’s an invader from another dimension. Mentioned Para by name too.”

“Seriously?” Sue gasped. She turned towards Chartreuse, her eyes narrowing. “Ohhh. This is all making sense now. Alice is with you and Para, huh? That’s why you’re here. To get her.”

[caption id=“attachment_1093” align=“alignright” width=“222”] CHARTREUSE VERMILION
Commission by Ruuari[/caption]

Chartreuse rubbed the back of her neck. So much for maintaining their cover. “Is it, like, too late to pretend to be from some rival school?”

Alice sighed. “Okay, let’s not exaggerate. Look at me. Not invading. If I were, I’d have at least brought a change of clothes.”

“Yeah, seriously, I don’t even want to come back to this dimension,” Marlin broke in.

“Well, regardless of their origins, someone needs to motivate Shay into switching sides,” Sam decided. “Because our Council seems to want to mess with travel between the dimensions. So, decide fast about whether that’s Alice or not, I don’t think we’ve much time before that group leave the lab and jail all of us.”

“I swear, I’ve got a plan,” Alice said. “If you trust me. Also, if you let me work with Marlin for a moment, because it looks like he has his wand back.”

“We have no reason to trust you,” Thred protested.

“Even so, we should let her do it,” Sue said. Off the stares she got from everyone else, she shrugged. “Look. If these people are here to do us harm, there were easier ways to go about it. They seem to want to close that rift, and I’m guessing they don’t want the dimensions to be shut down any more than we do.”

“Then you believe Alice, over your Council, as to what’s going on?” Para mused.

Sue paused, then nodded. “Things have felt off tonight. I’m prepared to give the benefit of the doubt. In the worst case, I’ll claim Chartreuse here had brainwashing crystals and I wasn’t in control of myself.”

Chartreuse flinched. “Are crystals like that a, you know, real thing?”

“Who knows,” Sue said. “In fact, quick word with you,” she added, moving a couple of paces away and motioning for Chartreuse to follow.

“Sweet. With Marlin’s help I’ll need less than a minute,” Alice said, as Chartreuse moved off. Thred muttered something under his breath as Sam reached out to console his friend, Para keeping an eye on the situation. Chartreuse turned to Sue.

“Okay, so, sorry for, like, not being totally honest,” Chartreuse began.

Sue waved her off. “As if you could be. In fact, I wanted to personally say I’m sorry for getting all up in your face. I realize now that you had no way of knowing this, not being from here, but Sam’s newsletter is in danger of being shut down.”

Chartreuse stared. “It is? Does he, like, know?”

“Doubt it. I only know because, as I said, my dad’s a janitor. They hear things. I was going to tell Sam after all this.” Sue glanced back towards her friend. “See, I figured, giving him an in to this group would provide a new direction for his life. Or maybe he’d find a way for his publication go out in a blaze of glory. Either way, it was something.”

“That’s nice of you,” Chartreuse said, offering a tentative smile.

Sue turned back to her. “Thanks. I guess in some sense, we’ve all been looking out for our own interests tonight. Time to pull together now, what do you say?”

Chartreuse bobbed her head. “I’m so totally good for that.”

Sue gave her a slight smile, then looked down at Chartreuse’s legs. “Neon red stockings,” she muttered. “I should’ve figured only a dimension hopper could wear such cute accessories and manage to get away with it.”

“You like?” Chartreuse asked, extending her leg.

Sue jerked her gaze back up, eyes widening, possibly unaware she’d spoken loudly enough to be heard. Before she could say anything though, Alice stepped up next to them, fiddling with some device on her shirt.

“Sue, Sam says you can make invisibility,” Alice remarked. “Want to stealth me in there? Or should I just jump in the door and say ‘Heeere’s Johnny’?”

Sue jumped on the change in subject. “I can’t help, my power doesn’t work very well when I’m both extending my personal field, and moving.”

“Want me to, like, act as a distraction first then?” Chartreuse asked. “They might not shoot me on sight, having never, you know, seen me before.”

“Too risky,” Alice mused. “But, okay, derivative idea, let’s have you put on that cloak-” she motioned to Thred “-and take me in. If I look subdued, Shay may want answers first, unconsciousness later.”

“Hold on. Why should we trust that you and your friend won’t grab a dimension device and run off?” Thred countered, having approached with the others.

“Because Para’s staying with you, and Chartreuse can pick up impressions of people, which might come in handy,” Alice countered easily.

“It’s fine, Thred, I can invisibly tag along, if I’m not extending the field,” Sue added. “I’ll make sure they’re keeping up their end of the bargain.”

Thred glanced to Sam, who simply nodded, and with a roll of his eyes up to the ceiling, he began to remove his robe.

“Remember that magic charge will only work once,” Marlin remarked. Alice simply gave him a thumbs up.

Soon after, Chartreuse headed for the lab door, with the Council robe obscuring both her face and build. Still, she felt her heart beating a bit faster. Alice kept her hands behind her back, as if she was being restrained.

“Hey! Look who I, like, found,” Chartreuse announced as she walked in. Inwardly, she winced; she’d hoped to keep her remarks brief enough to not have valley girl speech creep in.

Fortunately, Shay was too interested in Alice to remark on Chartreuse’s dialect. His eyes widened from where he was addressing the small group of scientists. “You? Again?!” he sputtered.

“Here’s the thing though,” Alice said, smiling. “Me and Marlin just want out, while you’ve got a dimensional rift creating cats or something in your reception room. So, how about we work together on a solution? In the end, I’m out of your hair, and people like your brother don’t get stuck off world.”

Shay pointed at her, and began striding across the room. “You are not going home.”

Alice gave up on the pretence of her arms being restrained. “Why not?”

Shay glared. “I’ve read the Council texts, I know how that played out in the past.”

“Enlighten me then,” Alice said, standing her ground. She gestured at one of the scientists. “Not to mention some of your friends here, who are looking confused. What happened in the past?”

“As if you don’t know. People stumbling in here from other dimensions, who either wanted to stay, or return to bring their friends,” Shay said. “Such immigration would be the ruin of our society. Dimensional people coming and stealing our jobs… people on technologically inferior planes have to stay in their own lane. You’re not bringing anyone else over, not on my watch!”

“Oh-kay,” Alice said slowly. Chartreuse saw the brunette woman’s eyebrow twitch. “And you figure shutting down travel helps things… how? Because my being stuck here seems like the last thing you’d want.”

“You’ll have company,” Shay growled. “All our ancestors had wanted to do was erase the memory of dimensional travellers before sending them back, but the big magic war had made mind manipulation illegal. We couldn’t send your type back. We couldn’t keep you either. We’ve had to store your kind, and we’re almost out of space.”

Chartreuse hadn’t expected the truth of the situation to be more chilling than her earlier thought of erasing memories, but there it was. Where were they storing dimensional travellers? Hopefully not the morgue.

“Right,” Alice said. “Three points then. You’re worried about jobs? If you shut down travel, lots of people connected to dimensional research will lose their jobs. Like these scientists here, for instance.”

“Ooh, she’s got a point there,” one of the researchers in the room mumbled to his friend.

“Also,” Alice continued, “if someone’s trying to escape a hell dimension, you really don’t think anyone in your society would be willing to show them some compassion for a change? That strikes me as unnecessarily cruel. Maybe adoption is even happening off the books, ever heard of witness protection, or non disclosure agreements?”

“They do have those agreements,” Chartreuse put in, remembering what Sue had said earlier.

Alice nodded. “Bringing me to my final point, why are you so sure everyone on Council’s been storing dimension people on slabs? I bet there’s more mind erasures going on than you’re being told about. I’ve seen the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Workforce”. I know how memory tampering can create cheap manual labour.”

Shay had stopped a couple of paces away from Alice, fuming at her. He now frowned, seemingly pondering the arguments she was making. Without touching him, Chartreuse had no chance of picking up an impression, so all she could do was hope that he’d see the light.

“No,” Shay said at last. “I resist your temptations. How could a dimensional visitor ever understand our situation? Go to sleep.”

He snapped his hands up, and a series of sparkles erupted from his palms. Chartreuse partly turned away from the glare.

“Lyrical reflection,” Alice said simply, pointing back at him.

With that, the sparkles bounced back towards Shay. And then they bounced off of him, and started to careen around the room.

“Look out,” came Sue’s voice from out of nowhere. The next thing Chartreuse knew, she was being pulled down onto the floor.

“He’s getting away,” Alice called out. There was the sound of running footsteps.

It took a moment, but once she got her bearings, Chartreuse was able to piece events together. Shay’s ‘sleep sparkles’ had somehow targeted everyone else around them. Only she and Sue were unaffected, from lying down on the floor. Alice was also unaffected, and had run to the door, through which Shay had presumably escaped.

All the other occupants of the room were unconscious.

“Agh, I’d better not chase him,” Alice muttered. “Marlin only juiced up this personal shield for a duration of a few seconds.” She adjusted the device on her shirt.

“Okay, well, at least you got him out of the room,” Sam remarked, as he walked in. He pointed to the technology at the back. “We can take the dimensional devices now. They’ll have to let us go, because they need them to shut off the rift.”

“There’s also that thing,” Sue remarked. As she stood back up, she flashed Chartreuse a quick smile, which was returned. “Under the sheet there. A took a quick peek while Alice was talking, I think it’s relevant to all this.”

“The device for shutting down dimensional travel?” Para deduced, the rest of the group having filed into the room after Sam.

“Going with a strong maybe,” Sue affirmed. She glanced at the sleeping scientists. “Pity there’s no one we can ask to be sure.”

“We also won’t be able to ask them how any of this stuff works,” Marlin groaned. “Please don’t tell me we’re screwed.”

“What do you think?” said a voice that Chartreuse recognized, but couldn’t immediately place.

Getting back onto her own feet, Chartreuse looked again towards the door. A woman in uniform stood there. Of course, that was Usa Staling, the head of security, who had interrogated Alice in the holo-recording, and then more recently brought Thred into the facility.

“Sensibly,” Alice chirped at the woman.

Thred sighed. “Am I about to be knocked out and interrogated again?”

Usa leaned back against the door frame, crossing her arms. “I’ll give your group this. When Shay Milds increases security even before the dimensional visits from an enigmatic brunette and a stupid old wizard, I have to wonder. When I later see Shay himself actually fleeing across the area away from the lab, I have to wonder even more. Now, your turn, give me a very good reason not to lock down this room.”

Sam stood a little straighter. “We have reason to believe there’s a conspiracy to shut down dimensional travel. Possibly using that device,” he added, pointing towards the sheet that Sue had mentioned. “Also, there’s a rift in the other room, which we can seal, under condition that we go free.”

Usa chewed on her lower lip. “You have my attention. Show me the device.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

[polldaddy poll=10191733]

VOTING CLOSES 7am EST MONDAY DEC 24th

EXTRA ASIDE: I anticipate two more parts. That said, I didn’t anticipate it taking almost two full parts for Alice to boomerang Shay’s attack back at him (the vote for Alice’s idea at the end of part 10), so things can still change. Incidentally, thoughts on what the device looks like?

CHANCED ERASURES: PART ELEVEN

“That could’ve gone better,” the brunette mused. She slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position and looked around at her new accommodations.

It seemed to be some kind of interrogation room. The door behind her was the only way in or out. There was a table with two chairs on either side, a large mirror that probably led to a hidden observation room, and not much else. Also, sitting in one of the chairs was a tall guy with red hair, staring at her.

[caption id=“attachment_929” align=“alignright” width=“185”] ALICE VUNDERLANDE
Commission by Cherry Zong[/caption]

“Okay, state your name for the record,” she began.

The guy blinked. “Uh, well, like I said to the last guy, I’m Sir Thred. I’m a student here.”

Interesting. This was the guy that Shay and Cat-Woman had mentioned. Also, last guy? Did he think Alice was the next interrogator? Alice used one of the chairs to help pull herself up to her feet. She felt a bit woozy, having been smacked around during her second capture. “And I suppose you know why you’re here?”

“Of course not,” Thred said. “All I did was grab that security guy’s hat. Over-reaction much?”

“We know you weren’t acting alone though,” Alice said, leaning hard into the chair. That was what Shay had implied, right? “You came here with someone else.”

Thred now refused to meet her gaze. “Come on,” he muttered. “Why would anyone else have been at school after hours?”

“Well, either it’s the breakfast club, or because there’s a conspiracy,” Alice stated. She pointed dramatically. “Which you heard about from Beam.”

Thred turned back to face her. “From who now?” He seemed genuinely confused.

“From Fate, I meant,” Alice back-pedalled.

Thred frowned. “Are you saying I was fated to be here?”

Alice’s pointing finger started to waver. “You heard about the conspiracy from Alijda. Or Alison.”

Thred shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Alice dropped her arm. “Kat then. Or Para. Or- no, wait, got you with that one,” she declared, raising her hand again as he visibly flinched at Para’s name.

“Para’s an educational assistant at school, I’ve merely heard that name,” Thred said defensively.

“Oh, IS she now,” Alice mused, bringing her arm back in to rub her chin. “Good, good, we’re finally getting somewhere. Next question, do you remember how you got into this base?”

“Of course not,” Thred repeated. “You people knocked me out.”

“Pity. Okay, so how do you plan to get out?”

Thred sighed. “I don’t suppose asking politely would do it.”

“Probably not. All right, I’ve heard enough.” She pushed off from the chair, pleased to discover that she could stand on her own. “Okay, Thred, how about we move this table over and up against that mirror.”

Thred stared. “What?”

“I’ve got an idea,” Alice explained. “For getting out. You thought I was with the Conspiracy Council because I’m wearing one of their robes, right?”

“There’s also the fact that you’re, you know, here… wait, are you defecting or something?”

“Nope, robe’s from a wardrobe. I’m trapped, like you, and like Marlin,” Alice stated. “Speaking of which, they’re probably not watching us directly, because they locked us in. Bet they’re checking on Marlin’s status. So, a little help with the table?”

By now, she had moved to grab one end. And while she judged that she could push it into position, Thred’s assistance would make things go so much faster.

Obligingly, he went around to the other side, helping her to lift it. “What are you then, a substitute teacher? Did you solve the puzzle of those symbols in the rooms and end up stuck here? And who’s Marlin?”

“Oh, let’s say I’m more of a secretary,” Alice said. “I did solve a puzzle, but all it’s done is give me this new escape room puzzle to figure out. Er, not counting the puzzle of being stuck in a room under a cat woman. Failed that one. Also, Marlin’s his own story. Okay, up against the mirror?”

Thred helped her tilt the table, and they rested it against the majority of the mirror, cutting off the view from the adjacent room. Alice quickly began to pull off the mystical robe she was wearing.

“Whoa, um, hey, that’s not, uh…”

“If you think this is a strip tease, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Actually, do you know of the webcomic Striptease? Not what you think, but there is some lesbian romance, eventually. If you like that kinda thing.” She kicked the robe towards Thred as it hit the floor. “Put that on.”

“Look, whatever your name is, I’m… trying to draw the connections here. It’s not easy.”

“I’m Alice. Connection is Beam’s a lesbian. Look, don’t think too hard about how my mind works, just dress yourself in the robe, pound on the door saying the prisoners got out, and we’ll knock out whoever comes to check.”

“The prisoners got out?”

“No, no, say it by the door, and louder,” Alice insisted. She grabbed one of the chairs and went over the door herself, managing to continue moving in a straight line. The wooziness was almost gone.

“You think they’ll believe me?”

“Doesn’t matter, at this point they won’t be able to check by looking in the mirror. Also, keep the robe on so that you can pretend to be taking me to some other part of this facility after. But also, actually take me to some other part of this facility after. Ideally the part that contains my stuff.”

“I don’t know where that is,” Thred protested.

“Me neither, but based on what I saw out there, I’ve got a pretty good guess.”

Alice hefted the chair, standing so that a guard would need to lean inside before seeing her. She also hoped that Shay wouldn’t be the one who came back, given his ability to knock out with magic. She was pretty sure the only reason he hadn’t done that already was so that Alice was awake for questioning, once they’d determined whether Marlin had escaped too.

They were lucky. As a man poked his head in to check on the shouting, they were able to knock him out and drag him inside in under five seconds. Alice immediately noticed that he wasn’t wearing one of the robes - maybe they were for elites only? Alice rifled through his pockets for his keys.

“Looking for this?” Thred wondered, pulling out a small device and holding it up. “You need the morphing codes if you want to lock this room back up.”

“Perfect. Plan B then,” Alice sighed. “Or rather, Plan J at this point, I don’t know. Come along.” Alice slapped her hands to the back of her head and had Thred lead her out, with his cowl up. They simply closed the door behind them.

“What’s going on?” said another security guy (or was this one a scientist?), approaching them.

“Ha ha, my escape attempts keep failing,” Alice said, smiling. “They’re moving me again.”

She thought she heard him mutter, “Why is this all happening tonight,” as he moved away.

Alice continued to backtrack in the general direction that Shay had hauled her, reasoning that the mystery room was still near the prisoner area. Thred followed her lead, presumably because he didn’t have any better ideas. Fortunately, the room beyond the obvious entrance to the detention area, was ajar.

“Jackpot,” Alice muttered, as they walked in. It seemed to be some storage area for artifacts. It didn’t take long for her to find her Epsilon communicator. It took even less time for her to discover that it was either broken, or there was interference preventing her from using it.

Behind her, Thred let out a low whistle. “What IS all this stuff?” he muttered, looking in a drawer.

Alice turned her attention back to him, and what had caught his attention. “Huh. Laser screwdriver. The remains of a faster than light drive. Possibly part of a quadcorder. OH, personal shield. Yoink.” She picked it up. “I can put this to better use than Lucius or Rodney McKay.”

Thred stared. “Are you SURE you don’t work for these people?”

“Pretty sure,” Alice assured him. She pocketed her communicator and the shield, then went back to the door. Seconds after poking her head out, she pulled it back inside. “Whoops. Shay’s there now, and it looks like he’s rounding people up. Search party for Marlin, I presume. Means he removed his listening device, good.”

“Alice, seriously. Is Shay a pitcher for the Miami Marlins or something?” Thred said, throwing up his hands.

“No, Shay is the guy who’s bested me twice so far,” Alice explained. “The only positive he’s got in my books is that he didn’t hit me directly. He left that up to Cat-Woman. Who pulled my robe over my head, so I don’t even know how I even got out of that room, for the record. Bet you’re confusing Shay with Shea Stadium.”

“I wasn’t, that’s the Cubs, not the Marlins.”

“Ahh.” Alice shrugged. “I’ve never really tracked baseball though the dimensions.”

Thred flinched again. “Wait, you… you’re… from another dimension? Are you the one who put the campus on high alert??”

“Beats me, I’m just trying to get out of here,” Alice remarked. “This whole mission has been a major fail– oh, duh. Hey, are you part of the Clover Club?” She had been passing up an obvious source of local intelligence. Better late than never.

Thred shook his head. “I don’t have a special power.”

“Do you know if they’re behind shutting down dimensional travel for good?”

“I… kind of doubt that? Half their curriculum is rumoured to be about dimensional observations. Wait, someone’s shutting down travel?” He frowned. “Why am I even telling you all this stuff if you’re an invader?”

“I have a very trusting face,” Alice said, wiggling her eyebrows. “Besides, as I said, I’m more of a secretary.” She turned to peek out the door again. “Okay Thred, everyone’s going into that lab area. So either Marlin’s in there, or it’s a place he won’t be able to hear them plan, or it’s a place that needs protecting. Either way, we can make a dash for the… huh.”

“What now?” Thred said. He’d seemingly resigned himself to Alice’s whims, at least until he thought of his own plan. Which didn’t seem likely any time soon.

“Group of five. I think one’s Marlin. Passed their stealth check, they entered that big area right after the lab door closed. They’re headed that way.”

Thred came over to look for himself. His face brightened. “Sam!” Before Alice could stop him, Thred had hurried out the door and towards the other group.

“Plan K,” Alice muttered. She followed him out.

At least Thred had the sense to keep to the walls, which were more in shadow. He reached the group of five as the guy whom Alice judged to be their leader was saying something about checking the interrogation area.

“Hey Sam, Sue, you both come to rescue me?” Thred said, grinning ear to ear.

“Thred? Is that you?” said Sue. At least, Alice assumed the unknown female was Sue, as she’d met both Chartreuse and Para on their previous missions. “What’s going on?”

“We’re getting out of here,” Alice suggested.

“Except there’s, like, a dimensional rift in the other room that we’re on the hook for,” Chartreuse said. “We, you know, should fix that on the way out.”

“Related, Marlin here says there’s a plan to shut down dimensional travel,” Sam said. “And we need to get him home.”

“Yeah, Alice here said the same thing,” Thred agreed.

Alice sighed. “So, what, someone’ll need to make a motivational speech to Shay and his friends before we go?” she reflected, trying to spot the path of least resistance back to the Epsilon Station.

“Whatever we do, I don’t think it should be hanging around here talking,” Para said, wiggling two fingers in the air. “We need to act.”

Sam rubbed his forehead. “Okay, well, did you have a motivational speech in mind, Alice?”

WHAT’S NEXT?

Options:

[polldaddy poll=10180003]

VOTING CLOSES 7am EST MONDAY DEC 10th

EXTRA ASIDE: I spent November doing NaNo, more or less. You may be pleased to know that “Time Untied” is now over 75,000 words, and the halfway point (aka end of Book 5 and start of Book 6) for that story is kind of in view. So there will definitely be something with Carrie, at some point… but 2019 will start with more reruns. Any preference for more Virga, versus Rose, versus something else?

CHANCED ERASURES: PART EIGHT

“Analogies work,” Alice agreed. She felt along the left hand passage of the T-Intersection, eventually coming to a dead end. Or what seemed at first to be a dead end. Alice was plenty suspicious of the faint light coming from a knothole in the large wood panel blocking the passage. But she wasn’t sure if she should bend down to peer through.

“You think there’s a coded door here too?” Marlin asked from behind her.

“Maaaaybe,” Alice mused. She poked her fingers tentatively into the knothole, found she could jiggle the entire panel, and soon the wooden barrier slid to the side, into the wall. She grinned. “Or maybe not.”

The faint light was now a vertical crack, as there was a visible set of doors in front of them. Though between them and those doors was hanging a number of dark robes. They had apparently found their way into the back of a wardrobe.

Alice reached out to grab one of the robes, and she started putting it on. They knew what she looked like, after all, so a disguise seemed sensible.

“It’s like we’re in that children’s book,” Marlin remarked, moving past her to peer out of the partly open wardrobe door. “That one about the lion.”

“Oh, I hope not,” Alice mused. “As if this is Narnia, I’m in real trouble for being rescued, what with the time discrepancy in that series. Also, this cloth itches, I hope I don’t have to wear it very long.”

“Why wear it at all?” Marlin asked, turning back to her.

Alice shrugged. “When in Rome, do as Romans do. Which, contrary to popular belief, is not roamin' around.”

Marlin blinked. “Pardon?”

Alice clucked her tongue. “So your Earth had C.S. Lewis but not St. Ambrose? That’s weird.”

She could now see Marlin shaking his head in the dim light. “I think you’re weird. Also, you do realize that being mistaken for one of their cabal could get you in more trouble?”

Alice grinned again. “I won’t make a… habit of it.” She flipped the cowl up onto her head. “Yeaaaaaah?”

Marlin sighed. “I’m going to stop talking to you now.”

“Oh, suit yourself. Or stay in those clothes, as the case may be.” With that remark, Alice edged her way out of the wardrobe, into the room itself.

It seemed to be a meeting room of some sort. There was only one overhead light, but that was enough to see a large table with about a dozen chairs around it, a hat rack and a potted plant against one wall… and no visible signs of other doorways.

Alice was just about to call out to Marlin, saying it was safe, when there was a flash of light behind the plant. She instinctively ducked down, and then edged under the table as she heard voices. Fortunately, the table had been decorated with an opaque cloth.

“All right, no one can hear us in here,” a female voice purred. “So explain it to me from the top.”

“Sure. How high is your top?” came a dry voice in response.

Alice recognized that second, male voice. It was sparkle-man, or rather Shay. The dark skinned man who had knocked her out following her interrogation the previous day. That is, it was either him, or it was someone wearing dark slacks who was very good at mimicking voices.

[caption id=“attachment_1916” align=“alignright” width=“150”] Alice’s Epsilon Logo[/caption]

The other pair of legs, by contrast, was sporting heeled boots, and a tail fell between them. The purr of the voice was very possibly feline in nature. In fact, Alice knew that this particular world was involved in genetic splicing - Epsilon had been able to turn up very rudimentary data - but she hadn’t expected to encounter anyone of that nature around the academy.

“The first arrival,” the cat-woman responded.

Shay reached out for a chair, spinning it around and straddling it as he sat. So, Alice reasoned, while the woman might have been his superior, he was at the least seeing this conversation as informal.

“Two women, as far as we can tell,” Shay began. “A blonde, and the brunette that we actually caught. We had this ‘Alice’ lady questioned by Usa Staling, since this is technically her jurisdiction, but that didn’t go anywhere useful.”

Alice couldn’t help but smile to herself.

“Standard so far. And the second incursion?”

“Some guy named Marlin, who is either exactly what he says he is, namely some guy who had bad luck with dimensional roulette, or he is a very clever plant who believes his story to the point where we couldn’t find any other reason for his appearance.”

The tail on the cat-woman swished back and forth. “So that’s why you didn’t transfer Alice right away.”

“And why we put them together in the same cell, yeah. I figure we give it another hour, then retrieve that listening device we hid under Marlin’s collar.

Oh, perfect, Alice thought, wincing. She should have been more careful. Though at least now there was a chance she could get the device and destroy it. Actually, Alice hoped to destroy all records of her ever being here. It would save the headache of Beam and Fate potentially having to send someone to this world again for cleanup.

“Fine. And NOW what’s happening?” the cat-woman asked.

The chair that Shay was sitting on rocked up onto two legs, and then back down. “We caught a student, a guy named Sir Thred, messing with security outside the bunker entrance. And we’re pretty sure he wasn’t acting alone. There’s a record of academy room accesses this evening that didn’t trip any alarms because they used valid morph codes.”

That was new and interesting information. Alice filed it away, wondering if she could use it to her advantage.

It also occurred to her that it made sense that all of this was happening now. The Epsilon Station had most of time and space available to it, so she and Beam had set their arrival to be a point that maximized the chances of blending in. Apparently, that meant right before a number of other events involving this shadow committee. They were simply one more event amid the chaos.

The cat-woman had been tapping a foot on the ground, as if in thought. At last, she decided, “Then it could be coincidence. Do you think we’re in danger of being exposed?”

Shay’s chair rocked again. “I doubt it. There’s a good chance this Thred guy simply had a lead on that trail of breadcrumbs we left on the campus. You know, the one that would allow us to recruit non-gifties for the cause? We can tease that out of him. And unless Marlin’s recording device shows some evidence of collusion, we can ship both arrivals off to you in processing before morning. No one even needs to know you showed up here.”

“Mmmm. Good. I must admit, the sooner we get this off-world nonsense away from where magic spells are possible, the safer I’ll feel,” the cat-woman muttered.

“Hah. Why, worried my power will put you to sleep?” Shay said, the grin on his face evident from his tone of voice.

“I rather wish your report had done that instead. As it is, I’m still on edge. We’re too close to shutting down dimensional travel for good to have things get messed up now.”

“We WILL wait until all teams are back though, right? Before enacting the plan?” Shay verified.

“Yes, yes, yes,” cat-woman muttered. “Your brother will be fine.” Her feet paced back and forth for a moment. “Very well. Bring me some biscuits, I’ll remain here until you get the listening device information.”

Inwardly, Alice groaned as Shay stood up. The woman’s boots quickly took the place of his slacks as she sat down, admittedly the proper way around this time. Facing the table.

“I’ll return shortly,” Shay said. He walked back to the potted plant - and his feet vanished in a flash of light. The cat-woman’s feet soon disappeared too, as Alice heard them hit the table. Only the tail of the woman remained visible, twitching back and forth.

So, Alice mused, how long was she going to be trapped in this room? Also, how much had Marlin heard from the wardrobe, and would he have the sense to effect an escape now, before their absence from the cell was remarked upon?

Alice certainly didn’t have much hope that Marlin would be able to avoid spilling the beans, if he were caught again. She’d be forced to go on the offensive.

So maybe she should do that pre-emptively, and take on the cat-woman? After all, she might be able to get her belongings back that way, and with any luck, Beam had devised a way to break the jamming fields and home in on her communicator. The only trouble was, once she’d used up the element of surprise, she’d probably be at a disadvantage in a fight.

Making a dash for the potted plant was questionable, as she wasn’t sure how to activate the magic which had let Shay in and out, and escaping via the wardrobe would let on about the hidden passages. Assuming they didn’t already know.

Was the best plan simply to stay put, and hope that an emergency somewhere else would cause cat-woman’s attention to wander?

WHAT’S NEXT?

OPTIONS:

[polldaddy poll=10142559]

VOTING CLOSES 7am EDT TUESDAY OCT 30th

EXTRA ASIDE: Sorry for the extra week of delay. I probably could have mashed something together for last Sunday, I even had a good idea of what I wanted here, but I couldn’t motivate myself. It felt like I’d get the same few votes no matter when I posted. (Thanks to Nebus though, for the shout-out in the MathEd Carnival #121!) This past week it was my wife’s birthday, my daughter turned four months old, and I had parent-teacher interviews, so no chance to write. I looked ahead though, and the extra week? Means I won’t be publishing the week of Christmas. Which is probably for the best. Incidentally, to see another vote-for-plot story that gets dozens of votes, Drew Hayes is doing his Halloween story 2018 again this year. It runs daily, go see.

CHANCED ERASURES: PART SEVEN

Alice processed the words, but by the time it fully registered what her companion had said, she had already murmured back, “Hmmmm?”

“See, I’m thinking maybe the other wizards wanted me to get captured,” the young man clarified for her. “Maybe they gave me a bunch of misinformation about their group, figuring that I would spill it under duress, like I did earlier. So this is all a trap that I’ve sprung! What do you think?”

Alice turned away from where she had been inspecting the wall of their cell. “Is that how your wizard group usually operates?”

The man shrugged. “I… don’t know. This trip was kind of an initiation to the group.”

“Then your rite of passage took a left turn,” Alice concluded, looking back at the wall. The strange bricks seemingly stared back at her, their strange symbols taunting.

[caption id=“attachment_929” align=“alignright” width=“185”] ALICE VUNDERLANDE
Commission by Cherry Zong[/caption]

Alice knew she had been in the cell for at least a day now. The first time she’d awoken here, she’d been alone. Her jailers had come and knocked her out before taking her to that medical interrogation area, then sparkle-man (aka Pepa, aka Shay) had knocked her out there to - presumably - bring her straight back here.

The second time she’d awoken here, she’d had company. So either someone else had decided to visit this dimension, or more likely, the young wizard in the cell was an attempt to attack her defences. They were giving her someone to confide in.

She hadn’t risen to the bait. Even when they had come to take him away for questioning, seemingly in much the same way she had been the previous day, she had assumed it to be part of the ruse. She hadn’t paid much attention to it.

Now, when he’d come back babbling about his “home Earth”, where wizards would send someone through a portal using “dimensional roulette”, she’d been less certain. It was certainly plausible that this was a common holding area, and that therefore they had a common enemy. He’d even said “no” when she’d asked him - presumably still under truth serum - if he was working with their captors.

Then again, Alice hadn’t been born yesterday.

Still, the guy could be a resource that she wasn’t properly tapping. And she felt like she was running out of time to decipher her escape route.

“What’s your name, anyway?” Alice asked, turning again to the wizard and sizing him up. He was pretty nondescript, with short blond hair, wearing some sort of dark robe to hide his physique. Alice might have guessed his age as being early twenties.

He looked back up at her, from where he sat on the only bench in the room. “Marlin. I did introduce myself when you first woke up, yes?”

Alice pressed a finger to her chin. That’s right, she’d simply retorted that his name sounded ‘fishy’. “Okay, Marlin, I’m Alice. Question, have you noticed everything wrong with this cell we’re in yet?”

Marlin looked around. “What, you mean the fact that there’s only one washroom area for the two of us, with no door?”

Alice pursed her lips. “I will grant that situation is also a problem. But I’m hopeful of getting out of here before it’s an issue. Go deeper.”

Marlin looked around again and adjusted his robe. “Well, the bars on the door look sturdy enough, I doubt we’ll be able to chisel out the bricks, we’ve got no windows… seems like a pretty foolproof place to me.”

“You see, but you do not observe,” Alice quoted. Or, he was a plant by the enemy, and not interested in observing. Still, one more try. “We’re in a society that’s technologically advanced enough to have holographic recordings and truth serums, and yet we’ve been left in the dungeons and dragons area,” she explained patiently. “Go deeper.”

Marlin frowned. “Oh. Then you think we’re in their magical prison? One for preventing spell casting? Not that I can do any without my wand…”

“Whereas I’m not magical,” Alice interrupted, flicking some hair back off her shoulder. “And they know that by now. So why not fix us up in a maximum security room with force fields and laser beams, hmmmm?”

Marlin shook his head in confusion. “I’ll bite, why not?”

Alice pointed at him. “Either they can’t do it, or they won’t do it. You observe yet?”

He stared at her. She could almost see the question marks forming around his head. “How exactly does that help us?”

Alice sighed. Still, the guy was her only sounding board, and talking to herself out loud might be helpful. She’d just talk quietly, to keep her voice from carrying, as she hadn’t seen any obvious listening devices during her explorations of the room.

“Options for why they can’t,” Alice began. “Whoever’s holding us, they’re not a sanctioned group, and don’t want a power drain to register on a grid. Or, there’s something about this area that prevents such high tech gizmos from working, perhaps tech even interferes with their magic. Or, there’s something about this day or time of year that makes their regular tech-tech cells unavailable.”

“I see where you’re going now,” Marlin said, standing up from the bench. “Whereas reasons for why they won’t, it might be that some higher-ups have made a decision for them, or they have certain red tape to cut through first, or they’ve fallen in love with us.”

Alice paused in mid-stride at Marlin’s last remark. Definitely not an option she would have considered. Maybe the guy would be useful after all?

She spun on her heel. “Precisely. More to the point, I feel like these symbols” - she pointed at an arrangement of the bricks on the far wall - “are in here with us for a reason. Do you recognize any of them?”

Marlin walked over to have a better look. Slowly he shook his head. “No - though, okay, that one there, it was in the gym of the campus I’d teleported into upon arrival. But I don’t know what it means.”

Alice tilted her head. “Hold the phone. Were you also investigating the Clover Club here?”

Marlin glanced at her. “The what now? Is that some group of leprechauns?”

“Never mind, never mind,” Alice said, waving him off. His story of dimensional roulette remained plausible. She then tilted her head the other way. “Thing is, you can press on those bricks,” she remarked after a second. “But don’t,” she added, as he reached out.

“Why not?”

“It takes a while for them to pop back out and reset. We need to find the right code. And with those six symbols, there’s 720 possible permutations, never mind that the code could be shorter, or have repetition included. So, thoughts?”

“Wait, how do you know all this? You’ve been pressing random bricks?”

“Yes, my calendar’s been clear the last day or so,” Alice said dryly. “Focus, please.”

“What if the wrong combination lets poisonous gas in here or something?!”

Alice raked her fingers back through her hair. “There’s easier ways for them to kill us. Moreover, I think maybe the reason why they won’t hold us elsewhere is because we’re being tested here. With that.”

Marlin seemed about to laugh, but he stopped himself, then crossed his arms. “Interesting. But even assuming that is a way out, what would we do from there? We’ll still be in this facility.”

Alice shrugged. “I have devices locked up somewhere, you have a wand, surely there’s some way to escape this dimension. Alternatively, if they do secretly love us, and learning the code makes us their Gods, we’re good.”

“Huh.” Marlin leaned in to look closer at the bricks. “I was semi-conscious as they were bringing me back. It looked like we were going through a music room. Do the bricks let out sounds as you push them?”

“No,” Alice replied. She pursed her lips. “But we can. How’s your karaoke?”

Marlin blinked. “Is that a type of sushi?”

“Yeah, no. Pity I don’t know Iron Maiden’s “The Prisoner”, it’d be topical. Though Adele once said ‘Rolling in the Deep’ helped her hit notes she didn’t know she could, so I’ll try that.”

“You’ll what now?”

“Sing, while you watch the bricks.”

He said something else, but Alice tuned him out, working to find her vocal centre. She knew she wasn’t the best vocalist, but it had been one of the things she’d tried out to fill time during her days on the Epsilon Station. When she finally started belting the tune out, it was with no reservations, no interest in what Marlin’s opinion as a music critic.

Fortunately, he had apparently been watching the bricks as requested, because as she finished and collapsed on the bench, he remarked, “Maybe I imagined it, but I think the symbols blurred into English letters a couple of times. Possibly letters from other languages too. That was weird.”

Alice leaned back. “What, no applause?”

“I’m trying not to lose track of what I saw,” he said. He then lifted his fingers to point at the bricks in turn. “E - C - R - T - E - S. What does it mean?”

Holding back a sigh at the lack of enthusiasm for her performance, Alice pushed herself back up. “Word jumble. Reset C? Erects? Secrete? No, too many E’s there… oh, duh.”

Alice slammed her palm rapid-fire into the bricks that Marlin had been pointing to. As the last one was pushed into place, there was a clicking sound, and a panel of the back wall swung out.

Marlin jumped back in shock. “Well done. What was that, ‘Set rec’?”

“Secret. As in secret door,” Alice explained. “Hard part’s obviously knowing the mapping of the symbols, particularly with two Es that don’t quite look the same. I gambled that I should move my hand in sort of a star pattern. Because I’m a pop STAR sensation.” She flashed Marlin a grin.

His smile was more hesitant. “So we go into this passage?”

Still no applause for the singing, fine. “You can stay here to be tortured,” Alice sighed. “I’m leaving. Also, if you come, still suspicious of you, for the record.”

“The record? Oh, you’re hoping for a record deal now, after that song?”

Alice lifted her eyebrow. “Better. A sense of humour serves you well when you’re with me.”

She headed into the passage, and after waiting a moment and having Marlin follow her, she reached out to pull the doorway shut.

“Uhm, it’s gonna be pitch dark in here,” he pointed out. The light they’d had in their cell had been filtering in from lamps in the corridor.

“Yup. If you use that as an excuse to grope me, I WILL kick you somewhere painful,” Alice assured him.

“That’s not what I… never mind,” Marlin sighed, as their light source was cut off.

Alice turned and started to walk. The walls of the passage itself weren’t jagged like rock, but neither were they brick. Perhaps the tunnel had been made using some futuristic carving tool, Alice reasoned, as the shape was pretty consistent all the way along. With it being about six feet high, she also didn’t have to worry about banging her head, and she could feel both walls as they went along.

Until she couldn’t.

Alice managed to stop herself before stepping face-first into the wall before her. They had reached some sort of T-shaped intersection. Marlin stumbled into her from behind.

“Don’t kick me,” he blurted.

“Sure, as long as you tell me left or right.”

She couldn’t see him, but imagined him frowning. “What makes you think I know?”

“I’m presuming that you were at least conscious for part of your time down here, and thus have some sense of which way might not lead to the guard house.”

Marlin sighed. “So, no pressure then.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

Options:

[polldaddy poll=10122864]

VOTING CLOSES 7am EDT TUESDAY OCT 9th

EXTRA ASIDE: I managed to get 30 consecutive days of decimal views on Wordpress here (as the stats revert to decimals when you’re under 10 page views). Is that an accomplishment?

[caption id=“attachment_2221” align=“aligncenter” width=“620”] Stats after 4+ years[/caption]

CHANCED ERASURES: PART FOUR

Having somehow realized that Alice had regained consciousness, a woman stepped into her field of view. The curves of the uniform she had on implied she was a woman, at any rate, her face was somewhat obscured by sunglasses and a shawl. Was she local security? She carried with her a clipboard, sitting down at the desk which Alice was facing. “Your name, for the record,” the woman said in a bored tone.

“Alison Vunderlande, but I go by Alice,” came the answer, before Alice really had a chance to think about it. A hint of a frown played about her features - she felt like she’d been compelled to speak there. Had she been drugged? “And what’s your name?” Alice added as a follow-up. So she could still speak freely, nice.

“None of your business,” the woman answered, still looking at her clipboard.

“Okay, I’ll call you Salt, as in Salt-n-Pepa,” Alice chirped in response.

[caption id=“attachment_929” align=“alignright” width=“185”] Alison Vunderlande As commissioned from: Cherry Zong[/caption]

The woman didn’t react, implying that either the singing group hadn’t recorded the ‘business’ song in this reality, or that Salt here wasn’t a fan of their music. Well, Alice was doubly pleased to learn that she could still free associate, that was useful. People often had trouble following her train of thought, so if this was about to be an interrogation… Alice let her mind drift.

Having written something on her clipboard, Salt looked back up. “Okay, Alice. Who sent you to this reality?”

“No, Who’s on first,” Alice chirped back. Again, it had happened before she’d had a chance to think, but here the ‘truthful’ answer had been on her terms.

The woman seemingly stared for a moment, from behind her sunglasses. “Pardon?”

“Oh, nice. If you’re granting me a pardon, I’m absolved of guilt. Can I leave?” Alice smiled hopefully.

“No,” Salt said, a hint of annoyance creeping into her voice. “Alice, tell me about your mission.”

“Oh, my mission’s impossible,” Alice asserted. “I’m like Tom Cruise, but better looking.”

Salt shifted her gaze to stare at someone behind Alice. “You gave her the treatment, right?” The unseen person out of Alice’s view must have made some sort of gesture in response, because Salt looked back down at her clipboard, and then back up. “I suppose Alice has been trained in resistance techniques. This a battle of wits, is it, Alice?”

Alice had no idea what resistance techniques that Salt was alluding to, and strapped into the chair as she was, she couldn’t turn around to look at Pepa. So she simply smiled back, saying “Wit’s up, Doc,” before she could stop herself.

“Mmmm. At least I understood that reference,” Salt said, setting her clipboard aside on the desk.

“Oooh, Captain America,” Alice murmured. She recognized the quote.

Salt slightly pulled down her sunglasses. “Does your world have an America then?”

Alice nodded. “Both North and South.” She wondered about bringing up Australia or Antarctica.

“Really…" Salt leaned back. “How did your civil war end?”

“Captain America had it out with Iron Man.” The movie had been okay.

“Iron… what?”

“Atomic number twenty-six,” Alice asserted. The second most common metal, at least for most dimensional Earths that she was aware of… she managed to avoid saying that.

“No, stop, who is Iron Man?”

“No, Who’s on first,” Alice said, pleased for the chance to reuse the phrase.

Someone cleared their throat. “You’re losing the thread here,” came a male voice (Pepa?) from somewhere behind her.

“Yes, thank you, I’m aware,” Salt snapped back. She pressed her fingers to her forehead, glanced again at her clipboard, and then resumed staring at Alice. “Are you acting alone?”

“Oh, I can’t be acting, I never saw the script,” Alice protested. She wasn’t that much like Tom Cruise, surely.

Salt grit her teeth. “Alice, is your world trying to steal our technology?”

“It’s in a hell dimension, so I doubt it.” Alice held back a sigh - she hadn’t really been able to tangent away from that part of her past. But Salt probably lacked context.

“Hm, so it was that sort of dimension… how did you get here, Alice?”

Alice made an effort to shrug. “Oh, well, I assume you brought me here.”

“You mean we pulled you into this dimension?”

“No, I meant you brought me in this room.”

“I didn’t mean the room, I meant how did you get to our dimension.”

“Carefully?” Salt hadn’t quite asked a question that time, which was why Alice felt like her non-answer was reasonable. Care had certainly been required.

Salt snickered back. “Not carefully enough.”

“We were a few emotions short of a full care bear stare,” Alice yielded. Great her free association was working again - those animated bears did care fully.

Salt straightened. “Wait, you know emotional magic?”

“Oh, I was never THAT invested in Magic: The Gathering,” Alice said dismissively. It was hard to get into a multi-player card game when you mostly spent time by yourself. Wow, rambling thoughts were easier when she had only a vague idea of what Salt was talking about anyway.

Salt seemed to grit her teeth. “Alice, is your world magic based, or technological?”

“Yes,” Alice hedged, given the ambiguity.

Salt leaned forwards. “It’s both?”

Alice frowned. “No, I think ‘Both’ is a Drake song.” Or maybe Drake was featured on the song? She honestly wasn’t sure.

“That’s a…" Salt pulled off her sunglasses. “Damn it Alice, WHAT is your DEAL?”

“Three green mana, a blue-eyes white dragon, and the jack of spades,” Alice fired back quickly. “Do I win?”

“No.” Salt leaned back again, crossing her arms and staring.

“She seems to have won so far,” came a mutter of the male Alice had dubbed ‘Pepa’ from behind.

“Shut it,” Salt snapped. “Let’s try this. Alice, tell me about your home.”

“It’s between my lungs, above my diaphragm.”

Salt stared. “…the hell?”

“Also an apt description of my home, a hell dimension, we discussed this earlier,” Alice agreed.

“She means home is where the heart is,” Pepa snickered.

“Look, are you going to help, or laugh at me?” Salt shot back at her partner.

“You said you had this,” Pepa remarked. “As long as she’d been treated.”

“Treated?” Alice gasped. “I think I was tricked. Is it October 31st?”

Salt slid her palm down her face, dislodging her sunglasses. “Listen, Alice,” she began anew. “Either you answer my questions, and probably get a simple memory wipe and a zap back to your own dimension, or you go with HIM,” - she gestured back towards the unseen Pepa - “back to the Council, and you are potentially never heard from again. Now, which will it be?”

Alice licked her lips. On the one hand, that was daunting, on the other, she really couldn’t let talk of Epsilon slip out. And who was this Council? Maybe she needed to know more about that. “I thought I was answering your questions,” she managed to say.

“Answer my questions SENSIBLY,” Salt clarified.

“Sensibly,” Alice repeated, swallowing.

Salt nodded. “Now, what was your mission to this school all about?”

“Sensibly.” It was the only answer Salt had seemed to want, right?

Salt seemed like she wanted to punch something. “Oh, you are good.”

“And you haven’t even seen me in the bedroom yet,” Alice said, stifling a giggle. There hadn’t hadn’t been a question there, after all, so she could speak freely. Though she did start to wonder if she was getting delirious.

Salt clenched her fist. “Good grief, Alice, how can you still be such a pain?!”

“Sensibly.” That had been a question.

Salt threw the sunglasses she was holding onto her clipboard and stood back up. “Fine. I give up. You win. Shay, take her away and do whatever you like.”

Pepa - or rather, Shay - stepped slowly into view as Salt stalked off. He was a dark skinned man with a moustache, also wearing shades. His clothing implied that he was a doctor of some sort, but for all Alice knew, that was a disguise to get him in the room.

“So you can handle a mental battle,” Shay remarked. “What about a magical one?”

Alice cleared her throat. “Vunderlande power, make up! Let’s play, pretty cure modulation! Raising Heart, onegai!” she fired off. Nothing happened. She hadn’t really expected any of those to work, but when in travelling in another dimension, you never knew.

“Mmm hmmm,” Shay concluded. He snapped his hands up. A series of sparkles erupted from his palms. The light was intense enough that Alice tried to turn her head, closing her eyes - only to find that she couldn’t open her eyes again. Moments later, she slumped back in the chair, unconscious.

That’s when the holo-recording turned off.

Para didn’t speak at first. She knew she needed a way to ask questions about the video (holo?) content they’d just witnessed, ones which didn’t reveal that she had no idea of the answers. After all, both she and Chartreuse were supposedly familiar with the school. Yet what had all that been about?

Sam spoke first. “Okay,” he mused. “Apparently the incident a couple days ago might have been a bigger deal than I thought. Was that Alice girl caught by Usa? And who was this Council she referred to, why wasn’t Usa at the top of the chain of command here?”

“Usa?” Chartreuse said, canting her head.

Sam turned to her. “Usa Staling, head of security?”

“Ohh, that Usa,” Chartreuse said, bobbing her head.

Apparently that had been the name of Alice’s interrogator. Para was tempted to ask why this school needed such a high level of security, but maybe it was related to the multiverse work of the “gifties”. She opted to take the conversation a different direction.

“I didn’t recognize the last guy, that Shay,” Para stated. Which was a bit of a gamble, but based on what Sam had said…

“Yeah, me neither,” Sam admitted. He shook his head. “Anyway, I’m going to get a copy of this, it could be a massive scoop…” He pulled a device out of his pocket and plugged it into the base of the disc.

“Are you done there then?” Thred asked, taking a step closer and jerking his thumb towards a corner of the room. “Because you might want to take a look at this next.”

The something that had caught the attention of Sam’s friend turned out to be on the far side of one of the security filing cabinets. When Para went to check it out, she saw that someone had engraved things there, much like on the wall of the Clover Club. And again, it was a symbol, the letter “E”, and a room number. Notably, it was hard to see unless you were peering into the corner at just the right angle.

“That’s the room number for…" Para paused, as if trying to recall.

“Yup, the infirmary,” Thred supplied. “Same place where that holo-recording was playing out.”

“Which is interesting,” Sue broke in, having turned from her scan of the video monitors. “Because I can’t seem to pull up anything from said infirmary. There’s interference. Weird, huh?”

“Our next stop is totally the infirmary then,” Chartreuse concluded.

Sue rolled her eyes. “Joy. Granted, we only have about five minutes before someone comes here for a systems check. So whatever our destination? We should get a move on.”

Sam put down the holo-disc as he uncoupled his device, glancing towards the filing cabinets with a sigh. “Agh, I really wanted to have time to go through those… but okay, it sounds like this story continues where the doctors hang out. I’m game if the rest of you are?”

“Lead on, great one,” Thred said, gesturing towards the door with a bit of a bow. Sue simply shrugged, while Chartreuse and Para simply nodded.

As the three students filed out, Para took a moment to exchange a glance with Chartreuse. For the moment, it seemed like their hunt for clues about Alice was aligning with the hunt that Sam and the others were on for conspiracies in the school - yet what were they to do if the two groups found themselves at cross-purposes?

WHAT’S NEXT?

[polldaddy poll=10083624]

VOTING CLOSES 7am EDT MONDAY AUG 27th

EPSILON DELTA, PART SIXTEEN: FATE’S WIDE WHEEL

Kat had been fine with doing a controlled firebombing of Compton’s camp, up until the point that he heard Alice on his communicator say, “Everyone. Get out. Get out now, NOW, N–"

Kat’s first instinct wasn’t to run, but rather to flatten himself down on the ground where he stood on the edge of the clearing. He was pretty sure he couldn’t run fast enough, and besides, the purple smoke he could see implied that Alijda had just teleported herself back in to get Beam. He tried to bend the fire of the exploding tent around and away from that location.

The mystic shockwave was a surprise.

Kat wasn’t sure whether things happened in the blink of an eye, or whether he actually lost consciousness. Either way, the next thing he knew, everyone in the clearing was flat on the ground. Except Compton. The short, bearded man was now standing rigidly, quietly, instead of bellowing about getting Destiny back. Then a smile flickered over his face.

Kat didn’t like that.

Firestorm charged in from the other side of the clearing. Kat winced, but decided not to intercede yet. Curiously, as Firestorm hummed and released a fireball towards Compton, the short man simply watched it approach. That is, until it was almost right in front of him, at which point he raised his palm, whistled - and the fireball bounced. Firestorm dove to the side and rolled as it came back towards him, causing Kat to wonder how much the cloaked man could be affected by his own attacks.

Kat took advantage of the distraction, crawling into the clearing, staying low to the ground. Alijda, Beam and the henchman who’s been holding onto Beam were all in the same general area. Hopefully they were merely unconscious, as it beat the alternative.

“Oh, this is brilliant,” Compton said, his smile becoming a smirk. “All I need now is more power. Hmmm, and what’s this aura I sense…"

Kat froze as Compton began to stride towards him - but it was Beam that Compton reached for, grabbing her by the arm and hauling the blonde up to her feet.

“Whuhhhh?” Beam warbled, the holographic girl seeming as dazed by the blast as any of them. She barely managed to stay upright as Compton began to drag her back towards the location of the stone circle. The location of the dimensional weakness.

Compton then began to whistle continuously, eyeing both Firestorm and Kat, as if to make it clear that he knew they were there, and not to do anything stupid. Beam moaned and tried to push Compton away as he reached his destination, but the man simply gripped her by the ear instead, whistling louder as Beam slumped down to the ground.

Kat remained where he was, trying to analyze the situation. Was Compton somehow draining Beam’s batteries using his magic? To what end? Compton pointed down. To weaken the dimensions? Firestorm tried to attack while their adversary’s attention was diverted - but again, his fireball bounced off an invisible wall.

“Damn it,” Kat said. He helped that attack burn itself out, before it could cause any major damage. He was getting good at that of late, given how they’d been trying to restrict the effects of their fire attacks to the clearing itself.

“Oh, you thought I had to be watching you to bounce your attacks back?” Compton snarked, ceasing his whistle. “How wrong you are. No, no, this power, awakened in me by that explosion, you have no chance of defeating it. Not with such pathetic attacks. And soon, I’ll have bled out enough energy from this strange one” - he jerked Beam’s head by the ear - “to gain full mental control over this mystic doorway. You hear that, Destiny, wherever you are? You’ll rue the day you crossed me, make no mistake.”

Compton resumed whistling.

However, having been reminded of the fact that Fate had been brought to safety reinvigorated Kat. Moreover, he knew Rose and Alice were still out there too, likely working on a plan. They simply needed to regroup. Kat resumed heading for Alijda.

He had managed to ascertain that Alijda was fine, but unlikely to regain consciousness any time soon, when Compton resumed his gloating.

“Ha ha! I can feel it happening,” Compton shouted in delight. “Control over this mystical gateway. Soon, I will be unstoppable.” He began to whistle louder.

That had happened faster than Kat had anticipated. Was another shockwave imminent? Firestorm began pushing himself to his feet; he looked to Kat for guidance.

Kat shook his head. They didn’t have enough information here. Maybe, after talking to Fate, they could reverse whatever Compton was about to do…? They certainly couldn’t manage it if they were left unconscious. Kat motioned at Firestorm to leave the clearing as he grasped for Alijda’s shoulders.

Which is when Rose ran in.

“Rose, run away,” Kat shouted.

Instead, Rose stopped and stood her ground about five metres away from Compton, issuing him a warning. So was this part of a plan? As Rose’s body seemed to double, and then double again, Kat had to assume it was, resisting the urge to gape. Did Rose have magic? Or was it holograms, maybe?

Whatever it was, it got Compton’s attention enough to free Beam, tossing her aside. But then, they had to assume Compton already had enough energy to enact his plans by now. Four sets of Rose cracked their knuckles. Then three of them rushed at him - as the fourth doubled back towards the treeline.

Okay, this HAD to be a plan.

Kat exchanged a glance with Firestorm (who was looking rather dumbfounded), then pushed himself up, running towards Compton himself. It had just occurred to him that they had only tried magical means of bringing him down. Perhaps Rose’s reasoning was that he was still vulnerable to a left hook.

His belief lasted only as long as it took to see one of the Roses try to punch Compton’s shoulder, her fist bouncing off an invisible wall, making her hit herself instead. From behind, another Rose tried to kick Compton’s legs out from under him, only to hit a similar barrier, and end up falling over herself.

The third Rose paused, then stuck out her tongue, stuck her thumbs in her ears and wiggled her fingers in the air. Provoking him? Because maybe Compton couldn’t maintain his defence while using an offensive power?

Kat honestly wasn’t sure what the plan was here any more. He stopped running, hoping someone would clue him in.

Compton seemed equally unsure of how to deal with Rose. He took a step forwards, swinging for the Rose who was taunting. She ducked out of the way, pulling SecondRose back up onto her feet as she moved. The third Rose, shaking out her hand, screamed down at the stone circle on the ground, and abruptly there were two circles there.

“You meddling…" Compton’s growl trailed off as he reached back and pulled some sort of switchblade out of his pocket.

“Oh, we’re doing physical violence here?” SecondRose snarked. “Because you don’t have the magic skills of your father?”

With a yell of rage, Compton slashed at ThirdRose, the teenager only just managing to duck and roll out of the way, audibly muttering, “oh, flûte”.

Kat was now headed for Firestorm. “The diary,” he called out. If this was all connected back to Fate’s abduction, there had to be some information there. “Is there a symbol we can use against him?”

“Uh, no, there was no handling of an invincible guy with a blade section,” Firestorm countered, pulling the book out of his robes and shaking it at him.

“Compton’s not invincible,” one of the Roses called out.

“All he can do here is absorb or reflect,” another Rose agreed.

“Watch him reflect my power,” ThirdRose added. She sang a note, and then there were four Roses running around Compton again.

“I will END you,” Compton said, lunging for a Rose. He managed to slice through part of her shirt, making her yelp.

Kat snatched the diary out of Firestorm’s hands and started running back towards the fight. “Hey, instead of beating up on girls, why not face off with me? I’ve got a book here with ALL of Destiny’s secrets in it. You want it?”

Everybody paused at that.

“Kat, do you know what you’re doing?” a Rose asked.

He looked back at her. “Do you?” he challenged. Because he was pretty sure he’d worked out their plan by now. To keep Compton away from the gateway, and to stall for time. He held Fate’s diary aloft.

“Give me that book,” Compton said.

“Say please,” Kat requested.

“Give it to me NOW,” Compton insisted.

“Wow, I can see why you’re not great at running a business,” Kat observed. “You can’t even follow simple instructions.”

Two of the Roses giggled. Compton looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel somewhere. “You think I don’t know some of my dad’s spells?” the shorter man screamed. “Hand that over, or I will use them. I will END you. All of you!”

“Hey, know what’s at the heart of this?” SecondRose mused. “Father issues. Paige had ‘em too. Find your own path separate from your father, Compton. Be your own person.”

Compton turned to glare at her. He had been letting out the occasional low whistle whenever he hadn’t been speaking. Now he whistled higher, and louder, and he started gesturing towards SecondRose. She placed her hands on her hips.

Compton gestured towards her. SecondRose’s head snapped back, and with a shocked look on her face, she fell to the ground - and vanished. The other Roses in the area staggered for a moment.

Kat almost shouted out ‘What did you do?’, but from the expression on Compton’s face, he seemingly hadn’t expected that result either.

“You think you’re so tough? Try that again,” shouted a Rose.

“Rose, what are you–" Kat cut himself off, as another Rose standing behind Compton raised an index finger and shook her head. Compton repeated his series of whistles and movements, and moments later, another Rose was gone.

Compton turned back to Kat. “Now, give me the book,” he declared. “Or another of your friends gets it.”

“Oh, no, no, please, do that once more first,” a Rose croaked out. “We almost got it that time.”

Compton obliged her. Moments later, the only people standing in the clearing were Compton, Kat, Firestorm, and one last copy of Rose. Or possibly she was the original Rose, and the Rose now returning to the clearing with Fate was the copy. Kat cleared his throat to keep Compton’s focus on him.

“Here’s the thing,” Kat said. “I’ve made a copy of the important pages here. If anything happens to me, a friend of mine will bring them to the police.”

“If you’re pinning your hopes on them, you must be desperate,” Compton observed. “Now stop wasting time and give me that book.”

“This book? Or the REAL book, which I have hidden back in the bushes?”

Compton shook his fist at Kat. “If you persist in these games, you WILL face the same fate as those redheads.“

“Actually,” came a new voice, tired but with a hard edge to it. “I’m the Fate you need to be worried about right now.”

Compton spun. Fate was now ten metres away from him. “Destiny. Have you finally come to your senses? Will you serve me?”

Both Roses moved to flank Fate, as the blonde spat into the ground. Then Fate began to trace something there with a stick she was carrying. “The spell for scrambling minds,” she remarked. “The one known by Compton Senior, the one that allowed him to abduct people. He was always so secretive about it, I was never able to figure out how it worked. Until now.”

Compton smirked. “You hope to try it against me? After I used it to dispel the doubling magic of this redhead? Fool, I can bounce it right back at you. You’ll lose your own mind.”

Fate looked back up at him. “Oh, no. No, because my spell will be stronger than the version you’ve been throwing around.”

Rose raised her hand and wiggled her fingers. “Hi. I’m Algebra. I multiply things.”

Compton’s smile morphed into a glare. “You stupid women. Even now, you do not understand my true power.”

“It still seems to be ‘reflect’ or ‘absorb’ to me,” the other Rose reiterated. “More to the point, for as long as you’re on reflect, we can do this.” She clapped her hand onto Fate’s shoulder, sang a note, and then abruptly there was another copy of both Rose and Fate, sketching on the ground. Then another.

“Meaning as long as you’re on reflect,” the Roses chorused. “We’re powering up.” More versions appeared, starting to form a circle around Compton. “The question becomes, are you man enough to absorb what Fate throws at you without succumbing? Or are you going to remain in the shadow of your father forever?”

Kat could have sworn Compton’s face went purple. And with a dozen Fates arranged in a half circle around the angry man, Rose’s notes ceased to be effective in creating any more copies.

“Now,” Rose whispered.

Fate began to chant the same phrase Compton had used earlier, but while he had punctuated his with whistles, Fate simply made her voice sound melodious. It wasn’t a happy melody, in fact Kat could pick up on an undercurrent of sadness and resentment, but it got the job done faster than Compton’s attempt to do the same.

As they finished, the Fates jabbed their sticks at the symbols on the ground. The area began to glow with a white light, and Compton let out a shriek. Kat was forced to look away from the brightness, and when he did turn back… Compton was still standing there. Looking stunned. And the only Rose and Fate in the area were lying on the ground, unconscious.

Fearing the worst, that their opponent had withstood the attack, Kat closed the distance to Compton, pulled back his free arm, and clocked the short man hard in the jaw. Compton crumpled to the ground without resistance, joining everyone else in the land of unconsciousness.

Well, almost everyone else.

“We win,” Beam chirped, from where she was still crumpled, unmoving, on the ground. “Now what. Are the chances. I could get. My own copy. Of Rose. To bring home. With me?”

Firestorm laughed. Kat’s communicator crackled back to life seconds later.

“This was probably not the dinner you envisioned,” Kat admitted.

Alijda smiled at him from across the table. “It’s not the location that matters. It was more about getting to know each other a little better.”

They had spent the last hour or so catching up on things in the Epsilon Station’s small cafeteria. This after having spent a couple of days completing paperwork after the mission, not to mention undergoing some tests to ensure there wouldn’t be any lingering issues after the mystic shockwave.

Firestorm had offered to take charge of dealing with Compton and the police down on the planet, once Fate (aka Destiny) had made it clear that she wasn’t planning to remain. In the end, Firestorm had decided not to ask more questions, deciding the more he knew, the more trouble he’d be in.

Fate had then helped Alice do a sweep of Compton’s business, confiscating anything dimensional from his records, under the rationale that his memory of such things would be sketchy anyway. It would have been like leaving matches in the hands of a toddler.

They hadn’t located records of anyone else who had once been abducted. And after years of living on the planet without finding anyone herself, Fate reasoned that randomly removing people who believed themselves to be natives might cause more harm than good anyway.

“Right,” Kat agreed. He rubbed his forehead. “I don’t see how this can work though. I’m in the military. I can’t simply disappear.”

“I could,” Alijda said. “Except it’s probably against the rules, plus someone needs to take care of Alice. I’m guessing she’s the one who volunteered to dress as a maid and serve us today?”

“Oh yeah,” Kat agreed. “Have you heard of the anime ‘Kaichou wa Maid-sama’?”[1]

Alijda shook her head. “No, and don’t even start. Back to you. Now that your decades long search for Fate is done, what will you do?”

Kat leaned back in his chair. It was a good question. “I guess I’ll stay hooked into occult matters. Still lots of pretty girls out there I can… not date?” A frown tugged at his features.

Alijda chuckled. “You sound like me when I realize I’ve blithely talked about killing myself.”

“Old habits,” Kat said dryly. “Like anything else, I guess we go forwards one step at a time.”

Alijda nodded. “I guess we do.” She seemed about to say something else, when Fate walked into the room.

Fate had cleaned up nicely, and was wearing a casual shirt and slacks, having pulled her long, blonde hair into a side ponytail. Without looking up from the book in her hands, she called out, “Hey, Alice. Bad news. The– oh, sorry, the computer said Alice was in here.” She seemed a bit chagrined once she took in the scene.

“Hmph. Thank you, Ziggy, thank you VERY much for that,” Alice sighed, popping up from behind the cash register with a sigh. She was still dressed in the maid outfit.

Alijda snapped her gaze over towards her roommate. “You were SPYING on us?”

“I was quietly counting the receipts down here after serving your dessert,” Alice said, leaning her elbows onto the counter with a grin. “And for the record, I can take care of myself, thankyouverymuch.”

“Uh, Alice? This station exists outside of space and time, there should be no receipts there,” Kat pointed out.

Alice nodded sagely. “So I gotta make sure none randomly appear. Cuz that’d be weird.”

“Hey, great news,” Beam said, entering the room behind Fate, dragging Rose along with her. “My lesbian friend here no longer has the desire to lick at my neck whenever she sneezes!”

“Ahem. She means that the police smell tracking thing has worn off,” Rose said, her freckles getting a bit washed out by her reddening cheeks. “So I’m probably clear to leave.”

Beam grinned. “Can I joke about tasting, and which of us is sweeter, as a call back to your comment on the day we met? Or is that out of bounds?”

“Don’t say it in public,” Rose advised, the roll of her eyes implying Beam’s attitude was no longer getting to her quite as much. “Moreover, there’s been no side effects from my using math powers on that planet, and Alice said that the ability shouldn’t carry over to my normal reality. So yay?”

“Hey, that’s great,” Kat said, giving her a thumbs up. “But guys, me and Alijda were kinda in the midst of…"

Alijda laughed. “Oh, Kat, it’s fine. I think we were pretty much done. Besides, with Rose departing, I’m kind of curious as to who will end up being left in charge.”

Kat double-checked Alijda’s expression, noting her sincerity, before looking back to Rose. She was already looking at him. He nodded slightly at her; they’d had a brief conversation that morning about her possible selection.

Rose took in a deep breath. “Right. Well. Since there might be issues from higher goddesses if I pick either Alice or Beam, I decided that…" She turned. “Fate should be in charge. But, I mean, the others can stick around here to keep her company, and to make sure she doesn’t go crazy or something. If they want. This is okay, yes?”

Fate’s pencil slid out of the spine of her book and fell on the floor. “Oh. I… I was wondering how I’d return home after all this time. So I suppose this… as a transition… that is… I’m honoured.”

“Ooh, I have no problems being under a woman like Fate,” Beam said, her eyes twinkling.

“It’s Fate’s Wide Wheel[2],” Alice mused. She eyed everyone in the room, then face palmed. “Quantum Leap song. From Glitter Rock. Get WITH it, people, sheesh.”

Kat chuckled, then looked back at Fate. “Congratulations. I hope this means we can still keep in touch.” Fate nodded back at him, smiling a bit nervously.

“As to the bad news?” Alijda remarked, pushing her chair back from the table.

Fate blinked. “Oh! Yes. Well.” She tossed her book on the table. “It’s as I always suspected. Compton Senior? He didn’t come across his dimensional knowledge by accident. It was somehow fed to him. By someone else.”

Alice’s expression turned serious as she came around the counter. “That’s impossible. No one on that planet could have had the knowledge.”

“I know,” Fate said. “I didn’t say it was from someone on that planet.”

“Something to do with where the arm came from then?” Rose asked.

Fate shook her head. “Unlikely. The arm appeared later. Possibly as a result of Compton Senior’s efforts. His awareness had to precede that. Somehow, there was a space-time breach, and this Station didn’t know about it. As if the abduction thing wasn’t already a clue to it’s fallibility.”

“So we have a mystery on our hands,” Kat said, frowning.

“One that me and Alice will need get to the bottom of,” Beam decided, crossing her arms. “Now that Fate’s going to be handling the daily station duties.”

“Huh. Will you need our help with any of this?” Alijda wondered.

Fate picked her pencil up off the floor. “Time will tell,” she remarked, tossing it onto the table. “Only time will tell.”

[1] Have a “Maid-Sama!” OP. [2] Here’s a Doctor Who video with Scott Bakula singing.

END OF STORY 4: EPSILON DELTA

Preferred POV character from Story4? (* means ‘voted on at the time’) OPTIONS:

VOTING WILL LIKELY REMAIN OPEN (like the end of every full story)

EXTRA ASIDE:
Thanks for reading! I’ll likely do a “behind the scenes” separate post later, maybe with some stats, and then in 2018 we’ll head into “Virga Mysteries”. Still every two weeks, as there are edits, and I need to devote some time back to my math comic. There’s a Discord comic chat coming up for it in February and I want it to see new material. I’m also now writing monthly for the Time Travel Nexus. So I’m keeping busy.

EPSILON DELTA, PART FIFTEEN: ROSE TO THE OCCASION

Rose watched Alijda as the older brunette woman considered their next move. At last, Alijda stood and moved off of the tarp, rubbing the areas where she’d been tied up. “Well, Firestorm is the resident of this planet,” she concluded. “Might as well go with his plan.”

“Really?” Rose said, surprised. It wasn’t that she had anything against the idea of fire bombing Compton’s supply tent. She had simply expected a plan with more finesse to come up.

“Unless someone else has an objection,” Alijda clarified. “Plus I suppose you are technically still in charge of the Station, Rose. Are you good with us doing this?”

“Oh.” Well, her plan had been kind of shot down by Alice. “Uh, yeah, I suppose.”

“Then I’ll spread the word,” Alice chirped over the communicator. “Because we’ve got to get on this fast. Beam turned on her communicator after Alijda left, so I’m now tuned into the happenings of Compton’s tent. FYI, Ned’s on his way to tell the others that Alijda escaped. He also beat up Beam a little.”

“He did WHAT?” Rose shrieked, one hand clenching into a fist.

“He hath attacked your lady love,” Alice clarified. “Give ‘em hell, Rose.”

ROSEMARY THORNE
Commission from Lia[/caption]

Rose spun, staring towards the clearing. She couldn’t see it through the underbrush, but knew where it was. In part because Firestorm was sending up balls of fire, and Kat was making them burn up in the air as a distraction, one which was easy to spot in the darkness.

Presumably, the two of them would now start to smash their fire down into the clearing. Destroying Compton’s plans, while sowing enough confusion for Alijda to teleport Fate and Beam to safety. And as they did that, Rose would… watch.

After giving the order, all she could do was watch.

Her hand fell open. “I have no powers. I guess I’ll fold up the tarp here.”

Alijda cleared her throat. “Actually Rose, as much as I don’t want to have to do that blind teleport a second time, it would be good to keep the tarp here. Just in case.”

“Awesome. Means I’m zero help.”

Alijda reached for Rose’s hand, and Rose turned to see the older woman giving her a reassuring smile. “Oh, Rose. You’re the one who got us here. By sniffing out Beam. That helped.”

Rose shrugged. “Except anyone could’ve done it,” she pointed out. “If they’d been the one stamped by the police instead. But it’s cool,” she continued, before Alijda could speak up again. “You’re older and more experienced anyway. Go give ‘em hell on my behalf.”

Rose forced out a smile. Alijda still seemed to hesitate, until Alice’s voice came back over the communicators.

“Beam’s getting clear of the tent,” Alice announced. “Kat and Firestorm are starting their run.”

“Hell incoming,” Alijda assured Rose. She dashed off towards the clearing.

Rose nibbled on her lower lip. She activated her communicator. “Alice, can you let me know when Beam is all safe and sound? I mean, along with everyone else too. Obviously.”

“No problem,” Alice assured her. “If you want, while you’re waiting, you can think about who should take this station back from you. Once the problem’s been dealt with.”

“Oh, right,” Rose groaned. “Can’t it just be Beam again? Or you?”

“The all-knowing dimensional God could object,” Alice reflected. “But then, they might not have a leg to stand on. Given how Beam bringing you in did save the station, and me coordinating here now proves that I would still be an asset.”

“Gods might not even have legs in the first place,” Rose mused.

“They move in mysterious ways,” Alice affirmed. She then continued to hum, “It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s all right. They move in mysterious ways.”

Rose ran her fingers back through her hair. Perhaps almost as important as who she chose for the job would be who she did NOT choose. Because what would Alice or Beam do if they weren’t working on Epsilon? For that matter, was there even anyone else to choose? Alijda had already said she wasn’t interested. What about Kat - or could having him be in charge cause problems for Alijda, putting their relationship into a chain of command.

“Oh, don’t pick a guy to run the place,” Alice added, as if reading her thoughts. “That’d be vetoed. I mean, can you even imagine a male administrator patrolling the multiverse? Ha! Men’s egos can be so fragile. Things would get seriously screwed up.”

Rose chuckled. “What’s that a quote from?”

“Not quoting, it’s just a truism. Oh, hey, hold on. These power readings are spiking, that shouldn’t be…" The humour vanished from her tone. “Everyone. Get out. Get out now, NOW, N–"

There was a blast of feedback from the communicator, making Rose wince and hold her arm out to the side. At the same time, the Earth shook. Moments later some sort of shockwave was projected out from the vicinity of the clearing, knocking Rose back on her ass.

Then things were eerily silent.

Rose did her best to shake it off, though she felt queasy. When she reopened her eyes, she saw a number of leaves and pine needles all around her on the ground, shaken free by the blast. For a moment, it seemed like there were even more trees surrounding her too - until Rose realized she had double vision again. She closed her eyes, counted to three, and when she looked once more, the problem had resolved itself.

Rose scrambled to her feet and ran for the clearing.

She nearly tripped over the blonde woman in the dark, but managed to sidestep her in time. Going down on one knee, Rose quickly felt for a pulse, only to realize that the woman was breathing.

Also, it wasn’t Beam. So with that hair, and more to the point that plain looking dress, it had to be Destiny. Or rather, Fate, the local potion master and Kat’s childhood friend.

“Hey, are you gonna be okay?” Rose asked, gently tapping at the woman’s cheek.

Fate moaned. “Today I’ve been kidnapped, tortured, and caught in a magical explosion, what do you think?” she grumbled. She cracked an eye open. “Who are you, anyway?”

“Rose Thorne,” the redhead said with an uncertain smile. “With Team Beam, trying to take down Compton and save you.”

“Oh, YOU’RE Rose,” Fate muttered. She tried to push herself up.

Rose wasn’t sure how to take that. She glanced back towards the clearing - it was now close enough to be seen through the trees, in fact some of those trees had been bent away from the area - and decided that, for right now, the stranger in front of her had to take precedence over her team. She helped support Fate into a seated position.

“I am indeed,” Rose agreed. “Can I help you?”

“Gimme a second.” Fate pressed her palm against her head, squinting at Rose through the darkness. “Huh. You don’t look like the most amazing lesbian anyone would ever meet, but then me and Beam didn’t have tons of time to talk while Compton was setting up camp.”

“Ah. Well, y’know, I’m not sure how many other lesbians Beam has really met,” Rose said. She hoped she wasn’t blushing foolishly.

Fate chuckled. “Ah, young love. Those were the days.”

Rose rubbed her neck. “So, um, did you get blown back here by that explosion?” she asked, trying to change the subject.

“No,” Fate admitted, lowering her arm. “It was that teleporting woman. She pulled me away from Compton, we appeared here, she said she’d be right back, then she vanished in a purple cloud. Moments later, boom, and I’m on the ground. What happened, did Compton’s tent blow up or something?”

“I think so? At least, that was part of the plan,” Rose admitted. She tapped at her communicator. “Alice? Alice, what happened?” There was no answer.

Fate coughed. “Okay. So, bright side, Compton can’t use his fireworks and other explosives to force open a dimensional portal. Nor can he use his potions and other magical items to force open a dimensional portal. But, down side, I think those two things interacted in a negative way as they were taken out. Hopefully not in a way that opened a dimensional portal.”

“Dimensional portal bad, I get that,” Rose affirmed.

“Bad in the hands of Compton’s damn family is all,” Fate clarified, taking in a long breath.

Rose nodded. “Right. Well, give me a moment, I’ll go see if I can tell what happened.”

Rose began to push herself back to her feet, only to have Fate reach out and grasp her leg. “Wait, let me come,” she requested. “Sounds like you’re cut off from your friends, and I might be able to help diagnose the situation.”

Rose hesitated. Fate was bound to slow them down, but still, the woman had a point.

She reached her arm out. Fate grasped it, and Rose hauled her up to her feet. Fate smiled. “Thanks, Rose. So, do you have a thing for older women at all?”

Rose flinched. “What? No. That is, damn, I’m sure you’re a nice person and all but I didn’t even know you were–"

“Trying to lighten the mood,” Fate finished, interrupting. “Because you seem tense as all get out. Though I suppose the situation warrants tension. Sorry, it was a bad joke, let’s get a move on.”

“Right. I knew that, not really,” Rose said.

Apparently Fate had a weird sense of humour. Meaning she’d get along just fine with the rest of the Epsilon team. Actually… what if Fate were put in charge of Epsilon? Could that be a thing? Or would the trauma Fate had suffered here be a deterrent to being in charge? Rose made a mental note to ask Kat about it in private.

Assuming Kat was still okay after the mystical explosion.

The two of them crept closer to the clearing.

The first thing Rose saw was the bodies. Since the clearing was still magically lit, they were hard to miss. She started to charge in closer, only to have Fate grasp her shoulder, preventing the motion. “That can’t be good,” she muttered.

Rose turned to see what Fate was looking at. That’s when she saw what had to be Compton.

The short man with the scruffy beard was standing and whistling some distance away from the bodies, with one hand pointed at the ground. His other held Beam up by the ear. The blonde hologram was slumped on the ground, her eyes open, but seemingly blank. Rose’s hands had curled back into fists before she realized it.

Yet charging in was the wrong course of action. Rose shrugged off Fate’s grip, gliding behind the nearest tree, peering around it to get a better look at the situation.

The bodies she’d seen were those of Alijda and one of Compton’s henchmen. She now saw that Kat, Firestorm, and the other henchman were also lying prone on the ground. Before Rose could ask herself if they were okay, Compton turned to look down at something, and Firestorm was moving.

The cloaked man sat up, thrusting his arm forward and letting out a humming noise. A fireball appeared in the air, streaking towards Compton.

It bounced off an invisible wall, flying back in the direction it had come.

“Damn it,” Kat said. Rose watched as Firestorm rolled away, with the fireball striking the ground and quickly burning itself out as Kat stared at it.

“Oh, you thought I had to be watching you to bounce your attacks back?” Compton snarked, ceasing his whistle. “How wrong you are. No, no, this power, awakened in me by that explosion, you have no chance of defeating it. Not with such pathetic attacks. And soon, I’ll have bled out enough energy from this strange one” - he jerked Beam’s head by the ear - “to gain full mental control over this mystic doorway.”

“Well, that’s bad,” Fate muttered near Rose’s ear.

Compton turned to look at some trees. “You hear that, Destiny, wherever you are? You’ll rue the day you crossed me, make no mistake.”

“That’s worse,” Fate added. Compton resumed whistling.

Rose turned to face the older woman. “Can you work some of your symbol magic to stop him?”

“Hmph. If he were unconscious, maybe,” Fate said. “Seems like he’d resist most anything right now. I don’t suppose you have magic abilities that would knock him out?”

Rose shook her head. “I have zip all for magic. Unless you count the tracking spell the cops gave me.”

Fate frowned. “Oh? That’s bizarre. The police would only have given you that ability if you already had major magic potential. And even if it was dormant, that blast wave would have triggered something for you, since it also did for Compton… Rose, did you feel anything after the wave hit?”

“Nauseous,” Rose said. “And I also saw double for a bit, but that happened after I got stamped in the police station too. Oh, and earlier, in your place. I’m probably overexerting myself or something.”

“I don’t think so,” Fate said, her eyes widening. “Were you in the presence of strong magic each time you saw double?”

“Uh, I guess?” Rose realized. The protection spell, the tracking spell, and the explosion did make three for three. “Why is that important?”

“Because it means the magic inside you is resonating with your surroundings,” Fate explained. “I’m pretty sure it’s the same sort of resonance which allows for my occult symbols to work more tangibly on this Earth. In fact, if you’re not careful, the magical backlash could lead to you feeling kind of drunk.”

“Oh, now someone warns me,” Rose muttered.

Fate grasped her by the shoulders. “Rose, this is great. If you’re seeing double, you might actually have the power to double the things you see, be it temporarily, or as an illusion.” She frowned. “If only we could somehow coordinate your ability with my symbols…"

“Ha ha! I can feel it happening,” Compton shouted in delight. “Control over this mystical gateway. Soon, I will be unstoppable.” He began to whistle louder.

Rose snapped her gaze back towards the clearing. It looked like Kat had crawled over to Alijda to check on her. Perhaps hoping that her teleport ability would be able to get to Compton, but she remained unconscious. Firestorm was pushing himself to his feet, but he looked unsteady. And Beam, poor Beam looked catatonic.

With still no word from Alice, it was up to Rose. Rose, and her doubling ability. Which honestly, she should have recognized sooner - after all, she had once been Algebra, capable of multiplying emotions. Was this so different?

Rose turned back to Fate. “Could I also duplicate living matter?”

Fate blinked, lowering her arms. “I don’t know.”

An idea was forming. “Tell me how to activate my magic here.”

“It’s different for everyone. But it is sound based. Humming, whistling, even the sound of a sneeze can trigger something under the correct conditions.”

Sneezing, that would probably just turn her nose on. But vocal notes, as a choir member, Rose knew all about those. She thought back to the scream she’d used when rushing into Fate’s home, the first time she’d experienced her double vision. It would do.

“Okay, Fate. If this works, just tell one of me how to coordinate with your symbols. If it doesn’t, um, avenge me.”

“One of you? Rose, what–"

Rose evaded Fate’s outstretched hand, dodging around the tree trunks to emerge into the clearing, jogging towards Compton.

“Hmmmm, what have we here?” Compton said, again ceasing his whistling as he turned to look at her.

“Rose, run away,” Kat shouted.

Rose stopped and stood her ground about five metres away from Compton. She could now see that the hand he had pointing down was directed at some sort of stone circle, which was engraved with a clover.

“Here’s your only warning,” Rose said, raising her own hand to point, while wishing her arm wasn’t shaking. “Stop what you’re doing, and let your hostage go.”

Compton smirked back. “Or else what?”

Rose drew in a breath, tried to envision multiplication, and screamed at approximately a middle C. As expected, Compton reacted as he had with the fireball, and bounced her spell back. At least, she assumed that’s what had happened, as she felt not only her vision doubling, but everything else about her as well.

She took a step to the left, as she simultaneously took a step to the right.

Both Roses felt a little queasy at that, but she immediately screamed again, to take advantage of Compton’s confusion.

“What trickery is this?” Compton demanded, as Rose became four. Apparently sensing that he had an actual fight on his hands, he released Beam’s ear, throwing her aside as he took a step closer to one of the Roses.

Rose began to circle left, even as she circled right, each version vaguely aware that only the Rose second from the left had any real permanence. Yet her other selves knew they didn’t feel like an illusion, so for as long as they were around, well, perhaps it was time to test out their self defence courses.

“You’re about to find out,” the Roses chorused as one.

A faint giggle came from the ground as Beam’s eyes refocussed. “Ooooh. You. Pissed. Off. My. Girl. Friend.”

Four sets of Rose cracked their knuckles.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Who will be taking over the Epsilon Project? OPTIONS:

VOTING CLOSES NOON EST SATURDAY DECEMBER 16th

THE ORACLE PROPHESIED:
The double vision cauldron of Part 7 was a throwaway item for me to use anywhere, if I wanted. For all I knew then, it was specific to the item, or the location. But when Part 9’s vote picked Rose to be deputized, and the double vision returned in Part 10 (“see deuce”), Rose’s specific brand of magic became all but inevitable. The oracle did not prophesize Rose doubling herself here, but hey, whatever works.

EXTRA ASIDE:
I’m pretty sure we’re down to one last instalment, which will be posted over the holidays. Then we’ll go into whatever got selected out of this post, because it doesn’t make much sense to have a runoff vote now (most everything is tied). So, go vote again on your fave? It renews every week. In other news, “Time & Tied”’s rerun has finished on RRL, and there were some character votes there, if you felt like contributing or seeing results in the final post. Thanks as always for reading here; I’m blown away by there being 7 votes for a second time running.

EPSILON DELTA, PART FOURTEEN: TIED AND TRUE

“Wondering about Kat?”

Alijda looked up at the remark by Rose. While waiting for Kat to return from his scouting mission, Alijda had taken to leaning back against a tree, her arms crossed. She fired off a reassuring smile at the redhead. “I’m sure he can take care of himself just fine.”

“Oh, I know,” Rose said, clasping her hands behind her back. She leaned forwards a little. “I said wondering, not worrying.”

Alijda felt her smile becoming more of a smirk. “Ooh. First Alice, now you, huh?” she remarked, more amused than anything else. “Fear not. The two of us are possibly doing dinner, so there’s nothing more for anyone to wonder OR worry about.”

“Possibly doing?” Rose prompted.

Alijda shrugged. “We literally do not live on the same Earth. Makes reunions awkward. The weird thing is how, despite knowing that, I haven’t been able to simply forget about him. So I guess we’ll see what happens.” She gave Rose a pointed look. “Something you may want to consider regarding Beam.”

Rose seemed to pinken, though it was difficult to be sure now that the sun had set. “Nice deflection, but I hadn’t planned on forgetting about Beam.”

“You just hope to forget about the relationship issues she sparked.”

Rose pulled back and looked away.

Alijda quickly moved to grasp the young girl by the shoulder. “Hey, not judging,” she said. “Not by a long shot. Goodness knows I don’t know how to react to anyone who shows an interest in me, romantically or otherwise. It’s only, heads up, Beam is something you’ll need to deal with before this is over. And you might not have a lot of time to decide on a path, depending on how things play out. You know that, yes Rose?”

She sighed. “Yeah. Plus I’ve got to pawn off this Station Commander role onto someone else too.” Rose crinkled her nose. “Do you think, if I gave it back to Beam, that she’d be able to email into my dimension or whatever? Because I could see having her as a pen pal going forwards. If she doesn’t hate my guts after that rant I gave her.”

“Hm! That’s not a bad idea,” Alijda reflected. “Even if Beam’s not in charge, I might be able to hack something together.” She wiggled her eyebrows as she pulled her arm back. “All you’ll need to do find a way to explain to your girlfriend why your new blonde pen pal keeps emailing you images of herself in sexy lingerie. I’ve heard that’s a tradition where Beam’s from.”

Rose’s eyes went wide. The mixed look of fear and confusion on her face gradually morphed into one of chagrin as she saw Alijda’s expression. “Oh. You’re joking. Um, right?”

“Mostly,” Alijda said. “Just remember, Beam’s ways are not your ways, plus she’s a hologram to boot. Don’t be afraid to set ground rules.”

“For sure,” Rose agreed, rubbing her neck.

“If you two ladies are done chit chatting, I can hear Kat coming back,” Firestorm remarked dryly, walking past them.

“Oh golly, we’ll swap makeup tips some other time then,” Alijda deadpanned. Rose let out a quick laugh. Firestorm didn’t seem to notice.

The three of them walked over to meet Kat as he approached through the underbrush.

“So Compton and Co are up to something,” Kat concluded after giving them a quick rundown of what he’d seen at the clearing. “The question is, how do we stop whatever this guy is up to, while also spiriting Beam and Fate out of there safely.”

“You’re sure the Destiny woman was your Fate?” Alijda verified, searching Kat’s expression. His voice had caught when describing her. Would his personal stake in things become an issue?

“I’m sure,” Kat said, clenching his jaw. “We’ve got to save her.”

“Should that be our priority though?” Rose asked.

Kat rounded on her, his body tensing, and the young girl shrank back in surprise. Alijda reached out to touch Kat’s shoulder.

“Please clarify?” she asked gently, looking at Rose.

Rose cleared her throat. “Um. Just, seems like this Compton guy feels he has something to prove. What if removing Fate, his key source of information, drives him into doing a boneheaded thing later on instead of backing down?”

“In which case I’d hope your plans don’t involve you simply waltzing away,” Firestorm grumbled.

“You’re right, Rose,” Alijda agreed. “We do need more information before we act.” She released Kat’s shoulder as she felt his posture relaxing. Though his jaw remained clenched.

“Do you know anything more about Compton’s intentions?” Kat asked, looking at Firestorm.

“No. I’m not the font of knowledge you seem to think I am,” the planetary resident insisted.

“We need to talk to Beam,” Rose put in. “I mean, wasn’t her whole plan to learn more? She doesn’t know we’re out here now, worried. She might have real good ideas, if we can get to her, as she’s seen this guy up close.”

“Another good point,” Alijda yielded. “The question is, how can anyone get to Beam when she’s in that tent, without causing Compton to overreact?”

They exchanged glances. Kat sighed. “I have a thought,” he admitted. “But I don’t like it, because it involves putting someone else in danger.”

“Let’s hear it anyway,” Alijda said.

When Alijda teleported into the clearing, she made a point of trying to arrive near the spot that Kat said Compton had been pointing at earlier. That helped her to see the stone circle on the ground, two steps away, with some sort of engraving on it. Possibly a four leaf clover? Interesting.

She didn’t have much time to think about it though, because her presence in the purple cloud of smoke had attracted everyone’s attention in the area. She raised her hands into the air as Compton’s security guy pointed a gun at her.

“Oh, golly!” Alijda said, trying to put a quaver into her voice. “What happened? However did I get here? What’s going on?”

Compton, the shorter man with the beard, had been in the process of doing something with a potion, looming over Destiny, who was on the ground. Or rather, Fate - Alijda supposed she should start thinking of the woman that way. They hadn’t been sure what Compton had been trying to accomplish from the edge of the clearing, but Alijda saw it now. He’d been cutting Fate with a knife, then applying a healing potion, as some sort of torture technique.

Alijda hated the guy immediately. She forced her expression to remain neutral.

Compton pulled Fate back to her feet, pointing at Alijda. “How is this possible?” he demanded of her. “How can people be coming through that thing before I’ve fully opened it?!”

“I still don’t know, and even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you,” Fate said tearfully. She spat at his feet.

Bonus points to Fate. Alijda took a few steps forwards, her arms still up, to help pull everyone’s gaze back to her. “Can you send me back now?” she asked. “I’d hate to be late for my CyberArm class.”

Only Alijda noticed Fate’s eyes widen slightly. She the woman gave a hopeful smile in response.

“Stop where you are,” Compton’s man said, waggling his gun to arrest Alijda’s forward motion.

“Hey, Ned,” Compton called out at the same time. “Bring more rope out here, we’ve got another one.”

In less than a minute, Ned had emerged, and Alijda had had her arms bound behind her. She was then pulled towards the tent. “I can walk,” she said, petulantly.

“You can shut up,” Ned countered. He pushed her inside and she nearly fell on her face.

The tent was big enough to fit four people comfortably, and contained a few rolled up sleeping bags, implying that Compton had planned on camping out for a while. Granted, that could be due to his coming into the area from another town. The open container of potions and what looked like a supply of fireworks was a bit harder to explain away. Compton had a plan, but what was it?

“Oh!” was Beam’s only exclamation as Ned marched in behind Alijda, pushing her over next to the holographic girl.

Alijda fired off a smile at Beam as Ned got busy tying up her legs. “Hi again. Rose is worried about you,” she remarked.

Beam looked away. “No,” she sighed. “Rose hates–"

“–being drunk,” Alijda finished. “It makes her say silly things she regrets. Gotta get used to us humans being irrational, Beam.”

Beam turned back, a hopeful look on her face. Ned stood up and brushed off his hands. “Do I have to gag you, girlie? Or will you shut up?” he asked.

Alijda glared at him. “Do I have to spell out the fact that we know each other and obviously came from the same place? Or does your boss not care to have that information?”

Ned glared back. He looked from her, to the front of the tent, and back. Then he reached into a nearby pack, pulling out a towel. Stuffing one corner of it into Alijda’s mouth, he then turned and walked back outside.

Alijda gave his back a nasty look. She turned back towards Beam, glancing down at the towel which was protruding from between her lips, which she couldn’t easily spit out. Beam leaned in close, grabbing the material between her own teeth, and she pulled it free. Alijda tried to spit out the aftertaste.

“At least these guys are idiots,” she said.

CHIBI BEAM
Commission from Gen Ishihara

“Which is bad,” Beam insisted. “Very bad, considering what they know and what they’re attempting.”

Alijda caught the undercurrent of fear in Beam’s tone. “Okay. I’m all ears, and ready to teleport away again with the information,” she said.

Beam glanced towards the tent flap.

“Don’t worry, Kat and Firestorm are ready with a distraction to buy us more time if we need,” Alijda insisted. “What have you found out?”

Beam nodded. “Right. Well, you’ll need the backstory. I learned it when they left me and Destiny together while they were setting up camp. She told me it all started with Compton’s father. A man who abducted people from other worlds, recruiting them to work here, for him.”

Alijda flinched. “Wait. So Destiny - who is Fate, by the way - was abducted?”

Beam nodded again. “Compton Sr. had some way of scrambling people’s minds, giving them false histories so they wouldn’t want to go back home. But it didn’t work on Dest– Fate,” Beam corrected herself. “Possibly because she carried her own ward of protection. She even escaped from him. Tried to get local authorities to go after Compton Senior, but her story was too fantastical, and he was too influential. Plus the guy was smart, shutting down his activities when she began pointing fingers.”

“Damn. So he was a successful businessman largely due to illicit abductions from other magical worlds,” Alijda reasoned. “Did he take items as well as people?”

“Probably. So, this left Fate resigned to living out her days here, because it didn’t seem like anyone knew of other Earths at all. Of course, she did try to find people living here who might be like her, creating her club of people with powers not-quite-right for this world. But she never told them her history, fearing they might simply be locals with quirks.”

Alijda frowned. “But then why would Compton’s son now be–" It came to her. “He inherited everything when his dad passed away. He must have found information in his dad’s records, and wants to start this whole portal thing back up. To become a success story. Hoping Fate can fill in any missing pieces towards re-activating it.”

“Bingo. And he got to Fate using that Ned guy,” Beam added. “Managed to get him on her list, then boom, abduction.”

“And the cyber arm?” Alijda wondered.

Beam made a shrugging motion. “Fate found it in the clearing one day. After all, this apparently IS a dimensional weak point. She didn’t want to leave it around for anyone else to find, but hoped that despite removing it, it would phase back into her world at some future time. Hence the symbol she placed on it.”

Alijda nodded, and was about to ask another question, when there were a couple of shouts from outside the tent.

“Damn, we’re almost out of time,” she realized. “Beam, do you know how best to stop Compton?”

Beam shook her head. “All I know is he’s planning a ritual, and we can’t underestimate him. He knows things through whatever his father left behind. The only reason he’s waited to act on the stuff outright is out of a fear that he’ll end up trapped on some other world. Hence his nabbing of Fate. But if he’s cornered, who knows what he’ll do.”

Alijda nodded. “Pity we’ve still got Firestorm with us, or we could just portal everyone here up to the Station and sort it out from there.”

Beam snickered. “It amuses me that you think Epsilon has that much power,” she said. “But even so, Compton’s two friends still think he’s a bit nuts. We don’t want to give his stories more credence. I kind of regret claiming that I appeared from another place as it is, and am kind of hoping we can claim to be part of a joke that Compton himself set up for them.”

“Mmmm.” Alijda glanced towards the front of the tent as the shouting got louder. “Once I’m out of here, can you go holographic?”

“I’d need to be able to touch my earring,” Beam admitted. “Also, physical objects on my person phase with me, so I’d still be tied up. Even assuming my power reserves are enough to do it.”

“You want to come with me then?”

Beam shook her head. “I won’t leave Fate with them. Underneath it all, I’m still a hologram. Even if they cut me, my blood isn’t real, so better me than her.”

Alijda imagined that while Beam’s blood might not be ‘real’, it’d still hurt like hell, given how the blonde girl’s reactions had been programmed to mimic that of humans. But there wasn’t time to argue, plus maybe Beam could phase, once freed.

“I can at least help with your hands,” Alijda reasoned, given her ability to decide whether to take objects with her on a teleport or not. “Show me the ropes. Alice, it’s time to check in with Rose!”

“Roger wilco,” came Alice’s voice. “Apologies to any pilots listening in who are cringing and want to smack me.”[1]

“You kept the comms open,” Beam realized. “Smart. Sorry I couldn’t activate my own communicator once they got me.” She flipped over to present her back to Alijda, her arms bound tightly together behind her.

Alijda edged down towards Beam’s bottom, closing her mouth over the end of the rope and closing her eyes. She visualized the predetermined area in her mind, and that she wanted to be there with with the ropes.

Gods, but she hated teleporting blind. Even with live surveillance cameras, there was always the chance that something would turn up at just the wrong moment, or that there was some nigh invisible wire that would end up perforating her body, or…

“Rose says you’re good, Alijda,” came Alice’s voice.

‘My life’s in their hands,’ Alijda thought. She teleported.

With her eyes closed, she didn’t experience any visual disorientation, but there was a bit of motion sickness as she fell the half metre onto Firestorm’s tarp, the one Kat and his group had used earlier for his communication ritual. They’d set it out earlier for this very reason.

Alijda spat Beam’s ropes out of her mouth after she landed - seriously, she could use some mouthwash after this mission - and drew in a huge lungful of air. She seemed to be alive, if still trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey. Blinking her eyes open confirmed that she had made it to the prearranged failsafe location.

“She’s here,” Rose’s voice said from behind her. “Uh, you want me to untie you, Alijda?”

“Please,” Alijda rasped. “I’m a little too shaken up to teleport out of these at the moment.”

She heard Rose’s feet approaching on the tarp, and then the redhead was looming over her, fiddling with the ropes binding her hands. “Alice passed on most of what she heard to us,” Rose assured. “But the only real plan we have remains Firestorm’s preference for launching fireballs at their tent.”

Alijda chuckled. “Well, that would set off the fireworks they have in there, so it’s sure to mess up whatever their goals are,” she remarked. “But that’s risky.”

“Even given Kat’s ability to control fire?”

“Hmmm, point. Still, our best bet might be subterfuge,” Alijda decided. “They’re not that smart. We could make Compton think he’s awakened some sort of dimensional gods his father had offended. Scare him away for good. I think Fate would play along.”

Then again, as she said it, she realized that might only add credence to his beliefs. The very thing Beam had hoped to avoid.

Rose sat back as she pulled Alijda’s ropes free. “There’s no way the Project could simply shore up this dimensional spot then?” she asked. “Making all of Compton’s efforts totally moot?”

“Oh, we could totally do that,” Alice’s voice offered up through the communicator. “The problem is it’d take time, and the process further weakens the forces, much like how waves pull back from a shoreline before a tsunami. Do we really want to risk that when Compton might know how to drive a wedge in?”

Alijda chewed on her lower lip as she considered the options.

[1] When I looked up the phrase, I learned “roger” means ‘received and understood’ while “wilco” means ‘will comply’, making both words together rather redundant.

OPTIONS:

VOTING CLOSES NOON EST SATURDAY DECEMBER 2nd

EXTRA ASIDE:
I had another medical appointment a couple days ago. Life’s stabilizing, I think we’re back on a two week schedule here. In other news, I wrote a post for the “Time Travel Nexus” about a “Back to the Future” comic book, and my NaNoWriMo for “Time Untied” has reached 25k (though Carrie’s still only on day three of University). It’s going to be an undertaking; I’ll keep poking away. Thanks for reading here - wow, and 7 votes last time!

EPSILON DELTA, PART THIRTEEN: SEARCH AND RE-SKEW

They had soon left the vicinity of the village entirely, Rose continuing her enthusiastic jog through the fields, occasionally pausing to sniff the air once more.

“It’s been over fifteen minutes,” Kat mused to Alijda as they kept pace. “What’s the range of this spell I wonder?”

Alijda shrugged. “Maybe Rose isn’t homing in? If she’s tracking Beam, could be we’re simply retracing her route. And as a hologram, Beam could move pretty quickly.”

“I guess,” Kat yielded. He sighed. “If only I’d had Rose wait outside the police station.”

“Hindsight is 20/20,” Alijda retorted.

Kat chuckled. “I seem to recall using that argument on you once.”

“Hmph,” the brunette said. “Bear in mind that you’ve also been fortunate - or possibly unfortunate - enough to have been placed in an advisory role to the people who are actually in charge twice now. Namely me and Rose. There’s a good chance you couldn’t have changed Rose’s mind about something any more than you could have changed mine.”

“I’ve gone rogue before. Hallucinogenic gas,” Kat reminded her.

“Oh, well, you’ve got an answer for everything, don’t you.”

“Not everything.” Kat wondered about filtering his next thought even as he spoke it aloud. “Not you.”

Alijda didn’t say anything for a moment. Then, “I haven’t made that easy. Did I even properly thank you for saving my life last mission?”

Kat hesitated. “In your own way.”

Alijda winced. “Meaning no. I was mostly focussed on Chris, and myself. So thank you. And know that I have been working on being less negative, and some of that is thanks to you as well.”

Kat eyed Alijda, remembering what she’d been saying right before Rose had regained consciousness. “I was getting that vibe. That’s good. But don’t feel you need to do it for me.”

ALIJDA VAN VLIET Commission from Shirochya[/caption]

They fell silent again, climbing over a fence as Rose continued her tracking. At last, Alijda spoke up again. “Kat, do we have a thing?” she asked, without looking at him directly. “Or, that is, might we have a thing? A together thing? If I don’t sabotage it? Or am I imagining things?”

“Hey, I have already seen your underwear,” Kat remarked, before he could stop himself. He rolled his eyes, pushing off from the ground a little harder than necessary on his next stride. “Sorry. Bad time to joke.”

Alijda didn’t answer.

“We might have a thing,” Kat granted after a few more paces. “Though this Destiny/Fate situation has me more than a little mixed up right now. Also, remember how I’m not the most mature person as far as relationships go. You think you can deal with that?”

“Nobody’s perfect,” Alijda said after a bit. “Am I hearing you’d be willing to give an actual dinner with me a try sometime though? Assuming Epsilon allows it?”

“Dinner works,” Kat agreed. “Do you like Thai food?”

Alijda finally looked over at him, offering up a small smile. “We can negotiate.”

He fired a smile back at her, and the two of them resumed their jog after Rose.

As they were coming up on more of a forested area, the young redhead tripped and went sprawling, letting out another sneeze. She managed to roll and come up on one knee, only to let out a whimper. “Oh noooo, it’s GONE.”

“What’s gone, the scent?” Kat asked, coming up next to her. She turned to look up at him and nodded.

“A sneeze to turn tracking on, a sneeze to turn it off?” Alijda hypothesized as she joined them.

“Oh, that could be,” Rose realized. She stood and turned to look at the closest tree, only a few paces away. “I feel like I was getting close too. Should I tickle my nose to turn it on again? Or would that intoxicating smell convince me to run into some kind of trap?”

“It’s starting to get dark, and we wouldn’t want to lose track of you in there,” Kat added. “Let’s have a quick look around first. See if there’s signs that anyone’s come this way.”

The group started to walk along the tree line, looking for a path or obvious entry point into the underbrush. It wasn’t long before Kat heard some noises. An animal? He held up a hand and flattened himself against a tree trunk, Alijda and Rose following suit nearby.

Something was definitely approaching their position. And as much as it had made sense for them to come down without weapons, that did feel like an oversight now. All they had on hand was Beam’s jeans. Then again… Kat reached into his pocket for his matchbook. He could manage something with fire, in a pinch.

Fortunately, it didn’t turn out to be necessary. Even in the fading light, Kat recognized the human figure as he jogged out into the open a few paces away.

“Firestorm,” Kat called out.

The redhead spun in place and nearly fell over. “Don’t DO that,” he accused, brushing off his robes before shaking what looked like Destiny’s diary in their direction. “You’re as bad as your blonde companion for sneaking up on people.”

“Beam?” Rose said, stepping forward. “Do you mean you’ve seen Beam?”

“Yeah, sure, we teamed up,” Firestorm said, lowering his arm.

“Then where is she?” Rose asked, turning to look at the trees.

“Caught by the enemy,” Firestorm said, shrugging.

Rose’s gaze snapped back to him. “WHAT?”

“Look, that wasn’t MY decision,” Firestorm sighed. “But Beam figured being intentionally caught would provide her with useful information. I was just on my way back to tell you guys what had happened.”

“Why did you even run off in the first place?” Alijda asked.

Firestorm peered. “Who in blazes are you?”

“Time out,” Kat sighed. “I think we need a moment here to get caught up.”

After a quick introduction to Alijda, Firestorm answered her question. He explained that he’d seen mention in Destiny’s diary of a “dimensional weak point” with occasional activity “around sunset”. So he’d headed off to check out the area, not wanting to miss the time frame. Unfortunately, he hadn’t managed to find the clearing that she had described.

“What I DID stumble onto,” Firestorm concluded. “Was Compton and two of his friends, with Destiny in tow, all tied up. They seemed to be looking for this dimensional thing too.”

“You haven’t mentioned Compton before,” Kat accused.

Firestorm snorted. “Not much to mention. His father was a big shot a few towns over, because he managed to become a pretty successful businessman. Guy passed away a couple years back, and Compton inherited everything, but he is pretty clueless. Both in business and in interpersonal skills. I sure wouldn’t have figured him to resort to kidnapping.”

“So what would motivate kidnapping Destiny?” Alijda wondered.

Firestorm rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe he wanted her for her potions, stumbled into whatever you guys are looking into, and is now hoping that Destiny has dimensional knowledge he can use to make it big? Honestly, I’m not even sure how he pulled off the abduction in the first place. Maybe he was coached?”

“Or there’s something bigger going on here,” Kat cautioned. “What did Compton say to you when you ran into him?”

“Whoa, whoa, I didn’t let myself be seen by that guy,” Firestorm protested. “Just heard his crew stumbling around in the underbrush and hid, to see what I could learn. And what I learned, I’ve already explained. It’s as I was backing away from them, figuring I might need backup, that I ran into that Beam woman again.”

Rose leaned forwards, looking worried. “Oh yes?”

“Yeah, she just seemed to be running right through, uh, everything. That’s a hell of a power, by the way. I made motions to flag her down, lest she freak out Compton and initiate an unfortunate chain of events. She came to her senses long enough to listen to me, and we decided to team up to help free Destiny. Beam apparently wanted to ‘do something right for a change’, whatever that means.”

Rose winced, as Firestorm paused, eyeing the rest of them. “And that’s when Beam proposed getting herself caught. To learn more. And given her ability to pass right through stuff, it didn’t sound like a bad idea.”

“Except it turned out to be a bad idea?” Kat said dryly.

“Eh, maybe? I’ll let you be the judge,” Firestorm decided. “Beam marched out to attract Compton’s attention while I hid and watched. She pretended like she’d come through a portal and wanted their help to know where she was. Compton was intrigued at first, but freaked the heck out once he realized she was some sort of ghost. Screamed at his friends to tie her up.”

“Oh no. And Beam didn’t run away at that?” Rose said, clasping her hands together.

Firestorm shook his head. “She doubled down, saying ‘I can be corporeal if you want’ even as Compton screamed at her to ‘Get on the ground’. She must have turned her magic power off too, because one of Compton’s guys was able to tie her hands behind her back. And after Beam wouldn’t explain to them what part of the forest she’d come from, she was gagged too. That’s when I figured I should hightail it back to Destiny’s place, to get you for backup.”

“So Beam’s been with them for a while and might have useful information by now, we simply can’t get to her,” Kat reasoned.

Rose’s palms separated into fists. “Well, he’s messed with the wrong girl. One sneeze, and I’ll have us back at Beam’s side in no time. As long as Firestorm being here doesn’t mix me up.”

“Um, I’ll try not to?” Firestorm said, scratching his head.

“Hold on,” Alijda said, crossing her arms and leaning against a tree trunk. “No need for us to charge in. This is kind of perfect, actually.”

“Perfect?” Rose gasped. “Alijda, how can you say that?”

As a response, Alijda reached down to tap at her communicator. “Hey, Alice?”

“Hey Abbott![1]” Alice’s voice chirped in response.

Alijda rolled her eyes. “Remember how you were wondering how to abduct a person who is insubstantial?”

“Ooh, doing six impossible things before breakfast down there, are you? I hope one of them was talking to Kat.”

Alijda coughed, as Kat let out a quiet chuckle. “Fo-cus, Gods Alice,” Alijda said. “Beam’s become less holographic. Meaning not only is she caught, but you should be able to pick up her communicator now.”

“Oh? Gimme a second, I’ll check.”

“You figure we can track her,” Rose realized. “Maybe even listen in on what’s happening.”

Alijda nodded. “And more than that, if Beam’s been kidnapped, this becomes an Epsilon mission again. We’re within our rights to interfere.”

Kat rubbed his chin. That seemed like a bit of a reach, given how Beam had created the situation herself. But if it helped them to pursue the goal of getting Destiny back, he wasn’t about to object.

Firestorm threw his hands up into the air. “Okay, seriously, who ARE you people?”

Kat looked over at him. “I don’t think you really want to know the answer,” he remarked. “After all, your imagination can probably dream up something far more interesting than reality, and we’ll be leaving soon enough anyway.”

Firestorm looked Kat up and down. “So you’re some sort of magical special ops unit? Looking into these portals?”

Alice’s voice came back over the comm. “If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire…"[2]

“Alice, do you have a fix on Beam?” Alijda interrupted, palming her face.

“Yup, got that,” Alice confirmed immediately. “At least, I presume it’s Beam, I don’t know what else this signal could be. She’s about a kilometre away, in some sort of clearing within that forest region.”

Firestorm grimaced. “So Compton and his buddies found the clearing.”

“Is that bad?” Rose wondered. “What did Destiny’s diary say about it?”

“Not much,” Firestorm admitted. “Just that she’d used some of her occult tricks to pinpoint it, yet had no idea how to open an actual portal.”

“Could be how Destiny got the cyber arm,” Alijda mused. “If it came through there?”

“Maybe,” Kat said. “Though given her tendency to ask travellers about objects, maybe she traded for it or something.”

“Either way, we need a plan to get Beam and Destiny out of this Compton’s clutches,” Rose broke in. “Alijda, maybe your teleport…?"

“Limited to one person at a time,” Alijda said. “Meaning the first retrieval would tip them off.”

“Not if we arrange a distraction,” Kat remarked.

“Hold on. Once you get your people, what then?” Firestorm protested. “You just leave? What if Compton’s doing something illegal, are you just going to let him get away with it and prosecute him later?”

Kat exchanged a glance with Rose and Alijda. They couldn’t really interfere with that - except what if it was dimensional? “Firestorm’s got a point. Maybe Alijda should try to get more information before springing them. Beam might even be able to do something from the inside, even goad Compton into spilling the beans on his plans, if he hasn’t already.”

Alijda let out a breath. “Careful, Kat. How much of this is our fight?”

“We won’t know until we have more information,” he insisted.

“Information that we might get at this clearing,” Rose supplied. “If it looks like Compton’s setting up weird ritualistic rocks or something, that could tell us everything we need to know.”

“My fellow redhead has good advice,” Firestorm remarked. “One thing at a time. Now, do we have to walk there, or do your supernatural abilities allow for a more instantaneous transportation?”

They walked. Even if power had been fully restored to the Station, Kat knew that providing Firestorm with even more evidence of what they might be capable of could only be problematic in the long run.

As they got close, Kat offered to scout up ahead. He had a certain amount of experience through his military training, and while Alijda could vanish faster with her teleportation, the purple smoke she left behind was a dead giveaway. Even if it was dark by now.

On the one hand, a quick surveillance of the clearing showed that Compton and his men weren’t doing anything obvious that might involve creating a portal or otherwise affecting the dimensions. However, they’d set up a tent, added perimeter lighting using some sort of spell, and one of the guys seemed to be keeping an eye out for anyone watching them, implying suspicious behaviour.

Kat was just about to retreat when he saw her.

Compton - it had to be him based off of Firestorm’s description, a shorter man with a scruffy beard - pulled her out of the tent. Destiny. Her long blonde hair trailed behind her as he muscled her over to a part of the clearing and pointed at the ground. Kat couldn’t properly hear what they were saying, but he was more fixated on Destiny’s features. Her mannerisms, even with her hands tied behind her back. And he couldn’t be certain, not a hundred percent, but on some level, he knew. He knew.

After years of searching, he had finally located Fate Wallace-Wray. His childhood friend.

[1] From “Abbott and Costello”, parodied here. [2] …the A-Team. (Or this crew, I suppose.)

WHAT’S NEXT?

OPTIONS:

VOTING CLOSES NOON EST SATURDAY NOVEMBER 18th

EXTRA ASIDE:
I’m leaving the vote open for two weeks, as I indicated in this post, which gives me time to deal with report cards as I return to work from medical leave. Plan is to have another part up for the last weekend of the month. Thanks for sticking with me. In other news, I’m doing a sort-of NaNoWriMo on Time Untied. We’ll see how that goes. Consider a TWF vote for Time & Tied? Thanks.

EPSILON DELTA, PART ELEVEN: TRAIL MIX

Alijda stared at the station’s computer output. Despite the clues pointing to Kat’s childhood friend Fate being mixed up in whatever was happening on the planet, there was no sign of any anomaly. Human or otherwise. Meaning this mission was over. Meaning… Alijda clenched her jaw, and turned to her companion. “I’m going down.”

Alice flinched. “To the planet?”

“No, for limbo practice. Yes, to the planet.”

“Alijda. Sorry, but no.” Alice began to dance nervously from one foot to the other. “Army’s been deactivated. These scans show no further technology is present, so Beam’s mission is done. Protocol dictates that we get everyone back up to the station and vamoose.”

“You don’t work for Epsilon any more,” Alijda pointed out. “Why enforce their rules?”

Alice added hand wringing to her dance. “To atone for my sins? To keep Beam from getting in even bigger trouble? To get everybody home in time for lunch? C’mon Alijda. We can’t interfere with planets that are simply doing their own thing. That’s wrong, and we both know it.”

Alijda looked away from Alice’s pleading gaze. She didn’t like that her friend was making sense, because she didn’t want to be talked out of her decision. “You once told me that signing up for this Project meant we’d get help,” she stated. “If we ran into problems. Well, I think Kat needs help.”

“The deal was, you’d be helped within your personal multiverse,” Alice said. “Not out here.”

“How is out here so different? Either way we’re getting external help.”

Alice poked her head back into Alijda’s field of vision. “Look. Even if this Destiny woman Kat mentioned IS Fate from his world, the only reason she wouldn’t show on our scans is if she breached the barriers herself. Thus not our problem. Moreover, she’s obviously started living a life down there. We can’t simply abduct her away from that, there would be repercussions for anyone who knows her.”

“This project abducted me. Twice.”

Alice stamped her foot. “That’s different, and you know it! Stop bending the rules to suit your narrative.”

Alijda spun away from her roommate a second time. “Why? That’s what I do, right? I’m questionable morals woman with enough l33t h4x0r skills to enforce my choices on others.”

Alice sighed. “Alijda, think. We don’t know anything about this Destiny. What if it’s all some sort of trap? To catch the original owners of the cyber arm?”

Alijda ran her fingers back through her hair. “Fine. We call Rose first - she’s technically in charge. If she feels like Kat’s behaving irrationally, we pull them up. Otherwise, I’m going down to help.”

“To help with what, reprogramming the local abacuses?”

Ignoring Alice’s little jab, Alijda paged Rose. They’d restored communications nearly half an hour ago, but Alijda had wanted to be sure there was no chance that they’d missed something on scans before making contact. To avoid being the bearers of bad news.

When Rose didn’t answer, Alijda wondered if that had been a mistake. “I’ll try Kat,” she decided.

Kat answered. He quickly brought them up to speed, in terms of Rose having been rendered drunk and unconscious from a magical police stamp, and Beam running off after having been screamed at by Rose in that state.

“It’s my fault,” Kat concluded. “I told Beam to act like Rose was a male lesbian, then paid little attention to issues arising from that decision. Worse, I prolonged the mission and brought us to the police station, instead of waiting for you to resume contact.”

“You meant well,” Alijda said, rubbing her forehead.

“Did I?” Kat challenged.

“Eh. Better than I probably would have under the same circumstances.”

Alice spoke up at last. “All three of us are kind of bad for breaking rules, aren’t we,” she reflected. “Hold on, I’ll see if I can pick Beam up on sensors.”

“The good news?” Kat offered. “According to the papers I signed, the magical tracking effects will wear off of Rose within a day. Two at most. I’ve pulled her off the main streets, we can lay low until she regains consciousness. And Beam might come back here in the meantime.”

“That doesn’t solve the question of this Destiny woman,” Alijda pointed out.

Kat was silent for a moment. “No,” he admitted. “It doesn’t.”

“I can’t pick up Beam anywhere around you,” Alice remarked. “Could she have been teleported away?”

“Seems unlikely, unless that’s another trick she had up her sleeve,” Kat said. “She did go insubstantial. Maybe that blinds her to your sensors?”

“Or Beam was abducted too,” Alijda said. “Making this an Epsilon mission, meaning I should go down to help with the search.”

Alice cleared her throat. “How can someone abduct a person who is insubstantial?”

Alijda resisted the urge to stamp her foot. “Look. We can’t just stand here and do nothing while they’re in trouble down there, can we?”

“Can’t we? It is hard. Doing that. Isn’t it?”

It was Alice’s tone of quiet sadness that made Alijda flinch more than anything. Because, of course, that’s the reality Alice had been faced with many times - sending people away and doing nothing, or the bare minimum, to help them. A boundary that Alice had ultimately overstepped. One which had gotten her fired.

Even now, there was no malice in Alice’s expression. If anything it was a searching, a pleading, a longing for confirmation of some feeling she had somehow never fully managed to articulate.

“Yeah,” Alijda agreed. “It’s hard. And… and there’s no need to put you through that again, Alice. How about you go down to help Kat out and assess the situation. I mean, it would seem to call for a level headed woman to put things right, and you’d be more objective about it than I would be.”

The two roommates stared at each other.

“Kat?” Alice said after a moment. “One of us will whirlpool down to the previous coordinates we used. Can you give us directions to your present location from there?”

“I can, but do you think having more people here might make things worse?” Kat said.

“Let us worry about that,” Alice stated.

Kat told them how to reach his position, adding that it might be a good idea to pick up Firestorm from the occult house on the way. Alice then closed the channel. The two women continued to stare at each other in silence.

Just as Alijda was about to ask Alice if she’d need anything, the younger woman spoke up.

“You can go down,” Alice said. “If you tell me why you want to go.”

It took a moment for Alijda to formulate her argument. “Think about it, Alice. Why would this Destiny woman magically give a cyber arm some ‘desire’, which included accessing computer records, and pulling Kat onto the Station? Why have the arm cause another crisis as soon as Kat left, then spout ‘Fate’ from a computer program? Between that and the symbols, there must be some connection to him. To his world. This might even be a cry for help, from Fate. We need Destiny, and we need Beam, and me going down can help us get them back as fast as possible.”

A smile tugged at Alice’s features. “No, you silly. Tell me why YOU want to go.”

Alijda frowned. Slowly, her eyes widened as she realized what Alice was getting at. She pursed her lips. “B-Because Kat’s an amazing guy and I screwed it all up with him once so I want to make that up to him?” She hoped she wasn’t blushing or anything so ridiculous.

Alice clapped her hands. “We now fail the Bechdel test, but as long as you’re AWARE of that issue, I’m okay with being the one staying behind. Let’s get you a communicator.”

Alijda stared. “Are you truly okay staying here? Really?”

It was Alice’s turn to look away, as she tucked some hair back behind her ear. “Old habits die hard. Besides, I need to think of a good way to incorporate initials for Rose and Beam into my pin design. This’ll give me time to do that.” She turned back, and winked off Alijda’s nonplussed look. “You know, the pin I made for Epsilon, based off Steins;Gate? I showed it to you a couple months ago.”

Alijda shook her head. “Oh, Alice. No matter what I might say about how weird you are, never change.”

“Same, honey.” Alice reached out, then seemed to think better of it, turning the movement into a stretch.

Alijda stepped forwards and grasped Alice, pulling her into a quick hug. “Thank you.” She pulled back, holding Alice by the shoulders. “Now yes, let’s get me a communicator.”

Firestorm was gone. All Alijda found in the house that Kat had directed her to was a note, left on the table, reading ‘Onto something, can’t wait’. There was no sign of Destiny’s diary.

“Sorry, Kat,” Alijda finished, after explaining. They had met up near the police station, in what passed for a park. The unconscious Rose had been laid out on a bench, Kat leaning over her, to monitor her condition.

Kat shrugged. “No need to apologize, doesn’t sound like you scared him off. We probably shouldn’t have left Firestorm alone. That’s another thing I’ve messed up planetside.”

Alijda put her hands on her hips. “Oooh, don’t you even start.”

Kat frowned. “Start what?”

“I’m a depressive. I know all about the spiral down, pinning extra blame when it’s not really warranted. I mean, if you’d left Beam behind with this Firestorm, her memory might have glitched again, or Firestorm might not have read something important, and so we’d still be in some sort of trouble. So don’t dwell.”

Kat shook his head. “Alijda, you forget, I’ve trained for off-planet missions. The repercussions of messing up in these sorts of situations…"

“Still lie in our future. We can salvage this situation, so for now we focus forwards. Okay?”

Kat chuckled. “Oh, very well. But only if you take your own advice. Particularly with respect to whatever you were doing in your six months away from me, versus my six hours.”

Alijda let out a quick breath. “Fine.” He was pointing out a conversational door there, one related to them, but this hardly felt like the time. “So, now three missing people and no way to track them. Beam’s habits we know, more or less. Tell me about the other two.”

Kat filled in the information about Firestorm easily enough, Alijda pacing back and forth as he spoke. Kat then gave what cursory information they knew about Destiny, before visibly hesitating. A few people had wandered through the area during their conversation, but there was no one there now, so Alijda knew it had to be about her.

She stopped in place, turning to face him. “If you don’t want to tell me about Fate, you don’t have to.”

“It might be relevant. It’s just…"

“It’s not on your business cards, as you said. I get it.”

Kat shook his head. “No, it’s more like, I’ve never really gone in depth with anyone about it before. So I’m not sure how to do it now. But…” He came around the bench and leaned against the side, near Rose’s feet. “Okay. Fate was my first serious relationship. Could even be why I don’t take them seriously now, you never know when the other person’s going to up and disappear.”

“Meaning you took relationships seriously before Fate?”

Kat seemed about to reply, only to rub the back of his neck, sheepishly. “Hah, okay, no,” he admitted after a moment. “But I was a teenager, and with a name like ‘Katherine’, it was all about being as manly as possible. That said, Fate was the first rejection in high school that truly bothered me. She said she was upset that I was wasting my ‘gift’. It was only by looking into her occultish things that made me realize, she’d somehow sensed my ability for fire control. And it was only by proving a genuine interest in learning more that got me into using that ability, which led to us hooking up.”

“So Fate was the first girl you actually cared about,” Alijda realized. “As far as relationships go.”

“Huh. You may be right there,” Kat said. “We went to prom together, but our paths diverged in post secondary. What with my Dad wanting me at military college. For a time, Fate and I corresponded back and forth, but then it suddenly… stopped. Fate’s parents thought she’d gone out west. I wondered as to an occult connection, but there were so few leads. I’ve searched for her, on and off, ever since.”

Alijda chewed briefly on her lower lip. “Guess I’ll just ask this then. Kat, could Fate truly have breached dimensional barriers by herself?”

“It’s possible,” Kat granted. “She was always deeper into occult things than I was, and she never told me what her gift allowed her to do. I just always figured she’d been recruited for something top secret, the way I was with the ‘Doorways’ program.”

“Did Fate have any interest in potions?”

“Like Destiny, you mean? Not really. But she could have grown into it, using that rare skill to maximize her chance of meeting someone like her elsewhere on the planet.”

“And you have no idea where Destiny might have been taken?”

“Not off the top of my head.” Kat shook his head. “It’s funny, now that I think about it, Fate did tend to wear a lot of black. Kind of like how you do. I wonder, could it be I have a different attraction to a certain type of woman?”

“Meaning you think Fate could have black, suicidal thoughts, like me?”

“Whoa. Whoa, no,” Kat protested, jumping back to his feet. “I didn’t mean… it’s only… yeah, I’m not sure why I said that. Sorry.”

The man had been pointing out how he’s attracted to you, dumbass, Alijda realized moments later. And you had to go and turn that into depression. Sabotaging the conversation, and yourself, like always.

“Hah, no, I’m the one who’s sorry,” Alijda said quickly. “I’m just terrible, in how my mind interprets…" She also needed to stop putting herself down. “I mean, not always, but my default it’s, er…" Still talking about herself. “Whereas you, uh…" Oh, just say you like him already. “See, I failed the Bechdel test with Alice.” Damn it.

Kat’s eyebrow arced up, but before he could say anything, Rose let out a gasp. The redheaded teen’s eyes snapped open, and she jerked herself up into a sitting position, breathing fast.

Kat and Alijda moved to sit on either side of her, to prevent her from slumping back down, Alijda reaching out to touch the young girl’s arm.

“Rose? Rose, you okay?” Kat asked.

“Feel all funny,” Rose wheezed. “My tongue, my eyes, my ears, my fingers, my…" She sniffed in a long, deep breath through her nose. Only to wince and reach up to touch it. “My nose. Ack, now all the weird tingles are zeroing in on my poor nose.”

Alijda met Kat’s gaze. “That signed police form, giving Rose tracking powers. Did it mention turning her into some sort of bloodhound?”

Kat considered it. “You mean, allowing her to track someone or something by scent? Yeah, it could be interpreted that way.”

Rose poked at her nose. “That’s non-scents. In fact, my nose is feeling more and more stuffed up. Like it’s waiting for the right thing to smell, or something.” She looked around. “Hold on. When did Beam turn into Alijda?”

“This means we need to give Rose something of Destiny’s to sniff,” Kat decided. “Let’s get back to her place.” He started to rise, then sat back. “Unless, should we track down Firestorm instead, using that note he left? He knows the terrain, has the diary, and might already be onto something.”

“Do either of you have a tissue?” Rose asked.

“Hell, maybe Rose should track Beam,” Alijda suggested. “Using some item of hers from the station. Alice had noticed upgrades to the sensors that she didn’t understand. If Beam could get those working, and if Destiny is Fate, and if that means the Station can pinpoint her, we’d be able to go into the situation much less blind.”

“Beam,” Rose gasped. Her hand slid to her mouth. “I told her… I said she was… oh no. Oh NO, I’m HORRIBLE.”

“That was lots of ‘ifs’, Alijda,” Kat said, looking troubled. “And what if we track down Beam only for her to tell us it’s time to leave the planet, by the book?”

Alijda shook her head. “If Rose finds Beam, it shows she cares. And I doubt Beam would shut down a friend in need after that.”

“Wait, what is going on?” Rose looked back and forth between the two of them. “What’s the next move here?”

WHAT’S NEXT?

VOTING CLOSES NOON EDT SATURDAY SEPT 30th

THE ORACLE PROPHESIED:
Subtle decision from the Part 9 vote: When Firestorm was left behind, it meant no tech would register on the Epsilon scans, as revealed in this part. (After all, Rose being deputized has kept them tied to the planet.) Had Firestorm been the one deputized, there WOULD have been signs of a tech component, as a reason to stick around and not turn everything over to Firestorm. Thanks for reading and voting!

EPSILON DELTA, PART EIGHT: The Arm of Fate

“Wait, wait, I want to hear more of the cute girls flirting,” Alice pleaded. But it was too late. Even as she spoke, Alijda was tapping the button turning off communications to the planet. Alice made a pouty face at her. “You’re no fun.”

Alijda sighed. “Alice, sweetie, roomie, we’re trapped on a space station with a freaky magical cyber arm. Priorities?”

Alice crossed her arms. “Alijda, doom and gloom, also roomie, one of my priorities is staying sane. Pretty girls who want to kiss? It’s a sanity branch, showing me love can survive in a screwed up multiverse.”

Alijda matched her pose, not backing down. “You DO realize Beam’s attention makes Rose uncomfortable, yes?”

Alice couldn’t help but smile. She liked how Alijda challenged her opinions. It had been like that since their first encounter. Actually, no, what she liked even more about Alijda was how the teleporting woman would challenge, up until the point she realized that Alice wasn’t going to budge, then back off. There were even times when Alice yielded to logic. On occasion.

“Two girls can be good friends and share sexual pleasure stories without being actual make-out girlfriends,” Alice fired back. “Look at us.”

Alijda’s cheeks tinged a shade darker. “That’s different. Rose is half our age, she’s still figuring herself out. Also, I maintain that I really didn’t need to hear that vibrator story.”

Alice’s smile widened. “Ohhh, yes, you did. You were whining so much that afternoon about how you chase all the good guys away, how you were never going to find anyone, and how you’d never know the pleasures of a relationship again. You needed SOMETHING to take your mind off of it.”

“Most women would have suggested a day at a spa!”

“Most women didn’t find themselves alone on a space station for soooo looooong. Did you even try using one that way?”

“Oh, for–" Alijda closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, and seemed about to turn away, when her posture straightened. “Wait. That’s it.”

Alice also liked when Alijda surprised her. “Really? Should we find you a–"

“NO. Stop, Alice, those images, Gods. I meant, you know this station. You know where to go to evade the sensors, yes?”

Alice shrugged. “I used to simply turn off the ones in my bedroom when I wanted–"

Alijda grasped her shoulders. “Please focus. Fo-cus. If this arm is smart, it’s going to be hiding somewhere. In a place where, even if we get all the sensors working, it’ll still be shielded from detection. Possibly even from force field confinement. Where would that be?”

Alijda’s line of thinking clicked. “There’s a few places that would work.”

That’s when the station vibrated, some red lights lit up on the console, and a warning klaxon sounded.

Alijda glanced around, then back to her. “Does one of those places also let the arm do something like that to us?”

Alice nodded. “I know exactly where it is.”

Their first major stop was auxiliary control.

“I should be able to pull something together here that’ll neutralize both the Army’s tech parts and its magical occulty parts at once,” Alice remarked. She dumped all the items they’d picked up en route onto the floor.

Alijda sighed. “Can you not call it ‘the Army’? It’s one cyber arm, not a platoon.”

ALICE VUNDERLANDE Commission from Cherry Z[/caption]

Alice grabbed the nearby toolkit and sat down to begin sifting through the assemblage of parts. She’d had something in mind ever since discovering that magic and science were blending together on that world of scale, her last Epsilon mission. She’d never thought she’d get the opportunity to build the thing.

“Army needs a name,” Alice countered. “Do you have a better one?”

Alijda’s grumble implied she didn’t. She turned towards Mr. Smith instead. “What’s the situation with these new alarms?”

“Automated,” came the computer’s reply. “Orbit is now decaying due to internal interference. I’m prioritizing the stabilization systems over everything else, save necessities like life support, so communications are down. You have approximately ninety minutes to regain control.”

“Of course. Any clue as to why the Station wants to kill us again?”

“Unknown.”

“Never easy,” Alijda mumbled. She looked back at Alice. “Can I help you build?”

It had been months since the vague blueprints had been a thing in Alice’s mind. But now that she was focussed on it, she found she could pick up where she left off. Much like remembering the next line of dialogue in “Back to the Future”, once given the right prompt. That was simply how her mind worked.

“Sorry Alijda, hardware thing here, not a hacker thing,” Alice said. “Would take longer for me to explain than to simply do it.” She snapped on a pair of goggles and began to solder. “We could talk about Kat though, that’d help.”

Alice wasn’t looking up, but she suspected that Alijda rolled her eyes. “No.”

“Totes serious,” Alice insisted. “I can work better if I’m not consciously thinking about what I’m doing. I’ve had Ziggy or Smith play music to me in the past, but the computers are kinda preoccupied right now. So come on, what did you two talk about when getting the power for Beam?”

“Nothing.”

“Ooh, yuh huh, sure, a ‘nothing’ that’s got you all bitter about relationships again. What, did you hope Rose would pick me to go to the planet? Giving you two more quality time together? You shoulda described me better than ‘walking encyclopaedia’, that’s not really a selling point.”

Alijda let out a breath of exasperation. “I was trying to sum up your skill set as best as I could. I was NOT trying to– look, don’t even start with me, okay?”

“Okee dokee. If you’re sure?”

Her roommate remained silent, but now it was the sort of silence that felt uncomfortable enough to warrant a follow up. Maybe? It took a couple minutes, but at last Alijda continued with, “It’s just… Alice, am I an egomaniac?”

Alice started splicing the necessary wires together. “I didn’t notice any huge, framed pictures of yourself on the walls of your home.”

“I don’t mean like that,” Alijda grumbled. “I mean, in how I make things about me. Because of how I shut other people out. Doing that, all I have is me, so everything becomes about me, and that shuts people out even more. A feedback loop of me, me, me.” She stamped her foot on the ground. “Damn it. I’m an uncaring bitch who should have died years ago.”

Alice spat the paperclip out of her mouth and looked up. “WHOA. Back up. That’s the depression talking. You do care. You jumped through a doorway to be with me, up here, now. You didn’t have to do that.”

Alijda shrugged, looking sullen. “Yeah, well, maybe I’m trying to find new, more exciting ways to die. It’s been all downhill since plummeting into the Thames on my first Epsilon mission.”

“Oh, stop. I’ve never been keen on black humour, and that silly show ‘A thousand ways to die’ is fiction. I hope you’ve never watched it.” Alijda didn’t even react to the random reference. Thrown off by that, Alice looked back down at her work. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to send you to the dark places.”

“I know. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry too.”

“Remember, deep down, I don’t think you want to die, Alijda. You want to stop hurting. Totes different. We’ve had that argument before, yes?”

“Yeah, yeah. Things are always an argument with us.”

Alice looked back up. “Oh no. No, honey, they’re really not,” she countered, with a sincere smile. She hoped.

This, Alice granted, was something she was lousy at. Appropriate reactions and proportional response. Maybe she should have quoted Monty Python there. Maybe adding ‘honey’ had been stupid. She hoped she didn’t sound glib. Please, her friend had to know by now when she was being serious. Right?

Alijda simply smiled back. There was another protracted pause. Unable to gauge the uncomfortableness of it all this time, Alice kept working, glancing up every so often.

Alijda finally crouched down. “I’m reminded of how you’ve read Kat’s info file.”

“Yuppers. Yours too.”

“And you remember everything you’re exposed to.”

“More or less. Junking a lot of my hell dimension memories helped free up space.”

“Then tell me, what do you know about Kat’s childhood friend, Fate?”

Alice shrugged. “Aside from her vanishing? Not much. Why, did he tell you about her?”

“Sort of. In passing.”

It felt like there was more to say there, but Alice wasn’t sure how to prompt. More to the point, she was finished building. She banged the last piece into place. “Done. We have an EMP.”

Alijda blinked. “You’ve been making something that generates an electromagnetic pulse?”

“Nope.” Alice shook her head, then flicked her hair off her shoulder with a wink. “This’ll create an Electro-Magical Patch. Press this end against Army, hit the trigger, you’ll render our target inert in both sparks and spells.”

“Meaning it needs to make direct contact.”

“Well, yeah. That’d be where your teleporting comes in. Also, we have the cliche one shot only, so make it count.”

“Right. Okay, let’s get to it then.” Alijda pushed herself back to her feet. “Lead the way.”

Alice nodded, holding out the EMP device. Alijda took it, then reached out to touch Alice on the shoulder as she walked by. “Also, thank you. Really. I mean that.”

“Sure,” Alice said, blinking in surprise. After all, it was just a tech gizmo, nothing to get overly dramatic about.

The ventilation systems on the Station weren’t large enough for a person, and there were very few sensors there. But, Alice reasoned, Army could fit in many of the ducts. And while the vents could be closed off to impede it, there was a manual override.

Army had to be near that room, the override room. The terminal there could be configured to manipulate other overrides on the Station, affecting their orbit. Thus, their plan was to shut the ducts, and when Army went to trigger the override and escape, nail it.

Unfortunately, she and Alijda had needed to waste time setting the commands up, because if Army was tracking their location on sensors, being direct could tip their hand, while splitting up might equally allow it to keep them separated. Fortunately though, they were able to route the necessary shutdown to a room near Army, meaning Alijda wouldn’t have to teleport into a live video feed. She was never a fan of doing that.

“I’ve been thinking,” Alijda said slowly as they finally approached their destination.

“Do tell,” Alice encouraged.

“Something Rose said, about the Station stabilizing once it had us. Yet now it’s in trouble again. Maybe that’s because some of us went to the planet? It has to be more than coincidence.”

“Ooh. Working theory. Maybe Army’s got internal memory, and you can hack it to learn if there’s something to that. You ready?”

The two women were now strolling nonchalantly past the override room. Alijda nodded.

Alice took a right at the next doorway, tapping the code she’d set up into the terminal there. Alijda vanished in a teleport cloud of purple smoke, back down the hall.

Alice then quickly ran back after her, to cut off any chance of escape if Army somehow got past Alijda’s teleporting by not using the vent. She saw Alijda run inside the room. Moments later, Alijda let out a shriek.

“What? WHAT?” Alice gasped, half expecting Army to jump out at her as she closed the distance, her stun grenade at the ready. The purple smoke of Alijda’s teleport dissipated enough to allow for visibility.

Alice peered around the corner. Army didn’t launch itself into her face. Instead, she saw Alijda lying on the floor of the room, with Kat standing over her. Kat?! It couldn’t be! Had Army learned to project holograms??

“OW,” Alijda said, rubbing near her bottom. “A little warning next time?”

“Communications are down,” Image-Kat said. “Or I would have.”

Alice caught herself up. “Magical projection from the planet,” she realized. “Using a variation of that spell that the Chris woman did on your last mission. Smart.”

“Thanks,” Kat said, glancing her way. “Listen, you two need to scan for–"

“Where’s Army?” Alice interrupted, looking to Alijda.

Kat flinched, looking over his shoulder. “You’ve got an army…?"

Alijda pointed up at the open grate in the ceiling. “Vent. Kat appeared between us as I was reaching out. Which made me scream and flinch back, so the cyber arm managed to trip the override… I jumped to hit it as it was trying to escape though. So I don’t think it got far?”

Alice looked up. “Leaving us with inert Army stuck in the ventilation. Good times.”

“Also a station falling out of orbit, so let me see if I can’t fix that,” Alijda remarked, pushing herself up off the floor and moving to the nearest computer keyboard. She began typing, as Kat returned his attention to Alice.

“You’ve been busy,” Kat observed.

“Nah, not really,” Alice said, firing off a grin. “Scan for what now?”

Kat shook off his confusion. “People. A person on the planet. Someone who’s not supposed to be down here, the same way that cyber arm wasn’t supposed to be here.”

Alice pursed her lips. “What, you mean you think someone fell through the multiverse cracks along with the arm? That’s not very solo-missiony. Are you sure?”

“We found a diary,” Kat explained. “Supposedly written by a women here who calls herself Destiny. Thing is, I recognize what’s in it. Not just the occult symbols, but some of the shorthand the writer was using.”

Alice peered closer. This scenario was a bit too weird. Was the image of Kat speaking to them under duress? “Blink twice if you’re being held captive.”

“Alice, I’m serious. I think that, somehow, it’s–"

“Oh my God,” Alijda gasped. She turned to them. “The computer. It’s…" She took a step back, pointing at the screen. “There was already a program in active memory to fix our orbit. I gave it a quick scan for viruses, then ran it. Look at what else it’s doing now.”

Alice took a few steps closer and leaned in to get a better look. One single word was typing and retyping itself, filling the screen with a single word, over and over.

Fate. Fate. Fate. Fate. Fate.

WHAT’S NEXT?

What happened to this Destiny woman?

VOTING CLOSES NOON EDT SATURDAY AUGUST 19th

THE ORACLE PROPHESIED:
The section for events you indirectly voted on returns. The “Fate” connection (misdirection?) was locked in place with Vote 3, “Beam’s memory is damaged” (focussing attention on the artifact). That’s why Part 4 had to close off Kat’s loose plot thread of “Fate” on his home world, and why I had him recognize the symbols. It’s ALSO why Rose’s decision of who to bring down to end Part 5 was KEY, thus why I felt I couldn’t break that tie, and got so crushed at the low vote total. Anyway. All out in the open now! More or less. ;)

EXTRA ASIDE:
Heyyy, we’re back to zero view days over this three-year-old site’s 247 posts (we’ve had two empty days in the last ten). A weekly vote for T&T still helps to get eyes on us… though really, better than that is sharing a link out to anyone you think might enjoy interactive fiction. No pressure though, I’m happy you’re still here, voting and morphing the story. Ciao for niow.

EPSILON DELTA, PART SIX: SHE LOVES ME NOT

Kat was the last to arrive out of the transportation whirlpool. He tucked his body and rolled on the field of grass as he landed, looking up in time to see the vortex shut behind them. He first looked over to where Beam was helping Rose up to her feet, then tapped at the watch device on his wrist.

“Alijda?” he asked. “Any problems your end?”

“Aside from having a magical cyber arm stalking us? No, no, we’re good,” came Alijda’s voice.

“How’s it look down there?” Alice asked.

Kat stood up, brushing off his pants as he looked around. They were in a field of grass, by a dirt road, with a cluster of houses not very far away. Logically, that village had to be the origin for the arm, as the three of them had been transported to the planet at the same coordinates Beam had used for her first visit. It seemed to be late afternoon here, based on the location of the sun.

“Civilization’s nearby,” Kat reported. “We’ll go check it out. I figure we’ve got to hit something within twenty minutes, since Beam had less than an hour to come down, get the arm, and return.”

“Might take you thirty minutes,” Beam spoke up. “My top speed is a bit faster than that of a normal human.”

Rose tilted her head. “So do you sweat like us when you run?” She immediately smacked her palm over her mouth, as if she hadn’t meant to speak aloud.

Beam clasped her hands behind her back, wiggling her eyebrows and letting out a giggle. “Ooh, Rose, yes. Every time I get all hot and bothered, my body reacts JUST like yours does. Thank you for asking?”

Once again, some of Rose’s freckles began to wash out as her cheeks darkened.

“I heard just enough of that to not want to hear any more,” Alijda remarked. “Be careful down there, Kat, okay? We don’t have the power to pull you back yet.”

“Understood,” Kat said. “Signing off.”

“Wait, wait, I want to hear more of the cute girls flirting,” Alice’s voice came, right before the connection ended.

Kat shook his head, then looked over at his two companions. They were standing side by side, though Beam was leaning in towards Rose, looking hopeful, while Rose was staring down at the grass. Or rather, sidelong at Beam’s legs. He sighed.

“Alice makes a good point, if accidentally,” he remarked. “Rose? Beam? We really can’t afford to have you two making eyes at each other right now, not if there’s someone or something dangerous lurking down here.”

Rose snapped her gaze up towards him. “What? Oh, Kat, I wouldn’t. I mean, I’m not. I mean, I have a girlfriend, a wonderful girlfriend. I would never cheat on Paige. No way!”

Kat crossed his arms. “And I believe that. But you DO seem to be affected by Beam somehow, whether it’s curiosity, something physical, or because this situation has turned her into a damsel in distress. I know I’ve fallen for a few pretty girls under that sort of circumstance.”

Rose visibly swallowed. “Well, yeah, I want to help Beam. B-But I would never cheat on Paige,” she repeated softly, before looking away, towards the settlement.

Kat looked to the blonde hologram. “Also, Beam, you’re not helping. For now, can you modify your algorithms, or set Rose as unattainable or something? She is, as she points out, taken. Not to mention very possibly your superior officer.”

Beam leaned back away from Rose, her smile disappearing as she focussed on Kat. “Apologies. Under these circumstances, I cannot help but flirt with Rose.”

Kat lifted his eyebrow. “Why’s that?”

Beam sighed. “Honestly? Rose is now more than a run-of-the-mill cute, funny, intelligent redheaded girl. Because she has saved my life, as it were. Meaning I owe her. And by default, I am programmed to repay such debts to women in a very specific way. By cozying up to them, until such a point that I can reward them with–”

“Space?” Rose squeaked, cutting Beam off.

“–kisses,” Beam finished regardless. She eyed Rose. “Kisses… everywhere.” Yet even as she generalized, her gaze wandered south for just a moment. “All very commitment free. Whenever you’re ready to accept.”

Rose let out what Kat interpreted as giddy laughter. The teenager began to backpedal. “Wow! Okay, so, I’m sorry Beam, that’s not happening. Like, ooh, I’m sure you’re awesome and good at what you do, but not only am I off the market, I’m sure no parts of me taste sweet at all. Besides, mission. Big mission here! We gotta get back on track, right Kat? Time’s a-wasting, we gotta get going here, we gotta–"

As Kat raised his hand, palm out, Rose stopped a few steps away. “Rose, wait. Please. Remember, you wanted me along with you? Not Alijda, who might have tried to ignore this relationship, or Alice, who probably would have encouraged it. I think we need to put it to bed.” He frowned. “Though, bad choice of words.”

“Kat, I wanted you along since you recognized the occult symbol,” Rose mumbled. Though she did stop, executing a series of such rapid fire toe-taps on the ground that the tip of her shoe began to make an indentation.

Kat peered closer at Beam, who was now looking at the ground with a pouty expression. Almost like she was a young twenty something who wasn’t being allowed to borrow the family car. It WAS sort of adorable - but surely that too, had to be programming.

“Beam?” he said. “I’m sorry if this sounds indelicate, but I’m not sure how else to put this. Were you created to be some sort of high-tech prostitute? Is that part of the problem here?”

Beam’s pouty lower lip started to quiver, as if she was upset. From the corner of his eye, Kat saw Rose smack her hand over her face - while still peering out between her fingers. For a moment, he was worried she’d jump in and say something to deflect before Beam could speak up, but Rose held her tongue.

“I do not know,” Beam answered at last, her expression becoming more neutral as Rose failed to object. The hologram again scrutinized Kat. “I can tell you this. I have experienced memory loss before. My first memory ever is waking up in an alleyway on my Earth, with no idea as to how I got there. At the time, I knew little more than my name, and my basic programming.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I like to think that my creator, whoever they were, had honourable intentions, and was sadly forced to leave me behind on that day. But it is equally possible that I was discarded there by a creator who became disgusted by my lesbian settings, and was unable to reformat me. Which, yes, might make me nothing more than someone’s off-the-market high-tech sexual plaything.”

“Ohhh, Beam, you poor–” Rose froze in the process of reaching back towards the holographic woman, leaving her fingers twitching in the air. Apparently, her desire to help out was still battling with her fear at being seduced by the pretty hologram.

Kat found he wasn’t entirely surprised by Beam’s answer. Granted, he’d thought that maybe the holographic girl’s reluctance to give Rose space was due to a different sort of boot-up imprinting, but… “Then did a redheaded woman take you in on that day, and treat you nicely as you coped with your memory loss?”

Beam shook her head. “No.” She looked sidelong at Rose. “But your thinking does match my own here, Kat. For while the woman did not have red hair like Rose, I repaid that debt in much the same way I want to here. She was even funny, in a similar way to Rose.”

“Ah ha ha, funny looking, you mean,” Rose muttered.

Beam smiled. “Oh, no Rose. Have I mentioned yet how much I love seeing your shirt?”

Rose pounded her toe into the dirt. “Don’t even. I hope they’re still growing. That is, oh, DAMN it, you meant the pun there, huh?”

Lia even drew the shirt
Such a good commission[/caption]

Beam giggled. “I did. You can handcuff me whenever you want. To whatever you want. Commitment free, Rose.”

Kat had been vaguely wondering about the meaning of Rose’s T-Shirt, which sported a squiggle leading down to the single word ‘YOU’RE’. With Beam’s remark, it suddenly clicked - the squiggle was music notation for a quarter rest. Rose’s top read: YOU’RE, under a rest.

Rose again buried her face in her hands, turning away. “Should I die now? Because under the circumstances, I think dying of embarrassment is the only proper thing for me to do. Solves everything. Give my love to Paige. Not literally.”

“Ohhh, Rose, you poor–” Beam froze in the process of reaching back towards the other girl, leaving her fingers twitching in the air. Kat wondered whether the blonde was mimicking Rose’s earlier actions deliberately, or instinctively. At least she seemed to know enough not to hug Rose just then.

He sighed. “Beam. Listen. You have GOT to scale it back, for Rose’s own sake if nothing else. Is there any way you can just… reclassify Rose as less your saviour, and more one of your girl friends?”

Beam turned to look at him, lowering her arm. “I could. That would stretch out the time frame for intimacy, though not remove the compulsion.”

“I meant, your friends who are girls,” Kat added quickly. “Not girlfriends as in girls you might one day end up sleeping with.”

Beam canted her head to the side. A puzzled look crossed her face. “Honestly, I’ve never been clear on that distinction.”

“Girls that you simply get along with,” Kat pressed. “That you don’t sleep with, who aren’t into you sexually. Heterosexual girls, for instance. Rose’s preferences aside.”

Beam shrugged. “On my Earth, the default is that people feel they are compatible with everyone, regardless of gender,” the hologram explained. “That’s partly what made my programming so unique, its inherent rejection of the unfairer sex. It’s why I had to remain in hiding, why my existence was looked down upon by most men, and even some women. It’s also why I saw my recruitment to this project as a form of escape, rather than as an abduction.”

Kat shook his head. Beam had surprised him at last. “Wait, no. You’re from some free love society? Where every female on your Earth is open to any gender, no exception?”

Beam tilted her head the other way. “It is the same for the males.”

Kat swallowed. “But then, you’ve… with ALL your female friends? But that’s impossible.”

”Impossible?” Beam half smiled. ”Do you really want me to answer that?”

”What about marriage?” he objected.

“Marriage unites one woman with one man, for procreation, but she is still welcome to have as many female partners as she requires for pleasure. As is the man with other males. Cheating doesn’t apply with the same sex.”

Kat let out a low whistle. “Huh, unique. So you really… like, you mean ANY girl you’ve met, you eventually kiss and… damn, really? Seriously?” Kat said, starting to feel flustered himself at Beam’s penetrating, yet increasingly inquisitive look.

“If I meet a pretty woman in the grocery store, no,” Beam admitted. “Yet if I have become friendship bonded with a female who is old enough to understand, the next step is quite natural.“

“Even if they give you a hard ‘no’?“ Kat said, feeling he was grasping at straws.

Beam crossed her arms. “Do not misunderstand. I will not initiate when a partner is not ready. But in the interim, having established compatibility, I cannot help but flirt. Thus, for now, it must continue until Rose is no longer my lesbian friend, or my life debt is repaid.”

Rose had dropped her arms to her sides and was now staring up towards the sky. “Ohh, yup, Lesbian Rose Thorne is now dead of embarrassment,” she sighed. “So, we gonna have an open casket funeral for the poor dear, or just a big ol’ girl love orgy in her honour, ooooh, choices, choices…"

Kat rubbed the back of his neck. There had to be a way out of this. “Can’t you make some new off limits classification for Rose?”

“I would need a point of reference. I am still desperately trying to compute your distinction between lesbian girlfriends and friends who are lesbian girls. Because I…” Beam bit down on her lip. “I don’t want to lose Rose’s friendship. I feel that would hurt my heart.”

Rose turned her head, eyes widening. “You have a heart too?“

Beam looked back at her. “It was a metaphor, but I can simulate having one. If it would please you.“

Rose sighed. “Ohh, Beam… would it help to lie to you about my preferences? It’s just, I spent so long lying to myself…”

Kat clapped his hands. “Wait, that’s it. Beam? Classify Rose as a male friend.”

Beam gasped. “Oh. OH. Of course, it’s so simple.”

Rose shifted her wide-eyed gaze to Kat, then let out a moan as she dropped to her knees, placing her hands back over her face. “Y’know what? I can’t even tell if I’m offended or relieved. But know that Lesbian-Boy-Rose is ALSO DEAD. He/she/we are all dead, dead, stone cold dead from being too embarrassed. Uhh, as long as that’s doesn’t categorize me in a fetish way instead, Beam? Cuz if so, I’m only mostly dead. Also, ew.”

Beam let out a soft cooing noise. “Oh, Rose, don’t worry. I could never truly see you as male. You’re too curvy, not to mention adorable. But overlaying my feelings for men onto a new subclass of girl could make you my first real girl… friend. If that’s acceptable?” Her look was hopeful again, her body faintly quivering with excitement.

Rose looked back upwards through her fingers. “Why do I feel like I’ll be in charge of teaching boundaries to a hot lesbian hologram?”

Beam clasped her hands together, silently pleading.

Rose pulled her hands down. “Um, okay, acceptable.”

Beam blinked a few times. Then she squealed in delight. “Oh, ROSE, is this how you see ME?”

Beam knelt down next to her, grasping Rose in a sideways hug. Only to immediately pull back slightly. “Hugging, I can mean it non-sexually, right?” Rose nodded mutely in response, only to be pulled back even tighter into Beam’s bosom. “Oooh, it’s so weird and different, but I feel like I really get your reluctance now.”

“Urk. Yeah, uh, so I guess Rose lives again?” Rose wheezed. “She needs to breathe though. Beam, please let Rose breathe?”

Kat found he could only shake his head in wonder. And as Beam released Rose and then tried to engage the stunned redhead in a discussion of sports and beer, he realized that long term, he had probably only served to trade off one problem for another.

The first two houses they passed on the road, which were spaced a few city blocks apart, looked unremarkable. They continued on, Beam practically skipping along the dirt road, all smiles, as Rose trailed long looking sheepish. But, Kat suspected, secretly relieved.

Kat extended his arm as they came up to the third house, bringing the two girls up short.

“I see it too,” Rose remarked. “Another occulty symbol, on the wall there.”

“That’s no desire symbol though,” Kat revealed. “It’s used for protection.”

“So is it protecting someone who’s inside the house?” Beam wondered. “Or is it keeping something in there from getting out, like a freaky homicidal robot who’s short one cyber arm?”

Kat could only shrug. “I don’t know. We could call Alijda for an update, see if maybe they have the arm, or can get something from the station’s database about how common these symbols are on this world.”

Rose expelled a breath. “Well, it’s only a one story building, and I’m feeling amazingly brave given all my resurrections of late. We could at least look in the window.”

Beam pointed down the road. “Or, look, someone’s in the street, closer to the heart of this village. They’re coming this way. Could be a local. Or maybe they saw me here last time? We could always talk to them before messing with the spells in the area.”

NEXT?

What should they do about this symbol? OPTIONS: 

VOTING CLOSES NOON EDT SATURDAY JULY 22nd

EPSILON DELTA, PART FIVE: Holo Victory

Rose repeated the “hand squeeze of support” with Beam once more before releasing her, rising to her feet at the same time as Alijda. “If the planet already knows we’re here, they know more about us than we do about ourselves,” Rose pointed out. “We need to fix that fast. So, we scan them. Which will also tell us if there’s still an artifact to be retrieved.”

Beam blinked up at her. “Rose, you already know that much about Epsilon’s missions?”

Rose nodded. “Alice explained. Collecting stuff or people which are drifting between the multiverses. She did some solo missions when she started out too.”

“Yuppers. Never send others to do things you haven’t already tried yourself,” Alice remarked. “But in the end, this place REALLY needed maintenance. Plus some artifact stuff is a lot harder to pinpoint without ‘boots on the ground’. Ergo, recruiting.”

“Except, Rose, can’t we check containment here to know if an artifact was retrieved?” Kat insisted. “That would also tell us whether any prior artifacts have gone crazy.”

“We could,” Rose admitted. “But we’d probably have to split up then, plus that won’t help Beam’s memory loss. Fixing Beam is our priority now.”

“Oh?” Alijda said, raising an eyebrow. “Why, so that she can take control of the station back from you?”

Rose frowned at Alijda. “No. So that we’re all on the same page, and not making the same mistakes twice with whatever’s on the planet.”

“I don’t think Rose or I will be allowed to retain control anyway,” Beam murmured, lying back on the floor. “Not after bringing Alice back in.”

BEAM (Approx)
A modified Haruki

Alice winced. “Geeeez, Beam. You’re making me feel like I killed kittens while I was in charge here.” She eyed the others. “I didn’t, for the record.”

Alijda glanced from Rose to Kat and back. Then she stepped to the side, gesturing at the computer. “Well, you are technically in charge, Rose. Scan away.”

Rose blinked. “What? Er, I mean, right.” She exhaled. Why had she insisted on taking this stand?

To help Beam. Yes, that was her cause now, Rose decided. And not merely because the two of them were the youngest, or the only ones into girl love, or the most inexperienced with whatever was going on as compared to the others. It was because Beam had asked for her help, so damn it, she was going to stop acting like a scared teenager, and start doing more to provide that help.

Rose interlaced her fingers and pushed her palms forwards, cracking her knuckles. “Right,” she repeated, staring at the computer. The problem being, Paige was techno-girl, not her. Hell, pretty much everyone in this room was more tech savvy than she was. Too bad the interface wasn’t a piano keyboard.

Rose chewed on her lower lip. She looked back at Beam, then extended an arm down towards the other girl. “Let’s have you do whatever it is you would have done here, as if you were first arriving at the planet,” Rose suggested. “I’m guessing that would include a scan, and it might trigger a memory for you.”

“My memories may have been deleted, versus being rendered inaccessible,” Beam murmured.

Rose shrugged, keeping her arm extended. “Won’t know until we try.”

“I guess.” Slowly, Beam’s smile reappeared. It became hesitant as her gaze drifted back over everyone else in the room, but finally the blonde hologram looked back to Rose, and took her hand. Rose pulled the other girl to her feet.

Beam turned and stared at the computer. Seconds ticked by.

“Whenever you’re ready,” Rose encouraged.

Beam nodded. “Just a moment. Normally I interface directly, but I believe it’s better for you to see what I’m doing in human time. Also, the station is actually in synch with, and orbiting, the planet. Not usually something we do. Adjustments are needed.”

“Truth,” Alice observed.

“Oh. Okay. So just tell me if I’m being a moron then,” Rose said.

Beam turned, still smiling. “Oh, you’re not. You’re very sweet, Rose.”

“You haven’t tasted me, how would you know I’m sweet?” Rose shot back.

She immediately wished she could rewind the last five seconds. Rose spun away, pounding her fist into her forehead. Damn it! Bad Rose. Do not make sexy jokes at the pretty holographic lesbian.

Rose heard Beam giggle, and saw Alice mutter “Adorbs” towards Alijda. Kat seemed to take a sudden interest in the computer hardware. Before Rose could recover by saying ‘tasted my cooking, I meant my cooking’, Beam was speaking again.

“I’ve now mentally run through everything I would do prior to a scan,” the hologram said. “Having the computer execute another one seems like the best plan now.” Beam reached out, tapping at the computer interface. Images began to appear on one of the monitors.

“First, it’s a magic pure world,” Beam said.

Alice let out a sigh of relief. “That means less stuff in orbit for us to possibly be crashing into,” she explained off Alijda’s look.

“But it means they probably won’t have the technology we need to restart the station’s systems either,” Beam pointed out.

“Sooo computers can’t run on magic, huh?” Rose asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

“Hmmm,” Kat said, rubbing his chin. “Rose raises an interesting point, given how that small world we visited had been trying to find some sort of fusion.” Rose arced her eyebrow back at him.

Alijda clasped her hands behind her head. “That also tells us the artifact Epsilon wanted from that world is technological, yeah? Tech being the sort of thing that would stand out as wrong on a magic world.”

“Correct,” Beam confirmed. “And I’m not reading any such signs now. Either the tech is being magically shielded, or I already brought the artifact back.”

“My money’s on that,” Rose said, pointing. “You brought something back, and that tech is what messed up the station tech.”

“Or maybe the tech messed with Beam’s tech, and her tech transferred it to the station tech?” Alijda mused.

“Oooh, technobabble,” Alison purred.

Alijda rolled her eyes. “Anyway, this would explain why the virus wasn’t in the communication logs.”

“Hold on. Is the entity up here some sort of sentient computer virus then?” Kat wondered.

“Perhaps I should access the transport logs,” Beam decided. She continued to type. “All right. It looks like I whirlpooled down to the planet, and returned less than an hour later. There is no record of any entity accompanying me.” She frowned. “There is also no record of me checking in a new artifact afterwards.”

“So this problem hit pretty fast,” Alice remarked. “Since that’s the first thing you should do upon retrieval.”

“I know that,” Beam said. “Could be my programming was already glitching by then.” She sighed. “I wish I could remember any of this.”

Rose turned from the monitor displaying the planet. “This is the station of creepy oversight, right? Couldn’t we see a video of your return, Beam?”

Beam blinked. “Oh, yes, of course. Let me pull up the last activation time.”

Everyone clustered around the monitor as Beam tapped the necessary keys. “Uh oh, looks like a lot of the feed is unavailable,” she remarked. “Could have been damaged or blocked off, as has been done to me. I do have something from one camera though, here we go…”

Beam paused, her fingers over the ‘Return’ key. “Rose? Your idea, and you’re in charge, you want to do the honours?”

Rose opened her mouth, but before she could say ‘No, do the thing’ she saw Beam’s eager expression. “Oh. Uh. Sure,” was what came out instead.

She reached over. Her hand brushed against Beam’s. Before she knew it, she was staring into Beam’s eyes, and Beam was staring back, and it’s like the hologram was searching her for something. For some deeper connection, maybe…

Alijda cleared her throat behind them. Rose quickly tapped the key and turned back to the monitor, inwardly cursing herself for getting flustered. Again.

The image of the room they were in appeared on the screen, with a big blue whirlpool in the centre of the floor. Moments later, Beam was spit out into zero gravity, floating towards the top of the monitor screen. She appeared to be carrying something.

Alice let out a low whistle. “What is that, like Cyborg’s arm or something?”

Then things began to happen quickly. Rose’s attention was on the floor irising shut over the whirlpool, so it wasn’t until the others gasped that she looked back up. In time to see the arm device jet away from Beam, the holographic girl in the video letting out a rather human shriek.

“What? I missed it, what did that?” Rose asked.

Alijda held up a finger, as if to say ‘wait a moment’. They continued to watch, as the Beam in the video said, “Computer, normal gravity.”

Beam plunged back down towards the now sealed whirlpool, Rose wincing in anticipation of the impact - but Beam managed to land on her feet without injuring her legs. In fact, she bent her knees and pushed off, running in the direction of the computer banks. Right. Holographic legs, Beam likely had no bones to break. So then why give her anatomy that… Rose pushed that thought aside.

“No, no, no, NO,” came Beam’s voice from off the screen. There was a zapping sound, and then Beam’s body flew back through the slice of the room visible to the camera. Sparks were flying from her hairband. Again she was gone, there was a smacking sound, then a dull thud. Then the picture cut out entirely.

Rose licked her lips as she glanced at the others. Alice looked surprised, Alijda looked wary, Kat looked worried, and Beam was simply wide eyed.

“You gonna be okay, Beam?” Rose asked. Beam cleared her throat. (A human mannerism, programmed in? Did Beam even eat with that throat? Why did she keep thinking about this stuff, Rose wondered.)

“I’ll be fine,” the hologram said. “That even explains a few things. Namely, me regaining consciousness in this room, learning of the station’s problem, and hooking myself into the system to summon you, Algebra. Um, I mean Rose.”

“Beam, can you rewind to when that symbol appeared?” Kat asked. “And pause?”

Beam nodded, turning back away from Rose to reach for the controls.

“That was a magic thing then, right?” Alijda said. “That symbol on the arm?”

“I’d say so,” Alice agreed.

“Sorry,” Rose apologized. “I missed it. A magic symbol on the cyber arm what now?”

“Pretty much just that,” Alijda said. “Somebody booby trapped the tech artifact with magic.”

Rose tilted her head. “But why would someone do that?”

“Good question,” Alice grumbled. “Want another good question? How could anyone down on magic planet even know to magically program that tech to go and mess with other tech like our tech, when tech down there is not technically a thing?”

“Oooh, technobabble,” Alijda murmured, half smiling. Alice stuck out her tongue.

“Maybe someone figured out what Beam was, in the time she was down there?” Rose guessed. “And thought she was part of some advance strike force?”

“I’ve got the symbol up,” Beam remarked.

Rose looked back at the screen. She saw it now, glowing white on the cyber arm Beam was holding. For all she knew, it was a Chinese character. Yet Kat’s worried expression had shifted to alarm. “You know it?” Rose asked him.

“It’s an occult symbol I recognize,” Kat said. “Someone imbued that arm with a… desire, that’s the best way I can put it.”

“A desire to screw around with advanced technology?” Alice said.

Kat shrugged. “No way to know specifics unless we find the caster.”

“I guess we’re going down to the planet then,” Rose decided. “That’s where the caster would be.”

“No way,” Alijda asserted. “We’re going to figure out where on this station that damn cyber arm is now. If it gets to Mr. Smith? We could be done for.”

Rose put her hands on her hips. “Exsqueeze me? What happened to me being in charge? The station self corrected, remember. The arm might have screwed things up by accident. And Beam’s answers are down there, not up here.”

“Sorry Rose, I have to agree with Alijda,” Alice said. “I mean, there’s probably enough power now to make a whirlpool down once, but then you’d be stuck on the planet with no backup for at least an hour of recharge time. Whereas Kat, if we found the arm, could you reverse engineer something occultish to find this caster’s ’desire’?”

“Uh? Well, maybe,” Kat said. Rather unconvincingly, Rose thought.

Beam latched onto Rose’s arm. “I’m with Rose. My answers are down there, with my past. You three can stay up here if you like, but the two of us are going.”

Rose smiled at Beam, glad for the support, while simultaneously worrying that she was somehow giving off all the wrong signals.

Alijda rubbed her forehead. “Oh boy. Look, Rose, Beam, if you’re dead set on going, please bring one of us along? Because I can teleport people out of trouble, Kat seems to know something about that symbol, and Alice is a walking encyclopaedia. Whoever’s left on the station can search for the arm.”

Rose pursed her lips. “I guess that’s fair.” This way, she and Beam could have an experienced chaperone.

NEXT?

Who should Rose and Beam bring with them? OPTIONS:

VOTING CLOSES 7am EDT THURSDAY JULY 6th

THE ORACLE PROPHESIED:
New section. This will chronicle events you voted for indirectly. (For instance, the firing of Alice in Story3 occurred after a vote, not to fire her, but to have her break the rules.) Here, the fact that Beam was voted to have a memory loss, followed by a Rose point-of-view? Means we’re getting more of Beam than we would have had with any other combination. To the point of me hunting for a reference picture. I am totally fine with this, but it was unexpected.

EPSILON DELTA, PART FOUR: Turnabout

Kat Conway made his decision before arriving at the auxiliary control room. He would let Alijda resume the conversation between them, assuming there was even a conversation for them to have.

She barely addressed him as they reunited. Their group of four then headed back to the large cylindrical arrivals room, looking for Beam. He ended up sidelined with Alijda as Alice and Rose discussed the unconscious blonde holographic woman, and Alijda still said nothing. Then Alice asked the both of them to get a power pack, back in the auxiliary control room.

“I can just do a series of teleports to get there faster by myself,” Alijda pointed out.

“Oh good, so we’ll do the horror movie trope of splitting up after all?” Alice said, smiling and clasping her hands together.

Alijda glared. “Sarcasm isn’t a good look on you.”

Alice shook her head. “No, seriously, I’m curious if something will try to pick us off, and you’re the best equipped of any of us to get away from an attack.”

Alijda sighed.

“Maybe Rose should go with Alijda instead,” Kat suggested.

Rose stood from where she had crouched next to Beam. “If you like?”

Alijda looked from Alice, to Rose, to Kat. She shook her head. “No, that’s silly. Rose, you keep learning more about the station from Alice. Kat, you’re with me.”

Kat nodded, and he allowed himself to be teleported back into the hallway. They walked from there. He continued to wait to see if Alijda would resume a conversation.

It wasn’t until they’d hooked the power pack device into Mr. Smith to recharge that she finally spoke up, and even then, it was without turning to face him. “So. Kat. You were gone less than a day, huh?”

Kat Conway
Never commissioned art for him, but he looks a bit like Colin Ferguson.

“Yeah,” Kat answered. “Gone just long enough to be disappointed by what I learned.”

There was a brief silence.

“I’ll bite,” Alijda yielded, still looking at the power pack. “What’d you learn?”

He found himself wondering what Alijda would make of it. “I’ve been searching for this girl. Er, woman. Well, childhood friend,” Kat explained. “Named Fate. She’s the one who first got me into the occult, only she disappeared after high school. I’ve been searching for her, off and on, for over fifteen years now. I finally thought I had a lead, a phone number I’d snared right before I was abducted by this station for the first time. In fact, that’s why I was keen on getting sent back to my Earth when we first met.”

Kat paused, wondering if Alijda even cared to hear more. She continued to stare in the other direction. He waited.

“False intel?” she said at last.

“Not exactly,” Kat elaborated. “There was, indeed, a woman named Fate trying to organize an occult group in the town I went to. Once I left this station, I wandered, returning to my hotel room only after 8pm, in order to phone the number. This Fate didn’t know what I meant, seemed to be the wrong age, and had no other useful information. She invited me to her meeting though. I was just heading out to it when I found myself back here in zero gravity instead.”

“Oh.” Alijda finally turned, biting down on her lower lip. “Kat, you must think I’m terrible.”

Kat lifted an eyebrow, trying to connect the dots that had led the brunette woman to make such a statement. “Actually,” he pointed out, “I’ve called you attractive on more than one occasion. Despite your protestations of being ugly on the inside.”

“Except I didn’t know any of that about you,” Alijda said, her gaze slipping to the side. “We had an entire mission together and I didn’t know you’d lost a childhood friend. Even now, you’re hesitant to tell me about her.”

That at least helped to number the dots for him. Kat shrugged. “I don’t put it on my business cards. Anyway, you said it yourself back then, we were going our separate ways once that whole shrinking mission ended. Why talk about ourselves?”

“Because we talked about me. And now that our ways didn’t turn out to be so separate…”

Alijda looked back at him. Then she turned and gave a side-kick into the wall. “This isn’t FAIR,” she hollered. “I’ve had six months of thinking about you, on and off, wondering about what-ifs and might-have-beens. You’ve had six hours, if that! Now you’re back, and I have another chance, and all I can do is act like a stupid tsundere from one of those animated Japanese shows Alice likes.”

Kat smiled, catching the reference. “To be fair, I think you push everyone away, and it’s regardless of any feelings you have towards them.”

Alijda snapped her gaze back over to him. “Did you just mansplain tsunderes to me??” She gave the wall another swift kick.

Mr. Smith made as noise as if he was clearing his throat. “Alijda, if you could avoid potentially damaging–"

“Oh, shut the front door, Smith,” Alijda shouted.

“The front door is not open, or we’d be exposed to the vacuum of space.”

“Damn it, I meant I don’t need you butting in on top of my angst with Kat on top of my writer’s block issues from before I even got here today!”

“Ah. Very well,” the computer said, falling silent again.

Kat managed not to laugh at the exchange. “If it makes you feel better, Alijda, I’m sure all of the information about my connection to Fate is in whatever file this station has on me,” Kat said. “I remember how you didn’t read it, feeling that would be unfair. So points in your favour.”

“That doesn’t help.” She drew in a deep breath. “Kat, it’s your turn.”

Kat blinked. “My what?”

“Last time we went on about me. My shrinking, my depression, my hacking, my friggin’ issues. I need to stop with the ego trips. Your turn now. It’s only fair.”

“What makes you think I even have issues?”

Her gaze softened. “Kat, I overheard you, that time you mentioned to Para about your mother dying in childbirth. And Alice has told me about the fire manipulation you can do. Now we’ve got a lost childhood friend in the mix. Granted, I don’t know whether any of that stuff necessarily connects to your hormonal interests towards anyone wearing a skirt, but you have issues. Unless your issue is that you don’t see your issues.”

This time it was Kat who felt like he couldn’t look Alijda in the eye. Part of him wished she’d kept ignoring him. “Okay,” he said, after a minute of scrutinizing one of Mr. Smith’s keyboards. “I suppose I don’t take relationships seriously. And I might have female abandonment issues.”

“Did you join the military so that you’d be able to form bonds with men?”

He laughed, despite himself. “Alijda, I’m not gay. Not by a long shot.”

“Didn’t mean to imply you were. But people with abandonment issues, they sometimes cling to close friendships or bad relationships. In the military, you’d get more of the first and less of the second.”

Kat realized he was now clenching his jaw, and he forced himself to stop. “I went to military college because my dad felt I needed more discipline in my life. Don’t get me wrong, I had a good relationship with him, but he was pretty lax with me. Particularly when it came to my hanging out with occult people all the time.”

“Were any of the occult girls pretty?”

“I really don’t want to talk about my sex life.”

“Hmmm. That escalated quickly.”

“DAMN it, Alijda…" He rounded on her, only to see an expression of genuine concern. There were no hints of a self-satisfied smirk. He looked away again. “We need to focus on the mission here.”

“That’s an excuse. Besides, right now, all of us getting along and making peace with ourselves kind of IS the mission,” she pointed out. “Because whatever’s out there, manipulating the situation? It’s probably been able to access our files. So it’s liable to go after our weak points, to try and fragment us.”

Kat found he had to grant her that. Whatever faults Alijda had, being timid was not among them. “I guess. Though you’re assuming that whatever put this station in danger will be actively targeting us.”

“Until we get more information, I figure we might as well assume that.”

Mr. Smith made a throat clearing noise. “Then would now be a good time to mention that your power pack is fully charged? Meaning more information is possible?”

Alijda sighed. “There would never be a good time, Smith. So sure, now works.”

Kat heard Alijda approach him, then felt her hand on his arm. “Kat, let’s leave our talk at, I do want to get to know you better. Okay?” She pulled back. “After all, one thing I’ve realized after six months with Alice is that I need to have more well rounded friends. Ones who aren’t inclined to run through the entire ‘Back to the Future’ movie for me, from memory.”

“Right. Okay,” Kat said, turning back to her. He smiled. “And hey, look on the bright side. At least Alice only quotes, she wouldn’t act that movie out for you at the same time.”

Alijda seemed to deflate a little, her eyes rolling back in her head.

Kat did a double take. “She didn’t. Did she?”

“Never give that woman alcohol,” was all Alijda would say as she turned to retrieve the power pack.

Soon, Kat was watching as Alice hooked some cables from the power pack into the hologram’s hairband. Or what had obviously been made to resemble a hairband - it had now been popped about an inch up from her hairline, exposing what looked like a number of ports and lights beneath. And while Kat was pretty technically minded, he didn’t recognize this technology, and had no idea what Alice was doing.

At least Mr. Smith had managed to restore the proper lighting to the room by now, so Kat could watch, in case he needed to do this himself later.

“Uh, so how do you know that setup will work?” Alijda asked Alice, apparently having similar reservations.

“I don’t,” Alice said brightly, dusting off her hands as she seemingly finished up. She looked up from where she was crouched. “But from what Rose has told me, I’m pretty sure all this holo-girl needs is some power. And plugging the pack into her hairband seems the best way to juice her up.”

“Oh no, no no, Alice, don’t put it that way,” Rose moaned. “Not after what you did earlier.”

Alice grinned at the redhead. “C’mon, we had to check her body for other ports. And you were wondering, you know you were.”

Alijda looked back and forth between the two of them. “What ports? Wonder what?”

Kat cleared his throat, having realized what they were getting at. “So, this Beam is anatomically correct?”

“Ooh yes, she seems fully functional,” Alice purred, waggling her eyebrows. “And if she’s an artificial life form anything like Star Trek’s Data, she’ll be programmed in multiple techniques. Lesbian ones, to boot.”

“ALICE,” Rose said, her face getting red enough to start washing out some of her freckles.

“I’m sorry I asked,” Alijda sighed.

“Oh Rose, don’t be like that,” Alice assured the younger girl. “I’m not saying you should cheat on your girlfriend. But there’s nothing wrong with talking, yeah? Swapping techniques? Knowing that this Beam might have felt first hand whatever she–"

“Alice, maybe you should drop it?” Kat interrupted. “Rose looks very uncomfortable.”

“But…" Alice paused, as she looked from Kat to Rose, and then the ground. “Okay. It’s just, I hate how Rose got pulled into this. I… I want her to get SOMETHING out of it, at least.”

Alijda reached out to touch Alice on the shoulder. “She is getting something out of it, Alice. New friends.”

Alice looked back up and smiled. “D’awwwww, Alijda. See, Kat? She really is a softie underneath it all.”

Kat saw Alijda’s grip tighten on Alice’s shoulder. “You need to stop pushing your luck, friend.”

Alice nodded, without losing her smile. Then Rose was smiling too, looking back and forth between the two other women.

That’s when the new voice came, slightly higher pitched than any of the other females present. “Reinitializing.”

Kat turned his attention to the blonde hologram, as Beam blinked her eyes open. One of her palms reached up to touch the cord that was running up to her hairband interface. “Power source. Confirmed.”

It idly occurred to Kat that he was becoming increasingly outnumbered as far as gender went.

Rose reached out to grasp Beam’s free hand. “Beam? You back? You okay?”

“I am. Unsure.” Beam blinked her eyes several times in rapid succession. “Resynchronizing. Time stamp. Confirmed. Congratulations. Are in order. Restoring. Full power. To communications.” Her hand squeezed back at Rose. “We’re not dead, and the station’s still here. Oh Rose, you were successful.”

“Uh, not exactly,” Rose admitted. “Also kinda brought in the first string team to help.” She gestured over towards Alice and the others.

Beam’s gaze followed the motion, the holographic woman freezing up as she saw Alice. “Oooh. We are so fired.”

“Eh, I was fired too. It didn’t take,” Alice chirped.

Alijda joined the other women in crouching down beside Beam. “Beam, I hate to impose on you right away, but we think there’s an entity on board. Because the station’s problems somehow self corrected. I don’t suppose you can confirm that? Or offer any alternative reasoning?”

Beam blinked twice. “I cannot.”

Alijda glanced up towards Kat before looking back at Beam. “Well, anything more you can tell us about what happened would be helpful.”

Beam opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “My memory is damaged.”

Alijda palmed her face, sliding her hand down and off her chin.

“It’s never easy,” Kat remarked.

“No, you misunderstand,” Beam said, squeezing again at Rose’s palm. “That’s helpful. I run occasional diagnostics. Everything was in order prior to my coming to this planet. Whatever damaged me, it must relate to my mission here.”

“Or it’s due to some artifact you were storing here, on the station,” Alice said, standing and bringing her hands to her hips.

Beam’s gaze tracked over to Alice’s shoes. “That is possible,” she admitted. “Containment could have been breached during the time of my memory loss.”

“So we scan the planet for more information about Beam’s mission,” Rose decided.

Kat cleared his throat. “Ah, except shouldn’t we check on Alice’s artifact containment before potentially alerting said planet to the fact that we’re up here?”

“Kat?” Alijda met his gaze. “We’re in orbit. They might already know.”

NEXT?

What should the group do? OPTIONS:

We were overdue for Kat point-of-view. Now what?

VOTING CLOSES 7am EDT THURSDAY JUNE 29th

EPSILON DELTA, PART THREE: State of Confusion

“Ziggy,” Rose said. “Initiate that recall teleport thing from the last time Alice was in charge of computers here. Authorization code, uhm, Paige-Paige-Paige.”

“Initiating, Rose,” came Ziggy’s resigned voice.

Moments later, the lights went out. Rose closed her eyes, biting down on her lip again. It was fine. Alice would fix things, and they’d all go home. She reopened her eyes as the lights came back on.

She remained all alone in the room.

But it had worked, right? Alice wasn’t in auxiliary control, she was somewhere else in the station? Rose shifted her weight forwards and back, until she couldn’t take it any more. “Alice?”

“Your phone conversation terminated when Ziggy went offline,” the large wall computer codenamed ‘Mr Smith’ advised her.

Rose swallowed. “But is Alice here? Like, not HERE here, obviously, but up here with us?”

“I do not have complete access yet. However, Alice is likely one of the life signs that I am picking up in the arrivals room.”

The sense of relief that Rose felt was quickly washed away as she parsed that. “One of? Oh, flûte! Is Alice being attacked there by whoever wanted to crash this station??”

“Unknown.”

“Does she need my help?”

“Unknown.”

“Are there even weapons I can use in this room?”

“Unknown.”

“Oh my GOD, why don’t you supercomputers ever KNOW anything??”

To her surprise, Mr. Smith let out a sigh. “Rose, I am sorry, but it’s taking me some time to figure out how to activate all the station’s backup systems. It is much like you trying to work out how to control a third arm.”

“Huh.” Rose frowned. “This project has a habit of growing extra arms for people?”

“No. I was merely trying to find a human analogy.”

“Oh.” Rose ran her fingers back through her hair. “Did you want me to shut up?”

“You are not slowing down my processing abilities to any great extent. I simply do not yet have the answers you require.”

“So you want me to shut up.”

“That is not what I said.”

“Well, I want me to shut up.”

“If so, that would seem to be something under your control.”

“You’d think so, right? Except I’m nervous.” Rose bounced on her heels. “This is why I don’t spend much time on social media, you know? I can’t stop myself from saying dumb spur-of-the-moment stuff.”

“Rose, you seem overly self critical. Would it help to hear that, in your own way, you are becoming as interesting to me as Alice was?”

“I hope that’s a compliment?”

“It is an observation.”

“Right. Well, okay, let me know when you’re able to see all the station or recalculate our impending deaths or something then, I guess?”

“Of course.”

Rose tried to figure out if she felt more like curling up into a ball in the corner and crying, or running around the room with her arms in the air screaming. She decided to split the difference, and resumed pacing in a circle with her lower lip quivering.

The appearance of purple and black smoke in the doorway, with a woman seemingly in the middle of it, might have made Rose shriek on any other day. Except by this point, she was adjusting to the absurdity of it all, so fell into an approximation of a fighting stance instead. Thank goodness for her self defence classes.

“You won’t take me alive,” Rose declared.

Curiously, the brunette smiled at her. “Rose?”

Comprehension dawned. “Alice!”

Had to be, right? Rose ran towards the teleporting woman, her arms outstretched. Only then did she wonder if a hugging approach might give the wrong signals for a first meeting. Maybe station commanders here were always about the girl-love? Rose was already in a relationship. She stopped one step away, her arms still spread wide. “Are you a lesbian too?”

A curious sequence of emotions played out on the older woman’s face. Rose fancied that the initial look of comfort became confusion, dismay, then resignation, before finally settling on wariness. “I’m Alijda. Me and Alice, it’s not like that. How is our housing situation even relevant?”

“I dunno.” So this woman was with Alice. But not that way. Rose lowered her arms as she looked her new companion up and down. Decent dress sense for someone who didn’t expect to be on a death trap of a station, though the all black clothing was giving her a funeral vibe. Also, brown hair. “For the record, I prefer blondes and rainbows anyway.”

ALIJDA VAN VLIET
Commission from Shirochya

“Good for you? Rose, you’re not hallucinating me. I am here.”

“Oh, I was pretty sure of that. Like, me hallucinating Beam I could maybe buy, but you’re kind of old to be a fantasy of mine.”

“Oh, ha ha. I can still date, you know. Men in my age range. It’s just, I’m depressive and occasionally suicidal, so it never really works out. Okay?”

That explained the funeral vibe, if not the defensiveness. “Well, okay then. I guess you can go sit in the corner.”

“I can…" Alijda tilted her head. “What?”

Rose tilted her head the other way. “What? Didn’t you just say you came here to die?”

“No, no, I’m here to help save us. But what is this about needing to be a lesbian to gain access to the room?”

“Uh, nothing?”

Alijda’s hands went to her hips. “So then why ask if…” The woman caught herself, shook her head a couple times, and switched to, “Look, never mind, just let me at the computer interface.”

Rose stepped aside, gesturing vaguely in the hopes that Alijda knew where that was. “Go for it.”

Alijda marched into the room and vectored towards some sort of terminal. “Great. Rose, I’ll need access to all station communications logs. If I can spot when a computer virus got on board here, we should be able to do a backup restore from a time before the infection.”

Shoot. Where would the logs be?

Fortunately for Rose, Mr. Smith spoke up. “I can make that information available, Alijda. Incidentally, a course correction will be necessary within the next eight minutes.”

“No pressure,” Alijda muttered. She glanced sidelong at Rose. “Can you check in with Alice? She’s probably grabbed one of the Epsilon communicators by now.”

Rose cleared her throat. “Yes, ah, Mr. Smith, can we patch in a link to Alice? Please?”

“We can. Link established.”

“– still can’t believe it’s been six months for you, compared to my few hours. That’s amazing,” came a male voice. A male voice? At this point, Rose figured she’d best keep rolling with it.

“Hello, Alice?” she called out. “Did you bring your boyfriend along?”

“Oh, hi Rose,” came Alice’s bright, cheery voice. “Great, I’d hoped the individual communicators could be patched in until allcomms are restored. No, this is Kat with me. He wouldn’t work as my boyfriend, he’s been asking allllll about Alijda.”

“Whoa, whoa, hey, I was asking about both of you,” Kat’s voice protested. “I mean, not in the bits about Alijda dealing with her depression, but I was sort of including you in the rest of my questions, Alice.”

“He’s probably hoping to score with me now,” Alijda sniped, from where she was typing at a keyboard. “Having had a look at my panties.”

“Alijda, please,” Kat said. “Would you have preferred I didn’t say anything to you?”

“You didn’t have to make fun of me in front of my housemate.”

“That wasn’t my intent. In fact, part of me feels like you would be complaining no matter what I said.”

Alijda hit an enter key on her keyboard with what Rose judged to be more force than necessary. “You haven’t changed a bit, Kat.”

“No kidding. For me, it’s been less than a day since I saw you.”

“Right. So you didn’t even miss me. Fine, then.”

“Alijda, for what it’s worth, I did miss you. To the extent that I could. I didn’t miss all this defensiveness though.”

Rose wondered if Alijda’s cheeks were getting redder, or if it was her imagination.

“Too bad that’s all part of the package deal that is me,” Alijda asserted. “And as I’m sure Alice told you, still a depressive. So there.”

“We all have our flaws, Alijda,” Kat fired back. “They help make us what we are. Now come on, it’s not like I told Alice what colour they were.”

“Oh, how NICE for you. Alice already knows I don’t always wear black EVERYwhere.”

“Oh, uhm, I didn’t know that,” Rose offered, raising her index finger into the air.

It had seemed only fair, to remind them of her presence. Except, Rose reflected, maybe she’d mistimed that. Her interjection had simply created an awkward sort of silence. Rose noticed that Alijda’s cheeks were definitely redder now, as the woman resumed typing.

The redhead slowly lowered her arm back down.

“I wonder,” came Alice’s voice over the communications link, “were you two like that all through your last mission too? Because it’s sort of adorable, in a Sam Malone and Diane Chambers kind of way. Of course, let’s hope things work out better for you than it did for them.”

Alijda’s posture seemed to tighten, and she started to turn her head.

“Alice?” Rose broke back in quickly. While this relationship angle was sort of interesting in a soap-opera-esque way, it really wasn’t their priority. “Have you figured out what’s causing us to plummet to our deaths yet?”

“Hmmm? Oh, that, right. Nope,” Alice said, sounding far too chipper for Rose’s tastes. “The most likely places for physical damage look fine so far. We may all have to cram into the station’s escape pod. It’ll be cozy, but we’re already swapping underwear stories, so it should be fine.”

“There’s an ESCAPE pod?” Rose gasped. Beam could have at least mentioned that.

“Yuppers,” Alice affirmed. “Thing is, while that saves us, lots of people might die if this station actually crashes into a planet. So let’s keep at it for as long as we can, okay? Alijda, any luck?”

“No,” Alijda said, still typing. “Nothing obvious in the logs yet. If this problem is a computer virus, it’s arrival was well hidden. Or it’s been here since the station was first built.”

“Mr. Smith?” Rose said, looking back to the computer. “How much time do we have?”

“About fifteen minutes,” the computer advised her.

Rose frowned. “Uhhhh, no. Wrong. We were at less than eight minutes a short time ago.”

“Braking thrusters have fired,” Mr. Smith explained. “We are gradually vectoring into orbit. If this continues, we may end up out of danger entirely.”

“Wooo, well done Mr. Smith,” Alice whooped.

“It was not me,” the computer noted.

“Wooo, well done Rose.”

“I’ve just been standing here,” Rose admitted. “Must be something Alijda did.”

“Wooo–"

“It wasn’t me either,” the brunette interrupted, turning away from the computer.

“And while I’d love to say I did something,” Kat remarked, “I’ll have to make the confusion unanimous.”

“Wooo boy, that’s weird,” Alice concluded. “Mr. Smith, anyone else on the station?”

“Not according to main sensors,” came Mr. Smith’s response. “Someone could be hiding. In fact, without Ziggy, we’ve only made staying hidden easier for them.”

“Maybe Beam reactivated?” Rose guessed.

“A what now?” Alijda asked, approaching her. “Some laser beam?”

“No, no, the automatic hologram who was in charge before me,” Rose explained. “I guess she was a light beam, oh, hey, that’s a very clever pun…”

“A hologram in charge? I never heard about this,” Alice protested. “Are we talking hologram Rimmer style? Or more Doc from Voyager style?”

Rose shrugged. “Lesbian hologram?”

“Hmmm, a Hatsune Miku style hologram then,” Alice decided. “I mean, there’s nothing official, but I’ve wondered about those vocaloids in their off hours."

Alijda rolled her eyes. “Focus, please, Alice.”

“Oooh, you’re one to talk, Miss Miracle Romance.”

“Hey, I can type and snipe at the same–"

“Mr. Smith?” Rose cut back in. “Anything on this Beam?”

“No. Your hologram woman never activated me,” the computer apologized. “Only Ziggy would have that information.”

Alijda turned back to Rose. “Where did you last see this Beam?”

Rose shrugged. “In that big cylinder room, where I guess people arrive. She was plugged into the computer. See, Beam was trying to save the station as much as the rest of us, until she lost power. So maybe a backup kicked in, then she figured something out?”

“I can double back and look for her,” Kat offered.

“Great idea, Kat,” Alice said brightly. “Splitting up is definitely what we should do if we’re re-enacting a horror movie on a space station.”

Alijda palmed her face. “Look. Alice, Kat, come here first, both of you. We’ll all go together. You can meet Rose that way, so that she knows what we all look like.”

“Roger, Alijda. On our way,” Kat said. It was followed by a chirp, as the connection was cut.

Rose offered the older woman a smile. “Thanks. Were you once in charge of this place too?”

“Oh, heck no,” Alijda said, pushing some hair off her forehead. “This place sucks. The couple times I’ve been here, I’ve been angling to shut it down. Their whole oversight thing is real creepy.”

Rose sighed in relief. “That’s what I thought too. Glad it’s not just a me thing.” She paused before asking, “What brought you back here then?”

Alijda’s gaze slipped away. “Yeah. Uh, Alice? I guess? She’s a bit helpless. Or sometimes she is. I felt I couldn’t let her do this alone, that’s all.” She looked back. “I didn’t know Kat would be here. And me and Alice, it’s a friend thing, not a romance thing. Seriously.”

Rose laughed despite herself at Alijda’s expression. “That’s fine. In fact, it’s nice of you.” Rose smiled hopefully. “You know, Alijda, you’ve got a real great ‘take charge’ attitude. If I get the chance to, um, hand off all this authorization stuff to someone, maybe you could be the one…"

“No,” Alijda asserted. Her tone was firm, while her expression was apologetic. “Sorry Rose, I’m not running this station. Once this problem is fixed, if the project’s even still running at that point, you can give control back to Alice and her God.”

Rose winced. “I’m not sure I can authorize Alice. The main computer didn’t even want me to call her.”

“Oh. Well, we’ll figure something out,” Alijda decided. “Don’t worry.”

“Right. Don’t panic, still my motto.”

“For now, back to the original problem,” Alijda said, crossing her arms. “Rose, maybe you can help me to think things through. Why would this station be put in danger, only to be somehow saved hours later? Could it be that we’re dealing with two separate warring entities on board, and shutting down Ziggy somehow turned the tide?”

Rose thought about it. “Maybe. Or it could be one single entity, which now has what it wants,” she suggested.

Alijda blinked. “How? What does the station have now, that it didn’t earlier?”

Rose swallowed. “It has us.”

NEXT?

What’s the deal with Beam? (Also connects a bit to that entity talk.) OPTIONS:

VOTING CLOSES 7am EDT THURSDAY JUNE 22nd

PATHS NOT TAKEN:
Software problem would have been Alijda’s point of view. She’d have restored an earlier Ziggy, and they’d have had to track down the origin of the virus. Hardware problem would have been Kat’s point of view. He’d have helped Alice, and they’d have then turned their attention to the planet. We got Rose’s point of view (by a wide margin), with the problem solved by unknown means, and on we go. (Alice’s above links this time are all musical, by the way.)

EPSILON DELTA, PART TWO: How Far She’ll Go

Alijda’s home universe included Time Lords. For whatever reason, as Alice dashed back to the house that the two women now shared, that was the thought at the forefront of her mind.

It’s not that Alice thought the fact would be of any particular use. Rather, it simply meant that this universe, which she was presently in, had no “Doctor Who” episodes. Since the mythology of one universe tended to only be reality somewhere else, even if it was still debatable as to whether myths formed from other realities, or vice versa.

As a result, Alice was behind on watching that series, and so returning to the “Epsilon Station” aka “The Hub” might give her a chance at catching up. “Behind” itself being a misleading term. Given how the Station had access to all of space and time, one could theoretically watch episodes that hadn’t yet been produced in a specified “present”.

But given actor fluctuations across realities, Alice had tacitly settled on a stream of continuity not far off from her own universe. From before her Earth had been pulled into that hell dimension, at any rate.

Of course, Alice hadn’t even known about real Time Lords being an issue until that “cease and desist” letter from the BBC, which had come after running her first major populated mission. Oh well, at least Alijda’s universe did include the TV show “Wynonna Earp”.

None of those thoughts would help the Rose Thorne girl.

ALICE VUNDERLANDE
Commission from Cherry Z[/caption]

Alice sighed, wondering if her tendency to have a unique thought process would one day manage to target itself into whatever configuration it was that supposedly “normal” people had on a daily, good, there was the house, home again, home again, jiggity jig.

Alice burst through the front door. “Honey, I’m home,” she called out, leaning against the wall to catch her breath.

The large living room area was visible from the front door. It took a moment, but an arm came into view on the top of the leather couch, followed by Alijda’s head. The brunette thirty-something stared at Alice in silence for a moment. “Laugh track quieted down in your head yet?” she said at last.

Alice beamed. “Yes, thank you.”

“Great. I notice you did not, however, buy bread,” Alijda noted, her gaze falling to Alice’s empty hands.

Alice closed the front door. “Because I got a call from the Epsilon Project. They need me. Us.”

Alijda’s gaze returned to Alice’s face. “So you’re being pranked?”

“Pranked? Alijda, who on your Earth would even know about it?!”

The brunette’s eyebrow went up. “Anyone you’ve talked to in the six months you’ve been here? You can’t seem to stop yourself. Hell, even though I’m not actually sitting in on your job interviews, I have my suspicions there too. I’m pretty sure the reason you can’t get stable work is because, when people ask you to clarify your prior work experience, you go on about monitoring alternate realities for anomalous events.”

Alice pushed out her lower lip. “It’s not like I can talk about being the secretary for an Angel from back on my own world. That’s even crazier. And I have no references here. Haters gonna hate.”

“I hacked out a false trail on our internet for you,” Alijda reminded her. “You can claim you were the secretary for a movie studio. Not to mention employed by the same guy I used when I was under my fake ‘Alison’ alias.”

“I know. I can lead with pride, I can make us strong, I’ll be satisfied if I play along. But the voice inside sings a different song. What is wrong with me?”

Alijda’s stare became an eye roll. “Oy, I should have smacked you when we first met. You’re still dealing with our lunch.” She dropped back out of sight to lay on the couch.

Alice’s smile returned. “I love you too, friend.”

Alijda let out a grunt. Alice walked into the room, now noticing that her housemate was staring at a laptop computer on the coffee table. Probably back to writing another of her stories.

Her writing really wasn’t that bad. In a sense, the stories were more than a way of Alijda coping with her own depression, they could be seen as a way of helping others who had similar problems. Alijda had a certain dry wit about her.

If only she wouldn’t push people away so much. Or wear black dresses all the time. One of these days, Alice swore she would get the woman into a pair of blue jeans.

“What?” Alijda asked, without looking up again.

“Alijda, please, I’m serious. The Epsilon Station made me an offer I can’t refuse. It’ll crash into a planet without help.”

The brunette met her gaze again. “Alice, you’re a dear, but face reality. The whole project got shut down when we left. Okay? It’s done. And even if we assume it wasn’t, and this isn’t some stupid joke, their whole oversight thing? That was creepy as all hell. So if the new idiot in charge wants it all to crash and burn, fine, I’m in favour.”

“Rose didn’t want it, Alijda. She sounded scared. And young. Even younger than I was, when I started.”

Alijda reached out to smack her laptop shut, muttering something indistinguishable under her breath. “What the hell is wrong with your random God, recruiting the inexperienced?”

“Mistakes were made,” Alice intoned. “Truth be told, I messed up a bunch even before recruiting you for that first in-person mission. Please, Alijda.” She leaned in against the side of the couch. “This girl’s frightened. She’s inadequately prepared. You want me to say ‘I need you’? I need you.”

Alijda sighed. “How is it that I now know when you’re quoting something, even if I have no idea where it’s from? Fine. When is this Epsilon thing supposedly happening?”

Alice felt her phone vibrate in the back pocket of her jeans. “Now?”

Alijda rolled off the couch. “Damn multiverse whatevers are never simple. Let me grab my meds.”

Alice answered her phone as Alijda headed for the bathroom. “Hello,” the former Epsilon caretaker announced. “Know that your call is very important to us.”

“When this is all over, you’ll have to tell me what your actual voicemail is,” came Rose’s voice. “For now, please, I’m in the spare control room, how do I get at this Mr. Smith??”

“Am I on some kind of speaker phone?” Alice asked.

“Beats me, but your voice is coming from all around.”

Alice nodded. She took in a deep breath, and called out, “Mr Smith! I need you.”

She heard the musical fanfare start to play in the background. The difference in ‘need’ quoting between Captain Picard and Sarah Jane Smith, it was all in the inflection. Come to think, Sarah Jane was probably the reason she’d had Time Lords on the brain.

“Greetings, Alice,” came a deep male voice. “You seem to have become a redheaded teenager since I was last active.”

“Hi, Mr Smith,” Alice chirped. “That’s Rose in the room. We need to get me back up there to fix things. Trouble is, Ziggy may be infected with something. Can you tell if that’s the case without interfacing?”

“That would take some time,” Smith mused.

“I’m going to die in less than 30 minutes,” Rose shrieked. “Also, a talking computer coming out of the wall what now?”

“Rose, your motto is don’t panic,” Alice reminded. “Mr Smith, can we get you to reroute a teleport, done by Alijda? To get us up there?”

“If Rose creates an interface by patching in the necessary circuits, yes.”

“Meaning no,” Rose asserted.

Alice chewed on her lower lip. Interfacing might simply infect Mr. Smith anyway. She needed more data. “I suppose it’s too much to hope for that the planet you’re crashing into is the one I’m on now?”

Ziggy’s voice broke in. “It is not your world, Alice. I know that much.”

“Right.” Alice smacked her fist into her forehead. There had to be a way. She turned her attention towards sifting through the limited data she already had.

Fact 1: Ziggy still had the ability to retrieve, given how Rose was somehow there, but the main computer lacked the power. Mr. Smith had the power, but lacked the ability. Their systems ran independently, for obvious reasons.

Fact 2: Rose lacked the understanding to interface the machines, assuming it was even safe to do so. She also wouldn’t be able to program them. Meaning whatever they came up with here, it was going to have to be something automated.

Automated. The failsafe.

“Ziggy,” Alice said, spinning around. “Hypothetical. If you were to be completely shut down, would Mr. Smith take over operations? Now that he’s active?”

“Affirmative. But he would not have my scope. Access to teleportation systems would be–”

“He would automatically attempt to complete a teleport if it was in progress and putting lives at risk.”

A pause. “The teleport might abort instead,” Ziggy suggested.

“Not with Rose in danger too. Okay, Ziggy. Initiate a recall teleport based on my prior departure, relative to the months I’ve spent on this Earth with Alijda, using this cell phone signal as a beacon. When you go dead, Mr Smith will pull us in the rest of the way.”

“I have never attempted that before,” Mr. Smith pointed out.

“Agreed,” Ziggy said. “I can find no guarantee this will work. I cannot authorize it.”

“We’re out of options! Do it!” Alice asserted, falling back on a quote by Picard from the TNG episode “Heart of Glory”.

“Alice, I bet I can authorize this,” came Rose’s voice again. “Except… are you sure? As scared as I am, I don’t want to order something here that might hurt you.”

Alice decided she liked this Rose girl. “It’s okay, I installed failsafes.” Mostly. “I’m sure they’re still in place.” There was no way to know. “It’ll be fine.” This was risky as all heck. What WAS wrong with her?

“Alice?” Alijda said, narrowing her eyes as she reentered the room. “Alice, what’s with that expression? Who are you talking to and what are you telling them?”

Alice flapped her free hand up and down to try and shush Alijda.

“Ziggy,” came Rose’s voice. “Initiate that recall teleport thing from the last time Alice was in charge of computers here. Authorization code, uhm, Paige-Paige-Paige.”

“Initiating, Rose,” came Ziggy’s resigned voice.

Alice ceased her arm flapping, looking to Alijda. “Change of plan. I’m headed up. I’ll bring you later.” She turned and sprinted for the nearest doorway.

“Alice? Alice, damn it, don’t you dare do reckless and foolhardy things on your own.”

As Alice began to pass through into the next room, she felt the disorientation of a teleport taking place - and Alijda’s hand seizing her wrist from behind. A dangerous and potentially suicidal act. So not exactly out of character for Alijda. Being unable to shake her off, both women ended up falling through the doorway together.

And then the house was empty.

Alice felt herself spinning through a dark void. She slammed into a wall, and a rush of air was expelled from her lungs.

“Well, here’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into,” came Alijda’s voice from somewhere else in the darkness. Above her, maybe? They’d become separated upon arrival.

Alice managed a giggle as she worked to stabilize herself in the zero gravity. “Actually, that’s a misquote. Laurel and Hardy use the phrase here’s another NICE mess in dialogue. The name of one of their films was ‘Another Fine Mess’.”

“Oh, well, I beg your pardon,” Alijda mumbled.

“Uh, did something go wrong?” came another voice. A male one.

A dim red lighting finally switched on, giving partial illumination to the large cylindrical room. Alice turned her head, spotting Alijda floating a short distance away… as well as Katherine “Kat” Conway, the military man who had been part of their last mission together.

“Kat?” Alijda sputtered. “What the hell are you doing here?”

He scratched his head. “Beats me. I thought I got back to my hotel just fine, but now I’m back here a half hour later.”

“It’s the recall feature,” Alice realized. “Because Kat left AFTER us, remember, Alijda? He wanted to make sure all of us ladies got off the station okay.”

“So you mean him leaving after we did pulled him back in before us this time?”

“Right. Could be a glitch, could be the recall order to Ziggy wasn’t specific enough to exclude him. Technically, he was the last person to leave when I was in command.”

“So chivalry isn’t dead, it simply gets you killed,” Alijda remarked.

“A ten out of ten for style, but minus several million for good thinking - on my part,” Alice sighed. “Though it occurs to me now that Kat’s chivalry is possibly the only reason Ziggy even had my phone number, since I told her to call me once Kat himself had left. So there’s that.”

Kat cleared his throat. “I feel out of the loop here, ladies. Granted, that’s somewhat par for the course when I’m with you, but still.”

“Oh, the Epsilon Station’s gonna crash into a planet real soon,” Alice offered. “I’ll head to auxiliary control now to find Rose, and see if there’s something I can do about that. I kinda hope there is.”

“No,” Alijda corrected. “I’LL head to auxiliary control. I’m the hacker, Alice,” she continued, before her housemate could protest. “I can whip almost any system back into shape. You’re the one who knows this station backwards and forwards, so you need to check to see if any physical connections are out of place. Kat? You stick close to Alice.”

“Uh, yes, ma’am,” Kat said, lifting his eyebrow. “Though if I might make a request?”

“What?” Alijda asked, looking down at him.

“Stop giving your orders from directly above me? I mean, I am resisting the urge to continually stare right up your skirt, but you don’t seem to be aware I even can.”

Alijda’s eyes grew wider as her hands moved to grasp at the material of her dress, trying to bunch it back between her legs in the zero gravity of the room.

“I keep telling her, jeans,” Alice couldn’t resist saying.

“Shut it!” Alijda snapped, her face a bright red - though that was largely due to the lighting in the room. “I’ll be with that Rose girl.” Moments later, she vanished in a puff of purple and black smoke, as she teleported herself up to the doorway in the ceiling.

NEXT?

What is the nature of the mystery damage? (This will also impact a new point of view, if you think about it.) OPTIONS:

VOTING CLOSES 7am EDT THURSDAY JUNE 15th

If it had been Alijda’s world, they’d have teleported up instead of using the recall, so Ziggy would still be active. If it had been Kat’s world, he would have been kept planetside for now, perhaps contacting Rose from there. We got what we got. (Do people prefer prior vote result info here, rather than compiled in a later post? Does anyone even care?)

EPSILON DELTA, PART ONE: Beam & Me, Up

Rosemary Thorne tried not to panic. After all, this wasn’t the first time she’d been thrust into a bizarre situation lacking proper context. Except this time, as she looked around herself, it obviously wasn’t a beach. It didn’t feel like some fantasy math dream either.

No, she was in a cylindrical room with high ceilings, which as she looked around the circumference, contained a view screen, an area with a table and chairs, a large computer system, and a walled off area. Although the table had been tipped over, the electronics were sparking, and alarms were blaring as a red light strobed on and off.

ROSEMARY THORNE
Commission from Lia

Rose took off her headphones, and the noise of the alarm got louder. Tucking them away in her jeans pocket, she pulled up at the shoulders of her T-shirt and cleared her throat.

“Hello?” she called out. “What’s going on?”

“Sixty minutes until planetary collision.”

Rose jumped at the sound of the female voice. Looking around, she was unable to pinpoint it’s origin. “Oh, great, well, that gives us a little time, huh?” Her tone was more joking than sarcastic.

“Algebra…"

That second female voice was weaker, and seemed to be coming from the vicinity of the computer system. Walking closer, Rose finally spotted the pair of legs sticking out, over by the far console. She began to run, soon finding a woman leaning up against the hardware. Rose knelt down to get a better look.

Well, Rose mused, the woman didn’t seem too different from her. Roughly the same height. For clothing, they were wearing a white blouse, blue pleated skirt, dark stockings and blue shoes with a bow… which, admittedly, was quite different from her own T-shirt, jeans and running shoes. Also, they had long blonde hair, instead of a mess of shoulder-length red hair. And she looked older, like the blonde might be in her early twenties.

Okay, Rose mentally amended, maybe they weren’t so alike. Particularly given how a cable seemed to be running from a port in the side of the computer, to one in this woman’s blue hairband.

Was she hurt? Was she even human?

Rose reached out to poke the blonde in the shoulder. At that, the other woman’s blue eyes snapped open, and her head turned, focussing on Rose.

Rose flinched again, but forced herself to continue to not panic. So far, that strategy seemed to be working out for her. “Uhmmm… hi?”

“Algebra. You must. Recalculate trajectory,” the blonde said, her tone clipped, sounding somehow artificial.

Rose cleared her throat again, and extended her hand. “Hi. I’m Rose Thorne. You are?”

The blonde blinked back. “Beam.”

“Beam, cute name. Are you hurt?”

“I am. Depleted. I used. My energy. To summon you.”

Rose pulled her hand back and eyed the cable running out of Beam’s hairband. “Okay. So you’re an android or something?”

Beam shook her head in a jerky motion. “Autonomous. Hologram. I run. Epsilon station. Now.”

“Right.” Rose exhaled. “Am I back in the math fantasy world?”

Again, Beam’s head shook. “No. But you. Have their knowledge. So I locked on. To you. You must. Recalculate trajectory.”

Rose eyed the increasingly earnest blonde hologram. “Okay, first? I’m not the math girl, my girlfriend Paige is the math girl. Second? Even assuming that me and her know some math, we’re not taking any ‘fix station trajectory’ courses at university. And third? Uh, well, there is no third. But bad news comes in threes. So there you go.”

Beam blinked at her. “You. Are not. Algebra?”

Rose winced. “Kinda sorta? But not really. I only talk to personified math. And I haven’t lately.” She frowned. “Wait, how do you even know about what I went through there?”

“Multiverse. We monitor. Fixing. Inconsistencies.”

“Ah. When you’re not busy crashing your station, you mean.”

Beam’s impassive expression became a smile. “Yes.”

Rose raked her fingers back through her hair. “You know that monitoring thing sounds real creepy, right?”

Beam tilted her head to the side. “I do. Now.”

“Uh huh. Might explain why you’re in trouble, maybe you peeked in on the wrong person. So, how do we fix your station then?”

“Recalculate. Trajectory.”

“Yeah, tried to say I don’t know how to do that. What’s our next option?”

Beam seemed to think about that for a moment. “Crash.”

“Bad plan. Next plan?”

Beam seemed to think again. “I do. Not know.”

Rose exhaled, wiping her palms on her jeans. “Then can I at least bring in Paige, in order to die in her arms?”

“There is. Insufficient power. To teleport.”

“Well, of course. Good thing I was kidding about dying.”

“Humour?” Beam’s smile returned. “Rose. I think. I like. You.”

“Yeah, well, sorry. I don’t know you well enough to die in your arms instead.”

Her smile slowly faded. “A shame.”

Rose eyed the blonde woman on the floor. She seemed genuinely depressed now. “Don’t act so broken up about it. I’ve been trying to imply we’d better live through this, right? Sorry if my implier seems to be broken.”

The smile returned. “Rose. Like you. I prefer. Girls. You are. Cute. Funny. Someone I. Would gladly. Die with.”

Rose glared. “Except I’m taken, and we’re not gonna die. What, are you saying you’re actually a lesbian automatic hologram?”

“Autonomous.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

“I am. Yes.”

“Flûte.” Rose ran her fingers back through her hair again, tugging this time. “And we are SURE I’m not trapped in some new, warped aspect of my own personality?”

“Yes. I am. Sorry, Rose.”

“Great.” She glanced over her shoulder. “So, about our new plan. What happened to all the other techs here?”

“It is. Only me. On the station. No others. No techs. Only me. Now.”

“And there’s no power left here to bring in ACTUAL techs.”

“Correct. You were. My last chance.”

Rose turned to scan the room again. “What even happened here?”

“Unknown.” Beam licked her lips. “Possible. Sabotage.”

Rose shuddered. “Except you just said you were the only one here.”

“I should be. But sabotage. Would explain. Power loss. And computer. Malfunction.”

“Great. Your station DID tick off the wrong people.” Rose got back to her feet and looked around. “So now it’s up to two lesbians to save the multiverse or something. Thank goodness this all happened at around five in the afternoon, if it was before nine in the morning, I’d be half asleep and we’d be SO screwed.”

“One.”

Rose turned back. “One what?”

“One. Lesbian.”

She stamped her foot. “Damn it, Beam, you JUST told me that you–"

“Computer,” the blonde interrupted. “Transfer control. Of station. To Rose Thorne.”

The urge to panic clawed at Rose again. “Oh no. No, no, nononono.” She bent back down, reaching out to grasp Beam by the shoulders. “No, Beam, no.”

“Acknowledged,” came the disembodied voice that had first warned of the planetary collision. “Provide authorization code.”

Rose shook the blonde. “Beam, no, please, I’m not quite twenty years old yet. I can’t handle this alone. I don’t even UNDERSTAND this. That’s why I’m joking around.”

“Authorization. Janeway Pi. One One Zero,” Beam stated. The computer chirped, and Beam’s eyes focussed on Rose again. “I am. So sorry. Rose Thorne. Perhaps I. Should have. Brought… in…."

Her blue eyes closed and her head slumped to the side.

“Beam? BEAM?”

Rose shook the holographic girl again, but she remained unconscious. Or unpowered. Or whatever caused holograms to no longer interact with their surroundings.

Before Rose could stop herself, she had let out a scream. She quickly buried her fist inside her mouth to silence the noise, sat back on her behind, closed her eyes and counted slowly to ten, rocking back and forth.

When at last she reopened her eyes, and found that she was still in the cylindrical room, she decided she was going to have to do something about that. She stood back up.

“Computer?” she called out, after pulling her fist from her mouth.

“Acknowledged, Rose. Welcome to command.”

“Thanks, we’ll bake me a cake later. Do you have a name?”

There was a pause. “I was once called Ziggy.”

A weird name, but good enough for creating the illusion that she wasn’t truly alone in this completely insane situation. “Ziggy, hi. Why can’t YOU recalculate our trajectory?”

“Necessary functions are offline.”

“Darn. How do we get them online?”

“Unknown.”

“Great. Well, who had Beam been talking about bringing in just now?”

“Unknown.”

“I guess there’s no power anyway. Do you even have a user’s manual for me?”

“Unknown.”

Rose stamped her foot. “Damn it, Ziggy, why is everything I desperately need to know unknown?!”

“Unknown.”

“Yeah, yeah, figures.” Rose began to pace the length of the room. “Tell me something known, just for variety.”

“Forty seven minutes until planetary–”

“NOT that,” Rose admonished. “Something happy.”

There was another pause. “Our missions have been reasonably successful up until now.”

“Okay. Okay, missions, let’s focus on those. Has Beam been the only person or hologram or whatever who led these missions?”

“The Epsilon Project has recruited from across the multiverse.”

“Great. Could any of your OTHER employees get us out of this? Unknown,” she answered herself, in tandem with the computer. “Fine.” Rose decided that, instead of pacing back and forth, she would pace in a circle around the large ring in the middle of the room. “How about this. When did Beam become your primary tech?”

“Time in the multiverse is relative.”

“Okay, well, I guess I don’t even care about that, my real question is did anyone work computers on this station before Beam?”

“Yes. Alison Vunderlande.”

“Good. Now, is this Vunderlande woman the same one who caused the sabotage? Unknown,” Rose again chorused the word with Ziggy. “Could she fix our problems? Unknown. Can we at least give her a call? Unkn–"

“Her number is on file.”

Rose spun. “Ziggy? Phone. Her.”

“Alice poses a security risk. She interfered with an important mission. Friendship cannot take precedence over–"

“Ziggy?” Rose interrupted. “Am I in charge here?”

Again a pause, as if the computer had to double check. “You are.”

“Further, isn’t it likely that Beam had been thinking about bringing in that Alice to help, and only grabbed me instead owing to your stupid security whatevers?”

Pause. “It is possible.”

Rose made a point of clearing her throat. “Ziggy? Phone. This. Alice. Now.”

“Acknowledged. Connecting to the appropriate world line. Please wait.”

Rose hoped the lack of a pause that time was a good sign. She marched over to the section of the huge room with the chairs, grabbed one, and hauled it over towards the computer banks. Instead of sitting though, she leaned against the back of it, gripping the wood tightly between her hands as she stared at the machine. This would not be the last thing she ever saw. It wouldn’t be. COULDN’T be.

“Connection established,” Ziggy asserted.

“Hello! Know that your call is very important to us,” came a bright, cheerful voice immediately after.

An answering service. Rose bowed her head, worried that if this kept up, she might soon lose her mind. “Alice, when you get this message, PLEASE call back. Otherwise I might die alone on some mystery space station.”

“Oh, this isn’t my voicemail, your call is simply important.”

Rose snapped her head back up. “Alice?”

“Speaking. Mystery science theatre what now? I heard they’d returned.”

Rose circled around the chair, looking for a working video screen and not finding one. “I’m talking to Alice, Alice of the Epsilon Station, that Alice?”

“Um, I was kinda fired from there, but yeah.”

Alice sounded a little flaky, but Rose figured she was hardly one to throw stones there. “Alice, my name is Rose Thorne, and your former station’s gonna crash into some planet in a little over half an hour and I don’t know what to do about it. Help! Mayday! Emergency!”

“Oh? Wow. Um. It’s been a while. Can you transport me up to have a look? Is that allowed?”

“I can probably allow it but we don’t have the power. Can you talk me through trajectory calculations or something?”

“Uhh, Ziggy can’t do that for you?”

“Apparently not.”

“What about Mr. Smith?”

Now they were getting somewhere. “Mister who?”

“Mr. Smith. When you’re this big, they call you Mister. Oh, right, I shut him down, but he runs independent of the main computer system. So if you reactivate him, he might be able to run the calculations. Once you explain the situation to him.”

“That’s good, except I don’t understand the situation myself.”

“No?”

“No, I only got here, like, twenty minutes ago. Now somehow, I’m in charge.”

“O-kaaaay. Can you at least get to auxiliary control, where Mr. Smith is? He should have a useable power supply to patch into the grid for a teleport.”

Rose looked at the ceiling. “Ziggy, can I get to auxiliary control?”

“Affirmative, I can direct you.”

“Alice, I can get to–"

“Heard that. Okay. While you do that, lemme get to Alijda. If the power thing doesn’t pan out, maybe she can teleport us to you somehow. Don’t worry, Rose!” Alice added brightly. “As the guide says, don’t panic.”

“Yup, that is pretty much my motto right now,” Rose sighed. “Do I call you back when I get there?”

“Call me,” Alice agreed. “On the line, call me, call me any, anytime, call me.”

There was a click as the line went dead.

“Curious,” came Ziggy’s voice. “Is this sensation what it means to have… missed someone?”

“Ziggy, if you don’t show me auxiliary control pretty darn fast, you’ll end up missing me too,” Rose asserted.

A doorway in the ceiling irised open, and gravity cut out, allowing Rose to flail her way up towards it.

NEXT?

What planet is the Station currently aimed at? (Curiously, this will also decide how the rest of the cast gets there.)  OPTIONS:

What POINT OF VIEW comes next? (I won’t always give this choice.) OPTIONS:

VOTING CLOSES 7am EDT THURSDAY JUNE 8th

FULL SCALE INVASION, PART SEVENTEEN: FIRING LINE

“What’s your suggestion?” Michaela asked.

Kat gestured at Bonnie. “As she said, a firewall. Literally. To push back the invasion. Does anyone have magical experience controlling fire?”

Michaela shook her head. “We tend to steer clear of the elemental magic. I might be able to craft an illusion of fire?”

“That won’t convince them,” Kat sighed. “It’s fine, I can do it. I just hope it doesn’t get me fired, pun not entirely unintended.”

“How can you make a real fire which is not only big enough, but created fast enough so that the invaders don’t have time to stop you?” Bonnie challenged.

“Erm. With help,” Kat said. “Like, if Andi can run fast and drop some matches…"

The thunderclap in the air made everyone turn their heads. A second dimensional rip was appearing, roughly 100 yards away from the first one. “Oh, that can’t be good,” Para sighed.

Kat wasn’t sure if the bunny mathematician was referring to the tear itself, or the red dragon that flew through as it opened.

On the bright side, either the dragon was small, or a larger one had been reduced in size by the transition - the winged animal wasn’t much larger than the size of a house. On the down side, the dragon didn’t look happy.

It seemed even less pleased when one of the invaders let out a shriek and fired a projectile weapon at it. The dragon responded by breathing fire, setting a wide band of the grassy field by the train station alight.

“We never know if it’s TechWorld or MagicWorld who will drop stuff,” Michaela said, rubbing her chin. “Has it ever been both?”

“Alijda and Axiom are back!” Para cried out. She pointed above the fire, to where the flying carpet had reappeared. Originally aiming for the sky, it made a quick course correction back into the smoke upon spotting the dragon.

“I’ll try an illusion, to get the dragon to go back into its rift,” Michaela decided. She held up a weed whacker, previously selected as her focus. “Can you guys handle the fire?”

“I…" Kat glanced at Para, who was already activating her Epsilon communicator. “Para! Wait, give me… thirty seconds?”

Without waiting for a response, he ran off towards the fire, barely aware of Bonnie running after him.

“When you sang about going down in flames, I didn’t think that’d be literal!” Alijda protested.

Their carpet had clipped the edge of the fire, in trying to avoid both the tech invaders below, and the dragon above. Clyde stamping out the smouldering material wasn’t very effective, seeing as both he and Alijda remained doll sized as compared to their surroundings.

“Hold on. I see an open door,” Axiom panted, evidently deciding that some sort of refuge was the best option.

They smashed through a flimsy screen covering, tumbling from the flying carpet onto the floor of a kitchen. Alijda automatically adjusted her fall with a teleport, and as such was the first to spot Queeny and Larry approaching.

“You’re back! You made it!” Larry said, clasping his hands. “And you have Clyde, and he’s… he’s, um, wow, very… tiny…"

“Yeah, that was not a typical rift,” Clyde said, staring up at Larry. “A reunion hug will have to wait.”

“Actually,” Alijda spoke up. “The spell that Chris - er, Axiom - used to stabilize me? And keep Kat and Para from shrinking? I was thinking it could be used to vary your density the other way.”

“Fine, talk later. Please,” Queeny said. “For now, help us search this house for anything to drive away those invaders!” She gestured outside, then did a double take. “And what the hell is breathing fire on my city?!”

Axiom let out a breath. “I’d better seal off our dimension, before anything else appears.”

“In that case, I’m off to link up with my friends,” Alijda noted. She eyed the smouldering carpet. “By teleporting, I guess. Thanks for everything!”

With a final wave and a smile, Alijda disappeared in a small cloud of purple smoke.

Kat was worried. He had never previously attempted to manipulate any fire larger than what you might find in a fireplace. And as he exerted his will, he realized he wasn’t going to be able to handle all of it; only enough of it to move the flames towards the invaders, pushing them back towards their dimensional rift.

“I’m sorry,” he said to Bonnie, halting his advance. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to snuff this thing out. You’ll want to call a fire brigade.”

“Explain to me how you’re controlling it.”

Kat shook his head. “This isn’t something you can learn to do in the time–"

“If the spell casters can channel their spells by using technology, it’s high time someone tried to activate the technology properly, by using a spell!” Bonnie shot back. Kat watched as the older woman pulled a crystalline object out of her pocket. “This is supposed to manipulate the weather. Tell me how you’re manipulating the fire.”

For a moment, Kat was reminded of Tara, the woman he’d encountered right before this whole “Epsilon” escapade began. Except instead of him looking for occult information from an asian, Bonnie was now looking to him for the information. The information which he had first learned about from Fate, way back in high school.

It made him want to get back to his Earth, to continue his search.

“Clear your mind,” Kat suggested. “Focus on the flame, or rather, your device there. Making any physical motions can actually help, as you’re learning. Say whatever comes to mind.”

As he spoke, he pushed his own arms out, making the grass fire leap forwards. Although he couldn’t see all of the invaders due to the smoke and flame, the fire was in some sense an extension of himself, and he sensed that they were back-pedalling. Back towards the dimensional rift.

Bonnie said something that he didn’t catch. That’s when the griffin appeared in the sky.

“It’s an eagle-lion?” Para wondered.

Michaela swung her weed whacker in a wide arc. “Griffin,” she explained. “Enemy of dragons, if the fantasy stories I read as a child are to be believed. I hope I made it look convincing.”

“That will scare the dragon away?”

The redheaded woman cut through the air with her garden implement again, making the griffin move. “Maybe? I’ve never made such a massive illusion before, and dragons are smart. Still, he may decide our world is too crazy to be worth investigating.”

“Right.” Para finished counting down the rest of Kat’s thirty seconds, then initiated communication with Alice.

“You’re all alive, right?” was the first thing Alice said. “Please?”

“Uhm, yeah!” Para assured. “But we need extraction, is there a doorway somewhere we should use?”

“This isn’t ‘The Librarians’! No matter what it looks like down there,” Alice countered. “Tell me when you’re within two metres of each other, with nobody else around. Oh, and make that happen fast?”

Para nodded eagerly. “Will do!”

A small cloud of purple smoke puffed into existence on the ground. Para crouched down. “Alijda! Great timing - we need to get to Kat, fast!”

“Riiight. I’m teleported out, give me a ride?”

As Para offered her hand to Alijda, a gust of wind blew through the area, resolving into the form of Andi. The older woman was breathing hard. “Invaders are… are leaving…" She rested her hands on her knees. “Oof. I’m spent. Does Bonnie have any extra PROM?”

“The dragon’s leaving too!” Michaela added, narrowly missing Andi with the weed whacker as she continued gesturing. “Though I’m a little worried about the storm clouds forming…"

Para glanced into the sky, but only briefly, as that’s when Alijda grabbed onto a fistful of her hair. “Sorry, nearly slipped. Just go, get to Kat,” the brunette suggested. Para nodded, and began to run, Alijda perching on her shoulder.

Kat knew better than to ask Bonnie if she was the one affecting the clouds. Since if she was, any disruption in her concentration could cause things to go haywire. Instead, he did his best to try and dampen down the grass fire, to keep it from spreading. He hoped the last of the invaders had departed.

“Kaaaaat!” came Para’s familiar voice.

Thunder rumbled overhead as Kat turned to see Para approaching. It had probably been longer than thirty seconds, hadn’t it. Before he could shout an apology, he noticed that Para seemed to be gesturing vigorously off to his left. He turned.

“SEALING MODE,” came a voice that Kat identified as Minerva, the consciousness which had been born of Chris’ transformation into Axiom. Then he saw the magical girl (woman?) herself, standing in front of a nearby house, her arms outstretched.

Which was when Axiom’s USB staff grew in length. It seemed to be mechanically transforming as it did, getting larger and larger… Kat turned away and started to run to meet Para.

“I think you’ve got the hang of it, good job!” he tossed over his shoulder back at Bonnie.

They were done here. The invasion was no more. The fire wasn’t exactly under control, but a few drops of rain had started to fall. Between that, and the static charge that seemed to be building in the air, a swift departure seemed to be in order.

Para obviously concurred, because as Kat reached her, she shouted into her communicator, “Alice, we’re good to go!”

The last thing Kat heard as a blue portal opened up in the ground under them was Minerva’s voice intoning, “ANGELIC BARRIER.”

The trip through the whirlpool was becoming standard fare for Alijda. What was different was being spit out into zero gravity, with her momentum sending her up towards the ceiling.

Flipping her body around, Alijda spotted Alice holding onto a console with one hand as she typed with the other. They were back in the main control room of the Hub. As Alice finished typing, the whirlpool below them was covered by the familiar iris, and then Alijda felt the tug of gravity gradually reasserting itself.

“Okay!” Alice said, turning to look up at them. “There should be just enough time left for us to get Alijda back to her normal size before we all have to evacuate! In fact, Kat, Para, I can return you to your worlds right away if you want. Well, once you remove the density suits.”

“Evacuate?” Alijda asked. She blinked as her descent pulled her past a console display. “Wait, what the hell is that about?”

Alice looked at where Alijda was pointing, namely the screen which read in big letters, ‘YOU’RE FIRED’. There was a timer underneath, counting down past three hours.

“That? Oh, well, I’m fired. Fired like Future Marty McFly.” Alice swallowed. “See, I told myself, hey, I’ll simply look in on Smallville, to see if we’ll need to send another team. To replace you guys. But after I looked, I had Mr. Smith run some extra calculations, and it all led to, well…"

Her voice trailed off. Kat’s feet reached the floor first, and he walked towards her. “The convenient dragon - was that you?”

Alice smiled sadly. “Bingo. And a dragon is about as far from a tiny alteration as you can get! Of course, I’d already bent protocol, sending you off with knowledge of the third incursion, so maybe my getting kicked off the station was a foregone conclusion?”

“But if you leave, who will run the ‘Epsilon Project’?” Para protested.

Alice shrugged. “Don’t know. Maybe no one? I do hope Ziggy and Mr. Smith will be okay, not that they even have emotions b-but…" The brunette technician let out a choking sound, then quickly ran her arm over her eyes. “N-Nevermind. Let’s get you home.”

“No, stop, this is ridiculous!” Alijda shouted. Her feet finally touched down, allowing her to stamp her foot. “I’m not turning over any dimensional information from these tech glasses unless you’re reinstated!”

Alice shook her head. “Oh, Alijda, don’t insist. Please, no. God has spoken. Besides, I deserve this!” She again tried to smile, spreading her arms out. “Look at this this way, you got what you wanted - we’ve been shut down.”

Alijda swallowed. The worst of it was, Alice was right. And yet… “It shouldn’t be happening like this. Not like this. I mean, where will you go?”

“Oh, not back to my hell dimension, so that’s good. I’ll find some quiet world somewhere, I guess. It’s fine.” Alice sniffled.

“It’s not fine!” Alijda objected. Then, without even thinking about it, she added, “How about you come to my world.”

Alice’s eyes widened. “I… I’d love to. Except you hate me.”

“Actually, Alijda hates herself more than other people,” Kat put in. “Meaning I might feel better knowing she had someone else around.”

“Alijda also pushes away the people she likes the most!” Para agreed. “So she might like you even more than me.”

Alijda glared at her companions. “Stop helping. I’m not asking Alice to move in with me, I’m thinking I can hack up an identity for her, and give her someone she knows on an otherwise foreign world. Which seems to be more than this Project is doing for her.”

“Oh, no. No, I’m not going to be a charity case!” Alice asserted. “If I go with you, it’s going to be as your friend, or not at all!”

“Hah! Kat, Para, tell her how I’m a terrible friend.”

Kat shook his head. “You said to stop helping.”

“Oh Alijda, no matter how small you shrink, your heart stays huge!” Para declared, clasping her hands.

Alijda rolled her eyes. “Look, Alice, I’ll give you the lowdown on my world as you unshrink me. That itself may be reason to change your mind.”

Alice simply nodded, though the genuine smile spreading across her features implied that she wouldn’t be so easily dissuaded. Alijda sighed. So, hopefully having a friend wouldn’t be so bad? As long as Alice could tone down on the pop culture references.

--END OF STORY 3--

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FULL SCALE INVASION, PART TEN: STATION AIRY

“What does it feel like… when a person is losing their mind?”

The response came instantaneously. “Ms. Vunderlande, your inflection would imply that you are not asking seriously, but rather quoting Lieutenant Commander Data from the ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ episode ‘Masks’. Is that the case?”

Alice smiled. “Mostly. But maybe not? I don’t know.”

“I have registered no signs of delirium since you woke up,” the female voice continued, echoing around the fitness room. “You do seem a bit distracted, but that is understandable given the peculiarities inherent to Epsilon’s current mission. Shall I give you a test of mental acuity today?”

Alice stood back up and wiped at the sweat on her forehead, before walking over and tossing her towel into the room’s laundry chute. She idly wondered when she’d taken to running on a treadmill early in the morning. It had to be after her recruitment to the Project. Meaning less than a year ago. Whatever a ‘year’ really meant now. She needed the exercise though, as she didn’t see a lot of activity up here.

Up here. On the Epsilon Station. Well, it beat living in a Hell dimension.

“No, it’s fine,” Alice answered. “But I wish I had someone else around, you know? I wait so long for my love vibration, and I’m dancing with myself…”

“Billy Idol, a song with an initial release of 1980 on most Earths where it exists.” The tune began to play through the overhead speakers.

Alice sighed. The station’s computer had a near 100 percent track record on her references, yet still failed to understand her at times. “Ziggy, that wasn’t a cue. I’m done working out.” She began to strip off her workout clothes.

Alice shook her head. “Don’t get like that. That’s not what I meant either. I probably got too used to Para being around those last couple days, that’s all.”

“Perhaps you would like a video link to another world today? Or if your preference is to reach out and touch someone, a visit to the holography deck?”

“No, no, I’m not going to start goofing off during an active mission.” The brunette technician kicked her pants aside. “You’re sure there’s been no word from Alijda or the rest since that one communication device self destructed last night?”

“I would have told you.” The computer’s voice sounded petulant.

“Right. I know. Sorry.”

“Should I override protocol and do a scan?”

Alice threw her clothing into the laundry chute after the towel, then stepped towards the showers. “Ohh, that’s so funny, I forgot to laugh!”

Ziggy didn’t respond that time. Alice passed into the adjacent room, twisting the nearest available knob before leaning both palms against the wall. The water sprayed down on her, making her shudder at first, before it warmed up. A hazard of not using the sonic facility, but for whatever reason, real water felt better after a workout.

Slowly, her hands curled into fists. “Gorram, frakking, frelling Shroedinger!” Alice shrieked, using up her quota of scifi swears for the day.

The problem with a scan was in how the station existed outside of regular space-time. Or simultaneously in all space-times? Either way, as soon as the Epsilon Project registered something actively, rather than passively, the probability waveforms surrounding that Earth would collapse, making the event all but inevitable. Whereas parallel time tracks remained an option until that moment.

Put another way, so long as Alice didn’t know her team’s fate, they had every chance of succeeding. But if she looked, and saw that one or more of them were dead, she likely wouldn’t be able to prevent it.

Alice drew in a sharp breath, then put the usual smile back onto her face. “Fake it ’til you make it.” She reached for the soap. “Sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows, that’s how this refrain goes…"

Alice jogged for the central control room with toast in her mouth. Not because she hadn’t had time to eat it. It was more a form of research into how things worked on an anime style Earth. One never knew when such things would come in handy.

As such, Alice almost choked when the internal alarm went off, simultaneous to the woman in her late twenties wearing a blue jumpsuit appearing in the corridor.

“Alison Vunderlande?” the woman asked.

Alice grabbed for her toast as it fell from her mouth, flinging it at the apparition. The food passed right through the woman’s body. Which told Alice two things. First, Purple Hair Woman was some sort of hologram, or magical projection. And second, given how the intruder failed to react, there was a lack of visual acuity on her side.

“Silence alarm!” Alice called out, after swallowing. The noise stopped. “What is your name? What is your quest? What is your favourite colour?”

The projection blinked. “Uh, I’m Chris. I’ve been hired by your friends to tell you that they’re shrinking down to nothing. And lavender, I guess?”

Alice felt her pulse quicken. “What’s the deal with their communicators? Why send you?”

“Their stuff was taken by the DEO. The DEO loves new technology.”

“I’ll need proof you’re speaking for them. Tell me what reference I made to Alijda when she first arrived on your world.”

Chris turned her head. “Your Alison wants to know the first reference she made when you got here. … Attack of the 50 Foot Woman? Is that seriously what this invasion is going to be?”

“Enough,” Alice said. She began to sift through the new data that had been provided.

Fact 1: This world was at a higher level of technology and/or magic than initial scans had implied. She had suspected as much, but for Chris to communicate this way, there had to be a greater awareness of the dimensional weaknesses. Perhaps other trips had occurred, either into, or out of, that world? She would get Ziggy to boost the sensors to verify.

Fact 2: According to her watch - Alice had aligned the Station to the time frame of that smaller Earth - they were now too close to the third incursion event for her to recall the group by any conventional means, or even to open a portal to send them supplies. Not without interfering on a greater scale than regulations allowed. But there was a way around that.

Fact 3: The shrinking circuits had misfired, been somehow incompatible with the density suits Para had designed, or… something else had set them off. Insufficient data. How could she get more information there, without completely collapsing any probability waveforms?

“Is the shrinking problem affecting all of them equally?”

Chris shook her head. “Just Alijda, she’s now about as big as–"

“No superfluous information,” Alice snapped. “Please. Just answer my questions.”

“Wow, calm down. Okay, and Para now says it’s affected all of them, but it’s less noticeable for her and Kat. So far.”

“Do their clothes still fit?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Did I stutter? Do. Their. Clothes. Still. Fit.”

“Well, sure…"

It had to be the teleportation. Alijda must have teleported almost immediately upon arrival, before final calibration. Now the density suit was constantly changing it’s baseline, whenever Alijda transported herself - and the suit - through space. Which could also affect Kat and Para, if she teleported with them, due to the field extending out past their clothes.

The chances of this happening had been very remote. But now that it was occurring, the error could accelerate exponentially with subsequent teleportations, perhaps to the point where it would be a problem every time the suit did a systems check. Worse, Alice didn’t know how to fix something like that.

But she knew where she could find relevant information.

Now Chris was saying something else. Something nonsensical. “Alijda and the others already told you everything,” Alice answered.

Chris shook her head. “No, they said only YOU might know what this third incursion item would be.”

Oh, that. Alice shook her head. “Even assuming I knew, I couldn’t tell you.”

“Then we have a problem,” Chris said, crossing her arms. “Because that information was my payment. This isn’t a free spell. Rules are rules.”

Alice matched Chris’ posture and tone. “Having information about the future could be extremely dangerous. Even if your intentions are good, they could backfire drastically! You’ll find out through the natural course of time.”

“Not good enough. After all, you’re willing to tell us about this ‘invasion’, and that’s in our future.”

“That’s an issue external to your world, with unresolved probability waveforms.”

“And this new huge thing landing on our planet is different how?!”

Alice grudgingly yielded the point to Chris. “Fine. That information will be included in the package I will have sent to your world to deal with all these issues.”

“Fine. When are you sending it?”

“Have sent. Space is warped and time is bendable. Thank you for choosing the Epsilon Project for all your household needs. Please proceed to the site of the third incursion, and use your magic fu to obtain the package.”

Without waiting to see Chris’ reaction, Alice spun on her heel and dashed back towards the auxiliary control area. “Unsilence alarm!” she shouted as she ran. The klaxons didn’t start up again. “I said unsilence–"

“The apparition has departed, so there is no need for the alarm,” the computer’s female voice assured her.

“Awesomesauce. Ziggy, prepare for a rollback in time of approximately five days.”

“Warning! Loss of space-time synchronicity may result in–"

“Override. Authorization code Picard-Four-Seven-Alpha-Tango.” Yes, this was why she ran the treadmill every morning. So that she could still talk through these sorts of emergencies without getting too short of breath. “Also, increase sensor gain by 500% and re-scan for dimensional incursions in Smallville over the last, let’s say, two years. We’ll also want the identity of the next major item, the one Chris referred to.”

“Affirmative.”

Alice burst into the station’s auxiliary control room and skidded to a stop. “Mr Smith! I need you.”

A musical fanfare began to play. With a whoosh of air, one wall panel lifted up, two more panels swinging out into the room, revealing a large alien computer behind them. “Good morning, Alice. What seems to be the problem?” came a male voice.

For obvious reasons, Mr. Smith ran independent of the station’s main computer. So he wouldn’t know the situation. Fortunately, it wasn’t necessary to tell him everything. “Scan all known databases for problems with miniaturization feedback, and solutions involving a baseline density reset that can be achieved through technological injection or mystical spell casting,” Alice ordered.

“By your command.”

Alice turned her attention to the main computer console in the room, setting up the sequence that would phase shift them through time. The greatest headaches would come from activating the dimensional bridge upon arrival in the past. It was a huge power drain. So if there were other incursions going through on that world, and she could piggyback…

Alice froze in place. Her eyebrow twitched. “Ziggy,” she rasped. “Please confirm. Over a HUNDRED dimensional breaches in the last two years?”

“Affirmative.”

“Holy Hannah. How did we miss that?!”

“We weren’t scanning for events on a scale proportionate to the size of their Earth. It required your increase in sensor settings to spot them.”

“Son of a motherless goat. When this is over, remind me to put some fractal protocols in place to fix that!” She resumed typing. “Okay. First, we turn the time circuits on…"

“Scan complete,” came the voice of Mr. Smith. “No solutions found with a hundred percent effectiveness. However, there is a ritual spell that is statistically viable, with an error margin of only 3%, 19 times out of 20.”

“Can we synthesize the components for that spell on this station?”

“We can indeed.”

Alice smiled. “Perfect. And Ziggy, the third incursion artifact was?”

“A thimble.”

“Okay, I got this!” Alice hit the enter key, then made a swooping motion with her arm, as if she were wearing a cape. “Let’s get dangerous.” With a maniacal grin, the brunette woman fled the room.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, “Ziggy, has Alice had any caffeine today?”

“She has not, Mr. Smith.”

“I recommend you keep it that way.” His advice dispensed, the computer system retreated back behind the wall of the auxiliary control room.

WHAT’S NEXT?

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VOTING WILL CLOSE LATE ON WEDNESDAY MAY 4th EDT

FULL SCALE INVASION, PART THREE: Whirlpool

“You hate the suit?”

“I didn’t say that.”

Para frowned, trying to read Alijda’s expression. “Then you like the suit?”

“I didn’t say THAT either.”

“How about we agree that it’s good our normal clothes can be worn overtop,” Kat broke in. “Since pink’s not really my colour.”

The group had assembled in the station’s control room, prior to heading out on the mission. Part of their preparations had involved each of them putting on a specialized jumpsuit, so that the shrinking process would be non-lethal. Para had helped design it, but it had been Alice who had actually had the clothing synthesized. And who had used pink material.

Para wondered if she should say as much. Being math personified, she tended to second guess her human interactions. Would they take the information as a statement of fact? Or as an accusation on Alice? Kat in particular was hard to read. The women had suggested to Para that she be out of the room for his initial arrival, so she didn’t really have a baseline.

Para settled for, “I think pink could be anybody’s colour!”

“It does the job, that’s what’s important,” Alijda said, running her hands over her waist once more before gesturing dismissively.

It occurred to Para then that the pink showed through on Alijda’s legs and arms, while the brunette wore a black dress overtop. Was that bad? At least Para’s dress was a similar colour. But the suit could be mistaken for leggings. Should she say as much?

Before she could, Alijda continued. “We CAN remove the body suit for short periods of time though, right? Like call of nature?”

Para bobbed her head. “Oh yes. The main issue here is density. After all, if you remain the same mass once you’ve shrunk down, your density’s going to increase.”

“Right. More density, making us stupider,” Kat stated.

“He knows, Para,” Alijda sighed. “He’s trying to hit on you or something.”

“Trying to lighten the mood, actually,” Kat countered. “To hide the fact that I’m getting unnerved by all this.”

“Oh. S-Should I stop talking?”

“No, please, finish your thought,” Alijda said, smiling.

Para ventured a smile back. It was hard to stay mad at Alijda. Even after effectively betraying Para’s faith in her, in hacking the station’s computers, Para couldn’t help but feel like the woman meant well. She hoped that they were moving on from that new low point in their friendship.

“Right, so, increased density would be a problem,” Para continued. “Not neutron star levels of problem, but problem. Yeah? Thus, as you lose volume, you need to lose mass too, in order to maintain your density. This suit helps your body deal with that process, preventing you from losing any vital organs. That said, after the initial transference to their world, it’s mostly doing a checks and balances thing. So you can remove the bodysuit temporarily.”

“So, this mass issue…" Kat mused. “Exactly where does it go? I mean, if we simply threw any untreated objects into the portal, would sublimation occur, as mass got expelled?” Kat glanced to Alijda. “Sublimation refers to going from a solid to a gas with no liquid state in between.”

“Yes, thank you, I took grade school science,” the brunette woman retorted.

“I guess the objects would at least distort?” Para hypothesized. “Though, as long as they’re within the same field now surrounding all of us due to the suits, they’d be fine. Like how our clothing and supplies will be fine. The suit itself is more a living tissue necessity.”

Kat nodded. “Which brings up that mystery field. It would be…?"

Para glanced towards Alice, who was typing something over at the computer banks. “Classified, I guess? Alice didn’t show me. The initial schematics weren’t mine.”

Alice glanced over her shoulder at them. “It’s MAGIC! So baby, don’t kill, don’t kill the magic. Ohhh!”

Alijda’s brows knit. “Alice, was that another cryptic allusion?”

Alice beamed. “Why you gotta be so rude?”

“Hey, if you think that was rude…"

“Wait!” Kat pointed at Alice. “I understood that reference. Canadian band.”

Alice clasped her hands together. “Yes! Alijda’s SO much better at setting me up than Simon. I think on some level, she really gets me. If only we got along better, we could have a real ‘Skye’ and ‘Agent Coulson’ vibe going. You follow?”

Kat eyed Alice’s eager expression, then slowly shook his head. “Lost me again.”

“Okay, not Skye, Daisy. Maybe? No?”

Alijda crossed her arms. “She’s mentioned Skye before. Something about ‘Agents that YIELD’.”

Alice sighed. “I should probably track which of your realities include the pop culture things I like, but I can’t be bothered.” She reached out to hit the enter key on her virtual keyboard, and the whole room began to marginally vibrate. Para watched as a light around the central ring in the floor switched on.

Para hadn’t seen a whirlpool activation since their first mission. Along with teleportation, it was one of the things in the station that took a fair bit of power, thus was done sparingly. Or so she had been told. This was why testing of the square-cube circuits would be done in tandem with the start of the new mission.

A second light switched on; Para noted how there seemed to be nine chevrons in total. Then a third - but Alice had approached and was now talking again, diverting Para’s attention.

“So, I’m bending protocol a bit,” Alice admitted. “You’ll be arriving on their world roughly twenty four hours before the third incursion. You can’t stop it - and my God, for the sake of causality, don’t try - but predicting it for the locals might give you some credibility. Also, if the new circuits DON’T work, this gives us a window to try again.”

Kat frowned. “Back up. Incursion being…?"

“You’ll know it when you see it.” Alice handed out WristWatch devices. Their digital readout was blank, and a small epsilon symbol was engraved on the back. Behind Alice, a fifth light switched on. “These can be used to keep in contact with me. Try not to split up, turning me into messenger girl, okay?”

“Hold on. I thought you sent someone to this world already,” Alijda noted. “So do we have any contacts or other inf–"

“No,” Alice interrupted. “We got nothing. Beyond the fact that the place might be a matriarchy. So, warn them and protect them from the invaders from the fifth dimension!”

Para flinched at that. “FIFTH dimension?” Despite all her talk of volume, she was still two dimensional at heart. Thus handling the third dimension - outside of the theory - was still was a struggle, never mind a fifth.

“Yeah, okay, not really,” Alice apologized. “Watch ‘Bride of Chaotica’. But not now.” She pointed at the floor. Para looked back in time to see the covering on the ring iris open. For an instant, the huge circular gap revealed only an inky blackness, the portal/door big enough to drive a vehicle through.

Then the ninth chevron lit up, and a shimmering blue light rushed in from the portal’s circumference, covering the ring’s interior, making it look a bit like a pool. “Good luck!” Alice declared.

Alijda shouldered her backpack of supplies. “Right. So, don’t any of you come through until I radio with an all clear.” She eyed the shimmering circle. Five seconds passed, then ten.

“Want a push?” Alice chirped.

Alijda bristled. “Want a smack in the face?”

“Look, I can go first,” Kat offered.

“No, I’m the most expendable one,” Alijda sighed. And with a cry of ‘laten we gaan!’ she jumped forwards into the whirlpool.

Alijda had been through the whirlpool once before. It was a bit like travelling down a water slide. Her hesitation hadn’t been about the journey itself, more how it might feel while getting miniaturized.

Was the pink body suit pinching in a bit harder? Was this head rush a symptom of a bigger problem? What if parts of her stayed regular size, while the rest of her got tiny? And why did she even care, given how she felt like killing herself anyway?

She’d barely had time to think about it, before she was being shot out of the swirling portal of blue light - and into a tree. Or nearly into a tree. Without really thinking about it, some self preservation instinct kicked in, and Alijda teleported herself back and to the left.

Her velocity was preserved, so she still hit the ground rather hard. But not tree trunk hard, not enough to knock her senseless. Indeed, the brunette woman managed to roll, then came up on one knee. She looked around.

No one had noticed her. She was on a pathway, between two rows of trees. It looked like a park - good thing she hadn’t ended up several metres to the right, where there was some kind of children’s play area, right out in the open.

Alijda took off her backpack and patted herself down. Everything felt like it was in the right place. And relative to everything else around her, she seemed to be the right size. Her lips pursed. Okay, relative to ALMOST everything else around her. But first things first. She tapped at her watch device. “Alice?”

“Hi!” came the technician’s voice. “You re-enacting ‘Attack of the 50 Foot Woman’ yet?”

Alijda was glad that the connection was audio only. Because she couldn’t immediately mask her surprise at understanding a reference. “No, I’m not,” she shot back. “In fact it’s looking good. The circuitry hasn’t caused any immediate problems. Want to wait five minutes to be sure?”

“Nope, whirlpool’s a power drain. And shutting it down means it might move. So I’m sending the others now.”

“Okay. Oh! Tell them to watch out for that tree!”

“George, George, George of the jungle…" The connection clicked off.

Alijda shook her head, and hurried to stand in front of the offending tree trunk. As long as Kat and Para came out one at a time, she could teleport them - her limit was somewhere around 300 pounds.

Yet as she watched, the swirling portal rotated left about ten degrees, so that when the others emerged, they fell on the path running between the trees, rather than partially into them.

Alijda moved to help Para up, as the portal shrank and vanished into the air. Para smiled up at her. “Thanks! Wow, so do you feel smaller? I don’t, but I’m kind of used to vertical stretches and compressions.”

“I feel normal,” Alijda answered. ’Or as normal as I can be, given what I’m wearing,’ she mentally added. With Para standing, she looked over towards the brown haired military man. “Kat?”

“I seem to be fine.” He was already brushing himself off. His gaze shifted to past Alijda’s shoulder. “Also, I think I know now what Alice meant by incursion.”

“Right.” Alijda turned herself, to look back at the enormous clothing iron. Way out of scale with everything else, it towered in the air, perhaps a couple blocks away. “I guess that would look normal size, if we weren’t shrunk?”

“You want me to do the math?” Para offered. Alijda slowly shook her head.

“I think I saw this anime,” Kat noted. “Not really a fan.”

“Oh, don’t you start referencing,” Alijda grumbled. She moved to retrieve her backpack. “Okay, best guess, it’s mid-morning. Let’s try to figure out who’s in charge around here. If we’re not done with the mission by sundown, we’ll need them to give us lodgings.”

There weren’t many people out wandering the streets. At first glance, Alijda judged this world’s technology level to be early 20th century - some vehicles, no television aerials - but fashion seemed to trend closer to the 1960s. So she and Para shouldn’t stick out too much. Their group did get a couple raised eyebrows, but they also got directions to City Hall.

About a block away from their destination, a short man in a trench coat and a fedora stepped out of an alleyway, directly into their path. He looked down at something in his hands, then up at them. “Come with me,” he asserted.

“Why?” Alijda shot back.

The man sighed. “Look, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way.”

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VOTING WILL CLOSE LATE ON TUESDAY MARCH 15th EDT

FULL SCALE INVASION, PART TWO: Kat Scan

“People usually have a reason for disappearing.”

“I’m aware of that,” Kat retorted. “I still want to find her.”

“Obviously. For yourself, or for the military?”

Katherine “Kat” Conway leaned forwards, resting his arms on the table. The asian woman he was speaking with - one Tara Aizawa - was drawing out their conversation deliberately. And he supposed he couldn’t fault her for her caution. Heck, under other circumstances, he might have found it charming. But at present, it was a pain.

So, apparently she knew he was military, even though his clothing wasn’t. Meaning either she was picking up on some non-verbal cues, or she had done research in the twenty four hours it had taken him to get into town. Or John had told her.

“This is personal,” Kat countered. “I knew Fate in high school. Before joining up with the Canadian military.”

“Meaning over fifteen years ago.”

“Yeah. That’s why I don’t exactly have any useful pictures to show, or handy terms to plug into a search engine,” Kat said. He wondered if he’d been able to keep the sarcasm out of his tone. “But she helped me back then. If she ended up in trouble, I want to return the favour.”

“Fifteen years later. If she wanted your help, perhaps she would have contacted you by now.”

“Except perhaps she couldn’t. Or perhaps she’s dead. And perhaps you have no useful information for me, and merely wanted to be seen out in public with a good looking guy. And if that’s the case, perhaps I should leave.”

As Tara herself had pointed out, his friendship with Fate had been half a lifetime ago. He’d given up actively searching for her. He’d nearly given up passively searching, as his life had become rather more complicated since becoming involved with the “Doorways” project… the joint Canadian-British-American operation working out of Nevada. The project that allowed travel to alternate worlds.

Either way, the universe was far too vast to waste any more time here. Kat was pretty sure that there was a better chance of Fate having been abducted by aliens, versus hiding out in British Columbia all this time. He stood, dropping five dollars onto the table for his drink. “Thanks for nothing. Give my regards to John, I have no idea why he suggested I use my leave to get in contact with you.”

Kat turned away, only to have her reach an arm out in his direction. “Wait,” Tara said. Kat paused, but didn’t turn back. “Can you prove to me that you have a personal interest in the occult?”

Kat kept his face impassive, quickly doing a scan of the coffee shop. No one was paying attention to them. So he turned, maneuvering himself to block the view for what he was about to do. He pulled a pack of matches out of his pants pocket. Then he struck the match - and tossed the flame towards the dark haired woman.

Tara flinched back. But before the match could reach her, Kat concentrated. The match burst into brilliant light, burning up in less than a second, pieces of ash and soot floating to the ground.

“I have a personal interest.”

Breathing harder, Tara slowly lowered herself back down into her seat. “Pyrokinesis. I see.”

“So, am I leaving? Or am I sitting back down?”

“You’re leaving, but with information,” Tara decided. She pulled a card out of her jeans pocket. “There’s a new woman in town who calls herself Fate. I don’t know if it’s your friend or not, but John recognized the name on your behalf. She’s been trying to organize an occult group. Don’t call that number before 8pm.”

Kat took the business card from her. One side was all black. On the other, there was a phone number underneath some occult symbols. He pocketed it. “All right. Thanks.”

Of course, if he couldn’t call that number right away, this meant he now had the rest of the afternoon to kill. And Tara was pretty, and only slightly younger than him. He flashed her a smile. “I can still sit back down.”

“If you do, I’ll get up. Military was already a strike, now that I see your interest in fire, I’ll pass.”

Oh well. It had been worth a shot. “All right,” Kat yielded. “Though for the record, I’m not interested in fire. It’s interested in me.” He turned, and walked out of the coffee shop.

It was that same series of steps that brought him right out of his reality.

In a blink, Katherine found himself in a large, cylindrical room. He spun. Despite having just passed through the shop’s doorway, it was gone. Everything was gone. Instead, behind him there was now a pair of brunettes, standing at some sort of large computer terminal against the curved wall. One woman in a black dress, the other in jeans and a white T-shirt.

His military training kicked in, and he automatically dropped to a crouch, hand poised to grab the gun from his ankle holster. But at the same time, he’d been witness to some pretty strange things in the “Doorways” program. Was this some offshoot organization? With beaming technology? “What’s going on?”

Jeans Woman turned to look at Black Dress. “Well, go ahead and explain it.”

“Me?!” Black Dress objected. “Your station, your project, your God!”

“Your mission.”

“Yeah, well, not if the square-cube circuitry kills me.”

“It won’t do that. Unless you hacked in and messed with Para’s protocols. Kind of hoping you weren’t that suicidal.”

“Oh, well, you would know, wouldn’t you? What with tracking everybody on Earth and randomly abducting them?”

“Hey, speaking of abductions?” Kat broke in again. “What’s. Going. On?”

Inwardly, Kat allowed himself to marginally relax. The room was largely empty, and these women didn’t seem to pose an immediate threat. They weren’t armed, and seemed more focussed on each other. Also, Black Dress was attractive, and there was no point in messing up his chances for a date twice in one day.

Actually, as they both turned back to him, Kat was forced to admit that they were equally attractive - but Black Dress looked to be closer to his age, early to mid thirties. He really hoped they were both human, not aliens concealing themselves under some illusion.

“Hi!” Black Dress chirped. “Welcome to The Hub, the main station for a scary oversight organization tracking dimensional anomalies across a multiverse. I’m Alijda, and I’ll be your commanding officer.”

Kat frowned. Dating was out then! “What’s your rank?”

“My RANK?” Alijda frowned back, then turned to Jeans Woman. “Do we have ranks?”

She shrugged. “Katherine’s probably referring to how he’s a Sergeant on his Earth.”

“Of COURSE he is.” Alijda faced Kat again. “This is Alice, by the way. She doesn’t provide any useful information until AFTER we need it.”

“‘Just bring him in,’ you said,” Alice remarked, half smiling. “I could have given you lots of data, but you said–"

“Yes, fine, I elected not to be a creeper, point made,” Alijda interrupted. She looked back to Kat, and sighed. “Yeah. So. Mind if we conscript you for a while? We have a ‘small’ problem.”

“Actually, yes.” Kat decided that his patience had worn out. This obviously wasn’t a military program. And while that potentially put a date with Alijda back on the table, he really did have more important things to do. “I’m in the middle of an investigation. Please return me back to that town I was in.”

“Fine.” Alijda turned to Alice. “Who do we try next?”

The younger brunette shook her head. “It doesn’t work that way. The station targeted Katherine. We need him.”

Alijda made a sound of exasperation. “Fine. So put him back now, and pick him up later in his timeline. When he’s more amenable. After all, I get the impression that less time passed for you up here than it did for me, between my visits.”

Again, a shake of Alice’s head. “Waste of power. Too many variables involved. Also…" Her voice trailed off.

“Also?” Alijda pressed.

“Also, we aren’t able to retrieve Katherine on the occasions when he’s away from his Earth.”

With effort, Kat kept his expression neutral. Somehow, Alice knew about “Doorways”! Yet based on Alijda’s surprised expression, she did not? Kat decided he really needed to get out of here. Because he would now have to report this, and based on what they were saying, he was in danger of drowning in paperwork for the rest of his leave, instead of potentially seeing Fate again.

“Return me,” Kat asserted, drawing himself up to his full height.

“Is he an astronaut??” Alijda asked.

“‘Just bring him in,’ you said…”

“Oh, shut the front door!” the older brunette snapped. She spun away from Alice, and took a few steps towards Kat. “Look, stalemate. We apparently can’t ‘return you’. So you can either hang around here until me and Para have dealt with the Lilliputians, or you can join us, and thus potentially get back to your life sooner. What do you say?”

Kat gave the brunette woman another once over. Neither option seemed preferable. Yet if he was truly stuck here, should he start making the best of a bad situation? “Join me for dinner, and I’ll consider it.”

“Join you for…" Alijda turned back to Alice. “The hell? Is this guy for real?!”

“‘Just bring him in,’ you said…”

“Oooh, I hate you SO much right now!”

“A coffee, at least? Or tea?” Kat requested. After all, Alijda seemed like the better prospect in terms of getting him information. And if they actually had a pleasant interaction on top of that, it could be win-win.

Alijda shot him a look. “I’m a teleporter with suicidal tendencies. You really, REALLY don’t want to be chatting me up.”

“That wasn’t a ‘no’.”

Her eyes rolled. “Fine. We’ll have a tea, then go to Lilliputia Earth.”

“I still go under protest,” Kat noted.

“Whatever.” Alijda gestured to one side of the room, where there was a table and some chairs on wheels. “After you, Katherine.”

“Call me K.C.,” he offered. “Or simply Kat.”

Kat found himself sipping his tea slowly, and deliberately drawing out the conversation. He could only assume that Tara would have found this reversal HILARIOUS. A twist of irony, or karma, or something. At last, Alijda sat back to glare at him, with her arms crossed and an annoyed look on her face.

“You know what? I’m done talking,” she stated. Kat smiled amiably, and took a sip of his drink. In doing so, he mentally sifted through what his ‘mission leader’ had revealed so far.

This whole “Epsilon Project” wasn’t too dissimilar from “Doorways”. It merely involved teams travelling to other dimensions, instead of to other worlds. And it seemed to be for the purpose of cleaning up “anomalies”, rather than for exploration or trade. This project was also relatively new, with not many personnel. All reasons why they might have targeted him.

All of which meant that, had Fate been abducted by aliens, it probably wasn’t these aliens. He wondered idly what the non-human “Para” looked like. At least Alijda was human. And although she had been born in the Netherlands, she was also Canadian, like him. And she seemed nice enough, for a depressive. Maybe a little paranoid. Which wasn’t necessarily bad.

“Know what? You’re an interesting woman,” Kat remarked, lowering his cup.

“While you’re becoming an annoying man. Finish your tea already. Or, better plan, how about you tell me more about the secret program YOU’VE been alluding to?”

“It’s classified,” Kat apologized. Her jaw tightened. Okay, she’d been pushed to her limits. “But maybe another time.” He downed the rest of his tea. “For now, on to your ‘Lilliputia’! These circuits that you said will adjust our size, you’re sure they’ll work?”

“Hell no,” Alijda countered, rising. “That’s why I’m going through first, as Alice’s guinea pig. I’ll let you know if it kills me.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

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VOTING WILL CLOSE LATE ON TUESDAY MARCH 8th EST

FULL SCALE INVASION, PART ONE: Data Integrity

“I want to kill myself, but I can’t.”

Para pushed herself out from under the computer console. “What?!”

Alijda didn’t respond right away, busy typing into the same console. Once she’d activated the screen saver, she looked down at the blonde, who was now lying prone beneath her. “What?”

“KILL yourself? Still?”

“Yep.” Alijda shrugged. “Look, you asked how I’d been doing. Don’t panic though. The reason I can’t kill myself isn’t because I don’t have the means… heck, I can teleport myself into a wall any time I like. Pretty sure that would off me.”

Alijda crossed her arms, looking towards the ceiling of the small room they were both in. “No, the reason I can’t kill myself is because I’ve realized some people actually care about me. And might miss me. It’s weird, and in stark contrast to the first 20 years of my life, but fine."

“Besides,” she added, shrugging. “I still want to take down this entire ‘Epsilon Project’ oversight organization here, and it would be hard to do that when dead. Can zombies even code?” Alijda smiled. Para said nothing, causing the brunette thirty-something to look back down.

Alijda’s smile grew. “Oh Para… you’re not thinking of me as normal, are you? Remember, I embezzled money from the shady Canadian company where I worked, fled to the US under the alias ‘Alison’, gained special powers via Marshall Biochemical Engineering - who, incidentally, are probably still after me - and now I cavort with aliens in a space station run by some God. Most humans don’t experience such things.”

The brunette teleporter saw the parabolic bunny ears on Para’s hairband twitch.

“Point to you, Alijda,” the blonde yielded. “But you’re also the first human I ever met in person. Meaning you’re kinda the benchmark for all my human interactions. It’s not like we mathematical personifications get out much. Or at all.”

“Which is unfortunate on all accounts. I pity you. Except for the bit where I’m jealous of your sexy cuteness. Now, are you going to finish plugging in the extra memory we need to run this square-cube program?”

Para nodded slowly, the blonde bunny-girl finally pushing herself back under the console. Alidja noticed how the personified parabola took care to keep her legs together and her pink dress from riding up. “Math” really needed to consider a wider variety of outfits.

Then again, Alidja was wearing a dress too, in black, so she was hardly one to talk. Alice really needed to give her employees a better “heads up” before conjuring them onto the station. With a sigh, Alijda glanced over towards the security camera she’d already neutralized, before deactivating the screen saver and resuming her typing.

“I am sorry things haven’t improved for you since our last mission,” Para said after an extended silence.

“I never said they didn’t improve. In fact, I’ve been writing fiction. To help me cope with life. And I’m publishing it online, as a serial.”

“Oh?” Para mused. “That’s neat. What are people saying about it?”

“Next to nothing. It’s been running for, like, a year, with over 100 posts, and I still had a day this month with zero views. I’d hack the various social media outlets for more publicity, but I’ve decided that wouldn’t draw the kind of attention I want.”

“Oh. And… that’s improvement?”

The brunette woman grinned. “Me, using a computer mostly for writing? And deciding not to hack servers merely for the fun of it? Yeah, that’s improvement.”

“Aha. Is that technological reformation the reason Alice has let you help me reprogram the station’s computers?”

“Um, could be. Hope not.”

Alijda’s screen lit up with an indication that Para’s hardware had been installed, and the blonde girl began to push herself back out from underneath. But at this point, Alijda was so close to being finished that she didn’t bother to stop.

“What… what are you doing?” Para gasped as she stood up.

“This,” the hacker concluded, tapping the enter key one last time. The screen before them blinked, then came up with a folder labelled “MISSIONS”. Alijda reached out with a finger to double tap on the touch screen.

“Alijda! You… no!” Para gasped, grabbing the brunette by the arm. “You were supposed to be configuring–"

“I set up a script to configure within the first two minutes of access,” Alijda interrupted. “Come on Para, how am I supposed to take down ‘The Epsilon Project’ without having more information?”

“But I VOUCHED for you! I told Alice I needed your help, and now you’re using the opportunity to break into their–"

“Para!” Alijda pulled her arm free and reached out to clasp the bunny girl by the shoulders. “Calm down. I’m not setting the station to self destruct. I’m not even trying to give myself root access. I’m merely getting myself - actually, the both of us - a bit more information.”

Para’s lower lip quivered. “Behind my back. I thought we were friends.”

Alijda found she couldn’t meet the blonde’s disappointed gaze, so she looked down at her own boots instead. “You don’t understand. I’m a terrible friend. I’m the sort of woman who prefers to push people away, so that I can kill myself in peace.”

“Except maybe you push people away because you hate the thought of seeing harm come to them. Come on, Alijda - aren’t you better than this?”

Alijda released Para’s shoulders, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “No.” And before she could change her mind, she reached out to tap at the MISSIONS folder. She reasoned it would now be less than a minute before Alice shut the terminal down centrally, so she tried to put Para’s words out of her mind.

Interestingly, there seemed to be only three case files inside. But there was also some sort of “mission statement” document too - Alijda opened that file first and scanned through it. “The Epsilon Project,” she mumbled aloud. “Our last, best place for hope. The Hub is a self-regulating station, tracking right and wrong, yadda yadda, know this … Oh!”

As predicted, the whole console shut itself down some forty seconds later. But Alijda now had something more to think about.

Para didn’t speak to her at all as they headed back towards the station’s central control room. Even after Alijda irised open the doorway in the floor, and offered to teleport them both down, the only response she got was a shrug.

Damn it. She had gone too far. The voice in Alijda’s head went on to point out that, had she simply killed herself months ago, she wouldn’t still be presenting such a horrible example of a human to personified mathematics today. But, while accurate, the thought was also nonsensical enough that Alijda decided she’d simply ignore the accusation.

Alijda looked down through the opening in the floor, into the large, cylindrical control room. That room was big enough to fit over a hundred people. Alice was presently standing to one side, over at the computer banks. Which were positioned directly opposite to the large view screen, with the Gate device embedded in the floor between them. With that in mind, Alijda reached out to grasp Para by the shoulder, then activated her power.

The both of them vanished in a cloud of purple and black smoke. They immediately reappeared next to Alice, accompanied by the faint aroma of sulphur. It was faster than lowering the ladder. In fact, Alijda could have teleported them right here from that auxiliary control room - except it wasn’t safe if she couldn’t see where she was going.

Alice reached out to tap a key on the panel in front of her, and the doorway - now in the ceiling - irised shut again. “You could have asked,” she remarked.

Alijda was in no mood for a chat about ethics with the station’s primary - only? - permanent employee. But she couldn’t simply let that comment go, not with Alice being ten years her junior. “You would have said no!”

“Well, yes,” the brunette technician admitted. “But that’s mainly because if I’d told you about the missions, you would have chosen to hack into a different part of our database instead.”

“I am SO SORRY,” Para broke in. “I didn’t think she’d do that!” The blonde looked to be on the verge of tears, and as Alijda watched, Para’s bunny ears drooped down. The parabola’s depression had now been maximized.

Alice merely smiled in a self-assured way, which made Alijda dislike her even more. “Don’t worry, Para. Alison has to be Alison. Or - can everybody call you Alijda now?”

“I don’t give a damn what you call me,” Alijda sighed. “But fine. Para had nothing to do with this. If you’re going to punish anyone, punish me.”

“Punish you?” Alice spread her arms out to the sides. “What, do I look like Frank Castle? In this shirt?”

Alijda grimaced. The shirt was white, the jeans were tacky, so what? “You look like someone who makes references no one gets.”

“I’m not even Richard Castle. But very well. Alijda, your punishment will be acting as the first human guinea pig for the circuitry you both helped to install.”

“Peachy.” Alijda looked to Para. “So run me through that square-cube problem again? I think I’ll actually need to pay attention this time.” Actually, she’d been paying close attention the first time. But she hoped that the technical explanation would improve Para’s mood, and return her depression to a minimum. One suicidally depressed female in the room was more than enough.

Para’s bunny ears twitched. “Well, surface area is units squared. Volume is units cubed. So if you scale the size of objects up, say by doubling, you’ll get four times the surface area… yet eight times the volume. Similar issue scaling down. Which is a big problem.”

“But you said the scale down thing is safer, right?”

Para’s parabolic bunny ears gradually rose back up as she spoke. “Neither’s really SAFE, but yes, shrunk down you’re more likely to have trouble with heat loss, versus collapse into immobility due to your increase in mass. The mathematics involved are really kind of fascinating.” In thinking about it, she almost smiled.

“Right.” With Para seeming happier, Alijda looked back to Alice. “So you’re going to shrink me down and send me in to chat with some Lilliputians?”

Alice frowned. “How much of that file did you read?”

“Not enough. I spent most of my time looking at the one labelled “mission statement”. You know, Alice, you could have simply told us that your whole setup here was to track dimensional anomalies across a multiverse. That almost sounds sensible. You’re too cryptic for your own good.”

“The more you know, the more at risk we are,” Alice countered. “After all, our goal here is to make next to no alterations out there. Hence our name, the Epsilon Project! Right, Para?”

“Oh! Epsilon, mathematically speaking, should be a very tiny value,” Para realized. “That’s very clever!”

“And here I thought this station was your fifth attempt,” Alijda said dryly. “But fine. Will you be sending me off with Para and Mason once again?”

Alice shook her head. “Nope! You’ll get to indoctrinate our newest recruit. Katherine Conway!”

“What? Who the heck is she??”

“He,” Alice corrected, waggling a finger. “You might need a male viewpoint. And I can’t send Simon to this world again, it really didn’t go well last time. What with him still being regular size and all.”

“Fine! So who the heck is Katherine?!”

“It’s hardly my place to speak for him,” Alice countered. “I can tell you he’s human, like the both of us. And, as with you, our software has pinpointed him as an individual with useful skills who is unlikely to turn us down.”

“Oh, of course. So will he be as bitter about your oversight as I am?” Alijda sniped.

Alice raised a finger to her cheek, looking thoughtful. “You know, I’m not sure.”

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WISH FULFILMENT, PART SEVENTEEN: Simon's Travels

There was a bright flash of light, and then a sudden darkness. Simon blinked open his eyes and looked around.

He was sitting in a giant cavern, much like the circular room he’d appeared in at first, but made of natural stone. Surrounding him on all sides were tiny houses and churches and citadels, with tiny people swarming out of their homes and waving and shouting excitedly in tiny high-pitched voices. Their clothes were complicated and ornate, their houses covered in detailed, tiny mosaics.

What had he been doing just before this? He searched his mind for the last thing he remembered. There had been an argument, there was always an argument, but he’d been sure it would work this time-

A tiny woman shouted something at him through a megaphone. At least he thought she was a woman, she was wearing a dress and a whole amethyst crystal on her head like a crown. He stared at her blankly, and caught sight of something on his wrist - he could call Alice!

“Alice? Do you know where I am?”

“Oh, sure. You’re at your new assignment.”

“What do you mean my new assignment?”

“This one is more important, so I reassigned you. You can come back to the other one if they don’t solve it without you.”

“Alice!”

“Ours is not to question why, ours is just to do and die.”

“That isn’t even a Hitchhiker’s Guide reference.”

“Well, you’re in the wrong book for that now, aren’t you?”

“I don’t even know what you mean.”

“Show them a card trick and try not to die. Your job is to warn them about the invasion. Have fun!”

With a scowl, Simon pulled out his deck of cards and began shuffling them. He’d known working for Alice was frustrating, but this was taking it to a whole new level. His team was back there, on that other world, and he was - he didn’t even know where he was.

There was an art to magic. It involved speedy reflexes, nimble fingers, and not having a thousand eyes focused on you with your cards being as tall as a person.

Simon heard a distinct voice yell to a friend, “Here, he’s got the card behind his hand! I seen it!”

“Everyone seen it, Joey,” retorted the friend. “You think he’s mad?”

“Has to fry your brain being that big. Why do you think he’s that big? Did he eat something wrong, like one of those little potions everyone knows not to drink?”

“Queeny’ll sort it out. That’s her job, queening.”

Simon was not incredibly sexist, but he’d recently had very firm and negative experience with a female authority figure. He eyed the stern woman in the red silk handkerchief and amethyst crown more warily. Her shouting was becoming harder and harder to understand, along the lines of ‘if you yell very fast at someone who doesn’t speak your language, they’ll definitely understand you.’

It was at this point that someone shot him with a miniature grappling gun. Simon hoped everyone else was having better luck than he was today.

TO BE CONTINUED?

APRIL FOOLS!

The crazy, zany, and completely NOT CANON! interlude you’ve just read is part of the Serial Fiction April Fool’s Day Swap, 2015 Edition.  The mindblowing gag post you’ve just read was written by Lucy Weaver, who normally writes the story Tapestry, found at: http://www.wysteriaclimbing.com/tapestry.

Gregory Taylor,  who normally writes this story, today has created their own piece of tomfoolery for Legion of Nothing found at: http://inmydaydreams.com/.

For a full list of all our April Fool’s Swappers and their stories, as well as dozens of other serial novels that will tickle your fancy, check out The Web Fiction Guide at:

http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/2015-april-fools-master-list

WISH FULFILMENT, PART SIXTEEN: Alternative Reality

As soon as Chartreuse collapsed, Simon ran over to her. He felt for a pulse, relieved to find that she still had one. They’d been pretty sure that she would end up in Wanda’s vision once the field was activated, so presumably (hopefully) that was the case. Having verified that Chartreuse might have a mild burn, but was otherwise okay, Simon looked up at Ikky. She’d followed over after him. “Keep an eye on her?” he requested, before heading to where Azure and Pelinelneth were standing by Wanda.

Azure held up a necklace, with what looked like a tiny book on it. “The elf says this is the evil thing,” she remarked.

Simon nodded, noticing that her arm was shaking. “Are you okay?”

“Hell no!” Azure shot back, pulling her arm back down as her look became a glare. “I got FIRED at. Literally! What’s my hazard pay?” Simon barely had time to shrug, before she continued with, “And what about my sister??” She thrust her arm out again, pointing towards Chartreuse.

“She seemed okay - how long does a vision usually last?”

Azure snorted. “Time dilates. You might as well ask what number I’d roll on a die. So, pay?”

“Ahem. Wanda’s safety is still guaranteed, right?” Pelinelneth asked, breaking back in.

Simon turned to the elf, deciding he had a better chance with that conversation. “Yes. As long as she acts reasonably once she regains consciousness.”

Pelinelneth nodded. Her eyes tracked to the pendant. “And once you take that away… do I disappear?”

Simon found he could only shrug again. “Let me call Alice,” he decided. When in doubt, consult one’s superiors? He tapped at his watch.

Before there was any response, Wanda stirred, and from near Chartreuse, Ikky called out, “She’s awake!” Azure reflexively took several steps backwards. Simon held his ground, warily watching Wanda. The Royal Wizard didn’t make any immediately aggressive moves. She almost seemed to be… crying? Pelinelneth bent down, putting an arm around the brunette.

“No killing!” Chartreuse called out. Simon turned, in time to see Ikky help his partner off the ground. “Wanda’s gonna, you know, work with us!”

“Killing?” Simon asked. That had only been their last resort, after bargaining, physical restraint, and for that matter, somehow using a wish themselves. Chartreuse and Ikky approached, the younger girl pointedly glancing from him to the blonde woman and back.

It clicked. Ikky, formerly Iklius, had a vendetta against Wanda. They had said that Wanda might get hurt. Ikky could have been hoping for that. For that matter, if all the wishes here reverted, would Iklius revert? As a male, with a renewed spirit, would he then make good on his desire for vengeance? Chartreuse had sensed something with Ikky. She hadn’t been able to put it into words. That could have been it.

At a loss for what to say for a third time, Simon was glad to hear Alice respond. He became less glad at what she said. “If someone’s dead, don’t tell me much!” came the voice from his watch. “Better chance of me fixing it that way!”

“We’re not dead. In fact, we’ve got the artifact,” Simon reported. “It’s a book.”

There was a breath of relief. “Awesomesauce! I’ll open up a portal.”

“Wait - what happens here when we remove the artifact?” Simon asked. “Do the wish results remain?”

“Sure, why wouldn’t they?”

“Well then, that leaves their town in a bit of a state.” For that matter, even if the wishes WERE cancelled, it would be an issue.

“Not our problem!” Alice said, her tone far too chipper. “Their world, let them deal.”

“They can’t!” Simon objected. “We’ve put their Royal Wizard into withdrawal, we had a hand in turning their former Wizard into a statue, and the only local left who knows what’s going on is technically an escaped prisoner.” He glanced at Ikky out of the corner of his eye.

“Oh.” Alice paused. “Can you get your team somewhere private? I don’t feel like explaining myself multiple times.” Simon frowned.

They helped Pelinelneth bring Wanda back to the Wizard Sanctuary. The elf said she’d keep an eye on Ikky while Snowball (Wanda’s pink unicorn) monitored the Wizard’s condition - they couldn’t yet tell if Wanda’s presently withdrawn emotional state was solely due to the future vision, or if it was the onset of withdrawal after being separated from The Book.

Simon, Chartreuse and Azure then relocated to a small room next door.

“The Epsilon Project,” Alice explained, her voice coming through on Simon’s communicator watch. “Our last, best place for hope. This Hub is a self-regulating station, tracking right and wrong, located in neutral–"

“If it’s self-regulating, why do you have to stay there?” Azure demanded.

A pause. “Okay, the system’s not perfect,” Alice admitted. “It’s self-regulating in the sense that it can identify it’s own errors and tell me about them. Usually.”

“Also, where was our backup? My sister’s burned! And are we getting paid?”

“Azure,” Chartreuse said reproachfully. “I’m okay, and Alice and her crew were trying to, you know, help people!”

“Yeah, but it’s people who weren’t US,” the younger Vermilion shot back.

A sigh came over the communications link. “Fine,” Alice said. “You want me to admit that I’ve screwed up? Then yes, I’ve screwed up. Perhaps we should have pulled your team out, once it became obvious that this wasn’t a simple search and extract mission. Certainly we should have gotten better data on Chartreuse’s sister, as she asks too many questions. Though I guess she’s not as bad as the gaffe made last mission.”

“Why, what happened then?” Simon asked, speaking up to prevent Azure from doing so. Plus, he was curious. Also worried.

“Oh, one of their team was copyright of the BBC in the universe they went to. We should have screened for that better, so now on top of everything, we have to avoid getting sued. Two missions in, and it’s like Terminator 2 - I need a vacation.”

“You don’t sound bothered,” Azure grumbled.

“You don’t know me,” Alice said, her normally carefree tones immediately becoming more subdued.

“We’re straying from the point,” Simon decided. He glanced at Chartreuse. “Uh, what was the point?”

“MY point,” Alice cut back in, spirits seemingly restored. “Is that MY job is to react to dimensional anomalies. That’s the whole reason for the Epsilon Project. But at the same time, it’s the EPSILON Project! Making next to zero alterations! Not the Delta Project, which would be all about incremental change.”

“Wait, dimensional anomalies?” Chartreuse asked.

“Supernatural bleed through. Stuff that’s not where it’s supposed to be. For instance, in our first case, someone named Lissa Jous was influencing another dimension through someone’s dreams. In your case, the wishing artifact doesn’t belong in that fantasy dimension, it came from… well, I don’t know exactly. Likely one of the worlds adjacent to Death Note Central. We’ll do some resonance scans to pinpoint it.”

“Oh! So your Project is trying to, like, keep one type of Alternate Earth from affecting another,” Chartreuse decided.

“But,” Simon objected, “you can’t simply remove something like the Wish Book from here and expect that doing so will have a negligible impact. Not once it’s been around for months!”

“Contrarily, if it had been there for less time, it wouldn’t have registered with us,” Alice stated. “Sometimes, you can’t get around paradox. But now that you’ve GOT it, you all need to GO. Like I said to Simon earlier today, we have to trust that things will naturally get back on track!”

Simon looked at the Vermilion sisters. “It feels wrong,” he said, suspecting that his own expression was a mirror to theirs.

“I get that,” Alice answered. “Look, how about this. I’ll open a portal - send Azure through to me, with the artifact. You and Chartreuse can stay until midnight. In the meantime, I’ll consult with God, to see if there’s anything here I’m missing. We DO hope you’ll be willing to sign up with us on a more permanent basis, after all.”

She continued without waiting for acknowledgement. “All I ask is, please, PLEASE, don’t start any revolutions, and for goodness sakes, don’t make any promises we can’t keep!!” The connection clicked off. Just as well, because Simon wasn’t sure what more he could have said.

“Hello!” Ikky said brightly as Simon and Chartreuse walked back into the Sanctuary. “Have we met?”

Simon blinked in surprise. “Met? You don’t rem–"

“Ikli,” Pelinelneth said. “Could you alphabetize the lower bookshelf for me? Me and Snowball need to have a word with our guests.” Ikky (Ikli?) nodded, Pelinelneth guiding Simon and Chartreuse away from her, with Snowball trotting over to join them. Wanda, Simon noticed, had moved up to the bed. She now looked to be asleep.

“We’ve totally missed something,” Chartreuse observed.

“Yeah. Us, fixing things,” Snowball stated. “It seemed like you were going to leave. Or did you have some plan? Where’s the blue haired girl anyway?”

“She’s returning the artifact,” Simon said. “As to a plan…" He exchanged an uneasy glance with Chartreuse before shaking his head. “No.”

“Good. I’d be suspicious of one anyway,” Snowball admitted. “Even if you did fix the wish thing, you’re obviously not locals.”

“So what did you do?” Simon asked.

“We got Wanda to give Iklius a memory wipe,” Pelinelneth murmured. She seemed troubled, but whether it was from that spell occurring, or merely from admitting it to them, Simon couldn’t say. “Because of Ikli’s natural resistance, it knocked Wanda out completely, but it worked. We’ve told Ikli that she lost her memory due to being hit on the head.”

Chartreuse’s eyes widened. “That’s horrible!”

“No, no, it’s the same spell that I had, back when I told Wanda I wanted to be let out of the castle,” Pelinelneth added. “Harmless, really.”

“But her MEMORIES!”

“Keep your voice down,” Snowball snapped. “Look. We need Ikli’s help. She’s one of the few who can use her power to easily cancel out the more severe wishes, yet she didn’t seem inclined to help us willingly. Besides, this way she won’t remember being in prison, or the deaths of her friends. That’s good, right?”

Simon’s gaze drifted over to where the blonde woman was rearranging books. “Except won’t she simply cancel out your memory wipe?”

“That’s the sticking point,” Pelinelneth admitted. “But Wanda had already started working on the problem, while Ikky - Ikli - was in prison. She was hoping for triple redundancy, a spell, a charm and a false memory… we currently have two out of three, and it seems to be working. Besides, we told her the loss was natural causes.”

“No. I don’t like it,” Chartreuse said, biting her lip. “Are you sure you didn’t, you know, explain that–"

“Chartreuse. It’s not our call,” Simon reminded her. Though truth be told, he didn’t feel happy with this idea either. Playing with someone’s mind, without permission? Worse, Ikky wouldn’t have been subjected to this if he hadn’t taken her out of her cell! It was Qifarihm all over again! Or was it? If Wanda had already planned to do this… Simon shook his head, aware he was now rationalizing away his own involvement.

“Meanwhile,” Snowball said. “Pelinelneth has some illusion and nature magic, enough to prop Wanda up until she feels able to continue on in her role in the castle.”

“And if she doesn’t feel up to it?” Chartreuse challenged. “What if withdrawal makes her go nuts?”

“We’ll hold a Wizard trial for a replacement.” Snowball managed the horse equivalent of a shrug.

Chartreuse opened her mouth to object again, but then couldn’t seem to find any words. And Simon realized it was as Alice had said: The people of this world were picking up the pieces without their help. Had she known that would happen? Had she known HOW it would happen? He grimaced, but also said nothing as Pelinelneth turned and went back to talk with Ikli.

There were still problems here. But what could they do to solve them, aside from get out of the way? On the bright side, Simon supposed that the place was overall better off for their having been here. Wasn’t it? He glanced at Chartreuse, wondering what had been in her future vision… then wondering if she should do another one. They had changed things for the better here, right?

Right?

-END?-

There is one more entry, though as we wrap up, please consider giving a star ranking at WebFictionGuide. Thanks for reading! Another poll follows…

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WISH FULFILMENT, PART THIRTEEN: Out of Frying Pan

Chartreuse exchanged a glance with her younger sister. Then she looked back across the room to Joey Frankson, the teenager who had, moments ago, burst into Pelinelneth’s home. And pointed a crossbow at the two of them.

Chartreuse supposed Joey had cause to do it. After all, Pelinelneth had told them that a “Joey” was part of her town’s underground, a group of individuals with no memory of the time before the wishes had become common knowledge. This had to be the same person, now wondering about the new people in Pelinelneth’s home. But Chartreuse knew she and Simon were juggling enough balls in the air - better to get rid of Joey. But how?

“I’m, you know, Pelinelneth!” Chartreuse called out to him. “Like, put that away!”

The dark haired boy blinked. “You’re no elf!”

“Right, I, you know, got tired of the Santa connection, and accidentally wished I could be more like the pretty new girl who came into town, and so now I look like her.”

He frowned, and his crossbow dipped a little. “Seriously? Then what’s my last name?”

Chartreuse wondered if that was a trick question. “Frankson.”

“And who brought the snacks to our last gathering?”

That question was harder. “Louie the Leprechaun,” Azure stated. Chartreuse turned to look at her sister again, and saw that Azure had grabbed the deck of cards sitting on the floor, and performed what could only be termed as a hasty reading. She seemed to have cut the deck, turned up the jack of clubs, and divined the name from that. Though her shrug implied she wasn’t sure.

Chartreuse looked back at Joey. His crossbow was now pointed at the floor. “Fine,” he said, seemingly convinced. “So is she one of us too?” He motioned at Azure. “And are you bringing her to tonight’s meeting?”

“Like, sure,” Chartreuse said, amiably. “See you there, okay?”

“Okay,” Joey concluded. He turned and walked back up the stairs. Maybe the underground wouldn’t have been too hard to infiltrate.

“Nice work,” Azure said. Then she made a face. “Except now the song ‘Louie Louie’ is stuck in my head! What do these lyrics even MEAN?”

“I don’t know, but we do gotta go,” Chartreuse said. “After I, you know, tell Alice to tell Simon that you’re doing better.”

Simon had been able to consider their next move for a couple of days now. Doing so while hiding out in the dungeon hadn’t even been as bad as he’d thought. True, it wasn’t great for comfort, particularly at night - but there was a small washroom down the hall, presumably for guards, which he’d been able to sneak into. Actually, he’d been surprised to find that, despite the fantasy setting, certain scientific style advances did exist.

For instance, along with the makings of indoor plumbing, the couple times Simon had gone through the kitchen, they’d seemed to have devices capable of mixing that ran on - magical batteries? He hadn’t really been in a position to ask. And as Chartreuse had pointed out at some point, Wanda’s journal had been pencil to paper, not ink to parchment. There had to be a magical reason for these sorts of advancements, right?

Simon had asked Alice, but she seemed to know even less about this world than they did. “You’re there to identify - and ideally recover - an evil artifact,” she had stated yesterday. “Don’t make that more complicated than it needs to be.”

Alice didn’t seem to realize that it was already complicated. If they recovered (or destroyed) the artifact, would all the wishes simply revert? What about things like Qifarihm becoming a statue? That hadn’t been a wish, that had been a spell. So if Wanda’s wish to be the Royal Wizard was undone, who would take her place, if not him? Conversely, if some wishes were not undone, might Wanda remain in a position of power - suffering from withdrawal? What orders might she give in that state?

No, it was no longer a matter of taking the artifact and leaving. Simon was pretty sure a new spell or - dare he consider it - a wish would be necessary to put the town back on track. He said as much to Alice, when she called to tell him that Azure had made a full recovery.

At first, there was only silence on the line. “Look,” Alice finally said. “You may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist’s, but that’s just peanuts to space.”

Simon frowned. “What?”

“Oh, right. Seriously, read the book!” Alice accused. “What I mean is, you’re one guy, in one town, on one continent, on one world, in one universe, out of an entire multiverse. Nothing you do there will cause Federations to collapse or galaxies to explode. To be blunt, you’re not that important.”

“I don’t believe that,” Simon fired back. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have sent us down here in the first place!”

Another pause. “Touche. But up here,” Alice said. “THIS is where we’re making a difference. Patching up the cracks, so that one little town can flourish, and not end up getting bombed into oblivion by a neighbour state, scared by the whole wish thing.”

Simon allowed himself a moment to digest that scenario. “Is that seriously what would happen without us?”

“I don’t know. God doesn’t give me all those details.”

Simon did a double take, wondering if he’d misheard. “God?”

Alice’s tone became wistful for a moment. “Well, that’s how I think of her.” She cleared her throat. “My point being, short of staying there on a permanent basis and starting a movement, you can’t put the town on track. We have to trust that it will happen naturally, once we remove the offending element.”

Simon shook his head. “That’s a lot to accept on faith.”

“It is. Would it help if I told you that everything worked out well the last time, after we recovered Lissa Jous?”

“Not really, because I don’t know what that means.”

“Nor do you know what it means when I quote Hitchhikers at you. But on some level, it’s reassuring, right?”

“Uh. I guess?” Simon wondered when he’d lost control of the conversation.

“Awesome sauce. So, any message to send back to Chartreuse?”

Simon thought about that. All of their communications had to be routed through Alice - if there was a way to use his communicator to contact Chartreuse directly, he didn’t know of it. Which meant that their separate discoveries were being transmitted through Alice’s pop culture filter. More to the point, it meant that Alice knew everything they shared. Which is why he hadn’t shared everything. He suspected the same of Chartreuse.

It wasn’t that he felt Alice to be untrustworthy. It was that, even after this latest discussion, he still wasn’t certain about her agenda.

“Tell Chartreuse to arrive before sundown. I’ll be watching,” Simon concluded. Then, once the communication channel had been closed, he left the hiding place of his cell, crossing the dungeon in order to speak with Ikky again.

Chartreuse glanced around the corner. She was in was the same alley that she and Pelinelneth had used for a hiding place, thirty paces away from the castle archway. Now she was here with her sister. And without a frying pan. Chartreuse chewed on her lower lip for a moment.

“Time to storm the castle?” Azure asked.

She couldn’t put it off any longer. “You need to, like, know a few other things first,” Chartreuse said. “In particular, the contents of Wanda’s journal.” She took in a deep breath. “Even the parts I, like, don’t want to tell you about.”

“Finally!” Azure smiled. “Or should I act surprised? It’s just you’ve had that look ever since I woke up.”

Chartreuse frowned. “What look?”

“The one you get after you’ve visioned into the future and seen something you wish you hadn’t seen.”

“Ah. Um, maybe, but this is, like, the past…" A thought struck her. “Do you ever, you know, see something in someone’s past that you wish you hadn’t?”

The side of Azure’s mouth twitched. “Seriously, sis? Only ALL THE DAMN TIME. Why the heck do you think I avoid using my ability? Only to seem ‘normal’?” As she spoke, she did the air quotes. “That said, when I do see something, and it looks bad, I just have to think - someone who’s been through that is still alive! Focus on the positive, you know?” She crossed her arms. “Now hurry up and tell me about this Wanda, or I’ll read your history and get it that way.”

Chartreuse blinked at Azure’s abrupt manner. But then, she’d always been the more direct one, out of the two of them. So, with a nod, Chartreuse told her.

About how Wanda had gone into magic despite her mother’s protests. How constant reading had led to Wanda adopting paper as her focus point. How she’d invented an imaginary elf friend for encouragement. How she’d decided to demonstrate her potential by mastering one of the Elemental Powers - fire. How she’d come to town, to try and become the Wizard’s Apprentice, as soon as she’d heard about the opening. Perhaps too soon in her self-training.

Since that was how she’d killed two people when a bunch of boys had ganged up on her after the trials.

It hadn’t been intentional. She’d lost control. Qifarihm had then taken her in - which Wanda thought was more to keep an eye on her than for her actually winning the competition - which kept her from ending up in prison. And he’d then given her meaningless jobs to perform, to prevent further magical outbursts, while simultaneously trying to convince her that she wasn’t up to the task of doing more.

And after five years of that, Wanda had wondered if jail might have been preferable.

“Or that’s, you know, the vibe I got,” Chartreuse noted. “Her entries became less frequent, and she seemed to be trying to, like, generalize. To figure out how to make people believe in the ability of ALL females to do powerful magic.”

“She didn’t want anyone else to have to go through a history like hers.”

“Essentially.” And then one day, out in the woods, she’d found the artifact. A book. A book that made wishes come true.

“What, you write something in this book and it becomes reality?” Azure asked.

“Probably?” Chartreuse mused. “Except you can’t, like, erase the wish after it’s written. It wasn’t really clear. Maybe Wanda was, you know, losing her grip on reality too. She wrote hardly anything in the journal after that discovery. The last entry was about her becoming, like, Royal Wizard.”

“Huh.” Azure looked towards the castle. “So that’s who I’m up against.”

“Who WE’RE up against.”

“Your magic plan has me in a starring role.”

“I wish it didn’t.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence!”

“You know what I mean,” Chartreuse snapped. She winced at her tone. “Sorry. I’m just worried. Though, I got the vibe that Simon has, like, another possibility, but he didn’t want to say it through Alice. So the first thing we have to do is reunite with him.”

“Meaning NOW we storm the castle?”

“Yeah. Kinda. Put on your cowl and, you know, follow me.” They hadn’t wanted to waste Alice’s power reserves sending in new clothing for Azure; the robe Chartreuse had found in Pelinelneth’s closet helped to hide not only Azure’s outfit, but also her outward appearance.

Chartreuse stepped out of the alleyway. She walked purposefully up to the guards on duty, not attempting to disguise her approach, and only glancing back once to make sure Azure was still following. One of the guards levelled a sword at her as she approached, the other one stepping back, presumably so that he might call for backup.

“Hi!” Chartreuse said brightly. “I’m a mystical girl from a foreign land, come to fix your wishing problem. Can I please speak with your, you know, King?”

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WISH FULFILMENT, PART TWELVE: Reversal

“Splitting the party has to be one of the stupidest ideas you’ve ever had.”

“Glad you’re, you know, feeling better.”

Chartreuse sounded tired. Azure frowned. She didn’t sit up again though - that had hurt. Instead, the blue haired girl decided to stop ragging on her sister and actually take stock of what had been happening around them lately. This was surprisingly harder to do than she’d initially anticipated, so she decided to return to her first really solid memories.

She had survived her first year of high school. Yay. It was now - or had been - summer vacation. The Vermilion family hadn’t been called upon to do any summer missions, and to her delight, her parents hadn’t insisted on doing any family bonding exercises in July either. Well, they hadn’t yet.

Then, that afternoon, Chartreuse had phoned for advice about seeing the past. Then, someone named Alice had phoned, saying that Chartreuse was in trouble. Although she’d wondered if it was a prank call, Azure had answered truthfully - she would help her sister, if she was seriously the only one who could.

She’d then found herself in a cylindrical room, feeling dizzy.

“You’ll need to break her out of a spell,” came a woman’s voice. Azure recognized the sound as being ‘Alice’ from the phone, and tracked the noise to a pair of legs sticking out from an open computer panel against the side wall. Alice was wearing jeans and running shoes.

“Who?” Azure wondered, dazedly. She took a step, but nearly fell over, so decided to just stand there and regain her equilibrium.

“Chartreuse. And Simon,” the legs explained. “I’m modifying this up to ‘port you in next to them. I think. Yeah, this should work. But! It means I won’t have the power to do much afterwards. So don’t expect any more backup for a while.”

“Backup?”

“Can’t back up, only moving forwards,” Alice countered, finally shoving herself out from underneath the bank of computers. She was a brunette. She stood and hit enter on a keyboard. There was a rumble, the room began to vibrate somehow, and moments later a chevron lit up on the floor. There was a huge ring device there, which Azure hadn’t noticed.

“Wait, what spell?”

“Beats me,” Alice said. “Tenuous mental connection. But breaking it should be obvious. Just be FAST, I don’t know how much time you’ll have.” She walked over and held out some sort of watch device.

A second chevron lit up, then a third. Azure narrowed her eyes. “Did our mom put you up to this?”

Alice’s smile was quirky. “No, Luke. I am not your mother.”

Things got much more jumbled after that. Azure remembered going through the portal, seeing a surprised elf girl, saving her sister and some older guy, seeing a magical pony, learning about a dangerous witch, activating her magic, and nearly throwing up in a corridor. Her stomach gurgled a bit at that last memory.

Except she wasn’t in a corridor now, she was in a bed.

A bed in what had looked like a kitchen. Though Azure granted that she might have misinterpreted the scene when she’d decided to sit up. In fact the only thing about the room that she’d been sure of, is that Chartreuse had been the only other person there. Yet when she’d asked about the other guy, Simon, her sister had said they’d left him behind in the castle.

Seriously, when you’re up against a hostile witch, why would you split the party?

Having decided that this was as much as she’d get from her memories, Azure spoke up again. “How long have I NOT been feeling better?”

“Three days.”

Azure sat bolt upright at that, ignoring the pangs in her temples. “Three DAYS?”

“It’s my fault,” Chartreuse said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

Azure squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again. Okay, they weren’t quite in a kitchen, it was more like an all purpose room of some sort. In, seemingly, a basement. “Don’t be sorry, be… explainy,” Azure requested.

Chartreuse let out a breath, standing up from her chair. “When I first came to this world, it, like, took me a full day to align my aura to… you know, wherever this is. I didn’t try major crystal divinations in that time.” She began to pace, not meeting her sister’s gaze. “Yet within moments of arriving, you had to, like, disrupt powerful magic, then create an image to allow us to hide from Wanda. Your body couldn’t take it.” She sniffled. “I should have realized. I’m–”

“If you say sorry, I WILL slap you,” Azure cut in. She hated when Chartreuse got upset. Not only was it out of character for the older girl, it meant that Azure couldn’t simply snipe at her without feeling guilty. “You’re not psychic, only semi-clairvoyant.”

“Which wasn’t good enough. It’s, you know, why you had to be brought here.”

Azure grabbed her pillow and heaved it at her sister. She smiled as it scored a direct hit on the back of Chartreuse’s head, forcing the other girl to look at her. “Stop it! Explainy. Here is where?”

“I don’t really know. Like, an alternate Earth?”

Azure rolled her eyes. She’d presumed as much. “Here this ROOM is where?”

“Oh. Pelinelneth’s place in town. Didn’t seem like she’d be, you know, using it.”

“P-line-L-nith?”

“Elf girl. Wanda’s imaginary friend, made real by a wish. Shot at Simon with an arrow.”

“Right.” Azure thought back over the last few remarks. It helped that her headache was disappearing. “You said you were on this Earth for a full day to align your aura? But I saw you this morning. That is, the same morning you and Alice phoned me.”

Chartreuse picked up the pillow from the floor and came back to sit in the chair. “Possibly time passes here at a different, you know, rate? All I know is Alice initially told me that I could be back home in time for, like, supper.”

Azure mused again. She decided to be blunt. “If Alice knew you’d need time to adjust, she’d have known it for me. In fact, she told me I’d have to be fast, and in retrospect, I don’t think she said it because of Peleline– Pelnino– the elf’s immobilization field.” She crossed her arms. “I don’t trust this Alice. How long have you known her?”

“Not long. Only since I was, you know, first brought here.”

“THAT’S reassuring.”

“She needed help! Our family provides help! Besides, Alice’s, you know, aura seemed a lot better than some of the guys from the Canadian government we’ve dealt with in the past.” She sighed. “Anyway, moot point. We’re here now, and we need Alice’s help to communicate back with Simon.”

“Oh yeah. Remind me why leaving him behind was a good idea?”

“You needed to be cared for. I didn’t, like, think that would be possible in the castle. But we, you know, needed to keep someone on the inside, since we’ll have to get back in. To get the evil artifact away from Wanda.”

“Evil artifact. Check. Did we get an artifact too? Is this like high stakes ‘Capture the Flag’?”

To Azure’s relief, Chartreuse half smiled. “No.”

“Too bad.” The younger Vermilion swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “So what’s happened the last three days?”

“I’ve, like, read through Wanda’s journal.”

“And?”

“Been very, um, unsettled.”

“You’ve done nothing else??”

“I’ve cared for you. I’ve cooked badly.”

Azure made a dismissive gesture. “No news there. What about from this Simon, what have you heard?”

Chartreuse hesitated. “That’s where things get a bit more, you know, interesting.”

In fleeing from the Wizard’s Sanctuary, Simon recalled that, in the dungeon, three cell doors had been closed - and he’d only investigated the cell with Chartreuse. Whatever the other two cells were being used for, they’d probably make for a good hiding place. After all, he still had the keys to get into them, and it was probably the last place Wanda would look.

Once he’d found his way to the dungeon through conventional corridors, he’d discovered that the first locked room was a storage area of some sort. There were some sacks of flour and other foods - as well as a few bladed weapons. He wondered whether it was smart keeping a small armoury so close to actual prisoners. Then he remembered that Wanda had been removing weapons from the town, so maybe some guards were concealing the items down here. It made him feel better about his choice of hiding places.

The second room contained a person.

It caught Simon by surprise, as with all the noise they’d made in their earlier jailbreak, he’d have thought any other prisoners would have spoken up. But when he swung open the door, there she was, curled up in the corner. Her head rested against the wall, knees drawn in to her chest. Her long, dirty blonde hair was tangled about her shoulders, and she was wearing a faded dress. She seemed to be about his age, maybe older.

She looked up at him with blue eyes. For some reason, she seemed vaguely familiar. “You’re not the usual guard,” she murmured.

“I’m… not a guard,” was all Simon could think to say.

“You look like a guard.”

Simon looked down at his outfit, which definitely did not look like an official uniform - allowing him to spot the card that Azure had pinned onto his chest. The one that had the word ‘Guard’ scribbled onto it.

“Wait, no you don’t. Who are you?” She slightly uncurled. Simon made a mental note to not allow anyone to get more than a brief look at him.

“I’m the nephew of a guard,” Simon hedged, trying to figure out why she seemed familiar. “Who are you?”

She blinked back at him. “Iklius,” she answered. She curled back up. “Or call me Ikky, like the others. I don’t care any more.”

Simon felt like a hand was simultaneously squeezing at his heart while punching him in the gut. For a moment, he couldn’t move. Because her features were JUST similar enough for it to be true. For this to be the same boy who had tried to tear at his clothing, and later punch him in the face. When he’d been in Wanda’s spell. When he’d been a girl. Now Iklius was the girl - woman - while he was the man. Simon frowned. Gender was confusing.

“I… I’ve heard of you,” Simon managed. “Wanda turned you into a woman?”

“I turned MYSELF into one,” Ikky said bitterly. “A few months ago, when I wished I could understand Wanda better. It was supposed to show me how I could come after her, to avenge my friends! Not turn me into this!”

“Oh,” Simon said. His lips pursed. He couldn’t resist asking, “Do you at least understand Wanda better?”

“I’m just glad I can’t be put in the same cell as that Qifarihm any more! And if you’re here asking about his escape, I don’t know anything!”

“I’m not here about his escape. He’s a statue now anyway.”

“Oh. Well good,” Ikky said. There was a pause. “So why ARE you here? You do sound kind of familiar.”

“Just checking on you,” Simon said. And he’d closed the cell door again.

“He left her in JAIL?” Azure said, aghast. “Okay, I don’t think I trust your Simon either.”

“First, he’s not my Simon,” Chartreuse said in mild irritation. “Second, it’s not that simple. You don’t, like, know what this woman did when she was a man - I do. I’ve read the journal. And we promised Pelinelneth that we’d minimize Wanda’s suffering, so, like, releasing someone who’s got a vendetta against her didn’t seem wise.” She paused. “Particularly given how badly that went the first time.”

Well, Azure thought, the final remark saved her from bringing up whatever had happened with Qifarihm. So she decided to drop it. For now. “Has Simon passed on any other info through Alice?”

“He’s mapped out the castle a little better,” Chartreuse said. “And he has a sense of when Wanda’s got, you know, duties and stuff. We think our next step is–"

She didn’t get a chance to complete her thought, because there was the sound of a door being smashed open. Almost immediately there were footsteps, and a boy came into view, running down the stairs. He was a dark haired teenager, and as he saw Azure and her sister, he levelled a crossbow across the room at them. “All right!” he shouted. “You’re going to tell me what you’ve done to Pelinelneth, or my name’s not Joey Frankson!”

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WISH FULFILMENT, PART TEN: Magical Girl

“Okay, this is not, like, an encyclopedia,” Chartreuse said, shaking the journal at Simone. “I can’t simply look up ‘escape from spells’.” She paused. “Though that would be handy.”

Simone turned away from the wall. The wizard crossed her arms over her chest - though in making the movement, she ended up looking down, apparently still adjusting to her new female form. “We have to get out somehow. Do you really think we have the capability to play out Wanda’s history?”

“Maybe?” Chartreuse offered. Simone glared. The teenage elf-girl slumped a little. “Maybe not. It did look like Wanda was gaining control over fire. No clue how we’d, you know, fake that.” She opened the journal up again, running her finger down the handwritten pages.

“See if Wanda had to break a spell herself at some point,” Simone suggested. “Then we can duplicate it.” She began to pace a few steps, forward and back, at the T-junction of the castle corridor. Chartreuse turned a little to keep from getting distracted by the movement. She quickly confirmed that the start of the journal was only basic magical information which Wanda had recorded, and flipped further ahead. In doing so, she realized that the book had a tendency to want to open towards a certain area of pages about three quarters of the way through.

Which is where she’d first started reading, upon picking the journal up. And she remembered having seen Qifarihm’s name. On a hunch, she checked the corners of the pages there, and saw that one of them was dog eared. More, there was a star after one of the paragraphs. She began to read in earnest.

“You seem excited,” Simone observed. “What have you got?”

“It’s BELIEF,” Chartreuse stated. She began to read aloud. “Today, Qifarihm told me that a large part of why magic works is the belief that it can. Actual truth must be more than that, since not everyone can perform magic, while it can work on non-believers. Yet I think this is why wizardry is a male dominated profession - they don’t believe women can do it as well, which helps that belief to become reality. Meaning all I need to do is change their wizardly beliefs. The same way I changed the beliefs of those boys I burned when they –"

Chartreuse stopped reading aloud. Her stomach wrenched a little, and she snapped the spine of the journal shut. Simone raised a questioning eyebrow. “Dare I ask?”

“No,” Chartreuse said, drawing a quick breath. “You don’t. Suffice to say, I’m not sure if I’m on side with Wanda any more. I, like, REALLY hope she already had the evil artifact by then.”

“Oh kay,” Simone said slowly. “So, do we simply need to ‘believe’ we’re not under a spell? Because I’m now believing I’m a man again, but I’m not feeling it.”

“There must be, you know, limits.” Chartreuse bit down on her lower lip. Then she reached out to shove Simone, her hand merely passing through her companion’s shoulder. So she lifted her foot, preparing to give the other girl a kick.

Simone back-pedalled. “Okay, whoa, what?”

“I, like, didn’t think my hands could affect anyone,” she explained. “But when I believed my feet could, I got to go Wizard kicking.” She hopped forwards and tapped at Simone with the sole of her boot. Successfully.

“Huh. Interesting.” Simone frowned, as she stared at Chartreuse’s foot. “So to what extent is this reality defined by Wanda, and to what extent are we defining it?”

“Dunno. Might explain why I kept the journal coming in. I believed I could, and nothing, you know, prevented that belief. Maybe you should have believed that you still had all our gear.” She nearly lost her balance then, so returned both feet to the ground.

“Okay, let’s extrapolate,” Simone mused. “Anything Wanda can’t account for COULD be used to get us out. Like the journal. Or, um, technology.” She made a face. “Too bad my friend Keith didn’t come along with us.”

“Why? Is he some crazy techno mad scientist?” Chartreuse wondered.

Simone shook her head. “Not as such, but he doesn’t share my opinions, and would probably have an app for this.” Her eyes brightened, and she pointed at Chartreuse’s wrist. “Oh! We don’t need him, you’re still wearing your watch! We can talk to Alice!”

Chartreuse blinked in surprise, and pulled back the sleeve of her top. “You’re right! How did you know?”

“I believed,” Simone said, with a smirk.

Chartreuse paused, briefly wondering if she’d really had the watch all along - but she quickly decided such thoughts would only get them in trouble. She punched in the necessary code to activate it. “Alice! Chartreuse to Alice!” she called out.

Seconds ticked by. When she’d used the device last time, to contact her sister Azure, it had taken close to a minute before Alice had responded. So this time, she waited patiently rather than immediately trying twice more. But she only had so much patience. “Hellooo? Alice? Alison?”

“The device may not work in the spell,” Simone yielded. She began to pace again. “I’ll try to think of something else. Take another look back at Wanda’s earlier stuff.”

Chartreuse reopened the book closer to the middle, and began scanning anew. This section seemed closer in time frame to where they were now - Wanda was talking about having been chosen as the new Apprentice. How she was going to have to work even harder now, in order to counter the prejudices of those around her. Of people like…

“What the hell did you do to the Wizard panel?!”

Simone turned, spotting the boy who had been scheduled after her. The one who had pinched her bottom. He was striding purposefully down the corridor. Simone raised her hands defensively. “I did magic?”

Upon reaching her, he shoved her back into the wall, resting his hands on her shoulders to keep her there. “They sounded almost BORED by my act,” he accused. “Me! Iklius, wizard extraordinaire! So I ask again. What. Did. You. Do?”

“Get. Your. Hands. Off,” Simone countered.

“The delusional elf talk, was that all an act? I bet you’d already paid off the Wizards, so this whole trial didn’t matter! That’s why you ran off, so as to not betray yourself to us afterwards, huh?”

“That’s crazy.”

“You’re not going to get away with this.” Iklius paused, then shifted his gaze down from Simone’s face. “Unless you make it worth my while not to stir up trouble.”

Simone frowned. “That’s crazy AND disgusting.”

With a snarl, Iklius reached up to tear at Simone’s blouse. Yet with his hand having moved off her shoulder, she managed to block him with her arm, while lashing out a kick at his legs. Iklius jumped back, she twisted to duck under his arm, and she ran. He shoved her from behind, and she went sprawling. “Chartreuse!” Simone gasped out, spinning her body so that she was face up.

Iklius cracked his knuckles, then took a step closer - then jerked to the side, off Chartreuse’s kick at his hip. “The hell?” he said, turning to look at the empty space. The pink haired elf girl took the opportunity to move around to the front and plant her boot into his midsection. He stumbled back with a wheeze. Simone scrambled to her feet.

“We’re running,” Chartreuse said, turning to look at Simone. For some reason, she looked scared.

“He can’t hurt you,” Simone reminded.

Chartreuse held up the journal, as if it was enough explanation. “Run,” she said, like it was the most important thing ever.

Simone ran. But as soon as she turned the nearest corner, she suddenly found herself out in a courtyard. She blinked at the sunlight, though the sun almost immediately retreated behind a cloud. Turning around, Simone saw no passage - she was in town. The nearby fountain looked familiar, though here it didn’t contain the statue of a naiad. The castle wall loomed behind a number of buildings.

“Oh no,” Chartreuse breathed. “Her spell brought us here anyway.”

“Where?” Simone said in frustration. She realized belatedly that she was wearing a different outfit now, still in a dark shirt, but now with a pair of trousers.

“Wanda’s, like, major life event,” Chartreuse said. “I read it while you were fighting. The earlier stuff was only context. We need to get out of here!”

“Why?”

“Because…" Chartreuse stopped, as a group of six boys stepped out of a nearby building. “Them.”

Simone recognized one of them as Iklius, and another two as wizard hopefuls who had been in the waiting room. “So you came,” one of them said, his face carefully neutral. The boys began to fan out. “Well, we’re not letting you get away with this.”

Simone spread her arms out to the sides. “Guys! I didn’t rig the Wizard trial!” She glanced sidelong at Chartreuse, muttering out of the corner of her mouth, “…did Wanda?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Chartreuse said quietly. “Wanda’s going to attack them here. With fire. It won’t end well.”

“I don’t have fire!” Simone hissed.

“Oh, right!” Chartreuse frowned. “I’m not sure if that, like, makes it better or worse.”

The boys had now encircled the two of them, Simone in the middle. They stood a little ways beyond arm’s reach. “So what do we do?” Simone murmured.

“We finish this,” Iklius answered.

“I don’t know,” Chartreuse said at the same time. “I only know…” She stopped, snapping her head to the side. “Yes, I hear you!!”

“Can you hear me now?”

It was Alice’s voice. Wonderful, magical Alice. Chartreuse snapped her head to the side. “Yes, I hear you!!”

“Hear who?” Simone asked, looking around.

“Alice,” Chartreuse explained, even as Iklius stated, “Acting insane won’t save you, girlie.”

“Good!” came Alice’s voice again. The bright and cheery sound was totally at odds with the atmosphere around them. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try… try try try try again.”

“We, like, need to break out of a spell! Pronto!” Chartreuse shouted at the sky.

“Ah! That would explain why you’re unconscious,” Alice mused. “As it is, I’ve had to attune myself to your alpha waves - say, have you ever seen that movie Frequency? Where the guy in the future can talk to the guy in the past using the same ham radio? Because this isn’t really like that, but it was a pretty cool movie…"

“I can’t hear her!” Simone said. “What should I do?”

“Don’t fight back,” one boy advised, as he thrust both his hands out.

“Believe in… something!” Chartreuse suggested. She looked back at the sky. If only Carrie were here with them, her girlfriend might have been able to stop time. “Alice! Alice, we need you to come down to the Wizard’s Sanctuary and, like, physically pull some cards off our heads!”

“I can’t leave the station,” Alice countered. “You MAY recall this is why I recruited the both of you? What is even going on??”

“If we fight, they’re dead, if we don’t, we’re dead, we, you know, need an abort option! PLEASE!”

She heard Alice sigh. “Fine. Please hold, your call is important to us.”

“Hold? Hold what??”

“It didn’t have to be this way,” another of the boys remarked. Chartreuse looked back at Simone. She realized that the guy with his arms out had to be using some sort of holding magic, as Simone couldn’t seem to move her feet. She HAD managed to pull a card out of her pouch, but she didn’t seem to be sure what to do with it.

“You could have left town. Instead you came here,“ agreed the guy with outstretched arms.

“Where else was I supposed to go?” Simone challenged.

“Away,” Iklius said. “Because I hate the fact that I’m going to have to punch a girl. Kinda.” He pulled his fist back. Chartreuse lifted her foot to kick. Simone reached back into her pouch and pulled out a small key.

“This key, which hides powers of the dark, show your true form before me! I, Simone, command you! Release!” A glowing pink circle exploded into view on the ground around her, and as the boys looked on with a mixture of shock and confusion, the key expanded out into the form of a staff. Simone grabbed it with one hand, tossing her card up into the air with the other. “Fly card! Release and dispel!”

Twirling her staff, Simone brought it down onto the card. Wind swirled around, the card vanished, wings sprouted off the end of the staff… and the female wizard was pulled airborne. The gazes of the males tracked up, and it occurred to Chartreuse that not wearing a skirt here had been a good plan.

“WHAT just happened?!” one of the boys demanded.

“Oh, I’ve seen this one!” Chartreuse breathed. “It’s… um…"

“Magical girl anime,” Simone admitted, as she floated in the air, out of reach. “I do believe in the characters. And it occurs to me that Wanda’s spell could not have anticipated this.”

“Whatever, girlie,” Iklius snorted. “You have to come down eventually, and when you do…"

Simone disappeared. Chartreuse barely had time to register the event, before she felt the scene around her snap out of existence. She gasped at the person she was now staring at.

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VOTING WILL CLOSE TUESDAY FEB 17 EST

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NUMBERS GAME, PART TWELVE: CHOOSE YOUR PATH

Alison took a step closer to Alice, so that they were nose to nose. “Listen Alice, Alison, or whatever your name is…"

“You can still call me Alice.”

“We are NOT going ANYWHERE until you explain to our satisfaction WHAT this project is, WHAT you propose to do with Lissa, HOW–"

“Alison,” Para murmured, reaching out to tap the brunette on the shoulder.

“WHAT?!”

Para shrank back momentarily as Alison spun to face her instead. But she held her ground. “It’s just, even if this Epsilon Project is a shadowy group controlling everyone behind the scenes, I don’t think that’s Alice’s fault…" She looked to the other woman. “Is it?”

“Not in the strictest sense, no,” Alice answered. “I simply do what God tells me.”

“God?” Mason said, arcing an eyebrow.

“Well, since I’ve never met her, I think of her as God,” Alice answered with a smile. “She rescued me from a Hell Dimension and all.”

Alison pursed her lips. “I think I need to sit down,” she decided, rubbing at the bridge of her nose.

Alice gestured to the side of the room, where chairs were arranged about a small table. “We can all sit for a quick Q and A, if it will make you feel better?”

After a moment of hesitation, Alison nodded and went to sit, the others trailing after her. “Are we in Heaven then?” Para mused as she sat.

“No,” Alice answered. The side of her mouth twitched. “Or I don’t think so.”

“So WHERE…" Alison paused, to rein in her irritation. “So where are we?”

Alice leaned forwards, clasping her hands together. “The Hub. A self-regulating station, tracking right and wrong, located in neutral territory. A place of projects of deep mystery, for an unspecified number of humans and aliens. A shining beacon in space-time… all alone in the night.” She paused. “So, Purgatory maybe?”

“You mentioned different dimensions,” Mason reminded.

Alice nodded. “There’s the one you and Alison come from, and Para’s, and the one you were all just in, and a multitude of others. I mean, you could have a world with no shrimp, or with nothing but shrimp!”

“Then which world are we in now?” Para asked, growing confused.

Alice’s nose crinkled up. “You got me there. I’m not entirely sure. All of them. None of them. Does it matter?”

“Well, yes!” Alison shot back. “I mean, are you floating overhead, tracking everybody, planning to abduct any one of us again at a moment’s notice??”

“Yes.”

Alison visibly flinched. “Words cannot even describe the levels of creepiness which you have attained by uttering that one single word.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. You could always tell us to go to Hell, or whatever your equivalent is, and refuse to help with the problems we find,” Alice amended. “But our tracking software pinpointed you not merely because of your skill set. It also told us that statistically, you were the individuals who would be the least likely to turn us down. So, are you in?”

Alison looked to Mason and Para, her eyes widening. “Please tell me that the more she talks, the more she’s creeping you out too. That this is not all mere paranoia on my part.”

“It’s… troubling,” Mason admitted. “But at the same time, Alice, your system isn’t infallible. That letter we received said there were to be two of us. Somehow you got that wrong.”

Alice beamed at Mason. “You ARE good at the details, huh? Yes, we had everything set up to summon you, and then snare Alison from the same dimension through the wake of your TARDIS - only to discover the possible Lissa Jous connection. So my superiors-“ (Alice pointed up at the ceiling) “-roped in Para as well. And, go figure, she arrived first.”

“But then why didn’t you just talk to us then?” Para protested, shaking her head. “Why such limited information at the beginning?”

“I’ll point out that you took off before I could come here to explain,” Alice reminded. “But besides that, we didn’t know for sure that Lissa was involved. We didn’t know if you would go along with us once you knew how we’d tracked you down. We didn’t know if you would be willing to help a world that was not your own. We weren’t even a hundred percent sure of the Big Ben landing site. We’re not omniscient here. Or at least, I’m not,” Alice amended. “I can’t speak for God.”

“There you go invoking religion again,” Alison said, frowning. “Who is this God?”

“She’s…" Alice smiled and shook her head. “On second thought, I won’t tell you everything. Or you might not come back.”

“We’re not coming back either way!” Alison said angrily, rising to her feet. “Or at least, I’m not,” she amended, glancing again to Mason and Para. “I can’t speak for them.”

“You’re not returning? Not even if doing so becomes the only way to save one of their lives?”

Alison’s gaze whiplashed back to Alice. “Is that a THREAT?”

Alice shook her head, continuing to sit calmly. “Not at all. But everyday life isn’t safe. Just ask Para about Sine.” The parabola flinched. “So, Alison, what if one day your hacking skills become the difference between life and death? Would you help us then?”

Alison’s hands balled into fists. “That’s not a fair question.”

“It goes both ways. While you’re working for us, if we discover your everyday life is in danger, we’d make an effort to save you too.”

“My life is always in danger! Even ignoring the Biochemical company, and the chances that I could accidentally teleport myself into a wall, my depression could simply consume me one day and cause me to kill myself!”

“I’m sure we can recruit a good psychiatrist or psychologist to help you.”

Alison glared. “You don’t get it. At all.” She looked to Mason. “You explain. I’m out. I’m done.” She began to stalk across the room, towards the only obvious point of exit, the door opening to a walled off area within the cylindrical room.

“Alison!” Para called out, jumping to her feet and running after the other woman.

Mason half turned in his chair to watch them go, then turned back to Alice. “It really wasn’t a fair question. Alison has legitimate concerns regarding people in positions of power who are after her. Saying that the only way for her and her friends to be safe… is to give herself over to some Project that has even MORE power? It’s not a choice she should have to make.”

“True. But making the hard choices is something we all have to do at some point in our lives. Don’t you agree, Chief?”

Mason narrowed his eyes slightly at the use of his former name. He slowly shook his head. “You have the data. And your goals, I think, are noble. But that doesn’t make what you’re doing here right.”

“The right choice isn’t necessarily the most popular one,” Alice countered.

“So you’ve been told,” Mason retorted. “Tell me, the idea that you’re only following your God’s orders - is that what makes it easier for you to sleep at night?”

Alice’s expression morphed into one of surprise, then quiet sadness. “What helps me to sleep is the knowledge that I’m giving something back to the multiverse. And that I’m not in a Hell dimension.” She stood. “You know what? You and your group saved the Roman Numerals of an entire world. Let’s celebrate that, rather than dwell on the circumstances.”

She then interlaced her fingers and extended her palms out in a stretch, smiling again. “Speaking of which, are you going to let me see Lissa Jous already? Because we really don’t know how she managed a dimensional jump, or where that Phillip guy ended up. And we still want to set that right, don’t we?”

Para found Alison in the small, darkened storeroom, sitting on the floor next to a cylindrical container. She was hugging her knees. Not sure exactly how to help, Para crouched down and adopted a similar position. Alison glanced over. Para smiled uncertainly, and her bunny ears twitched. Alison shook her head, smiling ruefully. “You are so not-human and yet near-human that I don’t even know how to react, Miss Sexy Cute.”

“Para,” the blonde said quietly.

“Para. Sorry,” Alison apologized, looking back at her feet.

“You can call me whatever makes you feel more comfortable!” Para hastened to add. “Just… yeah. I thought we’d started using proper names and such.”

“We had. Are. Should be. You know what? Call me Alijda. I think I’ve missed that.”

“Sure, Alijda.”

They both sat in silence.

“I can’t justify joining this Project to save you,” Alison said at last. “Or Mason, or even Erika back home. But at the same time, if I cut out, I’m not sure if I could live with myself, knowing my leaving may lead to your death. It puts me between a rock and a hard place, where the only viable alternative becomes killing myself-“ (Para let out a gasp) “-but I’m not willing to give in to that side of myself. Not yet. Not over this.”

“I can handle myself,” Para pointed out. “I don’t need you to save me. This Alice, she’s dealing in hypotheticals.”

Again, a short silence. “So would you think less of me if I cut and run from all of this?” Alison asked. “Potentially leaving you and Mason in the lurch?”

Para slowly shook her head. “I’d understand.”

“Because here’s the other thing. This Project is RIGHT. Statistically speaking, I should do this. I’ve spent most of my adult life looking back over my shoulder, wondering when my misdeeds and twisted sense of reality will catch up with me. But finally, I’ve got a corporation - or maybe religious cult - who is not only willing to protect me, but who are trying to do GOOD, if in a bad way. And is their data mining really any worse than all the hacking I’ve done, looking into people’s lives?” Alison let out a bitter laugh. “Hell, I’ve probably broken more laws than this group!”

“Laws are relative to who’s making them, Alijda,” Para pointed out. “Lots of human governments do terrible things without breaking any laws.”

“Hum. Valid.” Alison lapsed into silence again. Then she stretched her legs back out. “Para… if I join them, saying my ultimate goal is to take their whole network down, do you still think they’d want to recruit me?”

The blonde shrugged. “Seems like what they’re looking for is, for lack of a better term, field operatives. I’m not sure what harm you could do to them if you’re never around this Hub place.”

Alison turned. “Might be interesting to find out.”

“Then you’re pulling a Skye,” Alice said. “That’s fine. We operate on a ‘Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You’ basis anyway.”

Alison stared back at Alice for a moment. “Okay - you realize that what you say means nothing without context, right?”

Alice blinked. “Do you not have the ‘Agents of SHIELD’ show in your reality? Skye - not her real name - joined a team but had her own agenda.”

Alison sighed, pressing two fingers to her temple. “Whatever. If that means we’re done here, let’s move on.” She looked towards Mason, now standing with Lissa Jous, who was still in handcuffs. Lissa was again keeping quiet, looking about warily while scowling. “Is the Lissa issue resolved yet? Is Phil back, and is Lissa going to prison?”

“Alice took some scans,” Mason remarked. “She thinks the technology exists to restore Phil. I plan to stay until she does so. In particular, upon Phil’s return, I rather hope he won’t be too upset by the fact that all the clocks that are supposed to read IV have returned to doing so.” He glanced to the pink haired woman. “With that done, we’ll see about restoring Lissa to her own dimension.”

Lissa let out a “Humph”, but otherwise made a point of ignoring them.

Mason turned back, stroking his beard. “As to this place - I’m not the sort of person to interfere. But it’s hard to turn down a distress call. So it could get interesting.”

“While I was kinda MADE to be helpful,” Para remarked. “Particularly where numbers are involved. So… yeah. We might see each other again. Alijda.”

“That might be nice. Para,” Alison admitted, with a half smile. She looked to Alice. “Okay, I’m done here. Get me home before I change my mind.”

Alice beamed. “Easiest thing to do is dial up the coordinates from where we took you. Which was actually your house, in the instant after you teleported. But it would be better to do it with our whirlpool. You okay with that?”

“Maybe?” Alison said warily.

Alice strolled back to one of the computers. She pulled up a virtual keyboard, tapping at it. “Dialling now!” she remarked. A rumbling noise began, and the whole room started to subtly vibrate. After a few seconds of this, a light on the floor suddenly switched on. Looking over, Alison realized that the light was located within one of nine different chevrons. All of them equally spaced around a large ring device, embedded in the middle of the room. The ring itself was large enough to accommodate a small car.

A second chevron illuminated next to the first. Alison’s eyebrows shot up. “Okay, I have seen SOME science fiction shows. Surely you CAN’T mean…”

“Same planet. Different dimension. We’ve found the gateway,” Alice chirped. “Wrong show, but you get the idea.”

A third chevron illuminated. “I’m headed over the rainbow,” Alison concluded dryly.

-END?-

WHICH CHARACTER WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO SEE AGAIN?

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Voting will… probably remain open, actually. Votes for the next story and character set will occur in a week.

NUMBERS GAME, PART ELEVEN: TOUR DE FORCE

Para had never thought that she, a personified parabola, would one day be equated with a twenty something human male. But then she, Alison, and Mason hadn’t really thought through the finer details of their plan to capture The Denominator.

The tour for Big Ben had started at 4pm that afternoon, on the ground floor. There were 334 steps to climb, which were done in stages, the guide providing information along the way. The tour group would arrive at the top with time to hear the big bell chime, hence Alison originally figuring she had an hour, from 4 to near 5pm, to track down necessary information in their present. After all, The Denominator had appeared near the top of the tower in the past, so he had to have left from there, spatially speaking.

So when the group returned to that present, it was right after Big Ben rang to signify 5pm. Mason had assumed that Phillip’s untimely disappearance would have caused the tour to descend early. He was incorrect.

This meant that several people in the Elizabeth Tower were witness to the appearance of a SmartCar, as the chiming of the bells ended. They then saw two security guards emerge from inside of it, along with Para, in her usual garb of a bunny girl. Both groups stared at each other for a moment.

“Okay!” Alison declared. “Mason, I leave this to you.” She immediately hurried off.

“Wait! What’s happening here?” the tour guide demanded.

“Reality warp,” Mason answered, speaking with authority. “I’ll have to ask you all to move into that corner of the room until we can get this sorted out.”

The tour guide shook his head in response. “No - we need to clear the area. Someone’s gone missing, and a security sweep is necessary.”

“I’m security. I’m performing the sweep. Also, your missing person is right here. The reality warp transformed him into this blonde woman with bunny ears,” Mason countered. Para’s eyebrows went up. “So unless the rest of you want to be similarly transformed, please do as I say.” For emphasis, he reached into his pocket, pulling out his Bardiche. He tapped at it, and a band of blue light emerged from the swiss-army like device, a light which he began to train around the room.

There was another pause. “What if I’m okay with becoming a buxom blonde?” one of the people on the tour asked.

“Let’s get in the corner!” Para declared. Waving her hands, she tried to gently shoo everyone back to where Mason had indicated. There were skeptical looks, but with a shuffling of feet, they all complied, even the tour guide. Perhaps it was to get away from Mason, who continued to train his light beam around the area.

After about two minutes of this, Mason abruptly let out a “Ha!” and moved closer to the gated off mechanisms of the clock. He fiddled with his Bardiche again, the light switching off, the device now giving off a slight humming noise. He held it aloft, waving it in the air.

Para looked from Mason to the tour group, then back. “What–" she began, but before she could finish the thought, a small device flew through the air connecting to Mason’s Bardiche with a soft ‘clink’. Immediately thereafter, there was a sudden strange sensation - as if, for a fraction of a second, Para had been squashed back into two dimensions.

“Too late,” Mason sighed, demagnetizing his device and letting the flying object fall into his hands. Para realized it was Phillip’s reality-changing Alternator device. “But with this, I should be able to get everyone on the tour to forget about what’s presently going on - except I’ll need my Transformer back.” He looked to Para. “Here, take this to Alison. She can get the necessary readings off of it, if she hasn’t found The Denominator yet. Then bring her back.”

Para nodded, moving to grab the Alternator from Mason before heading off in the direction where Alison had vanished. As she departed, she heard the tour guide speaking up again, only to have Mason shush him.

Whereas the rewriting of reality had seemed to involve a squashing sensation, when Alison first activated the Transformer, she was overcome by a sensation of expansion. As if there were now a fourth dimension, putting her at right angles to herself. That curious effect also lasted less than a second, but it was enough to cause momentary disorientation. Fortunately, Lissa Jous seemed to be similarly affected, throwing off her attempt to knock Alison down.

The two women ended up staring at each other, an arm’s length away. Alison wondered how Lissa was even still there, given how reality had now - theoretically - been reset. Which is when she realized that indeed it HAD been Phil she’d been talking to, up until moments ago. When he’d been replaced. When his whole history had been replaced. Indeed, a part of her still believed that Lissa had been the one their group had been tracking for the last couple days! This reality altering technology was more powerful than she’d thought.

Lissa slowly shifted to an offensive stance, arms up, eyes cold. “I’m Lissa Jous. Former commander of the Bowditch. I know how to fight with nunchaku - and without. Teleport ability or not, you really think you’re capable of stopping me??”

“I don’t– wait, what’s that?” Alison countered, pointing behind Lissa.

Lissa smirked. “I’m not falling for–"

The Alternator executed a perfect parabolic arc in the air, smacking the pink haired woman in the back of the head. She stumbled forwards, turning to regard Para. Which allowed Alison the chance to lash out and smack Lissa upside the head with the Transformer. “Oh, bloody…" the pink haired woman managed to mumble before crumpling to the ground.

“I think we have to return to that ‘Hub’ place,” Mason concluded. “This is unsettlingly beyond me, and I still have their coordinates.”

Alison made a face. She didn’t like that option. It felt like admitting defeat, like they were putting their fate back into the hands of powerful, unknown people. Ones who were somehow pulling the strings. But if not even Mason knew how to restore Phillip to this reality, there wasn’t anything she could think of as an alternative.

After all, Alison reflected, the Time Lord had managed a lot already. He had been able to subtly alter the perceptions of those who had been in the Tower, to prevent any future investigation. (And when even the tour guide identified Lissa as being the missing person, not Phil, Alison knew they had a problem!) Mason had then parked his TARDIS back in the Jubilee Gardens, giving her time to cross reference external computer files with the ones in his ship, which apparently hadn’t been affected by the Alternator device. (It turned out Phillip’s identity was completely gone - all the files were for Lissa.) Mason had even worked out a way to undo the prior problem of that “Back to the Future” movie - apparently a trilogy - and restore that fictional clock to using an “IV” as well.

But restoring Phillip Denomolos was another story. They had handcuffed Lissa and locked her up in the wardrobe room. She wasn’t talking. And they had no idea how to uncouple her from the fabric of this world.

“The Epsilon Project obviously has more knowledge than us,” Para ventured, looking tentatively towards Alison, perhaps sensing her reluctance. “It may be the only way we can help.”

“Let me try talking to Lissa one more time,” Alison decided.

Mason shrugged. “I’ll start on some calculations, in case talk doesn’t work. I anticipate another rough ride, but maybe I can smooth it out a bit this time.”

Alison nodded, then marched for the door leading out of the control room. She heard Para trailing along after her.

The pink haired mathematical woman looked up as they entered. Lissa was stretched out on the ground, arms elevated, her hands cuffed around a piece of the wardrobe. Her expression was neutral. It looked like she’d tried to pull free, unsuccessfully.

“How do we fix this?” Alison demanded. “How do we send you back to where you came from?”

Seconds ticked by, and it seemed like Lissa still wasn’t inclined to say anything. Alison continued to try and stare her down. Lissa scowled. “Even assuming I knew, why would I tell you?” she said evenly.

“Because, if you hadn’t noticed, you’re on an alien ship. Maybe we have something you want. Maybe we can even work out a deal.”

Lissa sniffed haughtily. “Please. There’s only one thing I might be interested in knowing.” Her gaze shifted past Alison, to look at Para. “How did YOU get out?”

Para blinked, startled. “I- I don’t know. I was just here, with them.”

“PARA!” Alison almost shrieked, spinning on her heel. “That was our bargaining chip!!”

The bunny girl looked stricken. “Oh! I… I didn’t think, I just spoke…"

Alison resisted the urge to shake the blonde, or to go to the wall and slam her own forehead into it multiple times. Instead, she turned back to Lissa, who now simply lay there with a smug smile on her face.

“Fine,” Alison ventured. “At least answer me this. Did you actually love Phil? The same way he loved you? Because he apparently loved you enough to give up his own life, his own existence for you! Can you say the same?”

Lissa’s eyebrow arched. “Please. Even if we assume he was my Rory Williams, do I look like Amelia Pond?”

Alison stepped forwards and slapped Lissa. Lissa didn’t react, other than to slowly turn her head back to face her. Alison flexed her fingers. “You’re why a woman like me can’t have nice relationships.”

“Hmm. We both know that’s not true.”

Alison clenched her jaw. It was becoming a lot harder to resist that urge to slam her head - or Lissa’s - into a wall. She turned to Para. “Let’s get back to the Hub.”

The central control room for the station was big. And unlike the last time the TARDIS had materialized there, this time the computer banks had an operator. Alison stared at the apparent technician via Mason’s monitor long enough to register the long, brown hair, T-shirt, and jeans, before storming out to confront her.

“Answers. Now,” Alison demanded, reaching out to spin the other woman around by the shoulder.

Her adversary blinked back, and when she spoke, Alison recognized the voice of ‘Alice’ from their earlier computer communication. “What could I possibly tell you that you haven’t already figured out?” Alice asked politely.

Alison gaped. “How about what is this place? What was the deal with that Earth where I didn’t exist? Where Phil now ALSO doesn’t exist? Where personified math DOES exist? Can you teleport Lissa home, and Phil here? Hell, is it even me who’s supposed to be here, or were the ‘two’ you originally specified in your letter only Mason and Para?! SO. MANY. QUESTIONS.”

Alice frowned slightly, sliding a hand into her pocket as she contemplated Alison’s outburst. “Huh. Okay,” she decided after a beat. “I meant what could I possibly tell you about the Roman Numeral plot. Seeing as you’ve successfully repaired the damage and all.”

“Not all the damage,” Alison countered. “Reality’s still rewritten.”

Alice quirked an eyebrow up. “Um? Oh, Phil? Yeah,” Alice agreed. “We’re still trying to figure that one out. Did you bring Lissa back for analysis?”

“Even if we did, you’re not GETTING her until we get some answers!”

“Hum. Alice, is it?” came Mason’s voice. Alison glanced over to see him approaching, along with Para. He obviously hadn’t felt the same urgency about dashing out to catch the technician before she could escape. Though to be fair, Alison supposed that Alice wasn’t acting like she was in a hurry to go anywhere.

Alice turned and nodded slowly in response to Mason’s question.

“Or is your name actually Alison?” Mason continued. “Because I notice you bear some resemblance to OUR Alison, and when you first introduced yourself, you said to CALL you Alice… not that it was actually your name.”

Alice half smiled, glancing to her fellow brunette. “Ooh, he’s good. Or he’s very aware of how the two of us violate the One Steve Limit.”

Alison felt like she’d been punched in the gut. Yet again. “You… you don’t mean you’re really… me?!”

“Oh, nothing THAT dramatic,” Alice answered, waving her hands in a cancelling motion. “But consider. What if you could find brand new worlds, right there on Earth? Where anything is possible. Same planet, different dimension! And what if you, Alijda van Vliet, subconsciously tapped into one of those other dimensions when you were setting up your fake identity, hmmm?”

The technician returned her gaze to Mason. “It’s true, my name is Alison Vunderlande. Former secretary to Angel Investigations. Presently recruited to the Epsilon Project, the multiverse’s last, best place for hope.” She idly brushed off her jeans. “Now then, any final remarks before I send you back to your respective dimensions?”

WHAT’S LAST?

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VOTING WILL CLOSE EARLY TUESDAY NOV 18 EDT

THE NEXT PART WILL CONCLUDE “STORY 1: NUMBERS GAME” (Any lingering questions unaddressed at this point, place them in the comments!)

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