A/N – the following takes place shortly before the situation depicted in interludes 19C and 19D at Harrison Fredericks’ lab.
After everything we had been through inside the vault, we were all exhausted by the time we got out of Wonderland. With the promise that we would go back and visit again while hopefully not ending up trapped in another pocket dimension for the entire time, of course. We were tired and just plain done with everything. So, Mom insisted that Marina, Dakota, and the Carnival (that was what Denny and all her new Aspects wanted to be called when referring to all of them together) come with us to my parents’ apartment and sleep there for the night. She said other people would ask way too many questions if we tried to go to sleep in our houses or our own rooms, and that they had plenty of space.
She wasn’t wrong about that part, for sure. There was a big room my parents weren’t using at all, and after a quick reunion with my father and grandparents, Mom insisted they had let us sleep and that there would be more explanations in the morning. Or that she would explain things while we got the rest we needed. Either way, glad as I was to see all of them again, I was almost as glad to be able to fall into bed and completely turn my brain off for awhile. It had been a long day. Between dealing with the whole murder thing, trying to help Denny, and then running into the ghost of Manakel, it was… a lot. I just needed to stop for a bit.
I did, of course, want to know what I had missed while we were in there. So, Tabbris caught me up to speed about the Avalon situation. Or rather, the Zeke situation. Apparently the Whispers had gone after him for some reason that no one was exactly clear on, except his mother said that it had to do with something his father had done on that same world where the Whispers had been imprisoned to begin with. Which probably meant that we really didn’t want them doing whatever they were intending with Zeke.
So now, at Sophronia’s request, he was staying here on the station with us. And boy, from what Tabbris said, was he not very happy about that. To say the least. He still thought we were all evil cowardly traitors or something, and now he was convinced his mother was crazy. Still, he couldn’t really stop the adults here from keeping him. He didn’t know how to use transportation magic (they didn’t teach that this early at Crossroads), and any powers he had for that were short-range. He had no way of getting all the way from the sun back to Earth. Not that that stopped him from ranting about how we were holding him prisoner and all that. According to Tabbris, Abigail had tried to talk to him for awhile but gave up and told him they’d talk a bit later, once he calmed down. She did make sure he had all the food and entertainment he could need, and kept sending some of his old classmates to talk to him. Especially Erin Redcliffe and Travis Colby, his old teammates. Even that didn’t really seem to help, though. If anything, he was apparently even angrier with them.
Obviously, I wanted to talk to Avalon. But she was asleep when I got back, apparently at Abigail’s order. So was Shiori. They had both been told that there was nothing they could do to get into the vault where I was, and that if that changed, they would be informed and wouldn’t it be just terrible if there did turn out to be a way to go in and they were too exhausted to do it?
Yeah, it was blatant manipulation and everyone involved knew that. Still, it apparently convinced them enough to lay down for a bit, so they were asleep when I got out of that place. I didn’t want to wake them up, no matter how much I wanted to see them. Besides, there was that whole thing about me needing a bit of sleep too, so my brain could actually function. So, I put off that particular reunion. Besides, as long as it had felt in the vault, we weren’t actually in there even for a full day. It just seemed like it had been a week. Or longer.
I did do one important thing before sleeping. I took Perrsnile to the haunted mansion and told the other ghosts to keep an eye on him. I also used another of those ghost containment spells just to make sure of it, and promised to explain more later after giving them a quick rundown of what was going on and who the son of a bitch was. I also dropped Ausesh off there, but let her know she could do whatever she wanted in that place and that I would turn one of the rooms into an actual lab to work in as soon as possible. Then I left to get some actual rest.
Marina, Dakota, the Carnival, and I camped out on the floor in sleeping bags. Letters was the one who had manifested when we went to sleep, but when I came to a couple hours later (fully-rested, of course), I didn’t see her at all. Then I spotted Peanut, the tiny pixie Aspect, curled up in a nest she had apparently made out of a towel on a nearby table. She was making adorable little squeaking noises with each soft exhale, wings fluttering a bit now and then.
Quietly getting up so I wouldn’t disturb the others, I slipped out of the room. They definitely needed more rest. After all, not everybody had the benefit of Amarok power allowing them to get away with being fully refreshed after just a couple hours of sleep at most. Though if asked, I’d have to say that I highly recommended it. Especially if you were going to throw yourself into the sort of situations that kept popping up in my life.
The only person awake in the apartment when I stepped out was Grandmaria. It was early enough that she was sitting in a kitchen illuminated only by the small light over the stove, drinking a cup of tea. As soon as she saw me, my grandmother was on her feet saying something about how she would make me some food. Before she could, I stepped over and embraced her. I’d done it earlier, just before going to sleep, but I needed another one. And it was clear she did too, from the way she squeezed me back.
I thought about insisting that she didn’t need to make me anything, but I also knew that it made her feel like she was contributing and helping. And I didn’t want to take that away. On the other hand, I also didn’t want her to do it all by herself. So, I insisted on at least making my own drink and refreshing hers, while asking if she’d had any sleep.
“Oh, I’ll get some rest later,” she replied shortly. “Don’t you worry about me. I want to know how that girl in there is doing.” She paused, clearly sorting through things in her head before questioning, “I mean, those people? I’m not sure what the proper… term would be…”
Yeah, we had explained a little bit about that before crashing, and I was sure my mother had told them more before she’d gone to bed herself. Still, it was no wonder that my grandmother would probably be a bit confused about that whole situation. So, while we were making food for ourselves and something to drink, I went through the whole situation from the top and explained everything. Not just about the Carnival, but everything that happened in the vault. Some she already knew, but I could tell it helped for me to go through all of it like that. And it also helped me sort it out in my own head.
“So, we talked about it, and if you’re talking about the body as a whole and the people inside it, they prefer ‘they or them,’” I informed her. “But each one of the different Aspects has their own preferred term. Most of them are ‘she or her,’ but there’s a couple individual ‘they or them’ and ‘he or hims.’ Like Bang-bang. The easiest thing is just to use the term for the one who is physically active and in control of the body if you’re saying something specific like, ‘do you want a soda?’ Or address all of them if you’re trying to ask the whole collective something. And don’t worry about being confused. They’re still working out that whole thing too, so it’s not like they don’t have questions themselves. All that really matters is to listen to what they say, and understand that they may share a body, but they’re individuals. They have their own likes and dislikes, so just because one of them says they prefer something doesn’t mean they all do. Denny… Denny needs a lot of help. She’s been through a lot, and she’s not ready to be in control of the body right now. I mean, she deserves a break.”
“She does,” Grandmaria agreed with a troubled frown. “I just wish there was more we could do for her. For all of them. So many people inside one body. I… it reminds me of when you, your father, and the others came into my head while your grandfather and I were still out in space. Hearing all your voices and feeling you there, that was, well, it was a lot. If I had to share my body with you, I would do it in a second. But are we certain we can’t get them their own bodies?”
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Biting my lip, I offered a shrug. “Honestly, I don’t think it works that way. They’re part of–they’re all sort of… it’s complicated. But even if it did, I’m pretty sure some–or even most of them don’t want to leave. Grandmaria, I get it. Believe me, I understand. But I don’t think this is something we need to ‘fix.’ It’s just who they are. They’re like a family living in one body. They need each other, they’re a part of each other. And that whole situation isn’t something we need to fix or change, it’s just something we need to accept. If they need help with something, they’ll ask for it. We just need to listen, and give it to them.”
My grandmother absorbed that, clearly considering it before giving a short nod as she nibbled on some toast. “Well, if that’s what they need, it’s what they’ll get.” She hesitated then, clearly uncertain of how to bring it up before carefully adding, “But, about this other part, the… Theodore. Is he really– I mean is he only…”
“As far as we can tell, that’s not Theodore mixed with part of Denny,” I confirmed. “He’s just the memories or… personality of him before Fossor turned him into Ammon. Before he–before he did all that. He’s like the piece of Theodore that was locked away, the part Fossor cut out or blocked off or whatever. It’s complicated, like the rest of that entire situation. But it’s him, Grandmaria. It um, it kinda freaked me out too, believe me. You didn’t know Ammon. You never met him, you never–” A shudder ran through me as my face twisted a bit. “It’s weird, seeing him now. But it’s not Ammon. It’s Theodore. He’s Theodore. Or at least as close to him as we’ll ever see. Closer than I thought. And we can talk to him. Mom already did.”
A smile found its way to the elderly woman’s face as she sipped her tea. “Yes, she was quite happy about that. And chatty. I don’t believe I’ve seen Joselyn so talkative since…” She paused again, head tilting before her eyes found mine. “Actually, I do remember the last time she talked that much. It was over the phone just as you went into first grade. She had dropped you off, still had time before her shift, and your father was already at the paper. She needed someone to talk to, so she called us, and your grandfather put the phone on speaker. I remember sitting out on the back porch on our swing, listening to your mother telling us everything about that morning. She told us what you were wearing, how you woke up, the lunch you both made together, every single thing you said on the drive there, what you looked like going into the big, big building with that little green backpack…” She trailed off, smiling fondly at the memory.
Then Grandmaria swallowed hard, voice troubled. “I never should have believed that she would ever willingly abandon you or your father. Not after that, let alone all the other times that… I never should have believed it.”
“It’s okay.” That wasn’t me. It was my mother, standing in the doorway. Her voice was soft, gaze focused on the older woman. “I understand why you would.”
My grandmother was already on her feet, moving that way to embrace her. The two of them exchanged a couple of quiet, private whispers before Mom joined us. Which meant Grandmaria was bustling around making more food. Meanwhile, I turned to my mother and I asked about Manakel. So she informed me that Puriel and the other Seosten were still with him, as far as she knew. They were keeping an eye on him while a proper containment room was prepared. He’d already agreed to stay wherever we wanted him to, but no one was going to take any chances. Not with someone like him. Yeah, I wanted to take advantage of the lessons he was offering, but we were still going to be careful with it. Even if he was telling the truth about not being a horrible person anymore, even the man himself admitted that there was no telling when Tartarus might get its hooks into him again. We had to make sure that, if something went wrong, he couldn’t do any damage to this place. Or to any of us, for that matter.
Giving them a moment together, I stepped out of the kitchen to the main living room and simply stood by myself for a minute. Or rather, for about seven seconds, before a lump laying on the nearby couch was suddenly picking it–herself up. My item sense picked up just what I needed to tell me who it was in the relative darkness, even as I spun that way. “Shiori?”
She threw herself at me, and I caught the other girl while taking a step back to brace myself. Then we were kissing. It was… oh, it was nice. Wow. Really nice. After a moment of that, I came up for air and smiled a bit. “I think I found the sweet spot. If I’m out of touch for just most of a day, you get worried about me without getting mad at me for being gone for much longer than that.”
Snorting at me, Shiori punched my arm. “Don’t be a jerk about it or I could be mad at you for that.” She was smiling though, beaming really. “You solved a murder mystery.”
“That’s what they pay me the big bucks for,” I replied as casually as possible. “Maybe I should get a private office and a trenchcoat, huh? You could be one of my dames.”
Shiori giggled, started to say something, then just hugged me tighter. That felt about as good as the kiss, honestly. I held onto her, giving a soft sigh of contentment before quietly asking, “What are you doing here? I mean, sleeping out on the couch?”
“We didn’t wanna wake you up,” she informed me. “But we knew you wouldn’t sleep all night. I uhh–” Looking over toward one of the recliners, which had also been made up for someone to sleep in but was empty now, Shiori added, “I think Avalon went for a walk. Saving Zeke and then having him stay here was… a lot. Especially since she was worried about you the whole time.”
“I bet,” I murmured softly before kissing her once more. “I’ll find her. Are you okay though?”
She confirmed that she was fine. She and Twister had been off helping Asenath try to track down the person who erased her father’s memory. Apparently they had some big lead with that. Asenath and Twister had found some group of other people who were also looking for Grigori Rasputin, the Akharu who had been with Tiras on that last mission. There was some woman named Inanna who could point them all in the right direction. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as simple as just giving them a current address. Inanna had clues about where Rasputin was, and they were working on narrowing it down. The man wandered a lot, apparently.
Either way, they were all busy with that. I made Shiori promise to let me know the second they needed any help. By that point, she was yawning, so I walked her back to the couch and got her to lay down again. But just as I was about to quietly head out, she caught my hand. “Oh, I almost forgot. Is it true about Denny having… I mean about her having a lot of people inside her head?”
Blinking once, I nodded. “Yeah, they’ll definitely wanna talk to you when they wake up again and all that. Err… you know, I’m not sure if the inside carnival part sleeps or gets dark or… what.” Briefly, I gave her the explanation about what I was even talking about.
Shiori, in turn, nodded slowly as she absorbed that. “You should have her–or them talk to Robin.”
“Robin?” I echoed, tilting my head curiously.
With an audible snicker, Shiori informed me that she was talking about Robin Hood. Or Robin Med. Or Robin Chat. And so on. Apparently one of the people Asenath was working with now was a robot. Actually, they were one of the Mevari, the incredibly powerful robots created by the Tseuckaviel like Lord Yup, the small, purple-skinned man who was capable of seeing through the eyes of any living person he’d ever seen. Now I really wanted to find Lord Yup and let him know that one of his peoples’ creations was still intact and living on Earth.
In any case, the point was that apparently this particular Mevari had been the actual Robin Hood. And they, like Denny now, had many different personalities/minds living inside one head. I wasn’t sure how that worked, if it was an intentional Mevari thing or something new. But they had experience communicating as several people living in one body. So, Shiori thought Denny and the rest of that whole group would want to meet them. I was pretty sure of that too, but told her I’d check with them first to make sure.
With that, I told Shiori to go back to sleep, kissed her once more, and headed out. Grandmaria and Mom were still talking in the kitchen, so I stepped out of the apartment and looked around for Avalon. Not that I had to look very hard. She was just down the hall, doing something with her phone. When I approached, I could see that she was looking at pictures of herself with Gaia that looked like they had been taken last year.
“I didn’t know you had those,” I murmured while stepping up beside the other girl.
She, in turn, smiled very faintly. It was almost a grimace. She was blinking rapidly as well, pushing wetness out of her eyes before she put the phone away. “Gaia sent them to me. She had cameras watching us sometimes, and they… she wanted mementos.” Swallowing visibly, she looked to me, and I could see the vulnerability there. “Felicity, we have to get her out of there.”
Flinching, I reached out, pulling the other girl to me. We embraced tightly, and I whispered, “We will, I promise. We’ll get her out.” Putting both hands on either side of her face, I made her meet my gaze. “You hear me? We’re gonna get her back.”
“She saved my life,” Valley murmured, staring intently at me. “More than once and in every way possible. She saved me, Felicity. We have to save her.”
She kissed me then, and the two of us lost ourselves in one another for a few moments. I held her tight while talking about what had happened, and she told me a few more specifics about her own day. We had all very clearly been busy, to say the least.
And something told me that between me needing to take lessons from Manakel’s ghost, Asenath getting closer to finding out who was responsible for her father’s lost memories, the whole Whisper situation with Zeke being up here now, whatever Kushiel was doing, the need to save Gaia, and the whole rebellion in general, things weren’t going to get boring anytime soon.
But hey, if they did, I always had that private detective gig to fall back on.