Gretel would have slept in, if a tantalizing aroma hadn't coaxed her from sleep.
"Mmmm, bacon!" Gretel heard Bez declare in a singsong voice.
"Mmmm indeed," she muttered, her bliss at awakening to realize where she was, now combined with a feeling of hunger. She looked around the room to see that Sigma had already departed.
Not wanting to miss a thing, she quickly changed into her regular clothes, and then headed to the cargo bay.
As she entered it, she saw that the on-ramp was down. She trotted down it to find Bez had spread a colorful tablecloth over a picnic table.
Bez had set up some kind of grill, and was busily grilling up a large plate of bacon.
The table was already spread with a myriad of breakfast items, from pancakes, to muffins, to things Gretel had never seen before.
Bez looked up from the grill to see Gretel. "Ah, wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!" She chanted with a grin. "Everyone else should be out soon, and the others should arrive any minute."
"Mmmm! Smells and looks delicious!" Gretel said with a grin.
Soon, a car drove up, and out stepped Capri and Pippi, Indy and NT.
They made their way over, and commented on how great everything looked and smelled.
Then Ameh's car showed up.
Matrix left the cargo bay, feigning drowsiness. "No need to shout." He said mildly.
Bez rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you slept in."
Matrix smiled. "Of course not. I merely over-energized a tad."
A grin split over Bez's face. "You, over-energized?" She said slyly.
Matrix giggled. "Only a bit. I assure you, I am still in perfect control of my functions."
Bez chuckled. "If you say so. Now, where's Sigma? And Thande, and Criter..."
As if on cue, the trio exited the Nautilus. Specter flew ahead of Sigma to the table, where he plucked up a small round pastry and began to gnaw on it.
"Hahahaha, heya Specter!" Gretel welcomed.
"Hey, Sigma, you better not let Specter eat all of that!" Bez warned. "You know how I cook my comet-cakes."
Sigma smiled. "Yeah, learned that one the hard way."
Bez looked around at the others. "Oh, don't worry, they're harmless. I just put a hefty pinch of Charonese trikli in the batter. It's ehm...sorta like a mixture of cumin, cloves, and black pepper. Only...y'know, Charonese."
"Hmmm," said Gretel, grimacing slightly, "Cumin and - cloves..."
Indy turned toward her, mouthing "Ewww."
Gretel grinned back. "I don't want my mouth on fire first thing in the morning."
Heh, gotta try one of those."
"Yeah, knowing You, Ameh..." Pippi grinned at her. "How about you, NT?"
Under different circumstances such as being in a restaurant, NT would've responded with a vigorous head-shake. Not wishing to offend the hosts, she just said, "No thank you."
Capri grinned. "Well, it all looks good."
Bez laughed heartily. "Oh, come, come, now, no need to be so delicate on the matter. It's really quite an acquired taste, so I can understand you not wanting any." Her eyes glinted slyly. "And don't think I didn't see your little expression of nastification, Indy." She added dryly. "At any rate, that's how m'dad made it, and it stuck with me."
"Ewps." said Indy, looking sheepish.
NT laughed.
Pippi's cell phone rang.
A brief conversation later, she hung up. "Heidi's car has to go in for repairs, so she can't make it this time."
"Bummer." said Indy.
There were nods and reactions of understanding.
Bez looked back at Sigma, Thande, and Criterion. "And where have you been lurking?"
"Merely discussing something of interest." Criterion replied. "Thande has had quite the intriguing dream."
Matrix smiled. "Which implies that you slept! Finally. I was on the brink of slipping you something."
Thande cocked his head.
"He was going to spike your food, Scaly." Bez said dryly. "But it's good that you got a proper sleep. We can talk about your dream later."
The sound of another car door shutting, and then someone running, then, "Whew!" a breathless Madonna Gale came bounding into view. "Sorry I'm late - got caught in traffic."
"Welcome to the party! We're just getting started." said Pippi with a smile.
"Oh, my," Madonna settled down among the others.
"And Misery called early this morning, she's feeling poorly, terrible headache. So she won't be coming." Pippi informed.
There were the usual reactions from various people, wishing her well.
Bez turned to the group, who had now settled down to breakfast.
"Now, we have some adventuring to discuss!"
A flash passed through her eyes, as if she had just remembered something.
"Oh, and Gretel, we've plenty of spares, so you can keep the pajamas and toothbrush." She smiled. "Think of 'em as souvenirs, and hopefully not the last ones you'll be takin' home with ya. Now...where shall we start?"
"Thanks!" Gretel exulted. "Well, where to start - hmmm. We could start the way I did and just pick a pool and see what we get, maybe do that a few times until we get used to it, or go right to that world of doors I told you about."
"Are you ready to chance it, Ameh?" Capri asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Clearly Ameh was torn between her apprehension about the pools, and wanting to go on these adventures, maybe to see places she'd read about or seen in movies.
"Capri and I will be on either side of you, and you can hold on as tightly as you like." Pippi reassured her.
Ameh felt her face getting hot. Then hotter still. First, the initial embarrassment at her fear, then embarrassed at her embarrassment which had to be glaringly obvious by now. "Hope I don't all of a sudden start panicking in the middle of the transport, that's all," she muttered.
"I don't think you should chance it." said NT, who always seemed to be so keenly aware when things were a bit off with the people she cared about.
"No, I - " Ameh hesitated, "I've been agonizing about this since yesterday. I want to come. I really do.
"Well, if the initial trip turns out to be too much, we could always let you chill there in the Wood while we check out other worlds, and then you could join us when we come back into the Wood and you're ready to go again." Gretel suggested.
"Yeah, this is so silly," Ameh said resolutely, "I'm coming, I've got to try anyway."
"Okay then, we all have to be touching if we're gonna do this all at once." Gretel explained. "So let's make a linking line or row or circle, and don't let go again until coming up into the wood." Then, Gretel had another idea. "It'd probably be better if I did the initial transport several times with smaller groups instead of one large one. so, Pippi and Capri, you get positioned in front of me with Ameh between you."
Ameh took in an anxious breath, but gritted her teeth and let Pippi and Capri take her by the hand on either side while Gretel got in behind.
"One," said Gretel, "Two - "
"No!" Ameh started. "Don't warn, please, just - get on with it.
"Alright then."
Gretel waited a moment, and then, she stuck her hand in one pocket and disappeared with Ameh, Pippi and Capri.
She returned in a short while to collect another group. "Who's next?"
"How's Ameh?" Nt asked.
"Shaken, but otherwise fine."
NT shuddered in empathy.
"What about you, NT? You look a bit uneasy. Got any issues with being under water?"
"Only if it's cold. Otherwise, I love swimming. It's just - well, poor Ameh. Ugh!"
"You won't be swimming much, just transporting, drifting, floating, that's about the closest thing to what it feels like." Gretel explained. "And it isn't cold."
"That's what everyone says about most swimming pools too, but if it isn't bathtub warm, it's cold." said NT.
"No kidding!" Indy agreed.
"Room temperature," Gretel suggested. "You see the effect before actually feeling it. So - who's next?"
"Me!" Madonna said, stepping up to Gretel.
"Anyone else wanna go with her?" asked Gretel.
"Yeah, let's go for it, NT." said Indy.
"Yeah, we're in." said NT.
"Okay then, let's connect.
Gretel took hold of Madonna, who held on to NT, who held on to Indy.
Then they disappeared.
Indy's disconcerted exclamations were mingled with Madonna's excited ones as Gretel took them to their first destination via the rings. It was like floating in one's dreams once the initial muddle cleared.
Then came a feeling of being under water except for the ability to breathe and speak. Then, being rushed up, and before they knew it, Madonna, Indy and NT were climbing out of a small pool.
Madonna turned to face the pool, and she rubbed her hands together, then touched her hair and clothes. "Remarkable! We're not wet after all that!"
"Okay, I'm off again," said Gretel, and she put her hand into the other pocket, turned to face the pool they'd just come up in, and jumped into it, and was gone.
Back at the picnic site, "Alright, who's next?" Gretel asked.
Bez looked over at everyone. "Hmmm...well, I say Thande and Sigma go next. Since Thande's so big and Sigma's so small, they oughta even out somehow. B'sides, it'll gimme a sec to tidy up." She smiled. "Ever gone swimmin', Scaly?" She asked Thande.
He nodded. "I have not gone many times, but I found it...enjoyable."
Bez chuckled. "Well, I imagine you were quite the swimmer! You're a freakin' powerhouse."
Thande cocked his head.
Bez sighed. "Oh, never-mind. We'll meet you in a sec."
Sigma picked up Specter. "What about him?"
Bez shrugged. "I dunno, he's your pet. Who knows where we'll be going? He might get et."
Sigma frowned. "Good point."
She pointed to the Nautilus and gently tossed him in the air. With a playful chitter, he flapped back into the Cargo Bay.
"He can chill with Roy." Bez commented. "Ah! Duh, why didn't I-gah. That could have been useful. He can help with the clean-up. Gotta love that little droid..."
She looked back at Sigma and Thande. "Well, get going! You're keeping Gretel waiting!"
Sigma smiled apologetically. "All right, we're set to go."
"Great." Gretel replied with a smile. "Here we go!"
They joined hands, and soon were in the pool.
In the Wood, "We should've had our picnic here," said Capri, coming toward the new arrivals, "It's just lovely."
Pippi smiled and nodded. "Yes, it is. Well, I've coded this place into my own transporter so we can get here again, even without the rings, I hope,"
"Is Ameh alright?" asked NT.
"Yes, she's nodded off, I think we'll let her sleep a while and give her some recovery time." said Capri.
"So this is the Wood Between The Worlds," NT said in wonderment, sitting down to touch the grass and look up at the filtered sunlight coming through the trees, casting a warm, green light.
"Don't get too comfortable," said Capri, "Gretel will be coming back with the others soon and then we'll be off who knows where."
"Indy," Pippi went and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Huh?" Indy was sitting, propped up against a tree.
"You awake?"
"Guess I am now, what happened?"
"You just got a little too relaxed.
Meanwhile, during the transport, Thande's crest rose fractionally in interest as he lashed his tail through the water, intrigued by the lack of resistance.
Sigma giggled as they rose toward the surface. "Having fun?" She teased.
Thande nodded. "I believe so."
Soon, they had climbed out of the pool.
"Oh, here comes another group!" Madonna called.
Sigma smiled. "Yup. Bez and the others stayed back to clean up a bit, but should be here soon."
"Last trip back guys!" Gretel said, before disappearing into the pool.
Back at the ship, Bez, Matrix, and Criterion had just finished putting everything away, with the help of Roy, a service droid Bez had built several years ago.
"Good boy!" Bez cooed, petting the scuttling, crab-like droid on its flat head.
It chirped and clattered into the Cargo Bay just as Matrix closed the on-ramp and just as Gretel appeared.
"Good! Was thinking you had forgotten us!" Bez said, smiling playfully.
Gretel smiled wickedly. "Don't give me any ideas."
Bez feigned offense. "Well."
"All right, everyone link up." Gretel said.
Everyone joined hands, and appeared in the pool.
"Oh, wow!" Bez exclaimed happily. "Cool! Bet I can out-swim ya!" She jetted ahead of the others, clambering out of the pool a few seconds before they did.
Once everyone had arrived, Gretel marked this pool as the gateway back to the picnic site.
"So, we could try any of these, and I've marked the ones I already tried, including the world with all the doors." said Gretel.
"How about that one?" Madonna indicated the pool closest to her just to the right of the one they had all come up in.
"Alright, then, grab on, everyone."
They all linked, making a circle around the pool, then jumped in.
Comment options: