It was like being in space but without a space ship or suit, yet the atmosphere was not hostile to be in without protection.
The group felt themselves gently floating in space until a place came into view, and then they were standing on solid ground.
The first thing they noticed was that everything in this world was transparent, and either clear or colored, as if it was made of glass of some sort.
The air was cool, and the sun was either down or hadn't come up yet.
There were lights in the various buildings that were seen, and even the streets and sidewalks were clear or a sort of see-through pavement color.
"Dare we check this out?" asked Pippi. "It all looks rather breakable to me."
Just then, an obviously heavy glass truck rolled down the street, carrying a load of what looked like glass panels.
"If it can carry that," Gretel indicated, "I don't see us falling through it."
So, they ventured along a bit.
NT marveled at how pretty everything was and neat it was all see-through.
Bez laughed. "Oh, wow. I tell ya, Rion woulda eaten this up! He'd've had a field day. Oh, and Xio too. Heh! Finally, a place that's as transparent as his home-world! All the glass glittering like ice, oh they would..." She trailed off, growing sombre. "They'd have loved it here." She shook her head, as if trying to clear it. "They really would..."
"Maybe this is their home world?" Gretel speculated.
Bez shook her head. "Nah, I've been to Runidas. This place is glassy, but Runidas is ice. The buildings, the streets, everything is ice. Well, except the machines and the Runidians. But, oh, is it beautiful. The Runidians can manipulate ice, make crystals of it right from the moisture in the air. Magnificent architects. Xio gave me a full tour of the Imperial Tower once...beautiful. Rion was human, but...he had such a scientist brain. Five minutes here, and you can bet your processor he'd be over with Matrix examining and speculating and..." She smiled. "He was a wonderful dork."
"Oh, that sounds very close to a land in a pleasant dream I once had." said Pippi.
They passed by houses where people were busy about their business, and they could be seen climbing up and down stairways within their houses.
The oddest thing about the people was they too, seemed to be made of glass. They were as transparent as their surroundings.
"Oh wow!" said Indy.
"Wow indeed." Matrix agreed. "This place is incredible! Energy readings off the charts...talk about an away mission! Hope no one's wearing a red shirt."
A couple of glass people in a house the group was now passing, suddenly decided they needed a little PDA fix, and went from looking out at the new arrivals to smooching.
"Um...whoa." said Gretel, becoming suddenly a bit disconcerted.
Bez grimaced. "Oh, sheesh. Don't they at least have blinds they could pull, curtains to draw or something?"
Madonna giggled, agreeing with the others.
One of the smoochers suddenly took out a transparent little square thing and appeared to be pushing some buttons.
"Yeah," said Gretel. Privacy much? I mean, what do you do when you gotta go to the can?"
Even Capri snickered at this.
"Maybe they don't need to." NT said through a muffled giggle, "They're all made of glass, aren't they?"
"Possibly," said Pippi, "This could be some sort of material completely foreign to us. But I won't be making a pitstop, that's for sure, ugh."
"H'm! That's an understatement." Criterion growled. "They're foreign all right, and rare, I'd say." His eyes glinted hungrily. "What a price I could get for one of 'em."
"What?" Indy began in a rather confrontational tone. Capri reached over and put a hand on her shoulder to shush her.
NT was already glaring.
"I don't think they'd let you do that." Madonna said shortly.
"Let's hope it doesn't get to be the other way around, either." said Indy. "We have no idea what sort of place and people they are yet."
"Will you guys pipe down a moment?" Capri suggested. Apparently her friends had forgotten momentarily what Criterion had said about himself back at the party the day before, but she hadn't, and this sudden shift in his behavior had not been lost on her.
Bez looked to Sigma, who sighed softly and nodded.
"Criter-" She began.
"Oh, what d'you want?" He shot curtly. "There's a profit to make here, and I intend to claim every ounce of it."
By now, Capri was gazing intently at Criterion, hard enough as if she was going to put a curse on him. But it was not an angry gaze.
"Criter." Sigma said flatly, taking a hold of his arms. "Come on, back to the surface."
He scowled at Sigma. "Geddoff!"
"Hey you, shut up!" NT burst out at him.
"Shhhht!" Capri shot an annoyed glance at her.
"What's - " And then, NT's indignation suddenly turned to realization. "Oh, okay." she quickly subsided.
"Criter, now!"
"I said, GEDDOFF!" Criter roughly tore free from Sigma and slapped her hard on the face.
Sigma retreated a few steps, but continued to stare directly into his eyes.
Capri also continued staring, saying nothing.
"Hey, jerk!" Where do you get off - "
"Indy!" Capri cut her off sharply.
NT drew near to Indy and whispered something in her ear.
Indy subsided, but still looked angry.
Gretel took it all in stride, keeping her speculations to herself.
Criterion stood there motionless for a few breathless minutes. Slowly, a look of pure horror came over his face. He went ashen, looking away from the others. "My...my apologies..." He whispered. "I should not have come..." He glanced up at Sigma before hastily looking away. "Forgive me."
Sigma smiled gently. "Nothing to forgive, Criter. C'mon, let's get some air."
She linked an arm through one of his and ushered him on, leading him a bit ahead of the group.
Capri averted her gaze. "That's alright," she said. I figured that - wasn't really you. But each time it happens, you tell a little on whoever was involved, and I did a magic scan on that part of your brain that was active during this episode. It might make it easier to finally track them down eventually. we should both get an odd sensation or vision of some sort if and when that happens."
Hoping to ease some of the tension, Matrix commented "They do appear to be made of some sort of cosmic glass." He smiled, an air of whimsy about him. "Maybe even star dust."
Bez gave him an appreciative glance and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Wow that would be cool!" Madonna said excitedly.
Gretel nodded, still grinning.
The next house had people sitting out on what looked like a frosted front deck. They were cutting up, dishing out, and eating foods that looked roughly like the shape and size of foods we're all normally used to, but it was all transparent.
It appeared to behave like food with normal properties, not breaking and shattering like glass under pressure, or melting under extreme heat.
The clear fizzling and foaming drinks were about the most normal looking thing, except for going down glass throats. The meat and potato shaped objects cut the same way as the regular, the transparent ice cream and cake behaved the same way the regular would when being served and eaten.
This at least informed the adventurers that the time of day must've been in the evening.
"This is cool in a very bizarre way." NT said, absolutely unable to help staring.
"Yeah," said Gretel, "Nice place to visit, wouldn't wanna live here, though."
Bez laughed. "Yeah. One would have to wonder: is the food edible for a non-glass being? 'Cause that is some dang good lookin' soda. Mmmm..."
"Hehe, you can have it." said NT. "I'd like to try a piece of that transparent cake."
"Hey!" one of the little glass children called. "Look at those giant dustbunnies!" Pointing right at the group of explorers.
He was immediately shushed, but soon, everyone on the deck went to take a look.
"Did that kid seriously just call us - dustbunnies?" Indy burst out laughing.
Bez smiled. "Hey, guys, wave! We're makin' first contact!" Bez grinned up at the glass people. "Hullo there! Lovely evening, i'nt it?"
Another glass child giggled.
"Hey, hey, that's the ticket!" Bez said jovially. "Well, we dust-bunnies have to be off now. Enjoy your grub!"
The travelers laughed.
They continued on, eventually coming to a park. It was edged with transparent but colorful trees, and several paths meandered through their shade. A clump of large glittering shapes sat in the center of the park. There was a large pond on the edge of the park closest to them.
"Oh, magnificent!" Bez exclaimed. "Hey, d'you think anyone would get hurt if 'e accidentally slipped into that pond?"
Matrix shrugged. "I'll go investigate." He trotted up to the pond and swirled his hands in it.
"It's safe." He said with a smile. "Which means everything else oughta be too, as long as it doesn't somehow shatter. And from what I've seen, that doesn't seem likely."
"Great! Now...if I'm right, which I am a lot of the time...those big ole things...look like playground stuff!" Bez said excitedly. "I'm gonna check it out..."
Bez headed quickly to the center of the park, followed closely by Matrix, Sigma and Criter, and Thande.
"Wait up!" Gretel called, and ran after them.
Soon, everyone else was running, the same excitement taking over in all of them.
As Bez reached the shapes, she saw that they were indeed playground equipment.
A sign had been put up near the playground. It read:
"As a public service to keep people of all ages fit and happy, this playground is designed especially to fit adults. Enjoy!"
Bez whooped. "Fantastic! Guys, geddover here! We've got ourselves a jumbo playground! Dibs on the swirling-merry-go-round-of-awesomeness!"
Bez bolted into the playground.
Sigma smiled and shrugged. "Hope there's a teeter-totter!" She and Criterion went off in search of one, quickly finding it.
Matrix trotted off after Bez to join her.
Thande cocked his head, and paused, as if debating something. At length, he walked into the playground, searching for something suitable. He decided on an immense rock-wall.
"Whoop! Swingset!" exclaimed Indy.
"And I'm trying the slide!" NT called.
"Gangway! Here I come!" Pippi said, and she headed for the jungle-gym.
Capri stood a moment, unable to decide what to try first.
Gretel tore after NT and came down the slide after her.
Madonna ran and grabbed hold of the merry-go-round as soon as it slowed down enough for her to get on. "Awesome!" she squealed.
Bez laughed. "Ha-ah! You haven't seen anything yet! Matrix, increase speed!"
Matrix grinned. "Aye, aye, cap'n!" He took hold of an edge of the merry-go-round and began to spin it.
Soon, they were whirling at an exhilarating speed. Matrix hopped back aboard and held on tightly.
Madonna squealed with helpless laughter and held on for dear life.
"Woooooohooooo!" Bez exclaimed. "Gotta love the centrifugal force! Aaaagggghhh! Oh, I could do this all day!"
"Me too, except for my arms wanting to give out!" Madonna replied.
Gretel headed over to the teeter-totter, and beckoned Indy to join her.
"Heya!" Sigma chirped to them from Criterion's and her teeter-totter. "Careful you don't take off too quick." She cautioned playfully. "These things go pretty high up!"
"Uh-oh," said Indy.
Sigma and Criterion then joined Thande on the rock-wall, where they began a good-natured race.
Capri tried out the swings, pumping until she was in danger of going over the top but just short of it. She tried the slide, the tunnels, both the horrizontal one you crawl through and the barrel-like one you climb over and stand inside. She tried the merry-go-round, the jungle-gym, everything there, and was laughing and hollering for joy along with everyone else. She didn't remember a time when she had quite so much fun other than her early childhood.
NT giggled and marveled as she let herself loose and played like a child for probably the first time in her life. She was soon climbing the jungle-gym, and discovered how to hang from it in an upside down position. "Look at me!" she called. "Hehe!"
"Hey, girl," Pippi called back playfully, "Who are you, and what've you done with NT?"
Bez laughed. "Woo, go NT! Climb that gym! Go-go-go-go-g-whoa, Matriiiiix! Gimme a warning before you increase speed!"
This resulted in a gale of giggles from NT.
"Wish Ariel could be here to see this." Pippi said to herself.
"Whoa! Easy, Gretel, let me get a better grip!"
"Sorry, Indy!"
"Hehe! I hope we can come back here again." said NT when Pippi came back to the jungle-gym.
"Oh, I think that can be arranged." Pippi replied with a grin, taking her transporter to show NT.
"Great!"
"I bet Ameh would like this place too. She likes pretty things and scenes, and this is a beauty."
"Hehe Yes. Oh, look at Capri." NT laughed and pointed at the swings.
Capri was just finished swinging standing up, she sat down in the swing and brought the chains together. Then she twisted around, twirling as if winding up. When her feet could barely touch the ground because the twisting had made the seat so high, she let go with a kickstart to spin, fast. "Whoa! Ah-hahahahahaha! Woot! Oh, man!"
"Having fun, Capri?" Pippi called.
"Oh, not at all, worst time of my life, absolutely hate it!" Capri called back teasingly.
NT and Pippi laughed.
"We're definitely coming back here, and next time, we'll make sure Misery can come. She'd have such a blast. She'll be sorry she missed it this time when we tell her about it." said Pippi.
Madonna staggered off the merry-go-round finally. "Whew! I gotta rest for a bit." She simply found a space out of the way and flopped down, dizzy but content.
Bez whooped. "All right, you take a break. Matrix, I'm starting to see straight again!"
Matrix chuckled. "Right, then..."
"Waaaaaaaahhhooooo! Keeeeep spinnnnniinnngg!" Bez cheered, as Matrix spun the merry-go-round.
Pippi tried out every piece of equipment, smiling and laughing as she did so, letting her inner little girl show.
Finally she couldn't resist the temptation any longer, and she soon fell to doing the sorts of stunts she had often done as a little girl.
Standing all the way down the slide, forward, backward, sideways, on both feet and then on one, standing and striking various poses, hopping and twirling on the top bar of the swingset, doing likewise across the top of the jungle-gym and jumping down, only to do cartwheels and hand-springs on the ground.
"Oh look at that!" Indy exclaimed. "Pippi, you're sick!"
"Oooh, wow!" Bez exclaimed, leaning out from the still swiftly spinning merry-go-round to get a better view. "Very coo-wowowow, yeeooutch!"
In her distracted state, Bez had relaxed her grip on the merry-go-round. On a particularly powerful spin, her grip had slipped entirely, spilling her out onto the ground.
NT gasped.
Pippi nearly lost her footing from her vantage atop a teeter-totter - she had walked to the center part and was operating it by standing and rocking it from the center.
"Bwwaarrr..." Bez mumbled, more out of discomfort at her landing position than any real injury.
"Oh!" Matrix exclaimed, heading over to help her up. "Crap, sorry, Bez, are-"
"Surprise attack!" She hollered with a wicked grin. Bez wrapped an arm around Matrix's neck and administered a playful noogie.
"Gah! Blast you, Bez!" He said with a grin, giving Bez a noogie of his own.
"You brat, you nearly gave me a heart-attack!" Madonna called.
Bez shoved Matrix playfully, putting her fists up in mock combat.
Matrix raised an eyebrow. "Oh, a wiseguy, eh?"
Bez laughed. "All right, all right, truce."
She turned to Pippi. "That was pretty dang cool, all joking aside."
Pippi laughed out loud, and jumped off the see-saw. "There are some things a person just never seems to forget."
"Or in my case, learn in the first place." Indy called back.
"Hey, that rhymes!" Gretel pointed out.
"Oh, so it does!" Indy laughed.
Sigma, Criterion, and Thande returned from the rock-wall.
"We had a pretty good view of all that from the top of the rock-wall." Sigma said with a smile. "Careful, Thande. You've got competition."
Thande's crest rose slightly. "In respect to balance and dexterity, perhaps." A ghost of a smile flickered over his face. "But I am not concerned."
Pippi grinned.
"Throwin' down the gauntlet, eh?" Bez said slyly. "That can wait. Now...would anyone else be willing to give Gretel's rings another spin? Don't get me wrong, this place is dang cool, but...well. I've an unconquerable love of the unknown. I'm itching to see what else we can find!"
"Yes, who knows what's all out there! Okay, let's go for it." said Pippi.
"Now?" NT protested. "But..."
"Yes," Pippi answered, approaching the swing NT was on.
"But we were all having so much fun." NT objected.
"And we will again, maybe even more in the next place." She motioned NT to follow and went back to where the others were gathering.
"Oh, that was a blast." said Gretel. "The ring'll take us back to the Wood first, and from there, we can get into other worlds, or lands, or whatever you wanna call 'em." Then she looked quizzically at first NT and then Pippi. "Something wrong?" she asked, concerned.
"No, what makes you ask something like that?" asked Pippi.
"NT are you okay?" Gretel asked.
At this, NT retreated even further behind Pippi. She had already been lagging, and now Gretel could see by her expression that something was definitely wrong.
"What's the matter?" Gretel repeated.
NT shook her head and came forward to join the others, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't hold back the flood of silent tears spilling from her eyes.
Pippi turned to reassure her, and Indy murmured something in concern.
NT nodded at Pippi and joined hands with her and Madonna, who was also getting concerned.
With everyone connected, Gretel transported them back, and everyone came up out of the pool, into the Wood Between The Worlds.
NT broke away from the others as soon as she was free to.
Capri turned to Pippi and said quietly, "What was that all about? I thought we were all having such a good time."
"That's just it," Pippi replied. "She didn't want to leave. At least, that's all I think it is."
"Should I go talk to her?" asked Indy?
"Can't hurt to try." said Capri.
But when Indy found the tree NT retreated to, Madonna was already there, talking to her.
"I know what it's like when something's so good that it's a bit of a downer when it ends."
"Yes - but at least you haven't made such a blubbing idiot of yourself in front of your friends," said NT, "And over something so minor."
"I don't think it was exactly minor for you especially. All things considered, and do you think you're the only one who's ever cried over seemingly trivial things?"
NT made no response other than continuing to blush and wipe away tears.
Madonna took that as a sign to continue. "It took me at least two days of blubbing off and on when the Olympics were over. It was so wonderful during those two weeks, with all those sports thrills and spills, and the media coverage for once was about the good things in the world and in humanity, for the most part. Two weeks of this exhilleration, and then bang, it was over. Then it was going to be back to the usual mundane, and it's hard coming down after a high like that.
"And I always get into a bit of a funk when Christmas is over." Indy added, approaching. "I probably would shed some tears if somebody forced me to take down everything then, but I keep my Christmas house up and light it in the evenings until spring is here."
"But I'm tougher than this, or I am usually. I'm supposed to be." said NT.
"You can't be tough all the time." said Indy.
"But this is ridiculous. There's no excuse for it - little kids cry when they don't want to leave the playground."
"Cronologically, you still fit that category." said Madonna.
"That doesn't matter." said NT.
"I think Madonna's right, though, anyway, with your having kept so much in for so long because of Tonya and her ilk, now that you're starting to let go, you can expect your emotions to hit hard and get out of wack every once in a while. It's not like you're some Twi-tard Senna-Sue type fangirl crying over Edward Cullen's picture or something."
This earned Indy a laugh through the tears.
"Yep, there's a time and a place for everything and every emotion," Gretel came sidling up, "Even if we don't always think we should be reacting a certain way. We've decided to take Ameh on this next adventure while she's still asleep. That way, she won't even know she's been transported until she's already in the next world with us.
"Yeah, speaking of emotions, reactions and embarrassment, anyway, you're not the only one, and probably not the first or the last to have some emotion overcome and even embarrass you, we're just starting our adventures." said Indy.
NT nodded, and finally looked up at her friends. "Thanks for understanding." Composure returning, she stood up and got ready to follow Indy, Madonna and Gretel back to where the others were."
She fell in with the rest of the group as they all linked up. "I'm sorry about that," she said. "I don't understand what came over me."
"Someone'll have to take hold of me," said Pippi, "My hands are full." She was holding the sleeping Ameh in her arms.
Madonna took hold of one of Pippi's elbows, and Capri did likewise on the other side.
Gretel positioned herself, ready to jump into the pool. "Are we all ready and hanging on tight?"
There were nods and responses in the affirmative.
"Okay. One...Two...Three!"
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