Unrest

"Whew, that's disturbing. I hadn't even thought of the possibility that one of us could just get turned into another faze of life, or even into another form." Gretel said, flopping down on the grass.

"I've been in a few different worlds before, so has Pippi, and this has never happened." said Ameh.

Bez chuckled. "You guys don't run into many dimensional holes, do you? Those things can really mess with ya." She shook her head, sobering. "Sometimes for the worse...all things considered, we're pretty fortunate a simple transformation is the extent of it."

Matrix nodded. "We've certainly been in worse."

Bez was about to reply when something dawned on her, prompting a sharp forehead smack. "Matrix, we clean forgot to tell Stretto goodbye."

Matrix frowned as he thought. “Oh. Let’s just hope Stretto doesn’t worry about our sudden disappearance. I’m sure his dad can satisfactorily explain things to him.”

Bez nodded. “Hope so. I hate running out on people.” She looked over at Thande and smiled. “Hey, Scaly, c’mon over and have a chat.”

"Oh, that reminds me," said Gretel, "I'll have to sto this little music light show thing somewhere. Be back in a second." With that, she touched one of her rings and vanished.

"Wow, sure wish I had a means of doing that for myself," said Madonna.

"You should ask Capri about that." Pippi suggested.

"Hmmm, maybe I will when the subject comes up with her."

Across the clearing, Sigma and Criter were involved in their own conversation.

"That was amazing!" Sigma began, grinning. "Until, well...well, until NT."

Criterion nodded, though he was obviously distracted.

Sigma frowned. “Hey, what’s up, Criter?”

He shook his head. “Nothing.” He muttered quietly.

Sigma folded her arms, trying to give off an assertive air, though it was obvious she was concerned. “Must be a pretty important nothing.”

Criterion winced. “Merely a matter of internal security.” He said, his voice taking on a distinctly sinister and dark tone. “Nothing at all for you to concern yourself with.”

Sigma stiffened, her frown sharpening slightly. "Not this time..."

Criterion smiled. It was an eerie twisted thing, a true mockery of a smile. “Have you ever contemplated a scream? They all sound so deliciously different. And they change with age. Some are like a good wine, and need to age before they are tasted, and others taste best when they are fresh.” He looked around thoughtfully. “The reptile’s scream would be something to hear, though not on any merits of its tonality. It would be harsh and warped, like an instrument, too long out of tune. Now, a truly delightful sound would be that infant-”

“Burn it, shut up!" Sigma hissed. "Come on, Criter, come back-!"

“I’ve upset you, I can see.” He tsked softly to himself. “What a pity.”

"Please..."

“Oh, I wouldn’t-”

Sigma swung up with all her might, clipping Criter squarely on the jaw. She stepped back, and though her fists were up, she was trembling.

He recoiled, surprised. For a few tense moments, they were silent as Sigma watched Criter for any signs indicative that he was still in the other personality. At length, he spoke.

“S-sorry…” He whispered, looking away.

Sigma let out a sigh of relief. “You have to stop making me worry like that.” She said, smiling. "What if someday we can't bring you back?"

Criterion shrugged. "Maybe that's for the best." He muttered bitterly.

Sigma frowned. “What-? You...you can't mean that."

"Why not? Is it so much to ask? Is it so much to want to just- just be one person...even if it was someone else..."

"Criter..." Sigma began, a few tears welling up in her eyes. "We're going to fix this. We're going to make you better-"

"Better!" He scoffed. "How can ANY of this possibly be BETTER? How can I- how can I ever be better?" He shook his head, dropping to the ground and covering his face with his hands. "I'm sorry...I never really know...if what I'm feeling is me or- one of them."

Sigma knelt beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "We'll set this right." She said gently. "For now, just try to rest."

He nodded numbly, rolling onto his side.

Sigma sighed softly, wiping her eyes and joining Bez, Matrix, and Thande.

Gretel returned and did likewise.

“Twice in one day.” Bez commented gravely.

“It’s getting worse.” Matrix said. "And do we even know what triggered this one?"

Sigma shuddered. "Something with NT. He-he was interesting in hearing her scream."

Gretel winced.

Bez scowled. "Putting new personalities in someone is sick, but the ones Criter suffers through are just- just- when we find the guy who did this to him..." Her scowl intensified, and she sat in furious silence for a few moments before asking, “What about the magic thing Capri did? Did he mention seeing or sensing anything?”

Sigma shook her head. “I didn't ask...it didn't seem important."

Bez nodded. “All right, so we'll ask him later. Wait, didn't she say they'd both get some weird juju? Or something...gah, magic: not my forte. We'll settle this when she gets back. For now, he rests, we move on. No need for him to feel any worse about it.”

They all agreed, and waited for Capri to return.

* * *

Back at her home, Capri was greeted by laughter from Ariel, who apparently thought NT had been convinced to do this as a joke.

"How did they talk you into doing that, NT?"

Capri shook her head, frowning.

NT only continued sleeping.

"What's the matter?" Ariel asked, noting Capri's serious expression. She also realized that if this had been a joke, NT would be responding appropriately.

Capri sighed. "She didn't. It's a result of one of the places we went to. It was a - dimensional hole - Matrix could explain it better. In this particular hole was a town where the people are - " she paused a moment, "Made of music. And I guess you know what that means."

"Oh my gosh!" Ariel's eyes went wide.

"It turned her - back - into the newborn she would've been if - "

"All went as it should've. Ariel nodded.

"It effected all of us at first, too, every one of us sounded like musical instruments for, a good 10 minutes over there, and then it wore off. I'm sorry about this, ariel."

"Don't blame yourself, no one could've known this would happen." Ariel was disconcerted to say the least, but she took NT from Capri and held her tenderly,speaking softly and affectionately to her.

Either the shift from one set of arms to another, or Ariel's helpless feelings somehow being felt, the baby started to cry again.

"While you're settling her, I'll run out and get some formula and stuff. If she's right as rain by the time I get back, we can just give it to charity."

"Thanks, Capri." Ariel said, and continued to hold and rock the baby. "I guess it's my turn to take care of you now," she cooed. "If you don't get back to the way you were, I'll miss my grown girl, but I love you no matter what age you seem to be."

No sooner had Capri stepped out the door when, "Oh, crap!" a tell-tale tingling feeling set in. Now what should she do, go ahead and shop, or transport back to the wood quickly? She ran down a few more steps, stopped again, wincing as the feeling persisted, growing particularly severe. It was there just long enough for her to make up her mind to do a quick transport. But at the last nano-second, it let up.

"Botheration..." She continued on to the store.

In the meantime, Ariel found a cd and put it in the player. It was a cd with some very gentle music, including Ave Maria, which had always been NT's favorite, and it also had the tune that was her. Ariel sat with NT and listened, humming along when she could, and NT slept peacefully in her arms.

A short time later, Capri returned with the baby supplies. She and Ariel sat and talked until NT's song came on, during which, the phone rang.

Capri jumped up to get it. "Hello?"

"Hi Capri?"

"Yeah, hi, Heidi, what's up?"

"I got my car in for repairs, but it isn't ready yet. Anyway, I wanted to tell you to be on the lookout for some strange person going around disguising herself as a little girl with a deformed back. She's really some sort of - fairy, or witch or wizard or something."

"Oh?"

"Yes. I met her in a park when on my walk, and tried to offer her help, but she kept refusing. When I kept pressing, she pointed somewhere and acted all surprised, telling me to look at something. When I did, there was nothing there. When I turned back to face her, she was - nowhere. Not running away or hiding behind anything - there wasn't enough time for that. She just - disappeared."

"Well, maybe that was why my magic acted up a while ago then. I didn't see anything, I thought maybe it was something else I'm keeping an eye on.

"Whoever she is, I'd sure like to know what she's playing at."

"Yeah, up to no good by the sound of it. Oh, I'm sorry to cut this short, but I better go."

"Sure, what's going on there?" Heidi asked, she could hear some commotion going on at Capri's.

"That's what I have to go find out.

"Okay, talk to you later!"

"Yeah." Capri hung up, and hurried into the front room.

A different song was playing by now, not that anyone would've noticed. NT was squirming in Ariel's arms, apparently panicked about something. Ariel was trying to settle her, and keep her from thrashing, worried she might hurt herself.

But that wasn't the most alarming thing.

The tiny distressed voice was no longer crying, but uttering words. "What's happening?" and "I don't understand!?" and things of that nature.

Ariel was trying to console her but was too alarmed herself to do much good.

Capri approached and put a hand at the baby's temple, trying to get her to settle a moment and listen.

"You had a bad reaction to a place we went to - with Bez, and Indy, and Gretel. Remember, it made us all, including me, sound like instruments."

NT subsided. "Instruments - what do you mean?"

"For a few minutes, when we talked, we all sounded like musical instruments, NT," Capri explained, "And in that place, there were other people, made of musical notes. There was food there, in the shape of musical items. Do you remember?"

"Was there a large crowd?"

"Yes. It was music people, all thronging about."

"was Indy there?"

Capri nodded.

"I remember being there with her, and feeling very tired and dizzy. Like I was about to fall over. And then lying down, and then this terrible stomach ache, but before that, I think I was in a wood of some kind?" NT said.

"You were in a wood, before the crowded place with Indy, the place that made us all sound like instruments. it turned you into a newborn - probably because - well, you remember your birth, right?"

NT frowned.

Capri tried again to help her recall what happened. "Do you remember Bez talking like a drum set? Or me sounding like a rock electric guitar? Or Thande, sounding like a Cello, Sigma, a fife, Gretel a - hmmm, what was she again, a clarinet? And Pippi a horn of some kind, remember?"

"Bez - a - drum set?" NT seemed to be thinking this over a bit, "You a rock guitar?" she asked, and soon, her tiny body was wracked with laughter.

"Remember?"

All NT could do was laugh.

Ariel and Capri couldn't help but laugh along with her.

"What was I?" Nt asked presently.

Capri frowned. "Hmmm, I'm not sure. I don't think you said anything - but hang on, you were doubled over laughing. I don't think much was coming out or maybe the rest of us were too loud and I just couldn't hear you. But when we were all sounding like some bizarre band, I saw you killing yourself laughing!"

"Well, Criterion is a bit of a question-mark, though there's more going on than just the music town. Everyone else is just fine. They're all back in the Wood. I think the music town effected you so badly because of how you had to come into this world."

"Then it wasn't something I did?"

"Of course not. What would make you say a thing like that?" Capri tsked.

NT looked relieved. "I did something to myself a long time ago - to make myself lose all magic and abilities if I ever turned into someone - evil. I - thought I might've - and just wasn't remembering it."

This revelation caused Capri and Ariel to exchange disconcerted looks.

Presently, Capri said, "You're not Miranda, and you are not destined to turn out like her. So whenever you start thinking' that way, you just do what you can to get those ideas out of your head. Besides, one of us has been with you the whole time this dimension stuff was going on, so whatever you might not remember, you didn't do anything to bring this on. We all had some really strange reactions over there, even though it was a lot of fun. Because it's a land of music people, and you sort of are one, you just had a far worse reaction than the rest of us."

"Worse? I'll say." Nt squirmed. "No control over my own body - "

"You got your mental faculties back anyway," said Ariel, "Just give it time and a lot of rest, and everything will come back."

"take it easy," said Capri, "I gotta go back there and see how they're doing."

The doorbell rang. Capri answered it. "Gretel!?"

"Everyone's finally resting more or less, so I thought I'd come back and see how things are going here. Criter had - an episode shortly after you left, but he's resting now. How about NT?"

"So that *was* it then." said Capri with a frown. "NT's coming around but she's not quite - "

"Hi Gretel!" NT called from the safety of Ariel's arms in the front room.

"Wha?" Gretel stepped past Capri and peeked in, and saw NT. "YIKES!"

NT laughed.

"Don't do that! It's too freaky, even for me!" Gretel said.

Capri nodded at her, and muttered, "I'll be surprised if this doesn't give me some sort of nightmares, actually.

Ariel couldn't afford to get freaked out, or show it if she was. "Gretel, NT thought she might've done something bad to get turned into this form, can you help convince her that isn't the case?"

"Of course she didn't, what an odd idea."

"See?" said Capri. "Now get some rest."

"Maybe a trip back to the wood for a while would do her some good." Gretel suggested.

"It might, but I think she should stay with her mom." said Capri.

"Yeah, I just wanna take her back for about a minute if that's okay." Gretel insisted.

Capri looked apprehensive, but Ariel agreed, "I'd go myself, but the under water thing - "

"I'll just be a minute or so. If she thinks she could've done anything to put her in this state, I can prove to her that just isn't the case." said Gretel.

Ariel and Capri agreed, so then Gretel took NT, and Capri held onto an arm, and they disappeared.

Once again, Gretel had to remind NT to keep still when they were coming up through the pool, and finally, the three of them came up into the wood.

"We're back." said Gretel. She carefully sat down with NT, and lay her in the grass.

NT kicked her legs and moved her arms, looking like she wanted to do more and couldn't. Gretel watched her, in particular her face.

NT seemed to grow in strength. Within a few minutes, she could roll from back to front, unaided.

"Well, that's proof right there," Gretel said to her. Hang on, relax, don't try anything else yet, I want to tell you something. And everyone else too, who is up..." Gretel told NT to keep calm and let her pick her up to take her over to the others.

NT lay still.

In the meantime, Capri found the others and joined them. "She's coming around, slowly. She's getting her wits back, and frightened about not being completely back to normal yet. Gretel's just showing her something here, I'm not sure what, and then she'll take her back home to sleep it off and recover.

"Is she still a baby?" Indy asked.

"Yes, but she can talk. It's really eerie." Capri added.

Bez chuckled. “Oy…talkin’ baby NT. This just keeps getting better and better…”

"Oy indeed," said Indy.

"Anyway, speaking of things not being what they really are - I got signaled about something with Criterion, and then shortly after that, Heidi called. She says there's a troublesome head-gaming fairy or mage of some sort pretending to be a deformed little girl who refuses help when asked, and just disappears once she can distract the attention away from her."

"Do you think the two could be connected?" Pippi asked.

"Probably not," said Capri, "Can't rule it out, though.

"For now, you can all be at ease, I think." said Gretel, as she came and joined the others, "Truly evil people can't survive here in this wood, if Jadis the White Witch of Narnia was any example. This place made her terrified and physically ill. She couldn't even breathe or stand up straight in it. But it has the opposite effect on the rest of us. We feel at peace here."

NT looked at Gretel, relieved.

"Well, that's good news for NT," said Capri, but I'm not so sure about Criterion if the foreign brains causing this are parasitizing the real one, that's his own. If it can act up in this place, it makes me wonder if that's what's happening or else we've just come incredibly close to encountering one of his tormentors back in Music Land or even on the way up. These freaks sometimes go from world to world, too."

“That…gives me an idea…” Matrix murmured. “As far as I’ve been able to tell from the galactic library, Criterion’s case is unique-at least in the sense that he survived the actual procedure. Any normal brain would have gone skewy.” He shrugged. “Then again…well, there are tons of unexplained deaths out in the galaxy. At first glance, they are what they are: unexplained mysteries. But some of them…some show telltale signs, a sort of fingerprint. Brain surgeries gone horribly wrong, people disappearing only to reappear- altered...”

“You have a point, Matrix. Make it.” Bez said.

“My point is…well, Criter had already been triggered by the time we got here, it just took a bit longer to manifest than last time. That’s not how he usually is. I’m thinking that something-or someone, in the transport back to this place triggered him. And that makes me think…all of it makes me think…someone’s been looking for him, looking for him for a long time, and is still looking for him now. And we may have just missed him.”

Bez frowned. “Looking for him as in…what?”

Matrix shivered. “To finish the job, I’d say.”

Sigma attempted to smother a gasp, only succeeding in making it a soft choked sound. “But what job?” She asked quietly.

Matrix shook his head. “I don’t know, your guess is as good as mine. Whatever kind of job is twisted enough to require brain transplants.” He sighed. “I’m really flying blind here. This is uniquely vexing. Who’s to say how this is going to turn out? How those three minds somehow exist in the same body without tearing it apart…”

It was silent for a few moments before Gretel spoke up.

"Which means," she began, "That in theory, at least, staying here would be very good for him, for what remains of his own brain. It would eventually kill off the ones belonging to the others who put theirs in him. But it would also mean we'd probably never catch who's responsible, and they would go on, inflicting this sick stuff on more people On the other hand, if he goes out there again, away from here, and these foreign brains are parasites, if they managed to kill off his real brain, then a trip back here too late to save it, would kill him."

“What?” Sigma exclaimed, going pale.

Bez scowled. “We won’t let it happen, Sigma.” She said quietly. “We made a promise to Criter, and, burn it all, we’re going to keep it.”

“Well, that’s comforting.” Criter suddenly entered the conversation. He had approached the edge of the group silently, managing to escape notice until his comment. “It’s nice to know your loyalty is so unwavering.”

“What else would you expect? You do know who you’re dealing with, right? Sheesh, by now you oughta.” Bez said, smiling crookedly.

Criter smiled and nodded.

“How’re you feeling?” Sigma asked.

“Better.” He began. "But..." He looked away, fidgeting uncomfortably. “At the same time, this place is distinctly- painful.”

Matrix sighed. “Oh…this is what I was afraid of. See, Gretel’s hypothesis that this place might kill off the foreign brains is sound, as far as I can see. However…” He paused, as if considering how to continue. “Well, with these fragments embedded in his brain for so long without killing him, one can conclude that they aren’t going to kill him in the future. Also, being so embedded…well, they’ve taken on basic brain functions. I think…I think all three pieces have been together so long that any attempt we might make to remove one or the other…would be just as bad as if his brain were still fully his own and we just dug random chunks out of it.”

Criter shuddered. "How eloquently put..." He mumbled. "I just love how casual you all are about digging bits out of my brain..."

A few others bristled in reaction.

"Now wait just a second." Bez put in. "Who said we're being casual? There's not really another way to phrase it."

Criter shrugged. "Fine. But- do you think you could try?" He smiled weakly. "Humor me?"

Bez smiled in return. "Sounds fair. By the way...did you get any vibes?"

He nodded. "More than a vibe...almost a memory..."

“Go on.” Sigma urged.

He shuddered involuntarily. "It's very clean, very bright. I can hear- someone, something, screaming, but I can't see anyone...and then- he's there..." He shook his head, screwing his eyes shut. "And then- nothing...emptiness...and a white wolf. In the middle of the emptiness, just...watching me." He opened his eyes, looking between the various members of the group.

Bez looked worriedly to Matrix. “A white wolf…” She repeated. “You don’t think-?”

Matrix shook his head. “Can’t be sure, not until we talk to Sin.”

Bez looked over to the others and scratched her head thoughtfully. “Ehm…I imagine this doesn’t make much sense to you. So…well, I’ll attempt to explain the significance of a white wolf, but it might take some time. Remember when we took down Cherie? We had the assistance of our good friend, Sin."

Capri nodded, frowning.

"I’m afraid we’ve been remiss in our introductions. All we told you was Sin is a telepath, which is all fine and true. Now, get comfy, ‘cause it’s story time."

"Do tell." said Madonna.

"Sin is an Enth. They’re a dang old species, very knowledgeable, very powerful. Once, a long time ago, they were close allies with a species known as the Ghaul. The Ghaul and the Enth made incredible discoveries together. They were amazing, propelling both their species forward in science, medicine, you name it."

There were several nods for Bez to continue.

"However, there came a time when the interests of the species split. The Ghaul felt that, with all the technology at their fingertips, they were a superior species.

"Uh-oh."

"Shh, NT, don't do that!" Gretel hissed, startled.

"Sorry."

"Gah, stop that, you're weirding me out!" Looking back at Bez, "Please, go on."

"You can guess where that went. The Ghaul and the Enth, once great allies, became the bitterest of enemies."

This was met by more murmurs and nods of understanding.

"This war went on for centuries, with neither side making any definitive victory. Eventually, the Enth elders had to accept that the Ghaul would never give up...nothing would stop them. Nothing but their destruction. They revealed an ancient weapon, one they had thankfully managed to keep out of Ghaul hands: the Mindsweeper, a massive array fueled by telepathic energy."

There were nods, indicating this was understood so far.

"This weapon could be guided by the collective thoughts of its wielders. Its purpose was simple: eradicate its target by destroying its mind. The Mindsweeper was useless without the minds of its wielders, also, somewhat unoriginally, known as Mindsweepers. "

There were several reactions of disconcertedness. Pippi frowned, Gretel narrowed her eyes, Capri scowled.

"Sin was one of those Mindsweepers."

Gretel pursed her lips, Capri's expression grew even sterner. NT clenched a fist.

"As they used this weapon to destroy the attacking Ghaul forces, something went wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong. The Mindsweeper malfunctioned, reaching out beyond its target to attack any sentient life in its range. By the time the Mindsweeper was shut down, nothing remained of the two species but fragments, barely enough to start a colony."

Ameh whistled. There was messing up, and then there was messing up on a grand scale.

"A close investigation of the Mindsweeper revealed that it had been deliberately tampered with during its operation. The only clue to the identity of the saboteur was an image, transmitted telepathically and unintentionally to one of the Mindsweepers: Sin. That image was a family crest, bearing the image of a white wolf.”

"I see," said Pippi, putting it together.

There was silence for a few moments as the others took it all in.

Bez looked around the group before smiling half-heartedly. “I guess now you guys know why he calls himself 'Sin'. Sorry for the long story, but simply saying ‘Oh, one of my friends saw a wolf crest after the almost total annihilation of his species. ’probably wouldn’t have worked.”

Gretel smirked. "Every bit of info helps, though."

Bez laughed suddenly. “Oh, wow, Gretel…you weren’t there for Cherie…well, this oughta make your intro to Sin interesting.”

Gretel flinched. "Hmmm." she murmured.

Bez cleared her throat. “So, I propose we continue our excursion with the added intention of scoping out Criter’s villain. Regardless of if we find anything or not…well, I have a feeling we’ll be visiting Sin. Whadaya think?”

Gretel shrugged. "If that's what it takes," she said apprehensively.

"So that's what Cherie was getting at when she went on about his home destroyed." said Madonna.

"I'm going to quickly get NT back home, then - " Gretel began but Capri stopped her.

"I'll take 'er, it'll be quicker that way." said Capri.

Gretel nodded and handed NT to Capri, who disappeared with her in a moment.

Several seconds later, Capri returned. "Well, let's go then.

"How are we gonna go about this?" Gretel asked. "Summon him here, or go out to meet him somewhere?

I hope you guys don't mind terribly, but I really need to take a good long time out and crash for a while." said Indy.

"Sure, we can pick you up when we get back." said Ameh.

Indy moved away from the others and lay down to sleep.

"Anyone else want to sit out for a bit?" Gretel asked.

No one responded except for a few head-shakes.

"Then let's get on with it." she continued.

"All righty then." Bez said. "I'm not so sure just *poof* summoning him would be a good idea, since we don't know what kind of situation he's in. But," She added with a sly smile. "We have our Unicom. I'll drop him a link and see what we can arrange."

Bez dialed into a frequency. "Come in, Sin, this is Bez."

"Hello, Bez. Nice to hear from you."

"Likewise, Sin. Now, I hate to call you up only to ask a favor, but, well, we need your telepathic expertice."

"What happened?" There was an edge to Sin's voice, a slight tremor of anxiety.

"Well...we have inadvertently stumbled upon a two-edged clue. You remember the last time I called, I mentioned our new crewmate?"

"Go on."

"Well, with some magical assistence, he gleaned a memory from one of his fits. One of the memories was a white wolf."

"What?" Sin exclaimed. "When was this?"

"Just barely. Look, I want to know if you can get anything off him that, y'know, one of us couldn't."

It was silent on the other end for a few moments before Sin replied hesitantly. "I...might be able to. Where are you? Where should we meet?"

Bez smiled slyly. "Sin, are you in a good position to meet us? As in, will your ship be none the worse if you leave it alone for a bit?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then, you wouldn't mind being transported to us? Magically?"

"Magically...?" He murmured. "I don't see why I should oppose that. I'll be waiting." And with that, he clicked off the Unicom.

"Okay," Bez announced to the group. "Magic time!"

Capri and Ameh exchanged looks. Ameh shook her head.

Capri looked at Gretel.

"Er, Not me," said Gretel.

Capri shrugged, frowning. "Okay," she finally said, "Here goes."

Sin's transport was quicker via this route than it would've been via rings. At first, there was a moment of darkness, as if someone had turned off the TV set. Then he found himself standing in the lush green wood, and the scene came into view in the same way it does when the set or computer monitor is turned on.

Sin looked around the clearing, wide-eyed and strangly at ease. "That was...interesting." He looked around the group, and, at seeing someone he didn't know, instantly regained his usual nervous disposition.

The look from the stranger seemed equally uneasy.

"Hey, kemosabe. You should remember everyone from Cherie, except Gretel, who wasn't there and as such is understandably a stranger to you." Bez said, gesturing to Gretel.

Sin nodded nervously. "Hello, Gretel."

"Hello," she replied stiffly.

Bez chuckled dryly. "Well, now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let's get down to business. Criter!"

Criter approached Sin, regarding him curiously. Sin frowned.

"That...shouldn't be possible..." He muttered to himself.

His expression changed suddenly, a mixture of surprise and fear. He stood silently for a few minutes, concentrating on Criter. At length, he sighed and shook his head.

"It's so...LOUD." He said haltingly. "It's hard to hear anything distinct."

"What, doesn't this place agree with you?" Gretel probed, seeming to be more on edge than anyone had seen so far.

Sin started suddenly and frowned. "Oh...sorry, I'm sure this looks...strange, to say the least, so I'll explain. You know I'm a telepath, but that doesn't really say much. There are a host of telepathic abilities one can have, and my primary ability is the Thought Echo. In essence, I can hear snatches of people's surface thoughts. Nothing deep. There's no need for any of you to worry about me prying or hearing something you'd rather keep quiet. All I get is...well, things like first impressions, initial reactions to emotional stimuli, basic things. It's very useful when dealing with new people, or to better understand people you've already met."

"That's a relief." said Gretel. But she continued to watch him carefully.

If Capri was thinking anything, she didn't say it, and remained straight-faced.

He nodded and continued. "Criter perplexed me at first, because I didn't hear anything from him. That's never happened before. Even comatose beings give off broken and indistinct Echoes. Silence should be impossible." He shook his head. "But there it was. And then, three distinct voices all at once, all fighting and roaring for control."

Pippi nodded at this.

Sin paused for a moment, regarding the group timidly. "I'm afraid I can't do anything...but...but I know who can. Her name is Mai, and she has a rare ability, the ability of Discernment. She can look into someone's mind," then noting the reactions of extreme wariness from a few of the others, he added for reassurance, "not for the thoughts or anything like that, but for...for it's essence, I suppose. Usually, those who can Discern use their power to tell Enth children what their abilities are, or will be, when they are no longer dormant. However, they have a wide range of other applications for this ability, and I'm almost positive Mai could see Criterion's mind in it's entirety. See what is was about it that allowed him to survive, see something about the foreign brains, who knows. All I know is she can and will help."

"Sounds good," said Gretel, who was now becoming visibly much more at ease.

"Yes, it's more than anyone of us could do," Pippi agreed.

Capri nodded.

"Well then, let's bring 'er on over!" Bez said eagerly.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Sin said. "After the-" He stopped abruptly and looked to the others.

"It's fine. They know." Sigma said.

Sin nodded numbly and continued. "After the Mindsweeper, I left to find the one responsible. I haven't seen my people in decades...I have no idea where they are, but I'm certain it isn't on the home world. And they won't want to be found. The conflict with the Ghaul made my people quite xenophobic. They'll be deep in hiding, so it would be quite the endeavor to track them down. I would gladly do it for you, but...I want to do it alone. If all of you were to get close, you might...spook them. I can get close and present your situation to them, and then bring you. I have no doubt that Mai will be willing to help, it's just...the Elders will be harder to convince." He sighed and shook his head. "They mean well, they really do, but...they're very set in their ways."

Bez nodded. "And once we get Mai to take a look at Criter, we can can figure out not only who messed with him, but who messed with the Mindsweeper."

Sin nodded. "Hopefully."

"And once we have that info, we can go after 'im!"

"Yes. But-be careful. Don't rush in headlong. Go after him quietly."

"Agreed." said Capri.

"Yes, there's no telling what this deranged contingent would do to some of us when spooked." said Pippi. "I, for one, don't want to expose Indy or Madonna, or even Ameh or Sigma to these things."

"Yeah," said Gretel slyly, "It's actually best they don't find out all at once just who is all working to bring them down."

"Exactly." said Capri.

"Well, we could always bring them here and kill 'em all in one fell swoop, right?" Ameh quipped.

"Ameh!" Pippi reached over and gave her a playful cuff on her temple.

Capri frowned disapprovingly. "That isn't what this place is meant for."

"Lighten up, Capri, I was only kidding." amen said.

Capri rolled her eyes.

Sin looked to Criter, a shadow of regret on his face. "No matter what, this will take time."

Criter nodded, smiling somewhat bitterly. "What's a little more waiting?"

Sin looked away. "Well, I...better get started."

Bez nodded. "Right. We'll keep looking for the baddie on our end, and you get us an audience with the Enth, so we can start to unmuddle Criter's mind."

Sin nodded.

"Okay, back to his ship?" Bez asked.

"All righty, and thanks for the help." said Capri.

Sin nodded. "Any time."

The last thing he saw was Capri coming toward him, and then, the scene faded away. There was darkness and silence for a moment. Then, the familiar surroundings of his ship came into view, but Capri was gone.

"With all the comins and goins, this place should be renamed Grand Woods Central." Capri kidded as she returned to the group.

Madonna laughed.

"So..." Bez began. "Where to next?"

"How about that - "

"Hey wait a moment, Madonna, didn't you pick the last time?" Gretel asked.

"Huh? Okay, nevermind, someone else go." Madonna said with a smile.

"They all look pretty much alike," said Ameh, "So, I'll just shut my eyes, twirl around, and the one I see when I open them again, is it. How's that sound?"

"Fair enough." said Gretel.

"Shouldn't we wake up Indy?" asked Capri.

"I'll try," said Pippi, and she went over to her friend. "Indy, Indy," she said into her ear, giving her a gentle nudge.

"Indy stirred. "Wha?"

"We're about to take another trip, do you wanna come?"

"Oh, sure! Did I miss any?"

"No, we've been here while you were napping.

Indy sat up and rubbed her eyes. Slowly, she got to her feet and heaved a contented sigh. "Where to?"

"Ameh's just - "

"Got it, we'll go there!" Ameh called.

Pippi and Indy, and all the others gathered at the pool Ameh had chosen.

They jumped.

The Rings

Back to stories index

Comment options:

htmlcommentbox.com