Home for a visit

[Hannah]

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I've been quiet a lot lately, but I was on a trip that I didn't want to let anyone know about. I'm on my way back now so here's what happened.

I’m glad Darcy came along for this. It was a long ride from the city so we amused ourselves by talking about black cats and pretty things. Good talk with a good friend helped put off the tension about what I was about to do.

Even having Darcy there I was pretty nervous as we turned down the lane to the compound. She was too. The last time anyone had been here my father had snuck in when everybody was in the chapel. This time we were just rolling up to the front gate on a sunny Tuesday morning.

“Are you sure about this kid?” Darcy slowed the car about a quarter mile down the lane. “Your Dad’s let us know there’s a right lot of crazy in there. Just driving up might be enough to have us killed.”

I shook my head. “The feud is between my father and my grandfather. As far as the people in there are concerned I’m still part of the family.”

“Yeah, well I ain’t a part of the family.”

“Don’t worry; they won’t see a woman as a threat.” I added a nervous joke. “Besides, my grandfather is partial to red-heads, so you’re more likely to end up my step-grandmother instead.

Darcy rolled her eyes. “I so wish I had told someone where we were going . . .”

“I did. My email program lets me delay sending my messages." I was a little proud of myself at this. “Dad will find out where we’re going in about an hour, too late to stop us.”

Darcy just nodded and picked up speed again. “But hopefully not too late to help us.”

We didn’t say much for the next couple of miles. The compound was soon looming before us.

I hadn’t been back here since I was rescued by my father and a bunch of the folks at Lazlo. I’d heard that the place had taken some damage from an enraged nature spirit but I wasn’t quite prepared for what we’d found.

“Hmm, gates opened and unmanned.” Darcy observed. “I thought they were the type to post sentries.”

Darcy was right “They are.” I peered through the fence, noting the weeds and bushes that had grown up alongside of it. “It looks like they’ve stopped tending to the basics too. They always kept the fence-line clear of vegetation to avoid giving an infiltrator a place to hide. “

Darcy stopped the car in front of the gate. “Well kiddo?”

I looked at the gate, squeaking in the wind. “My Rubicon.”

Darcy shot me a look. “Your what?”

“The Rubicon, the river that marked the border of Rome. When Julius Caesar decided to invade Rome and plunge the Republic into Civil War he stopped at the Rubicon River. It marked the last point before he started the wars that eventually created the Roman Empire and resulted in his death. It was the point of no return for his entire life.” I tilted my head towards the gate. “That may very well be my Rubicon.”

“One year of college and you’re already flaunting your education.” Darcy chuckled. “So mighty Caesar, what are your orders?”

I swallowed my nerves. “Forward.”

[Cybermancer]

Jules may not have been the best role model to choose.

[Hannah]

There are some worse choices.

Now where was I?

Oh yeah:


Darcy let the car creep forward through the gate and down the long drive towards the center of the compound. Either it was her natural paranoia or my dad’s tales of IED class when he was 9 that made her wary. I can’t say I found her caution misplaced. Still the journey was agonizing, like pulling a bandage off slowly and feeling each hair pop out one at a time.

I looked around as we went. The pigs and chickens roamed the overgrown fields. Toppled and charred ruins of outbuildings pocked out from the grass. The cows lowed mournfully outside a roofless barn.

It was all wrong.

“Stop the car!” I shouted.

Darcy, expecting the worst, immediately locked up the wheels. “What?”

I unbuckled my belt and got out of the car. “I can’t take this.” I headed over to the cows, slapping my hands together and shouting.

“What the hell are you doing?” Darcy had put the car in park and leaned out the window.

“They need milking.” I called back over my shoulder before I swatted one of bovines on the backside. “Ha Bessie!”

I could hear the disbelief in Darcy’s voice. “What!?”

It wasn’t really a question, but I answered it anyway as I got the cows into the barn. “A cow can produce more than seven gallons of milk per day. If a cow doesn’t get milked regularly there’s no place for that milk to go.”

“So?”

The cows, being well used to the routines of farm life made their way into their stalls, their distended udders dripping.

“So imagine the most sensitive spot on your body inflating like a balloon. You feel like it’s going to burst, you can feel the skin stretching, ready to tear. It inflates a little more each day, pulling tighter than you thought it ever could.“ I went to the milking machine and tested if there was any power. It rewarded me with a healthy thrum and the sounds of suction. The cows all but quivered in anticipation at the noise.

I turned off the milker and set about lubricating the suction ends. “At least I won’t have to do this by hand.”

“Uh, do we have time for all this kiddo?”

“I’m making time.” I turned the suction back on and started slipping the suction ends over the cows’ swollen teats. I swore I heard the cows sighing in relief. “These cows haven’t been milked for days, maybe even weeks. This is a basic part of farm life. Someone has to milk the cows a couple of times a day. If this isn’t being done . . . well it means there is nobody here that can take care of it.”

I let the milking machine run for a while before cutting it off. I didn’t want to let it run too long, mindful of how raw the cows’ teats were. “We’ll need to finish this before we leave, but they should be okay for now.” I gently unplugged the cows from the machine and sent them back outside.

“I’m surprised they didn’t sell ‘em.” Darcy seemed a bit impatient with the process still, but found the intelligence useful.

I nodded. “Yeap, farming 101, if you have more animals than you can care for you either need to sell ‘em or eat ‘em.”

Darcy and I headed back to the car. “So I guess what they say is true.”

I cocked my head to the side. “What’s that?”

“You can take the girl out of the farm, but you can never take the farm out of the girl.”

“So true.” I chuckled.

Darcy shot me an evil grin as we settled back into our seats. “So have you heard the one about the farmer’s daughter?”

[Cybermancer]

The point is not avoiding worse choices. The point is to take the optimal choice. Or as close as possible.

Still, given your compassion for bovines, I am not inclined to think it will be an issue. If a dictator you become, at least it will be a benevolent rule.

[Grace]

That's just what she needs. Encouragement.

All Hail Hannah Ceasor!

(Just declaring my loyalties now)

[Cybermancer]

Who is encouraging whom now?

[Hannah]

Are you kidding? My legions of bovine cavalry will grind mankind under their hooves!!!

Ranting out of the way, back to how I spent the first day of Summer.


We pulled up in front of the main residence block around the time Darcy delivered the punch-line. I made sure to give her a shot to the shoulder before we climbed out of the car.

“Hallo!!! Anybody home?”

Darcy all but jumped out of her skin at my yell. “What did your father and I teach you about noise discipline in the field?” she hissed.

“Seriously, Dar?” I let my annoyance at her tone come out. “If there is anybody here they saw us before we got to the gate. Further, this isn’t the field, this is my home.” I bit back adding not to act like my mother.

"Most people die in or near their homes. And this home is more dangerous than most."

Now was not the time for a fight with my lifeline if things did go bad. I just turned for what was left of the front door.

Stepping through the ruined threshold I was immediately glad I’d brought a flashlight. The interior of the residence block was blacked out. Only the rare shaft of light pierced the boards over what had been the windows.

Darcy held her pistol in her right hand, arm braced along the flashlight in her left. “I’ll take the right.”

“Dar, put it away. This is my family.” My annoyance was increasing.

“Exactly. They aren’t exactly a friendly bunch.” She paused then added, “Present company excluded.”

I took a breath. “Yes, they aren’t always friendly. They get a fair bit less friendly when people come at them with weapons drawn. In fact, that sort of thing makes them get all shooty.”

Darcy slid the pistol back into its holster, but kept her hand near. “Point taken.”

“Thanks Dar.”

We worked our way inward. I didn’t really have a plan on where to find people; I just let my feet and memories guide me.

We found him in the bunker. It was the place we were all supposed to run down if the compound got stormed. It was the place where we were supposed to make our last stand and hope that we were found worthy in God’s sight.

We had named it Masada, out of reverence of a place that had served the same purpose two thousand years before.

He was sitting against the wall. A rifle lay across his lap, a bottle at his side. A .45 was in his hand and he was muttering scriptures with the same cadence he used to scream them in sermons.

He was there to get ready for the end.

He was there because he was the last man at Masada.

He was there to kill himself.

“Grandfather . . .”

[Cybermancer]

An interesting contradiction. You bring along, in the form of Nemesis, an efficiently lethal weapon. Yet you choose to keep her 'holstered' as much as possible.

I find myself approving.

Based on how you present things in the last part of your post I can see one conjuring feelings of sympathy and pity for Mr. Grant. I have no doubt your compassion for him was at least as strong as it was for the cattle.

I can manage pity but sympathy eludes me.

But then my views are tainted by interactions that never took place.

[Grace]

An interesting contradiction. You bring along, in the form of Nemesis, an efficiently lethal weapon. Yet you choose to keep her 'holstered' as much as possible.

Hey! I'm like, right here!

While I suppose I could take it as a backward compliment, I'm a little miffed that you talk about me like I'm some sort of object. I'm a person with no free will.

Hannah didn't 'holster me', she reasoned with me and I responded... as a reasonable human being.

[Cybermancer]

An interesting contradiction. You bring along, in the form of Nemesis, an efficiently lethal weapon. Yet you choose to keep her 'holstered' as much as possible.

Hey! I'm like, right here!

While I suppose I could take it as a backward compliment, I'm a little miffed that you talk about me like I'm some sort of object. I'm a person with no free will.

Hannah didn't 'holster me', she reasoned with me and I responded... as a reasonable human being.

Yes, I see you there.

I don't think you're an object, Nemesis. I acknowledge you are a person with free will and capable of reason and therefore being reasoned with.

Nevertheless, Hannah did intervene to curb your trained and reflex reactions.

You are also a weapon. Lethal. Efficient.

Remember, I've had the oppurtunity to study you and examine your DNA. And your fathers. You both possess hereditary traits that provide you with pre-dispositions that make you very good at hand-eye coordination. You build muscle faster and easier than others. There is a total absence of various genetic defects. Your reflexes are markedly higher than normal.

I have every reason to suspect that this goes back for generations. How far is anyones guess. Could be centuries. Could be millena. Adult Hannah had some theories about your heritage that remain unconfirmed.

I apologize. I seem to be derailing the topic with something that is only tangentially related.

I am curious how Mr. Grant responded to being intruded upon.

[Hannah]

Cybermancer, I brought along a good friend.

I happen to be used to hanging around people who have a talent for violence. Something about my upbringing.


In answer as to what happened next . . .



As fast as a viper, my grandfather brought his .45 up to cover me and Darcy. In response my hand sprang to Darcy’s side and gripped her wrist. Her hand was on the grip of her pistol and had almost cleared the holster.
I kept my grip firm but as gentle as I could. A gun fight between my grandfather and one of my best friends was something I couldn’t let happen. I just hoped that Darcy would understand and trust me.

After a few agonizing seconds, I felt Darcy loosen her grip on the pistol and pull her hand back. I slid my hand back up her arm and placed it on her shoulder, thanking her.

“Grandfather, it’s me, Hannah.”

He squinted at us for a moment, looking at us up and down. “Can’t be, my daughter would never dress like a lesbian or bring another lesbian back here with her.” As always, my grandfather had a thing against women who wore pants.

Darcy’s shoulder tensed and I gave it a reassuring rub before stepping forward and between her and my granddad.

“Grandfather, you told me that you can’t tell a lie often enough to make it true. You need to take your own advice about now.” I took another step forward. “Now if you want me to prove who I am, I will, but you and I both know I don’t need to.”

The safety clicked back on and the pistol sank back to pointing at the ground.

“Thank you. “ I took another step towards him.

“Did he send you to gloat?” All of the strength had washed from his face and shoulders.

I shook my head. “No, in fact my dad is probably freaking out right now about me being here.” I had sent my father a delayed email. It would only arrive when it was too late for him to stop me. I’d also covertly slipped the battery out of Darcy’s smartphone so she wouldn’t get any messages from him telling her to stop me.

“Then why are you here?“

I looked into my grandfather’s eyes. I remembered how bright they had been five years ago, back when I had lived here with him and my mother. “I came to see you.” I took a breath. “I came to see if you were doing okay. Though since you are the only one here, I’m going to ask if you’d like to come back with me. I don’t live with Dad anymore or even in the same city as him so you wouldn’t have to worry about running into him.”

His jaw dropped and eyes bulged with surprise. “Why would you do such a thing for me?”

“Because you’re my grandfather,” I explained. “You may have made a few mistakes, but you tried to raise me the best you could.”

It was the first and last time I’d see my grandfather cry.

[Cybermancer]

Cybermancer, I brought along a good friend.

A good thing then, that the good friend also had a talent for violence, isn't it?

A talent you suppressed as required.

He squinted at us for a moment, looking at us up and down. “Can’t be, my daughter would never dress like a lesbian or bring another lesbian back here with her.” As always, my grandfather had a thing against women who wore pants.

Some things never change.

It was the first and last time I’d see my grandfather cry.

Last?

[Hannah]

Contrary to popular belief, Darcy is more than a ruthless killing machine. In fact, seeing as we were going to be visiting my childhood friends and my family. A ruthless killing machine is something I most certainly wouldn't want with me.

To be honest, I'm a little tired of your one track mind when it comes to Darcy. She's a far more complex and even compassionate person than you (or Darcy herself) give her credit for.

Anyway, here's what happened next . . .

I talked with my grandfather for a while longer, properly introducing him to Darcy in the process. Aside from dismissing her as a lesbian and a papist, he was pretty well behaved. Best that can be said for Darcy is she didn’t put any bullets through his face.

It wasn’t quite so grim, despite having issues with some of Darcy’s lifestyle choices (especially wearing pants) my Grandfather was actually pretty amused by her. He even turned on the old Grant family charm and got Darcy laughing a few times.

It exists; seriously, just don’t take my dad as an example.

My grandfather told us what had happened to the place. Apparently since my dad’s last visit home most of the congregation had lost faith in what my grandfather had to say. They’d drifted away, one family at a time, for a few months. The last few hold outs had driven away the week before, leaving my grandfather alone with the farm animals.

It was about an hour before the solstice when I quietly excused myself, mentioning the outhouse to allay suspicions.

You see, I had two people I wanted to talk to today, one of whom had a tight schedule that I didn’t want to miss.

It’s amazing what you can learn at school, most of it not in class. For example I spent some time with a bunch of folks who claimed to be witches. What they did after school was very pretty and very theatrical, but it wasn’t terribly well researched. Still, there was a certain resonance about it.

So I decided to do the research. The rituals they performed were designed to call upon spirits from other planes, but they were flawed on a few different levels. Perhaps the greatest level of the flaw was something totally beyond their control.

They lacked a connection.

You see the spirits they were looking to contact had developed a connection with certain tribes and clans, centuries or even millennia ago. These connections had to be cultivated and cared for since then.
When you’re born into a family who is trying to breed perfect soldiers to fight in a holy war you have certain advantages when it comes to knowing your genealogy. My family had been obsessive about it, tracing it back as far as written record would permit and then collecting the stories and legends of our family back into antiquity.

Prior to a shift to a rather obnoxious form of fundamentalist Christianity my family had been one of those that had kept their connection to the spirits alive. Even after that transition, the peculiar family traditions we practised bore a certain similarity to our previous beliefs. Add into that a deliberate effort to concentrate our bloodline and it was no surprise that my grandfather had inadvertently re-established contact with the spirits when he was a child.

I had contacted these spirits before, as many of you are well aware. I had even journeyed into their world. But each of those contacts had been either initiated by the spirits or an uncontrolled act of desperation on my part.
But now I had been doing my research.

From my research I understood a lot more about the rituals I’d observed the witches do at school. In addition to lacking the personal connection to the spirits, they had lacked the right connections in terms of time and space.
However in the forest, next to the great oak, I had access to a place. With the imminent arrival of summer, I had a time. My blood and experiences gave me a connection to the spirits. Finally, I had my secret weapon. A flash drive full of information Cybermancer had brought back for me. With all of this together I had what I needed to put my plan in action.

At least that was the theory I was clinging to as I gathered materials from the barn and headed into the forest.

It’s all about energy, the way it flows and the way it can be directed. A few symbols, a few representative items, some iron spikes from the timbers in the barn and I had created a circle which should ground out any energy that might try to escape it.

Again, this was all how the theory went. I’m sure Michael T would have found a dozen refinements I could have made to the circle and my father would have disagreed with the whole idea, but this wasn’t their problem.
It was mine.

That’s why I’d done my best to keep Darcy in the dark about what I was going to try. If I could keep this just between me and the spirits I would be able to devote my full attention to it.

Of course, my family’s luck held and Darcy showed up with my grandfather in tow just as I had finished the final words that would focus the attentions of the other side to right in front of me.

“What do you think you’re . . .” Darcy’s words got whipped away as the wind kicked up with the breach forming between the planes.

A few seconds later the breach became viable, blue-white lightning licked around its edges, arcing off to the edges of the circle I had created. As the breach widened the howl of the wind was replaced with the playful notes of a flute. Soon a figure emerged from the gap in reality. He towered above us, his head wreathed in leaves and sporting a pair of horns. His face was beautiful, the great curled horns acting as an accent. Everything about him seemed perfect, just as it should be. Even his cloven hooves seemed natural.

Darcy stopped short, eyeing the giant before us.

“Darcy, I’d like you to meet Robin Goodfellow, the Lord of Greenwood.”

[Cybermancer]

Contrary to popular belief, Darcy is more than a ruthless killing machine. In fact, seeing as we were going to be visiting my childhood friends and my family. A ruthless killing machine is something I most certainly wouldn't want with me.

Acknowledging that someone is a lethal weapon is not the same as saying they are a ruthless killing machine. She is a weapon. By virtue of predisposition, training, and most importantly, the choices she has made.

Your naration has made it clear that this was not a summer trip to the beach. You felt it was a potentially very dangerous sitation. You brought her, as you yourself said, to be your lifeline if things went bad. Your first reaction when encountering Mr. Grant was to stop her from doing what she was already in the process of doing.

You reasoned her out of her inclinations, and being reasonable is something I have already acknowledged as being one of her traits. In this thread even. I've also acknowledged that she is a person and therefore more than just a weapon. But I'm not going to ignore that she's a very dangerous person.

Frankly, I don't think you do either. In fact I am certain you were counting on that part of her.

To be honest, I'm a little tired of your one track mind when it comes to Darcy. She's a far more complex and even compassionate person than you (or Darcy herself) give her credit for.

Wrong. I know better than you what sort of person she is capable of being. And I choose to hold her to the standard of her potential. Nothing less. I can live with that exasperating you.

However in the forest, next to the great oak, I had access to a place. With the imminent arrival of summer, I had a time. My blood and experiences gave me a connection to the spirits. Finally, I had my secret weapon. A flash drive full of information Cybermancer had brought back for me. With all of this together I had what I needed to put my plan in action.

Dammit. I knew I should have hacked that drive. Even across time I swear she will find a way to be the death of me.

“Darcy, I’d like you to meet Robin Goodfellow, the Lord of Greenwood.”

I seem to remember trying to discourage just this sort of thing from occuring.

Well, obviously you survived and given the poor broadcast/reception qualities of the fey realm, I'm going to guess you're still in this world. So possibly things did not turn out so bad.

Still I'm curious how you got out of that situation.

[Grace]

If you think either of us was naughty, Cyber.

Maybe what you need to do is spank us?

Thanks for coming to my defense Hannah, but I'm a big girl and can hold my own against Cyber.

We've come to an understanding.

[Doctor Boggs]

That's quite an impressive ritual you managed Hannah, well done! Of course you haven't revealed how it all turned out yet, but it's quite the narrative. I'd normally caution against such rash endeavors but you do seem to have a more than fair grasp of what you're doing, or so I hope.

As for Cyber and Nemesis, both of whom know perfectly well I know em both, get a bloody room already! Criminey!

[Grace]

What if I told you we already had?



Of course, it would be a safe bet to assume I was lieing.

[Cybermancer]

The two of you are deliberately giving people the wrong impression.

Perhaps we should just let Hannah tell her story?

[Grace]

The two of you are deliberately giving people the wrong impression.

Perhaps we should just let Hannah tell her story?

*Sigh*

You're right.

Just to clear the air, there is nothing at all suggestive going on between Cyber and myself. I'm just trying to get his goat and Boggsy gave me the perfect opening. Or so I thought.

And Hannah, I apologize for hijacking things in your thread. Even though I was there, it's been interesting to see things from your perspective.

I should add a bit of my own perspective, I suppose.

It was a tense situation. As Hannah has mentioned, there were several times I wanted to react in the way I've been trained. My instincts are good-they've kept me alive and I'm not ashamed of them.

But sometimes they do color my perspective and I'm glad that Hannah was there to give me some additional perspective.

Though at the time I found myself wondering why she brought me if she was just keep tying one of my hands behind my back. And she wasn't always forthcoming with all the information. I suppose I understand why.

But I like to think I would have backed her play anyway. You know, after the yelling and screaming match we would have had over it.

Hannah is right about Jim's charm. The old bastard will tell you that you're going to hell but in the nicest possible of ways.

Like Ron said, I think my dad and him would have gotten along like gangbusters. Or shot each other dead.

And I have to say, Robin was... very impressive.

I was quite glad for the going away gift that Ron gave me.

I'm even more glad I didn't have to use it.

[Hannah]

Cybermancer, I responded to your PM about this. Yes, you and my father both tried to discourage me from such (or in his case forbid) but the issues between me and the fae couldn't be resolved by inaction.

Darcy, I wasn't worried about you starting to shoot. I was worried about my family reacting to a gun in the way I knew they would. I trusted your restraint more than I trusted theirs.

I brought you because I needed a good friend along for the ride. I also (despite what my father said when we got back to DC) knew how dangerous a situation I was getting into. I also knew that if things went bad, you would find a way to escape. If for some reason that escape couldn't include me, I knew you would get help.

You are far more than a killer. Killing skills aren't even your foremost attribute. Don't let Cybermancer's preoccupation with that make you forget what's happened since you found me in Boston.

Doc, I was and still am proud of the ritual I put together. Of course circumstances beyond my control kept me from finding out how successful a ritual it really was. Then again, I guess that's the point of a ritual, to take control over things that would otherwise have been beyond your control.

Anyway, more of the story to come in a little while.

Hannah

[Hannah]

I could tell from the look on Darcy’s face that she wasn’t sure if she should be impressed that I’d managed to bring him here or frightened at my stupidity for even attempting it.

I was just as unsure as her, but it was too late for second guessing. My Grandfather and Darcy’s presence disrupted my plan and put them at risk if things went wrong. I had to make my plan fit the circumstances.

“Robin here is a very interesting fellow.” I felt myself slipping into the mode my professors must go into when it’s time to lecture the class. “He is known by several different names. Each of those names is associated with a different set of legends and tales. While all are similar, each is slightly different. For example he’s been called Cernunnos, the Horned God, the Stag Lord, the Oak King, the Holly King, Tubal-cain, Bran, Dianus, Cern, Jack Robinson and the Green Man. Shakespeare named him twice, once as Herne the Hunter and once as Puck. The Greeks called him Pan.”

I swallowed before my next sentence. My next sentence is what my entire plan had hinged on. For the spirits of the other realm things worked differently. Not only were time, space and causality malleable, but the nature of their very existence was inherently changeable. Part of this was tied to the thought process of those who interacted with them. The focal point of this was in how they were named.

I had learned a lot of this through the material that I had been sent by the Hannah that Cybermancer knew. Some of it was stuff she had learned in her time in Cernunnos’ kingdom. Some of it she had read in the great library. Some of it she researched while searching for a way to defeat the invaders that threatened that world.

All of it she bundled up for me to use to reshape my dealings with the fey.
Now was the chance I had to restructure the whole situation.
As I said the name I had chosen to bond him to I pushed as much energy as I could into the carefully formed idea that went with that name. “To the Romans, he was known as Faunus.”

I held my breath and waited.

I had no idea if what I had done had worked. I had no real idea how to tell it had.

I was hoping I had managed to overwrite my dealings with Robin Goodfellow into dealings with Faunus. Not the Roman Fanus though. That was a cover. The other Hannah had written at significant length about Fanus, her son.

Not sure if it had worked or not, I continued my lecture from earlier. “These are really incredible beings Dar. In their own plane things like time, death and causality mean nothing to them. Instead everything happens in cycles.“ I moistened my lips, watching the spirit’s eyes for any change.

“Apparently there was a war. On our earth it happened thousands of years ago. In the world Cybermancer visited, it happened a second time in the early 21st century. In the fey realm, it happened only once, but it repeated several times. Faunus was created as a warrior in one of those invasions.”

“And you helped to create me.”

I stifled a little squeal of happiness. “Yes I did.”

Of course fate had to dash my hopes. “The cycles continue. As you have created me, I must take you to our realm for the act of creation to occur.” Faunus stepped towards me, arm outstretched. He touched the edge of the circle and immediately blue-white energy arced from him into the ground. He withdrew in confusion, looking at his finger like a child who has just discovered that a stove is hot for the first time.

This was exactly the scenario I was trying to avoid. “It has already happened, I have played my part.”

“Nay child, as it has happened it must still happen. Your part is not done then.” It was a woman’s voice and it chilled my blood. Though I had never heard the voice before, I immediately recognized it. By drawing on the same knowledge that had turned Robin Goodfellow into Faunus, I had brought forth the aspect of another spirit associated with him.

Queen Badhbh was here and she had arrived outside of the circle that constrained Faunus.

[Ron Caliburn]

“Darcy, I’d like you to meet Robin Goodfellow, the Lord of Greenwood.”

I seem to remember trying to discourage just this sort of thing from occuring.

You and me both. I've come to the conclusion that no matter what, she's going to do what she thinks is best and not care about the consequences to herself.

She gets it from her mother.

[Cybermancer]

“Darcy, I’d like you to meet Robin Goodfellow, the Lord of Greenwood.”

I seem to remember trying to discourage just this sort of thing from occuring.

You and me both. I've come to the conclusion that no matter what, she's going to do what she thinks is best and not care about the consequences to herself.

She gets it from her mother.

I always liked Sarah. It was a sad day when she died in any timeline.

As for Hannah, yeah I'd have to agree whole heartedly. She has caused me no small amount of grief although to be fair, I suppose I have caused her some as well.

I have to be in D.C. in a short while. Perhaps we could discuss this over drinks?

[Ron Caliburn]

I have to be in D.C. in a short while. Perhaps we could discuss this over drinks?

Make mine a root beer and don't forget the hand signal.

[Hannah]

Hey now, I'm right here.

Anyway

I was in it deep. As soon as I had made the connection with Badhbh, everything the other Hannah had told me about her flooded into my head. Those of you who have read up on her know that the other Hannah’s impression of Badhbh was not very complimentary.

Now I had a being that had every reason to hate me present and unrestrained by any sort of ritual. The situation was deteriorating rapidly.

Darcy tried to speak up, but Badhbh cut her off with a clap of thunder.

“Queen Badhbh.” I barely suppressed a crack in my voice. “This is a matter between me and Faunus. Please return from whence you came.” I had hoped I managed the right combination of polite and firm.

“Your actions endanger the survival of my race.” The fae’s tone rewrote the definition of haughty. “This matter concerns me as well.”

“Now hold on there.” My grandfather had found his tongue. “This is about some fool promise I made as a kid. The only survival that was threatened that day was mine.”

“You are incorrect.” Fanus was changing again, shedding the aspect I’d forced onto him. He also wasn’t turning into Robin, instead he was transforming into something else. “Our survival in invariably connected with yours.”

Once again he stepped up to the barrier I had erected; I saw energy crackle where he touched it. “Impressive Hannah, but you forget that the power you wield cannot be turned against me.” He passed through, casually ignoring the shower of sparks unleashed as the barrier came crashing down.

Not Faunus, not Robin . . . “Cernunnos.” As I said the name his form solidified once again.

Twice now I’d made that mistake, so much for outsmarting the fae. By letting thoughts of Cernunnos in I’d allowed him through the barrier. The barrier I had made would have constrained Robin or Faunus as in my mind they had distinct limits. But as soon as I thought of Cernunnos, I had transformed him back into a full god. My circle couldn’t hold that back.

“Since before your kind recorded history our peoples have been intertwined. As my race had moved beyond concepts like death we lost something. We lost the ability to create. I can be reborn endlessly, but I can never bring a new life into this world on my own. By becoming what you may consider infinite, we found ourselves suddenly finite.” His voice dropped in volume at the loss. “Your kind, though thoroughly finite as individuals, possessed an infinite resource. You could create. Fire, tools, language . . . most importantly you could create new life.”

“So a bargain was struck. We would provide a fraction of our power to your people, and every few generations we would take one of your kind to help my kind regain the ability to create.” He stepped beside Badhbh. “For a long time as you reckon it your kind has not fulfilled your side of the bargain and our kind has diminished as a result. When one of your kind was willing to renew the old bargain we immediately seized the opportunity.”

My grandfather spat. “By browbeating a frightened child.” He limped to put himself face to face with the Horned God. “Well I’m not a child anymore and I repudiate the whole deal. Take it all back, not that it did anything for me."

Cernunnos’ eye flashed angrily. “None may go back on a bargain with the fey.”

My grandfather was undeterred. “Fine then, I'll take her place.”

[Cybermancer]

Hey now, I'm right here.

I see you there.

I just think that there should be a support group for those who have had to deal with you.

And people think I don't have a sense of humor.

But more seriously, I must confess to a certain amount of surprise at Mr. Grant being willing to sacrifice himself.

I am even more curious to see how this turns out.

[Grace]

Oh! Oh!

Can I get in on this?

[Hannah]

Et tu Darcy?


“Impossible.” Badhbh interjected. “You are near the end of your life. She is young and full of the promise of new life.”

"Nonsense,” My father drew himself up as much as his bad knee would allow. “I have plenty of life left in me.”

“Not for what we would need of you.” Badhbh sneered.

“There’s got to be a way.” My grandfather wasn’t going to back down, not that he ever did, but usually he wasn’t face to face with a couple of gods. “Can’t your magic just make me younger?”

Things came together in my mind with a loud clank. “That’s it!!” Everyone but my grandfather turned to stare at me. “In the fey realm all possibilities exist simultaneously. The information the other Hannah left me included her sitting in the audience when the Seelie Court ruled on if I had to marry Robin or not.”

Darcy spoke up. “So, besides giving me a migraine, what does that do?”

“Well, if two of me can exist simultaneously in their universe, why not two of my grandfather?”

“If he was in our realm when he was younger, when he comes back the younger version of him will be there two.” Badhbh’s tone was uncharacteristically reasonable. “This is acceptable.”

“Then it’s a deal.” My grandfather spit into his hand and extended it to the fae king.

So it was done. My grandfather got to go to the fey kingdom where he could live forever, I no longer had to worry about spirits from another world taking me to be their bride and the fey got their boost of creative energy. I even managed to arrange for a herdswoman to visit the farm to take care of the animals from time to time.

The sun was just beginning to set as Darcy and I reached the highway. “So about the stunt you pulled with my phone.” I made myself look the appropriate amount of sheepish at her belated discovery of my plan. “I’m sooo going to get you for that.”

[Grace]

Et tu Darcy?

You're the one who chose to relate to Julius Caesar.

The sun was just beginning to set as Darcy and I reached the highway. “So about the stunt you pulled with my phone.” I made myself look the appropriate amount of sheepish at her belated discovery of my plan. “I’m sooo going to get you for that.”

Revenge is a dish best served cold...

[Cybermancer]

Et tu Darcy?

You're the one who chose to relate to Julius Caesar.

She beat me to it.

Seems like it all worked out for the best way possible for all parties concerned. Not bad improvisational planning there. Interesting that the solution to the problem was also the cause of the problem. There is a certain cyclic symetry present in all of this.

I hope you can manage to enjoy the rest of your summer without rashly endangering yourself again.