"So why Victor Lazlo?"

It was the question I had been asking myself ever since I appeared in this timeline on the Ohio serpent mound. Why the heck were they trying to summon Victor Lazlo?

"A few reasons, actually." Dr. Boggs began to explain to me, "a lot of what we know about the paranormal today is due to him. He was a pioneer who treated paranormal research like a scientific discipline. Also, he had a lot of followers. It has sort of made him a public face in paranormal research. As such he could serve as a rallying point, a figure head that could unite us against the invaders. Especially since he was so outspoken about warning us against something just like this happening."

It's true. Victor Lazlo did indeed warn us many times about the dangers of the supernatural, an invasion of our world he could feel happening and the need to rise up to oppose these things.

Victor Lazlo wrote:I listen to myself and wonder. What will become of me and those handful of others who have unearthed some of the lost secrets, and do oppose these otherworldly invaders? Are we a threat or an occasional nuisance? Do we make a difference? And if we do make a difference, if our numbers grow and our voices begin to reach the masses, what then? Will any one of these nightspawned obscenities take notice and try to slay us? That is a question which has preyed on my mind a lot, lately. Perhaps it is just old age creeping up on me. Slowing me down. Still, I'd feel more secure if there were more of us. Otherwise, we'd be so easy to hunt down and terminate. Hell, would anybody even notice our disappearance?

-An excerpt from Victor Lazlo's diary, written three months prior to his disappearance.

"Also," Maddie added, "there is the matter of his disappearance at the Ohio Serpent mound. I'm something of an expert when it comes to geomancy as well as dimensional magic and portals. I believe that the mound in Ohio spikes during certain astronomical events. At all other times, it is dormant."

Dr. Boggs was nursing a shot of whiskey on ice, "this is where she gets all Doctor Who about it."

Maddie went on as though he hadn't spoken, "during these times, most places of power form links to other places. Either other dimensions or perhaps other places here on earth." She held up a finger and paused briefly for dramatic effect, "but on the Ohio mound, it's different. It opens a portal to other times. Or at least allows portals to be opened to other times."

Almost reflexively I responded, "Time travel is impossible."

"And yet here you are." Dr. Boggs held up his glass as though in toast. Then he narrowed his eyes at me, "but then were was it you were?"

"And when?" Maddie added.

"I live in Richmond, Virginia. Or at least I will. Or would have. When I arrived at the serpent mound, it was the winter solstice, in twenty-ten."

"So you're from the future?" Doctor Boggs was looking interested, "so you can tell us who wins, right?"

Sadly, I shook my head, "in my time line, this invasion never took place."

"Why were you at the mound?" Maddie's eyes seemed to flash, "And why at that time?"

It didn't seem wise to play all my cards quite yet but at the same time there was much to be gained by careful telling of the truth. "I became aware of a powerful supernatural entity and had reason to believe that it was active in the area. When I arrived at the mound, it became apparent that it had already gone through a portal to someplace..." I paused, "or somewhen else. An attempt was made to send me after it."

The language coming from Maddie suggested that she wasn't always very lady like.

"So what the hell happened?" Doctor Boggs demanded.

Maddie collapsed into a chair and crossed her arms in front of her chest, "it looks like the portal IT made leaving his time, was reopened. So he started on his trip back in time after it. Except that it had already started changing things to this timeline. So our spell basically pulled him out of the time stream on his way back instead of bringing Victor Lazlo forward."

This Dr. Boggs then demonstrated the same intelligence and intuition I have come to respect from our Dr. Boggs. "So you think this thing was travelling back into the past," he waved his hand in a circle to include all of us in the room, "all of our pasts to change things?"

Maddie nodded mutely.

"So if we were to go back in time after IT, we could perhaps stop all of this from ever happening?" There was definitely some optimism in his voice, but it seemed foreign to his demeanour.

Maddie again nodded, but remained mute and still seemed angry.

"When will be the next time the Ohio serpent mound connects to the past?" I asked, suspecting and dreading the answer.

"During the Winter Solstice, twenty-ten."

Hannah wrote:That's wild. So what did you do? Just hide somewhere for a decade and then go back to the mound?

Hannah

Even if that were the plan, it would not have been as easy as all that.

Besides, was I supposed to ignore peoples suffering just because I had a chance to change it all so that it never happened? And that's just it, a chance to change things. In retrospect of course we can see that it all worked out for the best but that was far from a certainty at the time.

These people were not abstractions. They were real and so were their problems, pain and suffering. So where their deaths.

I had to try and help these people. What these people needed was a beacon of hope, a hero and a leader to show them the way. That is why Doctor Boggs had been trying to summon Victor Lazlo.

I'm no Victor Lazlo but then, this wasn't exactly my first rodeo, either. Or my first revolution, for that matter.

The first thing to do was get organized.

"So what is it that we're up against?" I asked my two companions.

"We don't know." Dr. Boggs emptied his glass, "not precisely, anyway."

"Information is scarce," Maddie stood up and walked to the window to take a peak outside. She didn't seem to see anything that bothered her so she continued. "But there are a few things we know. For example, we know that the enemy seems to be operating primarily from the world of the fey and the astral plane. They also seem fairly active in people's dreams-probably for intelligence gathering."

"The fey world?" I'd had limited experience there, "don't the natural residents have something to say about that?"

"They do..." Doctor Boggs seemed particularly upset by this, "or did."

"It seems that as mankind's belief in the fey began to slip away, it created a weakness the enemy could exploit. Evidence suggests that the enemy started invading the fey world as early as the Renaissance era. The fey put up a fight but lost ground. The enemy hasn't completely conquered the fey world or the fey but they have established themselves there and are entrenched."

"That's not the worst of it." Dr. Boggs contributed, "the bastards are warping the fey, turning them into monsters in their service. You ever hear tales about doppelgangers that would replace human children with their own? There's more truth to that then you want to know. I've run into some of those abominations, in this world."

"What can you tell me about these doppelgangers?" I asked Dr. Boggs.

"Well, they're identical in every way, and seem to have the originals memories too. But so far we haven't run into one that was psychic or of a psychic." His face looked bitter and torn, "same can't be said about mages however."

Maddie moved to stand behind where the good doctor was sitting. She began to massage his neck. "They've also allied with demons." The disgust in her voice was impossible to disguise. "Aside from that we know little about their minions, leaders or even what they call themselves."

"So what about their plan?" I asked.

"We know they were planning an invasion for today. We weren't expecting this unnatural darkness though." Doctor Boggs seemed to be getting more comfortable. "I expect likely they're using their doppelgangers to replace important people when and where they can."

"It's a good bet they're going to strike out against those who are a threat to them." Maddie added. "That list includes psychics, mages, paranormal investigators, were-beasts and of course, vampires."

Doctor Boggs seemed surprised by those last two, "why would one group of monsters be worried about attacking another?"

"Because it's the nature of all intelligent species to seek dominance in their environment. Vampires and Were-beasts have opposed one another forever. Even amongst the were-beasts tribes there is conflict." She traced a finger seductively along his cheek. "You, better than anyone perhaps, know that demons and devils often bicker and fight despite their similarities." She looked up at me, "it's all about competition for resources. Humans are a resource that the invaders plan to control."

"On that point, you are wrong." I hadn't come to this world entirely empty handed. For example, I still had my portable computer. I turned it on and began the process of logging on. "They do not want to control humanity at all. They want to destroy humanity."

"Wha..." Doctor Boggs looked bewildered and horrified at the same time, "that's impossible!"

I opened a file and turned the screen towards them, showing them what I knew of the enemy.

Both had paled considerably before the presentation was complete.

"You're not from around here, are you?" I'm sure Maddie's question was purely rhetorical.

"No," I answered anyway. "I am not."

The next year was spent getting ourselves organized. We had to gather resources and contact possible allies. Chief amongst those allies were former friends and acquaintances of Victor Lazlo. It wasn't as easy as it sounds. They were amongst the first to be targeted by the enemy.

The fact that there were rumours that Victor Lazlo had resurfaced hadn't helped them at all.

On the upside, it meant that there was an ever shrinking pool of people who could refute our claims as to my identity.

There were a few of Victor Lazlo's friends and associates that we were able to contact. Those few times we made sure to be up front about what was going on and what our plans were. There were some fears originally that I might be a doppelganger, brought out by the enemy to undermine them. That I was an admitted fake actually helped them except the arrangement. Most got behind the plan, although some were more grudging than others.

Going public was tricky. I do not appear as old as Victor did when he disappeared and certainly not as old as he would be if he were still alive today (or back then). Doctor Boggs had some spells that could help out on those occasions that required me to make a public appearance. All other times, we used digital magic that was more my area of expertise.

My first 'appearance' was actually to start a Blog and forum. The forum, not surprisingly, I called the Lazlo Society. The Blog I called "The Psychic Underground". The first entry was posted the day after Nemesis Day and went like this:

Greetings friends.

Twenty years ago, I went underground. I did this for many reasons. I was tired and feeling old (ironic now in retrospect as I wish I still had the energy of days gone by). Twenty years ago, I was frustrated with the scientific community and colleagues both for not listening to the warnings I was offering back then.

After yesterday, I fear that the time for warnings has long since past. The supernatural monsters I have always spoken of are now here in force. They are not here to cause fear, although they are fearsome. They are not here just to conquer although they are conquerors. They are here to destroy us, for they are destroyers.

Ignorance is no longer blissful. They have exploited mankind's blindness for far too long. We can no longer afford our delusions. We must acknowledge the supernatural and deal with it. We can not allow lies under the guise of science to explain away what happened yesterday.

Around the world, reports of people demonstrating ESP are coming in. Eyes are being opened whether we want them to be or not. There is a danger here! The enemy knows that those who have their eyes open are a danger to them. Nevertheless, we must band together and fight.

That is why I have come out from hiding. I know it will make me a target to the enemy. Perhaps I will die. It does not matter. They must be stopped.

Who will stand with me?

I leave you for now, my friends, with this poem by Dylan Thomas.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Slayer, I'll address your statements first. Doctor Who fans everywhere would disagree with you. And confusion only comes from a lack of information, which I will labour to correct as quickly as I am able in this thread. Hopefully as the tale unfolds, confusion will be dispelled.

Nor are there any paradoxes in this story. Those who changed the time line were all foreign to it. In each case, their personal history was not altered. Only this one was. I'm sure there are some who will immediately object, wanting to site whatever paradigm is prevalent to their own chosen mythology about time travel. As these paradigms have, without exception, been developed in the total absence of actual evidence they are not relevant to these occurrences or my relation of them.

Finally, you should stop watching sci fi. It will rot your brain.

Now I will address Hannah's comments and questions although I suspect it will take more than one post to complete.

The first thing we need to bear in mind is that power is not an absolute concept but rather a relative one. As you are more powerful than a baby, the Oak King and Holly King are more powerful than you. As personifications of nature, they do indeed wield a whole lot of power on their native plane. But just as nature, powerful as it is, can be subverted, corrupted and polluted, it is the same for the world of the fey.

They did fight. And at no time were they completed defeated. Robin was one of their greatest assets in holding the invaders at bay. In all aspects, the champions of the Fey realm are godlike in their power.

Even amongst gods, there are degrees of power. What the fey faced was greater than even them. So while they were never conquered, they were losing. Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter are cycles of renewal. But they are still vulnerable to entropy. What good is it to have the world bent around you if that world is dead, dying, corrupted and polluted? And like a black hole, the invaders were also able to bend the world around them. Also like a black hole, the invaders were able to suck the world in and destroy it, piece by piece.

But in the end, the fey world was not their goal. It was merely a stepping stone to the material world. A base to operate from and a resource to exploit. Once humanity was extinguished, the fey world would lose meaning and itself, fade from existence.

In a way, the fey were our accidental allies. By opposing the invaders, they tied up valuable resources and attention. It would have been better if they had been open to a formal alliance. Then we could have coordinated our efforts. For our part, we certainly sent envoys to sue for such cooperation.

The most successful envoy failed to garner us an alliance but did provide other dividends. The first was our goal in that strange land. Robin had fetched you from the compound so we decided to fetch you back. The other dividend was an unexpected surprise. It came in the form a new hope.

There are two sides to this story. There is what I saw and heard on that mission. And there is what you wrote of it. I have a copy of it that I can relate. Once I find it.

Ron Caliburn wrote:What did my daughter write?

You know, actually, before we get into what your daughter said, it needs to be properly prefaced by discussing what your father did.

James Grant had a role to play in the resistance. In fact, we were at the compound to talk to him the night that Hannah became involved in the resistance.

This was not our first trip to the compound. They were in fact, counted among our allies. Surprised? Don't be. Nemesis Day was a sign to them that the end days were here. It had convinced others as well and their numbers had swelled. Even psychics could find refuge here after the Paranormal Registration Act of 2004. So long as they were willing to abide by all the compounds rules, they were willing to hide psychics on the Canadian side of the compound.

Not that psychics would be safer in Canada for much longer if Canada's own version of the PRA passed. While the Canadian government wasn't as badly infiltrated as America's, it was still being heavily influenced due to trade pressures and (perceived) security concerns.

As it was, we had received intelligence that subverted (in other words, controlled by the invaders) elements from both governments were planning a raid on the compound. A raid that was likely to turn out much like Waco Texas, if these elements got their way.

I was half tempted to just let them raze the compound. Dealing with James Grant was a hassle from the word go. By the time we first met, I had made public appearances as Victor Lazlo, opposing new government policies and teaching people about the paranormal (especially our enemies). I'd already made contacts within several governments around the world as well as organized crime, several were-tribes and numerous other allies. My knowledge of advanced technology was also providing the resistance with a more level playing field against our enemies.

Yet despite all that, Mr. Grant seemed adamant that he be declared the resistance leader. Never mind what I was bringing to the table or that my lieutenants had no respect for the man and would never listen to him. I had no intention of handing the reins of the resistance over to this tin-plated petty tyrant. It would have been akin to Churchill taking orders from Stalin.

I'd like to say that my natural charisma carried the day but the truth is, Doctor Boggs, Maddie and a psychic who will remain nameless were all shameless in abusing their powers until he was more amiable to our way of thinking. Even then, his position within our organization was higher than warranted and yet still not enough for him. The primary justification for his delusions of grandeur was that he was our primary contact with the 'army' he was trying to organize. He had numerous contacts with various militia groups that were convinced they'd have to fight the government, long before the government was subverted by supernatural monsters.

While this 'army' was something we were seeking to bring on board, it was far from organized and not as numerous, well equipped or trained as Mr. Grant tried to suggest. And while the compound he controlled was a valuable asset for smuggling supplies and refugees across the border into Canada (and sometimes back again), it wasn't our only recourse. Actually, once Mr. Grant made the initial introductions, he was often more of a hindrance than an asset. And his services always came at a high price. Usually in the form of weapons such as the venerable AK-47.

Hannah wrote:Cybermancer,

please tell me what this all has to do with me. I'm really curious.

Hannah

Hello Hannah,

Sorry for the delay. I've had to commit siginificant amounts of time to getting my own affairs back in order. Although honestly, we didn't expect to get involved with you during this trip to the compound. It was James Grant we were trying to deal with.

On this particular occasion, I was there with Doctor Boggs and Maddie (as I often was), Slayer, Brutal and a young Darcy (she was 18 or 19, if I recall correctly). The six of us were meeting Mr. Grant in private, in his compound.

“I see you've brought me more AK's.” He said as we all sat at a long table in one of the common buildings. Naturally he sat at the head. “When are we going to get some of those fancy guns I've heard so much about?”

“When hell freezes over.” I was thinking to myself. I had my mental defenses at full strength, in case he'd made any converts of the psychics he had agreed to take in. There was no way I was wasting the good stuff on a second string petty dictator. Especially since he'd just hoard them for himself and anyone in his elite circle. I wanted to see them being used against the enemy.

“We can discuss that at the resource allocation meeting next month.” I decided to remind him of what those guns were supposed to be paying for. “We'll also be discussing the passage of refugees through this compound into Canada.” I pulled a file out of my suitcase, “they were all captured less than twenty-four hours after leaving here.”

He snorted, “What did you expect? You can't trust their kind. They probably tried to double deal us and it backfired on them.”

“What do you mean, you can't trust them?” Slayer half stood up, the anger rising in the emotional young man. “You saying psychics can't be trusted?”

Mr. Grant was all smiles and snake oil, “No, no! We have lots of psychics here, all of whom are a credit to their people.” He shook his head as he laughed dismissively. “No, I mean the faggots. They don't think like we do, you know.”

I am no stranger to prejudice, looking as I do. Back home, Mr. Grant is precisely the sort of person I oppose all the time. It turned my stomach that we were forced to work with him in the here and now. One of many compromises we'd had to make to oppose a much greater evil.

We had strong suspicions that it was actually him that had tipped off the 'authorities' to the whereabouts of these refugees. But we had no proof so I was loathe to act on it. I'm sure the bastard knew it and thought he was untouchable.

“We've also heard rumors coming from this compound.” Maddie added. “We've heard that some are saying that Victor Lazlo here is a fake.”

Mr. Grant looked sincerely shocked, “from here? Are you sure? Give me some names and I'll make sure they're punished.” His grin was as fake as a three dollar bill. “We all toe the official line here.”

I wasn't going to give him the name of our source. It seemed better to drop it for now. It would be better dealt with when all the leaders met next month. “Hmm. Be that as it may, it's not what we're here to discuss today.”

He seemed to be genuinely curious. “What then?”

“We've received intelligence that this compound will be the subject of a joint raid from government forces in a week or two.” I had files with me that I put on the table to support my assertions.

Mr. Grant didn't even look at them. “Impossible.” He seemed awfully confident of that. I wonder why? He leaned back in his chair, “and even if they do come, we're ready for them.” He slammed his fist on the table while laughing heartily. “Let them come! We'll kick their asses back to hell!”

Try as we might, we were unable to convince him of the danger.

Somewhat dejected, we retired to a shack that had been reserved for us for the evening.

Hannah wrote:I still don't understand how I really tie in.

So what was Darcy like as a kid?

Hannah

Just blurting out, "You joined us after having Robin's son" wouldn't make much sense without proper context, now would it?

As for Darcy, I didn't really know her until she was about 16 or 17. Even then, I wouldn't have called her a child. From a physiological stand point, she had reached her maximum height and while she still had some filling out to do, looked pretty much as she would six years later.

But from a more important personality standpoint, she was always a very intense individual. She took her role as her fathers partner in their holy crusade against darkness very seriously.

She was also a very devout Catholic, even after her father died. I think it helped her a great deal to believe that she was fighting for a higher power.

Eventually, the two of you became friends. In a strange paradox, you were like a big sister to her.

But I am getting ahead of myself. So where was I? Oh yes, the 'safe' house.

The shack we were provided was quite a way from the bulk of the compound. Of newer construction (with materials provided by the resistance), it was probably intended to become a mess hall. Tonight, it was a place for us to set up our cots. It wasn't heated as the power hadn't been connected (power provided by wind generators supplied by the resistance).

Nevertheless, we swept the building for listening devices. To our surprise, there were none. That was unusual as he usually had anyplace we stayed at while in his compound wired like a Christmas tree.

Darcy began cleaning her fathers rifle. Something she did compulsively every night since her dad had died the year prior. “It'd be a lot easier if we just shot him in the face.”

“The kid is right.” Brutal agreed, “but maybe we can rough him up a bit first.” He punched his hand several times, “and by a little I mean a lot.”

“We are not in the business of assassinating,” I gave Brutal a meaningful look, “or assaulting, our allies.” I sighed, “no matter how despicable they may be.”

“Is he our ally, though?” Maddie asked. “Anytime a group of refugees has some 'undesirables' among their number, they are caught a short time after passing through here. Not to mention the fact that he's been actively trying to discredit you. You heard the tapes from his sermon last Sunday.”

“You know, I bet he doesn't even believe what he's saying.” Doctor Boggs interjected, “he's probably more convinced than anyone that you actually ARE Victor Lazlo.”

Slayer was chewing on some beef jerky. “What they did to that werewolf boy here was criminal. I'm no fan of the were's myself but there's limits.”

“It wasn't even that the kid was a were,” Maddie put in. “It was that he was a Chinese were.”

“For someone who hates communists, he sure likes having their guns.” Brutal had begun the routine of cleaning his weapons.

“You know, I don't think I've ever seen you all agree on something so vehemently.” And it was true. They usually bickered amongst themselves for hours before we came to any decision.

“Victor, he's not an ally, and you know it.” Maddie said in her most convincing tone. The one she often used on Doctor Boggs. “This is a war and he's been engaged in enemy activity. Now, I know that you don't want to see any innocents on this compound hurt. A lot of them are our people after all. But he's a problem and one that has to be dealt with.”

“I'm afraid the other leaders agree with you.” I replied, “we were planning on removing him at the next meeting.”

“You know as well as I do that he won't just step down if told to.” Maddie said in her cross voice. “The only way is to remove him.”

I pulled a cigar out of my travel bag and went through the ritual of cutting and lighting it. I took several long puffs and then let the smoke drift to the roof. “Very well. We retire him tonight and put Sarah in as the new compound leader.”

“Shit.” Slayer was at the window, looking out. “Looks like he was planning the same thing. They're surrounding the building.”

We all hit the floor, grabbing our weapons as a hail of gunfire shattered the windows.

As it happened, I landed nearly face to face with Maddie. Her normally very attractive face was twisted into a snarl, “You see! You see what happens when you're too soft!”

The bullets continued to snap over our heads.

As I've already stated, none of this is a joke. You have however, made my point rather nicely. The story must be told with proper context or will invoke misunderstanding and overly emotional reactions.

Yes, Hannah as I am relating in this story had Robin's son. But Hannah as you know her, has not. What her future may or may not have in store for her is still merely potential. However, timing was everything here and may have been in the past. It's hard to say. But there is information in this narrative that could prove useful in the future.

In any case, I believe I left the story off with our team pinned down in the safe house provided by Mr. Grant.

As suddenly as it began, it stopped. In the distance, we heard sporadic gunfire.

“Sounds like there's a fight out there,” Brutal commented.

“You think some of our people are rising up?” Slayer asked.

“Impossible to tell and now's not the time for speculation.” I interjected, cutting off further conversation. “We need to get out of here and for now, we can't afford to trust anyone on this camp. The woods aren't far from here, we'll be able to grab some cover there. From there, we should be able to work our way off the compound.”

My team was nodding as I began to pass out assignments. “Doc, I need you to create some mist. Focus it in front of the door. If they're still watching, they'll think we making a break for it that way. Once they open up, Brutal, you'll create a new door in the back. Rush out straight to the next building over and grab cover. Start laying down suppressing fire while giving the rest of us usable GRIT's. Slayer, I want you to follow Brutal out and grab some dirt on the left. Lay down suppressing fire. Next out will be Darcy. You go out the right and grab dirt. Lay down fire same as Slayer. The rest of us will run through. Once we're in position, we'll start laying down covering fire while the rest of you reload and move. I want everyone to keep leap frogging until we're in the woods. Then we'll regroup and make our next move. If anyone gets separated, head for the woods. If that's not possible, do your best to get off these grounds. If we can't regroup in the woods, head for the nearest resistance safe house, depending on what side of the border you find yourselves.”

Orders given, we went into action. As expected, our would be assassins opened up into the cloud of mist that Doctor Boggs created. Brutal was his usual subtle self when making our new exit to the rear. His bulky mass charged out. By the time our opponents realized that we were going out the back way, Slayer and Darcy were both into position and keeping their heads down. That left the way clear for the rest of us to sprint towards cover.

Ours was not the only fire fight taking place. The whole compound seemed to be tearing itself apart with many different fire fights taking place around us. There were explosions coming from the other side of the camp.

Overhead, an Apache Helicopter flew towards one of the compounds watch towers. The watch tower was firing on it with a machine gun. They were trying to get an RPG to bear but the Apache crew wasn't about to give them the time they needed. Tower and crew were cut down in a hail of bullets and then finally ended with the solid thump of a rocket.

“Looks like our intelligence was wrong about when the raid was set to take place.” I muttered. “Okay people, keep making for the woods!” We paired off into fire teams and made our way tactically to the perceived safe haven of the woods.

Right when we were out in the open, we started taking long distance sniper fire. “What have we got, Dar?”

“Looks like a sniper team with a Chery-Tac 408.” Darcy replied, looking through her scope.

“Slayer, spot for her.” I said, indicating Darcy. “Maddie, give them something to shoot at.”

Fearlessly, Maddie got up and ran for a good ten second count. A shot rang out, and she seemed to go down from the impact.

Darcy returned fire. “Got the spotter!”

“Doc, you're up.”

Doctor Boggs nodded grimly and muttered a chant under his breath before running towards Maddie's prone form. He didn't get very far before a second shot knocked him down.

Again Darcy returned fire. “Don't know if I got him, but I don't think he'll be showing his face again.”

I ran up to where Maddie and Doctor Boggs were lying in the frozen mud. “Get up you two, you're not hurt.”

Maddie giggled as she rolled over, “I love magic.”

Doctor Boggs crawled over to her location, while muttering about being too old for this Rambo crap.

More government forces could be seen approaching in the distance.

“Holy shit.” Slayer exclaimed as he turned his binoculars on the group. “It's that sonofabitch, Mordecai leading the charge!”

I also swore under my breath. He'd been a thorn in the side of the resistance ever since he'd joined the government forces. Was the maniac actually leading an assault on the compound with Sarah and Hannah still here? That was one of the reasons we'd considered this place to be relatively 'safe' for so long.

At the moment, it seemed as though he was focusing his forces against the defenses of the compound. We were being ignored. “Haul ass for the wood!” I forced myself up and momentarily agreed with Doctor Boggs earlier assessment about this Rambo crap.

We arrived at the wood to find that we were not the only ones seeking refuge there. “Don't shoot me!” It was a young teenaged girl. One I had first met the summer before her freshman year in university. I had met her again as Mr. Grants preteen daughter a few years ago.

“Hannah!” I yelled as we all took up defensive positions at the edge of the wood. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Hannah wrote:Okay, I'm a little confused by all of this.

A child with Robin?

Dad leading a government assault on the compound?

I don't get it.

Considering how often your incarnations spend time in the other world, I am always amazed by how things like this can still confuse you. I half expect it to be second nature to you by now.

However, I do have some of your own words on the subject.

The other Hannah wrote:So Matt tells me that I should tell my story. He thought it may be helpful for some of you over in the world that should have been.

To be honest, I can’t say I really care about what’s going on over there. I hope things work out better for you than they did for us.

This is mostly for me. It’s a warning about what might happen if you, I, we let your, my, our guard down.

This is going to be far more of a headache than I thought. I guess I’ll need to try and simplify it and start from the beginning.

I understand most of the details are the same up until Matt . . . err Victor Lazlo showed up on the compound. I was impressed, so were most of us there. My father had used Lazlo’s works to show that there was a basis in fact about monsters walking among us. Having the real deal there just made what he said that much more obvious.

Then again, my dad couldn’t spot the problem with Victor’s company. Specifically I had issues with the one with the flaming red hair and coal black soul. My dad just thought I was being a foolish little girl when I told him about it.

Like most men he seemed to think that anything with a nice rack couldn’t be all bad.

Anyway, I’ll move this to the night that my half-brother led the Feds and the Army into the family compound. It was a bad night for a lot of folks I knew and cared about. A lot of people went down to bullets, batons, bombs or hounds.

There was a lot of confusion that night. Things came down so hard and fast. The invaders obviously didn’t care about minimizing casualties. I just happened to be with my mother when it started. We were almost immediately separated from the rest of the compound by the strike that took out the generator. We decided to make a break for it with a bunch of the other women and girls that were with us in the dormitory. We figured we could hide in the woods until it was over.

We figured wrong.

The whole compound was a free fire zone. The invaders were shooting anything that wasn’t in a uniform. Our folks were shooting anything that moved. I still don’t know which side got my mother, but whatever they used blew her in half and launched me a good 10 feet.

My ears were ringing when I lifted myself back into a sitting position. The aunts and cousins that had been with us . . . none of them survived the blast either.

For a moment I just sat there taking it all in. The helicopters, the tanks, the machineguns . . . this was all out war.

Then I saw him, there, in the middle of it. He was striding through the spray of bullets, his rifle in hand, barking orders at the men in black armour that moved with him. It was my brother.

A group of the invaders brought Zak and Zeb up in front of Mordecai. They were both pretty battered and their hands were cuffed behind their back. I don’t know what my brother asked them, but he wasn’t happy with the answer. He drew his pistol and blew Zak’s skull open. He then turned to Zeb. Whatever Zeb said Mordecai listened a bit longer then looked off towards the dormitory. He nodded and then shot Zeb too.

That’s when I heard the voice in my mind. It was my dad’s voice. It was the voice that had taught us what we were to do to survive. It barked commands that I found my body obeying even though my mind was still trying to process what was happening.

I slowly, painfully, got myself to my feet and headed for the forest.

I suppose I should explain now, that James Grant and Sarah never told Hannah about her true parentage and Moredicai (mercifully) never got the chance to. I didn't immediately tell her the truth either. Hannah... had a hard enough time of it. In this case, ignorance is the closest thing to bliss that could be offered to her.

Some might disagree, feeling that she had some sort of right to know the truth. I maintain that the truth is not always a kindness. It was not the first not has it been the last time I held my piece to spare the feelings of another.

That is not all Hannah wrote on this particular encounter.

The other Hannah wrote:It was hard getting to the woods. Whatever had hit me had half deafened me and threw my equilibrium out of whack. My right side was pretty badly beat up too. It’s been years since and I still get dizzy when I run. Not that I run much anyway, when it gets cold I still have a limp.

Matt and his people found me shortly after I made it to the woods. Almost immediately they broke into debate about bringing me with them. They seemed not to care that I was standing right in front of them while they discussed leaving me to the wolves.

With my hearing problems I couldn’t get what everyone was saying, but pretty much it was only Darse saying that she wanted to bring me with the group. Darse, bless her, even volunteered to carry me if she had too.

Matt finally put his foot down. “She comes with us. She’s important.”

I thought the flame headed bitch was going to gut him for that, but she decided not to challenge him on it. A shame she didn’t try something. I would have loved for Darse to shoot her in the face right then.

With the debate over, we started to make our way into the woods. They didn’t make Darse carry me. Instead it was Brutal, the biggest and strongest of the merry little band, reluctantly got turned into my taxi. Unfortunately even carrying the wounded he lived up to his name and the jolts of pain from the bouncing I received pretty quickly drove me halfway unconscious.

We moved deeper into the woods as fast as we could without giving ourselves away. Boggs was chanting almost continuously, trying to keep the helicopters from seeing us. Too bad he didn’t try to conceal us form a more immediate threat.

Even half deaf, I was one of the first to hear the music. The bitch and I both looked up at the same time. Matt, Darse and the rest clued in a moment later. Matt told us to get moving, but it was too late. A moment later a great bronzed skinned man with horns and goat’s feet stepped through out from between the trees.

Matt, realizing we had no chance, got the team to hold its fire and asked the bitch to negotiate. “Maddie, can you speak to him?” after her assurances. “Let him know we mean no harm and we want safe passage through these woods.”

Back then, I didn’t know how I understood what the bitch said to Cernunnos, but being half deaf, half unconscious, I only got a few bits and pieces. I remember the word “promised” coming up a lot, from both of them. Finally the bitch turned to Brutal. “Put her down, we’re leaving her.”
“Excuse me? Who put you in charge of this?” Matt glared at her.

She smiled sweetly at him. “I’m really sorry Victor, but it turns out that we can’t get through the forest without giving the Horned One a gift. He asked for a virgin and since Darcy is actually useful, I vote we leave him the girl.”
Brutal actually dropped me right then. “Fine be me.” Slayer folded his arms and looked at Matt. Boggs rather sheepishly nodded slightly while placing his hand on Maddie’s shoulder.

Darse spoke up. “Matt, this isn’t right. She’s just a kid. I’ll go instead.”

Matt shook his head. “Nobody is going with him. We all get through the forest together. There are things at work here you don’t understand”

The bitch stepped forward and ran her finger along Matt’s cheek. “You forget hon; I know what’s going on here too. If we try and oppose the Horned One, we’re fucked. Absolutely, positively fucked. If we try to go back the way we came, we’re just as badly fucked. The Horned One wants the girl and won’t be denied. He will either kill us and take her or we can give him the girl and get on with our lives.”

Matt tried to object a bit more, he always has a problem accepting the inevitable, but in the end, the Bitch had her way, the team had their free passage and Cernunnos had his new bride.

I'll fill in what comes next, later.

Hannah wrote:I'm confused because in all the time things have flipped back and forth between realities, it's still been me. The basic facts have all been there and I've been able to recognize them.

In this, there are things that feel so different. I know part of it is me, it's the way I'd say some of these things . . . but it makes me feel . . . well it's like things were right after mom died. But it sounds like I, her, whatever . . . sounds like the pain never stopped.

There is a lot that Hannah as I knew her in this timeline, never got over. Given enough time, I don't know, maybe. But she had to cease to be in order for you to have your life.

One way of looking at it is that not only did her pain eventually end, it never was.

Part of why I'm doing this is so that it doesn't ever have to be.

At the time, I was trying to prevent it from ever happening.

But at the time, I had extremely limited options.

Because immediately and with pretty much total disregard for us, the horned god whisked away his prize.

To say I was mad at that moment would be like saying the surface of the sun was a tad warm. It really was turning out to be a bad day. James Grant had turned on us only to have that plot foiled by a government attack. Now to make matters worse, I had just been betrayed by one of my 'trusted' lieutenants.

Except of course, that I had never really trusted her. Thus I had prepared for her eventual betrayal. I just hadn't expected it to come in quite this fashion.

But when you think about it, it's not at all surprising. From Maddie's point of view, she had not actually betrayed me. Sure, she was enjoying tweaking my nose and finding a 'technicality' that allowed her to circumvent the intent of my orders. But she was acting, in her own twisted way, to protect me and the others of the group. To sacrifice Hannah was a small price to pay to preserve the group.

She was, after all, an unholy bitch.

Up until that point, I had been satisfied with not exposing her so long as she didn't overplay her hand.

The time had come to call or fold.

With the push of a button I released a burst of ultra low frequency radiation. Completely harmless to humans. But the specific wavelength I had prepared had a very special effect on Maddie. It revealed her true from.

Let me describe her in all her glory, (and if you're reading this, Maddie, yes, this is actually happening-I don't care that you don't understand why).

In both her human guise and natural appearance, she had long (down to the small of her back), straight red hair. It does curl up a bit at the bottoms, which causes her bangs to form an upside down heart over her forehead. Her eyes are green and surrounded by long, thick lashes. They are slightly almond shaped as well. She favors eyeliner that matches her eyes.

Maddie's nose is small and slightly upturned at the end. Her cheeks are round, giving her an entirely undeserved 'wholesome' look. There is a splattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose and cheeks but these only appear in her natural form. In her human form, she appears as an attractive woman in her mid to late twenties. In her natural form, she appears to be more of a girl in her late teens to early twenties.

As a woman, Maddie is a very attractive and shapely woman of about 172cm. Her weight is hard to estimate but probably between 55 and 60kgs. She dresses with a sense of style and favors the colors green, red and blue (not necessarily in combination, she prefers single tone outfits). She also favors red and green nail polish (she even paints her toe nails).

Naturally, nothing but the most expensive jewelry will do. Just don't give her anything made of wood, silver, iron or bone to wear.

In her natural form, those parts of her that remain human in appearance, remain quite attractive. It is her inhuman features that detract and distract from that.

It's from the waist down where Maddie's most pronounced differences are noted. Take a long haired mountain goat with black fur and then stand it up on its hind legs. Its rear legs are what she has for a lower body (not including a tail). The legs are proportioned for her inhuman body. Her hoofs are naturally white, but are colored by whatever type of nail polish she currently has applied.

Overall, she grows about 12cm when in her natural form.

The first one to respond to her rather dramatic transformation was Doctor Boggs. "Well fuck." He said with surprising calm. "Guess the jig is up."

Cybermancer wrote:With the push of a button I released a burst of ultra low frequency radiation. Completely harmless to humans. But the specific wavelength I had prepared had a very special effect on Maddie. It revealed her true from.

Well now, don't that beat all. Ain't science grand?

Cybermancer wrote:The first one to respond to her rather dramatic transformation was Doctor Boggs. "Well fuck." He said with surprising calm. "Guess the jig is up."

I'd be offended at the implication I'd keep something like that to myself, if I weren't so relieved to learn this 'other me' hadn't been duped by such a creature. Good lord man, then what?

Given what Maddie looked like, (except for a couple minutes at dawn and dusk every day), I suppose most guys could hardly blame anyone for wanting to keep her to themselves.

I'm fairly certain that at no time was Doctor Boggs fooled even by a creature as crafty as Maddie was. And is.

You are welcome, Nemesis.

While I would have no issue with either your or Mr. Caliburn dealing with her according to your own discreation in the here and now, then and there, I still needed her alive.

"Don't shoot her!" I yelled as everyone else starting bringing their firearms to bear. "Much as I hate to say it, she's as much our ally right now as she was yesterday."

"You must be kidding me, sir." Darcy said, while pointedly not lowering her weapon. "She's clearly the enemy."

"When dealing the supernatural, things are rarely as clear as we would like, Darcy." She was quite the contrast to Nemesis. Right and wrong were black and white to Darcy and she prided herself on being on the side of angels. "I'm not sure why she's been our ally, but she has been."

Maddie had recovered from her initial shock of being forced into her natural form. Now her cat-like curiosity took over. "How the hell did you do that? I know for a fact that you can't do magic."

"There's a reason I like to call myself Cybermancer. To the uninitiated, what I can do with science and technology would seem to be magic." I narrowed my eyes at her, "for a dimensional traveller, you're not as knowledgeable as I would expect when it comes to the more advanced forms of technology."

She sniffed indignantly, "I know enough." With a thought she resumed her human guise. "So what's this all about then, if you're not going to let them kill me?"

"I just wanted to wipe the smug off your face." It really was as petty as that. Well, I did have at least one other motive.

"This is all great and all," Brutal interjected. "But if we ain't gonna to kill her, then we better get our collective asses in gear. There's still an army out there hunting for us."

"There isn't, actually." I stated. "Have you heard any explosions or gunfire since we got into this area?"

"No..." Slayer said as he started looking around us, as if he were just now seeing the trees. "I was sort of wondering about that, actually."

"The free passage that Hannah's freedom bought for us wasn't to pass through some simple terrestrial woodland. We're in the land of the fey now and we're playing by their rules. The only reason you're all still seeing trees is because that is what you're expecting to see."

"I'm not." Maddie said with a grimace.

"I don't really want to know what you're seeing." I replied flatly. "So since we're safe for the time being, I see no reason to be further distracted from discussing your disposition within our group."

She slinked to Doctor Boggs and hooked her arm into his. Insinuated at his side she looked at me through her lashes. "I remain your ally."

"Why are you on our side at all?" I demanded, "You're no species I recognize from the depths of Hades."

She spit at the ground, "I am not counted amongst those beastly hordes."

"Maddie is a Deevil," Doctor Boggs provided.

"Ah, that explains it." I said with understanding.

"The hell it does!" Darcy yelled, her weapon still pointed at Maddie's forehead, and her whole body trembling with what I imagine is the sort of rage that can only be mustered by the righteous. "That... that DEVIL sold Hannah to that be damned heathen god! I don't care if we have common enemies, we can't trust it!"

"Actually, we can trust Maddie. We can trust her to look out for her own self-interest." Slowly, calmly I walked over to Darcy, edging myself into her line of fire. "As a Deevil, her mortal enemies are the demons of Hades. As our enemy has allied IT-self with those demons, IT is also Maddie's enemy now."

"Better the devil you know and all that." Maddie said from behind me. I could practically hear her coy smile.

"Not helping." Doctor Boggs hissed.

"It's the same with the Were-tribes and vampire clans." I pointed out to Darcy while resting a hand on the barrel of her firearm. "It is not the first time we've allied with a lesser evil in order to overcome a greater threat."

"Jesus Christ." For Darcy, it was the most profound curse she could possibly utter. "How many lesser evils is it going to take before it equals the so-called greater evil? How many damn compromises are we gonna make before we're just as bad as what we're fighting?" She was nearly in tears as she pointed an accusing finger past my shoulder at Maddie. "You say she hates and fights the demons, but is she any different than them? And how long before we're just like her? We've all followed you this far, but do you seriously expect us to follow you all the way to hell?"

It was ironic that Darcy of all people was lecturing me on morality.

It was made bitter because she was right.

Ron Caliburn wrote:I have to agree with both Darcies (I hope that's the plural of Darcy). Should have destroyed the creature rather than just stripping her disguise

I know I'm not going to limit myself when I find her.

In that case, I sincerely hope you do not find yourself in the fey world on a mission to rescue Hannah with Maddie as your only means of returning yourself and Hannah to the material world.

The fact of the matter is, Maddie had in the past been a useful ally and she would yet again have a part to play in this story. Indeed, she would eventually prove instrumental in restoring the original timeline.

Nevertheless, If I had a problem with what either you or Darcy would do with the information I have provided about her, do you think I would provide it? Why else do you think I've been detailing her and her abilities so completely?

By all means, if you encounter this creature, deal with her in the manner in which your conscience dictates.

But at that time and place I still felt she was needed to accomplish the greater good. The hard part lay in convincing the others of that.

"We still need her, Darcy." I said soothingly. "She's going to help us rescue Hannah."

"Are you utterly insane?" Maddie demanded, stepping in front of Doctor Boggs. "We made a deal with an incarnation of nature on his home plane."

"I made no such bargain." I turned around to face Maddie. "I am not bound by it."

"They won't see it that way. He won't see it that way." She countered. "You're only safe so long as Hannah is his bride."

"Regardless, we are going after Hannah and we are not leaving without her." I looked around at the faces of the others. We were all feeling varying degrees of guilt for our various parts in Hannah's betrayal. I was sure I could count on them to back me up on this move.

"Then you'll be doing it without Doctor Boggs and me." Maddie said with certainty. From behind her, Doctor Boggs seemed surprised to be included in her declaration.

"If you think you can leave, then do it." I replied coolly.

She smirked and snapped her fingers.

Nothing happened.

She looked worried and muttered some arcane phrases.

Nothing happened.

As her frown grew, so too did my grin.

Maddie reverted to her natural form and loomed over me, "How the hell are you doing that?"

"I'm not going to tell you that." It was my turn to look smug and to smirk. "But if you want out of the fey realm... hell, if you don't want me sending you to Hades, you'd best remember who is in charge here and fast."

There are two things you need to know in order to understand what was going on here. Sorcerers, wizards and even creatures such as Maddie use magic in order to travel between dimensions. They focus their minds to control eldritch energies, sending them to some destination they can imagine.

That is not the only way to travel across dimensions or to manipulate dimensional dynamics. It can also be done using the proper equations and the manipulation of energy in precise ways. Normally, I use apparatus to manipulate those energies. But the equations are always in my mind.

In the realm of the fey, thought is reality.

As it turned out, I knew more about dimensional travel and manipulation than did Maddie. It helped confirm my growing suspicion that she was just a youngster for her kind.

Or perhaps it was because I understood the mathematical fundamentals behind what she normally did on an instinctual level. Either way, it amounted to the same thing. Until we rescued Hannah, she was stranded here with us.

Maddie had a right proper tantrum that lasted a good twenty or thirty minutes.

I enjoyed every second of it.

Not that time has any real substance there.

Before we started our trek through the realm of the fey, I instructed everyone to switch over to our 'blackjack' rounds. The rounds were jacketed with a magically treated iron alloy. The core is a secret but served to increase the armor piercing qualities of the round as well as attacking the regenerative capabilities of the enemy. Even the propellant was chemically different from cordite.

I have only a very limited supply of these rounds left to me and in a very limited range of cartridges. So I won't be making them generally available to the public. I might be persuaded to make a very small handful of them available in dire situations where no alternative round would work as well. But don't miss. Once they're gone, they will never be replaced.

Once we got moving, Darcy was keeping a close watch on Maddie. It was a very different social dynamic from what the two shared just a few days ago. Ever since the death of Darcy's father, Maddie had been working on building a relationship with the girl. In many ways, she was acting like a big sister. While I was glad that the relationship had been severed, I was concerned who might now take that role in Darcy's life.

For her part, Maddie seemed to be clinging to Doctor Boggs more than usual. Not that the old goat really minded. It did speak to her state of mind and even her maturity. She had been put off her game and was now insecure. It was... odd. I couldn't make it all add up at the time.

We all saw things differently as we made our way. Darcy saw the creatures her father had told her about when she was a little girl. Slayer saw creatures that were Greco-Roman in their origins. Brutal never described or discussed what he saw but seemed to jump at every shadow.

What did I see?

I suppose you could say that I saw the world as a massive equation and its component variables. It's about as easy to describe as it is to imagine. The world was all energy and potential. Colors that formed intricate patterns, dissipated and then formed new patterns.

And it was dying. At the corners of my eyes, it always seemed as though the world was being siphoned off, corrupted and turned black.

Imagine if you will, that everything was made of crystalline snowflakes, and each part of each snow flake had a different color. Together they formed the shapes and colors of everything. But every once and awhile, just out of the corner of your eye, snowflakes would peel off and then flow into a vortex, just out of sight.

This is the effect that IT was having on the fey. Their world was melting, one snowflake at a time.

It took us surprisingly little time to find Hannah. But we were an order of a magnitude too late to rescue the young girl she once was.

On the plus side, she was making herself very easy to find.