ic The Box of Delights (IC)

[Tiffany Korta]

Lukēkā gā'um̐, Tibet

 

Perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking a breathtaking series of mountains that didn’t quite seemed liked it did flying into the village seemed as classically tibetan as you could get. It seemed almost timeless as if it came fully formed from another century. The locals seemed to be unconcerned with the sudden arrival of stranger as if they see similar things or stranger, than them.

 

It was easy to spot who they were here to see if you knew what to look for her features were the same as Merge, though a more natural beauty. And a lot more conservatively dressed in suitable gear for the cold temperatures of the village, sat at a sturdy wooden table a steaming mug of what smelled like coffee in front of her. Spotting the heroes she gave a smile a stood up to greet them both.

“Hi there I’m Nicki. Please take a seat I’m sure you’ve got some questions to ask.”

[Heritage]

Travel by backpack was not particularly exciting or comfortable, but their options were limited as time was of the essence. With some difficulty, Grim had portaled her phone into the bag before they'd left the States, and had a rather odd conversation with Lance that confirmed her fears: the mirror behind her office was broken, and Gretchen was gone. Staring blankly at the (to her) giant phone, the tiny heroine felt far from heroic; in her misguided attempt to protect her assistant (and increasingly friend), she'd only managed to put her in God knows what kind of danger. The very though of it made her want to throw up. Nonetheless, torturing herself did nothing to help Gretchen or Merge; they were now actively pursuing the one avenue of rescue they had, and she would do everything in her power to help them both. And at least she'd had the satisfaction of dropping that bastard the Duke like the little turd he was; that had to count for something.

 

Once she knew they we getting close, Lynn unzipped the bag from inside and popped out, eager to get her first look at Tibet with her own eyes, and the stunning view of near-unearthly beauty almost made her forget the dire circumstances that brought her and Sam halfway around the world. You didn't need to visit other planets to have your breath taken away by natural beauty!

 

Once they spotted a familiar face, Grim returned to normal size and dropped to the ground in a crouch; was this the 'original' Merge, and all the others colorful copies? It made a certain kind of sense. She rose to her feet and approached the young woman to shake her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Nikki. And please tell me there's more of that coffee, because I could really use a cup."

[R. Bluefish]

It took Starlight a long moment to tear her eyes away from the magnificent landscape laid out before them. She would have thought that after seeing the Earth from the Moon, nothing on this side of the atmosphere would be capable of enrapturing her on the same level. She was, as it turned out, entirely wrong in that regard, which she supposed should hardly come as a surprise by now. She had just flown across the ocean, without the assistance of an airplane, while carrying her miniaturized employer in her backpack. Really, nothing should surprise her by this point.

 

She moved to stand beside Grimalkin, zipping up the front of her leather jacket more out of vague habit than the desire to remain warm - compared to the vacuum of space, this was downright balmy. "You bet your ass we have questions," she said, her breath misting in the air. "Number one," she raised a finger to emphasize her point, "Sorry if I'm a little behind the curve here, because all this magic stuff is still new to me. But what the hell are we doing in Tibet?"

[Tiffany Korta]

With a smile Nikki pushed out a chair and poured a couple of cups of the coffee.

 

“I bought a stash of the stuff we me through my troubles, I suggest you take it black though the milk they have here is a bit of an acquired taste.”

 

She waited for the two to get themselves comfortable before getting right down to business.

 

“I won’t bore you with the details but there was very good reason for why I, why Merge, did what we did. Once we achieved that I needed some time to find myself and work out what to do next, my activities meant I had enough money to live comfortably but that wasn’t quite enough. So I left Freedom City and went hiking around the world, like any normal teenager I guess.” she gave a grin and sipped her coffee

 

“After a couple of years bumming around China I found myself here and more amazingly I found myself in Shabala! Though I think it’s fair to say that the monks allowed me to find the place, obviously they found something about me interesting.” she gave a little shrug

 

“I’ve been working on increasing my mental link with Merge, it’s why I could project her halfway around the world to try and help you out. But you wondering why exactly that means I dragged you out here, even if the views are amazing.”

 

Another grin from the young girl, whilst there was a lot of Merge in her mannerism she seemed a lot less in your face than her “heroic” persona.

“And the good news is that I’m still in contact with her and wherever the mirror takes people, and even better she’s with your friend. And even better I think that with the monk’s help we can do something similar than what this Duke did to hijack Merge and put you both in the same place. Though obviously there’s some risk with the whole thing.”

[Heritage]

Too bad Lynn was too worried about her employee's safety to enjoy the truly amazing sights around them; maybe once things were settled, she'd have the time to appreciate them. The changeling helped herself to a cup of the coffee, but one sip confirmed that it was for much more serious coffee drinkers than herself; waving her hand discretely over her cup, she polluted it with her usual mix of cream and way too much sugar. Finding it much more to her taste, she took the offered seat.

 

"I'm glad to hear Gretch is okay; right now, she's my primary concern. What do you mean by 'something similar to what the Duke did'? Is it not possible for us to travel through the mirror directly?"

Edited March 5, 2016 by Heritage

[R. Bluefish]

Starlight leaned forward in her seat, knuckles white on her coffee cup. "F--- the risk. We need to help Gretchen. Do we even know where she is right now, her or Merge? For all we know -" she gestured angrily, frustrated by her own complete lack of arcane knowledge. "For all we know, they're someplace really bad," she finished lamely. "We should be finding them right now, not sitting around on our asses."

 

Subsiding, she sat back, and after a moment tried a tentative sip of her coffee. She still wasn't entirely accustomed to tasting things again, and the strength of the brew made her cough. Still, the heat was comforting, and she had noticed her tongue didn't scald like it used to, so she took a deeper drink, savoring it this time.

[Tiffany Korta]

“When the mirrors shattered the link with our world was broken, except the link I share with Merge.” she tapped the side of her head “We should be able to restore the link with this world from the inside. Brother Kanpo believes that he can project you minds into bodied created by Merge, we’ll be linked but not so much as to share thoughts. Though we might share emotional feelings, so you’ll have to be careful there.”

 

She sipped her coffee hiding a small grin .

 

“As for you friend I have some good news...”

 

Another Dimension

 

The inside of the mirror so far looked rather like a elevator lobby, done in the extravagant Art Deco style. Two old fashion elevator stood at one end the only destination on the dial being Tellus, though both claimed to be out of order. The rich blue carpet was covered with shards of glass who along with a sprawled Gretchen who’d recently been spat from one of the elevator. Above her came the form of Merge who offered a hand to help her up

“Well I have some good news and some bad news...” something about her tone and voice sounded subtly different, a lot less sarcasm and disdain in her voice.

[Heritage]

Grim frowned as she tried to make sense of what Nikki said.

 "So our physical bodies stay here, while our minds are projected into a set of Merges? That's new. Will we have access to our powers and abilities over there? I mean, I'll go either way, I just want to know what tools we'll have to use."

 

- - - - 

 

Gretchen accepted the hand up, then looked around as she dusted herself off; noting the elevator doors,  she sighed.

 

"Oh great, we're in the Overlook Hotel. Yaaaay."

 

She clapped her hands with mock-enthusiasm; the funny thing was, she was actually too much in shock to be afraid.

 

"Tell me you at least nailed that bastard the Duke. That at least it was all worth it."

Edited October 9, 2016 by Heritage

[R. Bluefish]

Shifting nervously in her seat, Starlight took a toothpick out of her pocket and put it her mouth, chewing it to hide her unease. She had been feeling pretty confident about this whole thing up until a second ago, but the idea of going to some sort of magic pocket dimension in somebody else's body was a little more than she had been preparing herself for on the trip over. And the possibility of not being able to use her powers...she was feeling less qualified for this job by the second.

 

"So we're actually going to be in...your bodies? Or her bodies, or whatever?" She looked down at one of her hands, which flared softly with white light as she gazed at it. "Please tell me we'll be able to use our powers, otherwise I think I'll be about as much use as a flammable fire extinguisher."

[Tiffany Korta]

Lukēkā gā'um̐

Nikki sipped her coffee for a few seconds, apparently taking time to think about how to explain the situation.

 

“If i understand it, and this really isn’t my field of expertise, it’s not just a telepathic link. I believe the Brother described it as an extension of the person will, so tld yes powers should work.” she gave a little smile “Beside I’m not keen on you duplicating yourself multiple times, especially after the last person to try that trick.”

 

 

Another Dimension

Merge looked a little sheepish, an unusual look on someone who normally projected confidence, before admitting.

 

“I had to leave before the task was finished.” she was more confident however when she claimed. “But I’m sure he was put down pretty quickly.”

 

She then looked around the room with a critical eye, a taste of the old Merge in her dismissive view of it all.

“I’m pretty sure a rescue plan is being formed as we speak, though I’m not sure how long it will take. So shall we sit here waiting like good girls, or shall we go look for room 237?” Merge gave Gretchen a wicked grin.

[Heritage]

Tibet

 

Lynn nodded to herself. "Okay, so basically like Nightmare on Elm Street 3, and we're the Dream Warriors; probably a bad idea if we die in there, too. End up in a brain dead coma or something. I can handle it."

 

It occured to the changeling that people who worked for her were put at risk; her assistant demanding hazard pay before she even knew about Grimalkin appeared to be justified. "So are there any rituals we need to do to cross over? Incantations to speak or herbs to ingest?"

 

Through the Loooking Glass 

 

Gretchen pondered the two doors, head cocked to one side and arms tightly crossed over her chest. "Waiting to be rescued is not my style. 'Tellus'. Why does that sound so familiar?" Then she marched over to the left hand door. "Let's see if we can force one of these doors open. I'll pull one door, you pull the other."

Edited October 9, 2016 by Heritage

[R. Bluefish]

...Brain dead coma? Starlight hesitated, but only briefly. Really, every situation that called upon her to fire up her powers was one that threatened to make her actual dead, so a coma wasn't even that bad, when you thought about it that way. And with a coma, there was always the chance of you waking up from it, right? You didn't get that with dead. So it was all good, so long as she kept reminding herself to think about it that way.

 

"If my powers are still going to work over there, then I'm game," she said. "Let's go get Gretch. Do whatever...magic things you need to do."

[Tiffany Korta]

Shambala

 

Nicki finished her coffee and with a tiny bit of ceremony stood up and gestured for the two of them to follow.

 

“There’s a good reason that this village in the middle of nowhere, though most people think it’s just a spiritual journey.”

 

She led the little group a little distance from the village and at a certain point something changed, though it was impossible to work out just how or when it happened. In front of them was a series of stone steps carved into the side of a valley leading to what could only be described as a city.

 

“Welcome to the vale of Shambala.”

 

Another Dimension

 

Between the two of them, though it was mostly the efforts of multiple Merge’s they managed to force open the bronze effect elevator doors. There wasn’t any kind of dramatic effect, yet...

 

The two of them looked instead of a boring lift shaft they instead stared out at a field of stars.

“Well I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore!”

[Heritage]

Grim had heard about places like this, thin spots between Realms that you could walk into as naturally as breathing, and not even realize you'd left. Or maybe it was a veil of illusion? Either way, she imagined the monks only allowed a select few to cross over."So beautiful," she murmered to herself as drank in the place with heightened senses.

 

- - -

 

For several seconds, Gretch just stood there blinking and holding the edge of the door. "Well, then," she finally managed. Reaching into her pocket, she fished out a penny, then took several steps backward to throw it into space and note any reaction.

[R. Bluefish]

Starlight's muscles were as stiff as boards when she realized what had happened. Okay. This is fine. This is normal. She cautiously tested the ground underfoot with her toe, as though expecting it to give way at any moment. You got this. You already fly around the city zapping drug dealers. This isn't that much different, right?

 

Her attempts to deceive herself fell short. She was way out of her depth here, and she knew it. They were officially not in Jersey anymore. "You know," she muttered to her employer, "I don't know if I've mentioned this, but this was not in the job description. You mentioned stocking shelves and washing dishes. Maybe manning the register. Not," she waved her arms expansively at the scene before them, "whatever this is."

[Tiffany Korta]

GM Post

 

Shambala

 

NIkki led the two down a massive set of stairs carved in the side of the valley leading down into the riot of colours and smell of the valley of Shambala, though the place had a certain reserved quiet of a place of some significance. It was also bustling with people moving around mostly buddhist monks and nuns, in a variety of coloured robes, but occasional there was a glimpse of others from apparently all over the world.

 

She led the them to a small wooden building intricately carved and painted that was probably hundreds if not thousands of years old. She led them all into a rather plain room with only minimal furnishing

“Why don’t get yourself comfortable whilst I get the Brothers, then we can get this show on the road.”

[Tiffany Korta]

GM Post

 

Another Dimension

 

The two of them watched the penny until it disappeared from sight in the darkness that surrounded them. Merge turned around to say something to Gretchin, which was probably snarky, when there was a gentle tinkling sound. On the ground just in front of them was the penny that Gretchen had dropped.

All that Merge could do was make a little oh sound,for once being a lost for word at the strangeness of this “hotel”.

[Heritage]

When Sam mentioned 'not signing up for this', Lynn wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "I know. But you have to understand that once you sign up for this gig, the whole 'hero' thing, you never know where you'll end up. If it isn't magic, it's...time travel or alien invasions, or maybe an alternate Earth or two. You're going to be pushed out of your comfort zone all the time, and it's not always to cool places like this." She waved around and sighed. "I have fought zombies, drug dealers, aliens and skinheads. I have traveled back in time and escaped from a POW camp on Mars. I've had kids and grand-kids and watched the man I love die." 

 

She laughed ruefully  and shrugged. "Alright, I'm not exactly sure where I'm going with this, but just...if you think you're uncomfortable, then imagine how Gretchen feels right now; lost in another dimension without superpowers, hoping her friends will come save her. When in doubt, focus on the people who need our help, and let that be your guide."

 

Suddenly the changeling frowned as she hurried to catch up with Nikki. Once they were inside the ancient building, Grim conjured up a thick warm blanket on the floor and sat down cross-legged, motioning for Sam to join her.

 

"Sorry about the speech earlier; sometimes I get stuck in 'mom mode'."

[Heritage]

Gretchen just stared at the penny on the ground for several seconds, and felt a shudder of fear pass through her body; they were well and truly stuck. All they could do was wait for rescue from the other side, which made her squeeze her eyes shut and ball up her fists in frustration. She hated depending on other people; nine out of ten times they just disappoint you, and leave you alone to fend for yourself.

 

But Lynn was different, right? She'd saved her life before, she'd save it again. Gretch reached down and gently tugged the thick red rubber band around her wrist, the one Lynn gave her back in Japan. Slowly sliding down to the floor, she hugged herself and continued tugging at the band, rocking her body slightly. "She'll find us. I know she'll find us."

Edited October 9, 2016 by Heritage

[R. Bluefish]

Starlight squatted down on her heels besides Lynn, eying her surroundings with undisguised wariness. "Not a problem. Everyone needs a mom." She half-chuckled ruefully. "Hell. I think having my own 'mom mode' would probably be a good skill for me to develop."

 

She was silent for a moment, absentmindedly rolling down the sleeves of her jacket. "I guess I'm going to have to start getting used to this stuff, huh? I mean, I'm already checking some of the stuff you mentioned off my own list. I've fought drug dealers - a lot of them actually. And skinheads. Well, one skinhead. And I room with a mage and work for a faerie. I think the whole 'normal life' ship has officially sailed." She looked down at the floor, then said, "And I had a kid, too. But that was before. And that didn't really help much of anything, did it."

 

Suddenly restless, she rose to her feet and paced around the room. "Doesn't matter. Just need to go get Gretch and go home."

[Tiffany Korta]

 

GM Post

 

Merge returned to the pair with a number of monks in tow dressed in a number of different robes, a sign that they all came from different order. So were even dressed in civilian clothes apparent the ability to wield magical forces were more important than you devotion to one order or the other. They began to busy themselves preparing the room for the ritual with smattering of different languages, though together they managed to communicate quite efficiently. The three heroes were gently guided to a raised area in the middle of the room and instructed to sit down and get comfortable.

 

“I guess we’re going to do this now whether we’re ready or not.” Nicki’s bravado didn’t quite hide the worry in her voice.

[Heritage]

More than anything else in the world, Lynn wanted to crush Sam in the tightest bear hug inhumanly possible right now, to tell her it was okay and not torture herself for her past mistakes. But they didn't have thst kind of relationship yet, if they ever would, and there was no time. So instead she rose to her feet, dismissed her rug and followed the monks to the platform, where she once and sat and crossed her legs.

 

"Guess we're as ready as we'll ever be..."

[R. Bluefish]

"Right," muttered Starlight, ducking her head to try to hide the heat in her cheeks. For Christ's sake, get a hold on yourself, you $#%&ing whiner. We're here to get Gretch. She followed Lynn up to the platform, hard-soled boots clicking on the steps, and lowered herself into a sitting position with one arm draped over her leg. "So how's this going to work?" she asked uneasily, wondering now if magic would ever stop unnerving her. "We need to do anything, or just sit here while you all go kumbaya, and we wake up in Wonderland?"

[Tiffany Korta]

 

GM Post

Shambala

 

The monks began to chant in a strange singsong language that none of them could recognize as they were swept along in it’s almost hypnotic tones. The chanting seemed to be getting louder and first double then triple in number and location as if several hundred extra monk had suddenly arrived. It took what seemed like hours, but could have been only seconds, to realise that it wasn’t anything had changed expected that you were now experiences each other's senses. It was a strange feeling in that not only were you aware of everything that you were seeing and hearing,but you were also aware of everything that the other two were also perceiving. They were distinct yet you could quite easily process and experience everything that was going on around you. This must be how Nicki and Merge Trois experience the world around them everyday, and you had seen her in almost a dozen different copies some tens or even hundred of miles away.

 

But one was much further than that and you could all suddenly see and feel everything that she was experiencing along with everything else. For an extra-dimensional location it seemed rather mundane.

[Tiffany Korta]

GM Post

Another Dimension

 

The coin spun into the void until it was lost to sight, and stubbornly refusing to do anything unusual. So intent were they on watching that coin that Gretchen almost missed the weirdest that in a day of very strange things.

 

“You might want to see this.” Merge got her attention at the last moment.

Merge had formed two more of her duplicate, which wasn’t unusual in itself, but these were different unformed humanoid. Who as the two watched dumbfounded, or at least Gretchen who was literally the last to know what was happening, as the two duplicates rapidly took on the forms of Grimalkin and Starlight.