by P. S. Power
It wasn’t exactly shocking news, Dare having figured it all out already. At least parts of it. The human mind wasn’t really meant to be alone, after all. They were beings that had been designed by nature to live together. In small, or even not so small, packs, or herds.
A few were better able to handle not having that sort of thing, but most would have a problem not having others around. They made up part of their thoughts, and minds, after all. If not literally, then solidly enough to still matter.
That meant, more or less, that in the end of all, he, Dareg Canton, would be fine. Some of the others might be as well. His father for instance. Timon. Possibly Brian, who was down the way, smiling at the attractive woman that had come there for some reason. Hopefully not to fight. It didn’t seem that way at the moment, but if she had doubts, that could be the answer in the end.
Zack didn’t say anything, just holding his right hand out.
“Clear your mind, and focus now. I’ll pass a location to you. You can go there, and then come back here, for the next one.” It was really a request, but Zack was the tutor for the day, and longer than that, so Dare did as instructed. It wasn’t hard to do really.
Everything was very focused and clear already.
The world was, in the end, made up of concepts, and he could sense them all around him now, including the one from the thin, tiny, man in front of him.
“Be right back then.”
He entered the pod, using his thoughts to open the front of it, and stepped into the void almost instantly. Then, after a brief while, he moved into the other place he was supposed to find. It was an interesting place, having an inlaid metal circle on the floor, and a strange, pockmarked, ceiling overhead, about twelve feet up. Getting the door on the thing opened was different, since it was designed differently. More like a hole in space.
As soon as he was there, he had to concentrate very hard again, in order to move at the same rate as the woman who was standing there, coming out of a door to the left, actually. It only looked like she was standing at first. With a good bit of concentration, he did it however, allowing her to move normally, and not in slow motion. It had seemed like years or longer since he’d seen that kind of thing, so he smiled at her.
Then he bowed, not knowing who she was.
The woman was trim, tidy, and tiny. Smaller than Zack was, even. She wore strange garments, though she was covered enough for it to be proper. It was a deep blue knit appearing thing that hugged her body, like a party dress, but she had leggings in black under that, and a silver belt, made of rings, that glinted under the strange flat lights overhead.
Thankfully, she spoke in English, which Dareg had managed to teach himself already.
That way he wouldn’t have to wave his hands around, pretending to have something he needed to say to her.
The woman, fairly politely, bowed back to him, which he took to be releasing him to stand back up, since she did it immediately. In Noram, or even on Harmony, that would have meant that she was the master of that place. Ahead, there were shelves, that seemed to be arrayed with candles of all things.
Her voice was chipper, and she seemed a bit shocked, and a little bit scared.
“Um, hello. Did Zack bring you?”
Dareg smiled wider, and shook his head.
“No. He assigned me to come here. I think this is the right place. It was what he thought of. I’m Dareg.” He stopped and then smiled at the woman, who was a bit older than he was, seeming to be in her late thirties or so. “Dareg Canton, or Dare, if that’s easier? I came from Mars. In a different reality, if that makes sense?”
The woman nodded, glanced away toward the front of the place, where a cute woman was coming from, who looked a bit familiar, and then glanced back at him. The woman that was coming moved quickly, distorting time around her a bit as she did it. The effect nearly had him fighting before he knew what was going on, but then he noticed that it was different than the Adversaries trick.
There was no implant either, so he looked at her and bowed again, hoping she didn’t attack.
It worked well enough, and she stopped in the door, looked troubled for a moment, then smiled at him.
“I heard that someone new was here. Dareg, you said? That’s an interesting name. I’m Lenore. Hawthorne. Zack is my boyfriend. You say that he sent you? I was just with him… He didn’t mention anything.”
Standing up, and focusing, he understood why that was. He had been sent, but by a different Zack.
It took a bit, but his mind eventually clicked into place on the topic.
“Zack Hartley… Small, pale? Not from here?”
Instead of doubting his good will, the woman relaxed then and grinned.
“Ah. The other one. Yes, that seems right. Do you have a message, or need anything? I could get you something to eat?”
It was a very kind offer, but he had to shake his head, hoping he wasn’t going to give offense.
“Could I take you up on that some other time? I should be getting back, before he comes looking for me. He’s showing me how to move between worlds, using the thoughts of others. His, in this case. It’s fairly simple, unless this is the wrong place, in which case I get to feel embarrassed and mope for a while…”
The strange women both smiled at him then, as if what he’d just said actually made some kind of sense to them.
Lenore spoke again, smoothing her slightly drab blue dress. That seemed to be a country fashioned thing, but was far more similar to what he was used to than what the other lady wore. Both looked nice however, though Lenore was very young looking. Older than him, but her age was different than that. By hundreds of years. Then, his probably seemed off as well, so he didn’t comment on it.
“We should set up a meeting soon? Perhaps in a few days? Eve is trying to find new locations for the shop here. Mars… That might be a good place for a frozen yogurt shop, don’t you think?” She was clearly trying to joke, and set him at ease, but it made sense to him suddenly. Even why he’d gone there, instead of some other world.
“Eve is from here? We haven’t met, but Zack mentioned her. That… I have no clue what that is. Frozen yogurt. We do need shops however. Not many live in the new city yet, but that will change. I’ll see if I can suggest the idea to her?”
That got him bowed to again, and the other woman did it as well, her blonde hair a bit stiff seeming for some reason. Fluffy as well, compared to most.
“I look forward to meeting you again then, Dareg Canton.”
“I as well…” He didn’t have a name for her, and tried to look at her charmingly, so that she’d feel comfortable enough with him to give him something to call her.
“Lisa. We aren’t always here, but please feel free to visit?”
“Thank you. I’ll do that, if I’m allowed. Now, I really need to be getting back.” That got another bow, and several minutes of him saying goodbye, before he felt comfortable stepping back through nothing to his home.
Zack was just standing there, and waiting for him, not having followed to make certain he made it to the right place.
“Lenore, and Lisa… They seemed nice. We’re supposed to open a yogurt shop here? I have no clue what that is, naturally. They said that Eve was the one to talk to about that?”
The man nodded, then, without speaking, touched his arm. That simple seeming action sent across a new location. This time the world was totally different. He used the pod again, closing the door before moving through nothing to the new place.
Interestingly, he nearly ran into a person when he walked into the space. Time had gone back to being slow for him again, so it was easy enough to step out of the way, avoiding the fellow. The very familiar man. Speeding time to normal again, he grinned, and the man did it back, after a bit.
Then he tilted his head and shook it a little.
“Don? That’s a new look. Better! Something you picked up here at Lesser Shia? I should do that. Was it expensive?”
Dareg got the mi
stake and shook his head, happily.
“No. I’m Dareg Canton. Don is… Me from a different world? Zack mentioned something like that. His cousin? I’m someone else however. Just like you are. To me, I mean.”
“Oh? Cool. Lots of new faces around lately, which is a good thing, in my book. Troy Lopez. I don’t suppose I’m a great looking world traveler in your world, too?” There was both joking and confidence in the words. As if to say that he knew that he was better than average, but not as nice looking as Dareg.
“Gerent Lairdgren. You’re better looking than he is, and he has a jump ship, but… I don’t know if he can go to different realities yet. He’s taller. About eight feet?” It was true, and the man made a face and then shook his head a bit.
“That sounds like me. I’m really tall too, inside my head. Well, I should go and meet him then? I mean, he’s great, right? So far all the versions of me have been. You know, not evil, or jerks. I’m not really claiming that I’m that wonderful.” There was a feeling from the man that said he wasn’t certain how much of the conversation Dareg was getting so far. He had an accent after all.
So subtle humor might be a bit different for him.
It was a real point, and showed that the man was both clever and paying attention.
“Gerent is very nice, actually. A Prince of Harmony. I mean, I am too, but he’s ahead of me that way. I… Tor is my father? Um… He’s a different Zack? Also much taller. Better looking however. That’s down to magic. I was told to come here by Zack Hartley, as part of a lesson. Possibly to meet you as well?”
The man tucked his hand out, like people from the country, or Austra, did. To shake. It was a bit odd, but he did it back, smiling.
“Nice to meet you then. Zack put me through the rounds, too. At first. Are you going to be opening transport to here from your Earth?”
He shook his head, but realized that he could set something up that way. It would need to be more controlled however, to keep bad people from using it. The pods could be set up to do that, as long as the destinations were set properly.
“Mars. I live on Mars. I might be able to do that however. Make a…” He didn’t have the words to describe what he wanted, and said it out loud in Standard, which got a man with a veil over his face who didn’t feel strictly human, to step forward a bit, and provide the correct phrase. “Thanks. Yes, transport pod. I should be able to make it work for this purpose. It will take a lot of work, but I think I can do it. Then anyone will be able to do that kind of thing on their own. Or… Well, I need to keep a control on people. So certain individuals will be able to do it? Those with a key for the system?” He could teach the things to recognize people.
Troy Lopez smiled at him.
“That would be wild. I might be out of a job, but if so, I can always go back to tending bar. It may not pay as much, but I don’t really need much, you know?”
Dare nodded and winked at the man. Not trying to flirt or anything, just let him know that he was friendly.
“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. It’s better if we… You know of the Adversaries?” It could be that he didn’t really, but the man looked concerned and then let his eyes narrow a bit.
“I do. Is that a big thing there?” He looked around, since there was a man with a stack of boxes on a rolling cart, who was looking at them.
Troy held up a finger.
“One sec. This is going to Xenfess One?” If the strange letters on the top of the thing meant that, Dareg couldn’t tell, but the slightly green shaded fellow pushing it nodded happily enough.
That got Troy to step into nothing, pulling the silver thing with him, and then about ten seconds later he came back the same way, walking but just appearing.
“We should hang some time. Go and look up this Gerent and Vampire Troy and have a party.”
He bowed then, and got ready to leave, the man clearly attempting to get back to his work, which was building up, from the tension on the face of the people standing at the door.
“Let’s do that? Say in a week? I’ll see if I can arrange such a thing?”
“Cool. Nice meeting you!” He was very polite and friendly.
So far everyone had been, in these strange worlds. Different, but not unkind at all.
“You as well, Troy Lopez. Until we meet again?”
Then he stepped through the bend in space, and went back to Mars, in his own reality.
That wasn’t the last thing that Zack had for him, but about an hour later, he was back again, and being led toward the restaurant, where people were starting to break up, and go back to their own worlds. Of note, Doug was back, and looked a lot more like he did. A slightly older version, and an inch taller than he’d been, if not two, but the features while manly were a bit slighter, and more even. The coloration was smoother as well.
The man looked at him, and grinned, which felt familiar to him, being his own face more or less. More than it had been.
“That itches… Still, I was talking to Tim, and asked him if he’d consider looking at a friend of mine. Tobin. He’s a great guy, but a bit different looking. It isn’t bad, but if he can be helped…” Doug looked at Brian, and then Timon.
As if he might be overstepping what was allowed.
Zack smiled however, and nodded.
“It can’t hurt to go and look? If the amount of work isn’t too great. There are people in that world who might be helped by your skills, Mr. Baker. Dareg can get you there and back, when you’re ready? Now… Eve… I think you need to get with Dareg here. He built this place. The city, not just the restaurant. Lenore, yours, was at the mall when he went there, and wants to set up a frozen yogurt shop here?”
The girl moved from across the room to stand by them, her hand coming out to shake, like Mr. Lopez had done. Dareg didn’t let himself wince at how cool her grasp was. There was a lot of power inside of her as well.
“That works. We can walk and scout locations? Everyone else is leaving, but I can get myself home, so it won’t be a problem for me. Line walker, you know?”
He nodded, getting the idea, as Zack patted him on the arm.
“Dareg is as well. I barely had to even teach him anything. You two should make arrangements to get together regularly. Possibly in Brian’s reality? We don’t have anyone set up to check there very often. You can do that?” Then, as if the answer wasn’t needed, he started to walk away, as everyone stared at Dareg, since he was the one on tap suddenly.
Doug looked around, as Timon walked over, clearly ready to go and see to things at that moment.
Brian shook his head.
“Can we do that in a few days? I think that Tobin is out doing a media tour right now. He’s a singer. I can take you all there now, so you can get the place down?”
It was a good plan, and faster than Dareg would have guessed. The new place however, wasn’t one to Dare. It was the one that seemed like a strange town, with a lot of tan brick buildings. They were a bit ugly, but he knew how to get there and back already. Zack had shown him where it was.
Which probably meant that at least one of the worlds was where he had to go to find Gwen. They had a date set up, after all. Eve, standing on the flat, very smooth, gray stone path glanced around, and looked at the people who were all dressed in plain tan, with names above their pockets on one side.
No one tried to stop them, or did more than smile and wave toward them.
Brian pointed and walked ahead forcefully.
“Up here is the main office. If you ever need anyone from here, go there and we’ll help you find them. This is the IPB base. Infected Protection Bureau. Which… Means nothing to you yet. Well, you know, we’re all great people, and have powers. That shouldn’t be a problem for you though, right?”
He nodded, and Eve looked at him closely, her face smiling. Her spirit wasn’t matching that, but it seemed about right for the moment.
“Not even a tiny bit. Coolness. I’ll go back with Dare here, now? Then we can talk and I can cor
rupt him to my wicked, wicked ways. You’re fine with that, aren’t you, Dareg?” She winked at him, which was also fake, but didn’t seem serious about anything.
Not wanting to be rude, he nodded.
“We can talk about that? Also, yogurt. I’m still not up on what that is. Food?”
“Yep. Exactly right. I’ll show you. Come on?”
She took his hand, but there was no actual pod or hole in space for him to use, so Dareg set one up, on the side of the building that Brian had pointed out. It looked more festive and cheerful than the rest of the places, but no one seemed to mind. From there, while he had to do more than just tap the right sigil, he was able to get into the void. The whole thing was going to have to be reworked to go between realities, if it could be done that way.
Still, for now, it gave him a place to start from and go to, in a pinch.
Eve shook her head at the thing and sighed once they were back on Mars.
“That’s different. Can you make houses too? Ones that just pop out of the air from nothing?”
“Magical palaces? Yes. Tor made them. I can show you, if you want? After we do this here?” Or not. The woman was pale, and clearly meant to be Queen Tiera and not Eva, even if the name and size were close, but it would be troubling for him to do anything with her other than be a friend. Hopefully they wouldn’t hate each other, since that would be even harder than flirting would be.
Smiling he shook his head, which got the woman to look at him curiously.
“What? Do I have something on my face?” There was a cute bit of rubbing around the mouth, as if to indicate she wasn’t certain about her last meal’s placement.
Dareg wouldn’t have commented on it, even if it were the case, so shook his head.
“Not that. I just realized that I have a family. I didn’t, for a long time. I… My mother, I’d thought that she died, but… You met her? Merry?”
“The one who’s neck you sliced open? She’s your mom? I bet that teaches her not to fake her own death again.”
It was a thing that Dareg was willing to bet on as well.