"Now are you sure it went this way?", Abbott asked for the final time, pretty much exasperated. He pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly. He wasn't enjoying their current predicament either, but at least he wasn't griping about it.

"Yes, I'm sure! I saw it with my own two eyes!", Costello replied in earnest, wringing his hands nervously.

"Uh huh, just like you saw a pointy-eared guy before that, right?"

"Yes."

Now that just sounded a little doubtful to the both of them.

"And the before that it was a force field, right?"

"Yes, I walked straight into it. It was like from those science fiction movies."

"Well why wasn't it there when I walked through the doorway? Hmmm? And whatever ship we're on is, apparently, deserted!" Abbott spoke with a forced calm at first, his tone of voice slowly rising until he shouted the last word.

Costello closed his mouth promptly and looked around and upwards as if visibly searching for an answer. When no answer was forthcoming, Abbott groaned and rubbed his face to ease the headache that was building up. Taking the lack of response as a minor victory, Abbott then turned and continued walking down the long hallway past his friend. Costello silently followed, cringing at the slightest of sounds. This went on for about a minute, until he finally opened his mouth.

"Then they must have turned it off, how else can I explain it?"

Abbott faltered in his tracks for a second before resuming his walk. He wasn't even going to dignify that with an answer. Costello was just an overreactive, scaredy cat, nothing would ever change that.

Meanwhile, Costello was thinking to himself as well. He was absolutely positive that he DID see all those things, he didn't imagine them. The problem is always the same though. Either Abbott never sees it, or something else entirely different apears instead. It was like the mummy situation all over again.*

Filled with newfound courage (or stupidity, for that matter), Costello puffed out his chest and marched over to the nearest door in the hallway, determined to not let this situation get to him. Now this door was interesting in that it was different from all the rest. The others slid open and closed by themselves, while this one had an honest-to-goodness handle.

'Finally, something I'm familiar with', Costello thought as he approached it. Glancing rapidly towards his friend, he sighed in relief. Abbott hadn't noticed Costello's little detoured excursion and was turning the corner way ahead, muttering quietly to himself. He then poked his head round the corner and gestured for Costello to stay behind him as he turned right. Only, he didn't know that no one was really behind him to do so.

Grinning happily, Costello turned back to the door and rubbed his hands together with glee. Tugging on the door didn't budge it, so he tried harder. He even put his foot on the wall and pulled with all his might, still thinking to himself and smiling.

'I'm going to find a way out for us this time.'

Yank.

"I'm gonna save the day.'

Yank.

'I'm gonna be the hero.'

POP! The door flew open and Costello staggered back before walking back towards the open door.

'I'm-'

Costello's line of thought was abrubtly cut off. He quivered as he beheld the looming shadow in the darkness before him, and his eyebrows shot up in the air.

Without a moment's hesitation, Costello whipped around and took the path Abbott had only a minute ago, with only one thing he could possibly say echoing through the halls ahead of him.

"ABBOTT!!"

Back in the supply closet, a figure slowly made it's way out into the well-lit hallway. He strightened his clothes and dusted off his knees before standing fully erect and pausing. He hadn't meant to scare off the poor man and was on the verge of extending his gratitude before the man had taken off as fast as he could. As these thoughts ran through his head, he couldn't help but think they surely will meet again later, after all this was their second time, and until the crisis on the ship was resolved, it was bound to happen again. All these musings culminated into the only thing he too could say at this time:

"Fascinating."

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*Reference to "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy".If you've seen the movie, let me know what you thought of it. Please read and review. If you have any ideas, send them my way via PM and we'll see what happens. :-)