Maverick

Is Your Heart Still Beating

By Lucky_Ladybug

Notes: The characters are not mine and the story is! I've wondered for months whether to actually post this piece if I ever got to write enough of my crossover timeline that it would be time to insert this installment. While it's perfectly acceptable for The Wild Wild West and has been part of my timeline for that series ever since I decided to "fix" the deaths in the Poisonous Posey episode years ago, it's rather sci-fi for Maverick. Still, both shows are unconventional Westerns and since I've already been crossing them over, that means they're in a shared universe in all of these stories. So, hopefully it won't be too weird to accept? I didn't want to omit this installment after getting up to the previous one, and I found I couldn't write this one without getting into the sci-fi elements. (I tried.) Part of me kind of wants to continue it beyond this first chapter, but that would go even deeper into sci-fi territory, so I'm not sure whether to do so or not.

Beau sighed sadly to himself as he left the saloon in another one-horse town of many and trudged down the darkened street. He removed his wallet from his inside coat pocket, slipping the new winnings inside before replacing the object in his pocket.

It had been three years since they had received the news that Lucrece Posey's criminal empire had fallen apart and her board members, including Snakes Tolliver, had all been killed. It seemed much longer.

Beau had found he wasn't willing after all to just accept the word of a newspaper reporter regarding what had happened. He had journeyed to Justice, Nevada and had interviewed the sheriff, the deputy, and other townspeople about that fateful night. He had also obtained the names of the Secret Service agents involved and had gone to Washington, D.C. to see them.

He had learned a few more details, most particularly that one of the agents, Jim West, had witnessed Snakes' attempt to kill Lucrece Posey with an explosive-laden gavel and Lucrece's immediate and swift retaliation. Snakes was dead; Lucrece had killed him with the poison under her fingernails.

"But what if he wasn't dead?" Beau had protested in desperation. "Maybe the poison didn't kill instantaneously. Maybe someone found him and nursed him back to health!"

West had doubted it. The poison had been researched from samples taken from Lucrece herself and it had been found to be an instantaneous killer. Anyway, he knew for a surety that the other board members were dead; he had killed Pinto in self-defense with a makeshift spear and he had witnessed Brutus falling back on his own rifle, which had then gone off. And he had also fought Sergei atop his horse and sent him falling off to his death. Gallito and Cyril were just as dead. None of them had been found and nursed back to health.

So there was still that question of who had taken all of the bodies while West and his partner Artemus Gordon had been occupied with catching Lucrece Posey and Ascot Sam, a visiting criminal not on the board. Although they had investigated for days, they had never turned up any leads and had been forced to abandon the issue as more pressing matters came along.

Beau was not pleased. But though he had also tried to investigate, his attempts had fallen on dead ends. So he had returned to traveling aimlessly and gambling, as he had done for years. Life had gone on much as it always had, but there was always a certain emptiness, a hole left by the death of a most unlikely but genuine friend.

Part of him was still angry and confused. Why had Snakes tried to kill Lucrece when he had known it was dangerous? That was one question the Secret Service agents had not been able to answer. West had assumed it was a power struggle and Snakes had been trying to usurp the leadership position. That was what he had threatened to do in Beau's presence.

A Mexican Secret Service agent had quite another story. She had approached Snakes and asked him to help her bring down the syndicate, which she was trying to break through its Latin-American link, Gallito. Snakes had initially balked and refused, citing his desire for self-preservation, but for some mysterious reason he had later recanted and agreed to help. He had fed her enough information about Gallito's operations that she and her other agents had been able to greatly weaken his hold in Mexico. Still, he had refused to go even further and report on everyone, fearful for his survival should they find out. He was sure that what was happening in Mexico would be a topic during the upcoming quarterly meeting of the board.

A revolution attempt had prevented her from getting back to the messages in her office until the day of the meeting, but when she had managed to see them she found a cryptic note from Snakes that had promised his help if she would help him. She and her Lieutenant had gone to Justice as soon as they could, but it was already too late.

Her feeling was that Snakes had become so terrified that the other board members knew of his duplicity that he had acted in impulsive terror with the explosive-laden gavel. She was angry too, but at herself as well as Snakes. She hated that she had failed to save him.

Knowing what Beau knew of Snakes, he had a feeling that the truth was a combination of both reasons. Snakes had wanted out, yet he had figured the only way out was to take over. As for giving information to the Mexican Secret Service, Beau was not in the least surprised. There had not been anything in it for him, monetarily-speaking, yet he had still opted to help. That was consistent with his behavior around all of the Mavericks. Even when he had wanted money, he had helped them for other reasons instead.

Lucrece Posey had escaped from prison some time back. Nothing had been heard of her since, and it only made Beau more angry and bitter. Where was she? Was she starting a new life of crime all over again after leaving such a trail of destruction and death in her wake? Beau hoped he would never hear that she had built her syndicate up again. He would probably want to dismantle it personally if he did. Maybe if he and Bret had really worked to overthrow the syndicate in the past, Snakes would still be alive.

The snap of a twig around the side of a building startled Beau back to the present. He spun around, one hand drifting near the gun strapped to his side. "Who's there?!" he demanded.

"Beau . . ." The voice was gravelly and low, tinged with a Southern accent. "It's me."

A chill went up Beau's spine. "Snakes?!" He stepped closer to the building, keeping his hand near his gun. Snakes was dead. He couldn't be here unless Beau was seeing his ghost, and from Beau's own experience, that never happened unless there was an emergency.

But the man looking back at Beau was solid. And he looked and sounded exactly like Snakes.

"Snakes . . . ?" Beau was still cautious. "Is it . . . really you? Can it be?"

Snakes managed a tired smirk. "It is."

"But you . . . you're dead," Beau exclaimed.

"I'm not now." Snakes held out a hand. "See? I'm alive."

Beau reached for the hand, slowly at first, then frantically grasping it. "How?" he whispered.

Snakes gripped at Beau's hand in response. "It's a long story. . . . You probably wouldn't believe it if I tried to tell you."

"Try me," Beau retorted, but something gave him pause. He rocked back, feeling the twisted skin on the back of Snakes' hand. "Snakes, what . . ."

"I got burned," Snakes said abruptly. "Didn't heal right. It's okay, nothing serious. I can still use the hand; I've just got one more scar to add to my collection."

Beau let go, sensing that Snakes didn't want to talk about it. "Alright," he said. "But how did you find me? It's not so easy to locate a Maverick."

"I picked up your trail in Justice, Nevada and followed you here," Snakes explained.

"Oh." Beau looked down. "Yes, I was in Justice recently. I don't know why; it's not really a fun place to visit with all of its bizarre rules and regulations."

Snakes smirked, but it looked forced. "You got that right."

Beau quickly snapped to. "Come back to the hotel with me," he implored. "Tell me what happened to you. Tell me why you did it." He looked at Snakes hard, the pain and anguish of the past three years rising to the surface. "Why, Snakes?! You told me you weren't going to do it!"

"I wasn't," Snakes replied, keeping his voice down. "Shh! Beau, do you really wanna wake up the whole town?!"

"No, I don't." But Beau clenched a fist. "You don't know what it's been like for me, finding out you were dead, finding out why it happened. I've had to wonder all this time if . . . if it was my fault."

"It was not your fault!" Snakes exclaimed in sickened shock. "It was my own stupid cowardice, my insistence on staying alive no matter what I had to do. I gave some information to the Mexican Secret Service about Gallito. Then I got scared thinking Posey knew. I was sure she was going to kill me at the meeting. I tried to wire the Secret Service lady for help, but she didn't get it in time. And I . . . I did something desperate. It was what I'd toyed with doing anyway. I guess I hoped if it worked, I'd be sitting pretty at the top again. I wasn't thinking about the fact that the others probably wouldn't follow me, especially Pinto and Brutus. I was just thinking about myself, as usual."

"As usual?!" Beau grabbed hold of Snakes' upper arms, staring at the former crime boss. "Snakes, you're always thinking you're so selfish when it isn't true. Of course you have those moments; everyone does. But overall you're less selfish than most people I've met. And sometimes that still sounds strange when I think about what you were and what you did, but it's the truth."

Snakes gave a weary and sad sigh and a half-smirk of resignation. "It feels good to hear someone believe in me again," he said quietly. "I haven't believed in myself for a long time."

Beau frowned, really looking into Snakes' eyes. It wasn't easy to see in the light shining from the moon and from the lamps on the street, but there was something in Snakes' words and his face that haunted Beau. That sight started to melt the anger and pain still in his heart. He had suffered, but so had Snakes.

"Snakes," he said quietly, "what happened to you?"

"I died," Snakes answered just as quietly. "And I went to the worst Hell possible. I was tortured by Pinto until my mind and my will and my dignity were all just about gone. When it was finally over, even you couldn't have said I wasn't selfish. I wanted nothing more than to make sure I never got caught in a mess like that again, no matter who got hurt or who got dragged down right along with Posey and her crew when I got rid of them."

They started to walk. Somehow it seemed odd, even wrong, to think of speaking of something as dark as this in a lighted hotel room, but at the same time, Beau didn't like the thought of any possible wanderers in town overhearing such a conversation.

"'Posey and her crew'?" Beau repeated. "But Snakes, you and she should be the only ones still alive right now."

"They're all alive," Snakes insisted. "Just like me. We had a huge confrontation on a mountain in Southern California. I tried to blow everybody to Kingdom Come. Instead I only got myself hurt again. Woke up bleeding into the snow."

"Is that how you got burned?" Beau asked.

"Nah, that came later," Snakes grunted. "I actually wasn't trying to hurt anybody that time." He shoved his hands into his coat pockets. "I try to help myself, I get hurt. I try to do something better, I still get hurt. Just like in the past."

"But you're alive," Beau said quietly, almost as though he still wondered if this was a dream.

"Yeah." Snakes looked up at the stars as they walked. "Anyway, after what happened when I got burned, I decided I was going to try to go straight. No more crime-bossing." He glanced to Beau. "It's not easy, especially since I've been involved in some kind of crimes since I was a kid. But I'm managing so far. I decided to go back to gambling. Honestly this time."

"Do you travel?" Beau asked.

Snakes chuckled. "Oh boy, do I travel. Not like you're thinking, though. As far as the job goes, I hold still. I work at one particular place."

"Where is it?" Beau wondered. "Maybe I could drop in sometime."

"I could take you there sometime," Snakes said. "You wouldn't be able to get there without me. It's . . . uh . . . kind of tucked away."

Beau raised an eyebrow. "Do you get much business?"

"Oh yeah, quite a bit."

They were at the hotel now. Beau led Snakes around to the back and opened the service door. "Then those people must know how to get there. Why not just give me the directions?"

Snakes rubbed the back of his neck. "It's not that simple. I could give you the directions, but you'd never believe it."

"That's the second time you've told me I wouldn't believe some aspect of this," Beau said. His patience and temper were starting to crack again as they went inside and headed up the stairs. "I don't know if I believe any of it now! It already seems like a dream that can't possibly be real. People don't come back from the dead."

"You did," Snakes replied.

"Yes, but I was reunited with my cousins that same day!" Beau retorted, not stopping to wonder how Snakes even knew about that. "You can't just waltz back into my life after all this time and think that I won't ask questions! Where have you been for three years?! Why didn't you come back before and let me know you were alright? No, how are you alright?!"

Now they were going down the hall. Snakes looked around furtively, hoping no one was going to open their doors and look at them. "Sometimes I don't know myself," he said. "But I came back to find you as soon as I could think straight, Beau. Please believe that."

Beau reached his room and unlocked the door. After Snakes stepped inside, Beau entered too and pulled it shut after them. "I do believe it," he admitted. "But it doesn't tell me where you were."

Snakes looked down, guilty, unsure of himself. "I don't really know how to explain it," he said.

"Did it have something to do with whoever stole your body?" Beau pounced.

"It had everything to do with her." Snakes looked up again. "She wanted to figure out how to revive the dead. She had this idea about using channeled electricity from lightning storms to jumpstart the heart again and she decided she was going to experiment on Posey's gang. She figured crooks would be the best guinea pigs. No family or friends to come looking for them, you know?"

Beau stared at him. "You really have been through Hell on more levels than one, haven't you?"

"Actually, that part wasn't so bad," Snakes said. "I didn't mind her fiddling around since it ended up working. Pinto was what broke me." He shuddered.

"But a character like that woman . . . !" Beau shook his head. "It sounds like something out of a Gothic horror novel."

Snakes smirked. "You're not far-off. That's probably where she got the idea." He paused, suddenly concerned. "But I'm not like that Frankenstein's monster or anything like that. I'm just me, like I always have been."

"I know that, Snakes," Beau assured him. "I wasn't even thinking of anything otherwise."

Snakes relaxed. "That's good. There's no way I could tell most people what happened to me. They'd start avoiding me like the plague."

Beau winced. "Yes, some of them might," he said.

"And some would say it was witchcraft and I had to be killed because it just wasn't natural." Snakes shuddered.

"It's not witchcraft," Beau objected. "It sounds like science."

"Do you think some of the simpletons in these dinky little towns would agree with that?" Snakes replied with a self-depreciating smirk. "Maybe even some of the people in big cities wouldn't be able to accept the idea." He sighed. "I've met a lot of decent people who are just trying to survive, same as me. But I've also met a lot of stupidly prejudiced people who just can't accept anything different from them. The guy who did this to me was like that." He held a hand to his left cheek.

Beau sighed too. "You're right," he conceded. "There are a lot of people like that, unfortunately." He frowned. "But how are you going to publicly explain your return?"

"I wasn't planning to 'publicly' explain anything," Snakes said. "I'd rather keep a low profile as much as possible. But if someone I don't really know asks me and I have to say something, I'll probably just make some smart-aleck crack. Or say I faked my death until it was safe to come back."

"Is it safe?" Beau exclaimed. "Miss Posey escaped from prison. What if she comes after you again?"

"We've already had all the clashes we're going to," Snakes said. "After the last time we saw each other, she agreed to make sure her gang leaves me alone if I leave them alone."

"And you believe her?" Beau frowned. "She isn't known for keeping her word."

"Ordinarily I wouldn't believe her, but because of the circumstances of that last meeting, I do," Snakes said.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Beau said.

"I think so," Snakes said. "Anyway, half the time we probably won't even be in the same area at all, so that's a bonus."

"It certainly is.

"So you went through being a mad scientist's experiment, and Pinto torturing you . . ." Beau still looked overwhelmed. "Once you were alive again and free of all that, it's hard to blame you for going into such a panic that you wanted to kill off the entire gang so they couldn't get at you any more."

Snakes started to walk across the floor, restless, his hands back in his pockets. "Where I'm living now, they have these ideas about things like that. I think they'd say I was suffering from some serious trauma disorder." He stopped and turned back. "Maybe I was. But I'm back to myself now; you don't have to worry that I'm some kind of a mental case."

"I wasn't thinking that," Beau assured him. "You seem fine. Well, sadder and wiser, definitely, but still basically the same Snakes Tolliver."

"Do you really believe what I've been telling you?" Snakes asked.

"I don't disbelieve it, but I still wonder what's going to happen in the morning when I wake up," Beau said. He hesitated. "There were times when I dreamed that you'd come back as I did and we were talking. But then I woke up and discovered it wasn't real."

Snakes sighed. "If spirits could sleep, I probably would've dreamed about being alive again too." He looked regretful. "I've never been good under pressure. Every day I've wished I hadn't panicked and tried to do that to Posey. And ever since I got burned, I've wished I hadn't wasted some of the time being alive again just running around trying to get rid of all of them."

"You can make up for it now," Beau said. "But Snakes, when you were in such a state, what made you do whatever it was that got you burned?"

"Even then, I hated myself for being such a coward," Snakes admitted. "When I got this, though . . ." He ran his left hand over the twisted skin on his right. ". . . I wasn't really thinking at all." He paused. "I guess I might as well tell you what happened."

"Yes, I wish you would," said Beau.

"This doomsday organization was trying to basically destroy the world and everyone was trying to knock the device out of commission. I got saddled into trying to help Artemus Gordon blow up the clock that was counting down to when the thing would go off. We thought it worked, but then we found there was a back-up clock. I was the closest to the thing and I didn't think; I just climbed up on it with a gun and found the back-up clock." Snakes shook his head. "I hesitated for a minute. I knew I was going to die if I shot out the clock. That would cause the device to blow up, but it wouldn't take anything else with it. I thought maybe at least if I was the only one who died, Pinto couldn't torture me any more and I could rest in peace."

"And you surely didn't want a lot of innocent people to be hurt or killed either," Beau quietly prompted.

Snakes looked down. "No, I didn't. But I figured my reasons were mostly selfish. I shot out the thing and the device blew up and I went down in flames. We were on a ship and I fell in the water. Jim West dove in to get me out, even though he was pretty sure I was dead. Pinto actually pulled us both up with his lasso. He doesn't like me any more than he ever did, but I guess he figured he owed me that, at least, after Artemus Gordon prompted him to help."

He looked up again. "Well, long story short, I didn't die again, obviously. And the Secret Service agents, they seemed to figure that I'd done something really unselfish and brave. They liked me some. And that was when I decided to try going straight again, even though it'd never worked for me before. Just looking out for myself never worked so good either."

"You did do something unselfish and brave," Beau said. "I don't believe for one minute that your reasoning was solely selfish. But why haven't I heard anything about this? I've heard at least whispers of some of the other doomsday plots those Secret Service agents have been involved in. When madmen are threatening to take over the entire state of California or destroy all the nation's crops with genetically-modified boll weevils, it's impossible not to hear something, even if it doesn't sound believable."

"There's whispers of it where I've been living," Snakes admitted. "Nobody here would know about it."

"And where are you living now?" Beau demanded. "That was the other thing you told me I wouldn't believe."

Snakes looked awkward. "Maybe we should save that part of the explanation for the morning."

Beau frowned but didn't push it. Snakes had already revealed a great deal tonight. If he was still hesitant about the other topic, he should be given more time to get ready to talk about it. Beau wouldn't push him.

"Are you staying in the hotel?" he asked instead.

"I'm not staying anywhere," Snakes said. "I just came to find you."

"Then stay here overnight," Beau implored. "It's too late to go anywhere now."

"I wasn't going to anyway," Snakes said. "I was hoping for an invite."

That brought a chuckle. "Oh, Snakes." Beau shook his head. "Now I'm glad I got a room with double beds. There weren't any single beds still available."

Snakes smirked. "That is a good thing." He took off his hat. "I was planning to sleep on the couch, but a bed sounds a whole lot better."

Beau smiled. "Then take your pick. You should have first choice."

"They're both the same, I imagine." Snakes wandered into the bedroom and flopped on the nearest bed. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," said Beau as he came to the doorway, and he wondered if Snakes would really still be there when he opened his eyes come morning.

"Beau?"

Beau started and turned, pausing in the process of removing his coat. "What?"

Snakes rose off the bed. "I'm sorry for how you've suffered. I never wanted that."

Beau gave a sad smile. "I know. But as long as you're really here, it's alright, Snakes. I can get past what I went through. Your suffering was far worse."

"Probably deserved, though," Snakes muttered. "Yours wasn't." Louder he said, "And I really am here. It's not a dream."

"Good," Beau said fervently as he undid and pulled off his string tie.

Snakes slumped back into the bed, his hat falling over his eyes.

Beau watched him in amusement. "Aren't you going to get undressed?"

Snakes shrugged. "I didn't bring anything else to wear. I'll have to remember that for next time; this is my first time back."

"Still, you apparently knew you'd be spending the night," Beau remarked.

Snakes opened one eye, looking out at Beau from under his hat. "Yeah . . . but I'm too tired to get undressed anyway."

Beau shook his head. "Suit yourself."

Soon he had washed up and was climbing into bed. Snakes hadn't exaggerated about being tired; he was already asleep. Beau observed him in gentle amusement and awe before sleep started to overtake him.

"If this isn't a dream, this is one of the most wonderful experiences of my life," he said quietly to himself. "How many people get to reunite with a dead friend while still alive themselves?"

He sank into the pillow, not sure he would sleep even though it was fast approaching. His eyes closed almost without him even being aware of it.

xxxx

Beau almost didn't remember what had happened when morning dawned. He was in such a fog of sleep that he wasn't sure of much of anything other than that sleep had been good and he wasn't alone in the room.

He turned, looking to the other bed. Snakes was there, lying on his stomach and hugging the pillow with both arms. Seeing the peaceful image brought back all of the night's events and strange conversations, and now that Beau saw Snakes asleep and alive and breathing, he could still scarcely believe it was true even though the proof was in front of him that it was.

Slowly he got out of bed and went to the water pitcher to wash up. Snakes didn't move at first, but then he stirred, letting go of the pillow and rolling onto his side.

"Good morning," Beau greeted.

"Morning," Snakes mumbled. He looked up at the ceiling, as if wondering where something was that should be there, and then he remembered why it wasn't. He slumped into the pillow, watching Beau through half-open eyes.

"I hope I didn't wake you," Beau apologized.

"Nah. It's alright." Snakes ran a hand into his blond hair.

"Do you feel like continuing our conversation yet?" Beau asked.

"I wonder if you'd be more or less receptive on a full stomach," Snakes mused.

"Snakes, if it's so strange as all that, I don't think anything could make me more receptive than I am now," Beau retorted.

"You might think I'm crazy or lying," Snakes said.

"Try me," Beau persisted. He came back to the bed and sat on the edge of it.

Snakes went up on one elbow, looking over at him. "That woman's experiments, they kind of got out of control," he said carefully.

"I'd think they would," Beau said, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but you'd never imagine how. The one that revived me and Gallito ended up ripping a hole in space." Snakes paused, hesitant to go on.

Beau was definitely baffled. "A hole . . . in space," he slowly repeated.

Snakes nodded. "Now it connects two different times."

Beau stared at him. "We really are treading into bizarre territory."

"See, you don't believe me," Snakes shot back.

"It's a lot to take in," Beau admitted. "There are theories about time-travel, but nothing has been proven."

"It has now. I've been living about 140 years in the future." Snakes sat up, completely serious. "It's an incredible place, really. There's all kinds of fast communication devices and transportation vehicles. Everything's very modernized. There's still little towns like this, but the big cities are really where it's at."

Beau leaned back, trying to process this outlandish claim. "This . . . still seems like part of the dream," he had to confess. "I don't know what to think."

Snakes smirked. "Oh well, I can't blame you. Who would believe it? If you want another opinion, though, those Secret Service agents Jim West and Artemus Gordon have been in the other time too. They're back now; you could wire them."

"I wouldn't want to go to them over you," Beau frowned. "I don't think you're lying or crazy, Snakes, but it is overwhelming."

"Hey, I was pretty overwhelmed too, at first," Snakes said. "Sometimes I still am."

Beau hesitated. "Do you . . . like it better there?"

"In some ways. In other ways I'm still a product of here. This guy I've met, Coley Rodman, he's adjusted a lot more to modern living than I have. He doesn't look back at all. He only comes here on visits to see his mother. If it wasn't for that, he would close off all connections with this time and stay in the other one permanently.

"Me, I . . . feel like I'll always be part of both times now. I guess I'm not actually sure where I belong. I like the new time, with all of its fancy devices, but the clothes are a lot more interesting here." He smirked a bit, then sobered. "And there's still people here I care about. Before, I never would've thought I'd have that. You really changed a lot of things for me, Beau. I'm not a mushy person or anything, but my life's been better for knowing you." Snakes looked at him in all sincerity.

Beau looked back, definitely moved. Snakes had changed, perhaps for the better. The burden Beau had carried for the past three years was starting to lift. This wasn't a dream and Snakes wasn't insane. Somehow he knew that.

"I believe you, Snakes," he said at last. "And I'm glad I met you. You made me face things I knew deep down and you showed me that I wasn't the only person to have such feelings. And you showed me that goodness can be found in the most unlikely of places." He hesitated. "Can . . . anyone visit this other time?"

"Sure," Snakes said. "The portal was closed off at first and we were all trapped on the futuristic side, but when I confronted the gang on the mountain I kind of accidentally blew it open. So, like I said, I can take you there. If you want."

An adventurous gleam sparkled in Beau's eyes. "How could I pass something like that up? I'm an explorer by nature." He started as a concern came back to him. "It . . . is easy to return, isn't it? I wouldn't be able to stay indefinitely, not with all my family here."

"It's completely easy," Snakes assured him. He grimaced. "I guess they could come visit too, if they wanted and if you'd rather they were along."

"Bret has actually been very sad about your death as well," Beau told him gravely. "I told you he cared."

Snakes averted his gaze. "Well, it's been three years. Maybe I'd feel different about him now."

"He deserves to know you're alright. And I'm sure he'd be curious about this new time. Cousin Bart too." Beau paused. "But if you'd rather show it to me alone before the others know, that's alright. I can send a telegram that I'll be traveling for a couple of days or so."

Snakes relaxed. "I'd like that best," he admitted. "But you're really ready to take a plunge like this? I've been wondering for days how to explain it to you and figuring we'd be arguing for hours over the ridiculousness of the whole thing. I've kind of dreaded coming to you and telling you because I figured that's how it would be and I didn't want to argue with you after everything else."

"Everything since you came to me feels unreal," Beau said. "But I've touched you; I've seen you're alive. If something that fantastic can be true, maybe the rest of what you're saying is as well. I know I don't think you're mad. And you wouldn't lie to me about something like this."

"You're right, I wouldn't," Snakes declared. He paused. "I think I have something with me from the other time. Yeah, here it is." He held out a small and blue rectangular object and flicked the gears on the top. A flame emerged.

Beau stared in fascination. "What is that?"

"A cigar lighter," Snakes said. "I shouldn't still use the things, really; I've found out they're hazardous to your health. I've cut down on them a lot, but old habits die hard. So I carry this around with me."

Beau took the lighter as Snakes held it out. He played with the gears, bringing up the flame several times. "This is amazing," he said. "It's certainly more convenient than matches!"

Snakes grinned. "If you think that's something, wait'll you see what else they've got!" He looked hopeful. "If you're really okay with going, maybe we could set out after breakfast? It's not that far from here; it's a couple of miles or so out of Justice."

"I don't see any reason to postpone it," Beau said cheerily. "I'm ready for a new adventure with an old friend."

Snakes smiled. "Good. It'll be quite the adventure; I can promise you that."

"I know," said Beau. "And I'm looking forward to it."

And he was.