Just How Far I'd Travel, Just How Far I'd Go

Disclaimer: Same as before…


"Kolopak," Rick O'Connell began, without much of a preamble, "We need to take off…now."

"Mr. O'Connell, last time I checked, this was my ship." Kolopak began.

"What's wrong, Uncle Rick?" Godfrey asked, as he walked into the room, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

"Evy's been kidnapped." Rick replied, "And I suspect Imhotep was involved in all this."

"All the more reason that I shouldn't go." The old Indian calmly replied.

"Listen buddy, if my wife is harmed, God help you all." Rick replied.

"Kolopak, we could well be advantaged by this." Godfrey replied.

"This is unusual." Prue commented, "A while ago, you were hell bent on stopping me from a 'suicide mission' as you called it."

"A while ago we didn't have Uncle Rick and Uncle Jonathan helping us." Godfrey replied.

"How does that change things?" Prue began.

"They've vanquished Imhotep twice." Godfrey replied, "It's obvious."

"And you have new orders, don't you?" Prue asked, "The British Army ordered you to Egypt."

"I had those orders all along, Prue, but I was going to have to leave you guys for a while to carry it out." Godfrey replied.

"Leaving without a goodbye?" Prue replied, pulling Godfrey into a side corridor.

"No, I had a note written regarding it." Godfrey replied.

"What were those orders?" Prue asked.

"Classified." Godfrey replied.

"Godfrey, almost everything regarding World War II is 'unclassified' in my timeline." Prue replied.

"Well, it's reality in mine." Godfrey replied, "And some aspects of that reality are classified."

Prue noticed Godfrey had some letter in his right hand, "I suppose those are classified too?"

"Unless you count the latest news from Mayapore as an intelligence coup, no." Godfrey replied, with a slight grin.

Despite herself, Prue smiled, aside from the Heartless attack on Mayapore there were some good memories of the place, "How is Daphne?"

"Funny you should ask, she sent this to me, dated two weeks ago." Godfrey replied, "She's into the second trimester, staying with her aunt at Rawapindi. Somehow she managed to pull a family connection that got Merrick sent to the Traverse Town post and soon to the North African theater with the 1st Battalion of the Mirbat Guides."

"How clever of Daphne." Prue remarked.

"Well, until you run into Merrick later on." Godfrey grumbled.

"Still." Prue replied, "So Bahrat's kept an eye on her?"

"Well the Japanese and the Heartless have gone nowhere near Rawapindi, it's too far behind British lines for a raid." Godfrey replied.

"What of Hari Kumar?" Prue asked.

"He got caught at a Quit India rally, and what with the anti-British sentiment they're throwing around India, they typically wind up detained indefinitely." Godfrey replied.

"It sounds like Britain's losing it's empire in this reality too." Prue replied.

"I'm surprised a lot of blokes don't seem to realize it." Godfrey replied, "I mean for all our control of India, we're losing influence among the natives."

"Treating people like second class citizens in their own country will do that." Prue replied.

"Not all of us are Ronald Merricks, Prue." Godfrey replied.

"Of course not." Prue replied, "It just seems like the Alan Godfrey's of Mayapore were heavily outnumbered by the Lockwoods, Merricks, and Yorks of the town."

"Those of us who try to ensure equal justice are either seen as naive like Daphne or stubborn outsiders like me." Godfrey replied.

"That's not fair. Daphne isn't naive." Prue replied.

"I didn't mean in an entirely negative sense. I'm saying she wasn't affected by the entire British versus Indian divide, especially considering her unorthodox choice of relationships." Godfrey replied, defensively.

"And that's bad because..." Prue began.

"The British side of India has a tendency to be rather unforgiving to those who form liaisons with the natives, such as Daphne's." Godfrey replied, "God knows, I don't agree with it, and I haven't for a long time, but there's only so much I can do."

"The Edjali case?" Prue replied.

"The one that earned me Merrick's disfavor." Godfrey replied, with an irate tone.

"Sorry, where I come from there are quite a few interracial couples." Prue replied.

"And society tolerates them?" Godfrey asked, incredulous.

Prue replied, "Mostly. It's not nearly as frowned upon as it is in your time."

"That's really the only source of Daphne's problems." Godfrey replied, "All the prim, proper ladies of Mayapore keep thinking it a scandal. They just give Daphne a hard time about it, and after she became pregnant, they asked her if she would keep the baby."

"Did she keep it?" Prue asked.

"Of course she did." Godfrey replied, "But she's ostracized by polite British society because of that."

"That's something about your world that I can't understand." Prue replied.

"I can't explain it either." Godfrey replied.

"WAAKKK!" Donald shouted, "VINNY!"

Donald stormed down the hall with a severely pissed off expression on his face. "Donald, what happened now?" Prue asked.

Donald turned away from Prue and Godfrey and the two of them could see what looked like a pincushion with the sharp ends of the pins pointing outwards. The pincushion sported four tiny mechanical legs and a clock winder at the rear.

"What is that thing?" Godfrey asked.

"Remind me to test explosive potions on Vinny next time." Donald grumbled.

"This might hurt a little." Prue warned and narrowed her eyes, yanking the pincushion from Donald's rear end.

"WOUCH!" Donald shouted, "That didn't hurt a little! That hurt a lot!"

"Hey guys have you seen my mechanical porcupine?" Vinny asked.

"Your what?" Prue asked.

"Mechanical porcupine." Vinny said as he walked around the corner.

"Why you..." Donald began and came running at Vinny. Godfrey grabbed the wizard's collar and yanked him back about a foot.

"Is this normal?" Jonathan asked as he came around the corner, having observed Donald's rant and Vinny's invention.

"That's nothing." Prue quipped, "You should've been around when Vinny invented the walking cherry bomb."

"The what?" Jonathan asked.

Just then a cherry bomb mounted on mechanical legs with a lit fuze wandered down the corridor behind Jonathan.

"Look behind you, Uncle Jon." Godfrey replied.

"Oh no, not again!" Vinny shouted as he chased after the walking cherry bomb as it wandered down the corridor before exploding around the nearest corner.

"Why would someone want to invent walking cherry bombs?" Jonathan asked, bewildered.

"Easy. Due to insanity." Prue replied.

"Vinny." Rick said, as he came around the corner, covered in soot, "Prepare to die."

"HELP!" The Italian bomb maker shouted.

"NO! DON'T KILL VINNY! LET ME GET A FEW WHACKS IN FIRST!" Kolopak shouted.

"NO! I REALLY WANT TO TORTURE HIM FOR ALL THOSE LUNATIC INVENTIONS!" Donald shouted, "THUNDER!"

ZAP!

"YEOW!" Vinny shouted.

Godfrey sat down on the nearby couch and cracked open the book he was carrying under his left arm.

"You're going to read at a time like this?" Prue asked.

"Of course." Godfrey replied.

"What are you reading?" Prue asked after about five minutes.

"The Book of One Thousand and One Nights." Godfrey replied, "Stories of some of the greatest tricksters of the East."

"Ali-Baba and the Forty Thieves, Aladdin and his Lamp, Scheherazade saving herself with stories. Certainly inventive people." Prue began.

"Exactly. Which says those 'savages' as my people regrettably call the people of the East, are far more clever than we give them credit for." Godfrey replied, "It's amazing how clever people can be when forced by circumstance, as the tale of Bak Bak will attest."

"Bak Bak, you mean the story of the hunchback who died choking on a fish bone, and the people who were his hosts tried to hide the body and five other groups of people tried to hide the body several times." Prue replied.

"One and the same." Godfrey replied.

"And Ali Baba whose wife outwitted thirty-nine thieves, the meanest bandits in all of Syria..." Prue began and in mid sentence paused, "Alan Godfrey, you're a genius!"

"Excuse me?" Godfrey began putting down his book, "I appreciate the compliment, but what brilliance are you crediting me with."

"I'll explain later." Prue replied, standing up and giving Godfrey a quick peck on the cheek. Why did I just do that?

Prue was unaware that Andy had seen the entire exchange. Why had she done that?

"What was that all about?" Andy asked, from behind Prue.

"What? Andy, it wasn't what it looked like." Prue protested.

"So I didn't just see you kiss Godfrey on the cheek?" Andy replied, incredulous.

"Yes I did, but..." Prue began before Andy cut her off.

"How long was it him instead of me?" Andy cut in, "Was our relationship some kind of sick joke? Couldn't you have the decency to wait till I was dead first?"

"Damn it Andy!" Prue began, tears in her eyes, not bothering to wipe them away, "If I didn't love you, why would I be hellbent on going after Imhotep for that damned Book to save your life!"

"If you loved me I seriously doubt you'd go and give Godfrey a peck on the cheek!" Andy replied.

"If you loved me, you'd trust me." Prue replied.

"Trust is earned, Prue." Andy replied, walking away.


"So you think Prue is acting strange around you?" Doc began.

"Well, if that peck on the cheek counts as strange behavior, yes." Godfrey replied, "Do you have any cure for demonic possession, or ways to detect infiltrators, or knowledge of shapeshifting Heartless?"

"Mon dieu Godfrey, you're pathetic." D'Artagnan quipped.

"You're just a bit more pathetic than me, mate, considering I beat you on the last boxing smoker." Godfrey replied.

"Don't remind me. I think it was the biggest mistake in the world that you guys bought boxing gloves in EPCOT and started holding boxing smokers in the cargo hold." Doc replied, "There was blood all over the gloves from you two."

"Because of my superior French fighting prowess." D'Artagnan replied.

"Bollocks." Godfrey countered.

"I agree, Godfrey knocked you out at round seven. With a very mean right hook I might add." Doc replied.

"He was lucky." D'Artagnan replied.

"The boxing matches draw almost as much money as the pool of Donald knocking himself unconscious." Godfrey replied.

"Well, if I wanted to fluster Godfrey I merely have to mention Prue." D'Artagnan remarked

"Wanker." Godfrey remarked.

"Point made." D'Artagnan replied.

"Will you get off it." Godfrey replied.

"Why, it is always so much fun to bug someone who..." D'Artagnan began.

"Armand. Shut your trap." Doc replied, "And no, Godfrey, there's no such thing as a shapeshifting Heartless. And I seriously doubt Prue is demonically possessed. And if Prue was an infiltrator of some kind, it's one hell of a way to throw you off."

"Couldn't you, mon ami, even consider the fact that she might have some sort of attraction towards you." D'Artagnan replied.

"Mr. Romance strikes again." Godfrey replied, "I'm not really her type."

"I beg to differ." Doc replied, "I mean, you're male and she's female."

"It's a bit more complicated than that." Godfrey replied.

"You both are on the smart side." Doc replied.

"OK, so both of us have a love of history." Godfrey replied.

"You both have your share of issues." D'Artagnan replied.

"Watch it." Godfrey muttered.

"Not to mention you two are already close friends. What's one more step..." Doc replied.

"There's also the matter of age." Godfrey replied, "I'm thirty-three and she's twenty-nine..."

"Will you stop being such a...a how you say...pansy." D'Artagnan replied.

"There are plenty of couples with bigger age gaps that are perfectly happy. And it's not as if you're old enough to be her father." Doc replied.

"Doc, you're a lot of things, but a romantic was the last thing I'd expect you to be." Godfrey replied.


Why did I do that? I love Andy...That's why I'm going after Imhotep. I love Andy. Right? Prue replied as she walked through the hallway of the Morrowind.

But Godfrey and I have been getting to be pretty close over these past few months. I mean, since Mayapore...Another voice in Prue's head replied. And besides, he cares about you. But is it just as a friend? I mean we argue like siblings all the time.

Prue wasn't watching where she was going when she walked right into Kida, with the baby in her arms. "Oh, I'm sorry." Prue replied.

"You seem troubled." Kida replied.

"Of course I am." Prue replied, "I'm racing against the clock to save Andy's life, risking my life, and then he practically accuses me of cheating on him."

"Ah, the incident with the peck on the cheek." Kida replied, knowingly.

"Does the entire ship know about this?" Prue replied.

"Well, Andy wasn't in the best of moods." Kida replied.

"Have you seen him?" Prue replied.

"I'm sorry to say but you're the last person he wants to see right now." Kida replied.

"Oh my God..." Prue groaned, "I really screwed this up."

"How long ago were you and Andy separated by his death?" Kida asked.

"Almost three years ago." Prue replied.

"OK, a lot of time has passed since then, obviously." Kida replied, "Don't you think Andy's in your past."

"He was my first true love." Prue replied.

"But you're not the same woman you were three years ago." Kida countered, "You're conflicted aren't you…Andy walks back into your life shortly after you're reincarnated somewhere you don't understand entirely."

"More or less." Prue replied.

"And it's a conflict between two men." Kida replied, "On one hand, your first love and on another hand you're feeling an attraction to another man."

"This is a hell of a time to bring this up." Prue began, "And who is this 'mystery man' might I ask?"

Kida smiled enigmatically.

"What?" Prue replied, "What are you thinking? What are you going on about?"

Kida walked off, her grin still enigmatic.

Prue followed demanding, "What are you going on about?"

"I believe you already know." Kida replied.


Andy really felt like a jerk for how he'd treated Prue, it wasn't like he'd caught her in bed with him. Girls do give friendly pecks on the cheek occasionally to close friends, and she was a good friend of Godfrey's.

"Hey buddy, what's up?" a voice said.

Andy spun 'round just in time to see a figure with flaming blue hair, and darker blue skin. Flaming hair meant just that. The man's hair was literally fire.

"Who the hell are you?" Andy asked.

"I'm the guy that helped ensure you're breathing." Hades replied, "I'd be a bit more grateful."

"You work for Maleficent…" Andy replied.

"And you've got about three days left to live before you die, again." Hades replied, "Yada yada yada."

"Yes, I know that." Andy replied.

"And you also know that Prudence Halliwell, your one and only, may not be your one and only. Maybe she's catching time with a certain Alan Thomas Godfrey." Hades replied.

"They're just friends, and why should I trust you with anything?" Andy replied.

"Good point. I work with Maleficent, not for her, as you erroneously began." Hades replied.

"We can argue semantics all day." Andy replied, "I'd be happy to keep insulting you."

"Wow, so I suppose you don't want to know what's running through Prue's mind right now." Hades replied.

"What makes you think I'd believe what you say?" Andy asked.

"Absolutely nothing." Hades replied, "But I know what you're thinking…I must say that little number is quite becoming on Prue."

"OK, you can see inside my head…" Andy replied, "And you know what I'm thinking…"

"And Prue…" Hades replied as he gestured towards Andy.

It felt like he was seeing the world through Prue's eyes hearing her thoughts in his head…

Why did I do that? I love Andy...That's why I'm going after Imhotep. I love Andy. Right? Prue replied as she walked through the hallway of the Morrowind.

But Godfrey and I have been getting to be pretty close over these past few months. I mean, since Mayapore...Another voice in Prue's head replied.

"How long?" Andy asked.

"Since she knew him I guess." Hades replied, "So I'd settle this matter immediately if I was you…" Hades replied, and then he vanished.

Andy hit the nearest wall with his fist and then he turned on one heel and headed down the hall. He was going to have it out with Prue and Godfrey once and for all…


"Kolopak, Imhotep has my wife, and I'll be damned if I let him kill her." Rick replied.

"And I will be damned if I put my crew at risk." Kolopak replied.

"The Morrowind is the fastest way I have to get to Egypt." Rick protested, "And we'll pay you anything you want."

"There is no way I am going anywhere near Hamunaptra." Kolopak replied, "The City of the Dead is where Imhotep is the strongest."

"It's behind Allied lines now, you can get help if you need it." Rick protested.

"I understand your concern for your wife's safety, but it will do Imhotep no good if he kills her." Kolopak replied, "He stands to gain nothing."

"Do you think Imhotep will wait idly?" Rick asked, "If he doesn't hear from us, he'll attack us again and I'm not risking any more family members."

"And this ship and my crew, especially Sora, I will not risk falling into Imhotep's hands." Kolopak replied.

"But we have defeated Imhotep twice." Rick replied.

"And yet he has appeared. This time he has the help of the Axis powers and the Heartless." Kolopak replied, "And he is now waging a campaign against the worlds."

"And we have allies." Rick replied, "The Medjai…"

"It's true." Godfrey said, as he entered the room, "They've been a help in the Eighth Army's pushing the Germans out of that part of Egypt."

"They've been fighting to keep Imhotep contained for centuries." Rick replied, "And they likely know his weaknesses, better than I do."

"That evens the odds in our favor." Godfrey replied, "Uncle Jonathan and Uncle Rick have faced Imhotep twice, and the Medjai are a secret society devoted to fighting him. This could even the odds in our favor."

Kolopak contemplated for a long while, he had experienced help now on his hands, to counterbalance a very emotional witch. Godfrey was a cooler head in this situation, and he knew Jonathan and Rick fairly well. And there was the thought that time was on Imhotep's side and he could only avoid for so long.

"Get packed now." Kolopak said, "We're going after Imhotep."


TBC