Raistlin Majere frowned.

It wasn't that he didn't do this often, but the mage was miffed. And a miffed Raistlin Majere is not healthy for a long life.

You may be asking yourself, why is Raistlin miffed?

The Master of the Tower hadn't seen his mini-me. Of course, he had heard of her little breakdown after one of her frantic troupe members ran to him for assistance to ask her what was wrong. The actor had told the Hero of the Lance that Ana had appeared after vanishing for two hours, despondent and lost in thought, then shortly locked herself within a wagon. Next, Ana had spontaneously begun tearing up and a small thunderstorm appeared over her head.

This intrigued and alarmed Raistlin.

When asked, the troupe member had said that Ana hadn't said any words he had heard to conjure the storm. No hand motions, no components, no words of magic. The storm obviously had been a magical reaction to Ana's powerful emotions, but a stage mage that young with that power?

Ana had interested Raistlin from the start. She reminded him of himself, and at other times, she reminded him of Caramon. Ana had more of a brain than half the people Raistlin had met in his lifetime and for that reason, he enjoyed her company. She even tortured his apprentice, Dalamar, the spy for the Conclave.

The atmosphere the first night at the Tower was uncomfortable. More so at dinner, when everyone had to sit at the table with two dangerous black robes. Thronden directed Ana to sit closest to Dalamar and Raistlin since she had been the one to sign the letter.

Raistlin ate little, analyzing each member.

When he watched the shy young female beside him, she smiled mischievously, eyes on her meal. She appeared to have trouble trying not to giggle. What was she up to?

"Is something the matter?" he asked her quietly.

She bit her bottom lip, shaking her head. The shine in her eyes meant trouble. Deciding to see what was so amusing to this girl, Raistlin crept into her mind and waited. Ana linked her mind to every other troupe member, piquing the black robe's curiosity. Should he stop her?

'Attention troupe members,' she broadcasted. Some glanced around, surprised at hearing a voice in their head. Others poked their food. One man jumped from the table, screaming, "Demons!" and ran from the room.

'Warning: this table is seating Dalamar the Dark. Women with heart conditions are advised not to look directly at Dalamar the Dark. This also applies to women without heart conditions. He's very pretty. See? See how pretty he is? He's very pretty. I'd like to run my fingers through his hair- and I'm just a voice. Anyway, without further ado, enjoy your crappy meal.' she finished, withdrawing her mind to its barriers.

'My tribute to LittleWingedKuriboh!' she thought. All of the actors were laughing, glancing at the irritated, 'pretty' Dalamar. Ana laughed the hardest and longest. Raistlin found it difficult to fight down the amusement bubbling in his throat. After that night, some tension eased.

Now that he thought about it, Raistlin was not only miffed, but irritated. No, not irritated. He was angry. Had Ana snuck off in his Tower to stay? Or had she decided to avoid saying good-bye? Whatever her reasoning had been, Raistlin sent his disembodied servants to search his Tower for straggling members.

They came up with nothing.

Raistlin found this surprising since he felt a power other than Dalamar's growing within the Tower, but he couldn't locate it. The growing power was becoming a threat. The nagging anger and bitterness at Ana's disappearance didn't leave either. The more he thought about it, the more Raistlin Majere was convinced Ana had stayed. She had the power to create a thunderstorm without words or components; his disembodied ghostly servants had probably been bamboozled by a spell from her.

What was Ana?

It was time for a trip to the Chamber of Seeing.

O-o-O-o-O

I woke from my slumber thoroughly refreshed and awake- something I'd never accomplished before. It usually took half an hour to two hours for me to submerge from a state of unconsciousness or I'd sink back into it. I stretched, feeling slightly guilty for not saying good-bye to the Players of Gilean…except Sebastius.

I had really really wanted to say good-bye to Raistlin too, maybe even work up the courage to hug him, but if that mastermind got whiff of what I was planning, he might stop me…or just kill me for skulking about in his Tower undetected. If the Master of the Tower caught me meandering, I would get questioned over the rack for why I wasn't with the troupe and how I had managed to stay undetected.

At times, Raistlin was daunting, especially when he was livid.

Man, I wanted to bother Dalamar one last time, I mentally pouted, making my way up the perilous, obsidian staircase. Nothing living or dead moved in the halls, picking at my nerves. If I were to compare my situation, it would be like walking down a dark alley and not hearing any footsteps, but expecting to.

'Remember, should any threats arise, you have the power of a demigod at this moment and growing! Mere thoughts will guide your magic, with my permission, of course.' Nuitari reminded me.

So, be creative, I told myself. If Raistlin comes, imagine gum sticking under his shoes and staff…and gum in his mouth so he won't be able to say anything right away…

As my mind swarmed with creative ways to stop black robes, I jogged up the stairs enthusiastically, hoping for a challenge.

O-o-O-o-O

The Chamber of Seeing had proved fruitless and frustrating.

Magic, more powerful than his, was at work within his Tower.

Raistlin briefly wondered if his apprentice and Ana had teamed up and discarded the idea. Ana annoyed and embarrassed the Abyss out of Dalamar. Why would he assist her? That left the Master of the Tower with two thoughts: Ana was a demigod or she had the assistance of the gods.

With that kind of power, she could be included in his forming plan for godhood.

The growing power, possibly Ana, had surpassed Raistlin's and the black robe became wary. Dangerous spells listed in his brain, ready to roll from his tongue if needed. The sun set and a glance outside told Raistlin that the black moon, after its white and red cousins, was climbing to its zenith.

Raistlin's power grew along with the mysterious opponent's, meaning they too were a black robe. Raistlin vanished to the Laboratory to find a book of Fistandantilus's that dealt with demigods.

O-o-O-o-O

'It is nearly time,' Nuitari reminded for the thousandth time.

'I get it! I get it! You are telling me to hurry!' Instead of skipping two stairs at a time, I leapt over four. The stupid stairs never seemed to end! Even at the rate I was going, I would reach the Laboratory by Spring Dawning!

I stopped on a landing, thinking of the rules for teleporting, muttering to myself.

"Let's see, let's see…what did that dude say in that one book?" I murmured, putting my hands on my hips. "That wizard-emperor dude who wore the black robes and possessed a guy named Forlo, or some name that started with an 'F'…The wizard-emporor who had no face mentioned that to teleport, one had to call the location to mind. Yeah, that's it!"

I shut my eyes and thought of Raistlin's Laboratory.

O-o-O-o-O

I sucked my lips into my mouth, eyes boggling out of my head as I saw Raistlin with his back turned to me. He scanned the shelves for a book. I stood still, unsure of what to do. I didn't want my favorite character pissed at me before I went home, but I also wanted to go back home in one piece, alive.

Decisions, decisions.

I tiptoed toward the Portal, praying that Raistlin wouldn't notice me (however unlikely that was).

Of all the things that happened, my boots squeaked.

You heard me, they squeaked. Rather audibly too.

Raistlin whirled around and froze. I bit my lip, blood freezing, wondering what would happen next.

"What are you doing in my Laboratory?" the Master of the Tower inquired accusingly.

I twiddled my fingers and said shyly, "Um, going home…To Earth…"

Raistlin took a step forward. "How do you plan to accomplish that?"

"If I told you, would you stop me?" I asked, tempted to take a step back. He didn't answer or move; my top teeth sunk back into my bottom lip. This wasn't going well.

Nuitari made things worse by causing the curtains to draw back dramatically, revealing the Portal. Five dragon heads –white, blue, green, red, and black- glared at us, the eyes flashing for a moment. Raistlin's head swiveled back to me. "You plan to use the Portal? Know that the Portal leads to the Abyss."

I shrugged nervously. "If it doesn't go well, Takhisis likes my jokes."

"Are you being brave or foolish?" Raistlin asked dryly, taking a few steps forward.

I edged more toward the Portal slightly. "Let's just say I'm both and all go home."

I blinked and Raistlin had vanished. I crossed my arms, sourly knowing where he'd appear- obviously behind me. Despite I knew he was behind me, I jumped when he touched my shoulder, whispering, "Do you think I'm going to let you go home?"

"M-Maybe," I stammered in an unnaturally high pitched voice. "I h-hope so."

"Would you like to stay here on Krynn? I could send you to the Academy and train you as a second apprentice when you graduate from the Academy." Damn, Raistlin sounded very tempting.

"I-I don't know." Willing or not, Nuitari had warned me that when his moon reached its crest, I was going home. I had no say in the matter. "I'd like to but I can't; I'm not allowed."

Raistlin turned me around and leaned forward, causing my face to flush. "Who is stopping you?"

"The gods of magic," I squeaked.

My favorite character became silent. He even stopped coughing for a moment, until he was overcome by a brief fit. I frowned at the mage. As much as I wanted to stay in the Tower and learn magic, I would have stayed if the gods weren't zapping me back to Earth.

Raistlin did something truly Raistlin-ish.

He brushed his bloodied lips against my forehead, whispering, "I can see in your eyes you would stay if you could. It's killing you to leave. Come back anytime."

When I got dizzy, I knew I had the key to enter the Shoikan Grove. My eyes began watering and I embraced my favorite character, sniffling, "Damn you, Raistlin Majere, you're making me cry!" He patted the back of my head.

The Portal's center gleamed and the dragon's writhed, hissing words of magic. I stepped back, dropping my backpack, taking off my jacket. I handed him a token of my trust and smiled, "Have fun with those new sarcasm phrases, Father." I held up my hand, giving him the Vulcan hand sign from 'Star Trek' my Earth dad had taught me. "Live long and prosper."

He nodded, gripping the teal jacket. I began walking toward the Portal and stopped, half-turning around.

"Raistlin, one more thing," I said.

"Yes?"

I turned red, and asked sheepishly, "May I please have your autograph?"

O-o-O-o-O

I woke up in a hospital, my body feeling filled with sand. My eyes were almost sanded impossibly shut, but I managed to pry them open with willpower. "Where am I?" I croaked in a parched alien voice.

"Holy hell!" A doctor wearing blue scrubs who oddly resembled J.D. (John Dorian) from the medical comedy show 'Scrubs' jumped. "How did you wake up?"

"Why am I in hospital?" I rasped. A few cameras were focused on me and the weird doctor. What was going on?

"You're at Sacred Heart, kid," the doctor who really turned out to be J.D. said, grabbing a glass of water on the table beside my bed. He held it up to my lips. "You've been in a coma for two weeks after that car accident."

That explained why I felt like death. My entire body was practically mummified in bandages and any part of me that wasn't had wires or an IV sticking out of my skin. My mind had turned on, now working overtime to figure out what I'd missed.

"I-I'll go tell the other doctors and your parents that you're awake," J.D. stammered, rushing from the room.

"'Kay." I shut my eyes, frowning. Had my trip to Krynn been real or was it all a dream? A lump formed in my throat and I fought not to unleash the waterworks. I-I really thought that I'd…that I'd met Raistlin.

O-o-O-o-O

I woke up what felt like seconds later with my mother screaming my name. I groaned, still unable to move, opening my eyes. Why were hospital lights so obnoxiously bright? My family had swarmed into the room and after a few moments, I remembered who they were. A camera recorded the entire scene from outside the glass of the hospital room I was in.

Despite the fact I was happy that I was back on Earth with my family and all, I remained disappointed that I hadn't really gone to Krynn.

O-o-O-o-O

The real paramedics rushed in the room and began overwhelming me by asking as many questions as a kender can in one breath, only there were five or six paramedics. When they lifted the hospital blankets, they were astonished to see one of my hands (I couldn't feel my hands yet) grasping onto the strap of a leather backpack tightly.

Try as they might, no one could pry the enigmatic backpack from my fingers. No one could recall placing a leather backpack in my hands. When one of the paramedics tried to open the backpack, I screamed, "No!" and reflexively crushed the backpack to my chest. The effort caused me to pass out.

No one was taking my only evidence of being on Krynn.

The backpack was my only hope, my only proof.

I needed it to assure myself.

I didn't want to be disappointed that all I had been through wasn't real.

O-o-O-o-O

"She's showing good signs of recovering. She startled us when she curled around that backpack as if it were her lifeline," a doctor chuckled to my mother.

"I'm just so glad my daughter is alive and out of that coma," my mother sighed gratefully.

I drifted into unconsciousness, slightly aware of the backpack nestled on my chest.

O-o-O-o-O

All the loony doctors and paramedics were done panicking and mothering me worse than my own mother. I was finally alone. Everyone else slept at this late hour in the night.

"Please, please," I whispered, eyes threatening to tear as my hand reached to undo the backpack. "Please, don't let all that have been a lie."

I squeezed my eyes shut, thrusting my hand into the backpack. My hand hit something velvety. Slowly, fearfully, I pulled out something that was folded neatly. It was a black robe with golden trimming. Burying my face in the robes, I cried anyway.

AN: Aaaww, I'm so sad my own story is over I had to constantly wipe my eyes while writing the last part! YY On a happier note, I'll soon be posting another Dragonlance story, so dry those tears and turn those frowns upside-down!