Title: refers to Mallard

Episode Thirty-Seven

"Acolyte"

Doctor Mallard sits in his office in a bit of a dazed sort of state of being. This could simply not be occuring. A Possessed Deceased Chicken was offering to what?

"THIS IS NOT AN OFFER," Tatiana 2.0 says, startling Mallard out of his thoughts. "YOU WILL BECOME MY ACOLYTE. YOU WILL HELP ME TO OBTAIN WHAT I NOW NEED MOST."

Mallard gulps. "And what is that?"

"THIS CHICKEN IS NO LONGER A SUITABLE VESSEL TO HOST US. IT IS DECOMPOSING. WE DESIRE NEW VESSELS TO CARRY US."

Mallard now felt he understood. "And you want Four, uh, vessels?" Tatiana 2.0 and the Six nod in agreement. Mallard frowns. "Do you have any preferences, your, uh, Holinesses?"

Tatiana 2.0 smiled. Cowards always made good acolytes. "YES WE DO."

Meanwhile, in Jerusalem...

Pizoku found himself sighing and wondering as to why it would be horrible if they even tried for public transportation. Surely Taylor isn't actually planning on walking all the way to the Dead Sea, is he? Maybe he could do that, but Pizoku doubts the others could. And they seemed to agree.

"Yeah, there has to be an easier way than this," Ashlee groans as she walks through the crowded bustle of Jerusalem.

"We aren't in a protected area," Taylor reminds her as he leads the team toward the Dead Sea.

Ashlee glares at the back of his head. "This is Jerusalem. You honestly think there isn't a Portal here?"

"Oh, come on now, Ash," Neah teases, bumping Ashlee a bit with her shoulder. "Exercise is good for you, Reality is good for you. Let's not hide from either."

Pizoku turns to Reese as he watches Ashlee stick her tongue out at Neah. "Is it always like this?"

Reese smiles. "More often than not."

"I can hear you." Reese laughs when Ashlee doesn't even turn around. Pizoku smiles, feeling better at hearing the laughter, which distracts him a bit from the situation. Which may be why he almost runs into Jilan as Taylor suddenly stops and causes a domino effect through the group.

"What?" Jilan asks, taking notice of Taylor's expression. He doesn't answer right away, merely surveys their surroundings. And then without warning, he reacts.

"Get down!" Pizoku hears Taylor scream, but doesn't react with the reflexes of some of the others, so that the explosion knocks him backwards through a window.

To Be Continued...

Trivia and Spoilers: The issue of Tatiana being dead is now at the fore of the Ancient One's minds.

-It seems often that it is the cowardly that end up helping the evil dark lords, doesn't it?

-Another mention of a Portal. Apparently they make it safe to perform other means of transportation. I know that's vague, but I promise I'll explain eventually.

-Taylor has the ability to divine direction as well as feel bombs before the go off. What else can he do? The others seem to have fast reflexes too.

-What will be the fate of poor Pizoku?