Chapter 18: Trapdoor's End!
"So… What was everyone's… Living Dream?" Ron asked as they made their way through a corridor to a different room.
"Mine was if I went to Beauxbatons instead. Oddly enough, Naruko was there too. And Draco… he was surprisingly tolerable," Hermione said with a slight blush. She would leave out the details, but she expected Naruko might grill her about them later.
"Weird…" Ron said.
"What was yours?" Hermione asked.
"I was at Hogwarts, but it was like different. A little embarrassing now that I think about it. I was Quidditch Captain in my fourth year. I was also a Prefect the twins actually approved of… and I was Head Boy and top guy in our year," Ron said in disbelief.
"Anything else?" Hermione asked. His seemed too normal.
"Yeah… Apparently… Harry and I went on secret missions throughout Magical Britain for Professor Dumbledore," Ron said.
"Really?" Hermione asked in surprise. Ron nodded.
"What year did we start doing that?" Harry asked. Ron's living dream actually sounded cool.
"The first mission was in our third year. We tracked down a bunch secret Death Eaters running a cult worshiping Professor Snape, even though he was no longer around," Ron said.
"What?" Naruko asked with a chuckle.
"Yeah it was weird, but cool. We were magical secret agents! Of course, we saw the wackiest magic society had to offer," Ron said.
"I wish mine was that fun," Harry grumbled.
"What was yours?" Ron asked.
"It was normal. Well normal for going to a magic school. There was also how the Dursleys were actually really nice and fun people. That should have been a dead giveaway something was up. Nice and fun people stand out too much and always make a racket according to the Dursleys," he said.
"That's…" Ron wasn't sure what to say. The group lapsed into silence.
"What was yours, Naruko?" Hermione asked so the awkward silence following Ron's partial thought.
Naruko paused and shivered in horror.
"That bad?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah. I never came here or left Konoha. I didn't graduate early either. I was freaking married to Sasuke! And having his kids!" Naruko said.
"He was actually a loving husband…" Naruko said unable to hide her shock at that.
"That doesn't sound too bad," Hermione said with a frown.
"It was soooo very wrong though. Sasuke doesn't do nice and loving. Literally anyone else in his place would have made that one of the best dreams I ever had," Naruko said.
"Even Draco?" Harry asked. Hermione was for some reason blushing up a storm at his question.
"Hmmmm," Naruko hummed in thought.
"Maybe not the best dream ever, but Blonde Sasuke would have made the dream more pleasant anyways. Draco is tolerable when he doesn't talk. Sasuke is more Sasuke when he doesn't talk. He has that damnable Uchiha glare. I swear the thing is trademarked and copyrighted," Naruko said.
"What do you think all of that was anyways?" Harry asked the group.
"Maybe it was different possibilities or… universes?" Hermione suggested.
"Like alternate universes or timelines?" Naruko asked.
"Yeah. Mine was going to Beauxbatons instead of Hogwarts. I guess you were there because I wanted to still have you as a friend. It could be possible you also went to get magical education there instead of Hogwarts in some timeline," Hermione said to Naruko.
Naruko smiled and gave her a hug. "You really are my best friend. You wanted to take me with you!" she said grinning widely as she held on to Hermione.
Hermione was blushing but didn't really seem upset. She also didn't cut off the hug or try to fight it.
"Why wasn't Naruko in mine then?" Ron asked.
"If we are going with the alternate universe or timeline theory, then it is possible there are multiple where Naruko doesn't come to Hogwarts or have magic," Hermione said.
"Yours also seemed to be rather focused on yourself," Naruko said.
"How do you know that?" Ron asked in surprise.
"I caught glimpses right before you came out of it," Naruko said giving him a slightly mischievous smile.
"Ohhh… Ummm… It wasn't real though," Ron said while blushing so much his face matched his hair. He was pretty sure she would let him have it for having not one but two girls he would be marrying. That was the kind of thing girls seemed to really hate, even if it was just a bloody dream.
Naruko gave a kind smile as she said, "Even though it was focused on you, it was interesting how Harry was still able to shine on his own as well."
"What do you think that means?" Ron asked.
"I think it means you aren't completely foolishly jealous of him. You wanted to be on equal footing in your own way, but not overshadowing him in every way. If that makes sense," she said after some thought.
Ron nodded to that. "I kind of like that idea," he said with a grin.
"What about mine though?" Harry asked.
"I think your dream shows you want to have a normalish life, but want one that makes the best of it," Hermione said. Naruko nodded in agreement. She thought there was more to it, but she wasn't going to say anything in front of the others.
[-] [-] [-]
The group soon heard what sounded like wings coming from just behind a door right in front of them.
"Room number… Four?" Ron asked.
"If you count where we landed after entering the trapdoor," Naruko said.
Harry opened the door and immediately saw another door directly across from them. The sound of wings was much louder. He looked up above. "Winged Keys?" he asked.
"Looks like it," Ron started. "I guess you have to pick out the right one to unlock the next door."
"Alohomora!" Hermione shouted from across the room with her wand pointed at the door. Nothing happened. "It was worth a try," she said.
"Brooms," Harry said pointing to four along the wall on a rack.
"So, you get on one of these and pick out the key," Ron said. He examined the brooms and frowned. "They don't look that great."
"Let me try something first," Naruko said. The others looked to her as she placed a seal on the door's lock. She made a couple of quick hand signs and touched two fingers to the seal. A couple of seconds later there was an audible click.
"Imagine that…" Hermione said in awe. Seals really were cool!
"I figured no one thought to secure the door from my skeleton key seal. It is an Uzumaki original," Naruko said proudly.
"Why did it get quite?" Harry asked warily.
"Run!" Ron shouted quickly. The others looked up and their eyes widened. It was like the flying keys were confused what to do, but they were all pointing at the group. As soon as Ron shouted run, the keys started to zip towards the students.
"Get through the door!" Naruko called as she ran through a series of hand signs and shouted, "Wind style: Great Breakthrough!"
A mighty blast of roaring wind shot from her open hands and blew the keys back. They soon recovered once the jutsu finished. Unfortunately for the blood thirsty keys, Naruko and the others already left and slammed the door shut behind them.
[-] [-] [-]
The four friends relaxed and caught their breath. "What was that?" Ron asked Naruko.
"That was a jutsu. A more advanced one. We have elemental based jutsus. You usually start learning them as a Chunin and after you test your affinity," Naruko explained.
"You're just a Genin though," Hermione pointed out.
"Yep. I said usually you wait until Chunin, but my teammates and I were really good and our sensei tested us. She was actually planning to have us enter the Chunin Exams pretty early, but that was put on hold since I was coming here," Naruko said.
"Well… Now we're in room number five," Harry said.
"I wonder what this room will be," Hermione said curiously. The lights in the room turned on at her words.
There was a giant chessboard with pieces in the middle. The chess pieces were massive! Hermione felt as if she was in Wonderland and shrunk with how big they were. Right on the other side of the board, was a door leading out.
"So… What do we do here?" Harry asked as they walked forward a little.
Naruko motioned for them to stop behind her. She whipped out a kunai with a tag on it and tossed it at the pieces on the other side of the chess board. The tag exploded! But it seemed as it the explosion was frozen in time.
"Huh…" Naruko said.
Just then the explosion reversed and sent the tag back to her hand. Naruko was about to throw it away for safety reasons, but realized the tag wasn't activated. "Weird… Seems we got to play across," she said. She inspected the tag and placed it back wherever she got it from.
"What are the rules?" Naruko called out to the room.
"Do you honestly think you'll get an answer?" Hermione asked.
"With a group this size three must participate in the game. You must win to proceed," McGonagall's voice said.
"I half expected to turn around and see her there ready to give us detention," Naruko whispered to Hermione who nodded in agreement. The voice was that clear.
"Okay. Who stays out of the game? I'm taking one spot," Harry said as he looked to the others. He was determined none of them sacrificed themselves in his place.
Naruko whispered something to Hermione who nodded and started waving her wand. She was muttering an incantation and transfigured a pile of rubble into a raised platform. It was overlooking the whole board.
"Hey, Ron. Could you see the broad really well from up there?" Naruko asked as Hermione smiled to herself and added stairs. She loved using magic, even in this dire situation.
"Yeah I could. But I'm not about to let one of my friends be in danger if I can help it!" Ron said with a determined frown.
"We won't be. None of us will be on the board," Naruko said.
"The rules say we need to have three on the board," Harry said with a look of confusion.
"There will be three, just not us," Naruko said grinning.
"What do you mean?" Ron asked.
"Ninja," Naruko replied in a singsong voice. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" she said.
Three more Narukos were suddenly standing with them. One had blood red hair, Naruko wondered if that's what she would look like if she took more after her mom. The next Naruko clone had dark purple hair. The last one gave a, "Hmph!" sound and flipped her turquoise hair.
Naruko sighed as she looked at the last one. She blinked as she saw Ron looking her over with a bit of a dreamy smile. He was looking over the turquoise colored one with plenty of interest. She sighed again and decided to ignore that. "Alright Girls! You will follow Ron's orders to the letter until the game ends!" she ordered.
"Hmph! Fine… Not like I had something better to do," Turquoise said as she flipped her hair again and blushed. She then left with her head up high in a huff putting far too much sway into her step for it to be natural.
Dark Purple went and stood by the board looking it over and waiting for orders while she hummed a tune to herself.
"What do we get out of this?" Red asked.
"You're Shadow Clones… What could you possibly want?" Naruko asked.
Red then gave a seductive wink and giggled as she ran a hand slowly down her body to her skirt and teasingly lifted it. "A little finger fun," she breathlessly said.
"Okay…" Hermione said as she took a few steps back away from the Red Naruko.
"Just… Get over there… Ron's almost ready," Naruko said giving her a shove.
"Kyyyooownnn!" Red let out in a sexy and cute voice.
"Freaking clones…" Naruko muttered under her breath. She had kind of been neglecting certain needs lately. She was wondering if Red was the result. She could address such needs after they saved the wizarding world from someone evil taking the stone.
"You know you want to," Red said in a sultry voice while stretching in a way that showed off her body. Harry was blushing as he looked everywhere else but the super sexy Naruko clone.
"Alright Ron! Tell them where you want them. Feel free to sacrifice Red first. Make her pawn even," Naruko said sticking her tongue out at the sex hungry clone.
"I heard that! Try to deny it all you want. You know I'm right," Red said giving a wink and blowing a kiss at the real Naruko who blushed deeply.
"I seriously need some extra special me time after this," Naruko thought. It was tough being a Kunoichi in a magic school at times. She had needs most her age here wouldn't even understand yet. It was that Kunoichi training kicking in.
"Alright! Purple. Take the Queen side Bishop. Red. Take the King side Rook. Light blue… Green…" Ron started.
"It's Turquoise!" the last clone said with an overly cute Naruko pout. "Hmph… not going to let you see if the curtains match drapes at this rate," she said quietly while blushing and flipping her hair again.
"Seriously… Does Kami treat shadow clones like a gag or something?" Naruko asked as she sat down on the sidelines to watch.
"Okay. Sorry. Turquoise. Please take the King side Knight!" Ron said.
"Okay," she said and complied rather quickly and happily suddenly.
{-} {-} {-}
The group soon found out this was exactly like wizards' chess when Ron lost a pawn as a test. Naruko kind of wished Red had been that pawn. Red seemed to be taking every opportunity to be as pervy and slutty as possible. She was at least following Ron's orders.
"Bloody glad we aren't out there," Harry muttered to Naruko who nodded in agreement as another piece was smashed to bits.
The game was well underway. Pieces were being lost on both sides. There still wasn't a clear winner. Then Naruko frowned as she started to notice something in Ron's actions.
"Ron. They're clones. They aren't real people. They aren't us. When this is over, they will just be wisps of smoke. You don't need to worry about protecting them more than the value of the piece they're playing," Naruko said calmly to Ron.
"I get that… I do… It's just… They look like you. Just different hair colors," Ron said.
"I'm here, Ron. I'm sitting with Harry and Hermione on a comfy bench we transfigured. I am not out there. Their quirks are not to be taken seriously. They're just chakra taking form," Naruko explained.
Ron sighed and closed his eyes. He took in a couple of deep breaths and looked to his friends. Naruko gave him a pleasant smile. Harry waved. Hermione gave a yawn and leaned on Naruko's shoulder.
"I get it. This is taking too long," he said before focusing back on the game.
{-} {-} {-}
Once Ron got past being overly concerned for the Naruko clone triplets, the game took a dramatic shift. White was on the run. It wasn't too long until the three Naruko's were surrounding the King and Dark Purple cheerfully shouted, "Checkmate!"
The White King threw his crown to the side. The girl clones gave a "Wooooh!" in a cheer as they high fived each other.
"I don't get it…" Ron said in thought.
"You were worrying too much so you lost track of the game. If we were actually out there, that would have been very admirable, Ron. But I didn't want us needlessly sacrificing ourselves. I hoped changing hair colors would be enough," Naruko said.
Dark Purple then dispersed. Then Turquoise flipped her hair and smirked as she said, "Naturally. We won! Hmph!"
Naruko threw a rock at her and she dispersed. Naruko blinked dumbfounded. Her clone had no reason to blush like that, or shyly look over at Ron. She shouldn't be giving lovey dovey eyes before her trademark her hair flip. She shouldn't be muttering such things under her breath either. Her clone had a crush on Ron! Was this a joke?
"Awww… I kind of liked her," Ron said with a hint of sorrow in his voice.
Naruko wanted to shout at him but then Red decided to speak. "So, can I please… celebrate… if you know what I mean? You know you'll like that memory," Red said as she dodged a stone Naruko threw at her. She then cutely stuck out her tongue. "Come on! Pleasseee… It's been too long," Red whined.
"Watch what you're saying! They're children. That's not something to carry on about in front of your friends. Dismissed!" Naruko shouted, blushing up a storm.
Harry was again looking everywhere but at Naruko.
"Damn clones…" Naruko said with a slight sniff. Why did they have to be so embarrassing?
Hermione was next to Naruko frowning. "We're children? I'm older than you," she said.
"I was talking about maturity wise," Naruko said tapping her head. "Yes, you are smart. But I know the things that make you blush. They are not things I would blush about. I'm more mature in that regard, Hermione. I still love you though," she said offering a friendly hug.
"Okay… I'll let it go this time. But really what was up with your clones?" Hermione asked as she hugged her friend.
"I really don't know… I always thought their quirks and such were there so I could distinguish them when I use a bigger group, but that was odd. I really didn't like Red. All Kunoichi are a little slutty, but geez… Was she working the red-light district or something?" Naruko complained.
"Maybe you're really stressed?" Hermione asked unsure what else to say.
Naruko blushed as the memories from Red fully sorted. "Wow… was she horny as hell," Naruko thought. Red really liked being given orders by a man, but wished they were more 'fun' orders. It was like Red was all of her sexy fantasies and those kinds of novels combined into one form with the sole purpose of embarrassing her.
"More like pent up…" she said quietly.
"I kind of like Turquoise. She's was pretty cool," Ron said with a slightly goofy grin after he joined them from the platform.
"Oh my god… My friend had a crush on my clone… And she returned it! I really must be pent up…" Naruko thought.
"She was being some stereotype tsundere, Ron," Naruko said.
"What's that?" Ron asked.
"It's when a girl acts…" Naruko paused mid-sentence. She was not about to admit her clone had a crush on him in a roundabout way. "Never mind. Don't worry about," she said. Ron shrugged to her.
Naruko groaned to herself with yet another cute Naruko noise. "I just want today to be over with already. And Ron… What the Hell?! They were clones of me! Do you know what that means?! Jeez…" Naruko said as she sighed again.
Ron actually stopped and blushed. "Oh my…" he said. This was bloody confusing now.
"And seriously! What the hell is up with this? Do Wizards really not know anything about security? If you want to protect something like the Sorcerer's Stone, don't give your enemies even a chance to progress further! What? Did Dumbledore decide security needed to be more entertaining or something?! Grrrrroowwwyyyynnnn," Naruko pouted. She was really feeling annoyed about it all now.
"Hmph!" she suddenly said and stood up taller as she flipped her hair in the same exact manner as Turquoise. She didn't notice her action.
"Did she just…" Ron asked.
"Yep… She did," Hermione said with a shake of her.
"Bloody clones… Making everything confusing," Ron muttered. He liked Naruko. He would admit she was cute, but it wasn't like that with him. He didn't think so at least.
{-} {-} {-}
Once they entered the next room, it all went dark and suddenly flames of different colors roared to life and both exits were sealed. Until they figured out what to do here, they were stuck. They couldn't even go back without figuring out the room.
"Okay… this one is on me. I just had to complain about lax security. I'd bet this is Professor Snape's room, even if I didn't go through a process of elimination," she said.
"What do you think we do here?" Ron asked.
They started to look around the room. Harry and Ron weren't really sure what to do and looked over the flames. Hermione looked at the small table in the center. Naruko was focused and concentrating on the floor and walls.
"I really wish I knew more about Runes or how Runes worked with seals. I can see how it works and almost understand how to stop it. I don't know how to do that safely though. I'm really going to start studying Runes next year," Naruko said to herself.
Hermione was holding a rolled-up piece of parchment in her hand. "We can't take Ancient Runes until third year," Hermione said.
Naruko seemed to be following something on the floor now. "Doesn't mean I can't start studying on my own. I'm an Uzumaki! Runes and seals are kind of my thing. It's in my blood," she said.
She looked up and said, "By the way, this rounded one goes back and the smallest one goes forward."
"How do you… I haven't even read the note," Hermione said in a frown.
"They must have to be attuned to their respective gateway. There are runes and a connection flow going from the gateways to these bottles," Naruko said.
"I doubt that," Hermione said. Truth be told, she was a little upset on missing out on a chance to figure a room out for herself. She also kind of felt that seemed too easy of a way to figure it out.
Naruko sighed. "Fine… You can check my answer Hermione and read the parchment," Naruko said. Naruko huffed before flipping her hair and sitting on the floor with a frown. Ron again had to shake his head as he looked at Naruko in confusion.
Hermione seemed to think she won something and started reading over the note.
"What did you think of the clones?" Harry asked Naruko.
"I don't get where they get their personalities. Really, I don't. Miss I'm going to flip my hair and make hmph sounds. I don't get it. I thought Red was how I would look if I took more after my mother instead of my father," Naruko said.
Harry was in thought as Hermione was mumbling to herself and flipping the page over again. "I can see that," he said. Harry recalled seeing the picture Hagrid showed them of Naruko's mom and her bright red hair. He wouldn't admit it yet, but he preferred Naruko's blonde to Red's hair.
"I really hope I wouldn't be that bad though. I have no idea where that came from. Kunoichi have a bit of an eagerness in certain regards, but she was… wow… You know? It goes with the whole seduction training thing we have, but it was like she was trying to seduce me and anyone else with legs in the room," Naruko said.
Harry was blushing and looked away. Hermione huffed and flipped the page back over again.
Naruko couldn't help but grin as she said, "Hermione-chaannnnn. You can re-read all you want, but it won't change the fact I'm right."
Hermione sighed. "Naruko's right… The rounded one goes back. The smallest one goes forward." She crumbled up the paper and threw it to the floor as hard as she could. It wasn't like she was upset or anything… Nope that wasn't it at all.
"Great so… Who's going to make sure Harry doesn't charge in by himself deciding he alone will take on Voldemort? Or do I need to tie him up?" Naruko asked. "I should have just grabbed the bottle and gone…" she added with a slight frown after a second's thought.
"Harry… you wouldn't… would you?" Hermione asked with worry in her eyes.
"I have to Hermione. It's got to be me! If Snape or Quirrell are on the other side and Voldemort is with them… Well I've stopped him once… Right?" Harry said in a wavering voice and a weak grin. There was no confidence at all in his words.
"Harry…" Hermione said with a sniff. She hugged him and said, "You better come back! You can't just leave us. Not after we got to know you this year."
Naruko was silent. She should just go right now and get through while Harry was distracted. She stayed though. She couldn't help but want to hear his words. There was also the words Firenze told her. Would it be bad if she tried to face Voldemort and Quirrell alone at this point as well? Would it lead to Voldemort becoming something even worse than he already was?
"Mate… Why are you doing this on your own?" Ron asked.
"The bottle only has enough for one. I want you all to go back. Get McGonagall! Get anyone! Send help. I'll try to hold him off long enough," Harry said.
Ron reached out a hand slowly. He understood there were some things a guy had to do as a guy. This was one such moment for Harry. He was also right. Three going back for help was better than one.
"Like Hermione said. You have to come back. I can't have you visit The Burrow this summer and all of that, if you don't make it," he said with a smile.
Harry gave his friend's words a smile. He would love to visit an actual magic home. Hermione would be alright now. He was more concerned with the last of their group. He looked to Naruko seriously.
"Naruko…" Harry started.
"Tact Harry. 5 out of 10. You should have started off with the logical reason of them going for help. Hermione would have been more on board with the idea and have already gone by now. She's instead worrying about you and sniffing. You're almost breaking her heart," Naruko said with a frown not meeting his eyes.
Harry frowned at hearing her words. He looked to Hermione and could tell his frizzy haired friend was trying to seem more okay with this than she was. He saw her desperately trying to wipe her tears away.
"If needed, you should have told Ron to go and make sure Hermione gets back safe and to help her. You should have sounded all of that out with more confidence in your voice. This makes it more emotional. That is not the right answer…" Naruko sniffed. "You even got me like this…"
"Naruko…" Harry said to her quietly.
Naruko looked to him with intense blue eyes as she said, "You should also remember I'm a ninja!" She looked to him sternly. It was different to see her that way, even with the tears she was fighting back.
Naruko gave a sigh and looked away. "Take one of the wine bottles with you. Put it in your pocket first. Then take the potion to go through. If it doesn't make it with you. Leave a piece of your robe or something. I can follow… Of course, I now have to collect myself a little first," Naruko said as she frowned and hugged her knees. "Get going Ron and Hermione. Time is ticking," she said to them.
The two quickly nodded and took a sip each before going through the other entrance.
"Are you sure this will work?" Harry asked Naruko.
"It's worth a try. Do you honestly think I'm going to let you go on ahead without any help?" she asked looking to him with intense blue eyes again. Harry marveled at them. He could see the storm of emotions in her eyes. The sight was rather beautiful, even in this situation.
"Konoha's main teaching to all Genin is to work as a team. We were able to become the leading village because we chose teamwork over going solo. It was so effective everyone else now does the same. A three-man cell, four-man cell if they are Genin. More can be added depending on the importance of the mission," she said.
Naruko stood up and said, "This is a standard practice for all ninja villages now. We were the ones who started it." Naruko placed one of the wine bottles in the pocket of Harry's robe. She gave Harry a tight hug.
"Get going, Harry. I'll be right behind you," Naruko said with a sniff.
Harry took in a steeling breath and downed the potion. He felt cold all over his body, but it wasn't an uncomfortable cold. It was hard to properly describe. "See you on the other side," he said to her. He blinked and added, "I could have picked something better to say." He really needed to learn this tact stuff.
Naruko shook her head. "Get going," she said.
Harry nodded and stepped through the flames.
[-] [-] [-]
Harry placed the bottle of wine on the floor. He stood up the bottle so it wouldn't roll away and stay still. He hoped Naruko knew what she was doing here. He wasn't sure how her jutsus would react to magic like the flames.
He started to carefully make his way through a corridor lit by only torches. He wondered why it was torches were the preferred lighting choice at Hogwarts. They weren't smoking and didn't seem to burn out, but it was still odd. He figured a magic school would have light orbs everywhere. Maybe they could instead use some kind of magic to keep the hall perfectly lit without an obvious source.
The messy haired boy took in a steeling breath. He was close to the end of the corridor. He had no idea what was about to happen or how to handle it all. He really hoped Hermione and Ron found help soon. He hoped Naruko's plan worked as she figured it would.
There was a stupid hope deep inside him that thought maybe whoever was up ahead was already dealt with properly. Maybe he would go there and it would all be fine and he could plop down on the floor and catch his breath. It was a very fleeting and foolish hope.
Harry quietly opened a door that was already slightly ajar. He saw who was on the other side staring at the mirror he found over holiday break. Despite the situation, Harry had one thought go through his head first. "Ron isn't going to be happy about this. It isn't Snape," Harry mentally sighed.
It really was Quirrell after all. Now, it all made so much more sense. It made perfect sense. It was also troubling, because this meant Professor Snape was possibly the only one on staff who wasn't fooled.
Harry didn't usually care if someone was right or not, but having Professor Snape be right? Well… he was glad they weren't the type to talk. He was sure there would be no end to the greasy haired professor's gloating otherwise. He figured Naruko at least wouldn't really gloat about it…
"Well… not too much at least," Harry mentally told himself as he got ready to buy time. It was a rather overwhelming prospect now. He didn't have a choice though.
A/N: Sorry for the cliff hanger there… It is of my own choice. I really wanted to have Naruko's return be chapter 20. So, I decided to have the final confrontation and the end of the year take place next chapter. At least, I plan on getting it out soon.
With a certain virus going around… Social distancing has been suggested. Hopefully everyone is as safe and healthy as they can be and taking this seriously without panicking.
Hopefully this also means I will get a lot more written on my stories. Got to do something besides just worrying.
