"I am hardly believing that we are from this box," Passepartout said, examining the television. "We would have to very much tinier." He was still having trouble understanding Sarah's explaination of where they were.

"No, no, you don't actually live in the box, er television. It's more like a window. Yeah, a window into your...reality," Sarah explained.

Passepartout gazed at the black screen. "It must be nighttime in our reality."

"You have to turn it on Einstein!" Susan said from across the room.

"I am not Einstein. I am Passepartout," Passepartout replied cheerfully.

Susan just rolled her eyes and pressed the Power button on the remote.

"Ah!" Passepartout cried happily. He settled down cross-legged in front of the televison to watch.

"Sarah," Susan said. "I'm going to my room and turning up the music really loud. When I come back out, everything had better be back to normal or I'm calling mom. I don't care if she is at some big important conference in Sweden. Got it?" Sarah nodded silently. Susan smiled sweetly. "Good. Bye everyone enjoy your visit," she called as she left the room.

"I think she's in shock," Sarah explained to the others. She was still a bit stunned by their presence herself. She looked around nervously.

Rebecca was examining the photographs on the end table. "These are beautiful. Are they paintings?"

Before Sarah could answer, Jules walked over with a book in hand."Where did you get so many books? I've seen smaller collections in libraries." He'd been examining her extensive collectin of novels against the far wall. "I especially like this one. It's very interesting. Tell me who was this Sherlock Holmes?"

She was about to answer when Passepartout, who was now staring up in wonder at a commercial for the new Pentium 4 chip exclaimed, "Look, blue men! Are there many blue men in this reality, Miss Sarah?"

"Uh-" was all Sarah could manage to say before Phileas interrupted.

"I think you all are forgetting the most important topic at the moment, what have you done to bring us here and how do you intend to get us back?"

"Oh, come now Phileas. Don't you think we might stay a while and explore?" Rebecca asked. Jules nodded in agreement.

"Yes Master, I would very much like to meet a blue man," Passepartout added.

"Well, I would very much like to know how she intends to return us to our reality. If, indeed she can," Phileas replied.

This provoked more discussion which became more heated until everyone was talking at once.

"I don't see why we can't stay and have a look around," Rebecca was saying. "I'm sure Sarah wouldn't mind would you, dear?"

"These books are fascinating. How did you get so many?" Jules was asking.

"How many blue men are there in this reality, Miss Sarah?" Passepartout asked for the third time.

"Rebecca, we do not even know if this *child* can return us from whence we came! This is hardly the time to be thinking of a tour," Phileas was saying.

"Enough!" Sarah finally yelled in frustration. "I realize this is a shock. And I know you all have questions, but I'm a little overwhelmed myself. The sky just ripped open. There is a giant balloon parked on my lawn! And four *ficional* characters are sitting in my living room all firing questions at me at once." She turned to Phileas. "No, I don't know what happened. Somehow my machine malfunctioned and brought you here instead of me there. I don't know how to get you back yet, but I will. I built it, I broke it, I'm sure I can fix it. Even if i am only a child." She glared at Phileas. "In answer to the rest of your questions. Rebecca, feel free to look around. Jules, we have more books because industry has advanced so that we can make more at less cost. Feel free to read them. Passepartout, as far as I know there are only three blue men, but you really never know in this reality. Now, I'm going down to my lab so that I can fix my machine." She marched out of the room and down the stairs. When she reached the bottom she collapsed into a green, beat up old lazy boy. Her *sanity chair*, as she called it, was where she sat to clear her mind whenever her work had her frustrated.

Taking a few calming breaths, she rose from the chair and sat in front of her computer. She began running diagnostics on the machine. Finally, Sarah located a possible cause of the malfunction; the wires for the force field generator had somehow fused with one of the other wires attached to the same outlet. She was about to trace the other wire and find out what it belonged to when someone cleared his throat.

Sarah jumped and spun around. "Oh," she said in relief when she saw it was only Jules. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I just wanted to apologize for our behavior. Especially Phileas, he didn't mean-"

"I know how he is," Sarah interrupted. "In a way, I've known him almost as long as you have."

"What exactly does that box show you?" Jules asked.

"Uh, only the more exciting parts of your life. Um, the time you saved the queen from that digging machine, the time you stopped vampires from taking over the world, your little adventure with the Admiral's Chariot, the time when Passepartout got possessed, when you joined the League of Darkness, all of your adventures in America, and when Phileas got that strange glove in the mail and that creepy shadow guy came and the Chinese gangsters kidnapped..." She trailed off as she noticed Jules staring at her in astonishment. "What?"

"You can recite practically all of my recent life and I don't know a thing about you."

"There's nothing to know. I lead a pretty normal life, or I did until half an hour ago." She laughed. "Anyway I don't have time to give you an autobiography right now. I think I'm close to figuring out the problem with my machine. I just have to trace this wire." Jules watched as she followed it along the ceiling and to where it disappeared into an upstairs room. "Looks like it goes into the living room." She ran up the stairs with Verne close behind, but as soon as they reached the top they were met by the phone ringing and a very irate Passepartout.

"The bells! First they are ringing then they are stopping, then they are ringing again!" he cried.

"I say, that sound is getting rather tiresome," Phileas said entering the room. Rebecca nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it's the phone. I'll get it." Sara pushed past them and picked it up mid-ring. "Hello? Oh, hi Jane."

"No more bells," Passepartout declared happily. "How did you do that?"

"Hold on Janey," Sarah said. She turned to the others. "It's my friend Jane."

"Where?" Passepartout asked looking around.

"No, no, see a phone is like a ...telegraph only it sends sounds and it's a lot faster." Satisfied with her explaination, Sarah went back to her phone conversation. "Jane, ya still there? What? What! Slow down. No," Sarah glanced at her guests, "I believe you. Uh-huh, well you know that machine I was working on? Uh, kind of. See instead of bringing me there it brought some people here. Phileas, Rebecca, Jules, and Passepartout. Okay, okay are you sure it's them? Good point. Uh... tell you what, call Georgette and tell her to get Ella and drive to my house. I'll get Susan's car and come pick you and your guests up. What? I don't know, tell them the truth. Chrichton will get it. Hey, at least you got someone who knows what t.v. is. Okay, bye." She hung up and turned to Jules, Rebecca, Passepartout, and Phileas. "Um, it turns out you weren't the only people to come through the hole. I have to go, but I'll be back really soon. In the meantime, you can just stay here. Okay?" She hurried out of the room not waiting for an answer.

As she neared Susan's room, Sarah was assaulted by blaring music. She pounded on the door.

"Susan! SUSAN!!"

Finally the music stopped and Susan opened the door. "What?" she demanded.

"I need to use your car."

Susan scoffed. "No." She slammed the door shut.

"Susan, more people cam through the hole. I have to go get them," Sarah shouted.

"Who came through?" Susan asked, opening the door a crack.

Sarah shrugged. "Someone from Farscape."

"That cute guy?" Susan asked hopefully.

"What, you mean Chrichton? The guy with the Southern accent?"

"Yeah!" Susan replied.

"He's probably there."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Susan said. "Lets go!" She grabbed her keys and dragged Sarah out the door before she could protest.

"Wait," Sarah said as Susan got into the car. "We can't both go. Someone has to stay with them."

"They're aduts. They'll be fine." Susan assured her. Sarah hesitated. "Do you want to stay and let me go alone?" Susan asked.

Sarah jumped in and buckled up. "They're up by Janey's house."


Please R&R. Stay tuned. I should have the next chapter soon.