Chapter 3
One-way ticket?
Prue and Piper were starting to panic now. Phoebe was definitely gone, there was no sign of her anywhere. Piper had called Leo and asked him to go to his bosses and find out what was going on. Right now the two sisters were pacing around the living room waiting for his return.
A light shimmered in the room and Piper hurried towards the man she loved as he fully materialized.
"Well what did they say?" Piper looked hopefully at Leo, but he only frowned. The news was obviously bad.
"It seems Phoebe has been kidnapped by the demon Souta."
"Souta…, Souta… where have I heard that before?" Prue mused.
"She is a fantasy demon, sister to Ralow." Piper's eyes light up.
"You mean the demon that trapped me in that storybook?"
"Exactly. She was not too happy about the three of you killing her brother and now she wants revenge."
"Why Phoebe? Prue and I were the ones that did the spell."
"As I said, Souta is a fantasy demon, her powers are limited. She needed something in her realm. Do you know if Phoebe was watching on TV or video, something that would qualify? Maybe some fantasy show, or science fiction, that could qualify as well."
"Star Trek…" Piper blurted out. "She was watching Star Trek. I remember her telling me that the girls in her study group were really into it and the one of them had lent her a tape of Voyager episodes. She planned on watching them last night."
"That would be it the."
"You mean she´s in Star Trek, as in on a spaceship?" Prue sounded sceptical.
"Yes, she probably is."
"Well how do we get her out?"
"The is a section in the Book of Shadows on Souta, and how to enter her world and retrieve someone. But there is a catch…"
"What?"
"Once you enter, there is no spell to get you back again." Piper looked panicked and worried.
"Well then how do you get back again."
"There is only one way. In her world, the world she creates, there is always left a key that leads back to the other world, the real world. Find it and you can go back."
"What does this key look like?"
"That's just it, it could be anything. A combination of numbers, a person, anything."
"So how do we find it?"
"I don't know. I was just told that if you look with the power within you, you would find it."
"Great…" Prue frowned. She looked at Piper and shrugged. "Well, I suppose we'd better go."
"There's something else you need to know." Leo stopped then in the doorway and the both looked at his expectantly. "You need to hurry this along. The search for the key could take a very long time, that you may not have. Phoebe can only be there for three months and then she can never go back again. She'll be stuck in the fantasy world forever after that time."
"Well, she's only been there for half a day, so we should be okay."
"Not exactly… see there's something else I need to tell you…"
* * *
The last two weeks had gone by so fast that Phoebe could hardly believe it. She had convinced the Captain that the only way to get her back was through magic and that her sisters would get her eventually. So Captain Janeway had agreed to let her stay until that happened and to staying out of the magical process of getting her home. Phoebe had to admit though that her sisters were taking their time getting there. She had no doubt in her mind though that they would get her out of this, so she relaxed and enjoyed her time on Voyager.
Right now she was sitting alone in the mess hall eating some stew of a sort that Neelix had concocted. It wasn't up to Piper's standards, but then again, nothing rarely was. But she liked the furry Talaxian and didn't want to offend him by not eating his food, so she chowed down happily.
"Can I join you?"
Phoebe looked up and saw the now familiar face of B´Elanna Torres smiling down at her. Over the last two weeks they had come to be friends. Spending time with Harry also included spending time with Tom and B´Elanna. And since Phoebe had spent a LOT of time with Harry, she had gotten to know the two others as well. The two women had quickly taken a liking to each other.
"Of course, please sit."
B´Elanna slipped into the seat opposite of Phoebe. She also had a plate of the strange stew Phoebe was eating, but she seemed to enjoy it as she munched away. Maybe Neelix´s cooking just took some getting used to.
"So, are you looking forward to your first alien holiday?"
Phoebe smiled at that. The first night of Prixen was tomorrow. It was a Talaxian holiday that celebrated togetherness and family, and the ship was having a big party in that order.
"Yeah, it should be fun. I just wish that my sisters were here to share in this experience."
"You really miss them huh?"
"Yeah I do…"
Phoebe lowered her head a bit and apparently sensing her oncoming mood B´Elanna tried to lighten it.
"So… tell me, what's the deal with you and Harry?"
"What do you mean?"
"You two have been getting awfully cozy together these last couple of weeks."
"We're just good friends. Harry has been really nice to me and I enjoy spending time with him. That's it."
"Maybe for you, but I know Harry, and he likes you, and I mean more than just as a friend."
"Really, you think so?"
"Oh I know so. That guy is crazy about you."
Phoebe smiled. She did think Harry was a sweetie, but she couldn't stay in this fantasy world forever, wouldn't it be wrong to lead him on? She would just have to let things develop naturally and take it from there. She looked up as a shadow formed next to the table. It was Harry and Tom.
"Ladies, may we join you?"
* * *
The room was filled with music and people were smiling and eating and generally having a good time. Phoebe decided quickly that Prixen was her new favorite holiday - even though it did not really exist…
She was wearing a very interesting looking red dress B´Elanna had lent her and was standing in the corner alone sampling some of the exotic foods Neelix had prepared. She noted with some surprise that she liked most of them.
"Enjoying yourself?" She turned as she heard the familiar voice of Harry and saw him standing behind her smiling. He was wearing of duty clothes and Phoebe liked that look on him much better than the uniform. It made him look more normal, more like he could be from her time.
"Yes, very much… Great food."
"Yes, I see you've learned to appreciate Neelixs cooking." He studied her dress. "B´Elannas?"
"Uh hmm, she was nice enough to lend it to me. I didn't exactly have time to pack formal evening wear for my trip." Harry laughed at that.
"No, I guess you didn't." There was a moment of awkward silence, but then Harry spoke again. "Wanna dance?"
"Sure."
Harry took her hand and lead her to the area where other people where dancing. He held her close and Phoebe could feel a slight tingle go through her body. Just being this close to him made her go all wobbly in the knees and she was beginning to think that there was no stopping the natural development of things after all.
Harry steeped up the pace of the dance. He swung her around and then dipped her. With her head still down, Harry supporting her back, Phoebe saw two figures materialize right in front of her, or actually behind her… Even before they had fully materialized Phoebe recognized the forms.
"Prue, Piper, - Glad you finally make it."
To be continued…
Well, what do you think so far? Wanna read more… Please, I thrive on feedback…
