Holiday Crisis

By: Shmeilia Rockie

Chapter 16: What happens now?

* * * *

"My name is Chris; I am your son." The words rang in his ears, drowning out all other thoughts. This was the same tiny creature he'd seen on the computer screen earlier that morning. Except he stood in front of Bernard as a (seemingly) sixteen year-old boy.

Chris took no heed of Bernard's stunned expression. He threw the broom in the corner of the room and shoved his hands self-consciously into his pants pockets. "Come on, I'll take you to the Head Elf. He'll know what to do with you. Coz I sure as holly berries don't."

He jerked his head in the direction of the door. Then Bernard's brain decided to work again. He pointed at the kid. "But I am the Head Elf."

"In your time, maybe," he responded in a tone he'd heard himself use when getting impatient with naughty workers.

"So, what? Did I get fired or something?"

*Snort* "Hardly." Before Bernard could question Chris any farther, he called out, "Hey, Maigri!"

"Maigri? Maigri's the Head Elf now? How many cookies did he hafta bake?" He'd sworn within an inch of his life he would never let Maigri get his job. What had happened?

Chris sneered at him, but said nothing more. He walked up to a guy with platinum blond hair, slicked back, who was dressed from head to toe in black velvet. He clasped him on the shoulder, "Maigri, need to talk to you?"

The guy turned and looked at Bernard. Bernard raised his eyebrows? "Maigri?'S that you?"

"No, it's the potty fairy." A grin broke over Maigri's face and he clasped Bernard's hand. "How you doin' old pal?"

'Old pal'? Bernard smiled weakly and returned the handshake. "What happened to you?"

"What do you mean?" He asked sincerely. Gone was the sarcasm, the icy glares. This Maigri had an almost... jolly... look in his eyes. It was so weird, and disturbing.

Bernard held out his arms and searched for the right thing to say. "You've lost weight, man. And I mean, A LOT of weight."

He nodded and said knowingly in somewhat bad French, "Ah, oui, j'ai maigri.* Quite fitting, non?" There was that creepy smile again. Maigri didn't smile. Period. He didn't smile, he didn't shake hands, and he didn't call Bernard 'pal'. They were mortal enemies, for crying out loud! So what was going on? He felt like he'd entered the 'Twilight Zone'. "Anyway, I guess you'd like to see everyone else."

"Everyone else?" Bernard raised an eyebrow and looked at Chris. Chris shrugged like this sort of thing happened every day, like he didn't give a crap about any of it.

Maigri led Bernard up the stairs and into the Conference Room, while Chris sauntered off to wherever at a leisurely pace. (They were in the Workshop, btw.) Every eye turned toward Maigri, and he announced, "Father Time will be here shortly to explain things. He's in a Council meeting right now." And as he was closing the door, Bernard did catch the pleased look Maigri flashed Destiny, as well as the blush that crept across her face in return.

The second the door clicked shut, the Maigri Bernard knew so well pounded his fist on the table and roared, "I want to know what the deal is with that... That... IMPOSTER! That is not me. That is not ME! He's so pale, and-" He made a disgusted face, "-thin! I mean, that's unhealthy! And what's with the Goth look? Huh? I tell you there is something not right going on here-"

April stomped on his foot. "Oh, just get over yourself!" Then she ran to Bernard and flung her arms around him. "I don't know what's going on! I'm so confused!"

"Me too," She looked at him with large eyes. He shrugged. "But you heard the imposter, Father Time will explain things. Soon, hopefully."

He looked around, taking stock of who was in the room. April, Destiny, Maigri, Merope and Luke. Everyone who was present at the time of the opening of the portal now sat in cushioned swivel chairs, each displaying a different degree of confusion and/or wariness. Except for Merope, who never seemed to be phased by weird stuff. She entertained herself by rolling a pen off the end of her rather long nose, attempting to balance it.

Bernard sighed and led April back to her chair, and took the empty one next to her. He looked at her and asked non-chalantly, "You okay?"

She nodded. "I woke up in a pile of teddy bears. There were elves staring at me. I panicked. But I'm okay now. Sort of. I guess." She trailed off, and her eyes dropped. She hooked her hands around her middle, betraying her true feelings. "I'm worried. What if something happens to him while we're here?"

"I met him," he told her quietly.

Not quietly enough, however. The pen rolled off Merope's nose and onto the floor. "You met Chris?"

"Merope!" Destiny shot her a poisonous look. "Shut it! Before you spill the beans to EVERYONE!"

April searched Bernard's eyes for any hint of untruthfulness. "So... You met our baby?"

A smile crept onto his face. "Well, he's not really a baby. More like sixteen."

"Thirty-two" Destiny coughed. Everyone looked at her like she was crazy, and she cleared her throat. "Excuse me, must have choked on my own spit there." Maigri made a face, and Merope snickered. Bernard and April ignored her.

"Sixteen? I feel really weird now. My own son's almost the same age as I am." She ran her fingers through her copper-colored hair distractedly, until a thought popped into her mind. Her eyes lit up. "When can I meet him?" Bernard shrugged. She turned to Merope. "You said his name is Chris? Is that his real name or his codename?"

"Oops, can I opt not to answer that question?" April shook her head and stared at her expectantly. Merope's eyes darted around, looking for a good excuse to change the subject. Being able to think of nothing useful, she laughed. "Oh, look at that. I dropped my pen. Lemme get that..." She dived under the table.

Luke rolled his eyes. He'd been just like her at that age. Wait a minute! 'When he was her age?' Suddenly, he felt really old. What had happened? When did his two year-old become eighteen? The idea made him feel a little sick.

Before he could dwell on it any more, the door opened.

In walked Father Time, flanked by a war-hardened Bernard, and Charlie, aged thirty years. The same thing crossed all minds (sparing Luke) in the room: Charlie looked so much like his father, it was scary. The three of them stared at the assembled group, and the group stared back. After a few seconds, Father Time sat in the Head Chair. "I suppose you wonder why you are here."

"You could say that, yes." Maigri grumbled and crossed his arms defensively.

"I will be frank with you. Your arrival here was a fluke, a mistake. Normally I would say that you should not be here, but these are perilous times." He looked up at the older Bernard.

Bernard leaned forward, resting his knuckles on the table. "We stand on the edge of disaster. Whatever happens next could determine the fate of Earth indefinitely. Even if this incident was a mistake, it was no accident. You will be the key to winning this war once and for all."

"No pressure," Luke quipped. Merope and Destiny smiled, and April actually laughed. The three in charge stared sternly at them.

Bernard -the younger one- got back to business. "What's happening back home? I mean, who's in charge?"

"Curtis." Charlie answered simply. "And I'm still there."

"How long will this take?"

Father Time looked up toward the ceiling, making the calculation. "Two weeks, five days, seven hours, and twenty-three seconds."

"Great." Bernard took off his hat and threw it on the table. He ran his hands through his hair then pressed his forehead against the edge of the table. "Not like I didn't have things to do, or anything." April rubbed his back.

"I think this is more important." His older self stared down at him with exasperation. "You WILL end this war."

"For you," he retorted, sitting back. "But then we'll go home and put up with it for thirty more years."

"Oh, go cry me a river. See if I care." The two engaged in a staring contest for a tense moment, until the older Bernard turned his gaze to Father Time. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment with Uncle Sam regarding fireworks production." The elderly man nodded, giving him permission to leave. So he did.

"So, why ARE we here?" Destiny asked.

"Ah, now, THAT is the question." Father Time smiled and held his finger in the air. He pulled a file folder out of his cloak and slid it over to her. "Agatha is missing. We have reason to believe she decided to attempt to rescue her granddaughter, and was captured. We need you and Merope to go on a mission to recover her."

Destiny read over the information. "Hmm, I see. I don't blame her for growing impatient. Nonetheless, that wasn't a smart move on her part. Always have a buddy, I say."

"Well, while they're off doing that, what do WE do?" Maigri asked bitterly.

Charlie shrugged. "Hang out? You can go to Party Town Island, there's always something to do there."

Maigri snorted, feeling that was not the answer he'd wanted.

* * * *

"So when do you leave?" April sipped her pina collata (non alcoholic, of course) and pursed her lips.

"Tomorrow evening. I've gotta go to a briefing tomorrow morning, so tonight I'm chillin'." Merope answered and swiveled on the bar stool.

"I understand. Where's Destiny?"

"At home. You know, spending time with the family."

"Ah."

"And speaking of family..." Merope trailed off, as Chris ran in carrying a guitar.

Chris weaved his way around crowded tables, ignoring the people as they greeted him. His eyes were bloodshot, April noted. He trotted up to the bar and threw some money at Lorne. "The usual."

"One Black Cow, comin' up." Lorne threw some chocolate ice cream into a glass and filled it with root beer. He slid it over to the boy. "Are you going to bless us with your gift this fine evening?"

"Plan on it." Chris drained the glass in a few quick gulps and left the ice cream to melt. He approached the stage, and people cheered.

"Thank God," Lorne whispered. "Things have been so slow lately. Nobody believes in Open Mike Night any more."

Chris pulled over a stool and placed his guitar in his lap. He adjusted the microphone in front of him. "How's everybody tonight?" People clapped. He smiled. "Good to hear that. Now, I dunno about you, but I'm feeling pretty crappy right now. So forgive me if my first couple songs are a bit angry. I'll just play my way out of it." He strummed a couple cords. "Any requests?"

All girls shouted out song titles, some of which April knew, but most she did not. He held up his hands. "Okay, okay. One at a time. Here, I'll pick the first one." He began playing.

"For so long my life's been strung up tight inside your hold

And it leaves me there without a place to call my own

I know now what shadows can see

There's no point runnin' unless you run with me

It's half the distance through the open door before you shut me down

Again...

Now let me introduce you to the end..."

April's eyes widened in recognition. "That's Chris, isn't it?"

Merope nodded a dreamy look in her eyes. "Sure is. Ain't he great?"

"And I feel the cold win blowing beneath my wings

It always leads me back to suffering

I will soar until the wind whips me down

Leaves me beaten on unholy ground again.

"So tired now of payin' my dues

I start off strong but then I always loose

It's half the distance before you leave me behind

It's such a waste of time..."

"Whoa, whoa, there. Chris." Lorne waved his arms to get the boy's attention. He stopped playing. "Could you please sing something else? Something, I dunno, happy?"

"What's happy?" Chris smiled lopsidedly. "Seriously, I'm not in the mood for happy right now, Lorne."

"I know, but I've gotta listen to your angry aura anyway, so spare me some sanity. Sing something Disney. Anything. How about... 'A Friend like Me'."

Chris made a face, but began playing anyway.

"He sounds like an angel!" April leaned forward, entranced by his beautiful, velvety voice. It didn't matter what he was singing. It could have been the Barney song and she would have loved it.

"I know!" Merope sighed heavily.

"I trained him," Lorne said, leaning on the bar top. "Taught him everything I know."

"No wonder he's so good, Lorne." April patted him on the arm. "You've trained him well."

"Yeah, but boy is that boy full of angst. He's so angstful it's disturbing. Every time he does this, he gives off these 'I'm gonna hurt something' vibes. Like any minute he's going to switch on over to the dark side, or something." Lorne shuddered. "But singing gives him release, so hopefully he never will. Hopefully."

He didn't sound convincing, though.

* * * *

Chris flopped down on his bed, several hours later. He felt a bit better, but the earlier fight still echoed in his mind. It wasn't even over something important, for crying out loud. But his father's words still hurt.

"Why don't you pull your weight, instead of playing in your lab all day? Can't you do anything productive?"

Like alchemy isn't productive. Nobody appreciated his talent, he thought. No body appreciated him, period. So what if he couldn't use a sword? He wasn't a fighter, but did that mean he wasn't good at anything?

He rolled over onto his back and laced his fingers behind his head. It shouldn't bother him, but it did. He hated fighting with his father, yet they fought practically every day. Maybe they were just too alike to get along. Possibly. No. Definitely not. He closed his eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted.

Just as he was about to drift off to sleep, he felt another presence in the room. He opened an eye to see who it was, and -to his surprise- found that he was no longer in his room. His covers and pillows sat on a floor of cold stone. He sat up and looked around, but couldn't see a thing. A thick darkness surrounded him. "What's going on? Where am I?"

"You," answered an unfamiliar voice. "Are in the Dark Dimension."

He whirled around to face the owner of the voice. "Who are you?"

The man walked closer and removed the hood from around his head. He smiled warmly, but it didn't reach his eyes. "My name is Kal. And I've brought you here because I need you." He shook Chris' hand, somewhat against the boy's will.

Chris made a face. "What do you need ME for?"

"You practice alchemy, do you not?" Chris nodded, but continued staring at Kal like he was diseased. "You see, my Co-regent has been complaining about the rate at which she is aging, and I know for a fact that you could easily remedy that problem. Would you? Please?"

The teen shrugged. "I guess. Do you have a lab?"

Kal grinned, showing off two rows of perfect white teeth. "The best in the world, my friend. Let me show it to you." He put his arm around Chris' shoulders and led him through a curtained doorway. "I think you'll be very impressed."

"Okay, if you say so."

"Just trust me on this."

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Why should I trust you? I don't even know you."

"That's right," Kal said with a chuckle. "You don't. But hey, what have you to loose?"

* * * *

A/N: Okay, I dunno if this qualifies as a cliff hanger or not. I was just ready to get this chapter over with. It's been uber difficult to write, and I dun't know why. This was just a weird transition chapter, so I apologize. The next one will be better.

*Maigri's sentence translates= Yes, I've lost weight.

Maigri's name comes from the word maigrir, meaning "To loose weight".