A/N: Ok, I am SO sorry it took so long to update! The problem was that,
not having the original copy of the story; I kind of messed up the ending
of the last chapter in a big way. So I had two choices, re-write the
chapter or re-write the story. Re-writing the chapter would unfortunately
involve giving a few things away I don't wish to give away just yet, so I
chose to re-write the rest of the story. The basic plot is the same; I
just had to change some major points. Anyway, it took a little while to
figure out how to save the story, but I think I pulled it off. So, here it
is! Hope it doesn't suck!
Chapter 5: Explanations
By: Ks-Starshine
Sarah narrowed her eyes, taking in all her surroundings, trying to see some form of escape. The small craft used for her kidnapping had boarded this much larger hovercraft a short while ago.
The trip had been short, causing her to believe that they hadn't traveled far from the mansion. At first she had attempted to watch their route from a window, but noticing her ambition, the armed 'escorts' had forced her, at gunpoint, to lie down flat on the floor at their feet. With nothing but a view of the clouds and hairy legs, she put her mind to planning escape. However, no plan was made. As hard as she tried, she couldn't think of a single way to escape. She could only hope that upon reaching her destination, there would be an opportunity.
She stood erect, looking straight ahead, not willing to let them see her fear. With her hands still tied behind her back, she was lead into a large room with a gun at her back. The room had many people around the perimeter working on panels with blinking lights and dials and monitors everywhere.
'This must be the main control room,' she thought as she looked around. 'Why does it look so familiar?' As she continued trying to place the room, a figure to her left emerged, bringing it all into clear focus.
"This is the girl, then?" Surd asked her captures.
"Yeah, we got her at the mansion, just followed the signal like you said," one of them answered.
"Excellent," hissed Surd as he drew closer.
Sarah glared at him with malice. "What do you want with me? And what signal is he talking about?"
"Oh yes, do let me explain," Surd began. "It was one of my more ingenious ideas if I do say so. You see, after I found out about you and your necklace in Questworld, I just had to meet you in person. So I sent my men after you, giving them a specially made tranquilizer, one of my personal creations. Didn't you wonder why they didn't apprehend you at the beach?" Sarah's eye's narrowed, as she remained silent. "You see, the unique attribute of my tranquilizer is that when it comes in contact with copper, it is able to transmit a signal. The signal is weak, but it worked well enough for my purposes. Since it did not react at the beach, my men knew the necklace was not on you at the time. I wanted you and the necklace. So they waited near the manor, knowing you would return. They waited until their transponders picked up the signal. They were able to trace it directly to your room, as easy as taking candy from a baby."
Sarah could hear the evil smirk in his voice even if it wasn't visible on his face. "Fine," she spit out. "But you failed to tell me why I'm here!"
"Isn't it obvious?" he asked.
Sarah gave him a look of utter confusion.
"You're not from around here." He paused, waiting for a reaction. Smirking in his mind at her sudden stiffness, he continued. "I want to know how you came here. I wish to travel through dimensions as you have done. Perhaps in another dimension I would need not be captive in this lifeless body anymore."
Hiding her amusement at his choice of the word 'wish,' she countered. "Well you're just out of luck, because even I don't know what really happened."
"We'll see about that. Take her to one of the holding rooms. I'll deal with her later." Surd turned around and left as Sarah was once again forced to walk the narrow halls.
This time she was lead to a small room that looked more like a closet. The high metal walls had no windows. . . no hope for escape. Sinking to the floor, Sarah hugged herself, seeking some form of comfort.
"I wish I knew what to do now," she whispered. Her eyes grew wide as she saw her necklace once again shine bright. As the light receded, a familiar form stood in front of her.
"Hello, child," greeted the old woman.
^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^
The Quests and Bannons had all gathered in Sarah's room to assess the situation.
"It had to be Surd," Jonny insisted. "He came after us at the beach the other day. Jess and I assumed he was after us, but it seems now that it is just as likely he was after Sarah."
"Yeah, but why?" Jessie asked.
"Hadji, check the Questworld mainframe. See if you can find any leaks in the security firewall," Benton instructed.
"Do you think he hacked the system?" Jonny asked.
"It's a long shot, but it is possible. It wouldn't have been the first time." Dr. Quest looked to Race. "You've been quiet. What do you think?"
Race looked at the doctor with furrowed brows. "I think we need to find her. Surd works fast, so we won't have much time. We need to find him."
"You were right," Hadji stated to Dr. Quest. "It appears the system was hacked into recently. By the looks of it, they spent a good deal of time reviewing the information we gathered about Sarah, including all the research done with her necklace."
"Good, now see if you can trace the source."
"I've already done it." Hadji quipped. "I have a lock on it. They're only about 50 miles from here."
"What are we waiting here for," Jonny said, heading for the door. "Let's go!"
^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^
Sarah stared at the woman who stood before her, barely believing her eyes. "I-It's you! But how. . . who are. . .why did you. . .?" The questions all ran together in her mind making it impossible to think straight.
The woman simply smiled. "I expected you might have a few questions. To be frank, I was a little surprised it took you this long to make the wish you did. When I was in your shoes, I think I only lasted a few hours before I made the same wish."
"When you were in my shoes?!" Sarah repeated as her jaw dropped.
"Years and years ago," Rose chuckled. "You remember me saying you reminded me of myself, right? Well, when I was about your age, an old man gave me the same necklace you're wearing." Without thinking, Sarah's hands moved to touch the necklace. "Not long after that, I began an amazing journey, just like the one you've just started."
"You knew what would happen? You mean you did this on purpose?" Sarah yelled, sudden anger flaring.
Rose gave her a stern look. "Now look here, young lady. That necklace is a gift. It's not just some old piece of memorabilia. You are the one who wanted more adventure in your life. If you didn't, the necklace wouldn't have worked. It's that simple."
With that last statement, all Sarah's anger seemed to shrivel up and die away. "I guess I did want something to happen."
"And it did, didn't it?" Rose confirmed.
"So, your saying that if I didn't want this, it really wouldn't have happened?" Sarah asked, still confused.
"That's right," Rose said gently. "You see, the necklace is special. It has a power of its own to help make your wishes come true, but the necklace is nothing without true heartfelt intent." Rose walked over and put an arm around the child. "Everyone makes wishes. But you, you're special, just like that necklace. I saw it in you that day at the park. You've got something big inside of you just waiting to bust out and show itself. You just need to believe in yourself. Trust your heart to do what is right." Rose looked Sarah in the eye giving her a quick wink. "And in the meantime, have some fun."
Sarah smiled at Rose, giving her a weak giggle.
Rose gave her a pat on the back before standing up again. "There now, feel better?"
Sarah nodded.
Rose gave her a broad smile. "Good. Have fun then. Maybe I'll see you again."
Sarah was about to say something when in a flash of light as brilliant as the last, Rose was gone. She stared at the spot that had so recently been occupied by the old woman.
The sound of the door opening jarred her out of her reverie. She turned her head to see one of Surd's lackeys standing in the doorway. "You ready to talk?" he asked gruffly.
Sarah looked him in the eye. Her decision had been made and for the first time since she had arrived in this world, she knew exactly what to do. "Take me to Surd."
^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^
Okay, after all this time, I know it's awful to leave you with a short chapter, but in my defense, I tried to answer a lot of questions. This was also the only good stopping point I could find. Now that I have the plot sorted out though, I promise to get the next chapter out ASAP. So I hope you liked it. I think it turned out rather well all things considered, to be honest, I like it better than the original. But it is you I aim to please, so tell me what you think!
P.S.- Couldn't you just see the commercial breaks in this! I had to laugh at that a bit myself.
Chapter 5: Explanations
By: Ks-Starshine
Sarah narrowed her eyes, taking in all her surroundings, trying to see some form of escape. The small craft used for her kidnapping had boarded this much larger hovercraft a short while ago.
The trip had been short, causing her to believe that they hadn't traveled far from the mansion. At first she had attempted to watch their route from a window, but noticing her ambition, the armed 'escorts' had forced her, at gunpoint, to lie down flat on the floor at their feet. With nothing but a view of the clouds and hairy legs, she put her mind to planning escape. However, no plan was made. As hard as she tried, she couldn't think of a single way to escape. She could only hope that upon reaching her destination, there would be an opportunity.
She stood erect, looking straight ahead, not willing to let them see her fear. With her hands still tied behind her back, she was lead into a large room with a gun at her back. The room had many people around the perimeter working on panels with blinking lights and dials and monitors everywhere.
'This must be the main control room,' she thought as she looked around. 'Why does it look so familiar?' As she continued trying to place the room, a figure to her left emerged, bringing it all into clear focus.
"This is the girl, then?" Surd asked her captures.
"Yeah, we got her at the mansion, just followed the signal like you said," one of them answered.
"Excellent," hissed Surd as he drew closer.
Sarah glared at him with malice. "What do you want with me? And what signal is he talking about?"
"Oh yes, do let me explain," Surd began. "It was one of my more ingenious ideas if I do say so. You see, after I found out about you and your necklace in Questworld, I just had to meet you in person. So I sent my men after you, giving them a specially made tranquilizer, one of my personal creations. Didn't you wonder why they didn't apprehend you at the beach?" Sarah's eye's narrowed, as she remained silent. "You see, the unique attribute of my tranquilizer is that when it comes in contact with copper, it is able to transmit a signal. The signal is weak, but it worked well enough for my purposes. Since it did not react at the beach, my men knew the necklace was not on you at the time. I wanted you and the necklace. So they waited near the manor, knowing you would return. They waited until their transponders picked up the signal. They were able to trace it directly to your room, as easy as taking candy from a baby."
Sarah could hear the evil smirk in his voice even if it wasn't visible on his face. "Fine," she spit out. "But you failed to tell me why I'm here!"
"Isn't it obvious?" he asked.
Sarah gave him a look of utter confusion.
"You're not from around here." He paused, waiting for a reaction. Smirking in his mind at her sudden stiffness, he continued. "I want to know how you came here. I wish to travel through dimensions as you have done. Perhaps in another dimension I would need not be captive in this lifeless body anymore."
Hiding her amusement at his choice of the word 'wish,' she countered. "Well you're just out of luck, because even I don't know what really happened."
"We'll see about that. Take her to one of the holding rooms. I'll deal with her later." Surd turned around and left as Sarah was once again forced to walk the narrow halls.
This time she was lead to a small room that looked more like a closet. The high metal walls had no windows. . . no hope for escape. Sinking to the floor, Sarah hugged herself, seeking some form of comfort.
"I wish I knew what to do now," she whispered. Her eyes grew wide as she saw her necklace once again shine bright. As the light receded, a familiar form stood in front of her.
"Hello, child," greeted the old woman.
^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^
The Quests and Bannons had all gathered in Sarah's room to assess the situation.
"It had to be Surd," Jonny insisted. "He came after us at the beach the other day. Jess and I assumed he was after us, but it seems now that it is just as likely he was after Sarah."
"Yeah, but why?" Jessie asked.
"Hadji, check the Questworld mainframe. See if you can find any leaks in the security firewall," Benton instructed.
"Do you think he hacked the system?" Jonny asked.
"It's a long shot, but it is possible. It wouldn't have been the first time." Dr. Quest looked to Race. "You've been quiet. What do you think?"
Race looked at the doctor with furrowed brows. "I think we need to find her. Surd works fast, so we won't have much time. We need to find him."
"You were right," Hadji stated to Dr. Quest. "It appears the system was hacked into recently. By the looks of it, they spent a good deal of time reviewing the information we gathered about Sarah, including all the research done with her necklace."
"Good, now see if you can trace the source."
"I've already done it." Hadji quipped. "I have a lock on it. They're only about 50 miles from here."
"What are we waiting here for," Jonny said, heading for the door. "Let's go!"
^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^
Sarah stared at the woman who stood before her, barely believing her eyes. "I-It's you! But how. . . who are. . .why did you. . .?" The questions all ran together in her mind making it impossible to think straight.
The woman simply smiled. "I expected you might have a few questions. To be frank, I was a little surprised it took you this long to make the wish you did. When I was in your shoes, I think I only lasted a few hours before I made the same wish."
"When you were in my shoes?!" Sarah repeated as her jaw dropped.
"Years and years ago," Rose chuckled. "You remember me saying you reminded me of myself, right? Well, when I was about your age, an old man gave me the same necklace you're wearing." Without thinking, Sarah's hands moved to touch the necklace. "Not long after that, I began an amazing journey, just like the one you've just started."
"You knew what would happen? You mean you did this on purpose?" Sarah yelled, sudden anger flaring.
Rose gave her a stern look. "Now look here, young lady. That necklace is a gift. It's not just some old piece of memorabilia. You are the one who wanted more adventure in your life. If you didn't, the necklace wouldn't have worked. It's that simple."
With that last statement, all Sarah's anger seemed to shrivel up and die away. "I guess I did want something to happen."
"And it did, didn't it?" Rose confirmed.
"So, your saying that if I didn't want this, it really wouldn't have happened?" Sarah asked, still confused.
"That's right," Rose said gently. "You see, the necklace is special. It has a power of its own to help make your wishes come true, but the necklace is nothing without true heartfelt intent." Rose walked over and put an arm around the child. "Everyone makes wishes. But you, you're special, just like that necklace. I saw it in you that day at the park. You've got something big inside of you just waiting to bust out and show itself. You just need to believe in yourself. Trust your heart to do what is right." Rose looked Sarah in the eye giving her a quick wink. "And in the meantime, have some fun."
Sarah smiled at Rose, giving her a weak giggle.
Rose gave her a pat on the back before standing up again. "There now, feel better?"
Sarah nodded.
Rose gave her a broad smile. "Good. Have fun then. Maybe I'll see you again."
Sarah was about to say something when in a flash of light as brilliant as the last, Rose was gone. She stared at the spot that had so recently been occupied by the old woman.
The sound of the door opening jarred her out of her reverie. She turned her head to see one of Surd's lackeys standing in the doorway. "You ready to talk?" he asked gruffly.
Sarah looked him in the eye. Her decision had been made and for the first time since she had arrived in this world, she knew exactly what to do. "Take me to Surd."
^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^
Okay, after all this time, I know it's awful to leave you with a short chapter, but in my defense, I tried to answer a lot of questions. This was also the only good stopping point I could find. Now that I have the plot sorted out though, I promise to get the next chapter out ASAP. So I hope you liked it. I think it turned out rather well all things considered, to be honest, I like it better than the original. But it is you I aim to please, so tell me what you think!
P.S.- Couldn't you just see the commercial breaks in this! I had to laugh at that a bit myself.