AN: I would like to formally apologize for the length of time this took. Schoolwork was a bitch, but now that school got out in the middle of writing this chapter, I might have it out before school gets back in. Wish me luck, y'all.
Chapter IV
Sarah looked sheepishly around at Eric and Maria Shroud. Eric looked down at Jade, whose eyes were wandering around the house. Saw his mom's reaction to Jade and braced himself for the storm.
Marie bit her lip. "Who… when… how…" She started walking down the stars. When she got to the bottom, she started scratching Jade's ears. Eric cocked an eyebrow.
"Uh… mom?"
"When did this happen? W-… Where's… it… from?"
"She…" Sarah said slowly and calmly. "Her name's Jade. Jade McCloud."
"We'll tell you what happened… You might want to find a comfortable place to sit down and get a glass of wine, this might take awhile…" Eric said.
During the story, Marie spent most of the time scratching behind Jade's ears and making comments on the sheer oddity of it all. But after hearing the details of the battle with the Ice Wendigo, Marie froze. "You were in a fight?"
Eric actually chuckled. Motherly instincts. "Just don't give me a hug; I'm alright and I'm coping. I think I still have a scar…-"
"No, don't," Marie interrupted. "Out of sight, out of mind. It's hard enough to accept the fact that there are places Out There, I don't want to imagine you being hurt…"
The story continued. They were almost about to begin what happened on Venom when another one of Eric's relatives came in, Uncle Phil.
"Yo, dudes!" Phil's mindset and clothing preference were rooted forty years away, to Eric's chagrin and Sarah's amusement. Phil tended to parade around in tie-dye shirts and He was also gifted with a knack for earning trust, with a long-running newspaper advice column to back it up.
Eric cocked an eyebrow in distaste. "Yo, Phil."
"Am I interrupting anything?" Phil asked, then finally saw Jade. It was his turn to cock an eyebrow. Eric tensed up, braced for impact. "Uh, so what kind of gnarly birth defect is this?" Phil asked.
Sarah and Eric looked at each other.
"Well, it's a-" Sarah started.
"Jade's-" Eric began
"Er…"
"You go first…" Eric offered.
"No, you're a better storyteller," Sarah returned. They both looked at Phil.
"Jade's from-" They both said in unison. Eric cursed.
"Jade's not from this world," Sarah said finally. Marie put in a word.
"Eric had been trying for awhile to mathematically and scientifically prove that other dimensions exist different to our own. And, apparently, he's known for three years…" Marie said doubtfully, as if the truth was still not dawning on her.
"And," Sarah said, breaking an awkward silence. "Well, Fox… someone we met, Phil… he couldn't take Jade, given his job, so he let me look after her."
"Wait… huh?" Phil stammered. His eyes kept darting to Marie's face, to Sarah, to Eric, to Jade, then back to Marie. "So… furball came from another world?"
There was a beat. Sarah was looking at Phil, hopeful. Eric was kneading his brow with his hand.
"Cool!"
"Look, just be- huh?" Eric started.
"You mean… you don't think Jade's a freak?" Sarah asked.
"Well, maybe a little," Phil admitted. "And it is going to be hard to get used to it, but I don't believe in judging people by their looks."
"Well, I suppose that's a step in the right direction, huh, Eric?" Marie inquired.
"Yeah, I think so. See, Eric? You could learn something from people like Phil," Sarah said. "Mellow out a bit," For Eric had been chewing on his knuckles for the last twenty seconds or so from nervousness.
"Sure. Tell you what. You all can sit here and reminisce over just how good Jade looks with fur, I'm going to find out why the blond person from the airport's here,"
"You mean Tina? She came with Sam," Phil said.
"Yeah, Ti- huh? She's…" The egg timer in the back of everybody's brain went off. "She's with Sam?" Eric asked.
"Yeah," Phil nodded. "Oddly enough, the little wanker seems to have gotten a girl."
"What's so bad about Uncle Sam?" Sarah asked.
"Well, he works for the IRS. And he's as slick as they come. He wants to have his cake and eat it too, and he's good at it. He's always in questionable activities that he doesn't share with the rest of us… we worry for him. We stick together as family, Sarah, but Sam has us questioning his ability to stay out of trouble much longer."
Eric raised his hand. "'Have his cake and eat it too?' Phil, come back. You're too deep in the 1960's."
Phil chuckled as he continued, Sarah at rapt attention. Jade continued to listen, picking up what she could. "It's strange, Sam and Tina, since they got here, haven't done anything but converse in the den. Sharon, Sherman and I have all tried seeing what they're up to, but they change the subject and throw some papers into a suitcase the instant we get close enough to comprehend what they're saying."
"I think this is getting a little on the downer side, people…" Sarah said, picking Jade up. "This was supposed to be a happy occasion! Can we please just have a good time, even if Jade is…" She paused for words.
"A fur?" Eric interjected.
"Yes… no!" Sarah cried. "More like… fuzzy… with animal qualities…"
The four went outside into the back yard ("As I was saying…" Eric grumbled) where Marie set up a playpen for the other infants and young toddlers that the other Shroud's would bring. Sarah went into the guest room to change and unpack, leaving Eric to supervise Jade in the pen. "I think Sarah went upstairs on purpose, Jade," Eric complained. "I'm gonna have to explain to like, fourteen people where you're from. This is gonna suck…"
Shortly Thereafter…
"Hey Eric!"
Eric looked up from his Popular Mechanics magazine towards the sound. It was his cousin Victoria, although she went by Vicki. Her blond hair and brown eyes gave off an air of conflicting color values, although she always tried to get clothes that matched. She was always a little persnickety about what she wore in an attempt to get people's attention away from the result of an accident involving forty miles per hour, a steep slope, her bike and a tree branch that resulted in an eye being gauged out, forcing her to wear an eye patch or give people the jibblies.
"You watching over the playpen?"
Eric looked into the pen to see Jade shaking a rattle and looking through the wall of the pen at Vicki. "Kinda. Yeah, I got duped into it, somehow."
"In that case, would you mind if I brought my baby sister in?" Vicki asked.
Eric turned to Jade, who nodded eagerly. "Nope. Knock yourself out."
"Thanks!" Right as she left, one of the older relatives walked by and saw Jade.
"…Eric? Uh… you are aware that there's a fox in the pen…? And… Vicki…?"
"Her name's Jade, Karen. I already explained to mom and Phil. Want a better story? Talk to them." Eric responded without even glancing up.
"That's bullshit. What kind of disease does she carry? Is it contagious? I'm telling Vicki." Karen said angrily.
"Feh. What are you, Karen? Racist?"
"I'm not racist… I'm… I don't want her around the children." Karen stated.
"Better get used to it. She's family. Eric put plainly.
"Eric, maybe you have your own notions-"
"The fur will never fit in, Eric," a not-so-familiar voice interrupted. For the first time in the conversation, Eric glanced up from the magazine. The blond from the airport, Tina, was standing five feet away.
"Hmm. Got a biology lesson from Phil or mom, have you?" Eric retorted, looking down again at the magazine. "Equal country. Jade stays."
Tina scuffed. "Some country. I've done my homework. Your country broke off from its parent country searching for freedom only to conduct their own series of racial and religious witch-hunts. Your country is an affront to everything I stand for."
"Then why are you here?" Eric asked.
"I came because Samuel asked me to. Otherwise I never would have set foot into this tainted world. History dictates that Jade will be loathed here."
"Hm." The voice came from behind.
Vicki, looking at Tina with slight contempt, set down a child who couldn't be older than four, into the playpen. He then began to play with Jade's ears as Jade gave him a hug.
Eric looked up at Tina victoriously. "I accept your apology."
Tina scoffed again and walked away.
"Something's up with Tina and Uncle Sam…" Eric said to Sarah later that evening in Eric's room.
"Okay… What do you think?" Sarah responded.
"They're hiding something…" Eric mused.
"Well, Tina has been acting oddly…"
"Like how?"
"Well, I saw that conversation you had with Tina. Some things seem off…"
"Like what?"
"Like she has
a mindset of a Muslim terrorist, yet is white and wears a cross." Sarah pointed
out.
"She wears a cross?" Eric asked. "I
did not realize that."
"Look for it next time you see her," Sarah said.
"I heard Sam and Tina are going somewhere in about a half an hour… I wouldn't put it past them to have something spooky planned…"
"So what do you propose we do?" Sarah asked.
"Well… I still have the you-know-what buried under-" He pointed to a spot under a pile of dead, crinkled up leaves and next to a small spruce. "There."
Sarah's eyes went pale. "No, Eric… I've been trying to forget all that or three years…"
"Sometimes you have to take up the sword again. Come on. We know something's funky. I'm confidant in my ability to check things out. Please?"
Sarah sighed. "Fine. But I don't want to go with you. I'm hoping that you're wrong, and that it's just a false alarm."
"In that case, could you do me a favor and check up on any documents that Tina and Uncle Sam may have been perusing over? I don't think that they'd bring everything there, and I can't be in two places at the same time."
"If I must. I suppose that'd be another way to tell if you're just overreacting…"
"Excellent. Thanks, I really appreciate it. I'd better get ready…" Eric said, pulling out a box and ruffling through the contents.
"I hope you're wrong, Eric…" Sarah muttered.
"Hey, gimme a hand with these, will you?" Eric asked, pulling out several things Eric had apparently been working on. "And I'll ask you not to poke any buttons on them. And for the love of god, don't open this bag."
"It's a Ziploc with what appear to be… clear globules of something. What exactly is this?"
"Well…" Eric said. "I still have some nitroglycerin, from that one failed science experiment? Well… it turns out nitro reacts with Vespene. Yes, okay, I was dimension hopping," he added, seeing Sarah's confused look. "Well… these are extremely powerful smoke bombs. I haven't tested 'em yet, but if what I calculated is correct, these things'll give Bart Simpson a run for his money.
Sarah sighed. "You know… sometimes I worry about you."
"Eh. Didn't come without a cost. They were extremely volatile. I had to lubricate them in something my dad would be pissed if he found out I swiped it, and even then, you can't expose very much of them to air."
"Lovely." Sarah said sarcastically. "How long did it take for you to make this… and those two things?" She pointed to what looked like an extremely cumbersome pair of mechanical gloves and a spray can.
"Uh…" Eric began, when he heard a downstairs door opening. "Crap. Time up. Better get this over with." He sighed as he raced downstairs. "Wish me luck," He called back to Sarah, strapping the gloves to his waist and putting the other two manufactured gizmos into his pants pockets. Quietly, he opened the door and slipped out of sight.
Sarah watched him leave from the top of the stairs and listened intently for any sounds from below. Faintly, she could hear voices.
"Come on, Sam. We're going to be late."
"Tina, do we really have to? I don't like where things are going recently…"
"Yes, we do. We're almost done helping Dimension Cache 673… uh… 9… 6…"
"The Star Fox 'cache'?" Sam asked sulkily. At this, Sarah leaned forward, all the more attentive.
"Sure. And after the 'Star Fox', world, this one would be a good opportunity to expand on with almost no resistance."
"The End? Here? I've seen photos from a few people at the Star Fox world… it's horrible! I don't want that here! Do you?"
"Sam, Star Fox deserved its fate for the resistance it's inhabitants put up. This world has almost destroyed all known inhabitable space. It won't put up much; it needs our help. Let's continue this conversation in the car," Tina said, finalizing the conversation.
Without a moment to lose after hearing the door close, Sarah dashed to the window to ensure that the pair was leaving. Sure enough, the station wagon lurching around the corner of the block and out of sight.
With a familiar passenger clutching to the underside of the car… Sarah thought to herself. A shadow could be seen hanging onto the bottom. Wishing for Eric's safety, she turned back promptly bumped into the coffee table.
"Nngh! Dangit!" Sarah cursed. Being more careful, she slowly felt her way to the den, opening the door do the den and creeping blindly down stairs.
It had always made Sarah edgy, the dark. All reason told her that, especially in a place like Eric's house, there wouldn't be anything to be afraid of, it still put her on edge. Darkness didn't even faze her earlier in her life. Yet… when it all came back to it, it was "the experience" which taught her that things aren't always what they seem. The dark only clouds things further. Sarah didn't like no longer being able to take things at face value. Not one bit.
When Sarah felt the stairs cease, she started fumbling for the light switch. Suddenly, bright, white light washed over her. Blessed, blinding light.
However, it didn't look like there was anything of major interest. No odd papers. Nothing on the ping-pong table or in the TV cabinet in the room. There had to be some kind of clue…
Sarah was just about to give up when she noticed a tiny sticky note caught in between the creases of the ping-pong table. With the net in the way, you had to be way back in the corner of the room to notice it there.
Working the note out of the crack in the table, Sarah took a look at it. The writing was nearly microscopic; squinting at it, Sarah realized that whoever wrote it would have had to have the use of a magnifying glass.
"Eric, anyone who reads this note Eric, hurry. In my room. Big things are happening. Bad people not much time information in my room hurry"
Sarah stared at the note for a long moment, wondering exactly who would have written such a note. Still, in the back of her mind, she knew. It seemed odd.
If Eric's Uncle Sam was such a bad person, why was he crying out for help?
Several minutes later, Eric finally felt the car come to a complete stop. He learned an important lesson about riding underneath cars; speed bumps hurt like crap.
Taking a moment to clear his head, Eric unfastened his gloves and lowered himself onto the asphalt. He could already see Tina and Sam walking towards what appeared to be a pagoda. Two stone dogs stood on either side of the walkway, guarding the entrance.
Well, at least I know where we are, Eric thought to himself. But why'd they come to Grauman's Chinese Theater? Are they actually there for a movie… was I actually… wrong?!
"Well, there's a shocker for you, eh, Eric?" James said. Eric could hear him grinning.
"Think you're so smug…" Eric grumbled. He started following them at a safe distance. When Tina and Sam got to the door, the opened it, and were beckoned in by a huge brute of a man, standing at least eight feet tall, but it was hard to tell at that distance. It looked odd, though. Maybe Eric couldn't see that well, but it appeared that this man had scales and claws.
"I knew inbreeding was a problem among politicians, but that's a new low," Eric thought.
"Shut up, Eric. What does this mean? Is Scales back?" James retorted.
"What?! No! But we won, last time… didn't we?!" Eric huffed. "Why are all the villains from your universe impossible to keep down?"
James ignored him, but remained silent. Knowing better than to walk through the front door, Eric slunk around the building into one of the back entrances into the theater. He tested the knob, turning it slowly, and to his surprise, found it unlocked.
The interior had curtains surrounding the door, making it impossible to see the door open or close or see away from the door unless you moved them out of the way. Eric was about to part the curtains when James interrupted him.
"Never trust to luck," he warned. "Karma will only work so many times."
"Since when were you a follower of Samurai beliefs? Or… whatever."
Eric felt James shrug. Nonetheless, he still took his word for it. Kneeling down, he parted the curtain at the bottom, using both hands to reduce the amount of actual disturbance.
A shoe!
Eric jumped back, then took a closer look. What appeared to be a shoe with the foot pointed away from Eric was right on the other side of the curtain. Had Eric walked through the curtain, he would have collided headlong into someone's back.
"Told you so," James said smugly. Eric was about to turn around and leave quietly when he heard people talking. Whoever was talking did so faintly. He must have been speaking to a small crowd without a megaphone. Eric caught some words, like "the" "and" "groups" and "helping", but concern arose when Eric heard the words "dimension" and "End" both seemingly in the same sentence.
Dwelling hard on any possible consequences on what he was about to do, Eric rolled up the left sleeve on his Ninj4 sweater, staring at the wristband he snuck out of the house. Eric wasn't sure why yet, but it allowed him to change into the body of the late James McCloud. Being old, it wasn't that strong, but James had skills in his day, and Eric had discovered firsthand just how much more potent many canine senses are in comparison to human senses.
He tapped the button on the band twice and instantly a slightly warm fuzzy feeling enveloped his body. Mild, yet sharp pain started in the tips of Eric's fingers as claws grew. Stooping quickly, he untied his tennis shoes with morphing hands as fast as he could before his the changing feet and claws would rip them apart. Another sensation that Eric was still getting use to resembling a three-inch-tall drunken midget climbing out of his face as his head stretched to accommodate a canine muzzle while his ears migrated to the top of his head. Eric stood back up, all changes complete. He turned his new hearing to the room, where things could now be clearly heard.
The door to Uncle Sam's room opened silently as Sarah's eyes were adjusting to the darkness. It wasn't very difficult to find something; on the other side of Sam's bed, a briefcase was poking out from underneath the covers, and the way the sheets were tucked under the bed exposing more of the briefcase signified the owner wanting it found. It was even unlocked.
Sarah turned on the lamp lying on top of the dresser and started ruffling through the contents. Most of the papers appeared to be production notices, but one stood out.
"Eric,
A warning. You may not understand this, but there are a group of people out there who belong to a huge organization called 'The End'. The person who you believe to be my fiancé has merely been assigned to accompany me in the scouting of this universe. For, you see…" Here, the note went into a long, detailed description of how there are different dimensions. Already knowing of other dimensions, Sarah scanned the note to more information of relevance and continued reading. "…And Tina is from one of the other dimensions in which humanoids live.
I want out of The End. But Tina doesn't, and I don't dare step out of line; for she is in a much higher position than I. Penalties for disobedience in The End are… extreme.
Three years ago, The End attempted subtle manipulation of a world people might recognize here as home to the Star Fox heroes. They revived two main antagonists to take over the galaxy there, but were stopped by a human. I don't know what to say; entirely: Tina believes that the fur's presence here leads her to believe that YOU were involved in The End's failure three years ago. Now, they are attempting full-blown invasion of that world. The End has stepped too far; they seem to believe that by annihilating that galaxy, they'll save it. I don't know…
Sam."
Sarah stared at the note and reread it several times. One thought definitely rang through her mind. If this… "End" was indeed here, and Tina and Sam were involved… she started flipping through more papers. It seemed like whoever these people who Sam was talking about had a small hand everywhere… but especially in the Star Fox world.
"Vixy?" Sarah asked.
"Yes?" She responded.
"We're finally going back to the Star Fox world. I have a bad feeling about things that are going on there…"
"You don't say…" Vixy muttered sarcastically, having seen everything Sarah saw.
She scanned Sam's note again, and was brought back to reality that Eric had gone to where Tina and Sam were. Putting everything away and turning off the light, she went downstairs and picked up the cordless phone, dialing Eric's cell phone number.
She had to warn him.
"…efforts in the Star Fox place has ransacked the dimension!" Eric heard someone shout. "It's in even worse shape than when we first invaded, sir, and I'm wondering if we're taking the wrong course of action here." A woman's voice.
"Missus Irrera, I understand how the necessary measures have concerned you regarding the current status of your home plane, but understand, when we are finished, we will fix all the damages." A male voice speaking with a slight Britain accent and half an octave lower than normal.
"And what are your plans regarding this world, sir?" Another voice came in."
"The rulers of this world are unfit for rule. When our other projects are finished, it is our desire to turn our attention here." This didn't sound very good. The sound of a heavy door opening and closing. "Ah, commanders Mordrer and Kharmouin are here. They will take over where I have left off."
"I brought booze!" a somewhat high-pitched voice yelled. Cheers of morale echoed through the room, and in the midst of it all, a groan of discontent.
"Oh, come on, Mordrer. Please?"
"No." Even speaking softly, the voice boomed.
"Please?"
"No."
"Not one can? Not one smile? Not one-"
"No."
"Wow, man. You ain't-" He paused. A few other people were heard asking Kharmouin things like, "What're you seeing?" Then, Kharmouin muttered, barely audible even to James' superior canine ears. "Something's not right…"
The clatter of footsteps and other noise permeated through the room, as Eric let James' superior training take over; Eric's fear was getting the better of him. The one called Kharmouin's voice spoke out, and instantly the entire room was silent.
Cutting through the room came a beeping rendition of Escape from Disco Mountain. Eric scrambled for the cell phone with which he was getting a call.
"Would you be so kind as to open the curtains behind you, Orion?"
