Hi everyone. I hope everyone is doing well. Heads up for people just now joining us, I post on Friday and Sunday, and occasionally on Tuesday.
MrsFrizzle: Hello. I just want to tell you first of all that I always really enjoy reading your reviews. I appreciate the time that you take on them, and I really like getting the feedback. Before you start to think I'm really awesome, I should probably say that I'm only a half-time employee, I do most of my writing over the weekend, and that I built up a good buffer in the last few weeks of summer. I think that most of your questions were answered in more recent chapters, or are just, you know, headcanon squishy physics stuff... I don't know. I guess the splitting of the party is sort of sloppy, on my part, but I was starting to have trouble keeping track of people, and, in story, I felt that Danny would be trying to get rid of as many people as possible going into a fight, so that he could have more freedom on that front. Does that make sense?
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Chapter 68: Finder and Found
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"We're going to have to go to Walker," said Adrestia, finally defeated.
"What?" exclaimed Alex. "Why?"
"Because, as gross and jerky as he is, he's also the only one who has the equipment to detect material plane objects," said Adrestia. "And, honestly, we're almost out of Earth-space here. I kinda doubt that the Guys in White or Phantom are out of Earth-space."
"What about Technus?" asked Meg. "He's the one who reported this, yeah? He'd wanna help us, and he's the one that's all like, 'beeping!' right?"
"Yeah, but Astraea asked him, and he said that he sold everything to Walker. For, you know, a loose definition of 'sold.'"
"Extortion?" asked Tess.
"He's a bully," huffed Alex. "I've gotta wonder if he was ever a real police officer, or warden, or sheriff, or whatever, or just, you know, a gangster or something."
"Come on, girls," said Adrestia. "Let's not drag this out any longer than we have to."
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Umbra landed silently in front of the Door building. The last vestiges of the GIW in the lair were waiting there, by the Door itself. They had Jeremy. Umbra would take him back, now.
He donned invisibility, and stepped into the familiar building, one hand on his sword.
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"So," said Mirror, lightly, approaching the first man caught, "you're in charge?" He flicked his hand, and the gag came off. The man remained resolutely silent, glaring.
Mirage rolled his eyes. "Really. Don't play noble after trying to kill someone."
"Maybe one of theses others would be more talkative?" The gags on the other men peeled off.
"No?" said Mirage, looking over his shoulder. "That's alright."
"You can just listen for now."
"While I ask questions."
"Why Eurydice?" Mirror paused for a moment. "Why name yourselves after the one who did not return? Where is Orpheus, in all of this?"
"Are you waiting for him to come and save you?"
"We're not telling you anything, ghost!"
"And there's the weak link," said Mirror, turning, smiling, being as sinister as possible.
"Agent Epsilon, is it?" asked Mirage, smiling toothily. "Where is Orpheus? Off chasing another lead? Another group of material- excuse me- real world objects? We know that you have trackers for that kind of thing."
"No. I think not. Nearby, then? Is that what yet waits outside our Door?"
"I'm not telling you anything."
"Shut up, Epsilon!"
"Oh, methinks the lady doth protest too much," Mirage said as Mirror cackled.
"How many?" demanded Echo. He was still half-shielding Danny with his body. "More than you? Twice as many? Thrice? Four times?"
Danny, meanwhile, had been entranced by the sight of the toothy flowers systematically dismantling the soldiers' guns. However...
"Mirror," said Danny, getting the shadow's attention. "Did you tell the others where you were going before you left?"
Mirror blinked, then, with an air of exaggeration, sighed. "I didn't."
"Nor did I," said Fractal, raising a hand to his lips in consternation.
"You should go, then," said Mirage in a commanding voice. He donned Mirror's sinister grin. "I can handle this." The other two shadows exchanged glances, shrugged, then vanished. "Maybe I could make this easier for all of us, if I introduced myself?"
"We know who you are," snapped one of the soldiers.
Mirage tilted his head. "Do you?"
"You're the Phantom. Scourge of Amity Park."
"Protector of Amity Park," corrected Mirage, crossing his legs to float midair.
"This is taking too long," snarled Echo. He raised a hand, and the vines began to stir.
Mirage also raised a hand, but this one was quelling. One sharp-pointed vine paused inches from the back of one of the soldier's necks.
"Monster," accused Alpha.
"You think so, do you?" asked Mirage, vanishing, to reappear in front of the leader, their noses almost touching, "I guess that makes sense, considering that I just tried to kill a bunch of children. Oh wait. No. That would be you." He paused. "You know, I almost pity you," said Mirage, floating backwards. "If you came here with the intention to hurt, to kill, this was always going to be the result. You were always going to loose." He ran a finger along one of the vines that had punctured the agent's arm. It pulsed, and the agent screamed. "Almost. Not really. You tried to hurt people, after all. I can't allow that. I can't forgive that. Not from arrogant things like you. If you had only restrained yourselves, if you had only acted like the human beings you so resemble, I would have let you wander. I would have let you walk. I would have let you stay. I would have let you leave. Not now. Not when you have made such a transgression against my hospitality. Not when you have so threatened my guests. But, if you cooperate, I might still let you live."
Echo hissed. Danny cringed. He didn't like the idea of keeping the agents here, hated it passionately, in fact, but at the same time, he couldn't let them go, couldn't let them be a threat to his family and friends.
"So," continued Mirage. "I now know a lot about you. About Orpheus. There are about three times as many of them, as there are of you, for example. I suspect that they were also the official team. The ones meant to bring those you didn't kill back? That's right, isn't it? The names would make more sense then. The problem with double meanings is that, sometimes, people can read between the lines. But the thing is, that right now, even though I'm saying this, and you're feeling quite a bit of trepidation, you are also feeling... Determination? And... dread, I believe?" He whirled, flitted to one of the other agents. "Agent Theta. Why are you feeling such dread? Such fear? And not of me. I know what that feels like."
"'Off chasing another lead,'" said Danny. "When you said that, it didn't quite match up. That one," he pointed at Gamma, who was imprisoned next to Alpha. "He twitched, I think."
"Oh? Who would they be, I wonder, and where are they going?" He leaned closer to Theta. "I already said that I'm not going to kill you," he said, gently. "I don't even want to hurt you. That one," he jerked his head towards Echo, "is another story, but then..." he trailed off, noting the bite marks on Theta's person. "I think you knew that. I can help you, with him. You just need to help me with this. Don't give him an excuse to hurt you."
"Don't tell him anything," grated Alpha. "That's just a duplicate. He's playing you."
Mirage sighed, standing. "You know," he said, "when it comes to my abilities, I often learn best by doing. But some things, well, some things, you just can't practice. They're too dangerous. Like," he said, raising a hand, a spiked vine following it, "this. With a lot of this, that you see, I'm copying another ghost. But I've never actually practiced this part of it. If I were to do any part of it wrong, then... Well. Someone would die. In this case, you."
"We'll go through you one by one," said Echo. "Until we get it right. Then you'll be ours, to do with as we please."
"Or until someone says something. Out of fear for themselves. Or, maybe even for something even more human." Mirage smiled. "Maybe you could become people again. Surely even you must care for something, for someone. You fought with these, alongside them, did you not?"
"Forget it," said Echo. "They don't love anything. They can't." The vines twitched, jostling broken bones. The flowers snapped and clacked. One vine scraped against the back of Iota's neck, drawing a drop of blood.
"Stop it!" shouted Alpha.
Echo snarled.
"Oh, a soft spot. Don't worry, if you tell, the worst we'll do is keep you."
Alpha bit his lip.
"No?" said Mirage. "Or... You're worried about something else now. Something has just crossed your mind. Something that will happen if you stay here? But you're hoping. You're hoping that Orpheus will come to you? But, you must realize, that if they come, they'll fall into the same trap. They won't stand a chance. And now even more of you are afraid. Of what? What are you dreading? Something hasn't gone according to plan. Something that you wouldn't be worried about if you weren't here. If you weren't... You've been looking at your wrist. Loosing time. You're on a time limit. Does Orpheus leave, then, or... The other one. You have to be gone before the other one is finished. Who are they? What are they doing, that's so important?"
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An agent crossed back through the Door.
"Alpha Orpheus says that Inanna has just passed out of communication range," said the agent. "Has Alpha Eurydice contacted you yet?"
"No, sir," said the other agent.
The first frowned. "He should have. You, Nye. Do you know anything about this."
Jeremy shook his head emphatically.
"Alpha Orpheus says that we should retrieve the other humans as well, if possible," said the first agent.
"That's great," said Jeremy, his smile strained.
"However, he said that we should make sure that all of those who return with us have only the highest opinion of the GIW."
"I see," said the second man, drawing his pistol.
This was enough to drive Umbra into action.
