It wasn't till I actually heard the whirling blades of the helicopter that I started to worry.

It had been a long time since I'd needed to worry about traveling by mortal means. The subordinate races to the Goa'uld tended use either technology of Goa'uld make or to use more primitive methods of solving their problems that weren't affected by magic. Sure, in Chicago I'd spent most days walking on eggshells to try and avoid computers and the like. Heck, I'd avoided ambulances like the plague for fear of overloading something important and life-saving.

So it wasn't till the actual Russian Helicopters arrived that I started to worry. I mean, I was causing problems with technology before I'd gotten a godly boost of power. Getting into something that would be hovering thousands of feet above ground felt… ill advised. Hell's Bells, I can kill a copier at fifty paces - and that has to be less of a machine than a helicopter. "Shit. This… this might not be a good idea."

I must not have been doing a good job of hiding the discomfort on my face as Enlil look one look at me before going into a tirade of Babylonian swear words. Ammit snorted and slapped him on the shoulder bracingly. "It's not that bad."

"The hell it isn't." Enlil tugged at his beard. "We drop from orbit - nothing. We fight an army of vampires - nothing. We start a war with the King of Dragons - nothing. A Lord of Outer Night eats a decent part of him - Nothing. Those things show up," he pointed to the ugly Russian helicopters as they descended to the ground, "And now he's suggesting that this might be ill advised? Exactly what are those things Warden?"

"Flying machines of mortal make." I replied unsure if I found it comforting or alarming just how old the machines appeared to be. "They tend to be unreliable in my presence."

The Russian soldiers were already embarking into the flying machines, strapping themselves into the seats lining the walls with seat belts that barely felt sufficient to protect someone getting into a low speed car crash, let alone an aerial drop. The Colonel waved me to the back of the massive helicopter. "Are you coming or do you plan to walk to Verkhoyansk?"

"How old is this helicopter?" I asked in Russian, hoping that my childhood memories of Rambo weren't failing me.

"It is perfectly safe, there is no need to doubt Russian Engineering." The Colonel asserted, almost defensively.

"So 80's?" I looked at Kincaid.

"Try 70's." The mercenary replied, his eyes traveling across the rotors. "But it looks relatively well maintained."

"Sure," My brother snorted. "It looks like the pinnacle of Aviation prowess. Truly something to behold."

"It will suffice." I nodded, leading my cadre up the ramp and into the belly of the helicopter. The idea of getting into a flying machine of mortal make wasn't thrilling, but I was more confident about getting into something a bit more seasoned. The more complex a machine became, the more that magic seemed to mess with it. This beast might have been thirty years out of date by modern military standards, but that made it more or less perfect for the Wizard on the go. As long as I made a conscious effort to avoid tossing around power, it would probably be safe to ride without causing a crash.

The process of affixing the safety belts was more of an involved process than the Russian soldiers had made it appear to be, and while I was able to arrange my own seatbelt unaided Muminah and Enlil required assistance from the Colonel and Kincaid respectively. It was actually somewhat disturbing the degree of comfort with which Enlil seemed to treat the man who'd been torturing him only hours ago as the Colonel belted him in place. I knew that Enlil wanted the man dead, he'd advocated for the decapitation of mortals guilty of far less deserving offenses.

But he just gave the man an idle glare of contempt as he inquired in the Goa'uld tongue, "Are we picking up these strays as well after we leave the First World? I'm having trouble keeping track of which enemies we've adopted as allies at the moment and which are more of a long term fixture."

"We need them Enlil." I replied firmly, switching languages. "I don't know how to fly this thing."

"The Scribe's warrior seems a more than capable fellow." Enlil replied in Goa'uld, smiling brightly at the Colonel as the man glared back, walking over and strapping himself into the row of seats across from the Goa'uld. The Russians had all elected to sit on one side of the helicopter, their weapons ready to fire at a moment's notice. "Perhaps he could fly it?"

I blinked. He was probably right. Hell, if we were so inclined I was pretty sure that we'd be able to take the Russians. I don't even think it would take too much effort to convince Kincaid that we'd travel faster without the mortals. But I wasn't ready to start killing people just because it was easier. "That leaves us with a single point of failure. Right now we have several people who can operate this machine. If one of them dies we have replacements. If we limit ourselves to a single option then he becomes important. He can negotiate for better terms. Best not to give him the option."

Enlil grunted - the practicality of it seemingly outweighing his hatred of the Russians.

"Oh quit your bitching." Ammit replied, sitting cross legged on the deck of the helicopter and looping her arm through seat belts on either side of the craft. "At least the chairs fit you."

The rear door to the helicopter actuated with a hiss of hydraulics and a screeching of metal that didn't sound remotely near to as "well maintained" as Kincaid had implied the craft to be. I shot him an incredulous glare and he shrugged. "It's about all you can expect from Russian aviation."

Just peachy.

I closed my eyes as I felt the craft take off, doing my best to think particularly un-magical thoughts as the thunderously loud machine lifted from the earth. I had not been intending to fall asleep while doing so, but sleep overtook me with alarming speed. The combination of repeated dismemberment with mordite and combat with a vampire demigod and taken more out of me than I'd realized. I couldn't recall the last time I'd just dozed off without requiring substantial degrees of meditation or inebriation prior to it.

It is a remarkably odd sensation to be simultaneously both asleep and entirely aware that you're asleep. I floated in a cloud of nothing, bright white lights twinkling in the grey mists as I moved through an endless void. I exhaled in relief, black plumes of starlight puffing out my lips as I did so. This was not the first time I'd fallen asleep to wake up in the void but it was the first time I'd not been all but deafened by the voices.

I could still hear them, the endless echoes of men and women speaking to me in prayer, but they were distant - no longer painful to listen to. A product of not being on Nekheb perhaps? I could still hear a few of them, Muminah's most striking among them. There were, however, more voices than I would have expected to hear. The quiet whispers of men and women sending prayers or trying to summon the Egyptian god Heka were to be expected, as was the connection between their rituals and the vestiges of Heka's mantle that lived within me. If I focused hard I could almost see the various people trying to reach the dead god. They were using the wrong names and spells to reach me but their intent felt like it might be enough for me to reach them were I so inclined.

What I had not been expecting were the outright prayers to me as the Lord Warden. Someone was trying to reach me as me with their prayers. I reached out to the strongest voice, stretching out my arm to the distant mote of starlight within the whispering shadows and cradled it in my hands. The inky black heat of my breath wrapped out and around the starlight and my dream suddenly changed - shifting the endless void of grey shadows into a distinct pattern of shapes and sounds. My dream became someone's reality.

A woman sat cross-legged in front of a household shrine, praying enthusiastically in the Goa'uld tongue. Her house was a collection of some of the most random items I'd ever seen, posters of the West Wing and Star Wars hung with equal reverence next to a wooden carving of Jesus on the Cross and very naked centerfold of Lara Raith doing something that couldn't exactly be called work friendly. I blinked in confusion as I realized that the woman was - while quite obviously a priestess from Nehkeb - not tattooed with the magical markings used by the priesthood. No, she was instead covered with wards - specifically my wards. It was as though someone had taken my household protective magics, turned them up to 11, and then filled in the gaps with gnostic scripture.

And while I had no Earthly idea who this woman was, she clearly knew me judging by the items she'd elected to place at the base of her household shrine. There was a die-cast millennium falcon sitting next to a cigar, a cassette tape of AC/DC, and little paper crown from burger king. I leaned over to pick up the toy millennium falcon and jumped back as the woman crawled back from me on her hands and knees, groveling in shock.

"Oh…" I blinked in surprise. "You… uh… you can see me?"

"Yes my Lord Warden." The woman replied nervously, not daring to look up from the ground. "I had hoped to pray for your guidance but I never imagined that you would deign to meet me in person."

"This is real." I said - more to myself that I was saying it to her as I felt the warmth of the mote still in my fingers. It sounded true to me, though the idea that I would be bilocating felt preposterous. "I am actually appearing in front of you."

"Yes, my Lord Warden." Replied the woman nervously. "I am ever your servant."

My intended reply to that was cut off as a man walked into the room in the fatigues if a member of the Air Force senior enlisted, "Ma'am, is everything alright in here…" He froze, catching sight of me and pulling out his sidearm. "Get on the ground! Get on the ground right now!"

"Siler, no!" Pleaded the woman, holding up her hands protectively. "Don't!"

I turned to the still groveling priestess, "Sorry, I have to leave. We can talk later."

Uneager to discover the effects of bullets upon my projected image I reflexively let go of the mote of light in my hands, allowing the space around me to melt back into shimmering nothing. I was convinced that had been real. I had really just appeared in front of that woman. I picked a distant pocket of stars, shimmering brightly against the void, and picked one at random.

The space around me melted again, and I was now elsewhere. This time I actually recognized the scenery around me. I was on Nekheb, in one of the poorer sections of the town. A man was sitting on a bench, looking at a wooden ring and muttering to himself as he did his best to carve a pattern of trees into it. It was more of the dream of trees than the reality of it, Nekheb had few forests from which one might draw inspiration.

"What are you doing?" I asked the man, nearly jumping out of his skin.

"Lord Warden?" The man clutched the ring to his breast in shock, looking from the locked door and closed shutters and back. "How did you get into my house?"

"You asked me to come." I replied, as though it were obvious.

"I - I was just - " The man sputtered. "I mean I just was hoping…"

"I'm going to guess based off that ring that you were hoping that your proposal would go well?" I smiled fondly. "Or that I would make sure that it did?"

"I… yes." The man stammered, clearly unprepared for this chain of events.

"Have you been kind to her? Have you treated her well?" I asked.

"I think so." The man replied. "As well as many, better than most."

"Then she might say yes." I shrugged. "And she might say no. But if she says no, then don't waste time on anger. You'll find the right one for you."

"Sure." The man pinched the bridge of his nose, rubbing at his eyes as though unsure if this was real. "I mean, yes, Lord Warden."

"Cool. Good luck man, I hope she likes you as much as you like her. That's the best anyone can hope for in life." I laughed, letting go of the ball of light and returning to the void.

Two balls of light touched. Two prayers answered, or at least close to answered. How long, I wondered, did it take? Was I summoned in moments? Hours? Was my physical body summoned along with my mind? Fairies were summoned in flesh and blood, not just spirit. Was I like them?

Only one way to find out, I supposed. I reached for the ball that I knew was Muminah and summoned the helicopter into the void. It was surreal to suddenly transplant myself into the room I'd fallen asleep in, especially considering that my body was still in front of me. I reached out to touch my skin, only to realize that my summoned form was a construct made purely from the shadows and starlight that welled in my eyes and mouth. My astral body looked like a living construct of boiling shadow, endless galaxies swirling within me.

"What the hell is that?" Enlil groaned, looking from me to - well, me.

"It's still me, Enlil" I replied. "I'm summoning myself to my followers, answering prayers."

"You chose now to do that?" Ammit barked with laughter. "We're fighting a horror from the ancient war and you're answering your mail?"

"It felt like the thing to do." I replied, looking at the confused Colonel, pointing to myself, and asking in Russian. "How long have I been asleep?"

"About an four hours." Replied the Colonel in confusion. "We still have a ways to go. For now, we are in the middle of the Siberian Wilderness."

"Damn it." I groaned. It had only felt like moments. It might have been a side effect of distance or just a product of how long it took to enter the state of REM sleep required to bilocate, I would have to experiment with it more at a later date.

I stood up straight, sniffing at the air as a throbbing sensation of power came towards me. I knew that power. It was mine. My power was coming towards me. And there was only one place that made sense for that much of my own power to be coming from. I couldn't see it through the closed door of the helicopter, but I knew what it meant.

The Lord of Outer Night was coming towards us.

"I need someone to wake me up." I snarled.

"You're talking to me right now." Replied the Colonel.

"No, my dream is." I snarled. "I need my body awake - now."

Kincaid nodded, elbowing me in the gut and rather unceremoniously breaking the summoning. I huffed out a breath of air as my eyes opened and I stood up from my chair, wrenching open the sliding side portal to the helicopter and sticking my head out to look behind us. Day had turned to night, and through the twilight I could see a looming cloud moving against the wind at an unholy speed.

"That's going to catch us." Kincaid stated.

"Before killing and eating us." Ammit agreed, querying in broken English. "Is this craft armed?"

"No," Replied the Colonel in his own accented English. "Flares, but no weapons. I was not expecting a war."

"Can you get more planes?" Asked Thomas nervously as the sky turned black behind us and filled with the buzzing of millions of ensorceled insects. "Shoot it out of the sky?"

"We aren't near any bases I'd dare contacting. The connections your people had with the previous government leave certain elements of the current structure… dubious." The Colonel shook his head. "If we believe that this craft will be overtaken, we do have a failsafe onboard."

"Do… do I want to know?" My brother inquired nervously making eye contact with me, the phrase "failsafe" ringing with a uniquely ominous tone in the Russian Colonel's clipped tones.

"We are in the Siberian Wilderness. If I need to activate the failsafe we should be able to eliminate the threat of that creature with minimal fallout to civilians." The Colonel patted a silver container beneath the row of chairs upon which the soldiers were sitting. "It will require some explaining on the part of our government, but a Chechen group has been chosen to take responsibility for the use of the device."

"Holy fucking shit is that a goddamn nuke!" I screeched, moving away from the box as far as I dared - trying to get as much space between it and me as I could. I didn't want to know what affects my magic would have on a device that sophisticated. Hell's Bells - now I had to worry about using even minor defensive magic or I might set that thing off.

The Colonel grinned, holding up what I presumed to be the detonator. "I was not going to allow your kind access to my country without an appropriate counter-measure to any potential misdeeds."

"This is not how you make friends Colonel!" I hissed between clenched teeth.

"I am a patriot, not a politician." The man shrugged. "I would rather die for Russia than allow it to fall to monsters like you or that thing."

Kincaid seemed unbothered by the presence of the nuke. "How long of a timer is on that device?"

"Irrelevant." The man scoffed. "We would not escape the blast radius."

"Not on Earth, no." Replied the mercenary. "I was hoping to be elsewhere when it went off."

I blinked, realizing his meaning. "You want me to take an entire helicopter into the Nevernever?"

"Well that depends on if we can activate the bomb or not. That thing could just follow us through it." Kincaid replied, addressing the Colonel directly. "So, how long is the timer?"

"Thirty seconds," Replied the Colonel. "Long enough to make peace with God."

"Is that enough time?" Asked Thomas.

"I really hope so." I replied, swallowing nervously.

I'd taken an entire space ship into the Nevernever when I'd been fleeing Delmak, but that had been powered by the reactor of the aforementioned ship. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to open up a hole big enough for a helicopter in motion but it felt like a better option than either being eaten or dying in a mushroom cloud.

"It's either that or let that cloud get close enough to actually eat us." Kincaid pointed behind the helicopter at the swarm of bugs that had now gotten close enough for me to actually hear it screaming "Blood! Give me more blood!" as though the skies themselves were starving for my flesh.

"Works for me, Ammit, I need that gone." I pointed to the box.

Ammit tore the container from the floor one handed, ripping the bolts out with causal ease and chucking it out the side of the helicopter. The Colonel activated the detonator as I reached out with my hand and did invoked spell to open a way to the Nevernever, forcing open a way with my will. "Aparturum!"

The way opened, but not quite as fast as I would have preferred, tearing a hole in reality that was almost large enough for the helicopter to fit through. With a screeching of tearing metal as the gap in reality, the steel roof of the helicopter separated from the whirling blades - the forward momentum of the helicopter propelling it through the opening I'd cut in reality. I slammed the way shut as the wall of bugs got too close to the helicopter's read for comfort, slicing off the tail and exit ramp as the barrier between the Nevernever and real world smashed closed. The freshly closed way rippled angrily in the open air as wave of radiation impacted with it - presumably the after-effects of a nuclear explosion on the Nevernever.

My whooping cry of victory became a scream of fear as physics carried the crippled helicopter across wet earth and over the sheer drop of a cliff - plummeting us towards jagged rocks.