-Hey, everyone! I wrote and rewrote this chapter several times, but I still don't think I've got the wording quite right. So, if you come back to the story and the chapter seems different, don't worry. I've just done a bit of tidying up on the phrasing, and you haven't missed anything. Major thanks to Korry, who is a good friend of mine and graciously helped me with this story's plot!!! I will be using a ton of his ideas!

Chapter 2: The Office

Charlie felt as if he was being horribly stretched. He harbored a strange limpness in his joints, and felt the feelings of both flight and of a terribly sinking. And there was nothing to be done about it.

It registered in Charlie's brain (a little too late for his preference) that the longer he gazed at the surreal storm raging overhead, utterly entranced by it, that the closer it appeared. It had been so subtle that no one, not even someone with the speed of a bounty hunter nor the keen senses of a wolf, could have noticed it right away; His feet had left the ground.

He was flying… high into the sky. He briefly wondered if the experience was at all similar to Emma's preferred method of travel, but he figured that intentionally transforming into a bird and taking flight was far more enjoyable than being forcibly sucked into a black vortex. 'Wait,' Charlie thought suddenly, 'Why am I so calm? I'm not frightened at all. Everything just feels so… natural. Like this is exactly what I should be doing at this moment.' Judging by the outward appearance of the situation, Charlie figured he should have been terrified. But instead of trusting his eyes, which would have done no good considering the fact that even though he was moving at a mild pace he was still very high above the ground and held no intention of stopping whatsoever by this point, he trusted a very small feeling in the back of his consciousness. It was the feeling that, even though the clouds above looked very auspicious, when he reached them he would find himself in a grand place. And Charlie was always one to trust his instincts. Even though he had never had one quite this specific to the situation; it was the most profound one yet. So, he let go of his attempts at fighting it.

He was only a few seconds from the destination of whatever force was compelled to hold him aloft. Why he wasn't cold or having difficulty drawing breath at this altitude he didn't consider. The only time Charlie's mind had ever felt so distant was the time he had been hypnotized by Manfred, and he realized this situation could be very similar. Someone could have entranced him, made him let go of all his will, in order to keep him from fighting against their ideals. But rather than feeling as cold as Manfred's malevolent gaze, he felt warm. He could almost doze…and he was so close now, so high above the noise of the streets… His ascension abruptly ceased.

If Charlie hadn't fallen deeply asleep by the time he had reached the eye of the storm, he would surely have been blinded by the brilliance of the white light that suddenly flooded the ocean-like sky. Many individuals would see the white light, and all its brilliance, from miles around. None who saw it had seen the storm, because this ostentatious display of purity was far larger and more abrupt with the senses, no matter how dulled by age or naïve from innocence they might have been. When the light faded, the sky was blue and whole once again. Its cheery, cloudless surface was smooth and striated with the bright blushes of dawn. And many a bustling denizen of London was given a sudden surge of hopefulness, with them puzzling as to the source of it. Nothing betrayed the previous presence of darkness, and, as with the gloomy, overhanging presence of foreboding, Charlie had vanished as well.

"This is outrageous! How completely irresponsible of you!"

"Come now, I was merely taking affirmative action in light of our new troubles."

"You don't even have the authority to assume that the Order is having troubles, and nor do I. Or any other members of the direct democratic party for that matter, because we can't hold council to investigate and discuss any supposed threats unless all members are present and accounted for. And you and I are here, cleaning up this latest experiment of yours!"

"It isn't an experiment… though I admit I probably should have given the idea a little more careful planning."

"And you choose now to come to this conclusion? There is a youngling in our domain!"

"He is of our kind."

"I don't care if he is of troll kind; He is too young to be in the Order!"

Charlie could hear two voices locked in an argument. Or, rather, one voice answering calmly to another's outrage. Whose voices they were, Charlie had no idea, because he could not recall having ever heard them before. His eyes were closed and his mind resting peacefully, only slightly aware of his current situation. There were only two things his senses could gather through his current state of drowsiness: 1. He was lying down on a strange stone surface of some kind, and 2. the air around him was strangely still and dry; with not a hint of breeze or moisture whatsoever. 'So unlike that storm,' Charlie thought, feeling quite lackadaisical.

The storm…

Charlie bolted into an upright position, completely regaining all his wits. Now his mind was rushing frantically, digesting all the happenings leading up to that moment. How could he have forgotten? What happened? Why? Where did he-?

He took in surroundings and gasped. He was in a circular clearing completely surrounded by silvery-gray trees larger than that of his eyes had ever witnessed. A fully grown man could not wrap his arms completely around one of the many roots protruding from the soil. From the trees hung cleverly crafted lanterns made from a greenish metal, and they were adorned with many flowing symbols of a language Charlie had never seen before. From them emitted a soft light, of which the source was unidentifiable, though it did not appear to be fire. Most unusual of all these new sights was the exact replica of the Venus de Milo, perched directly across from him in the clearing. What separated this sculpture from the one he had seen in several textbooks over the years was that it appeared whole. One hand was held gracefully by her side, with the lean arm from which it extended slightly bent. The other hand was held majestically aloft, her arm poised high above her head. And in that hand was held… a jar of peanut butter. As if this wasn't enough of a culture shock, Charlie bounded to his feet and took several steps back once he got a good look at the surface on which he had been sitting. It appeared to be a solid gold mummy's sarcophagus. Charlie shook his head with his eyes wide and mouth agape, and thought to himself, 'I've completely lost my sanity.'

The sarcophagus wasn't by far the last of the abnormalities. There were several vases from many cultures and quite a few other strange variations of classic marble sculptures. To his left sat a large stone desk and a small Victorian chair and silk cushion with which to sit at that desk. To his right were dozens of complete suits of armor ranging from samurai to medieval knight. On a mosaic Indian low table sat a bag of yarn and knitting needles next to a blue vase of sunflowers, each bloom of the flower as wide as a person's face.

And then there were the books. Thousands of them were stacked about in no particular order: Hardback, scroll, epic, reference, comic, tragic, thin, thick, recent, and some looked hundreds of years old.

Someone cleared his or her throat. Charlie jerked his head over his shoulder to see two old men looking in his direction. One had a kindly face, and the twinkle in his eyes reminded Charlie of that of his Grandfather Jimmy's. His long white beard was striated with many silver strands, and he wore a long blue robe adorned with many faded, silver stars. Perched precariously on top of his head was what appeared to be a wizard's hat.

The other old man's hair, in deep contrast with his peer's, was black as night. He also appeared to be several years younger and far more short-tempered. His robes were dark green and had the gold lettering on the sleeves Charlie recognized to be in Chinese. The man himself was Asian, and his already narrow eyes had become mere slits due to his apparent irritation towards the situation. The only thing the two men appeared to have in common was that their eyes both emanated with wisdom that far exceeded Ezekial Bloor's both in age and knowledgeable capacity. These men obviously had more years behind them than even Ezekial's impressive hundred.

Charlie's mind was forced back to the present at the sound of the silver-bearded man's voice. The man took a single stride forward, gestured slightly at the clearing in that all three of the party stood, and said very gently, "Hello, Charlie Bone. My name is Mathonwy, and this is General Liu. Welcome to Armeena."

-Longest chapter yet. Hope everyone liked! I promise more after Christmas.

To MONKIY: I have been constantly checking my PM box, but I haven't received any. I would love to collaborate with you!