A Season of Darkness

Posted on Thu 6th Dec, 2018 @ 4:45pm by Commander Jasmine Collins-Keller & Commander Paul Graves PsyD & Lieutenant Commander Andrew Eberstark & Lieutenant Commander Alora Baro & Khellian s'Siedhri MD
Edited on on Fri 7th Dec, 2018 @ 12:20pm

1,032 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Oblivion
Location: Warehouse 13, Cargo Space 780
Timeline: MD 21, 2330
Tags: Perry, Purulence, Wellington

The old woman turned away from the observers and spoke a word. None of those who heard it could later say what the word was, or even agree on what it might have, sort of, sounded like -- but all agreed that the word was real, in a way that everything else suddenly wasn't; it was as if the 'reality' slider had been turned down to seven, or perhaps even six, in the cargo bay. The parallelograms within the circle began to glow with soft, pure light. Great-Grandmother Addams stepped into the circle, and years dropped from her visage. She straightened, became taller than her descendants, turned again to face the observers.

White light raced around the double lines of the surrounding circle, and Dawn spoke, her voice now young and rich, a pleasing alto. "Please keep your heads and hands inside the bus at all times," she quipped, her young and lovely face showing slight amusement. "Do not at any time cross the white lines. But if you elect to assist me, please, come and gather around the circle; take hands with those beside you. If you elect not to assist, please exit quietly."

"Let's go Jazz." Adam whispered to his wife as he took her hand.

Jasmine smiled. "Down to the circle you mean right?" She gave him a determined look and grinned when he finally heaved a sigh and gave in. The pair moved toward the circle and waited for others to join.

Lanis was already standing as Paul glanced up at him. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Paul asked.

"I saw Chlamydia silently weeping at the Halloween party last year, with no memory of why she wept," Lanis said. "Of course I am sure I want to do this."

"I was fainting at the time, but I remember feeling it in the seconds before it just... faded from Chlamydia's memory," Paul agreed. He let out a sigh, shot Dawn Addams a worried look, but went to the strange diagram on the floor a few steps behind Lanis. The Addams matriarch certainly didn't look old or fragile now, but he still felt concerned. He took one of Lanis' hands, leaving his free hand available to be clasped.

"How fascinating," Khellian commented as he rose from his chair. "I am all for a new experience, especially one as unique as this."

Andrew shrugged as he saw most of the room stay and followed the majority to the circle.

Damion glanced at Elizabeth. "I'm staying. You've an admirable head for looking at all the sides of a problem. What do you want to do?"

"I'm staying. Whatever happens isn't as likely to permanently damage me as it is you." Anderson met his eyes and smiled, "If something bad happens, I'll do the best I can to save us both. You do the same."

Damion smiled back at her and intertwined his fingers with hers. "I live but to serve.'

When everyone present had either joined the circle or departed, the woman at the center began to sing in a language long lost to Humanity. As she sang, glyphs which appeared similar to cuneiform writing, clearly designed to be written with the claws of three fingers and a thumb, appeared between the two rings of the circle. When they had run all the way around, the next ring hung in the air, glowing softly, rippling as if from an unseen wind.

Purulence glanced a bit nervously at the people in the circle. She had met most of them but only briefly and had never done a working of this complexity with them before. She cleared her throat and spoke. "Ladies and gentlemen, this will be a test of your mind, of your strength of will. Once we start, we are committed. Be certain that you are committed to your purpose. The purpose is to restore my sister's daughter to her. If you aren't certain that is what you want to do, you should leave now."

No one left. Purulence shot Ischemia a look, as if to say, Do they have any idea what they're about to get into?

Ischemia shrugged and held her hand out to her sister, nodding at Jade on her other side. "Welcome to my world," she said with half a smile.

Lantz took Ischemia's hand with a smile, quoting one of her favorite Earth literary lines, "Curiouser and curioser."

The jazz club owner held her other hand out to Isabella Perry. "There's plenty of room here, Lieutenant." She noted how the circle was filling in, expanding out, almost mirroring what happened above their heads.

Adam held tightly to his wife's hand. This wasn't his cup of tea but he'd do it for her and he felt confident that the Addams woman wouldn't allow her granddaughter's friends to be harmed - at least not on purpose. His other hand was open to whomever came to stand beside him.

Jasmine was glad Adam had agreed to do this and squeezed his hand back. Her other hand was taken by Lanis Dhuro. She smiled and gave the doctor a nod. "This should be quite interesting. Don't you think?" She asked.

"It's certainly unlike anything I've ever experienced before," Lanis said to Jasmine with a soft chuckle. He glanced at the ring shape floating in the air. "That looks like a gateway, unless I'm mistaken."

Baro looked curiously at it. "That would certainly make sense." She said to Jasmine overhearing the comment from her position nearby.

"Kind of... like the Celestial Temple, only not," Lanis added with a nod at Alora.

"A portal into another dimension," Beck quipped to Wellington, little thinking she could be even remotely correct. "If I go through it, will I still be a captain and you a colonel?"

The glowing glyphs continued to circle and build the spiral higher around the singer, growing more brightly with each word until they flared so brightly the cargo space disappeared. When those present could see again, they stood on a dirt road in a dark wood. Dawn cleared her throat. "My name is not Toto, and we have not arrived in Kansas."

 

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