Restart

Dangling on the brink of revealing her darkest secret, Dotty could not find the courage speak at first. So much effort it had been to keep it all contained and controlled within herself, and the fear of what would happen if she told him unsettled her. How would he react? Would he finally understand that this charade was not all of her making? Or would he shun her for everything she hid from him?

Lifting her face to meet his gaze evenly, she squeezed his hand tightly. The bandages made it awakard to clutch it but she held on with all her might, and that was more painful than her infection could inflict upon her.

With or without Tyler she was going to get through this.

"You did this to me," she whispered, swallowing hard as the words passed from her lips. "You and your rockhood."

~~~~~~

Smiling with more comfort, May Jane stood and made room for him. "Would you like a blanket or more comfortable pillow?" she asked, her motherly instinct from years of taking care of John Luke kicking in at full throttle. Without waiting for an answer she began to look around the room for something to keep Chase comfortable.

~~~~~~

"Can't see," John Luke mumbled, blinking as he started to realize he didn't have his glasses on.

Restart

Ty's frown deepened. "How did I . . . Dotty, what are you talking about? I don't understand!" His hand was beginning to lose circulation, but he ignored it for the moment. He couldn't remember the last time Dotty had held his hand willingly.

----

Chase moved down so he was lying on his back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling.

"There's pillows and blankets in my room," he said, hoping it wasn't still a mess from the week before. "Second door down the hall to your right."

----

Layla grinned slightly and picked up John Luke's glasses, sliding them carefully onto his face. "There, is that better?" she asked, folding his trunks under her arm so she could pull him up into a sitting position.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

A (slightly) Less Normal Life

Aaron ran up to the steps of the house and took a quick glance around. Seeing nothing he banged on the door, still hoping that someone was still awake. They were.
"Aaron?" Thomas asked as he opened the door to see his harsh features."What are you doing here?"
Not waiting for an invitation Aaron rushed into the house and slammed the door behind him.
"Get your rifle and set off the torch," Aaron commanded, clearly not in the mood to debate the issue. "Have you got a roll of bandages somewhere?" He asked while walking into the kitchen.
"What's going-"Thomas began to ask before he stopped short staring at Aaron's hand. "What happened?"
"Farm 27 was attacked, they got out before the owners could activate the fence. They called me asking for assistance, so I ran over there with my rifle and pistols. By the time I got there. They were all dead, I barely escaped with my own life," He explained holding up his hand with a deep gash running from his elbow to the wrist, covered in blood.
"Oh no," Thomas said reaching into one of the cabinets."The torch is on the top of the barn, their are some matches with it," Thomas instructed to him as he found what he was looking for. "Take this," he said tossing him a roll of bandages.
"Thanks," Aaron said heading out the door towards the barn.
"I'll meet you outside," Thomas called out as he went upstairs.

Restart

Ty sighed. "Is that what you were doing at the newspaper office? Dotty, I said you should have come to me with this. Let me take care of it. I would have, you know."

Turning away her face face, Dotty's eyes slowly closed as she released his hand, practically pushing away his consoling as she pulled her arms up to cross over her chest. The unison of preforming both actions held an air of resignation, and also resistance. "Now see, that's where you don't understand," she said in a quiet, firm voice.

"I-I . . ." She took a deep breath, grounded her teeth together, and batted a hand at her wet eyes. She had to remember he was asking for this. "I was trying to protect you. "

~~~~~~

"Nope!" Chase said with a grin. "I'm as snug as a bug in a rug. Though we could watch a movie before dinner, if you want. Our DVDs are down there." He pointed to a cabinet underneath the TV.

"Are you sure you're up to that?" Mary Jane asked without thinking how that sounded. She glanced at the TV, thinking they didn't have any movies that weren't heart-thumbing action movies. From her experience with John Luke getting headaches from watching those kinds of movies, she feared it might not be a good idea to start watching a movie that could bring on another one of Chase's attacks.

~~~~~~

Layla sighed and shook her head, deciding to stop questioning Shane and just go along with whatever he was planning.

"Apparently I have no imagination," she told John Luke. "What do you think of that?"

Although Layla's tone seemed to be in jest, John Luke frowned disapprovingly, an unusual thing for him to do, at the remark. "Not stupid," he told her in an authoritative tone, as if to correct and reprimand her for saying a naughty word. He held the deep frown for a moment, his forehead beginning to crease in concentration of his objection, but then out of the blue, a grin and giggle dissolved his uncharacteristic censure.

"Layla pret-tee."

"Uh-oh, watch it, nanny," Shane warned as he left them and went to his room. "Johnny Lu is getting a crush!" He laughed at the notion and the laughter carried its way to the living room even as he closed his door and started to change.

Restart

"What?" Ty asked blankly. "My fame doesn't touch you, Dotty. Sure you got your picture in the paper, but if it bothered you, you could have just told me. I would have gotten them to take it out. I have friends in high places and all that."

----

Chase grinned. "Just pull the blanket down to cover my feet. That's what everyone usually does. Don't seem to mind if my chest gets cold as long as my feet are warm. Don't quite get that logic, but whatever." He shrugged his good shoulder.

----

Layla looked at the surfboard skeptically. "You know there aren't actually any oceans with waves around Ditto Town," she pointed out carefully.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Restart

Dotty shook her head firmly. "No, I already tried that," she said hoarsely as her tone grew distant. "It was too late. . ."

~~~~~~

Mary Jane smiled slightly. Although she wasn't satisfied with the compromise, she did as Chase instructed, because it was what he wanted.

"Would you like anything else?" she asked as she tucked his feet in.

~~~~~~

Shane lifted an eyebrow curiously. "Who said anything about surfing?" he asked, but then a knowing grin surfaced, "Ahh, no sense of imagination. I get it."

He laughed as he picked up his board. "Don't worry, nanny, we'll fix that," he said as he carried the board and placed it in the hallway.

Restart

Ty sighed. "Is that what you were doing at the newspaper office? Dotty, I said you should have come to me with this. Let me take care of it. I would have, you know."

----

"Nope!" Chase said with a grin. "I'm as snug as a bug in a rug. Though we could watch a movie before dinner, if you want. Our DVDs are down there." He pointed to a cabinet underneath the TV.

----

Layla sighed and shook her head, deciding to stop questioning Shane and just go along with whatever he was planning.

"Apparently I have no imagination," she told John Luke. "What do you think of that?"

P.S."Brooklyn!'

A (slightly) Less Normal Life

Aaron ran all the way to the barn, and not bothering to unlock the gate, jumped over it, then ran inside and up the stairs. He quickly felt around for the latch and once he found it, he swung it open and climbed up on the roof of the barn. Being careful not to fall, he ran over to bales of hay (safely secured on the roof), and searched around for the matches until he found them. He quickly struck one and tossed it onto the hay. With any luck someone will still be awake to see it. He thought grimly. He started to go back down and get off when he looked up and stared in shock as he watched a fire set off in one of the nearby fields. "Oh no" Aaron whispered under his breath as he started down the hatch to warn Thomas.

What am I doing here? James thought to himself while trying to get a bearing on his surroundings. That's right, that was it. He'd gone over to John and Lisa's house to ask if he could try and work on their broken tractor so he could get it fixed in time for crop season. But when he'd gotten there the house was empty. So he went outside and looked around for them. Then he saw, them. Those, things. From what James had heard from others, they used to be farmers, just like everyone else. Then when the K1k virus came the farmers tried to make some sort of vaccine to protect themselves from it. Somehow it backfired and deformed them until they became animals, not humans. Then they started killing everyone and everything they could. So farmers, faced with no other option, began killing and locking them up. John and Lisa had been some of the brave few who dared keep them in their farms, in a few barns with electrical wiring around them just in case they got out of the barns. That's what just happened to them, a great amount of good that fence did for John and Lisa. James thought grimly. Right after James had seen them, the "beasts", (as they were called) went after him. James hadn't needed any more encouragement than that to get out of there. He took off running, and as he was jumping over the fence he was shot in the arm by a bullet. Desperate though, to save himself he kept on running not even bothering to look back and see if they were still chasing him. After a while he finally collapsed from exhaustion and blood-loss. He tried to keep crawling but he couldn't move. Then, slowly his eyes shut and he strained to get one last look of the night sky. Because it might be the last thing he ever saw, he thought as he gave way to sleep.

A (Slightly) Less Normal Life

"Siiiiiiimmmooonnnn," a female voice whined from inside the crypt. "I was having a lovely nap and then you opened the door and let the nasty light in. Close it, darling. If I don't get my sleep, I shant be beautiful anymore."

"Oh, you naughty boy," Miss Lucinda said reprovingly. "You just stop thinking like that right now. My blood would boil in your mouth and the child is actually a Tibetan thunder goddess. Not a drop of real blood in her. She just likes to pretend to be mortal for the fun of it. Now the proposition I came here to make is simple. You work for me as I strive for godhood and in return I supply you with all the blood you need and keep the Slayer from killing you."

-----

"It was given to me by one of the last High Kings of Ireland. It has been enchanted with every anti-Dark spell I could find. If anything will kill a shinigami, it will," Moira said, beaming down at the sword in much the same way new parents look at their infant child.

"So I guess you're going to make me stay in here again?" Pandora asked, looking depressed.

"Pan, you really don't want to come. I know you can handle yourself in a fight, but we're not dealing with humans here. You're no match," Malcolm said, trying not to hurt Pandora's feelings, but failing miserable.

"Malcolm's right, Pandora. If Jack weren't so dangerous, I would let you come. But he is dangerous, very much so. I want you to lock the store up once we leave. If someone tries to break in, lock yourself in the kitchen and activate the time lock.

After all of this, the normally timid Pandora looked rebellious.

"They're just kids! Why do they get to go?" Pandora outright whined.

Moira raised an eyebrow and looked at Pandora skeptically.

"Dear, they're the children of gods. Of course they'll be a good asset in a fight."

A (Slightly) Less Normal Life

Katie opened her mouth to ask what a Tibetan thunder goddess was, before she closed it quickly, thinking better of it.

Simon looked pained as the voice drifted out from within the crypt. He scowled at Miss Lucinda and the Piper's Child for a long moment before sighing.

"Well, it's a better deal than we're getting now," he said before turning to look at whoever was inside the crypt with him. "Darling, some nice people are here offering us a job. They say we'll get blood and no Slayers. What do you think of that, sweetheart?"

----

Nikolas could not help smirking slightly at Pandora's distress, but immediately straightened out his features when Hero gave him a look.

Peter awkwardly patted Pandora's arm in an attempt at sympathy.

"Sorry you're missing out. But it'll probably be boring anyway."

"Yeah, because fighting monsters and having near death experiences is not fun at all," Nikolas muttered.

"Oh hush," Hero said, fingering her wristwatch anxiously. "When do we go?" she asked Moira, her ADHD making her grow impatient.

----

"Sure is taking them a while," Caeden murmured to himself. "I wonder if everything's okay. . . ."

"Everything okay with what?" Jones asked suspiciously.

"Oh . . . nothing." Caeden flushed. He had not realized he had been speaking out loud.

"You know I don't like it when you keep secrets, kid. Makes me antsy."

Caeden grinned. "Don't worry, old friend. Your wallet is safe in your pocket. Your shoelaces on the other hand . . ."

Jones looked down quickly to see his shoelaces tied together. He scowled up at his young companion, but a smile threatened to turn the corners of his mouth upwards.

"When did you do that?"

Caeden shook his finger at Jones as though the man were a naughty child. "A magician never reveals his secrets, to borrow the old cliche." He snickered into his cup, but glanced once more at the door through which Ana and the stuffy Master had gone.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Its 1815 AES... three hundred years after the Green Lanterns have asigned Dittotopia its first Green Lantern and since then great peace he reigned over the Galaxy… And as you all know; corruption flourishes in times of peace. Of course, when on Dittotopia one name comes to mind when anyone mentions corruption; the Ditto Monstropolis Senate.

Three hundred years after the Green Lanterns assigned Dittotopia its first Green Lantern, the senate has taken over the whole of Dittotopia and purged the Jedi order, drove the Maximals off planet along with the Green Lanterns and disbanded the Fountian Fellowship.

The Return of the Fountian Fellowship

Rachel looked over her shoulder. Sure enough, she was being followed. She tried to act as if she didn’t know that they were there but to no avail. After several turns and detours to lose them, she panicked and began running, prompting her pursuers to follow suit. No matter how fast she ran, she couldn’t get away. Eventually, she took a turn into an alleyway, but found her escape route had become a trap. The team of Monstropolis Elite Super Soldiers had got her, now she would die a slow and painful death. As the men approached, the young woman stood up tall, waiting for the fatal blow.

A white lightsaber was drawn, and a figure jumped from the roof top down into the alley. The first swing of the lightsaber cut through one of the men, and the back swing dispatched another. The figure back flipped over another man, turned around and decapitated him. He then turned off his lightsaber and Force-threw the last man into a wall. Walking over, he pressed the hilt against the mans head.

“Go back and kindly tell that Senate of yours that the heart of Dittotopia still beats… Go before I change my mind,” he said, and pulled the lightsaber hilt from the scared man's face. As the soldier ran away, he smiled kindly at the woman.

“Miss, if you ever need help, just call” he said, flipping her a comlink before Force-jumping back onto the roof and away.

Hamlin
Caden met up with them on the trail an hour later, a deer slung across his horse and him leading. "Listen" he said "I found a short cut that will save us half a day. He said as he took the deer off his horse and said "You two may want to turn around if you arn't used to this"

Hamelin

"Shortcut? You know which way the Piper is going?" Olivia said, jumping to her feet. Then she saw the deer, its eyes staring, tongue limp. "I'll just be over here," she said, with the undertone of someone who is about to throw up.

She didn't throw up, but stood several feet away while Caden gutted the deer.

A (Slightly) Less Normal Life

"Cold be heart and hand and bone. Cold be travelers far from home," the female voice intoned eerily from inside the crypt. "They do not see what lies ahead, when Sun has faded and Moon is dead."

For once in her life, Miss Lucinda appeared to be flustered.

"Is she ... okay?"

-----

"Now is as good a time as any," Moira said, buckling the sword scabbard on.

-----

Jack stood on the roof of the building across the street from the bakery, staring down inside at Moira. He could feel the hair on the back of his borrowed body's neck rising as he saw the magical energies swirling around the banshee's blade. He wasn't afraid of much, but that blade was going on the short list.

-----

"Perhaps if you were actually a Jedi you would be included. But you aren't, so go back to bullying dwarves or whatever it is you ruffianly types do for entertainment," Master Vendar said and swept past Matthew with all the haughty grandeur he could muster. Ana trailed behind, looking like a women on the way to the electric chair. She closed the door behind them and leaned on it, half expecting to hear the sounds of someone attempting to eavesdrop.

"A servant of the Dark Side walks amongst us," Vendar proclaimed dramatically. "I have sensed his presence on this world and that of some sort of artifact. We must act at once to foil his no doubt dastardly plans."

"Yes, I already knew that. Why do you think I'm down here, drinking with the port workers? That kid, he's apart of the Sith's crew. I'm trying to win his trust, trying to find out what he's up to."

"Why would you bother with such subtlety? It isn't your usual style. I believe explosions and blaster fights and other barbaric acts of violence are your forte."

"Once upon a time, I was a bounty hunter. I was good at it. So yes, violence comes somewhat more easily to me than to other Jedi. But that doesn't mean I don't understand the need to be cautious. If we rush in, guns a blazing, we'll most likely have to kill the crew. They're devoted to their captain. So unless you want the deaths of several more or less innocent mundanes on your hands, you'll let me do things my way."

A few minutes later, Vendar and Ana exited the room together. Vendar left the bar and Ana strolled back up to the bar and continued her drinking.

A (Slightly) Less Normal Life

Katie felt a shiver run up her spine. She rubbed her arms as goosebumps prickled the fine hairs.

Simon seemed to be the only one unaffected by the creepy passage. "Eh, she's a bit under the weather, so to speak. We'll do your little job, but I demand immediate payment. I haven't eaten in three days and I'm hungry." He looked down at Katie and his face morphed into something from a nightmare. Yellow eyes leered, the forehead protruded grotesquely, and sharp fangs glistened in a half-open mouth.

"So--very--hungry."

Katie yelped and hid behind Miss Lucinda, wishing she was a Tibetan thunder goddess.

----

"Great, let's go." Hero headed for the door, pulling a tube of lipstick out of her pocket. When she uncapped it, it transformed into a spear, it's bronze tip gleaming with poison.

Peter followed closely, uncomfortable standing next to Moira with that strange sword, for some reason. He got out his pocket knife and flipped it open. It extended into a short, bronze sword. He kept his other hand on the hilt of the regular sword at his side.

Nikolas swung his Stygian iron sword to rest it on his shoulder. "Do we even know where we're going?" he asked.

----

Caeden jumped to his feet as soon as he saw Ana settle back down at the bar, relieved that she appeared to be in one piece.

Jones watched him skeptically. "There a fire in your britches?"

"I . . . thought I saw someone. Be right back!" As the boy darted off in the direction of the bar, Jones received a call on his comlink.

"Yeah?"

"Enjoying yourself?" a cool voice spoke from the tiny speakers

Jones instantly sat straighter, his eyes scanning the building. He knew it was unlikely the Captain would be calling him if he was inside the pub, but one never knew with the Captain. "We finished loading the supplies and were taking a break. You want us to head back now, sir?" It always felt weird when he called the younger man "sir," but he also knew the Captain had earned it.

There was a pause before the voice spoke again.

"No, get some rest. We leave in the morning."

As soon as the Captain clicked off, Jones sent a message to all the crew members, telling them what the Captain had said. Then he shot an additional message to Caeden, telling the kid to bring him something else to drink.

Caeden ignored the beeping comlink on his belt as he approached Ana. He sat down next to her and grinned.

"I don't see any blood. Either you're extremely good at killing without a mess, or you didn't fight it out."

P.S."Brooklyn!"

A (Slightly) Less Normal Life
Matthew seethed over his cup till Anna came back out of the room and sat back down at the bar, "Well then I'll have to find a dwarf to beat up on" he said. Then stood up and ran to catch up to the leaving Vendar. as he exited the bar Matthew grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, and then he sent a fist flying at his face.
---
Kale glanced around then motioned for Scrappy to come with them. She flipped her lightsaber hilt around a bit. What was with the cosmetics and pocket knifes that turned into random weapons? Oh well, she'd seen stranger things.

Scrappy's dome opened up to reveal a revolving blaster.

"Not yet you idot!" Kale said and kicked the droid who beeped and hid the blaster again.

Hamlin
"I know which way he went, he followed the path for the most part, then cut off and went north" he said "I know a path that will intercept his direction he said as he gutted the deer "Do you think you could start a fire?"

Return of the Fountain Fellowship
Eight years earlier… The Maximal City… Six Jedi boarded Space Case, on the ground a you boy stood next to an older Jedi who placed his hand on his shoulder his sister left with the Maximals as the fled the planet. The man next to him turned and guided him away.

He slid out from under the bed to see his ancestor David Benedict in a force ghost form. He stood up and dusted himself off. The image faded to black again, this time he dodged a lightsaber before blocking a strike. He was fighting against a lightsaber force controlled by David.

Cale woke up as he alarm clock began ringing, breathing hard. He groaned and got up to get ready for work.