"Maybe we could go...get ourselves captured by one of his agents?" I wondered aloud. It was a typical author thought, something that I would have one of my characters suggest and then go do. One of those insane suggestions that work sometimes in books.

But as I thought about it, I realized that I was not so keen on that idea. In fact, I didn't like it at all. No wonder I was nervous about meeting my characters, and I didn't want them to know who I was. I regularly sent them off on suicide missions!

"Are you human, Took?" Evory asked. Her tone held a trace of wistfulness.

"HA! Go and get captured by one of the bad guys? No thanks. I've seen the movies and that plan usually goes awry very quickly...." I said to Sweeet as I leaned forward in the armchair I was currently sitting in.

"Are there any wizards or elves that have visions around? They usually have something useful to tell the hero." I said aloud looking around at the elves in the room. "Of course, we could just get some weapons and set out for your Evil French guy's hideout and hope we figure out a way to defeat him on the way there....." I wasn't too keen on my last suggestion, but it was an idea even if it was a rather stupid one.

As I leaned back in the chair, I suddenly realized how hungry I was. I wonder what kind of food elves eat? I wondered as I looked at the ceiling.

"Well, yeah," I replied. "And I suppose you're not?" I hoped that I wasn't breaking some random Dittotopian taboo. It was hard enough being polite on Earth.

"I am a tatterdemalion." Evory said solemnly. "I am one standard month old."

I winced. "Yeah, I don't think it sounds so great myself, now that I think about it."

"I'm not volunteering for getting captured duty," I said firmly. "Sounds like a great way to end up tortured and missing a few vital body parts."

"Sorry, I don't do the precognitivity thing," Drake commented.

"Yeah, getting captured isn't a good idea," I agreed. "But I don't want to fight him either. For one thing, it's just us and I don't know about you all, but the only sport I've ever been into is dance and I highly doubt that will come in handy in a fight."

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, looking down at the papers. "The only thing I can think of to do is try and talk to him, but if he's anything like how I wr--how I um, know of him, he's not the sit and chat type." I glanced over at Drake and the elves. I did not know whether or not they knew where we were from, but I was not about to say something I shouldn't, just in case.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

"I understand, my dear," Limwen spoke softly, as she always did, "But it is a history that has yet to be written, so we cannot help you as much as we could otherwise. You could name practically any other person, and the volumes here or at the Realms would hold an answer for you. But this is your adventure. We are only can offer our assistance."

I bounced from foot to foot.

"Should we go downstairs to consult with...everyone else who didn't come upstairs?"

I sighed and nodded. "They should know what's going on. Maybe once everyone knows, we can vote on what to do next? I don't think I should be the one deciding for everyone." I was decidedly uncomfortable with that idea. I'd never led anything this big and I was not sure I wanted that big of a responsibility.

I made my way toward the stairs, clutching the papers to my chest and wondering vaguely if anyone had figured out who we were up against yet.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Alàtariël nodded, and padded silently down the stairs, the others trailing behind her and Ryan.

"You are very brave to be trying to correct such a problem," Alàtariël said softly, a kind hand slipping into Ryan's arm and guiding her to where the others were. "You have our support, no matter where you go."

Once it was obvious we were going to go and get something to eat (which sounded like a great idea to me), I got up from the chair I was sitting in and headed for the stairs. "What kind of food do Elves eat, exactly?" I asked Lady A as I walked up beside her.

"Is there lembas? I always wanted to try lembas," I said, butting into the conversation.

I laughed at Booky, just because it was something I did frequently enough behind my screen.

"I'm sure if you raid the cupboards, you'll find a little bit of everything," I said to him, then turned to Cor. "It seriously depends on what mood they're in. It is always beautiful. Most likely many fruits and baked items--elves don't usually eat meat." I sniffed the air. "I think I smell Miruvor."

"I . . . could probably stand to eat something," I said, though I didn't really want to. It was hard to think about eating when the character I most feared was in the middle of conquering Ditto Town. Oh yeah, and there was that tiny, little detail about getting everyone home.

"Lembas would be best. I wouldn't have to eat very much then." I didn't feel like I was going to throw up, but then you never knew.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

I perked up at the mention of lembas. "Lembas always sounded good. But not too much--apparently it gets old after awhile." I shifted from foot to foot, wanting to do something, even if that something was merely eating.

"Wouldn't the heroes of Ditto Town know about this Le Loup Noir person?" I asked Ryan curiously, just because the question had been floating around in my mind for a bit. "Can't they deal with him?"

"Well, um, I'm not entirely sure actually," I answered Tina. "I mean, I haven't really written for him before. I mean, I did, but I never posted it. So he really just came out of nowhere. They won't know about him, at least, nothing more than what the elves have gathered here." I looked down at the stacks of papers in my hands. I showed them to her.

"Records of where Le Loup Noir's been spotted before coming to Ditto Town. See? He kinda just appeared a couple months ago, razing cities and towns and villages, seemingly searching for something. The minions that grabbed me earlier mentioned a Sith Artifact, though I'm not sure if that's all he's after." I bit my lip in thought.

P.S."Brooklyn!"