"Drat... and I just came from over there." Ben said with a tired sigh. "I'm Ben. I used to come to Ditto Town a good bit, but I haven't been around in awhile." The fairy girl seemed rather nice, though a bit flighty. Granted most faries were like that... except for the crazy kind, then it was all flighty and none of the niceness.

"Elsa, eh? That's a lovely name. You wouldn't happen to be going to the Mansion party, would you?"

"Ben? How lovely and simple! I might actually be able to remember your name. Names are so dreadfully hard to remember." She scrunched her face up. "Well, Ben, your nose mustn't be as good as mine then to walk away from the mansion in search of cider. However, I'd be happy to lend you my nose by leading you there. Shall we walk?" Elsa gestured to the mansion and began walking, leaving the other girl behind. Girls who did not talk when addressed were rather rude in Elsa's opinion.

"I'm so glad to meet someone who knows how I feel. It's just so unsettling to come back after being away so long. But these parties are such fun. I just can't miss them!" She chattered away, happy to have found a willing ear. "Really, cider does sound lovely about now. I do hope there isn't a line."

"Aww, thanks. Well, I only have a poor human nose and not a fairy one..." Before Ben could say anything further, Elsa was already well on her way to the fountain. Forgot how fast fairies can be...

"Well, Ditto Town used be my "home away from home", so it's not as unsettling coming back. Also, I first came here late, so I'm used to this Square." Ben motioned to Vern to follow him and the girl as they passed the fountain. "I doubt there will be a line. Most everyone seems to be enamored with Lady A..."

Lady Z was getting bored with the company that her sister kept, so she was starting to zone out. Thankfully, she had good ears that allowed her to hear the trail of conversation a few feet away. "Most everyone seems to be enamored with Lady A..."

Lady Z bolted her way over to where Ben and Elsa were talking. Finally, someone to talk to! She threw her hands up in exasperation. "Tell me about it. Lady A's the belle of the ball. The star of the party. The cream of the crop... oh wait. You get my meaning, surely. Anyway, I fully echo your sentiments. I'm a bit jealous of my sister's charms, I daresay. Perhaps we can commiserate her celebrity status together?"

---

Everyone else was unaware of Liam's utter confusion due to his whereabouts. First he had been sleeping. Then he woke up in this... strange place. Furthermore, no one would tell him exactly where he was. Oh, this is just wonderful, he thought ruefully.

Liam's eyes scanned the Square. He noticed a man standing against the wall of the Mansion. That man, whoever he was, looked like a potential candidate to strike up conversation with. Maybe, just maybe, Liam would get some answers.

He headed over to the Mansion before he could second-guess talking to random strangers. He stuck his hands in his pockets in an effort to shrug off the awkwardness, then cleared his throat. "I think I'm here by mistake," he started off, speaking to Zack. "And if I'm not mistaken, it looks like you're a bit disoriented as well."

((OOC: zlcva, I haven't met your characters before, so if there's anything wrong with the way I perceived them, feel free to tell me. ))

"Ah yes, Lady A is attracting most of the attention." She frowned. "I just wish I could remember who she is. All I remember is her name and face." Elsa shrugged. Her attention was diverted from Ben when another girl bounded up to them complaining about Lady A.

"Sister? You two are sisters?" Elsa looked the girl up and down. "Nope, definitely don't remember you. My name's Elsa. What's yours?" Elsa held out her hand to shake. "We're heading over for cider. Would you care to join us? And why on earth should we commiserate about Lady A's crowd? We just have to make our crowd larger." She nodded primly.

Elsa didn't completely understand other peoples' tendencies to complain. She always felt that annoyances should be taken care of in a matter of fact fashion. Spells worked quite well usually.

"I think I'm here by mistake," he started off, speaking to Zack. "And if I'm not mistaken, it looks like you're a bit disoriented as well."

Zack couldn't help but chuckle.

"Trust me, everyone who comes to Ditto Town comes here for a reason. I'm Zack Lawrence." He offered his hand to Liam.

"My friend over there," he nodded in the direction of Zace, "is the disoriented one. This is his first time outside of his home universe. I thought I'd bring him along and introduce him to any of the old gang I run across. You might say I'm a bit of a Dittotopian expatriate."

Zace, meanwhile, stood in the midst of the crowd, quite disoriented indeed. Zack had given him such a sparse preface to this world before they were whisked off by that green glowing guy that he was at a loss. Zace turned to go back to Zack and nearly ran into a clump of people talking about cider and commiserating.

"Uh, excuse me," he spoke up, deciding to be more outgoing than his guide. "Is cider something you drink on this world? If it is, would it be alright if I tagged along?"

"Oh hello! Another new face! My name's Elsa, what's yours?" Elsa was quite delighted to find so many new faces to befriend at this party. "Yes, cider is something you drink that's deliciously hot so be careful not to burn your tongue!"

Elsa looked around at her companions. They didn't seem averse to the newcomer at all. "Please do tag along and it's off to get cider we go!"

Elsa bounded off in the direction her nose indicated completely forgetting to shake hands with the previous newcomer.

"That was weird," Sylvia muttered and continued walking away.

Nathanael nodded and smiled and pretended to be following the strange woman's rambling stream-of-consciousness dialogue.

"A friend of mine actually has a magical artifact something like that. It's a ring though."

"I believe Lady A is an Overlord or Overlady somewhere... I think. Seems like that was her most recent job description." at that moment, Lady Z bounded up complaining about the attention her older sister was getting. "Being a guy and being fine with my loner status, I won't bother with commiserating her social status."

"The names Ben, by the way." Ben said giving a slight wave to Lady Z.

The boundless energy of Elsa was tiring to say the least, but they were finally at the mansion and soon, very soon, would be drinking warm cider. Hopefully, by a giant roaring fireplace with comfy chairs....

Lady A laughed lightly.

"No worries! I am enjoying it quite as much as you. I would love to meet your wife," she said, smiling. "You see, this is my first time really out of my home universe, and I have never met any other travelers like myself. Thus, I am quite interested in comparing notes. Would you mind telling me more about more about your world's theories, and the wormhole? I've heard of wormholes, but they have remained quite elusive."

"That sounds cool...um...oh, bother, I'm sorry," Lady A said to the man. "I don't think I know your name."

Jeddine sighed, she was tired of standing outside in the snow waiting for the scary man with the cape to move. She could now see a Lady who looked quite familiar, with a gasp she recognized her. It was Lady A, and she was talking to a odd looking fairy, thing. "Lady A!" She squeaked in happiness, if her Overlady was here maybe other minions of the castle were as well.

Cautiously she walked towards the gateway and the scary man in a cape. She hoped that he wouldn't see her, she wanted to go find other minions of the castle as quickly as possible, hopefully without talking to strangers, her sister had always been harsh about that. She sipped her coffee which had (thankfully) arrived with her.

Zace sighed happily. At least there's something familiar here, he thought as he followed Elsa, who had rambled on so quickly he didn't have a chance to introduce himself when she asked his name.

"Thanks," he said when she finally stopped. "I'm Zace Nalum, by the way. Nice to meet you."

--

Zack pulled his coat tighter around him as the snow began to collect on him.

"Well, I don't know about you," he said to Liam, "But I'm getting cold. I'm heading inside. See you around."

He quickly ducked inside the Mansion and brushed the snow off his hat and coat. Spotting a fire going in a nearby fireplace, he parked himself in front of it and proceeded to warm himself. It wasn't quite warm enough for his liking, however, since it looked like it had been a while since it had last been tended. Zack reached into his trench coat pocket and pulled out a sonic screwdriver, which had been turned from simple Earth toy to the real thing as a result of his journey to Ditto Town. A quick sonic later, the fire roared to a more satisfactory level.

"Thanks for the welcome. I guess you're right," Liam mumbled quietly as Zack walked away. Then he sat down once again on the edge of the fountain. Maybe he'd figure out what was going on by the power of pure observance.

---

"Sister? You two are sisters?" Elsa looked the girl up and down. "Nope, definitely don't remember you. My name's Elsa. What's yours?" Elsa held out her hand to shake. "We're heading over for cider. Would you care to join us? And why on earth should we commiserate about Lady A's crowd? We just have to make our crowd larger." She nodded primly.

"Yeah, we are sisters. Do we look alike? My mom says we do." Lady Z sighed. "Don't remember you either, but it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Lady Z." She nodded. "Sure. Cider sounds wonderful right about now. I'm quite in the mood for some refreshments."

Lady Z then waved to Ben and Zace, introducing herself kindly. This was one of the first places she'd gone where her reputation had not preceded her. It was nice to have some new friends.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm getting cold out here. Why don't we all go inside?"

"Sounds great to me..." without hesitating, Ben ducked into the mansion. The smell of fresh cider mingled with the aroma of fresh treats and the unmistakable, homey smell of a fireplace. Woohoo! This is going to be an excellent party.

After securing some hot cider, Ben found a rather large chair to sit in by the fireplace. "Doctor Who fan, I see..." Ben said to Zack before sipping some of his drink.

Lady Z followed suit, also entering the Mansion. She glanced over her shoulder, hoping that Elsa would come as well.

As soon as she entered, Christmas cheer seemed to surround her all at once. It was much warmer inside the Mansion, and also very festive. The blast of heat from the fireplace seemed to slap her in the face, chasing away the harsh chill of winter weather. She enjoyed the fire's crackling warmth for a moment, and then looked around the room. "Now, to see about locating that cider-stuff."