The Universe's Mixer

Could you call it a stand off? Perhaps. But there wasn't a reason valid enough for what was happening to have such a title drawn about it. It wasn't as if either really could claim ownership of the place over the other. Neither really wanted it to begin with.

The hybrid beheld the sight before him, the phantom that stood at the exact same height, and just watched.

The phantom tilted his head just slightly as he beheld the other version of himself. What exactly had he become? A vampire. That was the obvious factor, but there was something else too. And how had he managed eve to succumb to the disease in the first place? Effie had tried biting him, and he didn't taste good. Like flat soda, he recalled. And he didn't bleed nor did his wounds stay open long enough to contract anything.

So the sight before him was curious indeed.

"How....?" The phantom began.

The hybrid grinned, "It's a long story."

A long story, and so many small details. And Macklyn. A lot of that had to do with Macklyn.

The phantom nodded, still a bit confused.

The hybrid approached slowly and paused when they were close together, the pair standing face-to-face within an arms reach. And Eric did reach. His fingers touched the phantom's hand and instantly the phantom was flooded with all of the story. Every detail and aspect. He was catching up.

The hybrid left nothing out, and when it was done he severed the connection and stepped back to give the other one of himself room to breathe and process.

Leeloo had mentioned "Ben". Now Eric knew Ben to be Macklyn. Their soul mate. But Shelly...? That made no sense and it made all the sense in the world.

Maybe that was why the phantom had felt so lost. He had yet to really claim his place at the side of the person whom he was destined to be with. He was disappointed that it wasn't Leeloo. Eric loved her dearly. Too much, in fact.

That was why Leeloo's scent was in the apartment. The hybrid could smell it. The walls were coated in her perfection, the floors and broken windows. Everything.

But this changed all of it. Changed it completely.

Bran rustled from its perch high on a ceiling beam where it sat next to the other one, the more alive one. That is your path.

That is your path. Follow it.

Maleficent had not left the island for the city beyond the bridge. She had felt no need to do so. Despite the fact that there was very little activity on the side with the dinosaurs anymore - aside from the dinosaurs themselves, of course, she had no desire to explore.

Not just yet, anyway.

Evey's slumber took a sort of precedence over her own curiosity. The girl slept because of her, and even though the fairy queen had put a secure protection spell over the room, she didn't want to risk anybody doing her harm. Maleficent felt that Evey's trust had just barely been earned, and any misstep might damage that. Though she couldn't say why Evey's trust was so important.

Still clad in more modern clothing, Evey walked away from the strange blue box that had once housed the collective. She had gone to observe it and make sure it was still in the place she'd left it, that the sleeping figure inside had gone undisturbed. In the distance, she spied a shock of red hair. There was only one person that she knew of with hair like that on this particular island.

Slowly she moved toward it, not wanting to frighten anyone by appearing too quickly.

"Did you explore over there?" She asked, when she was finally in view.

The crone didn't leave her cabin for a while; she couldn't. She had to make sure it would survive after what the angel had put it through. She didn't rush to her husband, not yet. Now and then she would check to make sure he was still free, within reach - the feeling of distance and unavailable no longer playing along the bond between them.

Once she was certain her cabin was fine and settled at the castle, she started toward the Dracula's castle. She sent an inquiry out to the vampire she shared such a strange bond, the one that had found its way to getting the Viking king and the crone married. She wasn't asking for anything; she wasn't requiring anything. She simply wondered about him, and she felt the need to see him, to put her hands on him and know that he was.

Her destination in the large castle was a library; there were stories there, and she felt the need to find her story again. She felt the need to find the story of angels as well. Angels, demons, vampires. Tradition wanted something; it always wanted something, usually to be satisfied and to maintain the status quo. She needed to know what tradition may throw at them with the combinations. She wanted to be prepared. If she did not find what she wanted among these tomes, she would actually visit the Library, and she would learn more.

It seemed too good to be true. The weather was just about perfect - not a cloud in the sky, not a cold breeze, no fog or rain - perfect. The streets were clean and well-maintained. The buildings were strong and sound. The citizens were content, there were no signs of sickness in the wheels of the government, and as far as she could tell, there weren't any netvors chasing anyone around. The only things that she couldn't explain were the strangely blank people filling in most of the citizenship in the City. There was nothing offensive or disturbing about them, but they were so....

Well. Blank.

Evey'd taken up a table in a downtown cafe, one hand curled around a hot tea. She hadn't had Earl Grey tea in what felt like ages, and Evey wouldn't deny that she was savoring every second of it. But she was also watching the people around her. They didn't seem to be paying her any attention at all, which was strange in itself, given that the City had paid her quite a bit of attention. The apartment - #1406 - just on the other side of the hall from her best friend, the apartment itself that was stocked full of things she wanted or needed, the strange way she'd been guided around the City, as she asked questions to herself. The answers were never too hard to find. The library, the news stand.... It was as if the City were guiding her itself. And, though she was used to overlords being unkind, Evey felt very much that this City was nothing but solicitous.

It was disconcerting. She was ready for the other shoe to drop, but as the days began to spool off, nothing bad was happening to her. It was damned peculiar.

Evey had either caught sight of or found reference to many people from the fracturing world she'd left behind. Every day, she found more people. The one person she wished she could find, however, proved elusive.

It made this cup of tea just a touch bitter. Evey lifted the china cup to her lips and sipped gently.

"Where are you?" she asked the saucer, as she set her cup down again.