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arfic-l-digest        Thursday, April 26 2001        Volume 01 : Number 030




----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2001 06:55:24 -0700 (PDT)
From: Worlds Away <[e-mail]>
Subject: (arfic-l) Worlds Away (Part 34/36)

Title: Worlds Away (Part 34)

Author: M. Bumbarger

Email: [e-mail]

Fandom: New Series Tomorrow People

Rating: PG-13/TV-14

Summary: The Tomorrow People are swept away to a
different world, where they must take up the lives of
their alter-egos and try to find their way home . . .
which won't be easy.

Disclaimer: The Tomorrow People (Adam Newman, Ami
Jackson, MegabyteDamon, and Jade Weston) are the
property of Roger Damon Price, Thames/Television, ITV,
Tetra Television and Nickelodeon. They are used here
without permission, but not for profit. The lands,
countries, customs, deities, and original characters
are mine and mine only, springing from the depths of
my imagination and should not be used anywhere else
without my permission. Please do not repost this to
any list or archive it anywhere else without my
express permission.

Previous parts at
http://www.alternate-realities.net/worldsaway
**********


Chapter Thirty-Four


And the party continued.

Jade noted that even after the bride and groom had
been nearly chased
from the wedding feast, the revelry continued. Not
that Lady Jadina
minded in the least; she was having more fun than she
ever thought
that she could or would have in this time and place.
After receiving
her prerequisite dance from her *husband,* he was more
than happy to
grant permission to any noble who desired a chance to
sweep across the
dance floor with the Lady Jadina in his arms.

Jadina, she discovered, was quite popular. Her
alter-ego had a fair
number of suitors, all of whom had been lined up and
ready to lay down
their hearts and their homes to be married to the
daughter of Lord and
Lady Zentil; but her fate had not been her own to
chose and she had
been given in marriage to Marmion Ruele. Not a slight
by any stretch
of the imagination, when only two Houses in the
Kingdom stood higher
than House Ruele, one of those being the royal House
of Liagora, a
compliment certainly that Jadina of Zentil could win a
place among the
higher Houses. But with that prestige and honor came
sacrifice - the
sacrifice of being married to a man who wanted nothing
to do with her.

She was more fortunate than Jadina in some respects.
Megabyte dealt
with her, and was even willing to be friends with her,
which was more
than her counterpart, had ever had. And although he
had balked at
dancing with her, on each occasion that he had been
forced to do it,
she never got the feeling that his dislike was aimed
at *her.* Rather,
from what Jade could see, Megabyte avoiding dancing as
much as
possible when he had anything to say about it. Of
course, he hadn't
been able to say no to Her Majesty or Princess Tara,
but beyond that,
he remained firmly planted in his seat, laughing and
joking with Lord
Hagen - whenever Lord Hagen was not occupied with the
wooing of some
pretty noble's daughter or another.

As her current dance partner, Lord Triscan, a boy no
older than she
was, but a boy who was already the lord and master of
his father's
lands and keep, having inherited it all when sudden
illness struck his
father dead, returned her to her table, Jade tried
hard to focus
politely on his parting words and to not stare at Lord
Hagen. Not the
easiest task to accomplish considering that Hagen was
the type of man
who seemed to demand that the eyes focus on him and
nothing else.

"He's too pretty to do any woman any good," had been
Lady Margot's
description and dismal of him. "He's a good man to
have beside His
Highness, but he'll never make any woman happy beyond
what can be
accomplished when the sun sets."

To show how entrenched she was becoming in this world,
Lady Margot's
words had made Jade blush.

Still, the knowledge, and the fact that she was
*technically* married
didn't divert Jade's attention from the man whenever
he was present.
But she wasn't alone in that; conversation stopped, or
dropped to
whispers among the women servants when Hagen made an
entrance, and
he'd even managed to get a touch of pink into Lady
Margot's cheeks. He
was a dangerous charmer, but as a married woman, Jade
was in no
danger.

Unfortunately.

"Again, I thank you for the honor and the pleasure,
Lady Jadina," Lord
Triscan bowed to her, raising her hand to his lips. A
gesture that
Jade would have found endearing, and one that would
have put a proper
blush into her cheeks at any other time and place.
However, right now,
she only longed to sit down, catch her breath, and . .
. take delight
in Lord Hagen's company. However much he might never
do any woman any
good, the man had a way about him that made her feel
- -- noticed.

"I thank you, Lord Triscan," Jade curtsied slightly,
giving the young
Lord a smile, "And I do wish you the best of luck with
your wine crop
this season."

"It will be fine, I have been assured. I will have to
send a casket to
Elspera Keep, with my compliments and my good wishes."
Lord Triscan
turned to include Megabyte in his bow, "Thank you,
Lord Marmion. Your
wife's company is refreshing."

Megabyte inclined his head towards Lord Triscan, "It's
a pleasure I am
. . ." there was a momentary pause while Megabyte
glanced over at her,
the briefest of pauses but one that did not go
unnoticed by Jade, "I
am reminded of everyday, Lord Triscan."

[Thanks, Marm.]

[What?] The touch on her mind was light and full of
innocence.

She chose not to answer him and instead settled back
into her seat,
carefully arranging her layers of skirts and
petticoats around her. As
she did so, Lord Hagen leaned forward, a teasing smile
turning up the
corners of his lips. "I daresay there is a bit of a
flush to your
cheeks, my lady. One would think that you are having
too much fun."

Jade reached for her wine cup, heat crawling up her
neck to her face.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she wrapped them
around the cup, and
took a few sips before answering, "Is there such a
thing as too much
fun, my lord Hagen? Isn't this a wedding feast, and
aren't we supposed
to be celebrating?"

"You mistake my words, dear cousin. I do not mean to
complain or
accuse. Red in your cheeks and a smile on your face
are quite lovely,
and," Hagen paused, his eyes cutting towards Megabyte,
but only
briefly, "missed."

"Well, there has been little to celebrate before now,"
Jade reminded
him, then raised her cup to her lips to take another
drink.

"That is where you are wrong. Sometimes, one must not
wait for a
reason to celebrate, but must make your own reasons
for celebration."

"Hagen," Megabyte looked at the man over the rim of
his cup, "don't
corrupt my wife."

"Someone has to, seeing as how you have clearly been
lax in your
duties."

Jade choked and coughed, the hidden meaning and
double-entendre in
Hagen's words not as lost on her as the other man
perhaps had hoped
they would be. The wine cup barely made it onto the
table as she
covered her mouth and pounded a fist against her chest
in an effort to
get a hold of herself.

Her choking and coughing attack drew attention, and
both Megabyte and
Hagen descended on her, doing little more than getting
in the way and
being a nuisance until the coughing fit was under
control.

"I'm all right now," Jade accepted the cup that Hagen
pressed into her
hand and took a deep breath, "I shall try drinking my
wine the next
time and not inhaling it."

"And Hagen will try to mind his tongue." Although
Hagen had returned
to his seat, Megabyte remained by her side, much to
her surprise. Even
more surprising was the feeling of his hand behind
her, rubbing small
circles in her back.

"My deepest apologies for anything that I might have
said that gave
offense to my lady Jadina," Hagen gave her the deepest
nod that he
could while seated, "Sometimes, I do speak without
thought."

"Only sometimes?" Megabyte asked.

"Don't be so quick to throw stones, cousin. I think
that we both know
how quickly your tongue moves without regard to the
words being said."

"And I think --"

[He's baiting you, Marm, just let it go,] Jade 'pathed
frantically at
Megabyte taking note of the slow, mischievous glean
building in
Hagen's eyes, the noble's mouth quirking slightly. She
gripped
Megabyte by the arm for emphasis, her spoken words
meant for both men,
"I thought we were celebrating? I'll be disappointed
if either of you
ruins the mood."

A wide, and blindingly handsome smile broke out across
Hagen's face.
"I fear you have caught me. I should hate myself if I
were to be
responsible for banishing the mirth from your eyes."

[Oh, God,] Megabyte 'pathed at her, his voice heavy
with disgust,
[He's laying it on thick and *you're* married.]

[I think he's charming,] Jade shot back, feeling her
own smile widen
and a bit more pink crawl into her cheeks. "Well, I
shouldn't want to
be responsible for you hating yourself."

[I don't believe you,] The soft, comforting touches on
her back ceased
as Megabyte withdrew and slid back into his seat. He
reached for the
wine flask and began refilling his own cup, [I can't
believe you're
encouraging him.]

[Jealous?]

[Of Hagen? Not likely.]

"My lady, it is too late," Hagen took her hand in his,
"for you see,
you frowned but for a minute and I am already drowning
in guilt."
Hagen raised her hand to his lips, clearly intending
to place a kiss
on the back of it.  The impediment to his good
intentions was
Megabyte's hand, placed over the top of Jade's as he
pulled hers from
Hagen's grasp.

"Weren't you going to ask the Baroness Bachody to
dance, cousin? She
appears unattached at the moment, and it seems she can
not stop from
staring in this direction," Megabyte kept Jade's hand
firmly in his,
despite her sharp tug to free it, "You should act
swiftly lest you
lose your opportunity."

Hagen's head swiveled around briefly before his
attention returned to
them. "And so it seems that you are correct." He stood
and bowed
slightly to them both, excusing himself, his last
words called over
his shoulder, "It might do you well to think upon your
own advice
cousin."

Jade glared at him, and gave another futile attempt to
free her hand.
"No, you're not jealous at all. And you can let go of
my hand now."

He surprised her for the second time that night by not
doing as she
requested. "Once upon a time you would have liked me
holding your
hand."

"You weren't a buffoon back then."

"But, my dear Jadina," Megabyte placed his other hand
beneath hers,
capturing her hand securely between both of his,
"according to you,
I've always been a buffoon." With that, he lifted her
hand to his
mouth and pressed his lips to her knuckles for a
lingering moment.

Only her sense of decorum and etiquette stopped her
from jerking her
hand away and checking his forehead for a fever. She
did, however lean
forward, peering intently at him, [Are you drunk?]

A glimmer shone in those clear blue eyes, a familiar
glimmer, although
it was one that Jade didn't ever recall having been
privy to in all
the time she had known Megabyte. It was that teasing
glimmer of
mischief and teasing that he usually only felt
comfortable enough to
share with Adam or, on the rarest of occasions, Ami.
The sort of
comfortable teasing he never lapsed into with her for
fear of giving
her the 'wrong idea' or encouraging her feelings for
him.

If she doubted for even a moment that her eyes were
deceiving her, the
doubt was banished as a crooked smile that mirrored
the playfulness in
his eyes broke out across his face. [Not by a long
shot. It will take
a lot more than dinner wine to get me drunk,] Megabyte
winked at her,
[Besides, if I got drunk you might decide to take
advantage of the
situation and find yourself another husband.]

While Hagen's innocent words and flirtations had
caused her to blush
like a proper born lady of her station should,
Megabyte's behavior
created an entirely different reaction. A tiny ball of
pure buzzing
energy that she did not want to dare put a name to,
knotted itself in
her stomach and sat there. It didn't sit passively
however; as her
heart sped up a bit and her throat became far too dry,
it unknotted
and re-knotted itself repeatedly.

Jade fumbled for her wine cup with her free hand,
noticing that
Megabyte still held her other one prisoner and
apparently had no
interest in giving it parole anytime soon. She drank a
few swallows of
wine hurriedly, and not trusting herself to speak,
'pathed to him
instead, [Would that be a bad thing? It would give you
the chance to
find another wife.]

[Yes, but I would have to put up with all her bad
habits when I'm just
beginning to get used to yours,] Megabyte sent back,
the words laced
with the familiar warmth and camaraderie of
friendship, but also
underscored by affection, not romantic affection, but
certainly
something stronger than anything Jade had ever
imagined her fellow
Tomorrow Person feeling towards her.

[I don't have any bad habits,] Jade rose to his bait
instinctively,
and immediately gave herself a mental cuff. This was
not the time to
fall back into petty squabbling with Megabyte, not
when she was so
very close of being able to see past what he
projected, to see a very
different side of him . . . which meant he would be
able to see past
what she projected as well.

Out of habitual response and repeated embarrassment
more than anything
else, Jade moved her mental shields in place.
Megabyte's eyebrows
raised at the action, and Jade wasn't sure which part
of what happened
next made her face scald crimson. Whether it was the
knowledge that
Megabyte was aware that she was blocking him, or if it
was his actual
closeness and the way his breath warmed against her
cheek as he leaned
forward and whispered, "Dear Jade, you talk in your
sleep."

The words and his very closeness caused her to blush
even more, and
she would have believed that impossible.

"I do not!" Jade whispered back at him fiercely. "And
besides you .
you snore!"

Megabyte laughed, falling back in his seat, "There you
see, why would
I want to go through all the trouble of getting a new
wife when I
already have you . . . broken in?"

"Oh, so now I'm nothing better than a . well-bred
horse?" Her hands,
both of them, were free now, and she used one to shove
him playfully
away from her, and startling herself by her response
to his words.
Once, she would have been hurt and offended by them,
but tonight, she
could see -- tonight she could *feel* Megabyte's
playfulness and good
humor and she was rather enjoying it.  Even if it had
taken sheer
overwhelming doses of attention from nearly every
single male in
attendance to get to that point.

"Please," Megabyte rolled his eyes and caught her hand
in his again as
she shoved at him, "A horse wouldn't be as difficult
as you are,
Jade."

"Well, if I'm so difficult, remind me again why you
would prefer to
keep me, even as broken in as I am, when there are so
many other less
difficult women out there?"

"Because, I don't think any of them would be as cute
as you are when
you blush." Jade's eyes widened at the compliment - a
true
compliment! - from Megabyte and she was positive that
her heart
skipped several beats. She considered herself lucky
that it did not
stop beating all together. But before she could even
find the words to
respond, or even convince herself that it had really
happened,
Megabyte was on his feet and gently tugging her to
hers as well. [I'm
tired of sitting, let's dance.]

"But . but . you don't like to dance," Jade allowed
herself to be
hoisted to her feet, her mind still trying to come to
terms with the
words Megabyte had said -- to her!

"I'm turning over a new leaf," he held firmly to her
hand and guided
her into the moving mass of dancers, "and, like I
said, I'm tired of
just sitting."

[People are staring at us.] Jade felt the eyes on them
as they took
their places among the dancers. She could feel the
ripples of shock
and surprise moving like wildfire through the crowd,
Lord Marmion
dancing with his wife twice in one evening was
certainly
unprecedented, and the fact that he appeared to be
enjoying her
company was simply unbelievable.

[So?] Megabyte 'pathed back at her with a wide grin.
[You've already
said that it's rumored that I've taken leave of my
senses.]
[I don't think it's a rumor any more,] Jade informed
him.

Her words made him grin more widely. [My lady wounds
me.]

[Wounded?] Jade raised her hand and rapped her
knuckles against his
forehead, [Where? In your impossibly thick skull?]

[Maybe.] Megabyte punctuated the word by grasping the
offending hand
and turning it palm upwards, planted a kiss there. A
formality, and
nothing scandalous, certainly, but it did earn a few
gasps of surprise
from those around them -- and from Jade as well. That
was more than a
polite kiss, more than a simple gentlemanly behavior
of a lord towards
a lady. No, that spoke of a sense of closeness and a
sense of
propriety that . . . that they did not share.

Until now.

Jade offered no resistance as he tugged her closer,
unable to take her
eyes off of him.  She couldn't help but notice for the
first time that
evening how well his sapphire doublet complimented his
lean, muscled
form and matched his eyes.  The way his mouth grooved
at the corners
when he smiled.  How gentle the touch of his hand
against hers was and
how reassuring.  All the little things that mattered.
It was as if...

As if she were falling in love with him all over
again.

Unfair, she thought, seized by the sudden desire to
jerk away from him
and into the hiding embrace of one of the alcoves.
Unfair that this
was happening all over again.  This was something she
was trying so
hard to put behind her, even though their 'marriage'
made it neigh
impossible. But she had convinced herself that her
feelings were
changing, that she was changing and adapting. She had
convinced
herself that her childhood crush was a thing of the
past, but now, she
wondered if it ever would be.

[Jade?]  Even his telepathic voice rang with concern

[Do you really want to dance . . . with me?] She hoped
she didn't
sound half as desperate and confused as she felt.

[I thought we had this conversation already,] An arm
slipped firmly
around her waist, Megabyte pulled her as close to his
body as was
permitted without creating court scandal. [Can't we
just dance and
enjoy ourselves?]

The music picked up in tempo and she was forced to
move with him,
following his lead, or else be left standing idle in
the middle of the
dance floor.

[Do I have a choice?] Jade countered and hoped that
her words came out
as sarcastic and playful enough that he wouldn't press
the issue.

[No,] Megabyte grinned down at her, [You don't.]

Jade returned his smile easily, once again packing
away the confused
pieces parts and bits of her emotions. Her full
attention turned
itself to the dance, hoping that she could manage the
trickier parts
and not mess it up as she always seemed prone to do.

This time, however, her feet remained loyal and
steadfast, and she had
no problems following the intricacies and complexities
of the dance.
Her body moved as though it recalled the steps from
memory, and
despite his early protestations, Megabyte was not the
most terrible of
dance partners. He was, in fact, quite a good dance
partner.

They danced several sets, and then, as the party wound
itself down,
Jade found herself walking through the Palace gardens
with him, her
hand tucked into the crook of his arm.

"That was fun," Jade remarked, her soft words sounding
loud to her
ears in the night stillness.

"Yeah, I guess it was."

"Do you think that Adam and Ami had fun? I mean," Jade
stopped,
feeling a raging fire burning in her face as her
thoughts turned to
her two absent friends and why they were absent, "You
know, before. At
the wedding feast, do you think . do you think that
they're going to
be able to deal with it . well, not *it* as in *it,*
but --"

Megabyte gave her hand a firm squeeze, stopping her
embarrassed babble
before it could get any worse or any more
embarrassing. "I don't think
that there's anything yet that Adam and Ami haven't
been able to deal
with. Besides, if you can put up with me, I think that
anything's
possible. At least until we get home."

[As husbands go, you're not so bad,] Jade told him,
really meaning the
words. Whatever else had happened between them in the
past, and
however much he refused to see her as any more than a
kid, Megabyte
had come through for her during their time here.
Separated from Adam,
who was always their shelter in the storm, Megabyte
reassured and
comforted her; Megabyte let her know that she wasn't
alone and that
they would weather whatever came their way, and that
they would do it
together.

Their marriage may have been in name only, but at
least now they had a
friendship, a true, real friendship that was solidly
based on
something other than the luck of them both being
Tomorrow People.

If she took nothing else back home with her, Jade
would at least be
grateful for that.

If they ever made it home again at all.

[We will,] Megabyte responded to her unspoken
thoughts, and she
couldn't even find the strength to get annoyed with
him for peeking.
He was doing his best to be supporting and comforting,
being the
pillar that he had been since their arrival.

"But if we don't?" Jade stopped and turned her face up
to him. "If we
honestly don't ever make it back to earth, then what?
Can you handle
this -" Jade threw her hands out, referring to not
only the Palace
gardens, but the entire world, "for the rest of your
life?"

"Hmm, let me think." Megabyte folded his arms across
his chest, his
face a study in concentration as he pretended to
ponder her words very
hard. "Let me think. Can I handle being a noble and
lord for the rest
of my life? Hmm . . . yeah, I don't think I have any
problems with
that."

"You aren't going to be serious about this, are you?"
Jade accused.

"No," he took her hand in his, pulling her into step
alongside him as
he resumed their walk. "It's been too good of a day,
I'm not going to
start thinking bad thoughts, and I'm not going to let
you do it,
either, Kiddo.

"But if worse comes to worse and we're stuck here,
then . . . I don't
mind so much being stuck with you, Jade."

Her head whipped around to stare at him in surprise,
his words
following a litany of a long line of surprises he'd
been giving her
all night. She swallowed, not sure how to respond to
that, or if she
even should.

Megabyte, however, continued, taking the opportunity
away from her.
"Of course, I'll plan on taking a mistress." He gave
her a quick
glance, that all too familiar mischievous grin on his
lips matching
the twinkle in his eyes.

Jade smiled in return, taking the compliment for what
it worth and
grateful for it. "Well, that's fine then. I think that
one of the
stable boys is really cute."

"Oh, really? Well, no one ever said that you get to
have an affair.
That's a privilege reserved for the lord of the keep."

"Then I'll just have to start a women's movement.
We'll turn this
whole society matriarchal."

"I'll move north then -"

They continued on, their playful banter echoing
through the gardens,
hands entwined, a perfectly natural camaraderie
between them.

*** End of Chapter-Thirty Four






=====
*********************************************
Worlds Away
http://www.alternate-realities.net/worldsaway
*********************************************

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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2001 11:25:47 -0400
From: "Michele Bumbarger" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (arfic-l) Worlds Away (Part 35/36)

Title: Worlds Away (Part 35)

Author: M. Bumbarger

Email: [e-mail]

Fandom: New Series Tomorrow People

Rating: PG-13/TV-14

Summary: The Tomorrow People are swept away to a different world, where they
must take up the lives of their alter-egos and try to find their way home .
. . which won't be easy.

Disclaimer: The Tomorrow People (Adam Newman, Ami Jackson, MegabyteDamon,
and Jade Weston) are the property of Roger Damon Price, Thames/Television,
ITV, Tetra Television and Nickelodeon. They are used here without
permission, but not for profit. The lands, countries, customs, deities, and
original characters are mine and mine only, springing from the depths of my
imagination and should not be used anywhere else without my permission.
Please do not repost this to any list or archive it anywhere else without my
express permission.

Previous parts at http://www.alternate-realities.net/worldsaway
**********





Chapter Thirty-Five



"I found it! I think I really found it!"

Ami's delighted squeal grabbed Adam by the heart and yanked him rudely
from the almost drowsing sleep that he was fading into. He came back
to reality suddenly, his heart leaping into his throat and attempting
to claw its way out of his mouth, while his lungs battered against his
ribcage in a furious attempt to explode.

From the sound of Megabyte's grumbling, it was clear to see that he
was not the only one startled by Ami's exclamation.

"Well, whatever it is, try to be a little more quiet about it,"
Megabyte snapped. Plumfruit juice dribbled down his chin and colored
his doublet in various large patches, which he dabbed anxiously at
with a handkerchief. "Geesh, Ami, what's your problem anyway?"

"Yeah, Ami, you scared me half to death," Jade chastised. Evidently,
her dress also suffered victimization from Megabyte's spilled goblet,
and she was frantically dabbing at the bright purple spots that were
slowly seeping into the ivory silk and lace.  And not only into
expensive material of Jade's dress, but also into the coarse quilts
and blankets that spread around them, beginning to creep a determined
path towards the loaf of sweet bread. "This dress is ruined."

Ami rolled her eyes, a move so characteristically Ami that Adam
couldn't help but smile, despite the fact that his heart still felt
like it was going to explode and he hadn't quite caught his breath
yet. There had been times during the past few days since the wedding -
and the wedding night - that he wasn't precisely sure where things
stood between them. She was his wife; that much his mind accepted
without argument or question. She was still his best friend, that too
could not be argued. But the rest of it - the rest of it remained a
bit touch and go. Sometimes, he looked at her, and was still touched
by the phantom mirage of Princess Amideira; sometimes he looked at
himself and saw his own phantom mirages; and sometimes, they weren't
phantoms at all. Sometimes, what he saw and what he felt, what he
thought he knew and remembered, felt very, very real - and those were
the times when he had to snap himself to attention and remind himself
of who he really was.

Which was precisely the purpose of this picnic today. It had taken
some, and some here was used as a euphemism for a great deal, of
begging and pleading and cajoling for this picnic to be private,
between just the four of them. King Martine and Queen Carrina had not
liked it, Stewart put up more of an argument than he had about
anything the entire Adam had been here, and Sephrine, not Nynie, but
Sephrine acted as though he had just suggested that they desecrate a
few temples. But, in a hard fought and barely won fight, here they
were, alone with just themselves for company. A time to relax and wind
down, alone and unsupervised where they didn't have to mind their
words and manners, a few stolen hours before the newly married prince
and princess were sent off to "grow accustomed to one another" in the
Summer Palace located on the southern coast of Stiborn.

Alone and enjoying a relaxing afternoon until Ami shattered the
tranquility with her shrieks.

"You can get another dress made at the drop of a hat, Jade," Ami
pointed out, dismissing the dress issue with a wave of her hand. She
shook the slim leather bound tome that she had been reading for most
of the day, most of the week really, at them. "I found our way home."

"In that skinny little book?" Megabyte made no attempt to hide his
disbelief.

Adam however, perked up at her words. He knew more of what that slim
little book was - it wasn't just a book - it was one of Amideira's
secret diaries, one where she wrote down the things she tried and
learned that she didn't want Nynie or any other Damiar of the Temple
to learn about. Adam wasn't particularly happy with her reading that
book, fearful that in an effort to educate herself she might try some
of Amideira's 'talents' and end up hurting herself - or worse.

"Amideira's diary," Adam corrected.

Those words were enough to banish even Megabyte's scowl and Jade
momentarily stopped wiping at her ruined dress, curious blue eyes
turning to Ami.

"A spell?" Jade asked breathlessly, as though she dared not believe it
was possible.

"Not exactly."

Megabyte's eyebrows rose, "Not exactly a spell?"

The center of their attention now, Ami averted her eyes, lowering the
book to her lap. She fingered the spine absently, nervously drawing
her lip between her teeth and chewing on it before she spoke. "It's
more of . not so much a spell as a way to use the magic to manipulate
time and space."

"Already sounding way more freaky than I like, Ami."

"It has to do with keystones and portal ways. If you get these
keystones and use them on the portal ways, they can open doorways . to
other places. If you're focused, and you know where you want to go,
supposedly you can get there. At least, that's how it works in
theory."

"In theory?  Well, that's great in theory, Ami, but I'd like if my
body parts weren't spread across the galaxy by fact."

"Megabyte," Adam chastised him, "Let her finish."

Adam ignored the questioning look thrown in his direction from the
other Tomorrow Person, and prepared himself for whatever inevitable
teasing he would receive later for coming to Ami's defense. After the
time Adam had spent teasing Megabyte about his marital status with
Jade, his fellow Tomorrow Person was happy to return the ribbing
tenfold. The only problem was, Adam didn't take offense to it in the
way that Megabyte hoped; in fact, the teasing seldom bothered him at
all.

[Thank you,] Ami accompanied the soft telepathic touch with a demure
smile, that for whatever reason made Adam's face flush with heat. She
averted her eyes, nervously tugging on one of her braids as she
continued. "It's based on the same elements as 'The Dreaming.' The
Dreaming uses a keystone to help a person reach out and . contact
someone else, somewhere else, in a dream. Except in The Dreaming it's
much more small scale."

Megabyte did nothing to hide his skepticism. "And how do you even know
that this Dreaming thing works?"

"Because I've done it." Ami didn't look at Adam at all, only Megabyte
as she met the challenge in his gaze. "I did it when I contacted
Adam."

"Huh? You contacted Adam?"

"When did you do that?"

Adam, in turn said nothing. He knew precisely what Ami was speaking
of, recalling the time that she had somehow, someway reached out to
him via their dreams. He had always intended to ask her how she did
that, although a sneaking suspicion wiggled its way around in the back
of his head, but things got so hectic so quickly that he never
followed up on it. Now, he wished that he had.

"The Dreaming. I contacted Adam in a dream - a while back." Ami
dismissed the topic with another one of those lofty waves of her hand,
"Anyway, that's not the important point. What's important is that -"

"You used some kind of magic that you know absolutely nothing about to
get in touch with Adam?" Megabyte scoffed, the scolding and
disapproval in his voice reminding Adam that Megabyte wasn't as
uninvolved and uninterested as he often pretended to be. The blue eyes
swung to Adam with accusation, "You *let* her do that?"

"Adam didn't *let* me do anything, Megabyte. And anyway -"

"You could have hurt yourself," Jade tried to sound disappointed, but
couldn't manage to hide the note of awe in her voice. Adam groaned
inwardly. Keeping Ami away from potentially dangerous magic that she
didn't understand, comprehend, or control was going to be difficult
enough; keeping both girls out of temptation's sway would be an even
greater chore.

"But I didn't."

Adam spoke up, "But you could have."

"But. I. Didn't." Dark eyes flashed defiantly.

"Look, guys, I appreciate that you two are going to have a 'talk'
about this, and as entertaining as that might be to watch, could we
please get back to the important stuff here," Megabyte drummed his
fingers, glancing between Adam and Ami will ill-concealed impatience.

"Fine with me," Ami pointedly kept her eyes on the redhead.

[You're not getting off that easily, Ami.] Adam 'pathed to her in what
he hoped was an ominous tone.

[I look forward to it.]

"Could you two please put your pissing contest aside for the moment,"
Megabyte rolled his eyes.  "Please?"

"Megabyte!"

"Marm!" Voices cascading over one another, both Ami and Jade sounded
scandalized

"And what would you call it?" Megabyte retorted.  "Yeah, Ami, we know
you've got rank.  You don't have to pull it on us.

He shifted his gaze to Adam.  "And neither do you."

Adam opened his jaw, then snapped it shut. Arguing among themselves
wasn't going to solve anything, and they were far off track of
whatever Ami had been trying to draw their attention to. No matter how
much that remark about pulling rank smarted, now was not the time to
let this escalate any further. "I hate to say this, but Megabyte is
right -" Adam ignored the glare Megabyte shot in his direction, "we're
off track. What did you find that you think can get us home, Ami?"

"Keystones can be activated over portals, the same way that their
activated for The Dreaming. And I know I can do it, because I've done
it before."

"Wow, that's really great, Ami, but," Jade smoothed her skirt, "How do
we find one of these Portals?"

"I don't know," Ami admitted with a sigh. "There are rumors and
legends, but no one knows precisely what one looks like, so they don't
know exactly where to find one."

"Oh, that's real good," Megabyte muttered.

"But," Ami continued as though she hadn't been interrupted. "The
Temple of Damiaren at Dia'sol has records of this sort of thing, they
have records of all sorts of magic that's supposed to be protected.
Supposedly, there's an active one, somewhere in Albarasque."

Jade piqued at the words. "So, we have to go to Albarasque? That's not
so bad. I mean, you're a princess and everything so -" She stopped,
realizing that six eyes rested on her. "What?"

"It's not going to be that easy, Jade," Adam shook his head sadly.
Ami's words were good news, they gave them direction that they didn't
have before this, but a trip to Albarasque would require some
planning. And, Adam imagined, access to privilege materials at the
Temple of Damiaren would be difficult to come by, even for the Damiar
Princess of Albarasque. "We can't just pick up and go to Albarasque."

"Well, duh, not right away. But, you can do a state visit, right? I
mean, that would be completely expected and proper, wouldn't it?"

"She's right," Ami agreed. "According to my grandmother, we'll have to
make a proper visit in the future anyway. Of course we can't make any
plans until after we come back form the Summer Palace, but it's not
such an impossibility is it, Adam?"

Adam looked from one girl to the other and smiled. "Well, when you put
it like that? What am I supposed to say?"

"You're going to be at the Summer Palace . all summer," Megabyte
pointed out.

"Megabyte," Ami squared her shoulders. "We've already been here for
two months. What's another few months of waiting? It will give me some
extra time to research."

"Research? Is that what you're calling it now?" Megabyte scoffed. "I
call it experimentation, and I'm still not completely convinced you
won't turn us all inside out."

"No, I'll plan on turning you into a frog first."

"You probably can't even catch a frog with magic, I doubt you can turn
anybody into anything . . ."

With a shake of his head and smile, Adam laid back and closed his
eyes. The familiar rise and fall of teasing, banter and debate between
Ami and Megabyte was music to his ears. And whatever his own personal
doubts about Ami's discoveries, and their ability to follow through on
it, it was more hope than they had a few weeks, a few days or a few
hours ago.

They would get home . . . eventually.

Three months wasn't so long to wait.

*** End ***





**********************************************
Michele B.
Archivist, Author & Webmistress
Alternate Realities Fan Fiction Archive
http://www.alternate-realities.net
**********************************************

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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2001 11:29:09 -0400
From: "Michele Bumbarger" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (arfic-l) Worlds Away: Afterword (36/36)

Title: Worlds Away : Afterward (Part 36)

Author: M. Bumbarger

Email: [e-mail]

Fandom: New Series Tomorrow People

Rating: PG-13/TV-14

Summary: More Ramblings and apologies from the author.

*****

Afterward & More Author's Notes


"And Dr. Samuel Beckett never leapt home."

I screamed when I saw the ending of Quantum Leap, and I'm sure you're
screaming now considering that the last chapter of this thing could
probably read, "And the Tomorrow People never returned home."

Yes, I know, that just really sucks, doesn't it? I mean, how can I
possibly do this to you? How can I lead you along and build you up
like this and then just end it there? Just like that. Wham. End of
story. Close the book. That's it. Credits are rolling.

Well, I'm not that cruel. Really, I'm not. But, first, you must
understand, when I first started writing on "Worlds Away," it was just
a fun idea that I was playing with that didn't have any real
direction. By the time I started posting it, it had lots of direction.
It grew to be an epic of such mammoth proportions that you could say
this blasted story had too many directions. But still, despite the
different characters and different plots that cropped up, I foolishly
thought I could finish the whole tale in about fifty chapters.

This one of those times I made the mistake of seeing the glass as
half-full.

This world that I created, has developed and blossomed on its own.
It's taken a very basic form and shaped itself. It has grown from a
whining newborn into a demanding toddler. And the toddler is becoming
a school-aged child very quickly.

So, what do you do when your children grow up? You let go and let them
grow.

The adventures of our Tomorrow People in this world are not over. Oh
no, don't even think that way. In fact, you could say that their
adventures are only just about to begin. Even they don't know what the
future and fate (and the author) has in store for them. Not only will
there be a sequel to this story (in which all of the fun and exciting
things truly begin to happen), but there will also be at least one or
two vignettes to fill in some holes and answer some questions that
might have been left unanswered in this story, that will only be
touched upon in the next story.

Look for the sequel, "The Lion & the Sun," coming soon to a mailing
list near you.

Special thanks to Caroline Fales for cracking the whip and constantly
keeping me on task when I just wanted to rip my hair out because the
story was not cooperating, for the cheers and kudos when things went
well, and for the backbone to tell me when the words I put on paper
really should not have seen the light of day. Thank you to Victoria,
my beta. And thank you to everyone who encouraged me to keep this
madness going, Wendy, Beth, Mandi, Anne, Kasey, and Megan, just to
name a few. I know that there were more of you, and I feel like I'm at
one of those award shows just because I can't list all the names.
Anyway, thank you so much for all the encouragement and I hope you
like the sequel as much as you liked this one.

Michele Mason Bumbarger
04.26.2001






**********************************************
Michele B.
Archivist, Author & Webmistress
Alternate Realities Fan Fiction Archive
http://www.alternate-realities.net
**********************************************

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------------------------------

End of arfic-l-digest V1 #30
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