Jumping Blind

Ch. 2: …But It Pours

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I took off, sprinting down the street as quickly as my legs could carry me. Spike was clinging to the back of my coat, shuddering from the chill emanating from the creatures following us. I was trying to take the most direct route to the Underground but the things were somehow keeping pace, even with their shaking, uneven crawling.

I ducked into an alley after getting a comfortable distance ahead. After a near miss with a trash bin, I managed to run at full speed into a concrete wall. That did not feel good. In fact, it felt so not good that I lost track of the world for a little while.

My senses started to return when I felt someone shaking me, attempting to get my attention. “Vigil! Vigil, come on. We have to get out of here. They’re coming!” The voice was high-pitched and had a childish tone to it, under the desperation suffusing it. Where did I know that voice from? After a few more moments the memories and pain returned in full force.

I sat up suddenly, scanning the area for threats. Apparently it was a surprise for Spike because he tumbled back from my swift movement. Something warm and wet was dripping off of my chin. This, coupled with the abominable pain radiating from my nose led me to the conclusion that I had run it into the wall. I hoped it wasn’t broken, that would lead to an awkward conversation.

“Are you ok?” Spike’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. He was back on his feet and fiddling his claws worriedly. As I slowly rose to my feet, light from the street fell across my face. His expression turned from one of worry to one of horror nearly instantly. “Oh Celestia, that’s really not good.” Yep, it’s broken. I looked down my nose and saw the crookedness. Oh just lovely, broken and dislocated.

I closed my eyes in focus for a moment and slowly put up mental barriers to block the pain. I opened them again, the pain still present, but distant now. It would suffice, I still had work to do.

“I’ll be fine. We really need to get moving again before those things catch up to us. I don’t know what they are but they aren’t friendly.” My voice came out strained and nasal. Yep, it’s broken. This will be fun.

We collected ourselves and peeked out at the street. The creatures were shambling towards our alley. I pulled Spike back. “Ok, listen to me very carefully. Climb up on my back again, under the coat this time. Hold on tightly and keep your questions until we get away.” He complied and scaled my back with a surprising amount of dexterity. In case you were wondering, a baby dragon using you as a rock climbing wall tickles like hell.

“What the hay?” Spike’s muffled voice came from behind me as he finally got to my shoulders.

“I said no questions until we get away.” Spike remained silent this time.

I focused silently on another trick I had up my sleeve. I made an effort of will, activating the ability but was interrupted by a tapping on my shoulder. I spun around, shifting into a defensive stance, but relaxed at the sight behind me.

Two copies of myself stood in front of me, sharing the same smirk. The only difference between us was the slight change of color, most visibly to our eyes. The original was unchanged, with stormy grey eyes, brown hair, etc. while the other two had orange and purple tinges to their hair and clothes with their eyes vividly colored. And yes, the other two shared my broken nose. We nodded at each other before splitting apart and spreading out in different directions; we all knew the plan.

I gained this ability when I started moving between realities, most drifters find themselves altered during their wanderings. Each copy of me works independently thanks to their own consciousness. Of course, theirs are reflections of my own so we usually think the same way. The difference is in their personalities; in this case the orange personifies the more aggressive points of me while the purple is my creativeness. On top of that, they always have the same abilities and physiology as me.

Unfortunately, there’s a downside. After their job is done, our separate consciousnesses merge, so their experiences and strains are given to me. If too much happens, either mentally or physically, I can overstretch my limits causing a shut down from injuries or exhaustion. Possibly resulting in death from the strain. Luckily, death of the reflections doesn’t result in the death of me, only crippling pain and disorientation. Yeah lucky, totally describes me. Needless to say, I try to not do this often in combat situations, but needs must when the devil sends frost-covered monsters after you.

The three of us melted into the shadows and waited for the creatures. It took a few moments before they shambled in. At this distance I could make out far more detail than before. Their frost covered bodies were twisted into a spindly, clawed quadrupedal reflection of what they once were, meant for pouncing rather than sprinting. Their cataract-filled eyes held no spark of life or even intelligence. Puppets then, and from something that enjoyed ice and had a sincerely sadistic sense of humor. That doesn’t narrow it down much here. These were probably just scouts for whatever it was, meant to find targets rather than actually preforming any labor. That’s probably good news for me.

“Alright times up, let's do this. LEEEEROOOOY!” The orange version of me yelled, materializing a freaking battle-axe of the same color, into his hands before charging headlong towards the group. The upraised weapon came down swiftly, the arc going through at the lead creature’s neck. The momentum spun my doppelganger around before he brought the axe down in a vertical strike on the next. The axe imbedded itself in the victim's skull.

 The purple version of me stayed behind, out of reach of the clash. His hands slowly rose, covered in a matching aura, while he muttered under his breath. The aura flickered when the lead creature’s beheaded corpse suddenly melted while the others’ claws and feet froze to the floor.

I took the moment of confusion from Orange’s reckless charge and subsequent immobilizing the things by Purple to armor up. Armoring is an interesting experience to say the least. During my wandering I met a family who took it upon themselves to be the shamans and protectors of humanity, the Droods. They protect the world from outside horrors that the rest of the world wouldn’t be able to face. A being from a higher dimension, Ethel as she likes to be called, decided to be their sponsor by providing them with armor made of strange matter, the physical manifestation of that entity. While in the armor they’re faster, stronger and nearly invulnerable. On top of that the strange matter reacts to the will of the person that it’s bonded to allowing it to be shaped by their will. When not in use the armor is stored in a torc around the Drood’s neck.

I spent a few months with the Droods, learning from their vast library and learning about higher and lower dimensions from Ethel just in case I ever found myself in one. During that time Ethel’s youngest “daughter” (it’s a long and very odd story) decided she wanted to go out and see the multiverse. Ethel could only be in that particular reality because of her strange matter and binding to the Droods, so she decided I’d be a good candidate for the child. Long story short, I have strange matter in every pore on my body and an extra dimensional being following me around.

The dark grey material poured out from my skin until I was completely covered and sealed off from the world. I grinned behind the faceless mask. This will be fun. I materialized a short sword in my right hand and charged while finishing the traditional battle cry with my orange twin. “J-J-J-JENKINS!”

The battle ended nearly as soon as it started. With the creatures unable to free themselves, Orange and I tore through them. Until the last one showed up.

It was gigantic, taller than the three of us by about two feet and looked more like a gorilla on steroids than anything that could ever have been human. It apparently recognized me because it spoke.

“Chimera.”

 Its voice was a ridiculously deep bass, the gravelly tones making my chest vibrate even with the distance between us. It stared down at Orange and I menacingly before taking a step forward, ready to crush us both. Its claw rose far above our heads, begginging its decent...

And the golaith turned into a bowl of petunias.

Orange and I stared at each other, an expression of pure disbelief on his face and my expression unseen under my faceless mask. We slowly turned around at the sound of giggling and found Purple dancing in a circle around a sombrero, accompanied by Spike.

Orange just shook his head. “And I thought you were crazy.” I took the moment to release my armor, the grey material slowly being reabsorbed back into my skin.

I sighed. “You know if I could change one thing the armor would return as quickly as it’s released. Oh well.” I shrugged before addressing Orange, amused “You’re a piece of me so you’d be just as insane as I am.”

He grinned and answered in a mocking tone. “Technically you’d still be the insane one considering I’m just a manifestation of your aggressiveness, a figment of your imagination if you will.”

My gazed shifted between him and the still dancing Purple. Did I hear maracas? “If anything, he’s the reflection of my imagination, my creative side. You should take it up with him.” I looked at the bowl of petunias. “If we knew what that was thinking we would have a much better understanding of the universe.”

Orange rolled his eyes. “Ok, I’ve had enough. Put me back in your head if we’re done fighting.”

I nodded and and placed a hand on his forehead, with a slight effort of will he disappeared as if he’d never been there. I turned back to Purple and Spike, this time he was perched on my purple version’s shoulder. Purple was smiling but his eyes were focused on the alley behind me. He raised his hand, the aura of magic surrounding it again, and snapped his fingers. All of the remains of the creatures behind me disappeared, leaving the alley exactly as it was before we came in.

His gaze fell on me, all traces of humor gone. “No child should be subjected to this. You of all being should know that intimately.” He picked up Spike and gave him a hug before setting him down. “I’ll see you later champ. Be good for him and I’ll get you a treat later. Hmmm... What would I do for a Klondike bar?” He took two long steps and vanished just before impacting me.

I let out a long breath and sagged wearily against a nearby wall. Magic takes a lot out of me and while purple does have spectacular control and focus, those spells he threw were seriously heavy-duty. I slumped to the ground, closed my eyes and took a minute to collect myself. When I opened my eyes, Spike was examining me.

“Hey.” I said weakly, both exhausted and a little worried about his reaction. He did just get a face full of Purple, that’s enough to test anyone’s sanity.

He smiled when he noticed my open eyes and began excitedly asking me questions. “Who were those guys? Why did they look like you? Why were they different colors? What was that stuff that covered you? Where did it go? Why did that thing call you Chimera? Is that a type of food? Where did that sword come from? Where did that orange guy get that battle-axe? Can I hang out with that Purple guy again?” Don’t you just love kids?

He froze as a thought struck him, then looked me directly in the eyes and asked in a very serious tone.

“Why do you have wings?”

I sighed heavily then responded in a soft voice. “An… Incident.”

Spike looked surprised at the pain in my voice. “What happened?”

“I don’t talk about it.”

“Maybe you should. Sometimes it helps.”

“It won’t.”

“How do you know?”

“I’ve tried.”

“And?”

“It didn’t.”

“What happened?”

“Spike! I do not want to talk about it!” My voice echoed through the alley. I hadn’t noticed I was progressively raising my voice until I was shouting. The following silence was deafening. Spike had taken a few steps back and was glaring at me.

“You didn’t need to shout.” What is with this kid? He’s scared of those things but not of the one that tore thing to pieces. He’s angry at it.

A feminine voice broke the silence. “Little one, perhaps you should leave Vigil alone. Those are painful and dangerous memories you’re trying to bring up, he’s merely attempting to protect you from them."

I relaxed a little as a minty green, sourceless light gradually filled the alley. Spike on the other hand flipped out at the light and disembodied voice, dove for cover behind a nearby trash bin.

A smile broke across my face. “Hello Emma, I’m surprised you decided to make an appearance. You’re usually very shy around new people.”

The extra dimension being bonded to me laughed. “I wonder where I get it from, my host. Besides, it’s a child and I’ve always liked children. He’s adorable.”

I let out a long breath. “Emma, I told you to stop calling me that. I knew I shouldn’t have let you meet Lash. Dresden didn’t think it was a good idea either.

She teased back. “Dresden also has a distinct lack of common sense and survival instinct. He’s a horrible influence on you. Besides, I enjoyed her company. Mortals can grate on the nerves after a while. So impatient and annoying.”

I ignored that and glanced over at the bin Spike hid behind. His tail was sticking out. He’s not very good at that, I thought to myself before calling him over. “Relax Spike, it’s just Emma. She’s harmless.”

Spike peaked out from behind his hiding place. “Are you sure?”

“Have I lied to you yet?”

His head nodded in thought before he shook it. “Nope. Not that I know of.” He stepped out but didn’t come any closer.

“Spike, I Pinkie promised to get you home. Would I be able to keep that promise if I let something eat you?”

“Fine.” He said, exasperated, then walked cautiously over to me. He managed to make it to where I was sitting before Emma spoke up.

“I will not harm you, young one. I only wished to give you some advice you should heed.” She spoke softly, trying not to scare the dragon.

This time he seemed more curious than anything else, searching for the source of the voice. “Where are you? I can’t see anyone.”

“That’s because I don’t have a physical form here, besides Vigil. I’m from a different plane of existence. I’m bound to your guardian here.” She seemed amused by his antics.

I joined in at this point. “She’s the reason I have that armor you saw before.” I told him how I got the armor and was bound to Emma.

Spike nodded and absorbed every detail of my account, waiting until I finished to start asking questions. “What do you mean by bound to each other? You don’t seem that connected.”

I shrugged. “Neither of us is really sure what Ethel did. From what I can tell she’s able to follow me to any dimension I go to.” Emma made a small noise of agreement then completely changed the direction of the conversion. She’s worse than me at socializing.

“You both need to start moving again. The ice creatures could return at any time and the little one needs to get home.”

Is that a sense of foreboding I feel? I hate it when she does that, I visited one fantasy-type universe and now she thinks she’s a quest system. But she’s right. I rose to my feet, joints cracking and popping. “Unfortunately she’s right. We need to get to the train station and then to the Street of The Gods. Weird place.” I started walking out of the alley.

Spike gave me a look that clearly displayed his thoughts on my sanity but started following me anyway. “Why do we need to get on a train?”

I picked him up and placed him on my shoulders as the crowd began to return, his legs on both sides of my neck and his claws gripping my head. “Because the street is on the other side of town. I really don’t want to walk all the way there, it could take days.”

“How big is this place, and why is it nighttime? It was afternoon what I left.”

“Actually it is the afternoon, or what passes for it here at least. No one knows how big the Nightside really is, mostly it just seems to be a large as it needs to.”

Spike rested his head on the top of mine. There was a faint pop and my nose started feeling better. He reminds me of my brother when he was little. Nope. I shook my head, chasing away those thoughts. Nope. Not dealing with that now, I have to get this kid back home and with his family, then I can have an emotional breakdown. What about your family? Hey look! He has another question. “The Nightside?”

“That’s the name of this city. The secret, corrupt heart of London as they call it. It’s actually held in a separate dimension, just connected by various pathways. Reality isn’t as tightly nailed down here as a result. Timeslips pop up randomly and you should never walk into any fog here. It was created to be a place where the endless war of Good and Evil wouldn’t come. Neither side can touch this place directly, even their agents are diminished by this place. That’s probably why I feel so comfortable here. It’s always three o-clock, the time when the most babies are born and the most people die. Not everything can flourish in the sun, so they come here.”

Spike nodded. “How do you live here? I’ve only been here for a few hours and was attacked twice. You seem so much nicer than what seems to be normal here. Even if you’re crazy.”

I chuckled. “I prefer the phrase ‘chaotic good’ personally, but a lot of people have called me crazy. I actually did go insane a while back. I only recovered a few years ago. My mind still isn't exactly what you'd call 'stable'. To answer your question I’ll paraphrase a friend. ‘By being the biggest bastard.’”

He waited until I finished to ask yet another question. Does he ever run out? “Why do you stay here?”

I considered the question for a moment. “Well, after I recovered my sanity I was more or less dropped on the Droods. While I was there I heard about this place. And by heard I mean I was eavesdropping on a very hushed conversation. As for why I stay here… This is where all the monsters live.”

Spike took that in and was silent for a few moments. “I don’t think you’re a monster.”

“Trust me Spike, if you could see the things I’ve done and could do you’d think so too.”

He fell into silence again. The crowd parted around the two of us as I walked forward, they knew who I was and what I could do. “You said that you went insane years ago. How old are you? You don't look old.”

I smiled and replied in a teasing tone. "How would you know what an old human looks like? For all you know I could be a withered old man." My smile faded, replaced by a serious expression again. "Now, do you mean linearly or how old my body is?"

“Um… I’m not really sure what you mean, so both.”

“I was nineteen when the ‘incident’ happened I haven’t aged since the first week.”

“Wow. How long ago was that?”

“Two hundred and forty-four years.”

“Wow. Do all humans live that long? I know dragons can live forever, at least until something kills them.”

“No Spike, the average is about ninety. And I’m not human, at least not anymore.”

The resulting silence from that statement stayed until we got to the station

Spike lifted his head as we started down the stairs. “Why are we going down?”

I explained the concept of subway systems to him as was walked. We stopped before the ticket booths and one opened for me. I did a case last month involving a being from one of the dimensions the tracks pass though attacking the trains. An argument, and some liberal use of incendiaries, later it decided to hunt something else. I don’t pay for tickets anymore.

Spike was surprised by the train went we made it down to the platform. He couldn’t believe that someone could drive one of these.

I decided not to tell Spike about the trains being sentient, he was under enough stress.

We got on the train and everyone left the car we chose, despite the crowded platform no one else wanted to join us. I have that effect on people. It helps that I know the man who more or less runs the city too.

The doors closed and we were off. It’d be about an hour ride before we’d get to our stop but Spike didn’t seem to mind. He spent the time talking about his adopted older sister, their friends, and just generally about his world. I was intrigued by how diverse it sounded. After a while Spike’s eyes began to droop and he couldn’t finish a sentence without yawning.

I took off my coat and put it over him as he slumped over. “Take a nap Spike, you look like you need it. I’ll keep watch.”

He yawned and nodded before pulling the coat tighter around him. They really like to keep theses trains cold. I stretched my sore muscles and was rewarded with several joints popping. Spike started shivering so I extended an exposed wing and draped it over him. I looked thoughtfully at the unusual appendage. About seven feet long when fully extended, they were grey and speckled, with warm and soft feathers. Perfect for keeping the child warm. Remember how you got those? I ignored the thought. I guess I could keep reading to pass the time. I reached in my back and pulled out a beaten copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, definitely my favorite piece of classical literature. I started reading trying to pull my thoughts from the past.

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Spike was faking slumber, he had a lot of practice doing that to get out of work when Twilight was up late studying. Meanwhile his mind was racing.

Spike wasn’t sure what to make of this person that had decided to help him. He wasn’t a pony, he wasn’t even a human. Not to mention how he acted. One minute he was laughing and smiling, showing the incredible and horrible sights. The next he was cold, dark and terrifying, ready to tear apart anything that stood in his way. It was like they were two different people. And he seemed so sad all of the time, like he was lonely or hiding something. Spike had too many questions and too few answers.

The dragon was pulled from his thoughts as a faint melody echoed through the train car. Vigil was singing?

“Wish I were with you

I couldn't stay

Every direction

Leads me away

Pray for tomorrow

But for today

All I want is to be home

Stand in the mirror

You look the same

Just lookin' for shelter

From cold and the pain

Someone to cover

Safe from the rain

All I want is to be home

Echoes and silence

Patience and grace

All of these moments

I'll never replace

No fear of my heart

Absence of faith

All I want is to be home

All I want is to be home

People I've loved

I have no regrets

Some I remember

Some I forget

Some of them living

Some of them dead

All I want is to be home”

I miss Twilight and the girls. Spike glanced at Vigil, who was leaning against the side of the car and staring into space. I wonder where his home is. Spike’s final thoughts echoed in his head as the gentle rocking from car sent him to sleep.

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The train ride went without a hitch, surprisingly. Nothing tried to attack or get in, which was a first for me. The trains travel through different dimensions to get to their destinations. Spike had gotten hungry during the ride, so after the initial shock of him eating gemstones I started rooting through my bag. Luckily, one of the pockets still held crystals from my time with Spyro the dragon. That dragon definately knew how to party.

I picked up the small drake and placed him on my shoulders, both to get him out of the crowds’ way and to give him a better view of what lay before us. I stepped out of the station and Spike gasped, a few crystalline bits falling out of his mouth and onto me.

“Spike, welcome to the Street of The Gods. A carnival of belief and all it costs is your soul and faith.” I gestured grandly at the bright street in front of me

Spike looked around but seemed uninterested. Not surprising, from what he told me, he had spent a good portion of his life in the presence of an actual Goddess. These cheap hacks and con artists probably didn’t even come close. His only concern was getting home. “Ok, what do we need to do here?”

“We just need to find Eddie then we can get you home. How does that sound?” My voice and smile were very bright. Finally this mess was starting to look up.

Spike’s smile and tone reflected my own as he responded. “That sounds great, where is Eddie though?”

I thought about it for a few moments. “No idea. He should be here though. I’m just happy we haven’t seen any more of those creatures.”

The universe chose the exact moment I finished speaking to, yet again, make my life as painful as possible, in the form of the creatures shambling into the street. The street’s temperature dropped suddenly as they shambled toward us, stopping a few steps away from the pair of us.

I whispered as calmly as I could to Spike, trying to lend some support to the child. He was facing creatures from his nightmares in the flesh. No child should experience that. “Climb up my back, under the coat again. I’m going to get us out of here.” With that he hastily clambered up my back. I resisted the urge to start cracking up, it would mess up the intimidation I was working on.

I didn’t show any emotion to the creatures before me, even my voice was flat. “What do you want, ice spawn? Why are you tormenting this child?” If the creatures reacted I couldn’t see it. They just stood there, staring. I’m not really sure what would have happened if someone hadn’t made an appearance.

“But that, my dear angelic chimera, would be telling. And where is the fun in that?” The voice echoed eerily in the dark alley, seemingly emanating from everywhere at once. Spike shuddered from the lowering temperature and clung more tightly to my back. “Oh well, I guess it doesn’t really matter anyway. I want to follow the little drake’s dimensional signature. Think of it, a whole world filled with defenseless beings.” A tall fellow in a white tuxedo stepped out behind the creatures. I couldn’t tell who it was from that distance, just his features became clear as he strolled up to us. His skin was a glacial blue and his bright blue hair peeked out from under a white fedora. I finally recognized him.

The bringer of cold weather and the coloring of autumn leaves, whose element nipped at the extremities  of those exposed to his element, the one who left patterns of frost. Playful, full of mischief, with a constantly shifting sense of morality that all spirits like him seem to have. It was Jack Frost, the avatar of winter.

 “Sorry that I’m late, I had to finish a little… business transaction.” A small form stumbled out from behind him, I peered at it curiously. What I saw nearly made me reject everything I had eaten today. It was a child, still wearing her little yellow sundress. She couldn’t have been more than five. He made a child into one of those things. And he was going to do that to Spike. Silence filled the street. Then the child creature made a low moan of pain. He broke the first rule: Thou shalt not harm innocents.

I snapped.

One moment I was standing in the middle of the street, gods, their followers, and tourists watching us. Pictures were being taken and someone had begun taking bets on which side would win. The next Spike was on the ground and there were three armored versions of me tearing the creatures apart. I didn’t even bother to claw or slash I just pulled them apart, venting my rage in the most violent way possible. As I smashed through them I began screaming, my voice far louder than it should have been.

“THOU SHALL NOT HARM MY CHARGE”

I stood there, my voice still reverberating through every solid object on the street, armored wings flared to their full fourteen foot span behind me. The creatures lay in pieces around me, my copies disappeared. Ice cracked and shattered under my boots as I advanced on Jack.

He sighed dramatically. “Now I have to go and make more minions… I think you’d be a good start.” He smiled broadly at me.

I took another step forward, only to find an icicle spearing through my armor and into my chest. The impact tossed me several feet backwards and gravity, in its usual cold and heartless way,  dropped me roughly on my back. Ow. That hurt. A lot. I looked weakly down at the spike of ice impaling me, the streetlights and neon from the nearby churches casting an orange tint to my body. Just below my ribs, of course he would miss the plating there and hit the squishy bits. Absolutely freaking brilliant.

I shifted painfully onto my side. Ok, that did a lot more damage to me than I hoped. That’s fine, right? I can still work with this. I have a plan.

Jack stood there, cackling madly as he watched my pain. He didn’t try to finish me, instead choosing to enjoy the suffering he had inflicted. He kept laughing up to the point where I unloaded six shots in rapid succession to his skull. Then he slumped to the ground lifelessly. My Smith and Wesson .38 Chief's Special revolver, recently pulled from a pocket dimension, was held in my upraised hand. The various runes and sigils carved carefully into the metal glowed eerily as the magic I had focused to make the bullets hit harder dissipated. The effect of that visual on the crowd was great, it takes a lot to render a Nightsider speechless. The effect was ruined, however, when Jack started standing back up looking like nothing had happened. I slumped to the ground again.

I felt a sense of pervading cold settling into my limbs, accompanying the dread that was settling in my mind. Oh great, as if an icicle slamming through my supposedly impenetrable armor and Jack just getting back up wasn’t enough, now I’m going into shock. My armor slipped back into my skin, trauma over riding my control. Jack’s smile was gone and he was taking slow, deliberate steps towards my prone form. Well, this is it. I survived horrible experimentation, my personality and sanity fracturing to pieces, as well as all of the other nightmares I’ve dealt with over the last two and a half centuries and this idiot’s going to kill me. Meh… Could have been worse.

Of course, that’s when Eddie made his appearance. He appeared behind Jack like a grey ghost, shining straight razor in hand, and removed Jack’s head with practiced ease. Jack’s body collapsed to the ground while his head, held by Eddie, was gasping in disbelief at this outcome. Eddie’s ghostly voice drifted over to me as he spoke to the rapidly fading Jack. “It isn’t like you couldn’t have seen this coming. You should have listened when I warned you, but you were too wrapped up in your own power. You don’t hurt children Jack.” With that, the head was dropped unceremoniously to the ground. There’s no recovering from that, Razor Eddie’s razor can sever the soul from a person’s body if he wishes it.

Eddie slowly walked over to me, examining my condition. I blearily returned his gaze before speaking up. “How ya…” I was interrupted by a coughing fit and subsequent spitting out the blood that had brought up.

Eddie knelt down, wrapped a skeletal hand around the impromptu spear, and ripped it out. Ow. Again. That hurt more than it going in. I phased out for a couple of seconds. Eddie waited till I came back from happyland to address me. “Quit being a drama king. You’ve had worse and you know you can’t die.”

I looked down. The edges of the ragged hole were already closing after that the internal injuries would be healed in a few minutes. And yes, my nose had been fixed since about the time Spike started resting his head on mine, what do you think that popping was? “Still hurt like hell though. Why did you wait so long?”

Eddie looked at me, unperturbed. “I can only move so quickly, that train ride almost made me lose you. How long have you known?”

I slowly raised myself to my feet. “Dead Boy. You know he can’t keep a secret. That smile when he told me he didn’t know and to check the street was a giveaway. On top of that, we aren't exactly friends. We're friendly, but not enough for him to show up at my apartment concerned for my well being. You always have a plan, so I went with it.” I kicked the headless body of Jack. “I guess this was it then.” He simply nodded. “Ok, then you know what I’m doing then. As my sponsor in this place I thought I should say farewell.”

He smiled this time. Razor Eddie smiled. I think that’s the first time anyone has ever seen Eddie show some other emotion than anger. A few individuals in the crowd fainted, some others ran away screaming about the judgement day finally arriving, the rest took it in stride and continued to watch the scene unfold. Free entertainment is always wanted in the Nightside. “It was nice to meet the person I invested so much in. I’m glad you’ve recovered. Before you ask, I’m not the one who brought the child here, but I think I know who did. Good luck.” He disappeared just as he arrived, with no trace at all.

I groaned. Who was he talking about? And why did he smile? I didn’t know that he could do that. Leave it to Eddie to explain while leaving more questions. I looked down at Spike who by this point and come over and was hiding in my coat, trying to get away from the crowd. He seemed to be handling the rapidly occurring events fairly well. He looked up at me and started asking questions again.

“Who was that? What did you mean by sponsor? What did he mean by invested so much in?”

I smiled. “I can answer that and your other questions just as soon as I get you home. Now do you want to do this the easy way of the fun way?”

He examined my face suspiciously. “What’s the difference?”

I kept smiling. “How we arrive. Do you want it big and noisy or quiet and subtle?”

Spike cracked an evil grin. “As big and noisy and you can make it. I want to get back at Twilight for landing me here in the first place.”

My smile widened. Oh this will be fun. I hope there isn’t any nearby glass when we get there. “That can be managed. Would you kindly step in front of me..” He complied and I wrapped my wings around the two of us, the warm feathers insulating us from the world outside. "Hey, Spike? Just so you know, I have no idea what I'm doing."

I nulled the hold the multiverse had on me flinging us into the void, cackling madly the entire way.