Issue 1 Downtime

After the initial shock ebbed off a bit and Will and Sara settled in for the time being the two make their way to Taliesin's room and Sara carefully knocks on the door.

"Took you a few extra minutes," Tailesean smiled. "Come on in, Sara."

"Hey..." she says as she steps inside, not really sure where to go from there.

"Uhm... this is kind of a weird situation, huh?"

The room is very sparsely decorated, no bed, just a desk, but most of the floor is empty. On the wall, there's some black and white photographs of a lot of people from XU, surrounding the amulet on the wall, half-embedded in marble.

"Believe it or not, I've been in stranger."

"I guess..." she says awkwardly, wincing as her eyes wander over the photographs and the amulet. "Is that...?"

Tailsein just nodded.


"God..." Whispered Will, holding Sara tight.

Sara shivers, clinging to Will in turn.

"H-how...?"

"A tank. You ran into a patrol out in the streets." Robin says from the doorway behind them.

"A tank with sonic shocktroops," Tailsean added. "I had to watch.


That's all I could save."

"That... that's horrible."

Talisean stood up, and walked to the amulet, gently caressing it.

"Five years..." he said, sadly, kissing the stone. "I was never cut out to be a single mother."

"Robin looks like she can take care of herself..." she says, maybe a little diplomatically, smiling slightly at the stranger behind her.

"She certainly can," Will mumbled, remembering the gunshot.

"Not like I had much of a choice..." she mumbles, closing the door behind her.

"Be nice to your mother, Robin."

"It's okay. I mean... I guess I'm not really her mother. Not... not like she remembers anyway."

"Been a while since I've seen this," Talisian smiled, walking over, and placing a hand on Sara's belly, smiling fondly, rubbing a small circle.

Will stood there, awkwardly, not sure what to do or how to feel.

Sara awkwardly steps back a little, looking hopelessly confused.

"S-sorry it's just..."

"Sara, it's me. It's Will.

I remember our honeymoon. I remember being stuck in your head, when I was young and an idiot. I remember walking down the aisle with you. It's me."

"Hey!"

"That's just it... you're not my Will. All of that... that's just a couple of months ago for us."

"I am now, and have always been, your Will. I've given myself to you, completely. Who else's could I be?" he smiled.

"Look at you... at what you've gone through. You're not the Will I know anymore..."

"Then, clearly, we need to get to know each other again.

Robin, get the glasses. Champagne for everyone.

Non-alcoholic for you, of course."

"This is so god-damn weird..." Robin says as she ducks out of the room, coming back after a moment with 4 different glasses, one of them even an actual champagne glass, although it has a small chink on the rim.

Talisean put his foot down in the center of the room, and, very quickly, a large table appeared where he was, with Taliesean stepping off the top and leaving it behind, followed by four chairs. There was no appreciable change in mass, either.

He followed up by taking the glasses, and filling them, apparently from his hand, smiling as he passed them around.


"How the hell did you do that?" Will asked, staring at the table.

"It takes a certain amount of skill," Talisean replied.

"Okay that was impressive..."

"My dear, I'm sorry, but you two are, by far, the weakest in the room.

Robin, here, could probably take Will down in....what would you say, five minutes?"

"Sure, if I'm lazy."

"Well....what is it exactly you do?" Will said, very cautioutly sipping some of the champagne.
"...this is good..."

Robin's facial features melt away and rearrange themselves, her hair growing out and gaining colour.

"I'm a shifter like Dad and I animate inanimate objects."

"Not QUITE like her dad, her clay is somewhat different than mine...so no thoughts about controlling it to keep her in after curfew," Talisian deadpanned.

"Yeah you never had much luck with that, did you?" she smirks.

"So...nothing from your mother, then?" Will said, his eyes darting back towards Sara.

"I imbue things with part of me and I can jump into my constructs entirely to take control of them. You always said I got that from Mom..."

"You got her brains, too. My little scientist."

"Looks like we're destined to have things about you spoiled by space-time hiccups..." Sara tries to joke, looking at Robin.

"Oh, like hell I'm telling you everything. I had to put up with it, you get to be surprised, too."

"I... don't think we want to go down the same path if there's any way to prevent... this."