Issue 1 Downtime

A few hours later, a small burgundy car had parked a few blocks away. Exiting the car, Sara and Kimee walked toward the hideout. "Knock Knock!", her voice echoed through the minds of everyone inside, as they walked through the house and into the hidden elevator to the complex.

The elevator dinged, opened its doors, and out walked the twelve year old, followed by her mother. The young girl looked around curiously, moving back and forth to various machines.

"Dear Lord she really has reproduced," Talos' disembodied voice quipped.

"Didn't believe me, Talos? When have I steered you wrong..?" She mused.

"Only at every available opportunity. You try anyway."

"Harsh, I would never do such a thing." She said with a smile, guiding Kimee from a computer to right infront of her.

"Suuure you wouldn't," he replied playfully, the computer briefly display a winking emoticon.

The young girl smiled, before waving to Talos. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Talos!"

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:)

"Nice to meet you too, but this is just a proxy. I'll be there in a moment to greet you in person."

Sara smiled, making sure Kimee wasn't watching as she flipped off the screen for a second, before giggling to herself. "Can't Wait, Rusty." She mused.

"And this of course must be the entrance..." a voice said, from around the corner.

"Obviously." Robin says as they round the corner.

The young girl ran over to the two of them, smiling happily. "Hiyas! Who are you two?" She asked blinking with a tilt to her head.

"Depends. Who are you?" Robin asks suspiciously before noticing Sara.

"Oh, it's you."

"Everyone seems to be in a foul mood when I show up, why is that?" She asked, walking behind the young girl. "I am only here to help, and I have only ever done that." the woman continued.

"Who?

....oh."

"I have no problem with you. Just with the people you hang out with." Robin shrugs.

The young girl looked up to Robin. "I'm Kimee, Nice to meetcha!" She exclaimed happily, extending her tiny hand out. "Now who are you?" She said more seriously.

"This is...your child, then?" Will asked Sara.

Sara finally turned to look at the boy. "My, my, my...if it isn't Will Stanton...I knew my intuition was right when I was talking to Tailsean...there came some very interesting guests indeed..." She mused to herself, smiling to him. "I bet you have a thousand questions running through that mind of yours.." She continued, her eyes flaring into the swirls quickly, her voice sounding more intrigued, before turning away for a second to catch herself. "Sorry bout that..., but yes, this is my daughter, Kimee."

"A...a pleasure, I'm sure."

"You do know who I am, don't you William?" She asked, with a sly smile, moving closer to him.

"I'm going to take a wild guess that you're McDohl," he said, taking a step backwards towards Robin.

"I'm not going to bite...hard..." She said with a laugh... it was somewhat haunting, but she was just joking.

The young girl tugged on Will's shirt. "Mr. Will? Mommy said you came from the past.. what's it like?" She asked innocently trying not to cause any trouble on her first time out of the palace.

"Uh, like now, but less scary and dangerous."

"Will, she doesn't know much about the outside world.. She only gets to see what is inside Cailleach's Palace.." Sara explained, crossing her arms infront of Kimee.

"So you just thought you'd take her on a day trip through hostile territory. Real smart there, McDohl."

"She can't stay at the palace forever.." McDohl responded, holding her daughter close. "Plus I couldn't stay away from her any longer..you don't know how hard it is.." She continued softly.

"Quite the contrary," said a figure that shimmered into being in the room, a bit away from the other occupants. "She could stay quite comfortably forever. As could you, Errant One."

Vivien surveyed the room, smiling amusedly at Robin as her gaze fell on her, but traveling still to the other occupants. "However, your payment for your freedoms was well made, so your travels will not be begrudged," she finished, her eyes settling on Will. "My my. I do see what my mother was saying about strange happenings about."

"Oh. You're here, too."

Vivien looked at Will curiously. "My appologies, Traveler, but have we met in some different place or time?" she asked with that same formal politeness. Her skin and manner of dress did make her look quite a bit like her mother, however on examination there would be marked differences. Her features, while hard to notice with the snow white skin distracting from them, appeared to have slightly asian features, and her eyes, unlike her mothers, remained a pale blue rather than pure white.

"You did not trust me, Lady Vivian?" Sara asked, quite upset at her arrival.

Kimee moved behind Will, Robin, and Sara. Somewhat afraid of Vivian..

"I was... curious," Vivien said, enigmatically, sidestepping Sara's question.

"I'm Will," Will introduced.

"And I am Vivien," Vivien replied, courtseying in reply, "Daughter and emmissary to the Cailleach, Queen of Air and Darkness. I bring my lady's welcome into these troubled times."

"Bloody magic..." Robin mumbles.

"You too, huh?" Will whispered.

Vivien gave an amused smile at this. "I see that rumors of people's insecurities are not unfounded," she said, a depreciating tone to her voice. "Nevertheless, the Cailleach does not fault those who know to fear powers beyond their scope."