A Change in My Life, 10/10
Title: A Change in My Life, chapter ten
Fandom: Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
Rating: T/PG-13
Word Count: 3,552
Main Characters: Fictional Rockapella (Sean, Scott, Elliott, Barry), Jeff, Greg, Mr. Gordon
Supporting Characters: Louie
Summary: Aftermath.
By Lucky_Ladybug
Notes: Featuring a new explanation for Scott's feather dream in chapter 6. I may overhaul In the Arms of the Angel to be the adventure talked about, since the wing story is no longer part of my expanded universe canon. Also, I made additions to chapters 8 and 9 to make them flow better. Wow, it feels so amazingly good to finally get this story done!
The group was still reeling as they left the cemetery and headed for the rental van Sean had taken out. Greg called the Chief to let her know everything was more than fine and they were coming home. Double Trouble could be turned loose, since there was no active warrant on them. But even as everyone rejoiced in their newfound memories, there were still conversations that needed to be had.
"It's so strange to remember now, after not remembering for however many days it was," Scott remarked. "I wonder how I ever could have forgot all of you and my double and everyone and everything else. I puzzled so long and so hard about what was missing and it was right there in front of me. Now that I remember, it seems so simple."
"It does, doesn't it," Sean mused. "But we really did remember each other; I knew something was important about all of you when you were in the news and my ads. Sure, I didn't know exactly what, but it was enough to start me looking."
"And that was enough," Barry said firmly.
"We all started out on paths to find each other, and we succeeded," Scott grinned.
"Well, I wouldn't say I started out on a path," Barry said. "But I was receptive when I ran into Elliott and then Sean."
"And then you came looking for me," Elliott smiled.
"And we found Jeff too," Sean said. "And then you led us to Scott."
"And I led you to Greg," Scott put in.
"Actually, it was interesting that a few real-life relationships stayed in place," Sean said. "Barry knew Mr. Gordon and Jeff, Scott knew Greg. . . ."
"I wonder why that was," Scott frowned. "I know my double couldn't have had any good reason for it."
"He must have figured it wouldn't hurt his plans," Elliott said. "Otherwise, he definitely wouldn't have let it stand."
"That's true," Scott acknowledged.
"And then there's the V.I.L.E. members who got caught up in the plot," Elliott said. "Double Trouble and Patty Larceny---she was obviously the waitress at the airport. Maybe there were others too, that we didn't run into. Why were they included?"
"I wonder if the double really meant to get everyone involved who became involved," Sean said thoughtfully. "What if some of the parties were accidents? After all, it was his first time trying a large-scale brainwashing. Some things could easily go haywire."
"That makes sense," Greg mused. "I can't see any reason why he'd deliberately want those characters in his plan, unless he was going to try to have them seriously associate with you guys. And . . . well, I guess that happened with Double Trouble, but not with Patty."
"I wonder what he thought when Double Trouble got their memories back and tried to get El and Barry to remember too," Sean said.
"I'm sure he wasn't happy," Scott chuckled.
"I'm sure the Chief isn't happy either, that we didn't find out how that guy did what he did," Greg sighed. "She's glad it's stopped, of course, but if we don't know how he did it, it could happen again."
"I don't think he'll try that again," Scott tried to assure him. "After it bombed so badly this time, he won't want to try an encore. He's never tried the same thing twice."
"Well, that's encouraging . . . I guess," Greg said slowly. "But what if he comes to try something else sooner or later?"
"Then we'll beat him back again," Scott insisted. "I kind of think he's fed up for a good, long while, though." His eyes darkened. "I wish it would be forever."
"We all do," Elliott said, his voice dark as he laid a hand on Scott's shoulder.
Scott gave him a weak but sincere smile. ". . . I wonder if everyone else caught up in the spirit's world remembers what happened," he worried.
"If they do, Louie must be both confused and concerned," Sean said.
"I should probably call him," Scott decided. "If he doesn't remember me, I can just say wrong number and hang up."
"In a way, it wouldn't seem right if he and the others forget," Sean mused. "They became important to us, even though the world we were living in was false."
"That's true," Scott agreed. "I guess we were only really in it for several days or maybe a couple of weeks, even though it felt like a lifetime. I still remember all the false memories now as well as the real ones. Which is pretty weird, actually."
"At least we can separate the real from the false," Sean said. "I think. . . ." He frowned, his brow furrowing. "Although when it comes to the time we spent under the spirit's spell, I'm not fully sure where the false memories stop and where the real ones begin. Maybe we'll have to get out a calendar to be sure."
"And hope we'll remember what day it was when this happened," Barry intoned.
Elliott flushed. "I'll have to go back to the campus," he groaned, turning red. "I can't just leave Ms. Parker hanging."
"We'll come with you, El," Scott said, draping an arm around Elliott's shoulders.
Elliott smiled weakly. "Thanks, but I should be able to handle it myself."
"It wouldn't be like we were coming along to protect you from talking to a very lovely member of the fairer sex all by yourself," Sean said. "We'd be coming along to back up your story, so she wouldn't think everything was an excuse."
"That's true," Elliott conceded. "Oh wow, I wonder what she thinks now that she has her real memories back and knows I'm not really a teacher there."
Scott winced. "I have a feeling there's a lot of confused people throughout New York and even the whole world right now. Hey, I wonder if my CDs still exist or if they were a product of the spirit's mind."
"I hope they do still exist," Sean said. "I'd like to hear them for real, not just in my false memories!"
"So would I," Elliott proclaimed.
"I would too," added Barry.
"Say, do you need to call your manager too?" Sean wondered.
"I should," Barry agreed, "but maybe I'll wait and see what kind of luck Scott has with Louie first."
"It's ringing," Scott reported. "Wait . . . hello? Louie?"
"Scotty!" Louie's gruff but happy voice boomed across the van, even without Scott setting the phone to Speaker. "Do you know what you've been doing to me?! I've been panicking this whole time, thinking I'd lost my best asset, and then all of a sudden these other memories come back to me and I realize that what the heck, I didn't even know you last month."
Scott gave a bittersweet smile. "It's pretty weird, isn't it?"
"It's crazy. I know darn well I didn't find you when you were eighteen and I didn't make a worldwide sensation out of you. But at the same time, I still have those memories. What the heck happened?!"
"Well . . . apparently that spirit you heard has some kind of a vendetta against me. He took it out on all of us and involved innocent people too, like you." Scott felt awkward to be explaining all of this, yet he knew Louie needed to know. "I'm really sorry it happened."
"Yeah? Well, I'm not. I wouldn't have met you otherwise." Louie barreled on. "You really could be a worldwide sensation! If you're ever up for that instead of all that detective stuff, look me up, okay?"
Scott grinned. "Okay. But it wouldn't just be me; it'd be the whole group. I'm not a solo act anymore." He looked around fondly at Sean, Elliott, and Barry. "And that's just the way it's supposed to be."
Sean gave him a thumbs-up. Elliott grinned. Even Barry abandoned his deadpan and looked pleased.
"Fine," Louie said. "Then come by and let me hear all of you sing. If you're ever ready to make a full career out of your singing, that is."
"We will," Scott promised. "And thanks, Louie. I am sorry this mess happened, but I'm not sorry I met you."
Barry nodded in approval and took out his phone. Now he would try calling Barlow.
In the back of the van, Jeff and his uncle were also having a bit of a reunion---although they planned to save most of their conversation for when they were alone. Both felt that they had done far too much of airing their family's dirty laundry in public . . . even though it was imagined dirty laundry.
"An hour ago, I could hardly believe there was a world where the robbery thing had happened but you believed I was innocent," Jeff said quietly.
"An hour ago, I don't even know what I was thinking," Mr. Gordon said, shaking his head. "Now that I remember the truth, the other is a garbled mess. And Jeff . . . I am so sorry for everything I put you through without knowing it." He reached out, laying a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "When I saw you lying in the cemetery and that thing said you were dead . . ." He trailed off, unable to continue.
"Hey." Jeff gripped the man's hand. "It's okay, Unc. None of that stuff about you not being sure about me really happened. It doesn't matter now." He sighed. "But I still feel awful about what I said to you anyway. There was crummy stuff said on both sides."
Mr. Gordon looked down. "But you wouldn't have even said any of what you did if I had been more understanding. In the false world, you were right that I was worried about what the neighbors thought." He shook his head. "Maybe, though, it wasn't just because of my reputation or even the family's. I'd like to think I was worried because I didn't like them thinking poorly of you."
"I'd like that too," Jeff said sincerely. "But we don't know. And there's not much point dwelling on it, no matter how bad we each feel."
Mr. Gordon regarded him in disbelief. "You can cast off the past few days that easily, after all the hurt and anguish and arguments?"
"Sure," Jeff smiled. "Or at least, I can push away what you said to me." He sobered again. "Maybe you can't do the same for what I said to you."
"That doesn't matter," Mr. Gordon insisted. "I only wish . . ." He trailed off. "I wish that our bond had been as strong as our friends'. Even when they remembered twisted versions of real things that happened to them, it didn't sway them from their determination to see each other as friends. That was amazing."
Now Jeff's smile turned sad. "Yeah, I wish things had been like that for us too," he admitted. "I guess that's something we need to work on."
"I want to," Mr. Gordon said in all sincerity. He sank back into the seat in overwhelmed amazement. "I have to admit, you're a lot more grown-up than I thought you were when you first came to work for me."
That both moved and embarrassed Jeff, and he ducked his head. "Thanks, Unc," he said quietly.
The movement jostled an earring and Jeff started. "Oh wow. Oh man." He reached up, touching one of the nose rings. "What am I gonna do about all this?! The real me doesn't want to wear these things!"
"Hey, it's okay," Greg said, turning around to look. "Just take them out and the holes will close up."
Mr. Gordon raised an eyebrow. "You know about piercings?"
Greg flushed. "Well . . . kind of, yeah. It was a phase I went through a long time ago."
"Luckily, the Chief brought him out of it," Sean said helpfully from the driver's seat.
"She brought all of us out of it," Scott said. "You know, when we get back to ACME, I think we should thank her for everything she's done for us. It's hard to say where we'd be right now if we hadn't joined ACME."
Sean nodded. "Very true. Of course, whatever we'd be doing, at least we'd be doing it together, since we met sometime before that."
"Maybe you would've had an argument and split up," Greg said.
"I don't think so," Elliott said, shaking his head. "If there's one thing this experience has taught us, it's that our bond will always bring us together."
"Yeah," Greg said. "I guess that's right." He spoke quietly now.
"Greg?" Scott twisted around to look at him. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. It's just . . ." Greg ran a hand through his hair. "I feel awful about what I said in the cemetery."
"You don't have to, Greg," Scott said kindly. "We understand. We were all a little trippy the last several days."
"But . . . you guys all remembered enough to find your way back to each other," Greg said sorrowfully. "I didn't remember any of you except Scott. There was just a big blank spot for the others. And maybe . . ." He clenched a fist. "Maybe I'm a little jealous that I wasn't in on that close bond. Then I think I've got no right to be; if I'm not part of it, it's because I drifted away from you. That part's true in the real world as well as the fake one."
Scott looked down. He couldn't deny he had felt hurt over what had happened between him and Greg. Still, there was more to the story. "That's behind us now, though," he said at last. "We've been growing closer to you again ever since the bridge. And I think . . ." He smiled. "I think that eventually, all of our bonds with you will be stronger again."
"That's a nice thought," Greg said, but he didn't look believing.
"Scott's right," Sean said. "That time will come."
Elliott and Barry nodded. They believed it too.
Finally Greg smiled a bit. "Well, maybe so." He hoped so.
****
Scott gazed out at the nighttime scenery as their plane headed back to New York from Boston. Greg and Sean were dozing, Barry and Elliott were lost in thought, and Jeff and his uncle were having a private conversation out of earshot, so the plane was very quiet at the moment. Scott absently hummed under his breath, not even fully aware of which song he had selected.
"People Change?"
He started at Elliott's voice. "Yeah," he realized. "I was singing it during a concert I gave in Tokyo. It's weird how it fit what happened to us, kind of. We sure changed under my double's spell."
"We did, but yet we didn't," Elliott answered. "We all got plopped into different life situations, but our personalities were still really the same." He looked down. "I guess maybe . . . maybe what happened to us is what could have happened if we'd never met."
"Only then we met anyway," Scott smiled. "And we knew something wasn't right until we did. That's how it was in real-life, too. I knew something was missing in my life up to the day when I found you guys having a snowball fight in Central Park."
"I did too," Elliott admitted with a smile. "Sean and Barry were great, but I knew there was supposed to be someone else there too. And then I saw you trying to hide from the snow behind a tree."
"And the snow from the branch most ungraciously fell on me," Scott said wryly.
Elliott chuckled, then sobered. "And I knew you were the missing link in the group."
"And I'm sure glad you did," Scott proclaimed. "I'm glad all of you did." He sobered too, looking down at the darkened area they were passing over now.
"What is it?" Elliott asked.
"I kept having these dreams when I didn't remember," Scott said. He swallowed hard. "One of them was about the collapsed building and when I sang People Change trying to keep you awake."
Elliott shivered. "I remember that." He smiled. "You made sure I didn't pass out until Sean and Barry came with help."
Scott nodded. One of the many times when one of their lives had hung in the balance. "I dreamed about that right after the concert," he said quietly.
"That must have really given you a start," Elliott said in stunned sympathy.
"It did," Scott agreed. "And then after we met, and I went to the hotel to rest, I dreamed about screaming for you to not leave me . . . and white feathers raining down."
Elliott averted his gaze. That experience had been tied to a serious explosion, where Elliott had been forced to run with a bomb to the nearest cliff at the Utah-Arizona border and throw it over the edge. It had gone off, knocking him unconscious and somehow blowing a hole in the space-time continuum. The feathers, apparently part of the packing in the bomb's crate, had swirled into the sky and then floated down around Elliott. When Scott had ran up to him, he had found his dear friend lying in a bed of feathers, seemingly dead. Elliott had revived, but they had both been trapped in a bizarre dimension within a dimension while outside, Sean and Barry had searched frantically for any trace of them while gradually losing hope. It had certainly been one of their strangest and most unsettling experiences.
"I guess I'm not surprised you'd dream about that," Elliott said quietly. "That really tried all of us."
Scott sadly nodded. "When I heard that explosion . . . and then when I found you, I . . . I thought . . ." He shook his head. "Well, you know what I thought."
Elliott nodded too. "And Sean, already so skeptical, really found himself struggling with what he believed about God when it looked like we were both gone." He sighed. "It was horrible to see him and Barry in the real world, but to not be able to reach them."
"But it was a miracle when we finally did break through," Scott said fervently. "We've really had a lot of miracles in our time. Actually, this here was another one. Against all odds, against everything my double stacked up against us, we found each other and immediately recognized that we belonged together as friends. And even when he brought back those awful memories of the ring and the Pharaoh's adviser, we knew something wasn't right and we didn't have the whole story, because we believed in each other that much even without remembering."
"You're right," Elliott realized. "And I got over being a recluse even before I got all my memories back. After the life I'd been living and thought I remembered, that was a miracle too."
Scott grinned. "Imagine that: we came to rescue you, but it was you who really rescued us. You figured out first what needed to be done to defeat my double."
"I'd say we all rescued each other," Elliott insisted. "It was a group effort."
"I'll agree with that," Sean spoke up from where he was sitting with his arms folded and his fedora pulled over his eyes.
Scott started. "How long have you been awake? We didn't wake you, did we?"
"Nah." Sean sat up straight and pushed his hat back. "And I've been listening to most of what you've been saying."
"And what do you think?" Scott asked slowly, somewhat warily.
"Well . . . even though I'm still more skeptical than I probably really should be, I can't deny that we've come through too many awful experiences for it to just be coincidence. Someone's watching over us."
Barry, sitting next to him, nodded. "Mm hmm."
"And oh Mama, am I glad of it!" Scott declared.
"I just hope . . . pray, even . . . that our luck won't run out," Sean said. "I guess sooner or later it could, especially if we stay in our line of work, but then again, there actually are a lot of law enforcement agents who live to retirement age and live out long, happy lives."
"And that's going to be us," Scott said firmly.
Elliott grinned. "You said it."
"That's an image I fully support," Barry intoned.
"So do I," Sean agreed. "And maybe with a little luck, a lot of miracles, and our classic togetherness, we'll make it."
"We will!" Scott declared. He leaned over the seat, raising a hand in a high-five.
Sean accepted that, and as he brought his hand to Scott's, Elliott reached over to join in too. Not willing to be left out, Barry brought his hand up to meet the others'.
"All for one and one for all," Sean cheered. "May we always be four---not three, not two, and definitely not one."
"Hear hear," Elliott grinned.
And as Scott looked around at his friends, he felt sure that they always would be. His double hadn't been able to split them apart, no matter how hard he had tried. No one else would succeed, either. Their bond was unbreakable.
Fandom: Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
Rating: T/PG-13
Word Count: 3,552
Main Characters: Fictional Rockapella (Sean, Scott, Elliott, Barry), Jeff, Greg, Mr. Gordon
Supporting Characters: Louie
Summary: Aftermath.
By Lucky_Ladybug
Notes: Featuring a new explanation for Scott's feather dream in chapter 6. I may overhaul In the Arms of the Angel to be the adventure talked about, since the wing story is no longer part of my expanded universe canon. Also, I made additions to chapters 8 and 9 to make them flow better. Wow, it feels so amazingly good to finally get this story done!
The group was still reeling as they left the cemetery and headed for the rental van Sean had taken out. Greg called the Chief to let her know everything was more than fine and they were coming home. Double Trouble could be turned loose, since there was no active warrant on them. But even as everyone rejoiced in their newfound memories, there were still conversations that needed to be had.
"It's so strange to remember now, after not remembering for however many days it was," Scott remarked. "I wonder how I ever could have forgot all of you and my double and everyone and everything else. I puzzled so long and so hard about what was missing and it was right there in front of me. Now that I remember, it seems so simple."
"It does, doesn't it," Sean mused. "But we really did remember each other; I knew something was important about all of you when you were in the news and my ads. Sure, I didn't know exactly what, but it was enough to start me looking."
"And that was enough," Barry said firmly.
"We all started out on paths to find each other, and we succeeded," Scott grinned.
"Well, I wouldn't say I started out on a path," Barry said. "But I was receptive when I ran into Elliott and then Sean."
"And then you came looking for me," Elliott smiled.
"And we found Jeff too," Sean said. "And then you led us to Scott."
"And I led you to Greg," Scott put in.
"Actually, it was interesting that a few real-life relationships stayed in place," Sean said. "Barry knew Mr. Gordon and Jeff, Scott knew Greg. . . ."
"I wonder why that was," Scott frowned. "I know my double couldn't have had any good reason for it."
"He must have figured it wouldn't hurt his plans," Elliott said. "Otherwise, he definitely wouldn't have let it stand."
"That's true," Scott acknowledged.
"And then there's the V.I.L.E. members who got caught up in the plot," Elliott said. "Double Trouble and Patty Larceny---she was obviously the waitress at the airport. Maybe there were others too, that we didn't run into. Why were they included?"
"I wonder if the double really meant to get everyone involved who became involved," Sean said thoughtfully. "What if some of the parties were accidents? After all, it was his first time trying a large-scale brainwashing. Some things could easily go haywire."
"That makes sense," Greg mused. "I can't see any reason why he'd deliberately want those characters in his plan, unless he was going to try to have them seriously associate with you guys. And . . . well, I guess that happened with Double Trouble, but not with Patty."
"I wonder what he thought when Double Trouble got their memories back and tried to get El and Barry to remember too," Sean said.
"I'm sure he wasn't happy," Scott chuckled.
"I'm sure the Chief isn't happy either, that we didn't find out how that guy did what he did," Greg sighed. "She's glad it's stopped, of course, but if we don't know how he did it, it could happen again."
"I don't think he'll try that again," Scott tried to assure him. "After it bombed so badly this time, he won't want to try an encore. He's never tried the same thing twice."
"Well, that's encouraging . . . I guess," Greg said slowly. "But what if he comes to try something else sooner or later?"
"Then we'll beat him back again," Scott insisted. "I kind of think he's fed up for a good, long while, though." His eyes darkened. "I wish it would be forever."
"We all do," Elliott said, his voice dark as he laid a hand on Scott's shoulder.
Scott gave him a weak but sincere smile. ". . . I wonder if everyone else caught up in the spirit's world remembers what happened," he worried.
"If they do, Louie must be both confused and concerned," Sean said.
"I should probably call him," Scott decided. "If he doesn't remember me, I can just say wrong number and hang up."
"In a way, it wouldn't seem right if he and the others forget," Sean mused. "They became important to us, even though the world we were living in was false."
"That's true," Scott agreed. "I guess we were only really in it for several days or maybe a couple of weeks, even though it felt like a lifetime. I still remember all the false memories now as well as the real ones. Which is pretty weird, actually."
"At least we can separate the real from the false," Sean said. "I think. . . ." He frowned, his brow furrowing. "Although when it comes to the time we spent under the spirit's spell, I'm not fully sure where the false memories stop and where the real ones begin. Maybe we'll have to get out a calendar to be sure."
"And hope we'll remember what day it was when this happened," Barry intoned.
Elliott flushed. "I'll have to go back to the campus," he groaned, turning red. "I can't just leave Ms. Parker hanging."
"We'll come with you, El," Scott said, draping an arm around Elliott's shoulders.
Elliott smiled weakly. "Thanks, but I should be able to handle it myself."
"It wouldn't be like we were coming along to protect you from talking to a very lovely member of the fairer sex all by yourself," Sean said. "We'd be coming along to back up your story, so she wouldn't think everything was an excuse."
"That's true," Elliott conceded. "Oh wow, I wonder what she thinks now that she has her real memories back and knows I'm not really a teacher there."
Scott winced. "I have a feeling there's a lot of confused people throughout New York and even the whole world right now. Hey, I wonder if my CDs still exist or if they were a product of the spirit's mind."
"I hope they do still exist," Sean said. "I'd like to hear them for real, not just in my false memories!"
"So would I," Elliott proclaimed.
"I would too," added Barry.
"Say, do you need to call your manager too?" Sean wondered.
"I should," Barry agreed, "but maybe I'll wait and see what kind of luck Scott has with Louie first."
"It's ringing," Scott reported. "Wait . . . hello? Louie?"
"Scotty!" Louie's gruff but happy voice boomed across the van, even without Scott setting the phone to Speaker. "Do you know what you've been doing to me?! I've been panicking this whole time, thinking I'd lost my best asset, and then all of a sudden these other memories come back to me and I realize that what the heck, I didn't even know you last month."
Scott gave a bittersweet smile. "It's pretty weird, isn't it?"
"It's crazy. I know darn well I didn't find you when you were eighteen and I didn't make a worldwide sensation out of you. But at the same time, I still have those memories. What the heck happened?!"
"Well . . . apparently that spirit you heard has some kind of a vendetta against me. He took it out on all of us and involved innocent people too, like you." Scott felt awkward to be explaining all of this, yet he knew Louie needed to know. "I'm really sorry it happened."
"Yeah? Well, I'm not. I wouldn't have met you otherwise." Louie barreled on. "You really could be a worldwide sensation! If you're ever up for that instead of all that detective stuff, look me up, okay?"
Scott grinned. "Okay. But it wouldn't just be me; it'd be the whole group. I'm not a solo act anymore." He looked around fondly at Sean, Elliott, and Barry. "And that's just the way it's supposed to be."
Sean gave him a thumbs-up. Elliott grinned. Even Barry abandoned his deadpan and looked pleased.
"Fine," Louie said. "Then come by and let me hear all of you sing. If you're ever ready to make a full career out of your singing, that is."
"We will," Scott promised. "And thanks, Louie. I am sorry this mess happened, but I'm not sorry I met you."
Barry nodded in approval and took out his phone. Now he would try calling Barlow.
In the back of the van, Jeff and his uncle were also having a bit of a reunion---although they planned to save most of their conversation for when they were alone. Both felt that they had done far too much of airing their family's dirty laundry in public . . . even though it was imagined dirty laundry.
"An hour ago, I could hardly believe there was a world where the robbery thing had happened but you believed I was innocent," Jeff said quietly.
"An hour ago, I don't even know what I was thinking," Mr. Gordon said, shaking his head. "Now that I remember the truth, the other is a garbled mess. And Jeff . . . I am so sorry for everything I put you through without knowing it." He reached out, laying a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "When I saw you lying in the cemetery and that thing said you were dead . . ." He trailed off, unable to continue.
"Hey." Jeff gripped the man's hand. "It's okay, Unc. None of that stuff about you not being sure about me really happened. It doesn't matter now." He sighed. "But I still feel awful about what I said to you anyway. There was crummy stuff said on both sides."
Mr. Gordon looked down. "But you wouldn't have even said any of what you did if I had been more understanding. In the false world, you were right that I was worried about what the neighbors thought." He shook his head. "Maybe, though, it wasn't just because of my reputation or even the family's. I'd like to think I was worried because I didn't like them thinking poorly of you."
"I'd like that too," Jeff said sincerely. "But we don't know. And there's not much point dwelling on it, no matter how bad we each feel."
Mr. Gordon regarded him in disbelief. "You can cast off the past few days that easily, after all the hurt and anguish and arguments?"
"Sure," Jeff smiled. "Or at least, I can push away what you said to me." He sobered again. "Maybe you can't do the same for what I said to you."
"That doesn't matter," Mr. Gordon insisted. "I only wish . . ." He trailed off. "I wish that our bond had been as strong as our friends'. Even when they remembered twisted versions of real things that happened to them, it didn't sway them from their determination to see each other as friends. That was amazing."
Now Jeff's smile turned sad. "Yeah, I wish things had been like that for us too," he admitted. "I guess that's something we need to work on."
"I want to," Mr. Gordon said in all sincerity. He sank back into the seat in overwhelmed amazement. "I have to admit, you're a lot more grown-up than I thought you were when you first came to work for me."
That both moved and embarrassed Jeff, and he ducked his head. "Thanks, Unc," he said quietly.
The movement jostled an earring and Jeff started. "Oh wow. Oh man." He reached up, touching one of the nose rings. "What am I gonna do about all this?! The real me doesn't want to wear these things!"
"Hey, it's okay," Greg said, turning around to look. "Just take them out and the holes will close up."
Mr. Gordon raised an eyebrow. "You know about piercings?"
Greg flushed. "Well . . . kind of, yeah. It was a phase I went through a long time ago."
"Luckily, the Chief brought him out of it," Sean said helpfully from the driver's seat.
"She brought all of us out of it," Scott said. "You know, when we get back to ACME, I think we should thank her for everything she's done for us. It's hard to say where we'd be right now if we hadn't joined ACME."
Sean nodded. "Very true. Of course, whatever we'd be doing, at least we'd be doing it together, since we met sometime before that."
"Maybe you would've had an argument and split up," Greg said.
"I don't think so," Elliott said, shaking his head. "If there's one thing this experience has taught us, it's that our bond will always bring us together."
"Yeah," Greg said. "I guess that's right." He spoke quietly now.
"Greg?" Scott twisted around to look at him. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. It's just . . ." Greg ran a hand through his hair. "I feel awful about what I said in the cemetery."
"You don't have to, Greg," Scott said kindly. "We understand. We were all a little trippy the last several days."
"But . . . you guys all remembered enough to find your way back to each other," Greg said sorrowfully. "I didn't remember any of you except Scott. There was just a big blank spot for the others. And maybe . . ." He clenched a fist. "Maybe I'm a little jealous that I wasn't in on that close bond. Then I think I've got no right to be; if I'm not part of it, it's because I drifted away from you. That part's true in the real world as well as the fake one."
Scott looked down. He couldn't deny he had felt hurt over what had happened between him and Greg. Still, there was more to the story. "That's behind us now, though," he said at last. "We've been growing closer to you again ever since the bridge. And I think . . ." He smiled. "I think that eventually, all of our bonds with you will be stronger again."
"That's a nice thought," Greg said, but he didn't look believing.
"Scott's right," Sean said. "That time will come."
Elliott and Barry nodded. They believed it too.
Finally Greg smiled a bit. "Well, maybe so." He hoped so.
****
Scott gazed out at the nighttime scenery as their plane headed back to New York from Boston. Greg and Sean were dozing, Barry and Elliott were lost in thought, and Jeff and his uncle were having a private conversation out of earshot, so the plane was very quiet at the moment. Scott absently hummed under his breath, not even fully aware of which song he had selected.
"People Change?"
He started at Elliott's voice. "Yeah," he realized. "I was singing it during a concert I gave in Tokyo. It's weird how it fit what happened to us, kind of. We sure changed under my double's spell."
"We did, but yet we didn't," Elliott answered. "We all got plopped into different life situations, but our personalities were still really the same." He looked down. "I guess maybe . . . maybe what happened to us is what could have happened if we'd never met."
"Only then we met anyway," Scott smiled. "And we knew something wasn't right until we did. That's how it was in real-life, too. I knew something was missing in my life up to the day when I found you guys having a snowball fight in Central Park."
"I did too," Elliott admitted with a smile. "Sean and Barry were great, but I knew there was supposed to be someone else there too. And then I saw you trying to hide from the snow behind a tree."
"And the snow from the branch most ungraciously fell on me," Scott said wryly.
Elliott chuckled, then sobered. "And I knew you were the missing link in the group."
"And I'm sure glad you did," Scott proclaimed. "I'm glad all of you did." He sobered too, looking down at the darkened area they were passing over now.
"What is it?" Elliott asked.
"I kept having these dreams when I didn't remember," Scott said. He swallowed hard. "One of them was about the collapsed building and when I sang People Change trying to keep you awake."
Elliott shivered. "I remember that." He smiled. "You made sure I didn't pass out until Sean and Barry came with help."
Scott nodded. One of the many times when one of their lives had hung in the balance. "I dreamed about that right after the concert," he said quietly.
"That must have really given you a start," Elliott said in stunned sympathy.
"It did," Scott agreed. "And then after we met, and I went to the hotel to rest, I dreamed about screaming for you to not leave me . . . and white feathers raining down."
Elliott averted his gaze. That experience had been tied to a serious explosion, where Elliott had been forced to run with a bomb to the nearest cliff at the Utah-Arizona border and throw it over the edge. It had gone off, knocking him unconscious and somehow blowing a hole in the space-time continuum. The feathers, apparently part of the packing in the bomb's crate, had swirled into the sky and then floated down around Elliott. When Scott had ran up to him, he had found his dear friend lying in a bed of feathers, seemingly dead. Elliott had revived, but they had both been trapped in a bizarre dimension within a dimension while outside, Sean and Barry had searched frantically for any trace of them while gradually losing hope. It had certainly been one of their strangest and most unsettling experiences.
"I guess I'm not surprised you'd dream about that," Elliott said quietly. "That really tried all of us."
Scott sadly nodded. "When I heard that explosion . . . and then when I found you, I . . . I thought . . ." He shook his head. "Well, you know what I thought."
Elliott nodded too. "And Sean, already so skeptical, really found himself struggling with what he believed about God when it looked like we were both gone." He sighed. "It was horrible to see him and Barry in the real world, but to not be able to reach them."
"But it was a miracle when we finally did break through," Scott said fervently. "We've really had a lot of miracles in our time. Actually, this here was another one. Against all odds, against everything my double stacked up against us, we found each other and immediately recognized that we belonged together as friends. And even when he brought back those awful memories of the ring and the Pharaoh's adviser, we knew something wasn't right and we didn't have the whole story, because we believed in each other that much even without remembering."
"You're right," Elliott realized. "And I got over being a recluse even before I got all my memories back. After the life I'd been living and thought I remembered, that was a miracle too."
Scott grinned. "Imagine that: we came to rescue you, but it was you who really rescued us. You figured out first what needed to be done to defeat my double."
"I'd say we all rescued each other," Elliott insisted. "It was a group effort."
"I'll agree with that," Sean spoke up from where he was sitting with his arms folded and his fedora pulled over his eyes.
Scott started. "How long have you been awake? We didn't wake you, did we?"
"Nah." Sean sat up straight and pushed his hat back. "And I've been listening to most of what you've been saying."
"And what do you think?" Scott asked slowly, somewhat warily.
"Well . . . even though I'm still more skeptical than I probably really should be, I can't deny that we've come through too many awful experiences for it to just be coincidence. Someone's watching over us."
Barry, sitting next to him, nodded. "Mm hmm."
"And oh Mama, am I glad of it!" Scott declared.
"I just hope . . . pray, even . . . that our luck won't run out," Sean said. "I guess sooner or later it could, especially if we stay in our line of work, but then again, there actually are a lot of law enforcement agents who live to retirement age and live out long, happy lives."
"And that's going to be us," Scott said firmly.
Elliott grinned. "You said it."
"That's an image I fully support," Barry intoned.
"So do I," Sean agreed. "And maybe with a little luck, a lot of miracles, and our classic togetherness, we'll make it."
"We will!" Scott declared. He leaned over the seat, raising a hand in a high-five.
Sean accepted that, and as he brought his hand to Scott's, Elliott reached over to join in too. Not willing to be left out, Barry brought his hand up to meet the others'.
"All for one and one for all," Sean cheered. "May we always be four---not three, not two, and definitely not one."
"Hear hear," Elliott grinned.
And as Scott looked around at his friends, he felt sure that they always would be. His double hadn't been able to split them apart, no matter how hard he had tried. No one else would succeed, either. Their bond was unbreakable.