The dimension we landed in turned out to be something out of a science fiction novel. A craft of some sort was sitting on a cold, deserted planet without any notice of how the craft came to be there. I wasn't worried about the cold climate or even the fact that if we stayed too long here we might die. No, what I was worried about was the fact that Dorothy and Fortson were shooting little balls of something at me, and it stung like a mother! I was going to kill them if one of them didn't end up killing me first. Cursing to the high heavens, I ran for my skin and found myself behind a giant boulder.
"Come out, Mina! We're trying to get you to develop your skills! You know we could spend years here and go back and it would only be a day later then when we left? We call this space the..." Frank shouted happily.
"Entertainment space! I know!" I yelled back irritably and Dorothy appeared in front of me.
"You just read his mind," she congratulated me and showed me a huge ball of the mysterious substance. "What is this called?"
"Judging Crystals," I answered confused and hoping that she wouldn't hit me with it.
"Exactly. Did you know that before?" She questioned and something was off with the way she said it.
"No..." I replied and she smiled showing her teeth. That was it! She wasn't moving her mouth! Which means I was...mind reading?
"Crap!" I dodged out of the way of the incoming J.C. and started running again. The Jokers seemed to be having a great time torturing me and I was getting agitated. I shouldn't be running around in another dimension! I should be at school teaching students and wondering what I was going to eat for lunch! These two though...they cause all of this to happen. If they hadn't been employed at that school...
"Then you would have met Jack anyway," I reprimanded myself and ran harder. I may not have wanted this job but I got it so I had to stick with it. Even if that meant getting a little hurt in the process.
With my new goal in mind, I stopped and turned to face my attackers. If the two Royals had been even a little concerned by the sudden change in demeanor, they didn't show it. Instead, they kept hitting me those damned crystals that hurt like hell. Putting aside the stinging pain, I closed my eyes and concentrated. I had been able to do that and see a ghost so why not try that to make myself disappear? It seemed to have worked because when I opened my eyes again, I wasn't getting hit by those idiotic crystals and I was really happy about that. The Jokers had disappeared so whether or not they were copying me was a problem. How was I supposed to defeat them if I couldn't see them...or rather how were they supposed to teach me? Confused and mildly alarmed, I found myself staring at a giant boulder. This giant boulder wasn't a normal one you'd find in my dimension. No. Instead it turns out to be a giant boulder dog. Yes. A dog.
I found this out when I was staring at the rock and it started to move. A piece of it did in any case. I soon formed the conclusion it was a canine when it stood up and had the shape of man's best friend. Not that this doggy would have loved men very much. In fact when Fortson suddenly came into view the pooch seemed to have a fit.
""Woah! Hold it Fido! I'm not the enemy here!" He boomed at the huge animal and it actually stopped moving. "I need you to find out where the woman with this scent is. Can you do that for me?" The dog nodded and had to lie down to sniff the object he had in his hands. Almost immediately, it got up and bounded my way. Hastily getting up, I started running away. I seemed to be doing that a lot here. It was a great chase. The dog seemed to be having the time of its life and I was trying not to fall behind and get eaten. That's when it occurred to me. What if I just made myself larger than the dog was? The only problem was that I didn't have any way to distract him to be able to concentrate hard enough. Fixating on the image and smell of another me wasn't easy but I was able to manage it. Seeing another me sprint off in into the distance was weird and very awkward to take my mind off of. Pondering how I was to get bigger than the mutt, I didn't observe my surroundings until I looked down at the annoying itch in my foot. I was gigantic. The spaceship looked just about my size and I speculated on the where it would be programmed to go...if it was programmed at all. Making myself visible, I searched for the dog. I found him looking up at my face attentively. He didn't seem to see me as an enemy but more as a human...from what I gathered from his chaotic thoughts. I would never suggest reading the minds of a dog, ever. It's not that interesting. Plus, it appears to give you a headache.
"Go find the little people," I instructed and the dog shot off glad to be able to do something to move. It seems that he had been here awhile. Which was perfectly fine with me...but he was starting to grow on me.
Shrinking back down to my normal size, I waited for the Boulder Dog to come back with his prizes...or twigs...hopefully he wouldn't crush them....ok so maybe it was a bad idea but I can fix it! Running in the direction that the dog went, I searched for his brain waves and found them closer to the spaceship then I had expected. I bolted for the group and spotted them dodging the dog.
"CALL HIM OFF!" Dorothy screamed at me and just missed being crushed by his giant paws.
"Hey! Um...FIDO! Come here boy!" I exclaimed and put the thought in his mind that he was my pet and he automatically accepted it. Do dogs even have brains? Anyway, Fido sat down at my feet and stared down at me expectantly.
"Good boy!" I told him and reached up to pet him...even if I couldn't reach him. He seemed to get what I was trying to do though and put his muzzle in my hands. Yeah he had grown on me. Even if I did like cats better.
"So...are we done yet?" I questioned and they started laughing. I wasn't quite sure what was so funny but it did seem to have some kind of appeal to it. Looking up at the dog, I wondered what would happen to him and I tapped him lightly on the nose.
"You want to come with me, huh?" I said absently to him and tapped his nose again wishing that he would get smaller. Smaller he got. He ended up getting so small that I was looking at a keychain size doggy. Not something I wanted so, I tried again, this time making him bigger. It seemed to work because he stopped at just the right size and I happily picked him up in my arms.
"Say hi to my new pet," I told the two educators and they grinned.
"Only you would make a pet out of a rock," Dorothy giggled and Fortson shook his head.
"A pet rock...what will Victory say?" he muttered and I glared at him.
"It's either the dog and me or neither of us," I snorted and returned to my home dimension with my new pet.
My house was quiet when I flopped on the couch and put Fido next to me. What a cliché name. Fido. Who even name's their pet that anymore? It's like naming a cat fluffy. You just don't do it. Considering his name, I looked over at my rock like pet and noticed that he was sleeping peacefully. Did he even eat? What did he eat? How was I supposed to take care of something that I didn't even know if it ate or not? Was he even a he? The questions just kept piling up until I laid my head in my hands and sighed. I was putting another being at risk by taking him from home dimension and this is where I end up. Jeez. You would think that I was some sort of magnet for unwanted people or at least weird things. The Royal thing is weird. The Jack and Victoria thing is strange. The me not teaching because I was the Queen of the Cards thing was just plain wrong. Yet here I am. Staring thoughtlessly into space not worrying about anything in particular and I couldn't help but smile. This truly was bliss in many different ways. I didn't have a whole lot to worry about besides getting back to school and saving the Royal race from destruction but hey! That's just the beginning of it. Great isn't it?
I was rambling in my mind and I wasn't quite sure how I was going to handle all of this. Which was fine. I didn't expect me not to handle it and even if I didn't it wasn't as if I was going to become insane. I did have priorities. Such as checking up on Jack. Since it sounded like such a good idea, I decided to go through with it. Searching with my mind for his vibes, I found myself lost in a sea of thoughts that was more entertaining. What I wouldn't give to just sit there and listen to people thoughts. I could learn whole life stories from just poking around! That would be fun. In a really unmoral way but who was keeping track? Suddenly, a mental jab poked its way through the blur of mental thoughts and I found myself connected to Jack.
"You were looking for me?" he said calmly and I mentally flushed. Don't ask how. I just did. I wasn't even quite sure I could have the feeling of flushing in my mental state.
"Well?" he said impatiently.
"Oh, I was just checking up on you," I replied and I heard him curse quietly to himself.
"Right. Well I have to go. The whole getting the Jane of Diamonds isn't going quite as well as I planned. See you later," he ended cutting of the connection and I was left in the sea of thoughts, barely able to flounder for my own sanity.
"What's up with him?" I mumbled under my breath and went back to my own occupied mind. It seemed to be taking forever for everyone to track the other Royals down so all I could do was wait for them to come back...and go teach at school. Glad to have something to do, I got up and stared getting ready to teach. I needed the mental stress of something and hopefully, I would get it through this outlet.
Just as I finished getting ready, I found myself face to face with Nil who was holding on to the arm of a girl.
"Welcome back," I greeted Nil and he nodded smiling.
"This is Fiend. The Jane of Spades," he introduced us and I looked at the over radical girl who stood next to him. When I mean radical, I mean that there was a really weird jacket covering a gown that would have looked great on anyone but her. Add that to the boots that would have gone with the dress and you get a very awkward looking girl. And by awkward, I mean this girl looked awkward. Half of her hair was short while the other half was long, blonde and dark drown respectively. With highlights and all. Her face was adorably horrible if there was such a thing and her body seemed to match. All long short limbs. Which was oddly amazing. Fiend was the right name for this girl oddly enough and she seemed to know it because she looked as comfortable as a girl like her could be.
"Hey," she voiced stopping my examination of her. She stared at me challengingly and I smiled back at her.
"Hey. Do you want to help us?" I questioned and she nodded mildly amused...or was it horrified? I couldn't tell. Her face wasn't exactly making it easy. The only window to this girl was her voice and maybe her eyes if she stopped glaring at me.
"I heard Nil out and I challenged him to a game. He won and here I am," She shrugged and I smiled. That was like Nil. He usually won games even if it was by pure luck.
"What game?" I asked curious looking from one to the other and Nil's smile widened.
"Chess," He replied just a bit smug and I laughed.
"Fiend, you got the short end of the stick on that one," I informed her and she frowned at me...or did she smile? It was so hard to tell!
"Why do you say that?" She asked her mouth doing the wave. I couldn't tell whether she was angry or happy.
"He plays in Chess tournaments all the time. He wins every single one of them," I briefed her and her eyes widened and then narrowed.
"You cheated then," she accused him and he shook his head.
"I played the game. You asked me what game I wanted to play and here I am. You let me choose the game. That was your fault, not mine," he pointed out rationally and she glared or smirked at him.
"Hey, no need to get testy," She muttered and smiled at him. I mean it was an actual smile. There wasn't any mistake about it and it seemed to bring her entire structure together. Suddenly, the outfit looked great and even the hairstyle looked like it fit perfectly with her. The sudden change in her left me speechless.
"Well, Ms. Queen. I have a problem," she stated bringing me out of my thought and I looked at her confused.
"What's that?" I asked pulling myself together.
"I don't have a home," She answered and I blinked. I really was a magnet.
"Well, to have a home you need to have name. Do you have one?" I inquired and she frowned...or scowled.
"No. My mom was too freaked out by me at birth," she responded slowly looking for my reaction and I nodded.
"I know the feeling. I was brought to a priest for exercising a demon out of me because I was dreaming of the Ace of Hearts," I nodded understanding.
"That's your dove right?" She said and I nodded.
"Yeah."
"Where is he?"
"He's going to get the Jane of Diamonds for our little group."
"So you don't know if he's getting her in unusual ways?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm saying he might be cheating on you."
"He would never do that," I said aghast and she shook her head.
"You never know. You can't exactly feel it. For all you know he could be with that Queen of Spades," She pointed out and I stared at her.
"I know because I trust him," I replied determinedly and she shook her head.
"You're out of your mind to trust men. They're all skirt chasers," she voiced and I shuddered. That was a thought I didn't want to think about.
"Can I stay here?" She asked calmly and I nodded.
"Yeah," I agreed with a sigh and found myself with yet another strange person.
Author's note: Sorry for it being so late! my internet's gone to the dogs! Don't forget to vote and comment! Thanks for the support! :D