In Which Mother Chime is Finally Met and the Players Assembled...
Alice looked at Johanna with a dismal stare and then huffed. "It's the queen. We need to find out why she is here!"
Johanna shook her head. The ferocity of her disagreeing with Alice was plain as livid lines across her forehead as she frowned. "She still never said why she was here in the Cloister of Science."
Amaretto looked at Johanna and then shook her aunt by the shoulder. "See? Look at her forehead! She's starting to show emotion!"
Katherine looked back and then shook her head. "For all we know she could have just been showing reserve the whole time. British ladies are renowned for their poise. Those of the Empire of New Machina are even better at it. Subterfuge is a high commodity." Amaretto rolled her eyes.
The queen shook her head and then started to chuckle slightly. "If all you wanted to know was why we were here, then we shall tell you. I was here to see Mother Chime and get what she promised to me."
The words made Amaretto a little confused. A dumbfounded look crossed her face that she quickly shook her head to make go away and look more relaxed. She looked to Katherine who was trying not to let a similarly perplexed look to cross her face as well. "Wait, she came here at the insistence of Mother Chime? So then what are we doing trying to rescue her?"
Both Alice and Johanna looked to the woman who was obviously attached to the floor. The queen moved forwards and Amaretto could finally see the hoses and attachments that were there. The thin hoses spread out from under her dress and connected to ports and knobs along the floor, and soft trails of steam spread along the floor. Amaretto bit her lip in frustration. Everything was getting out of control, she was more confused now than when she had gone into the watch shop to change clothes. The queen smiled and then said in a small voice, "This is the reason that we came here."
Alice's brows knit together and she looked at the woman on the bed. "Then who is that?" Her voice was solidly concerned.
The queen smiled and looked back at the bed wistfully. "That was the old me."
Johanna narrowed her eyes and Katherine stopped looking through her purse. Amaretto took a step forwards towards the bed and then turned around shaking her head. She felt eh question come out before she even meant to say it, "The old you; what exactly is that supposed to mean?"
Alice suddenly took a sharp intake of breath. "Dear angels in heaven," she exclaimed. "The queen has been sick for the past three years. It was thought to be an incurable disease. That was when Mother Chime came and the changes started taking place. The reason for all of this has been the culmination of this?" Alice motioned to what appeared to be the queen's new body.
The queen smiled and then put her hands on her hips. Her nails clicked against her waist in a slight metallic sound. She then raised her arms and quickly turned a couple of times, showing off her new body. Amaretto was surprised that none of the coils of hose got tangled. The queen smiled once more and said, "Mother Chime came with her scientists and with a plan as well."
Amaretto narrowed her eyes. "This plan was to give you another body?"
A melodic voice answered her question at that moment. "Why yes it was. I never thought it would happen this quickly though."
Everyone in the room quickly turned around and looked to see who it was that was speaking. A woman sashayed into the room. She was dressed in a long flowing blue gown of muslin and seemed to cling to her frame. Her eyes were a very dark shade of gray that seemed to encompass the whole of her socket. Her skin was a pale shade of off-white, which had a bluish tint to it as well. Her lips had been curved into a rather disarming smile and cunning eyes. Amaretto thought she looked like a well dressed cadaver.
Katherine smiled slightly and then curtsied. "Mother Chime I take it then?"
The woman nodded her head. "Indeed you would have it correct then madam."
Katherine's smile got larger and then her silver chain was out once more and her eyes were a little wild when she screamed again, "The power of Mazda compels you!"
Amaretto felt like smacking her forehead.
Mother Chime raised an eyebrow. "Using Babylonian spells will not make me go away."
Katherine huffed and then threw the Mazda car medallion back into her purse. "You can't say I didn't try."
Amaretto huffed and crossed her arms. "Using a car to try to exorcise something is not going to happen."
Katherine shrugged. "I tried. I have no idea now."
Alice had wide eyes as she stared at Mother Chime. "You are the infamous Mother Chime?" Alice didn't even bother to curtsey, a small effort that Johanna had not bothered to rectify either. Amaretto noticed as well and she could not help but wonder if Mother Chime was offended by it.
Mother Chime made a slight bow, and Amaretto was sure that she didn't mind at all. The woman opened her mouth and the melodic voice once again permeated the air. "That is indeed who I am. It is a pleasure to make the acquaintance of famous spiritualists Alice Crowly and Johanna Dee however. I never thought I would ever get the chance or pleasure to meet the two of you."
Johanna stiffened at the usage of her name. Amaretto was sure that slight body movement which she had not seen before was because the Stone was close by. She tried again to scan the room for it, but in vain. Alice simply stood there with her mouth hanging open. It was only a moment more before she composed herself and spoke. "You know of us?"
"Why yes. I make it a point to know of those who stand against me, even if I have done nothing to gain your ire." Mother Chime continued to smile and Amaretto wanted to slap the smile off of the woman.
There was something about her that made her skin crawl.
Johanna suddenly sputtered and her face seemed to contort with emotion and then her deadpan voice seemed to gain an octave. "Gained our ire? You burned our house down! You stole from us!" Rage appeared to be exuding from the normally calm persona that Johanna had. The anger she was now expressing seemed also a bit of a surprise to Alice, who was still holding on to her guns, but had lifted her hands only a fraction in a reaction to Johanna.
Amaretto tugged at her aunt's arm and whispered to her excitedly. "See? I told you! That means that the Stone of Communication has to be nearby. It's the only way that her emotion could be showing though at this time."
Katherine narrowed her eyes and made a slight motion around the room with her hand. "And where do you think that it would be hidden? There seems to be no place for them to keep it."
Amaretto scanned the room that they were in and then looked to where the queen was standing. She slowly made as if to look and saw that the floor had a small hole where the wires and the hoses that were attached to the queen seemed to sink under the floor. As she continued to look around, she looked and saw that the wires seemed to go towards the bed that was on the other side of the room. Amaretto stared at the wires for a moment and then turned back to look at the queen.
Amaretto spoke in a soft voice, "What perchance are the wires and hoses for?"
At this, the queen seemed to be rather pleased and then said, "This is actually a partial gift to me. It was thanks to Mother Chime herself."
Amaretto frowned. "Don't you mean Grandmother Chime?"
Mother Chime smiled and then said, "That was the late Mistress of Sciences. I am the second to have that name."
Amaretto snickered and said, "Does that mean the woman who will take after you will be called Daughter Chime?"
Mother chime looked at Amaretto and the gray orbs never wavered. "If she so wished it."
Katherine nodded her head as Amaretto looked away, trying not to be looked at. She then said, "I do not think that you have the same accent as the others that are in this room."
Mother Chime made her slight smile once more and turned her gaze towards Amaretto's godmother. "You would be correct in that. I am not necessarily from the Empire, but that does not mean that I cannot be a citizen of it."
Katherine smirked and said, "I never said you couldn't be a part of it. I merely meant that you were not to begin with." As she said that, Mother Chime's eyes seemed to darken for a moment and then lightened once more.
"There is nothing that cannot gainsay your logic, but I think that if anyone can say whether or not I am beholden to the empire, I think that the queen is the one who has that power." Mother Chime turned and made a motion with her hand towards the queen. Amaretto noticed that around the woman's wrist, a strange silver white bracelet was wrapped twice. From the bracelet, what appeared to be small chains were wrapped around her waist. A closer look revealed them to be small hoses that were attached just like the queen had on her shoulders.
Amaretto elbowed her aunt and pointed them out to her. Katherine's eyes narrowed and she then said, "There is no way that this is all being powered by steam. Something else has to be powering this conversion that is going on."
Amaretto grinned. "Something like the Stone?"
Katherine nodded. "I think you are right. I think that the Stone is somewhere here."
At this time, Alice spoke in a concerned tone. "If in fact you are the queen, then what was it that Mother Chime offered to you?"
The queen smiled. "She gave us a new body." The queen's tone was matter of fact and Amaretto almost choked at what the queen said.
Alice blinked. "She gave you a new body?"
The queen nodded her head. "In exchange for protection, she offered to help cure the sickness that was ailing my body. In order to do so, she and all of her scientists helped to create this new body and have placed my consciousness into this new construct. This new construct will become our new body and also allow us to rule wisely in our ken for more years than we originally could."
Alice blinked and looked like she was about to pass out. Amaretto felt a pang of regret for her. It was not every day that one was told that body swapping was supposed to happen. This on the other hand, was just enough to throw everything out of whack. Amaretto remembered Tempus saying that this was only going to be a test run. She let a rather disparaging cuss word drop from her mouth when she had thought about how this had turned into a rescue mission and now, the newest person who they thought needed to be rescues was secretly playing invasion of the body snatchers with her captor. Amaretto simply wanted to go home, but it began to look like she would have to finish this before she was allowed to. This was all just so wrong.