White Shadows

Chapter 27 - Story Of An Immigrant

***FIONNA***

I don't know how he did it, but Russell somehow worked things out so I could apply for the Guardian program and not get denied for health reasons like the first time. Gabe, when I asked him about it, said he'd heard they needed more recruits on account of old Prez Holly wiping out half the old ones. And that's a conservative estimate.

I just wish I could have been partnered with Gabe. I know him better than anyone around here, after all. He's the best Jaeger copilot I could have had, other than Alex. But Russell's support couldn't get us everything we wanted. In any case, we're both pretty satisfied with our partners. Gabe, in particular, was happy to discover his new partner was a bi dude, and they've been dating for about six weeks as of now, the end of July. Kensi and I aren't quite so close, but we get a kick out of going back to Hell every couple of weeks to check on her demon. We both have to stay invisible most of the time, but it's pretty fun, stopping in Hellish stores to buy things and secretly dropping money in cash registers on our way out. (I got the idea from Deathly Hallows.) And her demon's pretty cool. She's in an all-girl band - she plays bass. We both watched them practice once in the keyboardist's garage. They're awesome, even better than Annie's band. But don't tell her I said that.

When Russell and Annie summon me to their office (such as it were - it's located in an apartment in the same Bearville building I've been living in since I died), I initially think it's for a monthly performance review or something. However, there are two clues arguing against that supposition. One, Kensi's not there. And two, Russell and Annie are joined by their mom. I haven't seen her in almost two months - she had to return to the Third 'Verse to take care of some business or other.

"'Sup?" I ask, trying not to betray how nervous I suddenly feel, right in the pit of my stomach.

Russell closes a book he'd been reading, probably to pass the time. "I don't think this one's a very popular title in Hell, is it?" he asks, holding up the cover to show me. It's called The Obsidian Mirror. The name sounds sort of familiar - I might have seen it in Smythe and Darknell's once or twice - but I never picked it up. So I shake my head in response to Russell's question.

"I dunno if you remember," Annie says, "but while we were in Tahoe, I mentioned something about the Black Mirror. I kinda wasn't supposed to tell you about that, but..."

I look from the siblings to the book, and back again. "Black Mirror, Obsidian Mirror? Are you guys trying to tell me-?"

"Someone must have clued this Catherine Fisher in to the legends of this 'verse," Russell says. "Who, nobody knows."

"What kind of legend are we talking about?" I ask. "And what does it have to do with me?"

Russell hands me the book and directs me to the dust-jacket. I read it, and then my jaw drops. "You're not serious. Time travel?"

Marian nods. "We're serious. But here's the thing - whereas Fisher's alternate, fictional mirror is a more general time-travel device, the Black Mirror is designed with a single, specific purpose."

A long time goes by before I say, "Okay, dramatic pause over. Just tell me."

"You know how your human died before you could be her guardian?" Annie says.

I sigh through my nose. I'd been heartbroken when, my first day on the job, I was told that my human had committed suicide, and I was therefore not assigned to any specific Primer (besides Kensi's demon, that is.) Now, however, I get a chance to voice something that's bugged me ever since that bombshell reveal. "Why is it that I never, like, felt it or anything when other-me died?" I ask. "I'd think I would have at least felt like someone just walked on my grave or something, wouldn't I?"

"I thought demons were cremated," Annie says.

"I lived in a border town," I say. "I picked up a few Heavenly expressions."

"By sheer coincidence," Russell says, "you and your human died at almost exactly the same time." He lays the book down on the table. "I've checked the records over and over. Had you died a millisecond earlier, we'd be talking to your human, not you, right now."

"And that's where the Black Mirror comes in," says Marian. "According to the legend, its power is this - if you look into it, you'll be able to see back in time to just before the moment of your counterpart's death. And...and, potentially, you could save your counterpart's life."

My mouth hangs open all over again. I'm floored. I...I'm totally lost for words. But Marian's not done. "But we've got proof now that the Black Mirror exists. And we're sending you to be the one to put it to the test."

I finally close my mouth before I swallow a fly or twelve. "Wh-why? Why me?"

Marian gazes fondly at her kids. "Let's just say they see a welcome end result for your human, should you succeed. Also..." She opens her purse and extracts a piece of thick, glossy paper with a picture of a desert landscape printed on it. A picture captioned "Sedona." "You were one of the addressees on this postcard, which helped make our decision a little easier."

I read the postcard. "Fionna, Gabe, Freddie, and anyone else I may have missed - didn't I tell you I'd send this to you guys? You've got a nice little treasure hunt ahead of you now! Your Third 'Verse friend, Steve Walker."

"Did you tell her yet?" Gabe asks. He's just walked through the door, along with his boyfriend, he of the lean muscle, green eyes, and peppermint mocha addiction, with Kensi bringing up the rear.

"You guys already knew?" I ask, unsure if I could ever be more surprised than this. Well, maybe if I were to have my skull sewn to the bath mat.

"It was all, uh, contingent on your approval," Kensi says. "So they decided to come to you last. But if you wanna go, we're all going with you."

"And besides," Gabe says, "I thought, what if we bring your human back and, somehow, she gets together with Alex's human?"

"Wouldn't that be nice," I say, "but there's-"

"Hey." Gabe takes my hand. "Fionna, I've seen how you and Alex are together. I seriously think the universe is rooting for you to hook up in some way, shape, or form. It doesn't have to be you and the Alex you know. It could be your humans." He looks off to one side for a moment. "I've gotten some good glimpses of Alex's human when I've visited mine. He's not much different from his angel, I don't think."

Call me intrigued. Not to mention suddenly ship-minded. I turn to the Troys and ask, "Is there any other catch?"

"None, really," Marian says. "As far as we're aware. It should be a straightforward treasure hunt, like Steve said."

"But there's this," Annie says. "Supposedly, you have to use the Mirror within one year of your counterpart dying, or else it's no good."

"Well," I say, "that gives us three months of who knows how much globetrotting. No pressure, right?"

"No pressure," says Gabe's partner.

I hold out my fist, and the others form a circle, placing their fists next to mine. "I'm in," I say. "Let's save my human."

We do that raising-our-stacked-fists-in-the-air thing, then Kensi punches my shoulder and starts singing the Adventure Time theme song, substituting our names for those of Finn and Jake.

This is going to be either balls-to-the-wall amazing or the worst mistake any of us have ever made. But right now, all I'm thinking is this:

Oh. Yeah.

TO BE CONTINUED...