The sound of birds chirping was gradually getting harder and harder to ignore, as was the stream of sunlight filtering in through the window. He must have overslept...why didn't the alarm go off? Why didn't the Sheep of Daylight baa to welcome the day? No, why didn't any of his friends call to wake him, knowing today was the day of the Christmas Eve party?
His body still heavy with drowsiness, Tim sat up in bed...a bed he did not recognize. In fact, he didn't recognize anything about this room...this was definitely not a room in his home. But how could this be? He swore he could remember falling asleep in his own bed last night...and his lover LG was far too stressed yesterday filming his hit TV show's Christmas special for Tim to have spent the night at his place. So what was the deal?
One foot hit the floor, then the other. Tim walked over to the window that was still annoyingly leaking sunlight into his unadjusted eyes and pulled back the curtain...he could not believe what was before his eyes. It was snowing, a rare sight in The Outback...especially to this degree. There were people dressed in old-fashioned clothing, pristine pine trees, little wooden houses with snow-topped roofs...it felt like a Christmas fairytale land.
The ground was awash with fluffy snow, with yet more still softly dancing in the sky. A holiday melody played in the distance, the sort one might hear from an old-fashioned music box. In the distance was a grove of such perfect-looking evergreen trees that Tim could almost smell them from the window. Further still, a gate, beyond which were a few quaint-looking buildings that seemed straight out of a fairytale book.
One thing was for sure - Timmy wasn't in The Outback anymore. Honestly, it didn't look like anywhere in IGNOLand he'd seen before...his head wrapped up in these thoughts, he opens the door--
“Whoa!!”
...crashing right into someone who was about to enter.
Tim moved to catch him before he fell down the stairs behind the door. It was a young boy - seemingly about 12 years old - dressed in formal attire, a few centuries out of fashion...his eyes were wide with surprise as Tim helped him regain his balance, just barely saving the plate of milk and cookies balancing on the tray he had been carrying.
“Oh gosh, I'm sorry...I didn't know you'd be awake yet!!” he said, before turning to shout down the stairs. “Hey, Pop, he's up!! He woke up!!”
Tim saw an older man step into view, climbing the stairs to meet them.
“Well I'll be, you seem right as rain!! I told you he'd pull through, Skip!!”, the man said, ruffling his son's hair. Tim smiled nervously, a million questions on his mind...but he chose the foremost.
“Ah, thank you...but do you mind telling me where I am?”
“Well sure!! The name's Bob Davis, and this here's my son, Bob Jr...but you can call him Skip for short!! We found you passed out in the snow after the big storm...you'd have frozen to death out there, so we brought you back home where you've been sleeping ever since.”
“Sleeping...? For how long?! Oh no, did I miss the Christmas party?”, he wondered aloud. Tim couldn't recall any such blizzard...which would be especially uncharacteristic in his homeland of The Outback. But his memory of anything that happened the day before was a blur...and trying to remember just made his head hurt.
“Naw, of course not!!”, said Skip cheerfully. “Christmas is today!!”
“T...today...? Are you sure?”
“Yer darn tootin'!! Party's tonight in the town square and everything!!”
Christmas was today...how could this be? The day before had surely been December 23rd, the day before the annual IGNO Christmas party...and Tim sure didn't feel like he had been asleep for a whole day. Then again, his head was pounding...if he really had missed the party, his friends must be wondering where he was.
“Thank you for helping me...do you happen to have a phone I could use to call my friends? Or directions for how to get from here to IGNO City...?”
“IGNO...City?”, asked Bob Davis, a look of blank confusion on his face. He looked to his son, equally confused, then back at Tim. “I've never heard of such a place. Oh, but there's a phone at town hall...and a train, too. We can give you directions there, help you get a start?”
A cold sweat washed over Tim's entire body...they hadn't heard of IGNO City? He knew that there were other small continents and islands off the mainland of IGNOLand - of course, he lived on one of them. But IGNO City was still one of the largest cities in the civilized world...to have never even heard of it was truly unusual. Just where in the world was he...?
“O-oh...thank you. Any directions at all would be a big help, haha...”
Tim laughed nervously - he didn't want to insult the ones who helped him recover by asking too many questions, so this was fine for now. The two told him how to reach town square, which fortunately wasn't terribly far - they even saw him off with some warm winter clothing and a cup of hot cocoa. Tim had never met such kind strangers before...it actually felt a little unsettling how nice they were.
Tim reached the square in no time - and it was rather hard to miss, with such a giant Christmas tree sitting in the center of everything. All the shops and buildings had a very old-world look, the dusting of snow atop them providing a festive holiday look. There were jingling bells, delicious smells, and music filling the air. ...the music stood out to him, in particular. It had a distinctive holiday sound, but at the same time felt almost...ominous. And as he watched the people walk by to the sound of the music, their eery, plastered-on smiles became all the more creepy...everyone was happy. Way too happy. Even if it was Christmas...this high concentration of joy left a tight knot in the pit of Tim's stomach.
He had to shake it off and focus - he was here to find a phone so he could contact his friends. But as he made his way down the frosty cobblestone streets, he soon realized there was no need - his friends were...already here? He looked closer, but sure enough it was them - all of them. They were huddled in a circle near what seemed like a train station, and their frantic gestures made it obvious even from a distance that they must have been discussing the mysterious circumstances that lead them here.
Sure enough, when he and the remaining stragglers joined up with the group, they found their stories formed a common link - all of them recall falling asleep in their own beds, but waking up somewhere unfamiliar. Kindly strangers would tell them that they had been rescued from a blizzard before giving them directions to the very town square where they stood. If asked about IGNO City, they would claim to never have heard of it before, and those who had attempted to use the phones reported being unable to reach any of the familiar numbers.
However, SG2 and Bones were told that they could find a map inside the train station that might point them in the right direction. But Tim already knew that...he...knew it. Didn't he? Yet Bob and Skip didn't say anything about a map. His head throbbed...this all seemed like he'd heard it before, but he had gone straight from their house to the square!! He hadn't even seen his friends the day before, he hadn't even journeyed to the mainland in days!! So why did he feel like he'd just spoken with them? That they'd just had this exact conversation before?!
While the others were distracted by the sight of an old-fashioned steam train taking off, Tim found a moment to pull LG aside.
“LG...have you noticed anything strange about this place?”
“What, you mean how it's like a perfect Christmas wonderland that we just happened to find ourselves in, on Christmas?”
“Yes, exactly!! It's just so perfect...to the point that it doesn't even feel realistic. Look at the townspeople for example...they're way, way too happy. They don't look natural at all...it's called 'uncanny valley', a theory I learned about when studying Clonomancy...it's the unnatural feeling of revulsion you get when you look at something that seems so perfectly human that it has this certain...wrongness to it. And I think it can be applied not only to the people here, but to the village itself...”
LG was silent for a long moment as he listened to Tim's hypothesis...to Tim, he seemed to be thinking it over in his own head, as though he, too, had his own misgivings. But LG shook his head, turning those thoughts aside.
“No...no, that's completely ridiculous. Look, there's a map over there, right? Let's just see if we can find a way to get back to IGNOLand. You're not used to winter weather like this...the cold must be getting to your head.”
LG walked away, joining the others at the wall where they peered at a large map. But Tim just stood where he was...he couldn't believe that even LG would discount him so quickly. Though for a moment, it had seemed that he might agree...but Tim had been dating LG for almost two years now, and he knew that the Gaylian would often hide his real thoughts and feelings if he thought they might worry his friends. Was that what he was doing now...? Tim didn't suppose he ought to bring this issue up to the entire group, but maybe he would be able to pull someone else aside who would listen...
“Awesome, this map does us no good. Guess we won't be getting home in time for the Christmas party.”
Bones was feeling sad about missing the annual celebration, so SG2 and the others tried to cheer him up by pointing out that they were in the best place to have a Christmas vacation...they were deciding to stay here, and find a way back out tomorrow!! Tim was not happy with this conclusion...but his past branded him as a Neutral traitor and he knew there'd be no way he could object without raising Konungur Bones' ire. If they were really going to stick around...he had to at least get to the bottom of this situation himself.
The IGNOites went on to engage in numerous Christmas activities together, laughing and having fun...Tim must have seemed like quite the humbug as he kept himself a bit isolated from the others, though he did his best to put on a fake smile to avoid arousing suspicion. While the others began having an all-out snowball war, he began to build a snowman off to the side by himself, trying to observe the village around him and formulate his thoughts. He was soon joined by newcomer Iris, who was no doubt too shy to jump into the fray herself, instead choosing to help Tim with this much milder activity.
Should I...ask her? She's one of the only ones in the group who might hear me out, without calling me a filthy Neutral...since she's not from a region with strong ties to The Empire.
“Hey, Iris...”
Tim proceeded to explain the uncanny valley theory to Iris, who seemed to understand well enough...but she didn't look like she really felt the same.
“I actually think it's really nice here...the people are friendly and everyone is getting into the spirit of the celebration. It reminds me of the holiday festivals we'd have back in Faeland...it's a lot different from IGNO City, so maybe it just feels unfamiliar because it's not what you're used to...”
It was no good. Iris couldn't sense it, either...but there was one more person who may be worth a try. He, too, was new to the group, if you could even say that much - he actually seemed to go out of his way to avoid the IGNOites as often as possible, harboring a strong animosity for the likes of Bones, LG and SG2. But Tim had gotten to know him just a little bit through their activities in the boyband The Straight Experience, and he didn't seem to mind Tim as much as the others. In fact, Tim got the feeling it was because he wasn't from The Empire like the others.
“Hey, Azaran? Can you come here a minute?”
Tim was able to convince Azaran to join him and Iris on the snowman building, using his ice-based powers as a convenient excuse. Once the blonde was comfortable, Tim was able to borrow his ear.
“...and that's how I'm feeling right now, about the villagers and the town in general... ”
“Hmph, you think so? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You are one of them, after all.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, you know. The sight of people who are actually happy and being caring towards their fellow man must be extremely foreign to you, the people who have the power to make IGNO City a better place but just don't bother.”
“B-but I'm not even from IGNO City, I live in The Ou--”
“It's all the same!! You're part of the same group as Bones and those other idiots. Of course a happy village like this one seems strange to you, you've probably never seen one before!!”
“Actually, Bones hates me, don't you know about the war years ago? ...anyways, can we get back on topic? Surely you must at least hear the music...I know you've got an ear for it, you compose most of our songs!!”
“Oh, that? Yeah, I've been noticing that for a while now...it's way too off-key, it sounds more creepy than joyful.”
“Yes, yes, exactly!! Doesn't it make you--”
“Their speakers were probably damaged with all this snow, and it's gunking up the sound. You shouldn't underestimate the power of the cold...it's stronger than most people think.”
And with that, Azaran tuned him out, returning to work on the snowman...until Hamel and Reese melted it to the ground. Then he was off and running, chasing them down...Tim just couldn't seem to convince anyone else of how wrong this entire situation was. He was on his own.
When the gang headed over to the tree farm, Tim took the opportunity to wander off from the group to do some exploring. His intent was to try and find a path out of the village that he and his friends might be able to use to get back to IGNOLand...but he found something far more intriguing.
“What...is this...?”
Tim was a 'Clonomancer' - a type of mage specializing in making identical copies of organic and inorganic matter. While he normally used a machine to augment his abilities, he was no slouch when it came to using nothing but his pure magical talents. Of course, you can't just start studying Clonomancy...you need to understand the basic principles of the Arcane, first. Tim was a full-fledged mage in his own right, and though his magic may have been weaker than Reese or Karma, he still had a comprehensive understanding of the field and its applications. In other words - Tim was more than qualified to know magic when he saw it.
“Is this...a force field? Some kind of barrier spell?”
He had been walking along deeper into the woods beyond the tree farm when he bumped into it. It was flat and smooth like glass, but completely invisible to the naked eye...it was faint, but he sensed magical energies coming from it. Had someone set up this barrier just to...trap them here...? Tim walked along the length of the wall, pressing his entire body against it, searching everywhere for gaps...but it was completely solid.
“If it's made of magic...maybe magic could break it...?”
“Hey, Tim!!”
The clonomancer spun around, the sudden voice making him jump with fright...but it was only Bradios.
“Will you quit humping the trees already? We're moving on...SG2 saw a reindeer farm up ahead, we're gonna go feed them!!”
“A-ah, sorry...but you have to see this, there's a--”
“Come on, you like animals, right? Hurry or they're gonna leave you behind!!”
Before Tim had a chance to argue, the cyborg was off and running in the other direction. But this was an incredible find...he couldn't just leave like this!! This was a huge clue that the world they found themselves in was clearly not natural...if he could just get one person to come touch this barrier...!!
“B-Bradios wait, come here and see this----?!”
Tim fell to his knees. It was so cold outside, but his body was suddenly incredibly hot...sweat dripped from his face as he hung his head, melting a small pool in the snow beneath him. His head was throbbing to where it felt like it would explode...his vision blurred, and his senses were overcome by an insurmountable feeling of dread. Music pounded in his eardrums...music. Music!! Aagh, it hurt so much...he couldn't support his body anymore. Struggling to hold onto that last thought, Tim collapsed face-first in the snow...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“...im. Tim!! Are you okay?!”
Tim opened his eyes to the sight of Bradios standing over him. How long had he been out...? It couldn't have been more than a few minutes...his head was still throbbing, and he couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on.
“Ugh, you're lucky I have such a high carrying capacity...we can't leave you here like this, up you go!!”
The cyborg lifted Tim effortlessly off the ground and slumped him over his shoulders. Tim's ears were still ringing, but he could faintly hear his friends talking as Bradios made his way back to the group...they sounded so muffled and far away, like Tim was listening from underwater.
“...should take him somewhere to rest for now, the reindeer can wait.”
The reindeer...he'd already played with them so many times before. They liked him...they could smell the sheep scent on his body, and they kept trying to lick him in...uncomfortable places. It was alright to miss out on that this time...alright to miss out on carolling with the other members of The Straight Experience. Alright to miss out on the Christmas play, and the awesome, mouth-watering dinner...he had been through it all before, it was okay to skip them this time. He just...needed to rest...
“...where we can take...not far from...”, Bones said in a fragmented, muffled voice.
“Hold on, Tim......et you some.........oon.”
He remained conscious for the entire walk, back through town square and beyond, on a small trail lit only by Christmas lights. Everything was blurry, like when you put on a pair of glasses despite not needing a prescription...but he could see them. The concerned looks on his friends' faces...he felt bad about making them miss out on all those Christmas experiences that would have surely been fun for them. Fun for him...he could have had fun, too, like before. But he had to go sticking his nose where it didn't belong, and now look where it had gotten them...
“Sorry, everyone...”, he said, though he had a feeling the words came out as little more than incoherent mumbling.
Before long, they reached a building...Bones knocked on the door and a young girl opened it. He could hear the concern in her voice as she guided Bradios through the door and up the stairs, getting him into bed as quickly yet gently as possible. She ran out, then returned with a cool cloth for his forehead, which was still sweating profusely...a glass of drinking water was left on the bedside table. He could hear them talking in the background, but by now he couldn't focus on their words. His mind was still desperately trying to remember something, to tell him something, but his body just wanted to sleep...and eventually, his body won out.
When he finally awoke, his vision had become clear again...and he could see Bradios, sitting in a chair by the bed, reading a magazine with a cozy holiday cover. Slowly, careful not to push himself too hard, he sat up...drawing the cyborg's concerned attention.
“Ah!!”, he cried, standing quickly and rushing to support the catboy. “Careful, you were running a pretty serious fever, there...”
“I...was I? Sorry...to make you all worry...”
“Nah, don't worry about it...everyone else is still downstairs. I told them they could go back out and enjoy seeing the sights, that I'd watch over you...but they refused. They said it wouldn't be fair to do those things without you, and they wanted to stay and make sure you'd be okay.”
“Oh...then I ruined everyone's...”
“Hey now, hey now!! I just told you they chose to stay behind, didn't I? You didn't ruin anything for anybody, so put that thought out of your head right now.”
Tim sighed heavily before managing a smile...he may have been ridiculed for being a filthy Outbackian Neutral on a regular basis, but his friends really did care about him. He was touched...though his heart sank a bit when he looked around the empty room.
“So LG isn't...”
“Timmy!!”
No sooner did his name fall from Tim's lips than the Gaylian himself burst through the open door, running up to the bed so as to hug his recovered lover...though he was stopped short by Bradios.
“Eeeeasy there, big boy, he just woke up...”, he said sternly, placing a hand on the clonomancer's forehead. “And he's still got a pretty high fever, according to my heat sensors. Let him take it easy for a bit longer, will ya? ...though, as long as there's no funny business, I'd be happy to give you two a moment alone.”
Smiling wryly, Bradios made for the door and closed it behind him, leaving just the two of them in the room together. After a long and awkward silence, LG finally spoke.
“So...what exactly happened back there...?”
“...I'm not so sure, myself. I feel like...I saw something. Something important...but I can't remember. And if you don't mind, I'd...rather not try too hard...my head still hurts.”
“Don't push yourself, I'm just glad you're okay...I'm sorry...about earlier.”
“Oh, that? Don't worry about it.”
Tim smiled...to be honest, he could recall that something happened between the two of them earlier, but he couldn't remember what...or what LG was apologizing for. But he didn't want to worry his boyfriend unnecessarily, either, so he figured it was best to not dwell on it.
“A-ah, the reason I wasn't in here when you woke up...um...”
The Gaylian shuffled awkwardly in his seat before pulling a small trinket from his pocket...he closed his eyes and held his hand out to Tim, looking embarrassed.
“I wanted you to have something to open when you woke up...you know, for Christmas...but since the gift I bought you is back in IGNOLand, I thought I'd run out and get you something...”
Tim reached out and took the small box from LG's hands...lifting the lid, he found four squares of fudge. Though, perhaps 'squares' wasn't the best way to describe them...as each piece had been cut into the shape of little sheep. Tim looked at LG, who was trying not to meet his eyes.
“There's a chocolatier in the village, crazy right? That's so old-fashioned. I asked him to cut them into little sheep, thought you'd like that. I know it's not much...but it was short notice, and--mmph?!”
Tim had leaned over the bed to pull LG closer for a kiss, catching the Gaylian by surprise.
“I love it. Really, thank you...if anything, I'm the one who's sorry...for making you guys miss out on your Christmas vacation because of me.”
“H-hey now, where's this coming from?”
“Heh, you're right...I guess I should just be happy to be spending Christmas with such great friends by my side!!”
LG cocked his head and chuckled...Tim was acting pretty strange today, but he couldn't really argue with that sentiment.
“Well, are you feeling well enough?”
“Oh LG I don't know, I don't think I could do that in a stranger's--”
“Not that you idiot!! I want to know if you're feeling well enough to get out of bed. Everyone's waiting.”
“Waiting...?”
“Downstairs, dummy. Well? Think you can?”
LG held out his hand...Tim's head still felt fuzzy, but whatever it was that put him in this state seemed to have passed. He wished he could remember what it was - it felt like it was right there, clawing at the surface, yet at the same time inaccessible...but trying too hard to focus on it just revived the pain. It felt like it was very important...was it wise to just ignore it and let it fester in the back of his mind? He didn't feel as though he had a choice...though when he saw LG's smile, he felt like it might just be okay to do that.
“Yeah...I think I'll be okay.”
Tim took LG's hand and slowly stepped out of bed...and together, they headed down the stairs. Everyone's face lit up when they saw Tim...they ran up to him, asking him what happened, if he felt okay, if they could get him anything to eat or drink...Tim felt blessed to have such great friends. If nothing else, he got to spend the holiday together with them, so it couldn't be so bad.
After a bit of back and forth, Tim learned that they had brought him to an inn called the Good Hoof, which is apparently where Bones had awoken that morning. Since the IGNOites didn't want to leave as long as Tim was hurt, the innkeeper's daughter, Linda, had decided to show them some holiday hospitality...there was warm cider and cookies, and the friends laughed and danced to the joyful holiday music on the antique-looking radio. Of course, by now, it was already late in the evening...it was decided that the group would spend the night here, and set off for home in the morning. Tim couldn't put his finger on why, but this made him uncomfortable...not that he was in much of a position to argue.
Eventually, Linda returned from preparing rooms for the IGNOites...she approached the couch where Bones was sitting and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him up to stand beside her, and handed him a small gift box. When he unwrapped it, he found a small snowglobe...Tim couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen this all before. When the others peered into the snowglobe, they found various small figures, resembling the innkeeper's family and several of the IGNOites. The resemblance was overlooked by most of them - after all, they were tiny, and wearing more traditional clothing. But even without looking this time, Tim knew...Tim remembered. Ugh, what did he remember...it still...h-hurt...
“Oh go on already ya silly kids, or haven't ya noticed yer under the mistletoe?”
“G-Grandmother!!”
The IGNOites began to laugh and tease Bones, who had flushed uncharacteristically red. Tim's pain was eased as he was drawn into this revelry...it was fun to be on the other side, teasing the Konungur for a change. Without hesitation, Linda leaned in and gave him a small kiss on the lips...everyone in the room cheered. Linda quickly became flustered and ran into the back room to call it a night, while Bones' glare of death quickly put the others back in their place. Tim couldn't help but chuckle...in spite of all that happened, it was a good Christmas because he got to spend it with his friends. And tomorrow, with luck, they'd find their way back home...and he wouldn't have to struggle against these sinister, creeping memories.
LG saw him off with a goodnight kiss as the two headed to their separate rooms, and Tim tucked himself in for a much-needed rest. He still wasn't feeling 100%...hopefully, come morning, all of this would pass and he'd once again be in top shape. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the sound of distant music to lull him to sleep...music......
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sound of birds chirping was gradually getting harder and harder to ignore, as was the stream of sunlight filtering in through the window.........