Meanwhile, back in the Master's TARDIS.....Part 20

The Never Ending Quest - Episode 8257

"And this....is the crown Prince of the Elven Nation that had been first demolished by the Dragons....then Enslaved by the Atlantians for a short while before the Atlantians fell on each other." Elrondir finishes needlessly for the other elves benefit. The other elves know in their heart by the mysterious effect of saying Grailing's given name....the name of Elfin Royalty that had not beeen matched in thousands of years in it's.....magical attraction.

The others tell their story, and Ke'lan tells his. The Prince had survived the backlash of the half mad Atlantian mage who'd dared attempt to bind himself with the One Tree of the Nation.....a magical symbol of all of what had been the Elven Kingdom. It had failed spectacularly, leaving all other elves but he dead AND the entire real estate warped and twisted. Ke'lan was trapped inside the forest's borders, but soon found a way to create and control something like an Avatar unit (except a magical construction unique to the now vanished Artisans of Ke'lan's nation).

"I still feel that we could have prevented the Fall if my parents...may they rot for their arrogance!......would have let me ratify the mutual support treaty I'd been able to cobble together with the now vanished race of T'erin and the Knoco.....two races of powerful magic users that I know could have held the Atlantians at bay....along with the Dragon....if I was just allowed to do a little more diplomatic actions with them. But I was put on a short leash, and told to mind my place!"

Ke'lan gives off a harsh, bitter laugh.

"Of course the Dragons, who felt like their back was to the wall, fell upon my nation for the magical resources we refused to share," Ke'lan says bitterly. "I had warned...pleaded for my parents to listen, to see that this would happen and the only way to avoid it was to unite...and turn a potential enemy into an ally..."

"But it didn't happen," Astra 4 sighed, patting the back of the Prince...who'd finally....after centuries of hiding it behind a damn of denial. After trying for thousands of years to forget the hurt he'd felt......slowly leaked out and showed through the silent tears that coursed down his Proxy's face.

"My race recovered....unlike some and rebuilt itself into a much better society than what I grew up in," Ke'lan sighed. "Now, elves in general may seem a bit....er....high browed and arrogant at times....but few of today's elflings approach what I knew of the days of old. With all this, with the improvements in things, why bother claming the Throne. The other elves would be ecstatic at the return to the days of old....not that they'd get such from ME, but even though I feel they're doing well enough without fools like me....it would be futile. The elven race is doomed to fade from Terra to let the Others shine on in our place."

"Strange," Elrondir says quietly. "Your analog told me a similar tale, but on his deathbed as I tried to lend what little aid I could to him and his people, he laughed bitterly that he'd FINALY found a means to solve the diminishing elven number...."

Ke'lan goes stock still quiet in surprise at what this coppery maned elf says next. Elrondir gestures to the forest around him in disgust.

"The source of the problem is these woods," the former AI mutters. "the Race of Elf was Born here, and still gets it's vital essence in large part FROM here. The freaking curse on this place is putting a....nix on male and female elves from being more furtile because the woods have become something of a vampire....sucking vitality from the elven race. It doesn't show up in diminished vigor. Rather....it shows in diminished....er..... capability....let's just say."

Ke'lan silently mouths out facts and figures as he throws this new datum into what he knows of this fell Forest....and suddenly finds himself sitting on the ground....thunderstruck!

Ke'lan says a word that only the lowest of the elven caste of old would say. It doesn't translate into the common tongue of humans....nor Military English!

Human tongues couldn't even shape the word!

However, the other elves instinctively know Elvish.....

Hey, do you eat with that mouth?" B'elanna says sharply at Ke'lan. "That was VILE!"

The Forrest senses the Other has finally come to end Her!

The ingrate!

Did she not cradle his body within her own roots in that strange chamber the others had gone to great lengths to create?

Well, the ingrate is going to be.....taken care of in a most permanent manner!


The Elves start as they sense the danger approach a split second before Astra 4 sees what is happening.

The dark shadows around them, while a bit eerie even in the light of day...suddenly MOVE. They move and are reaching for them....as are shadows reaching for a silently floating elfin figure (who'd stand a good foot taller than a regular elf....since Ke'lan is the last of the Ruling Caste).

"Uh guys?" B'elanna whispers hoarsely, suddenly wishing for a phasor.....or a quick beamout by the Voyager for her and her friends.

"Battlestar....it's time," Ke'lan says sadly, knowing what must be done.

His Grailing proxy collapses as the figure in the alchemical bath that hasn't moved in thousands of years, but has been preserved in the arcane brime, jerks to awakefulness!

Elf quick hands reach out and pull forth the ancient Elfish magical sword, a weapon that was made to serve one....and only one master. The Battlestar is only for Ke'lan....and Ke'lan is the only one who could use it for what happens next.

Ke'lan jumps forth from the brime, ragged clothing spraying brime everywhere and causing the shadows to retreat in pain for moment where the alchemical fluids touch.

Wasting no time for words, no time for anything but what must be done, Ke'lan breaks his sword across his knee. Sword, magically strengthened to only break deliberately in such a move, gives way and then blows Ke'lan's body, the Tree, and the Essence of the forest to blazes. The Tree, an arrogant tribute by Ke'lan's mother in a bid for more power over those she ruled along with her husband, rains down upon an acre of territory in kindling the size of toothpicks!

The shadows collapse in on themselves, leaving the elves and the humans looking around anxiously...and then sighing in relief. A groan from Grailing draws them over to him, and he opens his eyes....and looks mightly confused.

"I...should be dead," he whispers as he feels his Proxy body. "But.....my original body is dead. Why am I in my proxy?"

Good question, but is put on hold as Ke'lan (a.k.a. Grailing) tells what he's done. He's about to point out his way to where Astra 4's home is (now that the Forest is no longer interfering with travel), when there's a heavy THUD before them!

A black scaled dragon's head leans it's way down through the trees, and cries out in joy at finally having been able to magically home in on Astra and the children.

Dragon Synizn and the others are soon joined by Probe and Inquirer, who leap out of the just parked Rocket Sled. Joy abounds until Elrondir, bowing to duty, tells what he knows of HIS Enemy.

This, of course leads up to the question of just WHO Elrondir really is.....

Elrondir had had a surprise when he had seen Probe and Inquirer leap out of the rocket sled. For all the strangeness of the glowing gem that each of them had on their forehead, he had instantly recognised the avatar bodies that they were "wearing". He had almost saluted Probe from force of habit, but Probe wasn't wearing uniform and furthermore it wasn't too clear to Elrondir from what he had learnt about Probe from Astra 4 whether he was still in the Military. Besides, it had not been this Probe who had been his superior officer, but an analog, plus Elrondir wasn't sure whether he himself could be regarded as in the Military any more, so the etiquette of the situation was very unclear.

Probe soon learns that Elrondir is, or at least had been, an analog of Lt Seeker - the AI who had tried to kidnap Fred and Astra 2 as part of a complicated plot of his own. [3097 and succeeding episodes. Note to any confused readers: In 3232, references to 'Probe' in the second paragraph and to 'Inquirer' in the third paragraph should both read 'Seeker'.] Elrondir soon finds himself being interrogated by a now somewhat frosty Probe. However, when this Seeker, or ex-Seeker, reveals that he holds very different views about the honourable way of trying to change what is admittedly a very corrupt system back home [6613], and B'elanna describes how he had attempted to rescue her from the clutches of Tesla, Probe thaws somewhat. When Astra 4, who by now has finished telling her full story to her husband and has just about got her breath back after his hugs, intercedes on Elrondir's behalf, that settles it. She tells Probe what a valuable companion Elrondir has been, and points out that neither Dredrick nor Tarin had been blamed for the bad things that their analogs had done. (Zular had been a rather different case.)

Meanwhile Ke'lan is still wondering how he comes to be still alive.

Meanwhile Ke'lan continues to wonder how he comes to be still alive, and says as much aloud again....

"Not...that I'm complaining that I'm alive, mind you," Ke'lan laughs a nervous laughs.

The odd elf, a silver haired elf with shoulder length hair and dressed in green tunic, pants, and cape (green seems to be the in thing with elves on Terra Prime) has already explained the nature of his body....how he'd found himself trapped within the warped forest that had been his nation and homeland. Using magery and magical materials salvaged from surviving elven buildings, he completed a highly experiment al project that he had only begun when his Nation was burned by dragons..... Originally, the Proxy was made for creating a perfect replica of an ordinary Atlantian....so that some remote spying could be done....without risk of compromising important secrets under torture if the Proxy was captured. Heads of some nod at that, for hat was basically something like what was the advantage of an ordinary Avatar unit. Instead, Ke'lan crafted his Grailing body (an elf of the Low class....to not stand out to anyone still out for his death....like the Atlantians) so that the desperate elf could escape the bonds of the Forest and seek out any surviving elves who'd not been caught by the magical backlash that killed all but him in this forest/city. It worked, and Grailing was born.

"This is your area of expertise, daughter," Probe says to Inquirer. "Golem though I now am....I'm no spell slinger."

Ke'lan (a.k.a. Grailing), nods slightly, and the magical examination begins.

Elrondir stares as he watches Inquirer cast and actual.....magic spell!

"How'd you do that?!" Elrondir gasps, shocked. Probe smiles and explains the events that had transformed he and Inquirer into true golems. Now their mind resided not within the circuits of the electronic circuit wafers but with the glowing gem.

Elrondir looks like he's just been hit between the eyes with a sledgehammer, and then shakes his head violently to clear it (causing his mane of coppery hair to fly about him....despite the headband). He looks up and stares at the smiling Probe then sighs.

"After what's happened today I guess I should be able to accept that," Elrondir sighs. "I guess then....that explains why you are.....retired?"

"Semi-retired, actually," Probe chuckled anew. "Can't do my old job, since I can't go into a universe without magic.....nor can elves in general....considering their magical nature....."

Elrondir nods, having known that much.

"I now may be a civilian, but I do occasional work for the Military about....to help out where Local and Military desires overlap.....and a few other things," Probe smiles. "Things like this, and I and my daughter are also the liaisons for Ethiopia for the local Military base down there."

More is not said because Inquirer has finished her exam. Both she and Ke'lan open their eyes and the female golem speaks.

"I'm surprised at you." Inquirer smiled, looking down at the confused elf. "Supposedly, to be able to make such a body as this....which I couldn't tell the difference between it and one born of mundane means......you'd have the ability to examine yourself via magic! I mean, I wouldn't have known where to look at your Matrix to see the obvious answer....but it's obvious once I knew your special nature!"

"Being that creating a Proxy able to cast spells takes TEN times as one who can't....I think I can be forgiven for not being able to cast anything to examine myself," Ke'lan chuckles mirthlessly. "I was nearly out of my mind with the desire to be able to get OUT of this .....blasted forest that I wanted out as soon as possible! Besides, being an Elven Ranger is quiet the departure from being an Elven Paladin and Mage that my bloodline was known for.....less chance of any Atlantians discovering the truth about me!"

"Well....hmmm," Inquirer nods. "I guess since that's the case, it would be obvious just why you didn't know what was happening to you. You see, the Link you may have created in order to control your Proxy's movements and such might have been of such a nature.....weak enough in the beginning that you could have broken your connection....and stayed disconnected. After something like over ten thousand years or more.....the spiritual connection to your Proxy was as strong and natural as your connection to your own body!"

Ke'lan tilted his head to one side at this information in thought....and slowly nodded. He did remember....dimly (It was so LONG ago) that he'd come across....some small worry about that wile he'd been frantically trying to cobble together and overcome the last of the obstacles for his.....only chance of escape! He'd dismissed it in his frenzied search....and bypassed the last of the obstacles to his escape by using his Father's cache of herbs and magical spell components from beasts and plants that had been extinct well before Ke'lan was a twinkle in his Mother's eye.

The last time he'd cast magic had been the Wards to stop the spread of the Forest. He'd done it for two reasons. One was to prevent others from becoming trapped within this fell place like he was (he didn't want to consign them to that). The other was that the Wards acted, through a complex interaction with the Forest and his Proxy body, as a gate. The Wards allowed his Proxy body to enter and leave the Forest with impotency...even appear within the midst of the Forest like he'd used an Atlantian Teleport item! The last time he'd cast magic....was well over ten thousand years ago......around the time of the FALL of Atlantis.

Had it been worth the price he'd paid? Never again to feel Magic's caress flow through his veins? He'd always assumed that someday he'd be able to assume his original identity.....without fear of the descendants of his subjects come clamoring for him to rule them. He'd always assumed that he'd be able to eventually shape the eldrich powers again. But not now......not in this body.

He laughed long and hard, knowing that he was a fool to even need ask himself that question!

He had won a freedom from the Forest through Grailing, and if he must forevermore be Grailing, Elven Ranger....an elf who was not gifted with magical talent....so be it!

He laughs, and then explains why he's laughing to his concerned friends.

Still chuckling, Ke'lan then gasps in shock as he and the other elves feel a wave of.....something.....er....different. Something emanating from the sky. An absence.....

Gilmuriel points up to the sky at where the Moon (a pale white crescent....hard to see in the bright sunlight) should be. It's not there!

"It's gone!" E'eysha gasps.

Fred 4 and Astra 4 blink as Inquirer and Probe check various instruments, and confirm it. Then....just as mysteriously as the Moon had vanished, it was back (at the same time the newest rabbits in a Military Base returned to their human form.....)

Finally, after getting in touch with the Base, Probe and the others head down there (via the shuttlecraft that the Empress of the Dwarves gave them). They needed to get the ship down to the Base anyway (it was overdue)....but Probe and the others wanted some quick answers to what had just happened....and the they somehow knew that those answers would be there.....and there alone.


They arrive moment's later (unlike most times.....Probe nearly burns out the engines in his attempt to get to the Base quickly......usually he goes slower to spare his passengers). None complain, not even the little ones nor Warg. All have a need to be at the Base, for some reason.

179 had implanted that need, for he'd loathed to leave them wanting like that....so he'd suggested to their subconscious that going to the place where the others seen and heard what 179 had said and done....and knew WHY......Well, now the adventures were either there now in person or by other means.....like magic mirror (Jellico blinks....and slowly nods at that one.....figuring he should have known that magic mirrors would be possible...and not the thing of story), or via "radio" (actually.....tacion transmitters....but the old fashion term held over to the newer brands of communication gear....).

Anyhow, surprise abounds! Case in point, B'elanna, the elfin woman is most shocked at seeing the very person she had been created for by Tesla (in his bid to dominate and torture the Voyager Captain in her dreams).

It's not every day that something like that happened to a rogue Dream Prop.....

"Captain?!" B'elana (not Torres) cries out in surprise.


Explanations and stories are exchanged, and soon the gathered are in a pretty good mood. Soon, a few questions come up in the course of conversation. Questions like "So....where did you come from?", "How old are the little tikes there?", and others.

Manbear Synizn takes out a notepad (an idea taken up by the Manimals from the Military with glee......).

"I've been keeping track of something like that.....and have even been able to include the newest.....er....guests into this little project of mine," the bear mage says. "If I could, I'll read it off and that'll answer a lot of these questions."

The ursine mage begins.

Natives of the Terra Prime universe (aka the Manimal universe):

The manimals, including Fred the Manfox and Alicia, Carradene, Manbear Synizn, and Loam; Queen Astra and Willian La Post, Malachi Droconis, Natthias, Ke'lan (aka "Grailing"), Tarin, Rift, and . Trilling Blackfeather (griffin).

From the "Military universe".

Probe, Inquirer, Seeker (the original one), Captain Sterndeck

From the alternative Manimal universe:

Fredrigo D'Honaire ("Dragon Fred") and Malachi D'Honaire (both Foxpeople at the time of the transfer), Womanfox Alicia 3 (since has become the second wife of Manfox Fred).

"Walants 1":

Fred and Astra 1 (plus 7 babies born subsequent to the transfer) - demifoxes at the time of the transfer.

"Walants 2":

Fred and Astra 2 (plus 7 babies born subsequent to the transfer) - demifoxes at the time of the transfer, Dragon Synizn (originally Werebear Synizn), Duke Dredrick (Fred 2's father), Lady Champlaine (his mother), Lady Fredrina (his sister), Duke Zular (currently at large).

"Walants 3":

Fred and Astra 3 plus their 7 babies, Demifox Synizn, Dragon Sigin, "Living" Dr Vincent.

"Walants 4":

Fred and Astra 4 plus their 7 babies - demifoxes at the time of the transfer (plus various demifox kits and mundane foxes), Synizn (demifox at the time of the transfer), Demifox Sigin and the aware fox Rosepaw plus their 12 demifox kits, Manwolf Carradene 2.

"Walants 5":

Fred and Astra 5 (plus 7 babies born subsequent to the transfer), this world's Tarin.

"Walants 6":

Fred and Astra 6 plus their 7 babies, Synizn 2 (demifox), Sigin 2 (dragon). Thank Tiamat that they were willing to allow the addition of the "2" to their name!

"Walants 7":

Fred and Astra 7 (plus 3 as yet [sort of] unborn babies), Lady Rowena D'Honaire (Fred's sister), Lem, Dokken and assorted dwarves (including this world's Tarin).

"Thaobath":

Astra 8, Lady Andrea Croix, Fred the Oathbreaker "Thaobath".

"Elven":

The elven Gilmuriel (previously Fred) and E'eysha (previously Astra).

Vampire universe:

Alicia 2 (human)

Destroyed Terra:

The elf Elrondir (previously the AI known as Seeker).

"Voyager":

From one or other of the Voyager universes come Jellico, Human Janeway 1, Human Janeway 2, Furry Janeway 1, Furry Janeway 2 (upon finding exact duplicates of themselves on another Voyager.....that wasn't going to just go away any time soon.....the crew of Voyager 1 decided to adopt a similar custom to what has happened to some on Terra Prime. Thus, those from Voyager 1-Scott Chen's Voyager, tacked on the number one and Voyager 2 put on two after their name). As for the designation of Furry and Human, those had been used to distingquish crewmembers from the "human" universe from the "furry" universe).

Nod (a now defunct pocket universe):

The elven B'elanna (reincernated from a Dream Prop made to resemble the real Klingon/human Voyager Engineer, Lt. B'elanna Torres)

Notes:

Which universes the four Helenas come from is not known for sure. While the Military was kind enough to do thorough Quantum Signature Scans with very MASSIVE....but thorough, identification equipment (best way to tell an authorized citizen from a larcenous analog back Home - what little things come from that strange place called Area 51 never ceases to amaze me), they couldn't tell WHICH Helena came from which universe. Their extended stay wherever they had been before being freed....over the decades......made them mimic the quantum signatures around them!

Some of the alternate universes can be grouped together as being more closely related than others. Those bearing least relation to the others are the two where Fred and Astra never met Minestus or Malachi, were not turned into demifoxes and never went to Walants. In one, Fred and Astra were changed into the elves Gilmuriel and E'eysha. From the other, the "Thoabath" universe, there arrived Astra 8 in the form of a werewolf, Lady Andrea Croix and Fred the Oathbreaker. The others can be grouped as:

Walants 1 & 2: In both of these, Fred and Astra arrived on Terra Prime as demifoxes.

Walants 3, 4 & 6: In all of these, Fred and Astra were restored from demifox to human form by their respective universe's version of Snyizn using the Crystallic. Synizn also turned himself from werebear into demifox. 3 and 6 are rather more closely related than is 4, in which Fred, Astra and their children (and Sigin) were turned into demifoxes by the dragon Moreau and arrived on Terra Prime in that form.

Walants 5 & 7: In both of these, Fred and Astra were restored from demifox to human by the Crystallic they had with them. In both, their version of Rift used the Crystallic to turn Astra's skin and hair to black.

For all of 1, 2 and 4, Fred and Astra and their children (except for Astra 4's second litter) were restored to human form after arrival on Terra Prime by use of the Crystallics. For both of 5 and 7, Astra's coloration was restored to normal, in the former case by use of the Crystallics and in the latter case by Rule 179. Also Astra 8's lycanthropy was undone by the Rule. However, for each of 3, 4 and 6, Astra's breast enlargement to enable her to breast-feed 7 children continues.

In each of 1 to 6, Fred and Astra have 7 children. Those of Astra 4 are the eldest, at 8 months, those of Astra 3 a month younger, those of Astra 6 a little younger again, those of Astra 1 and 2 are aged only three months, and those of Astra 5 are youngest of all. Astra 7 is about five months pregnant with triplets, though it is hard to be certain about the time since each of the two occasions she was subject to the Crystallic seemed to push the pregnancy along by a substantial but uncertain amount. Alicia is six months pregnant, bearing within her both a boy and girl kit. Alicia 3 is also three months away from delivering her boy and girl kits, but up to the time of her meeting and being converted into a full Manimal.....her kits developed at the increased rate that all manimal lycanthropes......manimal lycanthropes and not Manimals..... So, while both Alicias in question will probably deliver their blessed bundles in the same month, Alicia 3's kits are younger.

"And it will be a year before our six dragonets see the light of day....when they hatch," Dragon Fred chuckles as his scaly hand fondly caresses his wife's scaly cheek . Jellico notes that, as per legend, these dragons have mounds and mounds of treasure in the background image of the magical mirror.

"As for the change of scale color," Sigin says to his analogous dragon brother. "It happened soon after my joining of my Hoard with the Land. Sato, who we owe so much, had mentioned in his notes that such was possible. I guess he was right.

"Finally, Janeway 2 was asking about names for the children," Queen Astra says, with a quirky smile.

With a smile and a small glamor, Inquirer calls forth an image she had seen down in the vaults of the Regent, before the days of the destruction of the Crystallic....and the Enemy!

  1. Baby names!

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