Leslie screamed to be let go as the he was restrained in his seat by the stewardess. "I'm not a lunatic please listen to-"
There was a chiming sound as the air-plane was suddenly... making no sound at all. It was like a bell that shut everything down. The windows fluttered with rainbow light, making everyone very nervous. Rainbow light had not been seen since the sun transformed. The shock made the person holding Leslie let go. As the human got up from the seat to look, the... seat belt sign came up and no smoking.
Seriously, the safety lights came on. Why?!
The intercom activated with a message. "This is your captain speaking... not entirely sure what is going on here. As an added precaution, please close all your windows, secure belongings and we'll attempt a turn around."
The words had a curious effect as everyone now had something to do. It brought a curious measure of calm. There was a feeling of the plane turning... trying to retrace its flight back.
Leslie did a few calculations in his head. They were about thirty minutes away from Lakeside, and assuming they have about ten percent more fuel, they could afford a detour of about twenty minutes. He glanced at his watch, as the time slowly ticked away.
After exactly twenty three minutes passed, he knew they were in a really bad situation. "Let me talk to the captain," he said.
"The captain is busy." said the stewardess, herself very nervous now. She had done many flights and must have a rough idea of how much fuel they had...
Leslie tried his best to stay calm. "Look... I may have an idea. Please trust me. Take me to the cockpit..."
The stewardess was very reluctant as it went against all protocols. Still... Leslie knew they were about to hit something. He was probably their best shot.
Inside the cockpit, the two pilots were doing their best to stay calm. The view they had was of a myriad of rainbows. So many colours, so many 'paths'... shifting in random patterns.
... they were completely lost.
"Do we have a heading?" asked the captain.
The co-pilot looked at his instruments. "Nothing confirmed... compass has gone crazy."
The captain was getting very frustrated, but was not about to lose his cool. They had trained for situations like this after all. Well... not quite like this. "Instruments are still responding.. engines are working... We've done 180 degrees, so we should have gone back..."
"But we haven't," replied the co-pilot providing his side of their 'diagnostic mode'.
The two knew they could be facing death... a slow decent into what ever was beyond the rainbows, into the dark void... where there was no light at all, once their engines ran out of fuel. They were responsible for the lives on this flight... they had to find a way out of here.
The stewardess knocked on the door. "Captain... one of the passengers says he might have an idea."
The captain glanced behind then to his colleague. "Take the controls, what there are of 'em," He said. The captain then glanced back at the middle-aged fellow human. "Dr Leslie Gordon... You really have a way out of this?"
The doctor was taken a bit aback at being named. He never considered himself 'famous' exactly... but maybe it would help some. "Your compass is not working right?"
"No, it's not. Not sure why. It's a giro, it doesn't even need a magnetic field to work."
Leslie nodded. "I have a compass that does work." Leslie took out the key ring, with the strange plastic 'toy' thing pointing in a direction. It seemed to rotate slightly though, as they moved forward, but the motion was oddly precise and held for a time. "I know it doesn't look like its keeping a heading... but trust me. You're flying in circles. Don't believe your eyes here."
The captain looked sceptically at the unorthodox idea. To place their faith in what looked like a child's plastic toy. "You're playing with all our lives Gordon, on a theory... you don't know if that thing of yours will work."
Gordon nodded, knowing the captain was right. But he also believed he was right too. "This was a gift... my daughters are both learning magic. This warned me way before we got here. Right now in this realm, it's the most advanced piece of 'technology' we have. Hard to believe, but there it is. That's magic for you."
The co-pilot looked nervous. "I don't see we got any choice... if we keep doing what we're doing, we're going to run out of fuel."
The captain weighed the options. There was no communication, no outside help. They were on their own. They had very limited fuel, though it could be extended if they slowed down. But to what end? They did not have a heading or a direction... if Leslie could at least provide them with that, then they were one step closer to home. If they were going to a random direction, it might as well be along 'something'. "Alright... sit there Doc. Give me a heading."
Leslie swallowed as he sat on one of the chairs. "Okay... go ten degrees... hold... another ten.... hold... Now minus five... hold..."
slowly, they drifted in the sea of rainbows. The strange light seemed to... react to them. It was as if something out there realised this was no wayward mayfly, but an intelligently moving 'machine', navigating to the 'heart' of it all... moving with purpose and somehow able to perceive the higher dimensions.
There was a strange sphere ahead of of the plane... pure white. The entire vessel was bathed in light.
Shawn was trying hard to keep calm. It was bad enough being a passenger on this flight that has gone so wrong, but that 'she' was a spider girl? Her eight legs twitched and writhed, reminding her of her horrible situation. When human (and male) she worked a the night shift and purposely avoided sunlight for over five years, just in case... but at some point she came out...
now... she was... one of them
As the plane moved through the 'rainbow sky', she was having flashbacks of when she transformed. When how her legs just... disappeared, enveloped by this.. alien thing, forcing her into the ground. Then suddenly she was 'scuttling' along the ground having lost a fair amount of height, standing no more then four and a half feet from the ground, (though she could stretch quite a bit). But to top it all off, there was that unfamiliar weight on her chest.
Seeing what had become of her, she fainted as soon as she saw her reflection.
What was worse though, was how 'accepting' everyone was of it. That it was normal. It wasn't normal to her! She had a life.. a job... but she lost her job on her transformation, and they gave her another one as they were 'legally' obliged... but it wasn't what she wanted! Now she was a girl... a freakish girl! There was no transformation worse then this!
She was ugly... from the waist down anyway.
At least it was just her legs... above that, she was a fairly normal looking human- even if it was a 'female' body. She was quite slim with small to medium sized breasts. Her hair was dark black,... an almost latina looking spider girl really, except for the piercing green eyes. Complementing her extremities were delicate, feminine, hands.
She wore a T-shirt, that was far too big for her reaching to her elbows, the ends at the bottom dangling over her spider torso. It hid almost everything, though barely the fact that she wasn't wearing a bra. She was still at a stage where she refused any girly things. Her family insisted she would get used to it and she was supposed to be visiting them for some relaxation.
Shawn had become a little catatonic, even as the whole plane panicked if they would ever get back. The spider girl didn't have anything to get back to... she glanced at the glowing bright light, that shone on the whole plane. God was probably laughing. She swore she could hear Him.
... "Screw you," she whispered.
The captain couldn't believe it. It was... as if the entire plane was being 'erased' by the light. He no longer had a control stick to work with...
"What the hell is happening..."
It was then he realised he was alone, with even his co-pilot gone. There was nobody else on the plane...
He activated the intercom. "If there's anyone on the plane, please come to the cockpit."
There was only silence... as not even the plane was making any noise now, and outside was just a brilliant white light.
Leslie floated in a sea of light now... it was strange. Almost like a dream?
He was standing in a line, and it looked like he was last. There was the strange spider-girl in front of him, as he felt 'compelled' to flow along the line.
There seemed to be a figure up ahead, as they stood on a rainbow, surrounded by bright light. The figure was made entirely of rainbow energy, and did not seem male or female, shifting in various states.
Present your token
The spider girl looked around. "Who the heck are you! Get the hell away from me! Screw you!"
The figure seemed patient and didn't really care. No token... then we play a game. There was something ominous as he said that. "Pick a card..." Various cards floated around them, of different colours.
Shawn gulped. She had the distinct feeling she might have been playing for her life... or certainly, whatever happened would impact it.
"What if I refuse?"
Behind them, the rainbow floor seemed to drop away, showing darkness. you will journey to the void... this event is immutable. All who journey the path, without a token must play the game... for you, it will be a random game of cards...
Shawn, seeing little choice, picked one. "There! Happy?"
The creature seemed to smile slightly. "You have picked gain and loss... Your penalty... all vestments will be removed... you may only clothe yourself in your own silk... if you choose to."
Shawn was now completely naked. "W-what?" She held her chest in her arms, even as her lower spider body scuttled backwards.
The creature nodded. "Your boon... perfect health... You will now go to your kin. Await when time restarts..."
"Wait what? No! I'm human! I am hu-" but With that, Shawn disappeared.
Leslie stepped over looking very worried. It was now his turn. What the hell was this? Some kind of passport control for a magical world?
Present your token.
Leslie frowned a little. "I do not have one..."
Then we play the game... once again, a number of cards were cast out. Choose, Leslie Gordon... all the others have chosen... now it is for you.
The doctor took out the strange compass that Lilly gave him. It seemed to give him an idea of which cards were the most magic, or the least by the way it reacted... but was it a good idea to go for one that was more powerful? Or safer to go for the least powerful? A measure of power, did not necessarily mean he would pick a better card... and a small magic might cause great inconvenience...
... but there was another thought in his head. He carefully used the compass, and realised it was 'pointing' at something he couldn't see.... ".... I pick this one."
The card appeared, showing... a picture of himself.
... you win, Leslie Gordon.
"What... happens now?"
You will go, as you are... I will send you to your kin... await the start of time...
For a time the energy being waited... then a new figure came. Locked and frozen in time. It was possible to see she had six breasts, arranged in two rows of three and was completely naked in a kind of foetal position. It looked very odd...
Magic Girl six... the second. As you can not choose your card, I will pick it for you. The rules demand it...
There was a pause. Interesting... You are unique, and have no other kin on this world... so I will send you to a random location... Your gain is also your curse... perfect charisma bonus
The figure held a single rainbow coloured egg, and the energy that made up Bryan was placed within it...
The egg, then vanished.
