Hailey stops her car. It was fairly easy to get here. Ridge, Manitoba is already where Tyler and Pluto live. It was simply a matter of going through Persephone's house, who was thankfully less broken up about the erasure than Hailey thought she'd be. Persephone readily accepted the offer of a family reunion, and was in fact Hailey's first successful recruit, and a welcome boon in collecting Tyler and Pluto (though Hailey had already dispatched a Cellhex to fetch Pluto). Hopefully, Persephone could also hold down the fort if Vel needed to do something else while there were guests at the house. It was an awfully hastily-formed plan, and Hailey had been worrying extensively about if either she or Vel would suddenly become busy mid-reunion.
Too late to think about that now. Hailey's car, a rental black 2016 Kia Optima drives up off the road and onto a narrow gravel path—she doesn't drive very far up it, only enough that she's off the road. Her goal is in sight, anyways. She steps out of the car and approaches her destination.
Nestled between the train tracks and a busy street, the house before her is somewhat rundown. Faded white paint peels off the siding of the house, the porch swing creaking loudly even in the calm March breeze. The front yard is littered with glass, broken bottles strewn across the lawn, apparently deliberately smashed. A miniscule effort has been made to sweep up the mess, making it slightly easier for Hailey to step around the detritus. She's at least glad to be off the gravel and onto dirt that her high-heels can find better traction in. She throws a glance gravel-wards, towards a rusted red 1990 GMC Sierra K1500. Three years under the pseudonym Revick Johnson, working the job of a mechanic, has given her little practical skills and a surplus of useless trivia about identifying cars.
Hailey walks up the creaking steps to the porch. The mat is blank, giving no greeting to Hailey. An excessive amount of mud has been tangled in the coir of the mat, drying and applying itself forevermore to the mat. Hailey only stares at it for a second. Finally at the door, she throws a quick three knocks on it—knock, pause, knock-knock.
Lev Ranovic is lying on his stomach, playing with colorful magnetic tiles. His hands (pale white—he doesn't play outside much, so he doesn't get much Vitamin D) and his sleeves are ever-present in his vision, a long-sleeved white shirt under a striped orange t-shirt (for spring break, it sure is cold). His hair, thankfully, is
out of his vision, thanks to the (admittedly not very great) haircut his older brother gave him. Slav has had to give him haircuts for a while, anyways. It's been like that ever since Mom's disease thing made her too weak to do it for Lev.
There's a knock at the door. His eyes (blue, unlike Slav's) follow the floor all the way to the door. He hesitates. He isn't used to anyone coming by. Luckily, Slav is home right now. He sits up to yell.
LEV: SLAV!
Upstairs, Slav takes a headphone off his ear. He's laying in bed, wearing a gray jacket, a white t-shirt with a Chi-Rho on it, and jeans. It's not very comfortable to wear jeans in bed, but he'll be damned if he's wearing anything else. He's listening to music he made with his friends in the garage of one of his friends while he reads The Plague by Albert Camus.
SLAV: WHAT?
LEV: SOMEONE AT THE DOOR
SLAV: WHO?
Slav gets up from bed. He checks himself in the mirror, making sure he looks okay before he heads downstairs. His hair, a shade of brown not dark but not particularly light, is messed up from the headphones. He takes a second to style it a little better, though he can't do much with it being on the shorter side. He puts his eyepatch on, too. He hates how the glass eye looks, and he'll get an excessive amount of staring either way. It's been like that for as long as he can remember. He needs to get the hell out of this miserable town as soon as he can.
He gives himself another once-over. His skin's pretty pale... As pale as that brown can get, anyways. Jesus, it needs to be summer already. He bares his teeth to make sure he doesn't have anything stuck in them, then finally heads downstairs, barely rushing despite taking forever upstairs.
SLAV: Hey who is it
LEV: i don't know i didn't wanna get it. could be a box
He topples one of the towers he made out of the tiles so it can fall apart on the ground for his amusement.
SLAV: They dont knock for boxes dork
Slav passes by Lev and picks up one of the tiles off the top of one of the towers, flicking it at Lev's head. He goes to the window.
SLAV: And you can check
He pulls back the curtain and glances out. A woman is on the porch. Slav doesn't get a good look at her (brown hair, brown skin, labcoat, skirt, heels) before she catches sight of him and throws a small wave his way, a smile with narrowed eyes accompanying it. Slav pulls back from the window and closes the curtain. Is she here because he...?
SLAV: ... That one of your teachers?
LEV: why would my teacher come over
SLAV: Dunno maybe you beat up a kid
Lev supports himself on the arm of the couch to stand up. He takes a look outside the curtains too.
LEV: no... she looks like no-one. sorry
Slav's shoulders tense.
SLAV: Dont come near the door
Slav heads over to a cupboard, reaching into his pocket for his keyring. He opens the cupboard and pulls out an FN 509 semi-automatic pistol, holding it behind his back. He unlocks the doorknob but leaves the deadbolt shut tightly. He cracks open the door, angling himself away from the opening. The woman is on the other side. Slav gets a better look at her (red tanktop under the labcoat, gold beads in her hair, ponytail).
WOMAN: hello!
SLAV: Who are you
WOMAN: is this the residence of slav ranovic?
SLAV: ... Youre talking to him
WOMAN: could you tell me the name of your father?
Slav's face is bewildered. His grip on his pistol loosens, but he still holds it carefully and with intent. Lev has gone back to sitting with his toys, pretending to be distracted by them, but he only fidgets with the tiles while his gaze remains fixed on the door.
SLAV: Yeah? Why do you want to know?
WOMAN: i have... history. with him. i'm not here on any manner of payment collection, if that's what you're wondering.
The woman throws a glance towards the arm tucked behind Slav's back, then back up at his face.
WOMAN: and i'm not here to hurt you at all.
She looks towards the sliver of Lev she can see in the background and waves slightly at him. Slav moves to block her view of him quickly, temper quickening.
LEV: who is it?
Slav whips his head around to Lev.
SLAV: Man let me handle this
LEV: sorry
He looks back towards the woman.
SLAV: Wanna get to the point?
WOMAN: i just want to see if you can remember the name of your father.
Slav stares at the woman for a moment. He blinks.
SLAV: Yeah ok youre. Whatever youre messing with me but sure. Hes a fuckin deadbeat but I know his name
SLAV: Its
SLAV: ...
SLAV: ... Hey who are you.
Slav steps away from the door slightly, his fingers tightening around the grip of the pistol (but not the trigger). Of course he knows his father's name. It's been on every check that had ever been spent for Slav's miserable private school education. It's... It's...
WOMAN: i'm your sister!
Slav looks Hailey up and down. There are
some similarities. But...
SLAV: Like hell you are
WOMAN: my name is hailey tartarus.
Slav laughs. It's unintentional, too, which makes him more embarrassed than he would be otherwise.
SLAV: Am I meant to believe a fakeass name like that
HAILEY: it is in fact fake. it's a pseudonym. one i use despite its fakeness. look. i'll cut to the chase. our father is dead.
SLAV: Cool good for him
HAILEY: oh, believe me, i'm as enthused as you are.
Slav pauses for a moment. He smiles ever-so-slightly. He speaks sarcastically.
SLAV: Ok maybe you are his kid
HAILEY: can you remember your father's name?
SLAV: ... Shouldnt you know it if youre his kid too and all
HAILEY: i can say it. but you won't like hearing it.
SLAV: Oh sure go ahead
HAILEY: his name is █████
LEV: slaaav who is it?
SLAV: ... Lev shut up. Hey he was talking over you I didnt hear you
HAILEY: yes, you did. his name is █████.
SLAV: Say that again
HAILEY: █████.
SLAV: No youre
It's like a censor beep. No, it's not as high-pitched. It's like a wave. Thing.
It is an 888.88888 Hz sine wave. It lasts approximately one second. When attempting to
write the name, the hand involuntarily takes three seconds to draw five rectangles.
SLAV: How are you doing that with your mouth
HAILEY: our father was erased from existence. i'd like to tell you about that and invite you to a reunion. may i come in?
SLAV: ... Hold on.
He closes the door in her face. He turns the safety of the pistol back on and places it back in the cupboard, locking it back up. As he places his keyring back in his pocket, his thumb runs over his switchblade. He looks over at Lev.
SLAV: You got your switchblade?
LEV: no i put it in my room
SLAV: Go grab it and put it in your pocket
He grunts as he stands up once again, not pleased with the fact he has to right now.
LEV: why. is she bad
SLAV: Im gonna let a stranger we dont know into our house and I wanna be safe go get your fuckin switchblade
LEV: OKAY fine
He stomps to his room and puts his switchblade in his pocket. When he returns, he sits on the couch on his knees.
LEV: i have it
Slav watches him for a moment, then turns to the door.
Hailey stands outside on the porch. She checks her watch. She was hoping she'd be halfway through her explanation by now. Figures.
The deadbolt slides undone and the door opens. Slav gestures very slightly, vaguely beckoning her in. She steps inside. The house inside looks like it was built in the 1940s and renovated only once since then—maybe in the '80s? Hailey's knowledge isn't perfect. The wallpaper is intensely faded, flowers of various types and curling vines all intermingling barely visible on the peeling paper. Cabinets are placed up against the wall, largely made of dark brown Poplar wood, save for the doors of the cabinets, which are made of glass and are heavily scratched and smudged.
Inside the cabinets are various pictures of people, including some young pictures of Slav that Hailey can barely even recognize as him. Other pictures seem to be of Slav's mother, perhaps, and her own family. Some are of the other kid, though less than there are of Slav, for reasons Hailey must assume are purely chronological. Drawings by Slav and the other kid from when they were very little are also hung up on the walls. Whoever put them up wanted to preserve every moment they had with the two in their youth. The remaining space on each wall is filled to the brim with Christian iconography. Paintings, sculptures, trinkets, scriptures... Notably, it's all Eastern Orthodox.
The kid is sitting on a couch with cushions where the lining is coming apart slightly, exposing its interior stuffing. It creaks when he even slightly shifts his weight. The couch directly faces the most modern-looking thing in the room, a flatscreen TV hooked up to a Playstation. It's still a PS3, though it's 2022 on this Earth. Slav sits on the couch next to the kid and looks at Hailey, pointing to a recliner with the faded imprint of people having sat in the chair repeatedly over the years. Hailey obliges. She opts not to recline.
HAILEY: ah... firstly, may i ask, what's your name?
She gestures to the kid. Slav throws a glance towards him as well.
Lev thought of a bunch of questions in his head while he was angrily retrieving his switchblade, but as soon as Hailey asks him, he's intimidated.
LEV: my name is Lev... are you an aunt
That's the only question he can muster up. He pronounces it like ant.
HAILEY: are you slav's brother?
LEV: yeah
He glances at Slav. Wait, is he supposed to be secretive?
LEV: maybe
SLAV: Snrk
SLAV: Yeah hes my brother. Uh. Half-brother
HAILEY: then i'm not your aunt, i'm afraid.
She prononuces it like awnt.
HAILEY: technically, i'm not even your sister, given i'm slav's half-sister and you're his half-brother, so we don't share any hereditary link. but you can call me your sister if that's easier.
SLAV: Ok so what did you mean reunion. And the fuck did you mean erased from existence
HAILEY: right! i understand you will need to suspend your disbelief greatly to believe anything i say, so... if i may perform a demonstration?
SLAV: Demonstrate what
HAILEY: magic. or whatever you want to call it.
LEV: did you use powers to make slav's dad die?
HAILEY: ... no. someone else did.
Slav bursts out laughing.
SLAV: Jesus! Sure what the hell
He turns to Lev.
SLAV: Lev you wanna see some magic apparently
LEV: ... yeah
He tries not to look too excited and stares at Hailey expectantly.
Hailey stands up from the recliner and walks to a relatively empty space in the room. She pulls out what looks to be her phone and types some things in while glancing to her left. Slav observes her with growing curiosity.
Hailey taps a button on her phone. In an instant, she's teleported about five feet to her left. There's a small clatter as one of the towers Lev had built with the tiles is pushed out of the space Hailey teleports into.
LEV: what!
Lev looks at Slav to make sure that was real, then back to Hailey.
LEV: are you friends with Jesus?
Slav is completely in shock. He looks between Lev and Hailey rapidly.
SLAV: Was that—? What the fuck was that? Lev, was that?
For a moment, Slav can see Hailey visibly holding back her laughter at Lev.
HAILEY: no, i am not friends with jesus. this miracle is entirely of my own invention, in fact.
HAILEY: do you want to try?
LEV: is it easy?
HAILEY: it is. i just need you to not mess with any settings—
SLAV: No hold on hes not trying anything until I make sure its safe
Slav stands up.
SLAV: Okay so
Slav places his hand on his forehead for a moment, thinking. He looks to Hailey.
SLAV: Okay whatever Ill believe what you say. If Im getting punked hard Im gonna be pissed off though got it?
HAILEY: of course. do you want to try?
She holds the phone out to him. After a moment of hesitation, he takes it.
HAILEY: stand in this spot right here.
SLAV: Right
He stands where Hailey was first standing.
HAILEY: and just press that button
Slav's finger hovers over a button labeled "TELEPORT." There are a bunch of settings above it that he doesn't want to touch or even look at.
SLAV: This isnt a uh. Star trek or whatever type of teleport right. The one that kills you and rebuilds you
HAILEY: no, it's merely instantaneous teleportation
Slav pauses for a long while. Finally, he sucks in a breath and closes his eye. He presses the button.
He opens his eye and he's standing about five feet to the left of where he was.
SLAV:
SLAV: Okay Lev can try
LEV: COOL
He scoots off of the couch and holds both of his hands out for the phone. Slav hands him the phone and positions Lev to be standing in exactly the right place.
SLAV: And dont fuck with any of the settings Im watching the screen. Just press the button
LEV: but what does all of the buttons do?
HAILEY: they change your starting position and destination. they're relative. and how fast to displace matter that's occupying the same space as you, which you'd need to turn up the speed on if you're teleporting into a solid space. but teleporting into a solid space is... inadvisable.
Slav is watching him like a hawk to ensure he doesn't mess with anything or even scroll up. Lev glances at Slav and presses the button. In an instant, he's standing about five feet to the left of where he was. He turns around, looking at Slav and Hailey in amazement.
LEV: where did you get this...? i wanna teleport everywhere instead of walking
HAILEY: it would be intensely time-consuming and extremely power-inefficient. and i made it myself!
Slav snatches the phone from Lev and hands it back to Hailey.
SLAV: Okay. No hold on no more teleports. What the fuck is going on what did you mean my or our or whatever dad got erased from existence. Fucking explain
HAILEY: right. you're going to want to sit down.
Hailey sits back down in the recliner. Slav grabs Lev's upper arm and pulls him over to the couch—half to keep him safe and half to help him walk. Lev does tend to get tired easily and all, for some reason. Once he's actually sitting down, Lev sits back like he's the one in a recliner chair.
LEV: how can he not exist anymore what about... uh... his house?
HAILEY: ... let me start at the beginning.
Hailey clears her throat.
HAILEY: where i come from, there are nine demiurges, each associated with a fundamental concept—the pillars that make up the world.
Hailey just said a lot of words Lev doesn't know. He also fails to fully grasp the concept of remarriage and affairs. Slav gets a lot more of it, but most of it still sails over his head. The two sit, bewildered.
LEV: why wasn't there a get together yet? i didn't know there was a lot of family
SLAV: And. Jesus. How did he like... Keep all of this secret I thought he was human
HAILEY: well, it's not every day us humans, like me and you, lev, get to go off of our planet and leave our universe. it's not exactly easy to do all this! i still haven't the faintest clue where the other three are... lyla, thomas, and waverly. they remain unknowns to me.
HAILEY: as for our father's humanity, it's easy for gods like him to disguise themselves completely such that they look like humans. it helps that our father was one originally, so his form hadn't even changed
Slav drags his hands down his face.
SLAV: So what now we go to a reunion in another universe
HAILEY: like i said, vel will accommodate you with a guest room. though, we weren't sure how many people besides you, lyla, thomas, and waverly we would have to accommodate... ah, is your mother home?
Lev looks hurt.
LEV: mommy's dead too
Slav awkwardly puts his arm around Lev to try to be reassuring. It never works. Lana could do it better if she was here.
HAILEY: ... ah. i should've assumed. i'm sorry for your loss.
If it makes you feel any better, there are infinitely many more versions of her across the Ocean. Perhaps there's one where you two are dead and she's still alive? ... As if. It'd be funny, though. Ah, let's *try* to show some sympathy, yes? Hailey gives a polite smile, furrowed eyebrows to suggest sympathetic pain.
HAILEY: i'll move on quickly. i don't want to make you reminisce. my point is that i'm not sure how long this reunion will take to get together, but i'd like you two to be able to get to vel and ask all the questions you want as soon as possible. would you be available to go with me right now?
SLAV: Uh. I mean
Slav's not busy, but god, he should really be doing work these next few days. Except, if he's gone for a few days, he doesn't need to buy food, so he won't need the money, and the monthly payments aren't for a while... But. He looks at Lev. Lev tries to toughen up. He sits up straight.
LEV: can i bring my legos?
HAILEY: yes. in fact, i believe you two could take vel's child's room. they've moved out, but i think some of their old toys are still in there...
SLAV: I dont know
SLAV: Can you reimburse me for the time away
Hailey thinks about the
gall Slav has to ask her that. It's admirable, even.
HAILEY: i believe i can, in fact. though i believe you'll understand if i try to only reimburse you for the bare essentials.
SLAV: Yeah okay lets barter some other time not right now Im not looking to do that right now but uh
SLAV: Okay
SLAV: How much time do we have to get packed
HAILEY: time is of the essence. purely for convenience's sake, though. it's more your time than mine!
SLAV: Alright
He picks Lev up (he's used to this) and runs upstairs to their rooms. Hailey's gaze follows their path. She sits in the empty room, amused and musing.
LEV: i could have made it
SLAV: Man shut up
Slav starts packing. He starts texting his friends about his sudden trip. Thank god he's not missing band practice. He already has half a suitcase packed, anyways... Just in case.
In the other room, Lev finds a bag to put his stuff in. He puts some clothes in there at random along with his Legos, plus some figurines that he likes.
Hailey's voice calls from downstairs.
HAILEY: by the way, there may be other children there! ah, i don't know how old you are, but there'll be at least one 14 year old, and who knows who else the others might bring along...!
Slav sighs. Good for Lev, annoying for him. Or so he thinks, anyways. To Lev, older kids are scary. They'll probably be mean to him, just for being seven. It's not his fault he's so young! But he shouldn't judge them out loud.
LEV: OKAY
Lev finishes packing and heads out of his room. Slav has already finished his packing, waiting by the door. He takes Lev's bag and hurries downstairs. Lev moves downstairs more carefully, one hand on the railing and one hand hanging at his side.
LEV: are we driving to a different universe?
SLAV: Or are we using the teleport phone thing
HAILEY: my phone is only for local teleportation. we'll be driving to the house of that persephone woman i mentioned, and from there, we'll head to vel's.
Hailey heads to the door.
SLAV: Right. My cars only got two seats and Im not letting Lev sit in the bed—
HAILEY: ahah. that's alright. i have a car here.
Hailey walks outside. Slav looks to Lev and nods his head for Lev to go first. Once Lev is out, Slav pauses for a moment before retrieving his FN 509 from the cupboard and stashing it in his suitcase. He takes out the magazine from it (but packs that too) and makes sure the safety is still on. Just in case. He exits the house and locks it, then steps across the grass, stepping around all the bottles he's thrown rocks at and broken over the years as target practice. Lev is walking slowly, admiring the black 2016 Kia Optima while Hailey gets in the driver's seat.
LEV: holly do you get rich from doing magic tricks for people?
HAILEY: hailey. and you could say that. right now, i mostly make robots!
Lev crawls into the backseat of the car, buckling up. Hailey buckles up right after.
LEV: ROBOTS what kind of robots?
HAILEY: hmm... you'll meet one i've made at the reunion! even if only for a moment. i'll keep my secrets for now.
Slav puts his suitcase and Lev's bag in the trunk of the car. He gets in the passenger seat.
HAILEY: don't slam my trunk that hard. it's a rental.
SLAV: The hell are you talking about I barely slammed it
HAILEY: it's my rental.
SLAV: Fucking sure
He slams his door shut. Hailey stares at him. Her eye twitches. She turns her gaze back to the road and starts the car. She pauses.
HAILEY: what the fuck are you waiting for?
SLAV: What
Hailey turns to Slav and stares at him like he's the strangest thing she's ever seen in all her travels.
HAILEY: seatbelt?
SLAV: Oh my god
Slav buckles in and gestures melodramatically at Hailey. She grits her teeth, grips the steering wheel, and then— gets driving.
The three head off.
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