Abby - In The Dark Forest of Mirrors TG - Part 1

Previously on The Abby Longbloom Tales

Abby Longbloom, young explorer of parallel worlds, has been searching. Ever since the sudden disappearance of her father many years ago, she has sought clues in the reality-altering 'anomalies' he used to research. Despite her long travels, she knows she will find him again soon.

Abby returns home upon finding her father's hidden, second journal, which suggested he saw her as an experiment. She finds hidden secrets in the city of Alashir where she grew up.

Her godfather, Marcus Ward, is the bearer of such secrets. But, before he can tell them, Abby's goggles reveal a danger at a nearby university. There she finds Demetrius's ex-wife, Vivian Longbloom, has made Aiborae snake girls and has apocalyptic plans for the world. Evading Vivian and her plans, Abby descends into the depths of the university and meets Demetrius's biggest secret, her protector.

Its name is Moira and it is a being in the shape of a large, black insect which once edited out gender-shifting anomalies from universes. It has protected Abby for nearly her entire life from untold dangers, especially from another of her kind named Iao, who seeks the genocidal destruction of a race of humans with the ability to alter reality with their imaginations. Abby learns she is one of them, possibly one of the last remaining.

While Vivian is convinced to leave with her new "daughters", the dangers of the full, unknown extent of her plans remain.

After examining the secret files her father left behind, Abby discovers a new way she might finally find him…through the Dark Forest of Mirrors, a spreading intersection of universes which led to her ability to turn from a girl into a boy…




In the Dark Forest of Mirrors (An Abby Longbloom tale)



A little girl with long red hair rose from her bed with a spasm as the first light of morning touched the edge of her covers. The light was the color of pale rust, barely enough to see by.

She moved swiftly through a mental checklist. She made her bed. She brushed her teeth. She carefully scanned the floor with slowly blinking blue eyes. Impeccable.

She went about her bath without a droplet of water out of place and with her soap efficiently used. By the time the checklist had been completed, she found her proper place in the middle of the room and awaited the footsteps.

There was silence. She allowed herself a breath and a glance at the mirror across the room. Impeccable…except for some errant wetness at her cheek. She brushed it away with her hand. But it kept returning. She clenched her eyes but it refused to stop. She pressed her hands against her eyes until…finally…they were dry.

That resolved, she straightened her powder-blue dress with a swift tug and continued to wait patiently.

Silence.

Tension gathered in her neck. She checked the clock behind her. She was on time. She should have heard her father's footsteps by now. But there was silence. Only silence.

In the void, she could hear the echoes of her father's words in her ears.

"You always waste time. Wasted time never comes again."

"Tears are a waste of effort. Just be stronger."

"I know the best for you. You will drink this every day. It will improve your poor health."

"I must check everything until you do it just right."

"Every single rule must be followed exactly in my house to preserve order."

She leaned her head back and the words drifted away. The little girl swallowed and looked at the closed door in front of her. She knew it would be a waste to remain in the usual spot and father hated wastes.

Creeping slowly, she opened the door and looked through the dimly-lit hallway. She could hear the grandfather clock off the side but nothing else. Step by step, she advanced towards her father's study. He was sure to be there. Along the way, she felt her reflection in a side mirror glaring down the back of her neck. When she turned to look, all she saw was her face in shadow. In her imagination, her lips curled up and her eyes stared right at her. She turned away and continued.

The door to her father's study was ajar. It was never ajar. He always closed it because he said it preserved the heat in the room. Pushing it open, she looked in to see her father sprawled out with his face against the wooden floor.

His meaty bulk lay like a potato bag. His legs were bent and his arms clenched with his hands tightened close. His skin looked unusually red, a far jollier color than she was used to. He had on a suit which still looked quite impeccable. His bulging, still eyes seemed to follow her around the room.

The little girl looked down at her father and began to laugh. She braced herself against her father's table and laughed over and over. She kept laughing till the tears streamed down her eyes. Then she took the potted plant behind her and hurled it at her father. It broke against his soft body and spilled soil all over his back. Clenching her teeth, the girl took a china sugar bowl and threw it against him too.

She threw everything she found until her father was buried in a circular mound of broken remains.

The last thing she found was a note set aside near his body. It was written in her father's hand. The ink still looked fresh.

She focused on one part in particular --- All my holdings and assets are to be dispersed for charity. Nothing is to be given to my daughter, Vivian. She must be taught the value of hard work. She is to be sent to the Eleance Boarding School for Girls in Alashir immediately.

Young Vivian ripped the paper and kept tearing it. She spit on it and threw it at her father before rushing from the room. She had a vague idea of what she would do. She grabbed one of the largest suitcases and started piling food and clothes into it. She took everything she imagined he might need to run away.

Soon, however, she realized how heavy the suitcase was getting. Then she thought about where she might go. Her father had been aloof from all relatives. She didn't even know how to contact them or if they would care to take her in. She sat on her bed, her powder-blue dress slick with sweat.

She knew she couldn't just run away. She had to be careful. She had to be smart.

As she sat there, slowly, ideas crept into her head. Possibilities filled her mind. She went quickly to work.

She returned to the torn document and searched for just the right pieces till she had assembled a phrase which read instead, "All my holdings and assets are to be given to my daughter, Vivian." The lines matched well. She sealed them with her father's best glue. However, it was a weak forgery at best. She pondered this a bit and looked at the smoldering embers in the nearby fireplace. A light burning aided in hiding the seams.

Stepping back from her work, Vivian looked around the house. She hated it. She hated every inch of it. The garish paneling in her father's study seemed to press against her like his gaze. And the kitchen. She flung the pots and pans off their burners. More lessons. More "no no…you're doing it all wrong". In every room.

Even the quiet of her bedroom with her little secrets was not enough comfort. She searched deep in the wood frame, pulled out her two dolls, and hugged them close. Dora and Cora.

She had made them herself from little bits she'd taken and stowed when her father didn't see. Dora took so very long but Cora was easy. She'd made a little pet snake out of socks and stuffing but father had found that. He burned it in the fireplace and made her watch until it was ashes. Then the lecture. The lecture about wasted time flowed into the lecture about idle silliness. Her eyes widened.

She knew. That was it. She would burn it. She would burn it all.

It wasn't easy, especially with the fire suppression in the house but she knew how it was set and how it might 'accidentally' malfunction. It helped that she'd imagined these terrible things all the time. She knew her father only kept a scant few important papers and valuables in the house. They were easily sealed in the fireproof lock-box.

The rest was simple. She knew she had to make it look good. A slow fire while she was in her bedroom. It wasn't long before the smoke was obvious. She rushed about the house screaming, crying, and gasping at her father's body. The coughs didn't need to be feigned. She yelled out her door for help but only after she knew there was no hope of containing the fire.

Neighbors had to drag her out as she clutched "what her father always told her to take" along with her precious little dolls. She was covered in soot and her lip was bleeding. They sat her by the street and tried to console her through her flowing tears. The house was soon fully consumed.

Vivian looked up at the inferno. She imagined deep inside that maybe her father wasn't quite gone, that there was something left as the flames touched him.

Taking a deep breath, Vivian stared at the house as the fire trucks began to gather around the blackening frame.

She knew she was finally free.


----


Abby woke swiftly at dawn. She jumped from her bed and jammed her goggles-topped head out the window. There was barely enough light to see across the street.

Still, Abby looked out with a smile…for today was the day. The day she'd been planning for so long. It nearly felt like Christmas Day aside from the lack of decorations and Marcus cursing through the floorboards as he tried to put the final touches on gifts. It seemed like this day would never come.

She had been waiting for it since she was nine-years-old and broken-hearted. It was the day she would start looking for her father.

Marcus had told her for years that she was too young to go looking on her own and she still had so much school to finish first. Abby solemnly had to concede he was right. So she waited and did what she could.

She took extra work to cover credits, she studied everything she thought she might need, and she planned. She searched her father's notebook line by line, over and over. A particular little hover bot made sure she had something nice to drink while she read.

Finally, after so many years, she received approval to do her final coursework as an independent study so long as she wrote about any new discoveries she made in parallel universes.

Abby envisioned detailed, weekly letters filled with joyful excitement of remarkable sights, transported by inter-dimensional dragons, and capped by eloquent linguistic flourishes. Her instructors assured her that a simple travel journal or something to that effect a week before the end of the session would be sufficient.

Turning from the calm morning sight through the window, Abby looked over what she had packed the night before. It was big, probably too big for how she might carry it all. Marcus insisted on boots. And then insisted on several, just in case.

They both agreed flannel pants would be a good idea. And, of course, Abby would have to take the big jacket with the dimensional pockets. It was also quite warm, which Marcus noted was the best advantage.

After a quick shower in the bathroom down the hall, during which she made up several little theme songs in her head for the journey ahead, Abby rested a towel around her hair and went to work reducing her load. Just the essentials.

The change of clothes went right into her pockets. She made sure she tucked them deep so the weight would be distributed. She dried the goggles with a few good rubs of the towel and pondered the rest.

The blue scanner, of course. It always told her where she was, what species something was, and, if it didn't know, it could draw information till it found out. Also, it would record all she needed for her later journals. Abby gave it a little hug before putting it inside her pockets.

Another given was the specially-modified currency which was designed to change based on whatever dominant money system the scanner detected. She'd tested it a bit in practice, even though many areas had recently outlawed it due to those who tried to change the value of their currency.

The things that were out, however, were some of the books she'd wanted to bring. They were just too heavy. She also had to dump an old plushie named Mr. Rizzlebottom. It had been with her since she was young and the felt was beginning to wear out. She'd gotten it so many years ago at a little store on Priswick Avenue which no longer existed. It had been stuffed away in the back, behind all the stuffed kitties, kipperwits, and other fluffy critters. It was, in a word, pathetic.

Its legs were misshapen, tiny, and couldn't hold it up. Its face looked angry. Its arms looked more like stabbing implements. And the rest was like a split potato taking a nap. But its eyes, solemn and gray, drew Abby. And it was so soft that she could just rest against it like a nice, lumpy pillow.

With a quiet salute, Abby set Mr. Rizzlebottom on her bed and said, "Sir?…Please guard this place in my absence." Mr. Rizzlebottom sat stoically upon his bottom.

By the time Abby was done, the weight within her pockets was much more manageable and there was room to spare. All that remained was to pack her lunch. She'd made a big one the day before so she wouldn't have to use up the currency on food or risk strange ingredients which were safe and common in another world but lethal for her. Marcus had made sure to warn of that possibility.

The sandwiches would definitely fit but Abby only took one. Any more and she was liable to forget about them. She didn't want a lingering, foul stench in the pockets for months like last time.

That settled, Abby finished drying her hair and got dressed. Once done, she walked over to the mirror and inspected herself. She grinned widely and noted that she looked almost like a superhero from the novels one of her older classmates always brought to class. Especially with the pairing of colors. After pushing up her huge sleeves and striking a silly pose, Abby giggled and rushed downstairs.

Marcus was ready with a large breakfast. For a moment, he acted like it was a normal day. But he smiled at her and rubbed his hands quietly.

When Abby gave a whirl around in place, he clapped and asked, "And you remembered the…" Before he could say anything else, she reached into a pocket and pulled out just the item he was referring to. No matter what he asked, Abby presented it.

Once satisfied, Marcus turned to his cup of coffee and sipped slowly. Abby approached him from the side, put her narrow arm on his shoulder, and told him, "I'll be fine. As you said, it's really easy to come home in a wink. We tested everything."

Marcus grimaced and noted, "But you haven't really…tried it out. It could split your atoms in half…or worse…" It was the same talk and Abby reiterated the same evidence from her father's notes and experiments. The final word was that her father trusted it would be safe. So that was that. Marcus took a long sip and nodded.

Breakfast went quickly. Abby didn't have much of an appetite. She was just too antsy. Her legs danced around under the table. She tidied up a bit as Marcus finished his meal. He ate slowly.

In the meanwhile, she went to get two little yellow ties for her hair. With them, she tied two little ponytails in the back. It was a look she used to wear a lot when she was younger, so she hoped it might help with Demetrius recognizing her after all these years. Of course, she knew he would have no trouble but she wanted to do everything she could to make sure.

That settled, Abby turned to Marcus. He was just about done. The actual goodbye was brief even though Marcus lingered on holding Abby's hand. He told her quietly, "Be safe always."

Abby nodded with a smirk and dipped her goggles down over her eyes. The display showed the usual, a few strange universes where anomalies were known to exist. Abby picked the top one. A world where transformational machines had been created. That was all it said. Despite that, Abby had good feelings about the possibilities.

She tipped up her goggles and looked at Marcus once more before dipping them back down and selecting that particular world. She turned the eyepiece of the goggles.

*SLAM*

Abby immediately fell backwards like she'd been violently shoved. Flailing, she pushed the goggles up and off her face.

Darkness all around. She was in a room. About the same size as the dining room she'd just been standing in. But everything looked like it had been eaten by fire, melted. There were no obvious fumes in the air. Nothing she could clearly distinguish. She fought back a sudden bout of nausea, pulled out her scanner, and turned on its light. She activated the anthropomorphic hologram projection mode and a thin beam projected out the tip.

As she swung the light around, the image of a young girl with what looked like circuit boards for hair glanced about and noted, "This place is a dump."  

Abby gave the projection a long, skeptical look. After an instant, the little girl added, "That's all! Can I take a nap now?"

Turning off the projection function, Abby inspected the display. It was only slightly more helpful. It did confirm there had been a fire recently and it gave a long list of what was broken. Nothing particularly helpful… So she started looking for a way out of the burnt-out house. She followed several turns of a hallway and came to a broken, open wall. Her eyes widened.

A cityscape. It was an inferno. The lights nearby cast brilliant embers into the air. Only the embers seemed to be moving in all directions, like a swarm of fireflies. Stepping closer to the opening, Abby tried to get a better look. There was a smell this time, harsh and bitter. Her boot caught something as she tried to take another step to see more. It felt strange. Rigid. But it crunched a bit, like moving past sandpaper. And it was soft, almost slick. Abby considered all those attributes and dipped her light down.

She immediately staggered back and clutched a hand to cover her mouth. Gray fingers on a gray arm bending up from blackness. Moving swiftly till she found a rough wall, Abby's shoulder caught a standing, metal mirror which had somehow survived. She fought against a full scream, wondering for an instant if she'd touched a skeleton. The mirror rocked back and shattered right beside her. Pieces of sooty glass blasted out like a sudden rain sprinkling through her light.

In the larger pieces, she almost thought she could see something dark and sinister stretching out at her. Like a shadow beast using the sudden noise to mask a leap at her throat. But there was nothing. She was sure there was nothing. She hoped there was nothing…

Panting, she swung her light back and forth like it was a weapon, casting out shadows and banishing monsters to their hiding places. When her heart finally began to settle, she noticed the dull hum. Before she could check the scanner, something bright slipped through the open wall and hovered before her. For a moment, it looked much like a harmless, sphere-like hover bot. But then it showed its teeth.

Its surface released a swarm of silvery spikes. A single, yellow eye blazed at her like an angry firefly. In loud words, it said, "You are not in the sys-tem! YOU must be scanned and trans-formed to per-fection…ONLY if deemed worthy! SUB-MIT TO SCANNING!"

Abby didn't need to hear any more. She slammed her goggles down over her eyes, selected "HOME" with a furious glance, and turned the eyepiece.

She worried for an instant that something had malfunctioned when she could still hear the screaming words of the flying machine. Then, everything seemed to slow. Like a machine on its last bit of power.

It wasn't just a sound. It was a feeling all around. Like the entire universe was going dark and the last bit of light had been extinguished. Abby couldn't move. She could barely breathe. It felt like her body was under an intangible mountain. Then, she was tossed, like a rubber band suddenly released.

Her body vibrated violently. She feared she might be shaken apart. The vibrations and pulling got stronger and stronger. She remembered later a book describing what it might be like to be caught in the event horizon of a black hole. Her entire body felt stretched like an infinite piece of taffy. A tiny edge of her boot was still on the ground with that hovering monster. But the rest of her was spread out into a limitless void. It was cold, so very cold. Then, the edge. The very tip of her finger touched something warm. Warm but distant. Familiar. It brushed past.

All the tension released and she was whipped straight into the ground. Coughing over and over, Abby felt warmth again and familiar sounds. She pulled back her goggles.

She was across the street from the Longbloom home and it was still morning. Shivering, she braced herself against a nearby fence and retched. The machine's voice still sounded in her ears.

She could barely find the strength to stand. Eventually, a nice couple came by and helped her with getting home. Marcus hugged her tightly as she looked at him with trembling eyes and hugged back just as tightly.

Abby stammered for words. Her thoughts were consumed by fears. She was about to speak but Marcus touched a hand to her shoulder and said, resolutely, "It'll be okay. Rest now. Tell me everything later. If something went wrong, I know you'll fix it. If something was scary…sadly that's…the shape of the world. Run or face it...it's your choice, Abby. But I know you'll learn from it and tomorrow will be a better day."

He looked straight into her eyes and she wrapped her arms around him.

He was right.


-----


Abby sipped a foul, healthy tea-like concoction Marcus had made for her and looked over at her godfather puttering about on creating a mighty breakfast.

After a week of staying with Marcus since she met Moira, today was the day Abby planned go off in search of allies and to look through the dark forest of mirrors. The week had been relatively quiet aside from a few days of coverage in the web news about the strange events and missing persons case around Covaley University. One of the regents Demetrius used to know actually stepped down, fanning the flames of wild mass guessing. More than once, Abby thought about anonymously calling the families of the missing lab student and the security guard who Vivian had turned into Aiborae. But she still had no idea of what she might tell them.

Most of the week was spent in little guilty pleasures mingled with chores. As the biggest chore of all, Abby finally managed to organize Marcus's house. The cleaning somehow managed to conjure up more things than seemingly existed in the house before. The piles multiplied and grew denser. She imagined they were alive. Windows, which hadn't been touched in years, screamed as Abby opened them and evicted as much dust as she could.

The results were breathtaking. One could actually twirl around the house without fear of being absorbed by the piled masses. There was, however, an oddly-lingering moist scent.

Despite dragging her nose across every surface, Abby still wasn't sure where it was coming from but she suspected it was the ghost of a petrified house plant she'd found entombed by towers of old books.

The guilty pleasures included a trip down to the beach to, as Abby explained it to Marcus, "Go kick the sea in the mouth a bit". Marcus wore his high-water trousers, an enormous sun hat, and sat in a chair under a tree. Abby wore a bright blue swimsuit with leggings which went down to her knees but still afforded her full-contact sea-kicking. She watched her dim reflection in the water shift and warp with each wave and explode with each strike of her foot. She avoided swimming despite the fact her goggles didn't mind the water but got close enough that the sea could at least try to get revenge on her. That day was capped with sifting through a small bookshop on a pier as the setting sun tinted the pages with amber.

There were other joys but Abby held onto that day the most as she sat there and watched Marcus finish cooking his eggs.

She visited Moira again halfway through the week. Abby brought a big blanket for her because she thought she might be cold. Moira assured her, "I am fine but thank you." Abby set it next to her.

Mostly, Abby told her about her plans. Moira spoke very little but said, "I will not stop you from looking."

A quiet moment came and Abby asked a lingering question on her mind.

"When I left home to look for my father…the first time….then the time when I last encountered the forest…why?"

Moira paused for a long moment and told her, "I admit…with your first journey…I wanted to scare you. I wanted to show you the worst and discourage you…for your own protection. I am sorry…"

Abby nodded calmly, that was about the answer she expected. "And the slingshot effect I felt…that time…and when I try to leave a place quickly?"

Moira's projections undulated. "Travel between worlds is always uncomfortable the first few times and never easy when rushed." Again, an answer she expected.

Then, Moira added, "But…the forest was something even I could not control. I had seen bits of it in the past. It can paralyze our kind…or even break them. I've never seen it grow like that. Never…And while I cannot sense the whole of things so well now…I fear it is only getting worse out there."

Abby folded her arms and frowned before asking, "I've heard of something called…The Rift. Is it…related to this?"

Again, Moira paused before saying, "I don't know. Before I held you…there was no Rift anywhere. But there have always been the forests…"

She comforted Abby when this notion sent a chill through her arm. Abby enjoyed the touch and it calmed the chill. After a moment, she asked Moira, "Do you think I'm doing the right thing…going back…even though I intend to bring friends?"

Moira answered swiftly. "You are doing what you must. Do not doubt your choices. And I will lend you as much of my support as I can…for as long as I am able."

Abby stroked Moira's velvety projection and said, "I want that to be a long long time. Although, hopefully, you won't need to do everything for me forever."

Moira's blank, chipped features were still. She reiterated, "I only hope it is enough…for your sake, Abby."

Abby felt her regular smile again as she reflected on Moira. Marcus set out breakfast and they ate. Afterwards, he lingered in his big chair as Abby double-checked everything she would be taking with her. That included the combined data chip. In her goggles interface, she made sure to setup a quick list of all the places she planned to go, universes with people who she might ask for help.

As she said her last "I'll see you soon"s to Marcus's solemn gaze, Abby accessed her list. The HQ of the Transdimensional Protection Division.

She couldn't wait to see Korri again.


----


Vivian smiled at Cora as she ran up to her. She had an "owwie" on her arm from rigorous play outside with her sister. Vivian looked it over a bit as Zoe rested on her shoulders. It hadn't healed instantly like it should. Vivian glared at it till Cora frowned and asked, "Is something wrong? Can't you kiss it all better, mommy?"

Smiling at Cora's shimmering yellow eyes and bright blue hair, Vivian shook her head and told her, "Nothing wrong at all. And I can most certainly kiss it all better." Bending down, she gave a firm, loud kiss against Cora's arm which instantly made the little one giggle. Despite the fact the blemish was still there, Cora hugged it and said, "All better! Yay!"

Vivian watched Cora as she ran back outside then returned to her work at the table.

She'd returned to Alashir briefly for supplies and currency but barely looked back. On the sixth world she came across, she lingered. The world itself was run like a commune. After centuries of industrial necrosis, it was beginning to recover. She enjoyed the fact there were black areas which had slowly begun to fade. It felt fitting. Almost enough of a mending Eden to dissuade her from her ultimate plans. Almost.

For a small commitment of physical labor and time, she'd been given a modest, eco-friendly house by a lake. The girls loved it. And all was lovely.

But there were things Vivian couldn't forget and leave alone. She worked on some small pieces but soon took a break. Leaning back in her chair, she noticed Zoe seemed rigid, tense. She reached around to touch her, calm her. She gave a look around. There didn't seem to be anything amiss. She glanced down the hallway. There. Right at the end. The mirror against the wall.

Vivian watched the mirror. Something was off. The reflection seemed darker than it should've been, even for a hallway lit by small but bright LED lights. Standing, Vivian supported Zoe and crept slowly towards the mirror. The dark patch didn't waver.

When she was in front of it, she wasn't quite sure if she was seeing anything. Yes, it seemed a little dark but there wasn't really anything in the reflection. Sighing and brushing Zoe's head, Vivian turned. Then came the whisper.

Your plan is flawed.

Nothing moved in the mirror. The voice seemed strangely familiar but she couldn't distinguish it as male or female.

Vivian glared at the mirror and asked, "Who are you?"

A soft sound. Too soft to clearly resolve. But the whisper came again, clearly.

Just want to see you succeed. See you free.

Stroking Zoe's back gently, Vivian asked, "How would I be free if I did what you want?"

The soft sound again.

I'm not here to tell you what to do. I'm just here to give you information…the creature you need is named Iao. He hates Moira. Will do anything to destroy her.

Zoe traced her way along Vivian's knuckles and gave several harsh looks at the mirror.

Vivian noticed her tension and remarked, "Sounds like this Iao is even worse than Moira…"

No soft sound.

He is. He deserves to burn. Just like your father.

Vivian's eyes narrowed. "What about…him?"

As I said, I just want to see you free. So…may I help you?

Clenching her jaw, Vivian looked into the blank, darkened mirror. It had been a long time since she'd allowed herself to remember her father. But the memory smoldered in her still. She had no reason to trust this voice promising so much. However, she knew plenty about using opportunities to her advantage.

Kissing Zoe softly on her little head, Vivian smiled and said, "You may."