Young Writers Society

Odris tensed.

He didn't know why CB had suddenly shown herself - or why he had been so convinced that CB was a man in the first place - but he knew that it couldn't possibly be good. He wished he had some kind of weapon to defend himself with. But he had no chalk on him, and wasn't a skilled enough fighter to handle someone on his own. The best he could come up with was detaching his cape and throwing it at CB's face.

“Why did you bring us here?” Tara asked. “Why do you have pictures of my family?”

She shrug off her assumption that CB had been a man. That mattered less now.

"Oh, well, you already figured most of that out already," CB said plainly. "I've been watching all of you for quite some time. It's really been so much fun. Oh, you all have such interesting lives..." an almost dreamy smile grew on her face as she looked out past them, as if she was reminiscing.

"It really helps pass the time. Sometimes I'll go back and watch the best scenes when I'm really bored, but I try not to overdo it. Things are only special if you don't get them all the time."

With a sigh, she brushed a long lock of hair behind her shoulder.

"I brought you all here because I was dying to meet you, honestly. I spent so much time watching you from afar... I wanted to see you up close."

As she spoke, her eyes were lit up with a strange sort of admiration that made James's insides squirm.

"Think of it like... finally getting to meet your heroes, and seeing them all meet each other." She clasped her hands together, and looked up a the ceiling with the same dreamy look from before.

Queenie held back a snort of laughter at the word 'heroes'. A touchy alien, the loser daughter of the center of a cult-y harem, some tired looking guy, and, well, Queenie. Those were the people this delusional bitch listed as her 'heroes'.

Weird fucking pick, darling.

But...this could be useful. She had to keep her eyes on the goal here. Get home. Insult this stalker internally, but leave it there. Bitch had eyes everywhere, as far as Queenie knew, and if Queenie knew to be wary of anything, it was people with eyes in secret places.

Heroes....

It would be a fine line. This 'CB' person, for all intents and purposes, knew Queenie. Knew how she acted, knew how she would feel about many situations, knew her damn career, just about everything. CB might even be a mind reader. Queenie just didn't know.

But.

If CB couldn't read minds....

"What makes us so special?" Queenie asked. A little ice breaker. Start with that. Keep the tone only mildly irritated - less than that is suspicious to everyone here - and work the conversation toward one about the exit.

She just had to depend on the others not to fuck this up.

"Wouldn't you want my father instead?" Tara snapped. It was hard to imagine anyone wanting to meet her. "Or my sister, maybe? Why me?"

“Woah, you’re super pretty,” Colleen said, not being able to hold back her first thoughts. “And I guess I should feel flattered, but this is still kind of weird to hear about. Not to mention the fact that you know some very big top secrets of mine that very few would be able to learn.”

Hmm. She didn’t know what to do now. CB appearing and talking to them like an angel, or possible ethereal being, after being all weird was startling for sure. What should she do?

CB laughed lightly in response to the list of questions, but otherwise kept a calm and collected posture. She smiled at Colleen's comment and dipped her head.

"Sometimes the people affected by the people in power are more interesting than the ones pulling the strings," he eyes drifted to Queenie, just for a moment, before she looked to Tara. "Or the ones who have to deal with the consequences of their actions. Powerful egomaniacs are simple and boring, usually. But none of you are that."

"And I don't know. There are a myriad of things that make all of you special. Things you might not think are special, but I do. And that's really a matter of opinion isn't it?" she shrugged a little, smiling, then laughed.

"Oh, I think everyone but Tara has a little obsession with fake names," she said, her eyes lighting up again. "Though I wouldn't blame you Tara, if you started using a fake last name more, with all the shame attached to it. But oh - honestly, I think James and Queenie - you guys are the worst. So many aliases. And sometimes for no reason, really. I mean, I know you've got trust issues, but wow." Another chuckled. "Well, anyways."

"That, and I think I have a think for people estranged from their families, for various reasons," she said, bringing her hand to her chin, holding it thoughtfully. "Like Colleen never talks to her family anymore, and neither does James, and both--"

"--CB stands for something, doesn't it?" James interjected.

CB paused, her hand still on her chin, and she slowly turned her head to him, her mouth spreading into a thin smile. Something was dancing behind her eyes. Mischievous.

"Smart boy. Always a smart boy," she said. "It's not even a name, actually." Laughter started to enter her voice. "It stands for Crystal Ball."

Her eyes flicked to Queenie, her expression proud, like she was gloating.

James felt the tension in the air. Crystal was challenging Queenie, in some way. He could feel it.

"I'm sure you could've guessed it if you weren't in such a hurry to leave," she said. "Oh - which you can't do by the way. The simulation room is a lot of things, but it's not a liar. There is no exit. You're stuck with me."

CB - Crystal Ball - must have made some kind of mistake.

No one would ever consider Odris to be the hero. Maahes was the one who was really like the hero. Maahes was the one who went to other worlds. He was the one who had fought the Goa'uld. All that Odris had had done since Maahes had found him in the present was stay hidden away under an alias on Earth.

But before Odris could fully grapple with the implications of someone thinking that he was important enough to stalk - he wasn't sure if he should feel even a little bit proud of that - he had to deal with the revelation that there was no clear way out.

...Which couldn't be true.

There was always a way out. He had read through the mission reports. Maahes had told him stories about times he had been transported outside of his work with the SGC.

"The simulation room may not be a liar," he said, crossing his arms and giving her a cool, level-headed look, "but I think you are. If you could bring us here in the first place, there has to be some way to send us back."

If not, he could wait. He had waited twenty thousand years in a pod before. He could wait a few more days until Vala finished summoning Maahes. If he was lucky, the two would get back early and would realize something had happened to him. Vala would dismiss Maahes so Odris could summon him. It had never been a plan they had outright discussed, but it just made sense.

And Maahes, who had fair more experience with situations like this and the advantage of magic, would be able to get him out of here if Odris couldn't figure it out first.

James bit his tongue as Odris said what he was thinking. Hoping.

Crystal looked at Odris, meeting his gaze with one unflinching. Her smile still remained, relaxed and unbothered.

“There’s this story I heard once, where a boy happened upon a raccoon caught in a trap,” she said.

“A hole was dug into the side of a tree, and at the bottom of the hole, a shiny object was placed. Small enough to fit, and small enough for a raccoon’s little paws. But just around the entrance of the hole, there were spikes nailed in - leaving enough space for a closed hand to slide in, but once the raccoon grabbed the shiny piece of metal, his hand was too full, and too big to get out.”

She paused, her eyes glinting.

“He would have to let go to escape, but he won’t. Because, well, raccoons are greedy little creatures.”

Queenie crossed her arms. She'd been threatened before. This felt a bit like that.

"Telling us to let go of something, Crystal?" she asked, arching a brow.

So Crystal essentially was saying that they could leave as long as they let go of something. Tara had no idea what that would be.

“I have my mother’s name,” Tara said. “Not his. But I like it.” She took a deep breath. “We just want to live normal lives. And we want people to leave us alone.”

Colleen frowned, a bit concerned now. Crystal Ball might appear kind and sparkling but not if she wouldn’t let them go. But what were the others saying? Letting go of something?

She barely had anything left. No family she could contact, no true home that she could relax fully in, no friends that she could fully trust. Colleen sighed. Her life sounded a bit sad being described in that way.

“I’ve got nothing left,” she eventually muttered to herself.

It wasn't until Queenie spoke that the story finally clicked - Odris hadn't been sure who was supposed to be the racoon in this current conversation. But hearing that story did little to help with his current struggle to get out of the room. He didn't know how - or what - he was supposed to let go.

"...You know my life," Odris pointed out. "You know the only thing I have left from my childhood is Maahes, and the only thing I've gained is a family. If the only way to leave here is to give one of those up, I'll find another way to leave. I'll wait as long as I have to - I'll be able to summon Maahes eventually, and I know he'll be able to help me escape."

Crystal raised her brows, looking at each of them in turn as they spoke, before he gaze landed on James, who stayed silent.

He didn't think she was saying they needed to let go of anything. If that was what she wanted, he already had. He wasn't holding on to anything tightly anymore.

"I'm not saying you need to let go," she said, meeting his eyes, as if she, somehow, heard what he was thinking. "The one who has to let go is me. And, well, that can't really happen. See - well, maybe it would be better if I just show you. Would you walk with me for a moment?"

She didn't wait for a reply before she started levitating down the hall at a quick pace. James had to walk quickly to keep up with her - and he did, for a moment, consider not following - but if she was going to explain how things worked, maybe they could find a loophole.

That, and he still wasn't convinced that if he did go off by himself, that he'd be able to do anything in secret. CB had proven that she had eyes everywhere.

"Most of you aren't familiar with the workings of pocket dimensions," Crystal started to explain. "But I supposed I can explain the gist. It's about time I shared my gritty backstory bond-villain style, since I know so much about all of yours."

She glanced back at all of them, smiling.

"We're in a pocket dimension right now, and this one was specifically crafted to hold me prisoner. It's built sort of like... oh, I can't think of another example. But the trick to it is, you can't get in, but you can't get out. Thing is, they put me in here, but they didn't take away my magic, and I was able to shape this plane to my liking, with enough time."

For a moment, her eyes glazed over.

"And there has been... a lot... of time."

She shook her head, and her smile returned full force.

"You can imagine, of course, that things get lonely down here. That's where the crystal balls came in, and I started following your lives, keeping up with recent developments, going back and replaying old memories of yours... and eventually, of course, bringing you here. There were a lot of other people I watched, actually, before picking you guys. I could've picked anyone, but I don't know - you guys were just my favorites."

She laughed and shrugged, clasping her hands together, all while still keeping the fast pace.

"Sometimes favorites are hard to explain. People just... grow on you, and that's that!"

Abruptly, she stopped. There was no door, and there was no exit. But she seemed to have stopped for a reason.

She reached out her hand to the side, stretching her arm out straight in the air. A glowing pattern lit up on the wall before a door appeared, and swung open. The room inside looked dark.

She waved a hand and gestured inside.

"Please, you first," she said with a bow of her head.

James looked to the others, not sure who she was talking to, but he knew someone had to go first.

If it was him, and it was a trap, he figured... it was better him than someone else. He could take it.

He pushed forward and stepped through the door. It didn't close behind him, but the door led into a narrow hall, lit up only by a dim light near the end of it. When he made it to the end, he entered a small room, lit up by a single lantern that held a purple flame.

In the corner of the room there was a large cage, and a shadow hunched over, sitting at the far end of it. As the figure shifted its shoulders, he could hear the jangling of chains.

He glanced back to see if CB had followed, but she hadn't.

"This is me," the figure in the cage said. It was Crystal's voice, but it sounded... older. And weary.

The woman in the cage finally stood up, with trembling legs, and made her way to the narrow bars holding her in. She resembled the woman in the hall, but she was aged. Her face was sunken in, and her body was thin and frail. Her glowing white dress was traded for a dark robe that seemed to swallow her, and her wrists and ankles were bound to the floor.

When she tugged at her cuffs, they glowed, and pulse seemed to hum from them, causing her to hunch over.

"But I wanted you to see the projection first," Crystal said quietly. "That's... what I looked like when I got here."

She laughed with her head hanging low, but it sounded hollow.

"I can still walk around here. This whole place. Like that. But none of it's real. I can't feel anything like that. The only thing I feel is these cuffs."

She looked up, her eyes meeting James's.

"But maybe if you help me, we can get out together. I'm limited in here. I can't do all the things I could do from this cage."

Odris followed James into the room.

When he finally saw what CB really looked like, he got a sinking feeling in his gut that he couldn't quite describe. Everything was starting to make sense now. It had seemed sinister when they first got here, but now it just seemed...

...sad.

"You should have started with needing help," Odris softly said, walking over to the cage. He looked inside at CB and gave her a tiny smile. "I would have said yes."

The smile faltered for a moment.

"...I just need to know something first," he added. "Why are you here?"