//------------------------------//
// Chapter 82: Blake 
// Story: Forbidden Places 
// by Starscribe 
//------------------------------//

Blake lifted the receiver in one shaking hand. It wasn't just his friends depending on him anymore, though they certainly were. He could practically feel the ghostly dots of sniper-rifles on his face, though he couldn't see anything like that aimed at him. So much for a warm welcome for the Equestrians. 

This was supposed to happen on our terms. We should've had control over every variable, so we could set this up so everyone wants to cooperate.

But if they'd wanted to do that, they should have stayed on Earth. They had ceded the field to the enemy, and now they faced the consequences.
     
"This is Blake Hodges," he said.

For a few seconds there was silence on the other line. Or... not quite. There were faint voices—like a room of people whispering. Maybe just a dozen different people on the line. 

Finally one voice spoke louder than the others. 

"We have that name here," said the voice. Older, female, with a vaguely BBC accent. He couldn't tell more than that. "You went missing in the Paris Catacombs three months ago. Those others with you were similar. Yes?"

He nodded slowly, though of course she couldn't see him. His friends were watching close enough, maybe they could overhear. Shame this phone didn't have a speaker option. "Yes. We were... professional explorers, I guess you'd call us. Semiprofessional. Enough to make it a second career for some." He hesitated. "Who am I speaking with?"

"My name is Officer Watson. I represent the EU Department of Faerie Investigation. But this conversation is being mirrored to representatives from other governments as well. The American Homeworld Security are here, along with the Chinese Ministry of Mediums, and the Polish Land Forces. Are you human, Blake Hodges?"

"I am. But I was something else a few minutes ago. There is a passage in the cave behind us—I'm guessing that you had a team pouring over every inch of it in the last week or two."

"Yes." Someone else, a man's voice this time, with an American accent. "An Einstein-Rosen Permeation. This isn't the first we've detected. Your presence here suggests there is another one underneath Paris, is that right?"

"Just like this one, yes. We think it was built by the same culture of... world travelers, from the past. We have footage from the trip until our batteries ran out. We have recordings of life on the other side."

Vesper leaned in past his shoulder, snatching the handset and pulling it down towards her. Enough for her to reach it, anyway. "We brought ambassadors from the world on the other side! They want to make peaceful contact with Earth!"

Blake let her finish, before gently lifting the handset out of her reach. He glared weakly down in her direction, but couldn't really muster any anger. He was going to tell her all of the same things, when he thought the conversation was ready for it. But considering they might splash out of the water any second now...

"You are saying they already know," said a different voice this time. "The things you call 'Worldgates' were not known to them before. This has changed?"

"Yes," he said. "Also, two of our friends were living in Bydska. And we had some others who were coming to document the other world with us. Have either of them been harmed?"

"No," the first speaker said, the woman representing the EU. "But it was a very close call. You brought an alien bird into a small Polish village. Did you think the mythology would protect her?"

Galena? He shared a look with the others. But it would waste as much time as it would save to explain any of it twice. "She was human when we arrived. We planned to be back for her today, to bring her back across. She wanted to see our world the way we were viewing hers." 

Something splashed in the water behind him, bulky enough that it left no doubt in his mind exactly what was happening back there. The Equestrian ambassadors were arriving. He had maybe a few more minutes until they were alert enough to interfere. He covered the mouthpiece anyway, pointing back. "Vesper, please. Talk to them, tell them the situation."

She nodded, hurrying back into the cave.

"We're holding both of them now," the woman said. "One who is human, with observations of... radiation. Then the almost-bird, griffon. If we release them to you, will you take them back across?"

Galena won't be happy about that. Janet either. "That's, uh... that's complicated," he said. "The human, Janet, has been wanting to come back to Earth for a long time. She was trapped on the other side, separated from her family and friends for almost a year. She hopes to go back to the United States and see them again."

This time the line went completely silent, an abrupt click like it had just muted. He kept it to his face in case that changed, finally turning back to look at the others.

"How do you think that's going?" Ryan asked.

"They're taking this... way better than I thought," he said. "They already knew some of it. Worldgates weren't news to them, they had their own name for them and everything. It feels like they had procedures in place for all of this."

He squinted further back into the cave, where Vesper and two humans he'd never seen before were deep in conversation. Curious that neither of them had unnatural features, not like Ryan did. One was stocky and blonde, the other built a lot like Vesper, with her head shaved on one side and a perpetual smirk. So why are the rules different for him?

Vesper was gesturing animatedly, explaining to them. It looked complicated, whatever it was. Maybe she would tell them everything. They'd need to know it all, if they were the ones doing the real negotiating.

"We have someone named Janet here," said the woman again, abruptly. "The bird calls herself that, and has... repeated that story. We had to keep her lightly sedated since capture. The human, Galena, has been more accommodating. She admits to being from across the Worldgate, and shared some details with us about how she came here. Some of it seemed truthful."

The weight of that hit Blake like a truck. The spell was supposed to last longer, and it had—for Galena. "She was human once, I'm sure of it," he said. "Janet... she understood the language, she can use electronics, she introduced me to a friend of hers who also came from Earth with her, human name... Tracy, I think."

Another delay, though they didn't mute the mic this time. He could make out faint discussion in a large, echoing space. Some didn't want to believe him, others suggested taking them captive, asking for their video footage, or a dozen other things. The mic went abruptly silent again after a few seconds of this.

"Look," he said slowly. "I don't know what you think we are, but my friends and I are really just people. We're not ambassadors, we don't represent anyone but ourselves. We found something weird, we wanted to learn about it, and we did. We would love to share what we learned with you, and the whole world. After spending a few months over there, I think we all agree that both sides could learn from each other. My friends and I will cooperate with whatever you ask. But ultimately I think you should come down here, and talk to the ponies who represent Equestria. They've got a lovely country, and we have the pictures to prove it."

Right on time, apparently. Vesper and the ponies weren't talking in a rush anymore, but coming down the tunnel towards him. His time in this role would soon be over.

"It would be better to speak in person," said the woman. "There are certain safety concerns in coming to you. Would you consent to come down the mountain, under guard? We will guarantee your safety, so long as you remain compliant."

"I would," he said. "I can't speak for Equestria. Why don't you ask them?" He turned, offering the phone to Applejack. At least, the hair looked similar to her mane. "It's for you." 

It wasn't like Blake and his friends didn't do anything after that. Both sides had questions—first over the phone, then much more often when the soldiers came to escort them a short way down the hill.

They'd spent the last three months talking about what it would be like to put the worlds in contact—but mostly they talked about what came after. The interviews, the books, the convention circuit—fame and fortune.

But the actual diplomacy wasn't really their part to play. Their part was making sure that contact could go smoothly, making sure that instead of violence, both sides could talk to each other.

After a few tense hours in a room with bullet-proof glass in the middle, they were escorted to their own tent, while Equestria's ambassadors kept talking in the other room.

That left Vesper standing at the tent flap, glaring through the plastic at the back of a soldier with a baton. In theory it wasn't locked, in theory they could walk right out whenever they wanted... but could they?

"I don't like this," she said, folding her arms. "They're just talking without us. We don't even know what they're agreeing to."

"I mean... yeah," Ryan said flatly. "We're not parties to it. We're... cultural consultants, if that. We don't represent Equestria, or Europe. We wouldn't even represent the US if we were there."

Vesper stalked back over, plopping down into a chair. She sat on it sideways, propping both legs up over the edge. And either she didn't realize or didn't care what that did, because she didn't sit like a lady. Blake looked away from her out of politeness, focused on the single tablet they'd given them. It was old and thick, a military device like so many other things around here. But it did have the internet, even if it felt like every single page they loaded was getting manually approved before it got there.

Of course he had the screen open to their YouTube channel. It wasn't closed or deleted, and there were no community posts describing the death of the crew. There were a few links on the main page, fans linking to the story of disappearances in Paris, and suspecting the 4 people mentioned were the channel's main hosts. But there was nothing beyond that.

He didn't try logging in here, and potentially giving away their details. The EU could probably get them if they wanted, anyway.

"I just hope they were telling the truth," Vesper said, unhappily. "About Janet and Galena, and letting the ambassadors back. If we're the ones who led them to be dissected or something..." She sighed, flopping limply backward into her seat. "They should take me too, because I'm one of them now I guess."

Blake tapped the edge of the tablet impatiently with two fingers. The message was clear, and he didn't have to say it out loud. There were still people listening to them. They didn't know if they were safe yet.

"Neither side opened by shooting at each other," Kaelynn said. "I think everyone will work out their differences. We both have so much to benefit—they don't have much technology, we don't have magic. How does that not just work out?"

Blake shrugged. "Might be it's that simple. Equestria seems like they prefer diplomacy to everything else. I'm not so sure about the people on our side. There are so many pieces we don't know anything about. They knew about Worldgates, they were watching for something like this."

"Enough to stop the other crew before they got here," Ryan supplied. "Guess it makes more sense than letting other people get involved. Fewer people to disappear if you have to."

"We won't be disappearing anyone," said a voice, muffled by fabric. A man without a uniform stood there, wearing a loose tweed suit. There were soldiers behind him, but more importantly, there was also a familiar face. Galena was there, wearing a hospital gown. Just behind her was a familiar hippogriff, cream and blue feathers and all. She had a tight cloth wrap around her back, pinning her wings in place, and little plastic tips over her claws. But otherwise, she too looked unharmed.

The man zipped their tent open, then let himself inside. "Your friends were asking to see you. Can they come in?"

Blake stood. Vesper did too, taking a single step towards him. The others just turned to look.