//------------------------------//
// Meanwhile, In Another Universe...(Part 2) 
// Story: Equestria's Dark Shadow 
// by InTheStands 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 12: Meanwhile, in Another Universe...(Part 2)


My name is Richard Lillian. Not too long ago, my brother Bill and I had our business deal turn into a search-and-rescue mission. To further complicate things, we found a note directing us to the Blue Whale, Collinsport's local pub. However bad jumping to conclusions may be in our business, it seems all too coincidental. Which made my brother and I all the more determined to investigate.

With a jerk, Rick pulled the keys out of the car's ignition. Having spent a few hours taking in the sights of the small fishing town, he and Bill were able to find a perfect parking spot: A space across the street from a building sporting a neon sign that all but confirmed they were at the right location.
The Blue Whale.
The twins exited the car, the lights from the streetlights and buildings illuminating the night air. They quickly crossed the street before feeling safe enough to take pause.
"Say Rick," Bill began, "You curious enough to see if the lobster's really as good as everyone says?"
"Let's get this over with before spending anything on ourselves," Rick shook his head. "We don't know if we have to pay anything for this meeting and we only have so much genuine money. Any of our own and everything goes out the window."
With that, Rick opened the door leading to the pub. The two men stepped inside, the heated interior contrasting with the chilly autumn night outside. Going further, they could see the tables occupied by several people, most of whom appeared to be in the fishing business. To finish it all off, a gentle tune could be heard playing from an unseen location.
The overall setting provided comfort and warmth, were there no business involved. But the twins had no time to fully appreciate the atmosphere, instead beginning their search, until...
"Rick?"
"Bill?"
"It...just occurred to me. We have no idea who we're looking for."
"...It just hit me too, Bill."
"Damn it."
"Hey."
The brothers turned to the voice behind them, only to see a familiar sight. Rick furrowed his brow. "Willie?"
The Collins' caretaker stood before them, sporting a dress coat over his plaid shirt. "You got the message," He pointed out, folding his arms.
"The note? That was you?" Bill asked.
"Yes and no," The long-haired man replied. "Follow me."
"We've been doing that a lot since we got here," Bill muttered.
The three men walked to a table placed near one of the walls. Four seats were placed at this table. With one occupied.
It was clearly a woman, though she had her head down, her pale hands fidgeting with each other in waiting. She heard the footsteps growing louder, then suddenly cease. She looked up at the three of them, revealing her face to be just as pale as her hands, framed by dark brown hair. Her expression was one of concern as she said, "Please, sit."
Rick and Bill took a chair while Willie sat in the one next to the woman. She stared intently at the twins before continuing. "You...don't know me. But I was at the house when you came for the business arrangement." She held out her hand to them. "People know me as Victoria Winters."
"Nice to meet you, Victoria," Rick shook her hand, followed by Bill. "What do you do at the house? Cleaning? Cooking?"
"I took the job of being David's nanny. He wasn't always the boy you saw at the house. He...had difficulties with his parents."
"Sorry to hear that," Bill began, "But I don't think we're here to talk about David, are we? This is just a guess, but I think this has something to do with the note we found on our car."
Victoria nodded. "It was me. And Willie. We needed to talk, away from Collinwood." She sighed, having obvious difficulty continuing. "Elizabeth wasn't telling you everything."
"We know," Bill shrugged. "We could see it. But pressing her - who knows how that could've gone?"
Victoria kept speaking. "There's something about Barnabas you need to know. Whether you believe it or not, you NEED to know this." The twins leaned in, their attention undivided. Victoria sighed, closed her eyes, then opened them. "Barnabas Collins is a vampire."
The din of the pub was all but blocked out, leaving the other patrons to go about their business as the twins sat in a deathly silent world shortly after this reveal.
"A vampire," Bill repeated in disbelief. "A. Vampire. Are you serious?"
"I know it's difficult to believe," The woman agreed, "But it's the honest truth. He was sealed away in a coffin for almost two centuries. He was broken free into this world..." She paused. "And he turned me into one as well."
"This just keeps getting better," Bill remarked to Rick. "Alright, ma'am, is there any proof to this?"
"Willie," Victoria turned to the groundskeeper. The man reached down near his chair, pulling out a shard of a mirror, apparently thrown away. He handed it to Victoria, being careful with the edges. She placed the mirror on the table, between her and the twins. "Look at this mirror. What do you see?"
The two men obeyed, leaning into the reflective glass. Bill shrugged. "Nothing we didn't see before leaving the house today."
Victoria nodded, then reached out a hand. The twins noticed her nails were unusually long and sharp, more so than if she had them manicured. She now had her hand directly over the mirror. The two men looked down.
Rick gasped.
Victoria hovered her hand. She moved her fingers. Waved her hand slightly over the mirror in a horizontal pendulum-like fashion. But the reflection showed only the ceiling of the pub. And nothing more.
Not even her hand.
They looked to Victoria, only to have her open her mouth to reveal a pair of sharp, white teeth.
Rick grunted as he gripped his brother's arm, as Bill tried to bolt upwards from the table. "No, no, no, nope, nope, Rick we can't do this," Bill stammered out, shaking his head. "I don't care how important this is I don't want to die so far from home!"
Victoria, however, remained calm. "And where is your home?"
Rick looked at her as Bill calmed down only slightly. "New York City."
The woman then shook her head slightly. "Not THIS New York City."
Rick, Bill, and even Willie looked at her in surprise. Victoria continued. "I can sense it. I don't know, but...something you're giving off...tells me you're not a part of this world."
Willie grew confused. "So, what? That make them aliens?"
Rick leaned into his chair, sighing. A second passed before he began. "Aliens. Yes, that's the best way to describe it right now."
Victoria nodded. "So we've both been keeping secrets. Unfortunately, it seems to be the only way anything can be done these days." She grew sad. "When Barnabas disappeared...I felt the connection with him break. But before it did, I...was able to see what he could see. I saw...a night sky. A moon. With...craters made in the shape of a unicorn." She leaned in closer, whispering, "With...something after him."
Rick raised his eyebrows. "You think he's in danger?"
"I don't know," Victoria's voice cracked. "I don't know. And I need to. The family needs to. And the police won't be of any help if they knew about his vampirism. Far from it." The tears began to well in her eyes. "Please. You say you help people. I know I need to do horrible things to survive, but the Collins family needs Barnabas. If not for me...then help them."
Rick and Bill looked at the table before Rick looked up and gave their answer. "We need a way to detect him before we can find him. And someone to point him out."
Victoria agreed. "Someone with an attachment to Barnabas. Someone...like Willie."
"Wait, what?" The groundskeeper looked to the vampiress in surprise. "What about-"
"I'll tell them you're helping find Barnabas. It wouldn't be lying." Victoria sighed. She looked back to the men across the table. "I wish you the best of luck. And don't worry - he won't harm you as long as he sees you're with Willie."
A brief moment passed before Bill reached his hand across the table one more time, letting Victoria shake it. "Now," Bill grunted as he readjusted his sitting position, "Before we make any kind of journey..." He pulled out a napkin from one of the holders and tucked it into the collar of his shirt, finishing his sentence with, "We're going to need to fuel up. Want to go Dutch?" 


§§§


"Alright. I'll call in when I can. Until then," Rick pulled his sleeve back down as he turned back to Bill and Willie. The three men stood in the woods near Collinwood, away from curious eyes. The twins' blue car had turned out to be a rental, and had been returned, though the twins now had with them backpacks full to bursting with unknown supplies. Willie was quick to ask how they would look for Barnabas without transportation.
He got his answer in the form of Bill waving his own arm-strapped device over several trees before moving it over the groundskeeper.
"...You ARE aliens, aren't you?" Willie kept a tense posture as he watched Bill wave his arm up and down over him.
"You'll find out, Willie," Rick folded his arms. "All we're doing is scanning for this world's universal signature. This may come as a shock to you, but this is just one of a literally infinite number of universes. Without going too far into specifics, each universe has their own subtle differences in frequencies, genetic makeup, and so on." He stepped closer as Bill pressed several buttons on his wrist device. "We can detect these differences. What's more, we can search other universes and detect whether something - or someone - doesn't belong. But in order to do that, we need to know the signature of this world." He outstretched his arms to the forest. "Understand so far?"
"...Not really," Willie shrugged.
"Well...just letting you know we have an explanation for what the Hell we're doing," Rick waved his hand. "Now about the infinite worlds - there are others like us traveling across universes, scanning for their signatures. Some worlds we stay on and learn more about, such as this one. Others, we have no choice but to go in, scan, and go out. As a result, we know very little about the latter until we can devote more time to it."
"Speak of the ever-loving devil."
"What now, Bill?" Rick asked his brother. Bill held out his wrist communicator, showing an animated screen that displayed several outlined circles.
"Those the other worlds you were talking about?" Willie stepped closer to see for himself.
"Sure is," Bill sighed. "And the whole 'worlds we don't know about' thing Rick just mentioned? I just found a world that's giving off a very small hint of this one's signature, but..."
"It's one of the unknowns," Rick shook his head. "Perfect."
"So...what's that mean?" Willie asked them.
Rick looked back to him. "Anything. Whatever's in this world could be anything you could possibly think of. And beyond."
"And as horrifying as that should be," Bill pressed several more buttons on his wrist device, "There really is only one way to find out." He gulped to himself as he looked up at his brother and Willie. "You guys ready?"
"I got one more question," Willie announced. "Is this gonna hurt?"
"The journey? No," Rick answered. "Whatever we land on when we get there? Possibly."
Making sure their backpacks were strapped tight, the twins stood next to each other, with a now-tense Willie between them. Bill, already having his device out, began to tap the buttons in a sort of pattern, before taking a deep breath and bringing down his finger one last time.
Anyone near the forest would have mistaken the flash of light for a stray lightning bolt, never knowing what created the flash. Or, for that matter, what the flash carried with it when it disappeared.