Pillsbury + 1 year:

[Just Old Al]

As always when entering the Library, the two couples stopped to admire the grandeur of the scene. The rows of columned
balconies extending upward drew the eye, but so did the scene at the center of the floor.

A space had been cordoned off and decorated - an archway led to a seating area three-quarters full of people in their finery. Up the centre ran a white carpet, leading to a canopy and a podium at the far end. In the front row at the right sat Brian Wahnee, next to Phix and Neil.

Arrayed behind them and to both sides sat the members of Club Alexander, again there as witnesses and celebrants. The Alexanders, parents and children, also sat in the crowd - Buck and his extended family, Rowdy, Cinnamon. With them sat Tina
and her beau Stanley, and near them the golems with Billens, Alan and Kevin.

Off to the left stood Greg, resplendent in his finery, strumming light airs on his guitar to give the proper mood to the scene. Near him sat Annie, also dressed impeccably, the love between them a lilting counterpoint to the music being played.

Relieved of their coats by an attendant, the two couples walked toward the area, stopping at the archway. At that point Nicodemus appeared, again in his guise of a shawled Judaic scholar. His tread firm, Nicodemus stepped to the podium under the canopy at the front, and at that signal Greg began to play the Paul Stookey tune, old but forever new.

At its end he switched to a bit of Baroque guitar, and the young couple stepped solemnly up the aisle, arm in arm, past the assemblage of friends and family, with the elderly couple a few steps behind them as symbolic witnesses.

As they halted in front of the crowd Nicodemus stepped out from behind the podium, donned a pair of wire-framed spectacles from his pocket, and addresed the young couple and theirt crowd of well-wishers. Al and Daisy stepped, each to the side, again there in the symbolic role as witnesses to the ceremony.

Nicodemus spoke - his voice loud and clear in the hushed silence of the room.

"One year ago, this young couple gave themselves to each other in the bonds of matrimony. Today, we come together again to celebrate the first anniversary of this commitment - the joy that they have taken in their love for each other and their love for us - that they have chosen to share this with us."

Nicodemus then followed with the quote from Paul: "That a man should leave his Mother and a woman leave her home'… indeed, that is what we celebrate here. Not the separation, but the union of two families, the sacrament of marriage that is as ancient as the species itself. 'For two flesh shall become one' we are taught… but what does that mean? Science certainly has no answer, logic does not prevail… but 'the foolishness of GOD is so much greater than the wisdom of man' – So let us indulge in GOD's own foolishness, shall we?"

There was some mild chuckles from the congregation.

"Marriage is not simple - it never is. The wholehearted giving and receiving of self, of all that is a human being, is not an easy thing - and problems inevitably result. Far too often in our times, this results in a breaking of the bonds - the 'always and forever' becomes a matter for lawyers and dissolution in a tragic fashion.

Shelley and Justin, however, have avoided this fate. In their union is strength - a pool of strength and joy that deepens every day they're together. We, the people gathered here today, are here for two reasons - to glory in their marriage and its power - and more importantly as guards of it.

Humans are fallible - we are flawed by nature of our fall from grace. Because of this we need to be on guard for the misstep, the accident, the foolish word spoken in haste and the consequences of them.

We - all of us here - have a responsibility - and that is to support and help this young couple as we have in the first year of their marriage - and in all the years going forward. Help them, when the flesh becomes weak, to be strong and remember the love.

Help them, when they're tired and tired of each other, to rekindle the spirit and the passion.

In short, help them to be the couple they are today, and always will be with your help."

"Now, let's get to the good part." The extended wedding party chuckled, and a rumble of amusement passed through the assemblage.

"Do you, Justin Epimethus, take this woman, Shelly Wahnee, to be your lawfully wedded Wife, to have and hold from this day forward..."

As Nicodemus intoned the words, a spell was woven enmeshing all of the participants and witnesses. None could turn away, no matter how familiar the words or the sentiment being uttered.

Justin gave his assent firmly, the "I DO!" ringing out through the balconies.

Nicodemus turned then to Shelley, and the spell began again.

"Do you, Shelly Wahnee, take this man, Justin Epimethus, to be your lawfully wedded Husband, to have and hold from this day forward..."

Shelley's pronouncement was no less firm than her husband's - the words "I DO!" again ringing from the space as she gave Justin a heart-melting look of love.

Nicodemus continued.

"If there is anyone here, who has just cause, why this man and this woman should not be joined in Holy Wedlock, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

With that, With that, Nicodemus, Justin, Shelley and the congregation turned and pointedly looked at the occupants of the end chairs in the aisle with Buck and Katherine's family - one Atsali Gilchrist - and her girlfriend Nadette.

Atsali coloured rapidly to a beet red as her girlfriend collapsed in a set of unconquerable giggles.

"WHAT? I didn't say anything...this time..." she mumbled, attempting to sink into her chair.

Turning back, Nicodemus said "With the authority granted me by God and the witnesses here present, I pronounce you again man and wife. Bless you, children."

With that, Shelley and Justin embraced, and kissed passionately - with accompaniment of no small number of catcalls from friends. Shelley and Justin, hand in hand, turned to walk back down the aisle - happiness radiating from their faces like the rays from a noonday sun.

"WAIT - WE'RE NOT DONE YET!" Nicodemus announced.

Surprised, the crowd turned back to the front, and Shelley and Justin stopped.

"These two are not the only ones celebrating their anniversary. Al Richer, Rosalynd Alexander-Richer, step forward before me."

Shocked and perplexed, Al stared at Daisy, confusion evident in his face.

"Well, love, we got married at the home of the judge, and no one with us. That bothered me, and when this whole thing came up...I couldn't resist. I hope you don't mind, but I asked Nicodemus to sanctify our bond as well."

Stepping forward, Al took Daisy's hands in his, looked her in the eye and said "Always and forever - my soul is yours. If you want this, I want it as well."

Nicodemus asked " Justin, Shelley - would you stand as witnesses for this couple?"

"We will!" rang from two throats.

Positions switched, Nicodemus began again.

"With age comes wisdom, but not a diminishment of passion. Love and passion can strike anywhere, at any time, and in the unlikeliest of places - like in the middle of a war. These two met in the middle of a battle for survival - and love bloomed even in that stony, fallow ground of conflict. Their passion for each other and for all of you held them together through that, and brought them to turning two into one in the sacrament of marriage soon afterward.

Allan and Rosalynd have been married a year, like our young friends here. In their breasts are the same passions, the same heart, the same sharing of souls that is in our young friends who stand as their witnesses. Despite their wisdom of years, though, they still have the same frailties as our young friends - even more so.

They too need the help of family and friends - as much as you are here for Justin and Shelley, you must be here for Allan and Rosalynd.

As an old Irish colleague of mine used to say, 'In the perfect marriage the particiapnts think of divorce never, and murder often.' Considering their exemplary record on the target range they need you to help them - and always will. "

Greg started to chuckle, then laughed wholeheartedly at the bemused expression on his blood brother's face. Like a dam yielding to the first crack, his laugh brought others, the rumble passing through the assemblage then dying away.

"With that said, please witness with me the renewal of their vows to each other.

Do you, Allan, take this woman, Rosalynd..."
...Again by the power vested in me by God and you all, I pronounce them man and wife."

Al and Daisy embraced, and kissed like it was their first touch of lips. The assemblage clapped, honoring the two couples. Arm in arm, they walked back down the aisle and the guests followed like a wave.

[Just Old Al]

After the couples and their friends exited the archway, the scene dissolved into chaos. The couples were surrounded by a hugging, kissing, backslapping mob of well-wishers. Justin and Al had their backs pummeled by the male side of the crowd, with congratulations on surviving the first year of marriage.

Daisy and Shelley were surrounded by the distaff side, and hugs and kisses were greatly in evidence. Then the crowd began to mix and the cycle started again, with the men getting their hug fixes from the lovely brides as the grooms were kissed and hugged into near-oblivion.

Brian Wahnee came up to his daughter and plowed straight in - a huge hug being delivered. With a SQUEEE...the hug was returned, the time stretching as the crowd eddied around them.

As they parted, Brian looked at his daughter, eyes damp, and said "I'm so happy for you, honey. Justin's a great guy, and the...people you've surrounded yourself with are fantastic."

She noticed Phix and Neil standing to the side. "How's it going with Grandma and Neil?"

Brian smiled. "It's taken some getting used to, and we haven't talked as much as I'd like, but it's...good. It's good to have her back in my life, even as it is. It's so WEIRD, though!"

Shelley chuckled. "Welcome to the paranormal world, Daddy. Normal is weird." With promises to meet soon, they parted, and Shelley went back to her friends as Brian returned to Phix and Neil.

As things slowed, Daisy turned to Shelley and said, "I'm sorry."

Shelley was confused. Why was Daisy apologizing?

"Daisy, what's wrong? I don't get it."

Daisy looked at her seriously. "This was supposed to be for you and Justin - and silly old dam that I am I horned in on your ceremony. I should have talked to you first, asked if it was all right-"

Shelley wrapped the older woman in a hug, and said "Enough." Releasing her, she held her at arm's length and looked her straight in the eyes.

"First off, if you had asked the answer would have been 'Why are you bothering to ask? Of course!' Secondly, if it had not been for you and that crazy old man you married, there wouldn't have been a first ceremony, because he and I would have been hunted till we had to leave. Not to mention most of the folks who were here - they wouldn't have been here either - including my Dad."

Daisy nodded, a slightly haunted look in her eyes as she remembered the times. "I know, but it was rude of me to just-"

Shelley got a trifle irritated. "Daisy, ENOUGH. You did exactly the right thing - you deserve friends and family around you as much as we do. Now stop it." She hugged the older woman hard, taking Daisy's breath away with the fierce power of it.

"Things are clearing out - let's round up your old man and head back. I'm hungry, and I know Justin will be. Then, I have some plans for my anniversary..." She flashed Daisy a wicked grin, which let Daisy understand with very little translation what those plans might be.

Daisy looked round, and saw Al and Justin standing together. "There they are - let's head over." A few steps brought them together, and Shelley and Daisy hugged their spouses.

"We're hungry - you both ready?"

Suddenly, Al looked startled. "Damnit, I have to talk to Nicodemus for a minute. I'll be right back." With that, he headed back into the chapel area, where Nicodemus was gathering his notes.

"Nicodemus, I have two reasons for bothering you....look interested."

The old scholar appraised Al for a quick moment-"Indeed- you seek a cohort? What mischief are we planning here?" His eyes twinkled as he smiled.

"First off, I need to use up five minutes or so to allow...assets to come into play." Al winked, and the old scholar, never slow on the uptake, nodded sagely, dropping his face into a serious mein.

"Very well, very well... so military, though - you can't even plan a party without treating it like an invasion?"

"You've seen this crowd - an invasion is far closer to the point than a party is, as you well know. The second thing is that I want to thank you for gracing us with the sanctification. You and I both know I am not of your faith, but I wanted you to know that is was sincerely appreciated, by Daisy and by me. Thank you."

The old scholar smiled and clapped Al on the shoulder. "Al, your gods and mine are on speaking terms - and even if they hadn't been I would have had words with all of them to make this happen. Yes, I would have challenged them. You are more than welcome, and thank you for appreciating it. Any time in the future, you have strategies that require my intervention... I believe this is called a 'feint', am I correct?- feel free to call on me."

With a chuckle, Al responded, "Yes... this would definitely qualify as a feint... and properly done at that. You catch on very quickly, Rabbi,"

"Faugh! I have already been in service of more potent chain-of-command for a few millennium- a meschuggenah yutz does not fare well as such... at least, not without learning a few things,"

They chatted pleasantly for a few minutes, Al surreptitiously timing the conversation to give the participants time to get where they needed to be. They then parted with a handshake, and Al rejoined his wife and the young couple.

"Sorry - wanted to thank Nicodemus personally for the sanctification and got to chatting. I love talking to him - he's brilliant. Are we ready to go?"

"WE were ready to go ten minutes ago. YOU, on the other hand, have been keeping us from our dinners and entertainments. Be off with you!" Daisy smiled as the other three laughed. Collecting their coats, they headed to the portal connection to the Alexander estate.

Emerging into he cold, Daisy and Al turned toward the old house rather than the path to the new house.

"Wait, what? Why are we going to the old house?"

Daisy spoke, looking a bit chagrined. "Call it the nostalgia of an old dam. I wanted dinner to be where the whole thing took place. I don't know about you three, but the dinners we had at the table in the old house were something - special. Because of that, I wanted to eat there - just to touch them again."

Al took her hand. "Well, our room in the tower is made up.." he leered suggestively. Daisy laughed and slapped him on the arm. "You lecher - AFTER dinner!" They laughed again, both Justin and Shelley enjoying the byplay of their elders acting like teenagers.

They walked the swept path toward Old Alexander, its lights now on and cheery.

"Dinner should be ready there - we've time for a cocktail if anyone wants one. I know that Rosalita had everything ready to go over at New Alexander and she and Edward were going to bring things over and get us set up."

Walking in the main door, they shed their coats handing them to a waiting Edward. Unencumbered, they headed for the great room, with Edward warning "20 minutes to dinner, sir, mistress."

[GlytchMeister]

Glytch had the unenviable task of herding all the cats. When everyone left the Library after the service, they dispersed, making their way to their portals home. However, they never quite reached the portals - Glytch had marked each and every one of them and entered one-time border protocols into his VORP program for them: when they got near their portal they would cross the border and activate the rest of the protocol, teleporting them all to predetermined spots in and around the staging area, ready for ambush.

Cat logistics may be difficult, but it's made much easier with technology.

As they waited at the staging area, Glytch had hidden himself under the table in the Great Room, shielded from view by a tablecloth. Soon, Al, Daisy, Justin, and Shelly entered, chatting pleasantly.

Then Justin stopped cold.

"What's up?"
"...I... Don't know. Something isn't right..."
Al cleared his throat.

Now or never... Glytch tapped on his phone, and with a mighty *VORP*, everyone from the wedding ceremony appeared just as Glytch bounded out from the table.

"SURPRIIIIISE!"

Justin damn near jumped out of his skin, attempting to go into stance midair. Shelly developed claws, fangs, and some extra muscles, straining on her dress slightly before realizing just what exactly had happened. "Oh my gawd you guys, what the hell!"
Everyone pretty much dissolved into gales of laughter as the young couple recovered from their minor heart attacks. Justin gave Al a very pointed look. "You were in on this, weren't you? You didn't jump an inch..."
Al only had time to give an answering grin, and that's all he needed to get the point across.

Once things calmed down a little, Glytch detached himself from the crowd and walked toward the four in the center of the room. The lower half of his face, which was the only part visible, was smirking with a kind of grin that sent a shiver down several spines. Justin began to look around at his surroundings, looking for signs of Glytch's tampering. Phone in hand, the hooded miscreant spoke. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: NAKED SINGULARITY!" With a flourish and a spin, Glytch beckoned toward what was, instants ago, an empty corner of the room.
*VORP*
Xera, Rachel, Geoff, and Bob appeared along with a stage and their instruments. In the same moment, the entire room was transformed as lights, lasers, speakers, and a dance floor that looked like a large, flat version of one of those plasma lightning balls appeared. Blacklights lit the room with their strange light, and everyone's clothes floresced in peculiar ways... Glytch's clothes went from being merely stylish to looking almost like something out of TRON; he had an asymmetrical circuitboard pattern glowing bright red on one side of his body, extending from hood to shoe.
Xera, however, took the cake: her tattoos were extensively highlighted with multiple fluorescent colors - every tattoo glowed under the blacklights.
On the opposing corner from the band, Glytch's confusing array of computers, turntables, and what appeared to be a Star Trek replicator (actually a semi-portable Library Annex) appeared on a similar stage, next to the Lady in the Lake, currently covered in velvet.
The moment the VORP was completed, Glytch's equipment began to play. The first bass notes thumped everyone's chest and rattled not only windows but shook the walls and floor. Lights pulsed, and the band joined in flawlessly, melding their own music with that of the sound system.

[Sgt. Howard]

I should have mentioned this in the planning stages- That is as fine a wedding ceremony as I recall- excellent work there Al-

[Just Old Al]

I should have mentioned this in the planning stages- That is as fine a wedding ceremony as I recall- excellent work there Al-

From you that is high praise indeed. Apologies for co-opting your Rabbi.

Not to mention co-opting the bit from TTB about the gospel of Paul...much appreciated. I couldn't say it better.

Alan

[Just Old Al]

As the band and the sound system ramped up, the crowd were swept up in its insistent beat, as were the young guests of honour of the party.

Daisy and Al sidled back a bit from their positions with the young couple, each holding the other. Now that the surprise had been sprung, they could relax and let things happen – though of course neither of them would be able to simply sit and let things happen.

After a moment, Daisy slid from the room – not a difficult thing to do given the focus of all on the band, lighting and music. The entire package was hypnotic – especially the play of the ultraviolet light over Xera’s tattoos as she played her violin, lost in her craft.

One away from the spell, her mind snapped back to her duties as host, and she headed for the kitchen and dining room.

The dining room had been transformed – the large table laid with crisp napery and with the main sideboard and added tables supporting a buffet of truly galactic proportions. To the other side, on a table covered with a red cloth, was the carnivore’s buffet – magnificent with roast meat, turkey and all sorts of items of interest to carnivores. Another covered in blue contained items containing ingredients of obviously artificial origin – this was for people who simply had to have M&Ms, Cheez- Doodles and other items not quite safe for organic palates.

That is PERFECT – Even Prroul will have plenty, and no one else needs to be afraid to help themselves Daisy thought. She hated parties where the food was skimpy – and even with the people here there would be no such problem.

Sweeping through she entered the kitchen and immediately started to duck and dodge. The scene was chaos – but a smoothly organized, well-oiled chaos.

Rosalita was in the middle of it, acting eerily like the Sergeant-Major as she barked out orders to the Gryphon culinary students, staff and anyone foolish enough to wander into her sphere of influence.

“You, the raw vegetables need to go out with the sauces – get them there and make sure they’re labeled as to ingredients. You – the plates of ham – out to the carnivore table – the red one. YOU – make sure the bar has extra racks of glassware – folks will be heading for drinks as soon as the music stops – oh, Senora – how did the surprise go?”

“Wonderful, dear. Can I do anything to help or do you have everything in hand?”

“Senora, the best thing you can do is stay out of my way and let me run things. If anything happens – NO, you idiot, those go on the blue table – non-organic! – I will come and find you but for now please just enjoy the party – this is your anniversary too!

When the music is done, send people in to the buffet and let them get drinks. We’ll be ready in a few minutes – we’re there now, but the backup supplies aren’t quite in place.”

Hint strongly taken Daisy exited the kitchen, accepted a seltzer from the bartender (and checking to make sure the sanguinarians' tipple was there on ice), and wandered back to the party.

The music still pulsed, as did the lights. The byplay of sound, light and emotion was nearly a contact high – she felt lifted and carried along as she made her way back to her husband’s side.

Putting her mouth to his ear, she loudly whispered “Buffet and drinks are ready. After they stop playing let’s herd folks in there and then they can circulate.”

Al nodded – the data accepted. With a quick motion he texted Glytch Break after the number for a welcome and folks to eat, then you can resume – OK?

A few seconds later his phone buzzed – answer was OK. Al wondered how he’d managed to type that with both hands busy, but given the technology his favorite madboy commanded…it didn’t matter.

Minutes later, the group finished, the warm, sweet notes of the violin being the last things to be heard. With that, the room lights came back up, and Al walked over toward the bandstand as the crowd applauded the wonderful music and the shock-and-awe entrance Glytch had worked so hard to create.

Al cleared his throat and said “Welcome, welcome ALL!” and found his words coming from the audio system. Surprised, he looked at Glytch who mouthed shotgun mike – go with it! back at him.

Comprehending, he continued.

“Welcome! Thank you all for coming to this celebration of the first anniversary of Justin and Shelley’s marriage. Now before we all go and eat-“

“Shaddup old man – time to eat!” Greg heckled, as Annie Gibbsed him in an effort to control him. The crowd laughed, and Al waited for the sound to diminish before he continued.

“As I was saying before I was heckled by Statler over there in the corner, before we go and eat I’ve got a few things to say.

One. It is good to have you all here again, under the roof where we gathered a year ago. Much has gone on since – all of it good. Justin and Shelley haven’t killed each other, and we’re all here, hale and hearty, and able to enjoy the blessings of each other’s company.

Two. As you can all see, Old Alexander is well again. The Tower is fixed, and the place is now back to what it was and if possible even better. I strongly encourage everyone to wander around and have a look – it’s amazing."

"Have you stress tested it yet?" Greg, ever irrepressable, garnered another Gibbs smack from his wife as the crowd laughed again - knowing VERY well how the Tower was originally damaged. As his wife blushed prettily, Al harrumphed and continued.

"Cretin. That's my business - and I have no doubt it is fine.

Three. New Alexander is complete as well – and later in the evening if anyone wants to go have a look please tell Daisy or me – and we’d be happy to show you around our new home.”

He pulled Daisy to him, standing next to her, hand around her waist. “To finish, eat, drink, enjoy each other’s company, and make sure you stop and congratulate the newlyweds on their first anniversary. Thanks – and let’s eat!”

With that, Daisy spoke.

“Folks – the buffet is in the dining room. Organic vegetarian fare is at the main table, the carnivore table has the red tablecloth and is organic as well, and the blue tableclothed table is items that couldn’t be sourced organically for those of you who have to have M&Ms and Cheez Doodles.”

The crowd laughed again and she opened the doors to the hall, and led the way to the dining room.

[Just Old Al]

{thump, thump}

Is this thing on?

Are Glytch and I writing this for ourselves, or is anyone else reading it?

[Sgt. Howard]

{thump, thump}

Is this thing on?

Are Glytch and I writing this for ourselves, or is anyone else reading it?

Al- the fan art had been dormant for a spell... it might take a bit for our fan-base to realize we've re-lit the fuse...

[jwhouk]

I'm just waiting for the right moment to jump in...

[Dave]

Are Glytch and I writing this for ourselves, or is anyone else reading it?

Dave raises his hand, while looking around to see if he can discern the location of the other shoe.

[lake_wrangler]

{thump, thump}

Is this thing on?

Are Glytch and I writing this for ourselves, or is anyone else reading it?

Well, look at that... another self-important writer who can't tell his writing's good, unless people tell him...


(Truth is, I keep my typing at a minimum, right now, because it's highly uncomfortable on the leg...)

[FreeFlier]

It's good . . .

I think I'd have made the certified organics table green. (Just a suggestion, to continue with the theme.)

--FreeFlier

[Just Old Al]

{thump, thump}

Is this thing on?

Are Glytch and I writing this for ourselves, or is anyone else reading it?

Well, look at that... another self-important writer who can't tell his writing's good, unless people tell him...

Well, no, not really - I just figure you'd have been along correcting me about something or another...

I know we've been dormant - but we have got SUCH a backlog of material - at least one new novel from DInky and I, more random funny, and all sorts of other stuff.

Not to mention The Big Bus.

[Just Old Al]

It's good . . .

I think I'd have made the certified organics table green. (Just a suggestion, to continue with the theme.)

--FreeFlier

But we have two - the veggievore and the carnivore table. The main table is the veggievore...keeps the centaurs and other herbivores from having an uncomfortable evening.

be glad the sanguinarians' stuff is behind the bar.

[chicgeek]

Hee, I'm reading along, and loving every minute of it.

[GlytchMeister]

{thump, thump}

Is this thing on?

Are Glytch and I writing this for ourselves, or is anyone else reading it?

Well, look at that... another self-important writer who can't tell his writing's good, unless people tell him...

Well, no, not really - I just figure you'd have been along correcting me about something or another...

I know we've been dormant - but we have got SUCH a backlog of material - at least one new novel from DInky and I, more random funny, and all sorts of other stuff.

Not to mention The Big Bus.

Not to mention some more high-octane nightmare fuel and other hijinks from me!

[Just Old Al]

AN: This is both Glytch and I - I have no idea who did what bit - I'm sticking it together as we go. Apologies, mi amigo...

Al spoke to Glytch.

“Glytch, mate, why don’t you start up that magic box of yours on automatic and you and your friends eat. There’ll be plenty of time after food for performance, and you want your audience properly fed so they’ll appreciate your art.

I need you to introduce me to all of these folks, anyway, so eat, then play. That work for you?”

"Sure, no problem. Just a sec." Glytch bent over his computer and selected a few options, setting his laptop to play from a pre-selected and pre-mixed playlist, setting it to provide an extended moment of "Rest" to allow partygoers to eat and drink before being merry again; music selected was generally a little calmer, less thumpy, quieter, and lacking vocals to facilitate conversation. At the same time, he pressed a finger to an ear, activating a wireless headset that allowed him to communicate directly to Xera. "Al wants to meet you guys."
"Ok, coming.”

"Ok, Al, this is Xera on the Guarneri violin. Rachel on guitar, Geoff-"
"-Spelled with a Geo-"
"On bass, and finally, Bob on drums."

Each member shook Al's hand in turn, then Xera opened the conversation.

"Helluva thing you have here. Is everyone here family to you? I've been to some parties, but I don't think I've seen such mixed company in a single family like this before."

Al considered the question for a second, then began to answer.

“Our young Glytch here is family as well – can’t you see the resemblance?” He stood next to the tall, lean youth and they made a ridiculous pair – the old, portly Brit and the young madboy.

The bandmembers laughed, and Al continued more soberly.

“There are three kinds of family here – all equally legitimate, and all wonderful expressions of love.

The first is biological family. There are more than a few of those here – the Librarian and the Centurion and their young daughter are one, even though cross-species. My wife and her sons and daughter are another – her husband passed away just after the millennium, and we married a year ago ourselves. We’re a cross-species family as well – my wife and her family are centaurs, as you’ve seen.

Then, there are composite families, like her son’s. He is a centaur, she is a human, and their two adoptive daughters are a succubus and a sentient blackthorn respectively. Greg Howard and his wife are a composite family as well though both human – they found each other after being in unsuccessful previous relationships.

The third is family of association – and ALL of the people here – elves, Prroul, humans, golems, centaurs, what have you – ALL of them are family in that way.

I am bar none the luckiest man in the world. I came here alone and lonely in the midst of a crisis and found a wonderful family and a love of the ages. I have a wonderful wife who happens to have four feet, children, grandchildren, blood brothers and sisters, brothers in arms and an amazing host of people to live with and love – like this madboy.”

He grabbed Glytch one-armed and gave him a side hug.

“That answer your question?”

Glytch felt his cheeks and ears getting a little hot and was very thankful for the lighting and his hood - both helped hide what was most definitely a powerful blush.

Xera stared for a moment at the pair, then looked around at the others, then looked back at Glytch. "It does... And I'm getting the feeling I just might want to play for this crowd again." She gave Glytch a pointed look before refocusing on Al. "It takes something rather powerful to bring people together like that... To skip the whole 'friends' concept and move right into 'family.' So, what the hell happened?"

Glytch grinned and extricated himself from Al's arm. "Hell is what happened." He pulled out his phone and pressed a button. "I'm gonna grab some drinks, what do you guys want?" He took everyone's orders and left Al to give the players the crash course, a story he knew would keep them entertained.

[jwhouk]

---

I hit the remote for what seemed like the thousandth time that evening.

Sarah was leaning against the machine, worn out from chasing after Aeternia after she had retrieved her "pucky", as she was calling them now.

"This is a thousand times harder than doing regular childcare," she said with a wince.

"You agreed to do it," I replied, watching as Aeternia snagged the meat puck out of the air yet again. "I'm just here to make sure she doesn't nearly destroy the machine like last time." I looked at her briefly before watching the toddler fly back to the starting line. "Or that she decides to gnaw on you instead."

"How was I to know that I tasted good to her?" she whined as she ran after the sphinxette.

My phone rang. "Speak of the devil," I muttered as I saw it was from Neil.

"Hello, Centurion," I answered.

A pause for a moment.

"Well, no, she's not tired out yet."

Pause again.

"Yes, I did ramp it up - and maximum difficulty."

Another pause.

"Well, maybe Glytch needs to do some reprogramming, because she's beat level 70."

I looked at the readout on the screen on the side of the launcher.

"You heard me - level 70. Neil, she's damn smart for a two year old. I think she's got both of your genes in her. She's got the patterns figured..."

A long pause.

"Where?" I began looking around on the side pockets of the launcher. "Okay, I think I found... yeah, right here." I pulled out a bottle, full of what the side said was Benadryl. Extra Strength.

"Yes?" I spoke into the phone.

Another pause to listen.

"You think it'll work?" I asked, hesitatingly.

Another pause.

"All right... gonna have to find one where I can dig... What? Oh, there is?" I peeked into the pocket where I'd grabbed the bottle. "Yep, right here. Hold on, gonna grab it..."

I pulled out what looked like a pill crusher - but was actually a cylinder where you could load a pill or capsule on the top. I'd seen similar things at a pet store, for putting medicine in a treat for dogs and cats.

I quickly pulled out a puck, loaded a Benadryl into the "pusher", and plunged it down. The pill was suctioned into the middle of the puck.

"We have a loaded puck," I said into the phone. Just then, Sarah returned, holding the bundle of fur feathers and fangs.

"AGAYN!" She cried.

"Joe, she's got more energy now than she did at the start!" Sarah said to me.

"Put her back down," I motioned. "We have a plan." I waved the puck with the Benadryl in it up, and Aeternia nearly launched herself out of Sarah's arms back to the starting line. I handed her my cell phone. "It's Neil."

I looked over to the starting line as she took the phone, dumbfounded. "Ready?" I called.

"Ready!" Aeternia wiggled her butt, pushing herself down to the ground as she'd done times before.

Then, she suddenly cried out, "PUWWW!"

I put the puck in the launcher, and THWACK! WHOOOSH! The patty went skyrocketing into the air, followed milliseconds later by a sphinxlet.

I held my breath as she caught it in her mouth, then munched happily on it as she flew back down to the ground.

"And... she's got it," Sarah announced into the phone.

We both waited for what seemed forever. Aeternia gulped down the whole patty, sighing with a satisfied burp. She then went to walk back to the machine and Sarah.

At first, her stride was just the same as it had been all evening. But then, after a few more strides, she slowed down. Then, with an unsteady look, she wobbled, sighed, then decided it was nap time.

Sarah and I looked on in amazement as she curled up, contentedly, on the grass.

"We have a sleeping sphinxlet," I said, taking the phone back from Sarah.

After a few instructions over the phone, we packed up the machine, put Aeternia into her custom "stroller", and headed off to the portal coordinates.

Minutes later we finally arrived at the Alexander homestead - only to discover an empty house.

"Hey! Where is everyone?" Sarah asked.

"Uh... I don't know." I looked out the kitchen window. There were lights on over at the old Alexander house - and some strange music coming from therein.

"I think they're having the party over at the old place," I said with a note of resignation. "C'mon."

Sarah and I braced as we headed out into the cold for the short walk over to the old mansion.

"Next time, let's use the Benadryl first," Sarah said as we entered the party.

[Warrl]

{thump, thump}

Is this thing on?

Are Glytch and I writing this for ourselves, or is anyone else reading it?

I'm waiting on feedback from Dinky and Yana for my next TWO segments.

----

And I thought it would be amusing if Aeternia had munched that last puck and ended up pushing the pill around with her nose...

[Just Old Al]

Al’s face sobered as he looked at the members of the band.

“Well, it’s kind of a long story – you could turn it into a novel pretty easily – and it would be a Tom Clancy special – 500 pages or so, I expect. I've tried to do so in my journal, but the scope is simply too large to handle from a single narratrive viewpoint., It would take a team of writers to do it justice.

The bride and groom who this party is for were the epicenter of the disaster – he’s a policeman in Minneapolis.

He got into a situation with a drug dealer and had to permanently dissuade said vermin from killing him and his partner – and the situation blew up. BLM, not bothering to check the facts, immediately pilloried him for shooting a poor, innocent citizen going about his business. Wasn’t the case, but they didn’t care.

In the meantime, the bas..bad men in the background declared that Justin, his family, his friends and anyone who had anything to do with him had to be made dead – and in no uncertain terms. The folks you see here were the ones on that death list, with some additions.

I was on it because of my association with Greg Howard. The golems were on it, Justin, Shelley, Buck Alexander and his family, and so on.

After several rather hair-raising encounters where several of the shooters got themselves dead or severely inconvenienced (Greg and I accounted for I think three or four between us), we all ended up here at the Estate - trying to figure out what to do next.

Greg and I with our personal armories“ the bandmembers looked at each other, not knowing Al and Greg were retired military “started training the folks here as a militia – teaching them to move, to shoot, and the basics of tactics and strategy. This included the centaurs – and that’s when my dear wife set her cap for me. Something about me being daft enough to want to defend her and hers struck a chord in her, from what I"ve been told.

In the meantime the vendetta was still in full force outside. Shelley’s father was attacked at least two dozen times, my business was destroyed in Minneapolis by a misguided bomber who took himself out, and all of us basically had to stay in hiding.

This is about the time we pulled in Glytch – we needed an intelligence specialist for some decryption work, and Greg knew him. He gave us vital information as to who was after us and how to find them.

One thing led to another, and with the help of MIB the bast- bad men-”

“Al, we’re all grownups – you can use the word ‘bastard.’” Xera said, somewhat impatiently. The others chuckled, and Al found himself sucked into the motion of her tattoos from her breathing – and hastily wrenched himself back to the story.

“As I was saying – with the help of MIB the chain of command that started the vendetta got taken out. However, a new crisis had appeared on the scene – a rogue Lanthian golem.”

“Holy shit – one like the boss?” Geoff asked, with a deer-in-the-headlights look.

“Yes. And this one had an expiration date. I won’t go into details, but he wanted all of us – and specifically certain members of us to ensure his immortality. Then there’d have been a war of conquest, and things on this old planet would have gotten…interesting to say the least.

He gathered the remains of the old group’s organization and augmented it – and we were in real trouble. The old group had no idea of our capabilities – the new one knew us for what we were – humans and paranormals alike.

This all ended up culminating at Justin and Shelley’s wedding.

The whole thing became a perfect storm – the BLM and Westboro Baptist protesting outside, and all of us on the inside armed to the teeth waiting for the other shoe to drop while we celebrated the marriage of that young couple.”

Al’s attitude turned grim – he hated this part of the story.

“Well, to put not too fine a point on it, they hit us – hard. The initial assault killed several right off the bat.

The Alexanders and I were on high guard with specially-made centaur rifles. We saw them coming in and just kept firing – but there were too many of them. Using an armored car, they broke in the front wall of the building and gained egress – and then it turned into a hand to hand melee.

Greg and Neil took that in hand – both of them are supremely skilled ground commanders – and we on the high guard did our bit from above.

What made this dicey was the fact that this golem had gathered a paranormal army of his own – and knew how to use it. The fight degenerated into a hand-to hand battle until what was left of the opposing forces backed out – there were few of them left functional, though the butcher’s bill was high – they’d accomplished their goal by capturing the individuals they wanted.

Which was exactly what we wanted.”

Al loved telling a story, and he had a rapt audience right now.

“Well? You aren’t going to stop there!” Xera spoke up, with nods from her bandmates.

“I can’t go into details, but the individuals captured were not quite the ones the rogue wanted – and they took him very permanently out of play.

We won, and incidentally saved the planet – but the butcher’s bill as I said was high.

I was severely wounded, the rest of my family were as well to one extent or another as well. Being the high guard we annoyed them more than a bit and became a focus of the opposing forces’ ire.

Many were wounded, and the police forces took a large hit of killed and wounded. The protesters outside took a fair number of casualties as well, as did our forces. Thankfully we and ours survived in the main, though any life lost is a tragedy.

That’s the story, really. After that, it was cleanup, healing the wounded, and mourning the dead.”

Al stopped here momentarily, then began again.

“This is the purpose of tonight’s celebration – to finally lay to rest the ghosts of the battle and its aftermath. Shelley and Justin have the celebration and the wedding they deserve, and the rest of us have a happy memory to go alongside the one from a year ago.

As I said before – I am the luckiest man on the planet – family, friends and stalwart battle companions each and every one. How can I call them anything but my family?”

“Well, damn. Now it all makes sense.” Xera breathed these words almost reverently, her normal brusque mode not gone but subdued for the moment.

At that time Glytch bustled up, a tray with drinks in hand. “Looks like the initial rush for the food is settling down. Funny thing is the tables look hardly touched – Rosalita’s gone and outdone herself this time.”

“Go eat – and eat hearty. I expect some very good music from you lot tonight!” Al, mood not back but returning, shooed them all toward the double doors to the dining room.