Multiverse of Magic & Mistakes (Completed)

2.3.24 Chapter 24

Lily's House, Bath, UK, Earth, January 2020.

Violet could not help but grin widely, as she stepped, with Rho, through the portal back to Lily Hale's dining room.

As she had been, several weeks ago, her best friend was sitting at the fancy circular glass dining table, illuminated by an assortment of flickering candles. Vi had to assume the candles were an aesthetic choice, as she could also make out electric light from the kitchen spilling into the room.

"Vi!" Lily exclaimed jumping to her feet and very nearly causing a fire.

Vi rushed forward, and threw her arms around Lily and buried her head into her best friends shoulder. Lily's hair, Vi was pleased to see, was back to its usual vibrant post-box red. She must have found the time to re-dye it in the time since Caeli's funeral.

"That was still pretty fucking cool, seeing the two of you step straight out of the air!" Lily exclaimed as she gave Rho a brief hug. "It'll never not be cool!"

"So good to see you again!" said Vi. It was becoming a bit of a mantra.

"And you! How are you doing? Are the machines all working? And you have to tell me all about the places you have visited.

The three of them took seats again at the table. And Vi and Rho told Lily all that had come to pass, with the 'equivalencers' around the globe and the corresponding 'anti-discordancers' in Azuhelm.

"It's thanks to your help, in London that they are working..." added Rho. " The Guardian's couldn't have set up their camp and gotten half as far in their research without you."

Lily was unusually quiet, as if unsure what to say. "It was the least I could do. It's not every day you have to help your new friends figure out a way to save the world!"

They all laughed. It was wonderfully light and free. Vi still couldn't quite believe that they had done it. Won the battle. Closed the portals. Figures out how to get things on Earth back to normal.

She carried on, telling Lily about the new job she would be taking on, and that she would be busy but would visit when she can. And Lily could always call her. She got out her shiny new Earth mobile phone and two Azuhelmian communicators. She gave the second communicator to Lily, saying that "If one doesn't work, then try the other! Where ever I am in the realms, you should now be able to reach me."

"That really is so fucking cool!" exclaimed Lily, turning the new communicator over in her hands. Allen had been hard at work making upgrades, utilising Azuhelmian tech. It was much smaller than the previous model and resembled an old-school screenless phone. Lily grinned as she placed it in her pocket.

"Lily, there is something else the Guardians would like to ask of you." Said Vi.

Her best friend nodded. "Ok, what is it? As long as I can keep my life here, I'm down..."

Lily had applied to study history at university in the autumn. Her personal statement was a masterpiece describing her 'recent work experience for an unusual charity' and 'travelling' in a way that obfuscated the truth, but also made her out to be a competent future student. She would be accepted by all five of her choices, Violet was sure.

A tiny part of her wished that she could be doing the same. But that future was gone now. Vi had other responsibilities to attend to.

"The Guardians are going to need, erm, 'remote support' ensuring that all the machines remain functioning. Allen would like you to help monitor the news. Keep an eye out for anything odd, the strange 'natural disasters', ice, flooding, fire, trees suddenly knocked over... You know."