fandomtownies | Groovy Tunes, Saturday

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Groovy Tunes, Saturday

Jono's head? Still killing him. Jono's mood? Still cranky. Jono's semi-adopted daughter figure? Still taking a back-seat to the apparently-too-stuck-on-one-wish-to-just-make-a-portal-to-Kathy-and-get-it-over-with-dammit near all-powerful being that resided within her.

Jono's new best friend? The little squirrel-looking thing that scampered across the counter ten minutes into his shift, silencing both the stereo (who had already decided it was going to spend today playing the greatest hits of Sugar Kane as performed on kazoo and tambourine) and the little blue people who were having some kind of morning meeting, complete with tiny megaphone fashioned out of a leaf.

Yeah, the Silence could stay, for now. Jono would try to lure it out with peanuts or something later.

Groovy Tunes is open, and once again... silent.

Blissfully, counter-productively silent.

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Ringo had been planning to go by Jono's place today to check up on Nanika, but then she thought she remembered that he worked at Groovy Tunes some days. So she figured she'd swing by on the way, just in case.

So the door burst open and she called loudly into the shop. "Jono? You here?"

Well. She tried to call loudly, but it didn't actually make any sound.

And Jono, as a result, didn't look up right away from where he was reading a book. You know. In silence. It wasn't until a few moments later that he noticed somebody had burst through the door, and glanced up curiously.

//Oh, Ringo, luv. Didn't hear you come in.//

What? His voice was working just fine. Wasn't telepathy grand?

Ringo frowned, and tried again. But it was hard to say "I tried to say 'hi'" when, you know, there wasn't any sound.

And now her frown was deepening in confusion.

Oh, wait. This was Fandom. She sighed. And then managed a smile and a wave as she stepped into the store and let the door swing closed behind her.

And the door closed without even a squeaky hinge or a bump against the frame to show for it.

The Silence, perched on top of a Simon and Garfunkel CD, watched with keen interest as Jono nodded and waved back.

//Little quiet in here today, sorry. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?// A beat. //Nanika, I'm guessing?//

"Yes," she tried again. Then signed again and nodded.

And put on a show of shielding her eyes with her hand looking around the shop.

Now now, Jono, don't smirk like that. It was still totally obvious in your eyes that you were doing it, after all.

//No, she's not here,// he said, shaking his head. //She's back at my place, in the room we've set her up in. But,// he tapped the side of his head with one finger. //I'm keeping an eye on her, so to speak.//

In that it was really, really hard not to. Nanika was something of a force of nature.

That got another nod since that made sense.

Then she frowned because the next one was going to be a little bit tricky.

Ringo cocked her head at a quizzical angle and reached up to tap at her temple. Maybe that even made sense.

//Ah...// Jono was squinting and tilting his head at that one, yes. //Are you asking about my powers, or... uh...//

He waved a hand a little.

//Whether I can hear you, perhaps?//

Ringo started to shake her head because that wasn't what she'd been getting at, but then she paused and her eyes widened. She pointed at him curiously, nodding instead.

//I try not to without permission,// Jono replied, shrugging his shoulders. //But if you direct your thoughts clearly toward me, I'll pick them up even without really trying all that hard. No messy poking about anybody's head that way.//

And all the better for respecting people's privacy.

CAN YOU HEAR ME? Ringo thought really, really hard.

Really, by now, Jono should have seen that coming. Ringo wouldn't even be the first person to pull that one on him, though he was bringing his hands up to clap against his ears as though that would somehow stop the psionic assault from smacking him clear upside the already aching brain.

//Loud and clear, yes,// he replied, wincing. //Maybe dial that back a few mental decibels, if you please. I'm not bleeding out my ears yet, but I'd like it to stay that way.//

With Nanika out there, it really was a near thing all on its own.

IS this betTER? she tried again, somewhat quieter. Sometimes.

That was something of an improvement, at least? Jono was still wincing, but he'd take any improvement, at this point.

//It'll do,// he replied, sticking his pinky finger in one ear all the same. It made absolutely no difference at all, but at least he was doing something about it? //So, what's on your mind, Ringo?//

Whatever it was, it would be difficult to miss, now.

Nanika. Obviously.

DO you have any IDEAS ABOUT what we might DO?" That last word felt a tiny bit panicked.

And now Jono was picking up on the panic loud and clear, too. Oof. Now he was starting to regret encouraging the Silence to stick around for a while, today.

//Nothing yet,// he said, shaking his head. //Unless we can get to Kathy, she's probably going to keep on like that. I suppose we could try to shake down Portalocity, though they're keeping that reality blocked off from ours for good reason.//

Jono was not in any hurry to invite the zombocalypse through. Or to throw Nanika and Alluka at it.

But, but Ringo's eyes were widened. We can't just LEAVE HER that WAY!

Okay, Jono had to hold his hands up in surrender at that. Good lord, Ringo. His poor head could only take so much of this.

//Leaving her that way isn't the plan,// he said, firmly. //I care about Alluka every bit as much as you do, Ringo, and the last thing I want is for her to be trapped in the back of her own head until the end of days just because Nanika can't find somebody. But running into Zombie Los Angeles not knowing what to expect and getting ourselves all killed or worse isn't going to do anybody any favours, either. Take a seat. Take a few deep breaths. We aren't giving up on her, I promise.//

Ringo did as he said. Well, she took a couple of deep breaths. The sitting thing she wasn't really ready to do.

After a couple of seconds she nodded. Isn't there some OTHER way we could fix things? I mean, UH, something easier?

//I... don't think there's an easy way out when it comes to Nanika,// Jono replied, brows furrowed a little. //Find some other person named Kathy and aim Nanika at her, instead? Nanika won't rest until she's granted your wish, Ringo. Looking for an easy out isn't terribly likely to get us anywhere, either.//

And it seemed to him that if there was some easier, cop-out means of fixing this, they would have come across it already.

But, BUT, we can't even GET to LA.

That one sounded very frustrated.

Yep. And that frustration was bleeding into Jono's head, too. He shut his eyes and attempted to will his brain into feeling less like cottage cheese.

//Then we'll have to work on that, won't we? Carefully. Because zombies. I don't want to deal with zombies. I don't want anybody to have to deal with bloody zombies. The last thing we need is for anybody else to get hurt.//

Ringo nodded. That part she definitely agreed with.

Then, uh, WHERE do we start?

Jono shook his head.

//Hardison found a way through,// he noted. //He's the one who got Raven back. That might be a starting point, at least. Or Portalocity. Or, if you know anybody who can teleport from world to world...//

There were options, they were just not easy options.

And even IF we get THAT PART figured out, there's, like SO much other PLANNING that needs to be DONE.

Ringo wished she were better at this stuff.

//Well... yes,// Jono replied, raising one eyebrow. //We'll need somebody who can run recon, for a start. Preferably somebody immune to whatever might still be lurking Los Angeles. Then I imagine someone would have to actually find Kathy...//

He shrugged.

//No point complaining about it. It's a mess, but it's what needs to be done.//

And it was kind of your fault, Ringo. Not that Jono was going to point that out, here.

It being her fault was part of why Ringo was as upset as she was. Oh, sure she hadn't done it on purpose. She hadn't even realized that Nanika was listening when she'd started a sentence with a wistful "I wish", but that didn't change the fact that it was her responsibility.

How LONG will that TAKE? she asked, rubbing at her face. Because she totally wasn't going to cry about this.

//It'll take as long as it takes,// Jono replied, voice gentling a little. Damn it, crying girls were going to be the death of him someday. //Depends what Los Angeles looks like right now. How dangerous it is. If we're lucky, not long, I should think.//

It was a much more optimistic answer than the 'possibly years' that flitted through his mind. How many people were in Los Angeles? What were the odds that anybody would be able to find one walking dead person in a possible sea of walking dead people?

It has to be SOON, Ringo insisted, as if saying so could somehow make it true. It's already been, like, a WEEK!

A whole week of Alluka trapped.

And even if Alluka turned out not to mind, Ringo did.

//Trust me,// Jono said, his voice carrying something not unlike a sigh, //I know how long it's been.//

His head was certainly feeling it as though it had been a week, after all.

//But beyond find a means for her to grant your wish, the truth is... I don't know what to do, Ringo. I have no idea how to go about solving this, besides 'carefully.'//

He was just much better at not panicking about it. Panicking did nobody any favours.

Not having a clear path forward was just making Ringo dwell on all the little fears in the back of her mind. Is it, uh, is it POSSIBLE that Alluka could get, you know, STUCK?

//Stuck behind Nanika?//

Lord, Jonothon hoped not. He put on a firm expression, though, before replying.

//Of course not. Nanika will do her business and then let Alluka back out, just like she always does. There's just a bit of a bottleneck in the usual process, that's all.//

That was how it was going to have to be.

Ringo straightened slightly and nodded. You're RIGHT, she agreed.

He had to be. She wasn't sure what she'd do if he wasn't.

(Not that she was sure what she was doing now, but while she was a little bit panicked, she didn't feel like she'd lost a friend forever or anything.)

//Of course I'm right,// Jono replied. //This is Alluka we're talking about.//

He couldn't afford not to be.

She nodded again. Then her shoulders heaved in a sigh that would have probably been audible from outside.

It was reassuring to hear someone else say it.

Or, you know, "hear".

Jono offered her the faintest bit of a reassuring smile. As best as he was able, anyway. And then stepped forward and reached to clap a hand on her shoulder.

//It'll be fine. I know it looks bleak now, but we've gotten through more hopeless scrapes than this. I know we have. I was there when we brought her back to the island before, after all.//

Well, that was true. And it was reassuring enough for Ringo to jerk her head in agreement. She glanced over at Jono's hand and lightly placed her's on top of it before giving him a grateful look.

And Jono, in turn, gave her the tiniest nod of encouragement as he gave her shoulder a squeeze.

//I know it feels like one, but this isn't a disaster just yet,// he said, gently. //We already know it's possible to get there. That's a good part of the battle already.//

Or, at least, it was the first part of the battle.

Right. She sounded a lot more sure of herself than she had when she'd come in.

So now we JUST need to figure OUT the rest.

//She's in the best place she could possibly be for this to happen,//he noted. //It'll work out. We'll make sure of it.//

Somehow.

Yeah.

Yeah. To all of that.

She took a deep breath and blew it out silently.

What should I do next? she asked.

Jono considered this question for a moment, and then offered, //Start asking around. See if there's a way to access that Los Angeles again. We know it can be done, but where to start? Portalocity isn't going to cooperate, so it might take some creative maneuvering. Or try the library, perhaps. I have no idea what Nanika really is, but if anyone out there has any experience with that sort of thing and has written it down, maybe they know a loophole that'll get you to change your wish, if it comes to that.//

That was really the best he had.

I can do that, Ringo said slowly.

Then her eyes brightened.

I CAN DO THAT!

Having a direction to go in helped a lot.

Oof. Jono just barely managed to keep from flinching at that one. How did one person's mind manage to get so loud, anyway?

//You can,// he agreed. //And that's just a starting point. I'm sure there are other things we can try as well. If I think of any of them, I'll be certain to let you know.//

Ringo nodded enthusiastically.

She squeezed his hand again.

THANK YOU!

She wasn't even aware of how her excitement was bleeding over.

That's okay, Ringo. Jono would be aware enough for the both of you.

//Ah, you're welcome, luv. And if you need anything else, I'm not all that difficult to find.//

Seriously, just phone him. Or think loudly in his general direction. Apparently Ringo was loud enough he'd probably hear her from clear across the island.

She nodded quickly. I WILL, she promised.

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Groovy Tunes, Saturday

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