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Sildar Hallwinter wanted nothing more than to start life over. He was in some major trouble and now he was doing something crazy. Of course if he’d known the end of the world was going to come then he might have gone back home, or at least went and fought against those trying to kill him even if it meant his death. They would have died soon anyway. Now though… Now he was in for the long haul on an expedition that he had no clue about.

If he were better at hiding then maybe he wouldn’t be in his current predicament. The captain of the ship and leader of the expedition had found him and had asked him a simple question. One he wouldn’t dare answer truthfully.

“Look, I’m only going to ask one more time before I go get the security officer and drag you out of here. What is your name?”

“Uh… Barry.”

“Barry, what?”

“Blue… Jeans. Bluejeans.”

“Barry Bluejeans… Well Barry, how would you like to make a bet with me?”

“A… A bet?”

This was crazy. A bet now of all times? This gnome had to be messing with him.

“Just a simple bet. I bet that you can’t stay hidden for a week before someone spots you.”

“Hey!”

“Well, are you taking me up on this?”

“I can hide for a week. I bet… Six months. I can totally do that.”

“Fine. You win, you can stay. You lose, I dump you off the ship and you never come around us again.”

“Deal.”

Sildar shakes the gnomes hand and then gets up, going to find a better spot to hide. This might be easier if he knew any kind of magic, but he did have a bit of rogue training. So it wasn’t the hardest thing in the world. The hardest part was going to be sneaking food and making sure no one noticed it was gone. For now he couldn’t risk leaving his spot. It was still daylight after all. Once the sun went down he could worry about food.

Waiting for the sun to go down and trying to think of anything other than food was a challenge, but he managed. Now he just had to make sure everyone was in bed first. After waiting at least ten minutes after the ship had gone silent he carefully slides out of his hiding place and heads to the kitchen. It takes some time, but eventually he finds it and heads inside to look for something simple to eat.

Checking the fridge first rewards him with some kind of leftovers from that night. So he pulls them out and makes them up as quietly as he can. Once he’s done he carefully washes up and puts everything away. Now to decide what to do next. He could go back to his hiding spot, or choose a new one. Regardless of where he chose to hide standing in the kitchen wasn’t going to do him any good. So he heads out and finds his way onto the deck of the ship.

This definitely wasn’t his home planet, but he’d seen what had happened to it. The whole plane was just gone and it wasn’t likely that they would be going back. Now he was even more alone than before, hiding on this ship and risking being left behind on some alien world. He needed to stop standing out in the open.

Of course as he turns back to head inside he hears voices coming towards him. So he heads up to the wheel and hides there. Now he just had to hope whoever it was would stay down on the main deck and not look too hard in his direction. He shouldn’t have come up here so soon. Who would be able to sleep after seeing the things that they’d all seen?

“We shouldn’t have done this. Those two are dead because we took their spots!”

“Hey, keep your voice down! They don’t know that and even if they did, what could they do now? Nothing, which is exactly what we can do. Besides, those two dolts were in it for the fame. They lied just as much as we did.”

“We took their names! Their whole lives Edward!”

“Lydia not so loud. That’s not who we are anymore, we’re Taako and Lup now.”

“What about Keetz? Do we just forget about him now Ed?”

“There was nothing we could do. He was too sick to bring along and this was supposed to help him. You know that.”

Sildar moves to get a good look at the two. Looks like he wasn’t the only liar on the ship. Those two had stolen the identities of the real IPRE members.

Now at least he knew he wasn’t the only liar on the ship. If anyone tried anything he could at least call them out and go from there. Of course that didn’t mean he could get lazy with his hiding. Now he just had a back up plan. Once the two move farther away from the door he quickly moves down to the main deck and slips inside, going to find somewhere new to hide. What he finds is a room that probably would have been a bedroom, but it was completely empty.

After checking to be sure no one was using this room he locks the door and sits in the corner, just trying to relax. He wasn’t exactly a young man anymore and all of this running around may have been good for him but it took his breath away faster than it should have.

“Sildar you’re too old for this. Why did you think that bet was a good idea?”

With a sigh he takes off his glasses and sets them aside, settling in for the night. Sitting up in the corner at least made him somewhat alert. If someone tried to get into this room he’d hide as best he could. Although he didn’t know it it would help anything. He only needed to last a week though, then he was safe. He wouldn’t be thrown off the ship immediately.

Over the course of the next week Sildar, or Barry as he’d taken to thinking of himself manages to hide himself from everyone. He never stayed in one spot for more than a day, and made sure to lock whatever door he was hiding behind at night. When the end of the week hit Barry was too tired to keep it up. He needed a real bed, or at least a couple blankets. So he goes to a common area to let himself be found.

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Being found shouldn’t take hours, but apparently it was going to this time. Everyone just seemed to be avoiding this place. It looked like a well lived in place, so something had to be up. With a sigh Barry gets up and heads up to the main deck to see what was going on. What he finds is no one. No one was around, not even Davenport. He had free reign of the ship for now.

“Sildar, it’s time to have some fun.”

Saying his true name sounded odd to his ears, but he ignores it in favor of walking around freely. He checks out each cabin and messes with things here and there. If he stole a journal or messed with some nail polish no one was around to see him. After about an hour he goes back to his room and locks the door.

“A great day out Barry. I needed this.”

With a sigh he lays on a couple extra blankets he’d found and closes his eyes. So he wasn’t found today, that was fine. Now that he’d gotten a day to stretch his legs and not worry he would be fine for a while. No one was going to find him until he wanted to be found. Not even Davenport.

So it continued on for a month. There were days where no one was around, so he roamed freely and just relaxed as much as he could. If anyone came back early then he knew ways around the ship that they didn’t. Then a month became two, and three, then four and five. Nearly six months were up and he really was going to win his bet. He would be able to stay on the ship.

Today was a day that no one was around, but Barry wasn’t going to leave his room. He’d almost been caught by the dwarven man and that had scared him into staying in his room for the day. The bet was almost won and he had dirt on just about everyone. Davenport was still an enigma to him and he always locked his door when he left the ship. Not that a locked door had ever stopped him before.

If only he knew some more spells. He knew a few basic wizard spells but not much else. Not even enough to be dangerous with if he was honest. Prestidigitation was still something he struggled with, not that he planned to do only transmutation magic. He wanted to do all kinds of magic. Learning while he was hiding out though wasn’t easy. Maybe learning some illusion magic would make things easier.

That would be easy if he could get out and about to grab some books and actually learn. But that was hard to do. If the captain noticed him missing that would be an easy way to just leave him behind on an unknown planet. Especially there were only supposed to be six of them. The animals would notice another human man wandering around.

Maybe he should pick out a god and try to become a cleric. That might help him out. What god would he go for though? He knew the dwarf belonged to Pan. So no need to go nature. There was one clerical cantrip that would help him get into the Captain’s quarters, but it would be tricky to do if anyone was around. It would take a few spells to pull this one off. Or perhaps he could become a warlock. The Ghost in the Machine would be a nice patron to have.

It all sounded so good, but he couldn’t do too much. It would be too much to learn. He didn’t know how much time he had so he needed to learn as quickly as possible. Then he could show that he was valuable to the crew and their mission, whatever it was now. The mission had to have changed after what happened to their home. At least he hoped it had. Even if it hadn’t, he would find some way to be helpful. For now he just had to decide which direction he was going to take his magic. Being a wizard didn’t make much sense with there already being four of them.

Being a sorcerer was off the table. That took a lifetime of training that he definitely did not have. Warlock had to be the way to go if he was going to be helpful. Being a bard would take too much time as well. So it was time to start on that before his time was up. He really should have thought of this before instead of waiting until last minute. Learning spells takes time that he was very short on. He only had a few weeks left until he won the bet and Davenport would come looking for him.

After taking a moment to berate himself he starts on writing down any warlock spells that he could think of. He’d lived with a warlock at one point, he had to remember something from that time. There were plenty of patrons, so maybe he just needed to pledge his allegiance to one that would work best for him. The Ghost in the Machine seemed like the one that would work best for him, so he had to figure out how to pledge himself to that patron. Or perhaps he should choose a god. That might grant him a bit more power. For now he had a couple more weeks to decide.

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Becoming a warlock over night was not going to be impossible, but he didn’t have the time to worry about the logistics of it all. Barry needed to learn some kind of magic and soon if he was going to be able to stay. So after taking a day to think it over he decides to pledge himself to a god, one that would be helpful in his future endeavors. If one would have him that is.

The Raven Queen is the first to come to mind. His mother hadn’t particularly liked that god but he’d always had a fascination with the dead and undead. So the Raven Queen it would be. If only he knew how to do that. Perhaps a quick prayer would work. So he gets comfortable and hopes his prayer reaches the astral plane.

“Raven Queen, I… I’m asking you to be my patron. I’ll follow along in any duties you ask of me, as long as you give me the power to do so. That’s all I ask of you. I know you aren’t the Raven Queen of my home, but I’m hoping you will accept me anyway.”

After a moment Barry gets up and looks around. Then jumps as he sees a raven in the corner of the room. There was no way a raven could get into this room. The door was closed and there were no windows.

“Um… Is that a yes then?”

“No!”

With that the crow disappears and Barry slumps. A very obvious no from a god stung quite a bit. He hadn’t even done anything to bring on her wrath. How could he have? Unless it was something he would do. If only he could bring himself to be a cleric. Then he could try for Istus. Or he could go ahead and try for the one thing that he didn’t want to do. Necromancy was something he could probably be good at.

If nothing else he would just be a scientist and learn magic later if he could. So that was his plan. Offer his skills as a scientist and try to learn some kind of magic when no one was paying attention. So far it seemed no one paid him much attention anyway. He’d been hidden away for so long that he hadn’t even been able to cut his hair or shave. He was going to look like some hobo when he introduced himself. If only he could find a good pair of scissors. That would help a little.

That is if he wasn’t kicked off the ship first.

He was going to get kicked off the ship.

It was sunrise already and he knew he had two options. The better option was to just leave. He probably wouldn’t survive in this world but he had to try. So he packs up some food and his bed, then quietly sneaks off the ship and starts walking in the opposite direction than he’d seen the others going.

He knew Davenport would be confused, but not too bothered by it. It was one less mouth to feed in the long run. So he walks until midday, then he stops to rest and decide where to go from there. He was tired though, having stayed up all night to try and decide what to do. So he decides to rest, just taking it easy so he could decide what to do next.

This pattern continues for Barry for at least a month before the weather starts to turn cold. At night it’s hard to stay warm and he just knows that something or someone will see his fires and come to investigate. Then one morning he wakes up and just knows it’s the end of him. He’s got a cough that gets worse as the day passes, making him stop earlier than he would have liked.

“Well Sildar, Barry, whoever I am now. It was a good run. Hopefully mom and pop will be on the other side.”

With that he shuts his eyes, deciding to get some rest. He was much too cold to do much else. He was going to die one way or another and nothing was stopping that.

Until suddenly he was warm again.

Sildar opens his eyes and looks around. He was back on the ship, or at least it looked like the ship. It was the same room he’d hidden in when he first snuck onto the ship. With a start he notices that his clothes were cleaner, and that his hair was shorter. His beard was gone too. Something was wrong here.

Well, he supposed it was back to hiding like before. He would need to find new blankets and such since his were… His were gone now. He couldn’t quite wrap his head around what was happening. This was all so confusing. He was back on that planet, cold and dying of what was probably pneumonia. Then all of a sudden he was back in this room.

Before he can get too lost in his thoughts he hears voices, so he quickly heads to the closet and hides in there. Might as well keep himself a secret a little longer. Davenport might not know that he’s here and he could do this a bit better. Of course what he hears next nearly stops his heart.

“Bluejeans, I know you’re in here. Come on out. I have a feeling that everyone on this ship needs to have a talk. You included.”

After a moment’s hesitation Barry steps out of the closet.

“Before I do that… Can you explain how I’m here again? I left.”

“You… Well then, I guess that’s answers that question. Also gives me a few more. Short answer is, I’m not sure. But I’m sure together we can all make some kind of guess.”

“I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about, but I’d love some answers myself.”

With that Davenport leads Barry out towards the others. The seven of them were going to figure this out somehow.

Chapter Text

Sitting at a table with six people that were technically strangers to him was an odd thing, Barry had decided. He knew a lot about these people, more than they probably wanted him to know, but they only knew two things about him.

One, his name was Barry Bluejeans. A blatant lie.

Two, he’d snuck onto the ship and had hidden among them for six months.

Well, there was a third thing they knew too. He’d died on that animal planet and had regenerated back on the ship, much like their fighter. So now they all had to figure out why that had happened. Of course he needed a few more details about all of the technology on this ship.

“So… How exactly does this ship work? It’s a bond engine, right? Bonds really shouldn’t work like that.”

Off to his right he hears a snort and knows it came from Edward, or Taako as everyone but his sister knew him as.

“Great, a fuckin nerd snuck on board. Just what we needed.”

“Uh huh, and tell me Taako. What exactly were your qualifications for getting on this ship? Surely it had to be more than just your cooking?”

“And what’s that supposed to mean Bluejeans?”

“Oh nothing. Just saying I’ve had better.”

Taako’s up and pointing a wand at him, but Barry stays put. He watches Davenport out of the corner of his eye. “If you don’t like it then fucking leave.”

“What, so I can be back in a year? That’s how long it was, right? Sounds kinda pointless to me.”

Davenport sits up at that. “‘What do you mean Barry?”

“I mean that whatever destroyed our plane got this one too from what you described. It’s following something. So what else was in both of those planes?”

Everyone gets quiet for a moment before Lucretia speaks up. “The Light of Creation. It fell there just like it did two years ago at our home.”

“Exactly. Whatever that thing is wants the Light pretty bad. Bad enough to take down a whole planar system to get to it. So it’s more important than anyone ever realized. Pretty dangerous too.”

Davenport gets up and looks around the table. “That still doesn’t explain why we’re all back and in one piece.”

Barry looks at his hands. He’d been messing around with Taako because he wasn’t quite sure how to deal with what had happened. He’d died on that planet, frozen to death as he slept. Perhaps it was the bond engine, even though he of all people shouldn’t have been brought back.

“Captain, I need to see all the information you have on the bond engine. This is an oddity that I don’t think is supposed to happen.”

“Everything we have on it should be in the lab. I’m sure by now you should know where that is.”

“Alright.” Barry gets up. “When I’ve got a few theories I’ll let you know.” He heads off quickly, wanting to figure this out and get away from the awkward situation that was growing in that room.

Once he makes it to the lab he shuts the door quickly and starts looking around through everything. After a while he sits down, stumped. There was nothing in this room about the bond engine. So that confirmed his suspicions about Davenport. Whoever that gnome was, he wasn’t the actual Captain Davenport from IPRE. No one on this ship was who they were. The thought makes him laugh. He’d chosen correctly when it came to his hiding place.

Now though, it was time to start making his own notes on the bond engine. So he grabs a notebook and heads out onto the deck to start making observations. Of course everyone else was on deck too. He couldn’t avoid them it seemed. Of course what he sees isn’t too awful surprising. They were in a new planar system. Not important right now.

Barry moves towards the back of the ship to get a better look at the engine. He wanted to get all the little details and work up to the bigger ones. Maybe he could figure out why they had reset like this and if it was just a one time thing or if it would continue in the future. So once he gets his general observations out of the way he heads down to the lab to find all of the information on the bond engine.

What he finds is nothing. So that made it very clear to him. Captain Davenport was not who that gnome was. He had a hidden identity as well. Now he had some leverage on everyone but Lucretia. She was proving to be more elusive than the gnome. He thought he had her figured out but he was very wrong. Maybe now that he wasn’t hiding he could get her to open up more and figure out if she was who she said she was. Of course at this point it was very unlikely.

He was getting off topic again. Right now he needed to get back up on the deck and be a scientist. Figure out what was up with this planar system and the bond engine, then confront the crew about their fake identities. So he heads up and starts making more notes about the bond engine. If he could figure out the bonds between everyone then he could figure out why he and Magnus had been brought back.

As he’s writing down some hypotheses and crossing off ones that just made no sense he feels eyes on him. So he turns and starts walking, pretending to check out the plane below. Merle is the one who looks away quickly, which is odd. What was that old dwarf doing? Maybe he knew something and was trying to decide if it was worth asking about. That would make some sense.

After taking a few more moments pretending to observe things Barry heads back to the lab, then hides behind the door. It doesn’t take long until Merle is walking in and looking around. Quietly Barry shuts the door and stands in front of it.

“Can I help you with something Merle?”

“Yeah, you sure can Sildar. Or is it Barry now?”

Chapter Text

“Yeah, you sure can Sildar. Or is it Barry now?”

Those words made Barry’s blood run cold and his breath stop short. How could this dwarf know about him? He’d never met the guy as far as he could remember. This had to be some kind of trick.

“I’m not sure what you mean Merle. My name’s always been Barry. Barry Bluejeans.”

“Now Sildar, lying to a god is not nice.”

“A… Merle what are you playing at? You’re no more a god than I am.”

“But I am. How else do you think I’m able to deal with plants so easily?”

Barry had to laugh, doubled over and holding his stomach.

“You’re a cleric of Pan! Of course you can deal with plants!”

Merle crosses his arms and waits as Barry laughs, just watching the human. Eventually Barry straightens up and takes off his glasses, wiping them on his shirt.

“Are you done?”

“Yeah, thanks for the laugh Merle. I appreciate it.”

Barry turns and opens the door, only to have it shut by vines that had appeared from nowhere. Quickly he turns around and finds the source of the vines. They had just seemed to sprout from under Merle’s feet. This had to be some kind of spell. Not one he had ever seen though.

“Sildar, I’m trying to tell you something important.”

“Pan… Little full of yourself huh? Made yourself out to be a cleric who talks so highly of you.”

“Hey!”

“It’s narcissistic really. You are something else.”

“That’s funny coming from you. You’re not who you say you are.”

“Merle, I’ll tell you a secret. No one is.”

With that Barry pulls the door open with a hard pull and leaves. He goes to what was basically his room, sitting on his makeshift bed and taking his glasses off. After a moment he chuckles to himself. No one on this ship was truthful when it came to who they were. It figures that he would end up on this mission full of fakers when he was one himself.

For now though he had to start practicing spells. So with a huff he gets up and gets to practicing, doing any cantrips he can think of. Once he’s worn out he lays down and happily falls asleep, content with himself. Magic was hard, but he was going to learn this. He could be useful to this crew and prove he should be one of them.

Over the next week Barry practices late at night, mostly in his room or on the deck. So he’s in the middle of learning a spell when he sees a light shoot off across the sky, towards the west before it lands nearly at the horizon. Barry may not be a wizard, but he was a scientist. He knew exactly what that was. So quickly he head’s to the captain’s quarters and knocks.

“Captain I need to talk to you. It’s important.”

It takes a moment, but the door eventually opens and the gnome appears in front of him.

“What is it Barry?”

“I saw the Light of Creation fall. Didn’t you say it fell last year as well?”

“Oh… Go wake the rest of the crew and have them go to the common room. I’ll meet you there.”

Barry nods and leaves, going around and knocking on doors, repeating what the captain had told him. Once they’re all awake he heads to the deck and looks towards where he saw the light fall. They needed to find it if what he’d heard about the last year was correct. After that he heads to the common room and leans against the wall.

“Alright everyone, looks like our mission is back on. Barry saw the Light fall and we need to get over to it before someone else does. Barry, where did it fall?”

Barry stands up and looks around at everyone before looking at Davenport.

“It fell to the west, nearly to the horizon. It fell before it got there though. I saw it just before I came to get you but when I went back out I couldn’t see it anymore.”

“Then we’re headed to the west. I’ll steer the ship and the rest of you need to rotate watch for the light in teams. Taako and Magnus on one team, Lup and Merle on a team, and Barry and Lucretia on a team. You can decide amongst yourselves what team goes when.”

With that Davenport gets up and goes to turn the ship west. Barry looks around and then at Lucretia.

“If you don’t mind I’d like to take first watch.”

“No, I don’t mind. I’ll go get dressed and then I’ll meet you on the deck.”

“Sounds good.”

Barry heads out onto the deck and leans on the side facing west. He never understood all the ship terminology. Once he sees Davenport he points to where he saw the Light fall and keeps it up even as the ship turns to face where he’s pointing. Once it’s mostly facing the right way he gives a thumbs up and looks around this new world.

He gets so lost in it that he almost misses Lucretia come up on deck, casting a spell with a quick movement as she does. What spell could she need right now? Maybe one to help her see better? He’d need to ask later. For now he was looking around and mentally noting the difference between this world and their home.

The next couple days are the same, looking around at night and watching Lucretia cast some spell on herself every other night. Tonight she does it and Barry waits until she’s settled in her spot to go over and ask her about it.

“Hey Lucretia, I have a question for you.”

“Oh, of course Barry.”

“What’s that spell you’ve been casting when you come out here? I noticed you don’t do it every night but it’s the same spell.”

“Um…Well it’s…”

“Barry! Get back to your spot!”

Barry sighs and goes back to his spot on the ship, keeping an eye out for the light. Obviously it was something big for her to be so hesitant about it. He would have to keep a closer eye on her to see what was going on. Another secret on this ship was very interesting.

As they get ready to rotate shifts Barry spots a light, then turns and waves to Davenport.

“I see it! I see the light!”

The ship comes to a stop as Barry leans over the railing to get a better look. This was it, he could really show off once they got this.

Then he started to fall.

Chapter Text

Barry knew he was falling, but he sure wasn’t seeing it. He’d shut his eyes and was just hoping his death would be like the last time. Just quick and painless so he would just wake up on the ship again. If only he’d been a bit more careful, but that had never been his strong suit. He hears yelling above him but the wind rushing past his ears makes it impossible for him to make out the words. Not that it would matter in another moment.

That’s when he hits something. Something that gives under his weight and slows his descent, but doesn’t hurt him. Opening his eyes he sees a giant leaf springing back up into place. Just one leaf wouldn’t be enough though. That’s when he catches sight of plants moving, more leaves moving into his path and slowing him down. When he gets to the ground he slides off of the leaf and lands right in front of the Light.

“Well thanks Pan. Whichever one it is.”

Barry picks up the light and looks around. He should try and signal for the others, but it was a long fall. They wouldn’t hear him. So he just sits down and starts studying the light as best he can. The lab would have better tools but he could at least test a few things while he was here. So he pulls out his notepad and pencil, starting to write down his observations.

After a few minutes he hears something and gets up, looking around. Then he looks up. There was Taako, gently floating down to him. Feather fall, a useful spell that he wished he knew.

“Taako! I got the light!”

Taako looks startled when he hears Barry and looks down at him.

“Barold how the fuck did you survive that?!”

“I uh… The leaves broke my fall. It was kind of like a fantasy water slide without the water.”

“Huh… Well anyway, we were all pretty sure you’d died. So since you’re not this makes it easier.”

“Yeah, definitely not dead. So how are we gonna get back onto the ship?”

“Cap’n’port found a clearing not too far ahead. I was supposed to meet him there.”

“Alright, well lead the way.”

Taako nods and turns, heading off. Barry follows him, looking the Light over curiously. To him it wasn’t any heavier than one of his favorite books, but he wanted a second opinion.

“Hey Taako, can you hold this and tell me how much you think it weighs?”

“Why would I do that?”

“I’m just doing an experiment. I’ll probably have everybody do this.”

“Oh fine, hand it over.” Taako takes the light and Barry watches him. “Hachi machi that thing is heavy. Take it back.”

Barry quickly takes the Light back and writes that down, then turns it over in his hands before dropping it. After that he kicks it as hard as he can.

“Huh, just kinda soars. Should’ve realized that.”

“Barry what the fuck!”

“I’m experimenting!”

“You kicked it like it was a fantasy soccer ball!”

“For science!”

“That is not science!”

Barry picks up the Light after they get to it and looks it over.

“Well it doesn’t look damaged. Can’t even see a difference in it.”

“Are you even a scientist?”

“Are you?”

Barry looks at Taako, who stops dead in his tracks.

“Who’s the one with the IPRE gear?”

“Gear that could easily be replicated or stolen? Just like paperwork? I’m sure you’d know a lot about that Taako. Or should I say Edward?”

He should fear the wand pointed at him. He doesn’t, not when he knows he’ll be back in a year.

“Who fucking told you?”

“No one. I overheard you and your sister one day before you all knew I was here. I was trying to find a place to hide.”

“Of course you did.”

Barry watches the elf lower his wand and nods a bit.

“I’m not about to tell anyone, don’t worry.”

“Not like it matters. We’re here and they’re long gone. Besides, Lydia and I deserved this spot more than those two losers did. They were in it for the money. We were in it…”

“To help your little brother. I heard that too.”

“Keep your mouth shut about this. I’ll let Lydia know that you know.”

“You mean Lup, right Taako?”

“Yeah… Yeah that’s what I meant. Now let’s hurry up and get back.”

Barry nods and starts off in the same direction they’d been walking. Well that was a slight weight off his chest. They would both know that he knew soon enough. He wasn’t going to say anything either. It didn’t matter when they were all fakers.

Soon enough they reach the clearing and see the ship floating just above the ground. Taako hurries over and waves, getting them to drop the gangplank. Barry heads over and follows Taako up. When they get there Davenport is waiting for them along with Lup.

“Barry! How-”

“The leaves on these trees are really big. It was almost fun after the first one.”

“Well… Be more careful next time. Now let’s go tell the others.”

Barry watches Taako take Lup aside as he follows the Captain. With a nod in their direction he heads to the common room and puts the light on the table. It makes a solid sound when he does so, which makes him right it down and then pick it up to drop it on the table. What he doesn’t expect is for it to make the same sound. So he writes that down and decides to test that out some more on something that wasn’t needed.

“Captain I’d like to run a few tests with the help of the crew if you don’t mind.”

“What kind of tests?”

“Just simple things. Taako already did his part on the way here, it’s that easy.”

“Alright, but be careful. You seem to be very accident prone.”

“Well I won’t even need to hold the Light. So that should ease your mind.”

“Yes it does. So I’ll gather the crew. Stay here.”

Barry nods and tosses the light from hand to hand. He was curious to see the result of these tests. Hopefully he could get some ideas as to its weight and general shape. He couldn’t tell even now how big it was. That was something to find out though, and that was exciting.

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Once Davenport had everyone gathered and Barry got a hug from Magnus, which he hadn’t expected, they all go down to the ground to start on Barry’s experiments. One by one they all pick up the Light and guess how heavy it is to them and about how big it is. Barry writes it all down and finds an interesting pattern. One he didn’t dare write down for now. Once it’s all over Barry takes the light back and tosses it from one hand to the other.

“Barry be careful with that. It’s very important and valuable to us.”

“Captain it’s fine, honestly. It weighs no more than one of my favorite books from home. Besides, it’s been dropped several times, kicked, and gone through the atmosphere of who knows how many planets. One more drop will not hurt it.”

“If it does-”

“It would probably kill me in the process and I’ll be back next year. I’ve got this.”

“You took to this better than I thought you would.”

“Well I have died already doing this. It won’t be anything new.”

“So did Magnus, we think. It still affected him.”

“Yeah… Yeah it did.” Barry grabs his notes and looks them over again.

“What is it?”

“Captain, how do you feel about death?”

“I’d personally rather not die.”

That’s what Barry thought. Seems like most of the crew was the same way, which was natural after what happened to Magnus. “Seriously, does it scare you at all?”

“Yes, of course it does.”

“A healthy amount? Or more than that?” This would be the tipping point of figuring the Light out, or it could be a defensive mechanism of some kind.

“Probably a bit more. What does that matter?”

“I think I found a correlation in how heavy the Light feels. To me it’s hardly that heavy and I don’t much fear death anymore. You fear it a good bit and it’s heavy to you.”

“Magnus could hardly hold the Light.”

“Taako told me it was too heavy for him and Lup passed it off pretty quick. Makes sense for those two I suppose. Death means being separated from each other.”

“What about Merle?”

“Well you should know Captain. You did interview them all.” He didn’t, that was the problem. None of these people were who they said they were. They were just seven fakers who had the same skill set as those who were supposed to be here. Except him, he wasn’t supposed to be here. “Catch.” He tosses the Light quickly, watching Davenport nearly fumble it before putting it down as fast and gentle as he can.

“I think this conversation has gone on long enough.”

“Sure thing Captain Davenport, if that is your real name.”

“It’s more believable than Barry Bluejeans.”

“I didn’t steal that name though. There’s a difference.”

“Are you accusing me of something Bluejeans?”

“Nope, of course not. Why would I?” Barry walks over and picks up the Light, then heads back to the Starblaster. Putting his back to this dwarf was dangerous, but he would be back next year and they both knew it.

“Barry, be careful about the edge of the ship. Wouldn’t want you to fall off again.”

“Nope, sure wouldn’t want that. Although I’m sure I could find my way back a little easier this time.”

Barry takes the Light to his room and puts it on his bed, then sits next to it and starts writing down his observations and theories. Of course just to be sure he writes everything in a code he made as a child to keep others from reading things as he wrote them. It came in handy quite a bit. He’d hidden plenty of his knowledge in a code like this, things he really shouldn’t know and shouldn’t write down but he felt the urge to tell someone.

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So, it's been over three years since I touched this fic! Sorry for the long wait and sorry for anyone who hoped that I would eventually put out a new chapter. But this version of Seven Fakers is being discontinued. However, I will be rewriting this! I'll fix up what's been written so far and post new chapters as they're written. So keep an eye out for that.