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Characters: Oliver Day (

oliverplus) and OPEN
Location: Your reality!
Time: After Oliver's fairytale has ended, and during or after yours, as you prefer
Summary: Oliver goes on an involuntary reality-hopping tour of the multiverse~
Warnings: Oliver is a geek, and depending on your reality, he might just show it. Possibly a lot.

Tag in if you'd like Oliver to visit you! Prose-style or action tags are fine; just tag in the way you feel like playing.

"Samwise! Don't go under there!"

Oliver had learned a long time ago that "getting lost" and "going somewhere in the TARDIS" were basically synonymous, so he'd long since given up on getting annoyed when it happened. Instead, he usually just looked at it as another adventure to conquer--plus, you never knew what sort of cool things you might find in the meantime. And that was all well and good when he was alone, but this time he'd made the mistake of bringing one of his pets along. Watching a dwarf rabbit run off to be lost in the TARDIS was not the sort of adventure he'd had in mind for today.

He crouched down by the random large machine that was sitting by one of the walls of a room that otherwise appeared to be some sort of study. Aside from the hulking metal contraption, the room was lined with comfortable sofas and armchairs, the lighting coming from lamps on sidetables. Fancy rugs were scattered about on the polished wooden floor, although the area around the machine was bare aside from some telltale scuff marks. And while the space underneath the machine was large enough for a rabbit to fit, Oliver doubted he could even get one of his hands in there. "Come on, come out! I'll get you some nice greens?"

As he leaned down to look under the machine, he just caught sight of a furry ball shooting out and across the room. "Samwise!" He jumped to his feet, realising now that he'd been so intent on the rabbit that he hadn't even thought to close the door to the study when he came in. And, of course, he pet was making straight for it. Oliver ran after him, hoping to grab the door and shut it before Samwise could reach it and disappear into the corridor. It was going to be a close thing. He grabbed at the side of the door--

--and missed. Oliver skidded to a stop, almost falling over in his surprise. Because it was immediately apparent that he hadn't simply missed in his grab--the door wasn't there anymore. The study wasn't either, nor was the familiar hum of the TARDIS.

"What...?" Oliver breathed, looking around him in confusion. "Where am I?"

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"A likely story. But as the paperwork for extra-universal visits are a little too complicated for somebody of my age, I'll have to let you go. Perhaps we can set you to looking after the rappigs while you're here." Guy was off, which meant a vacancy that Jade was more than happy to terrorize people with.

"But-!" Oliver started to protest. Then he realised what Jade had just said. "Oh." He smiled, relieved. He'd been taking Jade seriously for a minute there, but he could tell now that had been a mistake. "Uh...what's a 'rappig'?" he asked, not sure he liked the sound of that. Then again, he was starting to get the impression that none of this conversation was serious. "And where is this, anyway? Is this Auld...erm...Auldrunt? Auld...rant? Again?"

He thought he remembered Jade and Asch being from the same world. He only hoped he was right about that or this conversation was liable to get even more difficult than it already was.

"'Again?' If you've visited before, you could at least get the name right." The criticism was a mask for his true interest: when Oliver had been here before, and who he had seen. Jade liked to keep a very careful eye on comings and goings from Auldrant.

Oliver, as usual, didn't realise what Jade was really getting at. "It only just happened!" he protested. "And I've been to a lot of places today. What's the right name, anyway?"

Mentally, he ran over the list again, trying to remember which was the correct one. Travelling with the Fourth Doctor meant he often wasn't as fussed about names--particularly names not attached to people he cared about--as he probably should have been. For the most part, that still didn't matter, but he never liked to think he'd actually offended anyone because of it.

"Auldrant. This is Grand Chokmah, the capital city of Malkuth." Setting aside his papers for the moment--well, it was peacetime, the army didn't need his constant presence and research was best done with breaks for thought--Jade stood and motioned to the door. "Please, Mr. Day. Allow me to show you the Imperial City."

Jade's correct pronunciation (at last) brought Oliver's memory back up to speed. "Auldrant, yeah! Grand...Chokmah, huh? That sounds new. I think I've been to...um...Daath. And a field somewhere," Oliver said thoughtfully. He didn't think Asch had given him a name for where that was, but at least Guy had been specific. And Daath was a simple enough name that he was relatively certain he had remembered it correctly.

He was surprised by the sudden offer of a tour, though, particularly after the hard time Jade had been giving him. "Really? Cheers, Jade!" He made an excited beeline for the door, eager to see somewhere new yet again.

Daath? Interesting. He'd ask about that in a bit. For now, he stepped Oliver outside. He walked Oliver outside, out into the bright and sunny military harbour. Another beautiful day in Grand Chokmah. Sometimes Jade felt like it was always summer here. "Try not to pay too much close attention to any military secrets you pass on your way out."

The minute they were outside, Oliver's eyes immediately began darting over everything. "Wow," he breathed, amazed at the sight of all the waterfalls. "This is..." He shook his head, at a loss for words. "Wow."

In fact, he was so busy being amazed that he only half-heard Jade's instructions. "Huh?" he repeated absently. "Oh, yeah. I'll do that." His eyes were wide as he continued to follow Jade.

Jade felt no pride in the beauty of Grand Chokmah; he had little national pride to speak of, and besides that, they were not his creation. They were, however, swiftly becoming his responsibility. "Beautiful, aren't they? The upkeep is highly taxing on the planet's resources." If Grand Chokmah wanted to sustain its beautiful reputation, Jade was going to have to come up with some good shortcuts to solve the energy use problems that came from that much fonon consumption.

What if they could create a different type of cycle to bring back the fonons consumed through arts? But through what method? Jade set aside the thought for further contemplation at another point.

Oliver nodded when Jade mentioned the beauty of it all, but he shot him a sidelong glance at the second comment. "Is this whole area like this?" he asked, curious--and a little worried. "I mean, your country."

He knew the other places he'd been with Asch and Guy hadn't looked at all like Grand Chokmah, but he had no sense of what country (countries?) he'd been in, so it seemed too much of a guess to make a comparison. Still, he had an uncomfortable feeling that Grand Chokmah must be very different from Malkuth in general, and if that was the case, he wondered just how taxing it was on the planet as a whole.

He frowned, his excitement a bit dampened by Jade's practical concerns. But he wouldn't let it stop him from enjoying his tour, so he continued walking quickly after Jade.

As the walkway opened up to the Imperial Palace's gardens, Jade briefly considered bringing Oliver to see the Emperor. But the Emperor was most likely occupied with his responsibilities, and how could Jade interrupt that by giving him something fun? No, the Emperor interrupted himself far too often. Best to keep the fun as far from him as possible.

"Most towns and villages aren't situation on the water. Unlike among the nobility, it's acceptable for our farmers to have practical concerns." He said it quite neutrally, as if he didn't think poorly of the upper class's self-induced stupidity. The trappings they undertook to ensure that everyone knew how much better they were was good sport for Jade's amusement.

Oliver would definitely have found the idea of meeting the Emperor very cool--especially once he actually met this particular Emperor. But Jade was probably right in not bringing him there. It likely would have caused more trouble than good from Jade's perspective, and Oliver, for his part, was blissfully ignorant of such considerations.

"Do they ever see the capital?" he asked as he mulled over Jade's words--and his tone. Oliver was definitely not impressed by Jade's apparent noble attitude, and he was starting to feel even more alien in this world than he had before. Giving Jade a curious glance, he wondered if Jade's feelings would even reveal whether he was being serious or not. Or even how he felt about Oliver's visit, really. By this point, Oliver wasn't sure what to make of the experience at all, except that at least he was getting to see some fantastic sights in a world that he had friends from.

There was no real revelation in Jade's emotions. Detached curiosity. A little amusement. He was a cold person with muted feelings. "My, my. You're quite concerned for them, aren't you? I wasn't aware you were a social activist." Jade's hands were still in his pocket as they left the walkways to the Imperial Gardens. "Mostly traders and merchants come to Grand Chokmah. The average farmer from Envege wouldn't have the resources to take a trip to the capital at his or her leisure." A surprise trip to Chesedonia certainly hadn't been in the calendar for any of them.

Although Jade's emotions weren't very telling, Oliver was at least glad that he didn't seem annoyed or particularly critical. Normally Oliver would have worried that he wasn't making a terribly good impression so far, but Jade seemed to be enjoying the meeting well enough.

"I'm not!" Oliver protested. Then again, probably at least a quarter of the things he'd done with the Doctor could be taken that way. "I mean, not really. Just...wondering." He nodded at Jade's description, resisting the urge to make any further commentary. Of course farmers wouldn't be able to make it somewhere like this; he should have guessed that. Maybe he was a bit too used to a large, fantastic, and largely working-class city.

"Where are we headed?" he asked, hoping Jade wouldn't push him too much about his social activistic tendencies. He was trying to make a decent impression, after all, and Jade struck him as identifying more with the rich than anyone else. Then again, Jade didn't quite seem to fit in to either end--maybe because he seemed so uninterested in defending either of them. Oliver wondered if people in the military were often like that or if it was just Jade.

"This is also the shopping capital of Malkuth. I thought you might like the market." But Jade had found his element now, now with Oliver's evasion, and it wasn't in his nature to turn away from a perfectly good chance to pry at something others found uncomfortable. "Of course, that was before I realized how much you cared about these issues. If you'd prefer to see the slums, we could always head that way as well."

Oliver was a little surprised by the suggestion of going to the market--after all, it wasn't like he had currency for this world. But after Jade's jab, he couldn't very well protest it. He wanted to enjoy the world, not see the depressing reality of the slum and know that he wouldn't have the opportunity to do anything about it.

"No, the market's fine!" he said quickly, wondering if it was going to be like this for the rest of the visit. "What sort of things do they sell?" It wasn't the most inspiring conversation starter, but he hoped it would at least get Jade off the topic of social activism.

"Anything that would be bought," Jade replied. They walked into the first section of stores--Jade occasionally nodded to a soldier, but he knew few of the civillians and greeted none of the multitude. In these days, with peace reigning, people from Kimlasca came more freely, and trade flourished with those from Chesedonia. It was more vibrant, more free. And more trouble for security. "Armour, weapons, capacity cores, food and travelling supplies, clothing..."

Jade's initial statement wasn't the most specific answer ever, especially considering Oliver didn't know what relative level of technology existed on this world. But he had a feeling it would be easier to just look around than ask Jade again, so he didn't say anything at first. When Jade did mention a few specific items, however, Oliver turned to him curiously. "What's a 'capacity core'?"

Despite his questions, as they walked into the market, Oliver was paying far more attention to the people than the wares on sale. More than anything, he was impressed by how varied their appearances and clothing were. Even with the social divide Jade had alluded to--which was present in any city, really--it was clear that this was an open, flourishing place. And in Oliver's eyes, that made it even more beautiful than the waterfalls. "This is great!" he declared excitedly. "Any food I should try?"

"I didn't know you brought gald with you," Jade said in a voice that might be mistaken for sweet. Rather than explain what a capacity core was, he opened the door to the store and stepped inside, assuming Oliver would follow. The cores were laid out in rows for Oliver to look at, but all those available here were the fashionable variety, not the sort Jade ever bothered with.

Well, that was a bit cruel of Jade. Oliver didn't comment, but it did temper his excitement. Looking somewhat put-out, he followed Jade into the store--at which point curiosity took over again. "Ohhh!" He ran over to the display case, gazing down at the rows of cores. "What do they do?" he asked, the words leaving his mouth before he thought about the fact that it probably wasn't the most prudent question to be asking in public. Too late now.

Given Oliver's strange clothing and his inexperience, it was likely easy for anyone from Malkuth to assume him an ignorant foreigner, perhaps a young noble lost on his way. (Though if that's the case, pity to the young noble who was found by Colonel Curtiss.) "For the most part, nothing. They're primarily a fashion accessory. But they can help to increase combat skills if you wear them into battle."

"What, really?" Oliver asked, glancing back at Jade. He was glad that the other man didn't seem concerned about the questions--it meant Oliver could ask more of them. "Increase them how?"

Beware, Jade. His curiosity never ends.

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