2.19 Mirror, Mirror
Rachel: "I have my Knight, my Bishop, and ... [looks at Gabe] ... No, you're still a Pawn."
Gabe: "Wow you just rode a book! I mean ... that wasn't supposed to be a pun ... rode ... never mind."
Stefan: "Oh - she's not going to be happy that she was a horse..."
Deaver: "Maybe we shouldn't tell her?"
Stefan [to Shannon the horse]: "Why the long face?"
Deaver [re: growing and shrinking]: "Next time I go on a diet, I'm going to the gym."
White Knight: "We must escort these young heroes through the Tulgey Wood."
Gabe: "That's right. I'm a 'young hero' now."
Deaver and Rachel: "You're still a Pawn."
PeanutGalleryDirector: "Deal me death."
Deaver sits in his apartment, poring over his latest research. His phone rings, and he answers it. It's Bethany Caldwell, and she's panicked. She stammers out that her daughter Taylor has disappeared. Immediately concerned, Deaver asks her what happened, and she tells him it will be easiest if he just comes and sees for himself.
Bethany opens her door before Deaver has a chance to knock. "Alex. Thank you for coming so quickly." She is pale and frazzled looking. She takes Deaver to the closet under the stairs and looks at him over her shoulder. "This is going to sound crazy but ... well ... maybe it won't." She points to the mirror where Taylor's headscarf is laying on the other side of the glass. "THAT is what I think happened to her." Deaver examines the mirror more closely. He reaches out a hand and touches the glass. The mirror resists at first, but his hand sinks through. He pulls back. Examining the frame more closely, Deaver quickly identifies subtle symbols in the gilt frame. They look like protective symbols and sigils of Rosicrucian origin. Since the frame has a very Victorian look, that would be about right for the British resurgence of interest in the occult and the practice of Hermetic magic. Realizing they would need to go in after Taylor and needing backup, Deaver calls the Scoobies.
* * *
Stefan, Rachel, Chase, and Gabe collect chez Bethany and they all pile in to the storage closet. She and Deaver explain what has happened. Rachel approaches the mirror curiously, bracing herself on the frame and sticking her head through. On the other side, Rachel finds a room that looks just like the storage closet ? except for the wall the mirror is leaning against. It looks like an abandoned Victorian parlor. There are many old portraits on the wall, and all the subjects are moving about. In the corner sits a pedestal-style chessboard. Rachel pulls her head back out. She gently tells Bethany that since Chase is scheduled to work tonight she should go to Lone Star for them and tell Shannon she won't be there. Bethany haltingly agrees, and watches with a worried expression as the group slips through the looking glass, one by one.
* * *
On the other side, everyone looks around. There are a lot of things that make no sense - pictures that move, half a chair, half a teacup. The mirror is leaning against a cold and abandoned fireplace. The only chess club grad in the bunch, Deaver takes a closer look at the pedestal in the corner. The pieces are all moving around chaotically! They are whispering, chatting, sobbing, running. They seem to be talking about the red queen, who has apparently been taken, and there's something about a Jabberwocky. Deaver looks again, and determines that there are in fact two pieces missing from the board - the red queen and red king. The others take a look. The pieces don't notice them at all, and when they try to move them or pick them up, it panics the pieces mightily.
Deciding to find Taylor as quickly as possible, the gang exits the house. They float down the front step before their feet land on solid ground outside. Around them is a formal garden, with paths wandering off from a central fountain. Up ahead is a rise where they think they see someone, all in white, wandering about. They start walking towards the hill, only to find the path makes some inexplicable turns and ends up putting them back at the front door. Rachel remembers her English class and backs away from the house, taking a few steps towards the hill, and turns around and marches directly for the front door. The boys and Chase watch in confusion as she vanishes around the side. They try walking towards the hill again, taking some different branches of the path this time, but wind up back at the same place. Gabe swears he hears a giggle as they pass a flowerbed. He turns to examine the plants more closely, and apparently for too long, because they start berating him for staring. The rest of the troops come back to see. The flowers don't have much info, but they did see Taylor headed towards the hill earlier.
Up on the hill, Rachel finds a dumpy older woman in all white and a pointy crown that has been knocked askew sobbing broken-heartedly beneath a tree. She shouts down to her friends (who are all staring intently at an ordinary-looking flowerbed) instructing them on how to reach the rise. Her voice completely unnerves the older woman, who hadn't noticed her. As Rachel turns to apologize for startling her, the woman's face lights up beneath the tears. "Queen Alice! You've returned! What wonderful news!" About this time, the gang comes up the hill. Rachel tries to correct the White Queen's erroneous impression, but she's unsuccessful, eventually going along with it. The Queen tells her that the Red Queen has been taken and the game is in chaos without her. They've finally just stopped it, so everyone is wandering wherever they like, hopelessly confused. The group tries to question her, but the answers are more confusing than they are helpful. When pressed, she tells them that she has not seen Taylor, but they'd do best to head to town and ask The Curator. Looking down the hill, they see a town that looks a lot like McKennit, but not, laid out on a giant chessboard. The town is bisected by a brook, which separates what look like "squares" on the board. The squares go on as far as they can see. Just past the two squares of town are acres of a thick, dark wood. As they try to question the Queen some more, she starts bustling about, pulling a handful of pegs and a mallet out of her hair net. As she carefully measures and hammers the pegs into the ground, she gives the group instructions. They watch her, completely confused. As she rights herself after hammering the last peg in at her feet, the White Queen vanishes.
Left with few other options, the group tromps down the hill towards the town. On the outskirts, they find a mob of animals and humans, brandishing dinner forks and glaring menacingly at a comical-looking round, fluffy bird. The animal is being held down by two koalas in livery, which each have a grip on one of its ludicrously long legs. The bird's beak has been tied shut with a paisley necktie, but it continues to try to shout at the crowd, in an apparent fury. The mob shouts out strange suggestions as to what to do with the captive. When the mob sees Rachel, they immediately start bowing and curtseying as quickly as they can. Rachel questions the citizens about the bird, and they explain that it is the Jubjub. They are convinced the bird is responsible for the disappearance of the Red Queen, and must be in league with the Jabberwocky in the woods. The bird looks at Rachel with a pathetic expression in its googly eyes, a fat tear slipping into its wild explosion of feathers. Rachel starts to try to talk them around to releasing the animal. The koalas keep trying to bow to her, and mid bow, the Jubjub takes its opportunity and gives a good yank. It frees itself and flies off erratically into the distance, towards the dark wood. Rachel asks the koala where to find The Curator, and their eyes grow wide and terrified. They turn and point to the top of a tall white (ivory, even) tower that stands in the center of town (about where the Phillipi bell tower would be). It is smooth, cylindrical, and has absolutely no sign of any doors or windows. The group approaches the tower and explores its base. There's no sign of a way in. Going on a hunch, Rachel reaches out confidently for a knob that isn't there. The gang watches on in wonder as she disappears. They quickly follow.
* * *
The Scoobies find themselves floating leisurely (from the top, apparently) down a tunnel through the center of what appears to be a huge and dimly lit library. Books big enough to sit on float past them. Deaver grabs on to one, and it opens its giant covers like wings, flapping its way to the floor just beyond the tunnel. The others discover that they can effectively "swim" around in the air, and they navigate their way over to where Deaver is now standing. Tunnels lead off in many directions, which seems odd, as the tower is round. But whatever. They call out for The Curator, only to be shushed harshly by an uncountable number of voices, which seem to be coming from the books. Suddenly a giant black panther in a tailored waistcoat appears from nowhere. It growls at them menacingly. "Who are you, and what are you doing in my library? What do you want?" It paces and stares. Rachel's eyes glitter as she stares back at the cat, and she slowly realizes that it bears a striking resemblance to Charles Bannon. They explain to The Curator they are looking for a little girl, and he dismissively tells them that the Jabberwocky has her. He stops and looks at Stefan for a moment. "Ah yes. I remember now. You're the one who slew the Jabberwocky." When they look confused [they're doing that a lot, I know], the panther asks where they are from, as it obviously isn't here. When they tell him they come from the other side of the mirror, he nods and explains to them that memory works both ways here - someone who remembered an incident that hadn't yet occurred jotted down the poem "The Jabberwocky" in his memorandum book. Without looking, he pulls a book off the shelf over his shoulder and tosses it down on the library table in front of them. Written on the page in mirror-type is the classic poem, which Rachel had already recalled from memory:
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!"
He took his vorpal sword in hand: Long time the manxome foe he sought -- So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head He went galumphing back.
"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy.
`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.
"Have you the vorpal blade?" the panther asks Stefan. Stefan unsheathes Raveena's sword, but The Curator regards it with a sneer. They ask him where to find the sword they need, and he tells them to go to the magic shop. He begins to walk away as the group argues about how to find the Cauldron and Kettle from the library given that this is a mirror image of McKennit. He looks back over his shoulder, and they follow him to a door that they could swear wasn't there a second ago. The panther takes out a ring of keys and unlocks it. He then walks away without a goodbye. The gang opens the door. As they do, they hear a tinkling bell overhead. Walking through, they find themselves inside a one-room shop.
A person-sized sheep in a mobcap and spectacles is knitting behind the counter and looks up as they enter. "What can I do for you?" Stefan tells the sheep he's looking for a vorpal sword. The sheep looks at him and calmly says it doesn't have any of those. But it knows a riddle. It goes back to its knitting as it recites:
"First, the fish much be caught." That is easy: a baby, I think could have caught it. "Next, the fish much be bought." That is easy: a penny, I think, would have bought it.
"Now cook me the fish!" That is easy, and will not take more than a minute. "Let it lie in a dish!" That is easy, because it is already in it.
"Bring it here! Let me sup!" It is easy to set such a dish on the table. "Take the dish-cover up!" Ah, THAT is so hard that I fear I'm unable!
For it holds it like glue - Holds the lid to the dish, while it lies in the middle: Which is easiest to do, Un-dish-cover the fish, or dishcover the riddle?
There is argument and analysis, and suddenly Deaver looks up. "An oyster?" The sheep regards him. "Oh, is THAT all you wanted?" Ignoring the chorus of "No!" from the Scoobies, it gets up and pulls an oyster out from behind the counter. The sheep walks to the back of the shop and places an oyster on a shelf. "There you are." It returns to its stool and resumes knitting. Shrugging a shoulder, Rachel leads the pack and they walk towards the back of the shop. The room gets shadowy on this end, and the oyster never seems to get closer. They continue walking, and the air feels wetter, the floor clammy. Suddenly, their feet are no longer on the floor, and they realize a bubble has scooped each of them up, and they are floating along merrily underwater, towards the largest oyster they have ever seen. It is at least three times their size, and is sitting comfortably in its bed, all alone. It looks as though there may have been other oysters at one time, but they're all gone now. The Gabe tries slipping his hand out of his bubble and finds that he has no problem doing so - the walls hold. Rachel calls out to the oyster with a cheerful tone. The oyster emits a weary stream of bubbles and stands up on skinny legs. It has little arms as well, that can't quite reach as he attempts to fold them in front of his body. The oyster turns to them, but says nothing. Stefan asks if it knows where the blade is, and it bows in assent. When asked if it will help them find it, it shakes its body no. It bubbles some more. Chase muses that maybe the sword is like a pearl. Oysters don't like to give those up either. Struck with an idea, Gabe navigates his bubble towards the oyster. He reaches his arms out and starts to tickle what he hopes is a ticklish spot. The oyster wiggles, and then hops and, then starts what sounds like a low, rumbly chuckle. Gabe keeps at it, and the oyster laughs, cracking its shell open at the seam as a stream of bubbles comes flooding out. Carried out by the bubbles is a beautiful sword with a bright pearly blue blade. Stefan quickly turns his bubble towards it and grabs it, dragging it safely inside with him. Gabe stops tickling the oyster and quickly gets out of the way. When the oyster realizes what has happened, it sulkily sits down on its bed again. Suddenly, behind the oyster, the Scoobies see what looks like a river bank where there used to be open water. They steer their bubbles that way, and come up on the banks of one of the brooks that divides the squares of the "chessboard".
In front of them are a split rail fence and an iron arch. At the top of the arch, there is a five-pointed star, with an 'L' and an 'S' on either side of it. Chase comments that it looks like the entrance to a ranch. Rachel puts it all together and starts laughing. "It's Lone Star! Think Shannon is in there?" With that, the group goes through the archway, and finds themselves in a generously sized animal pen. A group of sociable piggies are chowing down at a trough, and there's a bunch of gossiping chickens collected in one section of the yard. In the center of the pen is a freestanding bar with a row of stools in front of it. A pretty palomino saddle horse (who Rachel is amused to realize does indeed resemble Shannon, and is a little surprised that no one else in the party has picked up on this) is working the taps, which all seem to produce weak tea. She is cheerfully gabbing with the two men sitting at the bar. Both are dressed in hopelessly battered white full-plate armor. One is an elderly man with a large, droopy moustache, and the other is younger with shoulder-length hair and a goatee. The group approaches the bar and orders tea all around. Taking a closer look at the knights, who are having a spirited debate, Rachel realizes that the younger one is pretty obviously (at least, to her) the mirror version of Geoff. She shoots a quick look at Chase, but she seems thankfully oblivious. Rachel strikes up a conversation with the knights. The older one recognizes Alice instantly, and is delighted to see her, smiling at her with kind eyes. Rachel quickly explains to the knights that there is a damsel in distress deep in the Tulgey Wood, at the mercy of the Jabberwocky. The knights immediately agree to help. They get their horses, insisting that the two ladies in the group ride. Rachel looks up at the older knight's horse, which is hung around with all sorts of odds and ends and inventions. Looking ill at ease, she tries to get on. The older knight drops to one knee and offers her a leg up. She almost ends up riding the horse backwards, but eventually gets on and gets settled. The younger knight drops to a knee to do the same for Chase. Rachel holds her breath and watches them nervously. Chase does a double take and looks at the knight again, a confused expression crossing her face, before deciding she's seeing things. She shakes it off, and feeling a little twitchy at all the "my lady" stuff, Chase tells the knight brusquely that she can get on the horse herself, thanks. The knights take the reins (over Chase's objections), and the group heads for the edge of the woods, which lay just beyond the animal pen.
Inside the wood, they quickly come to an intersection where the path splits off in several directions. There is a large wooden signpost, helpfully labeling the directions: "Coming", "Going", "Hither", and "Yon". The knights seem to know where they're going, and they start down the path that hugs the outside edge of the forest. The path seems to work slowly in a spiral towards the center. It takes a Very. Very. Long. Time. All along the way, the knights continue their earlier debate - the younger knight maintains that there are great merits to making the most of modern conveniences, while the elder knight holds that his zany inventions are infinitely more practical and versatile, as well as being customized to address unique issues. They continue to walk, deeper and deeper into the woods. As they near the center, there comes a moment when things sharply change. Suddenly, no one can remember their names, or the names of objects, or of anything. Luckily, Deaver, Gabe, and Stefan at least remember that they need to follow the thing to the stuff, so they stay on the path. Rachel admires the trees while they ride (although she can't remember the word for them), and she and Gabe have a friendly conversation about nothing in particular (a rare thing these days). Chase talks to her horse (which talks back) and when the young knight turns around to chat with them, she looks at his face a moment before telling him what lovely eyes he has (although she can't remember the word for those, either). He thanks her, a little embarrassed, before turning said eyes back to the path ahead.
They finally reach the center of the woods, which is a large clearing. A single tree stands in the middle of it, its drooping branches heavy with soft fuzzy flowers. There is a large birds nest at it's base, and the ends to the branches trail into a lovely little pool. The girls dismount as the knights tell them this is as far as they can take them. As they prepare to leave the Scoobies, the older knight turns to Rachel and asks if she would like to hear a poem before they leave. The younger knight tries to stop him, but Rachel agrees with a smile. He tells her that he regrets his inability to sing it, but he's a little hoarse (his horse looks very offended by this). He clears his throat and begins:
I'll tell thee everything I can; There's little to relate. I saw an aged aged man, A-sitting on a gate. "Who are you, aged man?" I said, "and how is it you live?" And his answer trickled through my head Like water through a sieve.
He said "I look for butterflies That sleep among the wheat: I make them into mutton-pies, And sell them in the street. I sell them unto men," he said, "Who sail on stormy seas; And that's the way I get my bread-- A trifle, if you please."
But I was thinking of a plan To dye one's whiskers green, And always use so large a fan That they could not be seen. So, having no reply to give To what the old man said, I cried, "Come, tell me how you live!" And thumped him on the head.
His accents mild took up the tale: He said "I go my ways, And when I find a mountain-rill, I set it in a blaze; And thence they make a stuff they call Rolands' Macassar Oil-- Yet two pence half penny is all They give me for my toil."
But I was thinking of a way To feed oneself on batter, And so go on from day to day Getting a little fatter. I shook him well from side to side, Until his face was blue: "Come, tell me how you live," I cried, "And what it is you do!"
He said "I hunt for haddocks' eyes among the heather bright, And work them into waistcoat-buttons in the silent night. And these I do not sell for gold Or coin of silvery shine But for a copper halfpenny, And that will purchase nine.
"I sometimes dig for buttered rolls, Or set limed twigs for crabs; I sometimes search the grassy knolls For wheels of Hansom-cabs. And that's the way" (he gave a wink) "By which I get my wealth-- And very gladly will I drink Your Honour's noble health."
I heard him then, for I had just Completed my design To keep the Menai bridge from rust By boiling it in wine. I thanked much for telling me The way he got his wealth, But chiefly for his wish that he Might drink my noble health.
And now, if e'er by chance I put My fingers into glue Or madly squeeze a right-hand foot Into a left-hand shoe, Or if I drop upon my toe A very heavy weight, I weep, for it reminds me so, Of that old man I used to know-
Whose look was mild, whose speech was slow, Whose hair was whiter than the snow, Whose face was very like a crow, With eyes, like cinders, all aglow, Who seemed distracted with his woe, Who rocked his body to and fro, And muttered mumblingly and low, As if his mouth were full of dough, Who snorted like a buffalo-- That summer evening, long ago, A-sitting on a gate.
The Scoobies clap politely, and the knights turn to leave. The elder knight asks Rachel and Chase to wave them off with handkerchiefs until they are out of sight, as it will be good for their spirits. Chase looks at him like he's insane, but Rachel agrees and fishes a tissue out of her pocket. Stefan passes Chase his handkerchief and the two girls dutifully wave at the knights until the exit the clearing, which takes a long time, as they are both forever falling off their horses one way or the other.
The group looks around the clearing. Gabe approaches the nest to take a closer look, and there is suddenly a blistering screech from overhead that drowns out all conversation or thought as the Jubjub descends towards Gabe. He runs quickly away from the nest, and the Jubjub settles atop its eggs (which appear to be the hard-boiled and painted variety) with a grumpy, impassioned mutter. It stares at the group. As it looks at all of them, a sudden flash of recognition crosses its face. It gets up again and walks awkwardly over to a table at the edge of the clearing. The table is floating about a foot off the ground, and is set for two. A bottle of champagne on ice sits in the center, and there are two plates heaped with food. Rachel pales, and glares at Gabe, who also looks a little uncomfortable, even as he swears to everyone who will listen that he isn't doing this. The Jubjub picks up a plate in one foot and the bottle in the other and flaps its way back to the base of the Tumtum tree. It sets down the food and looks at the group. It kicks the tree a couple of times, looks at them again, and returns to the nest. Rachel, on the other hand, goes and kicks the table. Deaver takes a closer look at the tree, and finds a door about three inches high set in between two large roots. He lies down on the ground and looks inside. All he sees are the bases of more trees, although it seems to be evening twilight on the other side. Gabe picks up the bottle of champagne, pops it, and pours. Taking a handful of strawberries off the plate for good measure, he takes a swig, and suddenly shoots upwards. His head clears the tops of the trees and his body stays just below them, the distance in between being spanned by his now-serpentine neck. He takes a bite of the strawberry and suddenly his chin is against his feet. Quickly taking a tiny sip of champagne, Gabe gets himself sorted out. The others follow his lead, eventually ending up about three inches tall. They slip through the door and close it behind them.
The gang quickly restores their height to as close to normal as they can manage. Looking around, they appear to be in the same forest they just left, although it is in perpetual twilight here. But glancing up, the picture is different - dizzyingly high above them is a vaulted ceiling, and chunks of floating masonry hover a ways beneath it. Their survey of the scene is interrupted by a shrill child's scream from high above and a whilffling sound as the Jabberwocky comes bearing down on them. Stefan steps in front of his friends and draws the vorpal sword. When the Jabberwocky sees him, it shoots a fiery blast from its eyes that Stefan easily dodges. The Jabberwocky changes direction and slips between a pair of trees, disappearing from view. Looking up, the Jabberwocky is far overhead, circling on dragon like wings. Chase picks up on what happened, and she two dodges between two trees, followed by the rest of the group.
They come tumbling out through a door and find themselves on a vast chunk of floor floating far above the forest, with steps and staircases rising into nothingness and sticking out at odd angles from the masonry. Floating above them is a giant golden birdcage, attached to a small and narrow chunk of plaster. Taylor is inside it, clutching the doll-sized Red Queen closely. Dancing on top of the plaster chunk is a small man in a giant hat. His every move makes the masonry shake, and Taylor screams in terror.
The Jabberwocky swoops down on Stefan as boojums (some with whiskers that scratch, and some with feather that bite) emerge from cracks and crevices on the platform where our heroes are standing. Gabe blasts one boojum with a spell and sends it skittering off the platform, tumbling towards the forest below. A boojum looks at Gabe with beady eyes and he disappears, suddenly reappearing on an isolated chunk of floating staircase some distance beneath them. Stefan tosses Raveena's sword to Deaver. Deaver catches the Jabberwocky above a clawed foot, but it appears to do no harm to the creature. Realizing that the vorpal blade is the only thing that can hurt the monster, he turns his attention to the boojums, one of which has Chase, weaponless, cornered at the top of a staircase. Rachel gives a jump from the tallest staircase she can find, and pulls herself up onto the next closest chunk of floor, working her way towards the birdcage.
Stefan and the Jabberwocky face off. It hits him hard, using claws and teeth and fire, but he dodges the worst of it, snicker-snacking away with the vorpal sword. Stefan spins and clips one of the Jabberwocky's wings, and then the other. The monster begins a spinning tumble towards the forest beneath them with a shriek. Just before its head drops below their floating platform, Stefan cleanly beheads it. There is sudden silence. The boojums look around, get wide-eyed, and almost instantly disappear amid the slamming of many unseen little doors. Gabe suddenly reappears on the platform, having floated himself down to the ground and used the trees to get back up again. The Mad Hatter regards them from his perch atop the birdcage. With another quick jig, he grabs the brim of his hat and sings:
In a Wonderland they lie, Dreaming as the days go by, Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream - Lingering in the golden gleam - Life, what is it but a dream?
With that, the Hatter pulls his hat down over his body and vanishes. The hat flips over on its top as a small, gloved hand comes out of it, catches the brim, and pulls it in on itself. He is gone.
Gabe spies a boojum-sized door in the side one of the staircases. Using the strawberries to get himself down to the right height, he goes inside. Out he pops on one of the higher chunks of floating masonry, just above the birdcage. He carefully jumps down, jostling the cage. Taylor screams and runs for the bars, causing the cage to tilt precariously. Rachel reaches the cage as well, and soothingly talks Taylor into sitting down in the middle of the cage. Grudgingly, Rachel takes Gabe's hand, and together they magically lower the cage carefully all the way down to the ground. The other Scoobies use the main door and come out again among the trees. Stefan brings the Jabberwocky's head with them. When Rachel tries to open the cage, the lock grumpily informs them that they need the key, which they dutifully retrieve from the Jabberwocky's waistcoat pocket. As Rachel opens the cage door, the scene around them splinters, and they are suddenly back in the library tower, facing The Curator. He takes the head from Stefan and congratulates them. He then tells Stefan that they will forgo the hugging part as he leads the group to another door. Stepping through into a dimly lit tunnel filled with arms holding torches, the Scoobies walk a long way before they come to another door. They open it, step through and their eyes adjust to the bright light of ?
Bethany's living room.
* * *
Deaver calls Bethany immediately. She is at the Lone Star as instructed, but hangs up on him as soon as she hears Taylor is safe. The little girl is shaken, but all right, and very grateful to her saviors.
The group starts to discuss what to do with the mirror. They know they can't destroy it or close the portal, so they decide to put it into Cernunos Grove's care for safekeeping.
No sooner is the decision made than Bethany throws open the front door and runs in, clutching Taylor to her and planting a kiss on her head. She looks up at the Scoobies and thanks them profusely, especially Deaver. She invites them all to stay for dinner and they agree, planning to take the mirror with them afterwards. Bethany is more than happy to see it go.