Weltschmerz

"I don't have a handy dandy bit of paper that gets me in anywhere I want." Sonya replied, picking her cup up again and taking another sip before going on. "I have a sonic, my brains and the unusual talent for opening doors from opposite sides of the earth, sometimes universe if I feel up to it. Dangerous way to travel though, for me I mean." She added thoughtfully, her eyes moving across the dining area, watching as the couples and families talked to each other over their plates, quiet laughter and the clink of silverware on china catching her interest for a moment before remembering she was talking. "I use my life energy to create the doorways. Well, I suppose they're more like wormholes, creating a shortcut from one place to another... Ever hear of the term 'Tesseract'?" Sonya suddenly asked, looking back over at Fitz with a hopeful look in her eyes.

x

Sonya smiled wryly at him for a moment, listening to him struggle with the explanation. "Something like that, I came across the term in a book called 'A Wrinkle in Time' and I thought it might make a perfect way to explain what I do. Technically that is what I do, I take two ends and bring them right next to each other with a doorway. Of course, everything is untouched in-between, just moved to the side a bit while I walk through. As long as the door is shut tight after I'm through, the wrinkle is gone and no one walks through their closet door in America to find themselves in the wilderness of Russia or something." Leaning forward, she placed her elbows on the table with a grin, her chin cupped in her hands as she spoke. "Like I said, it's like a wormhole more than anything. But I think a Tesseract is easier to explain. You take a square and square it, creating a cube. Then you would take a cube and square that, creating the multidimensional hypercube. With that bit of fact, theoretically, you can travel through time and space without a ship or the aid of electronics. That is what I do, I found a way to take my own life energy to create a hypercube doorway to make wrinkles, also known as wormholes, also known as shortcuts, for me to travel through."

x

Sonya lifted one of her shoulders then leaned back with a light grin on her face. "I can travel because I learned how to use my life energy for other than just living, Fitz." She said softly, her eyes moving away from his face and down to her cup as she picked it up. "If you understood your inner workings as well as I understand mine, you would be surprised with what you could accomplish." Lifting it up to her lips, she paused as their server walked over and stood by their table with a questioning look on his face. "Oh! I'll have the parmigiana raviolis." She said with a grin, suddenly remembering they were in a restaurant. "And he said he would have the duck, make sure to use the good cooking cherry, by the way. Tastes much better that way." She added with a wink at him as he wrote their orders down on a small paper. "Right away, Madam. Is there anything else you would like?" Casting a glance over at Fitz, she shook her head and lifted her cup back to her lips. "No, I think that will be all, thank you."

x

Sonya tugged on her lower lip for a moment, debating on exactly how much she should tell this man. Finally, letting go of it, she crossed her arms on the table and leaned closer to him so she could speak in an undertone so only he could hear. "I have things I need to get done here. Some whispers of people disappearing, rumors of happenings going on under the city... I couldn't resist. And if we're lucky enough, a version of the Doctor will hear about it and show up as well. But for now, I came here, not just to treat you to a free meal, but to hear things. The highest rated restaurants are prime for rumors... Especially the staff." With a wink, she got up from the table and walked towards the kitchen doors in the back. "I'll be back, just checking on... The duck." Pushing it open, she stepped through and eyed the workers for a moment, picking out who she knew she could talk to.

A few moments later, she strode out and rejoined Fitz at the table with a satisfied smile on her face. "Anyway, what were we talking about?"

x

Sonya's grin widened slightly and she shook her head, indicating she didn't want to talk about what she had learned right then. "But, afterwards. I would like to suggest a walk by the marina. Beautiful place when they have it all lit up with the ships docked. Like a small party really, loads of people wandering about, admiring the boats and swapping stories..." She trailed off, casting a meaningful glance at Fitz just as their meals arrived. "Ahh! smell that Nothing better than a good French meal to get you on your feet." She crowed in approval, sniffing the steam that rose from the large raviolis sitting on the plate in front of her. "Basil, pepper, a pinch of salt and a small bit of sugar. Perfection."

x

Sonya peered over at him, holding a speared ravioli on the end of her fork, dripping with ragu as she studied him for a moment. "I take it you don't often get chances to eat like this." She finally asked curiously, eyeing the little packet of cooked pasta and cheese before popping it into her mouth and chewing thoughtfully. Swallowing quickly, she placed her fork to the side and picked up the teacup. "So I suppose I should feel proud for bringing you here, but honestly I feel bad now. You've eaten home meals, food from fast food places and other restaurants, now everything is going to taste less than it did before you ate here. I've changed your entire view on food forever." Shaking her head in mock disgust at herself, she flashed a wry smile over at him. Honestly she was surprised someone like him was enjoying the duck so much. In her opinion they used way too many spices, it tickled her nose just to smell it from where she sat. "Anyway, hurry up and eat, we only have an hour to get down there and I feel like a nice brisk walk will help work off the meal."

x

Sonya grinned and got to her feet, already finished with her own meal and tea. "Come on then, onward to the marina." She declared in excitement, tossing a couple of French notes onto the table for their server then striding towards the door. "Don't worry about paying, they never let me even when I tried to in the past." She added over her shoulder, flashing a grin at the host standing at his podium by the entry. "How have you been?"

"Oh, I have been fine, Mademoiselle. Yourself?" He replied cheerfully, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her. "I have not seen you in such a long time, I began to wonder if you would return."

x

Sonya leaned over the podium and wrapped the host in a hug before pulling away and raising a hand over her head as she headed towards the door "Ta!" Pushing it open, she stepped out onto the sidewalk, her eyes immediately looking at the sky to check the time. "Oh, wow, later than I thought. Same day we were in back there in... Um... That raining place with your car, just later in the day is all. Good, I was thinking we had skipped ahead a few weeks at the most." Casting another glance at the stars, she headed down the busy sidewalk, slipping past mingling couples and groups of people on her way towards the edge of the city. "Come on, Fitz, before you end up being left behind!"

x

"I'm not making any assumptions, but I have a feeling that the random disappearances aren't random at all..." Sonya finally said, slowing down enough so he could keep pace with her. Hands tucked into her coat pockets, she glanced around the area, trying to remember the exact direction she took last time to get to the Marina before spotting a glimpse of water off to the left of where they were. Turning a corner ahead, she grinned brightly at the lights shining ahead. "I don't know what is doing it, but that is why I'm coming here, to find out. Apparently a majority of the people that vanished, vanished here, at night when the place is less lively. Less people around to see if they were to be kidnapped." She added, looking up at Fitz with a focused look on her face, her thoughts already working around every detail she had heard in the kitchen earlier.

x

"Well, I suppose fishing could be the proper wording for it... Bait, well I will be the bait. The only way to find where they are taking people is to let them take you. The only thing is, I have something the other people didn't." She said slyly, eyeing Fitz out of the corner of her eyes, watching as he patted his pockets frantically with an amused smile flitting across her face before continuing. "I have a different body system, whatever they're using to knock the victims out, won't work on me as well. At most it will make me drowsy. Even then I'm focused enough to understand the situation... I think, I've never had anyone try to knock me out before. I've been carried off by guards, kidnapped, attacked by people allergic to bananas, nearly had my mind taken over by two separate consciousnesses, at different times thankfully, and taken prisoner by Attila the Hun. So I suppose a little knockout gas couldn't really do much damage."

x

Sonya winked at Fitz, amused with his nervousness. "If you want to go, I can open a door for you to get back to the rain... Your car, and job." She said innocently as they reached the pier of the marina. Sitting on the edge, she dangled her legs off the side and leaned back on her hands, watching as the boats floated on the harbor, their lights reflecting off of the gently rippling water. "Besides, I always have a plan, it may not be complete, but I have a plan anyway. No tracking devices, no thingumy. Nothing up my sleeves either if you care to check." She said cheerfully, looking up at him with a grin, her feet kicking at the water as it barely touched the toes of her shoes. "No no, I have a plan, and I will finish planning my plan once I get where I need to be for my plan to take place. Do you understand?"

x

"I'm sure you will, why else would you still be here and not demanding I take you back to your car?" Sonya asked idly, her head leaned back as the last glint of sun on the water flashed across her face then vanished to be replaced by the moon and stars overhead. "Besides, do you have anything else more exciting than the possibility of being kidnapped by something dangerous? No, I didn't think so. Now then, Once they grab me, I need you to take this..." She said, reaching into her pocket and holding out a mobile phone to him. "That's been boosted by a tracking device that I'm wearing right now. You'll have to get a car, not sure how, but I believe in you. Any problems that arise, well I'll let you know, yeah?"

x.

Sonya looked up at him with a wry grin on her face as he got ready to walk off. "No, nothing I do has luck. It's usually bad luck if anything, but I've perfected the art of taking bad luck and turning it around to be in my favor." Shaking her head slightly, she caught sight of an unlit boat on the harbor, anchored near the middle rather than tied to the pier like the others were. "Get going, I think I've caught sight of our big fish." She added, lifting a hand to wave idly at Fitz, motioning for him to move on and do what he had to do. "I'll keep in touch, no worries. Just, be prepared for anything."