The next morning Mary awoke early as usual she started breakfast and soon Erik was down helping her out a bit. “So where is Mistress B’Elanna?”
“In her Lab. She’s been in there all night. I wonder just what it is that she’s inventing, and why it’s so important. I mean it Mary, I will find out.”
Mary flipped over a pancake before it could start to burn, “Do you think that’s wise? Maybe she doesn’t want you to know what she is working on. I don’t think it would be such a great idea if you broke in there and found what she was inventing.”
“I have to, I just have to know what it is that is so important.” Just then B’Elanna entered the kitchen.
“Good morning B’Elanna.” Both Mary and Erik said putting smiles on their faces like everything was just great.
“Morning. What are you two doing? Other than cooking breakfast I mean.” B’Elanna said and took a seat at the table near Erik.
“Just talking. Nothing really. What have you been up to?” Erik questioned.
“Oh nothing, you know. Just working in the Lab.”
“And what exactly is it that you’ve been working on?” Erik asked ignoring Mary’s warning signals.
“Nothing much, why do you ask?”
“Oh no reason, you know, just curious old me.”
B’Elanna narrowed her eyes, “Right, curious old you.” Then she turned to Mary, “Do you think I could take some of those pancakes and eat in the study? I’ve got a lot of thinking to do and I’d like to not be disturbed.”
“Sure go right ahead.” Mary said smiling as B’Elanna grabbed a plate and filled it up.
“Thanks.” She said then quickly headed off.
Erik watched as B’Elanna left then turned back to Mary, “Now is my chance.”
“What if she has an alarm?”
“She doesn’t, I checked. And I don’t think she locks it all the time.”
“Video cameras?”
“I’m willing to take the chance.” Then he got up and headed for the doors to the Lab. Just as he’d expected B’Elanna hadn’t locked the doors. He walked in and looked around then spotted something near a section filled with instruments and computers. On the side of it were the letters D.T. Erik walked over to the computer where it said configurations for Dimensional Teleporter. “Dimensional Teleporter. Hmm, let’s see what I can learn here. Wait a second, what? Dimensional codes to get to Heaven? Is it just me or does B’Elanna seem to get more and more like her Mother as years go by? I remember her Mother being cooped up in here with her crazy inventions too; I wonder if B’Elanna knows how alike they really are. So this little gizmo is supposed to teleport you to different dimensions? Interesting. Heaven? Heaven is a dimension? Strange.”
“What are you doing in here?!” Erik whipped around and saw B’Elanna there. “Uh, just trying to find out about,..uh,..Horse Racing.”
“Right, well I suppose my invention has to do with horse racing huh?” She said and started to walk towards him.
“Um, I wouldn’t know. Where is your invention?”
“Oh stop, I saw you. And heard you. You know what Erik? You really shouldn’t talk to yourself out loud.”
“Fine. You caught me, so exactly what is this thing?”
“Exactly what the computer says it is.”
“Oh. Well, B’Elanna I think you should stop this inventing stuff. This, Dimension thing. It won’t work, just stop on this. Invent something useful for everybody.”
‘I have to get him out of here, and forget about the Teleporter.’ B’Elanna thought to herself, “You know what? Your right, I should just stop this odd inventing stuff. Especially with this invention.” She said and patted the side of the Dimensional Teleporter.
Erik couldn’t tell if she was telling the truth or not, but he decided to take her word for it, “Okay. Good, well, I guess I’ll go downstairs and get myself some breakfast.” He said and began to leave.
With her back turned to Erik B’Elanna asked, “What you said about Mother and I, was that all true? Are we really alike?” She felt tears come to her eyes, but quickly rubbed them away.
Erik smiled as he looked at her, “Every word of it was true.”
B’Elanna nodded and Erik left. Then she began to work again. “Please forgive me for having to lie to you Erik, but you just don’t understand.”
Erik sighed as he ate his breakfast with Mary, “So what does she have up there?”
“Oh, nothing really.” He said deciding not to tell her about the Dimensional Teleporter.
“Oh. Well, I guess that’s that eh?”
“Yup. You know she is really like her Mother.”
“I know. Strange isn’t it?”
“Really.”
After that it was quite. Erik ate his food, Mary ate hers. And life went on while B’Elanna continued her work.
“That should do it. Yes!” B’Elanna announced. “Now, to see if it works. Well, Mother. I’m coming to get you.” And she entered the Dimensional Teleporter. The computer started up and at the last moment B’Elanna closed her eyes. After a few minutes she opened them again, around her was not the walls of the Lab. But green land spreading in all directions. “Is this Heaven?”
Suddenly a purple dinosaur looking thing with sharp fangs leaped out at her, “AH!” B’Elanna screamed when she saw it. Then started the sequence to get back home. When she was back she got out of the Teleporter and sighed, “Nope, wrong. Not Heaven. At least it works.”
“Let me see here. Well if that wasn’t it, then. Maybe if I put in things all white, true, pure. For the codes. It’ll take me to Heaven.” B’Elanna sighed, “What’s white? How about a cloud? Yep, that should work. True? A flower? Hmm, wouldn’t hurt to try. Pure? Crystal water, good water? I’ll try it. Please don’t take me to mean dinosaur things.” B’Elanna looked at the codes she had created in front of her. “Hmm, it seems to me that something is missing.” B’Elanna shrugged and went to try it. She left then reappeared about 5 minutes later. “Something was most definitely missing.” The dark haired girl slumped in her chair, “Oh I wish somebody would just give me a sign or something.” Then it seemed to get quite cold, and suddenly B’Elanna heard a loud thump. She looked over to see that a book had fallen off the counter. “What’s this?” She said walking over and picking it up. “Dragon’s? The dragon book?”
B’Elanna continued to work all day only stopping every once in a while. Finally she left the Lab locking it up. “Wow, I’m actually going to sleep in my room for once. Bet Erik is going to drop over and faint when I tell him I slept in my room, not in the Laboratory.”
B'Elanna sighed as her head hit the pillow on her bed practically two seconds later she was fast asleep. B’Elanna then started to dream.
“Mother?” B’Elanna said as she opened the door to her Mother’s room.
“In here B’Elanna.” The words came from down the hall, little B’Elanna ran happily towards the library where her Mother was.
“Mommy! There you are! I was so scared, I couldn’t sleep.” Small 4 almost 5 year old B’Elanna looked up at her Mother sitting in a large chair, her Mother looked just like a large version of herself. Only that she had crystal blue eyes instead of almost black ones.
“Bad dream?” Sandy Vawntika asked and her only child nodded, “Well come here then. Let me read you a story okay? It’s about Dragon’s, but not mean Dragon’s these ones are nice.”
“Okay.”
“Once a long time ago. There were two little Dragon’s Smally and Sweetie. They both loved to play and brought happiness to whomever they were with,...”
Little B’Elanna didn’t hear the rest of the story though because she had fallen asleep.
Then the scene changed. B’Elanna had just gotten home from a day of painfully long school, she hated it there. She was to smart for all of them anyway. “Erik? What’s wrong?” She asked seeing a sad butler sitting on the couch in the living room.
“It’s your Mother.”
“Yeah? What is it? Did she send me a letter?”
“No, I’m afraid there has been a terrible accident. She’s, she’s,.. gone.” Then Mary came out of the kitchen.
“What?”
“She’s died B’Elanna, I’m sorry.”
B’Elanna couldn’t believe what she was hearing, “No, you’re lying. She’s not dead. She’ll come back in a few days just like she said she would.” And then she ran up to her room. Days passed, then weeks. B’Elanna’s Mother didn’t come home. They had a funeral, and it was official. Mistress Sandy Vawntika was gone.
B’Elanna woke up suddenly, “Mother.” She muttered, and then thought back to her first dream. “Smally and Sweetie. What happened to that book?” B’Elanna got up and put on her robe, she walked to the library in search of the one book she really wanted to learn the end of.
B’Elanna looked forever to find that book, but she just couldn’t seem to find it. B’Elanna leaned back against one of the walls filled with books, then something hit her head, “Ouch! Hey!” Then B’Elanna looked over at what had hit her, “The Adventures of Smally and Sweetie! I found it, or rather, it found me!” B’Elanna opened the cover and was surprised to see the name Sandy in the front cover. “It was my Mother’s. She liked Dragon’s? She never told me that.” B’Elanna stared at the name for the longest time, but finally she willed herself to go past that and find out what happens to Smally and Sweetie. B’Elanna began to read.
Once a long time ago. There were two little Dragon’s Smally and Sweetie. They both loved to play and brought happiness to whomever they were with.
“Hey Smally? Whatcha doing down there? You’d better not stay down there that long.” Sweetie said to Smally.
“Ah what are you worried about? Besides it’s not like something is going to come out of the cave and hurt me.” But then something did come out of the cave, and he chased Smally around a bit.
“Hey? Why are you running from me? Don’t you want to play? My name is Silly.”
Smally turned back to the large Dragon, “You aren’t going to eat me?”
“No, why would I do that?”
“I don’t know, I just thought you would. My name is Smally and up there is my friend Sweetie. We’d love to play.” So Smally, Sweetie, and their new friend Silly went off to play.
B’Elanna lifted her head, “Well, that was short. And odd. But okay I guess.” She turned the page and found more of the two Dragon’s adventures.
B’Elanna got up and went back to her room, she fell asleep after reading a few more of the short stories about the Dragon’s.
She dreamt about Dragon’s, they were all around. All in different shapes, sizes and colors. She was there, but so was her Mother. They were taking care of the little baby Dragon’s. But then to the surprise of B’Elanna while she dreamt her Mother kept whispering, “Dragon’s. Your invention,..Dragon’s.”
“What do you mean? My invention? What about it?”
The image of B’Elanna’s Mother started to fade, “Dragon’s.”
“What? Don’t go! What do you mean?”
“Dragon’s. Invention. Dragon’s.”
Then the image was completely gone. B’Elanna started to cry, the little baby Dragon’s also started their own wailing.
The next morning B’Elanna rushed downstairs before anybody was awake, she grabbed a lot of food. Planning to lock herself in the Lab while she tried to figure out what her Mother had meant in her dream. She grabbed blankets and everything.
B’Elanna walked into the Laboratory with her arms filled with everything she thought she’d need. She sat down in her chair in front of her computer that was near the Dimensional Teleporter. B’Elanna hastily started to type, not looking at what she was typing, nor thinking about what she was typing.
“Maybe she thinks Dragon’s will destroy my invention? No that can’t be it, all of the Dragon’s in my dreams were friendly and kind. Not the type that would purposely destroy something, besides how could they get to it? That just can’t be it.” B’Elanna thought to herself as she continued to type. “Perhaps she means that Dragon’s will bring her back? No that’s not very likely. What are you trying to tell me Mother? Or am I just thinking that you’re trying to tell me something? What is it? What can it be? Oh, this is just to confusing. I’m supposed to be a genius. Why can’t I figure this out?”
B’Elanna typed for the longest time, a bunch of numbers and symbols flooded the page as she mumbled possibilities to herself. “She must be trying to tell me something. Something about Dragon’s, it was obvious that she liked Dragon’s. But what is she trying to tell me?! No, no B’Elanna don’t get frustrated that’ll just make it harder to figure out. Stay calm you’ll get it.”
Outside of the Lab Erik woke up and began to get breakfast ready, “Today I’ll make breakfast. Mary can sleep in.”
Though within a few minutes he had stuff burning, “Who was I kidding? I can’t cook. That’s why I am the Butler and Mary is the cook.”
“What is going on here?” Mary asked as she walked quickly into the kitchen.
“Oh nothing, just trying to cook for once. I guess I’ll leave that to you then.”
“I think it’d be best that you do that. Now move aside and watch the master go to work. If you want to learn how to cook when I’m not here then please get ready for your first lesson.”
“Okay then. You know what? I think that all of this rain has B’Elanna a bit sad. It’s been unusually cold and rainy lately.”
“Well, maybe. Her Mother didn’t like the rain that much. You know what? Could you go get the mail? I know it’s a long way to the mailbox, but I’m busy cooking and Mr. Vawntika’s monthly letter should be here by now.”
“Yeah sure. I’ll go get it.” Erik walked down the what seemed like a 10 mile long drive way to retrieve the mail. “I wonder what Mr. Vawntika has to say this month.” Finally he reached the mailbox and got the mail. In there were three letters all from Mr. Vawntika. One to Erik, one to Mary, and one to B’Elanna.
Erik then walked back up to the house while reading his letter, “Away longer? Boy, won’t B’Elanna be thrilled.” Erik was right, when B’Elanna came out of the Lab, she was absolutely thrilled, not. Nor was she surprised she just took the letter and said thanks.
B’Elanna read through the letter she had received from her Father, all it said was basically Hello, I’m fine. How are you? I’ll be staying about a week perhaps two longer. If I’m not back in time for your birthday I’m sorry. “Wait? Birthday? Where is my calendar?” B’Elanna said and rushed to find her calendar, finally she gave up and remembered that she had one on the computer, “What do you know? My birthday is coming up. Huh, well Father, if you miss it again. Oh well, you usually do anyway. Why even worry about it. Well, at least you remembered, for once. Now, back to work.”
B’Elanna resumed her frantic typing then, “Heh, I wonder how fast I can type. Last time I was in a typing at school I could go to almost 100 words a minute. I wonder if I’ve improved any. You know what? I need a little music.” B’Elanna said and got a Beethoven CD she put it in and it started to play. “There, that works. Nice calm peaceful music. Now what were you trying to tell me Mother? Do I have to sleep more to try and find out?”
It was like that all day, finally B’Elanna started to get tired and she went to sleep on the floor of the Lab.
In her dreams it was the same as last time, her Mother was with her and they were with Dragon’s. Though this time the Dragon’s themselves seemed to be trying to tell her something as well. They kept saying, “Invention, Dragon’s, Teleport.” Along with her Mother.
The next morning B’Elanna awoke and bolted to her computer, “They added a word, teleport? Okay well my invention can teleport yes, am I supposed to find a Dragon and teleport it somewhere? What are you trying to tell me? Ah! Ooo, it’s too cold in here. Where is my robe? Oh, there it is. Now, where was I? Oh yeah? Teleport a Dragon somewhere? No that just can’t be it.”
“Let’s see what did I have in my codes for the teleporter last time? Clouds, a flower, and crystal clear water. Well, maybe that’s all right, but I have to change one thing. Dragon’s! That’s it, I have to change one of the things to Dragon’s! But which one? Oh shoot, how am I supposed to figure out which one? Eeny Meenie Minee Mo? Something like that? No. I’ll just have to try each one. Let’s see first I’ll do, Dragon’s, a flower and crystal clear water.”
B’Elanna punched in the codes and sighed as the machine started up while she was in it. Then she appeared in a plain field of flowers that stretched a million miles wide, water running somewhere, but there weren’t Dragon’s anywhere in sight. “Mother? Hmm, guess this isn’t it.”
Back in her Lab, she put in the next bit of codes, “Clouds, a flower and Dragon's. That might work.” But it didn’t. B’Elanna came back to the Lab very sad. “Well, don’t loose hope yet B’Elanna there is still one more. Clouds, Dragon’s, and crystal clear water. Maybe this one will work, maybe not, but we shall see right? Right so let’s go.”
B’Elanna punched in the codes and got into the Dimensional Teleporter, “Well, here we go.” And then she was gone, she reappeared in a ordinary looking place. But what was a bit odd was the startled red creature looking at her. She looked at it for a long time, it had two wings, two eyes, a long red body.
*Who are you? How did you appear there?*
“Excuse me? You can talk? What are you? Who are you?”
*Um, I believe that I asked you first.*
“My name is B’Elanna, I can here through a Dimensional Teleporter that I invented, I am from a different dimension.”
*Okay. Well, to answer your first question, Yes, I can talk. Second, I am a Bishel Dragon. Arboreal type. As for your last question, well most people call me The Kailan.*
“Did you say Dragon?”
*Yes, I’m pretty sure that I did, why?*
“Um, well. Just wondering. Hey, do you know anybody named Sandy Vawntika?”
*Sandy Vawntika? No, I don’t think so. But perhaps some of my friends may know. I shall have you speak with Indyana, Jarod, Athena, and Pierre. They might be able to help you.*
“Okay, how do I reach them.”
The Kailan flew a bit closer to her, *I shall take you to each of them. First of all Indyana, for you never know if the other three are with her. They should be though even though they are usually at the Creature Refuge. Oh dear, I just get done with the latest Shantel a few days ago and now this. Well, let’s go. Tell me about this Dimension thing. And where you are from.* Then he started to fly forward a bit.
B’Elanna followed hoping that she would be able to find her Mother here in this world. It seemed to be more, advanced than the others she had been to. With talking, what did he say? Bishel Dragon’s? And all.
They walked, or in his case flew for quite some time before reaching a place where he said Indyana would be. They found her, and after some explaining asked if she knew Sandy Vawntika.
“Nope, I don’t know her. I don’t think Jarod, Athena, or Pierre would either.” At this B’Elanna slumped down to her feet and sat.
“Great. Well, I found a nice vacation spot perhaps. But where is my Mother?! Mother? Where are you? Is this where you were trying to get me to go? Huh?” B’Elanna cried for a long time with her head to the ground.
Just then a faint image of B’Elanna’s Mother appeared in front of her, “Stop crying I’m here. Look up. It’s me. You came, you found the place. This is where I wanted you to come B’Elanna. Those dreams, the book falling off the table. That was me. And you figured it out. You did, oh I’m so proud of you.”
B’Elanna looked up started, “Mother? It is you! You must come back with me!”
Sandy shook her head, “I can’t. I’m sorry. But there is somebody who may be able to.”
“What? What do you mean you can’t? And who else would I take back with me?”
“There is a egg here, a Bishel egg. A different one though, different from the usual ones. You see this one is white, white Bishel’s only show up once a year at the spring festival. I want you to try and see if you can get it. It’s a contest, try and get it. You shall have to read up on them first, and do whatever you must to try and get it. But please B’Elanna for me, try to get the White Bishel Dragon.” Sandy said looking at her daughter then at Indyana and The Kailan. “I must go now, but please before I do. Promise me that when I go, you will ask Indyana more about this special egg and try to get it. Please? Promise me.”
B’Elanna sniffed, “Okay. I’m not sure what you are talking about, I just want you to come home with me. But I promise I shall try, I shall try with all my heart.”
“Thank you daughter. I love you always remember that. And please don’t be angry at your Father, he’ll be there for your birthday I know he will. Tell Erik that I still think of him as my brother and tell Mary that too. I will miss you. Bye.” The image started to fade, but before it was gone completely B’Elanna stood up and tried to reach out to her Mother. But it didn’t work. And Sandy Vawntika was gone.
Slowly B’Elanna turned to Indyana, “What was my Mother talking about? White egg? She wants me to try and get it?”
“Um, yes, please come with me. I have a few things that you must read up on. You are in luck to, we just got new information on the History of the Bishen I hope you enjoy it. I’m one of the judges myself. So, well, come along. I’ll explain to you on the way.
B’Elanna started to follow Indyana, but she stopped and turned around to The Kailan, “Thank you.”
Smiling he merely said, *Well, I'm one of the judges also. But, best of luck to you B'Elanna.*
