Basil was pacing the room by this point.
"I don't understand."
"It's not that you don't understand. It's that you don't want to understand." Basil shook his head at Nyla's remark.
"So, am-," Basil stuttered, Pip had never seen him this flustered before, he was always calm and collected, " Am I...Antony?"
Nyla hesitated, "...Yes." It was so quiet Basil almost didn't hear her.
"Why?" Basil swallowed, his throat was dry and his hands clammy.
"Why what?"
"Why go through all this trouble." Nyla's brows furrowed in confusion, "I mean, what does he want with me? There's nothing special here," Basil gestured to himself.
"Don't say that, " Pip said, "You're one of a kind."
"Thanks, Pip." Basil smiled, "But I was talking more along the lines of freaky magic shit that's going on here."
Basil stopped, turning back to Nyla, "Wait, you didn't even know it was me he was after."
"Well no, but as soon as I disappeared with you, he became obsessed with finding you, it just drove home how far you needed to be from him."
"Why didn't you stay with me?"
Nyla cocked her head, "Come again?"
"Why did you abandon me?" Basil enunciated every word.
Nyla was at a loss of words, "Uhh"
"You know what nevermind. It doesn't matter anymore."
Basil sat back down on the couch. Pip put his hand on his thigh in an attempt to comfort him.
"Okay, back to the matter at hand." Basil's hands were shaking now. He didn't know why. He didn't even understand what was going on, "Why does he want me."
"Oh that's easy, he wants to use you to take over the world or something along those lines."
Basil laughed, "That sounds ridiculous."
"Oh." Charles leaned the desk, "You mean like the two different climates happening inches away from each other?"
Basil didn't have anything to say to that.
"Well," Pip piped in with a question of his own, "How does Basil play into all of this?"
"It's more his blood that he's after-"
"Charles"
"What, he was gonna find out eventually. May as well rip that bandaid off right now."
"What do you mean my blood?"
"I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell you," Nyla admitted.
"Too late for that."
Nyla decided to start off slow, "Well as you can see, we aren't in your world anymore."
"What?"
"Hold up," Basil and Pip said at the same time.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you can't possibly think all this can happen in your world. I mean sure you can try. Don't know how successful you'll be."
"Why would I assume I was in another universe-world-whatever you wanna call it? It looks exactly the same." Basil was scowling at this point. "You know what, I don't care. I don't care that I'm in this strange new world or that I might be taken prisoner by some madman who may, or may not take the blood from my body." Basil's chest heaved, he had practically said all that in one breath.
"I just want to go to bed." Basil started toward the door, "Come on Pip."
Pip got up, "The tea was lovely." Basil stared at him, "What?" He whispered once he was next to him.
"Don't compliment her or anything she does."
"Why?"
"Why? Because I hate her, that's why." Basil exasperated, "And you should hate her too, on my behalf."
Pip chuckled, "Okay."
They made their way back to the room they shared on the other side of the compound.
After washing up they both slipped under the covers, the second bed in the room abandoned.
"God, why is it so cold in here?" Pip pulled the cover's closer to his body.
Basil wrapped Pip up in his arms.
Pip's cheeks flushed and he looked away from Basil, "Thanks Bay."
Basil nestled his face in Pips neck, "No problem."
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