Suddenly cabin, everything in it and around it and more importantly Marie disappeared. He was again in that empty, grey area where he had been in the first place. This time he wasn’t completely alone. Pinhead stood in front of him.
“You’re not too bright individual.” Words sounded almost like an accusation.
“Do you have any idea what kind of damage your little stunt caused?” Somehow he got the feeling he was being scolded.
“You do not belong here. I have no interest in you. I have more important matters to attend to.”
“Where’s here?” He asked. Cenobite harrumphed and he could hear distant sound of rattling chains.
“You are in my domain. And I don’t want you here. There’s nothing I can do for you. You already are such a beautiful specimen, perfect example…” Pale hand rose, infected fingers pointed at him and he felt a jolt going through his forearms. Pinhead was dragging his claws out. Strangely enough it didn’t hurt. They slid out easily, locking to their rightful places.
“Your domain? In Hell? That can’t be right! I’m… I’m in her head!” He started panicking when Pinhead made his hands move with just slight nod. Cenobite stared mesmerized when nine-inch long metal blades whooshed through air in gracious arc.
“You died. You were on your way to her when the dragon intercepted. It caused some ripples. Confusion. Our worlds brushed against each other. The dragon tried to push you over. You pulled it after you. You nearly shattered the balance when you stumbled in. Several smaller Hells collapsed before I managed to stop the reaction. Right now you could say I’m little… How do you humans say it? Oh, yes. I’m pissed off. And I would very much like to get rid of you.” All the while Pinhead had been talking he had been manipulating Logan’s body, and now he stood frozen, small beads of sweat forming to his forehead. His right hand was placed over his thigh, claws just inches from the artery. Left hovered on his throat, warm metal grazing the skin just slightly.
“You have the most intriguing physique. If I were to cut you now, you would heal right up… It would hurt, but not for long. Not long enough… You will never find the true pleasure, and for that I pity you.” Logan let out a relieved sigh when Pinhead released his hold of him and he could sheathe his claws again. Cenobite tilted his head.
“They are calling you. Go, and take your little friend with you!” Violent push, and he was falling. Dragon was there; digging sharp, clawed paws to his back, jaws locked tightly around his neck. He was falling through nothing, towards nothing. Suddenly something solid lurched towards him and he crashed. Collision was enough to knock him out.
“He’s waking up.”
“Look out, Your Highness! He might be dangerous!”
“Oh, hush! I know him! He’s not dangerous. At least not to me. Isn’t that right, sir Wolverine?” Marie asked from him when he opened his eyes. There was something wrong with his eyes. Or he had hit his head hard enough to damage his brain. He was sure of it. There was no other explanation to the sight that greeted him when he sat up groaning. Marie was kneeling next to him, dressed to a frilly pink dress, thin silver band adorning her head. Seven dwarves had gathered around them. He tried to rub his forehead and nearly poked his eyes out with three sharp looking studs that jutted out of a gauntlet on his hand.
“We have to go. That dragon is still somewhere around here. We have to get to the castle to warn the King,” oldest of the dwarves said, taking his hand and trying to jostle him up. Logan nearly laughed out loud, but judging from the faces surrounding him it wasn’t the right time for that. Instead he rolled slowly on his knees and stood up little unsteadily, trying to get comfortable inside of the armor he now wore. He recognized the material immediately. Adamantium.
“When you pulled that dragon out of me it pushed me to its own world. We are both in there now. In a fairytale. Dragon came back here with you. We have to warn the King about it,” Marie explained when they walked through a thick forest. They passed a small cabin made out of cookies and candy canes, and youngest of the dwarves flipped a finger to that direction before hurrying behind Logan’s back.
“That’s nice. And this King… He wouldn’t happen to know how we could get home from here?” Logan asked. Marie shook her head, and nearly tripped over when she accidentally stepped on the hem of her dress. Cuss she let out was less than ladylike.
“He doesn’t. But his wizard does. Merlin can send us back home.”
“Merlin? What is this place? Camelot?” Logan asked.
“This is a world from where all the fairytales come from. Lady Marie accidentally opened a gate between your world and this, letting the dragon out. At first the King was only happy, but he realized soon the catastrophical consequences of absence of the dragon. Without the dragon there’s no need for kings, knights, princesses, castles and queens. The dragon is actually the heart of this world,” one of the dwarves explained.
“Logan? What are you doing?” Marie asked when he stopped and started squirming.
“This thing is hot as an oven. Wait up a minute, I’ll take this off…” He was twisting and turning, trying to find straps that held his armor in place. Dwarves gathered around him and tried to help.
“Yes… I think it’s… Definitely yes,” oldest of them exclaimed and they retreated.
“It’s welded on you. And damn good work, if you don’t mind me saying. Couldn’t find a chink from it. Almost as good quality as Elvin mithril armors.”
“Almost?” Logan asked, cocking his brow.
“Elves usually make sure that there’s some kind of air conditioning. And some way to remove the armor.”
“No shit? Wonder what genius made mine, then…” Logan muttered throwing a dirty glance towards Marie who blushed. He had filtered in here through her mind.
“And how am I supposed to take a leak if I have to?” He asked. Dwarves looked at him puzzled, Marie eyes widening.
“Take a leak?” Oldest dwarf asked.
“If I have to pee.”
“You don’t have to. We are in a fairytale now,” dwarf said smiling.
They were approaching the castle, and started to encounter other characters familiar from different tales.
“Great. More dwarves…” Logan muttered when a band of short, stubby looking creatures blocked their path. Seven dwarves looked absolutely horrified and skittered behind him, peeking the newcomers from behind his feet.
“Not dwarves, hobbits,” eldest dwarf whispered.
“What ever you do don’t call them dwarves…”
“And what have we here? Isn’t it the Snow White and her seven companions? What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be in your mines?” Leader of the hobbits asked. Dwarf elder stepped shivering from his hiding place to in front of Logan.
“We were there, but then we noticed that the dragon returned, and came to warn the King.” Hobbit leader snorted.
“And am I supposed to believe that crap? How are you going to pay your rent if you spend your time slacking around?” He asked, leaning closer to the dwarf, and now Logan noticed they had quite considerable size difference. Dwarf reached barely his kneecap, whereas hobbit towered over it, top of his head on the height of Logan’s hip.
“Frodo, this is really important…” Dwarf started. He didn’t get to finish his sentence. Hobbit sneered and backhanded him cruelly, sending him crashing against Logan’s feet.
“And what are you supposed to be? The Tin Man?” He had to give this Frodo-guy some credit. He was dangling the hobbit from the back of his neck in front of his face. His armored fist, nearly as big as Frodo’s head was hovering in front of hobbit's face, ready to strike.
“I’m sir Wolverine. And these guys are in my company. They have something important to tell to the King, so back off, bub!” And fuck if he didn’t feel like the biggest bully on the schoolyard when hobbit’s lower lip started to quiver. He lowered Frodo back to the ground and let go of him. Hobbit cussed and produced a small sword, more of a dagger from under his cloak. Logan could hear dwarves behind him oohhing and aahhing when the sword started to radiate pure white light.
“I’m going to slice you and use your hide to tie my shoes…” Hobbit growled.
“Yeah. What ever. But we have to do it some other time. We are in a hurry now,” Logan said and kicked him out of the way, herding Marie and their merry crew of dwarves past sulking hobbits.
Gates of the castle were wide open. To Logan it looked dangerous. Anybody could enter, and not everybody in here had only good and noble intentions. Dwarves noticed his sharp gaze sweeping the thick walls, looking for guards and other defensive measures. There were none. Absolutely nothing.
“Have you read the Neverending Story?” One of the dwarves asked from him.
“No. Why?”
“This is the castle they used in it. Princess, or more of a queen, that lived in there was so popular that she had no enemies. No need for guards and stuff. The King wanted to keep it that way. Of course he has guards, but they are so well hidden that they are almost impossible to notice. They can blend in to their surroundings.” Logan shivered. He really didn’t like the fact that there were creatures that were able to fool his senses so perfectly.
Castle was a strange mix of different building styles from different eras. Labyrinths, narrow corridors, large halls, ornately carved pillars and columns. Thick rug under their feet, lavish cloths on the walls.
“Oww… My feet are killing me…” Marie moaned when they stopped briefly to let a bigger party pass them by. She leaned against the wall and tried to rub her ankles, but it was quite impossible task, since she couldn’t find them from under layers upon layers of silk and lace. Logan kneeled in front of her and lifted the hem of her dress. She could hear him cussing and then he disappeared under her skirt. Dwarves exchanged knowing looks and winks. Logan’s fingers curled around her left ankle and she nearly fell when he lifted her leg to take away her shoe, an uncomfortable glass slipper. It flew to the opposite wall and shattered to pieces. Other followed it soon. Fingers brushed briefly chafed skin. Logan emerged from under pink mountain of her skirts angry scowl on his face.
“Fucking glass slippers? Are you nuts?”
“They came with the dress, and… Hey! Put me down!”
Quite a few brows rose among the court when they marched in to the great hall, Marie practically fuming, draped over Logan’s shoulders like some kind of weird shawl, surrounded by an army of dwarves.
“And what is this?” Man dressed as the fool asked.
“Competition?”
“I assure you we have no intentions to take over your job…” Logan grumbled and let Marie down. She smoothed her wrinkled dress and shot him a lethal glance. Dwarves hurried forward, towards the throne where the King sat.
“Can we go look for that Merlin now? I really would like to go home. As soon as possible. I want this stuff inside of me…” He patted his armor.
“And us both inside of our own heads, without this whole crap about dragons and knights and hells and stuff,” he huffed, quiet enough that the fool sneaking around them didn’t hear.
“Uh… I have a feeling it isn’t going to be so simple. We are in a fairytale. Remember how things work out in here?” Marie asked and he groaned.
“You mean we have to go and collect twenty thingamajigs and watchomagigs and throw them down from the mountain of doom before we can go home?”
“I’m sure it’s not that bad… Let’s just go and find Merlin.”
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