The In Between - 6. Enable

06 ~Enable~

“So I want you to draw something that you made up...that I've never seen before," Jordan said. They were sitting on the floor of his new apartment, sparsely furnished, moving boxes all around them. Jordan tore one open, checked the contents, then refolded the flaps and pushed it aside.

"You know you wouldn't have that problem if you had labeled your boxes once you had packed them," Brandon pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I didn't think about that," Jordan mumbled.

Brandon got out his sketchpad, flipped to a clean page and started to draw. He liked sketching people more than objects, which he preferred not to mess with unless he was doing an exercise on perspective or something.

Something new, something new. Brandon closed his eyes and tried to think. He scowled--he liked drawing people not things.

"Stop pouting," he heard Jordan call out and opened his eyes, giving him a mock glare. Jordan just smiled.

Brandon glanced around and saw a box displaying an array of kitchen utensils. A knife. He could draw a knife. No, a dagger--no wait! A sword! He could draw a sword! That would be awesome.

He started to sketch. His dad had a sword, an ancient relic from some ancestor or another, but he had never been allowed to play with it when he was younger. Not that it had been sharp enough to do any damage or anything. This sword though...

Brandon continued to draw. He added a gemstone into an intricately designed hilt and some engravings onto the blade. Probably not historically accurate, but who cared.

Once he was done, he held the sketchbook up and studied it with a critical eye. Not bad, but not something he would want to do every day. He heard a thump and a curse from the bedroom and got to his feet to help Jordan.

"Let me see it," Jordan said later. They were sitting outside on Jordan's small balcony, sweaty and dirty, drinking sodas and appreciating the cold bite the air held as winter prepared to creep in.

Brandon passed it over and Jordan's eyes took it in.

"Wow," he said, and Brandon caught the hint of admiration in his voice and smiled a little. "So," Jordan said, putting it back down. "Do you think this drawing is ready to be Enabled?"

Taking his cue from the way Jordan worded the question, Brandon shook his head. "No."

Jordan gave him a calculating look then nodded. "And do you know why?"

"No," Brandon said, blushing slightly when Jordan rolled his eyes.

"It's just a drawing right now; it's lines on paper. But when I Enable it over, it's going to have properties. And I can't Enable it the way I need to until I know what those properties are."

"Like what?"

"Well, what is it made of? The sword."

"Um...steel?" Brandon asked.

"Don't ask me. It's your sword, your creation. You decide."

"Steel, then, I guess," Brandon said.

"Steel, then," Jordan said. "Write it on here."

Brandon drew an arrow pointing to the blade then wrote down on the other end steel blade. He did the same for every aspect of the sword with Jordan's prompting.

"Now that we both have the properties down, we need dimensions. If I Enabled this right now, this sword would be--what? A couple inches long?"

"It's much longer than a couple inches," Brandon said.

Jordan grinned and nodded. "I believe it. So if I wanted to Enable this sword at it's appropriate length, you would need to write that down here, too."

"How long are swords?" Brandon asked.

Jordan shrugged. "Hell if I know. A couple feet? Probably not much more than three, that would make it too unwieldy."

Because he wanted his sword to be impressive, Brandon put its dimensions at three feet, five inches and wrote that down, too. "There," he said. "Anything else?"

"Nope," Jordan said. "Now we have a visual image of this object and I know what it is composed of and its size, I can Enable it over. So whenever you have to Create something to be Enabled over here, you will have to do that. Especially if it is something that is too big to be drawn on a sheet of paper. You'll have to draw it to some kind of scale, but the Enabler needs to know what size object they'll be bringing over. Okay?"

"Got it."

Jordan got up, holding onto the sketchpad and went inside. Brandon got up and followed him. Jordan sat down on the living room floor in a small oasis of clear space among the jungle of cardboard and tape.

Jordan looked at the picture for a few more moments and then turned the sketchpad around that that the business end of the sword was angled away from them and set it down.

"Okay. Give me your hand." Once Brandon had joined hands with him, Jordan closed his eyes and let his mind open up, giving Brandon's a slight nudge. Something in between them trembled briefly and he felt Brandon open up the connection, like the one they had before when they first bonded. Jordan's grip tightened as he felt that bright wash of energy pulse up against his. He wondered if all Creators had that kind of mental energy, or if it was just Brandon. It was amazing.

"Focus on it," Jordan said softly, opening his eyes. "Hold it in your mind." He placed his hand on the page, let his mind relax and stared at the drawing until it was all that was there, his entire existence wrapped up in those penciled lines. He reached out, stretching psychic fingers, felt a responding pull somewhere down in his chest. He felt the jolting breach of crossing that barrier, and then the sword, glistening, beautiful and real, was just there, its tip a hairsbreadth from puncturing his secondhand sofa. He breathed out slowly, releasing Brandon's hand.

Brandon, his eyes wide, reached forward and picked the sword up with a kind of reverence. "Wow." He grinned and held it out to Jordan. "Here, do you want to hold it?" Jordan shook his head rather emphatically and Brandon frowned, a little puzzled. "What's the matter, blue eyes?" Brandon asked, carefully laying the sword aside. Jordan shook his head.

"Nothing," Jordan said too easily and casually for Brandon to believe him.

"Does it wear you out?" Brandon asked.

"No," Jordan said. "No, I'm using your energy along with my own. And it's not hard for us to Enable; we were made to do it. I'm just--it's nothing. Do it again. Draw something else."

Brandon did a quick sketch of a dagger to match the sword. He varied little on the details, but made sure to give it smaller and more appropriate dimensions. Jordan enabled it again. Brandon wasn't sure if he got the proportions wrong or what, but the dagger didn't turn out as nice as the sword did. It was too heavy and it wasn't very comfortable to hold.

"I don't like it," Brandon decided. "I think I did something wrong."

"That's okay," Jordan said. He looked more comfortable this time. "This is why we practice. Try to draw something else. Preferably something that is not sharp and pointy."

Brandon rolled his eyes, but pulled his sketchbook back towards him and sketched while Jordan closed the balcony door against the chilly air and went to go get them fresh sodas.

Brandon held up his sketchpad when Jordan returned. "Here, try this."

Jordan gave it a stare. "What is this?"

"Statue. Like the ones you see in the Indiana Jones movies. It's made of gold. See?" Brandon tapped the page, where he had written Au and some dimensions out. "Let's try it."

"I'm not sure if I can Enable that."

"Why not?" Brandon asked. "Just because it's expensive? Give it a shot."

Jordan sat down and Brandon placed his hand down without having to be asked. Jordan stared at Brandon's hand resting on the paper before doing the same.

The link clicked into place. Brandon felt a rather strong pull, and then there was a gold statue of a squat, ugly man with his arms and legs curled into his round body lying on top of the sketchpad.

"Wow," Brandon said, picking it up, briefly surprised at how heavy it felt. It hadn't been a very large statue. He glanced at Jordan. "Why did you think this would be harder?"

"I didn't think it would be harder," Jordan replied. "I wasn't sure if it could be Enabled."

"Why?"

"Well, because of the material. No one knows where gold comes from, but it is suggested that they have been formed in the early universe as a result of neutron star collisions. These explosions caused by the colliding stars were the most powerful explosions in the universe, and they believe that probably accounted for the formation of the neutron-rich heavy elements such as gold. So if we can Enable something that could only exist from neutron star collisions-"

"That means we Enabled it from another reality that had the exact same thing happen," Brandon finished. "So you weren't sure if gold existed in other realities."

Jordan nodded. "I can't Enable anything that already exists here, so gold has to exist somewhere else."

"Well, that's interesting," Brandon said, picking up the statue. "So, do you want to put this up on Ebay?"

* * *

They ended up packing the sword, dagger and statue into one of the spare moving boxes, and despite Brandon's vehement protests, Jordan made him drop it off at the Goodwill donation store on the way home.

When Jordan returned to his apartment, he finished getting everything unpacked, turning on the radio to keep him company. He already missed Brandon, which was unusual... He thought that with losing his family, his friends and barely even seeing his brother that he would get used to being alone. That he wouldn't be an easy victim to loneliness. Brandon had changed that. Brandon had changed a whole lot of things.

Jordan smiled a little, thinking of him. Brandon was his everything. He topped the list. He was more important than his friends. More than Nikki, Dalaja, Dylan. He was all he really had right now.

God, that was depressing, but the truth. He knew he wasn't Brandon's number one priority, knew that he probably took a place behind family, Leia, Keith. But that was okay. Jordan could be satisfied with just being in his life. It was all he needed.

~~~~~

The next day, Jordan was doing homework when he heard a beep from his computer indicating an invite. It was Dalaja and Jordan accepted it, smiling as he saw Dalaja's face fill the screen.

"Hi Dala. Make it back okay?"

"Yes we did."

"How is Nikki doing? Any better?"

"Much better now that she is back at home. She's resting right now."

"Good, good." Jordan paused for a moment. "Dala, you told Brandon about reverse Enabling."

"I did," Dalaja said, nodding.

"Why?"

"He asked."

Jordan frowned. "I am aware of that. You should have told him to ask me about it."

"Jordan, maybe he doesn't feel like he can ask you. I talked to Nikki and we think you have been keeping some pretty damn important things from him."

"It's my decision to reveal how much of what we do to Brandon. He doesn't know what kind of shit Enablers go through and he doesn't need to."

"Honey, you can't keep him in the dark about stuff like this. You can't keep hiding things from him. You have to tell him everything, or else he's not going to trust you and you can't be a strong cohesive team." Dala bit her lip. "Nikki has offered to teach-"

"We don't need your help, thank you, Dala, but we are doing fine. Brandon is a good, strong Creator. Incredibly talented. He doesn't need to be scared of what he can do. Just leave him alone. And the next time he has a question about anything to do with Enabling, you need to tell him to talk to me about it."

"Reverse Enabling is just a fun theory. It's not something he was actually planning to do anything with. Otherwise, I would have sent him to you."

"Well, in this case, you should have sent him to me." Jordan was striving to sound neutral but could tell he had failed when Dalaja frowned.

"What are you two going to do?"

Jordan couldn't think of a way to answer that without being dishonest. "Never mind," he said lamely, pushing back from the desk.

"Jordan?" A trace of concerned alarm was beginning to color Dalaja's voice, bringing out her lovely Indian accent. She started to get up from her chair.

"Later, Dala."

"Jordan..."

He switched off the system and sat back in his chair. He drummed his fingers against his desk for a few minutes, then got his phone out and called Brandon, praying that he would answer.

"Hello."

"Hey, Bran."

"What's up?"

"If you still want to go and try to find Leia, it's going to have to be tonight."

"Okay." Brandon's answer was simple and immediate and Jordan felt his gut clench.

"Come on over, then, when you are ready. Bring your sketchpad and whatever you use to sketch with. I'm not sure if they can come with us, but I'd like to at least try."

"Okay," Brandon said. "Anything else?"

"You don't have any sort of medication or anything that you have to take on a regular basis, do you?"

"No."

"Okay. Good. I'll see you soon then?"

"Yeah. It won't be long."

"All right. I love you."

There was no pause on the other end of the line, not even a beat of hesitation.

"I love you, too."

Brandon shut off the phone, his heart jumping and thudding uneasily inside his chest. He had thought he was ready for this, but now that Jordan was ready to take them to this place, he was suddenly full of worries and doubts.

It's for Leia, he reminded himself and felt his mind grow quiet and calm. He went downstairs and saw his mom preparing to cook dinner.

"Mom?" he asked.

"Yes, honey?" she replied in a pleasantly absentminded way, flipping on the oven light and looking in a cabinet. He watched her pull out a packet of noodles.

"Um...can I borrow the car?"

She glanced over. "Why?"

"I need to go see Jordan about something."

"You know, I'm glad that you found someone you like, but you've been spending a lot of time away from home lately. Your sister misses you and your dad and I haven't seen you very much either."

"I know."

"Maybe we can have some family time this weekend."

"That would be nice," Brandon said, feeling at a loss. What was he supposed to say to that on the night he would be leaving for only God knows how long?

"All right." She smiled at him. "The keys are in my purse. Don't stay out too late. If you are hungry, dinner will be ready in an hour. Jordan is welcome to join us."

"Okay, Mom. Thanks." He grabbed the keys and on the way out, he saw Kelly sitting in front of the television. He made a quick detour.

"What's up, lil' pup?" he said, giving her hair a light, playful tug.

"Cut it out," Kelly said, lifting her hand and flipping her hair away from his hands. "I'm not a little kid anymore."

"No?" Brandon teased.

"I'm almost twelve," she informed him.

"I know," Brandon said. He let his fingers dance across the top of her head until she batted his hand away with another sigh of irritation. "I think you're growing up to be a lovely young lady."

She narrowed her eyes. "What do you want?"

He leaned forward, kissed the top of her head. "For you to stay just the way you are. I'll miss you."

She frowned, looked puzzled. "Where are you going?"

He smiled. "Jordan's place. And after that...I really don't know. Take care." And with Kelly's confused eyes burned into his mind, he left his house.

He stopped by his favorite art shop and bought a new sketchpad and a kit of charcoal pencils that included an eraser and a sharpener. When he got back to the car, he stuffed them inside a leather knapsack with a drawstring enclosure. He took a deep breath. This was it; they were going to do it. He drove to Jordan's new apartment and parked the car. He took the keys out of the ignition and stared at them for a moment, then opened up the glove compartment and tossed the keys inside before getting out of the car.

Jordan greeted him at the door with a solemn smile. They sat down and had a quick, light dinner. Brandon didn't have an appetite, but thought that he might need the fuel for whatever was ahead of them.

They sat in the living room after dinner, the light fading around them. Brandon had his knapsack across his back, sitting across from Jordan, the stack of coding between them.

"First things first," Jordan finally said. "Connection time, Brandon. Open up."

Brandon heaved a mental sigh, but cautiously relaxed his mind, letting the mental blocks he carried around drop away. He felt the familiar energy that was Jordan and clicked into it easily. He felt the strong pulse of their joined energy in the air between them.

Jordan gave him a searching look. "It's like what Dalaja told us when we first bonded. If there are any doubts or insecurities about what we are about to do, it needs to come forward now."

"I have no doubts," Brandon said.

Jordan took a deep breath and met Brandon's gaze. "And I have no doubts," Jordan said. "I'm ready to do this. Are you ready to do this?"

"Yes."

"Okay." Jordan got up, knelt down next to Brandon. "I don't know how this is going to work, so try to keep a hold on me. One hand here, on the document."

Brandon slid one arm around Jordan's waist, pulling him tight up against him and placed his free hand on the thick stack of paper. The pages felt smooth and cool underneath his fingers.

Please let this work.

He stared at both of their hands, planted firmly on the stack of papers that were supposed to take them to Leia.

Please, God, let this work. I want her back so bad.

"Okay. Remember when we were Enabling before, those other times? This is similar. This time, instead of focusing on the object, and bringing it outward, we want to focus on the place, on this world. Inward. Into that place, that room."

"The in between."

"Focus on that place. That's where we need to be. Focus there and hold it in your mind. Steady. Don't let it go."

Brandon focused, bringing up all the details fresh in his mind. The gleam of light on the wood and keys of the piano, the bright, bleeding colors of the rug on the floor. The low ceiling and long walls. The cold stone fireplace that was never lit up. He could feel something beginning to grow and pulse in between them, tingling along the psychic connection they were sharing, something that bloomed and grew in intensity. He wanted to ask Jordan about it, if that was normal, but he couldn't tear his mind away from the mental image of that room, couldn't change his focus to something else if he tried, that room was stuck in his mind, rooted there.

He felt Jordan shift and an arm came around him, locking on tight.

From far away, he heard Jordan's voice. "Take a deep breath, Brandon."

Brandon inhaled.

"And let it out slowly."

Halfway through letting that breath out, something between them pulsed, hard and bright and strong, and then Brandon was caught in a horrible sensation, a crush of space around him, then an overwhelming sense of stretch and a complete erasure of any perception of time. There was blackness, an emptiness rushing around him, howling against his ears and then nothing at all except a jarring, thudding impact onto a hard floor.