Synopsis: Differential Integration (a Sir Differel adventure)

Aelfraed enters Differel's office carrying a lunch tray, and finds her staring at a double-picture frame, her head propped up on one hand leaning on the elbow while she taps a pen on the desk top with the other. Aelfraed knows which pictures she's staring at. One is a recent picture of Henry, the other an old photo of Victor. He also knows she's been moping for the past three weeks, ever since Henry went back to the Plunketts. And he knows she's been trying to resolve a personal dilemma: whether to tell Henry his father is still alive. He sets the tray down as she pushes back her chair and stands up. She looks out a back window into the garden, and as Aelfraed sets out her lunch, she announces she's decided to tell him. But she wants to go further: she wants him to meet his father. She orders him to prepare her private jet; she wants to bring Medb and the girls there to consult.

Dracula appears to the girls and gives them a letter from Differel, then vanishes. It is an invitation to them and Medb, and explains Differel's purpose. The girls inform Medb and they decide to accept. They wonder if she knows what's going to happen already, but she assures them that, since they no longer can go to the Dreamworld, she is as much in the dark as they are.

Differel contacts Muriel Plunkett to tell her she wants Henry to visit for a four day period. Muriel tries to deny permission, but the agreement she made with Differel through their solicitors permits Differel a limited number of on-demand visits each year, provided she pays for tutoring services so that Henry does not fall behind in school, and she is exercising one of those now. Muriel promises to have him ready by the next day.

In the Dreamworld, Differel discusses the issue with Victor. Though uncertain, he finds the prospect of meeting Henry again too tempting, and he agrees to try it.

The next day, while Aelfraed drives down to Suffolk to pick up Henry, Differel meets the girls and Medb in London. She asks them to say nothing to Henry, she will tell him later, and she discusses options with Medb. Medb is reluctant to use the potion on Henry. She's never used it on someone as young as him. Bringing Victor into the Waking World is the only viable option. There is a way it can be done, but there are risks. She tells Differel to discuss it with her Dreamworld counterpart.

Henry arrives, and the five of them spend the day together having fun. After dinner, when Differel puts him to bed, she explains about Victor in the Dreamlands. Henry isn't sure whether to believe her, but Differel promises he will have proof in the morning.

That night in the Dreamworld, Differel meets with Victor, Medb, and Team Dream-Girl to find out how Victor can visit the Waking World. She finds the table-turning rather interesting. When she first started coming to the Dreamworld, the girls were from her own time, while this Medb was from an earlier time. As such, the girls would tell Dream-Medb about events that were in her future to prepare her to intervene as a deus ex machina in their Waking World adventures. However, that also meant the Waking-Medb knew about things that were going to happen before they actually did, both in the Waking World and the Dreamlands. However, when the girls "died" in the Dreamworld, they were replaced by versions of themselves from far in Differel's future, after they had lived a full life and died for real in the Waking World. As such, they knew things that would happen, in both the Waking and Dreamworlds, that Medb knew nothing about because she was still to experience them. But that also meant Differel told the Waking girls about her adventures in the Dreamlands to prepare them for their future. As a result, when the girls advise against trying, she takes it seriously. However, since the girls would not tell her why, for fear of changing the timeline, she decides to go ahead and try, with Victor's consent. Medb warns them that any slipup could spell disaster; since Victor no longer exists in the Waking World, if he dematerialized there for any reason, he would be gone for good. However, he and Differel are willing to take the risk.

Over the next few weeks, Medb, with Sunny's help, devises a torc that uses pieces of gems ensorcelled to stabilize a Dream form. When Victor puts it on, he finds the snug fit a bit uncomfortable, but Medb explains it has to be a tight fit. The torc must maintain physical contact at all rimes. If it is removed even for a moment, he will dematerialize and be lost forever. He understands and accepts the restriction.

With the Cotswold gate destroyed, the fastest way into the Waking World is through the ghoul tunnels. Victor, Differel, the girls, and Medb travel into the Underworld to the Crag of the Ghouls, and they agree to take him to the cemetery on Differel's estate. They take the group to the edge of the Dreamworld and they wait until Differel disappears upon waking up. The ghouls then lead Victor into the Waking World. Once he is out of sight, Eile tells Medb they have a very long journey ahead of them, and they have to get started now if they wish to make it on time.

As soon as Differel is awake she throws on some clothes and rushes out to the cemetery. She finds Medb is already there. After a short wait, Victor emerges from the family crypt. After he and she embrace and kiss, she takes him back to the manor. The girls are already having breakfast with Henry. When Differel introduces Victor to Henry, the boy is cautious and suspicious, but with encouragement from the girls and his mother, he goes up to Victor and touches him. Discovering he's real, he throws his arms around him, and Victor hugs him back.

The rest of the day, the girls entertain Victor and Henry around the manor as Differel catches up on her backlog of work. When Aelfraed asks her about that, she explains there will be plenty of time for her and him after Henry goes to bed. She rejoins them at dinner, and afterwards watch a movie together. Dracula appears and respectfully greats the consort of his master before gping off to perform his nightly duties. Victor puts Henry to bed, and he, Differel, Medb, and the girls sit around and reminisce. Then Medb and the girls retire, leaving Differel and Victor alone. They talk for awhile about what's been happening in the Waking World, then she shows him to the master suite. They spend the night together there.

In the morning as they all have breakfast, Muriel Plunkett shows up unexpectedly; the girls take Henry away. When she sees Victor, she at first thinks it's a trick meant to rob her of any influence over Henry, but when Medb tells her he's from the Dreamworld, she shuts up, and Victor and Differel realize she was once a Dreamer. She admits it, though it was before Medb's time, and she met Victor's father in the Dreamworld. Both of them "died" there, but they got together in the Waking World and married. Victor realizes he understands his mother and father a bit better now. Differel decides to leave them alone, and she and Medb depart. For all their antagonism, they are still mother and son, and Differel is beginning to understand what that means.

Muriel stays for the day and joins in on the activities, while Differel again works. What she sees of them presents her with a different picture of her mother-in-law. Since that night is Halloween, the staff have spent the past two days preparing a party in honor of Henry and Victor. As a magnanimous gesture of reconciliation, Differel invites Muriel to stay the night and participate. Differel also gives the entire staff the night off. A large bonfire is erected in the landscape park beside the lake and lit at sunset. Decorations include jack-o'-lanterns, scarecrows, skeletons, and inflatable ghosts. Games include bobbing for apples, eating a sticky bun hanging from a string, a candy hunt, and divinations. Treats include colcannon and barmbrack (in deference to Medb), bonfire toffee, caramel apples and apple tarts, caramel corn, roasted sweet corn, soul cakes, and other breads, confectionaries, and pastries, along with nuts and fruits. Drinks include punch, hot cider, beer, wine, and whiskey. Aelfraed performes a magic act, while Sunny tells ghost stories, and some of the staff play, sing, and dance. A fireworks display is planned for midnight.

As midnight approaches, Differel considers sending Henry to bed, but he is having so much fun with Victor, that she decides to extend his curfew. At one point, however, she receives a report from a security patrol doing a circuit around the park of strange lights coming from the megalith. Not wishing to disrupt the party, she decides to investigate on her own, with Medb and the girls. Taking a cart, the ride out to the stone circle, but as soon as they clear the woods they see the megalith illuminated by a bright light. Medb identifies it as fairy fire, a manifestation of the Otherworld. As they approach, numerous sluagh emerge from the fire and range over the land looking for victims; a large number head for the party. They all race back as Differel orders an evacuation. Guards present open fire, but the bullets have no effect. Some people are carried off before Dracula appears. His pistols seem to have an effect, and he guards Henry and Victor. When Differel and party arrive, Differel summons Caliburn, which also seems to have an effect, as Medb blasts them. However, more people are carried off before Sunny discovers by accident that fireworks frighten them off. Aelfraed organizes a defense, but three sluagh attack Dracula and one snatches Henry. Victor grapples with it as Differel and the girls come to the rescue. Sunny shoots it with a Roman candle, making it drop Henry, and Differel cuts it down, but accidentally hits and breaks the torc around Victor's neck. As Victor starts to fade out, Differel hugs him. At first it feels like grabbing a sheet flying away on the wind, but then he solidifies. Then Medb chases off the remaining sluagh with a burst of light.

Even as Differel is about to release Victor, Medb orders her not to. How her contact is able to keep him corporeal she doesn't know, but she speculates that when Differel bodily entered the Dreamworld, she somehow picked up the ability to materialize Dream matter. Unfortunately, it will last only as long as she holds him. They must return him to the Dreamworld to save him, before Differel grows tired and accidentally lets go. Differel orders herself handcuffed to prevent her hands from slipping off. She assumes that they can get Victor home through the ghoul tunnels, but Medb rejects that idea. Only Waking material can pass back and forth. The torc was able to give his body enough substance to mimic Waking matter, but now he is little more than a ghost, even if a solid one. They must get him to a gate, and the only one she knows of is in Colorado. Differel orders Aelfraed to have the jet made ready, then asks Medb about the people taken by the sluagh. Medb informs her they are gone and cannot be rescued.

While Aelfraed takes charge, Differel and Victor head for London with Medb and the girls. Henry and Muriel insist upon coming along, and Differel has no time to argue. They take off around midnight, with Royal Air Force fighters escorting them. About an hour into the flight, they are attacked by sluagh. Successive waves are driven off by using decoy flares, but eventually the flares run out and the fighter planes are destroyed. Medb begins chanting, which somehow keeps them at bay, but it's obvious it's taking all her strength. Two hours later, she is beginning to weaken, and the sluagh begin buffeting the plane. However, they are again driven off by intense bursts of light. An antiquated B-58 moves in above them and provides cover by firing thermite flares. On board is Lt. Gen. Morgan Leia Ross. She received word from Aelfraed and everything is ready in Denver. Unit 666 has had experience with sluagh before, hence the thermite flares: lots of light but no real concussion. As she's now riding shotgun, she suggests they get some rest, they won't get any after they land.

With the emergency over for the time being, Muriel asks what happened back at the manor. Medb explains that Halloween, or Samhain in Ireland, is one of the two times of the year when the barriers between the Mortal World and the Otherworld break down and the inhabitants of both can cross over at will. The megalith is a place where the barrier is weak even under normal circumstances. She suspects the party caught the attention of sluagh. They are spirits of the unsanctified evil dead, and they hate the living; they need no other reason for attacking. Fortunately, the light of day will dispel them and they will return to the Otherworld at dawn; that's why they are afraid of bright light. Unfortunately, they need only follow the night to remain in this world, and though the flight to Denver will take nine hours, because they are chasing the sun west, it will be only 2 AM local time when they arrive. And dawn will not be until 7:30. Differel asks what became of her people taken away. Medb doesn't know. She hopes there is a chance they may be alive, but she wouldn't count on it. Muriel berates Differel for putting Victor and Henry in danger, saying this is why she never wanted them to marry or to allow her to see Henry. Victor and Differel fight back, and a nasty three-way argument ensues until Henry screams at them to stop fighting. Bursting into tears, the girls take him into a back cabin to sleep. Medb tells them that they can fight about this later; for now, they must cooperate, both for Victor's life and Henry's peace of mind. They agree to table the discussion, though Muriel is clearly unhappy. She goes forward to sleep in a flight seat while Differel and Victor head back to the remaining cabin. They look in on Henry; he's curled up with Sunny in bed and both are asleep. Eile whispers everything's fine. She helps Differel shift herself around to face Victor, and to remove their jackets; Victor's disappears as soon as it's off his body. She then helps them lie down before going back to Henry and Sunny.

Differel recriminates herself for the loss of her people and the RAF fighters. Fortunately, Gen. Ross seems to have everything under control. Victor tells her that Unit 666 is a US government agency with access to all its resources, but she reminds him the Caerleon Order is suppose to be the same, except that her incompetence handicaps the bureau. Victor tells her to stop, saying he is sick and tired of her constant self-denigration. He warns her that if she doesn't stop beating herself up, he will divorce her. That shocks her enough to make her angry and being unable to storm off, they are forced to hash it out. In the end, Victor acknowledges that it is her dedication that makes her so driven, and he understands her past experiences have had a profound effect on her, but she must understand that everyone makes mistakes; the crime is only if you never learn from them, and she has. Besides, sometimes crap just happens, and it is impossible to anticipate and prepare for every possible contingency, especially when you have no idea there even is a threat. She also needs to trust in herself. She is no longer that naïve, arrogant, headstrong, and inexperienced girl from thirteen years ago, and she is getting more unlike her every day. Differel apologizes for her temper and admits that he's right, she's just having trouble convincing herself of it. He then admits that he deliberately made her mad to get her out of her funk. Piqued, she bites him on the nose. Laughing, he further admits he's always wanted to experiment with some bondage games, and this seems like a perfect opportunity to try it out. Despite the difficulties, they manage to make love.

As soon as the jet crosses into US airspace, it picks up an escort of four F-22 Raptors, taking up a tetrahedral formation. The sluagh continue to harass them, but the B-58 keeps driving them off. Any that get too close are targeted with an air-to-air missile that explodes with a burst of light. Eventually they land at Buckley Air Force Base outside of Denver. The sluagh try to attack during the landing, but anti-aircraft guns open fire. Ross meets them on the ground and ferries them in jeeps across the field to awaiting helicopters while an AC-130 gunship takes off in the distance. As marines fire flares at the sluagh, everyone gets on board an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter, which takes off along with a half-dozen RAH-66 Comanche attack helicopters. They then head west over the city and into the mountains. The gunship passes back and forth over them, providing cover by launching flares, while the attack helicopters deal with any sluagh that get through by shooting tracer rounds. Muriel asks why the sluagh are still after them. Medb doesn't know, but she cannot rule out the possibility they are after Differel. Regardless, this behavior is not inexplicable, because it is impossible to predict the actions of the sluagh.

After an hour they arrive at a rendezvous point. Two platoons of Marines await them, armed with shotguns modified to fire flares and light guns, essentially powerful flashlights. The girls and Muriel accept weapons, but when Victor takes one it turns into a club. Dracula appears, but stays clear of Victor, instead teams up with the girls to protect Henry. The adults except Victor are given nightvision gear, but Dracula doesn't need it. He hoists Henry onto his shoulders while Muriel helps Victor and Differel negotiate the rough terrain, and they start out with Medb leading the way. Strangely enough, while the sluagh track them, they keep clear, except for picking off an occasional careless Marine. Medb wanders aloud if it is due to Dracula, but Ross and Differel are just grateful for the respite.

After three hours, they reach their destination. The gate is formed by two huge trees growing close together, with a space between them. It is daytime in the Dreamworld, and a verdant hilly countryside is visible through the opening. For a brief moment, the girls think they see Medb and themselves, but decide it was just wishful thinking. Differel is surprised Muriel lasted as long as she did, especially since she helped support them both. The sluagh mill around the gate, but do not attack. Ross deploys the Marines in a cordon to cover them. Victor says goodbye to everyone and he and Differel approach the gate. Before they can enter, however, a figure emerges from the woods: a gigantic shrouded anthropomorphic being with a jack-o'-lantern head; Medb identifies it as Tine Ghealáin. He is the spirit of Halloween, who enters the Mortal World at dusk every October 31, only to return to the Otherworld at dawn every November 1. He leads his army of spirits, Faeries, and monsters across the world, doing mischief, but has grown tired of this existence. He wishes to dwell in the Mortal World permanently, and has discovered that if he enters the Dreamworld, he can return to the Waking World anytime he desires, if only for a single night. However, he did not know the location of any gate within the Waking World, and the Otherworld has no direct access to the Dreamworld. When he sensed the presence of Victor in the Waking World, he knew this would be a chance to fulfill his desire, and he sent his sluagh to attack the party, hoping to manipulate Differel and Medb into leading him to a gate. He also kept the sluagh harassing them to spur them on. It all worked out better than he had hoped. Differel and Ross defy him, but Medb silences them, saying that he has won. However, she has the power to hold him until dawn, though she cannot deal with him and the sluagh at once, meaning that all the others are in danger. Therefore, she offers a deal: she will let him pass through the gate unimpeded if he releases all those his sluagh have taken. He agrees, and the sluagh swoop down, depositing the captives, unconscious but unharmed. The only ones still missing are the RAF pilots, who were killed when their planes were destroyed. Medb orders everyone to stand clear, and Tine Ghealáin passes through. Before he does, however, he pauses and signals the sluagh to attack.

Medb orders Differel and Muriel to get Victor through the gate as Ross and the Marines provide covering fire. Differel does as Muriel covers them, then she passes through herself. Once they are through, Ross orders, "Now!" through a walkie-talkie head set. Lights come on above them, and the whole area is illuminated as if in daylight. Sluagh caught in the light vanish back to the Otherworld; others try to hide in the shadows of trees, but are flushed out using the lightguns. A few make it through the gate. In minutes the sluagh have all been banished. Ross orders the lights shut off. The girls ask what happened, and Ross explains that months ago Medb had alerted her to be ready for this day, and had Mabuse create a powerful searchlight that could reproduce the intensity and wavelengths of sunlight. A dozen CH-53 Super Stallion helicopters have been hovering some 17,000 feet above them, each with a light attached to the underside of their fuselages, ready to activate and flood the area. They just had to wait until the captives have been released. The girls then look towards the gate and wonder aloud what will happen now that Tine Ghealáin is loose in the Dreamlands.

As soon as they pass over, Differel's handcuffs turn into rope bonds and Muriel's shotgun into a sword. Medb, with Sunny's help, is dueling with Tine Ghealáin. Eile rushes up and cuts Differel's bonds, then passes Victor a sword as Differel conjures Caliburn. Then they and Muriel deal with the sluagh who come through the gate along with another warrior whose face is hidden. They make short work of them, and as they go to help confront Tine Ghealáin, Medb banishes him from the Dreamlands. Muriel is surprised by how old the girls are, and that they can be here while also in the Waking World, but Differel explains they come from their own future, after they have died, and asks that she not say anything to the Waking girls. When they thank the unknown warrior for his help, he reveals himself to be Edward Tiberius Plunkett, Victor's father and Muriel's husband. He is now a duke for the Doge of Sarrub, and has been a friend of the girls for some time. When they arrived in Sarrub a number of months ago and asked for his help, he agreed out of friendship, but never dreamed it was to help his own son. They only told him after they arrived . He is overjoyed to have a chance to see his family again, especially his son as a successful man, and the daughter-in-law he never met, though the girls have told him of her. His only regret is that he cannot meet his grandson. Differel contradicts him, and returns through the gate to retrieve Henry; with the crisis over, it should be safe. The girls retire to remain unseen, and Medb allows a short reunion, but after a short while, she declares that they must part. Differel sends Henry back through with Muriel, then says goodbye to Victor. Just before she crosses through the gate, however, she looks at the girls and thanks them for saving the day. Sunny grins and quips, "Hey, you can't be the hero all the time!"

The party returns to Buckley by dawn. Medb and the girls remain behind with Ross, while Differel returns to Britain on her jet with Muriel and Henry. When she puts Henry to bed for a nap, she apologizes for how his reunion turned out. He seems unconcerned and instead is happy that his father is still alive. He asks if he can see him again. Differel says she cannot promise anything, but she can see. She adds, however, that she visits him every night in dreams, so she can deliver messages. Henry seems satisfied with that and kisses her goodnight as she hugs him. In the cabin, before Differel can immerse herself in work, Muriel asks to speak with her. She tells Differel that nothing has changed: it was a mistake for Victor to marry her, her association with Henry puts him in danger, she still intensely dislikes her personally and has little doubt the feeling is mutual. But, she is grateful for the chance to have seen her son and husband again, and she understands that Differel loves Victor and Henry enough to sacrifice and die for them. While she will continue to work to remove her from Henry's life, as the best thing for his welfare, she will no longer consider it a disaster is she fails. Differel tells her that the feeling is definitely mutual, and she will do everything in power to thwart Muriel's efforts to undermine and discredit her with Henry, but she understands Muriel better now, and she can no longer see her as anything other than a concerned mother and grandmother. With that they nod and go their separate ways.