Sell you a Bridge chapter 272 (Patreon)

June 7th 2016 The Nightside 1:00 PM EDT

The  other side of the door was...unspeakable. As we stepped past the frame,  the world shifted in an instant, the environment changing from a dingy  alley to what could only be described as a paradise. The bright, golden  sunlight shone down over an idyllic landscape of the most emerald green  grass I could imagine, reflecting off of the clearest, bluest water I'd  ever seen, and sifting through the leaves of the most perfect trees.

The  light from the bright golden sun overhead wasn't hot, or uncomfortable,  and it didn't seem to even cast shadows through the trees somehow, as  if shadows couldn't exist here. The shine of the sun seemed to pierce  through my body itself and into my very soul, as if this place was  literally bathed in happy memories and good vibes. The wind was crisp  and clear while still being gentle and there was a light sweetness to  the fragrance that reminded me of beautiful flowers and sweet treats I'd  loved as a child.

The song of the birds around us echoed  off every stone and blade of grass in a perfect acoustic festival of  joyous melody and the ground under our feet was springy and elastic  without being too soft. All in all this place was an absolute feast for  every possible sense and sensation that any of us had, and my heart was  overflowing with joy and optimism in a way that I'd never experienced in  my life.

It wasn't magic, or mind control, or any sort of  manipulation. This place was just halfway between the real world and  the world of dreams. Like we were somehow standing in that golden moment  between waking and sleeping where all your hopes and wishes are a  reality. Happiness wasn't an effect of being here, happiness was where  we WERE, and I felt tears actively leak down my cheeks at the beauty and  majesty, as well as the simple joy of being in such a wonderful place.

I  put an arm around each of my girls, holding them close and basking in  the feelings of love and affection that being here was amplifying in all  of us, our bond creating a sort of feedback loop of adoration. I wasn't  even self conscious about the tears, because there was no room for  anything like that here. There was no pain, no doubt, no fear, just  peace. Just love. I blinked, and found myself at a river bank, staring  down into the clear blue water as the light played across the surface of  the rippling depths.

I didn't remember walking here, but  then, it was hard to focus on singular moments here. Every second felt  like it was an eternity of joy, but they all passed far too quickly and  were dearly missed after they were gone. I sat down, trying my best to  focus on savoring the time here, since I knew it wouldn't last. If I  just let it wash over me like I had I would miss out on this experience,  and that was the last thing I wanted.

I heard a voice off  to one side, but it took a second for me to actually process the sound  of my name and look over to where Sindella was smiling at me. She was  sitting on the bank next to me, and I noticed that Zee and Drea had  wandered off. I could still feel them with me through the bond so I  hadn't really noticed the lack of physical closeness until just now.  Sindella seemed amused by the time it took me to shake off all  of...this."Are you having a nice time?"

Her voice seemed  to become more melodic as it traveled through the air, as if even by  using this place as a medium for sound it was given happy and uplifting  qualities. I had to swallow and process what was happening before I  could respond. It kind of felt like my brain was on a delay. Not in a  bad way but just as if my emotions were slowing down my perceptions  somewhat. "I...I've never been this happy. What is this place?" My  throat was dry and raspy and I wondered how long I'd been sitting by  this river.

Without thinking I leaned down and scooped up a  cupped handful of water, and as it poured down my throat I closed my  eyes in eager joy. It was the coolest, most refreshing thing I'd ever  had to drink. I forced my eyes back open, and saw Sindella still smiling  at me. When she was sure I was listening she answered my question. "The  Arcadia Project. There are a lot of bad things in the Nightside, but  there are beautiful and wonderful things here too. The Arcadia Project  was an attempt by a powerful group of sorcerers to recreate heaven on  earth."

I must have been making a confused expression (I  honestly couldn't tell) because she laughed. "Heaven and Hell are  forbidden from interfering here. Anywhere else in the world an attempt  to surmount the houses of the holy and create a perfect paradise would  be punished as hubris. Here though, anyone is free to engage in any  pursuit they wish. Not all of those pursuits are terrible and evil.  Granted, this place is mostly used to drain the resources from rich  hedonists these days, but still, it's truly wonderful. Don't you think?"

I  nodded enthusiastically. "I do. This place is like the best therapy in  the world mixed with what I assume ecstasy feels like, with a dash of  mood stabilizer thrown in. I've literally never felt this free or at  peace. I'm surprised people don't stay here forever once they come in."  Hell, if they did I wasn't sure how they would be able to tell. It was  pretty clear that this place seriously compromised the perception of  time.

She giggled at that. "Some do, though most can't  afford it. It took several favors and lots of reputation to get us in  here for an afternoon. Though enough money would do the trick too I  suppose." She stared down at the water contently. "I needed this.  Despite the strong front, I've been more than a bit disturbed since I  returned. Luckily, slowly dying of cancer makes one much better suited  to keeping their faculties in scary and unfamiliar situations. This  might be unsettling, but it's not more than I can handle. Still, it's  nice to be free of the burden for a while."

Though her  words were indicative of mental scars, her voice was completely free of  pain or worry. Being in this place was letting her put down all her  burdens without much trouble, and I imagined it made talking that  through much easier. Since this was the perfect place for a therapy  session, I decided to give her one. I'd gotten lots of practice and  studied up on psychology when I was working with Tina. The young god had  been in bad shape mentally when freed from Darkseid's control, and she  had needed lots of guidance from both Drea and I to get herself even as  right as she was now.

I put a hand on her shoulder. "I get  how you feel." She looked at me, face still pleasant, but I couldn't  imagine what her feelings were like under the influence of this place.  "When we ended up on New Genesis time passed much faster. We were gone a  month, but we came back five years later. I know how it feels to be in a  world full of familiar strangers. To try to fit into a hole in your  life that seems to have partly closed without you there to occupy it,  and how much that chafes emotionally to attempt."

She gave  a slow nod, and for the first time I saw sadness on her face. It was  more wistful than truly painful, but it was there, a negative emotion  even through all this happy juice. Her sadness wasn't self inflicted  though, it was aimed at me. "Yes. I heard. I'm sorry. Sorry you had to  go through that. As much as I appreciate it, I wish my daughter and the  people she loved weren't familiar with the pain I'm feeling. You  children don't deserve that. No one does really, but certainly you less  than most. I am thankful your first instinct is to help me with that  knowledge. My little girl got lucky."

I gave a wide, warm  smile. I pulsed me love and affection through the bonds that were so  everpresent here as I spoke. "I'm the lucky one. Through all the madness  and chaos, she stands by me. I can't describe what she means to me. I  don't have the words. But I love her more than anything. She, Drea, our  daughter. They're part of me. Will always be part of me." I didn't  bother telling her I was being literal. That I could feel them in my  heart. She didn't need to know that to understand how serious I was.  Besides, that was private.

She reached out to ruffle my  hair, which I normally would have been a bit annoyed at, but at moment  just made me roll my eyes. "I know. I can tell how much you care. Thank  you. For loving her and for taking care of her as best you can. She told  me some of the things you've been through and you've kept her safe  every step of the way. You even created a new species for her." She  raised an amused eyebrow. "I'm not entirely thrilled with every aspect  of it. But that girdle was a powerful artifact and that power has made  her strong, so I won't quibble about methods too much."

That  made even me flush a bit. The whole sexual aspect of my girlfriend's  elven heritage was a bit awkward to discuss with her mother. It hadn't  exactly been my call, the girdle had just been the most easily  accessible powerful artifact to use, but it was still a bit cringy to  discuss with her mom. Oddly, that sense of cringe helped me balance my  head because it wasn't really a negative emotion but wasn't positive  either. With my newly gained clarity of mind I decided to change the  subject. "So, are you staying here with us or heading back to Gotham.  We'll be here for a while. We can meet you at Shadowcrest and bring you  to the island if you decide to stay with us, but you don't need to stick  around if you don't want to."

A snort of derision cut off  my words right before I even finished talking. "Please. I know what  you're all planning. I'm not letting my daughter try to break into HIS  place without me. I appreciate you wanting to keep me out of it, but  there's no chance I would leave when I know Zatanna is going to be  engaging in such a dangerous activity. I trust Johnny with my life, and  my daughters too, but even he might not be able to keep her safe in that  place." Her tone wasn't mean or chiding, but it was firm. There was no  way she was going to let this shit go. I supposed I couldn't fault her  for that. I'd have gone if Rana had been in a situation like that.

My  thoughts were derailed by a sound behind me, and I smiled as I felt  through the bond and confirmed it was my girls without even looking.  Sindella stood up, dusting off her pants as she looked over her shoulder  at them. "In any case, I'll let you three spend some time together. I'd  like to get to know the only other member of my daughter's species.  Plus I need to meet her young man. Have to make sure my daughter's  sister has a suitor worthy of her." She waved goodbye and headed off  down the bank as Zee and Drea sat down beside me. I put my arms around  them and pulled them close. I wanted to enjoy this place as much as  possible. There would be time for bigger concerns once we left.