The Inners in Outer Space!

This is a continuation (or rather a walk alongside) to Icewolf’s Tomansion Dimensions (PART ONE … PART TWO)

TomAstreaus, ThomasinAsteria, Tombie and The Inner Werewolf (now going by the name Tommy) hung on for dear life in the Chariot of Fire, haphazardly driven by Fingers, the Inner Typist. They’d managed to fend off a barrage of glowing volcanic pyramid rocks, but all of the items they’d picked up from the fabulous Egyptian Market had been flung out of the chariot, together with Lady TometteNut, the Inner Leader of the Opposition, the Inner Artist, the Inner Child and the Inner Ghost. Secretly, the four remaining whole-bodied Inners and Fingers’ two hands were quite pleased as they had room to move, the chariot being so overcrowded a second or two before.

The Steeds pulling the chariot seemed to have a mind of their own, as they sharply veered off to the left and directly towards the entrance of the Great Pyramid with the Symbol of Seba glowing in Egyptian Gold directly above. The horses’ hooves climbed the steps with ease, but the flaming wheels of the chariot bounced up every single one of them, jarring each passenger in turn, including Fingers, who, although gripping tightly to the reins, was flung in and out of the chariot like a light kite caught up in the midst of a tornado.

TomAstreaus beseeched Sopdet one final time, as he considered the prospect of joining the other Inners who were frantically running behind the chariot in a desperate attempt to climb back on board.

ThomasinAsteria looked behind, urging the others to hurry as the chariot travelled through a shimmering blue light as they entered the Pyramid’s doorway. They all heard a grinding sound, which quickly became apparent to be a large stone slab, which slammed down behind them, locking them inside the Pyramid, and the other Inners out.

ThomasinAsteria was about to speak when Tommy (the Werewolf) growled, looking at the other three oddly. TomAstreaus soon realised what Tommy was seeing. They were no longer dressed as Greek Gods, and the Chariot of Fire they had been travelling in was now a large wooden crate; the steeds, barrels.

Thomasina flung her arms up in desperation. No longer was she able to live her dream as a Goddess, and was now back to her normal self. Still, she told herself, my ephemeral existence as a god will never replace my enigmatic beauty, which I will always have. Tom rolled his eyes as obviously Thomasina had clearly forgotten they could still hear what she was saying.

Their eyes adjusted to the darkness just in time for them to readjust again as bright torches magically lit themselves inside the chamber. The marble room they were in had pillars in every corner, and steps at the back of the room led up to another room, which they couldn’t see as the torches hadn’t come on in there yet. In the centre of the room was a large stone box, with a marble slab lid.

“Now, how are we supposed to get out of here?” Tom asked. Tombie grunted and went to pick up what he thought was one of his fingers, but it turned out to actually be Fingers’ left hand, which had tried to crawl out of the crate. Fingers’ right hand was resting on Tommy’s left shoulder.

“Let’s all try and lift the slab.” Thomasina suggested, adding, “I’m sure the other Inners outside will be doing the same.”

They all tried, heaving with all their might, but the stone wouldn’t budge. Tombie popped his shoulder out, which came as no surprise to anyone. They heaved one more time, collectively, and heard the familiar sounds of grinding stone.

“It’s working!” Thomasina declared, “Keep heaving. Heave!”

Fingers tapped on the stone and pointed behind them. One by one, they slowly realised the grinding noise wasn’t coming from the door, but from inside the room. They turned, and, one by one, noticed the lid of the stone box moving to one side. It fell to the ground once it had slid far enough over.

“You do know we are in a tomb, right?” Thomasina asked, not wanting to state the obvious.

“I hadn’t thought of that…” Tom pondered, wide eyes not moving away from the top of the box.

A bandaged hand appeared at the side, causing all four to jump, Fingers falling off Tombie’s shoulder, which had fell off Tombie together with his right arm – luckily, though, he caught it again with his left hand and reattached it before anyone noticed.

With all eyes now like saucers, they backed into the slab covering the entrance, some with the hope their weight may push it out of the way. That hope, however was in vain, and they watched as a partially bandaged figure sat up in the box.

The figure wore a headscarf over his bandaged face, with bandages also around the neck and the tops of his arms, which matched the ones on the hands. He stood, to reveal he was wearing a schenti, the ancient Egyptian skirt worn by men.

He pulled a stone lever from inside the box, which caused the left wall to split in two, both halves sliding sideways to reveal a large window. Through the window all that could be seen were stars and a large gas cloud.

“Greetings!” the figure from the box said, finally acknowledging the other five. “Although it’s been a very long time, it’s nice to see you all again.” He looked like he was smiling behind the bandages, his one visible eye giving the appearance of a twinkle.

“Again?” Tom asked. “I’ve never seen you before, ever. We’ve just got here, and got trapped here, just a few minutes ago. We’ve just been in Egypt, from the Giant Multi-faceted Nebula Vortex in the Mansion Bathroom which crosses multiple dimensions, and in all of the places we’ve been I have never seen you…”

“I have,” Thomasina interrupted, “I know all the Inners. This, believe it or not, is Tummy, the Inner Mummy!”

“Tummy?!” Tom asked, looking at Tommy who shrugged, and Tombie who tried hard to do the same but couldn’t. He looked back at the mummy. “So you’re called Tummy because your belly isn’t covered in bandages, then?” He didn’t want to go any further with the name.

“Not at all,” Tummy replied. “I would’ve been covered from head to toe in bandages, but I was only partially mummified. You must’ve heard about the Great Bandage Shortage?”

Not wanting to show their ignorance, nobody spoke.

Fingers crawled over to the window and tapped loudly, pointing to the cloud outside.

“Ah yes,” Tummy said, “Welcome to the Canis Major Nebula, gateway to the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy and the stars beyond.”

Erm… to be continued… again!!!