Will heard Konstantin's babbling only as a distant roar in his ears. Eventually, the inept management avatar vanished back into whatever empty white room he presumably lived in. Will noticed Fiona had reacquired her tablet, and took it from her. He carefully read all the outputs of their previous wormhole session. Fiona snatched it back, read them too, and it took only a few minutes to agree on an attempt to re-open the wormhole as it was before. They double- and triple-checked the settings, and initialised. The wormhole opened, and Will ran his quantum sensor through the air just beyond the event horizon, where a Will and Fiona worked with their backs to the newly-opened wormhole. It came back with a world ID of 266. Will slumped for a moment, and shut the wormhole down. Fiona checked the settings again, and found no difference between the wormhole they had arrived in and the wormhole they had just opened. She gritted her teeth, and tried once more, revealing a Will and Fiona lost in one another's embrace. Will checked the readouts. 502. They reset. Again. 356, in an empty room. They stared at one another miserably.
They heard the distant sounds of an approaching couple, happily discussing whatever idle thoughts crossed their mind. Will and Fiona were in no mood to meet a new pair of counterparts. They pushed themselves into the new, empty room, and closed the wormhole behind them, losing another ring on the other side of the wormhole. Will slouched into a chair, head in his hands, while Fiona paced wildly. She soon stopped, took a deep breath, and pulled out her tablet. She hammered a few buttons, stretched out a ring from her pocket, dragged Will to his feet, and pressed to engage a wormhole. As it opened, she stepped through, dragging Will behind her. He scanned the air as an incredulous Will, sitting alone, looked on. 742. Fiona drew out another ring from her pocket, and just as quickly engaged again. Will followed her, and scanning the air above a panting Will and Fiona on the floor, found an ID of 309. They tried again, 984. The world most-unlike their own they had ever seen. They couldn't see the difference beyond a thin layer of dust in the room as they let the wormhole close behind them, and opened a new one immediately. ID 1240. Will felt his stomach lurch. They seemed to be getting further from home. Fiona saw the number, took a deep breath, and quickly opened a new ring, stepping through and beckoning Will to follow. He did, finding a world ID of 3648. Will put his hand up to still Fiona, but she had already set her tablet down. She turned to him.
'We keep getting further and further from our home Will'.
'I know. I don't know why. In our tests we never even came close to a world this different'. As he said this, the thought struck him that they had no idea how this world differed from their own. 'I think we need to be careful. In two ways. No, three. First, no more new worlds unless this one is dangerous in some way'.
'Agreed'.
'Second, we need to find out if this world
is
dangerous. The further we get from home, the more different the worlds are, and the more unpredictably everyone will behave'.
'Double agreed'.
'Thirdly, and most importantly. On the way here, you went through first, by more than a few seconds. We can't get home, but at least we're together. We might never find a way home, or it might take decades. I don't want to lose you. Please, promise me you won't do that again. We go through
together
from now on'.
Fiona nodded gravely. 'I didn't think of that. Together...' She trailed off. Will heard a 'but' bouncing down from the aether to become reality.
'What is it?'
'If we
do
get separated Will, I want you to go home. Our home, the real home. You know the maths, we'll never find each other stumbling through the worlds alone. We have a meeting place, and it's world zero'.
Will felt his body grow heavy at the thought of wandering for years looking for his Fiona, but he could see the logic. 'Agreed'.
'And if that happens, you should probably fuck as many Fionas as you can. Because once we get home, we're not going anywhere ever again'.
'You can say that again'.
'Oh? Can't wait to fuck those Fionas can you? Maybe I should throw myself into another world right now, and let you have your fun'. Will saw the teasing glint in her eye.
'If you did that, it would be because you wanted them all to yourself, you egomaniac'. He paused for a moment. 'If we really did get separated, would you fuck some Wills?'
'I think I'd rather hold out for a Fiona with a dick. I'm a one-Will woman'.
Will couldn't quite tell if she was joking or not, and was about to ask further, when the door to the office shot open. A giggling Fiona backed in, and turned to face them, coffee in hand. Her laughter was cut short as she saw them. From behind her, a pair of brown eyes framed in long dark hair peered over her shoulder. 'Who-' This Fiona moved her gaze from Will to the original Fiona, and the words died on her lips. The woman behind her sat down hard on the floor, and Fiona-3648 whirled to tend to her. Will became aware of his Fiona tugging on his sleeve. He looked to her to see a manic grin on her face, mouth open, shaking with excitement. She tried to speak, but clearly couldn't form the words. Instead, she looked to Will, then to the woman sitting by the other Fiona. Then back to Will. Then back to the strangely-familiar looking woman. Her grin only intensified at Will's confusion. He turned to look at the dark-haired woman on the floor, and heard the other Fiona speaking to her.
'Willa, are you all right? Do you need some water?' Fiona squawked beside him, clutching his shirt in her hands.
'
Willa
'. Realisation dawned on Will, just in time for Fiona to practically explode in delight. In a torrent, she burst out who they were, how they had discovered travelling between worlds, and, deflating only slightly, how they were now lost. Fiona-3648 and Willa listened, rapt. Will found himself watching with almost clinical detachment as they discussed their story, most of it having become automatic as they encountered Wills and Fionas before. His Fiona was taking the lead, as always. His counterpart, Willa, was watching and listening keenly, though the conversation flowed mostly between Fionas. He found his gaze kept returning to her. He couldn't see too much of himself in her, but based on Fiona's reaction, it must be there. He watched her gnaw on her lip as she listened. He realised that he did exactly this as he thought, and that he found it absolutely adorable. He lost himself for a moment, wondering if this was how Fiona felt when she saw herself, or if she was purely driven by the kink. He had never thought of himself as attractive, so why was this version of himself so compelling? He forced himself to look away, and saw a familiar sight.
'So you're telling me that with a wormhole ring like this,' Fiona-3648 said, pulling a ring from her pocket, 'we could visit other worlds?'
Fiona could barely suppress a grin, and Will shook his head, already seeing how the next few minutes would play out. 'Yes, a ring like this', she said, as she snatched it from her double's hand, 'will do just fine. In fact, let me set it up now!'
Fiona-3648 reddened, and Will almost felt sorry for her, before realising that she, as a Fiona, would want this just as much as his own did. 'Well, not that
exact
ring'.
'Why not this. Exact. Ring'. Fiona pressed the button on the side to activate the ring, and was met with a bare slit. Will kept his eyes on Fiona-3648, waiting for the tell-tale shudder when his Fiona planted a kiss on her most sensitive spot, and saw nothing. Instead, a high squeak came from just beside her, as Willa jumped in shock. Fiona for her part seemed taken aback. 'I'm sorry! I thought this was me! I mean you!' She thrust the ring back at her counterpart, who mumbled back.