"Yeah your right." He says and squares his shoulders.

Xan pats his hip and smiles up at him.

  Up the steps Dean continues, trying hard to focus on each step.  He has Jill in his arms.  Her warmth, her scent comforting him subconsciously as he keeps moving.  The added weight of carrying her was inconsequential.  Not only was she light and fit, but he was strong, and he could have been carrying way more weight than Jill accounted for.

  The steps though were having some kind of effect on him without a doubt.  They were pulling at his mind, numbing it so the only thing registering in his conscious thoughts were the stairs.

  Step...step...step...

Dean's steps take him in a different direction a different tug then the one Barbara felt. Soon when they came to a split Dean took a turn and off he went carrying Jill. He went up a flight into what looked like stairs that looked like piano keys that lit up as he strode them though they didn't make noise.

In reply to Little Mammoth (msg # 261):

Numb to all else, the pull of the stairs is insistent, drawing him up a white and black path.  Jill was gripping him tightly, looking around to see if the others were moving up the same path, or following a different route.  All the while, Dean followed the indomitable will of the staircase.

Dean Comes to stand before a gilded silver and ivory door.

Thrust into the silver gilding of the door is an ebon sword and a snow white sword.
Below Dean's feet the floor is checkerboard of white and silver.

Barbara looked at the door and sword curiously

Dean looks back and forth at the door, the swords, and the floor several times.

  "It's some kind of a choice, or a test, or something...isn't it?  Some kind of cosmic puzzle to see what I'm made of?  The floor and the door are silver and white, and one of the swords is white too.  The one thing that is incongruous is the black sword.  It begs the question though, is black a representation of evil, or merely something different?  Is white pure?  Is silver an even higher elevation of purity?  What symbologu then is the checkerboard floor?  Am I a piece in some greater game?  A pawn?  A knight?  A king?"

Jill says, "I only know we have white hats and black hats back home to represent good guys and bad guys. Usually people fear the dark."

  "I've worn a lot of black, but I've always thought of myself as a good guy.  Hell, I imagine back in the Marines the enemy didn't see it that way though.  To them, I was the bad guy.  To the people I saved though, I was the good guy.  Shit, at the club I was a little of both, I guess, depending on what side of the line you fell on, huh?"

  He stops and looks into Jill's eyes for a long moment, seeking the answer.

  "What am I to you?  How do you see me?"

Jill smiles, "I think your a good guy, but your a real good guys not some comic book unrealistic good guy. I have always seen you try to help people."

  "Then I suppose it's time I try on the white hat, hmm?"

  With that, Dean shifts his left arm slightly so that it frees up his right arm as he carries Jill.  With her arms around his neck and her dancer's body he could carry her like this for days.  Reaching out with his right hand he holds his breath and takes a grip on the white sword.  He doesn't try to pull just yet but waits to see if anything happens first.

Nothing untoward happens though he feels a dislike for the black sword and somewhat for Millenia. The white sword feels cool and solid in fact it feels more solid than anything he has ever felt before except perhaps the Grand Stairs themselves. There is a feeling of certainty of being part of something far larger then himself.

 "That's...strange." he says out loud, "Not bad, but strange."

  In his head he tried to remember the things that Millenia and Sky had told him about the Eidolon and Umbra.  Eidolon represented permanency, which was Sky's domain.  Umbra was decay and change, which was Millenia's thing.  The white sword must be something of Eidolon.  That'd track, with the sudden feeling he felt toward Millenia and the black sword.

  He tried to mentally push the feelings aside, but they hung like an aftertaste.  He'd have to be mindful of them.

  He tried withdrawing the sword from the door.  Maybe it was some King Arthur stuff.  If that doesn't work, he tries twisting it slightly, because maybe it was a doorknob.  If that didn't work, he'd try to push it open.

The sword springs free easily sliding free with no resistance at all even though it looked as if it should have been more of a struggle to pull it from just the restriction in the gilding it was held in.

The sword for a brief moment comes apart into component pieces. He could see how it was put together in that brief moment. He could see the Grand Stair in it's immensity. He sees it like the checkerboard floor stretching to infinity. It is not so smooth and orderly as the checkerboard pattern. Suddenly it all snaps into place and the sword snaps back together and he feels he has an understanding of the Grand Stair. He knows he is a Warden.
As he looks out on his fellows he can see Barbara and Millenia have a mantle about them and he can feel one on himself signifying that guardianship and tie to the stair.

Jill is looking at Dean, "Dean, Dean are you ok ?"

Barbara stepped closer to examine the area, though she kept a slight distance to let Dean take the lead, and to not interfere with him

  "I...I'm good.  I mean, I'm okay."  he looks at the white sword in his hand, looks all around.

  "What now?  Do I have to hold it up and shout By The Power of Greyskull, or something?  I'm not sure, but I have a feeling I have to go through this door."

"I have a feeling you should put the sword back for whoever else might come along. It is a very bright sword, the other though sings with the song of entropy."

Jill, "You were kind of zoned out for a bit Dean, you had me worried."

Barbara looked at Millenia
"So...do these two swords represent these two magical powers of order and chaos that run the stairway?"

"I guess in a way. First time I have come across them, but I have seen the likes of such things from time to time. Usually, they are placed for someone to make a choice. I wager the black sword can't be pulled out by Dean now. Though that is just speculation. When I was first coming to terms with the Umbra I placed such items about the Stair."

Barbara walked over and tried to pull iut the black sword

In reply to Millenia (msg # 275):

  Dean nods, sliding the white blade back into it's place.  He smiled at Jill. "Good guy it is then.  I'm fine...it was just something wierd, like I suddenly knew where I fit in the universe, or something like that.  Tough to explain, but I'm alright."

  Looking to Millenia he asks, "So should I try to open it and go through, or was that just the thing that it was drawing me here for, do you think?"

Barbara pulls the black sword free easily too easily as if it was wanting to be drawn.

The white blade slides back in easily.

Millenia says, "Do you feel an urge to go through the door or do you feel that you were just lead here ? I can sense you are a warden now so you can set your own destinations." She smiled.

  "No, no special draw or sense of urgency to go through.  Whatever it was that was drawing me here seems to be gone now.  Weird."  Dean shrugs.  "So I guess we should be back to the business at hand.  We've got a missing person to find, and best that we don't let the trail get cold."

Barbara puts the black sword back quickly
She shuddered
"I wonder if that's what Batman feels like all the time?"  she muttered to herself