"I don't know at present sir, but I'll find out. I'll send Constable Cheery down to have a look at the machine if I may sir, she's our forensics expert really but one science is pretty much like another, eh?"
"Not at all Commander. Do you want to leave these two here?"
"Rather not sir, I've got Sergeant Detritus outside sir, he can carry Carrot back to the yard. Do you want Stibbons dropped off anywhere? Where's his bedroom?"
"Cursed if I know Commander, he seems to spend all his time here. Better leave him until Doughnut Jimmy arrives."
"Very good sir. As I say, I'll send Cheery around and I'll be back later sir. Goodbye"
"Goodbye."
After Vimes had left, Detritus came through the door & picked up Carrot. With a gentle (well, sort of5) salute, he left. Ridcully looked down at Stibbons. He then smiled and looked around him. He was alone. He reached into one of the compartments in his hat and began to draw a long, thin blade...

*****

In the field, the shape of Angua began to morph again. When she was in wolf form, she felt much less exposed. She cleared the wall in a bound and, with a passing bark at the stranger by the wall, continued on her way home. Next time she needed to let human emotion flow, she thought, she'd find herself some clothes first.

*****

"Sir? I've figured out something." said Cheery.
"Oh, good. Any news on that Stibbons boy?" said Vimes, who was clearly not in the same dimension.6
"That's what I'm trying to tell you. Doughnut Jimmy is at his wit's end. He doesn't see what he can do for Stibbons, it's a first for him you know."
"What?!" exclaimed Vimes.
"Well, it seems that the knife used was tipped with some kind of poison, but we can't find an antidote, I asked him to see Carrot too. He somehow has the same poison. They're both comatose, sir, and we don't know what to do!"
"Are you sure about this?" queried Vimes who had just snapped out of dreamland.
"We've tried everything we know, sir. Everything seems hopeless." said Cheery miserably.
"It certainly seems hopeless, but I think that we should try to piece together all that has happened over the last few days."
"Well, sir. There was Angua's disappearance, supposedly down to fleas." "Carrot's odd behaviour, of course." added Vimes.
"The stabbing of Ponder Stibbons, where all the arrows point to Carrot."
"...And the fact that both Stibbons and Carrot are now both comatose by the same poison." finished Vimes. "This doesn't make sense, Cheery. Not one bit of it."

*****

The roads leading to Ankh-Morpork were quite empty considering the time of day. High up in the clouds, an eagle watched two lonely figures approaching the city gates. One appeared to be a young Klatchian musician, and accompanying him7 was a young witch.
"I don't see why you had to come along, Jhasi." muttered the witch, "I can take care of myself, you know."
"Kylah...wait up will you?!....Mistress Ogg told me not to let you out of my sight." said Jhasi, struggling to keep up with her, "'Young ladies need chaperones, especially in Ankh-Morpork,' she said, you were there, you heard her. Anyway, I'm not going to get in her bad books for anyone. Mistress Weatherwax is severe enough... but... Nanny Ogg..." He gulped, and tried to ignore the frogs and toads that were so vivid in his mind.
As they got closer to the gates, a gust of wind swept Kylah's long brown hair into her face.
"Sod it!"
"Why did you want to come here anyway?" questioned Jhasi.
"Well, I...don't know really... um... change of scenery? Anyway, you know that the family's hit hard times. I wanted to..." she cut the sentence short, she realised that she knew who she had to see, even if it meant that she would have to endure that same selfishness that she wanted to forget.
Some time later, they approached a place that Jhasi least expected them to go to,
"Unseen University?" he queried, "Why the hell do you want to come here?"
"I um...have to speak to someone..." she mumbled.
The Archchancellor was the first to see them.
"What are you doing in my University?...You're a witch aren't you, funny that...you remind me of..."
"I...n-need to speak...to.." she stammered.
"Well? Out with it girl, I can't stand around all afternoon waiting for you to remember!"
"..To Ponder Stibbons..." there was a brief and uncomfortable silence, all the wizards around exchanged knowing glances.
"Erm...You want to talk to young Stibbons, eh? He's...um unavailable right now...Who are you anyway girl?"
"I'm Kylah Stibbons." she said confidently.
The tension on the whole of the Disc seemed to tighten dramatically, the fixed gazes of the wizards began to get to her, she realised what was bothering them, and added quickly,
"His sister.." the entire multiverse breathed a sigh of relief.
"His sister eh?" said Ridcully, "He never mentioned any sisters...or any other family members if I remember correctly."
"That's a surprise." said Kylah sarcastically, "Selfish sod, he never even learnt the name of his little sister, I was always called 'you' or 'thingy',...erm...why won't you let me talk to him?..."
Once again there was an embarrassing silence, everyone looked to Ridcully to break it before they exploded.....

*****

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5: Detritus's salutes usually rendered him unconscious.
6: Metaphorically speaking.
7: Or vice-versa.