A charming old lady shuffled into the theatre. Slowly walking to a seat surrounded by a whole lot of empty seats. The show wasn't very popular, only a meek fifty or so patrons populated the front seats. The lady was three rows away from them. Her hair was an off white, her eyes were a faded brown framed by glasses. She hummed softly to herself as her head moved to and fro. She clasped a pink purse with tiny hands, her fingernails were sterling silver.

The seats were a faded red and the cushion were worn out and below the total comfort level. The stage lights were cheap but served their purpose. The curtains were drawn close, the show wouldn't be starting for another five minutes. Elevator music played in the background, a mockery of another piece almost as bad as the shopping market's "La Bamba". The old lady waited for the show to begin.

A youth looking to be of at least partly Oriental decent, perhaps in her late teens or early twenties judging by appearance, moved hesitantly down the aisle, her hands stuffed in the pockets of a short black leather coat. She took a seat a row behind the elderly old woman, and slowly slid down into a slouch, propping her knees up against the back of the seat in front of her and slowly glancing around.

After just under ninety seconds had passed, her hand popped out of her pocket, clutching a silver cell phone. She flipped it open and stared into the faint blue glow of the digital screen before smiling as a game loaded onto it. A series of beeps issued from the compact phone, though the girl didn't touch the small, rubbery buttons once.

The old lady cocked her head, apparently hearing the beeping sounds. She coughed and the beeping sound went away, the game still worked like a charm though. The lady took a tissue out of her purse, and wiped her mouth as if something was really ailing her. It was one minute until the show starts.

The girl's dark brows pulled together briefly as her game was silenced, but then she shrugged and flipped the phone closed, tucking it back into her pocket. Her bitten short nails drummed on her knees as her eyes scanned the stage, looking for some sign of movement. She shifted slightly, the phone suddenly seeming appealing again. One minute was a long time to wait.

The old lady turned her head and looked at Joules. She smiled, somehow knowingly. "Excuse me dear.. but do you have the time?" She had a light irish accent, it could be called pleasent. Her head continue to sway, like she was suffering from a minor case of huntington's disease or something else that would cause unvoluntary movement.

The girl, Joules, smiled vaguely and nodded, rolling up her right sleeve to glance at the face of her digital watch. "It's seven, m'am," she replied politely, giving her wrist a flick to replace the sleeve.

The old woman's eyes seemed to twinkle. "You seem like a charming young lady. Come keep an old soul company." She patted the seat beside her. The curtains were starting to draw apart as the music started to sound. It was obvious that the instrumental parts were pre-recorded. The old lady focused her attention to the stage while she waited for Joules' compliance.

Joules took half a second to consider before coming to the conclusion that she had nothing to lose by entertaining the old woman's wishes for the night. So, she braced her arms against the back of her present seat, and then vaulted herself a row forward and into the musty chair next to the elderly lady.

There, she slid down into her former slouching position, offered the woman a brief smile, and then turned her attention to the stage as well.

The old woman, aka Tympan, could sense the other deity, and wondered if the other could do the same. But it wasn't really important at this time, she was here for one reason: To bring down this pathetic mockery of her talents. She knew that the director had enough money to make it better but he had decided to squelch every penny, big mistake.

The old lady hiccuped, the music hiccuped, the old lady continued hiccuping five more times and everytime the music followed suit. She held the tissue to her mouth again. "Excuse me dear, I have no idea where that came from. What's your name?"

Joules, as a relatively young deity, had not yet develouped the ability to 'sense' other deities. However, she did know enough that music usually didn't hiccup with random old women in the audience, and so regarded the one beside her with a more critical eye. "Joules. And you?"

"Pandora, dear, you can call me Pan, everyone calls me Pan." The old lady's eyes were still on the stage. The actors roamed about without acknowledging the 'hiccups' in the music. Whoever made 'the show must go on' concept was a genius, Pan thought as the lead actress came on set. She had a fairly decent voice... For now. Pan's eyebrow raised and so did the actress' voice until it was a full semitone above the recorded music. To put it bluntly, it sounded horrible. The actress put her hand to her throat in surprise. "Oh the poor dear's a bit off today." Pan tsked.

Joules grimaced and scrunched down in her seat again, as if doing so could somehow block out the horrid sound waves and protect her ears. "Seems so, yes," she agreed.

"Pity." Pan said, her eyebrows lowered and the singer's voice returned to normal. "Do you like candy dear? Everybody likes candy. I keep a lot around with me." She reached into a purse and pulled out a toffee and held it out to Joules.

"Uh..huh.." Joules replied, hesitantly taking the toffee and eyeing it warily as she untwisted the wrapper. Apparently satisfied that it wasn't some form of explosive, or whatever it was she was paranoid about, she popped it into her mouth and sucked on it absently.

As Joules unwraps the wrapper, the sound somehow carries to the front of the theater. It was very loud and annoying for the people in the front and on the stage. The sound seemed small and quiet in the area that Pan and Joules were sitting at, so Joules may not have noticed the problem. Everyone in the front looked backwards. "Shhh, dear, people are trying to watch.." Pan whispered.

Joules blinked slightly, and then quickly pocketed the wrapper, folding her hands in the lap while trying to avoid making eye contact with those who were looking back at her.

Pan stops a laugh in her throat with practiced ease. "Don't worry dear happens to the best of us." She said reasuringly, patting Joules on the knee. The actors continued to prance about on the stage because 'The show must go on!' Pan plots her next intrusion.

Joules flinched slightly as she was touched, and sat up straighter in her seat, clearly uneasy now with the party next to her. She had forgotten about the show, and was scanning Pan's face closely, heedless of whether or not the woman saw her doing so.

Pan continues to watch the stage. "You know if you look hard enough you can watch my wrinkles cut deeper. If you have a question why don't you ask it. My life's an open book, dear." Her eyes moved to look at Joules.

"No. Forget it," Joules stated with a shrug, glancing back toward the stage. She folded her arms over her stomach and more or less glared ahead. She liked humans. If this one had nothing to do with the 'glitches' in that evening's performance, she held no interest in bothering her with odd questions such as, 'Are you harassing the entertainers magically?'

Pan smiled and turned her attention back to the stage. A male actor was singing a fairly complicated part. It was quick paced and almost flawless. Pan cleared her throat and the actor went into a series of hacking coughs. "Oh, that sounds nasty, he should really be at home... Don't you think? The poor dear."

"The show must go on," Joules mumbled under her breath, unable to help but feel a bit of sympathy for the actor, her fingers twitching a little with the need to do something.

The singer's coughing fit disappear as quickly as it appeared. Pan put her finger to her mouth in a quieting gesture. The pre-recorded music faded into nothing, the singer was now doing a total solo. He sounded weak without the music, he also looked nervous but continued singing anyhow. "Oh what courage this man possesses, don't you think? He will go far indeed, and he's a cute young man... poor dear." Pan looked openly amused this time.

"Poor indeed..." Joules repeated in a musing sort of tone, just before there was a sound like massive doors closing and all electrical power in the theatre went out. A generator began to click to life, but this, too, was silenced in a matter of moments.

The show couldn't go on if the audience couldn't see it.

"Oh, fancy that." Pan said in amusement. "Must be some faulty wiring." Pan knew it wasn't true but she couldn't help herself, she was too into this old lady stuff. "Pity, and I really have to go to the lou too."

Joules sighed slightly, and then allowed the emergancy lights to come to partial power, shadily lighting the audience area but not the stage. "Interesting circuitry in these old buildings," she remarked, standing and offering Pan a hand up. "Should maybe go to the washroom before the power goes out again."

"That's alright, I was considering leaving anyways. It was a very badly done musical, I'm so very disappointed. It was one of my favourites too." She started to shuffle out but she stopped and turned around. "I forgot to thank you." She said as she shuffled back. "You wouldn't mind walking an old woman out?"

Joules glanced briefly at her watch, shrugged, and then eased out into the aisle next to the old woman. "Thank me for what?" she asked, tucking her hands back into her pockets.

"Why for the blackout dear. You helped me more then you helped them." She smiled as the other patrons left the auditorium also. She continued to shuffle slowly towards the exit, head swaying back and forth.

Joules hesitated, sighed, and then jogged slightly to catch up with the old woman. "All right. Who are you, really?" she asked, fingering the cell phone in her pocket for some form of odd reassurance.

Pan sighed. She stopped and pulled out a pair of reading glasses. She had a bit of trouble putting them on with her shaky hands and swaying head. Somehow she managed. She looked at Joules through them. "You are a slow one aren't you? Very well, I'm a god, of sorts is that what you wanted?"

"Not quite. But it'll do," Joules replied, brushing aside the suggestion that she was 'slow'. She said nothing after that, having the desire to just hop a power cable and go straight home. She was no longer interested in Pan's company, or that of any god's.

"Good..." Pan considered Joules for a moment. "My, my... You really must learn to sense the world around you, dear. It's fairly useful. I, myself use it all the time." The old woman shuffled outside and slowly moved towards the alleyway beside the building.

Joules followed the old woman despite her interests in getting away from her. "Exactly! You use the world. I'm part of it, and I'm happy that way," she stated a little crossly.

"Use? Me? Never!" The old woman said in a matter of fact tone. "What you have just witnessed was a price. I don't use them, they use me, dear. I am their vice, they created me, and now I supervise. That is what I am, don't assume you know me!" She continued to walk to the alley, her pace had slowed a notch.

"Why shouldn't I? You did the same to me," Joules retorted, minuscule bolts of electricity dancing over her metallic irises to a currently slow and always erratic beat.

"Did I? Oh how hypocritical of me, I must apologise. Now if you'll excuse me I really must be off. I'm a really busy god you know. Maybe I'll see you later... Maybe... Good-bye dear." Pan smiled at Joules just before disappearing. The sound of bells could be heard in the air for a few seconds after she was gone but they quickly faded too.

Joules bristled, took a quick glance around, and then grabbed hold of a drain pipe attached to the wall. She shimmied up it, black hiking boots digging into the crumbling plaster on either side of the rusted metal. She then jumped from a considerable height, hand outstretched to snare a nearby power line.

She hung from it momentarily, eyes glittering with the surge of energy, and then in a flash of white-blue she was absorbed into the thick black cable.