by Saless
Chapter 47

After the electronics store they had to leave as Vash was having difficulty maintaining his invisibility. Your world is amazing! Vash said tiredly as they made their way back to Mike's car.

"Are you okay Vash?" Jill asked.

Yes, just tired. Some food and a nap and I'll be fine. he replied.

They picked up some burgers on the way home. Sarah and Erica ended up sharing one, as Vash devoured several by himself. "How can you eat so much being so small?" Jill asked.

I expended a lot of energy staying invisible so long, I have to replenish it somehow. Vash replied. After washing himself he settled down to sleep on the couch.

After lunch Sarah and Erica told Mike and Jill about their abortive visit to Aphrodite's temple. "I guess we're lucky we haven't run into the language problem sooner." Mike mused.

"I think we should agree not to go through any more portals without all five of us together unless it's a totally safe sight-seeing trip, and maybe even then." Jill said.

Erica sighed, "I have to agree. I thought we could solve the problem easily by visiting Venus, or one of her temples since Sarah refused, but we really need all our abilities in order to be safe."

"I wonder if Erica's magical immunity would work against Venus? If so it might be safe enough to go there." Mike said.

"All she'd have to do is open a fissure under Erica. No gods, period!" Sarah said forcefully.

"Okay, okay! So what do we want to do next?" Erica asked with an irritated look at Sarah.

"Do you have any story worlds you'd like to visit? We've already visited worlds we wanted to see, but you haven't had a chance to pick anything yet." Jill said.

"I can think of one off-hand that I'd like to see." Erica said thoughtfully. "But I don't know if you'll have it here. It's an old one, called The Skylark of Space."

"No, I don't think we've got that one. How about you Sarah?" Jill said.

"I don't have it, but it might be online." Sarah replied.

Mike turned on his computer and found it easily enough. "Yep, it's online, and for free!" he said. A quick download later and Erica started going through it, looking for where she wanted to go.

While Erica read, Mike and Jill told Sarah about their visit to Mike's parents. "Mom and Dad were disappointed you didn't come, they guessed you wouldn't be at your parents' place." Mike said.

Sarah sighed, "I wish I could have gone, but I can't yet."

"You know, an awful lot of people already know about you. If this goes on long enough, everyone may find out." Jill said.

Sarah shivered, "I hope not! I'm sure we'll fix things before it becomes more of an issue than it already is."

Jill frowned but didn't say anymore. "Do you know anything about this book?" Mike asked.

Sarah shook her head, "No, not really. I think Erica's mentioned something about it before, but I don't remember for sure."

Mike's printer started running and they all turned to see. "You found what you were looking for?" Sarah asked.

Erica nodded, "Yep! We'll get to see some interesting sights, and I'll be able to pick up something useful, too!"

"What are you planning to get?" Jill asked curiously.

"Guns." Erica said eagerly. "But it's the bullets that are really important. They have these bullets that explode on contact. The smallest one is way more powerful than anything you could get in this world, and the bigger ones are like nukes!"

The others exchanged worried glances and Jill said, "Uh, Erica, do we really want to have nuclear bomb level ammunition lying around?"

"Of course not! I just figured on getting the lowest caliber ammunition they have. I doubt we'll have any use for anything that powerful. If we do, it'll be time to use a portal to get out of there!" Erica replied.

"Do you even know how to handle a gun?" Mike asked. "I know I wouldn't want to mess with one, I'd be as likely to hit one of us as what I was aiming at."

"I know how to handle a gun. Dad insisted I have one in my apartment, just in case. He taught me how to shoot a long time ago." Erica replied.

"Won't we get in trouble if anyone sees it?" Sarah asked worriedly.

"We'll only use it in other worlds, not here. It'll stay locked up the rest of the time." Erica replied.

This sounds interesting. Are we ready to go? Vash asked, lifting his head up off the couch and looking inquiringly at Jill.

"Finished your nap, huh? Yeah, I think we're ready." Jill replied, looking at the printout Erica was removing from the printer.

"Yeah, this is probably more than we need, but this is where I want to go in at." Erica said, pointing out a passage to Sarah.

"Are we really ready to go?" Sarah asked.

"Vash, you'd better go invisible for this. The world we're going to is much like this one, with a few differences." Erica said. Vash obligingly turned invisible after flying up to Jill's shoulder and Sarah opened the portal.

They stepped through and found themselves facing four people in a strange room with various controls that told them they were on a ship of some kind. The four people looked shocked and alarmed at their entrance. "How did you get here?" one of the men exclaimed.

"Um, well, I can open portals to other places…" Sarah began, and used linked portals to demonstrate.

"Amazing!" he exclaimed in wonder. Erica went on to explain why they were there. "So you came to see the ship and get some weapons and ammunition?" he asked.

"Yes. We don't really have any way to pay for them…" Erica trailed off, wondering if they should have gotten something to offer in trade first.

"Just knowing this is possible is payment enough for me!" one man exclaimed. "What about you Martin?"

The other man, Martin, shrugged and said, "Sure, why not? We've got plenty, and your visit has certainly made this an interesting day already. Might as well get the tour out of the way first, though."

They were given the tour of the ship. It was only about forty feet long, so there wasn't that much to see inside, but the transparent hull windows meant there was a lot to see outside. When they finished the tour they were given two pistols, four magazines, and several boxes of ammunition.

"Thank you so much, this could really come in handy for us." Erica said as they were preparing to leave.

Martin waved his hand dismissively, "We've plenty, so it's no hardship for us. Besides, we're on our way home where we could make many more if we needed to. Take good care of your friends." After a round of goodbyes Sarah opened the portal and they returned.

Vash reappeared as soon as the portal closed. That was tiring! Staying invisible that long twice in one day is a bit much. Let's go somewhere where I don't have to hide next time. he said tiredly as he made his way back to the couch and lay down.

"I still can't believe your first choice was to get weapons." Mike said ruefully, putting down the boxes of ammunition he was carrying on the kitchen table.

Erica shrugged, "I want to be able to protect Sarah. A sword is fine for close up, but I'd rather stay out of sword range if I can." She was carrying both pistols and Jill had the magazines and they set them on the table next to the ammunition.

"How many bullets did they give you?" Sarah asked, looking at the heavy boxes.

"A few hundred, I think." Erica replied. She checked out the pistols in a manner that reassured Sarah that she really did know what she was doing.

"How are you going to carry all of that?" Jill asked, pointing at the pistols and magazines.

"I think I can attach some holsters to my sword belt. I can probably find something for the magazines, too. That would be a lot better than shoving them in my pockets." Erica said.

Mike shook his head in wonder and said, "Sarah, your girlfriend is Rambo!"

Sarah grinned and said, "Nah, with those magic weapons and sci-fi guns I think she's a little more dangerous than that!"

"So, did you have anywhere else you wanted to go?" Mike asked Erica.

"Well…" Erica said thoughtfully, "there is somewhere else I'd like to go…"

"This isn't going to be another shopping trip, is it?" he asked.

"Not exactly…" Erica replied evasively.

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