Shaking his head to focus his thoughts, he stood up and walked over to the door. He knew who it was before looking, but looked through the peephole anyway. Sure enough, it was his best friend Michael and Michael's girlfriend Jill. He sighed, knowing he couldn't just blow them off, and opened the door.
"Hi guys." He said wearily.
"Nice to see you too, Sean!" Michael, or Mike as Sean usually called him, said with a laugh. He was a big guy, a couple inches over six feet tall. His clean shaven face was always open and honest.
"How are you doing Sean, you look tired?" Jill asked, greeting Sean with a hug. He was even taller than Mike, so the top of her head didn't even reach his chin. Her long auburn hair brushed against his hands as he hugged her back. Her hands were stained with paint, as usual.
Sean stepped aside so they could walk in and closed the door behind them. As usual, they seated themselves on his couch and he took the recliner facing it. "I am tired." He admitted. "I had this weird dream last night and I was even more tired when I woke up than I was before I went to bed." He blushed as he remembered part of the dream.
"Judging by that blush, I bet it was an interesting one! Tell us about it?" Jill asked mischievously.
Sean groaned, but knew he might as well tell them or Jill would bug him about it relentlessly. He described the dream briefly, wincing as he told them the embarrassing bit. "So now you're getting hit on by the gay guys even in your dreams?" Mike asked with a mix of incredulity and amusement. Sean shrugged.
"You know," Mike continued, "if I didn't know you were totally in love with Erica I'd wonder about you with all these guys hitting on you!" he said, laughing.
Sean frowned. "It's not my fault!" he growled.
"Relax Sean," Jill soothed, "you know he's just kidding you."
Sean shrugged, too tired to worry about it. He knew Mike didn't mean any harm, anyway. He never did.
"So what were you doing before we got here?" Mike asked.
"Sleeping, apparently." Sean answered.
"Apparently?" Mike repeated curiously.
Shrugging, Sean replied, "I remember walking in the door and sitting down. The next thing I know you guys are knocking on the door."
"I guess you were really out of it. You need to stop having dreams like that." Mike said with concern. He was always trying to look out for Sean, ever since high school.
"I bet that's not the only reason you're tired, though." Jill stated. "You've been down ever since Erica went back to law school. You really have nothing to worry about; you two are made for each other."
"Yeah, Sean, and she'll be back before you know it. You know how fast six months can fly by." Mike added helpfully.
"I guess." Sean replied, unconvinced. He had never understood why a beautiful, intelligent woman like Erica wanted to be with him. Just being friends with Mike and Jill was a miracle, as far as he was concerned.
Jill frowned, but decided to change the subject. "Did you have a good day at work?" she asked.
"Do I ever?" Sean grumbled.
"I still think you should ditch that job. It's not worth the hassle." Mike said.
Sean shrugged, "I need the money."
Jill sighed, they'd been through this conversation many times. Sean didn't feel he was qualified for anything better. He'd been taking college classes for a few years but still didn't have a degree because he couldn't decide on a major, or a career.
"You know, if you could just decide on a major your parents would cover all your expenses." Mike reminded him. Sean's parents had made that promise a year ago, trying to motivate him to make a choice. Needless to say, it didn't work.
"Have you eaten dinner yet?" Jill asked, trying again to change the subject.
"No. I'm not hungry. I think I'll just go to bed." Sean answered and stood up.
"Oh no you don't!" Mike exclaimed, rushing over to block his path. "I know you're tired and need more sleep, but you need to eat, too. Right Jill?"
Jill nodded emphatically. "I'm not letting you skip dinner, I know you probably skipped breakfast or lunch, if not both!" she said sternly.
Sean hung his head tiredly. She was right, as usual. "What did you have in mind?" he asked in a dull voice.
"Hey, don't sound like that. We're just trying to help you." Mike said worriedly. Sean had never been the chipper type, but he'd been increasingly down lately. This was the worst he'd seen yet. He hoped it was only the tiredness talking.
"How about we go for pepperoni pizza?" Jill asked. Sean never turned down pizza, especially pepperoni.
"Okay." Sean replied. He did seem a little more animated at that. He opened the door and held it for them and followed them out.
Sean's car was nearby, the apartment complex numbered the parking spots according to apartment number. Sometimes someone took his spot, but not often. The little red Honda Civic had been a gift from his parents when he moved out here to go to college. It was showing its age, but it still ran well. Sean unlocked it and they all climbed in.
The pizza place wasn't far, so they soon arrived. Jill ordered Sean's usual, pepperoni with extra cheese and sauce. Fortunately her and Mike liked it, too.
After getting their salads they took seats in a booth and started eating. Sean only got a small salad and picked at it unenthusiastically. "Come on Sean, eat up! You'll be even worse off tomorrow if you don't eat well." Jill admonished. Sean grumbled, but ate.
"So what classes are you taking this semester Sean?" Mike asked when Sean finished his salad.
"Just Astronomy and Archery." He answered with a shrug.
Mike laughed, "That's an interesting mix. How are you liking Archery?"
"It's fun." He said with a small smile.
Just then the pizza arrived and they dug in. Jill only had a couple of slices. "How about Astronomy?" she asked when she finished eating.
"It's hard, but really interesting." He replied.
The pizza didn't last long, Mike and Sean were both good eaters, at least when it came to pizza. They talked for a while, and Sean seemed to be a little more cheerful by the time they left.
Mike and Jill said goodbye to Sean at his door and walked over to their apartment two buildings over "What do you think, Mike?" Jill asked as they walked arm in arm.
"I'm worried, Jill. Sean's always been the quiet, reserved type, but he's never been this bad. I just hope getting a good night's sleep will help." He answered.
"I wish Erica could come back sooner, she can always cheer him up." Jill replied. Mike nodded.
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<SeanDreamer>: Hi Erica, how was your day?
<Erica378>: Hi Sean, it was grueling as always. How about you?
<SeanDreamer>: The same. Mike and Jill just left, we went out for pizza.
<Erica378>: I'm glad you've got them to keep you company. I miss you.
<SeanDreamer>: Yeah, they're great. I miss you more!
<Erica378>: How's that job of yours?
<SeanDreamer>: Ugh, horrible! I had to spend an hour trying to explain to one guy why his computer wouldn't work if he didn't plug it in!
<Erica378>: LOL! I know you hate that job, but you come up with some funny stories because of it!
<SeanDreamer>: Yeah, like that guy who thought he could 'boot up' his computer by propping it up on his boots! ;)
<Erica378>: Yeah, that was hilarious! :)
<SeanDreamer>: I had the weirdest dream last night. I woke up even more tired than when I went to sleep.
<Erica378>: Really? Maybe you'd better get to bed, then. I don't want you wearing yourself out. That's my job! ;)
<SeanDreamer>: LOL! Yeah, I am pretty tired. Talk to you tomorrow?
<Erica378>: Of course! Sleep well. I love you!
<SeanDreamer>: I love you more!
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Sean yawned as he shut down his computer. After he changed and brushed his teeth he climbed into bed. Something fell out of his blankets when he did, but he didn't notice it. It was a large white feather. It drifted slowly down as feathers do and slid under Sean's bed.
By the time he was done with his breakfast and tea it was time for work. I hope I can stay awake through the day!
Work was miserable. He seemed to be getting all the most idiotic, computer illiterate customers today! He was in danger of falling asleep while talking to them. He'd never been happier to see the end of a work day in his life.
He picked up another tea at Starbucks on his way home, just to stay awake for the drive. When he got there Mike and Jill were waiting for him. "What's up guys?" he asked.
Jill took one look at him and exclaimed, "Are you alright?!"
He smiled weakly. "I had another one of those dreams. I've been running on caffeine all day."
She frowned, "We've got to get some real food in you or you're going to be sick! Come on, I made lasagna. I know how much you like it." she said, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him towards their apartment. Mike followed, bemused.
Jill hustled Sean into their apartment and onto a seat at the table in the kitchen. Mike carried over the lasagna while Jill retrieved plates, forks, and knives. She cut out a large piece of lasagna for Sean and set it on a plate in front of him. "Now you're going to eat all of that, and maybe another piece, too, right?" she demanded more than asked.
Sean nodded, he knew better than to argue with Jill when she was like this. Besides, he did really like lasagna.
Sean did have a second piece. Jill's cooking always met with Sean's approval, especially her lasagna.
"So how's Erica doing?" Jill asked, knowing invoking that name would get his instant attention.
Sean smiled just thinking about her, "She's doing alright. They're keeping her really busy, but you know Erica. If she sets her sights on something, it gets done!"
Jill and Mike laughed. "Yeah, that's Erica for you. That girl could end wars by will power alone!" Mike said with a chuckle.
"Yes, and she's set her sights on you." Jill said pointedly to Sean. He blushed and looked away. Anything even remotely resembling a compliment tended to have that affect on him.
"You're a lucky guy Sean! Not that I could keep up with Erica myself. I'm much happier with my flighty artist!" Mike said, pulling Jill into his lap.
"Who are you calling flighty?" Jill asked archly, slapping Mike on the arm. Sean laughed at their antics, they were always doing stuff like that.
"Sean, we were thinking…" Mike began.
"Uh-oh!" Sean interrupted with a laugh.
Mike frowned and continued, "We don't want you spending so much time by yourself. How about you come over here after work everyday? We can hang out and talk for a while and keep you company."
"And before you object, you can help with making dinner if that makes you feel better." Jill suggested, knowing that Sean liked to cook and was very good at it.
Sean agreed. "OK, but right now I want to get back and IM Erica and then go to bed."
"Sure, good night Sean." Mike replied.
"We'll see you here tomorrow." Jill reminded him and hugged him before he left.
"I hope spending more time with us helps him, he's really washed out." Mike said after Sean left.
"Me too. He's such a sweet guy, but he has no sense of self worth without Erica. I wish I knew why." Jill mused.
"He wasn't exactly well liked at school. His parents told me he came home with scrapes and bruises all the time before he met me. Even a broken bone a couple of times. He usually said it was an accident, but we know better. I wish I'd been there for him all along." Mike said with regret.
"Don't beat yourself up, you kept him safe all through high school. Who knows how bad it would have been without you. I worry that he would have killed himself a long time ago without you and Erica." Jill replied sadly.
Mike wanted to argue with that, but he knew Jill was right. "I guess so. I wish Erica could be here for him now. Not that I blame her, she's doing what she needs to do, but he needs her. Despite what I said to Sean, these six months are going to drag by really slowly for him."
"I'm afraid you're right." Jill agreed as they snuggled up on the couch for some TV.
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<SeanDreamer>: Hi Erica, how are you?
<Erica378>: Not bad Sean, how about you?
<SeanDreamer>: I had another of those weird dreams last night. Caffeine's the only thing that kept me going all day.
<Erica378>: You need to stop having those dreams. That's an order! ;)
<SeanDreamer>: An order I'll gladly follow if I can! Mike and Jill met me at my door and dragged me over to their place for lasagna.
<Erica378>: Those two are such good friends, I'll have to remember to thank them for taking care of my baby!
<SeanDreamer>: They are great, aren't they? They want me to go straight over to their place after work everyday.
<Erica378>: I hope you said yes.
<SeanDreamer>: Yeah, I did. Jill's going to let me help out with dinner.
<Erica378>: I miss your cooking! :(
<SeanDreamer>: I miss you so much!
<Erica378>: Me too! I love you!
<SeanDreamer>: I love you more!
<Erica378>: I'd better go now and let you get some sleep.
<SeanDreamer>: I am exhausted. Tomorrow?
<Erica378>: Of course! Talk to you then.
<SeanDreamer>: Talk to you tomorrow!
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Sean shut off his computer and dragged himself heavily over to his bed and flopped in. The movement caused the feather to flutter under his bed, but it remained hidden.
Things were better at work. He only had one customer come up to him with a truly stupid question. He even had one customer who knew exactly what they wanted! That astonishing event lifted his spirits a bit.
His drive home was a lot easier today and he began to think his problems with sleep were coming to a close. After parking his car he walked over to Mike and Jill's, as agreed.
"Hi guys." He said when Mike opened the door and let him in.
"You need to quit knocking, Sean, and just come in. You're like family!" Jill admonished after hugging Sean.
"Yeah, Sean, our home is your home." Mike agreed warmly.
Sean didn't know how to respond to that, except by blushing and examining his shoes. "Thanks guys." He mumbled.
"So, what's for dinner?" Jill asked. Sean already knew what he wanted to cook, so he got straight to it with Jill's help. Mike sat back and watched, he'd been banned from cooking duty long ago.
"It doesn't really have a name." Sean said as they worked. "I just threw a bunch of stuff together once and liked it, so I make it every now and then. It has the advantage of making a lot, so I can freeze the leftovers and heat them up on days when I don't feel like cooking something." Sean explained.
"Mmm, smells great! Can we get some of these leftovers?" Jill asked hopefully.
Sean shrugged. "It's your ingredients I'm cooking with." He pointed out.
Jill smiled happily. He would never admit it, but he was a better cook than Jill, and more adventurous. Jill mostly cooked simple things, or with recipes. She'd never seen Sean cook with a recipe once.
They were soon digging into Sean's concoction, as he called it. "This is good stuff!" Mike said appreciatively.
"Mmhm!" Jill agreed.
"So how are things going at the gym?" Sean asked, uncomfortable as always with the praise.
"About the same as usual." Mike replied. "I'm teaching two martial arts classes right now, as well as a women's self defense class."
"Mike insisted I join that one." Jill said.
Mike shrugged, "Every woman should learn some basic self defense, I think."
"So what are you doing this weekend?" Jill asked.
"Other than going to my classes and doing my homework, not much." Sean replied with a shrug.
"Why don't you come over here after your classes? You can do your homework here and then we can do something." Jill suggested.
"I do my homework on my computer. But you can come over if you want." Sean replied. "I've been meaning to give these to you anyway." He rummaged in his pockets and came up with two new keys.
"What are those?" Mike asked.
"Keys to my apartment. That way you can come over any time. Like you said, family." Sean shrugged awkwardly.
Jill squealed and hugged Sean. "Thanks Sean! We'll get a key for our place made up for you. I should have done that sooner."
"Yeah, thanks Sean! I should have thought of that." Mike agreed.
They finished eating and cleaned up. Jill was ecstatic about the amount of leftovers that were left and froze them for later.
"When will you get home from your classes?" Mike asked.
"About one o'clock." Sean answered.
"We'll be there a little after that, then." Mike replied.
"So how's the dream situation?" Jill asked as they settled on the couch in the living room.
"I did have another of those dreams last night, but I wasn't as tired as the last couple of days. I still didn't feel like I got a full night of sleep, though." Sean replied.
"Hopefully you'll get plenty of rest tonight. I'd hate to be nearby during your archery class if you don't!" Mike said.
"I think it's going away, whatever it is. I'm sure I'll be alright tomorrow." Sean replied.
They discussed what they might do after Sean's classes and homework the next day for a while. Sean decided it was getting late and he should go call in on Erica and go to bed.
"I'll see you tomorrow afternoon." He called as he walked towards the door.
"See you then!" Mike agreed.
Jill ran over and gave him a hug before saying, "Have a good night!"
After he left Mike said, "He does seem better today. Maybe he'll be alright after all."
"I sure hope so." Jill replied worriedly.
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<SeanDreamer>: Hi Erica, how are you?
<Erica378>: Not bad, how about you?
<SeanDreamer>: Better. I had another of those weird dreams, but I don't feel as tired this time.
<Erica378>: That's good to hear! How was work?
<SeanDreamer>: Not bad. I even had a customer who asked intelligent questions for once!
<Erica378>: LOL! That's unusual for you! How was dinner?
<SeanDreamer>: I made that concoction of mine. They seemed to like it OK.
<Erica378>: Hmm, translated from Sean speak that means they loved it, as they should! You never give yourself enough credit.
<SeanDreamer>: What are you doing for the weekend?
<Erica378>: Changing the subject as usual I see! A couple of friends and I are going to study together. Sounds fun, huh? ;)
<SeanDreamer>: Oh yeah, fun! Mike and Jill are coming over after I get back from classes tomorrow. We haven't decided what we're gong to do yet, though.
<Erica378>: Sounds better than what I have planned.
<SeanDreamer>: I guess so.
<Erica378>: I miss you.
<SeanDreamer>: I miss you more!
<Erica378>: I'd better let you get some sleep so you don't shoot someone tomorrow! ;)
<SeanDreamer>: LOL! Okay, have a good night!
<Erica378>: You too! I love you!
<SeanDreamer>: I love you more!
<Erica378>: Talk to you tomorrow!
<SeanDreamer>: Tomorrow!
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By the time he'd turned off his computer Sean's fatigue was catching up with him. After a quick trip to the bathroom he crawled in bed. The feather fluttered again, this time landing in plain sight, but the lights were off.
As he struggled with the blankets he encountered something hard in the bed next to him. Pulling the blankets back he found a sword! Not just any sword, either, but the exact same sword, still in its scabbard, as he'd had in his dream! What the hell?! he thought. He pinched himself, but he certainly seemed to be awake. And this was his bedroom, just with the addition of a sword.
He wasn't entirely awake yet and was still wrestling with the concept of a sword in his bed as he put his feet down on the floor. What's that? he thought as he felt something under his foot. He lifted his foot up and there on the floor was a large white feather. It was at least a foot long. Sean scratched his head as he thought about where it could have come from. Then he remembered; it looked just like the one from his first dream three days ago!
He was instantly awake at this realization and looked back at the bed. The sword was still there, too. He began to wonder if they were dreams at all. But if not dreams, what were they?
Sean remembered his classes started in an hour, so he put the feather on the bed next to the sword and covered them both with the blankets so they wouldn't distract him as he got dressed. It didn't help much.
With many wondering glances back at the bed Sean finally managed to get himself ready for class. He was running late, so he skipped breakfast and hurried out.
He didn't really hear anything his astronomy teacher said during class and almost missed the homework assignment entirely. Archery was worse. He was so distracted he nearly shot himself in the foot twice, and nearly shot someone else while they were retrieving their arrows. The instructor told him to put his bow away and sit the rest of the class out.
He sat dejectedly through the rest of class and continued to think about the objects hidden under his blankets. When class ended he was glad to leave and hurried back to his apartment.
He nearly ran into his room to check to see if they were real, but he was afraid of the answer either way. Instead he sat down at his computer to try and do his homework. He couldn't focus, of course, and just stared at the screen. Finally he gave it up and decided to read. Somehow he managed to lose himself in the book and forget his troubles for a little while.
Sean didn't even notice the door opening as Mike and Jill stepped in. "Hey Sean, what's up…what the hell?!" Mike exclaimed in shock.
Sean looked up in surprise at Mike. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"What do you mean, what's wrong?! Look!" Mike yelled.
Sean looked where Mike was pointing and gasped, "What is that?!"
There was what could only be described as a hole in mid air right next to Sean. It was very irregularly shaped. Instead of seeing the other side of the room when he looked through it, he saw an oddly familiar castle. He stared in shock and his book fell from his slack grasp.
Suddenly it disappeared. "Wow, that was weird!" he said.
"What was that?" Mike demanded.
Sean shrugged, "How should I know?"
Jill glanced down at Sean's book. It had landed cover up and the illustration was a castle, just like she'd seen through the hole. No, it couldn't be… she thought.
"So, uh, weren't we going to see that movie?" Sean asked.
"Wait, you want to just go see the movie after what we just saw?" Mike asked in shock.
"What did we see?" Sean asked.
"What do you mean?" Jill asked, perplexed.
"It was obviously a mirage. A really weird one, but just a trick of the light. No point getting all excited about it." Sean replied.
Mike and Jill gaped at him at a total loss for words. Eventually Jill found her voice and said, "You really believe that?"
Shrugging, Sean said, "Sure, why not? It's certainly a lot more believable than any other explanation I could think of."
Jill liked that explanation a lot better than what she'd been thinking, so she eventually accepted it. "You're right; we should go see the movie like we planned. Get that weirdness out of our heads." She said. Mike looked ready to argue for a moment, but with one look from Jill he dropped it.
The theater was close by so they walked there. Sean grumbled about the price of tickets while they waited in line. The science fiction movie they'd chosen had been out for a few weeks so they had no trouble getting good seats. They all tried to get into the movie and forget the strange sight at Sean's apartment. They were mostly successful.
As they were walking home after the movie Mike asked, "So what did you two think of the movie?"
"It was okay." Sean replied.
"The special effects were impressive, but it lacked depth." Jill said.
Mike grimaced, "Yeah. That one ship was pretty cool though."
"How do you feel about Chinese?" Jill asked.
"Fine with me." Sean replied. Mike nodded his agreement.
The nearest Chinese restaurant was several miles away, so they walked back to the apartment complex and drove over in Mike's hybrid. It was always a tight fit for Sean, but Mike was very environmentally conscious and wouldn't think of getting something bigger.
They talked about their day over dinner and Sean tried not to let on how useless he'd been in his classes. Jill was all excited about a new painting she was working on and carried most of the conversation on her own.
After dinner they returned to Mike and Jill's apartment. "Hey, how about we go miniature golfing tomorrow?" Mike suggested. He loved the game and was always trying to get Jill and Sean to go.
"I don't mind," Sean began, "but I don't know when I'll get up. I've been so tired lately I'm likely to sleep in a while."
"You should, you look beat! Why don't you come around whenever you're ready?" Jill suggested.
"Okay." Sean replied and looked at his watch. "It's almost time for my nightly talk with Erica, I'd better go."
Mike said goodbye and Jill hugged him and he walked back to his apartment.
"So, do you really buy his explanation for what happened in his apartment?" Jill asked Mike after he left.
Mike sighed and said, "I was hoping you'd let that go. Look, it was weird and unnerving, why dwell on it?"
Jill dropped it knowing that Mike wasn't ready to deal with it yet, but she was certain there was more to it than Sean was letting on. Whether he knew that or not she wasn't sure.
Afterwards he pulled back his blankets to reveal the feather and sword. He'd hoped they wouldn't be there; that he was just imagining things like he told Jill and Mike about the castle earlier. He wasn't that lucky, however, and found both right where he left them. With a sigh he picked them up and put them on the shelf in his closet. Closing the door firmly behind him he crawled into bed and slept.
After cleaning up he walked over to Jill and Mike's apartment. He started to knock, then remembered their insistence that he come and go freely and opened the door. Mike was doing some kind of exercises in the living room and Jill was sitting in the kitchen finishing off a sandwich. "Hey guys, hope I'm not too late." He said.
Mike stopped what he was doing and looked over at Sean with a smile. "Nah, you're not too late! We've got plenty of time. Have a seat and I'll get ready to go." He replied.
Jill waved from the kitchen and quickly polished off her sandwich. Sean sat on the couch and Jill soon joined him. "How are you this morning?" she asked with some concern.
Sean smiled and replied, "Much better! No strange dreams and I slept like a baby!"
Jill smiled in relief. "I'm glad to hear that. I was starting to worry about you." She said.
They heard the shower turn on. "Sounds like we've got a little time before Mike's ready." Sean noted.
"Would you like something to eat?" Jill asked.
Sean shook his head. "No, I just ate a couple stacks of pancakes. I'm fine."
"A couple stacks?! You must have been hungry!" Jill exclaimed.
Sean shrugged. "Yeah, I don't normally eat that much. Guess I needed the calories to help me recover from the last few days."
They heard the bathroom door open and Mike walked out of the bathroom and into his and Jill's bedroom stark naked. "I wish he wouldn't do that when I'm here." Sean groaned, looking away.
"I wish he wouldn't do it at all!" Jill laughed.
"I wouldn't have thought it would bother you." Sean said curiously.
Jill shrugged and said, "I'm just not as comfortable with casual nudity as he is. Besides, if he didn't do it all the time, he wouldn't do it when we have company. I'm surprised it bothers you, though. Didn't you see that sort of thing a lot in high school?"
"Not really. Everyone but Mike assumed I was gay and they banished me to the farthest corner of the locker room. I didn't take any more PE classes than I had to, so I only really had to deal with the locker room a couple of years. I guess I'm not comfortable with casual nudity, either." Sean replied.
A few minutes later Mike returned fully dressed and they left for the miniature golf course. The nearest one was about a thirty minute drive, so Sean had brought a book. He read in the back seat while Jill and Mike talked in the front.
Halfway there Mike noticed something in the rear view mirror. He took a closer look and thought he saw a forest through a small hole in the air next to Sean. He jerked the wheel a little but managed to not alert his passengers. He kept one eye on the hole as he drove. It seemed to grow over time, but it disappeared shortly after they arrived and Sean put his book down. Mike decided not to tell the others as he was afraid he was loosing his mind.
The three friends had an enjoyable round of miniature golf and Mike trounced Jill and Sean ruthlessly. Sean didn't seem bothered, even though Jill beat him handily as well. He'd never been very competitive.
It was only three o'clock when they finished so they decided to give it another round. This time it was a closer competition between Jill and Mike, but Mike still won. Sean was trounced again, but didn't mind.
After the second round they decided to get some fried chicken and take it back to Sean's apartment. On the way back Sean was reading again. Mike moved the mirror so he couldn't see the area next to Sean and concentrated on the road. The change in the mirror's orientation allowed Jill to see it when a new hole formed, though. She was shocked to see it and wondered what it could mean, but said nothing.
When they got back to Sean's place they set up in the living room with the chicken and watched a movie. It was fantasy and Sean found himself thoroughly enthralled by it. Mike was, too, but Jill was not so distracted that she didn't see the hole in the air appear next to Sean to reveal a scene right from the movie. She began to think she knew what was going on, crazy though it sounded. She decided not to say anything about it, yet.
After the movie it was time for Sean's daily chat with Erica, so Mike and Jill returned to their own apartment. "You saw it, didn't you?" Jill asked Mike as they were sitting down on their living room couch.
"Uh, what do you mean?" Mike asked nervously.
"C'mon Mike, there's a reason you turned that mirror away from yourself. You didn't want to see it again, did you?" Jill countered.
"See what?" Mike asked, trying to act innocent and failing miserably.
"The same thing we saw yesterday! I saw it on the way back from miniature golf, and again while we were watching the movie. You saw it on the way to miniature golf. That's four times so far that this has happened!" Jill answered.
"You saw it during the movie, too?!" Mike exclaimed, forgetting that he was pretending not to have seen anything at all.
Jill just nodded, "Yes, I saw it then too. I know it's crazy, but I think Sean is somehow causing it! And I don't think he's aware of it."
"But what is it, or are we just losing our minds?" Mike asked worriedly.
"There's no point questioning our sanity on this, we both saw the same thing. Even Sean saw it yesterday! If we're crazy, then so is he. So let's just assume we're not crazy and try and figure this out." Jill answered.
"Okay, well it's only happened near Sean, and only when he's reading a book or watching a movie. I guess that's something." Mike said thoughtfully.
"That's more like it!" Jill said happily. "It also didn't happen, I think anyway, when we went to the theater. Why would that be?"
Mike thought that one over for a moment. "Maybe it has something to do with his level of concentration? He wasn't too impressed with the movie at the theater, but he was totally into the movie we watched here. And he was very involved in his book, too. Maybe it has to be a story he really likes or something?" he suggested.
Jill nodded. "That's a good start." She agreed. They continued to discuss possibilities, but had to admit that without further experimentation they weren't likely to come up with any answers. They also agreed that getting Sean to see what was happening was necessary for that.
He couldn't help taking a peak to make sure they were still there in his closet. Seeing them tucked away in his closet he wondered what was going on, and if the holes in the air and the strange artifacts were somehow connected. Shaking his head he resolutely closed the door and went to bed.
Sean was feeling so much better, and having such a pleasant work day, that he noticed the taunts of his coworkers more than usual. They made him feel like he was back in high school, which was one of the reasons he hated his job. Even when everything else was going well, he still had to deal with all the taunting over his supposed homosexuality.
John Green was the worst of the lot. He was a big, strong ex-jock who felt that Sean wasn't a real man. He was always calling Sean 'girly boy', 'fag', and other less kind things. Sean ignored him as best he could and continued with his work.
Once his work day was finally over Sean gratefully clocked out and drove home. Once he'd parked his car he made the short walk over to Jill and Mike's apartment. It was getting cold enough for him to regret not wearing a jacket so he was quick to get inside.
"Hey Sean, how was your day?" Mike greeted him. He was playing tennis on his Wii. Unlike Sean he didn't have much use for video games unless they involved lots of movement.
"Okay. How about you?" he replied as he flopped onto the couch. He made sure to keep a healthy distance between him and Mike so he didn't get swatted with the Wii remote.
"Fine. Jill's really involved in her latest project, do you want to make dinner or shall we go out?" he asked just after smashing a serve into the far corner of the court from his opponent.
"I'll make it." Sean replied. He dragged himself off of the couch and into the kitchen. He didn't feel like doing anything complicated so he just made spaghetti.
When Sean told him dinner was ready Mike went back to drag Jill out of her studio. When they came out Jill was covered in splotches of different colored paint. Sean raised an inquiring eyebrow at Mike. "She washed, I swear!" he said. Sean shook his head and turned off the stove before sitting down to eat.
They chatted a little about their day during dinner, but mostly they concentrated on eating. Sean felt a tension in the air he didn't want to think about.
After dinner they all moved to the living room with Mike and Jill on the couch and Sean in the recliner as usual. "Sean, we need to talk." Jill said hesitantly once they were all settled.
"About what?" Sean asked nervously. He knew what, but he was hoping his friends either hadn't noticed, or had disregarded it.
"About what we saw over the weekend." Jill replied.
"What are you talking about?" Sean tried to bluff futilely.
"How about what we saw on Saturday." Mike said.
"That was just an illusion." Sean protested lamely.
"We know it wasn't, Sean, and we saw it again on Sunday." Mike replied.
"Well, maybe you should get your eyes checked?" Sean said weakly.
Jill frowned at Sean's reaction. "You saw it too, didn't you?"
"No, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary on Sunday." Sean said forcefully. No lie, there, I didn't dare look! he thought.
"Maybe you didn't see it, but you were aware of it, weren't you?" Jill asked suspiciously.
"Why are you harping on this?" Sean asked.
"Why are you trying to pretend it didn't happen?" Jill replied.
"Because it's crazy!" Sean snapped.
"You're really scared, aren't you?" Jill said softly.
"Wouldn't you be if your dreams weren't dreams?!" Sean demanded angrily. His friends had rarely seen him this angry.
"What are you talking about?" Mike asked, confused. He hadn't followed all of Jill's reasoning, let alone Sean's.
"Wait right here!" Sean growled through gritted teeth. He stormed out of the apartment and returned shortly carrying a large white feather. "This is what I'm talking about!" He yelled, shoving the feather at Mike.
Mike examined the feather curiously. It was larger than any feather he had ever seen. "Where'd you get this from, an ostrich?" he asked.
"No, I got it from a man with wings!" Sean growled.
Jill's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Are you saying those dreams you've been having are real?!" she asked in shock.
All the anger seemed to flow out of Sean like a punctured balloon and he slumped back into the recliner. "I don't know." He admitted. "I just know I found that in my room Saturday morning. After I found the sword."
"Sword?!" Mike said. "What sword?"
Sean waved weakly at the door. "It's in my bedroom closet on the shelf. I found it next to me on my bed when I woke up Saturday morning. It's identical to the one I took from a dead prison guard in my 'dream'." He replied.
Mike stood and walked over to Sean's apartment and let himself in. Walking into Sean's bedroom he saw the closet door was still open and the sword was sitting there in its' scabbard. He picked it up and carried it back to his apartment. "This it?" he asked Sean. Sean nodded and he drew the sword from its sheath to take a look at it. It wasn't anything fancy. Just a plain short sword with a few notches and scratches along its length. "This looks like it's seen some use." He noted.
"This is even more serious than I thought." Jill mused. "I thought you were somehow creating those images from your subconscious, but that wouldn't explain a solid object like that sword. Now I'm wondering if you were actually there!"
"What do you mean Jill?" Mike asked, looking up from his examination of the sword.
"Well, what if Sean dreamed those places, and then somehow went there in his sleep." Jill explained. "You said your dreams always started with you waking up, right?" she asked Sean, who nodded. "What if you were actually waking up? Then after everything that happened you fell asleep again and traveled back to your bed in your sleep. Kind of a dimensional sleep walking."
"Dimensional?" Sean asked.
Jill shrugged. "How else do you explain it? You somehow tapped into another world in your sleep and traveled there and back again. I'm guessing those things we saw were doorways to worlds like the ones in your book and in that movie."
Mike dropped down into the couch next to Jill. "Wow, that's some theory! But it does fit what we know so far. Maybe we should test it?" he suggested.
"Test it? How do you suggest we do that?" Sean asked wearily.
"You read your book and one of us will try to walk through the doorway that appears." Mike answered.
"That sounds pretty dangerous, Mike." Jill said.
"Okay, then we'll all go." Mike countered.
"What if we can't get back?" Sean asked fearfully.
"Well, you came back on your own when you fell asleep before. Maybe if we just hold onto you while you sleep we'll all be transported back here?" Jill answered.
"That settles that. Now all we need is some way for me to carry this sword!" Mike announced.
"Why do you need the sword?" Jill asked.
"The book Sean's been reading is fantasy. One of us aught to have a sword. And I'm the one best suited to use it." Mike explained.
"If we're going to be ready for a fight, then I'm getting my bow." Sean announced. Jill followed him to his apartment and helped him carry his book, bow, arrows, and related gear back to her apartment. Once there Sean strapped on his arm guard and quiver.
"Okay, I'm ready to go." He announced. Jill held up his book. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that." He said and took the book. Mike meanwhile had run a piece of rope through his belt loops and tied the scabbard to it. He slid the sword home and tested to make sure it wouldn't fall off.
"What about me?" Jill asked. "Shouldn't I be armed, too?"
Mike looked thoughtful and then walked over to the spare bedroom and rummaged around in his camping gear. "Ah, here we go!" he announced happily as he returned with a sheathed hunting knife. He handed it to Jill who attached it to a belt loop on her jeans.
"I guess that's better than nothing." Jill said looking down at the blade. It was about six inches long.
"You know," Sean began, holding up his book, "we're probably just going to walk through some trick of the light and all feel pretty stupid about this."
Mike shrugged. "I'd rather feel stupid than let you keep sleep walking through other worlds and get yourself killed. Better we get a handle on this now, even if we're all just hallucinating because of mold in the walls or something." Jill nodded, so Sean opened his book and began reading.
In moments a hole opened up beside him and a forest became visible through it. Soon it had grown large enough to walk through. Jill grabbed Mike's and Sean's hands and prodded Sean forward. Then they stepped through the hole.
They now found themselves in a forest of gargantuan trees. They looked behind them and there was a hole showing Mike and Jill's apartment. "Well, either we've really lost it, or this is no illusion." Mike said in awe.
"No, this is real." Jill agreed. She looked around and saw only trees in every direction. There were no signs of civilization at all. "Where are we?" she wondered aloud.
"Veltare forest, according to the book." Sean replied. "The main characters take refuge here when they're chased by bandits."
"Are those the main characters, or the bandits?" Mike asked in alarm, as he pointed to a group of people running through the forest. His question was answered when several armed men came into view, hot on their trail. "Never mind."
"Uh, I think we'd better get back through the portal." Sean suggested fearfully.
"Why?" Jill asked. The bandits were nowhere near them.
"Well, the main characters get away from the bandits by blasting them with powerful magic that they really don't know how to control. They end up destroying half the forest. I don't think we want to be here for that." Sean replied. Mike and Jill looked at him in surprise and then grabbed his hands and they all jumped back through the portal.
Back in Mike and Jill's apartment, Sean quickly dropped the book on the floor hoping that would close the portal. It did, but not before a blast of hot air shot out of it and knocked them all down.
"What was that?" Mike groaned as he tried to extricate himself from the tangle of limbs.
"That was probably just the very edge of the blast I was talking about." Sean replied.
"I told you it'd be dangerous. It's a good thing Sean knows that book so well!" Jill said.
"Yeah, if we do that again lets pick a story that's a little less violent." Mike agreed.
"And why would we do that again?" Sean groaned as he took off his quiver and set it and his bow down next to the recliner. After sitting down he said, "I don't know why I let you guys talk me into that, but we're not doing it again!"
"But what if you start dream walking again?" Jill asked.
"I haven't the last two nights, why should I now?" Sean replied.
"If you don't have control of this…whatever it is, you might. Wouldn't you rather have control over it so it doesn't control your life?" Jill asked pointedly.
"She's got a point Sean. It might be more dangerous to leave it alone than to explore it." Mike agreed.
Sean shook his head wearily. "You two are going to be the death of me. But not tonight! I'm going to go home, talk to Erica, and crash."
Mike nodded. "That's probably a good idea. We can try again tomorrow. Jill and I will work on coming up with a better book to use."
Sean just groaned and collected his book and archery gear. Jill gave him a hug and they said goodbye to their friend.
"Do you really think this is a good idea?" Mike asked after he'd left.
"Yes. I think his ability is developing still. First he was doing it in his sleep, now he does it when he reads or watches a movie. Who knows what will happen next? If he doesn't get control of it now, he may never." Jill answered.
"That's assuming he can get control of it." Mike pointed out.
"I'd rather assume that he can. It's bad enough he's developed this strange ability." Jill replied.
"I wonder where it came from." Mike mused.
Jill shrugged, "I doubt we'll ever know. It's not like there are experts on mystical phenomenon out there we can consult." She said with a laugh.
SeanDreamer has logged on
Erica378 has logged on
<SeanDreamer>: How are you?
<Erica378>: Okay. The work load is insane, but with my study group I'm keeping up. How about you?
<SeanDreamer>: Nothing new. Had dinner with Mike and Jill again.
<Erica378>: Good. I don't want you hiding away by yourself all the time!
<SeanDreamer>: I won't! ;P
<Erica378>: I love you!
<SeanDreamer>: I love you, too!
<Erica378>: How are your classes going?
<SeanDreamer>: Okay.
<Erica378>: Argh! Getting details out of you is like pulling teeth!
<SeanDreamer>: Now that you mention it, I haven't finished my homework yet.
<Erica378>: Really? That's unusual for you.
<SeanDreamer>: Mike and Jill did keep me pretty busy over the weekend.
<Erica378>: True. Make sure you get it done!
<SeanDreamer>: Will do.
<Erica378>: I'd better go. I'll talk to you tomorrow!
<SeanDreamer>: Tomorrow then. Bye!
<Erica378>: Bye!
SeanDreamer has logged out
Erica378 has logged out
Sean sighed as he turned off his computer. He hated lying to Erica like that, but she would never believe the stuff that was happening. If she couldn't see it or touch it, it wasn't real to her.
After taking a quick shower Sean grabbed his book and climbed into bed. He figured he'd need the help relaxing to get to sleep tonight. He was just getting into the book when a portal appeared next to his bed. In it he could see the blasted forest and the heroes of the story camped out in it. He gazed in wonder at this scene of devastation. The elf of the group, Kelna, seemed to be looking right at him. She strung her bow and knocked an arrow as she approached the portal. Sean stared in shock and couldn't move. Kelna drew her bow back and fired and Sean dropped the book as he fell off the bed trying to get away from it.
When he stuck his head back over the bed the portal was gone. Sighing in relief, he climbed back into bed and carefully put his book aside. No more night time reading for me! he thought. Once settled back under the covers he turned over to turn off the light and stopped with a shiver of dread. An arrow was imbedded in the wall right next to him! If he hadn't fallen out of bed it would have skewered him. After several tries he managed to yank the arrow out of the wall and tossed it across the room. He lay there nearly hyperventilating for several minutes before he turned off the light.
Sean got very little sleep that night, as the sight of that arrow flying right at him played over and over again in his mind.
After his usual morning routine he headed off to work. For reasons beyond his understanding, his coworkers were being especially abusive. He was even shoved a couple of times. He was beginning to worry by the time his shift was over and hurried out to his car as quickly as he could. He sighed in relief once he was safely locked in his car and drove to the grocery store to pick up some things for dinner.
After that side trip he returned home and carried the groceries over to Mike and Jill's. When he opened the door he found Mike and Jill sitting on the floor amidst piles of books. "What's going on?" he asked.
Jill didn't look up from the book she was examining when she answered, "We're trying to decide where to go next." Sean felt a shiver of fear at that and nearly dropped the bag of groceries.
"You okay Sean?" Mike asked, who had looked up. "You look kind of pale."
Jill looked up at that and examined Sean's face. "Did something happen after you left last night?" she asked.
Sean sat on the couch with the bag on the floor between his feet. "Yeah, something did." He admitted.
"What?" Mike and Jill asked in almost perfect unison. They grinned at each other momentarily before turning their attention back to Sean.
"I was reading in bed, the same book. A portal opened up next to my bed and one of the characters from the book tried to shoot me with an arrow." Sean replied.
Mike frowned in thought. "Can an arrow even pass through the portal?" he asked curiously.
"The hole in my wall would seem to indicate it can." Sean replied dryly.
"Were you hurt?" Jill asked worriedly, jumping to her feet as she said it and looking Sean over.
"No, I rolled off the bed just in time." Sean replied.
"I really don't think you should read in bed anymore, Sean." Mike said with concern.
"I already figured that out." Sean replied wearily. "I really don't think this is a good idea."
"But that's exactly why we need to do this!" Jill pointed out. Sean sighed in defeat.
"Try to find something safe and peaceful, then, while I make dinner." Sean said as he grabbed the bag and stood up.
Jill smiled thankfully at him, she had completely forgotten about dinner. "What do you think about this one Mike?" she asked holding up a small paperback book.
Mike took the book and read the synopsis on the back. "I don't know, Jill, going to a romance novel world could be pretty embarrassing." Mike said doubtfully.
Jill sighed and put the book in the 'no' pile and picked up another. They'd been at this ever since Mike got home from work. They'd split the books into 'way too dangerous' and 'maybe' piles and were now whittling down the 'maybe' pile.
"How about this one?" Mike asked, holding out a hardbound book.
Jill didn't have to read the synopsis to know this book was unacceptable. "Mike, it's got space ships blasting each other into oblivion right on the cover! Why would you even consider it?" she asked exasperatedly.
Mike shrugged, "I just thought it would be cool to go into space." He replied.
Jill rolled her eyes. "Men!" she muttered, while placing that book firmly on the 'way too dangerous' pile.
They still hadn't decided on a book when Sean called out that dinner was ready. They carefully extricated themselves from the piles of books and made their way to the kitchen.
"Hmm, something smells good!" Mike said as he sat down. "Nice to have a proper cook for once!" he said with a grin and just managed to dodge the slap Jill was aiming at his arm.
"No fighting at the table, children." Sean admonished with a grin.
"Yes, Mommy!" they said in unison. Sean rolled his eyes and set their dinner on the table.
After dinner they all sat down with the books again. Sean took a look at the 'way too dangerous' pile and shuddered. I'm glad we're not going to use any of those! he thought.
"How about this one?" Mike asked, holding out a manga. It was titled Imadoki! by Yuu Watase. "There doesn't seem to be any danger in it."
"Oh, yeah, that's a good one. Yuu Watase is one of my favorites!" Sean agreed.
"That could work." Jill agreed. "It's been a while since I read that, but I don't remember anything dangerous. We'll stick out like a sore thumb in an exclusive Japanese high school, though." Jill pointed out.
"That's a whole lot better than being in a forest that's about to get nuked." Mike countered.
"Well, yeah, that's true. Do you want to give this one a try, Sean?" she asked.
"Not really, you know I don't want to do this. But if we're going to, this is a good choice." Sean replied.
"Shall we get started then?" Mike suggested, handing the book to Sean. Jill nodded encouragingly at Sean.
"If you insist." Sean said with a sigh. He opened the book and started reading. The portal appeared almost instantly.
"Let's go." Jill said, taking a hold of Sean's hand. Reaching back for Mike's, she nudged Sean towards the portal. With another sigh Sean stepped through, followed by his friends.
On the other side of the portal they found themselves on the grounds of a school. The gates were closed, but there were two teenagers there talking by a lone daffodil. "They look a lot different in real life." Sean noted.
"I was wondering if everyone would look like anime characters or something. But they look just like any other Japanese teenagers." Jill agreed.
"That would have been weird." Mike said. "I'm glad they look normal."
"So now what?" Sean asked.
"We have a little experiment we want to try. Mike will go through the portal on his own, and then we'll follow with me still holding your hand. This way we'll find out if physical contact is required for us to use the portal or not." Jill replied.
"I can already tell you it probably isn't. Remember the arrow?" Sean reminded them.
Jill nodded. "I know, but we should make sure, anyway. We need to know as much about how this works as possible."
"Alright, go on Mike." Sean replied wearily. Mike let go of Jill's hand and stepped back through the portal. They could see him on the other side, waving, then he moved aside for them. Jill and Sean stepped through and Sean closed the book and handed it back to Mike. The portal closed almost instantly.
"Well, that's one test out of the way." Mike said. "Obviously we don't have to have physical contact with you to use the portal. We've got some other tests we'd like to try, though."
"Not tonight." Sean said with a shake of his head. "It's getting late and I'm tired. I'm going to talk to Erica and go to bed."
"Did you sleep okay last night?" Jill asked worriedly.
"Would you after someone shot an arrow at you and barely missed?" Sean asked with eyebrow raised questioningly.
"Oh, guess not." Jill replied. "Well, good night Sean." She said and hugged him goodbye. Mike said good night and Sean left.
"Are you sure we should continue with these tests Jill? They're really dangerous." Mike asked.
"They're no more dangerous then letting Sean's ability remain wild. He could end up waking up in space one day if he doesn't get control of it." Jill pointed out.
"Yeah, okay. But let's be careful." Mike said. Jill nodded at that and they cuddled up on the couch to watch TV.
"Hey pussy, you're looking happy, have a nice night with your boyfriend?" Kyle asked with a sneer as Sean walked in. He was one of Sean's more abusive coworkers. As Sean walked over to the time clock Kyle shoved him out of his way and walked out. That set the tone for the rest of Sean's day. Why are they suddenly so hostile? he wondered.
Once again, Sean was quick to leave when his shift was over. Kyle and a couple of his friends were standing around talking not far from the door Sean exited from. When they saw Sean they started moving his way. Sean quickened his pace and jumped in his car and locked it before they could catch up with him. They were laughing as he pulled away.
Sean only relaxed once he was home. After locking up his car he headed over to Jill and Mike's.
"Hey Sean, how's it going?" Mike greeted when Sean entered the apartment. He was seated on the couch with a small stack of books sitting next to him.
"Fine." Sean answered in a monotone. He took a seat at the kitchen table.
Mike took one look at his face and headed back to Jill's studio. "Jill, Sean's here and something's bothering him." He told her.
"Okay, I'll be right there." She replied, intent on her painting.
"What are you working on?" Mike asked curiously, trying to peer around her shoulder.
"Just a portrait." Jill replied evasively.
"A portrait of whom?" Mike asked. He couldn't quit see what she was working on from where he was standing, and he knew from experience that she would block him from getting any closer. She hated to let anyone see her work before it was finished.
"Nobody, just an image I got stuck in my head." She replied vaguely.
Jill wouldn't say any more, so Mike returned to the living room to look at the selection of books he and Jill had picked out. When he glanced in the kitchen he saw that Sean was busy working on dinner. Shrugging, he went back to his perusal.
Jill felt guilty about hiding what she was doing from Mike, but she didn't know why. She'd just gotten this image stuck in her mind since last night. She'd been working on it all day and was nearly finished. For some reason she didn't want Mike to see it, or Sean. She shrugged and got back to work.
Sean, meanwhile, was busy working on dinner. He was trying hard not to think about his problems, so he focused instead on cooking. He ended up making far too much food for just the three of them.
"Hey Mike, dinner's ready!" he called out. Mike went back and retrieved Jill, still without getting a glimpse of her mysterious portrait.
They were quiet through dinner. It wasn't until Sean was cleaning up afterwards that anyone said anything. "So what's bothering you, Sean?" Jill asked. It didn't take her long to pick up on it.
"Nothing." He mumbled as he worked.
"It's not nothing Sean. Tell us." Jill insisted.
"Just a little harassment at work." He muttered, still not looking at them.
"No, how they normally treat you at work is 'a little harassment'. For you to be this bothered it's got to have gotten worse!" Jill replied.
This got Mike's instant attention. "What happened, Sean?" he asked dangerously. If someone hurt him… he thought angrily.
Jill put a hand on Mike's arm to calm him and turned a questioning glance on Sean. "Well?"
"Okay, so it's gotten a little worse." Sean admitted sullenly.
"In what way?" Jill asked.
Sean shrugged. "They're more hostile than they used to be." He said, hoping that would satisfy them.
"Has it gotten physical?" Jill asked worriedly.
He shrugged again. "Not really."
"Exactly what is happening?" Jill asked, annoyed at his evasiveness.
With a little more prodding he finally told them about the last few days. "This sounds serious, have you talked to a supervisor or manager?" Mike asked.
Sean shook his head. "One of the worst of the lot is a supervisor; I doubt it would accomplish anything good. Weren't we going to do another of your crazy experiments?" he asked in hopes of changing the subject.
Jill and Mike both frowned, but decided to let it go for now. "I do have a book I want you two to look at." Jill said.
"You do? You've been working on that portrait all day, when did you have time to look at books?" Mike asked.
"While you were at work, of course. This was an inspired choice, I think." Jill replied and went into the living room to retrieve a book from the pile on the couch. "Here it is!" she said triumphantly and handed the book to Mike.
Sean finally finished cleaning up and walked over to see what it was. "You want to use a book on Greek and Roman gods?!" he asked in shock.
Jill shrugged. "Sure, why not? We can do a little experimenting and maybe get some help at the same time. After all, a god ought to be able to figure out why you can open portals to other worlds, right?"
Mike and Sean gaped at her for a moment before Sean was able to find his voice and said, "You must be crazy! They're always depicted as being unpredictable and dangerous. We go asking around Mt. Olympus we're liable to get turned to stone or something!"
"Not if we're careful. I bet if you focus on a particular part of a book that you can control, at least to some extent, where the portal opens up. The goddess of love and beauty should be safe enough, don't you think?" she asked.
"You have a point." Mike conceded. "That would make a good test, and I wouldn't think a goddess of love would be that dangerous."
"You're kidding, right?" Sean asked hopefully. Jill shook her head. "All the gods in those myths are dangerous!" Sean protested.
"But we can always go back through the portal if we're in trouble. And I bet you can close the portal after we get there, and then open it back up whenever we need it." Jill countered.
"Are you trying to get us killed?" Sean asked wearily.
"Come on, Sean, give it a try! We can portal in somewhere safe and test your ability to open and close the portal. Then we'll come back and open a new portal to wherever Aphrodite or Venus are." Jill replied.
"Why don't we use that manga from yesterday for the first test." Mike suggested.
"That I'll do, but I won't even consider going near a god unless I'm sure I can open the portal anywhere!" Sean declared firmly.
Jill sighed, but conceded the point. "Okay, we'll do it your way."
Mike retrieved Imadoki! and handed it to Sean. He opened the portal and they all walked through, not holding hands anymore now that they knew it wasn't necessary.
"Okay, Sean, close the portal." Jill instructed.
Sean took a deep breath and then closed the book. Nothing happened at first, but then he concentrated on the portal closing, and it did!
"Now try opening the portal back to the apartment." Jill said.
Sean did as she said and the portal soon appeared. They could see the living room of Jill and Mike's apartment and the pile of books on the couch. "Alright, Sean, you did it!" Jill exclaimed.
"Now we need to know you can open the portal from different places." Mike pointed out.
Sean nodded and closed the portal. He then walked a few dozen feet away and opened it again. It appeared right next to him as it always did. "I wonder if I can make it open somewhere other than right next to me…" he wondered aloud.
"Try it!" Jill encouraged.
Sean nodded and closed the portal. Then he concentrated on the area by the gate to the school. The portal appeared right where he planned. "Satisfied?" Jill asked.
Sean seemed stunned at his success. "I…I guess so. Maybe this idea of yours will work after all."
With that Sean closed the portal and reopened it next to him. They all filed through and Sean closed the portal again. "I don't even have to drop the book to do it!" Sean breathed in awe. "I guess I'm getting better at this."
"Okay, now let's find a good place to portal in to." Jill suggested, handing the other book to Sean.
"That could take a while. Why don't I take this home with me and mark the spot, then we can go there tomorrow?" Sean suggested. Jill and Mike agreed, so Sean left with the book.
After a quick IM chat with Erica, Sean sat down to read.
By then he was exhausted, so he climbed into bed. He fell asleep with a smile, knowing he wouldn't be having any more of those 'dreams'.
Sean awoke groggily the next morning, having stayed up later than usual with his reading and portal experimentation. He was so slow he ended up skipping breakfast just to get to work on time. At work the harassment from his coworkers continued to escalate. He was tempted to open a portal and shove them through. I wonder how Kyle would handle Jurassic Park? he wondered with a smile. That thought buoyed his spirits and helped him to shrug off the taunts of his coworkers. They seemed put off by his attitude and they lost some of their enthusiasm.
After work he returned to his apartment to pick up the mythology book and Jurassic Park, which he stashed in his car, just in case. Never know when a thirty foot T-Rex might come in handy. he chuckled to himself as he walked over to Jill and Mike's.
"Hello Mike!" he said cheerfully as he walked in. Mike was playing tennis again. "I found a promising spot in the book last night."
Mike paused his game and looked over at Sean. "You look cheerful, have a good sleep?" he asked.
"Actually, I stayed up a little late reading, but I think I've gotten a little better control of this thing. I was able to read my book for a while without opening any portals!" he said happily.
"Good! That would really suck if you could never read again without opening one of those portals. Show me what you found." Mike replied. Sean showed him the place he'd marked in the book. "That looks promising." He agreed.
"So where's Jill?" Sean asked. "Still painting?"
"No, believe it or not, she finished the portrait she's been working on and locked up the studio so I couldn't see it. She seemed exhausted afterwards, so she took a nap. She woke up about an hour ago and started putting dinner together." Mike replied.
"Doesn't Jill usually let you see her paintings once she's done with them?" Sean asked.
Mike nodded. "Yeah, she does. She's acting weird about this portrait." Mike said.
"Huh. Well, I guess we'll find out what it's about soon enough." Sean said thoughtfully.
"So how was your day?" Mike asked.
"It started out as bad as yesterday, but it got better after a while." Sean replied with an enigmatic smile.
"What's that grin for?" Mike asked curiously.
"Well, when they were bugging me I was thinking about opening a portal to Jurassic Park and pushing them through. I guess I wasn't reacting the way they expected me to after that." Sean replied.
Mike laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea! You'll have to be careful, though, or you might open a portal in public without meaning to." Mike warned.
Sean shrugged. "Like I said, I seem to have better control over that now. But you're right, I don't want anyone besides you and Jill knowing about this. There's no telling what would happen if anyone else found out." Sean agreed.
"Is that Sean I hear out there?" Jill called out from the kitchen.
"Yeah, I'm here Jill." Sean replied.
"Well get in here, you two, dinner is ready!" she called back. Sean and Mike went into the kitchen and they ate their dinner.
"Sean found a good spot to use for our trip today." Mike said while he was cleaning up the dishes. It was the only thing he was allowed to do in the kitchen after his last cooking disaster the previous year.
"Let me see?" Jill asked, holding her hand out for the book. Sean handed it over and she looked it over. "Yeah, that looks promising." She agreed.
After Mike cleaned up they went to the living room. "Do you think we should go armed again?" Mike asked as Jill handed the book back to Sean.
Jill pondered that a moment before shaking her head and replying, "No, I don't think that's a good idea. Sean can get us out in a hurry if he has to, and I don't think it would impress Venus or Aphrodite or whichever other god or goddess we encounter if we go to their home armed."
Sean nodded reluctantly. "You're probably right. I don't suppose a sword or arrow would do much damage to a god anyway."
"True." Mike agreed ruefully. "There aren't any other dangers we might encounter, though, are there?" he asked worriedly.
Sean shook his head. "No, we'll be arriving on Mt. Olympus itself. There shouldn't be anything there but the gods and goddesses. We should be ready for a quick retreat though, they're known for being unpredictable." Sean replied.
"Are we sure we're ready for this?" Mike asked, looking at Sean and Jill in turn. Sean shrugged, he'd already expressed his concern.
"I don't think the goddess of love and beauty is going to harm us, and the place Sean marked should take us right to her. We should be safe enough, especially with Sean ready to portal us out on a moment's notice." Jill replied, trying to project confidence and being fairly successful.
Sean took a deep breath and said, "Okay, let's get this over with then." He opened the book to the marked section and began reading. Mike and Jill moved closer to him so they could go through the portal quicker. The portal formed quickly and expanded to door size. With an audible gulp Sean stepped through, followed closely by his friends.
Once through the portal Sean closed it so he could open another wherever they might need it. "Stay close, just in case." He cautioned. The others nodded.
They found themselves in a clearing surrounded by trees. There was a natural spring near the center and a beautiful woman with her back to them was just finishing redressing from a dip in the spring when they arrived. Her wet hair dried as she turned to look at them. "Mortals, here?" she murmured dulcetly.
"Um, excuse me, but we were wondering if you could help us…" Jill began, only to be cut off by a screech from the woman.
"Do not speak, mortal!" she screeched. "This is Mt. Olympus, home of the gods! You do not belong here! I am Venus, and I command you to leave at once!" she demanded.
Sean backed away fearfully, which put some distance between himself and his friends. "Please, our friend needs your help…" Jill tried again.
"If you will not leave you will taste my curse!" Venus screamed. Her hands began to glow a blood red color and she began to raise them towards Jill.
"Run!" Sean screamed, opening a portal right behind his friends. Mike shoved Jill through while Sean ran to join them.
Venus pointed her glowing hands at Mike and a blast of energy shot out from them. "NO!!" Sean screamed, and jumped in front of Mike. The blast hit him full in the chest and drove him back into Mike. He felt every nerve in his body burning, and then nothing.
He was lying on Mike and Jill's couch. They'd brought chairs into the room from the kitchen table and were sitting in them next to the couch. "How do you feel Sean?" Jill asked worriedly. She looked sad.
"My whole body hurts, and my voice sounds weird." Sean replied.
"Do you notice anything else different?" Mike asked. Sean glanced at him and noticed a similar expression on his face.
"What are you getting at?" Sean asked worriedly.
"Maybe you'd better look for yourself." Jill suggested.
Sean frowned, but did as she suggested. It wasn't until that moment that he realized he was naked. He was covered with a blanket, so he pulled it up to get a look under it. His mind refused to take in what he was seeing at first. "That's me?!" he screeched.
Jill nodded. "Yes, you're a girl now." She answered sadly. Sean took another look under the blanket. His body looked tiny compared to what he was used to. There was no mistaking his new sex, even though his breasts looked rather small to him.
"This can't be real." Sean protested weakly.
"Sean, you open portals to story book worlds! Weird though this is, it's hardly unbelievable after what we've seen." Mike pointed out. He was looking away as Sean was still holding the blanket up and staring at his new body in shock.
Jill gently pulled the blanket back down. "Why don't I see if I have any clothes that will fit you." She suggested. Sean nodded numbly.
"What exactly happened?" Sean asked Mike while Jill was in their room looking through clothes.
Mike shrugged. "Venus tried to blast us, and you threw yourself in the way. Thanks for that, by the way." Mike said. He looked like he wanted to hug Sean, but wasn't sure if he should with Sean's current form and state of undress. Sean smiled weakly and waved him back. Mike went on gratefully, "You were knocked into me and we both fell through the portal. It closed up immediately after we fell through it. We think you held the book out between yourself and Venus, because it was turned to ash along with your clothes."
"So, uh, did you put me on the couch?" Sean asked. He hoped not, he was uncomfortable enough seeing his body himself, he didn't want Mike seeing it.
"Don't worry, I didn't see anything. I was knocked out when we landed. Jill put you there and covered you before I woke up." Mike reassured him. He was equally glad he hadn't seen anything as Sean.
"Here we are!" Jill called out as she walked in carrying a small pile of clothes. She put the clothes down on the chair she had been sitting on and looked thoughtfully at Mike. "Why don't you go wait in our room until I call for you." She suggested.
Mike hastily agreed and fled the room. "You didn't get me anything too girly, did you?" Sean asked, eyeing the pile of clothes wearily.
Jill laughed. "Don't worry, I picked out things that are as close to your normal clothes as I could manage." She assured him.
"Would you mind turning around?" Sean asked shyly. Jill laughed again, but agreed and turned away. Sean looked through the pile. There were several shirts and a couple of different pairs of pants, along with a pair of panties and three bras. "Why so much?" Sean asked.
"I picked things that fit differently so you'd have a better chance of finding something that fits. If everything's too small we'll have to go with a dress, though." Jill replied without turning around.
Sean shuddered at that idea and quickly pulled on the panties. They were very tight in the hips and didn't come up as far as he expected. The first bra he tried was painfully tight, even when he loosened it up. The second was okay, so he left it on. The jeans were too tight, he couldn't get them even halfway up his hips, but he was able to get the slacks on. They were also very tight and he worried about tearing them if he moved around too much. The first shirt he tried fit okay, though it was tight in the chest, so he left it on.
"Okay, you can turn around now." Sean said.
Jill turned and looked closely at the fit of her clothes. "You're bigger in the hips and chest than I am. I was afraid of that. At least you're able to get something on. Once we get you back to your place you can change. Your old clothes will probably not fit very well, but they won't be too small." Jill said.
"But they didn't look that big when I looked earlier." Sean protested, pointing at his chest.
"That's because you were lying down." Jill replied. "We'd better go get Mike now."
"Do we have to?" Sean whined. "These clothes fit rather tightly. Couldn't I get a robe or something?"
Jill rolled her eyes, "Okay, just a minute." She said and hurried out. A moment later she returned with a robe and handed it to Sean. He quickly threw it on and tied it off as loosely as he could. His body's shape was a lot less distinct, now.
"Happy?" Jill inquired.
"No, but it's better." Sean replied morosely.
Jill gave him a quick hug and started dragging him towards her room. "Come on, we need to talk to Mike."
"What's the big hurry?" Sean asked.
"You'll see." Jill replied mysteriously. She opened the bedroom door and beckoned for Mike to come out. "I need to show you two something." She said and pulled Sean along with her.
Jill dragged Sean over to a covered canvas in her studio and waited impatiently for Mike to catch up with them. "Is that the portrait you were working on the other day?" Mike asked curiously.
Jill nodded. "This image kept coming to me when I was around Sean. This is it." Jill said, and whipped the cover off the canvas.
"So what?" Sean asked perplexed. Mike gasped and kept looking between the portrait and Sean. "What?" Sean asked again, noting Mike's odd behavior.
"Just a second." Jill said and rushed over to a corner and retrieved a full length mirror. She carried it over and propped it up next to the portrait. Sean stared in shock at the mirror, seeing his new body for the first time. He was still tall and thin, but now he had feminine curves and his long brown hair had thickened and lengthened to the small of his back. Many of the changes were fairly subtle, but the net effect was a very pretty girl.
"See?" Jill asked impatiently. Sean was startled out of his contemplation of his own reflection and looked at the portrait. He looked back and forth several times, his jaw dropping open farther with every moment.
"When did you paint this?" Sean whispered.
"I started it yesterday and finished it this morning." Jill replied. Sean shook his head in wonder. The portrait was so perfect it could be another mirror, showing Sean's new face.
Jill shook her head, "I don't know. Like I said, I kept getting this image whenever I was around you. I didn't realize it looked like your twin sister until I was almost done with it. Then when you fell through the portal and I saw what you looked like, I knew it was you I'd drawn, somehow."
"How could you possibly know what Sean was going to look like a day before Venus cursed him?" Mike asked in wonder.
"I just don't know!" Jill replied with tears in her eyes.
Mike held her and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. This is just so weird!"
Sean hadn't looked away from the portrait since he realized he was looking at himself. "What do I do now?" he said sadly.
"Hey, yeah, you still have work tomorrow!" Mike exclaimed.
"You're calling in sick." Jill said firmly. "The first day after you get magically transformed into a woman is no time to worry about work. Especially with the jerks you work with. That'll give us three days to try and fix this."
"Fix this?! Look at me! I'm a girl! How the hell do we fix this?!" Sean screeched.
"Woah, calm down, Sean!" Mike said.
"Look, Sean, you can open portals to pretty much anywhere. We should be able to find someplace we can go where you can be changed back!" Jill replied.
Sean stopped the tirade he was about to unleash and thought about what she'd said. "You're right! But no gods this time, let's find a wizard or something." Sean replied.
Jill laughed, "No gods!" she agreed.
Mike looked at his watch. "Sean, you'd better get home and IM Erica or she's going to worry." He said.
"At least I can talk to her as if nothing's changed." Sean said with a little smile.
"See, it's not all bad. We'll get you changed back in no time." Jill said brightly. "Mike, why don't we walk Sean home."
Mike nodded. "That's a good idea. Let's go." He said. Sean was about to protest, until he thought about going outside the way he looked now. He kept his head down as he followed Mike and Jill out. He carefully didn't look around as they walked to his apartment. He reached for his key when they got there until he remembered that the contents of his pockets had been destroyed along with his clothes.
"Uh, guys, I don't have keys anymore." Sean said softly.
"No problem, we've got our own, remember?" Mike reminded him. "I'll leave my key with you." He said as he unlocked the door. Then he dropped the key in Sean's hand.
"Do you want us to stick around for a while?" Jill asked worriedly.
Sean hurried inside and turned to close the door. "No, I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow." He said. Jill insisted on hugging him goodbye as she always did and they left. Sean hurriedly closed the door and locked it.
Mike and Jill walked back to their apartment and collapsed on the couch. "Well, that was a weird day." Mike commented.
Jill nodded. "I'm worried about Sean. He's been down since Erica left. Now, with the trouble he's been having at work, this ability of his to open portals, and now being turned into a girl, it might all be too much for him." She said sadly.
"Yeah, I'm worried, too. I wish Erica was here, but then maybe that would make things worse." Mike replied.
"That's a good point. As things are he can continue his relationship with Erica the same way he was before. If she were here it would change everything." Jill agreed.
"We're going to have to stick close to Sean at all times. I suggest we go over to his place first thing in the morning, early enough that he won't be up yet would be best." Mike said.
"What about your classes?" Jill asked.
Mike shrugged. "I can get someone else to cover me. Sean is more important."
Jill snuggled up close to Mike. "You're such a good friend to him. That's one of the things I love about you." She purred.
Mike blushed and stammered, "Uh, we should probably get some sleep if we're going to get over there early." He reminded her apologetically.
"Oh, yeah." Jill agreed with a frown. "We'd better go to bed then."
SeanDreamer has logged on
Erica378 has logged on
<SeanDreamer>: Hi Erica, how are you?
<Erica378>: Hi Sean, I'm fine. Busy, but fine. How about you.
<SeanDreamer>: Okay.
<Erica378>: Just okay?
<SeanDreamer>: The guys at work are being real jerks.
<Erica378>: You should talk to someone.
<SeanDreamer>: I'm okay. I just miss you.
<Erica378>: I miss you more!
<SeanDreamer>: Hey, that's my line! ;)
<Erica378>: LOL! Are Mike and Jill taking good care of you?
<SeanDreamer>: Yeah, they're great. They miss you, too.
<Erica378>: Tell them I miss them, too, and to keep taking good care of my baby!
<SeanDreamer>: I love you!
<Erica378>: I love you, too! I'd better get to bed, and so should you!
<SeanDreamer>: Yes, dear! ;)
<Erica378>: Goodnight, I'll talk to you tomorrow.
<SeanDreamer>: Goodnight!
Erica378 has logged off
SeanDreamer has logged off
Sean reluctantly shut down his computer and climbed into bed. He didn't bother taking his clothes off, as he really didn't want to deal with his new body. He tossed and turned for at least an hour before he finally fell asleep.
Sean groaned, but sat up. "What are you doing here so early?" he asked grumpily.
"We decided to come over early so you don't have time to feel sorry for yourself." Jill replied with a sad smile. "Now eat up!" She handed the plate and silverware to Sean and waited patiently for Sean to eat it.
Once he'd started eating Jill went through his drawers looking for something for him to wear. "Don't you have anything but baggy T-shirts and jeans?" Jill complained.
"Just my work uniform." Sean replied between bites. Jill shook her head at that and kept digging. She didn't find anything.
"You really need to get some variety in your wardrobe." Jill chided.
"I suppose you want to get me some skirts and dresses." Sean replied bitterly.
"Hey, that was uncalled for! I was referring to your male wardrobe! Mike has a lot better selection of clothes than you do." Jill replied with a hurt expression.
Sean glanced at her and realized he'd upset her. "Sorry." He mumbled. He went back to eating.
Jill sighed and sat back down on Sean's bed. "I know this is hard on you, Sean, but try not to let it get to you. We'll find a way to change you back." She said.
"Okay." Sean sighed, setting his empty plate aside. "I'll try."
"That's the spirit!" Jill said with forced cheerfulness. She gathered up his plate and said, "Get dressed, okay?" on her way out. She made sure to close the door.
Sean sighed again and picked out clothes to wear. As usual for him, he just grabbed things blindly without paying attention beyond the fact it was a shirt or pair of pants. He dressed quickly and had to tighten his belt down to keep his pants up. He also had to roll up the bottoms of his pants. His shoes were far too big, so he walked out in just his loose socks.
"Hey Sean, how you feeling?" Mike greeted him from the kitchen table where he was eating his own breakfast.
Sean just shrugged in reply. "Don't you have to work today?" he asked curiously.
"I took the day off. Mom's going to cover for me." He replied.
"Must be nice working for your mom like that." Sean commented for the hundredth time.
"It has it's perks." Mike agreed with a grin. "Are you shorter?" he asked, noticing Sean's pants.
Sean shrugged, "I guess so."
"Hey guys, I've got an idea!" Jill called from the living room. She rushed in with a large hardbound book in her hands. "How about we go here?!" she said excitedly, pointing to a line in the open book.
"You want to go to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries?!" Sean exclaimed.
"Hmm, she's got a point." Mike agreed. "You said you'd rather see a wizard or something instead of a god."
Sean groaned. "I'm not going to end up without any bones or something, am I?" He asked worriedly.
"Hey, that was someone who didn't know what they were doing. We should be dealing with experts. You'll be fixed up in no time!" Jill said with forced confidence.
"Alright, we'll give it a try." Sean replied with a sigh. "At least we won't need weapons for this trip. Not that we used them last time."
"Be glad of that, we would have been at a real disadvantage against anyone with experience or training." Mike pointed out. Sean nodded wearily and accepted the book.
"We ready to go?" he asked. They both nodded, so he started reading the section Jill pointed out and opened a portal.
The portal took them inside the hospital. Sean closed it as soon as they were all through so as not to attract any more attention than necessary. "Now what?" he asked.
Jill was just about to say something when a woman in a lime green robe walked up to them and said, "Hello, what can I do for you?"
"My friend here got transformed into a woman by Venus. We were hoping you could change him back." Jill replied, pointing at Sean.
"Really? Haven't heard that one before. Let's take a look at you." She said, looking closely at Sean. She waved a wand at him and mumbled something under her breath. She went on to perform various odd tests and fed Sean all kinds of potions.
"Well, I can find no trace of a curse on you, deary. All my spells say you have always been female. Are you sure your friend used to be male?" she asked, looking back at Jill.
"Absolutely sure. The three of us were visiting Venus, hoping she could help us with a problem Sean's been having, and she got really angry with us. She threw a curse at us, and Sean threw himself in front of Mike to save him." Jill replied.
"Hmm, very noble of you. Well, as there appears to be no curse or enchantment to revoke, I suppose I could cast a gender change spell on you." She suggested doubtfully.
"Yes, please!" Sean replied eagerly.
"Oh, very well." She replied. She waved her wand at Sean again and said something that sounded like Latin. Sean glowed for a moment, but when the glow faded Sean remained female. "Hm, that's odd. Something seems to be blocking my spell. Perhaps you are cursed, after all. I'm very sorry, but there doesn't seem to be anything we can do for you." She said sadly.
"Oh. Well, thanks for trying." Jill said disappointedly. Sean opened a new portal and the three of them returned to Sean's apartment.
"Well, that was a bust." Sean commented bitterly, throwing himself down on his couch.
"Maybe we need stronger magic to overcome a curse from a goddess." Mike suggested.
"Oh yeah, and where are we going to get that?" Sean asked. "Let me guess, another god?"
Mike shrugged. "It might be the only way. I don't like the idea, either, but surely we can find a god in one of these books that is friendly and helpful."
"No way! No more gods! Next time I'll end up a newt or something!" Sean yelled.
Mike sat down on the couch next to Sean. "Come on, Sean, we've got to try something. Unless you really want to spend the rest of your life like this."
"I do not want to be a girl for the rest of my life, and you know it!" Sean retorted angrily.
"Hey, calm down!" Mike retorted. "I'm just trying to help!"
"Yeah, you're real helpful. Like how you talked me into going to see Venus. That worked out real well!" Sean replied sarcastically.
Mike put his hand on Sean's shoulder and said, "Sean, this sucks, I know. You didn't ask for this, and you don't deserve it. But you've got to deal with it now. We'll help all we can but you need to calm down."
Sean grabbed Mike's wrist and tried to push his hand off of him. "Leave me alone, Mike!" he said without looking at him. Mike's hand suddenly left his shoulder and Sean stood and started walking to his room. A startled squeak from behind him caught his attention in spite of himself. But when he turned around, Mike wasn't there. Some stranger was sitting where Mike had been, and she was wearing clothes identical to Mike's!
"Who are you?" he asked, confused.
"Uh, Sean, I think that's Mike." Jill said softly. Sean turned to look at her and saw tears gathering in her eyes.
"Mike?" Sean repeated, looking at the girl on the couch. She nodded sadly. "How did that happen?!"
"It happened when you pushed me away." Mike replied.
"Wait, you mean I did that?!" Sean asked in shock. Mike just shrugged.
"Can…can you…fix it?" Jill stammered worriedly.
"I don't even know how I did it!" Sean exclaimed.
"Try recreating what you did." Mike suggested. He seemed to be handling this better than his friends.
Sean nodded numbly and sat back down. Mike put his hand on Sean's shoulder again and Sean grabbed his wrist and pushed him away. Then he stood and turned around. To his relief, Mike was back to his old self. "Whew! Thank gawd that worked! Are you okay Mike?" he asked.
Mike looked down at himself and smiled. "Yeah, I'm okay. Maybe you can do that for yourself?" he suggested. Sean smiled and grabbed his own wrist and pushed, but nothing happened. He tried slapping himself, pressing his hand against his chest, and anything else he could think of, to no effect.
"Maybe it only works on men." Jill said.
"Then it should work on me!" Sean growled in frustration. Then he got a gleam in his eye and strode over to Jill. He grabbed her by the wrist and pushed her backwards, nearly causing her to fall.
"Sean! Change her back!" Mike roared, as Jill had indeed become male. She was standing there, stunned, looking down to where her breasts used to be.
"Sean?" Jill stammered brokenly. Sean seemed to deflate and hurriedly grabbed Jill again and repeated the push, changing her back.
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to know if it really didn't work on women." Sean mumbled apologetically. Tears were streaking down his face and he turned and ran into his bedroom and collapsed on his bed. He wasn't there for long before Jill came in and closed the door behind her.
"Sean? It's okay, I'm not mad at you." Jill said softly. "I think I understand how you feel a little better now, in fact." She walked over to his bed and sat down, putting a hand on his back and rubbing it. He slowly got his tears under control and turned to face Jill.
"I'm sorry, Jill. I was so mad that it didn't work on me that I took it out on you." He said, still unable to look her in the eye.
Jill grabbed him and hugged him hard. "It's okay, I understand. Mike does, too. Why don't we go back out and work on solving your problem?" she suggested.
Sean reluctantly agreed and followed Jill out to the living room. Mike was sitting on the floor in front of the bookcase looking at the titles. "You two okay?" he asked worriedly. Jill and Sean nodded. "Good! I was wondering, do you think this gender changing thing is related to the spell the witch at the hospital cast, or Venus' curse?"
"It could even be a combination of the two." Jill suggested.
"But if it is, then anything we do will get twisted by the curse!" Sean lamented.
"Not if we remove the curse. How about this one." Mike said, pulling a book off the shelf. "He's supposed to be a really powerful wizard, maybe he can help us."
Sean looked at the book Mike had pulled out. "Well, he is the disciple of a goddess of magic. That might work." Sean said hopefully.
"Why don't you pop open one of your portals and we can find out?" Mike suggested.
"No way! I'm studying this book first. A lot of bad stuff happens in there, I want to make sure we go to a time and place that is safe. There's no way we would last long there otherwise." Sean replied firmly. The others nodded and Sean sat down to read.
"Yeah, Sean doesn't like a mess." Mike agreed.
Sean's apartment was spotless by the time he called out that he'd found a good place in the book. "We should have plenty of time." Sean said, pointing out the place in the story where he wanted to go.
"Let's go then!" Mike said. Jill nodded, so Sean opened the portal and they stepped through.
They found themselves in a room filled with all kinds of odd objects, many of which were obviously very old. In one corner a very old man with an extremely long beard was reading from a large tome. "Um, excuse me, sir, could you help us?" Mike asked anxiously. The man turned surprisingly quickly, a ball of fire appearing in his hand.
"Who are you? How did you get in here?" he demanded. He didn't seem panicked, just weary.
"Um, I'm Mike, this is Jill and Sean. Sean opened a portal here. We were hoping you could help him by removing a curse placed on him by Venus." Mike replied uncertainly. He felt overawed by the old man's presence.
"Hmph! Used to be a boy, eh? Let me see." He said, turning to Sean. He gazed at him silently for several minutes. Sean was having a hard time staying still under his gaze. "I think I see what your problem is. Unfortunately, I can't help you." He finally said.
"Are…are you sure?" Sean asked weakly.
The old man looked kindly at Sean and replied, "Yes, I'm sure. You may want to consider that this might not be a curse at all. I once spent some time as a woman. It was very educational."
"I do not want to stay this way!" Sean declared hotly.
The old mage sighed. "As you say. Is there anything else I can help you with?" he asked.
"Um, there is one thing. I seem to be able to change people's gender now. It doesn't work on me, though." Sean added sadly.
The mage nodded. "I'm not surprised. It's a side effect of your…condition. It's probably triggered by anger. If your friends will let you practice on them, you may be able to exert conscious control over it."
"What about his ability to open portals to other worlds?" Mike asked.
The old mage took another long look at Sean before replying, "Ah, I see, I think. That is most unique. This ability will only get stronger in time. You mustn't ignore or deny it, or it could destroy you. Using it, as you are, will help you greatly. Just be careful where you go!"
They all thanked the mage for his help and Sean opened the portal. Before they could step through the mage called out to them. "One more thing before you go. Traveling between worlds can have unexpected consequences for the traveler. Your friends may find themselves changed by the experience, as will you." He wouldn't say anything else on that, so they left.
"What do you think he meant?" Mike asked once they'd returned to Sean's apartment.
"I don't know, maybe it has something to do with that portrait I painted?" Jill wondered.
"You think traveling with Sean allowed you to see the future or something?" asked Mike.
Jill shrugged. "Maybe."
Sean flopped down on the couch while they were talking. "If he can't help me, who can?" he wondered aloud.
"I don't know, but from what he said using your abilities will help you. If we keep looking I'm sure we'll find something." Jill replied thoughtfully.
"I wonder how this is going to change all of us." Mike wondered. Sean glared at him and he hastily added, "Besides what it's already done to you, Sean."
"Maybe we should stop." Sean said after a long pause in the conversation. "This is too dangerous for you two. If we ever got separated you'd be stuck. I can always escape with a portal, but you can't. Maybe I should just live with it." He finished morosely.
"What about Erica?" Jill asked in shock.
Sean shrugged. "She would have left me eventually, anyway. At least she'll have a good excuse."
"Sean, there's no way you mean that!" Jill exclaimed. "You love her, I know you do!"
"Of course I do!" Sean yelled back. "But she's straight; she won't want to be with me like this!"
"Hey, don't give up so quick Sean! Erica really loves you, I'm sure that she can deal if she has to. But that's almost six months away; we still have lots of time to fix this." Mike said with a hand on Sean's shoulder.
"That's right, and we're helping you whether you like it or not!" Jill added, taking his hand in hers. "We're your friends, we're not going to abandon you. We're going to get through this together."
Tears came to Sean's eyes as he looked at his two friends. "I don't deserve you guys." He said before he started sobbing. Mike and Jill held onto him while he weeped. Eventually he stopped and they pulled back and looked at him.
"You deserve way more than us Sean!" Mike said fervently. Jill nodded emphatically. "Maybe we should take a break for lunch?" Mike suggested. Sean and Jill agreed and Sean retreated to the kitchen to make sandwiches. He insisted on making them himself, he said it would give him something else to think about.
Mike and Jill let him go and sat down on the couch together. "This is going to be really tough." Mike said. "I've never seen Sean lose it like that. He never cried in school, no matter how cruel people were to him."
Jill nodded, she'd never seen Sean cry before this, and she'd seen him treated horribly in the past. "Maybe it's the hormones?" she suggested, knowing that wasn’t the case even as she said it.
"No way. They may make it harder to keep it in, but there's no way that explains everything. He's really hurting." Mike replied.
"Yeah, I know. I think the worry over Erica is hurting him more than the gender change." Jill said.
"Could be. He's so in love with her, I could believe it." Mike replied.
Sean returned with a plate piled high with sandwiches. The three friends had a quiet lunch with no mention of Sean's problems.
"Sean, why don't we go to another world, but just for fun." Jill suggested while they were cleaning up.
"Fun?! What is fun about it?" Sean asked in astonishment.
"Well, aren't there stories you've read that you'd really like to visit? One of your favorites, maybe?" Jill suggested.
Sean thought about that as they walked back to the living room. "I would kind of like to see the Shire. I've always thought that would be interesting." He said.
"Let's do it!" Jill exclaimed, running over to the bookshelf to pull out the relevant book. "Here you go!" she said, handing it to Sean.
"What's this?" Mike asked.
"We're going to go to a world Sean wants to see, just for fun. I thought it would be good to do something fun and it would give Sean more experience at the same time." Jill replied.
Mike looked dubiously at Jill then shrugged. "Okay, I'm in." he said resignedly. Sean flipped through the book for a while before finding what he was looking for.
"Here we are!" he exclaimed. "You guys ready?"
Mike finally got a good look at the book. "We're not going to the dragon's lair, are we?" he asked worriedly.
"Of course not!" Sean scoffed. "I just want to see the Shire!" With that Sean opened the portal and immediately stepped through. Mike and Jill hurriedly followed so they wouldn't be left behind. Once they were through Sean closed the portal.
As they took stock of their surroundings Mike said, "Uh, Sean, I think you missed." They were standing just outside a small town overshadowed by a mountain. As they looked around they saw something falling from the mountain. In a moment they realized it wasn't falling, it was flying, and it was as big as a house!
"Damn, my mind must have wandered after you mentioned the dragon's lair! We've got to get out of here!" Sean exclaimed. He was just about to open the portal when he was distracted by a crowd of people fleeing the town, screaming in fear. They were headed right for Sean and his friends. Sean tore his attention away and opened a portal, but he was bowled over by the crowd before anyone could go through and it closed. Sean had been knocked out when he fell.
"We've got to wait until he wakes up, I guess." Jill replied worriedly. They were still quite close to the town, and the flying object they'd seen was approaching it rapidly. "Is that what I think it is?"
Mike looked back at it and frowned. "I think so. We'd better move Sean farther from the town or we'll be barbecued!"
They dragged Sean as far from the town as they could and watched as the dragon attacked. They were so enthralled by this that they didn't even see the goblins approaching until almost too late.
Jill spied them first. "Mike!" she screamed, pointing out the ugly creatures. They were armed with a motley assortment of weapons.
"Shit!" Mike muttered under his breath. He left Sean with Jill and turned to face the creatures. "I wish I'd brought that sword!"
They seemed hesitant to attack, but one of them was braver than the others and tried to clobber Mike with a club. Mike caught it and kicked the goblin in the face. The goblin dropped the club and fell back. The others backed off for a moment, then charged en masse!
Mike felt despair, he knew he had no chance against so many armed opponents, no matter how unskilled they might be. Then he felt pain throughout his entire body. He blacked out for a moment, and when he came to he saw the goblins were running away in terror. Their weapons lay scattered on the ground.
"Uh, Mike, is that you?" Jill called out hesitantly. Mike turned to look at her and was surprised to see she was tiny!
"Jill? Why are you so small?" he growled. Why am I growling? he thought, confused.
"It's not me that's small, you're huge! You're a dragon!" Jill exclaimed. Mike looked down at himself and saw she was right. His scales were golden in color and he had long claws on all four feet. How he hadn't noticed his changed body before this, he didn't know.
"How?" Mike growled in wonder.
Jill shrugged. "I don't know. You were attacked by those goblins, and then you doubled over like you were in a lot of pain, and you suddenly expanded and changed to become that dragon!"
"Weird!" Mike exclaimed, feeling wings on his back flex. They were huge wings, he could see, but they didn't feel strange to him. It was like he'd always been a dragon. "Well, at least we're safe from the goblins!"
"Uh oh!" Jill said and pointed in the direction of the town. "They've just finished killing a dragon that looked an awful lot like you. I think we'd better get out of here before they think you're him!"
Mike nodded, but was unsure how they'd move Sean. Jill started dragging him, but he woke up quickly. "What's going on?" he asked groggily.
"You got knocked out by people fleeing that town. Then some goblins attacked us, and Mike somehow transformed into a dragon." Jill told him, carefully positioning herself between Sean and Mike so he wouldn't see Mike before getting the explanation.
"A dragon?! How'd that happen?" he asked in shock.
Jill shrugged. "We don't know. But he looks a lot like the dragon that was attacking the town, so I'm worried they'll think he's one and the same." Jill explained.
"Oh. Let's get out of here then." Sean said. Once he'd stood up with Jill's help he saw Mike. "Mike?! Is that really you?" he exclaimed.
Mike nodded, "Yep. Don't ask me how, though!"
Now that Sean was awake, he and Jill were able to climb onto Mike's back and they fled. Mike was able to cover a lot of territory very quickly. Soon the town was out of sight so he stopped and let his passengers off. "You two okay?" he asked.
"We're fine, Mike!" Jill replied.
"Uh, guys, I think we've got another problem." Sean said.
"What?" Jill asked.
"How is Mike going to fit through the portal?" Sean replied.
"Maybe you can make it bigger?" Mike suggested hopefully.
Sean shook his head. "Even if I can, I can't make my apartment bigger!"
"Oh!" Mike exclaimed, catching on.
"Maybe you can change back, Mike?" Jill suggested.
Mike snorted, columns of smoke jetting out of his nostrils. "I don't even know how I changed the first time!" he grumbled.
Sean got a thoughtful expression on his face and then stepped forward and slapped Mike's nose. Suddenly Mike was human again, but female! "How's that?" Sean asked smugly.
Mike rubbed his nose like it hurt. "Did you have to hit so hard?" he grumbled with a grin.
"Wimp!" Sean retorted and stuck his tongue out at him.
Jill laughed at their antics. "The question is, will he turn back to a dragon when you change him back to male?" she said.
"One way to find out!" Sean said and slapped him on the arm. Suddenly Mike was back to his old self, human and male.
"Whew, thanks Sean, I was getting worried for a while there." Mike said in relief.
"I think we should leave a visit to the Shire for another day." Jill suggested.
Sean nodded. "Yeah, I think it would be a good idea to get home now." He agreed, opening the portal. They stepped through into Sean's apartment with relief.
They all flopped down in chair or couch. "That was…interesting." Sean remarked.
"Yeah, you could say that. The weirdest part, for me anyway, was that it felt completely natural to be a dragon." Mike replied.
Jill snapped her fingers. "Hey, remember the mage said that traveling through the portals would change us. Maybe that's why you transformed, Mike!" she said excitedly.
"So, what, I'm going to become a dragon?" Mike asked worriedly.
"I don't think so. After all, you only changed when you were fighting the goblins. Why then, and not earlier? And why not here?" Jill replied.
"Another question is, why didn't I just become a female dragon when Sean slapped me?" Mike wondered aloud.
"Oh, that's easy!" Sean replied. "My ability must only work on your base form, rather than on whatever other form you're in at the time. So it made you a female human instead of a dragon."
"If that's true, it means you aren't becoming a dragon." Jill pointed out.
"That's encouraging." Mike agreed. Just then his stomach growled, loudly.
"Maybe we should go out for dinner." Jill suggested.
"No way!" Sean practically screamed. "I'm not going out like this!"
Jill sighed, "Okay. Mike, why don't you go get us something and bring it back here?" she suggested.
"Any preferences?" he asked. There weren't, so he left to get dinner.
"Why didn't you go with him?" Sean asked worriedly.
"I wanted to talk to you about something. I've been thinking about it, and even though we've got plenty of time to find a solution for you before Erica gets back, we don't have much time before you've got to be back at work. Not to mention your classes which are tomorrow!" Jill said.
Sean seemed to deflate at that. "Oh, yeah." He said morosely.
"I think you should go to your classes tomorrow as you are." Jill stated worriedly. She knew Sean wouldn't take her idea well.
"WHAT?!" Sean screamed.
"Here me out." Jill said, wincing at Sean's volume. "You can tell the college, and your boss, that you're transgendered. I've looked this up online, and there's something called the Real Life Test. Before a transgendered person can have surgery they have to live in their chosen gender for a year or more. You can say that's what you're doing, to find out if being a girl is right for you. That way, when you finally change back, you can say it wasn't right for you after all and everything can go back to the way it was."
"I'd never be able to live that down!" Sean replied angrily. "If you think the way they treat me at work now is bad, just wait to see what it would be like if I did that!"
"I know it'd be tough, Sean, but how else are you going to live? You have to work to pay your bills. Mike and I could take you in, but we couldn't pay your car payments and other bills. And you'd still want to have your apartment for when Erica gets back, I assume." Jill said.
That stopped Sean for a bit. "You're right, I guess, but it won't work! Even if things went okay with my classes, and I doubt that, work would be torture!"
"Not if you stand up for yourself. There are laws against discrimination or harassment based on gender and gender expression. They can't keep treating you like that without getting into all kinds of trouble. Besides, if you had reported them they would have gotten in trouble before!" Jill replied.
"I guess." Sean mumbled. He seemed deep in thought so Jill was hopeful that he would at least consider it.
A short while later Mike returned carrying a bag of Chinese takeout. "Hey guys, dinner's ready!" He called out. Then he saw the worried expression on Sean's and Jill's faces. "What's up?"
"Woah! That's pretty major, alright. I take it from the glum look on your face that you're not enthused by this idea, eh Sean?" Mike asked.
"Would you be?" Sean replied morosely.
"Well, no, I guess not. This is going to make things more difficult for you at work, I bet. But look on the bright side, that guy in your astronomy class should lay off you now!" Mike said with a laugh, trying to cheer his friend up.
"Yeah, great." Sean grumbled.
"Well, lets eat before it gets cold." Jill said.
After dinner the conversation returned to what Sean would do the next day at school. "I'll go with you if you want." Jill said helpfully.
"It's not like you can stay in the classroom the whole time." Sean pointed out.
"No, but I can help you in the office, and I can wait for you outside the classroom and keep you company between classes and afterwards." Jill replied.
"Office?" Sean repeated, confused.
"You'll have to update your name and gender with the school." Jill pointed out.
"Name? Why do I have to change my name?" Sean asked worriedly.
"Sean's not exactly a common name for a woman. Transgendered people usually change their names." Jill replied.
"You must have done a lot of research on this." Mike said.
Jill nodded. "Yes, I did. It's the best solution I could find until Sean's changed back."
"So, should Sean change his name to Shawna, or what?" Mike asked.
"That would work." Jill replied.
"Sarah." Sean said so softly that his friends weren't sure they'd heard correctly.
"Did you say Sarah?" Jill asked. Sean nodded. "Any particular reason for that name?"
Sean shrugged. "I like it, that's all. If I've got to have a female name, it should at least be one I like, right?"
"He's got a point." Mike said.
"She." Jill said pointedly. "We've got to get used to using female pronouns. Otherwise we'll make things more difficult for Sarah whenever we're around other people."
Sean grimaced when Jill referred to him as Sarah. "I really don't like this." He said petulantly.
Mike shrugged. "If you've got a better idea, I'm all ears. I've thought about this, too, but I couldn't come up with anything. I think Jill's idea is the best we're going to get."
"Getting me back to normal would be better." Sean groused.
"Sure." Mike agreed. "But we've tried that, and we're out of time. You can't just drop off the face of the world for however long it takes to find a way back to normal and then expect to go right back to the way things were. You'd lose your job and flunk your classes. And then there's Erica, and your parents. You've got to have some kind of explanation."
"I'm not telling Erica I'm transgendered!" Sean protested.
"I didn't mean you'd tell her that, you've got lots of time to get things settled before she comes home. But everyone else is right here. Maybe you can get away with not telling your parents, you don't go home much, but work and school are a different matter." Mike replied calmly.
"They'll kill me!" Sean protested in a very small voice.
"You mean at work?" Jill asked. Sean looked startled, as if he'd temporarily forgotten his friends were there, and then nodded. Jill frowned. "If you talk to your manager they should keep everyone in line. You don't have to put up with harassment."
"I'll come with you Monday, and pick you up afterwards." Mike offered.
Sean sighed in defeat. "Alright, I'll be Sarah until I can fix this."
Jill hugged her. "I know this will be difficult, but we'll help you any way we can."
"Yeah Sea…Sarah, we'll be there for you." Mike agreed.
They chatted for a little while longer until Sarah indicated it was time for her IM date with Erica. Jill promised to bring some clothes for her in the morning and she and Mike left for their own apartment.
"What a day." Mike remarked as they were walking towards their building.
"You can say that again! There's something weird going on with Sarah. I just can't put my finger on what." Jill mused.
"Weird? Like changing genders, opening portals to other worlds, and being able to change the gender of anyone but yourself?" Mike retorted sarcastically.
Jill rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean! There's something else going on, but as usual she isn't sharing."
Mike nodded thoughtfully. "Her reactions do seem a bit off. She's under a lot of stress, though." He pointed out.
"True." Jill agreed as they reached their apartment. They sat on the couch and turned on the TV, but neither of them were really paying attention.
"Do you really think this transgender thing is going to work?" Mike asked.
Jill nodded. "It has to. She looks enough like she did that she'll be recognized, I think. And there are laws about it, so they can't fire her. The hardest part will be getting Sarah to stand up for herself. She never did that as Sean, but she's going to have to now or she's going to have more problems than ever."
"I'd better go in with her when I drop her off at work on Monday, then. Make sure her coworkers don't give her any trouble." Mike said.
"That's a good idea, but remember that Sarah has to stand up for herself, too. Don't let her get too dependant on your protection, or she'll be helpless whenever you aren't around." Jill cautioned.
Mike nodded. "Good point. This isn't going to be easy for any of us, is it?"
"No." Jill said with a sigh, "It's not. It's really not fair for Sarah to have to go through this, she had enough problems before! But we'll all have to cope as best we can. The one good side to all this is that she can still talk to Erica as if nothing has changed. I think she really needs that."
Sarah wasted no time getting her computer booted up and logged in. Erica was already logged in and waiting for her.
Erica378 is logged on
SeanDreamer is logged on
<Erica378>: You're later than usual, everything OK?
<SeanDreamer>: Yeah, just got to talking with Mike and Jill and lost track of the time. Sorry!
<Erica378>: That's OK, so long as you're alright. How are you?
<SeanDreamer>: OK, how about you?
<Erica378>: I'm fine. Are you going home for Christmas?
<SeanDreamer>: I don't think so. I'll probably just stay here.
<Erica378>: Why don't you visit your parents more?
<SeanDreamer>: I keep in touch with them with email.
<Erica378>: That's not the same! You should visit them!
<SeanDreamer>: Not this year.
<Erica378>: *Sigh* OK, if you insist. I really miss you!
<SeanDreamer>: I miss you more! I can't wait for you to get back!
<Erica378>: Me too! That's the hardest thing about law school, being so far from you!
<SeanDreamer>: Same here!
<Erica378>: Well, I'd better let you get some sleep. I love you!
<SeanDreamer>: I love you more! Good night!
<Erica378>: Good night!
SeanDreamer has logged off
Erica378 has logged off
Sarah sighed in frustration. She hated lying to Erica. I hope we get me back to normal soon! This transgender thing is crazy, but I don't have any better ideas. I'm not looking forward to my classes tomorrow!
Sarah got ready for bed and climbed in. Her dread kept her awake for a long time, tossing and turning constantly, before exhaustion finally won out.
Jill arrived just as Sarah finished mixing the pancake mix. "Have you eaten yet?" Sarah asked. Jill shook her head. "Want some pancakes?"
"Sure, if there's enough." Jill replied.
"I'm not that hungry, there should be plenty." Sarah said. She noticed that Jill was carrying a bag and worried about what kind of clothes she had brought while she cooked up the pancakes.
Jill watched Sarah cook and wondered if Sarah could really handle this, not that there was any real choice. Before long they were slathering on their favorite toppings and eating. Jill helped Sarah clean up afterwards. "I know you're not comfortable with this, so I thought we'd ease you into it gradually. So, no skirt today." Jill said as they worked.
"That's a relief!" Sarah said. They finished cleaning up and Jill picked up her bag and followed Sarah to her room.
"I picked out clothes based on what fit you yesterday. You're still a fair amount taller than me, so I didn't have much that would fit you. Dresses and skirts would work best, but we'll save those for later. We'll probably have to buy you some clothes of your own, though." Jill said as she pulled clothes out of her bag and laid them out on Sarah's bed.
"I'm not going to be a girl that long." Sarah said determinedly.
"Hopefully not, but you can't be sure how long it will take." Jill replied. She left Sarah alone to dress.
A few minutes later Sarah walked out. "Okay, maybe a few things would be a good idea." She admitted. The shorts Jill had left her with were very short indeed, especially on Sarah's long legs, and very tight to boot. The T-shirt was tight enough to emphasize her breasts and small waist. "I'm going to freeze in these." She grumbled, gesturing at the shorts.
"Sorry, but the only things I've got that will fit you are skirts and dresses, and even those are liable to be pretty tight. Did you shave your legs?" Jill asked, looking at Sarah's long smooth legs.
Sarah frowned. "No, I didn't. That's strange."
"It'll probably grow in soon, enjoy it while you can. How are the shoes?" Jill asked, referring to the sandals she'd brought with the clothes.
"They fit okay. I guess if I don't want to freeze to death I'll have to get some clothes after my classes." Sarah said regretfully.
Jill nodded, "It's either that or wear nothing but dresses and skirts and, like I said, they'll probably be pretty tight anyway."
Sarah nodded and picked up her backpack and keys. She stared down at the keys and then turned and held them out to Jill. "I don't have a driver's license anymore, it was destroyed with my wallet when I was cursed. I think you'd better drive."
Jill took the keys. "That could be a problem." She mused. Sarah nodded.
They climbed into Sarah's car and drove over to the college. Sarah was shaking as she climbed out of the car. "It'll be alright, Sarah, try and relax." Jill suggested.
Sarah snorted. "Yeah, right." She scoffed.
Jill sighed as she walked with Sarah to the office. This early in the morning there weren't many people around, which Jill and Sarah were both glad for. They only had to wait for one other person before they were able to talk to someone.
"How may I help you?" the woman at the desk asked.
Sarah was shaking even worse now, so Jill said, "My friend here wants to change her name on her records."
"Do you have a marriage certificate or court order?" the woman asked.
"Uh, no, we don't." Jill said uncertainly.
"Well, I can put a note in her file that she wants to go by a different name, but we can't actually change her name without one or the other." She explained.
"That's fine." Jill replied, realizing this would actually work in Sarah's favor, since she would be changing it back later anyway.
"Okay, what is your old name?" she asked.
"Sean Kinsley." Sarah said softly. She typed into her computer and brought up Sean's information.
"Hmm, that's odd. Looks like we've got you listed as male for some reason. Might as well fix that while I'm at it." She said, typing away.
Jill and Sarah glanced at each other and both decided it was easier to let her believe Sarah had always been female. "What's your new name?" she asked.
"Sarah Kinsley." Sarah replied. The woman looked up for a moment at that.
"Oh, I thought you changed your last name because of marriage, don't get many people changing their first name. Oh well." She said, still typing. After a few moments she stopped and said, "Okay, all done. You'll still need to tell your instructors about your new name, but that's quick and easy. Unless they thought you were a guy!" she said with a laugh. Sarah and Jill laughed with her weakly, knowing they would think she had been a guy, since she had been!
They thanked her and walked on towards the astronomy class. "That was easy." Jill noted.
"Yeah, too bad it won't be that easy with my classes. Maybe you should get the car going and be ready for a quick get away." Sarah joked weakly.
Jill laughed, glad that Sarah was keeping a sense of humor about this. "Don't worry, I'm sure it won't be that bad." She said hopefully.
"Here we are. Class starts in just a few minutes, so I'd better go in." Sarah said.
Jill hugged her and whispered, "Good luck!" into her ear and then watched Sarah walk into her class. I hope she can handle this! she thought.
Sarah walked in and was disappointed to see that the instructor wasn't there yet. She took her usual seat and waited. Half the class was there by the time the instructor arrived. Sarah self-consciously walked up to him. "Excuse me, Mr. Verne. I'm changing my name to Sarah. I've already taken care of it at the office but they said I had to talk to you, too." She said fearfully.
Mr. Verne, a fairly young man who was nevertheless almost completely bald, looked up at Sarah and frowned momentarily. "Oh yes, Sean, right? Yes, Sarah suits you much better. I'll make a note in my records." He said off-handedly, as if nothing unusual was going on. Sarah gaped for a moment, then thanked him and hurriedly retreated to her seat.
He took that well, I wonder if he's had transgender students before? Sarah thought as the rest of the class filed in.
A few people gave Sarah odd looks as they sat down, but no one said anything. The only person in class Sarah had ever talked to before was Jim, and only to tell him no when he asked her out. He was late, so he didn't get a chance to say anything, though his gaze turned towards her more than once during class. Each time he had a pleased smile and winked at her. Great, what's he up to now? she thought worriedly.
Class went by as it always did. She was almost surprised by how normal it was, though she felt far from normal. Once class was over she put everything back in her bag and hurried towards the door. Mr. Verne called for her to wait a moment. "Sarah, I just wanted to say that it's nice to see you not hiding yourself away anymore. Still, something a little warmer would be wise, I think." He said with a wry smile. Sarah nodded numbly and hurried out.
Jim caught up with her just as she reached Jill. "Hey, Sean, wait up!" he called out. He ran over and smiled widely at her. "I knew you would look great if you'd stop trying to look like a guy! Want to get lunch? My treat?" he asked hopefully.
Sarah rolled her eyes. "No! How many times do I have to say it?" she growled.
Jim held his hands up defensively. "Okay, okay! I'll just have to…try again later!" he finished with a grin, running off to his next class.
When Sarah turned around Jill was looking at her in shock. "What?" Sarah asked.
"Sarah, he thought you'd always been a girl!" Jill whispered.
"He did!" Jill replied, in a whisper as they were surrounded by other students.
Sarah laughed again, "No he didn't! Come on, I've still got archery class. Lets get back to my car so I can get my bow."
Jill frowned and started to protest, but thought better of it. I guess it does sound far fetched, Sean didn't look like a girl at all. Even with his hair long. she thought.
After dropping her backpack in her car Sarah picked up her archery gear. "It is strange, though." She mused, "I can understand the woman in the office thinking I was always a girl, since I really am female right now, but Mr. Verne and Jim both acted like nothing was out of the ordinary. I just assumed Mr. Verne had experience with transgendered students and was taking it in stride, but I don't think that would explain Jim."
"Well, maybe he always thought you were a transgendered girl! That would explain it." Jill said.
Sarah nodded, "Yeah, I guess it would." She said, then frowned, "But why would he think I was transgendered before now?"
"I don't know, I certainly never got that impression from you." Jill replied. "Maybe he just wanted it to be true?"
"Why would he want it to be true?" Sarah asked, perplexed.
Jill locked up the car and they started walking towards the archery field. "Well, I read online that some guys are attracted specifically to transgendered women. Maybe he's one of those." She replied.
"Really? They prefer transgendered women to real women?" Sarah asked.
"Transgendered women are real women, Sarah! They just have a birth defect. That kind of thinking has caused them all kinds of trouble. Remember Gwen Araujo?" Jill said fiercely.
"But they can't have children!" Sarah protested.
Jill looked strangely at Sarah before replying, "Lots of women can't have children."
"But they have, you know," Sarah stammered, pointing at her groin, "what I used to have and hope to have again soon!"
Jill rolled her eyes at Sarah. "Some transgendered women do, but some don't." she said.
"They don't?!" Sarah said in shock.
Jill sighed in frustration. "Look, we're almost to the archery field, so I'll explain it later."
Sarah frowned, but agreed. They were early for the archery class, so only a few students were there yet. They didn't pay any attention to Sarah, but then she'd never talked to any of them as Sean, before.
A few minutes later the instructor arrived and opened up the equipment room. Jill nudged Sarah and they walked over to talk to him. "Uh, Mr. Green, I've changed my name…" Sarah started uneasily. She'd always felt intimidated by Mr. Green. He wasn't any taller than Sean was, but he was very muscular and had a temper.
Mr. Green turned to see who was talking to him. He looked closely at Sarah for a moment and his eyes widened as he recognized her. "Sean, is that you?" he asked. Sarah nodded. "I never would have guessed you wanted to be a girl! Damn, you even look shorter! I'm impressed, I wouldn't have thought you could pull it off, but you certainly do!" he said in amazement.
"Her name is Sarah, now." Jill said, hoping to distract him from noticing how impossible her changes really were.
"Sarah, huh? Suits you. Don't worry, I won't let anyone give you any trouble." Mr. Green said encouragingly.
"Uh, thanks, Mr. Green." Sarah said. They left him to his work and stepped away from the other students. "Wow, I never would have thought Mr. Green would react like that!" Sarah said, a little shocked at how easily he had accepted her change.
"From what you've said of him, I am too! This is turning out to be a lot easier than you thought, isn't it?" Jill said.
"Yeah. It's kind of weird, but a lot better than I expected!" Sarah agreed.
Mr. Green started the class soon after that by handing out bows to those who didn't have their own. Then they moved onto the field. Sarah had a little trouble adapting to having breasts, but she soon got the hang of it. After class Mr. Green approached Sarah.
"Much better this week, Sarah! Good luck!" he said with a smile, then turned to talk to another student.
Sarah walked back to Jill, bemused. "What did he say?" Jill asked her.
"He said that I did a lot better than last week, and wished me good luck." Sarah replied.
"What happened last week?" Jill asked curiously as they walked back to Sarah's car.
"Um, well, I was kind of distracted after finding that sword in my bed. I nearly shot myself in the foot a couple of times, and then almost shot someone who was retrieving their arrows." Sarah admitted.
"Oh, I guess I can see why you'd be distracted. You probably should have just skipped class that day." Said Jill.
"Yeah, I guess so." Sarah agreed.
"So, we still need to get you some clothes." Jill said once they were settled in Sarah's car.
"I can't spend too much money, you know." Sarah cautioned.
"I know." Jill replied. "But a thrift store should get you enough to get by for a while."
"Okay, that makes more sense than buying brand-new stuff when I'm not going to use it for long." Sarah agreed.
Jill drove them over to the nearest thrift store. She selected a few things she thought were the right size and had Sarah try them on. Now armed with the proper sizes, they looked through everything that would fit. None of the pants they had were long enough for Sarah.
"I guess you could wear them as capris." Jill said unenthusiastically.
"Forget it." Sarah said dismissively, "They look silly on me."
"You know what the alternatives are, don't you?" Jill asked.
Sarah sighed. "Yeah, I know. I either freeze to death in shorts, or wear skirts." Sarah said resignedly.
They found several skirts that were long enough to keep Sarah warm, and then moved on to tops. This was a little easier, though they couldn't find any long-sleeved tops that had sleeves that were long enough, either. "Oh well, I can still use my jacket." Sarah said.
The selection of shoes was almost non-existent. "Now for the shoe store!" Jill declared. A quick drive to the shoe store netted Sarah a pair of warm brown faux-leather boots with faux-fur trim.
"Well, that wasn't that bad, I guess." Sarah said grudgingly.
"Don't celebrate yet, Sarah, we're not done." Jill replied as she drove out of the parking lot. "We still need to find you some undergarments and socks."
"Great." Sarah said sarcastically.
"You're stretching my clothes out, so you need your own." Jill said.
"Okay, let's go, but I can't spend that much more you know." Sarah replied. Jill nodded and pulled into the Walmart parking lot.
Socks and panties were easy enough, but Jill insisted that Sarah should try on the bras to make sure they fit okay. "You probably haven't noticed since you're not used to it, but my bras really don't fit you very well. You'll be a lot more comfortable with a bra that fits properly." She explained.
After trying several different bras Jill was finally satisfied with the fit. "Feels better, doesn't it?" she asked smugly. The smile on Sarah's face was answer enough.
Sarah grumbled at the price while Jill paid it. "I hope it doesn't take me long to get a new card so I can pay you back for all this." She said.
"Just be glad Mike was able to call in the lost card for you! Losing your driver's license is going to be harder to fix." Jill replied.
"Bad enough she turns me into a girl, why did Venus have to incinerate my wallet?" Sarah groused.
Jill shrugged. They carried the bags out to Sarah's car and drove back to her apartment. Mike was waiting for them when they got there.
"What are you doing waiting out here?" Jill asked.
"I gave Sarah my key." Mike explained.
"Oh yeah, I should have another copy made." Sarah said.
"So how did things go, other than the two of you cleaning out a few stores?" Mike asked with a grin.
Jill stuck her tongue out at Mike for that remark. "It went surprisingly well, actually."
"Yeah, my teachers took it in stride, but Jim still asked me out!" Sarah complained.
"Really? I'd have thought he'd lose interest." Mike said.
"He seemed to think Sarah was always a girl." Jill said. Sarah glared at her and she added, "Or a transgendered girl."
"Huh, that's strange. Maybe that's part of Venus' curse?" Mike wondered.
Jill and Sarah glanced at each other with similar expressions of shock. "I never thought of that…" Sarah said.
"What for?" Sarah complained.
"You know why! Even if you weren't posing as a transgendered woman I'd want you to learn this. Your attitude is all wrong!" Jill replied, steering Sarah to her computer and turning it on for her.
"What are you talking about?" Mike asked, following behind them with a bemused expression.
Jill grabbed Mike's arm and pulled him down onto a chair next to Sarah. "You should see this too Mike. Sarah has some odd ideas about transgendered people. I want to make sure the two of you learn about them. They get too much flack as it is." Jill replied.
Dinner was forgotten as Jill took her friends through the different sites she'd visited when learning about transgendered people in order to help Sarah. Both Mike and Sarah had thoughtful expressions when she was through. "I want both of you to look more thoroughly at those sites later, okay?" Jill asked.
They both nodded. "I had no idea they had it that bad." Mike said.
Jill nodded. "Yeah, they do. And Sarah's posing as one of them. I still think it's the best solution, but there are issues we all need to be aware of."
Sarah kept browsing the sites while Mike and Jill sat on the couch. "What was Sarah saying, anyway?" Mike asked curiously.
"She kept saying that transgendered women aren't real women. It made me so mad at first, but I realized after a while that she really didn't have any clue at all. It's strange though. She seemed more like someone who's been fed all kinds of misinformation than someone who was simply ignorant." Jill replied thoughtfully.
"Well, her parents are kind of religious, maybe she picked something up from them." Mike said.
"That could be." Jill agreed. "There's something weird going on, though. Maybe it's Venus' curse, maybe not, but some people clearly think Sarah was always a girl. I was afraid her change in height would be an issue, but they ignore it! Even the ones who didn't think she was a girl don't see anything strange about her appearance! It's great that things are going so smoothly, but I'm worried. Especially about how things will go at Sarah's job on Monday."
"Don't worry about Monday. We might break Venus' curse before then and, if we don't, I'll stick to Sarah like glue. She'll be fine." Mike assured her.
"I hope so." Jill said worriedly.
"Hey, guys, get in here!" Sarah called out excitedly. Mike and Jill exchanged curious glances and hurried over to the computer.
"What?" Mike asked.
Sarah turned around to look at them and pointed back at the screen. "I've found a great site! It was linked from one of the sites Jill showed us. It's a free story site that specializes in transgender fiction! All of the stories on the site have some kind of transgendered element, and many of them involve complete transformations!" she explained, beaming.
"Hey, that's great!" Mike exclaimed. "There should be all sorts of stories there that could help you!"
Jill looked worried, but the other two didn't notice in their excitement over Sarah's discovery. "I've just got to sort through these stories to find the ones that involve complete transformations. Once I've done that I can read them and find one that will do what I want!" Sarah said.
They left Sarah to her searching and returned to the couch. "This might be resolved pretty quickly, now." Mike said.
Jill shook her head sadly. "I don't think it's going to be that simple. We've already tried things that ought to have worked, and they didn't. I'm afraid only the power of a god or goddess is going to fix this."
Mike seemed surprised at Jill's pessimism. "Well, there are probably stories in there that involve gods." He replied.
"That could be, the hard part will be getting Sarah to use a story that involves gods. She's been avoiding them since Venus, not that I blame her." Jill said.
Jill went into the kitchen to make dinner, so Mike joined Sarah to see if she'd made any progress. "Find anything promising?" he asked.
"Maybe. There's a long list of transformation stories, so I'll have to read through them one by one." Sarah replied.
"Any way I could help?" Mike asked hopefully.
"I'll print out the story list; you can start at the bottom while I start at the top. How's that?" Sarah asked. Mike agreed, so Sarah printed the list out and gave it to him. He retrieved his laptop from his apartment and returned with it to help find a useful story.
They stopped for dinner, and then went back to it. Jill read over Mike's shoulder, or sometimes Sarah's. They didn't find anything that Sarah liked that night, but Sarah felt a lot more positive about things than she had.
While Sarah logged on to chat with Erica, Mike and Jill returned to their apartment.
The next day they were all back at it, this time Jill brought her laptop so all three of them could read. They were at it for hours before Mike found a story he thought would be good. "Hey, Sarah, how about this one?" he called out.
Sarah took a look at the story Mike pointed out. "I wonder if the author realizes she used a Star Wars quote for the title?" she mused aloud.
"Probably, it's a rather cumbersome title, otherwise." Jill replied. "What's it about?"
"These people use spirit energy to transform their bodies and do all kinds of super human stuff." Explained Mike.
"Is it violent?" Jill asked worriedly.
"Not really. There was one fight, but that's it." Mike replied.
"Sounds promising. What do you think, Sarah?" Jill asked.
Sarah had been busy reading the first part of the story while they were talking. "I haven't finished the first part yet, but it sounds good to me. I want to read it all before we go there, though, so I know what we're getting into." She replied.
"We'll keep looking while you read then." Mike said.
They broke for lunch a little while later, but Sarah still had a lot of reading to do. Jill spotted a story she thought might be useful and bookmarked it. By the time Sarah finished reading Mike and Jill had each bookmarked another story. "Okay, I'm ready to go." Sarah announced when she finished.
"That's nice, but I think we should eat first." Jill remarked, noting the time. To Jill's, and especially Mike's, surprise, Sarah opted to eat out. Mike was surprised to see that Sarah was wearing a long, flower print skirt.
"I thought you'd get nothing but pants and T-shirts." He said.
Sarah shrugged. "I would have, but they didn't have anything that fit. I'm too tall, I guess."
After a short drive they arrived at the restaurant. Sarah felt very self-conscious in the skirt, but was grateful that it was long enough to cover her legs. There was a long line to wait in, and then they were able to order and take a table.
"Maybe I won't have to give the transgender story at work." Sarah mused hopefully.
"Don't get your hopes up, Sarah. I hope it works, but we've already had a few promising ideas fail." Jill warned.
"I know." Sarah sighed. "But it would be so much better if nobody at work ever knew about this. School seems to be going well, but I know it will be an entirely different matter at work."
The food had arrived and Sarah had already finished hers when she decided to use the restroom. Jill went with her, since she hadn't used a public restroom yet. "Don't forget to sit down." Jill warned Sarah at the restroom door.
"I always do." Sarah mumbled as she headed for a stall.
"What was that?" Jill asked.
"Nothing." Sarah replied. After washing their hands they left the bathroom and nearly ran into a man leaving the men's room. "Excuse me." Sarah mumbled, not looking up.
"Sean? Is that you? Oh, this is perfect!" the man exclaimed in glee. Sarah looked up and was horrified to see it was John Green from work. "The pussy wants a pussy! I'm looking forward to work tomorrow, this should be lots of fun!" he said with an evil leer. Sarah shuddered as she watched him walk away.
"Are you okay Sarah?" Jill asked worriedly.
Sarah sagged. "It doesn't matter." She said softly.
"What are you saying; of course it matters if you're okay!" Jill exclaimed.
Sarah shook her head impatiently. "No, I meant it doesn't matter if I change back tonight or not. Everybody at work will know about me before I ever get there." She said despairingly.
"Deal with what?" Mike asked, looking worriedly at the obviously upset Sarah.
"We ran into one of Sarah's coworkers on the way back from the restrooms. He's a real jerk." Jill explained.
"Did he recognize Sarah?" Mike asked. Jill nodded. "I see. This complicates things, doesn't it?"
"Yes and no. We were expecting to deal with this, so in that way it's not. If tonight's trip works out, though, then it complicates things some. But we knew we'd be dealing with this at some point, so it's not that different." Jill replied.
"I am so dead!" Sarah said.
"No you're not. I'll be there before and after work, and you can always change their gender if they give you trouble. That ought to get their attention!" Mike chortled.
"Let's try to save that for emergencies." Jill cautioned.
"There's no point in that trip, now." Sarah moped.
"Of course there is!" Jill admonished. "There's still Erica to consider."
That got Sarah's attention. "True, let's go give it a shot." Mike and Jill agreed, so they paid their bill and returned to Sarah's apartment. Sarah printed out the latest chapter of the story and turned to Mike and Jill. "Ready?"
They nodded, so Sarah opened the portal. They stepped through and found themselves on the sidewalk just outside an apartment building. Sarah closed the portal and looked around. "Uh, guys, I just realized something. The apartment number is never specified in the story." Sarah said apologetically.
"Will you be able to recognize the people we're looking for if you see them?" Jill asked.
"Yes, that should be easy enough. Laura's tall and athletic with red hair and green eyes, Melanie's a little shorter and slim with silver eyes and hair and porcelain white skin, and Veronica has black hair and wears Goth style clothes." Sarah replied.
"They sound pretty distinctive. If we wait here we should be able to spot them." Jill said hopefully.
They waited there for several minutes before Sarah said, "Maybe we should go back. I could try to open the portal directly into their apartment."
Mike shook his head, "I don't think that's a good idea. With their abilities, if they thought they were in danger we could get seriously hurt before we had an opportunity to explain ourselves."
Sarah sighed and they continued to wait in silence. About an hour later they saw two people who seemed to appear out of thin air. They were walking towards the apartment building, though they both looked a little flush as if they'd been exercising heavily.
"That looks like two of the people you described." Jill said.
Sarah nodded. "Looks like Laura and Melanie." She agreed. They walked over to talk to them.
"Excuse me, are you Melanie by any chance?" Mike asked the silver haired one. The pair stopped and looked at them. They both looked somewhat alarmed and confused.
"Yeah, I'm Melanie. Who are you?" she asked.
"My name's Mike, and this is my girlfriend Jill and our friend Sarah. We were hoping you could help us." Mike replied.
Melanie's eyes widened in surprise and she turned towards Sarah. "You used to be a guy?" she asked.
Sarah nodded; unsurprised that Melanie had picked that up. "Yes, and I want to change back. Can you help me?"
"We'd better take this conversation inside." The taller woman suggested. They agreed and followed them to their apartment. Inside they found a Goth woman sitting on a couch watching TV. She greeted Melanie and Laura and looked questioningly at the others.
Melanie introduced everyone while Laura retrieved chairs from the kitchen. They all sat down as Melanie said, "Sarah here wants our help to be male again."
"Again?" The Goth, Veronica, asked incredulously.
"She was cursed by Venus, she was a regular guy before that." Mike explained.
Melanie frowned. "Venus is just a myth, isn't she?" she looked at Laura questioningly.
Laura shrugged. "I would have thought so, but I wouldn't have believed what we do was possible before, either."
"She probably is a myth, here." Sarah said.
"What do you mean?" Veronica asked.
"I can open portals to other worlds." Sarah explained. "I use books to do it, somehow. I used a book on Greek and Roman myths to visit Venus."
"Yeah, right." Veronica scoffed. Sarah shrugged and opened the portal to her apartment. "What…the hell…is that!" Veronica exclaimed.
"That's one of my portals; it leads back to my apartment." Sarah replied.
"What's that you're holding?" Melanie asked curiously, noting the printout in Sarah's hands.
"Oh, uh, it's just the latest chapter in a story I found online." Sarah said cautiously.
"Is that how you got here?" Laura asked incredulously.
Sarah shrugged, "Well, yeah." She admitted.
"Does that mean we're just characters in a story?" Melanie asked worriedly.
"I don't think so." Jill said thoughtfully. "I've thought about this before, and I'm sure this world is as real as ours. After all, we're able to bring things back from the worlds we visit."
"And things that happen to us in other worlds stay with us when we return to ours." Sarah added, gesturing at herself with a grimace.
"Which is why we're here." Mike reminded them. "Can you help Sarah?"
"Let me see." Melanie said, turning to look closely at Sarah. She looked puzzled and then her eyes widened in surprise. "Woah! Your aura is really different! I've never seen anything like it! You're spirit's not just awake, it's screaming!"
"Huh?" Mike and Jill said in unison.
"When your spirit is awake, that means you're able to learn the stuff that we have." Laura explained. "Sarah's spirit is wide awake, but it's also extraordinarily powerful!"
"Yeah, if you were fully trained you could squash Ann like a bug! I didn't even think this was possible! Now I'm convinced you come from another world." Melanie said in awe.
"So that means I should be able to learn how to change my body back, right?" Sarah asked hopefully.
"We can try." Melanie said with a shrug of her shoulders, "But I don't know if it will work. Your spirit isn't just really powerful, it's alien! Your aura is totally different to that of any person I've ever seen before."
Sarah looked dejected, but she begged Melanie to give it a try. Melanie agreed and the two of them started working on getting Sarah to the point of being able to sense her own body with her spirit. While she was doing that Laura took Jill and Mike aside.
"Do you think this will work?" Jill asked hopefully.
"I don't know," Laura admitted, "but that's not what I want to talk to you two about. Your auras are just as strange as Sarah's, but in different ways. Your spirits are also awake. Very much so."
"Are we like Sarah then?" Jill asked in confusion.
Laura shook her head. "No, your spirits aren't nearly as powerful. But there is something strange going on with each of you. First off, you two have a love bond."
"Well, I know I love Jill, but what do you mean by that?" Mike asked worriedly.
Laura smiled, "Don't worry, it's nothing bad. It just means you two are deeply in love with each other. I noticed Sarah has a similar bond with someone else. The strange thing is that Mike also has a bond, of a different type, with Sarah."
"Woah, wait a minute! Sarah's been my friend for years, but I am not in love with her!" Mike exclaimed.
"That's not what I meant." Laura said. "I've never seen a bond like it, but it's not a love bond. I don't know what it is, but it's totally different."
"Oh. Well, Sarah is like a sister to me, I guess. Maybe that's what it is?" Mike said thoughtfully.
Laura shook her head. "Veronica and Melanie are like that, but they don't have a bond. It's something else, I just don't know what."
"Okay, that's weird." Mike said.
Laura shrugged again. "I wish I could explain it, but I can't. I also can't explain what your aura is doing. It seems to be…reaching out, I guess…seeking something? It's very strange, but the strands are the same color and texture as the bond between you and Sarah."
"What could that be?" Jill asked, confused.
"No idea. Your spirit is a little more straightforward, though." Laura replied.
"What do you mean?" Jill asked.
"Your aura is a lot more like ours. It's still…alien…as Melanie put it, but not as much. I think you could learn to do at least some of the things we do." Laura explained.
"Like what?" Jill asked.
"I don't know. I would have thought you could learn everything we do, but somehow I get the feeling you're a little different. Maybe just the mental stuff?" Laura speculated.
"What kind of mental stuff?" Jill asked.
"We can hear the thoughts of people around us, and feel their emotions. We can also see auras, obviously." Laura replied.
"You think I can do that?" Jill asked in shock.
"Maybe." Laura replied with a shrug. A strange looked crossed her face and she turned towards Melanie and Sarah. "Damn, it didn't work!" she muttered.
"I was really hoping this would work." Mike said sadly. "Now she'll have to go to work tomorrow as Sarah. She's had a lot of trouble from her coworkers before, it's going to be a lot worse now."
"Why did she have trouble with her coworkers?" Laura asked.
"For as long as I've known her, people always assumed she was gay. They've been calling her names and taunting her, and worse, all her life. It's been close to the point of getting physical again this last week. I wish I could be there for her all day tomorrow, but the best I can manage is to be there until she starts work and when she gets off." Mike explained.
"Does she have any abilities that would allow her to protect herself? I can't believe that the portals are the only thing she can do with such a powerful spirit." Laura asked.
"Well, the portals could be used for defense, too, though she wants to keep that ability a secret for obvious reasons. She can also change the gender of anyone with a touch, except for herself, that is." Mike replied.
"Hmm, interesting. I assume she'd rather keep that ability a secret, as well. But it could prove to be a more potent weapon than the portals in some circumstances." Laura mused.
Mike nodded and turned to see how Sarah was doing. She was now being held by Jill as Melanie looked on sadly. "We should get going, Sarah's going to need her sleep for tomorrow." He said.
Sarah calmed enough to open a portal a few minutes later. They said goodbye to Melanie and the others and stepped through into Sarah's apartment.
"I'm never going to be male again, am I?" Sarah said as she plopped down on the couch.
"Don't say that, there're still lots of possibilities." Mike replied.
"Yeah, and they'll all say the same thing." Sarah said bitterly.
"You need to talk to Erica and then get to bed." Jill said firmly.
Sarah agreed, until she saw the time. "It's too late." She said.
Jill glanced at her watch and saw how late it was. "I'm sorry Sarah, I didn't realize how late it is. She'll be in bed by now. Do you want me to stay for a while?" she asked worriedly.
Sarah shook her head sadly. "No, I'll just crash. No point in you sticking around for that."
"I guess we'd better go and let you get some sleep then." Mike said. He said goodnight to Sarah and waited while Jill hugged her goodbye and then they left.
"Take good care of Sarah tomorrow." Jill told Mike back in their apartment. He agreed and they went to bed.
Sarah didn't bother changing before flopping into bed. She fell asleep immediately.
Pounding on her bedroom door woke Sarah in the morning. "What?" she called out weakly.
"You need to get up and get ready for work Sarah!" Mike called through the door.
"Okay." Sarah replied with a sigh. Noticing the time, Sarah realized she was late getting up. She threw some clothes on and got ready as quickly as she could and left her room to find Mike waiting in the kitchen with a plate of food for her.
"You don't have much time, eat up!" he said. Sarah nodded and sat down to eat. As soon as she was finished Mike whisked her plate and silverware away and washed it off. Then he led her over to his car.
Mike drove her over and led her inside. "I want to talk to your manager before I leave." Mike said. Sarah nodded fearfully, sticking close to her friend.
Sarah pointed out the manager's office and followed meekly in his wake. She didn't want to make a scene, but she knew it was inevitable.
They were in luck, as the branch manager was in. "Excuse me, I need to talk to you about Sean Kinsley." Mike said.
George Holsteader, the branch manager, looked up from his computer at Mike. "What is the problem?" he asked.
"The problem is the way your other employees have been treating him! They've been harassing him from the start, but it's gotten even worse in the last couple of weeks. And I expect it will get even worse, now." Mike said angrily.
George seemed a little taken aback at Mike's anger but recovered quickly. "Why would you think it would get worse now?" he asked.
"Because," Mike said, stepping to the side away from Sarah and gesturing towards her, "this is Sean, and she goes by Sarah now."
George's eyes widened as he looked at Sarah. "Sean, is that really you?" he asked, amazed. Sarah nodded. "Well, I can see why you'd be worried then! Why haven't you said anything before now? John could have taken care of it for you; he is your supervisor after all."
Sarah snorted, "John's the worst of the lot!"
"Yeah," Mike agreed, "we encountered him last night at a restaurant. He insulted Sarah and was clearly looking forward to giving her more grief today!"
"Really?" George said in surprise. "This is the first I've heard of it. Nobody else has complained about John, or anyone else for that matter."
"So are you going to do something about it?" Mike demanded.
George frowned. "Of course I'm going to do something about it! I'll talk to everyone, starting with John. If you have any more problems from him, or anyone else, tell me immediately." He said to Sarah. She nodded numbly, not having expected him to take it seriously.
After that Sarah clocked in and got to work. Mike stuck around a little longer, glaring at anybody who looked like they were even thinking about saying anything about Sarah, before leaving to go teach his classes.
Her coworkers looked at her oddly as Sarah worked, but didn't say anything at first. Then John came up to her. "Hey pussy, you trying to get me in trouble?" he said angrily. "You go talking to Mr. Holsteader again and I'll make you a girl for real, got it?" He leaned in threateningly at the last making snipping motions with his hand. Sarah nodded fearfully and he stomped off.
Kyle and the others who always tormented her got into it after that. They pushed her at every opportunity and called her all sorts of names. Everyone but Sarah was called in by Mr. Holsteader over the course of the day, and they all reacted differently. Those who were the worst towards Sarah got even more abusive.
"Bob, get in here!" Mr. Holsteader yelled out just after he'd pushed Sarah into a wall. A few minutes later Bob stormed out of the building and George approached Sarah.
"Sarah, I really need to apologize." He said. "From what people have been telling me, it was even worse than your friend said. I just had to fire Bob, and I'll be looking very closely into Kyle and John's behavior as well. Have they given you any more trouble today?"
Sarah remembered what John had said and just shrugged. George's eyes narrowed and he said, "They have, haven't they? What happened?"
"Just the normal." Sarah said softly without making eye contact.
"There's more, isn't there?" George demanded. Seeing Sarah flinch he softened his tone. "Please tell me what happened Sarah."
Sarah tried to pass it off as nothing, but finally told George what John said. "He WHAT?!!" George roared. He immediately regretted it as Sarah shrank back from him and seemed to look for somewhere to hide. Everyone looked over at them, wondering what had gotten the normally calm Mr. Holsteader so angry.
He took several calming breaths before saying, "Sarah, please wait for me in my office." She nearly ran into his office. He sighed in regret over frightening her and turned to find John.
Sarah waited in George's office for nearly an hour before George returned. "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting so long, Sarah. When I confronted John he tried to deny it, but when I pressed him he got very angry and abusive. I fired him, too, but he started trashing the place. I had to call the police and have him arrested." George explained apologetically.
With wide eyes Sarah said, "He's gone, really?"
George nodded, "He's gone. If you see him here or in the parking lot, come straight here to me or Tiffany, she'll be your new supervisor." Sarah nodded happily. She didn't know Tiffany well, but she had never harassed her like the others did. "Are you okay to finish out your shift, or would you rather go home for the day?" George asked.
Sarah was sorely tempted to accept that offer, but decided that dealing with Jill would be more hassle than staying. "I'll stay." George nodded and Sarah went back to work.
The rest of the work day was surreal for Sarah. Kyle kept giving her black looks, but everyone else was leaving her alone. A few people even came up and said 'Thank you' for getting rid of Bob and John. Once her work day was over Sarah clocked out and waited by the exit for Mike. She saw Kyle and several others leave, and the next shift arrive, but still no Mike. She wondered if he was waiting for her outside, so she walked out into the parking lot to look for him. She never even saw Kyle creeping up behind her.
"Freak!" Kyle snarled. "You got John fired, and now Tiffany's going over everything! She'll find the shortages that John covered up for me and I'll be fired, or worse! All because you wanted to wear a skirt!" Kyle was shouting by the end of his rant, kicking Sarah the whole time. He was so focused on the target of his tirade that he didn't even notice Mike until it was too late. Kyle's first awareness of Mike came with the introduction of Mike's fist to his face.
"Stay away from her!" Mike growled, putting himself between Kyle and Sarah. Kyle had staggered back from the blow but recovered quickly. He still had the brick in his hand and he threw it at Mike. Mike easily sidestepped the projectile and caught Kyle's subsequent charge with a kick to the stomach.
Kyle doubled over in pain and straightened slowly. "Why are you protecting that freak?" he growled.
"She's no freak, she's my friend!" Mike growled back.
Sarah was still conscious, but dazed from the blow to her head. She tried to stand, but became dizzy and laid back down. "Mike…what's going on?" she called out weakly.
"Just relax Sarah, you're safe now." Mike replied. Kyle thought to take advantage of the distraction and charged at Mike. Unfortunately for him, Mike wasn't distracted.
Mike easily dodged Kyle's fist and caught his arm. Letting Kyle do most of the work, he twisted and threw him onto his back. Kyle scrambled back to his feet and took another swing at Mike, only to end up on his back again.
A siren could be heard approaching, but Kyle was oblivious. He landed on his back three more times before a police officer arrived and arrested him. While Mike told the officer what had happened an ambulance arrived and a paramedic took a look at Sarah.
Sarah was still disoriented and didn't know what was happening. When the paramedics tried to put her on a gurney she struggled with them. "Mike! Mike, where are you?!" she screamed. Mike hurried over and calmed her. Once she was calmed down the paramedics were able to get her on the gurney and into the ambulance. Mike climbed in with her.
Mike called Jill on the drive to the hospital and she met him there. "What happened?" Jill asked anxiously as the paramedics took Sarah in.
"Kyle hit Sarah in the head with a brick and started ranting at her and kicking her. I think he was stealing from the store or something. Anyway, I got in between them and hit him a couple of times and threw him around a bit until the police got there. Sarah doesn't seem to know where she is, she was struggling with the paramedics until I talked to her." Mike explained worriedly.
"Is she going to be alright?" Jill asked with tears in her eyes.
Mike nodded. "I think so. The paramedics didn't seem concerned about her confusion, they said she probably had a concussion."
Jill sighed in relief and they walked into the hospital to find out how Sarah was doing. She was still being examined, so they were directed to a waiting room. Some time later, after several enquiries from Jill, they finally found out how she was doing. "She has a mild concussion and some scrapes and bruises, but that's about it." A doctor told them.
"When can she go home?" Jill asked.
"Probably tomorrow." The doctor replied, before leaving to see to his other patients.
They were allowed in to see Sarah briefly. "How are you feeling?" Jill asked when they entered the room. There was a bandage on the back of Sarah's head.
"My head hurts, but I'm okay." Sarah replied.
"I'm sorry Sarah." Mike said with his head bowed.
"For what?" Sarah asked, bewildered.
"If I'd been there on time he never would have gotten close to you." Mike replied sadly.
"It's not your fault." Sarah said. "You couldn't have known this was going to happen."
Jill wrapped an arm around Mike. "Yeah, you can't control traffic!" she chided.
"Traffic?" Sarah said.
"Yeah, he called me to tell me he had been held up by traffic. We would have called you, but you don't have a cell phone. We should really do something about that." Jill replied.
They chatted a little while longer; then Mike and Jill left so Sarah could get some sleep.
Jill returned to the hospital the next day. She brought Sarah some clothes and talked until she was released. She was warned to take it easy for a couple of days. Before Sarah could stop her Jill called her boss and told him she'd be out for two days. "Why'd you do that?" asked Sarah petulantly.
"You're taking a couple of days off to rest as your doctor ordered, and that's final!" Jill replied firmly. Sarah sighed in defeat, she knew better than to argue with Jill when she was like this.
Jill drove them both to Sarah's apartment and followed her in. "Before you get any ideas," Jill began as soon as the door was closed, "you're not opening any portals for a couple of days, either."
"Why not?!" Sarah exclaimed.
"You're supposed to be taking it easy. Besides the fact that those trips are often stressful and sometimes dangerous, we don't know how your ability works. Opening a portal could put a strain on your brain or something. So no portals, and no changing anyone's gender, got it?" Jill replied.
"What am I supposed to do for two days if I can't go to work or work on getting back to myself?" Sarah whined.
Jill shrugged. "Read more stories to find another world to visit, or just play your video games. Relax!"
Reluctantly, Sarah did just that. She decided against reading any more stories for now, she'd be too eager to visit them if she found something promising. So she spent several hours playing one of her favorite games. Jill had left once she was satisfied that Sarah was going to relax, but returned with Mike when he got back from work. Jill insisted on making dinner. "You're supposed to be relaxing, so do it!" she admonished when Sarah tried to help her. She grumbled as she returned to the living room to watch TV with Mike.
They had a nice night in, just talking and watching television for a few hours. "Remember, no portals!" Jill admonished before hugging Sarah goodbye. Once they'd left Sarah got online to talk to Erica.
SeanDreamer is logged on
Erica378 is logged on
<SeanDreamer>: Hi Erica, sorry I missed you!
<Erica378>: I've been worried about you, what happened?
<SeanDreamer>: We lost track of time Sunday after a run in with John Green from work.
<Erica378>: Ugh, that jerk? But what about last night?
<SeanDreamer>: I was in the hospital so I didn't have internet access.
<Erica378>: WHAT?!! Why were you in the hospital?! Are you alright?
<SeanDreamer>: John and Bob got fired at work yesterday. Kyle was mad about that and hit me with a brick. I don't remember it, but that's what Mike said happened.
<Erica378>: Are you alright? Why did he care about John and Bob getting fired?
<SeanDreamer>: Mike said that Kyle was ranting about getting caught by the new supervisor. I guess he was stealing or something. I'm fine, just a bump on the head.
<Erica378>: Wow, busy day, huh? You didn't work today, did you?
<SeanDreamer>: No, Jill wouldn't let me! I had to stay home and play video games. She's soo cruel! ;)
<Erica378>: LOL! Good for her! You need to take care of yourself.
<SeanDreamer>: Yes mother!
<Erica378>: ;P
<SeanDreamer>: They still keeping you busy?
<Erica378>: Ugh, are they ever!
<SeanDreamer>: I love you, even if you did leave me alone out here!
<Erica378>: I love you too, even if you do exaggerate! ;)
<SeanDreamer>: What, me? ;)
<Erica378>: Go to bed, silly, I'll talk to you tomorrow. ;p
<SeanDreamer>: Goodnight!
<Erica378>: Goodnight!
Erica378 has logged off
SeanDreamer has logged off
Sarah sighed as she shut down her computer. She missed Erica so much, but she couldn't see her again until she'd solved her problem. She thought about looking up more stories, but decided against it. Yawning, she changed for bed and crawled under the covers.
The next day was largely the same, with Sarah staying home and playing games while Jill and Mike worked. She was just starting to get bored when they came in. After another pleasant night in Sarah had a quick chat with Erica and went to bed.
In the morning Sarah got ready for work with trepidation. She was eager to see what it was like at work without her three main tormentors, but she was also nervous about going back there after what happened. Mike was once again taking her to work, as she hadn't gotten a new driver's license yet.
"You ready?" he asked when she came out of her bedroom. She nodded, so they walked over to his car and climbed in.
"You okay?" Mike asked as he was putting on his seat belt.
Sarah shrugged. "I'm a little nervous, I guess. Monday was pretty crazy." She admitted.
Mike nodded and started the car. "Yeah, I guess it was. Even without the way it ended. If I'm late to pick you up today, stay inside, okay?"
"Sure." Sarah agreed. "I think I probably would have anyway."
When they arrived Mike insisted on going in with Sarah again. As soon as they'd entered the building Tiffany came running over. "Hey Sarah, how are you doing?" she asked.
"Fine." Sarah replied uncertainly.
"How have things been since Monday?" Mike asked.
"Busy! We've had to work overtime to make up for losing four people all at once like that. Everyone will be glad you're back Sarah, it'll take some of the pressure off of them." Tiffany replied.
Mike lingered like he had on Monday, but quickly saw that the atmosphere was completely different. A few people asked Sarah how she was, the rest just kept working. No one was showing the outright hostility that had been there previously.
"Here to make sure Sarah's safe?" Mr. Holsteader asked Mike as he walked up to him. "I don't think you have to worry about her anymore. I've made it clear to everyone that they would follow John and Bob if they gave her any trouble."
"It's like a different place, isn't it?" Mike replied.
Mr. Holsteader nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't see what was happening, but now things have really changed around here. I think everyone will benefit from it, especially once I've found replacements for those three."
"Was Kyle stealing from the store?" Mike asked curiously, remembering some of the things he'd said before being arrested.
"I think so, Tiffany's still going over the records. The way she's been frowning, I don't expect I'll like what she finds." Mr. Holsteader replied.
"I guess not. Well, looks like Sarah's in good hands here." Mike said. "I've got a judo class to teach." With that Mike left and Mr. Holsteader returned to his office.
Tiffany kept Sarah busy the rest of the day, helping her to go over the records whenever she had a break from her normal work. Sarah thought she saw Tiffany giving her odd looks when she thought Sarah wasn't looking, but she couldn't figure out what they were about.
Mike was early to pick Sarah up. He watched as she worked and was amazed at the difference. Sean had always hated his job, but Sarah almost seemed to be having fun! What a difference! I wish she'd talked to Mr. Holsteader a long time ago. he thought.
Once she'd clocked out Sarah walked with Mike back to his car. "How was it?" Mike asked.
Sarah grinned, "Great! I've never had a better day at work before! Tiffany is so much better to work with than John was."
"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me." Mike replied dryly. Sarah laughed in agreement.
Mike drove them home and they walked in to find Jill already at work on dinner. "Want some help?" Sarah asked.
"Sure." Jill agreed. Mike returned to the living room while they worked on dinner. "So how was your day?"
"Best workday ever!" Sarah replied with a grin.
Jill smiled back, "I'm glad to hear that. At least something good has come from this, right?"
Sarah nodded thoughtfully, "Yeah, I guess it has."
"So I suppose you'll want to get back to finding yourself a cure, right?" asked Jill.
Sarah nodded, "Of course! I haven't found a good story to use yet, but I will."
Jill nodded, but frowned when Sarah wasn't looking. They worked in silence after that until dinner was ready.
After dinner the three of them spent the rest of the evening reading again. They didn't find anything that night. "We'll find something soon." Mike said. He said goodnight to Sarah and Jill gave Sarah her customary goodbye hug.
Sarah was eager to talk to Erica and hurried home. She booted up her computer and logged on, but Erica was late. She started a load of laundry while she waited. Erica still wasn't on, so she got ready for bed. By the time she was ready Erica had finally logged on.
SeanDreamer has logged on
Erica378 has logged on
<SeanDreamer>: Hi Erica, everything OK?
<Erica378>: Yeah, sorry I'm late. How was work?
<SeanDreamer>: Great! Tiffany kept me busy, but it was still great!
<Erica378>: So no more harassment? No more name calling or shoving or anything?
<SeanDreamer>: Nope! It was almost fun! :)
<Erica378>: That's wonderful!
<SeanDreamer>: They still keeping you really busy?
<Erica378>: Yeah, but that's not why I was late. I was getting ready for Christmas break.
<SeanDreamer>: When are you going to your parents?
<Erica378>: Classes are over until after New Years after tomorrow, but I'll use the weekend to get ready to go and finish up my work. I'll be there Monday.
<SeanDreamer>: Tell them hi for me.
<Erica378>: Will do! Tell Mike and Jill hi for me!
<SeanDreamer>: OK! I love you!
<Erica378>: Love you, too! Bye!
<SeanDreamer>: Bye!
Erica378 has logged off
SeanDreamer has logged off
Sarah sighed as she thought about Erica going to her parents. She hadn't been back to her own parents for a couple of years, not that she minded. They were always getting on her case about college. Erica's parents were another story. They always treated Sean like their own, but without the nagging. She wondered briefly what they would think of Sarah, but she hoped they'd never have to meet her.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she powered down her computer and climbed into bed.
Sarah awoke refreshed in the morning and quickly got ready for the day. She checked to make sure her laundry was dry from the night before, then hurried out to meet up with Mike. He was just leaving his apartment when she got there.
"Wow, someone's up early today! Usually you're a lot slower getting up in the morning." Mike commented.
Sarah smiled, "I slept well, I guess. Ready to go?"
"Sure." Mike replied, unlocking his car. They climbed in and drove over.
"I don't think you need to come in today, Mike." Sarah said when he started to get out of the car.
"Oh, yeah, I guess that's been taken care of." Mike said with a chuckle. "Have a good day!"
"You too!" Sarah called back as she closed the car door. Mike drove off with a wave, which she returned before walking inside.
"Sarah, I'm so glad you're here!" Tiffany called out, rushing over to her. "We've got a new hire to train, can you hold down the fort while I do that?"
"Uh, sure, I guess." Sarah said uncertainly.
"Thanks!" Tiffany said with a grateful smile, rushing off again. Sarah shook her head in bemusement and clocked in. She checked in with everyone and got to work. She'd filled in for John a couple of times when he was on vacation or sick, so it wasn't completely alien to her.
Sarah saw Tiffany escorting the new girl around several times, but she was too busy to stop and talk. The day went by quickly, but Sarah felt invigorated instead of worn out.
"Everything go okay?" Tiffany asked when they met at the time clock.
"Sure. It was busy, but nothing unusual." Sarah replied while clocking out.
"Good, Tina's coming along great, so I'll be able to leave her with you on Monday." Tiffany said happily.
"Great." Sarah said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
Tiffany laughed, "Don't be like that, she's nice. I don't think you'll have any problems with her."
Sarah said goodbye to Tiffany and walked over to the entrance to wait for Mike. She caught Tiffany giving her a strange look, but Tiffany looked away and hurried out when she saw Sarah looking.
Sarah looked after Tiffany thoughtfully, wondering what the deal with her was. She shook that off and looked for Mike, just in time to see him walk in. "Hey Mike!" she called out and waved.
"Hey Sarah!" he called back, walking towards her. "Good day?"
Sarah nodded, "Yep. Really busy, but we've got one new hire so things should get a little better."
"Good. Ready to go?" he asked. Sarah nodded, so he led her out to his car. It was a quiet drive back to his apartment.
Jill was engrossed in another project when they got there, so Sarah went ahead and got dinner started. Mike sat at the kitchen table and watched.
"I've been thinking, maybe you should take that self-defense class." He said.
"You're basing that off of Kyle's attack? He would have gotten you just as easily as me in that situation!" Sarah replied indignantly. "I hope you're not suggesting I need self-defense classes because I'm a girl now!"
"Woah, not what I meant!" Mike replied with hands raised defensively. "I thought you should have taken them before, remember? I just thought you might be more willing to listen to reason now."
Sarah calmed a bit at that. "Yeah, well, if he hadn't blind-sided me, I would have been fine." She grumbled.
That comment was met with a raised eyebrow and an incredulous look from Mike, which was wasted because Sarah was intent on her work. "Really?! You think so?" he asked skeptically.
"Sure! I could have just girlified him! He would have been too preoccupied to be a threat after that." Sarah replied cheerfully. She seemed to relish the idea of turning Kyle into a girl, not that Mike blamed her.
"Then your secret would have been out." Mike pointed out.
"Not really." Sarah dismissed it with a wave. "No one would have believed he was Kyle after I girlified him, and if they did they'd think he was crazy or something. There'd have to be a video recording of it for anyone to believe it, and even then they'd probably think it was faked."
"Hmm, that's a point." Mike conceded. "I guess that ability is more useful than I thought." Mike paused a moment in thought and asked, "Is girlified even a word?"
Sarah shrugged, "Probably not, but it is now!" Mike chuckled at that.
Sarah buried herself in her work after that and Mike was surprised to notice that she was humming! He'd never heard her humming like that before. I guess getting her work situation resolved really made a difference. Too bad she didn't get things straightened out earlier. he thought.
"Hey Mike, why don't you get Jill? Dinner's almost ready." Sarah said. Mike nodded and went back to Jill's studio.
"Hey, Jill, time to get cleaned up for dinner!" he called out as he approached. It was best not to get too close before announcing his presence, he'd found, or he'd end up with a brush full of paint in the face.
"Okay, I'll be right there." Jill called out absently. Mike waited a couple of minutes before calling again. Jill had forgotten he was there and was startled. "Oh, yeah, I'll be right there." She said again. This time she closed up her paints and washed her brush. She followed him out to the kitchen and washed her hands. As usual, they still looked like she'd been finger painting.
"Hi Sarah, how was work?" Jill asked.
"Busy, but good. Are those hands really clean, or did you just run some water over them?" Sarah asked skeptically when she saw Jill's paint spattered hands.
"They're clean, really!" Jill protested. Sarah raised an eyebrow in doubt, so Jill gave them another scrubbing just to humor her. "Satisfied?"
"I suppose." Sarah conceded. "Get yourselves some bowls, dinner's ready."
They ate quietly, then went back to reading. Sarah had already dismissed several possibilities that Mike and Jill had found because they involved gods or because people tended to get transformed against their will in them. Mike was getting frustrated. "Come on, Sarah, how are we ever going to get anywhere if you veto everything?" he grumbled at one point.
"I'm not talking to any gods, end of story!" Sarah replied in annoyance. "And I'm not about to go asking for help from someone who routinely changes people against their will into forms they're not happy with!"
"What about this?" Jill asked, holding up another manga.
Sarah snorted, "No, Jusenkyo is too unreliable. Nobody ever gets what they were aiming for in that place, and I'd still need Chiisuiton water to lock myself in male form even if I did. It's almost as much of a crapshoot as your average genie wish!"
"What, I thought genie wishes were a good thing?" Mike commented.
"No Mike, they usually aren't. The genies usually interpret the wishes in whatever way amuses them. You might as well just wish for them to have fun for all the good it will do you." Sarah replied.
"That's true, I haven't read too many stories involving wishes that turned out well. Usually the best they get is to counter the other wishes with their last wish." Jill agreed.
Mike sighed. "Are you going to shoot down everything?" he said in annoyance. Jill shot him a warning glance. He grimaced but didn't say what was on his mind.
"We'll find something, just be patient." Jill suggested.
Sarah finally left to IM Erica without finding anything she was satisfied with.
"Why did you stop me?" Mike asked after Sarah left.
"You were about to say something you'd regret, that's why." Jill replied.
"How do you know that?" Mike grumbled.
"You were about to say something along the lines of, 'If I didn't know better I'd think you didn't want to change back.', right?" Jill said.
Mike frowned, "How did you know that? That's about word for word what I was thinking!"
"I just know you, that's all." Jill replied, but she wondered. How did I know? Could this be what Laura was talking about? she thought.
"What would have been so wrong with me saying that, anyway?" asked Mike.
Jill snorted, "You know what. Sarah would have been pissed!"
Mike sighed, "I guess," and dropped it.
"We're going to have to get Sarah's ID situation resolved soon, you know." Jill said a little later.
"How?" Mike asked.
"I don't know, but she needs to be able to get around on her own." Jill replied.
They discussed possibilities but came to no satisfactory conclusions that night.
Sarah logged on and talked to Erica, but she was tired from packing so they cut it short. Sarah wished Erica could be with her for Christmas, but realized that would just accelerate the ending of their relationship that she knew would come if she didn't get changed back.
Sarah looked through her bookcase, looking for something promising, but didn't find anything. Frustrated, she loaded the transgender fiction site and browsed. There were lots of complete transformations, but they were either restricted to male-to-female, or they were part of some infectious disease, or some other drawback. Sarah could understand why the authors wrote them that way, if transformations were common and easy, there would be no conflict for the story to revolve around. Even if someone was changed against their will it would be simple to change back. Still, she was frustrated by the limitations. The most unlimited transformation stories had all the power in the hands of one or a few people who were usually not very ethical. The last thing she wanted was to go to some wizard and end up a big breasted bimbo!
After hours of reading she was more frustrated then when she started. She gave up in disgust and went to bed, but it took her quite a while to get to sleep.
Sarah awoke late, unsurprisingly, and went slowly about the business of getting clean and dressed. After a quick breakfast of cold cereal she had grabbed her astronomy book before she remembered that the semester was over. Dropping her book back in her bag she went back to reading. She did find one story that had potential. It was more science fiction than fantasy, but Sarah figured that might be an advantage since all the magical approaches had failed.
Mike and Jill arrived while Sarah was reading the last chapters of the story. "Hi Sarah, what're you reading?" Jill said in greeting. Sarah had to wait to answer until after Jill released her from her greeting hug.
"Hi Jill, I found a science fiction story that I think could be useful." Sarah said, pointing at the monitor.
"Hmm, how does it work?" Jill asked, reading the synopsis of the story.
"A mother and her son get swapped into each other's bodies by an accident. A professor the mother knows figures out a way to duplicate the effect and switches them back. He uses it to help transgendered people after that. I think it could work." Sarah replied eagerly.
Jill groaned, "Sarah, I hope you're not getting your hopes up again."
Sarah shrugged. "Maybe, but I've got to try, right?"
"I suppose so." Jill sighed.
Mike seemed confused, but shook it off. "You want to try this now?" he asked. Sarah nodded. "Okay, lets go."
Sarah printed out the last chapter of the story and stapled it together. Finding the last mention of the Professor she opened a portal to his lab and stepped through, followed closely by Mike and Jill.
"Well…that's different." Mike said upon seeing the strange contraption on the other side of the portal.
"That's it." Sarah said excitedly. Jill put a steadying hand on her shoulder.
"We need to talk to this professor, right?" Jill reminded her.
"How did you get in here?" someone called out. They turned to see an elderly man with white hair.
"Are you Professor Burton?" Sarah asked hopefully.
"I am. Who are you?" he replied.
"I'm someone who needs your help. I used to be Sean, and I need to be again." Sarah explained.
The professor quirked an eyebrow quizzically. "I take it to mean you are claiming to have been male, and want to be again?"
Sarah nodded. "Yes, will you use that machine of yours on me?"
The professors eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What do you know of this machine?"
In answer, Sarah handed the professor the printout. "That's the last chapters of a story I found online. I used it to get here. I can open portals to other worlds using books."
"You really expect me to believe that?" the professor asked incredulously as he looked over the printout. He gasped in surprise after several minutes of reading. "Where did you get this?!" he demanded.
"I already told you. Read more if you don't believe me." Sarah replied. The professor did just that, his expression going from suspicious to incredulous and finally to awestruck.
"There's no way you could have all this information! Open one of these portals for me, please." He asked eagerly.
Sarah was a little surprised at the change in the professor, but obligingly opened a portal. She didn't even realize she was doing it without the story in hand, but Jill and Mike did. Their reaction was drowned out by the professors. "Amazing! I wonder if my machine could achieve a similar result…" he mused.
Sarah closed the portal. "Uh, professor, about changing me back…?"
He looked startled and then said, "Sorry, of course I'll try, this is amazing! You understand that you must concentrate on what you want to happen, right?" Sarah nodded. "Okay, into the machine then!"
Sarah climbed into the odd contraption as instructed. The professor made sure it was set up properly and switched it on. Arcs of electricity surged over the machine and Sarah passed out.
"Is she okay?" Jill asked worriedly.
"Nothing to worry about, I've done this before!" the professor said cheerfully. He turned off the power and checked on Sarah. Frowning, he said, "She's fine, but I'm afraid it didn't work."
Jill wasn't surprised, it wasn't exactly the first time things had gone this way. Mike helped the professor get Sarah out of the device and laid out. "Why wouldn't it work?" Mike asked.
"I believe it is the will of the individual that powers and directs the effects of the machine, it simply amplifies the power of the human brain. If she wasn't concentrating, or wasn't sure she wanted to change back, either of those things could have prevented the change." The professor explained.
Mike frowned, "Well I know she wants to change back, so I guess her concentration must have slipped. Can we give it another try when she wakes up?"
The professor frowned in thought. "We should make sure of what happened first, and I'm not entirely comfortable with putting her through that twice in such a short time. It could be dangerous."
There wasn't much more to say about that, so they waited for Sarah to regain consciousness. A few minutes later she did. "Did it work?" she asked hopefully. Before anyone could answer she realized her voice still sounded female and said, "It didn't, did it?"
Jill shook her head sadly, "No, it didn't. Did something distract you at the last moment?"
Sarah frowned in thought. "No, I was concentrating on being Sean again as hard as I could."
"Are you sure that's really what you want?" The professor asked kindly.
"Of course it is, that's why I'm here!" Sarah replied angrily.
"Maybe it's Venus' curse?" Mike offered.
"What's this about a curse?" the professor asked. Jill explained. "I suppose that could be a factor. That's outside of my experience, I'm afraid. Perhaps you'd better have a talk with Venus if her curse is preventing you from changing back."
"No way!" Sarah hastily exclaimed. "I'm not dealing with gods ever again!"
The professor shrugged, "I don't know what else to tell you, then. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help." They thanked him and he handed the printout back to Sarah. She opened the portal and they walked back through.
As soon as the portal was closed Jill said, "Sarah, do you realize that you opened the portal back without the story in your hands?"
Sarah frowned at Jill. "What are you talking about, it's right here!" she asked, holding it up.
"Not now, before when the professor asked you to demonstrate your portals. You had handed the story to him to read." Jill explained.
Sarah thought back through that sequence of events. "I…I guess you're right! I'll have to experiment on our next trip, but maybe I only need the book to open the portal there, and not back again! That would certainly make things easier. We might not even need to take the book with us!" she exclaimed excitedly.
"Lets save leaving the book behind until we're sure you can open the portal without it at will." Mike suggested.
"Okay, I guess that's a good idea." Sarah agreed, flopping onto the couch.
"You look tired, are you alright?" Jill asked, concerned.
"Well I did just get electrocuted, I think being a little tired is understandable." Sarah replied sarcastically.
"Do you want to go back home and take a nap?" she suggested.
"If you don't mind, I think I'll just curl up on the couch here." Sarah replied, fitting actions to words. Before Jill could even answer Sarah was fast asleep.
"I guess that answers that!" Jill said. She led Mike into the kitchen so they could talk without waking Sarah.
"I really think we need to convince Sarah to talk to Venus." Mike said firmly.
Jill choked on her laughter. "I don't think that's going to happen, Mike!"
"Why not? She's got to see it's the only option left!" he protested.
Jill smiled as she replied, "I don't think she wants to change back."
This time it was Mike choking on his laughter, to Jill's annoyance. "That's a good one, Jill! Sarah's been pushing constantly to get herself changed back, there's no way she's going to stay that way!" he exclaimed.
"I think she only wants to change back because of Erica. If Erica were out of the equation she would stay as she is happily, I think." Jill replied.
Mike shook his head in wonder. "I don't know where you got that idea! Trust me, Sarah's never been the least bit feminine. There's no way she's going to accept being female for the rest of her life!" He said this with such conviction that Jill began to doubt her own conclusions. She decided to let it go for now.
"How would you suggest we get her to agree to talk to Venus, then?" she asked.
Mike shrugged. "No idea. Lets find another book, though, just in case." He replied. Jill had almost forgotten that their book had been destroyed when Sarah was cursed.
"Good idea." Jill agreed with a nod. She still had her doubts about Sarah but she'd go along with her and Mike for now.
"Why don't we make up some sandwiches so Sarah can eat when she wakes up." Mike suggested, pointing out the time. Jill looked skeptically at Mike. "What, you know I can make sandwiches! I'd have starved in college if I couldn't!" he protested.
"I know, I'm just teasing!" she replied with a smirk. They got out all the ingredient they'd need and started preparing lunch. By the time they'd finished making the sandwiches and eaten their own Sarah was stirring.
"Hey guys." She said sleepily as she stumbled into the kitchen. She plopped onto the nearest chair and reached out for a sandwich. "Thanks." She mumbled around her first mouthful.
"Your welcome, but don't talk with your mouthful!" Jill complained. Sarah made sure to swallow before sticking her tongue out at her friend.
Professor Burton, and his device, are used with permission from the talented Tanya Allan's story Weird Wednesday
"So what do you want to do now?" Jill asked once Sarah was finished eating.
"I…I kind of want to take a break." Sarah said hesitantly.
"What do you mean?" Mike asked.
"I'm getting frustrated with all these failed attempts. I thought we could just go somewhere for fun, without the dragons this time!" Sarah hastily assured Mike.
Mike grinned, "Wow, and here Jill had to talk you into that trip! Did you have something in mind?"
"I thought you guys should choose somewhere you want to go. After all, you've put up with a lot helping me out." Sarah replied apologetically.
Jill waved that off. "You don't have to do anything to thank us! Still, anywhere you'd like to go Mike?"
"Well…there is that one book." Mike replied. He went over to the bookshelf and retrieved it. "You nixed it when we first started looking for places to go, before Sarah got cursed, remember?"
Jill took the book and looked it over. "Oh yeah, I remember this! Sarah has pretty good control over where portals open up now, so I guess it's safe enough."
"This okay Sarah?" Mike asked hopefully.
"Of course! Anywhere in particular?" Sarah replied.
Mike thought for a moment. "How about the space station?"
"Which one?" Sarah asked archly. "They visit lots of space stations in that series."
"The one with all the strict rules, where that guy gets himself killed by arguing with the judge." Mike replied.
"Are you sure? We insult someone by accident we could get in big trouble." Sarah asked.
"You can always get us out if that happens. And we're not going to do anything to insult anyone anyway." Mike replied confidently.
Sarah shrugged and Jill handed her the book. Before long she'd found the place in the book where that station was mentioned and opened the portal. "Lets leave the book behind this time." Sarah suggested. There were no arguments, so she set the book down and they stepped through the portal.
They all stared around like tourists at the station's interior. Mike finally found his voice and said, "You know, other than a few things here and there, it's not that different from being in any other building." The others nodded their agreement and they started walking.
"That is not something you'd see in a building at home!" Jill exclaimed, pointing to a window that showed the planet below. They all crowded around the window to admire the view. Eventually they tired of the view and continued down the hall. They gazed in awe at another window where they could see a space ship docked to the station.
"That ship is huge!" Sarah exclaimed.
Mike nodded, "It looks like a freighter. I wonder what kind of cargo it carries." He mused.
"What makes you think it's a freighter?" Jill asked.
Mike shrugged, "There are no obvious weapons. No gun turrets or missile bays or anything like that. I could be wrong, but from what I remember of the book their weapons would be visible enough."
After a bit more gawking they moved on. They saw guards at an airlock they assumed led to the ship they'd just seen. They were carrying normal enough looking weapons. "I thought they'd have lasers or something." Jill remarked.
"Their weapons aren't that different from what we have now. They have lasers on their ships, but I don't remember any lasers or energy weapons that were handheld." Mike replied.
"I guess it must not be set all that far in the future." Said Jill.
"Actually, I'm pretty sure it is. There are human colonies on lots of different planets. I don't think anything in the story even takes place in our solar system." Sarah replied.
"Then why wouldn't they have energy weapons?" Jill asked, confused.
Mike shrugged, "They might, but not use them because they could cause an accidental hull breach. Not a good thing in space." Jill nodded understandingly and they moved on.
There wasn't much more to see, other than more ships that looked much like the first and their guards. They did see computer terminals that were obviously far more advanced than what they were used to. They kept exploring for another hour or so before deciding to return. Sarah had no trouble opening the portal, even though she didn't have the book with her.
"That was interesting." Jill remarked once they were back in their living room.
"You were right, Jill, this can be fun." Sarah said. Mike agreed. "Is there anywhere you want to go, Jill?" she asked.
"Let me think about that." Jill replied, taking a seat on the couch. Mike and Sarah found seats of their own and waited for Jill to decide.
Jill snapped her fingers with a grin. "I know just the thing!" she exclaimed, jumping up and rushing over to the bookshelf. After a quick scan she pulled out a paperback book. "Here it is!"
Mike held his hand out and Jill gave it to him. "Hmm, I don’t remember this one." He said thoughtfully after reading the synopsis on the back. He handed it to Sarah whose reaction was much the same.
"Neither of you have read that series? You're missing out, it's lots of fun! Want to go?" she asked excitedly. Sarah and Mike exchanged glances and shrugged.
"Sure, why not?" Mike answered. Sarah agreed.
"Anywhere in particular you want to go?" Sarah asked.
"The Magician of Information's castle! We might even get some useful information for you while we're at it." Jill replied. Sarah looked through the book for mention of the Magician of Information and opened the portal. They walked through and found themselves in a clearing of a forest of strange looking trees. There was no castle anywhere in sight.
"Did your mind stray again Sarah?" Mike asked.
Sarah shook her head. "No, this should be the right place. I don't know what happened."
Jill giggled, "Don't worry about it, he probably moved his castle. He always does stuff like that."
"Moved his castle?!" Mike exclaimed. "How could he do that, and why would he?"
"Magic, of course. He moves it so anyone who has a question for him has to find him. He doesn't want to be bothered with frivolous questions." Jill replied.
"Great. So how do we find him?" Mike groused.
Jill shrugged, "I don't know, but he doesn't want to drive away serious questions, so there will probably be a clue or something."
Sarah frowned thoughtfully. "How would he even know we were coming?" she asked.
"He's the Magician of Information, it's his job to know." Jill replied with a grin.
"Okay, so what kind of clue are we looking for?" Sarah asked. Jill shrugged, so the three of them started looking around the clearing.
All Sarah found was a cherry tree. She reached up and plucked one. She was about to eat it when Jill screamed out, "Stop! Don't eat that!"
Sarah's hand stopped just short of her mouth and she looked at Jill questioningly, "Why not?"
"It explodes!" Jill replied, running over to Sarah. She snatched the cherry from Sarah's hand and threw it away from them. Sarah stared in shock at the blackened spot on the ground after it exploded as Jill warned.
"How?" she squeaked.
"It's not a regular cherry tree, but a cherry bomb tree. It's one of the puns this world is built on." Jill explained.
"Puns?" Mike groaned, "This world is built on puns?"
"Sure, it's fun!" Jill replied with a grin.
"Fun to read about, maybe, but I'm not so sure it's fun to be here." Sarah said, still looking where the cherry exploded.
Jill shrugged, "Give it a chance. Come on, let's find that castle." They continued to search and found a trail.
"See? All we have to do is follow this trail, overcome a few obstacles, and we'll be all set." Jill said cheerfully.
Sarah and Mike followed her down the trail with trepidation. Before long a castle could be seen through the forest. The trees thinned out and finally stopped several yards from the castle wall. A moat surrounded the castle. "How do we get in?" Sarah wondered.
"There must be a drawbridge around here somewhere." Mike said. They started walking along the moat until a drawbridge came into view. The bridge was up.
"Now what?" asked Sarah.
"There's always a way, we just have to find it." Jill replied. "Look for a way to lower the drawbridge."
The drawbridge was held up by a large but rusty metal chain. There didn't appear to be any way to open it from the outside. "There's nothing here!" Mike grumbled.
"Wait, that's it!" Sarah exclaimed, running back towards the path.
Jill and Mike ran after her. "What's it?" Mike huffed when he caught up with her.
"The cherries!" Sarah replied breathlessly. Soon they were back in the clearing. They each took a couple of cherries each, being careful to leave the stems on and keep them away from each other, just in case. They hurried back to the drawbridge with them.
Sarah threw one of her cherries at the rusty chain. There was a loud bang, but the chain held. The others joined in and after all six cherries had exploded the first chain shattered. They had to return for another batch of cherries, but they made short work of the second chain. The drawbridge was down, but there was something blocking the entrance on the other side.
"What's that?" Sarah asked worriedly. A large creature was blocking the entrance to the castle. It appeared to be asleep. Mike shrugged and approached it. He looked for a way around it, but found that it just filled the archway.
"If it was just a little smaller we could probably squeeze around it." Mike grumbled as he returned to his friends. "I don't know how we're going to get around this one."
"Maybe one of us could wake it up and lead it away?" Jill suggested uncertainly.
"No way, no splitting up!" Sarah replied vehemently.
"Maybe we should just talk to it?" Jill said. "It's unlikely to move if it's job is to block our path, so it probably won't attack us."
"So long as we keep our distance, anyway." Mike added. He looked to Sarah but she just shrugged. "Okay, I'll wake it up."
Mike stepped closer and tried making noise to wake it, but that didn't work. Finally he shook it and it started to stir. Mike jumped back and waited while it stood up and looked down on them. "What do you want?" it asked ominously.
"Uh, we were just wondering if you would let us by? Please?" Mike asked cautiously.
"No. I am bound here until my service is completed. I will not let you by." It replied.
"What was your question, if you don't mind me asking?" Jill inquired.
"I don't mind. My question was where I could find a female of my kind." It replied.
"What was his answer?" Jill asked.
"He said if I guarded this door a female of my kind would appear." He said.
Jill smiled wryly, "Sarah, I think that's your cue."
Sarah looked at Jill in confusion. Jill mimed slapping something and Sarah realized what Jill was suggesting. With an audible gulp she approached the creature. He watched her curiously, obviously unafraid of her. Once she was within reach she slapped its leg. Instantly it was smaller and more lightly built than it had been.
"What have you done to me?!" she demanded.
"Magician Humphrey told you a female of your kind would appear, right? Here you are!" Jill replied triumphantly.
Mike and Sarah groaned, fearing the creature would attack them. Instead it laughed! "Here I am, indeed!" it agreed. "Thanks to you my species is saved! You may pass." With that the creature stepped out of the archway and crossed the drawbridge, disappearing into the forest.
"What just happened?" asked Mike confusedly.
"That was the second challenge. There are always three. The first was opening the drawbridge, the second was getting that creature to move. His service would last until a female of his kind appeared, so we made a female of his kind appear. Thus ending his service so he could leave, thereby leaving the entrance open for us!" Jill replied happily.
"Is that the way things normally happen around here?" Sarah asked doubtfully.
Jill shrugged, "A lot of the time, yeah. Sometimes it's more complicated. Come on, lets go inside!"
Mike shook his head at the weirdness of their situation, Sarah just sighed resignedly. Both followed Jill into the castle.
The entrance led into a passage that slowly dwindled in size until they were walking single file. After several minutes of walking the passage suddenly opened out into a huge room. The ceiling was lost in the mists filling the room, making it seem like it was open to the sky. A portcullis clanged shut behind them, making Jill jump. "What was that?!"
Mike glanced behind them and saw the barrier blocking their escape. "A portcullis. We can't go back the way we came. You two stay close to me." He said. Sarah and Jill crowded in close behind him. They slowly made their way across the room. The mist slowly cleared as they walked, until they found themselves in the center of an arena. There were several other portcullis' blocking other passages to their level of the arena, and several levels of seating above them. There was a man sitting in what looked like a throne watching them.
"Greetings, gladiators!" he boomed. His voice was unnaturally loud and shook the walls. "Today you face one of the most fearsome creatures of the land! Fight well!" With that one of the largest portcullis' opened. Smoke billowed out of it, followed by the sinuous body of a large dragon!
"Now what?" Mike asked, hoping Jill had an answer for this one.
"I…don't know. There has to be a way out, but I don't have any idea what it is!" she said, beginning to panic. Sarah wasn't far behind her in that.
Mike sighed, "Okay, you two stay back and look for a way out. I'll try to distract the dragon."
"Mike?" Jill said worriedly, unable to form a more cohesive protest.
"Hey, maybe I'll turn into a dragon again!" Mike said with a weak chuckle, hoping to calm Jill.
Jill and Sarah back away from Mike reluctantly. He stepped forward, watching the dragon carefully. It approached confidently, secure in the knowledge that these puny humans were no threat to it. Jill and Sarah moved along the edge of the arena, hoping to find a way out before Mike got fricasseed or chomped. The dragon saw them and turned towards Sarah. "No you don't!" Mike yelled, running at the dragon.
The dragon negligently knocked Mike away with its tail. Mike scrambled to his feet and ran to get between the dragon and Sarah. The dragon snorted, smoke billowing out from its nostrils. "Very well, I'll eat you first!" it growled, lunging at Mike. Mike felt pain throughout his entire body and knew the dragon was burning him alive, or eating him. But then the pain passed as quickly as it began. Confused, he opened his eyes. Strangely, the dragon seemed much smaller. Stranger still, Mike couldn't see himself at all! Am I dead? he thought.
The dragon was also confused by Mike vanishing, but disregarded that and lunged at Sarah. She screamed in fright, curling up into a ball against the arena wall. But the dragon stopped suddenly, as if it'd hit an invisible wall.
Mike looked down and saw the dragon bash against some unseen obstacle, but felt the dragon crash into his legs. He tentatively kicked out with his right foot. He saw nothing of himself, but felt his foot connect with the dragon's skull. What he saw was the dragon suddenly lifted off the ground by some unseen force and sent flying into the opposite wall.
"Mike? Was that you?" Jill called out, walking cautiously into the center of the arena.
"I…think so." Mike replied, surprised at his own booming voice.
Jill smiled, "You must have turned into an invisible giant! The dragon looks like it's unconscious, can you change back or do you need Sarah's help again?"
Mike tried to will himself back to normal, but nothing happened. "I guess I need Sarah's help. But how is she going to do that if she can't see me?" he asked worriedly.
"Don't worry, it'll be easy to find you." Jill reassured him, looking up where she guessed his head must be. Sarah walked carefully towards the center of the arena, hands out to keep from running into Mike face first.
She found what felt like his shoe after several minutes of shuffling around and slapped it, hoping the shoe wouldn't get in the way. It didn’t, and a female Mike was suddenly standing there in front of Sarah. "Well, at least your clothes didn't get destroyed when you transformed." Sarah remarked. Whatever had happened to his clothes when he became the invisible giant, they were back to normal. Unfortunately, they were extremely loose on the female Mike! Sarah quickly slapped Mike's arm, returning him to normal.
"Well done!" Boomed the man on the throne. "You've earned the right to speak to Good Magician Humphrey and ask your question!" With that the man sunk down into the floor and disappeared. Another portcullis opened up, revealing a brightly lit passageway. Shrugging, the three friends walked down the passageway and found themselves in a library filled from floor to ceiling with books. A wizened old man was sat at a desk with a giant tome on top. "About time you got here!" he grouched, "Hurry up and ask your question!"
Sarah looked at Jill and said, "You're the one who knows this place, why don't you ask it?" Mike nodded his agreement.
Jill thought about how she wanted to word her question and then said, "How can Sarah change back to the way she was before Venus cursed her?"
The magician snorted irritably, "Not a very good question! All she has to do is accept her femininity and she can change back any time she wants. Now go!"
"Go ahead and open the portal Sarah, that's all the answer we're going to get." Jill said to Sarah and Mike's surprise. Shrugging, she did so and they stepped back into their own world.
"Why did we leave so quickly?" Mike asked once they were back in their living room.
"The Good Magician never gives straight forward answers. He always tells you just what you need to solve the problem. There wasn't any point sticking around and arguing with him. Besides, he might have demanded a year's service from us. I think changing that creature's gender might have counted, but I didn't want to take any chances." Jill replied.
"So I have to accept that I'm female now in order to become male again?" Sarah asked incredulously.
"Sounds like it." Jill agreed.
"I don't get it, from what he said you should already be able to change back." Mike said.
Sarah took a moment to try and change back, even going so far as to slap herself in the face. "Nope, still doesn't work." She replied.
"Maybe if you stop trying to change back, you'll be able to?" Mike said. "That doesn't make any sense, though."
"No, that could be it! Maybe Sarah has to stop trying to change back and just live for a while as a girl. Then once you've really learned what it's like you'll be able to change back!" Jill said excitedly.
Mike shrugged, "I guess that could be it. It's probably best not to change back too fast, anyway. That real life test thing is supposed to give you a chance to figure out if being a girl is right for you, so it would probably look odd if you changed back too quickly."
Sarah slumped down in her chair. "I didn't think of that! So even if I figure out a way to change back tomorrow I'm stuck as a girl for a while?" she wondered aloud.
"Not stuck, but Mike's right. You don't have to go the full year, but it would look strange if you gave it up in a week." Jill said thoughtfully.
"So long as I get changed back before Erica returns, I guess I can deal with it." Sarah said begrudgingly.
"That's the spirit! Now, who's up for pizza?" asked Mike. Naturally, Sarah didn't argue with that.
They went out for pizza and stayed quite a while talking. By the time they got back it was getting late so Sarah said goodnight to her friends and went home. She went online to chat with Erica, but she wasn't on. Sarah did some cleaning up and threw a load in the washer while she waited. When she was done cleaning Erica still wasn't online, so Sarah grabbed a book and sat down to read, looking at the screen every ten minutes or so. After a couple of hours of this she finally gave up and went to bed. That's when she remembered that Erica would be packing for Christmas this weekend. She probably wore herself out and fell asleep! Maybe she'll be on tomorrow. she thought as she drifted off
Sarah awoke early the next morning. Grabbing some clothes reminded her that she'd probably need to buy more. Doing laundry every few days would get old fast, and her clothes would get worn out too quickly. She snagged a towel on the way to the bathroom and took a shower. As she was getting dressed she realized that she still didn't have any body hair at all. That's strange, I would have thought it would have grown by now. she thought, then dismissed it as unimportant.
After her shower she made herself an omelet and sat down to eat. She was almost finished when Jill came in. "Good morning!" she called out cheerfully.
"Good morning Jill. What's up?" Sarah replied.
"Not Mike, that's for sure!" Jill giggled, "I'm afraid I wore him out last night."
Sarah blushed and looked down at her breakfast. She wasn't used to Jill talking to her about things like that.
"Sorry!" Jill said with an apologetic smile. "I guess I just reacted to you like I would to my girlfriends there for a minute. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
Sarah nodded and finished her breakfast in silence. Jill sat opposite her and waited. Sarah washed her dishes and returned to the table. "So what are your plans for the day?" Jill asked.
Sarah shrugged, "No plans. The semester's over, so I don't have any homework to do. I did laundry last night while waiting for Erica. Which reminds me; I do need to get more clothes if I'm going to be like this for a while."
"Ah, shopping! Have you gotten your new ATM card yet?" Jill asked.
Sarah shook her head. "No, not yet. I guess I'll have to wait to do my shopping until I've gotten it. Maybe it'll come tomorrow."
"So what do you want to do today?" Jill asked.
"I don't know." Sarah replied.
Jill sighed, "You're as bad as Mike! How about this; do you want to stay in this world today, or not?"
"Maybe we should wait for Mike to decide what we're doing." Sarah suggested.
"You have a lot to learn about being a girl! Mike will go wherever we want to go. So answer the question!" Jill admonished.
"Well, there is another story I found online that I wouldn't mind visiting, though it could be a little dangerous." Sarah said hesitantly.
"How dangerous?" Jill replied.
"Not a lot. It's just that it's a school for mutants with super powers of various kinds, so all kinds of things can happen there." Sarah said.
"Well if it's a school I guess it should be okay. I think we should wait for Mike, though, just in case. We might need him to transform into something big and nasty again!" Jill said with a giggle.
"You're not worried about that?" Sarah asked, surprised.
"Not really. It's only happened twice, and only when we really needed it. If he transformed at work or inside the apartment I might be a little more concerned." Jill replied.
"It's a shame I can't talk to Erica about all this stuff." Sarah said wistfully.
"I know, but Erica would never believe it without seeing it. Even then she'd try to rationalize it, I think. Once she's gone with us a time or two I'm sure she'll be convinced, though." Jill said consolingly.
"So when is Mike getting up?" Sarah asked to change the subject.
"Whenever we want him to get up, of course!" Jill replied with a grin. "Do we want him to now, or later?"
Sarah thought about it and looked at the time. "If you really think he won't mind, I'd rather go do something." Sarah replied hopefully.
Jill smiled, "Don't worry, he won't mind! Guys will do a lot to keep their girlfriends happy. Just look at you; you put up with Erica insisting on going to Harvard Law even though it's on the other side of the continent!"
Sarah shrugged, "If you say so." They left Sarah's apartment and walked over to Jill and Mike's.
"Sounds like Mike got up on his own, after all." Jill commented as they walked in and heard the shower running. "Lets make him something to eat, it'll keep us busy while we wait for him." Sarah nodded and they got to work. By the time Mike showed up, fully dressed with wet hair, they had a plate ready for him.
"I could get used to this!" he said with a grin. Jill slapped his arm and told him to eat.
Once he'd finished eating and washed his plate Sarah retrieved the printout for the story world she wanted to visit where she'd left it when they arrived. "Ready to go visit a mutant school?" she asked Mike.
He shrugged, "Sure, sounds interesting. Sword or no sword?"
Sarah laughed, "A sword wouldn't do you much good if you got in a fight with one of the students!" He shrugged and waited for her to open the portal. They filed through and found themselves standing next to a building with a glass dome on it. It was very cold. "I forgot this place would be so cold at this time of the year!" Sarah complained, wrapping her arms around herself for warmth. They hurried inside the glass-domed building to get warm.
There were students sitting at tables around the room eating their breakfast. Some of them didn't look human. "Are these all mutants?" Mike asked curiously.
Sarah nodded, "All the students and a lot of the staff, too."
They were roughly shoved aside as a large, muscular boy pushed his way in rudely. "Hey, watch it!" Mike exclaimed angrily, steadying Jill who had nearly fallen over.
The boy stopped and turned towards Mike. "Stay out of my way." He said menacingly. Mike bristled at that and stepped forward, so Sarah quickly got between them. "I'll deal with you in a minute, babe." The boy said arrogantly, pushing Sarah aside.
Mike took one look at Sarah and stepped back. "I think you just made a big mistake!" he said with a grin. The boy looked confused and followed Mike's gaze to Sarah.
"How would you like to be smaller and weaker and get pushed around by big strong men?" Sarah said angrily. She didn't give him a chance to respond and slapped him in the face.
The boy looked shocked as he suddenly found himself a girl. His clothes were much too big and his pants fell right off. Fortunately for his modesty his shirt was big enough to act as a dress. "What did you do to me?!" she squeaked.
Sarah shrugged, "Just giving you a chance to see what it's like to get pushed around by people bigger and stronger than you." Jill was shocked that Sarah would use her power like that, but Mike seemed unconcerned. In a moment Jill's expression cleared and she smiled much as Mike was.
"Change me back, please!" the new girl begged. She was attracting a lot of attention, and knew it. She pulled her pants back up, but had to hold onto them or they'd fall off again.
Sarah pretended to think about it and then said, "I suppose I could change you back, if you apologized."
"I'm sorry, please change me back!" she begged.
"Hmm, she doesn't seem very sincere to me, what do you think Jill?" Sarah asked skeptically.
"No, she's definitely not sincere." Jill agreed.
"What do you want from me?" the girl whined.
"I want you to learn a lesson, but you don't seem interested. Maybe we should go catch a movie or something?" Sarah replied, addressing the last part to Mike and Jill.
"Sounds like a plan." Mike replied with a grin. He'd rarely seen Sarah do something like this, she was usually so withdrawn. It was probably the first time he'd seen her stand up for herself like that. Jill nodded; equally pleased with this development now that she was sure that Sarah didn't intend to leave the boy as a girl.
"Wait! Don't leave me like this!" the girl begged. In her haste to keep them from leaving she'd lost her grip on her pants and tripped over them. Sarah took pity on her and helped her up.
"Give me a good reason, and I won't." Sarah told her.
The girl looked around her and realized everyone was watching her. "Can't we do this somewhere else? If my friends see me change back from a girl they'll never let me hear the end of it!" she begged softly.
"True friends wouldn't do that. Maybe you should reconsider what type of person you hang out with." Sarah replied.
"Please?" she begged again. Sarah sighed and agreed. The four of them stepped outside, shivering in the cold.
"So, are you ready to apologize sincerely yet?" Sarah asked the girl.
She nodded energetically, "I'm sorry I pushed you guys around! Really! Please change me back!"
Sarah glanced at Jill. "What do you think, is she sincere?" she asked.
Jill got a strange look on her face and then said, "Yeah, I think she really is." She seemed shocked about something, but Sarah was already turning to look at the boy she'd changed.
"Okay, I guess I'll change you back now." She said. This time she just laid a hand on the girl's shoulder and she changed back to male. He whooped in delight and ran back into the building without a backward glance. They followed him in to get out of the cold.
They were greeted by a cheer and applause from a group that included the majority of the most inhuman looking students. Sarah smiled at them but was distracted by Jill. "Sarah, we've got trouble. He's coming back with his friends."
Sarah didn't think to ask how she knew that, as he wasn't in sight yet. "I thought he was sincerely sorry?" she asked archly.
Jill shrugged, "He was, but his friends figured out what happened and gave him a hard time. He feels like he has to get back at you in order to restore his reputation."
"How in the world do you know that?" Mike asked, confused. Jill was about to reply when the boy Sarah had changed came stomping towards them, three other students with similarly heroic proportions following on his heels.
He walked straight up to Sarah and raised his fist like he was going to strike her. Mike started to move forward but Sarah waved him off. "You do realize that if you take me on it will be as a girl, right?" Sarah asked, seemingly unconcerned. "Your pants will be down around your ankles again, right in front of your friends." Sarah continued.
He stopped and stepped back a step. One of the other students, a girl who'd make your average super model look a bit plain by comparison, stepped forward menacingly. "He may be too afraid to face you, but I'm not! Come on, let's teach this bitch a lesson!" she yelled. The other two students, both boys, seemed hesitant. She didn't notice as her hands started to glow and she fired off a blast of energy at Sarah.
Sarah managed to dodge the energy blast. Mike jumped in front of her, hoping he'd transform into something useful again. Sarah dusted herself off and smiled at the girl with the glowing hands. "Go ahead, try that again." She taunted. Jill smiled broadly at that.
The girl charged up another blast, oblivious to the portal opening up behind her. When she released the blast Sarah opened a second portal directly in front of her. She didn't know how she knew how to do this, but she linked the two portals. The girl cried out in surprise as her own blast hit her from behind. "I can turn your own attacks against you and turn your boyfriends into girlfriends. Do you really want to continue this?" Sarah asked her.
The girl let the glow subside and glanced at her cowed friends. "Cowards!" she spat, turning and striding away angrily. Her friends hurried to catch up with her. The students who had applauded before laughed at them, and then once again applauded Sarah and her friends.
"Home." Sarah muttered and opened another portal.
"Are you alright?" Jill asked worriedly.
"Home!" Sarah reiterated, striding through the portal urgently. Mike and Jill hurried to follow.
"What's the hurry Sarah?" Mike asked, before he realized that Sarah had collapsed on the floor in tears. Jill was already crouching down to comfort her. Mike was feeling somewhat lost and confused, but followed Jill's lead.
After a few minutes Sarah had calmed enough to move her onto the couch. "Shh." Jill cooed, "You're safe now." Eventually Sarah stopped crying. "Are you alright now?" Jill asked.
Sarah nodded. "Sorry about that." She said softly with her head bowed.
"About what?" Mike asked.
"Falling apart like that." Sarah replied.
"You've gone through more in the last couple of weeks than most people do in their entire lives! I'm not going to fault you because it gets to you every now and then." Mike replied.
Jill smiled at his response. "He's a sweetie, isn't he?" she said, wrapping an arm around his waist and giving him a squeeze.
Sarah finally looked up at that, smiling at them weakly. "Yeah, he's great." She agreed.
"What did you do to the girl with glowing hands, anyway?" Mike asked curiously.
Sarah shrugged and said, "I'm not sure how I did it, but I opened two portals and linked them together. So her blast passed through one portal and came out the other and hit her from behind."
"I didn't even know you could keep two portals open at the same time, let alone link them together." Mike said, impressed.
"I didn't either." Sarah admitted. "It just seemed like the thing to do at the time. I'm just glad it worked, I don't think I could have shrugged off that blast like she did."
"I'm glad it worked, too. I'm also glad you weren't really going to leave that boy there as a girl if he didn't apologize." Said Jill.
"Of course she wasn't!" Mike said in her defense.
Sarah shook her head, "No way!"
"How did you know?" Mike asked Jill, sensing there was something more to this.
Jill fidgeted a bit before saying, "You remember that conversation we had with Laura?" Mike nodded, "She was right. At first I was worried Sarah might actually leave him like that, but then I could feel that she wouldn't."
"What are you talking about?" Sarah asked, looking confused.
"When you were working with Melanie we had a chat with Laura. She said our spirits are awake, too, though not nearly as powerful as yours. She said you had some different kind of bond with Mike, and that I might be able to learn to do some of the things they could do. She said they could hear thoughts and feelings, and I think that's what happened with me today." Jill explained with a worried expression.
"WHAT?!" Sarah exclaimed in panic, looking like she was about to make a run for it.
"I don't have any control over it! I just pick up surface thoughts and feelings sometimes." Jill hurried to reassure Sarah. She wasn't sure why Sarah was upset, but felt that the reassurance would calm her. It did. Sarah took a deep breath and relaxed back into the couch.
"So when did this start?" Sarah asked with feigned nonchalance.
Somehow Jill knew that this wasn't a good time to push Sarah, so she let her change the subject. "I'm not sure. I think it's been going on for a while. At first I just thought it was my imagination, but this time it was too clear to be that." Jill replied.
"What was too clear?" Sarah asked cautiously.
"What I felt from that boy and his friends. I knew exactly what had happened after he got back inside and what he intended. What I felt from you wasn't as clear, though." Jill said.
Mike looked a bit lost. That there was more going on than what had been said was clear even to him, but neither Jill nor Sarah were saying anything about it. "Uh, why weren't Sarah's thoughts as clear as that kids?" Mike asked, having decided to ask Jill about it later.
"I didn't hear Sarah's thoughts at all." Jill replied. "I just got the feeling that she wasn't serious about leaving him like that. I got his thoughts loud and clear, though."
"Have you felt anything else from either of us?" Sarah asked.
"A little. I've anticipated something Mike was going to say word for word and picked up a few thoughts and feelings from him. From you I've only picked up fleeting bits like today." Jill said.
Sarah seemed relieved at this. "So I guess we know how traveling with me is changing you." She said.
"Yeah, I guess we do." Jill agreed.
"I'd like to know how it's changing me, though." Mike complained. "I know I've changed shape a couple of times, but exactly how does that work? And will I ever have any control over it?"
Sarah grinned, "Well, there's one way to find out."
"What did you have in mind?" Mike asked cautiously.
"Just a little trip." Sarah replied offhandedly.
"You want to go to another world already?" Jill asked incredulously, thinking about the state Sarah had been in when they returned.
"Sure." Sarah said with a shrug. "I even know where I want to go." She got up and stepped over to the nearest bookcase. A quick scan found the title she was looking for. "Here we are." She said, handing the book to Mike.
Mike rolled his eyes, "More dragons?" he whined theatrically.
Jill looked over his shoulder at the book. "That's not a bad choice, it's not nearly as dangerous as some."
Mike shrugged, "Okay, if you want." He said resignedly.
Sarah smiled widely as she opened the portal. She didn't even bother opening the book, and put it back in its place in the bookshelf once the portal was open. "Lets go!" she called happily, jumping through the portal. Mike rolled his eyes at Jill and they followed.
They found themselves on a dirt road. It extended off to the horizon on one side and to a castle-like building in the other direction. Trees pressed in on either side. "Now what?" Mike groused.
Sarah gestured at the building in the distance. "We'll go that way." She said. Jill shrugged at Mike and they followed Sarah up the road. They walked for almost two hours before a commotion behind them caused them to stop and turn.
Behind them a group of riders had just burst out of the cover of the trees. They all wore leather armor and were armed with swords and daggers. They drew their weapons as they turned towards them. "Uh, Sarah, they don't look too friendly." Mike warned, as Sarah had started walking towards them.
Sarah laughed, "I know!" and kept walking. Jill and Mike were both beginning to worry about Sarah's sanity and hurried after her, intent on dragging her away from the men bearing down on them.
"Hey guys!" Sarah called cheerfully to the men galloping towards them. "I want you to help out my friend Mike here." She continued, gesturing towards Mike as he caught up with her.
The riders ignored her and encircled the trio, their weapons pointing inwards. Sarah grabbed onto Jill's hand and plopped down on the dirt road, dragging Jill down with her. "Okay Mike, time to turn into something big and nasty again!" Sarah said cheerfully. Jill glanced at Sarah as if she'd completely lost her mind. Sarah grinned back at her and winked. Portals started opening up around them, fencing them in. Mike was outside this barrier. "Don't worry!" Sarah whispered to Jill. "I'll bring him into the ring if I have to."
Jill shook her head in wonder at what Sarah was doing. Opening two portals and linking them together was one thing, this was a complete wall of portals! Mike didn't seem to notice what was happening, and was taking his job of protecting Jill and Sarah seriously. He faced off against the riders in a ready stance, trying to will himself to change into something that could protect them.
Jill gasped as one of the men swung his blade at Mike, but Mike easily dodged it as he was barely within the man's reach. Another man took aim at Mike, but he rolled to avoid the swing and came back up on his feet. They crowded in closer to Mike and he backed up towards the portal barrier, still unaware it was there. He looked around helplessly, certain he was about to die. That's when he buckled from the intense pain flaring throughout his body. A moment later he was looking down on the riders, who were looking far less confident.
"See Jill, he's a dragon again!" Sarah said loudly. Mike, upon hearing this, realized what had happened and roared at the riders. They scattered in panic, riding back into the trees and disappearing from sight in moments. Sarah looked around to make sure they were all gone and lowered the portal barrier.
"How could you be so sure he would change?" Jill demanded.
"Sorry if I scared you guys, but I had it all under control, really! Besides, I figured out that the other two times Mike changed it was while protecting me. You said Laura told you he was connected to me in some way. I figured his transformations were tied to me being in danger." Sarah replied.
Jill looked thoughtfully at Mike, who was now a large bronze-skinned dragon. "Why would Mike only transform when you're in danger?" she asked jealously.
Probably because it is her ability to open portals that allowed me to gain this ability in the first place. That, and we need her alive in order to get us home. Mike thought to her. Jill was stunned to receive such a clear thought, then remembered that the dragons of this world were telepathic.
"Then why is it harder to hear her thoughts and feel her emotions than it is yours?" Jill asked. Sarah looked at her strangely, not being privy to the telepathic conversation.
Maybe it's because she's always been so withdrawn, it makes her harder to read. Besides, your ability may be needed to be able to talk to me more, if my form can't speak like this one. Mike replied.
"But you're telepathic in that form, you should be able to talk to Sarah without me." Jill countered.
Maybe, but I bet some of the forms I'll end up in can't talk at all. Mike thought.
"Okay, what's going on?" Sarah asked. Mike grinned toothily at Jill, who smiled weakly back.
"We were just having a conversation. Remember, dragons are telepathic in this world." Jill reminded her.
"Oh, yeah, that's right. I forgot about that. I guess dragons here can't talk like they do in Middle Earth." Sarah replied.
"Is this insane little experiment done now?" Jill asked. She was a little annoyed with Sarah for putting Mike in such danger.
"Not quite." Sarah replied. "Mike still needs to figure out how to change back."
And how am I supposed to do that? Mike thought with irritation to Jill.
"He wants to know how he's supposed to do that." Jill relayed.
Sarah looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, if he thinks about me being safe, maybe that will help." Sarah suggested.
Mike sighed, which sounded very strange coming from a thirty foot long dragon. He closed his eyes and concentrated on Sarah being safe and there being no further danger. To his surprise, the familiar pain came again, and he was back in his own body. "It worked!" he exclaimed happily.
Sarah turned triumphantly to Jill. "So, insane, was it?"
"Yes, it was insane! Just because it worked doesn't change the fact you put all our lives in danger to do it!" Jill complained.
Sarah opened a portal and the three of them returned to their own world. "That's the only way it could be done. If Mike didn't perceive us to be in real danger he wouldn't have changed!" she replied.
"She's got a point. If it really works the way she guessed, and it sure looks like it does, this was the only way." Mike said to Jill. Then he turned to Sarah. "Why did you pick that particular place to do it, though? You couldn't know there'd be bandits on that road at that time." He asked curiously.
Sarah shrugged, "I didn't, you're right. I just figured we'd try different places until we found ourselves in a suitably dangerous situation."
"Why not something a little safer?" he asked.
Sarah smiled, "We were perfectly safe the entire time. I had a barrier of portals up around us and could have had one around you if needed."
"Really?" Mike asked with widened eyes. "You're really getting good with those portals! I didn't think they'd be good for anything but traveling to other worlds."
"I didn't, either, but they're proving to be pretty handy." Sarah agreed.
Jill flopped down onto the couch with a weary sigh. Mike joined her and she cuddled up to him with another, happier sigh. "I guess you knew what you were doing." She said grudgingly.
Sarah sat down on the opposite side of Jill from Mike and gave her a quick hug. "Sorry I worried you, Jill." She apologized.
Jill hugged her back and said, "Okay, you're forgiven, but next time I want to know what's going on ahead of time!"
"Deal!" Sarah agreed, happy to have things smoothed out between them.
"If everyone's happy again, could we get something to eat? I'm starving!" Mike whined.
"I wonder if transforming makes you hungrier." Sarah said speculatively.
"In his defense, it is about time for lunch." Jill pointed out after looking at her watch.
They debated about what to have for lunch and settled on Subway. It was right around the corner, so they walked there. "So what do you guys want to do next?" Sarah asked on the way.
"Eat!" Mike replied emphatically.
Sarah rolled her eyes, "I meant after that."
"Did you want to go to another world again?" Jill asked incredulously.
"We can if you want." Sarah replied. "But that's not what I meant."
"Oh." Jill said, "What do you want to do, Mike?"
"Ask me after I've eaten." Mike replied, opening the door for Jill and Sarah. They filed in and ordered their sandwiches.
Once Mike had wolfed down his sub they started in on him again. "Well Mike, what do you want to do?" Jill asked him.
"How about something relaxing, like a movie?" Mike asked hopefully.
"Sounds good to me." Jill agreed. Sarah nodded, so it was decided. They cleaned up and returned to Mike and Jill's apartment and put a movie on. They all relaxed on the couch to watch and Sarah fell asleep with her head on Jill's shoulder about halfway through.
"No wonder she was leaving it up to us. I guess holding all those portals must have tired her out." Jill said quietly after the movie was over.
"I guess so. Should we wake her up?" Mike whispered back.
"No, help me lay her out so I can get up." Jill replied. Mike held onto Sarah so Jill could slide out from under her then they laid her down on the couch. "Thanks."
They retreated to the kitchen so as not to wake Sarah. "Hey, I just thought of something." Jill said once they were seated. "Your clothes never get damaged when you change!"
"Hey, you're right!" Mike said in surprise. "How did I not notice that? You'd think they would have been shredded each time, but they just grow or disappear. In fact, the only time my clothes were an issue at all was when Sarah girlified me."
"Girlified?" Jill inquired with a grin.
Mike shrugged, "That's what Sarah called it."
Jill shook her head and giggled at that. "Have you noticed how differently she's been acting?"
Mike nodded. "Yeah, I think letting herself relax and not worry about the curse so much has really helped. Just imagine how tense she'd be if Erica were going to be here for Christmas, though!"
Jill shuddered at that image. "Yeah, I'm glad we don't have to deal with that! We'd be spending every spare moment traveling to any world that held out even the slightest hope of changing her back."
"Yeah. Erica being on the other side of the continent is turning out to be more helpful than hurtful." Said Mike.
"Oh, I don't know about that. If Erica had been here from the start I think things would be better." Jill replied.
"How would that make things better?" Mike asked.
"There wouldn't be any suspense for Sarah. And if she'd been here from the start she probably would have seen Sean become Sarah, so she'd have to believe it." Jill replied.
Mike shrugged, "I guess so. But then either Erica would be pushing Sarah even harder to change back, or breaking up with her." Mike pointed out.
"I don't know, Erica loves Sarah as much as Sarah loves her. I think Erica might be able to make the adjustment." Jill countered.
Mike laughed, "Yeah, right! Somehow I just can't see Erica doing that!"
They both turned upon hearing a sound from the living room and saw Sarah dash for the door and run out. "Great going, Mike!" Jill growled, running after her.
"Damn!" Mike swore under his breath, and rushed out after them. He got within sight of Sarah's apartment just in time to see Jill enter it. But when he got to the door it was closed and locked. He knocked, but there was no answer. Figuring they didn't want him around right now, he returned to his apartment.
Jill, meanwhile, was trying to entice Sarah out of her room as it was also locked. "Come on, Sarah, Mike doesn't know what he's talking about! Please come out!" she called through the door.
"Go away!" came Sarah's strained voice. With it Jill felt a faint feeling of despair and loneliness.
"Sarah, please open this door and talk to me? Please?" Jill begged. She heard movement inside and the door was unlocked, though not opened. Jill opened it and looked inside. Sarah was face down on her bed, her shoulders shaking silently. "Sarah?" she said softly, walking over slowly and sitting on the bed next to her.
"He's right, she's going to leave me the moment she sees me like this!" Sarah sobbed.
"Look, Sarah," Jill began, rubbing her back, "Mike doesn't know Erica as well as you do. Neither do I. Do you really think that she'd just run away the moment she saw you? Do you really think her feelings for you are that shallow?"
That caught Sarah's attention. "I…I guess not." She admitted. "But how could she accept me as I am?" she asked.
"I imagine she'd rather you changed back, but that doesn't mean that she couldn't deal with it if you are unable to. She might surprise you." Jill replied, hoping she was right.
"And she might not." Sarah countered sadly.
"And she might never have to see you as you are now, either." Jill pointed out.
"I guess." Sarah said, unconvinced.
"Sarah, no matter what happens, Mike and I will always be here for you. You'll never be alone, alright?" Jill said. Sarah sat up and cried on Jill's shoulder for a while. "Better now?" Jill asked when Sarah pulled away.
Sarah nodded. "Sorry I'm so much trouble." She said softly.
Jill shook her head, "You're family to us, that means you get to be as much trouble as you want, and you won't be any trouble at all." She said with a grin. Sarah chuckled and nodded weakly.
"I guess we should go find Mike." Sarah said hesitantly.
"He'll keep. I locked the door, so he knows I want him to stay out for now. We can go see him any time, or bring him back here. Or we can just talk here and you can see him tomorrow." Jill replied.
Sarah nodded and said, "I'd rather stay here, but I wouldn't mind Mike coming over."
Jill nodded and started to get up, then stopped and turned back to Sarah. "There's one thing I want to say, but I don't want you to get upset about it. Just let me say it, and then think about it, okay?" Sarah nodded. "If you want, or there's some reason you think it would be best, to stay female I'll help you with Erica any way I can and Mike and I won't have any problem with it. That's all I wanted to say, so I'll go get Mike if that's alright?" Sarah nodded weakly and watched Jill leave, wondering where that idea had come from.
Sarah got up and headed to the bathroom to clean up, thinking about what Jill had said before she left. Why would she think I'd want to stay female? she thought to herself as she splashed water over her face. She couldn't figure it out, so she dismissed it for now and went out into the living room to wait for Jill and Mike. She didn't have to wait long before they walked in, with Mike looking sheepishly at her.
"Uh, sorry Sarah, I shouldn't have said what I did. I'm sure you two will work it out if it comes to that." He said apologetically.
"That's okay, Mike." Sarah said, wanting to put the whole thing behind her as quickly as possible. Mike nodded thankfully and they all sat down, with Sarah in her customary spot in the recliner facing the couch.
"You feeling okay now?" Jill asked worriedly. Sarah nodded. "Good. I'm guessing you're not feeling like going out to eat right now." Sarah nodded again. "Okay, why don't you two relax and I'll make dinner." Sarah nodded again, starting to feel like a jack-in-the-box and watched as Jill walked out into the kitchen and started pulling things out of the fridge for dinner.
Sarah and Mike played video games while they waited for dinner, and all thoughts of the upset earlier were forgotten. By the time Jill called them in for dinner Sarah was smiling as she crushed Mike in one of her favorite games. Mike lost gracefully, glad to see Sarah feeling better.
They had a quiet dinner and Jill and Mike retired shortly thereafter since Sarah was looking tired again. Sarah tried getting Erica on IM, but she was late. Sarah was just about to give up when Erica finally showed up and apologized for keeping her waiting. Erica didn't have much to say, other than that she was finally finished getting ready for her trip to her parents for Christmas, and was ready to crash. They had a quick chat and signed off.
Sarah was also ready to crash and got ready for bed quickly. Turning off the light she was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
In the morning Sarah got ready for work and ended up having breakfast with Jill and Mike. Jill took her to work this time, so that Mike could see about reporting Sarah's driver's license missing and see if they would send a new one. They weren't sure if Sarah would be able to use it or not, but she might at least be able to use it to get a new one with her new name and picture.
Work was as hectic as it had been the previous week. Sarah was stuck with Tina, while Tiffany was training another new hire, Kris. Tiffany seemed uncomfortable around Sarah the few times they got near each other and kept giving her furtive looks. Sarah tried to ignore it and focused on helping Tina get used to the routine.
At lunch Sarah ate with Tiffany, Tina, and Kris. She was really getting uncomfortable with the odd looks Tiffany was giving her but tried to concentrate on talking to the new girls.
Jill came in to pick her up a little early, so as soon as she'd clocked out they left. "What's with her?" Jill asked, nodding towards Tiffany who was looking oddly at Sarah again.
"I don't know, she's been acting weird all day. Last week she was, too, but she's been really weird today." Sarah replied.
Jill shrugged. When they got back to Sarah's apartment she found something from her bank in the mail so she opened it right away. "I got my ATM card! Now I can pay you back for all those clothes!" Sarah said happily.
Sarah asked Jill to drive her to the bank. After withdrawing some money and paying Jill back, Sarah wanted to get some groceries. Once they'd gotten back and were putting everything away Sarah said, "How would you like some of my teriyaki chicken for Thursday?"
Jill smiled, it'd been a while since she'd had Sarah's teriyaki chicken. She always marinated it for a few days and her mix, though a little different every time, was always good! "Sure, that would be great!" Jill said happily. "I guess that's why you got all the chicken wings."
"Yep! You know how I like using the smaller pieces, they really soak up the flavor." Sarah agreed as she got the ingredients together for her marinade.
"Want me to make cookies?" Jill asked. They were both big fans of chocolate chip cookies, the more chips the better!
"Sure! I assume you guys will be at Mike's parents' house for Christmas dinner?" Sarah replied. She put the chicken wings in a pan with the sauce and covered them before putting them in the fridge to marinade.
Jill nodded, "Yeah. I wish you could come with us, but I guess we'd have a lot of explaining to do for that!"
"That's for sure! Although if anybody would be able to handle, it's Mike's parents!" Sarah agreed.
"We…could do that, you know." Jill said hesitantly. She didn't expect Sarah to agree to it, but she had to try.
"Uh uh!" Sarah replied, shaking her head. "Even if they did take it in stride, how would they react when I changed back? Better that they never see me like this in the first place."
"Just a thought." Jill said.
They worked on dinner in silence after that. Mike joined them a few minutes later and got out plates and silverware and then retreated to the kitchen table.
Over dinner Jill told Mike about their Christmas Eve plans. "Cool! It's been a while since we've had your teriyaki chicken, I miss it!" Mike said enthusiastically.
After dinner Jill reminded Sarah about her need to get more clothes. Then she volunteered Mike to help. "Hey, why do I have to go?" Mike complained.
"Somebody's got to carry everything." Jill replied sensibly. He groaned, but went along with them.
They started with the same thrift store they went to last time. Sarah founds some more skirts and tops, but still didn't find any pants that were long enough. She also found a purse, at Jill's insistence.
They were on their way to the shoe store when Sarah let out a pained hiss. "What's wrong?" Jill asked.
"I don't know, I just got this sharp pain all the sudden." Sarah replied, wincing.
"Where is it?" Jill asked.
"Below my stomach, I guess it must be in the intestines or something." Sarah replied, holding one hand over the spot that was hurting.
"I was wondering when this would happen." Jill said. At Sarah's inquisitive look she said, "It's probably just a cramp. We can pick you up some Midol while we're out, it works wonders."
Sarah was about to ask what Jill was talking about until she remembered what Midol was for. "Oh." She said in a shocked tone.
Jill nodded, "Yeah, we'll also need to get you some tampons or pads."
Mike was thoroughly confused until that point. "Oh!" he said, unconsciously echoing Sarah.
They changed direction and went to Wal Mart. They found all the supplies Sarah would need there, and then looked at shoes while they were at it. Sarah found a pair of walking shoes that were cheap enough for her budget. "I think that's about all I can afford right now." Sarah said when she saw the total.
Jill nodded and they returned to Sarah's apartment. Mike carried everything in, as Jill was helping Sarah who was in quite a bit of pain. "Figures it would be bad the first time." Jill muttered. "Lets get some of that Midol in you, then you can take a nice hot bath." Sarah nodded and let Jill lead her in.
Mike said goodnight to Sarah, as it seemed obvious she wouldn't be up to anything else that night and it was getting late anyway. Jill made sure Sarah took two Midol and prepared her bath for her. "Do you want me to stick around?" Jill asked once Sarah was safely ensconced in her bath.
Sarah sighed in relief as the heat of the water eased some of the pain. "No, I'll be okay." She replied absently. Jill gave her an awkward hug goodbye and went home.
Sarah stayed in the bath until the water started to cool. By then the Midol was doing its job and she felt much better, if a bit sleepy. She got ready for bed and went online. She chatted with Erica briefly, but they were both tired.
She said goodnight to Erica and climbed in bed and was soon fast asleep.
Sarah awoke in the morning feeling miserable. The first thing she did was take more Midol. Just when I was getting used to this, too… she thought.
She lingered in the shower with the water as hot as she could stand, but it didn't help much. By the time Mike came for her she'd just managed to get ready and hadn't eaten anything. "You ready to go?" Mike asked as he stepped through the door. Sarah's only answer was to pick up her new purse and nod. Mike led her out to his car and drove her to work.
"You okay?" Mike asked as Sarah was getting out of the car. Sarah nodded and closed the door. Mike said goodbye and left.
Sarah struggled through her work day, all the more so because she had to work with Kris again. She was finally getting the hang of the job by the end of the day, so Sarah was looking forward to being back to her normal job on Wednesday.
"Hi Sarah, how are you doing?" Mike greeted her when he arrived to take her home.
"Fine." Sarah replied without looking up. Mike shrugged and led her out to his car and drove her home.
When they entered the apartment they found Jill already working on dinner. "Want some help?" Sarah asked.
"Hi Sarah, no thanks, there's not much left to do. Dinner will be ready in ten minutes or so." Jill replied.
"Okay." Sarah replied, walking over to the sink and filling up a glass with water to take more Midol with. "How did women survive before Midol was invented, anyway?"
"With difficulty!" Jill replied with a laugh. "Seriously, though, it's different for each woman. Some really don't have much trouble at all."
"Lucky them." Sarah grouched.
Dinner was ready quickly and they sat down to eat. "Do you have any plans for tonight?" Jill asked Sarah.
"Well, I do need to check on the chicken and figure out what else I'm going to make on Thursday." Sarah replied.
"Why don't I help you with that, then we can do something." Jill said. Sarah agreed and they all headed over to Sarah's apartment.
"So what did you have in mind?" Sarah asked as she stirred up the chicken to make sure the sauce hadn't separated and all the chicken absorbed some of the marinade.
"Saw through me, huh?" Jill replied with a grin. "Yeah, I was hoping we could make another trip to Xanth. You guys didn't really get a chance to see it last time, we only saw the Magician's castle."
Sarah shrugged, "Fine by me. I was thinking about baking some quick bread, what do you think?" she asked, pointing out a couple of breads in a recipe book.
Jill looked at them and pointed to one, "That one looks good."
Jill and Sarah mixed up the bread and poured it into a pan. After covering it they left it in the fridge to bake Wednesday.
"Ready to go?" Sarah asked once they'd cleaned up their mess.
"In just a minute." Jill replied. She'd left a bag near the door when she came over. She slung the strap for the bag over her shoulder and pulled out the book. "I want you to use this book. I've marked the place."
Sarah took the book and looked at the marked place. "Healing spring?" she asked curiously.
Jill nodded and showed Sarah the contents of her bag. There were four two liter bottles inside. "I figured if we're going to be going to dangerous places we would benefit from having some of that water on hand to heal injuries." Jill explained.
"So that's what that's for! Good idea Jill!" Mike said. "Let me get the sword, and then we'll be ready to go."
"Don't forget that knife, while you're at it." Jill called after him. He nodded and continued out. Sarah gathered up her archery gear while he was gone.
"I hope we aren't really going to need this stuff." Jill said.
"With Mike's transforming and my portals we probably don't, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared." Sarah replied.
"True, and we know Xanth can be dangerous." Jill agreed.
Mike returned with the sword, tied on with a piece of rope again. "Ready to go?" he asked. The others nodded and Sarah opened the portal. She set the book down and they walked through.
On the other side they found themselves in a clearing of a forest. The healing spring dominated the clearing. Jill and Sarah immediately started filling the bottles with the magical water. "You going to help Mike?" Jill asked.
"I am helping, I'm making sure nothing catches us by surprise." Mike replied. Jill shrugged and got back to filling the bottles.
They'd just finished filling the first two bottles and closed them when there was a noise from the forest. Sarah set the full bottle down, picked up her bow, and set an arrow. Mike had already drawn his sword and was holding it in both hands.
Out of the forest ambled a small group of goblins. On seeing Mike and the others they charged at Mike. The first one never made it to him as an arrow sprouted in his chest. Mike parried the charge of the second and kicked it in the face, sending it sprawling. There were still six left and three of them peeled off to attack Sarah.
Seeing this, Mike felt the familiar pain of transformation. A moment later he found himself unchanged from the waist up, but with a long serpentine tail for his lower half. The sword was still in his hand so he used it to parry the attack of the one goblin unfazed by his transformation. He spun around to go after the other three goblins, knocking the remaining goblins down with his tail without realizing it.
By the time Mike made it to the other group of goblins one of them was already down with an arrow in its leg. Mike ignored him and threw himself at the other two. As before his new body was as natural as his original form, so he was able to hit both goblins at once, one with his sword and the other with his tail. The goblin he hit with his tail took one look at the changed Mike and ran off. The other goblins that could did too. The one with the arrow in its leg crawled off after them. Two were dead.
Mike watched carefully until all the living goblins were out of sight, even the injured one, before turning to check on Jill and Sarah. He found Jill holding Sarah's hair out of the way while she threw up everything she'd eaten. "Is she okay?" Mike asked worriedly.
"She's just upset, she'll be fine." Jill replied. Sarah had stopped heaving so she helped her clean herself up. Sarah had dropped her bow at some point and it was lying on the ground near the spring.
"Come on, lets fill these up." Sarah said weakly, picking up one of the empty bottles. Jill nodded and grabbed the other one and they started filling them. Mike slithered around the clearing, watching for any more intruders. There weren't any and they'd soon filled all the bottles.
Sarah grabbed her bow and opened the portal. Mike waited for Jill and Sarah to go through before following them.
Back in her apartment Sarah put her archery equipment away. Turning back to the others she noticed that Mike was still a naga. "Uh, Mike, you might want to change back before you wreck the place with that long tail of yours." She said.
"Huh?" Mike replied, accidentally knocking over the recliner with said tail. "Oh." As before he concentrated on Sarah being safe and he was able to change back. "I guess that answers one question."
"What question? We already knew you could change back on your own." Jill asked.
"I'd only done it once, though. But the question I was referring to was whether a magical form like that could survive in our world. I thought I might revert when I came through the portal, but I didn't." Mike replied.
"That's a good point, in the Xanth books magical creatures couldn't survive in Mundania. I guess our world has enough magic in it for a naga to survive." Jill said.
"Are you alright now?" Mike asked Sarah, who was lying on the couch.
"Yeah, I guess." She replied weakly. Then she saw the bloody sword in Mike's hand and ran to the bathroom to throw up again.
"I guess she's not alright, after all." Mike commented.
"Maybe you should clean up that sword." Jill suggested, looking a little green herself.
"Oh, yeah, okay." Mike went into the kitchen and cleaned off the sword. He made sure it was dry before sheathing it. He untied the rope from his waist and put the sword down on the kitchen table.
As he was walking back into the living room Jill and Sarah were returning from the bathroom. "What's that?" Jill asked, pointing at the window.
"What's what?" Mike asked, looking at the window. He didn't see anything unusual.
Jill looked back at the window and shrugged, "I thought I saw something."
"Are you feeling okay Sarah?" Mike asked, noticing how pale she looked.
"Just tired." She replied.
"Sounds like our cue." Jill said. "Let's let her get some rest." She hugged Sarah and Mike said goodbye, then they left.
Sarah went online right away.
SeanDreamer is logged on
…
…
Erica378 is logged on
<SeanDreamer>: Hey Erica, what kept you?
<Erica378>: Hi Sean, sorry about that. My parents took me out to eat. There was a really long line so we just got home.
<SeanDreamer>: That's okay. How's the visit going?
<Erica378>: Great! A lot of the extended family is here, too. Are you doing anything for Christmas?
<SeanDreamer>: I'm making dinner for Mike and Jill Thursday. They're going to visit Mike's parents on Christmas day, so I'll be on my own.
<Erica378>: What?! You can't be alone on Christmas! Tell Mike he has to take you with him! His parents love you anyway.
<SeanDreamer>: They already have plans, but don't worry about me. Work's been really busy lately so I'll enjoy a rest day.
<Erica378>: *Sigh* You are so stubborn sometimes! What are you making for dinner Thursday, anyway?
<SeanDreamer>: Teriyaki chicken wings and coconut bread. I'll make some kind of vegetable and maybe something else. That should be enough, especially with the cookies Jill's making.
<Erica378>: Mmm, sounds good! I miss that teriyaki chicken of yours! I tried making it a couple of times, but I must have gotten the proportions wrong. It wasn't very good.
<SeanDreamer>: You probably used the wrong ingredients. Some things are okay to substitute, some aren't!
<Erica378>: So you keep telling me! That's why I like to leave the cooking to you, you're much better at it.
<SeanDreamer>: I'm having trouble staying awake, I guess I'd better go to bed.
<Erica378>: I've got a couple of relatives that are leaving early I have to say goodbye too, anyway. I love you!
<SeanDreamer>: I love you too, goodnight!
<Erica378>: Goodnight!
SeanDreamer has logged off
Erica378 has logged off
Sarah wearily turned off her computer and climbed into bed without bothering to change clothes. In moments she was sleeping deeply.
Sarah awoke feeling a little better than the previous morning. A little. After a Midol and breakfast she met up with Mike for her ride over to work. "I forgot to ask, how did things go with my driver's license?" Sarah asked once they were on their way.
"Fine, you'll have a new license in a week or two. I don't know if you'll be able to use it, though. You may have to get a new one with your new name and picture." Mike replied.
"Ugh, I hope not! That would make changing back a lot harder, I think." Sarah grumbled.
"I know, I'm hoping you don't have to do that either. On the plus side, from what that Magician said you'll be able to change back and forth at will like you can do to other people. That could make transitioning back a little easier." Mike said hopefully.
"Yeah, I guess that could help." Sarah agreed. Nothing more was said until they arrived.
"Have a nice day Sarah." Mike said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
"Thanks, you too Mike." Sarah replied and got out of the car. She waved when he did and walked inside.
"Sarah, I'm glad to see you! Could you help Kris again today?" Tiffany said in greeting. She seemed almost normal.
"Okay." Sarah sighed. Kris was a little slow. Not mentally slow, but more like doesn't pay attention to a word you say, slow. Her day dragged on, telling Kris what she needed to do over and over again. By the end of the day she seemed to have finally picked things up well enough.
Tiffany said goodbye to Sarah as they were clocking out pleasantly enough, but there was still something off about the way she looked at her. Sarah shook it off and went looking for Mike. She didn't have to look far, as he was already looking for her. "Ready to go?" he asked. She nodded. They drove back and found Jill working on dinner again.
"Hi Sarah! Could you watch dinner for me while I work on the cookies?" she asked. Sarah nodded and took over from her at the stove. She noticed there were already a couple of batches of cookies laying out to cool. Jill soon added another and put another batch in to cook.
"After dinner we can go over to your place and get whatever we can ready for tomorrow, like the bread." Jill suggested. Sarah agreed.
"Dinner's ready." Sarah announced a few minutes later. Mike was quick to put in an appearance, but Sarah insisted he help Jill with the cookies first. Meanwhile she laid out some plates and silverware.
They made short work of their dinner and Mike got the job of cleaning up while Sarah helped Jill find places for all the cookies to cool without sticking to each other. "How many did you bake, anyway?" Sarah asked.
Jill shrugged, "About a hundred and twenty, I guess. I don't have to worry about them going to waste, Mike demolishes them." As she said this Sarah saw that Mike already had two in hand and another disappearing into his mouth.
"I see what you mean." Sarah said with a grin. They soon joined Mike in devouring some of the chocolaty goodies.
"Okay, that's enough chocolate, we've still got to get your bread baked." Jill admonished, mostly to Mike. He guiltily put down the cookie (his twelfth) he'd been about to eat and followed the girls to Sarah's apartment. The first thing Sarah did was warm up the oven. Then they agreed on what else they wanted besides chicken and bread, but it didn't require much preparation.
Once the oven was heated up Sarah put the bread in and set the timer. They watched TV while they waited for the bread to bake. "Do you want to go visit another world tonight?" Mike asked.
"Did you have something in mind?" Sarah asked curiously.
He shrugged and said, "Not really, but you seem to like it. I have to admit it can be pretty fun at times."
"Yeah, I guess it can. When I'm not afraid for my life, anyway." Sarah replied thoughtfully.
"And you don't have to be afraid for your life much anymore, with the advances you've made in using your portal powers." Jill pointed out. "Plus Mike's getting to be pretty useful, too!"
"Hey, I was always useful!" he complained.
"Yeah, but not against dragons!" Jill replied with a laugh.
That discussion was disrupted when the timer went off. Sarah checked on the bread and decided it needed a few more minutes. "Well, we'll have to wait until the bread is done before we go anywhere." She pointed out when she returned from the kitchen.
"Not done yet?" Jill asked.
"Not yet, but it won't be long." Sarah replied.
"Just long enough to pick out a book!" Mike exclaimed, looking at the books in Sarah's bookcase. Jill joined him and they debated what worlds would be best for a quick visit. Sarah left them to it and checked on the bread. She decided it was done enough and turned off the oven. She set it out to cool and returned to the living room.
"Come up with anything?" she asked.
"Yes. How about we go sight seeing?" Mike replied, handing the book in his hands to Sarah.
"I don't know, that place is pretty dangerous." Sarah said.
"Yeah, but if we go at the beginning of the book we can see some dinosaurs without having to worry about getting eaten. If we're still there when Nedry cuts the power to the security systems we'll portal out." Jill suggested.
"You guys really want to go to Jurassic Park?" Sarah asked incredulously.
"Sure, why not?" Mike replied nonchalantly.
Sarah shook her head in amazement, "You guys are really getting into this, aren't you?"
Jill and Mike grinned. "Yeah, we are!" they said in unison. Sarah groaned, but took the book. She opened the book and found the part when Grant first got to the island and opened the portal. Jill and Mike stepped through eagerly, leaving Sarah to follow behind.
They arrived within sight of the doors leading into the park proper, but they were closed. "Uh, how are we going to get in?" Mike asked.
"Sarah, can't you open two portals and link them together, one on this side of the door and one on the other?" Jill suggested. Sarah shrugged, but gave it a try. She'd never tried to open a portal somewhere that she couldn't see, except when using a book as a guide. She felt that the second portal was open, and linked, but wasn't sure it was in the right place.
"Let me check and see if I got this right." She said, stepping through the portal. The portal opened up just on the other side of the door, exactly as intended. With a grin she walked back through the portal. "It worked, come on through!" she exclaimed. Mike and Jill followed her through the linked portals and she closed them back up.
"Cool, maybe you can use that trick in our world, too." Said Mike.
Sarah's eyes widened, "Yeah, I probably can!"
"We'll have to experiment with that later. For now, let's go see some dinosaurs!" Mike said. Sarah and Jill agreed and they started walking down the road, looking right and left to find any dinosaurs that might be in sight.
They didn't see any dinosaurs for a while, but the different plants were interesting enough. Sarah thought she heard something behind her at one point, but didn't see anything. She was distracted from that when they came across their first dinosaurs.
"Look a bit different than in the movie." Mike commented.
"Are you really surprised?" Jill asked.
"No, I guess not." Mike answered. They continued the tour and soon came across the T-rex.
"Hey Mike, do you think you could become a T-rex?" Jill asked.
Mike shrugged, "I suppose so, but I can't control it."
"You were able to change back on your own, why not?" Jill replied.
"How am I supposed to do that?" he asked.
"Well, if Sarah being in danger is really the key, then just imagine that she is." Jill said.
Mike shrugged and tried it. Nothing happened at first, but then the now familiar pain of transformation washed over him. That wasn't as bad as before. he thought as he looked down on his tiny fore claws and beyond them to his huge feet.
"I guess you're getting better at this." Jill said.
"Wow, it works! Can you talk?" Sarah asked curiously.
Mike tried, but all that came out was an unintelligible growl. Guess not. Shall I change back now? he thought, hoping Jill would hear it.
"Might as well." Jill replied, "I think you're freaking out the T-rex anyway." The Tyrannosaurus was looking rather skittish.
"Are you guys talking telepathically again?" Sarah asked, annoyed at being left out.
Before Jill could answer Mike changed back. "Sorry, but I couldn't talk in that form any other way." Mike said apologetically.
Sarah sighed and said, "I guess I'd better get used to it. At least now we know you can change shape at will, and even pick your form. I wonder if you can use one of the other forms you've taken here?"
Mike shrugged, "Only one way to find out, I guess." With that he concentrated again, this time on the dragon form he took last time. A moment later he was a bronze dragon again. Yep, I guess I can. he projected to Jill.
"Cool! That ability is getting more useful all the time." Sarah exclaimed. Jill nodded her agreement and Mike changed back again.
"I guess we don't have to worry about dinosaurs after all." Jill remarked.
"Yeah, you could become that invisible giant again and not even the largest dinosaur would be a threat to you." Sarah agreed.
Mike shrugged, "Now that's settled, why don't we go look at more dinosaurs?" The others agreed and they continued on. Some of the dinosaurs weren't in sight, as had been the case with some of the first areas they came to, but they still managed to spot a few more. When they reached the gate they didn't bother trying to go through it and opened another portal home.
They emerged back in Sarah's apartment. Mike went straight to the couch while Sarah and Jill went to the kitchen to check on the bread. None of them noticed a shape dart out of the portal and hide just before it closed.
Sarah sliced up the bread and covered it and then stirred the chicken one more time. "Is Mike working tomorrow?" Sarah asked as she was finishing.
Jill shook her head, "No, I guess not that many people want to take martial arts classes on Christmas Eve."
"Can't blame them. I still have to work, though." Sarah complained.
"How is work going for you?" Jill asked as they returned to the living room.
"A lot better, especially since I'm done training Kris now. She was really slow to pick things up. Tina was great, though, she'll be a big help. Tiffany's even acting more normal now, and the customers are a lot nicer to me than they used to be." Sarah replied.
"Good!" Jill said happily.
Sarah looked at the clock and saw it was getting very late. "I'd better get online and see if Erica's still on!" she exclaimed worriedly.
"Okay, we'll see you tomorrow!" Jill said and hugged Sarah goodbye. Mike said goodnight and they left. Sarah booted up her computer and got online, but there was no sign of Erica.
Sarah left it on and got ready for bed, then cleaned up the kitchen, but Erica still wasn't on. I must have missed her! she thought, hoping she wouldn't be too unhappy with her about it. Then she went to bed and fell asleep immediately.
Sarah woke a little late, so she had to skip breakfast. Then she discovered that she had started bleeding, which didn't improve her mood any. The blood reminded her of the goblins she and Mike had killed, which made her feel even worse. By the time she got to work she was feeling extremely low and barely managed to hide it from Mike and her coworkers.
She found herself dealing once again with people's computer problems that were ridiculously simple or stemmed from extreme ignorance. She had to bite her tongue more than once to keep from saying something she'd regret. When Mike came to collect her she just said "Hi." And followed him out to his car without saying any more until she was home. Then all she said was that she had to get to work on dinner and she was off to her apartment.
Wonder what's eating at her? Mike thought as he walked into his apartment. He was shocked to find that Jill was sitting on the couch talking to Erica! "Erica, what are you doing here?" he exclaimed.
Erica smiled, "I'm here to surprise Sean! Is he home yet?"
Before Mike could answer Jill said, "Why don't I go check on him? We should make sure he finishes dinner before you go over there or he'll forget all about it!" she said with forced humor.
"Okay." Erica agreed. "How have you been Mike?" she asked, turning to him.
Don't tell her anything yet. Mike heard Jill in his head. This was the first time she'd managed something like that and he barely managed to conceal his surprise. "Great Erica. How about you?" he asked with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.
Jill left him to keep Erica busy and ran over to Sarah's apartment. When she arrived Sarah was just getting the chicken out of the fridge. "Sarah, you might want to wait to do that!" she said urgently.
Sarah turned and saw the worried expression on Jill's face. "What's up?" she asked worriedly.
Jill took a deep breath and said, "Erica decided to surprise you, she's here, at our apartment!"
Sarah's eyes widened until they seemed as if they'd pop out of her head. "She's here?! Now?!" she gasped. Jill nodded. "I've got to get out of here!" Before Jill knew what was happening Sarah ran into the living room and grabbed a random book off the bookshelf. She opened a portal and dropped the book absent mindedly, but Jill managed to grab her arm before she could step through.
"What are you doing?!" she exclaimed, "We've got to talk to Erica! We'll have to tell her everything, now."
"No way! I'm going to get myself changed back right now, no matter what! Let go!" Sarah yelled back, trying to wrench her arm free. Jill held on tenaciously, until Sarah slapped her. Jill suddenly let go and Sarah dived through the portal, closing it instantly behind her.
Jill was left lying on the floor where she'd fallen in surprise when she realized she was now male, again! She looked down at herself and was horrified at what she saw, all the more so because she was wearing a dress. Realizing she was stuck like this until Sarah came back, Jill ran into the bathroom in tears and locked herself in.
Sarah fell out of the portal onto a dirt road. She climbed to her feet and dusted herself off while looking around at her surroundings. The road continued on some ways in both directions until it was lost to sight where it turned. The road was closely bordered by old growth trees on both sides. A group of travelers were on the road, mere feet from where she'd appeared. "Who are you?!" one of them exclaimed, drawing a sword. He was wearing plate mail armor and two of the others who were similarly armored drew their own swords. Another man in chain mail armor was looking at Sarah curiously, while a man in robes seemed amused at his companion's antics.
"I…I'm Sarah. Uh, do you know where I can find a really powerful, skilled wizard around here?" she asked uncertainly.
The robed man said, "Are you looking for a teacher?"
"Uh, no, I'm looking to get a curse removed." Sarah replied.
"A curse, you say? It must be a terrible curse, indeed, to need such skilled and powerful help! You're in luck, there's a wizard of the sort you describe just off this road. We're not going there, but you are welcome to travel with us until we reach the fork in the road that leads to his tower." The robed man said. His companions looked at him with anger or curiosity.
"Really? That would be great!" Sarah exclaimed, thinking that maybe she had a chance of succeeding.
"Excellent! There is one problem though." He replied ominously.
Sarah frowned, "What kind of problem?"
"There are quite a few monsters in this area. It is unlikely that we'll get to the fork in the road without being attacked. We will want you to contribute to our defense." He explained.
"Oh. Well, I guess I can help." Sarah said dubiously.
"You seem doubtful, do you not know any offensive spells?" he asked curiously.
"Um, no, not really." Sarah replied, realizing he must have seen her arrive and thought she was a wizard herself.
"Hmm, well, this should help." He said, handing a simple wooden wand to her. "This wand is charged with a fireball spell. If we are attacked, aim it where you want the blast to land and say 'vascor'. Just make sure none of us are within at least ten feet of your target before you use it!"
Sarah nodded and took the wand. It didn't seem like anything special. There were a few strange runes carved into it at the tip, but otherwise it was just a smooth wooden rod. She kept a firm grip on it and recited the word over and over in her mind to make sure she didn't forget it. Once he'd handed over the wand the group reformed and began walking again, with Sarah next to the man who gave her the wand.
As they were walking something occurred to Sarah and she asked him, "Why did you give me this wand, isn't it rather valuable?"
To Sarah's surprise he laughed! "No, not really." He began to explain, "It's an old wand and only has enough power for one or two more spells. It should be enough to help if we're attacked, though."
Sarah nodded and they continued on in silence. The sun was well on its way down when there was a series of growls and suddenly they were surrounded by several dog-like, small men wielding crude weapons. They didn't give the travelers much time to react, but they were well used to this sort of thing and the three men in plate armor met them with swords drawn.
The man in chain mail armor pulled a mace from a thong at his belt and joined in, while the other man drew a throwing knife and held it, waiting for a good opportunity. Sarah stayed at his side, not sure what to do. She soon realized they didn't need her help, as the dog-men were getting massacred! There were at least a dozen of them, but their small size and lack of skill or armor left them at a distinct disadvantage. Half of them were dead, and several injured, when a loud roar was heard from the edge of the forest and a large human-like creature came barreling out of the trees. He was carrying a large club that looked more like a tree trunk than anything else.
The dog-men scattered to avoid him, but the travelers met his charge head on. One of the fleeing dog-men was caught up with one of the swordsman when the behemoth swung his club. Both were knocked well back into the forest and out of sight. The other two swordsmen took advantage of the distraction to attack it, but their swords caused little damage to its tough hide. The man with the mace held up some kind of symbol in his other hand and chanted something that Sarah couldn't understand. A blast of energy shot out of his hand and struck the creature square in the chest. It was temporarily stunned, but it seemed to have no other effect.
The fifth man dropped his throwing dagger and chanted his own spell. Lightning shot out and struck the behemoth, causing it to cry out in pain. It tried to get to the wizard, but his friends pressed their attack and fenced him in. Sarah looked at the wizard questioningly, holding up the wand, but he shook his head. "Too close." He said. Sarah nodded and watched as he and his friend blasted the creature with more spells and the warriors continued to hack and slash at it.
They were all so focused on the large monster that they completely missed the return of three dog-men. Their first warning was when one of the warriors cried out in pain as the dagger of one of the dog-men was buried deep into his side. He fell and the last warrior was forced to split his attention between the larger monster and the three smaller ones. He was soon flying through the air with two of those dog-men from another swing of the creature's giant club. The wizard quickly finished off the last dog-man with a spell and then turned his attention back to the larger monster.
He glanced meaningfully at his friend and then blasted the creature with a spell that seemed to freeze it in place. "That won't last long, come on we've got to find the others!" he told Sarah, and all three of them fled into the forest, the injured warrior on the other spell caster's shoulder.
They soon found the other two warriors battling the remaining dog-men. There were three dead at their feet and two still fighting. They ran over behind them and laid down the injured warrior. The armored spell caster began praying over the injured man and the wizard turned back towards the direction they came from, watching for the large monster to return.
Another dog-man died before the behemoth returned. It came straight at the wizard, but was met with a column of flame from his palm. He stopped and put his arms up to protect his face from the flames, but was clearly in pain. The third warrior was just getting to his feet when a new threat appeared. This creature was cat-like, but huge! It also had strange tentacles growing from its shoulders and was strangely hard to look at. It struck one of the warriors down with one blow before he had a chance to defend himself. The cleric attacked the remaining dog-man so the warriors could concentrate on this new threat.
The dog-man seemed as afraid of the cat-like creature as anything, and was so distracted by its appearance that the cleric easily knocked it out. Meanwhile, the behemoth had recovered from the wizard's attack and charged again. This time it ran straight into a protective shield. It clawed away at it, but failed to get through to the wizard. Sarah looked on helplessly as the battle unfolded around her. Things were happening much too fast for her to contribute anything, especially since her only weapon was as dangerous for them as it was for their enemies!
The warriors were having no luck striking the monster that had so easily felled their comrade, and were hard pressed not to join him. The cleric decided to free up the wizard from the monster attacking him and erected a magical barrier of golden light between them. The wizard smiled at him and then began pelting the other beast with small magical projectiles. He didn't seem to have the same problem as the warriors hitting it, but his attacks weren't accomplishing much. The cleric joined him in blasting the cat-like monster, but his spells were equally ineffective.
The spell casters turned when they heard the roar of the behemoth, who was about to break down the barrier. "Use the wand!" the wizard shouted.
Sarah nodded and pointed the wand at the creature and yelled out, "Vascor!" A small ball of fire shot forth from the wand and struck the creature in the chest, exploding into a small firestorm. Sarah was knocked from her feet, as were the wizard, cleric, and the monster she hit with the fireball. They weren't injured, but it was. Even so, it still climbed to its feet and roared in anger and pain. The cleric held up his holy symbol and muttered another spell. Nothing seemed to happen at first, and Sarah was about ready to try the wand again, when a pillar of fire shot down from the sky and engulfed the monster. This was just too much for the behemoth and he felt to the ground, a charred corpse.
Their celebrations were short-lived, however, as both warriors cried out in pain. One fell with blood gushing from his throat. The other was holding his side with one hand while trying to continue to wield his sword with the other. His efforts were ineffectual and he soon joined his friend in death.
The cleric seemed exhausted from the spell that killed the other monster. The wizard fired off more magical projectiles at the remaining monster, but they were as ineffectual as before. With one bound it was at the wizards throat, killing him instantly. Sarah took a chance and fired another fireball at the creature. The explosion threw them all to the ground and Sarah's skin felt like she'd been laying out in the hot sun all day. When she regained her feet she saw that the cleric was chanting something and the creature was already back on its feet.
The cleric's chanting ended and a magical blast hit the creature in the head, stunning it. The cleric fell to his knees wearily and looked hopelessly at Sarah. 'Go' he mouthed to her, just before the creature's fangs sank into his shoulder. Sarah stared in horror for a moment, then turned and fled.
A scream of pain followed her, only to be cut short. Then she heard the pounding of the creatures paws as it chased after her. She ran frantically. The creature was quickly catching up with her and she turned and fired off another fireball while simultaneously opening a portal. The blast was more powerful than she expected and she was thrown bodily through her own portal. Her head hit something on the other side and she blacked out.
When Jill didn't return, Mike and Erica became worried. Mike tried to convince her to stay behind while he checked on Jill, but Erica was as stubborn as Sarah could be and refused. Sighing in resignation he'd walked with Erica over to Sarah's apartment. The door was locked, but Mike had his key and opened it. When Mike saw the book lying on the floor he knew what must have happened, though he assumed that Jill went with Sarah. As Erica went looking for Sean, Mike picked up the book and looked at the title. He didn't recognize it, so he read the synopsis on the back. Frowning, he absently set the book on the bookshelf. This is a rather dark story, by the looks of things. I hope they're alright. he thought.
"Are you in there Sean?" he heard Erica call out. He followed her voice and found her at the door to Sarah's bathroom. The door was closed and locked, but light was coming through around the edges of the door.
"Uh…Sean's not here right now." Someone called out in reply. Mike was surprised, as it didn't sound like anyone he knew.
"Who are you?" Mike asked curiously.
"Uh, hi Mike, it's uh…Jack." The person in the bathroom replied.
Mike was confused, as this person obviously knew him. It's me, Mike, Sarah changed me. he heard Jill's thoughts in his mind in her normal mental voice. His eyes widened in surprise and he realized that Sarah was in that world all by herself!
"Uh, Erica, maybe you'd better wait in Sa…Sean's room." Mike suggested hesitantly.
Erica's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What's going on here, Mike? Who is that in the bathroom, and where is Sean? And Jill, for that matter?" she demanded.
We have to tell her, everything. Jill told him.
Great. he thought sarcastically. "Uh, Erica, I think you should sit down for this one." Mike said weakly.
Just then the bathroom door opened and Jill stepped out, wrapped in a large towel. Her dress was covered by it, so that it looked like she wasn't wearing any clothes at all. "Hi Erica, I really think you'll want to sit down for this like Mike suggested." She said in a deep voice that upset Mike to hear almost as much as it upset Jill.
Erica looked at them both suspiciously, but followed them into the living room and sat in the recliner and waited for their explanation. Mike and Jill sat on the couch, though not nearly as close as they usually would. "Okay, let's hear it." She said in a commanding tone.
Mike and Jill exchanged uncomfortable glances and Mike said, "Well, some really weird things have happened in the last three weeks. Remember those dreams Sean was having?"
Erica frowned, "Yes, I remember. What do they have to do with anything?"
"Sean wasn't dreaming. He was physically in those places he dreamed about." Mike explained. Erica was about to say something but Mike held his hand up to stop her. "Let me finish. He brought a couple of things back with him from those dreams. A very large white feather, and a sword. I think the feather's in our apartment, but the sword is here." He stood up and walked over to the closet where he had left the sword after their last adventure. He picked it up and handed it to Erica. She drew the sword part way out of the sheath and frowned at the scratches and nicks in the blade.
"I don't see how you could think this proves anything!" she said in irritation.
"Mike, show her." Jill said softly. Your naga form is small enough to use here. She's not going to believe in magic without seeing it. she added mentally.
Sighing, Mike moved to the largest open area of the room and shifted to naga form. It was difficult without having Sarah there with him, but he still managed it. Mostly by thinking of her in that other world all by herself. "This is one of the things that has changed while you've been gone. We've all gained new abilities. I can shape shift." He said, careful not to let his tail knock anything down.
Erica just sat there with her mouth gaping open in shock for several long moments. Finally, she shook herself and approached Mike. He held still while she touched his tail. "This can't be real…" she said in disbelief.
"It is. The first ability to surface was Sean's ability to open portals to other worlds. After the fourth dream he started opening them when he read a book or watched some movies. He didn't have any control over it at first, but he's become quite adept at it, now. However, one of our early trips ran us afoul of Venus. She got annoyed with us and tried to curse us. I think it was aimed at Jill, but I pushed her through the portal Sean opened and was about to follow her. If not for Sean, the curse would have hit me. He pushed me into the portal and out of the way of the curse, but it hit him instead." Mike said.
Erica looked at him worriedly, then glanced over at Jill. "You're not going to tell me that is Sean, are you?" she asked.
"No," Jill answered, "I'm Jill."
"I don't believe it." Erica replied stubbornly.
"It's true, that's Jill. The curse turned Sean into a girl. Shortly afterwards she discovered she could change anyone's gender but her own with a touch. I'm guessing she got into an argument with Jill after she told her about you being here, and Sarah changed Jill's gender and opened a portal to another world." Mike replied.
"Pretty much." Jill agreed. "She was intent on trying again to find a way back before you could see her. I tried to stop her, so she slapped me and changed me into this." she explained with disgust at her new form.
"You really expect me to believe that you're Jill, Sean's a girl, and he's in some other world trying to change back?!" Erica exclaimed incredulously.
"Is that so hard to believe, considering what you're seeing right now?" Mike asked, gesturing towards his long serpentine tail.
"It's just a trick!" Erica said dismissively. "Why are you telling me these ridiculous stories?"
She's not going to believe us until she sees Sarah for herself, and what she can do. I suggest we get dinner going as Sarah will probably be hungry. Jill thought to Mike.
Mike nodded and said, "Why don't we get dinner going? We're obviously not going to get this settled until Sean gets back." Erica nodded wearily. Jill went into the kitchen and put the chicken in the oven and put the rest of the dinner Sarah had planned on the stove.
Despite Jill's assessment, Mike used the time to try and convince Erica of the truth. She stubbornly refused to believe that Mike's naga form was real, even when she saw him change back and forth several times. I've tried to talk to her, but she's even harder to read than Sarah. Jill told him.
The meal was cooking nicely, so Jill returned to the living room to wait for Sarah. She'd been stuck in male form for a few hours by the time a portal finally opened. She sighed in relief, knowing she'd soon be herself again. Her relief was short lived, however, as Sarah flew backwards through the portal, followed by a blast of hot air and flame, and hit the wall, falling unconscious to the floor.
Sarah awoke with a groan. Her head felt like it was going to split open and her skin felt like it was burning! Upon opening her eyes she found she was lying on her living room floor. Looking up she saw Mike and Jill (male version) standing over her. "Uh…wha…?" she mumbled, confused.
"Are you alright?" Jill asked worriedly, kneeling down next to Sarah.
"Uh, yeah, I guess so." Sarah replied uncertainly, remembering what happened when she left.
Jill read her expression correctly. "Yes, I'm mad at you, but we can talk about that later. Right now we need to convince your girlfriend of who you are." She said with a hint of anger.
Sarah looked around and spotted Erica sitting on the couch. "Uh, hi Erica." She said worriedly. She was overjoyed to see Erica again, but at the same time wanted to run away until she'd managed to change back.
"Who are you?" Erica asked.
"I'm Sean. Sorry about this." Sarah replied with her eyes glued to the floor.
Erica's eyes widened in surprise, "Well, you certainly know something about Sean! But why would I ever believe that you're him?" she demanded.
Sarah reached out and touched Jill's knee. With a squeak of surprise Jill dropped the towel she had draped around herself and fell on her butt. "You could have warned me!" Jill complained. But she couldn't keep the grin off of her face, as she was very happy to have her own body back!
Sarah looked back at Erica and saw a stunned look on her face. "Does that help?" she asked.
"Okay, now I believe that's really Jill, but that doesn't prove anything about you." Erica replied.
"Why don't we continue this conversation over dinner?" Jill suggested. The others agreed and they all moved to the kitchen.
"Thanks for cooking dinner for me Jill." Sarah said as she checked to make sure everything was ready. It was, so she and Jill moved everything to the table.
"No problem, it gave me something to distract myself with while I waited for you to return so I could get changed back." Jill replied. There was still some anger in her voice.
"I'm sorry about that; I didn't mean to change you. I should have listened to you." Sarah said while staring at her plate.
Jill sighed, "Alright, you're forgiven. But don't ever do that again!" Sarah nodded weakly and they continued with their meal.
"Mmm, who made the chicken?" Erica asked.
"I did." Sarah replied.
Erica frowned, "So Sean taught you how?"
Sighing in frustration, Sarah replied, "No, I am Sean!"
"Right." Erica grumbled sarcastically. They ate in a strained silence after that.
Once they'd all eaten their fill Jill brought over the plate of cookies and they snacked on them.. "Why don't you tell me what's been going on, all of it." Erica said demandingly..
Jill rolled her eyes, but began telling her about Sean's dreams and their discovery of them being more than dreams. From there they explained their experiments, Sean's subsequent transformation into Sarah, and all the other experiences they'd had so far. "You've already seen what Mike and Sarah can do; I've become telepathic and empathic, though I don't have much control yet." Jill finished.
"So you can read my mind?" Erica asked with a smirk.
"No, you're harder to read than Sarah. I can sometimes get a whiff of something from her, but nothing at all from you. Mike's pretty easy, though." Jill explained.
"Well, that's convenient!" Erica replied sarcastically.
"What's it going to take to convince you?" Mike asked, annoyed at the way she was talking to Jill.
Erica thought about that for a few moments before replying, "How about you take me with you on your next trip? If this is for real that would be pretty hard to fake."
"There's something else that would be pretty hard to fake." Mike growled, gesturing at Erica.
"What do you mean?" she replied.
"Sarah could turn you into a guy! Would that convince you?" Mike answered.
"No!" Sarah exclaimed before Erica could respond.
"Sarah?" Jill said questioningly.
"I'm not turning Erica into a guy!" Sarah replied vehemently.
Erica smirked, "That's because you can't! Which is why you won't take me to another world, either." She said confidently.
Jill ignored Erica and asked Sarah, "Why not?"
"Even if you were a guy at the time, would you want Mike turned into a girl?" Sarah asked in reply.
Jill was reminded of how upset she was when Sarah accidentally changed Mike the first time. "Oh." She said softly, understanding Sarah's meaning.
Mike looked a bit confused but shrugged it off. "Come on Sarah, let's pick a book and show Erica what you can do." He said, stepping over to the bookshelf.
Sarah walked over to the bookshelf and picked up the book she'd used earlier. "Let's use this one." She said, holding it up.
Mike frowned, "Sarah, that one nearly killed you!"
"Yeah, but that's because you weren't there!" Sarah replied with a smile. "A dragon would have stopped the fight real quick."
Mike looked questioningly at Jill, who shrugged back. "Okay, I guess." Mike said. Sarah opened the portal and led Erica through, with Mike and Jill following reluctantly behind. A shadowy form slipped through behind them.
On the other side of the portal they found themselves on a dirt road. There were dead doglike men scattered about. "What happened here?" Jill asked.
"This is where the battle started when I was here earlier. It moved into the forest, but I thought it would be best to keep us on the road where Mike would have room to transform if needed." Sarah replied.
"What exactly happened here, anyway?" Mike asked as they all followed Sarah up the road.
"I was traveling with a group of adventurers. They said there was a powerful wizard just off this road and I could travel with them until we came to the trail. We were attacked and the battle moved into the trees. The dog-men were all killed, I think, along with this big humanoid monstrosity. But the cat-like monster finished off the last of the adventurers and came after me. I used a wand that their wizard gave me on it and opened a portal home." Sarah explained.
"Do you still have the wand?" Mike asked.
"No, I must have lost it when the blast knocked me through the portal." Sarah replied.
"Blast?" Jill asked.
"Yeah, the wand shot out an exploding fireball. The last blast was stronger than I expected, though." Sarah explained.
Throughout this conversation Erica had been following along in awed silence. There was no way this could be faked, but here it was! She started off the trail to feel the trees for herself. "Erica, don't leave the road! There are lots of monsters around here!" Sarah called out worriedly. Reluctantly, Erica rejoined the group.
Before long they reached a fork in the road. "This must be it!" Sarah exclaimed excitedly, pointing down the smaller fork that obviously didn't see nearly as much use. They followed Sarah down the smaller path, which soon opened out into a clearing dominated by a lone tower.
Jill shivered as they approached the tower. "I don't have a good feeling about this place." She said worriedly.
Sarah ignored her concern and knocked on the door. "Don't worry Jill, we'll be fine." She called over her shoulder.
A young man answered the door a few minutes later. He was little more than a teenager and was wearing a long brown robe. "What do you want?" he asked.
"Uh, I'm here to see the wizard who lives here." Sarah answered uncertainly.
"And why do you think my master would want to see you?" he asked arrogantly.
"I was cursed…by a goddess. I was hoping he might help me to remove it." Sarah replied.
He frowned, "Which goddess would that be?"
"Venus, the goddess of love and beauty." Sarah said.
His frown deepened, "I've never heard of a goddess named Venus."
"Well, she might not exist here, we encountered her in another world." Sarah replied.
"Really? You are planeswalkers? Please, come in!" he said, his expression suddenly welcoming. Sarah looked uncertainly at the others, but followed him into the tower.
The young man led them up a spiral staircase into a large room that was used as a laboratory. There were bookcases along one wall and shelves of bottles on another filled with various powders and liquids. A white haired man in a blood red robe was working at a table mixing various ingredients into a large bowl. "Apprentice! Who are these people? I told you I was not to be disturbed!" he yelled angrily at the young man leading them.
"They are planeswalkers, master!" the youth replied cautiously.
The old man's demeanor changed instantly. "Well, come in, come in! How can I help you?" he asked pleasantly.
Sarah exchanged confused glances with her friends before walking over towards the wizard. "Um, I was hoping you could remove a curse?" Sarah asked hesitantly.
"Hmm, let me take a look at you." He said, looking at each of them in turn. He started with Erica, and seemed frustrated as he moved on to Mike. Him he seemed to dismiss quickly. Jill he locked gazes with for several moments before nodding and moving on to Sarah. There he stopped in amazement. "My dear, you are a rare one!" he exclaimed.
He continued to gaze into Sarah's eyes for several minutes. Sarah began to sway as if she would pass out, and Jill suddenly cried out in pain and clutched her head in her hands. Mike was quick to react and grabbed the wizard's arm, putting himself between Sarah and the wizard. "Stop whatever you're doing!" he growled. Erica helped to steady Sarah, who seemed to be coming out of a trance.
All pretense at civility vanished from the wizard's countenance. "Gorvashnik, come!" he called out imperiously. A strange creature with bat-like wings flew towards them. "Unhand me, cretin!" he yelled at Mike. He chanted something under his breath and Mike suddenly transformed into a large wolf. The wizard seemed shocked at this and backed up several steps.
"Master?" the creature called as it approached. Jill had recovered from whatever had happened to her and looked at the wizard angrily.
"Gorvashnik, take care of the telepath!" he cried out painfully. Gorvashnik flew over to Jill but his gaze was locked into Jill's and they just stared at each other without movement except for the flapping of the creature's wings.
The wizard backed up further away from Mike, who had started growling at him once he'd recovered from the shock of his unexpected transformation. "Apprentice! Deal with this mongrel!" he yelled. His apprentice cast something at Mike and he stopped moving and stood still as a statue.
"There, now to deal with you." The wizard mumbled as he approached the still-dazed Sarah. He raised a hand towards her and began chanting, his hand glowing with dark blue energy.
"No you don't!" Erica yelled at him angrily, putting herself between him and Sarah.
"Get out of my way, wench!" he yelled back. He slammed the hand that was crackling with dark blue energy into Erica's chest. The energy vanished instantly. "What?! What did you do?!" he asked in confusion.
Erica rubbed her chest where he'd struck her. "That hurt, jerk!" she said, just before kicking him between the legs. The wizard grunted in pain and backed away hurriedly.
"Apprentice!" he gasped out, "Take care of these intruders!" He ran awkwardly towards the other end of the room while the apprentice strode forward purposefully, chanting and pointing a glowing finger at Mike.
"Vascor!" Sarah screamed, pointing at the apprentice. She'd completely forgotten that she didn't still have the wand, but the fireball formed anyway! The little bundle of sparks shot from her hand straight into the startled apprentice's chest. The resulting explosion threw everyone off their feet and filled the entire room with smoke. By the time the smoke cleared they were all back on their feet and Mike was back to normal. Jill found herself holding Gorvashnik in her arms like a kitten. He was unconscious.
"What…the hell…just happened!" Erica coughed out.
"I guess Sarah doesn't need that wand to cast fireballs anymore." Mike replied.
"Where'd the wizard go?" Sarah asked dazedly. She looked much like she had when the wizard had her entranced.
"Who cares? Let's get out of here!" Jill said.
"Wait! If we're going to find ourselves in other situations like this, I want to have some weapons of my own!" Erica said, rooting through the remains of the lab. Mike shrugged and joined her. Jill found herself steadying Sarah with one hand and holding the imp Gorvashnik with the other.
Erica and Mike searched the room as thoroughly as they could, considering its condition. The apprentice had been on the side of the room closest to the bookshelves, so most of the books were burning. The bottles had mostly been knocked off the shelves and shattered, and they had no way of knowing what was in the others. Erica did find a couple of swords and a dagger in a cabinet, along with scabbards and sword belts. One of the swords was a slim long sword. It was a simple blade with no ornamentation, but surprisingly light. The other sword was a jewel encrusted falchion with a large ruby on the pommel. It was much heavier than the long sword. The dagger looked like a match for the long sword and was incredibly lightweight.
Erica strapped on one of the sword belts and attached the scabbards for the long sword and dagger and slid them home. The falchion she handed to Mike. "This thing is way too heavy for the rest of us, but you look like you could handle it." She said. He nodded and put on the sword belt and slid the falchion home in its scabbard.
"You're right, this thing is heavy." He said.
"Are you guys done playing around, or can we get out of here now?" Jill asked anxiously. They nodded so Jill prodded Sarah. Dazedly, she opened the portal and Jill guided her through. Mike and Erica followed.
Sarah dropped onto the couch in tears the moment she got through the portal. Jill was about to go to her, but then Gorvashnik, whom she'd forgotten she was carrying, suddenly awoke and cried out in surprise. Before her eyes his scaly body sprouted pink fur, his claws shrank and blunted, and his wings grew pink feathers. What have you done to me! he wailed telepathically. Jill clutched her hands to her head, dropping him onto the floor.
"That hurt!" Jill complained to the now-furry little creature.
How do you think it feels to have fur sprouting from your body?! And why am I pink?! he replied angrily.
"How would I know?" Jill replied, mystified.
"How would you know what?" Mike asked, confused. Erica had gone straight to the couch to comfort Sarah while he was left to stare at Gorvashnik and wonder who Jill was talking to.
"How Vash became pink and fluffy." Jill said absentmindedly.
Vash? My name is Gorvashnik! the furry little creature complained.
"Vash is easier, and suits you better now that you look like a kid's stuffed animal." Jill replied.
Stuffed?! You wouldn't dare! Vash said.
"I didn't mean that kind of stuffed!" Jill replied with a laugh. She tried to picture a stuffed animal and project that image to Vash.
Oh. How strange. Are all stuffed animals cute and furry? he asked.
"I guess so. Why aren't you attacking us, anyway?" Jill asked curiously.
I…don't know. he replied in surprise.
"Would you mind clueing me in on this conversation?" Mike asked, annoyed.
"Sorry Mike. Vash somehow got changed when he came through the portal. And even before that he lost all interest in fighting with us. We were just wondering why that is." Jill replied.
Sarah? Vash said curiously, looking over at her. Seeing that Sarah was crying on Erica's shoulder Vash jumped up onto Sarah's lap and rubbed up against her, purring like the cat he resembled (albeit pink and winged). Sarah clutched him to her carefully and stroked his fur. He purred louder and leaned into the strokes and Sarah seemed to be calmed by him.
"Are you feeling better Sean?" Erica asked worriedly.
"Sean? You finally believe us?" Jill asked archly.
"How could I not, after all of that? It still seems unreal, but I can't argue with it either." Erica replied.
"Really?" Sarah asked hopefully.
"Really!" Erica assured her, pulling Sarah into a tight hug and dislodging an indignant Vash.
Hey, watch it! he whined.
"She can't hear you, you know." Jill pointed out.
Blasted humans! Why can't you people use your brains? he complained.
I am human! Jill snapped back at him.
Vash rocked back on his heels. Woah, sorree! Didn't know my new Mistress was so touchy! Vash said with laughter in his mental 'voice'.
Mistress? Jill asked curiously.
Yes. You humans killed my previous master, so I needed a new one anyway. And you're the only one who can hear me. Seems like a good arrangement to me! he replied happily.
We killed your master? I thought he escaped. Jill thought.
Nah, he's as dead as a door nail, as you people say. The only ones that got out of that tower alive are you guys, and me of course! Vash replied.
Mike was looking confusedly from the 'conversation' between Jill and Vash and the still embraced Sarah and Erica. "Will someone please tell me what's going on?" he whined.
Jill laughed at the look on Mike's face. "Vash and I were just having a conversation, Mike. I'm afraid you're going to have to get used to it, he says I'm his Mistress now."
"Mistress?!" Mike repeated numbly. "So we're stuck with the little fuzz ball?"
Hey, watch it! Vash growled.
"Be nice Mike, we're all stuck with each other now. It's not like he asked us to kill his old master, after all." Jill said.
Uh oh, you shouldn't have said that!" Vash said, jumping onto Sarah's lap just in time for her to break down crying again. He rubbed up against her and purred loudly. She was distracted from her tears and stroked his soft feathered wings absently.
"Did I really kill someone?" Sarah said dazedly.
"You were just protecting all of us." Erica said consolingly, wrapping herself around Sarah from behind. She rocked Sarah back and forth and the motion combined with the purring of Vash lulled her to sleep.
"It's late and we've all had a long day. Why don't you two go home, you've still got to drive back to Mike's parents' tomorrow." Erica suggested.
"Are you sure? I could carry Sarah back to her bed if you want." Mike suggested.
Erica shook her head. "No, we'll be fine. I just wish you had room for Sean in your plans for tomorrow." She replied.
Mike looked at her strangely and said, "We invited Sarah along, she refused. She felt it was better for my parents not to see her until she's back to normal."
"Oh. I guess that makes sense." Erica said.
"Don't be too upset with Sarah, she hated lying to you." Jill said.
Erica nodded, "Okay, I'll try. You guys go ahead on home and we'll see you when you get back."
Mike and Jill nodded and said goodbye to Erica and left.
Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them for you. Vash said, still curled up on Sarah's lap.
Thanks, Vash! Jill replied with relief.
Erica fell asleep on the couch with Sarah on her lap, and Vash on hers.
She awoke in the morning laying on the couch with Sarah half on top of her. She didn't see Vash anywhere. She felt strange laying with another woman, but knowing it was Sean. She was interrupted from her musings by a pain in her back where the dagger was digging into her, and an urgent need to use the bathroom. Somehow she managed to slide out from underneath Sarah without waking her and stumbled into the bathroom.
When she returned she unbuckled the sword belt and hung it up in the closet. Sarah was still sleeping, so she looked through the fridge to see what there was to make for breakfast. Vash startled her by rubbing up against her leg, but he was gone again before she could even get over the surprise.
Grumbling, she continued her search and decided on an omelet. She was only half finished when Sarah stumbled into the kitchen sleepily. "Good morning Sean!" Erica greeted her cheerfully.
"Good morning Erica!" Sarah replied happily, ignoring the name. "What're you making?"
"Omelet. It'll be ready in ten or fifteen minutes." Erica replied.
"Cool. Is Vash still here?" Sarah asked.
"Should be, he rubbed up against my leg earlier." Erica said.
Sarah nodded, "I thought I saw him when I got up." She said as she got out plates and forks. "What do you want to drink?" she asked as she opened the cupboard to take down two glasses.
Erica thought for a moment about what she'd seen in the fridge. "How about some Sunny Delight, I think I saw some in there." She replied.
"Okay." Sarah said, pouring two glasses. She put the juice away and sat down at the table. "Erica?" she asked worriedly.
"Hmm?" Erica replied absently while chopping up onions.
"I'm really sorry about this whole mess, and all the lies I told you." Sarah said tearfully.
"It's not your fault, and we'll fix this soon." Erica said before realizing how upset Sarah was. She put down the knife and turned to find Sarah's head on the table and her shoulders shaking with silent tears. When did Sean get so emotional? she thought as she pulled a chair around next to Sarah and sat in it. "Shhh, it's okay honey." She soothed while rubbing Sarah's back.
When Sarah had calmed some Erica drew her head up off the table and looked her in the eye while saying, "It wasn't your choice for this to happen. We'll work together to get you back to normal." Erica was mystified when Sarah broke down in tears again, but held Sarah to her until the tears had passed. "Are you alright now, honey?" she asked.
Sarah nodded, "Yeah, I'm okay. I love you Erica!" she said with all the feeling she could muster behind the words. This time it was Erica who teared up and they embraced again.
When they separated Erica wiped away her tears and said, "I'd better finish up breakfast."
Sarah watched as Erica finished cooking their breakfast. She was worried what would happen if she didn't change back soon. Erica would have to go back to law school in a little over a week. Would she start looking at other guys if she was still a girl when Erica went back?
They ate quietly and Sarah helped Erica clean up afterwards. "So what do you want to do for Christmas?" Sarah asked.
Erica frowned thoughtfully, "Well, part of my plans aren't going to work anymore…" she said, looking at Sarah meaningfully.
Confused, Sarah was about to ask what she meant. She figured it out just as she was opening her mouth to ask. "Wh…oh!" she said in embarrassment.
Erica nodded. "Yeah. But we still might be able to if we can turn you back into yourself. How about we go have a talk with that bitch that did this to you in the first place?" she suggested.
Sarah's eyes widened in panic, "No! We can't go to her!"
Erica looked strangely at Sarah and asked, "Why not?"
"She's totally unreasonable! We barely said anything and she cursed me!" Sarah replied. She was really getting worked up and Erica was concerned she'd start hyperventilating.
"Okay! Relax and breath!" Erica instructed. Sarah did as she said and slowly calmed down. "You're really afraid of her, aren't you?" she asked softly.
"Wouldn't you be? Besides, she could turn you into a guy and then I wouldn't be able to change you back!" Sarah replied with tears in her eyes.
Erica winced at that idea. "Okay, that would be bad, I agree. How about this, we could go to one of Venus' temples instead of going directly to her." She suggested.
"I…I guess that might be okay." Sarah agreed reluctantly.
"Great! Let's find a book that will take us there." Erica said.
They went through Sarah's books and finally found a book that mentioned a temple of Aphrodite. "Will this work?" Erica asked, showing the book to Sarah. Sarah read through the part Erica pointed out to her.
"I guess. It's not Venus, but maybe that's for the best." Sarah replied.
"Great, let's go!" Erica said.
"What?! We can't go without Mike and Jill! We have to wait until tomorrow." Sarah exclaimed. She had only gone without either of them once, and she'd nearly died that time!
"Don't be silly Sean! You can change anyone's gender with a touch or open portals to escape, and you can shoot fireballs! And I'll use that sword and dagger I brought back to watch your back. I'm pretty sure they're magical, considering how light weight they are." Erica chided. "We can handle a trip to a temple easily!"
Sarah was uncertain, but eventually caved in. "I guess a temple shouldn't be all that dangerous." She finally agreed. Erica strapped on the sword and dagger again while Sarah opened the portal. Neither of them noticed Vash following them through the portal until he flew up onto Sarah's shoulder. "Vash! What are you doing?!" Sarah exclaimed.
Making sure you don't get yourself killed! Mistress Jill would be unhappy with me if something happened to you. he replied primly.
Sarah nearly fell down in surprise at hearing Vash's voice in her head. "You can talk to me, too?!" she asked.
I can make myself heard to any of you but Erica. Nulls are annoying that way. Vash replied in evident annoyance at his inability to talk to Erica.
"What are you talking about Sean?" Erica asked, looking from her to Vash. Vash hissed at her.
Sarah was momentarily distracted by Vash's response to Erica. "Uh…Vash can talk to me, telepathically. Apparently you're the only one he can't do that with. I guess he's like Jill." Sarah replied.
Actually, telepathy is an innate ability for imps like me. Jill's ability is different, and more powerful. But she's inexperienced and it is still developing, so she can't read your mind or talk to you like I can yet. Vash said.
"You mean she'll be able to eventually?!" Sarah nearly yelled in her panic at this news.
To Be Continued…
Thanks to Puddin for posting these for me! ^_^
There's no need to shout, I can hear your thoughts. Vash said.
How long will it be before Jill can read minds like you? Sarah thought.
I don't know, I haven't been here long enough to see how she is progressing. If you stopped hiding things from her, it wouldn't upset you so much. Vash replied.
I'm not hiding anything from her! Sarah thought indignantly.
There was a pause before Vash replied. Perhaps you hide them from yourself, as well. Why do you do that? his mental voice sounded puzzled and curious.
I don't know what you're talking about! Sarah replied in frustration.
"Are you still talking to that fur ball on your shoulder?" Erica asked in annoyance.
"Uh, yeah, sorry. Where's that temple at, anyway?" Sarah said.
Erica looked around and pointed off to their left. "I think that's it." It was a classical ancient Greek structure. As they walked past the columns they found the entire building was lit by hundreds of candles. A woman in a white robe approached them and spoke.
"Uhh…Erica, I think I've detected a flaw in this idea. You don't happen to speak ancient Greek, do you?" Sarah said after listening to the woman's incomprehensible speech.
"No, I guess I didn't think this through very well." Erica admitted.
She said she is a priestess of Aphrodite and asked if you are here to present an offering to her. Vash translated.
Can you tell me how to explain why we're here? Sarah asked.
It would be easier to ask her directly. Vash replied.
Won't she freak out if you do that? Sarah said.
We'll soon find out. he replied. Sarah looked back at the priestess and saw her eyes widen in surprise, and then fear. Okay, we should be leaving now. Vash said with some urgency.
What did you… Sarah began, but was interrupted by a scream from the priestess. She ran away, yelling something as she went. A moment later two men with short swords ran in. "Time to go!" Sarah exclaimed, opening a portal.
"What happened?" Erica asked as she drew her sword.
"Vash tried to talk to her." Sarah replied. "Let's go."
They stepped through the portal and Sarah hurriedly closed it. I don't think that was a good idea. she thought to Vash.
Agreed. Vash replied.
"That was a bust." Erica said as she sat on the couch. "How did you guys talk to Venus, before?"
"We just talked to her. Although she didn't really reply, she just got angry." Sarah replied.
"Maybe she didn't understand you either?" Erica said.
"We were able to understand her easily enough, so I'm sure she understood us." Sarah replied.
"I guess a goddess could translate languages easily enough." Erica said.
"Probably. Maybe with Jill and Vash working together we could hold a conversation without letting on that we're reading their minds to do it." Sarah suggested.
"Maybe you were right about waiting for Mike and Jill to go through any more portals." Erica said.
They spent the rest of the morning catching up. Most of the time was taken up relating the various trips Sarah had made to other worlds. They continued over lunch.
"So this Magician of Information said that you would be able to change back?" Erica asked after Sarah related their first trip to Xanth.
"Yeah. He said I had to, 'accept my femininity'. I've been a girl now for…" she thought back and added up the days, "fifteen days. I don't know how long I'll be stuck like this, but it's starting to look like it'll be a while." Sarah replied.
"You're not giving up, are you?" Erica asked with a frown.
"No, of course not! I'm just being realistic." Sarah replied. "Look at that trip to the wizard's tower. Who knows if he would have been able to help me, but we never even got that far! Elminster talked to us, but said he couldn't help us. Everywhere we go it's the same thing. The Magician of Information is the only one who held out any kind of hope at all!"
"I guess I can see where you would be discouraged. I'm not sure the Magician of Information's answer was much help, though." Erica said.
Sarah shrugged, "His answer suggested there's a chance, that's better than anyone else gave me."
"But just because your body is female doesn't mean you have to be feminine! You're still a man inside, and will be outside again. That's a useless answer!" Erica protested.
Sarah just shrugged and washed the dishes. "What do you want to do for dinner? I suppose most places will be closed today. I have some leftovers in the freezer I could heat up, or I could cook something." Sarah asked.
"Leftovers would be fine." Erica replied, then continued after a thoughtful pause, "What have you been doing about work? Was all that stuff about John and the others getting fired made up, or what?"
Sarah winced, as she'd hoped to skip the transgendered angle, at least for a while. "That was all true, but it was triggered by me going to work as a girl." She admitted.
"What?! How could you go to work like that? How would they even believe you were really Sean looking like that?" Erica exclaimed.
Sarah looked down uncertainly and mumbled, "I told them I was transgendered, and this was my real life test."
"What?" Erica asked, sounding confused.
"It's something Jill found online. When someone wants to live as the opposite gender as they were born they have to go through a real life test in order to have the surgery, and sometimes for hormones, too." Sarah explained.
"Wait, you mean you told them that you planned this?!" Erica exclaimed.
"What else was I supposed to do? Tell them I got transformed magically against my will when I was visiting a storybook world through a magical portal I create by unknown means?" Sarah asked pointedly.
"Well, no, but what are you going to do when you change back?" Erica asked.
Sarah shrugged and said, "It's a test to see if that's what's right for the person. I'll just say it wasn't right for me."
"But you look so different!" Erica protested.
"I know, but most people don't seem to notice. Those that do seem to dismiss it. I guess it's part of the curse, that everybody accepts the female me so readily. Some even think I was always female!" Sarah replied.
"You're kidding?!" Erica asked incredulously.
"Nope! You remember me mentioning Jim, the guy in my Astronomy class that kept bugging me?" Sarah replied.
"Yeah. You never did say what he was doing." Erica said.
"Oh yeah, I guess I didn't. He kept hitting on me." Sarah replied in embarrassment.
"When you were still a guy?!" Erica asked. Sarah nodded. "Did he think you were gay?"
"Apparently not. After the curse he acted as if I'd always been female and asked me out again. Some other people in my classes seemed to think I was always female, too." Sarah said.
"Why would they think that, you didn't look like a girl?" Erica said.
Sarah shrugged, "I don't know. I'm still not even sure if they really thought that, or if the curse is somehow altering their memories or something."
"That could be. It makes a lot more sense than thinking you were always female. But how will that effect things when you change back?" Erica asked.
"I suppose that depends on whether the curse is influencing their reactions or if they somehow got that idea all on their own." Sarah replied. "It's not like he was the first guy to react to me like that, after all."
"He wasn't?! How haven't I heard about this before?" Erica exclaimed.
"I'm sorry." Sarah mumbled, looking down in embarrassment. "I didn't want you to think I was gay, so I never told you. It happened a lot. Ask Mike, he's seen it dozens of times."
Erica looked shocked. After several moments of thought she quietly asked, "Have you ever gone out with one of these guys?"
"Ew!!" Sarah replied.
"So you were never interested, even now that you're a girl?" Erica asked worriedly.
"No way! I only like girls! That hasn't changed in the slightest." Sarah said vehemently.
"Are you sure?" Erica asked.
"Yes, I'm sure! Why would you think I would be interested in guys?!" Sarah said.
"Well, you are a girl now. And girls usually like guys." Erica said.
"Well as a girl, I'm a lesbian. Alright?" Sarah asked, exasperated.
"Okay." Erica replied, relieved.
"Come on, let's watch a movie or something." Sarah said, walking into the living room, and began looking through her movies. "Anything you want to see?" Erica joined her and their conversation was forgotten as they selected a movie and settled down on the couch to watch it.
After the movie Erica turned to Sarah and said, "You haven't told your parents about this, have you? That's why you're not going to see them for Christmas, right?"
Sarah shrugged, "I probably wouldn't have gone anyway. We don't really get along. And I'm certainly not going back now!" Sarah finished with a shudder.
Ah! So that's why you hide from yourself! Why don't you tell Erica about that?! Vash exclaimed, giving Sarah a momentary headache.
Ow! What are you talking about?! Sarah replied angrily.
*Sigh!* Why am I not surprised? You humans are entirely too good at blocking out entire portions of your psyche from yourselves. It's a wonder you don't all have multiple personalities! Vash grumbled.
What?! Sarah asked, bewildered.
I'll give you an example you'll actually listen to. Mike. He's a nice guy, right? Always considerate of others and all that? Vash sent.
Sure, what are you getting at? Sarah thought.
He's also very protective of those he cares about, like you and Jill. He'll fight to protect you without a second thought, even if it means killing someone. How is it he can hurt people, even kill them, without crippling guilt? Vash asked.
Because he's protecting someone else. What's the big deal? Sarah replied.
The 'big deal' is that you are also a kind and considerate person, though you don't show it as much. Yet hurting others causes you a great deal of guilt and pain. This is consistent with your personality, but Mike doesn't have the same issues. It's like he's two completely different people as needed. Most of you humans are like that, to at least some degree. I find it astonishing that more of you don't break down completely trying to reconcile such conflicting parts of yourselves. Vash explained.
Maybe you don't understand humans as well as you think you do. Sarah said.
Maybe. he replied, and fell silent.
"Are you talking to Vash again?! Being left out of the loop is getting really annoying." Erica griped.
"Sorry, I can't help it. If he could talk to you, I'm sure he would. He'd probably talk your ear right off, in fact. He has some weird ideas about people." Sarah said.
"Like what?" Erica asked.
"He thinks we're all one step away from going insane, or developing multiple personalities or something." Sarah replied vaguely. She faintly heard Vash grumbling, That's not what I said and you know it! but ignored him.
"That's weird." Erica agreed. "So, how are you going to deal with your parents?"
"By avoiding them until I've changed back." Sarah replied resolutely.
Erica rolled her eyes, "Oh come on! What about when they call? My parents call me every week or two!"
"My parents don't call. We don't get along, remember?" Sarah said.
"Why not?" Erica asked. "You've never explained that."
Sarah shrugged, "I'm just not what they hoped for, I guess. Not choosing a major hasn't helped any, but they've never been all that pleased with me."
"I don't know how you can be so offhand about it!" Erica said.
"I'm used to it. It's no big deal." Sarah replied.
"Yes it is! Once you're back to yourself we're going to go see them and get this straightened out!" Erica declared.
"No! You'll just make it worse!" Sarah protested. "Just leave it alone, it doesn't bother me. Really."
"But…" Erica began, but Sarah cut her off.
"No. Leave it alone." She said. Erica was surprised at how Sarah was standing up for herself, but so pleased as well that she let it drop.
"So what's in that freezer of yours?" she asked, changing the subject much to Sarah's relief.
"I've got a few containers left of the last concoction I made. Mike and Jill seemed to like it when I made it for them." Sarah replied.
"What's in it?" Erica asked.
"Oh, lots of stuff. Onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, ground turkey, peppers, garlic, celantro, rosemary, oregano, and whatever else I can find fresh that seems to fit in. And cheese, of course!" Sarah said.
"Of course! I know how much you like cheese. You used all fresh ingredients? I haven't seen you do that before." Erica said.
Sarah nodded, "Yeah, the first time I did it was mostly to see how much difference it would really make. I don't do it often though, because I'm lazy and don't like having to go shopping for each meal. Most of that stuff doesn't last long at all."
"So how much difference did it make?" Erica asked.
"Quite a bit, actually. I always thought all the fuss about fresh ingredients was exaggerated, but it was a lot better. I always make a lot because it's a lot of trouble, so I can make it last a long time." Sarah replied.
"Sounds good, let's warm it up." Erica suggested. Sarah pulled out two containers and, after adding a little more cheese, popped them in the microwave.
After dinner and a quick clean up they returned to the living room. "I'll be right back." Sarah said, and went to her room. Opening the closet she brought out a small wrapped package and returned to Erica. "Merry Christmas!" she exclaimed, holding the package out to her.
Erica's face lit up in a smile as she took the small box and unwrapped it. Her smile widened as she opened the box and found a locket with a picture of herself with Sean taken during the summer. The inscription read, "I'll always love you, S." Sarah helped Erica put it on.
"Thanks Sean, I love it!" Erica exclaimed.
"I'm glad," Sarah said with a sad smile, "I just hope it's not the last time you see that face."
Erica pulled Sarah down onto the couch and kissed her passionately. Sarah lost herself in the kiss, but the feeling of Sarah's breasts against her own reminded Erica of her situation and she pulled back awkwardly. "Sorry." She mumbled.
"Why?" Sarah asked brokenly.
"You're a girl." Erica said as if it explained everything.
"So? I love you." Sarah said with tears in her eyes.
"I love you too! It's just…I don't know!" Erica said in frustration. "Argh!" she exclaimed as Sarah ran crying from the room. She ran after her, but found the door closed and Vash standing in front of it, hissing loudly at her.
"Get out of the way Vash!" Erica said, stepping towards the door. Vash hissed again and growled, a surprisingly deep and threatening sound for such a small creature. "Why are you trying to stop me?" she said.
Vash gave her a look that somehow conveyed his annoyance with her. Then he tossed a small rock into the air and stared at it as it flew slowly towards Erica. A distortion appeared in the air and struck the stone, propelling it much quicker at Erica and striking her in the forehead.
"Ouch! What was that for?!" Erica complained.
Vash growled again, sounding more like a mountain lion than the small furry creature he was. He glanced back at Sarah's bedroom door and then at Erica with another look that promised mayhem if Erica didn't back off.
Erica slouched against the wall in defeat. "Okay, you're right, I screwed up! But he's a girl right now! Do you have any idea how uncomfortable that is for me?! It's like he's an entirely different person! He doesn't even act the same way, though some of it's an improvement." She said. Vash replied by pointing back towards the living room with one paw and hissing again.
"Okay, I get it! I'll leave him alone for a while." Erica grumbled. Vash hissed again, and Erica hurried back to the living room and plopped onto the couch. "Damn furball!" she complained with tears in her eyes.
Erica laid down on the couch and cried. I've really screwed up, haven't I? she thought, But he's a girl! I'm not into girls, am I? I never have been before! But it felt right for a moment…
A couple of hours later Mike and Jill entered the apartment to find Erica fast asleep on the couch. "Wonder what they were doing that she fell asleep so early?" Mike wondered aloud.
"Well it's not what I thought they might be doing, or she wouldn't be alone." Jill said with a frown. Vash? Are you here? she sent.
I'm here. Things have been…interesting, in your absence. They had a falling out of sorts and both fell asleep crying alone. I tried to cheer Sarah up, but I don't think I accomplished much. he replied.
What about Erica? Were you able to cheer her up any? Making her happy is usually a good route to making Sarah happy. Jill thought to him.
I can't, she's a Null. I managed to convey to her that she should let Sarah alone for a little while, but that's the best I could manage. Vash explained.
A null? What's that? Jill asked.
It's why the wizard's attack didn't do anything to her, and why we can't sense her thoughts or emotions. To magic and psionics she doesn't exist. Vash replied.
So she's immune to magic? Jill asked in shock.
Basically. Vash replied.
So you can't really talk to her then? Jill said.
No, I can't. And you have no idea how frustrating that is! Vash said.
So what exactly happened? Jill asked.
Vash told her everything that had happened while Mike sat in the recliner and brooded. Great! Sarah's happiness is too dependant on Erica. If Erica can't deal with this Sarah's going to fall apart! Jill said when he'd finished.
Exactly. And I suspect that Sarah would be happier if she stayed as she is. Which makes Erica's acceptance of her even more important. Vash replied.
You think so too? I've tried to suggest the idea to Sarah, but she won't even consider it! Jill said, surprised that Vash had already come to the same conclusion she had.
There's more, too… Vash said, explaining what he'd learned from Sarah that she herself seemed ignorant of.
What?! But… Jill began to respond, but was interrupted by Mike.
"Would you please let me in on this conversation?!" he growled. Jill was so surprised by his uncharacteristic anger that she completely lost her train of thought.
"Sorry Mike! Vash was just telling me what happened while we were gone." Jill said, and went on to explain everything Vash had said, except for his conclusions.
"Great!" Mike groaned. "Just what we need! Sarah was doing so well, and now we have to get Erica straightened out or she'll fall apart all over again. How are we supposed to do that?"
"I don't know. Vash doesn't have any ideas either. He says she's a Null, which means he can't read her mind or talk to her telepathically. It also means she's immune to magic." Jill said.
"I take it that means you can't read her either?" Mike asked.
"No, I can't. And I've never really understood the way she thinks. If she breaks up with Sarah now…" Jill trailed off.
"I get it, believe me! I've often worried Sarah might do herself in. It's only because of Erica that she's kept going these last few years. I don't know if we can keep her together if Erica dumps her." Mike replied tiredly.
Further conversation was delayed as Erica started to stir. Jill brought a chair in from the kitchen and sat down in it next to the couch. A few moments later Erica was blinking confusedly at them. "Huh?" she said blearily.
"Hi Erica. Vash tells me you've been doing a great job taking care of Sarah while we've been gone!" Jill said sarcastically. Erica cringed at her tone.
"I know, I screwed up. But how would you feel if Mike got turned into a girl? It's like Sean died and this strange girl took her place. She's not the same person, yet she is. She acts totally different in some ways, but exactly the same in others! I still love her, but it's so damn confusing!" Erica exclaimed in frustration.
Jill's expression softened somewhat at this tirade. "I guess it is a lot to take in all at once. But think about it from her point of view. She's been trying hard for over two weeks to get back to herself. Her overriding focus in all this has been to get back to being the man you fell in love with. Then suddenly there you are! After another failed attempt to change back, she's forced to confront you with these changes and she's terrified that you will drop her like a bad habit. And then you go and do something that looks an awful lot like doing just that!" Jill said, her own frustration building.
Erica hung her head in shame as Jill's words hammered at her. "I guess I hadn't thought about it like that. But the way Sean talks it's like he thinks he'll be like this forever!" Erica said fearfully.
Jill shrugged, "So what if she is?"
"What?!" Mike exclaimed. "You don't really think that Sarah will give up, do you?"
"Maybe, maybe not. But she needs to know we'll all be there for her no matter what. I think Mike and I have pretty well convinced her of that, but you have a lot of work to do." Jill replied, addressing her answer to Erica.
"But Sean's a girl! How can we keep our relationships as it was when he's not even male anymore?!" Erica said.
"It's scary, I know. Sarah's turned Mike into a girl a few times since that ability manifested and it scared me a lot. But if you really love her you should at least try. And the first step along those lines is to accept that, for now at least, Sean is Sarah, a girl. By insisting on referring to Sarah as Sean, and using male pronouns, you're giving the message that you can only accept Sarah as a guy. Vash has been trying to tell you that, but his communication skills are somewhat limited with you." Jill said.
"Is that why he hisses at me so much?" Erica asked.
"I've wondered at that." Mike said. "It makes sense, though. I mean, even with the Magician's answer, we don't really know for sure that Sarah will ever be able to change back."
Jill nodded, "And we also don't know if she'll really want to."
Mike and Erica both looked at Jill in shock at that pronouncement. "Are you suggesting that Sarah wants to stay as she is?!" Erica asked angrily.
"Maybe, but that's not the only consideration. Even if she still wants to change back, it may not be practical. Let's face it, even those who are willing to accept someone changing their gender isn't going to be as accommodating when she wants to change back. And if the curse has been helping Sarah to be accepted as the same person as Sean despite the substantial physical differences, removing the curse and returning Sarah to male could result in a lot of awkward questions about how he changed so much both times!" Jill explained.
"But you said she could just say it wasn't right for her and go back without any problems!" Mike protested.
Jill nodded sadly, "I thought so at the time. But the way people have accepted her so readily makes me worry about what would happen if she did try to change back. Even if the curse isn't responsible for that acceptance, it could still be a problem. I haven't said anything because Sarah was relaxing and doing so much better that I didn't want to stress her out again. But now the situation has changed."
Mike glanced at Erica when she said that, and Erica looked down in shame. "I've really screwed things up even more than I thought, haven't I? I just don't know if I can handle this." She said.
Mike stood up and strode over to the couch. Kneeling down he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her briefly, "You will handle this! Even if you decide you can't deal with a female Sarah permanently, you'll pretend that you can! Only once Sarah is back on an even keel will you tell her, and then only while we're there to support her and in a way that is as gentle as possible! Do you understand me?!" Mike growled.
Erica drew back in shock and looked at Mike fearfully, "Are you threatening me?!" she asked fearfully.
Mike grinned mirthlessly and said, "Yes, yes I am! I'm not going to let you destroy Sarah. She's my best friend and deserves better! I hope you'll be able to accept her as she is, or that you'll be able to fake it until she changes back. But if you can't, you're going to help us hold her together until she's strong enough to know that."
"Wow Mike, I didn't know you had it in you!" Jill said admiringly. Mike smiled, a bit embarrassed by his own outburst and Jill's praise, but determined to see it through.
"I have to look out for my girls, don't I?" he replied warmly, gazing into Jill's eyes lovingly.
"You don't…you're not falling for Sarah, are you?" Erica asked weakly with a sinking feeling in her stomach.
Mike looked at the expression on Erica's face and laughed, Jill a split second behind. "No, of course not! She's like a little sister to me! She always has been." Mike explained.
Once they'd stopped laughing Jill stopped and looked at the relieved expression on Erica's face. "From the look on your face and the way you asked that, I'm guessing that you still love Sarah. You wouldn't want her to be in a relationship with someone else. Does that mean you're going to stand by her?"
Erica sighed in defeat, "You're right, I do still love her, despite her new body. It's going to be difficult, and I don't know if I can deal with it if she ends up staying female, but I'll do my best."
"Good!" Jill exclaimed, embracing Erica happily. Mike stepped back with a satisfied look and sat back down. "Now that that's settled, we'd better go make sure Sarah's alright."
Erica nodded and jumped to her feet, eager to make amends. Jill put a hand on her arm to stop her. "I'm not sure how Sarah would react to you right now. It might be best if we talk to her first." she said. Erica nodded reluctantly and plopped down on the couch. Jill called Mike and they went and knocked on Sarah's door.
They didn't hear any response, so Jill called through the door. There was still no reply, so Mike tried the door. It was unlocked, and they stepped inside. They found Sarah asleep on her bed, curled up in a fetal position clutching her pillow to her chest. Mike closed the door and stood there while Jill sat on the bed next to her and gently shook her awake.
Sarah was slow to wake fully and looked around her in confusion. "How are you doing Sarah?" Jill asked softly.
"Uh…okay, I guess." Sarah said, still befuddled from her sleep.
"Are you sure?" Jill asked. Sarah looked up at her, and then across at Mike still standing at the door.
Sarah clutched her pillow more tightly and shook her head, "No, I guess not." she admitted as a fresh wave of tears overtook her.
Mike stepped quickly across the room and he and Jill held Sarah while she cried. She calmed slowly and weakly said, "Sorry."
Jill shook her head with a laugh, "You've got to stop apologizing like that! There's nothing wrong with crying when you're upset."
"That's not what Da…" Sarah began, then cut herself off and said, "I mean, guys aren't supposed to cry."
Jill gave her a knowing look and said, "That's a stupid stereotype that causes a lot of trouble for no purpose! There's nothing wrong with guys crying!"
"Yeah," Mike agreed, "and if I thought Jill had rejected me, you can be sure I'd be bawling my eyes out!"
Jill looked at Mike fondly before turning back to Sarah. "He would, too. He's just a big softy at heart!" she said with a grin.
"Of course, that's why you love me!" Mike retorted with a goofy grin. Their antics had the desired effect as Sarah giggled at their exchange.
"Erica does love you; you know that right?" Jill asked her softly when the moment of levity had passed.
"Does she?" Sarah replied bitterly. "You could have fooled me."
"Hey now, don't be too hard on her." Jill said. "You've had a lot more time to get used to this than she has. She hasn't been very sensitive to your feelings on this, but this effects her almost as much as it does you."
Sarah looked skeptical, so Mike said, "Yeah, just think about how it would effect you if Erica had been the one to be changed into a guy! Wouldn't that make things hard on you, especially if you were still a guy yourself?"
Sarah shuddered at that thought. "Okay, I guess I see your point. I don't know if I could get over Erica being a guy. But is she even going to try to get over me being a girl?" Sarah said.
"She is, she just told us as much." Jill assured her. "She's having trouble with this, as you would, but she's willing to give it a try. It would be a shame if you didn't give her the opportunity."
Sarah shook her head, "I couldn't push her away. Even if she were a guy."
Jill tilted her head as she looked at Sarah and nodded thoughtfully. "I believe you wouldn't. No matter how hard it was for you. I think you two really were made for each other."
"I hope so." Sarah said in a small voice. Mike and Jill hugged her again.
"Ready to go see your girlfriend?" Mike asked with a grin. Sarah nodded uncertainly and he helped her and Jill up. They all returned to the living room with Sarah trailing behind. There was a sudden flurry of feathers and Vash was back on Sarah's shoulder.
Feeling better? he asked, though Sarah could tell he already knew the answer.
I guess so. Do you really think that Erica can deal with this, with me? Sarah asked fearfully.
I can't read her, so I don't know. But Jill told me about your bond, and has seen traces of it from time to time. She hasn't noticed any changes in it, so I have to assume that your bond is as strong as ever. If that's true, she probably will. Vash replied.
I forgot about that. I hope you're right. Sarah said with a mental sigh.
So do I. Vash replied hopefully.
Why are you so worried about my relationship with Erica, anyway? Sarah asked.
Um, well, you see, my personality is a reflection of my masters. he mumbled. Sarah was surprised to hear the embarrassment in his mental 'voice'. Parts of my personality are largely the same no matter who my master is, but not all of it. With my previous master I was devious and cruel, though I admit my heart wasn't really in the cruelty that he dished out so cavalierly. With Jill things are much different. I couldn't even conceive of doing the things he had me do now. So you have Jill to thank. She cares a lot about you, and that care carries over to me.
Sarah was distracted from replying to that interesting bit of information as she rounded the corner and saw Erica sitting on the couch tensely with tears streaming down her face. "I'm really sorry Sarah!" she said brokenly. She started to rise, but then collapsed onto the couch. Sarah hurried over to her and held her as they both cried.
"It's okay Erica, Jill pointed out how I'd feel if the situation were reversed." Sarah said when she had control of her voice back again. "This must be really hard for you. You came here hoping to surprise your boyfriend, and find a girl in his place. I hope you can forgive me."
Erica shook her head against Sarah's chest, "There you go again, taking all the credit!" she said with a weak laugh. "This is no one's fault except for Venus. But there is something I need to know. I'll cope as best I can either way, but I need to know if you want to change back to Sean." Erica said.
Sarah pulled back and looked at Erica in surprise. "Not you, too!" she exclaimed. "Everyone seems to think I want to stay this way! I really want to change back, Erica!"
"You're not just trying to change back for my benefit, are you?" Erica asked.
Sarah threw her hands up in frustration. "What is it going to take to convince all of you that I don't want to stay like this! Yes, you're part of the reason, but I'm a guy! I want to get back to being a guy! Okay?" she pleaded.
Erica couldn't keep the relieved smile from her face as she replied, "Okay! So, do you want to try and wait and see if the Magician's answer holds true, or do you want to keep trying to change back?"
Sarah looked thoughtful at that. "Our efforts along those lines haven't been too successful. Maybe we should all give it some thought instead of running off to the first world that comes to mind? In the meantime, there's nothing stopping us from visiting interesting worlds for the fun of it!"
Erica stared at Sarah in shock. "The fun of it?!" she exclaimed.
"You haven't done this much yet, but we've found it can be a lot of fun. Especially when we go to places that are safe!" Jill said.
"Yeah, we got to see a planet from orbit, along with some space ships. We also saw dinosaurs, giants, dragons, all kinds of things! When we weren't in danger for our lives it really was kind of fun." Mike agreed.
"And we're all a lot more dangerous than we were when we started." Sarah said.
"But we could be killed!" Erica protested.
Sarah shrugged, "Yeah, that's possible, but not as likely as you might think. Especially if we're careful about where we go. Mike can turn into anything he needs to, so he's pretty hard to kill. We've got healing water to treat wounds, too. I can use my portals to get away from danger, or as a shield of sorts. I can also blast things with fireballs! You have a magic sword and dagger, and are immune to magical and psionic attacks…"
Erica interrupted at that, "I'm what?!"
"Vash told us you're a Null, that's why he can't talk to you. You're immune to magic and psionics, like his telepathy. So all you have to worry about are strictly physical threats." Jill explained.
"Right." Sarah agreed with a nod, "and that just leaves Jill." She was about to go on, when she realized how vulnerable her friend really was.
Vash flew from Sarah's shoulder to Jill's and spread his wings wide. Jill has me for defense! he said proudly. Then, he tucked a claw into his fur and brought it out closed over a shiny object. He held this out over Jill's hand and dropped it. And she has this! he continued as Jill caught it. She opened her fingers and looked down on the intricately carved golden ring.
"What's this?" she asked curiously.
It belonged to my previous master. It will protect you from physical, magical, and psionic attacks. It's not foolproof, but between it and our abilities you should be at least as safe as the others. Vash explained to her.
"But what about you?" Jill asked.
What about me? Vash replied.
"You're more vulnerable than I am, aren't you?" Jill said as she put the ring on.
Hardly! I can fly, turn invisible, stun with mental attacks, or hit someone from a distance with a magical kinetic blast. Vash said.
"Wow, really? Okay, so we can all defend ourselves fairly well, I guess." Jill said, and relayed what Vash had said to the others.
"What's this kinetic blast?" Erica asked suspiciously.
That's how I hit you with that rock. It doesn't have any more power than a punch from Mike in human form, but it can be useful. Vash told Jill. She relayed this as well.
Mike yawned and said, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm beat!" The others agreed and Mike and Jill left with an invisible Vash on her shoulder.
This is very different! Are those big metal boxes what you call cars? Vash asked as they walked to Mike and Jill's apartment.
Yes, I forgot you don't have them where you come from. Jill replied with a mental chuckle.
I will be most interested in exploring this world. It is so different from my previous master's. Vash said, his invisible tail flicking eagerly at Jill's hair.
You make it sound like that wasn't your world. Jill said.
It wasn't, or not exactly. I come from one of the chaotic planes of that universe, so it is very different from my former master's home. But it is also very different from here. Vash replied.
Plane? Is that what they were talking about? Jill asked.
Yes. Vash replied with a chuckle, My former master and his apprentice thought that you and your friends traveled the planes of that universe. He had no idea you actually travel between universes.
Is that significant? asked Jill.
Very! They hoped to make use of Sarah's abilities for themselves, but they would have been far more anxious if they knew the full extent of them. There are many planeswalkers in that universe, but there are very few who can travel between dimensions. It takes a very special gift, or a great deal of power, to travel between dimensions. Vash explained.
A gift like Sarah's? Jill thought.
Yes, though I suspect she has the power, as well. Vash replied just as they reached the door to the apartment.
"You're very quiet." Mike said as he unlocked the door. "Are you talking to Vash again?" he asked.
"Yes, sorry." Jill said, and relayed the conversation she'd had with Vash to him.
Erica and Sarah exchanged anxious glances after the others left. "Um, why don't you take the bed and I'll sleep out here." Sarah said.
"Why?" Erica asked, looking confused and hurt.
"I thought you'd want to…" Sarah began, only to be silenced by Erica's finger on her lips.
"Stop right there! We slept on the couch last night together, and I didn't have any problem with that. I admit I'm having some trouble with this, but how am I ever going to get over it if we avoid each other?" Erica asked reasonably.
"Are you sure, I don't want to make you uncomfortable?" Sarah replied hesitantly.
"You'll only make me uncomfortable if you leave me all alone in your bed." Erica said. Sarah smiled and they both got ready for bed and crawled in together. Erica tried hard not to let on how weird it felt to cuddle up with Sarah in her new body and they quickly nodded off.
Sarah awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs frying. After a quick visit to the bathroom she threw on a robe and walked into the kitchen to find Erica making breakfast. "Good morning! Hungry?" Erica said cheerfully.
Sarah groaned and grumbled, "Morning people."
"I'll take that as a yes." Erica said brightly, preparing a plate for Sarah. "Eat up!" she said, putting the plate in front of Sarah.
By the time Sarah had finished eating she was fully awake. "Did you sleep okay?" she asked, wondering why Erica was up so early.
Erica nodded, "Yes, I slept fine. You were all worn out, so I decided to make you breakfast. I also wanted to give you this." Erica stepped over to the counter and pulled a wrapped box out from behind the bread box and handed it to Erica. "Merry Christmas!"
Sarah eagerly unwrapped the box and found a cell phone inside. "You've needed one of those for a while. And with the plan we've got we can call each other all we want!" Erica explained.
"Even when you're back in Massachusetts?" Sarah asked hopefully.
Erica smiled widely, "Yep, even when I'm back at school! This will be a lot better than IM, especially since we have unlimited texting to each other, too!"
Sarah grinned happily. "That's great! Thank you Erica!" she exclaimed. She went to kiss Erica, and then paused hesitantly. Erica held her arms out and Sarah gratefully sank into them.
"You know," Erica said when they came up for air, "this is one aspect I could get used to."
"What do you mean?" Sarah asked as she looked down into Erica's deep blue eyes.
"You only being a few inches taller than me instead of a full foot!" Erica replied with a laugh.
"It is nice, isn't it? Easier on my back, too." Sarah said, grinning.
"How is it easier on your back?" Erica asked.
"I don't have to bend over to kiss you!" Sarah replied, giving her a peck on the lips.
"Is that the best you can do?!" Erica demanded before putting one hand around the back of Sarah's neck and pulling her towards her.
Time to get up! Vash exclaimed cheerfully while laying on Jill's chest and purring.
"Uh, what?" Jill asked, confused.
The sun is up and so should you be! I want to see more of this world. Vash said.
"That's nice." Jill grumbled, rolling onto her side. Vash jumped clear and slapped Jill's face with his tail in passing.
Your mate has already been up for some time! Get up! Vash sent.
"Mike's always up early, that doesn't mean I have to get up!" Jill complained. A moment later she started getting up anyway, as she was now wide awake thanks to Vash.
Take a shower, that will wake you up! You humans seem to like to splash water on yourselves. Vash said in a tone that said he thought it was a crazy thing to do.
A wicked grin spread across Jill's face as she crawled out of bed and she grabbed hold of Vash as she made her way to the bathroom. "Why don't you join me then?" she said.
Several minutes later Mike was distracted from his reading when a soaked Vash jumped into his lap. Your mate is a cruel, cruel Mistress. he said melodramatically.
Mike smiled and carefully put his book aside where it wouldn't get wet. "I'm sure she just wanted you to be clean." He said, trying not to laugh.
This is not funny! Vash grumbled.
"It serves you right for rousting me out of bed so early!" Jill called as she walked past into the kitchen.
"First lesson for living with Jill, don't get her out of bed until she's ready!" Mike said with a chuckle.
Now you tell me! Vash said.
The smell of cooking bacon soon reached them as Jill started breakfast. A few minutes later she walked back to the bathroom and came out with a blow dryer. "I'll dry you off, Vash." She said as she plugged it into the nearest outlet to the couch.
That's the least you could do. Vash replied haughtily.
"All I did was make you take a shower! There's nothing wrong with being clean." Jill said as she turned on the dryer and started working on drying him.
I always keep myself clean! Vash exclaimed in indignation.
"Let me guess, with your tongue?" Mike said. He was gratified that Vash was speaking to both of them so he wouldn't be left out again.
Of course! That's the best way to remain clean! Vash huffed.
"Not to humans. You'd think you really were a cat, instead of an imp, with the way you go on about a little water!" Jill said.
Now that you mention it, I didn't use to bother cleaning myself much at all, in my last master's world. Perhaps whatever caused my transformation was of more than a physical nature. Vash mused.
"What caused that, anyway?" Mike asked curiously.
I don't know. I suppose it's possible that, your world having nothing similar to me in it, my body was changed to resemble an indigenous creature. Vash surmised.
"But nothing happened to me when I returned from Xanth in naga form." Mike said.
That may be because you are a shape shifter. You can change your shape to things that do not match the world you are on at any time. But then again, the reason could be something else. It could even be that I changed because of the desires of one of you. Vash said, glaring at Jill.
"Hey, don't look at me!" Jill protested.
Do you like cats? Vash asked suspiciously.
"You can read my mind, you know I'm allergic to cats! Come to think of it, I haven't had any trouble from you. I guess you only look kind of like a cat. Anyway, I prefer dogs to cats." Jill replied.
What about you? Vash asked, turning on Mike.
"Woah, don't blame me for this! I'm a dog person, too!" Mike said.
What about Sarah? asked Vash.
Jill looked thoughtful. "I don't know. I've never heard Sarah talk about any pets before." she said.
"She likes cats." Mike said. "She's never had any pets, but she likes how independent cats are."
So maybe this is her fault. But why pink? Vash mused.
"Well that can't be Sarah, her favorite color is blue." Mike said.
"My favorite color is purple, and Mike's is green. Maybe it's just random." Jill suggested as she finished drying Vash. "There, all dry! Happy now?"
That's better. When can we leave? I want to see more of this world. Vash replied.
"At least let us eat first!" Jill said with a smile. "Which reminds me, I'd better get back to it." She returned to the kitchen.
"What do you want to see?" Mike asked Vash.
Everything! From what I've been able to see from your minds this world is vastly different from anything I've seen before. Vash said eagerly.
"We should see if Erica and Sarah want to come along, make a day of it." Mike said.
"Sounds like a good idea. Come eat and we can go get them." Jill called out from the kitchen. They joined Jill in the kitchen and ate.
We're finished eating, let's go! Vash said impatiently.
"Let us clean up first!" Jill laughed. Vash swished his tail impatiently while Jill and Mike cleaned up and jumped up on Jill's shoulder, wrapping his tail around her neck.
Let's go! Vash said.
Jill and Mike laughed at Vash's impatience as they walked over to Sarah's apartment. As they came into sight of Sarah's door Jill snuggled up against Mike. When they got to the door Jill suddenly pulled Mike's head down and kissed him passionately, molding her body to his.
You might want to stop her before she starts ripping your clothes off. Vash told Mike wryly as Jill began unbuttoning his shirt.
Lost in the kiss, Mike was a little slow to respond. Finally he pushed Jill back and said, "What's gotten into you Jill? Not that I'm complaining, but waiting until we're inside might be a good idea."
Jill's eyes were glazed and she strained against Mike's grasp without responding. She's picking up something from inside, let me see if I can help her block it out. Vash said. Jill continued to struggle with Mike for a few moments and then stopped. The glazed look slowly faded, leaving Jill confused and embarrassed.
"What just happened?" Jill asked.
You were picking up someone else's emotions and they overrode your own. I'll have to work with you so you can control that better. Vash explained.
"You okay?" Mike said.
"Yeah, I guess so." Jill replied. "That was really intense…" she trailed off as Mike opened the door and they saw that Sarah and Erica were laying on the couch, kissing passionately. Sarah's robe had fallen almost completely off of her. Mike hurriedly turned away and Jill pulled the door closed. "Maybe we should knock while Erica's here."
"Uh, yeah, maybe." Mike said, red faced. "I guess we know whose emotions you were picking up on."
It looks like Erica's handling things better already. Vash noted dryly. Should we come back later?
"I guess so." Jill said, turning away. Just then the door opened to reveal a red faced Erica. Sarah was nowhere in sight.
"Hi guys, come on in." Erica said softly. They walked in and took seats on the couch.
Mmm, warm! Vash said, curling up on the couch next to Jill.
"So, how are you two doing?" Jill asked after an awkward pause.
"I think you already know the answer to that." Erica replied, blushing.
"Yeah, I guess we do. We've gotten used to not knocking, but we'll make sure to do so while you're here." Jill said apologetically.
"Thanks." Erica replied. "What brings you over so early?"
"Vash wants to see the sights and we thought you two might want to come along." Mike said.
"What sights?" Erica asked.
"Everything, he says. Remember, the world he's from is a lot different than this one." Jill replied.
"Oh yeah, I guess it is. Where shall we go?" Erica said.
Jill shrugged, "I don't know, anywhere should have plenty of new things for Vash to see."
"Do you have anywhere in mind Sarah?" Mike asked as she walked in. Her eyes were glued to the floor and she was blushing furiously.
"Uh…the mall?" she said.
Mike frowned, "Why the mall?"
Sarah shrugged and said, still without looking up, "There's lots of different things in the mall that should be interesting for Vash without having to do a lot of traveling. Is it a strain for you to stay invisible?" she directed this last to Vash.
Jill cocked her head to one side as if listening to something and then said, "He says he can stay invisible for a couple of hours, maybe more. Sounds like the mall is a good idea, we can leave in a hurry if Vash has trouble maintaining his invisibility."
"I suggest you pretend to be a stuffed animal if your invisibility fails." Erica said to Vash. "If you don't move it should be believable."
"Sounds like we have a plan, shall we go?" Mike asked. The others nodded so they headed out, Vash again riding invisibly on Jill's shoulder. Once they were in the car he jumped down into her lap and became visible again.
I'll save my energy for the mall. he explained to Jill when she looked at him questioningly.
"There's no reason to feel embarrassed." Erica whispered to Sarah in the backseat. "They do a lot more than make out on the couch all the time."
"I guess," Sarah said, blushing again, "but then why are you whispering?"
Erica ducked her head sheepishly. "You got me! I guess I should listen to my own advice." She said.
They soon arrived at the mall and Vash took up his invisible perch as they walked in. "Where to first?" Jill asked once they were inside the heated building.
"Let's just make a circuit of the building, just about everything here should be new to him." Sarah suggested. The others agreed and they started walking, Vash asking many questions as they went. As many of the stores were clothing stores, and Vash had no interest in clothes, they didn't go into many of the stores. Vash found Radio Shack endlessly fascinating, though.
They came across another clothing store, but Sarah stopped them from walking by. "I could use some more clothes and they're having a store closing sale, let's take a look." She said. Mike groaned, but Jill was enthusiastic and Erica curious so they all went in. The store sold only women's clothes, mostly teenage styles, but Sarah managed to find a few things she liked at very low prices.
"Why don't you get some jeans?" Erica asked as Sarah was paying.
"They don't have any tall sizes here, they'd be too short. I've run into the same problem before, I guess my legs are unusually long." Sarah replied.
"So that's why you wear skirts all the time?" Erica said. Sarah nodded and collected her bag and change.
The next store they stopped into was a camera store. Jill got someone to explain how the cameras worked to her so that Vash could hear. "She looks like she's going to fall asleep from boredom!" Sarah whispered to Erica.
Erica smiled and stifled a laugh as she said, "Yeah, but Vash seems to appreciate it, look at how Jill's hair is getting stirred up by his tail!"
Sarah giggled and she and Erica moved away so they wouldn't disturb Vash's photography lesson.
A few stores down from there they found a video game store and Vash was enthralled by all the TVs showing various games around the store. He asked many questions which mostly Sarah answered, being the biggest gaming fan of the group.
Their next stop was the store where Sarah worked. The TV displays, computers, and other electronics were riveting to Vash. Sarah thought she saw Tiffany at one point, but when she looked all she saw was a darkened part of the store. Light must have gone out. she thought, and hurried to catch up with the others.
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.
"In other words, yes, right?" Mike grumbled.
"More like, it's going to require a shopping trip." Erica replied.
"What for?" Mike replied.
"Those holsters I was talking about, and some arrows for Sarah." Erica replied.
"I am getting kind of low." Sarah said. "I lost a few when we got the healing water."
"That reminds me, we'll need something to put the healing water in that we can carry with us easier, too." Erica said. "Jill, I think you should carry the healing water. You're the best protected of us, and the least armed."
"Uh, okay, I guess. Where are you planning to go?" Jill asked worriedly.
"A good old fashioned dungeon crawl!" Erica replied enthusiastically. "Sarah has the book I have in mind. Some of the bad guys get killed in a dungeon, but trip most of the traps and kill many of the monsters while they're at it. All we have to do is follow behind them and clean up what they missed. With our firepower that should be pretty easy."
Jill and Sarah exchanged worried glances. "I don't know about this…" Sarah said.
"I thought we were going to try to keep the danger to a minimum?!" Jill said.
"We are. The place is mostly cleared out by the time they die, so we won't have much to do. Sarah's fireballs could probably clear the place all by themselves." Erica replied.
"And why do we want to clear the place?" Sarah asked.
"Come on, Sarah, you know why! That place has a trove of treasure including magical items we can use." Erica chided.
"Well, if it's really mostly cleared out already, I guess it could be okay." Mike said uncertainly.
"Great! Come on Sarah, let's go shopping." Erica said, grabbing Sarah's arm and leading her out. She paused at the door and said, "Why don't you get your weapons while we're out, Mike?" Mike nodded, and Erica left.
"Mike, are you sure about this?" Jill said.
Mike shrugged, "It sounds pretty safe for us. I know it's weird to think about, but we've become pretty powerful. I should be able to handle most physical threats by turning into something bigger and stronger than whatever's attacking us. Erica can nullify magical attacks and Sarah can blast anybody from a distance, as well as shooting them. And Erica has the guns and sword now. We can do a lot of damage between us. And with that healing water we should be able to heal any injuries we do get."
"I hope you're right, but we'd better be careful just the same." Jill said.
"No argument there!" Mike agreed, and left to get the swords and knife from his apartment.
He's right you know. Vash said after the door closed behind Mike.
"Oh, you're awake now, huh? Couldn't you have woken up sooner and talked them out of this?" Jill asked archly.
Even if I had, I would have agreed with them. And if I had tried to talk them out of it, I would have been handicapped by my inability to talk to Erica. Vash replied.
"I guess so. I just don't want anyone to get hurt." Jill said with a sigh as she plopped down on the couch next to Vash. He climbed into her lap and purred as she absently stroked his feathers.
Sooner or later someone will, it's inevitable. That healing water you spoke of is a very good idea. Where did you get it? Vash asked curiously. Jill recounted their visit to Xanth. Ah, yet another world, and one with strange rules. Magic that strong is usually very costly, but it seems it is commonplace in that world. Which is fortunate for us!
"Yes. I've been meaning to get that water into smaller containers, but they need to be easy to carry, too. Some kind of canteen, maybe." Jill said.
"Erica will get something like that, I'm sure." Mike said as he stepped inside with the swords and knife in his hands. "Do you want the old sword?" he asked, holding out the sword Sarah took from the prison guard.
"Why not give me the other sword?" Jill asked, looking at the ornate falchion in Mike's hands.
"It's way too heavy!" Mike said with a chuckle. "I'll have to use it with both hands as it is! You'll probably need both hands for this one, but you can handle it."
"Let me see!" Jill demanded, holding her hands out for the falchion. With a sigh Mike handed it to her. She nearly dropped it when he let go, and he was glad it was in its sheath or the blade would have been dulled when it dropped to the floor under its own weight. "Okay, maybe it is too heavy." She admitted reluctantly, letting Mike take it back from her.
"Sorry, I'd give you the falchion if it was practical, but it's not." Mike said apologetically. Jill waved that off and took the broad sword.
"Whoa, this thing isn't all that light, either!" she exclaimed, though it didn't hit the ground like the falchion had. She hefted it a few times and set it aside. "I think I can manage it, but I'll take that knife, too." She said. Mike nodded and helped her use a rope as a makeshift sword belt and attached the scabbard for the sword to it, and then attached the sheath for the knife as well.
"How's that?" Mike asked once she had both weapons secured firmly.
Jill stood and walked a circuit around the couch before sitting back down, careful to keep the sword from hitting anything. "Not bad. I'm glad I won't be carrying that monstrosity!" she said, pointing at the falchion on Mike's belt.
Mike grunted in agreement, "Yeah, it's pretty heavy. I envy Erica, really. That long sword is really light! Then again, she's also going to be carrying two guns and extra magazines for them, as well as the dagger. So maybe it's not the great deal that it seems."
"Where'd we put that healing water, anyway?" Jill asked, realizing they were still missing something.
"I knew I forgot something!" Mike said and left again. Before long he was back with two bottles of healing water.
"Only two?" Jill asked curiously.
Mike shrugged, "If we need more than two for one trip we're doing something seriously wrong!"
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Jill agreed. They set the water on the table and Jill went to retrieve Sarah's archery gear. "Erica's sword belt is in here, too!" she called out as she dug out all the stuff Sarah would need. Mike came up beside her and retrieved the belt, complete with sword and dagger, and put them on the table. Sarah's bow, quiver of arrows, and arm guard soon joined them. "I think that's everything." She said looking at the pile.
"I don't think we need this part right now, though." Mike said, pointing at the boxes of ammunition. Jill nodded and he moved those boxes into the closet.
It's too bad I've lost most of my weapons. Vash said wistfully.
"What weapons?" Jill and Mike said simultaneously.
My claws are blunted, and my teeth and fangs are much shorter and less sharp than they used to be. More importantly, there doesn't seem to be any poison on them anymore. Vash replied.
"You used to be poisonous?!" Jill exclaimed.
Yes, I was. Now all I have is my magical attack and mental powers. They are not nearly as deadly. Vash said.
"You're dangerous enough still, I think." Jill said consolingly.
I suppose I will have to depend on your mate and friends to do the damage. Vash said regretfully.
The conversation stalled after that, and Jill and Mike started a game of tennis on the Wii. Mike was winning his third consecutive game by the time Sarah and Erica returned laden with bags.
Their arrival was followed by a flurry of preparations. Sarah took her new arrows, all broad heads, and loaded them into her quiver. She arranged the arrows as best she could so that she could find the right kind of arrow when she needed it without looking. She finally resorted to tying a small piece of thread to the practice arrows so she could tell the difference. Meanwhile, Jill and Mike filled sports bottles with healing water, along with a canteen. Sarah had bought a belt to attach a sports bottle to, and Mike and Erica were able to attach them to their sword belts. Jill just used the canteen.
Erica took the longest to get ready, as she had to secure the holsters to her sword belt and also a bag she had bought to put the extra clips in. Once she had loaded up the bag and filled the holsters they were ready to go.
You still have the ring on, right? Vash asked Jill.
"Of course, I've left it on since you gave it to me." Jill replied.
Good! There's no harm in wearing it all the time, so that would be best. he said. A last check showed that they were all ready to go and Erica handed the book she'd selected to Sarah.
"Everyone ready?" Sarah asked. Everyone nodded. "Okay, let's go." She said and opened the portal.
The portal opened out in front of a cliff face with an ornate stone door standing wide open. "I take it this is where they came in?" Mike said, looking at the gaping entrance.
"Yes, that should be it. Mike, you and I should go first." Erica replied, drawing her sword in her right hand and putting her left on one of her pistols.
"Yeah, I guess so." Mike agreed, drawing the falchion and stepping through the door. Erica followed close behind him and Sarah and Jill followed, with Vash riding Jill's shoulder.
There is no one I can detect nearby. Vash said to the group. He was enjoying not having to hide himself this time.
"I can't feel anybody but us, either." Jill agreed.
"At least we don't have to worry about light." Mike said, gesturing at the torches lining the hall with his chin. Erica nodded and they continued inside, noticing two dead bodies that looked well decayed just inside the door. "Are you sure we didn't arrive a really long time after this happened?" Mike asked.
Erica looked at the corpses and said, "No, those were zombies. Most of the monsters in this place are undead."
"Zombies?! Are we sure they're really dead?" Jill exclaimed, looking worriedly at the bodies.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Besides, zombies are mindless. If they were alive, or whatever you call it, they'd be attacking us already." Erica replied confidently.
Sarah shrugged when Jill looked to her and they continued on. They came across other bodies as they went, one of which seemed fresh. "What about that one?" Mike asked when he saw it.
"That was one of the bandits that came in here before us. They got killed one by one as they went into the tomb. We'll find several more before we reach the un-cleared sections." Erica said.
"He had a sword." Jill noted, looking down at her own well-used blade.
Mike looked back to see why she'd commented on that and saw her look. "We can come back for it after we're done if we don't find something better first." he said. Jill nodded.
As Erica had said, they came across more fresh corpses among the once-again-dead undead as they continued deeper into the tomb. After several minutes they came to two side passages. They started down one, but it ended in a small room with a sarcophagus in the center that was lying open. Decayed corpses littered the room, along with one fresher corpse. "Not likely to find anything here." Erica said. The others nodded and they went back to the other side passage.
This hall lead to two rooms, both like the first. Both had been ransacked and were full of corpses. They returned to the main passage and continued on.
I sense something ahead. I think we're about to come to the end of the section our predecessors explored. Vash warned. Erica and Mike, who had re-sheathed their weapons, drew them again. Sarah drew an arrow and held it against the string of her bow, while Jill grasped the hilt of her sword. As ready as they could be, they started forwards once more.
Before long they came to what had obviously been the previous group's last stand. Several fresh corpses were surrounded by dozens of decayed ones. "That's it for the free ride. Time to be alert." Erica said, though they all were already. The fight had occurred at another junction with two side passages.
"Vash, can you tell if there's anything down the left hand passage?" Jill asked.
Undead are difficult to read, but I think there is. In fact, I think behind us is the only direction that doesn't have at least some monsters to worry about. Vash replied.
"Vash says there are undead in every direction except the one we came from." Jill said for Erica's benefit.
Erica nodded thoughtfully. "Mike, why don't you take lead and I'll fall back and take up the rear-guard. These guys were obviously attacked from all directions at once." she said. Mike nodded and stepped forward with his sword in both hands in front of him while Erica slipped to the rear of the group and drew a gun in her left hand while holding her sword out in her right. "I'm ready when you are." she called back to Mike.
Mike started moving forward again, with Sarah ready to lend support. She was unsure how useful her bow would be against undead, but she still had her fireballs to fall back on, as well as her portals.
The passage eventually ended at a closed door. "We've got a closed door up here, should I open it?" Mike called back.
"Might as well." Erica called back. Reluctantly, he did so. A loud gong-like sound echoed throughout the tomb as soon as Mike opened the door. "Okay, maybe that wasn't the best idea." Erica said sheepishly as a shuffling could be heard from the direction they came.
"Yeah, we've got zombies or something in the room!" Mike said, lifting his sword up higher ready to strike. Just then there was an explosion behind them. "Was that you Erica?" Mike called out worriedly, not daring to take his eyes off of the zombies shuffling towards him.
"No! I don't know what that was, but I haven't fired a shot!" Erica yelled back. Two zombies were approaching slowly towards her. She was just trying to decide if she should shoot or not when a small ball of flame and sparks shot past her and struck the lead zombie. The fireball exploded, sending the zombies sprawling in pieces. "Thanks Sarah!" Erica called over her shoulder, still watching in case they got back up.
"No problem!" Sarah replied happily. She was happy, in a way, that they were facing undead, as she didn't have to feel any guilt about killing them.
Sarah heard Mike grunting and turned to see him hacking at the zombies trying to get at him through the open door. She drew back on her bow and released. The arrow buried itself in the zombie's skull, but didn't seem to slow it down at all. "I don't think my bow is going to be very useful here!" she said, turning back to watch over Erica since she couldn't use her fireballs to help Mike.
Four more zombies were approaching Erica, though two of them were missing an arm each and all of them looked a little singed. "How come they're all burned, but your fireball only hit two?" Erica wondered aloud.
"Maybe they got caught up in that explosion earlier?" Sarah suggested, launching another fireball. This one was a little closer and knocked Jill and Sarah off their feet. Erica didn't seem affected.
"Let's not use explosive spells or bullets quite so close, okay?" Jill said archly as she picked herself back up.
"Sorry." Sarah muttered, getting back up in time to see Erica chop off the arm of one of the zombies. Erica seemed quite capable of dealing with that zombie, but two of the ones she'd blasted were back on their feet. They were in pretty bad shape, but they were still moving. Sarah opened a portal under their feet and linked it to another portal in the ceiling farther down the corridor. The fall wasn't enough to hurt them, but it put them far enough away to blast them with another fireball.
"Damn!" Mike cursed, as one of the zombies managed to rake its claws across his face. His body rippled as it changed and he took on his naga form again. He coiled his serpentine lower body and shot forward, knocking the zombies back into the room. He quickly slithered back out and to the side of the door. "Sarah, can we have some fire in this hole?" he yelled.
Sarah dashed to the door and yelled, "Vascor!" ducking back as soon as the spell was cast. Even so she was singed a bit by the backlash of the fireball.
"Thanks!" Mike said, slithering back into the room. All the zombies were on the ground, so Mike had an easy time lopping their heads off before they could recover. That seemed to do the trick. "Everyone in the room!" he called, taking up a position just to the side of the door. Sarah and Jill hurried in to follow him, and Erica followed once they were in. She and Mike then hacked and stabbed at the zombies as they reached the door.
"Might as well see if there's anything in here we can use." Sarah said, looking around the room. Jill joined her and they quickly determined that the room was bare except for the corpses and the sarcophagus in the center. "Should we open it?" she asked.
Jill shrugged, "Sure, why not? There's often treasure in these things in the books and games."
"Wait, don't!" Erica yelled, momentarily distracted from the fight at the door. She was too late.
The stone lid of the sarcophagus crashed down with a deafening crash. Inside was a corpse that was better preserved than most of the others, and clothed in plate mail armor. A spear was held in one hand, and a shield in the left. Erica looked on in horror as a red glow suffused its empty sockets and it sat up. "Mike, can you hold this door?" she asked.
"Yeah, I think I can." Mike replied, and threw himself into the corridor, thrashing around with tail and sword with abandon.
Erica turned to face the undead creature rising from its tomb and stepped forward with sword raised. "Stand back Sarah!" she yelled, trying to put herself between them. Jill drew her sword and stepped up next to Erica. Vash jumped to Sarah's shoulder and watched worriedly.
I'm not sure what kind of undead that thing is, but it's definitely a lot more dangerous than a zombie! he said to Sarah.
"Any idea how to kill the thing besides the usual hack and slash?" Sarah asked anxiously.
Not that I know of, but I'll try to help. Vash replied.
Erica tried to decapitate the thing before it was on its feet, but it intercepted her swing with its shield. Her sword cut deeply into the shield and caught there. She struggled desperately with it and managed to pull it free. Jill, meanwhile, tried to do the same from the other side. Its spear intercepted her attack and she was forced to dodge backwards as it stabbed at her.
The undead was on its feet before they could stop it, so they tried for its legs. It surprised them all when it jumped over their attacks and landed on the floor between them.
Erica took a two handed grip of her sword and swung it with all her strength. This time it didn't anticipate her attack and she sliced it neatly in two. The top half of its body slowly toppled, leaving the lower half standing for a moment before it suddenly collapsed as if it were a puppet with its strings cut.
"Everyone take cover behind the sarcophagus!" Sarah called out. They all hunkered down behind it. "Mike, you too!" she yelled, and almost as soon as she'd said it he was right there beside her. "Vascor!" she yelled, blasting the remaining zombies with another fireball. They were all glad they had the sarcophagus for cover, as a good portion of the blast washed back over it.
"Well," Erica said, "was there anything besides the hideous undead monstrosity inside the sarcophagus?"
Jill and Sarah stood up to look while Mike slithered back to the door in time to hear another explosion down the hall. "What's going on out there?" he wondered aloud.
"Who knows, but it looks like we've found something!" Jill replied. Erica glanced over to Jill and noticed she wasn't looking inside the sarcophagus.
"What did you find?" she asked, stepping over to her.
"The sarcophagus is empty, but this guy had a really nice necklace around his neck." Jill said, holding the necklace up.
"A necklace?! Why would we care about that?" Erica exclaimed.
"Vash says it's magical." Sarah explained. "He's not sure in what way yet, but he should be able to figure it out later."
"Are you three done looting the place, or can we move on?" Mike asked from the doorway.
"Are there any more zombies out there?" Jill asked.
"No. I can't see or hear anything out here." he replied.
There are more, but they are some distance yet. Vash said.
They stepped out into the hall, with Mike in the lead again and Erica in the rear. Sarah had thrown her bow over her shoulder, as it was obviously not going to do them any good in the tomb.
They made it back to the intersection without incident, though they did see a new pile of charred and dismembered corpses just beyond the intersection in the main passage. "Did you do that Sarah?" Mike asked.
Sarah shook her head, "No, I saw where all my fireballs went. None of them came anywhere near this far."
They continued forward cautiously until they came to another door. This one was ajar and another fresh corpse was there, being chewed on by undead. These looked different than the others. "Ghouls." Erica said in disgust. She drew her gun and fired into the room. The explosion ripped the corpse apart, and threw the ghouls across the room. She holstered her gun and started forward. Mike was right beside her and they quickly finished off the injured ghouls. When they were done they found the room empty except for the dead ghouls, and the sarcophagus.
"This one wasn't opened, either. Do we dare open it?" Jill asked.
"Yes. Mike, you and Jill attack the thing as soon as you can. It'll probably block you. Erica, you can then use that magic sword of yours to decapitate it or something." Sarah said. The others nodded and Sarah pushed the lid off the sarcophagus.
The corpse inside was much more decayed than the other had been. It did, however, sit up and draw a sword from its scabbard. That's about as far as it got before three swords hit it at once. The sword was knocked to the side as its hand was cut off and its head went flying. "Well, that was anticlimactic." Sarah said, looking down at the corpse that had collapsed without any sign of life left to it.
"Works for me!" Jill said while picking up the sword. It was an ornate, basket hilted rapier. "I like this a lot better than the broadsword!" she said happily, swinging it around to test it and obviously pleased with how much more easily she could handle it.
"Here." Mike said, holding out the scabbard. "The sword belt has pretty much disintegrated, but the scabbard looks fine."
Jill slid the sword home and managed to jam it into her improvised rope belt. As they searched the room they heard another explosion. They found nothing so hurried out into the hall. Zombie body parts were scattered along the corridor, some smoking. "What is going on out here?!" Mike exclaimed, looking about for whatever threat might be there.
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." Erica cautioned. "Let's go finish this place." With that they continued down to the intersection and turned towards the only direction they hadn't gone so far. The corridor continued unbroken for at least a hundred feet before suddenly opening up into a large room with a vaulted ceiling. A large, ornate sarcophagus dominated the center of the room, and was surrounded by undead. These were skeletal and wore plate armor. Some had swords, some spears, and a few had axes. Those that carried smaller weapons also had shields. On the other side of the sarcophagus a robed man was reading from a book.
"I can take care of those skeletons easily enough." Erica said, patting her guns.
"Wait, I have something I want to try first." Sarah said, taking her bow off her shoulder and stringing an arrow. She took careful aim and whispered, "Vascor." Flaming sparks ran from her fingertips across the bow and bowstring and onto the arrow. They collected on the arrowhead and it seemed to burn without being consumed. She released the bowstring and the arrow streaked across the room trailing sparks. The mage was oblivious to their presence and had no chance to protect himself. The arrow embedded in his chest and exploded.
The mage was blasted back to the wall, obviously dead. All the skeletons turned towards Sarah. "I was kind of hoping he was controlling them." Sarah said, shaking as what she'd just done sank in.
"That was still a great shot! Now it's my turn." Erica replied. She sheathed her sword and drew both guns. She fired several times from each gun into the mob and soon they were reduced to bone splinters, scattered all around the room.
"Bit loud, aren't they?" Sarah said.
Erica nodded, "Yeah, the explosive bullets don't help that part any. But they work great!"
They moved cautiously into the room, but there was no sign of anything else living or dead. Mike cautiously approached the sarcophagus. "Do we want to mess with this?" he asked.
"We have found a few things in those things. It might be worth our while." Erica said. Shrugging, Mike pushed the sarcophagus open while the others stood around it ready to attack if need be.
"I guess we don't need to fight anything just yet." Jill said. With the lid off the sarcophagus they could see it was actually a stairway.
"Could be all kinds of nasties down there, though." Mike said. "I'll go first." He slithered down the steps before any of them could argue and the others hurriedly followed.
"Vash, do you feel anything down here?" Jill asked suspiciously as they looked around a small room full of gold, jewel encrusted objects.
I believe we have dealt with everything this tomb had to offer. I would still be leery of traps, though. he replied.
"Vash says there's nothing left to fight, but we should still watch for traps." Jill said for Erica's benefit.
"How are we supposed to do that?" Erica asked.
"I think I have an idea." Sarah said and looked at the nearest pile of treasure. A portal opened up beneath it and it fell through. There was a crash from above a moment later.
"What did you do?!" Mike exclaimed.
"I portaled the pile into the room above. That way if the pile is trapped, it will go off up there. If the trap is in here, we don't get near it." Sarah explained.
Jill looked around wearily, but nothing seemed to be happening. "Go ahead and do the rest, Sarah." she suggested. Sarah nodded and opened portal after portal, each one followed by a crash as the treasure arrived above. Soon the room was empty.
"I guess there weren't any traps." Mike said with relief. They climbed back up the stairs to find the golden objects scattered all around the room. "Could take a while to look through all this stuff."
I can help with that. Vash said. He scampered through the pile, tapping a blunted claw against an item every now and then.
"Vash says those objects are magical." Jill told Erica. They began gathering up the objects he'd indicated and piling them off to one side from the rest. Soon they had about a fifth of the objects piled up.
"All of this is magical?!" Erica exclaimed, looking down at the haphazard pile of objects.
Jill nodded, "Yes. He says some of the stuff he didn't indicate is also magical, but it's cursed. He wants you to move that stuff aside, Erica, since it won't affect you."
Erica shrugged and followed Vash around, gathering up cursed objects as she went. She soon had a pile even larger than the other which she stacked against a wall in the far corner at Vash's insistence.
That left about half the treasure lying scattered about the room. "This other stuff is valuable, but non-magical. Does anybody want any of it?" Jill asked. They all walked around the room, looking at the scattered treasure. They found some statues and jewelry that they liked, but the rest they ignored.
"So what is this stuff?" Erica asked, looking at the pile of magical items.
"Vash doesn't know for the most part. He thinks he can identify it with time, though, and he's certain it's not cursed." Jill replied. The pile consisted of a map case (which they hadn't opened to find out if it had a map in it), a very large sword, two smaller swords, three daggers, an axe, a crossbow, a long bow, two quivers of arrows (with golden arrowheads), various pieces of jewelry, and an assortment of armor pieces.
"There's too much here to carry back, I'll open a portal and we can ferry it across." Sarah said, and opened the portal to her living room. Mike and Erica started ferrying things through the portal from the magical pile, while Jill and Sarah gathered up the non-magical objects. Once all of the magical items were through they followed Mike and Erica through the portal.
Mike and Erica had piled the magical objects on the floor in front of the couch, so Sarah and Jill put the non magical stuff on the kitchen table.
"Well, that was certainly some shopping trip!" Mike said with a sigh as he sank gratefully down on the couch.
"It certainly was." Jill agreed, taking her canteen off her shoulder and spilling a few drops on Mike's face. Before their eyes the scratches on his face healed up without a trace. "Good stuff, isn't it?" Jill said with a grin as she capped the canteen.
Mike grinned back at her, "Yes, it certainly is! Thanks!"
"Is anybody else hurt?" she asked. Everyone shook their heads, so Jill gathered up everyone's bottles and put them away in a cupboard that Sarah indicated to her.
"How long is it going to take you to figure out what all this stuff is?" Mike asked Vash, who was already poking around in the pile.
No way to know. The magic of that world is slightly different to what I'm used to. I'll tell you what they are as I find out myself. he replied.
"Let's sort out the non-magical stuff, then." Erica suggested. They all sat at the table and went through the much smaller pile. The only thing Mike had picked out was a dragon statue with ruby eyes. It was about six inches tall and about fifteen long. He set it aside and helped Jill sort out her own picks. Jill had selected two rings and three necklaces. Erica had selected only a pendant and a ring, while Sarah had found a cat statue that she liked, along with a bracelet, two rings, and a necklace.
"I figured I could give them to you when I'm done with them." Sarah said with a shrug at Erica's questioning look.
"Can you really wear any of that stuff?" Mike asked, "Without being mugged, anyway."
"This stuff is so perfect anyone seeing it will assume it's fake." Jill replied.
"Even so, we can only use it for dressy occasions without looking strange." Erica added.
"If you say so." Mike said with a shrug.
With the non-magical treasure sorted out Mike and Jill took theirs back to their apartment. Erica put hers in her luggage, and Sarah put hers away in, or in the case of the cat statue on, her dresser.
By the time they'd all returned to the living room Vash had already managed to figure out the enchantments on the crossbow.
This crossbow is simple enough. he said. It's especially durable, accurate, and powerful. That's it. Jill relayed that to the others.
"Sounds like you've got yourself a weapon." Erica said to Jill.
"Me?! Why me?" Jill exclaimed.
"Mike's our front line fighter. I've already got a ranged weapon as well as my sword. Sarah has her bow and her fireballs. Your only ranged weapon is those kinetic blasts of Vash's and your mental abilities. Which are completely useless against undead." Erica explained.
"Crossbows are pretty easy to use." Sarah said. "This one even has a hand crank for loading. All you have to do is wind the crank to get the bow pulled back, place a bolt inside, aim and shoot. We'll have to get you some bolts for it, but it's otherwise ready to go."
"I guess." Jill said doubtfully.
"Have you figured out any of the others?" Erica asked Vash. He shook his head and continued perusing the pile, so they got comfortable on the couch and Sarah showed Jill how to handle her new crossbow. Once she was sure Jill could load it herself, they went online to order some bolts and a quiver for it.
"Why not buy them in a store, like you did your arrows?" Jill asked.
"Crossbows aren't as common as bows. We'll have better luck online." Sarah explained.
"I think it's about time for some food, how about you girls?" Mike said.
"Sure, sounds like a good idea. What shall I make?" Sarah asked.
"I was thinking of going out to eat, you don't have to cook." Mike protested.
"I can't afford to go out very often, especially now that I have to spend so much money on clothes and…other…female stuff." Sarah replied awkwardly.
"Other female stuff?" Erica asked with a grin.
"She had her first period this week." Jill explained.
"Wow, really? That must have been strange for you." Erica replied and gave Sarah a hug.
"Yeah, it was." Sarah agreed, burying her blushing face in Erica's shoulder.
"Do you really want to eat here, because I'll pay for dinner if you want to go out." Erica said.
"Wellll, a pizza would be nice…" Sarah said hopefully.
Erica laughed and said, "Sure, we can get a pizza. I should have known your taste for pizza would be unaffected!"
"Do you want to come along, Vash, or should we just bring some leftovers home for you?" Jill asked.
I'm tired, I'll stay here. I would be intrigued to try this pizza thing that Sarah is so excited about, however. he replied while nosing one of the rings.
"Okay, we'll make sure to bring some back for you then." Jill said and they headed out.
They were quiet on the drive out, as they were all tired from the fighting in the tomb. Jill volunteered to do the ordering since the others had been more active in the fighting than she had. Mike and Erica gratefully found a table to relax in with Sarah following behind.
Once Jill had finished ordering she took her seat next to Mike. "If we're going to be doing that kind of fighting again, I think I'd prefer it be somewhere a little more open." Mike said.
"Claustrophobic?" Erica asked curiously.
Mike shook his head, "No, but most of the forms I've taken so far are rather large. Naga form works in close quarters, but it's not nearly as powerful as a dragon or giant."
"How many forms do you have, anyway?" Erica said.
Mike looked thoughtful and counted them out on his fingers as he said, "The first was a dragon. Invisible giant was next, followed by a different kind of dragon. Naga was after that. After that was T-Rex. Finally, there was that wolf form the wizard forced me into. I think I could get that form back again, anyway. So that makes six, even if two of them are dragons."
"What's the difference between the two dragon forms?" Erica asked.
"Well, the first dragon form is bigger, tougher, breaths fire, and talks. The second dragon form is probably faster, being smaller, and can teleport through time and space. And it's telepathic." Mike said.
"Maybe we should look into getting you more shapes you can shift into." Erica suggested. Mike was about to answer when the pizzas arrived. Everyone's attention was diverted to eating for a while after that.
"So what did you have in mind for getting me more shapes to use?" Mike asked after he'd finished eating his sixth slice.
"How about a demon? A human sized demon would be pretty deadly." Erica suggested.
"I'm pretty sure I'd have to see a demon in order to be able to shift into one. I don't think I really want to do that." Mike replied.
"Good point." Erica said.
"How about a gargoyle?" Sarah suggested.
Mike nodded, "That could work. They're roughly human sized."
"Okay, so what else?" Erica asked, intent on gathering an arsenal of forms for Mike.
"Beholder?" Jill said, and then shook her head, "No, that'd be too dangerous too."
"With the other forms he already has I would think the gargoyle form would take care of it. He can always copy the forms of other creatures we see as we go." Sarah said.
"Sarah's right. Besides, to get the really powerful forms he'd have to get entirely too close to them." Jill said.
"Yeah, gargoyle should do it for now. I'll just make a point of copying any forms I can." Mike said. Erica reluctantly gave up convincing them and got a box for the pizza. When they returned they found Vash had separated several items from the pile.
"Made some progress?" Jill said.
Yes, I have. I checked the bow first after you left, as I thought Sarah would appreciate it. It shouldn't take too much strength to draw, but will fire with much greater force. It's also more durable, as magical items tend to be, and you will be able to shoot with greater accuracy. Vash replied.
Sarah picked up the bow from the pile. It was made of a smooth, nearly grain-less white wood with runes of gold etched into it all along its length. "I'll have to try it out sometime. I haven't done any target shooting since my archery class ended, anyway," she said.
I took a look at the quivers of arrows next. The arrows in this quiver will penetrate almost any armor. Vash said, tapping one of the quivers with his paw. The arrows in this quiver will electrocute whatever creature they hit. Vash said, pawing the second quiver.
"Sounds useful." Sarah said. "It's too bad we don't have more of them.” Each quiver held a dozen arrows.
We do. I almost missed it, but the quivers themselves are also magical. So long as there is an arrow in them, but less than a dozen, it will generate new arrows of the same type. Vash said.
"Cool! Then the first thing to do is take an arrow out of each." Sarah said, doing so.
"Why?" Mike asked.
"So that we never run out of these types of arrows. I'll mark these and store them away somewhere so that if I ever use up all the arrows in the quivers I'll be able to make more of them." Sarah replied.
An excellent idea. Vash said as Sarah marked the arrows and removed the quivers from the pile Vash had already examined and put them with her other quiver. That left three objects; two wands and a pair of bracers.
"What about those bracers?" Mike asked.
They have a similar enchantment to Jill's ring, though not as powerful. They will protect their wearer from physical attacks only, however. Vash replied.
"Sounds like a good one for you, Erica." Sarah said.
"Me? Why not Mike?" Erica asked.
Sarah shrugged, "We don't know how Mike's shape shifting would work with them, and he won't need them in some of his forms. You don't need the magical or psionic defense, so their lack of that won't be a drawback for you."
"I certainly don't need them, my ring does more than they do." Jill added.
Erica looked at Mike and he said, "Go ahead and take them, they're a perfect fit for you." So, Erica took the bracers and put them in the closet with her sword and dagger.
"I don't remember finding any wands." Jill said, looking at the remaining objects.
You didn't, but I found them. They belonged to the wizard. Vash replied.
"So what do they do?" Mike asked.
The green one casts a spell that detects magic. Once the spell is cast the person who cast it will see a glow coming from any enchanted object. The glow will be different colors depending on the type of magic. Red denotes a curse, blue is permanent magic, like in these objects, and purple means the magic is temporary. Vash said.
"That could come in handy, though you seem to be able to do the same." Jill said.
Yes, I can, though it works differently. The red wand casts a spell that fires a magical missile. It doesn't do a lot of damage, but it also doesn't explode on impact. Vash said with a significant look at Sarah.
"Wait, you want me to use these wands like I did the fireball wand, don't you?" Sarah asked.
Yes, I believe you will learn to cast these spells on your own after using them a time or two. Vash replied.
"That really would be helpful. Then you could blast stuff even when it's close up without blasting us." Jill said. "Sounds like those are for you."
Sarah shrugged and took the wands. "How do I use them?" she asked.
They are like the fireball wand, they have an activation word. The green wand is activated by saying 'Desma', the red one by saying 'Macor'. Vash said.
Sarah nodded, "Okay, I'll use them when I can. Thanks for figuring these things out for us Vash."
You're welcome. May I suggest that some practice in your various abilities, and with your new equipment, would be useful? Vash said.
"That's a good idea. There are some areas around here where we wouldn't be seen and could get away with doing some damage to the landscape." Jill said.
"Why not use somewhere in another world?" Erica asked.
"I'd rather not." Jill replied. "Even the safest of places has a tendency to become dangerous, or at least complicated, when we do that. Here we know what we're dealing with."
They debated the point briefly, but Erica was soon outnumbered and gave in. Noticing the time, Mike and Jill decided to go home. "Come on Vash, let's leave the love birds alone." Jill said with a grin. Sarah and Erica both blushed at that and said their goodbyes. Once they'd left Sarah put the wands on the kitchen table and they both got ready for bed.
"I am soo tired!" Erica exclaimed as she crawled into bed.
"I can imagine." Sarah said. "Considering how many times you had to swing that sword of yours. Even as light as it is it's got to be tiring. I'm rather tired, too." Sarah joined Erica in bed, but they were too tired to do more than cuddle up together and drift off to sleep.
When Sarah woke she couldn't help but stare at Erica lying so peacefully beside her. She brushed a strand of golden blond hair away from her face and wondered why Erica put up with her. She's so beautiful! It's a wonder she hasn't gotten fed up with me and found someone better. It wouldn't be hard for her. she thought, a single tear trailing down her cheek.
Her contemplation was soon ended by an urgent need to use the bathroom. By the time she returned Erica was already awake. "Good morning, Sarah!" she said brightly.
"Good morning! What would you like for breakfast?" Sarah replied.
Sarah fidgeted uncomfortably as Erica gazed strangely at her for a while before answering. "Pancakes?" she suggested.
"Uh, yeah, sounds good." Sarah agreed and went to make them.
Sarah was cooking the last pancake when there was a knock at the door. "Erica, can you get that for me?" she called out.
Erica made sure her robe was closed and opened the door. "Good morning Mike, Jill, how are you?" she said, stepping aside so they could come in.
"Great." they answered as they walked in.
"If that's Mike and Jill tell them we've got enough pancakes to share!" Sarah called from the kitchen.
Soon they were all sitting at the table eating pancakes. "Vash has been harping on that idea of trying out our abilities and equipment since we left last night. When do we want to do that?" Jill asked.
Erica shrugged and said, "Any time's fine with me."
"If you guys don't have any plans we could go after breakfast." Sarah said.
We should also bring the magical objects I haven't figured out the purpose of yet. I can look through them some more while you're practicing. Vash said while gorging himself on a pancake covered in strawberry jam and maple syrup.
"Is there anything you don't eat?" Erica said.
I'm not a cat, I can eat whatever I like. Vash replied primly.
"You may not be a cat, but you sure act like one sometimes." Mike said. At Erica's curious look he relayed what Vash had said.
After breakfast they started ferrying equipment to Sarah's car. As Mike and Sarah were carrying the first batch out to the car Erica said, "Jill, can you help me with something?" Jill nodded and Erica led her back to Sarah's room and closed the door behind them.
"Is something wrong?" Jill asked worriedly.
Erica sat down on the edge of Sarah's bed and said, "Not exactly."
"Well? I can't read your mind, you know." Jill said when Erica didn't say anymore.
"Um, well, when Sarah came back into the room this morning she asked me what I wanted for breakfast." Erica said hesitantly.
Jill frowned in confusion and asked, "So what?"
"Well, I uh, wanted to say her." Erica replied, blushing and looking down at her feet.
"Mike's said that to me lots of times, what's the big deal?" Jill asked, looking confused.
"I was attracted to her!" Erica exclaimed and then slapped her hand over her mouth when she realized how loudly she'd said it.
"Erica, you're not making much sense! Of course you're attracted to her, you love her!" Jill replied, baffled by Erica's strange behavior.
"Well, like that, yeah, but also…physically." Erica replied softly.
"Oh, is that all?" Jill replied, grinning.
"But she's a girl!" Erica protested.
Jill shrugged, "So? Maybe you're bisexual. It's no big deal if you are. Or maybe she just happens to be the person you love!"
"But…" Erica sputtered.
"Erica, you've loved her for years. It's no surprise that you'd find her attractive! I assume that you've never been attracted to a girl before, but I don't see the problem. It's not like you're cheating on her or anything." Jill said.
"I kind of feel like I am." Erica said sorrowfully.
"Erica, she is Sean, so you're not cheating on anybody!" Jill said firmly.
"It's just, she seems so different, while still the same. Does that make any sense?" Erica said.
Jill nodded, "Yes, it does. She seems a little more confident and outgoing now than she was before. She even stands up for herself on occasion! She used to let everyone walk all over her before."
Erica looked guiltily at Jill and said, "Including me, right?"
Jill shrugged, "You may have taken a little advantage of her willingness to follow your lead, but not that much. After all, in your case she'd follow you anywhere, so it would be hard not to take advantage a little."
"I guess." Erica said, not sounding very convinced.
"So do you think you could handle it now, if Sarah never changed back to Sean?" Jill said.
Jill was pleased to see that Erica actually paused and thought about it, instead of giving a snap answer. "I…think maybe I could." she said softly.
"Good! But don't tell her that, okay? If you show any preference either way she'll go in that direction, I think. It would be best if she makes her own choices about her gender." Jill said.
Erica frowned, "You make it sound like there's doubt about what gender she wants to be."
"I think so, yeah. But I don't want to push her. If we're understanding the Magician's Answer correctly, she'll be able to switch back and forth at will someday. Despite that, she'll have to choose a gender to present as in her daily life, like at work. When that time comes I want her to decide what is best for her, not anyone else." Jill replied.
"Like me." Erica said. Jill nodded. "But wouldn't telling her that I can love her in either form be helpful, then?"
"Yes, but if you say you're okay with her as a girl, she's likely to take that to mean that you prefer her that way. You know how she is." Jill said.
Erica sighed and stood up, "Okay, you're right. Thanks."
"For what?" Jill asked.
"For listening to my whining and accepting the both of us." Erica replied with a tear in her eye.
"What are friends for?" Jill replied and hugged her. "Come on, lets help them load up the rest of our stuff." Erica wiped her face and they went out to help move everything they'd need. Mike and Sarah had already moved most of it, so it didn't take long to finish up.
"Is everything okay?" Mike asked when Jill came out with Sarah's new bow and quivers.
Jill smiled and said, "Yes, everything's great! I'll tell you about it later." Mike nodded and they finished loading the car.
Jill guided Sarah to a rocky area well away from any buildings that was shielded by hills on all sides. "Here we are." she said.
"Now what?" Erica asked as they got out of the car.
"Now we see what we, and our new toys, are really capable of." Jill replied.
"It's too bad you won't be able to practice with your crossbow yet." Sarah said as she got her archery equipment together.
"How am I supposed to practice my abilities?" Erica asked.
"Uh, I don't think we want to try that." Sarah said.
It is not necessary to practice the powers of a Null. She will not be directly affected by any magical or psionic effect. That includes the healing water, though. Vash said.
"I didn't think about that! Maybe you should stick with ranged weapons Erica!" Sarah exclaimed.
Erica looked confused until Jill told her what Vash had said. "Oh no you don't! Just because I can't be healed with that water doesn't mean I'm going to hide behind you guys!" she protested.
"But…" Sarah said, but Jill cut her off.
"She's not going to hide behind us, Sarah. Besides, she's immune to magic, and those bracers will protect her. You and Mike are more vulnerable than she is." Jill said.
"I guess." Sarah said.
Sarah, why don't you try out those wands now. Vash suggested as he went back to looking through the objects retrieved from the tomb.
"Okay." Sarah replied, putting her bow down and retrieving the wands from the car. She held the green wand and said the activation word, "Desma." She recoiled from the car as bright lights streamed out of it from all the objects retrieved from the tomb, including the wand in her hand. "How do I turn this off?!"
Just say the activation word again. Vash replied. Sarah did so and was relieved to see that the light faded immediately. Now try it without the wand. Vash suggested.
Sarah nodded and said the word again after putting the wand back in the car. "Whoa!" she cried, falling down in surprise at the glare from the car full of magical objects. "Desma!" she yelled, and sighed in relief as the light faded.
"Are you alright?" Erica asked, kneeling next to her.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Just surprised me, it was brighter than the first time." she replied.
"Try the other one." Mike suggested.
Sarah pointed the red wand at a large rock and said, "Macor." A ball of blue light shot from the wand to the rock, rocking it slightly but causing no discernable damage. At Vash's urging she put the wand down and tried again. When she said the word a larger ball of blue light, more intense than the first one, shot out from her hand and struck the rock. It rolled over backwards and cracked. "Whoa!"
"Hey, I just remembered! You said that last fireball you shot at the creature in the woods with that other wand was more powerful than you expected! You must be putting more power into these spells than the wands do!" Jill exclaimed.
Sarah, try your fireball now. Vash suggested. Sarah shrugged and cast a fireball at the same rock. They were all surprised by the size of the blast, as they hadn't seen it used in the open before. I think Jill is right. Unlike the other two wands, that fireball wand was from my previous master's world. That spell should have created a blast with approximately a ten foot radius. The fireball you just launched had at least a fifteen foot radius. Vash said.
"What does that mean?" Sarah asked.
It means you have a lot of power at your disposal. Try your fireball again, but try to put more power into it. Vash replied.
Sarah shrugged and said, "Vascor!" while concentrating on a bigger explosion. It worked.
Erica rushed to where Sarah had fallen as the shockwave had knocked everyone but her down. Lacking flammable materials, there wasn't much smoke this time. "Are you okay?" Erica asked as she helped her up.
"Yeah, I'm okay. What about Mike and Jill?" Sarah asked as she brushed the dust off of her.
"We're okay!" Jill said as Mike helped her up. "Where's Vash?"
I'm here. Vash said as he flew up onto Jill's shoulder.
"I think you should aim a little farther away if you do that again." Mike said.
"Yeah, I guess so." Sarah agreed, still a little stunned by how powerful her spell had been. The rock she had cracked before was now in pieces, some of them partially melted. "Did I really do that?" she asked incredulously, pointing at the remains of the rock.
"Wow, you melted it!" Mike exclaimed.
Sarah, why don't you practice that spell, aimed suitably far away from us, and try to alter the size of the explosion and the heat of the blast. Vash suggested. Sarah nodded and looked for the farthest target she could see. She began lobbing fireballs, slowly getting the hang of altering its size and temperature.
The others were looking on in awe at the amount of damage Sarah was doing to the hillside when Vash suggested Mike experiment with shifting. Reluctantly looking away from the spectacle he nodded and stepped away from the others before shifting into his first dragon form.
"Wow, you're huge! Can you breathe fire?" Erica asked. In answer Mike shot out a stream of fire into the nearest rocky hill. He kept it up for several seconds before he had to take a breath. That section of the hill melted and looked like glass.
Can you reclaim the wolf form you were forced into by my former master? Vash asked. A moment later the huge dragon was replaced by a large, but tiny in comparison, wolf.
"Hey, you're kind of cute like that!" Jill said with a grin. Mike jogged over and licked her face. Jill giggled and scratched him behind his ear.
"What am I supposed to do?" Erica asked.
Jill looked up and said, "Vash says you should try that sword and dagger of yours out on some rocks. He thinks they may be able to cut through them like your sword did the armor of that undead in the sarcophagus."
Erica shrugged and pulled her sword belt out of the car and strapped it on. Walking over to the nearest large rock she drew her sword and cut it in half. "Wow, I guess Vash was right!" she exclaimed. Sheathing her sword she drew her dagger and tried to cut into the rock with it. It wasn't long enough to cut it in half, but it sliced into the rock with ease.
While Erica examined her sword and dagger for damage after reducing the rock to rubble, Mike began trying out his different forms. At Vash's suggestion, Jill started trying to feel the thoughts or emotions of people she knew to see how far she could reach.
Sarah took a break from blasting the hillside, which was now half melted, to talk to Vash. "Had any luck yet?" she asked, as Vash was looking through their 'loot' again.
Yes. I think I've found a new sword for Mike. Vash replied, tapping the claymore sized sword they'd retrieved from the tomb. It was a fairly simple sword, but had runes of gold etched into the blade and rubies on the pommel and guard. The scabbard looked like smooth metal, golden in color but much lighter than gold. Like Erica's sword, this sword is lighter and tougher than usual. It doesn't have the ability to cut through almost anything like Erica's sword does, but it's a shape shifting sword. Normally it would just change from one type of weapon to another, but I believe it may be compatible with his own shifting power.
"What does that mean?" Sarah asked.
It means that when he shifts it may enhance his form by making his claws sharper and stronger, or something along those lines. Vash replied.
"Sounds good. Hey Mike!" Sarah called. Mike was flying around in his smaller dragon form at that point and landed next to Sarah before shifting back to human. "Vash found you a sword, you should try it out!" She went on to explain what Vash had discovered and Mike replaced the falchion with the new sword on his sword belt and strapped it on. The sword was so long it was dragging on the ground, so Mike took the belt off and put it over his shoulder, instead. Sarah tied the bottom of the sheath to the belt so it wouldn't bounce around too much.
"Okay, let's give this a try." Mike said before shifting back to dragon form. He held his right claw up and admired his golden talons. Looks like it works pretty well! he sent to Sarah. He stabbed at a bolder with his claws and they pierced the rock with ease. Then he shifted to wolf form, and his claws and teeth were all golden. He continued to play around with that while Sarah returned to the car.
I have another exercise for you Sarah. Try to cast your spells without saying the activation word aloud. Vash suggested before Sarah could retrieve her new bow. Just think the word instead of saying it.
Sarah shrugged and thought, Desma. She was blinded again by the light emanating from the magical items and quickly recited the word again. "Okay, that one worked." she muttered as she turned to the melted hillside she was using for her earlier target practice. Vascor she thought, and launched yet another fireball at the hill. She followed that up with the third spell, which caused a small geyser of liquefied rock to shoot up from the point of impact.
Good, now try varying the power of all three spells while casting them silently. Vash instructed. Sarah groaned, but got to it. Soon the hill was under another barrage of spells.
Erica came and took a seat in the car to watch Sarah's fireworks. Her powers being passive, she was stuck watching the others use theirs. Jill was just sitting there, and Mike was all over the place, shifting from one form to another. She'd watched him for a time, but lost interest when Mike started using indigenous animals, like a rattle snake. She was the only one who saw it when Sarah blasted the hill with a particularly large ball of blue energy. A huge chunk of the base of the hill was blasted away, dirt and rock spraying out in all directions. Fortunately none of them were close enough to get hit by it.
By this point they were all looking at the hill, and saw as it collapsed into a mound less than half as tall as it had been. "I think you might have overdone it a bit." Erica finally said after a long silence.
Sarah turned towards Erica with a weak grin, and fainted.
"Sarah!" Erica screamed, running towards her. Her scream startled Mike and Jill into motion and they were soon with Erica at Sarah's side.
"Vash says she's just exhausted from all the magic she's been using." Jill said with relief.
"Is he sure?" Erica asked anxiously. In answer Vash flew over and landed on Sarah's chest. He started licking her face and she began to groan and move around. When her eyes opened Erica asked, "Are you alright Sarah?"
Sarah reached up and wiped Erica's tears away. "I'm fine." she said weakly. She smiled when Erica did and drifted off to sleep.
"Mike, why don't you put her in the back seat of the car, it's got to be more comfortable than the ground." Jill suggested. Mike nodded and picked Sarah up. Erica followed him and put Sarah's head on her lap once she was lying down.
"Should we continue practicing, or go back to Sarah's?" Mike asked when he got back to Jill.
Jill didn't react at first and her eyes were closed. Mike was about to ask her if she was alright when Jill's eyes opened and she said, "We'd better get out of here, someone heard that."
"That's not surprising." Mike said dryly, looking at the remains of the hill Sarah used for practicing her spells. He and Jill looked around to make sure they weren't forgetting anything and hurried back to the car.
"What's wrong?" Erica asked when Mike and Jill got in and started the engine. Vash was riding on Jill's shoulder but hopped into the back to rest on Sarah's stomach.
"Sarah got someone's attention with that last blast. We're getting out of here before someone sees us and connects us with it." Jill replied while Mike drove.
They were quiet on the drive back. When they got to Sarah's apartment Erica insisted on carrying Sarah inside. Jill grinned at Mike as they watched her struggling with the taller girl. Erica gently laid Sarah down on the couch and sat on the floor beside it. "Did anyone see us?" she asked softly once she was settled.
"I don't think so, but it's hard to say." Jill replied.
"What about Vash, he's better at this telepathy stuff, right?" Erica asked.
"He is, but his range is limited. We don't know what my range is yet, but I was able to reach Dora." Jill said.
"You're friend from art school?" Mike asked. "You talked to her?"
"Of course not! I just touched her mind enough to know it was her. It was really weird reaching out like that. She only lives a couple of miles or so from where we were and that was pushing it for me. Vash says my reach will probably improve with practice." Jill replied.
"How far away was this person who saw the blast?" Mike asked.
"I'm not sure, but they were definitely closer than Dora." Jill said.
"Did they see anything else, like flying dragons?" Erica asked.
"I'm not sure, I just caught a glimpse. I'm still not that good at this." Jill replied.
"Come on, lets talk in the kitchen so we don't wake Sarah up." Mike suggested.
"You two go, I'll stay here." Erica said, brushing a strand of hair from Sarah's face.
"She's liable to sleep for a while." Jill said. Erica nodded, but didn't move. Jill and Mike shrugged and went to the kitchen and sat at the table.
"She's really gotten over her discomfort with Sarah's new body, hasn't she?" Mike said.
"Yeah. Before we left Erica said she felt physically attracted to Sarah this morning. I think they're going to be okay." Jill said, smiling widely.
"Good! The last thing Sarah needs is for Erica to cause problems, though I really am surprised. I didn't think Erica was bisexual." Mike said.
"I'm not sure if she is, she may just be looking past the package to the person underneath. Not that it matters either way, so long as they're happy." Jill replied.
"The question is whether either of them will continue to push to get Sarah changed back to Sean, or if they'll just leave things as they are." Mike said thoughtfully.
Jill nodded, "Yeah, I'm not sure which way they'll go with that. From what the Magician said, I think it would be best to forget all about that. If she's going to get the ability to change back, that's when it's most likely to happen. How would you feel, though, if Sarah decides to stay female?"
Mike started to reply and then stopped and gave the question some thought. "You know, I was going to say that of course Sarah would want to change back, but I'm starting to wonder. I mean, it's not like it would be easy to explain her suddenly regaining several inches of height, among other things." he said.
"I don't think that's the only reason she'd stay female, but it is a point. I know I said she could just say it wasn't for her, before, but I think many people wouldn't buy it, especially since Sarah has opened up a bit since she changed." Jill said.
"You've got a point. She does seem happier and more open than I can remember her ever being, when she's not worrying about trying to change back or how Erica would react to her." Mike agreed reluctantly.
"I just can't shake the feeling that there's something else she's hiding from us. Vash is sure he's figured out all her secrets, but I'm not so sure." Jill said.
"Secrets? What secrets?" Mike asked curiously.
Jill slapped herself in the forehead when she realized she'd said that out loud. "I can't tell you. They're Sarah's secrets, not mine. She'd kill me if I told you. Heck, she might kill me just for knowing about them!" Jill replied.
"Oh come on," Mike scoffed, "Sarah wouldn't hurt you."
Jill sighed, "No, but she might hurt herself. She's certainly thought about it enough times."
"Recently?!" Mike exclaimed. "I thought she was doing better now!"
Jill nodded, "She is, since she became Sarah."
Mike sat back in surprise and looked at Jill in shock for several moments. "You can't be serious! You're saying becoming a girl made her feel better?!" he said.
"Not at first, but as she's gotten used to it she's felt better. Especially once Erica started getting more comfortable with her. But even now there's a part of her that longs to give up and stop fighting." Jill replied sadly.
They sat in silence after that. Jill reached up to pet Vash and realized he wasn't on her shoulder. I'm keeping Sarah company. Vash told her when he sensed she was looking for him.
How is she? she replied.
Just tired, like I said. Her energy is returning much faster than I expected, though. She may wake in as little as an hour. You may want to consider having some food ready for when she wakes up, she's likely to be very hungry. Vash said.
"Vash?" Mike asked, having gotten used to the look she got when she was talking to him.
"Yes. He says Sarah may wake up in an hour or so." Jill replied. "He also says she's going to be very hungry. It is getting close to lunchtime anyway, what do you want to eat?"
They discussed what to have for lunch and decided to just order pizza. They waited a while to order so it wouldn't be cold when Sarah woke up, then called it in. By the time it arrived Sarah was beginning to stir.
"Hey honey, how are you feeling?" Erica asked when Sarah opened her eyes.
"Erica? What happened?" Sarah asked, looking around in confusion.
"You overdid it and passed out. We took you home. You've been sleeping for a couple of hours now." Erica replied, brushing an imaginary strand of hair from her face, her fingers brushing lightly over Sarah's face.
Sarah turned her face into Erica's hand and closed her eyes. "Sorry to interrupt, but the pizzas are here." Jill called out, smiling. Erica pulled her hand back reluctantly, Sarah's face trying to follow it.
"Uh, okay." Erica called back, blushing. She helped Sarah to her feet and they joined Mike and Jill at the table. Vash took a seat on the table and ate half a pizza by himself. They had all built up an appetite with their practicing, except for Erica. She only ate a couple of slices and spent the rest of the time gazing at Sarah. When they were done Mike took care of the garbage and they retired to the living room. Sarah absently turned on the TV, as she usually did when getting back from work.
"…won't let us get close to the sight." A news reporter was saying when the TV came on. "You can see from here that the side of the hill was melted." she went on to say, and the camera panned to show the hill Mike had breathed fire on. Then the camera panned again to show the remains of the other hill. "This hill was at least twice as big yesterday, but all that mass is now scattered around the base of the hill. An eye witness who arrived before the area was cordoned off said that some of the debris was also melted."
The reporter went on, but it was mostly a repeat of what she'd already said. "I guess we got out of there just in the nick of time." Mike said with a weak chuckle.
"This could be bad. What if they figure out it was us?" Sarah asked, a tinge of panic beginning to appear in her voice.
Erica wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. "There's no way they could do that. Even if they figured out we were there, we'd just say we have no idea what happened and there's no way they can prove otherwise. Just make sure not to be seen lobbing any fireballs around!" Erica said with a chuckle.
"That goes for you, too, Mike. Yours and Sarah's powers are the most visible; you'll need to be careful not to let anyone see you using them. I'll spend as much time working with Vash to hone my abilities as I can, so I can sense when we're being watched or not." Jill said.
"Don't worry too much, Jill. Getting all worked up and jumping at our own shadows is the surest way to let anyone looking know that we have something to hide. So long as we stay calm and act as if nothing is going on we'll be fine." Erica said.
"Erica's right, we need to be careful, but if we're too tense we'll give ourselves away." Mike said.
"Okay, then why don't we relax with a movie?" Jill suggested. The others agreed and Sarah picked out a movie. The couch was too small for all four of them, but Erica solved this problem by pulling Sarah onto her lap.
Soon they'd all put their worries aside and were enjoying the movie. Sarah fell asleep again only a short while after the movie started, and Mike and Jill joined her by the middle of the movie. Erica never fell asleep, but saw little of the movie anyway as her attention was completely taken up by Sarah.
Erica was stroking Sarah's hair, long after the movie had ended, when she finally woke up. "Hey sleepy, how are you feeling?" Erica asked softly.
"Mmm, comfy!" Sarah replied, snuggling deeper into Erica's arms.
Erica giggled and kissed the top of her head (she couldn't reach anything else), "Feeling better, I take it?"
"Mm hmm." Sarah agreed.
"Well I hope you don't need me to go anywhere anytime soon, my legs fell asleep an hour ago." Erica said.
Sarah titled her head back to look up at Erica and said, "Want me to kiss it better?" with a wicked grin.
Erica blushed and stammered, "Uh, well, your kisses always do make me feel better."
"Good!" Sarah exclaimed, and reached up and kissed her. They both lost track of the world for a while until Mike cleared his throat loudly and they separated, both blushing furiously.
"Sorry to interrupt." Mike said sheepishly, rubbing his sore neck. "I guess we slept through the movie."
Jill roused beside him and started crawling into his lap. Surprised, he was about to say something when she latched her lips onto his.
"I think maybe she's picking up your feelings again." Erica said, grinning.
"I don't mind, so long as she doesn't take his clothes off!" Sarah replied with an answering grin.
*Sigh* I can see my work is far from done here. Vash grumbled. Soon after Jill started relaxing and slowly sat back from Mike. We need to start on that training. Vash said to her.
Jill looked over at Mike and then to Sarah and Erica and blushed. "I did it again, didn't I?" she said.
"Hey, I'm not complaining!" Mike said, laughing.
"Even so, I think Vash is right. I'd better get working on that training sooner rather than later." Jill said. She moved over to the recliner and laid back. Vash jumped up on her lap and curled up.
"Well, I guess she's going to be indisposed for a while." Mike said.
"Did you guys bring in all the stuff from my car while I was out?" Sarah asked. Mike shook his head. "Why don't you do that, and I'll make dinner."
"With my help." Erica said.
Sarah smiled, "Once you get your legs working again, anyway, right?"
Erica grimaced, "Yeah, there is that."
"Legs fall asleep?" Mike asked. Erica nodded. "Try massaging them, get the blood flowing." With that he went out to start hauling stuff in.
"Want me to massage your legs?" Sarah asked. Erica nodded and lay down on the couch. Sarah worked on her legs until after Mike had brought his first armful.
"How's that?" Sarah asked.
"Much better, thanks." Erica replied. Sarah helped her up and they went into the kitchen to get started on dinner.
Mike finished well before the others and sat on the couching watching Jill. When Sarah called out that dinner was ready he touched her shoulder to get her attention and told her.
"Oh, thanks Mike. I'll be right there." Jill said without opening her eyes. He shrugged and went into the kitchen to eat. Jill, and Vash, did join him shortly thereafter.
After dinner they turned the TV back on, but there was nothing else on the news about the damage they'd done. "Is it a good thing, or a bad thing, that they're not talking about it anymore?" Mike asked.
"I don't think it really means anything. Unless they come up with some theory about how it happened it's just a curiosity right now. And I doubt they'd share their theories with the press." Erica replied.
"And who is 'they'?" Jill asked.
Erica shrugged, "The police, fire department, whoever is investigating it. I'm sure someone is, but there's no telling who. If we're really unlucky it could even be the FBI or Homeland Security."
"You don't sound too worried about that." Jill said.
"Like I said, they don't have anything on us. There's no proof we did anything. Although, it might not be a bad idea to find a place to hide our weapons and such, just in case they search the apartments." Erica said thoughtfully.
"Do you really think that will happen?" Sarah asked.
"Probably not, but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared. But where can we hide it?" Erica wondered aloud.
"I suppose we could hide it at my parents' house." Mike said doubtfully.
"No, then we might get them in trouble. It's got to be somewhere where they'll never look. Or can't look!" Erica exclaimed, looking at Sarah.
"What?" Sarah asked.
"We can hide our stuff in another world. You can't get any safer than that!" Erica replied.
"Except when someone walks off with it." Jill said.
"Not if we use a world that has no life on it." Erica said. "Sarah has a book of short stories that has a story that ends that way."
"More than one." Sarah said. "That could work. I'll get it." She looked through her books and came back with it. "What do we want to stash there?" Sarah asked as she looked for the story.
"Just about everything. Even most of the stuff that isn't an obvious weapon is far too valuable for us to have." Erica replied.
"What about my ring?" Jill asked, fingering the ring she'd worn since Vash gave it to her.
"I think you can get away with that." Erica said.
"Here it is." Sarah said. "Want me to open the portal now?"
"You might as well; we should scout it out before bringing our stuff." Mike said. Sarah opened the portal and they stepped through. It opened onto a city street that was eerily quiet. Cars were stopped in the middle of the street, but there weren't any people in them.
"This is creepy." Jill said.
Sarah nodded, "Yeah, but it's exactly what we need. We just need to pick a building to stash our stuff in."
"Just about any building should do." Erica said, looking around at the surrounded structures. "That one is empty, let's use it." She said, pointing at an obviously empty storefront. The door was locked.
"Mike, can you get this open?" Jill asked.
"I guess, but I'd have to use one of my larger forms to force it and I might do more damage than I want." Mike replied.
"I think I can get it." Sarah said. She touched her index finger to the lock and a blue glow gathered there and flashed into the lock. The whole door shook and the lock fell out on the other side.
"I guess that practice did you some good." Erica said. They walked in and found the empty store was clean except for a fine coating of dust.
"I don't feel comfortable having our stuff sitting out here where it can be seen from the street. Maybe we should use the storage area in back." Jill said.
"Jill, we're the only ones on this entire planet! There's nothing to worry about." Erica said.
"It's no big deal; we can open the portal there as easily as in here." Sarah said. Erica shrugged and they went into the back. It was as clean as the rest so Sarah went ahead and opened the portal.
It didn't take them long to move everything out of Sarah's apartment. Once that was done Sarah opened a portal into Mike and Jill's apartment so they could get the rest. They decided to stay there since it was getting late anyway.
After returning to her apartment, Sarah and Erica put a movie on and saw almost none of it as they acted like teenagers in a movie theater. "I think we missed the movie." Erica said when she glanced over and saw the credits were rolling.
"Want to go to bed?" Sarah asked shyly, looking up at Erica through her eyelashes.
Erica smiled and kissed Sarah again. "You are so cute! C'mon!" she said, pulling Sarah to her feet. She pulled an unresisting Sarah to her bedroom, turning the TV and DVD player off on her way. As soon as the door was closed they started pulling each other's clothes off. Before they knew it they were lying on the bed, exploring each other's bodies…
Sarah awoke to a warm, contented feeling suffusing her body. She started to turn her head, but realized she was lying on Erica's chest, not a pillow. Instead she snuggled up closer and let out a contented sigh. Wow, that was just...wow! she thought.
Yeah, I didn't realize it could be that wonderful! she heard Erica say.
Wait, Erica?! Sarah thought, shocked.
What, you expected to wake up with someone else? Erica replied.
No, but I'm pretty sure you're not speaking out loud. I'm sure I'm not! Sarah thought.
What?! Oh my gawd, you're right! My mouth's not even open! I thought I was immune to this stuff? Erica thought back in confusion.
Mike and Jill said something about a bond between us but I had forgotten all about it! Maybe that has something to do with it? Sarah replied.
But I'm supposed to be immune to magic and psionics! Erica said.
I think Jill said it's a spiritual bond, maybe that gets around the whole Null thing? Sarah thought.
I guess. This is so weird! Is this what it's like to talk to Vash or Jill? Erica said.
Actually...no. I can't describe it, but there is a difference. Sarah replied.
I guess we should talk to Jill and Vash about it later. Right now I need to use the bathroom. Erica thought.
Aww, but then I'll lose my pillows! Sarah whined theatrically.
I'll make it up to you. Erica replied with a mental grin. Sarah reluctantly extricated herself from Erica and she went to the bathroom.
Sarah startled Erica while she was washing her hands when she said, What do you want for breakfast?
Erica realized that Sarah had figured out what she'd been thinking the previous morning and grinned, You, of course! Erica received a mental smile in reply and came out to join Sarah…
A while later Sarah was startled into movement by her alarm clock. "I forgot, I've got to work today!" she exclaimed as she scrambled out of bed. Erica reluctantly followed. Sarah was a little surprised to find Erica waiting to get into the shower with her, but smiled shyly and let her in. They were both too tired from their exertions to do much, but what they did woke them up quite thoroughly.
"No time to eat." Sarah noted as she threw some clothes on.
"That's okay, I enjoyed my breakfast immensely!" Erica replied, grinning.
Sarah blushed and looked down shyly and softly said, "Me too."
Erica slipped her feet into her shoes and kissed Sarah's cheek. "Come on, I'll drive you." she said. They both grabbed their jackets and Erica drove Sarah to work.
When they got there Sarah unbuckled her seat belt but didn't open the door. "I really don't want to go to work today." she said.
"Nobody's giving you trouble, are they?" Erica asked with a tinge of anger to her voice.
"No, I just feel bad about leaving you alone all day." Sarah replied.
Erica laughed, "We've been separated for a lot longer, I'll be fine! Besides, I figured I'd visit some friends while you're at work."
"Are you sure?" Sarah whined.
"We'll have plenty of time tonight! Go on, I'll see you later." Erica said. She leaned over and kissed Sarah. She'd intended it to be a quick peck, but they both lingered before they finally pulled apart and Sarah got out of the car.
"Will you pick me up?" Sarah asked.
"Of course! Now go!" Erica said, laughing. Sarah reluctantly closed the door and waved as Erica pulled away. When she turned to go into work she was surprised to find Tiffany standing nearby watching.
"Good morning Sarah." she said.
"Good morning." Sarah replied and started walking into the building. Tiffany fell into step beside her.
"Don't worry, I won't cause you any trouble over your girlfriend. But you might want to consider being a bit more discreet in public, unless you're willing to put up with the trouble it will cause you." Tiffany said.
"Uh, thanks." Sarah replied awkwardly.
"Hey, relax!" Tiffany said. "I'd like to be friends, if that's okay with you. Anyone who can get rid of John is worth being friends with! You did us all a big favor there."
"I didn't really do anything." Sarah said.
Tiffany shrugged, "Sure you did, you came here as you are instead of hiding it. That's a pretty brave thing to do. Now come on, we've got to get to work." They clocked in and started working. It was a slow work day, so Sarah was able to help Tiffany with the last of the cleanup of the records needed because of Kyle's thefts.
"How much did he steal?" Sarah asked at one point.
"A lot. Mr. Holsteader's really mad about it, as you can imagine." Tiffany replied.
"Yeah, I guess so. Did you mean what you said earlier, about wanting to be friends?" Sarah asked hesitantly.
"Yes, I did. I don't really have many friends, and I think you'd make a good one. What do you say?" Tiffany asked, nearly holding her breath in anticipation.
"Sure," Sarah said shyly, "I'd like that."
"Great!" Tiffany exclaimed, grabbing Sarah in a hug. Sarah stiffened up and Tiffany released her. "Sorry, I guess I got carried away."
"Uh, that's okay." Sarah said, and they got back to work. At lunch they talked, just getting to know each other better. Tiffany told Sarah that she was an orphan and was raised by foster parents. She was never adopted and moved out as soon as she could.
"They weren't bad parents, I guess." Tiffany said. "But they didn't really love me, or me them. We just never clicked. I haven't seen them in a couple of years. How about your parents?"
"Uh, we never really got along either. I haven't been home in a while." Sarah replied guardedly.
Something about the way Sarah answered that question was familiar to Tiffany, but she couldn't quite figure out what. She shook it off as it was time to get back to work. Things picked up after lunch and they didn't have much time to talk. Tiffany did manage to wheedle a little information about Erica out of her before the day was over, though.
When Erica arrived to pick Sarah up she was busy chatting with Tiffany. "Hi Sarah, ready to go?" she asked.
"Hi Erica, sure I'm ready." Sarah replied, a smile lighting up her face at the sight of Erica. Erica's own smile grew wide at Sarah's reaction. When Sarah got in the car they were drawn together like magnets and forgot all about Tiffany while they kissed. She coughed to get their attention and they broke their clinch reluctantly.
"Hi Erica, I'm Tiffany. I work with Sarah." Tiffany said hesitantly.
"Hi Tiffany." Erica replied guardedly. This isn't one of the people who gave you a bad time before, is it? she thought to Sarah.
No, and we've agreed to be friends. I don't know her real well yet, but she's nice. Sarah replied.
"Well, I'd better get going. Nice to meet you Erica." Tiffany said. She left and Erica drove off once Sarah was settled.
"How was your day?" Erica asked once they were moving.
"Great! I've never really talked to anyone while I was working before, it was a nice change." Sarah replied, smiling. "Did you find your friends okay?"
"Jen was at work, but I was able to talk to Lisa for a while. I spent the rest of the time with Karen; she's a teacher so she isn't working right now." Erica said, a frown tugging at her mouth but she managed not to let Sarah see it.
"Will you be able to get together with Lisa or Jen while you're here?" Sarah asked as they pulled into Sarah's parking spot at her apartment building.
"I think so." Erica replied as she got out of the car.
Sarah was about to say something when they came into sight of her door. "Why's the door open?" she asked.
Erica frowned, "I don't know. I haven't been back here since I dropped you off this morning." She pulled Sarah behind her and stepped carefully into the apartment.
"The door's broken." Sarah noted as she followed Erica. When she got a look at her apartment she gasped. Her living room was trashed; everything had been knocked over, torn up, or smashed.
"Wha…what happened?!" Sarah exclaimed, looking about her at the wrecked remains of her apartment.
"Someone really did a number on the place! Careful, they might still be here." Erica said, picking up a piece of wood from the bookshelf. She kept Sarah behind her while she checked the kitchen, bathroom, and finally Sarah's bedroom. The living room was the only room that was trashed, though things were knocked about a bit in her bedroom.
"I guess hiding our stuff was a good idea." Sarah said. She plopped onto her bed and sat there looking at the mess. Some clothes were thrown around, but that was about the worst of it.
"Are you okay Sarah?" Erica asked. She sat next to Sarah on the bed and put her arm around her.
Sarah nodded weakly, "Yeah, I guess so. But why did someone do this?! Was it because of what happened to those hills, or what?"
Erica frowned and said, "I don't think this had anything to do with the damage our training did. If someone was looking for explosives or something they wouldn't confine their search to the living room. The whole apartment would look like that. If I didn't know you, I would think this was personal."
"John!" Sarah said in shock. "It must have been him!"
"Why not Kyle or the other guy?" Erica asked.
"I don't think Bob would bother going after me. Kyle would, but he's in jail for stealing from the store and attacking me. Tiffany said he couldn't get the money for bail. John just got vandalism or something. He could have done this." Sarah said. She began shaking and muttered, "He knows where I live!"
"Shhh! It's alright!" Erica crooned, pulling Sarah closer and holding her tight. "We'll take care of him if he comes again. In fact, I bet Vash would be willing to play guard cat!" she said with a wicked grin.
Just then there was a noise in the living room. Sarah cringed, but Erica held her a moment longer and then went to investigate, the board back in her hands. She was gone only a moment before she called back, "It's okay, it's just Jill!"
Sarah came out and peeked around the corner cautiously and found Jill and Erica surveying the damage to the living room. "Jill?" she said, her gaze darting about as if to find some threat lurking in the mess.
"Sarah!" Jill exclaimed, rushing over to hug her. "Are you okay, I was reaching out to see if you were home and felt your fear."
"I'm okay. I think John did this, though." Sarah replied, hugging Jill back gratefully.
"That creep!" Jill growled, startling Sarah. "Sorry, but he's a real slime ball!"
Erica nodded, "Yeah, he is. But he's bitten off more than he can chew here! I was thinking maybe you could convince Vash to guard Sarah's apartment in case he comes back."
Vash chose that moment to become visible where he was riding on Jill's shoulder. I would be glad to! If he comes here again, do you wish him to leave alive and sane? he asked Sarah with a vicious mental grin.
Jill looked startled by his response, but Sarah was even more so. "No! Don't kill him or drive him insane!" she exclaimed.
*Sigh* This is one thing I liked about humans in my previous master's world, they knew how to deal with their enemies! Vash grumbled.
"I think I'm inclined to agree with you, Vash." Erica replied.
Vash nearly fell off of Jill's shoulder when Erica replied to his thoughts like that, and Jill looked about ready to take a fall herself. "How did you hear that?!" she said.
Erica grinned and pointed at Sarah. "She relayed it to me."
Jill's incredulous stare switched to Sarah. "I think it's that bond you talked about before." Sarah explained.
"Oh, I guess a spiritual bond can get around the defenses of a Null." Jill said, a bit stunned at this revelation.
Ah, a soul bond! That explains it. The mere fact it exists is proof that it is neither magical or psionic, so it is no surprise that this ability has manifested. Vash said.
"So what do we do now?" Sarah asked, looking around at the mess.
"We help you clean up of course!" Jill replied. "I'll tell Mike to get over here and we'll have things cleaned up in no time."
Mike arrived shortly thereafter and they started bagging up smaller debris. "There's no way I can afford to replace all this stuff." Sarah said sadly when they got down to the furniture. Even the TV was smashed; cleaning up the glass from it had been one of their first jobs.
"Hey, I just had an idea! We can replace everything for free, and dispose of the old stuff at the same time!" Erica said excitedly.
"How?" Jill asked.
"The empty world! It's just like this world, though a couple of years behind. The only difference is there's nothing alive there. We can go to a furniture store and cart out whatever we want! While we're at it we can do some other shopping, too." Erica explained.
"Other shopping?" Mike said worriedly.
Erica nodded, "Sure, Sarah still needs more clothes and stuff. And maybe we'll find some other stuff we like while we're there."
"I…guess that could work." Jill said hesitantly.
"It's not like we're stealing, there's nobody there to steal from. What do you say Sarah?" Erica said.
Sarah nodded, "Okay, let's do it! But first, we should get something to eat." Jill helped Sarah whip up a quick meal while Mike and Erica sorted out the few things from the living room that were salvageable and moved them aside. After cleaning up Sarah opened the portal. "Where should we dump my old stuff?"
"We could dump it in the front of the shop where we stored our stuff. That way if someone comes along they'll think there's nothing there of interest." Jill suggested.
Erica rolled her eyes, "Jill, there's nobody here to steal our stuff! That's totally unnecessary."
Jill shrugged, "I know, but it would make me feel better about it. And that area's empty anyway."
Erica sighed and nodded, "Sure, why not?" Sarah reopened the portal from within the store and Mike went through to pick up the first pieces. "Hey, Sarah, can you use your portals to move this stuff like you did the treasure in the tomb?" Erica asked.
Sarah frowned thoughtfully, "I don't know. I've never tried to link two portals in different worlds before. I'll try." With that she opened a portal in the ceiling off to one side of the store and then looked through the portal Mike had gone through and opened another under the remains of the entertainment center. With a crash the whole pile fell through the portals.
Mike came back through the portal empty handed. "I guess you don't need my help after all." he said ruefully.
"Sure we will!" Jill replied with a smile. "We can't use the same trick to move the new stuff or it would get broken. We'll need you to push it through the portal."
Before long all the broken furniture was piled up in the empty storefront and they headed out to find a furniture store. They came to a clothing store first, so they went in and started looking around. Sarah wasn't the only one to get some new clothes, though she got the most by far.
"Okay Mike, time to earn your keep." Jill said, holding out her bags to him. They'd found bags at the registers to carry everything in. He grumbled, but when Sarah opened a portal to his apartment he was grinning as he stepped through and deposited his and Jill's bags.
"Where do you want yours?" Mike asked when he got back, holding his hands out for Sarah and Erica's bags.
"Just put mine with my luggage and Sarah's on her bed. If there are any clothes on the bed just toss them on the floor, we'll have to go through them all to make sure they weren't damaged, and then wash them anyway." Erica suggested. Mike looked to Sarah, who nodded, and stepped through the portal she opened to her bedroom.
When he returned they continued looking for a furniture store. After four more stops at clothing and shoe stores they finally came across a furniture store. What they had was much nicer than the used stuff Sarah had before and she ended up replacing all the furniture in her apartment, even what wasn't destroyed. Mike and Jill followed suit and replaced most of their own furniture. Vash was very pleased with the couch and love seat Jill picked out and claimed the love seat for his own. He graciously agreed to let Jill use it once in a while.
The hardest part of the whole trip, besides actually moving the furniture, was finding the right stuff in the storage area of the store once they'd picked what they wanted. Most of it that was out for display had seen some use before the planet died, and it was also covered in a layer of dust. They were all exhausted by the time they got all their new acquisitions home and didn't even finish taking out the old furniture before calling it a night.
Erica and Sarah woke late the next morning and only had time to shower and dress before they had to leave to get Sarah to work. "We never did say what we're going to do about John last night." Sarah said on the drive over.
"Not much we can do, yet. We don't even know for sure it's him, though I think it is. Vash will protect your apartment, and I'll protect you. Beyond that there isn't much we can do." Erica replied.
"Erica, I don't want you getting hurt trying to protect me!" Sarah protested.
In answer Erica pushed her sleeve up to reveal she was wearing the bracers. "I'm safer than you think. And unlike you, I'm armed." she said.
"You took your weapons back with you last night?" Sarah said.
"Some of them. While I was out yesterday I bought some regular bullets, since those explosive ones are useless in tight spaces. Fortunately they're regular 9mm, not some weird size that we don't use in our world, or we'd have to go back even for those. Since I already had the bullets, I took the gun and dagger out, along with the bracers." Erica replied.
"Erica, you could get in a lot of trouble if anyone catches you carrying those around!" Sarah said worriedly.
"I know, but it's only until this business with John is resolved. Then I'll put them back." Erica replied.
Sarah was about to protest, but they'd just arrived and Tiffany was waiting for her. "Just be careful, okay?" Sarah asked.
Erica leaned over and kissed her before replying, "I will, but that's supposed to be my line!"
Sarah laughed, "Okay, I'll be careful too." She got out and waved as Erica drove away.
"Hi Sarah, how are you?" Tiffany said cheerfully.
"I'm okay Tiffany." Sarah replied, then looked closer at Tiffany. "I guess you're not a natural blonde, huh?"
Tiffany put her hand to her hair self consciously and said, "Uh, yeah." There was an awkward silence as they walked into the store. Tiffany finally broke it as they were clocking in. "So are you enjoying having your girlfriend back for a while, as if I have to ask!" she said with a knowing grin.
Sarah blushed and nodded, "Yeah, it's great. Unfortunately, she'll have to go back on Sunday. I wish she could stay, but she still has another semester to go." Sarah kept looking all around as they went to work, half expecting John to show up.
"Uh, Sarah, is something wrong?" Tiffany asked at lunch, as Sarah was still distracted and wasn't saying much.
Sarah sighed and said, "Yeah, someone broke into my apartment while I was at work yesterday. I think it was John."
Tiffany's eyes widened in shock and she nearly shouted as she said, "What?! That slime ball! Are you alright?" this last said in a much softer, concerned tone.
Sarah recoiled a little at Tiffany's reaction. "Uh, yeah, I'm okay. I had to replace most of my furniture, though. He trashed everything in the living room. We spent all night cleaning up and getting new furniture in." Sarah replied, carefully wording her reply so as to sound like she'd simply bought the furniture.
"Wow, that must have been expensive! Are you alright for money, I could help if you want." Tiffany said.
"Uh, no thanks, I got a really good deal." Sarah replied thinking, A very good deal!
"Did you call the police?" Tiffany asked.
"You know what, I never even thought about it? I was so shocked to come home and find that, and worried about John knowing where I live, that I didn't even think about it. Then we got busy cleaning everything up and replacing all the broken stuff, it just never occurred to me. I guess all the evidence is gone, now, so there's little point." Sarah replied, feeling rather foolish.
"Yeah, I guess. But if it happens again, call the police, okay?" Tiffany said worriedly.
"Okay." Sarah agreed. They had to get back to work after that. Throughout the rest of the day Tiffany kept asking questions about the damage, and seemed very concerned about it, almost apologetic. You'd think she felt responsible, the way she's acting. Sarah thought at one point.
Finally the work day was over and Tiffany and Sarah said goodbye in the store as Tiffany was going to stay a little longer. Erica was waiting at the door and didn't notice her at first, as she was looking around the parking lot. "Oh, hi Sarah! How was your day?" Erica asked.
"Fine, but what were you watching?" Sarah asked curiously.
"I was just watching to make sure John wasn't around." Erica replied.
"Don't get too paranoid on me." Sarah said with a laugh.
"It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you!" Erica replied, and they both laughed. Erica told Sarah about her day on the way back to Sarah's apartment. Jen wasn't available still, but she'd spent most of the day with Lisa and Karen. "We've arranged to get all three of us together tomorrow, but that's probably the only chance I'll have to see Jen while I'm here." Erica said as they pulled up at the apartment.
Sarah started to get out of the car, but Erica put a hand on her arm to stop her. "Let me check it out first." she said. Sarah rolled her eyes but stayed put. Erica approached the door with her hand in her purse. The door was fine, they'd managed to fix it when they were cleaning up, and she tried the lock. It was locked, so Erica unlocked it and went inside. Once she was satisfied that no one had been in there, she returned to Sarah.
"Can I go in now?" Sarah asked. Erica nodded and they went inside.
Don't trust me? Vash asked as he became visible, lounging on the new couch.
"Sorry Vash, but I'm not taking any chances with Sarah." Erica replied apologetically.
That's alright, I understand. It's nice being able to talk to you a little more directly now. Vash said.
"Yeah, I was getting really tired of being left out of the loop." Erica agreed.
"I felt the same way sometimes when Jill first started talking to Mike like that." Sarah said.
"Why don't you let Jill and Mike know we're back so we can finish what we started?" Erica said to Vash.
"I'll get dinner started." Sarah volunteered. By the time Jill and Mike arrived Sarah already had dinner in hand and was able to help by opening portals to get rid of the old furniture and move around the new.
"You could make a good living as a mover Sarah!" Mike said when they finished Sarah's apartment.
Sarah laughed and said, "So could you! In your invisible giant form you could pick up whole houses and move them around!"
"Yeah, I guess I could. Though they'd probably fall apart if they weren't reinforced for it." Mike agreed.
"Looks like dinner's ready, lets eat and then we can go over to your apartment and finish there." Sarah said. They sat and ate and they all helped clean up afterwards. Then they went to Mike and Jill's apartment and finished getting the old furniture out and the new furniture sorted where they wanted it.
When they were done they all collapsed on the new couch and love seat, totally exhausted. "That's two days we've lost because of that creep!" Erica grumbled.
"At least we got some new furniture out of it." Jill said.
"And clothes, I'll have to box up all my male clothes to make room for them all!" Sarah said.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready for bed." Erica said, groaning as she stood up and stretched.
Sarah yawned and Erica helped her up. "Yeah, I'm pretty tired too. I guess we'll go now." Sarah said.
Mike started snoring, and they all laughed. "I guess I'd better get this lug to bed, too. Good night!" Jill said. Sarah and Erica said goodnight and Sarah opened a portal back to her bedroom. They shed their clothes and crawled under the covers and were soon cuddled up, fast asleep.
Despite the prior night's exertions Sarah woke early. She lay there gazing lovingly at Erica. I could just eat her up, but I don't want to wake her! How did I ever get so lucky… she thought, but was interrupted mid-thought.
Don't even start putting yourself down again! I'm the lucky one here, if anybody! You're the most lovely, wonderful person I've ever met! Erica thought emphatically.
I'm nothing special! Sarah protested. In fact, I'm a freak! She was about to go on, but Erica interrupted her again.
Don't you EVER call yourself a freak! You are not a freak! You're a wonderful, loving person. Don't ever call yourself a freak again! Erica replied angrily. She didn't realize until she'd finished that Sarah was cowering away from her and had nearly fallen off of the bed.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me! she kept thinking over and over again, her eyes shut tight as if she expected a blow at any moment. Erica tried to hold her, but she pulled away even more and this time did fall off the bed, taking most of the covers with her. Please don't hurt me, I didn't mean it! she practically screamed in Erica's mind. With that thought came an image that took Erica's breath away and made her blood boil.
Sarah! Sarah! It's me, Erica! Calm down, please! Erica thought to her frantically. She didn't dare get any closer to her lest she hurt herself trying to get away. Your mother's not here, Sarah, please calm down!
Erica continued to try and calm Sarah down, but nothing was working. She was about ready to call 911 when Jill suddenly burst into the room. "Who's attacking Sarah?!" she yelled, with Mike coming in right behind her.
"Nobody! I somehow triggered a memory of something her mother did to her a long time ago and I can't snap her out of it!" Erica cried out, slumping to the floor at the foot of the bed.
"Her mother?! But I thought…" Jill started to say, then cut herself off and ran over to Sarah.
"Wait! She'll just try to get away from you, don't scare her more!" Erica exclaimed, reaching out to grab Jill's leg but missing.
"I won't scare her; you're the one who triggered the memory." Jill replied, but Sarah did recoil from her and she retreated before Sarah could become any more hysterical.
"If it's a memory of her mother that's doing this, maybe I can help." Mike offered. He stepped forward, but Jill grabbed his arm to stop him.
"NO! That's the worst thing you could do right now! Vash! Can you do anything?" Jill said.
Already working on it. was his reply. He became visible and approached Sarah, but got the same response. So he became invisible again.
Sarah suddenly grabbed him where he'd been rubbing up against her and clutched him to her chest. Ack! he squeaked, but soon she was crying into his fur and stroking his feathers absently.
Sarah finally began to calm down when Vash started purring and kept muttering, "Jaime" over and over again.
"Damn!" Mike exclaimed when he finally made out what she was saying.
"What?" Jill asked when he didn't say anything else.
"Sarah has a teddy bear named Jaime! I remember her mother complaining that she should get rid of it, that she was too old for stuffed animals. She always blew it off as just a memento of her childhood or something, as she just kept it up on a shelf in her room and never took it down." Mike said, never taking his eyes off of Sarah.
She is dealing with the pain of the memory the same way she did then. What set her off? Vash asked. Jill had to ask Erica, as Sarah was in no shape to relay the message.
"I don't know! She was putting herself down and I told her not to call herself a freak, and she just totally lost it!" Erica sobbed, unconsciously reaching out towards Sarah from where she was lying on the floor.
That doesn't help. Her shields are as tight as ever, I can't get anything else out of her. I don't even know what memory this is, it's not one I've seen any sign of before. Vash said in frustration.
Jill knelt down and drew Erica up against her in a gentle hug. "It's alright Erica; it's not your fault." she said. Erica tensed at first, and then turned and sobbed on her shoulder.
"Damn, what happened?!" Mike growled in frustration. He looked helplessly at Sarah and Erica. Is there anything I can do? he thought.
Just be here and keep your anger and frustration in check. That's all you can do for now. Vash said sadly.
Eventually Sarah fell asleep, Vash still held tightly to her chest. "Erica, can you tell us how you knew it was a memory of her mother that did this?" Jill asked when she'd managed to calm her.
"The bond." Erica said with a sniff as she wiped the tears from her face. "We were talking through the bond when it happened and I got this image before she shut me out."
"What image?" Jill asked patiently.
"I think it was in Sarah's old bedroom at her parents' house, when she was twelve or thirteen. Her mother was furious about something, totally out of control. She was holding Sarah up by her throat against the wall and seemed like she was really going to choke the life out of her. That's all I saw." Erica said, more tears streaming unheeded down her face.
Jill sat back in shock. "I had no idea…" she said softly.
"Neither did I! She never said anything bad about her mother! In fact she always had good things to say. Although…" Mike trailed off, frowning in thought.
"What?" Jill asked.
"Well, it was around that age that she stopped really talking about her parents at all. She'd never gotten along with her father, though she never actually said anything bad about him. But she was always saying good things about her mother. Then she just stopped. She didn't talk about them at all from then on." Mike said.
"Why didn't she ever talk about this with any of us? We would have understood why she didn't want to see her parents if she had." Jill said.
She didn't know. Vash said.
"What do you mean, she didn't know?! How could she not know?!" Jill replied.
She repressed the memory. She does not consciously know it ever happened. She stopped talking about her because she couldn't let herself think about her lest the memory resurface. That's why the memory's are so hard to find. Whatever Erica said must have been very similar to whatever her mother said to trigger the memory. Vash said.
Jill and Mike looked at Erica and she said, "Don't look at me! I just told her to never call herself a freak! I wasn't going to hurt her!"
Jill sighed, "This isn't getting us anywhere. Mike, would you put Sarah on her bed? Be careful of Vash." Mike carefully picked up Sarah and laid her on the bed, then pulled the blankets off the floor and covered her with them, making sure not to completely cover Vash.
I suggest the three of you leave the room until I call for you. There is no telling what state of mind she'll be in when she wakes. Vash said.
"Okay. Come on Erica, we'll let Sarah sleep for a while." Jill said.
Erica grabbed her robe on the way out and threw it on before plopping herself down on the oversized couch. "I wanted to protect her from John, but it was me I should have been protecting her from." she said after Jill and Mike sat down on either side of her.
"Hey, you had no way of knowing this could happen, none of us did! You didn't do anything wrong!" Mike said firmly. Jill pulled her into another hug.
"That's right. Even Sarah couldn't have predicted this, she'd buried that memory way too deep for that. I just wish I knew exactly what happened." Jill said.
"Yeah, what could have made Sarah's mom act like that?" Mike wondered.
"It's not Sarah's fault!" Erica growled.
"Whoa, I didn't mean it like that!" Mike said. "I just meant that I wonder what was going on that she reacted so badly to. Did Sarah accidentally break something that was really valuable to her or something? I can't imagine what it could be, but something must have happened."
"Is there any history of mental illness is Sarah's family?" Jill asked.
"Not that I know of." Mike replied.
"Sarah is not crazy!" Erica said angrily.
"Erica, calm down! I was referring to her mother." Jill said.
"Oh. Yeah, she must have been off her rocker to attack her own child like that." Erica agreed sheepishly.
Jill sighed wearily, "Well, there's no use worrying about it now. We won't be able to get any answers until Sarah wakes up, and maybe not for a while after that. I'd better call in sick for her."
"Erica, why don't you lie down for a bit?" Mike suggested. Jill had already gotten up to get the phone, so Erica shrugged and laid down. Mike got a blanket and draped it over her and then joined Jill at the kitchen table. When she got off the phone he said, "This is really bad, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is. I get the feeling this isn't the only memory she's repressed like that. They could all come pouring out now, and she's going to need all our help to deal with it. That's bad enough, but with her powers she could do a lot of damage if she loses control." Jill said sadly.
Mike winced, "Ouch, I hadn't thought about that angle. What about Erica? She's not doing too well, either."
Jill nodded, "I'm not surprised. This all happened while they were having a conversation over their bond. I don't know how it works for them, but it is probably a lot like it happened to Erica, too. Her concern for Sarah distracted her from it, or she might have been in as bad of shape as Sarah is. I'm afraid this is going to be very hard on Erica, too."
Mike checked in on Erica; she was sound asleep. When he returned to Jill he said, "I feel so helpless! I wish there was something I could do."
Jill hugged him and said, "I know it's hard, but there's not much either of us can do right now. Maybe you should go ahead and go to work. I'll watch them until you get back. I doubt much of anything will happen before then."
"Are you sure? What if John comes again?" Mike protested.
"Mike, if John comes again right now I'm likely to fry his brain! I'd be more worried about him than me!" Jill replied.
"Fry his brain?! You can do that?" Mike said, wide eyed.
"Vash said I could. I think I know how it works, and with John I would be highly motivated! It's not something I really want to ever do, but I don't know if I could stun him without killing him at this point." Jill said.
"Wow! I guess you can take care of yourself! I'd still feel bad leaving you alone with this, though." Mike said.
Jill gave him another hug and then said, "Go on, get out of here! I'll be fine. Vash is still here, after all, and Erica will probably be able to help as well."
Reluctantly, Mike went to work. Jill moved to the recliner and relaxed. Before long she was asleep as well.
Jill awoke to an insistent whispering sound. As she struggled back to consciousness she realized it was Vash. You'd better wake Erica and get in here, Sarah is awake and acting strangely. he said.
Strangely how? Jill asked as she dragged herself out of the chair.
She's acting like nothing happened. I think she repressed this memory along with the old one. Vash replied.
Great! Jill thought sarcastically. Alright, I'll be right there. She shook Erica awake and they walked into Sarah's bedroom to find her getting dressed.
"I told you Vash, I'm fine! What's gotten into you?" she was saying as they entered.
"Sarah?" Erica said hesitantly, pausing at the door.
"Hey Erica, what's wrong?" Sarah asked.
"Sarah!" Erica cried, running across the room and throwing herself into Sarah's arms. "I'msosorrypleaseforgiveme!" she said breathlessly.
Sarah looked stunned at first, and then confused and concerned. "Erica! Calm down! You haven't done anything you need my forgiveness for!" she said. It took her several minutes to calm Erica enough for her to be able to speak clearly.
"I'm sorry I got angry with you, and I'm sorry I triggered that horrible memory of your mother!" Erica finally said, tears still streaming down her face.
A strange look passed over Sarah's face at the mention of her memory of her mother, but only briefly. "What are you talking about?! I don't have any horrible memories of my mother!" she exclaimed.
It was Erica's turn to look confused as she said, "Yes you do! I saw it! Your mother tried to strangle you!"
That look crossed Sarah's face again, staying a bit longer before she shook it off. "You must have been dreaming Erica. Now get dressed, I need you to drive me to work." she said.
"No you don't." Jill said, startling Sarah who hadn't realized she was there. "I called in sick for you."
Sarah groaned and rolled her eyes, "Not you, too! I'm fine! Erica just had a bad dream! Now how am I going to explain this?"
"You're staying home today, there's nothing to explain." Jill said.
"What is with you guys this morning?!" Sarah exclaimed.
"It's not morning anymore." Erica said softly, pointing at Sarah's alarm clock, "It's almost noon already."
"What? How did I sleep in that long?" Sarah said.
"You didn't. You woke up and then passed out after you freaked out." Jill said.
"Don't you think I'd remember all of this? It was just a dream!" Sarah said.
"If it was just a dream, why did I see it?" Jill asked.
Sarah shrugged uncertainly, "I guess I was dreaming, then. It's no big deal."
"You weren't dreaming!" Erica exclaimed tearfully.
"I get it; we must have shared the dream through our bond! No wonder you're so upset!" Sarah said, pulling Erica back into her arms.
"Could…could I really have been dreaming?" Erica asked in confusion.
"You're confusing her! You were both awake, it wasn't a dream!" Jill said.
This isn't working. Let me. Vash said to Jill.
"You're the one confusing her Jill!" Sarah said angrily.
Maybe you should change the subject, they're not going to let it go if you keep arguing. Vash said to Sarah.
At least someone around here is talking sense! Alright, I'll give it a shot. Sarah replied. "Well, if I'm not working today, maybe I'll make another try at changing back. There are a couple of stories I've looked at recently that are pretty promising." Sarah said.
Let her change the subject, we'll try again later. Vash suggested to Jill.
"I thought we were going to wait and rely on the Magician's Answer." Jill said, confused.
Sarah shrugged, "We tried that, but it isn't working. And what kind of answer was it, really? He was probably just trying to get me to accept being a girl because he didn't know how to change me back. So I'll find someone who does."
"I thought you'd tried all kinds of things, and they didn't work." Erica said. She was thoroughly confused and burrowed deeper into Sarah's arms.
"We did, but that doesn't mean a solution doesn't exist. Maybe I'll even try Venus again." Sarah replied.
Total silence descended on the room as Jill and Erica stared at Sarah in shock. "Venus?! You've always been adamant about staying away from gods!" Jill said.
"That's why we failed. I'm sorry I was such a pain about that, but I'm willing to give it a try now. Will you help me find another copy of the book we used? I think that's the best place to start." Sarah said.
"Uh, we already got one." Jill said uncertainly.
"Really? Great! Then we can go as soon as Mike gets back." Sarah said cheerfully.
"I guess." Jill agreed reluctantly.
"In the meantime I'll make something for lunch. Any preferences?" Sarah asked. Erica shook her head against Sarah's chest and Jill shrugged. "Okay, I'll pick something. Why don't you lie down for a bit Erica, you look pretty worn out."
"Uh, yeah, maybe I will." Erica said. She looked at Vash and Jill, shrugged, let her robe drop off and crawled into bed. Vash flew off of the bed onto Sarah's shoulder.
"Why don’t I help you." Jill suggested. Sarah shrugged and they went to make lunch.
I have an idea, but it will require Erica's help. Letting her sleep will help, as she'll need to be clear headed for this. Vash told Jill.
I'm glad you've got an idea; I have no idea how to deal with this. If I could access that memory I could show it to her, but it's like it doesn't exist. Jill replied.
She has excellent mental shields, but they do not protect all of her mind equally. Her repressed memories are within the most heavily shielded part. I doubt you could ever pierce those shields without destroying her mind, if at all. Vash said.
That's why I find her so hard to read, she's shielded? But I thought she didn't have any telepathic abilities. Jill thought.
Part of her shielding is simply her intense desire to keep certain things hidden. That would have been enough to keep you out at first. I suspect she may have developed telepathic abilities after being exposed to them through us, but they were channeled into her existing shields. She may be able to learn to use them as you do eventually. Vash replied.
How many powers does she have?! Jill said.
I don't think it's a matter of having many powers, but one very strong one. She is…strange. My former master saw something in her, but I think he misinterpreted it. If I did not know better I would suspect she was an immortal, or even a god. Vash said.
She's that powerful?! But if she's that powerful then Venus shouldn't be a threat to her, right? Jill asked.
I said if I didn't know better. Gods are different. If she were one I would be able to tell. She's something else, something I've never seen before. I have no idea how her power works. Vash replied.
Okay, so what's your idea? Jill asked.
You'll need to mesh your own mind into Sarah's as deeply as you can without being detected. Once you've done that, Erica will send the image she got from Sarah back to her. This will accomplish two things. One, you will see the image and be able to paint it, which will help to make it real for Sarah. Two, it may force Sarah to face that memory then and there. I suspect she will fight it, as there is a lot of pain associated with that memory, but it's a possibility. If not, then we'll still have the option of your painting. Vash replied.
You're going to have to help me with that one. Jill said to Vash as she helped Sarah prepare their lunch.
I'll walk you through it. Vash agreed.
Sarah and Jill worked in tense silence. Half an hour later Sarah carried a tray in to Erica while Jill sat in the kitchen. "Are you awake?" Sarah asked softly.
Erica rolled over to face Sarah. "Yeah, I just woke up. How long was I asleep?" she asked.
"Not that long, about half an hour. You look rested, though. Hungry?" Sarah said.
Erica nodded and they sat and ate on the bed. "Are you really serious, about going to see Venus?" Erica asked when she'd finished hers.
Sarah nodded, "Yeah, I am. Once Mike gets here we can go. Maybe I'll end this curse today, wouldn't that be nice?"
Erica nodded doubtfully, "Yeah, that would be nice." She looked closely at Sarah and saw a tightness around her eyes she hadn't seen before. She's really stressed! she thought. Wait a minute; I can't feel her mind anymore! She's cut me off! What does that mean? Erica did her best to keep her panic from her face. Once Sarah had left with the tray she got dressed and went looking for Jill.
Jill was also looking for Erica, so they met at the door to Sarah's bedroom. "Jill, I can't feel Sarah's mind anymore! Does that mean the bond is broken?" Erica asked, barely managing to keep her panic stricken voice from being heard in the kitchen where Sarah was cleaning the dishes.
"Shhh! She bulked up her shields because she doesn't want to deal with the pain of that memory. I'm sure your bond is fine. Vash has a plan that should help. It uses the bond, so that will prove it's still there, okay?" Jill said softly, trying with her voice and manner to calm Erica. She couldn't wait for Mike to get back; she was fraying at the edges dealing with Sarah's denial and Erica falling apart. Which was something she never expected to see.
"Okay." Erica replied hopefully. They all sat and watched TV after that. They were each waiting for Mike eagerly, hoping that his arrival would herald a solution to the current dilemma. Although the dilemma was different for each of them.
When Mike arrived he knocked and Sarah let him in. "Hey Mike, glad to see you! Want to visit Venus?" Sarah said in greeting.
Mike's mouth opened and closed again a few times before he found his voice. "You really want to visit Venus?!" he asked incredulously. While Sarah explained her reasoning to Mike, Jill used the distraction to follow Vash's instructions and mesh her mind with Sarah's. Once she was as deeply entrenched as she could manage she nodded to Erica.
"…we can get this solved…" Sarah was saying when Erica sent the image back to her. She couldn't tell if the link was even there, but she focused on it as strongly as she could. "AHHHH!!!" Sarah screamed, falling to the floor. Erica rushed over, but Sarah was unconscious.
"See, the bond is still there." Jill said weakly, holding her aching head in her hands.
"What just happened?! Are you alright Jill?" Mike asked, confused. His confusion was forgotten when he saw that Jill's nose was bleeding.
"I'm alright, just a little nosebleed and headache." Jill replied. "Sarah's hurting a lot more right now. Would you carry her back to bed? She'll probably sleep for a while again."
"Sure, I'll be right back." Mike said and picked up Sarah. Erica followed him into Sarah's bedroom and lay down next to her, crying and nearly hysterical.
"What was that all about?" Mike asked when he returned to the living room. Jill was holding her nose and leaning forward to get the bleeding to stop.
"Vash's idea. We fed that image that Erica got from Sarah right back to her. No telling what the effect will be, other than her fainting of course. Vash helped me get into Sarah's head before Erica sent the image, so now I'll paint it. If Sarah still tries to deny it ever happened, we'll show her the painting and maybe she'll finally accept it." Jill replied.
"Is that why it hurt you, because you were linked up with Sarah when it happened?" Mike asked.
Jill nodded, and then winced when it made her headache worse, "Yeah, it wasn't fun. Come on; help me get back to my studio so I can get started on that painting. Vash will stay here and keep an eye on those two."
"Jill, maybe you should rest there for a while." Mike said worriedly.
"Mike, we may need this painting, and it will take me some time to paint it. I need to get started right away!" Jill said.
Mike looked thoughtfully at Jill for a while and then nodded, "Okay." With that he went over and opened the door, and then walked back and picked Jill up.
"Hey, what are you doing?" she complained.
"I'm helping you get back to your studio. You're worn out from whatever you did, so I'll do all the work." Mike replied. Jill grumbled all the way to their apartment, but got right to work once she was back in her studio. Mike took a seat nearby so he could keep an eye on her. Jill insisted he sit where he couldn't see what she was doing, as always.
A few hours later Mike stepped out for a few minutes, but soon returned. Jill was oblivious. She didn't even react half an hour later when there was a pounding on the door. Mike hurried out and returned a few minutes later. "Come on Jill, time to take a break." he said. Jill either didn't hear him or ignored him and continued working. "Jill, it's time to take a break and eat!" he said loudly.
"Huh?" Jill said, finally shifting her focus away from her work.
"Wash up, we're having pizza. Vash is bringing Sarah and Erica." Mike replied.
Jill blinked a few times before saying, "Is Sarah ready to be out already? I'd have thought she'd sleep for a while."
Mike grinned and said, "It's been about five hours Jill."
"Really? Okay, just a minute." Jill said. For once he didn't have to call her again, as she immediately washed up her brushes and went to the bathroom and washed her hands.
As they arrived in the kitchen Sarah and Erica were just coming through a portal with Vash riding on Sarah's shoulder. Sarah was looking a little glassy-eyed, but Erica seemed a little more like herself. "How are you two doing?" Jill asked when she saw them.
"Fine." Sarah replied in a flat voice. Erica winced, and then shrugged at Jill when she looked her way.
For the first time in any of their experience, Sarah just picked at her pizza and didn't even finish a single slice. Erica stayed close to her the whole time and tried to feed her, which is the only reason she even ate that much. Jill thought it would be really cute, if not for how depressed Sarah looked.
How's Sarah doing? Jill asked Vash.
Better and worse. She's still blocking things out, but she's obviously having trouble with that. I think another shock to the system will do the trick, so we'll still need that painting. How long do you think it will take to finish it? Vash said.
Not too long, I got quite a bit done. I may not be able to finish it tonight, though, I'm beat! That trick we pulled to get the image really took a lot out of me. Jill replied.
I'm sorry about that, I didn't realize it would be that hard on you. I don't think you need to be in too much of a hurry, we shouldn't spring it on Sarah until at least tomorrow anyway. She needs some time to recover. Vash said.
Good, then Jill's going to bed after dinner! Mike thought sternly.
Mike! I don't need you to baby me! Jill protested, wondering how he got into their conversation.
Sorry Jill, but I agree with Mike. That's why I included him in our conversation; I suspected you might get stubborn. Finish the painting tomorrow and rest today. Vash said.
Oh, alright! Jill replied petulantly. She could hear Mike and Vash chuckling in her mind but ignored them and watched Sarah. She reacted a little to Erica, but not at all to anybody or anything else. She looks worse than she did before the change! she thought.
Yeah. We can't leave her alone for a minute until she's better. Mike agreed.
I can't read her, of course, but I suspect that we should keep an equally close eye on Erica. She has been acting very differently than what I am used to, and I am sure that is a reflection of how much this has affected her. Vash said.
You're right. Jill and Mike agreed in unison, if there's one adjective we never expected to apply to Erica, it's fragile.
After dinner Mike carried Jill, over grumbled protests, to bed. Then he tried to help Erica to get Sarah to open up, but with no effect. After an hour of fruitless effort he sent Vash home with them and went to bed himself.
Sarah opened a portal when Erica asked her, and the three of them walked through into Sarah's bedroom. "Come on Sarah, let's get ready for bed." Erica said. Sarah's only response was to kick her shoes off and crawl into bed. "Aren't you going to get undressed Sarah?" she asked.
Sarah mumbled and rolled over to face the wall. Erica sighed and got ready for bed and crawled in next to her. Vash crawled in between them. Sarah and Erica both fell asleep to the sound of his purring.
In the morning Erica woke to find Sarah had already gotten up and left. She checked the apartment and then looked outside and saw that Sarah's car was gone. I hope she doesn't get pulled over, she still doesn't have a driver's license. Erica thought. After getting dressed and eating breakfast it occurred to her that she hadn't seen Vash anywhere. She walked over to Jill and Mike's and knocked.
"Hi Erica, where's Sarah?" Jill said when she opened the door.
"I think she went to work. At least, I hope she did." Erica said worriedly.
"Oh great!" Jill groaned. "Come in, I'll see if I can find her." Erica followed Jill inside and sat on the couch next to her. Jill closed her eyes for several minutes and then opened them. "Yes, she's at work. She's very angry at both of us."
Erica broke down in tears and wailed, "She hates me!"
Jill pulled her into a hug and let her cry on her shoulder. "She doesn't hate you, she's just angry. I'm sure she'll thank you eventually." Jill soothed.
Jill marveled at the change in Erica while she waited for her to recover. Erica had always been calm and driven, and even less likely to show emotion than Sarah had been.
"I'm surprised Vash didn't come with you." Jill said when Erica sat back and wiped the tears from her face.
"I couldn't find him anywhere. Do you think he'd go to work with Sarah?" Erica said.
"He couldn't stay invisible that long! Let me see if I can find him." Jill replied. She closed her eyes again and reached out for Vash. To her surprise she found him with Sarah. What are you doing?! she exclaimed once she'd found him.
Making sure Sarah doesn't do anything foolish. Vash replied.
What about you?! You'll be seen once your invisibility wears off! Jill said.
I hid in the rafters as soon as we got here. I haven't been invisible since. I don't need to be in sight of Sarah, just in range of someone who is. No one will see me. Vash said.
Alright, but be careful. How is Sarah? All I'm picking up is anger. Jill said.
I'll be careful. I think Mike is the only one she's not angry with right now. She's managed to convince herself that the image Erica showed her was false, but that conviction isn't very strong. Once we break that I think she'll finally allow herself to remember. Vash replied.
I hope so, I don't know how much longer any of us can handle this. Jill said.
Erica? Vash asked.
Yeah, she's not handling this very well. I never thought I'd see Erica like this, it's kind of scary. Jill replied.
Keep her in sight then, since you can't sense her. And finish the painting, if you can. Vash said.
Alright, I'll try. Jill said. "He's there. He's hiding in the rafters so he doesn't have to stay invisible." she said aloud to Erica.
"He'll keep an eye on Sarah, right?" Erica asked hopefully.
"That's why he's there. Come on, you can sit with me while I finish that painting." Jill suggested. Erica followed her meekly and sat in the same chair Mike sat in the day before. Jill managed to maintain enough awareness of her surroundings to know Erica was still there, but was otherwise engrossed in her work. By the time Mike returned home she was just putting the finishing touches on it.
"Hi Jill, Erica. How are you doing?" Mike asked as he stepped into the room. Erica nodded dully and Jill waved briefly without ever stopping. Mike shrugged and walked back to the living room to play tennis on the Wii. Forty minutes later Jill came out with Erica in tow.
"I'm all finished!" Jill announced proudly. "Want to take a look?"
Mike nodded and went back to look at the painting. Jill and Erica trailed behind and Jill watched the expression on Mike's face when he saw the painting. His look of curiosity shifted through shock to anger and then to sadness. "She's really been living with this in her head all this time?" he asked softly.
"'Fraid so." Jill agreed. "Vash says Sarah's pretty mad with all of us except you, so if we have to use this you might have to be the one to get her to look at it."
"Wonderful." Mike replied sarcastically. "Then we can have her be mad at all of us!"
"You'll do it, won't you?" Erica asked timidly. Mike was so surprised by her tone that it took him a few long seconds to process her question and nod.
"Of course! Where is Sarah, anyway? And Vash, for that matter." Mike finally said.
"She was gone when I woke up. Jill says she's at work and Vash is there to keep an eye on her." Erica replied.
"You found this out telepathically?" Mike asked Jill. She nodded. "I guess you're really getting good at this."
"I think everyone I know is in my range now." Jill agreed.
"Even your mom?" he asked incredulously. "Doesn't she live twenty miles away?"
"More like twenty five." Jill said. "My range has increased a lot."
"I guess so." Mike said. "Have you two eaten yet? Knowing how you are when you're working, I'm guessing not."
"No, we haven't eaten yet." Jill confirmed.
"Then let's get subs or something." Mike suggested. The others agreed and they went out for lunch. Nobody said much of note, they were all worrying about Sarah. When they got back Jill put a movie on and they settled down to watch. Erica only lasted thirty minutes or so before she fell asleep, curled up in a fetal position on the couch.
When the movie was over Mike glanced over and noticed Erica sleeping. "This has really taken a lot out of her, hasn't it? It's so weird, she's always been so confident and…invincible seeming." He said to Jill.
Jill nodded, "Yes, it really has been. I guess it shows how strong their bond is, that this is tearing Erica apart so much and she's still worrying more about Sarah than herself."
"All of this makes me want to tear something else apart!" Mike growled. It didn't take telepathy for Jill to understand what he meant.
"I know what you mean. If she were here right now I think I'd cheerfully fry her brain." Jill agreed grimly.
"What kind of mother could do something like that to their own child?! Is she really insane, or what?" Mike asked helplessly.
Jill shook her head sadly and said, "I don't know Mike. Unfortunately, the damage is done. We can't do anything about it now except get Sarah to face it."
"Wait a minute! Maybe there is something we could do! My second dragon form can travel through time!" Mike exclaimed excitedly.
"We don't even know when it happened, Mike." Jill pointed out. "And how would we keep you from being seen? A thirty foot dragon is rather conspicuous."
Mike seemed to deflate at that. "Yeah, I guess you're right. And then there's the paradox issue, isn't there? I just wish there was more I could do! I liked it better in high school when all I had to do was talk people out of fighting with her, or knock a few heads together if talking didn't work."
Jill smiled wanly, "Those were the days, huh? I suppose that situation was preferable to this one, but she already had this eating away at her back then."
"I guess you're right. I wonder how different Sarah would be if that never happened?" Mike wondered.
"We'll never know that, but we might have a chance of finding out how different she can be once she's faced it and gotten over it." Jill replied.
Mike sighed, "Well, that's something to look forward to, I guess. Still want to mangle her mother, though."
"Couldn't agree with you more." Jill agreed with a vicious grin.
When Erica woke up she insisted on going to see Sarah when she got off of work. Mike and Jill agreed, so Mike drove them all there. They waited by the door where Sarah usually came out. They were just about ready to go in and find out what was keeping her when Jill suddenly held her head in her hands and moaned in pain.
"Jill, what happened?" Mike asked worriedly.
"Vash!" Jill gasped out. "Something's happened to Vash. I got a glimpse of John, pain, and then nothing. We've got to find him!"
"Erica, are you armed?" Mike asked, a frightening intensity in his voice. Erica nodded weakly. "Okay, I want you to stay with Jill and protect her. I'll go see what's happened." he said, and ran off. Once he was around the corner and out of sight of everyone he shifted to wolf form. He checked each door at the back of the building and picked up Sarah and Vash's scent. Following the scent he soon came upon Vash, who was lying unconscious on the asphalt. There was some blood matter in his fur, but Mike could see that he was still breathing. He felt Jill following along in his mind and made sure she'd seen him, and then continued to follow Sarah's trail.
Her trail was soon joined by another, whom he assumed to be John. He followed their trail into the bushes at the back of the lot and stopped in surprise. Sarah was lying on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Her clothes were torn, but she looked unhurt otherwise. John was lying on top of her, his pants around his ankles, his shirt sticking to his back and soaked with blood. Sarah was trying to push him off of her, and Mike grabbed his ankle in his jaws and pulled him away. He shifted back to human form and threw his jacket over Sarah after retrieving his cell phone from its pocket. The 911 operator picked up just as Jill and Erica came into sight.
Jill was carrying Vash in her arms and was moving slowly like she was hurt. Erica took one look at Sarah and ran screaming to her side, tears pouring down her face. "Sarah, are you alright?!" she gasped out between sobs as she knelt at her side.
"What happened?" Jill asked when she finally caught up with them.
Mike shook his head in confusion, "I don't know! I found Vash unconscious, and then found John lying on top of Sarah. There's blood on his back, I don't even know if he's alive or not. Sarah doesn't seem to be hurt, but she's too upset to talk yet. Why are you moving like that?"
Jill shrugged, "I feel like I got beat to a pulp, even though I haven't. I guess it's Vash's injuries I'm feeling."
"Any idea who did that to him?" Mike asked.
"My guess would be John, but I don't know. Who did that to John, anyway?" Jill asked, looking at the blood soaking his and Sarah's clothes. He hadn't moved from where Mike moved him and she couldn't feel anything from his mind. Not that she wanted to.
"I have no idea. There wasn't anybody else here, and Sarah couldn't have done it. Whoever did it must have ran away right afterwards, I guess." Mike replied. "I've called the police, so I think you'd better take Vash home. I doubt he's going to be in any shape to go invisible any time soon. I'm sure he would appreciate some of that healing water."
Jill nodded and made her way back to the car. Mike knew better than to try and get Erica to leave, she was glued to Sarah's side for the duration. So he sat down on the curb and waited for the police. He didn't have to wait long, and an ambulance arrived soon after. Mike told the police everything he knew (leaving out Jill and Vash and his own transformation), and watched as they checked John. To Mike's surprise he was still alive, barely. The ambulance took him away and another soon arrived for Sarah. Erica went with Sarah and Mike told her he'd drive Sarah's car home and then bring Jill with him to the hospital.
Jill was in a lot better shape when he was finally able to return home with Sarah's car. She'd poured healing water over Vash's wounds and no longer felt any pain from him, though he was still unconscious. They couldn't bring him along to the hospital, so they left him on his favorite spot on the couch. A short while later they were at the hospital asking after Sarah.
A doctor told them she'd been sedated, but other than some scratches and bruises she was unhurt. They found her sleeping with an IV in her arm and Erica was sitting in a chair next to the bed with her head on her arms on the bed, also asleep. "Those two are doing entirely too much sleeping lately." Mike said, trying to lighten the mood a little.
Jill chuckled weakly, "Yeah. I hope this hasn't set Sarah back too far, though. At least John is out of the picture now."
"I certainly hope so! Sarah doesn't need a stalker to deal with, on top of everything else." Mike said.
Jill and Mike shared the only other chair in the room and waited for Sarah or Erica to wake. Unsurprisingly, it was Erica who woke first. "Mike, Jill? Is Vash okay?" she asked when she saw them sitting there.
Jill nodded, "Yeah, he's fine. He's sleeping now. What about Sarah?" she asked worriedly.
Erica shook her head sadly, "She's not good. She never stopped crying, and at one point she said something like, 'she said he'd do this'. I don't know what that means." Erica's face was stained with tears and her eyes were red, so they knew she wasn't feeling much better herself.
"I don't understand that either." Jill said.
"Me neither." Mike agreed. "When can she go home?"
"They want to keep her overnight, but she can probably go home in the morning." Erica replied.
"Well she's been sedated, so maybe you'd better come home with us." Jill suggested.
"You might as well, there's nothing any of us can do here right now." Mike said.
Erica nodded wearily and allowed them to guide her back to Mike's car. She insisted on sleeping in Sarah's bed, so they walked her there. She went straight to bed, so Mike and Jill left, making sure the door was locked on their way out. Neither felt much like eating, and just snacked on some chips in front of the TV. They sat in silence until the first commercial break. "Mike, he was going to rape her, wasn't he?" Jill finally said in a small voice.
Mike sighed, "Yeah, I think he was." He glanced at Jill and saw she was crying. He gathered her up in his arms and rocked her side to side. "It's okay; he was stopped before he could do anything. She'll be alright." he whispered soothingly to her. I hope.
I heard that. Jill thought to him.
Mike shrugged, "Sorry. We'll just have to make sure she is, I guess."
Jill snuggled closer into his arms and relaxed. "Yeah, I guess we will. I wonder who stopped John, though. Whoever it was, I'd love to thank them for it. Even if he does survive."
"I would, too. It's weird to think someone just came along, stabbed him, and then left again." Mike said.
"Maybe it was someone who John had hurt in the past. I'm sure he must have done something to someone else before this." Jill said.
Mike nodded thoughtfully, "Yes, that would make sense. If that's the case, it was probably either someone who works at the store, or someone was stalking John just like he was stalking Sarah."
"I think it was someone who works there. Even if they weren't hurt by John before, they might have done it to protect Sarah. She gets along with her coworkers a lot better than she used to." Jill said.
"Probably. Whoever it was, I hope they get away with it." Mike said.
"So do I. I never thought I'd say something like that, but I do hope so." Jill said guiltily.
"Don't feel bad about it. John got away with a lot of abuse before this, and was trying to do something much worse. And he'll probably survive, anyway." Mike said.
They sat in silence for a while after that, and then went to bed. Neither slept well, worrying as they were about their friends. Vash joined them in the middle of the night and helped them to sleep better.
Jill woke early and dressed, and then went to see if Erica was awake yet. She was, and already itching to go see Sarah. Jill managed to convince her to eat breakfast first, so the two of them went back to Jill's apartment and started cooking. Vash woke soon after and followed his nose into the kitchen.
Mmm, smells good! I hope you made enough for me? Vash said, looking pleadingly up at Jill and Erica with his eyes as wide as they would go (which was unnaturally wide, in his case).
"Whoa, put those away, they should be qualified as a lethal weapon!" Jill said, laughing. "Cats, or cat-like creatures, shouldn't be able to do puppy dog eyes better than puppies do!"
Vash grinned and turned back to the bedroom to wake Mike, his head and tail held high. Erica and Jill laughed at his antics and got back to work. Vash was back quickly and settled on a chair at the table and watched them, his tail waving back and forth. Mike arrived, showered and dressed, just before they finished.
"Good morning." he said as he took a seat next to Vash.
"Good morning Mike, we're just about done." Jill said with a quick smile for Mike. They were soon absorbed in their meal, though Jill and Mike were still talking via Vash.
Are you okay Vash? Mike asked.
I'm fine. I'm sorry I failed to protect Sarah, but I gather from your thoughts that someone else took care of John. Vash replied.
Yeah, we don't know who, but we figured it was someone else who was hurt by John. Maybe someone who works with Sarah. What I'm even more curious about, though, is how he got the drop on you. Mike said.
He didn't. When I sensed him I warned Sarah, but when she turned and saw him there she froze. He was ranting insanely and promising to do all kinds of horrible things to her. I hit him with a few kinetic blasts, but he shrugged them off and kept coming. I was preparing another when he spun around and kicked, aiming at Sarah's head. Unfortunately for me, I was on her shoulder at the time. He caught me in the head instead, and I was thrown clear of Sarah and hit the ground hard. The next thing I knew was waking up here. Vash explained.
I'm just glad you're both alright. Although I'm not sure how much this is going to set things back with our plans regarding Sarah's repressed memory. Jill said.
I don't know, I haven't been near Sarah since I was knocked out. How is Erica? Vash asked, somewhat frustrated at his inability to sense Erica's thoughts or emotions.
She was pretty out of it yesterday, but she seems better now. Jill replied.
Hopefully she'll be able to handle the emotions she'll be picking up when she gets closer to Sarah. They're likely to be intense. Vash said.
Is there any particular reason we're leaving Erica out of this conversation? Mike asked as he wolfed down the last of his breakfast.
Best not to remind her of recent events any more than we have to. Vash replied.
Just then Erica finished her own meal and picked up her and Mike's dishes to wash them. Once finished she waited impatiently for Jill to finish hers. Vash finished off the last of it and Mike helped Erica clean up the rest of the dishes. "Okay, let's go!" Erica said impatiently.
Mike and Jill exchanged amused glances and Mike grabbed his keys. Vash jumped up on Jill's shoulder.
"You're coming along?" Jill asked, surprised.
Sarah will likely need all the help she can get. Vash replied. Jill nodded and they piled into Mike's car. As soon as they arrived at the hospital Erica was out of the car and hurrying inside. Mike and Jill had to almost run to keep up with her, and Vash was nearly seen before he became invisible. When they got to Sarah's room she was still asleep. As they all got settled in the same positions as the previous day a couple of police officers arrived.
One officer was male, older, with graying hair. The younger officer was female and looked to be in her mid twenties. The older officer said, "I assume this is Sean Kinsley?" while pointing at Sarah.
"Her name is Sarah!" Erica growled.
"Her legal name is Sean." He replied evenly. "And I meant no offense. Are you Erica Keller?"
Erica relaxed a little and nodded. "Did you need to talk to me?" she asked.
He nodded, "Yes, and Michael Levins. Is that you?" he asked, pointing at Mike. Mike nodded. "Good, you're all here then. You can call me George, and this is my partner Lorie. Michael has already given a statement, but we need to ask a few more questions. Especially of Erica and Sean, since they haven't given statements yet."
Erica shrugged, "Okay, but Sarah's still asleep."
"Then we'll talk to you two first. Michael, why don't we go to the cafeteria and talk, okay?" George said. Mike nodded and followed him out.
"Do you need me to go, too?" Jill asked after Mike and George left.
Lorie shook her head, "No, that's not necessary. Are you a friend of Sean's?" Jill nodded.
"Okay. So, Erica, I just need you to tell me what you saw." Lorie said, pulling a notepad and pencil out of her pocket. Erica nodded and told her everything she remembered, except for the shape shifting and Jill's presence. "Do you have any idea who might have stabbed Mr. Green?" Lorie asked after Erica was finished.
"Mr. Green?" Erica asked, "Do you mean John?" Officer Lorie nodded. "No, we don't have any idea. We've been wondering about it ourselves. Sarah said that lots of people were happy to see him gone, but that's all I know."
"What about you, do you know anyone who would want to hurt Mr. Green?" she asked Jill.
Jill shook her head and said, "Not really. I mean, none of us liked him because of the way he treated Sarah, but I don't have any idea who could have stabbed him."
Lorie nodded, scribbling in her notebook. Just then Sarah stirred, but didn't wake up. "It looks like Sean should be awake soon. I have one more question for you. How is it that nobody had any idea that Sean had ever been male until they talked to you? Even the doctors who examined her to see if she'd been raped didn't notice anything unusual." she said.
Erica was at a loss to answer that question, but Jill spoke up before Lorie could become suspicious. "Sarah was in a big hurry to complete her transition. She went to some doctor in Mexico or something to have the surgery. I guess it's a lot cheaper there, and they don't require their patients to go through the usual process." Jill said, hoping what Vash had suggested would make sense to the police officer.
Lorie nodded and jotted it down in her notebook. "I thought it might be something like that. She's lucky her surgery was such a success. A lot of the time surgeries performed on the cheap like that end up leaving the patient scarred or worse. They don't have the same hygienic standards as we do here." She said. "I'm going to see if George is done, and then we'll be back to talk to Sean." With that Lorie left the room and Erica and Jill both breathed sighs of relief.
"Where did you come up with that?!" Erica asked a moment later.
"Vash suggested it. He was rooting around in her memories for things we could use almost as soon as she walked in the door." Jill replied.
"Useful little guy, isn't he?" Erica said with a grin.
Jill grinned back and said, "Yeah, he is. I thought we were in trouble for a minute there, but Vash's idea worked like a charm!"
Of course! Vash said primly. Jill laughed and then had to explain the joke to Erica. She laughed as well. A commotion from the bed drew both of their attention as Sarah was finally waking up.
"Erica?" she said softly, reaching out blindly.
Erica grasped Sarah's hand in hers and said, "I'm here, honey, everything's fine."
Sarah put her other hand on top of Erica's and sighed in relief. "John?" she asked, tensing up.
"He's not here. The police have him." Erica replied firmly. "You don't have to worry about him anymore."
"He…he didn't…you know…" Sarah said haltingly, trailing off at the end in fear of the answer.
Tears were streaming down Erica's face as she pulled their entwined hands to her chest. "No dear, he didn't. Someone stabbed him in the back before he could do anything. He won't be in any shape to hurt anyone for a while." she said.
"That's one of the reasons we wanted to talk to all of you." George said as he, Mike, and Lorie walked back into the room. Sarah shrank back and the police officers stopped short so as not to frighten her further. "Mr. John Green died this morning from his wounds."
"He's dead?!" Jill exclaimed.
George nodded, "Yes. He was stabilized and seemed set to recover. Then he suddenly took a turn for the worse. We now believe whatever weapon was used was poisoned."
"Poisoned?!" Erica said. "Why would anyone have a poisoned weapon lying around ready to use like that?"
"We're assuming it was planned and the attack on Sean accelerated those plans." George replied.
"Are you ready to tell us what happened?" Lorie asked.
Erica squeezed Sarah's hands and Sarah nodded. She told them everything she could remember while they took notes. "So you didn't see whoever stabbed Mr. Green?" George asked.
Sarah shook her head, "No, I never saw anybody but John."
George finished writing in his notebook and put it away. "Okay, I think that's everything we need." he said. He said goodbye and left, but Lorie stayed behind. She gave Sarah a card with a rape counselors number on it.
"But he didn't, did he?" Sarah asked in confusion.
Lorie shook her head, "No, but he tried. Many women in your position still benefit from talking to someone." she said, and then followed George out.
"That went more smoothly than I would have expected." Mike said. "I would have thought your being completely female would have caused some confusion, at least."
Sarah frowned and said, "Yeah, that's right. Why didn't they say anything about that?"
Erica smiled and said, "They did, but Vash came up with a story. He had Jill tell Lorie that you had surgery in Mexico."
Sarah shook her head, "I just keep getting deeper into this, don't I?"
I hope you're not too angry with me, it was the best I could come up with. She's encountered something similar before, so I knew she would accept it. Vash said.
Sarah sighed, "I guess I can't be angry with you Vash, you're only trying to help. And I don't have any idea what else you could have told them. Now when can I get out of here and where are my clothes?"
Erica held up a bag and said, "You're clothes were ruined, but I brought some for you."
"Now I just need to get rid of this so I can get dressed." Sarah said, indicating the IV in her arm.
Mike went out to find out when Sarah could leave. When he returned he said, "A doctor is supposed to be here soon to make sure you're okay to go. A nurse is coming to remove the IV."
Within an hour she was dressed and ready to go. She practically dragged Erica out, with Mike and Jill following behind. Sarah sighed in relief once they'd all climbed into Mike's car. "You okay Sarah?" Erica asked.
"I guess." Sarah replied absently. Erica looked at Sarah in concern, but she wasn't paying attention.
Can you hear me? Erica thought.
Stay out of my head! Sarah growled back. She glared at Erica and then turned back to the window. She wouldn't look at Erica for the rest of the drive and as soon as the car was parked she opened a portal and stepped through into her bedroom.
"Sarah!" Erica called, but she was already gone. "She hates me!" Erica sobbed. Mike caught her as she collapsed. Jill opened the door to their apartment and helped Mike bring her in and lay her on the couch.
"She's just upset Erica, she'll come around." Jill soothed.
"Should we be leaving Sarah alone like this?" Mike asked worriedly.
"No, we shouldn't." Jill agreed. "Mike, take Vash over there, will you? She's not mad at either of you. Give her some space, but don't let her do anything foolish."
Mike nodded and waited for Vash to jump onto his shoulder before heading out. Jill turned back to Erica. "Mike will keep an eye on her. Once she's calmed down we'll go over and talk to her, okay?" she said.
Erica didn't respond and Jill wasn't even sure if she'd heard her through her tears. She joined her on the couch and held her until her tears subsided. "Do you really think she'll forgive me?" Erica asked hopefully.
"Yes, I know she will. She loves you!" Jill replied firmly.
Jill, bring Erica and the painting, now! Vash said urgently.
What's happened? Jill asked, running to retrieve the painting.
She tried to kill herself. Fortunately the healing water is still here. Please hurry. Vash said.
Erica was sitting up on the couch when Jill returned with the painting. "What's wrong Jill?" Erica asked worriedly.
"Sarah tried to kill herself. We've got to get over there!" Jill replied breathlessly.
Erica gasped and jumped up off of the couch. She ran for the door and Jill followed. By the time she caught up Erica was opening the door to Sarah's apartment. They hurried inside and found Mike sitting on the couch with Sarah laid out on it, her head on his lap. Vash was curled up on her stomach and there was blood on her wrists and clothes.
"Sarah!" Erica gasped, and ran to kneel beside her. Sarah was unconscious but when Erica examined her wrists there was no sign of injury.
"I used the healing water on her, so she should be okay." Mike explained to Erica's confused look. "Vash said he thinks we need to show her the painting when she wakes up. I don't understand it though, won't that just make her even more upset?"
"Vash says," Jill began, pausing to listen to him, "that Sarah hates herself because of what happened when she was a kid. Our perceived betrayal and John's attack have pushed things too far for her. We've got to clear up that old hurt in order to deal with the new ones."
"Why would she hate herself?!" Erica exclaimed. "She's never hurt anybody!"
Jill shrugged, "Vash doesn't know. Neither of us can get that far, Sarah's shields are too strong. The only chance we have of finding out is to get her to accept that repressed memory."
"Are you sure she can handle it?" Erica asked.
Jill looked sadly at Sarah, "I don't know." she said softly.
"I could kill them!" Erica growled.
Mike looked curiously at Erica and asked, "Who?"
"John and her mother! They're responsible for this!" Erica replied angrily.
"We probably shouldn't condemn Sarah's mother just yet, we don't know the whole story." Jill cautioned.
Erica snorted at that, "There's no story that could explain that away! No matter what the circumstances she's still responsible for this!"
"I agree." Mike said, startling Jill. "Unless Sarah's mother was insane at the time, and I never saw any signs of that, there's no excuse. This is making me wonder about a few things her parents told me, though."
"Like what?" Jill asked.
"Well, they told me that Sarah got beat up at school all the time. She had bruises and even broken bones because of it. I remember thinking it was strange that the bullies had changed their tune so rapidly, because someone tried to beat her up only a couple of times after I met her. If she was getting beat up so frequently, why was it so rare after I met her?" Mike explained.
Erica stared wide-eyed at Mike as the meaning of his words sank in. "You think Sarah was beaten by her parents?!" she said.
"I don't know if her parents did it, but someone did. I didn't put it together then, but in retrospect it's pretty obvious." Mike replied.
Erica shook her head sadly as she gazed at Sarah. "You poor thing." she said softly, stroking Sarah's cheek. "I never imagined you'd gone through so much! It's no wonder you weren't more assertive."
She's coming around. We'd better hit her with the painting right away, before she gets her defenses up. Vash said. Jill nodded and picked it up. Sarah's eyes opened slowly and she looked around in confusion. When her eyes settled on Jill she held up the picture. Mike nearly fell over when he saw it, as it depicted Sarah's room as it appeared when he first met her. It also showed Sarah's mother the way she looked back then, right down to the clothes she wore. There was no doubt in his mind he was seeing a real memory of Sarah's.
The picture was in Sarah's bedroom. Young Sean looked terrified as he was held up against the wall by his mother's hand around his throat. His feet were a foot off the ground and his face was beginning to turn blue. His mother's face was contorted in rage and her other hand was curled claw-like. The only part of the background that was as detailed as Sean and his mother was a teddy bear lying on the floor underneath him. The part that really shocked Mike was a detail that Erica either hadn't noticed, or didn't mention. Sean was wearing a long black velvet dress that obviously belonged to his mother.
"What the hell is that?!" Sarah exclaimed angrily after a long moment gazing in shock at Jill's painting.
"This is the memory you've been hiding from." Jill replied. "It's time you stopped hiding."
Sarah shook her head violently and jabbed her finger at the painting. "That is no memory of mine! My mother would never do something like that!" Sarah yelled angrily.
Erica was looking in shock from the painting to Sarah and back again. "You didn't say anything about how you were dressed." Erica said softly.
"Huh?" Sarah said, looking in confusion at Erica.
"Sarah, you're wearing your mother's dress!" Mike exclaimed. He never would have imagined seeing something like that, but the details were too perfect to not be accurate.
"It's just a picture Jill drew, it doesn't mean anything!" Sarah replied stubbornly. "Why would I be wearing my mother's dress? It's ridiculous!"
Jill went to put a hand on Sarah's shoulder but she shrugged it off. Jill sighed and said, "Sarah, I don't know why you were wearing that, but you were. I don't know why your mother was treating you like that, but she did. This is your memory, as you remember it. I didn't embellish anything. I made this as accurate as I could."
Sarah snorted, "Yeah, right!"
"Sarah!" Erica said softly, "she's telling you the truth. That's the memory I got from you! Please stop denying it. I promise you that it doesn't change anything for me. I love you for who you are! I don't care if you cross dressed, or if your mother was a monster, or anything else!"
"But…but…" Sarah stammered, looking around her in a panic.
"Look, Sarah, what Erica said goes for all of us. We're not going to hold anything against you. You're our friend! You've been my best friend for years and I'm not about to turn my back on you now!" Mike said earnestly.
"That's right! We're family, remember? We love you no matter what!" Jill added.
Sarah laughed at that with a tinge of hysteria to her voice. "Family doesn't love no matter what! They only love if you're what they want you to be!" she yelled. A lone tear rand down her cheek.
Erica shook her head, "No! That's your parents! Real family will accept you and love you for who you are, like we do! If your parents couldn't do that, that's their loss!" Vash purred and butted his head against Sarah's hand to emphasize Erica's point.
"But…" Sarah tried to protest, but her voice was getting weaker and more tears were following the first.
"But nothing! You're a wonderful person, who happens to have been mistreated by the woman who should have loved you the most. That's not your fault! Your mother is the one with the problem, not you!" Erica said.
The tears poured down in earnest now, and Sarah hiccupped as she said, "Bbbut…I'm a freak! And he…he tried to…to rape me…just like she said! She was right! And…and they'll kill me!" She tried to say more after that, but her hiccupping and sobbing turned it into an indecipherable jumble. Erica pulled her close and held her for a long time, much longer than it took for the tears to stop.
"You're not a freak, you're a beautiful person! I love you so much, please don't put yourself down like that, okay?" she murmured into Sarah's hair.
"Sarah…I'm really sorry." Mike said sadly. "I should have realized."
"Huh?" Sarah asked weakly, still in Erica's arms.
"Your dad, he said the kids at school were beating you up all the time. For some reason, I never really thought about why you got into so few fights after I met you. But he was lying, wasn't he?" Mike said.
"He said that?" Sarah asked, confused. Mike nodded. "Why would he say that?"
"I…I think he was covering for your mom, or himself. When he realized that I was keeping the other kids from hurting you he realized it couldn't go on anymore without being discovered. That's why it stopped happening. Right?" Mike replied.
"What stopped happening?" Sarah asked with a confused look.
Jill sighed, "Oh Sarah, Vash and I have known your father beat you for a while now. I know that memory isn't as well repressed as the other one was!"
"WHAT?!" Erica yelled angrily, rounding on Jill. "You've known something like that and didn't tell me?!"
Jill winced but held her ground. "Yes, I did. Mostly because I didn't want you or Mike going after him." she replied as evenly as she could.
"Mike?!" Erica said, confused.
"That's right, he didn't know either." Jill said.
Erica looked over at Mike and noticed he was looking rather red and seemed to be grinding his teeth. "That was probably a good idea." he rasped, clenching his fists. Erica was startled to see his right hand had shifted into a claw that looked like his first dragon form's claws, except for the size.
"Are you okay Mike?" Jill asked worriedly.
Mike took several deep breaths and forced himself to relax. His hand returned to normal and he sighed, "Yeah, I'm okay now. It's just…he acted so happy that I was watching out for Sarah, and all along he was the one doing all the damage!"
Erica put her hand on Mike's arm and smiled weakly at him. "You were just a kid yourself, Mike, don't beat yourself up. Save that for Sarah's dad!" she said. Even she wasn't sure if she was joking or not about beating up Sarah's father.
Mike smiled weakly back, the smile crumbling quickly as tears streaked down his face. Erica felt a little uncomfortable with this, as she wasn't used to seeing men show their emotions so openly. She wasn't totally surprised, though, as Sarah had said he never held back when he was amongst friends. When she thought of that she actually felt honored that Mike trusted her that much.
Jill hugged him to her and he cried on her shoulder. His obvious empathy for Sarah was more than she could handle and she ended up crying on Erica's shoulder again. By the time they'd composed themselves Jill and Erica had shed quite a few tears as well.
Sarah looked around at her friends, all with red, puffy eyes and tear stains on their cheeks and said, "We're all a right mess, aren't we?" They all looked around as Sarah had and soon they were all laughing. The laughter went on for a long time.
"So…" Jill gasped, trying to get her breath back, "do you believe us now?"
Sarah shifted uneasily and glanced at her friends. "I don't understand." she said softly.
"What don't you understand honey?" Erica asked.
Sarah smiled wanly at Erica and said, "Why are you guys still here? Mom was right, I'm just a freak and don't deserve friends like you."
Erica pulled Sarah to her chest and held her. "You're not a freak, Sarah, you never were. We're here because we love you. Your Mom was wrong." Erica said lovingly.
"Would you tell us what your mother said?" Jill asked. "What happened?"
Sarah burrowed into Erica's arms, but nodded. She began speaking in a very small voice and the others had to lean in to hear her. "Obviously, she caught me wearing her clothes. She had never even raised her voice to me before that, but she was screaming at me the moment she saw me. I backed away until I ran into the wall. Somewhere along the line I picked up Jaime, but I don't remember doing it. I was holding her against my chest when Mom suddenly grabbed me by the throat and lifted me up. I dropped Jaime and thought I was going to die. Mom said, "You're not a girl! I don't want to ever see you in my clothes again! If I ever see this again I'll have your father treat you like a girl and see how you like that, you freak!" She didn't say it outright, but I knew what she meant. And it happened, just like she said it would…" Sarah trailed off as a new bout of tears shook her. Erica rocked her back and forth and whispered encouragement in her ear.
Mike looked helplessly at Jill and she held his hand in hers. Don't blame yourself. You had no way of knowing. Jill told him.
But, I was at her house dozens, even hundreds of times! How could I have missed everything that was going on? Mike protested.
From what you've said it all ended soon after you met her, and because of you no less! You may not have known what was going on, but you made the situation better just by being her friend! Jill replied.
Mike snorted, Some friend I was! My best friend was in so much pain all this time and I never even had a clue!
You've been a wonderful friend, Mike, don't blame yourself! This is all my fault! Sarah thought sadly.
How could any of this be your fault?! You're the victim here, it's your parents' fault! Mike replied.
Sarah shook her head, "No, it's my fault. I'm the freak, if I'd been normal it wouldn't have happened."
Erica stroked her hair and said, "Don't listen to what your parents said, you're not a freak. And what's normal, anyway? Everybody's different, there's no such thing as normal."
"You're normal." Sarah replied.
Erica laughed and said, "Am I? I'm immune to magic and carry around a gun with exploding bullets and a magical dagger that can cut through anything. How is that normal?"
"You're not still carrying those around, are you?" Sarah asked.
"I was, but I don't need them now that I know John is dead." Erica replied.
"How were you not normal?" Jill asked.
Sarah looked incredulously at Jill and said, "I wore my Mom's clothes!"
Jill shrugged, "So? What's so abnormal about that? They're just clothes."
"Boys don't wear dresses!" Sarah insisted.
"First of all," Jill replied, "that's a silly social taboo with no rational reason behind it. Why shouldn't boys wear dresses if they want to? How could that possibly hurt anybody?"
"But…it's wrong…" Sarah argued weakly.
"Says who, your mother? The woman who threatened to have your father rape you to get you to do what she wanted? Even if you were hurting somebody that wouldn't excuse her!" Jill countered, struggling to keep her anger from her voice.
"But Dad…" Sarah began, but Mike cut her off.
"Your dad was beating you, his word is just as suspect as your mother's!" he said.
"Honey, what did he say to you?" Erica asked softly.
"He…he said that no son of his was going to be a sissy…that it was wrong for me to wear women's clothes." Sarah replied so quietly that only Erica could hear her.
"Did you wear your mom's clothes often?" Erica asked, filling her voice with all the love and kindness she could.
Sarah nodded numbly, "I told you I'm a freak."
"And I told you it doesn't matter to me if you cross dressed. You're no freak, and I'll always love you! Please believe me!" Erica pleaded.
"But…why?" Sarah asked.
"Why should you believe me?" Erica asked, perplexed.
"No…why doesn't it bother you?" Sarah replied.
Erica looked thoughtfully at Sarah and said, "You know, a week ago it probably would have. I thought I loved you, and maybe I did, but I was focusing on who I thought you were, or could be. But I've learned a lot about who you really are in this last week, and now I know I love you! And I don't love you for who I think you could be. I love you for who you are. So no information about your past, or your family, or even the shape of your body can change that!"
"Really?" Sarah asked hopefully.
"Really!" Erica replied firmly. Sarah smiled tentatively up at Erica and Erica reached down and kissed her. Sarah nearly swooned as Erica poured all the love she felt for her into the kiss. When Erica pulled back they smiled lovingly at each other for a long moment before anyone spoke.
"You know that goes for us, too, right?" Jill said.
"Only without the making out?" Mike added, grinning.
Sarah laughed weakly at Mike's joke and said, "What did I eve do to deserve you guys?"
Mike glanced at Erica and Jill before saying, "I think just being you was enough." They nodded their agreement.
"Please promise you won't try to hurt yourself again, okay?" Erica pleaded.
Sarah looked down in shame. "I'm sorry." she said softly.
Erica hugged her closer and said, "You don't need to feel badly about it. After all, you've been through a lot recently! Just please, if you're feeling like that again, talk to us first, okay?" Sarah nodded. "Good! Now, I think it would be a good idea to take a break from all this heavy stuff. How about some pizza?"
"Pepperoni?" Sarah asked hopefully, looking up at Erica wide-eyed.
Erica smiled and then looked at Vash with a mock-frown. "Vash! Have you been teaching Sarah your tricks?!" she said.
Me?! Whatever would give you that idea? he replied innocently.
Sarah relayed Vash's response through their bond and they all laughed. "Pepperoni okay with you guys?" Erica asked Mike and Jill.
"Sure! What about you Vash, are you coming?" Mike replied.
Naturally. he replied.
"Before we go anywhere, I want you to put those weapons away Erica." Sarah said hesitantly.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure! Want me to leave them here, or shall we drop them off with the rest?" Erica replied.
Sarah was worried about someone finding them, so they detoured to the empty world and dropped off Erica's weapons. She left the bracers on. Once back through the portal they piled into Mike's car and drove to Sarah's favorite pizza restaurant. After ordering they took seats at a booth and Vash settled down on Sarah's lap, invisible.
"So, you guys haven't told me yet what you did to John." Sarah said.
Mike glanced at the others and said, "Uh, Sarah, we didn't do anything to John. He was already down when I got there. I would have gladly ripped his throat out if he hadn't already been stabbed in the back, but he was already unconscious when I got there."
Sarah looked at Jill, but she shook her head, "Mike got there before Erica or I. We didn't see anything."
Sarah looked down at Vash, next, though she couldn't actually see him. What about you? she asked.
I don't know, either. I was knocked out before it happened. Vash answered honestly. He had his suspicions, but he kept those carefully shielded and hidden away. He really hoped, if Tiffany was responsible, that she would show herself soon. It might do Sarah some good, and would certainly benefit Tiffany.
"There's something else I'm wondering about, though." Mike said.
"What's that?" Erica asked.
"How did Sarah get into that telepathic conversation Vash, Jill, and I were having earlier?" he replied.
"When was this?" Erica asked.
"Just after Sarah told us what her mother said to her." Mike said.
"Hey, yeah, I forgot about that! I didn't include her, so how did she do that?" Jill said.
I didn't do it, either. Sarah did that on her own. Vash said.
They all turned to look at Sarah in surprise. "When did you learn to do that?" Jill asked.
Sarah shrugged awkwardly, "I don't know. I didn't even realize I did it!"
I suspected Sarah might develop this ability eventually. I suspect that breaking down those barriers to her memories has allowed her to be more sensitive, psychically. Vash explained.
"So I'm going to be like Jill?" Sarah exclaimed.
Eventually, perhaps. You are more…private then Jill is. Your personality will likely affect your development. Your shields are already formidable, so your skills will likely remain largely defensive in nature. It's possible that the only reason you tapped into that conversation was because you were the subject of it. Vash replied.
Their pizza arrived then and conversation, verbal at least, was halted.
You know, this telepathic communication thing is kinda useful. I don't have to worry about speaking with my mouthful if I'm not using my mouth! Erica said via Sarah.
Yeah, and we don't have to worry about anyone eavesdropping, either! Having the only telepaths on the planet is rather handy. Mike agreed.
It's too bad you and Erica can't do this on your own, but it works out okay, I guess. Jill said. Their silent conversation continued throughout their meal. We should probably go back to talking out loud now that our food is gone or we'll look rather strange sitting here staring at each other. Jill said once they were done eating. They all followed her advice, except for Vash, for the rest of the conversation, with Sarah relaying Vash's words to Erica.
Soon they were back in Sarah's apartment with Sarah in Erica's lap and Mike and Jill curled up together next to them. Vash had taken the recliner for himself. "It's a good thing today's a holiday. I've already missed too much work lately." Sarah said.
"Don't worry too much about missing a few days of work. Taking care of yourself is the most important thing. But it is handy. I just wish I had more time with you before the next semester starts up." Erica said.
Sarah sank back into Erica disconsolately. "That's right, you have to go back this weekend, don't you?" she said sadly.
"Wellll…" Erica said with a grin, "classes don't actually start until a week from Monday. If you want I could stay an extra week…"
"Really?!" Sarah exclaimed happily. "You can stay longer? Please stay longer!"
"Well, okay, if you really want me to…" Erica began to say, only to be cut off by Sarah's squeal of happiness and her turning around and hugging her as hard as she could.
Mike and Jill laughed at Sarah's reaction. She smiled sheepishly at them once she'd let Erica go. "So, uh, what do you guys want to do now?" she asked in an attempt to shift the focus away from herself.
Erica smiled knowingly at her, but Vash spoke up before she could say anything. We could use the empty world to test your abilities again. We don't have to worry about being seen there, and I have identified most of the objects now. he suggested.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about all those magical objects we brought back with us. That's definitely a better idea than finding another secluded spot to wreck. What do you guys think?" Mike said.
"Sounds good to me." Jill said. Sarah and Erica nodded their agreement, so Sarah opened the portal. They gathered up all of their gear and then Sarah used portals to move the magical objects they hadn't used yet out to an empty area Vash had found.
"So what have you identified?" Mike asked once they walked through the portal themselves. They were on the street just outside of an overgrown city park.
The first thing is Jill's sword, the one she found in the sarcophagus. It's practically unbreakable. Vash replied. Then there's that map case. It was particularly difficult to figure out, but it would seem that any map placed in it will be magically updated to reflect any changes in the area it covers. It might even work on a map from your world. If it does, it should show changes to streets, street names, everything.
"Wow!" Jill said, looking at her sword in a new light. "That map case could really come in handy!"
"Are there any maps in the case?" Mike asked.
No, it's empty. Vash replied.
"Oh well, I guess we probably wouldn't have any use for a map from that world anyway, unless we were planning on going back for some reason." Mike said. "What else have you figured out?"
The swords. The short sword is light weight like Erica's, and freezes whatever it touches. The other sword, the scimitar, becomes extremely hot when used, but only the blade. Both will do extra damage because of that, and might have other uses. Vash replied.
"So who's going to use those?" Erica asked.
"Do we really have to decide who uses what? I mean, we can share them, right?" Jill said.
Erica shrugged, "We can, but we'd be better off learning to use them well. If we're always trading weapons we'll never learn how to use any of them all that well. And with their different magical effects, they will require some getting used to."
Mike nodded, "I agree. But I already have the shape shifting sword, Erica has the sword that cuts through anything, and you have the unbreakable rapier. Obviously Sarah should get one of the new swords."
"I wonder…" Sarah said thoughtfully, looking at the swords in question. She picked up the scimitar in her right hand and the short sword in her left. The scimitar was slightly longer, but didn't look it because of its curvature. She swung them around a few times and the short sword developed a slight mist about the blade, while the scimitar began to glow dully and a heat haze was visible around it. Sarah touched the tip of both swords to the asphalt at the same time and it cracked loudly.
"Whoa, be careful Sarah!" Erica exclaimed.
"It's okay, I just thought they might be more useful together than they are separately. And I am ambidextrous, so…" Sarah said with a shrug.
"You want to use them both?" Erica asked.
"Sure, why not? I'll need scabbards for them, and a sword belt, butt they're both so light I should be able to use them easily enough. And we might have need of them at some point." Sarah replied.
"Okay, but why don't you set them down for now, well away from each other?" Jill said, looking at the cracked asphalt meaningfully. Sarah did as she asked. "Thanks. Now what about the other stuff Vash?"
Two of the three daggers are simply enhanced. Lighter, tougher, sharper, that sort of thing. One of them is stronger than the other, but otherwise unremarkable. The third dagger, however, is perpetually poisoned. I can't be certain, but I suspect the poison would be lethal in small quantities, and quickly! We should be very careful of that one! Vash replied.
"Which one is poisoned?" Jill asked worriedly. Vash pointed it out and Jill carefully set it aside. "We need to put that one in something. I don't know if we'd ever want to use something like that!"
"Oh, I don't know… I think it could come in handy! Once we get a sheath for it I think I'll use it." Erica said thoughtfully. "Why don’t you and Sarah take the other daggers?"
Jill looked at Erica like she was crazy. "You actually want to use that thing?! One little mistake and you're dead!" she said incredulously.
"But in order to be perpetually poisonous there has to be magic involved, and I'm immune to magic. So it should be safe enough for me." Erica pointed out.
"Alright, but be careful with that thing!" Jill replied dubiously. She and Sarah removed the other daggers from the pile. Anything else Vash?
Well, there's the axe. It's a little lighter weight than you'd expect, and it is very tough and sharp. It also guides its wielder's hand, making it far more accurate and powerful than it normally would be. This ring here, he continued, pawing at a gold ring with a small ruby on it, will protect it's wearer from fire and heat. I suggest that Sarah use it, since she will be using the scimitar and has her fireballs, anyway.
Sarah shrugged and picked up the ring, "Okay." She slipped it on.
I've identified only two other things so far. The gauntlets will grant their wearer strength and the boots, speed. Vash said.
"Can Mike use them?" Jill asked.
He can use them, but they might be destroyed when he changes shape. At the best they would fall off. They're definitely not compatible with his shape shifting. Vash replied.
"Oh." Jill said in disappointment. "I thought Mike would be a good fit since he's the one that does most of the hand-to-hand fighting."
"He can still use that axe." Sarah pointed out. "There shouldn't be any danger of it being destroyed when he shifts. Why don't you use the boots and gauntlets Jill?"
"Me?!" Jill exclaimed. "Why not Erica? She's done more fighting than I have!"
"Yes, but her sword can cut through anything. She doesn't need strength with that! Besides, I thought super strength would be a good combination with an unbreakable sword." Sarah replied.
"She's got a point. And I'm immune to magic, so they probably wouldn't work for me. It sounds like a good solution to me." Erica said.
Mike shrugged and picked up the axe. "Works for me. I'm probably the only one who could use this axe without the gauntlets, anyway. It might be lighter than normal, but it's still pretty heavy!" he said. The metal shaft of the axe was three feet long, and the crescent shaped blades at least a foot long on each side. There was also a long spike at the top so it could be used to stab as well as cut an opponent.
Why don't you practice with your new weapons while I take a look at the remaining objects? Vash suggested. The others agreed and were soon hacking and slashing at whatever was handy in the park.
Jill soon discovered that her rapier, when used in conjunction with the gauntlets, could cut through things almost as well as Erica's sword. Mike's axe was pretty devastating, but even more so when he shifted to Naga form. The sword disappeared from his back and apparently added its magic to the axe's. But it was Sarah's hot and cold swords that made the most noise. She stabbed a post with the scimitar, causing it to catch on fire from the intense heat coming off the sword, and then hit it with the short sword. Neither blade dug in deeply, yet the post shattered with the conflicting temperatures. It caused a small explosion that knocked Sarah off her feet.
"Are you okay Sarah?" Jill asked, running so fast she was at Sarah's side at the same time she hit the ground.
Sarah grimaced but said, "Yeah, I'm okay. I guess I'd better be careful using these swords that way."
"Definitely!" Jill agreed, pulling some splinters out of Sarah's arms. Erica arrived a moment later with some healing water and dabbed it on Sarah's wounds.
"They were just splinters!" Sarah protested.
Erica shrugged, "I know, but why be in pain when you don't have to be? Besides, they could have gotten infected."
"I guess." Sarah said.
"I've been wondering, though, do we really need to learn to use all these weapons? I mean, why would we need them? Are we planning on going to more dangerous worlds?" Jill asked thoughtfully.
You won't need to, your world is becoming dangerous enough. Vash replied.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Erica asked suspiciously.
Your world is changing. Magic was weak or absent in your world before, but it's gaining strength. I don't know if it's strong enough to be felt yet, but at the rate it's going it will be before long. Vash replied.
"What does that mean?" Jill asked.
It means other people will begin to develop magical abilities, or learn to tap into magic the way my previous master did. They won't have the level of power you do for quite some time, and you'll probably be stronger by then, but there will be a lot of people with magical abilities in time. Vash said.
"But that doesn't mean we'll have to fight them!" Jill protested.
Most, no. But some will try to profit from their abilities by using them against others. It is unlikely that your police force will be able to adapt quickly. Until they do, magical criminals may operate unchecked. You will need to be able to defend yourselves. Vash said.
Sarah groaned, "But we can't carry our weapons around with us, we'd be arrested!"
Not now, no, but you may be able to in the future. I suggest further trips to other worlds to develop your own abilities would also be helpful, since you won't always have your weapons on hand. Vash replied.
"How quickly is this likely to happen?" Mike asked.
I don't know. There is some time yet, though, I'm sure. It won't happen tomorrow. Vash said.
"Wait, so we might have to deal with people like John, with powers?" Sarah asked weakly.
Erica pulled held her close and said, "Don't worry Sarah, you're the strongest one of us! If someone like that tries anything you can blast them into oblivion or portal them somewhere where they can't hurt anybody."
Sarah was shaking by the time she'd finished speaking and said, "But when John attacked me…I just froze!"
"That was understandable, especially with your history! But now that you're dealing with that, I think you'll find you're able to deal with situations like that better. And if we train like Vash suggests you'll know you can deal with them if that ever happens!" Erica assured her.
She's right, training will improve your confidence. That would be a big help. I really think you, in particular, should do so. The others need to develop their abilities or their skills with their weapons, but what you really need is confidence, as you have enough power to make up for your lack of experience. Vash said.
Jill sighed, "I hate to say it, but they're making a lot of sense. I don't like the idea of having to fight magical criminals, but I'd rather be prepared if that happens."
"I really hope it takes a long time for this stuff to happen, I don't want you guys to have to fight like that. It's bad enough the stuff we've gotten involved in through the portals, but we wouldn't have a safe home to come back to!" Mike said worriedly.
"That's not entirely true. If we need to get away we can always come here. But I hope it takes a long time, too. Especially since I'll be on the other side of the continent for six months!" Erica said.
"At least you'll be able to visit." Jill said.
"Jill, I won't be able to fly all the way out here very often, if at all! I won't have the time!" Erica replied.
"I wasn't talking about flying. Sarah could open a portal to your apartment and you could come through, or Sarah could go to you there." Jill explained.
Erica stared with her mouth open and then turned to meet Sarah's equally shocked look. "Can you really do that?!" Erica asked.
"I…I think I can! I can use our bond to open the portal, or I could fly over there so I know where I'm portalling to, and then I could go back and forth at will!" Sarah replied excitedly.
"We'd better test using the bond first, so we know whether you should fly back with me or not." Erica suggested. Sarah nodded. "I'll go hide somewhere and when I give you the signal you try to open a portal to me, okay?"
"Okay!" Sarah agreed. She waited while Erica ran out of sight. Ten minutes later Erica called her through the bond. Sarah opened a portal and right there was Erica! "It worked!" Sarah said happily.
"How far away were you?" Jill asked as Erica stepped through the portal.
"About four blocks away." Erica replied with a grin. "Thanks for this idea Jill, this will make the next six months so much better!"
"Yeah, thanks Jill!" Sarah agreed, and they both hugged Jill.
"You're welcome! But now I think we'd better get back to learning how to use this stuff." Jill said. The others agreed and they went back to experimenting. Jill soon learned that very thick things, like large tree trunks, could defeat her even with the gauntlets, whereas Erica's sword would go through them like a hot knife through butter. Mike's axe wasn't nearly as effective at cutting through any object, but it did plenty of damage. Especially when in Naga form. Sarah made more noise with her bow, trying out the piercing and electric arrows. The piercing arrows would fly right through a car from front to back and on through the car behind it! The electric arrows were pretty spectacular, too. Sarah was very happy with how much power the bow had, even though it was no harder to draw than her old one. Erica got in on the action with her guns, using both ordinary and explosive bullets.
I think that's enough practice for today, don't you? Vash thought after Erica blew up a car and set it on fire.
"Oops, I guess I overdid it a little." Erica said. "Sure, I'm getting hungry anyway." The others agreed and they portalled everything back to their hiding place and then returned to Sarah's apartment.
"What do you guys want for dinner?" Sarah asked.
"You don't have to cook." Jill said.
"I want to!" Sarah replied, and went to work. Erica joined her and Mike and Jill sat down on the couch.
"I don't like what Vash was saying, that sounds really bad." Jill said.
"I don't like it either. But if he's right it's best to be prepared. We should start looking into worlds to visit. I also think the three of you need to learn some kind of martial arts, and all four of us need to learn to use our weapons better. The martial arts is the most important, though, since we won't always have our weapons and our weapons are magical so we're able to use them better than we could non-magical weapons." Mike replied.
"You could teach us martial arts." Jill said.
"True, but that will take a lot of time. It would be nice if we could jump start the process somehow." Mike said.
"How would we do that?" Jill asked.
"Well, in The Matrix they could learn martial arts by simply downloading the skills into their brains." Mike said.
"But we can't use that, we don't have the ports to plug into their computers." Jill pointed out.
"I know, but we might be able to find something similar that doesn't require an implanted interface like that." Mike said.
I might be able to help you with that. Vash said as he jumped up on Jill's lap.
"How?" Jill asked as she stroked his feathers.
Purring, he said, I may be able to isolate the parts of Mike's memory related to his martial arts training, and copy that information into your's and Sarah's minds. Sarah would have to transfer it to Erica, if she can. It would take you some time to really absorb and assimilate the information, but it would give you your "jump start".
"Sounds good, when can you do it?" Mike asked.
I don't know. I'll get started on it right away, but it may take me quite a while to isolate the memories. You might want to go ahead and train them in the meantime. It would probably make assimilating your memories easier, anyway. Vash replied.
"Sounds good to me. Maybe we can get started tomorrow?" Jill suggested. Mike nodded and turned on the TV. They whiled away the rest of the time until dinner was ready by watching Bleach.
"Come on you two, dinner's ready!" Sarah called out. Mike dragged Jill away from the TV and they all sat down to eat.
"So what do you two say to getting some martial arts training in tomorrow?" Mike asked.
"What?!" Sarah asked, confused.
"We were talking about training, right? I can teach you martial arts. We'll start off easy. Jill's had some training already, so she can help me." Mike replied.
"I guess." Sarah said doubtfully.
"I think it's a great idea." Erica said.
"Good! We can get started first thing in the morning." Mike said.
They all got down to the business of eating after that, and then washing the dishes afterwards. Once done they all moved to the couch to watch a movie. They were all tired after their exertions, so decided to call it a night after the movie.
"Want a portal home?" Sarah asked.
"Hmm, better not." Mike said thoughtfully, "I think it would be best to at least try to appear normal."
Sarah shrugged, "If you say so. Goodnight!" They said their goodbyes and left with Vash on Jill's shoulder.
"So how tired are you?" Erica asked with a sly smile.
Sarah smiled shyly back and said, "Not that tired…"
In the morning, after a nice long shower, Sarah made breakfast for them both.
"Uh, Sarah, there's something I've been meaning to ask you, but I didn't want to push you too much too quickly…" Erica said over breakfast.
Sarah fidgeted nervously and said, "Uh, what's that?"
"Well, you don't have to answer this now if you don't want to, and the answer won't bother me no matter what it is, but…why did you wear your mother's clothes?" Erica asked hesitantly. As soon as the words were out of her mouth she could feel Sarah's barriers slamming down, blocking out any mental intrusion. She could still feel the bond, though, so that gave her some hope.
Sarah dropped her fork and looked down at her lap. Her face was very red but she said, "Do you really need to know?" very softly.
"I'm not sure if I need to know, but I think you need to tell someone. If you're not ready now, we can do this later, but I really think you would feel better if you talked about this." Erica said.
"It's in the past, it doesn't matter anymore." Sarah said weakly.
"I'm not so sure of that. Jill said you were reluctant to wear skirts, but that's all I've seen you in. I know you have trouble finding pants long enough in the thrift stores, but I think you would have splurged on at least one pair by now if it were that important to you. Other than that initial reluctance, you seem to be perfectly comfortable wearing women's clothes. So I thought maybe whatever made you want to wear your mother's clothes might still be a factor." Erica replied.
Tears starting leaking out from Sarah's eyes and she looked down again. "I…I…" she stammered, but couldn't seem to get anything else out.
Erica moved her chair next to Sarah's and held her. "If it's too much right now, I'll drop it. I don't want to upset you!" she said.
Sarah shook her head weakly, "No…I'll tell you." she said softly after a long moment of silence.
"Take as much time as you want honey." Erica said.
Sarah broke down in tears before she could get any words out and Erica pulled her onto her lap and rocked her back and forth, murmuring, "I love you." over and over again.
Finally her tears abated and she found her voice. "I…I always felt different, for as long as I can remember. In kindergarten the teachers would separate the boys and girls for some things and treated girls differently than boys. I remember being confused because they put me with the boys and treated me like a boy. That night I asked Dad why they treated me like a boy. He got angry and said, "Because you are a boy!" I started crying and tried to tell him I wasn't. He just called me a sissy and slapped me down. I was so shocked I stopped crying and Dad went back to his desk and ignored me."
"So that was the first time he hit you?" Erica asked softly.
Sarah nodded, "I got really tired of being treated like a boy. I guess the hardest part was being expected to react like a boy. I just didn't know how to do it! That's why the other kids always made fun of me, because I reacted like a girl, I guess. I hated it so much, but I found I felt better if I dressed up in my Mom's clothes. They were like a tent on me then, but they felt right! But then Dad caught me one day in first grade…" she trailed off and started shaking.
"Shh, take it easy. Take as much time as you need!" Erica soothed, rocking Sarah again.
Once she'd calmed down Sarah continued, "Mom went to work in the afternoon, so she could be there for me in the morning. Dad worked regular hours, so he was always the first one home. So he was the one that caught me when I fell asleep in one of Mom's nightgowns. He was furious! He made me take it off right there, and then took his belt off and whipped me with it. I don't know how many times he hit me, but I was bleeding by the time he was done. Crying just made it worse. When he was done he told me to put Mom's nightgown back where I'd found it and to wash up, and then he ignored me the rest of the day."
Sarah took several deep breaths after that to calm herself and Erica just held her and waited. "After that I knew I had to hide what I was doing from Dad. I was really careful to put everything back the way I found it, and to always change back to my own clothes an hour before he normally gets home. That worked for a while, but of course a day came when he came home early. He started ranting, saying how no son of his was going to be a sissy fag, and that I was going to go to hell for what I was doing. I was so scared I just stood there. I didn't even realize I was crying until he slapped me and told me to stop blubbering. Of course I cried more, so he hit me again, this time with his fist. I don't remember how many times he hit me, but I was black and blue the next day. Dad told Mom that it was kids at school before I could say anything."
"Didn't anyone at school wonder what happened to you?" Erica asked. She was having trouble keeping her anger at Sarah's father under control, but she knew it would just upset Sarah.
Sarah shrugged, "They just assumed someone beat me up after school. It's not like I was popular or anything. Later on they did, so that made it easy." Sarah sat in silence for a while and Erica held her tighter to let her know she was there for her. "Anyway," she said after a while, "I got more cautious after that, but I was caught again in third grade. And again in fourth grade. After that Dad didn't feel the need for an excuse to hit me. Or maybe he thought he was 'fixing' me preemptively. I don't know. But he was always saying how I needed to be a man and stop acting like a girl."
Erica felt Sarah's tears fall on her hand, but she kept going, "Whenever he caught me in my Mom's clothes he was particularly angry and did the most damage. That's when I got the broken bones. Then I met Mike." At this Sarah smiled faintly. "Did I ever tell you how we met?"
Erica shook her head slightly, "No, you didn't."
"Some guys were giving me a hard time on the way home from school. Mike had just moved into town and his new house was close to mine. He saw me on his way home and came over. Those guys were pushing me around and calling me names, but I wasn't hurt or anything. I think things might have escalated if he hadn't shown up, but he did. He told them off and when they started getting belligerent he just talked to them. Before I knew what was happening they were all calmed down and left. I never did understand how Mike did it." Sarah said.
Erica craned her neck around to look at Sarah's face and saw a wistful smile there. "Did you…ever have…feelings for Mike?" she asked fearfully.
Sarah snorted, "I've already told you I don't like guys! I looked up to him, like a big brother, right from the start. But I never had those kinds of feelings for him!"
"Sorry. Go on." Erica said.
"Well, Mike watched out for me at school after that, and we walked home together every day. He couldn't always stop them from talking about me, but sometimes he could. And nobody laid a hand on me when he was around. I only got into one fight at school after I met Mike, and they were careful to come after me at a time when Mike wasn't there. Anyway, before long we were hanging out at his or my house almost every day. When Dad found out he was watching out for me, he stopped hitting me where Mike might see it. And then we had the same PE class one year, so he stopped completely. By then I'd gotten really good at hiding what I was doing, so he never saw me dressed up again." Sarah said.
"Did he think you'd stopped?" Erica asked.
"I don't know. Maybe. He probably wanted to believe that. It was relatively easy to hide at that point, because I'd been taking stuff from the clothes my Mom gave to Good Will for a while. So I didn't have to use her clothes, I had my own. But then Mom found me…" Sarah trailed off, shuddering.
"Do you want to take a break?" Erica asked worriedly while stroking Sarah's hair.
Sarah didn't respond for a few minutes, but finally said, "No, I'll finish." She took a deep breath and then continued, "Like I said, Mom always got home from work late, so I never worried about her catching me. So of course she came home early one day because she wasn't feeling well. I was admiring myself in one of my Mom's old dresses she'd given away months before when she walked in on me. The door was closed, of course, but I didn't hear her open it. When I turned and saw her there I froze, and so did she. Then she started screaming at me…"
Sarah took a few minutes to calm herself before continuing. "She called me all sorts of names, and backed me against the wall. Then she lifted me up by the throat like you saw. And then she threatened to have Dad rape me if I ever wore women's clothes again…" She trailed off again, fresh tears streaming down her face.
Erica held her tighter and said, "I understand a little better now. You believed her because your Dad had already been beating you for years, right?"
Sarah nodded, "Yeah. It didn't seem like that big a stretch. I was sure he would do what she said and when she asked if I had any other clothes hidden away I handed them all over. She was mad all over again at how many female clothes I had. I was sure she was going to hit me, or choke me again. But she just took all of it away and never spoke of it again. She didn't even look at me differently. It was like she'd forgotten the whole thing."
Erica just held her for a while without saying anything. She felt Sarah getting scared, so she said, "Did you still want to wear women's clothes after that?"
"Every day." Sarah said softly.
"Why didn't you? Once you were on your own it would have been safe enough." Erica asked.
"I was too scared. I didn't have any clothes and I was too afraid to buy any. Besides, I was tired of being a freak. I so wanted to be normal…" Sarah said sadly.
"Shhh! Remember, you're not a freak! I understand better why you have so much trouble with that part, but it's not true!" Erica said firmly. She paused before adding, "So, you always felt like a girl, then?"
Sarah nodded slightly. "Yes." she whispered.
"So this is like a dream come true for you. You've just been fighting it because of your parents, and because of me?" Erica asked.
"Yes," she said even more softly, "I'm sorry."
"Hush. There's nothing to be sorry about." Erica replied and kissed the top of Sarah's head.
"But, I lied to you!" Sarah protested, looking up at Erica.
Erica smiled crookedly and said, "When? When you said you wanted to change back? I understand why you did that. It's okay."
Sarah looked back down and said, "No, I mean I lied about being a guy! You never would have wanted anything to do with me if you'd known what I am."
Erica looked thoughtfully down at Sarah. "You're probably right, we probably never would have been more than friends. And that would have been the greatest loss of my life." she said sadly.
Sarah looked back up at Erica, "Really?" she asked.
"Of course silly!" Erica replied, "I love you!"
"But, I don't really want to change back. Ever." Sarah said.
Erica smiled and said, "I'll tell you a secret! I think I actually like you better this way!"
Sarah's eyes widened in amazement. "Really?! I thought you were as straight as they come!"
Laughing, Erica said, "I thought so too! I guess I was wrong, huh? Don't worry; you staying as you are isn't going to hurt our relationship one bit! In fact, I'll help you get your name legally changed, if you want."
"Wow! Really?" Sarah asked.
"Yes, really! I think I'd like you to keep your legal gender the way it is for a while longer though." Erica replied.
"Why?" Sarah asked with a frown.
"Because I want to marry you!" Erica replied.
Sarah would have fallen off of Erica's lap if she hadn't been holding on to her. "W-what?!" she exclaimed.
"You heard me. I love you Sarah Kinsley, and I want to marry you. If you'll have me." Erica replied softly.
"I-I love you, too!" Sarah said, choking up. "I'd like nothing better than to marry you!" Sarah threw her arms around Erica's neck and gazed lovingly into her eyes. Her barriers came crashing down and all the love she felt for Erica poured through their bond. Erica's eyes widened and she gasped in shock, but soon her love was flooding through the bond, as well. They could both feel their bond strengthening in that moment.
"Wow! That was…amazing!" Sarah said breathlessly.
"You're telling me!" Erica agreed in amazement.
"So, did you just propose to me?" Sarah asked.
"Yes. Did you just say yes?" Erica replied hopefully.
Sarah smiled broadly, "Of course!"
Erica's answering smile was just as wide. "Good! Then I have something for you, if you'll let me up." Sarah reluctantly got up off of Erica's lap. Erica disappeared into Sarah's bedroom and returned a moment later with her hand behind her back. She sat back down and let Sarah sit on her lap again. "Let me see your hand." she said.
Sarah held her hand out and Erica slipped a beautiful gold ring on it. It was etched with Celtic designs and had one large diamond in the center of the design. "Where did you get this?!" Sarah gasped.
Erica grinned sheepishly and said, "I palmed it out of that pile of treasure in the tomb. You like it?"
"I love it!" Sarah gushed, "But I don't have a ring for you!"
Erica held up a ring box with a grin, "It just so happens they were a matched pair!" Sarah opened the box to find an identical ring and slipped it on Erica's finger.
"I love you so much!" Sarah exclaimed and kissed Erica passionately. By the time they separated they were both flushed and gasping for air.
"I just remembered," Erica said after they'd both taken a few moments to compose themselves, "that Mike was going to start teaching us this morning. I'm surprised they haven't been here looking for us yet."
Sarah got a faraway look in her eyes for a moment and she said, "I think they're here."
"Here? In the apartment?" Erica asked in confusion.
Sarah shook her head, "No, just outside, I think."
Erica looked at Sarah strangely and then shrugged. "I guess we should let them in, then." she said. She walked over to the door and opened it, and there were Mike and Jill. "Want to come in?" she asked.
Mike and Jill filed in, with Vash becoming visible on Jill's shoulder as soon as the door closed. "Is Sarah okay?" Jill asked. "Her emotions have been all over the map this morning."
Erica felt another surge of love from Sarah as she admired her engagement ring. "Yeah, I think she's okay." she said.
Erica didn't realize she was fondling her ring until she noticed Jill looking at it. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked excitedly.
Erica grinned widely and nodded, "Yep! She said yes!"
Mike looked confused but Jill said, "Of course she did! I'm so happy for you two! Where'd you get that ring, it's beautiful!"
"I palmed it and its twin from the treasure in the tomb." Erica admitted sheepishly.
"Not before we'd separated out the cursed stuff, I hope?" Jill said.
Erica shook her head, "No, they're non-magical. No need to worry."
"Someone want to tell me what you're talking about?" Mike asked.
"I proposed to Sarah, and she said yes!" Erica said giddily.
"Really?! That's great!" Mike exclaimed, hugging Erica.
"Wait, that doesn't explain what I felt from Sarah earlier, though." Jill said.
"Oh yeah, that. I think we'd better go join Sarah and see what she wants to do about that." Erica said. Jill looked at her oddly but she and Mike followed her to the kitchen. Sarah was busy admiring her ring.
"Hi guys, isn't it beautiful?!" Sarah exclaimed without looking up.
"Sure is! Congratulations Sarah!" Mike said happily, hugging Sarah.
"Yeah, I'm so happy for you guys!" Jill agreed, hugging Sarah and then Erica. They all took seats at the table and Sarah returned to her perch on Erica's lap after a quick kiss.
"So what's been happening over here? Jill was about ready to bust the door down at first." Mike said.
Sarah blushed, "Sorry about that."
"No need to apologize, Sarah! I was kind of snooping, after all. But what had you so upset?" Jill said.
Erica glanced at Sarah and said, "Do you want me to tell them?"
Sarah was sorely tempted, but shook her head, "I should tell them. I've been lying to them, too, after all."
"Lying to us?" Mike asked, confused.
"Let her tell it, it feels like it's important to her." Jill told him. He shrugged and sat back to wait.
Sarah stared at the ring on her finger for a couple of minutes while she got her thoughts together. "Erica asked me why I was wearing Mom's clothes in that memory you painted, Jill. It goes back a bit further than that, though. I…I always felt like a girl. That's why Dad beat me, because he'd catch me wearing my Mom's clothes. That only stopped after we started hanging out, Mike. And then Mom caught me and went berserk and threatened to have Dad rape me if she ever caught me in female clothes again. I never wore female clothes again after that, until I became Sarah. I'm sorry I lied to both of you, both about wanting to change back, and about who I am. I'll understand if you don't want to be around me anymore." she said softly.
Erica hugged her close while Jill nodded her understanding and Mike looked shocked. "You wanted to be a girl all your life?!" he exclaimed.
"I'm not surprised, but that was one of those things you kept behind your tightest shields. Vash suspected almost from the beginning, I think." Jill said.
"It's not exactly like I wanted to be a girl. I really just wanted to be normal. I was confused at first when I realized that everyone thought I was a boy, but tried to fit in. I was lousy at it." Sarah said.
"Is that why some people thought you were a girl?" Mike asked.
Sarah shrugged, "I don't know. I certainly didn't look like a girl, but I never could figure out how to act like a boy."
"Is it really that hard?" Mike asked, perplexed.
"It is if you're a girl." Sarah said.
"Yeah, I guess. So you want to stay as you are I assume?" Mike asked.
Sarah nodded shyly. "I always did, really, but I didn't dare think about that. I still dread my parents' reaction to all this." she said.
"Don't worry about them honey, we'll deal with them. You don't ever have to worry about your parents hurting you again! And you won't have to face them alone, either!" Erica said fiercely.
"That's right!" Mike agreed. "We'll all be there for you. Your father tries to touch you and I'll rip his arm off!" Jill touched his arm to calm him, as he was starting to look a little red in the face.
"Thanks guys, but I don't want you getting in trouble." Sarah said.
"Don't worry, we won't. If anybody gets in trouble it will be your parents." Jill replied. "So, how are you feeling now that you've gotten all that off your chest?" Jill asked.
"Better, but kind of worn out." Sarah admitted.
"Maybe we should save the training for later." Mike said.
"Probably a good idea; especially considering you two haven't even finished your breakfast yet." Jill said, looking at their half-full plates. They'd completely forgotten their meals.
"Oh yeah! I guess I'd better warm it up." Erica said. She started to move, but Sarah was still on her lap.
"I'll take care of it." Jill said. She picked up their plates and put one in the microwave and started it up. Once it was done she swapped them and carried the first plate back to the table. Neither of them could remember whose it was, so they took turns feeding each other off of it. Mike smiled as he watched and Jill soon joined him after setting the second plate down in front of them. Soon both plates were empty. "You two are too cute for words!"
Sarah and Erica blushed and Mike laughed. "You're just proving her right you know!" he said. That only made them blush more, and Mike and Jill both laughed.
Mike took away the dishes and washed them while Jill took a closer look at Sarah's ring. "This really is beautiful. You couldn't have found anything better in a jewelry store, especially at that price!" Jill said.
Erica laughed, "Yeah, the price was right!"
"Well I don't care how much it cost or what it's worth! I'd love it if it were made of wood because you gave it to me!" Sarah gushed, gazing lovingly into Erica's eyes. Erica blushed and kissed her and they both forgot Mike and Jill were there for a while.
"Maybe we should go and let the love birds celebrate their engagement?" Mike said with a grin. He loved seeing Sarah so happy, and Erica for that matter. He'd always thought Erica was too serious, so it was nice to see her loosening up.
"Maybe we should." Jill agreed, thinking much the same things. Sarah and Erica didn't even notice as they left.
Some hours later they emerged from their bedroom and took another long shower together. Once they were dried off and dressed they walked over to Jill and Mike's place.
It was a few minutes after Sarah knocked on the door that Mike opened it. His hair was wet and he was wearing different clothes than he'd been when he was at Sarah's apartment earlier. "Hey guys, come on in!" he said, blushing when Erica glanced meaningfully at his wet hair and changed clothes.
Jill was just coming out of their bedroom when they walked in. Her hair was also wet, and she was wearing exercise clothes. "Hi guys! Ready for your first lesson?" she asked, smiling happily.
"Uh, yeah, I guess so." Sarah said. Erica nodded.
Mike began teaching them and Vash observed. After an hour they took a break. When you are teaching it is easier to isolate your martial arts training and knowledge. If I transfer it in batches I can get started right away. Vash said.
"Sounds good to me, what do you girls think?" Mike replied. The others agreed and Vash transferred the information to Sarah and Jill. Sarah found it surprisingly easy to pass it along to Erica.
After resting and drinking some water they got back to work. They were a little clumsy at first, but found themselves making amazing progress thanks to Vash's help. After another hour they decided to stop. "Wow! That was amazing. I've never had students pick things up so fast! Thanks Vash; that was a lot of help!" Mike said.
You're welcome. A little more training and I should have enough information to make another useful transfer. Vash replied.
"Yeah, Sarah and Erica are already catching up with me! This is working out a lot better than I thought it would." Jill said.
It is going better than I expected, as well. Vash said.
"So how are you feeling now Sarah, you've had a lot happen the last couple of days?" Mike asked.
"I have, but I'm feeling much better now!" Sarah said, smiling widely at Erica.
"I'm glad to hear that," Mike said, "I was really starting to worry about you."
"I'm sorry." Sarah said, her eyes lowered.
"Hey, no need to be sorry! You've been through a lot, and not just recently. You're feeling better now, though, and that's what matters." Mike replied.
"Well, she may be feeling better, but I'm starving!" Jill complained. Mike and Erica laughed and Sarah volunteered to make lunch. While she worked on that Erica told the whole story that Sarah told her to Mike and Jill while Vash laid on her lap.
"So, what are we going to do about her parents?" Mike asked angrily after she'd finished.
"I'd love to put a few bullets into them, but I don't think Sarah would go for that." Erica replied.
"No, she wouldn't. They are her parents, after all. I wonder if there's a chance of reconciliation." Jill said thoughtfully.
I believe that is what Sarah wants. Vash said.
"I think so, too." Jill agreed, and then had to tell Erica what Vash had said.
"I don't see how she can reconcile with them after what they did!" Mike replied.
Jill shrugged, "They're her parents, and she's Sarah. It's what I'd expect from her. I'm not sure if there's anything good that can come of this or not, though."
"As much as I'd rather leave them to rot, I think Sarah needs to resolve this. But there's no way she's going without me!" Erica said.
"Or me." Mike added.
It would be best for all five of us to be present. Jill and I can help keep things from getting out of hand, and Mike and Erica can protect Sarah if they do. Vash suggested.
"Sounds good to me." Erica agreed after Jill relayed Vash's words. "The hard part will be getting Sarah to go. She's been afraid of them for so long; she's not likely to get over it overnight."
I'll go. Sarah thought quietly to all four of them. They were all stunned to realize she'd been listening in on their conversation, and that she wanted to face her parents. There were several moments of silence interrupted only by the sounds Sarah made in the kitchen before anyone responded.
Are you sure you're ready? I know I was just advocating it, but I didn't intend to push you. Erica thought worriedly.
I know. I'm as ready as I'll ever be, I think. And you're right; I need to get this out of the way. I don't want to live in fear anymore. Sarah replied.
This doesn't have to happen right away, but we should begin planning it. How soon do you think we should arrange for this to happen? Jill sent.
The sooner the better. I can email them and see if it's okay to go tomorrow. Sarah replied.
Tomorrow?! Are you sure you want to go so soon? Mike asked.
If I wait too long I'll loose my nerve. I need to get it out of the way quickly. Is tomorrow okay for all of you? Sarah said.
Fine with me, I'd rather not go right before I have to leave, anyway. I want to be here for you after in case things go badly. Erica said.
I don't have any classes tomorrow, so it's fine with me. Mike said.
Let's plan for tomorrow then. Jill said. With that settled they relaxed in front of the TV while Sarah continued to work in the kitchen. A few minutes later they were all getting thirsty and Sarah showed up with glasses of ice water for all of them.
You're becoming very good at picking up other's thoughts and feelings, aren't you? Vash observed as she returned a moment later with a bowl of water for him.
I guess so. It's all kind of new to me. Sarah replied.
I can help you with it as I did Jill, if you want. Vash said.
That's okay, I don't seem to need it. It's easy to block things out when I don't want to hear it. I can even block out everything from the other apartments and still hear you guys. Sarah sent.
I'm not surprised. You were using these abilities to shield your thoughts long before you started using them in more active ways. Shielding should come very easily for you. Vash replied.
I guess. Sarah said. She hadn't realized she was shielding her thoughts before, but it was coming easily for her. She mentally shrugged and went back to work. A little while later she called them in for lunch.
After lunch Sarah agonized over what to say in her email to her parents and finally just let Erica write it for her. She was surprised to get a response back fairly quickly from her mother saying that they'd be looking forward to her coming with her friends. "How much are we going to tell them?" she asked after staring at the response for a while.
"How much do you want to tell them?" Erica replied.
Sarah shrugged, "I don't know. I think they might have some trouble with all the magic, though."
"We could just tell them you transitioned. It wouldn't be all that far from the truth, really." Jill suggested.
"I guess that would work. They'll probably disown me just for that, anyway." Sarah replied.
Erica shook her head in wonder, "I'm amazed you're even worried about that! I know they're your parents and everything, but after what they did…" Sarah just shrugged in reply.
"Did you guys have any plans for today?" Jill asked.
Erica glanced at Sarah who shook her head. "No." Erica said.
"I was thinking that martial arts aren't the only kind of training we can be doing. We might want to wait until our training is a little farther along before going to any dangerous worlds, but we could at least start selecting places we want to go that have something to offer us." Jill said.
"What do you mean, something to offer us?" Mike asked.
Jill shrugged, "Magic, technology, other kinds of training, whatever."
"Training like what Melanie tried to give me?" Sarah asked.
"Exactly. I know that didn't work for you, but other kinds of training might." Jill replied.
"I guess that could be useful. Did you have anything specific in mind?" Sarah said.
"I have a few ideas, but I wanted to look into them some more. I thought we could all come up with a world or two to visit and then discuss them and pick where we want to go from there." Jill said.
"That sounds like a good idea to me." Erica said.
"Why don't you guys look through Sarah's collection and we'll look through ours?" Mike suggested. They agreed and Sarah opened a portal and she and Erica stepped through. They both sat on the floor in front of Sarah's bookcase and started looking through the titles for something of interest. Before long they each had a small stack of books to look through and they moved to the couch to do so.
A few hours later they had only gotten through half of the books they'd selected. I don't know about you, but I could use a break. Erica thought.
Sarah stretched and thought, That sounds like a good idea, I am getting stiff. They put the books they'd ruled out back on the shelf and put the other stack aside to go through later.
Did you notice what time it is? Erica thought.
Wow, we were reading that long?! Sarah replied, looking at the clock. It was already almost six o'clock.
Apparently. What do you want to do for dinner? Erica said.
I'm not really hungry. How about we just make some sandwiches? Sarah sent.
Okay with me. Erica replied. They made their sandwiches and sat at the kitchen table to eat.
It really is handy to be able to talk and eat at the same time. Sarah noted.
Yeah, I could get used to this. Erica agreed.
Have you found anything promising? Sarah asked.
Not really. The ones I checked all had problems that I didn't think would be worth dealing with. How about you? Erica asked.
Maybe one, I'm not sure. Want to see how Mike and Jill are doing when we're done eating? Sarah replied.
Sure. Erica said. They finished eating and walked over to Mike and Jill's. Jill opened the door almost immediately after they knocked.
"Hi! Taking a break?" she asked as she stood aside to let them in.
"Yeah, we thought we'd see if you're getting anywhere." Erica replied.
"I take it that you aren't?" Jill asked. Mike was sitting on the couch reading a book, a small pile of books next to him.
"Not really." Sarah said.
"We've found one book that looks good, but most are just too dangerous or have some other drawback that makes them impractical." Mike said.
"I was thinking, though, that we should expand our search to movies." Jill said.
"That would give us more options. Did you have a specific movie in mind?" Erica said.
Jill shook her head, "No. I just thought more options would be nice. We can also look at stories online, and even comics and web comics might be usable."
"If we're going to expand that much we might as well include games, as well." Sarah said.
"Games?! How would games be useful?" Mike asked.
"Lots of games have complete stories to them. I can think of one offhand that could be useful." Sarah replied.
"Oh? What game is that?" Erica asked curiously.
Sarah smiled at Erica and said, "Oni. It's an old favorite of mine. I'm not sure how well it would work for Mike, but I'm sure it would work for you."
"Why wouldn't it work for me?" Mike asked.
"Because what I thought we could get from there is a chrysalis. It makes permanent physical changes to your body. Your shifting would probably kill it or something. I'm not sure how well it would mix with magic or psionics, but Erica's immune to both, so it's a perfect match for her." Sarah explained.
"What kind of physical changes are we talking about?" Jill asked worriedly.
"The way one scientist describes it in the game is that it changes you into a stronger more resilient version of yourself. Someone with a fully evolved chrysalis would heal fast, be tougher and stronger than normal, and be able to fight off pretty much any poison or disease. Those are pretty much all things that we can get with magical items, but Erica can't." Sarah said.
"Would it change her appearance?" Mike asked.
Sarah frowned at that, "I'm not sure. The main character in the game doesn't change, but some of the bad guys do. I don't think Erica would, since she's not like them, but I don't know for sure. Maybe it's not such a good idea, after all."
"Let's not give up on this too quickly, it sounds really promising!" Erica said. "I don't suppose this game has a written story I can read by any chance?"
"No," Sarah replied, "but I could finish the game in a few hours and you could see the story that way."
"A few hours?! How short is this game?!" Mike exclaimed.
Sarah shrugged, "It's not that short, but I know the game really well. I've played it all the way through several times, so I can finish it pretty quickly."
"I don't know about this, if it changes Erica too much she wouldn't be able to live a normal life anymore." Jill said.
"Let's watch Sarah play through it, at least! I think this has potential!" Erica said. Jill sighed but nodded. Sarah opened a portal and they all walked through to Sarah's apartment. While she booted up her computer the others started looking through Sarah's movie collection.
"Okay, I'm ready to get started!" Sarah called out. Mike retrieved some chairs from the kitchen and they all sat down around Sarah's computer to watch. Mike was surprised to see that watching the game was almost like watching a movie. Sarah started out a little rough, but soon got into the swing of things and was dispatching bad guys with swift efficiency. He noted in passing that there were a lot of powerful weapons in the game that could also be useful, along with a force field!
It was getting late by the time Sarah finished, but she did indeed finish the game in only four and a half hours. "So, what do you guys think?" Sarah asked as she massaged her hands. Erica grabbed her hand and started massaging it for her, which earned her a big smile from Sarah.
"I'm still not sure about it." Jill said. "At least one of the characters in the game doesn't look too normal after getting that chrysalis."
"I'm not sure about the chrysalis, but I saw other things that could be handy to have." Mike said.
"Only one character really changed visibly, unless you want to count the alternative ending Sarah mentioned. And that only adds one character with noticeable changes. The rest looked normal enough." Erica said.
I agree with Mike that there are other reasons to go there. That force field, while temporary, could be very useful. And the weapons might be useful, too. And if Erica doesn't get a chrysalis, those hypos they use for healing wounds would be helpful for Erica, since the healing water doesn't work on her. As for the chrysalis itself, that decision rests with Erica. Vash said.
All eyes turned to Erica. "What do you think Erica? It's kind of a one-way proposition." Sarah said.
Erica thought about it for a few moments. "I want to do it!" she declared suddenly.
"Are you sure? What if you change?" Jill asked.
"I want to try it. It would allow me to protect Sarah better, and solve a lot of the problems my magical immunity causes. I think it's worth it." Erica replied.
Why don't we talk about this again tomorrow. If you still want to go, we can talk about it then. It's too late to be making any plans tonight. Vash suggested.
"Works for me." Erica said. The others agreed and Sarah opened a portal for Mike and Jill to go back to their apartment. After saying goodnight they left.
"So you really want to try this?" Sarah asked after she'd closed the portal.
Erica nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah, I really do! It's like that chrysalis was made for me! My only concern is if I really do change. Visibly, I mean."
"I guess it's my turn, then, to say that I love who you are, not how you look. So you don't have to worry about that, okay?" Sarah said.
Erica hugged Sarah and said, "Thanks! I was a little worried about that. Now I'm sure this is the right way to go!"
"You do know that I wasn't trying to convince you, right? I mean, I don't want you to think I was pushing you in this direction." Sarah said.
"Don't worry, Sarah, I know! This is my decision, and mine only." Erica replied.
"I'm halfway tempted to try it myself." Sarah said softly.
"Why only halfway?" Erica asked.
"I'm not sure how it would interact with my magical abilities. Would it cause me to lose the ability to open portals? Or would my magic interfere with it, causing it to mutate me in strange and horrible ways?" Sarah replied with a shudder.
"I see what you mean. I think maybe you'd better leave this one to me. What about Jill, though? Do you think she'd benefit from it? I know she's against it so it's unlikely to happen, but I'm curious what you think about it." Erica said.
"I think she's almost as likely as me to have problems because of her abilities. Even if everything went perfectly for her, she could end up with super sensitive psychic senses and go crazy from all the stuff she'd be sensing all the time!" Sarah said.
"Ugh, yeah, not a good idea! And Mike would probably either kill off the chrysalis the first time he shifted, or it would interfere with his abilities, too. I guess I'm the only one of us who can really benefit from it." Erica said.
"Yeah, even Vash is iffy. He already changed when we brought him back here, there's no telling how a chrysalis would affect him. I am a little worried that the chrysalis might disrupt your immunity to magic and psionics, though." Sarah said.
Erica shrugged, "I'm not worried about that. It probably won't have any effect, but if it does then that means the healing water and other magical objects will work for me that don't now. So either way I'll benefit from it, I think."
"There's one other issue, if you do go through with this." Sarah said thoughtfully.
"What's that?" Erica asked.
"Your body will, hopefully, look the same, but you'll really be hyper evolved, once the chrysalis has done its thing. You'll need to avoid letting anyone get a blood sample or anything like that. Otherwise they could figure out how different you'd really be at that point and you could end up a lab rat somewhere." Sarah replied.
"Hmm, yes, that's a good point. But if this chrysalis thing works, I'll never need to go to a doctor again. So that shouldn't be a problem. Besides, even if I couldn't get away by myself, I'm sure you guys could break me out!" Erica said.
"You're probably right, but I'd rather not be put into a position to have to blast our way in to get you out. Not to mention the fact that you, and probably us after breaking you out, would have to go into hiding." Sarah said.
"Do you not want me to do this?" Erica asked.
"No, it's not that!" Sarah hastened to reassure her. "I just want you to consider all the implications. I want you to make the choice for yourself, not me. If you still think it's worth it after considering all the factors involved, I'll support you all the way."
"Thanks, I appreciate that." Erica replied and hugged her. "Now, why don't we go to bed so we can be well rested for tomorrow? It's going to be a busy day, after all."
"Oh, yeah." Sarah said, remembering their planned meeting with her parents.
Erica hugged her again, "Don't worry, everything will be fine!" she said reassuringly. Sarah nodded doubtfully and they both got ready for bed. Erica cuddled up with Sarah and stroked her hair to try and help her relax. Before long they were both asleep.
Some guy approached me earlier today and he knows I've been following you guys around. He also thinks that Sarah had something to do with all the damage where you guys trained, and also with John's death. He's some kind of policeman or something and threatened to arrest me if I didn't spy on Sarah for him! He also said not to contact Sarah or her friends or he'd arrest us all. What can I do? she thought frantically.
Calm down Tiffany! We'll figure something out. I think it would be best if I told the others about you. Is that okay? Vash replied.
I've thought of doing that anyway, so yeah, go ahead. And please tell them I'm sorry! Tiffany thought.
I will, and I'm sure they will understand once I explain everything to them. Vash said.
Thanks! Should I stick around, or should I go? she thought.
It's quite late. It might look odd if you stayed any later. I suggest you go home and come back first thing in the morning. I'll tell Mike and Jill tonight, and we'll tell Sarah and Erica in the morning. Hopefully by the time you arrive we'll have everything settled about you and can start working on dealing with this mysterious man. Vash said.
Okay, I'll come over first thing. Should I come here or Sarah's? she replied.
Sharah's, that's who you're supposed to be watching, anyway. Vash said.
I'll see you there, then. Goodnight, and thanks! Tiffany said.
You're welcome. I'm glad you're finally doing this. Goodnight. Vash replied. She left, then, and Vash found Jill standing over him.
"Okay, what's going on Vash?" she said irritably. "I know you were talking to someone, but I couldn't sense anyone here!"
That was a friend of Sarah's. She's given me permission to tell you about her now. You might want to sit down, this will take a little while. Vash replied.
Jill took a seat on the couch and Vash jumped into her lap. A moment later Mike joined them. "Okay, what's up?" he asked, sitting down next to Jill.
Tiffany, a girl who works with Sarah, became curious after Sarah showed up at work as a girl. She followed Sarah and spied on her to try and figure out how Sarah changed so much, so quickly. Vash began.
"And how long have you known about this?!" Jill growled.
I'm getting to that. When you visited my previous master's tower, you all thought that Sarah had killed him along with his apprentice. That's not the case. Her fireball did kill the apprentice, but my former master teleported to his room just before the blast hit. Tiffany had followed you, as she already had a few times before that, and had ended up in that room. She saw his attack on all of you through a magical mirror and when he suddenly appeared in the room in front of her she reacted and plunged a dagger she got from a guard into his heart. He died instantly. Vash explained.
"Oh." Jill said. "So I guess she helped us out, there."
Yes, he would have cast spells at you through the mirror if she hadn't killed him when she did. She then looked through his room and found some gold coins and gems, and a ring. She slipped into the room you were in and followed you through Sarah's portal. She waited until everyone had left the room before making her way out, but I had sensed her. I decided to confront her myself, to find out what her intentions were. I decided that she was harmless, and urged her to talk to all of you. She was afraid, and said no, but I got her to relinquish my former master's ring, which I gave to you. Vash continued.
"So she helped us again. But why didn't you tell us about her?" Mike said.
I promised not to. That's why I had to have her permission before talking to you now. Like you, she's developed magical abilities as a result of traveling through the portals. She is a Shadowkin, which means that she can manipulate shadows to hide herself. She has developed quite a bit since then, so she is now almost invisible and soundless, leaves few if any traces, and is almost impossible to detect mentally. As a result she was able to follow you all without being detected, even by me after a while. If Jill's abilities had been more advanced when she started following you, she would have detected her. But by the time they were, her own abilities made that impossible. Vash replied.
"So why is she revealing herself now?" Jill asked.
I'm getting there. I want you to know all the facts, first. She has followed on almost every portal trip since then. When you went to Skylark she stole a gun and some explosive ammunition. She also picked up several Shadowkin artifacts in the tomb, where she helped you with the zombies. And she is the one who found the wands and gave them to me so Sarah could make use of them. And she also killed John. Vash said.
"What?!" Mike exclaimed.
She found John when he was about to rape Sarah, and killed him. I don't know all the details about that, but I know she did it to protect Sarah. She has become friends with Sarah and cares a great deal for her. That care is the main reason she hasn't revealed herself before now, she was afraid that Sarah wouldn't want anything to do with her when she found out. Vash said.
"I guess I can understand that, but I don't like the fact she's been following us around all this time." Jill said.
Then you'll like the reason for her revealing herself now even less. Someone approached her and tried to blackmail her into spying on Sarah for him. He appears to be some kind of investigator. For what group or individual I have no idea. She agreed to do so in order to fend him off and then approached me. She is very much afraid of this man, and has asked for help. She will not tell him about your abilities, but she doesn't want to go to jail herself, either. I told her to meet us at Sarah's apartment first thing in the morning. Vash said.
"We'd better get over there and tell Sarah and Erica about this." Mike said and stood up.
That's not necessary. We can tell them in the morning. If we tell them now Sarah will worry so much she won't get any sleep. She already has a full day ahead of her, let her sleep. Vash said.
"Yeah, he's right, Mike. We'll tell her in the morning. You're right Vash, I don't like this. But if this guy is watching Sarah, then it's good to know that. Maybe Tiffany can feed him misinformation for us. She's already helped us, even if we didn't know about it. I don't like all the sneaking around, but I can't hold a grudge against someone who saved Sarah from being raped and who knows what else." Jill said.
Mike nodded, "I agree. It would have killed Sarah if John had succeeded. We owe Tiffany for that at the very least. We'll get up early and get over to Sarah's apartment and explain everything to her. Then when Tiffany gets there we can start making plans to deal with this guy."
The others agreed and Jill and Mike went to bed.
Sarah awoke to the smell of bacon frying. Opening her eyes she found that Erica was still asleep. She carefully extricated herself from their tangle of limbs and threw a robe on before going out to see what was going on. When she got to the kitchen she found Mike at the table with Vash and Jill working away at the stove. "Uh, hi guys." she said uncertainly. "Why are you guys here so early?"
"Good morning Sarah!" Mike greeted with a subdued smile that told Sarah she probably wasn't going to like the answer. Vash flew to her shoulder and rubbed his face against her neck and purred loudly, which only further confirmed that something was up.
"Good morning Sarah, we wanted to catch you before our guest arrives." Jill said.
"Guest?" Sarah replied quizzically.
Jill nodded, "I'll tell you about that once Erica's up. Breakfast's almost ready, maybe you should wake her?"
Sarah shrugged and went to get Erica. She was just waking up when she got there. "I don't suppose you're serving breakfast in bed?" Erica asked hopefully.
Sarah smiled, "Sorry, I just woke up myself."
Erica frowned and said, "But I smell bacon?"
"Yeah, Jill's cooking. She and Mike came over early. Apparently we're having a visitor. She said breakfast's almost ready." Sarah explained.
"Oh, I guess that explains why you have the furball on your shoulder." Erica mumbled as she drug herself out of bed. She threw a robe on and followed Sarah to the kitchen.
"Good morning Erica, have a seat!" Jill called out.
"Good morning Jill, mind explaining what you're doing here so early?" Erica inquired.
"We had a visitor last night, though they only talked to Vash." Mike replied.
"Oh, who?" Sarah asked curiously.
Tiffany. Vash said.
"Tiffany?! Why would Tiffany go to see you so late at night? For that matter, how does she even know you guys?" Sarah exclaimed.
"She doesn't know us, really, but she knows Vash." Jill replied.
Sarah sat down hard upon hearing that. "How does Tiffany know Vash?!" she asked in shock.
"Apparently she's the reason Vash is even with us. She's the one who killed his former master." Mike said.
"What?! How is that even possible?!" Sarah exclaimed.
Allow me to explain. Vash said, and proceeded to do so. Erica had to eavesdrop through their bond to hear what Vash was saying, as Sarah was too shocked to relay it herself.
"So Tiffany is the one who killed John?" Erica asked, having latched onto that part. Vash nodded from his perch on Sarah's shoulder. "Where is she?"
"I'm here." Tiffany said softly as the room suddenly brightened to reveal her standing behind the table up against the wall. Jill dropped the fork she was using to turn the bacon and Sarah and Mike nearly fell out of their chairs. Even Vash was surprised and almost fell off of Sarah's shoulder. Fortunately for Sarah his claws were blunted so he didn't penetrate her skin when he dug in.
"Wha…how…uh, how did you do that?" Sarah spluttered.
Tiffany's gaze sank to the floor as she said, "I'm Shadowkin, or so Vash says. I just know I can control shadows. It makes it easy to hide. I've been able to do that ever since following you through one of your portals the first time."
"Uh, Tiffany, I'm pretty sure I locked the door after we came in…" Mike said.
Tiffany blushed and stepped closer to the table. Dropping a key onto it she said, "I'm sorry Sarah, I stole your keys and made a copy. That used to be how I got in. Now I just use this ring." With that she held her right hand up so they could all see the obsidian ring.
"That ring opens locks?" Erica asked. Tiffany nodded. "You know, you could have just told us that without admitting to the copying of Sarah's key."
Tiffany shook her head, "No, I want to be honest with you. Sarah's my only friend; though I know she probably doesn't feel the same way anymore. I don't want to have any secrets or lies between us anymore."
Why don't you tell them your story. I've told them what I know, but I'm sure there's more to it than that. Vash said.
Tiffany sighed and nodded. "Okay. Well, when you first came to work as Sarah, I was shocked! You were so different, it didn't seem possible that you could change so much so quickly. I looked it up, and that only confirmed that it was impossible. And you couldn't change your height at all! So I followed you home the next chance I got and started following you everywhere. I didn't find out much at first, because I couldn't get into your apartment and I couldn't hear what you were saying from the window. But I did see you go through a portal and come back, and I saw Mike in his naga form." she said.
"So you've been shadowing us for quite a while." Jill said.
"Yes." Tiffany said. "Anyway, I managed to follow you guys through a portal not long after that. I also managed to get a hold of Sarah's keys and make that copy. From then on I followed you on every portal trip you took when I was there. I…killed that wizard. When we got back Vash noticed me and made a deal with me. I gave him that ring and he promised not to tell any of you about me. After that it wasn't long before even Vash couldn't tell I was there. I stole a gun and explosive bullets from those people that gave them to you, and then got some use out of it at the tomb. I picked up those wands from the other wizard along with various coins, gems, and other stuff from the rooms as we went. When you moved all the treasure up to the room above I went through it."
"Wait, you went through the treasure before we did?!" Jill exclaimed.
Tiffany nodded, "Yes. I was going to just grab stuff, but certain things just sort of…called to me. So I only took those. Then you guys came up and went through it. When you were done I went through the non-magical stuff and stuffed my pockets and the bag I took off of the mage."
The things that called to her were Shadowkin artifacts, I believe. Vash added.
Tiffany shrugged, "I guess. They do seem to fit in with my powers really well. Anyway, I kept following you on your trips. And I learned a lot about you and wanted to be friends, so I approached you at work. I know you won't want anything to do with me now. But then this man approached me as I was walking back to my car yesterday morning. He threatened to arrest me if I didn't spy on you, and threatened to arrest us all if I contacted you. That's why I waited until you were all in the kitchen to show myself, because he can't see us in here."
"What about John?" Sarah asked.
"Well, I saw you were acting strangely that day, and you left through the back door. I was worried about you, so I went looking for you. When I saw Vash lying on the ground with blood in his fur I knew you were in trouble. Then I saw John standing over you and pulling his pants down…" Tiffany trailed off, her hands clenched and two of her throwing knives appeared, one in each clenched fist.
"Whoa, where did those come from?!" Mike exclaimed, putting himself between her and the others.
"Huh?" Tiffany asked, puzzled, and then noticed the knives in her hands. "Oh, sorry." She put the knives away in her pockets. "They do that sometimes."
Would you put one of those on the table, here?" Vash asked, pawing the table. Tiffany shrugged and pulled one out of her pocket and put it on the table as he asked. Hmm, I see. Yes, this is a Shadowkin artifact, like I thought. Either those policemen were ill informed, or they were lying. John wasn't poisoned. Vash said thoughtfully.
"What?! Do you mean he's still alive?!" Sarah exclaimed fearfully.
No, sorry. I mean there's nothing left of him. These knives were designed as the perfect assassin's tool. Hit your target anywhere on their body and they will slowly disintegrate into a pile of an ash-like substance. That substance cannot be used to call their spirit from the dead, resurrect them, or clone them. They also guide the hand of their user and return to that hand at will. But they are only usable by Shadowkin. To anyone else they're simply throwing knives that are very tough. Vash explained.
"So why did you call them to you?" Mike asked suspiciously, still shielding the others from her.
"I didn't! Sometimes when I'm angry or scared they just appear, I don't have any control over it!" Tiffany hastily replied.
She's telling the truth. They're designed to react to her emotions as much as her thoughts. It allows for a shorter reaction time in a crisis. It's probably just as well she doesn't have a Shadow Sword, as it does the same thing. Vash said.
"Shadow Sword? That wouldn't be a curved sword that changes to a flat black when I touch it, would it?" Tiffany asked.
Yes, it would. You must not have used it in battle yet. If you had, it would come to your hand instead of the knives when you're scared, as it is more useful for defense. What other Shadowkin artifacts did you find? Vash replied.
"Well, there's the ring, this amulet," Tiffany began, pulling a black diamond amulet out of her shirt, "the sword, four knives, bracers," she pulled her sleeves up to reveal them, "and a cloak."
Vash just stared at her for a moment before saying, That's just about every kind of Shadowkin artifact that I've ever heard of! Besides coming to your hand when needed, the Shadow Sword also guides your hand and drains the energy from your enemy when you strike them. That energy is transferred into you. You already know what the Shadow Blades do. The Knock Ring can open any lock, even a magical one. It also allows you to pass through any kind of magical barrier or shield. The bracers will protect you from physical harm. The pendant amplifies your abilities and accelerates their growth. The cloak masks any sounds that you make and also prevents you from leaving tracks. All of these objects are undetectable by most magical means.
"I guessed that last part. When Sarah was practicing that detect magic spell nothing I had glowed except for a ring I retrieved from the second wizard." Tiffany said.
Where is that ring? Vash asked.
"It's back in my apartment with the rest of my stuff." Tiffany said.
I should take a look at it before you try to use it. Vash said.
"Wait a minute, you said your ring glowed, right?" Jill said. Tiffany nodded. "But none of us saw it glow besides Sarah!"
It's part of being a Shadowkin. They can sense certain kinds of magic, like detection spells. In this case it allows her to experience the detect magic spell the same way that Sarah does. Vash explained.
Erica was getting impatient with all the magic talk, as she was more concerned with how Tiffany dealt with John. "So what happened after you found John?" she asked.
"I was angry and scared and wanted to stop him, and suddenly there was one of the throwing knives in my hand. I didn't even think about the fact I didn't have any of them with me at the time, I just threw it at him. Amazingly, it hit him right in the middle of his back. He staggered and tried to grab the knife. I felt this weird connection to it, and I pulled on that and the knife reappeared in my hand. Then he passed out on top of Sarah. I was just about to try and drag him off when Mike arrived in wolf form, so I ran away." Tiffany replied.
"Why did you run away?" Mike asked, surprised that he hadn't seen or smelled her.
Tiffany shrugged, "I was scared. I was pretty sure I'd just killed someone, after all. And I did." She said the last in a small voice, her eyes glued to the floor.
"Oh Tiffany, I'm sorry!" Sarah cried, rushing around the table to hug her startled friend.
"You're sorry? For what?!" Tiffany exclaimed.
"That's twice now you've had to kill someone to protect me! That must be horrible for you!" Sarah said with tears running down her face.
Tiffany's face was similarly wet as she asked, "You don't hate me?"
Sarah pulled far enough away to say, "Of course not!" before hugging her again. They cried on each other's shoulders for a few minutes before they separated.
"Why?" Tiffany finally said when she found her voice.
"Why what?" Sarah asked.
"Why don't you hate me?" Tiffany replied.
"Because you're my friend. Because my change really was impossible by normal means, so your curiosity was understandable. Because you saved me from John. Lots of reasons." Sarah replied.
"Not the least of which being that she doesn't know how to hate anybody!" Erica said with a smile for her fiancé. Sarah blushed and shrugged.
Now we need to talk about the man who's threatening Tiffany. How are we going to deal with him? Vash said.
Mike shrugged, "We don't know much about him, yet. We don't even know if he's a policeman, private investigator, or something else. I think we'd have to find that out before we could really make any plans."
They all looked at Tiffany at that, but she shook her head, "No, that won't work. He knows about me, and already spotted me at least once. He'd know right away if I tried to spy on him."
"That leaves Vash and Mike, then." Jill said.
"Mike? I understand why Vash could spy on him without getting caught, but why Mike?" Erica asked.
Jill glanced at Mike and he transformed into a snake. Then a mouse, squirrel, and finally back to human. "He picked up some smaller forms." Jill said unnecessarily.
I think it will have to be me, as I can delve into his mind as well as observing his actions. Vash said.
"So what do the rest of us do?" Sarah wondered.
"I don't think there's much we can do until we know more. We don't even have his name yet. And we have more important business to deal with today, anyway." Jill replied.
"Oh, that." Sarah said.
"Yes, that! We're not going to forget about that, you need to confront your parents!" Erica said.
"What about me?" Tiffany asked hesitantly.
Jill had retrieved a clean fork and was fishing the bacon out of the grease when she said, "Take a seat and eat breakfast with us!"
Tiffany glanced at the four sided table with its four chairs and wondered where she thought she was going to sit! "Sarah, your seat's right here!" Erica called out from one chair, pointing at her lap. "There, now there's room for everyone!" she said happily once Sarah had settled into her lap. Tiffany smiled at her and took a seat. Vash jumped over to her lap, as Sarah's shoulder was becoming a more awkward perch to reach the table from.
Mike helped Jill carry everything over to the table and they started eating. Tiffany was overwhelmed by how easily they were all accepting her presence there. Mike made sure she had plenty to eat, since Vash was swiping his own meal off of her plate. She just smiled down at him, as he looked so cute doing that!
They ate in silence, all thinking about their various problems. Sarah was getting quiet as she thought about her upcoming confrontation with her parents, and Erica was feeding them both.
Tiffany insisted on helping with the dishes after breakfast. She and Mike washed the dishes while the others tried to keep Sarah's spirits up. "I'm going to have to pretend that I'm still following you guys when you go to see Sarah's parents, aren't I?" Tiffany said as they worked.
"We won't have time to get the information we need and figure out how to deal with him before we have to leave, so I guess so. Do you think he'll follow us to Sarah's parents' place?" Mike said.
Tiffany shrugged, "I don't know. I've only talked to him once. If he does I won't be able to join you in the house without hiding myself."
"That might be for the best, anyway. They know all of us, but they don't know you. You and Vash can stay hidden unless you're needed. It's always nice to have backup." Mike said.
Jill popped her head in and said, "I'm going to go let Vash out so he can spy on our spy. I'll go over to the apartment and bring something back so he doesn't know why I'm really opening the door." Mike nodded and she left.
"Do you really think we can convince him to leave Sarah alone?" Tiffany asked as they were putting the last dishes away.
"We'll find a way." Mike replied confidently. He thought it was interesting that Tiffany seemed more concerned for Sarah than for herself. He considered asking her about it, but decided they had enough on their plate at the moment!
Tiffany and Mike took seats on the couch where Erica was holding Sarah on her lap again and trying to calm her nerves. "We need to do something to distract us until it's time to go." Erica said. Mike nodded and started up one of Sarah's favorite games. Soon the two of them were playing away. For once Sarah wasn't dominating the game, because she kept getting distracted when Erica ran her fingers through her hair.
Tiffany watched them and felt just as separate from them as she had when she was watching them from the shadows. She was starting to feel depressed about that and wondered if she should go, but then she remembered that she was still pretending to be watching the others. She didn't notice the shadows pulling in around her.
Sarah felt Tiffany's mood darken before she lost contact with her, so she redoubled her efforts and finally beat Mike. "Tiffany, do you want to play?" she asked. Erica gave her a quick surreptitious hug to show she agreed with what Sarah was doing.
"Uh, I don't really know this game." Tiffany said. She could tell that she wouldn't last a minute against either Mike or Sarah.
"What games do you know?" Mike asked.
Tiffany looked through the games available and shrugged, "Just the sports ones, I guess."
"I guess you're up against me then, Mike would annihilate you on those games!" Sarah said. Mike handed her his controller and they started playing. By the time Jill got back they were fully into their game, which was a close one.
Tiffany won their game, barely, and they were both tired out from it, so Mike and Erica took a turn. "So, Tiffany, what happened to your hair?" Sarah asked as they watched the game.
"I don't know. Maybe it's another Shadowkin thing. My hair just changed color on its own. My eyes, too." Tiffany replied.
Sarah took a closer look at her and nodded, "That's right, your eyes were blue. Now they're lavender. I wonder what would happen if you dyed your hair? Would it be uniform in color, or would it still shade from dark to light, only in whatever color you dyed it?"
"I don't know; I haven't tried it yet. My skin is also a lot lighter. It looks like I've never seen the sun before, now." Tiffany said.
"Oh yeah, that's right! Is that all because of this Shadowkin thing?" Sarah asked.
"That's what Vash thinks. He didn't know what kind of changes Shadowkin go through, but he knew there were some, and that they weren't severe." Tiffany replied.
"Well that's good. I'd hate for you to have to go into hiding because you changed too much." Sarah said with relief evident in her voice.
"That's why I'm against Erica getting a chrysalis." Jill said. "It would be beneficial, but the drawbacks if she changes visibly outweigh the benefits, in my opinion."
"I wonder if that chrysalis would do me any good." Tiffany wondered.
"Considering you changed physically because of your powers, I wouldn't recommend it. I think there's an even greater risk of it conflicting with your powers than there is for Mike and I." Jill replied. "Besides, even for Erica there's a chance she could change a lot from it."
"I don't know about that. In the game only one person had visible changes, and he was one of the bad guys. The way it was depicted it was like good people didn't change their appearance, but some of the really bad people did." Tiffany said.
Sarah looked thoughtful as she said, "That's right, isn't it? Only Barabas and Muro had visible differences; and Muro only in the alternate ending. In the final cut scene Konoko was normal looking, even though her transformation should have been complete or nearly so. That makes me feel a little better about it."
"Good!" Erica called over her shoulder as she returned Mike's serve. "Because I've decided to get a chrysalis!"
Jill frowned and then shrugged, "You already know how I feel about it, but it's your choice. I just hope you're all right about it."
"So you were there when I played through the game for them to see?" Sarah asked Tiffany.
Tiffany nodded, "Yes, I saw it. I followed Mike and Jill back through your portal so I could talk to Vash after that."
Jill went out to let Vash in a few minutes later, returning soon after. "So what did you find out?" she asked once she'd seated herself.
A great deal. Perhaps the most important bit of information I gleaned from his thoughts is that he does not believe in magical or psychic phenomena. Despite what he's seen, though that isn't as much as we feared. He can't really see inside the apartments from where he's set up his surveillance devices. He's been relying on Tiffany for that and spending most of his time talking to other people and investigating what little physical evidence he has. Vash replied.
"What physical evidence does he have?" Mike asked after putting the game on pause.
There's the evidence at the site of your training, but that isn't much. Thankfully the ground there is too rocky for him to find any tracks. He believes the damage was done by someone practicing with some kind of explosives, even though he's found no trace of any. He also has the remains of John. His people haven't been able to identify the material the ashes are made out of, and they have no trace of John in them. The only connection he has is a recording of John's disintegration. How he can reconcile that as a natural reaction, I don't know. Vash said.
"He has a recording of that?!" Jill exclaimed. Then, after some thought, she said, "How many copies exist of that recording?"
I don't know. Vash replied.
"Are you thinking of destroying the recording?" Mike asked.
Jill shrugged, "It might be helpful. Though we'd have to do it in a way that looked accidental or we'd just make him even more interested than he already is."
"What about who he works for?" Tiffany asked.
He works for an agency called the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I got the impression you would know what that means. Vash said.
"Yeah, we know what that means." Erica agreed. "I was hoping he was just a cop, it would have made things easier. How are we going to get the FBI off our backs?"
"I don't suppose you got any ideas about that from your time with him?" Jill asked.
I'm not sure. Apparently he's not very happy with this assignment, though he is less displeased than he was at first. John's death has piqued his interest somewhat. If we could somehow convince him there's nothing interesting going on here, or at least that we're involved in, I think that would work. But I'm not sure how to go about doing that. Vash said.
"Can he really arrest me, or all of you?" Tiffany asked fearfully.
I'm not sure. But I gathered that he doesn't really have any evidence to work with. The video could prove that the ashes are the remains of John, but most wouldn't believe it and would probably assume it was faked. Even he isn't sure it's not faked. I think he was just trying to scare you. Vash replied.
"Well it worked!" Tiffany said.
"I think you'd better play along with him until we figure something out." Erica said. "If he approaches you again, just say you didn't see anything out of the ordinary."
"Okay." Tiffany said doubtfully.
"What's his name, anyway?" Sarah asked.
His name is Marvin Garner. Vash said.
"Maybe Dad can help us figure out what to do. But I'm not sure if I could give him enough information without revealing our abilities." Erica said.
"Do you think he could handle it if you did?" Mike asked.
"And what about me?" Sarah asked. "How would he react when he found out I'm a girl now?"
Erica snorted at that, "You know Dad better than that! He loves you! Mom too! And they're both really supportive of the rights of LGBT people, so I'm sure they could handle your being a girl now, and us being engaged. Though it might be a bit of an adjustment at first."
"Well, since Sarah's not going to change back, maybe that's something you should tell them. Then if we decide to ask for their help they won't have that hurdle to overcome." Jill suggested.
Erica nodded, "Yeah, I think I'll do that. Don't look so tense, Sarah, they'll be fine! You'll see, they're infinitely more accepting of people than your parents are!"
Sarah tried to relax, but there was simply too much going on in her life right now for that.
They sat back and watched the game after that. Erica gave Mike a run for his money, much to Jill and Sarah's surprise, but he still won. "Well, it looks like it's time to go." Mike said when he looked at the clock. Sarah reluctantly got up when Erica prodded her and they headed out to Sarah's car. Tiffany remembered at the last minute to hide and wait until they were all out before letting herself out as she would have if she hadn't revealed herself to them.
Once outside she hurried to her car and followed them as discreetly as she could. Sarah had given her directions, of course, but she had to seem like she didn't know where she was going.
It was a long drive and Sarah's fears only grew as they approached her childhood home. Erica held her in the backseat while Vash purred away in her lap and she eventually fell asleep. Erica was reluctant to wake her when they arrived and waited until the others were all out of the car before doing so. "We're here honey, time to get up." she said softly when Sarah opened her eyes.
Sarah groaned, but got up and climbed reluctantly out of the car. She held Erica's hand tightly as they walked up to the door. Mike knocked and Sarah's mother answered the door. "Hi Mike, how are you? Come on in!" she said cheerfully. She stood back and watched as they all walked in and then frowned when she didn't see Sean. "Where's Sean?"
"Uh, I'm right here Mom." Sarah said weakly. Erica gave her hand a squeeze and sent all the encouragement and love she could through their bond. She seemed to straighten up a bit at that.
Sarah's mother frowned and took a closer look at Sarah. "You do look kind of like Sean, but you're not him! Now quit playing around and tell me where my son is!" she demanded, anger creeping into her voice.
Erica sighed, "She's telling the truth, she really is Sean. Though she goes by Sarah now."
"She's always felt like a girl, Mrs. Kinsley. This really is your daughter." Jill said.
Sarah was cringing away from her mother, expecting an attack at any moment. "That can't be Sean, can it?" her mother said in disbelief. She looked more closely at her and dropped onto the couch. "Is that really you?" she asked in confusion.
"Uh, yeah, Mom. It's me." Sarah said. She was also confused, as her mother didn't seem the least bit antagonistic. Confused, but not angry at all!
"You look so similar, and yet so different. How did this happen?" Sarah's mother asked.
Following their plan, Jill outlined what's involved in transitioning, even though Sarah went through none of it. "And you really felt like a girl all your life?" she asked.
They all exchanged confused glances. "I wouldn't have thought this would come as a surprise, considering how you reacted before." Erica said with ill concealed anger.
Mrs. Kinsley looked confused and said, "Reacted before? What are you talking about? Sean's never told me he felt like a girl before."
"What about the time you nearly strangled her because she was wearing some of your old clothes?" Erica growled.
"What?! I never did that!" Mrs. Kinsley exclaimed in shock.
"Oh come on!" Erica exclaimed angrily. "We know you did! Sarah has a very clear memory of it, along with you threatening to have her father rape her if she ever wore female clothes again!"
"She WHAT?!" Mr. Kinsley roared as he entered the room. "I would never do that!"
Erica snorted, "Yeah, right! Like we're going to believe that after you beat her for years!"
Mrs. Kinsley looked even more shocked and confused at that. "What are they talking about George?" she asked.
"It's nothing Mary." He replied negligently. "I'm more concerned with where Sean is? I thought he was coming today, not just his friends."
"I'm right here Dad." Sarah said weakly.
He snorted, "You're several inches shorter than Sean, it's impossible for you to be him! Now where is he?"
Sarah groaned, for some reason she hadn't even considered the possibility that they wouldn't believe she was Sean. "It really is me, Dad. Mom believed me, why don't you?" she asked.
Her father snorted again, "She probably forgot her meds again! It's quite clearly impossible for you to be Sean. Why are you doing this? Is Sean too afraid to face us?"
Sarah slapped her hands over her eyes in irritation. She took several deep breaths and took her hands down and found everyone was staring at her in shock. "What?" she asked, only to stop in shock herself, as her voice was clearly male! She looked down and her clothes were stretched awkwardly in places by her now male body. She "eeped" in surprise and fainted dead away.
"Okay, maybe that was Sean, after all. What in the world's going on here?!" Mr. Kinsley demanded.
Erica ignored him and ran over to Sarah's side. To her surprise, she was distressed to see her as Sean again. I really do prefer her as a girl, I guess. she thought. Mike helped her get Sarah settled on the couch. Sean looked so strange in Sarah's clothes, and Erica knew she'd be very upset when she woke up. She could only hope she could change back at will now, like they'd thought.
"Is anyone going to explain how Sean looked like a girl several inches shorter than him?" Mr. Kinsley asked irritably.
"Magic." Jill said simply as she also checked on Sarah. "Do you think she'll be able to change back?" she asked Erica anxiously.
Erica shrugged, "I sure hope so! Neither of us will be happy if she's stuck like this." Jill looked at her in surprise and then nodded.
"Please tell me what's going on with my son?" Mrs. Kinsley begged, clearly confused by what was going on.
"Why is it that you don't seem to remember finding Sarah in your clothes?" Mike asked Sarah's mother.
"Because I never did!" she replied.
"When was this supposed to have happened?" Mr. Kinsley asked.
"When Sarah was twelve or so." Mike replied.
"Well that explains it, that's before we found out about Mary's condition." Mr. Kinsley said.
"Condition?" Mike said, confused because he couldn't remember ever hearing about Sarah's mother having any kind of condition.
"Sean doesn't know about it. Mary has a medical condition that causes a chemical imbalance in her brain. She was having episodes of extreme emotions and then would forget everything that happened during those episodes. She keeps it under control with medication, she hasn't had an episode in years." Mr. Kinsley replied.
"So, Mrs. Kinsley, how do you feel about Sarah being a girl?" Jill asked, looking at Sarah's mother in a whole new light.
"I just want my son to be happy. But how did he change like that?" she replied.
"Like I said, magic. Marvin's not around Tiffany, go ahead and show yourself." Jill said. A darkened corner of the room suddenly brightened as the shadows melted away and Tiffany stepped out of them.
"Hi, I'm a friend of Sarah's. My name's Tiffany." she said to the startled Kinsleys.
"Uh, hello. How did you do that?" Mrs. Kinsley asked. In answer Tiffany called the shadows back and they surrounded her, leaving nothing visible but a wall of darkness. Then she released them and became visible again.
"Magic, like Jill said. All of us have magical abilities now, thanks to Sarah." Tiffany said.
"Michael, why don't you get my son into some proper clothes." Mr. Kinsley said with a disgusted glance at Sarah.
"She is wearing proper clothes. And when she wakes up I'm sure she'll change back. And you'd better have an apology ready for her when she does." Mike said angrily.
"Apology?! Why should I apologize?" Mr. Kinsley replied.
"Oh, I don't know, how about for terrorizing her? For beating her over and over again?" Mike replied. He was getting red in the face he was so angry, and one of his hands had become a dragon's claw again.
"I was just trying to teach him to be a man. Obviously I failed. Mary, let me know when that has left, I'll be in the back." he said with a dismissive wave at Sarah and left the room.
"Leave him alone for now." Jill said, putting her hand on Mike's shoulder as he looked ready to tear Mr. Kinsley's head off. Both his hands were dragon claws now and metallic scales were appearing all over his arms and face. She projected calm to him and he slowly regained control, changing back to normal as he did.
"Thanks Jill, I don't know what I'd do without you." he said. He dropped into a chair with a sigh.
"Michael?" Mrs. Kinsley said weakly. "Is what you said true? Did my husband really beat my son?"
Mike nodded, "Yeah. He always told me that it was kids at school that had been beating Sarah up, but it was actually him all along. She did have some trouble with the kids at school, but not nearly that much."
Mary Kinsley sat back with a sigh. "So you're telling me that my husband beat my son, who has always felt like a girl, and now she has the ability to change her gender magically at will? she said.
"Not exactly." Jill said. "Sarah's always felt like a girl, but what started things was her ability to open portals to other worlds…" From there she went on to explain everything that had happened since Sarah discovered that ability, including the Magician's Answer and their guess that she'd be able to change genders at will now she'd finally changed back.
"And you're okay with this Erica?" Mary asked.
"I wasn't at first, but I've discovered that I actually prefer Sarah as a girl. Came as a bit of shock to me, as you can imagine." Erica replied.
"I guess so. Did…did I really threaten to have George rape her?" she asked fearfully.
"I'm afraid so. We all thought you were as bad as your husband, but I guess you were having one of those episodes he mentioned. That memory is one of the main reasons that Sarah fought being a girl for so long." Erica said.
"My poor girl!" Mary cried out, burying her face in her arms as her shoulders shook with her tears. Jill sat next to her and tried to comfort her.
"Mom?" Sarah said weakly. Mary ran to Sarah's side and held her hand.
"I'm here baby! Can you ever forgive me?" she blubbered.
Sarah frowned, "I thought you'd hate me."
Mary shook her head emphatically, "No, honey, I'd never hate you! I don't remember what you do, but I didn't know what I was doing when I did it. I take medicine that keeps that from happening anymore. I hope someday you can forgive me!"
"Medicine?" Sarah asked, confused.
"Yeah Sarah, looks like your mother isn't so bad after all." Erica said.
"My voice…" Sarah said, still not fully awake.
"Yeah, you changed back. Can you change at will now like we thought?" Erica said.
"Let me see…" Sarah said. She concentrated, and suddenly her clothes fit much better! "Oh, thank goodness!" she breathed in relief.
Erica grabbed her and hugged her in glee. "I'm so happy you were able to change back!" she exclaimed.
"You…you are?" Sarah said.
"I told you I liked you better as a girl. It's still a little weird for me that I do, but I do." Erica replied.
"Good, because I'm never going to change back again!" Sarah said firmly.
"You…you're really a girl, aren't you?" Mary said in wonder.
"Yes Mom, I really am. You really don't remember finding me wearing girls clothes?" Sarah said.
"No dear, I don't. I really had no idea." Mary replied.
Erica filled Sarah in on what had happened while she was unconscious through their bond. "Dad's never going to accept me, is he?" Sarah said sadly.
"It doesn't look like it. I think you're better off without him." Mike said.
"What are you going to do, Mrs. Kinsley?" Jill asked.
"Please call me Mary. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, this has all happened so fast! I just can't believe that George would beat his own child like that!" Mary said.
"Would you like to know what you missed?" Jill asked.
Mary frowned, "What do you mean?"
"I can show you Sarah's memories, if you want and she'll let me." Jill replied.
"It's fine with me." Sarah said.
"Well, okay, but could you leave out the memory of me? I don't really want to see that." Mary said.
Jill and Sarah agreed and Jill showed Mary Sarah's memories of being beaten by her father. She was sobbing by the time Jill was done. Sarah held her hesitantly, but when Mary threw herself into her embrace and cried on her shoulder she held her more firmly. "It's not your fault Mom, you didn't know." Sarah said.
"You're the one who should hate me! You had such a horrible time and I just made it worse!" Mary sobbed.
"I couldn't hate you, Mom!" Sarah replied with tears in her eyes.
They cried on each other's shoulders for a while. The others looked on with smiles on their faces, as this was a better outcome than any of them had expected.
"So…" Mary said when they had calmed themselves enough to speak and pulled apart, "you can open portals to other worlds?"
"Want to see?" Sarah asked.
"Yes," Mary said, "I think I would. It's hard to get my head around all of this, maybe seeing more of it would help."
"How about I show you where we've stashed all the stuff we've collected from other worlds? It's very similar to our world, except there's nothing living there anymore. But that means we can safely show you some of our abilities without worrying about being seen." Sarah suggested.
Mary shrugged, "Okay, sounds like a good idea. But don't you need a book or something for that?"
In answer Sarah opened a portal next to the couch. "Apparently not, when it's somewhere familiar." she said.
"Whoa, when did you find out that?" Mike exclaimed.
"Just now." Sarah replied.
"Shall we?" Erica said, gesturing at the portal. The others shrugged or nodded and they all followed Mary and Sarah through the portal. Mary looked around in wonder as they passed from her living room to the street outside the empty store where they stored all their equipment.
"It's really real…" Mary breathed in awe. She squeaked in surprise when Vash suddenly became visible and flew up on her shoulder.
Hello, my name is Gorvashnik, but they all call me Vash. he said.
Once she got over her surprise she said, "Wow, you really are cute, aren't you?"
So I've been told. Vash said in an offhand way as he cleaned his paws.
"So what would you like to see first Mom?" Sarah asked.
"Oh, well, Jill said that Mike can change into animals and things that he's seen?" Mary said.
Mike nodded and took his naga form. Then he slithered a few dozen feet away before shifting to his dragon forms and then through T-rex, wolf, and his smaller animal forms. "I don't know all that many yet." Mike said with an apologetic shrug once he'd regained human form.
"Wow! And your clothes don't even get damaged! Where do they go when you do that?" Mary said.
Mike shrugged, "We don't know. Just part of the ability, I guess."
Mary shook her head in wonder, "And Tiffany has that shadow ability we already saw, right?" Tiffany nodded. "Okay, and Jill, you can sense other people's thoughts and emotions. And Sarah opens these portals and can change her own gender, apparently. That just leaves Erica?"
"There's other things that Sarah can do. All I can do is not be affected by magic or psionics. So Jill can't read my thoughts and Sarah's magic doesn't do anything to me." Erica said.
"Yeah, like this." Sarah said, and fired off a magical blast at Erica. Erica threw her hands up in surprise, but the blast dissipated harmlessly. "Sorry, I guess I should have warned you first." Sarah said sheepishly when she saw the scowl on Erica's face.
"Yes, you should have!" Erica grumbled.
"What would that thing do to somebody who wasn't immune to magic?" Mary asked.
"Why don't you use that building down the street for a demonstration, Sarah?" Jill suggested. Sarah nodded and fired off another blast identical to the last at a building that stood apart from the rest several buildings down from where they stood. It blasted through the wall and out the roof, sending bits of wood and roofing tile flying through the air.
Mary's hand went to her mouth as she said, "Oh my, that would have killed someone, wouldn't it?"
"Probably," Sarah agreed, "I've never used it against someone. In fact, other than practice, I've only used it on a lock." She then fired a fireball at the building, which hit the outside and exploded, blowing a large smoldering hole in the side of the building. Debris, some of it smoldering or aflame, rained down on the street. The building was far enough away from everything else that nothing besides it was damaged.
Mary gaped at the damage Sarah did and Jill said, "Sarah, hit the base of the building with a magical blast ten times stronger than the last one, would you?" Sarah shrugged and did so. The larger, more intense blue magical blast hit the base of the building and dirt, rock, concrete, and wood went flying up in the air as an even larger hole was blasted through the front of the building. That entire section of the building sagged and then collapsed. "Sarah can make blasts much more powerful than that, of either type." Jill said to an astonished Mary.
"And you were afraid of your father?!" Mary exclaimed. "I think it's him that should have been afraid of you!"
"I wouldn't do that to Dad!" Sarah protested.
"See Tiffany, she can't hate anybody!" Erica said with a grin. Tiffany could only nod in agreement.
"That brings up a question." Mike said, turning to Mary. "What's going to happen to you when you return? Will Mr. Kinsley be angry with you for accepting Sarah?"
Mary smiled sadly, "He won't hurt me, if that's what you're thinking. We're going to have to have a long talk, though. Unless he can make amends with Sarah I don't see how I can stay with him."
"Oh no!" Sarah exclaimed. "I didn't want to cause you to break up!"
"Now you listen to me young lady!" Mary said sternly. "If your father and I get divorced it won't be because of you, it'll be because of him! His actions and behavior have been unacceptable! Unless he can convince me that he's not going to act like that anymore, I don't want to be around him! Do you understand?" Her voice softened at the end.
"Uh, yeah, I understand." Sarah replied.
"Good! Now, I believe you were telling me about some of the things you've collected from other worlds?" Mary said. Sarah nodded and led her into the back of the empty store to show her their collection. Erica picked up one of her guns and her sword while Jill collected the gauntlets and boots. Mike picked up his giant sword and Sarah got Tiffany to help her with her swords, bow, and quivers. After explaining what the other stuff was, that Vash had figured out, anyway, they went outside to show her what these weapons could do.
Mary was suitably impressed with Erica's explosive bullets and the way Mike's sword enhanced his various forms. Jill demonstrated her enhanced speed and strength and Sarah fired off a few arrows to show what they did. After that was a quick demonstration of the swords and how they became super heated and super cooled, respectively, and how they affected the objects they struck.
"You're quite the destructive lot, aren't you?" Mary said bemusedly. "But what do you need all this firepower for?"
"We need it for when we visit the more dangerous worlds, but at least some of it will also come in handy when magic gets stronger at home." Erica replied.
"What do you mean?" Mary asked.
Magic has recently gone through an awakening in many of the worlds we've visited, including your own. Magic is still rather weak in your world, but that will change with time. Eventually everyone will feel the effects to some degree. Vash replied.
"Even me?" Mary said.
Yes. In fact, from what I've observed, it's likely that your own magic will develop more rapidly than everyone else except for us here because you have traveled through one of Sarah's portals. That seems to trigger a much faster awakening. I suspect it also increases the power of that awakening, but I have no way to know for sure on that. Vash said.
"Does that mean I'll be like Sarah?" Mary asked.
No, Sarah is unique. You'll develop an ability like the others have, though, I'm sure. Either that or a physical transformation. Possibly even both. It's impossible to say until it happens. Vash replied.
"Oh no, I didn't think of that! I'm sorry Mom, I shouldn't have taken you through a portal without warning you about that first!" Sarah exclaimed.
Mary waved her concern off, "It sounds like it would have happened eventually anyway. This way I get a head start and will be used to it by the time everyone else starts using magic or whatever. If I'd known ahead of time I would have still come along, I think. Besides, what's done is done and can't be undone. So relax!"
Sarah looked doubtful but was distracted by a hug from Erica. "Is there anything else you'd like to see while we're here?" Jill asked Mary.
"No, I think I've seen enough. It'll still take some time for all this to sink in, I think, but I've seen enough to know it's real. Let's go back and have lunch." Mary replied.
They carried all their gear back to the storeroom and dropped it off before Sarah opened another portal and they returned to the living room. Mr. Kinsley was nowhere in sight still, which suited most of them just fine!
Sarah helped Mary make lunch while the others sat in the living room and talked. Mostly about Tiffany.
"So, Tiffany, we don't really know much about you. We know you work with Sarah, and you're a Shadowkin, but that's about it." Jill said.
"Well, I'm an orphan. I was raised by foster parents but we never really clicked. As soon I as I could I got a job and moved out. Then I met all of you." Tiffany said.
"That's it? You never went to college?" Mike said.
"No, I couldn't afford to do that and didn't know what I wanted to do, anyway." Tiffany replied.
"What about friends?" Jill asked.
"I…never did make friends well." Tiffany said awkwardly.
"You didn't seem to have any trouble with Sarah, she said you were pretty upfront about your desire to be friends." Erica said.
Tiffany shrugged, "I know, that was unusual for me. But I knew Sarah was having a hard time and I just wanted to make it better somehow. Being her friend was the best I could come up with."
"Well you did help her, believe me! She's never been so comfortable and even happy about her job before." Erica said.
"It's been more fun for me, too." Tiffany said.
Further conversation was delayed when Sarah came out to tell them that lunch was ready. Mary asked lots of questions while they ate. She was horrified to hear about the attempted rape and thanked Tiffany profusely for stopping it. Tiffany felt a little uncomfortable with that, especially since she'd killed John in the process.
"Don't feel bad about killing that man, Tiffany, he brought it on himself!" Mary said, reading her expression correctly. "I'm so glad you were there to protect my daughter!"
"So am I!" Tiffany said with a weak smile.
After lunch Jill asked Mary, "Do you want us to stick around when you talk to your husband?"
Mary shook her head, "No, he's not going to do anything. But thanks for worrying about me!" Turning to Sarah she said, "I'll call you after I talk to your father and let you know what happens. Try not to worry so much, okay?" Sarah nodded and they hugged goodbye with more than a few tears shed.
The others said their goodbyes and then they walked out to their cars. Tiffany didn't bother hiding, since Jill and Vash had assured her they weren't being watched.
Sarah was feeling a bit washed out from all the stress of the visit and was soon asleep with her head on Erica's shoulder. Erica soon joined her in slumber. Jill and Mike smiled when they saw them sleeping and leaning against each other like that.
The drive was uneventful and Mike was the only one who didn't fall asleep. He woke everyone once they'd arrived and soon they were seated on Sarah's couch. Tiffany arrived a few minutes later with the shadows once again pulled in around her so Marvin Garner would still think she was spying on them. "So, what shall we do now?" Mike asked.
"I'm ready for that chrysalis." Erica said.
Mike groaned, "You still want to do that?! I was hoping you'd given up on that idea!"
"No way! I'm more determined than ever!" Erica replied firmly.
"Sarah, can't you talk her out of this?" Jill asked.
Sarah shook her head, "I'm not getting involved, it's Erica's decision to make, not mine."
"But you're the one who has to open the portal!" Mike protested.
"So? It's still her decision to make. Just because I'm the only one who can get her there doesn't change anything." Sarah replied.
"But…" Mike started to protest, but Sarah cut him off.
"It's Erica's decision! It's her body, after all!" Sarah snapped.
Mike was about to protest again when Jill stopped him with a telepathic warning, Give it up Mike, I think she's equating this with her own desire to remain female. You're not going to convince her.
"Shall we go?" Erica asked when no more objections seemed forthcoming. Sarah nodded and opened the portal. Jill and Mike shrugged and followed Erica and Sarah through, followed by Tiffany.
The portal opened out in a lab full of people. Several technicians were processing a line of people waiting to get a chrysalis. The line was moving fairly quickly and Erica joined it. The others waited out of the way. They'd obviously been doing this for a while, as they kept things moving smoothly and went from initial sampling to implantation of the chrysalis in only a couple of hours. Before they knew it Erica was done and they went back through the portal.
"Well," Jill said when they were all safely back in Sarah's living room, "that was anticlimactic! All that fuss and it's over in a couple of hours."
"It's not over." Sarah said, "It's just begun. Erica's chrysalis will take weeks or months to mature, maybe longer. She probably won't even notice any difference for a while."
"What about collecting tech from that world? Weren't we going to do that?" Mike asked.
Sarah plopped down on the couch and the others followed suit. "Another time. We went to the end of the game; beyond it, really. At that point the world is a mess and retrieving the stuff you want would be a lot harder. We'll use other parts of the game for collecting hypos and such." she said.
"Doesn't that mean we'd be traveling through time?" Tiffany asked.
"I…don't know for sure. But I have a feeling we wouldn't be." Sarah replied thoughtfully.
"If we really want to travel through time we can, though." Mike said. "My bronze dragon form can teleport through time and space."
Sarah shivered at that idea. "I really don't think that's a good idea!"
"Why not?" Mike asked.
"It's just a feeling I have, that trying to travel through time would be a really bad idea!" Sarah replied.
Mike shrugged, "I wasn't really planning on using it, anyway. If your portals do the trick then there's no need. Besides, we could still probably get what we want from the time period we already visited, it'd just be harder."
"So how do you feel Erica?" Jill asked.
"No different than I did before. I don't imagine I'll feel any different for a while yet, like Sarah said." Erica replied.
"Mike?" Tiffany asked diffidently from the shadows, "Would you be willing to teach me, too?"
"Teach you what, martial arts?" Mike asked. Tiffany nodded. "Sure, I don't see why not. We're going to need more room, though. We don't have room in here to practice as it is."
"I think I saw a karate place in the empty world. We could use that." Jill suggested. "In fact, why don't we go do that now?" The others agreed so Sarah opened the portal and Jill led them to where she thought it was. She was off a bit, but they found it with little trouble. The door was locked, so Tiffany used her ring to open it. Vash gave Tiffany the same info dump he'd given the others and they got started. Mike took it slow to start, to get Tiffany caught up with the others. Before long Vash had another transfer for them, which greatly accelerated things.
"Why don't you spar for a bit so I can see how you're doing?" Mike suggested after they took a break. He paired Sarah up with Tiffany and Jill with Erica, as he figured they'd have the least qualms about hitting each other in those groupings. They were all hesitant at first, but soon got into it. Tiffany was proving a quick study and giving Sarah a tough time. Erica was learning even faster and had Jill on the defensive. A flurry of blows broke through Jill's defenses and Erica delivered a sharp blow to Jill's abdomen.
"Time to switch sparring partners!" Mike said when he saw that Erica had won her match, and Tiffany hers. He paired Tiffany with Erica and Jill with Sarah this time. Tiffany and Erica were a better match but Erica was doing slightly better. Jill was keeping Sarah on the defensive as Erica had her. Knowing she was about to lose, Sarah took a long step to the side and spun on that foot, bringing the back of her other foot around in a kick to the back of Jill's head. No one was more surprised than her when she pulled it off. What surprised everyone more was the sharp "crack!" sound that accompanied the hit, and the way Sarah collapsed in pain.
Jill looked back in surprise, as she hadn't felt a thing. She looked at her hand, but she'd remembered to take off her ring before sparring, as Mike said it would only get in the way of learning.
Erica rushed to Sarah's side as she cradled her foot. "What happened Sarah?"
"I don't know! I thought I had her, but then my foot hit something really hard and I think I broke it!" Sarah replied with tears of pain in her eyes.
They'd moved most of the healing water to the storeroom with the other stuff they'd gotten from other worlds and Jill had brought a bottle along. Seeing how much pain Sarah was in she grabbed the bottle and poured some of it on her foot. Sarah sighed in relief. "Thanks Jill; that feels so much better!" Sarah exclaimed. She flexed her foot and found she was completely free of pain.
"You're not wearing your ring, are you?" Mike asked Jill.
"No, it's over there with Vash. What just happened?" Jill replied, pointing to Vash where he lay on the floor near the mat with the ring on the floor in front of him.
I think I know what happened. Mike, try to hit Jill. Don't worry about hurting her, I don't think you will. And we have the healing water if it's needed. Vash said.
Mike looked doubtfully at Vash and then stepped up to Jill. With a mumbled, "Sorry." he suddenly spun around and kicked her in the chest. Only it was quite obvious that his foot hadn't connected. He grunted and hopped back and flexed the leg he'd kicked at Jill with. "Okay, that hurt. Mind explaining that Vash?" he said.
I told you before that Jill's abilities are different than mine. Not only is she stronger than I, but her abilities are more varied. I've been expecting this, but there was no way of knowing when it would happen. Besides being an empath and telepath, she's also telekinetic. Vash replied.
"I am?" Jill asked in surprise.
Yes. Your abilities have matured enough for your telekinesis to become active. You are only using it instinctively so far, but now that you're aware of it you should be able to use it consciously before long. Vash said.
"What will she be able to do with it?" Mike asked.
That depends largely on how much power she has and her imagination. Telekinesis has nearly limitless uses. The primary limiting factors are power, control, and like I said, imagination. Vash said.
"That's going to make training a bit tough. No one's going to want to even try to hit her if they're going to break their foot, or hand, every time!" Mike said.
"Looks like you're stuck with me as a sparring partner, then." Erica said to Jill.
Jill looked confused and then put her hand over the spot where Erica had hit her earlier. "Oh yeah, you're immune to psionics! I guess that includes telekinesis, since that punch did hurt! At least I won't have to give up training all together." Jill said.
They went back to their original pairings after that and sparred for a while longer, with Mike giving pointers as needed. By the time they were done Vash had enough information and sent it out to them.
You'll have time to absorb this one before your next practice. It'll be interesting to see if that makes a difference. Vash said.
After dropping off the healing water they returned to Sarah's apartment. Jill and Mike decided to go to their apartment to relax for a while and Erica went into the kitchen to call her parents. That left Sarah and Tiffany and they started playing a game with Tiffany still hidden by her shadows.
"How can you even see anything, anyway?" Sarah asked as Tiffany trounced her in a game of tennis.
Tiffany paused and then said, "I hadn't thought about that. I'm in darkness more often than not, but I can see fine! Maybe that's part of being a Shadowkin."
Sarah nodded, "Maybe that's also why your eyes changed color."
"Yeah, that makes sense. I still don't understand why my hair changed like it did, though." Tiffany said.
"Well, it does stand out less than it did when it was blonde." Sarah said.
"Maybe, but the ends are snow white! They practically glow!" Tiffany replied.
Sarah paused the game and glanced over at her friend. "Hmm, you're right, they do. But it kind of gives you a ghostly look. Especially with that pale skin. I bet you can have all kinds of fun at Halloween!" she said.
Tiffany laughed at that, "I suppose I would make a good ghost! And I could even seem to appear out of thin air if it's dark enough! Hmm, I wonder if I could make the shadows billow around me like mist…" They both got into thinking about ways they could use their powers on Halloween, even though it was almost eleven months away. They were fully engrossed in their conversation, their game completely forgotten, when Erica returned with a worried look on her face.
"What is it Erica?" Sarah asked nervously.
"I just talked to my dad. I told him about you, and he was great like I said he would be." Erica replied as she walked over to the couch and sat next to Sarah.
"That doesn't explain why you have that worried look on your face, or why you feel so nervous." Sarah said.
"It's just…Mom and Dad want to meet the new you. Since I'll have to go back next weekend, they want to come over tomorrow." Erica said.
"Tomorrow?!" Sarah exclaimed. "But…I'll be at work!"
Erica nodded, "I know, but they want to take us out to dinner. Mike and Jill, too, if they want."
"Are you sure your parents are okay with me?" Sarah asked worriedly.
Erica wrapped her arm around Sarah's waist and pulled her closer, "Yes, I'm sure. I know you're worried about them, but they're not going to be a problem, I swear! Frankly, I'm more worried about how they're going to react to me!"
"You?! But you haven't cha…Oh." Sarah cut herself off as she realized what Erica was saying.
"Yeah. I know they're okay with it in principal, but when it's their own daughter…" Erica trailed off worriedly.
Sarah wrapped her own arm around Erica and squeezed her reassuringly, "If they can handle me, they can certainly handle you!"
Erica squeezed her back and rested her head on Sarah's shoulder. "Um, what are you guys talking about?" Tiffany asked.
"I'm worried that my parents aren't going to be happy to have a lesbian for a daughter." Erica replied.
"But are you? I mean, you loved her when she was Sean, right?" Tiffany said.
"Sure!" Erica replied.
"Then that just means you love Sarah the person, rather than the gender, right?" Tiffany asked.
"But…I prefer Sarah like this!" Erica protested.
"That still doesn't mean you're a lesbian or bisexual. She's happier like this, so of course you'd prefer her this way!" Tiffany said.
"Huh, that does kind of make sense." Erica admitted.
"See, you have nothing to worry about!" Sarah said.
Erica sighed, "Maybe you're right. I guess we should go talk to Mike and Jill and see if they want to come along." Sarah agreed and they walked over to Mike and Jill's apartment.
Jill answered the door, "Hey guys, what's up?"
"My parents want to take Sarah and me to dinner tomorrow, and they've invited you two, also." Erica replied.
"Cool! I know they're going to be great Sarah!" Jill said enthusiastically as she let them in. She purposefully took a long time to close the door so Tiffany could 'sneak' in.
"I hope so!" Sarah said.
"They will! Hey Mike, want to go to dinner with Erica's parents tomorrow?" Jill said.
Mike looked away from the TV and nodded, "Sure! I'd like to be there anyway when they see Sarah for the first time."
"So would I, now that you mention it." Jill said.
"So when are you going to see my parents?" Mike asked Sarah.
Sarah rolled her eyes at Mike, "I've already got my parents and Erica's to worry about, isn't that enough for now?"
"She's got a point. She can worry about seeing your parents and my mom another time." Jill said impishly.
"Not you too!" Sarah moaned theatrically.
Laughing Erica said, "She's got a point though, we've got enough on our plate right now. Especially when you consider that we still haven't figured out what to do about that FBI guy."
That got everyone's attention. "I don't suppose any of you have had any ideas?" Tiffany asked hopefully.
The others all exchanged glances and shook their heads except for Erica. "I figured once we get past the whole, 'your boyfriend is now your female fiancé?' thing we could talk to Dad about that. He might be able to give us some ideas." Erica said.
Tiffany asked, "How would he be able to help?"
"Erica's dad is a judge, and he knows lots of people in law enforcement." Sarah explained.
"Yes, and lots of other influential people. I don't know how he keeps track of them all." Erica added.
"You really think he can help us?" Tiffany asked.
"If he can't, he'll know someone who can." Erica replied.
Sarah glanced at the time and worriedly said, "Mom's supposed to call me after she talks to Dad. I would have thought she would have done that by now."
"She'll probably talk to him at dinner and call you afterward. I wouldn't get worried just yet. Speaking of dinner, is anyone else hungry?" Jill said.
They were, and decided to eat out. Marvin didn't follow them, so Tiffany was able to join them in the restaurant. They talked about normal things over dinner and Tiffany was starting to feel like she was really part of the group instead of an outsider. Afterwards they returned to Mike and Jill's apartment. Sarah was still worrying about her mother, so Jill started a movie to distract her.
They weren't even halfway through the movie before Sarah said, "She should have called by now." Erica could feel her concern through their bond and was beginning to share it.
"Maybe we should go check on her…" Erica said.
Jill picked up on Sarah's concern, "But what if we interrupt while she's trying to get through to your dad, Sarah? We could make things harder for her."
"I could open a portal outside the house so we could see what's happening before we go in." Sarah said.
"But then someone might see us appearing out of thin air. I really think we should wait a little longer. How about this; if she doesn't call by the end of the movie, we'll call her, okay?" Jill said.
"I guess." Sarah said doubtfully. With some effort she turned her attention back to the movie. They were all beginning to get worried by the end of the movie.
"Okay Sarah, maybe you'd better make that call." Jill said once the credits started rolling. Sarah wasted no time getting out her cell phone and dialing.
"She's not answering." Sarah said fearfully when the answering machine picked up. She didn't bother leaving a message. Closing her phone, she put it back in her purse and immediately opened a portal to her mother's living room. "I'm going!" she said, before stepping through. She left the portal open, though, so the others quickly followed.
Mary's living room was a scene of total chaos. Most of the furniture was overturned or smashed. Sarah's father was lying in the remains of the entertainment center. He was unconscious and had blood on his face and hands. Looking frantically around the room Sarah spotted her mother curled up in a ball in one corner of the room, weeping. "Mom!" she cried, running over to wrap her arms around her mother.
Mary tensed at first, and then lifted her head to see who was holding her. "Sarah?" she said weakly. Erica and Mike hurried over to make sure she was alright, and Jill checked on Sarah's father.
"I'm here Mom! Are you okay? What happened?" Sarah said.
"I…I killed your father!" Mary wailed, burying her face in Sarah's shoulder. Sarah sat there, holding her mother, with a stunned expression.
"No you didn't Mary, he's alive!" Jill said. "He's pretty beat up, but I don't think he's even in any danger of dying." Mary didn't even hear her and continued sobbing. Sarah tried to tell her, but Mary wasn't hearing anything.
"I don't suppose you have any idea of what happened, do you Vash?" Mike asked.
No, she's too upset. Her emotions are drowning everything else out. Vash replied.
Jill looked back at Sarah's father speculatively and then closed her eyes. A moment later she opened them and said, "She was just defending herself. He started to beat her, but then she…went berserk, I guess, and knocked him all over the room."
Mike looked doubtfully at Sarah's petite mother. "How could she have done all of this?!" he exclaimed, waving his arms to encompass the wrecked room.
Jill shook her head, "I don't know. But she was knocking him around like he was half her size. Adrenaline, I guess."
"Or magic." Tiffany said softly. The others looked at her and then at Mary.
"Yeah, that could be." Mike agreed.
By this point Mary had cried herself to sleep in Sarah's arms. "Mike, would you help me put Mom to bed?" she asked. Mike nodded and picked up Mary. Sarah led the way back to her bedroom and pulled back the covers. She gasped in shock when Mike laid her down. She hadn't noticed the damage in the darkened living room (the lamps were all lying down or broken), but Mary looked like she'd been beaten pretty badly before she retaliated. She pulled the covers over her mother and angrily stalked back to the living room with Mike hurrying to keep up.
"Sarah!" he called worriedly. She ignored him and stormed into the room and was at her father's side before anyone realized what was happening.
She stared down angrily at her father. "It's time you learned how it feels!" she growled, before punching him as hard as she could in the stomach.
Sarah smiled viciously down at her handy work while everyone else in the room gasped in surprise. Sarah's father had become a petite read-headed teenage girl, and the injuries he'd received at Mary's hands carried over to his new form. Jill quickly checked to make sure she was still okay, as the injuries looked a lot more severe on her smaller frame. Shaking her head she looked over at Sarah. "He's still not in any danger, I think, but you could have killed him doing that with his injuries!" Jill said angrily.
"I wasn't about to heal him and then inflict the injuries all over again after I girlified him!" Sarah replied. "And he needs to know what it's like! Not just being in a body of the wrong gender, but of being beaten to a pulp and being helpless, too!"
"Well, I guess I can't call the police, now!" Mike said, looking at Sarah's father.
"We wouldn't have let you anyway." Erica said, pointing at Sarah. "If Mary's magic is becoming active, then we don't want to attract attention to her."
"She's got a point, it's hard to believe Mary could have done all this without magic." Jill said. "Bringing the police into it would be dangerous for all of us."
"So what do we do?" Mike asked.
"How's your mom?" Tiffany asked.
"She's sleeping, but he beat her up pretty bad." Sarah replied, glaring at her father again. She suddenly turned around and walked back to her mother's room. Erica and Tiffany hurried after her. She stepped up to her mother's bed and placed one hand on Mary's forehead. She closed her eyes and stood there like that without moving for some time.
"Wh" Tiffany started to say, but Erica put her finger up to her lips to stop her.
"She's doing something!" Erica whispered excitedly. Tiffany looked back at Sarah and saw that her hand, the one on her mother's forehead, was glowing slightly. The glow expanded to Mary for a moment, and then faded out. "You did it!" Erica exclaimed excitedly.
"Did what?" Tiffany said.
"She managed to copy the affects of the healing water and use that on her mother! Her injuries are all healed." Erica explained.
Moving closer, Tiffany could see it was true. Other than the dried blood, there was no sign she'd been injured at all. "Wow, that's great!" Tiffany exclaimed.
"We should let her sleep." Sarah said. The others nodded and they returned to the living room. Mike had gotten the couch upright again, and was in the process of putting Sarah's father on it.
"What happened?" Jill asked when she saw Sarah walking in.
"She healed her!" Erica replied proudly.
Jill's eyes widened at that, "You can heal now? That's great!"
Sarah smiled, "And that's not all! When I healed her I could feel that her 'condition' wasn't a medical condition at all!"
"What?!" Mike exclaimed. "Then what was it?"
"It was her magic. It was too weak to manifest properly, and that resulted in her 'episodes'. Now that magic is getting stronger and her power has awoken, she won't have that problem any more!" Sarah replied.
"What about the episode that trashed this room and your father?" Mike asked.
Sarah shook her head, "That wasn't an episode like before. Remember, Mom said she'd killed Dad. Before she never remembered what happened, but this time she did. I'm not real clear on what her powers are, but this was a manifestation of them, not an out of control episode like before. And she didn't kill him, so she has some control."
"Okay, but what are we going to do about him?" Mike asked, glancing at Sarah's father where he lay on the couch.
"Nothing, for the moment. Once Mom's feeling up to it we can decide what to do. Whatever we do, we can't leave him in a position to hurt Mom again. I don't want her to be in a position to have to kill him to defend herself, either. And if he did hurt Mom again, I'd probably hit him with a fireball instead of girlifying him." Sarah said.
"We definitely need to avoid that, I don't want you to have to deal with the guilt of killing your own father, no matter how justified!" Erica said.
Sarah's father groaned and shifted, but didn't wake. “I think we'd better be prepared to deal with him ourselves, he may wake before your mother.” Jill said.
“Aren't you going to heal him?” Tiffany asked.
Sarah looked torn as she gazed at her father. Finally she growled, “Oh, all right!” and knelt next to the couch. She put her hand on his forehead and soon all his injuries were healed.
Erica wrapped her arm around Sarah's waist and said, “Pain's not going to change his mind, anyway.”
Sarah sighed sadly, “No, I guess not. I don't know if anything will.”
Sarah's father slowly opened his eyes as Sarah stepped back from the couch in Erica's arms. “Wh-what?” he squeaked. His hand shot up to his mouth and he looked down at the rest of his body. “What have you done to me?!” he shrieked.
“She just gave you a taste of what she had to deal with all her life.” Erica said with no trace of sympathy in her voice.
“Change me back at once!” he screamed.
Sarah flinched, but Erica held onto her. “Give her a good reason to!” she replied.
“I'm her father, that should be reason enough!” he said angrily.
“You do realize that she can leave you like that for the rest of your life and there's not a thing you could do about it, don't you?” Tiffany said angrily, her violet eyes almost glowing as the shadows pulled in around her.
He shrank back from Tiffany and said, “You wouldn't do that to your father, would you?” He didn't sound nearly as confident, and kept glancing wearily at Tiffany.
“Why not, you refused to allow her to be herself all her life, and beat her whenever she didn't live up to your expectations. Why shouldn't she keep you like this?” Erica asked.
Mike and Jill both watched in amusement, and Mike decided to get in on the act and shifted to his giant wolf form. He sauntered casually over to the couch and bared his teeth at Sarah's father and then curled up at Sarah's feet and rested his head on his paws.
Sarah's father shrank further back into the couch and looked around wildly, finally beginning to realize how precarious his position was. “P-please ch-change me back?” he begged haltingly.
“What's going on in here?” Mary asked as she sleepily stepped into the room.
“We've just been trying to figure out what to do with Dad.” Sarah replied, smiling happily to see her mother up and healthy.
“He's alive?! Where is he?!” Mary exclaimed.
“He's right here.” Sarah said, pointing him out.
“I'm glad to see he's alright, but did you have to change him into a teenage girl?!” Mary asked, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
“Considering the other options available to her, maybe we should be glad that's all she did.” Jill said.
Mary seemed to consider that, “Yes, I suppose you're right.”
Sarah's father yelled, “Would you get your son to change me back now?!”
“I don't have a son, George, I have a daughter. And all things considered I'm not particularly inclined to act on your behalf right now.” she replied.
“But I'm your husband!” he said weakly.
“You don't look much like my husband right now. But that's probably for the best, since the last time I talked to him he decided that beating me up would somehow convince me that he's right.” Mary said angrily.
George looked around wildly, but found no help. Jill was indifferent, Mike was amused, and the rest were angry. Tiffany was cleaning under her fingernails with a throwing knife and Sarah's hands were glowing blue. “Are you going to kill me?” he asked weakly.
“Tempting.” Erica said, pulling her dagger out and inspecting the blade speculatively. Sarah shot her an annoyed look but she just shrugged. I thought it would be useful to keep at least one weapon on hand. You do tend to get yourself into trouble, after all. she thought.
“You might want to consider apologizing before one of these ladies lets their temper get the better of them.” Mary said.
“B-but...” he stammered, before sagging in defeat. “Alright,” he sighed, “I'm sorry.”
“For what?” Erica asked.
“For...for hitting Mary. I never should have done that.” George replied.
“And?!” Erica growled.
“And for hitting Se...uh, Sarah?” he said.
“So you believe it was wrong of you to hit your wife, but not your daughter?” Jill asked angrily.
George glanced at Jill in surprise, “I just said I was sorry!” he said grumpily.
Jill tapped her finger to her temple, “I can hear your thoughts and feel your emotions. You really are sorry about hitting Mary, but you still think you were justified in hitting Sarah.”
“There doesn't have to be any evidence, you know.” Tiffany growled, fingering her knife. George shrank back so far he nearly overturned the couch.
“Wait a minute.” Sarah said. “You really are sorry for hitting Mom?” George nodded. “And you won't do it again, no matter how much she supports me?” Another, reluctant, nod. “Okay, that's good enough for me. So long as you leave Mom alone.”
“What?!” Tiffany exclaimed. “You can't just let this go!”
Erica sighed, “I thought she might do this. Fortunately, it's not just up to her. Right Mary?”
Mary nodded, “That's right. I appreciate your concern for me, Sarah, but George has to learn that what he did was wrong and apologize sincerely before I'd even consider forgiving him. Your safety is also important, and I'm not sure George wouldn't do something stupid at this point. Well, something else stupid.” George winced at that and looked down in shame.
Tiffany smiled at Mary and then turned to George. She was pleased to see that her efforts to make her shadows act like mist were working, and that it was freaking Mr. Kinsley out. “So are we going to try and teach him a lesson, or just get rid of him?” she asked with a wicked grin for George.
“What do you think Jill, is there any hope for him?” Erica asked. She didn't sound like she believed that likely.
Jill was silent for a few minutes as she gazed into George's mind. Finally, she sighed and said, “I don't know. His prejudices are deeply ingrained. I'm not even sure if he'd get violent around Sarah again or not. He stopped before for fear of being found out by Mike, but we all know now, so that's not the deterrent it once was. I think he probably won't get violent with Mary again, but that's the most I can say.”
Vash appeared on Jill's shoulder and gazed at George as well. He is difficult. He truly believes he was trying to help his 'son' before. These beliefs blind him to the truth of the situation. The simplest solution would be to dispose of him, but I doubt Sarah would go for that. he said. He uncoiled himself and wrapped his tail around Jill's neck, stepping forward onto her breasts with his front paws and spreading his wings. It had the desired effect of frightening George, as Vash smiled when George recoiled and knocked the couch over. He didn't even try to get back up, just hid behind the couch and glanced fearfully over it.
That's not very comfortable. Would you mind? Jill said irritably. Vash curled back up on her shoulder with an apologetic feline grin.
“I would like to find a solution that doesn't involve killing him or throwing him away like garbage, yes.” Sarah agreed.
Erica shook her head in regret, “You ruin all my fun!”
Sarah smiled and kissed her. “Sorry, but he is my father.” she said. “More or less.” she added with a glance at her feminized father.
“I think the best solution is that we get a divorce and you change him back. He can take care of himself after that.” Mary said sadly.
“Can we trust him not to make problems for us?” Erica asked skeptically.
He may try to do something to Sarah. Perhaps he would benefit from some of Sarah's memories? Vash suggested.
Jill nodded, “Sounds like a good idea. Sarah, what do you say?”
“Go ahead.” Sarah replied. Jill and Vash carefully selected all of Sarah's memories of the abuse she'd received from her father, both mental and physical, and then fed them to George one after another. He started in surprise, and then clutched his head in pain.
“What are you doing?!” he exclaimed.
“Giving back what you gave Sarah.” Jill absently replied as she continued to feed him memories. He collapsed to the floor and writhed in pain. It was several minutes of this before Jill and Vash had located all the memories and forced him to relive them from Sarah's perspective. He was left whimpering on the floor afterwards.
Sarah started to go to him, but Erica held her back. “Even in this form he still might try to hurt you. Let me check on him.” Erica said. She stepped around the couch to check on George and found him lying there with his eyes wide open, panting and shuddering. He seemed completely unaware of her presence. “How does it feel from that perspective, Goerge?” Erica asked.
He didn't react. He may take some time to assimilate all that we sent to him. Vash said. Erica shrugged and went back to Sarah.
“So what exactly happened, anyway?” Jill asked, looking at Mary.
“Well, I told him that he needed to apologize to Sarah for everything that he'd done, and that I would probably still want a divorce after that, unless he could convince me that he had changed. He argued that he was just teaching his son how to be a man, which is ridiculous. Even his own father didn't believe in that. I told him all he was doing was abusing his daughter and that I didn't want him around if he couldn't see that. He got angry and said he wasn't going to let me tell him how to raise his son. I also got mad and said he had a daughter, not a son, and he hit me. I was so shocked I didn't react at first, and then I told him to get out.” Mary said.
“Obviously he didn't.” Erica said dryly.
Mary nodded, “Yes, instead he hit me again. We were both screaming at each other, but he kept hitting me. Then something happened. I don't know what. But the next time he hit me I hardly felt it. So I hit him back, and he was flung back into the wall. It was like he had suddenly become almost weightless! I didn't even have to hit him, I just pushed him and he went flying. But then I knocked him into the TV and the entire entertainment center collapsed. I thought I'd killed him, and all the strength just ran out of my body. The next thing I knew was waking up in my bed alone, with all my wounds gone.”
“So you're set on getting a divorce, I assume?” Jill asked.
“I don't see how I can do anything else. After everything that's happened I just can't see staying with him. I can't trust him anymore, and he lied to me all these years about what was happening with Sarah.” Mary replied.
“It's all my fault.” Sarah said forlornly.
“Don't start that again Sarah! George did all of this to himself. He's just lucky that you're too kind to do anything permanent to him.” Mary said sternly.
“Your mom's right Sarah! None of this is your fault. After everything that he did it was inevitable that they'd split up once your mom knew the truth. Even without him attacking her.” Erica said.
“Besides, you don't really want your mom to stay with your father if he's going to beat her. You said yourself you didn't want your mom to be in a situation where she'd have to kill him to protect herself, and it looks like that's just the kind of situation she could have ended up in.” Tiffany added.
Sarah sank to the floor, Erica holding on to her the whole way. Mike looked up and licked her face once she was in reach. You were expecting to be rejected by both your parents when we first came here. Just be happy one of your parents is smart enough to see what a wonderful daughter they have! You could have ended up without any family, like Tiffany. Mike thought.
Sarah sighed in defeat, “I guess you're right. I should be happy to have one parent who supports me.”
Everyone was startled when George suddenly sat up. He looked around wildly and his gaze locked onto Mary. “Mary, please, forgive me?” he begged as he crawled towards her. “I know I've been a louse, but please give me another chance!”
He was almost within reach of Mary when Jill suddenly yelled, “Look out!” George jumped to his feet and lunged forward, wrapping his tiny hands around Mary's throat. Mary was so surprised she didn't react at first and was soon clawing at his hands to try and get a breath.
“Oh no!” Tiffany exclaimed as George stiffened and slid to the floor. “I'm so sorry Sarah, I just reacted!” Sarah looked back at her father and saw Tiffany's throwing knife sticking out of his back.
Everyone stared in horror at the knife sticking out of George's back for a long moment, and then Sarah rushed to his side, dropping down on her knees. She yanked the knife out and threw it aside before rolling her father's body over. She laid one hand on his forehead and the other on his chest and closed her eyes. Both hands began to glow, then the glow spread to her father's body. The light dimmed, flickered, strengthened, and then faded out as before.
Sarah smiled weakly, and then collapsed beside her father. “Sarah!” Erica exclaimed as she ran to her. She dropped to the floor and lifted Sarah's head onto her lap, brushing her hair from her face as she made sure she was breathing.
“Is she alright?” Tiffany asked fearfully. She'd called her knife back to her and stuffed it in her pocket. She joined Erica on the floor next to Sarah.
“I...I think so. I think she just passed out.” Erica replied worriedly.
It was probably much more difficult to heal him because of the magical effects of the weapon. She's simply exhausted from the effort, I think. Vash said.
George groaned and sat up. “What happened?” he asked, confused.
Mike positioned himself between George and Mary and growled, while Jill said, “Your daughter saved your life, despite the fact you'd just tried to kill her mother. I would say you should be proud of her, but I don't think you can really take any credit for Sarah.”
“I what?!” he exclaimed in shock. He glanced at Mary and saw that she had her hand over her throat and was still catching her breath.
Jill frowned, “Are you trying to say you don't remember?!”
He doesn't. The attack was an unconscious reaction to the memories we fed him. He hadn't recovered from them yet. Vash said.
Jill closed her eyes in concentration for a moment and then opened them wide in surprise. “You're right! I wouldn't have thought he'd react like that, but I guess I was thinking too much of the way Sarah reacted to those memories. I should have realized his reaction would be more violent!” Jill said.
George sighed in defeat, “You're never going to trust me now, are you?” Mary shook her head and backed involuntarily away a step before catching herself. “I'm sorry, I never wanted this to happen. I still don't approve of what Se...Sarah's doing, but I won't try to talk him, I mean her, out of it anymore. And I won't contest a divorce, if that's what you want.” He hung his head sadly and then stood and started walking towards the front door.
“Where are you going?” Jill asked.
He shrugged, “I don't know. Away.”
“Like that?!” Jill exclaimed, pointing at him. He stopped and looked down at himself. He had momentarily forgotten his predicament. Not only was he now smaller and younger than before, but female and wearing oversized male cloths that threatened to fall off at any moment. In fact, he had to hold his pants up and kept tripping over the them.
“Unless Sarah wants to change me back, I don't see that I have any choice in the matter.” he replied.
Jill looked at Sarah, who was still unconscious. “I'm not sure if she'd be willing to do that at the moment. But you can't just go out there like that! Besides the clothing issue; you don't have any ID. And since you're now a minor, you'll either end up in the hands of Social Services, or on the streets. I think you know what that would mean, seeing as you're a girl now.”
George shuddered at that thought. “You're right, but I can't stay here.” he said, turning back to the door.
“I'll take care of him.” Tiffany said softly. George started at that and stared at her fearfully. “He can stay with me and I'll make sure he has clothes and food and we can figure out what to do about his identity. Or I can simply keep him out of sight until Sarah changes him back.”
He seemed torn as he glanced back and forth between the door and Tiffany. “I think that's a good solution.” Jill said. “It shouldn't be for too long, and that will keep him away from Sarah and Mary until Sarah's ready to change him back.”
Mike shifted to naga form, still hovering protectively in front of Mary. “I'm not sure if Sarah will be willing to change him back, he's been a source of fear for her all her life, and has now attacked her mother twice. Are you prepared to live out the rest of your life as you are, if it comes to that?” Mike said, directing his question at George.
George snorted, “What choice do I have? It's not like I have any hope of changing myself back! Has...has Sarah really been afraid of me her whole life?”
Mike rolled his eyes, “Of course she has! What did you expect?!”
“I...don't know. I just thought I could toughen him up, get him to stop acting like such a...well, girl!” George replied.
“She told you she was a girl! Why didn't you believe her?” Mike said angrily.
“Because he...she wasn't a girl! I was just trying to get him to face reality!” George said.
“Well, now it's your turn to face reality. Sarah is a girl. And her body matches her mind now. If you want to have any kind of relationship with her at all you're going to have to accept that fact.” Tiffany said.
George sighed, glancing wearily at Tiffany as he said, “I know that. I can't deny that she appears completely female now, and considering what she did to me I think it's safe to say it's more than mere appearance. That doesn't mean I have to like it.”
Mike snorted in annoyance and was about to lay into him again when Sarah moaned. She woke slowly, smiling when she saw Erica leaning over her. “What did I miss?” she asked weakly.
Erica smiled and kissed her before saying, “If I couldn't feel that you were okay, I'd be very cross with you right now for worrying me like that!”
“Sorry, I didn't know it would take so much out of me to purge the...curse, I guess, from his body from Tiffany's knife. He is okay, isn't he?” Sarah said.
Erica nodded, “Yes, he's okay. In fact, Tiffany just offered to take him in until you're ready to change him back. Unless, that is, you want to change him back now?”
Sarah glanced at her mother and frowned in thought. “I don't think I'm ready to do that just yet. I'm not giving him another chance to hurt Mom.” she said.
“What about his job?” Jill said.
“I'll call in sick for him, but he may lose the job if this goes on too long. That's okay, though, it's not like I need the money. I make more than him, and if I'm going to be the only one here I'll have no trouble covering my expenses. The house is paid for.” Mary replied.
“Sounds like everything's settled for now then. I think you'd better start working on ways to convince Sarah that you're harmless if you want to change back any time soon, though.” Tiffany said, glancing at George for the last part.
“What are we going to call you until you're changed back, anyway?” Jill said.
George stopped to think about that for a few minutes before saying, “I like the name Kelly, it's what we were going to call Sean if he'd been born female. I guess I can go by that for now.”
“Alright Kelly, we'll go shopping tomorrow to get you some clothes.” Tiffany said with a grin. Kelly shuddered at the sight of it, but that might have had something to do with the way the shadows were still misting around her.
“I'll give you some money for that.” Mary croaked, wincing. Erica helped Sarah up at her prompting and Sarah put her hand on her mother's throat and healed it. “Thanks Sarah.” Mary said gratefully.
“Why don't we help you clean this mess up before we go?” Mike suggested. Mary accepted and they all began cleaning up the living room, including Kelly. She was constantly frustrated by her weaker body, but wisely kept her mouth shut.
While Sarah and Tiffany were taking the remains of the entertainment center to the garbage Sarah said, “You realize that Kelly is terrified of you, and not just because you nearly killed her.”
Tiffany smiled widely, “I know. I'm counting on that. She should be a lot more tractable in my care, and I'll be able to get a little extra revenge on her for the way she treated you and your mother while I'm at it, just by being near her!”
Sarah frowned and was about to say something when Tiffany interrupted her, “I'm kidding! Mostly.” she said with an impish grin. “Seriously, though, her fear of me should make it easier to keep her in line. But so long as she stays in line I won't do anything to reinforce it. Who knows, maybe she'll turn out to be a decent person with all that testosterone out of her system.”
Sarah nodded, relieved. They rejoined the others in the living room and quickly finished cleaning up the mess. With all of them working on it it didn't take long.
“Well, now that that's taken care of, we should really be heading home. Mike has to go to work tomorrow and it's getting really late.” Jill said once they were done.
“Are you sure you'll be alright?” Sarah asked her mother.
“I'm sure Sarah, thanks to you and your friends. Go on home, we'll talk later.” Mary replied. They hugged and Sarah opened the portal. “Wait!” Mary said just as Mike started to step through the portal, “Why don't I drive you and Kelly to your place, Tiffany?”
Good thinking, if we took Kelly through a portal she could develop magical abilities much sooner than she otherwise would. Vash said. Kelly looked confused, since Vash left her out when he sent that thought to the others.
“Oh, yeah, that's a good idea. Come on Kelly, let's go the old fashion way.” Tiffany agreed, wincing at the thought of Kelly getting powers and using them against Mary and Sarah. Sarah and the others continued on into the portal after saying their goodbyes to Tiffany and Mary. Kelly followed Tiffany and Mary to Mary's car, mystified as to why she wasn't traveling the same way that Tiffany had come to the house.
Tiffany and Kelly fell asleep on the drive to Tiffany's apartment, and Mary had to wake her to get directions once they were in town. “Could you drop me off at Sarah's after we drop off Kelly so I can get my car?” Tiffany asked.
“Sure, that's fine with me.” Mary replied. But when they got inside Tiffany's apartment a portal suddenly opened up and Sarah stepped through.
“I thought you could use a lift back to your car.” Sarah said.
“Oh, thanks! I guess I won't need that ride after all. Thanks for dropping us off Mary.” Tiffany said.
“My pleasure. You be good for Tiffany, Kelly. You're in enough trouble without making more.” Mary replied. Kelly rolled her eyes at being talked to like a child, but nodded anyway. With another hug from Sarah Mary left.
“Ready to go?” Sarah asked.
“Just a sec.” Tiffany replied, and turned to Kelly. “Kelly, I'll be back in ten or fifteen minutes. I don't have a spare bed, so you'll have to use the couch for now.” She retrieved some blankets and a pillow and laid them on the couch. “You've had a busy day, so I suggest you get some sleep. I'll make sure not to wake you if you're already asleep.”
Kelly nodded and sat on the couch. She watched with interest as Tiffany followed Sarah through the portal, which closed up immediately thereafter. It's almost like they're afraid of me going through one of those weird portals that Sarah makes. But then, I'm more than a little afraid to go through them myself. she thought.
Kelly laid down and pulled the blankets over herself. So this is my home, at least until Sarah changes me back. If she changes me back! But what will happen then? I'll have to move out on my own. I haven't been alone in a long time. I don't particularly want to start now, but I can't blame Mary for distrusting me after everything that's happened. she thought. Then she started to think about the memories Jill and Vash had shown her of Sarah's, but resolutely pushed them away to think about at another time. Exhausted, she fell asleep before Tiffany got back.
Tiffany wasn't in any better shape then Sarah. They both dragged through their workday. Tiffany came out to wait with Sarah for Erica to pick her up, but they were too drained to keep up much of a conversation. Tiffany and Erica exchanged greetings when she arrived and then they drove off, with Tiffany following soon after.
“My parents will be here in an hour or two, why don't you take a nap until then?” Erica suggested when she saw how exhausted Sarah was.
“Sounds good to me.” Sarah mumbled before falling asleep. Erica woke her when they got back to the apartment and practically carried her to bed.
Jill and Mike joined Erica to wait for her parents. “Where's Sarah'?” Jill asked.
“She was exhausted, I put her to bed.” Erica replied. “Oh, and Sarah's driver's license arrived today. I'm not sure how much good it will do, though.”
Mike shrugged, “She can use it to get a new one, at least.”
“I suppose so. That reminds me, I need to get a name change order going. I promised Sarah I'd help her with that.” Erica said.
“How long will that take?” Jill asked.
“A couple of months or so. Once the paperwork is sent in we'll have to get an ad in the paper for a month. Then we'll need to take that to court. Hopefully they aren't too busy and the court date won't be too far away.” Erica replied.
“Is that all it takes?” Mike asked curiously.
Erica nodded, “Pretty much. Once the name change order is signed off by the judge we'll get some copies so Sarah can get her records corrected with Social Security, the college, the DMV, and so on.”
“I'm surprised it's that easy.” Mike said.
“Oh, that's just the name. Getting her gender legally changed will take a little more work. And a little creativity, since she can't just get a letter from the doctor that does her surgery, since she doesn't need surgery. I think we can fix that easily enough by getting a doctor to examine her and making up a letter. We can say she had surgery in Mexico or something. That's the excuse you gave the police, right?” Erica said.
Jill nodded, “Yes, that's right. Actually, you might be able to get a letter from one of the doctors at the hospital.”
“Maybe. But we won't be doing anything about that just yet.” Erica replied.
Jill frowned, “Why not?”
“Because we're getting married!” Erica replied happily, fingering her ring. “And thanks to Prop. 8 we can't get married here as two women. But so long as we don't change her records before we get married, Sarah's still legally male. Which means we can get married legally. After we're married we can get her records changed to reflect her proper gender.”
Jill smiled widely, “That's great! I was afraid you wouldn't be able to get legally married. I'm glad you're able to get around it. I hope Prop. 8 gets overturned soon.”
Erica nodded, “Me too. I was always against it, but now that I'm looking at it from a different perspective I hate it even more! We can get around it, but most same sex couples don't have a loophole like that to take advantage of.”
After that the conversation turned to wedding plans. Since she hadn't discussed it with Sarah yet, Erica wasn't making any solid plans yet, but Jill was eager to get things started. Mike just sat back and watched with a strange expression on his face.
Discussion of wedding gowns was interrupted by a knock at the door. Mike answered it. “Hello Mike, is our daughter home?” Erica's father said when he opened the door. Mike let them in and watched as Erica greeted them both hesitantly. They both knew Mike, but he had to introduce Jill.
“So, where's Se...I mean, where's Sarah?” Mrs. Keller asked curiously.
“We got to bed late last night, so I put her to bed when she got home from work. I'll go get her.” Erica said and went to Sarah's bedroom. Sarah was still asleep and Erica was reluctant to wake her up. She sat on the edge of the bed and brushed Sarah's hair out of her eyes.
Erica gazed lovingly at her fiancé's face as she stroked her hair. She looks so peaceful, I hate to wake her with everything that's been happening lately. Erica thought.
Erica's head snapped around when she heard a knock on the open door. “Everything alright, dear?” her mother asked worriedly.
Erica smiled, “Yes, everything's fine. She's just resting so peacefully that I was reluctant to wake her up.”
Erica's mother walked around the bed to where she could see Sarah's face. “Oh my, she does look comfortable, doesn't she? It's amazing, she looks so much like she did as Sean, and yet so different! How are you handling this?” she said.
“It was rough at first.” Erica admitted. Then with a grin she said, “But now...” and held up her hand with the engagement ring on it for her mother to see.
Erica's mother's hand flew to her mouth. She was too shocked to speak at first. Then she said, “I guess you got over it! Who proposed?”
Erica smiled wider as she said, “I did! She has an identical ring.”
Her mother shook her head in wonder, “First I learn my daughter's boyfriend is living as a girl, and now you're getting married! Congratulations honey!” They tearfully embraced.
Erica pulled back and asked anxiously, “You're really okay with this?”
Her mother frowned, “Of course I am! And your father will be happy, as well. Whatever makes you happy makes us happy, okay?”
Erica smiled in relief, “Okay Mom! Should we wake Sarah up?”
Erica's mother looked back at Sarah and found that her eyes were open. “I don't think that will be necessary.” she said.
“Uh, hi Mrs. Keller.” Sarah said cautiously.
“Hello Sarah. I hear you're going to be family. So no more of this Mrs. Keller nonsense! Either call me Terri or Mom, okay?” Terri said with a smile.
“Are you sure? I mean...” Sarah said, trailing off uncertainly.
“I'm sure. You should know by now that my husband and I are very fond of you. The fact you're a girl now doesn't change that. Now come here and let me congratulate you properly!” Terri replied. She pulled Sarah up and hugged her tight.
“Thanks...Mom!” Sarah said with tears in her eyes. Erica smiled as she watched them.
“Now,” Terri said when they broke up, “why don't you get yourself cleaned up and we can go get something to eat!”
Terri left them alone. “See, I told you they'd accept you without any problems!” Erica said, grinning.
“And I told you they'd accept your relationship with me without any problems!” Sarah replied happily.
A few minutes later Sarah came out into the living room with Erica. Sarah held back as they came into view of Erica's father. He stood up and took a long look at her and then smiled. “You look amazing, Sarah! I hear you're going to be joining the family officially, now. Congratulations!” he said and held his arms open for her. Erica pulled her forward and she accepted the hug hesitantly at first, but she relaxed quickly.
Everyone in the room had a huge smile on their face by this point. “Everyone ready to go?” Terri asked. They all nodded and climbed into Mr. Keller's Suburban. After a short drive they arrived at the restaurant.
Once they were settled into a corner booth and had ordered Terri started asking about wedding plans. “So have you set a date yet?” she asked.
Erica glanced at Sarah and said, “We haven't discussed it yet. Things have been kind of hectic lately.”
“Do you think that Spring is too soon?” Sarah asked, directing her question at both of them.
“That depends on when in Spring you're thinking about.” Terri replied.
Sarah frowned in thought and then said, “I guess May would be best. It shouldn't be too hot yet, but there's not too much chance of rain, either.”
Erica nodded, “Sounds good to me.”
“Okay, that could work, but it depends on where you have your wedding. Some places are booked up a year in advance or more. Do you want a church wedding?” Terri asked.
Erica was shaking her head almost as quickly as Sarah, “I don't think Sarah wants that.” Erica said.
“No, I don't, if that's okay.” Sarah said hesitantly.
Erica smiled, “Of course it's okay! I'm not religious, anyway. And with it being in May we can do something outdoors without everyone freezing or melting.” Sarah smiled in relief.
Just then Jill smiled and looked towards the door. “Hey Sarah, there's Tiffany!” she said. I already scanned the area and our FBI friend isn't anywhere near here, so I told Tiffany it was safe to come in. I hope that's alright. Jill sent.
So long as Erica's parents don't mind, it's fine with me. Sarah replied. “Is it alright if Tiffany joins us?” Sarah asked.
“Shes a good friend of Sarah's from work. She's really becoming part of our little group.” Erica added.
“Sure, the more the merrier!” Mr. Keller said amiably. Sarah waved Tiffany over and she joined them. Erica handled the introductions and the wedding discussion resumed until the food arrived.
“So,” Mr. Keller said after the waiter left, “what's wrong? You all seem a little tense, still.”
Erica glanced at Sarah and thought, Do you want to ask him about the FBI agent? I bet he can help us find a way to deal with him?
How are you going to explain why he's interested in us? Do you want to tell him about our powers? Sarah replied.
I may not have to. Erica replied. But would it be so bad if I did?
Okay, but save the magic talk, if it comes to that, for after we get back to the apartment. I don't want to talk about it in here. Sarah said.
Okay. “Well, we do kind of have a problem.” Erica admitted.
Mr. Keller nodded, “I thought as much. Knowing you, you would have just brought Sarah over with you the next chance you had instead of calling us to tell us about her. So what's the problem?”
Erica glanced at Tiffany, who nodded, and said, “Well, there's this guy who is giving Tiffany problems. He's got it in his head that we're somehow involved in that business in the hills. He's been threatening Tiffany to try and get her to spy on us for him. He's from the FBI.”
Mr. Keller sat back in surprise. “Well, I didn't expect anything like that! Are you involved?” he asked.
“Jason! What a thing to ask!” Terri said reproachfully.
“They're awfully tense if they aren't involved in something they wouldn't want the FBI to know about. I'm not saying they're doing anything illegal, just that they may have reason to want to avoid attention.” Jason replied calmly.
I think we need to tell them everything. Jill sent.
Agreed, but not here. Sarah replied.
Not at either of our apartments, either. Remember, they're being watched. Mike cautioned.
Maybe we should go for a bit of a drive. Find someplace where we can make sure we're not overheard. Erica suggested via Sarah.
“Okay, what's going on with all of you?!” Terri exclaimed. “You're all looking at each other but not saying anything. But it feels like you're communicating somehow.”
“Uh, yeah, we kind of are.” Erica said sheepishly. “But we think it would be better to talk about that somewhere where we won't be overheard.”
“We can continue this conversation back at Sarah's apartment, then.” Jason suggested.
“Uh, that's not a good idea. Marvin, the guy from the FBI, is watching Sarah's apartment.” Tiffany said.
Jason's eyebrows went up at that. “Where can we talk about this, then?” he asked.
After a quick, silent, conference they decided on the park nearest the apartment complex. There was a picnic table there that was far enough away from everything else that it would be easy to make sure nobody was listening in on their conversation. The rest of their meal was quiet, with only a halfhearted attempt at returning to the discussion of wedding plans made by Terri. As soon as they finished eating Mr. Keller paid the bill and they left. Sarah gave him directions to the park and in minutes they were seated at the picnic table.
“Okay, so what's really going on?” Jason demanded more than asked.
“Well, there are some rather odd things going on in our lives right now.” Erica admitted. “Tiffany kind of had to kill someone to protect Sarah from being raped, and we did kind of blast the hills a bit...”
“Someone what?!” Terri exclaimed, completely missing the second part of what Erica said as she latched onto the first. “Are you alright Sarah?” she said worriedly.
Sarah smiled weakly, “Yeah, I'm okay. He didn't get far, thanks to Tiffany.”
“Wait a moment, didn't you say Tiffany killed her attacker?” Jason asked. Erica nodded. “Is that why this FBI agent is harassing Tiffany, because he suspects her?”
He does suspect Tiffany of killing John. Vash said.
“Apparently.” Erica replied.
“But he also suspects Sarah of being involved somehow in his death, and also in that thing in the hills. He's been trying to get me to spy for him. I pretend to, but I haven't told him anything.” Tiffany said.
“And he doesn't know that Tiffany is our friend yet. She was only friends with Sarah before, but she came to us when he started putting pressure on her.” Jill said.
“So what did happen in those hills?” Jason asked curiously.
Erica glanced at Sarah, who nodded encouragingly, “Well, we were practicing. We thought it best to do so somewhere isolated so no one would see and we wouldn't damage anything or anyone.”
“Practicing? What were you practicing?!” Terri exclaimed.
Erica glanced around and saw a soda can sitting on the ground not far from them. Think it's safe for a small demonstration? she thought to Sarah.
Yeah, there's no one around. Sarah replied. “This is one of the things we were practicing.” Sarah said, and pointed at the can. Once she was sure they were watching she fired a very small, pale blue magical blast at the can, knocking it dozens of feet away.
Erica's parents both gaped open mouthed at the can, and then back at Sarah. Shaking his head to clear it, Jason said, “What just happened?!”
Sarah explained, and their story came out in bits and pieces after that. Terri finally just asked them to go back to the beginning so it'd make sense. They each took turns adding in their experiences as the story was told, but Erica and Jill did most of the talking. When they got to the wizard's tower Vash made an appearance, which had even more impact on them than everything else.
Finally they'd caught up to the present. After a long silence as Terri and Jason thought about everything they'd been told, Terri said, “You weren't kidding when you said odd things were going on in your life!”
Erica smiled wryly, “No, I wasn't kidding at all! The funny thing is, the most troublesome part of the whole thing is the most mundane.”
“This FBI agent, right. That could be tricky, depending on his situation.” Jason said.
Erica nodded, “Yes, I was hoping you might be able to get some information on him, so we'll have some idea what we're dealing with. And any ideas you might have on how to deal with him would be great, too.”
“Sure, I'll look into it. In the meantime, I think Tiffany should stop pretending. He really doesn't have anything on her since she came to you as she did, and there's no chance of proving she killed John without the body. Just keep Kelly out of sight until she's changed back.” Jason replied.
Tiffany laughed at that, “That won't be hard! She refused to go with me to buy her some clothes. Even after I brought them back from the store she still didn't want to go outside for any reason. She's not exactly feeling adventurous right now.”
Sarah looked worried upon hearing this, “Maybe I should go over and change her back tonight.” she mused.
“I understand you're worried about your father, Sarah, but I think you should let her think she's stuck like this for a little while.” Terri said to Sarah's surprise. “This is a great opportunity for her to learn what it's been like for you all these years. Not too long, or she might get depressed like you were, but a few days should be safe enough.”
“I agree.” Jason said. “Your father's proven himself to be a dangerously violent man. If you change him back too soon he won't learn anything and continue his old habits. Perhaps to the extent of outing you to the police or this Marvin Garner. Give him a little time to stew on this, and maybe he'll learn something worthwhile. If he doesn't, you might have to consider wiping his memory of this incident and your magical abilities in order to keep yourself safe. Assuming you're capable of that, Jill?”
Could I do that? Jill wondered to Vash.
Possibly. There's a possibility you might do more damage than intended, however. I could do it without damaging any other part of his mind or memory, though. I've done things like that before for my old master. Vash replied.
“It looks like Vash or I could do it, but it would be safer for him to do it. If I did it I might do more damage to Kelly's memory than intended.” Jill said.
“It's good to know we have that option.” Erica said. “I was worried about that. Still, I'd prefer it if Kelly could actually learn to appreciate what Sarah's been through and stop being a threat on her own.”
“Well,” Jason said, “this has certainly been an interesting day! But it looks like I'm going to have a very busy day tomorrow, so I think we'd better get going.” With that they returned to his SUV and Tiffany left in her car. Back at the apartment there were some tearful goodbyes, and Terri promised to be in touch to help plan the wedding, and then they were gone.
They all went over to Mike and Jill's and watched a movie and relaxed for a while, and then they all called it a night.
“Well, I think she'd been crying before I got home last night. That could just be because of her marriage falling apart, though. She does seem less terrified by me, which I guess is a good thing. She's still not inclined to be seen by anyone, but it's only been a day, so that's understandable.” Tiffany replied.
“I hope we don't have to wipe her memory.” Sarah said worriedly.
Tiffany gave her a hug to reassure her and said, “Don't give up too soon! It's still early days and she might come around, yet.”
“I hope so. Do you think there's any chance of us being a family again?” Sarah asked wistfully.
Tiffany looked sympathetically at Sarah and shook her head, “I don't think you were ever really a family. Not like a family should be, at the least. I think you and your mother are going to do great, but I just can't see her getting back together with your dad. Attacking her twice is a bit much to overcome, especially after finding out he'd beaten you for years. I think you should be happy to have a good relationship with your mother again. Maybe, just maybe, you might even develop a good relationship with your father if he comes around, but that's the best you're going to get, I think. Sorry.”
Sarah sighed and looked down. “I guess I knew that, but I really wanted to be a real family, like Erica with her parents, and Mike with his. Even Jill has a better family life, and her dad died years ago!” Sarah said sadly.
Tiffany nodded, “I know exactly how you feel. I sometimes saw kids with their families that were really happy when I was growing up, and often wondered what it would be like to have a family like that. My foster parents never did anything bad like your father, but they weren't exactly loving, either. It was more like a job to them. Believe it or not, I kind of envy you. Not the thing with your father, but at least you've got a mother.”
Tiffany looked away as she finished speaking, but not before Sarah saw the tears in her eyes. “I'm sorry, Tiffany, I should be happy for what I have. Here I am griping about my parents and you never really had any!” Sarah said and hugged her.
They cried on each other's shoulder for a minute before Tiffany got herself back together again. “Sorry. It doesn't usually get to me like that. I guess we were both envying Erica's family a bit there.”
“Yeah,” Sarah said with a wan smile, “I guess we were.”
They were kept too busy to talk more after lunch, until their afternoon break. “Sarah, why don't I drive you home today? Mr. Keller said I don't need to pretend to spy on you guys anymore, so there's no reason why I can't.” Tiffany said.
“That's not a bad idea. I'll call Erica.” Sarah replied, and proceeded to do so. After a short conversation she said goodbye and closed her cell. “All set!”
“Great, it seems silly to have Erica drive out here to pick you up when I'm here and have my car here.” Tiffany said.
“I guess it is. By the way, do you like to cook?” Sarah asked.
Tiffany gave her an odd look and said, “Not especially. I have to cook for myself all the time, so I'm comfortable enough with it, but it got boring fast.”
Sarah smiled, “How would you like to help me cook dinner for everybody then?”
“I don't want to mess it up...” Tiffany weakly replied.
Sarah waved that away, “You won't mess it up! Now if you were as bad as Mike, that would be a different story! If you're lucky, he only burns everything he touches!”
Laughing, Tiffany said, “He's not really that bad, is he?”
“Oh, he is! He's even started a fire in the microwave three times! That's why we don't let him cook.” Sarah replied.
“Wow! But what about Kelly?” Tiffany said, realizing her plan to take Sarah home might not be such a good one after all.
“Erica thought of that, too. She suggested we pick her up on the way.” Sarah replied.
“Okay. While we're there, I have some things that I would like to move to that empty world if you don't mind. Especially now that I've got Kelly there with me.” Tiffany said.
Sarah shrugged, “Sure, no problem. Are those knives one of the things you want to stash there?”
“Yes, I'm hoping I won't be able to call them to me from there. I figure they could still be useful, but I don't think I want to have such easy access to them all the time.” Tiffany replied.
“I can understand that.” Sarah agreed. Their break was over then, so they went back to work. Afterwards they climbed in Tiffany's car and she drove them over to her apartment.
“You know,” Tiffany said as they got out of the car, “it seems a little silly sometimes, you getting a ride to and from work. I mean, you could get there instantly with your portals!”
Sarah shrugged, “Sure, but then I'd have to worry about making sure nobody saw me going either way, and sooner or later someone would wonder how I got to work without a car. It seems silly to me sometimes, too, but what can you do?”
Tiffany nodded as she unlocked the door to her apartment and held the door for her. They found Kelly lying on the couch watching TV. “Kelly, we're going over to Sarah's for dinner, if you like.” Tiffany said. Kelly glanced at them and nodded, then went back to watching TV.
Sarah shook her head. Classic Dad, always glued to the TV when he doesn't have anything else to do. she thought. She followed Tiffany up to her bedroom, where Tiffany dug out a bag overflowing with golden objects, a few stray pieces, two swords, and a cloak, which had been covering the rest, from under her bed. “You hid it under your bed?” she asked, trying not to laugh.
Tiffany smiled sheepishly, “Yeah, I know it's lame, but I didn't know what else to do with it. Though I was thinking of selling some of it on Ebay. I could split the money I get with you guys, since I wouldn't have it without you anyway.”
“You don't need to do that. After all, we can always go back to the tomb and pull more out. That's not a bad idea, in fact. I could use the money, I've drained my account dry buying clothes, but I really don't have all that much yet. And I really don't have much in the way of shoes.” Sarah said thoughtfully.
Shaking her head and laughing Tiffany said, “So all that reluctance to wear women's clothes was just an act, huh? You'd make a good actor!”
“I don't know about that; I didn't really have much choice in the matter. I had to learn to act like a guy, or at least not act like a girl, just to survive.” Sarah said sadly. Shaking her head she said, “I'll help you carry that.” and opened the portal to the empty world.
Changing the subject, huh? I think I'll have a talk with Erica about getting Sarah some serious girl time. I think she'd enjoy that if she let herself. It's a good thing we're moving these knives, I'm getting mad again about what Sarah's father did to her! Tiffany thought as she followed Sarah through the portal.
“Oh, didn't Vash want to see that ring?” Sarah asked as they were setting down Tiffany's loot.
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that! Here it is.” Tiffany replied, lifting up the ring she'd gotten off of the second mage. “Do you think I should leave everything here?” she asked, pointing to her black diamond pendant, obsidian ring, and pulling back her sleeve to reveal her bracers.
Sarah thought for a moment and then said, “I think the pendant and ring are safe enough, but the bracers would attract attention if anybody ever saw them. On the other hand, it's winter, so you can get away with wearing long sleeve shirts all the time. I'm really not sure.”
Tiffany frowned in thought and then pulled her sleeve back down. “I'm going to keep the bracers with me. This,” she said, pulling the pistol out, “I'll leave here!”
Sarah's eyes widened in surprise, “You've been carrying that around with you?! Is that what I think it is?”
Tiffany nodded, “Yep, I got this from the Skylark universe, complete with exploding bullets. Here's the extras.” She dug in the bag and pulled out the box of ammunition. It was a lot smaller than the box they'd given to Erica.
“You two and your guns!” Sarah said ruefully.
“Hey, following you guys around is dangerous business! I should really get some non-explosive rounds for it, though. Explosive bullets are great, but they're useless in close quarters.” Tiffany replied.
Sarah insisted on keeping all of Tiffany's stuff separate from the rest, even though Tiffany thought she should share with the others. “Erica was right, we really shouldn't be trading stuff around too much, or we won't know how to use any of it well. Besides, most of your stuff is Shadowkin specific, so it wouldn't do us much good.” Sarah said.
Tiffany finally gave up and they returned to her apartment. Kelly was still glued to the TV and hadn't even noticed their absence. She was wearing the clothes Tiffany bought her the previous day, except for the shoes. Tiffany turned off the TV and said, “Get your shoes on, it's time to go.” Kelly grumbled about missing the end of her show, but threw her shoes on and followed them out to the car. She didn't say anything to Sarah and seemed to be avoiding looking at her.
Sarah asked Kelly how she was doing on the drive over, but Kelly just shrugged and looked away. She absolutely hates me, I knew it! Is it because I turned her into a girl, or did she always feel that way? She probably always felt that way. After all, I was a constant disappointment to her! Sarah thought as she looked at Kelly in the mirror.
Stop thinking like that! Erica said sternly. Sarah was shocked, as they were still a few miles from home. Yeah, I'm surprised, too, but that's not important right now. If Kelly hates you, it's because of her issues, not because of you! And if she was disappointed in you, that's only because she had unrealistic expectations of you. Extremely unrealistic expectations! Don't let her messed up view, which she might not even have anymore, dictate your self worth. Okay?
But... Sarah started to argue, but was cut off.
No buts! You are a wonderful, caring, loving person whom I love more than life! Please don't devalue yourself, okay? You really are a worthwhile person. Very worthwhile! Just ask Mike or Jill, or Tiffany for that matter, they'll all tell you that, I'm sure. Erica sent, sending love and concern through their bond.
I'm beginning to think that our bond isn't restricted by distance. Or not much, at least. Maybe we'll even be able to talk while I'm at Harvard? Erica mused.
Ooh, that would be nice! Sarah thought.
Yeah, but I still want you to visit. We can't do everything over the bond, after all! Erica said.
Sarah blushed at the images she was receiving. “You okay Sarah, you've gotten rather quiet?” Tiffany asked worriedly.
“Oh, sorry about that Tiffany, I was just talking to Erica.” Sarah replied.
Tiffany glanced over in surprise, “You can do that?!”
Sarah nodded, “Yes, apparently we can. That may make things a lot better when she goes back to school next week.”
“That's right, I'd forgotten about that. I'm glad you can keep in touch that way then. And you're planning on portalling out to visit her, right?” Tiffany said.
“Yes. I don't know how often I'll be able to visit, though. She was kept really busy with her classwork last semester.” Sarah said.
“Well I'm sure she'll be able to find some time for you. When does the semester end?” Tiffany asked, remembering that Sarah was talking about having their wedding in May.
“Early or mid May, I think. We might have to have the wedding in June, assuming we can do it this year at all.” Sarah replied.
“Why wouldn't you?” Tiffany asked curiously.
Sarah shrugged, “I don't know. But with everything that's going on, well, anything could happen.”
“Things have been kind of crazy.” Tiffany agreed. “But don't let that get in your way.”
“I may not have a choice.” Sarah replied.
“Maybe, but if you put it off every time things aren't ideal, you'll never get married. With magic getting stronger all the time, we can't really expect things to get any quieter in the future.” Tiffany said.
“What do you mean, magic getting stronger?” Kelly asked suspiciously.
Sarah and Tiffany were so surprised by Kelly's sudden outburst that they took a moment to reply. “Apparently magic was suppressed, or dormant or something, for a long time. Now it's coming back. Eventually everyone will have magical abilities like we do.” Tiffany said.
“Even me?” Kelly asked.
Tiffany glanced at Kelly in the mirror and said, “Sure.” Kelly was quiet again after that.
Tiffany was tense as she got out of the car at Sarah's apartment building. There's no going back now, he'll know I contacted them now that I'm going inside openly. I hope Mr. Keller knows what he's talking about. she thought as she followed Sarah to her apartment.
Erica was in the kitchen when they arrived, getting out what they'd need for dinner. “Hi guys, how was work?” she asked.
“Fine, how was your day?” Sarah replied.
“Not bad. I got the ball rolling on your name change. I also found out that there's a form you can use to change your name and gender on your driver's license, but you need a doctor's signature for it. I called my Dad and he put me in touch with a doctor who would be willing to sign it for you, after he talks to you. I went ahead and made an appointment, but I can cancel it if you want.” Erica said.
“What kind of doctor is it?” Sarah asked.
“A psychiatrist. I thought it would be helpful if you could get your driver's license before I leave, but the name change will take much too long. This would be a quick fix for that, if you want.” Erica replied worriedly.
Sarah sighed, “Okay, I guess that would help. Having ID with the right name on it would be helpful. I don't know if I could even use my driver's license right now, I look quite a bit different than I used to.”
“Yeah, you look like you're related to Sean, but you really don't look like you could be Sean. Though an awful lot of people don't seem to have any trouble believing it, anyway.” Erica said.
“I guess Venus did a good job with that curse. Good thing you wanted to be a girl anyway!” Tiffany said.
“Somehow I doubt Mike would have handled it very well if you hadn't jumped in front of him.” Erica agreed.
“What?!” Kelly exclaimed, startling everyone.
“I just said that Mike wouldn't have handled being a girl as well.” Erica said, confused as to why Kelly was so interested all of the sudden.
“No, you said that Sarah jumped in front of Mike! What did you mean by that?!” Kelly replied.
“Just what I said. They were running back through the portal to get away from Venus when she got angry. Jill was already through, and Mike was about to go through when Venus tried to blast him with her curse. Sarah jumped in front of him and got blasted instead and they were both knocked through the portal by the blast.” Erica said. “You'd know that if you'd stuck around when we were telling Mary all this.”
“Sarah did that?! She must have known what was going to happen then, somehow, right?” Kelly said with a strange intensity.
Sarah shook her head, unconsciously backing away from her, “No, I thought I was going to die.”
Kelly looked at her intently for a long moment and then said, “You really did?” Sarah nodded. “I can't believe it!” she muttered.
“Tiffany, why don't you and Sarah get started on dinner. I want to talk to Kelly for a minute.” Erica said. Sarah looked worriedly at her, but Erica smiled and thought, I'm not going to hurt her, just talk to her. Relax! Sarah nodded and she and Tiffany got to work while Erica led Kelly back to the living room.
“Okay, Kelly, you and I need to talk. You were scaring Sarah in there! What's going on?!” Erica demanded.
Kelly didn't seem to have heard her and she dropped onto the couch, still muttering, “I can't believe it!”
Erica sat next to her and grabbed her shoulders, turning her towards her. “Can't believe what?!” she growled.
Kelly shook her head as if to clear it and looked up at Erica. “Sorry, what were you saying?” she asked sheepishly.
“I said, what's going on?! You were scaring Sarah!” Erica said in a near shout.
Kelly ducked her head, “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I just couldn't believe that Sean would do something like that. I always thought he was too much of a coward to sacrifice himself for someone else like that.”
“That's Sarah!” Erica growled.
“But she was Sean at the time it happened...” Kelly protested.
“No! She was always Sarah! That's the whole point! Sean was just a mask she wore to please you and your wife, and everyone else, for that matter. She was always a girl.” Erica replied.
“But you want to marry her.” Kelly stated.
“Yes.” Erica said.
“So you're a lesbian?” Kelly asked. She looked confused with the whole conversation.
“No. Yes, I don't know! I was never attracted to girls before, but I am to her. I don't know what I am! But what does it really matter? I love her and want to spend the rest of my life with her. And she feels the same way. Isn't that what's important?” Erica said.
Kelly seemed conflicted as she said, “But it's a sin to change your body or to be with someone of the same gender as yourself.”
Erica rolled her eyes, “I should have known you'd bring religion into this. It's always the same thing! Instead of coming up with a logical argument for why something shouldn't be, you just say it's a sin! Or that it's written in the bible, so it must be true! Can't you think for yourself?!”
Kelly bristled at that, “Of course I can think for myself!”
“Oh really? Then tell me why it's a bad thing for two people of the same gender to be together? Without using the bible!” Erica said.
Kelly seemed at a loss for a moment and then said, “You can't have children!” triumphantly, like she'd just found the answer.
“Oh, what a surprise!” Erica said with a grin. “The old procreation argument! Tell me something Kelly, do we have a shortage of people?”
“Uh, no.” Kelly replied, confused.
“In actual fact, don't we have a surplus of people? Don't we have an overpopulation problem on this planet?” Erica asked.
“So how is it a bad thing for two people to marry who can't have children when we already have too many?” Erica pressed.
Kelly was flustered and couldn't think of anything to answer Erica with. Seeing this, Erica continued, “Let me give you a few more things to think about. The only place where same sex relationships is mentioned in the bible it specifies two men, there's nothing in the bible about lesbians. Also, there's nothing in the bible that says you can't change your body. In fact, we do it all the time. Tattoos, piercings, removing tonsils or appendix, and so on. And one more thing. If you thought Sarah was such a coward, presumably just because she wanted to be a girl and didn't fight back against her own father despite being very small when you started beating her, then you really don't know your daughter at all. And that's your loss.” With that Erica stood and walked into the kitchen.
“Is everything okay?” Sarah asked when she saw Erica walk in.
Erica leaned against the counter and sighed. “I don't know. I hope I gave her something to think about. Most of the time she just reacts without thinking.” she replied wearily.
“Well Mike and Jill will be here in a minute; they can keep Kelly occupied.” Sarah said. With that they all got back to work. A few minutes later Tiffany came out to tell the others that dinner was ready. When she walked into the living room she found Mike pacing angrily behind the couch while Jill glared at Kelly.
“What's going on?” she asked.
Mike started to say something, but Jill cut him off before he could get a sound out, “We're just frustrated with Kelly. Nothing we say is getting through to her!”
“We can't get through to Dad, he has to get through to himself.” Sarah said sadly as she walked in. She walked up to Kelly and reached out to touch her shoulder. Kelly flinched, but all Sarah did was tap her shoulder with one finger, and she was George again. “I'm sorry I left you like that for so long Dad, but I had to make sure you weren't a danger to Mom. I was just talking to her, and she's learned a little about her own powers and she's convinced me that she can defend herself if need be. After dinner we'll get your clothes from Tiffany's place and you can go. But Mom doesn't want you staying at the house. She'll let you get your stuff, but she wants you to get a hotel room or something.”
George looked down at himself in shock. His clothes, which had been quite loose a moment ago, were now straining at the seams. “Why?!” he whispered.
Sarah looked confused at that, “I just said. I know I hated being in a wrong gendered body, so I never wanted to leave you like that in the first place. If I had been sure Mom was safe sooner, I would have changed you back then.”
“But...don't you...hate me?” George asked.
Shaking her head, Sarah said, “No! You're my father, I could never hate you! I hated what you did, but not you.”
“I told you, you don't know your daughter at all. Now maybe you're seeing why it's a shame that you don't.” Erica said and smiled at Sarah. Sarah seemed confused at that, but shrugged it off and hugged Erica.
“Uh, are we going to eat, or what?” Tiffany asked uncertainly.
Mike laughed and said, “Eat!” With that he strode into the kitchen and the others slowly followed him. There wasn't enough room at the table for all of them, so Sarah and Erica sat on the couch. They caught each other up on their day silently while they ate. The others were nearly as quiet in the kitchen, but that was due mostly to George's presence. For his part he seemed confused and uncertain and ate slowly as he thought something over.
When they were through Mike started cleaning up while Sarah opened a portal for Tiffany to retrieve George's clothes. A few minutes later she returned and George carried them into the bathroom to change. Sarah looked curiously at him when he came out. Is it just me, or does he seem different? she sent to Erica.
Yes, I see what you mean. He does seem different somehow, but I can't figure out how. Erica replied.
“Would you like me to drive you back to your house?” Tiffany asked him. He nodded and she said goodbye before leading him out to her car.
It would take at least a couple of hours for Tiffany to get back, so they decided to watch a movie. After that she still wasn't back, so they took turns trying to beat Mike at tennis. All three of them did better against Mike than usual, but only Erica was able to give him a real challenge.
They wore themselves out on tennis after a while and started talking about Sarah's father again.
“He seemed strangely subdued, didn't he?” Jill said.
“We were just thinking he seemed different somehow. I wonder what's going through his head?” Erica said.
“I don't know, his thoughts are jumbled up and hard to sort out. Did you have any better luck Vash?” Jill replied.
No, I didn't. But I got the impression that some of what he was told might have gotten through. Vash sent.
“I hope so. It would be nice if he actually learned something from all of this.” Mike said.
“By the way, when did you talk to your mother, Sarah?” Jill asked.
“While we were making dinner. I was just wondering if Mom would be safe if I changed Dad back, and I suddenly could feel her mind. I don't know how I did it, but it was natural after that to talk to her. She was surprised at first, but then we had a nice talk and she told me that she's been experimenting a bit with her own powers.” Sarah replied.
“What did she find out?” Jill asked curiously.
“Well, when she tried to repeat what she did with Dad, she couldn't seem to call up any strength like before. But when she thought about Dad beating me she got really angry and suddenly she felt as light as a feather and full of energy. She'd set up some old fence boards and bricks and she pulverized them without much effort. After a little while the effect wore off and she was back to normal.” Sarah said.
Interesting. Based on the episode with you as a child, and later with your father, I was worried that she was some kind of berserker. They are often impossible to control and cause a lot of damage whenever they go berserk. But it sounds like your mother's version is much more controllable. Did she feel any more aggressive after her powers activated then she did before? Vash said.
“No, she said she felt totally normal, except that she felt lighter and full of energy. And she could pulverize concrete bricks with ease.” Sarah replied.
Completely controlled, then. I've never heard of a berserker that doesn't go berserk. Vash sent thoughtfully.
“What exactly does a berserker do?” Mike asked.
It varies depending on the cause. Curses can cause a person to go berserk and attack their comrades. Other spells can cause one to go berserk, but they become more like guided weapons. You point them in the direction of your enemy, and they attack. In that case they are usually stronger, tougher, and don't feel pain so long as the spell is in effect. When it wears off they're usually exhausted, assuming they survive their injuries at all. Then there's the mundane variety. Some people train themselves to go berserk in battle. There are advantages and disadvantages, but basically they are able to ignore pain for the most part. It tends to hit them pretty hard when they come out of it, though. This sounds like the second kind, only with even less perception altering effects than the mundane version. If anger didn't trigger it, I wouldn't want to call it a berserker ability at all. Vash replied
“Do you think she'll be able to learn to use it without getting angry?” Erica asked.
Maybe, it's hard to say. This is different to anything I've heard of before. But even if she needs to get angry, I think her husband has supplied all the fuel she'll need for that. Vash said.
“That's for sure! That was the hardest part about being around Sarah's Dad, especially before stashing my knives in the empty world. Every time I thought about what he did I'd end up with one of them in my hand!” Tiffany said as she walked in and plonked down on the couch.
“Oh, you did? Can you call your knives from there?” Jill asked curiously.
“I assume not, I haven't yet. But I haven't really tried, either.” Tiffany replied.
“Well, try! Let's see if they can cross dimensions on their own or not. Better to find out now than later, right?” Jill said.
I suspected as much. Trans-dimensional magic is extremely powerful. It's unlikely any Shadowkin artifact would be that powerful. I don't even know if there were any magical objects that powerful in my old master's world at all. Vash sent.
“Why didn't you say so to begin with?” Jill asked.
Those knives aren't from my old master's world, so there was still a chance. Besides, exposure to Sarah's portals could have enhanced their magic as it did all of you. Vash replied.
“What about you?” Mike asked curiously.
What about me? Vash replied, confusion evident in his mental 'voice'.
“Was your magic enhanced by going through the portals?” Mike explained.
I think so. Vash said.
“Oh, how?” Erica asked.
I seem to be stronger than I was before, both physically and magically. I seem to sense the flow of magic more easily, and I can stay invisible longer than before. Although it's a bit of a trade off, since my claws became blunted and my claws and fangs are no longer poisonous. And I look like a child's toy. Vash replied.
“But you're so cute!” Sarah protested. Everyone looked at her in surprise. Sarah looked down, blushing, and muttered, “What, he is!”
“It's okay honey.” Erica said and wrapped her arms around her fiancé. “We're just not used to you saying things like that. You've been holding it back all this time, haven't you?” Sarah turned into her embrace and nodded.
“I guess we didn't consider just how repressed you were.” Jill said. Mike looked at her in surprise, confusion evident on his face. “Think about it Mike. She didn't just have to hide the fact she felt like a girl from everybody, she also had to hide her natural reactions from everyone. They would have given her away in an instant.”
“Oh! Yeah, I see what you mean. So you're saying that Sarah would have been saying stuff like that all the time if she didn't feel the need to hide it, right?” Mike replied.
“Among other things, yes. I suspect Sarah's going to prove to be a bit of a girly-girl.” Jill said.
Erica smiled, “I can live with that! It kind of explains some things I've felt through our bond, really.”
Sarah pulled back and looked at her curiously, “What do you mean?”
“Mostly I've just felt this reluctance, or hesitation from you. Like you were going to do or say something, but did something else instead. But it's felt like that's been fading away recently. It's nice to see you coming out of your shell.” Erica replied with a wide smile.
Sarah blushed and looked down. “I've always tried to not act like a girl, so I wouldn't get teased or beat up as much. I guess I was a little slow to realize that I didn't have to do that anymore.” she said.
“I think it's interesting the way you say that, trying to not act like a girl. Didn't you ever try to act like a boy?” Jill asked curiously.
Sarah shuddered at that, “Yes, I tried. It was a disaster! Everyone looked at me like I was crazy when I did that, or worse. When I tried to act like a boy all my reactions were totally off. And some things I just couldn't bring myself to do”
Jill nodded, “That makes sense. Why were your reactions off, though?”
Sarah shrugged, “I didn't really know how to act like a boy. I guess I was mostly just acting off of stereotypes. Anyway, I didn't understand why boys did certain things in certain situations, but not in others. So I'd get it all mixed up. I was much better off just trying not to act like a girl and avoiding attention.”
“I am totally in agreement with you on that one!” Erica said with a laugh. “I don't understand why boys do half the things they do!”
Jill laughed, too, “The eternal complaint of all women. And men, for that matter, only in reverse. Right Mike?”
“Sure. There's lots of things women do that I don't understand. This explains a few things, though.” Mike replied.
“What things?” Sarah asked.
“Well, there were lots of times I thought you reacted strangely to things. I always put it down to how much trouble you had with the kids at school, and how shy you were. But looking at things now, it was because you weren't reacting like a boy would. I guess that's probably at least part of why the other kids gave you so much grief. They picked up on that.” Mike said.
“What's the matter Erica?” Jill asked, noticing Erica's expression.
“What Mike just said, it fit with things I've felt. All the guys I dated before I met Sarah gave me weird vibes. Their reactions just seemed so wrong! I always put it down to the difference between boys and girls at first. But one of the things that attracted me to Sarah to begin with was the fact that she didn't give me those weird vibes. I still didn't understand a lot of the things she did, but her actions didn't grate on me like that. So then I thought it was because I'd found someone I could love. But now I'm wondering if I was a lesbian all along and just didn't realize it.” Erica said softly.
“Would that be so bad?” Sarah asked fearfully.
Erica pulled her back into her arms and shook her head, “No! That wouldn't be so bad at all! It's just, I thought I knew who I was. Now, it looks like maybe I didn't. Not as well as I thought, anyway. What about you Jill? Did you ever feel like I did, or was your experience different?”
“My experience was different. I didn't understand half of what the guys I dated were thinking, if I was lucky! But most of them didn't rub me the wrong way like that. We just didn't click like Mike and I did. It does kind of sound like you were a repressed lesbian all along. I'm kind of surprised at that, though, considering how open minded your parents are.” Jill replied.
“I'm not.” Mike said. “They're not the only ones you have to deal with. If the feeling you get from everybody else is that being gay is a bad thing, then you're going to assume your parents feel the same way. Even if they give you no reason to think that. Kids soak up the attitudes of society like a sponge; far more so than adults do, I think. It's amazing that Sarah persisted in asserting her femininity around her father as much as she did, considering his reaction.”
“That's one of the reasons I think Sarah's going to be a girly-girl when she really lets herself go. She strikes me as just being that feminine that it overcame her fears, at least for a while.” Jill said.
“So,” Sarah began hesitantly, “how do you feel about finding out you may have been a lesbian all along?”
Erica squeezed her tighter and said, “It doesn't change anything, really. It's a bit of a shock, but I'm marrying a girl anyway, so what's it matter?” Sarah hugged her back when she said that and relaxed.
They watched a movie after that, and then went to bed.
In the morning Erica got Sarah moving and got herself ready to drive her to work. “You don't have to do that, you know. Tiffany can drive me now. She said yesterday that she would.” Sarah said.
Erica smiled, “I know, but I want to! Now don't forget to arrange to get off early tomorrow, you've got that doctor's appointment at three. I've printed out the form you need and you can take it with you. If all goes well you'll be able to get your new driver's license in no time!”
“That would be nice.” Sarah said. “I may be able to portal anywhere I've been or can read about, but that doesn't do me much good if I have to worry about someone seeing me.”
“That reminds me. I'm going to call Dad today and see if he's made any progress with finding information on our FBI friend. Or ways to deal with him, for that matter.” Erica said.
“Oh, I don't know. Vash could probably wipe his memory.” Erica replied.
“He's not the only one we have to worry about though. He has to report to someone. And that person will start paying a lot of attention to this area if their agent suddenly turns up without his memory.” Sarah said.
Erica grimaced, “That's a good point. And if we find that person and wipe their memory we'll have someone else to worry about! Well, I'm sure Dad will come up with something. Now come on, or you'll be late for work.”
Sarah grabbed her purse and Erica drove her to work. After a quick kiss goodbye Sarah walked in and met up with Tiffany. “How did things go with Dad last night?” Sarah asked.
Tiffany shrugged, “I really don't know. He didn't talk much. He just stared out the window the whole way.”
“I wish I knew what he's thinking. I'm worried he might tell someone about us.” Sarah fretted.
“I doubt it. Who would believe him?” Tiffany said. She didn't seem very worried about it.
“Agent Garner might.” Sarah replied.
“I don't know, Vash seemed to think he didn't really believe in magic. He might dismiss it.” Tiffany replied as they clocked in. After that they had to get to work and were kept too busy to talk until lunch time.
As they were walking to the break room Sarah remembered her appointment. “I just remembered I've got to leave early tomorrow for my doctor's appointment.” she said.
“When is it?” Tiffany asked.
“Three. Do you think I'll have trouble getting the time off?” Sarah asked worriedly.
Smiling, Tiffany replied, “Considering that I'm your supervisor, I think you'll be okay. Besides, it's only a few hours. Are you nervous about it?”
Sarah nodded, “Yeah, I am. I mean, there's so much I just can't tell him!”
“That shouldn't be a problem. All you have to tell him is about knowing you were a girl since you were little, and how you've been living as a woman for a few weeks now. It shouldn't be too hard to avoid talking about magic.” Tiffany said.
“What about my father?” Sarah asked worriedly.
“Well,” Tiffany began cautiously, “you might be able to skip that. But, maybe it would help if you didn't?”
“What?!” Sarah nearly yelled, “You want me to talk to the doctor about my father?!”
Tiffany held her hands up in a placating gesture, “Whoa, calm down! I'm just saying that you've been through a lot, even without magic, and maybe you'd benefit from talking about it.”
“Benefit from talking about what?” Tina asked as she walked in. Tiffany and Sarah exchanged panicked glances before Sarah relaxed and nodded slightly to Tiffany to let her know Tina hadn't heard anything else.
“Talking about her father.” Tiffany said, relieved that Tina hadn't heard any more, but also worried that this was something that Sarah wouldn't want to talk about.
“What about your father?” Tina asked Sarah while she sat down and started eating her lunch.
Sarah glanced at Tiffany, who shrugged, and said, “He, uh...” She trailed off awkwardly and looked beseechingly at Tiffany.
“He beat her, when she was a kid.” Tiffany said bluntly.
Tina's hand flew up to her mouth in shock, “Oh my god, he did?!” Sarah nodded weakly. “Was it because of, you know...” Tina waved her hand at Sarah and shrugged.
Sarah sighed, “I suppose you've heard about me from some of the other people here, huh?”
She glanced at Tiffany, who immediately protested, “Not from me she didn't!”
“Sorry, I know you wouldn't.” Sarah said.
“Uh, yeah, I heard about you from some of the others.” Tina said apologetically.
Sarah waved that off, “I should have realized you would. After all, everyone but you and Kris knew me as Sean.”
“Oh, is that what your name was?” Tina said. Sarah nodded. “So is that why...?”
“Yes, that's why he beat her.” Tiffany said for her.
Sarah looked down uncomfortably. “Sorry, I shouldn't pry.” Tina said and continued with her meal.
Sarah took a deep breath and looked up, “It's okay. Maybe Tiffany's right, maybe I should talk about it.”
“You mean like a shrink?” Tina asked hesitantly.
Sarah nodded, “Yeah, I've got an appointment with one tomorrow.”
Tina nodded thoughtfully, “Sounds like a good idea to me. You do seem kind of tense about it. I know my friend felt a lot better when she finally talked to a shrink after she was raped. She refused at first, but after she tried to kill herself she gave it a try.”
Tiffany and Sarah looked at each other in surprise at this revelation. “Is she okay now?” Sarah asked hesitantly.
“Well,” Tina replied, “she doesn't want to kill herself anymore. She still has her bad days, but she's a lot better than she was. I guess it could be a lot different for you, though, since it all happened years ago. But, didn't that guy who used to work here attack you recently?”
Sarah snorted, “Which one?”
Tina looked confused at that, so Tiffany explained. “Oh, wow! So you've got an attempted rape to deal with, on top of everything else? I really think you should talk to that doctor now!” Tina exclaimed after hearing Tiffany's explanation.
“I agree.” Tiffany said. “You keep stuff to yourself too much. You should really consider talking to the doctor about all this.”
Sarah was saved from having to reply to that by the fact that it was time for them to get back to work. She sighed in relief when she noticed the time and threw herself back into her work. Tiffany and Tina both looked worriedly at her, but they were all too busy to talk anymore.
After work Tiffany was again driving Sarah home. She decided not to say anything more about their previous conversation until they got there. She knew that Erica would back her up with Sarah.
The drive was quiet and uneventful. When they got there Erica wasn't home so they went over to Mike and Jill's place. Nobody was in the living room or kitchen when they got there, so they went back to Jill's studio to look for them. When they got in Mike was there and motioned for them to be quiet, and then pointed at Jill. She was painting, as always, but what was different was the fact that some of her brushes and paints were floating in mid air and seemed to direct themselves to the canvas!
Mike gestured for them to be quiet again when it looked like Sarah was going to say something. She snapped her mouth shut and watched in amazement as Jill painted with five brushes at once, only one of which was in her hand. The other four flitted about, adding color here and there without Jill even glancing at them. As usual she was totally absorbed in her work, and Sarah suspected she might even be unaware of what she was doing.
After watching for a few minutes, Mike ushered them both out the door and into the living room. “She told me she noticed some of her paints and brushes were floating around when she finished painting yesterday, but she wasn't aware of them actually doing anything besides floating. I guess she's learning this telekinesis thing pretty fast!” he said with a glance back towards Jill's studio.
“I guess so!” Tiffany agreed in awe. “How can she handle five brushes at the same time?!”
“I don't know.” Mike replied. “But she is! I'm beginning to wonder if she's going to end up painting with telekinesis alone! After all, if she can control the paint itself, she won't need any brush!”
“That would be interesting! I wonder if it would be noticeable that she didn't use a brush in the final product?” Tiffany mused.
“Probably.” Sarah said. “Come on Tiffany, let's get dinner started. I don't know when Erica's going to get back, but I'm sure Jill will be engrossed in her work until we pull her away.”
“Sure.” Tiffany agreed.
Mike decided to join them in the kitchen and took a seat at the table. Before long some great smells were beginning to fill the room and he knew it was a good choice. Erica felt the same way when she arrived and she sat back and relaxed while watching her future wife.
“What's with the grin?” Mike asked.
Erica hadn't realized she was grinning like a fool until Mike pointed it out. “I'm happy, that's all.” she said.
Mike grinned, “Yeah, I can see why. You two were made for each other!”
Erica blushed and looked away for a moment, and then looked back at Mike. “What about you and Jill? You're pretty well joined at the hip.” she replied.
“Yeah, but compared to you two we're an old married couple!” he said with a laugh.
Erica laughed, too, and then thought about what he'd said. “When are you going to pop the question?” she asked shrewdly.
Mike coughed and looked surprised by the question, “What do you mean?
Erica snorted, “Come on, you know what I mean! Both of you must have thought about it since I proposed to Sarah. And I've seen the expression on your face a few times when we were talking about wedding plans.”
Mike looked conflicted for a moment, and then leaned forward to whisper his reply, “Okay, but I don't want you to tell anyone else what I tell you, okay?” Erica nodded and leaned forward with interest. “You're right, I have been thinking about it. I'm sure Jill has, too, but she hasn't said anything. I don't know if she's waiting for me, or what. But I've been spending some time looking around jewelry stores for an engagement ring. But I'm not proposing until after the two of you get married. I don't want to distract anyone from your wedding.”
“That's sweet, but I'm sure Sarah wouldn't mind a little distraction. Especially if it's her best friend getting married, too!” Erica said.
Mike nodded, “I know she wouldn't. That's the way she is. But I really want her wedding to be something special. She's had a hard life up to now, and I want her to be the focus.”
“You're a good friend, Mike. But as soon as our wedding is out of the way, you've got to propose to Jill. No keeping her waiting, okay?” Erica said.
Grinning, Mike said, “What do you think I planned on doing? Besides, this gives me some time to find the right ring. It's proving to be more difficult than I thought.”
“Hmm, I have a thought about that. When I was looking through the stuff at the tomb I saw a few rings that would make good engagement rings. Maybe one of them would suit you?” Erica said.
“Maybe, but how would I get a chance to look at them without Sarah or Jill knowing what I was doing?” Mike replied.
“That's easy!” Erica said with a grin. “Tiffany was planning on selling some of the stuff she got there on eBay, and Sarah thought we could do that, too. But we'd have to go back to the tomb for that. So we go back to move all that stuff to the empty world and take photographs of stuff we want to try and sell, and you can use that as a cover to look through it and find an engagement ring.”
“That's a good idea.” Mike agreed. “I'm sure Sarah, in particular, could use the money. Her transformation has been rather expensive for her. And you guys could use the money for planning your wedding, too. Let's get started on that right after dinner!”
“Get started on what?” Tiffany asked. Mike and Erica looked up in surprise, but Sarah was still on the other side of the room and seemed oblivious.
“Your idea, to sell stuff from the tomb.” Mike replied.
“Oh, yeah. I've been wanting to get started on that, but I need a camera so I can post pictures of what I'm selling. I've been meaning to ask if any of you have a camera I could borrow.” Tiffany said.
“Jill has one, and we could all work on it together. In fact, now that I think of it, we should establish some kind of business for this. For tax purposes.” Mike said thoughtfully.
Erica nodded, “I could get started on that tomorrow. It shouldn't take me long to set up a corporation and set us all up as owners and officers of it. Then we can make up paychecks when we sell something or whatever. Then we only have to worry about the corporation's taxes, ours will be deducted from the paychecks just like our regular jobs.”
“I almost forgot what it was that you're studying; of course you'd know how to do all this!” Mike said. “But why officers? Do we really need that?”
“Sure, every corporation has to have officers. It's no big deal, though.” Erica replied.
“Hey Mike, could you get Jill?” Sarah asked. That broke up the discussion and soon they were all eating. Mike brought a chair out of Jill's studio so they'd all have a place to sit at the table, or on the table in Vash's case.
I believe Mike and Erica have an idea that has merit. Vash said as he ate off of Jill's plate. Mike had gotten in the habit of putting a lot more on Jill's plate than she would eat so Vash could eat off of it.
You heard that, huh? Yeah, we were talking about setting up a business to sell the stuff from the tomb. And anything else we might want to that we find in other worlds, for that matter. Mike thought.
Tiffany was already planning on doing this, but if we work together we can get a lot more done. We can use Jill's camera to take pictures of everything so we can sell it online. I'll set up a corporation to handle the tax aspects of it. We'll need to go to the tomb and move everything to the empty world, though. Erica sent via Sarah.
Won't we get in trouble with the IRS or something selling that stuff? Jill asked as she stabbed a piece of meat just before Vash could get his claws on it.
No. So long as we report our income and pay the appropriate taxes on it, they won't be involved at all. We're not actually breaking any laws by selling it, anyway. We'd only get in trouble if we sold it and kept all the money without reporting anything to the IRS. Then we could get in trouble! Erica replied.
Sounds like a good idea to me. I could use some extra money to finish rebuilding my wardrobe. Which reminds me, I need to get rid of all my old clothes. I'll never wear them again! Sarah said.
It all sounds great to me, I probably would have gotten myself in all kinds of trouble if I'd tried to do this alone like I'd planned. Tiffany sent. Her mental 'voice' was difficult to hear for the others, but she could be understood if she concentrated enough. Fortunately she didn't have the same problems hearing them.
Why don't we pack up all of Sarah's old clothes after dinner, and then go move everything to the empty world? Erica suggested. The others agreed and they finished eating.
“What are you doing Sarah?” Mike asked as he was washing dishes. She'd been handing dirty dishes to him to wash, but she was holding a plate and staring at it. To his surprise what looked like a small portal opened up and moved across the surface of the plate. The bits of food on the plate disappeared into the portal and the plate was soon completely clean. “Did you just use a portal to wash a plate?!” he exclaimed.
She shrugged, “I just wanted to see if I could do it.” She handed the clean plate to Mike and went back to the table to retrieve the rest.
Jill decided to get in on the action and levitated all of the remaining dishes on the table. Some settled into Sarah's hands while the rest flew slowly over to Mike who grabbed them out of the air one at a time with a bemused expression. Sarah cleaned the ones in her hands and put them away while Mike washed the others. Jill even cleaned a few with telekinesis once she was only holding a few up.
“Are you two done showing off yet?” Erica asked with a grin. They grinned and began drying the dishes Mike had washed the same way they'd cleaned the others. It soon became a competition between the two of them and Sarah began portalling the dishes to put them away in order to compete with Jill's levitating them away.
“Not likely! We were just experimenting, weren't we Sarah?” Jill replied.
“Sure. Just wanted to see if we could do it.” Sarah agreed.
“Shall we go collect Sarah's old clothes?” Erica asked. They agreed and Sarah opened a portal. “You're going to get out of shape if you portal everywhere!”
“I...don't think I will, actually.” Sarah said thoughtfully.
“What do you mean?” Erica asked.
“Well, don't I look like I'm in good shape?” Sarah asked.
Erica took a good look at Sarah and said, “Yeah, I think you look like you're in very good shape!” with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows.
Sarah blushed and said, “I haven't gotten much exercise since changing, but I look like I exercise everyday! And I don't have any body hair at all. I think this body is a little different than the norm.”
“You might be right about that. You do look pretty fit for the amount of exercise that you get.” Jill said thoughtfully as they stepped through the portal into Sarah's bedroom. Sarah stepped out to get some garbage bags and handed them to Mike when she got back.
“Would you hold one of those open for me?” she asked. He nodded and she opened the first drawer that held her old clothes. Instead of grabbing them, she opened a portal beneath them and swiftly dropped them all into the bag. She repeated this for the next two drawers and then the bag was full. The others all grabbed bags and held them open so Sarah could portal the rest of her old clothes into them. It only took them a few minutes to have everything bagged up and sitting by the front door to take care of in the morning.
“Well, that was fast!” Mike said as he set down the last bag. “I guess we can go to the tomb now.”
“Not yet.” Sarah said. “I think we should use the storefront for the stuff we're going to sell, to keep it separate from our personal stuff. But we dumped a lot of garbage and old furniture there. So I think we should clean up the storefront first.”
“Good idea.” Jill agreed. They stepped through the portal Sarah opened and walked into the store.
“I think I can take care of all of this pretty quickly if I can find a place to dump it all.” Sarah said. She closed her eyes in thought and then opened them, but they looked odd.
“What did you do to your eyes?!” Erica exclaimed.
“I've opened portals in front of both of my eyes, and I'm moving the other end of the portals around outside to see where we can dump all of this.” Sarah said. The portals reflected what was on the other side of them and that changed rapidly as she moved the other end of the portals about. Before long the image steadied and she said, “I've found another empty storefront to use. Uh, I think we should all step outside for this.”
“Why?” Tiffany asked.
“I'm going to use the same approach I used to wash dishes to clean up the storefront. I'll run portals up and down the floor, walls, and ceiling to get rid of the dust and to move all the stuff. I don't want to accidentally portal anyone while I'm doing that.” Sarah explained. They followed Sarah out of the store and she turned back to start cleaning up the storefront. She used a very large, flat portal to clean the walls and ceiling very quickly, and then opened it up to run it along the floor. In moments the storefront was spotless.
“Wow! You could make a fortune with that trick!” Tiffany exclaimed.
Sarah shrugged, “Only if I could use it without anyone being around, or if I didn't have to hide it to begin with.” Then she opened the portal to the tomb. Mike insisted on going first in wolf form, just in case something had moved into the tomb in their absence. Vash followed invisibly, but there was nothing there and the others soon followed them.
“I guess you could just portal everything back to the storefront?” Jill asked.
“I could, but since we're going to sell it I'd be worried about damaging it. It might be best to move them by hand. Especially since we're going to take pictures while we're at it. We'll need to set up a place to do that. And we'll need a good background for the shots and lighting.” Sarah replied.
“There's a photography place a couple of blocks down from the storefront, we could get stuff from there.” Mike suggested.
“In that case we might not even need Jill's camera.” Erica said as they began hauling everything through the portal.
“That's just as well, mine is a cheap digital camera. It doesn't have very good resolution.” Jill said as she began levitating things through the portal. Although she was unwilling to portal everything out en mass, Sarah was still able to help speed things up by portalling objects one at a time. Between the two of them they soon had everything through the portal.
“I'm starting to feel pretty useless.” Mike said with a laugh.
“Don't, I'm getting really tired from doing all this telekinesis. It takes a lot of concentration.” Jill said.
“In that case, why don't you take a seat?” Sarah said, and portalled one of her old chairs back from the other storefront for Jill.
“Thanks, but aren't you getting tired from all this portalling?” Jill asked after gratefully sitting.
Sarah shrugged, “No, not really. Some of it takes some concentration, but it's not tiring. But then, portals are the first thing I learned to do. It's not something new like telekinesis is for you.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Jill agreed. Without her help things went a little slower, but Sarah was still portalling things around, so it didn't take long to get everything sorted out and organized.
“Tiffany, why don't you and Erica come with me to get that photography equipment and we can let Mike keep Jill company.” Sarah suggested.
“I can come along!” Jill protested and started to get up.
Mike pushed her back down. “No, I know you! You wouldn't have said anything about being tired unless you were totally exhausted! You're staying right here.” Turning to Sarah and the others he said, “Go ahead, I'll make sure she doesn't overdo it.” Sarah nodded and the three of them walked down the street to the photography studio
“I guess portalling this stuff is out of the question, too?” Tiffany asked as she looked around at all the photography equipment.
“I can portal it one at a time without damaging anything, but I can't move it all at once, no.” Sarah agreed. She opened a portal back to the storefront and told Tiffany and Erica what she wanted them to get and began portalling the rest through. She ended up taking just about the entire studio with them.
“Why so much?” Mike asked when he saw the pile of equipment they'd taken from the studio.
“Might as well do it right.” Sarah said as she began setting it up.
“Do you even know what you're doing?” Tiffany asked.
“Sure. I took a few photography classes, both in high school and at the college. I'm not a professional or anything, but I can manage okay.” she replied. By the time they'd gotten everything set up it was getting quite late and the storefront was getting very dark.
“I guess we can't take any pictures at night, huh?” Mike said. “Come to think of it, why did you bother bringing over the lights? It's not like the electricity works here.”
“I was wondering about that, too.” Erica said.
“We can always get a generator.” Sarah said. “Besides, I think I might have an idea for that.”
“What, the generator?” Tiffany asked. “I'm sure we can find one of those in a store like Home Depot or something.”
“No, I mean I might have an alternative energy source.” Sarah replied.
“Like what?” Mike asked. “None of our powers are electrically based, nor any of the magical items we've gotten.”
“Me.” Sarah said, and grabbed the plug for the power cord on one of the lights. Closing her eyes in concentration, she gripped the plug tightly. A moment later her hand began to glow and the light came on!
Sarah opened her eyes, but the glow around her hand remained, as did the light. “I really don't know. I just concentrated on pushing energy into the cord and it worked.” she said.
“Is it tiring?” Jill asked worriedly.
Sarah shook her head, “No, not really. That big blast I shot at the hills was way more power than what I'm using now. I feel like I could keep this up all day.”
You might, at that. But it is late, and this is a new use of your powers. I suggest you stop now. Vash said.
Sarah shrugged, “Okay.” The glow slowly subsided from her hand, and the light dimmed and then went out. Once it had she dropped the cord. “I guess we should really be getting home, anyway.”
“ Yes, I want to get Jill in bed before she passes out.” Mike agreed. She glared at him for that, but he just grinned back. Sarah opened the portal and they all walked through, and then she opened another portal for Mike and Jill. “See you tomorrow!” Mike called as he led Jill, who was a bit unsteady on her feet, through the portal.
“I guess I should be getting home, too.” Tiffany said. “I'll see you at work tomorrow Sarah. Or do you want me to pick you up?”
Sarah glanced at Erica, who said, “No, I still want to drive her in. You don't mind, do you?”
“No, of course not. Bye!” Tiffany said, and left. She walked back to her car, but found an unfamiliar man in a black suit leaning against it.
As she approached he stood up and, glowering, said, “You were under strict instructions not to make contact with Ms. Kinsley and her friends!”
She had been fearing this confrontation, especially since they still hadn't gotten any information from Erica's father. “So? They're my friends, I'll talk to them all I want.” she said.
“Do you at least have some information for me?” he asked gruffly.
“Why would I have any information for you?! I don't even know who you are!” Tiffany replied.
“I work for Special Agent Garner. He instructed you to watch Ms. Kinsley and report back to him. He would have contacted you before now, but he's been busy. Now you'll be reporting to me, and I'll pass your report along to Agent Garner.” he said.
“First off,” Tiffany said, “he never identified himself to me. Secondly, I don't spy on my friends! If you want information you'll have to get it from someone else!” With that she pushed him aside to get to her car, while calling out for Sarah as loudly as she could mentally.
“Do you want to go to jail?!” he growled as he grabbed her hand just as she was about to open the door. “If you don't do what Agent Garner wants, you'll be arrested for the murder of John Green!”
“Oh please!” Tiffany said, trying to keep up a strong front despite her fear. “Whoever killed John was just protecting Sarah. You couldn't convict them for that if your life depended on it! Now let me go!”
“I think you should do as she asks, before I call the police.” Sarah said from only a few feet behind him. He spun around, his hand reaching for something in his coat. Seeing only Sarah standing there, he relaxed somewhat. She had her cell phone in her hand and one finger poised over the 'call' button.
“This doesn't concern you Ms. Kinsley.” he said dismissively.
“ Considering that your boss has been trying to blackmail my friend, and you're holding her here against her will, I think it is my concern! Now let her go and leave, or I will call the police!” Sarah said angrily. Tiffany was surprised by how forceful Sarah was being, until she noticed that Sarah's hands were shaking.
He looked conflicted, but then Erica came running up. “Are you okay Sarah?” she asked breathlessly as she came up beside her.
Sarah's eyes stayed glued to the man as she said, “I'm fine.” Erica nodded and turned her glare on the man who was still holding Tiffany's wrist.
Grunting in annoyance he let her go. “I'll be in touch.” he said gruffly, and walked away.
“Are you alright Tiffany?” Erica asked.
Nodding, Tiffany said, “Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks for coming, I don't know what I would have done if you didn't.”
“Maybe you should stay here tonight. Sarah can portal you over to your apartment to get whatever you need.” Erica suggested.
“That's okay, I should be alright now.” Tiffany said. Turning to Sarah she hugged her and said, “Thanks for coming to the rescue!”
“Your welcome, but are you sure you'll be alright?” Sarah said worriedly.
“Sure!” Tiffany said with false confidence.
“ I may not be able to hear your thoughts, but I can tell you're not as confident as you're pretending to be. I really think you should stay here tonight.” Sarah said.
“I agree. Come on, let's go!” Erica said, grabbing Tiffany's arm and gently pulling her towards Sarah's apartment.
“Yes, let's!” Sarah agreed, and pulled on Tiffany's other arm.
Tiffany laughed, “Okay, okay! Just let me make sure my car's locked!” With that done they returned to Sarah's apartment, making sure that door was locked, as well. Sarah portalled Tiffany to her apartment to get what she'd need while Erica set up the couch, which folded out into a bed. By the time they returned she had sheets, blankets, and pillows all in place.
“Will you be okay out here by yourself?” Sarah asked, “We could sleep out here and you could use my bed, if you want?”
“I'll be fine Sarah! And thanks.” Tiffany said.
They said their good nights and went to bed.
“Not me.” Sarah replied.
“Good morning!” Tiffany called as she pushed the door open with her foot and carried a tray of food in. “I hope you like it!” she said. Sarah sat up and Tiffany set the tray on Sarah's lap. She left and returned a few moments later with another tray for Erica.
“You didn't have to do this Tiffany!” Erica exclaimed as she looked at the large omelet that filled the plate and the cheese that threatened to overflow it as it oozed out. There was also a glass of milk, silverware, and a napkin on the tray.
Tiffany shrugged, “I liked helping Sarah cook for everyone yesterday, so I thought I'd do it again. Besides, I wanted to thank you again for last night.”
“Thanks Tiffany, it's great!” Sarah said after trying a bite of the omelet.
Erica took a bite and said, “Mm, you're right!”
Beaming, Tiffany said, “I'm glad you like it! Did you want anything else?”
“No, this is wonderful Tiffany! Thanks again.” Sarah replied. Erica nodded her agreement.
“Okay, I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything.” Tiffany said.
She returned to the kitchen to finish up her own breakfast. By the time she'd finished Sarah was walking in with her and Erica's trays. “Do you usually cook like that for yourself?” Sarah asked as she portal-cleaned the dishes.
Tiffany smiled as she watched Sarah magically cleaning the dishes as if it were totally normal. “Not really. It's just not as much fun when you're the only one eating it.” she replied.
Sarah nodded and looked at Tiffany's plate. “You want me to clean that, too?” she asked.
“Sure, thanks!” Tiffany replied. In moments the dishes were all cleaned and put away. “That's a really handy trick, isn't it?”
“Yeah, it is. I think I'll see if I can't use it to dry myself off after my shower.” Sarah replied.
“Why not just use it to clean yourself, then you don't even need to take a shower?” Tiffany suggested.
Blushing, Sarah mumbled, “Well, that wouldn't be as much fun as taking a shower with Erica.”
“Okay, that makes sense.” Tiffany said. She laughed as Sarah ran back to join Erica in the shower when she heard the water start. She took a seat in front of the TV and watched the news while she waited.
On the screen she saw what looked like Main Street of their town! A panicked reporter was speaking, “...anything like this! It looks like a man made of fire!”
She was still staring in shock at the images on the screen when Erica and Sarah came running out of the shower, still dripping wet. Sarah almost absentmindedly portalled them dry as they came to a stop next to the couch. "What's going on?!" Erica asked worriedly. Tiffany just pointed at the screen and they both gasped when they saw the living flame battling the firemen.
Just then there was a banging on the door. Sarah started towards the door, her eyes still glued to the screen, until Tiffany said, "Uh, Sarah, maybe you should get dressed first?" Blushing in embarrassment, she and Erica ran back to get dressed while Tiffany went to the door. Feeling cautious after her encounter with the FBI agent, she made sure to look before opening the door. Mike and Jill waited on the other side, so Tiffany opened the door and let them in.
"Have you seen the news?!" Mike asked once the door was closed. Vash became visible on Jill's shoulder and jumped to the couch to look at the TV.
Tiffany nodded, "Yeah, we just saw. What's going on?!"
"We were hoping one of you would know! Where's Sarah and Erica?" Jill replied.
"They're getting dressed. What is that thing?!" Tiffany said.
It's a fire elemental. I seriously doubt anyone in this world except for Sarah and possibly myself could manage to summon a fire elemental, even with the recent rise of magic. Unless it followed us through a portal, I am at a loss as to how it could be here. Vash replied.
"What will it do?" Jill asked worriedly as it continued its assault on the firemen. By some miracle none of them had been harmed yet.
I don't know. If it was being compelled it would ignore the firemen, or incinerate them immediately. It's acting like it's unbound. In which case it could do anything. Right now it's just defending itself. Once the immediate threat is gone, I have no idea what it would do. This is very bad. Vash said.
"Can we do anything?" Tiffany asked.
"I can take care of it." Erica said as she joined them. Sarah was right behind her.
"How?" Mike asked curiously. "I know it can't hurt you, at least not directly, but that's not much help fighting it."
"I can use Sarah's ice sword. That should hurt it." Erica replied.
That might work, but you would likely be injured or killed in the process. Vash said. After a pause he continued, There is something strange about its attack. Those flames should be hitting those firemen, but they aren't. It's like they're being deflected just enough to keep from hurting anybody.
"Maybe I can portal it back wherever it came from?" Sarah said hopefully.
"How? Without a book or something you have no way of knowing where it came from!" Jill replied.
"Well, I could still portal it somewhere! I've got to do something!" Sarah said. Without waiting for a reply she opened a portal. Erica grabbed her hand and walked through with her, but she didn't close the portal. Shrugging, Tiffany followed, with Jill, Mike, and an invisible Vash close behind.
"This is crazy! There's nothing any of us can do to this thing!" Mike protested when he caught up with Sarah.
"Actually," Sarah said thoughtfully as she stared at the elemental, "I think I can get it home. There's a...thread, for lack of a better word, connecting it to somewhere else. I think I can follow that thread back to its home and send it back through a portal." She closed her eyes in concentration, but while she was doing so the fire elemental had managed to set the firetruck on fire. The firemen scattered, so the elemental continued on its way now that no one was trying to stop it.
"Maybe you can slow it down Jill? I'll take care of the fire truck." Mike said.
"How are you going to take care of the fire truck?!" Jill asked. In answer Mike transformed, swiftly becoming invisible as he grew to giant size. They couldn't see what he was doing, but they saw the gust of wind that blew the flames out like a birthday candle. Jill shrugged and ran after the elemental. She tried to levitate it, but it didn't really have a solid body. Fire's not something solid, it's just a chemical reaction! How do you grab a chemical reaction?! she thought.
Normally you would grab the fuel Vash replied. However, an elemental doesn't need fuel to stay alight. For the moment it has very little mass at all. You may not be able to grab it.
Hm, if I can't grab it, maybe I can block it! she thought. She focused on the road a few feet in front of it and envisioned a solid wall of force. She'd done this before instinctively to protect herself when sparring, but she'd never tried to do it on purpose. She had no idea if she'd succeeded until it ran into the wall and recoiled. Yes, it worked!
But now what? Vash asked, as the elemental began feeling its way around the wall. Jill kept extending the wall whichever direction it went, but she found she was only able to maintain a small wall, so it was basically moving with the elemental.
Jill was sending it in a circle, to keep it away from the buildings, but she was tiring rapidly. She was about ready to pass out from exhaustion when Sarah suddenly appeared next to her. "You can let it go now Jill, I've got it." she said. Jill gratefully dropped the wall and dropped onto the ground to rest.
A portal opened up right in front of the elemental, but it shied away from it. That did it little good, however, as Sarah simply swept it up with her portal before closing it up. "It should be fine now. Are you okay Jill?" Sarah asked.
Jill was breathing hard like she'd just run a marathon and gasped out, "Yeah...I'm...okay." Mike appeared next to her as he shrank back down from invisible giant size, and Erica and Tiffany stepped out of the portal Sarah had used to catch up with Jill.
"I used my shadows to hide us from the cameras, but I really think we should get out of here." Tiffany said worriedly.
"Good thinking. Let's get back to Sarah's apartment." Erica said. Sarah nodded and opened the portal. Mike picked up Jill, who didn't complain this time, and they all stepped through. He set her down on the couch while Tiffany went to get her some water.
"I'm sorry it took me so long to get a fix on it's home world Jill." Sarah said apologetically as she sat down next to the couch.
Jill had just about gotten her breath back at this point, "It's okay Sarah. No harm done." She gratefully accepted a glass of water from Tiffany and drank it down quickly. Tiffany took it back to refill it.
"Why didn't you just levitate it, like you did the dishes?" Mike asked.
"It's just flame, there was nothing solid to take a hold of. I suppose I might be able to learn to telekinetically grab gases, but I don't know how yet." Jill replied.
"Oh, yeah, I guess it's hard to grab air." Mike agreed.
"I don't suppose you have any idea where that thing came from Vash?" Erica asked.
No, I don't. I'm sure it was summoned here, rather than somehow following us through a portal. I just don't know who did it. There shouldn't be anybody in this world with both the power and the knowledge to do it. Vash replied.
"Could it be Sarah's father? He was changed a couple of times, plus he was exposed to the magic of the knife and Sarah healed him. And Mary beat him up while under the influence of magic, too. Could all that exposure have done it?" Mike asked.
No, that's not possible. There is some residue from any magical use, but most of the energy is used up in the spell. He would have to have magic used on him many more times for the buildup to be enough to have any significant effect. Besides, having the power isn't enough. Sarah has the power, but she'd need something to tell her where to open her portal to. I have the knowledge, but I'd need a complicated ritual to derive enough power, assuming it would even work in this world. There's no way that George could have gained that knowledge even if he had amassed that much power.
"That's right, you're supposed to work today. And you have that appointment, too, Sarah." Mike said.
"And you have classes Mike. You guys go ahead; Vash and I will take care of Jill." Erica said.
"After what just happened you want us to just go to work?" Tiffany asked incredulously.
Erica shrugged, "We still have to pay the bills, right? Until we get our little business up and running you can't afford to lose your jobs. Even then, if we don't make enough."
"I guess you're right." Tiffany agreed. Mike left to go teach his classes, and Tiffany drove Sarah to work.
"We're a little late, aren't we?" Tiffany said as they got out of the car.
"If anyone asks just say we got caught in traffic. With what happened downtown I don't think anyone will question that." Sarah replied.
"Good point. I wonder what people will make of it?" Tiffany said.
They got to work and no one asked them why they were late. But at lunch everyone who usually ate out stayed in to eat, or more accurately to talk.
"Did you two see the news this morning?" Tina asked.
Before either of them could answer Kris walked in and said, "I did! Do you think it's some kind of publicity stunt or something? It must have been CG, right?"
"No way!" Tristan replied. He was normally very quiet, and this was the first time either of them had seen him stay in at lunch. "My dad's a fireman and he saw that thing with his own eyes!"
"Besides, would they have blanked out the coverage if it were fake?" Tina said. Tiffany flinched at that, but only Sarah noticed.
"Oh please!" Kris whined, "Fire doesn't act like that! It had to be fake!"
"Maybe it's magic?" Tina suggested weakly.
Kris just snorted at that, and Tristan said, "There's no such thing as magic. But it was a really good trick! I think it had to be a holograph."'
"But what about the firetruck? It caught on fire, didn't it?" Tina said.
Tristan dismissed that with a wave, "It was probably rigged."
Tina lapsed into silence after that, and Tiffany and Sarah were afraid to say anything. They finished eating quickly and went back to work.
The rest of their work day was normal, at least until Erica arrived to take Sarah to her appointment. Tiffany wished her luck and Erica drove her to the doctor's office. She didn't say anything on the drive over.
"Have you got that form?" Erica asked as she got out of the car.
"Right here." Sarah replied, patting her purse. Before she knew it Sarah was in with the doctor. They talked a lot about her childhood, and her parents, but in the end he signed the form. But he also asked that she come back in a couple of weeks. Sarah reluctantly agreed and made an appointment before going back out to join Erica.
"How did it go?" Erica asked.
"He signed the form, but he wants to see me again in two weeks." Sarah replied.
"Good." Erica said as they left the office.
"Good?!" Sarah exclaimed.
Erica sighed, "Sarah, you've had more trauma in your life than some combat vets! I know you can't talk about the magic side of things, but there's plenty of non-magical stuff you can still talk about, and should. You can't just bottle everything up and hope it goes away."
"I guess." Sarah replied, unconvinced. Erica sighed again, but let it go.
Sarah told Erica about the lunch time conversation at work on their way home. "How's Jill doing?" Sarah asked when they arrived.
"She's fine. Vash and I managed to convince her to stay put. We were afraid that if she went back to her apartment that she'd start painting, and then she'd over exert herself using her telekinesis again. So Vash has been sitting on her." Erica replied.
Sarah smiled at that and opened the door. Jill was lying on the couch with Vash on her stomach. "Hi Sarah, how was your appointment?" she asked.
Sarah shrugged, "Okay, I guess. I got the form signed, anyway."
"She's unhappy because he wants to see her again in a couple of weeks." Erica added.
"It's a good thing, you'll see." Jill said. "I sent Mike to get some things from the grocery store, he should be back soon."
"Okay, Tiffany will be here soon, too." Sarah said. "How are you?"
"I'm fine! I've been resting all day, thanks to these two." Jill replied.
You needed it. Vash said.
There was a knock at the door. Erica checked and then opened it for Mike. He was carrying a couple of grocery bags, so Erica helped him carry them into the kitchen and put things away.
A few minutes later there was another knock, this time it was Tiffany. "How did your appointment go Sarah?" she asked as she stepped inside.
Sarah rolled her eyes, "Is everybody going to ask me about that? I have to see him again in two weeks, but he signed the form so I can get my new ID, okay?"
Before Tiffany could answer there was another knock at the door. "Are we expecting anybody?" she asked.
Sarah shook her head and looked to see who it was. There was a tall woman standing there with silvery white hair, wearing a white Victorian dress with black ribbon and lace accents. She shrugged and opened the door.
"Hello traveler." she said. "May I come in?"
Sarah felt like a veil had suddenly been lifted and she could feel this strange woman's presence so strongly she staggered back a step. "W-who are you?!" she exclaimed, gripping the doorknob to steady herself.
"Sarah?" Erica said, stepping up beside her. "Are you okay? Who's the Gothic Lolita?"
"Hello Null. My name is Mana. May I come in?" the woman said.
Erica glanced at Sarah, who shrugged and stepped back. "I guess so." Erica said.
Sarah numbly closed the door behind her and said, "What are you?!"
"I am Magic. I'm afraid it's my awakening which is causing the rise of magic in your world. May I sit?" Mana replied.
"You're awakening?" Jill asked. She seemed almost as stunned as Sarah. Vash stood up to get a good look at Mana and promptly fell off the couch. "Vash?!" Jill exclaimed.
I'm alright. I've just never encountered anything like her before! I don't know what she is, but I feel as if she could crush a god with a thought. Vash replied in awe.
Even Mike and Tiffany seemed a bit shocked by Mana, but Erica was unaffected. She glanced around at her friends and fiance in confusion and then turned back to Mana and said, "Go ahead and sit down, I'll get some chairs from the kitchen."
Mana gracefully sat down in the recliner and waved towards Erica and Sarah. Two more recliners identical to the one she was sitting in appeared behind them. "Thank you." she said.
Mike and Tiffany sat on the couch with Jill, who had picked up Vash and put him back on her lap. Once she'd made sure Sarah sat down alright, as she still seemed a bit stunned, Erica took a seat and said, "Why is everyone acting so odd?"
"I'm afraid that's my fault. I dropped the spells that hid my presence from them. Perhaps I should put some of them back up." A moment later Sarah shook herself and seemed to come out of it. Jill and Vash reacted similarly, and Mike and Tiffany just blinked like a bright light had just been dimmed. "Is that better?" Mana asked.
"Yes, thank you." Sarah replied.
"You were saying something about your awakening?" Jill asked.
Mana nodded, "Yes. I was...asleep, for lack of a better word, for a very long time. While I slept magic went dormant, or at least became more difficult to access. Now that I'm awake again, magic is awakening as well. This is one of the worlds where magic had gone completely dormant. It has reawakened slowly, but those with magical abilities are already noticing the difference. Others who had no ability to use magic will soon be able to."
"What did you call me?" Sarah asked.
"Oh, I called you a traveler. It just means that you travel between universes, as I do." Mana replied.
"So is this awakening how Sarah developed the ability to open portals to other worlds?" Erica asked.
"Only partially. Her powers would have surfaced regardless, they would just have taken a little longer. Her powers aren't reliant on magic, though she uses it rather extensively." Mana said.
"How do you know that?" Erica asked suspiciously.
"I've been watching you. I came here to see what I can do to make the awakening of magic go more smoothly. It was her portals that attracted my attention to this world to begin with. When I realized she was an Omnisoul I knew I needed to make sure she wasn't a threat to this world." Mana explained.
"Omnisoul?! What is that?" Erica asked in confusion.
"It's a bit complicated, but basically it's the reincarnation of a universe." Mana replied.
Mana nodded calmly, "Yes, I am. When a universe dies all that energy has to go somewhere. Sometimes it forms an Omnisoul, sometimes an Oversoul. Usually Omnisouls become Oversouls once they mature, but not always. I don't think that will happen in Sarah's case, for instance, since Erica's Oversoul is absorbing souls at a rapid rate."
"Um, what?!" Tiffany said, confused.
Smiling, Mana explained, "Oversouls are vast beings that exist in the space between universes. But they also exist in every universe, in a way. Basically, they spawn souls in each universe, which in turn spawn one or more spirits. Those spirits then attach themselves to a newborn mortal, such as a human. They learn and mature through the experiences of all their spirits and souls. Omnisouls also exist everywhere at once, but the bulk of their...presence, for lack of a better term, resides in one body. Instead of spawning souls and spirits, they inhabit a mortal directly. Between the fact that they exist in every universe at once, and the way they concentrate themselves in just one body, they have a great deal of power."
"I...don't understand." Sarah said.
"Obviously the fact that you have all the energy of a universe would result in you having a lot of power. However, every universe has its own rules. In a universe that has almost no magic, how would that power manifest itself? Most likely in a spiritual manner. However, because your soul simultaneously exists in every universe, you actually have access to the powers of all of those universes. However, being unaware of that, and being a very young Omnisoul, you have only learned new powers as you've visited other worlds that have different rules to this one. Eventually you'll be able to do just about anything you can imagine." Mana said.
"You make her sound like a god!" Jill said in awe.
Mana laughed musically at that. "Please, a god?! She's a Power! Once she's fully matured she'll be able to squash any god out there!"
"But, if she's so powerful, how come Venus was able to curse her?" Erica asked.
"What do you mean?" Mana replied. Mike explained their visit to Venus and the results of it. "Oh, I think I see what happened. A curse can mean very different things to different people. Some would call a curse something that gives you bad luck, for instance. But in Harry Potter one of the curses was a killing curse, causing instant death. What happened to Sarah's clothes when Venus cursed her?"
"They were turned to ash." Jill said.
Mana looked thoughtful and then, smiling, said, "It was a killing curse, of sorts. Venus' curse must have incinerated Sarah completely."
"Uh, but I'm right here." Sarah pointed out in confusion.
Still smiling, Mana replied, "That's because your death happened between dimensions. That's where you're strongest, so even though you'd just barely begun to develop and discover your power, you were able to rebuild your body. And of course, being a female Omnisoul, you built a female body instead of a male one."
"So how did Jill paint what Sarah would look like before she even was Sarah?" Mike asked.
"She always was Sarah really. You just couldn't tell to look at her. I'm just guessing here, but I suspect that how she looks now is how she dreamed of looking. Naturally that image would be used when she rebuilt her body. Jill's telepathic abilities must have already developed enough that she picked that image up from Sarah." Mana said.
Everyone turned to Sarah at that point, who blushed and looked down. "Uh, yeah, I dreamed of looking like this." she said softly. "I didn't realize for a long time because I was so focused on trying to change back."
Erica smiled, "Well, you have good taste!" Sarah smiled back.
"You called her a power, as if that should mean something to us. What did you mean?" Tiffany asked.
"Oh, that? It's part of a classification system some people use. Celestials; gods and devils and such, though the devils and demons are often referred to as Hellions, are class E on that scale, whereas your average mortal is class B. A Power is a relatively rare classification, outside of Omnisouls. They're class G. There are levels within each class, and it all gets rather complicated, but it basically means she's a lot more powerful than a god." Mana explained.
"But I thought gods were the most powerful things around. Created the universe, and so on." Tiffany said quizzically.
Mana shook her head, "No, that's just good PR. Celestials just don't have that kind of power. A pocket dimension, maybe even a plane, they could handle, but that's it. It would take a Force, class H, to create a universe, at least."
"So Sarah couldn't create a universe?" Mike asked.
"No. Remember, she was a universe. In order to create a new universe she'd have to unmake herself. That's the only way she could get enough power for it." Mana replied.
"Okay, no universe creating for you!" Erica told Sarah in a stern tone, though her grin ruined it.
"Aw, but I was really looking forward to it!" Sarah whined.
Laughing, Erica said, "I guess you'll just have to live with the disappointment."
Sighing, Sarah said, "Okay." in the most pitiful voice she could manage.
They all laughed at Sarah's antics, but then Jill had a thought, "Does this mean that Sarah is immortal?"
Mana shrugged, "That's up to Sarah."
"What? But if I automatically remade my body when Venus killed me (and it feels really weird to say that), then how could I die?" Sarah asked.
"Your average immortal doesn't have much choice in the matter, but you do. It would be very hard to kill you and keep you dead against your will, especially once your powers have matured. But you could allow yourself to die anytime you want. You would then either reincarnate again, as spirits usually do, or become an Oversoul." Mana replied.
"So, as long as Sarah wants to, she'll live forever?" Erica asked. Mana nodded and Erica looked troubled.
"What's wrong Erica?" Sarah asked.
"If you're immortal, that means you'll still be like you are now when I'm old and gray." Erica replied.
"Not necessarily." Mana said.
"Why not?" Erica asked.
"Two reasons. First, there's the chrysalis. Once you're fully evolved you will be immortal, too. Not as hard to kill as Sarah, but you won't die of old age or disease, either." Mana replied.
"So...we can be together forever?" Erica said softly.
"I don't see why not." Mana said.
So, what do you think? Can you stand being with me forever? Erica thought.
I can't think of anything I'd rather do! But are you sure you want to be with me that long? Sarah replied worriedly.
That long, and longer! It's going to take some getting used to, though, the idea that we'll live forever. Erica sent.
That's for sure! So long as it's with you, though, I don't have a problem with it. Sarah said.
"Are you two okay?" Jill asked worriedly.
"Sorry Jill, we were just talking about things. We're fine." Erica replied.
"Are you two really okay with being immortal?" Mike asked.
"Sure." Erica said.
"So long as we're together." Sarah added.
"Uh, are we going to be immortal, too?" Jill asked.
Mana took a long look at Jill, then Mike, Tiffany, and finally Vash. "Vash is the only other immortal in this group." she finally said.
"Vash?!" Jill replied in surprise.
Of course! Vash sent calmly. I'm an imp, we're all immortal.
"That's not entirely true." Mana said.
What do you mean? All imps are immortal! Vash replied.
"Yes, but you're not exactly an imp, anymore. You're still immortal, but you have changed a bit. I'm not really sure what to call you now." Mana said.
A walking plushie? Vash replied with some bitterness.
"I didn't realize your transformation bothered you that much." Jill said sadly.
It doesn't always. But finding out I'm not even the same species anymore is a little unsettling. Vash sent.
Mana nodded, "Being unique can be...difficult."
"I'm sorry." Jill said to Vash.
No need to be sorry, you didn't know this would happen. Most of the time it doesn't really bother me. And being considered cute is an...interesting, change. Vash replied.
"I could change you back, if you want." Mana said.
That is very kind of you, but I would still be unique in this world. The only way that would change is if I went back to my world in my old form. I would rather stay here with Jill. Vash said.
"Really?!" Jill exclaimed, carefully hugging Vash to her. He swatted her face in mock annoyance, but they could all hear him purring.
"You mean those FBI agents?" Tiffany asked.
"Yes. In fact, that's one of the reasons I wanted to talk to all of you. I'm afraid I've been trying to keep him distracted from Sarah while I figured out what kind of person she is. My latest attempt at a distraction didn't go quite as planned, however." Mana said, blushing in embarrassment.
"Wait, are you saying you summoned that fire elemental?!" Jill exclaimed.
"Yes, I did. I made sure it didn't hurt anyone, but it was a bad idea. While it did give me a chance to see what kind of person Sarah is, it got out of hand. I wanted to apologize to all of you for that, especially you, Jill." Mana replied.
So that's why the elemental's fire wasn't hitting those firemen! You were shielding them! Vash said.
Mana nodded, "Yes, I was."
"So nobody was ever in any danger?" Mike asked.
"That was the idea, at least. I'm sure you'll have more questions for me, would you like me to come back at the same time tomorrow?" Mana said.
"You could join us for dinner." Sarah offered.
"Thank you, but I've delayed your meal enough already. Besides, I don't really need to eat." Mana replied.
"But you can, right? When was the last time you ate?" Sarah asked.
Mana smiled, "Insightful, aren't you? Hm, the last time I ate..." she trailed off in thought. "The last time I ate was before I left Avalon. A week or two, I guess."
"Why don't you join us for dinner tomorrow, then?" Sarah asked.
"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude." Mana said.
After a quick mental conference Sarah said, "Yes, I'm sure."
"Alright, I'll stay for dinner tomorrow, but on one condition." Mana said.
"What's that?" Tiffany asked curiously.
"I'll make desert." Mana replied.
Sarah smiled, "I think we can live with that!"
"Alright, I'll see you all tomorrow then. Goodbye." Mana said, and left.
That was...interesting. I never imagined that anyone that powerful existed! Vash sent.
"I guess I owe you my life Sarah." Mike said thoughtfully.
"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.
"Well, if Venus' curse incinerated you, then if you hadn't jumped in front of me I'd be dead right now. I couldn't have come back from that the way you did." Mike replied.
"I suppose so." Sarah said. "But you wouldn't have been in that situation anyway if it weren't for me."
Erica sighed dramatically and shook her head, "Classic Sarah, can never take credit for it when she does something good! I hope eternity is long enough to get you over that low self esteem problem you have!"
"I'm glad I didn't get a chrysalis, now." Tiffany said. "I wouldn't want to be immortal."
"Why not?" Sarah asked.
"Well, for starters, I don't have an immortal soul mate! But I wouldn't want to watch all my friends grow old and die, either." Tiffany replied. Realizing what she'd just said she hurried to apologize, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that!"
Sarah and Erica both were sobered by the thought and grew thoughtful. "Are you two okay?" Jill asked worriedly.
"We're okay. We just didn't think about that aspect of immortality. I guess everything has its downside." Erica replied.
"It's a bit late to make dinner, why don't we go out?" Mike suggested to distract them from their thoughts.
"Where shall we go?" Jill asked.
Before Sarah could reply Erica said, "We know what you want, Sarah! But what does everyone else want?"
Sarah smiled sheepishly and looked to Tiffany. "Um, Mexican is good?" Tiffany said tentatively.
Erica nodded, "Sounds good to me."
"Okay, Mexican it is." Jill said. Vash climbed up onto her shoulder as she sat up and Mike helped her up.
"What are we going to do about these chairs, we can hardly move in here with them!" Sarah said, looking at the two recliners Mana had conjured up.
Erica shrugged, "Portal them to the storefront for now." Sarah nodded and did so.
They climbed into Sarah's car and Erica drove them to Jill's favorite Mexican restaurant. As was becoming a habit for them, they talked telepathically during their meal.
So what do you think of Mana? Tiffany thought.
Well, I have a lot more questions for her, but she seems okay. Erica replied.
It's hard to believe after all this time that Venus' curse wasn't what we thought it was. Jill sent.
I guess the reason Sarah couldn't change back was because she didn't want to. Mike said.
Jill and I had suspected for some time that she didn't want to, although neither of us realized how deep it went. Vash said.
How do you feel about the fire elemental thing, Jill? Sarah asked.
She's changing the subject again. Erica noted, grinning at Sarah. She rolled her eyes in return, but she was smiling, too.
I don't mind the fire elemental, really. It was my own fault that I pushed myself too far, not hers. And she was taking steps to protect people from the elemental, so I don't see anything wrong with it. What I wonder about is what her other distractions were? Jill said.
I heard that some woman was claiming to have been cured by an angel just the other day. Maybe that was Mana. Tiffany said.
Assuming she's not a crackpot, that could be. She seems to be capable of anything. Erica said.
I believe that is literally true, that Mana can do anything. Vash said. I think she's the closest to the religious ideal of an omnipotent being as you can get. Obviously, she's not omniscient, though.
She may not be omniscient, but she has the answers to a lot of questions. I'd like to know what the second reason why I won't grow old is! Erica said.
That's right, she never did say! And she said something about your Oversoul absorbing souls. What was that about?! Sarah sent.
Obviously we have many more questions for Mana, as she thought we would. Vash said.
Speaking of questions and answers, did you hear anything from your father? Jill asked Erica.
Yes. He asked around, but he hit a wall. Seems our FBI friend's activities have suddenly become classified information. He was able to find out that he's something of a rising star in the agency. The only other information he could get may or may not be connected. Apparently there are rumors going around that the FBI or some other government agency (or agencies) have formed a paranormal investigation unit. There has been a major increase in the number of reports of paranormal phenomenon lately. Dad would have dismissed that part, except for what we've told him about magic being on the rise. So there may be some truth to it. Erica replied.
It sounds like this agent has been made a part of this new unit. That would explain him suddenly having help. And why Mana would think that a paranormal event like a fire elemental would distract his attention from us. Vash said.
If that's true, then he may be open to the magical explanation of events now. If so, then he's going to be watching us more closely than ever! Tiffany said worriedly.
Not necessarily. People have an amazing ability to deny what they don't want to see. Jill said with a significant look at Sarah.
Erica nodded, Like Sarah denying who she really is, even when she unknowingly transformed herself. That's a good point. I guess we'll find out soon enough if he's opened his eyes to the world of magic yet or not. I don't think there's anything we can do about him for now, though.
There is one thing; we can talk to Mana about it. She already distracted him from us; she may be willing to do more. Jill suggested.
They had finished eating by this point. After paying the bill they got back in Sarah's car. "Looks like we'll have plenty to talk about." Erica said as she started the car.
"So, what shall we do with the rest of the night?" Erica asked once they'd returned to Sarah's apartment.
"Well, we haven't gotten any training in lately." Mike pointed out.
"Good idea!" Jill said. The others agreed, so Sarah portalled them over to train.
After some stretching to limber up they began. Before long Mike had them sparring again. Everything was going fine, until Erica landed a solid kick to Jill's midsection that sent her flying. She hit the wall some twenty feet away with enough force to crack the bamboo covered wall.
"Are you alright Jill?" Sarah asked. Jill had landed face down after hitting the wall and Sarah helped her to turn over.
"I'm...okay." Jill said, wincing in pain. "My telekinesis protected me when I hit the wall. It was only Erica's kick that I felt."
"I'm so sorry Jill!" Erica exclaimed as she knelt beside her.
"It's okay, we should have expected this with the chrysalis." Jill said weakly.
"Hold still. Let me see if anything's broken." Mike said. He pushed down lightly on the area where Erica kicked her and Jill moaned in pain. "I think you've got some broken ribs, don't move."
"I'll take care of it." Sarah said. She laid her hands on Jill and closed her eyes. Her hands glowed for a moment and then the light shifted into Jill and she gasped. "Did I hurt you?!" Sarah asked worriedly.
"No, I just didn't realize I couldn't breath properly until you healed me. I feel great now. Thanks." Jill replied.
"I can't spar anymore, can I?" Erica said.
"Sure you can. You're as stuck with me as I am with you, though. Without my telekinesis I would have been hurt a lot worse when I hit the wall. So I'm the only one you can spar against until you get better control." Jill said.
"But I could hurt you again! Maybe worse this time!" Erica protested.
"Yes, but Sarah can heal me. And I know you'll be more careful now. Just don't hold back too much, or I'll kick your butt!" Jill replied, grinning.
"Maybe you should use the gauntlets and boots." Erica said thoughtfully.
"Nuh-uh!" Sarah exclaimed. "If she uses those she could kill you! You're not that much stronger and faster than her, yet."
"They're both right Erica, you'll have to keep sparring with Jill and just be careful. That should be good for you anyway. If you're going to end up being that much stronger you'll need the control to keep from hurting people on accident, or exposing your strength in public." Mike agreed.
"Are you guys sure about this? I don't want to hurt Jill..." Erica said uncertainly.
"I'm sure." Jill said. "Now let's get back to practicing!" Erica reluctantly agreed. She was very careful at first, but after Jill literally kicked her butt a few times she got back into it, though she still held back to avoid hurting Jill.
Once they were sure Erica and Jill were going to be okay Sarah and Tiffany went back to it. Mike also kept a close eye on them. At first Jill was doing better than Erica because she was holding back too much, but she found her equilibrium before long and Jill was back on the defensive. Mike was quite happy with the match up between the two, as Jill was being challenged by Erica's superior skill and fitness, but Erica was being challenged by her need to keep her strength and speed down to a more normal human level.
The match of Sarah with Tiffany was proving a good one, as well. Sarah's magically fit body gave her an advantage, but Tiffany was learning the skills a little faster, so the advantage was nullified.
After a while he had Jill take a break so he could spar with Erica himself. "I don't want you to hold back this time." he told her.
"What?! I could hurt you!" she exclaimed.
Mike nodded, "That's possible, but I'm tougher than Jill, and a lot more experienced." He was adamant, and Jill offered to telekinetically catch Mike if needed, and Erica finally agreed. She quickly learned that being stronger and faster than before was as much a disadvantage as an advantage, as her reactions were all off. Also, Mike was still a lot better than she, and she ended up getting knocked around far more than he did.
"Ugh, we've still got a long ways to go, don't we?" Erica asked as she peeled herself off of the floor, again.
Smiling, Mike helped her up, "Of course! But you've come a long ways in a short time. Vash's help really makes a difference. And you seem to be picking it up even faster now than you were before. I guess the chrysalis is responsible for that. But you're going to have a hard time getting used to your improved strength and speed. I think you'll benefit a lot from sparring with both Jill and I, so you can learn both to use those advantages, and to control them."
"I guess I'd better be careful then, considering that I have to go back to school in a few days. I hope I'm able to visit often." Erica said.
"I'm sure you will, with Sarah's help. You might just end up seeing us almost as often as you have been these last couple of weeks." Mike replied.
"That would be nice." Erica agreed.
"I think we should stop for today." Mike announced. Sarah and Tiffany were happy to do so, as they were both exhausted and covered in bruises. Sarah took a moment to heal everybody before portalling them all back to her apartment.
"Ugh, I could really use a shower!" Jill complained as she stepped through.
"Me too. I think I'll head home and get cleaned up." Tiffany agreed.
"No way! You're staying with us until we get this FBI situation resolved!" Sarah said adamantly.
"But..." she tried to protest.
"I think that's a good idea, Tiffany. You shouldn't be alone until we've sorted this mess out." Jill said.
"Come on, let's get you some clothes." Sarah said, opening a portal to Tiffany's apartment.
"Okay, okay, if you insist!" Tiffany grumbled. Mike and Jill said their goodbyes and left by the door while Sarah and Tiffany stepped through the portal.
"Whoa, what happened here?!" Sarah exclaimed. They were in Tiffany's living room, and it had obviously been searched, rigorously. The cushions were off of the couch, the books off of the shelves, and every drawer opened and emptied.
"They must have been here looking for me!" Tiffany said fearfully, instinctively pulling the shadows in around herself.
"Looks that way." Sarah agreed grimly. Her hand began to glow blue and she raised it above her head to see better. The lights were broken or unplugged, so that was the only light in the room beyond the moonlight coming in the window.
They took a quick peek in the kitchen, and it was just like the living room. They moved on upstairs to the bedroom to find it in similar shape. "Let's get everything you want out of here Tiffany. We can come back and clean the place up once we've got the FBI off your back." Tiffany didn't argue, and they began chucking things through a portal to Sarah's. It took them quite a while to search through the mess and collect everything that was still usable. Many of her clothes had been trampled and torn. Even some that were usable would have to be washed first.
From there they moved on to the rest of the apartment. They had just sent the last things through the portal when the door was suddenly kicked in. "It's about time you showed up!" the agent from the previous night yelled as he stormed in. "You're coming with me to answer some questions!" He grabbed Tiffany by the arm and started to drag her out.
"Leave her alone!" Sarah yelled. He ignored her, so she flipped open her phone and called the police, simultaneously calling Erica through their bond. "I'm calling the police!" she yelled after them.
The agent glanced over his shoulder and saw that she had just finished dialing and was about to put the phone up to her ear. "Put that down!" he yelled, dragging Tiffany back towards Sarah. She took this opportunity to trip him up. He lost his grip on her and she ran back inside next to Sarah. Erica had by now joined them through the still open portal and put herself in front of Sarah.
"You don't have any right to be dragging Tiffany off like that! Get out of here!" Erica growled.
"I'm a federal agent, I have every right to take her in for questioning!" he replied angrily, showing them his ID.
"Do you have a warrant?" she replied.
"I don't need a warrant!" he said.
"I'm a law student, I know better! Unless you have a warrant you need to leave!" she said.
He muttered something uncomplimentary about lawyers under his breath and said, "Look, I can't explain everything to you, but I do have the right to take her in. Now get out of the way, or I'll arrest you for interfering in a federal investigation!" with that he drew his gun and aimed it at Erica.
Finish that call! Erica told Sarah. Just then there was a loud 'Bang', which was quickly followed by another, closer noise as the agent's gun went off.
The sound of the agent swearing distracted Sarah, but only for the moment it took her to hit him with a magical blast without even looking at him. She pulled Erica's head onto her lap and laid her hands on the wound. They began to glow, but then the glow flickered and died. "She's immune to magic!" Sarah cried, looking at Tiffany helplessly.
Tiffany had no idea what to do and looked hopelessly at the pool of blood that had formed under Erica. Just then Erica groaned. Her eyes suddenly opened and she screamed in pain. Just as suddenly her eyes closed and she sagged into unconsciousness. "Is she..." Tiffany said fearfully.
Sarah had screamed along with Erica and now looked dazed. After a moment she shook it off and said, "No, I think she's going to be okay." Sarah reached under Erica and felt around, pulling her hand out a moment later with a bloody bullet. "She screamed because her body was expelling the bullet, I think. The chrysalis is healing her. I just wish I could help it along!"
Tiffany sagged in relief and looked outside. The agent was lying on the ground at least thirty feet away, unconscious. He had dropped his gun where Sarah blasted him. "What about him?" she asked.
Sarah shrugged, "What about him?" she said coldly.
Tiffany had never heard her sound so heartless, but she couldn't blame her. "Should we call Mike and Jill?" she asked.
Sarah just shrugged, hardly hearing her as her entire focus was on her fiancé. Police sirens could be heard, rapidly approaching. Tiffany pulled her cell phone out of her purse and called Jill.
The police arrived a few minutes later. After questioning Tiffany they tried to ask Sarah what happened, but she wasn't paying attention. They called an ambulance for Erica, and for the agent. By the time the ambulance arrived two other cars had also. Mike and Jill got out of one, and Marvin Garner got out of the other.
This recognition was quickly passed on from Vash to Mike, who intercepted him before he could get to the others. "What are you doing here?!" he asked angrily.
"Michael Levins, right?" Marvin asked. Mike nodded. "I'm here to find out what my agent was doing drawing his gun, and how he got hurt. I'm not going to bother you or your friends."
Mike looked long and hard at him before nodding and walking away to join Jill and the others. "What happened?" Jill was asking as he walked up beside her. Tiffany explained, as Sarah was still not responding. After the explanation Jill asked, "What was the noise you heard before the agent's gun went off?"
Tiffany shrugged, "I don't know. I thought it was him shooting, at first, until I realized it wasn't as loud as his gun was. So I guess it came from farther away."
"Is Erica going to be okay?" Mike asked worriedly when he saw the pool of blood underneath her.
"I think so. Sarah said the chrysalis was healing her." Tiffany replied.
"Has Sarah tried to heal her?" Jill asked.
Tiffany nodded, "Yeah, it didn't work."
"What did Marvin have to say?" Jill asked Mike.
"He said he's only here for his agent. He didn't seem very happy with him." Mike replied.
"Does that mean he really was doing something he shouldn't have? Erica seemed to think so, but he seemed awfully confident..." Tiffany said.
"I think so. Maybe we should have Vash shadow him for a while and find out, though." Mike replied.
"Sounds like a good idea. Vash?" Jill said.
Agreed. was all he said before Jill felt his weight leave her shoulder as he jumped down to follow Marvin.
Erica groaned and shifted restlessly, which seemed to break Sarah out of her trance-like state. "Erica, are you alright?" she asked at the same time as Erica's eyes opened.
Her eyes blinked a few times before focusing in on Sarah's face hovering over her. Grimacing, she rasped, "I feel like I got kicked in the stomach by an elephant."
Smiling weakly, Sarah held up the bloody bullet. "Not an elephant, just this." she said.
Erica frowned, "He shot me? That wasn't very smart."
"No, it wasn't." Sarah agreed coldly.
Erica was surprised by the tone of her voice, "What did you do to him?"
"She blasted him. When I saw him he was lying on the ground thirty or forty feet away." Tiffany replied.
"I hope you didn't kill him." Erica said weakly. Her eyes fluttered and she struggled to keep them open. The struggle was a short one and she passed out.
"Erica?!" Sarah exclaimed fearfully.
Jill knelt beside them and put her arm around Sarah. "It's okay, Sarah. She's just sleeping now. Healing is taking a lot out of her, and she lost a lot of blood before the wound closed. But her breathing looks fine. I'm sure she'll be up and about in no time."
Mike checked her pulse and nodded, "Yep, her pulse is steady. Considering what we know about the chrysalis I think it's safe to say she'll recover quickly."
"Are you sure?" Sarah pleaded worriedly, glancing at Jill and then Mike hopefully.
Mike lifted up Erica's bloody shirt above where the bullet hole was. "See, no wound! She'll be fine!" Mike said encouragingly.
Sarah placed her hand on Erica's stomach where the bullet wound had been and sighed in relief. Just then Marvin walked up and she tensed, her hand glowing slightly.
Either Marvin didn't notice the glow, or was pretending not to. He looked around at all of them and his gaze settled on Tiffany. "I want to apologize for my agent's actions. He was only supposed to question you, not search your apartment or take you in. And he certainly wasn't supposed to draw his gun on you!" Shifting his gaze to Sarah he continued, "And I want to apologize to you and your friend, as well. Is she badly hurt?"
Sarah was about to reply when Erica shifted and opened her eyes again. "Who're you?" she asked, frowning at Marvin.
"I am Special Agent Marvin Garner. I'm responsible for Agent Peters, the man who shot you. I want to assure you that he will be disciplined for his actions. His career is most likely over, and there may be criminal charges, as well." Marvin replied.
"Why're you taking our side?" Erica asked.
"Because, unknown to him I had cameras set up to watch this apartment. I've already seen the tape, and it's clear that he was in the wrong." Marvin said.
"What exactly did you see?" Erica asked fearfully.
Marvin smiled, "I saw my agent acting improperly, and shooting you. And I saw something that should have been impossible that tells me that I don't want to make an enemy of your very protective friend, here." He glanced at Sarah as he said the last.
"What are you planning on doing with that tape?" Jill asked worriedly.
"I intend to include a somewhat edited version with my report on Agent Peters. The rest no one needs to see. But I would like to talk to all of you more later, when your friend has had time to recuperate. Speaking of which, there's enough room in the ambulance for two." Marvin replied.
"I don't need an ambulance." Erica said, wincing as she sat up.
"Erica!" Sarah complained, worried that she'd worsen her injury.
"I'm fine, Sarah. I may need to lean on you a bit to walk, but I'm not even in pain anymore." Erica said soothingly.
Marvin's eyebrows shot up at that, he'd clearly seen the bullet enter her abdomen and he could see the pool of congealing blood on the ground where she'd been lying. "Are you certain Ms. Keller?" he asked in surprise.
Erica grinned at him, "Yes, I'm sure. Now help me up, Sarah, I want to get out of this puddle!"
"Uh, Erica, do you realize what that puddle is?" Tiffany asked.
Erica grimaced, "I can guess, yeah. The smell kind of gives it away."
Sarah reluctantly helped Erica up. As she'd said, Erica had to lean on Sarah as she was feeling very weak and a little light headed. "I think we're done here for now, Mr. Garner." Erica said, gesturing for Sarah to lead her back into the apartment.
Marvin shrugged, "As you wish. Here's my card," he handed it to Mike, who didn't have his hands covered in blood, "please call me when you're feeling up to it." With that he turned and walked away.
"I'm weak as a kitten, but I'm okay. That little walk really took it out of me, though." Erica replied.
"Maybe you should stay here tonight." Jill suggested.
"With the condition this place is in? No, I'll just rest for a bit and then go back." Erica said drowsily.
"Is Vash still following that guy?" Tiffany asked.
No, I'm back. Vash answered. Agent Peters, the man who shot Erica, will be out of the FBI shortly, if what Marvin was thinking is anything to go by. But we may have a new problem.
"What's that?" Jill asked.
Marvin isn't just part of that new organization, he's the agent in charge of it! He's finally seen enough to believe in magic, or something like it at least. As a result his attentions towards all of you have changed. He's concerned that he or his agents will have to go up against someone with magical abilities soon. He wants someone like that on his side. I think he'll try to recruit Sarah or, failing that, Tiffany. Vash replied.
"Me?! Why me?" Tiffany exclaimed.
You're the only other one he's seen use their powers. He doesn't know exactly what it is that you do, but he knows you do something. And he's fairly certain that you killed John. Vash explained.
"Wait, he doesn't want me to be an assassin, does he?" Tiffany asked warily.
I don't think so. Vash said.
"Why would he want to recruit me?" Sarah asked. Everyone (except for Erica who had fallen asleep) looked at her in shock and then started laughing. "What?" Sarah asked in bewilderment. That just set them off even more, and their loud guffaws woke Erica back up.
"What's so funny?" Sarah and Erica asked simultaneously. That set them off yet again and it was some time before they could get their breath back to reply.
"Sarah asked why Marvin would want to recruit her!" Jill finally managed to say, and then cracked up again when Erica started laughing. Much to Sarah's annoyance.
"Will someone please tell me what's so funny?!" Sarah exclaimed.
Erica would have laughed more at that, but she was too tired. "Honey, why wouldn't he want to recruit you?! He suspects your involvement in John's death and the damage we did in the hills, and now he's seen you blast one of his agents! He knows you have some kind of powers. And if he has to go up against someone with powers, he wants someone on his side to counter them. He just doesn't know how good of a choice you really are!" Erica explained.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Sarah said.
"That you're more powerful than the entire US nuclear arsenal all by yourself, or at least will be?" Erica replied.
Sarah began to protest so Jill added, "Remember what you've done so far? You were just firing fireballs powerful enough to blast a room when you first learned that trick. When we were training you set off a blast powerful enough to reduce a hill to rubble and knock us all off our feet!" Sarah began to speak again, but Jill knew what she was going to say, "I know you passed out from that one, but you'd been casting spells, in many cases powerful ones, for a while before that happened. And you keep getting stronger. I bet a blast that size wouldn't even be a strain for you anymore."
"And you heard what Mana said. So stop arguing; you really are that powerful." Mike said.
"Whatever!" Sarah exclaimed, throwing her hands up in defeat.
Erica smiled at Sarah and said, "We should be going home now. If someone will help me up?" Sarah helped her up and opened the portal. "Good night again guys!" Erica called out to Mike, Jill, and Vash as Sarah and Tiffany helped her through the portal. They took her straight to bed. Tiffany went off to get herself ready for bed while Sarah helped Erica, who was struggling to stay conscious. She was asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow and Sarah wasn't far behind.
When her alarm clock woke her in the morning Sarah saw that Erica was completely oblivious. She decided to let her sleep and got herself dressed. Tiffany was already making breakfast so she took her shower first and portal-dried herself just to see if she could do it. Her hair was still damp but she was completely dry otherwise. I could get used to this. she thought as she put her towel away unused.
"Good morning Sarah!" Tiffany said when Sarah walked into the kitchen. She was already frying some bacon. "Would you like some eggs?"
"Sure, thanks." Sarah replied.
"How's Erica?" Tiffany asked as she opened the fridge to get some eggs.
"She's still sleeping. She didn't stir at all when my alarm went off so I thought I'd let her sleep in." Sarah said.
"You know, I've been thinking about it, and I think it's really amazing that Erica recovered so quickly, even with the chrysalis. I mean, she hasn't had the chrysalis very long, and that bullet must have done an awful lot of damage." Tiffany said.
"What do you mean? If the bullet didn't hit any vital organs or anything, it shouldn't be that bad." Sarah replied.
"But the bullet stayed inside her. That means all that energy that was behind the bullet was expended inside of her. Even without hitting any vital organs the sheer amount of damage could have been fatal. And the amount she bled would seem to indicate it was that serious." Tiffany said.
"I hadn't thought about that. I guess the damage would be less if the bullet went right through her." Sarah said thoughtfully.
They were quiet after that until they finished eating and Sarah portal-cleaned their dishes and put them away. "I guess it's about time to go. I'm going to go check on Erica." Sarah said. Tiffany nodded. Sarah found Erica still sleeping, so she left her a note.
"Okay, I'm ready to go." Sarah said when she came back into the living room. Tiffany was waiting for her and they walked out to Tiffany's car and drove to work. Nothing unusual happened at work; the fire elemental seemed to have been forgotten already. When they got back to Sarah's apartment they found Mana waiting for them wearing an artfully torn black lacy dress and black boots.
"Hello. I hope your encounter with Agent Peters wasn't too hard on you last night." she said in greeting.
"Hi, how did you know about that?" Sarah said as she unlocked the door.
"I was watching your watcher, remember? He seems to be coming around, though. I don't think he's going to be a problem after all." Mana replied as she followed Sarah and Tiffany inside.
"Unless he tries to recruit us." Sarah grumbled.
Mana shrugged, "All you have to do is say no."
"Say no to what?" Erica asked, walking in and hugging Sarah.
"How are you feeling?" Sarah asked worriedly.
"Great! I had a nice big brunch after that long lie-in and I'm feeling better than ever!" Erica replied.
Mana looked strangely at Erica and nodded to herself, "It looks like your chrysalis has expanded to about fifteen percent of your body mass already. I suspected it was developing more quickly than usual."
"Are you familiar with chrysalis'? Tiffany asked.
"Not directly, but I played the game, too." Mana replied, smiling.
"You play video games?!" Erica exclaimed.
"Of course! I lived as a human for a very long time before I 'woke'. Even after that I spent most of my time leading a fairly normal life when I could. I've played many video games." Mana said.
Mana turned to the door just before someone knocked on it. "Mike, Jill and Vash are here." she said.
Tiffany gave her an odd look before opening the door. She said hello and stepped aside so Mike and Jill could come in. After a round of greetings Jill said, "I'll get started on dinner."
"Why don't we all go in the kitchen so we can talk while we work." Mana suggested. They all agreed and Jill and Sarah got started on dinner while the rest of them took seats at the table. Mana relaxed back into her chair and looked at the table. A bowl appeared there and flour, sugar, and other ingredients appeared out of thin air to fall into the bowl and began mixing themselves without benefit of a spoon or other mixing tool. They all stared as she worked, and Sarah and Jill tore themselves away from the odd sight to get dinner going.
"I know you said you were going to make desert, but I figured you'd just bring it with you, or conjure it or something." Tiffany said.
Mana shrugged, "I could, but where's the fun in that? Besides, it's tricky to get it to come out just the way I want if I conjure it already made."
"But, you can do anything, can't you?" Mike asked.
"More or less, yes." Mana agreed. "But having the power to do a thing and having the knowledge are two different things. True, I can figure out how to do just about anything given a little time, but it's not always worth the trouble. For instance; I could analyze the exact chemical makeup of all the ingredients that go into making this turtle cake, and trace the Weave to find the exact natural laws that this universe is built on to figure out how to make this cake magically without going through the intermediary steps. Or I could bake one and analyze it's composition down to the molecular level and store that information in my memory so that I could remake it at will.
Either approach would give me the knowledge to conjure a completed cake whenever I wanted to. The problem with that is that each and every cake conjured that way would be exactly the same. I could probably vary things a bit with the first method, but it would be difficult to anticipate how those changes would affect the finished product. By actually baking the cake, however, I know that each one will be a little bit different. Which makes them that much more enjoyable, in my opinion."
"And this way you're freer to experiment, right?" Sarah asked.
Mana smiled, "Yes, exactly! The more I bake, the more I learn when I need to follow the recipe and when I can make changes. It's often easier to learn by doing things the hard way than by simply conjuring up whatever you want. That's not to say I don't use that approach at times, of course."
"Like with your clothes?" Tiffany asked.
Mana nodded, "Yes. I can do a better job with magic than any seamstress could ever hope to do by mundane means. Also, I don't carry luggage around with me. I simply make and unmake whatever I want as I go. Back in Avalon I maintained a wardrobe, but it's not very practical right now."
"That's the second time you've mentioned Avalon. Is that the name of the world you lived in?" Mike asked.
"No, that's the name of the country I founded. I used it as a buffer to help the world get accustomed to magic. I invited anyone who wasn't afraid of magic, or had developed magical abilities, to live there. This helped to give magic users at least some chance of a normal life or, in many cases, any life at all. When magic became so commonplace that it couldn't be denied anymore, we had an entire country full of people who could help the rest of the world learn how to use it. It wasn't a perfect solution, by any means, but it was the best I could come up with at the time." Mana replied.
"Is that what you want to do here, once magic becomes a little more prominent?" Tiffany asked.
"I honestly don't know. You know your world better than I do. That's why I was hoping to leave that task in your hands." Mana replied as she poured the new mixture over the first in the pan, and then the rest of the first on top of that. Both bowls disappeared without a trace and the pan floated into the oven, which opened to receive it and closed again.
"What?!" Sarah exclaimed.
"There are many worlds awakening to magic as this one is. I planned on setting up local people in each world to get their own world in order so that I could move on to the next. It's just a little easier here, because you have several powerful magic users already on hand." Mana said.
"So you're not going to stick around to help?" Jill asked.
"I'll stay for a little while, but then I have to be moving on." Mana replied.
"In that case let's get to our questions." Erica suggested. Mana nodded. "You said that there were two reasons I wouldn't age. The first was the chrysalis, but what's the second?"
"Oh, that's because of your Oversoul." Mana said.
"You mentioned that her Oversoul was 'absorbing souls', whatever that means. Does that have something to do with it?" Tiffany asked.
Mana nodded, "Yes, that's exactly it. It's a phenomenon I've only seen once before, though that doesn't mean it hasn't happened more than that. Erica's Oversoul, recognizing her soul bond to an Omnisoul, is becoming an Omnisoul. But it's not willing to kill off Erica's alternates, so it's simply waiting for them to die naturally. However, there are an infinite number of alternates, so they are dying all the time. Normally there would also be many new ones being born all the time, but Erica's Oversoul is instead absorbing the spirits of the dead back into its souls. Once all the spirits spawned by a soul have returned, that soul then returns to the Oversoul and is absorbed as well."
"Alternates?" Mike asked, confused.
"The people spawned by a soul from Erica's Oversoul in a different dimension. They are often very similar to each other so are referred to as alternates. Many are virtually identical and could swap places without anyone realizing it, including them! Others are vastly different, but the term is an easy way to refer to all of them." Mana explained.
"So what happens when they're all absorbed and Erica's the only one left?" Jill asked.
"At that point her Oversoul will meld with her soul, and from there with her spirit. And then she'll be an Omnisoul, just like Sarah." Mana replied.
"She won't...change, will she?" Sarah asked worriedly.
Smiling, Mana replied, "No, she won't even be aware of it, except that she will get more powerful very quickly. In the meantime, she will grow stronger more slowly. Since she's a Null, her powers will be different from yours. For now they'll be focused in her chrysalis. Eventually she'll develop abilities similar to Jill's, most likely. Once she's an Omnisoul those abilities will develop far beyond what Jill will ever be capable of."
"Wow! I wasn't expecting that!" Erica exclaimed.
Sarah nodded, a little shocked by this revelation. "How long will all this take?" she asked.
Mana shrugged, "It's hard to say. Some of Erica's alternates could be immortal. In which case they'll only die when something kills them. That could take decades, centuries, or longer. Most will die off within a couple of hundred years, though."
"So she'll be getting stronger for a really long time then." Mike said.
"Yes, as will Sarah. Erica's more aggressive, so she'll develop her abilities faster. Sarah's abilities will develop more slowly, despite her full power being available at any time." Mana replied.
They lapsed into a silence broken only by the sounds Jill and Sarah were making for several minutes before Jill asked, "What were the other distractions you used to keep Marvin from bothering us?"
"The first was an SUV thrown through the wall of a bank by a solid illusion I created." Mana said.
Mike frowned in thought and said, "I heard about an SUV crashing into the wall of a bank downtown, but I didn't hear anything about it being thrown."
"That's because Marvin covered it up. But it had the effect of getting his attention, which was the idea. For my second distraction I grew white feathered wings out of my back and clothed myself like an angel. I flew down Main Street in such a way as to be seen by various cameras in the area, and then healed a woman who was confined to a wheelchair for life. Then I flew away." Mana said.
"So that was you! We were wondering if that was real or not!" Tiffany exclaimed.
"Yes, it was real. Of course Marvin hid the fact that there was video coverage of it, so it was easy to explain it as a hoax. My third distraction consisted of teleporting a corvette onto the roof of the police station. And the fourth was the fire elemental." Mana said.
"You teleported a corvette onto the roof of the police station?!" Mike exclaimed. "How did Marvin take that one?!"
"He'd already figured out that it was a distraction at that point. That's one of the reasons I went with something more dangerous for the next distraction." Mana replied.
"No, and that's not necessary anymore." Mana replied.
"So do you have any suggestions for how we should handle the magic situation?" Erica asked.
"Well, I would suggest you try to keep things under wraps for now. If you tried to tell everyone about it too quickly they either wouldn't believe you, or would panic. And proving magic exists could turn everyone against you if done too soon." Mana said.
"Why would proving it turn everyone against us?" Sarah asked.
"Magic is currently unknown to them. I'm sure you know how humans fear the unknown, and tend to destroy what they fear. Also, finding out there's real magic in the world will cause many to doubt beliefs they've held and taken for granted all their lives and they won't like that. And then there's the established religious institutions whose power will be threatened because the existence of magic will call their knowledge on the truth about the universe into question for many. Others would be afraid of losing the power they have, as the emergence of magic will change the power structure of the world. There are many reasons." Mana explained.
"So what should we do?" Mike asked.
"Mostly what you've been doing. Traveling to other worlds will help to accelerate the development of your abilities, especially yours since it will give you a chance to learn new forms. You can also gather more magical and high tech items that you can use later. Another thing you might consider is finding a larger apartment or house and all moving in together. With your abilities it's inevitable that you'll attract attention, as you already have. You can help each other better if you're not scattered. If you can convince Sarah's mother to join you that would be even better. And you could also make contacts in the occult community." Mana replied.
"Occult community? Do you mean they know real magic?" Jill asked.
"Yes and no. Real and false information is mixed together. Some of them have a strong enough natural affinity to magic and have stumbled across real information that allows them to perform some weak, simple spells. There are also strong enough psychics that they are able to sense the thoughts or feelings of others accurately on occasion. It's usually too faint to be certain what's real and what's imagination, but they can occasionally accomplish something with it. That's changing now, of course." Mana said.
"How would we get in contact with these people?" Tiffany asked.
"An occult store is probably your best bet. You might even come across something useful while you're there. Vash or Sarah should be able to identify genuine magical texts and objects." Mana replied.
If there's any magic in it, I can certainly sense it. And Sarah can use her detect magic spell to search a store very quickly. It could be useful to learn what kind of magic is native to this world. Vash sent.
"Yes, and Sarah might even learn a few new ways to use her powers in the process." Mana said.
"Any other suggestions?" Erica asked.
Mana looked thoughtful for a moment and said, "Like I said, you know your world better than I do. But Marvin and his organization may be helpful. If you can establish some kind of mutually beneficial relationship with him you would have access to information from all around the country, or even the world. Any other community like the occult community can be useful not just for getting information, but also for disseminating it."
"Well, you've certainly given us plenty to think about, but it's time to eat now." Jill said. Jill had Sarah take a seat after Mana conjured up two more kitchen chairs and then levitated the food, dishes, and silverware to the table. They ate quietly as they all thought about what Mana had said and tried to think if there were any other questions they could ask Mana for the short time she'd be available.
They were all startled out of their thoughts when the oven suddenly opened and the pan floated out and set itself down on a cast iron trivet that appeared on the table. "Sorry." Mana said, glancing at the surprised expressions on everyone's faces. "I didn't mean to startle you."
They finished eating a few minutes later. While Jill and Sarah magically and telekinetically washed the dishes Mana levitated the turtle cake out of the pan, which reformed into a large plate. The cake split into equal sized pieces and settled on the plate. They all had at least one piece, including Vash who had two. "Where do you put it all?" Tiffany asked him.
Invisibility takes a lot of energy. Vash replied.
"But you only had to stay invisible for the walk from Mike and Jill's apartment to here." Tiffany said.
I don't sit around their apartment all day. When Jill gets absorbed in her painting I go explore. Vash said.
"Is that safe? What if someone saw you?" Erica asked.
I'm invisible, remember? No one sees me. Vash replied irritatedly.
"But someone could run into you or step on you." Erica said.
I fly everywhere, I only have to worry about the birds. Vash sent.
"How do you get out, anyway?" Jill asked. "I knew you were going out, but I could never figure out how. I would have opened a window if you'd asked."
I use my tail to turn the doorknob. And I'd rather you didn't leave a window open, I'm not fond of the cold. Vash replied.
"I would think you'd handle the cold better than you used to, with those feathers and your fur." Mike said curiously.
I do, otherwise I'd need to be bundled up to go outside, or use magic to warm myself. Vash said.
"I didn't know you could do that. I thought you could only turn invisible and hit things with that magical kinetic blast of yours." Erica said.
I can use magic like any wizard can. I don't have a lot of power, but I know a great deal about the use of magic. I'm not sure how much of that knowledge would be useful here, however. It's likely that magic works quite differently. Vash sent.
"Why don't you teach Sarah then?" Mike asked.
Because it would take a long time to get her to the point of doing actual magic. There is a lot of theory to learn first. And we could spend all that time learning only to find that magic works so differently here that all my knowledge is worthless and she can't do a thing with it. Vash replied.
"That's quite possible." Mana agreed. "I want to thank you for this lovely meal. I haven't eaten very often lately and I begin to forget how good food can be."
"Even without the information you've shared with us, you'd have paid us back with that wonderful cake you made!" Mike said as he took his third piece.
Speaking of sharing information, I've thought of a question that I'd like to ask. Vash sent.
"What's that?" Mana asked.
Why did I change the way I did when I came here? Why did I grow fur and feathers, pink ones at that, and my claws become blunted and my fangs de-poisoned? Vash said.
"Hmm, let me see..." Mana said thoughtfully, staring at Vash. Vash was getting uncomfortable under her gaze when she finally relaxed it and said, "I think I see. This universe doesn't have anything like you in it. Not even in the other planes. Sarah subconsciously transformed you in transit. She tried to adapt you to existing animals, but was only partially successful. I think part of the reason for this is your own resistance to being transformed. You couldn't stop her, but you managed to influence your transformation. Thus you kept your wings and fangs, and your tail retained most of its properties, but your claws were blunted and your fangs lost their poison. This was probably due to concern on Sarah's part that you might hurt or poison someone accidentally if startled or injured. As for your color and cuteness, that's purely Sarah's preferences."
I thought Sarah's favorite color was blue! Vash said.
"Uh, I just told that to everyone so I wouldn't get teased. My favorite color is pink." Sarah said sheepishly.
I should have known! Vash said with a mental groan.
"Let me guess; you picked blue because it's associated with boys?" Erica said.
"Yeah. I thought it was a color a boy would like, since kids stuff that's supposed to be for boys is usually blue and girls stuff is pink." Sarah replied.
"Well, that solves that mystery! Now the question is; is Mana willing to transform you, and if so, what do you want to change?" Jill said, glancing at Mana.
"I'm perfectly willing to do so, if you like." Mana said.
"Did you have something specific in mind?" Mana asked.
Well, if I could somehow conceal my wings, that would be helpful. And I'd like to have my claws and poisoned fangs back. And perhaps...you could make it so my paws unfold into something resembling the hands I used to have, so that I can manipulate objects better? I still want to look like a cat so I can blend in, but if I can fold them up to still look like they do now, that should work. Vash replied.
Mana nodded, "Certainly, I can manage that. Would you like to be stronger and tougher while I'm at it?"
I already am, but the incident with John shows I'm not tough enough. Yes, I think that would be helpful. Vash said.
"Okay. Did you have anything else you'd like to change?" Mana asked.
Vash looked down in thought and then turned towards Jill, I have no other ideas. What about you?
"Me?! Why ask me?" Jill asked in astonishment.
You are my Mistress. You should have a say in such changes. Vash replied.
"You haven't called me that in a long time." Jill said.
That's because it annoyed you...and because I think of you more as a friend than as a Mistress. Vash said.
"Good, I'd rather be your friend than your Mistress. I don't have any ideas, and I don't think you should let anyone else but you decide on any changes you should have." Jill said.
Very well, I think that will do. Vash said, turning to look at Mana again.
"Okay, just give me a moment and I'll have you squared away." Mana replied. She closed her eyes in thought for a couple minutes and then opened them. With a casual gesture towards Vash he began to glow. His wings seemed to settle down into his fur, blending in seamlessly. No other changes were visible until Vash stretched out his new fingers and extended his newly sharpened claws.
Ah, much better! Thank you Mana! Vash sent happily.
"My pleasure Vash. Just be careful, your new strength combined with those claws could result in significant injury to Jill or the others if you're not." Mana replied.
Hmm, yes, that's a good point. But I can retract them much like a cat does, so I should be alright. Vash said.
"Are your wings still there? I can't tell." Tiffany said, looking curiously at Vash's back.
In answer Vash spread his wings. Then he settled them back down and they disappeared into his fur again. When she looked closely she could just make out the feathers mixed in with the fur.
"Mana," Erica said thoughtfully, "how much do you know about what happened last night?"
"Probably more than you do. Was there something you wanted to know?" Mana asked.
"Yes. What was that noise right before I was shot?" Erica replied.
"Oh that! There's no great mystery there, I'm afraid, it was just a car backfiring. Agent Peters was very tense, apparently, and was so startled that he pulled the trigger reflexively. I gather that he is very uncomfortable with the idea of magic being real." Mana said.
"A car backfiring, huh? Okay, then my other question is what kind of injuries Agent Peters had." Erica said.
"Nearly every one of his ribs was broken, and he has a concussion from hitting his head on the asphalt when he landed. He also has some other cuts and bruises from landing and sliding across the pavement. He'll be out of action for some time." Mana replied.
"I did all that?!" Sarah exclaimed, horrified.
"Don't worry about it honey. He'll recover, and if I'd been anybody else I'd probably be dead." Erica soothed.
"Marvin certainly seems to think so." Mana agreed. "He's now very interested in talking to all three of you. He believes Tiffany has some kind of life-stealing ability that is tied to her more obvious shadow powers, though he thinks of them as being darkness powers. He believes Sarah simply has a blasting ability, though he also suspects that Sarah's transformation is more complete than modern medicine can account for. He simply believes Erica heals rapidly, but he's still interested in her for that. He suspects Mike and Jill may have some kind of ability as well, but has no basis for this besides association with the rest of you. He's still unaware of Vash's existence, though."
"What about you?" Jill asked.
"He's uncertain whether the distractions I orchestrated are a result of one person or a group of people, and he's also uncertain whether that person or group is one or all of you, or someone looking out for you. He knows nothing of me besides what I've shown during my distractions. I've considered introducing myself to him, but I'm afraid that would upset him more than it would help. He's just now beginning to accept magic, speaking to Magic herself might be too much for him." Mana replied.
"Are you the incarnation of magic or something?" Tiffany asked.
"No, I am Magic. All the Forces that are the building blocks of reality became sentient and sapient after a time. I am one of them." Mana said.
"So there's other Forces out there like you, like matter, energy, time, and like that?" Mike asked.
Mana nodded, "Yes, those are my brothers. Most of them are responsible for me being 'asleep' in the first place. Only Time tried to protect me."
"You mean your being asleep wasn't by choice?" Sarah asked.
"No, it was in essence a curse. It was more complicated than simply being asleep, and far more cruel, but that is basically what happened." Mana replied.
"Wow, and I thought I had family troubles!" Sarah exclaimed.
"Yes, it gets quite complicated. Fortunately, as the architect of the Weave, I have enough power to protect myself from further actions from my brothers. They took advantage of a weakness I didn't even know I had last time, but I'm aware of it now so it has lost much of its power." Mana said.
"What's this weave thing you keep mentioning?" Erica asked.
"When I was first born, reality was chaotic." Mana said. "The only mature Forces were my parents, Chaos and Void. They had come to love each other and had ceased to oppose each other as they had in the beginning, but that only gave the chaos that makes up my mother more control over reality. Giving birth to us reduced her hold on reality, but we were too young to have developed sentience as yet and some of us fought with each other. As we matured that lessened, at first. But then my brothers began to reshape reality to their whim, which put them into conflict with each other. Time and I, along with a few others, stayed out of it. But when they began destroying entire universes and all the life in them, I intervened. I tried to play peacemaker, but they would not listen to me. I was always stronger than the others, so I could force one or even two of them to stop at a time, but there were too many of them.
Realizing the futility of trying to talk them out of it, and that I did not have the power to hold them all back myself, I wove all the Forces together with my power to form the Weave. It is the fabric of reality. It governs how each Force affects each part of reality, and prevents them from causing so much trouble. They could no longer reform reality, or even a single universe, to their whim. As you can imagine, many of them were very unhappy with that."
"I don't get it. If you weren't powerful enough to force them all to stop fighting, how were you able to weave them all together like that?" Erica asked.
"It's part of the function of Magic. It was my birth that allowed my mother to keep from disintegrating from her own chaotic nature. I am chaos balanced. I took the chaotic nature of reality and balanced it. The resulting weave was held together by one long thread; Magic. Since it was my power that balanced and connected every other power, it gave me a great deal more power than I had before. I didn't plan that, you understand, it was an unanticipated side effect. But many of my brothers chose to believe that I had been plotting against them from the start and this was the culmination of that. Others didn't believe that, but were still angry with me for permanently preventing them from taking control for themselves. Suddenly all my brothers that had been fighting amongst themselves had found a common enemy; me." Mana explained.
"No, at first they tried to kill me. Fortunately for me, the Weave protects me from death. Then they tried to imprison me, but the extra power the Weave grants me allowed me to escape. They didn't give up easily, though." Mana replied.
"That sounds ominous. What did they do?" Erica said.
"They tried to trick me. Most of their attempts were easily seen through and accomplished nothing. They came closer to success when they worked through the neutral Forces; the ones who hadn't taken part in the fighting. Time saw through them, but some of the others were more naive. But I suppose I was the truly naive one." Mana said.
"What do you mean?" Mike asked.
"My youngest brother is different from the others. While he was involved in the fighting, he'd stayed on the edges of it, biding his time. A time which never came, thanks to the Weave. I didn't know it then, but he had an intense hatred of me. But he's very cunning and charismatic. He got the other Forces to leave me alone and pretended to be my friend. Then he seduced me and tried to convince me to alter the weave. If he hadn't been so aggressive about it, he might have succeeded. But he pushed too hard and I finally realized that he didn't care about me, only what I could do for him." Mana said sadly.
"Wow, some family!" Erica exclaimed. "But you said your youngest brother was different from the others? Was that just because he was charismatic and cunning, or is there more to it?"
"First of all, you must understand that gender had no meaning for us. We had no bodies; we'd never seen the need to make any. But my youngest brother had more knowledge of gender than the rest of us. The rest of us had never considered that we would even have a gender. But Life is much more connected to gender than the rest of us were. Being bi-gendered himself, my gender was irrelevant to him. Somewhere along the line he figured out that I am not only female, but intensely female. That's how he finally got to me." Mana replied.
"I'm confused. You said your gender was irrelevant to him, but then you say that you're intensely female, whatever that means." Tiffany said.
"Most of the Forces are male or have no real gender at all. The only exceptions are Life, who is bi-gendered, and Chaos and I, who are female. So before he figured out my gender he naturally assumed I was male or genderless like the others. But that didn't matter to him. But when he figured out what I am, he knew he'd found a weakness." Mana explained.
"How is being female a weakness?" Sarah asked.
"It isn't, usually. But gender is a continuum. The average woman is only seventy five to eighty percent female. I am one hundred percent, or close enough as to make little difference. I made a body for myself in order to learn more about mortals by living amongst them. I made the mistake of making a male body. The conflict between my intensely female psyche and the very male body I was inhabiting caused me intense pain and left me wide open." Mana said.
"So that's when you were forced to go to sleep?" Erica asked.
"Yes. I was so distracted by the pain that I was in no position to notice what they were doing or counter it. With the help of several of our brothers Life bound my memory, and with it my powers. I was trapped in a male human body until the day I died. But that wasn't good enough for him. He made it so I would reincarnate each time I died, and every time in a male body. With my memory still locked away, I was unable to break the chain." Mana replied.
"But I thought you couldn't die." Tiffany said.
"I can't, but my body can. And with my memory and powers locked away I was like any other human. Well, any other transsexual human. Life after life I lived in pain and misery. Most ended by my own hand. It slowly got better with time, but it was still miserable right up until the end." Mana said.
"How did that cycle end?" Jill asked.
"Time got wind of what they were doing in time to weaken the binding, though not to break it. Being what he is, his influence caused the binding to get weaker over time. After roughly ten thousand years the binding wore off and my memory slowly returned. And with my memory came my powers." Mana replied.
"What did you do to Life and the others?" Mike asked.
"Nothing." Mana said.
"Nothing?! After all that?!" Mike exclaimed.
"You have to understand the state of mind I was in. Until my memory returned I was a transsexual woman. I was just about to have my surgery when the dreams began. The dreams that were in actuality my memories. I'd already had a difficult life, and the dreams made it worse. I had to relive all of those lives I'd lived for ten thousand years every night. By the time the memories of who I really was and what I could do came along, I had enough trouble dealing with those ten thousand years of memories. I still haven't decided what I'll do about my brothers, if anything." Mana explained.
"Why wouldn't you do anything about them?!" Erica asked incredulously.
Mana shrugged, "What would it accomplish? I am foiling their plans just by being here. What more could I do? Sure, I could torture them, but I don't want to do that. I could even kill them and elevate Incarnations or Powers to take their place, but I won't. For all their faults they are still family to me. And they can't hurt me anymore."
"What about people you know and care about? Couldn't they go after them?" Mike asked.
"I asked Time to spread the word that anyone messing with the people I care about to get to me would be destroyed. They won't risk eternal life that easily." Mana said.
"Would you really kill them?" Sarah asked.
"I'm honestly not sure. I suppose it would have to depend on the situation. I don't have to worry too much about my daughters, at least. They're powerful enough to evade my brothers and can call on me anytime they need me." Mana replied.
"You have children?" Sarah asked.
"Yes, I have five daughters. They are taking care of Avalon while I'm away." Mana said.
"What was it like?" Sarah asked intently.
Mana smiled, "Wonderful! Painful, but wonderful! I think you'll enjoy being a mother when you're ready, it suits you."
"Is that what you were asking Sarah? What's it like to give birth?" Erica asked.
"Yes. I've often wondered about that. It's one of those things that I never thought I'd get to experience, but now I can." Sarah replied with a smile.
"How did you know that's what Sarah was asking?" Erica asked suspiciously.
"I wasn't reading her mind, if that's what you were thinking. I generally stay out of people's thoughts. I knew because Sarah and I have a lot in common. We were both transsexual, and we both still have to deal with the issues that go along with that, despite being completely female now. And we both are dealing with trying to live mostly normal human lives despite having immense power." Mana said.
"Oh." Erica said sheepishly. Then, turning to Sarah, "Do you really want to have kids?"
"Of course! Don't you?" Sarah replied.
"Yes, but how would we go about that? Would you become male again?" Erica asked.
Sarah shuddered, "I don't think I could do that! But there are ways. Artificial insemination, for instance."
"It may be a while before you can learn how, but you should be able to learn to get either of you pregnant in such a way as to have the child be both of yours, genetically." Mana said.
"But my magic doesn't work on Erica." Sarah protested.
"It doesn't have to. Your bond is what will make it possible." Mana replied.
"That sounds a lot better than artificial insemination!" Erica said.
Sarah nodded, "Yes, it sure does! I wonder how long it will take for me to learn how to do that..."
"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, Sarah, we haven't even gotten married yet!" Erica said.
"Your approach to your powers seems to be intuitive. You'll probably learn how when you're ready to have children." Mana said.
"Flying?" Mike asked curiously.
"One of the things I've come to really like about being able to change my body at will. Every now and then I grow wings and fly around, just for the fun of it. It's a lot different flying under your own power than to fly magically, or to flit around when you don't have a body at all." Mana replied.
"Yeah, flying is pretty nice." Mike agreed, thinking of his flying practice in his dragon forms.
Indeed it is. When would you be coming tomorrow? Vash asked.
"That depends on all of you. Anytime will work for me." Mana replied.
"Hmm, we've got a lot to do tomorrow. We should really get all those photographs taken so we can get started." Erica said thoughtfully.
"That will take all day!" Sarah complained.
"I could help you, if you want." Mana said.
"Why would it take so long? I know we have a lot of things to photograph, but each one wouldn't take but a few seconds." Jill said.
"To take the pictures, sure, but we've got to set up each shot! And then we also have to take the pictures from several angles. We'll spend far more time setting up the shots than anything else." Sarah replied.
"I can use telekinesis to help with that." Jill said.
"You'll be exhausted using your telekinesis that much." Mike countered.
That's why we should accept Mana's gracious offer of help. She won't tire. Vash sent.
"I'm afraid I have no experience in photography, but as Vash said, I won't get tired moving things around for you." Mana agreed.
"Sounds good to me! Moving all that stuff around to take pictures of it would be really tiresome by hand, I think." Tiffany said.
"Why don't you come around for lunch and we can get to it then?" Erica asked, glancing at the others to see if they disagreed.
Seeing no dissent from the others Mana nodded, "Okay, I'll see you all then. Thanks again for a wonderful meal. Good night!" She waved and left.
"I think we should get some more training in tonight if we're going to spend all day tomorrow on pictures." Mike said thoughtfully after she was gone.
"Okay, but when we get back we need to talk about our company." Erica said.
"I guess I'm going to have to call Mom about moving in together once we get a larger place to share." Sarah said as she opened the portal.
"Yes, after what happened to Tiffany's place I think Mana was right about that. We'll be a lot safer living together than apart. In fact, you should go ahead and move out now, Tiffany." Mike said.
Tiffany shrugged as she stepped through the portal, "I pretty much have already. I'll give notice and clean the place up. All my stuff that's worth keeping is already at Sarah's."
"We'll help you with that. With Sarah's portals it shouldn't take long." Erica said.
"Okay Erica," Mike said as he came through the portal last, "don't forget to be careful!" With that the lessons continued. They took a break while Vash transferred another block of knowledge from Mike. Mike had them spar for a while to get used to this new knowledge before calling for them to stop for the day.
"Before we go, I have a little experiment I want to try." Jill said before Sarah could get a portal open. Shrugging, Sarah followed Jill outside with the others close behind. Jill looked around and pointed. "I want you to hit that rock formation with the most powerful blast you can without knocking yourself out again. But not a fireball, I don't want to start a fire."
"Why?" Sarah asked, looking at the target Jill wanted her to hit. It was near the top of a large hill several miles away.
"Please, just humor me." Jill asked. Sarah shrugged and looked back at the hill. She started to pour energy into the spell, but then she got light-headed, so she backed off. Once she was sure it was as much power as she could safely use, she cast it. She had to shield her eyes from the intense blue light from the blast, which was three or four feet in diameter, as it built up around her hand and then shot off to the her target. When it hit there was an even brighter flash and they all had to look away.
When they looked back all they could see of the hill was a cloud of dust and debris. As they waited for the cloud to dissipate they heard a deep rumbling thunder-like sound. "What was that?!" Tiffany asked, looking for clouds and not seeing any.
"That was the sound of the blast finally reaching us. We're quite a ways away." Mike replied.
"It almost looks like it's on fire." Erica said as they watched the cloud of dust slowly floating away with the breeze before settling back to the ground.
"Uh, am I looking in the wrong direction or something?" Tiffany asked, confused.
Jill smiled weakly, "No, you're not. Sarah leveled it. I thought that might happen."
"There's still a little of it left there, there, and there." Mike said, pointing out peaks of rock still jutting up from the remains of the hill. "I bet there's a crater."
"Wow Sarah," Erica said, "that's really..." but stopped to catch Sarah as she fainted.
Jill shook her head as Erica picked her up in her arms, "I told her not to overdo it."
"She didn't. That was shock." Erica said. "Let's get back to the storefront, I can lay her down on one of those recliners Mana made." Mike offered to carry her, but Erica was finding Sarah to be surprisingly light. They walked back to the storefront and Erica laid Sarah down on one of the recliners.
"Why did you ask Sarah to do that?!" Erica asked angrily. "We already know she's really powerful!"
"Yes, but Sarah doubts how powerful she really is." Jill replied. "She needed to see it for herself."
"Wasn't that a little dangerous?" Mike asked. "If that blast had been much bigger we could have been hit by the debris."
"That's why I picked a target miles away from us. And that's the other reason I wanted her to do it. If she just threw all the power she could into a blast during a fight, she could accidentally kill us all." Jill said.
Mike nodded thoughtfully, "Control. She has to learn it with her magic the same way Erica does with her strength and speed. That makes sense."
"Is she okay?" Tiffany asked worriedly.
Erica nodded, "Yeah, she is. She was just shocked at how powerful she is. And from what Mana said she's only going to get stronger."
"Just don't ask Sarah to do that again." Mike suggested.
"Why not?" Jill asked.
"Because, she's getting too powerful. Once she gets a little stronger she won't be able to do that without catching us in the blast. As it is if she'd used a fireball she'd probably have started a massive fire." Mike replied.
"That's why I told her not to use a fireball. But you're right, she'd have to hit the moon to keep from getting us once she's gotten a little stronger." Jill agreed.
Don't suggest that to her. If she does enough damage to the moon it could have consequences here. Vash said.
"I know that." Sarah groaned.
"Are you alright?" Erica asked, helping her to get the chair into an upright position.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Did I really do what I think I did?" Sarah replied weakly.
"If you mean leveling another, larger, hill, then yes." Erica replied.
In the time it took for Erica to help Sarah up out of the chair she had gotten Sarah up to date on what they'd discussed. "Okay, I get it! No full power blasts." Sarah said.
"I'm sorry to shock you like that, but I felt we all should know what you're capable of. I know you'd never forgive yourself if you hurt any of us." Jill said.
"It's okay, I understand. But let's get back, I'm beat!" Sarah said. Jill nodded and they walked through the portal Sarah opened.
"So what did you want to talk about Erica?" Mike asked once they were all seated in the living room.
"I've got everything I need to set up our corporation, except for a name. We need to get that settled right away so we can start selling that treasure. We're going to need the money if we're going to move to a larger place together. Especially since I won't be around much to help after this weekend." Erica replied.
"Does it really matter?" Tiffany asked. "I mean, we'll be selling stuff on eBay, so people will only see our user name, right?"
"We can set up an eBay store, which I think we should considering the amount of stuff we've got to sell. It would help to establish a positive reputation. We would have an easier time selling things, then." Erica replied.
"She's got a point. People will be more willing to spend thousands of dollars on expensive things like what we're selling if they're buying from a store rather than an individual." Jill agreed.
"I thought we were supposed to be keeping a low profile, though." Tiffany said.
"We are. Our names and address won't be listed in the store. We'll need a post office box, but that's quick and easy to do. We should also have a phone number. We can set up a separate number for that and have it listed under our company name instead of one of ours." Erica said.
"Which brings us back to the name. Any ideas?" Jill asked.
What kind of name do you want? Vash asked.
"What do you mean, what kind?" Jill asked.
Do you want a generic name that has nothing in particular to do with what you're selling or who you are? Or do you want a name that is indicative of your wares? Or something more personally significant? Vash replied.
"Good point. I suppose we could use a name like Portals-R-Us1, but only we would know what that means." Mike said.
"They'd probably think we sold doors or something!" Tiffany said.
"So what kind of name do we want?" Erica asked.
"It would be nice if the name meant something, to us at least." Sarah said.
"Like Sarah means something to you?" Erica asked with a smile.
"Where did that name come from, anyway?" Mike asked curiously.
"My great grandmother. She died when I was pretty small, but I guess she made an impression because I've wanted to have that name for as long as I can remember. How I look now is a lot like she looked when she was my age, and her name was Sarah." Sarah replied.
"So that's why you had that name ready when you changed." Jill said. Sarah nodded.
"How about Adventure Ventures2? That's how we get the stuff to sell, after all." Tiffany suggested.
"Well if you're going to go that way, we could also do Sales From The Crypt3." Mike said with a grin.
"Or Fruit of the Tomb4!" Jill laughingly added.
"Can we get serious here?" Erica asked.
"Okay, how about Venus, Inc.5?" Tiffany asked.
"Hm, that's not bad." Jill agreed.
"I don't know, it was Sarah that really started all this." Erica said doubtfully.
"Okay, how about Sarah's Vault?" Mike suggested. At Sarah's frown he said, "Haras' Vault6?"
"We're not naming our company after me!" Sarah growled.
"Okay, okay!" Mike said apologetically.
Perhaps it would help to agree on something to focus your ideas on. Vash suggested.
Jill glanced speculatively at Vash and nodded, smiling, "Yes, that could work!"
"Works for me." Mike said with a shrug.
Sarah and Erica nodded while smiling at Vash, "That's a good idea."
That's not what I meant! Vash exclaimed worriedly.
"Hey, someone want to clue me in on what you're talking about here?!" Tiffany said.
"Sorry Tiffany. We were thinking that Vash could be our mascot. He was saying we should have a focus for the name, after all..." Jill said.
"He is awfully cute, isn't he?" Tiffany said with a grin.
You, too? I don't know that I like the idea of being anyone's mascot... Vash protested.
"You're perfect! You're so cute everyone will love you!" Sarah gushed.
But what kind of name could you get from me? Vash asked, obviously hoping to shoot down this idea.
"Pink Kitty, Inc?" Tiffany suggested.
"Vash Ventures?" Mike said.
"Cute Kitty Company?" Sarah added.
"Impish Imports?" Erica said.
"Out of This World Treasures7?" Jill added.
"Out of This World Treasures? How is that related to Vash?" Mike asked curiously.
Obviously it's a reference to what you are selling, not me. Vash said in relief.
"Well, yes, but it's also a reference to you, Vash." Jill said.
How could it be a reference to me? Vash asked.
"Well, you're from another world, and you're a treasure to me." Jill said.
"Aw!" Sarah said. "She's right, too. You've done a lot for all of us. You were looking out for me from the moment you arrived here! And Tiffany, too."
I appreciate the sentiment, and I feel the same, but I don't think I'm the appropriate focus for your store. Perhaps, if Sarah doesn't want her name attached, we could use her ability? It is what started everything, as I understand. Vash said while licking Jill's face. She giggled and playfully swatted at him.
"What, her portals? How can we get a name out of that? That will make any sense, anyway?" Mike asked.
How about The Treasure Portal8? Vash suggested.
"Hey, that's pretty good! It's got meaning like Sarah wanted, but it also fits what we're selling, in more ways than one. I like it!" Tiffany exclaimed.
"I agree. But that doesn't mean you're off the hook for mascot duty!" Jill said mock-sternly to Vash. He rolled his eyes at her.
"I like it, too. What do you think Erica?" Sarah said.
"It seems appropriate to me. I'm happy with it." Erica replied.
"Sounds like we've got a name." Mike said. "And about time! Can we go get cleaned up now?"
"Yes, please!" Tiffany agreed.
"Sure, we can talk more about the company tomorrow. I'm more than ready for a shower myself." Erica replied. With that Mike, Jill and Vash left.
"Why don't you use the shower first, Tiffany." Sarah suggested. Tiffany gave her a knowing look before nodding and heading for the bathroom. Sarah and Erica prepared Tiffany's bed while she showered and then took her place in the shower when she was done. After a long shower they went to bed.
"Oh? Have you eaten yet?" Sarah asked as she followed him inside.
"No, I was just about to have some cereal. There's no point cooking anything, Jill probably won't be up for a while yet." Mike replied. They took seats at the table while Mike got his breakfast. "I assume you three have already eaten, right?"
Sarah nodded, "Is Vash still sleeping, too?"
"Yeah, he usually stays in bed until we're both up. He's as lazy as a real cat." Mike replied.
"So, other than meeting up with Mana before going to take pictures, what else will we do today?" Tiffany asked as Mike sat.
"Well, I was thinking we could fit some more training in before Mana gets here, assuming Jill gets up in time!" Mike said with a laugh.
"She wouldn't really sleep in that late, would she?" Tiffany said.
"No, she doesn't usually sleep in very late. I just like to give her a bad time because she's such a bear if you try to get her up before she's ready." Mike replied.
"I guess if we're going to follow Mana's advice we're going to have to choose another world to visit soon." Sarah said thoughtfully.
Erica nodded, "Yes, that's a good idea. I'll have to leave choosing the world up to you guys, though. My time is going to be pretty limited after today."
"That's right, you're going back to Harvard. Your plane leaves tomorrow, right?" Tiffany asked.
"Yep. But I'll still be around when I can, thanks to Sarah's portals. Last semester was pretty crazy, though, so I don't know how often that will be." Erica replied.
I have a feeling it will be more often than you think. Vash sent. They were all startled by his sudden addition to the conversation, except for Erica who heard his words from Sarah. But they weren't surprised when Jill came out with Vash on her shoulder a few minutes later.
"So why do you think it will be more often?" Erica asked once Jill had taken a seat at the table.
Your chrysalis. It doesn't just make you stronger and faster, and allow you to heal quickly. It replaces all of your body, over time, with a hyper evolved version. That means your brain will be enhanced, as well. Vash replied.
Probably. At the very least I would expect your memory to improve. That alone should make your studies much easier. Vash replied.
"That would be nice. I can use all the help I can get." Erica said.
"That might explain why you've been picking things up faster in our training lately, too." Mike said thoughtfully.
Jill groaned, "I guess that means I'm going to get thrashed!"
"If things get too unequal you can always use your telekinesis." Mike suggested.
"But it doesn't work on her!" Jill protested.
"Not on her, no, but it works on you. I bet you could use it to move yourself in all sorts of ways." Mike replied.
"Maybe." Jill said absentmindedly as she went about getting herself and Vash something to eat. Once she was done they went back to the empty world. Jill did use her telekinesis a little in her sparring with Erica, which kept Erica on her toes. Tiffany found herself struggling with Sarah far more than she had been, and decided to follow suit by using her shadows to confuse her. Before long it was a virtual powers free for all. Sarah used small energy blasts to find Tiffany while Tiffany veiled their entire section of the mat in shadow. Erica used her superior strength to jump up to get to Jill when she levitated out of the way. Jill's greater maneuverability in the air would have made the difference, except that levitating herself like that wore her out.
After a while Mike called a stop as he could see that Jill and Tiffany were getting exhausted from using their powers. "I was going to put a stop to it sooner as I wanted to keep this purely martial arts training, but Vash pointed out that in actual combat we'd be using our powers as well as our training." Mike said once everyone had stopped. "I have to agree, this is great experience for you to use your abilities in a fight like this. But Jill and Tiffany don't have the endurance to keep it up for long. Which makes it all the more important to practice it, I think, as you can build that endurance up. At least, I hope you'll be able to. At any rate, why don't you two take a break and I'll spar with Erica and Sarah for a while."
"Both of us?!" Erica exclaimed.
"Yes. I need practice using my powers in a fight, too, so I thought I'd use my naga form. That should make up for being outnumbered." Mike replied. Jill and Tiffany vacated the mat and sat to watch with Vash. Mike shifted to naga form and started the match by attacking Erica. A blast from Sarah forced him to abandon that attack, which left him open for Erica. Or at least, it seemed to, until his tail whacked her from behind and sent her sprawling. Sarah fired off a quick series of blasts to pin him down, allowing Erica to recover and continue her attack. Mike managed to slap Sarah down with his tail and was able to turn his full attention on Erica. At least, until Sarah got back up and fired off a few more blasts.
The match continued like that for a while, with Erica doing most of the up close fighting and Sarah supporting from a distance most of the time. Despite their best efforts Mike was still doing more damage than they were. With his naga form he could move very fast when he wanted to, and his tail gave him much greater reach than his legs would have. Sarah turned it around when she started charging her blasts through her feet and hands. She didn't connect very often, but the power of those attacks forced Mike to take them more seriously. Erica stepped up her attacks and managed to get a few hits in of her own.
Mike finally ended it by grabbing Sarah in a headlock from behind and wrapping Erica up completely in his tail. Sarah used the contact to change Mike into a girl, but he didn't loosen his grip for a moment. She sighed and changed him back to let him know she surrendered. He shifted back to human form, which released Erica. "You two did really well!" he said a little breathlessly. "We were all holding back, but it was still a great match. What I would like to know, though, is how you suddenly got so much better Sarah?"
Sarah took a moment to catch her breath before replying, "I don't know. It's just clicking easier than it was before. And everyone else seems to be moving a little slower."
I suspect that is because your reflexes have improved. Vash said.
"Why would my reflexes improve?" Sarah asked.
I think you are gaining some of the same benefits as Erica is from the chrysalis. As Mana said, you use your powers intuitively. You probably copied those benefits through your bond to help you to fight Tiffany as her skills were growing faster than your own. Whether you have a chrysalis now as well, improved your body to match magically, or just temporarily boosted yourself I don't know. Vash replied.
"That's something we'll have to figure out. If these changes are permanent Sarah will have to learn to control her abilities like Erica is." Mike said thoughtfully.
"We'll find that out next time. Right now I'd like to get home and get cleaned up before Mana arrives." Jill said. Sarah insisted on healing everyone before opening portals to both apartments. They all took quick showers and changed clothes before meeting back up at Sarah's apartment. There was time before Mana would arrive, so they decided to watch a movie, an activity Vash never got tired of.
Sarah and Tiffany started making sandwiches for everyone for lunch. There was a knock at the door a few minutes later.
"I'll get it." Erica said as she stood and walked to the door. She was expecting Mana to be wearing another unusual outfit, but she was still surprised. Everything was a matching satiny white, much like her hair. She wore thigh high boots, long opera gloves, a short skirt made of overlapping flower petal like sections, and the top barely covered her breasts and then sloped sharply down on the sides leaving almost her entire back bare, except for her long hair. "Wow, that's a lot different from what you've worn before!" she exclaimed, stepping aside to let her in.
"I like to wear this outfit when I'm traveling, or fighting. It gives me lots of freedom of movement, and looks good, too!" Mana said.
"I'll say!" Mike exclaimed. Jill slapped the back of his head and he grinned sheepishly at her.
"You're going somewhere?" Jill asked.
Mana nodded as she took a seat on the couch next to Erica. "Yes. After I help you with your photographs I thought I'd visit a few other countries and see if I can get something going there, too. I don't expect to find anyone else with awakened powers like yours, so I'll probably be dealing with government agencies like the one Marvin is running. Once that's done I can move on to another world."
"So we won't see you again?" Erica asked.
"Oh, I'll drop in before I leave. If you come up with any other questions you'd like to ask me I can answer them then, and I will fill you in on what I find in the rest of the world." Mana replied.
"Lunch is ready!" Sarah announced very loudly as she and Tiffany carried plates of sandwiches in. After making sure everyone else had some Sarah sat in Erica's lap and set the plate aside. Glancing at Mana and nodding slightly in greeting she grabbed Erica's face and kissed her deeply. The kiss went on for quite a while, long enough for Vash to finish his first sandwich and go back for seconds. When Sarah leaned back Erica looked dazed and had a silly grin on her face.
Not that I'm complaining, but what was that about? Erica thought.
Just reminding you who your fiance is. Sarah replied.
Why would you think I'd need remind...oh, yeah. Erica thought sheepishly. I keep forgetting how the bond allows you to feel what I feel. If that's how you're going to react every time I look at another woman I'm going to have to look around a lot more!
Erica! Sarah complained.
I'm just kidding! And it's not like you don't find her attractive, too. I mean, who wouldn't?! Erica replied.
Well, yeah, but... Sarah mumbled.
I know you've got this whole low self-esteem thing going and you think you don't deserve me, but you've got it all wrong! I'm the one who doesn't deserve you! It's going to take one heck of a lot more than a pretty face or nice figure to get rid of me! Erica sent firmly.
Mike chuckled, "Well, they don't usually suck each other's faces completely off like that..."
"At least while we're around," Jill added.
Mike nodded, "But they are rather affectionate."
Sarah and Erica blushed as they became aware of their surroundings, and the conversation. Sarah reached down to pick up a couple of sandwiches and handed one to Erica to cover her embarrassment.
"So what are we going to be taking pictures of?" Mana asked.
"We're selling some treasure we collected from a tomb in another world. Jewelry, gold cups and plates, that sort of thing." Jill replied.
"So you're tomb raiders?" Mana asked mischievously.
Mike groaned, "So you have that game in your world, too?"
Mana nodded, "Our worlds are very similar."
Jill looked oddly at Mana and asked, "Is it my imagination or have you been acting differently than when you first introduced yourself to us?"
Smiling, Mana nodded and said, "Yes, I thought you might notice that. After I left Avalon I resumed my non-corporeal form and visited Time and my other siblings that are still friendly with me. I'd like to say it was a tearful reunion, but non-corporeal entities just don't feel emotions so strongly as corporeal ones do. My mind shifted back to that mindset while I was there and it took me a while to shift it back again after coming here. You'd be amazed how much difference it makes, not having a body!"
"That must be really weird." Mike agreed.
"It is, and it isn't, for me. After all, I spent eons like that before I ever had a physical body. On the other hand, my human memories are rather fresh and near at hand, and from that perspective it is very strange, indeed!" Mana replied.
Once they were finished with their sandwiches Sarah opened the portal to the storefront. "Here's where we want to take the pictures." Jill said, pointing out all the photography equipment they'd set up. "And this is what we want to take pictures of." she continued, pointing out the pile of treasure they'd hauled from the tomb.
"I see what you mean, you do have an awful lot to photograph. But with my help it shouldn't be too bad." Mana said thoughtfully while looking at the pile of gold objects.
With that they went to work. Sarah took the pictures, and directed the placement of the objects with Jill's help. Mike, Erica, and Tiffany sorted the pile and then piled them up out of the way once they were photographed. Mana kept a steady stream of objects floating to and from, as well as powering the equipment.
With Mana's help it only took a few of hours to get all the photographs taken. Then they returned to Sarah's apartment through one of her portals.
"So where are you planning to go?" Jill asked as they settled down to rest in the living room.
"I don't know yet. I'll see where the strongest magical activity is and concentrate on that. But I'll probably at least go to somewhere in Europe, Africa and Asia." Mana replied.
"What about Australia and South America?" Erica asked.
"Our worlds are very similar, and in my world there was very little activity in those continents for years. I'm not sure why. What I do know is that the oldest civilizations are where you're most likely to find significant magical use. So China is an obvious choice." Mana said.
"And you're coming back before you go to another world, right?" Sarah asked.
Mana nodded, "Yes, I will. But after that I'll have to move on. There are a lot of worlds to visit, and limited time to do it in."
"Couldn't you just travel in time? Then you wouldn't have to worry how long it took in each world." Mike said.
"Yes and no. Things get complicated with time travel." Mana said.
"Sarah seemed reluctant to try traveling through time, too. What's so bad about it?" Mike asked.
"Like I said, it gets complicated. For instance, you could think you are traveling through time, but find you are actually in a parallel universe. You can make all the changes you want, but they won't affect the world you thought you were in at all." Mana explained.
"But surely you of all people could time travel successfully?" Jill said.
"I can, but it's not something I like to do. I may have to, though, in order to accomplish everything I want to." Mana replied.
"How many worlds do you need to visit?" Sarah asked.
Mana shrugged, "A lot. It's impossible to say how many, exactly. Worlds where magic never went dormant should handle things well enough. It's the worlds like this one where magic was all but forgotten that I need to go to."
"Do you think your brothers will try to interfere?" Erica asked.
"I...hadn't thought of that. They just might. All the more reason to get back to it." Mana said. "I promise to stop by before I leave this universe, but I think I'd better leave now."
"I hope you'll be able to come back again, afterward?" Sarah asked hopefully.
"I don't see why not, but it may not be for a very long time." Mana replied regretfully.
They all said their goodbyes and watched as Mana walked out the door. "You okay Sarah?" Erica asked, seeing that Sarah's eyes looked suspiciously wet.
Sarah nodded, "Yeah, I guess. I know we haven't known her long, but I'll miss her."
"I'm not surprised; she's a lot like you, I think." Erica said.
Sarah looked at her in surprise, "Where did you get that?"
"Well, like she said, you were both stuck in male bodies and are really powerful. But I think your personalities are fairly similar, too." Erica said.
"Um, what? How do you figure that?" Mike asked.
"I think I see what she means." Tiffany said. "Even though Mana seems so confident and powerful, she's actually much more vulnerable than she seems, I think. She's just more used to being so powerful and is better at hiding her feelings than Sarah is."
Mike shook his head, "I still don't see where you two are getting this."
I don't either, but then I can't sense Mana's emotions. Her behavior is somewhat anomalous, but it seems unlikely a being like that would be vulnerable in any significant way. Vash said.
"What about you Jill, do you agree with Erica and Tiffany?" Mike asked.
Jill looked thoughtful for a moment and said, "I think I see where they are coming from. I'm not sure if they're right or not, I can't read Mana either, but they might be. They do have a similar background."
A knock at the door interrupted their musings. "Do you think Mana forgot something?" Tiffany asked.
Jill shook her head, "No, that's not Mana. That's Agent Garner."
Erica sighed, "I guess we knew this was coming. I kind of thought he might wait a while for us to call him, though." She stood and walked over to the door. As expected, the FBI agent was waiting on the other side. "Hello Agent Garner."
"Hello Ms. Keller. I'm sorry to disturb you, but I've been asked to talk to Sarah." Marvin said.
"Asked? By who?" Erica said.
He looked a little uncomfortable as he said, "Apparently, you aren't the only ones around here who have...unusual abilities. A group of such people have asked for her help in preventing a murder."
"A murder?! What are you talking about?" Mike exclaimed.
Marvin shrugged, "I don't know all the details myself. The people involved gave me very little information. All I know is that one of their number went rogue and has been foreseen to kill another one. I know the would-be murderer's name is Nathaniel, but that's about it."
"Why would they want my help, or even know I exist?" Sarah asked worriedly.
"It's part of the vision of the murder. Apparently they already saw something about you and I in another vision. I'm fairly sure they don't know who you are or what you can do. Only that your involvement will prevent their friend's death." Marvin replied.
"Visions? You mean, like fortune tellers?" Tiffany said.
"Perhaps. Believe me, I wish I had more information for you. All I know is they want you to go to the magic shop and meet with Charlotte. Presumably she will have more information for you, or know who does." Marvin said.
"Okay, I guess we'll go talk to Charlotte. Where's the shop?" Sarah asked.
Marvin gave her the address and half turned to leave before turning back, "Please call me once you've dealt with this situation, will you? I'm not your enemy, and I think we might be able to help each other." With that said, he turned and left.
Sarah nodded, "Yeah, why?"
"Well, Mana did say we should try to contact whatever other magical types there might be around, and suggested occult stores as a place to start. If it isn't the illusion type of magic store, then we might kill two birds with one stone." Erica said.
That's a good point. This may be an excellent opportunity for us. Vash agreed.
"Well, someone's going to get killed if I don't help, so I guess I'd better get going." Sarah said, getting to her feet and starting towards the door.
"Wait a minute!" Erica exclaimed. "You're not going alone!"
Mike nodded, "Agreed. There's no way I'm letting you go alone."
Sarah started to protest, but Jill spoke up first, "They are right, Sarah, we're talking about a murderer here! Besides, Mana said we should stick together."
"Well, if you're sure." Sarah said reluctantly.
"We are. Let's take my car." Mike said. He led the way over to his car and they all piled in, with Vash invisible as usual. A short drive later and they were pulling up in front of the magic store.
"This is it?" Tiffany asked.
"That's the address he gave us." Jill said as she climbed out of the car. The others followed her into the store.
The store was empty except for an older woman standing at the register. "Hello, how can I help you?" she asked.
"Uh, hi, I'm, uh..." Sarah mumbled, uncertain what to say.
Erica squeezed her hand and stepped forward, "Hi, Agent Garner said we should talk to someone named Charlotte?"
"That's me, but I was only expecting one woman, not four." the woman said uncertainly.
"We're just moral support. It's Sarah here that you want to talk to, apparently." Erica said. We'll keep the fact we have abilities of our own a secret, for now, okay? she thought to Sarah.
Okay, I was worried about that. Sarah replied with relief.
I know. Erica replied with a smile.
"I don't have any customers anyway, why don't I lock up and we'll explain the situation to you." Charlotte said. She walked over and flipped the 'Open' sign around and locked the door, then led them back through the store to a kitchen with a fairly large table in the middle. "If you'll wait here, I'll get the girls."
They were all seated by the time Charlotte returned with three young women. Sarah and Tiffany shot to their feet when they saw who one of them was. "Tina? What are you doing here?!" Tiffany exclaimed.
"Tiffany? And Sarah? I live here. What are you two doing here?!" Tina asked in surprise.
"You know these two, Tina?" Charlotte asked curiously.
"Yeah, I work with them." Tina said.
"I guess this explains your comment about magic the other day, huh?" Tiffany said.
Charlotte looked curiously at Tina, but she was focusing on Sarah. "Sarah, are you the one that FBI guy was talking about?" she asked with an odd expression on her face.
"Uh, yeah, I guess I am. But he didn't even know why you needed to talk to me. What's going on?" Sarah asked.
"Why don't we all take a seat and I'll explain." Charlotte suggested. Everyone sat back down. "I don't know how much you know, but there is a loose community here of people who know real magic of one type or another. A seer friend of mine had a vision. She saw Willow here," and Charlotte pointed to one of the other girls, "being killed by a man named Nathaniel."
"What does that have to do with Sarah?" Mike asked.
"I'm getting to that." Charlotte replied. "This was a forked vision, meaning there were two possible outcomes. On the one hand, Willow died. On the other, she lived. In order to bring about the second outcome, we needed to get the help of the person being watched by Agent Garner. We didn't know who he was until he talked to a friend of the seer yesterday, though."
"But why was the FBI guy watching you, Sarah?" Tina asked.
What should I say? Sarah thought to the others fearfully.
These are the kind of people we need to contact, and they are being honest with us. I think you should tell them that you have powers. Just leave out the events that drew his attention to you and the full extent of your powers, for now. Vash suggested.
That's probably a good idea. Mike thought, with Jill broadcasting his thoughts to the others. No need to tell them everything about us. It's enough to know that you have powers that might be helpful in this situation.
Okay... Sarah thought uncertainly. "Um, he kind of found out that...I have, uh, magical powers?" she finally said.
"Cool! So you're a practitioner, too?!" Tina exclaimed.
"Huh? Practitioner? What do you mean?" Sarah asked.
"I don't think she's quite the same as us, Tina. If she were, she wouldn't be any better able to handle the situation than we are. She must have some kind of specialized ability that can help us." Charlotte said.
"What exactly do you need from Sarah?" Erica asked.
Charlotte shrugged, "We don't really know. Nathaniel is a rogue witch, or warlock if you like. He is paranoid and convinced that his coven has been conspiring to keep information from him. Willow is a member of the same coven, as is Rose." she pointed to the girl sitting next to Willow. "We know that the attack will most likely take place on Monday or Tuesday. And we know that Willow will be alone at the time. Beyond that we're as much in the dark as you."
"That's not entirely true." Rose pointed out. "We also know that in the first fork, Nathaniel is burned to a crisp. We're presuming by Tina; she's the only one of us with the ability to do that magically."
"So you're a pyrokinetic?" Jill asked.
"Huh?" Tina asked, confused.
"A pyrokinetic would be someone who can control flames with their mind. And no, she isn't. She's just a bit more adept with magic, especially magic cast on the fly, than the rest of us." Charlotte said, looking oddly at Rose.
"Why is this Nathaniel so convinced that his coven is holding out on him?" Tiffany asked.
"It's an unfortunate problem I've encountered before." Charlotte explained, "Male practitioners often become unstable. Paranoia is common among them, and can easily lead to worse things. In Nathaniel's case, he's convinced that we're all withholding information on the crafting of a type of magical focus called a talisman. He managed to create a flawed version on accident, but Tina broke it."
"I still don't understand what you expect Sarah to do." Jill said.
"Save Willow. Somehow." Tina said hopefully.
"I will if I can, but I don't know what I can do." Sarah said.
"Yeah, if Willow is alone when this happens, then it doesn't make any sense." Mike said.
"I was thinking that, if we knew exactly what your powers are, we might figure out how they fit into the vision." Charlotte said.
Should I really tell them? Sarah asked.
No way! At least, not all of it. But what parts will we tell them about? Erica wondered.
Tell them about your magical blast, but play it down to what it was when you first tried it or less. Jill suggested.
Okay. Should I tell them about anything else? Sarah said.
No. At least, not yet. Let's see where this goes first. Mike said.
Alright. Sarah thought. "Um, I have this magical blast thing that I do." she said.
"Magical blast? You mean, some kind of attack, then?" Charlotte asked in surprise.
"Yeah, I guess." Sarah agreed.
"Well, that does fit, somewhat. If you were with Willow when she was attacked you could blast Nathaniel. But she's alone in the vision, so that still doesn't quite fit. There has to be more to this." Charlotte said.
"Did you use this blast on John?" Tina asked worriedly.
"...no." Sarah said quietly, clutching Erica's hand under the table.
Erica switched hands so she could put her arm around her. "Her blast is unlikely to kill someone, if that's what you're thinking." she said to Tina.
Tiffany winced at that, but Tina nodded. "Okay. I just wondered because the police don't seem to have gotten anywhere finding out who killed him." Tina said. That statement required an explanation for Rose, Willow and Charlotte.
While Tina explained Erica held Sarah and thought, Are you okay?
Yeah, I guess. Sarah sent.
I've had a thought, Sarah. Vash sent. You've transformed yourself and others into an opposite gender equivalent of themselves. But you also changed your father far more. Perhaps you could accomplish other shape shifting?
Perhaps you could switch places with Willow. Then, when this Nathaniel attacked you could disable him with the skills you've learned from Mike or with the blast you told them about. That would satisfy the criteria of the vision. Vash said.
You think I could do that?! Sarah thought in surprise.
Let's face it. If you think you can, then you probably can. Remember what Mana told us. But this isn't far outside what you've done already, so yes I think you could do it. Vash replied.
He's got a point. Changing your father into Kelly was well outside what you normally do. How exactly did you do that, anyway? Jill sent.
I don't know. I was just really angry with him and wanted him to be smaller and female so he'd know what it was like for me. Sarah replied.
Maybe if you concentrate on what you want and use that power, you'll be able to do it. Try to change yourself to look like Willow. Jill suggested.
Okay... Sarah said doubtfully and closed her eyes in concentration. She focused on looking like Willow and willed it to happen like when she changed herself back to female. She thought she felt something, but wasn't sure. When she opened her eyes her friends were all looking at her with big smiles on their faces. Did it work?
Yep. Jill sent happily. "I think we've got the problem solved." she said out loud to get the others' attention.
Tina turned towards Jill but stopped when she noticed Sarah. Then she turned back and saw the real Willow and said, "Willow?" as she looked back at Sarah.
"No, I'm Sarah. We were thinking I could switch places with Willow." Sarah said while looking, and sounding, exactly like Willow.
"You're a shape shifter?!" Charlotte exclaimed. "I thought they were long extinct!"
"Um, not exactly." Sarah said, reverting to her normal appearance. "I've never done anything quite like this before."
"What do you mean?" Rose asked.
"This is a new use of an old ability for her. When she first discovered it she could only change a person's gender." Jill explained.
"Oh, is that how you changed?" Tina asked in awe.
"Something like that." Sarah said, glancing worriedly at the others whom she assumed didn't know about her. "I might be able to use it to change Willow to look like me. Then we can switch places until Nathaniel is caught."
"Why switch places? We could just keep Willow here until you find Nathaniel." Rose said.
"Yeah, I guess that would work, too." Sarah said.
Charlotte shook her head, "I don't think that's a good idea. How does Nathaniel find Willow in the first place? If he's watching this shop and sees two Willows, then we're in trouble. It's safer if you two switch places. Besides, if Sarah suddenly disappears after meeting us, it will look suspicious. Do you think Willow can handle going to work in your place for a day or two?"
"Well, Tiffany and Tina will be there, so I guess that could work." Sarah said.
"Are you okay with that Willow?" Tina asked.
Willow nodded, "Sure, no problem!"
"Are you sure you can handle Nathaniel?" Rose asked doubtfully.
Sarah shrugged, "Should be able to. Mike's been teaching me to defend myself, and I've got my blast power. And it doesn't sound like Nathaniel has any magical weapons to work with anymore, so I should be okay."
"When are we going to do this?" Charlotte asked. "Do you have anything going on tomorrow that would be disrupted by switching places, either of you?"
Willow shrugged, "I don't have anything going on. Sarah?"
"Uh, actually, I kind of do." Sarah said awkwardly.
"What do you mean Sarah?" Erica asked.
"Taking you to the airport?" Sarah replied.
"Oh, yeah." she said. "If you two switch before that then we wouldn't see each other again until after this is over."
"We should do this before Monday, so how about after her flight leaves?" Charlotte suggested.
"I guess so. But what would I need to do as Willow?" Sarah asked.
Rose snorted, "Not much! Willow isn't working right now, or going to school. She seems to think she can make a living with magic."
"Hey, I can! I just haven't figured out how to do it yet!" Willow protested.
Rose rolled her eyes and looked at Sarah, "Don't worry, she spends all her time with me. You'll have an easier time than Willow will."
"Okay, so where should we make the switch? We don't want to tip off Nathaniel." Mike said.
"I suppose it should be somewhere public, where we can meet up without seeming to meet up." Jill suggested.
"When's your flight again?" Sarah asked Erica.
"Three." she said.
"Pizza?" Sarah said hopefully.
Mike groaned, "I should have known!"
"What?" Tina said.
"Sarah loves pizza. She never gets tired of it." Mike explained.
"That could work. If we go to the same pizza place at about the same time, you two can just 'happen' to be in the bathroom at the same time and make your switch." Charlotte said thoughtfully.
"So...five?" Sarah said happily.
"Okay, five o'clock it is." Charlotte agreed after glancing at the others and receiving no argument.
"Okay, we'll see you then." Tiffany said. They all stood and walked back into the shop with Charlotte. Charlotte asked what pizza place to meet at, so Mike told her the name of Sarah's favorite.
Charlotte stopped at the door and turned towards them, "Look, I know we're both holding some things back. And now really isn't the time to compare notes. But it sounds like you five are on your own. I know what that's like, having this big secret that you can't talk to anybody about. If you'd like, we can get together again after this is over." she said.
"That might be a good idea." Mike agreed. "We'll have to switch these two back, anyway."
The others nodded and they said goodbye to Charlotte. This is a very fortuitous encounter. Vash sent. They seem to be connected to a lot of people with magical abilities in this area. This is just the sort of connection Mana suggested we make.
But what do we do now that we've made it? Tiffany wondered.
Get to know them, for now. Then we can tell them what Mana told us, and start to work out some way to move forward from here. Jill sent.
Sounds good to me. Erica thought as they climbed into Mike's car.
Mike parked in his usual spot and they went into his apartment since it was closest. "What shall we do for the rest of the day?" he asked.
Erica was looking at Sarah and said, "I'd like to spend some time with Sarah. I might not see her again for at least a few days after I leave tomorrow."
"You haven't had much time alone together lately, have you? Especially with me moving in with you." Tiffany said apologetically.
"Why don't you spend the day with us and let the love birds have some time alone?" Jill suggested.
"What about you two?" Tiffany asked.
"We get lots more time together than they do." Mike said. "Don't worry about it."
"I guess we'll see you in the morning, then." Erica said, pulling Sarah to her feet.
"Bye." Sarah said with a wave.
"Have fun." Jill said with a smile.
"I think we can manage that." Erica replied, grinning. She kept a hold of Sarah's hand and led her out of the apartment.
"What did you want to do?" Sarah asked. "I can open a portal back to our place if you want."
Erica shook her head, "No, I want to do things the old fashioned way for now. No magic or powers. Just a night out with the most wonderful woman in the world."
Sarah blushed, "I think that's my line."
"We'll have to agree to disagree on that one." Erica replied, smiling.
"So...where are we going?" Sarah asked as she found herself at the passenger door of her car.
Erica shrugged, "No idea. Let's find out!"
Erica drove aimlessly for a while until they ended up at a park she used to hike around in. "Let's go for a walk?" she suggested. Sarah nodded, so she parked and they got out. They wandered around the park arm in arm silently, content to be together without distraction.
Some time later the silence was broken by the grumbling of Sarah's stomach. "I suppose you want pizza?" Erica said with a grin.
"Whatever you want is fine with me." she replied.
"Okay, how about that Italian place?" Erica suggested, referring to one of their favorite places to go when Erica was still going to school there.
"Sure!" Sarah agreed.
They talked about how they'd arrange getting together once Erica was back at school over calzones and spaghetti. After dinner they headed back to the apartment. There they continued their conversation on the couch, until Erica realized that Sarah had stopped talking.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"You're going to be gone for six months. I wish you didn't have to go." Sarah said softly.
Erica pulled Sarah closer and let her rest her head on her shoulder, "I wish I didn't have to go, too. But we'll still see each other all the time, right?"
Sarah shrugged, "I guess."
"C'mon, I know what will cheer you up!" Erica said while pulling Sarah to her feet.
"What?" Sarah asked.
Erica started pulling her towards the bedroom, "Do I have to spell it out for you?"
"Isn't it a bit early to go to bed?" Sarah said.
"Who plans on sleeping?" Erica replied with a grin.
"Hey there, beautiful. I think Jill's here with breakfast." Erica said.
"You don't seem to be in a big hurry to get up." she replied.
Erica smiled, "That's because I'm enjoying the view."
Sarah blushed and rolled out of bed. Erica sighed and followed suit, throwing a robe on before opening the door for Jill. "Good morning!"
"Good morning you two. Have a nice night?" Jill replied, holding a plate heaped with bacon and scrambled eggs.
Erica glanced dreamily at Sarah, "Oh, yeah!"
Sarah blushed again and turned to the closet to pick out clothes for the day. Jill laughed and handed the plate to Erica. "The rest of us are in the kitchen, come out whenever you're ready."
"Thanks." Erica said as she took the plate. Jill closed the door behind her.
"How did you guess it was Jill with breakfast?" Sarah asked as she dressed.
Erica sat at Sarah's desk. Frowning, she said, "I guess I must have tapped into your telepathy or something. I just knew she was there with food. Although I guess I could have smelled that."
Sarah shrugged before sitting on Erica's lap and stealing a piece of bacon, "Guess so."
Sarah insisted on feeding Erica, not that she minded. Once they were both finished and dressed they went out to see the others, with Sarah holding tightly onto Erica as if she'd vanish at any moment.
There were knowing grins when Mike asked how their day was, which caused Sarah to blush and almost hide behind a grinning Erica.
The others had already finished eating so, once the dishes were dealt with in their now-usual spectacular fashion, they retired to the living room.
"Are you ready for this afternoon?" Jill asked Sarah.
She nodded, "Yeah, I guess so. I'm not too worried about Nathaniel. The vision shows me, as Willow, being okay after all. I'm just not looking forward to Erica leaving."
Erica hugged her and nodded her agreement. "Just remember," she said, "that we'll only be a portal apart. And we can keep in touch telepathically whenever we want."
Sarah snuggled up against her and nodded.
"Are you packed yet?" Jill asked.
"Oh yeah, I forgot." Erica said, looking reluctantly down at Sarah.
"Why don't we do it for you?" Jill suggested, indicating Tiffany and herself.
"Sure, that would be great." Erica replied, smiling down at Sarah.
Tiffany and Jill went to get Erica's bags packed. Mike was about to say something when the phone rang. He answered it, and then brought it over to Sarah, "It's your mom."
Sarah sat up and took the phone. After a brief conversation that started with a startled, "What?!" and ended with a reluctant, "Okay, Mom." she handed the phone back to Mike.
"What was that about?" he asked.
"Mom got a call from the police because Dad got in a fight in a bar or something. He's in the hospital." Sarah said, stunned.
"Wow. Do you want to go see him?" Mike said.
"I'm not sure, but Mom asked me to. She said she was still too mad to see him right now." Sarah replied.
"And you agreed, naturally." Erica said. Sarah nodded. "Then I'll go with you. I still don't trust that man to be alone with you, even if he is in the hospital."
Sarah didn't argue. "Why don't we all come with you?" Mike suggested.
"We'll be done in a sec!" Jill yelled out from Sarah's room.
"How did she..." Erica started to ask, but Mike just tapped his head. "...right, telepathy. You would think I would be used to that by now."
He shrugged, "Who is? Even Jill finds it weird at times, and she's been dealing with it the longest. It's almost as natural as breathing for her now but it's still new."
A few minutes later Tiffany and Jill joined them with Erica's bags. They left them at the door on their way to Mike's car.
"If we're going to be traveling together a lot we might want to look into a bigger car." Jill mused as she watched Tiffany, Erica and Sarah squeeze into the backseat.
"Once we start selling stuff that shouldn't be a problem." Mike said.
The rest of the drive was quiet. As they were walking into the hospital Tiffany broke the silence, "It just occurred to me that we might never need this place."
"We still could end up here if something happens to one of us. Sarah can't always be there to heal us." Mike pointed out.
"But we have the healing water, and Erica doesn't need any of that." she replied.
"But if we're in a car accident or something we could end up at the hospital before we have a chance to do anything else." Jill said.
"I guess." Tiffany said thoughtfully.
"If that does happen we have to hold back on the healing, at least for now. Otherwise the doctors will notice us recovering too quickly. Not that it's an option for me. Or possibly for Sarah, either." Erica said, making sure nobody was close enough to hear her.
Perhaps we should keep this conversation mental, just to be safe? Vash suggested.
Good idea. What will we do if Erica ends up in the hospital somehow? She'd heal automatically and that would be pretty hard to hide. Mike thought.
We may have to rely on Vash or Jill to clear things up for us if something like that happens. Erica replied.
Can you actually do that?! Mike thought to Jill.
She nodded uncertainly, I think so. I've never tried it, though, and I'd rather not. Who knows what kind of brain damage or something I might do?
If done properly there should be no permanent damage, but it is a tricky thing to do. Also, the lack of memories can be as troublesome as the memories themselves. Even more so, in some cases. Vash added.
How could that be more troublesome? Tiffany asked as Erica asked the receptionist where Sarah's father was.
If someone's memory suddenly has a hole in it they are likely to try and find out what they've forgotten. That could lead to a lot of awkward questions. Vash replied.
Armed with the location of Sarah's father they headed for the elevators. Didn't we have this conversation before, about the FBI guy? Mike wondered.
I think so. Anyway, erasing memories should be a last resort. If we even consider it at all. There are too many problems, along with the moral issues. Jill sent.
Erica snorted at that, but didn't think anything that Sarah thought should be passed on. Uh, how about we just avoid hospitals?
Mike shrugged as he hit the up button on the elevator, We can try. I'd rather not need them anyway.
It is almost inevitable that one or more of you will find yourselves in a hospital at some point. But we should certainly attempt to keep that from happening for as long as possible. Once magic is better known, or Mr. Gardner has a better network established to keep it hidden, it might not be the problem it would be now. Vash said.
There was silence as they waited for the elevator. Nobody 'spoke' up until after they'd gotten to the correct floor. I wonder what he was doing getting in a bar fight? Mike wondered.
I'm wondering how badly hurt he is. Mom didn't say anything, but maybe she wanted me to heal him? Sarah thought uncertainly.
He's probably just beat up. Serves him right, if you ask me. Erica thought angrily.
Erica! Sarah exclaimed, barely managing to do so mentally rather than verbally.
What?! After all he's done I'm entitled to hold a grudge! Erica replied. You certainly won't do it.
A short walk later they reached his room. He was asleep. "He doesn't look too bad." Mike said.
A nurse came in to check up on him as they were about to walk into the room. Erica talked to her while Sarah hesitantly walked over to her father's side. She began feeling odd things from him, but couldn't put her finger on what it was. Vash? Do you feel this? she asked.
Yes. I'm afraid I'm not any better able to identify it than you are. Something is definitely going on with him, but what is still unclear. It might be best to keep an eye on him until it is; he could cause some problems or get hurt if we don't. Vash replied thoughtfully.
She was troubled after visiting her father. Not only was his power beginning to manifest, though still unidentifiable, but there was something wrong with him. She couldn't put her finger on what, though.
"What's bothering you?" Erica asked as they stepped onto the elevator.
"He's changed. There's so much anger in him." she replied.
"But that's rather normal for him, isn't it? Especially since he did lose just about everything, even though he brought it all on himself. And he's probably still blaming you or your mom for it all." Erica said.
Sarah shook her head, "No, it's not just that. And most of his anger seems to be aimed at himself, anyway. Something's bothering him, but he won't talk about it."
"There's not much you can do until he lets you in. Although him developing a power is rather disturbing. With his track record that could be bad." Jill said.
While I cannot yet identify his power, I feel that it is more of a danger to him than to anyone else at this point. It is good that you got his new address out of him, Sarah. We're going to need to keep an eye on him. If you don't mind, I think I'll fly by at night to see if his dreams reveal anything about his state of mind, or his powers. Vash said.
You can spy on his dreams?! Sarah thought as the elevator opened on the ground floor.
It isn't much different than reading waking thoughts. In some ways it is even easier. Though interpreting the meaning of dreams can be difficult. he replied.
Maybe we should take turns or something? I don't want you exhausting yourself. Jill thought worriedly.
Vash mentally chuckled, Don't worry, I don't need much sleep. And I won't spend the entire night there. I'll just stop by for an hour or so. And the rest of you are ill-suited for this. Except perhaps Tiffany, but she needs her rest much more than I do.
"Yeah," Tiffany agreed, "and I still need to see about getting myself a new place to live."
"Not on your own. After what happened I have to agree with Mana. We need to stick together. Once we've got some money together from the business we'll see about getting a bigger place for all of us. In fact, we need to talk to Mary about that." Mike said.
"I should tell her how things went with Dad, anyway. I guess I can call her when we get back." Sarah said.
"Why not pay her a visit?" Erica suggested.
Sarah smiled, "Yeah, we could do that. We've still got some time before your flight. I know Mom will be happy to see you again."
"We won't have time if we drive, so I suppose we should go home first and portal over?" Mike asked as they walked toward his car. Sarah nodded.
A short drive later they stepped briefly into Sarah's apartment before portaling over to Mary's house. Thanks to a quick telepathic message from Sarah she was expecting them. "Hello again! How are you all doing?" she asked after getting hugs from each of them and scratching Vash behind the ears.
"Fine." Sarah said less than enthusiastically.
"She's unhappy about me leaving today." Erica explained to Mary's concerned expression.
"Oh, I see. But can't you communicate now? Or doesn't that work over such distances?" she said.
"We can, but she's still a little down about it. Frankly, I'm not too happy about it either. It's almost like we've just discovered each other. I suppose, in a way, we have." Erica replied thoughtfully.
Mary nodded, "I suppose I can see that. You've learned a lot about each other, particularly about Sarah, over the last couple of weeks. But you'll have a long time to spend together after you get back."
Erica laughed, "You don't know the half of it!"
Mary looked curiously at Erica and was about to ask what she meant when they began to fill her in on Mana's visit. Erica went on to explain what Sarah would be doing for the next couple of days or so, which would preclude them from visiting until Nathaniel was caught.
Mary shook her head in amazement, "You certainly have an interesting life. Quite a change from the simple life you had not so long ago, isn't it dear?"
Sarah nodded, snuggling up to Erica, "Yeah, the biggest thing I used to have to worry about was waiting for Erica to get back and dealing with the jerks at work."
"So, I suppose one of the reasons for visiting was to talk to me about this moving in together business this Mana woman was talking about?" Mary asked.
"That, and our visit with Dad." Sarah said.
"You saw him already? How was he?" Mary said.
Sarah shrugged, "He wasn't very communicative. He's not hurt badly, but there's something weird going on with him. Vash is going to try and figure it out. But we think he's developing his own magical power now."
Mary gasped, "Not him! How will we handle that?!"
Jill shook her head, "Vash doesn't think his power is a threat to anyone else but himself right now. That's part of the reason Vash is going to keep an eye on him. He seems to have mellowed out some, though. Not that he's really in any better shape, he's just shifted his anger inward."
Mary shook her head sadly, "I do wonder what ever went wrong with him. I hope he can get his act together before anything else bad happens."
"So," Erica said, hoping to get things on a lighter topic, "what do you think of moving in together, once we have the money to get a bigger place?"
"I wouldn't mind. It's rather lonely here all by myself. If I sell the house I can help with the cost of the new one." Mary said.
"Don't worry about that yet. Once the business is up and running we should have enough income to get the house and cover the payments. Once that's done you can move in and sell this house if you want to or not. We shouldn't be hurting for money at that point." Erica said.
Mary hadn't heard anything about their business plans yet, so they spent some time filling her in while she and Tiffany prepared sandwiches for everyone. They brought her up to date with all that was going on while they ate, even getting her into their telepathic conversation a little.
"Are you sure this Nathaniel business is safe, Sarah?" Mary asked once she understood what Sarah was going to do.
Sarah shrugged, "I don't see why not. Without that talisman thing he's basically just a normal guy. I've got Mike's training, Erica's strength, my girlifying touch thing, and my other magic to fight him with. If all else fails I can just portal away."
Mary frowned, "Even so, I'd feel better if someone else was there to keep you safe."
"But we can't, or Nathaniel won't show." Mike said.
"What about Vash?" Mary replied, looking hopefully at Vash where he was polishing off his fourth sandwich.
He flicked his tail dismissively, As if I would do anything else?
Mary smiled, "In that case I suppose it won't be so bad. Just the same, I don't want you taking too many chances. Is that understood young lady?"
Sarah smiled, happy to have her mother accept her so easily as a woman, "Of course Mom. If I'm in trouble I'll open a portal and get Mike and Jill there right away."
That seemed to satisfy Mary. It was getting late, so they said goodbye. Erica hugged Mary, "I hope you'll help Sarah with the wedding plans while I'm gone?"
Mary smiled, "Of course! I'm looking forward to it. But you'll have some input, too, won't you?"
Erica shrugged, "I'm not too picky, so long as it happens! And I think Sarah has some ideas about what she wants anyway. So long as she's happy I'm happy."
"Well, we'll make sure to keep you in the loop anyway. Make sure to make some time for my daughter and not get caught up in a lot of wild parties while you're away!" Mary said.
Erica laughed, "I doubt I'll have a lot of time for wild parties. Besides, I can assure you that any spare time I have will be spent with Sarah there, or out here. I'm already missing her and I haven't even left yet!"
Mary laughed and said goodbye again and watched as they disappeared into one of her daughter's portals.
"Do you really have to go?" Sarah whined as they sat in the waiting area.
Erica sighed, "I wish I didn't, but all that time at Harvard would be wasted if I stopped now. It's only six months out of an eternity. That can't be so bad, can it?" Her words were as much for her own benefit as Sarah's and they both knew it.
"I suppose. I'm going to miss you like crazy though!" Sarah said, grabbing onto Erica and holding her tight like she might vanish if she let go.
"Same here." Erica agreed, wrapping her arms around Sarah and squeezing as hard as she dared. They were still like that when the call came for her flight to board. They slowly and reluctantly released each other.
"Hey, remember! You're only a portal away. You'll probably be seeing each other within minutes of this Nathaniel guy being taken care of if I know you two." Mike said with a grin.
Sarah blushed, as that was exactly what she wanted. Erica grinned, "Yeah, I guess it's not so bad." she said, though she still sounded sad.
"Go on, or you'll miss your flight." Jill said, giving Erica a quick hug and pushing her towards the door. Mike gave her a quick hug as well.
"Don't worry, we'll keep her safe until you get back to stay." Tiffany said. For that she got a hug before Erica hurried to catch her flight. She stopped at the door to blow a kiss to Sarah before stepping through and out of sight.
Sarah seemed to curl in on herself slightly as soon as Erica was out of sight. "Hey, you managed for much longer than six months before now. You'll be okay. And you'll see a lot more of each other this time. Come on, we can watch her plane if you want." Mike said.
Sarah nodded and let herself be led to the large windows looking out on the runway. Her eyes stayed glued to the plane until it had moved beyond the bend in the building and was lost to sight.
"Come on, let's go do something mindless for a bit to get your mind off things." Jill suggested, tugging on her arm. Tiffany took her other arm and she reluctantly allowed them to lead her away from the window.
Mike drove them back to his apartment where he got a game going with Sarah. Jill pulled Tiffany aside once she was sure Sarah was fully involved in the game, "Are you going to be okay keeping an eye on Sarah, at least when she's not switched with Willow? She's liable to become depressed without Erica around. Especially after some of the things that have happened to her recently."
Tiffany nodded, "That had occurred to me. After all, she saw her father try to kill her mother, even if he was out of it at the time, and they're getting a divorce. And there was the attack from John, too, as well as all that stuff that happened when she was a kid. I'll keep an eye on her and pass the word on to Tina at work so she can let Rose know she'll be delicate for a while. Hopefully we'll catch Nathaniel quickly and get her back with us."
"Thanks, she really has been through the ringer lately. If not for how well things are going with Erica now, and their engagement and the bond, I'd really be worried. She's been depressed most of her life, especially when Erica isn't around, so I do worry about her." Jill said.
Tiffany put her hand on Jill's shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her as best I can. She's kind of like a sister to me. I'm not sure why I got so attached to her so quickly but she really is important to me."
"Perhaps you were looking for a family?" Jill suggested.
Tiffany shrugged, "Yeah, maybe."
They returned to the living room to see Mike doing abnormally well against Sarah in one of her favorite games. Jill glanced at the clock and was almost relieved to see it was almost five. "We'd better get going guys." she said.
They nodded and shut down their game. They went out to Mike's car and Tiffany got in the back with Sarah. Sarah was staring blankly out the window when Tiffany grabbed her hand in both of hers. Sarah looked over in surprise and Tiffany laughed, "Don't worry, I'm not trying to put the moves on you or something. I don't swing that way. I just hate to see you looking so sad."
Sarah smiled weakly, "Thanks, but I'm okay. I can still feel Erica in my mind, at least."
"I'm surprised you're not talking up a storm right now!" Mike said with a laugh.
"She's taking a nap." Sarah replied with a shrug.
Mike nodded, "Yeah, makes sense. It's a long flight."
They were silent the rest of the drive, but Tiffany kept hold of Sarah's hand. When they arrived Sarah gave Tiffany's hands a squeeze and smiled before getting out of the car. Once inside they went ahead and ordered a large pepperoni pizza in hopes it might cheer Sarah up a little. When they took their seats they saw that Willow, Rose, Charlotte and Tina were seated on the other side of the room and already eating. They carefully didn't look at them. "This is kind of awkward, isn't it?" Mike said.
Remember not to say anything aloud about why we're here. Vash reminded him.
"I'd really gotten used to Erica being here the last couple of weeks." Mike said to cover his mistake.
They made small talk while they waited for their pizza. When it came Sarah ate slowly, not looking forward to the switch. Finally she'd eaten all she could. Jill looked significantly at her. She nodded and headed for the bathroom. She was just checking to see if anyone else was in the bathroom when Willow stepped in. "It's kind of like a spy movie, huh?" Willow said excitedly.
"Uh, yeah, I guess so." Sarah replied weakly. Fortunately the room was empty. "Lets go in here in case anyone comes in." She pointed towards the disabled toilet. Willow nodded and followed her in, closing the door behind her.
"So, what do I have to do?" Willow asked.
"Nothing, just stand still." Sarah replied. She decided she'd better start with changing herself while she still had Willow in front of her to see what she needed to look like. In a moment she was back to being Willow's twin.
"That is so cool!" Willow breathed. Then yelped in surprise when Sarah touched her arm and felt her body change. She could feel that she was a little taller than before. "Is that it?" she asked.
Sarah nodded, "Yeah, that's it. Maybe you should go look in the mirror so you have a better feel for what you look like now."
Willow nodded and practically bounced out of the stall. Standing at the mirror she gazed in fascination at her changed body. "Is this an illusion, or real?" she asked.
"It's real, I don't know how to do illusion." Sarah replied, looking in the mirror herself.
"I guess we'd better swap clothes." Willow said, noticing how tightly her clothes fit now.
"Oh yeah, I hadn't thought about that." Sarah said.
"Come on, it'll only take a minute." Willow said, walking back into the stall. She turned and looked at Sarah expectantly.
"Uh, in there?" Sarah said uncertainly.
Willow nodded, "Sure, we're both girls, right? But I guess I could go into the stall next door if you're shy."
"Uh, if you don't mind..." Sarah said apologetically.
Willow shrugged, "It's fine." She stepped out and into the next stall. Moments later she tossed her clothes up on the dividing wall for Sarah to take. Sarah quickly followed suit and changed into Willow's clothes. Willow had been wearing some rather tight fitting jeans and a t-shirt that seemed a size too small to Sarah. She felt very self-conscious when she stepped back out of the stall.
"Now that we're wearing the right clothes this really feels weird! It's like I'm looking into a mirror when I look at you, but when I do look in the mirror I see you. If that makes any sense." Willow said.
"Yeah, I feel the same way." Sarah replied absently.
"Well, thanks for doing this Sarah!" Willow said.
"It's Willow, remember. And you're Sarah. But you're welcome." Sarah said.
Willow hugged Sarah, "I still can't believe I'm really getting to see all this cool magic! Now if only I could do more myself... Anyway, I guess we should get back to our tables."
"Remember which table you're going to, though." Sarah reminded her.
"Oh yeah," Willow said, stopping as she'd already started moving towards the door, "thanks for reminding me!" After a moment she started moving again. Sarah waited for a moment for Willow to get to the table before coming out and moving towards Charlotte's table. She tried hard not to look at Mike, Jill and Tiffany as she went, feeling very lost and alone now that she had to pretend not to be with them. When she got to Charlotte's table she sat in the seat Willow had been using and wondered what she should do now.
"You've eaten, I hope?" Charlotte asked, noticing Sarah looking down at the empty pizza pan.
She nodded, "Yep." She tried to copy Willow's energetic tone but it wasn't easy.
Charlotte smiled, "Good. I guess we should be going." No one spoke as they got up and walked to the door. Sarah was painfully aware of her friends sitting across the room as she went out the door.
Charlotte nodded, "Yes, we should be alright in here. But remember to use the right name."
Tina nodded, "Okay. How are you doing Willow?"
It took Sarah a moment to remember she was supposed to be Willow, "Uh, fine, thanks!" Her efforts at copying Willow's enthusiasm were weak at best.
"This is going to be awkward, isn't it?" Rose said, looking away from Sarah.
"Yes, but hopefully it's only for one day. Try to act like nothing is wrong. Rose?" Charlotte said, glancing at Rose.
"Sorry, this is just really weird." Rose said, looking back at Sarah apologetically.
"That's okay, it's weird for me, too." Sarah said, looking down at the table.
"Perhaps it would be best if you continued your lessons with Rose and Willow?" Charlotte suggested, looking at Tina.
Tina looked surprised, "Are you sure?"
Charlotte nodded, "Yes. We need to continue as if nothing were different. And perhaps Willow will have some new insights into glyphs."
"Glyphs?" Sarah asked.
"It's a new way to do magic Grandma introduced me to. We've been working on developing it more since we don't really know how to use it all that well yet. Come on, I'll tell you all about them." Tina said, standing and beckoning for Sarah to follow her. Rose fell in behind them as they walked up the stairs to Tina's room. "I'm kind of surprised Grandma wants me to tell you about glyphs, I wasn't even sure you knew how to do magic like we do." she said once they were all seated on Tina's bed.
Sarah shrugged, "A friend of mine seems to think I could learn, and should, so that works for me."
"Cool." Tina said, and began explaining what they'd discovered about glyphs. That led to a discussion about a trance state she used to practice the glyphs without actually casting any spells in real life. Sarah found herself nodding off after a while, so Rose helped her to a guest room. Sarah felt odd all over again changing into Willow's pajamas but soon forgot about it as she crawled into bed and fell asleep.
Oh yeah, thanks. It's hard to believe this is actually Willow! Tiffany thought as she watched Willow sit. It was soon obvious what Vash was talking about; Willow was constantly fidgeting.
Remember not to include 'Sarah' in our telepathic conversation. We don't need to go into the whole conversation about how we're able to do this right now. And I don't want anyone knowing about Vash yet. Jill thought.
This is going to be tough. Mike thought, but aloud said, "Is everyone done?" Everyone nodded, "I guess we should head home then." No one argued, so he led the way back to his car.
Willow was bouncing along behind him, so Tiffany whispered, "You're depressed over your girlfriend being on the other side of the continent!" Willow looked shocked and almost scared for a moment before comprehension dawned. She nodded and tried to move in a more subdued fashion. It was still more energetic than Sarah had been moving, but it was better.
Once back in Sarah's apartment they all sat and stared at each other awkwardly. "So, uh, is it like, safe to talk here?" Willow asked.
Jill nodded, "I don't see why not. Nathaniel will be watching Willow, not you."
"But I am Willow." Willow said, confused.
"Not right now you're not, you're Sarah. It's important to keep that straight until Nathaniel is dealt with." Mike said.
Willow nodded, "Oh yeah, thanks. Sar... I mean Willow said the same thing earlier. This is so weird, but cool!"
"I wouldn't think this would be so impressive to you. Don't you do magic yourself?" Mike asked.
"Not very well." Willow said. "I've just been studying magic for a year or so. I can only do a couple of really simple spells, and only with a ritual circle and all the tools and stuff. Stuff like this is way out of my league!"
"But haven't you seen Rose or Tina or somebody do more impressive magic before?" Tiffany asked.
Willow shook her head, "They can do cooler stuff than me, but not that much. Hey, can any of you do magic like she does?"
Mike and Jill exchanged glances, Vash? What should we tell her? Jill asked.
Just your basic abilities. Don't tell her how powerful you are. If she asks for a demonstration I suggest Mike sticks to forms close to his own mass. Preferably animals that exist on this world. Tiffany's powers aren't too flashy, so there's no need to hide them. You should be careful, though. She might feel threatened if she knows you could hear her thoughts. Perhaps limit yourself to emotions? he replied.
What about Erica? Mike asked.
Without consulting Erica first, I think perhaps we shouldn't say anything about her. Her involvement in our group is as Sarah's fiance, so you can stick with that and ignore the Null element for now. Once we've had a chance to ask Erica we may say more. I don't think now is the best time to say too much, anyway. Vash said.
"I can do things with shadows." Tiffany said in answer to Willow's question.
"Cool!" Willow said, grinning. "Like what, though?"
Tiffany pulled the shadows in around her until she was invisible, then let them go. "Stuff like that. It's not a very powerful trick, really. It's only good for hiding." she said.
"But that's so cool!" Willow protested. "I'd have to set up a ritual circle and all the candles and stuff and still couldn't pull off a trick like that!"
So, the magic she knows is ritual in nature. I wonder if that's the same for Charlotte and the others? Vash wondered.
"Is that the only magic any of you know then?" Jill asked for Vash.
Willow shrugged, "I don't know about everybody, but Tina's been learning a new way of doing magic with these glyph things. She can't safely cast any spells yet, but she did cast a spell without a circle or anything once. But it knocked her out for a while."
"Maybe we should concentrate on making sure Sarah here is ready for her day at work tomorrow?" Jill suggested.
"Tina already filled me in some." Willow said.
"Well, I'm staying here until we get a new place, so we can spend the rest of the night making sure you're ready anyway." Tiffany said.
"I guess you don't really need us then." Mike said. He and Jill said goodnight.
Vash, will you check up on Sarah for me? Jill asked once they were back in their own apartment.
Certainly. I already planned on doing that. Then I'll check on her father. I'll stay with her until she switches back.
Thanks. Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow and this will be all over. Jill said hopefully.
Hopefully. Vash agreed. He rubbed up against her face for a moment and then disappeared out the door.
"Huh, funny to actually seem him open the door like that." Mike said, watching the door close.
"Yeah. I just hope Sarah will be alright. I'm starting to have second thoughts about all this." Jill said worriedly.
Mike shrugged, "It's not exactly the best timing for Sarah to have to deal with something like this, but she'll be fine. And once this problem is taken care of she can go visit Erica and that should get her cheered up a bit."
Interesting. He is highly conflicted about something, but is pushing hard not to look at it. And the anger he is feeling, even in his dreams, is excessive. Whatever could be fueling this, I wonder? Vash mused. He observed George's dreams until he slipped into a deeper, dreamless, sleep. Satisfied that he had learned as much as he was going to this night, he returned to Charlotte's shop. Going straight to Sarah's window he used his very limited telekinetic ability to open the window and crawled in. Hopping onto the bed he curled up next to her under the blankets so he wouldn't be seen and went to sleep himself.
Remember, you switched places with Willow. You're at Charlotte's home, in one of her guest rooms. You are currently wearing Willow's form. Vash replied.
Oh yeah. What are you doing here? Sarah asked.
I said I'd watch out for you. I also checked on your father. I do not know what the problem is yet. He is fighting to ignore or forget it. But I think it is a battle he is losing. Soon both he and I should know what the problem is. I'm sorry I couldn't find out more. Vash said.
That's fine, at least it sounds like something might give soon. I guess I need to get up and find out what I'm doing today. Sarah thought.
Don't worry, I'm not going to leave you alone either. Erica sent lovingly.
Erica! I didn't think I'd be hearing from you so soon! Sarah thought happily.
I knew you'd be stressing out. Besides, I have to make sure this Nathaniel guy doesn't hurt you. And don't worry, my classes today are mostly review stuff. Erica replied.
Okay, thanks. I was starting to feel kind of lonely. Sarah sent.
You won't be alone, even if you appear to be at times. We'll make sure of it. Vash added.
A knock at the door startled Sarah. "Willow, are you awake in there?" Rose called through the door.
"Uh, yeah." Sarah replied.
"Charlotte's making breakfast downstairs if you're interested." Rose said.
"Okay, I'll be down in a minute." Sarah said. She got out of bed and looked through the bag of Willow's clothes. There were only a couple more days worth of clothes, all of it pretty much the same as what she'd been wearing the day before. She reluctantly changed into the tight fitting, to her, clothes and went to look for the kitchen. Having already scouted the house, Vash easily led her down to it.
"Good morning Willow. I hope you slept well?" Charlotte said when she saw her.
"Uh, yeah, I did." Sarah said, still uncomfortable answering to Willow's name.
"Have a seat, breakfast will be done shortly." Charlotte said.
Sarah sat next to Tina with Rose on the other side of the table. She avoided their gaze and stared at the table.
"Uh, what would you like to do today Willow?" Rose finally asked.
Sarah shrugged, "I don't know."
"We could go to the mall, you always like that." Rose said, forgetting for a moment that Sarah wasn't really Willow. Sarah shrugged.
An uncomfortable silence descended, broken only when Charlotte brought breakfast to the table. Sarah picked at her pancakes in silence, painfully aware of three sets of eyes on her. Four, if she counted Vash.
Try to loosen up. They are not hostile. They are very glad you are doing this, in fact., Vash said.
I guess. But I don't know any of them, not even Tina really. What am I supposed to say? Sarah asked.
Vash had no answer to that, and the silence stretched until Tina got up and said she had to go to work. "Be careful today Willow. I'll see you later." she said, waving as she walked out the door. Sarah waved back weakly, feeling even more alone now that the only person she even partially knew was gone.
I'm still here, you know. Vash said in a mock-grumpy tone.
Sorry. Sarah said.
"Why don't we get going, too?" Rose suggested. Sarah shrugged, but got up when Rose did. Charlotte waved goodbye as they went out the door.
"So, which store do you want to hit first, or do you want to just cruise the mall?" Rose asked.
"Uh, I guess cruise?" Sarah replied uncertainly.
Rose led Sarah over to her car. They drove silently to the mall and walked in. Sarah tried to actually look around at the stores, something she hadn't really done as a girl yet, but still felt very awkward around Rose. For her part Rose seemed uncomfortable as well. Neither said much until Rose looked at her watch after they'd been cruising the mall for a couple of hours. "Oh no, I forgot!" she said.
"What?" Sarah asked.
"I have a doctor's appointment today. I'll be late unless I leave now. Do you want to come with me, or stay here?" Rose replied.
Nathaniel probably won't show himself until you are alone. You might as well let her go. Vash suggested.
"Um, I guess I'll stay." Sarah said.
Rose looked relieved, and a little guilty, "Okay. I shouldn't be long. I'll meet you in the food court, okay?"
"Sure. See you later." Sarah said. Rose nodded and walked back towards the parking lot.
Sarah looked around her, trying to decide if there was anything else in the mall she really wanted to look at. She realized she could hardly remember what they had looked at and figured she might as well take a walk outside of the mall for a while. She remembered seeing a park across the street so headed that way.
Good idea. Nathaniel is more likely to make a move when you aren't in such a crowded place, anyway, and I don't think you want this to drag on anymore than necessary. Vash said.
Sarah tensed up at his words, looking around fearfully. She couldn't see anybody that looked out of place, but she'd forgotten to ask what Nathaniel looked like.
I have a feeling you won't have any trouble identifying him when he arrives. Vash told her, hopping up on her shoulder and wrapping his tail around her neck. His purring served to calm her a little as she approached the park.
"Oops, sorry!" Willow said apologetically, "I didn't mean to frighten you. Um, would you like some waffles?"
Slowly Tiffany relaxed, letting the shadows melt away. "Uh, sure, that would be nice. Thanks." Once her heart had stopped pounding she walked over to the closet where most of her worldly possessions lay and pulled out some clothes. A quick shower and change later she was in the kitchen slathering butter on her waffles.
"So, when do we need to leave?" Willow asked. Tiffany could tell she was trying to remain calm, but her excessive energy made itself known in small movements and excessive hand gestures.
"We've got thirty minutes or so." Tiffany replied. Willow soon joined her at the table and they ate in silence. Once finished they began cleaning the dishes, which felt odd to Tiffany to do the mundane way after seeing Sarah and Jill use their powers to do the dishes over the last few days. Once finished they walked out to Tiffany's car in silence. On the drive over Tiffany went back over what Willow would need to do at work.
Once at work Tiffany reluctantly left Willow to do Sarah's job and went on to do her own. She was rather surprised at how well Willow seemed to do. At lunch she ate with Willow and Tina and answered some questions from Willow about the job, but she seemed to have gotten the hang of it remarkably well.
Willow noticed them both looking at her in surprise. "What, you thought this would be really hard for me? I'm pretty good at talking to people, most of the time. And I'm real comfortable with computers and electronics and stuff. This isn't that bad."
Tina shook her head, "You're full of surprises. I wonder how Sa...I mean, Willow is doing."
"How did she seem this morning?" Tiffany asked.
"Tense. Withdrawn. Or maybe just nervous. I don't know her that well." Tina replied.
"I meant to warn you, she's really depressed over her fiance going back to Harvard. She's also had a rough time lately in general. We're all worried about her. She's a lot stronger when Erica is here. If you could keep an eye on her, and ask Rose to do so as well, I'd really appreciate it." Tiffany said, mentally kicking herself for not saying something sooner.
"Sure, I'll call Rose right now." Tina said.
"Will she be okay with Nathaniel?" Willow asked while Tina stepped away to make her call.
Tiffany shrugged, "I wouldn't worry too much about that. Without a magical weapon he's not that dangerous. At least, not to someone like Sarah."
Tina returned a moment later, "I told Rose. She promised to keep an eye on her, but she's at a doctor's appointment right now. She should be back with Willow in an hour or so."
"Thanks, I'll feel better knowing somebody's watching out for her. She's kind of fragile." Tiffany said.
They went back to work after that. Tiffany was still worried about Sarah, but she had no way of contacting the others. Even so, she made sure to keep her mind as open as she could, so they could contact her if they needed to.
About an hour later her caution was rewarded when she heard Vash in her mind, Tiffany, we need you!
"Willow!" a man screamed. Turning, she saw a very goth guy running towards her with some kind of big knife in his hand. He had his arm cocked like he was going to stab her. He was running towards her and she had a horrible feeling of deja vu. Suddenly it was John she saw. She tried to run, but he was already too close.
It's Nathaniel, not John! Vash yelled into her mind, but she didn't seem to hear.
"You'll die for betraying me!" Nathaniel screamed, bringing the knife down towards Sarah's face. Sarah panicked, but Mike's training took over. She stepped to the side and kicked the knife out of his hand. Then she began to run, but tripped and fell onto the grass, curling up into a ball in fear.
Sarah! John is dead! Nathaniel is not a threat anymore! Snap out of it! Vash screamed.
Sarah ignored him, huddled in a ball waiting fearfully for something she didn't dare even think about. Vash rubbed up against her and she grabbed and held him again, as she had before when the memory of her mother first surfaced. But nothing he did would get through to her. Glancing across the concrete path he saw that Nathaniel was in a somewhat similar shape. Tiffany, we need you! he called out.
She stopped and tried to calm herself so she could think. Finding an empty seat in the food court she sat down and closed her eyes. She tried to focus on Sarah and prayed for guidance. Nothing happened for long moments, but then she thought she felt a pull. Opening her eyes she moved in that direction. Soon she was at one of the exits of the mall. The pull seemed to be coming from the direction of the park. Hoping she wasn't too late, she ran to the light and waited impatiently for it to change. She considered running across, but it was a very busy intersection and she'd almost certainly get hit.
As soon as the light changed she ran across the street into the park. It didn't take her long to find Sarah and a goth woman. The goth woman seemed to be in shock, sitting on the ground staring at herself. Rose dismissed her and ran over to Sarah. She was clutching something she couldn't see and rocking back and forth. Now what do I do? she wondered.
Try and hold her, it may help. a voice said in her mind. Startled, she fell on her butt beside Sarah. Shaking her head, she figured it was more guidance from her Goddess and crawled over to gently wrap her arms around Sarah. Sarah stiffened for a moment, and then released whatever she'd been holding and grabbed onto Rose. She gasped at Sarah's strength, but tried to calm her. Nothing she did seemed to help any. I wonder what happened to Nathaniel. she thought, hoping Sarah would calm before her ribs broke.
What happened? she thought, hoping Vash could still hear her.
She's alright, physically. Nathaniel is neutralized for the moment. Sarah needs her friends right now. Erica would be best, but we have no way of getting her here without Sarah. I'm contacting Jill and Mike, they will be there as soon as they can. Rose is here, but she could use some help. Vash said.
The park Vash directed her to was right across the street from the mall where she worked, so it only took minutes to get there. She parked as close as she could to where Vash said they were and ran into the park. She was confused by what she saw. The only people she could see was Sarah, clutching desperately at Rose, and some goth woman. Where's Nathaniel? she asked as she hurried to Sarah's side.
That other woman is Nathaniel. Sarah girlified him when she disarmed him. But she panicked, having a flash back of John's attack. I can't get through to her. Vash replied.
Tiffany glanced at Nathaniel, who was sitting on the ground and looking at herself in shock. She seemed completely unaware of everything around her. Shaking her head, she knelt down next to Sarah and hesitantly reached out to touch her shoulder. Sarah flinched at first, but then suddenly turned and grabbed onto Tiffany desperately. Rose sighed in relief. Now what? Tiffany asked, groaning as Sarah squeezed her harder than any girl as thin as her had a right to.
Erica, Jill and I are trying to calm her. Hopefully we will succeed before she breaks any of your bones. Vash replied.
How encouraging. she thought dryly.
"Is there anything I can do?" Rose asked.
"Maybe you should check on Nathaniel over there." Tiffany wheezed.
"Are you okay?" Rose asked worriedly.
"I'll be okay, I hope." she replied. Rose looked at her doubtfully, but went over to check on Nathaniel. Tiffany waited as patiently as she could as Sarah squeezed the life out of her. Finally, Mike pulled up behind Tiffany's car and Jill ran out. She knelt beside them and wrapped her arms around them both. Mike came up as well, but seemed hesitant to touch Sarah.
"What do I do?" he asked.
"She's still thinking of the attack from John. Maybe you should help Rose with Nathaniel." Jill suggested.
He shrugged and stepped over to where Nathaniel was still sitting in shock. She looked up at Mike, then Rose, and back down at herself. Then she started screaming.
Great. Mike thought.
The scream seemed to penetrate where nothing else had. Sarah suddenly relaxed, somewhat.
Sarah?! Can you hear me?! Erica was screaming over and over in her mind.
Erica? What happened? she asked tearfully.
Are you alright?! Erica cried frantically.
Um, I guess? Sarah replied, confused.
Open a portal! Erica said.
Rose and Nathaniel are here, I thought we were keeping my portals a secret? Sarah said, still not clear on what had happened.
We'll have to wait to bring you here, Erica. Vash said regretfully. But please stay in contact with Sarah.
Of course! Erica retorted angrily.
Seeing that Sarah was busy 'speaking' to Erica, Jill turned to Tiffany, who had fallen on her back when Sarah released her, "Are you okay?"
Tiffany groaned, "Uh, I'm not sure. She's really strong."
"Can you move?" Jill said.
Tiffany hesitantly tried to sit up. It hurt, but she was able to do it. Jill helped her to her feet "Let's see if we can help Mike, I don't think we're going to get anywhere with these two for a little while."
"Works for me." Tiffany replied, wincing as each step brought more pain to her chest where Sarah had squeezed her. She was sure she had broken ribs, or at least bruised.
Mike looked to be at a loss, but Rose had knelt beside Nathaniel and pulled her into her arms. The screaming was reduced to a whimper, and then sobs. "I suppose this explains why Nathaniel disappears in the vision." Jill said.
"Yeah." Tiffany wheezed in agreement.
Jill frowned at Tiffany, "You don't sound too good. Mike!"
Mike tore his gaze away from Nathaniel gladly, "What's up?"
"Tiffany's hurt. Would you take her to Sarah's?" Jill asked, adding silently, And use some healing water on her?
"Sure!" Mike agreed, glad to be able to do something useful.
"Maybe I should stay and help?" Tiffany asked.
"There's nothing you can do, especially in the shape you're in." Jill replied.
"Come on, it won't take us long." Mike said, gently pulling her towards his car.
Tiffany took another look back at Sarah. She still seemed confused and upset, but a lot better than she was. But she was having trouble breathing so allowed Mike to pull her with him to his car.
"What do you mean?" Tiffany asked.
"Well, look at this situation. We'd have to get Sarah calmed down some to get a portal open to get Erica here; if not for Rose and Nathaniel being there. And we'd normally have her heal you, too, but she's not with it enough for that right now. We kind of rely on her powers a lot, don't we?" he said thoughtfully.
Tiffany thought about that for a moment. "Yeah," she finally said, "I guess I can see what you mean. It's too bad none of us have any kind of healing powers. Maybe some of us should keep some healing water on us, or something?"
Mike nodded, "That's not a bad idea. It wouldn't be as easy for me, but you girls could keep some in your purses. When you carry one, that is. Jill often doesn't. I guess we'll have to talk about that later."
"Yeah." Tiffany croaked, wincing in pain when they hit the driveway for the apartment complex. Mike noticed and slowed down, driving very slowly and carefully over the speed bumps.
Once they were safely parked in Mike's spot he walked around the car and opened Tiffany's door. Carefully picking her up, he carried her to Sarah's door. He had to set Tiffany on her feet to get his key out to open the door. Once that was done he picked her back up and carried her to the couch. "I can walk, you know." she complained.
"Maybe, but you can't breath very well. You girls don't need me much anymore, let me have my moment." Mike said with a grin.
Tiffany couldn't help but grin back, "Okay, if it means that much to you." She started to laugh, but it quickly became a whimper.
"See, you're not in good shape. Just wait here a moment and we'll get you taken care of." Mike said, hurrying to the kitchen. He pulled out one of the bottles of healing water and helped Tiffany into a more upright position so she could take a drink. Instantly she was breathing better. Another sip and all her pain was gone.
"That's potent stuff!" she breathed, amazed at how good she felt.
Mike nodded, capping the bottle, "Yeah, it really is. I'm glad we have it. There's no telling when Sarah will be coherent enough to heal you and you were sounding really rough."
"Well, I feel great now. Let's get back and see if we can help any." Tiffany said, letting Mike help her up from the couch. It only took a few minutes to get back to the park. When they arrived they found that Sarah was now sitting on a park bench with Vash sitting on her lap, though they only knew this because she was petting him absently. Rose and Jill were sitting with Nathaniel on another bench.
"I wonder what he's making of all this?" Mike wondered.
"Probably totally freaked out. I know I would be." Tiffany replied. Mike nodded.
"I'm glad you're back Mike." Jill said when she noticed them. "I think we should get everyone over to Charlotte's to figure out what we're going to do from here."
"What about Sarah? Wouldn't it be better to take her home?" Mike asked.
"I'll be okay." Sarah said weakly.
Mike snorted, "Yeah, right. Why are all you girls so stubborn, anyway?"
"We should really get out of the open, though, and Charlotte's is closer. We can argue about it later." Jill said.
Rose looked oddly at Tiffany, but followed her to her car and helped Nathaniel in. Nathaniel still seemed out of it; too stunned to take in what had happened to him. Sarah and Tiffany got in Mike's car and they all drove to Charlotte's shop.
"Good thing Charlotte's shop is closed on Mondays." Rose said as they came into view. They went around to a back door and knocked. Charlotte opened the door and ushered them inside.
"What happened?" she asked once everyone was seated in the kitchen. She kept glancing at Nathaniel in confusion, "And who is this?"
"That's Nathaniel. Sarah transformed him in a panic when he attacked her. I think that's why he disappears in the vision." Jill explained. "She freaked out, though, so it took us a while to get the story out of her."
"Transformed?! Like she did Willow?" Charlotte repeated numbly.
"Kind of. She's done it in self defense a few times before." Mike explained.
"Is she alright?" Charlotte asked worriedly.
"She will be. The attack triggered a flash back of the time John attacked her at work." Jill said.
"Where are Willow and Tina?" Charlotte asked.
"We left them at work." Tiffany said.
"I'll call them and let them know what happened." Rose said, stepping out of the kitchen.
Charlotte stood and walked over to Sarah. She hugged her, "Thank you for helping Sarah. I'm sorry this mess brought up bad memories for you. If there's anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to say."
"Uh, okay." Sarah said, looking uncomfortable with the praise as usual.
"Now, what are we going to do with you?" Charlotte said, turning to Nathaniel. He looked up in confusion when she approached him.
"What's going on?" he asked weakly, stopping in surprise at the sound of his own voice. "How did this happen?!" he added, looking down at himself.
"You should have realized that attacking members of the magical community would have consequences, Nathaniel." Charlotte replied.
"Attacking?! What are you talking about?" he squeaked in surprise.
He's not faking, he has no idea what we're talking about. Vash said.
"Uh, Charlotte?" Jill said, waiting until she had her attention, "He really doesn't know."
Charlotte frowned, "And how do you know that?"
Jill shrugged and pointed to herself, "Empath."
"Oh my. You do have an interesting group, don't you? I've never encountered an empath who could say something like that with such certainty, however." Charlotte said.
"Trust me, if she says he doesn't know, he doesn't." Mike said.
Charlotte nodded, "Alright, I'm prepared to believe that. But why wouldn't he remember...?"
"You said that doing magic makes some guys unstable. Could that cause it?" Tiffany asked.
She nodded thoughtfully, "Yes, that just might. It's hard to say since we've never had an unstable practitioner transformed into a woman before but it does make sense. What do you remember, Nathaniel?"
He looked confused and closed his eyes in thought. Finally he shook his head and opened his eyes, "It's not real clear, now that you mention it. I've got flashes of the Coven, arguments, magical experiments, and not much else. I guess the clearest memories I have are all before I joined the Coven."
"That makes sense." Charlotte nodded. "But that still doesn't answer what we're going to do with you. Perhaps a meeting is in order."
"Meeting? What kind of meeting?" Jill asked curiously.
Charlotte waved it off, "Just a meeting of various representatives of the local magical community. We didn't use to get together very often, but things have been rather busy lately."
"Will you punish Nathaniel for what he did? 'Cause it doesn't seem like that would accomplish anything if he doesn't even remember it." Mike said.
"I can't say what we'd do; we've rarely had to deal with rogues before. But I agree that punishment would be counterproductive at this point." Charlotte replied.
"Uh, can't I change back?" Nathaniel asked hopefully.
"If you really want to, and Sarah's agreeable, yes. But think about this. If you change back, you won't be allowed to practice magic anymore. Nobody will be willing to teach you anything. It's just too dangerous with how you reacted before. And even with that you still might end up going down the same path you did before. On the other hand, being female has clearly changed the situation for the better. As a woman you could continue to learn magic, if that's what you really want. At least, I'm pretty sure you could. This is a new situation." Charlotte said.
"You would keep me from doing magic?!" Nathaniel asked in shock.
Charlotte nodded, "Yes, we'd have to. You tried to kill several people, Nathaniel. None of us will be willing to take the chance that you'll do it again. It would probably take some convincing to get the others to even agree to you changing back in the first place."
"I tried to kill people?!" he said.
Charlotte nodded, "That's right. You can see why letting you do magic as a man is not an acceptable option for us."
"They'll be here soon." Rose said as she stepped back in the room, oblivious to the conversation. Then she stopped, staring at Tiffany, "Hey, weren't you hurt?"
"Were you?" Charlotte asked.
Tiffany shrugged, "It's a really long story."
Charlotte stared into Tiffany's eyes for a long moment and finally nodded, "Alright, we'll leave that for later. Since Tina and Willow will be back soon I'll start calling around to see how soon we can get this meeting going."
Rose looked back and forth between Charlotte's departing form and Tiffany, "But, how..."
"Don't worry about it right now, Rose!" Charlotte called out.
Rose looked confused, but shrugged and sat next to Nathaniel. "So," she said, giving Tiffany one last odd look and turning to Nathaniel, "what are we going to call you now?"
"I'm really stuck like this?" he asked looking bewildered.
"Not really. You just have to decide which is more important to you. Going back to being a guy, or doing magic." Jill replied.
He shook his head, angrily pushing his hair out of his face, "You don't understand! I have to do magic. I need it! That means I'm stuck."
"Why do you need it?!" Jill asked.
He shrugged, "I don't know, it's just something I've always felt. That's why I joined the Coven in the first place. I couldn't find any real magic anywhere else."
"So, sounds like you're staying like you are. So what do we call you?" Rose asked again.
He groaned, "I guess you can call me Natalie, if you must."
"So, what will you do now. I don't suppose you'll have much luck picking up where you left off with your life." Rose said.
She shrugged, "I didn't have much of a life, anyway. I was living out of my car, wherever it is."
"Wait, you mean you don't have anything?!" Tiffany exclaimed.
She shrugged, "Just what I'm wearing, unless I can find my car. Even then it's not much."
"What about family?" Mike asked.
She laughed bitterly, "What family?! My Dad bailed on me when I was six. Mom drank herself to death a few years ago. I think I have some aunts and uncles somewhere, but I don't know where. And they wouldn't want to see me even if they could recognize me now."
"Don't you at least have friends?" Jill asked.
She shook her head, "No, I got pretty focused on magic a while back. What friends I had got frustrated with me and split. Can't say I blame them, really. It's not like most people would believe in it. But I always knew there was magic in me. Just couldn't figure out how to get it out."
Rose nodded, "That's a lot like Willow. She always felt drawn to the idea of magic, though she didn't actively pursue it until I told her about it."
Natalie frowned, "You're talking like she isn't sitting right over there?"
"Oh, yeah. Sarah, maybe you should change back so you don't confuse the poor girl more than she already is." Jill suggested.
Sarah leaned back and looked over at Natalie and willed herself back to normal. Natalie and Rose gasped in surprise. "How do you do that?!" Natalie breathed.
Sarah shrugged, "I'm not really sure."
"It's not fair. I've been looking for magic all my life and it just falls in your lap!" Natalie groused.
"I know how you feel." Willow said breathlessly as she walked in. "I'm really envious of Sarah, myself. Can you change me back now Sarah?"
Tina had walked in with Willow and stepped around her to look at Sarah. "Are you alright?" she asked, also breathing hard.
Sarah nodded weakly, "Yeah, I'm fine. Here, let me touch Willow so I can change her back." Tina stood back and Sarah tapped Willow's outstretched hand, changing her back instantly.
"Well, we lucked out." Charlotte said, walking up behind Tina. "Everybody is available to come over tomorrow night. I was afraid it would be a week or more."
"I suppose we should come back tomorrow, then?" Jill asked.
"Well, only Sarah really needs to be here." Charlotte replied.
"Can I come with her?" Tiffany asked. Erica can't make it, but I doubt you want to come alone, do you? she thought.
Thanks, you're right. Sarah replied.
"If you want, I suppose. We try to keep the meetings as small as we reasonably can, though." Charlotte said.
They all sat, who weren't already, and looked at each other uncomfortably. Charlotte cleared her throat, "Are you still open to talking now, as I suggested before?"
What about Natalie? Mike thought.
She is as deeply involved in magic as anybody can be. She has no reason to tell anyone about us and she has already seen Sarah's magic at work first hand. But it is up to you. Vash sent.
We might as well, she's probably going to be around a lot since she's so set on learning magic. Sarah thought.
"I suppose so." Jill said, glancing at Natalie.
"Willow, why don't you take Natalie here up to the guest room. She can sleep here tonight." Charlotte suggested.
Natalie grumbled at being left out but followed Willow upstairs.
"So, how long have you guys been doing magic, anyway?" Tina asked.
Mike thought about it a moment and said, "About a month, maybe a little more. That about right?" He looked to the others, who nodded.
"A month?!" Charlotte exclaimed.
Mike shrugged, "Yeah. We're still getting used to the idea. To be honest, we didn't know there were other people out there with magical abilities until a few days ago."
"Wow, you must have felt really isolated." Rose said.
"Not really, now that you mention it. We had other things to focus on at the time." Jill said thoughtfully.
"Like what?" Tina asked.
How much shall we say? Vash asked.
I still think we should leave the portals out of it. If for no other reason than people might want to use Sarah to get a magical boost. Jill thought.
Just start with Sarah's transformation, then. They'll assume it was because of her shape shifting ability. Vash advised.
But... I don't really want everyone knowing I used to be a guy, if I can help it. Sarah protested.
Like you were ever a guy? Erica replied affectionately. Tina already knows. The others might, now, too, if she's said anything. But we won't say anything if you don't want us to.
Thanks! Sarah replied, wishing Erica were with her physically as well as mentally.
Perhaps we should focus on the FBI involvement, then? Vash suggested.
Okay. Jill agreed, "We made a few mistakes early on and attracted some attention. We were focused on trying to seem normal."
Charlotte nodded, "Yes, the fear of all of us in the magical community is to attract attention. Well, most. Do any of the rest of you have magical ability besides Sarah and Jill?"
"Jill?!" Tina exclaimed. "I didn't know Jill was magical, too!"
Jill shrugged, "I'm an empath. I can sense people's emotions."
"Wow, that's so cool!" Willow exclaimed as she walked back into the room. "Oh, and Natalie's taking a nap." she said to Charlotte.
She nodded, turning to Sarah and the others and said, "You all have some kind of magical ability, don't you?"
Mike nodded, "Sure. I'm the shape shifter. I've never done stuff like Sarah did, I wonder if I could?, but I can take animal forms."
"So shape shifters really aren't extinct!" Charlotte said thoughtfully.
Mike shrugged, "It's not like it's hereditary or anything. Came as much of a surprise to me as anyone else."
Tina turned to Tiffany, "What about you?"
"Shadows." Tiffany replied, pulling them in briefly and releasing them again.
"Cool!" Willow said.
"What about Erica?" Rose asked.
"She's just immune to magic." Jill said.
Charlotte gaped, "Do you... have any idea... what a big deal it is to be immune to magic?!"
Sarah looked confused, "What's the big deal?"
"What's the big deal?! In the old days when magic was stronger people like Erica were used as weapons against powerful magic users! In fact, it would probably be a good idea to not tell anyone else about her immunity." Charlotte said.
Sarah looked shocked and nodded numbly. Did you get that? she asked.
Yeah, I'm pretty much sharing your perceptions right now. I hadn't thought of that angle, but I guess it makes sense. Maybe in the future we can just say I'm resistant to magic? Erica mused.
Perhaps. That would still be of similar interest, though. Vash said.
"So... does that mean Erica can't do magic?" Willow asked.
"I assume so." Sarah replied.
"Oh, man, that sucks!!" she said.
Sarah shrugged, "I don't think she feels like she's missing anything, really."
True. Erica agreed. Besides, I have my beautiful fiance for that! Sarah blushed and stared at the floor again, hoping nobody would notice.
Should I mention my telepathy and telekinesis as well? Jill wondered.
They already know we're all unusually powerful, so I don't see why not. Mike thought.
"Um, I wasn't totally honest about my abilities before..." Jill said.
"Well, I'm also telepathic and telekinetic." she said.
"Whoa! You guys got all the good stuff!" Willow said in awe. Tina, Rose and Charlotte could only nod in agreement.
"How is it that you five have all suddenly shown such powerful magical abilities?" Charlotte asked.
We really should have worked this out before having this conversation. Mike thought ruefully.
Tell them Sarah was the catalyst, just not how. Or tell them about the portals, but I'm certain Willow at the least would be extremely eager to make use of them if she knew. Vash suggested.
I still think we should keep the portals to ourselves for now. Jill replied, before saying aloud, "Sarah kind of started it all off. We all developed our abilities slowly after she started using hers."
Charlotte frowned, then nodded, "I suppose that makes sense. Being aware that magic exists, and being in close proximity to active magic, could have both a psychological as well as a metaphysical effect."
"Huh?" Willow said.
"Most people don't believe in magic until confronted with irrefutable evidence." Charlotte explained. "Once faced with that evidence, any dormant magical ability they might have would slowly awaken now that their disbelief was no longer suppressing it. Also, being in the presence of active magic, especially if it's used on you, could have a synergistic effect." At Willow's baffled look she said, "Basically you'd get a jump start to your magical abilities."
"Oh, okay. So why am I so bad at it, though?" she asked.
"You're not bad at it!" Tina protested.
"Yeah I am! I've learned a lot from Rose and her aunt, as well as from you. But I still have to work really hard to get even the simplest spell to work." Willow said.
Everyone interacts with the magic within them in different ways, particularly in this universe. She may be going about it incorrectly. Vash suggested.
"Maybe you're just trying too hard to use magic the same way everyone else you know does?" Jill said.
"What other way is there?" Willow asked in confusion.
Charlotte looked thoughtful as Willow turned to her, "There is sense in what she says. After all, look at Tina. She's very good at ritual magic, but she has also picked up glyphs remarkably well. I doubt anyone else I know could have cast that spell that she did without killing themselves. If at all. Perhaps Willow has yet another approach to magic that we are either not recognizing or just aren't familiar with. There is a lot of information that has been lost over time. Perhaps you should talk to Trent. His library might have something in it that could help."
"Really?!" Willow said hopefully.
"I can't promise anything, but it's possible. You'll need to be at the meeting tomorrow anyway, since you were involved in all of this, so you can ask him about it then." she replied.
"Okay, thanks!" Willow said happily.
"Who else is going to be at this meeting?" Tiffany asked.
"There will be Trent, whom I just mentioned. He's a sort of magical historian. He doesn't practice magic, but he knows as much about it as anybody. Possibly more. Beatrice, who is the seer who had the vision about Nathaniel, Willow and Sarah. Clarice, who is a healer and priest. You should probably be careful around her, Sarah. She has some very strong, and often very old fashioned, opinions." Charlotte said.
"Great." Sarah grumbled.
"She's not a bad person, but she can be difficult. Also at the meeting will be Rose's aunt, Kerry. She's the leader of the local coven, and a skilled practitioner in her own right. Esme will also be there. She's the eldest of us, and self taught. She's quite remarkable that way. Then there's Trent's daughter, Stephanie. She usually comes with her father. She has an extraordinarily high opinion of him, and herself. But she's a teenager, so don't hold that against her. She is also an unusual person like the five of you, in that she can augment her physical abilities with magic." Charlotte said.
"So she's super strong?" Mike asked.
Charlotte shrugged, "I don't know the extent of her abilities. But she can definitely make herself stronger, faster and tougher when she wants to. The only other person who might be there is Rose. She sometimes comes to the meetings with her aunt, since she's being groomed to take her place when Kerry retires, though that's a long way off yet."
"I would like to be there, but I need to get my stuff packed for school." Rose said.
"Oh yeah, that's right. You're leaving." Willow said sadly.
"I'm going out of state for school." Rose explained to Sarah and the others. "Classes start in a couple of weeks so I need to get packed and moved out there."
"You won't be alone when she leaves, you know." Tina said, placing her hand on Willow's shoulder.
Willow smiled sadly, "Thanks Tina."
I've been thinking, and perhaps you should tell them that I heal rapidly? That way when they have their meeting they can tell them that instead of the immunity thing. Erica thought to Sarah.
Okay. "I suppose these others are going to want to know about us and our abilities?" she said aloud.
Charlotte nodded, "I'm quite sure. You will be the main focus, because of Beatrice's vision, but they will want to know about all of you. I could try to leave you out, but it could be difficult. Beatrice is a seer, after all. She tends to have insights into things you might not want known."
"Then when we tell them about Erica we can just tell them she heals rapidly, since you thought the immunity was something we should keep to ourselves." Sarah said.
Charlotte looked confused, "You mean to tell me that Erica is immune to magic, but she also heals rapidly?! How is that possible?"
Mike shrugged, "I don't know exactly how it works, but it saved her life when that agent shot her."
Charlotte blinked in surprise while Rose, Tina and Willow all gasped, "Shot her?!"
"One of the agents working for Marvin Garner was a little out of control and accidentally shot Erica. Marvin said he is dealing with him, though." Jill said.
"And you trust him?!" Rose exclaimed.
"Telepath." Jill reminded her, tapping the side of her head.
"Oh, yeah. I guess you would know." she said, though she still looked doubtful. At that reminder of her abilities Willow looked worried, Sarah noticed, though she couldn't imagine why.
"You haven't been, you know, reading our minds, have you?" Tina asked weakly.
Jill shook her head, "No, I try to stay out of people's heads when I can. At first I was picking up everything, but I've gotten a lot better control since then."
"That's good, but perhaps we should stick with the empathy at the meeting. I doubt anybody but Clarice would have a problem with your abilities, but she probably would." Charlotte said thoughtfully.
"She's starting to sound like a real pain." Mike said.
"She can be, yes." Charlotte agreed. "Ironically, it's Stephanie who usually keeps her in line these days. Another reason why Trent brings her, I suspect."
"How would a teenage girl be able to keep her in line?" Mike asked.
Charlotte smiled, "You haven't met her yet. Trust me, she's good at it. Besides, Clarice has odd ideas about magic. To her, the only good way to use magic is through prayer, or through natural ability. She tends to consider practitioners like myself to be unnatural. But those with natural magical abilities that appear spontaneously are, to her, chosen by God. So she tends to listen more closely to someone like Stephanie than most adults would."
"Why do you all even put up with her? She must consider most of you to be unnatural?" Jill said.
"True enough. Trent and Beatrice are the only other ones she has any respect for, since Beatrice's ability is also natural, and Trent doesn't use magic himself. She has a little more tolerance for Kerry and Rose because magic is part of their religion, even though she considers that religion to be false. But Clarice represents all the magical members of the local religious organizations. So we're stuck with her." Charlotte said.
"Are there a lot of magical people in the local churches?" Tiffany asked.
Charlotte nodded, "There are. Or, at least, more than among the general population. Some religious organizations, particularly the Catholic church, have retained some magical knowledge. Only a small number of them know about magic, though. Most of the religious community wouldn't want anything to do with magic and would be very upset to know there was a subset of their own organizations that practice it."
Sarah looked worriedly at Jill, who said, "It sounds like we don't want any of them knowing about magic if we can help it."
"Definitely. Witchcraft, as most of them would call it, is still considered evil by most religions. Christian ones, anyway. Some of the eastern religions are more open minded." Charlotte said.
"So, what all can you guys do, anyway?" Mike asked.
Mike looked at Sarah in surprise, "Really? Can you use them?"
Sarah shrugged, "I don't know, she just told me they exist. She didn't show them to me or cast any spells."
Charlotte frowned as she watched this exchange, "Why do you seem to assume that Sarah would be able to learn glyphs? Tina is the first to even use glyphs in centuries, if not millenia."
"I have a knack for copying magical effects." Sarah replied, shocking her friends.
Why reveal that?! Jill exclaimed.
I have too many magical abilities. It would come up eventually, and Vash thinks I should learn how they do magic. Sarah replied.
Tina suddenly snapped her fingers, drawing everyone's attention to her. Realizing she was now the center of attention she blushed and said, "You guys have been having telepathic conversations all along, haven't you?"
"Yeah, we tend to do that a lot anymore." Mike admitted.
"Isn't that difficult to keep up with for you?" Rose asked, looking at Jill.
Before she could reply Charlotte said, "Ah, now it makes sense! Shapeshifting isn't Sarah's power at all, her power mimicry is. She copied that power from Mike, and Jill's telepathy. Between the two of them it would be easy to keep a telepathic conversation going."
"But doesn't Mike just change into animals?" Rose said.
"Sure, but it makes sense that Sarah would use it differently. She wanted to be a girl after all, so naturally she'd learn to swap genders first." Tina said.
Well, the cat is truly out of the bag now, isn't it? Jill thought.
I guess it was inevitable this would happen. Sarah thought morosely as she hid her face from everyone. Jill, Mike and Tiffany all glared at Tina.
"What?" Tina asked.
Charlotte shook her head, "Tina, you really shouldn't have said that. You basically just outed Sarah as a transsexual. In the wrong circles that could have gotten her hurt, badly. That's not the kind of secret you tell anyone without the person's permission."
"Oh... sorry Sarah." Tina said, staring at the floor.
Sarah sighed, "It's okay Tina, you didn't mean any harm. At least it happened here, instead of in a big group like that meeting tomorrow."
"A good point. This is another instance of something that Clarice would likely have a problem with. Others might, as well. I think we need to all agree to keep this to ourselves." Charlotte said, looking pointedly at Tina.
Tina glanced up and noticed the look, returning her gaze to the floor, "I won't say anything about it ever again, I promise!"
"So, you used to be a guy?" Rose said, confused.
"She was always a girl, no matter what she looked like." Jill said defensively.
Rose shrugged, "I don't understand, but I won't say anything."
Charlotte nodded and looked at Willow questioningly. Willow scowled, "Don't look at me like that! I'd never out anybody!"
Charlotte held her hands up placatingly, "That's good, I just wanted to make sure." Willow grumbled but nodded.
"About these glyphs," Jill said to distract everyone from a subject she knew Sarah was not happy to dwell on, "what exactly are they?"
"That's hard to say, exactly." Charlotte said. "They are symbols that represent various magical effects, basically. Why they have power is unclear. Perhaps they are an integral part of magic. Or perhaps some ancient sorcerers worked together to connect these effects with the glyphs. No one knows. In fact, to my knowledge we are the only ones to even know of the existence of glyphs. Certainly I have never heard the slightest mention of them from anyone else."
"So it's some kind of magical language?" Jill asked.
"Not exactly." Charlotte said.
"Actually, that's kind of close." Tina said. Charlotte frowned at her but she continued anyway, "Only it's more like a programming language. Each glyph is like a bit of code. They don't do much on their own, but if you put them together they make up a program, like a spell. We're still working out how they go together, though."
"I guess you can't teach Sarah if you don't know yet yourself, then." Mike said.
"No, but she's welcome to help me figure them out. Her powers might be helpful." Tina said thoughtfully.
"Tina, what did I say about teaching anyone glyphs before you've worked them out for yourself?" Charlotte scolded.
"I wouldn't be teaching her, we'd be learning together. Progress has been really slow, getting some help should speed things up a bit. I promise to be careful." Tina said.
Charlotte frowned but nodded reluctantly, "Alright, but be sure you are!"
"Can I help, too?" Willow asked hopefully.
Charlotte sighed and shook her head, "I suppose so. Perhaps this will help you find your own way of doing magic."
Mike shook his head ruefully, "It's kind of weird. After all this time getting used to our powers, we find out there are others out there with magical abilities. But it doesn't sound like there's a whole lot you can do with them. At least not yet."
Tina shrugged, "Yeah, it's kind of annoying sometimes. There are lots of things we can do, but mostly really subtle effects. But that's changing. Especially with glyphs. Once we get a handle on them there's no telling what we'll be able to do."
"Would you be willing to teach me this ritual magic you talked about, too?" Sarah asked.
"I would rather she not be distracted from the glyphs anymore than she already has been." Charlotte said. "But I could help you with the ritual magic. I'm not sure why you're interested, though. You're own powers are already well beyond what I can do."
Sarah shrugged, "Maybe, but they're also limited. I can do certain things pretty well, but that's it. If I learned your way of doing magic I would have a lot more options."
It's getting late. I'll need to go to bed soon so I can be up in time for school. Any chance of you coming over for a visit? You've had a rough day. Erica sent.
I'd love to! Sarah replied.
Good! Tell them you're tired, it's true anyway. Erica said.
Sarah was about to protest that, but realized she was right. Guys, Erica wants me to go so we can get together before she has to go to bed. she said instead, broadcasting to her friends.
Mike yawned, "Maybe we should be going. It's getting late."
Charlotte nodded, "Certainly. It has been a busy day for all of you. Especially Sarah. I hope we can all get together again soon. I would like to get to know you all better."
"Sure, that would be nice. How about on the weekend?" Jill suggested.
Charlotte nodded, "My shop is closed on Sundays and Mondays, so Sunday would probably be best."
"Alright, we'll be back on Sunday then. Except for Tiffany and Sarah. I guess they'll be here tomorrow night." Mike said.
"Yes, the meeting will likely start around seven." Charlotte said.
As they all stood and Willow ran over and hugged Sarah, "Thanks for saving me Sarah!"
"Uh, sure, but you weren't in any danger." Sarah said.
"I would have been, if not for you. I'm looking forward to working with you on the glyphs, that should be cool!" she said.
"Uh, sure." Sarah said. After a round of goodbyes they left.
That girl has more energy than most children I've seen. Mike thought as he unlocked his car.
Yeah, but did you notice she's not so hyper as she was before? Jill replied.
Tina says that's how she acts when she's stressed, so this is more normal for her. Sarah sent.
Weird. Jill thought.
They were quiet during the drive back, until Sarah turned to Tiffany and said, "I'm sorry about earlier."
"Huh, what do you mean?" she asked.
"Broken ribs?" Sarah reminded her.
"Oh, yeah, that. It's no problem, you were just upset. I guess you've gotten Erica's increased strength like we thought." Tiffany said.
"We'll have to work on that. You'll need to learn to control it just as Erica does." Mike said.
Sarah shrugged. Jill turned in her seat to look at her, "Are you okay Sarah?"
"Sure, why?" Sarah asked.
"You kind of freaked out when Nathaniel attacked you." Jill pointed out.
Sarah shrugged again but didn't say anything else. Jill exchanged worried looks with Mike but didn't push it, knowing she would be visiting Erica later.
As soon as they got back Sarah headed for her apartment with Tiffany trailing behind her. Mike and Jill said goodnight to her rapidly retreating back, sharing worried looks with Tiffany.
"I'm fine. I'm going to go see Erica now." Sarah replied, opening a portal as soon as she was inside. But before she could go through it Erica flung herself through the portal at Sarah.
Tiffany retreated to the kitchen to give them some room.
"How are you doing?" Erica cooed as she held Sarah.
"Okay." Sarah mumbled. But then she started sobbing into Erica's shoulder. Erica led her over to the couch and sat, holding Sarah while she cried herself out.
"It's okay, he can't ever hurt you again." Erica said over and over again. She found herself wishing that John were still alive so she could kill him herself.
By the time she'd cried herself out Sarah had fallen asleep in Erica's arms. She carefully picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. After getting them both undressed she put her in the bed and climbed in after. She wrapped her arms around Sarah and soon fell asleep.
"Feeling better?" Erica asked.
Sarah nodded, "Yeah, thanks."
"Want to stay here today?" Erica said.
Sarah was tempted, but regretfully shook her head, "No, you don't want to get behind. I'll be alright."
Erica stared into her eyes for a moment and nodded reluctantly, "Alright, if you're sure. But we can still eat breakfast together, right?"
Sarah smiled, "Of course!"
They got up and took a shower before getting dressed and heading for the kitchen. They found Tiffany already there, cooking bacon and eggs.
"Hey, feeling better Sarah?" she asked. Sarah nodded. "Good! There's plenty for everyone, so have a seat."
"Are you sure? I could help..." Sarah protested.
"Just relax and spend some time with your fiance. I've got this." Tiffany replied.
Erica dragged her down into her lap before she could try to help Tiffany. They sat silently together, just enjoying each others company while Tiffany prepared breakfast for them.
After breakfast Sarah insisted on cleaning the dishes, though she did it with her portals so Tiffany didn't feel too guilty about allowing her to.
"I guess I'd better be heading back to my place." Erica sighed.
"Do you have to?" Sarah whined.
Erica laughed and wrapped her arms around her. After a long, passionate kiss she pulled away and looked lovingly into her fiance's eyes, "Afraid so. But I can come back after you get home from work, okay?"
Sarah's eyes were glazed as she numbly nodded. With a frown she opened a portal for her.
"Don't forget, I'm just a thought away." Erica reminded her.
"I won't." Sarah said, sighing as Erica stepped through. She blew her a kiss before closing the portal.
"You going to be okay here Sarah?" Tiffany asked.
"Here? What do you mean?" she said.
"Well, you're not going into work, right?" Tiffany said.
Sarah frowned, "Of course I am! What else would I do?"
"Are you sure? Nobody would blame you if you took the day off." Tiffany said.
Sarah was tempted, but insisted on going. She didn't want to let her fears control her. She felt a warm sense of pride from Erica at the thought.
Tiffany drove them to work. Did you check on Dad last night? Sarah asked Vash.
Yes. The reason for his anger is still unclear. It may take a few days for whatever is going on to break through his resistance. Vash replied.
Will he be okay? Sarah asked worriedly.
On his own? Probably not. But we'll keep an eye on him. Try not to worry. Vash sent.
Okay, I'll try. Sarah replied, though she wasn't encouraged by his assessment.
Their workday was a normal one, though Sarah worried about the meeting she'd promised to go to. Erica stayed in touch almost constantly, though, and that helped her keep her worries at bay. Tiffany also made sure to check on her from time to time.
As Tiffany drove them home she contacted Jill, Hey Jill, alright if I make dinner tonight?
Sure, I didn't have anything planned anyway. Jill replied.
As soon as they got home she started in on dinner. She didn't have a lot of time, so she kept it simple. Tiffany helped and Erica was ready to come over soon after so she opened a portal for her.
"Are you nervous about this meeting?" Erica asked.
Sarah nodded, "Yeah, I wish you could go with me."
"Well, I could, but then we'd have to explain how I got back so quickly. I still don't think it's a good idea to let too many people know about your portals." Erica said.
Jill and Mike arrived a few minutes later. They ate together, but by the time they were done it was time to head over to Charlotte's. "Do you want me to send you back?" Sarah asked.
"Might as well, I can always come back when you're done and I do have a little homework to do." Erica replied.
"Okay, I'll see you later then." Sarah said, opening a portal and sadly watching Erica walk through it.
Tiffany tore her eyes away from Jill washing the dishes telekinetically, "You ready to go?"
Sarah nodded, "Yeah. See you guys later."
"Okay, but we'll be there with you, if you don't mind." Jill said, tapping the side of her head.
Sarah nodded and they headed out. "This telepathy thing is sure handy, isn't it." Tiffany said.
"Yeah." Sarah replied.
The ride over was quiet, but quick. When they went inside they found Charlotte was just closing up for the day.
"Good evening girls. You're the first ones here. Come on back to the living room." Charlotte said. She led them to a fair sized room with two couches and several comfortable looking chairs. Tina and Willow were already there, along with Natalie. Natalie was wearing another one of her, now ill-fitting, Goth outfits full of belts and chains.
"Hi Sarah, Tiffany." Tina said. Willow waved, but Natalie just glared at Sarah.
Sarah nodded and Tiffany said, "Hi. So, what happens at these meetings, anyway?"
Willow shrugged and looked at Tina. "Well," Tina said, "I don't know if there's any standard way they go. I've only been at a couple of them myself. I don't think they're all that organized."
They sat in awkward silence that was broken when they heard the bell for the door ring. A minute later a man and a teenage girl walked in. Probably Trent and Stephanie. Sarah thought, remembering what Charlotte had said the previous day.
Charlotte followed them in, "I'm sure you're wondering who these girls are Trent, but let's leave introductions until everyone's here, alright?"
"Sure, that's fine." he said, taking a seat on the second couch. The girl sat next to him, though she kept glancing around at all the new faces.
Before long more people started coming in. The last being an older woman, probably at least ten years older than Charlotte, who walked in with her. "Okay, that's everyone. Please make yourselves comfortable." she said.
"I thought you said you'd caught Nathaniel?" the older woman asked.
"We did Esme, but let's start with introductions." Charlotte replied. She went around the room introducing everyone. Sarah wasn't surprised to find the middle-aged woman with the pinched face was Clarice, her expression certainly matched her description. The others seemed nice enough, though.
"So, where's Nathaniel?" Kerry asked, looking oddly at Natalie.
"You're looking at her." Charlotte replied, smiling at the look of surprise on her face.
"What are you talking about?!" Clarice demanded. "I don't see Nathaniel here!"
"Nathaniel attacked Sarah as expected, but she panicked a bit and transformed him. She's going by Natalie now." Charlotte explained.
"That's impossible!" Kerry gasped.
"I wish." Natalie grumbled.
"I don't know what kind of game you are playing, young lady, but hand over the real Nathaniel immediately!" Clarice demanded, glaring at Sarah.
"Perhaps a demonstration is in order?" Charlotte suggested, turning to Sarah.
"Uh, are you sure that's a good idea? People tend to get kind of... grumpy, when I do that." Sarah said, glancing at Natalie.
"I'm volunteering, Sarah. Please?" Charlotte said, stepping over and holding her hand out towards Sarah.
Sarah uncertainly reached out and tapped her hand. Almost everyone in the room gasped at the sudden transformation, including Charlotte. "I see..." Charlotte began to say, obviously surprised by the sound of her voice, "what you meant."
"This is some kind of trick, an illusion!" Clarice said.
"I can assure you, it is no trick or illusion." Charlotte said.
"That's for sure." Natalie added morosely.
"Are you all satisfied yet?" Charlotte asked.
Clarice was the only one who shook her head 'no'. She stood and walked up to Sarah. "Transform me, if you can, and I might believe it." she demanded.
Sarah glanced at Charlotte, who nodded, and reluctantly reached out and touched Clarice's hand. She was instantly transformed into a man who was nearly bursting through the seams of her clothes.
Clarice gasped in shock, staring down at her new form and running her hands up and down it in awe. "It's true." she breathed.