Mantra is about halfway convinced that Gabriel is telling the truth about a Multiverse-ending catastrophe that is on its way, but she's determined to be wary. The adventurers retrieve Gabriel's "Time Capsule" and travel into the future of a different timeline. They observe the crucial battle being fought their by heroes from two different universes uniting to overcome a resurrected god bent on destruction. The Time Capsule's monitoring equipment detects that there are not two parties involved in the faithful battle, but three. This is a mystery of the utmost importance, because finding out who or what the third force is may mean the difference between victory and the Multiverse's collapse.

"I'm sorry," I told him, "but I'd prefer to keep this to myself."

"Why?"

"Because you — and the pair of cops who just left — laughed when I told you my name.
None of you call me by my name. Not Perry, not Mason. You keep calling me Deeny. You don't believe me."

[Browyn and Bernadetta (Detta) were having a heart to heart about Bronwyn’s brother David]

“I’m still not sure what you mean?” said Detta.

Bored with their sex life and seeking to supplement their income a husband and wife decide to enter the world of prostitution. This is a vignette in the day of a life of a high-class prostitute and explains how a married couple can live happily together while they each have sex with strangers for money.

"Charlotte didn't say much, but she did ask me why my name is Mason."

"What kind of stupid question is that?" Carly began,
her face registering annoyance, puzzlement, and curiosity all at once.

"That's — uh — actually a really good question, actually," Tatum put in, hesitantly.

The Bar

Just another night at The Bar. The cities change. Copenhagen, London, San Francisco, Omaha, Tokyo. But somehow, The Bar stays the same. The same sights, smells, sounds. The same faces, or close enough. Different languages, but the same lines.

[At a village pub in mid-Wales]
The door to the bar opened, and a man walked in, followed by a young border collie dog. He was wearing a fairly clean set of overalls and a decidedly muddy pair of Wellington boots. He removed the boots and left them close to the door. The dog stayed at the side of his master. This scene had been played out hundreds of thousands of times at this and many other Public Houses all over Wales for decades.

A Grumpy Old Man’s Tale 54 Tekin Receipt of a New Un

If we can find any folk who fit here I’ll be as glad to accept them and take the money off the government thieves in Whitehall and the local authority bandits in Barrow, Kendal and Penrith too as the next person, but if they don’t fit here the government can keep the bloody money and the refugees and the victims of violence even though they be women and their kids. Being abused does not give any the right to abuse any of our folk.

Char knows going to a support group is what he needs as it can be hard to break the habits of a lifetime. We all need help from time to time. Sometimes, we could use a little magic too.

Sally and I continued working out how we could downsize our lives smoothly and simply. It soon became evident that once you have put down roots in one place for any length of time, those roots spread out and it all gets rather complicated.

"The point is..." Jen insisted, turning a slight shade of red,
"the point is, that now we — you — don't know anything.
Everything is potential, right? The sky is the limit."

"That's only the upper limit," I countered.

Eden is presented with a problem to solve that goes all the way back to before the creation of the entire Multiverse. The story she hears hardly leaves her overflowing with confidence. But is it all true, or is she being taken in by some sort of scam?

Torrid Transformation Part 2

"What if my memories don't come back? What if I forget even more?"
I didn't mean to panic; I didn't want to panic... and yet... panic was there,
waiting to pounce, ready to devour me.

Torrid Transformation

The bell above the entrance to Torrid chimed a cheerful welcome as Alan
pushed open the glass door. The familiar scent of trendy clothing and
leather greeted him, but the store was strangely empty. He scanned the
racks, his gaze snagged on a display of vibrant summer dresses before a
voice startled him.

"Hi there! Welcome to Torrid!"

Alan turned to see a woman with a dazzling smile and a nametag that read
"Haley - Manager." Her warm brown eyes sparkled beneath a mane of fiery
red hair.

Genesis Infiltrator

The woman's words were a hammer blow. Raped. Mutilated. Left for dead.
Stacy... the image of her friend, vibrant and alive, morphed into a
terrifying possibility - a victim of human trafficking, lost in the
nightmarish underbelly of the world.

A wave of nausea swept over Sasha; a primal scream trapped in her throat
by the leather restraints. "Stacy?" she rasped, her voice cracking.
"What about Stacy?"

As I, an extraterrestrial entity, eagerly awaited the US government's response, my mind was filled with the potential implications of my arrival. The idea of forming an alliance with a being from beyond their world might have been a daunting yet intriguing prospect for them. However, my primary intent was not to instill fear but to foster understanding and cooperation. I could only imagine the mix of uncertainty and hope that filled the discussions, with some likely advocating for caution and skepticism.

A Successful Family

The possession of a small number of cows, pigs, sheep and goats in addition to ducks, hens and geese was to the older family members the currency by which they measured true wealth. That the hundreds of doves that lived in the centuries old dovecote and the fish in the lake were a readily available food source was a wonder to them. When they added a couple of hives of bees and a dozen rabbits to keep in a barn they couldn’t imagine a better life.

“I’m done!” I said to my wife when I arrived home from work.

Space Alien Transformation

The year was 2075. Steve Austin, once a wide-eyed boy gazing at the
stars, was now a seasoned astronaut, encased in a cryogenic pod aboard
the Icarus I. His destination: Proxima b, a distant speck yearning for
human contact. Steve was humanity's pioneer, hurtling through the abyss
in suspended animation, his only companion the ever-vigilant AI, Anya.