What's a guy to do when his mother shows up after being gone for thirteen years and tells him she's the last of the mythical Amazon race?

Author's note: You might want to read the last chapter to remind yourself what is going on. It's been a while since this was updated.

Part 3

I really took the time to stare at myself. That may sound narcissistic, it wasn't. I mean, yeah I know I'm hot, but this was something a little more profound than ogling. I was still a virtual stranger to my reflection. Call it denial if you want. The thought of stripping and standing in front of a mirror just gave me a sick feeling in my stomach. So I started small: my face.

My nose was tiny. Well, I didn't have a big honker or anything before, but still. The new one was just, was just cute. I used to have a mole just above the jaw line of my right cheek. It was gone. In fact, my complexion was perfect. My pores were tiny, the dark circles under my eyes that I inherited from my dad were gone, the acne scar on my left temple disappeared. It seemed like I was reborn, fresh, anew.

My earlobes were gone. You know how some people's lobes hang a little? Mine connected directly. Even my ears were cute. A brief question ran through my head about how I would look with earrings. I quashed that bugger real quick.

Miss Molly really did a good job with my hair, but I knew I would never keep up with styling it. Right now that was just not a thought that was worth considering. Straight down or up in a ponytail were my practical choices. At least it was out of my face.

Enough. I'd deal with another body part later.

A glance at my watch told me that it was getting late and I needed to take Paris back home. That ought to be fun. Mister and Missus Whateveryournameis, I'm kidnapping your daughter so that she can fight an ancient Greek god and his minions. Why no, I'm completely sane; why do you ask? Yes, she's been transformed into this girl right here that could probably pass for her early twenties. Don't mind the sword she's carrying. Artemis gave it to her, so decapitating the Scourge would be easier.

Yeah. It's gonna be a party.

When I left my room I noticed Marcus and Paris in one of the guest bedrooms stripping the comforter and putting fresh sheets on in its place. Without even turning around Marcus explained. "Paris is staying the night. She told her parents that she was going over to a friends."

Paris looked a little guilty, which was kind of weird. I mean she looked like a body builder in her mid-twenties and here she was acting shy with the 'please forgive me' look on her face. The actions didn't match the body at all. This didn't bode well for some reason.

"I do this all the time," she explained. "Since I get straight A's Mom and Dad don't complain."

I sighed just a little. "We need to talk to your parents tonight, Paris." At the pouty look on her face I added, "Putting it off will only make things worse, trust me."

Riding around in a cab was quickly getting on my nerves. I was told the police would be finished with what they needed to do with Mom and Dad's cars by midweek. Although what they needed their cars for in the first place was somewhat of a question, but I'd have a reliable ride come the morning.

"What was your name, Paris, before…"

"Tiffany," she replied somewhat subdued with thoughts of the oncoming discussion with her parents. "Tiffany Freeman."

The taxi minivan dropped us off in front of a colonial style home and we made our way to the front door. Paris was at the height of her twitchiness and I advised her to wait out front with Marcus until I broke the news to her parents. When they were out of sight I rang the door bell. Only seconds later the door flew open and a forty-something, brunette lady stood there clutching her blouse with a frantic look on her face. Upon seeing me her demeanor eased and grew curious.

"Yes, what can I do for you?"

"Mrs. Freeman," I started, trying to be on my best mature behavior. "My name is Veronica. I'm here in regards to your daughter, Tiffany."

Confusion took over her features. "Tiffany? Is she alright?"

I cringed a little at how I must have appeared. "I'm sorry, yes, she's perfectly fine. It was me she was visiting this evening." I briefly looked to the side to make sure Paris and Marcus were out of sight. "May I come in? I was hoping to have a talk with you and your husband."

Her hand twitched a little bit. "Matt's indisposed at the moment."

My frown was evident on my face. "It's kind of important."

She looked a little put out but stepped aside and showed me to the living room. "I'll go get Matt. He was injured at work today, so please keep what you have to say short and to the point."

I hoped the compassion in my voice conveyed my apologies. "I'm sorry. I'd put it off, but we need to talk tonight." As I was making myself comfortable she left the room and disappeared down the hallway. Five minutes passed before I heard movement. Paris' mother appeared from the hallway and Matt Freeman was right behind her.

His hand was pressed to his ribs and his gate was slow and awkward, that was until he saw me. He looked a little startled. His eyes widened slightly and he stopped at the entrance to the living room. I stood and tried to look respectful. "Mr. Freeman, Mrs. Freeman," I indicated with a nod. "Thank you for seeing me."

"Matt come in and sit down." Mrs. Freeman made herself busy fluffing up a couple of pillows on the couch. "Dr. Baird said to stay off your feet as much as possible."

Matt's eyes flitted between me and his wife for a moment before he slowly circled the living room and sat down. "Get me a drink, Rosie." He wasn't rude in placing his order; it was more like expected behavior between the two of them. Odd, but not unheard of I suppose.

Rosie moved, without so much of an eye roll to the bar in the corner of the room and upended a decanter of brown liquor into a rocks glass along with two small cubes of ice. I had a brief flash of life in the 1950's. Maybe the Beaver would be dashing in from outside with a look of innocence on his face next. Weird.

Matt held his face on guard and seemed to choose his words carefully. "Rosie said you had something important to talk about. Is Tiffany in trouble?"

What a question to ask, but probably a good one. Now, how to answer without blurting out the obvious? "You know who I am from the TV, Mr. Freeman." It wasn't so much of a question as it was an assumed statement, since he seemed to have recognized me.

"You're the new Amazon."

A sinking feeling surged in the pit of my stomach. It was only a spilt second of silence between us, but we both suddenly knew that our cards were all out on the table. Matt Freeman wasn't injured at work. He was injured at my high school. He was one of the Scourge.

"That's right," I replied.

Mrs. Freeman came back over and set her husband's drink on the side table beside him. "Not too much dear. It won't mix well with the pain medication."

He cupped the glass without even looking and then sipped a decent mouthful before returning it to the coaster. "Rosie, the girl and I need to talk." It wasn't even a request; it was a dismissal. Rosie nodded and left the room without so much as a backward glance. "She doesn't know. Neither does Tiffany, so if you want to wait until tomorrow we can take it away from the house."

He was asking me to wait until later so we could fight. It was surreal. "I'm not here about you."

It was him that was caught off guard this round. It was about time I wasn't everyone's butt monkey for a change. Now the monkey was on his butt… or something like that.

"You've told Tiffany about me." A slightly uncomfortable look dropped on his face.

I shook my head. "No, but she knows about the Scourge; your little display at school today. She was front and center. She wiped the blood from my face."

With a nod he looked to the side at the curtained window. "You're not like your mother." The muscles in my back tensed up at his casual mention. "She was a powerful warrior. You… I haven't ever seen anything like you."

I was through talking about that topic. "Tiffany is no longer your daughter."

His eyes snapped back to me. The only emotion I could see was from his jaw setting. "What do you plan on doing?"

Pushing against the arms of the chair I stood with as much grace as I could muster. "She's mine now. She gave herself to Artemis."

I didn't notice that he was still holding his hand over his glass of liquor until it shattered under his grip.

"You will allow her to enter your house, gather her things, and say goodbye. If you try anything, if you try to talk her out of it, if you give her anything but understanding, then I will return here and kill you, tonight." For emphasis I pulled on my sword, enough to make it visible. "Do we have an understanding?"

He was seething in anger. His face became blotchy and I could almost see him shaking. "And what am I going to tell my wife?"

Letting the sword slip back into invisibility I pursed my lips and gave him a shrug of my shoulders. "Not my problem. You're the misogynistic murdering creature of Ares. Call it karma."

I moved to the front window and opened the drapes before exiting the living room. "I'll give you a few minutes to explain to your wife about Tiffany's change then she's coming in."

With that, I made my exit. Paris and Marcus were waiting in the driveway. She looked as pensive and nervous as she did when we arrived.

"What did they say?"

I beckoned them over in front of the window so I could keep an eye on Matt Freeman. "Your father knows. He's explaining it to your mom."

There must have been something in my voice, because Paris pressed me. "He knows? He's not mad?"

I couldn't tell her that her father most likely kills Amazons as a secret pastime. "I need you to go to your room, get your things. Leave your clothes; they won't fit anyway. Marcus can help you."

I looked to my friend and he nodded. "Keep it light for now. We can return tomorrow with my dad's Avalanche and pick up the bigger things."

Paris looked at me uncertainly, but I stayed as stoic as I could. "Go." Before Marcus could accompany her I grabbed his arm and pulled him close. "He's Scourge. Be careful."

"Great," he replied with a note of sarcasm in his voice before quickly catching up.

I watched from the yard as Paris revealed herself to her parents. The inevitable shriek from her mother was loud enough that I could hear it outside. Her father sat there unmoving before he snapped at Rosie to shut up and sit down. The conversation was a little more subdued from then on out. I took the opportunity to call the cab to pick us up after I saw Paris and Marcus disappear in the back.

Matt Freeman scowled as he looked outside. It was dark enough that I knew he couldn't see me well, if at all. My hand itched to withdraw my sword and be done with it, but it was Paris' father. It was the only thing holding me back. My vow to Artemis was, no mercy for the Scourge. I'm still keeping that vow. I planned on returning and fulfilling that vow, but Paris didn't have to know. It was to my Amazon sister that I gave mercy.

"Don't worry so much. She's devoted to you."

Spinning around, I reached for my sword, but there was only a blonde girl there, wearing jeans and a black tank with a big gold bird or something across her breasts. She had both of her hands held up a little, I guessed to show me that she was unarmed.

"Who are you?" I pretty much demanded.

"Cassandra."

My eyes scanned the area to make sure nobody else snuck up without me hearing. I was kind of freaked out that she had managed the feat. Granted, I'm not a superhero or anything, but I thought my senses had improved enough to maybe hear a car or something drive up.

"What do you want?"

She shrugged. "Thought you might want a lift back to your place. Taxi's can get expensive, and we can move all of Paris' stuff in one shot. That way she doesn't have to know that you're going to kill her father tomorrow morning."

My breath slowly released from my lungs. I just made that decision. Nobody knew that.

"I do."

I shook my head. "Are you reading my mind?"

She nodded. "Don't worry, I'm on your side. Ares isn't on the top of… well, pretty much anybodies list to cheer for."

Okay, I'd had enough of her babbling. Drawing my sword, I held it out in front of me. She looked at it and smiled. "Sweet. All I've got is this." She reached to her hip and grasped at something. A small sword or maybe a knife was pulled. It was thick on the blade end and bent forward, reminding me of a long-bladed axe. There was something similar hanging on the weapons wall back home. That brought up more questions. I didn't know anyone that could do the disappearing weapons trick but Marcus and one of my sisters.

"I thought I was the last Amazon."

She grinned. "You mean you and Paris."

I ignored the deflection.

"I'm not an Amazon."

"And you're on my side?" I asked to confirm her intensions, or maybe to get her to offer up some information.

"Well, not on anyone's side, per se. I'm on my sister's side."

"Who's your sister?"

"Artemis."

The tension in my arm relaxed, but I kept my guard up. "And you're Cassandra?" At her nod, I pressed on. "Can't say that I've heard of you."

After sheathing her short axe-sword she shrugged. "I'm new. Only been a goddess for a few weeks."

"I'm suppose to believe you, why?"

She sighed. I watched as she shook out her hand and curled her index, middle, and ring fingers in toward her palm, probably making some archaic symbol for destructive magic. Raising my sword defensively, I waited. Instead of pointing her thumb and fingers at me she put them up to her ear and mouth, like she was holding a phone.

"Hello? Artemis? Yeah, it's Cassandra. Can you come down and chill out your girl?" She mimed hanging up a phone. "She'll be here in a second. Union issues with her Hunters or something."

A bright flash of light nearly blinded me beside the girl who claimed godhood. "Veronica, daughter. You are threatening my sister with your weapon."

She was here. I knew her power, felt it wash over me like a cleansing rain. Artemis turned to the Cassandra. "Are you annoying my chosen?"

The blonde girl held up her hands in surrender. "Hey, she's under my prevue too. The curse on that sword of hers has my power all over it."

Artemis' eyebrows raised as she turned and examined my mother's blade. "So it does. Very well. I'll ask you not to interfere with her mission, Cassandra. You know how much this means to me."

The blonde girl smiled. "I know. I promise. But she's got issues that need dealing with."

My goddess sighed and nodded. "You do that so well, sister. Heed her advice, daughter. You are more alike than you know."

My sword was lowered and I nodded to Artemis. "I will."

Another blinding flash of light and my goddess was gone.

"We cool now?"

Another nod later and I sheathed my sword. "Marcus, Paris, lower your arms."

Cassandra didn't show the least bit of surprise to find out that my friends had flanked her from behind. "Now, how about I help you out?"

All of Paris' belongings were transferred to the estate in the blink of an eye, along with us soon thereafter. Cassandra kept an unnerving watchful eye on me as I moved around, helping Paris get settled. I had a serious feeling that she spent all of that time routing around in my head, which was annoying, but she was a goddess, like Artemis, and I really didn't need anymore enemies on that front.

When we were through, I told Paris to get some sleep. Marcus, I knew wouldn't leave my side, so I didn't bother telling him to. We reconvened in the living room where Marcus brought me some tea and he had a Coke.

"Do you want him here for this conversation?" she asked me.

"I don't have any secrets from him."

She shrugged and sipped from a golden goblet that she'd conjured from out of nowhere. "I have a couple of different areas that I claim as mine. Artemis recognized this and thought that I might be able to help."

I glanced at Marcus and he gave me his clueless face.

"With what?" I asked.

"Your being transgender."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "What?"

She didn't tease me. Her face was calm and matter-of-fact. "I witnessed your transition in the street the other day. Are you not a man in a woman's body?"

Gripping the arms of my chair, I squeezed. "That's none of your business and if you don't mind, I'd like to move on to more important things."

This time she did smile, but it was filled with pity. "I'm sorry about what happened to your mother. The same thing happened to mine. In fact she was killed by the Scourge as well, so I can understand exactly what you are feeling right now. The thing is that you have enough to deal with at the moment without having to hate the body you are in."

"I don't hate myself." I said through gritted teeth.

"I didn't say that. I said you hated your body. All the work you put into making it into the perfect male specimen, gone because of a cursed sword that you willingly took up."

"You need to back off now," Marcus warned.

Cassandra ignored him. "So now you are pretty much every guy's wet dream. Big tits, tiny waist, glorious ass, and a face that will break hearts everywhere you go."

All during her little speech, I seethed. My face burned and I could feel my heart thumping against my chest.

"You can't even look at yourself in the mirror without flinching."

I tried deflecting. "I don't need to look at myself to kill the Scourge."

She nodded. "True. However, it's distracting, and a person on a mission like this can't be distracted."

Ignoring her seemed to be my best bet. If I didn't say anything else then maybe she'd take a hint.

Almost as if she read my mind once again, she stood and her goblet disappeared. "Nemesis Aresbane, I will offer you a gift, no strings attached, since you are my sister's champion. I will offer this to you three times. You'll refuse the first two times, but I warn you not to refuse the third."

I just looked at her, not saying a thing.

"My gift is acceptance of your new body. A small adjustment that will allow you to be proud of your new form. Your male thoughts of bruised ego and shame will be banished and you will be at peace… well, as much peace as a warrior can be in any case. Do you accept this gift from me?"

It didn't take me a half-second to come to a decision, the decision she knew I'd turn down. "No."

With a nod, she hooked her thumbs in her pockets. "I'll return tomorrow."

A blinding flash later and my heart started to slow. Marcus just stared at me. "Why'd you say no?"

I stood and rounded the chair. I needed to burn some energy and a workout suited me. "Because my pain is just that -- mine."

The door to the stair way slammed open at my touch and I ran down the steps two at a time with perfect balance. The silk blouse was off before I'd made it to the weightlifting room. The boots and leathers off right after. I stopped at a set of closed cabinets and retrieved a set of workout sweats and slipped them on. Not bothering with shoes, I bounded over to the weights and set them near my maximum. With the anger I had to get rid of, I probably need to increase it beyond my maximum.

I pushed and pushed: arms, legs, chest -- as if that area needed a workout -- back, abs, you name it and it was done. Then I started all over again. Marcus came in after my second hour, holding a sports bottle and a towel.

"That's enough."

I settled the last of the leg extenders back down with a trembling thigh and grabbed the towel to mop my sweat-drenched face. The water was next.

"Thanks."

He nodded. "Shower, bed."

I thought I'd be sore the next morning, but I felt fine and the minor injuries I'd received from my battle were pale pink lines, fading quickly away. It was still dark in my part of the world when I slipped out of bed and donned the black leather pants and dark shirt. I had to settle for black high-tops for now. I wasn't comfortable moving around with the heeled boots, and until I had a chance to go out and purchase decent low-heeled boots then I'd just have to be a fashion disaster.

Marcus was waiting for me by the door when I exited. It was scary how well he knew me. "I left a note for Paris if she wakes up before we get back."

I nodded.

Riding pillion on the Harley in the dark was a little more intimidating. That was the only reason my arms were firmly around Marcus for the trip over to the Freeman's. I still didn't feel any different toward him being a man than I did the day previous, which I was thankful for. I had enough problems without being sexually attracted to guys added to the mix. Maybe Artemis did do me a favor and sucked out my sex drive. I could only pray that it stayed gone.

Mr. Freeman was standing by the door when we arrived. A cup of coffee was in one hand and the morning paper in the other. I could see the resigned look on his face when I stepped off the bike and removed my helmet.

"This shouldn't take long. Keep my seat warm."

Marcus nodded and watched as I strode up to the front porch.

"Can I finish my coffee," Freeman asked.

"No."

"Fucking Amazons."

The mug and the paper dropped as he leaped toward me, changing form and ripping out of his clothes in a split second. My sword was in my hand just as quick as I slice an upward arc, cleaving a good portion of his body in two from stomach to neck, before spinning to the side and letting him hit the walkway with a wet thud, like a side of beef. He twitched and then settled.

When I returned to the bike, Marcus held out my helmet. "Twenty-eight," I said.

He nodded and smiled. "Two more and you get a free set of steak knives, just pay for postage and handling."

Cassandra paid me a visit when we pulled into the driveway. I didn't even bother with a greeting. I just said no. She flashed away just as fast with only a nod in return.

"I think you ought to reconsider her offer, Veronica." He pulled his key from the lock and punched in the security code.

"Not you too."

Instead of opening the door, he turned around. "Whatever you want to do, I got your back. You want to say screw the offer, then fine. But you've been off your game. I haven't ever seen you so mad as I've seen you this last week."

I started to protest, but he held me off.

"I get why. Hell, I'd be pissed too, but lives are on the line now. You want to start training Paris with that in the back of your head, or do you want to make sure you got your bases covered."

Baseball analogies.

"It's all I've got left, Marcus. Nothing else makes me TJ anymore. If I give it up then I'm gone."

He raised his hand and started to put it on my shoulder, but stopped. "You still got me."

The urge to hug him returned, so I backed up a step and looked out in front of the estate to give the impulse time to settle. "I know."

"You need to be focused, just like on the game. If you want anything like a normal life anytime soon then we've got to get moving. Get some hot chicks all decked out in weapons and armor and out there kicking some serious ass."

A slight grin found its way to my face. "It's going to kill you to be around us, isn't it?"

He snorted and leaned against the door. "Artemis said I couldn't bang you. She didn't say anything about the rest of them. Way I'm looking at it, I'm seriously hooked up."

Throwing a look to the side at him I shook my head. "We're talking about Amazons here, Marcus. These girls are going to have massive energy. They'll probably break you, that is if you can keep it up for that long."

He swiped at me. "Aww, that's not right. A girl can't judge something she never tasted. And you, my friend have been denied the sweet chocolate goodness that is Marcus Latrelle."

I pointed my finger at him. "Just remember how old Paris really is. Wait for someone else."

He twisted the doorknob and stepped backward, inside the house. "Now you're just being mean. Insulting my honor like that."

"Hey guys," said Paris. "That was quick."

I wasn't exactly sure what kind of message Marcus left her, but he caught on pretty quick and covered for me. "Yeah, I get her all the way out to McDonalds and she decides she wanted to cook breakfast herself."

I debated whether or not to jump on his back and rub Amazonian noogies into his head for volunteering me for kitchen duty, but seeing as I just killed Paris' father, I didn't say anything negative.

"Yeah, come on we'll whip up something good. I thought I saw some pancake makings in the pantry."

About twenty minutes later I was putting the last of Marcus' stack on his plate and we all sat down to eat. Paris was ripping into hers like she hadn't eaten in a couple of days. I didn't remember being that hungry after the change, but considering how much she grew, it stood to reason that she might have used a bit more of her body's resources than I did. I wound up actually shrinking.

"What are we doing today?" asked Paris after she drank the last of her milk.

"Training. Then we need to figure out a way to hunt down the Scourge. Artemis never answered that question."

Marcus nodded. "I guess if they don't attack then it's kind of hard to tell them from a regular misogynist, and we can't exactly kill regular guys for that."

Paris looked down at her syrupy plate. "Yeah, like my dad."

Marcus looked at me while he slowed in mid-chew, then he focused his attention back on the meal.

"You're out of that situation, Paris. You're not the same person," I said.

"I know, but my mom still is." She seemed reluctant to say something but I urged her on anyway.

"You can tell me anything now, we're sisters."

She shrugged and then stood from the table to go rinse her plate and stick it in the dishwasher. "My dad wasn't exactly the nicest person in the world."

I followed behind her and watched as she leaned against the counter. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

I understood that emotion. No matter what the doctors said, it was my opinion that some things were better left unsaid. She let us know that her home life wasn't exactly rosy. That was obvious from the first moment that I found out her father was one of the Scourge. I knew eventually that I would tell her. That's just not something meant to be withheld, and she'd ultimately find out if or when she went to visit her mother.

The impression we left her house with the previous night was one of finality. I had doubts she'd be returning anytime in the near future unless she could guarantee her mother's safety. That would mean a few months at the earliest, when we'd both trained with our weapons. Like it our not, I was lucky in my first real battle. The bloodlust rage I was in made up for lacking skills, but it also increased the danger. I could have easily died from an unlucky swipe from any one of those claws, like my mother did.

"Come on. Lets get downstairs and get to work. Once the stores open we'll go do some shopping and buy you some new clothes."

I figured since she was a natural girl that would cheer her up. I mean shopping, right? Girls like that sort of thing. But I was wrong. She just shrugged.

My sweats were tight on her, but she liked the look. Don't worry, the cabinet in the gym had several pairs. We worked on what we could, our bodies. I'd have to hire a real trainer, someone skilled in swordsmanship. I was more than likely going to wind up cutting my own leg off if I kept waving my blade around like I was already doing. Instead, for three hours we worked on stretching, muscle tone, and dexterity workouts. These I already knew from baseball training.

A quick shower afterward and we were ready when Marcus returned with the Avalanche from police impound. He looked like a nervous wreck when he jumped out of the truck. The geas Artemis had on him wasn't very helpful. Being out of my immediate vicinity for any length of time was hard on him.

At the mall, we spent most of our time at Academy. Paris had the body she'd always wanted and she vowed to show it off at every opportunity. There wasn't anything that didn't accentuate every square inch of her muscled frame, so lots of spandex, lycra, and muscle shirts were involved. For some reason she picked up a pair of black fingerless weightlifting gloves which she immediately put on. I swear, by the time she was finished, she looked like my bodyguard more then Marcus. While I was firm and toned, leaning more toward bombshell than warrior, Paris was strong, bulky, and intimidating.

We stopped off at Penny's to grab her a few regular clothes, but she wasn't as enthused about looking normal. I picked up a pair of real boots to go with my black leathers, and Marcus just browsed. He wasn't much of a shopper, never was.

While Paris put away her purchases I jumped on the computer and did a search for trainers: female, sword, experienced, military. That should have covered all the bases. Well, that and the city name.

After filtering out the porn, I came up with three Google hits and the accompanying websites. One was easily deleted as it was obvious they were using a really hot girl to sell karate lessons. If she was a trainer then I was an Amazon Queen.

Nevermind.

The other two looked promising. Both were ex-military. One had her own gym where she specialized in training young girls to be self-reliant. The other was more into competing. She had a dojo in the city which was run my her assistants while she spent most of the year in competition. Neither were ideal, in my opinion, but I remembered the old saying in my head about beggars and choosers.

The second person was out of town and would be for the next two weeks. So that left the first lady. She had a bio-page which I scanned. It really didn't have much detail, just skirting around her experience in the Army and her involvement in the community, most of which revolved around lectures at schools and community centers. She was forty-three years old and looked like she could kick all of our butts with no trouble. Lady-like she was not. But I wasn't looking for little Mary Sunshine.

Taking a chance on whether or not she'd be in at her gym, we all piled up in the Avalanche and drove into town. Her gym was in the older part of town. It wasn't necessarily the bad portion, just old. I could picture the building and set up pulled from some fifties or sixties movie where the neighborhood golden gloves teens would train. The equipment was mostly free-weights, punching bags, wooden dummies, and the like. The one thing that was noticeable above any other was the complete lack of students or people training.

"Can I help you?"

Marcus was looking over the punching bags giving them a couple of strikes, and Paris was looking around. The lady that came out of the office looked kind of weathered, much like the surrounding area. From the look of the picture on her website, it appeared that she didn't age too well, not to mention the cane that she was using to support an obviously stiff or injured leg.

"Yeah, are you Carrie Dell?"

She came to a stop about eight or nine feet away from me. "I am."

"My name is Veronica." I thumbed to my left. "That's Marcus over there, and Paris is checking out your training weapons. I wanted to know if you wanted some new students… possibly a lot of new students."

Carrie looked me over, but her eyes really fell on Paris. "What kind of training are you looking for?"

"Sword combat mostly, but anything hand to hand would be good too."

"Sword?"

I nodded. "I've kind of come into…" I stopped talking when I saw her eyes widen a little more than normal.

"You're that girl on the news."

"Yeah."

Once her surprised reaction was over I received a curious eye. "You looked like you knew what you were doing. What do you need with me?"

Hooking my thumbs in my front pockets I tried to relax. "Those furry things that I killed?"

She nodded in remembrance.

"There's a lot more of them."

"Yeah, I saw the news; the attack on the school."

I shook my head. "That was an attack on me, not the school. Look, this is going to sound really weird…"

She cocked an eyebrow at me. "Weirder than watching a guy change into a girl in the middle of the street, then killing Bigfoot's cousins?"

I rolled my eyes up, thinking about that description. "Well, yeah."

"Try me."

Okay, she's a shoot from the hip kind of person. I could respect that. "I'm an Amazon, so is Paris."

Her eyes ticked to my sister. "Her I could believe, you not so much."

Letting my hand settle on my sword, I withdrew it from the middle of nowhere. Carrie's weight shifted, her left leg sliding behind her right. It was a subtle movement, but I recognized it for what it was, defensive.

"Don't believe everything that you see," I said. Sliding the sword back down into its invisible sheath or a little pocket dimension, or wherever it hid itself, I let it go. "We're building an army to hunt those creatures down."

Her lips firmed and I could see the tension in her shoulders. "I'm done with my fighting days, unless you missed the cane and my bum knee."

That's when I finally smiled. "What would you say if I told you I could help with that?"

"This is the middle of nowhere," Carrie said as she looked out over the hundreds of acres that my estate sat on.

"That's the point. We have the money and the mission. I just need a trainer and more sisters."

We made it inside easy enough, but she had trouble navigating the stairs. I didn't bother asking if she needed my help. She gave me the impression that she was pretty self-reliant and would bite my hand off if I offered it.

The tale of Ares and his devoted misogynistic followers rang a bell for her in some way. Finding out that they were actual human males made her look off in the distance like she was recalling something. The sight of all the weapons hanging on the wall sealed the deal. After she inspected what facilities I had, we found our way to some chairs. The pained look on her face as she took her weight off of her bad leg let me know that she'd probably do this just get her mind off of things.

"So, you're saying that this goddess will heal me?"

I nodded. "Probably a whole new body. Paris, the girl that was with us," who was upstairs at the time, "she was about five feet tall and looked like a decent wind would blow her over. That was last night. Artemis did the mojo and now she could take out Schwarzenegger without breaking a sweat."

She leaned back and laughed. "So what? I sell my soul?"

Shaking my head, I gave her the deal. "If Artemis is consistent with her rituals, one of those weapons on the wall will be yours, she'll ask you to swear allegiance, bless your weapon, and you'll change. It's probably the most painful thing I could imagine, like having your body dipped in liquid fire, but afterward, a minute later everything's fine."

Reluctance came to her face. "I don't swear allegiance to people anymore."

"I don't want that, but I do expect devotion to the cause to your future sisters. Plus, I'll be the one that's in charge, and you'd be the power behind the throne so to speak."

"How so?"

I shrugged. "I'll need someone that knows what they're doing when going into battle. The run, hack, and slash thing will probably work for only so long before people needlessly die. I'll risk my life for my sisters by doing that, but I won't risk their's."

Carrie nodded. "That's a good attitude to take. I'll think about it."

With a small sigh I nodded. I'd hoped to have her decision right then and there, but it wasn't practical. I was asking someone to give up their mundane life for that which would put theirs at risk for the foreseeable future. "Good enough."

She stood unaided and solemnly looked up at the wall of weapons once more. That's when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise again. One of the weapons on the bottom set of pegs started shining brighter than the others like it did before Paris' transformation.

"You've already made your decision, Carrie."

Her head turned to me, quietly set in stone and total blank of emotion. "How do you know?"

I nodded toward the wall. "Because Artemis has already chosen your weapon, and she wants your presence in the temple."

I hint of surprise showed on her face. "Which one?"

She followed me over to the sword. It was about five feet in length and looked like it was really heavy.

"It's a Claymore. Not the easiest of swords to handle. Heavy."

She started to reach for it, but I held up a hand. "I don't know what it will do to you down here. Why don't we take it to the temple and I'll show you what to do."

Her hand twitched like it itched to take hold of the grip right then, but she held back. "Okay."

Before I took it off the pegs, I looked at her. "Once we do this, there's no going back."

Her jaw ticked. "I said, okay."

Lifting the sword off the pegs like it was nothing, I nodded. "Fine, come on."

At the top of the stairs, I called out. "All hands on deck." Carrie was struggling to climb the stairs and I waited at the end of the hall. Sweat was beading her forehead and her face was red with excursion at the effort. She was stubborn, that was obvious enough. That's also what I needed.

After a few breaths at in the hallway, we proceeded to the private office and through the vault door with Marcus and Paris taking up the rear. They waited by the door. Producing the box of matches, I showed her what to do. Laying the Claymore at the feet of Artemis I stepped back and watched as Carrie lit the candles, one by one. It took her three matches to make the rounds, slowed by her knee.

I motioned for her to stand in front of the statue. "Your cane."

Shifting her weight, she handed it to me and I passed it off to Paris to hold.

"Artemis will tell you to give her your sword at some point. Will that be a problem?"

She shook her head. "I can handle it."

Withdrawing my sword, I held it in front of her parallel to the floor. "Cut the back of your forearms, put the bloodied parts in her hands and say 'Goddess Artemis, it is time.'"

Carrie nodded, suddenly looking unsure, but pushing through what was needed anyway. She barely laid her arm on the blade and from the twitch in her eye, I knew that it was done. I stepped back to watch the byplay.

The statue's eyes opened and grasped Carrie's forearms tightly. I heard a startled gasp come from her. Artemis raked her eyes downward and she smiled with knowledge. "Experience." Looking up at me she released Carrie's arms. "You show wisdom, daughter, seeking out those that are more skilled than you."

"Thank you, Artemis. I thought she might be able to train your warriors and provide insight into battle."

"I agree." She looked down at the Claymore and then back up to me. "Your counsel with Cassandra did not grow fruit?"

Looking away wasn't an option. I couldn't hide anything from her. "She offered to wipe away my male ego."

"Yet you chose to keep it."

"Yes."

She stared at me with an unreadable expression on her face. "That is your choice. However if it interferes with your mission then I will rip it out myself, and it will not be a pleasant experience."

I swallowed and nodded. "I understand."

The ritual continued and Artemis reformed into the marble statue. Before us stood a much younger Carrie Dell, now named Alexa, the last Sergeant at Arms for the Amazon nation. She bordered somewhere between Paris and myself in terms of physique, with brown hair down to her butt and a very strong face. If she was less muscled she would be pretty, but with low body fat she was rugged instead.

"How's the knee?" I asked.

She was still staring at the sword and vambraces, but I broke the attention she was devoting to them. Looking down, she flexed her leg. "It's like it never happened. I feel young again. Powerful."

I smiled. "You might want to check out a mirror. You look like you're in your late twenties maybe."

She started to move and had to grab at her jeans. "Uh, you got something I can wear for now? I think I lost about twenty pounds of fat and gained thirty in muscle, not good for the hips."

I nodded. "Paris, would you show our newest sister to the sweats down in the weight room?"

When they left, Marcus was still standing by the door. "Rip it out?"

"Yeah, you noticed that too?" The thought of Artemis tearing away what was left of me made my hands shake.

"Come on. Me and you need to have a talk."

"Marcus…"

He gave me a look that told me he was serious, which was a tactic that he didn't play too often. When he did use that particular face, I always gave in. Maybe it was because he never took advantage of it. It had already been a long day and night was starting to close in. He told me to meet him upstairs in his room since it didn't share a wall with Paris and we could have some privacy.

I took a few minutes to go to my room and shrug off the day's outfit and slip on some shorts and one of those shirts that didn't have any shoulders or sleeves, but had those really tiny bits of string over the shoulders. It was light and comfortable. For some reason I was feeling smothered at the moment and that outfit evened everything out.

"I told them they were on their own for the night," Marcus said as he came in and closed the door. "Alexa wanted to head home and start packing, Paris went with her."

"Bonding already?"

He grinned conspiratorially. "You haven't seen how Alexa's looking at her?"

I squinted at him unbelievably. "She's like thirty years older than her, and Paris is what, fourteen?"

"Fifteen, sixteen next month. I already gave Alexa the heads up. She said she'd wait."

Shaking my head in astonishment, I sighed. Rubbing my face afterward felt good. "Everything has gotten so weird, Marcus."

"I know."

Looking up at him, I painted on a sincere smile. "I don't know what I would do without you."

I received a sharp nod in return. "Good, I'm glad you see that. It makes things easier."

Knowing where this conversation was going, I flopped back on the bed, which in retrospect probably wasn't a good idea since it made my breasts feel like Jell-o molds wobbling around.

"You think I should let Cassandra do it." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

He didn't reply with a yes or no. That took me off guard.

"I think you shouldn't ignore the offer. I think you should considerer it, that's all."

I spared him a glance, and then stared up at the ceiling. "You don't know what its like."

"I can guess."

"Can you?" I wasn't so sure.

Without asking for an invitation he flicked the light off and opened the window shades before laying down on the other side of the queen-size mattress. I knew it wasn't sexual, because we used to do this when we were kids. That was the only reason I wasn't already out the door. Secrets, emotional secrets were better told in the relative darkness. This was true especially between guys. I don't know how many times we had sleepovers and would stay up late talking about girls, or puberty, or any number of embarrassing things. Just as long as we didn't have to see each other's faces then it was okay.

When he was settled, I moved up to the other pillow so I could hear him better. "I imagine it's a lot like fighting with yourself twenty-four hours a day. Knowing that you shouldn't be in that body, but trying your best to accept it and move on, since there's not a damn thing you can do about it."

I sighed. "You're not wrong." Though he wasn't entirely right, either. "It's knowing that I look like this. Last week I would have given my right nut to date a girl that looks like me."

She snorted softly. "Damn right."

We lay there enjoying the brief respite before I continued. "The thing is that I've looked to the future already."

"What are you seeing?"

I closed my eyes in an effort to try to make the room even darker, because the secret I was keeping within me need the extra layer of comfort. "We're going to kill them all, Marcus. It's not going to be decades from now. It will be a few years maybe. Once I know how to track them then I won't stop moving until its done. I think that's why Artemis hasn't told me how to do it yet."

"So you'll build up your resources and learn to fight properly," he offered. "I get that. So what's this have to do with anything?"

"What do I do after?"

A lengthy pause stretched between us. "You mean when there's nobody to fight? How are you going to live? Is that what you mean?"

"Yeah. I'm the last of the original Amazons. I'm pretty much expected to do the kid thing."

"Oh. Well then, don't you think the wipe that Cassandra wants to do would be a good thing?"

I turned on my side to see Marcus' profile. "Maybe. But if I do that, I won't be me anymore."

I saw his lips quirk up a little in the shadowy lights of the moon on the rise. "Hate to break this to you Veronica, but you already changed."

Reaching over I smacked my fist into his upper arm. "I'm not talking about my body."

He rubbed at his arm. I probably hit a lot harder than I used to. "That's not what I was talking about. And damn girl, you need to ease up on the beatings. That shit hurts now."

"Sorry… pansy."

"Asshole."

Another minute or two passed until he started up again where we left off. "You can't expect the crap that has gone on in your life over the last week not to change you, even if you were still a guy. You're different. So am I. We change. It's what lets us deal with all the crap."

"So you think I should this."

He shook his head. "I'm not making the decision for you, Veronica. That's your choice."

"What are the down sides to this?"

With a shrug he turned to face me. "You think that you might be giving up whatever made you male."

Waiting for something else, I nudged him. "That's it?"

"It's all I got."

The truth was, that was all I could come up with too. I was hoping that he might be able to help out on that front. "And the plus side?"

"You get to feel normal in your body. You won't be stressing over what happens after the war, because it will feel normal whether you choose to have kids or not. It won't be because you were a guy once. Maybe you'll lighten up a little, buy yourself a vibrator… Oww!"

Yeah, I hit him again.

"Seriously girl, you are in some desperate need to release some tension."

I arched an eyebrow at him even though he might not be able to see it. "I suppose you're offering."

"Nope. That's a Marcus free zone down there."

For some reason I felt… annoyed. "Why not?"

He shrugged, and I lifted my fist to hit him again, not too hard this time. He bruised easily.

"Marcus, spill."

He sighed. "It was part of the deal I made with Artemis. Even if I wanted to, I can't get it up with you in the room."

I jerked up. "What? You gave up…"

"No," he said, almost screeching that one out. "Just with you, I agreed. She didn't think I could keep it in my pants." He sighed and shrugged. "She's probably right. So I told her to make it where I can't get it up with you in the room. Everything works just fine and as long as you aren't right there then I could go all night long like I normally can."

Setting his male need to boast about his prowess in bed, I couldn't believe what he was saying. "You mean… nothing? I could give you a lap dance right now and nothing."

He smiled. "Go right ahead. I can always use the visual when I have some time to myself."

I laughed and dropped back down to the pillow, trying to picture doing that booty grind thing on him. No freaking way that was ever going to happen.

"So what's your decision?" he asked.

I closed my eyes and groaned. "What's the hurry?"

"Well, that Cassandra girl has been standing over in the corner for the last fifteen minutes. I think she's here for an answer."

I jerked up again. Sure enough there was the blonde girl with the golden bird on her breasts. "Third times a charm," she said.

Marcus got up. "I'll let you two talk."

Reaching out I grabbed his wrist without looking. "Stay. I need you here."

Before I knew it he was behind me, supporting me, his hands on my shoulders. I took a steadying breath. "Do it."

Cassandra walked up to me, leaned over and kissed my forehead. "Live your life Veronica," she said. "Complete your mission and live your life with those you love." Her eyes ticked up above me and she smiled, before flashing away.

"You okay?" asked Marcus with a whisper.

I didn't feel different. No magical lessening of the load on my back was apparent. "I guess."

Working his way around the bed, Marcus held his hands out for me. I took them and he walked me over to my room. Everything went into robot mode for me. I grabbed something from my dresser and changed in the bathroom. He was still there when I came back out. The bed was turned down.

I gave him a weak smile and slid under the covers. Once I was tucked in he started to walk out, hitting the light switch on his way.

"Marcus?"

He turned at the doorway. "Yeah?"

"Would you mind staying tonight?"

In the dark, couldn't see the reaction on his face, but he didn't say anything. Instead he closed the door and I heard him shedding his shirt and jeans. I scooted over to make room. It was a king bed so there was plenty to spare. When he climbed in, I felt calmer, less lost, more myself.

Not knowing if Cassandra had actually changed anything inside me was the worst feeling I could have at that moment. If she did change me then why did I still feel the same? After Marcus got settled, I moved in to lay my head on his chest and feel him wrap an arm securely around me.

Even if I was the Queen of the Amazons, I still liked to feel like someone was watching my back every once in a while. Hiking a leg up and over his, I sighed in contentment and closed my eyes.

"Thank you, Marcus."

His lips pressed once against my hair and I fell into a restful sleep.

Six months had passed since I'd taken up arms against Ares. A number of battles have been fought already. We were sixty-three strong and Artemis revealed my truest desire: a means to find every Scourge on Earth.

We left the estate that November, splitting off into six ten-woman groups. Alexa, Paris and Calypso, one of the latecomers, were chosen to stay and guard the home-front, until we met again in a month to reassess the situation.

Marcus was by my side the entire time.

I found out that fateful night when I'd accepted my lot in life, that I didn't think twice about putting on a feminine nightgown and falling asleep curled up against my best friend. It felt natural and we found out that he could actually sleep if he was in the same bed as me, safe with the knowledge he'd be there if anything happened. Maybe it was some sort of cosmic joke Artemis was playing. Maybe not. Either way, we never slept apart after that.

He was in love with me. That much was plain when he passed up several offers of warm beds and thrilling nights with some of my sisters. He stayed celibate for me. I couldn't imagine not having him by my side, at my back, in my bed. It pleased me to no end to find out that he'd turned yet another one of my sister's down. Ridding myself of my male ego wasn't that apparent. Yes, it meant that I didn't feel odd displaying my femininity. I could look in the mirror and appreciate that I was beautiful and I have even learn to revel in it sometimes.

But nothing could bring me to accept that what Cassandra did for me that night had anything to do with what I felt for my best friend. For what I felt for him was love as well.

End

Author's Note: The story is not quite through, but the final appearance of the Amazons will culminate in a multi-crossover event in the FQ Universe, thus a separate story. So you'll know what happens in the end. For those that are interested, Cassandra has her own story as well. It's nearly complete. Then maybe I can finish FQ3 and end this universe with the final story afterward. The Cassandra idea was recent and didn't originally have anything to do with FQ or Aresbane, but it solves so many problems I was having in bringing an end to the chaos in everyone's lives. Duex ex Machina, maybe. You be the judge when her story is told.

Photo Credit: Located in chapter one.