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"Are they always like that?" Mana asked, smiling.

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.

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To Be Continued…

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« Watcher - 7 - Agent Messenger »

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« Who Watches the Watcher? - 4 - Back to Work »

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« Toil & Trouble - 18 - Mr. MIB »