by Saless
Chapter 44

"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.