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by Saless
Chapter 63
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.
To Be Continued…
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Comments
Another good chapter
Saless....Now i just want to find out what it is that Jill has painted, That has caused such a reaction in Jill and Mike.....But i guess i'll have to wait....Sigh!!!!
Kirri
Erica described it in
Erica described it in chapter 60. Thanks Kirri!
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Whoops!!!
Silly me....Must be a sign of getting old .... And i only read it a few days ago!!!! Thanks Saless
Kirri
Sarah's Friends Are Justifiably
Angey at her birth chamber. I REFUSE to call it a mother. Makes me wonder if Venus knew about Sean-Sarah's history, and is doing this to help out. Sean's porting power manifrsted before the curse, could Venus have reset time so that she could do this to help Sean?
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
Mom a victim?
With Sarah being almost goddess-level powerful, there may have been an unnamed entity that wanted to keep all that power locked up. Controlling her mother into thoroughly traumatizing her may have been such an attempt.
Following that line of thinking, Venus may have detected that and decided to do something about it.
You're comment is kind of
You're comment is kind of ironic, in that it closely resembles what's going on in another story I'm working on but haven't posted yet. Even more so when you consider that there will be a crossover between the two at some point... ;)
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
But?
What about the fact that the shot from Venus was aimed at Mike, with Sean leaping in front of it, "taking a bullet" for Mike, so to speak.
I went outside once. The graphics weren' that great.
Omega, you are missing a point.
Initially the blast was aimed at Jill
Who was pushed through the portal by Mike
Who was shielded from the blast by Sean.
And we never got to know the properties of the blast proper. Curse your secretive ways, Saless! ^_~
Faraway
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Um-m-m-m
No. Jill was the original target, but when Mike shoved Jill through the portal, Venus changed her aim to Mike. Quoting: "Venus pointed her glowing hands at Mike and a blast of energy shot out from them". At that point Sean jumped in front of Mike and the blast hit him instead. Whether the blast was the same as the one Venus intended to fire at Jill, only the author can say. But one thing is plain, Sean was the only one of the three who was not targeted by Venus at any time, he put himself in front of the blast intended for Mike.
I went outside once. The graphics weren' that great.
Don't underestimate a goddess
Venus could easily have orchestrated the whole shift in aim thing. If she knows the character of each of the players, she can predict what they will do with a fair amount of certainty. She has, after all, been at it for a long, long time.
On the other hand, if she was truly aiming at Jill, would mere human reflexes have saved her?
As I go through that scene again, it seems as if Venus is being purposely unreasonable and pushing them into acting as they did.
Venus & Mortals
Here are the relevant paragraphs from Chapter Ten, with my comments inserted.
"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.
Note this, Sean is physically separated from Jill and Mike. To target Sean Venus would have to shift her aim away from the other two. Does his backing away indicate cowardice? Maybe not, in light of his actions later. Does Venus see it as an indication of cowardice? Maybe/Maybe not.
"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.
Jill is the first one targeted, presumably because she is the one that was speaking.
"Run!" Sean screamed, opening a portal right behind his friends. Mike shoved Jill through while Sean ran to join them.
Mike shoves Jill through the portal. There is no indication that Jill is still in the line of fire.
Venus pointed her glowing hands at Mike and a blast of energy shot out from them.
Venus shifted her aim to Mike, probably because Mike thwarted her attempt to punish Jill. Sean is still off to the side.
"NO!!" Sean screamed, and jumped in front of Mike.
Sean leaped in front of the bolt after it was fired
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.
Clearly the target was Mike, and whatever effects the blast had were intended for Mike, not Sean.
All the tales of the gods present them as being uber-powerful, and uber-flawed. The faults of mortals, taken to a higher level. I think what Sean did was not anticipated by Venus, he came running into the scene after initially backing away. Had Venus intended to target Sean, she would have done so first. She is a goddess, after all, she doesn't have to justify her actions. There is no Internal Affairs Unit to question her actions.
Anyway, that's the way I see it, looking at the story as written.
I went outside once. The graphics weren' that great.
Ah, but...
That's exactly what Venus wanted them to think. She did a good job of it, too.
But then again, she is a goddess.
Please give us a hint!
What'll it be? Magic? Marvelous Gadgets? Flukes of chemistry/The Virus? What's the main plot driving scheme? Inquiring minds want to know!
Faraway
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Oh there'll be magic, no
Oh there'll be magic, no doubt about that! In fact, that's what the story is all about... ;)
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Parents
Cavrider----Just another " Grunt."
Could be Sarahs Mother had sufferd abuse at the hands of her husband ? Could it be she found "Sarah " when the girl was twelve ?Could it be that in self defence , Sarahs' Mother drove off the little "freak " ? That would make Sarahs' Mother as much a vitim as Sarah . Her Mom still would not win any Motherhood awards in my book . Still , it would expose a reason .
Cavrider----Just another " Grunt."