Sarah's Shadow
^{A Story}
Chapter 7 - Preparations
by Saless
 

Tiffany admired the gems and coins for a long time before going to bed that night. In the morning she drove to her parents house for Christmas. She was distracted the entire day, thinking about everything she'd learned and the bag of coins and gems hidden in her apartment. She was only free to really think about it as she contemplated her gifts after dinner. She didn't notice the light dimming around her, but her mother did.

"It's getting dark in here, did the bulb burn out?" she said. Tiffany looked up and realized that the darkness was all around her, but the rest of the room seemed well lit. As she realized this the darkness dissipated and the lighting returned to normal. "Oh, I guess it was just a power fluctuation." she said dismissively, as that happened often. Tiffany began to suspect that there was more going on than that. She carefully kept her thoughts away from all of that for the rest of the night, until she'd returned to her apartment a few hours later.

I've been through the portals a couple of times now, and the others all seemed to gain powers from that. Is that what's happening to me? she thought. Then she remembered how no one ever seemed to see her, despite her amateurish attempts at stealth. What did Vash say again? Oh, right, he called me Shadowkin! Maybe that has something to do with it. she mused.

Yawning, she dismissed that thought for the moment and went to bed.

Saturday dawned and Tiffany was itching to go on another adventure. She didn't really understand why, although the lure of treasures like those she took home with her the last trip might have had something to do with it. After a quick breakfast she dressed and headed over to Sarah's apartment again.

She parked well away from Sarah's apartment as usual, and then settled down in her familiar hiding place. Almost instantly the space behind the hedge grew darker around her, until she could hardly see her own hand in front of her face. But her view into the apartment was unrestricted. I guess that's what that Shadowkin stuff was about. Should come in handy! she thought.

When she turned her attention back to the window she saw that Sarah and Erica were making out on the sofa, rather enthusiastically. I guess Erica's getting used to Sarah now! she thought with amusement.

Moments later she heard Jill and Mike approaching. Jill seemed to gravitate to Mike as they approached the apartment, until she was practically attacking him! Mike seemed to be enjoying himself, but then he pushed her back. She struggled for a while and then stopped and looked embarrassed. I wonder what that's about? Tiffany thought as she watched them go to the door and open it. Mike turned away and Jill closed it. Sarah saw it just as it closed and ran from the room, clutching her robe to her. Erica straightened her clothes and let her friends in.

They began talking, but Tiffany couldn't hear much from outside the window. Sarah rejoined them and shortly thereafter they all left, Vash returning to invisibility on Jill's shoulder. So Vash can be invisible? How many tricks does that imp have? At least he's leaving me alone; I guess that ring must have been important. she thought as she hurried to follow them. From their conversation she was able to figure out where they were going, so she hurried over to her own car and drove to the mall.

She didn't know where they were going to go, and didn't want to try and follow them throughout the mall, so she decided to take a chance and wait for them in the store where she and Sarah worked. In those familiar surroundings, with the advantage of her developing powers, she was easily able to remain unseen while she watched for Sarah and her friends. She had a long wait.

Tiffany was debating leaving when Sarah and the others finally arrived. She was caught off guard and Sarah nearly saw her, but she managed to duck back and a shroud of shadows hid her from view. I really need to figure out how to do that on purpose! she thought as she watched Sarah turn away and catch up with her friends.

When she realized they were going to leave, Tiffany hurried out to her car and returned to Sarah's apartment. She tried the door on the off chance it was unlocked, but it wasn't. She thought about trying to pick the lock, but she had neither the tools or skill to pull it off, so she settled down to wait and tried to consciously increase the darkness around her, and then reverse it. She had some limited success before Sarah and the others returned and she had to hide again.

Once they were all inside they went to the kitchen to eat, so Tiffany tried the door again. Aha, unlocked! I've really got to see about getting a key somehow… she thought as she let herself in. She spied Sarah's keys sitting on a table by the door and, before she could talk herself out of it, grabbed them and hurried back out to her car. She sped over to Home Depot and had a copy made, then hurried back. To her relief, they were grouped around the computer when she returned and she was able to return Sarah's keys without anyone seeing her.

Now I can come in anytime, that should make this easier! she thought smugly. She half expected Vash to say or do something, but he seemed to be asleep on the couch.

Tiffany watched and waited, and was rewarded with the interesting news that Erica was immune to magic! Maybe that's why Vash can't talk to her like he did me… she thought.

Some time later Erica printed out a story for a world she wanted to visit and they prepared to go through. Vash woke up, but showed no signs of noticing Tiffany there. She followed them through as she had been and found herself on a space ship! She watched and listened carefully, and discovered that Erica had picked this story, in part, to acquire weapons and some kind of explosive ammunition! Hmm, maybe I should take advantage of the situation. she thought.

Tiffany enjoyed the tour with the others, but hung back after they were given the guns and bullets and gathered up some for herself. I lost that knife, but now I've got something to defend myself with if I need it! she thought. She had managed only one pistol and magazine, and a smaller box of bullets, but she figured it would be plenty since she'd stay hidden most of the time. She hurried to catch up with the others and dashed through the portal before the others went through so she could get a good hiding place.

She watched as they came back through the portal. She noticed that Erica seemed to know how to handle guns, and made sure to pay attention, as she had no experience herself. Thanks to that she was able to load the weapon herself, and also found the safety. Just as well I figured that out, she thought as she listened to their conversation. Sounds like we've got another adventure to go on now… She stashed the box of ammunition somewhere they were unlikely to find it and stuffed the gun into the waistband of her jeans while she waited for the next portal.

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